Shipin Dalizheng

Queen Wang blurted out, "He dares!"

"Why wouldn't he dare? Let's not talk about other families. How would the Wang family treat a woman they were forced to marry if she wasn't liked? I don't need to tell you. The Queen heard about it a lot when she was young, right? Why do you think the Zheng family wouldn't dare do this? The Royal Family? Is it that powerful? Among the four great families of Wang, Xie, Cui, and Zheng, which one is truly afraid of the Royal Family? Sometimes I really don't understand whether the Queen really loves her daughter or not. If she wants to arrange a marriage, at least make the other party willing, otherwise she would be using her daughter's life to make an enemy. Okay, Zhaohua is your biological daughter. I can't force you to do anything, lest you think I don't love the legitimate princess. But you and your daughter, remember, if you insist on forcing a marriage, don't blame me for not stopping you if you regret it in the future."

Queen Wang's expression changed again and again as she watched Emperor Xuanning walk out with an angry look on his face.

The personal nanny, Qu, advised, "Empress, His Majesty is right. With the princess's temper, forcing her to marry Zheng Changning would make her life uncomfortable. You can only protect her for a few years, but what will happen to her if you're gone in the future?"

Queen Wang sighed deeply, reflecting on her own feelings. She wasn't even willing to marry Zhaohua off to any of the Wang family's nephews—not on Zhaohua's behalf, but on theirs. She herself despised her daughter, yet somehow she was compelled to marry her off to the Zheng family, a family rivaling the Wangs. She was truly blinded by the devil.

Madam Qu added, "Besides, I heard that Second Young Master Zheng and First Young Master Xie have always been good friends. If the second princess marries Second Young Master Zheng, how will these friends get along when they meet in the future?"

Queen Wang waved her hand, having already given up. She might doubt anything about Emperor Xuanning, but she would never doubt his love for his children. Regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate children, or whether they were princes or princesses, Emperor Xuanning was a qualified father.

Zhaohua had no other options except marrying far away or marrying a man from a poor family.

Back to the Jian'an Earl's Mansion, Rong Tang has read the letters from Jiangnan since last night. In fact, these are the first few letters he has replied to. The journey is long and there is a time difference in between.

The letter confirmed his guess. Nangong Yan was very likely to have fled the imperial capital. He abandoned all the civil and military officials in the court, his father, and the people of the Southern Dynasty. He disappeared without a trace after leaving the 500-mile radius of the imperial capital.

There were more and more refugees in the imperial capital. Ordinary people no longer dared to go out easily. Officials were surrounded by a group of guards when they went to court. As a result, robberies and looting occurred frequently. Some sensitive old officials used the excuse of resigning and quietly fled with their families. A representative figure was Lord Liang, the left prime minister.

However, Lord Liang was waiting to sell off his property in the imperial capital, so he left too late. The second group of family members who left Beijing were forced back by refugees before they could go beyond 50 miles of the imperial capital. All their carriages, horses, food, and property were looted.

At this time, the guards of the imperial capital realized that something serious had happened. It was too late to close the city gates. Too many refugees had already entered the imperial capital and were wandering around, becoming an unstable factor.

"Furthermore, after the Marquis of Jing'an was stripped of his title, he repeatedly disguised himself and wandered outside the West City Gate, Lingyun Temple. His behavior was suspicious. Lord Zheng, in conjunction with the patrol battalion, formed a city gate guard, arresting and expelling people from the city, resulting in casualties. Lord Ma from the Sino-Agricultural Temple came to ask for my opinion, and I advised him to set up the porridge distribution center outside the West City, near Lingyun Temple. Porridge was no longer distributed within the city. The starving refugees mostly flocked westward, providing temporary refuge within. Since then, Lingyun Temple has been under constant surveillance. Master Feng returned to the city dejected. Suspicious, I once visited Lingyunzhi at night, but to no avail. Then, remembering the blueprints of the abandoned courtyard you gave me, I conducted a late-night investigation and recovered 100,000 taels of silver and 3,000 taels of gold. I'm deducting my commission and giving you a silver note for the 100,000 taels. With my token, I can claim it from the Wuji Bank..."

