The light in the Duke’s eyes faded instantly.
He almost forgot about this…
Liuzheng represents not only herself, but also the entire Changsui Army.
After realizing what he meant, the Duke quickly bowed his head and said, “Your Highness, I did not mean that.”
Prince Su raised an eyebrow: “Of course I know that my cousin did not mean that, but you need to think it over carefully. Putting aside whether General Ruan is willing to give up her promising future to marry someone else, just considering His Majesty’s hurdle… you need to think carefully about how to get past him.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I will certainly consider this carefully in the future.”
Let’s take a long-term view, rather than never mentioning it again.
Prince Su chuckled.
“Go on, your aunt is waiting for you to come back.”
“yes.”
The Duke of Wei bowed, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.
Back in the upstairs room, Lady An, the Duchess, had already woken up.
She had already heard from her servants that a mudslide had occurred on the mountain, and the entire village had been submerged.
Thinking back to how she initially refused to go down the mountain in the rain, she was so scared that she broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, she was being helped by her maid to change her clothes.
When she saw the Duke of Wei approaching, she grasped his hand, her voice trembling slightly.
“My lord, the mountain villa has been submerged by a mudslide…”
The Duke of Wei held the man in his arms.
The maids inside were already used to the couple’s intimacy and kept their eyes straight ahead.
“It’s alright now,” said the Duke of Wei. “You’re fine, and the imperial physician said our daughter is also alright, so there’s no need to be afraid.”
When the children were mentioned, the Duchess’s expression relaxed somewhat.
She stroked her belly.
“Although the imperial physician said it looks like a female fetus, it’s not necessarily true; it’s possible the diagnosis was wrong…”
“It has to be a daughter. We both want a daughter, so she can only be a daughter.”
“How can you be so domineering?”
The Duke of Wei laughed, helped her sit up, and then placed an embroidered pillow behind her back.
“How are you feeling now? Does your stomach still hurt?”
The Duchess shook her head: “It doesn’t hurt anymore, but I’m still a little scared.”
She mentioned Liuzheng.
“Thanks to that young master who came to deliver the message, my child and I escaped a disaster. We should thank him.”
The Duke of Wei’s smile deepened.
“You’re mistaken. That’s not a young man; it’s a woman.”
“The gatekeeper said it was a young master surnamed Ruan.”
“She changed into men’s clothing for easier access when going out. Do you know who she is?”
“They say it’s from the Ruan family, but we don’t know which Ruan family.”
“That is the Zhaoyong Female General who has been the talk of the town recently.”
The Duchess looked up in surprise: “It was her?”
“Um.”
“I’ve noted it down. When we get back to Beijing, we’ll send her an invitation to visit us. I want to thank her handsomely.”
“Whatever you say.”
The Duchess thought of Wei Ranfeng and Wei Ranshuo again.
“Having gone through this ordeal today, I miss them. After returning to the capital, go and petition His Majesty to allow them to return.”
“I received a letter that Ran Shuo is already on his way back to Beijing, while Ran Feng will have to wait until the peace talks are completely concluded before he can return.”
Wei Ranfeng was in charge of negotiating peace with the enemy country.
Although the Great Jin Dynasty won a great victory, the war had lasted for too many years, resulting in a severe depletion of the national treasury, which could not withstand further turmoil.
Peace talks are not just about shaking hands; there are many terms to be negotiated.
“His Majesty gave Ranfeng a chance because he values him.”
“I know…” the Duchess sighed.
“Okay, I’ll rest with you.”
“Um.”
The two lay down in each other’s arms, and the maids drew back the curtains and withdrew.
Someone quietly asked Granny Chen about it.
“He was beaten to death.”
“ah?”
“She was greedy for credit and wanted to show off, but she didn’t know that the mudslide was really coming. She was furious and went to settle scores with her benefactor. The Duke caught her red-handed and dragged her out to be beaten to death.”
“Tsk, serves her right! The lady was in critical condition at the time, and instead of taking care of her, she went to settle scores with someone.”
“Isn’t that right? She packed all the trunks when we went down the mountain. After she left, I couldn’t even find where Madam’s nightgown was, and she almost caught a cold.”
“Should!”
Everyone hates that old woman with a passion, because she is usually domineering and no one pities her.
“Remember, don’t tell the lady. When she’s pregnant, it’s taboo for her to hear about fighting and killing.”
“Don’t worry, we know what we’re doing.”
…
On the other side, after the Duke of Wei left and the door closed, Su Wang glanced into the inner room and said expressionlessly, “Why aren’t you coming out yet?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen He’an, dressed in a long red robe, walked out of the inner room.
When did you notice I was here?
He hid and concealed himself the whole way, afraid of being discovered by Prince Su.
When Prince Su went up the mountain, he found the mountain path muddy and dirty, and did not follow.
“From the moment I stepped out of the city gate.”
Shen He’an’s face darkened: “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
He even thought he had improved his skills compared to others, and was quite proud of himself.
I never imagined this guy would discover it from the start and have been making a fool of him all along!
Prince Su looked at him coldly: “I told you to stay in the capital, but you ignored me?”
Shen He’an chuckled twice and leaned closer: “I’m just as curious as you are, aren’t I?”
Prince Su’s voice was indifferent: “The only one who is curious is you.”
“Stop pretending.” Shen He’an winked at him: “If you really have no feelings for her, why did you bring people here in person? And why did you extinguish the Duke of Wei’s idea of proposing marriage at the General’s Mansion?”
Prince Su found the situation somewhat difficult.
