Chapter 168 Old Lu, you are so sinister
That year, Zhu Xizhong brought his seven-year-old son into the palace and was warmly welcomed.
As a close comrade of the Zhu family and the future heir to the Chengguo Mansion, Zhu Shitai was qualified to play with the princes.
It was also during that time that Zhu Shitai fell ill and punched the prince so hard that he cried uncontrollably.
From then on, the princes were given a piece of advice: stay away from Zhu Shitai.
Zhu Xizhong pleaded guilty, and Emperor Jiajing magnanimously forgave him and sent imperial doctors to treat him.
The imperial doctors held a consultation and tried every possible means, but to no avail.
"This is an old grudge." Some people even used mysticism to comment on Zhu Shitai's illness.
Historically, Zhu Xizhong lived for many years, and Jiang Qingzhi always felt that the old dandy had no worries in his heart, so he could live a long life.
It seems not.
Jiang Qingzhi slapped him, and the study became quiet.
Prince Yu blinked his eyes and held the stool in his hand, ready to go and meet his uncle.
King Jing held a book in his hand and posed like a white crane spreading its wings, as if he was holding a supreme magical weapon in his hand.
The servant was heartbroken, thinking that this was the first time the young prince had been beaten since he was born!
What's more, he was worried that the young Duke would be driven crazy by the slap and become even more insane.
Jiang Qingzhi pretended to be calm and moved quietly to the side.
Lao Zhu, I'm not done with you!
Jiang Qingzhi secretly became angry.
"Hey!"
Suddenly someone sighed in the room. The two brothers Prince Yu were horrified, and when they looked up, it turned out to be Zhu Shitai.
Zhu Shitai's eyes slowly turned, and he looked back at the mess on the ground, and asked in surprise: "Who did this?"
……
The sun was high in the sky and it was time for Emperor Jiajing to go to bed. Yan Song dragged his tired body and left.
Cui Yuan looked even more miserable and staggered.
Seeing Zhu Xizhong in high spirits, Cui Yuan felt jealous, "Duke Chengguo is indeed full of energy!"
Zhu Xizhong said proudly: "Even if I can't say I will live to be a hundred years old, I will definitely live to be eighty years old in this lifetime."
"Haha!" Cui Yuan sneered. He and Yan Song were both representatives of the longevity faction. As for Zhu Xizhong, if such an old playboy could live to the age of sixty, Cui Yuan would dare to kill himself.
Walking out of Xiyuan, Zhu Xizhong stretched and felt fatigue coming over him like a tide.
"The Duke."
An attendant was waiting outside, and when he saw him come out, he said anxiously: "The young prince is ill."
"What?" Zhu Xizhong still raised his hands, "Isn't he healed?"
He swung his hands suddenly and sprained his waist.
"Ouch!"
The followers came over quickly, you massaged my shoulders and I massaged my waist.
"roll!"
Zhu Xizhong cursed, "Where's the horse? Where's the horse?"
Someone brought his horse, and Zhu Xizhong mounted it and galloped home.
"Duke, the little Duke is at the second master's house."
Zhu Xizhong pulled the reins and the horse turned sharply, its body tilted almost to a forty-five-degree angle, and turned past the fence closely.
Seeing this, a minor official praised: "Duke Cheng is a great rider!"
After galloping all the way to the Changwei Marquis's Mansion, Zhu Xizhong dismounted and ran inside.
"Duke, the Earl is here..."
Just as the doorman was about to say hello, there was no one in sight.
"Am I dazzled?" Menzi rubbed his eyes.
Zhu Xizhong ran all the way.
Bah!
He broke open the study door.
His eyes were red as he looked around for his son.
Zhu Shitai was sitting on the right side of the two princes, listening to the class attentively.
"Dalang!"
Zhu Xizhong shouted.
Zhu Shitai turned around. Although his nose and face were bruised and one cheek was a little swollen, his eyes were clear.
It doesn't look like he's ill.
"Hey!"
Zhu Xizhong suddenly relaxed and fainted.
