Rebirth of a Farming Wife

Chapter 509: Chapter 516: Endless Tolerance

By now, the soldiers guarding the city gate, no matter how bold, wouldn’t dare to search Young Master Sikong Ling’s horse carriage in his presence. Even if they were too afraid to disobey their superiors’ orders, offending the Young Master of the Sikong Family was still a capital offense. Let alone others, even the Prime Minister Wang, who held sway over the Imperial Court, was quite courteous to Young Master Sikong. What more of them, mere soldiers? To trouble Young Master Sikong was simply courting death.

And what sort of person was Young Master Sikong? Certainly not one of kindness and easy words. There was once an officer who offended the Young Master of the Sikong Family and ended up being thrown into Wild Wolf Valley to feed the wolves. Not a single person from the entire Imperial Court raised a word of objection, and even the Emperor and Prime Minister Wang quite approved. With just a casual word from him, one could fall into hell, as easy to snuff out as crushing an ant. How could he dare show the slightest offense?

“The lower officer has seen Young Master Sikong.” Upon knowing Sikong Ling was here, the City Gate Officer hurried over to pay respects, and just like the soldiers, he was trembling with fear, lest he somehow upset Sikong Ling.

Sikong Ling had only shown his face briefly before letting down the curtain on his carriage. Someone like the City Gate Officer didn’t warrant Sikong Ling’s attention; Qing Zhu was more than enough to handle it.

“Our master is in a hurry with important business. Why are we being blocked at the City Gate, delaying our affairs? Can you afford the consequences?” Qing Zhu knew the outcome would be just like this. As if a few mere soldiers could stop his master or search the carriage, this was utterly wishful thinking, or perhaps brazen foolishness!

“Yes, yes, the lower officer wouldn’t dare delay Young Master Sikong’s affairs. You may pass right away, right away!”

The City Gate Officer didn’t hesitate for a moment and immediately gave the order, directing his soldiers to clear a path and respectfully knelt by the roadside to watch Sikong Ling leave.

“Stop! Halt them immediately!”

No sooner had Sikong Ling’s horse carriage left the city gate than a lone rider came galloping fast, his voice arriving before him, holding a gleaming gold plaque that clearly carried an order from the palace. As he drew closer, the rider was revealed to be Wang Mang’s eldest son, Wang Yu.

Having practiced internal Kung Fu, Wang Yu’s shout carried far. Naturally, Sikong Ling heard him, but acted as if he hadn’t. The carriage continued at the same speed, with no intention of stopping.

Now the City Gate Officer truly didn’t know what to do. Should he go and stop the carriage or not? Offending either side would bode ill for him. Why was his luck so foul today to run into such predicaments?

The City Gate Officer was still wrestling with his dilemma when the previously galloping horse had already surged past him in pursuit of Sikong Ling’s carriage, followed by a large cavalry troop that completely ignored him and swept by like the wind, kicking up a cloud of dust. The City Gate Officer choked on several mouthfuls of dust, spat out a few times, and though he internally wanted to curse, he maintained a reverent expression, daring not to show any displeasure. Damn, they were all the mighty uncles, and he couldn’t afford to offend any of them!

“The ones up ahead, halt immediately! A notorious criminal has escaped from Prison, Prime Minister Wang has ordered the closure of the city gate, no one is allowed to enter or leave. Search for the convict throughout the city, we can’t let anyone escape the Capital City!” Wang Yu announced, and with a swift gesture, the Guards he had brought instantly surrounded Sikong Ling’s horse carriage.

Wang Yu had long been irritated by Sikong Ling’s haughty and overbearing demeanor. As the eldest son of the Wang family, Sikong Ling didn’t even regard him with any respect, often treating him with indifference. His father always condoned Sikong Ling’s behavior and even forbade them from provoking Sikong Ling, making them step back.

As of today, the Wang family had risen to become the foremost in Chang’an, with even the Emperor conducting affairs according to Wang Mang’s expressions. This showed the immense power of the Wang family, hinting even at the notion of deposing the Emperor. As Wang Mang’s eldest son, Wang Yu naturally assumed that he would inherit everything from the Wang family. The people flattered Wang Yu out of respect for Prime Minister Wang, thereby inflating Wang Yu’s ego, making him exceedingly self-satisfied.

Yet, it was precisely at this moment when Sikong Ling refused to play into his hands. With intentions to win him over, Wang Yu had shown goodwill several times, but Sikong Ling not only ignored them but also showed disdain and a lack of interest to even engage, paying him no heed.

“If you don’t have the ability, don’t provoke others. Who do you think Sikong Ling is? Someone you can just co-opt at will? Even your father doesn’t have the ability. After so much effort, he’s only managed to tip the Sikong family’s scale slightly in our favor. In the future, don’t do such stupid things out of self-righteousness. I really don’t understand, we both have sons, so why is theirs so smart while you’re so foolish, not even matching up to one-tenth of Sikong Ling!”

Those were Wang Mang’s exact words. Wang Yu, upset by how Sikong Ling treated him and instigated by others, wanted to teach Sikong Ling a lesson. To his shock, he was instead played by Sikong Ling, losing face. As his father, instead of defending him, Wang Mang scolded him severely and even praised Sikong Ling while belittling him.

Wang Yu couldn’t bear this. With the Marquis Beian and his son mysteriously disappearing from Prison, Wang Yu, piecing together some clues and deductions, felt that Sikong Ling was involved. Furthermore, Sikong Ling’s departure from the city at this time led him to speculate much. It was possible that the Marquis Beian and his son were hidden in Sikong Ling’s carriage at this moment. If they were found, it would be solid evidence of Sikong Ling’s collusion with enemies. His father would surely be infuriated, and it could bring about the ruination of not just Sikong Ling, but the entire Sikong family.

“Eldest Young Master Wang, you’ve brought soldiers to surround our master’s carriage, what does this mean?!” Qing Zhu, facing Wang Yu, showed no sign of yielding. Although Wang Yu was Wang Mang’s eldest son, he held negligible standing in his father’s eyes, yet was completely lacking in self-awareness. A little favor, and he fancied making the Young Master serve him; failing that, he became angrily embarrassed, opposing the Young Master at every turn, which was utterly detestable.

“Haven’t you understood what it means?! My father has issued an order; with felons escaping Prison, no one is allowed to leave or enter the city, not even Sikong Ling!” Wang Yu declared, and thinking about explaining so much to a servant, while the main subject, Sikong Ling, remained inside the carriage without showing his face, he couldn’t help but feel ignored, his eyes reddening as he stared intently at the carriage.

“My master knows of Prime Minister Wang’s order. Now, may I ask Eldest Young Master Wang to make way for us?” Qing Zhu, ignoring Wang Yu’s malevolent gaze, was evidently impatient with the fool. If it weren’t considering that Wang Yu was, after all, Prime Minister Wang’s son, and out of respect for Prime Minister Wang, the Young Master wouldn’t be overly harsh, thus tolerating Wang Yu’s provocations time and again.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om