The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 449 The heartless man Zhu Xiu
Zhu Xiu returned to the Hou Mansion and saw the door open and many people coming in and out. Ma Qing and a few servants were moving luggage. Bi Zhenhai and Guan Tieshi were also helping, packing two large cars with large and small bags.

"What are you doing?" Zhu Xiu jumped off the carriage and stepped forward and asked.

"Master Marquis, you are back. Go and persuade him. General Shi is leaving. Nothing can stop him!" Ma Qing said anxiously.

Guan Tieshi glanced at the gate of the Hou Mansion and said with a wry smile: "The handsome master came back from the palace last night. He said he was leaving early in the morning and ordered me to find the coachman. I dare not not listen to the handsome master's words. No, Busy moving luggage."

Bi Zhenhai whispered: "The old man thinks he is sulking in the palace, so the Marquis should be more careful."

Just as he was saying this, Shi Kuangwei stepped out of the mansion, even though Zhu Wu chased behind him and tried to persuade him to no avail.

Shi Xiangwen carried the Phoenix Mouth Overlord Sword on his shoulder and a dagger slung across his body. His face was filled with confusion. He didn't know why he wanted to leave when he was living in such a good place.

Shi Lingyan was carrying a small bundle on his shoulders, with a rope whip wrapped around one arm, and his mouth was pursed with reluctance on his face.

Zhu Xiu hurried forward to meet him. When Shi Kuangwei saw him, his smile disappeared completely, his face elongated, and he snorted heavily in his nostrils.

Shi Lingyan smiled, pounced on Zhu Xiu like a tired bird returning to its nest, hugged his arm tightly, and chirped to complain.

Zhu Xiu touched the girl's braid, smiled and comforted her with a few words.

"I'm talking about Lao Shi, what are you going to do?" Zhu Xiu looked him up and asked in doubt.

Skuangwei squinted his eyes and snorted coldly: "I'm so upset that I live here, I want to move out!"

Zhu Wu smiled bitterly and spread his hands, signaling to persuade him quickly.

Zhu Xiu was angry and funny: "Tell me, what's wrong with my stay?"

Shi Lingyan leaned next to Zhu Xiu and muttered: "Dad was scolded by the emperor when he entered the palace last night."

Shi Kuangwei glared at his daughter, and Shi Lingyan stuck out her tongue at him angrily.

"This shabby house doesn't get along with me! It ruins my luck!" Shi Kuangwei shouted in a serious tone.

Zhu Xiu rolled his eyes. He had learned from Fu Yanqing last night that the official summoned Shi Kuangwei to the palace for an audience.

All they were talking about was his marriage.

According to Fu Yanqing, the official family must be on the side of the Fu family, so in this farce of three families competing for a son-in-law, Shi Kuangwei, who has the weakest foundation, is the most likely to be the first to withdraw.

Seeing this guy's stinky face, which was dark and smelly, Zhu Xiu knew that he was probably forced to give in due to pressure.

Zhu Xiu sighed, took Shi Lingyan's hand, and said in a deep voice: "You can move away, but Yan'er and Shi Dalang will stay. Anyway, you will take office in Xuzhou soon, so don't let them follow you around."

Shi Kuangwei sneered and said: "You, Mr. Zhu, are about to marry the daughter of the Fu family. How can there be a woman in your family who is not involved?"

Zhu Xiu was also annoyed and cursed: "That's nonsense! What bastard is talking nonsense?"

Shi Kuangwei stared in the direction of the palace.

"." Zhu Xiu was speechless.

Everyone was embarrassed, coughing constantly, and everyone was selectively deaf at this time.

Zhu Xiu said helplessly: "Old Shi, believe me, this will never happen."

Shi Kuangwei then pointed at the Huaiyang Prince's Mansion car driving not far away, and said sarcastically: "You stayed at the Prince's Mansion last night, and you must have had a great chat with your future father-in-law, right?

Get out of the way, I will take Yan'er away right now, so as not to delay your Marquis Zhu's wedding! "

Zhu Xiu grabbed him fiercely and gritted his teeth: "The King of Huaiyang invited me to come to the palace for this reason, but I didn't agree!

