Chapter 95: The Zhong Family (Part 2)
Princess Huiming and Princess Huixin?
Zhao Shiqing had never seen it and didn't understand it. Not only her, but also Zhao Tinghan and Zhao Yunnuan were the same. To the Zhao royal family, they were invisible people.
But, of course, Zhao Shiqing couldn't say that.
Facing Lady Zhong Wu, Miss Zhen Bao smiled knowingly: "Lady Wu is very thoughtful. If the two princesses knew that there is a cousin who misses you so much in the distance, they would definitely be very happy."
Madam Zhong Wu was stunned. What did I say wrong that caused Miss Zhen Bao to misunderstand me?
But could she say that Miss Zhen Bao had misunderstood?
Of course not.
Lady Zhong Wu said: "Alas, the two princesses are far away in the capital, and none of their relatives are around. They must be very lonely. Every time I think of them, I can't sleep at night."
Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes inwardly. How did the Zhong family raise their daughter? They were supposed to be a family of scholars, yet they dared to say such things? No wonder none of their descendants were capable of anything.
Although the two princesses are invisible people, they are also of royal blood, and the Zhao royal family are all their relatives. You said that the relatives are not around, then who lives in the palace?
Zhao Shiqing originally didn't know why Madam Zhong Wu chased her, but now after a little probing, she knew it was probably not something that could be made public.
As expected, Miss Zhen Bao threw a stick, and Madam Zhong Wu quickly grabbed it. She said with a look of sorrow, "Originally, cousins Huiming and Huixin were in the capital, and were being taken care of by our aunt. But our aunt is pregnant. She is old, and this pregnancy was already difficult. And then, our eldest cousin passed away at this time. Our aunt is heartbroken to see her son die. I'm afraid she won't be able to take care of our cousins anymore. What should we do now?"
As she spoke, she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. I don’t know if there was ginger water on the handkerchief. When she looked up again, her eyes were red and tearful, which made me feel pity for her.
Zhao Shiqing felt really sorry for Xiao Zhen. Your cousin is such a good actress. Isn’t it a pity that you didn’t get to see it with your own eyes?
Miss Zhen Bao was obviously moved by Lady Zhong Wu. She held Lady Zhong Wu's hand and vowed, "Lady Zhong Wu, don't worry. When I return to the capital to see the eldest princess, I will definitely convey Lady Zhong Wu's feelings to the eldest princess and the two princesses.
Alas, the eldest princess really doesn't have the energy to take care of the two princesses now. It would be great if she had a considerate daughter. If she doesn't have a daughter, a niece or nephew will do, just like the Fifth Lady. She can be at the eldest princess's side and often come to the palace to accompany the two princesses. Alas, it's a pity. The eldest princess has everything except a child. If the Fifth Lady were her daughter, she would be so happy.
Madam Zhong Wu's eyes lit up. This Miss Zhen was truly a close friend.
"Ever since I can remember, my grandmother and mother have hired a maid from the palace to teach me etiquette and rules. They also said that among so many sisters, I was the only one who took after the Empress..."
At this point, she seemed to suddenly realize that she had let something slip, and hurriedly covered her mouth, smiling shyly at Miss Zhen Bao: "Sister, please don't laugh at me."
Now she becomes my sister?
Miss Zhen Bao hurriedly said, "Sister, what are you talking about? I was wondering why you looked so familiar. It turns out you looked like the eldest princess. To be honest, I have never met the Empress, only the eldest princess."
Mrs. Zhong Wu was surprised and delighted: "I really look like the eldest princess. No, do I really look like my cousin?"
The women of the Zhong family had only entered the palace when Empress Zhong was alive. At that time, Princess Jiayi was still a child. As for what the princess would look like when she grew up, they had no idea.
Miss Zhen Bao said without thinking, "Yes, the eyebrows and eyes are similar, the nose is similar, the mouth is similar, oh my, even the face is similar."
