Chapter 29: Honey Trap 7 "Brother, what are you laughing at so late at night?
The group arrived at the street, which was clear. Four long tables were placed opposite each other in front of the city gate, with several large boxes full of silver next to the tables. Four yamen runners were guarding each place. After the people registered and received the money, they could leave the city and return home.
Now that Wen Fengxuan is here, we can add another long table and another cashier counter.
Wen Fengxuan's complexion wasn't looking good, and he coughed from time to time. Zhu Song was worried about his health and said to him, "If your Highness is feeling unwell, please don't force yourself."
Wen Fengxuan politely declined, "It's just writing, it's nothing serious, don't worry about it, sir."
Seeing that he insisted, Zhu Song didn't say anything more. He just nodded and took the yamen runners to inspect various places and coordinate with various places. He was very busy. During this time, he met Zhu Lingye and they had breakfast together.
Zhu Lingye's face wasn't looking good either. He looked pale, with dark circles under his eyes. At first glance, he looked like a ghost. Zhu Song felt very distressed when he saw him. "Thank you for your hard work last night."
Zhu Lingye got a little angry when he mentioned this. "That's right. They've been making a fuss all night. If I hadn't drawn my sword, they wouldn't have settled down."
Huh? This doesn't sound right, Zhu Song wondered, "Weren't you healing me last night?"
"No." Seeing that he seemed to have misunderstood, Zhu Lingye explained, "Didn't I go to Su Li to get some ointment last night? As soon as I went in and finished speaking, the yamen runners found me and said there was a commotion on the street. I rushed over to deal with it, and it was just over at dawn."
If it wasn’t Zhu Lingye, then who was it that rubbed him all night?
Oh, it must be Su Li. I didn’t expect that guy, who looks so cold, actually has the sense of responsibility of a doctor.
Zhu Song figured it out and stopped dwelling on it. He asked, "What happened last night?"
Zhu Lingye replied, "Weren't the districts divided into groups so people could receive their pay first? Some of those assigned to the back didn't want to. Didn't you see how much trouble they were making? One was threatening to jump off the building with his child, and another was an old lady lying on the ground crying. There were people cursing and howling over there. My head is buzzing right now. It's so noisy."
Zhu Song patted his shoulder sympathetically and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Zhu Lingye replied: "Fortunately, this matter is almost over."
After breakfast, everyone went about their business. Towards evening, Zhu Song came to see how the relief money was being distributed. As he walked onto the street, he heard someone shouting, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhu Song's heart trembled, thinking someone was about to cause trouble, so he rushed over, only to see a tall and imposing man being helped up by Wen Fengxuan. As the two spoke, the man's eyes were red, as if they were old acquaintances. Zhu Song remembered that Wen Fengxuan had a close attendant named Xie Ningyuan who was among the victims.
Wen Fengxuan's appearance was originally outstanding. After he sat here for a day, almost everyone in the people knew about it, but they only thought he was an ordinary minor official. Now when they heard that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they immediately praised him without any reservation.
"It's actually His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness is so weak, yet he came in person to give us money. He's simply a living Bodhisattva."
"Yes, I've seen His Royal Highness cough many times, and it makes me uncomfortable."
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is compassionate and cares about the world. He is our blessing."
“........”
At the end of the conversation, I don’t know who knelt down first and shouted loudly, “Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!” Someone started it, and the others behind followed suit and knelt down, also shouting, “Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
"Your Highness, please take care of yourself."
All the people knelt down, leaving only Zhu Song standing in the crowd. Wen Fengxuan looked over and the two looked at each other. Wen Fengxuan nodded slightly at him, and Zhu Song also smiled at him.
"Everyone, hurry up. This is what I should do. You don't have to do this."
Wen Fengxuan's gentle voice was as comfortable as the spring breeze. The people stood up one after another, but they continued to praise him.
Zhu Song walked over and asked, "Your Highness, you've been sitting here all day. Let me let Ling Wang take your place."
Wen Fengxuan refused, "No need."
Zhu Song was worried about his health and advised him, "Your Highness is not in good health. You should not overwork yourself. You should go back home to rest at night. You can come back tomorrow morning."
The people around also advised: "Yes, Your Highness, please don't work too hard. Rest when you need to. It won't be a problem for us to go home later."
"I feel fine now. Returning home is a big deal and can't be delayed." Wen Fengxuan looked at Zhu Song after he finished speaking. Zhu Song understood what he meant and knew that he had made up his mind, so he didn't try to persuade him. He just said, "Your Highness must take care of yourself. If you feel unwell, you must notify the doctor immediately."
Wen Fengxuan said, "Doctor Su is right here."
Following Wen Fengxuan's line of sight, Zhu Song saw Su Li sitting with Xie Ningyuan not far away. The two were very close to each other. Su Li was talking to him. Xie Ningyuan's eyes were always on Wen Fengxuan with a cold expression, and he seemed a little impatient.
Su Li noticed Zhu Song's gaze and glared at him, but Zhu Song didn't take it to heart. After all, he was just a doctor with a cold exterior but a warm heart.
