“I remember you had some acquaintance with the Fourth Prince.” Ming Jingzhou stated instead of asking, “Have you been communicating with him in the past two years?”
“It can’t be called acquaintance. Qi Wang merely read a few of son’s articles and praised my talent.” Ming Jiyuan thought about his past with Qi Wang, “Son dared not take it seriously. Son attended a few tea parties hosted by him. Nothing else.”
“Do you know that after you left the capital, he publicly claimed that you were his close friend and that reading ten of your writings was equivalent to ten years of reading books?”
“Isn’t that nonsense?” Ming Jiyuan, who had been serving in the north for two years and had been in contact with the local people, was influenced by their accent. He was annoyed and spoke with that accent1T/N: I don’t know how I should highlight the differences between the accents in English so I am just keeping it in italics. Just for extra info, the northern accent stresses the ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, and ‘zh’ sounds while adding an ‘r’ after some words. On the other hand, southern accent is softer to the ears., “Am I an idiot? Why would I be a close friend of an adult prince? Do I look like I feel there’s not there’s not trouble and wish to court more?”
Ming Jingzhou shot him a glance, “Quit that manner and speak properly.”
“Father, I really don’t have that much connection with Qi Wang.” Ming Jiyuan pulled his sleeve, “I knew it. None of these princes are trustworthy. What close friend? They all have ulterior motives.”
“Alright, don’t be angry. Just have less contact with him in the future.” Ming Jingzhou looked at him pulling his sleeve, “Put your hand away from my sleeve. Remember, when our Ming family steps outside the residence, we are all elegant and cultured people. Got it?”
Ming Jiyuan took a deep breath, “Father, tell me about the incident of Chen Wang and Su Guifei saving meimei.”
“When your mother and I found out the truth, you were already on your way back home. We were afraid that the letter would be intercepted and issues would arise, so we didn’t tell you.” Ming Jingzhou talked about what happened when Jiuzhu was young.
When he mentioned Jiuzhu being tied up by Zheng family’s servants and shoved into the ice-cold water of the river, Ming Jiyuan couldn’t bear it anymore. He punched the rockery near him in anger, causing a large piece to fall to the ground.
“Zheng family is so ruthless!” Ming Jiyuan gritted his teeth, “I will make them pay.”
“You came back too late. Zheng family has already been imprisoned. Their Head has been sentenced to death. The adult men and women of the family have been exiled, and all the descendants of that family have been enslaved.” Ming Jingzhou looked at the broken pieces of rockery, “Control your temper. I told you before, as scholars, we must be mature and composed. We should neither get angry when others do nor do anything to infuriate them. Furthermore, the cost of repairing the rockery will be deducted from your salary next month.”
“Father, you took measures so quickly?” Ming Jiyuan bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the rockery, trying to put them back together, but the fragments were like those of a shattered bowl, unable to stick together.
“The credit is not mine alone.” Ming Jingzhou sneered, “As soon as I started investigating the Zheng family, several forces brought evidence to me. In the capital, there are many people who want the Fourth Prince’s maternal family to suffer.”
Many people praised the Fourth Prince as a wise and virtuous prince but there were just as many who tried to harm him.
“The Zheng family is finished. The Fourth Prince’s birth mother has been ordered to commit suicide, and he has been stripped of all his titles.” Ming Jingzhou put his hand behind his back and walked towards the eastern courtyard with his son. “Jiyuan, from the moment Jiuzhu became Chen Wang’s faincée, our Ming family can no longer stay out of this.”
“Unless…”
Unless they abandoned Jiuzhu, this daughter of theirs, let her marry Chen Wang and chose not to intervene no matter what happened.
“Impossible.” Ming Jiyuan knew what his father was about to say and interrupted without hesitation. “Father, we have already lost meimei once. Now that our family is finally reunited, we cannot wrong her like that!”
Ming Jingzhou looked at him.
“At that time, we had nothing. Not even Jiuzhu.” Ming Jiyuan’s eyes turned slightly red. “Now we have Jiuzhu, even if we become destitute like before, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Is this your decision?” Ming Jingzhou did not smile. No one could read his thoughts.
“Yes.” Ming Jiyuan nodded.
