Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty. Hypocritical Justice [or 10,000 characters].
…
These days, all kinds of things are important, but what Zhao Junchen pays most attention to is the upcoming palace banquet.
As mentioned before, this palace banquet was actually a blind date held by Emperor Deqing for Zhao Junchen.
Cui Qianxue, the granddaughter of the former Cui Mian, Chen Zhirong, the second daughter of Chen You, the Duke of Jing, and Su Xiuning, the eldest daughter of Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, these three women of the right age were appointed by Emperor Deqing for Zhao Junchen.
Range of marriage options.
In the past few days, although Zhao Junchen has been constantly managing the government and the public, making plans, and meeting with cronies, he has not forgotten to inquire about the detailed information of these three families - such as power and influence, such as character and style, such as personal connections, etc.
.
Only after such mutual comparison and comprehensive consideration can Zhao Junchen make the choice that is most beneficial to him.
Of course, what Zhao Junchen was inquiring about was only the family status of these three families. As for the appearance of the three women with whom he went on a blind date? What was their temperament? How was their reputation? Zhao Junchen was indifferent, although
The spies also dutifully inquired about a lot of relevant information, but Zhao Junchen just glanced at it and threw the information aside, and then ignored it again.
In fact, Zhao Junchen does not pay much attention to his future wife's appearance, character, personality, etc. As long as the other party can bring the most help to Zhao Junchen, even if she is as ugly as salt, has a jealous temperament, and has bad conduct,
Zhao Junchen would still marry her, but at most he would just keep her in the back house and ignore her.
What's more, Zhao Junchen himself is not a good person. He can't even count how many things he has done against his will. So he doesn't dare to expect that he can marry a good girl - if he is really a good girl,
Whether Zhao Junchen himself is worthy of others is another question - after all, the only thing Zhao Junchen can show off to others is his power and wealth, but true love has nothing to do with these!
For Zhao Junchen, his marriage choice has nothing to do with something as pure as "love". It is not for the continuation of future generations, but is purely a consideration of interests!
Will it save me a few years of hard work, will it be helpful to my career, and will it be easier for me to achieve my goals...
These are all the things Zhao Junchen considers when facing the choice of marriage.
There is no need to deny that although Zhao Junchen's power and influence in the court are beyond the reach of others, his vision and thoughts on marriage are actually not fundamentally different from those pretty boys who "eat soft food" and "hang around rich women".
difference.
Despicability and shamelessness are the basic qualities of politicians!
In fact, sometimes, even Zhao Junchen himself will feel contempt when thinking about some of his thoughts and actions, but when faced with a choice again, Zhao Junchen will still choose the path that can get the most benefits. Although this
The road is dirty and rugged, so it's a shortcut to it.
People are always unable to resist the temptation of shortcuts, especially Zhao Junchen.
…………
On the way to the palace, Zhao Junchen sat quietly in the sedan chair, thinking about his various states of mind. He couldn't help but laugh at himself.
Today, he is used to being despicable. Now the habit has become natural, which is a terrible thing - although Zhao Junchen has no intention of changing it.
"But I don't know, if I keep walking on this road, what will be the final result? Will I still be unable to escape the fate of becoming an emperor's chamber pot, and will eventually have my home confiscated and beheaded, implicating the nine clans and being infamy for thousands of years? Or will I be able to climb to the pinnacle of power?
From now on, I finally no longer have to be restrained by others and can do what I really want to do? And a hundred years later, how will the history books describe my deeds in this life? But no matter what, in the "Records of Traitors", I will inevitably
It’s on the list.”
For a moment, Zhao Junchen thought very far.
Then, Zhao Junchen shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
These things are too far away. Zhao Junchen cannot see that far, nor does he want to see that far.
While Zhao Junchen was deep in thought, bursts of shouts from vendors suddenly came from outside the sedan.
There are all kinds of people selling noodle soup, sesame seed cakes, oil cakes, and so on.
But it was Zhao Junchen's sedan that came to a commercial street. After passing through this commercial street, he turned to the official road before heading to the palace.
After hearing the cries of these vendors, Zhao Junchen's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered the bean curd stall he often visited years ago.
The tofu pudding at that stall was quite delicious. There was a time last year when Zhao Junchen would go there to eat a bowl of it every day after going to court. However, when the New Year was approaching, the old man who set up the stall went back to his hometown to celebrate the New Year, and Zhao Junchen just
I haven't seen him for a while, and because of the many things going on in the court, I gradually forgot about him.
