Upon hearing that Zhou Gu had come but left promptly, the Marquis Nanping was taken aback. Not only had he left, but he had taken Ning Chi with him.
He asked his housekeeper, "Why have they left in such a hurry? Was there an emergency?"
The housekeeper shook his head, "My lord, the Crown Prince did not say."
Marquis Nanping nodded, picked up his pen and wrote a letter of apology. After he finished writing, he reviewed the letter for a while before calling a servant and urgently sent it to the Capital City.
He acted decisively, and after completing his task, he stayed in his study for a long time, let out a sigh.
Half an hour later, an individual reported to Marquis Nanping, "My lord, the Crown Prince and Lord Zhou took the rest of the twenty thousand troops and went to the Eighteen Forts."
The Marquis Nanping was shocked, "Are they planning to attack the Eighteen Forts?"
"It seems so. Otherwise, they wouldn’t mobilize all the soldiers."
Marquis Nanping immediately stood up and asked, "And what about Lady Su Qi?"
"She is in the Pear Blossom Garden."
Marquis Nanping asked: "Is she aware of this?"
"She should be. The Crown Prince and Lord Zhou departed from her courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Marquis Nanping slowly sat back down, remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand, "Lady Su Qi holds the Emperor’s personal token as well as the command from the Crown Prince. Since they left from her courtyard, it must be that the situation at Eighteen Forts has changed and they had to mobilize the troops. Let them be!"
The individual observed the Marquis and said, "My lord, you are in your prime. Isn’t it too early..."
Marquis Nanping raised his hand to stop him, "One must be content. The Crown Prince has grown capable enough to manage affairs on his own. That I can retire intact is thanks to his accomplishments. It is not bad for him to take over the family affairs at a young age. It’s far better than watching the family decline under my own hands."
The man asked, "What will you do in the future..."
"In the future, I will accompany my wife, find a home for Yao’er, and arrange a marriage for Ze’er," Marquis Nanping said resignedly. "From now on, you will follow the Crown Prince. He will make his own decisions regarding his marital matters. The Marquis Nanping residence will also be under his complete control. You need not report matters concerning him to me anymore."
He didn’t have many loyal and considerate individuals left anyway. During his previous attempt to manipulate the Eighteen Forts, they were all dealt with by his son and the men sent by the Eastern Palace to aid his son. The few that remained now, he didn’t need to keep.
The man shook his head, "My Lord, I am with you..."
"You are still young, and the Crown Prince is a just man. Although you are my man, if you choose to serve him with loyalty, he will slowly come to value you." Marquis Nanping waved his hand, "He is my son, Hen Zhong. He has better judgment than I do, choosing the Crown Prince was, as we see now, the most correct path."
Han Zhong lowered his head, "I will follow your instructions, my Lord."
Fen Ling had been keeping an eye on the Marquis Nanping Residence. When the Marquis sent his letter of apology to the Capital City, he received the news and said to Su Rong, "Sister, I didn’t expect that the Marquis Nanping could let go so easily. After all, it’s a noble title. Even if it were a biological son, some people can’t let it go. I didn’t think Marquis Nanping could see it so open-mindedly."
"If he can’t let it go, does he want to be a Marquis in name only?" Su Rong shook her head, "Being able to retreat in time, mending the fold after the sheep has been lost, it’s not yet too late, many people really can’t do this. Marquis Nanping can see the situation clearly. Although the Eastern Palace is pressuring him, he is truly admirable in his own right."
"Also, the Crown Prince Ning and Lord Zhou left to mobilize the troops without notifying Marquis Nanping. As I just heard, Marquis Nanping received a report but didn’t react." Fen Ling continued, "It seems he has completely relinquished power."
Su Rong nodded, "It’s a good thing."
Fen Ling then asked Su Rong, "Sister, shall we go out and wander around town today?"
"Sure." Su Rong had rested for one night and wasn’t tired. She planned to explore Nanping today.
Fen Ling promptly said: "I will call Ning Ze. He is familiar with Nanping and can guide us."
Su Rong had no objections and waved at him.
Fen Ling promptly left.
Ning Ze returned home, having received yet another assurance from Ning Chi yesterday, who agreed to let bygones be bygones regarding past offenses. This enabled him to finally sleep soundly.
