Zhou Shigong turned pale with anger at Zhang Pinggui's words.
But besides being angry, he was filled with more panic and sadness.
He knew very well the Zhou family's situation in the court over the years. He also knew that Queen Mother Zhou was old and had been in poor health. He didn't know how many years she could last. Once the Queen Mother Zhou dies, can the emperor continue to tolerate the Zhou family?
Although the Zhou family currently has a good relationship with the emperor's cousin Tao Yue, how can Tao Yue's power and dignity compare with that of Mr. Sun Ge? What's more, if the emperor intends to harm the Zhou family, a hundred Tao Yues can't stop him. Sunge Lao is targeting the Zhou family. To put it bluntly, he is just following the emperor's wishes.
As long as the Zhou family holds military power in the northwest, the emperor will never be happy with the Zhou family.
But how could the Zhou family give up military power? Not to mention that the Hu people have been eyeing them in the Western Regions. Even if the border areas are peaceful, few of the generals in the court are loyal and upright and can really fight. If the Zhou family laid down their military power, disbanded their troops and returned to their fields, what kind of disaster would this country suffer from those incompetent civil servants and military generals? ! Even for the sake of the common people, the Zhou family cannot retreat!
Zhou Shigong seems to have seen the fate of the Zhou family's future achievements, which will shock the master and lead them to death. When he was young, he also had great ambitions. He felt that he could become an official through the imperial examination, take the path of civil service, and one day join the cabinet to become the prime minister. There is hope of protecting the family.
But he only passed the imperial examination with the same scholar. It was difficult for him to enter the six ministries and serve as an official, let alone the cabinet. He was also discriminated against in the officialdom. What ambitions were there? It's better to go home and spend the day leisurely. If he was lucky, he might not survive the day when the emperor took action against the Zhou family.
Nowadays, even a little person like Zhang Pinggui can clearly see the future of the Zhou family and threaten him in turn, which is simply mocking his incompetence. If he had been more successful in the imperial examination, or if he had stayed for three more years before taking the examination, he would have been more confident of entering the second class. Then his future after joining the officialdom would naturally be different. Even if you can't get into the cabinet, it's not hopeless to win a high-ranking official from the Sixth Ministry!
Zhou Shigong remembered how he rushed to take the exam, and the hatred in his heart deepened. He had already figured it out over the years. He had originally made an appointment with his master to study for another three years before ending his studies, but his sister's few words prompted him to sign up. He had been tricked by his stepmother and sister! They were afraid that after high school, his future would be so good that he would surpass his younger brother Zhou Shicheng, so they deliberately used words to provoke him, but he was really fooled...
Zhou Shigong took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and showed deep hatred in his eyes: "Zhang Pinggui, don't think you can scare me by saying these words. Who do you think I am?! I am a descendant of the Zhou family! Founder of the country and town of the country. The Queen! The son of a great general! How can you, a shady little assassin, know what power is? What is a future?! I'm afraid you have never appeared openly in front of others in your life?!
"It's ridiculous! What does it mean to be a once-in-a-lifetime flower? What does it mean to be in the sky? My Zhou family has been loyal for generations and has made great contributions to the country. It is known to the whole world that it cannot be destroyed by just a treacherous minister. And when the sun reaches noon, it will set to the west. Even the existence of gods can't prevent it from falling into darkness. You said that the Sun family is powerful? But besides the holy pet, what else do they have? Are they the heirs of the emperor who can inherit the unification? Or is Mr. Sun Ge still in his prime and can still use his hands? Covering the sky for many years?!”
Zhang Pinggui snorted coldly, but couldn't say anything to refute.
Everyone knows that the only prince under Concubine Sun's knees has died for several years, and Concubine Sun has not given birth to a second heir, and the Sun family has not been able to send any more daughters to the palace as concubines. No matter which prince succeeds to the throne in the future, he will not have any blood relationship with the Sun family. Mr. Sun Ge's current power has indeed declined, and no one knows how long it can last.
And Mr. Sun Ge himself is already over seventy years old. Only God knows how long he can live. Once he dies, no one in the Sun faction will be able to take charge of the overall situation, and sooner or later it will decline.
