Chapter 58
Uncle Jiu laughed excitedly, "Where is he? Take me there quickly!"
Uncle Jiu got up from the armchair and almost fell over.
Fortunately, Linyi responded quickly.
"I'll take you there right away."
When Lin Yi pointed to Zhu Ping who had just come out of the private school, Uncle Jiu remained silent for a long time, tears welling up in his eyes as he held onto Zhu Ping's sleeve tightly.
He carefully examined Zhu Ping from head to toe, and then scrutinized him from head to toe for a long time.
The final conclusion was that he and those around him were blind.
Zhu Ping's features were so similar to General Ning's that no one noticed.
After searching for so long and expending so much effort, the person was right beside their master.
Zhu Ping was listening to the teacher's lecture when he was called out. He saw that it was Uncle Jiu.
Just as he was wondering why he wanted to see him, since he himself was no longer a shop assistant at the clothing store.
He didn't expect Uncle Jiu to be so enthusiastic, holding him back so tightly.
"Uncle Jiu, what brings you here?"
Uncle Jiu exclaimed excitedly, "Young Master, we've finally found you!"
“Your brother has been searching for you for more than ten years.”
"He never gave up for a single day."
Zhu Ping heard everything Uncle Jiu said clearly, but there wasn't a single word he didn't understand.
"Uncle Jiu, I still have classes to attend, I'll go in first."
Uncle Jiu laughed heartily, “Why bother with classes? If you want to take the imperial examinations, Master will prepare everything for you.”
Zhu Ping had no interest in this unfamiliar information and was about to leave.
"Uncle Jiu, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I am Zhu Ping."
"He's not some young master."
Seeing that he didn't believe him, Uncle Jiu had Lin Yi take out the jade pendant, put it in Zhu Ping's hand, and said with a smile, "You are our young master."
“The master’s younger brother, the second legitimate son of the Ning family.”
“The youngest son of Princess Zhaoyang and General Ning.”
“Your brother has been searching for you for more than ten years, and your adoptive parents have both acknowledged you.”
Zhu Ping's head buzzed, and he looked blankly at the two people in front of him.
His lips trembled slightly, but he couldn't utter a single word. It took him a moment to react.
He calmly said, "Uncle Jiu, the person you're looking for is definitely not me."
“My parents are my biological parents, not adoptive parents.”
Seeing him about to leave, Uncle Jiu said loudly, "Young master, if your parents were truly your biological parents, they wouldn't have run away here."
"In order to conceal your background, they pawned your jade pendant and moved here from the fishing village of Lin'an."
"I haven't dared to go back for over a decade, for fear that my master's men would come looking for me."
"Young master, the princess and the general were thinking of you before they died."
"They called your name until they died."
"My master stayed in Lingyang for more than ten years in order to find you."
Zhu Ping swayed, his face turning deathly pale.
Still not believing their explanation, he strode away and entered the private school.
Uncle Jiu knew that he couldn't accept it right away.
Unable to withstand the intimidation, Zhu Qiu and his wife also told the truth.
Looking at their appearances again, it's clear that Zhu Ping is indeed the young master.
"Linyi, your main task from now on is to protect the young master."
"I will go to the post station to deliver a message to my master."
"Uncle Jiu, rest assured, I will protect the young master every step of the way."
After the Crown Prince's wedding, Ning Shiyu became even busier every day.
He circled a line in his notebook for every task he completed.
Mu Li glanced at it and seemed to understand something immediately.
I didn't dare ask, thinking I must be overthinking it.
On this day, the Emperor dined at Empress Wei's Weiyang Palace.
With the new dynasty newly established, the emperor and empress were both busy with their own affairs.
The emperor controlled the court, while the harem was entirely in the hands of the empress.
The couple had been married since childhood and were each other's closest people.
Even though the emperor's harem was filled with many more concubines.
Empress Wei was getting old, but in Emperor Zhaode's heart, no one could replace his first wife.
I noticed that Wei's hair had turned quite white again.
