Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 677: Heaven Shock
Song, the head of the Guangdong Guild, who had once arrested Mr. Song and brought him back to the guild hall to beat him up because he was not doing his job, went to Tianjin when Mr. Song went to the Jiangdu Palace to discuss marriage and never came back. Mr. Song was desperate and tried all kinds of methods. First, he asked Zhang Shou to propose marriage, and then he pestered Mr. Song, the magistrate, and almost scared him away.
After Zhang Shou recommended Weinan Earl Zhang Kang, Song Juren still felt that it was not enough and even planned to invite Zhang Shou's future father-in-law, Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing, to go together. In the end, he was frightened by Zhang Shou's words. As a result, the marriage proposal was completed, but Song Huishou still did not come back, so Song Juren said that it was fortunate that he acted quickly, otherwise when this uncle came back, the opportunity would be cold!
The Madam and Jiu Niang had heard Zhu Ying mention this as a joke, but now Song Hui Shou, who was said to have rushed to Tianjin for something, actually came back and ran directly to them to ask for an audience. This was unbelievable. Moreover, Song Hui Shou obviously took into account the difference between men and women and said that if he didn't see them, he would ask them to read the letter first, which was obviously not a trivial matter.
Although she didn't like to meddle in other people's business, Mr. Song was still living in the home of his future grandson-in-law Zhang Shou. It could be said that the marriage was made because of Zhang Shou. Therefore, the lady pondered for a moment and finally said, "Although there are differences between men and women, since he said it was urgent, please come in. There is no need to bother with a letter."
Since the Madam was willing to take the time to meet him without fear of suspicion, Mother Li naturally went out to give instructions immediately, and then personally welcomed Song Huishou, who was sweating profusely in the cold weather, in at the second gate. Seeing him like this, she was sure that he was very anxious, but she did not dare to ask more questions. After sending him into Qing'an Hall, she saw that the Madam did not ask outsiders to enter, so she continued to guard the door.
As for whether it would cause gossip if there were only two women in the room, the Madam and the Madam, but they were meeting an outsider, she didn't even think about it. Even if Song Hui Shou did something wrong, the Madam could probably knock him down by herself.
Not to mention, the lady is still as good as ever!
The Madam, Jiu Niang, and Madam Li were just like each other. When they saw that Song Huishou was wiping his sweat without bothering to greet him, they knew that the matter was probably very serious. Therefore, the Madam did not wait for others to exchange pleasantries and asked directly, "Song Huishou said it was extremely urgent. What exactly is it? Your nephew is familiar with my future grandson-in-law. Wouldn't it be better to go directly to him?"
"It's not that I haven't thought about going to Zhang Xueshi, but this matter is serious. I think it's safer to go to the royal family like Zhu's." Song Huishou squeezed out an expression that was uglier than crying, but he looked around and finally took two steps forward without regard for etiquette. Seeing that the lady of Zhao had shown an extremely vigilant expression, he quickly stopped.
"Please forgive me for being so bold, but I am really frightened. When I think of this news now, my legs tremble..."
Even though he knew he shouldn't keep the secret, Song Hui Shou still trembled. After swallowing hard, he stammered, "Didn't the emperor send the second prince to Qiongzhou Prefecture to plant trees? A ship of our Song family was originally planning to set off from Tianjin to return to Guangzhou, but a few days after leaving, we rescued a man in the sea. He said he was a surviving boatman on the ship, and he also said... and also said..."
When they heard the words "surviving boatmen", the lady's face turned pale, and Jiu Niang was also shocked and angry. But at this time, Song Hui Shou was still hesitating. They were all hot-tempered and impatient, and they suddenly became anxious and shouted in unison: "Hurry up and tell me!"
Song Hui Shou was so frightened that his feet trembled and he collapsed to the ground, his teeth even chattering: "The boatman said that the boat... the boat was on fire and taking on water halfway, and it has already sunk!"
boom--
Even though the Madam had experienced ups and downs for half her life, she couldn't help but feel like she was struck by lightning, and she couldn't sit still for a moment. Jiu Niang, who was standing by, suspected that there was something wrong with her ears, and she was a moment late to notice the Madam's abnormality. She quickly stood up and half-knelt in front of her mother-in-law, and asked hurriedly, "Mother, do you want me to ask Madam Li to come in?"
"No, no!" The lady shook her hand, took a breath, and came to her senses. Then she gently held her daughter-in-law's hand, and looked down at Song Huishou who was still on the ground and unable to get up.
"Let me ask you again, are you serious about what you just said?"
