《Little Cardamom》


 ~： Work related

    Title: "Cardamom"


    Author: more than just a dish


    copywriting


    [End of the main text, extra episodes will be updated from time to time]


    -Husband, the snow satin has been out of date for three months, do you not love me TvT


    On the Lantern Festival in Shangyuan, the Empress Yongyuan hosted a banquet. In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and his ministers enjoyed together, but in fact, His Royal Highness Dingbei chose the princess.


    At the banquet, Yingying, the daughter of Marquis Cheng En, kowtowed and offered to present a song of Xiaoxiang Shuiyun. At the end, she said tenderly: "The minister is not talented, she is showing her ugliness."


    The man in the black brocade suit interrupted coldly, "If you know it''s ugly, don''t offer it."


    The whole house was silent, and no one dared to speak out to refute. The young lady of the Ming family who was sitting with her at the last table peeked from a distance, and felt that His Royal Highness King Dingbei was rebellious and rude, extremely arrogant, and he was not really a kind person.


    Later, at the night of festivities and candles in the bridal chamber, the wine was exhausted, and the red candles were shining brightly.


    The little lady of the Ming family undressed the man tremblingly.


    The man suddenly said, Hearing that her song "Pingsha Luoyan" moved to Beijing.


    She pretended to be dignified and blessed her body, but she was so nervous that she forgot to refuse, and she only tried to say: "I am not talented, so... present... present your ugliness?"


    She raised her eyes and peeked, but met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, "It''s not ugly, I just think that my wife is very beautiful."


    - If you act wild, I will accompany you with wine in this life. (This sentence is the lyrics of "Hair Like Snow")


    From the delicate hair to the pattern of the soles, the squeamish little lady x the ruthless person who shows off the **** of war His Royal Highness King Dingbei


    Overhead / slow heat / a hodgepodge of official customs / are all ancient locals, please don¡¯t use modern standards to ask characters


    Content tags: Marquis of the court has a special liking for a sweet match made in heaven


    Search keywords: Protagonist: Ming Tan; Jiang Xu©§Supporting role: ©§Others:


    One sentence introduction: If you play wild, I will accompany you with wine in this life.


    Conception: know each other, love each other, and grow together.


    VIP pushes the medal: Ming Tan, the youngest daughter of the Jing''an Hou Mansion, was betrayed by her fianc¨¦-in-law, and she didn''t want to be married to Jiang Xu, the famous **** of war, after the marriage contract was dissolved. Ming Tan thought Jiang Xu was rude, rebellious and vulgar A reckless man who doesn''t want to marry each other, but sneaks into the barracks to see each other and falls in love with him at first sight. He only hopes to get married as soon as possible. After marriage, the two gradually developed a love for each other while getting along. Jiang Xu, who originally married Ming Tan for other reasons, also gradually fell in love. The two experienced many sweets and tribulations together, and the lovers finally became married. This work is fluent in writing, delicate in brushstrokes, humorous in language, fresh in style, brisk in rhythm, and three-dimensional and vivid in characters. It is worth reading.

 Chapter 1：

    It was mid-winter, and the snow in Shangjing was like goose feathers. The cold wind swirled around the lanterns at the corners of the corridor. In the fifth watch, the outside was faintly silvery white.


    Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, in the Zhaoshui courtyard, green plum branches are covered with fresh snow.


    The sound of clappers that disturbed people''s dreams before has gradually faded away, and the hurried steps of the servants and maids in the mansion can be heard again in this silent night.


    After a while, there were two knocks of "Duk Tuk" outside the main room door, and someone whispered: "Miss."


    It was Mama Zhang who was serving by Mrs. Hou''s side.


    Su Xin was laying out her breakfast, seeing Ming Tan sitting down and not responding, she gave Lu E who was standing behind Ming Tan a look.


    Lue understood, put down the horn comb in her hand, and walked lightly to meet people outside Mingjian.


    It was probably the door opened by the **** duty. When Lue arrived in the morning, Zhang''s mother was leading the lady from Jinxiufang and a group of little girls holding drawers to enter.


    Through the dim candlelight, the light green skirt of the second-class maidservant of Jing''an Hou Mansion seemed to form a neat arc around the door.


    "Mother Zhang." Lue was bright and greeted with a smile.


    Zhang''s mother rolled her eyes, quickly reached out to help, and looked at the other side of the screen. She just looked around, and saw that Lue was here to meet her, which meant that the little lady would not come out.


