Chapter 134: A Kind Father's Heart
After sending their eldest daughter away, the Jiang couple sat facing each other. Xu looked at her husband's dark face and could only reach out and shake his arm.
"Husband, don't be angry."
"I'm not angry."
Jiang Huailiang muttered in a buzzing voice.
"I just feel like I'm incompetent. I've been struggling outside for so many years, but in the end I can't even afford to marry my daughter off. I feel a little ashamed when I think about it."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Mrs. Xu smiled and raised her hand to straighten the wrinkles on his collar, with a sigh in her tone.
"Do you know how many years it takes for a family to become an aristocratic family? Do you also know how many talents a family must produce to continue its legacy?
Our Jiang family has just started, and there is still a long way to go. Why bother to fight for supremacy at this moment?
If my sister hadn't married into the royal family, she wouldn't have to be so respectable. Actually, our family is having a very good life. Isn't this all thanks to your husband's ability? Why belittle yourself? It makes me, your wife, feel uncomfortable."
"What's up with you?"
Lao Jiang reached out and held his wife's hand, not even looking at her but only looking at the beams on the roof.
"The Jiang family is not doing as well as others. When the time comes to marry off our daughter, it will be embarrassing. Others will only laugh at me, the head of the family, for being incompetent, but they won't laugh at you."
"If my husband were humiliated, I would naturally feel the same way. How could I not share your feelings?"
It has to be said that Xu really understood Jiang Huailiang's pulse. She could easily come up with coaxing words and made her man smile happily.
"Hey, hey hey hey..."
After holding his wife in his arms and giving her a big kiss, Jiang Huailiang waved his hand and patted his chest with a confident look of being able to take on responsibilities.
"Wife, leave this matter to me. I'll go talk to Lao Qin tomorrow and see what to do next. Don't worry about it!"
"Okay, then I'll leave it all to my husband."
"Well, I'll do it! Come on, let's go eat."
The couple went out together arm in arm.
The second day.
After leaving the court, as soon as Lao Jiang left the palace, he blocked Lao Qin on the road.
"What's up?"
Qin Zhenning frowned slightly while holding the tablet.
"If you have nothing else, please get out of the way. I have something to do."
"How do you know I'm okay?"
Jiang Huailiang reached out and pulled him.
"Let's go find a place to sit down."
"What do you want from me?"
"Just follow me!"
The two of them got on a carriage and went straight to Yipinju, found a private room to sit down and ordered a table. They sent their men out to wait, and then Jiang Huailiang took the wine jug and filled the other person's glass.
"Master Qin, I, Old Jiang, want to offer you a toast. Thank you for taking the trouble to arrange a dowry for my daughter. Yesterday, I heard her mother say that, so I thought I'd treat you to a meal and say a few words of thanks."
Qin Zhenning understood and picked up the wine cup beside him without saying a word. He just clinked glasses with the other party tacitly, then raised his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Only when the wine enters the stomach and passes through the dry throat can it moisten the mouth and allow people to say things that are difficult to say normally.
"You don't have to thank me. If you want to thank me, I should thank you. Jiang Huailiang, I owe you a favor for the rest of my life."
"Well, what do you mean?"
Lao Jiang waved his bear paw, put the cup back on the table, and picked up the wine jug to fill each other's glasses.
"Many things in this world depend on fate. Some are destined but not destined, while others are destined but not destined. It just so happens that I've caught this opportunity, so shouldn't I just reach out and grab it? Come on, another one!"
“That’s right!”
The two glasses clinked together again, and they drank one glass after another. Later, perhaps feeling that it was not enough, they asked the waiter to bring over small jars of wine, and each of them carried one jar.
The more they drank, the more they talked.
"You, I can only say that your life is not as good as mine."
Qin Zhenning deeply agreed with Jiang Huailiang's words.
"Isn't it? I also feel that this life is really miserable. But when I think about it, I can't help but feel angry. This world has bullied me to this extent. How can I really die in such a cowardly way?"
Old Qin was clearly drunk, too. He sat at the table, clutching a small jar of wine and mumbling to himself. This made Old Jiang laugh. He staggered over and patted him on the shoulder.
"What can you do? Life is beyond our control. When it's time to live, live well. When you die, it's all over!"
"Yes, I think so now. I have to live well. I, I have to see my child live well, and live a happier life than her mother and I did back then. Otherwise, I won't be willing..."
When Old Qin drank too much, he seemed to revert to his old self. He was so angry that his eyes turned red. Old Jiang squatted beside him to persuade him.
"Don't be sad, or else let the child recognize you as his father, okay?"
...?
…! ! !
Old Qin was no longer upset; he just thought there was something wrong with his ears. For so many years, Jiang Huailiang had been wary of him like a thief, afraid he'd steal his daughter. How could he be so generous now?
"What does that look in your eyes mean?"
Lao Jiang was dissatisfied with the look on the other person's face, so he pointed it out directly, and the other person nodded honestly.
"That's what you think it means."
Putting down the jar of wine, he held onto the table and sat down.
"You don't need to test my opinion. I'm not someone who doesn't know the seriousness of things, nor do I have those unrealistic ideas. In this life, being able to see her well from afar is already a great gift from God.
I am not greedy.
What father do you want me to recognize? I'm not a glorious person, how can I let her get involved with me? If the news gets out, will my reputation be ruined? No, no..."
When one is 70% drunk, one is actually the most sober. Qin Zhenning asked questions one after another and convinced himself very well.
"Look at you, you're overthinking it, aren't you? I didn't ask the child to recognize you as his biological father. How about recognizing you as his adoptive father? If you still don't think it's possible, then here's what I'm going to do."
Old Jiang came over and slapped the table with his big hand, acting like a good brother.
"Why don't we just become sworn brothers? From now on, I'll be your elder brother, and you'll be my younger brother. Our relationship has improved from being distant to being close, so it'll be easier to talk to each other later, won't it?"
"Get out of here!"
Old Qin finally couldn't stand it anymore and cursed, then pushed the warrior aside.
"To put it mildly, I am a few months older than you, so I should be your brother. To put it more broadly,"
His voice was very low.
"Who is your sworn brother? Don't you know? If I swear brotherhood with you, how am I supposed to explain this to the Emperor?"
Jiang Huailiang sobered up instantly, rubbed his hands embarrassedly, and explained with a wry smile.
"Well, I was so drunk just now that I forgot about this matter."
"Don't talk about sworn brotherhood with anyone anymore. Your fate in life has already been decided by the Emperor. Just be a good Duke of Lingguo and don't cause any more trouble for the children."
"I know, I know. I just said that a little bit. I won't say it again next time."
The two of them stopped drinking and got back to the topic.
"The child's mother felt that you had prepared so many things for her, and she couldn't take them for nothing. So she wanted the child to become your relative in the future. What do you think?"
"Haven't you come to ask me something? Why are you asking me?"
Qin Zhenning snorted in annoyance before muttering to himself.
"She has such a wonderful pair of parents like you who love her so much. I feel at ease and I have no intention of getting close to her. What's the difference between relatives? If you care, it's up to you. If you don't care, there's no need to force it."
"Are you willing again?"
"My heart has long been as still as water."
The two men's eyes met, and whether it was a test or a rejection, it was all because of a kind father's heart.
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