Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 274 Wrong
"If these three children are mixed together, how can others believe that it is such a coincidence that the daughter born to you and Concubine Yu is born, while the son is born to Widow Zhang? They will not believe this so-called coincidence, and they will probably think that this is a conspiracy by my Zhu family!"
"Even if you say that Concubine Yu also saw it, that the baby boy was indeed born by Widow Zhang, and not your or her son, you also said that she almost fainted at the time. So what if she said she didn't remember it? She is the emperor's favorite concubine. How do you know that she won't have other thoughts in the future because she has no children?"
"There are already two older princes in the palace, and there is resentment between the emperor and the empress. If the situation is like the previous dynasty, where the fight for the throne ends with the invasion of foreign vassals, then there will be no cure for our dynasty's reincarnation! Widow Zhang's son must be sent away and cannot be allowed to stay in the capital! Even if she did help you and Concubine Yu in times of crisis, I can repay her son in other ways!"
Thinking of Zhu Jing's immediate reaction, Jiu Niang's lips curled up slightly, and then she sneered: "For you, preparing for a rainy day and preventing chaos in the palace is more important than an innocent orphan, more important than repaying a favor. I'm afraid that when you told me that you arranged the marriage between Yingying and Shou in order to repay a favor, you felt that you had done your best for Sister Zhang, right?"
"Jiu Niang..." Zhu Jing only had time to say these two words before he was interrupted by his wife.
"Yes, you also invited an imperial teacher like Master Ge to teach a child in a rural area. You really did your best. But I asked Mrs. Wu. When Ah Shou was weak in the countryside, you helped to invite a doctor, but he was not a famous doctor with good skills, because you were afraid that it would leak out and attract other people's attention!"
Jiu Niang knew that Hua Qi, who had not been seen for a long time, must be waiting outside the door, and those maids must have hidden far away out of fear. Therefore, she naturally said out loud what she had been holding in her heart for a long time.
"Of course, it's true that Wu was ignorant and worried about someone plotting against Shou. It's also true that she chased away the first teacher you hired for Shou, just because the child fell ill as soon as he went to school. It's also true that she kept Shou locked up at home, fearing that he would fall and get hurt outside, or even have a relapse of his old illness, so she missed Ge Yong. It's all true."
"But all of these cannot cover up one thing. After all, it was you who placed them in the countryside where it was inconvenient to take care of them. It was because of you that Ah Shou became sickly and weak in his early years and almost missed the best time in his life when he should have studied and practiced martial arts. It can be said that Ah Shou was able to grow up to be such a pillar of society today in such a countryside, and that was God's blessing on him!"
Zhu Jing knew that his wife had always been stubborn. Now when he heard her talking, he realized that it was still because of the past. He felt bitter and could only endure it silently. However, what Jiu Niang said next made his face change drastically.
"Aren't you just trying to prevent trouble from happening in the palace? Do you think the two princes can get along without A Shou? When you were in the capital, the eldest prince and the second prince were fighting each other like chickens with black eyes. After you led the army to the battle, they became even more aggressive. You schemed against me, and I schemed against you. The queen even lost her dignity as the head of a palace and sent her personal attendants to scare A Shou..."
"She dared to say that this was a bluff? I shot her with an arrow, and then she said it was a bluff, so what? Not to mention that her two good sons actually sent people to frame Ah Shou in front of the Qingning Palace, and even encouraged that idiot Zheng Huai'en to first intimidate and then kill people? Go ask your Erlang, how many strange things have happened in the capital during this period of time, and how many scapegoats Wang Datong took before he became the governor of Xuanda!"
Zhu Jing wanted to speak several times, but he was speechless in front of Jiu Niang's ironclad facts. He was indeed not very clear about some of the things that happened in the capital, but he knew everything about Wang Jie, the former governor of Shuntian Prefecture and the current governor of Xuanda. Wang Datou had taken so many blames, so how could he not tell him everything after arriving in Datong?
Not to mention that among the people he placed in the capital, first there was a bodyguard named Zhu Yu who betrayed his master, and then there was an aide named Zhu Gongquan who became obsessed with him when he got benefits from others!
