"My lords, please wait here a moment, and I shall fetch the steward for you."
The young attendant finished speaking and retreated.
Leng Ningyue scanned the surroundings, then pointed outside the door. Lin Qingge immediately understood that there were eavesdroppers and continued to sob with a mournful cry.
"Husband, what if my maternal uncle truly disowns me?
Are we really going to appeal to the emperor?"
While Lin Qingge spoke these words, she dipped her hand in tea and wrote seven characters on the table:
[Lord Yan and his wife are in trouble]
Although the Northeast Camp was not a desolate place, it was unusual for a mere gatekeeper to know the name of the current Prime Minister.
Coupled with the delay caused by the Fourth Prince's palace coup, Lin Qingge suspected that Yan Tinghao had not only been captured but had also become a bargaining chip to threaten Yan Xiuping and Princess Pingyang.
This put them in an even more passive position.
"Fear not, I have everything under control."
Leng Ningyue spoke with double meaning and then slowly began to say,
"My dear wife, you needn't worry. Besides Prime Minister Feng Qingchen, my family is distantly related to the former Prime Minister Shangguan Hong, and we can barely speak a word in the Empress's presence.
Furthermore, to my knowledge, the Empress detests unfaithful men. Upon hearing of your plight, she will surely step forward to bring you justice.
And for the Empress to know is for His Majesty to know.
At that time, His Majesty will certainly issue an imperial decree to summon your maternal uncle back to the capital.
If my dear wife is not reassured, I shall return now to write letters to the Empress and Brother Feng, and then seek out my brothers in the martial world to ride day and night with all haste.
We should have news within three days."
After hearing this, Lin Qingge couldn't help but give Leng Ningyue, who was telling a well-intentioned fabrication, a thumbs-up.
Strike while the iron is hot.
King Wucheng was far more cunning than the Fourth Prince. He knew that now was not the opportune moment to seize the throne. If the new Emperor found an excuse to dispatch troops to suppress him, all his plans might come to naught.
And Yan Xiuping's refusal to obey the imperial decree and his self-aggrandizement with troops in the Northeast Camp seemed like a perfectly good reason.
Not long after Leng Ningyue finished speaking, a middle-aged man who identified himself as the steward of the mansion came in to pay his respects and asked Lin Qingge and Leng Ningyue a series of probing questions.
Only after Lin Qingge accurately described the number of moles on Lord Yan's body and the foolish things he had done in his youth did the steward believe them and retreat.
Confirming that the one who had been spying was indeed the steward and that he had now gone far away, Leng Ningyue couldn't help but ask curiously,
"How did you know that?"
"Tsk, you know Yan Tinghao is a big talker.
When I saw him bathing before, he was mumbling incessantly.
He said that although he had no birthmarks, the location and number of his moles were exactly the same as his father's, making it impossible for his father to claim he had been switched at birth.
Later, one time when father and son went out for training, they encountered an acquaintance.
He inadvertently heard from that acquaintance that his father was not very intelligent in his childhood and was even known as a 'fool' in the surrounding villages.
After accidentally falling into the water, his father gradually recovered his senses."
Lin Qingge had not paid much attention when she heard this, but recalling it now, she increasingly felt that Lord Yan's story was a cliché trope.
However, Leng Ningyue's focus was not on this.
"You saw Yan Tinghao bathing?"
"Uh...
It's just that, when we were at the Changzhou County Office at first, Yan Tinghao had nowhere to live, so he stayed with me...
You know all of this!"
Leng Ningyue maintained a stern expression and said nothing.
Feeling wronged and innocent, Lin Qingge was about to change the subject when a roar that could shatter eardrums suddenly erupted in the distance:
"Yan Xiuping, I'm not finished with you—!!!"
Clearly, the grand performance initiated by Lin Qingge and further embellished by Leng Ningyue had successfully reached its intended audience.
And Yan Xiuping, with his wits about him, had to acknowledge this unfortunate entanglement to escape his current predicament and connect with them smoothly.
However—
Madam Yan, the Princess Pingyang, was completely unaware of this.
Thus, Yan Xiuping was in for a miserable time.
Just by hearing Madam Yan's earth-shattering roar, Lin Qingge could imagine the storm her husband was about to face.
But through that roar, Lin Qingge confirmed that Yan Xiuping and his wife were still within the mansion.
Perhaps to deal with their two poor relatives, or perhaps because the enraged Madam Yan was too destructive.
The steward, who had returned, escorted Lin Qingge and Leng Ningyue from the side hall to the more spacious backyard.
There, Madam Yan, red with rage, was chasing her troublesome husband around the courtyard with a broom.
"Good heavens, Yan Xiuping, you really have the gall of a leopard!
You already have a wife and children back home, and you dare to provoke me!
You shameless wretch!
See if I don't skin you alive!"
"Madam, I, I was wrong! I truly was wrong!"
Unable to reveal the truth, Lord Yan squeezed out this sentence from between his gritted teeth with extreme frustration.
At this moment, he caught sight of the perfectly matched couple appearing at the courtyard entrance and quickly rushed towards them.
"Save me quickly!"
"Yes, Father!"
...
Lord Yan, who had once again become a father, slipped and nearly twisted his old back.
Madam Yan in the distance heard this and immediately rushed over angrily.
However, blinded by her rage, Madam Yan did not notice the face that bore a striking resemblance to Leng Shuying. She only stared at Lin Qingge for a long time before letting out a howl.
"Yan Xiuping!
You heartless dog!
This girl looks even younger than Hao'er. You shameless wretch, I, I'll fight you to the death!"
With that, Madam Yan launched a new round of attack.
Seeing the steward glancing in their direction from time to time, Lin Qingge forced out a few more tears and feigned an attempt to intervene:
"Father, Madam Yan, please stop!
It's my fault, my fault for being curious about what my biological father looks like, my fault for disobeying my mother's dying wish and secretly coming to find you, Father!
In short, it's all my fault!
Please don't argue because of me!"
Lin Qingge's flowery words, like a seasoned actress, finally calmed the uncomfortable Madam Yan.
"Madam Yan, please rest assured, I am not here to freeload. I will not take a single coin of Father's money.
To tell you the truth, I have been married for over half a year, and this is my husband."
Lin Qingge pushed Leng Ningyue forward. When Madam Yan saw him clearly, her eyes widened.
"You—"
Afraid that the other party might accidentally reveal something, Lin Qingge quickly stepped forward and held her back.
"Madam Yan, I truly only came to see my father.
If you truly dislike it, I shall leave immediately!"
After speaking, Lin Qingge turned to leave, but was instead pulled back by Madam Yan.
"Hey, your husband is quite handsome. Why don't you stay for a few days?"
Lord Yan, whose face immediately darkened: ...