Chapter 169: What Do You Want to Do!

Noon.

Zhao Yan and Ah Ji returned to Suimian Street, but were shocked by the scene before them.

Outside their small courtyard gate, it was already blocked solid by all sorts of carriages, horses, and crowds of people.

The already narrow street and alley, at this moment, had carriage poles knocking against each other, people and horses milling about; it was like a temple fair during the holidays.

Crowds dressed in various casual clothes or military uniforms, holding calling cards and gift lists, stretched their necks to peer inside anxiously, while servants carried heavy gift boxes, moving with difficulty through the crowd.

The sounds of shouting and the arguments caused by the crowding blended into one.

Inner Courtyard.

“Brother An, I can’t hold them off! I can’t hold them off!”

Hu Couhe rushed into the backyard, complaining the moment he saw him: “Brother An, you are a person of some standing now. Relying on just me and that bald donkey to guard the door is too undignified! Our estate needs to add more hands!”

He was very envious of Steward Lin, the steward of the neighboring Lin estate, who managed dozens of people and had two strong servants following him when he went out to handle affairs; it was so impressive.

But Little Hu… even AZhi didn’t listen to him.

“Just say I moved to the Vermilion Bird Army camp.”

Ding Suian tightened his sash and climbed up to the east wall.

He hadn’t expected the news to spread so quickly. The official appointment document hadn’t even come down yet, and the residence was already surrounded by well-informed people.

“Oh eh? Brother An, what are you doing?”

“Going out!”

“Why are you climbing the wall to go out?”

“Can we even get out through the front door?”

While speaking, Ding Suian had already skillfully vaulted into the neighboring Lin estate.

The March spring sun was perfect.

Lin Dafu was lying on a recliner under the grape trellis in the backyard, dappled sunlight leaking through—neither cold nor hot.

Beside him, a few concubines were pounding his legs and kneading his shoulders—so comfortable.

“Master, there must be some rules in the backyard~”

Xiaotao, with a pair of dark circles under her eyes, sat on Lin Dafu’s lap, peeled a fruit, and handed it to Lin Dafu’s mouth, her tone aggrieved.

Last night, it was precisely when she was serving him that Lin Hansu kicked down the door.

With such a strong-willed daughter in the house, this group of concubines lived even more cautiously than those in other houses with a mistress.

Even more frustrating was that the Third Lady of the Lin family not only had an exalted status but was also a widow, meaning that unless something unexpected happened, she would always remain in this house.

“That’s right! Even if the Princess Consort of Lanyang is noble, she is ultimately the master’s daughter~”

“Master, you are afraid of the Princess Consort of Lanyang, but for us sisters, we don’t even dare to breathe loudly when we see her.”

“Master, the Princess Consort of Lanyang dared to kick the door today; who knows if she will dare to sell us sisters off tomorrow, *sob sob sob*~”

The concubines were chattering, tattling on her.

Although Lin Dafu was good-natured, he was also a man who cared about Face. “Ahem, would I be afraid of her? That is my daughter. Even if she became the Queen Mother of the West, she would still have to call me ‘Dad’ when she sees me! Hmph, next time I see her, watch how I scold her! From now on, absolutely no one is allowed to barge into the backyard without being announced! In this Lin estate, your master is still the one in charge!”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a tall man walking over in a hurry.

As for the backyard, besides Lin Dafu, no man would come in, so the concubines were dressed quite scantily.

“…”

The concubines seemed to have been frozen by a spell, watching the man walk quickly under the grape trellis.

Lin Dafu’s hand, which was wandering under Xiaotao’s bodice, also stopped, and he turned his head, staring blankly at Ding Suian.

If he remembered correctly… this was his house, right? Where did he pop out from?

Ding Suian bowed while walking. “Lord Lin, you have a good mood. Please continue with your massage; I’m just borrowing the door to pass through.”

After saying that, he had quickly passed through the grape trellis and walked straight past.

From beginning to end, his pace never slowed.

“Ah~”

A moment later, several screams erupted from under the grape trellis.

