Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 313: Men Should Be Self-reliant
"What...what kind of magic trick?"
Her face looked confused and suspicious, but her eyes were a little evasive. Zhu Ying perfectly demonstrated what it meant to feel guilty. Even Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel the urge to cover his face when he saw her poor acting skills. Miss, you are completely exposing your own flaws. You are confessing without being asked!
Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang also understood something and were about to ask more questions, but the lady said, "Well, you and your son have a lot of work to do. Don't waste your time here. Go ahead. Just leave Yingying and Shou to talk to me. Dalang, go and make some preparations. I think the official decree will come down soon. You can choose anyone in the family."
At this point, the lady paused and said nonchalantly: "Our Zhaoguo Mansion is not inferior to Qinguo Mansion Zhang Family. What Qinguo can give to Zhang Chen, our family can double it for you."
Can such a thing be compared? Zhu Tingfang simply didn't know what to say. But his grandmother was doing this out of kindness, so he could only thank her hastily. When he and his father Zhu Jing, who was also expelled, left Qing'an Hall, he couldn't help but ask, "Dad, what does mother mean by the great transformation of a living person?"
"What do you mean?" Zhu Jing glanced at his eldest son and sighed, "Your second brother followed your sister and Zhang Shou out of the city to Zhao Garden, and then suddenly disappeared. Don't you think that this matter has something to do with them? It seems that your grandmother and your mother knew everything, but they just kept it from us."
Uh... Zhu Tingfang just felt very complicated. Although women are born on one side, especially the Taifu, Jiuniang and Zhu Ying, the three of them are natural allies, but this feeling of being excluded is really not good. If it were just this, it would be fine, but what made him most dissatisfied was that Zhang Shou was also a man, but they treated him as one of their own!
But this emotion only lasted for a moment, and he immediately discovered a more important problem: "Dad means that my second brother ran away from home, and Zhang Shou and Yingying not only knew about it, but they might have instigated it from behind? No, it's not Yingying, she has the courage but not the intention. It's only Zhang Shou! Let's see if he can make people like Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen run around in circles..."
"That heartless guy of my second brother will never escape his clutches!"
Zhu Jing could not help but snort coldly, "Erlang has been a slow learner since he was young. He is neither good at literature nor martial arts. He is not as good as you. Even if Zhang Shou is very capable, can he be considered gifted? Even Lu Sanlang Zhang Chen is just a little clever at the moment, and he cannot be compared with you. Otherwise, why would Zhang Shou recommend you to go to Cangzhou? He has many students! I think Erlang's trip is insignificant."
Although he agreed with his father's words, Zhu Tingfang didn't say anything because it would be self-promotion. But at this moment, he noticed some movement behind him and turned around immediately. Sure enough, he saw the curtain of Qing'an Hall not far away was raised, and it was Zhang Shou who quickly chased out. He immediately glanced at his father, and Zhu Jing snorted with some dissatisfaction.
Zhang Shou saw the expressions of the father and son. When he came closer, he said bluntly: "Before, because Yingying volunteered, I thought she had told you two about Zhu Erge's matter. Unexpectedly, she only told the lady and the ninth aunt, and lied to me about the military situation. In fact, Zhu Erge is in Cangzhou..."
Zhang Shou briefly informed Zhu Er of his whereabouts and purpose. Before Zhu Jing could question him, he said sincerely, "I told Zhu Er brother long ago that he didn't need to inquire about the eldest prince's movements, nor did he need to confront the eldest prince. All he had to do was to carefully hide his identity, find out the things or people, and if he could bring them back, then everything would be done."
Although he had personally settled Zhang Shou and his mother in Rongshui Village, and all the villagers were carefully selected and sent there by him, even the teachers, but now that Zhu Jing had returned from the battle, even though he had already signed the marriage certificate and accepted this son-in-law, he had been carefully examining Zhang Shou for several days and always felt that there were many mysteries.
He was different from Ge Yong, he was used to doubting everything, otherwise he would not have made such a decision for Zhang Shou's life experience. Therefore, he was really skeptical about the claim that he was gifted and self-taught!
At this time, Zhang Shou revealed that he had asked Zhu Er to look for good breeds, and those good breeds were said to come from overseas, which were recorded in the books left by people around Emperor Taizu. He felt that the matter was suspicious. However, if it was said that the overseas survivors of Emperor Taizu were related to Zhang Shou, it would prove that the people he left in Rongshui Village were all deaf and blind, which he thought was unlikely.
