Zhou Mao was shocked at the beginning at how clear he was about what he had done, but later he felt that Wei Junhang's words were like a sharp knife stabbing straight into his heart.

He wanted to say something to justify himself, but found that at this moment, no amount of excuses seemed so pale.

Yes, he didn't dare, he didn't even have the courage to admit to Zhenbei Houfu that Murong Tao's leg was destroyed by himself.

Wei Junhang's face was gloomy, and he looked at him with undisguised anger.

He and Zhou Mao were also among the first batch of ministers to follow Emperor Yuanyou. Although they did not have much personal friendships, they had cooperated a lot in official affairs. He once admired each other's talents and people, but now... …

"You even dared to use the child in the princess' belly as bait for your own selfishness, so bold and reckless, are you too confident in your own abilities, or I, Wei Junhang, in your eyes are just a scumbag, let you play with applause above!"

Seeing that he even found out about the secret recipe for having a child, Zhou Mao had no desire to defend himself. It was only now that he finally realized that the strategy he thought would be foolproof had already been seen through.

"Since the grandfather knows everything, why don't you go to His Majesty and report me directly? Wouldn't it be more able to express the evil in your heart?" He murmured for a long time.

Wei Junhang calmed down his anger, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it all.

"Report you?" He half-smiled.

"After reporting you, let His Majesty deal with your family seriously, and then let the dog never forget you all his life?"

The eldest son was already apologetic to Princess Naping. If he learned that Zhou Mansion had been dealt with because of him, I was afraid that his guilt would be deeper, and it would be even more difficult to get out of those past entanglements in this life.

Zhou Mao was stunned, and then listened to the other party slowly saying: "I won't tell you, you can believe that if I have the heart to deal with you now, you have no power to fight back. Even, I only need to lose the legs of General Murong. Tell Zhenbei Hou of the truth, and the Hou Mansion will naturally take action."

"Do you think that you alone can handle the revenge of the Marquis of Zhenbei?"

Zhou Mao's face turned even paler, and there was vigilance in his eyes.

"What do you want?" Zhou Mao asked in a hoarse voice.

"What do I think? Master Zhou, I should ask this question, what do you think? Is it possible that until now, you still think that nothing happened, and you are still safe and sound as yours? Is it the Minister of Honglu Temple?"

"Or, do you think that everything you do is really unknowing? Or in your eyes, the Zhenbei Houfu is a bunch of reckless men who only know how to fight and kill, without the slightest thought and negotiation. The power of judgment?"

Zhou Mao twitched the corner of his mouth bitterly.

If it was before today, he might have been quite confident in his plans, but now, all his self-confidence has been shattered by him, how can he dare to think that the things he has arranged are seamless.

"I understand, I will meet with Your Majesty tomorrow." He choked his throat and said in a low voice, and then he passed the wine on the table and drank it.

As for the purpose of the audience with His Majesty, he did not say, and Wei Junhang did not ask any further questions.

After drinking several glasses of wine in a row, Zhou Mao's face showed a bit of drunkenness, and he seemed to laugh and cry: "Master Guo, I'm not as good as you..."

Wei Junhang looked at him silently, and said nothing.

Zhou Mao didn't care, he just took the wine bottle and poured himself a drink, but he said a lot of words in his mouth, those words that had been kept in his heart, even his closest wife had never said.

Wei Junhang didn't interrupt him, and only listened to him talking about how hard it was to live in the mansion as a child, and then he was suppressed by his first-born mother when he became apparent, and even his biological father turned a blind eye to him.

Xu Shi was feeling drunk, and he just said things like this, incoherently, as if the unwillingness that had accumulated for many years finally got a place to vent.

"...When Ah Wan was born, I finally straightened my back completely and proudly. No one, no matter the first assistant or the queen, can point fingers at me at will. I swear that I will spoil her like a treasure in my life, and I will be the best. give her everything."

"I know she likes your son, and your son is indeed a promising one..." Speaking of this, his face became a little more sad, and he casually wiped the drink on the corner of his mouth, earnestly Looking at Wei Junhang, he asked word by word, "Grandpa, I just want to know, why don't you agree? My A Wan is pure and gentle, and is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, why don't you allow it?"

Finally, he asked the words that had been buried in his heart for many years.

He didn't understand that his daughter, who was beautiful and demure, gentle and kind, filial to her parents, and friendly to her elder brother, was also sympathetic to the servants in the house, why she couldn't get into the eyes of his British father! Why should people be so despised!

Wei Junhang didn't expect that he would ask such a question, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.

However, when he looked at Zhou Mao's persistent eyes, he finally replied: "Ling Qianjin is indeed a good girl, but, marriage has always been a good relationship between two surnames, and it is related to the two clans. Chenglin is the government of our country. The eldest son, carrying the hope of his late father's life, his wife will be the clan wife of our Wei clan, and the responsibility on his shoulders will never be lighter than him."

