My Lord, your wife is spreading rumors about you again.

Chapter 66 Wedding (1)

Zhang Zhi buried his head between her calves and sobbed continuously. All the guards behind him turned around tacitly and covered their ears.

After half a quarter of an hour, Mingli finally lost his temper.

She poked Zhang Zhi's shoulder and said helplessly, "I say, have you cried enough? Tell me, why did you come here to search the mountain and cry like you're dying?"

Does this sound like a coaxing?

Zhang Zhi finally raised his head. Such a handsome young man cried so much that his eyes were red and his nose was swollen. If you didn’t know, you would think Mingli had brutally abused him.

The hem of Mingli's skirt was already wet with his tears.
Seeing him like this, Mingli sighed again. She stood up and sent this "ancestor" to sit on the rocking chair. She moved the snacks and fruits to the ground and sat on the hard little table with pain.

Mingli was about to speak when Zhang Zhi interrupted him: "Why did you leave Beijing?"

"what?"

Ming Li was stunned for a moment, then answered, "To avoid being idle. There have been too many incidents these days. Ming Boyuan suddenly returned to the capital and said something to me that made me a little confused about the relationship between him and my sister. He also said that he wanted me to enter the palace for selection, so I simply burned down the ancestral hall and took advantage of the chaos to escape."

Zhang Zhi raised his hand to wipe away his tears, his voice still a little hoarse: "So, you didn't leave because you were angry with me?"

"Angry?" Mingli asked in confusion, "Why should I be angry with you?"

Zhang Zhi subconsciously grabbed Mingli's sleeve.

"Just what you said in Kyoto Prefecture. I admit that my motives for approaching you were not pure at first, but I just wanted to save you at that time."

Zhang Zhi's eyes were burning, and he spoke very quickly, as if he wanted to seize every second to explain his thoughts: "It was not until later that I gradually discovered that you were different from before, and I guessed that something was wrong. I also knew what you thought about the Ming family, so I wanted to guide you to become the prince's disciple."

Zhang Zhi looked at Ming Li's eyes and said seriously, "Ming Boyuan is famous for his mood swings. You are too dangerous in the Ming family. If you only want to overthrow the second and third branches, it is not a big deal. But your target is Ming Boyuan, so you need to bide your time and wait for the right opportunity." He paused, and when he saw that Ming Li had no intention of rejecting him, he continued, "You know, the prince is my cousin. Although you will endure more swordplay and conspiracies under the prince, believe me, if one day you are injured, it must be because I have died before you. Although the Zhang family is not a good place, at least my father and I will treat you sincerely."

Mingli thought for a moment, "I"

"Of course!"

Zhang Zhi was afraid that Ming Li would say something hurtful, so he quickly added, "If you don't want to be a disciple of the Crown Prince, I can go and talk to His Highness. You can live in the Marquis's mansion without worrying about any dirty things. If you want to fight the Ming family and fight Ming Boyuan, I will give you whatever you need."

Listening to him speaking one thing after another without stumbling over a word, I guess he had already thought of what he was going to say on the way here, right?

Mingli burst out laughing. The girl had a pretty face, and the moonlight generously cast a layer of silver light on her.

She tilted her head and smiled at Zhang Zhi: "Why do you think I'm angry with you? And why do you think I don't want to serve the prince?"

Zhang Zhi was stunned.

She said, "If I were willing to be trapped in a deep mansion, I would not have agreed to form an alliance with you. I am happy to see the whirlpool of government affairs, and I also want to get involved. I also want to test how deep, muddy, and disgusting the water is. Or do you think that with my means, I can't beat these thousand-year-old foxes? Today, the words of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince moved me. I also want to sit in the seat where Ming Boyuan sits."

Mingli smiled, raised her hand and pointed at the crescent moon in the sky. "Zhang Zhi, I've never been to that high place. So I want to go up there and see what it feels like."

Mingli never concealed her growing ambition, nor did she deny her desire for power. She liked power, and she liked the feeling of controlling her own and others' destiny even more.

She retracted her gaze and looked at Zhang Zhi again: "So, let's get married."

"I want to leave the Ming family. Only by leaving can I avoid Ming Boyuan's sight; only by leaving can I not be confined to the Ming family's backyard; only by leaving can I get in touch with the real court and political affairs."

She wanted to carve out a path for her sister and herself in her limited life, a path that should be filled with the flowers of power.

Zhang Zhi looked at the woman in front of him who was emitting dazzling light.

He suddenly remembered a conversation he had with his father in the secret study not long ago. He said that Mingli would never be a canary kept in a cage. She was destined to be a phoenix that soared into the sky.

Zhang Zhi smiled and looked up at her, saying, "I already know that Ming Boyuan wants to send you to the palace for selection. Don't worry, it's already a failure. The Crown Prince has asked His Majesty for the imperial decree to grant us marriage, and my father has also sent the betrothal gifts to the Ming Mansion. Now we just need to set a date and we can get married."

"Have you asked for permission to marry?"

Ming Li was surprised for a moment, "I left the Ming Mansion at noon, and you have completed the marriage and betrothal in just this afternoon?"

Oh my God! Mingli shook his head in fear. It seemed that he would never be able to leave Beijing for a short rest so easily in the future. This was too exaggerated.

Zhang Zhi smiled and nodded: "Yes, the imperial edict has arrived, the betrothal gifts have been given, it is too late for Miss Ming to regret it now."

"I didn't want to regret it."

At this time, Wuwei behind him suddenly interrupted, "Well, excuse me. Master, our people are still searching for people in Kyoto City and the surrounding mountains. Do you want to?"

"I forgot." Zhang Zhi slapped his head, "Hurry up and set off the fireworks. The Crown Prince's Consort has been found. Let all the brothers go back. This month's salary will be increased by ten taels each!"

Ten taels?!
Mingli's heart tightened. Zhang Zhi had at least 800 men under his command, if not 1,000. Ten taels per person? How much more silver would that cost?

"Feeling bad?" Zhang Zhi had a smile on his face. He knew what Mingli was thinking at a glance. "Who told you to run away from home without informing me? Search the city and the mountains. That's the price."

Mingli rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's your money that's being spent? Why should I feel bad about it?"

"That's not right, ma'am."

Hearing the word "Madam", Mingli's face immediately turned red. She raised her hand and patted Zhang Zhi, "You! You are not married yet, why are you calling me Madam?"

"Practice in advance, Madam, don't be upset." Zhang Zhi stood up from the rocking chair, squatted in front of Mingli, and said with a smile: "After you and I get married, you will be the Crown Prince's Consort. All the silver and assets of the entire Marquis' Mansion will be yours, and have nothing to do with me. Tell me, should you feel distressed?"

Mingli: “.”

(End of this chapter)