Binding Spring Love

Suddenly, a group of old women from the Marquis's mansion surrounded Song Wan, but they dared not lay a hand on her.

As the wife of a marquis, even though she had such a terrible falling out with the marquis, no one knew how Jiang Xing would deal with her. Moreover, even if the marquis's mansion couldn't tolerate her, the Song family behind her was not someone a group of servants could afford to offend.

For a time, Song Wan and her two companions were locked in a stalemate with the servants of the Marquis's residence. Song Wan simply strode towards the outer courtyard, while the old women formed a circle around her, following her at a distance and trying to persuade her.

"Madam, please reconsider. The outer courtyard is just ahead."

Reaching the hanging flower gate, Song Wan stopped, looking at the barrier separating the inner and outer sides.

It was just a wall, yet it isolated her for eighteen years of her life. Whether she was in her boudoir or married into the Marquis's mansion, she never stepped out of that door alone.

Song Wan subconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt, a sudden realization dawning on her mind.

"Madam, please don't be angry with the Marquis. This outer courtyard is not a place for you to go. There are only servants and young men outside. What would you do if you were to be offended by a male outsider?"

"Miss……"

Heng Zhiyi pursed her lips, unsure of what to do.

"Walk."

Song Wan gripped her skirt tightly and finally took her first step forward.

If she doesn't even dare to leave the inner courtyard of the Marquis's mansion today, how can she not be a burden to her aunt and brother in the future?

"The lady has been discharged from the hospital; the men should stay away."

When she actually left the inner courtyard, a group of old women tried to stop her, cleared the area, and even rushed to the inner quarters to get Song Wan's veil.

Hengzhi and Hengwu held the washing maid's laundry mallet, trembling as they protected Song Wan.

Just as everyone was at a stalemate, four bells suddenly rang out from inside the mansion.

Song Wan paused, looking in the direction of Fuhe Hall.

Someone called out that the old lady had passed away, and several old women suddenly burst into tears.

Song Wan was also somewhat surprised. Although she knew that the old lady's health had been failing for a long time, she did not expect her to pass away today.

She pursed her lips slightly, and finally gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go."

The servants who had been surrounding her exchanged glances, and half of them ran towards Fuhetang.

"Madam, please come back with this old servant. This outer courtyard is really not a place for you to go. Where can you go today? There are no carriages or horses in the mansion, and it's in complete chaos outside. It would be dangerous if you went out of this gate."

"Yes, madam, please return with this old servant."

Granny Liang and Qi Shun's wife had always respected her, as she had been kind to them. At this moment, they were also reluctant to see Song Wan cause an uncontrollable situation.

While they were still trying to comfort her, the sounds of fighting rang out from the main gate of the Marquis's mansion.

Although the two groups were locked in fierce combat, neither side dared to actually hurt anyone. So, despite their loud shouts and vigorous cursing, it was all talk and no action.

After nearly an hour of fighting, the servants and old women of the Song family finally broke into the gate of the Marquis's mansion.

The situation was also quite chaotic on Song Wan's side. The noise from the old women was heard by the people of the Song family. They saw a burly woman suddenly push aside the gatekeepers and rush into the Marquis's mansion while crying.

"Young Miss, this old servant has come to rescue you."

Upon hearing this, the Song family members seemed to gain courage from the bottom of their hearts, and then they unleashed their power, wielding wooden sticks and plows to strike the Hou family members fiercely.

"Fight back! The Marquis has said he will not allow the Lady to leave the Marquis's residence even a step!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than the two groups, who had previously acted as if they were playing around, immediately began to fight and draw blood.

Song Wan was surrounded by Hengzhi, Hengwu, and five or six Song family servants. One of the servants put a veil on her and carefully protected her. However, the Marquis's mansion had too many people, and before long, Song Wan and the servants of the Song family were forced back to the inner courtyard.

Jiang Xingjian was carried out by several servants, and his eyes were deep upon seeing this scene.

"Wan'er, come back."

He regretted it; he didn't want to let her go.

"Jiang Xingjian, don't forget that the Fifth Prince is still in the room."

