Chapter 099
Nanny Zhao lowered her head, knowing in her heart that Shen Jin was only telling the truth, and that the last sentence was a bit boastful, showing that she was very smart. But when she glanced at Zheng Liang, she saw cold sweat on his forehead.
Zheng Liang thought about what Xue Qiao said when he met her on the road. Even though Zheng Liang repeatedly reminded himself to be alert, he couldn't help but look down on Shen Jin when he really saw her.
Zheng Liang stopped talking and said bluntly, "I think the Marquis' wife knows how Emperor Cheng treats the Marquis of Yongning. Not only the Marquis of Yongning, but also the Marquis' father, the Prince of Rui, is the brother of Emperor Cheng. How does Emperor Cheng treat him?"
Shen Jin didn't say anything, just looked at Zheng Liang. Zheng Liang continued, "I think Madam Hou also knows that the death of the late emperor, the crown prince, or even other princes has nothing to do with the King of England."
"Because there is no chance." Shen Jin said, "The King of England was defeated by the Crown Prince. Didn't we just discuss this?"
Zheng Liang said with a serious face, "At least the King of Ying is upright, unlike Emperor Cheng who is a villain."
Shen Jin actually felt that Zheng Liang was very capable, at least in terms of his thick skin. Shen Jin actually looked at Zheng Liang with a bit of admiration in his eyes. He listened to Zheng Liang first criticizing Emperor Cheng, then praising the Chu family's loyalty, then pitying Prince Rui and finally imagining the future.
Anping brought red date cheese from the kitchen to Shen Jin. After Shen Jin finished eating, she drank a few cakes and plum blossom tea. Seeing Zheng Liang was still talking, she started to find melon seeds and peeled them one by one. She didn't eat them and put the melon seeds on a small plate beside her. Then she felt a little bored and asked Zheng Liang when he paused, "Are you thirsty?"
"I'm not thirsty. In fact, as long as I am..." Zheng Liang was actually just being polite in order to continue persuading Shen Jin.
Shen Jin said, "But what do you want to say?"
Zheng Liang said, "As long as the Marquis of Yongning is willing to cooperate with the King of England, when the King of England ascends the throne, I am willing to divide the territory with the Marquis of Yongning."
Shen Jin continued to peel melon seeds with his head down, and was obviously not attracted by the conditions Zheng Liang said. Zheng Liang understood that Shen Jin was not willing to give up until he saw the rabbit. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "And the whereabouts of Chu Xiuyao and Chu Xiuyao's son."
"Huh?" As expected, Zheng Liang's words attracted Shen Jin. Shen Jin put the melon seeds in his hand aside and looked at Zheng Liang and asked, "Chu Xiuyao?"
"Yes." Zheng Liang said, "Chu Xiuyao is not dead. He was saved by the King of England."
The King of England that Zheng Liang mentioned was exactly the Prince of England that Shen Jin mentioned. Shen Jin nodded. Nanny Zhao narrowed her eyes. Shen Jin sighed and said, "I think the Prince of England likes to save people."
"The King of England is kind by nature..." Zheng Liang said respectfully.
Shen Jin took the handkerchief handed over by An Ping, wiped his hands and said, "I think you are amazing. You can tell such a lie without blushing or beating your heart."
Zheng Liang said, "I'm afraid that the Marquis' wife can't make the decision on some things, so why not ask the Marquis of Yongning to come out."
"I think talking to you will waste my husband's time. Why don't you write down everything you want to say and I'll give it to my husband later." Shen Jin thought for a while and said, "Don't write too much. It's a bit tiring to read."
Zheng Liang had a very good temper. When facing Shen Jin in the border town, he couldn't be in a bad temper. "Could it be that Madam Hou doesn't want to know the whereabouts of Chu Xiuyao?"
"To be honest, I don't really want to." Shen Jin's eyes were particularly sincere. "There can't be two tigers in one mountain, and there can't be two masters in one city. Why do you think I want to know Chu Xiuyao's whereabouts?"
Zheng Liang said, "If the Marquis doesn't want to, does that mean other people in the border town don't want to? If the soldiers in the border town knew that the Marquis of Yongning treated his brothers like this, I wonder if they would be disheartened."
Shen Jin looked at Zheng Liang and said helplessly, "You have already entered the general's mansion, why do you think you still have a chance to meet someone else?"