Looking back now, Zhao Junchen found that he actually missed the taste of tofu pudding at that stall.
So, after thinking for a moment, Zhao Junchen suddenly said outside the sedan: "Qingyan, go and see if the tofu pudding stall we frequented years ago is still there now?"
Outside the sedan, after hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Xu Qingyan was slightly startled and asked: "Master, is it possible that you want to eat bean curd now?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said, "Yes, when I think about the taste of the bean curd at that stall, I suddenly feel a little greedy."
Xu Qingyan hesitated and said: "But... Young Master, you are going to the palace for a banquet soon. It is a palace banquet. What kind of delicious food is there? Why eat bean curd here to occupy your stomach? When do you eat bean curd? It is different? Besides, what if?
What should I do if I wasted time here and ended up being late?"
Zhao Junchen said nonchalantly: "Don't worry, there is still more than half an hour before the time limit. We can't be late no matter what. Even if we go now, we can only wait outside the palace, which is quite boring... In addition, before the palace banquet,
There are indeed countless delicacies, but at that time, I may not have the heart to taste them. In order to take into account the image, I don’t have the opportunity to eat much. Although the delicacies are right in front of me, I might be hungry instead. It’s better to
Let’s eat something here first so that we won’t be so hungry that we panic but are too embarrassed to take down our chopsticks. It’s really uncomfortable.”
Xu Qingyan thought about it. It was for this reason that he agreed: "Okay, Master, you wait in the sedan first, and I'll go see if the stall has been set up."
Xu Qingyan has always been sharp-eyed and quick-footed, but after only a moment, he returned and replied: "Master, the stall has been set up, but the business is more lively than before, and there is almost no space left. Fortunately, at the end of last year, we saw the stall
The old man Tan was going back to his hometown for the Chinese New Year soon, so I gave him a red envelope, so the old man actually remembered me. There happened to be two empty seats just now, so he specially reserved them for us."
Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "That old man is really thinking about love."
Xu Qingyan curled his lips and said: "Master, the red envelope you gave him years ago, although in our eyes it is just a piece of money, it is his income for a month or two. Naturally, he does not dare to forget us."
Zhao Junchen laughed again and said: "You know how to think the worst of people. Although you are used to seeing villains and are surrounded by villains, not everyone in this world is like us, simple and kind-hearted.
Although there aren’t many people, there are still some.”
While talking to Xu Qingyan, Zhao Junchen had already changed into casual clothes in the sedan. Then he lifted the curtain of the sedan and walked out. After ordering the bearers and entourage to wait at the roadside, he led Xu Qingyan towards the stall.
Go.
…………
When he arrived at the stall not far away, Zhao Junchen took a look and found that, as Xu Qingyan said, the business was busier than before. Although the number of tables in the stall had doubled, there were still customers coming and going continuously.
Compared with last year, there was an additional man and woman helping the old man setting up the stall. They seemed to be the old man's son and daughter-in-law. However, because there were too many customers, they were still overwhelmed.
The old man who set up the stall was a simple and honest person. He had been thinking about it since he received Zhao Junchen's red envelope years ago. Now that he knew Zhao Junchen was coming, he paid more attention to it. Now he saw Zhao Junchen appear.
After that, he put down what he was doing and hurriedly came over.
"Old man, business is good." Zhao Junchen greeted with a smile when he came to the stall and sat with Xu Qingyan on the empty seat specially reserved by the old man.
The old man smiled all over his face and said repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you."
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said with a smile: "The tofu pudding you sell tastes good, so more and more people will naturally come to visit it. How can it be because of me?"
While chatting, seeing that the business was booming and the surrounding environment was noisy, there were many customers urging the old man to talk to him, so Zhao Junchen didn't say more, just waved his hand and said: "My husband, please stop patronizing me.
, otherwise you will offend other guests, and I will have something else to do later, so I won’t be able to talk to you more. You can go ahead and go ahead. My old rule here is that two bowls of tofu curd and ten fried dough sticks should be served as soon as possible."
Seeing what Zhao Junchen said, and seeing that the other guests were really waiting in a hurry, the old man had no choice but to nod his head repeatedly and said: "Okay, two bowls of bean curd and ten fried dough sticks, I will bring it to you right away, sir."
As he spoke, the old man turned around and prepared for Zhao Junchen.
While Zhao Junchen was waiting, he looked around and suddenly discovered that next to the old man's bean curd stall, there was a stall selling huoshao. Thinking that he had never eaten huoshao since he came to this world, he ordered to Xu Qingyan.