Rong Tang touched his chest and suddenly felt dry mouth. He didn't even finish reading the letter. He hurriedly took three guards to inquire about the "Wuji Money House". Fortunately, Gao Zhiyuan knew the location, and finally took out the 100,000 taels of silver notes before curfew.

After that, he would sleep with the banknotes in his arms, and dream about everything.

It was not until noon that Rong Zhan woke him up.

After washing up, he and Rong Zhan stared at the banknotes on the table, their eyes wide open. They both recalled the last time Rong Tang visited Fourth Master Feng before leaving the Southern Dynasty. He had given his "son Feng Zhaoxi" a drawing of a small, dilapidated courtyard, saying it was a legacy for his son. He hadn't had time to see it at the time, so he drew it for Wu Ji, never to imagine that there was actually a treasure hidden within.

Rong Zhan had seen many strange things with him before, and knew many things that the other three didn't know. He exclaimed in amazement, "I've made a fortune! One hundred thousand taels! This is what Fourth Master Feng gave to his son...which means it's for you, brother. Now that it's in your hands, it won't fall into the hands of outsiders."

Rong Tang carefully recalled what Fourth Master Feng had said to him. He had always suspected that his wife had given birth to a pair of phoenix twins. However, when his wife returned home after giving birth, there was only one daughter, Feng Qingqing, who was her original self.

When he went to the Jokhang Temple to ask Master Yuanjing about the truth of what happened that year, he said that Xie had given birth to twins, but one of them was sent to southern Xinjiang.

All the evidence shows that it was Rong Tang who was sent to southern Xinjiang, but there is also all the evidence that it was the boy born to Xie who was sent to southern Xinjiang. Which one is true?

The answer is self-evident.

Rong Tang's proof of identity is just a piece of paper with eight characters on it. However, the most unreliable thing in the world is the document. Almost whoever holds it is the person.

At this moment, Rong Zhan also figured out the whole thing. The real Young Master Rong died when he arrived at the Jokhang Temple. The monks of the Jokhang Temple gave his identity documents to Young Master Feng and sent him to southern Xinjiang to be raised by the master of Chatak Cave. The Young Master Rong Tang, whom they risked their lives to rescue from southern Xinjiang that day, was actually their master's twin brother. They met but didn't recognize each other and he died again. What a helpless fate.

Rong Zhan finally understood why he felt that his master was very similar to Young Master Rong when he first saw him. It was not a resemblance in appearance, but a kind of mysterious attraction between them.

"It's still not right, it's still not right." Rong Tang grabbed his hair, puzzled.

Rong Zhan said, "Master, what else is wrong? Whether Young Master Rong is real or fake is not important anymore!"

Anyway, they all died, either when they were three months old or when they were in their teens, without ever setting foot on the land of the Northern Dynasty.

"So what do you think, are Wu Ji and I more like twin sisters, or are Young Master Rong and I more like brother and sister?"

Rong Zhan thought for a moment, "Of course Miss Wuji looks more like you, but Young Master Rong and you also have the same aura, and Master Yuanjing can't be lying."

"Is there a possibility that my mother gave birth to triplets?"

Rong Zhan bared his teeth. Triplets are very rare in the world, but they do exist.

but!

Master Huici and Master Yuanjing personally delivered two or three babies, how could they not know?"

"Then is there a possibility that the two masters delivered two babies and then left, and my mother gave birth to another one, but she fainted and didn't know anything, and the third one was stolen, and that was Wu Ji?"

Rong Zhan was stunned. Was this childbirth? It was even easier than laying an egg. Two or three at a time, and before she knew it, she was already pregnant.

(Chicken: I won’t take the blame. One at a time. Mainly because I’m empty-bellied.)

As the master and servant were analyzing the situation, Butler Tao arrived with an invitation. "Sir, the Xie family is hosting a banquet tomorrow and we're sending you an invitation."

Rong Tang pointed at his nose and said, "Xie family? Invite me?"

I have to say, it's quite strange. He has been here for two months and hasn't received a single post.

It's even more ridiculous. The Xie family of the Northern Dynasty and the Xie family of the Southern Dynasty are brothers. His biological mother is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family. In fact, Taifu Xie is his cousin. Unfortunately, he can't recognize him and doesn't want to recognize him.