activa-t Chapter 48, A brute has his charm.
Chapter 48, A brute has his charm.
Prince Rui was a reckless man, that goes without saying. He actually had no recollection of what happened yesterday, only that he had drunk himself into a stupor with Qin Hui and other bigwigs. After seeing off those high-ranking officials, he returned to his banquet room.
He vaguely remembered that his daughter brought a son-in-law home, but the memory was hazy and he couldn't quite recall it. He didn't dare ask, fearing a scolding from his wife and daughter, especially Da Chuan'er. Despite her round face and big eyes, which made her seem soft, she could be the most ruthless when she started yelling...
When he got up again, he heard that a spectacular battle had broken out in the main hall of their mansion the day before.
When Prince Rui got up, he heard the steward describe the scene from the previous day. The steward's thigh was swollen from being slapped so hard. Then he picked up the sheep hoof and scolded him for not waking him up. It was a pity that his palm technique, which could split rocks and shatter stone tablets, had no chance to be used.
After learning the cause of the battle, he became certain that Da Chuan had indeed brought back a son-in-law yesterday, and that the battle broke out because the son-in-law was protecting Da Chuan.
"Isn't that good? They know how to protect the big skewers."
When Prince Rui was washing his face early in the morning, he was talking about this with his wife. The wife said, "That boy is a merchant. He has no official rank or family background. How can Ulinda be with such a person?"
"You spendthrift old woman! What do you know! You're learning those Han people's bad habits. A merchant, an ordinary citizen, just because someone said a few words about Da Chuan, you went and started a fight with those rich young masters. How dare you! If you want Da Chuan to be good, you should make her find someone who likes her, not someone from a good family! We have everything we need now, why are you looking for someone of equal social standing? It's one thing for the child to hate you for the rest of her life, but you've made her unhappy for the rest of her life too."
Having finally found an opportunity to scold the princess, Prince Rui went out to the Imperial City Guard after finishing his sentence. He originally wanted to see the Jin Kingdom youths who had been arrested for fighting yesterday, and also to see what kind of person his son-in-law really was.
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, they saw the Song dynasty's Minister of Personnel acting arrogantly and domineeringly.
Back then, Wanyan Heng had followed his father on numerous campaigns, fighting against Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. At that time, they lost more than they won, and they held the Song people in high regard. But ever since they killed Yue Fei and stripped Han Shizhong of his military power, Wanyan Heng had treated the Song people like dirt, showing them absolutely no respect.
He moved a chair over and sat there, just like that, to see what this bloated, good-for-nothing could do to this prince of the great nation.
"I heard you're going to take care of my son-in-law."
The prince crossed his legs, sat in the chilly wind, and glanced around: "I'd like to hear what grounds you all intend to use to punish me."
"Father! What son-in-law or what!" Shuangdao Hongliu jumped over, her face flushed, whether from embarrassment and anger or from the cold wind, it was hard to tell: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"You have no right to speak here!" Prince Rui glared, his general's air bursting forth: "Go and guard your gate obediently."
Hongliu wanted to argue a bit more, but Yangti pulled her aside: "Give the men some face in public! How can you be so inconsiderate?"
Hongliu stomped her feet and left, looking rather sullen, like a little squirrel with its mouth full of pine nuts—she was indeed quite adorable.
Meanwhile, Prince Rui simply tightened his fox fur coat around himself, his phoenix eyes sweeping over Marquis Xu Ping: "Hmm? Marquis Xu, I'm asking you a question."
Sihou stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, "Your Highness, please calm down. No one said they wanted to punish anyone, but this fight still needs to be investigated thoroughly so that justice can be served."
"Alright, investigate. Investigate thoroughly. I'd like to see what kind of cause and effect you can uncover." After saying this, King Rui stopped talking and sat there with his eyes closed to rest.
The magistrate gave a helpless smile, took a few steps back, walked up to the minister, and lowered his voice, saying, "Minister Ding, this matter..."
Minister Ding's hands and feet were also ice cold at this moment. If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but it was precisely because this Prince Jin was sitting here that things became difficult. He didn't even bring out his own nephews and nieces; he just sat there like that.
If he doesn't speak up, he won't be able to protect those young people from the Song Kingdom, and everyone will have to go hungry...
Just when they were caught in this dilemma, a voice suddenly announced from outside: "Prime Minister Qin has arrived!"
Minister Ding immediately straightened his back, and Prince Rui also slightly opened his eyes.
After a while, Qin Hui walked in. He was of medium height and slightly overweight, with a short, thick beard. Judging from his appearance, he was an honest and simple person. At first glance, he did not seem like a villain. In fact, he had the appearance of a dragon among men with a full forehead and a square jaw.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
He walked in and, from afar, cupped his hands in greeting and laughed loudly, "Look at the mess this has made! It's just some juniors playing around, how did it manage to alarm Your Highness?"
Upon seeing Qin Hui, Minister Ding immediately bowed and greeted him: "Prime Minister Qin..."
Qin Hui merely glanced at him coldly, gave a barely perceptible snort, and then made no further moves. He simply went straight to greet Prince Rui, and upon arriving before him, even his smile became three parts obsequious.
"Your Highness, it's freezing cold, why are you doing this?"
"Alas..." King Rui sighed deeply, "What parent in this world wouldn't worry about their son? Ever since my son-in-law was arrested, my good-for-nothing daughter has been unable to eat or sleep, and it pains me to see her like this. Prime Minister Qin, I ask you this one question: regardless of whether it's the Jin or Song kingdoms, is it permissible to kill anyone who insults one's wife and parents?"
"If he can be killed, then of course he can be killed."
"At yesterday's banquet, someone insulted my family, and my son-in-law stood up to protect our honor. Was he wrong or not?" King Rui raised his chin and looked at Qin Hui: "Very well! Your country says it needs to be investigated. Investigate if you will. As the saying goes, a country has its laws, and a family has its rules. It is good to investigate thoroughly, but I hope that Prime Minister Qin can enforce the law impartially and not let me lose heart."
"Yes, yes, yes..." Qin Hui, a man who could control everything, was as obedient as a naive child in front of Prince Rui: "Your Highness is right. I will personally oversee this matter."
"Very well, with Prime Minister Qin saying so, I am relieved."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and said, "Ulin, that's good! Let's go!"
Hongliu and her brother Yangti exchanged a glance, then obediently followed the prince out with their entourage. Once outside, Hongliu said to her father with dissatisfaction, "Are we just leaving like this?"
"What's your rush!" Prince Rui rolled his eyes. "How are they supposed to handle things if we don't leave? You're really reckless for a man, where's your brain? Did your brother eat it?"
"Huh?" Yangti pointed to himself. "Ah? Me?"