Chapter 214: Old Friends

As early as the day he went to the south of the Yangtze River, Zhao Mo no longer had expectations for Zhao Shuo, his father. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. biquge。 info He can see clearly, in the mind of his father today, only that chair is the most important, as long as he can take a step closer to that chair, there is nothing that cannot be abandoned.

In the past, it was the original wife Wen who once shared weal and sorrow, and later the eldest son Zhao Mo, who he loved since childhood, and the concubine and Aunt Sun who were still loved, and now it is the turn of the stepfamily Xiao Wang, who once did not hesitate to force the original partner to death in order to marry, and the Wang family that he has always relied on. Perhaps, what is given up is Zhao Shuo's conscience and dignity as a person?

Now Zhao Mo looked at the express letter sent from the capital, and felt that his father was losing more and more face. That chair is so attractive? Can Zhao Shuo forget his indifference and anger towards his eldest son, and without even a transition or excuse, he re-uses a cordial and caring tone to coax him to lie to him, and wants him to continue to contribute to it? What does the father think of his son?!

And if he was asked to hand over the money to his father for safekeeping, it was because the latter was short of money, right?

Zhao Mo looked at the letter with a sneer, casually put the letter on the candle flame, and watched the flames quickly burn it into a charred black. He casually threw the remains left after the letter was burned into the copper bucket used next to the desk, which Qin Hanzhen specially prepared for him, saying that it could be used to hold discarded things. He poured another cup of cold tea into the bucket, and the pile of ashes quickly shattered.

He stood up and walked to the window, opened the window, and let the cold wind outside blow into the house, quickly taking away the warmth in the house, and also calming his whole mind.

There's nothing to be angry about, he has long known the true face of his father, but now he has once again seen the shamelessness of the other party.

And judging from his father's statement in the letter, he does not seem to have collapsed because the prince has recovered from his illness and returned to the court, but he is still very active in currying favor with the emperor and the East Palace, and there is no sign of not getting involved in the government in order to avoid suspicion, but continues to participate in political affairs, as if he has no delusions and has a clear conscience. But Zhao Mo clearly knew in his heart that he was definitely not without delusions, and he definitely did not have a clear conscience.

Otherwise, why did he order his henchmen to come and secretly reprimand his son because Zhao Mo had contributed to the prince's safe return to Beijing in Jiangnan? No matter what kind of excuse he used to cover up the real reason why he reprimanded his son, Zhao Mo knew it. Looking at his father's appearance, Zhao Mo knew in his heart that the other party still hadn't given up the real appeal in his heart. It's just that the prince is fine now, and he needs to temporarily pretend to be a loyal gentleman to deceive people.

Zhao Mo thought to himself, if his father still had delusions, something would happen sooner or later. He has long lost the relationship between father and son, and there is no shortage of sons, even if he really wants to come true one day, he will not have a good impression of his son, who has once spoiled his "big things", but it is easier to embarrass him. Zhao Mo didn't want to fall into an isolated situation, nor did he want to be affected by his father's delusions. He will never contribute to his father's so-called major events, and he must also pay attention to drawing a clear line with the other party, not only not to alarm the outside world, but also to let the emperor and the crown prince in the palace see his position clearly. In this way, even if something happens to Zhao Shuo in the future, it will not implicate his son.

Zhao Mo felt that he could no longer continue to follow the actions of Yongjiahou Qin Bai in a daze. It is true that life is very quiet and comfortable now, and he is having a good time, but it is time for him to do something in order to be happy for a long time in the future, and to be able to live the life he wants.

Qin Hanzhen was still intoxicated with calligraphy and painting and the beautiful scenery of Hangzhou, although he noticed that his little friend Zhao Mo's mood seemed to be a little wrong, but when asked about him, he smiled and said that it was okay, and then diverted the topic. Qin Hanzhen knew that he had just received a letter from his father Zhao Shuo in the capital not long ago, presumably because he said something unpleasant in the letter, which made him angry, so he comforted him and said: "You don't care what your father tells you to do, if you don't want to, don't pay attention to him." Anyway, if you listen to him, he won't be any nicer to you, so just don't listen. You are now decent in front of the emperor and the crown prince, and you are no longer the weak small clan you used to be, you can only be at the mercy of others. It's just that because he's still young and he's your father, he's just under his control. But with the crown prince protecting you, and you are not in Beijing, as long as you do a good job of superficial work, who can force you to do what you don't want to do?"

Zhao Mo smiled: "Don't worry, cousin, I know it in my heart." My father asked me to go back to Beijing as soon as possible, saying that he asked me to help him say good things in front of the East Palace, so that the emperor and the East Palace would not be angry with him because of the Wang family. But I have always been with my uncle and grandfather, taking my uncle's boat and eating my uncle's food, so naturally I don't have the reason to make my own decisions and act without permission. ”

Qin Hanzhen said a little angrily: "What time is it now? It's snowing outside." On a cold day, you are only a teenager, and he wants you to rush back to the capital? What is the reason? And how can you go back? The canals in the north are frozen, that is, the inland rivers in the south of the Yangtze River can still be walked. Does he want you to ride a horse and ride back? Isn't he afraid that you will get sick on the road? Ignore him, I'll go and tell your grandfather for you, and tell your father that my grandfather won't allow you to travel in winter, for fear that something will happen on the road. You are a junior, of course you have to listen to the elders. Even if your father says you're not filial, it's because he didn't pay attention to it first!"

