Chapter 59
Li Pingru glared at his father: "The distinguished guest you're talking about... is he?"
Li Guojiu's face suddenly turned pale. "The entire court is avoiding this Buddha statue, so how could I dare to bring it home?"
The worry on his brows deepened, and his intuition told him that Mr. Fan's uninvited visit was definitely not a good thing!
Uncle Li Guo did not dare to delay and immediately ordered his servants to prepare tea to welcome the guests. He also repeatedly warned Li Pingru: "Hurry back to your room! Don't show up!"
Li Pingru said, "I'll go with you!"
"Don't add to the chaos!" Li Guojiu waved his hand and hurried to the front hall. Unexpectedly, after a few steps, he paused and turned back. "Listen carefully, Ru'er. If no servant comes to report your safety within a cup of tea, you must leave through the back door immediately! Take your money, disguise yourself as an ordinary merchant, and go to Huaizhou to seek refuge with your grandfather!"
"Why do you say that, father?"
Li Pingru knew that the Li family had fallen apart after his aunt's death, but he had never considered fleeing. "Aren't you all part of the same group? If it weren't for our family's constant support, he wouldn't be where he is today!"
Li Guojiu sighed deeply, a wry smile playing on his face. "If your aunt were still alive, we could be considered accomplices, sharing both our success and failure. But your aunt is gone, and your father is no longer able to do anything useful. We are just burdens who 'know too much'..."
At that moment, his face, pampered for years, suddenly collapsed, his fatigue mingled with fear and reluctance. "Son, this is all your fault... You're so stubborn and don't know how to be tolerant. I'm afraid you'll suffer in the future... No matter how difficult it is, always remember to live well! As long as you're alive, there's hope!"
"Father……"
Li Pingru felt inexplicably panicked and tried to pull her father's sleeve anxiously, but Li Guojiu pushed her hard into the arms of the maid, threw down a sentence "Take good care of the young lady", and hurried away without looking back.
*
Mr. Fan came alone.
He was very familiar with the Prince's Mansion and, ignoring the servants' panicked attempts to stop him, he walked to the side yard. When Prince Li rushed from the front hall to the study, he saw Mr. Fan sitting leisurely by the window, reading a storybook with great interest.
Li Guojiu took a deep breath and put on a fearful smile as he went forward. "I am a foolish servant. I was late in reporting. I have kept Lord Fan waiting for so long!"
"Brother Zizhan, you are too polite!" Mr. Fan put down the book, glanced at Li Guojiu's slightly sweaty forehead, smiled, but did not stand up.
Li Guojiu took the teapot from the servant, filled it himself and presented it to him, saying carefully, "It's so cold, why bother coming here in person? Send someone to tell them that I, a leisurely person, should visit you at your house!"
Lord Fan remained silent, lowering his head to sip his tea. "Tsk tsk, your tea is still the best... Is this the batch of dragon balls given by the emperor two years ago? The emperor has always favored you. Aside from a few relatives, you are always given the most."
Li Guojiu's heart tightened, and the smile on his face froze. When he heard that Lord Fan was coming, he panicked and wanted to serve him the best tea, but he didn't expect to offend the bad luck of "Imperial Gift".
Seeing his bewildered look, Lord Fan smiled and said, "It's just a casual chat. Why are you so nervous, Brother Zizhan?"
Uncle Li wiped his sweat and tried to explain, "Mr. Fan, I am nothing but a useless waste in the eyes of the emperor... The little favor he showed me was due to the late queen."
Hearing him mention Empress Li, Lord Fan sighed and asked, "I heard you have a mourning hall in your house?"
Li Guojiu nodded and said, "I just put up a small portrait of Empress Zhang before she left the palace to comfort her family."
Lord Fan said, "The Queen treated me well when she was alive. I should have come to burn an incense stick long ago."
Uncle Li hurriedly knelt down to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Mr. Fan, for your consideration. It is an honor for our family!"
Lord Fan leaned over and helped him up: "Brother Zizhan, you are confused... You and I are officials in the same court, both of the first rank. Strictly speaking, as a royal relative, your position is half a rank higher than mine. Why are you kneeling down to me?
