The world of film and television begins from childhood

Zhou Chen looked at Minglan and said, "Don't be so reserved at home. I came to the Sheng Mansion as a son-in-law, not as a marquis."

Minglan understood and bowed again: "Brother-in-law."

"Young Master Qi has a gentle temperament, is gentle and refined, and is also handsome and elegant. He is a modest gentleman."

"what?"

Minglan looked confused, not understanding why Zhou Chen suddenly praised Qi Heng.

Zhou Chen said calmly, "Young Master Qi is good, but now the Duke of Qi's Mansion is headed by Princess Pingning, who is arrogant and proud. Qi Heng is filial and will not go against his mother's wishes. This is a good thing, but in some cases, it is not a good thing."

Minglan blinked and asked in confusion: "Brother-in-law, why are you telling me this?"

Zhou Chen chuckled and said: "It's okay to deceive others, but stop pretending in front of me. You know very well why I told you this. I didn't mean to stop you, but just let you do it." Think carefully before doing anything, and don’t let your temporary emotions control you.”

Minglan lowered her head and whispered, "I don't know what my elder brother-in-law means, but I will remember his teachings."

“I hope you really can remember it.”

Zhou Chen shook his head. He didn't know how much Minglan could understand, but he also knew that Minglan was a very stubborn person. He didn't think he could change Minglan with just a few words.

"It's not a good thing to be so thoughtful at such a young age."

After saying this, he turned and walked into Shou'an Hall, leaving behind Minglan, who looked deep in thought, and Xiaotao, who looked bewildered.

"Miss, is the Marquis talking about you and Young Master Qi?"

"You are the only one who has many problems."

Minglan patted Xiaotao gently.

Xiao Tao was still muttering quietly: "Girl, Young Master Qi is very good, but I think the Marquis is more handsome than Young Master Qi."

"You stinky little Tao, you are so shameless. You even compared your eldest brother-in-law with Young Master Qi. They are neither bigger nor smaller."

Although this analogy is inappropriate, Minglan found it very funny. Although Qi Heng has a good family background, good looks, and is a modest and polite gentleman, there is still a big gap between him and her brother-in-law.

My brother-in-law is truly a first-class hero who is both civil and military.

"Miss, I'm just telling you this in secret. I don't dare tell anyone else. Anyway, I think the Marquis is very kind and treats Miss very well. Everyone in our mansion says that Miss is blessed. Even the old lady often says so."

Minglan nodded in agreement. Her elder sister married into the Marquis's Mansion. Her elder brother-in-law loved her and the old lady was also good to her. She became the housekeeper when she went to the Marquis's Mansion and within two years she became the Marquis's wife.

Not to mention the Sheng family, there are countless women in Tokyo City who envy the elder sister. Which girl doesn't want to have the luck of the elder sister?

"My eldest brother-in-law is indeed very good to my eldest sister, but you must not say such things carelessly. If someone hears you, you will be punished with a stick."

"Oh, I get it, girl."

Xiao Tao scratched her head stupidly. She was not smart, but she was not brainless. She knew what she could say and what she could not say.

The Mansion of Marquis Zhongjing is one of the most prestigious mansions in Tokyo City. It covers a huge area. In such a huge mansion, there are hundreds of people including the owner, servants, guards, etc.

In addition to the residential houses and courtyards, there are also artificial lakes, rockery gardens, and small martial arts and training grounds.

At this time, Zhou Chen was on the training ground, holding a bow and arrow. With a "whoosh", he hit the center of the target dozens of steps away.

There were hurried footsteps and a big man with a beard walked up to Zhou Chen.

"My Lord, the people are here."

"Let them come."

"Yes."

Zhou Chen raised his hand, and Yuan Cai next to him immediately handed the arrow to Zhou Chen.

Yuan Cai is one of the eighteen personal soldiers Zhou Chen brought back from the border. Because he is smart and intelligent, he is now the most capable attendant of Zhou Chen.

The bearded man just now was Cao Er. Like Yuan Cai, he was once Zhou Chen's personal soldier. Now he is the manager of the mansion and the leader of the guards. He has natural supernatural powers and is strong and sturdy.

With a whoosh, it hit the bull's eye again.

The target, which was dozens of steps away, was too easy for Zhou Chen.

Cao Er came over with three young men of similar age. When they saw Zhou Chen, they all bowed respectfully.

"Third brother."

Zhou Chen is now the Marquis of Zhongjing. Although the three of them are Zhou Chen’s younger brothers, they are still very respectful when facing Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen looked back at the three of them and said, "You all seem to be very free recently, especially you, Zhou Ting. Don't you have to train in the Western Suburbs Camp? Or do you think that the head of the Dragon Guards is not worthy of your status?"

Zhou Ting is Zhou Chen's half-brother and the fifth brother in the family. It was thanks to Zhou Chen that he was able to get the position of captain in the Dragon Guard Army.

Hearing Zhou Chen's words, Zhou Ting was shocked: "No, Third Brother, I, I just occasionally, occasionally have some free time."

"Occasionally? Oh, Zhou Qing, Zhou Qi, how about you two? Are you free too?"

