HCB Chapter 139 Who wins and who loses
Chapter 139 Who wins and who loses
Wang Jingye let the cat out of the bag on purpose.
He then explained, "I promised Xiang Ming not to tell anyone that Xiguan Jushi was him, so I could only say that I bought him at a high price."
The Queen Mother didn't care about her cousin's previous concealment. It was not a big deal. Her cousin had done a lot for her, and she only trusted her cousin among her family.
She then asked, "How is the medical skill of Doctor An, whom Nie Cheng'an brought with him?"
"Common illnesses are fine. I've had a few servants come to him these past few days and he's right for the symptoms he described. I've had someone check the prescriptions he's given and they're right. Cheng'an's father-in-law heard from a friend from Bashu that Doctor An once treated a sixteen-year-old boy who was frightened and only recovered after soul-controlling. The Shang family sent someone to invite him to Guanzhong, but they didn't expect him to be Zhong Hanlin's cousin. It seems his mother was born out of wedlock."
Queen Mother Wang was surprised. She had sent people to investigate the Zhong family and Mrs. Zhong's family, and found out that Mrs. Zhong had a concubine sister who had secretly married a student who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and then married the student and moved to another province.
Unexpectedly, the descendants of that concubine sister came to Beijing to seek refuge with the Zhong family.
"I saw that Doctor An didn't want to have much contact with the Zhong family. He went to Beijing to kowtow to his aunt in obedience to his mother's order. He didn't know much about the Zhong family's affairs, and he didn't visit his maternal grandparents' home."
Queen Mother Wang told her what they had found out, and Wang Jingye said, "I guess that's what happened. We have to keep an eye on our adopted daughter. If she falls for a jerk, it will piss her parents off to death."
Queen Mother Wang suddenly asked, "Did Nie Cheng'an mention the Wang family?"
Wang Jingye thought that his cousin finally asked. Usually, his cousin would not ask, and he would not tell his great-uncle Wang’s troubles unless it was a big deal.
But he was just about to tell about this matter.
My cousin has spies in her mother's family. After all, his family has separated from his great-uncle, and he can't keep an eye on that place all the time.
My cousin can't feel at ease while my great-uncle is still alive.
"Cheng'an and the others came this time not just to send Doctor An over, but even if Doctor An didn't show up, they would still want to come to the capital. I've told them before that if something happens and I'm not around, they should never act rashly.
"I didn't expect something would happen while I wasn't in Guanzhong. That little bastard Wang Jinghui actually set his sights on Chengping's eldest daughter, Shu Lan. He knew the generations weren't right, so even if they were, Chengping wouldn't marry his daughter to someone from his lineage."
Queen Mother Wang narrowed her eyes. Wang Jinghui was the grandson of her grandfather's favorite concubine who was chopped off by her. He was fifteen years old this year and was her cousin.
The Wang family's legitimate descendants were named according to their generational order, while illegitimate children were named using homophones. The grandfather truly loved his grandson and gave him the character Jing.
"Wang Jinghui is a bold young man. He even changed his name and tried to approach Chengping's eldest daughter by pretending to be a handsome young man. He wanted to be a man with feelings for her. If it works out, it works out. If not, he'll just be the girl's sweetheart. Even if Chengping's daughter gets married in the future, there's no chance of him cheating on her. Of course, this is just my guess."
The Queen Mother listened quietly, wondering how Nie Chengping's eldest daughter would respond.
"The Nie family has never had any contact with that branch. Xiangxiang's mother secretly brought her nieces to meet them when they were young, just to prevent them from doing anything bad.
"Nie Ping's eldest daughter rarely went out, and when she did, she wore a mask I gave her. One time, she and her grandmother went to burn incense. The mask accidentally fell off at the release pond, and I guess that little beast saw her true face. There are some shameless teenagers who specifically go to the temple to peek at girls burning incense.
