I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Han Gou's screams reached outside the cell, scaring the rats inside so much that they scurried back into their holes.

Scarface grabbed his hair and slapped him twice across the face.

"The Minister of War's son, right?"

"So you're trying to cuckold His Highness, aren't you?"

"Do you expect them to force the issue?"

The other three men surrounded them, punching and kicking them in the fleshy parts of their bodies.

Han Gou was still able to shout at first, but after being hit seven or eight times, all he could say was beg for mercy.

"Grandpas, please stop hitting them."

"I'll take the silver; my family has silver."

The one-eyed man grabbed his clothes, pulled him out of the corner, and then kicked him in the buttocks.

"Where's the silver?"

Han Gou lay on the ground, his face so swollen he could barely open his eyes, and he spoke in a trembling voice.

"My family has it. My family is the Minister of War. You can go ask him for it. Ten thousand taels, two hundred thousand taels, it's all fine!"

The burly man with a face full of scars also laughed.

"Isn't your father very powerful? Why didn't he come to save you?"

Han Gou was stunned by the question.

Yes.

He's been locked up for several days, why hasn't his father rescued him yet?

Does Father have a mistress?

Thinking of this, Han Gou felt completely lost and curled up in a ball, covering his head.

Scarface winked at the other three men.

"His Highness has already given instructions. Young Master Han is full of energy; we can help you relax!"

When Han Gou heard the name of the Ninth Prince, he immediately understood.

"Lu Yuan!"

"Lu Yuan sent you!"

"If you dare to take the law into your own hands for him, I'll definitely report you to the Ministry of Justice after I get out!"

The four people stopped.

Han Gou thought they were already scared, so he stood up halfway by leaning against the wall. Just as he was about to curse a few more times, Scarface unzipped his pants.

Just as he was wondering what Scarface was going to do, a jet of water suddenly shot into his face.

Han Gou was stunned.

The stench of urine quickly spread through the cell, mixing with the smells of hay and moldy walls, causing several prisoners nearby to cover their noses.

"Go ahead and sue me."

Scarface straightened his pants and a fierce expression appeared on his face.

"Let's talk about it when you get out of here alive!"

Han Gou wiped his face, looked at the urine on his hands, and then smelled the odor on his body. He was completely devastated.

He rushed to the cell door, put both hands inside the iron bars, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"father!"

"mother!"

"Help me!"

At the end of the cell, the jailer leaned against the wall and, upon hearing the crying, extended a hand to the person next to him.

"Young Master Han called out 'Father' seventeen times and 'Mother' nine times today."

A jailer next to him took out ten copper coins from his sleeve, his face showing a defiant expression.

"What's the rush? It's not even dark yet."

Just after the two finished gambling, a scream came from Han Gou's side.

The jailer put the copper coins into his pocket.

"Eighteen times!"

……

The Ninth Prince's residence, backyard.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, and on the table sat a bowl of millet porridge, a steamed bun, some pickles, and a plate of sliced ​​braised beef.

Su Yuling, dressed in loose clothing, sat at the table eating porridge.

She usually eats very quickly, but today she was sipping her drink in tiny sips, and her posture was quite unseemly.

Shen Hanqiu sat opposite her, her face still flushed.

The room was extremely quiet.

Su Yuling picked up a piece of beef, looked up at her.

"You used up so much energy last night, you need to eat more to replenish yourself."

Shen Hanqiu's fingers trembled slightly, and he dropped his chopsticks, causing the beef to fall back into the plate.

"It's...it's alright."

"When you were begging for mercy last night, I didn't see anything good about you! You look so delicate and weak, how come you lasted so long last night?"

"Jade Spirit!"

Shen Hanqiu's face turned red to her ears, so she quickly lowered her head to drink the porridge, but she drank it too fast and choked and coughed.

Su Yuling handed her a handkerchief, feeling embarrassed herself, and looked away.

"I was just asking."

How could you ask such a thing?

"You used to be my fifth sister-in-law, isn't it only natural for me to care about you?"

Shen Han covered his mouth and coughed for a long time. Only after he calmed down did he look at her resentfully.

"You're the one who's talking to me! What happened to you last night...?"

Su Yuling held chopsticks in her hand, but didn't move them.

When Shen Hanqiu's eyes met hers, he immediately swallowed back what he was about to say.

