[R18] The stars are brilliant, so lucky even (The stars are brilliant, the moon rises over the sea) – Chapter 61 of “The Stars Are Brilliant, How Lucky They Are (The Stars Are Brilliant·The Moon Rising Over the Sea)” [English]

Chapter 61

It’s funny to say that this incident that almost changed the course of Shaoshang’s life was not as interesting to her as Mother Cheng’s cesspool at first.

The sage said, “You don’t talk when you eat, but you don’t talk when you sleep.”Most members of the Cheng family must disagree with this sentence, at least Cheng’s mother and Cheng’s father cannot do it. They often get into arguments while eating, and most of the reasons for the dispute are speechless.

On this day, the mother and son got into trouble again over the extensive development or precise operation of family farming. The origin of the topic was Cheng Shu. Although she was purely filial when she talked about it, there is no shortage of good people in the world who have good intentions and do bad things.

“…Tu Gaoshan has beautiful scenery, the sky is high and the air is refreshing. This is the first time for my granddaughter to see it. It is also close to the capital. Next time I go to Zhuangzi to check the accounts, I will take my eldest mother there to play.” Cheng Shu smiled meekly.

Cheng’s mother, who was sitting high in the middle, glanced at her son and said quietly: “Oh, you face saints and horse racing horses, leaving my old lady alone, so lonely and pitiful!”

Cheng Shi put down the lacquered wooden chopsticks and said loudly: “Didn’t Grandma say that spring will produce seeds, and aphids will breed, so she will leave the crops to take care of the back garden? But Grandma, don’t do what you did before, planting whatever you want to fill your stomach, stupid and stupid, now we are not hungry anymore! Look at Niaoxiao, the courgette and white rice we cultivated last time are so thin and delicate, crisp and refreshing!”

He didn’t want to say that last time he distributed several small baskets of fresh courgettes and white rice made by his daughter to his colleagues, relatives and friends. The other party’s surprised look made he suddenly feel that his family’s heritage was a bit richer – cultivating fine fruits and vegetables out of season, even an ordinary powerful family may not be able to do it.

“Shuzi! What are you talking about!” Cheng Mu was furious, “You said I can do it, but you are not allowed to talk about my crops! Every time I pile up the manure thickly, the corn and wheat I grow are sweeter than other people’s!”

“By the way, there is also the fertilizing vat, smoked or not! You still remember the vat in the back hill of my hometown. I told you several times not to bury it so low, but that time when you went up the mountain, you came up empty…”

This was really a perfect topic to talk about during the meal. Cheng Song and Cheng Shaogong shook their shoulders and lowered their heads and snickered. Cheng Shu paused his chopsticks with an embarrassed look on his face. Mrs. Xiao couldn’t bear it anymore and slapped the lacquered wooden chopsticks on the food table.

Cheng Shu was frightened and said hurriedly: “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything to make my eldest mother unhappy…”

“Oh, cousin, don’t interrupt, it’s none of your business. My father and my eldest mother are mother and son, so they are so… uh, so close! Didn’t my aunt and I also have a quarrel?” Shaoshang came from a commoner’s background, and he fit perfectly into this cheerful and lively atmosphere.

The Cheng family brothers secretly went to see their mother, only to see Mrs. Xiao stroking her forehead and sighing.

Shaoshang asked enthusiastically: “Father, did eldest mother fall in later?”

“You evildoer, are you expecting me to fall in?” Mother Cheng shouted with a heavy snort.

Cheng Shi hurriedly came to defend the emperor: “Don’t be so loud, Niao Niao is timid, don’t scare her!”

“She is timid?” Cheng’s mother pointed at Shao Shang and screamed at her son, “Are your eyes filled with fat?!”

“——Yong’er!”

Mrs. Xiao slapped the food table hard and shouted loudly. The whole family was so stunned by her that they forgot to fight for a moment.

“…Tell me what you learned from Imperial College today.” Mrs. Xiao finished the last part of the sentence with a livid face.

