Chapter 73 Ayin, help me scold him
Li Ao died halfway through the journey. According to the news, the escort team was resting in the woods and encountered a wild beast looking for food. Li Ao was the weakest and was the first to be targeted. The officers and soldiers were not paying attention and he was carried away.
The Li family took great pains to save his life, but in the end he still couldn't escape the predetermined fate, which could even be said to be worse than being beheaded.
At least beheading could collect the body and bury it, but now nothing is left of the body and the person can only become a wandering ghost.
The moment Li Ao's mother heard the news, she shouted "My son" and fainted. The head of the Li family widened his eyes, screamed and spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Dad!" Li Chu rushed over to support the head of the Li family, and the smile on the corner of his lips could hardly be suppressed.
God must be helping him. He thought that being exiled to the frontier and never being able to return to Beijing was the greatest punishment for Li Ao, but he didn't expect that he would lose his life along the way.
This was undoubtedly another heavy blow to the head of the Li family and his aunt. The more they loved Li Ao, the more pain and regret they felt at this moment!
"Blame me, it's all my fault!" The head of the Li family burst into tears, regret pounding his chest.
If he had been stricter with Li Ao at the beginning and asked him to be more restrained, would he not have ended up in this situation today?
No, no, no, it should be said that if he had stepped higher, wouldn't his son have been made a scapegoat and died in a foreign land?
Thinking of this, Patriarch Li was extremely distressed. He usually humbled himself in front of Patriarch Cui and was willing to charge and break through the enemy lines for their small group, but he never expected that in the end, he would end up following the old path of the He family.
The head of the Li family grasped Li Chu's hand and looked up at him, as if he was looking through him at another person he had been thinking about day and night, "It's my fault that I don't know people well. The Cui and Chen families should not be close friends!"
After saying this, he just like Li Ao's mother, closed his eyes and passed out.
The master of the house and his favorite concubine fell ill at the same time. Everyone in the Li family was busy trying to help them for a while, and medicinal herbs and supplements were sent in like water, but the two masters just didn't get better.
At the same time, people in the mansion gradually lost their morale and there were a lot of chaos. In the end, it was Li Chu who stepped in and took charge on behalf of Li's father. He used some drastic measures and cooperated with his mother to calm the chaotic people.
Now in the Li Mansion knows that the head of the Li family only has Li Chu as his son, and the future of the Li family will definitely be handed over to him. The concubines and their daughters who used to cling to Li Ao and Li Ao's mother are now flocking to everyone Li Chu and Li Chu's mother.
There was a complete transformation between the bustle in the Matron's Courtyard and the desolation at Li Ao's mother's place. Li Ao's mother was bedridden day after day, and saw that all the people who had flattered her in the past had run away one by one. She couldn't help feeling sad that people had left and the tea had grown cold.
From the moment Li Ao was sentenced to exile to the frontier, she had anticipated her current situation.
When she was in power in the past, she was as arrogant and domineering as her son, and offended many people in the mansion. Now that she has fallen on hard times, those people come to step on her openly or secretly. Even the servants follow suit, and the quality of the food and other supplies sent to her has dropped by more than a level.
If the head of the Li family was not still alive, those people would probably be even more excessive.
After a long time, Li Chu and his mother finally came back and noticed the embarrassment of their aunt.
Li Chu announced to the whole family in a big way that Li Ao was his most beloved brother and his aunt was half his mother. Now that Li Ao was gone, he would fulfill his responsibilities as a son for him.
Anyone who dares to bully my aunt again in the future would be against Li Chu.
Li Chu's mother also punished the concubines and servants who took the opportunity to bully her aunt, supporting her son's decision with actions.
The two of them worked in unison and actually rescued my aunt from the predicament. At least on the surface, those people would no longer show disrespect to my aunt.
Before long, the story of the mother and son spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. Now everyone is praising the mother and son for repaying evil with kindness. After all, who doesn't know that Li Ao and his son always suppressed Li Chu and his son in the past?
When Li Ao was alive, Li Chu treated him like his own brother and respected his aunt. Now that Li Ao is gone, Li Chu even calls his aunt half his mother, fearing that the family would neglect her.
