son-in-law

Chapter 1265 Chapter Since I Saw Peach Blossom (I)

"...Actually, my family is in the southwest, and we are not an ordinary family..."

The stars fell, and the night wind blew the leaves, making a rustling sound. In the courtyard room behind the princess's mansion, four feet were placed in a wooden basin filled with warm water, and the restrained sound was heard as the feet slowly moved.

"…My father is actually…"

The two relatively smaller and whiter feet in the wooden basin curled up. The room was quiet, and there were not many panicked sounds.

The girl pursed her lips and looked at him with complicated eyes.

"...My real name is actually Ning Ji."

She bit her lips even harder, and Ning Ji was worried that she would break her mouth.

"...I...I originally...had thought about it...but...I didn't think you were from the Ning family..."

"hey-hey."

"...Then why did they...they let you out..."

"...Uh, I mentioned before... that I wanted to seek revenge..."

"..."

"...There is a woman named...Yu Xiaoer..."

"……Um……"

"…We must catch her…"

"..."

"...kill her...and then go back..."

The starlight coming in from the window was hazy. Ning Ji was hesitant and vague, but the girl didn't ask more questions. She grabbed the edge of the bed with both hands, lowered her head, looked at her calves, and was silent for a while. There was a calm understanding in her eyes, but also a complicated feeling of worry and loss. The four legs were like fish in the basin, occasionally touching and then separating.

In the dim room filled with only starlight, the sound was heard after a long time.

"...Xiaolong, Xiao...um, Ning..."

"...You should just call me Xiaolong..."

"…Yeah, Xiaolong."

"……Um."

"...Xiaolong, I...what should I do...what should I do..."

"……what?"

"...I, I went to the southwest...Wen Shoubin...he asked me to..."

"...Oh, that...they knew about it a long time ago..."

"..."

"…I had already investigated it when I saved you…"

"……Too……"

"...My father also knows, and my brother, sister-in-law, and the others all know..."

“…Ah? They…”

"...Of course I will report it, but it's none of your business. The one who did the bad thing was Wen Shoubin. As for you... Later, my sister-in-law came to see you. Don't you know?"

"……what……"

"...After my father found out, he asked my sister-in-law to handle your affairs. Later, my sister-in-law threw the matter to me. My sister-in-law's name is Min Chuyi. Don't worry, she said good things about you..."

"..."

"...Brother doesn't mind..."

"..."

"...Besides, I don't plan to go back for the time being..."

……

The white feet gently stepped on the slightly larger instep, and after a moment, they opened up. The starlight outside the window seemed like the night was blinking.

……

"……Why?"

"...I told you, I have to find that bitch named Yu, so that I can stand up straight after I go back...But I'll tell you about her later..."

"……Um."

"...Besides, I finally got out, and I'm not invincible anymore. If I go back like this, not only will I be laughed to death, but I won't be able to get out again..."

"…Why are you laughing…"

"...Isn't it obvious? If you don't get rid of the reputation of a five-foot-tall demon, people will talk about you every day when you go back...If you don't want to be laughed at in the southwest, you have to be able to beat them..."

"...But...you are a member of the Ning family, and you are also laughed at..."

"...Haha, if my brother had such a reputation, I would be the first one to laugh in front of him... At most, I would find out the truth in private..."

"……Well……"

"...People who come from the battlefield are different from those outside. They don't care about anything except life and death... Especially the special forces and scouts. They know you are so stifled that they will laugh until you die. As for my father, he probably wants me to be slandered like this. In the army, they say that setbacks that don't kill you will always make you stronger... Humph, I was careless too..."

War is the ultimate manifestation of human malice. The boy was also a man who came from the battlefield. He had no worries about all kinds of jokes. That was why he thought Yan Yunzhi was an enemy and made up a rumor about her. Now he felt a little bit embarrassed. Of course, in his mind, this was not a big deal. It gave Hei Nuo and others an excuse to laugh at him, and he couldn't beat her - mainly because he couldn't beat her - this was the problem.

