Prince Zhennan was not very slow in arriving. He arrived earlier than the three masters of the Wei family. He entered the palace from the side door and went to the courtyard at the second gate to meet Wei An first.
They had not seen each other for a long time, but the Prince of Zhennan did not feel alienated from his niece Wei An. He stood up when he saw her and said, "I was training in the suburbs of Beijing before, and I had never heard of your injury. I only found out about it when I returned to Beijing the day before yesterday. I am really sorry for you."
The old princess was worried about Wei An until her death, and she repeatedly told him to take care of Wei An. But in reality, he relied on Wei An to take care of him more. If it weren't for Wei An's help, he could hardly imagine how he would have survived the several crises before.
Wei An shook his head and smiled unconsciously when he saw someone he was familiar with: "Uncle, you are too kind. In fact, I was not injured at all. I just pretended to be sick to confuse outsiders. It's good that you don't know. If you knew, you would be worried about me."
Prince Zhennan touched her head and said, "Before her grandmother passed away, the only thing she was worried about was you, besides Ajie. I was busy with official duties and had little time to care about you. After returning from Fujian, this seems to be the first time I have taken a close look at you..."
He sighed.
Wei An didn't think it was a big deal. After all, strictly speaking, the King of Zhennan was very good to her. She shook her head again: "I know that no matter what time or what happens, if I ask you for help, you will help me. This is enough."
The Prince of Zhennan said nothing, drank a sip of tea, and his tone suddenly became cold: "Is your injury this time really related to the Jiang family as the rumors outside say?"
He knew that the Jiang father and son were waiting outside, and he also knew that the Jiang father and son were in high positions and had great power. However, just as Wei An had thought before, he also felt that since the Jiang father and son came to apologize, they should be able to endure the waiting time, so he did not take them seriously.
Wei An nodded, but he did not show the same great hostility towards the Jiang family father and son as he did. He said lightly: "I was not sure before, but I will wait until Zou Qing comes out. Then there is nothing to say. I don't believe the nonsense that Zou Qing accepted bribes from others and therefore secretly acted without telling Jiang Songwen."
The Prince of Zhennan drank a sip of tea and uttered a sarcastic voice: "Unless you are extremely brave, which servant would have the guts to do such a big thing without telling his master? Besides, even if Zou Qing really did it secretly, does he have the ability to do it? Those who work for him are not fools. They would not do it for him without Jiang Songwen's consent!"
Having said this, Prince Zhennan stopped talking again, looked at Wei An in front of him, and paused for a while without speaking.
Everyone knows this truth, but Emperor Longqing just doesn't take it seriously. He still ignores the matter and doesn't take it seriously at all. This is something that makes people think deeply and worry.
In the final analysis, since the emperor had not spoken in this matter, it could not be blamed on Jiang Songwen. Those who were interested would inevitably make more speculations based on Emperor Longqing's intentions, thinking that Wei An had lost the emperor's will and brought more trouble.
He frowned, and finally heaved a sigh of relief: "Since Jinyiwei and Shuntianfu can only produce Zou Qing's confession and those people's confessions, which shows that the matter has nothing to do with Jiang Songwen, then this time, we have no choice but to let it go."
Wei An knew that he was advising him to hold back his anger this time, so he agreed softly: "Don't worry, uncle. I know what you mean. I won't quarrel with them now, or make things difficult for them. Jiang Zining was originally a favorite of His Majesty, and he probably knows His Majesty's thoughts best. This time, he just felt that His Majesty's attitude towards this matter was too much to think about, so he wanted to come here to show His Majesty. In the final analysis, he is not here to apologize to me, but to His Majesty, to let His Majesty see how docile and obedient he is. It would be best if His Majesty could also see our family's condescending attitude."
Knowing that she could see everything, the Prince of Zhennan was relieved. He glanced at her and nodded: "It's the best that you know. His Majesty's health is getting worse. I heard that he can hardly get out of bed these days. When he is sick, his spirit is bad, and his mood will definitely get worse. Except for Concubine Lin Shu, other concubines can't get close to him now."
Wei An had already heard all of this. Marquis Ping'an told the news to his wife, who then told Old Madam Wei, and naturally it reached her ears.
She knew what the Emperor Longqing was thinking now. He simply wanted Prince Linjiang to come to the capital as soon as possible to settle the matter, but he was also afraid that Prince Linjiang would be difficult to control if he was really praised. Therefore, he was angry at those who impeached Prince Linjiang for exceeding the rules, but he was also afraid that Prince Linjiang had really exceeded the rules.
Therefore, he was much more harsh on Shen Chen than before.
She hummed, and seeing that the time was almost up, she reminded the Prince of Zhennan: "Uncle, the time is almost up. Although we want them to wait, we can't give them a reason to get angry... I'll have to trouble you this time."
Among the father and son of the Jiang family, Jiang Songwen should not be so difficult to deal with - Shen Chen had already inquired about it and knew that Jiang Songwen had always relied on Jiang Zining to have smooth sailing. As for himself, he could not be said to be a figurehead in the Ministry of Works. He had talent, but when it came to dealing with human relations, he seemed to be a little lacking in level.
It is not an easy task to deal with Jiang Zining.
The Prince of Zhennan waved his hand, indicating that he knew: "No matter how capable he is, he can't find fault with me. I'll just be careful. Don't worry, they should be here soon."
After giving Wei An instructions, he put his hands behind his back and hurried to the flower hall in front.
Jiang Songwen and Jiang Zining had already had their tea refilled for the second time. They were so angry waiting that they couldn't help but laugh sarcastically when they saw him coming: "Your Highness is really busy. I heard that you had come a long time ago, but you only came out at this time... It's really hard for you. Maybe you think we are annoying, so you deliberately leave us alone?"
When he said this, the Prince of Zhennan did not respond at all. He smiled and shook his head, then calmly bowed to Jiang Zining and said, "What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Lord Jiang, you are really serious. I just came back from the camp outside the capital, and I still don't know what happened. I have to go back and ask my niece what happened. That's why I was delayed. Please forgive me." (To be continued)