"No family can live with such anxiety every day, letting their daughter stay at home like she's in prison. That little bastard wanted to set up a hero-saving-the-damsel scheme, but Shu Lan kicked him out. I'm afraid..."
The Queen Mother smiled. Her sister-in-law's eldest niece was so beautiful that her sister-in-law couldn't be at ease. Her family was not short of money, and the servants they hired for her niece were all skilled.
When she saw Sister Nie Shulan walking today, she knew that she had been practicing martial arts since she was young. The Xiao family couldn't be at ease with their granddaughter.
"It was only this time that I realized that Chengping's daughter-in-law could poison someone, so there's no way the daughter she raised wouldn't be able to do that."
Wang Jingye tutted his words twice. "Granduncle must be heartbroken. His illegitimate son was killed by me... that branch is full of beasts. That illegitimate son tried to peek at Chengping's wife back then, and I made him a useless man in a rage. Now his son has been killed by Chengping's daughter. If Granduncle finds out, will he be so angry that he goes straight to see the ancestors?"
The Queen Mother said, "He didn't feel bad for his favorite concubine, nor did he want to kill me to avenge her. He felt that I had offended his dignity. He was the head of the Wang family, and everyone in the Wang family had to bow down to him. And I actually dared to kill his concubine, and he couldn't tolerate it.
"He always wanted to trample me under his feet during his lifetime, even though I was the Empress Dowager, he couldn't tolerate it. I know why my grandmother brought me up by her side. When I was little, she said I was most like my grandfather. It was only after the late emperor passed away that I finally figured out what a woman like my grandfather would become. So my grandmother raised me by her side, always teaching me what kindness is, taking me to chant sutras, and taking me to the temple to listen to sutras. But things in one's bones cannot be changed. The only thing that can be changed is knowing good and evil.
"My grandfather knew this, but even if he did something evil, he couldn't let anyone offend his dignity."
Wang Jingye agreed with his cousin's words. He had never understood his great-uncle's behavior before. How could a man hate his own granddaughter so much for the woman he loved?
Now he understands.
"I suspect that my grandfather will come to Beijing sometime this year. Every time I think about what he's going to do, I think about what I would do if it were me. The person I hate the most is now the Empress Dowager. If I want to capture her, I have to capture her son. How can I capture a twelve-year-old boy? Beauty is a given, but a favorite concubine wouldn't make me angry. It can only be my son's legitimate daughter-in-law, the Empress. He will raise a granddaughter who he thinks is even more cruel than me, and he'll push her up.
"My niece is eleven years old now. She has been hiding all this time, just for me."
Wang Jingye admired his cousin. Although she was far away in the capital, she knew what his great-uncle was thinking and doing.
Queen Mother Wang's younger brother, who was also his cousin, married a beautiful legitimate daughter whom his great-uncle had found among the wealthy families in Guanzhong. He couldn't understand it at that time.
My cousin has a daughter who is indeed beautiful. Besides learning kung fu, she also learned to be ruthless and cruel since she was a child.
Just train like my cousin.
It’s a pity that my cousin was born with this talent, while my niece learned it.
Wang Jingye felt strange. On her great-uncle's branch, only her cousin looked like her grandfather. Her father and uncle were all controlled by her great-uncle and dared not even speak a word when he glared at them.
"My concubine's daughter seems to be beautiful too, haha," the Queen Mother laughed twice, "Does he think that any man will love a beautiful woman? But he forgets that this is the imperial palace, and a concubine's rival is not the queen, but the other concubines.
"However, I will not allow anyone from the Wang family into the palace. My grandfather thinks he has something against me because I chopped off his favorite concubine. He wants to use this as a threat to make me promise to arrange a queen and a concubine for my son. He's wrong. He himself is not someone who can be threatened. I am his granddaughter, so how could I be threatened by him?
"He has been trying to land a fatal blow on me, and I have been waiting to see who will win between us, the grandfather and the grandson."