"...Anyway, I've made up my mind. I'm going to make a name for myself outside, or I'm going to kill Fatty Lin, and then I'll go back. Hehe, if the Black Girls come and laugh at me, I'll beat them all with one punch!"

"…Who is Hei Niu?"

"...Yes, she is a bad woman... She is my senior sister who worshipped my aunt as her master. She is despicable, shameless and cunning, and has a black heart..."

The white feet swayed gently in the basin, and the warm voice mixed with the starlight rippled in the dust of the night. Cheng Zhouhai assigned the courtyard behind the princess's mansion to the two of them and arranged their rooms, but after soaking his feet in Qu Longjun's room, Ning Ji did not go back. They lay on the big bed in front of the window and chattered a lot. Ning Ji talked to Qu Longjun about his childhood life and the past, gradually smoothing out the other's uneasy thoughts. The two figures held hands and chatted in a daze under the cover of starlight...

Yue Yun, who was arranged to stay next door, woke up in the middle of the night and climbed over the wall to peek. He was stunned and when his sister came, he pointed at that place and whispered, "They are an adulterer and a whore! They are an adulterer and a whore!"

Then she was kicked down by her sister: "They are obviously a young couple...what nonsense are you talking about."

……

Woof woof woof.

It was late at night, close to curfew. In the alleys in the south of the city, people were returning home one after another, which aroused the dog's vigilance.

There was a martial arts school in the middle of the street. There was no light in the room on the second floor. Pu Xinggui sat in front of the window, quietly watching the movement at night. He held the right cheek with one hand, which twitched occasionally.

The situation over the past few days made him anxious and angry, and his mouth was ulcerated. When no one was around, he could not help showing his emotion.

Several figures entered the side door of the martial arts hall one after another. After a while, someone came and knocked on the door: "Hero Cao is here."

"Let him in."

Pu Xinggui stood up, lit the oil lamp, and took a sip of water. Then the "Four Seas Hero" Cao Jinlong came in from outside.

"Call someone tomorrow to kill the dog outside." Cao Jinlong said as he hung up his bamboo hat.

"The martial arts school has been here for more than a year or two, and it's common for all kinds of people to come and go. The dog was always barking, and it was suddenly killed, which seems to arouse suspicion." Pu Xinggui smiled and spread his hands, asking the other party to sit down, "What's the situation outside?"

"People are in a panic." Cao Jinlong sat down and drank a sip of tea, then looked up at Pu Xingui. "It is said that the assassination in the morning almost killed Tie Tianying, but it is still unclear whether it is true or not. The government is not easy to deal with. Chen Zhang's gang was arrested. Xiao Heipi probably did not expect this. In the afternoon, the government took action and mobilized several brothers from the Dahe Gang and issued a wanted notice for Yu Yuanwai's family in the north of the city. It is obvious that someone has confessed. Now I don't know how many more people will be caught."

"That's a good thing." Pu Xinggui sneered.

"I'm afraid it will be linked to us."

"Humph, we..." Pu Xinggui wanted to say that he and Xiao Heipi were not on the same side, but he stopped midway and waved his hands angrily, "...What is the attitude of the elders?"

"It's troublesome..." Cao Jinlong lowered his voice, paused for a moment, and then said, "Before I came, several old masters met and they... panicked, saying that the arrow was on the string and might have to be shot. Before I came, the Yuan family asked me to pass on a message, asking us... to try our best to cooperate with Xiao Heipi."

With a bang, Pu Xinggui slammed his palm on the table: "What are you talking about!" He shook his fingers and trembled with anger: "I have said it long ago, I have said it long ago, Hei Pi has no sense of proportion in doing things, and sooner or later he will drag everyone down... Did I say that? Did I say that? He is scared now, and said such things? Who else would say this besides the man named Yuan?"

"The others... also have the same idea..."

Pu Xinggui waved his hand and the room fell silent for a moment.

