It was unknown when Chen Jingzong would wake up. Emperor Yuanyou had other things to do today, so Huayang told his brother to go first: "Take Elder Chen and General Qin with you. It will be useless for them to stay, and I am too lazy to see them right now."
Emperor Yuanyou understood: "Then we will leave first. If the prince consort wakes up, sister, please send someone to inform me immediately."
Huayang nodded, but then called his brother who had already walked two steps away and asked with concern: "Is it not frightening you? This is the first time you have seen such a scene."
Emperor Yuanyou's face flushed: "I'm not a child anymore."
Huayang's eyes were still watery as he said softly, "Even if you are a whole head taller than your sister, you will always be my younger brother."
Emperor Yuanyou was annoyed that his sister looked down on him, but at the same time he felt warmed by her tenderness. After feeling awkward for a while, he quickly left.
As he appeared, there was a commotion in the yard. It was all the accompanying officials who were concerned about the prince consort's injuries, but the commotion disappeared soon after.
Huayang walked around the screen and watched the imperial physician apply medicine to Chen Jingzong.
The bleeding had stopped and a layer of medicine powder was sprinkled on the wound. The imperial physician carefully bandaged the wound and wrapped the gauze around the prince consort's shoulders and neck.
After finishing his work, the doctor turned around and bowed to the princess, saying, "Princess, don't worry. The prince consort is young and strong. He will recover after a month of rest."
Huayang: "Thank you for your help. Go and have a rest first. I'll call you if there's anything else."
The imperial physician took his leave and gave some instructions on how to take care of Chaoyun, Chaoyue, Fugui and others who were guarding outside.
After hearing that the imperial physician had left, Huayang sat down in front of the bed.
Although the gauze covered Chen Jingzong's wound, the blood still showed through the gauze.
The spear tip is so long that it could pierce Chen Jingzong's shoulder if he is not careful, or if Chen Jingzong does not aim carefully when he moves forward, the spear tip could pierce his vital points!
Chen Jingzong quietly opened his eyes and just saw a pair of teardrops falling from her eyes. When he saw it, she quickly turned away.
Chen Jingzong was injured in his right shoulder, so he couldn't raise his hand to avoid tearing the wound. He moved his arm horizontally along the bed board to her side, tapped her leg with his finger, and whispered, "Why did you drop the gold beads when you knew she was pretending?"
Huayang said nothing.
Chen Jingzong said to himself: "I heard it. Tell the old man that I am yours and I am closer to you than to him."
With his interruption, Huayang's bitterness in his heart gradually subsided. He looked at him but didn't know what to say.
Chen Jingzong held her hand and said, "Alright, alright. Let's not talk about anything else. Just the fact that you scolded the old man is worth it."
Huayang glared at him: "Shut up."
Chen Jingzong insisted: "Are you pretending, or are you really angry?"
Huayang was silent.
Those who had to put on a show also understood that their father-in-law was that kind of person. Not only their father-in-law, but any elder in the situation at that time would have comforted Qin Yuantang in the same way. However, Huayang knew that Chen Jingzong could have avoided getting hurt. He took the risk to cooperate with her plan, and also for his father-in-law and the entire Chen family.
Ignorance is no blame, but after hearing what her father-in-law said, Huayang still felt angry. She couldn't even tell how much of her rebuke to her father-in-law was true and how much was just an act.
Chen Jingzong coaxed her in return: "I'm used to it. Not only to me, he treats the eldest brother and the third brother the same way. You just didn't see it."
Huayang held his hand and said, "Don't move. Be careful not to tear the wound."
Chen Jingzong: "The general's shot hurt me so much that I almost lost my life."
Huayang subconsciously went to look at his injuries.
Chen Jingzong: "Hurry up and give me some spiritual energy, and I won't feel any pain."
Huayang: …
Chen Jingzong pointed to his mouth with his left hand.
His eyes were bright and teasing, clearly trying to take advantage of her soft heart, but his injury was real, he had lost so much blood that his face turned pale. Huayang covered his eyes with his hands, his eyelashes fluttered for a while, and then he closed them obediently.
Huayang then leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.
Just as Chen Jingzong was about to open his mouth, Huayang stepped back and glared at him, saying, "Just take care of it and stop worrying about other things."