What the hell!
"Lao Zhu!"
Jiang Qingzhi dropped the book and came over.
I tested the breath first, and luckily, there was breath.
He turned around and asked, "Does your father have any...chronic illness?"
Zhu Shitai shook his head, "Just need to take medicine from time to time."
"What medicine?" Jiang Qingzhi was worried that the old playboy had cardiovascular problems.
"They said something like... a medicine to strengthen the kidneys."
Hey!
Jiang Qingzhi felt relieved and pinched the old dude's philtrum hard.
"Hey!"
Zhu Xizhong woke up and saw his son in front of him. He said with a straight face, "Did you talk back?"
Zhu Shitai shook his head, "No."
"If you talk back, you deserve to be beaten to death by your uncle." Zhu Xizhong sat up and touched his philtrum, which was in great pain. "Who pinched me?"
Everyone looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
"Qingzhi, you are too cruel." Zhu Xizhong smiled bitterly.
"You guys review first."
Jiang Qingzhi had some questions to ask the old dandy, so he left the study with him.
"I know you have many questions." Zhu Xizhong said, "Da Lang has a strange temper, sometimes good and sometimes bad. When he is in a good mood, he is gentle and polite, and when he is in a bad mood, he smashes things and even beats people. Last year, I spent a lot of money to hire a miracle doctor, and after taking a few doses of medicine, he was cured. I thought Da Lang was cured, but who would have thought..."
"There's a problem here." Jiang Qingzhi pointed to his head.
"I know." Zhu Xizhong smiled bitterly, "But I only have this one son!"
"Are you worried that he won't be able to inherit the title?" Jiang Qingzhi asked. He suddenly thought of Lu Bing's marriage plan.
As the commander of the Jinyiwei, Lu Bing must have known Zhu Shitai's problems, but he was still willing to marry... If the marriage was successful, could a Duke of Cheng who was crazy from time to time still be in charge of the family? Wouldn't the huge Duke of Cheng's Mansion fall into the hands of his daughter?
Such a powerful force will become Lu Bing's resource from now on.
Old Lu, you are so damn sinister!
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head secretly.
"Brother, I'm not worried." Zhu Xizhong touched his philtrum and took a breath. "Qingzhi, brother has actually been cultivating himself these years. When he was young, brother ate, drank, played, and did everything. It was no big deal for him to have sex with three women at night. But now brother has restrained himself a lot. Do you know why?"
"Want to live a hundred years?" Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
But Zhu Xizhong nodded seriously, "Yes."
Zhu Xizhong said softly: "I don't have much to miss in this human world, but I am worried about Dalang. As long as Dalang doesn't recover, I... dare not die."
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the historical figure of Zhu Xizhong who had served three dynasties and remained in favor. At this moment, it seemed that this was not the old playboy's intention.
All this is just for my son.
He was worried that no one would be able to protect his children after his death, so he left behind a capital for his everlasting honor and favor.
He was worried that his son would be bullied after his death, so he restrained his temper...
"As parents, we all hope that our children and grandchildren live long, but I, your brother..." Zhu Xizhong wiped his face, "I hope to die after Dalang."
……
The provincial examination has begun.
It was dark, and Xiao Jin and his brother escorted Xu Wei out the door. They bowed and said, "Congratulations, sir, on being nominated for the top honors."
"Don't worry, just wait!"
Xu Wei was full of confidence.
Next door, Hu Zongxian stood at the side of the gate and bowed to Xu Wei.
Xu Wei nodded and turned away.
"We will receive frequent good news from this trip! Hahahaha!"
Amidst the wild laughter, the capital woke up.
"Damn it! This guy is too crazy."
Hu Zongxian shook his head and went back.
The Jiang family is about to have breakfast.
"Hey! Fried dough sticks, soy milk... and barbecue?"
Hu Zongxian's appetite was aroused, and he started to eat frantically after sitting down.
