Chapter 556 - 550_1
Huangfu Jing’s expression softened considerably upon hearing that Lin Yue had taught Zhao Erhu about this matter. The coldness in his eyes dissipated quickly, replaced by a smile. However, Huangfu Jing somewhat disdained Zhao Erhu’s constant reference to "wife," finding it rather vulgar. After all, Erhu did come from humbler origins, and even though he had become a wealthy merchant by now, he still retained a bit of a country bumpkin’s naivety. Nevertheless, the term "wife" sounded quite novel to him.
"Your wife is indeed smarter than you. Telling the truth was the right thing to do. Did she instruct you on anything else?" Huangfu Jing asked, his curiosity peaking. Thinking back on his limited interactions with Lin Yue, he considered her a bright and insightful woman. With such a capable wife by his side, it was no wonder that Zhao Erhu, a man from the mountains, had managed to amass such wealth from nothing.
"Well, my wife also said, ’The world is big, but the Emperor is the greatest of all. My only loyalty lies with the Emperor, and I must not misplace my allegiance.’" After saying this, Zhao Erhu cautiously watched Huangfu Jing’s expression, reasoning that the Emperor’s earlier reaction indicated he had made the right move; however, he still needed to be careful not to overplay his hand.
As expected, Zhao Erhu’s words were very much to Huangfu Jing’s liking. Huangfu Jing burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this and made sure to affirm, "That’s right too. Listening to your wife is a wise decision, she is definitely smarter than you."
"The Emperor is right. My wife is indeed very smart. She studied a lot with her brother in the past, and she loves reading books. She enjoys all kinds of books. This time when I went to sea, I even brought back a whole chest of books for her. She knows so much that her knowledge is unmatched by ordinary people."
Zhao Erhu did not actually like exposing his wife in public, so why was he praising his wife to the Emperor? He only wanted to take this opportunity to establish a record before the Emperor, to make him aware that his wife’s intelligence and her abundance of creative ideas were due to her extensive reading, and not for any other reasons. In this way, if their family’s dealings were ever revealed, it would prevent the Emperor from suspecting anything improper about his wife—a quite possible scenario, considering their affairs were not entirely secret and anyone determined enough could uncover them.
My wife is right; the Emperor is truly remarkable. The fact that the Princely Heir of Marquis of Zhenbei had people visit their house was supposed to be secretive, yet the Emperor still came to know of it. Therefore, Zhao Erhu had no illusions about keeping his family’s affairs from the Emperor; he could only try to manage things in other ways.
"All these are your wife’s views, but what about you? What are your thoughts? This clearly was your business transaction with the Princely Heir of Marquis of Zhenbei, and I have intervened and taken the lion’s share. Don’t you feel even a bit resentful? No matter what you think, just speak frankly. Even if you speak incorrectly, I shall forgive you without punishment."
Zhao Erhu thought to himself, only if I were a fool would I speak the truth. In reality, if I were to say, "To speak the truth, I am actually very willing and happy to have the Emperor’s involvement; I couldn’t wish for a better scenario such a good turn of events."