Chen Jingzong sighed: "When you need people, you should move forward, and when you don't need people, you should move backward. You were not like that that night in the military camp."
Huayang glared at him.
.
Chen Jingzong pretended to be asleep for an hour and then woke up. The news spread, and Emperor Yuanyou and others came to visit him again.
Huayang still took his anger out on Qin Yuantang.
Chen Jingzong was open-minded. He took all the blame on himself and chatted and laughed with Qin Yuantang. He also said that he would ask Qin Yuantang to teach him shooting skills after he recovered.
Qin Yuantang thought that even if he didn't serve as the general, he would never compete with Chen Jingzong again!
The man woke up and looked in good spirits, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
As the atmosphere eased, Chen Jingzong turned his gaze, stared at his old man for a few seconds, and suddenly said to Huayang: "Please arrange for someone to carry me back to your place. I feel uncomfortable living here."
Chen Tingjian lowered his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.
Huayang cooperated and asked people to prepare the wooden planks.
Emperor Yuanyou looked at the father and son who quarreled whenever they met, and thought that it was important for the son-in-law to recuperate, and staying away from Chen Tingjian would also help his physical and mental recovery.
In this way, the four young eunuchs worked together to move the prince consort to the wooden rack, and then in front of Lord Chen, they carried the prince consort, who was unwilling to stay with his biological father to recuperate, back to the courtyard where the eldest princess was staying.
At noon, all the officials had a banquet with Emperor Yuanyou, and they returned home after the banquet.
In the general's mansion, as soon as Qin Yuantang entered the main hall, he sat down on the armchair without caring about his manners, with his head against the back of the chair, looking depressed.
Qin Ji signaled the servants to leave, and then he comforted his father: "Father, don't worry. I don't think Lord Chen and the Prince Consort have any intention of blaming you."
Qin Yuantang glanced at his son and sneered, "They are in front of everyone, how can they be unreasonable? But what they are thinking in their hearts, only they know."
Only a fool takes face seriously.
Qin Lu: "It's just a minor injury, how dare they care about it? Any soldier in the last battlefield would not take it seriously."
Qin Yuantang: "They are the Prime Minister and the Prince Consort. Don't treat them as ordinary soldiers."
He frowned, imagining in his head that soon after Lord Chen returned to the capital, he would find an excuse to deal with him, or at least demote him to make him feel better.
The general thought he had seen through the officialdom, so how could he be convinced by just a few words from his two young sons
He was in no mood to take a break, and in the afternoon, Qin Yuantang had to pretend nothing had happened and go to the imperial court to accompany the emperor.
Finally, at dusk, Emperor Yuanyou was going to rest. Qin Yuantang followed a group of officials out, then stopped Chen Tingjian and said sincerely: "I want to visit the prince consort. May I ask the elder to lead the way?"
This is only the first day that the prince consort has been injured by him, and it is reasonable for him to take this trip.
All the officials looked at the Prime Minister.
Chen Tingjian said half in a self-deprecating tone: "The Prince Consort and I have always been at odds. If I go with you, he will only vent his anger on you. General, you should go by yourself."
After saying this, Chen Tingjian strode away.
Officials: …
It seems to make sense!
The officials, who had just watched the lively scene, quickly dispersed.
Qin Ji: "Father, I'll go with you."
The son-in-law was already jealous of his eldest son for winning the favor of the eldest princess, so Qin Yuantang didn't dare to bring his eldest son along. His younger son was also handsome and it would be easy for him to get into trouble if he brought him along.
Finally, Qin Yuantang waved his hand and told his sons to wait outside the inn. He asked a palace servant to lead the way and came to the villa where the eldest princess was temporarily staying with a pious look.
The villa is divided into front and back courtyards. Guessing that some officials would come to visit, Chen Jingzong lived in the front courtyard.
Huayang was sitting by the bed talking to Chen Jingzong when he heard Chaoyun report that General Qin wanted to visit his son-in-law. The couple then exchanged a tacit look.
"Please come in, General."
Chaoyun went out to pass on the message.
Chen Jingzong looked at the eldest princess who had moved to the foot of the bed and sat upright, and asked, "I can just lie down, or do you want to say something too?"
Huayang: "You can handle the greetings, but I will handle the business."
