Chen Jingzong carried Huayang back to the bed, and the two talked for a while. Suddenly, the sound of the second watch was heard on the street.
For some unknown reason, Huayang thought of Lord Zeng.
She had hardly seen Lord Zeng in these years, but she had met him in the palace a few years ago. In her memory, Lord Zeng looked like an honest and upright civil official.
But people who look honest are not necessarily timid. It is said that when his father-in-law was still the second prime minister, Zeng Ge Lao often helped the former prime minister to fight against his father-in-law in the court and the cabinet.
But at that time, Zeng Ge Lao's confidence came from the former Prime Minister. When his father-in-law was promoted, Zeng Ge Lao immediately became a coward. He didn't even dare to see his father-in-law and stayed at home on sick leave. His only wish was that the court would quickly approve his resignation so that he could retire and return home, away from the capital, which was a place of trouble.
With Mr. Zeng's temperament, could it be that his death in the middle of the night in his previous life had nothing to do with my father-in-law
Of course, father-in-law definitely did not really persecute Lord Zeng, but Huayang suddenly suspected that maybe Lord Zeng was too afraid of father-in-law. It would have been fine if father-in-law did not show up, but when father-in-law went to visit, Lord Zeng's condition worsened
If this is true, Lord Zeng might live a little longer, until his father-in-law visits him again and gets scared again
Thinking of this possibility, Huayang couldn't sleep.
She was not hoping that Lord Zeng would leave tonight, but she was annoyed by the situation that she could not completely control. If her father-in-law wanted to visit Lord Zeng again tomorrow, how could she stop him
"Not sleepy yet?"
The lights were off, and Chen Jingzong could tell that her breathing did not sound like she was sleepy.
Huayang shook his head, hugged his thin waist, and decided not to think about it for the time being and deal with it improvisationally tomorrow.
Chen Jingzong was wondering why she didn't mind that he was hot tonight. Just as he was about to squeeze her hand, Huayang suddenly let go of him and turned around, hugging the quilt.
Chen Jingzong: …
.
The next day, not long after Chen Jingzong set out, Huayang woke up. He was really worried and felt uncomfortable just lying there.
Taking advantage of the cool early morning weather, Huayang took two maids to visit the garden.
Chen Tingjian had no idea what the eldest princess' daughter-in-law was doing. As usual, he set out early to work in the cabinet.
When he and several ministers were meeting the emperor in the Qianqing Palace in the morning, a eunuch guarding outside the palace suddenly received a message, so he lifted the curtain and poked his head inside.
Cao Li, who was standing beside Emperor Yuanyou and serving him, saw this, walked over, listened to the report, and then walked back.
Empress Dowager Qi asked, "What's the matter?"
Cao Li looked sad: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I just received a report from Zeng's family that he passed away just now."
Emperor Yuanyou was shocked. Old man Zeng, who had begged for retirement yesterday, is gone now
Empress Dowager Qi's eyelids twitched slightly and she looked at Chen Tingjian.
Chen Tingjian exchanged glances with her, but it was not easy to explain anything at this time. He just said some words with several other ministers to commemorate Lord Zeng.
Having been in the same cabinet for more than ten years, even though they were political enemies, there was still some friendship between them. As Chen Tingjian spoke, tears actually fell from his eyes.
When the ministers saw this, they admired the Prime Minister's ability, but tears were brewing at the same time.
Emperor Yuanyou couldn't cry, but sighed heavily, showing that he was in a heavy mood.
Empress Dowager Qi made the decision and asked Cao Li to go to Zeng's home in person to convey her oral instructions, reward funeral rites, and give the Zeng family enough dignity.
After several ministers left, only Empress Dowager Qi, Emperor Yuanyou, and Chen Tingjian were left in the palace. Empress Dowager Qi then asked Chen Tingjian, "How was the situation of Lord Zeng that you saw yesterday? Why did he leave so suddenly?"