......
When Miss Zhen Bao left, there was a hairpin inlaid with red and blue sapphires in her arms, which was given to her by Madam Zhong Wu.
It was getting late, so the Zhen siblings could only stay in the Zhong Mansion for one night. They were arranged to stay in the guest room, and they were entertained in the evening by Zhong Zhanbo from the third room and his sister Zhong Liuniang.
Madam Zhong Liu is only thirteen years old. Her appearance is a little inferior to that of Madam Zhong Wu, but she has a steadiness that is inconsistent with her age. She is also graceful and speaks with substance.
Zhao Shiqing found it interesting. It was obvious that the second wife was the one with an official position, and the second old lady had an imperial decree, but she didn't know how she educated her children. Madam Zhong Wu didn't look like she came from a scholarly family at all.
Young Master Zhen Gui was not good at drinking, so the banquet ended early. While sending her brother back, Miss Zhen Bao told her about what happened with Madam Zhong Wu who was looking for her.
Xiao Zhen: "I think the elders of the Zhong family have long wanted to send someone to my mother, and Madam Zhong Wu heard about it. Now that she heard that she is pregnant, Madam Zhong Wu wanted to mention her name to my mother through you before the sisters did."
Zhao Shiqing agreed when she thought about it. Over the years, Princess Jiayi had only given birth to Xiao Zhen. Although there was also Xiao Yue in the mansion, the Zhong family had obviously ignored Xiao Yue a long time ago. After all, he was not the princess's biological son.
Of course, the Zhong family could not send a boy to the Princess's Mansion, as that would cause criticism, but sending a young lady there was nothing wrong.
This young lady is not only the eldest princess's cousin, but also the bond between the eldest princess and the Zhong family. As for the other two princesses, the Zhong family doesn't care about them.
As for the future of this cousin, there are three options.
One is to marry Xiao Zhen and transform herself from a niece to a daughter-in-law;
The second is to marry a powerful man in the capital and become the wife of the head of the family. A young lady raised by the eldest princess herself can be the eldest daughter-in-law, not to mention the eldest daughter-in-law, even the crown princess can be a princess;
The third and worst way out is to marry a prince who is held hostage in Beijing and become the prince's consort, the future princess.
As for the Crown Princess or the Imperial Prince's Consort, the Zhong family certainly didn't consider it. Firstly, both the Crown Prince and the favored Third Prince already had a principal wife. The Zhong family couldn't afford to have Empress Zhong's niece become a concubine.
Secondly, if she marries an honest prince and lives a life of wealth and idleness, this chess piece will be useless; but if she marries a smart and capable one, if she chooses the wrong side, the Zhong family will not be able to bear the risk. So after much thought, it is the safest to become the prince's consort first and then the princess, like the Princess of Wu.
After Xiao Zhen and Zhao Shiqing analyzed it together, they understood everything.
As for Madam Zhong Wu, it was clear from seeing how anxious she was that the person the Zhong family was planning to send into the palace was definitely not her.
The more you can't get it, the more you want it. Now that you know the eldest princess is pregnant, it seems that sending someone over is going to be done. But what can a young lady in seclusion do? The arrival of Miss Zhen Bao is the straw that can be grasped.
Miss Zhen Bao refused to admit that it was Madam Zhong Wu who came to her out of sheer hunger. She must have been too cute and kind, and Madam Zhong Wu thought she was trustworthy, so she came to her. Yes, that must be the case!
After Zhao Shiqing left, Xiao Zhen lay on the bed, looking at Chengchen above his head.
In his previous life, he didn't know that the Zhong family had these ideas.
At this time in his previous life, his parents were no longer alive, the Princess's Mansion no longer existed, and everyone believed that the Princess and her husband had killed Prince Liang. Prince Liang's Mansion and the Xiao family's troops went to war, the imperial court sent troops, the Xiao family became rebels, and he, as a descendant of the Xiao family, was captured by Hai.
