"Eunuch Tang, weren't you assigned a page boy? Just give him orders."
"For other things, that's okay. But this is something to be eaten." It's better to be more careful.
The Prince of Rui had encountered so many assassination attempts, and most of them were through food.
He didn't care about other things, but he had to be extra careful with food. Concubine Qin and the Emperor were also concerned about it. Even though they were far away in the South of the Yangtze River, if the Eldest Prince and the Third Prince had any malicious intentions, they could still reach this place.
Now that the Eldest Prince had been reinstated, the most uncomfortable one was the Third Prince. He was forming alliances everywhere, completely forgetting the Emperor's taboos. Originally, it was bad enough that the two of them were involved in factional strife, but the Third Prince even wanted to extend his influence further. He tried to win over local officials. But some of those guys had long since defected to Du Gu Ming. How could they care about the Third Prince's overtures?
"Your Highness, although the Sixth Prince has been enfeoffed as a prince, we can't let our guard down. It is said that his health has improved. Who knows when he might come back to compete for the position of the crown prince. Since Your Highness is reluctant to take action against your brother, you can try to win him over. The Sixth Prince is now the King of the South of the Yangtze River," Xiude, a follower of the Third Prince, advised. "If we make the overture, the Eldest Prince will know right away, leaving him with no chance."
"You're right," Du Gu Jue nodded. He knew his father's taboos. The Emperor hated most the strife among his sons. So he would not take action against his younger brother. Sometimes, he would just verbally taunt him out of contempt, and his father would not blame him.
"Then you go and handle this. Be very careful with your words."
"Yes, Your Highness, don't worry. This lowly one will do his best."
"By the way, Xiude, what about that woman who pretended to be the young lady of the Marquis of Anning's family? Why haven't there been any news about her recently?"
"I heard they took the side concubine away too. Could it be that they were discovered and captured?"
"Guessing randomly won't help. You handle this matter as well."
"Yes."
The instructions from the Eldest Prince were almost the same as those from Du Gu Jue. Two groups of people were sent out.
Mei Qingxue, on the other hand, was in trouble. When she went out alone today, she unexpectedly encountered a hooligan. If it weren't for the fact that her body was weak, she really wanted to kick those guys in a certain place.
"Yo, which family's young lady is this? So charming. Come and let uncle give you a kiss," said a skinny guy. His robe hung on him more loosely than on a bamboo pole. "Your Highness, you're really lucky. You met a beautiful woman as soon as you went out."
"Li Fu, you really know how to talk. Later, I'll ask Concubine Nine to reward you."
The skinny guy reached out to hook Mei Qingxue's chin. "What's wrong? Come back with me, and I'll make sure you live a good life." This charming woman looked a bit familiar, but at this moment, Geng Junhu was so lust - driven that he only wanted to get this beauty into his bed and have a good time.
"You dare to abduct a civilian woman in broad daylight?" Mei Qingxue knew that An Ying was nearby, so she wasn't afraid of this guy who could hardly walk steadily.
"I, the young master, would never abduct. I'm taking you as my twelfth concubine. Come on, carry my twelfth concubine back for me."
Several servants came up and tried to grab Mei Qingxue and put her into the sedan chair. At this moment, they heard someone clapping.
"Clap, clap."
"Guo Jun, what do you want?" Geng Junhu felt a pang of fear when he saw the person coming. Why would this guy show up?
Mei Qingxue, however, showed a smile. "Do you also want to see my twelfth concubine?"
Without saying a word, Guo Jun walked over and kicked those servants away one by one. Then he walked up to Mei Qingxue and knelt on one knee. "Sister - in - law, you've been frightened."
"I'm not frightened," Mei Qingxue smiled gently. She had met this person at the mansion of the old Duke. He was a cousin.
"Cousin, we're family. There's no need for such formalities." "Guo Jun, since you're related to my twelfth concubine, I won't make things difficult for you. Get out of the way."
"Geng Junhu, you'd better clean your neck and wait for death." Only then did Guo Jun notice that his sister - in - law showed no sign of panic. At most, she was a bit angry.
"Who wants this young master's neck?" Geng Junhu pushed Guo Jun. "Get out of the way. If you don't, don't blame me for not caring about our family relationship."
"An Ying, arrest this lecher and send him to the yamen. Punish him severely."
"Yes!"
Suddenly, a person appeared out of nowhere. Guo Jun was also startled. No wonder this young and beautiful woman dared to go out alone.
"Cousin, I remember your name is Guo Jun, right? Come to the mansion tomorrow afternoon. Sister - in - law has something for you to do."
"Yes, sister - in - law." Guo Jun immediately bowed with clasped hands. Their conversation was quite interesting. They never mentioned Mei Qingxue's identity.
Geng Junhu was lifted up by An Ying. He immediately struggled. "Let go. Do you know who this young master is?"