She dragged Zhao Mo and went to find Qin Bai, Qin Bai's words were naturally the same as her, and she frowned and asked Zhao Mo: "But for the news revealed by the descendants of the Zhang family before?"

Zhao Mo nodded: "Father said that he didn't know before, knowing that the emperor and the crown prince were staring at the Wang family, and he was worried that he would be implicated, so he ordered me to rush back to the capital as soon as possible and intercede with the East Palace for him." It's just that in such a season, the south of the Yangtze River is down, and the north is only afraid of ......"

Qin Bai waved his hand: "Don't pay attention to it." If I let you go back to Beijing at this time, if something happens, I won't have the face to see the emperor and the crown prince. You are a child of the clan and a nephew of the emperor, since I have taken over the responsibility to take care of your studies and daily life, I will be responsible to the end, and I will never sit idly by and watch you take risks. Your father has me on his side, and I'll write to him to explain what happened. You don't care about this, read books and do your homework with Hanzhen. It's rare to have such a good snow scene, and you should learn to draw it. Anyway, you've been reading with me for so long, and you have to know more about poetry, calligraphy and painting, otherwise I'm not misleading?"

And so it was decided. Not to mention how Zhao Shuo secretly trembled after receiving Qin Bai's letter in the capital, I don't know how much Yongjiahou knows about the letters or messages he sent to his son before, and whether he knows about his grievances about the prince's safe return to Beijing, the Qin and Huang families stayed in Hangzhou for a few days, seeing that the snow stopped and the weather cleared, they played what they should play, ate what they should eat, and bought a lot of good things, it was time to leave.

This trip back to Jinling is not a canal and waterway. Large pieces of heavy luggage, as well as purchased items, which do not need to be carried, were all loaded on the ship, and while the canal on this side of the Yangtze River had not yet reached the freezing season, they were quickly transported back to Jinling by water. The Qin and Huang families took a carriage instead, traveled north by road through Huzhou, and returned to Jiangning County. Most of the carriages were brought from Qinzhuang, and there were also prepared by the Huang family, because the luggage and people to be brought were reduced, and the idlers in the Hangzhou tea garden were called to escort the team, and the other party brought their own carriages, and everyone was not too crowded. Qin Hanzhen used all the newly made pillows and pillow cotton cushions on his carriage, and the road was really much more comfortable, and the backache was alleviated.

Even Huang Qingfang clearly realized the benefits of such a carriage again, and discussed it with her sister-in-law, asking the girls to make a few more mattresses and soft pillows and load them on their own carriage.

When Huang Qingfang warmly invited Qin Hanzhen to sit in the same carriage with him again, and it was the Huang family's carriage, Qin Hanzhen finally got rid of his previous anxiety, and he was able to sit in the carriage while chatting with Huang Qingfang. The two also took a needlework class in the carriage, Huang Qingfang taught Qin Hanzhen several embroidery techniques, telling her how to match the color and tie the tie, and Qin Hanzhen studied with Huang Qingfang the production methods of cotton gloves, woolen gloves, hand covers, sleeved capes and other small pieces in winter.

Within a few days, they arrived in Huzhou.

Qin Bai wanted to come to Huzhou, mainly to buy some high-quality pen, ink, paper and inkstones, and to visit two old friends. When he was a teenager in his hometown in Jiangning, he also knew several old friends of the same age, all of whom were children of scholarly eunuchs in Jiangnan, and their personalities were very compatible. After returning to his home in Beijing, he also exchanged letters with these two old friends. Fortunately, his friendship with them was not very public, and the young people intersected and would not attract the attention of others, so when the Qin family had an accident, these two friends were not affected.

Qin Bai only learned after returning to Beijing last year that after the Qin family was rehabilitated, they had asked someone to inquire about their news in the Chengenhou Mansion, but Qin Song rudely sent the person away on the grounds of "death". Later, I heard that they couldn't believe the news, so they went to the Qin clan to confirm it, and after getting the answer that Qin Bai's whereabouts were unknown, they returned to Huzhou disappointed and sad. Qin Bai only heard about this matter from an elder of the clan at this year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. So many years have passed, and there are very few people who know that these two old friends have come to the clan to look for him, and even fewer remember.

Qin Bai didn't want to say anything to blame his brother Qin Song, anyway, he was such a person, and it was useless to complain. The friendship between the brothers was completely destroyed as early as the moment when Qin Song left his younger brother with the Xu family in the northwest and lied to the emperor and Empress Qin after returning to Beijing. Not to mention that when Empress Qin was seriously ill and dying, Qin Song still concealed the news that Qin Bai had returned from his compatriots and sisters for selfishness, which made Empress Qin regret it, and united with Canaan afterwards to deceive Qin Bai away. Qin Bai didn't have much expectation for Qin Song now, just for the sake of his nephews and his dead sister, he didn't blame the eldest brother more.

But Qin Bai was very grateful for the care of the two old friends, and he didn't know if they were okay now, so he came to Huzhou to visit them. More than 30 years, I wonder if it will change the friendship between them?