Chapter 159: Raising an Army to Restore the State
Mrs. Lu pressed her handkerchief to her eyes, choking with sobs, and said, "... Dalang had vowed not to marry, and I was happy for him when I saw that he finally found a girl he wanted to marry. Moreover, I also thought that he and his mistress had always been at odds. If I objected, wouldn't it only deepen the rift between you and your son?"
"Am I still afraid of creating more rift between him and me? Has he ever regarded me as his father?" Cui Wei frowned and said, "If you are concerned about this matter and allow him to do whatever he wants, you are ignorant and foolish!"
Mrs. Lu lowered her head and began to cry: "Yes, it's all my fault. My fault is that I became someone's stepmother. My identity is wrong, so whatever I do is wrong..."
"You...what nonsense are you talking about?" Cui Wei hated to see someone cry in front of him. He said helplessly, "I am worried about you. Do you know how those clan members who are officials in the court view you as a clan wife? They all say that you are deliberately praising that rebellious son to death!"
Madam Lu was bewildered. "But...but that night they asked me to persuade them!"
"The persuasion they mentioned is obviously intended for you to persuade the rebellious son, not for you to agree with it?" Cui Wei sighed helplessly: "Madam, you have to use your brain for everything!"
"I don't have any brains to use..." Mrs. Lu looked sad, mocking and complaining to herself: "If I had a brain, how could I have given birth to a brainless person like Lang'er."
“……” Cui Wei choked and had nothing more to say.
Although his wife doesn't have much brains, she is kind-hearted, gentle and obedient, with a simple mind and easy to understand.
They are actually two different types of people compared to Zheng, who is overthinking and stubborn.
The son born to the two also had a completely different personality.
Thinking of his rebellious eldest son, Cui Wei suddenly felt the depression in his heart even worse, and his eyebrows were raised.
That rebellious son had done such an absurd thing at the Hibiscus Flower Banquet, but he had never come home to explain. It was obvious that he didn't take his father seriously at all! "Master."
A servant came in and saluted.
Cui Wei frowned and asked, "But has that bastard come back?"
"Sixth Young Master has not come back yet." The servant said, "The old Young Master sent someone to tell him to go to the outer study to discuss important matters."
Upon hearing this, Cui Wei did not dare to delay and got off the bed immediately.
His father knew that he was ill, but still sent someone to find him to discuss something. This "important matter" must be extremely important.
Lu and the maid helped him change his clothes.
Cui Wei hurried to the outer study.
"Hey, where's father?" Cui Lang tiptoed in, only to find his mother sitting alone in the hall drinking tea.
Mrs. Lu raised her eyelids and glanced at her second son: "You are very good at coming back on time. He has gone to the head of the family now, so he won't be able to beat you for a while."
Cui Lang breathed a sigh of relief and came over to drink tea. Seeing that the corners of her eyes were slightly red, he couldn't help but say, "Mother is fooling father again."
Mrs. Lu was a little tired after the performance and didn't bother to pay attention to her son.
"Mother, what was father's reaction when he learned that my elder brother wanted to marry Madam Chang? Did he show any signs of relenting?"
Seeing that A Niang ignored him, Cui Lang moved closer, laughed, and asked in a low voice: "Son, what you mean is... Is it possible for me to not marry the girls from those four families in the future, and marry a girl from another family?"
Lu put down the teacup and said with emotion: "How can it be impossible? Everything is possible."
Cui Lang's eyes lit up: "Then according to my mother, how likely is it?"
"Look, did you see that?" Mrs. Lu raised her chin slightly and looked towards the outside of the hall.
Cui Lang looked over and saw the yellow dog he raised standing in the yard with its tongue hanging out and its tail wagging at him happily.
His father had a lot of rules. Allowing the dog to enter the yard was the limit, and it was absolutely not allowed to enter the house. Over time, the dog developed the habit of abiding by the rules and only stayed in the yard.
But why did his mother suddenly ask him to look at the dog? Cui Lang was puzzled when he heard his mother say, "It's almost the same as the possibility that you turned into a dog."
“……?” Cui Lang looked bitter.
Is this what Ah Niang meant by "everything is possible"? "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Mrs. Lu looked at her son and asked suspiciously, "Do you have any idea?"
"What could my son think?" Cui Lang asked a rhetorical question to hide his guilty conscience.
"It's better that you don't." Mrs. Lu sighed, "As the eldest son of the Cui family, with two sons in total, they can't all be rebellious. Otherwise, how can we live like this?"
Cui Lang also sighed: "My son would like to do so, but he is not as strong as his elder brother. Even if he wants to rebel, I am afraid he does not have the ability to do so."
As he said this, he changed the subject: "But, isn't Dad sick? Why did Grandfather call people to discuss matters? What happened?"
"How would I know?" Mrs. Lu didn't care about these things, or rather, it was not something she should care about. She knew very well that some things would not change the decision of the Cui family whether she cared about them or not.
She only said to her son: "If you want to know, just go and listen."
Cui Lang hurriedly shook his head: "If I go at this time, I will be scolded. I won't go."
Besides, he is not as capable as his elder brother, and he behaved too frivolously in the past. If it is really an extremely important matter in the family, his grandfather may not be willing to let him hear it.
Anyway, no matter what happens, his grandfather and others are there for him, so he doesn't have to worry about it, and he is happy and relaxed.
"I heard from the manager of your courtyard that you have been secretly looking for a doctor who is good at treating eye diseases these days?" Mrs. Lu asked her son casually.
