Chapter 96 Chapter 96 [VIP]
Chapter 96
When Duke Dingguo first heard his son describe Prince Song as someone who had been seduced by beauty and was no longer the prince who could distinguish right from wrong, he did not believe it and scolded him for his nonsense.
Now, seeing him indiscriminately defending a woman who was in cahoots with bandits, he believed it.
"Alright." Duke Dingguo also became angry. "This duke will come and experience the Crown Prince's abilities today!"
"My Lord, my Lord, you can't do this..." Wang Zhao rushed over to persuade him, firmly holding down the Duke's sword-drawing hand. "My Lord, you just arrived in Yangzhou today. Why are you making such a fuss? If you have something to say, sit down and talk slowly. How deep is this grudge? How can it be less important than the friendship between Duke Dingguo and the Yong'an Marquisate..."
When it comes to the relationship between the two families, there is indeed nothing to say.
The marriages of the young prince and the young lord were arranged while they were still in their respective mothers' wombs. At that time, he was not a duke, but only a minister of war. Because of the appreciation of the old man of the marquis's mansion, he promised the young lord in the eldest prince's womb to his unborn son.
He always kept in mind the favor of promotion.
Seeing Duke Dingguo's expression relax, Wang Zhao continued, "The Marquis should be arriving in two days. Duke, think about it. If he knew you were coming, he would bully the two younger ones..."
Duke Dingguo was stunned. "How could I be considered a bully?!"
"Of course, the Duke isn't bullying," Wang Zhao whispered in his ear. "But if the Duke and the Prince of Song had fought today, everyone would have thought you were teaching the younger one a lesson. But if you weren't, and you were drawing your sword on them on your first meeting, what else could that be but bullying? Even if you were right, the Duke and the Marquis would be resentful. They can handle their own son and daughter-in-law, so why would they let someone else teach them a lesson..."
Duke Dingguo had just seen his son being humiliated and was provoked by Song Yunzhi's attitude, so he acted impulsively. After listening to it, he finally calmed down.
He took a deep breath, put away the knife, and glared at Song Yunzhi fiercely.
Song Yunzhi's expression remained unchanged.
Qian Tong said to Fu Yin, "Help Master Duan up and send him back to the stronghold, otherwise he will be captured by someone while Prince Song is away if he stays with me."
How could Duke Dingguo fail to hear her hidden meaning? He snorted coldly and turned his head, thinking out of sight, out of mind, but then he caught a glimpse of his son being helped up by the guards, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
It's totally useless and vulnerable.
If it wasn't his son, Duke Dingguo really didn't want to recognize him. He turned his face in another direction and faced the door.
After a while, I heard the sound of someone coming out and turned my head.
Behind him, a young man came out from the door. He was dressed in white and seemed to have been seriously injured. His face was pale and bloodless. The maid from the Qian family followed behind him, but he did not let her support him.
He stepped over the threshold with steady steps, and then walked down the stairs one by one. His posture remained straight and upright like a pine tree, and he had the demeanor of a lotus that was untainted by dust.
Duke Dingguo was stunned.
Is he the King Duan?
The other person's eyes happened to be raised, and accidentally met his. His eyes were calm, and his light-colored pupils passed lightly across his face, as if looking at an object, without any emotion, and slowly moved away.
It was this arrogant and unyielding aura that made Duke Dingguo feel a sense of familiarity.
He quickly remembered that it was like his younger self.
Qian Tong and Fu Yin protected him on both sides, walked down the stairs, and slowly approached the Duke's position.
When he got to him and saw that he was hesitant to move, Qian Tong said, "Duke, please let me pass."
Duke Dingguo was not checking for a moment, and his eyes lingered on the face of the young man in front of him, forgetting to withdraw. Since he had no intention of engaging in combat with the Prince of Song, he had no choice but to give in first and settle the matter later. Just as he was about to move away, the young master hurriedly called out, "Father..."
The sword in Song Yunzhi's hand was never sheathed. Upon hearing this, he stepped forward and without saying a word, forced the young master and the guards beside him to retreat with his footsteps.
If we stay any longer, he will really start bullying the younger ones.
The Duke was too lazy to look any further, so he turned around and stormed off with his men. After taking two steps, he looked back at the indignant young master standing there, gritting his teeth and saying, "Are you not leaving yet?"
The young master's face turned pale and he followed behind him with his head down.
——
A fight that was about to break out was finally averted.
Seeing the Duke's men leave, Wang Zhaofang moved to the side of Prince Song and advised, "Prince, I'm afraid this matter won't be so easily dismissed. The reason why Duke Ding insisted on coming to arrest Prince Duan today is because eighteen or nineteen years ago, the Duke's wife passed by here and was kidnapped by that old man Duan. The young prince was also detained in the village for six months. The trauma he suffered must have been great..."
