Huayang accepted the gift from the King of Xiang, and had some other plans, so he didn't plan to keep Yu Xiu in Ningyuan for dinner.
It was just that courtesy was necessary. After Princess Xiang left, Huayang went to see Yu Xiu and suggested that Yu Xiu take a break here and have dinner with her at the same time.
Yu Xiu was worried that her husband would go to talk to his brother-in-law, so she agreed with a smile.
Huayang: …
This is not in line with Yu Xiu's personality!
Fortunately, it didn't have much impact on her plan.
She asked Chaoyun to tell the kitchen to add two more famous dishes from Lingzhou in the evening, which should suit Yu Xiu's appetite.
In the evening, Chen Jingzong came back. When he learned that his sister-in-law was there, he came to Qifeng Hall to greet her and said to Huayang, "I have some official business to deal with. You guys eat first. I'll talk to you after I'm done."
Huayang rarely saw him so serious, so he believed it.
Yu Xiu thought, however, that her uncle must not want to stay here because of her.
The servants of the Chen family all said that the younger uncle was rough and did not have the elegance of her husband, the Third Master. However, Yu Xiu recalled the several times she had met her younger uncle and found that her younger uncle just did not like to smile, but she still showed all the respect she deserved.
Yu Xiu felt guilty for letting her uncle eat alone in another courtyard because of her. She whispered the truth to Hua Yang: "Princess, actually, it was because Master said he would come to pick me up after dinner. I took the opportunity to talk to my fourth brother about something, so I stayed. Otherwise, I would not have the nerve to disturb you and my fourth brother."
Huayang was startled: "Why didn't you tell me earlier, sister-in-law, so I could prepare the dishes for brother as well."
Yu Xiu blushed and said, "He doesn't want to cause trouble for the princess."
Huayang understood and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, go back and tell brother not to be so polite in the future. Our two families live in the same city, so we should visit each other more often."
Yu Xiu nodded.
The two sisters-in-law had dinner in a harmonious atmosphere. Not long after, Wu Run sent a eunuch to report that Chen Bochong had arrived and was waiting for his wife in the living room of the first courtyard.
Huayang ordered Chaoyun: "Go and inform the prince consort and ask him to go and entertain the master first."
Since Chen Bochong had something to say to Chen Jingzong, it would be better for them to go there later.
Chen Jingzong ate dinner alone, thinking about being close to her tonight, and was rinsing his mouth carefully.
When he saw Chaoyun, he thought Huayang couldn't wait any longer, but he didn't expect that he wanted him to entertain his elder brother.
Chen Jingzong left in a bad mood.
When the two brothers met, Chen Bozong asked with concern, "How are you doing in the garrison?"
Chen Jingzong saw the words "elder brother is like father" on his serious face.
The age difference between the two brothers is almost ten years, which is indeed a bit old, but Chen Jingzong was already tired of the old man in the family, so naturally he was not happy to have another older brother like him.
"What can I do? I'm the prince consort. Who dares to give me a hard time?"
Chen Bozong said it another way: "Is there anything in the garrison that you don't like?"
Chen Jingzong: "No. Okay, I'm not a child anymore, I don't need you to teach me how to be an official. It's getting dark, let's quickly pick up my sister-in-law and go home."
After saying this, Chen Jingzong sent the young eunuch to Qifeng Palace to urge him to do something.
Chen Bochong had a slight headache and was about to speak when Chen Jingzong ran outside.
Chen Bozong: …
Upon learning that the two brothers had finished their talk, Huayang came with Yu Xiu. Now Chen Jingzong was staying with Chen Bozong again, and they seemed to be getting along quite well.
When Huayang saw Chen Bochong, it was like seeing a famous painting. Chen Bochong didn't need to say anything or do anything. Just standing there was pleasing to the eye.
Of course, she was just greeting him out of courtesy, and no matter how much she admired him, she would not be rude to stare at him.
"It's getting late, so we'll leave now."
"Well, take care, brother and sister-in-law." Huayang asked Chen Jingzong to go out and see his brother and sister-in-law off, so she didn't see them off to the door herself.
When Chen Jingzong finished his trip and arrived at the Qifeng Palace, he saw Huayang sitting on the couch in the second room. There were two things on the small table in front of her, one of which was a painting. The way she looked at the painting was almost the same as the way she looked at her elder brother.
"What gift did you receive today?" Chen Jingzong sat down next to the table, pulled her into his arms and asked.
Huayang explained.
Chen Jingzong sneered: "Prince Xiang has a good plan. What do you think?"
If she was really a greedy princess, and he was just a spineless prince consort, the Prince of Xiang's plan to win people's hearts would indeed succeed.
