Chapter 65: Demanding a Person
Given the economic situation of the border city soldiers, they should be eating salt mud or vinegar cloth. Li King could not possibly eat so much salt in a lifetime.
Prefect Li guessed that Li King was buying green salt to reward his subordinates. How extravagant! A group of border soldiers, deserving of eating green salt!
Unexpectedly, Yan Shiyi said with a hint of pride:
“This is what this young master is giving to the Forceful Restaurant, because this young master is the Salt Carrier!”
Prefect Li: …
What is he even talking about! Has Yan Shiyi been driven foolish by Li King?
After hearing Yan Shiyi explain what a ‘Salt Carrier’ was, Prefect Li looked at him as if he were a fool and asked:
“Do you know that the value of this green salt is enough for you to eat at that restaurant for three years?”
Yan Shiyi did not feel that there was anything wrong with this, and proudly said:
“So what? Anyone can sell green salt to Li King, but there is only one Salt Carrier, and that is this young master!”
Prefect Li actually found it difficult to refute him; this was the type of person merchants loved: foolish and rich.
At this moment, Miss Yan retorted:
“Why did Lord Li go to the border city? Wasn’t Zheng Pengpeng already rescued?
Does the Zheng Family still want to pick a fight with the Prince? Is Lord Li going to help the Zheng Family bully the Prince?”
Prefect Li was choked again, feeling that the thoughts of these siblings were both out of the ordinary.
Li King had disrupted Old Master Zheng’s funeral, imprisoned the Zheng Family Head in a tomb for several days, and snatched his beautiful concubine.
Did this not count as anything in Miss Yan’s eyes? The Zheng Family should have swallowed their pride, and this official became an accomplice of the Zheng Family, ganging up to bully Li King?
How could you utter the word ‘bully’? Anyone with eyes could see who was being bullied!
What made Prefect Li even more confused was, what kind of anesthetic had Li King given the Yan siblings?
Yan Jiulang went to the borderlands and reportedly spent fifteen thousand taels of silver to buy a book.
Yan Shiyi Lang was beaten black and blue by Li King. He went to the borderlands and was tricked into becoming a Salt Carrier.
Miss Yan has always been different from ladies in the boudoir; she didn’t learn needlework but martial arts, didn’t read women’s virtues but the Four Books, and was raised like a man.
When she reached the age of marriage, she looked down on all the fine young men from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi who sought her hand.
Yan Jiu was also very indulgent, stating that her sister’s marriage depended on her own liking.
Such an independent and unconventional daughter of a prominent family, after going to the border city, would speak in favor of Li King?
Prefect Li thought of Li King’s handsome appearance, which was different from the men of Yandi, and then looked at Miss Yan’s reaction, and he understood.
He deliberately said: “Li King snatched the Zheng Family’s beautiful concubine, and I am here to get her back for the Zheng Family.”
Miss Yan’s tone indeed changed: “The Prince merely saved an innocent woman. Is Lord Li supporting the Zheng Family in sacrificing women?”
This accusation was quite serious, and Prefect Li quickly said:
“I am an official appointed by the Imperial Court, and naturally, I will agree with the Zheng Family’s actions. However, that woman is indeed a member of the Zheng Family, how can she be snatched away like this?”
“Heh, if Li King truly fancied that woman’s beauty, he could have spoken to the Zheng Family properly and they would have sent her to warm his bed. Why make things so awkward.”
Miss Yan immediately became furious. She couldn’t explain why she was so angry, and glared at Prefect Li, saying:
“The Prince doesn’t want any beauty to warm his bed! She’s a Zheng family concubine, she’s filthy!”
Prefect Li smiled meaningfully:
“Perhaps Li King likes that kind of woman? If he didn’t snatch her to warm his bed, after saving the woman, he could have settled her elsewhere.”
Coincidentally, Yan Shiyi Lang, the fool, chimed in:
“There isn’t even a decent woman in the border city. Li King is at a vigorous age; how can he manage without a woman to serve him!”