In Fujian, the anti-imperial forces were led by Chen Shuangran, Pu Xingui, and Cao Jinlong, and of course, the various clans were behind them. The representatives of these clans would not contact the subordinates at will, and only Chen, Pu, and Cao were qualified to meet with them. Chen Shuangran was known for his radical and preemptive actions this time, which made the big guys behind him very unhappy a few days ago. Pu Xingui originally wanted to compete with the other party in a differentiated way, and only when he saw that the other party's troubles were getting bigger and bigger did he protect the innocent people affected. However, hiding behind of course also has its price. When the situation gradually escalated, the big guys behind him had no choice but to ask him to cooperate with Chen Shuangran.

The most important thing is that Chen Shuangran has been making a lot of noise in the past few days. When he tried to win over some of his brothers, he found that he could not persuade them. Chen Shuangran looked hot-tempered, but at least he did something. You, Master Pu, hid behind and made no move. Whether we recognize you or not, you are hiding. What difference does it make? Why should we be tied to you?

"impossible!"

After a long silence, Pu Xinggui waved his hand heavily.

Cao Jinlong waited for a while and said, "What Mr. Yan meant is that at least for the time being, we cannot dismantle Heipi's stage."

"She's fighting with the government, I hope so. I don't want her to drag everyone down with her. I just don't want her to drag everyone down with her. I'll just have to watch her." Pu Xinggui said these words, frowned, and after a while, he said, "Did you hear about what happened tonight?"

"night?"

"Over at Huaiyunfang." Pu Xinggui raised his chin.

"Oh, the brothers you and Heipi recruited..." In the dim light, Cao Jinlong's eyes flickered as he looked at Pu Xingui. "The cannons were fired. Everyone in the city could hear it. Several old men also mentioned it... I heard they died?"

Pu Xinggui frowned: "Are you sure, elders?"

"Not really, but after the cannon fire, one of them went straight to the princess's mansion, and this matter has caused a lot of buzz. Several elders asked people to inquire, and the news they got seemed to be that the brothers were involved in the assassination of Tie Tianying. Heipi was fine, but they were exposed... I came here in a hurry, but there was no more news. What did Master Pu hear?"

"When the young man assassinated Tie Tianying, he also fell out with Heipi." Pu Xingui's eyes darkened. "I guess Heipi took the initiative and told the government about them."

"Ah..." Cao Jinlong's eyes turned, "So... Heipi failed to recruit them, then what about Pu Shao?"

Pu Xinggui's face became increasingly gloomy, and the corners of his mouth twitched in pain: "These two people... are highly skilled in martial arts, but have unruly personalities and are unwilling to be inferior to others. Unfortunately... I was unable to save them..."

"...A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind... This is the martial arts world."

After exchanging the information brought from outside, Cao Jinlong put on his hat and went out. Taking advantage of the last time he could still move, he disappeared into the darkness of the street. The little yellow dog barked a few more times at the intersection.

Pu Xinggui covered his irritated cheeks and thought angrily for a long time. When drinking tea, he almost threw the teacup to the ground, but he held back his anger as his arms were raised. He walked out of the room, looking gloomy and going downstairs. After walking a few steps, he met Qian Dingzhong and said, "Where is Yu Hezhang? Where is Meng Piao? I saw them come back, why didn't they come to report the news..."

Qian Dingzhong frowned, then shook his head: "Most of those who went out to inquire about the news of Huaiyunfang have returned. We have already found everyone we should find, but we still don't know whether the two young men are dead or alive... We have also used our connections in the government, and the situation in the government is very tense. There is no news coming out of the Princess's Mansion..."

Pu Xinggui stood there, his mouth twitching again.

This was a connection he had finally made, and Heipi had no idea about it. During the assassination attempt in broad daylight, the young man was said to have fallen out with both sides, seriously injuring Tie Tianying while killing Heipi's men, which also proved his strong ability - when he heard this news, the other party had become the card he was most looking forward to.

Who knew that as soon as I turned around, I was bombarded.

I was too slow in acting and failed to protect him from the little black guy's revenge.

He stood there in silence for a long time.

Qian Dingzhong said: "...Should we ask Yu Hezhang and the others to come up?"

Pu Xinggui finally shook his head. He turned around and said word by word: "Tomorrow morning, as soon as the curfew is lifted, find out immediately!"

