Chapter 456 The Old Lover in Cangzhou
"Young Master Han, I don't want to waste my breath on you. Please step aside," Mu Yunzhou said calmly.
Mu Yunzhou took a step to the left, and Han Tao took a step to the left; he took a step to the right, and Han Tao took a step to the right, refusing to let Mu Yunzhou pass.
Mu Yunzhou reached out and shoved Han Tao, trying to force his way in. Han Tao pushed back hard, saying, "You actually pushed me?"
Mu Yunzhou staggered back a few steps before regaining his footing. "It was clearly you who wouldn't move aside. I just wanted to get past you; I didn't mean to push you."
Han Tao's lips curled up, his tone full of disdain, "It's an honor for me to invite you to sit down and chat, but you actually want to leave? You're really ungrateful."
"Yes, how dare you look down on our Young Master Han, Mu Yunzhou? Do you really think you're superior just because you married into the Jiang family?"
“If the Jiang family truly valued you, Jiang Wanjun wouldn’t have arranged for you to do such a thing.”
Just as Mu Yunzhou was about to speak, Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi stepped in front of him and said coldly to Han Tao, "Are you Han Fei's son?"
Han Tao sized Song Zhuyi up and down. There were only a handful of young masters in the capital.
He had never seen the person in front of him before. Judging from his clothes, he was from a wealthy family, but he couldn't be sure if he was from the Jiang family. After all, the Jiang family had been rich for a long time.
Everyone knows that.
Han Tao assessed the situation in his mind and, confirming that the person in front of him was not someone he could afford to offend, his tone turned disdainful, "And who are you?"
"Judging from her appearance, she's not from the capital. Could she be Lord Jiang's old flame from Cangzhou?"
As soon as Han Tao finished speaking, the people around him burst into laughter.
Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi frowned slightly. Han Fei was quite cautious and prudent in court, and very tactful in his actions. How could not only his nephew be so stupid, but his son be so stupid as well?
"Was the person from your Han family who died a couple of days ago and was to be married in a ghost marriage also someone from your Han family?" Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi asked.
Upon hearing the phrase "ghost marriage," those around Han Tao turned to look at him, their gazes sharpening. Han Tao sensed the hostility from those around him.
His tone toward Song Zhuyi grew increasingly hostile, "Don't talk nonsense. What ghost marriage? I know nothing about it."
"I understand. You can't stand how we treat Mu Yunzhou, can you? Just how capable is Jiang Wan Ning? I just don't understand how she can make the two of you get along so peacefully."
"It's one thing to get along well, but to actually stand up for the other is quite another."
"You know what, I really need to ask you for some pointers on this, hahaha..."
The men with Han Tao echoed his words, their eyes filled with mockery and ridicule towards Jiang Wanjun.
Mu Yunzhou clenched his fists tightly. "Han Tao, don't go too far. I have important business to attend to today and don't want to argue with you."
"You'd better be sensible and leave now so I can overlook your rudeness earlier."
Upon hearing this, Han Tao laughed even more unrestrainedly, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He tilted his head and stuck out his ears, "Did I hear that right?"
Are you threatening me?
"Hahaha... A man who married into the family dares to threaten me, hahaha..."
"Marrying into the family?" Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi interjected, "Young Master Mu and Lord Jiang have a proper wedding ceremony, and the Regent and the Empress Dowager are the guarantors of this marriage."
"What constitutes marrying into the family?"
"If you're not marrying into the family, why are you living in the Jiang family's house?" one of Han Tao's companions shouted.
Song Zhuyi gave the man who had just spoken a cold glance. "Why can't I stay?"
"How many concubines or wives have you all taken? Did you buy your mansions with your own money?"
"Which law in Dongling stipulates that married couples must live in the man's house and cannot live in the woman's house?"
"Which law stipulates that living in the woman's home constitutes marrying into her family?"
"Furthermore, so what if he marries into the family?" Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi asked three questions in a row.
Han Tao and the others showed no remorse for those three sentences; on the contrary, they laughed even more unrestrainedly. "I'm really starting to wonder how Lord Jiang brainwashed you all."
"You actually took his side."
Mu Yunzhou stepped forward and stood next to Song Zhuyi, whispering, "Your Highness, don't get angry with them."
"Let them say what they want; this commoner will simply ignore it."
"Don't bother with them trying to stand up for ordinary people; these people are used to being arrogant and domineering because of their family's power..."
"Arrogant? If I do nothing today, it will prove that I am condoning their arrogance." Song Zhuyi's voice was slightly angry. "I want to see just how arrogant they are."
“Your father is still in Dali Temple, yet you still have the leisure to play tricks on others.”
A flicker of disbelief crossed Han Tao's eyes, then he added, "You think you can spout nonsense just because you're by Jiang Wanjun's side?"
"My father was perfectly fine this morning, going to the morning court and even to the Dali Temple. Why don't you tell me that if he's imprisoned, the Han family is doomed?" Han Tao snorted disdainfully.
His father was a man who knew best how to secure his own future. Even when the late emperor died from taking elixirs, he, a mere astronomical bureau official, managed to escape unscathed. How could something like this happen to him so suddenly?
Song Zhuyi sneered, "Forcibly taking the women from the pleasure boat to arrange a ghost marriage—without your father, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau chief, backing you up, how would the rest of your Han family dare to do that?"
"That's one thing. Han Fei, a native of Nanli, grew up and served as an official in Dongling. Not only is he ungrateful, but he also betrayed Dongling."
"Providing intelligence to Nanli, that's the second point!"
"The most accurate thing you can guess now that your father is already in prison."
"Your Han family is truly doomed."
Han Tao looked completely disbelieving, even a hint of anger on his face. "If you keep talking nonsense, believe me, I'll beat you to death!"
Mu Yunzhou immediately stood in front of Song Zhuyi, saying, "Han Tao, you are not allowed to be rude to Young Master Song."
It would have been better if Mu Yunzhou hadn't protected him; the more he did, the angrier Han Tao became. He shoved Mu Yunzhou away and said, "I'll teach him a lesson today."
"It also lets him know that he can eat whatever he wants, but he can't say whatever he wants."
Mu Yunzhou was pushed away forcefully, and he was so frightened that he quickly got up and rushed to Song Zhuyi to protect her tightly.
Seeing the situation, several people around Han Tao rushed forward and began to approach Mu Yunzhou. Song Zhuyi looked into the shadows, and immediately a group of guards emerged.
Having learned her lesson from the previous day on the pleasure boat, Song Zhuyi was not so willful this time when leaving the palace, and had Pei Yanchuan arrange for several bodyguards to accompany her.
The palace guards are all top-notch in skill; dealing with a few纨绔 (playboys) is a piece of cake for them.
Han Tao tried to break free, but it was no use. "How dare you!"
"You actually dared to kidnap me! Jiang Wanjun has no respect for the Han family at all. Do you think you can subdue me with just these few guards from the Jiang family?"
"Hmph, you underestimate me too much."
"If I can't get home today, then Jiang Wanjun is doomed too."
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