Chapter 79 Chapter 79 Compared
Zhu Feng recalled Jiang Zhuxiu, saying that during the years when he was recuperating in Qingzhou, he had always been paying attention to the court.
"Nothing is left out in the imperial transcripts," Jiang Fengchuan knew this, and now he heard Zhu Feng say, "There are some things that only people in the imperial court in Beijing know, and it is inconvenient to present them in detail in the imperial transcripts. Before I even say anything, Qianyun will immediately find out that there is something hidden and write to ask about it."
Zhu Feng said that all of them had been questioned by Jiang Qianyun.
"We used to joke together, saying that Jiang Qianjun was amazing and very attentive. When he recovered, he might be a farmer in the morning and an emperor in the evening!"
But his health never improved, instead it got worse year by year.
Jiang Fengchuan didn't say anything for a while, and Zhu Feng sighed lightly.
He said that in the sixth year of Yin You, something big did happen in the capital.
At the beginning of the year, the crown prince passed away, which was unexpected. The queen suffered a huge blow and fell ill. After the crown prince's funeral, the ministers discussed appointing another crown prince, and of course the prince was Yong.
Prince Yong had always been raised by the Imperial Concubine. As the Emperor had no legitimate son, there was no doubt that he would be the eldest son. No one mentioned the matter of Prince Hui at that time.
But the emperor had not yet made up his mind. In late summer and early autumn, Marquis Lu suddenly left the northwest and entered the capital. But the one he wanted to support was not Prince Yong, but Prince Hui.
The dispute over the crown prince, which had lasted for many years, began at the end of that year. At the end of spring of the following year, the civil officials urged the emperor to appoint a crown prince and let Prince Yong enter the Eastern Palace. They also said that deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son would be a move that would bring disaster to the country, and asked the emperor to make a decision as soon as possible.
This event was so grand that it angered the young Lord Lu.
Lu Shenru and the Jinyiwei killed and arrested people in the capital. These civil officials had been officials for many years, and it was hard to guarantee that they did not make mistakes. Many of them were arrested by him.
Anyone who says anything against him in the entire capital city will be punished.
At this time, Mr. Liao was unexpectedly involved. Lord Lu had arrested so many people in Beijing that he didn't even care who they were.
"But after I sent the news to Qingzhou, Qianyun became anxious."
Zhu Feng said that he initially thought that Jiang Zhuxiu was anxious because Mr. Liao was a member of the Fu Party and was a capable general of Prime Minister Du during his new policy.
He continued to talk about Mr. Liao being beaten by Marquis Lu, "I guess Marquis Lu didn't even know that his men had caught Mr. Liao and beat him up, but Qianyun was so anxious that he almost came to the capital. He was not in good health and could not go, but he asked Concubine Jiang to invite an imperial physician for Mr. Liao."
He said that Lord Lu was very angry, so who would dare to ask the imperial physician to treat the injuries of the people he had beaten?
"I don't know how Qianyun begged the Concubine Dowager, and she asked an imperial physician to secretly examine Mr. Liao. The imperial physician's medications were superior to those of ordinary doctors, and Mr. Liao recovered quickly without any injuries to his legs or feet."
Naturally, this matter could not be recorded under Du Lingjing's name. Mr. Liao knew that it was Jiang Zhuxiu who hired the imperial physician for him, and later asked Zhu Feng to send a thank-you letter and gift to Jiang Zhuxiu.
Jiang Fengchuan didn't know about this, so he asked Zhu Feng, "What did you say, brother?"
Zhu Feng shook his head and said that Jiang Zhuxiu didn't say anything. "It was like he was relieved that nothing serious had happened. But he also asked me to help keep an eye on the situation between Lord Lu and the Fu party members. If there is anything similar again, please inform him as soon as possible."
Zhu Feng thought at that time that Lord Lu was not on good terms with the civil officials, and that the members of the Fu party were too upright, so friction was inevitable.
"But I never thought that Qianyun's fiancée," he said of Du Lingjing, "would end up marrying Lord Lu."
"Could it be that Qianyun had anticipated what would happen today?"
That happened four or five years ago, and Zhu Feng didn’t quite understand why.
Jiang Fengchuan stopped there and asked, "Brother, do you know Lu Shenru?"
Zhu Feng didn't know, "Even if he knew Lord Lu, how could he have imagined that the person Lord Lu would marry in the future would be his Jiang Qianjun's fiancée?"
