Xiao Mang moved the child closer to her arms and asked warily, "What do you want to talk about?"
As soon as he was close to her chest, the sound of his mother's heartbeat became clearer. It was exactly the same as when he was still in his mother's womb. Although his mother's heartbeat was a little rapid now, the child could tell that it was the same sound he had been hearing ever since he had a sense of hearing. So, the child became even quieter.
He closed his eyes and gently stroked his mother's chin with his little hands. His sparkling and tender lips squirmed, trying hard to squirm a little bubble. Originally, at this moment, his parents and many of his parents' relatives and friends should be surrounding him and laughing at his cute and childish actions.
But now only his mother was by his side, and even his mother didn't notice his cute action. She was nervously hugging her baby, watching the man in front of her with vigilance, as if she was looking at a murderous bandit.
Young Master Jiang smiled helplessly. In Xiao Mang's eyes, he was like a robber who killed and robbed people. But he was not. He was the young master of an aristocratic family that had been passed down for thousands of years. He was more noble and virtuous than the royal family. He had always looked down on the world from a high point of view. He never thought that he would be looked down upon like this.
He tried his best to speak in a calm and elegant tone, "It wasn't my idea to kidnap you, but since you're already in my hands, there's no need for me to send you back. Your husband is overestimating himself and wants to go against me. I don't want him or anyone else to think that I'm afraid of him!"
Young Master Jiang paused. He didn't wait for Xiao Mang to retort and quickly changed the topic, "You are here, especially when you are pregnant for ten months and about to give birth. Your disappearance must have made your husband very worried. So, you can write a letter to him and tell him that you are safe. Then … I can talk to him calmly! "
Xiao Mang stared at him for a long time. She gently pursed the corner of her mouth and smiled proudly, "I have heard about you from my Langjun. Your background, your status, your power, everything is beyond my Langjun's reach. But … you are very afraid of my Langjun now, aren't you?"
The corners of Xiao Man's mouth curled up, but the corners of Young Master Jiang's mouth turned down. It was as if he had heard the funniest joke.
Young Master Jiang snorted and curled his lips in disdain. "Yang Fan? How could he be worthy? I just have some things that I want to talk to him about, and I don't want to be disturbed. With a letter from you, he can calm down and talk to me calmly. Other than that, there's nothing else I can do! "
Young Master Jiang refused to admit that he was very afraid of Yang Fan. Even though he knew that You Haoyang, that idiot, had made a big mistake and put him in an absolutely passive position, and today, he would have to bear the pressure from many powerful forces, but he would not admit that it was Yang Fan's ability.
This was a mortal world, and there were no superhumans. No one could rely on their own strength to call the wind and summon the rain, and control the world. Whether it was Empress Wu Zetian or the thousand-year-old aristocratic families like the Seven Sects and Five Families, they could do whatever they wanted because they could use their common interests to control more people and more power for their own use.
Young Master Jiang was the same. If he stripped away the financial, material, and human resources under his control, he would be like a phoenix without feathers, not much stronger than a chicken. But in front of Yang Fan, he refused to admit that the forces under Yang Fan's influence now belonged to Yang Fan.
Xiao Man's face was still very haggard, and her lips were a little pale, but her smile was getting sweeter and sweeter. Who didn't like their man to be a great man? She could see that with Young Master Jiang's arrogance, if it was in the past, he would not even bother to defend himself.
You can slander me, but I am me. Who would insist that an ant admit his greatness?
But now, Young Master Jiang was not only explaining to her, but there was also a hint of embarrassment in his seemingly impeccable demeanor.
She smiled and shook her head. "You are very arrogant, so you don't want to admit that the person you looked down on before. Now, you can only raise your head to talk to him! So, you are clearly doing very despicable things, but you work hard to maintain your elegant demeanor. Do you know that all of this makes your words and actions very awkward and laughable? "
"Nonsense!"
Young Master Jiang could no longer maintain his calm and feigned disdain. He began to refute, his tone fierce. "Is the rise and fall of the Southern Frontier something he can control? Everything today is half decided by the will of heaven, and half by the emperor. He was just muddleheadedly pushed to such a crucial position and coincidentally became an important person. Even so, his life and death are still in my hands … "
Xiao Man interrupted his boastful words and said coldly, "The so-called control is like a bandit wielding a knife? Even if you had a way to deal with my Langjun, you would not use such a method! Young Master Jiang, you are just a person who has never encountered real setbacks and tribulations. You are extremely arrogant and conceited. Other than that, you are nothing! "
She raised her head and proudly and firmly said, "Langjun will definitely come to save me, but I don't want to tie his hands and feet and let him be at your mercy. If I do that in exchange for the safety of me and my child, even if we can leave alive, what will I have left? I am not a very smart woman, but I know what you are afraid of and what you are worried about. I will do what is right. So, I will not write anything. I will only wait here, wait for him to come! "
Young Master Jiang glared at her fiercely, but Xiao Man was no longer looking at him. She lowered her head and looked at the sleeping child in her arms. She kissed his tender cheeks, smiled sweetly and contentedly, and said softly, "Good baby, your father will come to save you soon. When he sees you, I don't know how happy he will be …"
The light at the entrance of the dungeon flashed. A guard quickly walked in and whispered something in Young Master Jiang's ear. His breath sprayed on Young Master Jiang's face. Young Master Jiang immediately moved away in disgust. He didn't hear what the guard said clearly. He immediately took out a white silk handkerchief and wiped his cheeks and ears as if someone had just spat on his face.