Looking again at the items and furnishings in Weiyang Palace, they were just as simple and unpretentious as those in the Prince's Mansion.
There was not a trace of luxury in it.
Emperor Zhaode said with concern, "Hui'er, you don't need to do everything in the palace yourself."
"I will have the Crown Princess assist you, so you can have less trouble."
Madam Wei smiled gently, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It is not appropriate for the Crown Princess to handle this matter."
"I would like to ask Consort Xiao and Consort Liu to help me manage this, would that be alright?"
"Both of them are considered veterans by His Majesty's side, so I am at ease."
Emperor Zhaode was somewhat surprised, as Consort Liu and Lady Wei had always been on good terms in the Prince's residence.
However, Consort Xiao was very resistant to Lady Wei.
At that time, because she doted on Consort Xiao, Lady Wei often quarreled with him.
Later, Emperor Zhaode toned it down a bit, and only then did Lady Wei become willing to be close to him.
Today, when he heard that Lady Wei had taken the initiative to ask Consort Xiao to help manage the inner palace, Li Jingsheng was still a little taken aback.
"Didn't you dislike her before?"
Why choose her?
After placing a piece of succulent venison on Li Jingsheng's plate, Lady Wei smiled and said, "It was my fault in the past; I always ate her food."
“Nowadays, most women are mothers-in-law; how could they still act like that?”
"Consort Xiao is meticulous and patient in her work, and Consort Liu is honest. I am at ease with her."
"The Crown Princess has the Eastern Palace to manage and is too busy to handle everything."
Seeing that his empress was so understanding, Li Jingsheng felt gratified, and the complicated look in his eyes disappeared.
He reached out and held her hand tightly. "Hui'er, I am truly blessed to have married you."
Wei's cheeks flushed red as she gripped Li Jingsheng's hand.
Finally, a palace maid came in to serve the dishes, and the two separated.
Wei did this because her son specifically reminded her.
"Mother, I have been established as the Crown Prince, and you can no longer handle the affairs of the inner palace alone."
"Don't follow the example of the previous empress."
"This will also make Father Emperor trust me more."
No one knows a father better than his son. He spends every day by his father's side. Crown Prince Li Huijue also knows that once his father ascends the throne...
People tend to be more wary and defensive towards those around them.
Even his cousin turned down a high-ranking position and chose a more suitable one for him.
When only the Emperor and Empress remained in the hall, Emperor Zhaode said, "You must also take good care of my elder brother. I haven't been able to get away these days, but I will go to see him when I have some free time."
The retired emperor now resides in the Palace of Joyful Longevity, which was also the palace where his mother and her two brothers used to live.
Wei Shi took care of all the expenses and servants around him.
Madam Wei laughed and said, "She doesn't miss you at all; she talks about Yu'er every day."
"He knows you're busy, and he even told you to take care of your health."
Li Jingsheng maintained a smile, saying, "Your Majesty is well, so I am relieved."
"And Hong'er, he wants to go to Yunzhou with his wife and stay in our old palace."
"I grant your permission."
"When he leaves in a couple of days, you and Qing'er should go see him off."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."
Crown Prince Li Huihong, his Crown Princess, and his mother and niece heard that Prime Minister Cui had been assassinated.
I know they didn't have a good ending either.
The aunt and niece both hanged themselves in the palace.
After the meal, Emperor Zhaode did not leave, but planned to rest at Lady Wei's place for the afternoon.
As usual, Li Jingsheng lay peacefully in Wei's arms.
Wei gently massaged his scalp.
"Your Majesty, I feel that Yu'er has been hiding something since she returned to Chang'an."
"Even when he was busy in Lingyang, he always had a vibrant energy on his face and a sparkle in his eyes."
“But these days, I have noticed that his brows and eyes are always filled with an unyielding melancholy, and his eyes have lost their light and become much dimmer.”
"It looks like he's suffering a lot inside."
"Now that he has avenged his great enemy and everything is going well at home, I really can't think of anything."
