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On the day that the main city of Yangzhou was trampled by the southwestern cavalry, the Second Prince's residence happened to receive a secret letter from the Marquis of Wu'an, informing him of his unauthorized return to the capital.
The porcelain items in the study were broken all over the floor.
The coronation ceremony was forced to be postponed.
"What are you all doing?!" Zhou Chengyu's face was ashen as he scanned the ministers below him.
"Are they all pillars of our dynasty, yet none of them dare to step forward to defend against the enemy?"
“Your Highness, General Yu is currently using the suppression of rebel kings as a pretext, and there is no rebellious intent whatsoever.” Lord Su dragged his feet forward: “Perhaps Your Highness would first offer praise, to test the waters…”
"No rebellious intent?" The teacup in his hand was slammed down, crashing into the hearts of everyone present.
"Father-in-law, you've been in officialdom for so many years, when did you become so sentimental?" Zhou Chengyu scoffed. "Or is it that you admire this General Yu?"
"By the way, I heard that a few years ago when General Zhong led his men to the capital, you asked someone to inquire about that young general surnamed Yu?"
A chill ran down Su Wenqian's spine, and he quickly explained, "At that time, General Yu's military achievements were just beginning to emerge, and I was merely curious."
"Yeah?"
Zhou Chengyu narrowed his eyes for a moment and then looked away, seemingly unwilling to cause any more trouble. But Su Wenqian sighed inwardly, and began to worry about his daughter again.
He was satisfied when the second prince proposed marriage. After all, the emperor's health was declining at that time, and a crown prince had not yet been appointed, so the Su family had no choice but to take sides...
This has always been the way of the Su family; whether daughters or sons, they always prioritize the family's interests. The more uncertain the situation, the more inevitably the Su family's daughters and sons will choose to marry into other families...
Nevertheless, he and his wife were not heartless parents. They had thoroughly investigated Zhou Chengyu's character and only agreed to the marriage after their daughter gave her her consent.
It was only later that people realized how well the second prince had concealed his true nature, managing to fool the old emperor and the entire city of Luoyang.
Yunruo was always sensible. When he was a child, if he bumped or bruised himself, he would just keep quiet with red eyes. Back then, every time he came home... the little boy, who was only a few years old, would obediently squat on the doorstep to greet him...
"Lord Su, are you feeling unwell?"
A colleague beside him said worriedly, "Don't take it too seriously. The situation in the court is unclear right now, so it's understandable that His Highness is angry..."
"It's nothing." Su Wenqian shook his head slightly, then turned back to look at the huge Second Prince's residence, sighing. Why did he suddenly think of things from many years ago?
He had not noticed before that the Second Prince's residence was surrounded by high walls, as solid as an iron barrel.
When their daughter was little, she loved climbing walls and trees. Fearing she might fall, he and his wife secretly ordered their servants to lower the wall she frequented, so she could see what the street looked like outside…
So it seems that Yunruo hasn't sent a letter home for several months.
But now, even if they are only separated by a courtyard wall, they cannot see each other.
-
"This wall is really high..."
Wrapped in a heavy cloak, Su Yunruo looked up with nostalgia in her eyes: "But now, I am a prince's consort."
She's no longer the little maid in the Su family who could do whatever she wanted and always had someone to bail her out.
"Your Majesty, would you like to leave?"
He Tingfang stood a few feet behind her, at a distance, but their relationship had already crossed the line between men and women, intimate yet restrained.
"Leave? Where to? Back to the Su residence?" Su Yunruo's face had returned to calm when she turned around: "Tingfang, I have been unable to leave since the day I married into this family."
He Tingfang moved her lips slightly: "Do you love him?"
Su Yunruo paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you think he loves me?"
Before He Tingfang could respond, Su Yunruo continued, "He said he loves me, he said he loves me the most, he said he only loves me... so I should be understanding."
“I have to understand his constant influx of all sorts of beauties into the mansion; I have to understand the intrigues and power struggles in this vast backyard; I have to understand that he has just climbed off another woman's bed, still smelling of unfamiliar, pungent cosmetics, and then climbed onto my bed, tearing off my nightgown; I have to understand…”
"Your Majesty...please stop talking." He Tingfang's voice trembled as he raised his hand to gently cover her lips.
“This is nothing…” Su Yunruo scoffed lightly, “His Highness says the same thing to every woman in this backyard. That’s just the kind of person he is, always putting on airs.”
"Sometimes I wonder, when he sees the women in his backyard abandoning their usual manners and dignity for him, turning into shrewish women tearing each other apart, does he feel a strange sense of pleasure?"
“But I’m not him.” Su Yunruo smiled, her eyes filled with unbearable bitterness. “It’s a pity that I can’t become him either.”
Even if she didn't love him, she initially married into the Second Prince's household with the intention of treating him with respect.
