Chapter 432: Childhood Sweethearts
The words blurted out by Lady Xian made Qin Er's eyes darken.
"Mother, I will not marry the daughter of a criminal!" Qin Er retorted.
However, Lady Xian Guogong was not as concerned about her second son's feelings as before. Instead, she eagerly grabbed her eldest son's sleeve, not daring to have any luck, and said:
"Ah Jing, you are the prince of the Duke's Mansion. This family will depend on you sooner or later. Since you feel sorry for Rong Jia, then our Duke's Mansion will marry her. Don't worry, mother will treat her well and let the whole capital know that our Duke's Mansion is a family that values trust and loyalty."
When Qin Er heard this, his dissatisfaction reached its peak, and he said, "In order to appease my elder brother, does mother have to sacrifice me? My elder brother cares so much about Princess Rongjia, who knows if they have something going on..."
“Bang!”
Before Qin Er could finish his words, a slap mark appeared on his face. He looked at his mother in disbelief. This was the first time he was beaten in his life.
Lady Xian Guogong looked away with a guilty look on her face, and then scolded, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will let your father punish you!"
Qin Er stared at her intently, then ran out without saying anything.
Qin Jing frowned and said, "Mother, I'm going to go see my brother."
Lady Xian Guogong immediately grabbed her eldest son and said, "He has a strange temper. I will go and coax him later. You have been busy with official duties recently and it is rare for you to come home. Have a good rest. Mother asked someone to make soup for you. You should taste it later."
Qin Jing shook his head and said, "I still have official business in the government office. I heard about the Rongjia County Lady's affairs, so I took the time to come back for this trip."
"Okay, since there are so many things to do in the government office, you should go back quickly. I will go and persuade your brother." Lady Xian Guogong said.
Qin Jing thought that his second brother and mother had always been close, so he didn't think much about it, and only reminded: "Mother, a man should rely on himself to establish himself, not his wife's family. You must explain this principle to my second brother in detail. Previously, Shen Changfeng and my second brother were both known as the dandies in the capital. Now he works in the Ministry of Works and has done some good things, and has been praised by His Majesty many times."
Lady Xian Guogong had also heard about this, and she curled her lips and said, "Shen Changfeng is your majesty's nephew, and your majesty favors him. Who knows if he has really changed?"
Qin Jing said, "Mother, these are just rumors. If His Majesty really wants to favor him, why not just give him a good title? It's a major event in the court, and so many officials are watching, how can he be wrong? Besides, Shen Changfeng also has a famous teacher who disciplines him strictly, so he can have what he has today."
The wife of Duke Xian was moved and said, "Ah Jing, you and Gu Mingda are both officials in the same court and have a close relationship. Why don't you go ask him? I will send your second brother over and let him teach him for a while."
Qin Jing shook his head: "Master Gu is busy now, and he has not even continued to teach Shen Changfeng. Don't worry, mother, I will pay attention and choose a strict teacher for my second brother."
Lady Xian Guogong nodded and said, "Okay, Ajing, your second brother will be counting on you in the future."
Qin Jing originally wanted to talk about Qin Jingshu's situation in the palace, but until he left, his mother never asked about his sister, so he didn't say a word in the end.
When Lady Xian of Duke Xianguo rushed to Qin Er's yard, the house had been smashed to pieces.
"My son, mother knows that you are angry, but there is no need for you to take it out on these things." Lady Xian Guogong advised kindly.
Qin Er saw his mother lowering her head, and thinking about the slap on his face, she still had a bad expression on her face.
Lady Xian Guogong's eyes flickered as she said, "You are a man, not a woman. I'll marry you, and once you enter the house, won't you be able to do whatever you want?"
Qin Er said, "Why should my brother marry the daughter of the elder family after I marry the criminal minister?"
Lady Xian Guogong asked directly: "Can you be the same as him?"
As soon as she said this, she realized that something was wrong and hurried to make amends: "You were born to enjoy life. Your eldest brother has the whole family on his shoulders. His wife is a clan member, so he has to choose a suitable one. If you really don't like Rongjia, I'll find you a few good ones. Rongjia's family is not good enough, so she won't dare to say anything."
Qin Er lowered his head and stared at the broken porcelain on the ground. After a long while, he said, "I want the coral in big brother's yard."
Lady Xian Guogong frowned and said, "That's what mother prepared for your eldest brother. If this gets out..."
Qin Er turned around directly.
Lady Xian Guogong said immediately, "Okay, okay, I'll think of a way for you. Then you can say that Shan Hu couldn't stand the loneliness and seduced me."
Qin Er then turned around.
Lady Xian Guogong took the tonic soup brought over by the servant and said, "Drink it while it's hot. Mother asked the kitchen staff to cook this for you. Among the three children, you are the one that mother loves the most. Why don't you understand my painstaking efforts?"
Qin Er took it casually, but frowned after taking just one sip. This tonic soup was chicken stewed with cordyceps. He obviously didn't like chicken soup, and the person who loved chicken soup the most in the family was his eldest brother. He immediately understood who this so-called tonic soup was made for. His heart, which had softened because of the words of Lady Xian Guogong, instantly hardened again.
The emperor, just as Qin Jing had expected, did not care at all about the marriage of his children. After cleaning up the Prince of Qi's Mansion, he also went through the trouble of reprimanding the princes and nobles in the capital one by one. Finally, the emperor could sleep well at night.
At this time in the palace, the emperor was summoning Gu Mingda.
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. When I arrived, the building was empty. Although there were some traces in the secret room, I did not find any trace of the imperial master." Gu Mingda bowed and apologized.
After interrogating several thieves in Baiyun Town that day, he led his men to Jingui Lane without stopping. The family of the thief leader may have thought that this place had not been exposed, so they failed to evacuate in time.
Gu Mingda guessed that since the leader of the gang valued his family so much, he would not reveal the identity of the person behind the scenes to his subordinates, but he would definitely tell his family something.
The interrogation went smoothly, and the gang leader's wife quickly revealed a house in the city.
However, when Gu Mingda arrived at the house, even though he found the hidden secret room, he only saw traces of blood sacrifice and various talismans that made people terrified at the mere sight of them, but there was no sign of the imperial teacher.
"Never mind, you have done a great job to discover so many clues through these details, my dear Gu." The emperor now looked at Gu Mingda with eyes full of intimacy and appreciation.
Although Gu Mingda's main job is still teaching children, the emperor has promoted his official rank. Now the entire officialdom knows that Gu Mingda is a favorite of the emperor and will be valued in the future.
After the emperor finished dealing with state affairs, he went directly to Shoukang Palace.
But Niu Niu was not in Shoukang Palace.
"Where has the little girl gone to play again?" the emperor asked the empress dowager with a smile.
The Queen Mother smiled like an aunt and said, "She and Ah Xuan are watching the fish in the Imperial Garden. These two really got to know each other after a fight. Now they have a good relationship and play together all day long."
When the emperor heard this, he instinctively felt uncomfortable.
Who knew that the Queen Mother would continue to say: "Emperor, the more I look at this pair of childhood sweethearts, the more they look like a couple."
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