Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 109 Asking Your Feelings
Maybe it was because her husband, Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing, was not there; maybe it was because her mother-in-law, the Lady Dowager, was very humble and spoke in a soft tone; maybe it was because her daughter Zhu Ying acted like a spoiled child and tried hard to persuade her to stay; maybe it was because the mother-in-law was so impressed with her son-in-law that the more she looked at him, the happier she liked him... In short, Jiu Niang finally agreed to stay reluctantly, but still insisted on "staying only for two nights."
After Zhu Ying had whispered to the lady for a while, she was overjoyed and helped her mother back to dress up. She also invited Mrs. Wu to go with her. The lady then asked Zhang Shou about what he had seen and heard that day.
Zhang Shou spoke very frankly about his meeting with Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan in Zhigong Tower, and later meeting with the Minister of War Lu Wan. He thought that the lady would ask about the whole story in connection with his trip to Lu's Mansion with Zhu Ying last night, but she just smiled and asked a completely unrelated question.
"Ah Shou, do you know how Yingying was able to catch you at the gate of the Imperial Household Department?"
Zhang Shou had been following Zhu Ying all the way, and later had to deal with Jiu Niang, who had a stronger personality than Zhu Ying. He was suddenly reminded by the lady and realized the problem. He frowned and asked, "It's really strange."
"That's because others mistook you for the second prince who is famous for his outstanding appearance in the palace, and the news spread to all the nearby government offices! You know, the outer government office of the Imperial Household Department is a place that everyone avoids as much as possible. You actually walked in so carelessly, it would be hard for others not to misunderstand you! When Yingying told me secretly just now, I was shocked!"
After she finished her scolding, seeing that Zhang Shou was somewhat embarrassed, the lady shook her head and laughed, "Yingying went to your house because her mother came back and didn't see you. She heard that the Shuntian government office was trying a case, so she thought you might have gone there. As a result, she went to Zhigong Tower and happened to hear that you had met Mr. Chu, Mr. Qi and Minister Lu there, so she hurried all the way to find you."
"She asked everyone she met along the way if they had seen a handsome young man. Later, when she heard that the second prince had entered the outer court of the Imperial Household Department, she knew she was wrong. She had been to the palace these past two days and knew that the first and second princes had a fight and were both under house arrest. It was impossible for them to be released. It might be you who went to the outer court of the Imperial Household Department to look for Chu Kuan. In the end, she really guessed it right!"
Zhang Shou didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, but what the lady said next surprised him even more.
"Our dynasty is not like the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties. Emperor Taizu said that the princes were crowned as soon as they were born. Why? We don't even know if they are elite talents or good-for-nothings! They have to grow up to eighteen years old first to see if they are dragons, phoenixes, or mice! On the contrary, princesses are crowned as soon as they are born, and are more delicate than princes. In fact, your marriage was just a verbal promise, and the marriage was not decided."
Seeing Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, the lady said sincerely: "That is to say, maybe Concubine Yu also likes you and wants to recruit you to be the consort of Princess Yongping. Of course, this is because you are not only talented, but also handsome. People judge people by their appearance, and often people with plain appearance have to work a thousand times harder to prove their talent."
Zhang Shou just laughed in silence, not resenting the Madam's frankness. However, he did not take the so-called son-in-law theory seriously, and said frankly: "I think the concern and inquiry of Concubine Yu before was because of my mother, and she definitely did not mean what you said. As for Princess Yongping, in my opinion, she is too arrogant and does not look down on me."
"Oh? If you guessed wrong, they actually like you too?"
Seeing that the lady was very interested, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Some things require mutual consent. Even if someone likes me, I may not be happy."
"So what you mean is that Yingying is better than Princess Yongping?"
Zhang Shou had not expected that the lady would press him so hard. After a moment of silence, he said frankly, "For me, it is actually very difficult to accept the idea of a marriage being arranged by my parents or the matchmaker. I want to make my own decision on my marriage."
Faced with such an arrogant and bold declaration, the lady was startled at first, and then the playful look between her brows gradually disappeared, replaced by the cautiousness and scrutiny of a grandmother protecting her granddaughter; "You don't like Yingying?"
