"Rong'er, Rong'er."
Deep into the night, a figure appeared outside the room of Qin Xiaorong, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jinyang. The maids and servants guarding the door were all knocked unconscious. The person, hiding from sight, slowly entered the room and stood by Qin Xiaorong's bed, gently calling her name.
Qin Xiaorong woke up with a start, instantly drawing the dagger hidden beneath her pillow.
"Rong'er, it's me."
The person gripped Qin Xiaorong's hand. In the moonlight, Qin Xiaorong saw a pair of eyes as gentle as water. It was him!
Qin Xiaorong's eyes immediately turned red. She looked at the man before her, then suddenly wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, "Go away, go away, I don't want to see you again!"
Her voice, choked with sobs, came from beneath the quilt. The man, through the quilt, pulled Qin Xiaorong into his arms and comforted her in a low voice, "It's okay, Rong'er, it's okay. I know you're not that kind of girl. There must be a problem here, and it's not your fault. I don't blame you. In my heart, you are the best girl."
His sincere attitude made Qin Xiaorong sob quietly. This version of him made her feel even more unworthy.
Her voice, muffled by the quilt, quivered, "But I, I'm about to marry that scoundrel Zou Yunming. That scoundrel, that scoundrel, in order to marry me, actually, she, she..."
Qin Xiaorong heard that the final outcome, leading to a marriage alliance between the two families instead of Zou Yunming's imprisonment, was due to a third person who appeared that day. Because of that person, both her aunt and their marquisate had to grudgingly accept the narrative of her and Zou Yunming being in love, otherwise, she would be considered shameless and promiscuous.
If not for the fact that she was already pregnant, she would have surely dashed her head against a pillar.
"I know, I know it all, Rong'er, don't worry, I will definitely not let Zou Yunming off the hook. You wait, just you wait!"
A bloodthirsty red light flickered in the man's eyes.
Qin Xiaorong suddenly burst out from under the quilt, grabbing the man's waist and burying her head in his chest, crying, "Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, take me away! Let's elope, let's leave this place, I... we..."
The man held Qin Xiaorong tightly in his arms, enduring the pain as he said, "Rong'er, I really want to take you away, just leave with you. But I can't. You are already carrying my child. If we elope and something happens to you, how could I bear it?"
"Rong'er, endure it, just a little longer. It's perfect that you marry him, it can give our child a proper status. When the baby is born, I will help you kill Zou Yunming, and then the Zou family will be yours and mine!"
"Okay, Brother Zhang, I'll listen to you, I'll listen to you!"
The man held Qin Xiaorong in his arms, feeling the warmth of her body, and a surge of desire rushed through him.
Qin Xiaorong's face instantly turned red. She looked up at his face, shyly lowering her head, and said softly, "I, I can't right now... but, but I can..." Qin Xiaorong bit her lip.
The man's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head to kiss Qin Xiaorong's lips.
...
In the latter half of the night, in the east of the capital.
"How did it go?"
After the man left the Marquis of Jinyang's residence, he slipped into an alley and, after a series of turns, arrived at a luxurious villa. A person wearing a black mask emerged from the villa and asked curtly.
The man sneered, "She's a brainless idiot. Don't worry, I've appeased her. She will obediently marry into the Zou family. When the child is born, we'll keep the child and discard the mother."
Then, as if thinking of something, he gritted his teeth and said, "A child born in Yin hour, Yin day, and Yin month, I don't believe I can't find a replacement medicinal ingredient for that child."
"That child..."
Upon mentioning that child, the masked man also felt immense resentment. "That old bastard Poison Elder, even at the end, he had to meddle. Now Medicine King Valley dares not return. Heh, he was wise, otherwise, that child would have been found long ago."
"Enough, stop complaining. A message has arrived from above, stating that the old man accompanying the formerly famous Feng Luan of Quanzhou is suspected to be Poison Elder. If that's the case, Poison Elder is very likely in the capital."
"They want us to keep a close watch. If he is in the capital, then we won't have to search everywhere for someone to give birth to a child in Yin hour, Yin day, and Yin month."
"Understood. Besides Qin Xiaorong, you must also pay attention to the other few individuals. Cast a wide net and diligently fish."
The man snorted coldly and couldn't help but curse, "It's easy for you to say, since you're not the one doing the work."
The masked man chuckled, "You get to enjoy yourself, and you still have so much to say."
The man burst into laughter.
...
The matter of Qin Xiaorong and Zou Yunming was soon forgotten by everyone. As the year drew to a close, various residences were preparing for the year-end hunt and the year-end sacrifices.
The year-end hunt was an annual celebration held by the Lin Yuan Kingdom.
In the deep winter months, they would not hunt in the mountains but would purchase game and release it into the mountains for people to hunt. The person who achieved the top honor each time would receive rewards from the emperor. However, compared to the year-end hunt, the year-end sacrifice was even more important.
Only this year, there were some slight differences.
A few years prior, the Lin Yuan Kingdom had waged war against Da Li. After Ji Jinmo led the Demon Hunting Army to annihilate Da Li's imperial army, Da Li, to appease the Lin Yuan Kingdom's anger, not only ceded territory and paid reparations but also agreed that upon Ji Hong's assumption of the imperial seal, a princess would be sent for a marriage alliance.
The object of the marriage alliance, naturally, would be decided by the emperor.
However, the princess of Da Li was not welcome in the Lin Yuan Kingdom. Not to mention imperial relatives, even the young men from princely and noble families were unwilling to marry her.
But whether they were willing or not, Da Li had fulfilled its promise and sent the person.
Just before the year-end hunt.
The princess of Da Li had already entered the capital. As the princess came for a marriage alliance, she should have been greeted by a prince. However, the Lin Yuan Kingdom only had two princes.
One was the aged Prince Gong, and the other was the powerful Regent, Ji Jinmo. Whichever of them greeted the princess would have been inappropriate.
Therefore, Qin Yuanyi, the eldest legitimate son of the Marquis of Jinyang, represented the Lin Yuan Kingdom in receiving the princess and envoys of the Da Li Kingdom.
Kyoto's Imperial Post Station.
"Princess, this Lin Yuan Kingdom is simply too much." A maid dressed in colorful attire, distinctly different from the clothes of the Lin Yuan Kingdom, said indignantly.
Their princess had traveled from afar, only to be received by the eldest legitimate son of a marquisate, who had no official merit. Did this Lin Yuan Kingdom understand protocol? The person receiving envoys from another country should be of a higher rank than the envoy. This meant that for their princess's arrival, the Crown Prince should have been the greeter. However, the Lin Yuan emperor was young and had no Crown Prince, so a prince should have been the greeter.
In other words, the Regent Ji Jinmo should have been the one to welcome their princess.
The princess sitting in the chair raised her head slightly and reached up to remove the gem-encrusted headscarf wrapped around her head. Her face showed no signs of displeasure; in fact, she smiled and comforted her maid, "Baolan, why are you angry? If you're going to get angry now, there will be plenty for you to be angry about later."
"Don't forget, we are here for a marriage alliance. Da Li sent me to them to quell Lin Yuan's anger. This means if they respect me, I am the princess of Da Li. If they don't respect me, I am just a spoil of war, a spoil of war, what need do I have for joy or sorrow?"