Li Chu's mother was also kind-hearted. Knowing that her aunt was ill, she sent supplements to her courtyard every day and did not allow anyone to disobey or bully her.
As the reputation of the Li family's kindness spread, Li Chu wiped out the negative influence brought by his younger brother Li Ao in the officialdom and became a well-respected upright person, with a reputation louder than ever before.
Li Chu's mother also became a new topic of conversation among officials' wives in the capital. Some said she was stupid, as she had finally made it through, but she still wanted to cling to the concubine. Others said she was clever, as she knew the concubine would be unable to make it without her son, so she used small favors to preserve her own reputation.
But no matter what the outside world says, it is a recognized fact that the mother and son of the Li family became the final winners.
No one knew what the head of the Li family thought of the rumors outside. He was really sick this time and took a long leave. He sighed all day long and looked very haggard, as if he would die in the next second.
Li Chu would go to accompany him every day and tell him what happened in the court.
Whether it was because he was satisfied with Li Chu's recent behavior or because he considered that he was his only heir, the Li family head's attitude towards Li Chu became much kinder than before.
He would discuss state affairs, the current situation and future direction of the Li family with Li Chu, like a truly loving father. In the end, Li Chu's eyes would always turn red with an expression that said, "Father, you are so good to me."
But only Li Chu's mother, his accomplice, knew that he was just pretending.
Ever since Patriarch Li decided to abandon them and their mother, they felt nothing but hatred and resentment towards Patriarch Li.
The head of the Li family gradually began to train Li Chu. Due to his physical reasons, some matters that he was unable to handle would be handed over to Li Chu, and Li Chu gradually gained some power.
So when Zong Zhengxiao put his own paper on the market at a price lower than that of Cui's paper, it received widespread acclaim and won the support of the people, thus severely tarnishing the Cui family's reputation and angering them. When they summoned other family heads for a meeting, it was Li Chu who went in place of his father.
When the other two saw that it was him, they didn't look surprised at all, probably because they had heard the news that the head of the Li family was seriously ill.
Li Chu dutifully played the role of the younger generation during the meeting. He was greeted humbly, helped to serve tea and water, and his back was always bent. He looked like he was very afraid of the other two senior and authoritative family heads.
The other two did not think highly of him, especially Patriarch Cui. After all, Patriarch Li was nothing compared to him, not to mention that Li Chu was only his son.
But when they really started discussing the matter, Cui and Chen realized that this guy was not simple.
Li Chu is an expert at playing dumb. Compared to the active and emperor-hating head of the Li family, he is like a stubborn stone. When asked his opinion, he says he doesn't know. When asked if he has any solution, he says he is stupid. When asked if he hates the emperor for harming his Li family, he says he doesn't understand what you mean.
Anyway, he didn't know anything about anything, didn't express his views, didn't take sides, didn't give any opinions, and only said, "I'll pour tea for you two."
Patriarch Cui thought that this was a revenge planned by Li Chu and Patriarch Li, revenge for making Li Ao take the blame and causing Li Ao to die without a complete body.
The Li family's way of revenge was to refuse to join them in dealing with Zong Zheng Xiao without breaking off relations with them.
Patriarch Cui's face was a little cold: "Little Li, I don't know what your father told you before you came, but now the royal family is gradually gaining power, and our families are tied together. If we prosper together, we prosper together, and if we suffer together, we suffer together. Don't ruin the friendship between our families just for a momentary anger."
Li Chu still had that silly expression on his face: "I am not angry. I am not as old as you two, so I am naturally not as experienced as you two. You two couldn't think of a solution. If I could think of it, my father would have given me the position of head of the family long ago."
This is actually true. When Li Ao died, Li Chu wanted to sing a song to celebrate. Of course he would not be angry.
He really had no idea what to do about Zong Zhengxiao suddenly selling cheaper paper that was of better quality than Cui's paper. He couldn't just run up to Zong Zhengxiao and threaten him not to make paper or do this business, right?
Patriarch Cui was powerless to refute. He suppressed his anger and asked Li Chu, "Where do you think Zong Zhengxiao's papermaking method came from?"
Li Chu shook his head: "I don't know."
