Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Dongchang Prefecture, Pingshan Guard.

"This servant, Chun Tao, greets the Second Young Master."

Inside a private room at a restaurant, Chun Tao gave Chen Rubai a deep curtsy.

"If Madam knew that the Second Young Master was well, she would be very pleased."

Chen Rubai looked at the woman in the brocade dress in front of him, his heart filled with doubt.

Today in the military camp, a subordinate suddenly reported that a woman claiming to be his sister Chen Yunniang's personal maid wanted to meet him.

When her father was executed, she and her brother were exiled to Guyuan to serve in the army, and her sister and several concubines were punished by being forced into prostitution.

After his elder brother died on the battlefield, he himself lived in constant fear of losing his life.

Even after going through dozens of battles and accumulating merits to rise to the rank of sentry officer, commanding a border army of a hundred men, he still couldn't guarantee that he would survive the next battle.

Of course, he had neither the inclination nor the ability to search for his sister's whereabouts.

It wasn't until the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign that he met the son of Minister Yan and learned the truth about his father's case that the situation changed.

Young Master Yan pulled some strings and successfully transferred himself from the border army in Guyuan to Pingshan Guard in Dongchang Prefecture, Shandong.

Upon arriving at Pingshanwei, we no longer had to worry about suddenly dying on the battlefield.

He knew perfectly well what the Yan family was planning.

It's simply a matter of when I'll stand up and testify against that old bastard Xia Yan, and tell him what he did in my father's case.

I had heard of Minister Yan's bad reputation before, but so what? At least he was on the same page as me when it came to dealing with Xia Yan.

After establishing himself in Pingshanwei, Chen Rubai had asked people to inquire about his sister's whereabouts.

But so many years have passed, and Yunniang has been resold several times, making it very difficult to find her whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, before he could find Yunniang, she found him first.

The Ming Dynasty law explicitly stipulated that women registered as entertainers could not be legal wives.

If she were an ordinary woman registered as a musician, she might have a chance to leave her registration and become a respectable woman. However, Yunniang was the daughter of a convicted official who had been sentenced to beheading and having her property confiscated. Unless the emperor issued a decree to pardon her, there was absolutely no possibility of her leaving her registration.

In other words, even if Yunniang were redeemed, she would at most be taken as a concubine; she could never even dream of becoming a wife.

This woman, who claims to be Yunniang's personal maid, is dressed too well!

She was better dressed than many young ladies from wealthy families. Before the family tragedy, even the concubines and Yunniang herself were not as well dressed as her.

That's bad enough, but Yunniang actually had the ability to send her personal maid to find her!

She herself had been exiled to the army, and Yunniang was barely able to protect herself at the time, so she had no idea where she had gone.

To find out his whereabouts, he first had to check the list of people exiled to the army in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign in the Ministry of War's archives and find the record of his exile to Guyuan Town.

Guyuan Town is very large, and I wasn't there right after I was exiled. Before I met Young Master Yan, I had already been transferred to several places.

To find his final post, he needed the cooperation of the people in Guyuan Town.

Moreover, my transfer to Pingshan Guard was the result of secret operations, and those involved had all received bribes from Young Master Yan, so they wouldn't easily reveal it.

To get the Ministry of War's treasury and the people of Guyuan Town to cooperate at the same time, one must either throw a large sum of money at them, exert strong pressure, or both.

This Miss Chuntao didn't come alone; she had several guards with her.

Chen Rubai, a seasoned veteran, could tell at a glance that these people were all skilled fighters.

How could a concubine possess such power?!

"Yunniang got married?"

After a moment of astonishment, Chen Rubai asked,

"Whom did she marry? Where does she live now?"

"Reporting to the Second Young Master, my master's surname is Lin, and his given name is Chaoxi."

Chuntao answered softly.

"The master trusted his wife greatly and entrusted her with the management of a large business."

Now the lady resides in Ningbo Prefecture. Although she is a concubine, she acts like the mistress of the house.

"If the second young master is willing, Madam has a way to remove you from the military and reunite you with your siblings."

"Now is not the time."

Upon hearing Chun Tao's words, Chen Rubai hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment.

"Please tell Yunniang that she has now escaped her suffering and married a good man, and I have no more worries in my heart."

But there is one more very important thing I must do!

This matter may be dangerous. It would be best if Yunniang and I did not meet until everything is settled, so as not to implicate her.

"If the Second Young Master has any difficulties, please let me pass on my message to the Madam."

Chun Tao thought for a moment,

"Now the lady manages a very large business, with plenty of money and manpower."

If all else fails, the lady can ask the master for a favor.

My father-in-law is incredibly wealthy and powerful, with connections to all corners of the world.

This servant once accompanied the lady to Yuyao to meet Xie Pi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was in mourning in his hometown. Minister Xie is not only the son of the famous prime minister Xie Qian, but he himself was also a third-ranked scholar.

But Lord Xie was completely unpretentious in front of the lady, and even returned her greeting, which was naturally because of the master's face.

The Xie family also had extensive business dealings with the Lin family.

What the second young master considers a difficult task might be a simple matter for the master.

"No need."

Chen Rubai's eyes lit up, but he still shook his head.

"The high-ranking officials involved in this matter were of much higher status than Xie Pi."

The fact that the Lin family could interact on an equal footing with an official family like the Xie family naturally indicates that the Lin family itself is also a powerful and noble family.

I also believe that if Mr. Lin is willing to lend a helping hand, he can indeed be of some assistance.

But that's precisely why I can't let Yunniang get involved in this matter!

You have to understand that relationships are something you can only use once and for all.

If she were to plead with me on my behalf, Master Lin might indeed lend a hand out of consideration for her.

But this is no small matter. If the Lin family gets involved, they might pay a price, or even bring trouble upon themselves.

Because of this incident, Master Lin will harbor resentment and feel dissatisfied with Yunniang.

Given time, this dissatisfaction may turn into disgust.

According to what you just said, Yunniang was entrusted with important responsibilities by Master Lin, and her status in the Lin family of Ningbo Prefecture was like that of the matriarch.

But in any case, she was ultimately just one of Master Lin's concubines.

Her current status is entirely built on Master Lin's favor and trust.

If one day, Yunniang is abandoned by Master Lin, all of this could be lost overnight.

Miss Chuntao, after you return to Ningbo Prefecture, please pass on this message to Yunniang.

Since she has married into the Lin family as a concubine, she is now a member of the Lin family.

Master Lin dotes on her and trusts her, entrusting her with important responsibilities. This is a blessing for her, and she should always put the Lin family first.

This is the foundation upon which she established herself in the Lin family!

You must not lose your composure in front of Master Lin just to help your elder brother.

"The affairs of the Chen family are naturally left to me, the second son of the Chen family, to handle!"