A few sticky cicadas screamed noisily in the dense green shade. The midsummer afternoon sun was scorching and dazzling, but there was no cool breeze in the deep and wide high hall.
In the lotus-colored Eight Treasures Tent, the young man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes slowly woke up from his drowsiness, and subconsciously called for his servants to come and serve him. When he opened his mouth, he found that his throat was hoarse and he could not make any sound for a while because he had not eaten or drank for a long time.
He was about to get up on his own when he suddenly heard a woman whispering not far away: "Jiang Lin is so bold. The eighth grandson is only thirteen years old. It's okay to teach him to slack off in his studies. Even 'Yin Chunlou' 'You dare to take Mr. Sun to a place like that - just go, but they don't reveal your identity! Those prostitutes are cruel and cruel, thinking that Mr. Sun is a common rich man, they even used the medicine of tiger and wolf on Mr. Sun. ! Poor Mr. Sun, what does he know at such a young age? He has been unconscious for two days and two nights now. The second master has come to see him three times and he still doesn’t wake up. "
"Bah, bah, bah! You seek death! How dare you say such unlucky words?! It's a good thing there's no one else here, otherwise it would be strange if the second master knew about it and didn't beat you to death. The thing that hurts the most is the fourth master's knee. One! Especially since the Fourth Young Master and his wife are now in Northern Xinjiang, if Young Master Sun has any shortcomings, the Second Master will not be able to explain it to them!"
"Oh, aren't I worried? Although the Eighth-grandson son has a good foundation in fine clothes and good food, this time the people at 'Yinchunlou' are really vicious! There is someone from the royal family behind them, and the second master went to find him personally. The Empress Dowager only asked two stewards and prostitutes to take the blame, and the Yin Chun Tower was not even closed! Who knows if all the people who seriously harmed Mr. Sun were there!"
"Don't just talk about 'Yinchun Tower'. Young Master Eighth Sun was studying at home, but if it wasn't for Jiang Lin's temptation, how could he have gone to that place?! Jiang Lin was so confused! He was originally chosen by the Fourth Young Master for the Eighth Grandson. With the Eighth Grandson’s respectability in front of the Second Master, as long as he takes good care of him, what’s the point of his future career? Mr. Sun was brought to such a state by him, and the second master beat him to death in a rage, and even his family members were not spared. Since the Jiang family had children, no one has ever ended up like Jiang Lin! How pitiful! His entire family has been burdened by him!”
"Speaking of this, don't you find it strange?"
"What?"
"Old sister, you also said that Jiang Lin, the fourth young lady personally selected the person for the eighth grandson! Do you think how many people wanted to follow the eighth grandson? Jiang Lin can stand out from those many people and show the fourth young lady. How could he be so stupid? He doesn't know how to serve the eighth grandson well. The fourth master and the fourth young lady will never treat him badly in the future. Maybe the second master can show some kindness to him no matter how busy he is! , I have to spend time giving guidance to the eighth grandson every day!”
"Hiss! You mean...?"
"Most likely he was coerced! Otherwise, it is just a servant's duty to serve his master well. As a son of a family, how could Jiang Lin not understand? As long as his brain is not broken, who would neglect a serious future and do such a selfish thing? Destruction?"
"Hurry up and stop saying this! Think about where we are now?! This is the eldest son's yard - how can we let people hear it?!"
"Hmph! I just can't bear to see the eighth grandson's appearance! Even if he is just a cousin, he can't write two characters of "江" in one stroke! What's more, the second master treats the eldest son better than his own son! For many years, he has been So, why is the eldest son worried? He can’t even tolerate the fact that the second master has an outstanding male grandson—does he have to give up his son to be happy?”
"What you're saying is getting more and more nonsense. You don't want to live anymore, don't you?! If you say that again, I won't dare to keep guarding the Eighth Grandson with you!!!"
"I… "
"What are you talking about?!" The dispute between the two mothers-in-law was not over yet. A cold, gloomy but majestic voice suddenly came from outside the hall!
"Kowtow to the Second Master!" The two women suddenly fell silent, knelt down with a thud, and hurriedly greeted the visitor, saying tremblingly, "Tell the Second Master, the Eighth Grandson... He's not awake yet!"
The visitor ignored them and walked straight into the hall towards the couch in the hall!
The young man in the tent didn't know what he was feeling and closed his eyes, breathing evenly, pretending to be still asleep - the next moment, the tent was carefully opened to a corner.
The person coming was his grandfather, the Duke of Qin in Darui, the Qiancheng of the country, the father of the queen... Jiang Qianchuan, who had been blessed with countless honors, was no different from any grandfather in the world who was worried about his grandchildren. He bent down and stared carefully at first. After a while, the grandson's face turned pale, and he sighed unnoticeably, and then called softly: "Dan'er? Dan'er? Good boy, how are you?"
