Chapter 34 Changes
"Master will record the entire incident in the memorial. But things in the capital are...difficult." Shen Zhengnan agreed readily, but did not hide the fact that the result might not be satisfactory.
Chu Ci cursed the dog emperor in his heart before continuing to ask, "It's hard to escape the guilt, so what about the hard labor?"
Shen Zhengnan thought Chu Ci would be somewhat disappointed, but he didn't expect his niece-in-law to be so generous! He smiled and said, "Hard labor may be difficult for others, but for you, it's nothing."
"Ah, then all my work has been in vain." Chu Ci became more and more irritated.
With the help of the filter, Shen Zhengnan saw Chu Ci's impatience and took it as a sign of being polite. "How could it be in vain? Isn't this a great favor to Master? Master may not hold a high position, but everyone in the court has friends. And the Governor of Lingnan East Road is Master's best friend."
"So, I can use the backdoor?" Chu Ci's principle was to avoid being a lazy fish if possible. So he asked with sparkling eyes.
Shen Zhengnan paused when he heard this. For the first time in his life, he choked on his own saliva and started coughing non-stop. In his heart, he was shouting madly, "I am an honest official, an honest official!"
Chu Ci didn't seem to notice the point. "Uncle Master, are you okay? Did you leave too hastily?"
Shen Zhengnan: The cough is getting worse.
Fan Jingrui couldn't stand it any longer, "Madam, being too straightforward can easily hurt others."
Chuci: ...
After a long time, he slowly said: "You can't use the back door. It's always possible for the uncle to care about the younger generation."
Shen Zhengnan: ...
Fan Jingrui: It seems there is no difference.
Fan Jingrui felt a little confused and even a little worried. Could Uncle Shen have also been led astray by Chu Ci? Should he tell Grandpa?
Chu Ci had no idea what Fan Jingrui was thinking.
Although Chu Ci felt somewhat dissatisfied, she could see Shen Zhengnan's sincerity. She paused for a moment before smiling and nodding, "It's my niece who is greedy. Being exempted from hard labor is already a very good result. As long as Grandpa and Grandma are in good health, I believe the Fan family will return to the capital one day."
When Chu Ci said this, Fan Jingrui looked at her thoughtfully.
Shen Zhengnan also regained his seriousness: "Yes, as long as you are alive, there will be countless possibilities."
These words seemed to be spoken to Chu Ci, but Shen Zhengnan knew that this was also an encouragement to himself.
Previously, his teacher had been wronged, and he was powerless to do anything about it. Now, his niece-in-law wanted to exchange her merits for his own. He knew the emperor's temperament and knew he would keep a low profile to save face, perhaps even deliberately ignoring the role of the Fan family. So he could only pour cold water on her.
It's Shen Zhengnan who is incompetent!
Fan Jingrui knew Shen Zhengnan's character and immediately understood his intentions. But under the pressure of imperial power, they were all powerless. It would be better to be blunt: "Uncle Master, given our current status, whether it's Tartar spies or the iron ore, we shouldn't know too much. After we descend the mountain, let's go our separate ways!"
As the governor, Shen Zhengnan wasn't the only one in charge of Huainan. He understood that Fan Jingrui's proposal was the best solution, so he nodded in agreement.
But even so, Shen Zhengnan felt deeply guilty.
Therefore, even though Chu Ci tried his best to improve the atmosphere, the atmosphere was still a little dull when he went down the mountain.
However, after meeting Mr. Fan, Shen Zhengnan and Fan Jingrui seemed to have telepathically concealed all their thoughts and returned to their roles as solemn disciples and outstanding grandsons.
Unfortunately, the old man's mind was not on these two grown men. Seeing that Chu Ci was safe and sound, he said tremblingly: "It's good that you are fine. Don't be so reckless in the future."
"Yes, Grandpa." Chu Ci truly admired Old Man Fan. Naturally, he didn't subconsciously come up with a bunch of excuses to justify himself, as he had done with Fan Jingrui before.
This also made the old man love Chu Ci, his good grandson's wife, even more deeply.
Even Mrs. Fan had always disliked Chu Ci for not having the virtuous qualities of a woman, and often looked down upon her. But she had always endured it for the sake of the old man's face. However, when she returned this time, the old lady looked at her with a look of kindness. "You've lost weight, my good boy, you've suffered."
As for Fan Jingrui and Shen Zhengnan, they were just ignored.
But it’s better this way. Farewell is always sad. Shen Zhengnan quietly said goodbye to Fan Jingrui and left with his subordinates.
Seeing this, Chu Ci remained silent and continued to playfully say, "It's not bitter. You know my temper. Just think of it as a trip for fun, but the ones I'm having fun with are the Tatars. Grandma, you don't know, I'm the Tatars' nemesis."
At this point, Chu Ci deliberately glanced around. Sure enough, Chu Ling'er and Hai Bao's mother from the Liu family were hiding not far away. Both of them had something to hide, and were hiding in the crowd.
Catching sight of Chu Ci's gaze, the two were startled and frightened. Even more, they felt hatred, hatred for the Tatars' incompetence. They also hated Chu Ci's luck, wondering why he hadn't simply died outside.
At the same time, the two glared at each other and cursed inwardly: "Waste."
It was a dog-eat-dog situation, and Chu Ci said he loved watching it. Unfortunately, both Chu Ling'er and Hai Bao's mother were so overwhelmed with fear that they didn't dare to make any unnecessary moves.
Chu Ci sighed inwardly. These few brief seconds were more amusing than a face-changing trick. Chu Ci smiled brightly at the two of them. Then he turned around and continued chatting with the old lady, "This time, not only did we burn down the Tatars' lair, we also found Qianyan's uncle."
"What?" Qianyan angrily blamed Chu Ci for selflessly avoiding him after returning. Now that she heard the news about her uncle, she could no longer hold back. "Sister-in-law, is what you said true?"
Chu Ci, however, seemed to have the upper hand and asked arrogantly, "Little girl, I told you to ignore me. Are you going to pay attention to me now?"
As soon as the childish question came out, regardless of whether Mrs. Fan and the others thought it was funny or not, Qianxue and the Fan family's grandchildren couldn't help it.
“Puff—”
"I'm sorry, I drank the water too quickly." Fan Jingruo reacted quite quickly, but the suspicion of trying to cover up something was too strong.
Chu Ci laughed at that moment, "Really? Then where's your cup? Can you absorb water from a distance? That's a skill only the Dragon King has."
After saying that, the leader started laughing: "Hahahaha——"
Chu Ci's smile made his son, who was already struggling to hold back his emotions, completely relax.
Even Mrs. Fan, who always had a serious face, smiled when she saw this scene. "It seems that no matter how big the matter is, it's just a joke in her eyes."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Fan also smiled and asked in a relaxed tone, "Madam, don't you like it?"
Old Mrs. Fan curled her lips in dissatisfaction. "I admit that I was wrong, but you, old man, just want to gain the upper hand."
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