Chapter 188: Hello Chang’an
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**Chapter 188: Elder Brother Will Not Break His Promise (Monthly Vote Request)**
“…When will the betrothal be arranged?” Ming Jin sneered, a hint of anger flickering in his eyes. “This lowly woman chooses to send a letter to ask at such a time, clearly trying to threaten me.”
As he spoke, he threw the letter and envelope onto the ground.
The servant, frightened, quickly knelt down.
Ming Jin sneered again. “Why is it that all of you are so afraid of me now?”
Thinking of the way Qin Shuang had been carried away earlier, the servant stammered, “I’ve always been loyal to the Young Master…”
Ming Jin looked at him with amusement. “Did I say I was going to do something to you?”
His greatest hatred at the moment was for those women. This personal servant had been by his side for many years, and he found him still useful, so there was no plan to replace him just yet.
He smiled, “Pick up the letter.”
“Y-Yes…” The servant hurriedly picked up the letter and envelope, holding them in his hands.
“Take it to my mother,” Ming Jin said as he reclined on the couch, smiling mockingly. “Mother always loves to handle matters like this, so let her deal with it as she likes.”
He seemed to relax, closing his eyes with a sigh, “It’s been hard on her lately, hasn’t it? As for the matter in this letter, she can deal with it however she wants. As a son, I’ll follow her wishes. It’s just that I’m troubled that she has to worry about me.”
Was this what his mother, who always sought to control everything, wanted to see?
Hearing the hint of a vindictive pleasure in his tone, the servant shuddered, “Yes, I understand, I’ll obey…”
He quickly took the letter and left the room.
“Wait…” Ming Jin suddenly spoke.
The servant froze in his steps, nervously asking, “What else does the Young Master command?”
“What day is today?”
“Today…” The servant didn’t immediately understand Ming Jin’s meaning, as it wasn’t any special day.
Just as he was getting anxious, Ming Jin helpfully gave him a clue: “I think I heard some noise outside the street earlier…”
Marquis Ying’s residence occupied a large portion of the neighborhood, with a prime location at the back, offering a view of the Dengtai Tower.
“The noise earlier…” The servant realized and quickly answered, “That must have been the citizens seeing off the Xuanzhe Army out of the city.”
“The Xuanzhe Army, I see,” Ming Jin smiled. “No wonder. With Cui Jing leaving on imperial orders, there’s now one less person who can save that useless Chang family fool.”
The servant dared not respond.
“I heard at Dayun Temple that the Chang fool even made it into the Vanguard Camp of the Xuanzhe Army…” Ming Jin clicked his tongue. “He’s said to be outstanding, but didn’t he just get in thanks to his father’s connections?”
Who didn’t know that although Chang Kuo wasn’t in active service with the Xuanzhe Army now, his old connections still held weight? As someone who once led the Xuanzhe Army and was close to Cui Jing, getting his son into the Vanguard Camp wasn’t a difficult task.
At first, Ming Jin had been furious when he heard this. After all, why should Chang Sui’an be so lucky and well-regarded, while he himself was hurt and ridiculed? Why should Chang Sui’an have a bright future ahead of him?
But now, Ming Jin felt that suffocating resentment finally easing.
He laughed again. “What a pity. The person who should have been seen off by the citizens today, leaving with the Xuanzhe Army, is now stuck in a cold prison at the Ministry of Justice.”
“I wonder if he can hear the sounds of the Xuanzhe Army leaving the city while in that prison?” Ming Jin thoughtfully mused. “But then again, the Xuanzhe Army wouldn’t be passing by the Ministry of Justice, would they?”
At that moment, only a thousand soldiers from the Xuanzhe Army were leaving the city, with the main forces waiting to gather outside the city. These thousand were departing from the Xuanzhe mansion in the city. Among them, a small team of ten had split from the group, making their way to Xing Ning Alley and stopping at the front of the General of the Cavalry's mansion.
The soldiers were all armed, the sound of their armor and swords clashing as they moved with imposing presence.
The servants at the Chang residence were used to such scenes and were not intimidated. They politely ushered the men into the house.
Chang Suining heard the news and quickly went out to meet them in the front courtyard.
The leader of the group, a middle-aged man, cupped his hands and greeted her, “I am Yue Zong, and I have the honor of meeting the Young Lady.”
