Goldfield
Chapter 177: Schematic

Empress Princess Jing seemed to realize that she was a little too hard and lightly sighed, “I know you are not easy. Your eldest brother is the heir to the Prince Jing household and he was personally taught by your father. The third son was the youngest at home and had a weak body after birth, so he received more attention from me and your father. You are the second son sandwiched between an older brother and a boy, so it will be difficult for Mom and Dad to avoid ignoring you. After all, Second Son, you must remember that you, Lier, and Yang’er are my flesh and blood. You are all very important to me! ”

Everyone in the capital knew that Prince Jing and his wife were a couple who loved each other very much and that Prince Jing spoiled his wife beyond expectations! Not only did the prince's residence not have concubines living in it but he also got rid of the servants who had other ideas.

That's right, you're not crazy, it's Prince Jing himself! He managed to resist the alluring temptation and only loved his wife. It's been like this for the last ten years. There was not a single married woman or noble girl in the capital who did not envy Princess Empress Jing for having a good life.

The Empress had been married for twenty-five years and had given birth to three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Zhu Junli, had been appointed as heir since he was born. Prince Jing thought it would be too tiring for his wife to take up an education, so once his eldest son had just started learning to speak, he personally educated him himself. In addition, he gave his son the need to protect and respect his mother.

Second son Zhu Junxi had a difficult birth and the princess consort had a lot of postpartum bleeding. He was treated for a long time before coming out of danger. At that moment, Prince Jing did not even go to court anymore. He personally ministered to his wife by his bedside and refused to let anyone else take over. Although the princess consort was ultimately able to sustain her life, her body was no longer the same as before. Whenever the wind blew towards him, he would feel a headache and pain in his heart. This made Prince Jing very worried. Naturally, he wasn't too happy with his second son for causing his wife trouble and didn't like her too much.

Their third child, Zhu Miaoke, was a princess. She has two older brothers and is adorable. It was no wonder that his mother and father loved him, especially Prince Jing. He pampered the little girl who looked like his wife to the sky.

When the empress was pregnant with her third son, Zhu Junyang, they had to use medicines to speed up her premature birth due to the condition of her body. After she was born, the court physician said that this child may be too premature and may not be able to survive to adulthood. Princess Empress Jing felt very sorry and focused all her energy on raising her youngest son. In order for his wife not to be too restless, Prince Jing brought all the famous doctors to take care of his son and was finally able to save his life. By the time their third son was around three to four years old, he was no different from the other children in his age group.

So, Second Son Zhu Junxi was the one who got the short end of the stick. His father insulted him while his mother was too busy to take care of him. When she was young, Zhu Junxi was smart and wise, and she even knew how to help her mother take care of her brother, who was five years younger than her.

However, as he grew older, seeds of jealousy began to grow in his heart. In addition, some individuals also deliberately try to incite disharmony. Slowly, hatred piled up inside him. The year when his younger brother, who was only fifteen years old, was personally given the title of royal prince by the emperor after he completed the voyage, Zhu Junxi felt even more upset. Why was the eldest brother given the title of heir once he was born? Why does his youngest brother, who does not do much, deserve the right? Why was she, who was also the legitimate child of Prince Jing, always ignored by everyone…

However, he naturally had a kind heart and could not ruthlessly kill his own kin and blood. The most he could do was occasionally try to say bad things about his brother in front of their parents.

Although Empress Jing had been pampered and protected for most of her life, she was smart and had a good understanding of people's hearts. He is well aware of the inner struggles that often occur both overtly and covertly in wealthy and prestigious families. He previously believed that his household was simple. There were no concubines fighting over help, and no child birth concubines were around to cause trouble. As such, his family should not have any secrets or embarrassing quarrels. However, he never expected that his usually wise and respectful second son, whom he never worried about, had a dissatisfied heart.

Zhu Junxi, who had just received a scolding, had a stubborn expression on her face. Seeing that, Empress Jing stopped trying to pretend to be sick and sat up straight in her chair. He lovingly caressed his son's handsome face and softly said, “Second Son, your father and I have been ignoring you all along. I'm so sorry for hurting you. However, this cannot be the reason why you hate your brother. If you want to hate, hate me, your mother, instead! If it wasn't for my body disappointing me back then, how could I have ignored you. ”.

Zhu Junxi's eyes dimmed as she replied calmly, “Mother, I don't hate anyone. I just feel that's a bit unfair. Oldest Brother and Little Brother can all make you proud, only me .. Mother, I want to enlist into the army! ”

“Get?” Princess Empress Jing looked at her second son with a clear shocked expression on her face. He quietly commented, “Although our current emperor is a wise ruler, your father has a high rank with many responsibilities. If you register and gain military power, I'm afraid the imperial family might become afraid .. ”

“Mother, I've thought of everything you just mentioned! I wanted to hide my identity and start from the lowest rank to see how far I could climb using my own abilities. Mom, I want to prove to myself that I'm not mediocre. That way, I can also be like Eldest Brother and Bungsu and make you proud.. ”Zhu Junxi also knows that his current attitude is not good. If he continued to stay at home, he was afraid that the feeling of unfairness in his heart would develop into true hatred and stir up conflict at home.