He didn't leave earlier or later, but had to leave after Chen Tingjian visited him. Once the news got out, those people would use it to slander Chen Tingjian.
Chen Tingjian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I did intend to visit Zeng's residence after leaving the palace yesterday evening, but my granddaughter Wanyi accidentally injured her ankle and cried in pain. My wife was so worried that she sent a steward to find me and asked me to return home early. I returned home first and planned to visit Zeng again tonight. How could I have expected that I would be delayed and not have the chance to see Zeng for the last time."
After saying that, he sighed regretfully.
Empress Dowager Qi was relieved. Fortunately, this incident happened to the Chen family, which helped Chen Tingjian avoid trouble.
"The world is unpredictable, so you don't have to blame yourself. By the way, how is Wanyi's foot injury?" Empress Dowager Qi expressed her concern appropriately.
Chen Tingjian: "The doctor examined her and said that she was fine, but the little girl was very delicate and cried so hard that it really frightened the elders in the family."
Emperor Yuanyou had been listening silently. He had some impression of Chen Ge Lao's granddaughter. Her sister seemed to like her very much. He could not remember her facial features clearly, but he only remembered that when he saw the girl, he thought that this girl was much more pleasing to the eye than Chen Ge Lao!
Chen Mansion.
Huayang didn't ask the maids to pack up yet, as she was still waiting for news.
Lord Zeng and Chen Tingjian were both in the cabinet, and they still had a superficial harmony. Now that Lord Zeng has passed away, when the Zeng family informed their relatives and friends of the death, they also included the Chen family.
Sun was the mistress of the house. After hearing the news, she promptly sent her maids to inform the third daughter-in-law.
Huayang came to Chunhetang to sit with his mother-in-law and learned some details, for example, Lord Zeng had just passed away this morning.
Huayang felt a little complicated.
In the previous life, my father-in-law went to visit, but Mr. Zeng passed away in the middle of the night. In this life, my father-in-law did not go, so Mr. Zeng insisted on staying until the morning and perhaps even saw his wives, concubines and children.
Therefore, Lord Zeng is really afraid of his father-in-law!
.
Since there was nothing else for her to do at the Chen family for the time being, Huayang returned to the Princess's Mansion that day.
When Chen Jingzong came back in the evening, Huayang mentioned this matter to him.
Chen Jingzong didn't quite understand what she meant. Was she regretting that the court had lost another old man in the cabinet, or was she telling him this as good news because Mr. Zeng and his old man were political enemies
Unable to figure it out, Chen Jingzong just nodded to indicate that he understood, and then started eating.
Huayang couldn't help feeling a little regretful when he saw that he didn't take the matter to heart at all.
If Chen Jingzong knew that his father-in-law almost went to visit Lord Zeng, and it was only because of her that he avoided this trouble, Chen Jingzong would definitely praise her, right
Huayang is not a saint. Sometimes when she does good things, she also hopes that others will appreciate her and praise her.
However, if he were to say it out loud, he would have to explain a lot of things, and Huayang didn't want to bring up the old lady of the Chen family every time, so he might as well just pretend that nothing happened.
She started talking about something else: "I will go to Hongfu Temple tomorrow. When you come out of the guard post, you don't have to go back to the city. Just go to Hongfu Temple to find me."
Chen Jingzong now understood that Zeng Ge Lao's departure had no impact on her, and not every old man in the cabinet could gain her favor.
Why is my old man so lucky
Chen Jingzong chewed the meat in his mouth vigorously, and then asked her after finishing his meal: "The court has lost a minister, and you still have the mood to travel around?"
Chen Jingzong: "I booked the seventh day, and you booked the ninth day."
Hua Yang sneered: "Forget about going. It's so hot and I don't want to bother."
Chen Jingzong continued to eat.
When they got to the bed, he pulled the eldest princess, who didn't even bother to look at him, into his arms and kissed her ear: "When will you leave the city tomorrow?"
