Chapter 749: First Volume, Chapter 749: The Secret of the Qin Family

First Volume, Chapter 749: The Secret of the Qin Family

Qin Feng rubbed his nose, saw Ning Hu grinning beside him, and kicked him hard. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

Ning Hu, blunt and unskilled at dodging, took the kick straight on but still grinned foolishly: "Brother Qin, it's so strange! Everyone in all of Liang and even northern Di fears you to death—you're a demon incarnate—yet every time you meet the Four Young Ladies and Miss Xie, you turn into a mouse seeing a cat."

"Hahaha, looks like even Brother Qin has a weakness."

At these words, the soldiers present all burst into laughter—but the stench drifting from the fortress nearly made them all vomit on the spot.

Qin Feng held his head high, unashamed, even proud: "What do you know? This is what it means to be a man!"

Ning Hu's grin widened: "A man? A true man is the head of a household—he needs no anger, just one glance, and the entire family falls silent."

Qin Feng sneered at Ning Hu's words: "That's not being a man—that's bullying at home. Being strong inside means nothing. True strength is being powerful outside. Only when you're fierce in the world but gentle at home do you earn the title of true man. A man's two hands: one holds the sword to conquer heaven, the other holds his wife and children."

"Heh, you're a bachelor—you wouldn't understand. Wait till you have someone you love, then you'll know my reasons."

Ning Hu remained stubborn, convinced he'd never be tamed by a woman.

But jokes aside, no one dared truly mock Qin Feng—after all… Qin Feng only grew soft around family; with outsiders, one wrong word could mean death.

"Brother Qin, why did Fourth Miss suddenly show up?"

Ning Hu's smile vanished as he watched Jing Qianying's retreating figure, shifting the topic.

Qin Feng didn't answer right away. He waved his hand, signaling the officers to return to duty. Only when only he and Ning Hu remained did he turn, hands behind his back, and speak solemnly: "Have you forgotten the deal I made with Lü Ci and Li Chou?"

At this, Ning Hu frowned: "Deal? Wasn't it just a temporary tactic?"

In Ning Hu's view, Qin Feng's deal with Lü Ci and Li Chou was merely a cost-saving measure.

After all, the original promise of heavy silver payment—if honored—would have been a staggering sum, enough to make anyone's scalp tingle.

As for Qin Feng's talk of northern Di's Imperial Orthodoxy, it was mostly just a bluff.

After all, they'd already cut down Lü Li's son, clashed fiercely at the Negotiation Table, and in the end, the northern Di side had only agreed to a princess marriage alliance and the surrender of a trivial prince.

Though both were direct royal relatives, they were far from the true Imperial Orthodoxy.

Moreover, they hadn't even arrived yet—now, to challenge the northern Di king's legitimacy? Too early.

Sensing Ning Hu's skeptical gaze, Qin Feng didn't waste words—he simply raised a finger toward Jing Qianying: "My fourth sister is the true northern Di Imperial Orthodoxy."

At these words, Ning Hu froze in place. Long moments passed before he regained his composure.

His eyes shifted wildly, his mouth hung open, yet his voice dropped to a whisper—this secret was too shocking to speak aloud.

"Brother Qin… you're not joking, are you?"

"Fourth Miss is northern Di royalty?!"

Qin Feng stood with hands behind his back, watching Jing Qianying fade from view, calm and detached: "Do you think I'd joke about something like this? That's treason."

Hearing this, Ning Hu knew it wasn't baseless rumor. He hurried closer to Qin Feng, voice even lower.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this—but your Qin Family… what's really going on? Third Miss is a lost princess of Liang, and now Fourth Miss is northern Di royalty?!"

"I now strongly suspect that the eldest and second sisters aren't ordinary either."

Unbeknownst to Ning Hu, Qin Feng himself had been stunned when he first learned this.

After all, one sister being a princess of Liang was shocking enough—yet now the fourth sister was royal too, and of northern Di.

Ning Hu frowned, suppressing his shock: "Brother Qin, you've hidden this too well!"

Qin Feng shook his head, sighing: "I sent the Brocade Robe Guard to investigate long ago, but I never had solid proof—only wild guesses. My father and mother won't tell me a thing."

"When we left Beijing, someone in the Hou Gong sent a message to Mingyue Lake. It was discovered by Liu Ming of the Anwu Guard. We waited until the northern Di Nightingale let down her guard, then swapped the letter—stole it. Inside was the truth about Fourth Miss's identity."

Ning Hu had already been stunned—but now, hearing this, his jaw hung slack.

"What?! Someone in the palace knew this—and sent word to northern Di? And… what's this Nightingale you mentioned?"

Qin Feng snorted: "The northern Di Night Owls, the top-tier intelligence network in Heaven, plant mostly decoys in Beijing—meant to shield their elite spies. The ones who actually access Liang's core secrets? The courtesans of Mingyue Lake."

Ning Hu's eyes widened—he felt his worldview shattered. Mingyue Lake was Beijing's most prestigious, legally sanctioned brothel.

Officially, high officials never went there—but at night, it was a different world.

The Liang Emperor turned a blind eye—better to let it flow than to block it. If Mingyue Lake were shut down, those high officials with perverse tastes might turn to raping common women.

Yet no one expected even Mingyue Lake, thick with Anwu Guard spies, had been infiltrated by the Night Owls.

As the old saying goes: the most dangerous place is the safest.

Ning Hu steadied himself, but his voice remained heavy: "Brother Qin, you said someone in the palace is secretly aiding northern Di?"

Qin Feng nodded: "No ironclad proof yet—but I suspect it's the Empress."

"Our Empress is so calculating, even I feel drained just thinking of her. Who knows how many cards she's holding?"

"This leak to northern Di was meant to provoke the northern Di king into killing me on his soil."

Ning Hu broke into a cold sweat—before even entering northern Di, the danger was already this grave.

"Brother Qin, Fourth Miss is northern Di royalty—but with so many royals, how could she threaten the northern Di king's position?"