Zhu Feng had never said this to anyone else, he just felt it was strange, but Jiang Fengchuan beside him suddenly said something.
"He must know her. I might even know that he has a crush on his fiancée."
In other words, Lord Lu had been eyeing the opportunity covetously many years ago.
Zhu Feng was startled and quickly held down Jiang Fengchuan.
"Liu Lang, don't dare to say anything."
It was three years after Qianyun passed away that Lord Lu married the girl from the Du family. Maybe everything that happened before was just a coincidence?
Jiang Fengchuan doesn't think so.
After all, the imperial decree granting the marriage was not the emperor's intention, but was forced upon by Lu Shenru.
And his third brother even used Melia azedarach as medicine, drinking it every day and committed suicide!
He clenched his hands tightly until his knuckles turned white.
So, it was Lu Shenru who forced him to commit suicide, right?
But my brother didn't let her know how he died...
Someone came to have a drink with them, and Zhu Feng changed the subject and talked about something else.
"Qianyun has his own reasons for doing things."
He said that Jiang Zhuxiu had always been in contact with the members of the Fu Party during his lifetime. Whenever there was a transfer of members of the Fu Party, he would try to lobby for them even though he was far away in Qingzhou. If that failed, he would send them some money, hoping that they would not fall into trouble because of the political situation.
"This is human nature. But Qianyun does these things differently from others."
Zhu Feng paused for a moment, and Jiang Fengchuan asked, "Why is brother different from others?"
Zhu Feng replied, "If someone helps someone, even if it's not for the sake of being remembered, there's nothing wrong with not using his own name. But when Qian Yun helps those members of the Fu Party, he rarely uses his own name."
He said, "He used the name of the Du family and the title of the master of Dongxiang Pavilion."
He went to help the people of the Fu Party under the name of Du Lingjing.
Jiang Fengchuan couldn't help but think of the time when the Fu party members were trapped in the mountains of Baoding. They mentioned her and their attitude towards her was trusting and familiar. Even though they were far apart and hadn't seen each other for many years, they never felt strange.
He originally thought that she was the daughter of Lord Du, who had grown up under their care and who also interacted with them during the holidays.
But now it seems that there is more to it than that.
Jiang Fengchuan was surprised.
Brother actually did this for her? Was it to pave the way for her to leave the library and Qingzhou in the future?
Are you afraid that she will leave her familiar hometown, be alone and have no one to help her?
Jiang Fengchuan couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, he closed his eyes deeply.
Did she know? Obviously she didn't.
Even he, his brother, didn't know. Only these old friends whom he asked for help from him figured out a little bit.
Someone sighed while drinking.
"It seems that God has given Qianyun everything, but in fact, he has given him nothing."
*
Lu Shenru said he wanted to change the teacher for his nephew, and within two days he found an excuse and prepared to transfer Mr. Sun to Shanxi to study Taoism. Mr. Sun's strict style of educating students was too much for the prince, but ordinary scholars were accustomed to it.
Mr. Sun was quite satisfied with this. After all, he could only teach the little prince to read and not let him do anything. He also asked someone to ask Marquis Lu what his intention was. Lu Shenru would not tell him the truth and wished he could send him away quickly.
But it is inconvenient to stop the class, so he asked Hu Tinglan to give Feng Zhen a trial lesson today.
He left home in the afternoon and went to the palace to attend the hearing in person.
Du Lingjing recalled that she was first educated by her father, but later her father was too busy to take care of her, so he invited a new teacher to come to the house. Her father also personally attended the new teacher's class, just like the Marquis did today.
I think that compared to the emperor, his biological father, the marquis, his uncle, is more like the little prince's father.
Du Lingjing had nothing to do. The candidates in Beijing were gradually dispersing, and the seal company's manager Zhao asked for leave, saying that he wanted to rest for a few days. Du Lingjing agreed to his request, and went out to hang out in the bookstore in Chongjiaofang.
When Chong'an heard that she was going out to the bookstore, he was so scared that he wanted to go with her in person before his leg had even recovered.
Du Lingjing really just went to pick out a few books, but seeing Chong'an was nervous, she asked Changpu to take him along.
Chang Pu also asked him, "Why is Guard An sweating? If you are really nervous, why don't you find a rope and tie you and me up?"
What’s the point of Chong’an tying him up? He is afraid that his wife will leave again!
But the rope can't be tied to the lady.
