Chapter 1171: Treat others with their own medicine.
In the backyard of Duke Jingguo's mansion, Zhou Chen was sitting with his mother in Mrs. Zhou Xu's room.
"You are taking a bit of a risk in this matter. Is the current situation in the DPRK really so serious that you have to use this method to temporarily avoid it?"
"Mom, you don't understand. Now the officials and the Queen Mother have secretly taken action. In a few months at most, they will definitely have the fiercest fight."
Zhou Chen understands the current situation best.
"If I were just Duke Jingguo, that would be fine. The key is that my current position is the commander of the Imperial Palace, in charge of most of the Imperial Guards, especially the Imperial Guards in the palace and in the western suburbs camp. This is an official position.
Both my family and the Queen Mother desperately wanted it, so they tried to win me over more than once."
"If I keep stalling like this and the two don't help each other, sooner or later their patience will wear away, and it may even cause them to join forces to eliminate me first, so naturally I can't just sit back and wait for death. Instead of being passive, I might as well turn my passivity into an initiative."
Zhou Xu frowned and said: "But in this case, no matter which of them wins in the end, you will not be taken as seriously as you are now."
Zhou Chen chuckled and said: "You can't say for sure, something else might happen in the process. Mom, don't worry, I know it well. My father will leave the Zhou family in my hands, and I will definitely not let the Zhou family
Failure, if not for myself, then for my children."
In fact, there are not many paths he can choose. He can either seek refuge with the officials or the Queen Mother. No matter who he seeks refuge with, he will be taken seriously. Even if he cannot become the most trusted confidant, he can maintain his current glory and even reach a higher level.
Building is not a bad idea.
It's just that he doesn't have a good impression of the current official family, and he doesn't have much loyalty to the Queen Mother, so he wants to watch the fire from the other side.
His withdrawal is tantamount to handing over control of the capital and palace. The stage for the next step has been set, and it depends on how the officials and the Queen Mother perform.
Mrs. Zhou Xu sighed, and then asked: "What are you going to do with the Sheng family? Although the culprit of this incident is the Kang family's wife, after all, what your mother-in-law did was also treasonous, disobedient and unfilial.
.”
Zhou Chen smiled and said: "Sheng Changbai will handle the Sheng family's affairs. Unlike my father-in-law, he is a truly upright person who has the courage to take responsibility."
"Is that the eldest lady's biological brother? I've also heard that he is indeed a good child."
As one of the most outstanding young officials in the court in recent years, Sheng Changbai still has a certain reputation in the capital.
"What about the Kang family's wife? You brought her to the Duke's Mansion. You must have made a decision?"
Zhou Chen snorted coldly: "There is only one end for such a person."
Zhou Xu nodded and didn't ask any more questions. If she hadn't needed her help in acting this time, she wouldn't have thought to ask too many questions.
Two more days passed like this. On this day, the Duke of Jingguo's residence suddenly became lively, with many guests coming, but half of them were uninvited guests.
Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu brought a group of people to the Jingguo Palace.
The person in charge of the reception was Sheng Hualan, the eldest lady of the Jingguo Palace.
"Father, mother."
When Hualan saw this group of people, she first greeted Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu, and then looked at the other people with a stern expression.
They are all her acquaintances, not only acquaintances, but also relatives.
The old lady of the Wang family, her maternal grandmother, the current head of the Wang family, is her uncle, her aunt, and the other one is Aunt Kang's legitimate son Kang Jin.
Nowadays, Kang Jin is already quite old, but because he failed in the imperial examination and has no background, he has not yet become an official.
There is another couple, Shulan's younger brother Sheng Changwu and his wife Kang Yuner.
Hua Lan could clearly see the displeasure on Sheng Changwu's face. He must have come here not voluntarily, but was forced to come. As for the reason, it was naturally because Kang Yun'er was Aunt Kang's biological daughter.
Hua Lan naturally knew the purpose of these people coming, so she didn't give them a good look.
Sheng Hong said: "Your grandmother has not been feeling well these days and has not come over. Hua'er, how is Shuyuan doing now?"
Hua Lan replied: "Today the imperial doctor just came to check the officials. The situation is not very good. The internal organs were injured. It will take at least a few months to recuperate. It is difficult to say whether it can return to its previous state and whether there will be any sequelae."
Sheng Hong's expression suddenly changed: "Is it so serious?"
Hua Lan said coldly: "Father also knows that such a strong dose of ginkgo bud juice basically went into the mouth of the official. If the imperial doctor had not treated him in time, it would have been difficult to save his life. He is already alive now.
God has favored me."
