Yun Zhuo lamented Gu Yan's sudden change. On the other side, the person sent by Tan Min to deliver the letter had already arrived at Prince Yi's Mansion.
Prince Yi is not very old, having just turned sixteen. He has a handsome appearance and resembles his mother, the current Concubine Rou.
When the messenger arrived at Prince Yi's mansion, Prince Yi was welcoming his mother. He was made a prince at a young age and was sent to the fiefdom of Yizhou early on.
It was a pity that his mother could not come with him. Now, two years have passed. Perhaps because he saw that he was well behaved, the emperor approved his request to bring his mother to his fiefdom to be raised there.
So when he heard that his second brother had sent someone to visit him, Li Lin's first reaction was to frown.
"Can you see clearly who is next to the second prince?" Li Lin asked.
The butler below bent down and replied, "Your Highness, I am not very good-looking and failed to recognize him. He only said he was delivering a letter for Prince Yu."
Li Lin remained calm, but his heart sank.
Concubine Rou noticed her son's change of mood and stood up from the main seat and walked over. "Lin'er, your brother—"
She had been in the harem for many years, and it was impossible for her to maintain her original heart. She only needed to think about the purpose of King Yu's letter and she could understand it roughly.
"Don't worry, mother. Maybe my brother really just sent someone to visit me, his younger brother." Li Lin said this just to comfort her. His two brothers were people who would not do anything without profit. They came to deliver the letter probably because they found some exploitable value in him.
"Please let someone in." Li Lin paused and said to the housekeeper.
The butler agreed, turned around and left with a hunched back.
"Mother is not stupid." Concubine Rou waited for the old housekeeper to leave before speaking, "Now that we are reunited as mother and son, you can do whatever you want and no one can force you to do it."
"Mother, I will protect you for a hundred years." Li Lin promised. He was not interested in that position or the imperial power, but if those people wanted to force him, he could not guarantee what he would do in the end.
Concubine Rou didn't want him to fight for anything. She just wanted her family to live in peace and happiness.
The old butler led the messenger into the house and said, "I pay my respects to Prince Yi."
"Since it's someone sent by the Second Prince, there's no need for such generous gifts." Li Lin winked at the old butler, who immediately understood and walked downstairs to take the letter from the man and hand it over.
"What's the matter, Second Brother?" Li Lin did not open the letter on the spot, but asked.
"It's like this, a prisoner escaped from the palace, and we followed Lieutenant General Tan out to track him down. The fugitive seems to be heading towards Yizhou." The messenger stopped there.
Li Lin also understood that this meant that he should cooperate, after all, Yizhou was his fiefdom.
"May I ask the name of the escaped prisoner? Do you have a portrait?" Li Lin asked.
"This fugitive is Song Qin, the grandson of Song Yan, a former criminal official of the Weiyuan Marquisate."
When Li Lin heard the name, his expression was shocked. After a while, he said, "I remember that the Song family should have been exiled in Guizhou, and this Song Qin had already died in battle."
The messenger smiled faintly and said, "The rebel Song Qin had a lucky escape and didn't die in battle. My prince was also lucky enough to capture him. He had intended to send someone to escort him to the capital, but he didn't expect his servants to be careless and let him escape."
Li Lin pinched his sleeves, his expression unchanged as he said, "Since it is Second Brother's wish, I am willing to cooperate."
The messenger nodded and said, "Thank you, Prince Yi, for your understanding."
Li Lin: "You shouldn't be the only one on this trip."
"I am a soldier under Lieutenant General Tan Min," the messenger replied. "After a long journey, Lieutenant General Tan is resting at the inn and will come to visit you in the evening."
He is just a deputy general, yet he can act wildly over him.
Li Lin smiled and said, "Okay, I will prepare a delicious meal to entertain Deputy General Tan."
He asked the old butler to send the person away, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Concubine Rou's face was pale and ugly. "How could he humiliate my son like this? You are brothers after all. Why can't he let us mother and son go?"