Perhaps she still couldn't accept this kind of life; she couldn't bring herself to pretend to be oblivious and fawn over her husband after seeing through his hypocrisy.
She couldn't bear to hide the knowledge and skills passed down from her parents and brothers, and pretend to be a foolish beauty for the rest of her life.
She couldn't suppress her yearning for freedom, nor could she shackle herself and lock herself in this small house, waiting day after day for her husband's favor...
"Just now you asked me if I wanted to leave." Su Yunruo smiled and looked at He Tingfang: "Now I'll tell you, I do."
“Okay,” He Tingfang stared at her for a moment, his hands unconsciously clenching at his sides, “I’ll take you away.”
"wait for me."
He left hastily with a tense expression, ignoring the wistfulness and fleeting sadness in the woman's eyes.
Meanwhile, Zhou Chengyu, having calmed down in his study, began to devise a countermeasure.
The Southwest Army is now advancing with unstoppable momentum, and Yu Baizhou has clearly slipped out of his control. And in this world, the only one who, holding so much military power, can truly resist Yu Baizhou…
Besides Chen Hejun, he really couldn't think of anyone more suitable.
Thinking of this, Zhou Chengyu glanced at the person kneeling on the ground: "How many more days until Marquis Wu'an returns?"
After a moment's thought, the man said in a low voice, "My subordinates have found out that Marquis Wu'an returned to the capital secretly on the sixteenth of the twelfth lunar month, and it will be at the earliest the fifteenth or sixteenth."
The fact that he was in such a hurry to come back reminded Zhou Chengyu of his father, who had already passed away to meet his ancestors. When the Crown Prince was murdered, his father changed his cold and composed demeanor and rushed to the East Palace without even taking the imperial carriage... He was thrown into a panic.
Who could be in such a hurry to make Marquis Wu'an? It's easy to guess, after all, the drama of the father and son fighting back then was quite a topic of conversation.
"Today is the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. Prepare your things." Zhou Chengyu stood up, his eyes full of calculation: "I haven't seen my fourth sister for a long time. I should go and wish her a Happy New Year in advance."
*
"So, you already knew about Marquis Wu'an's movements?"
Wang Zhiyan broke off a chicken leg and tried to hand it to Song Ling, but the other woman didn't take it. She pouted and said, "I ran around several blocks to buy this. It smells so good!"
"Wasn't it for someone?" Song Ling rolled her eyes at her. "I won't argue with you since it's almost Chinese New Year. Who would skip work in the morning to run to a street more than ten miles away to buy roast chicken?"
"Cough cough... Don't expose me like that. Actually... I wanted to eat some too." Wang Zhiyan said dryly, "So I bought two. You mustn't tell Mosong that I told him I bought the roast chicken for him, and he was so touched that his eyes turned red."
Song Ling laughed, "So you just brought the roast chicken to my room to eat?"
"Hmm, don't expose me in front of him." Wang Zhiyan said seriously, taking another bite of meat as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "You still haven't answered me."
Song Ling shook her head slightly. Her intentions were so obvious; how could Mo Song not see through her? He was just willing to play along and appease her. She couldn't play this game between the two of them…
“Actually, I only realized it half a month ago,” Song Ling poured her a glass of warm water to cleanse her palate. “My servants sent word that Marquis Wu’an, who has always been steady in battle and focused on defense, has suddenly become reckless.”
"He was inquiring about news from Luoyang. But there weren't many people in Luoyang that he cared about. After a moment's thought, perhaps someone had told him something."
Wang Zhiyan didn't take it seriously: "For example?"
"For example, someone wants to harm her wife."
Wang Zhiyan frowned: "How could that be? Who would dare to lay a hand on the princess within Luoyang City?"
"What if it's the Fourth Princess's brother? What if he's about to ascend the throne but learns that General Yu has captured the Second Prince of Qi?"
Song Ling smiled lightly: "Zhou Chengyu is a man who loves to scheme. Once he realizes that he can't control the Southwest General, he will definitely find a worthy opponent to fight against him, so that he can sit back and watch the tigers fight, and then reap the benefits."
"Now, the only one who can match our general in terms of military strength is Marquis Wu'an. Most importantly, Marquis Wu'an's only obstacle is Luoyang. Clearly, Zhou Chengyu understands that as long as he controls Marquis Wu'an's wife, Marquis Wu'an will definitely obey."
Wang Zhiyan was stunned by her analysis, so much so that she didn't even notice the chicken leg falling onto the plate. She stared blankly at her face and asked, "What did you eat to grow up like this?"
Aren't all the things on our heads heads? Why is your head different from mine?
Song Ling was speechless for a moment, then tossed her a clean handkerchief: "Your mouth is all greasy."
"Just like you, I grew up eating."
“It’s like saying nothing at all…” Wang Zhiyan slowly wiped her mouth, her brow furrowed. “But this doesn’t quite make sense. The news has just reached Luoyang. Even if the Second Prince acted quickly, Marquis Wu’an couldn’t have known beforehand, could he?”