Huayang: "I have accepted the gifts, so I will do my best to serve you. But I can scold you, and you can disobey me. No matter how noble I am, I cannot go to the guard post and give orders."
Chen Jingzong paused and asked, "Are you imitating me?"
He also accepted the four hundred taels of silver from Xiang Baoshan, but he did not mingle with them at all.
Hua Yang glared at him and said, "Any smart person can come up with this idea, so how can I copy you? Okay, you stay at my elder brother's place for a few nights and pretend to be angry with me, so that the Xiang Wang and his wife won't think that I just accept gifts but don't do anything."
Chen Jingzong: …
He was unwilling and pointed at the two gifts and said, "At worst, we can just return the gifts. Why bother with so much trouble?"
Huayang: "You are winning the hearts of the people in the garrison, don't you need money? In the next few days, I will ask Wu Run to find a way to sell this jade Guanyin, and the proceeds will be given to you to reorganize the garrison. I will give the original work of Huizong to my father, and report you openly, and secretly ask my father to record it against the Prince of Xiang."
Even though the Prince of Xiang has committed many unjust acts, he is a vassal king after all. The imperial court has many concerns when it comes to taking action against the vassal kings. If the evidence is not sufficient, the other vassal kings will wonder whether you, the emperor, want to withdraw all the vassal kings!
Therefore, the emperor will not reduce the punishment for the Prince of Xiang requisitioning soldiers from the garrison to build a private courtyard, but she has other plans, and adding them up one by one will make the Prince of Xiang's downfall a natural process.
Chen Jingzong was happy to see Prince Xiang in trouble, but when he thought that he had to stay at his eldest brother's house for the purpose of performing, Chen Jingzong felt uncomfortable all over.
He carried Huayang to the inner room.
"Since we're going to have a fight, we should have a bigger fight and a longer one. You've pissed me off, and I must have made you cry, right?"
Huayang: …
It would have been fine if they were far away, but for example, the couple who owned the house opposite the street in front of Ning Garden heard the noise and knew there was going to be some big commotion, so they hastily wrapped themselves in robes and ran out, quietly coming to the back door and looking through the crack in the door towards the entrance to the princess's Ning Garden.
Soon, three people came out.
The handsome man with an angry face and holding an official robe is the prince consort. Also included are Ning Garden's chief steward, eunuch Wu, and the guard commander Zhou Ji.
Eunuch Wu bowed and tried to persuade him kindly: "Prince consort, why do you have to get angry with the princess over such a small matter? Go in and apologize quickly, and the princess may forgive you."
Prince Consort: "Bullshit, she was clearly wrong, and she still wants me to apologize?"
Zhou Ji shouted coldly: "How dare you! Don't be rude to the princess!"
Just as the two martial arts men were about to fight over a disagreement, Eunuch Wu stepped in to intervene.
At this time, a servant came out with two horses. The prince consort got on one and the servant also got on one.
Eunuch Wu grabbed the reins of the Prince Consort and asked in disbelief, "The city gates have been closed for a long time, where is the Prince Consort going?"
Prince Consort: "I will stay at the prefectural government office for one night. I will live in the guard post from tomorrow. Tell the princess that if you want something, it's not me. If you want it, I will throw those two things away. Otherwise, just share them like this!"
After saying this, the prince consort urged his horse to leave without any regrets.
At the prefectural government office, Chen Bozong and Yu Xiu had just gone to bed when the steward came to report that the prince consort was knocking at the door.
Yu Xiu was about to get up immediately.
Chen Bozong held her down and said, "I'll go, you don't have to move."
Yu Xiu really didn't have much strength, but he was in a good mood tonight. The prefect who was in his early thirties was more difficult to serve than the top scholar in his twenties, and he felt very depressed.
Seeing her husband looking at her while changing clothes, Yu Xiu shyly shrank into the quilt.
Chen Bozong turned around, and after a while, he went out as usual.
The farther he was from the inner residence and the closer he was to the side door, the more solemn Chen Bochong's expression became. His fourth brother came to see him at this time. Could something big have happened
Unexpectedly, when the two brothers met, the fourth brother just asked him impatiently to arrange a guest room and refused to say another word.
Chen Bochong couldn't ask anyone to pry open his fourth brother's mouth, so he had no choice but to ask the servant to take his fourth brother to the guest room first, while he stayed with Fugui to question him.
Fugui frowned: "I don't know either. It seems that he got mad at the princess for something. She even said that we have to live in the guard post from now on!"
Chen Bozong's face darkened.
I've heard of some wives running back to their parents' homes because they were angry with their husbands. His fourth brother is probably the first prince consort to do so!
