Tianliangyuan

Chapter 63 I Won't Let Them Be Bullied

Xie Zheng's gaze remained unchanged, his expression calm: "What kind of despicable thing is Sun Yuanshan? Does he even deserve Zhao Zhao's help?"

The man raised an eyebrow: "So, you don't believe what Liu Bo just said?"

Xie Zheng chuckled and simply sat down opposite him: "Yunze, I wasn't in the capital when Sun Yuanshan had his accident, but you certainly were. Given your penchant for watching the drama unfold, how could you not have investigated? Let me ask you, did you find out that this matter is related to my Zhaozhao?"

Qi Yunze's expression was somewhat amused, but his eyes held a hint of caution. He toyed with his wine glass in one hand while still resting his other hand on his temple: "Your Zhaozhao? Is she married yet? It's too early to say that. Who knows, there might be someone trying to abduct her on the way!"

Xie Zheng couldn't stand these words, so he grabbed whatever was at hand and threw it at them.

Qi Yunze dodged quickly, but with a loud bang, the crisp sound of the glass shattering announced the end of its life.

"To be honest, I really couldn't find out what Xu Zhaozhao was doing, and even her men never left the manor. But that's what I'm most curious about. What kind of ability does Xu Zhaozhao have that she could make Sun Yuanshan suffer such a big loss?"

"Are you still convinced that Zhaozhao was behind this?"

“Of course! After all, Sun Yuanshan’s purpose in going there was to humiliate Xu Zhaozhao. If Sun Yuanshan’s plan fails and he suffers the consequences instead, it must be because his evil deeds have been exposed. Apart from Xu Zhaozhao, I can’t think of anyone else who could take such a vicious revenge on Sun Yuanshan.”

"You mean vicious?"

Qi Yunze heard the coldness in his voice and laughed, "It's my fault. What I mean is, if it really was Xu Zhaozhao who did it, then it's understandable, since Sun Yuanshan attacked first and was ultimately attacked in return. It can only be said that he was outmaneuvered. But if an unrelated person did such a thing, wouldn't that be an evil act?"

Okay.

This explanation is barely acceptable.

Xie Zheng didn't care much about Sun Yuanshan. Anyway, he had already suffered retribution, but he was determined not to let him roam freely outside. How could such a petty person covet his fiancée?

"Why don't you tell me about the vicious dog that attacked people at the Jiang residence first?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yunze immediately changed his expression, sat up straight, and his eyes lit up, as if he were telling a particularly exciting drama!

Xie Zheng could understand his reaction.

After all, the Qi family and the Jiang family had a feud. Even if all the Jiang family members were wiped out, Qi Yunze would still applaud and set off fireworks for three days in a row!

Qi Yunze was originally the second son of the Marquis of Dingnan. He had an older brother, but shortly after being appointed as the heir apparent, he was murdered.

The case caused quite a stir back then. It turned out that the Jiang family got into a fight with Young Master Qi over a woman, and in the end, Young Master Qi was stabbed through the heart in front of everyone.

Because of this incident, the Jiang family lost a concubine's son and more than a dozen guards. The Jiang Consort who was about to be promoted to Consort by the Emperor was also put on hold because of this incident.

Ultimately, Young Master Qi was an innocent person, but Jiang Wenhe, who gave the order to take action, was always at the very back.

The sword that stabbed Young Master Qi was delivered by Jiang Wenhe's bodyguard, and the one who attacked him was his half-brother.

Therefore, even if the Marquis of Dingnan's mansion was furious, it was impossible for them to request the Emperor to order Jiang Wenhe to be executed.

The Jiang family only lost one illegitimate son, yet they exchanged it for the life of their Dingnan Marquis's heir. How could anyone tolerate this?

But no one can say that the Dali Temple made a wrong judgment in this case; even if they appealed to the Emperor, the result would be the same.

Later, the emperor felt that the Jiang family had acted improperly. He not only ordered Jiang Yanping and others to stay at home and reflect on their actions for a month, but also fined them a year's salary. This was also a way of avenging the Qi family.

But these are clearly far from enough.

Consort Jiang was furious because she failed to be promoted to Consort. In the end, she had Jiang Yanping step in and pay a sum of money to the Marquis of Dingnan. She was only ordered to let the matter rest as soon as possible so as not to affect the Jiang family's wealth and status.

Is the Marquis of Dingnan's mansion short of silver?

So the compensation was never delivered, and the two families became bitter enemies afterward!

"Jiang Ning? You're saying that this vicious dog attack was orchestrated by a young woman from a secluded family?"

"That's right. This matter has been confirmed. Even Jiang Yanping took Jiang Ning to the Emperor to apologize. The Emperor did not overly protect the Jiang family, and even ordered her to be caned in the palace. However, I always feel that there is something strange about this, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

It is somewhat strange.

If Xie Zheng could notice it, then there must be a problem that they haven't discovered yet.

"I won't be staying in the capital for more than a few days. I'll treat everyone to a feast later, and invite Zhaozhao and her brothers to come along so we can all have a chat. Remember to take good care of them when I'm not in the capital."

Qi Yunze reverted to his previous nonchalant demeanor: "Why should I?"

"It's obvious that the Jiang family and the Marquis of Anxin's mansion are already at odds. Are you really not planning to try and win over the enemy of your enemy?"

That made sense, but Qi Yunze was still unhappy, feeling like he had been forced into this situation.

“My Zhaozhao is intelligent, and Junting will participate in the imperial examination next year, with a good chance of entering the court. In the future, your Marquis’s mansion will have another ally in the court. Why not do it?”

"Alright, I know what you mean. Don't worry, I can't guarantee anything else, but I certainly won't let anyone bully them."

The Marquis of Dingnan is different from the Marquis of Anxin.

Marquis Anxin was a title earned on the battlefield by the previous generation of marquises.

In addition to his military achievements, the Marquis of Dingnan also had a connection to the imperial family.

Qi Yunze's mother was the eldest princess. Although she and the emperor were not from the same mother, they had a very close relationship before she was married.

Therefore, because of the death of the eldest son of the Qi family, the emperor specially stopped the ceremony of bestowing the title of Consort Jiang, and even took back the power held by Consort Jiang at one point. This was actually a kind of attitude.

That's why Xie Zheng said that he hoped Qi Yunze would protect him and his sister.

Xu Zhaozhao now manages her business very well, earning a lot of money every day, while she herself is idle at home all day, which makes Wang Ruolan extremely envious.

"You silly girl, don't even think about shirking your responsibilities. Help your mother manage a few more shops!"

Xu Zhaozhao shrank back: "Mother, please don't harm me. I've finally managed to sort out these businesses. Please let me rest. If you feel tired, why don't you ask my sister-in-law to help with the accounts?"

“Your sister-in-law still has a lot of things to take care of. Doesn’t she need to manage her dowry business? Besides, she’s pregnant now, so we can’t let her work too hard.”

Just as Xu Zhaozhao was about to suggest that her second brother get married soon, the steward rushed in.

"Reporting to Madam, the Wang family just sent word that the old lady has fainted and they have already summoned the imperial physician twice."