Witnessing the two of them chatting and laughing in the room, Cheng Ying felt a rush of blood to her head. She rushed over excitedly, pulled Song Qingshu off the bed, and then stood between them, glaring at him like a mother hen protecting her chicks. “What are you trying to do?”
Song Qingshu smiled wryly. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“Exactly,” Lu Wushuang chimed in, finally snapping out of her daze. “Brother Song came to check on my injuries. Cousin, what are you doing?”
“Brother Song?” Cheng Ying was furious. “Just yesterday you wanted to kill him. Since when are you two on such good terms?”
“Cousin~” Hearing this, Lu Wushuang’s face turned red. She shot an embarrassed glance at Song Qingshu, then pouted at Cheng Ying. “It’s not like I’m someone as ungrateful as Guo Fu. Brother Song used up a great deal of his true qi and precious medicine to treat my injuries. I’m grateful to him, not hateful.” Back when she was with Yang Guo, she had often exchanged barbs with Guo Fu and had never liked that willful, spoiled young lady.
Cheng Ying was momentarily speechless. How could she possibly tell her what had happened last night? She had only been looking out for Lu Wushuang, and yet here she was being resented instead. Unable to reveal the truth, she felt utterly frustrated.
Lu Wushuang also couldn’t understand why her cousin, who was always polite to others, was acting like this today. But she had more pressing concerns at the moment, so she didn’t dwell on it. “By the way, Brother Song, yesterday you mentioned… mentioned that Fool… I mean Brother Yang’s… his fiancée. What was that all about?”
Even Cheng Ying, who had been stewing in her anger, immediately had her attention captured and pricked up her ears to listen.
“Well, it’s like this. Brother Yang’s grandfather was Wanyan Honglie, the Prince Zhao of the Jin. Back then, he arranged a childhood betrothal with the chieftain of the Pucha clan…” Song Qingshu then recounted the events that had taken place in the Jin Dynasty.
“What? That Fool is from the Jin Dynasty!” After hearing this, Lu Wushuang could no longer contain herself and cried out in surprise. Beside her, Cheng Ying also looked utterly shocked. As citizens of the Song Dynasty, they had been raised from childhood knowing that they shared a blood feud with the Jin people. Suddenly learning Yang Guo’s true identity, neither of them could quite accept it at first.
“It’s just a cruel twist of fate. Brother Yang didn’t have any say in the matter,” Song Qingshu explained on Yang Guo’s behalf. “But whether he is Song or Jin, Brother Yang is still a man of honor who stands tall between heaven and earth. Why should you two young ladies be so troubled by it?”
“That’s right. No matter what, he is still my Fool.” Lu Wushuang was relatively straightforward, and to everyone’s surprise, she was the first to recover.
Cheng Ying possessed a mind as sharp and perceptive as Huang Rong’s. She pondered many things, and only after a long while did she ask, “Given Miss Long’s temperament, even if Brother Yang were Jin, she wouldn’t mind. And they love each other so much. Why aren’t they together?”
“The specifics aren’t entirely clear to me either, but I suppose it comes down to fate.” Song Qingshu sighed inwardly. In the original story, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu had already endured so many hardships, yet in this world, it was even worse. Yang Guo was from the Jin, and Xiao Longnu was the orphan of Yue Fei. Yue Fei had devoted his life to resisting the Jin, and the Jin people hated Yue Fei with a burning passion. The obstacles between them were not only the feudal codes of conduct but also national enmity and the blood feud of their homelands.
But while Song Qingshu felt sympathetic, he also felt a secret sense of glee. If not for this, with Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü’s love being stronger than metal, he probably wouldn’t have had any chance at all. But now? Let the best man win.
Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang wanted to continue asking about Yang Guo, but then a maidservant suddenly ran to the doorway and said, “Young Master Song, the master invites you to the study for a discussion of important matters.”
Song Qingshu frowned slightly, then smiled and asked, “Would you happen to know what it’s about, miss?”