At that time, the Zhong family had already drawn a clear line with the eldest princess.
Xiao Zhen suddenly remembered something. It was around this time that Zhong Zishun, the second branch of the Zhong family who worked as the Tongzhi in Wenyang Prefecture, gave his legitimate daughter to Feng Ke as a concubine!
This incident was not made public at the time. People only knew that the Zhong family, Princess Jiayi's maternal family, was not implicated in the disaster. Not only that, Zhong Zishun was promoted to a higher rank, from the fifth rank to the regular fifth rank.
It was not until a few years later when Xiao Zhen rescued Zhong Ziyang that he learned about what had happened.
Feng Ke is a shrewd and calculating man. How could he protect the insignificant Zhong family just for a woman?
That’s because Zhong Zishun set up a trap to plot against Feng Ke!
However, Zhong Zishun only served as the prefect for three years before retiring due to illness. It is unknown what happened to the daughter of the Zhong family who was Feng Ke's concubine.
With Feng Ke's shrewdness and foresight, he could endure his anger for a while. Once the crisis was over, he would not spare the woman's life.
After Zhong Zishun retired, he became a vegetarian and Buddhist, just like the Second Lady, and ignored worldly affairs. At that time, the Third Lady Zhong had already passed away. Zhong Ziyang was not good at business and had offended several old managers. The income from land and shops was greatly reduced, and the mansion gradually became unable to make ends meet.
The grandchildren of the Zhong family have never done housework before, and they all consider themselves to be scholars, but none of them passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi. As for the household chores, they disdain them and do not understand them.
Zhong Ziyang is unable to support the family alone due to his limited abilities. He can only make ends meet with his family.
Although the Zhong family was saved, it had completely fallen into decline, and even the officials of Baifeng City wanted to step on it.
That year, the Baifeng River was to be expanded, and the officials of Baifeng City came to the Zhong Mansion and imposed a forcible levy of 20,000 taels of silver.
However, the Zhong family could no longer come up with the 20,000 taels, but the officials were still pressing them.
Zhong Ziyang had no choice but to sell a batch of calligraphy and painting collections, and barely scraped together 20,000 taels of silver. Before the money was delivered to the government office, it was targeted by thieves.
The thieves directly kidnapped Zhong Zhanbo and asked the Zhong family to pay 20,000 taels to ransom him.
When this happened, not only did no one in the Zhong family comfort them, but they added insult to injury and asked Zhong Ziyang to divide the family property as soon as possible. As for the 20,000 taels that they had finally scraped together, of course they could not use it to redeem people, but had to divide it up.
That day, Zhong Ziyang hid it from everyone and secretly went outside the city with the silver to redeem the person. However, no one showed up and the horse pulling the silver was startled. Zhong Ziyang was thrown off the carriage and fainted. The carriage, the silver, and the coachman were all gone.
Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue happened to pass by here, and when they saw Zhong Ziyang unconscious, they rescued him.
After waking up, Zhong Ziyang knew that he had been tricked by thieves. Thinking of Zhong Zhanbo, whose life or death was uncertain, he burst into tears.
Later, Xiao Zhen found out that a legal advisor in the yamen was colluding with the thieves. He encouraged the officials to ask the Zhong family to collect money, and at the same time kidnapped Zhong Zhanbo and forced the Zhong family to use money to redeem him.
Xiao Zhen showed no mercy and killed all the thieves and rescued Zhong Zhanbo, but the 20,000 taels of silver were not found.
Zhong Zhanbo also lost one hand. Although he had already achieved the title of Juren, he could not go any further.
After this incident, Zhong Ziyang knew that he could not lead the entire Zhong family by himself, so he divided the family after returning. As for the lost 20,000 taels, it could only be counted on the third branch.
After the family split up, the third branch of the Zhong family moved out of the mansion. He settled his family in the farm and went to live with Xiao Zhen.