: "Qingyan, go buy two Huoshao nearby. We haven't eaten it for a long time, so we miss it."
This time, Xu Qingyan did not question Zhao Junchen's decision. He just nodded and got up to buy a fire.
However, perhaps it is because the business of the Douhua stall is so good, and the stall selling huoshao next to it is also booming, with more than ten customers queuing up. It seems that Xu Qingyan will have to wait for a while if he wants to buy huoshao.
As a result, the seat next to Zhao Junchen became empty because of Xu Qingyan's departure.
During this period, due to the booming business, customers kept wanting to sit here. However, they would be reminded by Zhao Junchen that there were already people here. Perhaps it was because Zhao Junchen now had a somewhat "superior" temperament, so he sat here
After being reminded by Zhao Junchen, no one continued to bother.
However, this kind of thing keeps happening, and it has happened five or six times in just one cup of tea, and Zhao Junchen is gradually becoming impatient with this situation.
"If I had known this, I might as well have let Qingyan occupy a seat here, and I would queue up to buy the fire..."
Just as Zhao Junchen was mumbling to himself, a faint scent of wind suddenly blew over him. In the blink of an eye, a young girl suddenly sat down next to Zhao Junchen.
This girl looks to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. She has a petite yet plump figure. She has a naturally good figure that is "full but not fat, slender but not thin". Her white and tender skin makes people feel...
Her eyes lit up. She was wearing a long green dress and had the most popular maidservant in the mansion today on her head. She seemed to be from a good background.
It's just that she lowered her head at this time, making it difficult for people to see her appearance clearly.
However, although she was a young girl, Zhao Junchen did not intend to give up his seat because of this, so he reminded him again: "Girl, this seat is already occupied."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's reminder, the girl trembled first, as if she was frightened, and quickly raised her head to look at Zhao Junchen.
Then, her face appeared in front of Zhao Junchen.
This is a beauty, with a fair oval face, delicate and charming facial features, and a pair of big bright eyes. The eyelashes on her eyes are long and thick, making her big eyes look even more distinct, and this
The twinkling of her big eyes also made her temperament more lively and charming.
After sizing up Zhao Junchen, the girl's expression relaxed slightly, and then she said in an urgent voice: "Master, please let me hide here for a while. Someone is chasing me. I will leave as soon as they pass by.
"
Although the voice was urgent, it was clear and moving, and also had a certain kind of unworldly romance and straightforwardness.
After hearing the girl's explanation, Zhao Junchen discovered that the girl had been walking in a hurry before. After sitting down, she lowered her head and shrank her body. She looked a little panicked, as if she was really avoiding someone.
However, Zhao Junchen always felt vaguely familiar with the girl in front of him, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
This is very strange. Since Zhao Junchen came to this era, due to his sensitive status and his lack of habit of looking for flowers, he has not been in contact with many women. But with the beauty of the girl in front of him, if he really met
However, Zhao Junchen should be deeply impressed.
But Zhao Junchen searched through the memories in his mind, but still couldn't find the slightest impression.
While Zhao Junchen was feeling strange, he was looking at the girl for too long. To others, it seemed that Zhao Junchen was a prostitute who was obsessed with the girl's beauty.
The girl obviously thought so too. Seeing Zhao Junchen's eyes lingering on her face and never leaving, the girl frowned slightly, a trace of strange anger flashed across her expression, but she didn't have the shyness that an ordinary girl should have. Instead, she glared with big eyes.
Looking at Zhao Junchen, he reproached in a clear voice: "Sir, I think you are also a scholar. Please pay attention to your manners."
After hearing the girl's reproach, Zhao Junchen realized that he had lost his composure, so he smiled apologetically and asked: "I'm sorry, I lost my temper. I hope the girl can forgive me, but I don't know who is chasing the girl? How can I help?
The place?"
While he was talking, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but look at the girl a few times. He saw that the girl was well-dressed and her temperament was not something that a small family could develop. She was obviously of extraordinary origin. Although there are people chasing her now.
She, but it's impossible for a rich family's evil young man to rape a common girl.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's question, the girl hesitated for a moment, but did not answer. She just lowered her head and said nothing. Occasionally she quietly raised her head and looked around, as if her captor was nearby.
Obviously, the impression Zhao Junchen left on her just now was too bad, as if he was a prostitute, so the girl chose to ignore Zhao Junchen.
Seeing the girl's attitude, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head.
