Seeing that the father and son were about to argue, the Duchess of Dingguo hurriedly smoothed things over. She first pulled the Duke of Dingguo's sleeve to calm him down:
"Alright, Zhao'er only submitted a memorial, made a suggestion, and expressed his thoughts. As a minister, stating one's views is just fulfilling a minister's duty. As for how the salt laws will specifically change, whether they will change, when they will change, and who will change them, it's all up to the Emperor. It might not fall on Zhao'er, nor might it happen at this time. It's really not that serious. It's rare for our family to have a meal together, and Mother is still here. Don't keep talking about death all the time, it's bad luck."
Then she pulled Gu Zhao's sleeve to make him sit down, and the Duchess of Dingguo advised Gu Zhao:
"As the saying goes, a ruler is wise because he listens to all sides; he is in the dark because he listens to only one side. Now, you are a prominent figure who can take charge independently. Logically, we shouldn't interfere with official matters, but for such a big issue, you should have at least informed your father in advance. Your father has been in officialdom for decades. Hasn't he seen and heard more than you? Listening more to others' opinions will never do any harm, right?"
Both father and son were persuaded by the Duchess of Dingguo and softened their tones.
One apologized to Old Madame Gu for speaking recklessly about life and death.
The other apologized to the whole family for putting them in danger.
Old Madame Gu also chimed in to smooth things over, changing the subject with a smile:
"From now on, keep your official matters to yourselves in the study. I, as an old lady, don't like listening to them. When eating with me, talk about things I want to hear. In a few days, the Eldest Grand Princess and the young lady of the Wen family will come to visit. Make sure to remember the date."
It was the first time the Duke of Dingguo had heard that the Eldest Grand Princess was coming to visit, but hearing that the young lady of the Wen family was coming along, he immediately understood. He glanced at Gu Zhao and said:
"The Wen family? That's fine too. I suppose even if this rebellious son commits a grave mistake that warrants the execution of nine generations in the future, the Emperor wouldn't go so far as to behead his own aunt's son-in-law."
Although Old Madame Gu didn't say it explicitly, the Duke of Dingguo understood immediately why the Eldest Grand Princess was visiting, and Gu Zhao understood even better.
Last time at the Huangjue Temple, because he was rejected by the young lady of the Zhuang family for being too old, his mother suffered a heavy blow. Now, his marriage was an imminent matter in his parents' eyes. They worried that if it dragged on past the new year and he grew another year older, he would be even more despised by the noble ladies of the capital for his age.
Marriage was dictated by the orders of parents. Gu Zhao couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He still had to hurry and bring Zhu Qingyu's parents to the capital. Otherwise, after the young lady of the Zhuang family left, the young lady of the Wen family came. Even if the young lady of the Wen family left, his parents would still arrange for another noble lady to meet him.
He wondered if the subordinates he sent to pick up Qingyu's parents had actually met them. He had arranged for a military route. Although the roads to Shu were difficult to travel, it was definitely much faster than the routes taken by ordinary commoners entering Shu. Calculating the time, they should have met the people by now. Within these few days, his subordinates' letter should also arrive.
When the time came, he would show it to Qingyu, so she would know that her parents and brother were safe and sound on their way here. This would settle her mind and make her more willing to stay in the capital peacefully, instead of thinking every day about running away after saving Zhang Jingyan.
Gu Zhao couldn't openly oppose his parents arranging a marriage for him, so upon hearing it was the young lady of the Wen family, he immediately found fault:
"The Wen family? A few days ago, I heard the Emperor say that the Wen family was already discussing a marriage with the Xie family, weren't they?"
The Duchess of Dingguo hurriedly said:
"The Eldest Grand Princess has two daughters, twins. The one discussing marriage with the Xie family is the younger sister. There is still an older sister whose marriage hasn't been discussed yet. Actually, the Eldest Grand Princess had mentioned it before, but at that time we were meeting with the Zhuang family, and it wouldn't be good to meet with two families and delay the girl, so I declined. Now there's an epidemic in the Northern Frontier, and the Eldest Grand Princess is anxious to return. Before leaving, she probably wants to settle her daughter's marriage as soon as possible, which is why she asked again today. So, you see, good things take time. After going round and round, perhaps destiny really falls here."
Speaking of the Xie family, Old Madame Gu, who loved hearing some family gossip in her old age, started sharing rumors:
"This marriage between the Wen family and the Xie family might not succeed. A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and the Empress happened to come pay her respects as well. I heard them mention that the young marquis of the Xie family claimed to have a sweetheart and refused the marriage with the Wen family. When asked which family's daughter his sweetheart was, he wouldn't say, and only ran out all day long. Most likely, he has someone outside before even getting married. This made the Empress furious. Now the Xie family is investigating. If he really set up an outside mistress before getting married, the young lady of the Wen family, being of noble birth, might not be willing."
Gu Zhao didn't care whether Xie Ze had set up an outside mistress or not.
But taking Xie Ze as a warning, before Qingyu's parents arrived in the capital, he had to act carefully, lest the elders become suspicious and prematurely expose Qingyu's existence, which would ruin things.
Because of his family, Gu Zhao had some reservations. Although he yearned for her day and night, he didn't dare to visit Zhu Qingyu frequently. He only continued to push forward the establishment of the Huiyi Temple while hoping for the quick arrival of Zhu Qingyu's parents and brother.
However, Shen Xu, a true bachelor who only needed to feed himself to feed his whole family, naturally didn't have this concern. Early this morning, he went to Tsingyi Lane and knocked on the Zhang family's door.
Nanny Wang had gone out to buy groceries, and Uncle Lyu had gone out to buy charcoal. Zhu Qingyu was the only one in the Zhang family's residence.
When Shen Xu knocked on the door, Zhu Qingyu was under the eaves of the main house, using the daylight to make new clothes for Zhang Shen.
Seeing Shen Xu, Zhu Qingyu was very surprised:
"Lord Shen?"
Although she opened the door, Shen Xu didn't enter right away. He first asked:
"May I come in? I heard you want to send him things?"
Zhu Qingyu had never seen him so polite before, so she quickly made way:
"Yes, I want to go see him and send him some clothes. For such a small matter, why did you come personally? Lord Shen, please come in, come in and have some tea."
Since Nanny Wang was not there, Zhu Qingyu personally brought tea for Shen Xu.
She clearly told him to sit inside just now, but Shen Xu didn't walk into the main house. He stood under the eaves, looking at the pile of things Zhu Qingyu had spread out at the door for making clothes.
Zhu Qingyu brought the tea into the main hall and greeted him:
"Lord Shen, please have some tea."
Shen Xu still didn't enter, but asked:
"If I come in to drink tea, will you still be afraid of me?"
Zhu Qingyu was still counting on his agreement so she could send things in to Zhang Shen, so her attitude was very good, and she smiled:
"I'm not afraid anymore. Come in and have tea."
Only then did Shen Xu enter the door. The two sat across the tea table, and Shen Xu reached out his hand to her:
"Give me your hand."
Zhu Qingyu was a bit puzzled, but still placed her hand in his.
Shen Xu held her hand, his fingers resting on her pulse, and laughed:
"Mhm, no trembling. You really aren't afraid of me anymore. That's wonderful. Doctor Zhu, you want to go see him, but that won't do. If you want to use my method to keep him alive, you must first believe that the person named Zhang Jingyan no longer exists in this world. I will take care of him for you, and from now on, the person you should care for and think about is me."