Li Lin patted Concubine Rou on the back and said sarcastically, "Brothers? There are no brothers in the royal family. They can even plot against my father, let alone me, their half-brother."
They would only regard him as a thorn in their side and wanted him to stay in Yizhou forever and become a stupid prince who knew nothing.
Speaking of the late emperor, Concubine Rou was quite sad. "If your father and the queen were still here, our life as mother and son might not be as difficult as it is now."
She was lost from her family when she was young and was sold to a brothel. Later, she was fortunate enough to be sent to the prince's palace as a dancer, and later became the prince's concubine.
Concubine Rou had never truly lived for herself in her life. When the late emperor ascended the throne, she went from being a concubine in the palace to a concubine in the harem.
The fighting in the harem was what she always hated the most, but fortunately she still had a son to take care of.
She only hoped that one day her son would be granted a fiefdom, so that she could ask the emperor and empress to let her go with him.
Perhaps the Queen also discovered her expectations, so she took the initiative to ask her what she thought. She had never seen such a gentle yet open-minded woman. Concubine Rou had felt many times that it was the palace that imprisoned her.
At that time, Concubine Li and Concubine Hui saw that she was gradually becoming friends with the Queen, and they started to use all kinds of sarcastic remarks and despicable tactics against her.
It was said that in order to attract the emperor's attention, she actually tried to please the queen who was ten years younger than her.
What they didn't know was that she would rather stay with the queen than with the emperor, listening to her describe the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan over and over again.
Concubine Rou recalled the past and couldn't help but sigh. She looked at her son and pleaded in a low voice, "Lin'er, the Song family is on good terms with the late queen. When the time comes, please try your best to—"
"Son understands." Li Lin stopped her and said softly, "Son knows what mother means."
Of course, the man was gone, and now, in Concubine Rou's heart, her son was naturally the most important thing. So she instructed, "Put your own safety first in everything."
He was her only son.
In the private room of the inn, Song Wan had eaten and drunk her fill, and she leaned against Gu Yanji, rubbing her stomach.
The chefs in Yizhou and Tahuiguan are really worlds apart.
Gu Yan hurriedly poured a glass of water, handed it over and asked, "Do you want to drink?"
Song Wan shook her head, "I'm too full, I can't drink any more."
Gu Yan wanted to help her rub it, but she was concerned about the others beside her and held back, "Eat less next time."
Song Wan nodded sincerely, "I didn't expect that after training for so long, I could only pretend to be this good."
After saying that, she pointed at her slightly bulging belly and sighed.
Gu Yan couldn't help laughing and raised her hand to touch her head.
It was the first time that Yun Zhuo had eaten so much. It was all because Song Wan was eating so happily that he unconsciously added another bowl of rice and two big pig's trotters, which he ate without any image at all.
"Let's go digest the food." Song Wan tilted her head and said, she was really too full.
The meal lasted from the afternoon to almost evening, more than two hours.
Just then, Song Qi came back and reported the situation, "Miss, Tan Min has already left for Prince Yi's Mansion."
When Song Wan heard this, she sat up straight, her eyes brightening. "Then let's go and take a look. It's a good opportunity to help digest our food."
She was the only one who could make going to Prince Yi’s Mansion sound so simple.
A few people packed up their things and headed towards Prince Yi's Mansion before it got dark.
Although Yizhou City is not as prosperous as the capital, it is second only to Yuzhou, the fief of King Yu, in the southwest and northwest areas.
The street vendors were constantly hawking their wares, and from the smiles on their faces, one could tell that Prince Yi was governing quite well.
Gu Yanji had been staying in the southwest since he was sixteen years old and seldom returned to Beijing. He did not know much about the young Prince Yi. He only heard his brother in Beijing mention him once in a letter, saying that this prince's temperament was much gentler than the other two and he had no ambitions.
Song Wan also felt that the people of Yizhou City should be living a good life. Previously, in Xinzhou and Tahui Pass, the people in both places had patches on their bodies.
It's very different here. Along the way, Song Wan saw many young girls shopping together. They were wearing colorful clothes and had many pearl hairpins on their heads.