Then came Lin Dafu’s angry and aggrieved shouting, “Do you think my house is a brothel? You come and go as you please!”

Circling out from the back door of the Lin estate to Suimian Street, Ding Suian went straight to Zhangtai Willow.

Ruan Guofan seemed to have just woken up, yawning repeatedly.

“Uncle is getting on in years; it’s better to stay up late less often in the future.”

Ding Suian exchanged pleasantries upon meeting, not expecting him to get worked up. “Was it just me staying up late last night? The entire West Yamen stayed up half the night with you! If you stopped taking women out of the city in the middle of the night, I would naturally be able to sleep well!”

“Hehe~”

Besides an awkward laugh, what else could he do?

Fortunately, Ruan Guofan didn’t dwell on this issue. “Why did you come?”

“I want the Shadow Division brothers to collect evidence of someone’s crimes.”

“Who?”

“Zheng Jinsan.”

“Oh.”

Ruan Guofan wasn’t surprised, only reminding him, “You should know, he is Prince Anping’s man?”

“I know.”

Hearing this, Ruan Guofan said no more. “Give me two days.”

The Saint once said, when will vengeance end? Cut the weeds and dig up the roots so there are no worries.

Anyway, he already had a blood feud with Zheng Jinsan; regardless of whose man he was, he had to be killed first.

Moreover, from the conversation with Princess Xingguo in the early morning, Ding Suian keenly sensed that she didn’t seem to have any intention of protecting Chen Duan. If one were to theorize, Chen Yi grew up by her side, and she probably didn’t want to see Chen Duan cultivating power in the Forbidden Army either.

Ding Suian even felt that the reason Princess Xingguo gave him the task of reorganizing the army was that she regarded him as Chen Yi’s man.

But he himself believed that he wasn’t anyone’s man.

He was just looking for an opportunity to eliminate potential threats and, by the way, climb a little higher, striving to make his relationship with the Princess Consort of Lanyang more publicized, precise, and profound.

“When you see your father, say a word—I’m hosting a banquet at Zhangtai Willow these days, call him to gather.”

When Ding Suian was leaving, Ruan Guofan instructed.

“Sure.”

Leaving Zhangtai Willow, he turned to Chilao Alley in the South City.

There were no idlers in Chilao Alley; everyone was busy trying to make a living. In the afternoon, the alley was quiet.

Old Ding wasn’t home either; Ding Suian climbed the wall and entered the courtyard.

He waited until the time of the Rooster when the sky grew dark.

Ding Lie returned home, pushed open the courtyard gate, and saw the flickering firelight of the stove in the corner of the courtyard, casting the shadow of his son, who was guarding the stove, onto the mottled wall.

Ding Lie took two steps closer, his pace suddenly pausing, his eyes falling on the wooden sword at Little Ding’s waist.

“Old Ding, look at how this steamed egg custard turned out?”

Ding Suian lifted the pot lid made of sorghum stalks, and a burst of steam surged up.

The swirling steam well concealed the strange look that flashed across Old Ding’s Face. He slowly stepped forward a few steps, leaned over to look, “Hmm, not bad, you’ve inherited a few parts of my true teachings.”

“Haha~”

When Ding Suian was a child, whenever he was sick or uncomfortable, Old Ding would steam a bowl of egg custard.

This was Little Ding’s “sick meal,” and also a warm memory belonging exclusively to the two of them.

The two of them sat in the courtyard, eating in the twilight.

Regarding last night’s events, Old Ding had many questions. He hesitated for a long time, finally pretending to ask casually but with a hint of caution: “Kid, you and the Princess Consort of Lanyang…”

“We are together.”

Ding Suian looked up, answering crisply, without any circumlocution.

“…”

Old Ding didn’t expect his son to be so direct, stunned for a long time before saying in a low voice: “She is a widowed Princess Consort of Lanyang; how can this work?”

“You yourself said ‘widowed’; which law of the dynasty forbids a widow from remarrying?”

