Prime Minister

Chapter 1119 Recognition

Chapter 1119 Recognition

Zhang Yue and Lu Gongzhu got up and left the teahouse together.

Lu Gongzhu said: "My daughter is ignorant and has caused trouble for the Prime Minister."

When Lu Gong wrote Zhang Yue to discuss matters, he always put public matters first and private matters second.

National affairs should be put first, followed by personal and family matters.

Zhang Yue said, "Mr. Lu is too serious. This is a family matter between my brother and his wife. I believe Mr. Lu will handle this matter properly."

The two of them didn't say any more after this, otherwise it would seem that Zhang Yue was teaching Lu Gongzhu to handle household affairs.

Before leaving, Zhang Yue said, "Mr. Lu, here is something. Please take a look at it when you return home."

Mr. Lu nodded.

After Lu Gongzhu returned home, he looked through the things Zhang Yue had given him, and with a serious expression he immediately discussed it with his wife, Lu.

Lu Gongzhu's wife, Lu, was the daughter of Lu Zongdao, a famous prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, known as the "fish head participating in politics". The marriage between Lu Yijian and Lu Zongdao could be considered a perfect match, and the couple also got along well.

Lu Zongdao was called the Fish-Head Minister of State, firstly because the first character of the word Lu is a fish, and also because he was upright and tough, like a fish head.

Lu's wife, Mrs. Lu, was just like his father, with an impetuous temper. Although she seemed to speak bluntly, she was not someone who could be easily fooled and was tough in her approach.

When Lu Gongzhu returned home, Lu came up with Lu and asked, "I heard that you were chatting with Prime Minister Zhang in the teahouse today. Did you talk about Er Niang?"

Lu Gongzhu shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Zhang is a very capable person. He only cares about the great national and family issues. How could he mention such a small matter?"

"I feel guilty for mentioning it."

Mrs. Lu said, "What's your fault in this matter? Besides, this matter involves both the Zhang and Lu families, so it can't be called a small matter. I have the same idea. If the Zhang family wants to let this concubine come in, I will let Second Lady stay in the Lu family as long as she wants."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lu was about to cry and sat aside.

"Did the Zhang family let this girl in?" Lu Gongzhu asked Lu.

"Not yet. My uncle... Prime Minister Zhang has placed me in Tianshui Lane. There are nearly a hundred people guarding me inside and outside. I eat the best food from the land and sea, and I have hired the best doctors in the capital to take care of me."

Mrs. Lu said, "Sir, did you see that? The Zhang family is obviously trying to force the emperor to abdicate, and they don't want anyone to have contact with this woman. It's possible that the in-laws have already privately seen this woman's child and have recognized her."

Lu Gongzhu did not speak to Lu, but looked at Lu and asked, "Second Mother, what do you think?"

Mrs. Lu said, "I have no idea. I will follow your parents' arrangements. If anything happens to Ah Xi, I will become a nun."

When Lu Gongzhu heard what Lu said, he was furious and said to Lu: "Second mother, you are the second daughter in the family. Parents always pay the most attention to the eldest daughter and love the youngest daughter very much, but neglect to discipline you."

"I've taught you so many books."

After hearing this, Mrs. Lu shed tears silently.

Mrs. Lu was anxious to protect her daughter and said, "Sir, how can you blame Second Lady for this? It was Ah Xi who made the mistake first. She took a mistress without informing her family."

Lu Gongzhu said, "If he says so, will his family agree?"

Mrs. Lu was speechless. It was true that Mrs. Lu was the one who made the decisions on everything at home and her word was final. Given her personality, she would never allow this woman to enter the house.

Lu Gongzhu said: "The current situation is very clear. If Axi cannot return from this battle, then the male offspring of the concubine will be the eldest son and grandson of the Zhang family. If Axi can return safely, then we can talk about both sides."

In fact, both husband and wife understood that Zhang Zhi was in great danger this time.