I, Zhu Xiu, will definitely fulfill what I said, and I will never let Yan'er down in this life!

You let Yan'er stay, and I'll ask my sister-in-law to hire a matchmaker, and then find Si Tianjian to calculate a good day and get married immediately! "

Skuangwei was stunned for a moment, then glanced at his daughter.

Shi Lingyan's dark brown eyes flashed, showing a bit of shyness, and his hands were tightly clasped with Zhu Xiu.

"You kid, are you telling the truth?" Shi Kuangwei looked weird.

"Nonsense! As long as you nod, I will marry Yan'er tomorrow!" Zhu Xiu glared at him.

"You have a conscience," Shi Kuangwei muttered.

Zhu Wu grinned extremely happily: "If mother knew, she would be extremely happy."

Guan Tieshi and Bi Zhenhai were all beaming with joy. The Marquis married the old commander's daughter. This was a happy event that their old subordinates had been looking forward to for many years.

Shi Kuangwei sighed deeply, shook his head and said, "I cannot agree to this marriage."

Everyone was dumbfounded, Shi Lingyan was stunned, mist quickly accumulated in his eyes.

Shi Xiangwen tilted his head, his face also full of sorrow.

Zhu Xiu frowned: "Why?"

Shi Kuangwei looked around and walked to the gatehouse room.

Zhu Xiu comforted Shi Lingyan in a low voice and followed quickly.

This is the place where the concierge servant usually rests. Shi Kuangwei closed the door and sat face to face with Zhu Xiu.

"The officials have told me the stakes. If I, Old Shi, continue to be ignorant and continue to cause trouble, I will be ignorant of the truth and not thinking about the overall situation."

Shi Kuangwei shook his head and sighed.

Zhu Xiu said nothing and listened with a sullen face.

"Your boy's marriage is a major matter that involves too many things. It is even related to the stability of the government and the inheritance of the country."

Shi Kuangwei's tone was full of helplessness.

Zhu Xiu immediately realized something and whispered: "Is it related to Taiyuan County Duke and the Fu family?"

Shi Kuangwei nodded: "The officials are worried that after a hundred years, Taiyuan County Duke will not be able to win over the Fu family, let alone deter a group of military heroes, so they need you to marry the Fu family so that you can assist Taiyuan County Duke and stabilize the court in the future. to ensure the smooth inheritance of the imperial line."

Zhu Xiu frowned. This reason surprised him.

The Fu family is powerful, but has no idea of ​​going further. This is the wisdom of the Fu family and the reason why this huge military family has been able to prosper for hundreds of years.

But after thinking about it, from his perspective, Fu Shi did not pose a threat to the imperial power. This was because he stood at the height of history.

Of course Guo Wei did not have this foresight, let alone what kind of drastic changes would happen to the Zhou Dynasty after his death.

In Guo Wei's view, after Chai Rong ascended the throne, the Fu family was his biggest reliance and the biggest threat.

As a maternal relative, Mrs. Fu has been extremely favored.

If you want to go further, there is only one way to betray Chai Rong and Dazhou, establish another dynasty, and become the emperor yourself.

Therefore, we must find ways to control and restrain Fu.

Guo Wei believed that Zhu Xiu was the rope around Fu's neck.

Zhu Xiu is loyal enough to Da Zhou and Chai Rong, and has enough brains. With Zhu Xiu's help and suppression, he should be able to successfully inherit Da Zhou's country and play a positive role.

After thinking about this, Zhu Xiu was not surprised why Guo Wei supported Fu's marriage with him.

It's just that Shi Kuangwei's devastated look made him a little bit unbearable.

"What do you think?" Zhu Xiu asked in a low voice.

Shi Kuangwei said bitterly: "I, the old historian, speak softly, and the officials are talking about this. What else can I do, let Yan'er marry you as a concubine~"

His daughter is loved by everyone. Lao Shi is usually careless and doesn't care about etiquette and rules, but in this matter, he never wants his daughter to suffer any injustice.

Letting Shi Lingyan enter as a concubine is also a helpless move.

Zhu Xiu was silent for a while and said, "I'll go tell the officials and ask Yan'er to be my legal wife."

