Chapter 66: Silly Brother, Fierce Sister
After speaking to Miss Yan, Jinsui turned to Li Heng and said with equal solemnity:
“Even if Lord Li wasn’t coming to find this King today, this King would have sought you out.
You are helping the Zheng family to claim a concubine, but this King’s Assistant Secretary will sue the Zheng family to reclaim his wife!”
“Cheng Yu, you speak to Lord Li yourself.”
Cheng Yu, who had been waiting, stepped forward, bowed to Li Heng neither subserviently nor arrogantly, then produced the marriage certificate and token, presenting them and saying:
“Chen Yunniang is my fiancée, Cheng Yu’s fiancée, yet she was forcibly taken by the Zheng family as a concubine. I request Lord Li to dispense justice for this subordinate.”
Prefect Li found the matter utterly unbelievable. Could such a coincidence exist in the world?
After he read the marriage certificate and heard Cheng Yu recount Chen Yunniang’s past, his face immediately showed difficulty.
He felt that this trip had not solved the problem but had instead taken on a more troublesome affair.
At this moment, the group heard a soft crying sound.
Turning their heads, they saw Miss Yan weeping as if rain were falling, and she sobbed to Cheng Yu:
“I’m sorry!”
She covered her face and ran out.
Jinsui, however, smiled. Hearing Cheng Yu and Chen Yunniang’s past, several soldiers in the military camp were moved to tears.
Miss Yan, a young girl in her prime, was at an age where she would be touched by a love story like Liang Zhu.
Such a poignant love story unfolding before her, it was natural for her to be moved to tears.
Glancing at Li Heng, he was a hard-hearted man. Not only was he not moved, but he was also fretting over how to resolve this troublesome matter.
Jinsui stared directly at Li Heng: “Is Lord Li now going to claim a concubine for the Zheng family, or demand the sale contract for the Assistant Secretary’s beloved wife?”
Li Heng looked troubled: “This… perhaps Your Highness could accompany this subordinate to the Zheng family to clarify things in person.”
Jinsui snorted coldly: “Do you think this King is a fool? If I go to the Zheng family, won’t I become fish on a chopping board!”
While Jinsui and Cheng Yu were trying to persuade Li Heng to help, Miss Yan, who had run out, looked up and saw her Second Brother eating fish balls from a bowl.
Yan Shiyi Lang was eating with a beaming smile. Seeing his sister running out crying, he
quickly put down his bowl and asked, “What’s wrong? Did Jun Yanqing bully you?”
Miss Yan shook her head and asked with deep guilt, “Second Brother, am I very bad?”
Yan Shiyi Lang was startled: “Who said that? My sister is the best girl in the world. Who said you were bad?”
Han Xing happened to be passing by. He pointed at Han Xing and said:
“Was it this brat? Didn’t I whip him a few times? He’s so petty.”
Han Xing: …
He silently turned and walked away, ignoring the brother and sister.
But Miss Yan didn’t let him go. She quickly stepped in front of him and said somewhat shyly:
“Do you know about Assistant Secretary Cheng and Lady Chen? Can you tell me in detail?”
Yan Shiyi Lang’s interest was instantly piqued. Like a gossipy old woman in the village, he eagerly asked:
“They know each other from way back? I knew it! Why else would Li King go to the Zheng family to snatch a concubine!”
Han Xing suppressed the urge to run away. In order for Assistant Secretary Cheng and Chen Yunniang to receive more help, he tried his best to make their love story sound more moving.
As expected, after years of being “baptized” by Assistant Secretary Cheng’s drunken singing, he used “Mountain Ghost” as the opening and “Lady of Xiang” as the ending.
A pair of childhood sweethearts were forced apart. Assistant Secretary Cheng gave up being a Capital Official, abandoning the glorious future his family had paved for him.
He only wished to be a humble official at the borderlands, just to be a little closer to the woman he loved.
And Chen Yunniang, from a noble young lady, became a lowly slave concubine, facing the tragic situations of starvation and being beaten to death countless times.
