Chapter 291 The Blood of a Bricklayer

The carriage passed through the streets in silence.

Apart from the incessant sound of wheels, the most audible sound is the clatter of horses' hooves.

Fuchang Marquis Mansion.

The carriage stopped in front of the side door.

Rong Xian carried Rong Feiyan into the house and placed her in the bedroom.

"Is your sister settled?"

In the main hall, Fuchang Marquis Rongchang and the eldest lady of the Rong family were sitting on chairs. They looked at Rong Xian who came in with a cold aura and asked.

Rong Xian did not reply, but looked carefully at his father, Rong Chang's expression.

The Rong family became wealthy thanks to Concubine Rong, and their current nobility is unique in the city of Bianjing. But before that, their Rong family had always made a living by working as bricklayers. So even though they live a life of luxury now, Rong Chang and the eldest lady of the Rong family do not look as noble as a powerful family.

Judging from her facial features alone, she looked older than the noble ladies of the same age, and seemed to be ten years older.

As for other aspects such as body shape and temperament, it goes without saying.

It is no wonder that most of the powerful families in Bian Jing looked down on the Rong family from the bottom of their hearts. The comparison between the two family really makes them pale in comparison.

This gap is not so obvious when it comes to Rong Xian and Rong Feiyan. After all, they have been living a life of luxury since they can remember.

Although he does not have the background of a wealthy family, he has gained some confidence.

It's just that due to their youthful vigor, most of the young men of the same age from noble families spoke without restraint, and the contempt of the Rong family by the adults in their families naturally influenced them subtly.

Therefore, under the cover of "young and ignorant", Rong Xian and Rong Feiyan have suffered a lot of ridicule and sarcasm as they grew up.

It was only recently, as we got older, that people started to put on a show of “tolerance” and “respect” for them.

But in private, people still gossip and make sarcastic remarks as usual.

However, the Rong family is better than other families in one respect - that is because their family is poor and suddenly rich, and they are isolated in the outside world. Therefore, compared with other wealthy families, their family has less distant family affection and more empathy and mutual comfort.

Therefore, when Rong Feiyan was abducted, the Rong family did everything they could to get her back. Not only did Concubine Rong faint from crying several times in front of the palace and the emperor, even Rong Chang, the Marquis of Fuchang, changed his usual style and made a huge scene in the hall.

Hearing his father's question, Rong Xian immediately looked up and silently looked at his father who was sitting at the top. However, perhaps because the deep courtyard was poorly lit, Rong Chang's face seemed to be hidden in the dark at this moment, showing a sense of obscurity.

Seeing that Rong Xian did not reply, the Rong family's eldest lady immediately became anxious. She quickly stood up and walked to Rong Xian, looking anxious, and asked:
"How did you find your sister? Tell me and your father what happened from the beginning!"

My sight was suddenly blocked by my mother approaching, but...

Rong Xian stood there in a daze for a while, then lowered his head and told everything that happened on the street.

When she heard that Rong Feiyan was thrown on the street in dishevel and was called out by a captain of the patrol battalion, the eldest lady of the Rong family burst into tears:
"Damn you! How dare you treat my daughter like this? How will she live with herself in the future?"

Then she pointed at Rong Xian and said angrily:
"You! You, the father! Go to the patrol camp right now and find that damned captain for me!
He disregarded my daughter's reputation, and I want him to pay with his life!"

As she spoke, she walked to Rongxian crying and pushed him out of the house.

Rong Xian's face was gloomy and sad, but he had been influenced by the powerful for a long time and had some rationality. He immediately pulled his wife's hand away and said in a deep voice:
"What's the point of looking for that captain? Even if these words didn't come from his mouth, they would have come from the mouths of those thieves. Besides..."

Besides, even if he went to the patrol camp in person, he would probably only be respected on the surface. If he really wanted to punish the captain, he would have to ask for the favor of Concubine Rong and then report it to the emperor.

And now is not the time to think about how to take revenge on the little people, but how to deal with ourselves.

"Even with such a strict investigation in Bianjing City, this group of thieves can still appear and disappear without a trace. The person behind this must be very powerful."

Rongchang stared at the floor in front of him with a sinister look on his face and said in a low voice:

"He even deliberately spared Yan'er's life and only destroyed her reputation..."

Rongchang turned around and looked at the Rong family's eldest lady, who had stopped crying.
"Except for the prince who is at the peak of his career, I can't think of any other family."