Hearing this, everyone present turned pale, especially the Wang family members who were preparing to plead for mercy, their faces were even more frightened.
"Hua Lan, my good boy, long time no see, you are really becoming more and more like a lady in charge. She is indeed the most promising legitimate daughter of our Wang Sheng family."
The gray-haired Mrs. Wang stepped forward and grabbed Hua Lan's hand very enthusiastically, with a loving look on her face, and her tone was full of praise and pride, as if she was proud of her.
Hua Lan broke away from Mrs. Wang's hand with a cold expression, and said in a calm tone: "This is the first time I saw my grandmother after she returned to Beijing, but I shouldn't let my grandmother go to the Duke's Mansion at such an age.
, why don’t grandma go back today, and when I am free in the future, I will go to the palace to meet grandma in person."
Mrs. Wang's face froze slightly. She didn't expect Hua Lan to react so violently. She was already preparing to chase them away before she even said a word.
Wang Shiping, the uncle of the Wang family, showed dissatisfaction: "Hua'er, what's your attitude? This is your grandmother. How can you talk to your grandmother?"
Wang Shiping's wife, the Wang family's aunt, pulled her husband hard. She was more discerning. The Wang family finally returned to Bianjing City, but although Wang Shiping was not low in rank and was just old enough to wear a purple robe, he was not as good as Zhou Chen.
There is still a big gap between the real power of the state and the public.
Civil servants looked down upon generals, but that also depended on who they were. How many civil servants dared to look down on a prince like Zhou Chen? Even a prime minister like Han Zhang would not look down on Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen is so powerful, and as Zhou Chen's eldest wife, Hua Lan is not something that the current Wang family can offend.
In fact, she didn't agree with today's trip in the first place, but Wang Shiping listened to Mrs. Wang, so she had no choice but to come.
However, she already had a bad plan in mind. You must know that this time she almost killed Duke Jingguo. Even if the two families were related by marriage, it was related to Zhou Chen's life and safety, so what did their relatives mean?
Hua Lan heard Wang Shiping's words and said coldly: "It is because of the relationship between my grandmother and uncle that I welcomed you in politely. If it had been anyone else, I would have had someone do it."
Mrs. Wang showed a sad look and said sadly: "What happened to Duke Jingguo is indeed your mother's fault. It was my incompetence in raising my daughter that almost caused something to happen to Duke Jingguo. The old woman is willing to take responsibility for this matter. As long as Jingguo
If you can relieve your anger, I, an old woman, can do whatever you want."
Hua Lan's expression changed, and she said: "It seems that grandma doesn't know the truth of the matter after hearing what she said? Or did grandma deliberately not talk about aunt, only my mother? In grandma's eyes, everything that happened was nothing.
My mother’s problem?”
"Is not it?"
Mrs. Wang looked shocked, and then said: "Isn't it possible that your mother did something worse than a beast? She poisoned her to harm her mother-in-law, but ended up harming Duke Jingguo?"
When Wang Ruofu heard this, he shouted excitedly: "Mom, it's not me at all, it's my sister who asked me to do it. She also gave the ginkgo bud venom, and I didn't know about it at all."
After hearing this, Mrs. Wang suddenly said with an ugly face: "Now that things have happened, do you still want to implicate your sister?"
Wang Ruofu's body softened and he said loudly: "What do you mean I am implicating my sister? Mother, this was originally done by my sister. She told me that it was a medicine that would make people sick for a few days, but it turned out to be a venom that would kill people. I don't know how to do it."
I don’t know, it’s my sister, she wants to harm me, mother, you have to believe me.”
Mrs. Wang looked up to the sky and sighed: "I don't know whether what you said is true or false, but you sent the things here. It is precisely because of your evil intentions that you have caused such irreparable consequences. This is all
Because of you, it’s all my fault that I didn’t teach you well.”
After saying that, she turned to look at Hua Lan and Sheng Hong: "Good granddaughter, good uncle, she had the intention of harming her mother-in-law and also harmed the Duke of the country. It is really a big crime. What are you going to do with her?
"
Sheng Hong was stunned for a moment, and Hua Lan showed anger on his face and shouted unceremoniously.
"Grandma is really good at saying that she blamed all this on my mother, but took out my aunt. What a good plan."
Sheng Hong also followed up and said: "Mother-in-law, although I am a stupid lady who is at fault, if you want to put all the responsibility on her, I can't agree to it."
"What do you mean by pushing it on her? It's a fact." Mrs. Wang still looked confident.
