Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 268 Father-in-law Meets Son-in-law
Cut the Gordian knot...
Until he was dragged into the palace by Zhu Ying helplessly, Zhang Shou was still thinking about these five inappropriate words. Was the relationship between him and Zhu Ying a mess?
Well, given that there are still rumors out there that Duke Zhao's family is committing marriage fraud, it's a mess. However, Zhu Ying forcibly dragged her father into the palace to ask for an explanation on the day he returned. Does this count as a form of forcing abdication?
Compared with Zhu Ying, who had been in the palace since childhood, Zhang Shou did not have this treatment. However, after the Lantern Festival, he threatened and appeased the fourth prince who wanted to leave the palace to join in the fun in Xingtai. Afterwards, the fourth prince bravely confessed to the emperor that he had been punished. So Zhang Shou's status as the prince's teacher was confirmed, and the emperor generously allowed him to enter the palace.
When he just entered Donghua Gate, Zhang Shou habitually ignored the envious and jealous looks of the officials waiting to see him. But when he reached Qianqing Gate, he saw Chu Kuan rushing out, his eyes passing over Zhu Ying and falling directly on him with a very subtle look. He couldn't help but feel something in his heart, wondering what the emperor and his cousin Zhu Jing had just said to each other?
Sure enough, he didn't even need to ask. After Chu Kuan led them in, he whispered, "Doctor Zhang, after Duke Zhao and the Emperor talked about some military matters, they mentioned your marriage with the eldest lady, and then..."
Chu Kuan hesitated for a moment, as if considering whether he should say it or not, but finally sighed: "Duke Zhao said that it was just a verbal agreement back then, and there was indeed no marriage certificate. He did not expect that so many things would happen after this expedition, so that this marriage would become a hot topic. He said that if the public opinion was too strong, otherwise..."
Before Chu Kuan could finish his words, Zhu Ying's face suddenly changed, and she said angrily, "What does Dad want? Even my grandmother and mother know about this engagement. It was he who invited Grandpa Ge to Ah Shou's village. Now the whole city knows about Ah Shou and me. Could it be that he wants to go back on his word? Mother and Ah Shou's mother are friends for life and death, and our family must be worthy of them!"
Seeing Zhu Ying rushing straight to the Qianqing Palace regardless of anything, Zhang Shou was caught off guard and failed to stop her. When he wanted to chase her, he took two steps and suddenly stopped. Then he looked at Chu Kuan thoughtfully: "Eunuch Chu, didn't you just say half of what you said just now? If I'm not mistaken, Duke Zhao definitely doesn't mean to disown this marriage, right?"
Under Zhang Shou's gaze, Chu Kuan smiled nonchalantly and said, "Oh, really? I haven't had time to finish my words yet. The young lady is really too impatient!"
After the Chinese New Year, he officially took over the position of the retired Chief of the Imperial Household Department, Xu Liu, and became the Chief of the Imperial Household Department. Although there were not many eunuchs in those days, and their ranks were quite limited, and there were not as many eunuchs as in the Ming Dynasty that Zhang Shou remembered, he was still considered a top figure. Therefore, although Zhang Shou explained that the white man was deliberately keeping Zhu Ying in suspense, he did not get as angry as Zhu Ying.
He jokingly said, "Eunuch Chu, aren't you afraid that Yingying will make a scene after she goes in, and come back to settle the score with you after she finds out that it's not what she thought? Yingying has a fiery temper, and she won't recognize anyone when she gets angry."
Chu Kuan chuckled, "Even if I get scolded by the eldest lady, it's better than watching the emperor and Duke Zhao getting angrier and angrier in the Qianqing Palace, scolding officials one by one, and in the end the emperor wanted to kill everyone."
Although Zhang Shou had already guessed that Chu Kuan wanted Zhu Ying to be a troublemaker, he was still a little surprised when he really admitted it. Especially when he heard the saying that heads were rolling, he couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Didn't they say that General Wang had already arrived in Datong? With his vigorous personality, he should have already started to deal with people, why is it still..."
Before Zhang Shou finished speaking, Chu Kuan sneered and said, "Wang Datou is not omnipotent. A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. If Duke Zhao had not killed a group of people first, even if he was powerful, he would have had a lot of headaches when he got there. Moreover, the troops of Datong were cleansed by Duke Zhao, but Wang Datou still needs time to sort out the clues, and needs the help of the troops allocated to him by Duke Chu."
