yes!
What could possibly make Cheng Xun take such a huge risk as to offend the Fourth Prince who has already been appointed as the Crown Prince
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi, thinking of the death of the Crown Prince and the eldest grandson, and the news Cheng Chi received that day, saying that the Fourth Prince also knew about the Crown Prince's illness... She hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Could the death of the Crown Prince and the eldest grandson be related to him?"
Cheng Chi said expressionlessly, "Even if the Crown Prince and the eldest grandson were killed by the Fourth Prince, what relationship do they have with Second Uncle? And the Fourth Prince is already the crown prince recognized by the Emperor, why is Second Uncle jumping out and saying six fingers?"
So why is that
Zhou Shaojin bit his lip and racked his brains.
Cheng Chi looked at him, his eyes immediately became gentle, his voice also became much more soothing, he said: "Don't bite your lips, be careful not to bite your lips! Most likely, the emperor was killed by the fourth prince. Before his death, the second uncle happened to be on duty in the palace, and encountered this incident. The emperor may have entrusted him with a message, asking him to help with something, and this matter is related to whether the fourth prince can inherit the throne safely and smoothly, but the second uncle still failed to get the job done and lost his life. So the second uncle died and the fourth prince ascended the throne. My eldest brother knew that the second uncle's death was strange but did not dare to verify it, let alone the imperial edict. After the fourth prince ascended the throne, my eldest brother entered the cabinet and became a prime minister, maybe it was related to this matter..."
Patricide
"No, no way?" Zhou Shaojin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing that she was terrified, Cheng Chi hugged her and patted her back gently to comfort her: "It's okay, it's okay. Even if he wants to kill his father, it's his business. If we guess right, then we just need to pay attention to the second uncle and keep him at home and don't let him enter the palace..."
Zhou Shaojin remembered something else.
She grabbed Cheng Chi's sleeve tightly and whispered, "Do you think the Cheng family's raid is related to this incident?"
Zhou Shaojin suddenly had a crazy idea. If what the emperor finally entrusted to Cheng Shao was the edict to depose the fourth prince and establish a new emperor, and this edict was never found, and Cheng Shao's coffin was quickly moved south for burial, the fourth prince suspected that the edict fell into the hands of the Cheng family... It seemed like they had matched each other in this life.
She told Cheng Chi her guess.
Cheng Chi touched her hair and said, "It shouldn't be the case. If Second Uncle died in the palace, his body must have been carefully checked when it was sent back. If Second Uncle had the imperial edict you mentioned, it would have been found. From the charges against the Cheng family, it can be seen that the emperor is trying to frame him. If something like this happens, the emperor will only try to hide it and will never let others see any clues. As long as they make sure that Second Uncle doesn't have the so-called imperial edict, the emperor won't make a big fuss about it."
Zhou Shaojin felt that Cheng Chi was right.
But is it enough to just ask my second uncle Cheng Shao not to go to the palace for those few days
She was still worried and asked, "What should we do next? Do we still need to investigate the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince?"
"Of course we have to check." Cheng Chi said, "Don't say that these are just our guesses. Even if they are true, it will be six or seven years later. Who can guarantee that it will not change at all? Instead of passively worrying here, it is better to find a way to take the initiative and see whether the Fourth Prince is the real Son of Heaven or a villain who steals other people's fortunes!"
Zhou Shaojin was a little scared and hesitated, "Do you want to fight the Fourth Prince?"
"I can't say I fought him." Cheng Chi said calmly, "I just want to see how the Fourth Prince got to the top."
He didn't believe that he could not defeat the Fourth Prince!
Cheng Chi didn't want Zhou Shaojin to worry, so he leaned over and kissed her forehead, smiling, "Okay, let's not talk about these things. Second uncle is alive and well, and we also know what will happen in the future. Second uncle will never lose his life in this life. You slept for a long time. I heard from the maid that you only had half a steamed bun and a bowl of white porridge for dinner? I haven't eaten yet! Get up and eat with me, and then we can rest early. The day after tomorrow is a holiday, do you want to go out for a walk with me?"
It's not even three months yet, and Zhou Shaojin is afraid that it will be bad for the child, so he said, "I'm too lazy to go out. If you don't think it's fun, you might as well ask your friends to go out for a walk. My Guanyin embroidery can be finished in the next two days, so I can just stay at home and finish the painting."
Cheng Chi said, "I grew up in the capital, where have I not been? I went out just to accompany you. If you don't want to go out, we can stay at home, you embroider and I practice calligraphy. Speaking of which, I haven't practiced calligraphy for two or three days!"
Zhou Shaojin agreed with a smile and had dinner with Cheng Chi. Then they cuddled together and talked about some family matters. Zhou Shaojin began to yawn.
Cheng Chi held her in his arms like a child, whispered in her ear, and coaxed her gently, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.
As he watched, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he remembered what Song Ge Lao had advised him: "… Zhang Hui is the Minister of Works. He can't always be in charge of the affairs of the River Governor's Office. He will have to return to Beijing sooner or later. Once the Yellow River begins to be dredged, the Censorate will definitely send people to supervise the river works. At that time, you can go there in the name of the Supervisory Censor. When the river works are completed and the river management is done, you can at least be promoted to the Censor-in-Chief, which is a fourth-rank official. Many people have never been able to overcome this hurdle in their lives, but they have overcome it smoothly just like this."