Zhou Qing is the son of Zhou Chen’s third uncle, and Zhou Qi is the son of his fifth uncle. One is twenty and the other is nineteen. Zhou Ting is about the same age as them, so they can play together.

Although they were peers, these three people were very nervous and scared when facing Zhou Chen.

"Third brother, have we done anything wrong recently?"

Zhou Qing is the legitimate son of his third uncle, so he is relatively less afraid of Zhou Chen and asked cautiously.

"You didn't do anything wrong?"

Zhou Chen snorted and asked, "Then why do you think I sent someone to call you over?"

Zhou Ting said with a sad face: "Third brother, I really haven't done anything bad recently. You know, I listen to you the most."

Zhou Chen is now the master of the Marquis' Mansion. Zhou Ting and his wife both depend on Zhou Chen for their livelihood. Even if he had a hundred guts, he would not dare to offend Zhou Chen.

"Humph."

Zhou Chen snorted coldly and threw the bow in his hand to Zhou Ting, who caught it in a panic.

"What did you three do on the 28th of last month?"

"Twenty-eighth of last month?"

Zhou Ting and the other two recalled it seriously.

"On the 28th of last month, we went to Guangyuntai for a drink, and I think we met..."

In vain, Zhou Ting and the other two widened their eyes: "Prince Yong's fifth son? Could it be?"

Zhou Chen snorted coldly, "It seems that you are not too stupid. I remember that during the sacrifice, I said that anyone from my Zhou family is not allowed to participate in the succession, and is not allowed to contact Prince Yong and Prince Yan in private. Did you ignore my words?"

Zhou Ting and the other two were so scared that they trembled and hurriedly argued: "Third brother, we can't be blamed for what happened that day. It was Zhao Mao who took the initiative to find us and insisted on inviting us for a drink. We couldn't refuse, so we had to agree. Although we drank with Zhao Mao, we definitely didn't say anything that shouldn't be said. Third brother, you have to believe us."

Zhou Chen said calmly: "So five days ago, you agreed to have a drink with Zhao Mao and others?"

"Third brother, I, we, we were wrong, and we know we were wrong."

Zhou Ting and the other two were terrified. They had all seen Zhou Chen's methods. During the clan meeting, a clan member made a serious mistake, and Zhou Chen really dared to beat the person to death.

Although Zhou Chen is more lenient than the previous Marquis Zhongjing, when he is ruthless, he is no less cruel than the previous Marquis Zhongjing.

The three people in Zhou Ting are just teenagers, how could they not be afraid.

"If you really listened to me, you wouldn't have had a second contact with Zhao Mao. Don't think I don't know what you think. Even your father knows that it's not easy to be a dragon follower. But you guys, after drinking a little wine, think you are very capable, right?"

"It's because you didn't say anything out of line. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been invited here today, but dragged here."

The battle between King Yong and King Yan is different from the ordinary battle for the right to inherit the throne. Neither of them is the son of an official family. Everyone knows that the official family has not yet thought about succession and has no plan to establish an heir. The two are already fighting. Like water and fire.

The emperor himself is not satisfied with these two people, so what he hates most is that some officials collude with Prince Yong and Prince Yan openly or secretly. He thinks that while he is still alive, you are thinking about taking sides in advance. Do you take me, the emperor, into consideration?

So in the plot, when Sheng Changfeng and other dandies said something like that Prince Yan was more capable than Prince Yong and was more likely to inherit the throne in the future, the emperor was immediately furious and directly detained Sheng Hong and other officials.

To be honest, it was only because Sheng Hong was smart enough at that time that he said those words to Chunchen, otherwise his end would definitely not have been good.

Precisely because he knew all this, Zhou Chen had always emphasized not to let anyone in his mansion have any contact with Prince Yong and Prince Yan, but Zhou Ting and the other two simply didn't listen.

"Before my father died, he handed over the Zhou family and the Marquisate to me. Naturally, I have to take responsibility and ensure that the Zhou family does not fall into turmoil. Anyone who wants to destroy this stability will be punished."

"I won't beat you either. Aren't you free? Very good. Do you see the target? If each of you three hits the bull's eye a thousand times, you can leave. If you don't hit it a thousand times, you will stay here. When you hit it a thousand times, you can leave."

"Third brother."

Zhou Ting and the other two were suddenly horrified. Although they were all from the military family Zhou, none of them were hardworking. They knew how to shoot arrows, but they were not proficient at all. Normally, if they could hit the bull's eye with one out of ten arrows, it was already good enough. Hitting the bull's eye a thousand times would be the end of them.

"Third brother, please forgive us. We won't dare to do it again. We really can't do it a thousand times."

"Yes, Third Brother, we admit our mistakes and accept the punishment, but can we change to another one, even the pitching pot?"

"Third brother..."

Zhou Chen stopped looking at them and just ordered Cao Er: "Old Cao, send someone to watch them. Don't let them leave until they finish their task. If anyone dares to disobey, just beat them up."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Cao Er immediately responded loudly, then waved to call the guards, staring at Zhou Ting and the other two. He didn't care who Zhou Ting and the others were, he only listened to Zhou Chen's orders.

