Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Contempt At the Duke of Dingguo's residence. The Duke of Dingguo and Madam Qin had just finished arguing. Both were silent. Of the men the Duke had sent to find his son, two had been killed, and when the third managed to escape and return, he learned that Madam Qin was behind the brutal act. "I don't understand. You'd rather let someone with no relation to either of us inherit the Duke's estate than let my son inherit it." The Duke's words were filled with helplessness. "When my son returns, he'll call you Mother as well. He'll be your son too." "My son? Do you think that's possible?" Madam Qin couldn't swallow this indignity. "Tell me, what have I done wrong to you all these years? And yet you kept a concubine in a hidden residence to spite me!" "You made me childless, and you still claim to have done right by me?" The Duke had lost his patience. "I'm telling you, on the grounds of jealousy alone, I could divorce you!" "You want to divorce me?" Madam Qin stood up in disbelief. "You're saying you want to divorce me?" Madam Qin let out two bitter laughs. "Heaven has no eyes. What was your family's standing back then, and what glory did my Qin family hold? My father and mother married me to you, supported you to where you are today, and now you want to divorce me?" Madam Qin felt she had been blind her entire life, having followed a worthless man and spent most of her years in a loveless, passionless existence. "Yes, I did receive favors from your father. If not for that, I would have divorced you long ago! All these years, I've given you the dignity you wanted. I have done nothing to wrong you." The Duke spoke harshly. "Anyway, I'm telling you, the adoption is out of the question. We must first find my son. If I catch you again, I will personally send you back to the Qin family!" Madam Qin smashed her teacup, completely abandoning the composure expected of a noble lady, and shrieked like a madwoman, "Even if you find your son, I'll make sure he dies! I'm telling you, as long as I'm alive, you will never find that bastard!" The Duke knew Madam Qin well. He immediately summoned his guards. "The Duchess is ill. From now on, no one from her courtyard is allowed to step outside. Meals are to be delivered at set times, and she is not permitted to see anyone else!" The Duke had made up his mind—he had to find his son. In this lifetime, he had struggled to reach the first rank of officialdom. If he had no children to carry on the family line, how could he face his ancestors? The Duke simply pretended not to hear Madam Qin's curses. In his eyes, she had become nothing but a jealous shrew. Returning to the front courtyard, the Duke summoned his attendant. "Weren't there leads in Yi County? What's the latest?" "Your Grace, the young master did beg in Yi County for a few days. Later, he was driven away by the local beggars and left Yi County—his whereabouts are now unknown." "Since there are leads, then search outward from Yi County, place by place. Someone must have seen my son." The Duke took a deep breath. "I have failed his mother and him. Ah, go quickly. You must find him as soon as possible." Otherwise, the clan would keep pressing him to adopt an heir, and with time, he wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure. After the attendant left, the Duke felt restless and thought of finding a friend or two to drink and chat with. He rode to the Qian residence and learned that Xie Yunting was also there, so he immediately asked someone to show him the way. By this time, in the back courtyard of the Qian residence, the physician had already given his diagnosis. "Young Master Qian is indeed poisoned. This type of poison is typically a dye used in small workshops, but at normal dosages, it wouldn't cause poisoning to this degree." Xie Yunting asked, "For it to reach this state, it would have to exceed the normal amount used in dyeing cloth?" The physician confirmed, "Normal dyeing wouldn't require such a large quantity." Xie Yunting went to see Qian Jin. He was a man who had weathered countless battles, with more lives on his hands than could be counted. A single look from him was filled with killing intent. Qian Jin instinctively trembled, but having served as an official for many years, he wasn't so easily intimidated. "Then we should ask Cui Zeyu where he got that poisoned cloth!" Qian Jin said angrily. "And the cloth?" Xie Yunting asked. "It's already been sent to the prefectural office. Why would I keep something so harmful?" Qian Jin