"My Lord is a Stone"《我家君王是石头》Chapter 47

“You still have the audacity to see me?” The madam’s voice was both cold and pointed, like a sharp blade, directly stabbing the eldest old master Zhao Xing Kun’s chest.

Perhaps other people showed an amazed expression, maybe they sucked in a cold breath, or maybe lowered their head pretending to not have heard the madam humiliating the eldest old master, in a word everyone wanted to find a hole to crawl in, showing they did not witness the eldest old master’s slight fall.

Zhao Jin Yu was also rather awkward, she never imagined such a married woman in the ancient times the madam who had learned the Confucian moral injunctions for women, actually would make Zhao Xing Kun seem unsightly in front of so many people, but thinking better of it she again felt relieved, if the madam was one of those people who just bore it…, she wouldn’t have acted up in front of everybody at the relatives meeting feast, like a vixen bloodily attacking Zhao Xing Kun’s face.

Zhao Xing Kun had a calm expression, lowly warning, “Pei Rong!”

Pei Rong was the madam’s maiden name, now only Zhao Xing Kun called her this.

“What? You feel because I placed you in an awkward situation in front of everyone, ashamed into anger?” The madam excitedly stood up, it looked like fire could spout from her eyes, completely imposing, saying, “If you have the ability then divorce me, go find someone young to give you a son!”

Zhao Xing Kun seeing his wife act like this without restraint, speaking to embarrass him, he was very angry, his chest moved up and down for quite a while…, but he still thought he made a mistake first, finally he still restrained his anger, saying, “Where is this? Everyone in the family wants Jin Yu to go to the palace, you’re still angry with me?” Immediately he looked all around, all the maids were like spirits, each one stealthily leaving before the crossfire escalated, only Zhao Jin Yu did not disappear as the madam was holding her hand, below them was still a pale faced, seeming extremely pitiful 

Zhao Rui Zhi. He said, “Allow the children to leave, we’ll speak on our own.” After his last few words held some pleading uneasy to detect.

The madam however was unmoved, not softening at all, responding like chinaware hitting a log, she actually smashed the teacup in her hand in front of the elder, shouting, “What is there to avoid? This concerns Qing Luan, let her listen! However Zhao Xing Kun I’m warning you, if you want Qing Luan to enter the palace, unless I’m dead! Step over my dead body!” After she spoke she held Zhao Jin Yu even tighter, like she was a treasure.

“You think I want to!” Zhao Xing Kun suddenly seemed to have aged ten years mentioning this subject, dejectedly he shrunk, sighing he said.

The madam Mao Pei Rong and Zhao Xing Kun married when they were young, tens of years of affection, she really understood his character, she keenly grabbed hold of the helplessness in Zhao 

Xing Kun’s words, “Don’t tell me you’ve already agreed.”

“How could I!” Zhao Xing Kun suddenly jumped, unable to restrain his anger he said, “Am I that sort of person in your eyes? Pei Rong! We’ve been husband and wife for tens of years, young love, how can you not believe me like this?” Zhao Xing Kun was already unconcerned with the two granddaughters in front of him, now if he didn’t talk it out with his wife, later it may be even harder to see her…, not only did she refuse to see him over this last month, every time he came he was asked to leave.

The madam released a breath, but still grimly said, “I had thought I understood you, but who knew you actually betrayed me and did such a dirty thing behind my back! I’ve calculated your illegitimate son’s birthday, it seems to happen to be around the first few years our Ying Guan passed away!” The rim of the madam’s eyes reddened, as if she was mentioning an extremely hurtful event, “I was weak and dispirited through illness lying in bed all that time, with no interest to live, always thinking about how I should follow my son, I’m the one unable to give birth, I shouldn’t burden you like this.”

Hearing these words Zhao Xing Kun’s eyes also reddened, his nose crinkled, fixedly staring at his wife in front of him…, time had certainly left its deep marks on her face, but now he still looked at her like the strong peony flower which attracted him when he was young.

Zhao Jin Yu didn’t know why, unexpectedly she felt Zhao Xing Kun’s eyes were filled with sentiments for the madam Mao Pei Rong, her mind was rather shocked, but thinking better of it she again realised, if Zhao Xing Kun acted like this in modern times he would be a scumbag, but in the ancient time where men are regarded as superior to women he would be considered an extremely passionate person.

Regardless of this, just by the way the madam had embarrassed the eldest old man that day in front of everyone…, actually the word embarrassed is considered tactful, it should be said the madam violently beat the eldest old man in front of everyone, like a vixen, even though they were husband and wife for tens of years and had thrown this away in a moment, not divorcing her was already considered good, now the eldest old master actually came over to calmly explain. This only showed how deeply the eldest old master felt for the madam.

Now Zhao Jin Yu simply did not think about the matter of entering the palace…, instead she was drawn to the hidden affection between the two people, for the first time she felt somewhat surprised, she thought even in the ancient times there was such touching passion between men and women. 

