Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 231 Is Prince Fu Going to Rebel? (1)

Prince Fu, the father of Princess Gaoyang.

Upon hearing this name, Song Yan frowned, wondering why Jiao Junze was bringing up this person and why he was telling her to be careful. However, since they had already arrived in Dingzhou City, Song Yan suppressed her doubts.

It is now early morning, and the sky is already bright.

There were already quite a few people in the city.

Luo Tianyi's blood-covered appearance was somewhat horrifying. If he were to enter the city so openly, it would frighten many people.

Song Yan hesitated for a moment.

"In the north of the city, behind the Xihe Restaurant, there is a house that I bought in my spare time. Occasionally, when I'm not too busy with military and political matters, I'll go there to rest. There are no servants or anything like that in the house, so this young lady can take her younger siblings there to rest temporarily."

Jiao Junze smiled and glanced at Hua Lianyue.
Clearly, even if Jiao Junze couldn't discern Hua Lianyue's exact strength, he could tell she was a master.

At the very least, he absolutely cannot beat him.

It's strange, though. This woman's aura wasn't particularly strong; in fact, there was no fluctuation of internal energy whatsoever. At first glance, she seemed like an ordinary woman... well, if you ignored the bearskin vest and fox scarf.

But Jiao Junze had this feeling that he would be defeated in ten moves... no, maybe three moves.

Song Yan looked at Hua Lianyue.

Although Hua Lian Yue had behaved extremely well-behavedly throughout the journey, comparable to Gu Ban Xia, she was, after all, a Grandmaster-level expert, and Song Yan hadn't completely lost his mind.

Hua Lianyue simply smiled gently and nodded. To her, it was only right to share some small chores with her man. Taking care of her younger sister would also show her magnanimity.

Song Yan then temporarily handed Luo Tianyi over to Hua Lianyue: "Thank you for your trouble."

"My lord, there's no need for that."

Hua Lianyue simply responded softly, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and her body floated into the air like a wisp of smoke. She used the city wall for leverage and easily crossed the blockade.

Her posture remained elegant and graceful, like a wisp of wind, and even while holding Luo Tianyi, she was relaxed and at ease.

Seeing that, Song Yan couldn't help but feel envious. It was a pity that he didn't have such a good lightness skill. If he were to go all out to travel, his speed would be very fast, and crossing the city wall would not be difficult. But he could never do what Hua Lian Yue did.

It seems I'll have to find a way to get a manual on lightness techniques when I get back.

Jiao Junze clicked his tongue, a hint of envy in his eyes.

He heard that "husband" from her.

The son-in-law of the Princess's mansion is quite an extraordinary figure, and the women around him are all exceptionally outstanding.

Upon entering the city, Jiao Junze did not lead Song Yan directly to the governor's mansion or any restaurants. Instead, he first took her to a clothing shop. Song Yan chose a thicker undershirt and a white robe to change into, which made her look much more normal.

Considering Luo Tianyi and Hua Lianyue, two more sets of women's clothing were bought. Hua Lianyue's size was remembered, and as for his sister-in-law, he knew her size roughly after spending a long time with her.

As for the bear skin, it was perfect for settling the debt. The shopkeeper looked like he'd struck gold; it was a bear skin, and even though it wasn't complete, it could still fetch a good price.

As I walked along, I saw people coming and going, most of them with smiles on their faces.

Unconsciously, I stopped and looked up to see the Xihe Restaurant right in front of me.

Although it's called a restaurant, it's more like a roadside eatery. The decor isn't luxurious at all; there's just a counter and a few dark tables and chairs in the main hall. There seem to be private rooms upstairs, but I doubt there are many people there.

It was only early morning, so although the restaurant was open, it was not welcoming any customers. Only a waiter was wiping the tables and chairs with a rag whose original color was no longer recognizable.

Song Yan found it difficult to judge whether the rag or the table and chairs were dirtier.

"Brother Song, don't be fooled by how unassuming this place looks. The dishes here are quite delicious." As if noticing Song Yan's gaze, Jiao Junze smiled, then walked to the counter and slapped it hard. The shopkeeper, who was dozing off inside the counter, about to take a nap, jumped up abruptly.