"Yes."

******
The bell rang several times, and under the dark sky, Fuzhou fell into curfew. The lights in the city dimmed a little. In front of the princess's mansion, the bustling scene of people coming and going began to become quiet.

For Zhou Pei, this was also an especially busy day.

After the unrest in Houguan County was suppressed in the morning, the Ministry of Justice captured several core members of Chen Shuangran's forces and began to interrogate them. In the afternoon, they began to arrest people based on the initial intelligence obtained from the interrogation. Zhou Pei went to visit the injured Tie Tianying and returned, and then began to receive visitors in an endless stream.

Some were here to get information, while others were here to "return to the right path". Now they were all rushing towards her.

In response to the situation in Fujian, the court chose a strategy of combining kindness and severity. Between Junwu and Zhou Pei, Junwu played the role of a majestic emperor. He was radical and led the reform of respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians. He had a bad relationship with conservative ministers and personally led troops to charge and wiped out the first few die-hard aristocratic families. In contrast, the eldest princess Zhou Pei often played the role of a mediator. She maintained the relationship between the conservatives and the reformists, and from time to time acted as a peacemaker to mediate. For some families whose children accidentally participated in the rebellion, as long as they came to her for help, she would always come forward to plead for them, and even if the situation was not bad, she would directly decide to pardon them. Over time, she became a window for bestowing favors and a channel for pleading.

Of course, few people know that among this pair of siblings, Jun Wu is the one with a calm temperament and is always kind to others, while Zhou Pei is more serious and harsh. What is revealed now are just the roles they play.

Starting from the banquet on the first day of June, the emperor divided up the many people who came to Beijing with ill intentions. Today, the core members of Chen Shuangran's forces were captured, proving that the court's strategy of both fighting and fighting has prevailed. Some of the forces involved in this matter have regretted it, so they came to Zhou Pei to sever ties with some unnecessary people and explain misunderstandings. A small number of key figures provided more key clues. Zhou Pei analyzed the truth of everyone's words, made promises to those who were worth winning over and could be pardoned, and tried to guide those who were too deeply involved.

During the nearly three years since Junwu took control of Fujian, the die-hard rebel families had all their properties confiscated, and the remaining large families had mostly become intertwined. It is possible that a branch among them was dissatisfied with the court's reforms, and some members secretly supported the bandits - many of these people were even forced to stand on the opposite side of the court after Junwu's reforms.

The need to negotiate, show goodwill, win over, and divide these people is actually a manifestation of the court's extremely weak control over Fujian. But there is no other way. When Junwu chose to reform, this scene was destined to come. Everyone, including Zhou Pei, can only divide the hostile forces as much as possible, so that such a large group can never be united, waiting for their own power to be purified and complete a positive cycle.

It takes a lot of effort to contact and negotiate with various people with different thoughts, so Zhou Pei tried to act as relaxed as possible. Of course, shortly after dinner, the sound of cannons in the city still made the people in the princess's mansion quite suspicious. Soon after, the fighting spread to the princess's mansion and reached the back of the mansion. Only then did everyone realize that there was an assassination blatantly coming towards the eldest princess.

The people waiting outside for the reception were filled with righteous indignation. Some began to inquire about the situation in private, while others spoke loudly in public, asking the princess to take refuge quickly. The two officials who were chatting with Zhou Pei inside also suggested the same thing, but Zhou Pei just smiled and said, "The bad guys can't sit still, which means we have the upper hand. It's just a small matter, why panic."

She looked calm and not at all panicked. She then asked Zhao Xiaosong to get some iced drinks outside for everyone to drink. Then everyone "understood": the eldest princess had been prepared for what was happening, and it was even possible that she had arranged to strangle these assassins.

Thinking of the previous cannon sounds, everyone was amazed at the princess's courage to fire cannons in the city, but they were either surprised or terrified. Several elders said privately: "Don't be fooled by our princess's delicate appearance. In fact, she is also a person who fought in the battlefield. It's not surprising, not surprising."

