Chapter 112 Chapter 112 Brother San saw that others were rewarded,...
Ji Yanlang couldn't say he hadn't thought about whether he could be a good father, but he certainly couldn't think that far ahead at the moment.
In mid-April, the northern barbarians invaded again, sending troops in three directions with great momentum. Ji Yanlang's mind was mostly focused on the war. Every day when he returned home, he would first tell Fang Ying a few words about the news he heard in the camp.
Xingniang and the others joked behind her back, saying that if she talked like this every day, if she gave birth to a boy in the future, he would definitely be a general who loved to wield swords and guns and could go into battle and kill the enemies.
Fortunately, by May, all three enemy armies were defeated, and Ji Yanlang regained his composure. The couple's daily conversations became the same as before, mostly about things happening in the palace and in the capital.
"The emperor has chosen a new princess for Prince Wei." That day, Ji Yanlang came back and changed his clothes, then said this to Fang Ying.
Fang Ying frowned: "Which noble lady is so unlucky?"
"Daughter of Duke Kangguo."
Duke Kangguo was the former ruler of Wuyue. He was favored by the emperor because he had surrendered his entire country and donated a lot of treasures to the government. However, the fact that his daughter was chosen as the princess consort of Prince Wei was not good news to him.
Ji Yanlang also agreed with Fang Ying's opinion, "No matter how lenient the emperor appears to be towards people like the Duke of Kangguo, he is still wary."
In other words, if Prince Wei still had any hope of becoming the crown prince, the emperor would not have chosen this princess for him.
But Fang Ying still felt it was a pity for the daughter of Duke Kangguo. When she saw Zhou Congshan the next day, she couldn't help but sigh to her.
"Who says it's not?" Zhou Congshan also felt regretful. "The emperor already had a candidate. If it weren't for the fact that the concubines in Prince Wei's palace gave birth to two sons who died in infancy, he would have cried to the emperor and this disaster would not have befallen this young lady."
Fang Ying was curious: "Whose daughter was originally chosen?"
"She's also a royal relative, the daughter of Empress Dowager Zhangxian's nephew, Fan Congye." Seeing Fang Ying still a little confused, Zhou Congshan smiled and said, "She's also considered a relative of yours. She's the only son of Empress Dowager Zhangxian's sister."
"Oh," Fang Ying remembered, "Didn't that person say he was seriously ill? How come there's still an unmarried daughter in the family?"
Zhou Congshan nodded and said, "It is precisely because of my serious illness that I wrote to the government to ask for a marriage, and also to entrust my orphan to the care of others."
"Then King Wei also heard about it beforehand, so he's unwilling?"
"The Emperor must have asked Concubine Zhang's opinion first. Both mother and son are too arrogant. Fan Congye has no biological children, so he's an adopted son from the clan. If Fan Congye passes away in the future, how will the Emperor remember him? At most, he'll just receive a salary based on his family background."
Fang Ying couldn't help but laugh: "He despised the Fan family for not having any help. Now that it's the Duke of Kangguo's Mansion, if we really offer him help, would he dare to accept it?"
Zhou Congshan also laughed: "Maybe he really dares."
"What about the young lady from the Fan family's marriage? Is it settled?"
"Well, King Cai has a son who is about the same age."
Does it have to be given to the royal family? Fang Ying muttered to herself, then recalled what she had said before: "You just said that Prince Wei had two sons who died young?"
"Well, one was born prematurely and died a few days after birth, and the other had a seizure just after one month old and couldn't be saved either."
"What about the one in front?"
Zhou Congshan said, "I haven't heard anything wrong. He should be fine." At this point, she lowered her voice, "I think he's done too many bad things, and it's retribution for his offspring."
He added with a sneer, "They themselves are feeling guilty, so they're going to Xiangguo Temple to perform a ritual. I heard they're praying for the deceased princess' soul to rest in peace."
Fang Ying sighed, "It would be great if retribution could come back to him one day."