Miss Yan was instantly furious, gritting her teeth. She flicked her riding crop and galloped towards the border city, a step ahead of the two men.
Han Xing was bowing respectfully by the roadside when he saw that fierce woman. She didn’t even glance at him and rode straight into the city.
Han Xing reached out to stop her, but then thought better of it. This woman was arrogant and fierce; it was better to speak to her less.
When Jinsui heard the neighing of horses from inside the room, he came out chewing a tomato to see what was happening.
Then he saw the huffing and puffing Miss Yan, dressed in a fiery red riding outfit, looking heroic and spirited.
Her long legs swept through the air in a perfect arc as she landed. Her hand gripped the whip tightly, and only then did she see Li King, who was chewing a tomato and smiling warmly.
Before she could utter her accusatory words, she heard Li King laugh:
“This King has been waiting for you for a long time. The sun is strong outside, please come in and have some tea and dim sum to cool off.”
Miss Yan’s heart full of rage was extinguished by Li King’s gentleness. After she entered the room with him.
She saw the fresh flowers on the table, the bamboo branches in the corner, the wide-open window letting in a gentle breeze, and several dim sum dishes she had never seen before on the table.
Even the vessels were crystal clear glazed glass artifacts, showing that she had put in a lot of effort to entertain her.
Jinsui invited her to eat the iced jelly first, which was cool and sweet with brown sugar and the fragrance of osmanthus.
After a bowl of jelly, Miss Yan’s eyes lit up, and her anger completely dissipated.
But she still asked: “Why did the Prince snatch the Zheng Family’s concubine?”
Jinsui smiled: “What is the rumor outside? Is Li Heng here to demand the person back for the Zheng Family?”
Miss Yan stirred the ice jelly with her spoon, bit her lip, and said: “Lord Li said that the Prince snatched the concubine to warm his bed.”
Jinsui spat out a mouthful of tea. He glanced at Cheng Yu outside the room and was glad that he had never been alone with Chen Yunshi, otherwise, it would be hard to explain.
He quickly said seriously: “Of course not! This King was only trying to save someone; I couldn’t just stand by and watch the Zheng Family kill an innocent woman!”
To give Miss Yan a good impression of Chen Yunniang, Jinsui pushed the dim sum on the table and said with a smile:
“All these dim sum today were made by Chen Yunniang.”
Then Jinsui realized how wrong that statement was. Miss Yan, who had been sweetly eating steamed cake, suddenly put down the cake she was holding.
She showed a look of disgust, and if it weren’t for maintaining etiquette, she would have wanted to rush out and spit out the dim sum she had eaten.
“The Prince snatched that woman and had her serve him personally, and make soup and dim sum for you?”
“Does the Prince know that she was Old Master Zheng’s concubine? As a servant, nearing thirty, what right does she have to serve the Prince closely?”
Just then, Prefect Li and Yan Shiyi Lang arrived. Hearing this, Prefect Li quickly agreed:
“Precisely. If the Prince wants a beauty to serve him, this subordinate can send you several pure girls. Why fall out with the Zheng Family over a lowly concubine?”
“If the Prince allows this subordinate to take that Lady Chen away today, this subordinate will mediate, and the Prince and the Zheng Family will make peace.”
Jinsui ignored Prefect Li and looked at Miss Yan, saying seriously:
“Miss Yan is a high and mighty daughter of the Yan Clan, while Chen Yunniang is a lowly concubine.
But as women, how can you comment on a pitiable woman like this before understanding the truth of the matter?”
“The world is already harsh enough on women; why should women make things difficult for other women?”
Miss Yan was stunned; no one had ever said such a thing to her.
At this moment, she felt no anger at Li King comparing her to Chen Yunniang, no pride in being of a higher status, worlds apart.
There was only one thought: Li King was indeed a gentle person, who had jumped into the water to save her without knowing her true identity.
And who, knowing Chen Yunniang’s lowly status, would try his best to save her regardless of others’ opinions.