"I don't care who you are."
Mei Qingxue gently curved her lips. "If anyone dares to let him go, they'll be punished together!" This was the most severe punishment she had ever mentioned. An Ying responded and carried the man away.
"I only brought one guard. Could you escort me back? I'm lost."
Guo Jun respectfully agreed. Some of the servants were quick - witted and had already gone back to report to their master.
Guo Jun was the grandson of the old Duke, but they didn't know the origin of that woman. It was better to go back and report to their master.
"Sister - in - law, why don't you ask about that man's background?"
"Someone else will ask. It's not my turn yet. I'm just a woman."
"Sister - in - law, don't go out without a guard in the future. Although the public order is good, there's no guarantee that you won't meet a reckless person." Guo Jun gently advised Mei Qingxue.
"Thank you for your kind advice, cousin. I can already see the mansion gate up ahead. You can go back now. See you tomorrow afternoon." Mei Qingxue didn't say much. The old Duke had been a military general all his life and had several grandsons. This one was different. He wasn't an ordinary young master.
Mei Qingxue had the intention of promoting him. Of course, she wanted to bring him to her elder brother's side.
"Yes, Guo Jun takes his leave."
Guo Jun turned around. Mei Qingxue watched him walking with a majestic and upright gait. He was a good person. One could tell that he was full of integrity.
"Why did you come back so soon?"
Du Gu Qing asked curiously. The person who said she was going to the market had come back within half an hour. Mei Qingxue smiled. "Just now, I met a lecher. I sent him to the yamen."
"A lecher?" Du Gu Qing's face darkened. He had thought this place was quiet and peaceful, and there shouldn't be any trouble. When Mei Qingxue said she wanted to go out, he readily agreed without thinking of sending someone to protect her.
"It's okay. Look, I'm fine." Mei Qingxue told him how the man wanted to abduct her as his twelfth concubine and how she met a cousin from her grandfather's family who helped her out of the situation.
"Which cousin is that? I must thank him properly when I meet him."
"The one named Guo Jun. I've already asked him to come to the mansion tomorrow afternoon. I have other arrangements. I want to ask for his opinion tomorrow."
"Are you thinking about the matter of elder brother going to the battlefield?"
"Yes. How did you guess it so quickly? I think it would be better to have our own strength. Your two elder brothers make me feel insecure. I have no intention of rebelling. I just want to protect ourselves."
"Xue'er, I'll support whatever you want to do. But you have to be careful. Don't give others a chance to criticize you and put your father and my grandfather in a difficult position."
"I know. I'm doing this for my family. Your grandfather is also my grandfather. Don't worry. I'll handle it properly."
That lecher couldn't be let off easily. She would go and find out who his backer was tomorrow.
The Geng Mansion
"What did you say? The young master was arrested and sent to the yamen?" Geng Longtian immediately stood up. He had only one son in his middle - age and doted on him extremely.
"Who did this?"
"My lord, we don't know that person. But the Seventh Young Master of the old Duke's family knew her. He even knelt down and called her sister - in - law." A servant reported to the master. Of course, he didn't mention the part about the twelfth concubine. That woman didn't look like an ordinary woman. Her demeanor was different.
"Did your young master try to molest her again and was sent to the yamen by Guo Jun?" Geng Longtian wasn't afraid of the yamen at all. He could get his son back with a visiting card later.
"Humph, prepare the sedan chair. I'm going to see who dares to send my son to the yamen."
"Yes, my lord."
The servant wiped the sweat off his forehead and immediately went to prepare the sedan chair. Geng Junhu was still waiting for his father to rescue him in the yamen.
"You're sending this person to the yamen. Do you know who he is?" The magistrate looked at An Ying.
"No."
"You don't know, yet you dare to send someone to the yamen? I'll take him. You can go."
The magistrate waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.
"He molested my mistress. My mistress said that if anyone dares to release this person privately, they'll be punished together!"
After saying that, An Ying turned around and left. He could tell that Mei Qingxue had deliberately strolled on the street to see if there was anyone who was blind. Unexpectedly, there really was one. The magistrate didn't take An Ying's words seriously at all.
"Punished together? Who do you think your mistress is?"
An Ying heard the magistrate's sarcastic voice and sneered. It turned out that being an ordinary person could be so interesting. His mistress, the magistrate would soon know.
Now his trouble - making mistress was waiting for his report. If the magistrate honestly detained the person, this matter would really be boring. They wanted him to be dishonest!
Mei Qingxue wasn't a soft - hearted person. Her kindness was only for certain people.
Punished together. What kind of punishment was that? An Ying didn't know. He had only heard this term from Mei Qingxue's mouth. Now he had to go back and report to the mistress.
If he didn't go back soon, the mistress would get impatient. Once there was something interesting, Mei Qingxue was always impatient.