My System Is Three Thousand Years Early

What did he mean by not yet married, that there would be no wedding?

His third daughter, wasn\'t she married off to the Prime Minister\'s Mansion?

Mrs. Wu, standing nearby, trembled slightly upon hearing Lin Yunzhen\'s words, her fingers tightly clutching the corner of her clothing, as a sense of foreboding grew within her.

Zhang Shunlong found himself holding his breath. He had thought that Yuting, having married into the Prime Minister\'s Mansion, would now be living a good life. But listening to Lin Yunzhen, the Prime Minister\'s son, it was as if Liu Yuting had never existed at all?

Liu Hao and Mrs. Wu might not dare to offend Lin Yunzhen, but Zhang Shunlong knew his own life was worthless, so he immediately challenged him.

"Then may I ask, the young lady you took from Ping\'an County a month ago, where did she end up?"

Upon hearing Zhang Shunlong\'s question, Lin Yunzhen let out a light exclamation, his noble gaze falling upon Zhang Shunlong.

Instead of answering, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Princely Heir, may I ask who this man is?"

Had Cheng Guang not been present, Lin Yunzhen would have already slapped this impolite commoner to death.

How dare he question him?

It would have been fine if it were Cheng Guang, the Town-Nation Duke\'s Heir asking the questions.

But what was this commoner?

These thoughts floated through Lin Yunzhen\'s mind. At the same time, recalling the woman he had brought back from Ping\'an County more than a month ago, his expression darkened upon looking at Zhang Shunlong, Liu Hao, and Mrs. Wu.

He had never imagined that these lowly commoners would dare to come to the Prime Minister\'s Mansion for the sake of a mere woman.

Even the Crown Prince had inquired about this matter.

Why?

Lin Yunzhen could not understand.

Cheng Guang looked at Lin Yunzhen and nonchalantly said, "You don\'t need to concern yourself with his identity. Just answer his question."

Lin Yunzhen\'s breath hitched, his complexion souring.

He glanced over at Lin Gongfu.

Lin Gongfu seemed to realize that unless his purpose was achieved, the Crown Prince would not rest.

At the same time, he was curious about what Lin Yunzhen had done to warrant such a dignified visit from Cheng Guang, the revered Town-Nation Duke\'s Heir.

So, Lin Gongfu said, "Yunzhen, just answer his question, did you or did you not take a girl from Ping\'an County?"

Lin Yunzhen\'s mouth twitched secretly a few times before he reluctantly spoke, "Indeed, I did, but I didn\'t marry that girl. I only planned to make her a maiden for warming my bed, but I didn\'t expect her to be so uncooperative."

"I didn\'t do much to her. After sharing a bed a few times, I lost interest, and later casually gave her away to a menial worker in the mansion."

"As for whether that girl is called Liu Yuting or not, I really couldn\'t say."

Lin Yunzhen spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

At these words, the body of Liu Hao, the Family Head of the Liu Family, shook violently, his eyes widening in disbelief.

He could not believe what he had heard.

He had thought that his family had climbed high, that his daughter had married into the Prime Minister\'s family, becoming a lady of the mansion, but the reality was...

The reality was...

She wasn\'t even considered a bed-warming maiden?

More than his daughter\'s fate, Liu Hao was thinking about all the benefits he had reaped during this time, relying on the status as the Prime Minister\'s in-law.

If outsiders knew that his daughter had not actually married the Prime Minister\'s son, but was taken as merely a bed-warming maiden, and that she was not even that anymore...

Even worse...

She had been given away by the Prime Minister\'s son to a menial worker in the mansion.

Disgrace!

Humiliation!

Embarrassment!

A flurry of uncomfortable emotions surged in Liu Hao\'s heart, almost making it impossible for him to lift his head.

Mrs. Wu, upon hearing Lin Yunzhen\'s words, felt as if she had been violently struck, crying out with a pained gasp as tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.

Large teardrops fell, sliding down her cheeks and dropping onto the ground one after another.

"Yuting, where is Yuting, where is she?"

"We don\'t want to be related to the Prime Minister\'s Mansion anymore. My lord, can we take Yuting back home, please?"

Mrs. Wu\'s heart seemed shattered as she clutched Liu Hao\'s arm, her grip so tight that her fingers turned blue.

Liu Hao, hearing Mrs. Wu\'s plea, had a shifting expression and his lips moved a few times, but he said nothing.

