Union

Chapter 181: Killed
What Xiao Feng was worried about was exactly what Chen Yanzhou was worried about now.

The Chang'an Marquis's residence was already a mess, like a large ship that had hit a reef and was in danger of capsizing at any moment.

At this moment, they panicked like headless flies, running around aimlessly.

When there's no way out, they still try to find a way out; so when there's even a small opening, they're even more eager to try and explore it.

What the Marquis of Chang'an did seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But Lin Shuqing is his ex-wife, and the Chang'an Marquis's Mansion is his former father-in-law's family. He is afraid that the Xuanguo Duke's Mansion will be angry with the Chang'an Marquis's Mansion because he and Lin Shuqing had a previous marriage, and then with him.

Thinking of this, Chen Yanzhou's face grew even colder.

His path to marrying her was already fraught with difficulties, and he didn't want anyone else to cause trouble at this time.

Chen Yanzhou said to his mother, "Don't worry, Mother, I know what I'm doing."

Upon hearing this, Madam Feng glanced at her son a few more times.

No one knows a son better than his mother. If Madam Feng couldn't fully understand her son's thoughts, she could certainly guess a lot about them.

She couldn't help but remind her son, "Don't do anything that violates the laws of the court. If you do do something, make sure you clean up the mess so that no one can easily guess that it was you who did it."

Chen Yanzhou nodded, "Don't worry, Mother."

Just as Chen Yanzhou was about to take his leave, he was surprised to hear familiar footsteps outside.

The footsteps were steady and even, with a large distance between each step. The powerful strides seemed to create a sharp gust of wind, and even the sound of the approaching person's footsteps seemed to carry immense weight.

The three people in the flower hall were all very familiar with the sound of footsteps, and they immediately stood up.

Sure enough, just as they stood up, the Duke of Rongguo swiftly walked in, bypassing the maids and servants who were holding up the curtain for him and offering their greetings.

Upon seeing the mother and her two children, the Duke of Rong waved his hand, telling his children to stop with the formalities.

Seeing this unfilial son shortens his own lifespan. Pay his respects to him? What a load of rubbish!

Duke Rongguo plopped down in a chair, pulling Lady Feng over to sit with him. He then adopted a domineering posture, looking at his son and asking, "What exactly is going on? Explain yourself clearly to me."

Chen Yanzhou feigned ignorance, "What do you want to hear? I don't have anything to say."

The Duke of Rong chuckled and picked up a teacup from the table, smashing it at his son.

"You brat, you've grown wings and dare to play dumb in front of your father." Duke Rongguo laughed sinisterly. "If you play dumb with me again, I'll break your head."

Lady Feng coughed lightly, reminding the Duke of Rong that she was still there.

Duke Rong paused, realizing he had truly forgotten about her.

Duke Rong glanced at Madam Feng out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her bowing her head and drinking tea, he quickly straightened his posture and asked Chen Yanzhou again, "Tell me properly, what exactly happened? Is your marriage with Yunying still possible?"

Chen Yanzhou looked at his father calmly, "Don't you know exactly what happened? I don't know much more than you do, so what else do you want me to say?"

"As for whether the marriage can still happen? Father, didn't you always say that if I dared to marry Yunying, you would expel me from the family and sever our father-son relationship? Now it's not a question of whether I want to marry or not, it's that the Duke of Xuan's mansion doesn't want to marry off its daughter."

Chen Yanzhou looked at the Duke of Rongguo and said, "Father, now that I can't marry Yunying, you don't need to kick me out of the family or sever our father-son relationship. Are you satisfied now?"

"Satisfied my foot!" Duke Rongguo took off his boots and threw them at his son. "If you keep talking sarcastic remarks to me, you'd better kneel in the ancestral hall and reflect on your actions. You disrespectful scoundrel, you've been away for two years and learned a lot, but you haven't learned anything else. You've mastered the art of spitting on your father."

When the Duke of Rongguo gets angry, he doesn't care whether you're his biological son or not. He wasn't satisfied with just throwing away one boot, so he went to take off the other one. Little Fengshi couldn't bear it any longer and finally pulled him across the small table, saying, "You're such an old man, you should at least control your temper. It's rare for our son to come back, and your daughter is sitting here watching. If you come in and start fighting, you'll scare the child."

The Duke of Rong felt wronged. "I scared him? How can you lie like this? I know you favor your son, but your favoritism is almost to the point of being hidden in your belly. Have some compassion for me. Did I scare him, or did he anger me? You said it yourself, I'm already so old, and this unfilial son still can't keep his mouth shut. Isn't he trying to anger me to death?"

Madam Feng was so annoyed by the Duke of Rong's nagging that she forgot all about her children being there. She angrily slapped his arm twice, saying, "Who's the one who's talking nonsense? Your words are getting more and more outrageous. Bah, bah, bah, what are you talking about, this talk of being dead or alive? It's the New Year, can't you stop saying such unlucky things?"

