Chapter 19 Closest and most distant relationship: husband and wife
The image freezes, focusing on a close-up of the young man.
Under the sky, everyone erupted in a frenzy.
The eunuchs knelt down in a flurry.
Some people secretly thought to themselves: "Tianmu dares to say anything because he's far from the emperor's reach. How could he know the suffering of these people?"
Emperor Hong'an maintained his composure, but his eyelids were slightly more open than before. Just as he was about to speak, someone else spoke first.
Shen Mingzhe, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, trembled, his mind reeling from Fang Jingruo's words: "This traitor, without a ruler or father, lawless and rebellious!! I beg Your Majesty to exterminate him—!!"
As expected of a cultured person, even this is expressed in a refined and literary way.
Everyone was startled by his off-key tone at the end, thinking to themselves: "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is. You're even more anxious than His Majesty."
However, Emperor Hong'an was pleased with his loyalty and comforted him, saying, "My dear minister, do not be anxious..."
On the one hand, he also had to have hot tea served to him, lest the loyal minister be angered to death.
After finally calming the other party down, the Third Prince pondered for a moment, then seized the opportunity to step forward: "Your subject is willing to serve Your Majesty like a dog or a horse!"
The other two princes also had their eyes peeled. No one likes someone who tries to persuade someone to ascend the throne, especially since he wasn't trying to persuade any of his brothers present.
The three young people, who always undermine each other, rarely agree on anything.
"Hehe..." Emperor Hong'an pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Did you hear clearly? Who exactly is this Emperor Zhongzong?"
The tense atmosphere suddenly paused, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. From the crowd, Zhou's father stepped forward: "I seem to have heard Fang Jingruo say... this person is a relative of the imperial family."
He raised his head and met Emperor Hong'an's gaze, but the emperor looked away as if nothing had happened in an instant.
Zhou Xuyan understood this very well; the identity of a maternal relative was far too sensitive. For example, he himself was one of those maternal relatives.
Emperor Hong'an did indeed consider it for a moment, but his doubts were quickly dispelled: Zhou Xuyan was, after all, a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and his handwriting was elegant and refined, quite different from the handwriting displayed under the sun.
Such ugly handwriting could never have been chosen from among his ministers.
"Maternal relatives..." he pondered in his heart. This group was truly enormous. For example, his first wife, Empress Wen, did not seem to have any particularly outstanding descendants.
Meanwhile, Fang Jingruo was under siege.
His insincere friends naturally distanced themselves and left one after another. His longtime friend, however, looked worried and grabbed his sleeve: "Shourou, you... why don't you postpone your studies for next year's imperial examination?"
Fang Jingruo had been staring blankly at the sky when her hand was touched. Suddenly, she snapped out of her daze, her eyes flashing with a burning light, and said resolutely, "No, I want to go!"
"this……"
Fang Jingruo grasped her friend's hand and said softly, "There's no way to avoid it now, so we might as well face it head-on. If I try to avoid it, His Majesty will kill us even faster; if I don't try to avoid it..."
He said softly, "Only then is there a glimmer of hope."
His Majesty possesses the wealth of the four seas. Tianmu's words pushed him into a desperate situation, but they were also a rare opportunity, bringing him into the Emperor's sight.
Valuable people never die so quickly. Although Fang Jingruo did not know the current emperor's temperament, she could roughly guess from the stories Tianmu had told that the emperor was a person who cherished talent.
This was his only chance of survival.
[The above is an excerpt from the story of Emperor Jinghua. The uploader is actually quite satisfied with the casting of Fang Hou, but there seems to be some controversy. Some viewers think that Fang Hou looks... well, a bit too burly.]
Fang Jingruo looked down at herself: she was indeed too thin because she was not getting enough to eat every day.
However, the person that Tianmu released just now looked well-proportioned and had a good figure, which he was actually quite satisfied with and longed for. This was the kind of physique he was pursuing!
Of course, compared to the description in historical records, the actor is indeed a bit burly. After all, Fang Jingruo was a slender scholar, practically a stick figure.
However, Fang Jingruo likely suffered from indigestion and malnutrition, and the strenuous work in northern Xinjiang prevented her from gaining much weight. We can't expect actors to be skin and bones; that's unrealistic!
Under the canopy of sky, a young nobleman clicked his tongue in amazement: "I didn't think that person on the sky just now had much meat on him. My servant is even fatter."
This shows a complete lack of understanding of human suffering.
Some high-ranking officials sighed as they listened, "Your Majesty has ruled for decades, and the lives of the people have improved considerably, but I wonder when they will be able to live like those under the Heavenly Emperor..."
The camera just now swept across the sky, revealing the extras, who all looked quite plump and fair-skinned.
"Indeed, the people in the sky are all fair-skinned and plump. I wonder what they eat."
In the palace, Emperor Hong'an was filled with emotion.
Prime Minister Xiao Yichun quickly reassured him, "These obese people of later generations are probably from wealthy families; otherwise, how could they possibly fatten up everyone in the world?"
Emperor Hong'an seemed to be deep in thought, but said nothing.
He wasn't stupid; he knew this was just the Prime Minister's thoughtful consolation.
Tianmu continued:
At this time, Emperor Zhongzong did not actually trust Fang Jingruo's identity. Ever since the Crown Prince had become incompetent and had a penchant for sending strange and unusual people to him, his vigilance had increased considerably.
As for what Fang Jingruo said, he wasn't stupid; he understood it all. The problem was, who could guarantee this wasn't a entrapment scheme?
Well, it's not surprising that the crown prince would do anything.
The Fifth Prince remained expressionless.
His reputation has already been tarnished by the Heavenly Curtain; the gazes of those around him can be completely ignored, as long as his father—
The emperor's expression terrified him.
