Song Yinghuai had just lifted his foot when he paused. His gaze shifted to Caiyu standing inside the room. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said to Han Fen,
"You escort her back to the mansion."
Han Fen suddenly looked up, surprise flashing in his eyes.
The prince wanted him to personally escort a maid back to the mansion?
However, he immediately thought it wasn't strange.
After all, the prince had allowed him to enter and take care of people in the outhouse last time!
Han Fen responded with an affirmative.
Unexpectedly, Caiyu spoke up, "Your Highness, this maid wants to follow you."
What?
Both Song Yinghuai and Han Fen looked at her, shock in their eyes.
Han Fen looked at Caiyu in utter disbelief.
Was this maid crazy?
Did she think the prince would be merciful just because he practiced Buddhism?
Did she think the prince would be lenient just because he had treated her a bit differently these days?
Couldn't she tell that the prince was going to handle important business? How could she pester the prince at such a time?
Song Yinghuai also thought he was hallucinating.
Although there was a smile on his lips, there was no trace of amusement in his eyes. "Oh?"
His voice rose slightly, making Caiyu's heart clench.
But she had to insist.
Just a moment ago, when she realized she couldn't seduce Song Yinghuai physically, she knew she was going to fail.
But she was not willing to give up.
At least, she wanted to find a way to follow Song Yinghuai and learn some of his secrets so that she could exchange them with her master for her younger brother's life.
"Your Highness." After much weighing in her mind, Caiyu's eyes flashed with anger as she said firmly, "This maid was plotted against by Miss Dong tonight. I'm filled with anger. Your Highness is also going to settle the score with Miss Dong now, right? This maid also wants to go and see what will happen to that Miss Dong!"
Caiyu didn't show any interest in the matter between Song Yinghuai and Dong Fangzhuo.
Her face was full of indignation, and her focus seemed to be entirely on Dong Yurong.
Her anger seemed genuine, without any falsehood.
Maybe it was because she finally got a chance to vent tonight that Song Yinghuai let down his guard.
He looked at Caiyu, slightly frowning and silent.
After a while, he nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if in deep thought, and then strode away.
This must be a yes, right?
Caiyu let out a sigh of relief and said to Han Fen, "Guard Han, please."
Han Fen's eyebrows twitched, but he finally led the secret guards and Caiyu towards the front yard of the Plum Blossom Villa.
The night banquet tonight lasted all night, filled with singing and dancing. The air above the plum grove was filled with the smell of alcohol.
That was bad enough, but after drinking too much, people's true natures were completely exposed.
Those who were usually upright and elegant were now grabbing the dancing girls or good - looking maids shuttling through the crowd and molesting them.
The once - noble plum grove was polluted by these so - called hypocrites, and the air was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere everywhere.
Dong Fangzhuo and Dong Yurong had returned to their seats at the banquet. On the surface, they remained calm, but Dong Fangzhuo was already restless.
He noticed that the people coming back to report the progress of the search were getting later and fewer.
Just now, no one had entered the banquet to report for two incense sticks' worth of time.
Something was wrong!
Suddenly, Dong Fangzhuo tightened his grip on the wine cup, stood up, and said to Dong Yurong, "Follow me to the secret passage."
Dong Yurong was still reluctant and didn't understand why they had to leave suddenly.
But seeing Dong Fangzhuo's gloomy face, she had no choice but to stand up.
However, a voice came from the front of the banquet:
"Where are you going, Lord Dong?"
The voice was clear and cold, sounding like the clinking of jade in the night, dispelling the ambiguous atmosphere in the air.
Everyone indulging in the debauchery shuddered. Their muddled minds became a lot clearer, and they all looked in astonishment as a group of fierce Yan troops rushed up.
The leading man walked out of the darkness. The red lanterns hanging on the plum branches shone obliquely down, cutting his facial features sharply and clearly.
Half of his face was hidden in the darkness, while the other half was strikingly handsome.
It was none other than Prince Yan, Song Yinghuai, whom the Dong father and daughter had been searching for all night!
Dong Fangzhuo looked at the Yan troops surrounding the banquet with suspicion and anger, shouting,
"Your Highness, Prince Yan! What do you mean by this?"
