A Clash of Gods - Chapter 192
Chapter 192 Identity
It was cold. The faint sunshine of winter didn’t make people feel the slightest warm.
It took quite a while for Yang Ning to come back to his senses. When he managed to see Su Zixuan, the group of people all had gone. Only Xiao Yao was sitting on the ground on a stone, arms around the knees, head down, gloomy.
A gust of wind blew, Yang Ning, although wearing a thick brocade jacket, surprisingly felt a chill on his body.
Yang Ning really couldn’t believe that such two women with such a huge contrast could be sisters, and it was even more impossible for him to believe that Xiao Yao, with her simple wearing and delicate figure, seeming likes only the daughter of an ordinary family, was the daughter of the Marquis of Martial Arts, Su Zhen.
Who was the Marquis of Martial Arts?
Although the Marquis of Martial Arts was at the bottom of the list of four marquises of the empire, Yang Ning had seen his mansion, which was luxurious and vast. It was an authentic life of aristocrat.
How could there be such a simple and plain young lady like Xiao Yao in such an extravagant mansion of marquis?
If Xiao Yao had not said it by herself, Yang Ning would never believe such a ridiculous fact.
“Xiao Yao, you…” Yang Ning kept silent for a while, finally squatted down beside Xiao Yao and said softly, “So, you are the daughter of the Marquis of Martial Arts.”
Xiao Yao finally raised her head, her eyes being red. She forced a smile and said, “Your Excellency, thank you for … standing up for me just now. You are a good person. it’s just that…. It’s just that Xiao Yao didn’t deserve you to do that.” There were clearly tear marks in the corners of her eyes, but she pretended to smile easily and said, “It’s okay, Your Excellency, go back first, I… I’m going to read a book.” Before Yang Ning could say anything, she already picked up the scroll that had just fallen to the ground, forced a smile at Yang Ning and turned around.
Yang Ning raised his hand, meaning to stop her, but he didn’t know what to say at this time.
It was only until Xiao Yao’s figure disappeared did Yang Ning smile bitterly and shook his head, and left the Qionglin Academy following the road he came in.
Since Xiao Yao studied in this academy, and he had promised Zhuo Qingyang that he would come to the academy every month, he was not worried that he wouldn’t see her in the future.
Outside the academy, he saw two guards guarding the horses, while Duan Canghai was in the hut talking, laughing and boasting with Uncle Ren. When he saw Yang Ning walking past the hut, Duan Canghai hurried out and said, “Marquis, you’re out?” Yang Ning went in for most of the day and it was almost noon, so he was a little anxious.
Yang Ning went over and got on his horse. Duan Canghai hurriedly instructed the two guards to follow him. Seeing that Yang Ning seemed to have something on his mind, Duan Canghai rode his horse forward and said, “Marquis, did that scum named Jiang make you angry?”
“Did you see him?” Yang Ning asked.
Duan Canghai sneered, “I was waiting outside the academy. Not long after you went in, that brat came over with a big carriage. Hey, it’s really grand. The carriage is more luxurious than that of some princes and nobles.”
Yang Ning at this time had no interest in Jiang Suiyun at all. He asked, “Uncle Duan, how much do you know about the Marquis of Martial Arts’ family situation?”
“The Marquis of Martial Arts? Su Zhen?” Duan Canghai didn’t play nice at all when hearing the name and coldly snorted, “Back then, the old Marquis and the old Marquis of Martial Arts were sworn brothers. The two families had a very close relationship. Even when the old Marquis passed away and the great general was alive, Su Zhen often visited our Mansion of Marquis of Honor. Otherwise, how could the two families have become in-laws?” He stroked his beard , then said, “I’m familiar with their family. My Marquis, what do you want to know?”
Yang Ning rode on the back of the horse and just let it move slowly at will. Looking at Duan Canghai, he asked, “How many wives does Su Zhen have in the end?”
“He married three successively.” Duan Canghai didn’t hesitate to say, “The main wife of Su Zhen was the daughter of the Minister of Works, who was not of low status. However, after Su Zhen got married, he didn’t have any child for two years. Hey, at that time, the old Marquis of Martial Arts was still alive. The old Marquis of Martial Arts was all fine, but he especially cared about the succession of the family. Since the main wife was late in giving birth, he personally took the initiative to have another concubine.”
Yang Ning was not interested in knowing the complete family history of Su Zhen. He asked directly, “Has he ever married a woman from Qinhuai River?”
Duan Canghai laughed, “When Su Zhen was young, he was also a famous young fop in the capital. At that time, the old Marquis of Martial Arts was often absent from the capital, so Su Zhen was happy that no one watched him over. When the old Marquis of Martial Arts was alive, he wouldn’t dare to marry another concubine without the old Marquis making the decision, not to mention a girl from Qinhuai River.” After a pause, he said, “I have heard that one year, Su Zhen participated in the election of the Queen of Flowers and promoted a girl, and finally he got a flower concubine, who was so talented that Su Zhen was obsessed with her. But the old Marquis of Martial Arts kept an eye on him, so he didn’t dare to marry her. But I heard in fact, Su Zhen had already got some money and redeemed the girl, but he just kept her outside at that time.”
“Did he marry her later?”
Duan Canghai answered, “After he had the relationship with that girl for less than half a year, Mrs. Su gave birth to a daughter, at which the old Marquis of Martial Arts was very disappointed. And he passed away unexpectedly in no more than three or four months. It was in no more than two months since the old Marquis died, Su Zhen brought the girl raised outside back to the house.”
