Chapter 44 Confession 1 (Three consecutive updates after entering V) ◇
Zhu Xi never imagined that he'd just wandered into the bushes with a stomachache and happened to overhear a conversation between Zhou Zelin and his uncle...
At the time, he had originally planned to go set off firecrackers with Zhou Jin and the others, but his stomach suddenly started to rumble, and then he started to feel cramps. Zhu Xi had no choice but to go to the bathroom first, but he didn't expect that Zhou Jin's bathroom was occupied by Zhou Luo. Upon asking, he found out that Zhou Luo's bathroom was also occupied by his cousin Zhou Li...
Seeing that he was about to have a bowel movement, Zhu Xi became extremely anxious. He ran to other houses but was afraid that there were people in their toilets. He saw a patch of dense grass about ten meters away from Zhou Jin's house, so he quickly grabbed some toilet paper and ran over!
After a while, his stomach finally felt better. After wiping his butt and just pulling up his pants to get up, he saw Zhou Ruiquan walking tremblingly towards the bushes where he was.
For some reason, when Zhu Xi saw Zhou Ruiquan's face that looked very similar to Lord Zhou, he instinctively squatted back down, but he moved a meter or two to the side to avoid the mess he had just created.
He had originally planned to leave after Zhou Ruiquan passed by, but when the old man walked up to the bushes near where he was, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the newly built houses not far away and started crying...
Zhu Xi...
I felt it would be even more embarrassing to go out now, so I could only endure it and wait until the old man finished crying before leaving.
Unexpectedly, before the old man left, Zhou Zelin came again, and then the uncle and nephew started talking. As they talked, they both burst into tears. Then they talked about Kyoto, his father, his grandfather, and then about himself..."
Zhu Xi was completely shocked by the conversation between the two. He realized that because of his father's death, so many people in Zhou Ge Lao's family died. Even the old scholar Zhou Ge Lao died. It was because of the death of his father that his grandfather sentenced him to death!
No wonder he hadn't heard the Zhou family mention the old scholar in the past two days, nor had he seen him show up. He thought the old man was sick and didn't leave the house, and was still feeling lucky that he didn't have to face him...
But it turns out that he had already died on the road to exile?
Although Zhu Xi had complained more than once that the old scholar loved to bang his head against things and would eventually kill himself, he was really just complaining in his heart and didn't really want to curse the old scholar to death!
He also wanted to wait until he grew up and had his own mansion, so that he could bring the old scholar to live with him and find four or five nagging old ladies to serve him!
As a result, before he even grew up, that old scholar who was so disappointed in him that he glared at him and wanted to grab him and spank him died?
I have been hiding here and there foolishly these past two days, afraid that he would see me and recognize me. Does that mean I will never see him again in my life?
A moment ago, the old man was one of the people he least wanted to see, but now, he could no longer see him even if he wanted to.
At that time, he did not know that the old scholar beat him for his own good. In fact, because he was so angry at being hit on the palm of his hand, he secretly played tricks on him several times and even burned his beard with a candle while he was sleeping.
But now, after going through many things, he knew what was right and wrong. He knew that although the old scholar loved to nag, he was one of the few people who would not harm him. But in the end, the old scholar also died!
It seemed as if in just three years, all those who had treated him well had died one after another. Now, among the remaining people, he had no idea who was sincere to him and who was fake...
Zhu Xi hid in the bushes, crying in pain, especially when he heard Zhou Zelin say that Lord Zhou contradicted his grandfather entirely for him, he cried uncontrollably. Just when he was about to go out to meet Zhou Zelin and talk to each other about his feelings, the old man Zhou Ruiquan tripped and fell towards the bushes where he was.
Zhu Xi was startled and instinctively wanted to help the old man. However, when he tried to stand up, he found that his legs were numb from squatting for too long. Under the severe numbness and pain, Zhu Xi could not stand steadily. He fell to the ground and crawled out...
Then, there was the scene at the beginning...
…
A moment later, when Zhu Xi confessed his life story to Zhou Zelin, Zhou Zelin grabbed his collar and questioned him in a hoarse voice:
"Are you trying to kill yourself? How dare you pretend to be the emperor's grandson?"
"Uncle Lin, I'm not lying. I'm really Zhu Xi!" Zhu Xi hurriedly explained, "I put some makeup on my face, so you can't recognize me. Take a closer look at my eyebrows and eyes. Do they look a bit like the Zhu Xi you remember?"
Because of this, your eldest son stopped me and asked me questions for a long time when he first met me?!
Zhou Zelin squinted his eyes and looked closely at the "Chang Sanlang" in front of him. He found that except for his yellowish face, he did look a bit like the Fifth Prince in his impression. However, he had not met the Fifth Prince many times, so he was not sure at the moment.
Seeing that Zhou Zelin still looked unconvinced, Zhu Xi hurriedly said:
"Have you forgotten that when I was a kid, Lord Zhou brought me to your house and I accidentally stole your precious mynah bird?!"
Are you taking it easy? It's clearly stealing!?!
Zhou Zelin complained in his heart, but he actually believed Zhu Xi's words a little more. After all, it was such a private matter and not many people should know about it.
"Also, Lord Zhou told me that you love lychees, but because they are a woman's favorite, you are embarrassed to eat them in front of others, so you often hide in the study and eat them secretly..."
"He also said you were henpecked, and you wouldn't dare say a word once Auntie glared at you...
They also said that you were very timid and were afraid of even insects. When your second brother was a child, he was beaten by you and he often scared you with insects..."
