Chapter 98 The Queen Mother’s Humiliation
In a daze, she felt that the person connected by blood to her was a terrifying stranger.
Of course Zhao Zheng is terrible.
Otherwise, he would not have ordered to kill his brothers; Wei Zhangde, whom he respected as his "Second Father", would not have had his family destroyed.
It's just that the Yong State values filial piety, and the Queen Mother feels that Zhao Zheng must listen to her no matter what, and cannot disobey and resist.
But looking at the hostility in his eyes now, he clearly made up his mind to block the God of Killing.
The Queen Mother felt that if she said one more word, she would be defeated by Zhao Zheng.
It felt like a huge boulder had fallen into her heart, sinking with depression, making her almost unable to stand.
After finally regaining his breath, Zhao Zheng strode away.
The Queen Mother swayed and held onto the chamberlain's arm, her face as cold as water and she remained silent for a long time.
I made a mistake.
You shouldn't say your true thoughts.
She just needs an heir. When Zhao Zheng dies, she can kill her mother and keep her son.
Does anyone in this palace dare to stop it? Who doesn’t know how to be imaginative and conciliatory?From today on, she will be nice to Jiang He.
Hardly good.
The people building the canal were now divided into two teams.
One team dug up the land east of Tianyan Mountain as quickly as possible and reached Luoshui.
After passing Tianyan Mountain, the loose loess of the Guanzhong Plain became easy to excavate, and the speed of canal construction was greatly accelerated.
But because the Luoshui river bed is low, the water will not flow back into the canal.
A team excavated the mountain on the east and west sides of Tianyan Mountain according to Mo Zhe Cangyan's calculations.
Once the mountain is dug out, the Luoshui sluice a hundred miles away can be the river water rushes in and opens up the cave, the east-west Han Canal will be officially connected.
Jiang He stood at the foot of Tianyan Mountain, looking at the busy Minzhuang soldiers, hoping in his heart that they would be faster, and faster.
The little girl Cai Ling was busy, sometimes giving Jiang He a bowl of grassroots bamboo leaf tea, sometimes seeing her standing for a long time and bringing in a bench.
When it was almost time to eat, she happily brought over the delicious and delicious food box.
Jiang He's fingers stayed on top of the candied fruit for a moment, and finally picked up a piece of cake.
"Master Chen made the preserves himself," Cai Ling put the food box into Jiang He's arms, "I have tasted it, and added tangerine peel and hawthorn to it to appetize and relieve tiredness."
Jiang He also picked up a piece of candied fruit, but in the end he didn't eat it.
Her eyes fell on Chen Jingshi's face in the distance.
He was busy and busy, his face always smiling, as if he was wearing a proper mask.
Jiang He had dinner with them several times.
Cang Yan, the poet, always sits upright, talks very little and eats lightly.
He does not touch meat and fish, and is accustomed to eating steamed buns and plain water. His behavior seems to be abiding by some ascetic principles.
Navy Commander Zheng Xinguan often frowned and thought about something. Sometimes halfway through eating, he would put down his bowl and chopsticks and wait for Cang Yan.
After Cang Yan finished his meal, Zheng Xinguan immediately asked questions and was overjoyed if he got something.
But most of the time, Cang Yan simply replied: "What the Navy Master asked is very profound, and I don't understand it either."
Chen Jingshi sat at the bottom. Sometimes he wondered how long it would take for the royal court's salary to be distributed. Sometimes he asked about the official system of Jiang Heyong's country and calculated his rank in official functions.
"Why is Uncle Chen obsessed with being an official?"
Once, Jiang He asked him.
Chen Jingshi was stunned for a moment, and his lips twitched to reveal a Jiang He quietly waiting for the answer, he said: "When I was in Qi State, Wei Chen's family originally had a good piece of land. A small county chief took my land inexplicably and dedicated it to the king to build a royal tomb. Chen My father went to the Yamen to appeal, but the officials protected each other. Instead of making decisions for the people, they beat my father to death. Later, I relied on Brother Jiang to make the decision and I was able to redress my grievances. From then on, I wanted to be an official."