Ever since the Yong Palace came to Beijing, it has been looking down on the Rong family and has no goodwill towards them. Instead, it has made disrespectful remarks about the Rong family at many gatherings of dignitaries.

At that moment, he had the idea of ​​marrying into the Qi family's household and frequently visited the Qi family.

At the same time, it was reported that Princess Jiacheng of Prince Yong's Mansion also took a fancy to Qi Heng, thus creating a drama of "two women competing for a husband".

Prince Yong and Princess Yong were well-known in Bianjing for their love for Princess Jiacheng...

With all these factors combined, the words "the mastermind" were almost engraved on Prince Yong's forehead.

The Rong family's eldest lady was in disbelief and couldn't help but said:

"You mean, just because of an unscheduled marriage, the Prince Yong's Mansion disregarded the emperor and took such a cruel action against Yan'er?"

"Who else could it be?"

Rongchang slammed the table hard and said angrily:

"The emperor is getting increasingly unwell and has begun discussing the issue of the crown prince with the court officials. Prince Yong has already shown signs of ascending the throne in the future. Even the Cao family... the Cao family is now shamelessly leaning towards Prince Yong!"

"Rather than saying that the thieves can't find them, it's better to say that the officials are so scared of them that they don't dare to look for them at all!"

Otherwise, why couldn't even a group of thieves who were causing chaos be caught in the city of Bianjing, where the household registration and baojia systems were so complete?

It was understandable that they were careless when there were so many people around when they were arresting people, but damn, now that the whole city is under martial law, that group of thieves actually galloped on horseback in the street and finally ran away...

Isn't this the connivance of those bureaucrats who are just sitting in their positions doing nothing?

The only ones who could achieve such a thing in the city of Bianjing were the emperor, and the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan who were competing for the crown prince.

It’s impossible for the government.

Prince Yan did not dare to do so. After all, he had an age disadvantage compared to Prince Yong. At the moment, he could only rely on his talents and character to gain people's support.

If he dares to "lose his mind" now and take action against the Rong family, then his fight for the crown prince will certainly be made even more difficult.

The Rong family's eldest lady wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Rong Chang:

"Go to the room and look after Yan'er!"

When Rong Feiyan returned home in this condition, the Rong family naturally did not dare to invite a doctor from outside to come to the house to see her. It was only up to the Rong family's eldest lady, the mother, to go and find out in person.

The eldest lady of the Rong family paused when she heard this, then looked at Rong Xian repeatedly with a worried look on her face, and then went out to Rong Feiyan's room.

Soon, the hall fell silent, with only Rongchang and his son Rongxian present.

One was sitting and the other was standing, both were silent, each thinking in their own mind.

Until I don’t know how much time passed.

It was getting a little dark outside.

The return of the eldest lady of the Rong family broke the silence in the room.

The Rong family's eldest lady walked into the room briskly, with a slightly happy look on her face. She glanced at Rong Chang and Rong Xian, and said in a slightly happy tone:

"Yan'er is innocent, she just suffered a few days of hardship!" When she discovered this fact, the eldest lady of the Rong family was full of disbelief. She carefully examined Rong Feiyan's body several times before accepting this blessing in disguise.

So after helping Rong Feiyan wipe herself and change into pajamas, he immediately came back to report.

The eldest lady of the Rong family said it happily, but in the end she didn't get any response from the father and son. Instead, she was greeted by an atmosphere of stagnation.

Seeing that Rongchang and Rongxian had no change in expression and didn't even look at her, the Rong family's eldest lady's joy froze on her face. She forced a smile and said in a trembling voice:

"It seems that the Yong family is not crazy. They know that the matter is not serious..."

"Bang~!"

Rong Xian, who had been silent all this time, suddenly kicked down the table and chair beside him, and then kicked all the tables and chairs in the room one by one as if to vent his anger. Only the chair where Rong Chang was sitting was still intact.

At this moment, the chairs and tables in the room were all over the place, but it did not look messy, because the tables and chairs placed here were all made of good materials and could not be broken by Rong Xian's legs and feet alone. Instead, the room looked messy, but also looked neat.

They looked like a group of trapped fish stranded in a puddle, looking up to survive.

"Go and see your daughter again!" Rong Chang did not show any strange expression on his face at his son Rong Xian's sudden madness. Instead, he continued to order the eldest lady of the Rong family to leave with a calm expression.

The eldest lady of the Rong family had no choice but to go out again.

She wants to go see her daughter again.

