The Salted Fish’s Political Marriage - Chapter 12

The group departed from the Prince of Qi’s residence.

They boarded the carriages, moving in a grand procession toward the Zuiying Pavilion. Inside the carriage, Mu Yanzhou narrowed his eyes slightly. He slowed his tone, his voice lazy as he spoke, “Later, if you see the Princess Consort meeting with that person or making contact within the Zuiying Pavilion, pay no attention to whatever I say. Just let Liao Wenbo and his companions, along with the guards, seize them directly. If the other party is not his contact, then keep a close eye on Liao Wenbo and the others. Do not let them act rashly.”

Outside the carriage, Yuan Jiu immediately replied, “As you command, Your Highness!”

In the night of Chongjing, the markets were filled with brilliant lights. The glow passed through the gaps in the carriage curtains, falling upon the painted roses near the window. Mu Yanzhou rested his hand against his forehead. After a moment, he spoke casually, “What a pity.”

Although it was beautiful and alluring, it was a pity that it was slightly too thorny.

Visiting a familiar place.

Song Mingzhi politely declined Jialuo’s invitation to drink. However, having grown up in the Zuiying Pavilion, he hesitated for a moment and did not refuse the other’s subsequent suggestion to tour the Zuiying Pavilion and have a few light refreshments.

Jialuo walked with Song Mingzhi to the second floor of the Zuiying Pavilion. This floor was composed entirely of private rooms with luxurious and exquisite decorations. From here, one could view the singing and dancing of the Hu girls on the first floor without being disturbed by passersby. It was the place that high-ranking officials and dissolute playboys in Chongjing loved to visit the most.

Such prosperity and liveliness would not disappear until the rebel army entered the city.

It was now nearly the end of the evening meal. Just as Song Mingzhi stepped onto the stairs, he saw from a distance a middle-aged man in green official robes with a potbelly standing outside a private room, bowing and scraping incessantly toward the people inside. After a while, he finally escorted the people out with a fawning smile, speaking as he hurried toward the staircase at the other end.

Before long, he left the Zuiying Pavilion.

Song Mingzhi intuitively felt something was suspicious. He turned his head involuntarily and asked the person beside him, “Does Boss Jialuo know that official just now?”

The Zuiying Pavilion only cared about making money and never delved into politics, but Jialuo recognized frequent customers like the one before them. After thinking for a moment, he replied to Song Mingzhi, “It seems to be Master Feng from the Ministry of Revenue, named Feng Ronggui.”

Song Mingzhi murmured, “Feng Ronggui.”

As he spoke, he could not help but clench his palms. The name Feng Ronggui was truly deafening. It was he who, not long ago, had written a false accusation against his colleague in the Ministry of Revenue, indirectly leading to Du Shanhui being severely punished by the Emperor.

In history, Du Shanhui died shortly after, unable to be saved. This miscarriage of justice could only be left unsettled, and the Ministry of Revenue fell into the hands of a corrupt faction thereafter. Following that, a natural disaster left the people displaced. The Ministry of Revenue, which should have proactively provided disaster relief, instead deceived those above and ignored those below, doing absolutely nothing. In the end, refugees filled the land, shaking the foundation of the Great Chu.

If it were not for the Prince of Qi turning the tide after ascending the throne, Great Chu would have likely perished long before this point.

Seeing Song Mingzhi fall silent, Jialuo could not help but ask, “What is wrong, Young Master? Do you know those people?”

Song Mingzhi regained his senses and shook his head, saying, “It is nothing. I do not know them.”

While speaking, he had walked into the largest private room on the second floor with Jialuo and picked up a cup of flower tea from the table. Then, he slowly lowered his eyelids.

This time, he had stopped the bleeding for Du Shanhui. Although he was still bedridden, he was no longer in life-threatening danger. If Du Shanhui remained in the imperial court, the bribery case of the Ministry of Revenue could not simply be left unsettled. Feng Ronggui, the cannon fodder pushed out by the corrupt faction to write the false accusation, was likely already feeling guilty. That was why he was hosting a banquet in the Zuiying Pavilion to pull strings and establish connections.

On the first floor of the Zuiying Pavilion, the sound of the Jie drum rose. The dancers rose on their toes again, swirling in dance. Accompanied by the familiar music, Song Mingzhi took a light sip of the flower tea, temporarily pushing all of this to the back of his mind.

An incense stick of time later, the carriage from the Prince of Qi’s residence stopped in front of the Zuiying Pavilion.

The horses were still pacing in place when Liao Wenbo climbed out of the carriage, staggering as his feet hit the ground. He hurried into the Zuiying Pavilion, heading straight for Ana, who was guarding the entrance. He asked a couple of questions, then joined forces with a few other playboys to drag a hesitating Mu Yanzhou toward the second floor, heading straight for the Shuiyue Pavilion in the center.

At the same time, he did not forget to look back and instruct the musicians on the first floor, “Keep playing the music! Do not stop!”

Today, he had to catch him.

In the blink of an eye, the group gathered at the staircase on the second floor. They then irreverently dragged Mu Yanzhou over, pointing forward and saying, “Prince of Qi, please take a look.”

At this moment, the doors to the Shuiyue Pavilion were tightly shut.

The hero who had first discovered Song Mingzhi, You Jian’an, said indignantly, “In broad daylight, yet the Princess Consort is still keeping the door closed while staying in the private room. There must be something fishy going on.”