The words are gentle, but it is not difficult for the listener to detect the sadness and worry inside.
Jiang Yadan's eyes were also sour, and he was about to shed tears. Jiang Qianchuan simply thought that it would take some time for him to wake up. After calling him a few times, he sighed and reached out to touch his forehead, and then tucked the corner of his quilt for him. , and put down the tent.
The moment the tent was put down, Jiang Yadan couldn't help but shed tears from the corners of his eyes. At this time, he heard Jiang Qianchuan coldly order: "Drag these two old guys down! Find someone sensible to serve Dan'er!"
"Second Master—"
"If he makes any noise again and disturbs Dan'er's recuperation, he will be beaten to death!"
“…”
There was silence in the hall for a moment.
After a brief silence, the rustling of clothes was heard, mixed with a suppressed sob. It must have been the two women being taken away.
Then the old servant asked Jiang Qianchuan in a low voice: "Will the eighth grandson still live here in the future? The room next to your study is empty. How about... This will make it easier for you to check on the eighth grandson's studies every day?"
"... Let's wait and talk!" Jiang Qianchuan pondered for a long time before sighing, "After all, when the fourth daughter-in-law left, she left Dan'er in their care. The fourth daughter-in-law also promised this when she wrote the letter. . This time something happened to Dan'er, and Ao'er and his wife have already apologized. If Dan'er was still taken away, where would Ao'er's face be turned? If word got out, it would be said that I had a problem with him! "
"But this time, the Eighth-grandson Young Master..." The old servant seemed to be unable to bear it and reminded him, "Thanks to Dr. Lin's superb medical skills, I was able to save him this time! If it happens again, I'm afraid the Eighth-grandson Young Master's life..."
"This time it was an accident! There can be no next time!" Jiang Qianchuan's voice was a little cold, "Gu family... Hey! You said that the backstage of 'Yinchun Tower' is a member of the royal family. If the member of the royal family had not surrendered to Gu You dare to show off now! I will bring this grudge back to you one day!"
For his own sake, his direct grandfather would not hesitate to regard the whole family of the current Queen Mother as enemies - Jiang Yadan could not feel any warmth in his heart, but instead felt cold!
"My grandfather must have heard all the discussions between the two mothers-in-law before! Otherwise, how could the people who came with my grandfather suggest that I move to my grandfather's study?! But my grandfather clearly heard what I said. I almost lost my life this time. It was all my uncle’s plan, but I still couldn’t bear to expose him and would rather let me continue to fall into his hands!”
"Why won't you let go of the Gu family... Although the Queen Mother is currently not on good terms with her grandfather on some political matters, she still has no quarrel with her. How dare she touch me? If the people in 'Yinchun Tower' know that I am the direct descendant of the Jiang family, Sun, even if I beat them to death, they wouldn’t dare to trick me with medicine!”
"My grandfather said this just because he didn't want to blame the family, so he chose an outsider as a cover!!!"
Due to his outstanding talent, Jiang Yadan has been loved and valued by his grandfather since he was a child.
So his parents went to Northern Xinjiang one after another. After he was fostered into the big house, he was still a highly regarded member of the family. Not to mention the Jiang family, everyone in the government and the public knows how talented and carefully cultivated the eighth grandson of the Jiang family is. The road ahead of him is destined to be glorious, beautiful and prosperous - Jiang Yadan has never doubted this, he I am also confident that I will be worthy of my grandfather’s hard work.
It wasn't until just now that he heard with his own ears that his grandfather, who usually doted on him like a treasure, said helplessly but firmly, "If you still take Dan'er away, where will Ao'er's face be turned?"
It turns out that he, his most valued direct grandson, was expected to be the future grandson of the Jiang family, and his life and future were not as important as his uncle's dignity! ! !
He really wished that he hadn't woken up at all just now, and was still asleep like he pretended!
"It's better to wake up a little later, at least you don't have to hear what those two women said?" He looked at Jiang Yadan on the top of the tent with blank eyes, and thought in despair, "I'm really asking for trouble, I should have woken up Just get up and wait for them! Otherwise, why would they take advantage of his grandfather’s time to say that?”
And the reason why those two women did this was of course to tell Jiang Qianchuan what to say—these two women were originally the men left by Jiang Yadan’s mother, Mrs. Zhuang, when he went to Northern Xinjiang—now that they knew this, Is it difficult to guess their stance and intentions
Even Jiang Lin, who they lamented and regretted, Jiang Yadan figured out who was following whose wishes without even using his brain!
He had never hated his quick thinking so much - if he was still suspicious when he eavesdropped on the discussion of the two women, he actually figured it out the moment he heard his grandfather's scolding voice. And the ins and outs of Jiang Lin’s style...
It was almost too late for him to stop thinking!