Soon, footsteps were heard outside. The sturdy General Qin followed behind Chao Yun. Against the backdrop of Chao Yun's petite figure, he looked like a door god. However, this door god had a reserved look as if he had done something wrong, which reduced his majesty a lot.
In fact, Qin Yuantang was not afraid of Chen Jingzong, but was afraid of the eldest princess who looked difficult to mess with!
I heard that the deposed Prince of Xiang had his eyes blinded by shit and molested the princess, who whipped him mercilessly. The whipping was not enough to appease her anger, so the princess actually took the initiative on behalf of the people of Lingzhou and wrote a letter to the late emperor to accuse the Prince of Xiang, which directly led to his dethronement. The princess also received a whip for the king from the late emperor!
Beat the king with a whip, beat the king with a whip. Even the prince can beat him, so beating a general is even more of a piece of cake!
After entering the inner room, Qin Yuantang saw the eldest princess sitting beside the bed at a glance. She was really beautiful, and her majesty that brooked no disobedience was really intimidating!
Without even seeing what the princess looked like, Qin Yuantang immediately lowered his eyes and bowed respectfully: "I greet the princess."
Huayang: "Back off."
Qin Yuantang: …
He had just arrived and the princess sent him away. Was she so disrespectful to him
Fortunately, Chao Yun's gentle voice came from behind: "Yes."
Qin Yuantang's heart was lifted up by the three words "Princess", and then quickly fell down.
"General, please excuse me."
Qin Yuantang breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and looked at the prince consort who was lying on the bed with a relatively happy expression, "How is the prince consort's injury?"
Qin Yuantang thought to himself, you are just spoiled. The emperor is the most spoiled, the eldest princess is second, and you, the son of the prime minister, are third!
Although he was grumbling in his heart, the general still looked sincere: "It's all my fault. I'm old, and the prince consort humbly asked me for advice. I forgot my sense of propriety because I met a worthy opponent. I wanted to force the prince consort to admit defeat. If I had been more careful, the prince consort wouldn't have to suffer this."
Chen Jingzong: …
Your ability to flatter is as perfect as your shooting skills!
Huayang couldn't listen any longer and said to Qin Yuantang, "When the general was fighting against the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast, the prince consort was just an ignorant boy running around the mountains. How could he be a match for you? The general is humble, which is a virtue, but he shouldn't speak without thinking and lose his sincerity."
Chen Jingzong: "Wait, I went to the mountains to hunt. Hunting is the only way to practice archery. How did it become running around in the mountains? How can you say that you are an ignorant boy?"
Huayang glared at him: "Shut up."
Chen Jingzong shut his mouth, but he looked unconvinced.
Qin Yuantang was stunned. What did that mean? Was the princess praising him just now
A chair had been prepared nearby. Hua Yang raised his hand and said to Qin Yuantang with a smile, "General, please take a seat."
Qin Yuantang was stunned again.
If the eldest princess was like an ice peony formed by snow when she was angry, now that the eldest princess smiled brightly, the aloof ice peony immediately turned into a spring peony that melted in the warm sun, graceful and unparalleled in beauty.
Fortunately, Qin Yuantang was old and a general with great military power, so he was not tempted by the beauty of the princess.
He looked at the chair next to him, hesitated for a moment, and finally sat down, putting his hands on his knees, unable to hide his nervousness.
Seeing this, Hua Yang whispered, "Before the future Jizhou, I imagined the general to be as majestic as a mountain, as proud as a pine tree, and to treat me, the eldest princess, politely but not servilely. Now the general is sitting in front of me, but he dare not even look at me, and is trembling as if he is walking on thin ice. I just feel sad."
Qin Yuantang raised his head in disbelief and looked directly at the eldest princess who was a few steps away.
Hua Yang had tears in his eyes. "I wanted to ask the general to talk to me, but I didn't have a good reason. I had to ask the prince consort to use a self-torture trick, and I had to blame the general. However, I saw with my own eyes that the general had to humble himself in front of me for such a small matter. I felt really ashamed."
How many common people relied on General Qin to survive the Japanese pirates and Duoyan. How could she be worthy of his kneeling to such a hero
Qin Yuantang watched the eldest princess' tears falling, and the tears seemed to drip onto his heart, making him feel wet and hot.