Zheng Liang was prepared. He straightened his sleeves and said, "The King of England has many talented people under his command. I am just a vanguard."
Shen Jin asked, "Oh, so you are not important anymore."
Zheng Liang frowned and looked at Shen Jin. Why were all Shen Jin's reactions different from what he expected? He was clearly threatening Shen Jin, but why did he feel like he was being threatened? Shen Jin looked at Yue Wen and said, "Take him away and find a way to make him talk, regardless of whether he lives or dies."
"When two armies are fighting, envoys should not be killed." Zheng Liang's face finally showed some anxiety.
Shen Jin asked, "Who said that?"
"This is what a gentleman does." Zheng Liang said. He found that Shen Jin didn't seem to be joking at all. Zheng Liang was particularly confident about this trip, not only because he had the amulet of information about Chu Xiuyao and his son in his hand, but also because he had made many arrangements in advance.
Shen Jin nodded, "I'm not a gentleman." The most important point is that Shen Jin felt that even if Zheng Liang died, the Prince of England would not act rashly. If he wanted to cooperate, even if the Prince of England's son died at the hands of Chu Xiuming, the Prince of England would still cooperate with Chu Xiuming.
However, Chu Xiuming would not cooperate with the Prince of England. Moreover, once that matter was accomplished, the Prince of England would probably hate Chu Xiuming to the core. After all, having too many lice won't cause any itchiness.
Zheng Liang wanted to say more, but Yue Wen had already taken action. Zheng Liang was originally a counselor beside the Prince of Ying, and he did bring guards with him, but those guards had been controlled long ago. Zheng Liang alone was no match for Yue Wen. After Zheng Liang was taken away by Yue Wen, Shen Jin said, "Mammy, please call my husband."
"Yes." Madam Zhao went outside and told the servant to invite Chu Xiuming. Then she came in and looked at Shen Jin who was sitting in a daze on the chair, and said softly, "Madam, don't worry. I think the general will take care of it."
Shen Jin was stunned for a moment before nodding and saying, "Actually, I just feel it's a little strange."
"Madam, do you think something is wrong?" said Madam Zhao.
Shen Jin responded, and continued to peel melon seeds with his head down, saying, "Why is the method of the Prince of England so simple?"
Aunt Zhao didn't react for a moment. Shen Jin said, "I took away everything you had, and then gave you some back as a favor. Isn't that how I treated Xue Qiao?"
After listening to Shen Jin's explanation, Aunt Zhao also understood. Shen Jin sighed and said, "Does he think that this makes him a good person?"
"I think he got his confidence from Xue Qiao." Nanny Zhao sneered.
Shen Jin nodded, "But there is only one Xue Qiao."
Nanny Zhao didn't say anything else. In fact, Shen Jin was not thinking about these things, but about Chu Xiuyao. It was not about whether the Prince of England had Chu Xiuyao in his hands, but... Chu Xiuming didn't often mention this brother, but Nanny Zhao and the others talked a lot about it, and Shen Jin also heard Chu Xiuming mention it occasionally. Under what circumstances was such a person caught by the Prince of England, and under what circumstances, he was kept for so long.
In fact, Shen Jin already had a guess in his mind. It might be true that the Prince of England had captured Chu Xiuyao, but... Chu Xiuyao might have been gone for a long time. How could such a person be a prisoner? How could he be willing to let his brother be threatened because of him? If he escaped, he should have come to find Chu Xiuming long ago.
So Zheng Liang's words should be false, but such false news made Shen Jin very sad. Chu Xiuming cared about Chu Xiuyao very much, which could be seen from the importance he treated the child who might be Chu Xiuyao's child. After Chu Xiuming finally accepted the fact that Chu Xiuyao was dead, the Prince of England had to bring it up at this time. It was like a wound that had finally healed was broken again. Shen Jin felt sorry for Chu Xiuming.
Chu Xiuming came over quickly. When he arrived, he saw Shen Jin staring blankly at the window, not knowing what he was thinking. He glanced at Madam Zhao, but saw that Madam Zhao lowered her head. He had a vague guess in his heart and nodded to Madam Zhao. Madam Zhao then led her people out and carefully looked at the door.
