Chapter 143 He Is Here For Gilding

Ji Chengjue remained seated cross-legged in the carriage. Outside, the wind was a bit strong. Ji Laoliu was no longer the head constable he used to be in Nan'an County. Now, he was busy with paperwork every day, working hard for the Ji family's expansion. His body had already begun to show signs of slight obesity.

Men, perhaps, are just like that. Once they get married and have children, they don't pay as much attention to their appearance because they don't have the time.

But it wouldn't be appropriate to go back into the carriage;

This was the first time he was meeting the Li family's heir, so he had to give him some face.

The one surnamed Zheng once joked that he was a businessman;

Indeed, businessmen don't particularly care about that ethereal concept of "face." Instead, they prefer to give face to others.

Actually, if the princess hadn't gone too far on their wedding night, he wouldn't have torn apart their relationship like this.

If you're going to play politics, then play politics properly. Don't just flip the table and start a knife fight.

He sniffed.

Ji Laoliu felt like he was about to catch a cold.

Then, from the opposite carriage, the princess stepped out.

Following her,

Another young man emerged from the carriage. The young man had difficulty with his legs, and the princess actively reached out to help him down.

After getting down,

The young man smiled and said something to the princess.

Ji Chengjue was imagining:

"Thank you, Older Sister."

Then, imagining the princess:

"Don't be so formal, Little Brother."

That's right,

This is what the atmosphere of an "Imperial Family" should be like.

Just like him and his Second Brother. Everyone knew, even the lazy bums listening to stories in the teahouses, that the two of them were vying for the throne, fighting for that position.

But whether in the palace or in the back garden, when the brothers met, they would still treat each other with brotherly respect.

It wasn't just to show their father.

After all, they were their father's sons,

And with their father's brilliance, he would never believe that his sons truly loved each other;

But,

This is called class, this is called skill, and it's the most basic principle, like not making noise while eating, it's the most fundamental etiquette.

The Li family's heir was walking towards him.

The princess stayed where she was, not following.

Li Liang Shen also didn't move. The Zhenbei Army soldiers around also didn't move, just watching their young master walk towards the carriage protected by the Prince's guards.

Actually, the current environment didn't really feel tense. This was, after all, the capital, under the Emperor's watchful eye. Their father was recuperating in the back garden, not lying in state.

Even when the princess wanted to kill him, she chose to secretly send experts at night.

Attacking in broad daylight,

Whoever attacks,

Will die a terrible death.

So, even if they didn't like each other, they were still confident in each other's safety.

The Li family's heir approached.

Ji Laoliu stretched his legs,

And got out of the carriage, also walking towards him.

His appearance,

So-so,

Not ugly, but not handsome either.

Ji Chengjue was always very confident in his own appearance;

Wasn't it because He Sisi found him handsome that she took a liking to him?

Even the one surnamed Zheng said that he was just a bit weak, but his appearance was truly exceptional.

In comparison, this heir had rough skin, with some frostbite cracks, and most importantly, he had a limp in one leg, walking with a noticeable wobble;

His looks were not even comparable.

Although judging people by appearance is wrong,

He was definitely happier because he looked better than the other person.

Coming closer,

Ji Laoliu planned to take the initiative to greet him,

After all,

The Li family and the Ji family had transformed from a purely "ruler-subject" and "central-regional" relationship into a "family friendship" relationship since his imperial grandfather's time.

But who would have thought that

The heir of the Zhenbei King's Mansion would take the initiative to kneel down before Ji Chengjue;

"Little commoner A Fei, greets Sixth Prince, may Your Highness be blessed with health and prosperity!"

He knelt down properly,

Paid his respects properly,

And offered his greetings properly.

This scene seemed to freeze the surrounding cold wind in an instant.

The Prince's guards,

The Zhenbei Army knights,

In an instant,

Their formations trembled slightly,

Everyone was restrained and confronting each other.

The princess, standing by the carriage, remained calm upon seeing this.

Li Liang Shen stood in the distance, expressionless.

Ji Laoliu closed his eyes, then opened them immediately;

The previous concepts of "beauty" and "ugliness" had been completely forgotten.

The princess had asked if he knew what he had turned the Pingxi Marquis Mansion into!

He didn't care,

Because Zheng Fan was very genuine. If there was no need to endure, that guy would definitely not endure. If there was no need to kneel, he definitely wouldn't let his knees suffer even the slightest discomfort.

That was Zheng Fan;

But clearly,

This heir didn't need to kneel now, but he knelt very decisively, lowering his posture to the extreme.

