Perhaps because he knew Madam Zhu too well, Zhu Tong didn't quite believe her words, and looking at the mess of gift boxes on the ground, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"You must be Wenmao's son, Jing Zhe?"

"Nephew Jing Zhe greets Uncle!"

After hearing Zhu Xinning's account of Zhu Tong's past relationship with Jing Wenmao, and considering that Zhu Tong treated Zhu Xinning well and was polite to her, Jing Zhe naturally felt he should also be polite to her.

"Actually, I wanted to invite you to my house yesterday, but it was too late, and the morning court session today took too long. I apologize for neglecting you, my nephew!"

Given the relationship between Zhu Tong and Jing Wenmao, it's perfectly normal for Zhu Tong to address Jing Zhe as his nephew.

Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Uncle, you flatter me. It's not really a case of neglect; it was just a misunderstanding!"

"Bah! Master, don't listen to this vulgar scoundrel's nonsense!"

Madam Zhu spat, "It's not a misunderstanding at all! He said I'm Tangwen's grandmother, and he's so old, yet he still calls me... grandmother. How can this be a misunderstanding? He's insulting me!"

At this point, Madam Zhu looked grief-stricken.

"Uncle, it's really a misunderstanding! Look at Auntie's face. It's normal to mistake her for Grandma when we first meet, after all, she looks so old!"

"you!!!"

Madam Zhu never dreamed that Jing Zhe would be so audacious, daring to scold her in front of Zhu Tong. Wasn't he afraid that Zhu Tong would be angry and not let him live in the Prime Minister's residence?

I almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhu Tong was also a little embarrassed. He was a few years older than Madam Zhu. If he said Madam Zhu was old, wasn't he referring to him?

At this moment, Zhu Xinning came out.

"Father, it's true that Zhe'er was wrong, but if Mother hadn't kept making sarcastic remarks, Zhe'er wouldn't have acted this way!"

Zhu Tong nodded to her and then smiled.

"Hey, we're all family, a little misunderstanding is nothing, we'll be living together from now on..."

"impossible!"

Madam Zhu shouted hoarsely, "Master, can't you see he's just a country bumpkin? He's sneaked in here just to seek refuge with our Zhu family!"

...

"Seek refuge with the Zhu family?"

At that moment, a clear, cool female voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Jing Zhe turned around in surprise, "Why is Fifth Sister here?"

When Zhu Xinning heard Liu Jinghong's voice, her brows furrowed slightly, and her expression seemed somewhat conflicted.

"It is... General Jinghong..."

Madam Zhu was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. She had heard of Liu Jinghong's reputation and knew about her relationship with Zhu Xinning. She had repeatedly urged Zhu Xinning to take the initiative to improve her relationship with Liu Jinghong.

But who knew that although the two were sisters, they didn't get along. Zhu Tong said that they almost had a fight in court...

The fact that she didn't know how to take advantage of such a good relationship made Madam Zhu even more disgusted with Zhu Xinning.

Seeing Liu Jinghong now, she remembered that since Jing Zhe was Zhu Xinning's younger brother, he was naturally also Liu Jinghong's brother.

"My brother, Liu Jinghong's brother, doesn't need to rely on anyone!"

As he spoke, he stood next to Jing Zhe, side by side.

Chen Jiannan was furious when he saw this.

Why do all the beautiful women I met in Jingzhou have such close relationships with this guy?

Oh, God is so unfair!

Madam Zhu's eyes darted around, then she stepped forward and said with a fawning smile, "So you're General Jinghong! If we're talking about seniority, you really should call me—"

Don't try to connect with me, we're not acquainted!

The domineering Liu Jinghong was quite adorable in Jing Zhe's eyes.

"..."

Madam Zhu paused for a moment, then continued, "However, I must remind General Jinghong that although he is your brother, it has been more than ten years since we last met. Do you know what he is doing in Jingzhou? Be careful, he might be here to seek refuge with you! A grown man who does nothing but think about relying on women, would you still dare to take him in?"

Liu Jinghong looked at Madam Zhu as if she were an idiot.

"This is my brother. What's wrong with me supporting him for the rest of my life?"

But she couldn't help thinking that if he really came back to Liangzhou with her and let her take care of him, she would be so happy just thinking about it!

He then added, "Besides, with my brother's abilities, I'm afraid I couldn't support him even if I wanted to. It's more likely that he'll support me in the future."

Hearing this, Zhu Xinning felt a little jealous.

They've been close since childhood, and it seems their relationship has grown even closer now.

no!

From now on, when he's in Jingzhou, I'll definitely keep a close eye on him!

I want to be his closest older sister!

"hehe!"

Madam Zhu sneered, feeling that Liu Jinghong's words were far too kind to Jing Zhe. Even if Jing Zhe didn't need to be supported by a woman, to say that he should support General Jinghong was a pipe dream!

"Just because—"

"Shut up!"

Zhu Tong glared at Madam Zhu, afraid that she would say something else.

"Nephew, His Majesty requests your presence in the palace. We've been out for a while now, so let's hurry and not delay any longer!"

Seeing Liu Jinghong nod, Jing Zhe reluctantly agreed.

"All right."

It seemed as if Emperor An had invited him to the palace, and he was very reluctant.

"Master... what did you say? Why would His Majesty invite him to the palace?"

Madam Zhu asked, trembling.

"Jing Zhe just won first place in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition the day before yesterday, and is known as the number one talent in Anguo. His Majesty loves poetry so much, so it's natural that he appreciates him and it's normal for him to be allowed into the palace! You shouldn't always worry about such trivial matters. You don't even know what's going on outside!"

After saying that, he glanced at the trembling Madam Zhu, shook his head, and walked out first.

Liu Jinghong and Jing Zhe exchanged a glance and walked out. When they passed Zhu Xinning, they walked past her as if she were a stranger, which made Jing Zhe very curious.

But Jing Zhe didn't leave immediately. Instead, he went to the stunned Madam Zhu and said with a smile, "I think I just heard someone say that only a blind person would deal with a scoundrel like me? I'm going to deal with His Majesty now. Should I mention it to him?"

With a thud, Madam Zhu knelt down.

If this were to reach Emperor An's ears, she wouldn't even have enough heads to lose!

At this moment, she no longer cared about looking down on Jing Zhe.

Seeing Madam Zhu in such a disheveled state, Zhu Xinning felt a pang of pity and bent down to help her, but was pulled to a corner by Jing Zhe.

"Ignore her. There's always a reason why someone is pitiful. If I hadn't been summoned by His Majesty, I might be the one kneeling down."

After hearing this, Zhu Xinning remained silent, but she had no intention of helping him up. Instead, she asked, "Where are you planning to go after leaving the palace? Will you come back?"

Jing Zhe gestured to the side with his chin: "Now that things have gotten this bad, wouldn't it be awkward if I came back?"

Zhu Xinning sighed. The scene she least wanted to see had still happened. She then asked.

"So you're going to live with your fifth sister?"

"If Second Sister is willing, the three of us can live together. After all, that place is our home!"

After Jing Zhe finished speaking, Zhu Xinning pursed her lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, seemingly lost in thought.

————