Linque

After this incident, Chu Kun found Chu Yan completely displeased.

For a long time, no matter how different Chu Yan was from him, there was one thing that he couldn't compete with no matter what——Chu Kun's biological mother, Aunt Bai, was a noble concubine from the uncle's mansion, and Ji Wuyu, who was Yeyou Court maids are very different.

But now, this lowly concubine's memorial tablet can actually sit on the same level as the Bai family!

Chu Kun gritted his teeth with hatred when he thought about it.

This Chu Yan, whose life is as thin as a sheet of paper, was born with the appearance of a short life, but he has no self-knowledge, and his heart is always higher than the sky. No wonder his body has not been fully healed.

To say how smart Chu Yan is, it's not that Chu Kun has never seen him stumble.But after so many years, whenever it is really important, Chu Yan can always go smoothly, as if whatever he really wants to do, no matter how preposterous it sounds, there is nothing he can't do in the end.

Not only the mourning after the death of the concubine's biological mother, but also many things that Chu Yan could not compare to himself in the past, but now he has caught up with him everywhere——

Needless to say about his father, he believed that Chu Yan's talent was superior to Chu Kun's in the early morning, and only hated Chu Yan's poor health; his aunt Ye Shi and sister Chu Xuan also looked at Chu Yan high; Although the relationship could not be called close, it was passable, not to mention that Chu Yan blocked a knife for him later; even looking at the entire Zhongli family, except for the few brothers and sisters who were close to Chu Kun, the other brothers and sisters , I think Chu Yan is not bad? !

Chu Kun didn't even know if they were blind!Chu Yan is clearly a...!

This time Chu Yan came to the imperial capital from Zhongli's house, his father started to have the yard cleaned up a few days ago, and even before entering the palace this morning, he did not forget to ask the housekeeper to bring people to the city gate to meet him in a hurry.

Although on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when I came to the imperial capital, the Hou's mansion was also prepared in the same way, and the location of the yard was even better, but Chu Kun still felt aggrieved.

He didn't have lingering fears in his heart. If he hadn't been supported by his mother's family behind him, and his uncle had been promoted in the past two years, would his father have left Chu Yan at home and let him go to the Hall of Martial Arts? ——If Chu Heng hadn’t returned home from Mount Li back then.

Having said that, it is worthy of being born by a mother, Chu Yan is annoying, and his brother Chu Heng is not much better... I don't know what kind of luck, but I was able to get the prince of the shrine and enter the hall as a sacrifice in a humble body. honor.

Everyone in the flower hall of the Hou Mansion is puzzled by this question, and they are even still suspecting that the young man made a mistake.

So when Zhong Ping Hou Chuhong and his party came back from the palace banquet in the afternoon, and the princes and girls in the flower hall finished their salutes in the main courtyard, someone couldn't help asking about it.

Zhong Pinghou's expression was indifferent, he couldn't tell the difference between happiness and anger, he just nodded when he heard the words, said lightly "it's true", and then didn't continue.

Except for Chu Xin, the faces of everyone present were not very good. A huge stone fell in their hearts, and they were full of depression and resentment. They wanted to know the reason, but they didn't dare to ask.

For a while, the whole main hall could hear a needle drop.

Zhong Pinghou didn't sit for too long, he got up and went to the front yard after a while.Tomorrow's New Year's Eve, the ancestral hall will be opened early in the morning to worship the ancestors, and there must be no mistakes in the regulations.

After sending him off, the boys and girls waited with bated breath for orders from the mistress Ye.

Ye's complexion was even uglier than that of Zhong Pinghou, almost gloomy like water. She didn't speak, and no one dared to speak out. In the end, it was the eldest son Chu Chen who broke the suffocating silence in the main hall and stood up. He opened his mouth and asked, "Is the fourth brother here yet?"

He didn't specify who he was talking to, but he certainly wasn't asking a servant.The boys and girls moved their stiff necks lightly, and looked up to see that Mrs. Ye was still looking pale. For a while, no one dared to answer first, and in the end it was Chu Xin who said: "Not yet, the housekeeper has sent someone to Welcome at the gate of the city."

Chu Chen nodded, and said something else casually. With the voice, the stagnant atmosphere in the main hall eased a little, and it was no longer so heavy that it made people breathless.

