Chapter 71 Chapter 71 King Wei sent a sincere letter...
"There really wasn't any intention. It was just that Prince Wei submitted a heartfelt letter of repentance, which moved the emperor." Zhou Congshan raised a sarcastic smile and explained to his friend.
Fang Ying went out with Ji Yanlang yesterday. After talking about Prince Wei's western tour, she felt uneasy and sent someone to Zhou's house to ask Zhou Congshan when he was free so that he could meet her.
Zhou Congshan replied that he was free every day and asked Fang Ying to come home to talk at any time, so she came early today.
"And the emperor allowed Prince Wei to accompany him on the western tour? Who wrote this to him? A memorial could move the emperor so much that he only brought Prince Wei as his son to Luoyang to worship his ancestors. Could it be that the God of Literature has descended to earth?" Fang Ying found it too unbelievable, but she didn't dare to be disrespectful to the emperor, so she had to joke.
Zhou Congshan smiled flatteringly, then shook his head, saying, "The memorial simply urged the emperor to see Prince Wei. It's said that the emperor, having read the memorial, was extremely worried and concerned that Prince Wei might be having a difficult time, so he summoned him to offer some soothing words. Unexpectedly, this man was shameless. After hearing a few gentle words, he knelt forward, hugged the emperor's legs, and burst into tears."
Fang Ying: “…”
"He's his biological son after all. The emperor's words made him cry so softly. Remembering that Prince Wei wasn't the kind of rebellious person with such ambitions that he disregarded his ruler and father, it was Li Hansheng and his people who were treacherous, greedy for the credit of following the emperor, and trying to alienate the father and son of the royal family..." Zhou Congshan said this in a flat voice, then changed the subject, "These are all my father's exact words."
Fang Ying: "...I was wondering how you knew so much, it turns out your father told you."
Zhou Congshan snorted coldly: "If he hadn't said that, I wouldn't bother to listen to this nonsense."
"Yes, why did your father tell you this?" It has nothing to do with Zhou Congshan.
"Because this is what the emperor told him the day before he left. He had to deploy the imperial guards to escort the emperor on his tour, so he didn't have time to see the King of Qin."
Fang Ying sorted out the two layers of the relationship and understood. "So, the emperor softened his heart and agreed to take Prince Wei on tour before leaving. But he was afraid that the Prince of Qin, who stayed behind, would think too much, so he told your father about his intentions, hoping that he could explain them to the Prince of Qin."
Zhou Congshan nodded.
"But the time of informing your father was too late, and he had no time to explain the matter to the King of Qin. Why didn't the emperor summon the King of Qin himself to explain the matter?" This is obviously the most time-saving and labor-saving way, and there will be no such mistake.
Zhou Congshan scoffed, "How could a monarch open his mouth and explain himself to his subjects? That would be detrimental to his dignity."
"..." Thinking about her father, Fang Ying suddenly understood. "Indeed, if your father were to speak, he could also advise His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin to prioritize filial piety and respect for his father and ruler. So, your father wants you to convey this message to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin?"
Seeing his friend's eyes suddenly widen, Zhou Congshan couldn't help but laugh sincerely, "You just thought of it?"
"Then you..." Fang Ying asked carefully, "Have you met the King of Qin?"
"Not yet. My father isn't home, and it wouldn't be convenient for him to come. I'm planning to go to Xiangguo Temple tomorrow—do you want to come with me?"
Fang Ying smiled and said, "You're going to have a talk with the King of Qin. Is it appropriate for me to go?"
"Just a few words, and it will take at most an incense stick to finish the explanation." Zhou Congshan looked indifferent, still looking like he didn't care about his fiancé, the King of Qin.
Fang Ying thought about it, but couldn't help asking, "Have you met the King of Qin since we ran into each other last time?"
"No. But why didn't your Ji Liulang accompany the emperor?"
This meant he didn't want to talk about the King of Qin at all. Fang Ying didn't ask any further and replied, "He's injured and wants to stay home more with our wife. Last year, he was home for only a month before going off to fight again. This year, he finally returned home and hasn't even been home for a month."
"Injured?" Zhou Congshan was surprised. "How did you get hurt?"
"I got hurt during the battle for Youzhou. It's fine now." This was Ji Yanlang's excuse to Shangguan when he gave up his position as an escort. "But I didn't get much rest in the army back then..."
Zhou Congshan nodded: "It's time to rest at home and recuperate. My father never took injuries seriously when he was young, but now the injured area hurts when it rains or snows."