If it weren't for their utmost trust in the city's patrol security, the elders in the family would not have been comfortable with a girl dressing up beautifully and going out.
This is good. It seems that she doesn’t need to move the money from Prince Yi’s Mansion this time.
Before she even met him, Song Wan had already formed a favorable impression of Prince Yi. If he did not succumb to the tyranny of Prince Yu, she might consider taking him in as her younger brother.
When they arrived outside the back wall of the palace, Li Lin was entertaining Tan Min inside.
A table of delicious food and wine was placed in the main hall, which seemed to show that the guests were treated with great care.
Tan Min did not expect that this inconspicuous Prince Yi was so tactful, and she felt a little flattered. After three glasses of wine, her vigilance was reduced by half.
"Deputy General Tan, continue." Li Lin personally poured him another glass of wine. "You are the one that Second Brother has taken a fancy to. I should toast you."
Tan Min quickly picked up her glass and clinked it with his. "It's my turn to toast you on behalf of my prince. From now on, we're on the same page."
After Song Wan and his group climbed up the wall, they saw two people clinking glasses and drinking, which was a very discordant scene.
"I misjudged him!" Song Wan clenched his fist and snorted, "This Prince Yi is not a good guy either!"
Gu Yan hurriedly comforted her, "Don't worry, let's wait and see."
The other heads lying on the wall also imitated Song Wan's fist clenching. Among them, Yun Zhuo expressed his true feelings, "Big brother said that this Prince Yi is very good. How come he always misjudged people all these years!"
In the flower hall, Li Lin was still drinking with Tan Min. If outsiders saw it, they would definitely find it strange and ironic. A dignified prince was actually drinking with a young deputy general who came from nowhere. If it were told to others, people would probably laugh their heads off.
But Li Lin didn't care about these. The other party had a purpose, and so did he.
"Brother, why do you insist on capturing Song Qin? Wouldn't it be more time-saving and labor-saving to report to the emperor that he is still alive and ask the emperor to send someone to capture him?" Li Lin asked the servants to bring two pots of wine to the table and poured wine for the other party again.
Tan Min didn't know how much wine he had drunk. His eyes narrowed as he said drunkenly, "Song Qin must not fall into the hands of the emperor."
Hearing this, Li Lin lowered his eyes, his expression slightly changing as he replied in a neutral tone, "Oh? Why is that?"
Tan Min wasn't someone who was easily tricked. He smiled and said, "My apologies, Prince Yi. Without my prince's permission, I can't say anything."
"Then there's no need to say more. I'm just asking casually. Since it's Second Brother's order, I'll do it." Li Lin said tactfully.
Tan Min's newly-risen guard subsided, and he nodded and said, "Come, Prince Yi, I greet you."
Li Lin went forward with a smile.
After listening to their conversation, Song Wan, who was lying on the wall, vaguely felt that Prince Yi was trying to trick the other party, but she was not sure, so she repeated the conversation between the two to Gu Yanji.
"Do you think he is trying to trick Tan Min?" Song Wan frowned.
"Can you hear them talking?" Gu Yan was surprised. Even at such a distance, he could only make out three or two words based on their lip shapes.
"Yes, as long as you have mental strength," Song Wan whispered in his ear, "This Prince Yi looks young, but I didn't expect he has his own little thoughts."
"Born in an imperial family, if you don't have any thoughts, you won't live long." Gu Yan sighed anxiously. This is also the most helpless thing.
Song Wan quite agrees with this point. "The bottom line is that you men marry too many women. If it were monogamous, there wouldn't be so many problems."
"Monogamy?" Gu Yanji felt that the term was quite new. He nodded and said, "Maybe when Ayu grows up, let him try it."
"You actually agreed?" Song Wan's eyes widened. She was ready for Gu Yan to scold her for her treason.
Gu Yan laughed anxiously, "Why wouldn't I agree? Ah Wan forgot, I only plan to marry one wife in the future."
