Chapter 42 People from the Prince's Mansion
The next day, Qi An's running away from home could no longer be kept secret. That evening, the maids and servants noticed something was wrong and immediately went to inform the Duchess.
As her own mother, she naturally took it to heart and immediately asked people to search everywhere. However, they couldn't find it, but they did find a note in the child's study with the words "going to the border to seek refuge with his elder brother." The lady felt her head buzzing and almost couldn't stand up. She never expected that the child would dare to venture to the border in a fit of temper.
In recent years, bandits and robbers have frequently appeared in the interior of the pass. The thought of Qi An'an packing a large bag of gold and silver jewelry and heading to the border makes one's heart sink. She has no one to protect her and is simply the most darling sheep of the bandits.
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, he went directly to the Duke of Qi. The Duke of Qi was also furious. His youngest son was only about eight years old and had just been retaliated against by his eldest son. Now, he was carrying a large bundle and going to find his eldest son, which was just handing him a huge weakness. In the future, he would have to think twice before taking any action. Although the Duke of Qi was angry, he naturally had to find his child. After interrogating him severely, he learned that his youngest son had bribed the groom to infiltrate the grain transport team.
He breathed a sigh of relief. At least his safety was guaranteed if he followed the grain transport team. He figured they would bring him back if they found him. Reassured, he sent people to search along the route.
However, what the Duke of Qi did not expect was that these young masters from the marquis's mansions were all familiar with him and were happy to see him make a fool of himself. They informed someone that it was not safe on the road and that they should hand the person over to their eldest son, and then set off with him.
Upon learning the news, the man was already close to the border. The Duchess was furious. Since her weakness was in her eldest son's hands, she naturally refused to let the Duke hurt anyone. The two argued and smashed many things in the room before they finally calmed down.
Erlang, upon hearing the sound, went to find the Duke, leaning on his cane. It is unknown what the two said, but after the Duke responded, he said nothing more, and did not mention the matter of taking back his young son.
Chu King's Palace —
In the cool, breezy courtyard, a faint, refreshing fragrance wafted through the air. There was no moon tonight, making the courtyard even more gloomy. A eunuch carrying a lantern entered the courtyard, the dim light illuminating the space and casting a halo of light on the man standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
The golden dragon woven with gold thread on the black robe shimmered in the lamplight, like a flowing stream under the sunlight. After a while, a black shadow descended from the sky.
"Your Highness! The Princess and the young lady are being held captive in the courtyard by the Marquis of Jing'an's heir and are not allowed to leave. Most of our guards have been replaced. Last week, the heir attacked the Princess, and when he tried to harm the young lady, the Princess seized the opportunity to stab her. I managed to escape the Marquis of Jing'an's residence amidst the chaos and have returned to report this!"
The man swept the teapot and teacups off the stone table in the courtyard with one hand, and the white jade teacup was instantly smashed to pieces.
"Prince Jing'an!!! Good, good, good!! What a wonderful marriage bestowed by that little emperor!! He's ruined my Shu'er!!"
The emperor was the nephew of the King of Chu. His elder brother died less than a year after ascending the throne, and the throne naturally passed to this good nephew. In the first year of his reign, he bestowed marriages upon the princes and princesses of suitable age from several vassal kings, marrying them into noble families of the imperial lineage.
Firstly, it was to win over several princes who were guarding the border with their own mercenaries; secondly, it was to detain people in the capital as hostages under the guise of marriage.
They've played their cards right. The recent memorial from the Duke of Qi only contained a few mild reprimands, so they must have some other tricks up their sleeve.
This convinced him that the emperor harbored the idea of weakening the power of the regional military governors.
However, the power struggles in the imperial court do not involve children; how they fight is their business. The real battles will be decided between the court and the army.
What he shouldn't have done was use his daughter and grandson as bait. No sooner had Marquis Jing'an entered the palace than he went home and attacked his daughter. It was utterly despicable!
