Chapter 47 Chapter 47 [VIP]

Chapter 47

Wang Zhao was also surprised when he learned that Song Yunzhi was going to give the cloth certificate to the Qian family.

In fact, he was not optimistic about the Seventh Lady of the Qian family. It was not because he disliked her as a person, but because he felt that the Seventh Lady's way of doing things was completely unpredictable and both good and evil. If the court really used her, it would breed many uncertainties.

But now the Lu family is no longer needed, and only the Pu family and the Qian family are left among the four major merchants.

If you want to infiltrate the Park family, it is best to have a family member to lead the way.

The court seemed to have no other choice. Wang Zhao and Song Yunzhi said, "This woman is intelligent, yet cunning and treacherous. If we don't have evidence against her, she'll inevitably scheme against us. Then, like Lu Daozhong, we'll be on both sides."

On a deserted island in the Yellow Sea, Song Yunzhi pondered this problem. He had already found the best solution. He said to Wang Zhao, "I will marry Miss Qian Qi."

Wang Zhao was stunned.

Varied? !

Wang Zhao thought he'd misheard. What was his status? The eldest princess's son, the emperor's nephew, the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Countless young ladies from prominent families in Kyoto lined up to envision this marriage. And what was the status of the Seventh Lady? A merchant's daughter. To put it bluntly, the lowest of the low. How could she possibly be a match? The Crown Prince, now abducted into the Qian family in hiding and becoming a nominal son-in-law, was already absurd, let alone a marriage. Wang Zhao stared blankly for a long time. "This concerns the Crown Prince's reputation. Even if it's just a show, he doesn't have to make such sacrifices..."

"This is no joke." Song Yunzhi said, "She already knows my identity. After the marriage, the Qian family will be able to serve the court with peace of mind."

Wang Zhao was completely stunned.

It's not just a show, are they really getting married?

Is he really going to marry a merchant girl? Wang Zhao wanted to say something, but he saw the resoluteness on the face of Prince Song. His status was not enough to question the prince's decision.

But how could he explain this to the Marquis, the Princess, and His Majesty...

However, these were not things he could worry about. The prince told him, "In three days, I will get engaged to her in the teahouse."

"Prince." Wang Zhao, risking the charge of insubordination, could not help but remind him, "She is a merchant's daughter. No matter which sect she belongs to, she is not worthy of the prince..."

Qian Tong was just outside the door and heard what Wang Zhao said.

There was a banyan tree in the backyard of the prefectural government. In summer, the cicadas chirped constantly. Qian Tong was curious about how Prince Song would answer, so he leaned against the white wall behind him and put his ear close to the window.

The room was empty, and his voice was clear. "I don't care about her status. Besides, she's not a bad person by nature. If I can guide her further, with her talent and intelligence, her contributions to the benefit of the people will probably be no less than yours and mine."

Qian Tong finally understood those people who always acted gracefully after being praised, so when she heard Prince Song's evaluation of her, she was a little dazed.

Prince Song's integrity is not pedantic, and sometimes he gives people a good impression.

So, after leaving, she said to Fu Yin, "Forget it. If Mr. Lu doesn't want to die, you can leave him some breath."

——

I don’t know if Mr. Lu has become smarter. After the Lu family went to the government to beat the drum to file a complaint, they completely quieted down and stayed at home without going out.

Soon the day for the Qian family's seventh lady's engagement arrived.

Mrs. Qian was in charge of all matters related to their engagement.

The Cui family and the Lu family were successively swallowed up, but the Qian family continued to grow. When others are down and out, one must never talk about one's own glory. The people of the Qian family still understood this principle. Therefore, Mr. Qian and Mrs. Qian agreed that the engagement banquet should be as low-key as possible. They did not publicize it, only invited some relatives and friends to attend, and held the engagement banquet in their own teahouse.

The engagement was announced only the day before.

People in Yangzhou already knew that the Qian family had chosen the seventh uncle, so the engagement was not surprising. If they met members of the Qian family on the road, they would greet them and congratulate them.

Mrs. Qian invited all the relatives that the Qian family should invite, but her son-in-law was in trouble. Both his parents had passed away, and he didn't seem to be well-liked by his relatives. Mr. Qian Er sent people to Kyoto to look for him last time, and he found the escort agency where her son-in-law used to work. The other party looked cold and didn't want to care about the life and death of the two brothers at all.

It’s better not to have relatives like this.

Fortunately, the son-in-law has a younger brother. A few days ago, Mrs. Qian contacted Qian Tong and asked her to release the man quickly. His brother was engaged, and as his younger brother, he was the only relative, so it was impossible for him not to be present.

Qian Tong listened to Mrs. Qian's words and sent someone to pick up the person from the freight transport.

The person sent was Ajin.

When he found 'Young Master Song', he was arguing with Ah Zhu, "Why don't you chase him?"