Anyway, they wouldn't be stealing the Cui family's ideas. After all, the paper they make is much better than the Cui family's paper.
But Li Chu was also very curious. He probably knew that it took a certain amount of time to make paper, which meant that Zong Zhengxiao had known the method of papermaking for a long time. Then why didn't he take it out when he first ascended the throne?
If he had revealed his trump card at the beginning, he would not have been suppressed by the aristocratic families in the beginning.
Patriarch Cui did not give him a chance to think, and continued, "You say, if he can make paper, will he also know better techniques for weaving cloth and firing porcelain?"
The pillar industry of the Li family is cloth, and that of the Chen family is porcelain. The head of the Cui family is warning them that if you stand idly by and watch the Cui family's business being taken away, sooner or later the fire will burn you too.
Patriarch Chen lowered his eyes and remained silent, but Li Chu said with admiration: "Your Majesty is really a genius. He knows everything."
The two heads of the Cui and Chen families: "..."
This meeting ultimately did not produce any results. Without the Li family as the scapegoat, and without the head of the Chen family remaining silent, even a strong head like the Cui family could not avoid hitting a wall.
Naturally, the Cui family did not dare to confront Zong Zhengxiao head-on about the matter of selling paper. Zong Zhengxiao's selling of paper at a low price was what the people wanted, and the people benefited from Zong Zhengxiao and would definitely be on his side. If the Cui family stood up to oppose it, they would be seeking death and making themselves a living target.
Although the noble families look down on the ordinary people at the bottom of society, they will not provoke public anger unless it is necessary.
If the Cui family was found to have used unfair means, it would give Zong Zhengxiao a handle to use against them.
There was no other way; the Cui family could only swallow this loss.
Because the quality of most of their papers is not as good as Zong Zhengxiao's, they can only choose to lower the price, lowering it to a price lower than Zong Zhengxiao's paper, so that customers will come to buy.
Fortunately, Zong Zhengxiao did not lower the price. Fortunately, even if they sell it at the current price, they can still make a profit, otherwise the head of the Cui family would really be angry to death.
But he will not swallow his anger forever. He will keep today's grudge in mind and wait for the opportunity to take revenge a hundredfold or a thousandfold in the future!
"Hiss, Ayin, my ears are burning again, come and cover them for me."
In the Silver Shark Garden, Zong Zhengxiao started calling for help before he even entered the house. After entering, he found Rong Yin's position, ran over and sat down, then fell into his arms.
Rong Yin pinched Zong Zhengxiao's ear and said in surprise, "It's really hot. The person who scolded you must have cursed your ancestors for generations, right?"
Zong Zhengxiao smiled and said, "I guess so, and I guess the most likely one is the Cui family."
Rong Yin also laughed: "Your behavior of selling paper is almost the same as stealing money from others. It would be strange if they didn't hate you."
Zong Zhengxiao grabbed Rong Yin's waist, pulled him into his arms, and let him sit on his lap.
"He can't stand this. If I take out toilet paper that they don't have in the future, won't he be so angry that he will scold me eight hundred times a day?"
"It's really possible." Rong Yin nodded.
Zong Zheng Xiao raised his eyes to look at him: "Ayin, are you just going to let me be scolded like that?"
Rong Yin was puzzled: "You can't ask me to go to his house and cut off his mouth, right? I don't think I have the ability to do that yet."
"That's not what I meant." Zong Zhengxiao said, "You have such a sharp tongue, please help me curse back."
"That's nonsense. My mouth is not as good as yours. If you want to curse back, you should curse back yourself."
Zong Zhengxiao felt wronged: "If you don't help me scold people, you don't love me anymore. Am I still your good husband?"
Rong Yin teased him: "No, you are a bad husband."
Zong Zheng Xiao seemed to be angered by Rong Yin. He lowered his head and bit his chest through his clothes.
Rong Yin was caught off guard and screamed subconsciously, and the sound sounded a little bad. After Rong Yin realized it, his face turned red.
"Zong Zheng Xiao!" Rong Yin pushed him angrily, glanced at the palace maid beside her who lowered her head in embarrassment, and her face instantly turned redder, "Are you childish? You bite people when I don't help you."
