MFURCC -Chapter 24 Supporting the Third Branch

The brightness in the Duke’s eyes instantly dimmed.

He had almost forgotten that…

Liuzheng did not represent only herself—she also represented the entire Chang Sui Army.

After coming back to his senses, the Duke quickly bowed his head. “Your Highness, that was not my intention.”

Prince Su raised a brow. “Of course I know you didn’t mean it that way, Cousin. But you must think this through carefully. Leaving aside whether General Ruan would even be willing to give up her promising future to marry, just consider His Majesty’s stance… You’ll need to think very carefully about how to get past that hurdle.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I will give it thorough consideration.”

Thorough consideration—not abandoning the idea altogether.

Prince Su chuckled softly. “Go on. Aunt is still waiting for you.”

“Yes.”

The Duke of Wei bowed and stepped back several paces before turning to leave.

When he returned to the upstairs room, his wife, Madam An, had already awakened.

The servants had reported to her that a mudslide had erupted on the mountain, swallowing the entire estate.

Thinking back to how she had initially refused to descend the mountain in the rain, she felt a chill of fear down her spine. She had just changed clothes with the help of her maid.

When she saw the Duke, she grasped his hand. If one listened closely, her voice still trembled.

“My lord, the estate was buried by a mudslide…”

The Duke pulled her into his arms.

The maids in the room were long accustomed to the couple’s affection and kept their eyes respectfully lowered.

“It’s over now,” the Duke said gently. “You’re safe. The imperial physician said both you and our daughter are fine. There’s no need to be afraid.”

At the mention of the child, Madam An relaxed somewhat.

She stroked her belly.

“Though the physician said it appears to be a girl, it’s not certain. He could be mistaken…”

“It must be a daughter. We both want a daughter—so it can only be a daughter.”

She laughed softly. “Since when are you so domineering?”

The Duke smiled, helped her sit properly, and placed an embroidered cushion behind her back.

“How are you feeling now? Does your stomach still hurt?”

She shook her head. “No more pain. I’m just still shaken.”

She brought up Liuzheng.

“Thanks to that young gentleman who came to deliver the message, our child and I escaped disaster. We must thank him properly.”

The Duke’s smile deepened.

“You’re mistaken. That wasn’t a young gentleman—it was a young lady.”

“The gatekeeper said it was a young man surnamed Ruan.”

“She changed into men’s clothing for convenience. Do you know who she is?”

“They said she was from the Ruan family, but I don’t know which one.”

“She is the very female general the entire capital has been discussing lately—General Zhaoyong.”

Madam An looked up in astonishment. “It was her?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll remember this. When we return to the capital, we’ll send her an invitation. I want to thank her properly.”

“As you wish.”

Madam An then thought of her sons, Wei Ranfeng and Wei Ranshuo.

“After today’s ordeal, I miss them terribly. When we return to the capital, could you petition His Majesty to allow them to come back?”

“I’ve received word that Ranshuo is already on his way back to the capital. Ranfeng must wait until the peace negotiations are fully concluded before returning.”

Wei Ranfeng was responsible for negotiating peace with the enemy state.

Though Great Jin had won a decisive victory, the war had dragged on for too many years, leaving the national treasury severely depleted. The empire could not afford further strain.

Peace negotiations were not simply a matter of shaking hands; many detailed terms had to be discussed.

“His Majesty gave Ranfeng this opportunity because he values him.”

“I know…” Madam An sighed.

“Enough. I’ll rest with you.”

“Mm.”

The two lay down together in each other’s arms. The maids lowered the curtains and quietly withdrew.

Someone whispered to Nanny Chen.

“She’s been beaten to death.”

“What?”

“She was greedy for merit and wanted to show off. Not knowing the mudslide had truly come, she stormed off to settle accounts with their benefactor. The Duke caught her red-handed and had her dragged out and beaten to death.”

“Tsk, serves her right! Madam was still in danger, and instead of attending to her, she went to seek trouble.”

“Exactly. She packed the trunks when we descended the mountain. When she left, I couldn’t even find Madam’s nightclothes. Madam almost caught a chill.”

“Serves her right.”

Whenever that nanny was mentioned, everyone gritted their teeth in resentment. She had always been overbearing; no one pitied her.

“Remember—don’t tell Madam. It’s inauspicious for a pregnant woman to hear about killings.”

“Don’t worry. We know.”

On the other side, after the Duke left and the door closed, Prince Su glanced toward the inner chamber and said expressionlessly, “Are you coming out, or must I drag you out?”

No sooner had he spoken than Shen He’an, dressed in a russet robe, stepped out.

“When did you realize I was following you?”

He had taken great pains to hide along the way, afraid of being discovered.

After Prince Su ascended the mountain, he had refused to follow further, unwilling to dirty his new boots in the muddy road.

“From the moment I left the city gates.”

Shen He’an’s face darkened. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

He had thought his tracking skills had improved and had been quite proud of himself.

Turns out Prince Su had known from the beginning and had been toying with him like a monkey.

Prince Su shot him a cold look. “I told you to remain in the capital. Did my words go in one ear and out the other?”

Shen He’an chuckled and edged closer. “Aren’t you curious too?”

Prince Su’s voice was indifferent. “The only curious one here is you.”