After all, the two families are relatives, and they cannot fall out because of this matter. Wang Zhao tried his best to persuade both sides.
But after that,
Seeing Qian Tong escorting Prince Duan to the carriage, Wang Zhao whispered to Prince Song, "Prince can protect him for a while, but not forever. It's better to persuade Madam Qian to accept the amnesty as soon as possible..."
——
Qian Tong escorted Duan Yuanjin to the carriage. As he watched the Duke's men walk away, he couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "He's truly blind."
Turn around, Duan.
His injury had just healed a little, and he was about to go on a bumpy ride again.
It was said, "If you can't die, you won't die."
Seeing Song Yunzhi approaching, Qian Tong lowered his voice and said, "You can't stay in Yangzhou. After your injury is healed, go to the Strait Line first..."
"Okay." Duan Yuanjin responded, and then stopped talking when he heard footsteps coming towards him.
Qian Tong and Fu Yin exchanged glances and said, "Let's go."
When Song Yunzhi came over, Duan Yuanjin's carriage had already left.
Qian Tong turned around, blocking his way in front of him, smiled at him, and said gratefully: "Thank you very much for today, Your Highness. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
She was polite, but she still excluded him. Although it had been two days since they had quarreled that day, Song Yunzhi felt a pang of pain in his heart every time he thought about it.
Today, Prince Song stopped the Duke and released Duan Yuanjin back to the mountains. In the end, Qian Tong won the argument.
Qian Tong was not someone who didn't know how to be grateful, so he invited, "Prince, are you free? I'd like to treat you to tea."
Qian Tong thought the prefectural government was in turmoil. Today, he had offended the Duke again for his own sake, which was enough to keep him afloat for a while. How could he have the time? However, Prince Song replied, "Okay."
Qian Tong was also very busy and the King of Pingchang had not been found yet, but the Crown Prince had promised, so she had to fulfill her promise and invited him to the nearest teahouse.
When he arrived at the door, Song Yunzhi looked up and saw the crabapple tree.
When they first met here, the crabapple tree was still full of flowers. Now the flowers have faded and the leaves have turned yellow. Song Yunzhi paused for a moment. Qian Tong followed his gaze and saw what he was thinking. "Sir, you want to see the flowers? Wait until next spring, they will bloom again..."
Song Yunzhi looked at her and asked, "If you're not tired, will you walk with me?"
"Okay." He didn't want to drink tea, so Qian Tong walked with him on the street. The two of them had their own calculations from the moment they met. He was busy dealing with the four major families, while she was busy protecting herself and dealing with the three major families. They had a lot of free time like this.
Qian Tong looked around at the items sold by street vendors and asked, "What do you like, Prince Song? I'll give it to you."
Song Yunzhi's eyes fell on the jade pendant on her waist. It was the one he gave her when they got engaged. Seeing that she had been wearing it all the time and never took it off, his expression finally improved a little. "It's all fine."
Qian Tong suddenly approached him and whispered, "Prince, the hairpin you hid was a gift from my grandmother. Every girl in our Qian family has one, and it's passed down to daughters, not sons. When I have a daughter in the future, I'll pass it down to her. Prince, keep it well and remember to return it later..."
Song Yunzhi stopped there.
Qian Tong continued forward, not noticing the raised corners of Song Shizi's lips and the slightly reddened ears. As he walked, he said to him, "That doesn't count as a token of love. When I'm done with my work for a while, I'll make you a fine jade pendant..."
Suddenly I saw the sachets being sold at the stall next to me.
Going shopping without buying anything always feels like something, so Qian Tong picked out three sachets, one for himself, one for Song Yunzhi, and the other one for Prince Song to take back to Song Yunzhao.
After handing him the sachet, Qian Tong asked, "Where did you buy those hairbands? Ask Meng Qing to give them to me."
Song Yunzhi said calmly, "Come back and get it yourself."
"I'm busy lately."
Knowing that she was looking for Prince Pingchang, Song Yunzhi said, "I have asked Chen Che to find evidence of Prince Pingchang's crime six years ago. Prince Pingchang can't escape, so don't act rashly."
"I understand." Qian Tong nodded perfunctorily.
She has to find someone first.
There were still two days until the wedding, and she wasn't panicking at all, unlike the other young ladies waiting to get married. Song Yunzhi asked, "The wedding is the day after tomorrow. Are you nervous?"
"Being nervous is an emotional shackle you impose on yourself," Qian Tong said. "We're not marrying a stranger. We know each other well. When the veil is lifted, the prince will see me, and I will see the prince. We're so familiar with each other, so why should we be nervous?"
