Chapter 40 Chapter 40 [VIP]

Chapter 40

It's already daybreak.

The girl's face had transformed in the darkness of the night and became clearly visible. Her face was pale, her clothes were wrinkled, and her hair was messy, but she did not look disheveled. Instead, she had a gentle beauty of a woman. This pitiful posture also made the smile at the corner of her lips reveal endless vicissitudes of life and sadness.

Standing alone, walking alone, whether it is a lie or not, only the listener can tell.

Song Yunzhi admitted that he couldn't refute it.

What he had seen and heard throughout his life had made the gentleman in his heart always fair in the face of all living beings. Even though he knew that she was a habitual liar, he could not question the sincerity she occasionally showed.

The ice and snow in Song Yunzhi's eyes were blown away by the sea breeze. He said, "Tell me about your plan."

Qian Tong was looking at the rising sun over the sea. Upon hearing this, his gaze paused, then retracted and gently fell on Prince Song beside him.

The fire was still burning. Prince Song, who should have been at the top of his class, was now holding a piece of wood in his hand, fiddling with the firewood. Two people's boots were placed opposite the fire.

And on the haystack beside him lay a toga, the one that had slipped off her at dawn and was meant to be on him.

Who doesn’t love gods?

Gods always like to give warmth to people and care about the common people in their bones. Even if they are plotted against, deceived, beaten and bullied countless times, they always maintain an inclusive gentleman's heart.

As the sun rose, a tiny crack appeared in the sky, and orange-red light rushed out with unstoppable force, overflowing in an instant, and the sparkling sea surface was burned into a blazing stream of red.

Qian Tong didn't rush to answer him, and suddenly said, "Prince, look!"

Song Yunzhi glanced sideways and happened to see a red sun just emerging from the sea. His gaze remained fixed on it for a rare moment.

"The sun is rising." Qian Tong raised his bound hands and pointed to the layer of glittering gold covering the water's surface. He said joyfully, "This is the first time I've seen the sun rise over the sea. In the past, I either missed the time or the weather wasn't cooperating. I heard that seeing the sun will bring good luck for the whole year. Today, the prince and I both saw it. I think this year will bring us both great fortune."

In front of Chu Yang, her smile was also tinged with innocence.

Completely different from the ruthlessness of last night, the girl at this moment was like an innocent little girl who would jump for joy when seeing beautiful things.

She's only nineteen...

Song Yunzhi lowered his gaze and continued to stir the fire.

After Qian Tong had watched the sun rise and fall for a while, he finally remembered what he had just asked and said to him, "The night I left the prince, I went to see the third wife of the Park family and offered to trade the account for the tea business. The third wife agreed..."

Song Yunzhi interrupted her, "Speak properly."

Qian Tong was stunned for a moment, forgetting about the traitor Lu Daozhong and must have told him everything. She corrected him, "The Third Madam originally wanted to make things difficult for her, but the eldest son of the Pu family agreed first."

She glanced at Prince Song and saw that he looked calm. She continued, "But the Third Madam has put forward a condition. I don't know if she wants to test the Qian family's ability, or if she wants the Qian family to go against the wind and get involved in the smuggling case, and eventually become like the Cui family, with no way out and forced to completely rely on the Park family."

Song Yunzhi turned his head.

She met his gaze and said helplessly, "If you want to get the shipping, I can only agree."

Song Yunzhi asked a contradictory question: "If you wanted to surrender, why didn't you tell me before last night?"

Qian Tong shook his head. "If I had told you in advance, would the prince have believed me? The prince chased me last night and tried to stop me in every way possible, wanting to kill me."

Song Yunzhi: ...

Who is killing whom?

Qian Tong didn't pursue the details. "But I knew the Crown Prince would be suspicious. Three official ships were patrolling the sea. By the time the Crown Prince caught up, it was too late. The tea leaves were in the hands of the Park family, and I had fulfilled Mrs. Park's condition. When the time was right, I would reveal my identity to you and explain it clearly. With the Crown Prince's wisdom and strategy, he would surely understand what I did last night. But I didn't expect the Crown Prince to be so perceptive. He acted faster than I expected..."

