If this were true, Young Master Xia Jiu himself would find it extremely ridiculous.
But he was too stubborn to speak, as if only by doing so would he make people feel that his mother wasn't that wrong.
His mother didn't do such a big fault, so it seems that he, as a son, wouldn't be so embarrassed. Yes, with so much shame and embarrassment, the person he really resented in his heart might not be his sister Xia Bihe, but more likely his own mother who put him in this situation. However, he couldn't say anything to her, and couldn't vent his resentment in front of her. In fact, he didn't want to see her at all now. If possible, it would be better if there was no relationship between them at all.
But these are all delusions. He crawled out of her belly, and this is a fact that can never be changed.
"Brother Feng, stay. Everyone else can go back first." Censor Xia waved his hand.
The people kneeling on the ground looked at each other. Xia Bihe, who was still standing next to the desk, squatted down without hesitation this time, "Granddaughter is leaving." Compared with before, she was cold and emotionless at this moment.
Censor Xia glanced at her and his eyes swept over Young Master Xia Jiu. He sighed slightly in his heart. Some things cannot be compensated by making amends or apologies. What's more, the person who did the wrong thing didn't dare to say a word, so the situation would naturally get worse.
"Go ahead." At Xiadu Yushi's age, how could he not know that nothing can be forced? He could force his grandson to apologize, but he couldn't force his granddaughter to accept it.
Xia Bihe left decisively. She used to be cowardly, with only despair in her life. She could not see any light or color, and she did not know how to resist. But that did not mean she had no resentment in her heart. She just knew that resentment was useless, so she hid it somewhere. Now, that resentment was emerging little by little.
Xia Bihe wanted to stop hating him. It was all over. The culprit had been punished. She didn't want to hate him. That would only make her look ugly and embarrassed. But she couldn't control herself, especially when her good brother still had a "nothing wrong" look on his face. She needed to stay away from him. If she couldn't see him anymore, she probably wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.
Xia Bihe quickly returned to her yard, ignored the maid, entered the room, closed the door, and curled herself up. There was no one else around, so she didn't need to try hard to change herself. She maintained what she thought was the safest posture.
It was unknown how long it was before Xia Bihe relaxed a little and leaned back, "If Sister Xuan encountered something like this, what would she do?" She would surely handle it well, and not be like her, not having the courage to let others know the resentment in her heart.
In the study, "Feng'er, your fifth sister's mother was killed by your mother, did you know that? After all, I was partial to my own interests. For the sake of the Xia family's reputation and for the sake of you two siblings, I did not hand her over to the Kaiping Yin for investigation. You should not only apologize to your fifth sister, but also make amends to her on behalf of your mother." Censor Xia still had that gentle tone.
Young Master Xia Jiu stared at Xia Du Yushi with eyes as sharp as Tongling's. "Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could this be? I don't believe it, I don't believe it..."
"Go to the ancestral hall, kneel before our ancestors, and reflect on yourself. I don't want to say anything else." Xia Du Yushi picked up the teacup, paused, and was about to put it back. "I agreed to her entering the Xia family, so I am also wrong in this matter. I have already apologized to our ancestors. Brother Feng, remember to kowtow twice for your grandfather."
Young Master Xia Jiu knelt there in a daze, perhaps he had already accepted this fact, as if he had lost his soul.
"When you figure it out, you can come out on your own. Someone, take the Ninth Young Master to the ancestral hall."
The servant guarding outside came in and helped Young Master Xia Jiu up. The young master did not resist but stood up and followed the servant out like a puppet.
When Young Master Xia Jiu entered the ancestral hall, everyone else thought that the patriarch of their family was furious, and they all shrank back cautiously. Even if they still had a grudge against Xia Bihe, they didn't dare to show it.
Xiaocao knew nothing about the situation at the Xia family. After returning home, she took the set of ruby jewelry and asked her mother what would be the most appropriate dowry gift for Zhen Muyao. If she gave him a whole set, it would be a bit too much. That should be the share that should be given to the elders to whom Zhen Muyao was closer.
Han had no objection to giving away the whole set. She was rich, and as long as her daughter was happy, she could afford it. But it was not a question of whether she could afford it or not. Han picked out two ruby bracelets and said, "That's about it. No need to choose another one. If you think it's not good to take apart the whole set, you can give the rest to her later."