His daughter had already entered the Prime Minister\'s household.

Her fate was no longer in her own hands, nor in theirs.

How could it be easy to take their daughter back?

At this point, perhaps only the Crown Prince could compel the Prime Minister\'s Mansion to release her.

At the same time, after hearing what Lin Yunzhen had said, Zhang Shunlong felt as though he had been struck by lightning. His complexion turned deathly pale, and his body froze in place. Staring blankly at Lin Yunzhen\'s face, which seemed so gentle and cultured, he couldn\'t bring himself to believe it.

The nobleman before him had snatched Yuting away from his side, only to treat her so carelessly, to the extent he didn\'t even know Yuting\'s name, playing with her life before callously discarding her.

How could this be!?

How could a nobleman be so utterly oppressive!

Why!?

Why did it have to be my Yuting who suffered thus!?

Zhang Shunlong\'s breathing became rapid, his eyes turning a painful red as he fixated his gaze on Lin Yunzhen.

If looks could kill, Lin Yunzhen would have died countless times over by now.

Lin Yunzhen noticed Zhang Shunlong\'s gaze, merely furrowing his brows slightly, turning his eyes to Cheng Guang with a smile, he said, "Crown Prince, this man\'s stare makes me rather uncomfortable. If it were at all convenient, I would really like to dig out his eyeballs."

Lin Yunzhen spoke these words with a laugh.

His status might not be as high as Cheng Guang\'s, but it was not much lower.

His own father was, after all, the current Prime Minister and one of the top powers in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, he could afford to stand a bit taller in Cheng Guang\'s presence.

Lin Gongfu, who was beside them, heard Lin Yunzhen\'s words and cast a glance at Zhang Shunlong before closing his eyes to rest, appearing indifferent to his son\'s statement.

Cheng Guang too laughed.

"I\'m afraid that would be quite inconvenient."

Lin Yunzhen expressed regretfully, "In that case, the Princely Heir is rather kind to this commoner."

Without further conversation with Lin Yunzhen, Cheng Guang gently tapped his fingers on the back of his chair and said, "Just bring the person over."

In front of Cheng Guang, Lin Yunzhen could only feel frustrated, yet he was powerless to do anything but obediently comply, summoning a servant to fetch the woman he had brought back to the mansion a month before.

Had it not been for Cheng Guang\'s visit today,

he would have almost forgotten about the whole affair.

The servant hurried off.

It was only a moment later that the servant returned with hasty steps, his voice urgent, "It\'s bad, Young Master, the woman is gone."

"Gone?"

Lin Yunzhen was stunned.

Zhang Shunlong violently turned his head, staring intently at the servant who had just come in from outside.

Behind that servant, several attendants were carefully carrying a delicate body covered with a white cloth, walking gingerly and not daring to speak aloud.

"This lady... has long since committed suicide."

Committed suicide... already?

Zhang Shunlong\'s mind buzzed, and the world seemed to fade to grey; Mrs. Wu\'s cries, the conversations of the crowd around him—he could no longer hear them.

He looked towards the delicate body shrouded in white.

In a trance, he seemed to see a gentle and graceful woman smiling at him.

"Shunlong, what do you think, does long hair suit me or short hair?"

The lady looked at him with hopeful eyes, a sparkle in her gaze.

"Shunlong, when we get married, I want you to carry me out of the Liu Family residence."

The lady pursed her lips in thought.

"Shunlong, once we\'re married we should have lots of children. The elders always say, if you don\'t have kids when you\'re young, it gets tougher as you get older."

The lady\'s face showed a hint of worry.

"Shunlong... my father says a nobleman has taken a liking to me..."

"Shunlong, will you take me away?"

The lady\'s eyes, misty with tears, were filled with sorrow.

Zhang Shunlong gazed into the distance, his world dwindling to nothing but white, tears streaming down his face without his noticing.

"Let\'s go, let\'s go..."

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Zhang Shunlong reached out with a dazed expression, grabbing at the air as if to clutch something, yet grasping nothing at all.

"Yuting, where can we even go?"

Zhang Shunlong cried softly, "In this vast world, where can we go?"

"Why is this happening."

"Why has it come to this?"

"Why must the world be like this?"

In that moment, Zhang Shunlong, asking questions for which there were no answers, cried out like a child who could never grow up.

Inside the vast hall.

It seemed that only Zhang Shunlong\'s cries could be heard.

......