Maybe it was because her husband, Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing, was not there; maybe it was because her mother-in-law, the Lady Dowager, was very humble and spoke in a soft tone; maybe it was because her daughter Zhu Ying acted like a spoiled child and begged her to stay; maybe it was because the mother-in-law was so impressed with her son-in-law that the more she looked at him, the happier she was... All in all, Jiu Niang finally agreed to stay reluctantly, but still insisted on "staying only for two nights."
After Zhu Ying had whispered to the lady for a while, she was overjoyed and helped her mother back to dress up. She also invited Mrs. Wu to go with her. The lady then asked Zhang Shou about what he had seen and heard that day.
Zhang Shou spoke very frankly about his meeting with Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan in Zhigong Tower, and later meeting with the Minister of War Lu Wan. He thought that the lady would ask about the whole story in connection with his trip to Lu's Mansion with Zhu Ying last night, but she just smiled and asked a completely unrelated question.
"Ah Shou, do you know how Yingying was able to catch you at the gate of the Imperial Household Department?"
Zhang Shou had been following Zhu Ying all the way, and later he had to deal with Jiu Niang, who had a stronger personality than Zhu Ying. He was suddenly reminded by the lady and realized the problem. He frowned and asked, "It's really strange."
"That's because others mistook you for the second prince who is famous for his outstanding appearance in the palace, and the news spread to all the nearby government offices! You know, the outer government office of the Imperial Household Department is a place that people avoid as much as possible. You actually walked in so carelessly, it's hard for others not to misunderstand you! When Yingying told me secretly just now, I was shocked!"
After she finished her scolding, seeing that Zhang Shou was somewhat embarrassed, the lady shook her head and laughed, "Yingying went to your house because her mother came back and didn't see you. She heard that the Shuntian government office was trying a case, so she thought you might have gone there. As a result, she went to Zhigong Tower and happened to hear that you had met Mr. Chu, Mr. Qi and Minister Lu there, so she hurried all the way to find you."
"She asked everyone she met along the way if they had seen a very handsome young man. Later, when she heard that the second prince had entered the outer court of the Imperial Household Department, she knew she was wrong. She had been to the palace these past two days and knew that the first and second princes had a quarrel and were both under house arrest. It was impossible for them to be released. It might be you who went to the outer court of the Imperial Household Department to look for Chu Kuan. In the end, she really guessed it right!"
Zhang Shou didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, but what the lady said next surprised him even more.
"Our dynasty is not like the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties. Emperor Taizu said that the princes were crowned as soon as they were born. Why? We don't even know if they are elite talents or good-for-nothings! They have to grow up to eighteen years old first to see if they are dragons, phoenixes, or mice! On the contrary, princesses are crowned as soon as they are born, and they are more delicate than princes. In fact, your marriage was just a verbal promise, and the marriage was not decided."
Seeing Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, the lady said sincerely: "That is to say, maybe Concubine Yu also likes you and wants to recruit you to be the consort of Princess Yongping. Of course, this is because you are not only talented, but also handsome. People judge people by their appearance, and often people with plain appearance have to work a thousand times harder to prove their talent."
Zhang Shou laughed in silence, not resenting the Madam's frankness. However, he did not take the so-called son-in-law theory seriously, and said frankly: "I think the concern and inquiry of Concubine Yu before was because of my mother, and she definitely did not mean what you said. As for Princess Yongping, in my opinion, she is too arrogant and does not look down on me."