Chapter 26 The Top Scholar Who Murdered His Wife and Daughter (Twenty-Six) The Rebellious Son of a Farmer...
Xia Ruhong arrived at the Xia family's carriage and lifted a corner of the curtain. Inside, Xia Miaozhen was sitting and reading a book. At her feet was Xia Ping kneeling, gently massaging her legs.
"Second cousin, did you see Young Master Song today?" Xia Miaozhen asked softly as she put down her book upon seeing him enter.
The pleasant scent of Xia Miaozhen's perfume filled his nostrils, and Xia Ruhong's eyes darkened slightly. When he looked up again, a gentle smile appeared on his face: "We both serve in the Hanlin Academy, so we've naturally met a few times. Just now, my cousin found out that Song Ce has agreed to go with us to the banquet on the Xiang River. He's sent someone to his house to deliver a message to his wife! Didn't you mention to my cousin before that you wanted to see that woman? So I took on this task and told my maid to deliver the message."
"Really?" Xia Miaozhen's eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly. "Cousin, you're so kind. Thank you so much, cousin."
"Hmm." Xia Ruhong casually stroked Xia Miaozhen's hair and quickly withdrew his hand. "But cousin, you'll have to suffer a little and dress up as a maid. Don't let that woman discover your true identity!"
"Cousin, don't treat me like a child! I know!" Xia Miaozhen pushed Xia Ruhong out of the sedan chair: "Cousin, you should hurry up and attend the banquet!"
Xia Ruhong smiled as he looked at the lowered sedan curtain and returned to the entrance of the Hanlin Academy.
The group of more than ten people from the Hanlin Academy boarded the carriage that Qin Wangfu had arranged in advance. Qin Wangfu drank tea in the carriage and asked in a low voice, "Did you see it clearly?"
The attendant quickly replied, "Young Master Qin, rest assured, the men I sent personally saw that the person sitting in the carriage was Miss Xia, and she was heading to the residence of Compiler Song."
"Alright, tell Cheng'er to hurry to the third-floor cabin of the ship on the Xiang River and wait there, making sure no one sees her," Qin Wangfu instructed.
"Yes, Young Master Qin." The attendant acknowledged the order and left.
The carriage moved steadily, and the driver for Song Ce was none other than Lian Yang in disguise. He knocked on the carriage wall and whispered, "Master, I have found out that Xia Miaozhen went to your house to see your wife. Don't worry, Master, I have already arranged for people at home. If Xia Miaozhen makes any rash moves, someone will take her down."
"Okay, anything else?" Song Ce asked.
"Master's prediction is correct. Qin Wangfu did indeed have ulterior motives. He arranged for his sister, Qin Shucheng, to stay in a room on the third floor of a ship on the Xiang River, intending to drug you so that you and Qin Shucheng could consummate your relationship."
Song Ce tapped his index finger on the low table. “If what I know is true, His Majesty hates ministers who are morally deficient. Once His Majesty finds out, they will be difficult to be trusted again. What a brilliant plan to kill three birds with one stone.”
Lian Yang said, "Master, I am foolish and ignorant. How could I possibly know of three birds?"
"Have you forgotten who's behind Qin Wangfu?" Song Ce said calmly, "In this way, my weakness is in the hands of the Second Prince. This move allows him to curry favor with the Second Prince and help his sister fulfill her dream. If I'm sensible enough to pledge allegiance to the Second Prince and agree to a marriage alliance with his Qin family, this secret will remain a secret. If I'm not sensible enough, then this matter will spread, and my reputation will be ruined. Once I lose the Emperor's favor, I'll be of no use... Lianyang."
"Please give your orders, Master," Lian Yang said.
"When His Majesty bestowed you upon me, he said you were skilled in light-footed martial arts and ventriloquism?" Song Ce said calmly.
"yes."
"Alright, go ahead..."
After Song Ce finished giving his instructions, the carriage traveled for about half an hour and arrived at the outside of the multi-story ship on the banks of the Xiang River.
At this moment, the banks of the Xiang River were brightly lit, filled with laughter and chatter. Several beautiful young women leaned against the railing of the boat, looking down at the officials who had just arrived. They did not bow, but half-covered their faces with handkerchiefs, leaving only their alluring eyes that could seduce souls.
Two or three of the newly promoted officials had never seen such a scene before and were all dumbfounded.
