"Jingguo Gong."
"Old Duke."
The British princess greeted Zhou Chen enthusiastically, and Zhou Chen also responded very politely.
The British Duke's legacy has been passed down for many years, and the current British Duke is the leading figure in the Song Dynasty's military and the head of a line of nobles.
Although Zhou Chen has been promoted to Duke Jingguo and has a great reputation, in terms of background, he is still a bit inferior to the British Duke. After all, even the nobles and the military are all based on seniority, and the British are fair and have the highest qualifications. people.
"Mr. Jing Guo, my son-in-law has been on duty under your command for a long time and has not caused you any trouble, right?"
Zhou Chen said with a smile: "Uncle Shen Guo is very heroic, brave and resourceful. With him in front of the palace, it's like having a light in a dark room, so how can there be any trouble?"
The British Duke's son-in-law is naturally Empress Shen's younger brother Shen Congxing, who is also the deputy commander of the Imperial Palace Department and Zhou Chen's deputy.
Just last year, in order to win over the noble family, the officials first tried to win over Zhou Chen. After that failed, they then approached the British Duke. After learning that the British Duke only had a daughter, they conspired with Empress Shen to replace their uncle Shen Cong. Xingqiu married Zhang Guifen, the only daughter of an English duke.
Zhang Guifen also plays a role in the plot. She is different from ordinary women. She is a real family member, with a straightforward personality and heroic appearance.
But it was precisely because he was too straightforward that he was easily taken advantage of. He had a conflict with Minglan, but later became Minglan's best friend.
Zhang Guifen was only two years older than Minglan. She was indeed favored by the British father-in-law and his wife, but in the end she became a marriage partner and married her uncle Shen Congxing, who was more than ten years older than herself.
What is even more speechless is that a noble girl like her was bullied by a concubine when she arrived at the Shen Mansion.
It can also be seen from this point that the official family and Queen Shen are really cold-tempered. At first, they kept their attitude very low and asked to marry Zhang Guifen for Shen Congxing. However, not long after, in order to repay the favor of the Zou family, they asked Shen Congxing to marry her. Xing took the youngest daughter of the Zou family as a concubine.
Although people who become emperors and empresses will automatically learn to accept humiliation, it is rare for officials and empresses to change their attitudes as quickly as today.
Less than a year after getting married to the British father-in-law, he took a concubine, and she was a destined concubine.
It is truly the first time in the world that a concubine has been given a imperial edict. Isn't this a deliberate slap in the face of Zhang Guifen and the British government?
What's even more disgusting is that Shen Congxing pretended to be so affectionate for his deceased wife, but in the end, a few months after his wife passed away, he married another woman and took his sister who was more than ten years his junior as a concubine. .
Don't talk nonsense like you can't help yourself, it's all just to fool others, and it's not for yourself.
Although Shen Congxing was the uncle of the country, when he first came, no one in the court thought highly of him. That is to say, after marrying Zhang Guifen, the officials in the court treated him better because of the British prince's face. .
Not to mention anything else, if it weren't for the British father-in-law, how many of the nobles in the capital would take Shen Congxing seriously?
Zhou Chen didn't know how the British father could endure it. If it were him, if Shen Congxing dared to do this, he would be beaten until he can no longer take care of himself.
No, to be precise, if he had been a British duke, such a marriage would never have happened.
The British Duke smiled and said: "I still have to trouble Duke Jingguo to help take care of one or two."
"The old Duke has gone abroad. If it weren't for the support of the old Duke in the past, the younger generation would not be in the situation today. The younger generation will never forget the kindness of the old Duke."
"Haha, you were the child with the most potential among our nobles. Of course I have to take care of you."
The British Duke was very happy. Zhou Chen was no worse than him in status now, but he could still respect him so much. Naturally, he was proud of himself.
"I'll celebrate my birthday in a few days, so you have to come over."
"That's natural."
After chatting with the British minister for a few words, Zhou Chen separated from him and went back to their respective homes.
Regarding the British Duke's sudden show of goodwill and asking him to take care of Shen Congxing, it seems that the British Duke has begun to favor the official family.
But it's normal. Even his beloved only daughter is married to Shen Congxing, so he naturally prefers the official family.
I just don’t know if he is simply showing his kindness, or if he has official intentions.
In fact, it is an inevitable trend for officials in the DPRK and the Central Government to take sides. Not everyone has his clairvoyance to know what will happen in the future.
The British Duke is powerful, but from his willingness to marry Shen Congxing, it can be seen that he must still want to take the Duke's palace to a higher level and make the Zhang family stronger.
In the current situation, anyone with some experience and experience as an official can see that sooner or later the Queen Mother will have to withdraw from the throne and return to power. When the time comes, the world will belong to the official family. If she supports her in advance, the benefits she will gain in the future will be greater.