Princess Empress Jing tightly held the hands of her second son and said reluctantly, “You want to start from the lowest rank? The sword had no eyes and its battlefield was cruel and merciless. If you had an accident, how could I, your mother, live again? ”

Zhu Junxi squeezed his mother's hand and comforted her, “Mother, father has hired a famous teacher since we were young. The teacher taught us the arts of literature and martial arts. Although I am not as good at literary arts as my oldest and youngest brother, my martial arts are not playful. I'm not bragging, but none of my brothers can win against me, even if they work together. Don't worry about me, Mother! ”

When the princess consort saw her second son's steady gaze and stern expression, she knew that she spent a lot of time thinking about this. If he tried to force her to stay at home, then her son would truly become worthless in the future! He weakly leaned against the pillow in the carriage and was a bit annoyed complaining, “You all have ideas and plans! One had to go overboard despite all our efforts to stop him, while the other wanted to rush into the battlefield to prove himself. Have a thought about my feelings about this? ”

“Mother, forgive your son for being unfilial! If I had to stay home any longer, I. .. I don't know what it's going to be! I don't want to do anything that hurts you, so let me be selfish this once! ” Zhu Junxi knelt down and forcefully kowtowed to her mother three times.

“Mother ..” Zhu Junxi noticed that her mother's eyes were filled with tears, so she could only take out a single word before her emotions flooded her. She solemnly nodded her head, “I ... I will buy watermelon ..”

If he did not get off the carriage now, he was afraid that he would not be able to hold back his own tears. She didn't want her mother to see her weak side.

“Young Master Zhu, my aunt wants to ask, does the empress know where she wants to stay tonight?” Right after Zhu Junxi got down from the carriage, he saw a beautiful young girl in pink clothes who was looking at him timidly.

Prince Jing had the rank of nobleman and was trusted by the emperor. Many high-ranking officials in court wanted to use marriage with his family as a way to consolidate their own position in court. Moreover, Prince Jing's three legitimate sons all had good reputations and handsome appearances. Because of this, many young women in the capital secretly admired them. Marriage to one of Prince Jing's sons was their secret wish …

A similar timid and rewinded expression from the young girl in front of him had been too often seen by Zhu Junxi in the past. The kind and friendly attitude he had in front of the princess consort disappeared when he faced an outsider. He frowned and a hint of impatience entered his eyes, “Such questions could easily be asked by a servant. Is there any point in you, Miss Xia, coming in personally? ”

“I ...” Xia Furong opened her eyes wide, and her lips trembled slightly as she sobbed slightly. He stared pitifully at Zhu Junxi.

Zhu Junxi became even more impatient and lightly waved his hand. She firmly said, “If you have any other questions, just ask my mother! I have something else to do! ”

Xia Furong watched Zhu Junxi leave viciously and then wiped the pitiful expression off her face. His eyes glistened with shrewdness. His father was only a fifth-ranked underage official in court. In the capital, one could hit dozens of rank five officials just by throwing sticks at random.

She has many sisters in the house and there is also a stepmother who presses her. He had no choice but to try to create his own scheme. Her paternal aunt had no children and was also a third-ranked noblewoman. Although his uncle was a bit rude, he was still a third rank official who was respected by the emperor. She also once asked about her aunt's personality and deliberately changed her behavior to suit the tastes of women. In front of her, she pretended to be innocent and sweet as well as a little silly and gentle. Thus, he was able to win the paternal aunt's affection.

After finding out, he discovers that his uncle has old wounds and will have trouble becoming a father in the future. Thus, an idea grows. She needed to curry favor with them by being obedient and see if they would adopt her as the paternal aunt's daughter. In the future, it meant that she had become the legitimate daughter of a third rank main official. With her uncle's network, how could she not be able to find an ideal husband in the future?

However, he never expected, never expected, that his uncle would adopt a small peasant girl when he was sent as an imperial envoy to the small town of Tanggu. Every time he talked about that lowly peasant girl, he praised her to the sky. A lowly peasant girl, who knew how to cook a few dishes, had been raised so high in a second. Moreover, the little brat even took what should have been his? Dream on!!

Therefore, when the paternal aunt packed her luggage a few days ago in preparation to travel to Tanggu City to give her uncle a pleasant surprise, Xia Furong managed to persuade her aunt with great difficulty to allow her to come as well. He wanted to see what kind of basic person wanted to snatch what belonged to him!

However, he never expected that, on the way there, they would meet the prestigious Empress Jing and Prince Jing's lofty and handsome second son. Although it was rumored that the second son was not very well liked at home, he was still the son of an imperial prince. Today, he knew from a glance that the rumors were true: he had an attractive appearance and an elegant demeanor. Every move he made spoke of his noble birth. She was truly someone hard to find, a man who would be the ideal husband!

After the two families learned the identities of the people inside the carriage, they decided to travel as a group. During the rest of the journey, Xia Furong would always appear accidentally in front of Zhu Junxi and try to become closer to her. She always used what she considered to be her best angle, acted shy and shy, and sweetly looked at Prince Jing's second son.

Xia Furong believed that, among her many sisters, she had the best looks. He was confident that, with his good looks and ingenious plans, he would be able to make Prince Jing's second son look at him well.

Unfortunately, the situation was the opposite of what he wanted. Zhu Junxi had always turned a blind eye to his centile actions. Due to society's expectations of what men and women should do, he couldn't get too ahead for fear that he would make the second young master and princess fed up with him. So, despite trying for three days in a row, he could never find an opportunity to speak personally with her.

Xia Furong did not despair and always silently observed Zhu Junxi's every move. Finally, just before, he found an opportunity to talk to Second Young Master Zhu. However, he did not even treat her politely. Is it because the charm is not strong enough? Or because he's not in the mood today?

Xia Furong turned her handkerchief into a knot as she bit her lips in frustration. He watched in silence as his imposing figure disappeared into the watermelon shop. His eyes darkened and it was clear that he was still cunning inside …