The dim back

Chapter 21 Giving up on oneself

Zhang Laojiu saw that he was at a disadvantage, covered his bleeding nose, and cursed loudly: "You shameless man, since you dare to attack me, even if you have the eldest princess as your backer, I will make you pay the price."

Hearing Zhang Laojiu say this, Liu Zhongqing began to ponder: "In the entire court, the only one who can compete with my mother is probably my third uncle?"

Zhang Laojiu said smugly, "Since you know this, it's good. You are just a marquis and have no real power at all. You'd better stay aside and be careful that the Third Prince will report you."

Seeing this chaotic scene, Zhang Yulu immediately stepped out to mediate: "Calm down, both of you. Why are you still fighting?"

Hearing Zhang Yulu say this, Zhang Laojiu narrowed his eyes and said, "Since you said so, I will give you face. I am already very tired today, so I won't bother with you."

Liu Zhongqing began to provoke Zhang Laojiu: "You are just a dog next to my Third Uncle. When I am happy, I will hurt a bone. When I am unhappy, I will hit you with a stick."

This seemed to really hit Zhang Laojiu's heart. Zhang Laojiu said angrily: "You don't need to care about my affairs at all. Don't treat me like this just because you are the emperor's nephew. I am the Third Prince's man."

Hearing Zhang Laojiu say this, Liu Zhongqing had a little guess in his mind: "I heard that you have a shop in South City. It seems that my third uncle gave it to you?"

Zhang Laojiu wiped his bleeding nose and became angry: "If you hadn't told me about this, I wouldn't be angry. I don't know which bastard closed my shop last week. I'm looking for him now."

While Zhang Laojiu was speaking, he kept staring at Liu Zhongqing in front of him: "Did you do this?"

Liu Zhongqing did not answer, but changed the question: "Who is the person you often meet with?"

Hearing Liu Zhongqing's question, Zhang Laojiu immediately looked forward and said, "If you like that shop, you can take it for free. I can't run it anyway."

Liu Zhongqing felt that things were not that simple. He followed Zhang Laojiu's gaze and looked back. Sure enough, at the entrance of the alley, there was a person who could easily see the scene here.

When Zhang Yulu ran over, the person at the entrance of the alley had disappeared without a trace. Zhang Yulu guessed, "It should be Zhang Laojiu's follower. It seems that he reported the problem to the Third Prince. I am afraid that I will take over this shop next."

As Zhang Yulu expected, Liu Zhongqing patted Zhang Yulu on the shoulder and said, "You can run the shop first. I will give it to you in the future. I will make this matter clear to His Majesty when I meet him tomorrow."

Zhang Yulu remembered something: "Tomorrow the emperor will talk to you about something new and strange. You must not touch it, otherwise you will be in big trouble."

Liu Zhongqing felt very strange: "Why do you have such an idea? Do you know something?"

Hearing Zhang Yulu say this, Liu Zhongqing smacked his lips in disapproval: "The emperor is very good to me and tells me everything."

There is a plot in Zhang Yulu's novel where Liu Zhongqing accidentally breaks the luminous cup of the emperor's beloved concubine. Because of this incident, he and the beloved concubine developed a grudge, and soon a crime was pinned on Liu Zhongqing's head.

But Zhang Yulu is not very sure now. After all, this is a parallel world. After he traveled here, some places are indeed different from what he wrote in his book. So Zhang Yulu dare not make any guesses, but just asked Liu Zhongqing to be careful.

Early the next morning, Liu Zhongqing went to meet the emperor.

The first thing they said when they met was angrily asked, "Zhongqing, you are already an adult. When will you be willing to return to Liuzhou? Don't investigate Qiufeng's affairs anymore. Your uncle has been troubled by this matter for three years. I don't want it to happen again."

Liu Zhongqing still wanted to argue: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I just want to investigate the matter thoroughly. Lord Qiu is indeed wronged."

The emperor didn't want to listen to Liu Zhongqing's words at all: "The evidence has already pointed out that when the granary caught fire, he was the grain storage officer. Today, he allowed the fire to spread, and then pushed the responsibility to the prince who assisted him. He did not play a leading role, and he was derelict in his duty."

The crime of dereliction of duty was indeed serious, which later resulted in the soldiers on the battlefield not having enough food and suffering heavy casualties.

When talking about that tragic incident, Liu Zhongqing also felt it was particularly cruel and inhumane.

At this time, the emperor accused himself of the luminous cup from last night and said, "My nephew, take a look at this luminous cup that the vassal gang presented as tribute. I heard that pouring wine into it can turn the color of the wine into red."

Liu Zhongqing certainly found it very strange: "Why is such a rare and interesting thing placed here?"

As long as the issue of government grain was not mentioned, the emperor was still very friendly: "What have you been busy with recently? My sister has sent me a letter from home."

