Chapter 101 Ying'er is in your house. Please take care of her, Brother Du. I thank you here.

Yuan Song, who was sitting in the side hall, gave the maid a piece of silver after she served him tea. Such a generous reward surprised the little maid who usually served in the outer courtyard, and she thanked him repeatedly.

Yuan Song smiled and said, "This is your errand money. Go and tell your cousin Miss Su that Master Yuan has brought her a gift."

The servant had just gone to inform, but the person reporting was Su Ying's aunt. He didn't want her to panic, so he asked the little girl to go and let her know in advance so that she would have a rough idea.

The little girl nodded repeatedly and turned away.

Yuan Song watched her departing figure and added, "Run faster, there's a reward!"

The little girl's pace became faster.

He smiled and looked away, picked up the teacup, blew gently on the tea leaves floating on the tea soup, and slowly took a sip.

After a while, he heard footsteps approaching. Hearing the steady sound, he thought it was the servant who went to inform Mrs. Du that he had returned.

He casually put down the teacup and prepared to get up.

Who knew that the person who came was Du Heng, the one who "climbed the high wall".

When he arrived at the Du residence, the little beggar singing doggerel was long gone. Only the occasional child ran and played on the street, mumbling a few lines of doggerel. As he dismounted, he paid no attention, but then he suddenly heard something about "Jieyuanlang exchanging for a bride." On a whim, he grabbed a child and, in exchange for candy, he got the full doggerel.

He hadn't expected that Du Heng had offended so many people. Although he hated him because of Ying'er, he used an open and blatant strategy, choosing to attack Du Heng face to face.

But what that person did was extremely secretive, and seemed to want to drag Du Heng's reputation into the mud.

If Uncle Xu knew about this, the first thing he would do would be to cut ties with Du Heng. Of the six ministers, only two had daughters still unmarried. Anyone with a keen eye could easily find out which daughter they were.

Moreover, the most important thing to the current emperor is his reputation, otherwise he would not have whitewashed what happened between him and the queen, and even pretended to favor the imperial concubine, allowing people to go out of the palace every year to collect fine goods from the people for her to make her happy.

However, this was ultimately Du Heng's business. As long as Ying'er wasn't dragged into it, he was content to remain a bystander, neither adding insult to injury nor stepping on anyone else's toes.

He slowly stood up, his eyes looking at a play, and bowed to Du Heng, saying with a smile, "Brother Du, how are you?"

Du Heng, with his brows furrowed, didn't even bother to greet her. He stood before Yuan Song and asked, "Mr. Yuan, you're clearly from Hangzhou Prefecture, so why do you claim to be from the Yandang Academy in Yueqing? If I've offended you in any way, please speak frankly. My cousin is still at home, so you can't do anything reckless like that. Come see me if you want!"

Yuan Song was furious and laughed, "Brother Du, you didn't think I had someone sing poetry outside your house to tease you, did you? How could I, a top scholar in Zhejiang Province, write such a poem without paying attention to rhythm and rhyme? If it were me, this poem should be written like this."

As he spoke, Yuan Song deliberately raised his voice, his voice cadenced, as if he were reciting a fine poem: "A young man, the highest-ranking scholar in the capital, was saved in a flash by the sword, yet he invited the minister's daughter in exchange for a wealthy family."

"You!" No matter how good-tempered Du Heng was, he was irritated by Yuan Song's provocative look and couldn't help but grab Yuan Song's collar.

At this moment, Su Ying heard the little maid's report and hurried to the side hall. She was afraid that Yuan Songzhen had brought some "golden silk, jade silk" or "wedding satin with wild goose letters", so she came to stop him before her aunt could call her.

"Yuan Song! If I see you really bring the three letters and six gifts to propose marriage, you will never see me again!"

Before she finished speaking, she had just stepped over the threshold when she was stunned by the scene before her.

Du Heng, who has always been law-abiding, calm and self-possessed, actually grabbed Yuan Song's collar, as if he was about to punch him at the next moment.

Not to mention that Su Ying felt that Du Heng's actions were unexpected.

Even Du Heng felt that what Su Ying said was not as cautious as she usually was. Instead, her voice came before her.

He was stunned for a moment before he realized what Ying'er had just said.

He loosened his grip on Yuan Song's collar and turned to look at Su Ying: "Ying'er, what did you just say? Proposal?"

Yuan Song watched Du Heng eagerly look at Su Ying, a heavy breath welling up in his chest. He straightened his wrinkled collar and stepped forward, standing between Du Heng and Su Ying, protecting her behind him.

He raised his head and looked at Du Heng, grinning provocatively, "Brother Du asked me about my origins just now, and I haven't answered yet. Now Ying'er is here too, which is perfect."

He bowed with both hands and spoke in a serious tone, "My name is Yuan Song. I am from Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and my ancestral home is Yueqing. I was taught by Mr. Rong at Yandang Academy for three years. Ying'er and I were classmates and childhood sweethearts. At my mother's request, I have come to the Du Mansion to look for her. I will soon ask my uncle and aunt to come and propose."

"Brother Du, do you understand this time?"

When Du Heng heard this, he felt a shock in his chest and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Su Ying, who was standing behind Yuan Song, was so shocked when she heard this that she grabbed the corner of Yuan Song's robe and said anxiously, "Yuan Song, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Yuan Song ignored her and simply took her hand, leading her to his side. He smiled at Du Heng and said, "When I meet my beloved, I tend to say everything I should and shouldn't say. This matter hasn't been made public yet, so just keep it to yourself, brother Du."

As if remembering something, she raised her phoenix eyes, and the meaning in her eyes became deeper: "By the way, Ying'er has been bothering you for many days. I think it would trouble Brother Du to take care of her. Thank you here."

Before he finished speaking, Du Heng's expression had completely turned cold.

He took a step forward and reached out his hand without hesitation, holding Su Ying's other hand. He said in a deep voice, "Brother Yuan, wasn't what I just said clear enough? Ying'er is still at home. How can you speak nonsense like this and disturb her reputation?"

The two men stood on the left and the right, each holding one of Su Ying's hands. The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense and deadlocked.

Su Ying was caught in the middle. She wanted to pull her hand back but couldn't. Her cheeks flushed, shame and anger appeared in her eyes, her lips were tightly pursed, and she couldn't speak for a moment.

Du Heng, however, stared sternly at Yuan Song and said word for word, "Marriage is a matter of great importance, and it's up to the parents and the matchmaker to decide. As far as I know, Brother Yuan's parents are still alive, so how can it be said that your uncle and aunt have the final say?"

He changed the subject and sneered, his eyes swept across the table where Yuan Song had just sat, and his tone became even colder: "I think it's getting late, and Brother Yuan has almost finished his tea."

He raised his voice and called out, "Qingquan!"

"see a visitor out."