The Salted Fish’s Political Marriage - Chapter 13

Inside Zuiying Tower, the sound of the jie drums had not yet stopped. However, the gazes of the crowd had long since fallen upon the Shuiyue Pavilion. Secret guards were accustomed to walking alone, and Song Mingzhi was rarely physically close to others. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, his breath hitched, and his wrist trembled slightly.

All of this was caught by Mu Yanzhou. He turned around, lowered his voice, and called out softly to Song Mingzhi: “My beloved consort?”

Song Mingzhi curled his fingers. He absolutely could not lose face for the Prince of Qi in public. He silently shifted his gaze away and nodded, feigning composure: “Your Highness, let us return to the manor.”

“Naturally.”

Mu Yanzhou gripped his wrist tightly. He turned to smile at Jialuo: “Ah Zhi and I will not disturb Boss Luo any further tonight. Let us converse another day.”

Having said this, he gently led Song Mingzhi out of Zuiying Tower amidst the gazes of the crowd.

The group of dandies looked on in confusion. They hesitated for a moment before scrambling to follow: “Your Highness, wait for us!”

The night wind blew through their thin spring robes. As the weather had not yet fully warmed, Mu Yanzhou helped Song Mingzhi onto the carriage after leaving the tower. He turned back toward the brightly lit building and remarked: “Smelling of copper, how vulgar.”

Liao Wenbai, who was following closely, blinked in surprise. Wait, Your Highness is not referring to that Westerner from just now, are you? He had looked so calm just a moment ago.

Before Liao Wenbai could be sure if he had misunderstood, Mu Yanzhou added: “Knowing a few phrases of Sulan is nothing. Aside from that, he is quite ordinary.”

With that, he turned back to board the carriage. The other dandies had also left Zuiying Tower and were standing breathless before the carriage. One of them, still reeling from the alcohol, blurted out without thinking: “Is His Highness feeling jealous and sour?”

Before the words had even faded, Mu Yanzhou paused and replied with disdain: “What is there to be sour about? I am his husband.”

He then boarded the carriage without looking back. The gilded, colorful carriage slowly drove out of the Southern Market, leaving everyone behind at the foot of Zuiying Tower. Liao Wenbai and the others turned back to see a crowd of people, pretending to drink, peeking and gossiping about the Prince of Qi.

It is over. The Prince’s reputation was likely ruined forever.

The carriage drove steadily toward the Prince’s manor. Inside the carriage, Song Mingzhi sat upright, intending to explain the day’s events to Mu Yanzhou. However, as soon as the other man boarded, he looked at him seriously: “You say…”

Song Mingzhi replied earnestly: “Your Highness, please speak.”

Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyes and looked deeply into his gaze: “You say, is Sulan easy to learn?”

Song Mingzhi: “…”

Song Mingzhi spent the entire night forcibly suppressing the events at Zuiying Tower to calm himself down.

The next morning, a fine rain fell over Chongjing like silk threads. Having barely slept, Song Mingzhi sat before his vanity. While styling his hair, he carefully pondered the information he had gathered the day before. Since Jialuo confirmed that this type of Gu poison had not entered the Central Plains through trade routes, where did the Gu worm inside the Prince come from?

A-Lang brought breakfast into the room. As he set the table, he muttered: “When will this rain in Chongjing ever stop? We have been here less than a month, yet it has rained for more than half that time. I remember in Sulan, spring was never like this.”

Song Mingzhi stood up and walked to the table: “It will be better in a month.”

A-Lang, still unaccustomed to life in the Central Plains, sighed and grumbled: “It is all the fault of the Sulan King. If it were not for him, you might still be living peacefully in Sulan!”

Although Song Mingzhi was also from Sulan, he had lived in the Central Plains since he was young and did not have a deep understanding of Sulan’s history or politics. Therefore, it was only recently that he managed to piece together from A-Lang’s complaints that the current Sulan King owed his throne entirely to the support of the Central Plains dynasty, which had helped him quell internal strife. Because of this, after taking the throne, he changed the tribute from once every two years to once every year. He even continuously searched the Western Regions for treasures and beauties to present to the dim-witted Emperor.

The original owner of this body was a minor noble. That he was sent to Chongjing to be the Princess Consort of Qi was half due to the old Emperor’s arbitrary matchmaking and half due to the King’s desperate need to send gifts of all kinds.

Song Mingzhi sat at the table, but he did not pick up his chopsticks for a long time. He murmured: “The Sulan King, presenting gifts.”

A-Lang tilted his head: “Young master, what is wrong?”

Song Mingzhi suddenly widened his eyes, losing his composure: “I understand now!”

He set his chopsticks down with a loud bang, his heart racing. If the Gu worm did not come through trade routes, could it have been presented to the Central Plains by the Sulan King?

