At this moment, Luo Yang had already fallen asleep inside, snoring loudly.
Wen Yu looked at him with disdain, then said to Wen Che, “Brother, are we just going to keep being blocked like this? Aren’t you going to think of a solution?”
Wen Che exhaled heavily, his two eyebrows pressed tightly together as he coldly uttered, “Just wait.”
“Wait? But…”
“There’s no ‘but’ about it! I don’t believe that fellow surnamed Su can keep blocking the way indefinitely. People are gradually arriving behind us—all important court officials and prominent figures from the martial world. Let him dare not move and see if he’s not afraid of becoming the subject of gossip.”
“Who knows what he’s actually trying to do!” Wen Yu said.
So neither of the two brothers went ahead to urge them on.
Ji Yunshu sat in the carriage. Because the carriage ahead hadn’t moved for so long, her heart grew increasingly anxious, afraid that if she wasn’t careful, she might come face to face with Su Ziluo.
She didn’t dare bring it up, much less ask about it. She lifted the carriage curtain to look outside, her gaze falling on the space ahead. Suddenly, a figure passed before her eyes—the person’s form was agile, walking extremely fast.
Though she only caught a glimpse, Ji Yunshu still recognized the person—Li Shiyan!
She hadn’t expected him to be here too!
But it wasn’t strange. For a major figure’s birthday celebration at Ning’an Manor, it was only natural that official’s sons like him would attend.
The next moment, she immediately lowered the curtain.
Li Shiyan had just walked past when he stopped, feeling somehow…
He looked back but saw nothing, only the Wen family’s carriage behind him.
Why had he just felt such a strong sense of familiarity?
He shook his head, stopped thinking about it, turned around, and arrived at Su Ziluo’s carriage.
The coachman saw him: “Young master?”
“Is Ziluo in the carriage?”
“Yes!”
Li Shiyan slipped inside in a flash. Su Ziluo was drinking tea when he saw him blow in like the wind, and his brow furrowed slightly several times.
“Ziluo!”
“Why did you come?”
“Well, I heard your carriage was blocking the way ahead, so I hurried over to see what’s going on?” Li Shiyan asked.
Qi’er at the side poured him a cup of tea, then got off the carriage to avoid disturbing them.
Li Shiyan took a sip and asked, “Well, are you going to tell me? What’s going on? People say it’s because your horse won’t move, but I see the horse outside looks perfectly fine!”
Su Ziluo’s expression was calm as he spoke indifferently, “The horse does indeed look fine, but it simply won’t move. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Maybe it hasn’t eaten enough?”
“I’m not skilled in handling horses, so naturally I don’t understand these things.”
“You don’t understand, but doesn’t the coachman understand either?” Li Shiyan kept questioning.
Su Ziluo was silent for a long moment before saying, “Horses have their own nature. They need to comprehend things themselves before they’ll move. If you forcefully whip them to make them go, that would be violence, which is unacceptable.”
“At a time like this, you’re still concerned about such things? You haven’t gone out to look, have you? Right now there’s a massive line backed up behind us. If this continues, others will have complaints.”
“Oh?” Su Ziluo asked, “If people have complaints, why hasn’t anyone come to say something?”
“Who would dare! No one has the guts!” Li Shiyan said. “You’re the great General Su. Who would dare come urge you?”
“Who says no one dares to urge me?” Su Ziluo’s thin, cold lips curved into a slight smile, his words laden with deep meaning.
Li Shiyan listened in confusion, but after a moment, comprehension dawned. He said, “I understand now. You want… the Wen family people to come urge you? If they come to urge you, it would be the same as begging.”
Clever!
Exactly right!
Su Ziluo smiled, “Your mind is clear after all.”
But—
Li Shiyan said with concern, “The Wen family’s carriage is right behind us. It’s been half a day and not a single person has come. I’m afraid… this will keep dragging on.”
“If it drags on, then it drags on. When the time comes, I’ll naturally leave.”
“But wouldn’t that be slapping your own face?”
“I just said your brain was working, and now you’re confused again!” Su Ziluo told him, “If he comes to urge me, it means he’s begging. If he doesn’t come to urge me, it means he’s afraid.”
With this explanation, Li Shiyan felt as if someone had struck his brain with a club. He felt his mental capacity was pitifully small. Usually, he considered himself quite cunning, but in front of Su Ziluo, he was like a fool—he couldn’t match him in learning, nor could he match him in intelligence and wit. He hadn’t expected Su Ziluo to see things so clearly. Just by blocking the road, he had openly and covertly slapped the Wen family’s face, all without making a sound.
Everyone in Yanjing City knew about the grievances between the Wen and Su families, but over these years, they had never had any open disputes.
This time, Su Ziluo was using this as an excuse to suppress the Wen and Ji families. The conflict between the two families was probably about to officially begin…
Li Shiyan had never had the authority to interfere in Su Ziluo’s affairs, so this time he couldn’t get involved either.
“Ah, regarding your two families’ matter, I can’t get involved, nor should I. Otherwise, if my father finds out, I’ll definitely be beaten to death.”
“I never asked you to interfere!”
Li Shiyan smiled.
Su Ziluo asked, “By the way, this time you came together with Minister Zhu’s daughter, right?”
Mentioning this, Li Shiyan’s expression fell extremely low as he sighed, “Don’t mention it. I’m annoyed to death right now.”
“What’s there to be annoyed about? You’ve also reached the age to take a wife. Don’t keep pushing away this perfectly good marriage match.”
“Easy for you to say.”
Su Ziluo smiled, “Alright, hurry back to your own carriage. Don’t leave a young lady waiting there alone.”
Li Shiyan couldn’t very well stay longer. He waved his hand, “Fine, I’m leaving then. But… when exactly will your carriage move?”
“In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”
“Alright then, I’ll head back first. Once we reach Ning’an Manor, we’ll gather together again.” With that, Li Shiyan got off the carriage.
During the next tea time interval, no one moved.
The Wen family people also showed no sign of movement whatsoever.
So various residences and families all began talking: “What do you think? General Su’s horse looks perfectly fine, so why won’t it move?”
“Exactly! I just went to look in front of his carriage, and that horse was peacefully grazing.”
“We can’t very well urge him, so let it be blocked! But General Su’s carriage is right in front of General Wen’s carriage. Why aren’t even they going to urge him?”
“You don’t understand this. In my view, the Wen family people don’t dare urge him. After all, General Su’s father was a founding merit official, and General Su himself is resourceful and wise. Over these years, he’s conquered many cities for Qujiang, and the Emperor values him greatly. Even if General Wen’s family background is illustrious, it still can’t compare to the Su family. Otherwise, why would they sit there without moving, letting themselves be blocked like this? It clearly means the Wen family can’t compare to the Su family!”
Others agreed, nodding repeatedly.
So the talk spread more and more widely, everyone saying the Wen family feared the Su family!
These words naturally also reached the ears of Wen Che and Wen Yu.
Wen Che said nothing, continuing to sit quietly in the carriage.
When the time came, Su Ziluo finally gave the order to depart.
Only then did the entire procession gradually ascend the mountain.