He was so fawning on Chen Tingjian, so why would he care about kneeling down to the princess who was so concerned about her husband
The eldest princess blamed him, and that was right. She was only in her early twenties, how could he really argue with a little girl
However, when the eldest princess, whom he regarded as a delicate girl, spoke such heartwarming words in a soft voice, Qin Yuantang found that he did feel a little aggrieved and helpless. However, these grievances and helplessness, which were not worth mentioning, immediately disappeared without a trace because of the eldest princess' understanding.
He couldn't keep staring at the princess, so he lowered his head and comforted her clumsily: "It's just a small matter, a small matter, don't cry."
Having spent half his life in the military, he always put his head on his belt every time he went to the battlefield, so he really doesn't mind these things.
Huayang held a handkerchief in his hand and wiped away the tears bit by bit to avoid further misconduct.
Chen Jingzong said sourly: "It was me who was injured."
Huayang glared at him.
Qin Yuantang looked at the young couple and said in confusion, "The princess wants to see me, why does she have to use this method? If anything happens to the prince consort, I'm afraid I can only die to atone for my crime."
Hua Yang calmed down and said, "Because what I want to tell the general is related to your and my father's future."
Qin Yuantang was stunned for a moment before he realized that the father the eldest princess was referring to was Lord Chen.
Qin Yuantang said solemnly: "I am all ears."
Hua Yang: "Ever since my father started to implement the new policy, there have always been officials inside and outside the court who have opposed the new policy and have tried every means to accuse my father of various crimes. I believe the general has heard of this?"
Qin Yuantang nodded and flattered Chen Tingjian out of habit: "Mr. Chen has served the country and the people, and is a minister of great virtue. The emperor and the empress dowager are wise and will never be deceived by those villains."
Chen Jingzong sneered: "You are good at flattering him."
Qin Yuantang: …
Is this prince consort really Lord Chen’s biological son
Hua Yang: "Father is a wise minister, but have you ever thought about how those people would criticize you and father if you continue to have a close personal relationship with him? It has always been a taboo for the court to collude with the cabinet and the border generals."
Qin Yuantang's face changed drastically, and he knelt down in front of the princess: "I dare not, I swear to heaven..."
Huayang: "Please stand up and speak."
Qin Yuantang did not move.
Chen Jingzong patted the bedside and said, "Do you really want me to crawl down and help you? Or do you want the princess to help you herself?"
Qin Yuantang had no choice but to stand up again because of this nonsense.
Hua Yang continued, "You don't have to swear to heaven. I know very well why you want to befriend my father. It's nothing more than that you have been on the battlefield and have seen too many military officers who were not given important positions because they had no one in the court, including General Hu and General Yu, whose military achievements were no less than yours. You are both famous generals of this dynasty, but you are unable to fully display your abilities because of the factional disputes in the court. This is the fault of the court. You gave gifts to my father out of helplessness. You don't have to feel ashamed."
Qin Yuantang's eyes were filled with tears. The princess really understood him!
Huayang: "I am just a woman, I cannot influence the officialdom, but I am the eldest princess who married into the Chen family. I am familiar with the emperor's temperament and my father's character. I also grew up hearing about the great general's reputation. After arriving at the border, I personally asked the nearby people about your deeds. The people really love you, and I love the general as much as the people do, so I can't just watch you continue on the wrong path."
"General, you are a good soldier. Father admires you. Even if you don't send gifts or write letters to flatter me, I will support you no matter what troubles you encounter. But you foolishly send gifts and write letters, which will only give officials who oppose father a handle to frame him."
"If you must give gifts before you can train and lead the troops, then I will show you a way."
Qin Yuantang's breathing stagnated, and his tiger eyes stared at the eldest princess.
Hua Yang smiled and said, "If you want to give a gift, give it to the emperor. My father will grow old, the Prime Minister will be replaced, but the emperor will remain firmly on the throne, and he will be the one to send off all of you wise ministers and generals in the end."
Qin Yuantang's eyes flickered slightly.
Hua Yang smiled faintly: "General, do you think that the emperor is still young and his words are not as effective as those of the cabinet?"
Qin Yuantang hurriedly said: "I dare not!"
Huayang: "That's what you think. But I've already said that my father loves your talent. As long as you guard Jizhen well, he will always support you, and so does the emperor. You won't get any extra benefits from giving gifts to my father. You are filial to the emperor and are loyal to him wholeheartedly. The emperor feels it. If someone whispers in his ear that you are colluding with my father, how can the emperor believe it?"