Apparently she was too superficial before.

The madam continued to say, “How did you console me back then? You said without me you would also not live alone! Saying no matter what happens I had to carry on…, you remained by myside every day, not relying on other people taking care of me personally, in just a few months I lost so much weight almost like a shadow, I saw that if I carried on like that, you really wouldn’t be able to carry on, then did my desire reignite, with the thought of keeping on living.” The madam’s tone also softened, “Zhao Xing Kun, I’m grateful for your deep feeling for me back then, but who knew you acted one way in front of me, acted another way behind me, surprisingly you found someone to have a child for you? Tell me how I can stand it?” Tears faintly appeared in the corner of the madam’s eyes towards the end, looking very heartbroken.

Zhao Xing Kun lowered his head, forcing saliva down his throat, showing a somewhat decrepit expression, he said, “I wronged you.”

“If you know, other people say I’m a jealous wife, but we had come to an agreement before we married, you can only have me alone in the future, if you couldn’t do so then don’t marry me, at that time what did you say? You said no matter what I’m the only one for you in this multifarious world, I only want one…” The madam looked at Zhao Jin Yu with a loving gaze who reached over with a handkerchief wiping her tears, but when she looked at Zhao Xing Kun, her gaze again became penetrating, “Zhao Xing Kun you broke your promise! Go, I won’t see you again in my lifetime.”

The eldest old master Zhao Xing Kun’s complexion drastically changed, standing up in a flash asking, “What do you mean?” The two of them have been husband and wife for tens of years, naturally they understood each other’s tempers very well. All of a sudden he felt uncertain.

“From now on you go your way, I’ll go my way.” The madam arrogantly replied, “We will separate!”

“Are you crazy?” The eldest old master appeared to struggle with ingesting the meaning of these words, like a wooden post he stood for quite a while before expending a great deal of effort to spit out those words.

The madam said, “You’ve always known me, I go by my word.”

Zhao Jin Yu felt…, she had underestimated this grandmother’s explosive temper.

On the other hand Zhao Rui Zhi who was on the floor had another frame of mind, she admired how the madam could firmly hold the eldest old master’s heart for tens of years, at the same time she also thought how could even the wisest madam could have a momentary lapse in judgement? Was it because of her age? She already had no parents, now if they separated wouldn’t she have nowhere to go?

Then if the madam really reach a deadlock with the eldest old master, what would she do? Very soon there was a new thought in her mind, if the madam didn’t allow her to take Zhao Jin Yu’s place to enter the palace…, but it didn’t mean the eldest old master wouldn’t allow it? She could go find the eldest old master to see...

An astute confidence flashed through Zhao Rui Zhi’s eyes, appearing to be determined to win this matter.

Seeing off the eldest old master who was beside himself…, Zhao Jin Yu really didn’t want to describe her own grandfather like this, but just now her grandfather really looked like that, gaze profound, his body rigid, like a person who lost his soul, he walked in a mechanically movement, very stiff, like a string puppet, if someone pulled on the strings he would move, all of a sudden she sighed with emotion, had she known it would come to this?

When Zhao Jin Yu returned to her room, the stone who had been holding back couldn’t help crop up saying, “Why don’t you want to enter the palace?”

The emperor had arranged for everything, only…, he did not consider Zhao Jin Yu would not want to enter the palace, of course it wasn’t because the emperor thought every girl wanted to enter the palace then reach instant success, as the monarch he naturally saw a lot of the women who entered the palace, and knew many people would perhaps spend their entire lifetime in the palace. Entering the palace was only an opportunity, it didn’t mean girls chosen for the imperial concubine selection would achieve meteoric success.

That’s why naturally some people didn’t want to enter the palace, but the emperor thought Zhao Jin Yu was different, he unconsciously felt Zhao Jin Yu really like the stone, didn’t she say such words before if he transformed into a man she would marry him? She even likes him in his stone appearance, there was no reason for her to dislike him as the supreme emperor, but he nevertheless forgot, only him and the secret imperial guard An Wen Yao knew he was the stone, others including 

Zhao Jin Yu simply did not know this fact!

Back when the emperor heard Zhao Jin Yu say to Zhao Rui Zhi that anyone entering the palace was jumping into a pit of fire…, it wasn’t as bad as heartbreak, but he really was quite deeply hurt.

That’s why the emperor held it in for most of the day, he asked her as soon as they entered the room.

Zhao Jin Yu was just eating a sundried potato slice, thinking of grandmother’s future situation…, could they really separate? From the start she had not thought of the imperial concubine selection, now suddenly hearing the stone mention it, she stared blankly, saying as it should be by rights, “The emperor is an old man, but how old am I? Could it be he wants me a bunch of flowers poked into a pile of manure?”

The emperor almost choked on his breath.