Zong Zheng Xiao was not pushed away by Rong Yin. Instead, he stretched out his hands to hold him closer to himself, raised his lips and kissed Rong Yin's Adam's apple.
He said nothing and ignored Rong Yin's scolding. The methods he used on Rong Yin became more and more extreme.
It was broad daylight, and there were people around. Although the palace servants lowered their heads and dared not look, Rong Yin felt that this was no different from covering one's ears to steal a bell. He was afraid that Zong Zheng Xiao was really an asshole and would be intimate with him here, so he quickly admitted defeat: "I was wrong, I was wrong. I will help you scold the Cui family, okay? I will scold them until their ears are burned and explode."
Zong Zheng Xiao really stopped what he was doing after hearing that. He stood up and looked at Rong Yin. He licked the corner of his mouth as if he was savoring something, and signaled to Rong Yin with his eyes that he could start.
Rong Yin stared at him and said, "Small-minded people like the Cui family will fall down when they walk, choke when they eat, choke when they drink water, and get hurt when they watch others fight..."
The more he spoke, the more serious his tone became, but his eyes never left Zong Zheng Xiao's face, and for a moment it was hard to tell whether he was scolding the Cui family or the man in front of him.
Zong Zhengxiao thought, maybe half and half.
When Rong Yin got tired of scolding, Zong Zheng Xiao considerately handed her some fruit tea and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, A Yin."
After Rong Yin finished his fruit tea, he looked at Zong Zheng Xiao and saw that he didn't seem to care about the insinuation he had just made. He was stunned for a few seconds and suddenly reacted.
"You don't really want me to help you scold the Cui family, do you?"
This is just an excuse for Zong Zhengxiao to take advantage of him!
Zong Zhengxiao looked innocent: "Ayin, what are you talking about? I really just want you to help me scold the Cui family, I don't have any other thoughts."
Rong Yin: “…Hehe.”
He said in his heart: Do you think I believe you?
Zong Zhengxiao wanted to say something, but Rong Yin immediately used her ultimate move: sleeping in separate rooms at night.
Zong Zhengxiao became obedient.
Because once Rong Yin gets serious, she would rather tie herself up than give herself the chance to look for Zong Zheng Xiao in the middle of the night.
"Well, actually I just wanted to find an excuse to kiss you, Ayin." Zong Zhengxiao said coquettishly, "Is it wrong for a husband to want to kiss his wife? Yes."
"Hmph." Rong Yin turned her head and ignored him.
Zong Zhengxiao went over and rubbed his face: "Wife, Ayin wife, good wife, the most beautiful wife in the world, please forgive me, okay? I just love you too deeply, who told my wife to be so outstanding and lovable."
The more he spoke, the harder it was for Rong Yin to suppress the corners of her mouth.
Zong Zhengxiao's words not only made Rong Yin happy, but even the palace maids beside him couldn't help but sigh that His Majesty really had no airs in front of the young master, and was like a teenager, with a passionate and unrestrained attitude.
If those ministers in the court who were scolded by His Majesty knew that he actually had this side of him, they would probably find it so unbelievable that it seemed like a fabrication.
"Okay, stop talking. There's someone else next to us. You have no shame." Rong Yin couldn't hold back her laughter and reached out to cover Zong Zheng Xiao's mouth.
Zong Zhengxiao held his hand, interlocked their fingers, and said, "Why should I be shy about talking to my wife? They don't have wives, so it's normal for them not to understand me."
Palace people: "..."
Seeing them being naughty every day, the palace servants naturally knew what the relationship between husband and wife meant.
They just felt heartbroken. All the attacking power that His Majesty didn't use on the young master was transferred to them.
There is no love in this world. They can only recover by eating more bread and drinking more cups of milk tea.
While the paper made by Zong Zhengxiao surpassed the Cui family's paper, the spring ploughing season ended unknowingly.
The villagers around the capital all used fertilizers to varying degrees, and the corn seeds brought back by Prince Ji were also planted in the imperial manor, ready to be harvested in autumn.
Because it was a new seed, no one had any experience in planting it. The Royal Manor was also gradually figuring out how to take care of the corn based on the information that Prince Ji had inquired about in the corn-producing areas. The level of care they put in was comparable to raising a newborn baby.