After Su Yuling put down her chopsticks, the blush on her face deepened.

"What happened last night?"

"It's nothing."

"you say."

"It's nothing."

Shen Hanqiu immediately changed the subject to other matters.

"By the way, should we go to the palace today to kowtow to the emperor?"

Su Yuling was in a daze.

What greetings are you offering?

"According to royal etiquette, the bride must go to the palace to pay her respects to the emperor and the elders in the harem the day after her wedding."

Shen Hanqiu said softly, "The late Empress has passed away. There are still Consorts and several other ladies-in-waiting in the palace. If we don't go, won't others find fault with us?"

Su Yuling grew up on the border and was not very familiar with the rules and regulations in the capital.

After thinking for a while, she shook her head and said, "My husband didn't say anything when he left."

She felt awkward as soon as she uttered the word "husband".

Shen Hanqiu's lips curled up upon hearing this.

"You changed your tune pretty quickly."

"You've already gone through the wedding ceremony, what else should you call me but 'husband'?"

Su Yuling glanced at her and then took another sip of porridge.

"Since he didn't say, let's pretend we don't know. I don't know any of the ladies in the palace, and I didn't know what to say when I went there."

After nodding, Shen Hanqiu picked up some rice from the bowl with her chopsticks, and after a while, she sighed softly.

Su Yuling looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Hanqiu lowered her eyes. "It's nothing, it just feels a little unreal."

"Just a few days ago, I was worried about the Han family forcing me into marriage, and I was even more afraid that my father would push me out. I never expected that I would become the Ninth Prince's concubine now."

She touched the new gold hairpin in her hair.

"I thought I'd spend the rest of my life guarding your fifth brother's memorial tablet. But after going around in circles, I ended up marrying the Ninth Prince."

Su Yuling looked at her, the playfulness in her eyes fading.

She reached out and covered Shen Hanqiu's hand.

Even if you can't be my fifth sister-in-law, we're still destined to be sisters.

Shen Hanqiu raised her head.

"Lu Yuan is not quite what people say about him," Su Yuling said. "He has a sharp tongue, is shameless, and doesn't follow any rules, but when trouble comes, he doesn't run away."

"When Han Gou brought his men to cause trouble, he stood up for you. When you were tricked into going to Han's residence, he dispatched the Imperial Guards to rescue you. At least, he will protect us."

Shen Hanqiu nodded gently.

"I hope so."

Su Yuling picked up the knife from the table, her tone quite natural.

"If he dares to treat us badly, I'll beat him up."

"Stop thinking about hitting His Highness."

"He promised me yesterday that as long as he doesn't mess with me, I won't chop him up."

Shen Hanqiu was both amused and exasperated.

What kind of marital agreement is this?

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

The maid ran in with a look of terror on her face.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, Consort, His Highness has returned!"

Su Yuling frowned. "You're back, so what's the rush?"

The maid saw that Su Yuling was holding a long sword and was speaking haltingly.

"His Highness has brought twenty more young women with him."

Shen Hanqiu asked, "Who is it?"

Su Yuling's gaze also changed.

"I'll go and ask them in person to get to the bottom of this."

She slowly stood up, picked up her longsword, and went outside.

Shen Hanqiu immediately followed.

"Yu Ling, let His Highness explain first!"

"Bringing twenty women home on the second day of their marriage, what other explanation is there?"

Su Yuling walked faster and faster.

……

In the front yard, Lu Yuan was pointing out various places in the mansion and assigning tasks to the female soldiers of the Phoenix Battalion.

"Eight men guard the front and back gates, four men patrol the night, and the rest are divided into two shifts to guard the backyard. If you see anyone suspicious, don't hesitate to arrest them first."

The female soldiers responded in unison.

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

The next moment, Su Yuling’s angry shout came from the courtyard gate.

"Lu Yuan!"

When Lu Yuan turned around, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

Su Yuling charged forward with her knife, her eyes blazing with fury despite her lingering joy.

"You've only just gotten married, and you're already bringing women into the manor!"

"Do you want to die?"

Shen Hanqiu chased after him, panting heavily.

"Yu Ling, don't be impulsive, that's..."

As the blade drew ever closer, Lu Yuan turned and hid behind twenty female soldiers, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Holy crap, protect him!"