Chapter 398: Duke Wei Returns to the Capital

Yuan Wanru tapped the teacup with her slender fingers, and the white porcelain and sandalwood made a crisp sound when they touched.

She looked up at the Su family father and son, with a look of understanding in her eyes: "If there is no possibility, why would I ask this question?"

The room suddenly became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, and even the steam on the medicine stove seemed to be stagnant.

Su Shaodong's Adam's apple rolled, and he seemed to want to say something but stopped.

Father Su frowned, his gray beard trembling slightly: "Wanru, this matter..."

"It seems that it is inconvenient to tell me." Yuan Wanru gently put down the teacup with a faint smile on the corner of her lips.

"It's not that I don't trust you!" Su Shaodong explained hastily, but he saw his father shaking his head slightly.

Yuan Wanru didn't care. She stroked the wood grain on the table with her fingertips and said, "Actually, I already have a guess in my mind."

She paused, "That person might be willing to help Doctor Tang again, why don't you go ask him?"

Father Su was startled, with surprise flashing in his eyes: "You know it is..."

“Guess what.”

Yuan Wanru smiled faintly, "After all, my brother invited me to see her last time, and we met again in the palace later."

"Little beauty!"

Su Shaodong stood up suddenly, almost spilling the tea in front of him, "How could you..."

Yuan Wanru just smiled without saying anything, leisurely picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Amid the aroma of tea, her expression became even more unfathomable.

"What a clever girl!" Father Su suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes smoothed out, "You ask questions knowingly to test our bottom line."

He stroked his beard, his eyes sparkling, "Just for your kindness, I will risk my reputation to ask for a favor."

He looked out the window at the blue sky and sighed, "It's always good to be alive."

Yuan Wanru stood up and bowed: "Then I will wait for good news."

-

Old Man Su looked at Yuan Wanru's back as she walked away until she got on the carriage and disappeared from his sight.

This girl is not simple!

He suddenly turned around and glared at his son with a look of disapproval: "You good-for-nothing boy! How come such a good girl was given to that kid from the Lu family!"

As he spoke, he sighed heavily, and his eyebrows trembled three times: "Alas, after all, our Su family is not so blessed."

Su Shaodong said with a smile: "Dad, what you said..."

"When I met the little beauty, she was already Lu Jiangnian's wife."

He touched his nose and laughed at himself: "Your son is shameless enough, but the love between husband and wife is as deep as the sea, how can they allow others to interfere?"

Hearing this, Old Man Su got even angrier and picked up the tea tray on the table, pretending to hit her: "You still think you're right? If you were more handsome, maybe the girl would fall in love with you at first sight!"

"father!"

Su Shaodong dodged quickly: "Can you blame me for this? If anyone should be blamed, it should be you!"

He pointed at his face and said, "If you had made me three times more handsome, maybe..."

"Bah!" Father Su was so angry that his hair stood up. "You have no ability and you blame me! I married your mother easily, but you can only be sad and lonely. Tell me, are you useless?"

The father and son chatted with each other, and the Qihuangzhai suddenly became lively.

The sunlight outside the window stretched the two people's shadows very long, one chasing and the other hiding, as if they had returned to the time when Su Shaodong was a naughty child.

After a while of making a fuss, Father Su suddenly stopped, looked out the door and said softly: "Forget it, fate is something you can't force."

Su Shaodong also calmed down.

Yes, some people are destined to be watched from afar, like the bright moon in the sky. It is a blessing to be able to illuminate the way ahead, but how can we dare to hope to hold the moon in our arms?

-

There was a lot of speculation about the Second Prince in the court, but no one dared to discuss it.

Everyone in the court was watching and waiting, not knowing how the emperor would deal with the Second Prince and Concubine Liang.

But they didn't know that the emperor was also waiting for someone.

Similarly, the prince and Lu Jiangnian were also waiting for someone.

Just after the fifth watch that day, a group of dusty soldiers and horses walked into the capital city in the morning dew.

Duke Liang Jing of Wei had gray hair, but his back was still straight as he had been injured on the battlefield.

