◇ Chapter 88 (88) Zhulan’s Life Story (Part 2)
"Hmm?" Lianzhi hummed absentmindedly.
"Da Xi Mi had a dispute with the royal family of Mobei." Bai Kang said. When he was in Qizhou, he realized that the people who did not get angry when they arranged assassins actually fought with the Mobei prisoners on the spot at the gate of the Ministry of Justice prison - a one-sided fight. The prisoners were escorted and could not fight back.
Afraid of making Lianzhi angry and upset, Bai Kang tried to test her: "Baby, do you know why you are in Liangzhou?"
"How should I know? If I knew, wouldn't I be able to run back by myself?" Lianzhi answered casually.
"Didn't the Queen of the Helan tribe mention this to you? A few years ago... Wait, don't arrest her yet!"
The jade pendant was tied into a knot by the lotus branch, and he couldn't untie it. He groaned and grabbed Bai Kang's leg, yelling at him not to move. Bai Kang's face turned even redder when he was touched, and he growled, "Stop touching me!"
Lianzhi finally calmed down and stopped groping around. She thought for a moment, "I think I mentioned it before. A few years ago, there was a civil war in the Helan tribe, and Zhulan mysteriously disappeared. They investigated for a long time before discovering she had been taken away by the Mobei people."
Unfortunately, Zhulan was unlucky and died not long after being taken to Liangzhou. When she opened her eyes again, it was another person. Whenever she faced the people of the Helan tribe, Lianzhi felt a little guilty.
"They took you to Liangzhou not because they had a grudge against the Helan tribe, but simply to frame us in Daning and stir up trouble. And now you're trying to sue for peace? If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have ended up in a place like Chunfeng Tower!" Bai Kang's tone was faintly angry. He knitted his brows and clenched his fists.
Lianzhi didn't care: "Why are you so angry? Weren't you going to the Palace of Justice first with the Minister of War to welcome the King of Longxi? Why did you go to the Ministry of Justice?"
At the mention of the King of Longxi, Bai Kang's frown deepened. He doubted that the King of Longxi, a powerful vassal king, would be unaware of the fact that Mobei spies had brought the prince of the Helan tribe into the country. He was more inclined to believe that the King of Longxi, seeing Zhulan's resemblance to Chen Fenglian, deliberately condoned this and brought her into his fold to exploit her!
The King of Longxi has his own army and is obviously not a good person. Yet, Your Majesty allowed him to enter the capital!
He recalled Lianzhi's pitiful appearance when they first met. Someone so pampered on a normal day had been tortured like that. If his baby hadn't been so clever and took the initiative to pester him, he would have been taken advantage of.
No, he has to keep an eye on Lianzhi and not let them run into her.
Bai Kang grew angrier and angrier, forgetting how desperately he'd wanted to get rid of this hot potato. Lian Zhi smiled and wrapped her hand around his fist, "Don't be angry. I already told you it wasn't me, it was Zhu Lan."
"You seem to be in a good mood today?" Bo Kang lowered his head. "You even spoke up for them."
Of course, she was happy to see Bai Kang jealous. Lianzhi snorted twice, blinking her big eyes, "Think about it, if I hadn't been reborn in Liangzhou, how would I know you liked me?"
Bai Kang remained silent. Lianzhi continued, "If you're truly angry, why not return to the Helan Tribe with me? It would be like helping Zhulan honor his mother and sister. Speaking of which, I've never seen a Helan Tribe wedding before. Brother Kang, can you accompany me to one?"
He was halfway through his words when Bai Kang suddenly covered his mouth. Lian Zhi whimpered twice, then saw Bai Kang holding his forehead, blushing and saying, "Baby, stop talking. What you said is a bit scary."
?
Lianzhi bit his palm and said, "Stop slandering me. I'm so cute, how can I be scary?"
The day after the wedding, Lianzhi ran away. This incident almost became a shadow in Baikang's mind. He was really afraid that Lianzhi would disappear again the day after the wedding. Lianzhi couldn't stop laughing, and her hands began to move in a naughty way again. "Okay, why get angry about the past? I haven't had any contact with Liangzhou in a long time. We are no longer related. If you really have something to do, why not come and help me? Can you bear to watch me remove the jade pendant by myself?"
"Stop touching the baby." Bo Kang sighed, loosened his hand, and chose the most obscure words to explain to Lianzhi, "It's broad daylight. Look..."
"I know." Lianzhi said calmly, "Don't you think I did it on purpose?"
On the second day after the Prince of Longxi arrived in Beijing, a grand celebration banquet was held at the palace to welcome him back and congratulate the Queen Mother on her recovery. Emperor Jianguang conferred a higher title on the Prince of Longxi on the spot, and the banquet was filled with joy. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was merely a nominal title, hardly a reward.
Matters outside the palace banquet fell outside the Ministry of Rites' purview. Bo Kang had no fondness for the King of Longxi to begin with, and without having to interact with him, he was even more relieved. He also instructed everyone in the other courtyard to keep an eye on Lianzhi and those around him. A few days passed, and aside from Yuyao, Lianzhi rarely spoke to anyone else, let alone went out to meet with the King of Longxi's subordinates.
Maybe he had wronged his baby.
"Did you even hear what I said?" Chang Yuzhu pushed him aside. Bai Kang hummed, "Say it again."
"Xi Niang and I are getting married next month, on the tenth day of the lunar month. It's a very auspicious date, so let's finalize it before the New Year," Chang Yuzhu said happily. Bai Kang, not really hearing what he was talking about, said in surprise, "Wedding so close to the end of the year? I haven't heard you mention that before. Why are you rushing things?" Even if it's an auspicious date, it's rare to have a wedding so close to the end of the year.