Song Huishou's legs and teeth were just trembling, but now his whole body was shaking, and his voice even sounded a bit like tears: "I also hope that he is talking nonsense, but the people on the ship said that after receiving the news, they were terrified and immediately searched everywhere around, but they couldn't save anyone. In a hurry, they used a net and salvaged some debris."
"What junk?" The lady didn't realize that her voice had become very sharp. She stared at Song Huishou, and couldn't help but feel very impatient when she saw him trembling as he took something out of his arms. Jiu Niang beside her didn't care as much as she did about the political significance of the second prince's death. She narrowed her eyes slightly and also focused all her attention on Song Huishou.
She was not afraid of anything else, but she was afraid that this person would throw out a shocking piece of news as bait, but actually take advantage of the opportunity to take out something to do something bad. Throughout history, there are examples of this! Isn't it the case that Zhuan Zhu assassinated King Liao and Jing Ke assassinated the King of Qin?
However, under her extremely vigilant gaze, Song Huishou fumbled out a small cloth bag from his arms. When he carefully opened it layer by layer, Jiu Niang saw that there was an ebony tablet in it. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly rushed forward to take it, and then solemnly handed it directly to the lady.
The lady looked at the ebony plate carefully, and saw only three tiny characters engraved on it - Shen 12. When she turned it over, she saw that it was a claw of an unknown animal, with only a few strokes, but it was quite murderous. Just looking at this thing, her initial little bit of luck was completely gone. This is the waist plate of the emperor's attendant!
As for the embroidered ribbon, tassels, and other miscellaneous mourning items in the cloth bag, she no longer had the heart to look at them. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Where is the boatman who was rescued?"
"Reporting to Madam, I brought the people to Beijing urgently." Seeing Madam's stern expression, Song Huishou quickly cheered up and replied, "Originally, we wanted to sail back to Tianjin, but it was difficult to sail against the wind, so the captain found a place to stop the boat, asked a safe man to watch over it, and took the rescued people and two safe boatmen to ask for help from Song's Trading Company and other merchants along the way, and changed horses to go to Beijing, and happened to meet me in Tianjin."
Hearing that the person was in the Guangdong Guild Hall, knowing that the journey was safe, the lady's face was relieved a little, but when she thought of the huge reaction and consequences that this matter might cause, she was still worried. Therefore, after standing up with the help of the handrail, she said in a deep voice: "Nine Lady, I will leave Song Hui Shou to you first. I will go to the palace to see the emperor now. When I get back from the palace to pass on the message, you can take him directly to the palace."
Jiu Niang agreed immediately, but she went out in person, firstly to call Mother Li in, and secondly to order the preparation of the sedan chair.
When Song Huishou saw that the Madam had taken Madam Li to the east room to change clothes, he hurriedly tried to stand up, but his legs were still too soft to move. The next moment, he heard a thump, and when he looked up, he saw that Jiu Niang had returned and moved a chair in front of him.
After a moment of daze, he suddenly woke up as if from a dream, and quickly supported himself on the rosewood chair. He finally got up, and then he bowed hard to the other party and said, "Thank you, ma'am, thank you, ma'am!"
Jiu Niang couldn't stand watching the man lying on the ground, but she couldn't help him. She was too lazy to ask the maid to come in and help this old man who looked very old even though he was not old. So she had an idea and simply moved a chair for someone to help him. Seeing Song Huishou thanking her again and again, she interrupted him nonchalantly and motioned for Song Huishou to go out with her.
When she stood under the eaves, she gestured to the servants nearby to move further away, then raised her head to look at the eaves and the east and west walls, and made sure that no one was spying, then she lowered her voice to ask for some details. As soon as she asked, she found that Song Huishou had just rushed over because of something at the Tianjin dock, and happened to meet the captain and his entourage returning to Beijing, so many details were not clear. Of course, it could also be that people knew but did not dare to say too much, or found that the matter was unusual and did not dare to ask more.
Jiu Niang pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "After the people on the Song family's ship discovered that something was wrong with the Second Prince's ship, did they not think of silencing the person they rescued and completely disassociating themselves from the matter, as if nothing had happened?"
Song Huishou never thought that Jiu Niang would ask such a sharp and explicit question, and sweat broke out on his forehead again. After hesitating for a long time, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead and whispered, "Madam, please understand. The Song family is a big family. Although we know that the emperor may be furious and take his anger out on us, we are trying to hide it in order not to implicate ourselves. The truth cannot be hidden. If the news leaks out, it will be a disaster for the whole family!"