"Third brother, third brother..."

No matter how Zhou Ting and the other two shouted, Zhou Chen walked away without looking back. The three wanted to chase him, but Cao Er and several guards stood in their way.

"My three lords, please do not make it difficult for us to follow the orders of the Marquis."

Zhou Qing wanted to break in, but was stopped by Zhou Ting.

“Don’t be stupid, they are ruthless people who retreated from the frontier with the third brother. How dare they do it.”

No one in the Marquis' Mansion was unaware of how powerful Cao Er and his gang were. They were Zhou Chen's absolute confidants and had helped Zhou Chen deal with many people and matters in the past few years. Therefore, almost no one in the Marquis' Mansion dared to mess with them.

Although Zhou Ting is Zhou Chen's younger brother and is also the master in the Marquis' Mansion, even so, he dare not do anything to Cao Er and others. When his third brother gives an order, these people will carry it out without hesitation.

A day and a night passed quickly. When Zhou Chen came back from duty the next day, he saw a lot of people coming to the main hall of the central courtyard of the marquis' mansion.

"Third uncle, fifth uncle, aunt."

He knew why they came without thinking, and walked to the head seat calmly. Hua Lan, who had been accompanying him, immediately whispered, "Third Uncle and the others came for Zhou Qing and the others. In the morning, Miss Yuan also came to me to plead for mercy, but I turned her away."

Zhou Chen nodded and turned to look at his third and fifth uncles. The first one to lose his temper was his third aunt. She said anxiously, "Brother Chen, how did my brother Qing offend you? You detained him for a whole day and made him shoot the bull's eye a thousand times. Isn't this going to kill him?"

Uncle San's face darkened and he shouted, "Woman, when is it your turn to speak? Step back, Sanlang, your aunt is just worried about Qing'er."

Although Third Aunt was unhappy, she did not dare to disobey her husband and sat down reluctantly.

Zhou Chen took a sip of tea, facing the gazes of his third and fifth uncles, and said calmly: "It's hard to say whether I want to kill them, but if I don't do this, sooner or later, they will cause a big disaster. I'm not afraid, but I don't know if my third and fifth uncles can bear it."

The third uncle Zhou Yejin and the fifth uncle Zhou Yeshi are now officials in Tokyo. The third uncle is in the Ministry of War and the fifth uncle is in the Ministry of Household Affairs. However, their grades are not high. One is sixth grade and the other is seventh grade. There is almost no potential for promotion. .

After hearing Zhou Chen's words, the fifth uncle Zhou Yeshi asked in confusion: "Is Sanlang's words conciliatory?"

"I have found out that Zhou Ting, Zhou Qing, and Zhou Qi have had private contact with Prince Yong's fifth son, Zhao Mao, twice. What do you think the emperor would think if he heard about this?"

"what?"

Zhou Yejin and Zhou Yeshi's faces changed drastically, and they asked anxiously, "Sanlang, are you serious?"

Zhou Chen said: "Do the third uncle and the fifth uncle think that I am that kind of mean brother? What's the benefit of punishing them? I want them to wake up and know what they can and cannot do. Don't let them do it because of their behavior." If you make a mistake, your family and clan will suffer."

Without saying anything, Third Uncle stood up and shouted at Third Aunt, who was still looking bitter, "Go, go back."

"Qing'er still..."

"Shut up and let that beast reflect on himself. It doesn't matter if he wants to die, but don't implicate others."

After being scolded by Uncle San, Aunt San didn't dare to talk back and hurriedly chased after him.

Fifth uncle Zhou Yeshi sighed, stood up and said to Zhou Chen: "Sanlang, this is Qi'er's fault. I don't have any objection to punishing him however you want."

Zhou Chen nodded and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Wu, I won't really do anything to them. But after I send someone to send them back, please keep a close eye on them. Uncle Wu should be very clear about the current political situation."

"Don't worry, Sanlang, I know what to do."

After Zhou Yeshi finished speaking, he turned around and left the Marquis' Mansion.

After everyone left, Hua Lan said, "Mother asked us to come over for dinner tonight."

"Okay, I'll go after I get back and change my clothes."

A few days later, Sheng Changbai came to the Marquis' Mansion and brought Zhou Chen a letter from Gu Tingye.

After reading the letter, Zhou Chen was surprised and asked, "Is Zhong Huai coming back for the upcoming imperial examination?"

Sheng Changbai nodded and replied, "Yes, brother-in-law, Zhong Huai also passed the local examination and said that he would take the imperial examination with me this time."

Zhou Chen said: "Come to think of it, Zhong Huai is a few years older than you, so he is not young anymore. Zecheng, are you sure you can get first place this time?"

"The treatment of the first-class Jinshi is completely different from that of the second-class and third-class Jinshi. Zhong Huai has Ningyuan Hou behind him. As long as you pass, even if you are in the third class, you will have a bright future in the future, whether you can switch from civil to military or from military to civil. If you don't pass the first class, you will suffer a loss when choosing a job."

If you fail to get a good ranking in the top three of the provincial examination and the palace examination, your starting point will naturally be lower.