Mrs. Ye slowly raised her eyes and looked at the back of her son with complicated eyes.

Chu Xuan sat beside her mother. As the only prostitute under Zhong Pinghou's knees, she also entered the palace today and saw Chu Heng in the center of the crowd.Of course I had to laugh at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, but I just swallowed a glass of congratulatory wine. Even though I had a hundred feelings in my heart, I couldn't find anything that could match the word "happy".

It would be a lie to say that there is no answer. She didn't know what her father was thinking when she came out of the palace. The expressions of her mother and her could only be described as "ugly".

But Chu Chen, the elder son who should have the most "ugly" face, has always remained calm. Chu Xuan doesn't believe that his younger brother doesn't know what his mother is thinking, but at this moment he still doesn't respond to his mother's gaze.

Today, in front of the main gate of the Taimiao, when Chu Chen saw Chu Heng in ceremonial clothes coming down from Chu Junyi's car, he was of course very shocked. Brother "is not happy for the Emperor".

Later, I found out that it was because of Lishan Junji Wuyue, so I didn't feel any strangeness anymore.

Of course, Chu Chen knew what his mother and elder sister were upset about, because Chu Heng, a bastard son with a blunt talent who was once abandoned by the family, was ahead of his own son, who was born in the first place.

Probably every mother-in-law of aristocratic family treats concubines in this way. It’s not that they can’t see them being kind. The prosperity and continuation of a family must be diligent and outstanding, but it’s too good to be good - it’s a mistake to keep pace with the concubines. Not to mention beyond.

But today in the Ancestral Temple, Chu Chen looked at Chu Heng who was standing at the front, and had a faint intuition in his heart, that seemed to be a position that Chu Heng could reach.

The reason is that Chu Chen didn't know about this second elder brother. Not long after he was born, Chu Heng was taken to Lishan Mountain.However, he is familiar with Chu Yan's younger brother, Chu Yan, and has also met their biological mother.

Most of the children of the Chu family began to read and write and practice martial arts at the age of four or five. Only Chu Yan was unable to go to school because of his infirmity and rested, and stayed with his biological mother all the time.

At that time, Chu Chen had been practicing swordsmanship for more than a year.Once when the master was leaving school early, he and his cousins ​​were flying a kite together. When looking for the direction where the kite fell, they passed a secluded yard.Chu Chen knew this. He heard from his mother that he had a fourth brother who was in poor health and lived with a sick aunt.

Chu Chen rarely saw them, and it happened that the door of the courtyard was ajar. Out of curiosity, he poked his head and looked inside.

To this day, Chu Chen can no longer remember Ji Wuju's appearance. When the elders in the family or other concubines of his father mention her by chance, they mostly disdain her, because Ji Wusu was once a woman who came out of Yeyouting. slave girl.

However, in Chu Chen's memory, that day, the woman in plain clothes in the courtyard held a branch picked up from the ground and raised a sword under the tree. The breeze brushed her face, and the clothes followed the wind Move, the sword moves with the people, the ups and downs, the wind is like a sword, and people are like a sword.

Chu Chen recognized this set of swordsmanship, and everyone who practiced swordsmanship would learn it.The master taught it when he was just getting started, and he often demonstrated it. The elders in the school have deep inner strength, and they can't help clapping their hands every time they see it.

In contrast, the sword of the woman in the courtyard was obviously without any power, but Chu Chen couldn't move his eyes and stared at her every move involuntarily.He has seen and practiced such an extremely simple move many times, and he has already mastered it. He really doesn't understand why the masters have to waste time practicing it three times before each class.

At this moment, he focused his eyes on the sword technique that he had practiced again. From start to finish, he suddenly felt blessed, and realized for the first time the meaning of the word "Sword Way" in the mouth of the masters.

"Ah Yan, from the simple to the complex, do you see clearly?" He heard the woman ask the children in the courtyard, her voice was as gentle as the wind with a smile.

……

In the main hall, Chu Xuan waited and waited until the concubine and concubine were sent back, and when there were only the three of them in the room, Chu Chen still did not express his opinion.

Seeing her mother Ye's face sombre and silent, Chu Xuan finally couldn't help asking.

