Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Aftermath

Chapter 36

It was already afternoon when Jiang Yu came out of the palace. It was the bitter summer, and the sun was scorching. Jiang Yu almost trotted to the palace gate of the Meridian Gate, and saw the eunuch reading the imperial edict. Below them knelt a group of people, who were the group of students led by Du Haoyu.

Dozens of people fell ill during the petition, and a few others died tragically on the palace wall when they saw that the emperor refused to issue an edict. The blood had not been wiped clean yet, and flies were gathering around, looking tragic and sad.

Jiang Yu felt sad, and waited to see Du Haoyu safe, and then he felt at ease, and finally put his heart at ease.

Although Du Haoyu and others were loyal to the country, they disobeyed the emperor after all, and were punished a little. The Imperial College and all the students who participated in the exams were suspended for three years, which was considered to have delayed their official careers, but everyone was very happy. Du Haoyu, who was still in an official position, was fined half a year's salary.

Jiang Yu helped Du Haoyu get on the carriage with red eyes, but he smiled and said, "They used to say that I was a gigolo, and that I could only support the family by relying on my wife to open a restaurant. Now it's good, even that little salary is gone, and this is really confirmed in the future."

Jiang Yu was sad, and couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and even Jiang Yan and Du De laughed along.

It was hot at this time, and they were tired and thirsty, and just wanted to take a nap, but they felt that the sky had never been so clear and cloudless

, and it was extremely refreshing. When the prince followed Jiang Yu out, he saw her jogging at the beginning, and then hurriedly went to support Du Haoyu. He didn't know what Du Haoyu said, but she couldn't help showing a smile, as bright as the warm sun in March. He wanted to turn his face away, but his eyes were glued to the other person, until the carriage gradually went away and disappeared at the end of the alley, and then he withdrew his eyes.

Eunuch Zhang glanced at him and pretended not to see him, but Xu Bao showed a thoughtful look.

After returning to the Zhou Palace, the prince went to visit his mother first. Because of the hot summer, the Zhou Princess moved to the courtyard facing the lake. It was cool, but there were many mosquitoes, so they kept burning insect repellent incense. Before they went there, they could smell the strong smell.

The prince walked in and saw his mother lying on a reclining chair made of bamboo mats, and a maid was fanning her. When she saw the prince coming, she said, "Why did you come back so early today?" Then she asked the maid to bring the prince iced mung bean soup and said, "I asked the kitchen to cook it this morning, and it's just right now."

The prince sat on the black lacquered and huanghuali armchair with bamboo mats. When he saw the maid bringing the mung bean soup, he lowered his head and took a sip. He felt cool and refreshed. He thought that he had finally solved the problem of Prime Minister Zhao, and he felt that a stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground.

Just thinking of Prime Minister Zhao reminded him of Jiang Yu's figure at the palace gate, and he was uneasy for a while. It was only after Princess Zhou called him several times that he came back to his senses, "Mom, you said you want to take a concubine?"

Princess Zhou sighed and said, "Mom is not young anymore, and she also wants to live a life surrounded by children and grandchildren. Now you look at the palace, there is only one child,

and it is cold and deserted." The prince didn't know why he thought of Du Qing, the child who smiled innocently and cutely, but was very cunning when playing, which made him feel infinite pity. If Du Qing was his child, then the palace shouldn't be so deserted.

"You haven't visited the princess for a few days? After all, she is your first wife. She must have suffered a lot in the nunnery for those few years. Maybe she did something wrong before, but knowing the mistakes can improve her. She took the initiative to come to me a few days ago and said that she wanted to take a concubine for you and asked what you think. This child is finally sensible." Princess Zhou said with relief.

The prince was busy with Prime Minister Zhao's affairs and had no time to think about these things. He almost smiled sarcastically after hearing these words, but quickly held back and said coldly, "Mother, my son is not thinking about this yet."

The prince was afraid that Princess Zhou had been talking about taking a concubine, so he quickly changed the subject and talked about Prime Minister Zhao. Sure enough, Princess Zhou asked, "Did your majesty really issue an order? Amitabha, it must be the Buddha's presence. This Zhao Di is too rampant."

Although it is not appropriate to speak ill of the emperor in private, Princess Zhou is her own son after all, and there is no need to hide anything between mother and son. She added, "Your majesty is not a confused person. Why did you let Zhao Di do that for so long?"

The prince had changed into casual clothes after he came back. In summer, he liked to wear a straight gown made of Hangzhou silk. It was silky and cool against the skin, with wide sleeves that exposed his arms when lifted up, which was breathable and not restrictive.

