Chapter 1,438 The second prince’s doubts, was it a coincidence or intentional?
Chapter 1440 The second prince’s doubts, was it a coincidence or intentional?
"Strange, really strange."
The second prince stepped on the wooden floor with his bare feet, holding his chin, his eyes full of doubts.
He asked Xie Bian, but Xie Bian could not give him an answer.
"Could it be that he was moved by His Highness's sincerity?"
The second prince immediately looked at him with a strange look: "Do you think a person like him is sincere if he sends more posts? There must be some special reason. Nothing happened in Kyoto these two days?"
Xie Bian scratched his head and thought for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
"If there is something wrong, there is indeed something. Uncle Si Nan's illegitimate son seems to have entered Kyoto today."
"Fan Xian?"
The second prince's eyes also lit up and he became energetic. He was not interested in Fan Xian as a person. He was interested in Fan Xian's marriage to Lin Wan'er and the inner treasury's financial power.
"Is it because of Fan Xian?"
"No way, Fan Xian is just an illegitimate son. Not to mention that he failed to marry the princess. Even if he did marry the princess, it's hard to say whether he could take over the inner treasury's financial power. What qualifications does he have to let the Duke of Zhenguo get married?
focus on?"
What Xie Bian said makes sense. There is a huge gap in status between an illegitimate son, a great master, and the duke of the country.
The second prince himself thought it was unlikely, but he really couldn't figure out why Zhou Chen had 'changed his mind' and even decided on a meeting place.
"No matter what, it's a good thing for me to be able to meet him. Yishiju, right? Let's book the best private room immediately and let the store prepare the best wine and food tomorrow."
"Then do we have to clear the place tomorrow?"
Xie Bi'an asked tentatively, and the second prince was about to agree, but soon shook his head, remembering Zhou Chen's style.
"There's no need to clear the place. This Duke is different from others and doesn't care too much about appearances."
"Okay, I'll let someone do it now."
"It's better that you do it yourself. I can rest assured that you will handle the matter."
"good."
Ever since he saw the terrifying power of the Grand Master, the second prince had a special emotion towards Zhou Chen, admiration, awe, longing...
Although he knew the intimidating power of the Grand Master in the past, his concept was very vague, but after that night, he understood why there are only five Grand Masters in the world, why people in the world are so afraid of the Grand Master, and why Sigu Sword only relies on one person and one sword.
You can defend Dongyi City and survive in the gap between Qingguo and Northern Qi.
Maybe his father also knew how terrible the Grand Master was, so he indulged Zhou Chen in this way. Even though Zhou Chen's behavior had despised the law and despised the imperial power, his father could only endure it.
After all, Li Chengze is still just a prince. Everything he is doing now is to become the prince and aspire for the supreme position.
So he looked at the problem from a different angle than Emperor Qing.
From his point of view, Zhou Chen's arrogance did not make him feel angry. Instead, he was extremely eager to win over Zhou Chen. With Zhou Chen's support, he felt better than countless people. At this time, he would not do it at all.
Think about the threat that the Grand Master poses to the imperial power.
In short, one is the present and the other is the future. He hasn't even figured out the present yet and thinks of a ridiculous future.
Zhou Chen received the second prince's affirmative reply and smiled slightly.
In fact, the second prince would have targeted Fan Xian without him. After all, the second prince and the eldest princess Li Yunrui used the financial power of the inner treasury to smuggle with Northern Qi. Most of his money was smuggled from the inner treasury. If Fan Xian inherited the inner treasury,
Financial power is tantamount to cutting off his largest source of income. Of course, he cannot sit still and wait for death.
Thinking of Fan Xian being deceived into going to the temple, Zhou Chen suddenly remembered that he had been in this world for so long, and it seemed that he had only been to the Qing Temple in Dadong Mountain once, but he had never been to the temple in Kyoto.
However, he knows what a temple is, and he is not a believer in gods or Buddhas, so he respects the existence of temples, but does not blindly believe in them.
When I returned to the study, I saw Sang Wen holding a book and looking at it carefully.
Although Zhou Chen is now the Duke of Zhenguo, he only has Sang Wen as a woman in the house. In addition, Sang Wen is in charge of the house's accounts, so even if Sang Wen has no status, he can still be regarded as one.
The half-mistress of the Duke's Mansion.
The reason is that Zhou Chen dotes on her very much. Although she also has her own yard, she now lives in Zhou Chen's yard and shares a house with Zhou Chen.
The servants are the best at guessing their master's intentions. Zhou Chen doted on Sang Wen, so the servants naturally regarded Sang Wen as their master and did not dare to look down on her because of Sang Wen's previous status.
"What book are you reading, so serious?"
Sang Wen turned the book over to Zhou Chen. It was a red-covered book.