    She and Lu''e are fairly familiar, and after a few words of greeting, she attracted the lady from Jinxiu Workshop to introduce the new clothes and tops for the banquet this time.


    "...The leather that Mrs. Hou sent is shiny, smooth, and flawless. It is a rare and high-quality product. I heard that it is an imperial gift during the autumn hunting. It is a great sin if it is not done well. No, you can put us The shopkeeper is so worried!


    "After thinking about it, our shopkeeper went to invite Mrs. Zhang to do needles in person. Miss Lue, you know that Mrs. Zhang doesn''t usually do needlework after she gets married. The shopkeeper spent a lot of money to invite her to do needles." It took a lot of work. Look, this embroidery pattern, this stitch."


    As the lady of Jinxiufang introduced, the little girl behind her brought the neatly ironed silver fox cloak to Lue, and let her hold her eyes.


    Lue approached, looked carefully for a while, and admired slightly in her eyes: "It is full of embroidery, and the silver satin is also very good, and the leather is not spoiled."


    She checked it inside and out, and after confirming that it was correct, she said with satisfaction: "This time the palace banquet came suddenly, and the lighting of the lights was so exquisite. Your shopkeeper has a heart."


    The mother-in-law humbly smiled, and her heart finally settled down.


    The little ancestor served by Miss Lue is Ming Tan, the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Jing''an. Since she was a child, she has been favored by thousands of people, and she has seen many good things, and she is very picky. Even for ordinary things, it is not easy to get the green calyx beside her to nod.


    It just so happened that this little ancestor was kind to the shopkeeper of his house, and before dawn today, the shopkeeper sent her to deliver clothes from the Jing''an Hou Mansion, and specifically told her that she had to go to the little lady''s place in person.


    Thanks to Lue''s "careful" words, she was finally able to go back to get a good job and sleep peacefully.


    On the side of Zhaoshuiyuan, Lue collected her clothes, stuffed her rich purse, and politely sent Mama Zhang and her party out of the Chuihua Gate.


    On the other side of the Fenghe Courtyard, another line of women and maids delivering clothes slowed down and just entered the main room.


    Mama Huang, who was also serving Mrs. Hou, saluted and introduced clothes and jewelry to Shen Hua, a cousin girl living in Hou''s mansion, with a smile.


    Shen Hua listened, and glanced at the brocade costume gemstone hairpin in the drawer, and finally softly and softly said: "Thank you Mama Huang for making this trip, Ah Hua thank you Madam."


    Immediately, he gave another wink to the personal maid.


    The maid understood, stepped forward with small steps, and stuffed Mama Huang with an exquisitely embroidered purse.


    The purse is exquisite, but there is not much money in it.


    After leaving the Fengheyuan, Madam Huang rolled up her sleeves to find out the reality.


    She didn''t care about the slightest reward, but just happened to meet Zhang''s mother and her party who came out of Zhaoshuiyuan, and it happened that she and Zhang''s mother didn''t get along very well.


    "I''ve heard that there is a lot of rewards for going to the young lady''s business. It''s true. When I leave the house another day, I can buy the rouge I saw in Lancui Pavilion before."


    Behind Mama Zhang, a round-faced little girl who had just been promoted to the second class and returned to Zhaoshui Courtyard was discussing with her companions.


    The tall girl behind Madam Huang couldn''t help but sneered when she heard this: "It''s just an ordinary reward. When you go to buy rouge, don''t say that you are from our Hou''s mansion. Don''t let people think that Jing''an Hou''s mansion came out." They¡¯ve never seen the world before.¡±


    The little girl with a round face rose from the third class to the second class in just half a year, and her verbal skill should not be underestimated.


    She hurriedly acted surprised: "Such a reward is not unusual... Could it be that the reward given by the cousin girl can buy a rouge shop?"


    "you!"


    "Okay, don''t be as knowledgeable as her." Someone grabbed the tall girl, "We are all from the wife''s courtyard, and we only care about one thing when we go out on business, and nothing else matters."


    The tall man was persuaded to lose his temper, and followed the words to think of the key point, and smiled instead of anger: "Yeah, running errands is all about smoothness, and the whole family, I''m afraid there is nothing more smooth than going to the cousin''s place to do errands." It''s gone."


    She didn''t tell the little lady about the cumbersome errands, but the little round face pretended not to know and didn''t respond.


    The tall girl said again: "Speaking of which, it''s rare, the cousin girl is gentle and beautiful, with excellent talents and sentiments, and she treats the servants so kindly."


