spend time

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "Why shouldn't I be so unworthy? You have taken good care of the Imperial Grandmother, and you have also relieved me of my worries."

Eunuch Zhao nodded in agreement and glanced at Eunuch Lin quickly out of the corner of his eye.

Where in the palace is there no struggle for power? Eunuch Lin is the loyal lackey of Empress Dowager Zheng. Zhao Jingming has the Empress standing behind him, so he is not someone to be trifled with.

Eunuch Lin was extremely shrewd. Without showing any sign of emotion, he respectfully welcomed the empress and the emperor's husband to the bedside.

"Shaohua," Empress Dowager Zheng burst into tears as soon as she saw Jiang Shaohua: "You finally came to see me. Whenever I think of the Zheng family, my heart aches. Ouch!"

It was not known whether the pain was real or fake, but Empress Dowager Zheng's face was indeed pale, and she kept wailing while holding her chest. The imperial doctors who were standing by immediately gathered around the bed and were busy taking Empress Dowager Zheng's pulse and giving her acupuncture.

Jiang Shaohua accompanied her patiently, and said in a gentle voice: "Grandma, don't always worry about this little thing of the Zheng family."

"No matter how big the event is, it will be gone in the blink of an eye. Right now, the Zheng family is at the center of the storm, and it is inevitable that the officials will point fingers at the Zheng family and say some unpleasant things. After a few months, the matter will fade away."

The noise will fade away. But the gold, silver, jade and treasures that were "donated" cannot be taken back.

Empress Dowager Zheng loved money like her life. In her eyes, the Zheng family's property was almost the same as hers. The Zheng family donated half of their property to the national treasury, just like cutting a large piece of flesh from her body with a knife. How could she not be heartbroken?

Empress Dowager Zheng continued to cry bitterly.

Jiang Shaohua tried to comfort him, but he sneered in his heart.

This is just where it is, and I am so heartbroken! In the future, I will use a soft knife to cut the meat one by one. Sometimes, Empress Dowager Zheng will cry.

In fact, the arrogant, overbearing and unreasonable Empress Dowager Zheng has begun to cry and show her weakness, which in itself shows that the power of Jingyang Palace is not as great as before.

Cui Du also came forward and said, "Grandma, please stop crying. Think about the bright side of things. The Zheng family gave up 50% of their property in exchange for the safety of the entire family. If we follow the Daliang law, the heads of the entire family will be chopped off, and their property will be confiscated. Then there will really be nothing left."

Is this comfort?
It's like using a needle tip to pierce her heart!

Empress Dowager Zheng could no longer pretend and glared at Cui Du fiercely: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

People love to pick on the weak. Now she no longer has the confidence to boss Jiang Shaohua around, but she doesn't have so many concerns about Cui Du.

Cui Du did not indulge Empress Dowager Zheng and responded directly: "I am telling the truth."

"Now that the Duke of Anguo has lost his position as a minister, the plaque of the Duke's Mansion has also been removed. If the Zheng family wants to live in peace, they must keep their heads down and live their lives in a dignified manner."

"Think about the Prince of Huaiyang. He gave away 80% of his family property, and lived a quiet life with his five sons and six grandchildren. If a dignified prince can do it, how can the Zheng family, who are so powerful, fail?"

Empress Dowager Zheng was so angry that her eyes almost rolled back. "You! Are you trying to piss me off to death? Get out! I don't want to see you!"

Cui Du did not retreat, but took a few steps closer to the bed: "Grandma, you can't not want to see me. The emperor has to attend court every day and doesn't have much free time to come to Jingyang Palace. I, the emperor's husband, will come to take care of the emperor. Starting tomorrow, I will come to accompany you every day."

Cui Du emphasized confidently: "This is what my grandmother taught me. As the emperor's husband, I must be virtuous and share the emperor's worries."

Empress Dowager Zheng: “…”

Empress Dowager Zheng was so angry that she almost fainted.

Jiang Shaohua suppressed his laughter and coughed lightly: "Alright, stop talking and don't make grandma angry."

Cui Du responded with a smile, and then stopped talking. Empress Dowager Zheng wiped her tears and complained to Jiang Shaohua: "I am ill, I need to calm my mind and rest. I can't stand the sharp words of Lord Changning."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "Cui Du has a quick temper and sometimes his words are not so pleasant to the ear, but he has a good heart. What he said just now was all for the long-term consideration of the Zheng family."

"The court has already sent troops to Yuzhou to quell the rebellion. In the next few months, news about the Yuzhou army will continue to reach the court. Zheng Chen is in the Yuzhou army. It would be best if the court won a great victory. If the war does not go smoothly, how can the civil and military officials of the court not vent their anger on the Zheng family? At this time, the Zheng family can only keep a low profile to avoid arousing public anger."

When Zheng Chen was mentioned, Empress Dowager Zheng was like a deflated ball. She immediately looked depressed and kept silent.

Jiang Shaohua and Cui Du looked at each other and smiled in their hearts.

Cui Du kept his word and started coming to Jingyang Palace to "attend to the illness" from the next day.

Empress Dowager Zheng found him annoying and simply ordered someone to call Prince Ping over.

Cui Du was also happy to take King Ping out to play.

In the entire palace, the one who lived the most carefree and happy every day was King Ping Jiang Hao. After he moved into Jingyang Palace, he gained some weight and had better physical strength. He ran around every day and was very happy.

"Brother-in-law," King Ping could already clearly call out Cui Du, "I want to climb a tree."

Cui Du coaxed her good-naturedly, "Grandma is ill, and we have to accompany her all the time. When grandma recovers, your brother-in-law will take you to climb trees in the Imperial Garden."

King Ping's temper flared up immediately, and he started to make a scene: "I'm going to climb a tree! I'm going to do it now!"

Sharp shouting floated in through the open window and penetrated the eardrums of Empress Dowager Zheng.

The Empress Dowager Zheng was annoyed by the noise and immediately sent Eunuch Zhao to pass on the message: "Let the Earl of Changning take Prince Ping to the Imperial Garden."

Stop making a fuss in her old lady's ears. If you keep going like this, she will really fall ill.

Cui Du came to Jingyang Palace every day to "attend to the illness" for half a month. Her reputation for virtue had spread from the palace to outside.

After hearing this, Prime Minister Wang chuckled, "This Lord Changning is truly virtuous."

The word "virtuous", when used to describe men, always has a more or less contemptuous connotation.

Even though Cui Du was the empress's son-in-law and the emperor of Daliang, and held the title of Earl of Changning and the official position of Minister of Agriculture, this contempt still appeared from time to time in the tacit glances and whispers of the crowd.

No one admits how much jealousy and resentment are involved.

Even Prime Minister Wang would occasionally feel secretly regretful for missing out on the opportunity to marry the empress.

If Wang Jin had not been the heir he had chosen, and had competed with Cui Du back then... Humph! Cui Du could never have won over his son.

Prime Minister Wang would never say these words to Wang Jin.

Not only could he not say anything, he also had to do his best to downplay his son's infatuation with the Empress.

Even though all the civil and military officials in the court had joked about this in private, no one dared to gossip about it in the Prime Minister's Mansion. So Prime Minister Wang could just pretend that nothing had happened. (End of this chapter)