"The Red Mansion, I don't know where it came from. Now this book is the most popular book in the market. Girls from all over the country like to read it. I also heard about it, so I sent someone to buy a copy. It is indeed very beautiful.
.”
Sang Wen is not only a musical concubine, but also a talented woman. I dare not say that she is proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she is definitely no worse than those ladies of the world.
"Red Mansion?"
Zhou Chen took one look at it and smiled. The Red Mansion was one of the four great classics. Fortunately, Fan Xian could remember it and wrote this book to satisfy Fan Ruoruo's craving.
"I'm going out tomorrow and won't be back at noon."
"Wherever you are going, young master, I will prepare clothes for you."
"It's up to you to choose your clothes for the Second Prince's banquet."
Zhou Chen himself doesn't care much about what he wears, as long as it is clean, but when there is a woman, he will leave it to his woman to choose.
Sang Wen didn't ask anything, just nodded, already thinking about what clothes to wear for Zhou Chen tomorrow.
In the study room, Zhou Chen was practicing cross-legged, while Sang Wen continued to read, occasionally looking up at Zhou Chen with a face full of satisfaction. It would be great if this could be the case in the years to come.
However, she also understood that this was just her unrealistic idea. No matter how well Zhou Chen treated her, being able to give her the status of a concubine would already make her extremely satisfied. More, she had never expected.
She also learned a lot from Zhou Chen. She knew that there was a princess from the Northern Qi Dynasty who had a very good relationship with Zhou Chen and would probably become the mistress of the house in the future.
Zhou Chen told her that the eldest princess of Northern Qi was a very good person, so she always thought in her heart that no matter what the princess's character was, as long as she could stay, she could endure it even if she was wronged.
.
Today's Kyoto is not peaceful either. Fan Xian's entry into the capital has caused the eldest princess Li Yunrui, the crown prince, the second prince, and other forces to all set their sights on Fan Xian.
Li Yunrui took action directly, but was defused by Emperor Qing. Emperor Qing also took advantage of this opportunity to attack Gong Dian, the commander of the imperial army, and broke off all contact between Gong Dian and the prince.
Li Yunrui was unwilling to give up and took the initiative to go to the Queen Mother, hoping to ask the Queen Mother to make the decision to break off the engagement between his daughter Lin Wan'er and Fan Xian.
Little did she know that instead of her request being met, she was slapped hard by Hong Sixiang. After going to Emperor Qing's side, she and the prince were scolded again by Emperor Qing.
It made her lose face.
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It's just that she was born to be a stubborn and crazy person. The more the Queen Mother and Emperor Qing were like this, the more she wanted to ruin her daughter's marriage to Fan Xian, and even wanted to kill Fan Xian.
The night passed quickly, and with the crow of the cock, a new day arrived.
The appointment time between Zhou Chen and the second prince was at noon. Before leaving, Sang Wen specially arranged Zhou Chen's appearance before going to the appointment.
He Qin was still in charge of driving. After Zhou Chen got on the bus, he flicked the reins and the carriage slowly headed towards Yishiju.
On the other side, the second prince arrived at Yishiju early and sat in the private room that he had reserved, waiting for Zhou Chen to arrive.
"Your Highness, did we come too early?"
Xie Bi'an, who had been standing for a while, couldn't help but ask the second prince.
The second prince took a sip of wine and said: "It's not early. Coming early will show more sincerity. Zhou Chen is not only the Duke of the Kingdom, but also a grand master. No matter how high the etiquette is, it cannot be exaggerated."
"But this Duke of Zhenguo has been indifferent even after being granted the title of Duke. His Majesty gave him an official title, but he didn't deserve it. What does he mean?"
"You should know better than me. After all, you are all martial arts practitioners. Maybe he is really the kind of person who is indifferent to fame and wealth. Look at the five great masters in the world. Except for the one in the palace, I don't know the specific identity.
Grand Master, among the other Grand Masters, who has entered the court as an official?"
The second prince pinched a grape and put it into his mouth, muttering: "In my opinion, the Grand Master is no longer a normal person. I am afraid that the fame and power that ordinary people pursue are no longer taken seriously by them."
Xie Bian thought for a moment, and it seemed that this was indeed the case, Ku He from Northern Qi, Si Gu Jian from Dongyi City, Ye Liuyun and Zhou Chen from Qing State.
Ku He is from the royal family of Northern Qi, but they don't care about Northern Qi's affairs at all. Although Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City is the city lord, he is a swordsman and rarely takes care of things. Ye Liuyun, let alone Ye Liuyun, is just an idle cloud and Yehe. Now Zhou
Chen, although he held the title of Duke of Zhenguo, was unwilling to become an official in the court.