Shi Kuangwei waved his hand: "That's all, I thought about it all night last night. Everything about status is a trivial matter. The court is stable, and it's a big deal for you and Yan'er to live a good life. Let's do it this way. The official said, wait until the Duke of Taiyuan County gets married. After you get married, I will grant a marriage to you and Mrs. Fu Er." After a pause, Shi Kuangwei said quietly: "When you get married, I will take Yan'er and Dalang and rush to Xuzhou to take office. When will Mrs. Fu Er agree with you? Concubine, you come to Xuzhou to pick up Yan'er."

Listening to Lao Shi's melancholy and helpless tone, Zhu Xiu felt uncomfortable.

But after thinking about it, this is already the best result.

Zhu Xiu stood up and bowed deeply: "Don't worry, Yan'er has the same status as a head wife in my family. The Zhu family will never treat Yan'er badly!"

Shi Kuangwei curled his lips and said: "Although it's not a good thing for you to be a bad guy, I believe what you say. Don't let Yan'er wait too long, and deal with the second lady Fu as soon as possible."

Zhu Xiu hesitated for a moment: "Where is Yan'er?"

"I'll go tell Yan'er that silly girl just wants to marry you. She doesn't care whether she has status or not." Shi Kuangwei sighed. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the old Shi family had suffered a big loss by marrying his daughter this time. .

Shi Kuangwei stood up with a strange look in his eyes: "What will you do with Mrs. Zhou?"

"Well." Zhu Xiu rubbed his hands and said vaguely, "I'm afraid I can only be the same as Yan'er."

Shi Kuangwei snorted heavily, not hiding his disdain: "The daughter of the Grand Tutor of the Southern Tang Dynasty can only be a concubine in your Zhu family. Zhu Xiu, Zhu Xiu, I really underestimate you!"

"Hehe~ It's an accident, Madam Zhou, it's just an accident." Zhu Xiu's old face turned red.

Shi Kuangwei opened the door to leave, stopped, turned around and said suspiciously: "Last night at the Huaiyang Palace, your boy changed his name to father-in-law?"

"What's wrong!" Zhu Xiu felt guilty, but still pretended to be righteous.

"How can I change my words before we are officially married? I, Mr. Zhu, am so shameless and can't wait to climb up to the Fu family?"

"Hmph~ You do have a good face, but your face is thicker than the damn Kaifeng City Wall!" Shi Kuangwei mocked in disgust.

"No, I can't suffer, you have to change your name to my father-in-law!" Shi Kuangwei yelled.

Zhu Xiu opened her mouth wide and struggled for a long time before she managed to scream.

Unexpectedly, Shi Kuangwei himself felt uncomfortable hearing this. He trembled all over, shook his head and muttered: "Mom, why does it sound so awkward? I feel like I haven't asked Lao Shi to be more friendly."

Shi Kuangwei walked out of the house with his hands behind his back, while Zhu Xiu gnashed his teeth behind him. He was really a hypocritical old guy.

"Let's go, let's go!" Shi Kuangwei pulled Shi Lingyan and greeted Shi Xiangwen and Guan Tieshi.

"Zhu Xiu!" Shi Lingyan cried out in panic, as if his old father was about to break up this marriage with his own hands.

"Yan'er, go with your father first. I will pick you back soon." Zhu Xiu comforted softly.

Shi Lingyan pouted and said, "Will you still marry me?"

Zhu Xiu nodded vigorously and straightened the bridge of her nose: "I will definitely do it! Just wait for me!"

Shi Lingyan laughed through his tears, put his arms around Zhu Xiu's neck, and gave him a smack on the cheek.

Shi Xiangwen said naively: "Zhu Xiu, there are still a few freshly made clay figures in the house where I live. They haven't been baked yet. You can put them away for me and continue making them when I come back."

Zhu Xiu stood on tiptoes and patted his broad shoulder: "When you come back, we'll pinch him together! You don't want a wild dog? I sent someone to find one in Jingzhao Chang'an. I heard it's in good condition and will be available after the New Year." Delivered to you as a gift."

Shi Xiangwen's dazed eyes lit up, his big head nodded vigorously, and his long hair with a lion's mane trembled wildly.

"Let's go!" Shi Kuangwei shouted and jumped on the cart.

