In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Li Yuanchang said calmly, "I have no intention of causing trouble. I've already said I'm here to visit an old friend."

Who are you looking for?

"Ling Shuang".

"Let her come out and meet us," Li Yuanchang said bluntly.

The expressions of the dozen or so people opposite them changed again.

"What Ling Shuang?"

"We don't understand what the adults are talking about?"

Li Yuanchang's eyes were icy cold as he said domineeringly, "I don't have to be so polite."

"If you still intend to lie, I have a few other methods."

The middle-aged man flew into a rage: "How dare you! So what if it's the Ministry of War?"

"Do you know that this place is...?"

"That's enough!"

Just as the stalemate was reaching its peak, a young man's voice suddenly rang out.

All eyes turned to them.

Everyone bowed and said, "Master."

The employer?

Li Yuanchang squinted and saw that the newcomer was only in his twenties, very young, quite handsome, dressed in brocade, with a Hetian jade belt around his waist, and extremely noble.

He stood there, and unlike those with immense power, he exuded an aura that said "money is no object."

This kind of temperament requires either spending a lot of money or earning a lot of money.

"May I ask what business you have with me, sir?" he asked, looking at Li Yuanchang.

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow: "You're that Song Sanlang?"

The young man asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"The head of the Song family in the north, Suwen is twenty years old. I see that you are a man of great bearing and wealth. There is no one else but you."

"So, in that case, you must be one of the war gods who have risen to fame in Chang'an in recent years?" The young man asked calmly, without the slightest hint of flattery.

Li Yuanchang did not deny it.

"I want to see Ling Shuang."

Song Sanlang shook his head calmly: "She's not here."

Li Yuanchang looked into his eyes: "But my people told me that she never left after entering this place."

"If you don't believe me, then search for it." Song Sanlang's response was concise, even somewhat indifferent.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, signaling his men to withdraw.

Li Yuanchang stared intently at the other person, trying to find any trace of a lie, but he found none.

"Your Highness, should we send someone over?" Guo Chao asked in a low voice.

Li Yuanchang hesitated for a moment.

Sending troops here would be too much of a fuss, especially since the Prince of Jin is behind this. It's not that he's afraid of the Prince of Jin, but he's afraid of making a big fuss and attracting the attention of higher-ups.

After all, it involves two princes.

Once it attracts the attention of the higher-ups, Wu Zetian will definitely be the first to suffer.

Finally, he shook his head.

"Song Sanlang, would you like to have a chat?" he extended an invitation.

Song Sanlang also seemed to want to talk to Li Yuanchang, rather than speaking in riddles.

"Come with me."

Having said that, he took the lead and left, hands behind his back, looking extremely arrogant.

"You!" Guo Chao roared in anger.

Li Yuanchang stopped him: "Wait here for me."

"Your Highness, these people are too arrogant. No one in Chang'an has ever dared to disregard Your Highness like this. Should we arrest them all?" Guo Chao said in a deep voice.

This is not just about attitude, but also about the business struggle between the Northern Song and Southern Qin dynasties.

They've reached their peak over the years, and they can be considered mortal enemies.

Li Yuanchang shook his head again. He still didn't know what kind of situation lay behind this Begonia Villa: "Calm down."

"Don't do anything reckless."

After saying that, he followed, without any airs, and his control over his emotions was far beyond what people his age could have.

Soon, he followed Song Sanlang to a small pavilion in the center of the villa.

Song Sanlang poured himself a cup of tea, but there was only one cup; he hadn't prepared one for Li Yuanchang at all. In ancient times, when etiquette was highly valued, this was considered a sign of disrespect.

Li Yuanchang recalled that Wu Yuanqing had once said that the entire Northern Song Dynasty listened to Wu Meiniang, and he assumed that this attitude must have followed Wu Meiniang's lead.

"Is this yours, or the Prince of Jin's?"

Song Sanlang said, "It used to belong to the Prince of Jin. Later, the Prince of Jin gave it to us as a residence for the Song family from the North to enter Chang'an."

"We? Does that include Ling Shuang?"

Song Sanlang nodded directly.

Li Yuanchang's heart sank; it seemed the relationship between the two was closer than he had imagined.

"You've bet on Prince Jin?"

Song Sanlang's hand trembled, and tea spilled out. He hadn't expected Li Yuanchang to be so direct.

"I don't understand what you mean."

Li Yuanchang said calmly, his aura officially taking over the scene.

"Your Song family in the North has risen to become the number one business association in the North in just a few years. Apart from the powerful clans and the Qin family, almost no one can compare with you."

"You have money, food, clothes, and caravans, but you lack power."

"And the Prince of Jin is that power."

"But what else could it be but taking sides if we get this close to a prince?"

"Most businessmen wouldn't have this kind of mindset or connections; it was Ling Shuang who insisted on doing it this way, wasn't it?"

Song Sanlang glanced at Li Yuanchang. Although he maintained his peak posture, neither humble nor arrogant, and had a lot of power backing him up, he still felt suppressed from the depths of his core and was no match for Li Yuanchang at all.

Li Yuanchang never regarded him as an opponent.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Li Yuanchang glanced around: "I know her. She's gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and her methods far surpass those of ordinary men."

"Perhaps she knew she was being watched and left beforehand, or perhaps she's still hiding here."

"but……"

Song Sanlang stood up abruptly, interrupting him directly with a hostile look in his eyes.

"What right do you have to mention her?"

The sound was quite loud, instantly creating an awkward atmosphere.

"Others may fear you, but I don't!" Song Sanlang said firmly, with a lot of confidence.

"Back then, on your grand wedding in Chang'an, you feared power and abandoned her for your own future. She waited in vain, only to receive a heartless letter of divorce!"

"You get promoted and become rich, while she is forced to leave her hometown."

"You married and had children, and she spent her days in tears."

"For five whole years, do you know how she got through it?"

Before she even reached Youzhou, her brother abandoned her in the wilderness, where she was nearly eaten by jackals. Later, after arriving in Youzhou, she was almost sold into a brothel as a prostitute.

"Her business had just started when she was threatened, her goods caught fire and she fought the fire alone, her documents were blocked and she had to beg for help everywhere. How heartbreaking and helpless she was."

"And you, the man who once vowed to protect her, have become a carefree prince, and ironically, you've taken one concubine after another."

"How dare someone like you come here?"

Song Sanlang's words were extremely sharp, and the disgust in his eyes was undisguised.

Li Yuanchang wasn't angry, but he felt a little heartbroken after hearing about some of Wu Meiniang's past.

"I have my own reasons."

"Difficulties?" Song Sanlang scoffed.

"Your future is built on abandoning your wife; you have nothing to be respected."

"Your so-called predicament is nothing more than the evolution of your own selfish desires."

Li Yuanchang didn't want to explain anything; some things couldn't be said, at least not now.

"Leave Chang'an; this is not a place for you."