Shen He’an knows him too well; he could easily be exposed if he’s not careful.
Prince Su carefully considered his words before speaking in a low voice: “Anyone with eyes can see that the Duke of Wei is one of our people. Ruan Liuzheng is currently enjoying great influence, and His Majesty and his court are all paying attention to her. If he were to propose marriage at this time, do you think His Majesty would be suspicious? As for my personal visit… it’s just because I’m worried that my subordinates aren’t efficient enough. Since we want to win her over, we naturally need to put in some effort.”
“No need to explain, I can see it all. You treat her differently from everyone else. You find other women annoying even to look at.”
Prince Su met Shen He’an’s eyes expressionlessly, a sharp glint hidden in his gaze.
“I have never regarded her as a woman.”
Shen He’an: “Then how do you see her?”
“Either they are talented individuals who can be used by me, or they are adversaries who must be eliminated completely.”
His words were so cold that Shen He’an couldn’t help but shiver.
Looking into his dark eyes, Shen He’an dared not make any more wild guesses.
His desire to watch the spectacle thus ended.
“I thought you, this iron tree, were finally going to bloom.”
“A man should establish his career before taking charge of the household. I’m not in a hurry, so why are you?”
“Wasn’t I doing this for you? The former queen died on her wedding night, and people will keep bringing it up. Only with a new queen can this matter be covered up.”
“With a new queen, they will bring up the old issues even more.”
“Aren’t you afraid that His Majesty will directly bestow a marriage upon you, giving you so-and-so, and then another princess will die, causing another uproar, and you’ll be happy then?”
Prince Su glared at him.
Shen He’an pursed his lips and remained silent.
This person is so boring!
It doesn’t even feel like a living person.
He wanted to show him some humanity, which is why he was so attentive in helping him find a princess.
Fine!
Why should the emperor be more worried than the eunuch?
“Commander He? Commander He!”
Shen He’an pushed open the door and walked out, startling Commandant He.
“Why is the Crown Prince here?”
A smile finally appeared on Shen He’an’s face.
See, that’s the right reaction from Commander He!
Unlike Prince Su, who would immediately say, “Hurry up and get out here.”
It’s strange how it undermines people’s self-confidence.
“Prepare a private room for me. I’m exhausted from working these past few days. I need to take a bath, change my clothes, and get some rest!”
Commander He glanced inside and, seeing that Prince Su didn’t react, quickly replied, “Yes!”
…
Liuzheng helped her grandmother back to her room.
As soon as her grandmother sat down, Liuzheng knelt down.
“The granddaughter almost put her grandmother in danger; the granddaughter deserves to die!”
She knew that her grandmother had been quite frightened, and she felt very guilty.
Grandmother quickly helped her up.
“Silly child, how could you deserve to die? You clearly saved the whole family. You are our lucky star, so never say such things again. As for what happened with the Duke of Wei, let’s pretend it never happened, and let’s not mention it again.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
Just then, Madam Shao, the third wife, rushed in, bowed, and hurriedly said, “Mother, something terrible has happened! Second Master and the others insist on returning to the capital now, and I can’t stop them no matter what I do.”
Grandmother frowned.
Why were they in such a hurry to leave?
He didn’t even inform her.
That’s incredibly unfilial!
But this was outside, and walls have ears, so even though the old lady was displeased, she suppressed her anger.
“My daughter-in-law doesn’t know either, but the Second Master and the others all look very unwell.”
“Forget it! Let them do whatever they want!”
The old lady was frightened and exhausted, and she really couldn’t be bothered to care about the people from the second branch of the family.
“yes……”
The third wife curtsied and said no more.
Liuzheng served the old lady her dinner and waited until she retired from the room before leaving.
Afterwards, she did not go directly back to her room, but went to the Third Madam’s room.
It was my third uncle who opened the door.
The second and third wives were responsible for the Ruan family’s shops, while the third wife was responsible for the farmland and estates.
There are many things to do at the farm, and I often have to take charge myself.
My third uncle is an honest man. During the autumn harvest, he would even go to the fields himself.
Therefore, his skin was somewhat dark.
“Yaoyao is here?” Uncle San laughed and said, “Has the old lady gone to sleep?”
“I’m going to bed, Third Uncle.”
“I haven’t even congratulated you on bringing back your military merits and now you’re a general. Thinking back to when you were little, you didn’t like doing needlework, you preferred playing with wooden swords. We elders scolded you for it, but now it seems you showed talent even as a child, we just didn’t see it.”
Liuzheng smiled and said, “I have to thank my third uncle. When I was little, they wouldn’t let me play with guns and swords, but you secretly made a wooden sword for me.”
“I can’t believe you still remember something from so long ago.”
“I remember all the kindness my third uncle and aunt have shown me,” Liuzheng said, then asked about her third aunt.
“I’m playing with Jia-ge in the room. I’m going downstairs to get a pot of hot tea. You two can chat.”
As he spoke, Uncle called out to Auntie and then went out.
Liuzheng watched him leave, her lips slightly pursed as she gazed at his slightly hunched back.
Liuzheng knew that, in fact, among the three sons of the Ruan family, the third uncle was the best at studying.
However, his father, Ruan Hanmo, was cunning and shrewd, and he was also the eldest son, which is why Dufeng Academy ended up in the hands of the eldest son’s family.
But my third uncle never cared about these things and was willing to manage the fields and estates.
The people in the third wife’s family are all good.
Liuzheng decided to help them.
Helping them is also helping herself.