“Yes, that’s the case…” Cui Lang paused while drinking his tea and said as naturally as possible, “One of my classmates’ family members has an eye disease, and I came here to help.”
Lu looked at him.
Cui Lang suddenly felt that he could no longer sit still, so he put down his teacup and stood up: "Since father is not here, I will go back first. Mother, remember to tell father that your son has been here!"
As luck would have it, it started raining heavily outside at this moment.
Cui Lang did not stay to avoid the rain, but urged the maid to bring an umbrella, and left with Yihu holding the umbrella.
He had to ask the manager of his hospital how the matter of finding a doctor was going. He talked so quickly, and I wondered if he was really that proactive in doing things.
The rain was heavy, weaving a dense rain curtain. The raindrops hit the green tiles, splashing out the coolness of late autumn.
A carriage stopped outside the Chang Mansion in Xingningfang.
Recognizing it as his own carriage, the doorman hurriedly came forward with an umbrella.
The person who stepped out of the carriage was Chang Suining.
Xier held an umbrella for her girl, and the master and servant walked into the mansion. They saw Chang Sui'an practicing shooting under a long corridor in the front yard to avoid the rain.
"...Xiao Sui'an, let me teach you. Look at me, this is how I draw my gun!"
Adian was standing by and giving Chang Sui'an instructions seriously.
Chang Sui'an nodded and tried it as he said. Under the rain-covered corridor, the young man was agile and nimble, his movements were powerful, and he danced with a red-tasseled spear with great vigor and vitality.
"Little A Li, why are you back?"
Adian's eyes lit up and he jumped up in the corridor in surprise.
Soon, he climbed over the corridor fence and ran happily towards Chang Suining in the rain.
Chang Suining quickly took the umbrella from Xier's hand and held it high above his head: "Why are you here? It's raining."
The three of them squeezed under an umbrella and walked into the corridor, all of them were soaked.
Chang Sui'an quickly put down his spear, picked up his own cloak and put it on his sister, and asked with concern: "Ningning, you just went to the Imperial College this morning, why are you back at this time? Did you encounter any trouble?"
"Today, Master Chu went to the Imperial Academy on leave, but was urgently summoned to the palace by the Saint. I felt uneasy, so I came back to see him." Chang Suining asked, "Where's my father?"
"Father was also urgently summoned to the palace at noon." Chang Sui'an said, "He hasn't returned yet."
Chang Suining felt a little depressed.
The teacher holds an important position and was summoned to the palace to discuss matters. There are many possibilities, but Lao Chang is a military officer and not a close minister to the emperor. Since he was also summoned to the palace by name, there is only one possibility left...
There will be a war, or there has already been a war.
Chang Suining went to the front hall and waited until three o'clock in the morning before Chang Kuo came back.
Chang Kuo had been in the palace until now, and had only had some tea and snacks to fill his stomach. Because he had been standing on his old injured leg for too long, and it would hurt every time it rained, he looked a little tired as he sat in the chair.
Manager Bai asked someone to go to the kitchen and bring the hot food.
Chang Suining asked first: "Is Dad's leg okay?"
"It's okay, it's just an old problem." Chang Kuo took the hot tea handed to him by the old servant and said, "I took the medicine and it doesn't hurt anymore."
It’s true, the medicine that the woman had someone send to him before was actually quite effective. Luckily he didn’t really throw it away - he refused it the first time it was sent to him, and then when it was sent to him again, he pretended to throw it away and then picked it up again.
Chang Suining felt a little relieved, and then asked, "Father, what's the matter that the Saint urgently summoned you to do?"
Chang Kuo held the teacup in his large hand and nodded solemnly, "Li Zhengye started a rebellion in Yangzhou in the name of restoring the country."
"Li Zhengye?" Chang Sui'an was shocked: "That Duke of England?!"
Chang Suining was also shocked.
It turned out to be an internal disaster, and the one who started the rebellion was Li Zhengye.
She was no stranger to this person.
Li Zhengye's original surname was Xu. He was the grandson of Xu Ji, a famous general of the former Duke of Ying. He was born into a family of famous generals and was very brave. The surname Li was given to him by the previous emperor.
When she was still Li Xiao, she still remembered that this man stood with the Queen Ming. When the Queen Ming was on the road to power, this man was also one of the helpers... But now the other party wants to rebel against the Queen Ming, claiming to restore the country? Chang Suining didn't bother to study the conflicts and interests. It was common for monarchs and ministers to part ways throughout history. This was not the important thing now.
What she was more concerned about was: "Why did they start the rebellion in Yangzhou? Where is Chen Changshi of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office? Did he also join the rebellion?"
The post of Grand Commander in Chief was established in Da Sheng, but most of the time it was just a remote command. Just like Cui Jing, although he was the Grand Commander of Bingzhou, he was not often in the area under his jurisdiction. The official who actually managed and coordinated the affairs of the Grand Commander's Office on weekdays was the Chief Clerk of the office.
Half a year was enough time for Chang Suining to get to know the officials who were currently in important positions in Dasheng. She also knew that the chief secretary of the Yangzhou Grand Marshal's Office was named Chen.
"That Chen Changshi..." Chang Kuo shook his head: "He's dead."
Chang Suining frowned: "How did he die?"
Chang Kuo also frowned: "It's ridiculous..."
Chang Suining waited for him to continue.
Thank you all for your monthly tickets!
March is over, how about booking monthly tickets for April after 12 o'clock? (I updated 6,000 words today, I will pay back the debt of rewards in order, good night everyone, happy weekend!)
(End of this chapter)
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