The Di people did not distinguish between principal wives and concubines. Marrying Song Liyun would simply mean that his third brother would have another woman in his tent, so Zhao Tinglei did not take it to heart.
Although Jiang Feng had mentioned Song Liyun in his letter, saying that she was quick-witted, intelligent, courageous, and capable of making money from scratch, and was a virtuous helpmate to the Third Young Master.
Zhao Tinglei didn't take it seriously. In his opinion, any woman who could live in a military town was bold, except that Song Liyun was good at business.
It's not a good thing for a woman to be good at business; she not only shows her face in public but also has affairs with men. Only the Di people don't care.
Over the years, no matter how the war went, his wife was always able to keep the household stable, manage the family affairs, and appease his concubines and illegitimate children, which greatly pleased him.
Zhao Tinglei spends most of his time at the border, finding the most trivial matters tedious, and believes that only women like this are good women.
However, Lady Uya was very stubborn about her third brother's marriage, and actually refused all of her father's arrangements, even at the cost of turning against him.
I wonder how angry Father would be if he knew that my third brother was going to marry a woman from a military household.
Upon hearing that two beauties would be given to the third young master, the old man nodded in agreement.
Before the New Year, the Crown Prince ascended the throne and sent gifts to his cousin who had been working hard on the frontier. In addition to the usual gold, silver and jade items, there were also four beautiful women.
The lord is generous and has deep brotherly affection. Not wanting to enjoy them all alone, he left the two most outstanding ones for the third young master.
Inside the inn, Lin Qingyuan had already washed up and was sitting to one side, gulping down mutton soup. He had been starving all day.
Abu, Song Dekui, and Song Liyun were whispering to each other nearby.
They brought bad news when they returned from the grasslands: some of the slaves had been abducted and sold to the grasslands by the Lin family, and Commander Zhao wanted to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Colluding with officials is a minor matter, but human trafficking is a major one; the Lin family is destined to meet a bad end.
For his safety, Lin Qingyuan could no longer return to the government prison; a foolproof solution was needed.
Furthermore, this task could not have been accomplished by the Lin family alone; there must have been many other helpers involved.
The Qi family, which has been operating in Hecheng for decades, is the prime suspect.
This is the Qi family's stronghold; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they can control everything.
While Abu and Song Dekui were still thinking about how to arrange Lin Qingyuan, Song Liyun's mind wandered.
She pinched her chin thoughtfully: "Abu, tell me the truth, did Ashi leave to avoid suspicion?"
Based on her understanding of Zhao Tingduo, she shouldn't have deserted when faced with a caravan's entanglement.
Abu's expression tightened, and he awkwardly laughed, "If the young master's wife were really here, he would definitely come."
The young master suddenly received a letter from the Simon tribe, asking him to participate in an event…
Simon Tribe?
Song Liyun thought back carefully.
The number of tribes on the Dilu Grassland is as numerous as the stars in the sky. Song Liyun doesn't know much about them, but she has heard Abu mention Simon, Dongmeng, Qidan, and many other strange names.
Simon is a mid-level tribe and also the fastest-growing tribe, with a population of several thousand. The tribe is distributed in the Muliang Mountain area.
This is the tribe that Abu envies, because it has a fixed pasture, a fixed camp, and even a small market.
Now they've suddenly invited Zhao Tingduo over...
Abu said, "Young mistress, don't worry. The young master is with a hundred riders, so he will be fine."
The reason for inviting the young master is that the chief of the Simon tribe has taken another wife and is holding a wedding ceremony.
"Then why did you lie to me at the beginning?" Song Liyun glared at Abu.
Abu chuckled: "Young Master said he'll rush back and bring you a surprise!"
Song Liyun remained silent, only looking at him calmly.
Abu couldn't keep up the act any longer and said with a pained expression, "Sister Song, the young master forbids you to say it!"
