51 Marquis's Residence
◎Is this the daughter-in-law that this wicked son found for him?◎
In the following days, Zhao Zhonggan would come to find Du Zhijin after dinner, and then the two of them would disappear together.
On one occasion, they disappeared into the grove and didn't return for a long time, attracting frequent glances from the Zhao family's servants. One of them even directly asked Ying Jianhua, "Young Master Mo, we've brewed some tea and wanted to take it to the young master and Miss Mu. Where are they now?"
Ying Jianhua glanced at the basket full of tea and snacks in his hand, and a deep sense of helplessness welled up in her heart.
Offering tea was a pretense; catching them in the act was the real purpose.
It's no wonder these people were overthinking things. After all, Du Zhijin and Zhao Zhonggan went to such a remote place, and each trip took several hours. Most importantly, Zhao Zhonggan returned every day covered in injuries.
Perhaps the servants of the Zhao family have already begun to suspect what had happened to their young master to Du Zhijin... Thinking of this, he sighed and closed the book: "Alright, I'll take you there."
He also wanted to see what those two were doing, and the thing in his head kept making "tsk tsk tsk" and "hehehe" sounds, which was extremely strange.
In truth, Ying Jianhua didn't know where they were, but Du Zhijin left Xingyue with him, saying that even if she wasn't there, Xingyue would be there to protect him. Xingyue didn't have many opportunities to actually fight, but she had plenty of opportunities to lead the way. This time, it was Xingyue who led the way. Ying Jianhua led the Zhao family servants through many twists and turns, and gradually, the voices of two people drifted into their ears.
But the content of what they said... why is it so strange?
"Relax..." "...Everyone goes through this, this is your first time..." "Don't move! Pain is normal..."
"Hmm!"
Upon hearing what was happening ahead, the servants of the Zhao family stared wide-eyed in disbelief. But when they heard Zhao Zhonggan's cry of pain, they could no longer sit still and rushed in, brandishing their bare hands!
Ying Jianhua followed closely behind, her lips tightly pursed, and her expression was not good either.
"Young Master! We've come to save you..." The last "you" was uttered with great difficulty, but was swallowed back down.
One of the Zhao family servants who arrived a step too late saw the scene before him and exclaimed, "Oh my god!"
In a pool of clear spring water, Zhao Zhonggan leaned against a rock, most of his body submerged, his clothes soaked, his long hair disheveled, and his cheeks flushed an unnatural red. Du Zhijin, on the other hand, had his hands on Zhao Zhonggan's shoulders, his clothes equally wet.
The two were extremely close, so close that Zhao Zhonggan's long hair was plastered to Du Zhijin's forearm, and so close that the water droplets sliding off Du Zhijin's nose could hit Zhao Zhonggan's face.
Ying Jianhua paused in his tracks upon seeing the scene before him.
Du Zhijin was the first to spot the newcomers. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ying Jianhua, and she cried out, "Amo, come quick! He's been bitten by a snake!"
He was bitten by a snake? So they were just treating the poison? He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pushed aside the people in his way to check Zhao Zhonggan's wound.
The wound wasn't deep, and the blood droplets were a normal color, so it shouldn't be poisonous. Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhonggan and his servants all relaxed.
Now that things had come to this, sword practice was naturally out of the question. Zhao Zhonggan, supported by servants on either side, walked back. When he reached the carriage, he suddenly turned around, his face flushed, and stammered to Du Zhijin, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Ying Jianhua squinted.
If you're going to thank me, why is he blushing?
"It's nothing. We should arrive in Liulijing by tomorrow. You should get some rest and don't need to come looking for me." Du Zhijin waved her hand, her expression perfectly normal. However, Ying Jianhua still noticed a suspicious glint of moisture at the corner of her mouth.
Tsk.
Thinking of the strange noise in his head, he suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable irritation.
————
On the seventh day of their journey, the group finally saw the walls of Rurikyo.
It was even more majestic than Jinxi County and Wanze City, stretching for dozens of miles without end; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a city of hundreds of millions of feet. The city walls were lined with battlements, and every hundred meters there was a towering arrow tower, making it heavily fortified.
Long queues formed at the city gates, and registration was required for entry and exit. Ying Jianhua lifted the carriage curtain and glimpsed two squads of black-armored imperial guards stationed nearby, their swords gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Du Zhijin: "The security is much tighter than when I came last time."
Heavily guarded? Has something happened? Could it be... related to Prince Chengduan?
Ying Jianhua lowered the carriage curtain, feeling somewhat uneasy.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
So this is what it feels like to be paranoid and fearful.
As if sensing his worry, Du Zhijin changed the subject: "Hmm? Our team went in ahead of schedule? Is Zhao Zhonggan's father perhaps a high-ranking official?"
"You don't know?" he asked back.
She shook her head: "He didn't tell me. Ah Mo, do you know?"
Ying Jianhua was taken aback.
He was just assuming that since the two of them were together every day, Zhao Zhonggan must have mentioned it to her. But it wasn't a big deal; they were already in Liulijing, so it was only a matter of time before they found out.
“I chatted with the coachman for a bit, and they called him ‘Young Master Marquis’.”
Just before the phantom demon appeared, his mind was in complete chaos, and he heard a lot of nonsensical things. Among them was the phrase, "Not a Taoist priest, but a marquis."
Having experienced so much in the past, he tentatively called the voice in his head "the guidance of Heaven," because many of the things it said were indeed true, like a "prophecy." Since only Zhao Zhonggan among them would call himself "Master Dao," and his family was powerful and wealthy, it was natural for Ying Jianhua to connect this statement with him.
Upon hearing this, Du Zhijin exclaimed in surprise, "Young Marquis? Doesn't that mean his family has a title to inherit? No wonder he said his family was doing everything they could to stop him..."