“But you are still wet behind the ears.” This time, Ming Jingzhou spoke with a light smile. “If you want to support your meimei, first learn how to be a good official and man from your eldest Uncle and me.”
“Your Highness,” Shen-shi asked Chen Wang, “are there any specific foods you don’t eat?”
“There’s nothing like that. Ben Wang is fine with anything,” Chen Wang lied through his teeth.
It was Jiuzhu who spoke up and listed several dishes she liked. Shen-shi looked at her daughter and Chen Wang with a smile that was not really a smile. How come she did not know that her daughter had started liking these dishes?
“Alright, I’ll go instruct the kitchen to prepare these dishes now.” She stood up and walked to the door. “Jiuzhu, accompany His Highness for a walk around the residence.”
“Okay.” Jiuzhu happily agreed and stood up, pulling Chen Wang’s sleeve. “Your Highness, I’ll take you to see my little white horse.”
Chen Wang recalled that dog-like horse. It was the one he had given to Jiuzhu.
If it wasn’t for picking the little white horse for her that day, he might have got on that horse which had lost its mind.
“Ming Xiaozhu.” He called her back.
“En?” Jiuzhu turned to look at him.
“You said…” He held her hand. “Are you the bride sent to me by Huaxi River’s God?”
“Not possible.” Jiuzhu shook her head. “Master said that there is no river god in the Huaxi river. They are just a means to deceive others.”
It was said that if it didn’t rain, the river god has been angered and people needed to offer sacrifices.
Even when it rained for several days, it was said that the river god had been angered and people needed to offer sacrifices.
All these were merely tricks of those fake shamans and monks, but they have managed to harm many people.
Chen Wang: “…..”
Alright. It seemed like they couldn’t continue this conversation any longer.
“Although there is no river god in the Huaxi River, Your Highness looks like a celestial descending upon the Earth,” Jiuzhu said with a beaming smile. “If it weren’t for Your Highness, I would have long since been buried in the stomach of those fish in the Huaxi River. How could I still be alive?”
“Bah bah bah, the child simply spoke her mind. Good fortune and blessings2T/N: This saying (童言无忌，大吉大利 or tóngyánwújì, dàjídàlì) is taken from Ba Jin’s novel “The Family” («家»). It basically means that children do not think before speaking so God shouldn’t take their words into account or be offended.,” Chen Wang interrupted her. “Don’t talk about death and burial in the first month ah. It’s inauspicious.”
Jiuzhu wanted to tell him that when she was with her master, they didn’t pay attention to these things. But seeing how serious he was, she swallowed those words: “Then what should be said?”
“Say… may life be long and everything goes smoothly.” Chen Wang thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and turned his head away from Jiuzhu. “You can also say may we live a long and happy life together3T/N: This (百年好合 or bǎiniánhǎohé) is a wedding greeting said to the bride and groom. LOL tsundere Chen Wang. until our hair turns white.“
He shot a covert glance at the girl. In eighteen days, they would get married.
“Shouldn’t others be saying that to us?” Jiuzhu looked at him.
“We can bless ourselves, is there a problem with that?” Chen Wang retorted. “Never considered it4T/N: His words are vague but from the following conversation, I assume Chen Wang is asking her if she never thought about marrying him.?”
“I have never thought about leaving Your Highness ah,” Jiuzhu replied without hesitation. “When I chose to leave Lingzhou and come to the capital, I had two reasons. One was to meet my family, and the other was to repay Your Highness’.”
“Have you ever thought what you would do if you couldn’t find me or if I was no longer in the capital?”
“Don’t know,” Jiuzhu honestly shook her head. “Because I have already found Your Highness ah.”
This scenario didn’t happen. So there was no need to consider it at all.
“One must repay a life-saving grace by giving their heart to the savior.” Chen Wang smiled mysteriously and bent down to meet Jiuzhu’s gaze, “Ming Xiaozhu, don’t forget the words you said today for the rest of your life.”
Jiuzhu carefully recalled the words she had spoken to Chen Wang today and realized she might have said too much. “Everything?”
“Everything.” He nodded, especially the part about never thinking of leaving.
“Okay.” Jiuzhu nodded. She would try her best to remember everything that happened today and everything she said.
