Zhou Maochu was shocked at the fact that he was so clear about what he had done, but later he felt that Wei Junhang's words were like sharp knives piercing his heart.
He wanted to say something to defend himself, but he found that at this moment, no amount of excuses seemed so feeble.
Yes, he didn't dare, he didn't even have the courage to admit to the Zhenbei Hou Mansion that Murong Tao's leg was destroyed by himself.
Wei Junhang's face was gloomy, and he looked at him with undisguised anger.
He and Zhou Mao can be regarded as the first group of ministers to follow Emperor Yuanyou. Although they have no personal relationship, they have cooperated a lot in official affairs. He once admired each other's talent and personality, but now...
"You even dared to use the child in the princess's belly as a bait for your own selfishness, and acted so recklessly. Are you too confident in your own abilities, or I, Wei Junhang, are just an idiot in your eyes, and you can play around and applaud me?" above!"
Seeing that he even found out the secret recipe for childbirth, Zhou Mao no longer even had the desire to defend himself. Only now did he finally know that the strategy he thought would be foolproof had actually been seen through long ago.
"Since Grandpa Guo knows everything, why didn't you report me directly to His Majesty, wouldn't it be more venting?" He murmured after a long time.
Wei Junhang calmed down the anger in his heart, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it down.
"Inform you?" He smiled half-smile.
"After reporting on you, let His Majesty deal with your family severely, and then let the dog never forget you?"
The eldest son already felt guilty towards Princess Naping, if he learned that the Zhou Mansion was punished because of him, I'm afraid his guilt would be even deeper, and it would be even more difficult to get out of those past entanglements in this life.
Zhou Mao was stunned, and then heard the other party slowly say: "I will not report you, you can believe that if I intend to deal with you now, you will have no power to fight back. Even, I only need to lose the legs of Little General Murong If you tell Zhenbeihou the truth, the Houfu will naturally take action."
"Do you think that with you alone, you can safely deal with the revenge of the Zhenbeihou Mansion?"
Zhou Mao's face turned paler, and he looked at him with vigilance.
"What do you want?" Zhou Mao asked hoarsely.
"What do I want? Mr. Zhou, I should be the one to ask this question. What do you really want? Is it possible that until now, you are still thinking that nothing happened, and you are still yours in peace?" Is Honglusi the honorable minister?"
"Or, do you think that everything you do is really surreptitious? Or in your eyes, the Zhenbei Hou Mansion is full of reckless men who only know how to fight and kill, without any thought or reason?" The power of judgment?"
Zhou Mao curled the corner of his mouth bitterly.
If it was before today, he might be quite confident in his plans, but now, all his confidence has been shattered by him, how dare he think that the things he arranged are perfect.
"I understand. I will see His Majesty tomorrow." He choked his throat and said in a low voice, then he took the wine on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
As for the reason for meeting His Majesty, he did not say, and Wei Junhang did not ask further.
After drinking several glasses of wine in a row, Zhou Mao's face showed a bit of drunkenness, and he said with a smile and tears: "Master, I am not as good as you..."
Wei Junhang looked at him silently, and didn't say anything more.
Zhou Mao didn't care, and simply took the jug and poured himself a drink, but tremblingly said a lot of words, which had been kept in his heart, words that even his closest wife had never said.
Wei Junhang didn't interrupt him, just listened to him talk about how it was difficult to live in the mansion when he was a child, and when his talent gradually became apparent, he was suppressed by his aunt, and even his biological father turned a blind eye to him.
Xu was drunk, and he just said this, incoherently, as if the unwillingness accumulated for many years had finally found a place to vent.
"... When Ah Wan was born, I finally straightened my back completely and proudly. No matter whether it is the first assistant or the queen, no one can tell me what to do with me. I swear, I will spoil her like a treasure in this life, and treat her with the best Give her everything."
"I know that she likes your son, and your son is indeed a promising..." At this point, his face became a little more sad, he casually wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and said seriously Looking at Wei Junhang, he asked word by word, "My lord, I just want to know why you don't agree? My Awan is pure, kind and gentle, and is also proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, why don't you allow it?"
Finally, he asked the words that had been buried in his heart for many years.
He didn't understand why his daughter, who was beautiful and demure, gentle and kind, filial to her parents, and loving to her elder brother, even felt pity for the servants in the mansion, why she couldn't get into the eyes of his Duke of England! Why do you have to be so disgusted by others!
Wei Junhang didn't expect him to ask such a question, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer it.
However, when he looked at Zhou Mao's persistent eyes, he finally replied: "Ling Qianjin is indeed a good girl, but, marriage has always been a matter of two surnames, and it is related to two races. Cheng Lin is the government of our country. The son, carrying the lifelong hope of my late father, his wife will be the wife of our Wei clan, and the responsibility on her shoulders will never be lighter than him."
