Chapter 476 True Life
Ning Yunxi's mouth twitched slightly, her face looked a little embarrassed, and she answered his question with words but her heart was not.
"Unknown."
The difference in her color was hard to detect, so Cao Xinheng couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Jiang Luo also had no suspicion and stood up in time to protect the guests.
"Even my dear brother Zixi couldn't guess who this person is. The princess is so young, how could she have such ideas? Brother Xinheng, please don't embarrass our distinguished guest."
Ning Yunxi was secretly shocked, and looked at her fourth senior brother with blank eyes.
How could he have imagined this?
Is the eldest brother's strategy better than that of the fourth brother?
In my opinion, the fourth brother’s calculations should be far superior to that of the eldest brother.
Logically, he shouldn't have been caught off guard, so why did he keep it a secret?
Zhou Zixi remained silent, his eyes deep and thoughtful. Ning Yunxi tried to observe, but to no avail.
In just a moment, she became dejected and frustrated.
As expected, in front of the wise, I am a useless mediocrity. The more I refuse to show weakness, the more I overestimate my own abilities.
When facing his good brother Zixi, Jiang Luo, as always, was full of praise.
"Brother Zixi, you are a man of great talent. Not only can you protect us, but you can also test the situation and get the emperor and Lord An to find out where our child is."
Cao Xinheng was arrogant and complacent, and would not easily praise others. He just took the opportunity to ask questions with concern.
"Having said that, I have to ask, how has my child, Prince Gu Nianting, been doing recently?"
"Lord Lin pretended to surrender, and the governor's office, the secret office, and the Yinsi office cooperated with him. Brother Zhou is sure that this is your plan to seize Fengzhengtai. There is another prophecy that you will definitely not harm Ting'er."
"Is it successful? Where is Ting'er?"
Ning Yunxi was more shocked by seeing Fourth Senior Brother's talent with her own eyes than hearing about it from her father.
The one who plans and wins the battle thousands of miles away, this must be the fourth senior brother.
She stared at her senior brother, showing her admiration, but quickly looked away and replied respectfully.
"Mr. Cao, please rest assured that your son is safe and sound, and remains as honorable as ever."
Upon hearing the good news, Cao Xinheng smiled with satisfaction.
"That's good. Thank you very much."
Jiang Luo glanced sideways and expressed his dissatisfaction directly.
"Brother Xinheng, you are so boring. You only know how to ask about your own family affairs and you don't care about your brothers and relatives."
Cao Xinheng was dismissive and self-righteous, pointing out and exposing the truth.
"You are so righteous for no reason. Don't you just want to ask your beloved daughter?"
As he said this, he pretended to be nonchalant, but in fact he had good intentions. He smiled at Ning Yunxi and asked on her behalf out of righteousness.
"We have many children, most of whom are living among the people. It is difficult to find all of them at once. Recently, Brother Zhou has gone to great lengths to find Brother Xinheng's beloved daughter, named Tong Zhenzhi."
"Do you recognize this person?"
Ning Yunxi was slightly startled.
"This name sounds familiar."
She thought about it carefully, and after a while, it suddenly became clear to her.
"I remembered."
"Could it be the third sister of Bingqingyuan Tong, the shopkeeper, and the virgin mother?"
"A few days ago, Shopkeeper Tong came to me specifically to recommend Miss Teng to take the imperial examination. He said that my third sister's 20th birthday was coming up, she was well-versed in poetry and literature, and wanted to become an official. So I thought, after I finish the current affairs, I will ask you to recommend Miss Teng to take the Shengjing imperial examination with her."
"I didn't expect that Mr. Jiang's beloved daughter would be right in front of me."
When talking about his daughter, Jiang Luo's lips immediately showed a hint of happiness.
"My daughter is clumsy and I am sorry to make Princess Yuexi laugh."
A respectful title, unexpectedly, Ning Yunxi showed a hint of surprise.
"I was just crowned a princess today, and Mr. Jiang knew it in an instant. It goes without saying that he is a talented person with a long-term vision."