“Oh?” Yang Ning frowned, “The old Marquis of Martial Arts just passed away. How dare he do that?”
“Actually, he didn’t marry her,” Duan Canghai said, “He just brought her back to the house and didn’t give her a name. Later, many people learned that the girl outside was pregnant and was about to give birth to a child. Su Zhen always wanted a son who can inherit the title of nobility. Since the main wife couldn’t give birth to a son, naturally, he counted on others. So, he took the girl back to the house and took good care of her.”
“Didn’t he have a son?”
Duan Canghai nodded and said, “You mean the Heir of Marquis of Martial Arts, Su Zicheng? In fact, the Su family affairs all clashed together at that time. The main wife gave birth to a daughter, when the old Marquis of Martial Arts was already in bad health condition and died in three or four months. But at that time, the second concubine of Su Zhen also suddenly found to be pregnant. When Su Zhen brought the girl outside into the house, there were two women pregnant at the same time. I heard that the two women gave birth to a child only one day apart. The second concubine gave birth to a son before the girl outside gave birth to a daughter next day. Think about it. how could she be treated nicely then?”
Yang Ning frowned, “You meant that it was because the girl outside gave birth to a daughter, for which Su Zhen treated her badly?”
“Many people know about this.” Duan Canghai laughed coldly, “Su Zhen is ungrateful. Back then, he was deeply attached to that girl and treated her as a treasure, but later he got tired of her. Moreover, she gave birth to a daughter, So Su Zhen changed his attitude greatly. There is no need to mention the main wife. But the second concubine’s status in the mansion of the Marquis of Martial Arts was raised. Because she gave birth to a son, Su Zhen spoiled her a lot. I haven’t got a clear picture of what happened later. All I know is that the girl was sent out of the house and resettled in a new place found by Su Zhen, which meant that the orphan and the widow were expelled from the mansion of marquis.” He shook his head and sighed, “Many people said privately that Su Zhen did an unethical thing, but it was his family matter after all. No one would offend him just because of a girl from Qinhuai River. In fact, as far as I know, the girl hasn’t had a concubine’s name even today. It sounds a little bit pitiful.”
Yang Ning felt a chill at this time.
Duan Canghai naturally didn’t know that what he said was exactly what Yang Ning wanted to know. Yang Ning already knew most of Xiao Yao’s life at this time.
There was no doubt that Xiao Yao’s mother was the Flower Concubine who had been promoted by Su Zhen. That Flower Concubine later gave birth to Xiao Yao for Su Zhen, but she was not loved by Su Zhen. Although Su Zhen resettled her outside, in the end, it was nearly the same as to sweep them out of the house. It was not easy to raise a child for a woman who had spent time in the Qinhuai River and, even though redeemed, having no name and no family.
He finally understood why Su Zixuan was arrogant and domineering in front of Xiao Yao and took it for granted. It was obvious that in Su Zixuan’s eyes, Xiao Yao was just an illegitimate daughter, and as the wife of the rightful family, Su Zixuan, of course, had an innate sense of pride and a sense of superiority.
In this era, not to mention the illegitimate daughter, even the children from a concubine could in no way be compared to the one that from a main wife. Qi Ning and Qi Yu was the best example.
“Find out where the Flower Concubine lived back then and inform me as soon as there is any news.” Yang Ning dropped the words, patted his horse and sped away.
Duan Canghai and the others hurriedly patted their horses to follow him.
Stepping on the Pipa Street, two men in galloping horses came head-on. When seeing Yang Ning, they immediately stopped their horses. Duan Canghai recognized them as guards of the Mansion of Marquis of Honor and said with a frown, “What were you doing in such a hurry?”
One person immediately said, “Mr. Duan, it’s really an emergency.” Rushing towards Yang Ning, he arched his hand and said, “Marquis, hurry back to the mansion. Someone from the palace came in house, seeming to summon you to the palace.”
Yang Ning was frozen, quite a bit surprised.
In fact, after he inherited the title, he thought that he might have to see the emperor sooner or later. But since then, there had been no decree. Yang Ning also had someone write a thank-you paperwork under the guidance of Gu Qinghan. But the paperwork was like a stone sinking into the sea, which received no news afterwards.
Yang Ning thought that the throne was newly set, the new emperor ascended to the throne must have a lot of things to do and couldn’t possibly think of him within a short period of time. He didn’t expect that the new emperor suddenly wants to declare himself.
Although he had been a human being for two lifetimes and had seen much of the world, now he even assumed the guise of Qi Ning as the Marquis of Honor and lived in the luxurious Mansion od Marquis of Honor, he had never entered the palace. Thinking that he really had the opportunity to enter that solemn and sacred but mysterious place, in addition to his surprise,he felt a little excited.
Back to the mansion of marquis, Yang Ning met Eunuch Fan, the chief eunuch of the Secret Service. They were acquaintances and didn’t do much courtesy. According to Eunuch Fan, the emperor was waiting for Yang Ning in the palace, and he asked Yang Ning to quickly go into the palace. The good thing was that while Eunuch Fan waiting here, Gu Qinghan had already made some arrangements and prepared the marquis suits.
Of course, the Marquis of Honor couldn’t wear casually to go to the Palace. Specialized suits must be worn. The day Yang Ning inherited the title, Gu Qinghan already had someone make the marquis suits according to Yang Ning’s figure, just in case the emperor would summon him.
Yang Ning bathed and dressed as quickly as possible. After given some advice by Gu Qinghan, Yang Ning followed Eunuch Fan to go to the palace in a carriage.