Chapter 300 I'm Following Him
He Zheng's tears fell from the corners of his eyes. He said unwillingly: "Father, this is just your guess. This is your business. We are still children. We just want to study together. Is this wrong?"
Minister He said in a stern voice: "Of course it's wrong! You are from our He family, and they are from the Zong family! Since your surname is He, you are destined to rise and fall with our family!"
He Zheng broke down and cried, "Why do you have to ruin my life..."
Minister He was so angry at his words that he said, "What do you mean I ruined your life? Didn't I promise to let you study? It was you who insisted on getting involved with Zong Jincheng! Tell me, tell me yourself, how can you afford to offend Luo Jingfeng? Don't you care about the lives of your parents and brothers? Zong Jincheng has the protection of the crown prince Zong Zhao, who do you have? Who am I? Luo Jingfeng would have some reservations if he wanted to kill him, but killing you is easier than crushing an ant! You have read so many books by sages, but you have learned these willful and reckless behaviors. Have you ever considered your parents' feelings?!"
"Have you ever considered my feelings?" He Zheng yelled, "From childhood to adulthood, you have always had the final say in the family. I said I wanted to learn literature but you wouldn't let me, and you beat me for so many years. Later, I finally got my wish and was able to study at the Zong family. Do you know how happy I have been in the past two years? But you, father, always want to send me to hell when I am happiest. Is it because we had a grudge in our previous life that we are such failures as father and son in this life?"
“Pah—”
Minister He slapped him in the face and scolded him, "You idiot! I'm your father, why are you yelling at me?"
He Zheng was hit so hard that his head tilted to one side, and red marks quickly appeared on his face. He bit his lip, holding back tears, and turned his head and said, "Jincheng is protected by the prince and his father, and I am protected by Jincheng. Perhaps you don't understand at all, but in this world, it's not only people who are related by blood who are the closest. Jincheng and I are like Uncle Zong and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We can't be separated. He helped me study and pulled me out of the shadow you brought to me. He is the most important person in my life. No matter what position you say, I tell you, I will follow him. As long as I am alive, I will follow Zong Jincheng, and I will never regret it even if I die."
He Zheng's firm voice was so powerful that even Minister He was inspired. The words he wanted to teach him were stuck in his mouth, and he couldn't utter them.
He Zheng said resolutely: "Since my father is afraid that I will bring trouble to the He family, then just give up on me. From now on, you and I will go our separate ways, and that's all we can do as father and son. If you still think it's not enough, I can change my last name and give up this one."
"You...are you crazy? Do you know what you are saying?" Minister He was furious. "You are an eleven-year-old boy. Where can you go if you leave home? Do you have the same surname as Zong Jincheng? I tell you, I will ask your mother to stop your tuition and prevent you from going to the Zong family's school!"
He Zheng smiled with tears in his eyes and said, "Father, you may not know that the best academy in Beijing, Hanlin Academy, offers free tuition, free food and accommodation as long as you can pass the entrance exam to the North Campus. And my academic performance is better than anyone else in the North Campus. I will not die of hunger without you."
So what if he doesn't go to the clan's school? He can still study in the North Court of Hanlin Academy. He can also visit Jin Cheng often, and when he passes the imperial examination and enters the official career in the future, they can still be good brothers.
It was better than being locked up in this bedroom and losing his best friend.
"Okay, okay, you rebellious son, you rebellious son! Then get out of here, and just think of me raising you for nothing." Minister He ordered the door to be opened and let him go.
He Zheng wiped his tears and ran out of the house quickly, as if he was escaping for his life. He didn't even dare to look back, for fear that Minister He would regret it.
In the hall, Mrs. He was still chatting with Xu Wan.
Zong Jincheng asked anxiously, "Aunt He, I want to go to the backyard to find He Zheng, is that okay?"
"This..." Mrs. He hesitated, not being able to speak directly. Her eyes were a little vague when she looked at Xu Wan.
Xu Wan finally confirmed that something was going on.
"Brother! I'm here!" He Zheng's joyful voice came from outside.
When the little devil heard this, he immediately stood up excitedly and said, "I finally waited for you. I wrote you a letter, but you didn't reply for three days. What's wrong with you? Ah, why is your face swollen? Did your father beat you again?"
He Zheng covered his face with his hands and said with a smile: "It's okay, it will be fine in a few days, let's go."
Zong Jincheng asked, "Don't you need to accompany your sick family members?"
He Zheng smiled and said, "No need."
There was no sick family member at all, these were all lies to lure him back. Of course, if his father was considered a sick family member, then he would probably never get well in his lifetime.
He Zheng walked over, knelt down and kowtowed to Madam He, and whispered, "Mother, I am an unfilial child. In order not to cause trouble to the family, I will not come back in the future."
Mrs. He was shocked. The thing she was most worried about finally happened. "Zheng'er, get up. What happened? Why didn't you come back?"
Isn't he still locked in his room?
Did the master let him out?
The maid came over and told her everything that had just happened. Mrs. He was shocked, but she felt relieved for a moment. Perhaps this result was the best for both them and their son.
From now on, no more torture between each other.
After He Zheng said goodbye to her, he left in the carriage back to the Marquis' Mansion. On the way home, Xu Wan and Zong Jincheng learned about all this and were shocked beyond words.
He Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry, auntie, this is so embarrassing. I apologize to you and Jin Cheng for my father... Minister He's prejudice and stubbornness."
Xu Wan patted his shoulder and said, "It's okay, I understand."
Zong Jincheng was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes: "My good brother, you are my best brother. I will protect you from now on and will never let anyone hurt you."
He Zheng laughed again, nodded vigorously, clenched his fist and said: "I trust my eldest brother the most!!!"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Xu Wan felt warm at the sight of the two brothers bumping fists. Friendship is priceless and they will definitely be the closest of friends in the future.
Houfu key class.
After the other brothers learned about He Zheng's situation, they all shouted "how amazing" and used all kinds of words of admiration to describe him.
"He Zheng, I never expected you to be so tough at the critical moment, even though you are usually so timid."
"You took the initiative to sever the father-son relationship with your father and rebelled against patriarchy. You are like the reincarnation of Nezha. You are so admirable, brother."
He Zheng scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "I was forced to do so. I don't have such open-minded parents as you. But now it's good. My father let me go. Although he stopped my tuition and stopped me from studying here, I have a lot of knowledge and can pass the entrance examination to the North Academy of Hanlin. We'll see each other in the autumn examination."
"Ah? The tuition has stopped? We still have to go to the North Courtyard of the Imperial Academy?" Shen Yibai shouted, "No, no, none of the five of us brothers can be left behind. Come on, come on, go and collect some money to pay for the tuition for my brothers."
Wei Xinglu searched for a long time and finally found a jade pendant from his body. "My mother stopped giving me money, but I secretly kept a jade pendant. It can be worth at least 100 taels. I originally planned to use it to skip school or run away from home, but now it seems that I don't need it anymore, so I'm giving it to my brother as a tuition!"
Zong Jincheng also asked Shunzi to get some silver: "I have some too, I have some too. My mother gives me sixty taels of silver every month, and I have saved a lot of it."
Zong Wenxiu also said: "I have saved a lot of money, I can give some to He Zheng."