Chapter 48 The Past (1)
After talking with Zhou Cheng, the Queen Mother knew that what Zhou Cheng wanted to do was extraordinary, so she immediately went to talk to Zhang Ren. Zhang Ren was shocked after hearing this. He didn't expect that what he was worried about would become a reality...
"What should we do now? The emperor is the kind of person who will definitely carry out his decision once he makes it up. Yinyin hasn't woken up yet, so there's still some time. The emperor has always respected you, so why don't you go and persuade him?"
"I have to persuade him, but is it really that easy to make him change his mind? I never thought that his feelings for Yin Yin have reached such a point. It's as if his rejection of the marriage was just a dream. Thinking about how Yin Yin was infatuated with him but was deprived of marriage and was heartbroken, I never dreamed that the emperor's mind would change so much. Now he is in agony because of Yin Yin's affairs. I really don't understand what he wants? When Yin Yin was infatuated with him, he wanted to be ruthless, but now he is obsessed with Yin Yin. Doesn't he know that doing this will still hurt Yin Yin?"
"I've already told him that doing this would hurt Yin Yin, but he wouldn't listen at all—"
The Queen Mother was anxious. Although Zhang Ren was an important official in the court, he was also Yin Yin's father. He could not abandon his daughter for the country, nor would he abandon the country for his daughter. This matter really made him feel very embarrassed...
"I'm worried that once this becomes a reality, the whole country will be shaken. Although I never interfere in government affairs, the world is still not stable at this time. First, Zhao was shaken. If Zhou is also shaken now, what will happen? The people of Zhou will definitely put all the blame on Yin Yin, and then she will be regarded as a sinner who has brought disaster to the country and the people."
How could Zhang Ren not know what the Queen Mother said? He had thought about all of this, but even so, the outcome was beyond his control. The same went for Zhou Cheng and Yin Yin. Zhang Ren could not control them. Instead, he could only watch the situation deteriorate. Who could understand this feeling?
"Your Majesty, and Yan'er too, why did the two brothers fall in love with the same woman? At the beginning, it was because Yinyin loved Cheng'er so deeply that they tried their best to bring them together. Yan'er has always loved Yinyin deeply. For the sake of the overall situation, I ignored his feelings and arranged for Yinyin to marry Cheng'er. Who knew that it would develop into that situation, leading to the situation today, one of them didn't love her at first, but now loves her to death, and the other has only loved Yinyin from beginning to end. Now two unrelated people, Han Ji and Ningshuang, are involved. The two brothers have clashed several times for Yinyin, and now they are enemies and are in a state of mutual hostility. Who can tell me why my two sons have to like your daughter?"
The Queen Mother, who had always been rational, suddenly became very sad at this moment? From her words, it seemed that there was something between her and Zhang Ren? From the Queen Mother's words, Zhang Ren remained silent. How could he start talking about this? It can only be said that it was a bad fate. After thinking for a while...
"You are too worried. Young people have their own pursuits. It is not a sin to love someone or fall in love with anyone—"
"So what about us then?"
The Queen Mother's question made Zhang Ren remain silent.
[Go back in time a little bit].
Twenty-five years ago.
At that time, Zhang Ren was the son of the Minister of Personnel. His outstanding talent and excellent mind made Zhang Ren recognized as the "first talent in the country"; Shan Yuan (Shan Zhen's father) was the descendant of a general. Because of his extraordinary skills, he was promoted to the top position of the imperial guards at a young age, so he was known as the "first military general in the country"; the Zhang and Shan families, one civil and one military, have always been famous in the Zhou Kingdom and have always been valued in the court. In the generation of Zhang Ren and Shan Yuan, they are even more favored. The two families are also related, which makes them powerful in the court; Crown Prince Zhou Xian (Zhou Cheng's father) is not as good as Zhang Ren in literature and Shan Yuan in martial arts, but he is proficient in both civil and military strategies, and is a rare and wise crown prince. He is the best candidate for Zhang Ren and Shan Zhen to assist...
Zhang Ren, Shan Yuan and Zhou Xian were assigned to be Zhou Xian's assistants because of their close age. Zhou Xian, who was the crown prince at that time, performed very well as a crown prince with the assistance of Zhang Ren in Wen and Shan Yuan in Wu. Zhang Ren and Shan Zhen had been designated as the successors of Wen and Wu in the court in the future. Everyone in the court believed that after Zhou Xian succeeded to the throne, with the assistance of Zhang Ren and Shan Yuan, the new era would bring unprecedented prosperity. These young people were already the symbol of the new era.
One is gentle and elegant with great talent, one is loyal and honest with extraordinary skills, and the other is suave with both wisdom and courage. Not only are the three of them outstanding in appearance, but they are also of noble status. They have countless admirers in the royal city and are the subject of everyone's talk. However, because they are all descendants of high-ranking officials and nobles, they all have been engaged for a long time. Zhang Ren and Shan Zhen's sister Shan Yufeng (now Zhang Ren's wife) have been engaged since childhood to make the relationship between the two families closer. Shan Yuan is engaged to a distant relative of Zhang Ren, but unfortunately the woman died suddenly shortly after the engagement. Zhou Xian has many candidates for the crown princess, so it goes without saying.
The three of them would often go out together or drink together. No matter where they went, they would be seen together. One day...
"General Shan wants you to get married? Who?"
On this day, Zhang Ren accompanied Zhou Xian into the palace and saw Shan Yuan drinking alone in the imperial garden, so he went up to greet him. Under the questioning of Zhang Ren and Zhou Xian, Shan Yuan finally told him the reason for drinking, which also surprised Zhang Ren and Zhou Xian.
