good season

Chapter 159 Grandfathers Are Different (Two Chapters Combined)

Looking at Zhao Xingzhou, who was speaking fluently and passionately, Zhao Shiqing felt as if a thousand horses were galloping through her heart.

As far as she knew, the Qi family was not of high social standing at first. Although Empress Dowager Qi's uncle and father had already reached the fifth rank in officialdom, their mother had passed away, and the two brothers had been in mourning for three years but had not been able to be reinstated.

The two were making arrangements everywhere when, just then, the royal selection process began.

At that time, Empress Dowager Qi was discussing marriage, and the two brothers resolutely rejected the marriage they had previously verbally promised and sent Empress Dowager Qi to the imperial concubine selection.

Lady Qi was beautiful and dignified. She caught the eye of the Empress at first sight and asked the Emperor to appoint her as a concubine to the third prince.

The third prince was gentle and cautious, and was not favored by his father. He was the least outstanding of the princes, and almost everyone thought he was not destined for the throne.

Only three months after marrying into the prince's residence, Lady Qi became pregnant before the prince's wife. The prince's wife was jealous and sent someone to apply oil to Lady Qi's usual route. When Lady Qi fell, she desperately protected her belly. She saved the baby but was seriously injured.

The third prince, enraged, believed that his princess was a poisonous woman and from then on, he became increasingly cold towards her, while the pregnant Lady Qi became his favorite.

One day, during a banquet in the palace, the third prince and his wife entered the palace together, while Lady Qi, who was pregnant, stayed at the prince's residence.

Unexpectedly, during the palace banquet, the princess suddenly had difficulty breathing, and before the imperial physician could arrive, she died in front of everyone.

It was later discovered that she had choked to death on an apricot kernel.

Several palace servants serving the prince's wife were all killed for failing to serve her properly.

A few months later, Lady Qi gave birth to a baby boy, who became the Emperor Emeritus.

This was the third prince's first child, and it was seven years later that the prince's household produced its second son.

Lady Qi also rose to the position of principal wife because of her son.

When the Emperor Emeritus was ten years old, the eldest and second princes fought fiercely for the throne, resulting in one prince dying a violent death and the other being imprisoned for life. Meanwhile, the third prince, who was originally not destined for the throne, suddenly became the crown prince. Two years later, he inherited the throne and ascended to the throne.

Lady Qi rose to power through her husband's influence and became empress.

At this time, the emperor had only two sons. His ministers advised him to fill the harem and have more sons.

Young beauties entered the palace one after another, and the emperor no longer favored Empress Qi. He had new beauties and new sons, and he especially doted on the fourth prince born to Consort Liu.

Soon after, Consort Liu's affair with a guard was exposed. Consort Liu was given poisoned wine, the Fourth Prince's parentage became questionable, and he was disliked by the Emperor, who ignored him from then on. The Fourth Prince died of a cold at the young age of eight.

After the death of the fourth prince, two princes were born in the harem, but both of their mothers were palace maids. Empress Qi abandoned the mothers and kept the sons, raising them under her care. These two princes left the palace at the age of twelve to establish their own residences. At such a young age, they were already causing trouble outside the palace. They are now the Prince of Fu and the Prince of Lu, two notoriously muddle-headed princes.

The second prince was frail from childhood and died at the age of fifteen. The third prince contracted smallpox and although he survived, he was left with pockmarks.

A few years later, the emperor, weakened by illness, died of a stroke. Empress Qi was then promoted to Empress Dowager and supported her only son to ascend the throne.

It can be said that Empress Dowager Qi's life was a history of rising to power in the imperial harem, but she did not live a long life and passed away before the age of fifty.

In contrast to Empress Dowager Qi's extreme wealth and luxury, the Qi family did not fare so well.

After Empress Dowager Qi gained power, she did not promote her own family. Her father and uncles were only promoted to the fourth rank after she became empress, just to save face.

Her younger brother and cousins ​​never received any benefits from her. Even the gifts they gave to her family during festivals were just things like tables, chairs, and screens. After she became Empress Dowager, she established a rule that women of the Qi clan could not marry into the royal family. After her, there were no women of the Qi clan in either the harem or the imperial family.

There are many different opinions among the imperial family members as to why Empress Dowager Qi did this, but the most credible one is that Empress Dowager Qi already had someone she liked before the selection of concubines, and the two families were already discussing marriage.

For the sake of their own future, her father and uncle used underhanded means to force her to enter the palace for the imperial concubine selection. Although she complied, she became estranged from her family from then on.

Even after she became Empress and Empress Dowager, she never forgave the Qi family.

Influenced by his mother, the retired emperor had no good feelings towards the Qi family. During his reign, when male members of the Qi family occasionally passed the imperial examinations, they were sent to remote places to serve as officials, with no hope of promotion.

The Qi family gradually declined and faded from people's sight.

It was precisely because Zhao Shiqing knew about Empress Dowager Qi and the Qi family's past that she was so shocked when she heard Zhao Xingzhou mention the Qi family.