At this moment, it suddenly started to rain from the sky.

It turned out that the sky began to darken, not because it was late, but because a dark cloud had gathered above at some point, and now the emotions finally accumulated and I felt refreshed.

This is the arrival of a spring rain.

It is said that spring rain is as precious as oil and that good rain knows when to fall. But obviously, in the gloomy Fuchang Marquis Mansion at this moment, this spring rain seemed a bit ridiculous.

"You've grown up now, and you look like a child from a noble family."

Rongchang finally stood up. After praising Rongchang, he walked out of the house and to the porch, watching the dripping sound gradually begin outside the house.

"I don't know!"

At any other time in the past, Rong Xian would feel happy to hear this praise, but at this moment, hearing these words coming out of his father's mouth made Rong Xian's heart tremble.

Because his father was really as he thought...

"Don't you understand?"

Rongchang turned around and looked at Rongxian who was following behind him, and said with a look of disappointment:
"From the moment you came into the room and didn't make a scene, but stole a glance at my expression, you already knew what I was thinking."

Rongchang immediately smiled bitterly, nodded, and patted Rongxian's shoulder vigorously:

"He looks like he can be the head of a family now!"

Rong Xian didn't look happy at all, instead he said anxiously:
"But mother has just said that my sister is innocent..."

"Yes, I am still innocent..."

Rongchang looked at Rongxian deeply and said:
"His family looks down on us from the bottom of their hearts. They want to step on us openly and make us swallow the bitter fruit willingly, and voluntarily put the family's reputation on the ground and let others trample on it."

Prince Yong's move was undoubtedly not only to kill people but also to destroy their hearts.

Rong Feiyan's reputation was already irreparable. If she died outside, it would be fine. She would just feel pain for a while and might even get some sympathy.

But now Prince Yong has released Rong Feiyan, and he knows that she is innocent!
How should the Rong family cope with this?

A dumb person swallowing coptis root? A spit in the face and then spit on it?

Let Rong Feiyan's reputation affect the family?
Hearing his father say this, Rong Xian's tone became more urgent:
"We can ask a few doctors to testify together! Or we can ask my sister to invite the imperial physician from the palace..."

"is that useful?"

Rongchang immediately asked back:
"Once the dam has a hole, no matter how much you repair it, there will still be cracks."

"Others also have their own opinions. They just spread the word, 'The Rong family is so powerful that they can even force this back. Do they really think we are blind?'"

"It can't be washed clean!"

Rongchang looked miserable, but at the same time he said earnestly:
"The family's reputation depends on this. What should we do with you and me, father and son?"

"Can't you send your sister to the countryside to live in obscurity?"

Rong Xian's words were already filled with tears:

"The countryside! Just send my sister back to her hometown! Her childhood playmates are still there, and she won't have to listen to the cold words in Bianjing City anymore."

"Then who should we send?"

Rongchang retorted:
"You? Or me?

Is there anyone in our Rong family that we can trust? Or is it the family members who have been raised by Rong family for generations?"

"I'm afraid that as soon as I had the idea, I would be stopped by Prince Yong in the city and exposed to everyone."

Rongxian lowered his head.

He knew in his heart that in front of King Yong, he was no different from an ordinary person on the street.

There was another long silence.

The night was really beginning to darken.

Listening to the rain late at night, the sound of rain outside began to get louder and louder.

at last.

Rongchang stood up and walked to the side hall, then took out a small wooden box and handed it to Rongxian.

Rong Xian was somewhat skeptical but also somewhat certain about the things in the box in front of him. However, facing his father's resolute look, he had no choice but to take it with trembling hands.

When Rongxian took it with both hands, Rongchang nodded immediately, then stood on tiptoe, weighed his son's shoulders with both hands, and nodded again.

After a long silence, Rongchang finally said with tears in his eyes:

"Your sister suffered in the palace, which made our Rong family rich. Now your sister is suffering, but...but you must not destroy the family because of this!"

Rong Xian couldn't hold back any longer. The tears that had been brewing in his eyes for a long time burst out like a spring and he sobbed uncontrollably.

"Xian'er! Xian'er!"

Rongchang clasped Rongxian's shoulders with his hands like eagle claws, and growled with tears in his eyes, his voice as if squeezed out of his throat:
"King Yong is powerful and we cannot defeat him, but we cannot surrender like meat on the chopping board!"

"Your sister fought to the death! Our family will also fight to the death!"

(End of this chapter)