Song Yunzhi said nothing. As he walked, he saw her swinging the sachet in her hand. The thin silk thread wrapped around her fingers, quickly leaving circles of red marks on them, but she seemed unaware.
Song Yunzhi sighed silently, raised his hand and held her fingers, preventing her from moving.
Both of them had things to do, so after strolling for a while, Qian Tong sent Song Yunzhi to the gate of the prefectural government. The carriage stopped, but she didn't go in. There were too many people inside who didn't like her, so she didn't want to offend them. She told Song Yunzhi, "Remember to give the sachet to your sister-in-law. She likes Qiuju."
——
Song Yunzhao was sitting on a futon at this time, wiping the scars on the young master's face.
I don't know what happened outside today, but when the young master came back, his face was covered with injuries. Seeing a black bruise and bruise at the corner of his mouth, Song Yunzhao was shocked. He hurriedly asked someone to bring ointment and applied it to him personally, but did not ask him what happened.
The young master didn't say anything to Wang Dong, and lay obediently on the rocking chair beside Song Yunzhao. He opened his eyes and looked at the gentle face in front of him as she applied medicine for him. He couldn't get enough of it and smiled, "To have Aruo take care of me like this, I would rather be injured every day."
Song Yunzhao stopped him, "Don't talk nonsense."
The young master obediently shut up and waited for her to apply the ointment. He then held her hand in his, reluctant to let go. "Aruo, after the prince's wedding is over, I will inform mother and ask her to choose an auspicious date. How about we get married soon?"
Their marriage had been decided since their mothers' wombs, and they would get married sooner or later. There was nothing surprising about it. Song Yunzhao smiled and said, "Okay."
Seeing her smile, the young master also opened his lips, but it pulled on his wound, causing him to hiss in pain.
"Does it hurt?" Song Yunzhao asked with concern.
The young master shook his head, held her hand and sighed softly, "Aruo, I'm afraid I really can't live without you."
Song Yunzhao didn't know how possessive he was of her before.
The day before yesterday, Prince Duan was beaten, and she went to plead with her brother. Afterwards, the young master carried her back to the house and knelt before her, begging, "Aruo, can you promise me that you won't cry for any man other than me?" His face was almost in pain: "I'll be sad and jealous."
Song Yunzhao was stunned and realized that he seemed to have misunderstood something.
She had known since she was a child that her husband was Pei Yancong. She only felt grateful to Master Duan and explained, "I felt sorry for Master Duan, but I didn't... "
The young master said, "Then I am pitiful, am I not? My fiancée is crying in front of everyone for a man who has nothing to do with her. How will others feel about me?"
Song Yunzhao then made a promise to him, "I will draw a clear line between myself and Mr. Duan from now on."
But she couldn't just watch Master Duan die. He was whipped fifty times and no one was there to look after him. She thought she had prepared some medicine and could send someone to take it to him.
In the second half of the night, when everyone had gone to bed, she sneaked into Duan Yuanjin's yard alone, but she didn't expect to fall into a sea of fire.
After she was rescued, everyone knew that she had prepared medicine for Master Duan. She felt guilty and didn't know how to explain it to the young master. However, he didn't blame her. He just held her hand and comforted her: "I know that A'ruo went to prepare medicine for him, but I don't blame A'ruo. After all, our A'ruo has a kind heart that sympathizes with the world."
Song Yunzhao said nothing more.
Although she knew that the person who rescued her the night before was not the young master, she was going to marry Pei Yancong after all and could no longer care about that man.
She understood that the more she cared, the more desperate Mr. Duan would be.
The medicine had been applied, and the young master reluctantly stood up. Just as he was about to leave, a maid came in with a sachet in her hand. Seeing the young master was there, she said nothing more and simply handed the sachet to Song Yunzhao, "This was just given to my lady by Lord Wang."
It was a gift from the prefectural government that was purchased on a daily basis. Song Yunzhao took a look at it and saw a peace charm on the sachet. Thinking of the young master's injury today, he tied it to his belt and said, "Give it to Hanzhang. Wear it to keep her safe."
——
The young master came out of Song Yunzhao's room, and the gentle look on his face gradually faded.
After returning from the clinic, the Duke never looked at him again.
He knew that he despised his poor Kung Fu and that it had brought shame to the Duke's Mansion, but a person walking in the world needed more than just Kung Fu to establish himself. The troubled times had passed, and he studied hard and passed the imperial examination with his own ability, but he still couldn't impress his father.
Today he could clearly stop the prince and capture Qian's seventh wife and Duan Yuanjin. His own son had been held hostage by bandits for half a year. Wasn't that enough reason for him to take action?
After getting off the carriage, he originally wanted to remind him to be careful with his step, but the Duke thought he was chasing him relentlessly and interrupted him impatiently, "What's the hurry?"
The Duke was indeed very angry.