"This mountain is foggy, and we're not familiar with the terrain. Young Master Song will only die if he goes there." Ah Zhu said indifferently, "If it's lost, it's lost. Just give it to them. Young Master Song's safety is more important..."

Chen Che was filled with anger.

The witch's things were not worth his protection, but for more than a month, he had been frequently harassed by bandits, and his things had been snatched away from him one after another. This was not as simple as just throwing away the witch's things.

This is a challenge to his ability.

There is also a canal in Yangzhou, but several sections are blocked by rocks. The only way to get money is through the mountain road. However, bandits are entrenched here and appear and disappear at will. They take advantage of the terrain.

Because some time ago, Qianzhai robbed Young Master Duan's things, the people in the village suffered a loss and held a grudge, so they have been targeting Qian's goods recently.

This is the third time today.

Turtle, when the bandits came, some ran away and some scattered, leaving only him to resist. That’s not all, he was not allowed to chase them.

Just now, I caught someone, but was stopped by Ah Zhu's horse. It was as if there was some terrible beast inside. I was so scared, don't chase him!

He insisted on chasing after her, and the purpose of his coming here was to meet Young Master Duan.

He had never met anyone in his life who could terrify him. Not wanting to waste time talking to Ah Zhu, Chen Che said, "Get out of the way!" and rode his horse forward. Just as he was about to enter the stronghold alone, Ah Jin, who had come up behind him, called out, "Young Master Song, please wait! My son-in-law and his wife are getting engaged tomorrow. Please hurry back to the city!"

Chen Che ran too fast, the sound of horse hooves and wind filled his ears. He didn't hear clearly what A Jin said, but only vaguely heard the word "engagement".

Chen Che pulled the reins in an instant, but braked too quickly, causing the horse's front hooves to rise high. He leaned back and nearly slipped, but then landed steadily, turned the horse's head and asked Ajin, who had rushed over, "Who did you say was getting engaged?"

——

Engagement banquet.

Since it was her own teahouse and all the visitors were her own people, Mrs. Qian no longer had to hide her pride. She sat together with the second and third wives, chatting and laughing, and was very happy.

"Tongjie'er is so discerning! Why didn't we see the good in our son-in-law back then?" Madam Qian, the Second Madam, and the Third Madam whispered to each other, "I was thinking of coming up with some awful idea to drive him away. Have you noticed how much more noble our son-in-law looks? I remember when he first came here, he was wearing a green dress. Tongjie'er said he picked it up from somewhere. I was so scared..."

Sometimes Mrs. Qian couldn't help but admire the old lady.

When her eldest son passed away, she did not choose her three sons to inherit the family business, but instead chose the teenage Qian Tong to train.

On paper, the Second Master was the head of the family, but in reality, the one supporting the family was their only daughter, Qian Tong. When the old lady made her decision, the Third and Fourth Masters of the Qian family were dissatisfied, and even her father had questioned it.

But she had been in charge of the Qian family for three years, and the Qian family's fortunes were visibly improving.

Every decision she made was more thoughtful than her father's.

Previously, Mrs. Qian was obsessed with the fortune teller's words, and the words "either rich or noble" made her have a beautiful dream. She also blamed Qian Tong for being disobedient and ungrateful. What about now?

The Lan family fell, and Young Master Lan was still in the prefectural government, waiting for justice from the court. Then there was the Cui family, who had been so complacent and thought they had won, only to have their property ransacked by the government, with members of the family either dead or imprisoned. When Lady Cui Liu was taken to the capital, Tong Jie'er even arranged for her money to avoid being bullied along the way.

If it was her Qian family that was engaged to the Lan family, would they still be able to sit here safely and have the engagement banquet?

Therefore, the more Mrs. Qian looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him.

It’s better to have a low status, so that you can live a stable life.

The Second Madam smiled and said, "It's not the first time that Second Sister-in-law has known that the son-in-law is handsome. Tong Jieer has always been a face person. She plays with whoever is good-looking..."

The Third Madam still had evil intentions and felt it was a pity. "It's good, but if I were to choose, I still think my nephew is more suitable. Why wouldn't it be a good thing to have a close relationship?"

Madam Qian glanced at her, too lazy to expose her. The Second Madam couldn't help but sneered, "It's already this late, and you're still talking about your nephew. Apart from his background, how can he compare to your son-in-law..."

The sound of conversation drifted to his ears from time to time. Qian Tong wanted to pretend to be deaf several times, and even plugged the ears of Song Shizi beside him. Suddenly, he regretted agreeing to let Madam Qian invite the second and third wives to come together. She should have a simple meal at home to complete the process.

Mrs. Qian's words became more and more outrageous. "After we get married, I'll have more children. The son will look like my son-in-law, tall and handsome, and the daughter will look like her mother. Tong Jie'er is also not bad looking. Who wouldn't envy me when I hold her out as a child..."