He looked at Du Lingjing intently. Du Lingjing thought about how she had made things difficult for him before, so she let him watch.
But as soon as she arrived at a bookstore in Chongjiaofang, she ran into someone she hadn't seen for a long time.
"Wish you, second brother?"
Zhu Feng is the second child. He is two years older than Jiang Zhuxiu.
She screamed, and Zhu Feng turned around and saw her.
"Jing..." Before she could finish her words, she quickly changed her words to "Madam Lu Hou."
He changed his usual way of addressing people, and seemed a little embarrassed.
Although Du Lingjing didn't feel anything was particularly embarrassing, seeing Zhu Feng like this, she didn't mention her identity today, but just looked at a piece of paper tucked inside a thick book in his hand.
She was a little surprised. "Brother Zhu also likes to put notes in books? Could it be a message to someone else?"
Just like when she and Hu Tingjun were young.
There was a smile in her eyes as she glanced at the note in Zhufeng's book.
Zhu Feng didn't expect her to ask this question. He was indeed sending messages to others, but this note was not written by him.
Du Lingjing didn't see the contents of the note clearly, but saw the words written on it.
She blinked and stared.
"Qianyun's calligraphy..."
It was Jiang Qianyun's handwriting, and it was also a long-lost note he left behind.
Zhu Feng was recently recalling the old stories of Jiang Zhuxiu, and only then did he remember that he had made a joking agreement with his deceased old friend when they were young.
He came to keep his appointment, but he didn't expect to meet his married fiancée here.
If Zhu Feng was still somewhat embarrassed by disbelief just now, now that he saw Du Lingjing recognize Jiang Zhuxiu's handwriting, he no longer had anything to be embarrassed about.
He said that when Qianyun was in the capital, she had left him a note in the book he often read in the bookstore. Qianyun did not tell him in advance, and he was poor, so he could only read the book in the bookstore. When he first saw the note left by Qianyun, he thought it was some kind of spiritual magic.
"I later found out that he had left it for me on purpose. We exchanged some insignificant words in the book based on it, but every time I turned to it, I was still surprised."
When he said this, Du Lingjing was stunned.
"Qianyun also plays like this with you?"
Zhu Feng said that was something that happened when he was young. "I don't know how he came up with that idea. I asked him about it later. He kept laughing at first, and then he said someone told him that."
Zhu Feng didn't know who it was.
Du Lingjing's eyes were always on the note.
This was a fun activity between her and Tingjun. She only told two people about it, one was her father, and the other was Sanlang who came to Beijing for medical treatment and study.
That was the first year of Yin You. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he changed the name. Qianyun and Nianchu came to the capital to study and see a doctor.
He had been to the capital before, probably once every one or two years. Every time her father entertained the Jiang family, she would accompany him and talk with the third brother of the Jiang family.
But that year was different. Qianyun's father accidentally broke his leg before leaving, so it was inconvenient for him to travel with him. Qianyun came to Beijing alone.
After the death of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager and Prince Yu's Mansion were both in mourning for the late emperor and were unable to receive visitors. My father was worried about him living alone in the capital's Dianyuan, so he simply kept him at the Du family in Chengqingfang and let him live in the west wing.
He was two years older than her, but he already had his own ideas about learning. After his father had tested him twice, he once said, "Sanlang will take the imperial examination this autumn. I'm afraid you won't win first place and go home with the title of Jieyuan."
Unexpectedly, his father's words came true. Sanlang ranked first in the autumn examination that year.
Although he had unique knowledge, he never acted in an overbearing manner. When Du Lingjing first asked him questions, she still had the attitude of a half-student towards a teacher, but later she gradually became able to talk to him about everything.
He would always make her a cup of tea and listen to her patiently. In fact, she was not very talkative, but when she was in front of him, she could even talk about trivial daily matters, and he would make a few comments in a serious manner.
She had undoubtedly told him about her play with He Tingjun, but she could not remember the details at all.
Unexpectedly, he remembered that he had also exchanged messages with Zhu Feng via notes sandwiched between books.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but be distracted.
In that year, my grandfather passed away suddenly. He had always been in good health, but when the news of his illness came from Qingzhou, and the next time news came from his hometown, my grandfather had already passed away.
She was shocked to see her father was extremely silent, sitting in the study with tears in his eyes.