The captain was his cousin, who said he didn't think too much when he rescued people, and no one on the boat avoided him, so they all heard people shouting the three words "Second Prince". Even if he killed everyone else and sank the boat, he wouldn't be able to escape this, because if the court investigated, anyone who had sailed in Tianjin and nearby waters during this period would be implicated!
When Jiu Niang heard Song Hui Shou speak so frankly, she sighed and said, "I understand. You wait here."
Seeing that the Lady Zhao had turned around and gone back into the house again, he didn't know whether she was telling the Lady Tai what he had just said. Song Huishou once again raised his sleeves to wipe his sweat, but he just felt that he, who was about to drown, had finally grabbed a life-saving straw. And he had never felt that his nephew, Mr. Song, was so cute.
It is conceivable that if he did not have this relationship with Mr. Song, even if he, as the head of the Guangdong Guild Hall, was barely a top figure in the circle of Beijing merchants, he would still not be able to enter and leave the Duke of Zhao's mansion so easily, and he would have to trouble the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager's own sister, to go to the palace in person to report!
When the lady came out again with Li Mama and Jiu Niang, they had changed their casual clothes into the formal attire of a lady of high rank. She had just heard from her daughter-in-law what she had asked Song Hui Shou, and she couldn't help but look at Song Hui Shou, who was sweating profusely, a few more times, and warned him, "Come on, be strong, and don't lose your composure like you did just now if you enter the palace later."
"You know, your nephew's marriage is set, and he is also the emperor's nephew-in-law. As long as you, the Song family, are honest and have a clear conscience, then what is there to be afraid of?"
Song Huishou traveled back and forth between the two places. After returning to Beijing, he dropped people off at the Guangdong Guild Hall and went straight to the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. He didn't even have time to talk to anyone. When he heard the news that his nephew's marriage was settled, he felt like he was in a dream. He didn't even know when the lady had passed away.
He was awakened by a cough. Seeing Jiu Niang looking at him indifferently, he coughed twice awkwardly, and then asked cautiously: "Excuse me, Madam, what the lady just said about my nephew's marriage..." What the hell is that?
Jiu Niang would not mention the case of the conflict between Princess Yongping and Zhu Ying. She said lightly, "Oh, it's very simple. The daughter of King Jiangdu, Princess Hailing, fell in love with your nephew at first sight. So after your nephew met King Jiangdu, he wanted to ask you for marriage. As you were not there, he could only turn to my future son-in-law for help, so he persuaded the Earl of Weinan to come and ask for marriage."
What the hell is this! If you can propose marriage just by falling in love at first sight, why do you need parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words?
Song Huishou almost popped his eyes out. Just someone's lazy personality, bizarre hobbies, and the strange personality of a good candidate who didn't think about taking the imperial examination but actually participated in the imperial chef selection competition, could actually impress a county lady? Are you kidding? This kind of thing that only happens in dramas, could it happen in real life?
But Jiu Niang's next words immediately woke him up completely: "Why, do you find it incredible? Fate is always wonderful. Your nephew may be bad in many ways in your opinion, but in the eyes of those who are interested, they just think that he does not seek wealth and has a pure mind. In addition, he has the title of a juren and is from the Song family of Guangdong, so he is worthy of a county lady."
Song Huishou could only smile bitterly, but this time he really felt a little regretful: "Even if it is true, I don't know if this sudden incident will ruin this marriage... Alas, there are unpredictable events in the world, and people are subject to misfortunes at any time."
The lady was also muttering these words to herself on the sedan chair leading to the palace. She was most thankful that the crown prince had been appointed. Even if the second prince really died, it would not shake the crown prince who was already in the East Palace. However, as the emperor's aunt, she had no way of predicting the emperor's possible reaction. Just like she had not expected that the queen would be deposed and her son expelled so quickly!
As a lady of the imperial family, even though it was not the right time for her to enter the palace, her entry was still smooth. The sedan chair even went straight in from Bei'an Gate and stopped at Xuanwu Gate.
Fortunately, someone rushed over to report the news, and a sedan chair was already waiting here. So, the lady got off the sedan chair and immediately got on the sedan chair. When the sedan chair stopped in front of the Qianqing Palace, the lady heard a polite voice coming from outside the sedan chair curtain.
"Madam, are you in the palace so late? Is there something urgent? The Emperor was planning to serve dinner, but has ordered it to be put on hold."
Hearing that the emperor had postponed his dinner, the lady could not help but shake her head and sighed: "To be honest, I really hope that the emperor has already had his dinner by now." After hearing the news, it would be strange if the supreme ruler was still in the mood to eat!
