bastard returns

In fact, Ning Zhongkun didn't really want to commit suicide.

What he has been thinking about all his life is to wait to become Ning Guogong to enjoy the blessings, and he is afraid of pain, not to mention such a horrible thing as suicide, even if it is just a small cut in his body with a knife, so if it is not In order to get himself out of prison, he would never listen to Ning Yuan's suggestion and play such things.

Originally, according to Ning Zhongkun's idea, he only needs to leave a bloody book, and then pretend to slam it against the wall, so that he can come out with the appearance of being wronged. Which prison is gloomy and wet? Slippery, he wrote the blood book, and when he was about to hit the wall, he accidentally stepped on a puddle of water and slipped, so the fake collision turned into a real collision, blood spattered three feet, his forehead and heart almost fell After smashing the flowers, he suddenly became ignorant of personnel and affairs.

Hearing the screams, the inspecting prison head immediately came to see the situation. Seeing Ning Zhongkun lying on the ground covered in blood, he was so frightened that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. Sun, even if he is a surrogate now, he still cannot die. If he loses his life in the cell for no reason, he will definitely not be able to get rid of the responsibility. Gotta lose my head.

So he was petrified and the prison chief notified the doctor and sent a message to Ning Huayang, wanting to ask him what to do about this matter.

It's just that Ning Huayang couldn't think of it. He originally planned to suppress this, and didn't want to delay his son's wedding. Unfortunately, Ning Yuan had already arranged for a few guys with loud voices to mix in the crowd. He saw that the messenger was coming. Immediately let everyone know that Ning Zhongkun committed suicide in the dungeon.

Dazhou has a rule in marriage customs, that is, if there is a new funeral in the husband's family, no wedding can be held no matter what, otherwise it will not only be unlucky but also harm the bride. To prevent Ning Yicai from marrying Princess Wanyi, This is naturally the best way, as long as everyone knows that Ning Zhongkun is looking for death in the sky prison, then no matter whether he dies or not, this marriage will definitely not go on, even if Ning Huayang insists on going his own way despite all the criticism , the royal family also refused.

Eunuch Qi was very agile in handling matters. He obeyed the eldest princess's order and immediately took people to the prison for a while. Seeing Ning Zhongkun's miserable state, he couldn't bear it for a while, thinking that Mr. Ning must have something big If it wasn't for the fact that there was a layer of wet soil on the wall, which was not as hard as the stone floor, Ning Zhongkun would have died long ago.

It's just that although Ning Zhongkun survived, his condition was really not optimistic. His head was bleeding, he lost a lot of blood, and his face was as white as paper. It's hard to say whether he will become a fool.

After understanding the situation clearly, Eunuch Qi didn't dare to be negligent, and hurried back to the Duke's Mansion with the blood letter in hand.

The inside of Duke Ning's mansion has changed from the original beaming to quiet. In the main hall, everyone sits together. There are so many people with status in the royal family, but Ning Huayang, who is now at the helm of the Duke's mansion, is pushed to the very edge. There was not even a seat, so he could only stand with Ning Yicai with a smile, and Princess Wanyi had already gone to rest in another flower hall accompanied by a maid under the arrangement of the eldest princess.

The queen was sitting in the middle with the eldest princess, and she had been quietly looking at the expression of the eldest princess. Although she was a queen, she was respectful and afraid of this old lady. Just now, she also sent someone back to the palace to send a letter to the emperor. There is something wrong here. Change, the emperor does not need to come for the time being.

Concubine Shu Hui sat at the head of the empress and drank tea quietly, with a calm expression on her face. Would Sikong Xuan behind her look out from the door? Although the door of Duke Ningguo's mansion was closed at this time, there was a lot of traffic outside. The voices of discussion could still come in in detail, and just by listening to the excitement, one could know that there would be more or no fewer people gathered outside than just now.

This is really normal. Most of the common people like to watch the excitement. The normal excitement is popular, and the abnormal excitement is more popular. It is worth seeing some rare gossip or scandal. Therefore, some people who did not come to watch the ceremony The common people, after spreading rumors about what happened in Ningguo Duke's mansion, they all flocked to him.

"Empress, Your Royal Highness, I think that my nephew is auspicious, and he must have misunderstood somewhere. Now that the auspicious time is about to pass, it will be delayed, why not..." Ning Huayang bent down, thinking of saying something. Ning Yicai and Princess Wanyi rushed to pay their respects, but before they finished speaking, they were interrupted by the eldest princess, "What's the hurry, we can discuss it after Eunuch Qi comes back. The auspicious time is of course important, but if Wanyi touches it What brows, Master Ning, can you take this responsibility!"