Chang Suining nodded in acknowledgment. She vaguely remembered the name, recalling that Yue Zong had once served as a vanguard under her father’s command, which likely explained his casual address.
“The imperial edict is clear, we must leave for the northern borders without delay,” Yue Zong said. “We are departing today, and it seems we can’t wait for the young lord any longer.”
Not wanting to speak further, Yue Zong had one of his subordinates step forward and present the items they had brought.
“These are the military uniform and insignia that the young lord is to wear,” Yue Zong explained. “The journey to the northern borders is long. If, by any chance, the young lord is freed, he can use this insignia to catch up with the army at a faster pace.”
Chang Suining extended her hands to accept the neatly folded and heavy armor and insignia, holding them against her chest. “Thank you, General Yue, for personally delivering these.”
Now, due to her brother’s involvement in the case, everyone in the capital was keeping their distance from the Chang family. Yet, the Xuanzhe Army had come to deliver the armor at the last moment and made such a promise.
Though no words were spoken about trust, every word was imbued with it—trust and an unspoken commitment not to abandon them.
“Please, generals, go ahead,” the young woman promised, still holding the armor. “My elder brother will arrive soon. He will not break his word.”
As their gazes met, Yue Zong thought he saw something familiar in her eyes. He couldn’t quite place what it was, but he couldn’t help feeling an inexplicable trust in her words. “Then we’ll wait for the young lord to return to the army.”
Chang Suining nodded. “The march is urgent, so I won’t keep the generals any longer. I wish you all a smooth journey and success in securing the northern borders, so you can return to the capital soon.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Lady,” Yue Zong said solemnly, raising his hand. “Please take care of yourself. We take our leave now.”
Chang Suining nodded and watched them leave.
Soon, the sound of hooves faded outside Xing Ning Alley.
Looking at the armor in her hands, Chang Suining held it for a moment before handing it to Xi’er. “Take care of it properly, and keep it safe for my elder brother’s return.”
Xi’er’s eyes unexpectedly grew misty. She nodded gravely, carefully taking the armor as if it were something precious.
…
“Has everyone left the capital?”
Inside her inner room, Chang Shi, the wife of Marquis Ying, was quietly asking a servant.
The servant nodded. “The army has already set off…”
Chang Shi breathed a sigh of relief, though a hint of a sarcastic smile appeared on her face. “They say he won’t marry anyone but you, yet now that the Chang family is in trouble, it didn’t delay Cui Jing’s departure. In the end, there’s not much difference between men…”
At this point, no one in the capital, including the Cui family, knew that Cui Jing had secretly left the city earlier. They all believed today was the day he was leading the army north.
“True,” Chang Shi continued, “The military situation is urgent, and the imperial orders cannot be defied. But... did he really send someone to the Chang family just to deliver armor?”
She had been secretly monitoring the movements in Xing Ning Alley, and Yue Zong and his group visiting the Chang residence had instinctively seemed like an order from Cui Jing.
“They were seen bringing the armor to the Chang family, but when they left, the items were no longer with them. Clearly, they went there specifically to deliver it…” The servant hesitated. “But what they said inside the Chang residence, I don’t know.”
The Chang family was not like others. Even a sixty-year-old servant, without his upper clothes, had the strength of iron arms, capable of killing a small thief with a single punch. Though they seemed careless and without discipline, they were all vigilant. It was said that if a servant took too long to relieve themselves at night, their companions would report it to the housekeeper the next day.
Because of this, it was nearly impossible to plant a spy or bribe someone into leaking information.
Even if they did manage to bribe one or two people, it was likely that they would be caught before they could do anything useful, and the situation could backfire, causing more harm than good. This was something Chang Shi had thoroughly understood when she once ordered an investigation into Chang Suining’s personal matters.
At that time, great effort was expended, but only one “leak” was found—the son of the late wet nurse, who had since died.
Those matters were no longer important, but now, because she wasn’t sure whether the Xuanzhe Army’s visit to the Chang family was truly authorized by Cui Jing, Chang Shi couldn’t shake her unease.
This wasn’t something she had planned. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision to frame Chang Sui'an for the mess her ungrateful son had created, and she had no choice but to put the blame on the Chang family.
Setting aside her long-held resentment and dissatisfaction with the Chang family, she had “evidence,” and the Chang family had a motive. What was even more coincidental was that Chang Kuo was not in the capital. The Chang family had no one to protect them. At such a critical moment, there was no better choice.
