Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 137: The Honest Man

When the screen was removed and the curtain opened, Zhang Yu and the other two girls walked out of the area blocked by the table with light steps.

Zhang Yu was lively and playful. She was very curious about what the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, her potential future husband, looked like, so she just looked up.

Unlike her, the other two girls were shy and nodded slightly, acting like bashful little girls. They didn't dare to look straight ahead, which meant they didn't show their faces, giving people a hazy feeling.

Therefore, among the three women, only Zhang Yuxian and Zhu Youtang looked each other in the eye.

Zhu Youtang did not think too much at the moment. Since Queen Mother Zhou asked him to choose a wife, he would of course take a quick look at her first, because he was not so confident that he could pick out his pen pal directly from the three girls.

After the two looked at each other, Zhang Yu immediately lowered his head.

For Zhang Yu, this first sight still made her a little disappointed.

Because Zhu Youtang was not a tall and handsome young man. On the contrary, he looked sickly. At first glance, his body seemed to be unable to stand straight. In addition, his face was a little haggard due to reading too much at night, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness...

What's even worse is that Zhu Youtang's young face, which originally looked pretty good, was now covered with a few acne spots common among teenagers, which further affected his appearance.

After all, there is a comparison in the girl's heart...

Whether it was Sun Bojian, whom Zhang Yu had met secretly many times, or Qin Yun, who had accompanied them all the way to the capital, their figures and appearance seemed to be much better than the prince in front of him.

Although Sun Bojian is also a sickly person, he is handsome, sociable, humorous and often makes people laugh. He is a very talkative person.

Zhu Youtang in front of him looked like a taciturn person at first glance. If it weren't for the halo of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, his impression in Zhang Yu's mind would probably be failing.

At this moment, Zhu Youtang's heart was not so disturbed. He carefully examined the three women in front of him, then shook his head helplessly...

Frustrated!

Disappointed!

It wasn't that he was disappointed with the looks of these three women. He was disappointed that he was too incompetent to find his long-time pen pal at a glance.

Queen Mother Zhou looked at her grandson who was frowning slightly, and asked with a smile: "Prince, are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied! Grandmother, I am very satisfied!"

Zhu Youtang agreed out of habit.

Queen Mother Zhou rolled her eyes at her grandson and asked, "How come you are satisfied? Tell me, which one are you satisfied with? I just asked you to choose from three people. Are you dazzled by the selection?"

"This is just the beginning. You have to know that I saw dozens of girls yesterday. To be honest, my eyes are much more discerning than yours. It is not easy to pick out the one with both talent and beauty, good character and temperament!"

Zhu Youtang hurriedly put on a submissive attitude and said, "Thank you for your concern, Grandmother."

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "Then you should choose... Don't just talk and not do anything. You'll disappoint my good intentions, won't you?"

Zhu Youtang was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Seeing her grandson's uneasy look, Queen Mother Zhou glanced at the three women again, her eyes lingering on Zhang Yu for a moment, then turned around and asked, "After looking around, you have a general idea of ​​what they are like. At least in terms of looks, you have nothing to complain about, right? Are there any that you dislike at first sight?"

Zhu Youtang shook his head repeatedly: "No, absolutely not."

"That's good."

Queen Mother Zhou nodded with a smile, and then continued, "You are not only choosing a princess consort, but more importantly, choosing a queen for the future Ming Dynasty... Ask the women in the world, which one has such an honor? This is enough to show that these three girls are blessed.

"Okay, now that you have seen them, follow me out first. I will let them come out to see you... You can chat with them for a while, which will make it easier for you to further understand and choose... What do you think?"

"So good."

Zhu Youtang finally felt relieved.

At least there is a follow-up.

He thought to himself, it’s a good thing that the Empress Dowager arranged it this way, otherwise if I were allowed to choose now, I might regret it for the rest of my life.

Even Zhu Youtang himself didn't understand why he had such thoughts.

At this point, he gradually became determined to find the girl he was communicating with. …

……

When Zhu Youtang was about to leave, he couldn't help but look back at Zhang Yu.

The courage Zhang Yu showed when he saw him, and the agility and mischief in his eyes, were the types Zhu Youtang had never seen before, and this was what really attracted him.

but……

Compared with the inner desire to find a pen pal, the good impression left by the fleeting glimpse seems insignificant.

But when he walked out of the inner hall and returned to the outer hall, Zhang Yu's beautiful face and graceful figure began to appear in his mind...

This was the first woman of the same age who dared to look him in the eye. Her beauty was obviously superior to the two next to her. She was lively and playful, and her eyes were full of brilliance, just like a ray of warm and gentle sunshine, beginning to shine into Zhu Youtang's slightly dark heart.

"Prince..."

Seeing that her grandson seemed absent-minded, Queen Mother Zhou couldn't help but remind him.

Zhu Youtang quickly reached out to support Empress Dowager Zhou and said respectfully, "Grandmother, please speak!"

Queen Mother Zhou asked, "What kind of women do you like? Talented, or pretty? Or ladies from wealthy families, well-educated and well-mannered?"

Zhu Youtang was slightly stunned.

Is there any essential difference between these?
Can there be something that has both?
I didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Just at this moment, Qin Ji saw the grandparents and grandchildren coming out, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them. He thought that the matter of selecting a concubine had already been decided.

As he got closer, Qin Ji was still seeking Zhu Youtang's opinion with his eyes.

Queen Mother Zhou asked with a smile, "My dear grandson, did Tan Ji deliver the note I gave you this morning?"

"received."

Zhu Youtang answered respectfully.

"How's the writing?"

Queen Mother Zhou continued to ask.

Zhu Youtang nodded: "The handwriting is very good."

Queen Mother Zhou walked back to her seat and sat down first. Then she pointed to a temporary seat nearby and motioned her grandson to sit down as well.

Then she asked, "Is it just the handwriting that's good? How about the poetry?"

"Grandmother, isn't that a line from a Yuefu poem?"

Zhu Youtang sat down and turned his head to look at Queen Mother Zhou. "Legend has it that this poem was written by Zhuo Wenjun, a talented woman in the Western Han Dynasty. However, the true author of the poem has always been controversial in history."

"Haha, you are such an honest kid, why are you pretending to be confused now? Are you going to keep pretending in front of me?"

Queen Mother Zhou had a kind smile on her face and looked harmless, but her words were actually full of ulterior motives.

Zhu Youtang lowered his head and said weakly: "Her handwriting seems to be very similar to that of an old friend."

"is it?"

Queen Mother Zhou glanced at the door and confirmed that Wei Tai and Chen Gui had not come in. Then she asked with relief, "Do you know who wrote to you?"

Zhu Youtang shook his head honestly, looking bewildered: "I don't know."

Queen Mother Zhou smiled faintly and said, "In fact, I don't know who wrote the letter to you, but someone copied the content of one of the letters and I happened to see it. Now you should understand..."

Hearing this, Zhu Youtang and Qin Ji immediately felt relieved.

It turns out that it wasn’t Queen Mother Zhou who was behind this!
(End of this chapter)