But if this happens, he will have to stay in Kaifeng and other places until May next year.
Cheng Chi gazed at Zhou Shaojin's gentle and relaxed face after sleeping, as well as his slightly childish face, and decided to give up this opportunity.
He is still young, and he may encounter such an opportunity again, but Shaojin is pregnant with his first child, and this opportunity will never come back once it is lost.
Cheng Chi doesn't want to regret it one day.
He thought again of what he had just said to Zhou Shaojin.
I have to find an opportunity to test my second uncle's attitude.
It would be best to tell Second Uncle about the Crown Prince’s illness and the Fourth Prince’s concern for him, and see what he says.
It would be great if we could find out something from my second uncle, but if we can't, I'm afraid we'll have to add more people to keep an eye on him.
Thinking of this, he lowered his head and kissed Zhou Shaojin hard.
This little girl has caused him such trouble!
Zhou Shaojin frowned, moaned, and snuggled into Cheng Chi's arms. Then he found a comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep again.
Cheng Chi laughed, touched Zhou Shaojin's face, lowered the curtain, and blocked out the bright light.
※
Because Zhou Shaojin was still young, there was no big celebration for Mrs. Guo's birthday on the ninth day of the ninth month. She only invited the people from Xinglin Hutong, Cheng Wei's family, and Cheng Zheng, Cheng Xiao, and Cheng Sheng's families to have a meal.
Cheng Jing, Cheng Xu and others only came in at lunch time to toast Mrs. Guo with a glass of wine, and then set up another table for the banquet outside. Mrs. Guo was accompanied by Yuan, Zhou Shaojin and other female relatives.
Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao didn't know about Zhou Shaojin's pregnancy yet. Seeing Zhou Shaojin sitting on a thickly cushioned armchair, moving very carefully, and calculating the time when Zhou Shaojin would marry into the Cheng family, they couldn't help but ask her if she had good news.
Zhou Shaojin nodded shyly.
Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao were both happy for her, guessing that she might still be pregnant. Without saying much among the relatives, they told her one by one what she should pay attention to.
Zhou Shaojin agreed to all of them.
Cheng Sheng stood aside and laughed.
Cheng Zheng knew at a glance that she had already received the news, and couldn't help but said angrily: "You little girl, you didn't even tell me about such a good thing. If I didn't come here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday today, I'm afraid I would miss it again."
Cheng Sheng smiled and said, "I only know this because my mother has been taking care of Fourth Aunt at Chaoyangmen these days. You can't blame me. I'm so busy that I don't even have time to sleep."
After the three sisters got married, things became more complicated and it was no longer possible for them to visit each other as often as before.
Everybody started laughing and chatting happily.
Min Jia sat silently aside, just watching them chatting with a smile, seeming a little absent-minded, with a hint of sadness between her brows.
Zhou Shaojin didn't care about this.
She and Min Jia just nodded in agreement when meeting their relatives.
During dinner, Yuan and Qiu helped Madam Guo to sit down at the table, and Cheng Sheng whispered to her, "You know Fang Xuan. I heard that the couple had a quarrel a few days ago and alarmed all the relatives. The second wife of the Fang family even took her back to her parents' home. If it weren't for the grandmother of the Min family who persuaded her again and again, Fang Xuan would have gone back with the second wife of the Fang family. For this matter, the Min family even took the eldest cousin's wife back to persuade her."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Who told you that? If Fang Xuan and her husband had a quarrel, the Min family and the Fang family should have covered it up. How did you know that the grandmother went back to her parents' home to persuade Fang Xuan?"
Cheng Sheng smiled and said, "My eldest cousin's wife definitely wouldn't tell me - I heard it from my eldest aunt."
Peng Zao's eldest sister married into the Fang family.
"Do you know what it is?" Zhou Shaojin asked curiously.
The Fang family was not very satisfied with this marriage at first. When the Min family made the initial engagement, the Fang family specially invited the Yuan family to attend the ceremony.
"Our eldest aunt didn't say anything." Cheng Sheng smiled, "From the tone of her voice, she seemed to be accusing the girl from the Fang family of being uneducated. I can't stare at her and ask her what it was specifically."
Zhou Shaojin didn't have a good impression of the Fang family, so he didn't bother to ask any more questions.
After everyone finished dinner, Zhou Shaojin stood up to see the guests off, but was stopped by Old Madam Guo, who asked Madam Lu to see the guests off instead, saying, "It's dark here, what if you bump into something? This is a special time for you, and your sister-in-law and nieces will not think you are being rude."
Mrs. Qiu smiled and said, "Yes, yes! Just stay in the room. I will see the guests off for you!"
Cheng Xiao couldn't help laughing and said, "Second Aunt, are you not going home today?"
After all, Qiu was also a guest.
Everyone burst into laughter and stood up to leave.
Zhou Shaojin still sent them to the gate of Tingxiangyuan before turning back.
September is the time when the golden osmanthus is fragrant. Big red lanterns are hung high along the way, and the fragrance is floating in the air. People walk among the lush flowers and trees, feeling cozy and comfortable.
Yuan paused slightly and looked towards the east.
The entire East Road was shrouded in darkness.
Such a big house, but only living on the west side... She couldn't help curling her lips and said to Min Jia with a smile: "Come to think of it, you have been married for almost half a year..."
※
Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Tomorrow’s update will still be at 12 noon.
※(To be continued)