Shuijing always had good sleep, but this night he had some insomnia. He simply got up and opened the window. A cool breeze mixed with a few strands of cold air blew in, and the gloominess in his chest seemed to dissipate a lot.
It was said that there were no parents who didn't love their children, but if there were many children, the heart would be biased. It was almost impossible to really treat them fairly. Most of those who had sons and daughters would be biased towards the son; those who had eldest son and youngest son would be biased towards the youngest son; and it was clear at a glance who was closer to the child raised by one's side and who was raised by another.
Jia She, on the other hand, was the unlucky old man who had been raised by his grandmother.
It was just that this favoritism was usually done with a sense of propriety, and it wouldn't cause the hierarchy to be unclear and disorderly. It was rare to see someone like Mother Jia who was so biased to the extent of ignoring the premature death of her eldest grandson.
Generally, this kind of person would appear to be compassionate on the surface, but their hearts were harder than anyone else's. If they liked you, they liked you. If they hated you, they hated you. They would not change their view of you because of what you did. It was impossible to warm up a heart of stone, and those who could warm it were definitely not a heart of stone.
Take the Retired Emperor for example. As long as he had a bit of father-son affection, Shui Lan would not have died with hatred …
Shuijing slightly narrowed his eyes, pondered for a long time, and knocked on the window lattice.
A shadow guard quietly appeared and knelt behind him.
Shuijing did not turn his head, and said in a low voice, "Go investigate what dirty business Rongguo Province has been doing behind the scenes."
If Mother Jia and the Wang Clan's goal was the title of nobility and Rongguo Province, then Jia Xie's so-called compromise would not have much effect. Because as long as he and the Jia Lian did not get involved in something that could cost them their heads, then no matter how incompetent they were, they would not lose their titles. After all, abolishing the elder and replacing the younger was against etiquette and law. Even the Retired Emperor would not dare to do it so brazenly. Therefore, Mother Jia and the Wang Clan would definitely secretly dig a hole for Jia Xie and the Jia Lian, a hole that could cost them their titles and even their heads.
Rongguo Province was now under the control of the second household, which meant that whatever the second household did, it was in the name of Rongguo Province. If there was any serious crime that could lead to execution, once the higher-ups investigated, they would not only arrest the second family, but also Jia Xie, the head of Rongguo Province. At that time, even if Jia Xie claimed to have been wronged and said that she had nothing to do with it, no one would believe her.
The higher-ups are looking at the evidence. They don't care if you're a scapegoat. Since the evidence shows that this decapitation is related to Rongguo Province, who else should we look for if not you, the head of the family? If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not taking good care of your family and your name card. They were just following the rules …
Shuijing tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, while Jia Xie slept soundly.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. He couldn't remember whether it was after Xianfang left or after Hu Ge 'er died.
In order to act as a qualified playboy, there was a woman lying on his bed almost every night. If it happened to someone else, he might laugh and scold that person for having such good luck with women. But when it happened to him, especially when he wasn't willing to find those women, the Jia Xie felt that he was doing the work of a male prostitute, and it was incomparably sullen.
After serving the women, he couldn't sleep peacefully. He was afraid that someone would suddenly burst into the room and cry loudly, "Second Master Lian is gone." If that happened, the sky that he had worked so hard to hold up would really collapse. He also didn't dare to sleep too deeply, for fear that he would dream of Xianfang. The words "Our hearts will never leave each other until we die" still rang in his ears, but he had completely violated the oath. No matter what the reason was, he had betrayed Xianfang. Even if he went to the afterlife, he wouldn't have the face to see Xianfang again.
But it was different now. He had become a person with a backer again, and he no longer had to worry about losing his life as a Jia Xie. When he and those people finished settling the matter of Xianfang and Hu Ge 'er, and when the Jia Xie inherited Rongguo Province, he would go to a temple to become a monk, concentrate on cultivation, and wash away the dirt on his body. Perhaps Xianfang would forgive him then.
Shuijing didn't sleep much that night. When he woke up the next day, he was depressed to find that there were two deep dark circles around his eyes. Not only did it humiliate his image, but he was also ridiculed by Wen Dongyan. Therefore, when he saw the Jia Xie in high spirits, full of spirit, and the dark circles under his eyes lightened a lot, he couldn't help but be angry and directly shouted, "Why did you come out like this?!"
The Jia Xie was confused by the shout. He lowered his head and looked at his clothes. They were clean and tidy, and there was no disheveled appearance. He then looked at Wen Dongyan, who was sitting next to him, and didn't feel that there was any difference between his clothes and his.
Then it wasn't his problem anymore.
The Jia Xie breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Shuijing probably didn't sleep well last night, and his temper flared up when he woke up today. He was just an innocent bystander who was implicated.
"Since Master thinks that my appearance is not good, then I'll change into another one." He said smoothly.
Shuijing choked for a moment. "Master, is that what you mean?"
The Jia Xie scratched his head and said doubtfully, "Then Master, you mean …?"
Shuijing glanced at him coldly. "Go and shave your beard first."
The Jia Xie touched his beard, which was about to be cruelly murdered, and was very confused. "Why?"
"Master tells you to go, so you go. Why do you ask why?!" Shuijing said unhappily.
Seeing the Jia Xie leave in confusion, Wen Dongyan waved his goose feather fan and laughed. "Master, you can't bully an honest person just because Madam ordered you not to grow a beard, right?"
Shuijing said faintly, "Don't you know that I've been thinking about shaving your beard for a long time?"
Wen Dongyan sighed. "Fortunately, I'm not an honest person."
Shuijing, "…"
It was really boring to stay in Jinling for a few days. Coincidentally, there was news from Yangzhou, so Shuijing and the others took a boat along the Grand Canal to Yangzhou.
The Jia Xie also pretended to be sick in bed at the old mansion in Jinling and followed them.
But one day, he saw Shuijing in a green robe, wearing a crown hat, and holding a fortune-telling banner. He was stunned for a long time before he said, "Master, what are you doing?"
Shuijing rolled his eyes at him, didn't say anything, and left without looking back.
The Jia Xie was a little confused and looked at Wen Dongyan.
Wen Dongyan kindly explained to him, "Master is going to set up a fortune-telling stall."
"Fortune-Telling!?" The Jia Xie's eyes widened and he exclaimed. In fact, he had seen it from the beginning, but he found it hard to believe that a person with such a high status like Shuijing would do such a lowly business.
"Since when did you have such a hobby?" He didn't know that Shuijing was interested in fortune-telling before. Moreover, Shuijing always believed that it was better to believe in oneself than to believe in heaven and earth. He despised the idea of praying to gods and Buddhas.
"Haha, since when?"
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