Chapter 84 I Want You to Carry Me
Li Chu pretended to be stunned at first, then showed a very surprised expression: "Uncle Cui, what do you mean by this?"
Patriarch Cui drank a sip of wine slowly, and then said, "My dear nephew, don't act in front of me. Don't tell me that you haven't received the news that your aunt disappeared in the manor."
Seeing that the head of the Cui family was getting straight to the point, Li Chu was too lazy to pretend anymore and said indifferently: "I wonder what Uncle Cui wants to do by taking my father's concubine away?"
Patriarch Cui said, "Nephew, don't panic. We just invited her to our house to ask her some questions. She only told us the reason why your father fell down, but I found some interesting information from it."
"Oh?" Li Chu's expression remained unchanged. "What interesting information?"
Patriarch Cui smiled and said, "Your brother's cause of death seems to have something to do with you."
Li Chu hesitated for a moment and sighed, "It is indeed related to me. My father and I are too used to Xiao Ao, which is why he has no respect for the law and has caused such a disaster, ultimately hurting others and himself."
Seeing that he was still making excuses at this point, Patriarch Cui did not get angry, but said, "I know that you have already dealt with all the evidence regarding your father's illness and Li Ao's death. We won't find anything even if we investigate. But my nephew has heard a saying, 'People's words are scary.'"
Li Chu looked at him coldly.
Patriarch Cui continued, "I know that your father is still alive because you haven't really taken charge of the Li family yet. You still need your father to stabilize the situation. Your uncles are eyeing the position of the head of the family. If we spread the news of what you have done, and your father and aunt are the witnesses, what is the chance that your uncles will take the position of the head of the family from you?"
Even if there is no evidence and it is just a rumor that he murdered his father and brother, once it is made public, his father, aunt, and uncles will definitely do everything they can to prove his guilt. Even if he wins, he will probably suffer a great loss.
If Cui Chen and other aristocratic families take advantage of the situation again, not to mention him, it will be a problem whether the entire Li family can be preserved.
Li Chu lowered his eyes, tightly gripped the wine glass in his hand, said nothing, and frowned.
After a long silence, Patriarch Cui and Patriarch Chen looked at each other. Patriarch Cui played the bad guy, so Patriarch Chen had to play the good guy.
"My dear nephew, we don't mean to embarrass you." The head of the Chen family spoke up. Li Chu looked over and continued, "Now that the emperor is becoming more and more arrogant, we, the noble families, are the thorns in his side. Naturally, we must unite to deal with his persecution together. If we fight alone, we will be easily defeated one by one, which is really not worth the loss."
Li Chu seemed to be suppressing his anger, and sneered, "So the two uncles can't bear to see me stay out of this, so they found these handles to threaten me to continue to be a shield for you?"
The head of the Chen family said, "My nephew, you can't say that. The confrontation in the court is also a kind of war. Some people are responsible for command, some are responsible for logistics, and naturally some people have to be responsible for charging and breaking through the formation."
Li Chu looked at him: "Charge and attack, just like the He family?"
Patriarch Chen was silent for a few seconds, his expression obviously worsening: "My dear nephew, do you have to be sarcastic when you speak?"
"You asked me to go to death, and you won't let me vent my emotions?" Li Chu raised his head and drank a glass of wine, his eyes red.
The head of the Chen family forced a smile and said, "It's not as serious as you say, my nephew. It's still unclear who will win or lose between us and the emperor. Why are you asking for death?"
"Uncle, do you believe what you said?" Li Chu said sarcastically, "If you are so confident, why don't you let the Chen family take the lead? I believe you understand the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when they are gone". If the He family is gone, my Li family will be next. What about the Li family?"
The head of the Chen family understood what Li Chu meant, but he could not resist the Cui family and could only choose to oppress the Li family. Even if it was just a last-ditch effort, he had to buy more time for the Chen family. And what if the aristocratic family won by then?
As if he could see through his thoughts, Li Chu had a smile on his lips but his eyes were desolate.
He said, "Congratulations, uncles. Your plan has succeeded. From now on, I will follow your orders and will never disobey you."
Patriarch Chen turned his head and looked at the dead grass beside him, his eyes seemed to be sympathetic to his own kind. However, Patriarch Cui always had a decent smile on his face.