Qian Tong turned her head woodenly. The earlobe of Song Shizi beside her seemed to have changed color again. She asked, "Is it stuffy? Do you want to go out for some fresh air?"

Prince Song nodded.

Qian Tong stood up and greeted the three masters and three ladies of the Qian family, "You guys chat first, I'll take Yun Zhen for a walk."

The meal had already been eaten, and now tea and snacks were served. The two young men were shy, and Mrs. Qian was not comfortable saying many things in their presence. Hearing this, she said, "It's okay to go out for a walk..."

"By the way, why hasn't the young master arrived yet?"

"It should be soon." Qian Tong responded hurriedly and took Prince Song away from the place of trouble.

After coming out of the lobby, Qian Tong took Song Yunzhi to an elegant room alone. Outside the window was the inner courtyard of the teahouse, where many flowers and plants were planted. It rained yesterday, so the scenery must be beautiful.

Without the noise in his ears, Qian Tong felt much more relaxed. He opened the window sash and let in the emerald green outside. At the same time, he said to the Song Shizi behind him, "They don't know your identity. Women have no scruples about what they say. Please don't mind it, Shizi."

"No problem."

After a pause, he said, "For you."

What to give her?

Qian Tong turned around in surprise and saw Song Yunzhi holding a small box in his hand, handing it to her. A gift for her? Qian Tong was a little confused. After taking the thing in her hand, she was still in doubt: "Is it for me?"

"Yes." Song Yunzhi said, "Birthday gift."

She mentioned it that day, and it was amazing that Prince Song still remembered it. Rather than the preciousness of the item, Qian Tong wanted to know more about what the serious and intolerant Prince Song would give her.

She opened the box in front of him, and inside was a moon-white jade pendant with a tassel tied at the end.

Qian Tong has been in business for many years and has seen many good things. He could tell at a glance that this thing was extraordinary.

I was just marveling at how generous the Song prince was when I heard him slowly say, "The current situation is special. I will make up for the engagement gift later. This is something I carried with me before, and I'm giving it to you, Miss Qi. First, it's a token of our love, and second, it's a promise. Although my parents aren't present at today's engagement banquet, it's the first time in my life, and it will also be the last. I use this as a contract, promising you that I'll never leave you or abandon you. I hope you'll treasure it."

He looked serious, his voice was neither too fast nor too slow, and his pronunciation was clear. The oath of lifelong love coming from the mouth of the upright Prince Song seemed even more sacred and upright.

Qian Tong stood there, dazed.

The warmth of white jade came from her fingertips. She thought that even the most hard-hearted person would be moved by the sincerity of this powerful and noble young man.

Therefore, when the warm feeling surged in her heart, she did not reject it.

She touched the white jade, the coolness of the jade blending with the warmth of her fingertips. She looked up at the young man who made a promise solemnly, pursed her lips, and smiled at him: "Song Shizi, do you really think I'm worth it? No regrets?"

She was just a merchant girl, and he would leave here one day and return to his original life. Was he sure that after returning to that world embraced by flowers, he would still remember his current impulse?

Song Yunzhi said: "No regrets."

Now that he has made his choice, he will not regret it.

"Then I'll take it?" The prince's eyes were so clear. She accepted his gift, took the white jade out of the box, and hung it around her waist. She lowered her eyes and looked around for a while, then frowned and said, "My clothes are a bit colorful today, it doesn't seem to go well with me."

"Good."

Qian Tong tilted his head and asked him, "Does it look good?"

Song Yunzhi smiled back, but before he could reply, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Chen Che, a dusty man who had just arrived at the teahouse on horseback, got off his horse and without even taking off his cloak, eagerly asked where the so-called 'Seventh Uncle' was.

Fu Yin brought the people here.

Chen Che couldn't wait for her to knock on the door, and pushed it open with a "bang". The two people who were chatting and laughing in the room looked up in confusion because of his sudden intrusion.

He rushed in so hastily that both of them still had smiles on their lips.

However, Shen Chexin was blinded by prejudice at this time and could not see anything. After entering the house, he closed the door and said to the people outside: "All of you go out, I have something to say to Qi Niangzi."

All the concealing of one's identity and enduring humiliation has become meaningless now that it has come to this point.

He wanted to uncover the truth and let this arrogant young lady from the Qian family open her eyes and see who the person she was holding hostage was. "Witch, do you know that he..."

Qian Tong interrupted, “Master Shen is not allowed to curse.”

"So what if I scold you? The things you've done are enough to cost you your head..." Chen Che was suddenly startled, looking at Qian Tong in shock, and asked, "What did you call me?"

Qian Tong ignored him and turned sideways to complain to Song Yunzhi behind him: "Sir, my cousin wants to chop off my head, what should I do?"