Either,

He's stupid,

He really is a fool who came from the countryside,

After seeing a member of the royal family, he instinctively felt fear, wanting to submit, to kowtow, to offer his greetings;

However, Ji Laoliu always tended to think of the people in front of him as intelligent because people who always thought of others as fools often didn't live long.

So,

He is, after all, the seed of the Zhenbei Marquis.

Ji Chengjue stepped forward and bent down.

He didn't kneel down face-to-face with the other party in a cliché way to cancel out the gesture. What kind of thing was that? Stupid.

Moreover,

Legally, the other party should indeed kneel to him, and if he rushed to return the courtesy and kneel to him, there would be no such etiquette!

To put it bluntly,

Even if Li Liang Ting were here,

The princes would not kneel to him, but would respectfully perform a half-bow.

So,

How could a prince kneel to his son?

Ji Laoliu bent down,

And very enthusiastically embraced A Fei,

Crying out;

"Brother, you've suffered, you've suffered so much!!!!!!"

While shouting,

Tears and snot really dripped down, and he kept patting A Fei's back, smearing the tears and snot on him.

Which of the Ji family's princes had poor acting skills?

"Your Highness, Your Highness…"

Clearly, A Fei's temperament was very good. In Chenjia Village, he often thought and contemplated, more than his peers, even more than many adults.

But his biggest problem was that he had never left Chenjia Village.

Even the best jade needs the carving of a master to unleash its true value.

On the other hand,

Ji Chengjue,

Was once said by his father to be "like his father" in his youth. His talent couldn't be bad;

And over the years, he had been repeatedly kneaded up and down by his father in various ways. This tempering, this experience, compared to this A Fei, was incredibly abundant.

Therefore, A Fei was a little stunned by Ji Laoliu's enthusiasm, his rhythm completely disrupted.

"Little brother, little brother, quickly get up, quickly get up, let your brother take a good look, take a good look."

Saying this,

Ji Laoliu was about to help A Fei up.

A Fei suddenly woke up,

Shaking off Ji Laoliu's hand,

And kneeling down again,

Saying:

"You are Your Highness, and I am a subject. Since ancient times, there has only been the principle of subjects loyally respecting Your Highness. How can a subject be on equal footing with Your Highness?

Not to mention that A Fei hasn't seen his father yet, and doesn't know whether he is really the so-called heir;

Even if A Fei is really the heir,

The entire Wang Mansion are subjects of His Majesty, and naturally subjects of Your Highness."

"My father and the King are as close as brothers, growing up together. You and I are naturally brothers. If you continue to act like this, you're being too formal."

"Etiquette cannot be abandoned!"

"Alright."

Ji Chengjue stepped back three steps,

Lifted his lower robe,

And made a gesture to kneel down:

"If my father knew that I made you kneel and pay your respects, he would definitely beat me to death. In that case, I can only kneel with you."

"Absolutely not, absolutely not, Your Highness, this cannot be done, this cannot be done."

"Then why don't you hurry up and get up? I'm kneeling."

Only then did A Fei reluctantly get up.

Ji Chengjue stepped forward again, put his arm around his shoulders,

And said:

"Let's go, get on my carriage. I have prepared a lot of exquisite food in my carriage. Let's eat and chat, the two of us brothers."

"Thank you for Your Highness's kindness, but my Older Sister's intention is to take me back to Beifeng County quickly to see my father."

"It's not like it'll take too long."

"Please forgive A Fei, Your Highness, but in fact, A Fei himself is also eager to return home because A Fei has always been thinking about his parents since he was a child. Now that he finally has the opportunity, A Fei is really…"

At this moment,

Ji Chengjue stepped forward again,

Embracing A Fei,

And at the same time,

Bringing his mouth close to A Fei's ear,

Whispering:

"Brother, I'm doing this for your own good. Come back to the capital with me and take a trip. From then on, you will be the real heir of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion. If you don't take this trip, you will never be real;

Even if you return to Beifeng County, to the Marquis Mansion, many people will treat you as another puppet being brought out to replace the real one.

I came specifically to pick you up,

To be gilded (to enhance value)."

A Fei's eyes suddenly flickered.

Neither the nanny nor the old Confucian scholar could bring him a wide enough vision.

So, even with his intelligence, it was difficult for him to tell whether Ji Chengjue's intentions were good or bad at this time.

Ji Chengjue patted A Fei's shoulder,

And continued to whisper:

"I didn't prepare any gifts, but this is the greatest gift I can give you. Whether you believe it or not, I didn't want anything in return. Pingxi Marquis knows this best."

