Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 271: Children and In-Laws
His stepmother and sister actually pleaded for him!
Zhu Er felt that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, and his head was a little dizzy. It was okay with his sister. Although he hated her so much before that he wanted to bite her off to vent his anger, when he was short of money and asked her to borrow money, he almost never got her help. She was always hard-mouthed but soft-hearted, and treated him, her second brother, very well, so it was not surprising that she forgave him after she calmed down.
However, his stepmother left home in a rage and stayed in Zhaoming Temple for sixteen years. After she came back, she treated him indifferently, but now she is willing to speak for him and blame herself. This kind of love is very precious! After all, he wanted to marry his stepmother's only daughter to that fat guy Lu Zhu! Moved, Zhu Er couldn't help but burst into tears.
He lay on the ground and said in a hoarse voice: "I was really scared when I heard the bad news about my father and elder brother. That Zhu Gongquan kept lobbying me in my ear. I thought that the fat boy of the Lu family would at least treat Yingying well, so I did such a wrong thing! When I think about it now, I want to strangle myself to death. I misjudged Minister Lu, and I misjudged that fat boy even more..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a cough. "The fat guy you mentioned is now the head of Jiuzhang Hall. He just set a date for his wedding with the Liu family a few days ago. Although the so-called math genius may have to be discounted, it is true that he manages Jiuzhang Hall in an orderly manner. Unlike you, you have been the acting head of Banshan Hall for more than a month, but you still can't control the situation."
Zhu Er didn't expect that his elder brother Zhu Tingfang would bring up such a matter. His face darkened for a moment, and he thought of the beating he received after his elder brother came back. But before he could straighten up and prepare to protest, Zhu Tingfang continued to speak.
"Father, I'm not begging for my second brother. Although he made a big mistake while staying in Beijing this time, he is indeed much more sensible now than before. The emperor assigned Ah Liu, who works for Dr. Zhang, to teach him martial arts. He always practices very hard and never slacks off. Even though his martial arts skills progress slowly, at least he really puts in the effort to practice. He hasn't missed a class since Banshan Hall reopened."
"Every failure is a learning experience. I hope my second brother can reform himself. Please forgive him."
Even his elder brother, who was always ruthless to him, spoke up for him. At this moment, Zhu Er finally had a clear sense of being a member of the Zhu family. He swallowed hard and tried his best to look at his father with the most honest and sincere eyes, fearing that his father would directly say that he would beat him first if he was still angry. He waited and waited, but he didn't get his father's answer, but got another sentence.
"The children are all grown up now. There is no such thing as a third time. Because of what Erlang did wrong, his elder brother and I have punished him twice. Now Jiuniang and Yingying are willing to forgive him. You don't have to keep nagging about it."
When the lady saw Zhu Jing quickly stand up and answer, she looked at Zhu Er and said, "Erlang, remember this lesson. You are lucky this time, and the Zhu family is also lucky. There won't be a next time. Be more careful in everything, don't let others sell you out and help them count their money! The father and son of the Lu family are not good at dealing with people, but they are not treacherous or evil. If they were, then you would have made a big mistake."
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhu Er quickly nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, and then he heard Zhu Jing's loud shout.
"Why don't you get up? You can only kneel down and apologize. When will you be able to show me some achievements?"
Under normal circumstances, Zhu Er would be scared to death after hearing this scolding, but at this moment, he stood up and said with his head held high: "Yes, I will work hard in the future and make some achievements for Dad to see!"
Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, the two lackeys who only follow Zhang Chen, will have a day to be proud of themselves. If Lu Sanlang can become a genius, why can't he? He, the acting head of the temple, does not have enough prestige now, but he is dividing and winning over those stubborn guys, and will soon establish his own prestige. When Zhang Chen recovers from his injury and comes back, the position of head of the temple will not belong to that guy!
Zhu Jing, who had just sat down, didn't expect that his second son, who was always careless, would be so confident. He couldn't help but look at him twice. Then, he heard a light snort. When he looked up, he found Zhu Ying looking at him angrily. Thinking of his promise to the emperor, he couldn't help but laugh. He coughed and bowed to his mother.
"Mother, Yingying told me about all the rumors that were going around. There was even a rumor that my Zhaoguo Mansion was a marriage fraud. It was really ridiculous. The marriage was a verbal agreement, and there was no marriage certificate. This was indeed inappropriate. Now that I'm back, why don't we invite Zhang Shou's mother, Madam Wu, to come over immediately, and the two families can settle this matter, how about that?"