Just at this time, the old man running the stall came towards Zhao Junchen's seat with two bowls of tofu pudding, and behind the old man, his daughter-in-law was carrying a plate of fried dough sticks.
When he came to Zhao Junchen's seat, the old man couldn't help but be a little confused when he saw someone changed next to Zhao Junchen.
But the old man was an honest man and didn't ask any questions. He and his daughter-in-law just put the tofu fried dough sticks in front of Zhao Junchen and asked, "Do you need anything else? The mustard we sold here recently tastes good. Do you want it?"
Want to try it too?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "Since my father-in-law said it's good, let's try a small plate, but..."
While speaking, Zhao Junchen pointed to the daughter-in-law beside the old man and asked: "Old man, is this your daughter-in-law? Does she have spare clothes with her now?"
The old man was stunned again and asked: "There is oil and dust flying around here, and the clothes are neither stain-resistant nor wearable. My daughter-in-law does bring spare clothes. But why do you ask this, sir?"
Zhao Junchen smiled slightly and pointed to the girl next to him with his finger. "Can you borrow it and wear it for this girl for a while? Don't worry, I will return it to my husband in a while."
Although the old man didn't know Zhao Junchen's intention, he still agreed, waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Young Master, it's a piece of rough clothes, and it's you, Young Master. How can I feel at ease, old man?"
While he was talking, the old man had already ordered his daughter-in-law beside him: "Go and get the spare clothes and put them on the young lady next to the young master."
The daughter-in-law there was also very responsible. After hearing what her father-in-law said, she nodded obediently and turned around to get the spare clothes without asking why.
It was only then that the girl next to Zhao Junchen realized what had happened. She raised her head again, stared at Zhao Junchen with her big bright eyes, and asked with some dissatisfaction: "Why do you want me to wear other people's clothes?
And you! I’m not familiar with you, so why do you want to overstep your authority and meddle in other people’s business, asking someone to give me clothes for my own use without my permission?”
Zhao Junchen smiled, pointed at the cyan dress the girl was wearing, and asked: "If I'm not mistaken, the clothes you are wearing are made of Su embroidery, right? Look at the clothes worn by the people around you, most of them are just coarse cloth.
Don't you think you are very conspicuous here? Although I don't know who is chasing you, but if you are wearing clothes like this, I am afraid they will see you at a glance, and it will be useless no matter how much you shrink here.
.”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's reminder, the girl realized how conspicuous she was, and said softly, her cheeks slightly red.
After the old man's daughter-in-law brought some spare clothes, although she was not used to making clothes made of coarse cloth, the girl still put them on her body, covering her expensive Suzhou embroidered dress.
When the girl put on the coarse clothes, Zhao Junchen pointed to the girl's hair and said: "Is this hairstyle like a maiden hair style? I heard that it is very popular among ladies recently. It is dignified but also lively. It is really good-looking.
But don’t you think this hairstyle is also very conspicuous? Especially when paired with a pair of coarse clothes, it is even more eye-catching than before.”
The girl was stunned again and stretched out her little hand to touch her hair. Only then did she react and quickly let down her hair.
As his hair fell down, a faint scent of hair drifted in front of Zhao Junchen's nose.
Well, it smells like pear blossoms. This girl must have used the shampoo from "Yue Rong Fang".
After subconsciously taking a breath, Zhao Junchen added: "Also, don't shrink down or lower your head. If you look like this, you are hiding from others, and you can still be easily discovered..."
Next, Zhao Junchen pointed out many of the girl's flaws one after another.
However, perhaps on purpose, Zhao Junchen did not tell all the girl's flaws in one breath, but said them one after another, waiting for the girl to change one point before talking about another point, leaving the girl busy cleaning up for a long time.
Zhao Junchen, on the other hand, was admiring it from the side.
After the girl finally packed up, Zhao Junchen suddenly fell silent.
Because Zhao Junchen pointed out too many flaws, the girl lost her confidence. Now seeing that Zhao Junchen suddenly stopped talking, she couldn't help but ask: "Are there any other flaws?"
Zhao Junchen glanced at the girl with a half-smile, then asked: "Huh? You finally no longer dislike me for interfering in other people's affairs?"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's joke, the girl's fair cheeks blushed slightly, and then she glared at Zhao Junchen again and said angrily: "You...are deliberately watching my joke!"
Zhao Junchen deliberately showed a puzzled expression and asked: "Why can't I see your joke?"
"You..." The people the girl usually associates with are either polite gentlemen or demure ladies. How have they ever heard such a thick and direct rhetorical question? For a moment, her eyes were wide and round, and she was speechless.
