Chapter 99: He was unwilling to take advantage of anything that had to do with her.
The preparations for Marquis Cangping's marriage had not taken long, and rather seemed rather hasty. Fortunately, the two had been arranged to be married since childhood, and their elders, seeing that they were growing older, had hurriedly begun preparations for many matters. By the time the wedding took place, everything that needed to be prepared had been completed, and the bride did not seem to be wronged.
Song Xieqing and Li Qingrang were not very familiar with each other. In other words, he had very little contact with any faction in the court.
The situation on the border was getting more and more tense, and the tribes of the neighboring small countries were pressing forward step by step. In one night, they were surrounded by wolves, and they were bound to divide and eat the dead insect Yingguo. The court was racking its brains every day for the issue of collecting grain and recruiting soldiers. On the other hand, Jiang Zhi, who was still sitting on the throne and had not attended court for many days, had not yet announced his resignation. After all, he still held the title of imperial teacher. Therefore, the Li family handed over the invitation according to etiquette.
The clouds scorched the sky, like a prairie fire, burning from the sky to the mountains.
Outside the Song Mansion, there were two carriages parked.
Zhu Hao stood at the door, arms folded, glaring at him. "You've locked me up at home for days, planning to tie me up and throw me to Huaicheng. Even today, on A-Yin's wedding, you're unwilling to take me with you."
"Can't I wait until A Yin's wedding ceremony is over before going to Huaicheng? Must I go tonight? Must I go now?" Her eyelashes drooped, a hint of pity in her eyes. "So, when you said you wanted to marry me that day, it was just a temporary solution, wasn't it? All along, you just wanted to send me away, right?"
Song Xieqing was silent for a moment, then asked without further context, "You want to go to the Li Mansion? Since you don't have an invitation, what's your identity?"
Zhu Hao placed his hands on his hips, his eyes bright and clear, "With the status of your family a hundred years from now."
He remained silent. She was a little clever and sometimes sharp-tongued. Sometimes, he couldn't even argue with her, but sometimes, she didn't know how to adapt.
"Why wait a hundred years?" He knew she was feigning pity, but he couldn't help but pay attention to her. Song Xieqing walked up to her and wrapped her hand naturally. "I wanted to send you to Huaicheng. The marriage we promised that day was not to deceive you, nor was it to put you off."
"I am... Pian Pian, I sincerely want to marry you." He paused, then quickly changed his words: "I sincerely want to marry into the Zhu family..."
Zhu Hao didn't care about these details. She interrupted and said, "Song Xieqing, you are about to resign, right?"
Song Xieqing was stunned. He had never mentioned this matter to anyone.
At most, he would just dismiss the few servants in the mansion and send Qi'an to a remote state to avoid the limelight.
Her appearance was very mysterious, and every word she said was even more bizarre. She kept claiming that she was from a hundred years later, and he believed her. However, after living together for a long time, he never asked about his own ending, the ending of Yingguo, Huaicheng, or even the ending between him and her.
The reason is simple: he trusts her and loves her, so he is unwilling to take advantage of anything related to her.
Tonight is destined to be strange, with swords, spears, and halberds hidden in the wind.
Since returning from the palace that day, he heard that Jiang Zhi ordered Jiang Lin to go to Qing Kingdom for marriage.
The communication between Ying and Qing was convenient and the message could be transmitted very quickly. The Qing Kingdom sent a reply and agreed to the marriage.
Today is the wedding day of Mei Lianjun and Li Qingrang, and it is also the day when Jiang Lin travels to a foreign country to marry a princess. Before dawn, Jiang Lin has already set off with a group of envoys.
The two countries were willing to settle the conflict through marriage, and the situation seemed settled. However, the current monarch of Qing was a young boy, barely a full-grown child. How could Jiang Lin truly marry such a child? The power of Qing was now entirely in the hands of military advisor Huanzhen, and the marriage had clearly been approved by him. However, it was impossible for Huanzhen to persuade Jiang Zhisheng to consider the marriage.
Song Xieqing set his sights on Zhu Hao.
The woman in front of him seemed to have seen through his thoughts and smiled, "It's me."
"Why?"
"I don't want you to marry Jiang Lin, so I'm going to persuade His Majesty to marry me..."
He suddenly smiled and flicked her forehead lightly with his finger, "Pianpian, I'm busy tonight, don't make fun of me."
Zhu Hao grabbed his hand and smiled.
"I don't want to see the princess die in a palace coup. She's so innocent, isn't she?" In the faint afterglow, the woman's features were clear, as if they were about to fade away with the wind. "Just like you insisted on sending me out of the capital before the moonrise, protecting me from the storm."
Song Xieqing was suddenly stunned and could no longer take his eyes off her.
She really knew everything. Many court officials would attend the Li family's wedding banquet tonight and would surely get drunk. Because of this, tonight was the perfect night for a palace coup. However, Song Xieqing didn't know that if Jiang Lin had not been sent away for the marriage, he would have died in this chaos.
There is another thing. Although he knew that Mei Lianqing was the mastermind behind the palace coup, there must be someone else behind him. Although Song Xieqing had some guesses about who this person was, it still needed to be confirmed.