“So, someone spread false information.” Song Ling sneered, “Not only that, this person is someone trusted by Marquis Wu’an.”
What was the name of the person in charge of escorting that batch of grain? Oh, it was Qu Rong.
The only question is whether he is truly Zhou Yuanrong's man, or a wolf in sheep's clothing...
"So, love and romance really do waste people's time," Wang Zhiyan said disdainfully. "Even the famous Marquis of Wu'an is so careless. If he had brought his wife with him back then, none of this trouble would have happened."
"Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Do you think this makes her safe?" Song Ling took a sip of water and said slowly, "Although the Chen family has declined, it was once a noble family. Chen Hejun is a loyal subject. He knows very well that as long as he fights for the court peacefully, the old emperor will naturally not harm the princess he gave birth to."
"What he didn't expect was that the old emperor died so suddenly. So the agreement between the two of them was unknown to anyone and therefore invalid."
“In that case, he was forced by circumstances.” Wang Zhiyan couldn’t help but ask her, “What if our general had encountered such a situation? Do you think he would have ridden a thousand miles alone to save you…”
"So you want to know?" Song Ling didn't miss the teasing in Wang Zhiyan's eyes, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then why don't you ask him yourself?"
As soon as Song Ling finished speaking, Wang Zhiyan felt a chill down her spine. She turned her head stiffly and happened to see Yu Baizhou looking at her with a solemn expression.
She turned back stiffly and said dryly, "I just remembered, Mersom should be changing his clothes at this time, I'll go help him."
"You guys talk, you guys talk..."
Song Ling couldn't bear to look and raised her hand to cover her forehead. Couldn't they have come up with a better excuse? Wouldn't it have been better to just say they were going to force-feed him medicine?
“Ah Ling, I can do it too.” Yu Baizhou’s eyes brightened as he stared at her. “I’m no worse than Chen Hejun.” Whether it’s fighting or caring for his wife.
Why compare this? Song Ling didn't quite understand; in any case, such a situation would never happen to her.
Using her as leverage? They're asking for trouble!
However, since their general cares so much, there's no need for an awkward silence. Song Ling smiled and stood up, "Of course, the general is the most capable; I've always known that."
Unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips, Yu Baizhou took out a thick stack of land deeds from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand.
"I ransacked the Prince Qi's mansion and stripped all the powerful and influential people in Yangzhou of their property. All the land they acquired, along with their private residences and estates, are now yours."
"I need to give a small portion of the confiscated gold, silver, and grain to the army to help them get through the winter, and the rest I'll leave to you. I went to the Qi Prince's mansion, and the treasury has a lot of medicinal herbs, books, and some silks... They're still on their way and will be delivered to you in a few days."
If Wang Zhiyan hadn't gone out just now, she would have been utterly astonished again. The confiscation of property and extermination of families, the mountains of gold and silver, were all mentioned to him as simply as "what we'll eat today."
Even Song Ling, a man of considerable experience, was taken aback. Yangzhou truly lived up to its reputation as a historically prosperous city; it was indeed incredibly wealthy. However, the wealth belonged only to the powerful, wealthy, and noble.
Song Ling looked up. "The general has entrusted everything to me, why doesn't he keep some for himself?"
“I’ll keep it,” Yu Baizhou said somewhat awkwardly. “As I just said, I need to take half of the grain and gold and silver for military supplies.”
Actually, aside from the military rewards to be distributed to the soldiers, he originally intended to leave everything to Song Ling. However, he was indeed short of money at the moment.
“Not even half, use them all for military supplies.” Song Ling thought for a moment and said, “Besides, the medicinal herbs and ancient books in the Prince’s mansion alone are probably worth a fortune.”
"General, you're being so generous... how come..." Song Ling's eyes crinkled with amusement, "Are you going to give me betrothal gifts?"
"Huh? No..." Yu Baizhou quietly added, "I just wanted to give it to you."
When Yu Baizhou stormed into the Qi Prince's mansion and saw those things, he first mentally reviewed them. For example, Song Ling would definitely like the medicinal herbs and ancient books, so he would take them all back; he could make new clothes for her from the silks and satins; as for the jewelry and gold and silver... even if she didn't like wearing them, they would still be pleasing to the eye to look at.
"So, what the general said before the expedition was all just to fool me?"
Yu Baizhou recalled the scene from that night as she spoke, his face flushing slightly. Back then… he had spoken in anger, almost losing control after being captivated by her, and blurted out that he would marry her once Yangzhou was captured…
However, he still had reservations. The situation was unstable, and he dared not act rashly.
"You dare not?"
Yu Baizhou was startled and realized that he had just spoken his mind, and he became even more uncomfortable.
But Song Ling had no intention of letting him off the hook. She placed all the land deeds on the table, approached him, and asked softly, "What is the general afraid to do?"
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