In contrast, the Zhou family's contributions are well known to the world. Even though the emperor and Mr. Sun Ge had been targeting the Zhou family for so many years, they still could not find a convincing excuse to punish them. As long as the Zhou family doesn't make any big mistakes, and the Northwest Frontier Army fails to produce a second general with sufficient merit and reputation but who has nothing to do with the Zhou family, the Zhou family will still have the final say in the northwest.
Zhang Pinggui lived in the third room of the Zhou family for several days. He often listened to Zhou Jinpu and his son bragging, and he knew that the Zhou family's situation was not as dangerous as he originally thought. But he was unwilling to be overwhelmed by Zhou Shigong's words.
Who is Zhou Shigong? A fool who was easily deceived by him with a few lies had a woman at his fingertips. Why should he be frightened? !
Thinking of the marriage between the Sun family and Prince Ji, Zhang Pinggui showed a proud expression on his face again. He snorted coldly and opened his mouth to refute Zhou Shigong, but Haitang on the side interrupted him by saying, "You can't be..." Do you want to say that if the Sun family does not have a prince, it will be the same if it has an imperial grandson? As long as Prince Ji successfully returns to the royal family, is appointed as the crown prince, and gives birth to an imperial heir with the Sun family's daughter, the Sun family will still have a bright future?"
Zhang Pinggui choked for a moment, then smiled coldly: "So you also know?"
"This is not new news, who doesn't know it?" Haitang blinked, "But I don't know why you are so proud. Prince Ji's Crown Princess hasn't given birth to a son yet, right? Isn't she dead? The so-called grandson There are no royal grandsons of our bloodline, so where is the bright future of the Sun family?"
Zhang Pinggui's whole body was shocked, but he still pretended to be calm: "The Crown Princess is fine, where did she die? Stop talking nonsense!"
Haitang smiled slightly: "If she hadn't died, why would Mr. Sun Ge be anxious to kill his granddaughter's fiance, Prince Yingchuan? You, a killer raised by the Sun family, would appear in the third room of the Zhou family and target Yingchuan. Isn’t the purpose of the training place that Prince Chuanhou is about to go to? Your presence is the best proof."
Zhang Pinggui's expression suddenly changed, and he was shocked to realize that he had let something slip before. He shouldn't mention the Sun family to Zhou Shigong, he should use Zhou Shuyi to intimidate him... No, no! Zhou Shuyi was just the sister-in-law of Marquis Yingchuan and the half-sister of Zhou Shigong. She wanted to kill Marquis Yingchuan's son, plotted against her eldest brother, and offended her husband's family and her natal family at the same time. She had no confidence to scare Zhou Shigong. If he wants to find a chance for himself, he should use the reputation of the third family member of the Zhou family instead of directly using the banner of Mr. Sun Ge to scare people!
Once Mr. Sun Ge's name was revealed, how would he explain why he wanted to kill the fiancé of the host's lady? Doesn't that make it clear that Mr. Sun Ge has murderous intentions towards Prince Yingchuan?
Zhang Pinggui gritted his teeth and glared at Haitang: "Stop talking nonsense! I didn't plan to kill Yingchuan Hou Shizi! I... I planned to be his bodyguard and take the opportunity to escape! The Zhou family searched for me everywhere in Chang'an. But they will definitely not dare to search for Prince Yingchuan’s whereabouts. As long as I can become his follower, I can escape safely!"
"Don't you want to say that the reason why you were panicking just now was because you were worried that Prince Yingchuan had gone to the Minzhou Guard, and you would not be able to sneak in with him and escape, because you are not from the Minzhou Guard at all. If you go, you will definitely Will your identity be exposed?" Hai Jiao smiled beside him, "It sounds reasonable, but I don't know if my uncle believes it?"
"I'm not a fool, how could I believe it?!" Zhou Shigong sneered from the side, "Since the thief has already spilled the beans, there is no need to force his words! I will write a letter to the Marquis of Yingchuan to let him know that his brother How did his wife and colleagues in the court plot against his son, telling him to protect his son's life and not let the child run around? If he had time to let his child come to the northwest to experience, it would be better to help his son break off the engagement first, and then Looking for a good match, don’t prevent the daughter of the Sun family from filling the house for her brother-in-law!"
(End of chapter)