"Sister," Chu Chen put down the teacup upon hearing this, raised his head and said warmly, "I understand what sister means, and I also know that sister is unfair for me."

Chu Chen said frankly, "I will tell you my sister, if His Majesty gave the Zhongli Chu family face today, and the family gave the second elder brother the honor of serving the ancestral prince, then I must have 1 unwillingness. It should be, because I am the eldest son of Zhongli, the family should put me first, this is the patriarchal line."

Chu Xuan looked pale.

"But now," Chu Chen looked up at his mother who was sitting on the main seat, and still said calmly: "Second brother is benefited from Lishan Mountain, it is his master, not mine, and the blessing of Lishan Mountain Of course, Ze has nothing to do with me, and even if there is grievance, it is someone else's property. Dong Jun is willing to take care of his fellow disciples, and Mrs. Mu is willing to take care of her disciples.

"What's more, it's not clear that my sister is not clear. Among the heirs of the sixteenth family, only Yong'an Hou Shizi is eligible to step into the Hall of Fame when worshiping the ancestors in the Taimiao. Others, including me, are not allowed to enter the palace before they are formally accepted as princes." Yes, my salute on the platform outside the palace is in accordance with the laws of the Dayin Kingdom."

"So there's really nothing to worry about."

Chu Chen thought for a while, couldn't help laughing and shook his head, and continued: "If you want to say it's uncomfortable, none of the princes and princes standing on the platform with me today are much better. It's just that they feel that it's more embarrassing to have me. Yes, they can feel more comfortable. But why do I have to let them look at me sourly? The second brother is surnamed 'Chu' after all, and he can't write two characters of 'Chu' in one stroke. , I can’t even ask for it, instead of leaving it to other people’s homes and letting me go sour on others, it’s better to let them all go sour with the surname 'Chu'."

The room was quiet for a while, Chu Xuan was silent for a while, pursed her lips and said: "It's a bit reasonable, but..." She paused, and turned her face away reluctantly, she just felt uncomfortable, hearing her brother call Chu Heng called "Second Brother" and she felt aggrieved now, let alone crossed the threshold of "surpassing the concubine with a concubine" in her heart.

"Sister," Chu Chen said, "I have never gotten along with Chu Heng, and we can't talk about brotherhood. He won the honor of serving the temple and the crown prince. If I want to say that I am happy for him, that's not enough. It's just me. It’s nothing more than resentment, the Zhongli Chu family is the founding family that holds the Iron Book of Alchemy, even though I am not qualified to enter the Taimiao Xiangdian to pay homage, but I will definitely have it in the future.”

"In short, it should be mine. Don't try to take it away from others. If it's not mine, then you can't force it. The ancestor worship in the Taimiao has passed, so it's useless to talk about it. Now, sister's marriage should be the most important thing." Chu Chen Looking up at the silent mother.

Chu Xuan has reached the age of ceremonial marriage. She is the eldest daughter of Zhong Pinghou. top priority.

Mentioning this, Mrs. Ye really reacted. She raised her eyes and glanced at Chu Chen. She was noncommittal to what her son said just now, and talked a few words about her daughter's marriage.

When Chu Chen left and went to the front yard, Chu Xuan watched his back disappear outside the door, then turned her head and said to Ye Shi: "Mother, is this the matter of the Taimiao? I know what my brother said makes sense, but... ..."

"True?" Ye interrupted her daughter's words in a deep voice, and said coldly, "The superiority and inferiority of the concubine and the general etiquette are the greatest principles in the world!"

Chu Xuan raised her eyes in a daze.

Ye's face was expressionless: "You understand this, your brother understands it, Chu Heng and Li Shan understand it too!"

Ye suddenly raised her voice, Chu Xuan's heart skipped a beat, she swallowed her saliva, and asked cautiously, "Mother... just now..."

Ye's chest heaved a few times, looking at the direction where Chu Chen was leaving, he calmly said after a while: "It's not that your brother doesn't know what you and I are thinking. I didn't refute him just now because no one was wrong about this matter." , you and he are both right."

