King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 408 The disappearing suspicion

On the other side, at this moment, Zhu Jingyuan and his two men arrived at the end of the field, but they only saw Zhu Jingchun and his two men busy.

Looking at the man sitting on the tree not far away, covering his face with a bamboo hat, Zhu Jingyuan asked tentatively: "Thirteenth brother?" "

The person on the tree was Zhu Jinghong. He raised his bamboo hat when he heard the sound, and then saw Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jingyuan approaching.

"Fourth brother and sixth brother, why are you here?" Zhu Jinghong was surprised.

At this time, Zhu Jingyuan finally said: "Thirteenth brother, we made a special trip to visit you. We thought you were working hard, but who would have thought that you would be hiding here for leisure!"

Jumping down from the tree, Zhu Jinghong patted the dust on his body and said at the same time: "Brother Six... If I don't take a break from my busy work, I'm afraid I will die of exhaustion in the field!"

At this time, Zhu Jingyuan said: "Thirteenth brother, after all this hard work... I believe you already know how difficult things are for the people in the world!"

Arriving in front of the prince, Zhu Jinghong said calmly: "Fourth brother, I have fallen into this situation, so please give me a lesson!"

Zhu Jingyuan immediately answered: "Thirteenth brother is right. He has already suffered so much, so please stop scolding him!"

From "teaching" to "scolding", Zhu Jingyuan changed the concept secretly, but Zhu Jingyuan didn't react yet.

"Sixth... I'm talking to my thirteenth brother, do you need to interrupt me?"

"Look...my brother is just trying to persuade you, so there's no need to be angry!" Zhu Jingyuan replied with a smile.

"It's no use to others. I'll get angry when I see you... You talk sweet talk all the time, but don't teach the thirteenth brother a bad lesson!" He didn't save face at all towards the sixth brother Zhu Jingyuan.

Zhu Jinghong did not intervene in the fight between these two people, which is consistent with his state of ruin after being "demoted".

It was at this time that Zhu Jingchun stopped working in the field, put down his hoe and ran over.

It is a very proper act to pay homage to the two brothers, and it is the most appropriate way to take a break from work.

"I've met the prince brother, I've met the sixth brother!"

When these two people came to interrupt, the two people who were bickering stopped. They didn't want to be embarrassed by their younger brother.

"Fourth brother and sixth brother, are you here to see us?" Zhu Jinghao stepped forward and asked.

"Of course!" the prince replied.

Zhu Jinghao then asked: "Then what food and drink did you bring when you came here this time?"

Then Zhu Jingyuan replied: "Fifteenth brother, how could we come here empty-handed!"

"Then...then...let's go back then!" Zhu Jingchun was still swallowing when he spoke.

Then he looked at Zhu Jinghong and said: "Brother Thirteen... Let's stop here today!"

The so-called county magistrate is not as good as taking charge now. Even if his two brothers are here at this moment, Zhu Jingchun still has to ask for Zhu Jinghong's instructions.

"Then let's stop here!" Zhu Jinghong would never pretend to be a villain.

The underage prince's happiness was so simple. Not only did he not work but he could also eat something good, which made the two of them overjoyed and cheered.

"Then fourth brother and sixth brother... let's take a step forward and see if we can be of any help over there!"

"Yes, yes...those slaves won't work properly if no one is watching!"

Zhu Jingchun and I said something to each other, and ran away as they spoke. They were really children who hadn't grown up yet.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong said: "Fourth brother, sixth brother... let's go, you also come to sit in my other courtyard!"

Zhu Jingyuan immediately praised: "The other courtyard... the thirteenth brother said it well, he is quite flattering and unfazed!"

The three of them walked forward together, and Zhu Jingyuan said slowly: "It's natural. The thirteenth brother has a bravery that is rare in ancient times. Even if the ancient overlord Guan Gong is resurrected, it will be difficult to compete with the thirteenth brother in terms of bravery!"