Seeing her father like this made her even more sad, but she didn't want to cry in front of him. She couldn't sleep at night, so she ran to the bamboo forest in the small garden behind the house alone, sat on a small stone bench in the forest and wiped her tears.
That night, someone came over with a lantern, and the light reflected on his bamboo green robe. For a moment, she thought it was a god in the bamboo forest.
It wasn't until he came closer that she realized what was happening and bowed her head to apologize.
"Brother Jiang, I'm sorry I disturbed your rest."
He shook his head. “No.”
"Then why did you end up in the bamboo forest at night?" She must have woken him up.
But he still shook his head.
The little girl looked at him with tears in her eyes and heard him whisper.
"I was probably a bamboo spirit in my previous life, so in this life, I have to go to the bamboo forest every night to breathe in the bamboo fragrance in order to sleep well."
He spoke very seriously, as if this was true, at least that's what the Taoist priests said when they were fortune-telling.
Du Lingjing was stunned and forgot to cry for a moment before she came to her senses.
He was coaxing her.
Such a modest and serious person would also tell jokes to amuse her.
Du Lingjing shed more tears, and he couldn't help but become a little flustered.
"Did I say something wrong?"
No, Du Lingjing couldn't explain why she was crying again, but he handed her his handkerchief.
He wet one side, and handed over another, and then wet it again and handed it over again.
She couldn't help but ask him, "How many handkerchiefs did Third Brother bring me?"
She glanced and saw a bulge in his sleeves.
But he refused to admit it and only said, "Just these three parties."
Du Lingjing thought that if she cried again, he still had a clean handkerchief for her, after all, it was the bulging sleeve.
But he spoke softly, "Quanquan, stop crying, your eyes are not good."
... ...
He was supposed to return home early that year to prepare for the autumn imperial examination, but because of her grandfather's matter, he stayed a few more days.
The emperor did not take away her love, and her father had to return to his hometown to observe mourning. The new policy, which had already cooled down, had to end hastily. All the things that her father could not take care of were taken care of by Sanlang, who dragged his sick body to run around and take care of all the chores in the mansion for her, and returned to Shandong with them.
From then on, she knew that there was no one else in her eyes.
Later they got engaged, and she thought she would definitely marry him and he would definitely marry her.
But there was only the breeze in the bamboo forest, and no longer the figure with sleeves full of handkerchiefs and a lantern...
Zhu Feng didn't expect that there was an old note from many years ago left on the old book discarded on the top of the shelf.
"This may be the last thing Qianyun left for me."
He put the old note in his new book.
Then he said goodbye to Du Lingjing and left.
Du Lingjing kept looking at the book in his hand with the old note left by Sanlang, until he disappeared into the distance with the book in his hand.
Her eyes remained there for a long time.
*
The Mansion of Marquis Yongding in Jiqingfang.
Lu Shenru returned to the mansion from the palace.
Today, Hu Tinglan gave Feng Zhen a trial lecture, and he listened from beginning to end.
Hu Tinglan's eldest son was about the same age as Feng Zhen, so he understood the thoughts of this young boy. He taught for a while and then stopped for a while. It seemed slow, but he was calm and peaceful when he was teaching, and he was gentle and patient when he was close to his ear.
After the class, the little prince looked at him differently and asked, "Sir, will you come tomorrow?"
Lu Shenru was very pleased that the matter was settled.
After the matter was settled, he heaved a sigh of relief and went home. He heard that his wife had just returned and went to the inner courtyard to change clothes.
He asked, "Madam, why did you spend so much time in the bookstore?"
If you see a book you like, why not buy it and take it home?
But Chong'an replied in a low voice, "Madam, you met a friend today."
Lu Shenru looked over and heard Chong'an say.
"It was Zhu Erlang Zhu Feng, an old friend of Jiang Jieyuan's. After the lady saw him, she was quite fascinated."
After the words fell, the man was silent.
"Got it." He said nothing more.
As soon as he came out of the study after changing his clothes, he saw his wife coming from the inner courtyard to look for him.
"Is the Marquis back?"
She saw him walking out.
"Are you going out so late?"
The man shook his head and heard her ask again.
"Does the wound hurt today?"
She asked three questions in a row, and Lu Shenru fixed his gaze on her eyes.
Ever since he was injured, her attitude towards him had changed drastically, so much so that even he could hardly believe it.
She cared about him so much that she even took the initiative to call him "husband".
But, what position does he hold in her heart compared to Jiang Zhuxiu?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