Seeing his friend's expression of pity, Zhou Congshan remembered that she was pregnant and regretted mentioning the baby's premature death. He hurriedly said, "He can't escape. It's only a matter of time." He then asked her to eat cherries and changed the subject.
The two hadn't had a chance to meet since the Princess Shengguo Banquet. Fang Ying was in poor health and couldn't meet outsiders, so Zhou Congshan invited her to the Zhou family's villa to enjoy the flowers and relax. She had informed her stepmother in advance and asked someone to come and make arrangements so that the two could talk quietly without being disturbed.
The Zhou family's villa was full of luxuriant flowers and trees. There was also running water in the courtyard, and pavilions and waterside pavilions were built. Fang Ying and the others sat in the waterside pavilion to enjoy the flowers. It was neither too cold nor too hot, and it was very comfortable. If they got tired of sitting, they could get up at any time and take a walk in the bamboo forest behind.
Zhou Congshan held her hand and told her what flowers were planted in the bamboo forest as they walked. "...There are also a few clumps of late-blooming peonies. They are in full bloom now. I'll pick out the best ones and cut some for you to take home and put in a vase."
"Well, most of the peonies in our house have faded. Now only the hydrangeas and roses are in bloom, and the lotus buds are just beginning to form."
"Are your hydrangeas from Shuzhong?"
"Yes, they were all transplanted from the original Yangzhou Prefecture. Why? Do you want to plant some too?"
Zhou Congshan nodded. There were few flowers and trees in the backyard of Kaifeng Mansion, and there was not much scenery to see. She was not used to it. She had been busy planting trees and flowers since the beginning of spring. When she heard her friend talk about hydrangeas, she also wanted to plant some.
"Then I'll go back and ask someone to send some to you." Fang Ying said.
"How can you transplant them during their blooming season?" Zhou Congshan smiled and waved his hand. "Just cut a few nice flowers for me and send them to me. In autumn, when the blooming season is over, ask the gardener to pick out a few strong and easy-to-survive ones and dig them up for me."
Fang Ying laughed and said, "I really don't understand this. So you can't transplant plants during their flowering period?"
"The flowers will all fall off, and if you want it to survive, you'll have to prune off most of the branches and leaves, let alone the flowers."
Fang Ying was surprised: "You speak so convincingly, what's going on? Have you really put in the effort to study it?"
Zhou Congshan said, "I can't say I'm studying hard, I just don't want to be fooled by my subordinates. Besides, I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway."
There were only two masters in Kaifeng Prefecture, she and the King of Qin. Their daily interactions were limited to royal relatives, so Zhou Congshan's life was indeed quite leisurely.
"Another advantage is that when I meet those people in the palace, if anyone says something I don't like, I'll just talk about flowers and plants." Zhou Congshan said with a smile, "Just Concubine Zhang asked me to talk back several times."
"Just Concubine Zhang? Could there be someone else?"
"Yes, every one of them has their own thoughts. I won't get involved in their affairs."
"That's something you can't get involved with."
Fang Ying responded with a smile and talked to Zhou Congshan about flowers and plants. The two of them admired the flowers for a while, then went to the small building at the back to have some snacks and take a nap before leaving the courtyard.
Zhou Congshan insisted on sending Fang Ying to the gate of Ji's mansion. Fang Ying first took the peonies to see Li and picked out a few beautiful ones for her to put on.
Mrs. Li was afraid that she would be tired after going out, so she urged her to go back and rest.
Fang Ying was not tired, but she felt a little urgent, so she left as she was told.
After returning to her room to change her clothes, she sent word down that she should pick out ten well-opened hydrangeas and send them to the Princess of Qin in Kaifeng Prefecture the next morning. "Remember to bring them to me for my review first."
Wheat straw went away as soon as he was told.
Fang Ying felt her legs were a little sore, so she leaned on the couch and asked Lichun to massage her legs. As she was being massaged, she felt a little sleepy when Ji Yanlang came back.
She yawned and sat up. Before she could speak, Ji Yanlang said, "Lie down. I'll go change clothes."