"Fourth brother, look at what you said. The Overlord of Chu committed suicide in Wujiang River, and General Guan was defeated in Maicheng... Can't you hope for the best for your thirteenth brother?" Zhu Jingyuan immediately started digging a hole.

"Lao Liu, what do you mean..."

"Fourth brother, I am telling the truth..."

"you……"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Zhu Jinghong immediately stepped forward to separate them and said, "Brothers, you are not here just to quarrel!"

"If you want to make a fuss, don't make a fuss with me. I'm already miserable enough..."

Although the two brothers were bickering, from the beginning to the present attitude of Zhu Jinghong, they both felt the decadence from their younger brother.

It seems that the old man has dealt with Old Thirteen enough this time... Both brothers think so.

Let's say that Zhu Jingchun and his wife arrived at the hut, and when they saw Yuanchun and the others, their sister-in-law called out to them, and then hurried towards the cook.

They were so greedy that they wanted to find something delicious immediately, but luckily there were actually prepared cold dishes on site.

Seeing them pick up the plates and start eating, Yuanchun said: "I'm afraid they don't even bother to look at these ordinary dishes on weekdays, but now they eat them so delicious...it shows that they have been really suffering these days!"

"I have been cooking these days, so I can barely eat. They are lucky not to be hungry!" Baochai said with emotion.

Even though she has been working hard these days, she still has some bitter taste in her stomach, and she just doesn't want Zhu Jinghong to worry too much.

Chen Zhi didn't say anything at this time. Seeing Zhu Jingchun's appearance reminded her that the consequences of failing to seize the throne would only be worse than the situation of these two people.

While he was thinking, he heard Baochai say: "They are back!"

Zhu Jinghong followed his two brothers into the courtyard, first saluted Yuan Chun and Chen Zhi, and then sat next to Baochai.

A total of four tables were set up at the scene, with the prince and his wife sitting at the main seats. On the east and west sides were Zhu Jinghong and Zhu Jingyuan, and at the bottom were Zhu Jingchun and his wife.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea!"

Looking at the tea handed to him by the palace maid, Zhu Jinghong took it and said, "It's been a long time since I've been served like this. I'm still a little uncomfortable with it!"

"Thirteenth brother, what do you mean by this... Could it be that Baochai didn't take good care of you?" Chen Zhi said half-jokingly.

"Sixth sister-in-law... don't talk nonsense. If you offend Baochai, we will all starve if she doesn't cook!"

Hearing this, several people present laughed.

At this time Baochai said: "Your Majesty, you should be careful what you say, don't burn your mouth with the tea!"

The atmosphere at the scene gradually became harmonious. After Zhu Jinghong finished drinking tea, everyone started chatting casually, but their intention to compete secretly remained unchanged.

Soon the dishes were served one after another, and of course the fine imperial wine was also indispensable, adding some color to the banquet.

Half an hour later, Baochai saw that Zhu Jinghong had drank two large jars and was completely drunk. Baochai finally couldn't help but take away his wine glass.

"Drink less!" Baochai couldn't help but advise.

"Today...fourth brother...fourth sister-in-law...sixth brother...Hie'er...sixth sister-in-law...are all here. I...I'm happy. Drink more...what's wrong with a few more drinks?"

"It's good to be happy, but you also have to have a sense of proportion. If you're drunk, wouldn't you make a joke?" Baochai advised again.

"A joke? Who dares to laugh at me?" Zhu Jinghong stood up straight, his face full of anger.

"Thirteenth brother... sit down, no one will laugh at you!" the prince tried to persuade him.

However, Zhu Jinghong did not sit down, but staggered to the prince's case, beat his chest and said: "Fourth brother...my good fourth brother, my brother is feeling miserable!"

"Old man...he didn't treat me as a human being. He left me in this damn place..."

Having said this, Zhu Jinghong grabbed Zhu Jingyuan's sleeve and said: "Others don't know, fourth brother, you should know...Brother, what I should be holding in my hands are swords, guns, bows and arrows, not a rusty hoe!"

There is no doubt that Zhu Jinghong's words are extremely rebellious.