    "I think it''s even more rare to have a good brother." Another girl behind Mama Huang interjected.


    The tall girl agreed: "That''s right, with Little General Shen around, Cousin girl''s future will definitely not be bad."


    The little round face smiled: "The two sisters are concerned, the madam and the young lady are our serious masters, the future of the cousin girl is the fate of the cousin girl, but it has nothing to do with the two sisters."


    The tall man choked back without even thinking about it: "Biao girl lives in the Hou''s mansion, and the Hou''s mansion of Qiancheng has a reputation, so why can''t she care? Maybe after today is over, she will fly to the branch and go to Changyu. The street has moved."


    It seems that there is a sudden cold wind passing through the corridor. The East Garden corridor, which was still lively just now, suddenly became quiet because of these words¡ª


    Everyone in Shangjing knows that there is only one mansion on Changyu Street.


    The one who lives inside is not something everyone can mention in Daxian.


    The two mothers who didn''t hear these arguments stopped suddenly, turned around and scolded: "What are you talking about! The one on Changyu Street is also something you can arrange? Who gave you the courage to gossip here? root!"


    The girls were startled, knowing that they had said something wrong, they all held their breath, their heads wishing they could hang down to their toes. The **** Changyu Street just mentioned her face turned pale with fright, and the sandalwood end in her hand was shaking.


    "...Someone mentioned Changyu Street, and the two mothers became very angry. After following the East Garden, the servants were afraid of being discovered, so they dared not follow again."


    In the Fenghe Courtyard, Shen Hua stood in front of the window of the main room, listening to the maidservant''s report of her eavesdropping.


    After listening, the corners of her lips curled up, and she looked in the direction of Zhaoshuiyuan, with a trace of contempt in her eyes that did not match her usual gentleness.


    "So this lady is neither gentle nor beautiful, not as talented as her, and she is not kind enough to you. Oh, this lady''s brother is not as brave and good at fighting as little general Shen, and his future is not good enough."


    In Zhaoshuiyuan, Ming Tan sat at the table with his chin resting, repeating slowly.


    The fragrance of Yinsheng tea is soft and light, hidden in the aroma of the morning meal, which seems to be absent. That face, as white and clear as fat jade, was hidden behind the curling white mist rising from the boiling tea, making it somewhat unclear.


    "Don''t worry about that naughty young lady with a bad mouth. The young lady''s appearance and temperament are outstanding among the ladies in Beijing."


    Lue couldn''t stop her in time, so the little girl who answered said the whole thing, and now she had to change the topic to make up for it: "By the way, Miss, the servants have read all the things Madam sent, and today I enter the palace, just How about wearing this?"


    Lue specializes in clothing in Zhaoshuiyuan, and has some insights into the matching of clothes and jewelry. After a while, she started talking about the cloak embroidered with white fox and silver satin from the character "Tan" specially engraved on the hosta.


    There was no response after saying everything, Lue couldn''t help raising her eyes and peeking: "Miss?" Her voice was a little more cautious.


    Su Xin, who served the meal, filled a bowl of porridge and put it in front of Ming Tan, and also helped to remind: "Miss, you have to look at the clothes."


    Ming Tan raised his head and glanced at the drawer in Lu''e''s hand: "Just this one, it doesn''t matter what you wear."


    Immediately, he changed his hand to rest his chin, and fiddled with the porcelain spoon in the porridge bowl with the free hand.


    Just after five o''clock, she was wearing pajamas embroidered with pear blossoms and white branches, and a soft fox cloak, hanging down her waist like a waterfall of blue silk, and only a lock of broken hair restlessly rested on her thin cheeks.


    She didn''t know what she was thinking, but her crow-feather eyelashes trembled from time to time, as if responding to the flickering candlelight reflected on the wall of the bowl, looking at her with a bit of beauty like jade.


    It''s a pity that the beauty has a bad appetite at the moment, and the heat of a bowl of white porridge has dissipated without moving a second time.


    Seeing her like this, Su Xin, who is always quiet, couldn''t help persuading her: "White porridge nourishes the stomach, Miss, you should use some more, you have to enter the palace today."


    Palace banquets are well-regulated, not as comfortable as dining at home, Su Xin is also kind. It''s okay not to mention it, but when it was mentioned about entering the palace, Ming Tan felt even more congested in his heart.


    Usually, there was no palace banquet in Shangyuan, but the noble family knew the reason for the special palace banquet this time. In the palace, there is still a need to cover up, even someone like her who already has a marriage contract has to go to the banquet together.


