The Emperor stood up, his back to Bai Han and the others, and looked into the distance, narrowing his eyes: "Yes, a decision must be made. Old Cai, write a reply to the Crown Prince."
As the Emperor finished speaking, Eunuch Cai paused slightly in his hand holding the pen, but ultimately followed the Emperor's instructions and wrote a sentence.
"It is entirely up to my son to decide. My son is enough for Sheng Ning Kingdom."
Bai Han and Chen Luo exchanged a glance, bowed to the Emperor, and slowly left.
Ning Chengzhu rushed into the yamen and threw the token directly in front of Zhou Ke.
Zhou Ke picked it up with trembling hands, then knelt down with a thud: "This humble official greets the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor!"
Upon hearing this, the clerk standing nearby gasped and knelt down as well, not daring to raise his head.
Marquis Zhongyong!
That's one of the Emperor's favorites!
How did you end up in Jinzhou?
Ning Chengzhu snorted coldly: "You did everything my little girl asked you to do?"
Zhou Ke looked up and was slightly taken aback. Then, thinking of Bai Tuantuan, he quickly replied, "Reporting to Marquis Zhongyong, I have done as you instructed!"
"That's good." Ning Chengzhu glanced at the clerk. "So, he's the one who's done some heinous things in your name?"
The clerk gasped and hurriedly shook his head, saying, "My lord, I don't understand what you mean. I haven't done anything, I..."
"Shut up!"
Ning Chengzhu glared impatiently at the clerk, then looked at Zhou Ke: "Princes are subject to the same laws as commoners. What, does a mere clerk think he can be above a prince?"
"My lord, this humble official..."
Zhou Ke pursed his lips, looked at the clerk, took a deep breath and said, "My lord, I know what to do."
"Now that you know, let's get up and deal with it." Ning Chengzhu clearly had no intention of leaving just like that. Seeing Zhou Ke stand up, he said in a deep voice, "Men, throw Huang Mingyou into jail! His trial will be held on another day!"
Huang Mingyou was taken aback and cried out, "Sir, what mistake have I made? Brother-in-law, I did nothing wrong! Brother-in-law!"
"Bang!"
Ning Chengzhu kicked Huang Mingyou directly and sneered, "That's right? You condone your son bullying innocent people, and you use Lord Zhou's name to extort protection money. What, you won't admit it?"
"Should I bring all the victims here for you to identify in person?"
"You won't admit it? I'll make you admit it!"
Ning Chengzhu kicked Huang Mingyou several times, causing Huang Mingyou to roll on the ground in pain and howl in agony.
Zhou Ke shrank back, now completely convinced that the girl from earlier was also from the Marquis of Zhongyong's household. Only the Marquis of Zhongyong's household would resort to violence, never words. Truly…
"Lord Zhou, what are you waiting for?" Ning Chengzhu frowned, looking at Zhou Ke with impatience. "You don't think you can get away with this, do you? I advise you to deal with him quickly and make amends, otherwise, hmph, your official career is over!"
Zhou Ke's chest heaved violently, and he quickly lowered his head, saying, "Your Excellency is right, I will go right away!"
Watching Zhou Ke run away, Ning Chengzhu snorted and swaggered into Zhou Ke's study. Everyone present knew Ning Chengzhu's identity, and no one dared to stop him.
After Ning Chengzhu entered the study, he touched and felt around, trying to find any secret passages, but the next second, Zhou Ke pushed the door open and came in.
"My lord."
It was clear that Zhou Ke was somewhat anxious, but upon seeing Ning Chengzhu, his expression quickly returned to normal: "This humble official has already sent people to collect evidence and will act in accordance with the law."
"Oh, this action was so swift?" Ning Chengzhu raised an eyebrow at Zhou Ke, a half-smile on his face. "It seems our Lord Zhou is quite reliable. Come, have a seat."
Ning Chengzhu, acting like a host, gestured for Zhou Ke to sit down and asked directly, "Does your study have any secret passages?"
Zhou Ke stared at Ning Chengzhu in shock. He never expected Ning Chengzhu to be so direct!
Ning Chengzhu stared at Zhou Ke: "What, can't you say?"
"This, this... Lord Marquis, there is no secret passage."
Zhou Ke said vaguely.
Ning Chengzhu didn't press him further, and nodded: "Alright, I was just asking, lest I touch some switch and see something I shouldn't. Alright, Lord Zhou, prepare a room for me, I need to rest."
"Yes, yes, this way please, Your Excellency."
Zhou Ke breathed a sigh of relief and led Ning Chengzhu to the backyard.
"Does Your Excellency have any other people in Jinzhou? I can prepare a few more rooms..."
"No need. The girl you saw today has her own place to stay. Besides, young people like us always want to travel around. Why would she stay here?" Ning Chengzhu waved his hand and refused.
Zhou Ke nodded and tentatively asked, "My lord, may I ask who that young lady is to you?"
“Daughter,” Ning Chengzhu blurted out, then added after a moment’s thought, “not by blood.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ke suddenly realized: "I understand now. So she is the Marquis's adopted daughter. However, that young lady does resemble the Marquis quite a bit."
Ning Chengzhu glanced at Zhou Ke sideways and raised an eyebrow, saying, "What goddaughter? Nonsense."
After saying that, he flicked his long sleeves and left.
Zhou Ke: ? ? ?
If she's not an adopted daughter, then isn't she a goddaughter?
Could he have some other identity?
Zhou Ke was stunned, but the only thing she was sure of was that they really were people from the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, and she couldn't afford to offend them.
Huang Qian was shocked when she learned that someone from the Marquis's residence had come. Upon learning that her younger brother had been imprisoned, she became anxious: "Let's go to the prison!"
As Huang Qian was about to leave, she bumped into Zhou Ke, who was returning.
"Sir, my brother, he..."
"Don't say that here, go inside!"
As she spoke, Zhou Ke pushed Huang Qian into the room and had the maids stand guard outside before telling her what had just happened: "I had no choice. The Marquis was determined to punish Mingyou, and I couldn't say in public that I would protect him."
"What should we do? Could it be that the Marquis intends to kill Mingyou? Master, Mingyou is our Huang family's only son! Master, you must save him!"
Zhou Ke frowned: "What can I do? That's the Marquis!"
Huang Qian started crying, knowing that Zhou Ke couldn't do anything about it. After thinking for a moment, Huang Qian said, "No, I have to go back to my parents' home."
"Yes, yes, you need to go back quickly. The Marquis probably knows about what Youcai is doing..."
Huang Qian's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly nodded: "I'll go right away!"
At this moment, Ning Chengzhu kicked the man in front of him away: "Bah! With your pathetic skills, you think you can ambush me, the Marquis? You're not even as good as my son, no, not even my second son! Guards! Someone has attacked me, the Marquis! Take him to jail!"
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