Qin Yuantang finally wavered.
Huayang also told him what his brother thought of the Qin Army that day: "The emperor is more open-minded than you think. He wants the frontier army to be brave and the country to be prosperous. He is in the palace and cannot command the frontier army himself. He can only trust you generals. Your loyalty to the emperor is equivalent to the loyalty of the Qin Army to the emperor. As long as the emperor trusts you, then even if you, General Qin, retire in the future, the Qin Army will still be trusted and valued by the emperor."
"But if you only try to curry favor with the cabinet and make the emperor suspicious, not only will your future be ruined, but the entire Qin Army will be implicated. If the Qin Army disbands, who will defend Jizhou? Who do you believe can defend it better than the Qin Army?"
Qin Yuantang's face changed drastically.
Obviously, compared with his own future, he attached more importance to the safety of Qin's army and Jizhen.
Huayang knew that he had really listened to him now, and finally said: "General, if you are loyal to the emperor, you should believe in the emperor. If you believe, loyalty will come from the heart. Only with such loyalty will the emperor use you without doubt."
Qin Yuantang knelt down again and said sincerely, "Don't worry, Princess. I will learn from you!"
Huayang stood up, walked in front of him, and personally helped the general up: "I also make a promise to you, General. As long as I am here, I will speak well of you in front of the emperor. Whoever dares to frame you will be punished with the whip given by the late emperor."
Qin Yuantang never expected that when he entered the room, he was still worried that the eldest princess would beat him with the whip. But at this time, the eldest princess told him in person that she would protect him with the whip!
General Qin, who was used to flattery, was speechless at this moment and didn't know how to express his gratitude.
Hua Yang smiled and said, "But I still want to remind the general that you can give gifts to the emperor, but don't give him any beauties or other things that may lead the emperor astray."
Qin Yuantang's face suddenly turned red.
One year, he presented the Prime Minister with sea lion kidneys, a specialty of his hometown, thinking that if the Prime Minister still wanted to regain his virility, this tonic would be just right!
But how could the princess know this
"I dare not!"
Hua Yang: "Well, the general has been delayed here for a while, it's time to go back. I hope the general will keep my words confidential and don't tell anyone, including the two gentlemen."
Of course Qin Yuantang would not tell it. As it concerns the future of the 100,000 Qin Army, he will take this secret to his grave!
"Princess, have a good rest, I will take my leave!"
After bowing solemnly, Qin Yuantang turned and left.
Huayang breathed a long sigh of relief.
Chen Jingzong was confused and asked, "You seemed to have some hidden meaning in your words just now. Could it be that he has sent beauties and indecent things to this old man?"
Hua Yang: "It is said that when he first gave his father a gift, he did give him a beautiful woman, but his father confiscated it."
Chen Jingzong: …
Huayang also shook his head helplessly. General Qin really meant well but did the wrong thing.
In the previous life, the sixth crime that my younger brother charged my father-in-law with was colluding with border generals.
The border general was naturally Qin Yuantang.
At that time, the new Prime Minister Zhang Pan and a group of officials impeached his father-in-law for seven crimes. His younger brother sent the Jinyiwei to investigate. The files clearly listed the letters and gifts between Qin Yuantang and his father-in-law over the past decade. Because his father-in-law was not greedy for money or sex, Qin Yuantang gave him expensive gifts twice and they were returned, and the rest were ordinary local specialties. The problem was that Qin Yuantang wrote to his father-in-law and even called himself "a dog and horse under his tutelage". Those flattering words clearly put his father-in-law before the emperor!
In addition, Qin Yuantang was very overbearing in military training and often disobeyed the orders of the Governor of Ji and Liao. His father-in-law also removed three governors for him. In the eyes of outsiders, this was a collusion between the Prime Minister and the border generals.
When he was just reborn, Huayang didn't understand why his younger brother was so cruel. It was obvious that his father-in-law had taught him carefully and devoted himself to the court. If his younger brother intentionally favored his father-in-law, he would not punish the entire Chen family.
Six years passed in a blink of an eye, and Huayang already understood the crux of the problem.
It was the younger brother who first resented his father-in-law, which was why he stood idly by and watched.
(End of this chapter)