186. Arrange a marriage with a different person.
Lin Lingrong didn't turn around, but waved to them, signaling them not to follow.
She entered her courtyard and instructed her maid to guard the entrance, forbidding anyone from approaching.
He then quickly walked to the bedside, lifted the bed board, and took out the evidence hidden in the secret compartment.
She wrapped the evidence in oiled paper and put it in an exquisite wooden box. Before long, the servants brought the gold and silver.
They placed gold and silver on the top layer of the wooden box, and then carefully buried the evidence underneath.
Lin Lingrong carefully checked everything, and after confirming that there were no problems, she carried the wooden box out of the courtyard.
Dou Shichen was sitting on a stone bench under the eaves, casually looking around at the scenery in the courtyard. When he saw her come out, he immediately stood up: "Is everything ready?"
Lin Lingrong handed him the wooden box: "This contains money, which is compensation for the Prince of Zhennan. I hope the Prince of Zhennan will put in a good word for you with Lord Xie, so that this small matter will not affect our friendship."
Dou Shichen took the wooden box and deliberately opened it in front of her. He reached out and rummaged through the gold and silver on the top layer. Sure enough, he saw the oil paper package at the bottom and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He closed the wooden box, but his tone remained arrogant: "You're smart enough to let this go this time. But if there's a next time, I'll make sure the Duke of Anguo personally goes to the Prince of Zhennan's residence to apologize to me!"
After saying that, he picked up the wooden box, turned around and left, his steps much lighter than when he came.
-
Meanwhile, at the tea stall outside the yamen (government office).
Dou Shichen's carriage slowly passed by.
Upon seeing the carriage, Xie Wenling understood immediately. He then smiled at the Duke of Anguo and said, "Your Excellency, it's getting late. I should take the County Princess back with me."
Seeing that he had finally stopped his nonsensical attacks, Duke Anguo felt as if he had been granted a pardon and got up to leave.
Xie Wenling didn't stop him, but slowly added, "Oh right, there's something else I forgot to tell you, Duke. I heard the other day that the Prince of Shu's heir is planning to find a noble lady in the capital to get engaged to. He's about the same age as your eldest daughter, and the Prince of Shu's family is very prominent. If it works out, it will be a good thing for the Duke of Anguo's family as well."
An Guogong was extremely anxious. Upon hearing this, he suddenly came to his senses, was startled, and forgot all about leaving.
He quickly pressed, "Lord Xie, is what you're saying true? The Prince of Shu is really looking for a fiancée? How did you know?"
The King of Shu is quite powerful. If we can form a marriage alliance with the King of Shu's heir, the status of the Duke of Anguo's mansion will definitely rise to a higher level.
Xie Wenling looked at him sincerely: "I only heard His Majesty mention it by chance. I thought that the Duke and the Prime Minister were close, which is why I was so offensive. But after thinking about it carefully, I think I was wrong. How could the Duke of Anguo, as an important minister of the court, collude with someone like the Prime Minister? I told the Duke about this to express my apology, hoping that we can put aside our past grievances and make peace in the future."
Duke Anguo was skeptical.
When Xie Wenling suddenly brought up the heir of the Shu King, was he genuinely trying to befriend him, or did he have ulterior motives?
He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't know where to begin, so he could only frown and remain silent.
Xie Wenling didn't say anything more, since saying more would only make him seem suspicious.
He simply stood up, holding the little dumpling, and said, "Lord Duke, we'll be leaving now. Farewell."
The little dumpling perched on Xie Wenling's shoulder and waved to the Duke of Anguo: "Goodbye, Uncle!"
Watching Xie Wenling leave with the little dumpling without any hesitation, Duke Anguo stood there stunned for a long time, pondering Xie Wenling's words over and over again.
His decisive departure made it seem less like he was being lied to...
Moreover, he specifically pointed out that he discovered he had become close friends with the old prime minister.
What appears to be a threat actually increases credibility.
After all, Xie Wenling is such a perceptive person; it would be abnormal if he didn't notice anything at all.
This also explains why he targeted him in the first place.
Moreover, he would naturally find out about the Prince of Shu's intention to get engaged in a while, so there was no need to lie to him about it.
Telling him in advance is simply to give him an advantage.
From this perspective, it really does seem like she's trying to make amends with him...
As he was pondering this, a servant rushed over in a panic, shouting, "My lord! Something terrible has happened! There's trouble at the gate! The heir of the Prince of Zhennan caused a scene at the gate, and the young lady even had to pay him a lot of gold and silver!"
Duke Anguo's heart sank, and he was greatly alarmed. He could no longer think about the Prince of Shu's heir and hurriedly shouted to the coachman, "Quick! Go back to the manor!"
