Chapter 1157: Chapter 1145: Conscience (30)_2
Su Jin would often take Yuanyuan out to play; since it was a rare visit, how could she not enjoy the scenery of Nanlin?
In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
Princess Jing Mountain’s bridal sedan arrived outside the city gates.
Dong Chenglang came to welcome the bride, escorted by Prince Beimo, with a ten-mile red wedding procession, entering the city in grand style.
The pomp of the Founding Emperor marrying the Empress was no less than the grand ceremony of ascending the throne.
The wedding banquet was even more lively.
Dong Chenglang didn’t expect Xie Jingchen to come and was genuinely surprised to see him.
Not only had Xie Jingchen come, but Prince NanAn and his group were all there.
With a gathering of brothers, the wine flowed like water into their mouths.
One by one, they were carried out of the palace after drinking.
After taking hangover prevention pills, they woke up the next day with a slight headache, indicating they drank quite a lot.
The previous day at the banquet, they got tired of the lavish food, so Prince NanAn and the others agreed with Dong Chenglang and Prince Beimo to have a vegetarian meal at Jiufosi Temple.
After waiting for a while, Prince Beimo had already arrived, but there was no sign of Dong Chenglang.
"Could it be that he’s still not sober?" Prince NanAn speculated.
"Probably not," Chu Shun said.
"We should send someone to check," he suggested.
Soon, the dispatched guard returned, saying, "The Heir of Duke Ning was beaten black and blue and is lying in bed recovering; he won’t be able to go out for a few days."
Beaten?
Prince NanAn and the others were incredulous.
Given Dong Chenglang’s current status, who would dare to hit him?
Unless they had a death wish.
Just as they were about to ask more questions, the guard added, "He asked me to deliver a message."
"What message?" Chu Shun asked.
"He said if the Heir of Prince Zhenbei still has any conscience, he should visit him at Duke Ning Mansion," the guard relayed.
"..."
Xie Jingchen walked over and happened to hear this; he asked, "Who hit him?"
"General Shi."
"..."
Thinking about how much Dong Chenglang drank yesterday, staggering as he walked, Xie Jingchen guessed something must have happened.
They originally agreed to have a vegetarian meal but now ended up visiting Duke Ning Mansion to see the sick instead.
The Prince and Princess Consort were not at the palace; they were summoned early by Princess Consort Ling to the palace, as today was Zhao Xu and Princess Jing Mountain’s tea ceremony for their uncle and aunt.
Dong Chenglang lay on the bed, truly in a miserable state.
If they didn’t know it was Dong Chenglang, their brother, they wouldn’t recognize him even if their eyes weren’t blind.
The doctor was changing Dong Chenglang’s medicine, with Duchess Ning standing by the side.
Seeing Xie Jingchen come in, her eyes lingered on him for some time.
She would never have thought that the small captain of that day turned out to be the Heir of Prince Zhenbei of Daqi.
No doubt.
Yesterday, after Dong Chenglang drank too much, Young Master Shi sent him home.
Dong Chenglang, in his drunken haze, mistook his uncle, General Shi, for Xie Jingchen, patted his shoulder, and, in a boozy hiccup, asked, "Honestly, did you use tricks to lose my uncle’s Red Book Iron Certificate?"
At that moment, General Shi’s face turned black.
Young Master Shi tried to pull Dong Chenglang away to prevent further nonsense, but General Shi stopped him.
Dong Chenglang, too drunk to see clearly, found General Shi’s voice familiar, let down his guard, and told how he tricked his uncle.
"I must be the best nephew in the world, right?" Dong Chenglang said smugly.
General Shi’s forehead veins bulged.
He tolerated it time and again.
Dong Chenglang is now the Nanlin Prince Consort, son-in-law of Prime Minister Zhao, and brother-in-law to Zhao Xu.
General Shi didn’t regret siding with Zhao Xu, but which uncle wouldn’t be infuriated by his own nephew’s trickery?
For the sake of Prime Minister Zhao, he tolerated it.
But Dong Chenglang couldn’t hold his drinks and vomited on General Shi.
General Shi couldn’t hold back.
And then—
Dong Chenglang ended up like this.
Seeing Xie Jingchen coming over, he moved slightly, bones cracking audibly.
He grimaced and lay back down.
His face was tear-streaked.
This time, he wouldn’t be out of bed for at least half a month.
Duchess Ning felt sorry for her son, thinking General Shi was too harsh.
But recalling her son’s actions, she felt General Shi was too lenient.
Leaving the room to them, Duchess Ning turned and left.
Dong Chenglang looked at Xie Jingchen, twisting his neck to look back as much as he could, "You didn’t bring sister-in-law for me to see?"
Xie Jingchen sat by the bed, saying, "Back then, I advised you to leave some way out for yourself. Who said that even if things were exposed, you wouldn’t be beaten to death?"
Dong Chenglang, "..."
Did he say that?
"Even if I did say it, can’t you at least refrain from laughing in my face?" Dong Chenglang glared around, his neck twisted.
"Laughing in your face makes us brothers; sneaking laughs behind your back would make us villains," Prince NanAn retorted confidently.
"..."
Dong Chenglang felt like dying.
Why did he invite them to visit him?
Wouldn’t it be better to heal alone rather than have them rubbing salt into his wounds?
Seeing Prince NanAn and the others laughing so heartily, Dong Chenglang felt relying on them for ideas to win back his uncle was hopeless.
But if he did nothing, his uncle would likely want to beat him every time they met.
Outside, Young Master Shi came in.
He had come to deliver ointment to Dong Chenglang.
Locking eyes with Xie Jingchen, Young Master Shi said, "No wonder when I saw you a few days ago, I felt some familiarity. I didn’t expect we’ve known each other for so long."
Xie Jingchen stood up, looked at him, and said, "When I infiltrated the Nanliang Military Camp, it was only to uncover the truth about the annihilation of the Flying Tiger Army back then. I got close to Brother Dong because he was the nephew of your respected father, General Shi, a tactical opportunity."
"On the way to the Capital City, I learned that Brother Dong was Zhao Xu’s man, and indeed, the Red Book Iron Certificate of the Shi Family was reclaimed by me, through the hand of the Heir of the Duke of Guardian, to help Zhao Xu. I never discussed this with Brother Dong."
"That Red Book Iron Certificate, Zhao Xu will return it to the Shi Family."
Dong Chenglang looked at Xie Jingchen, "Didn’t Brother Zhao say it wasn’t possible?"
"Granting too many rewards at once means having nothing more to grant or reward in the future isn’t good for anyone," Xie Jingchen said.