His face was facing east, with a sad and stubborn expression, as if he was remembering a very unpleasant past.
Therefore, even though Chen Jingshi already has a lot of money, he still feels uneasy.
Jiang He looked solemn when he heard this, thought for a while and said: "Uncle Chen knows that Dayong's laws are very strict. Even officials rarely enrich themselves and bend the law for personal gain. Otherwise, if they are investigated and punished, it will be a serious crime."
"I will be taught a lesson." Chen Jingshi nodded and said, "But it is always good to be an official."
Jiang He nodded with a smile and said, "Then Uncle Chen will definitely become a very big official in the future."
Chen Jingshi smiled shyly, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your help, Your Highness, Princess."
Jiang He noticed that the poet Cangyan glanced at Chen Jingshi, put down the bowl and chopsticks with disdain, stood up and left the table.
Chen Jingshi observed the words and expressions and knew what Cang Yan meant.
He turned his head indifferently and started eating and drinking.
For three days in a row, the Queen Mother ordered people to send gifts to Hanqu.
The chamberlain with a dictation read aloud the list of gifts.
There are ice cubes to cool off the heat, light cloth, various snacks and delicacies, and of course some gold cake jewelry.
Zongjun was away, so Jiang He asked the little girl Cai Ling to put away the gold cakes and give the rest to several adults.
Cai Ling was extremely happy.
"It seems that the Queen Mother likes His Highness very much." She smiled with narrowed eyes, her blushing face showing innocence.
"I guess it's His Majesty's intention." Jiang He pursed his lips and said.
She did not seem to be grateful to the Queen Mother because of these gifts.
Cai Ling couldn't understand Jiang He's thoughts.
Growing up, there were too few people who were kind to her.
It was so little that even if someone gave her a bowl of water to drink, she would still want to kneel down and kowtow.
Following Jiang He's instructions, Cai Ling sent those things out.
When she came back not long after, Jiang He seemed to be waiting for her and asked, "Have you accepted everything?"
"I accepted it," Cai Ling said, "Master Chen also said that he would return the gift to His Highness." Jiang He seemed to be very concerned about this matter, and asked with a slight frown: "Mr. Mo Zhecang, what did you receive?"
Cai Ling thought for a while and replied seriously: "Mr. Cang didn't want food and clothing, so he reluctantly accepted the ice tripod."
It’s extremely hot in midsummer, and I often wake up multiple times at night due to the heat.
Accepting the ice tripod should be a normal thing.
"I know, please step back." Jiang He nodded.
Cai Ling stepped back in response, and she always felt that little bits of caution were dancing in Jiang He's seemingly calm eyes.
After traveling thousands of miles, Zongjun finally arrived at Shouchun, the capital of Chu State.
The place was bustling and lively, and for a time he thought he had ascended to the immortal world.
The informant who was buried in Chu State met with Zongjun in the city and took him to Chen Jingshi's house in Shouchun.
The house is not big, so it should be consistent with his official position here.
"Isn't this house sold?" Zongjun asked suspiciously when he saw the spy skillfully unlocking the door.
"No." The spy lowered his head and said, "I asked about it from my humble position and said I couldn't sell it. I was in a hurry to leave, so I didn't sell it."
Zongjun nodded and walked in slowly.
This house is square and square, no different from the houses in Shouchun City.
The door of the house was closed, and there was a windmill for children to play with in the yard.
The windmill was broken due to the sun and picked it up and fiddled with it, and felt that the craftsmanship of this windmill was better than that of Wei's rattle.
I visited each house and finally arrived at the backyard kitchen.
Zongjun stood in the room, sniffing the air here.
Princess Jiang He of Anguo had much better luck than His Majesty Zhao Zheng of Yongguo. This made Zongjun's ability to detect drugs become somewhat rusty after following Jiang He for nearly a year.