"Your Highness, A Fei has to ask Older Sister first, and also, Older Sister's intention is to bypass the capital and go directly back to Beifeng County."

Ji Chengjue suddenly showed a meaningful smile on his face,

Saying;

"You still trust her?"

A Fei immediately said;

"How can I not trust my own family?"

This rhetorical question was filled with righteousness.

Ji Chengjue smiled,

And said:

"That woman, with her long hair and short wit, don't listen to her. We are men, born into this world, we can't even prove our own name and origin.

I'm not trying to provoke you,

Do what you think is best,

To put it bluntly,

You are the heir, I am the prince,

But how many days have you been the heir?

I have been a prince for most of my life.

To put it bluntly,

If you don't have any courage, any means, or any ruthlessness,

Just relying on this skin,

The people below won't really take you seriously."

To outsiders,

The Sixth Prince of Great Yan and the heir of the Zhenbei King's Mansion were exchanging extremely warm greetings.

But then,

A scene that surprised everyone appeared.

The Sixth Prince turned around and got on the carriage. Immediately afterward, the heir also got on the carriage. The Sixth Prince even reached out to pull the heir up. Then, both of them entered the carriage.

Eunuch Zhang trotted over,

And reported to the princess:

"Princess, my master and the young master share a common interest and have a good time together. He invited the young master to stay in the palace for two days, and the young master has agreed."

The princess smiled,

Not angry, not furious,

Nor did she reveal any worried emotions,

Just nodded,

And said;

"Say something back for me."

"Your Highness, please speak, I guarantee to pass the message."

"Tell Ji Laoliu not to give my brother too much meat. His stomach is used to eating light food, and he won't adapt."

"I understand, does Your Highness have anything else to say?"

The princess shook her head, flipped onto her pixiu mount, and deliberately glanced at the carriage where the two of them were,

And opened her mouth to Zhang Gonggong, who was still waiting there;

"Also tell Ji Laoliu, I won't feel like I owe him a favor because he did this."

"Dare not, dare not."

"It should have been owed." The princess said, "But it shouldn't have been owed. Let it be."

At first, Zhang Gonggong thought that the princess was being arrogant.

This was in line with the princess's temper;

But the second sentence was clearly pointing at something else, and Zhang Gonggong didn't understand it, but it didn't matter, he just had to pass the words to his master.

After Zhang Gonggong returned to the carriage,

The princess rode her pixiu to Li Liang Shen's side,

And said:

"Why didn't you stop him?"

Stopping only me and not him?

Li Liang Shen said calmly: "He's not crazy."

The princess raised her head, her voice not particularly low, more like she was talking and laughing, and said:

"From now on, I won't be crazy either."

Because,

She doesn't have the right to be crazy anymore.

When this younger brother was not there, her destiny was to be sent by her father to Yanjing City, waiting to marry the Ji family, and the dowry would be the Zhenbei Army.

After this younger brother came back, her destiny changed again;

To some extent,

She was free, but also became unimportant.

Li Liang Shen looked at the princess,

And said;

"You are still you."

"Brother, your words of comfort are as straight as your sword."

Li Liang Shen shook his head. "You are still our sister."

The princess was silent.

Li Liang Shen added; "Now it seems that not marrying Ji family's second son is not a loss. Instead of supporting a husband, it is better to support your own brother.

His experience is too little, and he needs you, his Older Sister, now.

Didn't you say that you don't like Yanjing City?

Now,

You can go back to Beifeng County, back to the Marquis Mansion, back to the desert.

After wandering around for a few years,

You can go home again."

The princess pursed her lips and slowly said; "Then what about these few years of mine?"

Reaching out, she touched the pixiu mount under her, and the princess mocked herself;

"Just adding a reputation of being a husband-killer and ominous?"

"Do you care?" Li Liang Shen asked.

The princess shook her head.

She wouldn't be discouraged by this. She just felt it was a bit unworthy.

"Sister, you are the luckiest one." Li Liang Shen waved his hand, signaling the team to follow the Prince's carriage, and continued, "Look at the two people sitting in the carriage.

You know what the Sixth Prince of the Ji family has been forced to become these years;

You also saw what the Second Prince in the East Palace went through;

Tian Wujing still can't openly look at his son;

Our family,

Is actually the same,

But,

The hardship was borne by the young master.

Sister,

Tell me,

Aren't you the luckiest one?"

"Brother, has your realm improved again?"

"What do you mean?"

"These words are much smoother."

