After a long and dusty journey, Su Rong and Fen Ling entered the Marquis Nanping Residence. Naturally, they were led by the housekeeper to their prearranged courtyards.
After they left, Marquis Nanping looked at Ning Chi and said in a low voice, "Why didn’t you tell me that you have a deep friendship with Su Rong?"
Ning Chi looked at him, "Father, whether I am close to her or not doesn’t seem to hinder anything. I am aligned with the Eastern Palace."
When Su Rong mentioned their relationship, he thought that his only connection with her was when Zhou Gu wanted to kill Jiang Yunying. He helped to plead with Zhou Gu and later had a drink with him. If one were to talk about the depth of their relationship, he really didn’t have much of a connection.
But if Su Rong insisted that they are close, he would not refute it.
"How can it be the same? She is the daughter of the Nanchu King, the heir to the Nanchu throne, the daughter of Princess Zhenmin, the niece of the emperor, and the cousin of the Crown Prince." Marquis Nanping glared at Ning Chi, "If I knew that you two had such a good relationship early on, why would I have supported that useless Yan Li?"
Ning Chi’s face was expressionless, "When I went to Jiangning County, I didn’t know about such a background of hers. Father had already chosen the Crown Prince early, at that time, I hadn’t gone to Jiangning County and did not know her."
Marquis Nanping choked on his words, "Forget it, I was blind."
Who could have imagined that Yan Li would be so vulnerable? He had worked for him for many years, and in the end, he was completely defeated in a little over a month.
As for Su Rong, she was indeed formidable. She had not been in the capital for long, but she managed to stir up the situation and completely change the landscape of the capital’s political arena.
He lowered his voice and asked Ning Chi, "Su Rong personally sent your brother and sister back to Nanping this time. What is her plan? Do you know?"
Ning Chi looked at Marquis Nanping, "No matter what her purpose is, is Father going to repent now after seeing my younger sister and brother return safely?"
Marquis Nanping was immediately irritated, "What are you talking about? How could I possibly regret it? The Crown Prince is already in power, and you have long chosen to align with him. Even though the Crown Prince has lost, the Marquis Nanping Residence remains unscathed. How could I choose death?"
"As long as Father understands. The Crown Prince is kind, but not to be bullied." Ning Chi stood up, "Father, go talk to my younger sister and brother! They are the ones you have always doted on since they were young. After experiencing life and death, they must be extremely aggrieved. They must miss you. I will not accompany you."
After Ning Chi finished speaking, he turned around and left.
Marquis Nanping opened his mouth, fell silent and then gave up. He thought to himself that Ning Chi had really grown up. Even daring to talk to him like that now. Although he still held his title, the entire Marquis Nanping Residence was already under Ning Chi’s control. He, as the marquis, was a mere shell of his former self. Even if Ning Chi disrespected him, he could do nothing.
He should be thankful, at least, his son didn’t murder him and his mother.
Indeed, Marquis Nanping also wanted to ask Ning Yao and Ning Ze about everything that had happened and rushed hurriedly to do so.
After Ning Chi was far away, he turned back and looked at the rushing figure of Marquis Nanping. He thought of his father, who loved his stepmother and doted on her children. When he heard that the Crown Prince’s wife had been exposed, and that the Crown Prince’s wife’s brother was also arrested, he was immediately anxious and approached the Eighteen Villages. Then he thought that if he himself were to be arrested, his father probably wouldn’t be equally concerned. After all, he didn’t have a mother who would desperately plead for the lives of her children in front of his father. If one of them died, he still had a son who was born from a woman he loved.
He no longer had any expectation of paternal love. As long as his father was truly obedient and handed over the residence to him, he would let his father live out his old age in peace.
Marquis Nanping rushed into his wife’s courtyard, only to hear women weeping inside. Seeing his son’s severed finger, his wife’s heart almost broke.
Ning Ze was held in his mother’s arms. Like a tired bird returning to its nest, he also burst into tears.
After Marquis Nanping entered, he saw the mother and son crying uncontrollably. It seemed that they would not stop for a while, so he turned to Ning Yao and said, "The news from the capital can’t be traced. I sent people to the capital and only found out that you made a big mistake and were brought down. Now tell me carefully, what exactly is going on? How did everything go wrong when everything seemed to be going well?"
Ning Yao nodded and calmly recounted to Marquis Nanping what had led to the Crown Prince’s failure.
The wife of Marquis Nanping had stopped crying. But when she heard that Ning Yao was forced to plead guilty and betray the Crown Prince to save Ning Ze from a chopped-off finger by Xie Lin of the Rui’an King Residence, she burst into tears again and reached out to Ning Yao, "Come, Yao, let mother hold you."
Ning Yao moved over and let Marquis Nanping’s wife hold her while she also comforted, "Mother, don’t cry. Aren’t my brother and I back safely?"
The wife of Marquis Nanping sobbed sadly, "It’s over, all over. Now even the people in my courtyard listen to your elder brother. We used to bully your elder brother a lot. Now that he’s in power, we don’t know how he’s going to retaliate...."
Ning Yao didn’t say anything.
Ning Ze began to cry again, "Just outside the city, when I saw my elder brother, I knelt down and begged him. He told me to stand up. If I didn’t, he’d kill me. Mom, I don’t want to die..."
The wife of Marquis Nanping sobbed and looked at Marquis Nanping, "Marquis, you have to protect Ze."
Marquis Nanping helpless, "Don’t worry. Starting tomorrow, I will hand over my title to the eldest son. For the sake of me being his biological father, he will consider family ties. After all, Ze is his own brother."
When the wife of Marquis Nanping heard this, it was as if a knife was twisted into her heart and she cried again.
Ning Yao patted the wife of Marquis Nanping and agreed, "Mother, Father is right. We and my elder brother are all family after all. Blood is thicker than water. Don’t cry anymore. You have been ill and your health is important."
As she finished, she added, "It is not easy for my younger brother to escape death. We are already fortunate to come back alive. Mother, one should be content in life."
The wife of Marquis Nanping tearfully looked at Ning Ze.
Ning Ze nodded repeatedly, raising his hand and swearing, "Mother, I just want to live, I dare not fight with my elder brother, and I can’t compete with him. I don’t want to die."
Looking at her son’s state, the wife of Marquis Nanping felt that it was indeed a great fortune that he managed to survive. How could he still compete with Ning Chi? So she nodded through her tears, "Then beg the oldest son! Leave us a way out."
After Su Rong and Fen Ling had bathed, changed their clothes, and dispelled the chill, they sat in their room chatting.
Fen Ling whispered, "Sister, your prediction was wrong. The situation in Nanping doesn’t need our help at all. How many days are we staying here?"
"We rest for a day tomorrow, and leave the day after." Su Rong said.
Fen Ling asked, "Should we go to the Eighteen Villages and see if Zhou’s young master’s recruitment went smoothly?"
Su Rong shook her head, "No."
Fen Ling blinked, "He only went to the Eighteen Villages three days ago. If we only stay for one day, we shall not meet him."
Su Rong glanced at him and didn’t say a word.
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