But this deep fear prevented him from making any more expressions, and he actually appeared calmer.
He was almost completely unaware of the gazes coming from Xiao Yichun, Shen Mingzhe, and others.
The people present, however, had no time to pay attention to the Fifth Prince's feelings. They were pondering another question: What is entrapment?
Xiao Yichun tentatively asked, "The word 'fishing' implies bait to lure fish onto a hook, could it be...?"
Everyone understood.
Shen Mingzhe also disliked Xiao Yichun, glancing at him sideways and thinking to himself: You politicians have such dirty hearts.
[Emperor Zhongzong had thoroughly investigated Fang Jingruo's ancestors for eighteen generations, confirming that he was indeed born into a poor peasant family, with no money, no food, and no connections, relying solely on his intellect.]
Emperor Zhongzong was basically convinced that this person had nothing to do with the Crown Prince, but he dared not think too much about it. What if he was driven mad by the Crown Prince and caused trouble?
Of course, Emperor Zhongzong was still emotionally affected by Fang Jingruo. While others might not have noticed this change in mood, his wife was very perceptive.
The sky rippled slightly once again.
This time it was in a room, the night was deep, there were no candles lit in the room, the moonlight shone into the room, making the floor look white.
The young man stood by the window, removing the hair bun from the woman in front of him.
Needless to say, this must be Emperor Zhongzong's wife, the woman the fourth prince fell in love with at first sight, as mentioned earlier.
Compared to a few years ago, the woman's face showed signs of hardship, but her features remained gentle and beautiful. She wore only a single gold hairpin, which she held horizontally in her hand.
"What are you thinking about, my husband?"
The young man's hand trembled slightly, but he forced a smile and said, "It's nothing."
The woman didn't press further, but simply lowered her eyes and said, "I heard that the deputy general arrested a spy today. This person has been spying on the military camp every day. Is that true? Should he be killed?"
By the end, his murderous intent was fully revealed.
"..." The young man understood her meaning and sighed softly, "That's not the case."
After saying that, he sat down next to the woman and briefly recounted what had happened during the day.
“I’m really worried.” He pulled out a piece of parchment from his sleeve and said in a low voice, “Although Mingyuan Pass is far from the capital, the commotion there is so great that even the Northern Barbarians have heard about it. Not long ago, the Northern Barbarian Grand Tutor sent me a letter saying that if I hand over Mingyuan Pass, he would give me the position of Vice Khan and would never interfere with my actions.”
Deputy Khan, that's the position of a prince of the Tongning Dynasty.
Of course, one cannot always trust the words of the Northern Barbarians. If the Crown Prince is no good, is the Grand Tutor of the Northern Barbarians any better?
When trying to get people to invest, they'll naturally say the nicest things.
The woman was not surprised. She casually took the letter and smirked, "The Northern Barbarians' usual tricks."
"But it works well."
"The position of a prince is nowhere near as coveted as the throne of the emperor." The woman looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly said, "The crown prince controls the government. My husband, you can only retreat step by step and struggle to survive."
The young man was stunned, clearly not expecting his wife to say such a thing.
He looked down to meet her gaze, and heard her calm voice, yet the words were enough to cause a huge uproar: "A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. Fang Jingruo may not be trustworthy, but there is something I also want to say."
In the Prime Minister's residence, Xiao Jianhe, who had just been severely beaten, lay on the bed, scratching his ear, and had some guesses in his mind.
Haha, this woman looks delicate, but her words are no less restrained than his.
He was clearly His Majesty's good minister and his grandfather's good grandson. His Majesty had no successor, alas, but what did that have to do with him, Xiao?
They were both trying to relieve the emperor's worries, so why is he being treated as a treacherous minister?
You historians have gone too far!
Sure enough, what the woman said was very harsh: "The Crown Prince is very suspicious. Uncle Zhuang was a meritorious official in the past, but he was targeted just because he held military power. You are both a regent and in charge of the border army. How can the Crown Prince tolerate you? If he ascends the throne, I'm afraid you will either be killed or imprisoned. You'd better make preparations as soon as possible."
The young man's hands began to tremble.
His voice trembled as well: "Zhaoniang, you mean..."
Zhao Niang smiled at him and stuffed the gold hairpin in her hand into his hand: "I know the situation in the military camp. If you are really short of money, just pawn this hairpin. There is no need to keep it. When things are better later, you can make another one."
The young man instinctively gripped her hand tightly.
The two nestled together, Zhao Niang's voice gentle and calm, yet subtly revealing a chilling aura: "When it's time to make a decision, make one. Whether we're loyal ministers or traitors, we'll be together."
Look at them, what a perfect match, what a loving couple! Some people spread rumors about this seemingly close but actually distant couple every day. Don't they have any conscience?
Everyone was stunned, startled by Tianmu's shout, and only then did they belatedly realize: "What kind of noble lady would say such a thing?!"
Not only did she not advise her husband to retire gracefully, but she also encouraged him to become a traitor.
Are you tired of living?
In the Ministry of War's residence, Ren Heng, still hungover, rubbed his forehead and walked into the courtyard. Looking up, he first heard a heavy blow and was immediately stunned: "Traitor...?"
No, no, no, it must be because I'm not fully awake.
Turning his head, he saw his son walking out from the other side, with bruises on his forehead. Not long ago, he fell from the wall of the Imperial College and hit his head, bleeding profusely. He still hadn't recovered.
Ren Duan had just stepped out when he bumped into his father. He turned to avoid him, but before he could pull his foot back, he heard his father call out, "Stupid boy, come and help me up! I think I'm hallucinating!"
Ren Duan: "..."
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