Lin Qingyuan, having eaten and drunk his fill, was once again a dashing young man, though his usual smiling face was now quite serious.
“Young Madam, the Qi family has shown no intention of helping the Lin family so far. I think this situation is not good.”
"What do you mean?"
Lin Qingyuan frowned and spun around twice, saying, "If I were to say some things, it might implicate my elder sister and force her to take the matter to court."
If you don't speak... Miss Song, do you have a way to save the Lin family's lives?
Lin Luyin is a concubine of the Qi family. If she tells the truth, both the Lin family and the Qi family will kill her.
Without a foolproof way to save his own life, Lin Qingyuan was unwilling to risk his sister's life.
He had been observing the Lin family for so long, and now it seemed that the Qi family was going to make the Lin family take the fall.
If this gets out of hand, the Lin family and their entire extended family will be implicated.
Lin Qingyuan's face was somewhat distorted.
He could hate the Lin family, or even gleefully watch them suffer and be tormented.
However, he was born and raised in the Lin family.
Lin Shouzhou gave him life, and even though he was harsh and disliked him, he provided him with everything he needed in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities, and the servants dared not neglect him.
Because of her favoritism towards her aunt, she could even get an extra portion.
Lin Qinghua was not much older than him. They fought each other as children and engaged in fierce competition for ten years as adults.
They used every trick in the book, but never dared to actually kill the other party.
He couldn't bear to watch these people, with whom he shared an unbreakable blood tie, die a violent death.
Song Liyun could somewhat understand his feelings.
Just like how Song Lao Er and Xiao Gu Shi were so wicked, Song Liyun and her brother couldn't personally kill them.
If others knew that he had personally harmed his loved ones, he would definitely be regarded as morally corrupt and of bad character.
What do you want to do?
Song Liyun waited patiently for Lin Qingyuan to speak his mind.
At first, she thought Lin Qingyuan was just being low-class and wanted to see the young master of the Lin family make a fool of himself, but when she arrived in Hecheng, she realized what was going on.
Lin Qingyuan is the most cunning.
It takes a narrow mind to hide a shop and a group of loyal followers right under the noses of the Lin family.
He must have a secret to return to the Lin family, and now is the time to uncover it.
Lin Qingyuan said earnestly, "I want to see Commander Zhao. However, this matter concerns the Qi family, a royal merchant family. I am just a son of a merchant, and my words carry little weight. I'm afraid it would be hard for people to believe me if I spoke."
"I originally wanted to ask Young Master Wuda for an introduction, but he has been unable to come these past two days. The Lin family is also in danger of being imprisoned, so we cannot delay any longer."
Miss Song, I think you are Zhao Shoubei's betrothed sister-in-law..."
I see!
Song Liyun's expression changed slightly: "I can accompany you to see Commander Zhao."
However, Lin Qingyuan, the eldest son of the Lin family, has violated the law by colluding with officials; we cannot continue to break the law knowingly.
She wasn't sure if she was qualified to meet the Zhao family in this way, but the situation was urgent, so she decided to give it a try.
Lin Qingyuan nodded: "Lin Qinghua committed crimes and deserved it. I just don't want the Lin family to bear the infamy for the Qi family."
He is a member of the Lin family. If the Lin family is guilty of a serious crime, even if he escapes with his life, he will never be able to hold his head high again unless he changes his name.
When Abu heard that Song Liyun and Lin Qingyuan wanted to see Zhao Shoubei, he immediately agreed to deliver the message.
However, just as Song Liyun and Lin Qingyuan were waiting outside the garrison's residence, Abu came out dejectedly: "Sister Song, the garrison commander has already retired from his post. We can talk about it tomorrow."
He did not see the eldest son, but someone close to the eldest son relayed a message.
It's getting dark now, so it's really not appropriate to visit in person.
Song Liyun glanced at the gift box Fang Zheng was carrying beside her, and gave a wry smile: "Okay, we'll come again tomorrow!"
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