    If it was normal, it would be fine to join in the fun, but now her mind is full of the bad news that her fianc¨¦-in-law had **** with his cousin and had an illegitimate child long ago!


    Although this matter was covered up to death, even her personal servant girl didn''t know about it, but the illegitimate child was already two years old, and he would call him "Daddy" when he was alive and kicking. ironclad evidence.


    Thinking of the fact that this marriage, which everyone envied her and was quite proud of in the past, would most likely end in a way that is not decent at all, Ming Tan felt that the silver charcoal in the charcoal basin made her internal organs blaze. I also felt that the porridge, which had lost its heat, became cold all the way from my throat to the bottom of my heart.


    "Don''t eat." She was upset, put down the porcelain spoon, got up and walked into the inner room.


    Su Xin looked at her back and sighed, without any further persuasion, she directed the little girls to remove the almost untouched breakfast table.


    "Miss, what''s the matter the past few days, if you think those girls are talking behind their backs, you can tell Madam to send them away, so you don''t even look at the clothes."


    The young lady of their family cares most about her attire, every time she goes out, she has to go from the delicate hair to the pattern of the soles of her shoes, no wonder Lue is suspicious, she leans close to Su Xin and whispers to her ear.


    Su Xin didn''t know either: "I asked when I was on duty yesterday, but the lady didn''t say anything, maybe she just wanted to be quiet. Alright, I''ll go to the kitchen to cook a bowl of shredded chicken porridge. Don''t bother Miss."


    Su Xin is a bit older and meticulous and steady, which Ming Tan values ??the most. Lue pursed her mouth, didn''t dare to refute, just twisted the silk sash around her waist and watched Su Xin go out.


    But when Su Xin''s figure disappeared outside the hanging flower door, she turned around immediately and walked into the inner room lightly.


    The inner room of Zhaoshuiyuan is elegantly and exquisitely furnished, from the large carved couch to the small silver hook, each of which can tell a twists and turns, and the incense in different seasons and weathers is also particular.


    Today, there is a faint pear fragrance in it, which seems to be absent, sweet and slightly cold. Ming Tan was sitting in front of the dressing table, still half-supporting his head, with a sluggish look.


    "Miss, will this servant continue to comb your hair?" Lue stepped forward and asked cautiously.


    Ming Tan didn''t respond, so she took it as a default, and while combing Ming Tan''s hair with a corner comb, she thought that she was caring to solve her worries: "Miss is worrying about my cousin, and the girl is going to enter the palace today? Don''t worry, miss, what is that master?" Status, how can you really fall in love with the cousin girl. Even if you like it, because of the cousin girl''s family background, being a side concubine is very reluctant, how can you compare with you, miss, and the lady will be a serious and serious wife of the prince''s family in the future. "


    Ming Tan: "..."


    "Besides, our eldest son has a dignified appearance and outstanding literary talents. Who in the whole capital would not envy you and the eldest son, a golden boy and a beautiful girl, a perfect match!"


    This sentence is very low, but the tone of honor is like a needle piercing to Ming Tan''s ears.


    Who wants to be a natural match with that faceless and skinless? He deserves it too!


    She was afraid that if this girl said a few more words, she would vomit blood out of anger, so she closed her eyes and raised her hand to signal to stop: "Bring the mirror."


    Lue didn''t know what she said wrong, but fortunately her brain turned quickly, she hurriedly took off the small bronze mirror, and changed her tone in a sensible way, standing aside and praised Ming Tan''s appearance of falling geese and sinking fish.


    Ming Tan looked at the person in the mirror carefully, but didn''t answer. It''s just that from the corners of her lips that are gradually raised, it''s not hard to see that she takes Lue''s praise very seriously.


    ¡ª This girl Lue''s outrageous words and deeds often pierce her heart, but there is one sentence that is right: with such a face, you can use a few more bowls of rice alone.


    After taking a selfie in the mirror for a while, her anger that day also inexplicably subsided, and there was only one thought in her mind: why is this lady so beautiful!

 Chapter 2：

    The good mood brought by appreciating beauty lasted until he left the palace and entered the palace.


    Outside the second gate, the chariots and horses have already been prepared. When Ming Tan appeared slowly holding a hand warmer, Mrs. Hou Pei and her cousin Shen Hua were already sitting in the car.


    Seeing Ming Tan taking off his cloak and getting into the carriage with his head down, a little smile appeared in Pei''s eyes: "A Tan, come up quickly."