His daughter had a hard life. Since marrying into the capital three years ago, she had never seen her family again. When she gave birth, no one was by her side. He submitted six memorials requesting to take the princess to see his daughter, but none of them were approved.
The child was born with unusual features, snow-white skin and white hair. The people of Jing'an Marquis, taking advantage of the absence of his daughter's relatives, even claimed that the child was a demon and that his daughter was unfaithful and wanted to drown him in the pond. If it weren't for Rong'er being in the capital, who broke into the Jing'an Marquis's mansion and single-handedly protected his daughter outside the delivery room, he probably would never have seen his daughter and grandson again.
The King of Chu was furious. If the Marquis of Jing'an's family didn't want to live together, they could have divorced him and let his daughter go home. However, because of the emperor's son, the Marquis of Jing'an's family refused to divorce him and instead kept his daughter trapped in the backyard and tormented her.
The King of Chu wished he could slaughter the entire Jing'an Marquis's family. One day, one day...!
The King of Chu calmed his breathing: "I understand. You will select two hundred elite soldiers to accompany you back to the capital and station them at Shu'er's residence. If anyone from the Marquis of Jing'an's household dares to obstruct them, they will be beheaded! I will bear the consequences!"
The guard knelt on the ground and refused to rise. The King of Chu sneered, "What? Can't I summon you?"
The guard knelt and kowtowed: "The princess guessed that the prince would do this, and said that there was no need for elite troops to be stationed, only twenty capable old women would be enough. The princess also said that the prince should do whatever he wants, and that she was troubling the prince. She hoped that the prince would not tell the princess and the crown prince about this matter."
The King of Chu closed his eyes, his anger growing stronger with the pent-up frustration in his heart: "I understand. Do as the princess says. When you return, tell Shu'er that one day, your father will cut off the heads of the Marquis of Jing'an's entire family and let her use them as a football! Everything is fine at home, so tell her not to worry!"
The guard then stood up, responded, and disappeared into the darkness.
After the people left, the King of Chu waved his hand again, and several highly skilled guards appeared silently in the courtyard: "Follow them, and if necessary, bring the princess and Yue'er back to the palace."
The guards responded in unison and vanished into the night in an instant.
Beijing
Jing'an Marquis's Residence
The moonlight, like a ribbon, shone into Shu Hong Courtyard. Through the window, it illuminated the woman's fair face. The woman was about eighteen or nineteen years old, extremely beautiful, with eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like stars, skin like white porcelain, and fragrant lips. Her dignified elegance in every gesture revealed that she had an extraordinary background.
At this moment, the woman slowly rolled up her sleeves, revealing a frightening array of bluish-purple wounds and a newly scabbed wound on her snow-white arms.
After applying the medicine by moonlight, the woman sighed. A small figure popped out from behind her and snuggled into her arms. The little girl, with fair skin, white hair, and delicate features, hugged her mother. She was not yet three years old and asked in a dazed tone, "Mother, does it still hurt?"
The woman picked up the tiny little girl and shook her head: "If Mommy doesn't love you, why isn't Yue'er asleep yet?"
The little girl hugged the woman's shoulders: "It's too dark. The moon has woken up and is scared not to see her mother."
The woman rubbed the little girl's white hair without saying a word, just staring blankly out the window. The Marquis of Jing'an's mansion had confined the two of them to the backyard. They did send three meals a day, but they were always cold. Almost all of her people had been driven away or chased away. It was just a pity for Yue'er, who was so young but had to suffer like this.
The little girl's tone suddenly became low: "Mother, why did Father say I was a monster? Why did he want to kill me? Am I really a monster, Mother?"
The woman wept uncontrollably, burying her face in the little girl's shoulder as she hugged her daughter, sobbing, "Yue'er is not a monster, Yue'er is the apple of my eye."
The little girl patted her mother's back and comforted her, "Don't cry, Mommy. Yue'er will protect you. When will Uncle Qi come to see us again, Mommy? I miss him!"
The woman stroked her daughter's back to ease the tension: "Soon, soon our uncles and grandfathers will come to pick us up..."
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