Chapter 148: The Woman in Qingjing Temple (Two Chapters Combined into One)
Perhaps it was the root of the herb that had long since become a delicious meal for mice and had been reincarnated into a grain that had taken effect, that caused Mrs. Wei's sorrow to go away as quickly as it came.
After all, even in the heart of my grandmother, being short of weight is not as good as being exactly right.
Although there was only a difference of two taels, it was a difference. Moreover, what Zhu Yu needed now was not just two taels of meat, but also the position of the crown prince.
In the past, Madam Wei would have immediately gone to Concubine Li to demand an explanation, but this time, she hesitated.
Just as hesitating, Lord Zhu came back.
Before he even entered the door, he heard that his old mother had almost fainted again. Lord Zhu was frightened and quickly ran to Chunhui Hall at the speed of reincarnation.
The son can die, but the old mother cannot.
If he lost his son, he would have another one, but if his old mother died, he would have to observe mourning.
Emperor Yongjia ruled the country with benevolence and filial piety. Not to mention Lord Zhu, even if the border guard had lost his father, he would have to wait for the court officials to plead for mercy again and again. Only then would Emperor Yongjia give a speech on the great principles of the Book of Filial Piety before he issued an edict to allow him to be dismissed and allowed to remain in office.
Last time, because of Zhu Yu, Madam Wei had fainted once. The imperial physician repeatedly warned her not to be stimulated again. If she fainted again, she might not wake up.
Lord Zhu's current job is both leisurely and lucrative, and I don't know how many people are eyeing it. After three years of mourning, who knows if this position will still be his.
Lord Zhu rushed into Chunhui Hall, only to see that although Madam Wei's eyes were red and swollen, she was sitting there in good health.
Lord Zhu let out a long breath and waved to the maids and servants in the room, "Everyone, leave."
All the maids and servants had left, leaving only the mother and son in the room.
Madam Wei glanced at him and said, "Your son has been deprived of his position as Crown Prince, but you are not in a hurry."
More than being in no hurry, Lord Zhu could even be described as being in high spirits, as if he were celebrating a happy event. His eyes were filled with excitement. As the mother knows her son best, Madam Wei guessed at a glance that there was something happy going on.
Lord Zhu rubbed his hands excitedly, like a fly attracted to a cesspool.
"Mom, Rourou and Ruanruan are pregnant. Yes, they are both pregnant. I specially asked several doctors to check their pulses, and they all showed positive pulses. I am going to be a father again!"
Aunt Lan had a miscarriage, and Lord Zhu was depressed for a few hours. However, after a few hours, he came out of his sadness and devoted himself to the pursuit of women.
Rourou and Ruanruan are the sisters he has been doting on recently. Coincidentally, just as Aunt Lan had a miscarriage, the sisters felt uncomfortable in various ways. Marquis Zhu didn't take it seriously at first, until today when Rourou said that she had passed away a long time ago. Then he came to his senses and quickly asked people to call doctors. Four or five doctors were invited at once, and the diagnosis result was that not only Rourou was pregnant, but Ruanruan was also pregnant.
This was a great joy for Lord Zhu, who had difficulty in having children. He wished he could grow wings and fly back to announce the good news.
What Zhu Yu? He had already been thrown out of the sky by Lord Zhu when he lost his offspring.
Although I only have one son, Zhu Yu, am I really a sonless person? Previously, it was the women in my harem who were not good enough. Just look at the women I kept outside. First there was Concubine Lan, then there were the sisters. If I don't put in any effort, it's fine. But if I put in a little effort, I have three.
Lord Zhu excitedly shared the good news, but Madam Wei's face was devoid of joy: "Yu'er's position as Crown Prince is gone."
Marquis Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and comforted, "Mother, what you lost is the throne of the Crown Prince, not the title of Marquis Baoqing. As long as the title is still there, why worry about not having a Crown Prince? Look, Rourou and Rourou are both pregnant at the same time. At least one of them can have a son, right? By then, won't we have the Crown Prince as well?"
Madam Wei snorted coldly, "After all, they are the offspring of some vixen, not worthy of being on the stage. How can they compare to my Yu'er?"
Lord Zhu said with a smile, "Mother, when the child is born, can't we just register it under Ma's name? Does that ugly Ma dare to refuse?"
Of course Ma didn't dare. She was disfigured now, and it would be difficult for her to see Marquis Zhu in the future. If she didn't have any children, she would have no place in this mansion.
Madam Wei sighed, "What about Yu'er? The Emperor has taken away his throne, and he wants the Ministry of Justice to give him a heavy sentence. Are we going to do nothing and watch Yu'er die?"