    After Ming Tan sat down, she was concerned again in a warm voice: "How did you untie the cloak? It''s cold, so be careful."


    "It''s warm in the car, I don''t understand it now, it will be cold when I get out of the car later." Ming Tan smiled with his eyes bent, and obediently returned his hold to Pei Shi, "It was my fault for telling my mother to wait. "


    Mrs. Pei cast a light glance at her: "What sins are not sins, don''t say such things today in Shangyuan!"


    "Yes, my daughter knows it''s wrong¡ª" Ming Tan leaned into Pei''s arms, and even coquettishly drew a long tail.


    Pei''s helplessly nodded her forehead: "You, you are used to be good!"


    Shen Hua, who was sitting across from her, saw this scene, covered her lips with a smile and said, "Auntie and cousin have a deep love for mother and daughter, Ah Hua is really envious."


    Pei could not help but look at Shen Hua with a smile.


    Since ancient times, it has been difficult to continue. Ming Tan is the daughter of the first wife, who is backed by a powerful family. In the first few years when Mrs. Pei married into the Hou''s mansion, she was afraid that others would accuse her of "being mean and losing her mother and orphan". She took care of Gu Mingtan more carefully than her own Lord Hou.


    She hasn''t done anything in these years, so she should have worried about the unstable position of the mistress of the Hou Mansion, but because of her close relationship with Ming Tan, she has gained a good reputation as "virtuous" among the noble ladies in Shangjing. It''s done steadily.


    Because of these reasons, and Pei''s reputation is quite good, those who are interested will know that it is better to praise her and Mingtan than to praise her and Mingtan.


    At this moment, Mrs. Pei was extremely flattered in her heart, but because of Shen Hua''s voice, Ming Tan''s mood took a turn for the worse¡ª


    Without him, Shen Hua lived in the Hou Mansion for half a year, Ming Tan and her lived in peace on the surface, but there were many signs of seeing each other behind the scenes.


    Hearing Shen Hua''s greasy voice now, Ming Tan couldn''t stop thinking about his own bad marriage and the gossips from the girls in the house.


    Those gossips were outrageous, but she wasn''t sure it was impossible.


    After all, the man from Changyu Street has been on expeditions all year round, so he probably hasn''t seen many beauties. These illiterate military generals are used to being arty, and they wish to hire a room full of talented women to prove that they are not reckless people - her father is the best example, and the foreign boss even brought Aunt Liu to recite poems to fight against him.


    If Shen Hua entered Changyu Street and flew up the branches, but she lost her marriage because of her fianc¨¦''s betrayal, wouldn''t she become the biggest joke in Shangjing, the young lady of the Ming family?


    Seeing that it hasn''t happened yet, those little girls can arrange it like this. If this happens, and they don''t cut their hair to become a sister-in-law, there may be no place for her Ming family, A Tan, in Shangjing!


    The sound of the car was buzzing in his ears, and Ming Tan became more and more angry when he thought about it, and even felt a little blocked in his heart. When the carriage stopped outside the Qixuan Gate with a "wow", she was still stuck in a depressed mood and couldn''t extricate herself.


    When officials and family members enter the palace, servants and servants in chariots and horses are not allowed to accompany them. Mrs. Pei handed over the order plate, and the maid in the palace checked whether they were carrying any sharp weapons, and only then did the servants come to lead them to Yongyuan where the banquet was held today.


    Since Daxian came to power, except for selection, female family members who had no imperial orders rarely entered the palace, and it was the first time that such a banquet was widely invited.


    The deep palace covered with red walls and snow is solemn and majestic. Every step forward, the pressure seems to increase, making it difficult to breathe. So much so that the road to Yongyuan was very quiet, and no other voices could be heard, except for the slight creaking sound of short boots stepping on the thin snow.


    Everyone concentrates on moving forward, no one pays attention, and the window of the Nuan Pavilion in the nearby high place is opened¡ª¡ª


    "...It''s a good thing that Suibei Road takes over Dongzhou. You can also rest in the capital for a while. By the way, Axu, you are also... 21st this year, right? Why don''t you take advantage of this time to decide on the marriage, start a family and carry on the family line? But it''s a big deal.


    "It just so happened that at the Yongyuan Garden today, the queen specially invited all the female family members of the appropriate age into the palace, and told me which lady she liked, as long as her family was clean and her conduct was dignified, I would marry you."


    Ever since he entered the Nuan Pavilion, Emperor Chengkang had been talking about it all the way, from the war in the North to the victory in Dongzhou, and finally brought the topic to the matter of "marriage" quite naturally.