Wang Ruofu looked at his mother in disbelief: "Mom, I have told you that my sister ordered me to do this, but you only want to make me take the blame and take out my sister. Do you have me as a daughter in your heart?
?”
Mrs. Wang looked at her and said: "My child, our Wang family has a strict style of work. We know our mistakes and can correct them. If you make a mistake, you should be punished. But fortunately, the Duke is fine now, and the matter has not reached the point of irreversibility."
Seeing Mrs. Wang's attitude, Hua Lan and Sheng Hong understood clearly that the old lady was deliberately trying to put the blame on her younger daughter in order to save her eldest daughter.
Hua Lan felt cold all over her body. Even though she hated her mother for being stupid, she knew that all this happened because of Aunt Kang.
As both biological daughters, this grandmother only wanted to take care of her eldest daughter, but did not care about her mother's safety and pushed her mother out to take the blame.
Of course she wouldn't let Mrs. Wang succeed.
"Grandma, it's useless to say more. The truth of the matter has been found out a long time ago. Someone is here."
Yuan Cai, who was guarding outside, immediately walked in, holding a wooden box in his hand. The wooden box was filled with some papers.
Hualan pointed to the paper in the wooden box and said: "Everyone involved in this matter has been arrested, and it records the ins and outs of everything, including how my aunt contacted people to make drugs and how she planned it.
The entire plan and process of how to implement it, and everyone involved has signed and pledged it, and the witnesses and material evidence are all there. Even if the lawsuit is brought to the Kaifeng Mansion and before His Majesty, the context is clear and there is no refutation."
"Let me see."
Sheng Hong immediately took out the paper from the wooden box and read it. After reading it for a while, he handed it to Mrs. Wang.
"Mother-in-law, see for yourself."
Mrs. Wang's face turned particularly ugly after just a few glances at the deposition paper, and her body trembled slightly.
"Mother."
Wang Shiping saw something was wrong and hurriedly supported his mother, then took the testimony from his mother and looked at it carefully.
"This, this, this is not true, is it?"
Wang Shiping looked in disbelief, but Aunt Wang next to him had a serious look on her face. Although she was surprised, she was not surprised. This seemed like something that her sister-in-law could do.
Hua Lan said coldly: "All the witnesses and physical evidence have been collected. If uncle feels that it is not true, it is easy. We go to Kaifeng Mansion to confront. If that doesn't work, then we can beat the drum and go to His Majesty to tell the truth.
.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Wang hurriedly shouted: "It can't be done, it can't be done, it can't be done."
She seemed to be discouraged and looked at Hua Lan with a pleading look on her face: "My good granddaughter, you can't be like this. If you file a complaint, not only will your aunt suffer, but your mother will not be able to get anything done. At the very least, she is a
It is a serious crime to be exiled and banished, you cannot do this to your mother."
Hua Lan flew into a rage and knocked the tea cup on the table to the ground, which shocked everyone.
"You have already almost killed my official, and now you are still here saying such things to me. My mother is guilty, but my aunt is the culprit. My grandmother wants to use my mother to make me soften my heart and let me go. I am now
Let me tell you, without this possibility, it is impossible for my aunt to leave the Duke's Mansion alive."
As soon as these words came out, she was tantamount to falling out, but she didn't care at all. She knew that everything she had now was because of her officials. If she couldn't handle this matter well, she would be sorry for her officials and also for her officials.
The Duke's Mansion.
Mrs. Wang and others were shocked by Hua Lan's anger. They didn't expect Hua Lan to be so decisive. In order to avenge Zhou Chen, he even ignored his biological mother.
Mrs. Wang is also a person who has experienced the world. When she saw the cruelty in Hualan's eyes, she knew that she and others alone could not persuade Hualan, so she looked at Sheng Hong.
"Good uncle, please advise her. After all, we are a family. I was also attracted by your character and that's why I betrothed my daughter to you. You can't ignore her."
Sheng Hong opened his mouth and looked at his daughter, wanting to persuade her, but when he met Hua Lan's cold gaze, he suddenly gave up.
"This is the Duke's mansion. I can't make the decision. Mother-in-law, as you just said, if you make a mistake, you will be punished."
After saying that, he simply closed his eyes with an attitude of "I can't control it, don't ask me for mercy."
Mrs. Wang suddenly became furious and felt that this uncle was really useless and couldn't even take care of her own daughter.
She wanted to ask for mercy, but judging from Hua Lan's intentions, it was obvious that she would not take the Wang family seriously, so it was useless for them to ask for mercy.
So she looked at Sheng Changwu and Kang Yuner, the couple who came with them, and was about to wink.
