Chapter 1233: The Phoenix Polishes the Sparrow, and There Is the Origin! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Relax! He will definitely come to meet us!” Wang Chong said as if understanding Zhang Que's worries.
The turmoil in the Zhou Residence was quickly pacified, and the entire estate fell quiet once more.
Time slowly passed, and just when Zhang Que believed that Wang Chong was mistaken, footsteps began to approach. Through the open gates of the Zhou Residence, Zhang Que immediately spotted a middle-aged scholar dressed in azure leisure clothes, leading out a group of servants and maids. He walked with his head slightly lowered, his eyes fixed to the ground. He appeared to be absent-minded and restless.
When he was thirty to forty steps from the main gate, a servant gave him a reminder, upon which the scholar came back to his senses. After tidying his clothes, he swiftly went up to greet Wang Chong.
”Unaware that the King of Foreign Lands would be honoring me with his presence, this Zhou was rude in not coming out to greet Your Highness and begs your forgiveness.”
Zhou Wenchen clasped his hands together and bowed.
”Lord Zhou is too polite. Will you not invite us in to sit?” Wang Chong nonchalantly said.
”Oh!”
Zhou Wenchen seemed to awaken from a dream, and he hurriedly stepped to the side.
”Your Highness, please, please, please!”
It was only after saying 'please' three times that Zhou Wenchen finally led Wang Chong into his estate.
Once they entered the reception hall, the mood became extremely strange. The maids were pale and strange, and the guards at the door had extremely unnatural expressions. Even Zhou Wenchen seemed to be acting like he was seated on a pincushion.
”Is Lord Zhou still not prepared to say anything?”
Wang Chong took a tea cup off the table, took off the lid, and lightly played around with the foam on the tea.
The attending maids immediately paled, and Zhou Wenchen's face immediately turned a sickly green.
”Haaah…”
He suddenly gave a long sigh and stood up. He was like a prisoner sentenced to the death penalty who, after a night of torture, had finally decided to calmly accept his fate.
”Your Highness, Zhou Wenchen has nothing to say about this matter. Zhou Wenchen let down Your Highness's trust. No matter how Your HIghness punishes me, this Zhou will calmly accept it and make no complaint.”
After saying this, he made a ninety-degree bow.
Wang Chong was the Great Tang's highest commander in Khorasan and Qixi's temporary Protector-General. The defection of Zhou Wenchen and the others had led Wang Chong to be stripped of his military authority, removed from his position as temporary Qixi Protector-General, and had rendered his several months of fighting in Talas for naught. One could say that Wang Chong was the most direct victim of this incident. Zhou Wenchen could refuse to meet King Song and Wang Gen, but he couldn't avoid Wang Chong forever. As a civil official, he had a duty to uphold the Confucian values, but in this incident, he had erred in morality and conduct. This was one of the reasons Wang Chong was so sure that Zhou Wenchen would meet him.
”Lord Zhou, what a noble and upstanding person you are,” Zhang Que coldly snorted at Zhou Wenchen, his voice brimming with hostility and hatred.
At Qixi, it was precisely because of these people that Wang Chong got so angry that he vomited blood and fell unconscious. Zhang Que still clearly remembered that sight, and he had never had any good impression of these people.
Moreover, Zhou Wenchen was a defector, had gone back on his word, which was what Zhang Que and the others hated the most.
”Enough!”
Wang Chong waved his hand and stopped Zhang Que.
Wang Chong put down the cup and calmly asked, ”Lord Zhou, is this your explanation?”
”Your Highness, this Zhou also has his own sorrows. This Zhou has known King Song for many years, and whether it is King Song or Lord Wang Gen, this one has always deeply admired them. Your Highness has fought on foreign battlefields to vanquish foes and raise the prestige of the country, and this Zhou is also full of praise for Your Highness. Your Highness must believe this Zhou when he says that he would have never done such a thing if it were possible.”
”Nonsense! You still did it!” Zhang Que angrily said. ”Is this your explanation? Do you know how many of our brothers sacrificed their lives and bled out on foreign lands just so you could say that you were forced into doing all this?”
In normal circumstances, he would have never been this agitated, but this situation was different. Half a year of effort had been wasted, and Zhang Que could not accept Zhou Wenchen being so calm about it.
”Zhang Que!”
Wang Chong shot a glance at Zhang Que and silenced him, then he turned back to Zhou Wenchen.
”So, Lord Zhou cannot say who commanded you or who made you change your mind?”
”Your Highness, forgive me. It is not that this Zhou does not want to say, but he cannot say.”
Zhang Que was further infuriated by these words and angrily glared. But Wang Chong seemed to understand, and he placed his hands on the armrest as he prepared to rise.
”Understood. Zhang Que, let's go!”