Of course Song Wan remembered, "I know, you want to marry me."
Her frankness made Gu Yan blush with anxiety, but fortunately it was dark and it was not very noticeable.
The others who didn't want to eat dog food quietly moved aside.
"I just didn't expect you to actually support monogamy." Song Wan held her chin up, "Isn't it said that all men here like to have three wives and four concubines?"
Gu Yan was anxious, "Where did Awan live before, was monogamy the norm?"
Song Wan nodded and shook her head, "In the beginning, it was, but later on, there was no definition, because everyone was busy trying to survive and fill their stomachs, so they didn't have time to think about these things."
She survived in the apocalypse for ten years, from the age of fifteen to twenty-five. The first thing she did every day when she opened her eyes was to hope that she could kill more zombies and exchange them for more food.
Just by hearing her say this so simply, Gu Yanji could imagine how difficult her life was in the past, so he held her hand and said, "It's all over."
Song Wan nodded, "Yes, let's go. I have a lot of gold now, I can buy a lot of food, and I won't have to go hungry anymore."
Gu Yan was anxious: "You still have me."
Song Wan tilted her head and stared at him after hearing this. After a moment, she said seriously, "Yes, now I still have time to support a man. I don't have to envy those former teammates anymore."
In addition to the men, she can also support the entire team. Not only that, she also has a lot of younger brothers.
Gu Yanji suddenly felt complicated. Should he be glad that she didn't have time to find another man to support her in order to fill her stomach?
"You don't know, there was a very powerful member of my team who had a crush on three men at the same time. In order to support the four of them, she needed to earn twice as much food as I did every day."
Of course, Song Wan felt that the man was living a very tiring life, but the man told her that since it was the end of the world anyway, she should enjoy herself while she could. If she didn't chop the zombies today, she would chop them tomorrow. She could chop more zombies, so she could stay alive and be happy. Why not do it?
Later, when she could never come back, Song Wan finally realized the reason, but at that time there was only less than a day left before she was trapped in the zombie swarm, and there was no time to think about it.
Gu Yan's eyebrows jumped in anxiety. Three men?
It seems that it is necessary for Dayue to practice monogamy, otherwise he is really afraid that one day she will fall in love with several men at the same time.
"So in order not to be as tired as her, having me is enough for you." Gu Yan hurriedly followed her words.
Song Wan agreed, "You're right."
Gu Yanji breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Lin was still slowly asking questions over there, and Song Wan was not idle either. She told Gu Yanji everything she didn't understand and asked him to make the final decision.
"It seems that Prince Yi doesn't really want to join Prince Yu's camp." Gu Yan frowned and said after listening to Song Wan's retelling.
"He's not that old, he looks about the same age as Qi Fu." Song Wan stared at Li Lin's thin back and said, "But he looks more adult than Qi Fu."
Gu Yan smiled anxiously, "If I remember correctly, he should be sixteen this year."
Song Wan tutted her words, "At sixteen, he's already an adult. He's just like me in that respect."
After saying that, she turned around and waved to Qi Fu, who was some distance away, asking him to come over.
Qi Wu knew from her expression that nothing good was going on and was unwilling to go over. Song Wan didn't say anything, but just winked at Song Qi again.
Then Qi Fu was brought over by Song Qi.
Qi Wu struggled but couldn't, so he gave up. He said angrily, "Can you please stop letting Song Qi carry me around all the time?"
Song Wan showed no mercy and knocked him on the head. "How dare you despise me? If it weren't for Song Qi, how could you have come up here?"
Qi Wu: "I'm already fourteen."
Song Wan: "Yeah, you're fourteen and still have such a childish temper. I know how to trick my enemies by the time I'm sixteen."
Qi Wu: "Since you like him so much, let him be your apprentice."
Song Wan thought his idea was good, "Okay, you two can switch identities later."
Qi Fu was angry.
Gu Yan hurriedly pulled Song Wan back and said, "Don't tease him anymore. Be careful not to tease him too much. Otherwise, there will be no more teasing in the future."