"The political situation has been turbulent recently, and I've been so busy with trivial matters that I haven't had time to come and see you. You can't be estranged from me!
"I know that the Queen has passed away, and many people in the court who curry favor with the powerful believe that the Li family has fallen from grace. But don't worry, Brother Zizhan, as long as I am here, the Li family will remain the same Li family, and the Prince's Mansion will remain the same Prince's Mansion."
Li Guojiu's heart was about to drop when Lord Fan continued, "The Empress has no children, and you only have one child, Zhenru. I know you've always loved her dearly, and her affairs have always been on my mind... She and Zhao Congyun have divorced, and there's no further connection between them. I've already found a new marriage for her, and I'm here today to act as a matchmaker. This can also be considered fulfilling a wish for the late Empress and Brother Zizhan."
Uncle Li was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "I wonder... I wonder who Lord Fan wants to marry my daughter to?"
"Xuzhou's general, General Song Liangsong."
Even though Li Guojiu had already prepared for the worst, he still gasped, "Xuzhou... could it be that... General Yanwang?!"
Song Liang led troops outside the capital all year round. He was neither an important official of the court nor had a prominent family background, but he was well-known in the capital because his Iron Eagle Guards had participated in the bloodiest massacre wars in the north many times, and were no less brutal than the foreign tribes who burned, killed and looted.
Those civil officials who read the Four Books and Five Classics and believed in the teachings of Confucius and Mencius naturally could not tolerate such barbaric behavior. Therefore, many people in the court wrote letters to impeach Song Liang and the Iron Eagle Guard for their actions, but in the end, all of them fell on deaf ears.
Later, people gradually realized that in such a big world, there must always be someone standing in the shadows and doing despicable things in order to preserve the light.
With Song Liang stationed in Xuzhou, foreign invaders dared not invade for several years, and the people rested and recuperated, enjoying a rare peaceful life. Therefore, no one dared to question Song Liang's military style, but no one was willing to marry their daughter to such a butcher-like and rough general.
Of course, Li Guojiu could not agree to let his beloved daughter marry such a person!
Even if he reluctantly agreed because he was afraid of Lord Fan, given his daughter's personality, she would rather die than obey - Li Pingru's previous husband was the banished immortal Zhao Congyun, who was completely different from Song Liang!
"Lord Fan, you absolutely cannot do this! My daughter is spoiled and willful, and she's already married. She's no match for General Song!"
"That's all right. With me as your matchmaker, are you still afraid General Song won't agree?" Lord Fan smiled faintly. "Brother Zizhan, you may not know, but this marriage was proposed to me personally by General Song, who specifically asked for your daughter!"
Li Guojiu had no idea that what Song Liang was saying at the time was that who wouldn't want to have a taste of Zhao Congyun's woman.
Looking at Mr. Fan's determined expression, he knew that there was no hope of shirking his responsibilities. Now he could only hope that Li Pingru had left the house. He tried his best to delay Mr. Fan for a while to buy more time for his daughter to escape.
Lord Fan seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile, "Brother Zizhan, why don't you call Pingru out and ask her what she means?"
"My daughter has caught a cold recently. When she recovers, she will..."
Before he could finish his words, the study door was suddenly thrown open. Li Pingru stumbled in, covered in blood, his face pale, and he screamed like a madman, "Daddy, save me!"
Uncle Li was so frightened that he fell to the ground: "What...what on earth just happened? Why haven't you left yet?"
Li Pingru rushed to his side, trembling all over and pointing to the yard. Li Guojiu followed her gaze and saw a strong man with a whisker standing in the yard, holding a bloody long knife in his hand. He looked like an evil ghost who was asking for their lives, staring at everyone in the study with a cold look.
"I just left the house when I ran into this guy... He captured me and... he also killed Rui'er!"
Li Guojiu looked at Lord Fan in despair, but saw him nod slightly to the people in the courtyard: "General Song."
He turned around and said to Li Pingru in a gentle voice, "My child, your uncle and your father have just discussed and have betrothed you to General Song Liangsong."
Li Pingru looked at her father lying on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and she suddenly understood - Lord Fan was treating her as a favor and "selling" her to Song Liang just to make better use of the military power in his hands.
