They already knew that Liancheng being taken to Wei Hong's residence was purely accidental, and not something he wanted to do.
Since it wasn't my choice to go, and now I have the chance to get out, wouldn't it be perfect to sneak away?
Liancheng didn't look up, his hands were constantly busy, but his lips moved almost imperceptibly. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Do you think I don't want to? That princess is very kind-hearted. She's worried that I'm deaf and mute and it'll be inconvenient for me. She has people watching me all the time. If I take even two steps away, someone will immediately follow me. Where do I want to run?"
It's been several days already? He might want to run away, but the problem is he has to actually be able to escape.
"What do we do now? What if the prince comes back sometime and recognizes you because he knows you so well?"
Liancheng was also troubled by this, frowning as he said, "He probably won't be back anytime soon, and... he probably won't recognize me? Didn't none of you recognize me back then?"
The servant smirked, "It's better to be safe than sorry. What if..."
"Alright," Liancheng interrupted, "If you can't think of a solution, stop talking nonsense. Do you think I like to stay there all the time?"
He waved the man away, preventing him from getting any closer.
He has an eccentric temper and doesn't like others getting close. He has already driven away several people in the past few days, but no one found it strange. They just glanced at this side and then ignored it.
Liancheng continued copying the simple accounts that he usually never had to look at, feeling extremely annoyed, when suddenly a dog barked beside him.
Yao Youqing brought the little cutie out. This dog had seen Liancheng before, and no one knew whether it recognized him or not. When it saw him in the yard, it would bark at him, and it still barked at him when they came out.
Liancheng was deaf, so naturally he "couldn't hear" the call and ignored it.
The little cutie yelled at him for a while, but when he ignored her, she ran away.
The light footsteps didn't go far, but stopped behind Liancheng. Liancheng, who was writing with his head down, frowned and tried his best to keep the veins on his forehead from throbbing.
Sure enough, he soon heard a splashing sound of water; that bastard had peed behind him again!
This wasn't the first time this stupid dog had peed at his feet; it almost always soaked his clothes. Yet, he pretended not to notice until someone pointed it out before he could feign surprise.
This time was no exception. After the stupid dog finished urinating and left, and after a long while when he was about to go back with Yao Youqing, someone noticed his clothes were wet with urine and patted him on the shoulder to remind him.
Yao Youqing naturally saw it too, apologized to him, and scolded the little cutie.
The little cutie opened its round eyes, and whether it understood or not, it let out a yelp and licked the hand that Yao Youqing had stretched out to point at its nose.
Liancheng secretly wished he could stew the dog and eat it, but he forced a smile and wrote with his pen and paper: It's alright, I'll just go back and change my clothes.
After writing, she handed the paper to Yao Youqing. Yao Youqing had only glanced at it when the little cutie suddenly grabbed a corner of the paper, bit it hard, and tore it to shreds with a hiss.
Liancheng: ...
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Half a month later, on a rainy night, Wei Hong, whom Liancheng thought would not be back for a while, suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate and returned to the backyard in the wind and rain.
Yao Youqing was fast asleep when she woke up to find his clothes soaked. Her joy at the sudden meeting vanished in an instant, and she sat up with a frown.
"Your Highness, why are you soaked like this? Quickly have someone prepare some hot water for you to soak in and warm yourself up. You can also have a bowl of ginger soup later."
He then instructed his servants to prepare, so that Wei Hong would not catch a cold.
The servant agreed and left. Soon the sound of water could be heard in the washroom, and the pool was soon filled with hot water.
Wei Hong held Yao Youqing in his arms, his wet clothes soaking her clothes as well. He rubbed his cheek against hers and murmured, "Ning'er, stay with me."
Without giving her a chance to refuse, he picked her up and carried her towards the washroom.
Despite claiming it was a bath, he pressed Yao Youqing against the pool and kissed her intimately for a long time. The sound of water splashing in the pool continued until about half an hour later. Even then, he didn't release the girl. Instead, he had her straddle his lap and occasionally moved her slightly, causing her to gasp and moan softly.
Yao Youqing lay weakly on his shoulder, her face flushed.
"Why did Your Highness suddenly come back again this time?"
As Wei Hong kissed her, he whispered, "I figured I could come back when I thought it was time, so I did."
These words failed to fool Yao Youqing. She stood up slightly and looked directly at him.
Something happened, didn't it?
"...No, I just missed you, so..."
“Your Highness,” Yao Youqing interrupted, “you are not the kind of person who would easily abandon the war and return for something like this, especially since you already used this reason last month.”
For two consecutive months, Wei Hong would not have rushed back from the border where the war was urgent, simply because he missed her.
Wei Hong was slightly taken aback, then pulled her into his arms again.
"It's nothing major, it's just that... the Southern Yan army is launching a large-scale invasion, and Ziyi's side... may not be able to hold out for much longer."
Yao Youqing's eyes widened immediately: "Isn't this a big deal?"
Wei Hong quickly patted her back gently: "Ziyi is not in Shuozhou now. When I said he couldn't hold out for long, I meant the place he is currently guarding. If he really encounters any trouble in the future, he can retreat back to Shuozhou and everything will be fine."
"But... now the cities he's guarding are probably about to fall into the hands of the Yan people, and I still feel uneasy about it."
Even if it wasn't the place he was guarding, it was still part of the Great Liang territory.
Moreover, with the Tiger Head Stronghold line surrounded, the defense line of Shuozhou has shrunk considerably, which is also disadvantageous for him.
Yao Youqing frowned slightly: "Isn't there any other way to defend that place?"