"You can't understand this, brother." Chang Yuzhu patted his shoulder, acting like an experienced person. "Originally, it was scheduled for the beginning of next spring. I wanted to tell you at the beginning of next month. But Xi Niang couldn't wait. She said she was lonely spending the New Year alone in the capital and wanted to marry in early to have a good New Year. Alas, I'm afraid you can't understand. My sister-in-law didn't say such a thing to you, did she?"
Bai Kang is no longer the Bai Kang he once was. He and Lian Zhi have a very good relationship now, so Chang Yuzhu's words won't irritate him. He just feels something is wrong: "What kind of girl would make such a request?"
"So what? We don't care." Chang Yuzhu subconsciously spoke well of his wife. Bai Kang raised his hands and waved: "I didn't say anything bad about her."
"I know, you mean Xi Niang is so anxious, is there something going on? But she's just a weak woman, how could she possibly harm me? Besides, she's very timid." Chang Yuzhu thought for a moment, "Maybe she's worried after meeting Princess Ashina."
That made sense. Could everyone be like Lianzhi, deliberately approaching with a purpose? Besides, he had met Yan Xi Niang many times, and she certainly didn't seem like someone with a problem.
Seeing that Chang Yuzhu understood, Bai Kang said nothing more. He returned to the villa and heard that Miss Yan and Princess Ashina had come today, had a few words with his wife, and then left.
"They seem to have a good relationship?" Bo Kang asked subconsciously after hearing this. He looked at Qing He, who was confused, and asked, "Qing He, if someone liked your fiancée, would you be friends with him?"
"Of course not." Qinghe said angrily.
Could it be that Yan Xi Niang was truly an exceptionally generous and virtuous woman, only secretly jealous, while outwardly acting as a close sister to Yu Yao? Bai Kang was thinking about turning around and asking someone to pay attention, when he heard Qing He say, "Sir, you're talking about Miss Yan, right? Miss Yan and the princess came together today, but they had an argument. Madam got annoyed and sent them away."
They didn't hear what the argument was about. They only knew that Lianzhi was very angry and after she drove the other person away, she disappeared without a trace. No wonder Lianzhi didn't wait for him at the door today.
"Then send someone to follow and see." Bo Kang casually ordered, "Privately mediate between them to prevent anyone from thinking that there's something unpleasant going on between Beihai Territory and our Daning."
Lianzhi waited until dinner time, having the food delivered, before opening the door for Bai Kang. Yuyao, known for her careless conversation, had mentioned wedding customs in the North Sea Territory today, much to Yan Xi Niang's displeasure. In short, it was Yuyao's unilateral commentary; it wasn't Miss Yan's fault.
"I'll tell her when I get back." Lianzhi sighed, "We still need to quickly resolve the marriage issue and have them return to the North Sea as soon as possible."
Bai Kang paused in his action of picking up food.
"What do you want to do?" he asked casually.
"I have my own way of dealing with this matter. Don't interfere," Lianzhi warned. It was a foregone conclusion that Bai Kang had assisted in poisoning the Queen Mother. They hadn't mentioned it again in the intervening time. Lianzhi was truly afraid that Bai Kang would do something else.
I had planned to tell Yuyao the next day and ask her to apologize to Miss Yan. But in the middle of the night, everyone in the mansion heard someone banging on the door frantically while they were asleep.
Lianzhi and Baikang had already gone to bed, but were awakened by the sound and asked Qinghe to go check. The guards opened the gate to the villa, and a panicked Chang Yuzhu rushed in, her hair tied up casually, without even a servant. It was obvious that she had just woken up and ran over.
"What are you doing!" Bo Kang put on his coat and stood in front of the inner courtyard door. "Yuzhu, if you have something to say, calm down and tell me!"
Chang Yuzhu's eyes were red. After a long time, they gradually focused and she begged, "Bai Kang, please help me, Xi Niang is missing!"
"When did it happen?" Bai Kang asked in surprise.
"This afternoon, Xi Niang and Princess Ashina disappeared after leaving your place. Her maid is still in Chang's residence. She said she wanted to relax in the city, but she disappeared unexpectedly!" Chang Yuzhu said, bending her knees and actually kneeling down. "Bai Kang, please help me, let me see my sister-in-law! I can't enter the inn, please help me, let me see Princess Ashina..."
"Calm down, Yuzhu. I'll go with you to find someone. The security in the capital is tight, and it's only a few hours away. Nothing will happen." Bai Kang tried to comfort her, but Chang Yuzhu suddenly shook him off and knelt down, her voice filled with tears. "Princess Ashina must be involved in Xi Niang's disappearance. No, it must be her! Bai Kang, please, let me see my sister-in-law!"
After he finished speaking, he saw that Bai Kang hadn't agreed yet. Just as he was about to take the next step, he was stopped by Bai Kang. Bai Kang said in a low voice, "Chang Yuzhu, listen to me first! I already knew about this this afternoon and sent people to follow her! If there was really a problem, someone would have sent a message back long ago! Princess Ashina is involved in the Beihai Territory, don't talk nonsense!"
Hearing the last sentence, Chang Yuzhu finally shut up. Bai Kang was about to ask him to leave with him, for fear of waking up Lianzhi, when the door behind him was pushed open. Lianzhi was already awake, leaning against the door and asked, "What's going on?"
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