, but didn’t know how to answer, she looked quite cute, but she finally found her reason: "You are a decent man, when you see a woman in trouble like me, not only do you not want to help, but you also deliberately laugh at me, this is not the behavior of a gentleman.
!”
Showing weakness seems to be a woman's instinct and can always be used as a reason.
Zhao Junchen retorted: "First of all, if I didn't have the intention to help you, I wouldn't have pointed out so many flaws for you just now. Now you should be grateful to me; secondly, I never said that I am a
Gentleman, no one has ever thought that I am a gentleman, so you'd better not hold me to the standards of a gentleman; finally, I don't think that a little girl who ran away from home will be a poor woman in distress."
After hearing the words "run away from home", the girl was startled again. Her round eyes widened again, her expression was full of coquettishness, and she asked in surprise: "You, how did you know?"
Zhao Junchen replied leisurely: "Seeing that you are well-dressed and have a few valuable accessories on you, and your temperament is definitely not that of a small family, so you are hiding from people. Obviously, you are not a villain from a wealthy family who robs a common girl."
, In addition. Although you were panicked when you were being chased, you did not show fear. Obviously, even if you were chased, you would not be harmed too much... Considering your current age, and what you have shown
The answer to your character is obvious. It’s just because something didn’t go your way. So you ran away from home in anger, and the people chasing you now are your family members. Am I right?”
Having said this, Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and said: "To be honest, I regret helping you now. You are a little girl and you have run away from home. Your family must be very worried about you."
Perhaps it was because the conversation between them made the girl let go of her guard, or maybe it was the intelligence shown by Zhao Junchen that made the girl want to ask for advice. So after hearing Zhao Junchen's words, the girl finally stopped hiding anything. Qingqing
After curling his lips, he said: "Grandpa, they are not worried about me. They are only worried about the future of the family. For this reason, they even asked me to discuss marriage with a big corrupt official, no matter how much I begged him.
No, how can you worry about me!"
As she spoke, the girl looked aggrieved.
Zhao Junchen, who was on the side, couldn't help being stunned after hearing the girl's words.
Big corrupt official?
Talking about marriage?
Zhao Junchen suddenly felt that the girl's words were inexplicably familiar to him.
Then, after Zhao Junchen looked at the girl carefully for a few more times, he suddenly laughed and shook his head, saying: "What a coincidence... What a coincidence... There are such coincidences in this world..."
It turns out that the girl in front of me is actually Cui Qianxue, the granddaughter of the old Cui Mian in the front pavilion. She is about to meet Cui Qianxue on a blind date with Zhao Junchen at the palace banquet!
However, Zhao Junchen had only seen her portrait at the beginning, and he didn't pay too much attention when looking at it. In addition, the portrait was different from the real person after all, so he didn't recognize it until now.
I have to say that Cui Qianxue is even more beautiful than in the portrait. She lives up to her name, with a beautiful face and snow-white skin.
Zhao Junchen never expected that Cui Qianxue ran away from home before going on a blind date with him!
Zhao Junchen never expected that when Cui Qianxue ran away from home, she would meet him at this place and at this time!
There is another saying from later generations that says, "All kinds of coincidences in life are often more interesting than dramas." Now that I see it, it is indeed true.
For a moment, Zhao Junchen had a strange expression, half smiling but not smiling.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Cui Qianxue was slightly stunned and asked: "What a coincidence?"
Zhao Junchen shook his head to hide the abnormality in his expression, and just asked with interest: "Nothing, just talking to myself. You should talk about your own affairs. Maybe I can help you with some ideas."
Cui Qianxue is young and has been living in a boudoir all year round. She has a sweet and innocent temperament and has no scheming intentions. Now she wants to ask Zhao Junchen for advice, so when Zhao Junchen asked, she explained eloquently. For a while, she even
Forget that you are being hunted.
In fact, even if Cui Qianxue didn't explain, Zhao Junchen could roughly guess what was going on.
…………
As mentioned before, Cui Mian, the old man in the front cabinet, was a person who cared about his body, so he had a good reputation. Most of the people who got along with the Su family on weekdays were either high-ranking people in the court or great scholars among the people.
Cui Qianxue has always been complimented and sought after by people around her since she was a child because of her grandfather's good reputation.
In this kind of compliment, Cui Qianxue gradually developed a "sense of justice" in her heart - her reputation as a virtuous and upright person, and her actions of helping the people and saving the world, in Cui Qianxue's view, was a fashionable act that could be praised by everyone.