"What happened to my fourth brother? Why do you look so unhappy?"
When Chen Bochong returned to his room, Yu Xiu immediately discovered the problem.
Chen Bozong took off his clothes first, turned off the lights, and then lay down to talk to her: "I don't know why my fourth brother got angry with the princess. Go to Ningyuan early tomorrow morning and ask the princess for clarification. Mother is not here, and you are the eldest sister-in-law. You should apologize for my fourth brother first. When I know the whole story, I will go and persuade him."
Yu Xiu sat up in shock: "He was fine when we met in the evening, how come..."
Chen Bozong: "There's no point in making random guesses. Go to sleep, or you'll be tired tomorrow."
The next morning, Chen Jingzong left before dawn, leaving Chen Bochong, who was planning to have a heart-to-heart talk with his brother, disappointed.
Yu Xiu also had a quick breakfast and went to Ningyuan.
The young eunuch sent her to Qifeng Palace and said to Chao Yun with a sigh, "Madam, you came too early. The princess had a quarrel with her husband last night and barely went to bed after midnight. She hasn't woken up yet."
Yu Xiu: "Why exactly?"
Chao Yun shook her head: "The servants dare not say anything about the master's affairs."
At this moment, Chaoyue came out and asked a eunuch to go to the Prince of Xiang's mansion to pass on a message to Yu Xiu, "Madam, the princess is not in the mood to entertain guests now, but she told you to go back without worry, saying that she and the prince consort just had a quarrel because of their different personalities, and it's nothing serious. You and the master just need to know about it, but don't alarm the master and the old lady, or she will be ashamed."
Yu Xiu was asked to leave Ning Garden just like that.
When Princess Xiang arrived, Huayang was already dressed neatly and sitting in the flower hall. On the table next to him were two gift boxes that Princess Xiang brought yesterday.
Princess Xiang looked at the princess quietly and found that although she was dressed in gorgeous clothes, she looked haggard, especially with a faint blue color in her eyes. Thinking of the rumors that were reported from outside early in the morning, she became more and more uneasy.
Huayang looked indifferent. After asking Princess Xiang to take a seat, he laughed at himself and said, "The prince and princess gave me a generous gift, but my words were useless and the prince consort refused to listen. In this case, I won't accept the gift without merit. Please take this gift back with you, Princess."
Princess Xiang pretended to know nothing and said in panic, "It's just a broken garden. It doesn't matter if the construction is delayed. What's wrong with the princess?"
Huayang lowered his eyes, looking angry.
Chao Yun spoke angrily for her master, expressing her dissatisfaction with her own son-in-law: "He is so bold that even the emperor has never said a harsh word to our princess! If the princess hadn't given face to the old man, she would have complained to the emperor long ago!"
Princess Xiang was shocked. This matter must not be reported to the capital!
She quickly acted as a peacemaker and blamed all the mistakes on herself and the King of Xiang.
Huayang listened for a while and said impatiently: "Forget it, it's already come to this, there's no point in saying more, Princess, take these two gifts and go back."
How could the Princess of Xiang dare to take it? The princess had a big quarrel with her husband just because of this gift. She was already angry enough. If she didn't even get any benefit from it, wouldn't it be a loss of both the wife and the army
She had to use all her persuasion to finally convince the princess to accept the gift, and only then did she return to the Prince of Xiang's Palace, exhausted both physically and mentally.
The Prince of Xiang just heard her story. Xiang Baoshan also sent people to the garrison, saying that Chen Jingzong started drinking alone when he arrived at the garrison. After drinking, he randomly checked the soldiers to see if they could recite the military discipline. If they answered correctly, he would give them ten copper coins, and if they answered incorrectly, he would beat them. He did it personally, as if he was venting his anger on the soldiers. As a result, the Prince did not dare to mention the matter of allocating people to build a garden for the Prince of Xiang, so he asked the prince to investigate whether there was any inside story.
Princess Xiang: "It seems to be true. Before I entered Ningyuan, I sent someone to inquire on that street. Last night, the prince consort did go to the prefectural government office in anger."
The King of Xiang slammed the table heavily and said, "This Chen Jingzong is really rebellious!"
Princess Xiang shuddered, lowered her head and dared not say a word.
The Prince of Xiang walked back and forth several times with his hands behind his back. He felt sorry for the two generous gifts he had given, was angry at Chen Jingzong for ruining his plan to build the garden, and hated himself for not having any way to make up for the loss.
In the final analysis, it was all his fault for underestimating Chen Jingzong. This brat, relying on his father being in the cabinet, dared not take the princess and the prince seriously!
(End of this chapter)