This movement caught Shen Jin's attention. She looked at Chu Xiuming, stretched out her arms and said, "Husband, hug me."
Maybe Shen Jin herself didn't know that her face was full of grievance and pain, just like a helpless little animal because its mother was injured. Chu Xiuming walked over and picked up Shen Jin. Shen Jin lay quietly in his arms, rubbing her face against his neck, and said, "Let's go back to the house and talk."
"Okay." Chu Xiuming lowered his eyes slightly, let Shen Jin sit on his arm, and carried her into the house, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Shen Jin couldn't hold back her eyes anymore after hearing these five simple words. Tears fell on Chu Xiuming's neck. "My husband, I hate the Prince of England." Shen Jin had never hated a person so much. Even Emperor Cheng couldn't compare to the Prince of England. But the Prince of England...
When they got to the room, Chu Xiuming did not put Shen Jin down, but sat on the chaise longue, while Shen Jin sat on Chu Xiuming's legs, hugged his neck with both hands, and said, "I met Zheng Liang."
Chu Xiuming put his arm around Shen Jin's waist and said, "But what did you say?"
Shen Jin responded, "If my husband is willing to lend a helping hand to the Prince of England, and if it works, the Prince of England is willing to share the territory with my husband."
"Heh." Chu Xiuming sneered.
Shen Jin looked down at her embroidered shoes. These shoes were made for her by Concubine Chen. They were embroidered with koi fish in gold thread, and they looked very vivid. "Zheng Liang said that the Prince of Ying has my third brother and his son in his hands."
Chu Xiuming gritted his teeth. At that moment, Shen Jin could feel the tenseness of Chu Xiuming's body. But even so, his arm around Shen Jin's waist was still gentle. "Impossible."
"Yes." Shen Jin stopped looking at her embroidered shoes, stretched out her hands to hug Chu Xiuming tightly, and rubbed her face against his gently, "Husband, don't be sad."
Chu Xiuming took a deep breath, exhaled, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he managed to regain his composure. "It's impossible for my third brother to fall into the hands of the Prince of England. The Chu family and the King of England have an irreconcilable feud. In fact, my third brother... is prouder than anyone else." Chu Xiuyao would never bend his pride to save his life.
Shen Jin bit her lip and said, "Husband, you still have me, Dongdong, and Xiuyuan... Don't feel bad."
Chu Xiuming lowered his head and rested his forehead against Shen Jin's, "Yeah."
In fact, Shen Jin understood Chu Xiuming. He was not only sad at this moment, but more of a feeling of anger and regret. If the Prince of England wanted people to believe his lies, there must be some truth in them. So it was very likely that it was the Prince of England who captured Chu Xiuyao. However, Chu Xiuming knew his third brother. If he found that he could not escape, he would definitely choose to commit suicide while he still had the ability to do so.
If it had been back then... Chu Xiuming regretted it. If he had realized this earlier, would he have had a chance to rescue his third brother?
This is where Chu Xiuming's pain lies, not just because of Chu Xiuyao's death.
Shen Jin also knew this, so he felt particularly distressed. The Prince of England sent someone to talk about Chu Xiu Yao. This move seemed more like an attempt to anger Chu Xiu Ming and make Chu Xiu Ming lose his cool.
After a long time, Chu Xiuming calmed down and said, "I'm afraid the prince of Ying is planning to cause chaos in the border town."
Shen Jin responded. Perhaps after the Prince of England found out that the news about the child alone could not make Chu Xiuming take any action, he brought up Chu Xiuyao just to add weight to the situation. Regardless of whether Chu Xiuming believed it or not, his purpose was just to make Chu Xiuming take action. Even if Chu Xiuming still did not move, he would spread rumors in the border town, saying that for the sake of the border town's rights, Chu Xiuming deliberately watched someone die without rescuing him, or that Chu Xiuyao's death was arranged by Chu Xiuming, in order to shake the morale of the soldiers in the border town.
Chu Xiuming tasted the blood in his mouth. In order to calm himself down, he bit himself hard, using the pain and blood to remind himself that Chu Xiuming actually thought more than Shen Jin did. He just didn't want to say some things to scare Shen Jin and make Shen Jin uncomfortable. He kissed Shen Jin gently and said, "I'll go to the meeting room."