Kang Jin suddenly walked out and knelt down towards Hua Lan.
"Cousin, cousin, you sir, please let my mother go. My mother is your aunt, so please let my mother go."
Hua Lan snorted coldly: "I really don't deserve such a vicious aunt, and I don't have that many."
Kang Yun'er also rushed over and knelt down beside Kang Jin's voice.
"Cousin, please, please let mother go, please..."
Sheng Changwu gritted his teeth. He couldn't even control Kang Yun'er just now. He didn't want to participate in this matter at all. Instead, he felt that his mother-in-law died unjustly.
You must know that his current achievements are all because of Zhou Chen. If his biological sister had not been Zhou Chen's concubine, even if they were relatives, Zhou Chen would not have been able to help him like this.
Zhou Chen is his biggest supporter, and now his mother-in-law has almost killed his supporter. He only has hatred in his heart and has never thought of asking for mercy. If he couldn't defeat his wife today, he would not come here at all.
Hua Lan has no patience for the Kang siblings.
"Chang Wu, take her away. I will treat you as if you have never been here today. Otherwise, your sister will know what to do without me telling her."
Sheng Changwu's body trembled, and he replied without hesitation: "Madam, please forgive me, I will take my wife away now."
After saying that, he pulled Kang Yuner up regardless of her struggle. Kang Yuner shouted excitedly: "Let me go, I want to save my mother."
He yelled in a strong voice: "I'm warning you, if you don't come with me, I will write you a letter of divorce and divorce you right now."
Kang Yun'er's struggling body froze instantly, while Sheng Changwu took the opportunity to pull her away without even the intention of saying hello to the Wang family.
Hualan was very satisfied with Sheng Changwu's decision and looked at Kang Jin again.
"Are you leaving on your own, or do you want me to ask someone to kick you out?"
"cousin……"
"Here comes someone."
The guard outside the door walked in immediately. Hua Lan pointed at Kang Jin and shouted: "Kick him out."
"Yes, madam."
Kang Jin struggled fiercely, but his small body could not open up enough to protect the strong man, and he was quickly dragged out.
Mrs. Wang and others wanted to stop them, but faced the fierce guards, they did not dare to say anything to stop them.
The old lady was okay, but Wang Shiping and his wife were frightened by Hua Lan's harshness. After all, they were civil servants and had never experienced such a scene. At first, they thought that relying on their relatives, Hua Lan would not dare to do anything to them.
Sample.
But now it seems that this niece really dares to take action.
Mrs. Wang took a breath, her face extremely ugly.
"Hua'er, are you really showing no mercy today?"
Hua Lan said bitterly: "Whoever dares to harm my officials is my enemy, and I will not show any mercy to them."
"you……"
Mrs. Wang was trembling with anger. She felt that Hua Lan was just bullying others. If her husband, Mrs. Wang, was still here, who would dare to bully the Wang family like this.
"Don't forget, your mother was also the one who killed Duke Jingguo. Is it possible that you want to kill your mother too?"
Hualan said: "Grandma doesn't need to worry about this."
…………
In the room, Zhou Chen listened expressionlessly to his subordinates' report on the situation in the front hall.
He already knew when Sheng Hong and the Wang family came to the Duke's Mansion.
"Bring Mrs. Kang to the front hall."
Zhou Chen stood up from the bed, straightened his clothes, then walked out of the room and walked towards the front hall.
Mrs. Wang is preparing to have an affair with Hua Lan. Mrs. Kang and Wang are her most beloved daughter. Of course she doesn't want anything to happen to her daughter.
But Hualan's eyes suddenly lit up and he stood up nervously.
"Officer, why are you here?"
With that said, she quickly walked towards the door.
Everyone else also turned around and saw Zhou Chen arriving at the door with the help of his servants.
Hua Lan went over to support Zhou Chen and whispered: "Sir, just leave this to me. The imperial doctor said that you should take a good rest in bed."
"Ahem."
Zhou Chen coughed several times: "People have come to our house, how can I not show up."
Seeing Zhou Chen appear, Mrs. Wang and others looked shocked.
"Jingguo Gong."
"Shu Yuan, I see you look much better than the past few days." Sheng Hong also licked his face and said.
With Hua Lan's support, Zhou Chen came to the upper position in the middle of the hall and sat down. His face was pale, and he could tell at a glance that he was in bad condition, as if he was seriously ill.
Mrs. Wang took the initiative to smile and said, "Good girl, seeing that you are fine, I finally feel relieved. Speaking of which, this is the first time we have met. The old woman is Hua'er's grandmother."