"Yes... I understand..." Ning Huayang's face froze. While stepping back, he gestured to Sikong Xu, who was sitting in front of him, to help him talk, but all he got was Sikong Xu shook his head cryptically.

Now he is not the highest status among all the people present, and it is not his turn to make decisions. After the death of Yue Concubine, Sikong Xu's status is not as good as before. It would be completely harmful and useless to offend the eldest princess at this time.

Seeing that the matter has come to this point, Ning Huayang sighed softly, and could only hope that Ning Zhongkun would not really die, so that today's marriage can continue.

After a while, Eunuch Qi finally came back, knelt down in front of the eldest princess and the queen and explained the matter concisely, and then presented Ning Zhongkun's blood letter.

The content in the blood book was nothing more than saying that he was framed by others and did not poison Ning Guogong, but the eldest princess didn't bother to read this, so she glanced at it and put it aside, and asked, "Say, Is Ning Zhongkun still alive?"

"Master Ning is indeed still alive." Eunuch Qi nodded, "It's just that the injury is quite serious, and his sanity is not light. I don't know if he can recover."

When Ning Huayang heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It's easy to live. As long as the person is not dead, the marriage can go on, so he immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "So you can feel at ease, since the little one My nephew is safe, and I would like to trouble the princess to continue waiting in the flower hall, so I ask Her Royal Highness to preside over the worship of the two newcomers, there are still many ordinary people outside waiting to receive the red envelopes after the worship."

Ning Huayang said it cleverly, directly saying that the crowds of people waiting outside to read the gossip were all here to share the red envelopes, so that the eldest princess can understand the general situation, and don't make any fools that delay things.

It's a pity that Ning Huayang obviously doesn't understand the old lady in front of him at all. Not only did the eldest princess not accept her favor, but she raised her eyebrows and snorted coldly: "I see that you are also a heartless person. Your nephew had an accident and was lying there unconscious, but you were able to watch your own son get married with a playful smile, without any worry at all. It was really cold-blooded, and it really made me doubt what was said in this blood book accusing wrongdoing. Write down whether it is true or not.”

"I..." Ning Huayang stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down, he really didn't expect the eldest princess to be so shameless, while he was secretly angry, there was always a respectful expression on his face His look is really sad.

The Eldest Princess spoke endlessly, and continued: "In my palace's opinion, let's let go of today's marriage and wait for another auspicious date to be discussed later."

Ning Huayang's complexion changed drastically. Their wedding team went around the whole city all morning. If the marriage didn't work out, then Ning Yi would become the laughing stock of the whole city!

"Auntie, this matter can't be so hasty." The queen was also taken aback by the eldest princess's words, seeing that the situation was not right, she hurriedly persuaded: "It has reached this point, if Wanyi wears a wedding dress again How much gossip will be caused by carrying it back to the palace? Although they haven't paid homage yet, but Wanyi is a noble daughter of the royal family, this matter will definitely be criticized in the future and affect her reputation."

If I really marry Wanyi to Ning Yicai, I will be really criticized.The eldest princess thought to herself, after picking up the jade pendant, she realized that the guy who seduced Wanyi's private meeting at night was actually Ning Yicai, and she was obviously deceived by others. Has that frivolous and shameless kid been fulfilled?Therefore, the eldest princess has been holding a deep breath in her heart, and she really wants to regret the marriage, but their royal family is different from ordinary people, and the emperor decreed a marriage for the water splashed out, so how can she express her regret?What's more, even if she really repented, she successfully blocked the marriage, but people with a heart would not talk about her as a grandmother, but only talk about Princess Wanyi, which is not good for a young girl. small injury.

In this angry and entangled state of mind, the eldest princess could only watch Princess Wanyi get on the sedan chair of the Ning Mansion, and Ning Yicai ride on the horse with a red face and proudly.

Until the sudden incident of Ning Zhongkun committing suicide in the dungeon just now, the eldest princess immediately realized that this was an opportunity given to her by God, and she could logically stop this marriage and bring Princess Wanyi back, so how could she let it go? Pass.

"Empress, compared with Qingyu, I care more about Wanyi's safety." The eldest princess said with a sullen face, "Although Ning Zhongkun's life was safe in the prison that day, did he see blood? Light, it is very unlucky to see blood on the wedding day, and I absolutely cannot let Wanyi take risks and cause trouble for herself."