The decline of the Qi family did not begin recently; it started as early as when Empress Dowager Qi entered the palace, before the Emperor Emeritus was even born. Several decades have passed since then.

Decades later, people still remember the Qi family; no, people can recognize them by their appearance.

As Zhao Shiqing stared at Zhao Xingzhou's opening and closing mouth, a chill ran down her spine.

Who exactly is this person?

Zhao Xingzhou?
This is clearly a fake name.

Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li – although the surname Zhao sounds very common, in the Great Yong Dynasty, whether in storybooks or plays, unless it is praising the life of the Taizu Emperor, there will never be any fictional character with the surname Zhao.

Zhao is the imperial surname, belonging to the royal family. You might happen to have the surname Zhao, but if you don't actually have the surname Zhao, yet pretend to, that is a crime.

Therefore, the name "Xingzhou" in Zhao Xingzhou's name may be fake, but the surname Zhao is real.

His surname really is Zhao.

Zhao Shiqing had met a merchant surnamed Zhao, but could that merchant Zhao recognize the Qi family members at a glance?

Definitely not.

Zhao Shiqing also has the surname Zhao. Not to mention her, even Zhao Tinghan, Zhao Yunnuan, and Zhao Tingxuan, who are all true members of the Zhao royal family, would not think that Wan Ruyi looks like a member of the Qi family.

Xiao Zhen had never met Empress Dowager Qi or the Qi family. The reason she knew that the three princesses had followed their grandmother was because Princess Jiayi herself told her.

So, how did Zhao Xingzhou find out?
Zhao Shiqing suddenly remembered something else. When Xiao Zhen first met Zhao Xingzhou in Wu, he said that Zhao Xingzhou looked somewhat familiar.

Back then, Zhao Xingzhou was even more slovenly and unkempt than he is now, looking like a beggar.

Zhao Xingzhou looks much cleaner now; at least his toes aren't showing through his shoes.

By the way, when Lingbo first met Zhao Xingzhou, she said that although Zhao Xingzhou was dressed in rags, his shoes cost ten taels of silver a pair.

“You’re with this girl, but you don’t have the surname Zhao. You must be a servant in her household. Servants have indentures, and you have one too? Then you must have been abducted. Do you even remember your family?”

Zhao Shiqing narrowed her eyes; this old rascal was trying to trick her into revealing information.

Wan Ruyi is as naive as a child. If he continues to fool her, she might reveal the secret of Qingjing Nunnery.

Zhao Shiqing reacted quickly, slamming her hand on the table with a loud thud, splashing tea onto Zhao Xingzhou's shirt.

"The world is going to the dogs! In broad daylight, you shameless old man dare to openly abduct a woman! Humph, pay me back!"

Caught off guard, Zhao Xingzhou not only got splashed with tea but was also scolded for being disrespectful to his elders. He put on a stern face and said to Zhao Shiqing, "Is this how you talk to your father?" Zhao Shiqing replied, "If you're curious about how I talk to my father, you can go down and ask them. By the way, I have two fathers, and they're both downstairs."

Zhao Xingzhou blew on his beard, but he wasn't angry: "I've done some calculations, and I've determined that you'll meet a benefactor when you're fifteen. Would you like to know where that benefactor is?"

Zhao Shiqing: "If you pay me back, I want to know; if you don't pay me back, I don't want to know."

Zhao Xingzhou was busy arguing with her, but he forgot all about the Qi family matter.

Unfortunately, Zhao Shiqing was quick-witted and eloquent, and Zhao Xingzhou was defeated.

He doesn't owe a few hundred taels, but tens of thousands.

Just then, the teahouse suddenly became lively. The tea drinkers all leaned out of the windows to look out, and Mudfish and Lingbo also came over to see: "Second Miss, come and see! The Dong family has been taken away, and they've been taken away tied up!"

Normally, Zhao Shiqing would have run off to watch the excitement, but this time, she sat there without moving, looking at Zhao Xingzhou instead.

The Dong family are locals, and the Dongxian Temple is very popular, with a group of devout men and women who are willing to give money to the temple. Even if the local government doesn't give the Dong family face, they won't arrest people in front of those believers.

Someone must have put pressure on us.

Zhao Xingzhou?
Zhao Shiqing suddenly cried out in pain, clutching her stomach. Lingbo immediately asked anxiously, "Second Miss, what's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts, let's go home, let's go home!" Zhao Shiqing said.

Lingbo grew up with her. She knew what to do with just a glance from her second daughter. The second daughter had a stomachache but didn't go to the toilet, didn't see a doctor, and didn't even drink hot water. Instead, she was in a hurry to go home. She was definitely faking it!
Lingbo breathed a sigh of relief; she had put on a good act.

"Come on, let's go back quickly. Aunt Wan, Mudfish, Wangxing, the Second Miss isn't feeling well, let's go home!"

Before Zhao Xingzhou could react, he saw the four children, one big and one small, run away in a flash. Wan Ruyi was slower and was dragged along by Lingbo.