"Hehe."

The princess reached out and gently pinched her neck,

And said:

"I just asked that eunuch to tell Ji Laoliu that I don't think I owe him a favor."

"Logically speaking, you should." Li Liang Shen said, "You should be clear about what it means for the young master to take a trip to Yanjing City.

Those fake ones, those muddling through, will all disappear;

He is the real heir, and he will definitely be the real heir.

From this point,

Ji family's Sixth Prince has helped us.

This Yanjing City,

It is easy to enter, you and I can enter casually, but it is also difficult to enter. Without a member of the Ji family leading the young master in, it is not real, just like using a seal."

The seal has four characters on it, not ordained by heaven, but genuine.

"No, it's not that we owe him, but that Ji Laoliu owes us."

Li Liang Shen narrowed his eyes.

The princess added; "Do you think I'm throwing a tantrum again?"

Li Liang Shen shook his head.

"Before leaving the capital, I bid farewell to His Majesty."

"I know."

"Wei Zhonghe sent me out of the back garden."

"Heh."

"So, it is Ji Laoliu who is borrowing the power of our Marquis Mansion. He is quick-witted. Even if things broke down between me and his Second Brother, I wouldn't stand with him. But after knowing that A Fei was back, he took a great risk and criticism to come out so proactively.

Isn't there a saying that

Ji Laoliu is very much like His Majesty back then, this decisiveness, this vision. No wonder our father followed His Majesty back then.

But,

There's something I don't understand,

Everything will be finalized after autumn.

What is he,

Still busy with, is it meaningful?"

Li Liang Shen opened his mouth and said:

"Father and His Majesty are doing their things.

This world is now theirs, the three of them;

But in the future,

It will be yours."

……

The Prince's guards protected the carriage and returned to the city gates of Yanjing City.

The city gates, which had been closed for curfew, slowly opened by themselves at this time.

Zhang Gonggong, who was driving the carriage, was a little surprised.

This was too easy, right?

The gates of the capital are not something that can be opened whenever you want. If there is something really important, you can be hoisted up in a basket, but it is unlikely that you will be allowed to enter and exit with a large fanfare and with guards in the middle of the night.

Otherwise,

Wouldn't the coup d'état and leading troops into the capital be too easy?

But Zhang Gonggong saw that the master in the carriage didn't say anything, so he didn't ask, but silently continued to drive the carriage into the city.

On the city tower,

Eunuch Wei was standing there, the red eunuch's uniform swaying non-stop in the evening wind. In his hand, he held an imperial decree. The meaning of the imperial decree was simple:

Li Liang Ting's son has come, I want to see him.

However,

He doesn't need to announce the decree now. Someone has already done what he was supposed to do early.

A smile appeared on the corner of Eunuch Wei's mouth. In the eyes of outsiders, the young master of the Zhenbei King's Mansion is a taboo for the court. Many even speculated that if the young master were really found, the court would not hesitate to execute him secretly.

But outsiders are, after all, outsiders;

The entire court of civil and military officials are also outsiders;

Family members are different, such as the one in the carriage below who is driving into the capital.

He has been serving His Majesty since he was very young, since he was the chief eunuch by His Majesty's side when he was in the Wang Mansion;

And as the Sixth Prince grew up day by day, got married, and had children, sometimes, when he shed his disguise,

Eunuch Wei vaguely,

Had a feeling of seeing His Majesty back then.

……

The carriage of the Prince's Mansion slowly drove into the Prince's Mansion.

It was impossible to go to the back garden at night. Moreover, since he was invited to see his house, it was impossible not to enter his house.

In the hall of the Prince's Mansion, two maids and two eunuchs had been waiting there for a long time with Ji Chuanye. The child was prone to sleepiness, and at this time, he was still trying to stay awake.

Ji Chengjue and A Fei walked side by side in the garden,

"Actually, to say something that doesn't violate the taboo, this world now belongs to my father, your father, and the Jingnan King, the three of them.

But in the future, this world will still be ours."

A Fei quickly said: "Your Highness, be careful what you say, be careful what you say."

"Hmm…"

Ji Chuanye saw that his father had finally returned, and immediately reached out to hug him.

Ji Laoliu picked up his son,

Pointed at him,

And smiled at A Fei:

"But in the end, this world will still belong to this bunch of grandsons."

………………

There's only one chapter today. I had just adjusted my schedule and was planning to write more, but I got so excited that I felt like I was participating in the election myself…囧.

So, I'll try to write more tomorrow to make up for it. Hold on tight everyone, good night!