"But because of such things, half of the wedding ceremony has been suspended. It's really..." Compared with the eldest princess, the queen is obviously more interested in the face of the entire royal family. The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for so many years, and there has never been one It is a precedent for the royal family to take back married daughters halfway through their marriage. If it weren't for the respect for the eldest princess, how could the empress who is so expensive in the middle palace allow her to be so nonsense.

Seeing the empress and the eldest princess arguing back and forth, Concubine Shu Hui put down the teacup and cleared her throat calmly.She knew that Ning Yuan was out of danger now, and she also promised Ning Yuan to help her when the eldest princess wanted to terminate the marriage, although she didn't understand why she would go back on this marriage that the eldest princess had approved , but now that this scene actually happened, she also knew that it was time for her to speak.

"Empress, my concubine thinks..." Unexpectedly, she opened her mouth, before she could finish a sentence, a harem nurse who accompanied Princess Wanyi to rest in the flower hall suddenly ran in from outside in a panic, and opened her mouth. He said: "My empress, Your Royal Highness, it's not good, behind, behind..."

The nanny looked very flustered, and the queen was displeased when she saw this, "I haven't got the pass, what are you doing running in, and what's going on after that?"

Mammy gasped for several breaths, seemed to have regained her strength, and said in a loud voice, "All the mandarin ducks in the lotus pond in the backyard are all dead!"

"What!" Ning Huayang was the first to exclaim, almost running away.

Because it was a couple getting married, in order to add good intentions, Ning Huayang intentionally put a lot of mandarin ducks in the lotus pond in the backyard today, to make the mandarin ducks harmonious and beautiful, and to grow old forever.

That mandarin duck is not an ordinary mandarin duck, but a very precious gold and silver mandarin duck, this mandarin duck is very rare, the mandarin duck is golden, the duck is silver, and it is only the size of an adult's palm.Ning Huayang rushed to the side of the lotus pond, looking at the messy appearance of the pond, he was a little silly.

All the gold and silver mandarin ducks are dead, and there is no one left alive. They are floating in the lotus pond with their messy feathers, and the culprit of all this is a strong wild flower civet cat with a mouth. He is also holding a golden mandarin duck whose neck has been bitten off, squatting on the big bluestone by the pond and combing his wet hair with his paws.

"Evil... evil animal..." Ning Huayang was so angry that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. It was too late to think why a wild cat suddenly appeared in a mansion where no one had ever kept cats. He just wanted to catch the biting cat immediately. The dead mandarin duck had cramps and peeled his skin, but soon he came back to his senses, his back shook, no, now is not the time to worry about that, if we don't clean up the scene in front of us...

But when he thought of this, it was too late, because the queen, the eldest princess and the people with that vote also followed him here.

Seeing the pool full of mandarin duck corpses, Ning Yicai's face turned pale, and the queen even covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and said in a serious tone: "What's going on?"

"Reporting to Empress Empress, it's because a wild cat came from nowhere." Ning Huayang's forehead was covered with cold sweat, "Don't worry, I will send someone to clean up this place immediately, without leaving any trace..."

"Clean it up? Master Ning, you speak so loudly. Can't you see such an ominous omen!" Before Ning Huayang finished speaking, he was interrupted by the eldest princess. Stimulating the aura of the eldest princess, "A pool of mandarin ducks in good condition can die suddenly, empress, do you think this is accidental!?"

The queen frowned and didn't speak, but any sensible person would understand the scene in front of her to be a bad omen. On the day of the wedding, the auspicious birds that were used to symbolize harmony, beauty and beauty until they grow old all died. It wasn't God's sign what!

Shu's eyes showed curiosity, and she glanced at Sikong Xuan, seeing Sikong Xuan shaking her head at her, she couldn't help being a little surprised, it turned out that this matter was not done by Ning Yuan, could it be that even God really wanted to obstruct this marriage?

The empress slowly put down the brocade handkerchief in her hand. Just now she valued the face of the royal family and was unwilling to suspend the marriage. It was probably because Ning Zhongkun's life was safe, and it was reasonable to continue to pay homage to the court according to the customs, but now it looks like a bad omen. There are dead mandarin ducks in the pond, she can't say anything like continuing to worship.

Otherwise, the marriage will be completed, but in the future, if something happens to Princess Wanyi in the Ning family, and the Eldest Princess wants to rely on her like a rogue, what will she do?

"Pass down the decree of the palace, send Princess Wanyi back to the palace, suspend the marriage, and then inform the emperor of today's affairs."