As for gifts, there are many kinds of gifts coming and going. A set of twelve head ornaments is nothing compared to a set of more than twenty or thirty pieces. If you take them apart, you can give two pieces at a time, and that's only six times.
Xiaocao doesn't quite understand these things, but it's always right to listen to her mother's advice.
The wedding date is on the tenth day of April, which is just a few days away. However, things in the court have not been peaceful recently.
Prince Dun took action against the Jiangbei Salt Administration. He tried his best to make up for the embezzled money, but it was not enough. After all, he spent a lot of money. He had to ask other people for help. However, those who were closely related to him were not rich people. Their family assets were completely emptied. Maybe he could make up for it, but after that, the whole family, young and old, would be left with nothing.
Therefore, if you want to get over something, there are two ways: one is to borrow; the other is to get help.
As for the first method, you have to pay back the money after borrowing it, and you may even have to pay interest. However, there are not many places that can lend out so much money without causing extra trouble after borrowing it.
Prince Dun chose the second option without hesitation. Don't say it's hard to get helpers, but it also depends on who they are. If they are simply after money, those wealthy businessmen are undoubtedly the best choice. Just marry their daughter. Although it may not sound good in terms of reputation, you can get both money and beauty. If the man still complains, it would be too inappropriate.
Perhaps a wealthy businessman had been planning this for a long time, and when he got such an opportunity, he handled it very smoothly. He went to the door, established connections, and "succeeded" in three days. To be honest, even if it was selling something, it might not be that fast.
He is totally devoted to the guy and is very happy about it, but I don't know how the girl feels.
The one who is most aggrieved and angry is probably Princess Tun. She is just a merchant's daughter and doesn't even have the position of a concubine. But she has done a favor to Prince Tun, so she has to serve him well, at least in the short term.
The other brothers of Prince Dun were not exposed, but they could not do nothing. First of all, they tried every means to inquire from Kaiping Guards to see how much was on the "account book". However, no matter what they did, Kaiping Guards refused to give in, which made the princes furious.
As for the people of Kaipingwei, they were just dumb and could not understand anything. They were not involved in the matter at all. They had never seen the account books. How could they be shown the books? The people of Kaipingwei were also very resentful.
There was no other way, so they just followed the Tun King's orders, even though they knew very well that they would have more, not less, than the Tun King. Compared with the Tun King, their current helpers were much more powerful, so they would not fall to the point where the Tun King "sold himself".
Prince Dun clearly gained some benefits, but in the end he was almost so angry that he vomited blood.
Another major issue is probably the issue of the commander-in-chief of the northern border.
Starting from the grandfather of the current King of Dingbei, Mu Bei, the commander of the Northern Frontier has always been a member of the Mu family.
The title of King Dingbei originally came from the Dingbei Army, but over time, people who were not aware of the situation thought that it was because of the existence of King Dingbei that the garrison in the northern border was called the Dingbei Army.
Even if the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion has not had any selfish motives for decades, however, a few decades are enough for the people of the Northern Frontier to only know the King of Dingbei and not the Emperor Qi Chao. In such a situation, when Mu Bei is seriously injured and there is no other member of the Mu family to take over, it will be difficult for anyone else to take over the Dingbei Army.
However, the difficulty in taking over does not mean that they do not want it. For any military general, especially the few governors who are now staying in the imperial city, this is a great opportunity. Since they cannot produce a King of Dingbei, why can't they produce a second one? Although it is more likely to include the northern border in the scope of rotation defense, how can they be willing not to give it a try
You know, even when the country was founded, there were no kings of different surnames. However, this also indirectly illustrates the importance of the Northern Frontier. For such an important place, it is actually unwise to frequently change the head coach.
Everyone wants to swallow such a piece of fat meat, and those who are ambitious for the throne don't want to let it go. They fight openly and secretly and want to help people from their own faction to ascend to the throne.
Therefore, it was really quite chaotic, with people quarreling with each other.
Of course, there are also people who want to follow the path of King Dingbei. He guards the northern border and knows the situation in the northern border best. As for the candidate for the successor commander, perhaps he can influence the emperor's decision.