"Okay." Shen Jin stood up from Chu Xiuming's arms, "I'll bring you food later."
"Yes." Chu Xiuming kissed the corner of Shen Jin's eyes and said, "Leave this matter to me."
The implication was that Shen Jin should not be allowed to interfere anymore, because Chu Xiuming had not expected that the Prince of England would resort to such means. Chu Xiuming knew that Shen Jin was a thoughtful person. Although she was not sentimental, it did not mean that Shen Jin would not feel uncomfortable.
Shen Jin thought about it and nodded without saying anything else. He sent Chu Xiuming out of the main courtyard. Chu Xiuyuan glanced at Aunt Zhao and said, "Take good care of Madam."
"Yes." Nanny Zhao responded respectfully.
Shen Jin smiled at Chu Xiuming, her little dimples looking particularly cute.
Chu Xiuming reached out and touched Shen Jin's forehead, then turned and walked towards the conference room without saying anything else. In fact, there was another possibility that Chu Xiuming did not tell Shen Jin, which was that Chu Xiuyao was indeed in the hands of the Prince of England and did not even have the ability to commit suicide.
Death is sometimes easy, but sometimes difficult. If Chu Xiuyao really doesn't even have the chance and ability to die, one can imagine what kind of situation Chu Xiuyao is in now.
Chu Xiuming felt chilled and trembling just thinking about it. What on earth had Chu Xiuyao experienced over the years?
The means that make people want to live but cannot, and want to die but cannot... The unknown is the most frightening, and Chu Xiuming is no exception.
When they arrived at the conference room, Chu Xiuming was the only one there. He sent someone to invite everyone over, and he stood in front of the hanging map of mountains and rivers.
Chu Xiuming remembered that when he was young, there were many people in his family, including grandfather, father, mother, brother, sister, cousin... He was the youngest child in the Chu family. At that time, his grandfather was in good health and most of the things were handed over to his father. So there was a lot of time when his grandfather liked to call them together and point to every place on the map of mountains and rivers and explain it to them.
Chu Xiuming was too young at that time and could not understand many things, but he remembered his grandfather saying that the weather here is very hot and it rains frequently. There are many flowers blooming, but there are also many poisonous insects and weeds. When you get there, you must pay attention to the fact that many soldiers often lose their lives due to acclimatization, eating the wrong things, or being bitten by poisonous insects and snakes.
Chu Xiuming still remembered that Chu Xiuyao was fearless at that time, waving a small wooden sword in his hand and saying something, but Chu Xiuming could not remember clearly.
When Chu Xiuyuan came, he saw Chu Xiuming like this. Chu Xiuming did not turn around. When Chu Xiuyuan came to him, he pointed to a place in the lower left corner of the mountain and river map and said, "Didn't you ask me how this place was made?"
"Yeah." Chu Xiuyuan said, "It looks like this was added later."
Chu Xiuming said, "It was broken by my third brother and me."
Chu Xiuyuan looked at Chu Xiuming. Even though he was slow-witted, he sensed something was wrong, but he didn’t say anything. Chu Xiuming went on to say, “Father had promised to take us hunting at that time. It was the first time for my third brother and I to be taken out hunting, so we were naturally very happy. But because…” Chu Xiuming pointed to the place they had cut out, “Father suddenly wanted to lead the troops here, and we thought that as long as we cut out this place, he wouldn’t be able to find the way out.” So they secretly found a pair of scissors and cut off that piece. Thanks to their grandfather who taught them to recognize maps since they were young, they didn’t make the wrong choice.
"Thinking about it now, I was really stupid back then." Chu Xiuming said. The map of mountains and rivers was very important. Many excellent spies were sacrificed for this complete map. They were young and ignorant at that time. Their father gave them a severe lesson. It was obviously his idea, but after the incident, Chu Xiuyao took all the responsibility himself. Even Chu Xiuming admitted it. When he was beaten, Chu Xiuyao hugged Chu Xiuming tightly to prevent his father from hitting him.
Chu Xiuyuan didn’t know why Chu Xiuming suddenly mentioned these things. Could it be that the envoy of the Prince of England said something, or did something happen to the child?
Chu Xiuming didn't say anything else. After touching that place with his finger, he sat back in his seat. Chu Xiuyuan pursed his lips and didn't ask anything else. At this time, Chu Xiuming sent someone to invite everyone here. It should be because something new had happened and needed everyone to discuss it.
