The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 393 Forced into a Trap
After a spring rain, the people of Wujing City had a new topic of conversation: the strange story of how the Marquis of Zhenbei returned to the capital to report on his duties and prepare to preside over his son's wedding, but upon arriving in the capital, he suddenly became the one who dragged his son around to apologize with thorns on his back.

It is said that the Marquis of Zhenbei first took a famous doctor and a cartload of valuable gifts to the Princess of Anyang's mansion overnight to treat the little Qilin's injuries, but was refused entry. He could only leave the cartload of gifts and the famous doctor at the princess's mansion to wait. Then, he rushed to the He family, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, to apologize.

Early in the morning, at the time of breakfast, a large crowd of onlookers gathered in front of the He residence, all watching the spectacle of Xie Shizi, who had been beaten black and blue, with his hands tied behind his back and a horsewhip attached.

Lang Jiuchuan was also in the crowd. She held Jiang Che and idly stroked the white bristles that grew out of it, looking at the imposing Marquis of Zhenbei, who wore a black robe and had his hair tied up with a golden crown.

Judging from his tired face, weathered appearance, and bloodshot eyes, he probably hadn't slept all night.

Indeed, since his son has caused such a huge mess, as a father, he naturally has to help clean up the mess.

Lang Jiuchuan glanced again at Xie Zejin, whose face was ashen. Once a proud son of heaven, how spirited he was back then, but now he could only kneel in front of the door in a sorry state, with his head down. This scene would become his eternal shame and follow him for the rest of his life!
Whether it was an act or genuine, the Marquis of Zhenbei had done a thorough and convincing job of putting on a show.

Lang Jiuchuan curled his lips in a mocking smile, but what could he do? This was only the beginning.

Someone came out of the He residence. It was Vice Minister He, who was still in his court robes. His face was indifferent. He held a brocade box in his hand and handed it to Marquis Zhenbei. His tone was cold: "My daughter is of humble appearance and is not worthy to be the young mistress of your virtuous, gentle, and generous family who can accept the son of an actor and concubine. This is your son's name card and engagement token. Thank you, Marquis. This marriage between our two families is hereby called off. Please return my daughter's name card and engagement token. My lady is sorting out your family's betrothal gifts and will return them to your family later."

Marquis Zhenbei already knew what was going on, but seeing that the engagement was actually broken off in public, his face turned red with anger. He had truly lost all face.

But he was a man of deep cunning. He took the brocade box and said with a pained expression, “It’s all my fault for guarding the frontier for so many years. I neglected to teach this wretched child, which led him to be raised by women and tricked into committing such a terrible mistake, betraying your daughter’s true feelings. Brother He, please rest assured, I have decided to take this wretched child back to the frontier to join the army and discipline him personally. In the future, he will guard the border for Dadan, for the emperor, and for all my people. That way, his martial arts skills will not have been in vain.”

As he spoke, he kicked Xie Zejin hard again, saying, "This wretched child has committed such a grave mistake. We sent him here without even hoping for the young lady's forgiveness. We only asked Brother He to vent his anger on his behalf. Whether you beat him, scold him, or discipline him, it's all up to you. Let him learn a lesson. As for the betrothal gifts, there's no need to return them. Consider it an apology from the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion to the young lady. She's a good child; it's just that our Xie family isn't fortunate enough to have her."

His words sounded nice, and he admitted his inferiority. First, the matter was untenable. Second, as a military officer, the one thing he couldn't afford to offend was the Ministry of War. Otherwise, if there were any battles in the future, the Ministry of War could find some excuse to withhold military supplies and equipment, and how could the war be fought?

Therefore, since the marriage alliance failed, he dared not offend the Vice Minister of War in front of him and had to apologize.

Marquis Zhenbei glared at Xie Zejin, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Minister He said calmly, "There's no need to discipline them. Overstepping your bounds would only offend people. For the sake of the fact that the young master used to call me 'Uncle,' I have a word of advice for the young master Xie: entertainers are also human beings, and they are also the mothers of your children. Since you cherish them, cherish them to the end. After all, they are two lives, aren't they? One sin is enough. Two more will only bring misfortune!"

puff.

Jiang Che nearly rolled around in Lang Jiuchuan's arms, saying, "This Vice Minister He is really interesting. This isn't advice; it's clearly sarcasm. Look, even the Marquis of Zhenbei's face has turned green." "A scholar's words can kill without drawing blood!" Lang Jiuchuan's lips curled into a smile.

Minister He's words were clearly a sarcastic remark about Prince Xie keeping a mistress and having an illegitimate child. He could have foreseen the woman's fate, yet he still said it, simply to smear the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion.

Regardless of the actor's fate, it is still Xie Shizi's fault. If he takes the actor in and has a son before marriage, which family would want to marry a good girl to them and cause trouble for them? But if the actor dies, then they are the ones who commit murder!
Even the Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't maintain his composure. Veins bulged on his forehead as he viciously kicked Xie Shizi: "You wretched child, look what you've done!"

Jiang Che watched him fawn over Minister He, clicked his tongue, and said, "He's nothing special. You could kill someone like him with a single Five Thunder Technique."

"Yes, but that would be too easy on him. I want to see him frantically trying to turn the tide, exhausting all his schemes and plots, but still unable to hold onto everything he has. That's what despair is, isn't it?" Lang Jiuchuan said coldly.

The lively atmosphere came to an abrupt end as Minister He closed the gate.

The Marquis of Zhenbei had Xie Zejin tied up and taken back. He turned around with a gloomy face, but perhaps because Lang Jiuchuan's gaze was too presumptuous, he seemed to sense something and turned to look at her. But all he could see were the bustling crowd of people, and a slender figure disappeared into the shadows.

The Marquis of Zhenbei frowned, his chest pounding rapidly. He hadn't slept since returning to the capital, and his agitation was growing.

Yesterday, upon entering the city, he went to see the Emperor. After waiting for nearly two hours, he was told that the Emperor was refining elixirs with Daoist Tianqu and was at a crucial juncture, so he could not see him and was asked to rest for two days before attending court.

He then asked his daughter, who was a concubine in the palace, and gave her a very large reward. Only then did he learn that his daughter had offended the emperor and was under house arrest, and was still under house arrest.

In his shock, he couldn't help but recall the news he had received on his way back to Beijing: after the unexpected deaths of the Ou family grandfather and grandson, the Ou family members returned to their hometown to observe mourning and withdrew from the central government in Wujing.

He hadn't thought much of it at first, but when he learned that his daughter was under house arrest, and when he thought about the Ou family, and what terrified him most was that the house where the shaman lived in the family temple had caught fire and she herself had disappeared, all these coincidences together gave him a feeling that a great disaster was about to befall him.

Unexpectedly, upon leaving the palace, she received news that her rebellious son had caused a great disaster, leading to apologies, annulment of the engagement, and all sorts of misfortunes.

All the anxieties that Zhenbei Hou faced on his journey back to the capital materialized, rolling towards him like wave after wave.

At that time, he did not expect that there was a hand stirring up trouble in the dark, with the aim of forcing him into a cage and turning him into a trapped beast. After he returned to his mansion, he had not even rested for an hour when he heard that someone had beaten the Dengwen Drum to accuse Lady Wen, the wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei, of condoning her wet nurse brother's loan sharking, forcing women into prostitution, seizing fertile land, and causing several families to be ruined and killed.

(End of this chapter)