When Mrs. Lu heard this, she looked at Mrs. Lu and thought, it's all your fault that you didn't give birth to a boy for the Zhang family, otherwise this wouldn't have happened.

After hearing the implication of Lu Gongzhu's words, Lu felt even more distressed. Not having given birth to a legitimate son for the Zhang family had always been something she was unhappy about.

At this moment, she wiped away her tears stubbornly and said, "Daddy, if anything happens to Ah Xi, I am willing to raise these two children myself and treat them as my own. But this outsider girl...I will never tolerate her."

Lu Gongzhu shook his head and said, "You are still like this. After you said that, you went back to your parents' home and said that you would treat the child as your own. Will the Zhang family agree?"

"After being the eldest wife of the Zhang family for so many years, you are still as ignorant as a girl in the boudoir."

Mrs. Lu said, "What else can we do? Second Lady is the legitimate wife of the Zhang family and the eldest grandson's wife. And that concubine is the daughter of a criminal official!"

"If you let her in, will my Lu family still have face? Humph, the Zhang family has gained power in recent years, and they have a prime minister, so they are amazing. But our Lu family has also produced two prime ministers and a privy councilor. If that doesn't work out, there is still our Lu family. Mother will definitely support you."

Lü Gongzhu slammed the table and said angrily, "Is there any reason left? No matter how big the world is, it is not bigger than the same principle. How many prime ministers have the Zhang and Lu families produced? If there is no reason, the prime minister cannot hold his head up."

"Besides, Prime Minister Zhang has already thought of what you are worried about."

Lü Gongzhu took out something and handed it to Lu, who said, "This is the file on the crime committed by the woman's father."

"Prime Minister Zhang, I have sent someone to investigate privately. This girl's father was framed by the other party because he exposed the local shenzha Yingtian incident, and his father and brother were imprisoned. The official who originally judged the case was exiled by the court because he was involved in the Fuyan Road military equipment embezzlement case."

"If Prime Minister Zhang sends someone to the local area to re-examine the case and clear the other party, his father's name will be cleared and he will be rewarded by the court."

After reading the case file, Lu was furious and said, "What do you mean you are innocent? There are so many unjust, false and wrongly convicted cases in the world. Who has the power to redress your case? Even overturning the verdict would offend the officials who handled the case."

"It's not difficult for a dignified Jixian Prime Minister to overturn an ironclad case. This is clearly an excuse for that woman."

Lu Gongzhu rebuked him, "That's just a woman's opinion. How can an ironclad case be overturned? There are so many people watching in the court. Even if you are the prime minister, you have to speak with real evidence. The fact that Prime Minister Zhang dared to send someone to investigate this case shows that it is 90 percent sure."

"The most important thing is that Prime Minister Zhang personally handed this file to me! He wants to do this favor for our Lu family."

"As long as this favor is there, Second Lady will always be the eldest wife of the Zhang family, and you can also fulfill your reputation as a virtuous woman!"

After hearing this, the arrogant Lu stopped fighting. Lu sat on the chair with a frown on her face. She had been arguing all the time, wasn't it because she was worried that the concubine would turn against her in the future because of her son's status?

Lu said: "Sir, who knows this? There are many ungrateful people in the world. Those girls from small families..."

Lu Gongzhu said: "The small families know loyalty and are more grateful for virtue than the big families."

Mrs. Lu thought for a moment and said, "Alright. This concubine can marry into the Zhang family, but she can only lower herself to the position of a wet nurse in front of the child, and Er Niang must personally teach and educate the child. This concubine... this wet nurse is not allowed to interfere."

"What do you think, Second Mother?"

Lu thought about it and stopped talking.

……

Under dusk.

A carriage slowly drove to the side door of Zhang Mansion.

A pregnant woman slowly got off the carriage with the help of two maids. She held the hand of a child and slowly walked into the Zhang Mansion.