Chu Xiuyuan sat next to Chu Xiuming and poured him a cup of tea.
After everyone arrived, Chu Xiuming stroked the edge of the teacup with his fingers, lowered his eyes slightly to look at the tea leaves in the cup and said, "The envoy of the Prince of England said that Chu Xiuyao and his son are in their hands."
"Impossible." General Lin was the first to say.
General Wu also frowned. They all knew Chu Xiuyao, so they naturally didn't believe that Chu Xiuyao would surrender to the Prince of England just to save his life.
General Jin said angrily, "The villain, the Crown Prince of Ying!"
Manager Zhao also calmed down and said, "If the Third Master really had it in his hands, the Prince of England would never have waited until now."
Manager Wang suddenly said, "There is another possibility..."
Chu Xiuyuan said, "What if it's true?"
Yes, if it is true, what if the prince of Ying really has Chu Xiuyao in his hands, will they really not care? Chu Xiuyao and the child of Chu Xiuyao are two different things. They can give up the child cruelly, but they have no choice but to rescue Chu Xiuyao.
Chu Xiuyuan said in a deep voice, "If the third brother is really in the hands of the Prince of England, we will agree to his conditions."
The throne is dead, but people are alive. Chu Xiuyuan now understands the struggle and pain that Chu Xiuming just experienced.
Chu Xiuming lowered his eyes slightly and said, "There are two possibilities now. One is that the Prince of England is a liar, and the other is that the Prince of England does have the third brother in his hands, a third brother who is begging for death."
The words "wanting to die but unable to" made everyone's face change. They thought of this possibility, but no one was willing to believe it.
Chu Xiuming said, "Bring Zheng Liang up."
No one spoke anymore. They were all thinking. After listening to Chu Xiuming's words, several people understood in their hearts that Chu Xiuyao could never be the kind of person who would live a life of shame and despair. So even if Chu Xiuyao was really in the hands of the Prince of England, there were only two possibilities: one was Chu Xiuyao's corpse and the other was Chu Xiuyao who was living a life worse than death.
In fact, they can’t really say which one they prefer.
Zheng Liang was brought up quickly. In just a short time, he looked much more haggard, but there were no wounds on his body or face. No one asked Yue Wen how he did it. When Zheng Liang saw Chu Xiuming, he actually felt like he had survived a calamity.
"Zheng Liang." Chu Xiuming looked at him and said, "You said my third brother is in the hands of the Prince of England?"
Zheng Liang heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. He knew that Chu Xiuming couldn't possibly not care about this matter. Even if he didn't want Chu Xiuyao to live, he had to pretend that he cared about his position in everyone's hearts. In fact, no matter what the reason was, as long as he cared, it was fine. "Yes."
"I think the Prince of England has already told you how my third brother fell into his hands." Chu Xiuyuan said in a deep voice, "Go ahead."
Zheng Liang knew that Chu Xiuming had a cousin. He glanced at Chu Xiuyuan and did not hide anything. He told him in detail where the Prince of England found Chu Xiuyao. Chu Xiuming's heart sank. Manager Zhao, Chief Steward Wang and even General Lin asked him several questions, some of which Zheng Liang did not know and some of which the Prince of England had told him. He answered them one by one. Everyone looked at each other and realized that Chu Xiuyao might have really fallen into the hands of the Prince of England.
"The King of England said that if the Marquis of Yongning is willing to cooperate, he will not only return the people, but also be willing to share the territory with the Marquis of Yongning and share the land of Tianqi." Zheng Liang said respectfully. In front of Chu Xiuming, he did not dare to hide anything. "Even if the Marquis of Yongning is unwilling to cooperate with the King of England, as long as the Marquis of Yongning does not send troops to help Emperor Cheng, no matter whether the King of England wins or loses in the end, the King of England is willing to return the people, and even give them to the Marquis of Yongning as a fiefdom with the border town as the center and Huajiang as the line."
"Return?" Chu Xiuming looked at Zheng Liang and asked, "Are you returning my third brother's body?"
Zheng Liang said, "I swear to heaven that I will never do that. The King of England respects the Chu family and will never be disrespectful to Chu Xiuyao."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