Shi Lingyan got on his horse, turned around and waved vigorously at Zhu Xiu.

Zhu Xiu watched them go away, feeling extremely reluctant to leave.

Ma Qing said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Hou. I have already found out clearly. Mr. Shi Shuai asked Guan Tieshi to rent a private house in Yulin Lane. There is only one street across from our Hou Mansion. You can't walk out through the back door. A stick of incense will arrive."

"Uh" Zhu Xiu was stunned and speechless.

That bastard Lao Shi keeps saying that he wants to move to Fayun Temple. Fayun Temple is far away from the outer city, and it takes nearly two hours to ride there.

Unexpectedly, after working on it for a long time, he moved to Yulin Lane next door, which made him sad in vain.

"Humph! Go back home!" Zhu Xiu spat angrily.

Zhu Wu smiled and said: "Actually, Mrs. Yan is quite good, lively and agile, and her martial arts is also very good."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Eldest brother also wants me to marry Lady Yan?"

Zhu Wu said honestly and kindly: "As long as you like it, you can marry anyone! It's better to marry them all!"

"Hehe, what big brother said is exactly what I want!"

Zhu Wu was stunned, pointed at him and laughed: "My brother is really a blessed man!"

~~~
I went back to the back house to visit Wu Youdi. My mother was in good spirits and helped her walk around in the small garden.

Zhou Xian brought the food at noon, and Zhu Xiu watched her serving Wu Youdi.

She and Yang Qiaolian prepared Wu Youdi's meals personally, and followed Yuan Jingrun's instructions to match the food and medicinal ingredients for food supplements.

Wu Youdi lay down to rest, and Zhou Xian left with the food box and basket, without saying a word to Zhu Xiu, not even looking at him, and Zhu Xiu ignored her words.

"Emperor E!"

Zhu Xiu quietly closed the bedroom door and chased Zhou Xian away.

The girl ignored her, instead she quickened her pace and trotted back to her room, Zhu Xiu had no choice but to chase after her.

Zhou Xian stopped at the door and refused to let in. Zhu Xiu said all his good things, and it took some effort to get in.

In the room, Zhou Xian was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back turned, his shoulders shaking slightly, and faint sounds of crying could be heard.

Zhu Xiu sighed and said softly: "Ehuang, I know you resent me in your heart. I am sorry for you."

Zhou Xian turned around, his face was covered with tears, and his eyes were red and swollen.

Zhu Xiu felt sorry for her, but she didn't dare to step forward rashly.

"Do you still remember what you said in Jiangning?" Zhou Xian's voice was hoarse and crying.

Zhu Xiu said hurriedly: "Keep every word in my heart!"

"You promised father you wouldn't betray me, but do you still remember?" Zhou Xian said tremblingly.

Zhu Xiu took a step forward and said solemnly: "I will never break my promise in this life!"

"But now you want to marry a girl from another family!" Zhou Xian sneered, tears flowing down his smooth cheeks.

Zhu Xiu was silent, not knowing how to answer.

Zhou Xian sneered: "Before returning to Kaifeng, you thought about how to arrange for me to be your concubine, Lord Zhu?"

Zhu Xiu was speechless, he did have this thought.

When he returns to Kaifeng, he may marry Shi Lingyan, Fu Jinhuan, or even Feng Qingchan, but it is impossible to marry Zhou Xian.

Even if he wanted to, the people gathered around him now would not allow it.

He needed to marry a woman with a strong natal family background as his official wife to consolidate his position in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"You have to give up on this, I will never agree!" Zhou Xian said sternly, his eyes were frighteningly red.

Zhu Xiu sighed bitterly: "If you don't want to, I will never force you. When the situation stabilizes, if you want to return to Jiangning, I can arrange for someone to send you across the river."

Zhou Xian readily agreed: "Okay! That's it!"

Zhu Xiu looked at her with pity, and her heart ached.

"You have a good rest. I will come to visit you in two days." Zhu Xiu said softly, gently closed the door and left.

With a whimper, Zhou Xian threw himself on the bed, sobbing bitterly.
　I don’t know why, I always feel a sense of inexplicable excitement when writing bloody plots. Maybe I’m just a bloody human-handed dog at heart.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)