"Pfft—"
Lin Qingge, who had just taken a mouthful of tea, spat it all out when she was suddenly served a huge piece of gossip, drenching Lian Chengyi across from her.
Unaware of the storm his words had stirred in his superior's heart, Yan Tinghao, having finished speaking, habitually scratched his head and mumbled to himself,
"No, my father already gave me the document of abdication of his nobility before he left, so my father is now just an ordinary military officer of the Northeastern Camp?"
Lian, the "ordinary military officer of the Northeastern Camp," who hadn't yet wiped the tea off his face: ...
Lin Qingge, who had almost choked to death, was patted on the back by Leng Ningyue to help her breathe and said incredulously,
"Your father is the Prince of Zhennan?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Having the son of the Prince of Zhennan as a subordinate, would she have been led around by the nose by the former Prefect of Fengtian, Wei Dongting?
"Did I not mention it before?"
Yan Tinghao, who spoke too much daily and couldn't remember what he had said, scratched his head and explained,
"My maternal grandfather was the Prince of Zhennan who made great contributions to the Great Xia. Since my grandfather only had my mother as his daughter, the title of Prince of Zhennan fell upon my father."
Lian Chengyi, wiping the tea from his face with his sleeve, said in disbelief,
"You are the son of Yan Xiuping and the Princess of Pingyang?"
"Princess of Pingyang?"
Lin Qingge, finding the day's information overwhelming, repeated one title after another.
Seeing this, Lin Yan, who was beside her, explained,
"The only daughter of the old Prince of Zhennan was enfeoffed as the 'Princess of Pingyang' by the then Emperor Emeritus at the time of her birth, which coincided with the old Prince of Zhennan's return from quelling the rebellion.
Although the Princess of Pingyang and the Empress Dowager were not of the same surname, they were childhood cousins.
Therefore, by this relationship, His Majesty would have to call Magistrate Yan 'cousin'."
Lian Chengyi, having recovered from his shock, remained skeptical, "No, General Yan Shao, I have met Prince Yan. Besides the surname, this Magistrate Yan bears no resemblance to Prince Yan at all!"
"General Lian, not only is your surname different from that of King Wucheng, but in other aspects, if not vastly different, you are basically completely dissimilar."
After silencing Lian Chengyi, Lin Qingge suddenly remembered the question that had been sidetracked,
"Wait—!
Magistrate Yan, did you just say your father gave you the document of abdication of his nobility?"
"Yes.
My father said that since the nobility would be mine sooner or later, it was better to give it to me earlier to save him from being burdened by it, and being forced to serve the court, which would delay him and my mother from roaming the world with their swords."
...
Lin Qingge, finding this very much like Yan Xiuping, twitched her lips and then stated the obvious,
"In that case, aren't you, Magistrate Yan, the grand Prince of Zhennan?"
"It seems so."
Yan Tinghao, who had only just realized this, chuckled sheepishly and asked with some uncertainty,
"My lord, have I truly become the Prince of Zhennan?"
Before Lin Qingge could respond, the young master of the Ministry of Works, who was standing at the door watching the commotion, sneered,
"Hmph, if you bumpkin is the Prince of Zhennan, then aren't all of us brothers actually royalty?"
"Hahaha!
Young Master Zhu speaks wisely. How could such a ragged fellow be the Prince of Zhennan? Even the beggars outside are dressed better than him!"
"Exactly!
I heard my father say that the Prince of Zhennan is a handsome middle-aged man in his early forties.
How could he be a dull and dazed goose like you?"
"You're the goose! Believe it or not, I'll punch you so hard your teeth will fall out everywhere!"
Yan Tinghao said, brandishing his fist, which was as big as a bowl.
Lin Qingge, while browsing the menu on the table, asked Lin Yan across from her indifferently, "Clerk Lin, what is the punishment for offending and slandering a prince according to the law?"
Although she didn't know how it was done, Lin Yan's transfer document had arrived that morning, so from now on, Lin Yan was the clerk of Shuntian Prefecture.
Lin Yan, who was asked, put down his teacup and replied, "Replying to my lord, although the laws of Great Xia do not explicitly state it, it is generally corporal punishment. If the circumstances are severe, beheading or extermination of the nine generations are also possible."
Despite not having been in contact with the people opposite for long, Lian Chengyi, who had been tricked time and again, couldn't help but cast a sympathetic glance at the lambs waiting to be slaughtered at the door.
As expected.
The next moment, they heard the person opposite say righteously,
"Magistrate Yan, these unruly commoners have offended the Prince of Zhennan in broad daylight. Hurry and apprehend them!"
"Yes!"
The offended Prince of Zhennan, Yan Tinghao himself, responded and, without much effort, knocked this group of second-generation nobles and their attendants to the ground.
"You dare!
My, my father will not let you go!"
Ignoring the ear-piercing shouts, Lin Qingge waved to the stunned waiter by the side,
"Waiter, order food!
And bring some ropes as well."
"Y-yes, honored guest."
The waiter had seen many brawls, but this was the first time he had seen the young master of the Ministry of Works, who was usually so formidable, kick a steel plate.
Fearing that he would also be slapped by the man who was stronger than a black bear, the waiter answered and hurried out.
The dishes were soon served, and along with them came the ropes Lin Qingge had requested.
Because this group of second-generation nobles was too noisy, she also asked Yan Tinghao to find some rags from the kitchen and stuff them into their unsullied mouths.
Whether it was the waiter's tip-off or a leak,
In any case, as soon as Lin Qingge put down her chopsticks, the young master of the Ministry of Works, Zhu Heng, who was praised by the second-generation nobles, appeared at the private room door, looking around in panic:
"Yan Xiuping is back?!"
But no matter how he looked, he couldn't see the person he remembered with such apprehension.
"Wuwu... wuwu..."
Finally seeing his savior, Young Master Zhu kept wriggling his body.
Seeing his precious son tied up, Minister Zhu was immediately enraged, "Who is so bold as to dare to tie up my son?!"
Lin Qingge wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and slowly stood up, "Your subordinate Lin Jingxing greets Minister Zhu."
Minister Zhu had taken a distant glance when welcoming him at the city gate and recognized the person before him as the newly appointed Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.
Although Minister Zhu's face was stern, his tone softened considerably,
"Lord Lin, I need a reasonable explanation."
Lin Qingge did not answer directly but pointed to a twisted mass in the corner and asked,
"Minister Zhu, is this my son?"
"Indeed, my son."
Lin Qingge then pointed to Yan Tinghao beside her and stated seriously,
"Minister Zhu, my son offended the Prince of Zhennan, and the Prince of Zhennan, in his anger, ordered me to arrest them and bring them to the yamen for punishment.
By the way, this is the only son of the former Prince of Zhennan, Lord Yan Xiuping."
"Yan Xiuping's only son?"
Minister of Works Zhu Heng looked Yan Tinghao up and down several times, with a strange look of "Are you trying to deceive me?"
...
Yan Tinghao, accustomed to this, took out a yellow imperial decree and a plaque from his怀 and placed both items on the table.