Jiang Chenghan lowered his head and whispered a few sentences into Yan Jingshu's ear.
Yan Jingshu immediately widened his eyes slightly, extremely shocked, but he remembered to cover his mouth and whisper, "This... this is too risky. After all, the Thirteenth Prince is the only prince now, and he has been in the court for many years, his position long solidified. How can it be so easily..."
Yan Jingshu didn't finish the latter part of his sentence, but Jiang Chenghan understood his meaning. He patted his shoulder reassuringly and said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Don't worry, Uncle, the Prince of Chuxiang, and I have already planned everything thoroughly. Nothing will go wrong."
Although Jiang Chenghan said this, Yan Jingshu still found it difficult to be completely at ease until the matter was settled. After lowering his gaze for a moment, he still said, "Given the turbulent times now, if I reject the matchmaker this time, I'm afraid the Thirteenth Prince will be completely enraged. Who knows what else he might do. Moreover, the matchmaker came to our door with great fanfare, who knows how much gossip will spread in the capital. I was thinking, why not use preparing for the imperial exams and needing to study hard as an excuse for Jiajia to stay at the Commandery Prince of Rui's residence for this period. With the protection of the Prince of Chuxiang and the Commandery Prince of Rui, presumably the Thirteenth Prince wouldn't dare to do anything again."
If this could put Yan Jingshu's mind at ease, Jiang Chenghan naturally had no objection.
After settling this matter, Yan Jingshu went to the main hall to see that Matchmaker Zhao, while Jiang Chenghan went to the inner quarters to find Jiang Rongjia.
Now that the old emperor was critically ill, Xiao Yanchu, who had been promoted another rank to Prince, needed to enter the palace daily to attend to the emperor. Although Jiang Rongjia still went to the Commandery Prince of Rui's residence every day to take lessons from Xie Huan, today Jiang Chenghan was on his day off, so he also asked for a day off to spend more time with his father.
Since Jiang Chenghan was with Yan Jingshu, he went to his younger brother Jiang Rongkang's courtyard to check on his studies.
Unlike Jiang Rongjia's courtyard, Jiang Rongkang's courtyard didn't have many elegant landscapes. There was only a very lush and tall parasol tree standing under the window. Other than that, there was a large flat grassy area, with the center patch faintly revealing brown earth, clearly from frequent trampling. Around the grassy area stood several rows of various weapons, stone locks, sandbags, and other such items.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Jiang Chenghan saw the two youths sitting at the stone table under the parasol tree by the window. They were about the same height and had similar builds.
One was wearing a moon-white brocade robe, with features as beautiful as a painting, elegant and delicate, his clear, bright eyes revealing the unique brightness and purity of a youth. The other had a slightly darker complexion, handsome and vibrant, full of energy, wearing close-fitting short clothes that showed off his agile and flexible figure.
These two were naturally Jiang Rongjia and Jiang Rongkang.
At the moment, Jiang Rongjia was holding a few sheets of paper, reading them. But as he read, his brows furrowed, his refined and fair little face full of seriousness. Seeing this, Jiang Rongkang, beside him, couldn't help but look somewhat guilty.
"What are you two doing?" Jiang Chenghan said with a laugh.
"Father!" "Father!" The brothers looked over at the same time and spoke.
Jiang Chenghan walked to the stone table. Both brothers had stood up. Jiang Rongkang even diligently helped Jiang Chenghan sit down on the stone stool and hurriedly poured him a cup of tea, looking very ingratiating.
Jiang Chenghan ignored him. He turned and pulled Jiang Rongjia to sit beside him, smiling as he said, "What's wrong? Who made our Jiajia angry? Tell me, and I'll go hit him."
Even if Jiang Rongjia was really angry, being coaxed like a child by Jiang Chenghan like this, his anger couldn't surface. Seeing Jiang Rongkang beside him making faces at him, bowing and thanking him, he ultimately didn't reveal that Jiang Rongkang had someone else do his homework for him. He just gave him a look that said they would settle this later, then folded the papers in his hand and put them away.
Then he said to Jiang Chenghan, "It's nothing. I was just telling Kang'er about something I saw on the street. It's not a big deal. Father, why are you here? Where's Dad?"
The brothers had their own little secrets. Jiang Chenghan knew but didn't press further. When Jiang Rongjia asked about Yan Jingshu, he said, "The Thirteenth Prince sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. Your dad is in the front dealing with that person."
Hearing this, Jiang Rongjia couldn't help but frown, his face showing disgust. Having accompanied the Commandery Prince of Rui for many years, he had some interactions with imperial relatives like the Thirteenth Prince and had long known about the Thirteenth Prince's interest in him. It was just that multiple rejections had been useless, and he was still being pestered.
Jiang Rongkang, unaware of outside matters, was very confused upon hearing this and asked foolishly, "Propose marriage? Propose to whom?" Their family didn't have any girls to marry off!
Now wasn't the time to explain things to Jiang Rongkang. Seeing Jiang Rongjia's somber expression, Jiang Chenghan comforted him in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, Father's here. Nothing will happen..."
Jiang Rongkang suddenly widened his eyes and followed Jiang Chenghan's gaze to Jiang Rongjia, vaguely understanding something.
Jiang Chenghan continued, "The Thirteenth Prince is inherently stubborn and believes himself to be the absolute authority. Having had his marriage proposal rejected multiple times, he must be extremely dissatisfied and is likely to be driven to desperate measures, potentially doing something to you. Today, pack your things and move into Prince Rui's residence tomorrow to lay low for a while. Once Father resolves this matter, I will bring you back home."
"The Thirteenth Prince!" Before Jiang Rongjia could say anything, Jiang Rongkang, who had just understood the situation, exploded. He jumped up, grabbed the black-gold spear nearby, and charged outside.
"Stop right there!" Jiang Chenghan knew exactly what he intended to do and shouted sternly to stop him.
Although Jiang Rongkang looked about the same age as Jiang Rongjia, he was actually two years younger, just fourteen now. His temperament was far less steady than Jiang Rongjia's, and due to his martial arts training, he was even more prone to impulsiveness and anger.
Jiang Chenghan knew his second son's personality well. While Jiang Rongkang's nature was innate and would require long-term tempering in the future, he didn't have that time right now.
He said, "Kang'er, you go pack your things too. Tomorrow, go with your older brother to stay at Prince Rui's residence. Protect your brother well, do you understand?"
At first, Jiang Rongkang was reluctant.
Rather than hiding in Prince Rui's residence, he would prefer to directly take his spear and stab that audacious person who dared to covet his brother, ending it once and for all so his brother would have no more worries. But Jiang Chenghan said he wanted him to protect Jiang Rongjia, which made him hesitate.
In the end, he turned back to his room to pack his things. After the initial fury subsided, calmness and composure returned to his mind. He knew his father would absolutely not let him go stab the Thirteenth Prince to death, so it was better to follow his brother.
If the Thirteenth Prince really tried to secretly attack his brother, he could always stab him to death then.
No comments:
Post a Comment