When Li Chu left, he was unable to take his aunt away from the Cui family, and he didn't even get to see her. As a handle to use against him, the Cui family would definitely keep his aunt under strict protection.
On the way back, even when he arrived at Li's house, Li Chu had a look of despair. It was not until he met Li's mother and knew he was safe that he took off the disguise on his face.
Before going to the banquet, Li Chu guessed why they asked him to go, so what he said in front of Cui Chen and the others was more of a performance.
But Li Chu still felt unhappy that his secret was discovered and used to threaten him.
Li's mother guessed what happened to her son. Seeing that he did not look panicked, she asked him, "Has my son figured out a way to deal with it?"
Li Chu sat down and smiled at his mother: "Mom, you forgot that they don't know that I have surrendered to the emperor."
Mother Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.
"Go with the flow and take advantage of the situation?"
In the palace, after Rong Yin heard the news that Li Chu conveyed to Zong Zhengxiao, he immediately thought of these two idioms.
"Not bad." Zong Zhengxiao said, "I had no choice but to do this. I wanted to let him stay hidden for a little longer so that he could play a greater role, but I didn't expect that the Cui and Chen families would still discover his secret."
Rong Yin understood: "They want to use Li Chu to deal with us, but Li Chu is temporarily in our camp. If the family wants to take action against us, Li Chu will definitely inform us in advance. But if the family's plan fails repeatedly, the family will definitely suspect that Li Chu is an undercover agent."
Zong Zhengxiao frowned, "Yes, this is actually a big loss for us."
Rong Yin raised her hand, gently smoothed his brows, and comforted him softly: "Before Li Chu, the aristocratic families were still no match for us. He is just the icing on the cake. Your Majesty, you are so powerful, you will definitely not let the aristocratic families succeed in their evil schemes. I believe in you."
Zong Zhengxiao held the man in his arms and said with a smile, "Are you so confident in me?"
Rong Yin nodded: "Of course, my Majesty is the most powerful Majesty in history."
"Ayin has such a sweet mouth." Zong Zhengxiao smiled and went over to kiss him.
Rong Yin hugged his neck and was about to have a deeper conversation when a dark shadow suddenly jumped in and almost bumped into the two of them.
"Woof woof woof!" Student Xiao Ai circled around the two of them, her big eyes sparkling.
Zong Zhengxiao subconsciously hugged Rong Yin and hid for a while, looking at the energetic Gou Zi, he said coldly: "Do you know that you came at the wrong time?"
"Awoo?" Xiao Ai had a natural fear of Zong Zheng Xiao. When she heard his cold tone, her ears drooped instantly.
At this time, the palace maid who was taking care of Xiao Ai also ran in, bowed and apologized, saying that she had not kept an eye on the dog and accidentally let it run in.
Rong Yin went over and kissed Zong Zhengxiao on the face, saying, "Okay, don't be so mean to the girl. We've been busy these days and haven't played with it for a long time. It just misses us. Now we have time, let's go and take it for a walk. Just think of it as a stroll."
With Rong Yin's comfort, Zong Zheng Xiao's expression immediately turned from gloomy to bright, and he said with a gentle smile: "Okay."
As late autumn turns to winter, the trees, flowers and plants wither and the palace becomes desolate.
Except for Rong Yin who was not afraid of the cold, everyone else wore thicker clothes. Si Xi followed Zong Zheng Xiao and looked at Rong Yin who was racing with classmate Xiao Ai in front of him. Like Zong Zheng Xiao, he showed a relieved smile on his face.
Zong Zhengxiao's eyes were as gentle as water, and he smiled and sighed: "You are so old, but you are still like a child."
This tone is exactly the proud mentality of a parent showing off his or her own child.
Si Xi said, "Master Rong Yin has a cheerful personality. With your Majesty's protection, and at an active age, it is normal for him to be a little childish."
Seeing Rong Yin jumping around tirelessly, Zong Zhengxiao's smile deepened, "I also hope that he can always be as happy as he is now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Yin in front of him turned around and waved at him excitedly: "Your Majesty! You are far behind! Come here quickly!"
"Okay, come right over." Zong Zhengxiao responded and followed quickly.