When he was still half-asleep, he heard someone call that Master Feng was looking for him. He sat up abruptly, rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, walked out the room, and looked at Feng Ling who had come to find him. "What’s up?" He asked.
He thought that once he returned to the Marquis Nanping Residence, he would be able to live like a total idler, able to sleep until the sun was high in the sky. He never expected Feng Ling to look for him this early in the morning. He thought Ning Chi should be the one Feng Ling was after.
Feng Ling looked at his sleepy face and said, "Accompany me and my sister for a stroll outside. You are most familiar with Nanping, right?"
Ning Ze rubbed his eyes wider, "Didn’t you say yesterday that my brother was supposed to be the one accompanying you two?"
"Your brother is busy with something" Feng Ling answered.
Ning Ze could only nod his head, "Alright, wait for me."
He turned around and headed back to his room, got changed, groomed himself, saw the breakfast on the table, grabbed a bun, took a bite and walked out, "Let’s go!"
Feng Ling stopped him by his shoulder, "There’s no rush. Finish your breakfast first."
Ning Ze blinked and sat down, reflecting. "You’re kind to me nowadays, it made me almost forget that you’re the one who crushed my finger."
Feng Ling coughed, "Only your sister is to blame for that. If she had confessed earlier, wouldn’t you be unharmed?"
Ning Ze sighed, "My sister didn’t expect you to be so ruthless. It’s a serious criminality that involves one’s life and property, who would confess so easily?"
Feng Ling shrugged, "Then you’re just unlucky."
Ning Ze also felt that he was indeed very unlucky. He hadn’t been to the Capital City for many years, and the only time he had gone this year was to attend the imperial examination. Little did he expect to almost lose his life there.
After finishing a bun, he said to Feng Ling, "I don’t blame you."
Feng Ling fell silent. He wanted to say ’even if you blame me, what can you do to me?’ Looking at his solemn expression, he decided not to say it.
Ning Ze picked up the porridge, took a sip and said, "Now this porridge tastes incredibly sweet, even though it doesn’t have any sugar."
Feng Ling commented, "It’s a good thing, having a brush with death at the Ghost Gate made you cherish things more."
Ning Ze nodded, "I told my mother that my finger was chopped off by Xie Lin. After my sister and I came back, my mother gave up the plan to let me compete with my elder brother for the title. My mother can be quite narrow-minded. If she knew that my finger was chopped off by you, she certainly wouldn’t have been as nice to you as yesterday, thanking you with a smile for bringing me back."
Feng Ling looked at him, "So should I thank you for covering for me?"
"No need for that." After finishing his porridge and eating three fried dumplings, Ning Ze put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and said, "Feng Ling, should I call you Brother Feng?"
Feng Ling readily agreed, "Sure."
Ning Ze was quite pleased, "I kind of like your ruthlessness. Even though I’m afraid of you, I’m not anymore. Let’s go, Brother Feng, I’ll show you and Lady Su Qi around. Nanping has many fun and delicious places."
Feng Ling wanted to say that his sister probably didn’t want to play, but to take the opportunity to investigate how many secret agents were buried in Nanping, such as those from the Jibei Pingxi General’s Residence, and take the opportunity to remove them. However, seeing Ning Ze so happy, he chose not to dampen his spirits, lest he start crying again.
The two of them left Ning Ze’s yard, just as the Marquis’s wife arrived.
Madam Marquis immediately asked, "Are you... going out?"
Ning Ze nodded, "Mother, I’m taking Brother Feng and Lady Su Qi out for a stroll. My elder brother is busy and doesn’t have time."
Upon hearing this, Madam Marquis nodded approvingly. Seeing Ning Ze regain his former spirits, she smiled with affection, "Alright, you guys go ahead. I didn’t really need anything, I just came to see how you were."
Ning Ze nodded, thought for a moment, and lowered his voice to Madam Marquis, "Mother, we need to deal with my sister’s pregnancy as soon as possible. If the term is too far along, it might harm her health. She has to marry someone in the future. She can’t just refuse to marry because of Yan Li."
Madam Marquis nodded, "Alright, I understand."
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