-
Xie Wenling held the little dumpling in his arms as the carriage stopped outside a secluded courtyard.
The little girl was lifted off the carriage with some confusion. As soon as she looked up, she saw Dou Shichen standing at the courtyard gate. She immediately widened her eyes and said, "Thank you, brother! What's Prince Shining Bean doing here? You...you're all in cahoots?"
Dou Shichen, holding a wooden box in his arms, frowned subconsciously when he saw Xie Wenling dressed in red.
Every time he saw Xie Wenling, the other party was dressed in either crimson or scarlet. Despite his flamboyant attire, he didn't look vulgar at all. Instead, it made his cold face even more striking, making Xie Wenling feel inexplicably awkward.
Upon hearing the little dumpling's words, he immediately retorted, "Who's on his side! I just... I just took the compensation and came here to report back!"
Xie Wenling stepped forward slowly, completely ignoring his words: "They're in cahoots."
He raised his hand and patted Dou Shichen on the shoulder. Dou Shichen subconsciously shrank back, but finally reluctantly lowered his head, which was a tacit admission of his accomplice status: "Alright... so what should I do next?"
"Next, continue to act according to plan, pretend that nothing has happened. If someone from the Duke of Anguo's mansion comes to you, use the excuse of 'dissatisfaction with the compensation' to deal with it, and don't give yourself away."
Dou Shichen nodded and handed him the wooden box: "I understand. As for my father and mother..."
“I will keep my promise to you,” Xie Wenling interrupted him. “Now, go back to your residence and be careful not to be followed.”
Dou Shichen responded and turned to leave quickly.
The little dumpling watched his retreating figure, then looked at Xie Wenling with curiosity in her eyes: "Brother Xie, what exactly is your plan? Yue'er wants to help too!"
It looks so mysterious.
She likes mysterious things.
Xie Wenling led her back to the carriage: "Princess, you're still young. When you're a little older, you'll be able to help me. For now, let's put our things away safely so the bad guys don't find them."
He didn't answer directly, but changed the subject. Although the little dumpling was still a bit confused, she knew that Brother Xie had his reasons, so she nodded obediently and stopped asking questions.
-
Meanwhile, inside the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
An Guogong sat angrily in the main hall, while Li Yuniang, Lin Fuman, and Lin Lingrong recounted in detail the events that Dou Shichen had caused.
Duke Anguo slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup shake: "Outrageous! A mere brat dares to cause trouble in my Duke Anguo's mansion! He even humiliated my wife and daughters, this is simply too much!"
Li Yuniang gently advised, "Master, please calm down. After all, the heir of the Prince of Zhennan is of noble status. We shouldn't really quarrel with him, lest we damage the harmony between our two families."
"Harmony?" Duke Anguo was furious. "He's already riding roughshod over me, what's the point of talking about harmony!"
Despite this, he knew in his heart that Dou Shichen had the Prince of Zhennan backing him up, and he couldn't afford to offend him at all, so he could only suffer in silence.
Just then, the steward rushed in, holding a letter in his hand: "My lord, the Prime Minister's residence has sent a letter."
Duke Anguo took the letter, opened it, and his expression became even more unpleasant.
In the letter, the old prime minister sternly reprimanded him, asking why he had clashed with Dou Shichen, and saying that he had acted rashly and almost ruined their important plans.
"That old bastard!" Duke Anguo crumpled the letter into a ball, threw it into the incense burner and burned it, his anger intensifying.
The old prime minister's own plans are full of flaws, yet he has the nerve to criticize him?!
Lin Lingrong was too frightened to speak and could only watch as the Duke of Anguo paced anxiously in the hall.
The more Duke Anguo thought about it, the angrier he became, yet he was helpless.
He couldn't afford to offend the old prime minister, and he couldn't afford to offend Dou Shichen even more...
At this moment, he recalled what Xie Wenling had said at the tea stall—the heir of the Shu King was looking for a fiancée, who was about the same age as Lin Lingrong.
Duke Anguo stopped in his tracks, his eyes gradually brightening.
The Crown Prince of Shu...
If Lin Lingrong were to marry the heir of the Prince of Shu, the Prince of Shu's mansion would surely protect them.
At that time, neither the old prime minister nor Dou Shichen will dare to provoke him easily!
Oh no, Dou Shichen probably wouldn't care about that.
But at least, he now had the confidence to confront Dou Shichen.
Having made up his mind, he turned to Lin Lingrong and softened his tone: "Lingrong, what do you think of the Prince of Shu's heir? If we could form a marriage alliance with the Prince of Shu's mansion, it would be a great thing for our family."
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