The story of the princess's tantrum couldn't be spread, as the Tatar delegation was still staying at the detached residence. Finally, after being so angered by Ling Yunzhou that she fainted, the princess was taken back to her residence by her attendants.
Looking at Hailan's battered and bruised body, Ling Yunzhou thought the Princess was acting like a mad dog. Hailan was just a young girl, yet she had committed such a heinous act. After having a doctor apply medicine to Hailan, Ling Yunzhou went to the Emperor to lodge a complaint.
"Your Majesty, the Princess has been beating and scolding my savior. She is just a frail woman, yet she was whipped by the Princess. I implore Your Majesty to confine the Princess to her quarters."
Zhao Zhe looked at Ling Yunzhou with a mixture of helplessness and anger. How could the princess not be angry? If Ling Yunzhou had been enlightened even once during those ten years, there would be no reason for the princess to be sent to a marriage alliance today.
"Ling Yunzhou, you're really heartless," Zhao Zhe couldn't help but say. "What, your elder sister waited for you for ten years, don't you feel any remorse at all?"
"Your Majesty, I have failed the princess first, but she has chosen to marry into the country for the greater good. I am willing to remain unmarried for the rest of my life to repay her kindness."
"To put it bluntly, you just want to see your elder sister marry that Tatar prince!" Zhao Zhe mocked.
Ling Yunzhou, however, declared with righteous indignation: "If Your Majesty issues the decree, I am willing to lead the army to personally lead an expedition against the Tatars, and I will not return until I die!"
Zhao Zhe slammed the inkstone on the table in front of Ling Yunzhou, angrily saying, "Do you think I don't want it? These Tatar barbarians dare to covet my royal princess! But this is a non-aggression pact established when the late emperor was alive. Are you asking me to break my promise?"
Ling Yunzhou remained silent. Since fighting was out of the question, the only option was a marriage alliance!
Zhao Zhe was angry, angry at himself for being the emperor yet having so much helplessness. He didn't necessarily have much sibling affection for the eldest princess; he could only blame her for misplaced affections, for being unmarried at her advanced age, and for letting the Tatars know that the royal family still had such a genuine princess.
"Ling Yunzhou, you'd better remember what you said. If you marry anyone else in this life, you'll truly be letting down your elder sister's sincere heart," Zhao Zhe said sarcastically.
Ling Yunzhou immediately replied firmly, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will never marry again in this lifetime."
"Ha!" Zhao Zhe chuckled, then paused before slowly saying, "Tao Wanniang will be back soon, won't she?"
Ling Yunzhou was stunned. He found it utterly incomprehensible that the Emperor had sent Tao Wanniang to Youzhou. Tao Wanniang was merely a woman who did not receive a salary from the Emperor, yet she was being dispatched to Youzhou. However, his protests were futile!
"If we don't come back soon, we'll be spending the New Year on the road!" Ling Yunzhou replied.
"I know you sent two guards to escort Tao Wan Niang along the way. I don't know if your lifelong decision not to marry is for her or for my elder sister," Zhao Zhe said with some sarcasm. "If you had even a fraction of your feelings for Tao Wan Niang for my elder sister, I'm afraid my elder sister wouldn't have been chosen for this marriage alliance."
“Your Majesty, Tao Wanniang was my wife when I was young, but I made her suffer for seventeen years, which is already my fault. I have known the Princess for more than ten years. I admit that if I had not remembered the past, perhaps I would have married the Princess. But fate is cruel. Even though I have remembered the past, how can I accept the Princess with the heart of betraying her?”
"Moreover, the eldest princess is jealous and narrow-minded. Her previous gentle and skillful demeanor was all an act!"
Zhao Zhe knew that Ling Yunzhou wouldn't say anything nice.
"Get out of here! I won't confine my elder sister. Ling Yunzhou, you really are a man of honor!"
Ling Yunzhou frowned, but still insisted, "Your Majesty, if the Eldest Princess comes to the General's Mansion again, it will likely cause controversy. If this gets back to the Tatar Prince, it could lead to trouble. Furthermore, I fear that I may not be able to tolerate the Eldest Princess any longer and will have to take action!"
"Ha, you've got some nerve, daring to defy your superiors! Believe me or not, I'll punish you by making you guard the city gates!" Zhao Zhe said angrily.
"If Your Majesty insists on doing this, I have nothing more to say!"
Ling Yunzhou wasn't arrogant because he was favored; he'd always been like that. As a military general, he could fight on the battlefield, but his manner of speaking wasn't so refined.
However, Lingyunzhou had no power base, was loyal to the court, and was a skilled general in leading troops. What emperor wouldn't like him? But Zhao Zhe was quite troubled at the moment and waved his hand at Lingyunzhou.
"Go, go, go back to your general's mansion. I grant you permission to stay inside!"
"Your Majesty, I thank you!" Ling Yunzhou thanked him loudly. With the Emperor's words, he closed the door tightly and let the Princess knock on it.
Back at the General's Mansion, Ling Yunzhou went to see the injured Hailan.
"Hailan, you've suffered so much." Ling Yunzhou sighed as he looked at Hailan, whose face was pale.
"General, this beating was for you, so you must make it up to me." Hailan blinked her big, dark grape-like eyes and looked at Lingyunzhou with a wistful gaze.
"What kind of compensation do you want?" Ling Yunzhou felt it was right. Hailan was his savior, and she had been beaten by the Princess. He should compensate her.
“I don’t see any general’s wife around you. Do you think I’m suitable?” Hailan said without the slightest bit of shyness.
Ling Yunzhou was startled and said with a stern face, "I'm old enough to be your father. Also, forget about it. I swore an oath before the Emperor that I would never marry in this lifetime!"
"Then... if I don't marry, can I take a concubine? After all, I don't have a first wife, right?"
Hailan's words startled Lingyunzhou, causing him to take a few steps back.
"Did the Princess injure your head?" Ling Yunzhou asked in a low voice. "Don't say such things anymore. Take good care of your injury." With that, Ling Yunzhou fled from Hailan's room as if he were escaping.
"General, your second young master is here again." Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, a servant came to report again. Ling Yunzhou was in a real bind; Ling Dapeng was truly ruined.
Although Ling Yunzhou was angry, he still went to see Ling Dapeng, after all, it was already the Little New Year today.
"Dad, save me! The people demanding money have already come to my house. They've scared Xiaoyun and the children half to death!" Ling Dapeng rushed over to Ling Yunzhou and hugged his legs, crying and begging.
"Get out of the way, what kind of behavior is this?" Ling Yunzhou said with disgust.
"Father, only you can save me. I owe three thousand taels from the gambling den and two thousand taels from loan sharks. Father, I can't pay it back even if I sell everything I own!"
Ling Dapeng's eyes were red from crying; he was truly at his wit's end.
"If you don't pay back the money, our family will be ruined. Dad, please help me!"
"Isn't your concubine rich? What, are you abandoning her now that disaster is upon you?" Ling Yunzhou said sarcastically. All of this was done by Ling Dapeng at the instigation of that woman named Shishi.
"Shishi...Shishi...Shishi has been sold by me!" Ling Dapeng was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head. "Father, I have no choice. If I don't pay back the money, Xiaoyun will also be lost!"
"You bastard!" Ling Yunzhou kicked Ling Dapeng in the shoulder. "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
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