There was a large black mass of what must have been two thousand people.
Some of these people were older and stood at the front. When they looked at Song Yin, they looked very excited, so they should be the subordinates of King Chin’s men back then. Some of those at the back, who were a little younger, also had excitement on their faces, but it was different from the excitement of those at the front, it was the excitement of seeing the real master.
Although they were all excited, no one made a sound.
Song Yin’s words were particularly loud, “This is Song Wangyue, my future wife.”
Two thousand pairs of eyes instantly shifted to Song Wangyue.
Song Wangyue nodded graciously towards the crowd.
There were only a dozen lanterns at the bottom of the large mountain, so the crowd couldn’t see her face, but they could see her eyes glowing as if they were filled with starlight.
There was no dislike or disdain in this light, only admiration.
A man in his thirties with a beard in front of him finally couldn’t help himself, “The young master has a good eye.”
Although they had been in the mountains for years, they were aware of what was going on outside. A few years ago when the young master had fraudulently died, it was this young girl in front of him who had only sued the imperial court, forcing the emperor to deport the third prince to Youzhou, and for that alone, they, too, admired.
Song Yin couldn’t hide the smile in his eyebrows, holding Song Wan Yue’s hand even tighter, “This is Uncle Hu, the oldest here, and the most powerful person by Father’s side back then.”
“Uncle Hu.”
Song Wangyue’s voice was clear and crisp, very nice to hear.
Uncle Hu was flattered by the shout, “Miss Song don’t ever call me that, I, I, I ……”
“You deserve it, just because you have not left all these years also deserve it.”
Uncle Hu’s throat was sour.
When they learned that something had happened to King Qin, five hundred of their brothers left the border quietly and scattered back to the capital to find a chance to avenge the king. They were stopped halfway and given a letter in King Chin’s handwriting, which told them not to go to the capital, not to return to the barracks, and not to go back to their hometowns, but to scatter and make their own way.
Along with the letter was 500 taels of silver for each of them. As long as they found a place to live in peace, the silver was enough to last them a lifetime.
They did not know what had happened, but they were sure that the King of Qin would not commit regicide, so they had to be forced to do something.
When the messenger saw that they refused to disperse, he produced another letter, which said that if they did not wish to disperse, they could follow the visitor and help him to avenge his death one day.
So they came and stayed in these mountains for more than ten years, a torment that no ordinary person could imagine.
Although they were both willing, Song Wan Yue’s words still touched their hearts.
Xiao Qian stood behind the two men and for the first time had respect for Song Wangyue.
These men were all strong-minded people who would not change their faces in the face of a thousand armies, and Song Wangyue had moved them with just one sentence.
Song Yin patted Uncle Hu’s shoulder, “Chu Yuan has been relegated to Liangzhou today, although we have one less enemy, the situation has also become more serious, you should always be prepared.”
Uncle Hu’s moved expression collected, “Little master don’t worry, we have long been prepared.”
……
The following morning, the two of them went down the mountain after a fasting meal.
Today was the day of the royal concubine’s funeral, and the road leading from the city to the imperial tomb was guarded five steps at a time and ten steps at a time, with strict checks on people coming and going.
Song Wangyue took the token of the Ding Guo Gong House and passed all the way back to the city, where she and Song Yin went to the Xu Mansion.
On that day, when they returned from the capital, Mr. and Mrs. Xu Yan had gone to the Ding Guo Gong Mansion to discuss the next matter, but they were interrupted by Xiao Qian’s return. They had thought of going back in a couple of days, but before they could go, the secret news of that year spread, and not only the people in the capital, but also the Xu family were shocked to hear about it.
Mr. Xu Er called Xu Yan over and the two of them stayed in the study for most of the day, but after they came out Xu Yan did not say anything more about going to the Ding Gong Mansion.
Song Wangyue had not been here for a few days, and the servants in the house were all smiling and happy to see her, and a little maid even ran to report that Mrs Xu Yan had received the news and welcomed her out.
“Auntie.”
Mrs. Xu Yan held her up, her face full of smiles, “Why are you free to come here today?”
“Yesterday, Song Yin and I sent Xiao Qian back, we just returned to the city and came over.
“In the study, he said he would go to the palace after today to give a lecture to the fourth prince.”
Song Wan Yue took her arm and said to Song Yin, “You go back to the courtyard first and rest for a while.”
The Xu family had Song Wangyue’s courtyard, and Song Yin called out to the others before turning around and going over there.
Once he had left, the smile on Lady Xu Yan’s face faded and she pulled her into the house quickly, dismissing all the subordinates and pulling her in to sit down, “Are the rumours outside about King Consort Qin true?”
Song Wan Yue nodded truthfully.
Lady Xu Yan was stunned.
She did not believe those rumours, what kind of woman did the emperor want, how could his own sister-in-law do something like that? But she had grown up in the capital since she was a child, and naturally she knew how King Qin was, so it was impossible for him to enter the palace and commit regicide for no reason.
She had also asked Xu Yan on the day she heard the rumours, and Xu Yan told her not to ask any more questions. She had a vague guess in her heart, and even so was shocked to see Song Wan Yue nodding her head.
“Then, then, then those rumours outside are ……”
“They were spread by the Wu family, they wanted to use the rumors to make the Ding Guo Gongfu’s people stay in the capital and make me lose my help, but unfortunately, they failed to steal the chicken and lost the rice, not only did they take Wu Jin’s life, but they were also almost exterminated.”
“How could they ……”
Halfway through the sentence, Lady Xu Yan thought of something and was incredulous, “There was Imperial Consort involved back then?”
Song Wangyue nodded her head.
Lady Xu Yan covered her mouth.
Such a thing was unheard of, she simply didn’t know what to say.
“Just know about this matter auntie, don’t tell anyone.”
Mrs. Xu Yan nodded her head repeatedly, “Auntie knows, don’t worry.”
“By the way ……”
Mrs. Xu Yan was about to say something else when the maid reported at the door, “Madam, the young master said for Miss Song to go to the study.”
Madam Xu Yan swallowed what she was going to say, “You go over first, I’ll go to the kitchen and ask them to cook a few more dishes, you and Song Yin stay for lunch.”
Song Wan Yue did not refuse, she had something to say to Xu Yan today.
Inside the study, Xu Yan sat on a chair with a book in front of him, at the moment he wasn’t reading it, but looking at the door.
After talking to his second uncle that day, he had been restless for the past two days. He wanted to send someone to call Song Wangyue to come over, but felt that it was inappropriate.
Song Wangyue pushed the door in, “Uncle.”
“Xu Jie, go stand guard at the courtyard gate.”
The boy answered, closed the door and went to stand guard at the courtyard entrance.
Song Wan Yue sat down and Xu Yan looked at her, “Tell uncle, what are the plans of the Ding Guo Gongfu?”