"Many wives of wealthy families in Chang'an want me to act as matchmaker for them."
"What kind of marriage does Your Majesty wish to arrange for Yu'er?"
Wei Shi truly felt sorry for Ning Shiyu, who was already of marriageable age.
And there are no parents to care about them.
His aunt tried to persuade him, but Ning Shiyu remained unmoved.
But she knew that her husband valued his nephew highly and would not be hasty in arranging his marriage.
I wanted to sound him out.
Li Jingsheng also had a headache when it came to Ning Shiyu's marriage.
"Don't even mention it. Just two days ago, I was planning to betroth the eldest granddaughter of the Duke of Zheng to him."
"He refused without even thinking about it."
The Zheng family, the family of the Duke of Zheng, was also considered a distinguished family.
When Cui Mingyou held power in the court, the Duke of Zheng, who was the Imperial Censor, was dismissed from his post for frequently speaking out against the Cui family's abuse of power.
He can be considered a loyal and virtuous minister of the court.
The Emperor was very pleased with the marriage.
Lady Wei continued, "Your Majesty, what if Yu'er does not agree to the granddaughter of the Duke of Zheng?"
"Are you just going to leave his marriage alone for the time being?"
Li Jingsheng suddenly sat up in bed. "He's already twenty-one this year, how can we not care?"
"Not only should I take charge, but I will also find him a good marriage."
“There aren’t many men who are good enough for Yu’er, so we can’t act rashly.”
“I can listen to him about other things, but not about this.”
Seven days later, Ning Shiyu finally received a letter from Uncle Jiu.
The moment he realized that the younger brother he had been searching for for many years was Zhu Ping.
My heart was filled with mixed feelings.
He felt that Uncle Jiu and the others must have made a mistake.
If it were someone else, he would accept it quickly.
It was only because in Dongyue's letters, he often mentioned that Zhu Ping had done this for Fu'er and bought that for Fu'er.
Whenever he had free time, he would linger around Fu'er.
If Fu'er weren't between the two, Ning Shiyu would be happy to have such a clever younger brother.
Everything else is fine, but not Fu'er.
This time, he was even more certain of his idea.
I'm going back to Lingyang for the New Year.
His heart remained with Fu'er; he couldn't be happy anywhere else.
When Mu Li came in, Ning Shiyu instructed, "Send a letter to Uncle Jiu and ask him to check it carefully again."
"Zhu Ping cannot be Xun'er."
Upon hearing this news, Mu Li was extremely excited, but he noticed that his master showed no joy whatsoever.
After a moment's hesitation, Mu Li said, "Young Master, Uncle Jiu is very reliable. He wouldn't have sent you this letter if he wasn't absolutely certain."
Ning Shiyu scoffed, "Even being 100% certain can be wrong. My intuition is usually very accurate."
Seeing his resistance, Mu Li roughly knew the reason.
He mustered his courage and reminded him, "My lord, if I may be so bold as to say, Zhu Ping looks very much like the general."
Ning Shiyu retorted, "There are plenty of people in this world who look alike. Does that mean that anyone who looks like my father is Xun'er?"
"Aren't brothers supposed to look alike? Why doesn't he look like me?"
“Your Highness looks just like the Princess. It’s normal that you two look different.”
Ning Shiyu, annoyed by Mu Li's incessant nagging, threw the letter in his hand at him and said angrily, "Who exactly is your master? What benefits have you gotten from helping him like this?"
"You might as well go back to Lingyang tomorrow and go serve him."
Seeing his usually composed master become so unreasonable, Mu Li was somewhat at a loss.
He wouldn't dare to be so verbose about anything else.
But this matter concerns the Ning family's bloodline and is also his master's long-cherished wish.
Not wanting his master to regret his actions, he had no choice but to reveal the secret he had kept hidden for so long.
“Master, Zhu Ping has two bird-pecked marks on his right arm.”
"I remember that the young master also has one, and the position is exactly the same."
Ning Shiyu was stunned and could no longer utter a word of rebuttal.
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