Therefore, before Zhu Tingfang could respond, Zhu Jing made the final decision: "In this case, Dalang, pick 20 capable men from my personal guards, each with two horses, and have them go to Cangzhou first. With Erlang's poor eyesight and luck, who knows what might happen to him. As for you, if the emperor really chooses you and lets you choose who to take with you, you should choose the Ruiqi Battalion!"
Zhu Tingfang couldn't help but glance at Zhang Shou. According to his father, Zhu Er was simply a jinx who brought bad luck wherever he went, and who would even fall into the water when walking normally. If Zhang Shou knew this, what would he let his second brother do in the future?
But the last two sentences were the key points. He quickly retracted his slightly wandering thoughts and replied in a deep voice, "Yes."
After Zhu Tingfang left, Zhu Jing stared at Zhang Shou for a long time, and finally turned around and left without saying anything. As soon as he left, the curtain of Qing'an Hall moved, and then Zhu Ying tiptoed out, looked around, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God, Dad and Big Brother are gone!"
"Yingying, if people heard you say this, they would think you were an unfilial daughter who lied to her father and a sister who disrespected her brother." Zhang Shou shook his head helplessly, and then asked unhappily, "What did you promise me before? Why did you only tell the lady and Auntie Nine about your second brother's affairs , and hide it from your father and eldest brother?"
"It's the same if I tell grandma and mom." Zhu Ying avoided the question, but under Zhang Shou's gaze, she could only say reluctantly, "Dad didn't have much hope for my second brother. He always thought he didn't have much ability and just hoped he would behave himself. My eldest brother didn't trust my second brother to do his job well because of his previous matchmaking, so..."
She coughed, her face turned serious: "So, I told my grandmother and mother that men should be strong and give my second brother a chance! I hid it from my father and eldest brother first, and when my second brother makes a big splash, I'll scare them. But..." She was so angry that her eyebrows were raised: "In the end, everything was ruined by that damn bastard, the eldest prince!"
The three women in this family were hoping that Zhu Er would make a splash? The problem was that even if Zhu Er could successfully find both the person and the seeds, could he really make a splash without growing anything?
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but light a candle for Zhu Er in the distance. Don't blame me for recommending your elder brother to go to Cangzhou... With my current fame and power, I can't control the situation in Cangzhou, but it will be different if your elder brother goes there. As for whether your elder brother will beat you up because Zhu Ying knew about it but didn't report it, that's really not my problem!
"A-choo, a-choo a-choo a-choo!"
Zhu Er never knew that there were other worse things in life besides being scolded and beaten by his father, being crushed by his elder brother, and being bullied by his younger sister. But now he knows. Because he just exerted his full potential, riding the wind and waves... No, he jumped into the water desperately and swam to the life-saving boat despite being chased and blocked by the shore!
At this moment, he sneezed several times, and after wrapping himself in a torn tarpaulin, he looked at the countless torches on the shore with lingering fear. He never thought that after several private contacts with Lao Xianyu, he felt that the guards were too annoying, so he left them and acted alone that day, and ended up being involved in the Cangzhou Palace incident!
Xian Yunhe, the nephew of Lao Xianyu, was one of the victims who was fired and had his house burned down. Ah Liu rescued two people, but he escaped alone. When other spinners who had endured the turmoil of being suspended from work also experienced the turmoil of being suspended from work, he suddenly appeared, raised his arms and called for hundreds of people. He used some unknown trick to break into the palace unexpectedly and directly held the eldest prince hostage.
As a result, Lao Xianyu, the only relative, became unlucky, and Zhu Er, who happened to be with him, became even more unlucky.
He wanted to shout out, I am the second son of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, but seeing the soldiers acting like wolves and tigers, when Lao Xianyu took him to escape, he immediately followed him desperately. The escape lasted for three whole days. He managed to get out of the city in a narrow way, but was ambushed again. Then, at the most dangerous moment, when Lao Xianyu asked him to jump into the water, he did not hesitate to do so... No, he jumped into the sea!
If he had not been forced by his elder brother to learn how to swim when he was a child playing in Zhaoyuan outside Beijing, and if he had not had a very high level of swimming skills, he would have definitely drowned in that section of water just now!