Thinking of the measures he had taken back then, and the fact that he had kept a low profile for more than a decade thereafter, he was impeached before the expedition was halfway through, and almost sacrificed his eldest son. He was constrained by certain people in the court and could not even fully control the war situation. Those generals and soldiers in the army were all troublemakers. Zhu Jing thought of his near retirement after assisting the emperor in suppressing the rebellion of the common people, and finally felt deep regret.
He stared at Jiu Niang for a long time, and finally lowered his head slowly: "I was wrong about what happened back then."
Jiu Niang just had no place to vent her resentment for more than ten years, so she just vented it out today. If Zhu Jing still had the same attitude as before, she would not bother to say anything more and would just walk away and return to her Zhaoming Temple - at most she would go to the old lady to apologize first, and in the future she would only plan to meet her daughter and son-in-law and not care about other things anymore. However, she never expected that her husband would actually admit his mistakes painfully.
Others have always said that she has a stubborn and unruly personality, but only she knows that Zhu Jing is the one with a more proud and tough personality. It is even harder to make him bow his head and admit that he is wrong than to kill him!
She involuntarily took two steps back, then turned her head away from his expression, but the corner of her eyes still caught sight of the silver strands in his hair. Thinking back to the past, he was only in his early thirties, and she was still in her prime. Now her hair has turned gray, and he has aged a lot, and she unconsciously softened her heart.
"If admitting mistakes is useful, wouldn't it be possible to redeem many regrets in this world?"
Jiu Niang turned around and tried her best to keep her expression calm. However, when she felt someone approaching her from behind, and then a pair of hands pressed her shoulders tightly, she wanted to struggle, but finally relaxed.
"When I heard that Yingying fell in love with Shou at first sight, I felt that God had opened his eyes. And when I saw him, I couldn't help but think that it must be Sister Zhang's spirit in heaven, who blessed her child to grow up safely and with both talent and beauty. Because I am very grateful to Sister Zhang, but to be honest, I don't plan to repay her kindness with Yingying's life."
Noticing that the hand on her shoulder was obviously a little stiff, Jiu Niang said in a deep voice: "Before children grow up, no one knows what they will be like, let alone whether they will die young. I don't know if Yingying will have a perverse personality when she grows up, and I don't know if Shou will be unruly when he grows up. Therefore, I never thought much of the idea of arranging marriages from a young age."
"But when Yingying brought Ah Shou to see me, she was so excited and happy. When I looked at Ah Shou's appearance and conversation, his gentle and elegant manners that even the children of aristocratic families could not match, and his talents and means, I naturally did not mention the dispute between you and me back then, and I immediately recognized him."
"I used to not believe that a noble son could be born from a poor family, because without the best teachers and books, one cannot raise an intelligent person. I really don't know how he could understand the book that Grand Tutor Ge left for him."
Zhu Jing listened silently, especially when he felt Jiu Niang's body gradually relax and lean against his arms, he finally said softly: "I was wrong about what happened back then . I thought that it would be good for everyone if I let it go as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary trouble. I thought that this would prevent outsiders from thinking too much, but the fact is that not everyone is the emperor."
Hearing Zhu Jing admit his mistake again, Jiu Niang couldn't help but feel sad: "Yes, although the emperor is casual and sometimes eccentric, he is tolerant and generous, and has no distractions. Otherwise, Concubine Yu, who has been injured in recent years, has only one daughter, Princess Yongping, and her temperament has gradually become taciturn, but he has never changed his feelings and has always been very good to Princess Yongping. Even in marriage, he is willing to indulge her."
Even though Princess Yongping came twice and hurt her heart, Jiu Niang did not show much emotion when she talked about her. She just didn't notice it and unconsciously held her husband's hand.
"So, I am not as good as the emperor... He once advised me to go to the temple to take you back, but I didn't know how to face you... Yingying lost your mother when she was so young, and your mother had to run the family herself at her old age. In the final analysis, it was all my fault. Because I can never forget what Emperor Ruizong said to me before he died."
Zhu Jing slowly closed his eyes, and the haggard and pale face of Emperor Ruizong seemed to appear before his eyes again.
"Each generation of emperors in this dynasty, even those who have just conquered the country, want to cultivate their sons well. But it seems like a curse. Peace can only last for two generations at most. The third generation will definitely cause chaos. The cause and effect cycle from generation to generation... If it weren't for the fact that every time they fought, they didn't tear the world apart, but went straight to the central government and beheaded it in one fell swoop, I'm afraid the world would no longer be ruled by the Zheng family."
