allonlinenovel Chapter 195: Cutting the weeds without eradicating the roots, the spring breeze will bring new growt
Chapter 195: Cutting the weeds without eradicating the roots, the spring breeze will bring new growt
When Princess Huizhen visited the Pingxi Marquis's residence again, Cheng Yan and Qin Yizhen were sitting in the pavilion of Chunxie Courtyard.
Qin Yizhen sat at the tea table, holding a tea bowl and whisk to brew tea. Cheng Yan sat beside her, holding a pen and writing and drawing on the paper. Before long, a picture of enjoying tea in the summer breeze appeared on the paper.
Qin Yizhen handed him a cup of tea, then rested one hand on the tea table, her palm supporting her chin, and tilted her head to look at him.
The beautiful woman, dressed in a red dress, is radiant and gentle. When she looks at you like this, it seems that her clear eyes are filled with nothing but you.
In this situation, even if this bowl of tea were poison, one would still have to drink it to win a smile from the beauty.
Cheng Yan picked up his teacup and took a sip without any expression.
Qin Yizhen blinked and asked him, "How? How?"
"bitter."
Qin Yizhen: "......"
"Hey, is it really okay for you to be so blunt? Can't you be a little more tactful?" I'm so annoyed, you don't give me any face at all.
"I just wanted to tell the princess that this stuff is really bitter, and I don't want to drink it. Don't make me drink it next time." Cheng Yan said matter-of-factly, "Shouldn't husband and wife be more honest with each other?"
He didn't want to drink, so he just said so directly; there's no point in trying to hide it.
Qin Yizhen gave a soft snort.
Cheng Yan brought the teacup to her lips: "Try it yourself."
Qin Yizhen picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and then frowned slightly.
The techniques for brewing tea and whisking tea are different from those for steeping tea. After the tea leaves are crushed into powder, they have a bitter taste. If the technique is not good, it will not taste good.
Qin Yizhen remained silent for a while before finally saying, "I think brewing tea is a good idea."
Cheng Yan readily agreed: "I think so too."
Qin Yizhen waved her hand, instructing people to quickly put away all the utensils used for making tea and replace them with utensils for brewing tea.
When Princess Huizhen approached, this was the scene she saw. She twitched her lips and said, "You all have so much free time."
Cheng Yan glanced at her and said, "I think you're just bored."
Doesn't she know that he rarely has a holiday and only wants to spend time with his wife? She's bothering him twice in one day, isn't she just being nosy?
Qin Yizhen tugged at Cheng Yan, telling him to stop talking, before inviting Princess Huizhen to sit down and ordering someone to serve her tea.
Princess Huizhen took a sip of tea, feeling much better. Before Qin Yizhen could speak, she explained her purpose: "I've come to discuss the case of the burning of Fanghua Pavilion."
Princess Huizhen recounted the truth of the matter, and at the end, she couldn't help but gloat: "You don't know how Fang Shixin reacted. After learning the truth, it was as if the sky was falling. Her face was full of disbelief, and she even questioned Liang Xize, 'I treated you as a friend, why did you do this to me?'"
"She used and deceived you in the past, and now she is experiencing the taste of being used and deceived by a friend herself."
Qin Yizhen felt relieved after hearing this.
When she questioned Fang Shixin in the past, she was eloquent and felt that she was not wrong. Now that the knife is on her own body, she knows what kind of anger and rage she feels.
"How is she now? What about the losses suffered by Fanghua Pavilion?"
"Lord Li means that the losses of Fanghua Pavilion should be borne by the Zhang family and Xiliang together. First, the Zhang family was raided, and if there is still a shortfall, Xiliang will make up for it. It's really too good for her. I heard that this amount of money is quite a lot. With this money, Fang Shixin may be able to make a comeback."
Qin Yizhen didn't care: "She has the most tricks up her sleeve. Even without this money, she still has the opportunity to make a comeback. Since it's her loss, she deserves to get it back."
That makes sense, but Princess Huizhen always felt that Fang Shixin was getting off easy.
"By the way, what should be done with the Zhang family?" Qin Yizhen asked her.
"Their property will be confiscated, and they may be executed or exiled afterward. The Zhang family colluded with Liang Xize to frame a princess of their own country, which is a crime of treason. Also, Zhang Hui went mad in court."
"Crazy?" Cheng Yan asked in surprise.
"Yes, Liang Xize said he never intended to keep his promise to send the Zhang family to Xiliang, but Zhang Hui actually believed him and worked for him. When Zhang Hui heard this, he went crazy."
"It really felt so satisfying, like eating a bowl of ice cream on a hot day."
Qin Yizhen smiled and beckoned to Lü Qiao: "Have someone make a serving of ice cream for my elder sister."
Princess Huizhen gave a soft hum, but was quite pleased with it: "You're much better to me than some people, who are always complaining that I'm annoying or that I'm not good enough."
As she said this, she glanced at Cheng Yan, and it was easy to guess who the 'certain people' she was referring to were.
Qin Yizhen smiled: "He rarely has free time, so naturally he doesn't want to be disturbed. It's only because of my elder sister that I'm willing to see her. If it were anyone else, I'm afraid they wouldn't even be able to get into the Pingxi Marquis's residence."
Princess Huizhen felt a little better upon hearing this, but she was still puzzled: "He doesn't have anything to do, he's just drinking tea and painting, what kind of disturbance is this?"
"No, no, my uncle drew pictures for you but never for me. I want one too."
"Alright, alright, let your uncle draw one for you." Qin Yizhen agreed on behalf of Cheng Yan, and then gestured for Cheng Yan to agree as well. It wasn't a big deal. Since Princess Huizhen wanted it, let her draw it, so that she wouldn't have any more complaints.
As for their relationship, they enjoyed playing chess, drinking tea, and painting, and disliked being disturbed, so there was no need to explain this to Princess Huizhen.
“Okay, I’ll draw it for you.” Cheng Yan had no objections.
Before long, Lü Qiao brought up two and a half cups of ice cream. Cheng Yan and Princess Huizhen each had one cup, and Qin Yizhen had half a cup. Lü Qiao explained, "The princess is a little weak, so she shouldn't eat too much ice cream while sitting."
"Okay, okay." Qin Yizhen ate the half-cup of iced cheese, quite happily.
Princess Huizhen also enjoyed her meal. As the weather grew hotter, eating some iced drinks naturally made her feel refreshed. She ate half a bowl and then started talking about the Zhang family while she ate.
“I think we should take this opportunity to deal with the Zhang family quickly. This crime of treason and collusion with the enemy deserves the execution of the whole family. Moreover, most importantly... if we don’t cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring.”
"If the Zhang family is able to collude with the enemy Liang Xize today, even if they are exiled to the desolate continent, they might join some rebel army in the future and try to overthrow my Eastern Qin Dynasty."
"Uncle, don't you think so?"
“That makes sense.” In the past, Zhang was vicious, but she was arrogant and ambitious, which allowed her to keep Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Yan alive. Later, Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Yan turned the tables, which led to the current disaster for the Marquis of Chengen’s mansion and the Zhang family.
There was no reason to kill the Zhang family before, but now that there is such a legitimate reason, it is only natural to eliminate the threat completely and eradicate them from the root.
Seeing them talking, Qin Yizhen rolled her eyes, then secretly reached into Cheng Yan's bowl of ice cream, scooped up a spoonful, and then took a big gulp.