Qi Fu pricked up his ears, and when he heard Gu Yan's urgent words, he became even more depressed. It seemed that his existence was just to relieve boredom.
In the flower hall, Li Lin made Tan Min drink a lot of wine, but he could only get a few words out of her.
He glanced at the drunk person lying on the dining table, pursed his lips, and then called the servant to help Tan Min go back to the room to rest.
Concubine Rou has not rested yet. She is waiting for her son.
As soon as Li Lin arrived at the backyard, she came out to greet him. She looked worried and asked, "How is it?"
Li Lin lowered his eyes for a moment, then raised his head and said, "His people are very tight-lipped. All I could get out of him were some insignificant things."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Rou sighed and comforted him, "It seems this is the only way. I just hope that the one from the Song family didn't choose the Yizhou route."
Li Lin thought that there were too many strange things about this matter, and he wanted to try again tomorrow.
Concubine Rou shook her head, "Your status is different from others. Your two brothers are not tolerant. If it weren't for your uncle supporting you in Jinzhou, the day the current emperor ascended the throne would probably be the anniversary of our mother and me's death."
"Mother, I know my limits." Li Lin comforted her, "Son will be careful."
Concubine Rou sighed, "Forget it, just do whatever you want, your mother won't stop you."
Li Lin smiled and said, "From what Tan Min said, I guessed that Song Qin must have obtained an important handle on the Second Prince, a handle that the Emperor must not know."
Concubine Rou frowned, "Your two brothers have always been at odds with each other, and there must be quite a few things they hold against each other that they cannot let the other know about."
"No, it's different." Li Lin trusted his intuition. "Second brother used to rely on the power of my maternal family. Even if there was evidence, he didn't seem to be afraid of the emperor finding out. But this time, he seems to want to do it in secret."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of his cheap brother.
Concubine Rou then began to think deeply, "Then what do you think is the evidence, Lin'er?"
Li Lin actually already had a vague answer in his mind, but he had no evidence.
Telling my mother something without any evidence would only increase her worries.
"It would be great if father had a fourth son." Li Lin suddenly sighed.
Concubine Rou looked up at him, a hint of hesitation flashed in her eyes, and finally she said, "Has your father never thought about it?"
She recalled the woman who had briefly lived in the palace, feeling sad, "You once had a younger brother."
Li Lin knew that his mother and the late queen were on good terms. In fact, he had secretly hoped for this a long time ago.
He thought about being a good brother to the emperor and hoped that he would call him "Third Brother" one day.
"It's my son who doesn't have the chance to be an older brother." Li Lin showed regret in his eyes.
Concubine Rou opened her mouth, but seemed to understand something and finally closed it.
"What does mother want to say?" Li Lin saw her hesitant eyes and asked.
Concubine Rou shook her head gently. "Nothing. Mother just wanted to ask, have you ever thought about taking that seat?"
"Don't you, mother, know what kind of person your son is?" Li Lin smiled bitterly. "My son has never had such an idea."
Concubine Rou certainly understood her son, and her words just now were just to block his questions.
She held his hand, her eyes gentle, "Mother has no other intentions. Mother just hopes that you can live a peaceful life."
"Same here." Li Lin shook hands back. "I hope both mother and uncle live a long life."
They were the only two relatives he had left.
"Mother will try her best to live longer. Mother also wants to see you get married and have children." Concubine Rou let go of the entanglement in her heart. It's fine like this now. As for the secret, let her take it directly to the underworld in the future.
Perhaps it is a kind of happiness that everyone lives in peace and safety.
"After sending the Second Prince's men away, we'll close the door and live our own lives." Li Lin thought for a while and said.
However, if Song Qinruo really came to Yizhou at that time, he might have to go to Qiandi again.
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Concubine Rou replied with a smile.
"Really?"
Suddenly a voice broke in and Li Lin quickly turned around.
A woman appeared out of nowhere, looking at him happily, slowly swinging a golden whip in her hand.
The woman was dressed in a neat and clean blue dress, with her hair tied back in a simple high ponytail.
