Zhou Tongdao: "Sanlang, I'm really fine. I just look a little weak. It's mainly due to the fatigue in the past few years. Now that I'm back, I can recover after a period of good practice. You really don't have to worry about me."
Of course Zhou Chen didn't believe it, and just as he was about to ask again, he saw his sister-in-law Cui coming over.
"Third uncle."
"sister in law."
Zhou Tong happened to say to Zhou Chen: "Sanlang, go see your father. I'm going into the house to drink medicine. Madam, please help me in."
Ms. Cui bowed to Zhou Chen and then helped Zhou Tong into the house.
Looking at their backs, Zhou Chen had a complicated expression. If he had not judged wrongly, Zhou Tong's disease would be called cancer a thousand years later.
He understood that Zhou Tong didn't want him to know, but how could he hide such a thing.
Zhou Yexiong had been sitting in the study for a long time. Since Zhou Chen came back, the servant had informed him, and then he came to the study and sat quietly waiting.
After a few years, Zhou Chen saw Zhou Yexiong again and found that Zhou Yexiong seemed to be more than ten years older. His hair had turned gray and his body had become much thinner. Only his eyes were still full of sharpness and aggression.
"Father."
"Have you met your mother and Dalang?"
His voice has also changed from a few years ago, becoming hoarse and not as powerful as before.
"Dalang came back two months ago and is seriously ill, as you should have noticed."
"Yes, I can see it, but the elder brother doesn't want to tell me."
Zhou Yexiong raised his voice: "Of course he has no face to say it. I told him not to let him be transferred outside, but he didn't listen. As a result, even his own body collapsed despite not having any great achievements. I originally thought he was
The smartest, but now it seems that I really overestimated him."
Zhou Chen was dissatisfied: "Brother, he grew up according to his father's expectations. He is smarter than anyone else. He knows that in Tokyo, with the pressure of those husbands, he has no chance at all, so he has to be transferred as an official to find a way out."
"Then did he succeed? If he didn't succeed, everything would be in vain. Even if it was difficult to stay in Tokyo, I still had to help him, but he had to leave and finally came back bruised and bruised."
"Father, you can be dissatisfied with your eldest brother for not succeeding, but you can't deny his efforts. He has been working hard towards the goal you set for him, and has never relaxed for a moment. That's why he is like this. To him
Say, your approval is more important than anything else, but you never said it to him."
Zhou Yexiong said angrily: "What do you know? He seems to be obedient, but in his heart he is thinking about escaping. What he did is the behavior of a coward. He has failed me to live up to my expectations of him. I have put all the hopes of the Hou Mansion and the clan at risk."
I put it on him, but he has become like this. I am so disappointed in him."
Such a father really puts his clan and his family above all else, including his own son.
"You don't understand."
"I won't argue with you, and I don't want to argue with you. You are more promising now. What you said is right. You are more promising than your elder brother."
What Zhou Yexiong said just now made Zhou Chen dissatisfied, but now this sentence made Zhou Chen unable to control his anger anymore.
"You are wrong. My eldest brother is no worse than me. If you had let him take my path, he might have been more successful than me, but you let him take another path, a path he was unwilling to take. Now
But you said he has no future, I don’t know how you, as the father who is the closest person to you, can say such cold words?"
Zhou Yexiong was furious: "Are you saying I'm wrong? Am I wrong? The current imperial court is inherently strong in civility and weak in military affairs. Even the government officials are switching to civil service. What's wrong with me letting him take the imperial examination?
According to what you said, is it correct that you brothers should be swapped?"
Zhou Chen said in a deep voice: "Maybe it's not necessarily correct, but it will definitely be better than now. I'm afraid my brother's health won't be around for long, right?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhou Yexiong, who hit you, seemed to have been drained of all his strength and suddenly collapsed on the chair.
How could he not have feelings for his eldest son? He had spent most of his life cultivating Zhou Tongshang, but now he is like this. He is angry, angry, and more than anything, he hates that iron cannot be transformed into steel.
But one thing is, he doesn't think he did anything wrong. He was a teenager and shouldered the future of the Hou Mansion alone, and he was able to survive.
Zhou Tong, who started out much better than him, ended up like this, of course he couldn't accept it.
After a long time, Zhou Yexiong spoke again: "When you come back this time, please don't leave for now. I will go to the palace to ask for the official's favor."
"No need, I have already met with the officials, and the officials have issued a decree to appoint me as the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the horse army."
Zhou Yexiong's expression was startled, and then he said: "That's good. It's better for the cavalry army to be at Yuhou than at the frontier. It seems that His Majesty still values ​​you."
Although the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the Ma Army, is only from the fifth rank, it is a position of real power and an important position in the Forbidden Army. It is usually held by the official's cronies. The official obviously really values ​​Zhou Chen by making Zhou Chen the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the Ma Army.
Chen.
After a while.
"Now that you've come back to take up the post, let's get married as soon as possible."
Zhou Chen looked displeased: "Brother, in this situation, do you want me to get married now?"
Zhou Yexiong said angrily: "Why, if your eldest brother keeps doing this, won't you get married? This is not only what I mean, but also what your mother and your eldest brother mean."
"okay, I get it."
After saying that, Zhou Chen turned around and left the study.
Seeing Zhou Chen's attitude, Zhou Yexiong put away his angry expression and looked deeply.
"I have been planning for half my life, but I never expected this result. Perhaps Sanlang is a better choice than Dalang. This may also be God's will."
He didn't believe in fate, but at this moment, he had to believe that his eldest son Zhou Tong was dead and he had no son. The future of the Hou family could only depend on his second son Zhou Chen.
This is also the reason why he refused to knight Zhou Chen before. If Zhou Chen is really knighted, once something happens to Zhou Tong, Zhou Chen will no longer be able to inherit the Zhongjing Marquis Mansion, and the Marquis Mansion will have to hand over
into the hands of a concubine.
If this is really the case, he will not rest in peace until his death. In his eyes, a bastard has no right to inherit at all. Only a legitimate son is qualified to inherit the Hou Mansion. Only the inheritance of a legitimate son will not cause turmoil in the Hou Mansion.
Therefore, even if he gave up the glory of a double noble family, he still wanted to keep the Zhou Marquis Mansion, which was the foundation of the Zhou family.
It was precisely because he regarded Zhou Chen as hope that he urged Zhou Chen to get married. Before, he felt that the Sheng family was not worthy of Zhou Chen, but now it seems that a scholarly family like the Sheng family is actually a good thing for Zhou Chen.
s Choice.
Following Zhou Yexiong's instructions, Zhou Chen's marriage was immediately put on the agenda, and the fastest auspicious day was selected. As long as the Sheng family agreed, the wedding could be held.
Chapter completed!