“Remarrying? Are you serious? You two…”

Old Ding was quite uncomfortable, shielding himself by lowering his head to eat the custard, and asked: “You two, to what stage have you reached?”

“We slept together.”

“…”

“Old Ding, you don’t even think a daughter-in-law like her is good enough?”

“No, but she is a Princess Consort of Lanyang!”

“What about a Princess Consort of Lanyang? Isn’t she also a woman?”

“She is older than you, right?”

“Six years older; just right to hold two gold bricks.”

“…”

It was clearly visible… Old Ding was not very happy, or rather, not very optimistic. He pondered for a long time, sighed, “Kid, since you were small, whatever you wanted to do, I never stopped you, but this marriage won’t work…”

Old Ding raised his hand, stopping Ding Suian from speaking, and continued: “Listen to me first. Dad isn’t saying the Princess Consort of Lanyang is bad, but that this matter is very difficult; if you’re not careful, half your life will be wasted in it.”

Ding Suian put down his bowl and smiled at Old Ding: “Dad, when I was young, you taught me that living a life, one only seeks peace of mind; do what you like, and shoulder the responsibilities you should shoulder. Now, am I not practicing the principles you taught me? She is what I like; this is doing what I like. As for the person, I have slept with her, and I have sworn oaths to the moon; this is shouldering the responsibility I should shoulder.”

Old Ding looked at his son’s Face, which had shed its childishness and was now distinct and angular. He slowly lowered his head and used his spoon to scoop a spoonful of tender, smooth egg custard into his mouth, but said: “The egg custard is steamed well. From now on, you have to steam it yourself.”

After this matter was finished, the twilight deepened.

The embers in the stove were only left with dark red sparks.

Ding Suian probed: “Old Ding, this morning Your Highness appointed me as the Commander of the Main Army Division, and I can mobilize people from various armies to serve under my command. Do you… want to change places? After all, father and son fight together on the battlefield~”

This time, reorganizing military discipline naturally couldn’t be done by Ding Suian alone.

The higher-ups would establish a Main Army Division, with Dianqian Division Envoy He Danian and West Yamen Inspector Sun Tiewu serving as the main and deputy envoys respectively.

But Princess Xingguo also said that the Main Army Division was just a nominal post; the real work still needed to be done by Ding Suian, this Commander of the Main Army Division.

She granted him the power to build his own team.

But when Old Ding heard this, his reaction was more intense than when he heard about Lin Hansu; he was somewhat angry. “Do you have to wade into this muddy water?”

Ding Suian said: “Anyway, I’ve already formed a blood feud with that Zheng Jinsan. If I don’t take the opportunity to get rid of him, I won’t be able to sleep peacefully.”

“He can’t do anything to you!”

Old Ding’s reply was categorical, and behind that certainty seemed to hide some unknown confidence.

Ding Suian looked at his father, his eyes bright in the dim light. “Why can’t he do anything to me? Are you counting on that elusive man in black to protect me?”

“…”

Old Ding seemed to be choked by something, lowered his head, scooped up a spoonful of egg custard that had long since cooled, and put it into his mouth, avoiding his son’s gaze.

It was clearly a soft, smooth egg custard that melted in the mouth, but he chewed it for a long time.

Ding Suian stopped while he was ahead, didn’t continue probing, gently put down the bowl, and said in a low voice: “Old Ding, take this opportunity to move up a bit, too. There’s also Uncle Hu, Uncle Dahai, and Uncle Hantai who was just rescued from Southern Zhao. In terms of seniority and age, they should all be promoted.”

“What do you want to do!”

Old Ding opened his mouth, and some egg custard crumbs slipped from the corner of his mouth.

Ding Suian met his gaze, very calm, only saying: “I don’t want to do anything, but I don’t want to have to scheme and calculate, taking the long way around to kill him the next time I encounter someone clamoring for you to kneel and apologize! If you ask me what I want to do, I’m just thinking that next time I encounter this kind of thing, I can kill the person on the spot without any scruples.”