Zhang Shou then realized that after Wang Jie went to Xuanfu first, the Duke of Chu, who was said to be quite at odds with Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing, actually gave Wang Jie such support. He pondered for a moment and simply did not ask what was going on. He smiled calmly and said, "So that's it."
Chu Kuan deliberately kept the secret half way just to let Zhang Shou ask. In this way, since he knows more about the dynamics in the palace and the court, he can easily hook Zhang Shou into his trap.
In his opinion, Zhang Shou is now very popular, but he has offended the queen and the eldest and second princes to death. Whether considering his prospects or the future, he will have the ambition to climb up.
More importantly, such a young man from a poor family wanted to marry Zhu Ying, a beautiful girl. Even if it was just to be worthy of Zhu Ying, he should do his best to improve his status.
But Zhang Shou completely blocked his plan with just one sentence: "So that's how it is"!
Zhang Shou walked forward on his own until he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He realized that Chu Kuan had caught up with him, and then he laughed secretly. You didn't tell me when I wanted to ask, and now that I don't want to ask anymore, you're ready to tell me?
As expected, before he even opened his mouth, Chu Kuan laughed dryly and said, "Duke Zhao deliberately spread the word that he would return to the capital with a small group of people. As a result, before he even entered Juyong Pass, he encountered three groups of assassins in one go. Duke Zhao was furious, so he killed one person to warn the rest. He arrested and questioned them, and if they didn't tell him, he would kill them. He directly cut off their heads and hung them on the tops of several passing city walls for public display."
Zhang Shou had already vaguely glimpsed the character of his future father-in-law from Zhu Jing's ruthlessness towards Zhu Tingfang. But now, after hearing about the execution of this man who was assassinated on his way back to Beijing, he could not help but further outline the image of a tough coach in his mind.
However, when he calmly dealt with Chu Kuan and finally arrived at the entrance of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, he was surprised by what he heard.
"Yingying, okay, I promised you. Isn't it just a marriage certificate? Write it. I will write it right after I go back! Your grandmother and your mother both like him, and you like him too, so how can I not agree? You said that I was the one who found your grandfather Ge in the first place, so how can I not recognize this son-in-law? If I don't recognize him, aren't I afraid that I won't even be able to enter the front door of my house after I go home?"
"Okay, then you don't have to go home! The emperor is right here, please write down the marriage certificate between Ah Shou and me immediately!"
"Ahem, you're a girl, can't you be more reserved? Zhang Shou is so good that you force me, your father who just returned to Beijing after traveling thousands of miles and didn't even have time to breathe, to do this for him? Ahem... I'm too pitiful!"
Hearing the painful cough inside, Zhang Shou couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly. He turned his head to look at Chu Kuan again, and saw him smiling and making a gesture of invitation to him. He didn't hesitate, lifted the thin door curtain that Chunri had just replaced, and lowered his head to enter. As for reporting... He didn't think Chu Kuan would deliberately let him in without reporting.
Sure enough, just as he stepped over the threshold, Chu Kuan's clear voice came from behind: "Your Majesty, Dr. Zhang is here."
In just such a short time, Zhang Shou had enough time to see the scene in the main hall clearly. Zhu Ying was desperately tugging at the sleeve of a tall middle-aged man - although the middle-aged man had a lot of white hair and looked quite old, he was smiling and his facial features looked quite similar to Zhu Ying. It was obvious that he was Zhu Ying's father, Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing.
Compared with the image of an old nobleman in his imagination, who was intimidating without being angry, had deep horizontal lines on his forehead, was difficult to talk to, and was stubborn and cold, Zhu Jing at this moment was like a kind father who was coaxing his child and trying his best to deal with his little daughter. Even by the time he distracted his attention and looked at him, it was already a long time after Chu Kuan's communication.
When the person looked over, Zhang Shou met the eyes that narrowed at first and then slowly widened. He simply walked forward calmly and bowed to the emperor who was sitting on the throne with his head supported by one hand and watching the fun with great interest. Then he turned around and bowed to Zhu Jing and said, "Zhang Shou greets Duke Zhao. Thank you for taking care of my mother and me for so many years. Thank you for asking Teacher Ge to come out and teach me."
"At that time, I was sick and couldn't go out, so I missed a good opportunity. It was really a waste of your efforts."
Zhu Jing, who had remained silent, felt his sleeves being tugged at by Zhu Ying again. He could only turn his head and say to Zhu Ying helplessly, "Yingying, I've been traveling so long, and my clothes are already rotten. If you pull again, you might even pull my sleeves off!"