Fang Ying was yawning so hard that tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't see his face clearly. It was Lichun who waited until the inner door was closed, then came up to her and whispered, "My dear, you look unhappy."
"Yeah?"
Fang Ying wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and when Ji Yanlang came out after changing his clothes, she looked at his face carefully.
"When did you come back? Did you have fun?" Ji Yanlang walked over and sat down. Seeing Fang Ying staring at him, he raised his hand and touched his face. "What's wrong with my face?"
"Nothing, I just don't look very happy." The smile on his face was forced.
Ji Yanlang rubbed his face and said, "I can't hide it, luckily I didn't go see my mother first."
Fang Ying felt something was wrong and became serious: "What happened?"
Ji Yanlang exhaled heavily through his nose, suppressing his anger and saying, "We won the battle, and aren't we rewarding people for their contributions recently? Third brother's immediate superior, Feng Jinyu, who is currently in charge of the military deployment in Daizhou and Sanjiao, has filed a petition to accuse the commander-in-chief, Jiang Chonghai."
When Jiang Chonghai was the governor of the country, he followed his close subordinates. After pacifying Jiangnan, he was granted the title of Xuanhui Beiyuan Envoy and Tong Pingzhangshi. He also made contributions during the expedition against Northern Zhao. However, Feng Jinyu was a surrendered general of Northern Zhao.
After hearing Ji Yanlang's account of the two's identities, Fang Ying was surprised and asked, "How dare he sue? Is it because his credit was stolen?"
"No, it's because of Third Brother."
Fang Ying didn't understand: "Huh?"
"Feng Jinyu submitted a memorial accusing my third brother of disobeying orders during the battle, resulting in the loss of troops. He reported the truth, but Jiang Chonghai concealed the truth. When the court issued rewards and punishments, my third brother saw that everyone else received rewards, but he didn't. He even made a scene, saying that Feng Jinyu was deliberately suppressing him."
Ji Yanlang couldn't suppress his anger at this point, and his voice became louder: "I don't even need to write a letter to ask about this matter, it must be true!"
"How do you say that?"
Ji Yanlang sneered: "He and Fourth Brother have been following Father around for these years, being flattered every day. They don't know how high the heavens are and how deep the earth is. They have always looked down on surrendered generals like Feng Jinyu."
“…”
They still look down on him? Wasn't Ji Guangting a surrendered general? Just because he surrendered a few years earlier, they can look down on those who surrendered later?
Ji Yanlang was unaware that Fang Ying was secretly criticizing his family, so he continued, "But Feng Jinyu is a well-known and powerful general in Northern Zhao, and the emperor highly values him. Otherwise, how could he be allowed to guard Yanmen and Sanjiao?"
"If that's the case, then General Feng must not be acting on impulse..."
"Of course not! I guess he can't stand Third Brother's behavior..." Ji Yanlang paused, then said, "He has no ability, disobeys his superiors, doesn't obey orders, and only stirs up trouble. He wants to kick him out."
"But I didn't expect that General Jiang suppressed it out of consideration for his father's reputation?" Fang Ying guessed.
Ji Yanlang nodded: "Jiang Chonghai and father have some friendship. Maybe father has asked him to take care of the third and fourth brothers."
Fang Ying suddenly remembered and asked, "Isn't Fourth Uncle at Sanjiao? He's not involved, right?"
"I haven't heard of him." Ji Yanlang said, and then sneered, "Although the fourth brother doesn't have much ability, he is more thoughtful than the third brother. Even if he looks down on Feng Jinyu, he won't openly oppose Shangguan."
Fang Ying pondered for a moment and asked, "How did you know about this? Has the news spread?"
Ji Yanlang said, "The commander of the cavalry battalion told me that even if the news doesn't spread today, everyone will know it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, whether they should know it or not."
"What about father?"
"Same, I'll go talk to my second brother first, and then go see mother." After Ji Yanlang and Fang Ying went through this matter again, his anger subsided by half, and he calmed down. "If you're hungry, eat first, no need to wait for me."
As he said this, he got up and went out, and did not return until it was completely dark in the evening.
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