Lord Zhu wanted to say, let him die, he is such a disgrace and would be a burden if he were alive. He had heard that the guy would be stripped naked at any time in the prison. Yan Xia had no choice but to have him tied up with a quilt.
Some people also said that Zhu Yu was shouting and screaming in the prison, and the sound was like a shrew in heat.
When Lord Zhu heard these words, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. He was a strong and vigorous man, as manly as he could be. How could he have a eunuch as a son?
So I hope that guy dies soon, because once he dies it has nothing to do with him anymore.
Thinking of this, Lord Zhu's eyes lit up: "Mother, I will ask my uncle to come forward right now. Before the Ministry of Justice makes a ruling, we will open the ancestral hall and expel that thing from the Zhu family and remove his name from the family tree!"
Old Madam Wei was stunned. She thought she had heard it wrong?
What did the son say?
Do you want to remove Yu'er from the family tree?
Seeing that Madam Wei was stunned, Lord Zhu felt a little regretful. Alas, why did he say that?
Can't he just act first and report later?
But once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back.
Lord Zhu had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain: "My son is worried that he will bring trouble to the Zhu family. After all, Rourou and Rourou are both pregnant. The children will inherit the title and enter the government. How can they have a brother like that? You love Yu'er, but they are also your grandchildren."
Madam Wei remained silent. Marquis Zhu observed her expression and, noticing that his mother's demeanor had softened, he quickly responded, "Mother, please don't go to Concubine Li's place for the time being. And don't even mention Yu'er's marriage."
Madam Wei frowned, thinking of something: "Has the Emperor looked for you?"
Lord Zhu looked embarrassed. It would have been better if the emperor had come to see him in person, at least the emperor would have been willing to see him. But the emperor didn't. It was the eunuch beside the emperor who found him and gave him a good scolding.
Only then did he know that his old mother had actually entered the palace and asked the emperor to assign the eldest princess of Prince Liang's Mansion to Zhu Yu!
At that moment, Lord Zhu thought his ears were failing him. Zhu Yu was a eunuch; everyone in the capital knew that. Was his mother crazy? If she really wanted to marry Zhu Yu, she could have given him a larger betrothal gift, perhaps marrying him off to a woman from a lesser family. But she was after the Princess of Liangdi. That wasn't just any royal daughter; she was the daughter of the Eighth Prince, a Princess!
Not to mention whether this marriage can be successful, even mentioning it in front of the emperor is a slap in the face of the emperor and the Zhao royal family!
That’s right, it’s not that Lord Zhu is self-aware, but these last few words were said by that eunuch, and they were a warning.
Anyone who is not mentally ill can understand it.
Of course Lord Zhu understood, and he immediately said that he was the head of the Baoqing Marquisate, and as long as he was there, this kind of thing would never happen again.
Now that his mother had seen through it, he told the truth and told her how the emperor had sent the eunuch to criticize him.
But the next moment, Madam Wei sneered repeatedly: "Haha, that old bitch has grown wings. She doesn't take me seriously anymore."
Lord Zhu was startled and said hurriedly, "Mother, what do you mean, what old bitch?"
He had a vague idea of something. He had always known that his old mother had something on Concubine Li, but he didn't know what it was.
He had also asked Madam Wei, but Madam Wei said that he was uneducated and was worried that he would talk nonsense when drunk or in his sleep one day and be heard by some seductress outside.
He could only guess that it was most likely that Concubine Li had had an affair with a man before she got married, but it was not the final step, so she was able to enter the palace through the selection as a perfect virgin.
Not to mention, he actually guessed it right, but unfortunately he only guessed the first half. As for the second half, it wasn't that he couldn't guess it, but that he didn't have the courage to guess it.
But now, he really wanted to know.
My mother is old. If she faints one day and never wakes up again, won’t she take this secret to her grave?
What should he do then?
Ever since the death of her loyal servant Uncle Ming five years ago, Mrs. Wei no longer trusted anyone else, so she sent her son to Qingjing Temple every year, one to donate some money, and the other to talk to the abbess Qingjing.
The silver was not much, only one thousand taels a year, and he only spoke a few words to Master Qingjing.
Asked: "Are the people in the nunnery all right?"
Answer: "Okay."
Q: “Take me to see it.”
Answer: "Okay."
Then, Master Qingjing would take him to the medicinal field behind the nunnery, where several nuns were working. Master Qingjing pointed to one of the middle-aged nuns and said, "She's over there."
They were standing some distance from the medicinal fields, but Lord Zhu still saw the nun's face. Although she wore no makeup, she was pretty and even looked somewhat familiar. However, he couldn't remember where he had seen her before...