She was just thinking that there were many hidden talents in this small house when she heard Jiang Luo correct her.
"Princess, you are too kind. This is Brother Zixi's conjecture. He said that if this plan succeeds, Junior Sister will be rewarded and will be able to be promoted to the title of Princess."
Whenever he got the chance, he would praise.
"As expected, my dear brother, you are as good as a god in predicting things."
Zhou Zixi has been listening to this for many years, but still finds it hard to get used to it.
"It's just a meaningless thought, but I'm honored to be praised by Brother Jiang."
Cao Xinheng looked forward to a bright future and suddenly became excited.
"It's rare to see Princess Yuexi. I'll go now and call all the brothers over and let them ask about their children's recent situation one by one."
"Also, I heard that the prince and princess were busy supervising the search for relatives at the Guardian, and they took the trouble to collect our things and help us find our relatives."
Seeing that he was thinking about causing trouble for others again, Zhou Zixi felt helpless.
Jiang Luo was quick to block his way.
"Brother Xinheng, how can you rush in recklessly? If you want to find your relatives, you should ask the prince and princess for their permission before you can collect them. With distinguished guests here, everything must be done according to etiquette. Do you understand the rules?"
Everyone knows the rules and etiquette. Cao Xinheng saw that Emperor Jin was a noble man, so he acted arbitrarily and made convincing arguments.
"Just now, the prince said that we don't need to care about our status and title. Didn't you hear it?"
"Besides, we are all civilians. Where do these rules come from? We haven't learned them since we were young."
"From childhood, my parents and teachers have taught me that the rich and powerful should not oppress the common people. Otherwise, they will be severely punished."
Knowing that he deliberately bullied honest people, Jiang Luo was furious and extremely angry.
"Oh, you are such a jerk."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yan Yu hurried to comfort her.
"Gentlemen, please be patient."
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for treating me with courtesy."
"Mr. Cao, please go ahead. I will allow you to do so."
Fearing that Brother Xinheng might make a mistake and get into trouble, Jiang Luo stepped forward and spoke well of him.
"Your Majesty is kind and righteous, and I, the common people, sincerely submit to you."
Yan Yu smiled back.
"You're welcome, Mr. Jiang."
Cao Xinheng refused to bow his head and continued to speak rudely.
"Please take a seat, Your Majesty. There is no need to see me off. I will be back soon."
Jiang Luo and Zhou Zixi looked at each other and smiled helplessly. They really had no way to deal with him.
Yan Yu didn't care about the humble words, instead she felt relaxed and comfortable.
"Okay, go ahead."
Jiang Luo thought for a moment and asked earnestly.
"Princess, may I ask how your brother, Lord Ning, is doing?"
After hearing this, Zhou Zixi's eyes flickered, he was somewhat moved, he listened attentively, waiting for his junior sister's reply.
Since he revealed it, Ning Yunxi naturally saw through his deeper meaning.
"Could it be that my eldest brother is the beloved son of Fourth Senior Brother?"
Zhou Zixi was a little ashamed and smiled faintly.
"Yes, that's right."
Ning Yunxi suddenly realized.
This must be the reason why Fourth Senior Brother keeps it a secret.
"No wonder he is so talented and outstanding."
"Then, Lord Feng, the Minister of the Secret Affairs..."
Hearing her pause, Zhou Zixi replied with a smile.
"It's my little girl."
Jiang Luo is a kind-hearted person.
"They are half-siblings. Lord Ning's mother is, needless to say, Madam Ning. Lord Feng's biological mother, you may not know, is Concubine Rou."
Zhou Zixi calmly poured them more tea.
"Fengzhe has returned to Cheng, and he should have told He'er about what happened."
Ning Yunxi lowered her brows in panic to show her gratitude.
"Yes, my elder brother did tell me. However, they did not know my true background and mistakenly believed that the emperor was my biological father."
Jiang Luo took it for granted and was not surprised.
"This is the result of the careful planning of our brother Zixi for the Emperor. It is only natural that they were kept in the dark."
"Your Highness and Princess, you may not know that my dear brother Zixi has another beloved son..."