"Lord Zhou, honestly, do you think Ling Qianjin can bear the responsibility of a clan's wife?"

Zhou Mao looked at him for a long time and was speechless.

don't know how long it took before he lowered his head, and after a while, he laughed lowly.

"It turns out that it's not bad, but it's not suitable..."

He closed his eyes bitterly, and he didn't know how long it took to say: "I will leave the capital, and I will never come back in this life, little girl... Even if the little girl is wrong, please ask the prince of the country to look at the sake of His Royal Highness Prince Ping, Mo want……"

Wei Junhang shook his head and interrupted him: "Master Zhou, you are overthinking, Ling Qianjin already has the best amulet in the world, as long as she doesn't seek her own death, no one dares to touch her, what else do you have to worry about? ?"

Zhou Mao took a breath and said, like a sigh, "Yeah, the best amulet in the world...I can't rest assured!"

He laughed for a while, then drank the wine in the glass again, and then gave Wei Junhang a deep look, said nothing, got up and pushed the door away.

When he walked to the street, a cool breeze blew on his face, which blew away the alcohol smell on his body, and also made him sober up, who was a little confused.

He stared blankly at the pedestrians on the street who were hurrying and rushing home. Not far away, he saw a rough clothed man holding a four or five-year-old girl with a double bun. , was talking to him affectionately, and the man's face was full of loving smiles.

He just stared at the big and small figures walking past him, and then went further and further, and finally disappeared completely in front of his eyes.

"Sir, it's time to go home!" Seeing that he was standing still, the attendant couldn't help but stepped forward and reminded worriedly.

He lowered his eyes, for a moment, and whispered: "Go back!"

Wei Junhang stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, watching Zhou Mao get into the sedan chair downstairs, his eyes were full of complicated meanings.

"Father..." Suddenly, the voice of the eldest son Wei Chenglin came from behind him. He didn't look back, but asked lightly, "Have you heard everything?"

"I heard." Wei Chenglin couldn't tell what he felt, a little dazed, a little disappointed, and a little sad that he couldn't explain clearly.

"My child is not filial, and my father is worried!" He didn't know what to say, and lowered his eyes and said in a low voice.

Wei Junhang finally turned around and looked at the face in front of him that looked more and more like his deceased father. After a while, he patted his shoulder, and then sighed: "If you don't teach, the faults of your father have been various. It's also the reason why father has neglected you all these years, how could it be all your fault!"

Hearing what he said, Wei Chenglin felt even more uncomfortable.

"Father, I'm sorry, the child was self-willed back then. The child was ashamed of his grandfather's years of teaching, ashamed of his parents, ashamed of his grandmother, and even more ashamed of Jin Ling's guard who died innocently because of his own selfishness..." He never again Unable to speak, tears welled up in his eyes.

Wei Junhang was a little surprised. This was the first time in so many years that the eldest son took the initiative to admit that he was ashamed of the four guards. Maybe he has long recognized his mistake, but he has never been able to face it calmly.

Now that he said it like this, it means that he has to face his past again from now on.

Wei Chenglin knelt down suddenly, and ignoring his stop, he directly kowtowed to him a few times, wiped tears from his eyes, looked into his eyes and said seriously: "Anyway, the boy was untrustworthy in the past, it is true Because of Awan, Lord Zhou holds a grudge against me for this, and I can't be considered innocent."

"The child has already passed the age of weakness and is the heir of a family. In theory, the responsibility of inheriting the family should be provoked early. The child also knows that the grandmother and mother remember the child's marriage day and night. However, the child is now full of guilt for Princess Ping, It would be unfair to her to marry another woman like this. Therefore, the child dared to ask the father to give the child another three years, and only after the child has completely forgotten the past, the marriage can be carried out. "

Wei Junhang looked at him deeply, but he didn't respond for a long time. Wei Chenglin couldn't guess what he was thinking, and he was worried. He was afraid that he would misunderstand that he was still giving up on Princess Ping. He got down and helped him up himself.

"Father promises you!"

The five concise and concise words also made his heart settle down, his throat choked, and his eyes turned red again.

"Okay, I'm taller than my father, why is it like when I was a child, crying every now and then?" Wei Junhang patted his shoulder with a pretense of ease.

Wei Chenglin turned his face away, rubbed his eyes, and said in a loud voice, "I never cried when I was young, and my grandmother said that I seldom cry when I urinate."

"Back then, before you got to your grandfather's side, you were more clinging to your mother than Brother Xiang today. If you didn't see your mother for a while, you would cry. No one could coax him." Wei Junhang said with a smile.

Is it? Wei Chenglin's eyes were full of doubts, but he was half-trusted as he could see that he was serious.