He looked at the familiar palace walls, a trace of pain flashed in his turbid eyes - the scene of riding a horse and whipping the whip here with the previous emperor was still before his eyes, but now he had to enter the palace as a criminal.

"I, the old minister Liang Jingyou, kowtow to Your Majesty."

The old general knelt down heavily on the cold gold brick floor, and the floor made a dull sound.

The emperor looked at the old man who had saved the life of the previous emperor three times and found that his body beneath his plain clothes was so hunched.

"Duke Wei, please stand up."

The emperor slowed down his voice, "I summoned you back to the capital, it's..."

"I am guilty!" Liang Jingyou suddenly interrupted the sage's words, his gray beard trembling violently, "I have no way of managing my family, and I have raised such a rebellious son!"

He took out a brocade box from his bosom, opened it, and presented it with both hands, "This was given by the late emperor. I am ashamed to keep it any longer. Please take it back, Your Majesty!"

The eunuchs standing in the hall gasped - that was a golden medal that could exempt nine generations of the clan from death!

The emperor's eyes fell on the gold medal, and the late emperor's dying words of "treat Liang Qing well" were still ringing in his ears.

He walked down the stairs slowly and helped the old minister up personally: "The Duke is old and has not been in the capital in recent years. What does Liang Shangjiong do have to do with you?"

"Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, and is unwilling to vent your anger. This is a blessing for the world."

"It is the fault of the father if he failed to educate the child. I, an old minister, cannot escape the blame even if I die."

Liang Jingyou fell to the ground and refused, tears streaming down his face: "I only hope Your Majesty will show mercy and spare the children of the second wife."

He kowtowed heavily, and blood immediately appeared on his forehead. "They broke off relations with the eldest son's family long ago, and they were innocently implicated."

"Old Duke, if you have something to say, please speak slowly."

The emperor interrupted him and did not take the gold medal.

"You haven't been in the capital for many years. How can you be sure that the second house has no knowledge of it?"

Liang Jingyou sighed, looked up at the emperor, his eyes full of complexity.

He understood that the emperor was willing to meet him and give him this respect entirely because of the late emperor.

The Duke of Weiguo was also a fierce general in his past. Now his temples are gray, and the golden medal of immunity from death in his hand is shining brightly.

It’s a pity that despite so many glorious military achievements and countless escapes from death, they were ultimately no match for the evil deeds of his descendants.

Liang Jingyou spoke in a calm voice as he revealed a family affair that had been buried for many years.

"I was born in a poor family in Longxi. When I was in the army, I was helped by my mentor, General Wen."

Reminiscence welled up in his eyes. He was just a small centurion back then, but General Wen betrothed his only daughter to him. To him, it was like a rebirth.

Although he got married, the war was ongoing at that time and he was often away from home. He had not been able to go back to his hometown for eight years.

"When I won the victory and was awarded the title, I returned to the court," Liang Jing had a rolling throat, "and returned to my hometown to bring my parents to the capital to take care of them, only to find that they had actually found another wife for me."

"That woman is from a neighboring village. She has been taking care of my parents and doing household chores during the years I have been away from home."

The emperor only knew that Liang Jingyou's wife was Wen, and that he had a few concubines, but he didn't know that the second concubine had such a connection.

"I really can't bear to disappoint you," Liang Jingyou lowered his voice, "so I will bring her to the capital and make her my second wife."

Mrs. Wen made things difficult for the second wife, but the peasant girl remained docile and tolerant.

More importantly, the two elders of the Liang family favor the second branch.

To be honest, Liang Jingyou had been caught between his parents and his wives and concubines, and had been in a dilemma for many years.

The two elders of the Liang family passed away one after another. Liang Shangjiong and his half-brother Liang Shangde from the second branch have grown up. In order to balance the relationship, Liang Jingyou has been deliberately suppressing the second branch.

The illegitimate son Liang Shangde has been doing nothing, and the two families seem to be living in peace.

But this balance was broken by Liang Si.