Seeing Zhu Ying finally let go with a dark face, he shook his head and laughed, "It's true that girls are good at sex."
He took two steps forward, stretched out his hand to help Zhang Shou up, and pinched Zhang Shou's seemingly thin arm with both hands. He heard the young man in front of him hissed as if he was caught off guard, but then he stood up straight, looking at him calmly, without forcibly breaking free from his grip, nor questioning him why he suddenly tested him in this way.
Although Zhu Jing had heard about Zhang Shou's deeds, seeing is believing, so he let go of his hand calmly, then smiled and nodded, "After so many years, I didn't expect you to grow up so much. I heard that you were weak and sickly before, and I was a little worried, so I couldn't help but give it a try just now. I can't believe it, you look thin, but you are actually quite strong."
He had such strong hands that if he exerted such force suddenly, a pampered nobleman would probably scream out in agony, and he could easily test a weak person. But after pressing so hard just now, he suddenly discovered that Zhang Shou's arm muscles were indeed quite strong. Even if he couldn't say that he had been trained, he was at least not weak.
Zhang Shou had just been attacked so suddenly that it was really painful, so it was impossible for him not to be angry. But since Zhu Jing had pointed it out frankly, he naturally would not bear a grudge over such a small matter.
Therefore, he smiled and rubbed his aching upper arm with his left and right hands alternately, and then said lightly: "I can't say I'm strong, but after I got better, I occasionally did some farm work in the fields. Later, when I arrived in the capital, Aunt Jiu was afraid that I was weak and couldn't protect myself, so she taught Ah Liu swordsmanship and asked him to teach me."
"It's just that I don't have any talent for swordsmanship. Auntie Nine taught Ah Liu everything she knew, but I've been practicing with Ah Liu for so long, and I can only do some fancy moves, which is just to keep fit."
When Zhu Jing heard the words "Auntie Ninth", his expression changed slightly.
His wife stayed in Zhaoming Temple for sixteen years out of spite, but returned home after he went to war. His mother had written to him before, saying that his wife liked Zhang Shou very much and was happy to see his marriage with Zhu Ying.
Although he knew that his wife was deeply grateful to Widow Zhang and had expected such a situation, he had never heard of teaching swordsmanship. After all, the length of the letter was limited, and his mother could not tell everything in detail.
Just when he was feeling mixed emotions, Zhu Ying rushed to Zhang Shou in a hurry and said anxiously, "What do you mean by give it a try? Ah Shou, what did Dad do to you?"
The emperor laughed as if he was afraid of chaos in the world, "Yingying, your father used the method he used to measure his own son-in-law. Fortunately, Zhang Qing looks weak, but he is actually a strong man. Otherwise, if it was the fat boy from the Lu family, he would have cried out in pain."
Seeing Zhu Ying suddenly turned around and glared at him, Zhu Jing felt guilty and laughed off the topic, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I was just checking to see if this child has a weak constitution."
As he spoke, he glanced at the emperor with some resentment. What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you trying to make my daughter quarrel with me? Don't you know Zhu Ying's temper?
The emperor pretended not to see his cousin's resentful look, coughed, and said seriously: "Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. Yingying, you and Zhang Shou fell in love at first sight, and it just so happens that both parents have verbally agreed to the marriage early on. It can be said that you are a match made in heaven. Now that your father is back, let alone saying that he is willing, even if he is not willing, I will force him to write the marriage certificate."
"I feel very lucky to have Yingying's favor."
Zhang Shou saw that Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing's face was as black as a pot-bottomed helmet. Even though he knew that the emperor's words were just a friendly joke, he had to interrupt him urgently. Otherwise, he was worried that his future father-in-law would vent his anger on him in the future.
Sure enough, after he said this, not only did the emperor laugh, Zhu Jing's face also calmed down a little, and as for Zhu Ying, her face was extremely bright. So, he changed the subject and said, "But Duke Zhao has been away for less than a year, and there are many things going on in the court and the capital. He just came back, and there are a lot of things that need to be sorted out first. Marriage is a family affair of the Zhu family. If the emperor is asked to intervene, it would be terrible if people spread rumors, which is not good."
Seeing the emperor was speechless and Zhu Ying was unhappy, Zhu Jing looked at Zhang Shou deeply and finally said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I just said that since Yingying likes him and her grandmother and mother also like him, I will certainly agree to this marriage. When I get home, I will invite Madam Wu to come over and the two families will exchange marriage certificates first."