After a brief argument with Lady Feng, Duke Rong was naturally at a disadvantage once again. Fortunately, Lady Feng was gentle by nature, and after gaining the upper hand, she tried to appease him, so Duke Rong's agitated temper was quickly calmed down.

The Duke of Rongguo felt relieved after his son had been appeased, but seeing his unfilial son still sitting in front of him made him feel annoyed.

He stood up, waved his hand, and beckoned Chen Yanzhou to walk outside.

He can beat or scold his wife outside, but she won't see it, and if she doesn't see it, she won't complain.

Chen Yanzhou understood his father's meaning. He raised his eyelids slightly but ultimately did not refuse. After politely bidding farewell to his mother, he followed his father out.

Seeing the father and son leave one after the other, Mrs. Feng walked to the door with concern and reminded them, "Both of you, keep your tempers in check and don't cause any more trouble."

The Duke of Rong waved his hand without turning around, showing no sincerity, and said, "I know, I know, I'm not a child anymore."

The father and son remained silent as they entered the study of the Duke of Rongguo in the front courtyard.

Duke Rongguo went in first, followed by Chen Yanzhou. But as soon as he stepped into the study, Chen Yanzhou was kicked in the leg.

This is because he practiced martial arts from a young age, had a solid foundation, and possessed considerable martial arts skills; otherwise, that kick would have definitely sent him to his knees.

Even if he hadn't knelt down yet, his legs must be bruised. He gasped in pain; this was his own father.

Chen Yanzhou said, "Dad, take it easy. If you really hurt my leg, I'll never be able to marry a wife."

Duke Rong scoffed, "If you can't marry, you can't marry. It's you getting married, not me. If you can't find someone you like, then stay a bachelor. I'm not afraid of anything, why would I be afraid of having a bachelor son and being laughed at?"

Chen Yanzhou retorted without backing down, "You're not afraid of having a son who's a bachelor, but you are afraid of having a daughter-in-law who's a maid. Fortunately, heaven has opened its eyes, and that maid has risen to a high position, so you don't have a chance to look down on her anymore."

Duke Rongguo: "You're right. They've all become phoenixes, so my family's lowly status probably won't be able to marry them. I guess I don't need to worry about it or keep up with it. That's perfect, I can save this time and get more errands done, and who knows, I might even be able to climb up the social ladder when I'm old."

Chen Yanzhou: "..." Chen Yanzhou gave in and took the initiative to apologize to his father. "It's all my fault. I was anxious and said the wrong thing. Please forgive me, sir."

At this point, seeing the tea that had just been brought to the round table in the study, Chen Yanzhou humbled himself and quickly picked up a cup and handed it to his father. "Please calm down and don't hold it against me. I'm just a fool, Father. You can hit me or scold me if you want. Father, please drink this cup of tea and don't get angry. If you get sick from anger, Mother will scold me again."

It's unclear whether it was Chen Yanzhou's obedient appearance that made the Duke of Rong pleasing to the eye, or whether his son's humble behavior satisfied his paternal vanity, or at least whether it was his son mentioning Xiao Fengshi that pleased the Duke of Rong. At least the Duke of Rong didn't keep a long face and hurt his son.

But thinking that this unfilial son was trying to cause trouble after not being fed for a few days, the Duke of Rong was still not satisfied and kicked him out again.

After that kick, the father and son truly reconciled.

Chen Yanzhou honestly told his father about everything that happened in the Duke of Xuan's mansion, and even relayed his previous conversation with his mother to his father.

After hearing this, the Duke of Rongguo sneered. This sneer was not directed at Chen Yanzhou, but purely at the Marquis of Chang'an's residence.

The Marquis of Chang'an's household is like a leech, causing trouble for the Duke of Rong's household at every turn. If they are not completely eliminated, it will be even more difficult for his son to get married.

Duke Rongguo pushed open the antique shelf and took out a booklet from a hidden compartment behind it.

He handed the booklet to Chen Yanzhou, who was surprised for a moment before taking it and opening it to read.

He knew there must be many hidden compartments in his father's study, but he was still quite surprised that his father opened the hidden compartment mechanism so easily in front of him.

However, considering that his father was cunning and shrewd, and that if he opened a mechanism in front of his son, there must be an even deeper mechanism hidden inside... Well, none of that matters, at least not as important as the booklet in his hand.

As Chen Yanzhou looked at the contents of the booklet, he gradually lost his composure.

The booklet contained nothing but evidence of collusion between the former Marquis of Chang'an, the father of the current Marquis of Chang'an, and the rebel king.

That was eighteen years ago.