After Ming Jiyuan finished bathing and changed into clean attire, he came out to see his meimei pulling along a big white dog in the courtyard with Chen Wang walking beside her. The two of them were very close; Chen Wang was leaning over to accommodate Jiuzhu’s height. His posture looked both graceless and uncomfortable.
He didn’t understand why he had to maintain such an uncomfortable posture while walking.
“Brother.” Jiuzhu saw him and waved her hand. Chen Wang, whose body was twisted like fried dough twist, immediately straightened his body and became the aloof and dignified His Highness Chen Wang again.
“Meimei, are you walking your dog?” Ming Jiyuan walked up to the two of them and glanced at the big white dog.
“Brother, this is a horse, not a dog,” Jiuzhu touched the little horse and said: “Take a closer look.”
“It is actually a pony. It looks really cute,” Ming Jiyuan reached out to touch the little horse. The horse didn’t resist. It was extremely docile.
“His Highness gave this one to me a few months ago.” Hearing her elder brother praise her horse, Jiuzhu’s smile widened.
Ming Jiyuan turned his head to look at Chen Wang while the latter shot a friendly smile at his future brother-in-law.
“Jiuzhu.” On the other side of the fence, two trembling hands struggled to reach out. After a long time, the owner of the hands finally climbed over the fence. “I heard that third Brother has returned, so I came to take a look.”
“Sixth Younger Brother,” Ming Jiyuan looked at Ming Cunfu, who was struggling to climb over the wall, in surprise. “Why are you climbing over the wall as well?”
His sixth Younger Brother was exceptionally refined. Let alone climbing the wall, he wouldn’t even climb down the stairs without straightening his clothes twice. What kind of earth-shaking changes had happened in the family during the two years he was away?
“Our whole family can climb a wall. I cannot compare even to meimei ,” Ming Cunfu sat on the fence, panting. “Third Brother, give me a hand. Quick.”
“Doing useless things every day,” Ming Jiyuan walked up and helped his younger cousin brother down from the wall with just one hand. “Meimei can also climb walls?”
He turned his head and looked at Jiuzhu, who smiled awkwardly and shrunk behind Chen Wang.
“It’s fine. Being able to climb a wall means she’s in good health.” Ming Jiyuan smiled. “Little guniangs should move around more to live a long life.”
He gave Ming Cunfu a fierce glare. How could you, as her elder cousin brother, teach her something like this while he wasn’t at home?
Ming Cunfu: “……”
If he were to say that he learned to climb walls from Jiuzhu, would third Cousin Brother believe him?
“Your Highness, Young Miss, and Young Masters, lunch is ready.” Chunfen walked into the lively courtyard. “Please come to the front hall for the meal.”
A maid took the little white horse away, and Jiuzhu reached out and held Chen Wang’s sleeve. “Your Highness, let’s go.”
Ming Cunfu had a feeling that the way his meimei was holding onto Chen Wang was similar to how she held onto the little white horse a few seconds ago.
After finishing lunch, Jiuzhu saw that her father and brother had something to discuss, so she simply decided to accompany Chen Wang back to the Palace.
Ming Cunfu silently thought: Chen Wang, this big person, surrounded by a group of Dragon Guards, was the safest person in the entire capital, except for His Majesty himself.
But Jiuzhu didn’t think so. Ever since the New Year’s banquet, she felt that there were many people in the capital who could harm her family’s His Highness.
Chen Wang held the reins of the horse and walked side by side with Jiuzhu. Along the way, he even bought a few things that little guniangs usually liked for Jiuzhu.
“Greetings, Your Highness Chen Wang.” A few gongzi-s in brocade clothes spotted Chen Wang as they were passing by. They came over and greeted him with a smile, “Your Highness, you have come at the right time. We just saw an especially powerful rooster in the cockfighting arena. Its comb is like red jade, and its claws are like eagle feet, very strong…”
“What rooster?” Chen Wang interrupted their words expressionlessly. “As descendants of the imperial family, why are you all wasting your energy on these unproductive things?”
“Your Highness, it’s not simply a rooster, it’s a cockfighting rooster…”
“What cockfighting rooster? Ben Wang doesn’t understand what cockfighting is.” Chen Wang looked at Jiuzhu with a frustrated and pained expression. “These distant relatives of Ben Wang only know how to idle around all day, making me worry to death.”
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