Fang Ying sighed, "I don't know when this world will finally be truly peaceful. I heard there's movement from the Hu people again. Our county lord has stationed troops in Zhenzhou, and we'll be the first to bear the brunt of it..."
"This battle is unavoidable. It will come sooner or later." Zhou Congshan took his friend's hand and comforted him, "Don't worry too much. My father said that we can't guarantee victory against the Hu people, and it will be just as difficult for them to attack our city. Besides, the Duke of Yingchuan is a veteran of many battles. The emperor trusts him to guard Zhenzhou. He'll be fine."
Fang Ying was also moved at the moment and nodded when she heard this: "I hope that after this battle, both sides can have peace and quiet for two years."
"I hope so. Hey, I haven't asked you yet, did you enjoy your family's trip to Fantai last time?"
More than ten days had passed since the incident. Fang Ying didn't want to talk about the disagreement with Ji Yanlang. She only mentioned a few happy things and finally said, "Luckily we went early. It would have been a bit hot in the past few days."
"The heat didn't stop you and your wife from going out for a stroll." Zhou Congshan joked with a smile.
"It's fine on the riverbank; there's shade and a cool breeze. By the way, have you heard about that interesting story about the thief hunt in Kaifeng Prefecture?"
"What's so interesting about catching a thief?"
Fang Ying smiled and told Ji Yanlang about the story of catching the thieves from the dry river in South City. "I heard that there was a Taoist who could do the 'alchemy' among them."
"Alchemy? Is it true?"
"Of course it's fake, otherwise how could he be caught?" Fang Ying smiled and took a sip of tea. "Wouldn't he have become an immortal long ago?"
Zhou Congshan thought she would explain in detail after drinking tea, but she was just joking. He couldn't help but glare at his friend and asked, "What's the alchemy trick?"
"It's like using a potion to wash copper into gold, and then using it to deceive people."
"that's all?"
Fang Ying nodded: "I heard that's the case."
"How can this fool anyone? Gold is much heavier than copper. You'll know it's fake the moment you touch it."
"There should be something else mixed in it." Ji Yanlang also heard it from hearsay, so he didn't know the details. Fang Ying only knew this much.
"That's more like it. These people have so much skill and put so much thought into it, why don't they use it for the right path? They only do petty thefts."
“Because their minds are not right.”
Zhou Congshan thought thoughtfully: "You are right. People with evil intentions cannot follow the right path."
Fang Ying looked into her eyes and asked, "What did you remember?"
Zhou Congshan came back to his senses, exchanged a glance with his friend, and shook his head: "Nothing. I heard your family moved into a new house?"
"Yeah." Fang Ying told her a few words about her mother's new house. "After the third and fourth wives heard about it, they said a lot of sour words, both openly and secretly. My stepmother even asked if we should invite our wife and my sisters-in-law over for a few drinks. I waved my hands repeatedly."
Zhou Congshan continued, "If we really invite them all, I'm afraid not only the wine but even the water at your mother's house will be sour to your two sisters-in-law."
Fang Ying burst out laughing: "Then my family must be selling vinegar?"
Zhou Congshan also laughed out loud. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time and were so excited about the conversation that they didn't notice the time passing by. It was not until the maid brought the soup and snacks that they suddenly realized it was noon.
After having some snacks and sitting for a while, Fang Ying said goodbye: "I'll go home first. Recently, our wife has asked Si Niang to learn housekeeping. I have a lot of free time because of this. I will come to talk to you in a few days."
"In that case, why don't you go to Xiangguo Temple tomorrow? We can also take a walk along the river bank." Zhou Congshan was also very bored at home.
Fang Ying refused, "Isn't the King of Qin here? Let the prefect of Kaifeng accompany you. He can even teach you the art of alchemy."
Zhou Congshan was so angry that he stretched out his hand to grab her. Fang Ying was prepared. She jumped up and ran to the door, saying with a smile, "Seriously, you two have to get married in six months at the latest. If not now, when will you take this opportunity to get to know each other better?"
"Go away." Zhou Congshan didn't want to talk, so he stood up and sent Fang Ying out.
Fang Ying knew her temper and stopped at the right time. She took a car from Zhou Mansion back to Ji Mansion. As soon as she got off the car, she heard that the concubine Liu from the third room was giving birth.
"It's time. When did the pregnancy start? Have the midwife and doctor arrived?" Fang Ying asked the maid who answered.