Finally, the three people and the dog came to a courtyard where there was a ginkgo tree that was estimated to be hundreds of years old. Its golden leaves covered the ground like a soft carpet.
Xiao Ai was the first to rush in. Her head and face were covered with ginkgo leaves. She was as excited as a chicken with blood taken up.
Rong Yin also squatted down and started to pick up the clean and intact leaves. Zong Zhengxiao was curious: "Why are you picking these?"
Rong Yin chuckled and said, "Keep it a secret for now."
Seeing this, Zong Zhengxiao also squatted down and started to help him pick up.
Si Xi was a perceptive man. Seeing that Rong Yin wanted a lot of ginkgo leaves, he winked at the palace servant next to him and asked him to find a clean small cloth bag, put the leaves in it, and took the initiative to help carry the bags.
After the two of them finished picking up the fruits, Xiao Ai had enough fun and returned the same way.
Halfway through the walk, Rong Yin shook Zong Zheng Xiao's hand, and when Zong Zheng Xiao looked over, she said softly, "I'm tired and don't want to walk alone."
Si Xi said hurriedly, "I'll ask someone to bring the walking stick here."
"No." Rong Yin refused, "I want Your Majesty to carry me back."
"This..." Si Xi looked at Zong Zheng Xiao.
Zong Zheng Xiao did not hesitate, turned his back to Rong Yin, and bowed: "Come up."
"Hehe." Rong Yin jumped and landed directly on Zong Zhengxiao's back.
Fortunately, Zong Zheng Xiao stood steadily, otherwise he would have been knocked off balance by him.
"Are you ready to lie down?" Zong Zhengxiao hooked his legs.
Rong Yin put one hand on Zong Zhengxiao's shoulder and pointed forward with the other hand, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, please drive the car to Yinjiao Garden!"
Zong Zheng Xiao: "As you command, Lord Rong Yin!"
"Woof woof woof!" Classmate Xiao Ai also joined in the fun.
Classmate Xiao Ai ran in front to lead the way. From time to time, she met palace maids passing by on the road. When they saw the emperor coming, they all retreated to the side and bowed their heads. They only dared to raise their heads after the group left.
They naturally knew who the man on Zong Zhengxiao's back was, Rong Yin, the master of Yinjiao Garden, who was favored by His Majesty and the most honorable person in the palace besides His Majesty.
A palace maid sighed: "If he were a woman, the position of empress would definitely belong to him."
"Of course. How many people in this world can be carried on the back of Your Majesty?"
"But your majesty is a king, and he will have to marry and have children. Tell me, what kind of status should this noble man take when the time comes?"
"Who knows? Anyway, glory and wealth will not fall on us. Let's go. If we are late, the manager will scold us again."
Several palace ladies left in a hurry, and their words disappeared with the autumn wind and could no longer be heard.
Rong Yin lay on Zong Zhengxiao's shoulder, staring at his profile, and couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty, you are so good to me. What would I do if I didn't have you?"
Zong Zhengxiao's dense eyelashes were blown by the wind. He smiled and said, "I will keep you by my side forever and treat you well forever, so you don't have to worry."
Rong Yin pursed her lips and smiled foolishly: "Your Majesty, you are so domineering."
Zong Zheng Xiao asked: "Do you like it?"
"I like it." Rong Yin's tone was as soft and warm as the sun above his head. "I will also always like your majesty and love your majesty forever."
"I love Ayin too." Zong Zhengxiao replied.
The two of them were showing off their love all the way. Fortunately, Xiao Ai was a real dog and Si Xi was used to it. Otherwise, they would have felt lonely and cold in this late autumn.
After returning to Ginkgo Garden, Rong Yin hurried back to his room carrying a bag of ginkgo leaves. Zong Zhengxiao knew that he was probably going to make something new, so he didn't bother him and went to the study to handle government affairs.
After dinner, Rong Yin took Zong Zhengxiao's hand and walked into the house. She asked him to close his eyes and said she wanted to give him a surprise.
Zong Zhengxiao obeyed and did as he was told. After a rustling sound, Rong Yin's voice rang out in front of him, "You can go out now."