He traveled alone from Huaicheng to Yingdu, sailing alone in the dark night. He seemed to be taking every step steadily, but in fact he was quite panicked and at a loss inside.
Zhu Hao stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his chin, "Song Xieqing, don't take on everything by yourself..."
She raised her hand and pointed to the sky. "Look, the sun hasn't set yet, and the moon hasn't risen yet. How about this, Song Xieqing? I promise you, I'll leave Yingdu tonight, okay? But... please stay for a while, and we can have a good talk."
She was in the Ying Dynasty a hundred years ago. Even if she was a prophet, she was shocked to find that the world was not under human control. What's more, she had slightly changed the trajectory of her fate. The princess who was supposed to die in the turmoil tonight, after her lobbying, avoided the dead end that was destined to be recorded in the history books a hundred years later by marrying a princess.
Although Alin's life in Qing Kingdom was not as luxurious as that in Daying, with servants at his disposal, at least... he was still alive. Huanzhen was the founding monarch of Dacheng, and it was he who single-handedly overthrew both Ying and Qing Kingdoms. After he ascended the throne, he did not kill the old ministers of Ying Dynasty, but only dismissed the useless parasites. The imperial power of Qing Kingdom had long been hollowed out, the royal family was dying, the new monarch was young, and all power fell into Huanzhen's hands.
There was no reason for Huan Zhen to take Jiang Lin's life. The princess who was about to overthrow the country was neither harmful nor beneficial to Huan Zhen. In addition, Jiang Lin could be regarded as Song Xieqing's student. Huan Zhen relied on Song Xieqing to enter Huaicheng without a single soldier. After he ascended the throne, he had repeatedly invited Song Xieqing to serve as an official in the court. Therefore, for the sake of Song Xieqing's favor, Huan Zhen could tolerate Jiang Lin in the Qing Kingdom.
Only when you are alive can you have the possibility of playing chess again.
Song Xieqing and Huanzhen should be old acquaintances, but Zhu Hao has no idea of their specific origins.
From the beginning to the end, she relied on nothing more than half-true and half-false records in history books a hundred years later, in order to spy on and change the fate of this dynasty that should have been predetermined.
On the other hand, one careless move can lead to a bottomless abyss.
Song Xieqing still didn't know what would be recorded in history a hundred years later.
She and he seemed to be very close now, but in fact... they had never really opened their hearts to each other.
Ever since she was summoned into the palace by the dog emperor, Zhu Hao has been given a big alarm. She is in the cruel Ying Dynasty, where life and death are just a matter of a moment.
In this case, before leaving, she had to tell Song Xieqing everything she knew in order to prevent the disaster that was destined to happen in history from happening as planned.
Similarly, she also needed to exchange more useful information from Song Xieqing, and must not rely solely on a few ambiguous words in history books that were true or false.
Tonight, Marquis Cangping will help Ayin leave the capital and head to Xiayang.
Huaicheng and Xiayang are on the same road.
Therefore, Zhu Haoben also planned to leave, but she could not tell Song Xieqing the real reason for her departure, otherwise, he would definitely stand in her way. Besides, she... was not completely sure.
Maybe once I leave, I will never come back.
Each of them had his own thoughts.
Zhu Hao stroked his brow and said, "I have something I would like to ask for your help."
Song Xieqing whispered, "...It just so happens that I also have something I want to ask you, my lady."
…
The red candles of the phoenix and the dragon were getting shorter and shorter, and the wedding couch beneath them was scattered with gold coins and colorful fruits, which made Mei Lianjun feel uncomfortable.
She and Qing Rang were destined to be married since childhood, and she even asked her grandmother to go to the palace to ask the late emperor to grant the marriage.
Recalling this, Mei Lianjun's lips curled up unconsciously.
The red candles on the stage exploded, and her thoughts drifted back to ten years ago.
At that time, she was just a little girl of six or seven years old. She tied her hair up, wore boys' clothes, and went to the end of the street to fight crickets with a group of boys. She was born with a pair of sharp eyes and cleverness. She always picked the most ferocious and warlike crickets. She also knew where to poke the cricket when it was defeated to teach it to regroup and get ready to fight again.
Mei Lianjun had few defeats, and eventually earned the reputation of the Cricket King. There were always a few naughty boys who didn't treat her well and tried to tease her with evil intentions.
Once, Mei Lianjun was discovered to be a girl. Seeing that they had lost to a little girl, a group of young men became more and more angry and blocked Mei Lianjun one by one.
The fist was about to hit, but suddenly it deflected. In the blink of an eye, Mei Lianjun saw that all the young men had fallen to the ground.
Huh? She looked up—
The handsome young man extended his hand to her and said clearly, "My name is Qingrang. What's your name? Where do you live? I'll take you home."
Mei Lianjun leaped up from the ground with a somersault. Instead of answering, she asked, "You're so amazing! How about I hire you to teach me kung fu? Once I've mastered it, well, I'll be better than you, and I'll protect you in return!"
Although the boy was young at that time, there was a sharp look between his brows.
The sound of approaching footsteps brought her back to her senses.