After rubbing his face for a long time, even his skin was red. He frowned and asked in disgust, "What did you say?"
The guard raised his voice and said, "Young Master Zheng Yu of Xingyang's Zheng family is here to visit!"
Young Master Jiang stared at him and asked, "The Lu Mansion is already 'empty'. Who is he here to visit?"
…
"Open the door, open the door! When I, Zheng Yu, come to your Lu Mansion, do I have to wait outside with my carriage? This is outrageous! Even when my brother was in the mansion, he didn't have such a grand entrance. When did you servants become so arrogant? "
Zheng Yu led a few Kunlun slaves into the Lu Mansion and gestured for them to open the door to the left courtyard.
This mansion was the private property of one of Young Master Jiang's brothers. Because the whole family had moved back to Fanyang, there was only a steward and a dozen servants to take care of it. The master was not in the mansion at all. Moreover, the whole family had moved away and would only return after three years. There was no reason for Zheng Yu to visit, but he still came.
The old steward of the Lu Mansion said with a bitter face, "Young Master Zheng, my family's Ah Lang and his family have returned to Fanyang Province to visit their relatives. It is said that they will only return after two or three years."
"I know!"
Zheng Yu said excitedly, "I didn't come here today to visit Brother Lu!"
"Then you are …"
"I want to entertain guests, but the old master thinks it is too noisy. I am afraid of being scolded by the old master, so I have to find another place. Brother Lu's mansion is quiet and spacious, just right for me to use. Is it alright if you lend it to me for a while? Just based on my friendship with Brother Lu and the friendship between our Zheng and Lu families, I believe that Brother Lu won't refuse. Don't tell me that you, an old servant, have to quickly go and ask Brother Lu? "
The old steward was dumbfounded. Then he saw a row of carriages rush in from the corner door that had just been opened. One by one, gorgeously dressed singers and dancers came out of the carriages. They were all wrapped in colorful clothes and had painted eyebrows and lips. It seemed like they were about to sing a big opera.
At the same time, the door to the right of the Lu Mansion was also opened. The Lu family members who answered the door saw a dozen plump chefs walk in with their heads held high, followed by a group of young disciples carrying all kinds of ingredients, iron stoves, copper basins, iron nets, bamboo sticks, and the like. It seemed like they were about to have a barbecue party at the Lu Mansion.
The two brothers, Wang Siyuan and Wang Siyuan, from the Wang family of Taiyuan, swaggered in, laughing and not taking the people of the Lu family seriously at all. A few docile and beautiful Xinluo maids, like little wives who had been bullied, took small steps and followed behind their masters.
The Succession Hall experts hiding in the shadows were also at a loss at this scene. Their masters behind the scenes were these aristocratic families. What could they do now that these descendants of aristocratic families had barged in so brazenly?
These Succession Hall experts lying in ambush outside were not Young Master Jiang's trusted subordinates. Many of them were martial arts masters sent to the Succession Hall by the aristocratic families. The two experts squatting on the two shady trees at the right door of the Lu Mansion were from the Wang Clan of Taiyuan. Seeing their young master come, they were completely at a loss as if they had been petrified.
At the gate of the front house of the Lu family, the four young masters of the Cui family, Cui Chang, Cui Chi, Cui Ye, and Cui Di, were waving their fans amidst the rustling autumn wind. They strode in in unison, as if they were walking on a stage. A group of musicians followed behind them. Some were carrying pipa, some were carrying ancient sheng, some were playing bamboo flutes, and some were carrying jie drums …
Almost at the same time, at every entrance of the Lu Family's mansion, there were a few servants in fresh clothes knocking on the door. Then, without any explanation, they barged in and opened the door to let their young master's carriage in. The carriage didn't stop far after it came in and blocked the entrance.
Young Master Jiang had already left the dungeon in a hurry and returned to his own room. News came in one after another: The aristocratic family's disciples had blocked the entrance, but they did not do anything excessive. They did not barge into the Lu family's private residence, but gathered in the most spacious parlor and began to arrange a banquet. The cheerful music and melodious voices had clearly entered Young Master Jiang's ears!
Young Master Jiang quickly understood the intentions of the aristocratic families. His extreme actions last night had angered the aristocratic families. If he had succeeded in killing Yang Fan last night, it would have been fine. At most, he would get a stern warning, and the mess would still be cleaned up by him.
But Yang Fan didn't die, so the aristocratic families were determined to clean up this mess that wasn't beyond repair. "He's … under house arrest!"
…
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