Chapter 1440 The Second Prince's Doubts, Coincidence or Intentional?

"Strange, really strange."

The second prince stepped on the wooden floor with his bare feet, holding his chin, his eyes full of doubts.

He asked Xie Bian, but how could Xie Bian give him an answer.

"Could it be that he was moved by His Highness's sincerity?"

The second prince immediately looked at him with a strange look: "Do you think a person like him is sincere if he sends more posts? There must be some special reason. Nothing happened in Kyoto these two days?"

Xie Bian scratched his head and thought for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"If there is something wrong, there is something. Uncle Si Nan's illegitimate son seems to have entered the capital today."

"Fan Xian?"

The second prince's eyes also lit up and he became energetic. He was not interested in Fan Xian as a person. He was interested in Fan Xian's marriage to Lin Wan'er and the financial power of the internal treasury.

"Is it because of Fan Xian?"

"No way, Fan Xian is just an illegitimate son. Not to mention that he failed to marry the princess. Even if he did marry the princess, it's hard to say whether he could take over the inner treasury's financial power. What qualifications does he have to let the Duke of Zhenguo get married? focus on?"

What Xie Bian said made sense. There was a huge gap in status between an illegitimate son, a great master, and the duke of the country.

The second prince himself thought it was unlikely, but he really couldn't understand why Zhou Chen had 'changed his mind' and even decided on a meeting place.

"No matter what, it's a good thing for me to meet him. Yishiju, right? Let's book the best private room immediately and let the store prepare the best wine and food tomorrow."

"Then do we have to clear the place tomorrow?"

Xie Bian asked tentatively. The second prince was about to agree, but soon shook his head, remembering Zhou Chen's style.

"There's no need to clear the place. This Duke is different from others. He doesn't care too much about appearances."

"Okay, I'll let someone do it now."

"It's better that you do it yourself. I can rest assured that you will do the work."

"good."

Ever since he saw the terrifying power of the Grand Master, the second prince had a special emotion towards Zhou Chen, admiration, awe, desire...

Although he knew the intimidating power of the Grand Master in the past, his concept was very vague, but after that night, he understood why there were only five Grand Masters in the world, why people in the world were so afraid of the Grand Master, and why Sigu Sword only relied on one person and one sword. We can defend Dongyi City and survive in the gap between Qingguo and Northern Qi.

Maybe his father also knew how terrible the Grand Master was, so he indulged Zhou Chen in this way. Even though Zhou Chen's behavior had despised the law and despised the imperial power, his father could only endure it.

After all, Li Chengze is still just a prince. Everything he is doing now is to become the prince and aspire for the supreme position.

Therefore, he looked at the problem from a different perspective than Emperor Qing.

From his point of view, Zhou Chen's arrogance did not make him feel angry. Instead, he was extremely eager to win over Zhou Chen. With Zhou Chen's support, he felt better than countless people. At this time, he would not do it at all. Think about the threat that the Grand Master poses to the imperial power.

In short, one is the present and the other is the future. He hasn't even figured out the present yet and thinks of a ridiculous future.

Zhou Chen received the second prince's affirmative reply and smiled slightly.

In fact, the second prince would have targeted Fan Xian without him. After all, the second prince and the eldest princess Li Yunrui used the financial power of the inner treasury to smuggle with Northern Qi. Most of his money was smuggled from the inner treasury. If Fan Xian inherited the inner treasury, Financial power is tantamount to cutting off his largest source of income. Of course, he cannot sit still and wait for death.

Thinking of Fan Xian being deceived into going to the temple, Zhou Chen suddenly remembered that he had been in this world for so long, and it seemed that he had only been to the Qing Temple in Dadong Mountain once, but he had never been to the temple in Kyoto.

However, he knows what a temple is, and he is not a believer in gods or Buddhas, so he respects the existence of temples, but does not blindly believe in them.

When I returned to the study, I saw Sang Wen holding a book and looking at it carefully.

Although Zhou Chen is now the Duke of Zhenguo, he only has Sang Wen, the only woman in his family. In addition, Sang Wen is in charge of the accounts of the family, so even if Sang Wen has no status, he can still be regarded as one. The half-mistress of the Duke's Mansion.

The reason is that Zhou Chen dotes on her very much. Although she also has her own yard, she now lives in Zhou Chen's yard and lives in the same house with Zhou Chen.

The servants are the best at guessing their master's intentions. Zhou Chen dotes on Sang Wen, so the servants naturally regard Sang Wen as their master and do not dare to look down on her because of Sang Wen's previous status.

"What are you reading, so serious?"