"Old Hu eats more voraciously than I do." Sun Chonglou was very curious. "Old Hu, they say that scholars eat in a very elegant manner. Why do you…"
Hu Zongxian was stunned, and then he realized that he seemed to be too unrestrained.
He must have been led astray by Xu Wei... Hu Zongxian laughed dryly, "My uncle once said that eating quickly is the best way to feel good."
"But the young master also said that only by chewing slowly can we taste the true flavor of food." Sun Chonglou was a serious person.
"Eat your meal!" Fu Cheng glared.
"Master, when Old Hu first came to our house, he ate more elegantly than Dou Jialan." Sun Chonglou felt aggrieved.
Uh!
Hu Zongxian was too embarrassed to save face.
Jiang Qingzhi coughed dryly and said, "Don't talk while eating."
"Don't speak!" Sun Chonglou took over. Seeing the young master raise his chopsticks and pretend to throw them to him, he quickly lowered his head and ate frantically.
After dinner, Jiang Qingzhi called Hu Zongxian.
"We need to hurry up with Ma Chongde."
The last time Ma Chongde and other powerful people took action, they reported Jiang Qingzhi for smuggling outside the Great Wall. If Jiang Qingzhi had not been prepared, he would have definitely been caught.
This was the first time Jiang Qingzhi urged Hu Zongxian.
Hu Zongxian's heart trembled, "Yes."
"Relax." Jiang Qingzhi patted his shoulder. "We are a family. There is no need to be so tense as if we were superiors and subordinates."
"Master, Mr. Xia is here." A servant came to report.
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and went to see Xia Yan. Hu Zongxian stood there and murmured, "We are one family..."
He suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, I was wondering why you were eating so recklessly. It turns out you got carried away."
Everyone hopes to have a harbor where they can rest, where they don't need to be on guard and can live according to their nature.
And this harbor has a name, called...
"Home!"
Xia Yan looked a little exasperated, "What did you teach Prince Yu?"
"What's wrong?" Jiang Qingzhi was worried that the old man was angry, so he quickly helped him sit down.
"I was teaching Prince Yu today and mentioned Wang Anshi's reforms..." Xia Yan took a sip of the tea handed to him by Jiang Qingzhi, still angry, "Prince Yu asked me why Wang Anshi's reforms failed."
"What did you say?" Jiang Qingzhi was laughing. Fu Cheng, who was serving beside him, swore that his uncle was gloating over his misfortune.
"The reason why Wang Anshi's reform failed was because he was stubborn and inflexible. He was too tough..." After all, Xia Yan had held power before, so his words were insightful.
Xia Yan slapped his thigh and said, "That kid is wrong. I will ask him what he did wrong."
Seeing Jiang Qingzhi laughing happily, Xia Yan said angrily, "Prince Yu said that Wang Anshi's reform was wrong because he chose the wrong opponent."
Good boy, you really are worthy of being Emperor Longqing!
The master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you. Jiang Qingzhi taught knowledge, but how to integrate and apply what he learned was the disciples' job.
"How did Mr. Xia fight back?" Jiang Qingzhi asked with a wicked smile.
"I asked, and Prince Yu said..." Xia Yan also imitated Prince Yu's expression at that time, and Jiang Qingzhi smiled at his childish side. "He said that all the problems of the former Song Dynasty came from people, that is, man-made disasters. To solve these problems, we must first solve these people. Otherwise, we will only deal with the facts, which is like treating the symptoms rather than the cause."
A eunuch was brought in by a servant. After seeing Xia Yan, he waved his hand and signaled to wait.
When Xia Yan was in power, he refused to bow down to Emperor Jiajing and was very stubborn. The eunuchs were terrified when they met him, fearing that they would be scolded. Although Xia Yan has retired now, his prestige is still there.
The eunuch saw Jiang Qingzhi take out a medicinal cigarette and asked slowly, "So what does Lord Xia think, is Prince Yu right or wrong?"
Xia Yan, who had been strong all his life, sighed and his shoulders relaxed.
"When it comes to teaching disciples, I'm not as good as you!"
(End of this chapter)