"It started in the morning. The midwife and the doctor have been invited, and Sanniang has also gone to Aunt He's courtyard." The maid said attentively.
Ever since the spring outing to Fantai, the servants in the house have been much more respectful to Fang Ying. At first, she thought that she had caught them making a mistake in the kitchen, and these people were frightened and tense. But when she told Yue Qing'e about it, she burst into laughter.
"Where? It's obviously because you scolded Liu Lang in front of the servants, and he didn't dare to talk back - now they all say that Liu Lang is henpecked."
Fang Ying didn't believe it at the time and asked Lichun to inquire privately. However, unexpectedly, what the servants said was even more outrageous than what Yue Qing'e said. They said that Liu Niang was very clever and had Liu Lang under control, and that Liu Niang had bewitched Liu Lang so much that Liu Lang obeyed her every word... It was simply unbearable to hear!
But she couldn't step forward to scold or forbid the servants from spreading such words. She could only swallow her shame and tell Yue Qing'e, asking her second sister-in-law to take care of it.
There were fewer rumors now, but every time Fang Ying saw the particularly attentive maid, she couldn't help but think of those nonsense. She just nodded lightly and quickly walked into the inner courtyard to see Li.
In Li's room, Yue Qing'e and Ji Si Niang were both there, looking at a new set of jewelry together.
"Ying'er is back." Li waved to Fang Ying, "Come and see! Princess Shengguo will be hosting a banquet in a few days. How about I wear this set of hairpins?"
Fang Ying walked closer and took a look. It was a set of gold jewelry shaped like flowers and fruits, inlaid with emeralds. It was dazzling and looked extraordinary. She couldn't help but praise it, "Beautiful! Only jewelry like this can match my mother's elegance and splendor."
Yue Qing'e beside her laughed and said, "You'd still say that. My fourth sister and I looked at it for a long time, and we kept praising it over and over again."
Li heard this but hesitated: "Will it be too dazzling?"
Was she afraid of stealing the show from her master? After all, Li had been a princess herself. If she dressed too extravagantly, someone might gossip and displease the Princess of Sheng. Fang Ying thought for a moment and said, "Then don't wear the full set. Just cut out two."
Li nodded, "That's it." She reached out and picked out two hairpins, one for Yue Qing'e and one for Fang Ying. "I think these two are too lively. You can wear them."
After saying this, he saw his daughter-in-law was about to refuse, so he added, "Fourth Lady just made a set of hairpins. Such complicated hairpins are not suitable for a young lady like her, so I won't give it to her."
Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e then thanked him together and took the hairpin.
"The eldest princess sent someone to ask me to take you all with me, but since you have so many sisters-in-law, it wouldn't be appropriate for all of you to go. I was thinking of letting Fourth Lady go see the world, and asking Fifth Sister-in-law to accompany her to give her courage. How about the four of you go to the princess's mansion again next time you have the chance?"
Princess Shengguo was going to hold a flower-viewing banquet on the 28th. Before the invitation was delivered, my fifth sister-in-law, Mrs. Gao, had already received the news that this time, young ladies waiting to be married from various families were specially invited. Since Ji Si Niang's marriage was not yet decided, she should be brought to the ladies and mistresses of various families to be seen.
Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e agreed in unison, and Li let them go, leaving Ji Si Niang alone to talk.
After returning to the room and changing clothes, Fang Ying remembered that she had not mentioned the matter of Prince Wei. However, there was no rush. She could wait until Ji Yanlang came back for dinner and then talk about it together.
Yesterday she was scheduled to go to Zhou's house, and Ji Yanlang said he would go to Deng's house to see that the awning was set up. It was still early now, and he had not returned yet.
Fang Ying took a nap in the room, got up and drank a cup of tea, and then Ji Yanlang came in sweating.
"Is it still hot outside? Why are you sweating so much?" she asked.
"I'm wearing too much and I'm getting too sunburned." Ji Yanlang picked up the cup that Fang Ying had refilled with tea and drank it in two gulps. "Give me some water so I can wipe it off."
Fang Ying ordered the maid to fetch some water and poured him a cup of tea. She then asked a few questions about the Deng family's situation. When the maid returned with the water, Ji Yanlang went in to wash up. Lichun found time to report back, "Madam, they just went to the kitchen to fetch some water. They heard that Madam He's mother was in the courtyard. Madam Liu is worried about having a difficult delivery."
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