Chapter 425 Tiger Bone Wine

Li Mingxiu and Lin Changning walked along, frowning, unable to figure out where these female assassins came from.

However, since they were in the Lin family, Li Mingxiu suddenly said to Lin Changning, "These maids' indentures are all in my mother's hands. I will inform my father when I get back. It should be easier for the Prince to investigate from the Prince's residence than for you to do so."

Lin Changning glanced at Li Mingxiu and understood that the young master meant to exclude him and the Lin family. This matter was neither a big deal nor a small one, but once it was brought up, the Lin family would not be able to escape the responsibility of failing in their duty of protection.

Therefore, Li Mingxiu took on the task. On the surface, the banquet was a housewarming party, but in the prince's heart, he also intended to remove the remaining obstacles in Taiyuan.

They didn't pay much attention to the maids, though. The Lin family was now using trusted servants chosen by the princess, and the female assassins were people who had been sweeping the courtyard for a long time.

The maids in the Prince's mansion were clearly ranked. The group just now was clearly a third-class maid. They couldn't even get into the main residence on a regular basis. They were only responsible for some cleaning and serving the second-class maids on the periphery.

They couldn't even get into the main courtyard. These past two days have been busy, and the old nannies have assigned them to the outer courtyard. When Qi Rong asked about the perilla drink, Li Mingxiu also sensed something was wrong.

Even if the courtyard was very busy, a third-class maid like this would not be allowed to send things to the women's banquet. As soon as he realized something was wrong, the second son was stabbed.

There's just one thing I don't quite understand. If the intention was to assassinate the King of Chu, then they would naturally go to the banquet to do so. Why were these people going to the women's section?

Thinking of this, Li Mingxiu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Naturally, he went to the women's section to see his mother and sister.

Li Mingxiu suddenly grabbed Lin Changning's arm: "What about my mother and the others?"

Lin Changning blinked and said, "The women's section is surrounded by our people, so nothing will happen."

Li Mingxiu breathed a sigh of relief, patting his chest in shock: "That's good. I wonder who was so insidious as to try to harm the women."

Lin Changning shook his head, also at a loss. Fortunately, he had focused on the women from the beginning of the day, though he also had his own selfish motives.

Because most of the women on the female side are their own family members, and the prince has him and Wei Shao on his side, assassins generally cannot get through.

She was confident in her abilities, so she focused her efforts on the inner courtyard, placing nearly half of her guards around it to keep a tight watch on everything.

After bringing Li Mingxiu in from outside, a group of people immediately surrounded them. Lin Changning and Li Mingxiu exchanged polite compliments with the group of people in the main hall.

On the other side, Li Mingde and Qi Rong had been taken to the small courtyard. Qi Rong changed his clothes, bandaged his wounds, and was about to take Li Mingde back to the main hall.

Li Mingde frowned: "Let's wait a little longer, until the doctor comes and bandages the wound again before we go."

Qi Rong gently shook his head: "This is the first banquet held at the Changning family's home. We'd better not arrive too late. These powerful families are used to treating people differently based on their status. Let's go early. My injuries are nothing serious."

After saying that, he changed into a black robe, pushed open the door, and strode towards the main hall. Li Mingde rubbed his forehead in annoyance. What the second brother said was true. Today's banquet was the first formal banquet the Lin family had held in Taiyuan. It was indeed not good for them to arrive too late.

After sighing, he followed Qi Rong out of the room, preparing to go to the main hall to support the Lin family.

However, the injuries on the second son are somewhat worrying.

This banquet was a blatant declaration to everyone that the Lin family was about to soar to great heights, and also to show them that the Lin family and the Prince's Mansion were now bound together in one force.

After this banquet, the Lin family will surely rise in status. The Xie family, the Cui family, and many other prominent families in Taiyuan under Lin Changning's command will also send their scions to the banquet at the Lin residence, accompanied by their own family heads.

Qi Rong quickly led Li Mingde back to the table. He watched as Li Mingxiu pulled Lin Changning along to introduce people from various factions, and then walked forward with a smile.

"I apologize, everyone. On the way here, I was so captivated by the beautiful scenery of the Lin residence that I accidentally stepped into a mud puddle by the pond and soiled my clothes. I had someone take me to the backyard to change before I came here."

As Qi Rong spoke, he smiled gently at Lin Changning: "I haven't yet congratulated Xiao Liu on his housewarming. I wonder if it's a bit late now?"

Lin Changning bowed to Qi Rong and said, "Your Highness, it's never too late as long as you've arrived."

Li Mingde chimed in, "Still calling him 'Young Master'? We saw the betrothal gift list the other day; it's time for us to call him 'Big Brother' and 'Second Brother' instead!"

He patted Lin Changning on the shoulder and said, "Kid, you'd better be a little sweet-talking now, or we'll stop you from coming in on your wedding day."

As soon as Li Mingde said this, many people around him burst into laughter.

The purpose of the three men's visit was quite clear: to support Lin Changning, even though Lin Changning was now favored by the King of Chu and had accumulated considerable military merits.

However, his family background was too weak. If he wanted to break into the powerful families of Taiyuan, he would need a few people to support him. You need to let these families of Taiyuan know that Lin Changning is not only favored by the prince, but will also be a member of their Chu Prince's Mansion in the future.

Anyone considering taking advantage of the Lin family or Lin Changning should think twice.

The Xie family elder stroked his beard and smiled gently. Sitting down next to Prince Chu, he suddenly said, "I suppose it won't be long before the Prince's Mansion and the Lin Mansion are filled with joy. On behalf of the Xie family, I would like to offer my early congratulations to Your Highness on finding such a good son-in-law!"

The King of Chu watched with a smile as his three children effortlessly exchanged pleasantries with the heads of the powerful clans and noble families while leading Lin Changning. Hearing what the Xie family elder said, he chuckled softly: "Hey, as long as the children are doing well, that's all that matters. But Changning is indeed a remarkable child. The other day, he even brought me a big tiger from the lake to drink with, hahaha!"

Qin Zhong, standing beside the prince, gasped in astonishment: "Wow! This kid beat up that big tiger?"

The King of Chu slowly took a sip of wine and looked at Qin Zhong with a smile, boasting, "Indeed, that's why we say Changning is so thoughtful. The other day, when he went to hunt betrothal geese for my Shu'er, he happened to run into a tiger, killed it, and had it carried to the palace that same day. Tsk~"

The head of the Wang family toasted the King of Chu, took a sip of wine, and said, "Truly a young hero! If I remember correctly, my good-for-nothing son is under the command of Assistant Inspector Lin. He told me before that Assistant Inspector Lin is not yet eighteen this year, right?"

The King of Chu nodded, raised his wine cup, and gestured to the head of the royal family: "Indeed, he just turned seventeen this year."

As he spoke, he turned his head and raised his chin at Qin Zhong, teasingly saying, "Old Qin, I remember the leopard your son killed at the border. He comes to me every day to brag about it. As for the tiger that he killed in Changning, I dealt with it in my mansion. I made five whole jars of tiger bone wine!"

Qin Zhong coughed lightly: "Your Highness, what are you saying? How can a leopard compare to a tiger? You know Your Highness, my old leg aches every time it rains. What about tiger bone wine?"