Zhu Ying was delighted when she heard Zhu Jing's words "immediately". The lady also smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's do it. Ah Jiang, go to the Zhang family next door on my behalf and invite Madam Wu to come. Tell her that Yingying's parents want to discuss their children's marriage with her."
Seeing Mother Jiang go out, the good-humored Madam glanced at the children and grandchildren in the room and immediately smiled and said, "Yingying's matter is settled now, but you two are grown up, and the marriage can't be delayed any longer. If there is a girl you like, you might as well tell me. If not, don't blame me and your parents for making a match."
Zhu Er couldn't help but widen his eyes, then said awkwardly: "I don't have any requirements, as long as the girl is a good wife and a good mother..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Ying rushed to say, "Grandma, Dad, there's no rush for Second Brother's matter. Let's take care of Big Brother first!"
Just as he was about to answer Zhu Er's question, he was suddenly interrupted by Zhu Ying. Zhu Jing couldn't help but feel a little confused, but when he saw Zhu Ying blinking at him desperately, while Madam Tai and Jiu Niang looked calm, he realized that there must be something he didn't know. The next moment, he heard Zhu Tingfang speak.
"I'll let my grandmother and parents decide." Zhu Tingfang smiled bitterly, then said calmly, "But now that I'm disfigured and not young anymore, I'm afraid those girls may not be willing to give in."
"What are you talking about!" Jiu Niang's eyebrows immediately turned upside down, with a look of disapproval on her face, "Who doesn't know that the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion is both wise and brave, and he made great achievements in his first battle? You can't judge a person by appearance, not to mention that you only have a scar, how can you say that it has disfigured him! If there really is such a shallow family that judges people by appearance, he is not worthy of marrying into my Zhu family!"
As soon as he said this, Zhu Jing immediately thought of his former wife who was the most protective of his two young step-sons. He married Jiu Niang when he remarried because he had witnessed her fierceness and integrity. After she married him and before she gave birth to Zhu Ying, she was indeed very good to the then young brothers Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Tingjie. If it weren't for what happened later, they would have been a very loving couple...
He immediately said without question, "Da Lang, your mother is right. You will inherit the Duke of Zhao's mansion in the future, and you are both civil and military. If people are picky about your appearance, then they don't want you! Don't worry, we will definitely choose a virtuous wife for you. Of course, just like Yingying and Zhang Shou, we have to let you two get to know each other and like each other."
Zhu Tingfang didn't care much about his marriage. Now that his parents insisted and his wife looked at him with a smile, he didn't say much. Seeing Zhu Er glanced at him with some resentment, he suddenly walked up to him, said "I'll go talk to my second brother", and then took him out easily.
As soon as the brothers left, Zhu Ying smiled and moved over to sit next to the old lady. Then she turned her head to look at Zhu Jing and said, "Dad, don't think that no one wants my second brother. The emperor personally arranged for him to be with Shuntian Prefecture Governor Wang Dayin... No, it should be Xuanda Governor Wang Zongxian who is matchmaking! Although Wang Zongxian didn't agree, he didn't refuse directly either!"
Zhu Jing simply thought there was something wrong with his ears.
If it was the emperor who acted as a matchmaker for his eldest son Zhu Tingfang, then this was normal. He had put his eldest son in danger this time, and he actually felt guilty. If possible, he was willing to do his best to make up for it. However, his eldest son was so sensible that he had nothing to say, and he did not make any excessive demands.
However, the emperor actually proposed marriage to Wang Jie for such a naughty and unruly second son? Is this a joke?
He suddenly asked thoughtfully, "If I remember correctly, Wang Datou doesn't seem to have a daughter?"
This time, even Jiu Niang laughed: "She is the niece of Wang Zongxian. When Yingying came back and told me, I could hardly believe it. In fact, Yingying followed Wang Zongxian to the palace to complain at Ah Shou's request to deliver the drawings and promotion plan of the new textile machine made by Ah Shou. Later, I don't know why the emperor mentioned this. Wang Zongxian was probably not happy, but he didn't refuse."