"Master Zhou, speaking from the heart, do you think that Ling Qianjin can bear the responsibility of being a clan's wife?"
Zhou Mao looked at him for a long time speechless.
I don't know how long it took before he lowered his head, and after a while, he smiled softly.
"So it's not bad, but it's not suitable..."
He closed his eyes bitterly, and he didn't know how long it took before he said: "I will leave the capital, and I will never come back again in this life, my little girl... even if my little girl is wrong in every way, I ask the Duke of the State to see it for the sake of His Royal Highness Prince Ping. …”
Wei Juanhang shook his head and interrupted him: "Lord Zhou, you are overthinking. Ling Qianjin already has the best amulet in the world. As long as she doesn't seek her own death, no one dares to touch her. What else do you have to worry about?" ?”
Zhou Mao took a breath, and then said like a sigh: "Yes, the best amulet in the world... I have nothing to worry about!"
He laughed for a while, and drank the wine in the glass again. Then, he took a deep look at Wei Junhang, got up and pushed the door away without another word.
Walking to the street, a gust of cool wind blew in front of him, blowing away the smell of alcohol on his body, and it also made him sober up who was a bit dazed.
He stared blankly at the pedestrians hurrying home on the street, and saw not far away a rough man hugged a four or five-year-old girl in a double bun. , was talking to him affectionately, the man's face was full of a loving smile.
He just watched the big and small figures walk past him, then went further and further away, and finally disappeared completely before his eyes.
"My lord, it's time to go back home!" Seeing that he was standing still, the attendant finally couldn't help but stepped forward and reminded him worriedly.
He lowered his eyes, for a moment, and whispered: "Go back!"
Wei Junhang stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, watching Zhou Mao downstairs getting into the sedan chair, his eyes were full of complicated thoughts.
"Father..." Suddenly, the eldest son Wei Chenglin's voice sounded behind him, and he didn't turn his head, he just asked lightly, "Did you hear everything?"
"I heard it." Wei Chenglin couldn't tell what it was like, he was a little dazed, a little disappointed, and also a little unexplainably sad.
"The child is unfilial, and the father is worried!" He didn't know what to say, and lowered his eyes and said in a low voice.
Wei Junhang finally turned around, looked at the face in front of him that was more and more resembling his deceased father, patted him on the shoulder for a long while, and then sighed: "It's my father's fault whether to raise him or not. It's also the reason why father has neglected you all these years, how can it be all your fault!"
Hearing what he said, Wei Chenglin felt even more uncomfortable.
"Father, I'm sorry, the child was wayward back then. The child was ashamed of his grandfather's many years of teaching, his parents, his grandmother, and even more ashamed of the Jin Ling guards who died innocently because of his own selfishness..." He said again Not going down, there were tears in his eyes unknowingly.
Wei Junhang was a little surprised, this was the first time in so many years that the eldest son took the initiative to admit that he was ashamed of those four guards. Perhaps he has long realized his mistake, but he has been unable to face it calmly.
Now that he said this, it meant that he had to face his past again from now on.
Wei Chenglin knelt down suddenly, and regardless of his stop, he kowtowed to him a few times, wiped away the tears from his eyes, looked into his eyes and said seriously: "Anyway, the boy broke his promise back then, there is indeed something wrong with him." I owed A Wan, Master Zhou held grudges against me because of this, so it doesn't mean that I am innocent."
"My child has already passed the age of weak crown, and he is the heir of a family. Logically, he should have initiated the responsibility of inheriting the family. He also knows that his grandmother and mother are concerned about his marriage day and night. But now, his heart is full of guilt towards Princess Ping. It would be unfair to her to marry another woman like this. Therefore, I dared to ask my father to give the child another three years, and only after the child has completely forgotten the past, the marriage will take place."
Wei Junhang looked at him deeply, but did not respond for a long time. Wei Chenglin couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and felt uneasy. He was afraid that he would misunderstand that he was still obsessed with Princess Ping. He was about to say something to explain, but Wei Junhang had already bent over. He got down and helped him up himself.
"Father promises you!"
The five succinct words made his heart settle down instantly, his throat choked up, and his eye sockets turned red again.
"Okay, I'm taller than my father, why are I still crying like I was when I was a child." Wei Junhang patted him on the shoulder pretending to be relaxed.
Wei Chenglin turned his face away and rubbed his eyes, and said in a low voice, "When I was a child, I couldn't stop crying. My grandmother also said that I rarely cry when I urinate."
"Before you came to your grandfather, you were even more clingy to your mother than Brother Xiang is now. You would cry if you didn't see your mother for a while. No one can coax you." Wei Junhang said with a smile.
Is it? Wei Chenglin's eyes were full of doubts, and it could be seen that he was serious, so he was also dubious.
Wei Junhang smiled softly, and walked out the door with his hands behind his back, ready to go back home.
