That night, when Zhu Ying returned to the Duke of Zhao's mansion, it was almost midnight. An unmarried daughter stayed at her fiancé's house so late, even if she brought enough guards. The Zhu family knew the character of Zhang Shou and his mother very well. At this moment, everyone in the family, from the wife to Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing and Jiu Niang, to Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Er, were waiting for her in Qing'an Hall.
So when Zhu Ying entered the room with a beaming face, facing such a big scene, she couldn't help but blurt out: "Grandma, Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, are you planning to hold a three-person trial?"
Zhu Er, who was secretly yawning, laughed out loud when he heard Zhu Ying's words. Then he remembered that everyone in the class was older than him - even if Zhu Ying was younger than him, her status in the family was much higher than his!
He quickly shut up and sat up straight. Although he didn't want to wait here at all, wouldn't it be better to do something in the room that the children of the family would like to see? But his grandmother had summoned him, and even his father and brothers were waiting here, let alone him? So he could only sit there like a clock, while trying his best to secretly wink at Zhu Ying, with an expression on his face that said, "You must be careful."
Of course, his tell-all expression could not be hidden from anyone present, and of course he did not intend to hide it. After all, letting people see the deep brotherly love between him and Zhu Ying would also help to make up for his stupid behavior last year.
As expected, the lady didn't even look at Zhu Er's weird face. She just smiled and calmly answered Zhu Ying's half-teasing, half-coquettish question: "We are the ones who spoiled you. You said weird things in Xinglong Tea House before, and now you come back so late and still talk about the three-court trial. You haven't even got married yet, but you're already someone else's!"
Before Zhu Ying could explain, she changed the subject and said, "We don't bother to ask you about what happened with you and A Shou. Anyway, you're going to get married soon, and it will be your mother-in-law's turn to take care of you in the future! So many people at home are waiting for you to come back. We want to ask you what happened today when you and A Shou rescued the scholar who fell into the water at the Yinding Bridge. Please tell us the whole story."
"Don't be impatient. You should know that the palace just received news that Liu Feng, the steward of the Qianqing Palace, was beaten to death by the order of the emperor."
This time, Zhu Ying was truly horrified. She was not horrified because of Liu Feng's death. In her opinion, this talkative guy who said those things to the Fourth Prince deserved to die. But she knew the Emperor's temper best. Although he was sometimes as impulsive and reckless as the Fourth Prince, and even Zhang Shou was behind him in his eccentricity, the Emperor never liked to kill people casually.
Especially the illegal killing of people, which was the last thing the emperor, who had always revered Taizu, wanted to do.
Zhu Ying was silent for a moment, and finally repeated the series of events after the rescue, including the Fourth Prince's big mouth, in detail. Although she didn't like to be pedantic, she had a very good memory and almost remembered every word.
The Madam and the others also listened carefully. Except for the Madam occasionally interrupting to ask the reaction of Magistrate Shen and Zou Ming and other three scholars, Zhu Jing, Jiu Niang and Zhu Tingfang remained silent. As for Zhu Er, he was only amazed at the Fourth Prince's mouth, how could he ask any questions? It was not until Zhu Ying finished speaking that the Madam sighed softly.