Cheng Yong vented his anger, thinking that something had happened to him, and said: “Back to mother, something big happened today. The Yongwang clan rebelled!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone except Cheng Shi was shocked. Mrs. Xiao solemnly said: “King Yong? He really has always had different aspirations. Are they plotting rebellion in Feng Yi County in the northwest of Yongzhou?”

Cheng Yong cupped his hands and said, “What mother said is absolutely right.”

“Feng Yi County in Yongzhou, isn’t it only separated from us by Hongnong County?” Cheng Song raised his head and recalled the topographic map.

Cheng’s mother was shocked: “What, are you going to attack the capital…” Her voice trembled, and she stood up as she spoke.

Cheng Shu hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him, and Shao Shang also came to help, smiling and saying: “Mom, what are you afraid of? Didn’t you see that the eldest brother is sitting here so well? If the matter was urgent, he would have come back in a panic to report the news!”

Cheng Shi laughed and said, “We are so smart!” He turned to Cheng Mu and said, “I was about to say this. Feng Yi is not far from the capital, so this matter cannot be hidden. If my mother hears something outside, don’t be afraid or panic. This matter won’t cause trouble!”

“That’s what my father said!” Shao Shang said, “Didn’t my uncle and aunt and I also encountered a conspiracy this time? It only took a few days to disappear. The heads of the rebels were hanged up to dry one by one. I hate my uncle for not letting me see it!”

“Go, go, you, a little girl, are you going to see what you are doing!” Cheng Shi reprimanded in a low voice. His daughter was good at everything, but she lacked awe, which was called short-sightedness.

Shaoshang shrank back depressedly. She still wanted to ask Cheng’s mother whether she fell into the manure tank.

“My son, is it true that King Yong can’t defeat him? I heard that the Yong King family was a great family in the previous dynasty!” Cheng’s mother was still worried about herself, but she sat down tremblingly.

Cheng Shi sneered and said: “It’s so great. Later, he got into trouble and became emperor. No, he couldn’t let go of his former dignity! According to me, it is destined to be rich and noble, and Prince Yong and his son will not have that appearance!”

“Father, do you know how to read faces?” Cheng Shaogong became interested, “Then tell your son how we are facing.”

“Go away!” Cheng Shi glared at his son, and then said, “Mom, don’t worry, it’s okay! Your Majesty has sent several groups of people westward to Feng Yi County this morning. Oh, Ling Buyi is also among them.” When he said this, he glanced at his daughter carefully, but saw that there was no abnormality in her daughter.

Mrs. Xiao saw that her husband was still unable to comfort her, so she had to add: “Listen to me, Jun. King Yong and his son saw that the situation was not right and surrendered to Your Majesty on their own. There was only one place where it was said that ‘it is hard to leave the homeland, where the tombs of the ancestors are’, so they refused to live in the capital like the other people who came to surrender. In order to save aHe agreed despite the disaster of swordsmanship.But think about it, our Majesty is so wise that he would not be prepared at all.Don’t worry, Jun, your Majesty has gradually taken away the military power and taxation power of King Yong in the past few years, and has set up several hoops around Feng Yi County.Now it is no longer possible for the King Yong family to surrender or rebel whenever they want!”

After hearing these sensible words, Mother Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“…However,” Mrs. Xiao glanced at Shao Shang worriedly and asked her husband, “Will this matter interfere with Niao Niao?”

“Ah.” Shaoshang was listening and nodded repeatedly, but unexpectedly the topic suddenly turned to himself.

——Like many young people who grew up in a comfortable and peaceful era, Shaoshang was not a very politically sensitive girl.Especially for a purely scientific research and technical major like her, whether the leader changes to Fourier or not, Kirchhoff’s law will not change whether Amei fights “an evil country with weapons of mass destruction”.

Current political news has only two uses for her: whether it is effective in answering hot-spot questions during the ideological and political examination, and whether the funding for the first batch of laboratory projects is sufficient (which directly determines the professor’s mood).

Shao Shang could not figure out what the rebellion of a father and son in the next county had to do with him.