Sang Wen turned the book over to Zhou Chen. It was a red-covered book.

"The Red Mansion, I don't know where it came from. Now this book is the most popular book in the market. Girls from all over the country like to read it. I also heard about it, so I sent someone to buy a copy. It is indeed very beautiful. ”

Sang Wen is not only a happy girl, but also a talented woman. I dare not say that she is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she is definitely no worse than those ladies.

"Red Mansion?"

Zhou Chen took one look at it and smiled. The Red Mansion was one of the four great classics. Fortunately, Fan Xian could remember it and wrote this book to satisfy Fan Ruoruo's craving.

"I'm going out tomorrow and won't be back at noon."

"Wherever you are going, young master, I will prepare clothes for you."

"It's up to you to choose your clothes for the Second Prince's banquet."

Zhou Chen himself doesn't care much about what he wears, as long as it's clean, but when there is a woman, he will leave it to his woman to choose.

Sang Wen didn't ask anything, just nodded, thinking about what clothes to dress Zhou Chen tomorrow.

In the study, Zhou Chen sat cross-legged to practice, Sang Wen continued to read, occasionally looked up at Zhou Chen, her face full of satisfaction, it would be great if the future years could be like this.

But she also understood that this was just her unrealistic idea. No matter how well Zhou Chen treated her, he could give her the status of a concubine, which made her extremely satisfied. She never expected more.

She also learned a lot from Zhou Chen, knowing that there was a princess of Northern Qi who had a very good relationship with Zhou Chen and would most likely be the mistress of the mansion in the future.

Zhou Chen told her that the princess of Northern Qi was a very good person, so she had always thought in her heart that no matter what the princess's personality was, as long as she could stay, she could endure it even if she was wronged.

Today's Kyoto was not peaceful. Fan Xian's entry into the capital made the eldest princess Li Yunrui, the crown prince and the second prince, as well as some other forces, all focus on Fan Xian.

Li Yunrui even took action directly, but was resolved by Emperor Qing. Emperor Qing also took this opportunity to order the commander of the imperial guards, Gong Dian, to cut off Gong Dian's contact with the prince.

Li Yunrui was unwilling to give up, so she took the initiative to find the queen mother, wanting to ask the queen mother to make the decision and break the engagement between her daughter Lin Wan'er and Fan Xian.

However, her request was not met, but she was slapped hard by Hong Sixiang. After going to Emperor Qing, she and the prince were scolded by Emperor Qing again, which made her lose face.

But she was born to be a stubborn and crazy person. The more the queen mother and Emperor Qing were like this, the more she wanted to destroy her daughter's marriage with Fan Xian, and even wanted to kill Fan Xian.

The night passed quickly, and with the crowing of the cock, a new day came again.

Zhou Chen and the second prince agreed to meet at noon. Before leaving, Sang Wen specially tidied up Zhou Chen's clothes and image before going to the appointment.

He Qin was still in charge of driving the carriage. After Zhou Chen got on the carriage, he flicked the reins and the carriage slowly drove towards Yishiju.

On the other side, the second prince arrived at Yishiju early and sat in the private room that had been reserved long ago, waiting for Zhou Chen to arrive.

"Your Highness, are we here too early?"

Xie Bian, who had been standing for a while, couldn't help but ask the second prince.

The second prince took a sip of wine and said, "Not too early. If you come earlier, you will show more sincerity. Zhou Chen is not only the Duke of Zhenguo, but also the Grandmaster. No matter how high the etiquette is, it is not too much."

"But this Duke of Zhenguo has never asked about things since he was conferred the title of Duke. His Majesty gave him an official title, but he did not respond. What does he mean?"

"You should know better than me. After all, you are all martial artists. Maybe he is really the kind of person who is indifferent to fame and fortune. Look at the five great masters in the world. Except for the Grandmaster in the palace whose specific identity is unknown, who of the other Grandmasters has entered the court as an official?"

The second prince pinched a grape and put it in his mouth, muttering, "In my opinion, the Grandmaster is no longer a normal person. The fame and power that ordinary people pursue are probably no longer taken seriously by them."

Xie Bian thought about it and it seemed to be true. Ku He of Northern Qi, Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City, Ye Liuyun and Zhou Chen of Qing State.

Ku He is from the Northern Qi royal family, but he doesn't care about Northern Qi's affairs. Although Si Gu Jian is the city lord of Dongyi City, he is a sword fanatic and rarely manages things. Ye Liuyun is even more so, he is just an idle cloud and wild crane. Now Zhou Chen, although he holds the title of Zhenguogong, is also unwilling to serve as an official in the court.