Thinking of these past events, Lord Zhu became more and more puzzled and could not help asking, "Mother, after all these years, who is that person in Qingjing Temple? You should at least let your son know. Although Baoqing Marquis Mansion has you as the sea-stabilizing magic needle, your son can rest assured, but you are not an immortal and cannot live forever, right?"
Old Madam Wei's face turned pale. This evil son, is he worried that if he dies, no one will be able to protect him?
Although Madam Wei was angry, she knew in her heart that she was old.
Ever since she fainted last time, she knew that her health was not as good as before.
She originally wanted to tell her son when she was dying, but now, she decided to tell him in advance.
"She's that guy's daughter."
"Who?" As soon as the words came out, Lord Zhu realized something and said in surprise, "It's... it's... it's Li..."
Before he could finish his words, Madam Wei interrupted him: "It's her daughter."
Lord Zhu opened his mouth in surprise and couldn't utter a word.
I really didn't expect that Concubine Li was so bold that she dared to participate in the selection even though she had given birth to a child. And those old maids in the palace who were responsible for physical examinations, were they bribed or blind? Couldn't they see that she was a woman who had given birth to a child?
By the way, there is also the retired emperor, who is also blind. Didn’t he see whether the blood fell or not?
No, I've heard that the madams in brothels all do this. In order to please the customers, they smear chicken blood on the bed sheets.
Oh, Concubine Li was really good at having fun when she was young, no wonder she was so favored.
Seeing the flicker in Marquis Zhu's eyes, Old Lady Wei thought he didn't believe her, so she said, "Back then, when she was still Concubine Li, she finally got pregnant, but Concubine Meng Shu also happened to be pregnant. The Emperor, who had always looked up to Concubine Meng Shu, saw her even more clearly. Every day after court, he would visit Concubine Meng Shu, but ignored Concubine Li, who was also pregnant.
At that time, there was an old maidservant by your grandmother's side who could tell the gender of a woman by looking at her pregnancy, and she was very accurate.
Concubine Li asked me to bring the old nanny into the palace. The old nanny could tell at a glance that she was not pregnant with a boy.
At that time, Concubine Li asked me to help her. She and I are both daughters of the Wei family, and we share the same glory.
Before she entered the palace, she had a lover, but that man was already married and had children. Since she came from an official family, she could not be his concubine, so the two broke up.
Her life seemed to be going smoothly after she entered the palace, but in fact it was not satisfactory. There were so many women in the harem, and it was impossible for them to be treated equally. She was often lonely, and she thought of that man again.
She asked me to help her find out about that man. Coincidentally, she and that man's wife became pregnant at about the same time.
So when the old nanny determined that she was pregnant with a girl, she asked me to find her some pregnant women outside the palace.
This included the man's wife.
Later, Concubine Li really gave birth to a girl, and the man's wife gave birth to a boy. I risked the confiscation of my family and the extermination of my clan to send the boy into the palace and take the baby girl out.
Haha, don’t underestimate this coming and going. There are more than 20 lives involved, even the old lady your grandmother respected the most.
Your grandmother fell ill because of the death of that old lady and passed away not long after. The reason why your father and I became estranged was also because of this incident.
If this hadn't happened, your father wouldn't have taken a concubine, there wouldn't have been the Second Brother's family, and I wouldn't have only you as my son."
What Madam Wei didn't say was that Marquis Baoqing didn't know the whole story. He just suspected that she had killed the old nanny and angered her mother to death, so he never entered her room again.
Of course, they would not have children if they lived in different rooms. Therefore, Madam Wei only gave birth to Lord Zhu, while Lord Baoqing gave birth to Lord Zhu II with his concubine, who was the father of Zhu Qing and Zhu Xin.
Old Madam Wei felt resentful about this for half her life.
"This is what that bitch owes us. She owes me, you, and the Baoqing Marquisate!"
Madam Wei gritted her teeth, but Marquis Zhu was frozen in place.
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and Lord Zhu was so scared!
After a long while, Marquis Zhu finally heard his own voice: "Mother, are you saying, are you saying...that person in the palace...he...he is not...is not the son of the...retired emperor?"
Madam Wei sneered, "His father's surname is Xu, Xu Kun, and his wife's surname is Zou. Xu Kun was once an aide to that bitch's father. He had an affair with that bitch, and when that bitch's mother found out, she fired him."
Lord Zhu finally recovered from his shock. He remembered the twenty-odd lives Madam Wei had just mentioned: "This Xu Kun is dead, right?"
Madam Wei said, "Mrs. Zou willingly handed the child over to me back then. Can you guess why?"
How would Lord Zhu know? He shook his head.
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