Liu Zhongqing had never expected that even though he had already arrived in the capital, his mother, who was far away in Liuzhou, was still thinking about him and had even let the emperor know.

Liu Zhongqing began to talk about recent events: "I feel like the shabby Zhang Laojiu who has appeared in my spirit now seems to know something."

The emperor smiled and said, "The Third Prince has already told me about Zhang Laojiu. He is a little scoundrel. The shop in the south of the city is now yours. You can give it to anyone you want."

Liu Zhongqing cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Liu Zhongqing thought to himself: "Even if the emperor has not resolved Lord Qiu's matter because he has no evidence in his hands, it would be a good thing to take a shop and give it to Zhang Yulu."

The emperor looked at Liu Zhongqing in front of him and began to laugh at him: "What can I say about you? You have only just started to show your love for your wife who has just left the house. You seem to be just like your father."

When this matter was mentioned, Liu Zhongqing asked, "Your Majesty, why did the second daughter of the Duke's Mansion choose to marry my father? She knew that my mother was the eldest princess and had a domineering personality, but she still married him without hesitation?"

The emperor didn't want to answer this question, but seeing that Liu Zhongqing wanted to know, he raised his doubts: "You have lived with them for 18 years. How can I know something that you don't know?"

Seeing Liu Zhongqing so confused, the emperor told Liu Zhongqing one thing: "Do you know? Yan Si Niang is not a good person."

This made Liu Zhongqing feel incredible: "My aunt has always done things impeccably."

The emperor threw a memorial about his crime to Liu Zhongqing: "Take a look at the intelligence reported by the officials in Liuzhou. Yan Si Niang actually randomly enclosed land in the local area. Regardless of whether the people agreed or not, she gave them money and occupied their houses, saying that she wanted to use the land to raise her own chickens, ducks, geese and cows, and also to open fish ponds. This made the people's lives miserable."

Originally, Liu Zhongqing wanted to take all the power back into his own hands. Even though he was very busy, he would hand them over to Zhang Yulu, because Qiu Feng was not good at managing these things. The best way was for Zhang Yulu and Qiu Feng to join forces.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhongqing said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you can inform my mother about this matter. It just so happens that Zhang Yulu will come into the family soon, so everything will be handed over to Zhang Yulu."

The emperor felt that what Liu Zhongqing said made sense: "Now that we have finished talking about state affairs, can you tell me about family affairs?"

Hearing the emperor say this, Liu Zhongqing laughed: "Every day I am just planning our future together. Zhang Yulu has been busy recently, so we rarely meet."

The emperor persuaded: "Although we don't want to get married blindly, as a royal relative, Zhang Yulu still has that reputation. At least Yiren Villa is a very good name."

Liu Zhongqing thought of something this time: "Your Majesty, this Zhang Shaohua is indeed a little abnormal. He is competing with my father for the position of the imperial merchant. Why does he seem to like Zhang Yulu and I to be a couple in private?"

This is also what the emperor does not understand: "It seems that Zhang Shaohua must have some secrets. Remember what we said today. Don't speculate too much about other things. There will be results slowly."

While the two were talking, Concubine Xiao came in from outside the door.

Concubine Xiao was a cunning person. She was Zhang Laojiu's distant cousin. When Concubine Xiao saw Liu Zhongqing, she didn't even look at him. She started to act like a spoiled child to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I have been waiting for a long time. Where is the cup that Your Majesty said he would give me?"

The emperor pointed to his desk and said, "My beloved, this is the pair of luminous cups."

Just as Concubine Xiao was about to pick up the cup, she turned her eyes and said to Liu Zhongqing beside her: "May I trouble you, Lord? Pour me a pot of wine."

Liu Zhongqing nodded and said, "I will go there immediately."

As soon as Liu Zhongqing walked out of the door, Concubine Xiao began to slander him: "Your Majesty, it's not that I am rude, but the eldest princess has only one son, and you just let him come and go as he pleases? What if he has second thoughts?"

When the emperor heard Concubine Xiao say this, he immediately became a little angry: "Don't say that. When I first ascended the throne, my elder sister helped me a lot."

Seeing that the emperor was a little angry, Concubine Xiao immediately stopped talking, but she kept thinking in her heart: "I can't fail, I still have to avenge my cousin."

At this critical moment, Liu Zhongqing came in from outside with a wine jug: "Your Majesty, I have brought the wine."

Concubine Xiao blinked her eyes and said, "Can you trouble my Lord? Fill the glass for me."

It was hard to refuse such a kind offer, and Liu Zhongqing could not refuse Concubine Xiao casually for the sake of the emperor's face: "I obey your order."

When Liu Zhongqing was pouring the wine, he saw the color of the glass start to turn red. Liu Zhongqing also felt very strange: "This is so interesting. It really opened my eyes."