At that time, His Majesty had only been on the throne for three years, and it was the sweltering heat of June and July. His Majesty, along with his important ministers and nobles, went to the Summer Palace in Qianzhou to escape the summer heat.

The rebel king seized this opportunity to cause chaos in the capital.

The rebellious prince is none other than His Majesty's brother. His Majesty, as the eldest son, is the true heir apparent; the rebellious prince is the son of the late Emperor's favored concubine. The concubine suddenly passed away due to illness, leaving the rebellious prince without support, and he has gone into hiding.

On the eve of His Majesty's departure for his fiefdom, the rebel king perhaps felt that he would never be able to return to the capital, or perhaps he felt that the longer he waited, the harder it would be to win over his former supporters. Therefore, even though the time was not yet ripe, he still chose to fight to the death.

That naturally meant they didn't succeed.

If successful, the throne should now be given to the rebel king.

After the rebel king's defeat, the unrest was quickly quelled. The emperor rushed back from Qianzhou and naturally restored order, uprooting all the court officials and nobles who had participated in the rebellion.

Of course, there were also those who slipped through the net.

The Marquis of Chang'an was the fish that got missed.

They had also become in-laws with the Marquis of Chang'an's family. Out of caution, the Duke of Rongguo had someone keep an eye on the mansion and secretly bribed an old man who served the Marquis of Chang'an.

It must be said that the Duke of Rongguo's plan was truly far-sighted. He soon learned about the Marquis of Chang'an's unusual behavior from the old man.

Subsequently, the Duke of Rongguo personally went to investigate and unexpectedly discovered this deadly thing.

While the rebel king was recuperating, the former Marquis of Chang'an secretly sent him large sums of gold and silver on several occasions to support his army and to bribe officials and nobles in the court.

This matter was confidential, and the Marquis of Chang'an was even more vigilant and cautious.

Perhaps harboring the thought that if the rebellion succeeded, he would gain merit by supporting the new king, and if it failed, he could remain hidden and unscathed, this support from the Marquis of Chang'an lasted for three whole years. He even kept some letters given to him by the rebellious king as evidence…

A prudent person would have burned these documents long ago when the rebel king lost power. But the former Marquis of Chang'an never burned them and preserved them perfectly.

The Duke of Rongguo considered the position of the Marquis of Chang'an and thought for a moment. He felt that the Marquis of Chang'an left behind this important evidence perhaps to remind his descendants that if they wanted the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion to continue to be honored, they would have to perform meritorious service in supporting the emperor.
Of course, this is just Rongguo Gong's speculation. To know for sure, we can only ask the former Marquis of Chang'an and the current Marquis of Chang'an.

However, this evidence is enough; it's enough to put the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion firmly under control.

The Duke of Rongguo said to his son, "You should learn more from this. Your little tricks may hurt people, but to kill someone with one blow, you must find their fatal weakness and strike unexpectedly to kill them in one fell swoop."

Chen Yanzhou ignored those words and only frowned at his father, "Wasn't this evidence something you weren't planning to produce before?"

Duke Rong chuckled lightly, “Whether or not to produce it depends on whether it’s necessary. If the goal is simply to bring down the Marquis of Chang’an’s mansion, what’s the difference between using this evidence and using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? But if the goal is to uproot the Marquis of Chang’an’s mansion completely and eliminate it as quickly as possible, then this is the only evidence we can use.”

Chen Yanzhou understood. He had no deep-seated hatred for the Marquis of Chang'an's family before, so his father was naturally unwilling to deal with the Marquis of Chang'an's family because of his affections for his children.

His father probably still feels ashamed.

But things are different now.

Now Yunying's identity has changed; she has become Uncle Shi's daughter.

Uncle Shi was close to his father since childhood. The two were so close that they practically shared the same pants when they were young, and they were able to entrust their lives to each other when they grew up.

To put it bluntly, her uncle's daughter is no different from her father's biological daughter.

Just to avenge his uncle, his father wished he could crush the Chang'an Marquis's mansion.

If the Marquis of Chang'an's family still wants to cause trouble for the Duke of Xuan's family and make it harder for him to find a wife... Alright, we can't tolerate this any longer. Father probably wishes he could uproot them right now.

Chen Yanzhou closed the letter in his hand and asked his father, "Should you handle this matter, or should I?"

Duke Rongguo chuckled as if he'd heard a joke, his voice tinged with contempt. "You're going to handle it? I'm afraid you'll get yourself into trouble too. You brat, you're still a kid at heart, and you dare to resort to underhanded tricks. You've left a mountain of evidence against you, waiting to be caught. If I hadn't cleaned up your mess, you'd be in the Ministry of Justice by now. And I'm entrusting this to you? Ha, I don't want to be laughed at after things get out..."

(End of this chapter)