Although his talent was mediocre, he provided rich emotional value to Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yue, who had lost both parents and had no relatives to rely on, allowing them to gain a touch of family affection in their displacement.
However, Xiao Zhen did not treat Zhong Ziyang badly. After Fengyu Pavilion was established, he always valued Zhong Ziyang.
Zhong Ziyang also gained a lot of benefits. Xiao Zhen even suspected that the missing 20,000 or 20,000 yuan might have finally returned to Zhong Ziyang's hands.
But Xiao Zhen did not investigate further. In his previous life, the people he trusted most, besides Dazhuang and others, were only two relatives, one was Xiao Yue and the other was Zhong Ziyang.
Xiao Zhen treated these two remaining relatives sincerely. He gave them the greatest trust and the most tolerant attitude. However, the person who betrayed him in the end was Zhong Ziyang.
......
Xiao Zhen sat up. It now seemed that the person who was used to set a trap for Feng Ke was this Madam Zhong Wu.
Xiao Zhen didn't want to miss the opportunity to stay at the Zhong family for one night.
However, he was a step too late, because he saw a big bird flying past the window, followed by a cat.
Xiao Zhen was stunned. Zhao Shiqing brought a cat with her? No way, why did he remember that Zhao Shiqing didn't bring a cat with her when she left the inn?
......
In the dead of night, he heard a slight rustling sound, which was the sound of fingernails scratching the window paper.
He walked to the window and opened it, and Zhao Shiqing jumped in with the cat named Xiaoyao in her arms.
"Haha, guess what my little demon heard? The people in the backyard were not sleeping late at night and were beating the children!" Zhao Shiqing said with a smile.
"Beat the child?" Xiao Zhen became interested. "Tell me in detail."
He stretched out his hand, wanting to hug Xiao Yao, but Xiao Yao didn't give him face and buried her head in Zhao Shiqing's arms. He underestimated the cat. Not everyone can hug a cat.
Zhao Shiqing said, "I saw Madam Zhong Wu being beaten during the day. The Second Madam and the Third Madam were both there. They had the maid do it, whipping them with a cane. Oh my god, a scholarly family actually beat their daughter. I thought at most they would just make her kneel down or copy scriptures as punishment."
Xiao Zhen was also stunned. He was a man from outside the family and had no sisters of his own. He didn't know what it was like in other mansions. Beating sons was a common thing, but he seemed to have never heard of beating daughters. However, things in the harem would not be spread out.
"The Zhong family wasn't like this before. My mother said that after the passing of Empress Zhong and the late Crown Prince, the Zhong family became cautious in their words and deeds, and even rarely came to the capital."
For some reason, he just didn't want to leave a bad impression on Zhao Shiqing, even if it was the Zhong family that he had already thrown out of the spotlight.
Zhao Shiqing didn't understand Xiao Zhen's painstaking efforts. She asked, "Does that mean they have no chance of going to the capital at all? After all, the only ones in the royal family who are still related to the Zhong family are the eldest princess and the two princesses left by Emperor Xiaokang. If we ignore the two princesses, then the eldest princess isn't particularly close to the Zhong family, is she?"
Xiao Zhen nodded. It was indeed true. Although the Zhong family was the eldest princess's in-laws, the eldest princess only had love affairs in her mind. She would only think of her in-laws during festivals and when the Zhong family sent people to deliver New Year gifts. Once the people left, she would forget about it.
How could the Zhong family be as attractive as Prince Consort Xiao?
"Oh, Xiao Yao couldn't explain it clearly, so I went to check it out myself. Besides the person I met during the day, there was another unfamiliar face. That person looked like a nanny from some family, but she was sitting next to the Second Madam. Yes, she was sitting, not standing!"
Actually, Xiao Yao’s inability to explain clearly was only one of the reasons. The more important reason was that Zhao Shiqing wanted to watch the excitement, and the excitement had to be seen with his own eyes.
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