"But Xuan'er, he is different from you. For one thing, he is meek by nature. In addition, he has learned the way of regulating the family since he was a child, and he has developed a peaceful temperament. If it is not necessary, he does not like to have disputes at home. He If you say you don't care, then you really don't mind; the other thing—"

Mrs. Ye paused for a moment, twitched the corners of her mouth, and said in a low voice: "Aristocratic families are the most particular about the other places, but sometimes, they are also the least particular. In our Chu family, your father is the one who cares the most. A person who is not particular, your brother was raised by him since he was a child, and he is very similar to him in this regard."

Chu Xuan's eyes widened, and she frowned in disbelief: "Father...? This...how is this possible?!" As the head of the clan, Zhong Pinghou has always valued his concubines the most. This is beyond doubt.

Ye was not surprised by her daughter's reaction, and wrote lightly: "Not only your father, but most of the famous family heads in Dayin Kyushu are like this."

Chu Xuan opened her mouth, and was so startled that she lost her voice for a moment.

"Xuan'er," Ye said earnestly, looking down at her daughter with deep eyes, "You remember what your mother said, and you respect your concubines because you will become the mistress of everyone like your mother in the future. You will never He would be happy to see the concubine's concubine come ahead of his own concubine. But your father is not necessarily, whether it is a concubine or a concubine, they are all his own sons."

Chu Xuan's pupils shrank suddenly, she squeezed her palms tightly, and said with difficulty: "Then, in the eyes of my father, wouldn't Chu Heng become a credit to the family...?"

There was a flash of sarcasm in Ye's eyes, and he smiled nonchalantly: "Do you think your father seems happy?"

Chu Xuan shook her head, Zhong Pinghou didn't say a word after leaving the palace, his face was indistinguishable, until he returned home.

"Don't worry, I will discuss with your father later on how to deal with it." Ye's face was covered with frost, "Your brother doesn't mind, it's because of his temperament, but Lishan let Chu Heng enter the temple to worship, It wasn't just his face that was hit, but also your father's, Zhongli Chu's, and my Guangling Ye's!"

Having been married for many years, Mrs. Ye is indeed the person who knows Zhong Pinghou best.Chu Hong went to the study in the front yard to open the clan ancestral hall on New Year's Eve tomorrow. He had many things to do at hand, but his thoughts were like a mess and he couldn't make sense of them.

Chu Yan, Chu Kun, it doesn't matter which son is in the early years, it doesn't matter even if he surpasses the son-in-law, but it happens to be this Chu Heng.

It's not that Zhong Pinghou doesn't understand Ye's thoughts as a concubine mother. If the person visiting the temple with Chu Jun is replaced by Chu Yan and Chu Kun, he won't let Ye's nonsense, but Chu Heng...

Today in Zichen Palace, every word of congratulations and compliments from others is like a slap on Zhong Pinghou's face, his whole face is hot.

Accompanying the priest is a great honor, it doesn't matter whether those people are out of jealousy or something else, Zhong Pinghou can see the sarcasm hidden in their eyes when they congratulate him, like thorns, piercing He fidgets—

Because this honor was not bestowed on Chu Heng by the Zhongli Chu family. On the contrary, a son who was abandoned by himself, under the upbringing and protection of Lishan, easily stood above the son he carefully cultivated, whether intentional or not. Unintentionally, no matter how you look at it, it looks like you are trampling on the face of yourself and the Chu family.

However, etiquette is like this. As Chu Heng's biological father, when others congratulate Mu Xiyun, they will inevitably come to him to have a glass of wine.Although most of the smiles on their faces are false, the difference between the two faces is too great.

People are bullying and fearing hard, Lishan Dongjun and the emperor secretly communicated the song, and helped the emperor's shadow guard to carry the Qiannuolou with lightning speed. I don't know how much trouble it has caused to the big families. .But Lishan was sharing the worries of the saints. If they were to blame Mu Xiyun, they would not dare to accuse Mu Xiyun in the Zichen Palace, and they would not dare to go out of the Zichen Palace—that is the wife of the Eastern Capital Realm Master, Lishanshan Lord, who wants to call her "" Mistress", no one would find trouble with her.

But I have to find a place to relieve the depression in my heart.It is true that the Zhongli Chu family is by no means a "soft persimmon", but it is better than Lishan.People's mentality is generally like this, as if as long as someone is more uncomfortable than themselves, the unhappiness in their hearts can be alleviated.