However, now there is no possibility for anyone, including eunuchs and maids, to "snitch".

Because Zhu Jinghong said similar words countless times since childhood, the emperor himself was basically immune to it.Suing Zhu Jinghong will not result in him being punished, but the whistleblower himself will definitely not get any good results.

But these words were treacherous after all, so when Zhu Jinghong was about to continue speaking, Baochai stood up and came to his side to pull him back.

"My lord, you are drunk!"

However, Baochai's words did not receive a response, but fortunately she pulled Zhu Jinghong away, saving Zhu Jingyuan's sleeves from getting some snot and tears.

"Fourth brother, I want to be a general, but the old man asked me to farm the land. He doesn't know people well..."

There is no doubt that all the previous actions are performances, and their purpose is to elicit the word "general".

Only by being stupid and telling the truth while drunk could he take this crucial step.

He is now deeply involved in military training, which naturally makes people fearful. After all, he is the legitimate prince with the right to inherit the throne.

But if he could convince his two brothers, and even the emperor, that he only wanted to be a general, then he could become more involved in military affairs.

At this moment, Zhu Jingyuan slowly said: "Thirteenth brother, what's so good about being a general? Isn't it good to live comfortably in the capital?"

Even though his brother is a criminal by nature, Zhu Jingyuan still wants him to be an ordinary person, so he said these words.

"Sixth brother... It's a good thing that thirteenth brother has this ambition. How can you dampen his ambition!" Zhu Jingyuan immediately retorted.

But Zhu Jingyuan said disapprovingly: "We brothers, we have been above tens of millions of people since we were born, so why bother to go to the battlefield to fight... Thirteenth brother, even if you go and perform meritorious service, what's the use?"

Zhu Jinghong knew very well at this moment that he must not answer according to Zhu Jingyuan's thoughts, as that would probably have the opposite effect.

He broke away from Baochai's support, rolled up his sleeves and walked towards Zhu Jingyuan. His murderous look frightened the two of them.

"Thirteenth brother, you..."

"Brother Six, look at my brother's strength and his ability to conquer the world. Am I the one who can sit back and enjoy wealth?" Zhu Jinghong asked seriously.

This kid is so strong, how can Baochai stand him... Yuan Chun, the leader, was heartbroken.

At this time, Baochai followed again, stretched out his hand to pull Zhu Jinghong away a little, and then pretended to curse: "You... you don't listen to me telling you to drink less, why are you acting like a drunkard?"

Then Baochai argued: "Fourth brother and sixth brother, don't listen to his nonsense, he just drank too much..."

"I didn't drink too much. I only spoke from my heart. The old man..."

However, before Zhu Jinghong could finish his words, Baochai stuffed a pastry into his mouth to block his rebellious words.

"Your Majesty...I, my concubine, will help you go in and have a rest!" Baochai said warmly, completely different from the person who was gagging on cakes just a moment ago.

"I won't leave...I still want to say..."

"Let's go..." Baochai's tone became gentler.

Everyone here can clearly see that Zhu Jinghong, who is as stubborn as a donkey, is extremely "docile" in Baochai's hands.

If someone else pulled him hard like this, I'm afraid Zhu Jinghong would have gotten angry. Even the two brothers present wouldn't dare to pull him.

"I'm suffering...I...I'm going to die..."

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong had been helped into the room, and then Baochai's voice came from inside: "Okay... what nonsense are you talking about, wouldn't it be a joke for others to hear it!"

"If my father finds out... wouldn't you be punished again?"

Zhu Jinghong, who had been quiet at first, immediately shouted loudly: "I have made so many contributions, and yet I was punished by the old man. He is not fair, he is not fair..."

"Okay, okay... go to bed quickly!"

In this way, everyone in the room was making trouble and others were trying to persuade each other, while a few people outside the room listened silently, feeling in their hearts that Old Thirteen was acting stupid again.

After about a few minutes, it finally became quiet inside, and then Baochai walked out of the room, and then apologized to the prince and others: "Prince, Sixth Brother... Your Majesty, he is asleep!"