At this moment, the prince was wearing a lake green Hangzhou silk gown with dark gold cloud patterns. He had long since taken off his Yishan crown. His hair was tied up in a bun, and he wore a white jade hairpin with plain patterns, which made his hair and skin look as white as snow, and his eyebrows and eyes were handsome.

"Your Majesty is kind-hearted and just couldn't bear it."

When Princess Zhou heard this, she seemed to remember something and said, "It is said that when Your Majesty took refuge in Xianning, Prime Minister Zhao secretly helped a lot."

The prince nodded, which was why he asked Jiang Yu to make osmanthus cake.

"I was also shocked when I heard that Jiang was summoned to the palace to cook. It seems that everything is over. She is also a pitiful person. Now that life is finally better, there should be no more twists and turns."

Jiang Yu later sent cakes several times. In addition to Princess Zhou's favorite jujube paste yam cake, there were other cakes that she improved herself, including mung bean cake, lotus cake, donkey roll, pea yellow, and even the osmanthus rice cake sold in Jiang Yu's store.

Princess Zhou really likes to eat this sweet-scented osmanthus rice cake. When Jiang Yu found out, she even gave the recipe to Li Fugui's family, so that it would be convenient to eat. This made Princess Zhou even happier about Jiang Yu.

People are like this, they smell good from a distance but smell bad up close. When Jiang Yu was no longer her daughter-in-law, but just an ordinary official's wife, with neither a noble status nor a prominent background, she would feel a pitiful sense of guilt. In addition, Jiang Yu's attentiveness to her also made Princess Zhou start to value her.

Speaking of Jiang Yu, the prince remembered the two of them looking at each other in the imperial garden. Although they had never spoken, they understood each other's meaning with just one look.

In the past, the prince always felt that this was as it should be, because since Jiang Yu married into the palace, she understood his thoughts very well, whether he was happy or not, his preferences, maybe she didn't understand them at first, but later they understood each other almost with just one look.

But after waiting for her to leave, he remarried, and he never felt this way again.

The prince's eyes were heavy, and he secretly clenched his hands around the small blue and white bowl, then finally let go, stood up and said, "Mother, it's getting late, I'm going back first."

The two chatted for a while, and the prince was ready to go back and rest. He hadn't slept well in the past few days, and now he finally relaxed.

The princess gave a few more instructions, and then still didn't give up, saying, "In a few days, it will be Princess Taihe's flower viewing banquet, why don't you go and have a look and relax?"

The so-called flower viewing banquet is actually just a banquet for mutual admiration. Every year, a few beautiful marriages will be achieved, and everyone will flock to it.

The princess thought of asking the prince to go and see for himself, there will always be someone he likes, right?

The prince said, "Mom, the weather is hot. Do you want to go to the Summer Palace? It's your birthday soon. Call my brother over. I haven't seen him for a long time."

Logically, Lin Ji would never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life relying on his brother the prince. He would just have to wait to inherit the title of King of Zhou and live a leisurely life as a prince.

But he has loved reading since he was a child, and he is very hardworking. At the beginning, the princess was very strict, thinking that the eldest son would inherit the family business, and the second son would naturally rely on himself. How could he not study hard? But when Lin Bozhi was taken back to the palace, she stopped urging Lin Ji, but Lin Ji liked it, which made the princess very helpless. Later, Lin Ji became a disciple of Han Xun, a great scholar of the time.

In the past few years, he has been studying with his master, and he only comes back during the holidays.

Last year, because his master Han Xun was unwell during the Chinese New Year, Lin Ji did not come back, saying that he had to take care of his master. Princess Zhou was helpless, but she always felt a little resentful in her heart. He was her dearest, how could she not miss him?

Princess Zhou was very happy to hear this, and indeed forgot about urging the prince to go to the flower viewing banquet just now, and only said, "This is a good idea. Your brother won't refuse again this time, right?"

The prince smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. If my brother still refuses to come, I will just issue an order directly."

Princess Zhou laughed, but soon stopped laughing, sighed and said, "It doesn't have to be like this. You can't just care about my happiness and delay your brother's studies, right? Let him go if he likes." Although she said so, the prince naturally saw her longing.

Lin Ji is more than a generation younger than the prince. As the saying goes, the elder brother is like a father, not to mention that King Zhou has long gone. In the eyes of the prince, Lin Ji is both a younger brother and his own child, so he naturally misses him very much, so he made up his mind to let him come back.