In order to make Zhou Zelin believe that he was himself, Zhu Xi racked his brains to think about what Zhou Ge Lao had told him about the Zhou family...
Zhou Zelin...
Okay, stop talking about it now, otherwise the story of him wetting the bed as a child will be revealed!
Zhou Zelin didn't understand why his father had the hobby of exposing his son's private matters to this kid, but he completely believed that Chang Sanlang in front of him was the fifth prince.
His father would not tell this to anyone except the Fifth Prince, whom he loved very much!
However, when he confirmed that the person in front of him was the Fifth Prince, Zhou Zelin was so shocked by the Fifth Prince's sudden appearance that he almost fell to the ground. It was Zhou Ruiquan who pulled him up that saved him from falling.
Zhou Ruiquan was also shocked when he saw Zhou Zelin's astonishment. He had never expected that the young man Zhou Jin and his sister had accidentally rescued in the mountains was actually the Fifth Prince?!
This is unbelievable! How could such a distinguished person suddenly appear in their home?
Thinking about how he had recently ordered this guy to find bamboo poles to tie firecrackers, and had even kicked him for being slow, Zhou Ruiquan couldn't help but feel guilty, wondering if he should kowtow and beg for mercy or something...
While Zhou Ruiquan was feeling guilty, Zhou Zelin had recovered from his shock. He pulled Zhu Xi over and asked in a low voice:
"Fifth Prince!? Shouldn't you be in Kyoto right now? Why are you here in Liaodong?!? Who brought you here? How did you get here? Where are the people who followed you?! How did you end up alone in the mountains and get bitten by a snake?!"
Thinking of how the Fifth Prince had once fallen into the mountains and nearly lost his life, Zhou Zelin felt a pang of fear. If it weren't for Zhou Jin and his sister, no one would have known that the Fifth Prince was rotting in the mountains, right?
Zhu Xi thought to himself, don’t you have too many questions?
Just as he was about to answer, Zhou Zelin stopped him.
"This is not the place to talk. Let's go inside and talk!"
So, the three of them went to Zhou Zelin's current house, avoiding people. Zhou Ruiquan personally guarded the door. Zhou Zelin then asked Zhu Xi to explain why he suddenly appeared in Liaodong...
"Ever since my father passed away, I've felt my status in the palace plummet. Not only have fewer people complimented me, but even my food, clothing, housing and transportation have deteriorated significantly.
No matter how dumb I am, I know that without my mother... no, without the Crown Princess's permission, those stinky women and servants wouldn't dare to do this to me...
I was so angry that I went to the Crown Princess to make trouble several times. Every time, the nanny beside her rejected me by saying that her father had just passed away, the Crown Princess had no appetite, and was so sick that she couldn't get out of bed.
I could only vent my anger on the servants who were in charge of my food and clothing. I couldn't help but beat a few of them. As a result, I don't know how the news reached my grandfather. My grandfather beat me with a stick because I was weak and incompetent, and I only took my anger out on the servants when something happened, and I didn't feel sad during my father's funeral. He also punished me to go to Gratitude Temple to pray for my father for three months.
"Luckily, the one who led the beating was Eunuch Yun. He'd watched me grow up, so he showed some mercy. The beating looked heavy, but it didn't really hurt me." Zhu Xi said this, a look of satisfaction on his face...
Zhou Zelin looked helplessly at the smug Fifth Prince, shook his head secretly, and thought to himself, this child is still as naive as ever!
Since the establishment of Dayan, Emperor Chengqian has always been extremely strict in managing the eunuchs in the harem to prevent eunuchs from causing chaos in the country. Without his instructions, even if Eunuch Yun had a hundred guts, I am afraid he would not dare to show favoritism in the orders of the current emperor!
But Zhou Zelin did not intend to tell this to the Fifth Prince. How could he not feel resentful about the fact that Emperor Chengqian had ordered his father to be executed in order to stabilize the Hu Xiang Group because of the death of the Crown Prince? But he was destined not to take revenge. Seeing him being misunderstood by his own grandson, it was inevitable that he felt a little happy and relieved.
Therefore, he just listened to Zhu Xi continue speaking calmly.
"Although my butt is fine, I'm still not convinced! It was clearly those wicked slaves who bullied me first, and I just lashed them out of anger. But not only did my grandfather not speak up for me, he even had me beaten with a stick and called me unfilial?
How could I be unfilial? After my father passed away, I was so sad that I couldn’t sleep for several days. I even soaked my quilt with tears! He even scolded and beat me... woo woo..."
The more Zhu Xi spoke, the more wronged he felt. The more he spoke, the more pitiful he felt. Not only were his parents and older brother dead, but his stepmother also treated him badly. Now, even his grandfather no longer liked him...
As I was talking, I couldn't help myself and started crying...
Zhou Zelin...
No wonder his father's white hair has been growing ever since he started teaching this kid! Faced with such a brainless, irritable crybaby, his father must often feel powerless, right?
"Why are you crying?!" Zhou Zelin took out a handkerchief from his arms and handed it to Zhu Xi, saying lightly:
"Your grandfather had just finished sending off his son and was feeling very sad when he heard that you were beating and scolding the servants just to get food. Who else should he beat if not you?
Beating you to vent his anger is already a light punishment, because how many people did he kill because of your father's death?!"
Didn't even his father die because of this? !
There's no right or wrong in the emperor's wrath. It's all based on his will! He doesn't care whether you obey or not!
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