So Cui Qianxue has always asked herself this way.
Since she became sensible, Cui Qianxue will often do good deeds - for example, she will distribute her monthly pocket money to the poor in the capital, for example, she will often urge her family to open the porridge shed to relieve the poor, for example, she will give food to the poor at home.
Give alms of food to beggars on the roadside - and then get praise and thanks for these good deeds, and never tire of it.
But essentially, Cui Qianxue does this just to get praise and compliments from others. Other girls show off jewelry and clothes, but Cui Qianxue likes to show off her "sense of justice" because of her upbringing. In fact, she doesn't
What a fundamental difference.
In fact, throughout the ages, many people have had a similar mentality.
Under such circumstances, Cui Qianxue, who prides herself on being noble and upright, is naturally very resistant to having a blind date with a corrupt official like Zhao Junchen, or even discussing marriage.
After the news spread, Cui Qianxue became even more unable to accept the pitying looks from people around her and the ridicule or alienation from her peers.
Therefore, Cui Qianxue has either lost her temper or begged in the past few days, unwilling to meet Zhao Junchen. However, Cui Mian is a person who cherishes his body. Because he cherishes his body, Cui Mian has a good reputation.
, but also because he cherished his life, Cui Mian did not dare to break his promise to Emperor Deqing. Naturally, he would ignore Cui Qianxue's attitude.
So, out of the firm "sense of justice" in her heart, Cui Qianxue ran away from home without hesitation.
However, having grown up in a boudoir, Cui Qianxue had long been accustomed to a life of food and clothing. Although she ran away from home without thinking, Cui Qianxue didn't think about what to do after running away from home.
In fact, not long after Cui Qianxue ran away from home, the matter was discovered by the Cui family. Now everyone in the Cui family has mobilized to search for traces of Cui Qianxue, and Cui Qianxue has no hiding skills. She was almost arrested several times.
Caught it, I just saw that the business near the bean curd stall was booming and people were coming and going, so I came here to hide again, and also met Zhao Junchen himself.
Cui Qianxue said a lot, but if her experience could be summed up, that would probably be it.
…………
After listening to Cui Qianxue's explanation, Zhao Junchen sighed and said: "You are actually asked to discuss marriage with a corrupt official like Zhao Junchen. Although marriage matters should indeed be decided by parents and elders, they really don't consider you.
feeling.”
Cui Qianxue only felt that Zhao Junchen was speaking from the bottom of her heart, and she couldn't help but nodded repeatedly and said: "That's right, it's a pity that my grandfather didn't listen to my opinion at all and insisted on me meeting Zhao Junchen at the palace banquet today... Then Zhao Junchen
He is a corrupt official and must be hateful, and I don't want to see him."
Zhao Junchen didn't care about Cui Qianxue's malicious speculation. Zhao Junchen was already familiar with this feeling of being rejected. He just smiled and nodded: "Yes, I really feel wronged when you encounter this kind of thing, because with Zhao Junchen
You must have received a lot of criticism from people around you about Junchen's blind date, right?"
Cui Qianxue nodded again and said aggrievedly: "Yes, many of my friends have alienated me because of this incident."
Zhao Junchen still sighed: "A person's reputation is quite important, because it is related to a person's interpersonal relationships. People are divided into groups, and birds of a feather flock together. Gentlemen will only interact with gentlemen, and villains will only get along with villains."
, this incident has affected your reputation, and naturally it has also affected your interpersonal relationships. You are alienated from your friends and laughed at by people around you. This kind of thing must be very uncomfortable, right?"
Hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Cui Qianxue felt even more aggrieved, and her eyes were a little red.
Zhao Junchen continued: "So, I can completely understand your running away from home this time, because only in this way can you maintain your reputation, and by keeping your reputation, you can maintain your connections and continue to work.
Compared with getting those compliments from friends, how anxious the family will be, and whether the family will commit the crime of deceiving the emperor because of this, it is not that important, right?"
It was fine in the front, but when she heard Zhao Junchen's words behind her, Cui Qianxue suddenly trembled and her pretty face turned pale, as if she had just thought of these.
"You...what do you mean by this?"
"People are always easily deceived by illusions, and many times, this illusion is often caused by themselves." Zhao Junchen sighed softly and said slowly: "And your current performance is exactly like this... Judging from your words
I can feel that you seem to be quite proud of your integrity, so you disdain to associate with Zhao Junchen and his like, let alone talk about marriage...