Princess Zhou is not very involved in things. Although she wanted the prince to take a concubine, the prince refused again and again, so she didn't ask any more.

When the prince came out of Princess Zhou's room, the sun shone directly on his face. The maid Wenru hurriedly asked the servants to bring the canopy to block the sunlight.

The counselor Zhang Ping paced the room restlessly, staring at the movements outside. Although he had heard the news a long time ago, he was still a little worried before seeing the prince.

After waiting for him to drink a whole pot of tea, he finally saw the figure of the prince Lin Bozhi appear at the door.

The prince entered the room and leaned comfortably on the brocade pillow with a gold-embossed "Fu" pattern. He said with a relaxed look, "Sir, you have heard the news too, right?"

Zhang Ping stood up, bowed to the prince, and said solemnly, "Your Highness is really as good as a god."

But the prince shook his head and said, "In fact, His Majesty has made up his mind a long time ago."

The emperor just couldn't make up his mind. All he did was add fuel to the flames and break the emperor's last hope. Zhang Ping personally made tea for the prince. The prince took it, took a sip, and put it on the black lacquered long table with gold cloud patterns, and said, "Now that the disaster has been eliminated, sir, just do your best."

Zhang Ping was a very shrewd man, but when he heard this, he felt his blood boiling in his heart, and he could no longer conceal his feelings. His face was full of smiles. As a scholar, it was his dream to be loyal to the country, make achievements in his official career, and leave his name in history.

Although the matter was over, there were still many follow-up matters that Zhang Ping had to deal with. The prince explained in detail, and he had to talk about the process in the palace. After Zhang Ping heard Jiang Yu's actions, he couldn't help but say, "That Jiang is also a smart person..."

Zhang Ping went to see the prince's expression after he finished speaking, and he saw that his face was gloomy and he stopped talking.

***

Jiang Yu returned home and had to take care of three people at once. He was busy like a top and couldn't get away. However, the emperor was gracious and actually sent the imperial physician to come and take pulse and prescribe medicine. He just said that it would be fine if he replenished it, and it didn't hurt the foundation, which made Jiang Yu feel relieved.

If you want to say who is the weakest among these people, it is Du De. He fainted directly after returning home. Fortunately, there was an imperial physician who gave acupuncture and pulse diagnosis, and it was a false alarm.

Du Haoyu is stronger than expected, probably because of his martial arts training.

After Jiang Yu settled her two younger brothers, she went back to her room to see Du Haoyu. She saw him leaning on a red silk pillow with a willow pattern, sleeping with his eyes closed. His complexion looked better than before, but that was all. Jiang Yu felt distressed, so she tiptoed over to fan him, and then she saw Du Haoyu open his eyes.

Du Haoyu's eyes were narrow and bright, especially when he stared at you, he had a kind of charm that was bewitched by someone. He said to Jiang Yu, "You finally know that you have a husband, right?"

Jiang Yu was about to cry out of distress, but after hearing this, she laughed out loud and said, "What are you talking about?" Then she sat on the edge of the bed, took a towel soaked in warm water and gently wiped his face. "I almost couldn't help it when I saw my cousin outside the palace yesterday. It was really heartbreaking."

Du Haoyu sighed, held Jiang Yu's hand, and said, "It's all over."

The two of them didn't speak for a long time, and they felt that this moment was particularly rare, and they felt stable and at ease.

Du Haoyu asked about the things in the palace, and Jiang Yu said, "I just made a sweet-scented osmanthus cake with the flavor of Xianning, and it really touched your majesty." "

Why is that?"

Jiang Yu looked up and looked at the sycamore tree outside the window. It was getting dark now, and the sun was setting. The whole tree was solemn with red habits, just like that year when Lin Bozhi, who was still the prince of Zhou, sat under the window and told her about this matter.

"At the beginning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince told me that when your majesty was in Xianning, he got a lot of help from Zhao Di, and he once said that such a wise minister is rare in the world."

Du Haoyu immediately understood. Eating the sweet-scented osmanthus cake from Xianning reminded the emperor of this sentence. The former wise minister has now become a powerful and arrogant minister. How ironic?

As for wanting to invite Jiang Yu into the palace to eat food, it was fake, and wanting to see her as a person was true, so waiting to see Jiang Yu, who was actually such a well-behaved, kind and innocent person, naturally finally cut off the last thought.

What surprised him was another thing: "The prince even told you this kind of thing?"

Jiang Yu looked at Du Haoyu and said calmly, "It's all in the past."

Du Haoyu didn't say anything .