Wei Hong shook his head: "My forces are limited, and we can't afford to waste them all there. If the imperial army could be put to use, we could give it a shot, but..."
He gave a wry smile and shook his head again.
If the imperial court had not deliberately indulged them, how could things have come to this?
Wei Chi, that bastard, has probably gone mad. Seeing that he had been besieged for months without suffering any fatal blows, he became increasingly unrestrained towards Nan Yan, which led to an influx of more and more Nan Yan troops, who were about to force Zi Yi and the others to retreat.
"If we could find Liancheng, then Nanyan would be no threat, and I could focus on dealing with Dajin."
At most, there will be another imperial court, but the imperial court will never initiate a war against him unless there is a suitable opportunity.
Yao Youqing was puzzled: "Why would finding Young Master Lian solve the problem of Southern Yan?"
All she knew was that Liancheng was a merchant traveling between Southern Yan and Daliang, but she didn't know his true identity.
Wei Hong didn't want her to know that he controlled the entire Shuozhou and even had dealings with the princes of Nanyan, fearing that she would think he had deceived her and that he really had the intention to rebel, just as her father had said.
But recently he had tentatively brought up the matter of Shuozhou with her several times, and she didn't seem too resistant, so now he boldly brought it up.
"Liancheng's surname is not actually Lian, but Qi. He is the third prince of Southern Yan."
Yao Youqing was startled and remained silent for a long time. Many past events flashed through her mind, and she finally understood them.
"I see. I was wondering... I was wondering how he could be so bold as to provoke the prince again and again."
It turns out that it wasn't just because he had a good relationship with the prince, but also because of his status, which made him fearless.
"Where is he now?"
After regaining her senses, Yao Youqing asked.
Wei Hong shook his head: "I don't know, he might be dead."
He had someone investigate, and it turned out that Southern Yan does indeed have a third prince, but it wasn't the one he knew.
His subordinates had met Liancheng once on the border of Southern Yan. Liancheng had jokingly asked them to help escort him back to the capital, but of course no one took it seriously at the time.
Shortly after that, people in the capital of Southern Yan also wrote to him saying that they had seen Liancheng.
Judging by the timeline, even if Liancheng could fly, it would be impossible for him to fly back to the capital from the border in such a short period of time.
But Wei Hong's own subordinates wouldn't lie to him, so there were two Liancheng in Southern Yan...
Wei Hong immediately guessed that the child who was rumored to have drowned many years ago had not died and had taken Liancheng's place. He also guessed why Liancheng had been hunted down some time ago.
But even if he guessed it, it was useless; it was Nan Yan's own business, and he couldn't interfere.
After that, he completely lost contact with Liancheng and could no longer find him.
There are two possible reasons why we can't find him: one is that he is dead, murdered by his parents or brothers.
Secondly... he faked his death and used a fake one to act in his place.
Between the two, Wei Hong would rather he were really dead.
Although Yao Youqing didn't know about the twins, he could sense that Wei Hong was in a very bad mood when he returned.
She rested her head on his shoulder, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how to start, so she simply nuzzled her head gently against his neck.
Wei Hong held the cat-like person in his arms, gently kissing her ears and neck, then following her cheeks to find her soft lips.
The water in the pool began to slosh around again until it cooled down. Only then did he carry the girl out of the pool and back to the bed.
The passionate lovemaking that had just begun did not stop, and only after a long time did it cease as the sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided...
The author has something to say: [Note 1]: "The king of the four kings established virtue and shared the same desires"—from: "Qi Guo Zuo Bu Hui Ming" (The Assistant of Qi State Did Not Disgrace His Mission).
Chapter 95 Back View
The night rain made the weather cool and comfortable. Liancheng slept in late, which was rare for him. The next day, he tossed and turned in bed, waking up and falling asleep repeatedly, until almost noon when he finally stretched and slowly got up.
In the past, Yao Youqing would go to the porridge stall every noon to eat porridge with the refugees. He guessed that they should be leaving soon, so he tidied up and waited in the house.
But after waiting and waiting, no one came, so he got up and went outside to take a look.
Someone outside was carrying a food box and was about to come in. When he opened the door, the person shoved the food box into his hand and said, "Your Highness returned last night. The Princess Consort will probably go to the porridge stall a little later today. Eat something first, and we'll call you when we go out."
After saying that, she turned around and left without caring whether he could hear her or not.
As long as he gets food and doesn't go hungry, that's fine. As for when they go out, they all have to listen to the prince and princess. Whether he can hear them or not is not important. They just need to follow them when they go out.
Liancheng stood frozen in place for a long time, clutching the food box in his hands.
Fortunately, everyone in the courtyard had gone to eat, and no one noticed him. He stood there for a moment before turning around and going back into the house.
After entering, he casually closed the door, sat down at the table, put down the food box, and leaned on the table, gritting his teeth and pounding the table a few times.
He said yesterday that the King of Qin wouldn't be back for a while, but he's back today!
Is God deliberately working against him?
Liancheng felt utterly hopeless and barely ate any lunch. He just hoped he wouldn't have to see Wei Hong again. If he did, he hoped he wouldn't be recognized, otherwise Wei Hong would probably beat him to death.
After finishing his meal, he returned the food box and dishes to the kitchen and went back to his room to wait. He waited until evening, when the porridge stall was about to serve the last porridge of the day, before someone came to call him to go out.
Fortunately, he was in a servant's carriage, while Wei Hong and Yao Youqing rode in a separate carriage and didn't even glance at him before arriving at the soup kitchen.
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