After catching his breath with great difficulty, Zhu Er heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the small boat, under the control of Lao Xianyu, moving flexibly on the sea like a fish, and finally getting rid of the pursuers under the cover of night. He thought that if he had not followed at that time, he might have been slandered by those black-hearted Cangzhou officials as the Duke of Zhao's Mansion assassinating the eldest prince.
This was not just his wild imagination, but something that was very likely to happen... If he hadn't heard about the messy affairs of the government from Lao Xianyu, he really wouldn't have known that the world was so dark!
"Your nephew really caused trouble for me this time! He actually occupied the palace... Does he know that this is likely to be considered treason?"
The sea merchant nicknamed Old Salted Fish was in his early fifties. He used to have a somewhat immortal look, but now he was soaked all over, his hair was messy, and his clothes were all stuck to his body, making him look even thinner and more bony. Coupled with his face full of sorrow, he looked more like an old farmer in the country.
He steadily parked the boat in a hollow on the cliff to avoid the wind, then skillfully tied the rope to a protruding reef and squatted at the bow. He stared at the dark night that seemed to contain a huge storm for a long time, identified a few familiar stars, and then looked at Zhu Er, and asked with a smile: "Second Master, do you think the government will attack the palace?"
"What's the point of attacking! If the eldest prince dies, everyone from top to bottom will be waiting to pay with their lives!"
Zhu Er yelled in anger, and then he saw Lao Xianyu looking at him with a very strange look, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. The court has laws, and if there is a treason incident under its jurisdiction, officials at all levels will be guilty of a serious crime. Now that the prince has been trapped, it is even more serious. But fundamentally, there are too many people involved in the eldest prince's incident, and it is hard to guarantee that no one will take risks.
If they tried their best, they might be able to break into the palace and rescue the eldest prince. Even if they were held responsible afterwards, they might still be able to escape with their lives, or even save their family. If the imperial court sent troops to investigate the matter, how many people in Cangzhou would be involved in the end?
He couldn't help swallowing hard, and said in a hoarse voice: "Even if they want to attack the palace, there are no people. There are not many soldiers in the whole Cangzhou... Wait, the people who chased after us before were not soldiers!"
"Haha, Second Young Master, you finally got it." Old Salted Fish smiled, a trace of contempt and disdain on his face, "Those must be servants gathered by various wealthy families, and they are well fed with the reward money. Let alone catching two idle people like us, even if they catch the prince, those guys who are desperate for money might rush over! Dragons swimming in shallow water are played by shrimps, haven't you heard of this truth?"
I am now like a dragon swimming in shallow water!
Zhu Er roared in his heart, but he couldn't tell anyone that he was the second son of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. In his opinion, the old salted fish had been dragged to death by his only nephew. If he knew that he had a chance to turn things around, who knows what kind of face he would become. He is not the elder brother who can survive tenaciously anywhere and escape from the hands of the northern barbarians. He doesn't have that ability!
He sorted out his confused thoughts, and could not help shivering again, then he whispered: "Even if those guys are desperate and want to attack the palace, what can we do next?" If he returns to Beijing now, he will be beaten to death by his father for accomplishing nothing!
Old Salty Fish glanced at him with some regret: "You are almost being accused of being an accomplice of treason, what else can you do? Do you understand the idea of burning your boats? Of course it's cold! Didn't you bring several strong followers with you? How come none of them disappeared at the critical moment? Could it be that you hired a few people to fill the scene and make fun of me, an old man?"
Seeing that Old Salted Fish had an extremely unfriendly expression, Zhu Er immediately became angry and said, "Do you understand what emergencies are? Who knew I would be so unlucky to be involved in something like this? They were too busy trying to tip off my family, and they didn't have enough manpower. They didn't know where we were, so how could they pick us up? In short, they must be asking around the world about our whereabouts!"
"What they do is similar to what the government does." Old Salty Fish sneered, then stared at Zhu Er seriously, "Second Master, you look like you are either rich or noble, why are you pestering me, an outdated sea merchant, these days?"
"I..." Looking at the old salty fish's face, Zhu Er couldn't help but feel a little scared. If the guards were beside him, he would certainly have enough confidence, but now he was a man in distress, and the one he had to rescue was not a beautiful village girl, but an old man full of mysteries. He took a deep breath, then pouted into the sea with a fierce face.
"A man should be self-reliant... I just want to do something to impress my family. I plan to go out to sea to do business and make a fortune, right?"