When you open your eyelids, the first thing that catches your eye is a bunch of golden double-petaled flowers, which are very eye-catching.
Zong Zhengxiao was stunned for a few seconds before he realized that these "flowers" were actually made of ginkgo leaves. At first glance, they really looked like beautiful flowers.
It turns out that this is the reason why Rong Yin picked the leaves.
Rong Yin handed the flowers to Zong Zhengxiao, smiling: "Your Majesty, accept my flowers, but you have to go on a date with me."
The ginkgo bouquet was wrapped in a piece of colored paper. Zong Zhengxiao took the flowers and rubbed Rong Yin's head: "It is my honor to date A Yin."
Rong Yin held Zong Zhengxiao's hand and tiptoed closer to him: "We have completed the procedures of the date, taking a walk, and eating. What should we do next?"
Zong Zhengxiao put his hands around Rong Yin's waist and pulled her closer to him: "I don't understand, A Yin, can you tell me?"
"Okay." Rong Yin hugged Zong Zhengxiao's neck, kissed his lips gently, and whispered, "It's time to kiss, my majesty."
"Got it." Zong Zhengxiao held the back of Rong Yin's head with one hand and kissed her back hard.
The bouquet of ginkgo flowers was placed between the two of them and was trampled upon. In the end, Zong Zhengxiao felt sorry for Rong Yin's hard work and put it aside in time.
…
In order for Li Chu to inherit his father's legacy and have the qualifications to challenge Zong Zhengxiao in the court, the Cui and Chen families used various connections to have him reinstated and continue to serve as the Minister of Rites.
As the year draws to a close, Zong Zhengxiao and all the departments are quite busy. When things get busy, friction is inevitable, which leads to various conflicts, big and small.
For example, the Ministry of Revenue quarreled with another department because of money, the Ministry of Personnel was scolded because of the issue of official transfer, and the Ministry of Justice was threatened by some big shot because of fair law enforcement...
Some conflicts would come to Zong Zhengxiao's attention, and then it would be Li Chu's turn to step in.
Just like his father before, Li Chu always stood up to oppose Zong Zheng Xiao's remarks, just for the sake of opposing. In short, he just wanted to prevent Zong Zheng Xiao from living in peace.
Every time Li Chu stood up to argue with Zong Zhengxiao, he needed great courage, because the argument was fake, but Zong Zhengxiao's punishment on him was real.
He received the same treatment as his father did when he was courting death. He was targeted every other day, which was even worse than what his father had experienced, making him miserable.
Li Chu had reason to suspect that Zong Zheng Xiao did it on purpose, and was using this as an excuse to vent his anger on him.
Feeling exhausted, Li Chu came to Qingqiu Pavilion and said to Ningyue, "Miss Ningyue, Boss Rong doesn't like to see me now. If he comes to you, please tell him to talk to His Majesty and let me go."
Ning Yue picked up the white chess piece and placed it on the chessboard, with a humble look on her face: "I only talked about romance with Mr. Rong, not government affairs. I'm afraid I can't help you, Mr. Li."
Li Chu stared at her: "Really?"
Ning Yue lowered her eyes: "Of course."
"Okay then." Li Chu said this, but his expression clearly showed disbelief.
On this day, Ningyue was invited by a young man to sing at a dinner party.
A bunch of playboys got together, drank a few more glasses, and with beautiful women in their arms, it was natural that their mouths could not be clean.
Ning Yue pretended not to hear and finished another song. Then it was her turn for other programs and she was invited to have tea and rest aside.
Because of her status, even if those young masters were drunk, no one dared to do anything to her. At most, they would just make a few dirty jokes to her, but no one would actually take action.
Ning Yue received quite a lot of guests today and her voice was tired from singing. She lowered her eyes and drank tea, thinking about going to the clinic tomorrow to ask the doctor to prescribe some soups for her throat care, when suddenly a burst of screams came from the front.
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a drunk man barging into the group of dancing women. He grabbed the hand of one of the beautiful dancers and laughed with a red face: "Hahahaha, He Yi'er, it's really you. I heard before that you fell into prostitution and became a prostitute with red lips that everyone admired. I didn't believe it, but now that I see you, it's really true!"
Congratulations, my dear. Congratulations to your family!
