Chapter 479: In Exchange for Your Peace
Liao Jiu urged Jiang Lianzhu, "Restore the stone slab and move me back to my original position. Hurry and leave. Someone is coming. Come back to study this next time when you have time."
Jiang Lianzhu was also afraid of more trouble, and thinking that time was almost up, she hurried to recover.
"I'll come see you tomorrow."
Liao Jiu nodded quickly, "Let's go."
Jiang Lianzhu went out silently.
Liao Jiu pricked up his ears and listened for a long time, but didn't hear any commotion. This meant that Jiang Lianzhu got out safely and was not caught. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Lianzhu came out of the prison, took off the jailer's clothes, put them in the grass, looked around, and it seemed that there was no one around.
She skimmed the wall.
After she left, several silent poisonous snakes appeared behind the trees in the flower garden.
He stared at the direction Jiang Lianzhu left with cold eyes.
Spewing out snake cores, some followed Jiang Lianzhu's direction, while others quickly turned around, burrowed into the ground, and disappeared.
***
East Palace.
The Queen is checking the Prince's homework today.
Before the Empress entered the palace, she was a well-known talented woman who had read a lot of articles. Later, she followed Emperor Xuan and read a lot of memorials, so she did have some real knowledge.
She would come to the East Palace every now and then to check on the prince's homework.
"Mother, how dare Liao Jiu disobey the emperor's order? Why didn't the emperor execute him? He simply defied the dignity of our royal family."
The Queen hummed nonchalantly.
"No one should be executed, but Liao Jiu. Liao Jiu has become arrogant due to his favor. Your father is old and can no longer control him. If Liao Jiu dies, will the Six Gates still exist? The Prime Minister's Mansion, the Qingning Marquis' Mansion, and many old ministers in the court are intertwined. Even the War Prince will take action... Your father was decisive and murderous in his youth, but now that he is old, he is no longer useful and has turned to mercy and family affection. Otherwise, how can the Xiang Prince's Mansion be vindicated?"
The prince scratched his head. "That can't be right, Mother. It's said that Prince Zhan is almost dead. He's too ill to get out of bed and won't live for many days. He wasn't even seen at the grand banquet at Prince Xiang's mansion that day. How could he possibly do anything? I don't believe it!"
The Queen sneered, "Duke Zhou has been so active these past few days. What do you think he's doing? Prince Zhan once owed Duke Zhou a great favor..."
The water is deep!
Duke of Zhou, Prime Minister Zhou's Mansion, Liao Jiu...
If Liao Jiu really married Jiang Lianzhu, who was the adopted mother of Prince Xiaoxiang and the others...
This relationship alerted the Queen Mother, and she would rather let Liao Jiu marry the eldest princess.
The prince seems confused and not very smart.
He quickly gave up thinking about such a complicated question and said, "That young Prince Xiang always said how outstanding and powerful he is. In my opinion, he is also a waste. My father didn't give me the golden medal of immunity from death, so he gave it to him. It was a waste."
The Empress continued calmly, "Waste, and the waste that poses the greatest threat to you! Your second sister is gone, and now there's the young Prince Xiang. Your position is destined to be uneasy."
The prince obviously didn't believe it. "Who does he think he is? How can he influence me? I can crush him to death like an ant."
"Have you only learned the word arrogance after studying so far? Ignorance."
The prince immediately wilted, "Mother, it was my fault."
The Empress didn't want to say any more to him. "Be careful with your words and actions. Your second sister is right. You should read more and learn more about governing a country. Da'an will be handed over to you sooner or later. You don't need to worry about anything else."
"Yes, mother." The prince agreed, but he was helpless in his heart.
He didn't like studying or reading at all. Whenever he saw the teacher, his head would hurt and he would feel uncomfortable all over.
He secretly swore that when he became emperor, he would drive all the teachers out of the palace and no one would ever let him open a book again in his life.
***
At the morning court the next day, an old official from the Ministry of Rites and several others jointly wrote a letter to the emperor, apology for Liao Jiu.
The first name on the joint letter is the signature of King Zhan.
Mysterious war!
Xuan Huang recognized the handwriting of King Zhan. This was King Zhan's autograph, even though he did not come to court.
At this time, Duke Zhou stood at the edge of the ministers with his head bowed and a serious expression.
Eyes look at the nose, nose looks at the heart.
He acted as if as long as he didn't look at Xuan Huang, Xuan Huang wouldn't find out that it was him who went to Prince Zhan's Mansion.
Everyone took turns explaining their reasons for pleading for Liao Jiu, and Xuan Huang listened silently.
It was only when the court was dismissed that Emperor Xuanhuang finally relented.
"Forget it, spare this brat! Remove him from his post as Governor of the Six Gates... Get the hell out of my sight, out of mind."
Duke Zhou was overjoyed. Despite his advanced age, he knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
Emperor Xuan threw the joint letter in front of Duke Zhou and said, "You too, get out! You are not allowed to enter the palace for three months!"
Duke Zhou's face suddenly fell as he wiped his tears. "Your Majesty, I am old and I don't know if I can live for another three months. Isn't this three months too long? I miss Your Majesty day and night and wish Your Majesty good health..."
Xuan Huang glared at him, and Zhou Gong was speechless. "Thank you, Lord, for your grace."
The court officials wanted to laugh but held back and dared not laugh.
***
After the morning court session, Duke Zhou took people to the Tianlao to welcome Liao Jiu out of prison.
Xiang Zuo and others from the Six Gates also went to pick up their master.
Liao Jiu was dismissed from the post of governor, and there was no one in charge of the Six Gates. All matters were initiated and handled by Xiang Zuo.
For Xiang Zuo, there was no difference from before. When Liao Jiu was the governor, Xiang Zuo was in charge of basic affairs.
Now that the governor is gone, he is still in charge.
Duke Zhou took Liao Jiu out of the prison and gave him a severe lesson on the way.
Liao Jiu didn't say a word in reply and let Zhou Gong scold him.
After cursing, Liao Jiu bowed deeply to Zhou Gong and said, "Thank you for your trouble, grandpa. I, your grandson, thank you for your kindness."
Duke Zhou stroked his white beard and said, "You, as a family, don't need to thank me. You are my only grandson. The emperor is really furious this time. Let's calm down for a while. I have already discussed with the emperor. Our Zhou Prime Minister's Mansion is willing to marry the eldest princess. Your cousin Zhou Yuan is also one of the most outstanding children in the capital. Compared to you, he is not much worse. He is also a good match for the eldest princess. The emperor has also agreed. Now it depends on whether the eldest princess changes her mind. It can be considered as a way to give you peace and quiet."
Liao Jiu's face darkened, and he knew that things were not that simple.
"Zhou Yuan?"
Duke Zhou smiled and said, "Do you think everyone is like you? Not taking the princess seriously? We Zhou Yuan are very concerned about marrying a princess. It is very cost-effective for our family to marry a princess. Our Zhou family has had two generations of prime ministers, and three generations of prime ministers is basically impossible, because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not seem to be close to our Zhou family. It is better for Zhou Yuan to marry a princess and become an idle prince consort, enjoying wealth and glory forever. The eldest princess is valued by our emperor, and this incident happened. When the princess marries in the future, she will definitely have a lot of dowry, and our Zhou family will make a profit. Of course, our family has already asked for marriage, and whether the eldest princess agrees or not is another matter."
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