If it weren't for her voice and the pair of eyes that were still sparkling in the moonlight, Li Lin might not have recognized that she was a woman.
"Who are you? How did you get in?" Li Lin looked around. There were many secret guards arranged by his uncle in his palace to protect the personal safety of him and his mother.
But the woman in front of him was able to break into the most heavily guarded courtyard under the noses of the entire palace's secret guards. Li Lin was extremely horrified just thinking about it.
He protected his mother behind him without making a sound. No matter which side the other party was on, he would not let them hurt his mother.
Song Wan didn't miss his little gesture and thought to herself, he looks like a very filial son.
"Of course I climbed over the wall," she answered leisurely.
"Who are you?" Li Lin was tense.
"My name is Song Wan." Song Wan replied simply, "The Song Qin you just mentioned is my second brother."
He frowned, and before he could digest what she meant, he saw six or seven more people appear behind her.
Li Lin: "..."
Is it so easy to break into his palace?
"You don't know me?" Song Wan frowned and thought for a moment, then pulled Gu Yanji and hurried towards Li Lin. "You don't know me, but you should know him, right?"
Li Lin swallowed what he was about to say and looked at the man's face.
After a long moment, he said uncertainly and in disbelief, "Gu, Gu Yan is in a hurry?"
Gu Yan nodded quickly, "Your Highness Prince Yi."
"You, you guys!" Li Lin pointed at all of them but couldn't say a word.
It was Concubine Rou who first came to her senses. She took two steps from behind her son and asked him, "Aren't you in Qiandi? Why did you suddenly come to Yizhou?"
"It's a long story—" Gu Yanji was about to give a brief explanation when she was interrupted by Concubine Rou.
"Don't explain yet. You must be hungry after all this journey. I'll ask the servants to prepare some food. There's no rush to talk after you eat."
Concubine Rou had long heard that life in Guizhou was difficult, and she was afraid that they had had a hard time in the past year.
Hearing that it was time to eat again, Song Wan touched her still bulging stomach and quickly stepped forward to interrupt, "We're not hungry, you don't need to prepare."
After saying that, she added, "Let's prepare it tomorrow. I'll be hungry by tomorrow morning."
Concubine Rou thought this little girl was really interesting. Judging from her appearance and stature, she should be the eldest daughter of the Song family.
"You are Awan, right?" Concubine Rou ignored her son's attempts to stop her, stepped forward, took Song Wan's hand, and confirmed.
"You know me?" Song Wan was surprised.
"Your eyes are very similar to your mother's." Concubine Rou looked at her lovingly. "I have met your mother several times at palace banquets in the past."
"So that's how it is." Song Wan nodded in agreement. "My mother didn't come this time. If you want to see her, you can come back to Guizhou with me later. The villages there are very lively, unlike here where it gets so gloomy at night."
Concubine Rou couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Ah Wan really knows how to joke."
Song Wan frowned, "Seriously, aren't you bored staying in the palace? There's not even anyone to chat with."
Seeing her serious expression, Concubine Rou finally realized that she was not joking. "Didn't you risk coming here to save your second brother?"
“The two don’t conflict.”
Song Wan quite likes Prince Yi's mother, who is as gentle as her mother.
"I appreciate Ah Wan's kindness." Concubine Rou touched her hand and raised her eyes and said, "But Lin'er is here. If I leave, he will be even more lonely."
Song Wan blinked and said, "That's easy. Just let him go with you."
"Lin'er is a conferred prince. There are many spies in Yizhou City, so he can't leave here." Concubine Rou explained with a sigh.
"That's too pitiful for him." Song Wan frowned, "No wonder he has to act like an adult at such a young age."
Li Lin: "..."
Knowing they were safe, Li Lin relaxed his spine. He asked, "How did you know about Song Qin?"
"We followed Tan Min here," Song Wan said frankly. "Just now, we watched for a long time as you forced someone to drink and tried to get them to talk."
Li Lin: "..."
Does he need to consider replacing his secret guards?
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