"When she first appeared, I was surprised and kept my distance from her, but I soon found that it was difficult to do so. She is very real and beautiful, not like a virtuous puppet. After spending a long time with her, no one can help but be moved, including me."
Speaking frankly about his true feelings, Zhang Shou looked directly into the old lady's sharp eyes and said word by word: "I don't want her to regret it in the future. So, I want her to see more of the real me, and also the real her. If she still does not change her mind after seeing my true character and personality, then it won't be too late to talk about the future."
"You...just say you need more time, and don't want to get married so soon, but just want to be free and spend some time with Yingying." The lady laughed dumbly. Seeing Zhang Shou, who had just been talking calmly, suddenly looked a little embarrassed, she said calmly, "Just admit that you are attracted to Yingying. It's not easy for her to really like someone, and I don't want her to be wrong about her love."
Just when she was acting like a loving grandmother, she suddenly changed her tone and said, "Ah Shou, you accompanied Yingying last night and chased Erlang and Zhu Gongquan to the Lu Mansion. Were you there to ask why Lu Wan wanted to deal with Yingying's father?"
Just when he was about to answer this question, the lady talked about this and that. Now that Zhang Shou had to face his feelings because of her question, he was asked such a question. It was impossible for him to say that he was not confused at all. After a moment of hesitation, he simply said frankly: "Yes, because Yingying said that she felt that she should grow up."
This was an expected answer. The lady smiled slightly and then asked, "Why did you persuade Erlang and let her persuade Zhu Gongquan? It's easy for you to persuade Erlang, but her simple and crude methods may not be able to intimidate the sophisticated Zhu Gongquan. She doesn't understand, don't you, who are smart and clever, also understand?"
"At that time, I felt that her method of intimidating Zhu Gongquan was a little inappropriate, but then I thought, so what? Even if Zhu Gongquan informed Minister Lu after entering the Lu Mansion, the Second Young Master should have met Lu Sanlang. Minister Lu would most likely invite Yingying and me to the mansion to give him a warning. At that time, we could have a direct contact with him, and the result was just as expected."
"Yingying is so foolish and bold. You didn't even try to persuade her, but instead gave in to her!" The old lady said she was blaming her, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face at all. "Forget it. You two kids accidentally solved the mystery of the secret letter. Minister Lu is afraid of the consequences, so maybe some things will be put on hold for the time being."
As she spoke, she stood up and bowed solemnly to Zhang Shou: "No matter what, I have to thank you. The best thing I have done these days is to send Yingying to the countryside."
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, then he dodged to the side and returned the greeting, "We have been able to live comfortably these years, and we have been indebted to you for your kindness. This was just an accident, so you don't have to thank me, madam. But..."
He hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "The sack that Ah Liu brought back last night..."
"Of course, Shichahai was sunk." The lady said calmly as if nothing had happened. Seeing Zhang Shou's eyes widened, she smiled and said, "I'm just kidding you! You were able to convince Yingying to send Zhu Yu to Shuntian Prefecture. Now that he is a traitor, what else can you say? Didn't Yingying threaten Zhu Gongquan and be careful of the handle in the hands of the Zhu family ?"
"I sent him to Shuntian Prefecture, along with evidence of his past misappropriation of money and grain. Fortunately, the matters he helped Yingying's father with were just trivial matters, and did not involve private correspondence. Wang Datou is capable and should do more work. I can only trouble him."
Zhang Shou was dumbfounded and felt deep sympathy for the Shuntian prefect who had been busy with many things recently. However, he soon found out that he had sympathized with the wrong person, because Jiang Mama's voice came from outside the door.
"Madam, someone came from Shuntian Prefecture and said that Wang Dayin wanted to see my son-in-law." Madam Jiang paused, then added emphatically, "Wang Dayin said that it was extremely urgent. If my son-in-law hasn't eaten yet, he can go to his place to eat. If he wants to sleep, he can sleep there. In short, he wants to see someone in half an hour, otherwise he will come in person! He also sent a sedan chair to wait outside the door."