In the past, Zhao Zheng was tested for poison, and nine times out of ten it was poisonous, and the result was extremely poisonous.
Now when Jiang He is tested for poison, once in a hundred, it is still easy to detoxify.
When Jiang He sent him here, he didn't know why he was asked to take a look at Chen Jingshi's old house.
It's so far away, could there be a golden cake hidden here?
Or will someone live here and direct Chen Jingshi to do things? Later, it was Zhao Zheng who woke him up.
Jiang He felt that he was an old friend of Chen Jingshi, and he didn't believe that he would go to Yong State to be a spy, let alone that he would harm let Zongjun come and take a look to see if there is any difficulty or if he is hiding something.
It had been more than two months since Chen Jingshi left Shouchun. The kitchen door was open, and the smell of the poison had dissipated.
Zong Jun ran his hand over the dishes, which were stained with a layer of fine ash, and brought it close to his nose to smell it.
The spy standing at the door was afraid to tell anyone.
"My lord, how is it?"
Zongjun didn't say anything. He walked to the courtyard and looked at the eaves.
"No one lives here, and there are no swallows making nests?"
Animals often have a better sense of smell than humans and know how to avoid danger better than humans.
What is it that prevents swallows from building their nests?
Zongjun's eyes fell on a well.
This is a draft well. The mouth of the well is held down by boulders. There is no moss around the well and the vegetation is withered.
"Open." Zongjun ordered.
The informant immediately moved the boulder away with a groan.
Zongjun stirred the well rope and brought up a jar of well water.
The water is so clear that you can see people in it.
"Sir, is this person okay?"
The informant said nervously because he was afraid that he might have omitted something about Chu State.
"This man..." Zongjun let go of the water jar and let the jar of water fall quickly into the well with a "pop" sound.
A layer of anxiety instantly appeared on his face, his eyes moved from the boulder sealing the well mouth, and he sighed: "He was originally a good man."
After sending gifts for a long time, everyone accepted Jiang He without hesitation. Queen Mother Ji Man felt that Jiang He had put aside her past grudges.
That's good. Her purpose was to let Jiang He give birth to an heir from the Yong Kingdom. The play was almost done, so that was it.
Anyone in the world who hears that they have encountered such a good thing will be shocked and kneel down to thank God.
After a heavy rain in July, a decree was sent to the palace asking Jiang He to return to his hometown.
Jiang He thought it was Zhao Zheng who had something wrong, but he didn't expect that it was the Queen Mother of Yong who saw her.
She acted calmly, knelt down after saluting, answered a few questions from the Queen Mother about canal construction, and then remained silent.
The Queen Mother gave her a plate of peaches and said in a friendly tone: "I heard that Princess Anguo is 17 years old."
Jiang He nodded and said yes.
The Queen Mother covered her face with a brocade fan embroidered with lotus flowers and said with a smile: "When the Ai family was this age, Zheng'er was already born."
Jiang He lowered his head slightly, wondering what kind of medicine she was selling in the gourd.
The Queen Mother continued: "Your Majesty welcomed you here. Others thought it was to repair the canal. In fact, you and I both know that he can't let you go in his heart. These days, the Ai family has chosen many good girls for Your Majesty, but he doesn't like them. He keeps saying , you are the only one in the world qualified to give birth to his heir."
Jiang He suddenly raised his head and looked at the Queen Mother with a frown.
How do you talk about this? The Queen Mother looked at Jiang He's beautiful face under the candlelight and thought about how beautiful her future grandson would be, and couldn't help but smile.
"Since you are here," she said, "please stay at Da Zheng Palace tonight."
Live in Da Zheng Palace? There are no greetings, asking for names, or invitations to marry, nor are there any requests for marriage or worshiping heaven and earth. Are you like the slave girl who comes to the king when he is in a good mood, and spends a spring night, grateful for his gifts? Jiang He's cheeks turned red and he stood up suddenly.
(End of this chapter)