Chapter 142: Killing the chicken to scare the monkey
"I married your grandfather, and as a married princess I lost my qualification as an heir in front of the ministers and royal family."
Ji Mingzhu looked at the curtains on the bed and said with a slight sigh: "Now that I think about it, why did I worry so much back then?"
"Anyway, your grandfather holds military power, and I hold half of the political power. If we use heavy military force to suppress them, I don't think many people will dare to resist openly. Even if there are, we will kill them."
"It's so easy to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys."
Ji Mingzhu narrowed her eyes, her voice cold and filled with regret, "But, I chose a safe and easy path, a seemingly honest puppet."
"I'm shortsighted. I saw that Ji Mingyuan was gentle, honest, and obedient, and he had some of your great-uncle's shadow, so I chose him among the many royal family members."
"Perhaps he was indeed grateful to me at the beginning, or even dependent on me, but power can make a person no longer like his original self, let alone an emperor who possesses the most supreme power in the world."
Ji Mingzhu looked at Zhou Yunshu intently and said seriously, "Never try to test a person's heart. Hearts can change, and no one can control them."
Zhou Yunshu nodded.
"If I hadn't retired at the right time ten years ago and returned the power to Ji Mingyuan, our family might have been gone five years ago."
“But it’s still not enough.”
Ji Mingzhu squeezed Zhou Yunshu's hand and said, "I should have grabbed your grandfather's hand and stopped your father and uncle when the Tiele army marched south five years ago. That way, they wouldn't have stayed in the northern border for five years and died there with Yun Kun and the others."
"We were wrong, we weren't ruthless enough, we were too naive! We actually thought that court battles and conflicts over personal interests could never outweigh the greater good of the nation, and the people."
"But in the end, it was the Zhou family who defended the northern border for him, and it was also the Zhou family who was chopped down by the butcher's knife!" Ji Mingzhu felt her heart bleeding every time she thought of her husband, son and grandson who were cremated in her hands.
If Zhou's army had not risked their lives to protect the bodies of their leaders, Ji Mingzhu would have had no chance to see them.
Zhou Yunshu looked at Ji Mingzhu's bloodshot eyes, hugged her arms and said, "Grandma, Grandpa is not wrong, the Zhou family is not wrong, they are the ones who are wrong!"
"Even if it happened again, I believe that my grandfather would still step forward when the court had no generals to send. He protected the world of the Great Zhou, not Ji Mingyuan's world. The Zhou family protected the people of the Great Zhou, and never served as a dog under Ji Mingyuan."
Zhou Yunshu leaned on Ji Mingzhu's shoulder, held her hand and said, "Grandma, please don't take all these burdens on yourself, okay? They are clearly the ones who are wrong, aren't they?"
Doctor Xue just said that his grandmother was worrying too much, and if it continued like this, her worry would only get worse.
Even though she is still the backbone of the family on the surface, she is probably about to collapse under the pressure of her heart.
"Grandmother, you have to live well. Only by living well can you see how Ji Mingyuan brought his own death upon himself, and how those who took advantage of his misfortune and fanned the flames will suffer the consequences."
"You have to look at it not only for yourself, but also for your grandfather, your father, and your uncle."
Zhou Yunshu sat up slightly and looked at Ji Mingzhu who was crying silently. She held her in her arms and coaxed her softly, "I will make them pay the price."
Xixi sat next to her and watched her mother coaxing her great-grandmother as if she were coaxing herself.
She tilted her little head, somewhat puzzled.
Did my great grandfather do something bad? My mother and great-grandmother both seemed to want him dead.
Don’t think about things you can’t figure out.
Xixi now just hopes that her mother will stop crying. She feels so uncomfortable when her mother cries.
If she knew how to make her mother not sad, she would do anything.
After Ji Mingzhu cried, her expression looked a little better.
But she was too tired, and Zhou Yunshu didn't want to wake her up after she fell asleep.
After lunch, Li Jialan and Nanny Wang stayed in the inner room, while Zhou Yunshu took Fang Huiwen, Yuan Li and Yuan Yi, and followed Chuqi to pick up her elder brother in person.
Ji Mingzhu and his friends also stayed in a courtyard when they came to Jiangzhong from Cangzhou. However, because it was a temporary place to stay and they didn't want to attract too much attention, the courtyard was not big, but it was ok for them to stay for one night.
The carriage stopped and Chuqi went to knock on the door. After three long and two short knocks, the wooden door opened.
"Master." The person who opened the door was a young man who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He had a round face and a very happy smile.
But Zhou Yunshu knew that the person in front of her looked young, but was actually twenty-five years old and had a baby face.
When Sixteen saw Chunque helping Zhou Yunshu down, he bowed and said with a smile, "Greetings to the young lady."
"Sixteen, long time no see."
Sixteen's face was particularly deceptive, and he always smiled before speaking, making him very approachable.
"I'm afraid the young lady will find me annoying in the future."
Zhou Yunshu waved her hand, "No."
After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Chu Qi, who had carried Yuan Li and Yuan Yi down, and Fang Huiwen, who was following closely behind Yuan Li and Yuan Yi, and said to Shiliu, "How is my eldest brother?"
Sixteen restrained his smile, "The eldest master is resting."
Sixteen opened the door and said to Zhou Yunshu and Fang Huiwen, who was standing beside her with a nervous expression and red eyes, "Miss, Madam, please come this way."
Fang Huiwen was so nervous that she was at a loss for words, not to mention Yuan Li and Yuan Yi who were beside her.
Yuan Li and Yuan Yi were already old enough to be governors. Seeing their mother's strange behavior, Yuan Li's face was tense, and Yuan Yi clutched his twin brother's sleeve tightly with panic in his eyes.
When she reached the tightly closed door, Fang Huiwen couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst into tears before she even entered.
When Fang Huiwen started crying, Yuan Yi beside her couldn't hold back and burst into tears; although Yuan Li was still strong, he couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.
Zhou Yunshu looked at her sister-in-law and took a deep breath, "Sister-in-law, come in."
Zhou Yunzhi had already decided to die because he was the only one left in the Zhou family after all the men died. Now, when he heard the cries of his wife and children outside, he didn't know if it would make him want to live.
When the door opened, there was a faint strange smell in the room.
Although it can be seen that the room has been cleaned in advance, the man is not that careful and the service is not very meticulous.
"Husband!"
Fang Huiwen looked at the person lying on the bed and couldn't help but rush over.
Zhou Yunshu looked at Yuan Yi who was crying loudly and Yuan Li who was sobbing beside her, nudged their little bodies and said, "Go find your father."
"father!"
"Wow, Daddy, I miss you so much!"
The sound of crying filled the entire room. Zhou Yunzhi opened his eyes wide and looked at the ceiling of the bed in despair, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.
Why, why is he the one alive?
He was obviously the eldest brother and the one who should have protected his younger brother, but he watched his younger brother being hacked to death while trying to save him, and watched his father being shot to death by arrows while trying to protect him.
Why wasn't he the one who died? Why!
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