CMWKSD -Chapter 118 Let’s Have a Fight

Jiu Yue actually wanted to be very bold and simply fling out the silver notes.

But that would very likely offend someone again, so she was stopped by Ji Yiqing, who coaxed and cajoled her into holding back.

At this moment, Prince Ling’s eyes were practically shining—these were things brought out by a family devoted to farming and study.

Even if Ling Mo wasn’t taking the imperial examinations, it could never hurt to read more.

“Where are they? Let this prince have a look.”

Ji Yiqing hurriedly stood up and opened the largest chest.

When he saw a whole chest filled to the brim with books—

Even Princess Consort Ling, the eldest legitimate daughter of a prestigious scholarly family and herself well-read, couldn’t help but feel admiration for the Ji brothers.

For villagers, studying was no easy thing—especially for families like the Ji family, who made their living by farming.

Yet not only had the brothers obtained the rank of juren, there were also two tongsheng in the household.

Both brothers had participated in this spring examination as well. Seeing how calm and composed they looked—

Could it be that they were already confident about the results of the spring exams too?

Prince Ling laughed heartily. “Excellent! These truly hit this prince right in the heart. I’ll shamelessly accept them, then.”

As he spoke, the sound of rapid footsteps came from outside.

Not long after, a person with bandages wrapped around his face and hands was led in.

“Father, I heard the servants say that the lady from that day on the street has come to the residence to offer an apology?”

Seeing Ling Mo covered in injuries—

General Shen and Shen Zongnian, along with the Ji brothers, all fell into an awkward silence.

Back then, no one said it was this serious, did they?

No—General Shen suddenly remembered that he had seen Ling Mo on the street a couple of days ago.

At that time, aside from some injuries on his face, it wasn’t this bad at all.

So this was…

The moment Prince Ling saw his troublesome son in that miserable state, he felt even more distressed.

Seeing the looks on the Shen father and son and the Ji brothers’ faces, he quickly said, “These aren’t the injuries from that day.”

Ji Yiqing let out a long breath—good, so it wasn’t. Back then, Jiu Yue had said it wasn’t serious.

At the same time, General Shen and the others also sighed in relief. Thankfully, this wasn’t Jiu Yue’s doing.

Otherwise, with injuries this severe, even Prince Ling wouldn’t be able to avoid holding a grudge—after all, this was his only son.

Prince Ling gritted his teeth and muttered again, “A few nights ago, somehow villains broke into the residence and injured Mo’er like this. Just when his wounds had finally healed, he’s ended up like this again.”

The Shen father and son: …

The Ji brothers: …

The Shen father and son—why does this whole situation feel strangely familiar?

Beaten up badly in the middle of the night—this…

General Shen was startled for a moment, then quickly recovered and said righteously, “What? Villains actually broke into the prince’s residence? What are the Five City Military Offices even doing? They still haven’t caught anyone?”

Princess Consort Ling wiped her tears. “Sigh, no. We don’t even know whom Mo’er offended. They came in the dead of night, without a trace when they left. The prince has been urging the Five City Military Offices and the Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate for days, but there hasn’t been the slightest clue.”

The Shen father and son—this sounds even more familiar. Came without a trace, left without a trace.

Isn’t that exactly like the night Jiu Yue sneaked into the general’s residence?

This… could it really not have been Jiu Yue?

The Shen father and son both felt a bit sorry for Ling Mo.

Admittedly, Ling Mo was in the wrong—teasing someone in public, and later letting it blow up until everyone knew.

If it were anyone else, they would certainly have said a thing or two.

But Ling Mo was the heir of Prince Ling, not an ordinary person.

Still, the Shen father and son couldn’t possibly expose Jiu Yue at this moment. After all, this beating was obviously quite severe.

Judging by Ling Mo’s condition, who knows how many days he’d been lying in bed.

Prince Ling’s brows hardened. “And you still have the nerve to speak. You’re useless and refuse to learn properly, picking up those vile habits—teasing people in the street. You deserved to be beaten!”

“They didn’t hold it against you, and even specially came to the residence to offer an apology. The Ji brothers even went to the trouble of organizing the books they read for the examinations, the essays they wrote, and so on, just to give them to you. Do you know how much effort that took?”

Ling Mo blinked, completely missing everything else—he only heard books and essays.

Lowering his head to look—

Good heavens.

This chest was big enough to stuff him into.

A whole chest packed full of books and essays—he could read until death!

Ling Mo couldn’t take it and staggered a step backward, bumping right into Ling Yue, who had arrived behind him.

Ling Yue had also gotten word that the lady from that day had come to the residence. She had long been itching with curiosity.

This time, she had deliberately changed into a set of convenient clothes. At a glance, she spotted Jiu Yue standing in the hall.

She lifted her chin arrogantly and looked at Jiu Yue. “You’re the little lady who beat my younger brother until his face was bruised and swollen?”

Jiu Yue frowned slightly, her hand behind her back slowly clenching into a fist. This damned, imperial-power-first feudal society.

Ji Yiqing quietly stepped in front of Jiu Yue. Whatever happened, he couldn’t let anyone see Jiu Yue when she got angry—

Especially not let Prince Ling and the others discover it.

Prince Ling’s face sank. “Yue’er, how can you speak like that? She came today to offer an apology and showed your brother ample sincerity. This matter was your brother’s fault to begin with. Speaking like this—are you trying to aid wrongdoing?”

Prince Ling and his consort didn’t have many children, and they had always believed that indulging a child was tantamount to killing them. In truth, the Ling children’s character was genuinely quite good.

Though they didn’t like studying, compared with the children of powerful nobles in the capital, they were practically a breath of fresh air.

They didn’t treat human lives like dirt, didn’t commit crimes, didn’t bully others by relying on their status, and didn’t casually beat or humiliate common folk.

Ling Yue pursed her lips slightly. “Father, I didn’t mean it that way. I just feel that I get along with this little lady. You know me—I’ve always liked wielding blades and clubs. Among the noble ladies of the capital, who’s there that can actually play with me?”

Prince Ling opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Ling Yue’s reputation really wasn’t great—arrogant, domineering, fond of weapons. The noble ladies of the capital, mindful of their status, might maintain a surface friendship with Ling Yue, but that was only because of her title as a county princess. She had no true boudoir friends.

They feared that getting too close to Ling Yue would make people think they were also crude like her, and that would ruin their chances of finding a good marriage.

Seeing Prince Ling fall silent, Ling Yue took a few quick steps and ran up to Jiu Yue. “Let’s have a fight. If you beat me, the matter of you hitting my brother will be written off completely. But as for my brother teasing you with his words that day—whether you win or lose, he still owes you an apology.”

Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow. The Ling family really was very different from the princes she’d read about in books.

This wasn’t Jiu Yue’s fault—she had no particular political sensitivity.

In truth, Prince Ling lived a very stifled life. Of the four princes of non-imperial blood who had been enfeoffed at the founding of the dynasty, only Prince Ling remained today.

Every move the Ling family made was watched. One misstep, and it would be utter ruin.

So although they appeared supremely honored, in reality, in this capital they could truly be said to tread on thin ice.

They constantly feared that a single lapse would turn into some grave offense, reported to Emperor Fengyuan.

Especially now, when times were even more turbulent—the emperor’s health was worsening, the crown prince had no heir, and the second prince was rising rapidly. In court, there was already a faint wind of opinion using the crown prince’s lack of heirs to push Emperor Fengyuan to depose him and establish the second prince instead.

Prince Ling, as a prince of non-imperial blood whose ancestors had followed the founding emperor to build the Great Qi dynasty, had now become an object of contention and pursuit.

Difficult—truly difficult!