Tonight, distinguished guests are arriving, and the entire pleasure boat on the Xiang River has been booked. Qin Wangfu led everyone to a private room that had been prepared in advance, where food and drinks were ready.
"Please take your seats, everyone," Qin Wangfu said. "Today's banquet is only for our colleagues from the Hanlin Academy, so please feel free to relax." After saying that, he waved his hand towards the door, and soon two rows of pretty and beautiful young women entered one after another, sitting down on either side of them with shy smiles.
Two beauties, one in pink and one in yellow, sat down next to Song Ce. Upon seeing this, Song Ce took two steps back, stood up with a faint smile, and said, "I appreciate Brother Qin's kindness, but my wife has accompanied me all the way to the capital. We have endured hardships along the way, and I feel I owe her a lot. I really don't want to upset her, so I don't need anyone to serve me."
“Oh! Brother Song, you are mistaken. Since it is just an act, we will certainly not act like a gossipy woman and complain to Madam Song. You can rest assured, Brother Song.” One of the colleagues laughed.
Having received Qin Wangfu's hint, the beautiful woman in yellow poured Song Ce a cup of wine with a shy expression, and held the cup to Song Ce's lips with her fair hand, "Young master, have a drink."
Song Ce turned his head away indifferently, expressing his refusal through his actions.
"Gentlemen, Brother Song and Madam Song are a young couple, and they are currently enjoying a blissful marriage. Let's not force him. Come, let me toast you all." Xia Ruhong quickly stepped in to smooth things over when he saw the atmosphere becoming somewhat awkward.
Once someone spoke up, the other colleagues chimed in, "We're here to relax today, so if Brother Song insists, let's go for it. Let's drink, let's drink."
Qin Wangfu lowered his eyes, and when he looked up again, he had already regained his gentle and gentlemanly demeanor. He dismissed the two beauties and said, "Brother Song, you flatter me. These two beauties are ignorant. Brother Song, you don't need to take it to heart. Here, I'll toast you."
"Thank you, Brother Qin," Song Ce said, raising his cup in return.
Seeing that Song Ce had drunk all the wine in his cup, Qin Wangfu finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that there would be no problem with tonight's events.
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, the colleagues all laughed and raised their glasses to drink. Some of the more unrestrained ones even embraced their beauties and shared a drink, creating a truly intoxicating scene.
Soon after, Song Ce slumped onto the low table, and his colleagues burst into laughter, saying, "Looks like Brother Song isn't a good drinker!"
Seeing this, Qin Wangfu hurried over, pretended to push Song Ce's shoulder, and called out, "Brother Song, Brother Song?"
Seeing that there was no response, his colleague said, "Since Brother Song can't hold his liquor, Brother Qin, come on, let's continue drinking. We can take Brother Song home after we've had our fill."
“Brother Zhao, you are mistaken. Since Brother Song is already drunk, how can I let him rest on this hard, low table? If he gets sick here, then it would be my fault.” Qin Wangfu cupped his hands to his colleagues and said, “Please sit down, everyone. I will arrange for someone to help Brother Song to a private room to rest first, and then we can continue drinking together when we return.”
"Brother Qin, go ahead!"
"Brother Qin is truly thoughtful. I just wonder what kind of person he will assign to Brother Song?"
"Look at you, what kind of people could be in this building? Just pretty girls serving people! Hahaha! Brother Song is in luck tonight!"
"But isn't Brother Song deeply devoted to his wife? Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Brother Zhao, don't you understand us men? Just say you got drunk at the banquet and unknowingly enjoyed the company of a beautiful woman. Then, if Brother Song is gentle and attentive for a few days, what can Brother Song's wife possibly do?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I am foolish, brother. Let's drink, let's drink."
Watching the servants help Song Ce to a room on the third floor, Qin Wangfu shook his somewhat muddled mind and staggered back a step as if he were drunk.
"Young Master Qin, please be careful." A familiar voice rang in his ears. It was... the servant left for him by the Second Prince.
"Help me back to the banquet hall, and then go deliver a message to the Second Prince," Qin Wangfu instructed.
"yes."
A moment later, Lian Yang helped the unconscious Qin Wangfu to the third floor. At this moment, Song Ce was standing at the door of a side room, with the servant who had helped him upstairs standing behind him.