Zhou Chen was unwilling to take sides. On the one hand, it was also because his prince was appointed by the late emperor. Everyone knew that he was deeply trusted by the late emperor and the queen mother. If he turned his back to the official family, the official family would not be able to completely trust him without saying anything. , it will also make people think that he is ungrateful.
On the other hand, it is because he has a bad impression of the current official family. Judging from several things done by the official family, the battle for the Imperial Examination is to use the name of his deceased father to compete for power with the Queen Mother. It is really 'Filial piety' is too much;
Also, his approach to the British Princess, the head of the noble family, is that when he really wants something from someone, he keeps his attitude low, but after he achieves his goal, he holds his head high.
To put it bluntly, it feels a bit like being in front of others and doing another thing behind others. Everything is done with one's own interests first, employing people to go forward, not using people to act backward.
Although the late emperor was also an emperor and his character was not outstanding, he still had old feelings for him. For this reason alone, Zhao Zongquan was not as good as the late emperor in Zhou Chen's heart.
This was one of the reasons why Zhou Chen was unwilling to surrender to the officials and help them deal with the Queen Mother.
Zhou Chen returned home and learned from his servants that Hua Lan, Cui Chan and others, went to Sanqing Temple to petition with Ming Lan.
Minglan has been married to Qi Heng for more than half a year, but she is still not pregnant with a child. I heard that she and Qi Heng have been to Sanqing Temple twice, but Qi Heng has been busy recently, so she came to Hua Lan to go with her.
of.
Zhou Chen, who had nothing to do, spent a long time with his youngest son Zhou Xu. It was almost evening before Hua Lan came back.
The moment he saw Hualan, Zhou Chen realized something was wrong, but he didn't show it. Instead, when he was about to rest at night, he found Hualan sitting by the bed, looking distracted, with a tight brow.
His face wrinkled up, not knowing what troubles he was thinking about.
"Madam, what are you thinking about? Ever since you came back, I've found that you have something on your mind."
Zhou Chen sat down next to Hua Lan and turned Hua Lan's face to face him.
Hua Lan's eyes were a little dodgeful and she whispered: "Sir, I'm feeling a little unwell today. I'd better let Cuichan sleep with me tonight."
When Zhou Chen heard this, he knew something was wrong.
"Is it really okay?"
"It's okay, I just don't feel well. Maybe I'll be fine after some sleep. I'll let Cuichan sleep with me tonight."
"It doesn't matter, I'll just hold you to sleep at night."
"It's really not necessary. You haven't asked Cui Chan to sleep with you for a few days. Let's go there tonight. Cui Chan is following us anonymously and we can't treat her badly."
Zhou Chen was helpless. Hualan was indeed very tolerant of the people he trusted. Although Cuichan was a maid, to Hualan, she was no worse than Shulan in the concubine.
"Okay, I'll just listen to you."
Seeing Hua Lan lying down and covering himself with quilt, Zhou Chen left the main room and went to the room next to Cuichan where he was resting.
"Master."
Cuichan, who was about to take a rest, saw Zhou Chen suddenly come in, and immediately stood up nervously.
Zhou Chen walked over and had a warm and intimate relationship with Cui Chan.
After a long time, the room became quiet. Zhou Chen hugged Cuichan and rubbed it gently.
"Today you and the eldest lady went to Sanqing Temple. Did something happen?"
Cui Chan looked tense and said hurriedly: "Ah? Nothing happened."
Zhou Chen lifted Cui Chan's chin and stared at her. Cui Chan couldn't resist it for a moment, her eyes wandered around, and she didn't dare to look directly at Zhou Chen.
"You have been with the eldest lady for many years. You master and servant all have one characteristic, that is, you are not very good at lying. Especially in front of me, I can tell at a glance whether you are lying."
"Why, is it possible that there is something else going on between you and the eldest lady that you can't tell me?"
Cuichan said hurriedly: "No, sir, we never hide anything from you, but this matter is not good for the girl."
"Did the madam not let you tell me?"
"That's not true, it's just..."
"No need to just tell me directly. Don't worry, I won't tell the lady."
Cuichan looked hesitant and struggled for a long time. She felt that what Zhou Chen said made sense and the girl did not ask her not to tell Zhou Chen.
"Today, when the girl took us to Yuqing Temple with the sixth girl, we met the fourth girl."
"Fourth girl, Mo Lan?"
Zhou Chen looked surprised. Lin Sushuang and Sheng Molan had been back to Sheng Mansion for a while, but they hadn't heard any news, so he almost forgot about these two people.
Now when he suddenly heard Cuichan mention Mo Lan, he was still in a big hotel like Yuqingguan, which was a 'scenic spot'. His first reaction was that Lin Sushuang and her daughter were acting like monsters again.
Cuichan nodded and said rather embarrassedly: "Well, it's the fourth girl. She, she had an affair with someone in the guest room behind Yuqing Temple."
"Who are you having an affair with, Liang Liulang of the Earl of Yongchang's Mansion?" Zhou Chen asked.
"ah?"
To be continued...