Thinking about the men of his Pei family, which one of them is not a hero? How could they raise such a weak descendant? However, he also knew that he took most of the responsibility for this matter, so his tone slowed down a little, "Stay in the prefecture and heal your injuries. I will seek justice for you in this matter."
The young master returned to his room and did not go anywhere. He sat there until late at night, and the look that the Duke had given Duan Yuanjin today kept appearing in his mind.
The inexplicable panic in my heart grew stronger and stronger.
They had chosen him themselves.
Now I can't abandon him.
A cat's meow came out of nowhere, scratching his already tormented heart. He suddenly stood up, opened the door, and said to his confidant outside, "Just say I'm sick and I won't see anyone."
——
On the night before the wedding, seeing Qian Tong about to go out, Mrs. Qian was overwhelmed, "You are about to become the Crown Prince's Consort, what are you busy with all day..."
Her father was in charge of the Qian family's business. The teahouse and cloth piles were divided among the first and third rooms, and there were people from the court to supervise them, so she didn't need to worry about it at all.
Is there any important matter that Prince Song cannot handle?
Qian Tong had news of the King of Pingchang, and he couldn't rest until he captured him. As he dressed, he said to Madam Qian, "Don't worry, I'll be back by daybreak. Mother, prepare your wedding clothes, and I'll wear them when I get back..."
Mrs. Qian couldn't stop her, so she could only say to her from behind, "Come back as soon as possible, don't make me anxious!"
Qian Tong dragged out his voice, "I understand."
The four great Jins were all sent to the Strait Line, and are now fighting a life-and-death battle with the Park family. The only person she can use is Fu Yin, and that is enough!
——
After King Pingchang escaped from the palace, he ran to the city gate.
But soon someone blocked his way and he had no choice but to run back. In order to escape pursuit, he hid in the city, took off his coat and blended in with a group of refugees.
He didn't know whether the people chasing him were Song Yunzhi's men or Qian Tong's men.
But he knew he was not going to survive.
At the family dinner at the Park family, the person who wanted to kill him was actually Duan Yuanjin, and Duan Yuanjin was the man of the Qian family's Seventh Lady!
She actually kept bandits in captivity!
It turned out that she had already known that it was him who killed Mr. Qian and claimed the credit for defending the city. She did not take action immediately, but instead used a vicious strategy of sowing discord, forcing him and Pu Huailang to become enemies and kill each other.
She killed the princess of Pyeongchang Palace, and his three sons were also indirectly killed by her.
It was his turn next.
Song Yunzhi locked him up in the prefectural government and wouldn't let him return to Jiangning. He must be looking for evidence that he had killed Qian Mincheng six years ago. If he didn't run away now, he would die.
He must leave Yangzhou and report to His Majesty the Qian family's keeping bandits and Song Yunzhi's favoritism and shielding of the Qian family. If he doesn't survive, they won't have an easy life either.
King Pingchang sent someone to send a letter to Jiangning for help while avoiding being hunted down.
After three days among the refugees, King Pyeongchang was disheveled and hungry. If he continued like this, he would be killed or starved to death.
He had to find Park Hwayang, tell him the truth, and work together to get rid of her first.
But the Park family is now an iron wall. Their mansion is surrounded by the imperial court and no news can be delivered. They are in a state of panic when suddenly someone handed him a note.
There was a line of words written on the note.
"Go to Xiangyuan Teahouse."
Although there was no name, King Pyeongchang knew who it was.
He regained hope.
He didn't dare show up at the teahouse until dark. He hadn't had a full meal for three days. After arriving at the teahouse, he went to the back kitchen, rummaged through the drawers and boxes, and found a roast chicken. Sitting in the dark, he was eating it voraciously when he suddenly heard a soft sigh. His heart skipped a beat and he raised his head abruptly.
Outside the two tightly closed mullioned doors, a person stood with his back against the wall. His figure blended into the night and could not be noticed unless one looked closely. It was unknown how long he had been standing there.
King Pingchang thought the other party was his escort and gave him a secret signal, "Who is coming?"
The other party didn't say anything.
King Pingchang's face changed, he suddenly stood up and fled to the window beside him.
Qian Tong also stood up and followed the man slowly, saying in a cold voice, "Your Highness, please eat slowly. You just had a full meal. Be careful not to choke."
The moment King Pyeongchang jumped out of the window, he fell into Fu Yin's hands.
Fu Yin kicked King Pyeongchang in the stomach without any mercy.
He almost vomited what he had just eaten. King Pingchang squatted down and held his chest, but before he could recover, a long knife was placed on his neck.
"Qian Tong, you are so brave..." King Pingchang's facial features were twisted together. He looked up at the woman walking towards him and said through gritted teeth, "How dare you attack me!"
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