Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 113 I think you are good in everything
"Look, Queen Mother, this is it. It's actually a cloisonné porcelain box! The eunuch bumped into Shou and hid the thing on him without anyone noticing. If Shou hadn't been alert and quick to act after discovering it, this guy would have succeeded in framing him!"
In the main hall of Qingning Palace, Zhu Ying sat beside the Empress Dowager, and held the broken blue cloisonné porcelain box in front of the Empress Dowager. "Is this something from Qingning Palace? Look at how fast that thief moved. He must have cooperated with others many times. He is definitely a habitual thief!"
Since he came in to pay respects to the Queen Mother, Zhang Shou has been keeping his mouth shut, just sitting there thoughtfully watching Zhu Ying's one-man show. As for the other person present today, Princess Yongping, who he could barely call an acquaintance, and the two princes, he only paid his respects to them at the beginning, and never looked at them again, as if they were just unrelated people.
By occasionally looking up at Zhu Ying, he secretly looked at this empress dowager who had ruled the country from behind the curtain . After all, this was the first and only empress dowager who had ruled the country from behind the curtain since the founding of this dynasty, and according to Zhu Ying, she returned the government without any hesitation.
According to the time when Duke Zhao Zhu Jing had made great achievements and was awarded the title during the reign of the previous Emperor Ruizong, as well as the age of the emperor, Zhang Shou felt that she should be a dozen years younger than the lady dowager in Duke Zhao's mansion. However, her dark blue clothes made her look older than the lady dowager, and her jewelry was dark in color. Her expression was even more rigid and dignified, making her look as if she was the same age as the lady dowager.
What was even more different was that Zhu Ying's grandmother was always kind and gentle, and occasionally showed some sharpness and determination, but the empress dowager was probably used to looking down on others, and always had a picky arrogance, which could easily make people who met her for the first time feel at a loss. So, he simply kept silent like a young man who had really lived in the countryside for a long time.
It was not until Zhu Ying, whose voice was as clear as a lark, finally stopped talking that Princess Yongping spoke up: "Although Zhang Shou was quick to react, he could have just shouted 'Catch the thief'. Why did he just throw the things out? What if it wasn't an enamel porcelain box that was broken, but a seal or something more valuable? Wouldn't that be terrible?"
Zhang Shou glanced at Zhu Ying and saw that she was also looking at him first. He even felt that he could understand her eyes - it was just an expression that said, "If you want to talk, I won't say anything for now..." He just found it funny and simply replied with an expression that said, "It's up to you."
Seeing that Zhang Shou had no intention of making excuses, Zhu Ying immediately took over the responsibility.
"In such a short time, how could Shou know what was secretly slipped to him? What if it was a knife or other murder weapon? Wouldn't he be unable to explain even if he had a hundred mouths? You know, we didn't search him when we entered the palace! Besides, what if he got away with someone with ulterior motives if he wasn't paying attention? In short, if it were me, I would definitely arrest him first and then deal with other things!"
The Queen Mother seemed to be used to Zhu Ying's persuasive speech, and went to see Zhang Shou again. She saw that he was standing straight, with a slightly stiff expression, as if facing a distinguished guest, and was sitting in the same position as when he first came in. Thinking that he had not spoken since he was first brought in by Zhu Ying, she took the thing from Zhu Ying and handed it to a middle-aged .
"Yuquan, first check if this porcelain box is from Qingning Palace."
Zhang Shou had just noticed that the middle-aged female official and the Empress Dowager were dressed in the same style, but the embroidery on her clothes made them look more simple and elegant. At this moment, he saw the female official holding the broken porcelain box and looking at it over and over again for a long time, and finally smiled and nodded at him, then shook her head: "Empress Dowager, it should not be from Qingning Palace. Judging from the style, it looks like it was distributed before."
The court lady Yuquan did not mention who the reward would be given to, but Zhu Ying immediately stared at the two men and one woman sitting on the lower left opposite Zhang Shou with an unfriendly look. Princess Yongping was so angry that she almost retorted, but she thought that it would be a case of trying to cover up one's own faults, so she held back.
The second prince with phoenix eyes sitting above her laughed and said, "Yingying, why are you glaring at us? You have always liked good-looking people, regardless of gender, age or even children. Now that you have finally met a handsome and talented man, you throw us all aside? Aren't you too heartless?"
"What do you mean you can't escape my clutches? Oh, did I swallow them or did I do something to them? You men like to look at pretty women a few more times when you see them, and I just looked at them a few more times and said a few more words when I saw them, so what? Besides, when we were young, we thought fair and beautiful women were lovely, but when they grew up, they became disgusting and stupid, and there are many people like you!"
Princess Yongping finally couldn't help it, and suddenly stood up and asked, "Zhu Ying, who are you talking about?"
"I didn't mention any names. Could it be that you, a princess, think you are a parasite and a fool?"
Seeing Zhu Ying's fierce appearance, Zhang Shou finally couldn't help laughing, and then he found two completely different gazes from the opposite side. The first prince, who had a square face and looked as if someone owed him three million, had a cold and hard look; the second prince, who had a feminine look, phoenix eyes and long eyebrows, and looked as if he was very friendly to everyone, smiled at him meaningfully.