Seeing her daughter’s confused look, Mrs. Xiao sighed: “Prince Yong’s surname is Xiao, and his eldest son is the one who married He Zhaojun.”

Shaoshang turned it over in his head before he realized: “It’s…that Prince Xiao?”

Mrs. Xiao nodded. Cheng Song didn’t know much about this kind of marriage, so he quickly asked: “But grandma, isn’t General He ordered to guard Feng Yi? This, this… the children’s in-laws…”

Everyone knew what Cheng Song meant, and Cheng’s mother was once again worried about whether Feng Yi could hold on. Only Cheng Shaogong asked, “But what does this have to do with Niao Niao?”

“…Yes, what does this have to do with me?” Shao Shang was still puzzled. “There are two ways to go about this. Either General He served the country bravely, worked hard to kill the rebellious Prince Yong and his son, and came back to receive the reward…”

“If General He and his in-laws are colluding, and the He family has become a traitor, then it won’t be a problem!” Cheng Shaogong added.

Cheng Shi said nonchalantly: “My son is right, it was your mother who was overly worried.”

“No, there is a third way.” Cheng Song said with a smile, “General He was bewitched and paralyzed by his in-laws and failed to take precautions in time. If so, he will be punished when he comes back! Who knows, my father’s opportunity to make meritorious deeds has come again!”

Shaoshang praised loudly: “Brother, thank you very much! …But father, please don’t go and let others take some credit.”

The four of them laughed together.Mrs. Xiao looked at the thick-lined father and son who were smiling at each other, and smiled bitterly. She looked up and saw the same worry in her eldest son Cheng Yong’s eyes.

…

Facts have proved that it is not something that ordinary people can do, because during this dinner, none of the expectations of the Cheng family came true.Just three days later, news came from the front that the rebellion of King Yong had been put down.

All the Cheng family brothers and sisters were shocked.At this time, Cheng’s mother’s worries disappeared and she laughed loudly and said, “How powerful King Yong is in boasting, but it seems to be nothing more than that. The prefect named Fan at A Zhi’s place managed to hold on for more than ten days.”

Two days later, Cheng Yong once again brought detailed news.

It turned out that in order to kill the rebels as soon as possible, all the adult sons of General He were killed in the battle. General He himself also died of his injuries and passed away on the way back to the capital.At this time, even a slow mother like Cheng felt that things were not going well: “Ah Yong, is there anyone in the He family now?”

“Yes. There is also the only daughter He Zhaojun and a young son who is only four years old.” Cheng Yong turned to his younger sister with worried eyes, “Your Majesty has named the He family as An Chengjun, who will enjoy a certain amount of water and bathing, and the young son will inherit the title.”

Shaoshang sat silently by the window. A small ray of warm sunlight fell on her face. After a long time, he said: “It’s a blessing, not a curse. It’s a curse that can’t be avoided.”

Xu Shi’s words came true. Three days later, Yanghou Jizun, who was ordered to welcome General He back, during the small court meeting, in front of the ministers, repeated the two last words of General He before his death –

“I am a wild and wild man from my hometown. It is a lifelong blessing to be at your Majesty’s side. Even if I die without regrets, I hope that Your Majesty will not worry about you.”

“I only have a pair of weak daughters and young sons left under my knees. My daughter Zhaojun was originally engaged to the son of the Lou family. Now Xiao Ni has been killed or captured. The previous marriage has been broken up. I hope to get married to the Lou family again.”

When he heard the previous last words, the emperor burst into tears and lamented: “The sky has lost one of my loyal ministers and good generals!” Everyone in the court began to weep.When he heard the second last words, the emperor stopped feeling sad for a moment, and everyone turned their attention to Lou Taipu.

Ji Zun did not return to his own ranks and continued to report: “The old minister looked at General He’s expression and thought that he did not know that Lou Taipu’s nephew was engaged to the Cheng family, that’s why he said this.”