But a hasty, unconsidered plan could never be flawless, and there were many gaps to fill.
She had spent the past few days working hard to cover these gaps, but still couldn’t feel at ease.
This wasn’t going to be easy. From the beginning, Chang Shi had been prepared for this. After all, the person who had died was the legitimate daughter of the Changsun family, not some lowly courtesan or servant from within the house. To clean up the mess her son had caused, it wouldn’t be simple.
She wasn’t naive enough to think that a single jade pendant could cover up everything.
But with no other choice, she had come this far. There was no turning back now. Even if she stopped, it would be the end for her, so she had to continue scheming.
Now that Cui Jing had left, it was certainly a good thing, but who knew if he had left behind any instructions?
And then there were those closely connected with the Chang family, like Yu Zeng from the Palace Department. He probably wouldn’t sit idly by.
Despite her young age, Chang Suining was no fool either.
Sensing Chang Shi's anxiety, the servant cautiously asked, "Madam, should we do anything now?"
"Not yet, let's observe the situation first," Chang Shi replied, calming herself. "After tomorrow's trial at the Ministry of Justice, we'll see how things unfold before deciding on our next steps."
Even if it came to that, she still had one final escape route to choose.
But that route would be like cutting off her own tail... she wouldn't consider it unless absolutely necessary.
"Yes, Madam." The servant nodded, pausing before asking, "What about the matter with the Feng family girl? How do you plan to handle that?"
Miss Chang had sensed something was amiss when her son returned from the back mountain that day, and upon questioning, she learned the full extent of the trouble. Besides her son and the servant, there were others involved—specifically, accomplices.
Miss Chang glanced at a letter nearby and sneered. "She’s gone to such lengths to enter my Ming family... If I don’t fulfill her wishes now, it would make me seem heartless."
"I’ll write a reply myself. You can have someone send it later."
At such a critical moment, she might as well offer a little sweetness to test the waters. Once this matter was settled and the girl was in the Ming family, things could be handled as she saw fit.
Miss Chang smiled faintly.
She had spent most of her life controlling others—when had it ever been her turn to be controlled by some little girl? One annoying girl was already more than enough, and now, one after another, they were pushing their way into her life.
She was curious to see what these naĂŻve little girls were capable of.
Court of Judicature used the maid to grind ink and quickly wrote a reply, sending it to the Feng family.
When Feng Min received the letter, she couldn’t wait to open it. But as she read the contents, her smile slowly faded, replaced by a scowl of anger and embarrassment.
She clenched the edges of the letter and, biting her teeth, let out a furious, self-mocking laugh.
In a fit of frustration, she crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it hard.
The paper ball hit the half-drawn bamboo curtain and fell to the floor, rolling twice before stopping.
At that moment, the curtain was raised by a maid, and a figure in aubergine-colored robes entered.
Seeing the stern face of the woman, Feng Min froze. “...Grandmother? What are you doing here?”
She instinctively glanced at the crumpled paper and quickly stepped forward.
However, the maid beside Madam Jie was quicker, bending down to pick up the paper and hand it to the older woman.
“Grandmother, that’s...” Feng Min stepped forward and reached for the paper, but was slapped hard across the face by Grandmother Jie.
“Since returning from Dayun Temple, you’ve been distracted and making mistakes left and right. Now you even dare to snatch something from me... Where has your discipline gone?”
The slap stung fiercely, and the sharp reprimand left Feng Min speechless. She could only stand there, holding her cheek.
The letter was unfolded. Though wrinkled, the handwriting was still clear—so clear, in fact, that Madam Jie’s face quickly darkened.
With a questioning look, she turned to her granddaughter. "Why did Madam Ming suddenly make such a promise? Why does she want to betroth you as the heir's concubine?"
Feng Min suddenly looked up. "No! I don’t want to be a concubine!"
She wanted to be the Marquis’s heir’s wife, not just some secondary wife!
Madam Jie fixed her gaze on her. "I’m asking you, why did she send this reply? What exactly happened at Dayun Temple?"
Feng Min pressed her lips together, avoiding eye contact, her heart pounding in her chest.
Should she tell her grandmother?
But she had promised the Ming Jin that she wouldn’t speak of it to anyone. If she broke her promise…
No, it was the heir who broke his word first!
He had clearly promised to marry her, yet now he was only willing to take her as a concubine!
She gritted her teeth in frustration.
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