"He was drunk just now, talking nonsense... and bumped into everyone. I apologize to you on behalf of the prince!"

"When we can go out in the future, I will definitely bring the prince to visit us in person and apologize to our two brothers!"

At this time, Chen Zhi said: "Baochai... what are you talking about? We are not that stingy, it's just drunken talk!"

Not to be outdone, Yuan Chun immediately spoke: "Thirteenth brother feels aggrieved, and just now he was complaining. Baochai, you have to open up more to relieve him... We will also try to save him more!"

Chen Zhi also followed up and said: "From the time you received the order to now, your sixth brother has begged my father several times. Although I have not been able to rescue you for the time being, as long as I think of a way... I will definitely be able to rescue you!"

Faced with the concern and help from her two sisters-in-law, Baochai could only thank and apologize continuously.

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong, who was the protagonist of the "banquet", was drunk, and the others were naturally not interested, so they all said goodbye and left together within half an hour.

The most reluctant people in the audience were Zhu Jingchun and his wife who were so full of food.

The two of them pestered the prince with runny noses and tears, asking him to come back to Shanglin Garden often and preferably bring more delicious food.

In the end, the two boys followed Baochai and sent Zhu Jingyuan and his party far away, and did not stop until they reached the limit of the field they were plowing.

After watching Zhu Jingyuan go away, Zhu Jingchun and the other two looked at Baochai, and one of them said: "Sister-in-law... Brother Thirteen is drunk, so don't work today!"

"Yeah...we are very tired today. It's been a hard day..."

Before the two of them finished speaking, Baochai said directly: "Just rest today!"

"Thank you sister-in-law, thank you sister-in-law..."

Zhu Jingchun and his wife were happy to know that they didn't have to work. Then they said goodbye and left, planning to go back and take a nap first.

Besides, on the carriage leaving, because Zhu Jingyuan also drank, he got on the carriage on the way back, but Chen Zhi was pushed to the side and sat down.

"Old Thirteen is really good, but he has been reduced to this situation... and he is still talking nonsense!" Chen Zhi couldn't help but sigh.

"It's really surprising that this girl Baochai can pull this boy back!"

"Don't tell me... Old Thirteen rolled up his sleeves and rushed over just now. I thought he was drunk and crazy and wanted to beat up your sixth brother!"

When Chen Zhi mentioned this scene, Zhu Jingyuan felt scared when he thought about it. If he was really beaten up by his biological brother who was drunk and crazy, then his face as a wise king would fall to the ground.

Seeing that Zhu Jingyuan had no intention of answering, Chen Zhi looked at him and said in surprise: "What's wrong with you? Could it be that you were really scared by Old Thirteen?"

Zhu Jingyuan sighed, then looked at Chen Zhi and said, "Do you think... is Old Thirteen just faking it?"

"What?" The turn happened so quickly that Chen Zhi couldn't figure out what it meant.

"I asked... is Old Thirteen's silly bastard look just faking it?" Zhu Jingyuan said with a serious expression.

Expressing doubts about everyone and everything is the character of a qualified political figure.

"This...he looked like this at how old he was. We have watched him grow up over the years. Could it be that he knew how to pretend when he was four or five years old?"

These words were extremely convincing, and Zhu Jingyuan, who was only slightly skeptical at first, was once again dispelled.

Although he always felt uneasy, he could only understand that he was overthinking and had developed habitual doubts over the years.

After some thought, Zhu Jingyuan said slowly: "He said he wanted to be a general. Maybe this is really his wish!"

Just listen to Chen Zhi say: "He dances with guns and sticks all day long, knows nothing about the classics and meanings, and has little contact with officials in the DPRK..."

"Recently, you have risked the disapproval of the world and forcibly elected a girl from the Xue family as the princess. Such a straight person and a mixed person deserves your suspicion!"

After nodding slightly, Zhu Jingyuan asked: "You said... the old man doesn't doubt him?"

Chen Zhi couldn't help but smile and said: "Father, I see things more clearly than you!"

(End of this chapter)