Chapter 164 Part 2

 

A chair had been prepared nearby. Hua Yang raised her hand and said to Qin Yuantang with a smile, “General, please take a seat.”

Qin Yuantang was stunned again.

If grand princess was like an ice peony condensed by cold snow when she was angry, now that she smiled brightly, the aloof ice peony immediately turned into a spring peony that melted in the warm sun, graceful and unparalleled in beauty.

Fortunately, Qin Yuantang was old and a general with great military power, so he was not tempted by the beauty of the grand princess.

He looked at the chair next to him, hesitated for a moment, and finally sat down, putting his hands on his knees, unable to hide his nervousness.

Seeing this, Hua Yang said softly, “Before coming to Jizhou, I imagined General to be as majestic as a mountain, as proud as a pine tree, and would treat me, the Grand Princess, politely but not servilely. Now General is sitting in front of me, but you don’t even dare to look at me, and trembling as if walking on thin ice. I just feel sad.”

Qin Yuantang raised his head in disbelief and looked directly at the grand princess who was a few steps away.

Hua Yang had tears in her eyes. “I wanted to talk to General, but I didn’t have a suitable reason. Therefore, I asked Prince consort to use such bitter trick, and had no choice but to rebuke General. But when I saw with my own eyes that General had to humble yourself in front of me for such a small matter, I felt really ashamed.”

How many common people relied on General Qin to survive the Japanese pirates and Duoyan. How could she be worthy of kneeling of such hero?

Qin Yuantang watched grand princess’ tears falling, and the tears seemed to drip into his heart, making his heart hot and humid.

He was already fawning to Chen Tingjian, so why should he care about kneeling down to a grand princess who was so concerned about her prince consort?

The grand princess rebuked him, and that’s how it should be. She was only in her early twenties, how could he really argue with a little girl?

However, when grand princess, whom he regarded as a delicate girl, spoke such heartwarming words in a soft voice, Qin Yuantang found that he did feel a little aggrieved and helpless. However, these grievances and helplessness, which were not worth mentioning, immediately disappeared without a trace because of grand princess’ understanding.

He couldn’t keep staring at the grand princess, then he lowered his head and comforted her clumsily: “It’s just a small matter, a small matter, please don’t cry.”

Having spent half his life in the military, every time he went to battlefield, he essentially had his life hanging by a thread. He really didn’t mind these things.

Hua Yang held a handkerchief, gently wiped away the tears to avoid further losing her composure.

Chen Jingzong said sourly: “It was obviously me who was injured.”

Hua Yang glared at him.

Qin Yuantang looked at the young couple and said in confusion, “Grand Princess wants to see me, why do you have to use this method? If something really happens to Prince consort, I’m afraid I could only atone with my life.”

Hua Yang calmed down and said, “Because what I want to tell General is related to your and Father’s future.”

Qin Yuantang was stunned for a moment before he realized that the father grand princess was referring to was Cabinet Elder Chen.

Qin Yuantang said solemnly: “I am all ears.”

Hua Yang: “Ever since Father started to implement the new policy, there have always been officials inside and outside the court who have opposed the new policy and tried every means to accuse Father of various crimes. I believe General has heard of this?”

Qin Yuantang nodded and flattered Chen Tingjian out of habit: “Cabinet Elder Chen is dedicated to the country and the people, and is a minister of great virtue. His Majesty and Empress Dowager are wise and will never be deceived by those villains.”

Chen Jingzong sneered: “You are good at flattering him.”

Qin Yuantang: …

Is this prince consort really Cabinet Elder Chen’s biological son?

Hua Yang: “Father is naturally a virtuous minister, but have you ever thought about how those people will criticize you and Father if you continue to have a close personal relationship with him? The collusion between the cabinet and the border generals has always been a taboo for the imperial court.”

Qin Yuantang’s face changed drastically, and he knelt down in front of grand princess: “I dare not, I swear to heaven…”

Hua Yang: “Please get up.”

Qin Yuantang did not move.

Chen Jingzong patted the bedside and said, “Do you really want me to crawl down and help you get up? Or do you want Grand Princess to help you herself?”

That was unreasonable. Qin Yuantang had no choice but to stand up again.

Hua Yang continued, “You don’t have to swear to heaven. I know very well why you want to befriend Father. It’s nothing more than that you have been on the battlefield and have seen too many military officers who were not given important positions because they had no one in the court, including General Hu and General Yu, whose military achievements were no less than yours. You are all famous generals of this dynasty, but you’re unable to fully display your abilities because of the factional disputes in the court. This is the fault of the court. You gave gifts to Father out of helplessness. You don’t have to feel ashamed.”

Qin Yuantang’s eyes were filled with tears. Grand princess really understood him!

Hua Yang: “I am just a woman, I cannot influence the officialdom, but I am the Grand Princess who married into the Chen family. I am familiar with His Majesty’s temperament and Father’s character. I also grew up hearing about General’s prestige. After arriving at the border, I personally asked the local people about your deeds. The people really love you, and I cherish General as much as the people do, so I can’t just watch you continue on the wrong path.

“General, you are a good soldier. Father admires you. Even if you don’t send gifts or write letters of flattery, Father will support you no matter what troubles you encounter. But you foolishly send gifts and write those letters, which will only give those officials who oppose Father a handle to frame him.