Since Su Li was not so worried anymore, she said a few more words to Wen Fengxuan and turned to leave. However, she was stopped by Xue Caining before she had gone far.
Xue Caining changed into a gentle goose yellow long dress, with her long hair tied in a plain hairpin and no makeup on. She was as beautiful as a fairy who did not eat anything of this world. "I will never forget your kindness, sir. I was taking care of my nephew a few days ago, so I didn't tell you in detail. Now that my brother and sister-in-law have returned home, I beg to stay with you as a slave. Please accept me as yours."
A gaze fell on Zhu Song, so strong that he couldn't ignore it. Zhu Song frowned and rejected her without hesitation, "Miss Xue, you are mistaken. As the father of the people, it is my duty to help the victims. There is no such thing as a favor. You don't need to pay anything for this, let alone become a slave. Miss Xue, take the money and go home."
Zhu Song was about to leave when Xue Caining suddenly knelt down and grabbed his clothes. "Master Zhu, I have already made an agreement with my family that I will stay by your side and serve you for the rest of my life. Please accept me."
Her movements were so big that the clothes on her shoulders were soaked with blood, and there was no sign of stopping. Zhu Song remembered that the wound seemed to have been caused by him.
"Miss Xue, I don't need anyone to serve me. Please go home immediately."
Hearing his words, Xue Caining hugged his legs tightly and cried, "Sir, my nephew is sick and my brother and sister-in-law blame me. If I go back, they will torture me to death. Sir, please save me, Sir, if you don't save me, I will die."
Now Zhu Song finally understood Zhu Lingye's feelings. This noise was indeed making everyone feel overwhelmed. There were so many people here, and he didn't dare to use force. But he was lucky. Zhu Lingye brought people over and saw the situation here and quickly shouted, "Brother."
Zhu Song winked at him, and Zhu Lingye ordered the bailiff to come forward and pull Xue Caining away. There was a commotion here, and the people around looked over, but their gazes were just ordinary curiosity, not the previous one. Zhu Song looked around, but did not notice the previous gaze. It just stopped for a moment when it swept over Wen Fengxuan. He was seriously memorizing the name, looking serious and focused. The dim light reflected in his beautiful eyes, sparkling like stars!
The yamen runners dragged the sobbing Xue Caining along. Zhu Lingye walked over to Zhu Song and whispered, "What should we do with this woman?"
Zhu Song said, "Let's check her background first."
"Then lock him up in jail temporarily?" Zhu Lingye had never encountered such a thing before and was a little troubled for a moment.
Zhu Song glanced at him and said, "Just send it back to where it was before."
"Okay," Zhu Lingye responded, directing the yamen runners, "You two take this girl back to her residence." Then he said to Xue Caining, "Don't wander around outside at night, or you might be arrested as a troublemaker."
Xue Caining wanted to say something, but was frightened by him and dared not to say anything. She was taken away by the yamen runners crying.
After the people walked away, the two brothers also started to walk back. On the way, Zhu Lingye asked, "Isn't this the girl from before? What's wrong? Is she relying on you?"
"Let's investigate now." Zhu Song didn't even want to recall the past. It was too damn embarrassing.
Although Zhu Song didn't want to talk about it, Zhu Lingye didn't broach the subject. "Brother, if you bring a daughter-in-law back to mother this time, she will definitely be happy."
"Daughter-in-law?" Zhu Song looked at him and sneered twice. "If you want to bring one, just bring one yourself. They're all daughters-in-law anyway, and we'll all be happy. Instead of worrying so much, go pick one for Ling Wang too."
"That won't work," Zhu Lingye firmly rejected his proposal. "As soon as I mentioned it, he said he would write a memorial to impeach me for not doing my job properly."
"You're so stubborn, yet you're afraid of impeachment."
Zhu Lingye argued, "I'm not afraid of impeachment, but he can't tell the emperor that I'm not doing my job properly. If I'm fired, I'll be stuck at home on blind dates every day. I'll die."
Zhu Song said, "Then you should get married quickly and have more grandchildren for your mother to take care of. Then she won't have time to arrange blind dates for you."
"Brother, what are you talking about?"
Zhu Song replied, "You were the one who said the unpleasant words first."
Zhu Lingye couldn't argue with him, so he shut up tactfully.
There was a moment of silence, only the waving of red lanterns on the street. Zhu Song couldn't help but think about Zhu Lingye's words. A daughter-in-law? He could actually bring one back home now, though it wouldn't be a surprise. He could even imagine his mother's eyes rolling back when she saw Wen Fengxuan, fainting, and falling into his father's arms, where he pinched her philtrum.
Hearing the laughter, Zhu Lingye looked sideways at Zhu Song suspiciously, "Brother, what are you laughing at so late at night? It's so creepy."
This was really hard to hear, and Zhu Song replied angrily, "I want to laugh, I love to laugh, I like to laugh, but I can't."
"Huh." Zhu Lingye shuddered, "How scary."
Zhu Song didn't want to argue with him anymore. "Go check it out quickly and give me the results before tomorrow morning."
Zhu Lingye pursed his lips and responded reluctantly, then turned and ran away.
Zhu Song looked at his hurried back and chuckled.
This kid.
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