Zong Zhengxiao would occasionally take Rong Yin to visit the imperial manor. Seeing that the corn was growing well, he thought that he would be able to harvest more corn seeds next year, and the people of Dasheng would have another kind of food to fill their stomachs. He always had a smile on his face.
Apart from Zong Zhengxiao, the Ji family was the one that paid the most attention to the growth of corn, because they had tasted the cream cake and still lingered on it.
Knowing that such a delicacy can only be made with corn, they wish they could harvest the corn the same day they planted it.
For this reason, Prince Ji specially applied to Zong Zhengxiao to allow him to live in the imperial manor and observe the growth of corn every day. After all, he brought the seeds back and he wanted to watch it grow with his own eyes.
Zong Zhengxiao agreed and asked him to record the growth process of corn with pen and paper, so that it could be published as a booklet and distributed to the people together with the corn seeds, so that they would know how to plant the new seeds.
Prince Ji took the opportunity to happily reserve a cream cake from Rong Yin, fearing that he would not be able to get it when the time came.
Because no one knows who in the family leaked the news, now everyone in the Hero Group circle knows that the Ji family has tasted the unique cream cake. It is said that the taste is several times better than bread, and people will never forget it after eating it.
The men asked Zong Zhengxiao indirectly, while the women asked Lu'e directly when they went to the bakery for afternoon tea. After learning that the shop would not be able to make cream cakes until the end of summer, they began to pay for reservations.
The bakery only received a few reservations, and by the time other dignitaries in Beijing received the news, the bakery had already rejected the reservations.
Therefore, those who hold the priority purchase rights immediately become the focus of their friends. Many people come to make friends with them, hoping that they can taste the delicious food with them in advance.
Nowadays, everyone has realized that whoever benefits from the bakery will gain popularity.
It's a pity that understanding is one thing, but being able to do it is another. People who are not in the group of heroes can generally only watch them enjoy special treatment, while they can only stand by and envy them.
On this day of rest, Rong Yin dragged Zong Zhengxiao out of the palace to go shopping. Ever since she was kidnapped by Li Ao last time, Zong Zhengxiao basically did not let Rong Yin leave the palace alone.
Even if he had to come out, he would have to follow. Not only would he double the number of guards he brought with him, but he would also follow Rong Yin wherever she went. He would never allow Rong Yin to disappear from his sight even for a second.
Rong Yin held a cup of fruit tea and entered the bookstore with Zong Zhengxiao.
Seeing their extraordinary demeanor, the waiter knew that they were distinguished guests and hurriedly came forward to greet them. "What do you want to buy? Mr. 'Unknown Fish''s new novel is the best-selling one recently. It was sold out last night. A new batch was just restocked this morning. There are three left. Would you like to have one?"
Unknown Fish is Rong Yin's pen name. The new story is a new adventure story of a young couple. As the author, his boss gave Rong Yin a few copies of the story after it was printed for collection, and he already has the original manuscript, so he doesn't need to waste the money.
"No, thank you." Rong Yin waved her hand to refuse.
Just as the waiter was about to continue introducing other books to them, a person suddenly squeezed in next to them and almost bumped into Rong Yin. Fortunately, Zong Zhengxiao was quick to pull him to his side.
The man apologized to the two of them and said to the waiter, "How many of Mr. Yu's stories are left? Give them all to me. I want them all."
The business came, and the clerk was delighted: "There are three more. I'll get them for you right away."
Rong Yin asked in surprise: "Why did you buy so much by yourself? You can't eat or drink this."
Perhaps because of his rashness just now, the man still felt guilty towards Rong Yin, so when he heard his doubt, he answered very straightforwardly: "I brought this for my friend. His family does not live in Beijing, but he had read the storybook written by Mr. Yu that I brought to him before. He fell in love with it after reading it once, and said that if there is a new plot for this story, I must buy him a copy. I went to several bookstores today and bought out all the books. Unexpectedly, I got lucky and this store still has three copies left."
Rong Yin felt a secret sense of pride in his heart. He asked, "Is this storybook also very popular outside the capital?"
The man was about to answer when a mocking voice interrupted him, "I don't know who likes this tacky and ugly thing."
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