"Erlang may not be very successful now, but with the encouragement of his elder brother and the guidance of his brother-in-law, he may achieve great things in the future. Besides, Yingying also told me that she said in front of the emperor that Erlang is easily influenced and needs a strong wife to control him."
"How could you say that about your second brother?"
Zhu Jing glared at his daughter with a mixture of laughter and tears. Seeing Zhu Ying snuggling in the arms of the lady without any fear, he could only shake his head and said, "Let's forget about Erlang for now. Let's see if he can impress Wang Datou first... But, Wang Datou..."
Thinking of what Wang Jie had done all the way from Xuanfu to Datong, and even though he had killed many people on his way back to Beijing, Zhu Jing still couldn't help but feel a headache.
If he, the Duke of Zhao who has already gotten into a lot of trouble, becomes in-laws with Wang Jie, who has also been blamed for a lot of things... is this a race between the two in-laws to see who will get into more trouble?
At this moment, Zhu Ying said happily, "By the way, Wang Zongxian was appointed as the governor of Xuanda from Shuntian Prefecture this time because A Shou recommended him! Also, I just found out from the emperor these days that even the sudden appointment of Duke Qin as the governor of Shuntian Prefecture was due to A Shou's suggestion to Wang Zongxian, so Wang Zongxian recommended Duke Qin!"
"When this matter was first discussed in the court, I heard that it caused a huge uproar in the court. It was really funny!"
Fun...
This time, even Zhu Jing couldn't help but twitch his eyelids. He was about to scold Zhu Ying, but the lady took her in her arms, looking extremely doting on her. Jiu Niang smiled indifferently. Thinking that the emperor had told this girl about such things, and she had always known what could be said outside and what could not be said, he simply stopped thinking about it.
Anyway, he will probably be unemployed for a long time after returning to Beijing...
The family of four, minus Zhu Tingfang's brothers, talked happily for a while, and then a voice came from outside, saying that Wu Niang had arrived. Jiu Niang went out without saying anything, and soon brought Wu in.
Although he had seen her before, after so many years, Zhu Jing could hardly recognize her. The slightly weathered woman in front of him was the stubborn yet childish maid of the Zhang family. Seeing Wu kneeling down to salute him, he extended his hand and said, "You will be in-laws in the future, so you don't need to be so polite."
Wu's knees trembled when Zhu Jing said that the children were in-laws. She almost lost her balance. Although she was angry that Zhu Jing had settled her and Zhang Shou and ignored them after the enlightenment teacher went back, she later found out that the imperial teacher like Ge Yong had come, but she and Zhang Shou missed it, and her resentment disappeared.
They have been raised by him for so many years, and now he is even willing to marry his daughter to Zhang Shou. What else could she be dissatisfied with?
Therefore, she still knelt down and saluted, saying, "A Shou and I have been taken care of by the Duke for so many years, and we really have no way to repay you. This gift is for me to thank you on behalf of my wife."
Zhu Jing was startled for a moment, and then he felt the burning gaze on his face. Knowing that it must be Jiu Niang looking at him, he could only try his best to pretend that nothing had happened and laughed : "Mrs. Wu, you are too kind. I only did my little bit to help. Zhang Shou's success depends on himself. Moreover, during the time I was away from Beijing, it was thanks to his help that the Zhu family was able to survive this disaster safely."
He said this sincerely. Even though this son-in-law came too quickly, it was his daughter who met him in the countryside, and then fell in love at first sight. Although Zhang Shou relied on the two identities of the future son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao and the closed disciple of Ge Yong to gain a foothold in the capital, he also made a brilliant career on his own and helped the Duke of Zhao solve several difficult enemies.
Therefore, even though he had thought about breaking off the engagement before, he would definitely not show such feelings now.
As long as Zhu Ying likes him, even if he is really a poor boy, he can still help him and pave his future. What's more, Zhang Shou is definitely not an incompetent person.
When Wu heard Zhu Jing's evaluation of Zhang Shou, she felt happy and relieved, but she forgot to say a few words on Zhang Shou's behalf. When Jiu Niang asked her to sit down, she heard Zhu Jing mention signing the marriage certificate immediately, and her face was even more delighted. But when the lady asked someone to get paper and pen, she suddenly hesitated.
"My Lord, I am at best Ah Shou's adoptive mother. Am I not qualified to do this kind of thing on his behalf?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the lady laughed and said, "If you are not qualified, who else in the world is qualified?"