The maidservant hadn’t expected him to be so courteous. With his handsome features and pleasant attitude, she immediately felt favorable toward him. “This servant doesn’t know, sir. I only know that the Third Young Master has returned. It might be related to that.”
“Very well. Please lead the way, miss.” Song Qingshu rose and bid farewell to Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang, then followed the maidservant toward the study. Since Lu Guanying had returned, he must have brought important news from Lin’an.
Watching his departing figure, Cheng Ying’s expression grew strange. She thought to herself, *If my brother-in-law had returned just a few hours earlier and caught Song Qingshu in my cousin’s bed… I wonder if it would really be true, as my cousin said, that he wouldn’t be angry at all.*
Now, at the study. Song Qingshu entered to find Lu Zai, Lu You, and Lu Guanying all standing with their heads bowed respectfully, gazing at the back of another man. That man had his back to the door and was browsing through precious ancient texts on the bookshelf, sighing as he did so. “They say the Lu family’s collection is even richer than the imperial palace. I didn’t quite believe it before, but seeing it today, I am truly impressed.”
“You flatter us, Minister,” Lu Zai replied respectfully. Beside him, Lu You also bowed to the man, though his face still bore the traces of a hangover—clearly he had drunk too much the night before and had yet to fully sober up.
Hearing Song Qingshu enter, the people in the room turned around. The man facing away from the door also turned, looking at Song Qingshu with a smile. “It’s been many days, Young Master Song. You remain as radiant as ever.”
Song Qingshu smiled back. “And you, Minister Han, are just as impressive as always.” At the same time, he was secretly alarmed. He hadn’t expected Minister Han to come personally. Although Lin’an and Shanyin weren’t far apart, they also weren’t particularly close. Calculating the timing, Minister Han had likely left immediately after meeting Lu Guanying and traveled through the night to arrive so quickly.
After a few polite exchanges, Minister Han suddenly looked at him with a half-smile. “Currently, the Golden Serpent Camp and the Southern Song Dynasty have hundreds of thousands of soldiers facing each other along the Yangtze River. A great war is on the brink of breaking out. What business brings you here at such a time, young master?”
Song Qingshu laughed. “Sightseeing, and visiting some old friends along the way.”
“Is that so?” Minister Han’s tone suddenly changed. “I suspect that Young Master Song has come to seek peace.”
Song Qingshu neither confirmed nor denied it, merely replying calmly, “And I suspect that Minister Han, having rushed all the way from Lin’an through the night, is the one who has come to seek peace.”
Minister Han was startled, realizing that he had shown too much eagerness and given himself away. But the situation at court was changing by the moment, leaving him no time to take things slowly. “What makes you say that, young master?”
Song Qingshu smiled slightly. “Even if everyone in the Southern Song court wants war with the Golden Serpent Camp, you, Minister Han, are definitely not among them. Your greatest enemy has always been the Jin Dynasty. Your heart’s desire is to avenge the shame of Jingkang and reclaim the lost territories. You have spent decades scheming toward this goal. On the verge of success, why would you allow the court to be distracted by the Golden Serpent Camp?”
After all, Song Qingshu came from a later era and knew the burdens in Minister Han’s heart. Moreover, he had previously learned from the Purple-Clothed Dragon King that her husband, Han Qianye, had been a spy sent by Minister Han to infiltrate the Jin Dynasty twenty years ago, which only confirmed all of this.
Having his thoughts laid bare so directly, Minister Han was both shocked and angry. However, having navigated the treacherous currents of court politics for many years, he quickly recovered. “Very well. Since we are both intelligent men, let us speak plainly. I do not want the court to go to war with the Golden Serpent Camp, and clearly you share the same sentiment. In that case, shall we simply abide by the agreement we made back in Yangzhou?”
Song Qingshu raised an eyebrow and said in a low voice, “But I suspect the Southern Song court is no longer yours alone to command, Minister Han?”
Minister Han frowned deeply. “Surely you aren’t worried about something?”
Song Qingshu chuckled darkly. “I simply have no desire to repeat the disaster of Yangzhou.”