Song Wan wore a veil, so Jiang Xingjian couldn't see her expression, but he could hear the resolute meaning in her words.

He lowered his eyes to hide the gloom in them, forcefully suppressing the ruthlessness in his heart.

"Qianbai's fate is uncertain. If you forcibly stop me today, I will perish together with the Fifth Prince. I just don't know if you can bear Consort Jiang's wrath."

Song Wan lifted her veil, casually pulled off a lantern from under the eaves, and tossed it onto the white silk hanging everywhere.

The white silk that had just been hung up instantly caught fire, and Song Wan continued to tear down the lanterns and throw them around.

Jiang Xingjian pressed his hand against the wound on his abdomen, his lips appearing unusually pale due to blood loss.

The fire raged on and on. The servants of the Marquis's mansion fought the fire while keeping watch over Song Wan. They only dispersed when Jiang Xingjian spoke up.

"Do you think that leaving the Marquis's residence today means leaving forever?"

Song Wan said calmly, "At least I'm leaving today. Let's go."

The moment Song Wan stepped out of the gate of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion, she felt a slight dizziness.

She staggered slightly, but was supported by Hengzhi and Hengwu, whose eyes were also red.

The burly old woman, wiping away tears, said, "Young Miss, this old servant will escort you back to your residence."

"No, it won't work."

Song Wan shook her head: "Things are chaotic today, and Qianbai is also in the manor. Father and brother must have other plans. At this critical moment, I cannot cause trouble for the manor."

"Let's go to a village in the suburbs."

Once inside the carriage, Song Wan breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although she was worried about Qianbai, now was not the time to return to the manor and cause trouble. She could only wait until Qianbai was alright and until the manor figured out how to deal with her.

Clutching her skirt tightly, Song Wan felt a slight sting in her nose.

I'm troubling my brother again, making him worry about her...

"Who is it?"

Upon reaching the city gate, the Song family's carriage was suddenly stopped. After negotiating with the city's garrison commander for a moment, the old woman returned and said, "Miss, the city gate is closed. They say that enemy spies have infiltrated the city tonight, and no one is allowed to enter or leave for the next seven days."

"Seven days?"

The old woman looked worried and nodded helplessly.

Just as Song Wan was wondering what to do, she heard someone walking over from outside.

"Is that Lord Song Fusong's younger sister in the carriage?"

"It is indeed our young lady."

The soldiers looked the old woman up and down and said, "You can leave now."

Song Wan was puzzled. She had never expected that she could still go out even though the city gates were closed. She was at a loss. She dared not leave the city easily for fear of falling into someone's trap, and she was also worried that she would bring trouble to her family if she stayed in the city.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke softly, "May I ask which lord gave the order to open the door?"

"Eunuch Wan, the head of the Eastern Depot."

After the soldier finished speaking, he went to open the gate for Song Wan to pass through.

Seeing this, Hengzhi asked, "Miss, shall we leave the city?"

"out."

Song Wan removed her veil and said softly, "No one dares to act in the name of the Eastern Depot."

Although she didn't know when Song Fu had become involved with the Eastern Depot, she had to leave the city today.

The carriage quickly drove out of the city gate. Wan Xiao stood on the high building, quite puzzled as to why his master was meddling in other people's business today.

"My lord, the Lady of Chengyang..."

Xiao Jiye waved his hand, not caring about Song Wan's reaction.

"Today, the eldest prince has been deposed, and the third and fifth princes are either injured or crippled. Once Your Majesty returns to the palace, you can regain your status as crown prince. Your subordinate is truly happy for Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiyue said, "It's not the right time yet."

Not to mention that he can't return to the Eastern Palace these few days, and it's unknown whether Ji Rong can hold on, even if he were to say that he has "recovered from his illness" at this time, it would definitely arouse suspicion from all sides that he is the one behind the scenes today.

Empress Jiang and the other two will surely join forces to pin the blame for the three princes' injuries on him.

It would be better to continue to bide our time and reap the benefits later.

He's waited for over twenty years, so why would he care about a few more days?

Shen Qianyu leaned lazily against the window, expressionless, and tossed the fish-scale talisman engraved with Xiao Jiye's name into the trash can in the room.