At Mu Xiyun's place, they congratulated with a half-smile, because they wanted to find out Lishan's future position.When I came to Zhong Pinghou, although I couldn't do much, I still couldn't do without a sentence or two of words.

It's not that Zhong Pinghou doesn't understand the mentality of these people. In the Zichen Palace, he blocked them back with all his might.But when he got home, he still couldn't restrain his thoughts from going in an extreme direction.

As a father, he should be happy for his son to succeed in the world. In fact, he is indeed so. Regardless of whether it is Chu Chen who is born in the first line, or Chu Yan and Chu Kun who are born in the concubine, Zhong Pinghou hopes that they will be the best.

But Chu Heng... It seems that no matter how good he is now, it will reflect how failed he, the father who gave up his life, is.

Zhong Pinghou had thought more than once, was this son born to restrain himself?He wanted to try to find out the good things about Chu Heng, but it seemed that only when he was just born brought him a very short-lived joy.In my memory, Chu Heng was born with many illnesses and disasters. He was not the same as Chu Yan who was weak due to premature birth.

When Chu Heng was young, before he went to Lishan, it seemed that the family had not had a good time since he was born.Zhong Pinghou clearly remembered that first he and Ye's eldest son died young, and then his father had a stroke. Zhongli Chu's world suddenly collapsed, and the burden of the whole family fell on him. Those two years were really difficult. He is still young, and there are many people in the clan who take the opportunity to make trouble and want to divide the power of the new Patriarch.He gritted his teeth, tried his best in every aspect, and never left room for others to question him.But he never thought that the biggest hole in him was actually his only son.

Chu Heng was sick and sick, not born enough, not to mention excellent in aptitude, he was not even as good as the most ordinary child in the family.At first, when he heard the servants in the mansion gossip, Zhong Pinghou even got offended a few times. Even when Mrs. Ye shook his head at him, he still refused to believe it and insisted that Chu Heng was just sick.But then there were rumors even in the clan. Zhong Pinghou watched Chu Heng grow up day by day after recovering from his illness, but kept silent all day long. Chu Heng, who even learned to walk slower than normal children, had to admit that this son really It's just that they are stupid and born to be unbearable.

What Chu Heng brought to Zhong Pinghou was not only the disappointment that could not be concealed in his heart, but also the voices in the clan who questioned his blood.

At that time, in the dead of night, Zhong Pinghou couldn't help thinking, if there had never been a child like Chu Heng, wouldn't it be so difficult?

Fortunately, he still has the support of his wife, Ye Shi. In the end, there was no danger, and he still held the power of the head of the clan back in his hands.When the second son was born, Chu Heng was also taken to Lishan, and everything in the family gradually got better.

In the past 16 years, Zhongli's Chu family has been stable, and he has other outstanding children under his knees. Chu Chen is gentle and moderate, Chu Yan is cheerful and motivated, Chu Kun is flying and lively, the youngest son is gradually growing up, and the daughters are also generous.The unhappiness caused by Chu Heng in the early years has been gradually forgotten, and he doesn't want to go back and think about whether that son hit his father.

Zhong Pinghou felt that he was willing to regard all the difficulties in those years as a coincidence.After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chu Heng came back from Lishan Mountain. Although he was not happy in his heart, he didn't mind adding an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks at home.

But since Chu Heng returned home, the Zhong Ping Hou Mansion first got married with Mrs. Xu, and then had some unhappiness with Yan Xiang. Although it was not a big trouble, this son seemed to be born with the ability to cause trouble.Just like the Taimiao ancestor worship this time...

Although rationality told him that it was not necessarily a bad thing for Chu Heng to win this honor by virtue of Lishan's fate, but there was always a gloom in Zhong Pinghou's heart, and he couldn't let it go, which made him sincerely want to Seeing that scene again for the second time.

Zhong Pinghou's mind was in a mess, and he couldn't prepare for tomorrow's ancestor worship in the ancestral hall all afternoon.He was depressed, and it wasn't until almost before dinner that the servant came in with a smile on his face to announce that the butler had received Chu Yan at the gate of the city and was rushing to the mansion, and Zhong Pinghou forced a smile on his face.