Song Yunzhi remained silent.

Since he had already accepted her surrender, Song Yunzhi would not question it until she had the intention to deceive him again.

What to do next, what to do next.

Qian Tong also thought of this. She said, "We made such a big fuss last night, and I fell into the sea and my whereabouts are unknown. The Pu family must have known about it and should be searching for me everywhere by now."

Qian Tong asked him, "The prince's secret guards should be looking for you as well."

"Before we go out, the prince and I need to think about what to say." Qian Tongm picked up a burnt stick from the fire and planned it out one by one in the white ash. "First of all, Lu Daozhong can't show up in Yangzhou again."

She knows my identity and knows that I pushed the prince into the sea. When she returns to the city, she will make the matter known to everyone in the city."

No one will be released easily without the permission of Prince Song.

And her people would never say a word without her instruction.

"The best solution right now is for us to pretend we know nothing. However, we have to let the prince suffer for a while longer and continue to stay in Yangzhou as the seventh uncle of the Qian family. This way, he can follow me into the Yellow Sea and find out the strength of the Park family."

Song Yunzhi looked at her.

If he hadn't heard her admit it herself, based on her current betrayal of the Park family, Master Song Yunzhi had a relationship.

His identity had been exposed, so Qian Tong couldn't look him in the eye. After exchanging a glance, she quickly glanced away and asked, "What do you think, my lord?"

Song Yunzhi was slightly distracted by her avoiding his gaze, and after a moment he asked, "Does Park Seung-woo know my identity?"

Qian Tong pondered, "I'm not sure about this, but the last time he came to the Qian family, he met the prince. Judging from his reaction, he probably didn't recognize him." He then asked, "Has the prince met him before?"

After all, the Pu family is a merchant family. Although they have great influence in the coastal areas of Yangzhou, they are not qualified to meet the prince of the marquisate in Kyoto.

Song Yunzhi shook his head.

Qian Tong said, "Then he probably won't recognize it."

Hearing her so confident, Song Yunzhi wanted to know the reason.

Qian Tong said, "After I became suspicious of the Crown Prince's identity, I asked someone to buy him a self-portrait. The person in that portrait doesn't look half as good as the Crown Prince."

She lowered her head as she spoke, not looking at him. Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke. The black stick in her hand circled aimlessly and randomly on the gray patch. The golden light of the rising sun dyed her earlobe, which was hidden in her black hair, red. Her skin became almost translucent, and the tiny blood vessels inside could be clearly seen.

Song Yunzhi tilted his head and gently clenched his hands on his knees.

Qian Tong was afraid that his words would offend the Crown Prince, so he quickly returned to business. "Although I was detained by the Crown Prince last night, the things on the ship have been delivered to the Park family, so it's not without results."

"The Park family is waiting to see me." Qian Tong asked for his opinion: "If the prince has made up his mind, let's go see the eldest son of the Park family."

She had already thought about what would happen next. "Then fabricate last night's battle as a conflict between the Lu and Qian families. Lu Daozhong, jealous, stopped the boats and tried to lure the official ships over, but was ultimately destroyed by the Qian family's wrath."

In this way, although Lu Daozhong was not really dead, he would never appear again until the Park family surrendered to the court.

For the Lu family, it was no different from being dead.

She got her revenge.

Song Yunzhi could tolerate her selfish motives, but this matter was no joke. The lesson taught him that he could no longer trust her completely. He said, "Let me think about it first."

After saying everything that needed to be said, Qian Tong waited for Prince Song's final decision.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, and another hour, the sun rose and became bright, already rising above his head, but Prince Song still hadn't figured it out.

Unable to wait any longer, and having worked hard all night, Qian Tong lay down on the haystack again, draped his wide robe over his chest, and took a nap.

When he woke up, there was a sword on his neck.

She looked at the face of Prince Song in confusion and astonishment, and for a moment she thought that time had gone back, and all the talk she had just had was just a dream.

She rubbed her head, and was about to confirm whether it was a dream, when she saw the Song prince holding the sword on her neck. He gritted his teeth and said, "I've thought about it. Let's get married."