Wei Junhang smiled lowly, and walked out the door with his hands behind his back, ready to go home.

Wei Chenglin quickly followed, and when he was going down the stairs, he subconsciously reached out to support him.

Wei Junhang only glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

The next day, Emperor Yuanyou suddenly issued a decree and demoted Zhou Mao, the minister of Honglu Temple, to be the magistrate of Kengshan County, Xiyancheng, the eighth grade, and left Beijing to take office on the next day.

He was demoted from the fourth rank of the imperial court to the magistrate of the eighth rank, and he was demoted by several ranks, which was the first person since the founding of the country.

When the decree came out, the courtiers were all shocked, and they talked privately about this person who has always been aware of the current affairs and can escape even a major crime like conspiracy. He kicked him out of the capital, and kicked him to Kengshan County, where even the new scholars who were waiting for a post were reluctant to go.

Although the bandit chaos in Xiyan was swept away under the efforts of the former garrison Wei Chenglin in Xiyan, the place has suffered from bandit chaos for many years, and it has long been in a state of dilapidation.

And that Kengshan County was the most serious place in the entire Xiyan, and it is now the most impoverished place. To be a magistrate there, it is almost the same as a bare commander.

Today, it has already become a place of "ghost to see sorrow" in the eyes of officials.

At this time, Zhou Mao respectfully bowed to the ground to give the order, his voice hoarse: "My minister, give thanks for the order!"

After saying the last word, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

From the beginning of the eighth rank, to the end of the eighth rank, it turns around for half a life, and finally returns to the starting point.

Resent it? hate it? But who can he hate whom?

When the news reached Prince Ping's mansion, Zhou Wanning's face turned pale with a 'swish', and he said with a trembling voice, "Why?

King Ping was also puzzled. His father-in-law had always won the trust of his father. Even when the Zhou family was involved in a rebellion that day, his father never suspected him. Why is he now treating him...

Seeing Zhou Wanning's worried appearance of Zhong Zhong, he could only temporarily put aside his suspicions and persuade softly, "Don't worry, my father-in-law has always been a very thoughtful person. I think there must be some reason for this time."

Zhou Wanning wiped away her tears, but her heart was very bitter.

What she was most afraid of was her father's great ideas, especially when he said something like 'good for yourself' that day, every time she thought about it, she felt like a knife twisted in her heart.

Now that she has been demoted and transferred, she is afraid that it is not His Majesty's intention, but her father's initiative!

Seeing her weeping, King Ping felt distressed for a while, and was about to console her when a maid came in and reported, "Master Zhou is here and wants to see His Highness."

Ping Wang was relieved: "My father-in-law came at the right time, just in time to ask him."

Zhou Wanning's heart clenched tightly, he subconsciously pulled the veil, his face turned pale, and he hesitated to speak.

She really wanted to follow King Ping to see her father, but she couldn't move her legs.

She was afraid to see that kind of sadness and disappointment on her father's face again, and she was even more afraid to hear such heartless words from him again.

"Won't the princess accompany me to see the father-in-law?" Seeing her sitting motionless, Prince Ping, who had walked a few steps, stopped again, and asked back in confusion.

"No, I, I'm not going, you, you go, don't make daddy wait for a long time." Zhou Wanning forced a smile and stammered.

King Ping didn't understand her reaction, but it was inconvenient to ask in detail, he just said "I'll go and go back" and left.

When I got to the main hall, I saw Zhou Mao sitting on the chair with a calm expression, as if he didn't care about his being demoted.

He paused for a moment, then quickly walked up to him: "Father-in-law!"

"Your Highness!" Zhou Mao stood up.

Weng and his son-in-law sat down with each other. King Ping wanted to ask him about his appointment as the magistrate of Kengshan, but when they met his deep and complicated eyes, those words could not be asked for some reason.

Zhou Mao looked at him fixedly, for a long time, his heart was bitter.

In the final analysis, of everything, only this son-in-law is the most innocent, and the daughter is responsible for him after all.

He got up abruptly and gave a deep bow to King Ping, so scared that King Ping jumped up from his chair and hurriedly avoided.

"Father-in-law, what are you doing?! Please get up quickly! My son-in-law can't afford it!" He hurriedly tried to help him, but Zhou Mao insisted on giving him a big gift.

"The minister is here, and there is no return date. The little girl will ask His Highness. If she makes any mistakes in the future, please look at the minister's thin face, don't completely dislike her, or give her a place to live."

"The minister must make a straw and hold a ring in order to repay His Highness's great kindness!"

After speaking, he respectfully bowed to King Ping again, and King Ping hurriedly tried to help him. He never thought that the other party was insisting on doing it. He couldn't help him. .