Wei Chenglin hurriedly followed, and subconsciously reached out to support him when he was going down the stairs.
Wei Junhang only glanced at him, but didn't say anything.
The next day, Emperor Yuanyou suddenly decreed that Zhou Mao, Qing of Honglu Temple, be demoted to be the eighth-rank magistrate of Kengshan County, West Yancheng, and he left Beijing to take up his post on the same day.
From a fourth-rank official of the imperial court to an eighth-rank county magistrate, this is the first person since the founding of the country.
When the decree came out, the courtiers were all shocked, discussing in private, what kind of big mistake this man, who has always been aware of the current affairs and escaped such serious crimes as treason, has made such a big mistake, which made His Majesty Longyan furious, directly Kicked him out of the capital, and then kicked him to Kengshan County, where even the candidates for Xinke Jinshi didn't want to go.
Although with the efforts of Wei Chenglin, Xiyan's former guard, Xiyan's banditry was wiped out, but that place has been in dilapidated condition for many years, and it can be said that it is a waste of time.
And that Kengshan County is the place that suffers the most from the banditry in the whole of Xiyan, and now it is the poorest place. To be a county magistrate there is about the same as a polished commander.
Today, it has already become a place of "sorrow for ghosts" in the eyes of officials.
At this time, Zhou Mao bowed respectfully to the ground to receive the decree, with a hoarse voice: "Minister, thank you for the decree!"
After saying the last word, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
From the beginning of the eighth rank to the end of the eighth rank, it took half a lifetime to go around, and finally returned to the starting point.
complain? hate it? But who can he blame
When the news reached Prince Ping's Mansion, Zhou Guanning's face turned pale instantly, and he said in a trembling voice, "Why? Why did this happen? Daddy, how could he, how could..."
King Ping was also puzzled, his father-in-law has always been deeply trusted by his father, even when the Zhou family was involved in a conspiracy that day, his father never doubted him, why now he treats him...
Seeing Zhou Wanning's worry about Zhong Zhong, he could only temporarily put aside his suspicions, and persuaded softly: "Don't worry, my father-in-law has always been very thoughtful, I think there must be some reason for coming this time."
Zhou Guanning wiped away her tears, but felt very bitter in her heart.
What she was most afraid of was her father's extreme ideas, especially when he said to herself that day, "I can do it for myself".
Now that she is demoted and transferred, she is afraid that it is not His Majesty's intention, but her father's initiative to do it!
Seeing her crying, King Ping felt distressed for a moment, and was about to comfort her, when suddenly a maid came in and reported: "Lord Zhou is here and wants to see His Highness."
Ping Wang's heart relaxed: "Father-in-law came at the right time, just in time to ask him."
Zhou Guanning twisted her heart tightly, subconsciously pulled up the veil, her face was pale, and she hesitated to speak.
She really wanted to follow King Ping to meet her father, but she just couldn't move her legs.
She was afraid of seeing that kind of pain and disappointment on her father's face again, and even more afraid of hearing him say such heartless words again.
"Won't the concubine come with me to see my father-in-law?" Seeing her sitting motionless, King Ping stopped a few steps away and turned around to ask in confusion.
"No, I, I won't go, you, you go, don't keep Daddy waiting for a long time." Zhou Guanning forced a smile and stammered.
King Ping didn't understand her reaction, but he didn't feel comfortable asking, so he just said "I'll go and come back" and left.
When I arrived at the main hall, I saw Zhou Maoduan sitting on the chair with a calm expression, as if he didn't care about his being demoted this time.
He paused slightly, then quickly walked up to meet him: "My lord father-in-law!"
"Your Highness!" Zhou Mao stood up.
Weng and son-in-law sat down with each other, and King Ping wanted to ask him about his appointment as magistrate of Kengshan County, but when he met his deep and complicated eyes, those words couldn't be asked for some reason.
Zhou Mao stared at him fixedly for a long time, feeling bitter in his heart.
In the final analysis, of all things, only this son-in-law is the most innocent, and the daughter has failed him after all.
He stood up abruptly, and made a deep bow to King Ping, who was so frightened that King Ping jumped up from his chair and hurriedly avoided it.
"Father-in-law, what are you doing?! Please get up quickly! My son-in-law can't afford it!" He frantically tried to help him, but Zhou Mao insisted on giving him a big gift.
"Your Majesty is leaving here, and there is no return date. My little girl, I beg Your Highness. If she makes any mistakes in the future, Your Highness, please take care of me, don't completely despise her, and at least give her a place to live."
"The minister must form a straw title ring to repay His Highness's great kindness!"
After finishing speaking, he once again bowed respectfully to King Ping, so panicked that King Ping hurriedly helped him up, but he never thought that the other party was determined to do it. He couldn't help him, and watched him salute himself again .