“Stop pretending.” Shen He’an waggled his brows. “If you truly had no interest in her, why come in person? And why extinguish the Duke’s thought of proposing marriage at the General’s residence?”

Prince Su felt a trace of difficulty.

Shen He’an knew him too well. A careless slip could expose too much.

After weighing his words, Prince Su spoke coolly, “Anyone with eyes can see the Duke of Wei is aligned with us. Ruan Liuzheng is at the height of her fame; both His Majesty and the court are watching her. If the Duke proposed marriage now, do you think His Majesty wouldn’t grow suspicious? As for why I came personally… I simply worried my subordinates might mishandle things. If we intend to win her over, we must show sincerity.”

“No need to explain. I can see it—you treat her differently from others. You can barely tolerate glancing at other women.”

Prince Su met Shen He’an’s gaze, his eyes sharp beneath their calm surface.

“I have never regarded her as a woman.”

Shen He’an blinked. “Then what do you regard her as?”

“Either a talent I can use… or an opponent who must be uprooted entirely.”

The chill in his tone sent a shiver down Shen He’an’s spine.

Seeing the darkness in Prince Su’s eyes, Shen He’an dared not speculate further.

His desire to watch the drama dissipated.

“I thought this iron tree of yours was finally about to bloom.”

“A man should establish his career before building a household. I’m not anxious—why are you?”

“I’m doing this for you! Your former consort died on your wedding night. People keep chewing over that matter. Only by taking a new consort can you bury the past.”

“With a new consort, they would bring up the old matter even more.”

“Aren’t you afraid His Majesty will simply arrange a marriage for you? If he bestows someone upon you and she dies too, that would stir up another storm. Would you be pleased then?”

Prince Su shot him a glare.

Shen He’an pursed his lips and fell silent.

This man—far too dull.

Sometimes he hardly seemed alive at all.

Shen He’an only wanted him to have a bit more humanity, which was why he was so invested in finding him a consort.

Ah well.

Why was he worrying more than the emperor?

“Commander He! Commander He!”

Shen He’an pushed open the door and stepped outside, startling Commander He.

“Heir—why are you here?”

At last, Shen He’an smiled.

See? This was the proper reaction!

Unlike Prince Su, who opened with “Are you coming out or not?”

Quite damaging to one’s self-esteem.

“Prepare a room for me. I’ve been traveling for days—I want to bathe, change clothes, and have a good rest.”

Commander He glanced inside. Seeing no reaction from Prince Su, he quickly responded, “Yes!”

Liuzheng helped her grandmother back to her room.

As soon as her grandmother sat down, Liuzheng knelt.

“I nearly caused Grandmother to fall into danger. I deserve death!”

She knew her grandmother had been terribly frightened and felt deeply guilty.

Her grandmother hurriedly pulled her up.

“Silly child, how could you deserve death? You clearly saved our entire family. You are our lucky star. Never say such things again. As for the matter with the Duke of Wei, let us treat it as though it never happened. None of us will mention it again.”

“Thank you, Grandmother.”

Just then, Third Madam Shao hurried in. After bowing, she spoke anxiously, “Mother, something’s wrong. Second Master and his household insist on returning to the capital immediately. I cannot stop them.”

The old lady frowned.

“Why are they so eager to leave?”

They hadn’t even informed her.

Utterly unfilial.

But they were outside the capital, and walls had ears. Suppressing her anger, she asked, “Do you know the reason?”

“I don’t. But their expressions were very unpleasant.”

“Forget it. Let them do as they please.”

The old lady had been frightened and was exhausted. She had no energy to concern herself with the Second Branch.

“Yes…”

Third Madam bowed and withdrew.

Liuzheng waited on the old lady through dinner and only left after she had fallen asleep.

Instead of returning directly to her own room, she went to the Third Madam’s quarters.

It was her third uncle who opened the door.

Among the three branches of the Ruan family, the Second Branch managed the family shops, while the Third Branch oversaw the farmland and estates.

There was always much to do on the estates, often requiring personal supervision.

Her third uncle was an honest man. During the autumn harvest, he would even work in the fields himself.

His complexion was therefore somewhat dark.

“Yaoyao is here?” he said with a smile. “Has the old lady gone to sleep?”

“She has, Third Uncle.”

“I haven’t yet congratulated you. You returned with military merit and are now a general. When you were little, you hated embroidery and loved playing with wooden swords. We elders even scolded you for it. Now it seems you showed your talent from childhood—it was only our poor eyesight.”

Liuzheng smiled. “I must thank you, Third Uncle. When they wouldn’t let me play with weapons, you secretly made wooden swords for me.”

“I didn’t think you’d still remember that.”

“I remember all the kindness Third Uncle and Third Aunt have shown me.” She then asked after Third Aunt.

“She’s inside playing with Brother Jia. I’ll go downstairs to fetch a pot of hot tea. You two chat.”

Calling to his wife, he left.

Liuzheng watched his slightly stooped figure as he departed, her lips pressing together faintly.

Among the three sons of the Ruan family, her third uncle had actually been the most talented in scholarship.

But her father, Ruan Hanmo, was scheming and more favored by the old patriarch. As the eldest son, the Dufeng Academy had ultimately gone to the First Branch.

Yet her third uncle had never complained, willingly taking charge of the farmland and estates.

The people of the Third Branch were all good-hearted.

Liuzheng resolved to help them.

Helping them was also helping herself.