Zhou Zhengyuan had two sons and one daughter. His eldest son, Zhou Peichuan, passed the imperial examination at the age of 20 and embarked on the path of imperial examination. He was humble and polite.
The man in front of him, dressed in tight clothes and with a sword on his waist, was obviously Zhou Zhengyuan's youngest son.
Zhou Zhengyuan sighed and said, "Your grandfather was unwell a few days ago, and Peichuan went to visit him."
"Is Grandfather okay?"
"No big problems, just some age-old issues."
Chen Jingxi nodded. The Zhou family was a family of military generals. The old man Zhou Mu guarded the southwest. The second son Zhou Zhengtu and the youngest son Zhou Zhengchi were also in the southwest. Only the eldest son's family was in the capital.
Zhou Zhengyuan only held a sinecure in the Ministry of War, but it was impossible for the emperor to allow a military commander who was far away and commanded a large number of troops to have a son who held a high position of power in the capital.
To put it bluntly, Zhou Zhengyuan's family is actually here to hinder Mr. Zhou.
After chatting with Chen Jingxi for a while, he asked someone to invite him to leave, and Zhou Peilin followed him.
After the two of them left, only some female relatives were left in the hall, and the originally tense atmosphere finally eased a little.
Madam Zhou took a sip of tea, raised her head and looked at Chen Jingxi, "Princess, I heard you talk about what happened yesterday. Thanks to you, Princess."
Chen Jingxi smiled and said, "Aunt, just call me Jingxi. They were the ones who bullied me yesterday, and Ah Man just wanted to vent my anger on my behalf."
Zhou Peiman curled his lips and muttered softly: "I'm not venting my anger for you."
Xu Jianqing glared at her.
Chen Jingxi smiled at the sister-in-law whom she had a good impression of.
Zhou Peiman is a fearless person. The people she fears most in her life are her father and her elder brother. Now that they are both gone, she naturally becomes braver.
"Why did you suddenly come to my house? Didn't you say that you would never set foot in the Zhou family no matter what?"
Chen Jingxi was stunned. She originally thought that the original owner and Zhou Peiman were just having a childish disagreement, but she didn't expect that they would say such harsh words. Judging from Zhou Zhengyuan's attitude towards her just now, she could confirm that he really loved his niece.
What misunderstanding did the original owner have about the Zhou family?
"A-Man, don't talk nonsense." Madam Zhou scolded her, and then said to Chen Jingxi, "It's your aunt who didn't discipline A-Man well. Jingxi, don't be angry."
"It's okay. Jingxi was ignorant before and said such things."
Mrs. Zhou smiled and nodded, then said to Zhou Peiman, "Ah Man, go and copy the family motto ten times."
Zhou Pei said angrily: "Mom, why are you siding with her? She was the one who said that, and I wasn't wrong."
"You don't listen to mother? Then wait until your father comes back and I'll tell him what you did when you sneaked out of town a few days ago."
Zhou Peiman pouted and said, "Isn't it okay for me to go? Mom, please don't tell Dad."
Xu Jianqing smiled. Her father-in-law had long known what A-man and his group of idle friends had been doing outside the city. It was obvious that her mother-in-law said this to get her out of the way.
"Mother, I'm going to look after A-Man."
Zhou Peiman made a bitter face, "It's not that sister-in-law doesn't need it, right? I promise I will copy it ten times."
"Okay, let's go. I'll take a look at your needlework after you finish copying."
Mrs. Zhou smiled and shook her head.
Seeing this, Chen Jingxi said, "Aunt, A-Man didn't say anything wrong. You don't have to consider Jingxi's face and punish A-Man."
Madam Zhou smiled and said, "It's okay. Ah Man is used to being willful and naughty. Let her copy the family precepts and it will help to control her temper."
So, Chen Jingxi stopped talking.
Madam Zhou looked at Chen Jingxi, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Jingxi, is there anything you want to ask your aunt?"
Chen Jingxi laughed and said, "I didn't expect that this little thought could not be hidden from my aunt. My aunt blamed Jingxi for not returning to the Zhou family for so long. As soon as she came back, she asked her for help."
"You and your mother are so alike. Everything is written on your face. It's a pity..."
Chen Jingxi was a little curious. This was the first time someone mentioned her mother in front of her. No one had told her how and when she died, so she didn't know.
"Aunt, my mother..."
Mrs. Zhou sighed softly, "Okay, let's not talk about those sad things. Jingxi, is there anything you want to ask your aunt?"
Chen Jingxi thought for a moment, then looked at Madam Zhou and said, "Aunt, when I entered the palace yesterday, I noticed that Mother didn't seem to like the Prince. I know you're Mother's cousin, so I wanted to ask you if you knew what Mother liked. I could cater to her preferences and also help the Prince get closer to Mother."
Madam Zhou smiled and said, "Empress Defei has been aloof and proud since she was young. There are very few things she really likes, but I remember that she likes candied haws the most."
Chen Jingxi was shocked. "It's just such a simple thing."
Madam Zhou nodded. "It's that simple. Perhaps it's because she's never lacked anything since she was a child, and my aunt was very strict with her, not allowing her to eat these things. One time, she stole some from the servants and started to like them."
Chen Jingxi understood that this was just like when she wanted to eat candy as a child, but her parents didn't let her. She would infinitely beautify this thing in her heart, and this thing became what she wanted most.
"Aunt, why doesn't Mother like the Prince?"
Mrs. Zhou obviously did not expect Chen Jingxi to ask this question directly, and her face looked embarrassed.
"Aunt..." Chen Jingxi looked at Mrs. Zhou with a face full of grievance.
Madam Zhou sighed, "Well, this isn't some secret palace secret. When Prince Su was born, Concubine Chen died of illness, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated that an evil star would descend upon the world that year."
Chen Jingxi said bluntly, "Father, don't you think that it was the prince who killed the Concubine Chen?"
Madam Zhou was a little embarrassed, but she nodded. "Of course, this is not enough to arouse suspicion. Coincidentally, Prince Su was born only eight months ago."
"Uh..." Chen Jingxi remembered a folk saying, "Seven months old but not eight months old." It seemed that this saying had a basis. It said that when the fetus was seven months old, there was a problem with the mother's body that made it impossible to support the child, so she would give birth prematurely.
However, if the baby is delivered at eight months, it is usually because there is something wrong with the fetus, which prevents it from continuing to grow, so the survival rate is relatively low.
Looking at Chu Jinghuai's current condition, he must be the lucky one and nothing will happen to him.
But it was also quite unlucky. He didn't come out earlier or later, but at such a critical moment, he came out because Concubine Chen Shi was sick.
"After that, the emperor blamed Prince Su for Concubine Chen's death, and he also disliked Concubine De. Concubine De, disliked by the emperor, also ignored Prince Su and left him to fend for himself."
Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhou felt more helpless. She had tried to persuade Concubine De many times, but it was all in vain.
Chen Jingxi smiled and said, "I didn't expect that the prince didn't give up on himself, but instead became a hero to the people of the world."
"Yes! When the emperor wanted to grant the marriage, your uncle disagreed, thinking that Prince Su was not a good match. Nothing in the royal family is clean, and with your temper... how could he handle it? But after hearing about your behavior in the palace yesterday, it seems that your uncle and I were wrong."
"Ah! Auntie, do you have such a thing?"
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