Ying Jianhua put herself in Honghua's shoes and frowned: "If Honghua said she didn't want to learn to read and write and only wanted to go out and play with Erzhu, I wouldn't allow it either."
Du Zhijin's body stiffened.
Uh... I hope she didn't lead Honghua astray while she was around? She just carved little wooden puppets and went to the river to catch fish... Although she was a bit uneducated, playing is a child's nature!
Fortunately, Ying Jianhua didn't dwell on the issue. He gazed into the distance, a hint of melancholy in his voice: "I wonder how Honghua is doing..."
Du Zhijin nodded emphatically.
They left in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to say goodbye to the little girl; she must have been terrified by the fire.
“If I’m not here, she definitely won’t practice calligraphy on time. She might even have forgotten what I taught her before.” As she spoke, Ying Jianhua frowned and slammed the scroll in her hand on the table, as if she were scolding a disobedient student.
A moment later, he realized that Honghua wasn't beside him; all he had with him was...
What are you doing huddled in the corner?
Du Zhijin didn't dare to say a word and silently shrank further into the corner of the carriage.
Amo was so scary just now, reminding her of some unpleasant memories from the lecture hall.
As they talked, the city gates opened wide, and the coachman drove the carriage forward. At first, the ground was a dirt road, full of potholes, making the carriage ride very bumpy. About fifteen minutes later, the road surface turned into a smooth and even flagstone road, and the wheels made no sound at all.
Du Zhijin peeked out of the small window and saw a long, vermilion courtyard wall. Behind the wall, the eaves were high and pointed, and pavilions and towers were scattered about. There was also a wild pink and white hibiscus that stretched over the wall, determined to "bloom alone and without an owner".
“Jian, Chang, Hou, Fu”.
The carriage stopped, and she read the words on the tall plaque, her heart pounding with surprise.
Zhao Zhonggan is quite a figure... By the way, the current empress seems to be surnamed Zhao.
She told Ying Jianhua about her discovery. Ying Jianhua nodded and wrote two characters on the table with her finger: "Wu Jiu" (无咎).
"The Book of Changes says, 'A gentleman is constantly diligent and cautious at night, and in the end, he is still vigilant and prudent, and thus avoids blame.' Zhonggan should be a name or courtesy name he chose for himself; his real name was Zhao Wujiu."
Du Zhijin suddenly realized, clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Amo, you're so smart! Is this the benefit of reading a lot?"
Ying Jianhua smiled reservedly.
So what if someone has power and money? Their family background is given by their parents and doesn't matter. If a person lacks knowledge and skills, and loses all power and influence in a short time, wouldn't they become a homeless dog?
Zhao Zhonggan dismounted before them. He changed out of his usual Taoist robe and unfastened his sword, now wearing a dark brocade robe with a dark pattern, a jade dragon and tiger pendant around his waist and a sash made of various gemstones, a white jade crown on his head, his black hair neatly combed, and his whole person radiant.
It's just his expression; why does he look so miserable?
Seeing that they had also alighted from the carriage, a servant whispered something in his ear. He waved his hand and said, "Senior Sister and Young Master Mo are my honored guests. They must not be neglected."
Du Zhijin had excellent eyesight and could read lips, so she read the servant's words and whispered to Ying Jianhua, "Should we change our clothes too?"
Ying Jianhua looked down at her own clothes, which were similar in style and color to hers, and immediately refused: "No need. If the Marquis's mansion doesn't think much of us two江湖人 (jianghu people), then we can just leave."
Zhao Zhonggan needed her help, not the other way around. Why should they change their clothes?
Du Zhijin thought he made sense. She also disliked dealing with the powerful and wealthy. When she first came down from the mountain, she didn't know how to conceal herself and was hired by a rich family to exorcise a demon. Before she even saw the demon, she was burdened with a mountain of rules! Places she couldn't go, places where she had to bathe and burn incense beforehand, and the need to pay respects to ancestors and deities before exorcising the demon… it was incredibly troublesome. Eventually, she got fed up, killed the evil demon under the cover of darkness, and ran away that very night without taking the reward.
Xiao Zhao is easy to get along with, but I don't know what his family is like.
She was worried, and so was Zhao Zhonggan.
It has been almost a year since he "ran away from home". In this year, his father sent dozens of letters urging him to come home. At first, his tone was quite calm, but later it became full of curses and even threats to cut off the private money his mother gave him and to stop the two major money houses from exchanging money for him.
Alas, this time he returned home not only because his mother said in her letter that his father, the Marquis, was ill, but more importantly—he was truly running out of money! Wanze City was such a fun place, yet he only bought a cartload of things! A whole cartload!
“Senior sister, my dad has a really foul mouth, even my mom doesn’t like him. It’s best if he’s not home. If you happen to see him later, no matter what he says, don’t take it to heart.” After a pause, Zhao Zhonggan lowered his voice and said, “Even if you don’t like him, don’t lay a hand on him in front of him. Just hold back until tonight, and then give him a good beating. I’ll lead the way.”
Ying Jianhua, standing to the side, listened with her eyes pounding.
What kind of talk is this? The Marquis of Jianchang's family is known for its loving father and filial son.
Du Zhijin was about to say that she wouldn't target ordinary people, but when she met Zhao Zhonggan's expectant gaze, she silently swallowed her words.
"The Marquis has arrived!"
A shout came from inside the courtyard, and the servants around Zhao Zhonggan bowed in unison, while he himself curled his lip in disdain.
Du Zhijin and Ying Jianhua remained unmoved, but Marquis Jianchang immediately noticed the two people behind his unfilial son.
He glanced past the man and fixed his gaze on the only woman.
Is this the daughter-in-law the servants were talking about, the one the wicked son found for him?
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