Chapter 164 Is the position of Princess Consort beneath you?
Officer Cheng held the portrait and slowly turned around.
Yao Shisan caught a glimpse of his movement out of the corner of his eye and turned around as well, making sure he couldn't see him.
Zhou Congxian's eyes fell on the portrait, and his eyes widened in shock.
Who else could this portrait be but Yao Shisan!
He snatched the portrait and tore it to shreds. "Officer Cheng, go ahead and get busy."
"Ah...oh, Lord Zhou, farewell..."
Officer Cheng watched as the portrait he had just obtained was torn to shreds.
Even if I didn't understand what was going on, I do now.
The princess of the royal palace ran away from her arranged marriage...
To think that Lord Zhou would do such a thing...
He led his brothers and quickly left this troublesome place.
"Princess Consort? Aren't you going to explain?"
Only after the person had walked away did Zhou Congxian cross his arms and look at Yao Shisan.
Yao Shisan rolled his eyes at him. "I've already been forced to this point, what's the point of explaining?"
"I don't know why Xiao Shu went mad. You should ask him; maybe he can give you the answer."
Zhou Congxian, “…”
"You brought Fu'er and Pangxi all the way here by yourself?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the medicine in her hand, and his tone became tense.
"Is Fu'er sick, or is Pang Xi sick?"
Yao Shisan paused for a moment, then finally said, "Xuan'er is sick."
She didn't want him to know where she was staying, so she turned to him with a forced smile.
"The disaster relief work is very busy, so we won't delay this little matter. Lord Zhou, please go and get busy."
Zhou Congxian remained unmoved. "If this were in Ding County, I certainly wouldn't bother you if you didn't want to, but not in Jinzhou."
"you……"
"The governor of Jinzhou is Xiao Shu's man."
One sentence shut Yao Shisan up.
Zhou Congxian then lowered his voice and said, "Otherwise, do you think a snow disaster would make a second-rank official like me come in person?"
The implication is that without his protection, Jinzhou is no longer safe.
He raised an eyebrow. "Without me, you wouldn't even be able to leave Jinzhou."
“You have no relatives or friends in Jinzhou. If Xiao Shu offers a reward for your capture, do you think those who have seen you will report you for the money?”
Yao Shisan, “…”
Zhou Congxian put his hands behind his back, then glanced at Yao Shisan, "Xiao Shu's ambition won't let you off easily."
"Back then, they almost massacred Ding County for a group of less than 20,000 bandits. Now, they'll probably do whatever it takes for the Northwest Army."
"General Meng of the Northwest Battalion has no successor. Everyone used to think he would be adopted from a collateral branch, but that has never happened."
"Until last year when Lord Meng went to the capital, he went to the palace every day without fail. Although he did not say it explicitly, the whole court knew that Lord Meng had found his descendants."
"Xiao Shu has more informants than you think. If news can be guessed in the capital, do you think he wouldn't know?"
Yao Shisan frowned. "Is there really no way His Majesty can deal with such an arrogant prince?"
Zhou Congxian said, "It's not the right time yet. His Majesty's decision to place him next to the territory of the King of Han has a profound meaning."
She suddenly thought of her brother, "Could there be a deeper meaning behind placing my brother in Ding County?"
After all, it was unprecedented for the top scholar to only become a minor county magistrate!
Zhou Congxian did not respond to her, but merely raised his eyebrows slightly.
He paused for a moment before continuing, "When are you leaving the city?"
"Once Xuan'er recovers, we'll leave Jinzhou."
Zhou Congxian nodded. "Where are you headed after leaving the city?"
"I...I won't tell you."
Yao Shisan now feels that no one can be trusted.
Everyone wanted a piece of the Northwest Camp, but no one dared to touch Mengyu Mountain.
Her brother, being an official, was also not easily moved.
So everyone's trying to bully her, this pushover.
Zhou Congxian clicked his tongue lightly.
"If you don't tell me now, you can't go anywhere except the capital."
"He wants to act first and report later, because you are Meng Gong's granddaughter, and he also wants a share of the Northwest Camp's profits."
"You're a piece of fat meat right now. Do you think that apart from Xiao Shu, no one else wants a share?"
Yao Shisan, “…”
"Let's wait a couple of days. Xuan'er has a fever now, probably because she just got off the ship yesterday and isn't used to the climate here yet."
Zhou Congxian nodded, "Okay, I'll have Xiaoman take you then."
Xiaoman, upon hearing the familiar name, still felt a little dazed.
When I first met Xiaoman, he was a young man; now he's an adult.
Looking at her, Zhou Congxian assumed she still had reservations.
“If I wanted to kidnap you, I would have had plenty of ways to do it back in Ding County. Why would I need to come here and plead with you?”
Yao Shisan: "...Yes, yes, Lord Zhou is a good person."
The inn is not crowded and is quite quiet now.
As soon as Zhou Congxian opened the door, he saw two little girls on the bed.
"Master Zhou?"
Dan Niang never expected to see Zhou Congxian here.
Yao Shisan pushed past Zhou Congxian at the door and came in. "Pangxi is still so energetic. Is Fu'er asleep too?"
"After Xuan'er finished her medicine, the two of them leaned on each other and fell asleep."