"Father-in-law, what you said is really serious. Guan Ning is my wife and the concubine of this king. It's not enough for me to respect her and love her, so how can I hate her?" King Ping sighed, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

What is 'there is no return period'? Could it be that this trip is dangerous, and there will even be fear of life?

In fact, he also asked this question.

Zhou Mao took a breath, and then calmly said: "Kengshan County has a hundred wastes waiting to be rebuilt, how can it be seen in a short period of time, I am afraid it will take ten or eight years, the minister is no longer confused, birth, old age, illness and death are human nature, and the future will matter. How can you be sure?"

After listening to his explanation, King Ping finally understood, and then said with a smile: "My father-in-law is in his prime years, and he is more likely to live a long life. It is indeed too early to worry about this."

Zhou Mao smiled and did not explain any further.

"I still have something to deal with, so I won't disturb Your Highness."

Seeing that he was leaving, King Ping hurriedly kept him: "Don't your father-in-law go to see Wanning? She just learned that you are leaving the capital, but she is very worried."

Zhou Mao lowered his eyes, and after a while, slowly said, "I'm gone..."

After speaking, he turned around and walked away.

King Ping frowned, staring blankly at the back of his departure.

Father-in-law, what happened? What the hell is going on?

He is not a fool, and he won't feel the strangeness of Zhou Mao. How can someone who loves his daughter so much know that his daughter is worried about his own affairs, but he doesn't go to see her!

Zhou Wanning, who had been fidgeting in the room waiting for him to see him back, looked behind him and saw no figure of Zhou Mao, his eyes darkened.

Is Daddy still mad at her? When he arrived at the palace, he didn't even want to see her.

"Father-in-law... he still has some urgent matters, so he can't stay for a long time. But before he left, he asked me to take care of you." King Ping scratched his ears and tried to explain.

Zhou Wanning looked desolate and sat back slowly, bowing his head without saying a word.

No matter how anxious he is, he won't even have time to meet him, Daddy must still be annoyed at himself.

There was a daze in her heart, her father refused to see her, and her mother? What about the two brothers? Are you also annoying yourself?

Is she really wrong?

"Princess..." King Ping hesitated for a long time, but finally summoned up the courage to sit beside her and wanted to hold her hand to comfort her, but he was afraid of making her unhappy. After several hesitations, he still sat honestly.

Zhou Wanning turned his head and looked at him blankly.

The person in front of her is her husband. She doesn't like it much, but she doesn't hate it either. After all, no one can really hate someone who is really good to them.

Unfortunately, he appeared too late.

Seeing that she was just looking at him quietly, and her expression was not as indifferent as before, King Ping was overjoyed, and couldn't help but secretly sat closer to her.

"Actually, you don't have to worry. My father-in-law must have already made up his mind. The royal father has praised his talents many times, and it must be the same, so he will let him go to Xiyan." He cleared his throat and persuaded more and more gently.

"Why did you marry me back then? Could it be because you saved me once?" Zhou Wanning asked suddenly.

King Ping was stunned, as if she didn't expect that she would ask such a question, but she was a little excited. This was the first time she asked about the relationship between the two.

He scratched his ears again, and after a while, he whispered: "No, it's not because of that. If I don't like it, how could I marry him back because I saved him."

Seeing that she didn't believe it, he quickly continued: "Actually, in fact, before that time, I, I have already met you."

Jun's face was slightly red, but he still mustered up his courage and said: "That year, the Queen Mother Qianqiu, not the current Queen, but the previous Queen Zhou. You, you entered the palace to congratulate, I, I was in Fengkun Palace Zeng Yuan I have seen you from a distance."

His voice was getting lower and lower, and in the end it was like a whisper, but Zhou Wanning could still hear it clearly.

She was stunned and entered the palace to congratulate aunt Qianqiu? That must have been years ago, how old was she then?

Looking at his slightly red ears, for some reason, her heart softened and she was about to say a few words when she heard Concubine Kong's words come in.

"His Royal Highness is here with my sister..."

Her face sank all of a sudden, and she stood up indifferently and entered the room.

King Ping had already felt her suddenly softened attitude. Seeing that the husband and wife could take this opportunity to mend their relationship, he never thought that it would come to an end but it would fall short.

Looking at Concubine Kong, who was stepping forward, dressed in radiant fashion, a trace of disgust flashed across her face quickly.

This woman is really abominable! In addition to using the mother and concubine to press him from time to time, what else?

Dignified and gentle? Generous and decent? What a joke!

However, it was said that the eldest princess was discussing with Shen Xinyan about the girl they liked, and planned to choose the best one to send someone to marry her as her grandson-in-law.

Just at this moment, Wei Junhang came in, and the two hurriedly recruited him again, intending to seek his opinion.

When Wei Junhang heard this, the smile on his face gradually faded. After a while, he sighed and said, "Chenglin's marriage should be delayed for a few more years!"