"Grandma? Haha, why did I hear the servant say that the old lady is here to force my wife to come?"
Zhou Chen's voice was not loud, but there seemed to be an invisible pressure that made everyone in the hall feel the pressure.
Mrs. Wang looked natural and said with a smile: "Where did this come from? Hua Lan is my granddaughter. It's too late for me to love her. How could I force her? Mr. Jing Guo, you have misunderstood."
"Misunderstood?"
Zhou Chen chuckled lightly and didn't say much. He raised his hand and waved outside.
Soon, people outside escorted a woman with her whole body tied up and her hair disheveled.
When the woman was escorted into the hall, a strange stench filled the hall.
When Mrs. Wang saw this woman, she suddenly trembled all over.
The woman who was escorted in was naturally Mrs. Kang Wang. When she saw everyone in the hall, especially Mrs. Wang and Wang Shiping, she immediately burst into tears.
"Mother, brother, save me, save me. They locked me up and didn't give me food or drink. I can't stand it anymore. Please save me."
"My son."
Mrs. Wang wailed sadly and rushed over to hug Mrs. Kang Wang, but Cao Er who followed in blocked her in front of her, preventing her from getting close to Mrs. Kang.
Mrs. Wang suddenly turned her head and looked at Zhou Chen: "Jingguo Gong, what do you mean?"
Zhou Chen coughed a few more times, and then said: "I know you are here, old lady, just for her, so I let you see her. This is also the last time you will see her."
Mrs. Wang's face changed drastically: "What do you want to do?"
Zhou Chen sneered: "What do I want to do? I've always had a clear distinction between grudges and grudges. If she hurt me, I will naturally repay her."
Before Mrs. Wang could speak, Mrs. Kang Wang suddenly screamed: "How dare you, I am an official's family member, even if you are the Duke of Jingguo, you can't kill me, you can't kill me."
"Can't kill?"
Zhou Chen showed disdain: "I have warned you more than once not to mess with me. Since you don't listen, you can't blame me."
"Jingguo Gong."
Mrs. Wang suddenly shouted and pointed at Kang Wang with trembling hands.
"We are all relatives. She is Hua Lan's biological aunt and also your aunt. You cannot kill her. As long as you don't kill her, you can make whatever conditions you want. As long as our Wang family can satisfy you, we will definitely be satisfied.
"
"Mother."
"Shut up, I have no business talking."
Mrs. Wang turned around and yelled at her daughter-in-law.
"condition?"
Zhou Chen found it funny. The Wang family was just looking at the scenery from the outside. In fact, it was already declining, not to mention that he didn't want to negotiate any conditions at all.
"I haven't recovered yet, and I don't have the patience to listen to what you say. I just said that I have a clear sense of grudges and I am the most fair person. I will treat her how she treats me."
After speaking, he nodded to Cao Er.
Cao Er took Zhou Chen's signal and walked out without saying a word, bringing in a plate of snacks. It was the hibiscus and lotus seed cake that Zhou Chen had eaten at Shou'an Hall before.
Zhou Chen said calmly: "I ate a few pieces of hibiscus lotus seed cake, you can eat a few pieces, no more, no less, it's very fair, go ahead."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Cao Er came to Kang Wang, who was so frightened that Kang Wang screamed loudly: "What do you want to do? Let me go, let me go, mother, save me, mother, save me."
Old Mrs. Wang rushed over angrily, but before she could take action, she was stopped by Yuan Cai and his men. Several tall guards were also standing in front of Wang Shiping and his wife, who were so frightened that they did not dare to move.
Cao Er pinched Kang Wang's mouth to silence her and opened her mouth. Then he picked up a piece of hibiscus and lotus seed cake lying on the ground and stuffed it into Kang Wang's mouth arrogantly.
Kang Wang tried hard to struggle, but everything was in vain.
"Ah, my daughter, Duke Jingguo, you are abusing lynching, please let my daughter go..."
Mrs. Wang ignored her image and screamed crazily, but she was controlled by someone and could not move freely, so she could only curse.
Wang Ruofu was so frightened that he hid behind the chair, trembling all over and not daring to make a sound. No matter how stupid she was, she still knew that the hibiscus and lotus seed cake that Zhou Chen asked someone to bring out must have ginkgo bud juice in it, because
Zhou Chen's words just now illustrate this point.
Such a scene was too terrifying for her. Even Sheng Hong, the man in charge of the family, was so shocked that he couldn't sit still. He stood up and looked at Kang Wang who was being force-fed in horror.
This was the first time that the couple saw Zhou Chen like this, and they were both frightened.