The woman was Miao. She had never imagined in her life that there was such a big mansion, so many courtyards, so many trees, flowers and plants. If someone hadn't led the way, she would have been lost long ago.

The servants and maids she met along the way were all respectful and polite to her.

Miao touched her belly and said silently: "Don't panic, child, this is where your father used to live."

The maid at the side said, "Madam, this is the house. When the Prime Minister led his troops to pacify Xihe, the government gave it to the Zhang family."

"I see."

"The eldest lady and the grandfather and grandmother are waiting inside. The grandfather and grandmother are both honest people, and the eldest lady comes from a high-ranking family and has many rules."

"I've taught you the important rules before, and we'll talk about the rest later. This will be your home from now on."

"My home." Miao said in a daze.

……

In the hall, Zhang Shi and Yu's couple were both restless, and Lu had returned to the Zhang residence yesterday, and at this moment she was sitting there with an extremely cold expression.

Zhang Yue and Shiqi Niang were listening to the news in the side room.

Soon, two maids supported the pregnant Miao and a child into the house. Seeing this scene, Lu's lips moved, and Zhang Shi wanted to stand up to see it more clearly, but was pulled by Yu to sit down.

Miao slowly walked into the house. Instead of heading towards Zhang Shiyu, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Lu who was sitting next to her with her son.

"I, Miao Liuniang, greet you, Madam. On behalf of my whole family, I would like to thank you for saving my life."

Mrs. Lu had a stern face, but after hearing the word "servant", her expression softened a little and she said, "Stand up."

When Mrs. Lu looked at Mrs. Miao and saw that she had a simple face, she knew that she was a kind-hearted woman, and her prejudice against her was reduced by three points.

Miao was about to kowtow to Zhang Shi and his wife, but Yu stood up and said, "You are pregnant, we will learn the rules later."

"Yes."

The attendants immediately brought a chair to Miao.

At this moment, Zhang Shi couldn't help but say to the child beside Miao: "Child, let me see you."

Miao nodded to the child beside her and said, "Go ahead!"

The child nodded ignorantly and walked towards Zhang Shiyu.

Zhang Shi stared at it for a long time before saying, "It's really like it, it's really like it!"

Yu also watched for a long time, and finally couldn't help covering her face and crying. After hearing Yu's crying, Zhang Shi also couldn't help but shed tears.

Mrs. Lu on the side also shook her head and shed tears silently.

Miao's eyelashes were also filled with tears.

Zhang Yue, who was in the next room and heard the news, was speechless. Shiqi Niang said to Zhang Yue, "Sir, you have done your best."

Zhang Yue nodded.

……

After Double Ninth Festival.

The news of the great defeat at Fuyan Road and the fall of Mingsha City had spread.

The people all knew that the two armies that attacked Xia had returned with a great defeat.

There were 50,000 soldiers from Fuyan Prefecture led by Gao Zunyu, and nearly half of them were killed in the northwest in this battle.

When Gao Zunyu returned safely, he was stopped and scolded by the people of Bian Jing.

Gao Zunyu was greeted by fruits, vegetables and eggs thrown by the people, and he felt ashamed and embarrassed.

After reading Zhang Zhi's will, the emperor was deeply saddened and issued an edict to blame himself.

Afterwards, all the major temples in the city of Bianliang held grand ceremonies, burned mountains of money, and set up temples.

The monks and nuns came to comfort the dead souls, and officials and common people went to various temples to offer chrysanthemums to express their grief.

From Bian Jing, Yongxing Army to Shaanxi, people set up white flags everywhere, and the families of the fallen soldiers took old clothes to call back the souls of the fallen soldiers of the Western Army.

Wang Gui and Zhang Yue led the ministers to preside over the sacrificial ceremony, and the people of Bianliang all cried.

While everyone in the Zhang Mansion was concerned about Zhang Zhi's life or death, news about Zhang Zhi finally came.

(End of this chapter)