Ning Yue was surprised. She didn't expect that by such a coincidence she would meet the girl from the He family again.
But judging from her appearance, this girl from the He family should not be the same one from last time. She looks younger, probably only fifteen or sixteen years old.
She was dragged out of the crowd by the man, looking terrified and uneasy, and it was obvious that she didn't know how to deal with this situation.
Fortunately, at this time, the mother who was in charge of bringing them here stepped forward in front of He Yi'er, smiling and saying, "My dear guest, the performance is not over yet. If you want to order Yi'er to serve you, I will send her to your room later. Now, please let her go and let her finish the dance."
The mother spoke politely, but it was obvious that the drunkard didn't want to reason with her.
"Who do you think you are? I want her whenever I want. Why do you have to care?"
As he said that, he grabbed his mother by the collar and threw her to the side.
The mother wailed and after getting up saw that the host of the banquet had no intention of intervening. She knew that He Yi'er could not escape this disaster, so she could only shake her head helplessly and hide aside.
The mother couldn't do anything, and the rest of the dancers were even more helpless. They could only watch as Heiress was dragged into the arms of the drunkard and treated rudely.
"It hurts so much..." The drunk pinched He Yi'er's leg so hard that she burst into tears.
"Scream louder. I like to hear you yell." The drunk said, and his hand movements became more and more outrageous.
He Yi'er screamed and cried, looking extremely pitiful, but the young masters just sat by and watched the show, with no intention of stopping it.
Ning Yue frowned. Whose family in the capital was this drunkard? She seemed to have never seen him before.
Judging from what he said before, he should know He Yi'er. What kind of hatred or grudge does he have that would make things so difficult for a weak woman?
Ning Yue was wondering when the conversation between two young masters not far away came into her ears and told her the answer.
"Brother Li, why did Brother Zhou rush to congratulate Yi'er as soon as he arrived?"
"You don't know, my prince, that when the He family was at its peak, the Zhou family was only a fifth-rank official, but they wanted to marry their youngest son to the He family's youngest daughter, He Yi'er. As a result, the head of the He family was furious, and not only did he use means to demote the head of the Zhou family, he also drove him out of the capital. However, the He family thought that this matter could easily damage their reputation, so they tried to keep it secret. Therefore, not many people know about the feud between the He and Zhou families."
"I remember that Brother Zhou is the youngest child of the Zhou family. The head of the Zhou family wanted him to marry He Yi'er back then."
"Yes, the Zhou family has always held a grudge against the He family. Now that the He family has fallen, the Zhou family has returned to the capital this year. Tell me, how can Brother Zhou be kind to the people of the He family?"
"I think there will be something interesting tonight."
After hearing the whole story, Ning Yue turned around and looked at Master Zhou and He Yi'er.
The other dancers had all left, leaving only two people standing in the center of the stage surrounded by guests.
He Yi'er's already thin dance costume had been torn in half by Master Zhou. She struggled in vain, her face covered with tears.
"Please, please, let me go..." He Yi'er choked and begged for mercy.
Master Zhou looked sly, "When my father begged your father to let my family go, why didn't he agree? It was just a joke he made on a whim, but your father heartlessly drove my family out of the capital. He is so vicious, and your He family deserves the fate they have now!"
He ripped He Yi'er's clothes madly and sneered, "Your father should be watching you from heaven right now. He looked down on my Zhou family and refused to marry me to you. So I will have sex with you in front of him today. Let's see if he still dares to look down on others!"
As Master Zhou spoke, he threw He Yi'er to the ground, as if he really wanted to do something indecent to He Yi'er in front of everyone.
The young men sitting in the seats either drank too much or had no intention of stopping it, they just watched the atrocities happening in front of them without blinking, and some even shouted "good" a few times.
"No! No! Save me! Someone come and save me!"
He Yier fought back desperately, her voice filled with pain and despair.
The dancers who came with him turned their heads away in pity, some looked pale, while others shed tears with empathy.
Ning Yue clenched her hands on her knees into fists, but she couldn't help it and stood up.
The maid beside her quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Miss, we can't help her, so don't get yourself involved."
Ning Yue patted her hands, indicating that everything was fine, and then walked towards the host of tonight's banquet.
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