Wan Songbai, who was also wiping away tears, was shocked for a while, but now he finally came to his senses: “Exactly! General He is a reasonable man. If he knew about this, he would definitely not…”

“But -” Ji Zun remained expressionless and did not look at the people with different expressions. “He is tragic. Although the etiquette is inconsistent, it can be tolerated. I ask your Majesty to make a decision!”

The emperor sat quietly on his head, the twelve jade beads under the Xuan crown swaying slightly, and the officials could not see the emperor’s expression clearly.

Lou Taifu was dumbfounded, realizing that everything he said was wrong.

“What kind of decision?!” Wan Songbai saw something was wrong and shouted quickly, “First of all, General He didn’t know that Lou’s wife was engaged before he died. Secondly, as a minister, it is your duty to be loyal to the country. It doesn’t sound right to you. As long as you have done meritorious service, can you use it to seek retribution?!”

Ji Zundao: “Master Wan is right. Your Majesty’s reward is one thing, but robbing someone else’s marriage is another.”

General Wu stood up suddenly and said at the top of his lungs: “You can’t say that! The He family is so miserable, almost everyone is dead, why can’t we show mercy to this one!”

Ji Zun turned to General Wu and said, “According to General Wu’s wish, Your Majesty should issue an edict to accomplish this? General, please understand. If this is the case, in the future, if any family suffers more casualties, should we rely on merit to obtain something from the other family, for example…”

The old man with half a hair and a beard suddenly pointed behind the person, pointing at the Queen’s brother Xuanhou: “For example, Xuanhou, back then, His Majesty gifted a mountain in his native place as the tomb of the Xuan family. Who knew that this mountain was originally the tomb of the Xu family?”It belongs to the Zhen family of Zhou.At first, the Zhen family was the enemy, so that’s it. But later, the Zhen family came to surrender.If the Zhen family’s descendants make great achievements again, will the Xuanhou family’s mountain be returned?”

General Wu was speechless, and then retorted: “Well, the tombs of my father and ancestors are large, so they cannot be sent back and forth. But for this marriage, haven’t the Lou and Cheng families not yet been married?”

Ji Zun nodded: “That’s what the general said. Now General He still has a young son. If someone fights for the country until the heirs are cut off and only one daughter is left, can the son-in-law that the daughter likes be divorced from his wife and then remarry? How should we control the balance in this?”

General Wu was completely mute this time and sat back in the ranks angrily.

Just when Wan Songbai smiled and thought that the old man Ji was a friend, Ji Zun said again: “However, the loyalty of the He family is astonishing, and General He’s last words should be followed.”

Wan Songbai opened his mouth wide and looked at the stubborn old man for a long time before he finally understood.

——The emperor cannot directly issue an order for this kind of thing, otherwise it will become a common practice, but the Lou and Cheng families can cancel the engagement on their own and fulfill the “poor but loyal” He family.

…

After the court was over, Wan Songbai hurried to Cheng’s house and told his adopted brother Cheng Shi, who did not attend the small court meeting, all these things, um, and Mrs. Xiao.

Cheng Shi said displeasedly: “Is there no other way to reward meritorious officials? You have to come here to entertain us.”

Mrs. Xiao was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked: “The servant floor didn’t say a word?”

Wan Songbai wiped his sweat and nodded vigorously: “That old boy looks like he cut out his tongue!”

A sneer appeared at the corner of Mrs. Xiao’s mouth: “Why are we anxious? The root of this matter lies with the Lou family. Wait a minute and see what the two people in the Lou family say.”

Cheng Shi said in a deep voice, “Exactly. It’s not that we have to have Ah Yao as our son-in-law, but if we retreat from this matter too easily, people in Mandu City will think that our Cheng family has been bullied!”

Sitting in the cubicle, Shaoshang quietly listened to the discussion of his elders and suddenly came up with an interesting metaphor: Suppose you worked hard to get admitted to Peking University and Tsinghua University. You may not have such good luck in the exam in the future, but there is a martyr who died in the line of duty. His daughter needs to take up your university place. Do you want to let him or not?