Fujian is located in a remote area and is often plagued by banditry, but has never experienced a large-scale war. Whenever people talk about the fighting between the imperial court and the Jurchens outside, they always imagine it to be an extremely bloody fantasy.

Because the princess's mansion was assassinated, not long after, many officials and ladies came to visit. Because the negotiations on this day were extremely critical, they had to be discussed separately. Zhou Pei received them one after another until curfew was approaching. Her head had already started to hurt. After seeing off the guests, she returned to the study, curled up on the couch, gritted her teeth and groaned for a while, and waited for Zhao Xiaosong to come in to sort out the documents before she managed to regain her normal expression.

"…What's going on in the backyard?"

"It was Master Cheng and Zuo Wenxuan who led the matter. He didn't elaborate, so it's not easy for me to ask." Zhao Xiaosong said, "I only know that several courtyards in the back were blocked, Yinping and Yue Yun were called over, and Master Fang from the Secret Investigation Department brought some men to the outskirts of the mansion, mixing with our people. From what I see, it seems like they are deliberately setting up confusion."

Zhou Pei rubbed his forehead: "Mr. Cheng and Zuo Wenxuan...where are the two of them?"

"He went to the Ministry of Justice an hour ago. Oh, when I asked, Master Cheng said that we don't need to worry about the assassin, and he will give instructions later. The young man from the Zuo family also said the same thing. This matter is a bit strange. Your Highness, do you want to ask Master Fang to come over and ask?"

Zhou Pei shook her head and waved her hand.

The Secret Investigation Department is now under the jurisdiction of the Princess's Mansion and is managed by Cheng Zhouhai. Fang Jinghao, one of the deputy envoys, is actually Zhou Pei's subordinate. The members of the Secret Investigation Department come here and mix with the guards of the Princess's Mansion. This is to monitor each other and to isolate the flow of gossip inside and outside the mansion, and to prevent outsiders from spying. This is a process Zhou Pei is familiar with, but she doesn't know what trap Cheng Zhouhai has dug for the outsiders to jump into - and it is linked to Zuo Wenxuan.

With the involvement of the Yue siblings, she thought about it for a moment and no longer cared.

"Go ask when you have time. I have a lot of things to do, so I'll tidy up here while I'm awake... Call the teachers in."

As they were talking, several staff members of the Princess's residence had already arrived outside to wait. When Zhou Pei was meeting with the various people, these staff members were actually listening and recording in the back. They had already taken action on some of the more urgent messages, and even sent out two groups of imperial guards. The meeting was temporarily over, and more information that needed to be chewed over entered a new round of discussion. After everyone entered, they sat down and began to discuss one after another.

Zhou Pei rubbed her forehead gently. During the discussion, someone mentioned what happened behind the princess's mansion - it was a big fuss in the city at the moment, and the gimmick of the bombardment attracted a lot of people's attention. It will become a new topic of conversation tomorrow - Zhou Pei just waved her hand: "It's just a trivial matter, no need to care about it." She knew that Cheng Zhouhai and Zuo Wenxuan had dug a trap and were deliberately mysterious. Now she didn't know the specific situation, but she just cooperated and pretended to know everything.

The meeting lasted for the entire midnight. Everyone in the study drank strong tea. Zhou Pei mixed tea with sugar water and drank two bowls. Her headache was not relieved at all. Outside the city, a horse carrying a message passed through the forest under the starry night and arrived at the dim city gate. Soon after, a basket was hung on the city gate, and the figure who brought the message was pulled up to the city gate. The light of the torches swam towards the direction of the imperial city again.

In the imperial city, Jun Wu, who was about to go to sleep, was awakened by the news and began to summon people to the palace to discuss matters. Not long after, Zhou Pei, who was in the Princess's mansion, also received the news distributed from the imperial city.

——On the third day of June, the army of Xu Zhaonan and Shi Baofeng of the Gongping Party broke into Lin'an, Tie Yan surrendered, and the massacre in Lin'an city started again.

Zhou Pei held the message in her hand for a while, her eyes twitched, and her forehead began to hurt again.

“They all collided.”