"Father-in-law, what you said is really serious. Guanning is my wife and my concubine. If I don't respect and love her enough, how can I despise her?" Prince Ping sighed, but felt a little uneasy.
What is 'there is no return date'? Could it be that this trip is dangerous, even life-threatening
In fact, he also asked this question.
Zhou Mao took a breath, and then calmly said: "Kengshan County is waiting to be rejuvenated, and it will not be effective in a short period of time. I am afraid it will take ten or eight years. I am not confused. Birth, old age, sickness and death are human nature. How can you be sure?"
Hearing his explanation, King Ping finally understood, and then he said with a smile: "My father-in-law is in his prime, and he looks like he has a long life. It is indeed too early to worry about this."
Zhou Mao smiled and did not explain further.
"I still have things to deal with, so I won't bother Your Highness."
Seeing that he was about to leave, King Ping hurriedly tried to persuade him to stay: "Father-in-law, won't you go see Guanning? She just learned that you are leaving Beijing, but she is very worried."
Zhou Mao lowered his eyes and said slowly after a while: "It's gone..."
After speaking, he turned around and strode away.
King Ping frowned, staring blankly at his leaving back.
What's the matter, father-in-law? What the hell happened
He is not a fool, he will not feel Zhou Mao's strangeness, how can a person who loves his daughter like that know that his daughter is worried about his affairs, but he will not go to see her!
Zhou Guanning, who had been fidgeting in the room waiting for him, saw him come back, looked behind him, but did not see Zhou Mao's figure, her eyes darkened.
Is dad still annoyed by her? When he arrived at the palace, he didn't even want to see her.
"Father-in-law... still has some urgent matters, so he can't stay for long. But before he left, he asked me to take good care of you." King Ping scratched his ears and tried to explain.
Zhou Guanning looked lonely, and sat back slowly, bowing her head without saying a word.
No matter how anxious he is, he won't even have time to meet him, his father must still be annoyed at himself.
A sense of loss suddenly appeared in her heart, her father refused to see her, what about her mother? What about the two brothers? Are you annoyed yourself too
Was she really wrong
"Princess..." Prince Ping hesitated for a long time, and finally he plucked up the courage to sit beside her, wanting to hold her hand to comfort her, but he was afraid of making her unhappy, so after several hesitation, he sat obediently.
Zhou Guanning turned her head and looked at him blankly.
The person in front of her was her husband. She didn't like it much, but she didn't hate it either. After all, no one can really hate a person who is really good to him.
Unfortunately, he showed up too late.
Seeing that she was just looking at him quietly, and her expression was not as indifferent as before, King Ping was overjoyed, and couldn't help but secretly sat closer to her.
"Actually, you don't have to worry. My father-in-law must have already made up his mind. The emperor has praised his talents many times, and it must be the same, so he will be allowed to go to Xiyan." He cleared his throat and persuaded him more gently.
"Why did you marry me back then? Could it be because you saved me once?" Zhou Wanning asked suddenly.
King Ping was stunned, as if he didn't expect her to ask such a question, but he was a little excited, this was the first time she asked about the relationship between the two of them since they were married.
He scratched his ears again, and after a while he whispered: "No, it's not because of that. If I don't like it, how could I marry him back just because I saved him."
Seeing that she didn't seem to believe her, he quickly continued: "Actually, actually, before that time, I, I have already met you."
Jun blushed slightly, but he still mustered up his courage and said: "The empress Qianqiu was not the current empress, but the former empress Zhou. You, you entered the palace to congratulate me, I, I was in Fengkun Palace Zeng Yuan I've seen you from afar."
His voice became lower and lower, until it was like a whisper in the end, but Zhou Guanning could still hear him clearly.
She was stunned, and went into the palace to congratulate her aunt Qianqiu? That must have been a few years ago, how old was she then
Looking at his slightly red ears, for some reason, her heart softened, and she was about to say a few words when she heard Concubine Kong's words come in.
"Your Highness is at my sister's place..."
Her face sank all of a sudden, she got up indifferently and entered the room.
King Ping has already sensed her sudden softening attitude. Seeing that the husband and wife can take this opportunity to mend their relationship, he never expected that things will come to an end but they will fall short.
Looking at Concubine Kong, who was dressed up brilliantly as she stepped in, a trace of disgust quickly flashed across her face.
This woman is really abominable! Apart from using the mother concubine to suppress me from time to time, what else is there
Dignified and gentle? Generous and decent? What a joke!
***
However, it is said that the eldest princess is discussing with Shen Xinyan about the girl they are in love with, and plans to choose the best one among them and send someone to marry her as the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law.
It just so happened that Wei Junhang came in at this time, and the two hurriedly called him forward again, intending to ask for his opinion.
When Wei Junhang heard this, the smile on his face gradually subsided, and after a while, he sighed and said, "Chenglin's marriage should be postponed for a few more years!"