She was shocked and angry: "Don't even think about it! I would never marry such a man even if I die!"
Lord Fan was surprised and said, "General Song is a pillar of our country, with a promising future... Unlike some people, who are imprisoned in the bitter cold of the frontier, with no hope of ever turning their lives around!"
When he mentioned Zhao Congyun, Li Pingru suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of courage and shouted, "He will be back! Don't be too proud!"
Uncle Li hurriedly tried to cover Li Pingru's mouth, but Lord Fan burst into laughter: "Just as you wish! He's already on his way back to the capital!"
He slowly leaned over and spoke to Li Pingru, whose face was covered in tears, and Li Guojiu, who was stunned, and said word by word, "Actually, I'm looking forward to his return more than any of you."
"If he doesn't come back, who am I going to use this net of heaven and earth on?"
*
When Mu Yunqing returned to the Lingzhou camp, Yue Mingming was taking a newborn foal for a walk outside the stable.
"Are you healed?" Yue Mingming greeted.
"Thank you for your concern. I feel much better."
Mu Yun clasped his fists and smiled. Yue Mingming saw that his face was still pale and his gait was a little unsteady, so he frowned slightly. "Uncle Dong said that you must take good care of yourself now, otherwise you will easily become disabled...Did the old general kick you out? I'll go and plead for you. You haven't even found a wife yet. If you become a cripple, who would be willing to marry you?"
Before Mu Yunqing could reply, a playful laugh could be heard from behind. Deputy General Zheng Rong and Pei Yuan from the Divine Machine Battalion walked out of the tent together. Zheng Rong grinned and said, "My lady, you underestimate our young marshal! I wonder how many girls in Lingzhou want to marry him! A few days ago, during the Lantern Festival, everyone heard that the young marshal was ill, and they sent us all these blessing lanterns. The general's mansion is almost full of them!"
"Really?" Yue Mingming smelled a scent of gossip and his eyes lit up immediately: "General Zheng, tell me more!"
Mu Yun raised his hand and threw a porcelain bottle over: "You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth! I think you have a brain injury, you need some treatment!"
Zheng Rong took it with a chuckle: "Thank you, Marshal, for the medicine!"
Mu Yun glared at him and said to Yue Mingming, "Don't listen to his nonsense. The people of Lingzhou are grateful to my grandfather for his years of defense of the city. Every year during the Lantern Festival, they send blessing lanterns. It has nothing to do with me."
Yue Mingming: "You are the one guarding the city now, so you must have a share in those blessings."
Mu Yunqing's expression suddenly froze: "I——"
Yue Mingming knew that he still hadn't gotten over the previous hurdle, so he interrupted, "Good things are good things, bad things are bad things. Please forgive yourself and forgive me too! I've been trying to persuade your grandfather lately, and my lips are almost worn out. I don't have the energy to persuade you anymore!"
Mu Yun was stunned for a moment, then chuckled softly: "...I was wrong! I won't mention it anymore!"
Yue Mingming saw that his complexion had improved and asked, "Why did you come here?"
Mu Yunqing's eyes flickered, suddenly looking towards the distant, pale blue skyline, without replying. Yue Mingming also looked up and saw a lone goose slowly flying across the sky, heading south.
That is the direction of the capital.
"Are you worried about him?" Mu Yunqing suddenly asked.
"Yeah." Yue Mingming's smile faded slightly, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
Mu Yunqing saw it, and after a moment, he said inexplicably: "The weather has been very warm recently."
"..." Yue Mingming was stunned by this abrupt turn of events, but after he reminded her, she suddenly realized that Lingzhou had indeed been unusually warm since the Lantern Festival. Normally, the winter in the bitterly cold border area was exceptionally long, so why did she have the illusion of spring now?
She asked curiously, "Is it this warm in previous years?"
Pei Yuan shook his head. "In previous years, not to mention the first month of the year, we still had to wear fur coats after Qingming Festival! This year is really too weird!"
Mu Yunqing suddenly ordered: "Pei Yuan, take the Shenji Camp and follow me out of the city."
Yue Mingming had a hunch that something was going on: "Where are we going?"
Mu Yunqing said calmly: "Go ask God if he is willing to help us."
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