“If you insist on giving gifts so that you can train and lead the troops with confidence, then I will show you a way.”

Qin Yuantang’s breathing stagnated, and his tiger eyes stared at the grand princess.

Hua Yang smiled and said, “If you want to give a gift, give it to His Majesty. Father will grow old, and the Chief Minister will be replaced, but His Majesty will remain firmly on the dragon chair, and he will be the one who send all of you wise ministers and generals in the end.”

Qin Yuantang’s eyes flickered slightly.

Hua Yang smiled faintly: “General, do you think that His Majesty is still young and his words are not as effective as those of the cabinet?”

Qin Yuantang hurriedly said: “I dare not!”

Hua Yang: “That’s what you think. But I’ve already said that Father cherishes your talent. As long as you guard Jizhen well, he will always support you, and so will His Majesty. You won’t get any extra benefits from giving gifts to Father. But if you are filial to His Majesty and are loyal to him wholeheartedly, he will feel it. If someone whispers in his ear that you are colluding with Father, how can His Majesty believe it?”

Qin Yuantang finally wavered.

Hua Yang also told him what her brother thought of the Qin Army that day: “His Majesty is much more open-minded than you think. What he wants is the courage of the frontier army and the strength of the country’s soldiers. He is in the palace and cannot command the frontier army himself, so he can only trust you generals. Your loyalty to His Majesty is equivalent with the loyalty of the Qin Army to him. As long as His Majesty trusts you, then even if you, General Qin, retire in the future, the Qin Army will still be trusted and valued by His Majesty.

“But if you only try to curry favor with the cabinet and make His Majesty suspicious, not only will your future be ruined, but the entire Qin Army will be implicated. If the Qin Army disbands, who will defend Jizhen? Who do you believe can defend it better than the Qin Army?”

Qin Yuantang’s face changed drastically.

Obviously, compared with his own future, he attached more importance to the safety of Qin Army and Jizhen.

Hua Yang knew that he had really listened to her now, and finally said: “General, if you are loyal to His Majesty, you should believe in His Majesty. If you believe, loyalty will come from the heart. Only with such loyalty will His Majesty use you without doubt.”

Qin Yuantang knelt down again and said sincerely, “Don’t worry, Grand Princess. I have received your teaching!”

Hua Yang stood up, walked in front of him, and personally helped the general up: “I will also give General a promise. As long as I am here, I will speak for you in front of His Majesty. Whoever dares to frame you will be punished with the Dawang Whip that the late emperor gave me.”

Qin Yuantang never expected that when he entered the room, he was still worried that grand princess would beat him with the Dawang Whip. But at this time, grand princess personally told him that she would protect him with that whip!

General Qin, who was used to give flattery, was speechless at this moment and didn’t know how to express his gratitude.

Hua Yang smiled and said, “But I still want to remind General that you can give gifts to His Majesty, but don’t give him any beauties or other things that may lead His Majesty astray.”

Qin Yuantang’s face suddenly turned red.

One time, he presented the Chief Minister with sea lion kidneys, a specialty of his hometown, thinking that if the Chief Minister still wanted to regain his virility, this tonic would be just right!

But how could the grand princess know this!

“I dare not, I dare not!”

Hua Yang: “Well, General has been delayed here for a while, it’s time to go back. I hope General will keep my words confidential and don’t tell anyone, including your two sons.”

Of course Qin Yuantang would not tell it. As it concerns the future of the 100,000 Qin Army, he would take this secret to his grave!

“Grand Princess, have a good rest, I will take my leave!”

After bowing solemnly, Qin Yuantang turned and left.

Hua Yang breathed a long sigh of relief.

Chen Jingzong was confused and asked, “You seemed to have some hidden meaning in your words just now. Could it be that he sent beautiful women and indecent things to the old man?”

Hua Yang: “It is said that when he first gave Father a gift, he did give him a beautiful woman, but Father did not accept.”

Chen Jingzong: …

Hua Yang also shook her head helplessly. General Qin really meant well but did it wrongly.

In the previous life, the sixth crime that her brother charged her father-in-law with was colluding with border general.

The border general was naturally Qin Yuantang.

At that time, the new Chief Minister Zhang Pan and a group of officials impeached her father-in-law for seven crimes. Her brother then sent the Jinyiwei to investigate. The files clearly listed the letters and gifts between Qin Yuantang and her father-in-law over the past decade. Because her father-in-law was not greedy for money or beauty, Qin Yuantang gave him expensive gifts twice and they were returned, and the rest were ordinary local specialties. The problem was that Qin Yuantang wrote to her father-in-law and actually called himself “a dog and horse under his tutelage”. Those flattering words clearly put her father-in-law before the emperor!

In addition, Qin Yuantang was very overbearing in military training and often disobeyed the orders of the Governor of Ji Province. Her father-in-law also removed three governors for him. In the eyes of outsiders, this was a collusion between the chief minister and the border generals.

When she was just reborn, Hua Yang didn’t understand why her brother was so ruthless. It was obvious that her father-in-law had taught him carefully and devoted himself to the court. As long as her brother wanted to side with her father-in-law, he would not punish the entire Chen family.

Six years passed in a blink of an eye, and Hua Yang already understood the crux of the problem.

It was her brother who first resented her father-in-law, which was why he just stood idly by and watched.

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