She never sold their token of love. At that time, to avoid implicating Assistant Secretary Cheng, she would rather die than come out of her tomb…
Then Han Xing saw Yan Shiyi standing behind Miss Yan, crying even louder than her.
“Wuwuwu, the Zheng family is too despicable! They are so pitiful.”
“I’m a bad person too. I actually stopped Li King from saving her back then.”
Miss Yan also cried:
“I’m even worse. I called Chen Yunniang a lowly servant, unworthy of the King’s protection.”
Han Xing: …
Can I leave now? This is so embarrassing. I really don’t want to play with fools.
As a result, he was grabbed by the sleeve by Miss Yan:
“Can you take me to see Chen Yunniang? I want to apologize to her in person.”
Han Xing pulled his sleeve free and shook his head:
“No, the King said that Lady Chen cannot appear until the Zheng family’s matter is resolved.”
He slightly raised his chin, gesturing to the soldiers Li Prefect had brought:
“If our King didn’t intervene, based on Assistant Secretary Cheng and Lady Chen alone, they would have already been taken away by Lord Li and died at the hands of the Zheng family.”
Miss Yan recalled Li King’s words from earlier and suddenly felt a surge of righteousness. Women’s lives were difficult, and they should not make things hard for each other but should support and help one another!
She wiped her tears: “They not only have your King’s help, but they also have this young lady! This matter, this young lady will handle it.”
“I will definitely ensure that lovers are united in marriage!”
Applause sounded from behind. Miss Yan turned and saw Li King smiling and clapping:
“Good! This King indeed did not misjudge Miss Yan.”
Miss Yan’s face instantly turned red. Her previous boldness turned into shy embarrassment.
When Jinsui had Cheng Yu bring Chen Yunniang, Chen Yunniang recounted her life story in front of everyone.
Prefect Li still wanted to persuade them, and they would go to the Zheng family together to clarify things in person.
But Miss Yan glared at him:
“Going to the Zheng family is like a sheep entering a tiger’s mouth! Why should the King go to the Zheng family to explain? Didn’t you bring the Zheng family members here?”
Prefect Li was speechless. If he brought the Zheng family members here, could he take them back alive?
He reacted quickly. It seemed this matter was extremely troublesome, with both sides being difficult to deal with. He decided to wash his hands of it! Let them fight it out.
Just as he was about to cup his hands and take his leave, Li King, who had seen through his intentions, stopped him: “Lord Li, Assistant Secretary Cheng is under the same imperial order as you. You cannot ignore his affairs!”
Cheng Yu reacted quickly and said: “If Your Excellency does not intervene, this subordinate can only go to Chang’an to file an Imperial Petition.”
Prefect Li was stunned with anger, regretting once again why he had waded into this muddy water.
An Imperial Petition? Would the Emperor care about such a trivial matter? You, an Eighth Rank official, can’t even see the Emperor.
Isn’t this just threatening this official? If I don’t get involved, this matter will escalate, affecting my political achievements, and I won’t be able to transfer out of Yandi next year.
Thinking that he still had to be in Yandi with Li King for three years, Prefect Li felt a headache coming on. He immediately said:
“I will! This official will naturally not stand by and do nothing! It’s just that the Head of the Zheng Family is still ill. Once he recovers, this official will go to the Zheng family to mediate.”
Jinsui smiled: “Then this King will await your good news!
By the way, if the Head of the Zheng Family’s illness is incurable, he can come and beg this King. This King will bestow upon him a dose of good medicine.”
Prefect Li forced a smile, suppressing his anger as he left.
Well, not only did he not get Chen Yunniang back, but he also took on a muddled task.
This damned border city, this official will never come again!
As it happened, when he passed by the Forceful Restaurant, the Dongpo Pork was just being uncovered. The fragrance, the color and texture of the meat.
Including Prefect Li, more than a dozen people all swallowed their saliva.
Yan Shiyi Lang waved: “Have a meal before you go! Try the Dongpo Pork and fish balls of the border city. I guarantee they’ll make you dizzy with their fragrance.”
Prefect Li gritted his teeth. Since it was his last time here, he would have a meal before leaving.