But you should also think carefully, where does your "nobility and decency" originate from? Is it because you have truly experienced the world and understood the sufferings of the people that you have such a character? Or is it because of the people around you?
The compliment made you think it was something worth showing off? That’s why you tried so hard to show yourself off?
And you ran away from home this time because you are really of a noble character, so you don’t bother to meet Zhao Junchen and his like? Or is it because you are worried that after going on a blind date with Zhao Junchen, you will be laughed at and alienated by your friends, which makes you unable to
Receive compliments from others again?
If it's the former, a person's reputation is more important than anything else. Running away from home at this time, although it will bring a lot of trouble to the family, is still a correct choice; but if it's the latter, it's just because of some vanity of his own.
If you bring so much trouble to your family just because of the criticism of some people around you, you should seriously think about whether it is worth it!"
Cui Qianxue had never considered these words of Zhao Junchen, and subconsciously wanted to refute, but suddenly found that she could not find any reason to refute!
Because everything is just as Zhao Junchen said. The thing she worries most about these days is the attitude of the people around her, not other things! And although she has indeed done a lot of good deeds over the years,
But when she does these things, what she expects in her heart is only praise and compliments from the people around her! In fact, every time she does a good deed, she can't wait to show it off to others!
Therefore, even though her greatest pride was reduced to nothing by Zhao Junchen, Cui Qianxue could not find any reason to fight back!
Could it be that all the moral character and sense of justice that I have insisted on in my heart over the years are just derived from vanity?
Cui Qianxue's face turned pale and she clenched her small hands.
Sometimes. That's it. When things are thought about deeply and thoroughly, some unexpected conclusions often appear.
And this conclusion is often one that one is unwilling to accept.
"You...you think everything I did since I was a child, and this time I ran away from home, was just because of vanity?" Cui Qianxue still stared at Zhao Junchen with her big eyes, but her gaze was not threatening, but rather blank.
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "Whether it is out of vanity or not, I don't know, and I can't judge it, but I do know that in this world, there is darkness only if there is light, because only if you know what light is,
Only then can we understand what darkness is, and vice versa. And for someone like you, who has lived in a boudoir since childhood and has never seen what 'evil' is, how can he understand what 'good' is? He has never known what it is.
'Evil', how do you know what 'right' is? Since you don't know what 'good' and 'right' are, how can you use this as a standard to hold yourself accountable? It's just self-deception."
Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of Prince Zhu Heyu. In fact, the "justice" that Prince Zhu Heyu insisted on was somewhat similar to Cui Qianxue in some aspects, but more of it was the brainwashing and indoctrination of him by the Qingliu people.
.So although Zhu Heyu always insists on "justice", he often doesn't know what justice is, and in the end he only gets into trouble.
While speaking, Zhao Junchen looked indifferent and only said a few words, but it had a huge impact on Cui Qianxue.
What I have always insisted on is ultimately just hypocrisy and self-deception. This kind of blow is very difficult for people to understand.
…………
On the other side, looking at Cui Qianxue's dazed look, Zhao Junchen sighed slightly guiltily.
Cui Qianxue is only sixteen or seventeen years old, and she has been living in a boudoir. She does not understand what good and evil are, which is a normal thing.
It is also a normal mentality for boys and girls of this age to expect that some of their actions will be praised by the people around them.
It can be said that Cui Qianxue has not done anything wrong in her behavior all along!
Moreover, no matter what Cui Qianxue's mentality is, she has done a lot of good deeds over the years, and this alone is much better than Zhao Junchen.
This exposes her true thoughts and denigrates her persistence and belief over the years to be worthless. For the innocent Cui Qianxue, it is really too cruel.
But Zhao Junchen had to do this. The next palace banquet was very important to Zhao Junchen. Due to various considerations, Zhao Junchen did not want any accidents or mistakes.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen could only do this to make Cui Qianxue realize her true thoughts, defeat the "justice" she insisted on, and then let her go home obediently. Under the leadership of her grandfather Cui Mian, she met Zhao Qianxue at the palace banquet.
Junchen meets again.
However, looking at Cui Qianxue's lost and confused look, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but feel a trace of pity in his heart.
So, after hesitating for a moment, Zhao Junchen said again: "To be honest, I am not a good person, but I firmly believe that there must be real justice in this world! But at the same time, most of the "justice" in this world,
They are just fake things. They are cloaked in the guise of "justice", but inside they are other things. The so-called justice, most of the time, is just a slogan that people need to obtain benefits, so it is not just
You, there are countless people in this world who are using the word 'justice', so there is no need for you to feel lost and confused because of this."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Cui Qianxue seemed a little confused and still looked at Zhao Junchen with blank eyes.
