Chapter 455 Transformation
The Queen Mother glanced at the wife of Duke Xuanguo with annoyance. Now she could only call her Princess Huazhang. She lowered her eyes and said:
"Let alone a duke, even if he is the emperor's consort, what's the problem? I am just trying to survive in this harem, how can I influence the will of His Majesty?"
"Empress Dowager, Hua Zhang lost his parents at an early age, and he grew up by your side. If it was an ordinary matter, he would not dare to disturb your quiet cultivation in front of you. But Hua Zhang has no relatives now. Although Your Majesty has spared his life, how will he live in the future?"
Princess Huazhang's eyes originally had droopy corners, but after crying her eyes were swollen, they became slightly raised.
"Zhu Guanlin is courting death, there is no need to pity him, but what was confiscated from the mansion was also my dowry, which was my lifelong support..."
"Okay, stop crying. Zhu Guanlin took away most of the family wealth, and you didn't even know about it. You deserve to be taught a lesson for being so stupid.
Your Majesty allowed you to live in the palace, what else are you dissatisfied with? It's not like you don't have a monthly allowance...
Go down. It’s time for me to recite sutras. Don’t come here if you have nothing to do. ”
The Queen Mother issued an order to expel the guests, and Princess Huazhang left sobbing. She looked up at the huge palace, which seemed to be trapping her like a cage. Only then did she realize why Duke Xuan had driven his son away like a madman.
"Zhu Guanlin, you have such a cruel heart. You care about no one but your children!" Princess Huazhang gritted her teeth and cursed, then returned to her narrow courtyard in a daze.
Su Qianqian did not meet the emperor after returning to Beijing, but the reward was sent to the Wuning Marquis' Mansion. What is puzzling is that Qin Hanzhang did not receive any reward, but King Xiang became famous and was praised by some ministers.
Duke Xu was only fined his salary, and was not punished for his failure to suppress the bandits and the loss of 30,000 guards. It was rumored that this happened because of a few casual remarks made by Concubine Yun.
Xue Zhiqing was praised by the emperor and even given the title of a county lady. This was not only for Xue Zhiqing, but also because Prime Minister Xue's new policies had brought real benefits to Da Qi.
Some things also happened in the capital during these two months. For example, the hostage Prince Ping of Daliang actually took several concubines in his hostage mansion, and stayed indoors all day long drinking and enjoying himself, leading a carefree life.
Xue Wanning, the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Xue, not only became a respected professor at Lanxiang College, but also established a women's calligraphy and painting club, attracting talented women in Da Qi who were good at calligraphy and painting to join. These women were either rich or noble, and Xue Wanning was even more respected in the noble circle.
Su Qianqian returned home because she was busy with Qin Yuzhuo's affairs. Su Xinxin gave a gift to Qin Yuzhuo when he got married, which was a pair of mandarin duck pillows embroidered by her own hands. Qin Yuzhuo took it and passed it off as his own work, but Su Xinxin did not go to Wuning Marquis' Mansion.
Only after Qin Yuzhuo got married did Su Qianqian have time to come to Su Xinxin's courtyard.
The weather is very good. Cheng'er has a day off today, so he coaxes Huan'er to play with crickets in the back garden.
Su Xinxin welcomed Su Qianqian in and asked the little girl to serve fruit tea. While watching the child play, she talked to Su Qianqian about what had happened in the past two months.
"Brother Cheng's father was in bed for more than ten days before he recovered. He stayed in his room all day without saying a word. He could only talk to him when the children came over.
In the middle of last month, someone suddenly delivered a box, saying that someone asked him to give it to Cheng Ge's father. When he opened it, he saw that it was full of gold, silver and other valuables. Cheng Ge's father asked him to return the box, but he couldn't find where to return it, so he sealed it up and put it away.
After that, Cheng's father gradually got better. Suddenly one day, he locked himself in the room again. He did not come out for three days, took a lot of calligraphy and paintings, and actually set up a stall on the street to sell them. ”
Su Xinxin smiled, and her eyes sparkled.
“When he was successful in the past, many people in Xijing City envied him, but now that he is in decline, many people humiliate him.
Those people came to him to mock and insult him. Some even said that his calligraphy and paintings were a disgrace to scholars, and others deliberately threw dirt at him. But he said nothing and just kept writing and painting.
When he came back in the evening with some money from selling things, he would buy some snacks for Cheng'er and Huan'er. When the children ate, he was so happy that he had never seen him so happy. ”
Su Xinxin looked up at the garden gate in front of her and smiled, as if Zhu Min would come in from there.
"He sold his paintings casually. If someone really appreciated them, he would sell them for one tael of silver. But if someone was just pretending to be cultured or was using his name to show off, he would not sell them even for a thousand taels of silver.
I had someone follow him for a while, and seeing that he was not as absurd as before, I left him alone and let him do whatever he liked.
Later, someone asked him to be a teacher, but he refused. When asked why, he said that he did not mind fame, but he did not want to ruin other people's future.
The weather is getting hot, and I just rented a shop for him the day before yesterday. He is very happy and says that he no longer has to hide with his calligraphy and paintings when it rains. ”
Su Xinxin smiled brightly, but actually there was nothing funny, but Su Qianqian couldn't help but be infected and started laughing too.
Su Qianqian left without waiting for Zhu Min to return home. Zhu Min and Su Xinxin must have known about the Zhu family's affairs, so they did not attend Qin Yuzhuo's wedding to avoid gossip that would implicate the Wuning Marquis' Mansion.
Duke Xuanguo kept his troops in Jinning and Yunhe Mountain and did not continue to attack cities and plunder territories, but Emperor Gan De would not allow such a traitor to exist. He appointed Marquis Jinyang as the commander and Zhou Jingnan as the vanguard, and dispatched 50,000 troops from the southern and central garrisons to march towards Yunhe Mountain.
There was a lot of discussion in the court about Emperor Gan De's decree.
Qin Hanzhang had just returned from the northern border a year ago and had the most experience in leading troops in battle. He had also fought against the troops hidden in the Yunhe Mountain before, so he was more suitable to be the commander-in-chief.
After receiving the order, Marquis Jinyang did not say much. He prepared to set off with Zhou Jingnan. However, there was a slender soldier in Zhou Jingnan's vanguard team: Qin Yuzhuo went to the battle with Zhou Jingnan.
Qin Hanzhang returned home very late in the following days, and rumors gradually spread in the capital that Marquis Wuning could have attacked the rebels when he passed by Jining, but he deliberately left time for Duke Xuan.
Gradually, such voices were heard even in the imperial court.
From the information collected from Cuiying Tower and Huarong Pavilion, Su Qianqian gradually felt something was wrong. Someone must be deliberately spreading rumors that were unfavorable to Qin Hanzhang.
What caused the matter to be suppressed was an incident in the prime minister's residence: Xue Zhiqing ate an ice bowl made in the kitchen, and ended up with rashes all over her body, vomiting and diarrhea, and almost lost her life.
After much investigation, they found out that it was Xue Wanning's wet nurse who did it. It was because after Xue Zhiqing returned home, she stole the limelight from Xue Wanning everywhere and even revealed the incident of Xue Zhiqing being beaten by the imperial concubine. It was also because Xue Wanning deliberately framed Xue Zhiqing.
Although Prime Minister Xue and Madam Xiao kept the matter a secret, the news quickly spread in Xijing City.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