He was about to explode in anger, but upon realizing that the person in front of him was Jiao Junze, he immediately changed his expression dramatically, smiling obsequiously: "Oh, it's the Prefect! It's not even noon yet, what brings you here?" It was clear that he was a regular customer.

"Stop talking nonsense, bring me all your best wines and dishes."

"That money..."

"The usual procedure, record it in the master clerk's account."

At this point, Jiao Junze looked more like a deadbeat.

The shopkeeper pursed his lips but ultimately said nothing.

Jiao Junze, however, showed no remorse for being a deadbeat. He called Song Yan upstairs, found a private room, and sat down. A cold wind blew in through the open window, and from the high vantage point, they could see the bustling street below. The waiter served tea, said "Please wait a moment, sir," and turned to leave. However, considering that the restaurant probably hadn't even prepared all the dishes yet, the wait would likely be quite long.

After the private room was empty, Song Yan finally asked the question that had been bothering him: "Brother Jiao, what exactly did you mean when you told me to be careful of Prince Fu?"

Jiao Junze smiled, seemingly hesitant.

He didn't really want to get involved in the chaos, but Ningguo was already in complete disarray, so how could he just hide from it?
Moreover, since a precedent had already been set, continuing to conceal things would only be a step backward. With that in mind, Jiao Junze slowly spoke up: "Brother Song, do you know the Eight Great Families of Jin?"

Song Yan shook his head.

To be honest, he only had a general understanding of Ningguo and wasn't very clear about many things.

Jiao Junze didn't care: "The Qiao family, the Chang family, the Cao family, the Hou family, the Qu family, the Kang family, the Kong family, plus the Fan family whose branch was wiped out this time."

"The eight great families of Jin are all merchants. To say that their wealth is comparable to that of a country is an insult to them. Their wealth is more than ten times that of the Ningguo national treasury."

"The reason why the eight great families were able to amass such wealth was because they dared to do any kind of business, selling grain at high prices to famine-stricken areas, and providing weapons to the Jurchens, Xiongnu, and even Japanese pirates..."

"Wherever there are high profits, you'll find the eight great families of Shanxi."

"Although it is named after Jin, its business actually extends throughout the Central Plains and among foreign tribes. Emperor Ninghe once said that as long as someone can offer a price, they can sell the entire Ning Kingdom... However, what His Majesty said is probably not quite right. The eight great families of Jin are not only able to sell the Ning Kingdom, but are already on their way to selling it."

"What does this have to do with Prince Fu?" Song Yan raised an eyebrow.

Jiao Junze sighed: "I don't know the specifics, but the intelligence from the spies planted in the Fan family shows that the Fan family smuggled grain and weapons into the Jurchens, and Prince Fu should have been involved in some of them."

"In addition, I also learned that the princess of Prince Fu's surname is Kong. However, the wedding of Prince Fu and his princess was extremely low-key. It was only said that Prince Fu met a woman by chance when he was traveling in his youth. Because they were in love, he asked the late emperor to grant them a marriage and it was over in a hurry. But I suspect that she may be a member of the Kong family."

"And now, the Fan family has been wiped out by his younger brother and sister-in-law."

"Brother Song is now guarding the new rear border. It will probably not be as easy as before to smuggle grain and weapons into the Jurchen territory."

"That's why I reminded Brother Song to be careful of Prince Fu."

Song Yan remained silent.

The fact that Prince Fu was connected to the eight great families of Jin was beyond Song Yan's expectations.

According to Jiao Junze, the eight families were extremely wealthy.

Over the years, with the backing of the Eight Great Families, how much wealth could Prince Fu have accumulated?

What can be done with so much money?
Perhaps because he commanded an army, or perhaps because of the influence of that traitor Liu Yisheng, Song Yan subconsciously thought of several things: provisions, weapons, and troops.

Then... a rebellion!

If Prince Fu really intends to rebel, then Gao Yang...

(End of this chapter)