replied. "That's reasonable." Xie Yunting took in the situation. "Master Qian, my coming here today means I will see this matter through to the end. No one can bully my brother. I will trace the source of that cloth to the very bottom." Xie Yunting was about to leave with the physician when they happened to run into the Duke of Dingguo in the courtyard. As fellow military officers, Xie Yunting held some respect for the Duke and bowed in greeting first. Seeing that Xie Yunting had brought a physician, the Duke asked what was going on. Qian Jin was about to speak, but Xie Yunting explained first. "That's roughly the situation. A life is on the line, so I had to bring someone to take a look." "A mere merchant isn't worth all this trouble." As an elder who had been through it all, the Duke couldn't help but offer advice to the young and promising military officer. "Yunting, you are a rising star at court, favored by the Emperor. I acknowledge your abilities. But you must not stray from the proper path. You should associate with respectable people, not lower yourself to calling merchants your brothers!" Xie Yunting did not appreciate those words. "Merchants are people too. They earn their living through their own skills—how are they inferior to anyone else?" Xie Yunting, who had kept his head lowered, now met the Duke's gaze directly. "Moreover, if a merchant has been wronged, should they not be able to seek justice?" He pointed at himself. "Duke of Guo, before I became a general, I was no better than a street thug. I didn't come from a good background either, but in all my life, Xie Yunting has never done a single wicked thing against my conscience!" He had never cared about face, nor was he ashamed to mention his past. Xie Yunting still called his old friends brothers, and every year he sent money to the old woman who had once given him leftover food. In how he conducted himself, Xie Yunting had indeed robbed and plundered, but only from those who were unjust—he had never once betrayed his conscience! But Duke of Dingguo could not understand Xie Yunting's words. In his view, merchants were driven purely by profit, reeking of copper from the marrow of their bones—base and unfit for proper society. "You—" "Enough, Duke of Guo. You and I have nothing in common to discuss, no need to say more." Xie Yunting turned and left. Even if the man was someone he ordinarily respected, when their values differed, he would never resort to flattery. Qian Jin watched Xie Yunting's retreating figure and sneered, "That Xie Yunting is the most arrogant, looking down on everyone. Look at him—when the government office is clearly handling the case, he insists on bringing a physician to take a pulse. When I wouldn't let him in, he started making a scene. A ruffian is a ruffian, destined to be nothing but lowborn scum!" Then Qian Jin asked Duke of Dingguo why he had come. Duke of Dingguo couldn't tell anyone about his concubine's hidden residence, so he could only say he was troubled and had come to drink with Qian Jin. Qian Jin was also agitated, so the two agreed to go to Fan Tower. When they arrived at Fan Tower, Qian Jin was about to sit down when he spotted his third brother sitting with someone. Drawing closer, he recognized Song Shulan and stepped forward to greet him. Song Shulan saw Qian Jin arrive and quickly called for him to sit down. "Lord Qian, you've come at just the right time. I have an impertinent request—might I ask you to show leniency?" "You're not here about Cui Zeyu too, are you?" Qian Jin asked. "Too?" Song Shulan immediately thought of Xie Yunting, his brow furrowing, but he didn't refute it. Qian Jin was now confused. Princess Rongjia had asked his sister to deal with Cui Zeyu, and now Song Shulan had come to his third brother to mediate. Sure enough, a couple married later in life never truly share one heart. Qian Jin silently mused to himself, then darkened his face. "Marquis Song, my son might lose his life. How can you expect me to forgive?" Song Shulan thought to himself, if his son were dying, would he still be here drinking? It seemed that the concubine-born son of the Qian family wasn't in such serious condition after all. He despised Cui Zeyu, but he didn't want Cui Lingrong to grow increasingly distant from him—after all, those seventy thousand taels of silver, he truly couldn't produce them. Just as Song Shulan was about to speak, Duke of Dingguo spoke first. "Foolish. You're all foolish. He's nothing but a merchant—why would each of you lower yourselves to beg favors on his behalf?"