Fast Travel: Endangered Pup Rescue Project

"Shao'er, mother wants to tell you something, please keep a normal attitude."

Feng Shao's heart skipped a beat, and even Zhou Qing put down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Mom, just say it. As long as you and the entire General's Mansion are fine, I can bear it."

"It's not a big deal, I just want to cancel your engagement." Song Xia sighed, "I know you were interested in Miss Xu before, but I overheard some rumors during the two years you were away."

"What rumors?"

Song Xia looked embarrassed: "Maybe it's not necessarily true."

"There is no smoke without fire. Although this is the first time I meet my stepmother, I think she is definitely not the kind of person who speaks without thinking. Shaodi, why don't you listen to what she says first. To put it bluntly, if your future wife has a conflict with her, in the end not only you and her, but your future wife will suffer as well, right?" Zhou Qing's voice was calm, and inexplicably convincing.

Feng Shao nodded. Although he treated Miss Xu differently from other women because of their engagement since childhood, he would never force it if his mother was unhappy or Miss Xu had someone else in her heart.

"Mom, just say it, it doesn't matter to me."

"It's just that I've met Miss Xu and Prince Si Hengnian several times in teahouses and jewelry stores before. There seemed to be some... um... ambiguity between the two of them. I felt embarrassed at the time, so I didn't show up. So I think she's not worthy of you. If she's not engaged, it's fine. Nowadays, the court is open-minded, and women in the capital rarely marry blindly. But it's not good for her to be entangled with other men before her engagement is cancelled, especially between Prince Si Hengnian and our general's mansion... Alas, so I want you to think about it carefully."

"Prince Xun?" Zhou Qing raised his voice and expressed his doubts before conferring the title of Emperor Shao. "Since Miss Xu is the daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion, she should be aware of the situation in the capital. Why does she want to get close to Prince Xun when she knows that our General's Mansion is being troubled by Prince Xun? It's impossible that she is sacrificing herself for Brother Shao, right? Then how about the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"That's why I think Miss Xu might be sincere to King Xun."

Feng Shao was filled with anger: "If that's the case, then why didn't the Prime Minister's Mansion come to cancel the engagement?"

"Perhaps it is because the matter between Miss Xu and Prince Xun has not been resolved yet? After all, the Prime Minister and Prince Xun often disagree on political views. However, if they agree on political views, it would be even worse. Prince Xun is so powerful now that even Your Majesty dare not touch him lightly. The Prime Minister is the head of the civil officials. If these two powerful officials, the civil and military officials, get married, Your Majesty's throne will be uneasy."

Zhou Qing drank the lily soup and analyzed the situation clearly, while Feng Shao's face became increasingly darker.

Although he admired Xu Huixin, he was also a loyal minister. Moreover, the conflict between their General's Mansion and Prince Xun had been getting deeper and deeper in the past two years. If Prince Xun controlled the government, I'm afraid their General's Mansion would be in danger.

"But if I cancel the engagement, wouldn't it be more convenient for Xu Huixin to be with Prince Xun?"

"Do you still want to marry her to annoy me and my stepmother?" Zhou Qing said in a surprised tone, "A strong man like Prince Xun will not let go easily even if Xu Huixin is already married. Wouldn't the General's Mansion become a joke in the whole capital by then? It's better to expose their affair first and let His Majesty find a way to deal with it. The royal family should be the most worried about these two people being together."

Zhou Qing put down the bowl of soup and squinted his eyes comfortably: "Mom, Shaodi, it's not easy for you to come forward on this matter, why not let me handle it? Anyway, I just came to the capital, and few people know me. Prince Xun and Xu Huixin will have a tryst, so they won't be too wary of me."

Song Xia was silent. How come her adopted son Zhou Qing said everything she wanted to say just after she started talking? And she didn't have to worry about anything at all.

"Mother and brother Shao, please rest assured that I will handle this matter beautifully and cleanly. I will definitely make the Prime Minister's Mansion cancel the engagement, and let the people of the whole capital despise the prince for being so dishonest as to seduce your fiancée while you, brother Shao, are away fighting."

"Qing'er, thank you for your help." Song Xia nodded with a smile. Zhou Qing smiled even more brightly: "Stepmother, my courtesy name is Yuqing, you can just call me Yuqing from now on."

"Yes, Yuqing."

Feng Shao felt that he couldn't get a word in, and there didn't seem to be anything else to say, so he could only nod in agreement.

So the matter was settled. From the next day after the recognition of relatives, Zhou Qing went out early and came back late, and no one knew what he was doing. But soon, the news that Prince Xun Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin had a secret meeting and confided their innermost feelings to each other spread throughout the capital.

"Is it true that Prince Xun and the Prime Minister's daughter Xu Huixin are together?" At a banquet for noble ladies in the capital, several ladies gossiped quietly.

"Of course it's true. Madam Liu and I saw it with our own eyes at the Wanfo Temple that day. Prince Xun was holding Miss Xu in his arms! Miss Xu even hung her purse around Prince Xun's waist with a shy look on her face."

"That's a temple! Are you two just so impatient?"

"Young men and women can't help but fall in love, so naturally they don't care about anything else. No wonder the prince refused the marriage proposal from the emperor again and again when he was 25 years old. It turns out that he fell in love with the prime minister's daughter."

"But since Prince Xun likes the Prime Minister's daughter, why doesn't he marry her?"

"Have you forgotten? Miss Xu, the daughter of the Prime Minister, is already engaged! Didn't Mrs. Song from the General's Mansion send a valuable gift to the Prime Minister's Mansion a few days ago? I heard that she wanted to hold the wedding while General Feng Shao was back in Beijing to report on his work."

"Ah? Then... then doesn't this young General Feng Shao become a great enemy now?"

"Who said it wasn't? You said that since Miss Xu was like this with Prince Xun, it must not be the first time. There must be someone in the Prime Minister's Mansion who knows about it. But since she knew about it and still accepted the generous gift from the General's Mansion, it is really hard to judge."

"The Prime Minister's Office is so careless about etiquette that it is difficult for him to be the head of the civil service."

In the capital city, any slight disturbance would become known to everyone. Soon, someone with inside information would reveal the information, saying that he had seen the two people in a certain restaurant, a certain theater, or a certain horse farm. His description was so vivid that people believed it.

"They are so reckless!" It is said that Feng Shao still had some affection for Xu Huixin before, but after knowing that these things were true and people all over the capital were laughing at him, his feelings turned into deep disgust.

Song Xia had not expected Zhou Qing to handle this matter so beautifully. Zhou Qing chuckled and said, "Although I played a major role in this, many people also contributed to the current situation. It can be seen that we are not the only ones who want to bring misfortune to Prince Xun and the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"Then do you know who else is fanning the flames?"

"I am sure that the Qi family and the royal family are involved, but I am not sure who in the royal family they are. I also suspect that the relationship between Prince Xun and the Qi family seems to be unusual."

Feng Shao was confused: "Since the relationship between Prince Xun and the Qi family is unusual, why didn't the Qi family help hide it this time, but instead helped us?"

"So if we can investigate the relationship between them, it may be more helpful for us to deal with the Duke." (End of this chapter)