Chapter 170: Strike While the Iron Is Hot

After returning to the General's Mansion from Tianyuan Temple, Lady Lin was waiting for her daughter to bring back some appetizing snacks. She waited and waited, but no snacks arrived; instead, news of a spooked horse arrived.

Without even having time to inform the Old Madam, she hurriedly gathered people and rushed out, meeting the messenger outside the main gates.

The messenger was a servant from the Prince Jing Mansion.

"Don't worry, Lady Lin, the spooked horse has been controlled and no one was injured."

Lady Lin breathed a massive sigh of relief and asked urgently, "And my daughter?"

"The Second Miss is fine. Our Heir was just escorting her back."

"That's good then." Lady Lin patted her chest, then suddenly froze. "Why was your Heir the one escorting A-Hao back?"

The servant smiled and said, "When your family's horse bolted in a panic, our Heir happened to be nearby. He arranged for people to help control the horse and sent a servant to inform you so you wouldn't worry."

"I see." Lady Lin nodded, thinking to herself that the Heir of Prince Jing was quite thorough in his dealings.

"Then many thanks to the Heir." Lady Lin accepted the gesture and only then went to the Old Madam to report the incident with the horse.

Upon hearing this, the Old Madam frowned. "Our family's horses are all well-trained. How could one suddenly get spooked for no reason?"

Lady Lin also felt something was amiss. "We'll have to wait until A-Hao returns to know."

Lin Hao returned to the General's Mansion with Baozhu and went straight to the Old Madam's courtyard.

Upon hearing the maid report that the Second Miss had arrived, both the Old Madam and Lady Lin set down their teacups simultaneously. In her anxiety, Lady Lin stood up to greet her.

"A-Hao, you're finally back!"

Her wrist hurt slightly from Lady Lin's grip, but Lin Hao didn't mind, smiling as she said, "Grandmother, Mother, I am fine."

Lady Lin pulled her down to sit, and the question she had been suppressing for a long time burst out: "How on earth did the horse get spooked?"

With the coachman present, Lin Hao knew she couldn't hide it. "A sharp stone shard was driven into the horse's flank. The horse spooked from the pain."

Lady Lin's expression darkened, and she slapped the table. "This must have been intentional!"

The Old Madam's calloused fingers unconsciously rubbed her teacup; the tea inside had long since gone cold. "This is strange. Could it be the Crown Prince? But our family has already broken the engagement with Prince Wei. Even if the Crown Prince is targeting Prince Wei, he shouldn't be plotting against A-Hao, should he?"

Lady Lin pressed a hand to her forehead, having another thought. "Could it be related to what I encountered at Tianyuan Temple today? I discovered that headless female corpse by accident. Perhaps the culprit got wind of it and is taking revenge on me."

The Old Madam shot her a sharp look. "Your daughter is already at the age to marry. Can you please restrain your curiosity in the future?"

She went to offer incense and ended up digging up a corpse with a flower hoe—how could she have the nerve to call that "discovering it by accident"?

Lady Lin's thoughts jumped quickly. Hearing the Old Madam, she muttered, "It is strange. At the start of spring, the matchmakers coming to propose to A-Hao nearly wore out our doorstep, so why has there not been a single one lately?"

The Old Madam saw it clearly. "What is there to find strange about that? Now the whole capital knows that the culprit who hijacked Chan'er was subdued and dragged back by A-Hao. Most families wouldn't want a daughter-in-law who is the strongest martial artist in the entire household."

Lady Lin sighed. "True."

Then wouldn't A-Hao's marriage be delayed again? Her two daughters' marriage prospects were truly full of twists and turns.

Seeing her mother worrying about her marriage, Lin Hao calmly steered the topic back. "I don't think the spooked horse is related to the matter at Tianyuan Temple. It has been less than half a day from the discovery of the headless corpse to the horse being spooked. Even if the culprit was at Tianyuan Temple and got the news immediately, there wouldn't be enough time to orchestrate the horse incident."

"A-Hao is right; the two shouldn't be connected." The Old Madam glanced at her dim-witted daughter, her mood somewhat heavy. "Could it really be the Crown Prince?"

Not wanting her elders to dwell on this, Lin Hao said vaguely, "On the way back, the Heir of Prince Jing mentioned that there have been many officials patrolling the streets lately. He said they discovered villains intending to cause chaos during the visit of the Yuliu envoys. This horse incident might be their handiwork as well."

Lady Lin was puzzled. "What could a spooked horse possibly affect regarding the Yuliu envoys?"

"Mother, think about it. If chaos like this happens frequently, the Yuliu envoys will think the security in our Great Zhou capital is too poor, which would damage the prestige of the Great Zhou."

"Those people are truly detestable!"

The Old Madam, however, looked thoughtful. "The Heir of Prince Jing is quite well-informed. Speaking of which, it was thanks to him that nothing happened this time. Wanqing, prepare a gift of thanks and go to the Prince Jing Mansion in person tomorrow."

Lady Lin immediately complied.

***

At the Prince Jing Mansion, Qi Shuo was speaking of Lin Hao in the room of the Prince and Princess.

"While seeing the General's Mansion horse get spooked, I suddenly realized something."

"What is it?" the Princess of Jing asked curiously.

Qi Shuo looked bashful. "At that moment, I suddenly realized that I am very worried about the Second Miss of the Lin family."

He spoke quite calmly, yet his words struck the Prince and Princess like a bolt of lightning.

The couple stared at each other. After a long while, the Princess of Jing spoke hesitantly, "A near neighbor is better than a distant relative. You have known the Second Miss for many years; it is only human to worry about her being in danger—"

Qi Shuo interrupted her. "What I mean is, I have realized that I have feelings for the Second Miss."

There was no longer any room for misinterpretation.

The Princess of Jing looked at the Prince in a daze.

The Prince cleared his throat. "Shuo'er, do you wish to take the Second Miss as your wife?"

Qi Shuo lowered his eyes slightly. "But I worry the General's Mansion might look down on me for having a heart condition."

The Princess of Jing grew angry. "On what grounds would they—"

"It is not impossible. Both the Old Madam and Lady Lin of the Lin family are people who dote on their children, unlike ordinary families who care so much about social status and wealth..." the Prince analyzed rationally.

Qi Shuo subtly prompted, "Then Father, what should be done?"

The Prince instinctively comforted his son. "The horse incident at the General's Mansion today was fortunately resolved thanks to your help. The General's Mansion is currently very grateful to you. If you go to propose marriage now, it might just succeed..."

The more the Princess of Jing listened, the more something felt wrong. "Wait a minute, we're going to propose marriage just like that?"

It felt like a very important step had been skipped.

As she struggled to figure out which step it was, she saw her husband and son looking at her simultaneously.

"Timing is important. Striking while the iron is hot to propose is the most likely to succeed," the Prince said seriously.

Qi Shuo nodded. "Father is right."

The Prince felt somewhat smug. In this regard, the Princess was no match for him.

"Then when are we going to propose?" The Princess felt her mind was in a muddle.

The Prince looked at Qi Shuo.

Qi Shuo gave a thoughtful reminder, "Strike while the iron is hot."

The Prince declared, "We go tomorrow!"

After Qi Shuo left with a slight curl of his lips, the Princess of Jing took a sip of her cooled tea and suddenly reacted, "That's not right! How did it turn into going to propose tomorrow? Shouldn't we first have a proper discussion about whether the Second Miss is suitable to be our daughter-in-law?"

The Prince froze, adamantly refusing to admit he had forgotten that crucial step. He said in a deep tone, "Since your son likes her, what else is there to discuss?"

(End of Chapter)