"I, as an official, kindly invited Your Highness to the plum - viewing banquet, but you brought troops to disturb everyone?"
Everyone also complained indignantly:
"That's right, Your Highness, Prince Yan. Although you are the prince of Yan, the whole world belongs to the emperor. Lord Dong represents the court. How dare you treat Lord Dong like this?"
"Even if we are not that important, we are still the noble families of Yan that have been around for a hundred years. If Your Highness doesn't give us an explanation, we will definitely jointly submit a memorial to the emperor and the crown prince to ask the court to uphold justice for us!"
Caiyu, following behind, squinted her eyes slightly as she watched the angry crowd. Suddenly, she understood.
It turned out that the internal situation in Yan was so unstable.
Many noble families were either neutral or waiting to see which way the wind blew.
"I have official business to attend to today. I'm sorry to disturb your elegant drinking."
Official business?
What official business?
Among the people present, only Dong Fangzhuo understood what Song Yinghuai meant. His face changed, and he suddenly turned around and tried to escape.
A sneer curled up on Song Yinghuai's lips. "Arrest him!"
Zhu Xiao and Tan Xiong moved like lightning. They flanked Dong Fangzhuo, and with a single swing of their swords, they beheaded several of Dong Fangzhuo's personal guards.
The cold swords crossed on Dong Fangzhuo's neck.
The guards' heads rolled to the ground, and the bright red blood flowed along people's feet. Immediately, there were screams and chaos.
The cherry preserves, candied water chestnuts, red bean pastries, etc. on the tables rolled everywhere. The cups and plates were broken all over the place, and the ground was full of spilled tea.
Dong Fangzhuo froze in his steps. Looking at the swords on his neck in fear, he stammered,
"Y - Your Highness... What did I do to offend you..."
"No, what you offended is not me, but the million people of Yan."
Song Yinghuai's cold eyes swept across the banquet one by one:
"Everyone, today I'm going to arrest Dong Fangzhuo, the Commissioner of Revenue who colluded with merchants and embezzled a fortune, and bring him to justice!"
Dong Fangzhuo's legs went weak, and his face instantly turned ashen.
It was really because of this!
Recently, he had also noticed that Song Yinghuai was investigating him, so he wanted to take advantage of the plum blossom banquet to win over Song Yinghuai and tie himself to the same boat with him. But he didn't expect...
Song Yinghuai pulled out a chair and sat down. Caiyu saw his fingertips rubbing the string of Buddhist beads on his left wrist, and her heart skipped a beat.
His voice was clear and mellow, and his tone was calm, sounding gentle and smiling, but his actions were so cold and fierce that it made people tremble with fear:
"Those who colluded with Dong Fangzhuo today are also here at the banquet, right? Do you want to come forward on your own, or do I have to name you?"
Song Yinghuai's words echoed above the plum grove, making everyone's hearts pound wildly. They looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward.
Seeing this, Song Yinghuai wasn't angry. He just smiled gently and reached out his hand to Tan Xiong.
Tan Xiong took out a booklet from his bosom and handed it to him.
Song Yinghuai opened it and slowly read out the names on it:
"Liu Dafu, the richest grain merchant in Yan."
Liu Dafu was named and timidly stepped out of the banquet. He knelt down with a thud and begged for mercy loudly:
"Your Highness, spare my life! I'm just a merchant. Lord Dong extorted money from me and only then allowed me to do business freely in Yan. I had no choice but to comply!"
"I understand." Song Yinghuai smiled warmly. "I will handle this matter for you."
Liu Dafu saw that Song Yinghuai didn't seem to be going to trouble him, and he immediately felt relieved.
Then, he quickly changed his stance. "Your Highness, please uphold justice for me. Your Highness is upholding justice for the merchants in Yan. We are all grateful to Your Highness. From now on, we will surely follow Your Highness's lead!"
"By the way, the grain in the three manors under my name is ripe. I'm willing to donate all the grain to the Yan troops to jointly build Yan with the army and the people!"
"Very good." Song Yinghuai laughed heartily. "Please rise, Mr. Liu."
Zhu Xiao and Tan Xiong looked at each other, with joy flashing in their eyes.
Look, the prince had solved the problem of the Yan troops' rations, right?
Next, there must be others who would surrender...