Song Mingzhi thought it increasingly likely. A-Lang was startled, nearly dropping the soup bowl in his hand: “Young master, what do you understand?”

Song Mingzhi bit his lip to calm himself. He shook his head at A-Lang. The matter of the mother Gu was still uncertain, and the fact that the Prince might be poisoned could not yet be shared with those around him.

“It is nothing important,” Song Mingzhi said, changing the subject. “Oh, by the way, I have a task for you in a couple of days.”

A-Lang’s attention was successfully diverted: “Please instruct me, young master.”

Song Mingzhi picked up his chopsticks again and ordered calmly: “Go to the largest gold shop in the Southern Market and retrieve the bell for me. While you are there, ask the owner if he has discovered the origin of the bell.”

Song Mingzhi’s appearance and hair color were too conspicuous. After last night, he had to cancel his plans to leave the manor and leave the task of retrieving the bell to A-Lang.

A-Lang hurriedly replied: “Yes, young master.”

The spring rain dampened the peach blossoms on the branches. Sitting by the window, Song Mingzhi felt a chill. A-Lang stepped forward to close the window. Song Mingzhi lowered his eyes. If the Gu worm was truly a gift from the Sulan King, then the only person who could have planted it in the Prince of Qi was his father, the old, foolish Emperor.

He realized in a flash that he might have been wrong from the beginning. Coming from a later era, he had relied too much on known history. Was it possible that the Prince of Qi’s succession was not as smooth as recorded in history?

At the Qi Prince’s manor, in the Huiming Hall, Mu Yanzhou sat at a long table with a brush in his hand.

Yuan Jiu watched him silently, then glanced at the Strategies for Governing the World under his hand. He could not help but admire him in his heart. With such perseverance to act out this play with the Princess Consort, what could he not accomplish? He was truly worthy of being the Prince!

He peeked at the paper, trying to see how much Mu Yanzhou had copied. Before he could see clearly, he heard footsteps crossing the main hall and stopping nearby: “Reporting to Your Highness, we have investigated yesterday’s matter.”

Mu Yanzhou did not look up: “So why did my beloved consort sneak out behind my back to see another man?”

Yuan Jiu coughed and cleared his throat.

Mu Yanzhou’s fingers paused: “Oh, I have gotten used to saying that.”

Yuan Jiu gasped silently. Having followed the Prince and watched his dissembling for so long, this was the first time he felt uneasy and doubted: If the Prince continues to act like this, will he eventually act himself right into the role?

The attendant was also shocked. He struggled for a long time to form a complete sentence. Mu Yanzhou had taken men to Zuiying Tower, and while he did not find the contact he expected, he did not let the trip go to waste. Last night, after Mu Yanzhou returned to the manor, the attendant went to see Jialuo. Knowing it was best not to invite trouble, Jialuo had told him everything, explaining exactly why Song Mingzhi had come to see him.

The attendant finally gathered his thoughts: “Reporting to Your Highness, Jialuo said that the Princess Consort went to see him yesterday to find a mother Gu.”

Mu Yanzhou suddenly set down his brush. He narrowed his eyes: “What kind of mother Gu?”

The ink dripping from the tip of his brush fell onto the paper with a splash, leaving a striking mark.

The attendant lowered his head: “It is a mother Gu for a parasite that feeds on alcohol.”

Huiming Hall fell silent. Standing behind Mu Yanzhou, Yuan Jiu widened his eyes.

A mother Gu!

Since the Prince was poisoned six years ago, he had been secretly searching for the mother Gu, but without success. He only guessed that the parasite must have originated from the Western Regions. He had tried to investigate Zuiying Tower before, but they were extremely wary of people from the Central Plains, and on the surface, it looked like an ordinary tavern. Most importantly, the person named Jialuo was not in Great Chu back then. In fact, they did not even know he existed. After searching, they had returned empty-handed.

Yuan Jiu said in shock: “The Princess Consort…”

Not only could he enter Zuiying Tower, he even knew that Jialuo had this capability!

There was a rare lack of humor in Mu Yanzhou’s eyes: “Did you search the place?”

The attendant replied immediately: “Yes! Last night, we found a night-pearl from the Prince’s manor on Jialuo, which matched the reward he mentioned.”

Mu Yanzhou nodded slowly: “Very well, I understand.”

The attendant bowed and left. Yuan Jiu wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said in disbelief: “The Princess Consort actually realized you were poisoned.”

If the Princess Consort had not noticed, Jialuo would never have been able to invent such a detail about the Gu poison.

Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyes and looked at the book by his hand. After a moment of silence, he murmured: “Why would he want to find the mother Gu…”

Yuan Jiu lowered his head as well. Indeed, what does the Princess Consort stand to gain? After a few seconds, he suddenly thought of something and widened his eyes.

The Princess Consort, he could not possibly truly care about the Prince, could he?

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