HCB Chapter 174 Extreme wisdom will inevitably hurt you
Chapter 174 Extreme wisdom will inevitably hurt you
The bright red veil is made of Xiangyun gauze, and you can vaguely see the people and things in front of you.
In the middle, a man and a woman are standing, one with his hands behind his back, the other supporting him at the side, with shadows of various jewellery on their heads.
The two of them sat in the center, with many people standing around them. Just as the lady had said, the situation in the prefect's household was complicated, with numerous connections and people.
But there is one thing that both he and his wife value, and that is one of today's protagonists, the eldest grandson of the Jiangnan prefect, the groom He Wentong.
In such a complex mansion, he had to advance and retreat with this person, but also strive to be independent and forge a new path. The biggest obstacle was probably his own identity.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ruzhuo hesitated slightly. Sensing the hesitation of the people around him, He Wentong smiled without changing his expression, his lips slightly parted, and a barely perceptible voice uttered from his throat: "Don't be afraid, they won't make things difficult for you."
Jiang Ruzhuo nodded slightly, and under the guidance of He Wentong, he stepped over the fire basin and bowed to heaven, earth and his parents.
A woman about the same height as Jiang Ruzhuo led her to the new house. She gently introduced the location and the people in the house to her, "...The master has eleven sons. Your father-in-law is the second, and He Wentong is his eldest son. Wentong has four younger sisters and two younger brothers. The third brother is the legitimate son, and the others are illegitimate... The one in front is Tongwen Courtyard, your future residence, and it will also be Wentong's new courtyard."
This is a two-story courtyard house with a vermilion gate wide open. On the screen wall in front, exquisite brick carvings show the pattern of "pine and crane longevity" with smooth lines and lifelike images.
The woman looked around the screen wall with complicated eyes, and then she saw the central courtyard of the quadrangle.
The courtyard floor is paved with blue-grey square bricks, the surface of which has a soft sheen. In the center of the courtyard stands a carved stone table, surrounded by several stone benches. Several small bonsai pots are placed around the stone, adding a touch of elegance.
Jiang Ruzhuo was led to the main room and was helped in by her personal maid. Just as the woman was about to leave, she heard Jiang Ruzhuo say softly:
"Thank you, mother-in-law."
At the same time, Jiang Ruyin was in a bad mood.
My mother and Jiang Ruzhuo were too bold to actually throw themselves into the political vortex!
The prefect of Jiangnan was nearly fifty years old and had tried every possible means to make any progress, so he simply set his sights on the emperor's son.
Jiang Ruzhuo also has an awkward status. If she marries someone of higher status, others will look down on her, but if she marries someone of lower status, she herself is unwilling to do so.
So the Jiangnan prefect came up with an idea and ordered his eldest grandson to marry Jiang Ruyin's sister:
The first theory is that although He Wentong and his father had no official title, they were his son and eldest grandson, which was enough to justify their titles.
The second theory is that the Sixth Prince's biological mother is a Han Chinese woman, and he has no relatives to help him. In the future, no matter whether the Sixth Prince becomes a Beizi, Beile, or a Junwang, he, a fourth-rank prefect, will be a natural ally. The Sixth Prince can only find ways to reuse and promote himself.
The third theory is that Jiang Ruzhuo's brother is the only heir of the Jiang family. If Concubine Fang is trying to get her mother's family into the government, then after Jiang Zhedi enters the government, she only needs to promote him slightly and let Concubine Fang in the palace whisper in her ear. If Jiang Zhedi becomes an official, wouldn't he be her natural right-hand man?
The fourth said that if Concubine Fang and the Sixth Prince both fell, he could get away by giving up this illegitimate grandson;
The fifth theory was that without any official title, his second son was destined to be inseparable from him. Even if He Wentong had achieved an official title, so what? Filial piety was paramount! The relationship between Concubine Fang and the Sixth Prince was destined to be firmly controlled by him.
He Wentong, the eldest grandson, was in a very awkward position in a family with a large and complicated relationship. He wanted to grab a vine to gain leverage to escape, and Jiang Ruzhuo was a ready-made vine.
Borjigit's idea coincided with Jiang Ruzhuo's. Borjigit needed to find an ally who could be used as a helper for Jiang Ruyin in public. Jiang Ruzhuo did not want to marry a common man and spend her life in vain, so she asked Borjigit for help and chose He Wentong from several young men who wanted to marry her.
He Wentong was a man of little reputation, but with a dash of daring spirit, he had studied very hard during his first year at the Jiangning Prefecture School. The Jiangnan prefect was a corrupt official, while He Wentong, a relatively newcomer, was a capable and capable person.
This move is feasible, but it is a risky one.
If He Wentong had failed to pass the imperial examination before the fall of the Jiangnan prefect, wouldn't he have been directly implicated and his future would have been ruined?
Jiang Ruyin held his forehead. His mother, with her support for the Guoluo and Borjigit families, had acted boldly, while Jiang Ruzhuo, with limited resources, had no choice but to take a gamble. He alone, having spent so long at the emperor's side, understood the importance of cautious words and actions, fearing the emperor's suspicion.
He sighed deeply, drawing Hongxuan's attention.
"Mother~" Hongxuan threw himself on Jiang Ruyin's legs and called out softly.
"what happened?"
Hongxuan tilted his head and looked at her, "Mother is unhappy."
Jiang Ruyin smiled slightly and stroked Hongxuan's soft hair. "Hongxuan, sighing doesn't mean you're unhappy, and a person's expression doesn't represent their true mood."
Hongxuan blinked and grabbed Jiang Ruyin's hand, "But mother is not happy."
"Because in front of Hongxuan, I don't have to hide anything." Jiang Ruyin smiled from the heart.
Hongxuan's eyes curved, revealing a bit of cunning, "Hongxuan too!"
"The day before yesterday, when Hongxuan was waiting for the Emperor in the Yangxin Palace, he saw the Emperor coming out of the back hall. There was a door on the wall inside the back hall!"
"There are two portraits of my mothers inside the door!"
Jiang Ruyin paused after hearing this, then slowly forced a smile, with sparks seeming to burn in his eyes.
She pulled Hongxuan in front of her and looked at him seriously: "Hongxuan, tell me when this happened and have you told anyone else?"
Hong Xuan was stunned and gritted his teeth. "It was four days ago. I didn't tell anyone else because I saw that my mother was unhappy."
Seeing Jiang Ruyin remained silent, Hongxuan clasped his two lotus-root-like hands together, fingers intertwined tightly. With an expression as if he had done something wrong, he asked cautiously, "Mother? Isn't that you in the portrait?"
Jiang Ruyin squeezed the two chubby hands with some pity, "Hongxuan, don't blame yourself. Mother is not angry. Mother thinks you are too smart. Too much intelligence will hurt. Mother is worried about you."
"What?" Hongxuan was still young after all, and said with some confusion.
Jiang Ruyin hesitated for a moment, "Hongxuan, can you tell Mother what you think of Hongning?"