When Zhao Xingzhou came to his senses, the waiter was already standing in front of him: "Sir, are you settling the bill? Thank you for the tael."

This meal cost a lot. Not only was there tea, but also four kinds of dried goods, four kinds of fresh goods, and four kinds of snacks. Most importantly, the tea was this year's new tea, which was expensive!

Back then, a tael of silver was nothing to Zhao Xingzhou, but he was penniless and couldn't afford even half a tael, let alone a tael.

"I didn't bring any money with me today, please write it down and I'll pay you next time."

Zhao Xingzhou waved his sleeve and prepared to leave.

The waiter got impatient and blocked his way: "How can you be like this? Are you trying to freeload?"

Zhao Xingzhou: "Why didn't you stop those people when they left?"

Waiter: "You're so old, who else should we stop if not you?"

After some discussion, Zhao Xingzhou was left in the teahouse. Unless someone paid back the tael of silver for him, he would have to stay and work to repay the debt.

The shopkeeper, seeing that he didn't look wealthy and worried that his unlucky appearance would scare away customers, sent him to the back to wash dishes.

There is no frying or stir-frying in the teahouse, and the cups, plates and bowls are not greasy. They can be rinsed with water, which saves time and effort.

In the shopkeeper's opinion, this was a job that even a fool could do.

However, the shopkeeper clearly underestimated the fool and overestimated Zhao Xingzhou.

Within half an hour, Zhao Xingzhou had broken five teacups and eight plates, and was eventually sent to clean the latrines.

The outhouse in the teahouse is for the guests. It is not only cleaned very well, but also incense and fresh flowers are placed in it.

Having Zhao Xingzhou clean up was just a matter of doing some basic tidying.

But a moment later, a guest who had just entered was driven out by the stench.

Zhao Xingzhou vomited inside, making a mess of the clean outhouse and turning it into a stinking mess.

In the end, Zhao Xingzhou was asked to leave the teahouse.

The shopkeeper said, "Consider it our bad luck. You don't need to pay back that tael of silver. Please, just leave quickly."

Zhao Xingzhou walked out of the teahouse. Night had fallen, and it was already time to light the lamps.

At that moment, two figures emerged from the darkness and stood silently behind him.

Zhao Xingzhou said irritably, "Do you have any silver on you? Take one tael, no, ten taels, and send it to that teahouse."

One tael is for the tea, and the other nine taels are to compensate the teahouse for its losses. After all, they broke the cups and saucers and scared away the customers.

Zhao Xingzhou did not leave immediately. In the past year or two, his memory had become increasingly poor, but he would often recall things from his childhood.

A woman's face appeared in his mind, and then the face changed, becoming more dignified and majestic, while her innocent, childlike eyes gained a touch of vicissitude and sharpness.

A breeze blew by, and Zhao Xingzhou suddenly shivered. It was so similar, so incredibly similar!
"Someone, go and find out where those young men who were with me today live."

When Zhao Shiqing returned home, she couldn't wait to tell Zhen Wuduo about Zhao Xingzhou.

Zhen Wuduo had also met Zhao Xingzhou, but at that time he did not know Zhao Shiqing, and did not pay attention to the old man next to Zhao Shiqing.

“My dear granddaughter, what are you doubting?” Zhen Wuduo asked.

Zhao Shiqing looked around seriously, then opened the window and said to Xiao Guai, who was preening her feathers under the eaves, "You keep watch here and don't let anyone get close."

To ensure that no one could hear what was happening inside, Zhao Shiqing closed the window and said to Zhen Wuduo, "I suspect that Zhao Xingzhou is a member of the royal family."

She lowered her voice again: "I even suspect he is the retired emperor."

Zhen Wuduo was taken aback. He seemed to be thinking, "The Emperor Emeritus is Xiao Zhen's maternal grandfather, his own flesh and blood. Xiao Zhen doesn't seem like a fool. He wouldn't not even recognize his own maternal grandfather, would he?"

Zhao Shiqing twitched her lips: "Not all grandfathers are the same. There is no kinship in the royal family. Xiao Zhen is eighteen years old and probably has not seen his grandfather more than a few times. Moreover, the Emperor Emeritus went to the Longevity Palace ten years ago. At that time, Xiao Zhen was only eight years old. After so many years, isn't it normal that he doesn't recognize him? Besides, what normal person would associate a dirty old madman with the Emperor Emeritus?"

When Zhen Wuduo heard the phrase "not all grandfathers are the same," he felt a surge of pride. As a grandfather, he was far superior to Xiao Zhen's grandfather.

But is Zhao Xingzhou really the retired emperor?

Zhen Wu was a man of great experience and knowledge, but even he was lost in thought at this moment.

Zhao Shiqing continued, "Grandpa, you weren't here today, so you wouldn't believe it. Zhao Xingzhou was staring at Aunt Wan the whole time. It was terrifying! If we hadn't run fast, he might have already gotten information out of her. Why hasn't the travel permit for Liang arrived yet?"

(End of this chapter)