"Since Your Highness thinks he will not be burdened by fame, wealth and power, why do you still want to win him over?"

The second prince laughed and said, "Zhou Chen is a great master and is not burdened by fame and wealth, but others are different. He is not the only one in the Zhenguo Mansion. He will definitely marry and have children in the future. Even for the sake of future generations, he must make a choice, right?"

Xie Bian said, "That's the truth, but will it work?"

"Who knows? I just tried my best. But he didn't agree to the prince, but came to me first, which means that my chance should be greater than the prince. It depends on whether I can persuade him."

He didn't expect to win over Zhou Chen. How could he, a great master and a Zhenguo Duke, be won over by a prince who is not even a crown prince? He wanted to win him over. At least between the prince and him, it would be enough for Zhou Chen to favor him.

At this time, Fan Wujiu pushed the door and walked in.

"Your Highness, the Duke of Zhenguo has already set out. It should be here soon."

The Second Prince was immediately shocked: "Okay, let's have someone clean up here immediately, and then prepare the food and wine."

…………

In the carriage, Zhou Chen was resting with his eyes closed, and suddenly the carriage stopped.

"Master, we have arrived at Yishiju."

Zhou Chen opened his eyes and got off the carriage. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw the Second Prince and Xie Bian coming to greet him.

"Hello, Duke of Zhenguo."

Zhou Chen nodded and replied: "Your Highness."

Looking at the pedestrians around him and the guests in Yishiju, he was a little surprised.

"I thought Your Highness would clear the streets."

The second prince smiled and said, "I had this idea, but I thought the Duke would not like to be so ostentatious and would rather have fun with the people, so I did nothing."

"Your Highness is quite frank."

"In front of the Duke, it is impossible not to be frank. Nothing can be hidden from your eyes."

The second prince complimented, and then said politely, "The food and wine are ready, Duke of Zhenguo, please."

"Your Highness, please."

Zhou Chen and the second prince walked into Yishi Residence and went directly to the private room upstairs.

After sitting down, the second prince was very enthusiastic and said nice words again and again. He showed respect but did not lower his attitude much.

"What happened before..."

"Your Highness, that matter has long since passed, so we won't talk about it anymore."

"Yes, yes, look at my mouth, it's long past, why are you bringing it up?"

The second prince chuckled. He could see that Zhou Chen really didn't take what happened that night to heart.

"The Duke's conduct is noble and admirable."

Zhou Chen said: "Then your Highness is wrong. I am not a person of noble character. Instead, I am a person who must retaliate. I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If someone offends me, I will retaliate twice as much."

"I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If someone offends me, I will repay him twice as much. That's well said."

The second prince repeated Zhou Chen's words, stroking his hands and praising them.

"I heard that when the Duke was in the Northern Qi Dynasty, he had been friends with Mr. Zhuang Mohan, a great literary figure. In my opinion, the Duke's literary talent is no worse than Mr. Zhuang."

"It is true that Mr. Zhuang and I have been friends for many years, but compared to Mr. Zhuang, who has great literary talent, his level is still inferior."

Zhou Chen considered himself to be as knowledgeable and knowledgeable as Zhuang Mohan, but his enthusiasm and pursuit of literature were far inferior to Zhuang Mohan's.

The second prince is a talkative person, and his words are decent and pleasant, so the two of them chatted very smoothly at the dinner table. During the exchange of cups and cups, they became a little closer.

This result made the second prince very satisfied. Although Zhou Chen never said a word in his favor, it made him feel at ease. He did not think that he had much charm to make the grand master bow his head.

The two were drinking and talking when suddenly someone knocked on their door.

"Come in."

The person who came in was Xie Bi'an. He walked up to the second prince and whispered a few words in the second prince's ear, causing the second prince's expression to change immediately.

After hearing this, the second prince looked at Zhou Chen and said.

"Something happened in Kyoto recently, and the Duke must have heard about it. My aunt's daughter, Princess Lin Waner, and Uncle Si Nan's illegitimate son Fan Xian were granted a marriage by Your Majesty. Fan Xian just arrived in Kyoto yesterday. By coincidence, , just now, he, Fan Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe from Fan Mansion also arrived at Yishi Residence, and are now outside. "

As soon as he spoke, he was suddenly startled.

Such a coincidence?

Today Zhou Chen asked him to come to Yishiju, and Fan Xian also came to Yishiju. How could it be such a coincidence? Could it be that Zhou Chen had arranged it?

But he quickly rejected it in his mind. When he received the reply yesterday, Fan Xian had just entered Kyoto. No matter how powerful Zhou Chen was, he couldn't predict the future, right?

It must be a coincidence.