In fact, the principles Zhao Junchen said are indeed too profound for Cui Qianxue today.
After sighing, Zhao Junchen continued to explain: "In the eyes of the world, the clean people in the court are symbols of justice, and those corrupt officials and traitorous officials are representatives of evil. But in fact, the reason why the clean people insist on the so-called 'justice'
, most of them are just out of consideration of interests! You have to understand that interests are not just money and power, but also include reputation. In the officialdom, those who are greedy for money will become corrupt officials. Those who are greedy for power will become powerful ministers, and those who are greedy for fame.
If the 'justice' they say cannot continue to bring them a good reputation, then how many of them can continue to insist on the so-called justice they say?"
Having said this, a sneer flashed across Zhao Junchen's lips. He added: "Everyone in the world thinks that the way of a gentleman is the way of justice, and the way of a villain is the way of evil. But in fact, the words of a gentleman in this world are...
There are often contradictions between the left and right, such as 'good birds choose trees to roost' and 'loyal ministers do not interfere with two masters'!
Sometimes, if you can gain greater benefits by betraying your old master, such as fame, power, or wealth, then there will be many "people with lofty ideals" in this world, shouting, "Good birds choose trees to roost, but sycophants follow their masters and become comatose."
slogan, changed their appearance without hesitation, and insisted that they were 'just', no matter how kind the old master had been to them!
Sometimes, if following the Lord can lead to greater benefits, such as fame, power, or wealth, then there will still be many "benevolent people" in this world who shout, "A loyal minister will not serve two masters, and a good girl will not marry two husbands."
' slogan, continue to follow the original master, and insist that they are 'just', even if their master is a fatuous person.
Therefore, most of the time, 'justice' is just a slogan, and it is a very useful slogan. The relevant principles are there, both positive and negative, it depends on how you choose. Even that
Zhao Junchen, who is about to meet you, is a well-known corrupt official, but maybe one day, even he will be able to speak righteously and shout slogans of justice.
So, you don’t have to be lost and confused, because you are not the only one using the word justice in this world. In fact, everyone is doing this. What’s more, you have never had bad intentions, and you have indeed done a lot of good deeds over the years.
, no matter what your purpose is, these good deeds cannot be changed."
With Zhao Junchen's detailed explanation, Cui Qianxue finally understood Zhao Junchen's reasoning.
Then, Cui Qianxue's big, blank eyes gradually regained some brightness.
This is the human mentality. If you find that there are many people who are unable to accept things that are the same, your mood will always feel much better even though the situation remains the same.
However, although Zhao Junchen's words comforted Cui Qianxue, they also completely changed Cui Qianxue's mentality, making her no longer regard justice as a noble character. Is this good for Cui Qianxue's future growth and changes?
Bad, but hard to say.
…………
After a while, Cui Qianxue left the bean curd stall.
Since the justice she insisted on was completely denied because of Zhao Junchen's words, Cui Qianxue had no reason to continue running away from home.
As Zhao Junchen said before, if it is just for some vanity, it should not bring huge trouble to the family.
So Cui Qianxue left, planning to go home and then go to the palace banquet with her grandfather Cui Mian.
Now there is still more than half an hour before the palace banquet begins. It is still too late for her to go back at this time.
However, when leaving, Cui Qianxue did not say another word to Zhao Junchen!
In a way, Zhao Junchen helped Cui Qianxue, and even helped the entire Cui family, allowing the Cui family to avoid the crime of deceiving the emperor, and what Zhao Junchen said was all true.
But precisely because of these truths, Cui Qianxue was unable to develop a good impression of Zhao Junchen even though she received help from Zhao Junchen.
Because the truth always hurts.
Zhao Junchen didn't care about this, he was already used to it.
However, thinking that Cui Qianxue would meet him again at the palace banquet soon, Cui Qianxue's expression would be very interesting at that time, and Zhao Junchen couldn't help but flash a smile at the corner of his mouth.
And just when Zhao Junchen was smiling, Xu Qingyan finally bought the fire and returned to Zhao Junchen.
Seeing the smile on Zhao Junchen's lips, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but be surprised.
"Master, what good thing happened? Why do you see you so happy?"
Zhao Junchen waved his hand and chuckled: "It's not necessarily a good thing, but it's an interesting thing... Forget it, I can't explain it to you right now. It's getting late. Let's eat some bean curd quickly and then go to the palace.