A red tasseled spear lifted the wedding hat.
The features that came into view were still clear, but not as sharp as before. Instead, they were as soft as water, flowing into her heart and almost suffocating her.
The boy who had always claimed to be a great general in his childhood had long since given up his weapons and taken up writing.
The candlelight jumped onto the woman's bright and heroic eyebrows, and Li Qingrang was stunned for a moment. He forced himself to calm down and not let himself be trapped.
"The horses are ready outside the mansion. I'll give you one incense stick of time. If I catch up with you..." He handed her the red tassel spear. Li Qingrang smiled miserably, "If I catch up with you, Yin... you will be dead."
Mei Lianjun took the red tasseled spear and left without looking back.
The red candles in the room were extinguished by the night wind, and the candle smoke dissipated. A figure was quietly seen outside the door, kneeling on the ground and presenting a jade plaque engraved with a flying eagle.
Li Qingrang held it tightly.
The man knelt down and refused to retreat, "My Lord... I hope you will reconsider."
Li Qingrang retorted, "What are you thinking about? Ever since the new emperor ascended the throne and my father died in battle, I've been disarming and devoting myself to literature. The soldiers under my father's command have either been divided into various battalions or fallen to incompetent generals. Now, there are only five thousand soldiers guarding the city. Aren't you all looking forward to me inheriting my father's legacy?"
He stroked the flying eagle on the jade plaque. "The Li Family Army isn't owned by the Li Family. Anyone stationed on Daying's territory is the army of the people of Daying. No one can break their backbone... Only this jade plaque was left by my father, and it's been passed down through the generations of the Li Family. Now the monarch is incompetent. So many people have the ambition to serve their country, but nowhere to turn. Neighboring tribes are pressing hard, encroaching on our borders, but the court can't muster enough food, fodder, and troops. The Li Family Army's sharp edge is also rusting under the rule of this incompetent monarch... To sharpen the blade, to drive the enemy a thousand miles, they will follow me."
"But... the one leading the troops isn't the Marquis?!" The visitor's eyes were filled with fear. "Marquis... Marquis, once you leave, there's no turning back. From now on, His Majesty will no longer trust you! Besides, how can a mere 5,000 soldiers stop the Xiayang Alliance?! Princess Yunwei... Madam Marquis is doomed!"
"My Lord...are you going to send my wife to her death in vain?"
"Uncle Li." Li Qingrang said in a deep voice, his gentle eyes suddenly fierce. "Even if she only protected him for a moment, one person could be saved from death. How could she die in vain? I know Ah Yin. No one in the world can dissuade her. So, I will lend her a helping hand. I should be the one to fight the enemy... If I die, I die. However, I have the responsibility of the Li family... I am afraid that a single move will affect the whole body..."
"Uncle Li, rest assured. As for Your Majesty, I have my own plan for dealing with this matter. I will definitely not implicate the Li family." He said no more, only asking, "Have the food and wine been drugged?"
"...Yes, many guests in the front hall have collapsed."
"Alright, immediately bring your men to surround the Li Mansion and don't allow anyone to enter or leave. Wait for me to escort A Yin out of the city... Follow me into the palace."
…
Twenty miles outside the city, the sky was filled with yellow sand.
It was said that it took her an incense stick of time, but in fact it was only half an incense stick.
Besides, what kind of lousy horse had he given her? It couldn't even run.
Behind Li Qingrang were five thousand elite soldiers hidden in the wind and sand, and Mei Lianjun looked calm.
Just as he should let her go, Mei Lianjun was clear-headed and would never hurt her even if he rode after her on horseback.
Across the vast cloud of smoke, Li Qingrang threw the jade token to her.
She ordered him to stretch out his hand, and he obeyed obediently, allowing her fingertips to brush over every inch of his palm.
There were thick, rough calluses on his palms and fingertips. Could he be a man who had not wielded a weapon for many years?
Mei Lianjun smiled.
She was wearing military uniform and holding a red tasseled spear, leading five thousand soldiers and disappearing in the rolling quicksand.
The world is vast, and he is the only one left standing alone in the wind and sand.
Li Qingrang looked up and saw a lone star dotting the sky.
"If I were born in the wilderness... or even sprang out from a crack in the rock, without relatives or clans, I would no longer be constrained by others." He lay on his back on the yellow sand, muttering to himself: "But I was born from my mother's womb, I have parents and relatives. I have received their grace of birth and care, and the protection of my ancestors. How can I abandon them? I have tasted the embrace of my family and the warmth of home, and this life is destined to be bound by the weaknesses of family..."
If there is a next life... he would like to be a wanderer in the world, without the burden of a noble family and without heavy responsibilities. He only wishes to be with A Yin forever and ever without any worries.
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Author's note: A Yin and Qing Rang were written in detail in Chapter 57, so this chapter only has a few sentences about their wedding. If you forgot, you can go back and read it [kiss]
I made a Q version character for Pianpian Xiaosong! It's the scene of their first meeting. Hehehe, you can click on the character card to see that Xiaosong has a hydrangea in his arms! But it's blocked by his name.
Both of them are so cute hehe [laughing][patting head][covering face and peeking]
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