"Jing'er, you are the Queen's nephew, and I have always treated you as my own nephew. You must help your cousin and look after his kingdom. If he has a son in the future, don't make a fuss about household affairs and give outsiders an opportunity to take advantage of him!"
Zhu Jing couldn't help but whispered, "My family has been in the military for generations. My father was promoted to the commander-in-chief for his meritorious service. But when it came to me, if my uncles hadn't been so unpromising and my brothers hadn't been so unmotivated, I wouldn't have gone to the battlefield. But if Emperor Ruizong hadn't always trusted me and given me the opportunity to be independent, I wouldn't have been made a duke in my early twenties."
"I know." Jiu Niang let go of her hand and interrupted Zhu Jing. "So you want to take precautions, even if it's just your imagination in a moment of panic. Zhu Jing, do you know? If you hadn't been so quiet in recent years, making people think you were weak and could be bullied, how could the previous battle have turned out like that? How could the Zhu family be bullied to this extent?"
"I was wrong."
Once again frankly admitting that he was wrong, Zhu Jing took a deep breath and finally said seriously: "It is the greatest virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. If Madam still refuses to forgive me, I will have to ask someone to prepare the whip."
Jiu Niang turned around like a whirlwind, and shouted in shock and anger: "What nonsense are you talking about? How old do you think you are?"
When she saw her husband laughing, she immediately remembered that he had played a joke on her like this before. She couldn't help but take a deep breath. When she was about to teach him a lesson, she suddenly heard knocks on the door. When she heard the sound clearly, she was very surprised.
"Dad, Mom, if you don't open the door I'm coming in!"
Not to mention Jiu Niang, who was startled and hurried to open the door, even Zhu Jing hurriedly tidied his clothes. When Zhu Ying came in, she saw two stern faces. Then, thinking of what others had said when they came to her to tip her off and asked her to come here to mediate, the eldest lady felt that things were exactly as she thought.
She couldn't help but said angrily, "Dad, Mom finally came back. As a man, can't you give in to her a little?"
After talking about her father, she glanced at Jiu Niang cautiously, and then said coquettishly, "Mom, you too, Dad has been out in the wind and rain, risking his life to fight for so long, and he just came back exhausted, you have to let him rest!"
As parents, Zhu Jing and Jiu Niang looked at each other awkwardly. They were about to say a few words of comfort to coax their daughter away, but Zhu Ying snorted unhappily: "Look at me and Shou, we are so considerate of each other. When he is busy, as long as I know that he is fine, I will not disturb him. He never hides anything from me, and I never hide anything from him. How great is that!"
Zhu Jing was caught off guard by his daughter's mockery of a loving engaged couple, and he felt both angry and amused at the same time. He swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Jiu Niang scolded angrily: "Listen to the nonsense of those who believe everything they hear. I just had a few words with your father to dismiss the servants, that's all."
"Really?" Zhu Ying glanced at Zhu Jing with some disbelief. Seeing her father hesitate for a moment, he strode forward and put his arm around Jiu Niang's shoulders. Then he glared at her with a look that said, "If you don't leave, I'll kick you out." She immediately smiled.
"Okay, then I'm relieved. It's getting late, Dad and Mom, you should go to bed early!"
Zhu Ying smiled, knelt down to greet the two, and then walked out of the door briskly, not forgetting to close the door considerately before leaving. After her disturbance, Zhu Jing felt that his previous sentimentality and sighing were completely unnecessary.
Jiu Niang was even more embarrassed. She took a breath and then said angrily, "Let go!"
"Let go of what?" Zhu Jing looked at his hand on his wife's shoulder and asked knowingly, "We are an old married couple. It's nothing to be reunited after such a long separation!"
"I mean, you're covered in dust. Go take a shower!" Jiu Niang was so angry at Zhu Jing's shamelessness that she broke free from him and said sullenly, "I'll settle the score with you later!"
Seeing that Jiu Niang had gone to the inner room like a whirlwind, Zhu Jing was slightly stunned, and then he laughed. After living like an ascetic for many years, he certainly couldn't be calm, but he was just feeling guilty about the past. But just when he was about to spend the night well, a voice suddenly came from the outside.
"Sir, Minister Lu from the Ministry of War wants to see you."