So when Jiang Qianchuan came to see him, he instinctively chose to pretend to be asleep - the ups and downs of his heart at that moment were difficult to describe in words! Although his mind was already in chaos, he still remembered that his grandfather was shrewd and he must not let him see the clues, otherwise he might find out his father's secrets if he was pressed!
But he didn't expect that the end result of pretending to be asleep would be to be stabbed again!
"Father, don't blame the child for being unfilial. It's just that the child's weight in the heart of the grandfather is much lighter than you imagined..." He thought sarcastically and painfully - only after falling in love with the brothel Dao'er, his body was still weak, and his emotions had gone through many times. There were ups and downs, and it was natural for him to fall ill.
The illness lasted three months.
Jiang Qianchuan came to visit frequently. Every time he came, his tone was so gentle that it made all the other Jiang family disciples around him look jealous, which also showed his love and pity for Jiang Yadan.
It's just that the more he behaves like this, the more Jiang Yadan feels resentful and unspeakable.
Of course, what made him even more desperate was that after he recovered from his illness, the new servant, even though he was beaten in front of Jiang Qianchuan, Jiang Lin must take Jiang Lin as a lesson and not to have any small thoughts and turn around, but he still kept silent. In the middle of the night, he put a maid who had some good looks and a long-standing desire to climb into his bed into his room.
The maid was thrown out of the door with an inkstone and was executed afterwards.
For a time, the people who served him became much more honest.
But just like when Jiang Lin's family was dealt with, a few months later, the old behavior returned - Jiang Yadan sadly realized: "Father is determined to use me as bait to plot against uncle?"
Of course he was unwilling to do so at first - even though everyone around me wanted me to lose, I had to win!
Who can be a young man without any spirit
Especially given Jiang Yadan's background and talent, as well as the teachings he received, it would be strange if he gave up on himself so easily!
only…
I can’t remember exactly when, maybe I was too tired after studying hard at midnight, so I called the book boy to rub my shoulders, but what came was two charming and pretty maids? But that night, the wind was gentle and the clouds were white, and the flowers on the spring night were blooming brilliantly and lingeringly, making him relax for a moment without realizing it
Or maybe the girl he met by chance during the outing looked back and smiled, which brightened his feelings at that time. After being quietly asked out for trysts by her again and again, it was not until he neglected his homework that he realized such an encounter and how dirty and calculating it was behind the scenes.
- He finally became disheartened and stopped struggling. He had no choice but to sink in willingly.
Jiang Qianchuan tried countless ways to save him - so Jiang Yadan knew that his grandfather really loved him, but he definitely loved Jiang Tianao more!
Time and time again, looking at Jiang Qianchuan's disappointed eyes and the pain of hating iron for not becoming steel, Jiang Yadan felt indifferent and bursts of joy: I am happy to see that you are not good, even though the price is mine. Promise my future!
Injure the enemy 800 and injure yourself 10,000.
It's not that he doesn't know.
No matter how smart or astute he is, how can he escape the layers of traps laid by his biological father and the looming push of his uncle, who is so isolated and helpless
"Let's just end this life as soon as possible. Maybe the next life will not be like this?" He thought indifferently, waiting for the day when he would naturally die - but after waiting and waiting, even if he deliberately gave various opportunities, Death did not come for a long time. Instead, his father gradually rose to prominence in the military. As the eldest son, even if he had a legitimate younger brother, even if he became more and more unsatisfactory, his status in the family did not fall but rose.
While waiting impatiently, he suddenly realized: "They don't want me to die?"
Jiang Tianao, Jiang Tianchi, an uncle, and a biological father all wanted to plot against him, but neither wanted him to die.
How much of this is due to flesh and blood, and how much is due to fear of violating Jiang Qianchuan's bottom line, only they themselves know.
For Jiang Yadan, this life that started with glory but eventually led to grandeur was like a piece of chicken ribs. It was already tasteless, but it felt like a pity to abandon it - they just didn't want him to achieve anything. Apart from that, he had nothing but good clothes and good food. There was never any neglect, even after he was so desolate that his grandfather despaired, the luxury of life was still a luxury that most people could not achieve after struggling for several lifetimes - it was not that these elders did not love him, it was just that they loved themselves more.
Jiang Qianchuan seems to attach great importance to the kindness he received from his elder brother when he was young, so much so that he loves his nephew more than his own direct descendants. It seems that he repays his kindness, but in fact, isn't it an extreme selfishness
He only considered his own desire to repay his kindness, but did not consider the thoughts of his descendants.
Jiang Tianao was used to dominating everything in the family, and had long taken plunder as a matter of course;
Jiang Tianchi did not hesitate to give up his eldest son to get the Jiang family's inheritance. He felt that he, who had been wronged and paid enough, should be given the military power of the Zhenbei Army—