Perhaps the old empress dowager had anticipated this situation from the very beginning, so she still keeps the door closed to visitors on the pretext that Prince Dingbei is seriously injured and recuperating. The Prince Dingbei's Mansion is still like an iron barrel with nowhere to get in.
Most of the people who escorted Mu Bei back were ordinary soldiers and his personal guards. The only general was also his deputy general. He also had considerable influence in the Dingbei Army, so he would definitely return to Northern Frontier.
The deputy general also mentioned this to Mu Bei, but Mu Bei did not comment on it and told him, "That is the decision of the emperor. No matter who it is, you need to assist him and guard the northern border. Don't let the enemy invade Qi Dynasty at all."
The deputy general wiped his face and remained silent for an unknown amount of time. "My Lord, is it possible for you to return to Northern Frontier?"
"I don't know. First of all, it depends on how well the body recovers. Even if it recovers to the point where it is no different from an ordinary person, then it also depends on the emperor's opinion."
The other borders of the Qi Dynasty are guarded by the governors in rotation, but there is a king of a different surname in the northern border, who is almost a private army in name only. As a superior, probably no one can be at ease. This time, with such a bright opportunity, even if he recovers, the emperor can stop him with excuses like "the Mu family has sacrificed too much for the Qi Dynasty and I feel very ashamed". If others say it, the world will praise "the emperor's benevolence".
When Mu Bei first had hope of recovery, he thought about it with such joy, but now he doesn’t think about it anymore.
After a series of open and covert struggles, it was Emperor Xuanren who made the final decision and the victory fell to Marquis Pingjin.
This was quite expected. First of all, Pingjin Hou was fifty years old and should be the oldest among the ten governors. The next rotation would be next year, and the place he was going to should be a place where there had not been a war for many years. It would be more like asking him to relax for three years rather than to guard the border. Now it was a 180-degree turn, and he was going to the northern border where there were the most wars. It should be noted that Pingjin Hou had suffered hidden injuries in his early years, so this was not an easy job for him.
Secondly, Marquis Pingjin has no relationship with the other princes. The only relationship they can have is that of Marquis Pingjin's wife and Ming Zeyue's mother, who are cousins several levels apart. This is nothing, but if someone insists on establishing a relationship, you can't escape.
Let’s not talk about how Marquis Pingjin dealt with the people outside. At this time, Marquis Pingjin’s wife had not fully recovered and her condition had worsened.
However, the Northern Border is not peaceful and cannot be without a commander for a long time, so Pingjin Hou needs to set off for the Northern Border as soon as possible.
Those who escorted Mu Bei back will accompany him.
Wen Renying felt uneasy. In her previous life, the King of Dingbei should not have returned to the imperial city at this time, and the commander of the Northern Frontier in the end was not the Marquis of Pingjin. Until today, many things have changed, and they really can no longer be connected with her previous life.
Because of Marquis Pingjin's incident, Marquis Pingjin's wife's condition has worsened, and the fatal disease in her body may break out at any time. Han and Xiaocao have already discussed when to visit Marquis Pingjin's mansion.
When Wen Renying learned about this, she couldn't help but clench her fists. Was her engagement with Hua Bochen going to be cancelled early
Cheng Wenzheng had already returned home after the imperial examination. However, Wen Renying had inquired about the family of the Kaiping prefect before, but there seemed to be no news. Wen Renying was not sure what had gone wrong or whether they had just had secret contact in private. The details would have to wait until Cheng Wenzheng came back before further information could be obtained.
She obviously didn't need to do anything, but she just couldn't stop being nervous.
If I were to ask myself whether I have any attachment to Hua Bochen at all, to be honest, I don't really have any.
If she could cancel the engagement with Hua Bochen before Cheng Wenzheng got engaged, then maybe she could get engaged to Cheng Wenzheng directly, without all the mess in between, which would be the best thing.
I’m just afraid that things won’t go so smoothly.
Wen Renying was melancholy for a while, then put all these things behind her and took things one step at a time, doing whatever had to be done.
Now, she was going to the Pingjin Marquis' Mansion with her mother and fourth sister.
The matter of engagement does not necessarily need to be brought up at this time, but a visit to the wife of Marquis Pingjin is a must.