Dan Niang handed the little chubby boy to her, saying, "Give me the medicine. I'll go to the kitchen and brew another bowl of medicine in case Fu'er also gets a fever."
Yao Shisan stuffed his money pouch into her hand, saying, "Have the waiter make it, don't worry about spending money."
Dan Niang returned the money pouch to her, saying, "It's just decocting medicine, it's nothing."
"The waiter just paid me off to get it over with. If I hadn't been busy with the kids, I would have cooked it myself."
As she spoke, she stretched her shoulders, "Little Fatty is getting heavier and heavier, which is a good opportunity for me to relax a bit."
Yao Shisan weighed the chubby little boy in his hand. "He's getting heavier and heavier."
Zhou Congxian tiptoed forward and reached out to touch his daughter's face.
Thankfully, there was no fever.
"Fu'er has grown quite a bit taller."
He went to Jianzhou last autumn and received an imperial edict to enter the capital before the Lunar New Year.
So far, it's been almost five months since we last saw each other.
His little girl is five years old.
Little Fatty suddenly pointed his little finger at Zhou Congxian and made several cooing sounds.
When Zhou Congxian turned around, he saw that Xiao Pangxi, who used to cry if he looked at her for too long, was staring at him with her big, bright eyes for a long time.
Finally, she reached out her arms for him to hug her.
"Huh?" Yao Shisan looked surprised. "You actually remember?"
Little Fatty seemed to be responding to his mother, and made two more cooing sounds.
Zhou Congxian happily accepted the chubby little boy dressed in round clothes.
Within two breaths in his arms, Pangxi's little mouth twitched, and he immediately burst into tears.
It was as if there were thorns in his father's arms; he struggled incessantly, his little hands reaching desperately towards his mother.
Zhou Congxian's face darkened, "..."
Across from the inn, a sedan chair was parked.
Yang Shuyue's manager walked briskly out of the inn.
"Miss, we've found out. They are two women from Yuzhou, and they brought three children with them."
"The two girls looked to be four or five years old, and there was a smaller one in my arms who looked to be about one year old."
The head maid paused, then said, "These children aren't the ones Prince Zhou is raising outside..."
A hint of coldness flashed across Yang Shuyue's beautiful face.
Whether he keeps a cat or a dog is his business.
"A woman without a title is like a fragrance that can dissipate at any moment. As long as I don't bring her back to my residence, I will never care about her."
The head housekeeper pursed her lips. Although the young lady had just come of age, her behavior and demeanor were steady and dignified.
The master originally intended to send the young lady to the palace, but His Majesty has canceled the general election twice in a row.
That's why the master and mistress turned their gaze downwards.
Let's go.
Yang Shuyue lowered the sedan curtain and didn't look at it again.
*
"Your Highness, we couldn't find it."
Five or six guards were kneeling in the study of Prince Cheng's mansion.
These were guards who had split into several groups to pursue the suspect, and they were all experienced in making arrests.
This time, however, no one discovered a single trace.
A living person, with two children, vanished as if they had disappeared into thin air.
"Bang!"
Xiao Shu suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand.
"With so many people, we can't even find a woman!"
His eyes flashed with murderous intent, "Is the position of princess too much of a burden for you? You actually ran away."
"Hold Ding County safe for me! When Yao Shuang'er and Jiang Xingyao return, I want them captured alive!"
Chief Steward Qing's face turned pale. "Your Highness, Lord Jiang is an official appointed by the imperial court, you cannot..."
"When did it become your place to rule over me?!"
Xiao Shu's gaze shot towards him like an ice blade! Steward Qing trembled all over, as if someone had reached out and squeezed his bloody heart.
His Highness has never been so out of control and angry before...
Even when His Majesty banished him from the capital, he still acted as if victory was assured.
When did Madam Yao become so important?
No……
It was Meng Gong's Northwest Camp.
Can……
Lord Meng has not yet acknowledged that Madam Yao is a child of the Meng family.
Isn't Your Highness being a bit too hasty...?
If Lord Meng felt that Madam Yao's past was a disgrace to the family, he might find someone similar to be included in the family genealogy.
Your Highness, wouldn't you lose both your wife and your army?
Chief Steward Qing dared not say anything; His Highness was in a fit of rage, and anything he said would only lead to his death.
Xiao Shu looked at the small note on the table.
His hands, resting on the table, were clenched into fists.
Since entering Yuzhou, everything has gone smoothly for him, but recently he has suffered a series of setbacks!
In particular, the Jiang siblings were a key move for him.
Your Majesty has divided up so many vassal kings; the next step is to deal with the four camps, with the Northwest Camp being the first to be addressed.
It would have been easy to dismantle it; a single imperial edict would have been enough to force Duke Meng to retire and return to his hometown.
They actually betrothed Meng Gonggang's granddaughter, whom he had just found, to Zhou Congxian!
That's why he was so flustered and unprepared, he kidnapped Yao Shisan and brought him to his mansion to force them into marriage.
The person is gone now.
Was he going to just stand by and watch the Northwest Battalion fall into Zhou Congxian's hands?
Xiao Shu's lips curled slightly, but his eyes grew even colder.
"Go and invite General Yao."
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