"Since His Highness thinks that he will not be burdened by fame, wealth and power, why do you still want to win over him like this?"
The second prince chuckled: "Zhou Chen is a great master and is not burdened by fame and fortune, but others are different. He is not the only one in the Zhenguo Palace. He will definitely marry a wife and have children in the future. Even for the sake of future generations, he
You have to make a choice, right?"
Xie Bian said: "That's the truth, but can it be done?"
"Who knows, I just tried my best, but he didn't agree to the prince. Instead, he came to me first, saying that my chances should be greater than the prince's, and it depends on whether I can persuade him."
He didn't expect to be able to subdue Zhou Chen. The Grand Master was also the Duke of the Kingdom. How could he be subdued by the prince who was not even a prince? He wanted to win over. At least between the prince and him, Zhou Chen could favor him.
Will suffice.
At this time, Fan Wujiu opened the door and walked in.
"Your Highness, Duke Zhen Guo has already set off and should arrive soon."
The second prince suddenly became energetic: "Okay, let's get someone to tidy up this place immediately, and then prepare to serve wine and food."
…………
Inside the carriage, Zhou Chen was closing his eyes and concentrating when the carriage suddenly stopped.
"Master, Yishiju has arrived."
Zhou Chen opened his eyes and got out of the carriage. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw the second prince coming up with Xie Bian.
"I've met Duke Zhen Guo."
Zhou Chen nodded and replied: "Your Highness."
Looking at the passers-by around him and the guests in Yishi Residence, he was slightly surprised.
"I thought His Highness would clean up the streets."
The second prince smiled and said: "I did have this idea, but I felt that the Duke would not like to be so public and would prefer to have fun with the people, so I didn't do anything."
"Your Highness is quite magnanimous."
"It's okay not to be frank in front of the Duke. What can I hide from your eyes?"
The second prince complimented him, and then said politely: "The food and wine are ready, Duke Zhen, please."
"Your Highness, please."
Zhou Chen walked into Yishi Residence with the second prince, and went directly to the private room upstairs.
After sitting down, the second prince was very enthusiastic and said nice words again and again. He showed respect but did not lower his attitude much.
"What happened before..."
"Your Highness, that matter has long since passed, so we won't talk about it anymore."
"Yes, yes, look at what I said, it's long past, why are you bringing it up?"
The second prince chuckled, he could see that Zhou Chen really didn't take what happened that night to heart.
"The Duke's conduct is noble and admirable."
Zhou Chen said: "Then your Highness is wrong. I am not a person of noble character. Instead, I am a person who must retaliate. I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If someone offends me, I will retaliate twice as much."
"I will not offend others unless they offend me. If someone offends me, I will retaliate twice as much. Well said, well said."
The second prince repeated Zhou Chen's words, clapped his hands and praised him.
"I heard that when the Duke was in the Northern Qi Dynasty, he had been friends with Mr. Zhuang Mohan, a great literary figure. In my opinion, the Duke's literary talent is no worse than Mr. Zhuang."
"It is true that Mr. Zhuang and I have been friends for many years, but compared to Mr. Zhuang, who is a well-known scholar in literature, our level is still not as good as that of Mr. Zhuang."
Zhou Chen considered himself to be as knowledgeable and knowledgeable as Zhuang Mohan, but his enthusiasm and pursuit of literature were far inferior to Zhuang Mohan's.
The second prince is a talkative person, and his words are decent and pleasant, so the two of them chatted very smoothly at the dinner table. During the exchange of cups and cups, they became a little closer.
This result made the second prince very satisfied. Although Zhou Chen never said a word in his favor, it made him feel at ease. He did not think that he had much charm to make the great master bow down and worship him.
The two were drinking and talking when suddenly someone knocked on their door.
"Come in."
The person who came in was Xie Bi'an. He walked up to the second prince and whispered a few words in the second prince's ear, causing the second prince's expression to change immediately.
After hearing this, the second prince looked at Zhou Chen and said.
"Something happened in Kyoto recently, and the Duke must have heard about it. My aunt's daughter, Princess Lin Wan'er, and Uncle Si Nan's illegitimate son Fan Xian were granted a marriage by Your Majesty. Fan Xian just arrived in Kyoto yesterday. By coincidence,
, just now, he, Fan Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe from Fan Mansion also arrived at Yishi Residence, and are now outside."
As soon as he spoke, he was suddenly startled.
Such a coincidence?
Today Zhou Chen asked him to come to Yishiju, and Fan Xian also came to Yishiju. How could it be such a coincidence? Could it be that Zhou Chen had arranged it?
But he quickly rejected it in his heart. When he received the reply yesterday, Fan Xian had just entered Kyoto. No matter how powerful Zhou Chen was, he couldn't predict the future, right?