He simply pretended that he didn't notice anything wrong with the two princes, and called out as if completely subconsciously: "Yingying!"
Zhu Ying instinctively shut up after hearing this, and then glanced at Princess Yongping who was shaking with anger, and said unhappily: "For Ah Shou's sake, I won't bother with you!"
The Queen Mother seemed to be very tolerant of the quarrels of these children. She had been silent just now. Now when the argument came to an end, she said calmly: "Erlang, if you still want to be confined to the palace and not set foot in the palace, then go ahead and make indirect accusations. Mingyue, you are usually calm and self-controlled, why do you act like a lit firecracker when you meet Yingying?"
The second prince's face changed slightly, and he quickly stood up to apologize. Princess Yongping was even more ashamed and angry, especially when she looked down and saw Zhu Ying smiling, she was so angry that she almost gnashed her teeth. At this time, it was the eldest prince who had been silent from beginning to end who stood up.
"Empress Dowager, my second brother and Mingyue have always been in such a bad mood. Please calm down. Doctor Zhang just assisted Wang Fuyin in solving the mystery of the secret letter at Shuntian Mansion last night. He must have been very tired. So after entering Qingning Palace, he was so tired that he didn't say much. It was only for Yingying that he spoke. Please let them leave the palace early, so that Yingying won't feel sorry for her fiancé."
Zhang Shou had long been immune to such double-entendres. Therefore, as soon as the eldest prince finished speaking, he stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, I have only had one good night's sleep in the three days since I came to Beijing. I am indeed a little dazed, but to say that I am so exhausted that I can't answer is an exaggeration. I didn't expect to see you in person, so I was completely dazed, just like when I met you in the Imperial College."
As he spoke, he confidently brought up the example of the day before yesterday: "At that time, the emperor gave me a banquet and wine, which was extremely honorable, but I got drunk halfway through. Thanks to the emperor's kindness, he took me to the teacher of the Ge Mansion to sober up. Now my mind is half filled with the codes and numbers I worked hard on last night, and the other half is the anxiety of meeting the empress dowager. Of course, I can't say anything."
Seeing Zhang Shou's eyes glancing at her, Zhu Ying hesitated for a moment before changing her words of support to a low murmur: "That's right, it's really strange that you can talk nonstop when you meet the Empress Dowager for the first time."
"Yingying, you always have a bad temper!" The Queen Mother finally laughed, then let go of Zhu Ying's hand and said, "Well, take your ideal husband with you, so that he won't feel uncomfortable here and you won't be anxious. It's enough for me to meet him. After all, it's up to your grandmother and father to decide... Of course, what matters most is what you decide..."
When Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying came out of Qingning Palace, they went through Qingning Gate from the north. Zhang Shou had just boarded the sedan chair when he saw Zhu Ying open the door and follow him. He was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Why, are you angry?"
"Who has the time to be angry with those three? One of them looks decent, but actually has the most mean heart. Do you think that he said that to excuse you? He was mocking you for looking down on the Queen Mother! One of them looks like a woman, but is full of bad intentions, like a gossipy old lady. He always likes to team up with Princess Yongping to plot against me! Not to mention Yongping, I have never gotten along with her since I was a child! Fortunately, there is the Queen Mother. I think she likes you very much."
Zhang Shou turned a deaf ear to Zhu Ying's complaints, but in his heart he was thinking, does the Queen Mother like him? Not necessarily.
Compared to the relatively obvious goodwill of the Madam, the Queen Mother was much more distant and cold. From beginning to end, the Queen Mother never said a single word to him. Moreover, inviting two princes and a princess to accompany him seemed to be a way of respecting him as a foreign minister, but in fact, wasn't it a way of declaring the difference between relatives and strangers?
Speaking of which, Princess Yongping, who has always been at odds with Zhu Ying, doesn't care. The eldest prince and the second prince both look unreliable, not like a wise ruler. I hope that the emperor, who is willful and undisciplined but clearly has his own ideas, can live a long life!
The case of the porcelain box will most likely end with the death of a dishonest eunuch, and that will be the end of it. Haha, he can't do anything to the person behind it now, but he may not be able to do that in the future!
Zhang Shou was thinking absentmindedly, and suddenly found something wrong. When he looked again, he saw Zhu Ying staring at him thoughtfully. That kind of focused gaze made him, who was already used to her sight, a little overwhelmed. Before he could ask a question, Zhu Ying smiled .
"Ah Shou, they are right. I have liked good-looking people since I was a child, regardless of gender , age or appearance. As long as they are good-looking, I will be nice to them. But except for Grandpa Ge and a very few people, many people who amazed me at first sight, once I get to know them more, I can always see all kinds of flaws. But you are different."
Her eyes were bright, her face full of joy and pride: "You are not only good-looking, but also kind, humorous, thoughtful, and seem to know everything... In short, you are good at everything! This is the first time I know that there are perfect people in the world!"
Zhang Shou looked at her in amazement for a long while, then he suddenly laughed. He stopped laughing when he saw her expression showing a hint of anger, and said with interest: "No one is perfect, and since Yingying thinks I am good in every way, I will definitely work hard to live up to your word "perfect"!"