“Master, this is my younger brother Lian Feng. He’s grown up now and comes with me to serve you,” Lian Yang said.
"Good, well done. If Lian Feng is willing, he can stay by my side from now on!" Song Ce said gently.
Upon hearing this, Lian Feng immediately knelt down and bowed: "Thank you, Master! Just now, when I was observing from the roof beam, someone secretly came in while Qin Shucheng was taking a bath and lit love incense. The effect of this incense is that no matter who enters, Qin Shucheng will see them as the person he loves."
"Who is this person?" Song Ce asked with great interest.
"He's the son of the wet nurse of an unfavored illegitimate daughter of the Qin family. It seems the Qin family isn't so peaceful after all," Lian Feng said with a smirk.
Song Ce lowered his eyes. Since arriving in this world, he had always adhered to the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me, and if they do offend me, I will repay them a hundredfold." Since Qin Wangfu harbored ill intentions towards him, then he would not hesitate to retaliate in kind.
"Alright, enough of this small talk, let's help Young Master Qin inside," Song Ce said calmly.
After finishing all that, Song Ce went to a side room not far from Qin Shucheng and Qin Wangfu, opened the door and went inside.
...
An hour ago, the Second Prince Xiao Chen, dressed in plain clothes, left the palace with a trusted aide. However, just as he reached the palace gate, he encountered the Fifth Prince Xiao Yu, who was on his way back to the palace.
The Fifth Prince, Xiao Yu, was born to Consort Jing and was the youngest prince. Although Consort Jing's maternal family was not prominent, she was greatly favored by Emperor Shunyuan, and Xiao Yu was consequently also pampered. Since Consort Jing's passing two years ago, Xiao Yu's favor with the emperor had only grown stronger. Although he had not yet served in any official duties, he had never committed any misconduct, and Xiao Chen had always tried his best to win him over, so the relationship between the two brothers was relatively good.
"Second Brother, where are you rushing off to?" Xiao Yu asked with a smile.
"I had to go out for a while, Fifth Brother. Where did you just come from?" Xiao Chen asked calmly, his eyes flashing.
“Father said he was tired of using those two pieces of Tianhuang paperweights, so I found a pair of good jade materials outside and carved a pair of reclining lions. Second brother, take a look, is the workmanship acceptable?” Xiao Yu said.
Father... Emperor Shunyuan had five sons and eight daughters. All the other princes and princesses would respectfully address Emperor Shunyuan as "Father Emperor." Only Xiao Yu, who had been raised by Emperor Shunyuan since childhood, dared to affectionately call the man in the highest position "Father."
Xiao Chen accepted the pair of reclining lion paperweights, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. His birth was a source of endless pain for him. Both were princes, yet his mother was merely a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, and even having given birth to a prince only earned her the title of Beauty. His mother was frail and died young, which allowed him to be raised by the Empress… Xiao Chen toyed with the paperweights, a hint of barely perceptible sarcasm in his voice, “Fifth brother’s filial piety is commendable; Father will naturally approve.” He then returned the pair of reclining lion paperweights. However, his flick of the sleeve was a little too forceful, and a red invitation card sprinkled with gold dust slipped from his sleeve and fell to the ground.
Xiao Yu quickly picked up the red invitation from the ground: "Good heavens! Second brother, you actually went to the Xiang River by yourself! I'm going to tell your wife about this!"
Xiao Chen was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this: "Fifth brother, don't be silly. Second brother has important business there."
"Second brother, you can ask me to keep it a secret, but you must take me with you. If you don't take me, I'll go to the palace right now and tell your sister-in-law!" Xiao Yu said with a smile.
Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed. He had schemed and plotted to secure his marriage to the princess. The princess was the second daughter of the commander of the imperial guards. They had been married for three years and their relationship was respectful. Therefore, he absolutely could not let her hear about this dishonorable affair. After all, he needed to rely on the princess's father, the commander, for many matters, both inside and outside the palace.
"Okay, your second brother will take you, but you have to listen to your second brother and not run around. Do you agree?" Xiao Chen smiled, looking every bit the indulgent and doting older brother.
"No problem, Second Brother, let's go!"
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Author's Note: The plot is unfolding! I'll be updating more frequently from now on and finishing the story as soon as possible. Thank you for your favorites, follows, and comments; you're my motivation to write! Sending you love!
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