Huayang closed his eyes and said in a cold tone: "I will not leave the city. I will stay at home to remember Mr. Zeng."
Chen Jingzong: "He hasn't served the court for two years. Why should you miss him?"
Huayang: "I do."
Chen Jingzong: "Why not go to Hongfu Temple and burn some incense for him? It will show your sincerity."
Huayang: "That's fine, I'll go in the morning and come back after burning incense."
Chen Jingzong bit her earlobe.
It wasn't a real bite, it was clearly just flirting.
She didn't want to call Chen Jingzong Ruyi, so she covered her ears.
Chen Jingzong changed his tone and kissed the back of her hand: "You were partial to the old man first, so I picked a fight with you on purpose."
Huayang: "When did I ever favor my father?"
Chen Jingzong: "If it was the old man who got into trouble today, would you still be in the mood to go to Hongfu Temple? They are all elders, how can you, the eldest princess, treat them differently?"
Hua Yang gritted his teeth and said, "They are indeed all ministers, but only Minister Chen is my father-in-law. I certainly don't treat my father-in-law the same as ordinary ministers."
Chen Jingzong: "But you never treated us equally. Unless you treat me a thousand times better than he treats me, I will be at odds with you for the rest of my life."
Huayang: "It's up to you, just don't disturb my sleep."
As she said this, she tried to move into the bed.
Chen Jingzong put his arm around her waist.
Huayang pinched his hand.
Chen Jingzong took a breath: "Can't you just say I'm better than him?"
Hua Yang laughed: "Not to mention you, even if you three brothers are combined, you can't compare to the efforts father has made for the court."
Chen Jingzong: "You can say that now. When I reach his age, I will definitely be better than him."
Huayang: …
She couldn't refute this because she had never seen what achievements Chen Jingzong had made in his fifties in his previous life, because he simply didn't have that opportunity.
Afterwards, Huayang thought of his father-in-law when he was 25 years old. At that time, his father-in-law was still working in the Hanlin Academy and was not taken seriously by many people.
At this age, Chen Jingzong had already made military achievements.
Although his position as commander was due to her relationship with her father-in-law, he fought on the battlefield entirely on his own.
"You two are both civil and military, so there is no point in competing with each other. Why do you have to compete with your father?"
Huayang said helplessly that she took the initiative to soften her attitude and stopped caring about his previous sarcasm.
Chen Jingzong turned her around, looked at her and said, "I'm not arguing with him, I'm arguing with you."
Huayang raised his eyebrows again.
Chen Jingzong used his fingertips to trace her slender, flying eyebrows that looked arrogant and noble: "When you first got married, you always looked at me with disdain."
Huayang: "Why don't you think about what kind of person you were at that time?"
Chen Jingzong: "If you were nicer to me, I wouldn't treat you like that."
Huayang: "It's the same for you. If you behave a little more politely, I won't look down on you."
Chen Jingzong took a deep breath and said, "You look down on me in every aspect? Is there nothing about me that satisfies you?"
He knew that she disliked him at that time, but she wouldn't go against her conscience and say that he was good for nothing, right
Huayang lowered his eyes.
Chen Jingzong lifted her chin, his eyes fierce: "If you don't explain it clearly tonight, none of us will sleep."
Hua Yang pretended to try to recall, and after a while he said, "At that time, you only had a barely presentable face. If you were uglier, my father-in-law wouldn't have kept me there, and I would have moved back to the princess's mansion."
Chen Jingzong: "Besides the face, what else?"
Huayang shook his head.
Chen Jingzong didn't believe it, so he took her hand and put it on himself: "Don't you like it here?"
Huayang is about to twist.
Chen Jingzong rushed over, pressed her down and kissed her fiercely: "Tomorrow night at Hongfu Temple, if you dare not go, I will become a monk to show you."
Huayang: …
(End of this chapter)