Although they were all playboys, as the Prince of Qi, Mu Yanzhou’s status was clearly higher than the rest; he was the backbone of this group. As his subordinates, they could not stand to see the Prince of Qi being led astray by that fox spirit from the Western Regions.

Seeing the doors and windows of the Shuiyue Pavilion tightly shut, the playboys were all excited and flushed with anger. They turned in unison to look at Mu Yanzhou, their faces clearly saying, “Your Highness, you lovesick fool, hurry up and look.”

However, under the gaze of everyone, Mu Yanzhou stepped back silently.

He shook his head unconsciously and said, “Otherwise, let it be.”

Playboys A, B, C, and D shouted in unison, “It cannot be let be.”

The smell of alcohol surged out in an instant, and the playboys threw all reason to the winds. They were determined to make the Prince wake up this time.

It was unknown who it was, but one person staggered back two steps, and using the strength of the alcohol, rushed toward the door with all his might. Yuan Jiu, who was following at the very back, instantly tightened his nerves. He widened his eyes, peering into the Shuiyue Pavilion, ready to seize the contact at any moment.

Meanwhile, inside the Shuiyue Pavilion, Song Mingzhi heard someone approaching the door through the sound of the Jie drums and laughter. He was just about to stand up to open it when he saw Jialuo waving his hand, saying, “I will do it, Young Master. Let me do it.” After the words fell, he was already at the door.

However, Jialuo had not yet had the chance to raise his hand when the carved lacquer door was heavily smashed open.

“Bang.”

The playboy fell hard to the floor. The door leaf flew toward Jialuo’s body. Without a second thought, Song Mingzhi immediately stood up, grabbed the fabric on his shoulder, and pulled him back with force, “Be careful.”

The sound of the Jie drum downstairs skipped a beat. As soon as the door opened, everyone saw Song Mingzhi standing in front of the door, holding a chestnut-haired man with Western features.

Liao Wenbo swallowed his saliva silently, “My God, why is this a man?”

Yuan Jiu thought, “It seems this is not the contact.”

The night wind swirled through the hallway.

After seeing who was outside, Song Mingzhi raised his hand instantly and let go of Jialuo’s shoulder. He subconsciously called out, “Qi, Prince of Qi?”

Seven words flashed through everyone’s minds instantly: “There is no silver three hundred taels buried here.”

Jialuo could not believe it, “Qi, Prince of Qi?” After saying this, he sat down on the ground.

The night wind blew through the Shuiyue Pavilion. Everyone turned to look at Mu Yanzhou in unison. If this could be tolerated, what could not? Having been caught red-handed this time, the Prince of Qi would finally be able to wake up and see through the skin of this beauty.

Song Mingzhi thought, “…”

Although no one spoke in front of the Shuiyue Pavilion, in the flash of a second, Song Mingzhi had already read what they were thinking. As a former secret guard for the Emperor, he had never even imagined in his dreams that he would one day be defeated by this group of people.

Song Mingzhi spoke subconsciously, explaining to him, “Your Highness, Boss Jialuo was nearly hit by the door. I was just helping him up; I did not mean anything else.”

You Jian’an thought he had seen through it, “Impossible, how could you be so fast?”

Even the playboy on the ground stood up, grimacing, “Exactly, I saw you right there as soon as I looked up.”

Liao Wenbo said excitedly, “That is right, look, do you think anyone will believe what you are saying?”

Song Mingzhi bit his lower lip gently. They did not know he possessed martial arts, so they would not believe his words.

The sound of the Jie drum faltered and started up again. Just as Song Mingzhi was hesitating about how to explain, Mu Yanzhou had already slowly lowered his eyelids. Following this, he shook his head gently and said, “I believe you.”

Mu Yanzhou truly believed. How could someone capable of bypassing guards without anyone noticing fail to handle such a trivial matter?

Playboys A, B, C, and D thought, “Your Highness is confused.”

Mu Yanzhou took a deep breath, and under the shocked gaze of the playboys, he smiled gently, “It was my negligence.”

Song Mingzhi’s heart suddenly relaxed, and he looked at him with confusion. What does His Highness mean by this?

The swaying candlelight revealed the desolation in Mu Yanzhou’s eyes. There was even a hint of indescribable helplessness in his words. After a few breaths, he finally gathered his spirits, raised his eyes to look inside the Shuiyue Pavilion, and shook his head slowly, “It is this King’s negligence. Ah Zhi came to the Central Plains from Shulan, marrying thousands of miles away, and he has no relatives or friends in Chongjing; it is only right that he should have one or two friends.”

He emphasized the word “friends” with particular force.

Playboys A, B, C, and D whispered, “Ah?”

Mu Yanzhou did not even look at the group of playboys. He used slight force to grip Song Mingzhi’s wrist, and at the same time, he straightened his posture, looking at the stunned Jialuo inside the room. He then looked down from his height, “This King has long admired the reputation of the Zuiying Pavilion. If there is time in the future, I will certainly come here to sit for a while.”

Jialuo was dumbfounded, “Yes, yes.”

“Oh, that is right.” Mu Yanzhou looked down at Song Mingzhi. Finally, he slowly started to smile, “I almost forgot to introduce myself to Ah Zhi’s friend. This King is his husband. Today, coming to the Zuiying Pavilion is to bring my beloved consort home.”

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