Seeing that the queen had made a decision, the eldest princess finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Empress, this, this..." Ning Huayang panicked, seeing that he was about to become a relative of the emperor, how could he let such a great opportunity slip away, and hurriedly said: "Empress, this matter It's purely a coincidence. If this marriage fails, where will our Duke Ning's face be put? Now that his father is sick in bed, what he wants to see most is for his grandchildren to get married. If this matter gets to his father's ears, he will The old man is only afraid of... only afraid of..."

The queen said: "My lord Ning, I only said that the marriage was suspended, but not cancelled. Whether today's incident is a coincidence or God's will, everything should be decided by the emperor."

"Your official, your next official will receive the decree." The cooked duck flew away, almost causing Ning Huayang to bite his teeth. Ning Yicai's face was also gloomy. After finishing his expressions, "In that case, I will listen to your mother." After speaking, probably knowing that the queen and the others were going to leave, Ning Huayang made a gesture of invitation, wanting to send them off in person.

At this moment, from the direction of the flower hall on the other side of the garden, there was another chattering call from a court lady: "My lord, wait a moment! You can't go there, my lord! The empress asked the servants to take her back to the palace... Princess !"

Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw Princess Wanyi in a bright red wedding dress running towards this side with her skirt in her hands. He had already taken off the red hijab, and the jewels on the phoenix crown on his head shook with her running pace. Bumped, glistening in the afternoon sun.

"Wanyi?" The eldest princess changed her face, and before Princess Wanyi got close, she pointed at her and shouted angrily: "You look so decent! You really have no rules!"

"Grandmother, I won't go, I want to marry! I must marry today!" Princess Wanyi knelt down with a puff, and as soon as she said this, the eldest princess immediately changed her face, "You bastard, as a woman, you Do you know what you're talking nonsense about!"

"I don't blame you, grandma, you agreed to this marriage, why do you obstruct it everywhere when it comes to the wedding day! Yicai and I have long been in love with each other, and we have secretly promised each other. It took a long time to get married today, how could you treat me like this!" As soon as Princess Wanyi's voice fell, not only everyone present, but even the faces of the Ning family and his son changed.

"Wanyi! Are you crazy!" The eldest princess was almost dizzy when she heard it, and she wished she could go up and slap this girl unconscious. If she said such words in public, whether she wants to be famous or not!

"The two of you have long been in love with each other, and you have secretly promised each other, and you have been going back in private...?" The queen repeated in disbelief, her eyes immediately fell on Ning Yicai, and Ning Yicai followed suit in fright. Kneel down.

"Empress, the villain is wronged!" Ning Yicai panicked and defended: "The villain has never done anything with the Princess in private, so the villain is wronged!" After finishing speaking, he looked at Princess Wanyi again. , raised his voice and said: "The princess has no grievances or enmity with the villain. Even if the princess wants to marry the villain as his wife, why would he say such words to derogate the reputation of both parties? The villain really can't afford it!"

"You have no guts, you swore to me at the beginning that you would marry me as a wife in a fair manner, so that the two of us would never have to go out of our way to meet each other in private, but now you are so cowardly that you don't even dare to admit it! "Princess Wanyi's eyes widened, and suddenly two tears rolled down, "You even poisoned your grandfather to marry me, and then framed your first brother. If you become the only son in the Duke's mansion, your father will naturally become the next Duke of Ning, and you will also become the son of the prince. You will no longer be the concubine who was criticized in the past, but you will have enough status to welcome me, the princess, through the door. , Have you forgotten all of these!"

Ning Yi was stunned, completely stunned, he looked at the princess' face covered with tears, and felt that this was not a dream.

"Princess! We have no grievances with you, why do you want to frame the child like this!" Ning Huayang was also frightened into a cold sweat. He didn't know why Princess Wanyi would say that, but if he didn't justify himself at this moment However, once Wanyi's accusation is confirmed, the guilt of this crime will not be cleared up no matter what.

"Framed?" Princess Wanyi sneered, "As a noble daughter of the royal family, why would you frame a courtier? Don't Mrs. Ning think it's too ridiculous? Everything that the princess said is his word If you tell me something, it can be false!" Princess Wanyi pointed at Ning Yicai after speaking.

"I..." Ning Yi has only lived so long. It is the first time that someone has labeled him a hat, and it is also the first time that he feels that he can't argue. evidence.He and Ning Huayang thought they had done a perfect job of framing Ning Zhongkun. The arsenic was bought by Ning Zhongkun, and the soup was also presented by Ning Zhongkun. There was no evidence to implicate their father and son, so they could Such a peace of mind, but what Princess Wanyi said just now couldn't help them not to get angry.

Indeed, Princess Wanyi, as a noble daughter of the royal family, why would she slander a courtier?In other words, there is no need for any evidence to speak in her capacity!