    Just when he was about to try harder to persuade him, Empress Zhang who was standing aside covered her lips and coughed, while looking out the window, she leaned closer and said softly: "Among the women in this group, the little girl in the silver cloak on the left, my concubine looks The rules are pretty good."


    Cheng Kangdi was interrupted, subconsciously squinted his eyes, and looked out the window.


    After a long while, Emperor Cheng Kang nodded, seemingly satisfied: "The queen''s eyesight is indeed not bad."


    He told the servant: "Go and find out, whose girl is that?"


    "Yes." The waiter waited, bowed and retreated.


    Cheng Kangdi turned his head again, and looked at the man in black beside him: "Ah Xu, would you like to take a look too? After all, it is for you to choose a concubine, and it must be in your favor."


    Accompanied by the voice that was about to fall, a gust of cold wind with frost and snow came in through the window, and the black brocade suit darkly embroidered with python moir¨¦ patterns was blown up on one side, and the man stood quietly in front of the window with his hands behind his back. , glanced down, and looked away without emotion.


    Cheng Kangdi: "...?"


    This is just one glance, really just one glance.


    Cheng Kangdi was speechless for a while. Fortunately, he has long been used to the love and indifference of the person beside him, so he didn''t think it was disrespectful, so he temporarily gave up talking to this person, and while waiting for the servant to report back, he turned his head and chatted with Queen Zhang in a low voice.


    Just for a while, Empress Zhang looked at Ming Tan''s back, feeling more and more satisfied.


    Most of these little girls are returning to the palace for the first time. Although the family has taught them enough rules, there are very few people who are not afraid of the majesty of the imperial city. If there is fear in the heart, it is inevitable to be timid and cramped.


    I have seen so many girls along the way, but this one is the one with the most decent manners, and she walks in a row with a calm and elegant style, which is very pleasing to the eye.


    After a while, the servant returned to the Nuan Pavilion, bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is Madam Jing''an Hou, the Fourth Miss of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, and the sister of Little General Shen who lives in Jing''an Hou''s Mansion."


    "Shen Yu''s younger sister?" Emperor Cheng Kang raised his eyebrows.


    The servant hurriedly replied: "Little General Shen''s younger sister is the one with the golden feather satin cloak, and the one with the silver fox embroidered cloak¡ªthe fourth lady of the Jing''an Marquis Mansion."


    Jing''an Hou Mansion, this family name is quite suitable. Empress Zhang was thinking of this, when the servant added: "Miss Jing''an Hou''s fourth lady has already made a marriage contract with the son of Duke Ling."


    "Already engaged?" Queen Zhang paused, "This is really..."


    Ling Guogong''s mansion is full of old honors, she can''t say the word "unfortunate", but there is no regret on her face.


    Seeing this, Emperor Chengkang casually added a sentence: "There is already a marriage contract, so it''s not easy to break up the marriage."


    There was regret in his words, but he didn''t take it seriously in his heart. When he heard "Jing''an Hou''s Mansion", he had already excluded this fourth lady of the Hou''s Mansion.


    After a short pause, he pointed to the already blurred back in the distance: "I look at Shen Yu''s sister is also very good. The status of the Shen family is a bit lower, but it''s okay to be a side concubine."


    Empress Zhang was not interested in choosing a concubine''s room, she lowered her eyes and straightened her cuffs, and did not respond to this.


    Emperor Cheng Kang turned his head and asked again: "Ah Xu, what do you think? Don''t you appreciate that Shen Yu?"


    "No way."


    "If your majesty thinks it''s good, you might as well bring it into the harem."


    The voice was neither high nor low, and it was a little bit impatient.


    The servants around couldn''t help but feel startled and their knees weak when they heard it. The ground dragon was clearly burning in the Nuan Pavilion, but everyone couldn''t help trembling and lowered their heads.


    The officials and family members who attended the banquet knew nothing about what happened in the Nuan Pavilion. After entering the Yongyuan Garden, everyone was led to the Changming Hall and attended in turn.


    The seats in Jing''anhou''s Mansion are right next to the gate of the Changming Hall, and those who are further behind can only blow cold wind outside the hall.


    Shen Hua followed Mrs. Pei to the seat, but she was a little puzzled.


    She has been in Beijing for half a year, and she knows very well that the Jing''an Hou''s family is famous and has a good status in Beijing, but why is the banquet held in the palace today so far away?


    Shen Hua was puzzled, but Ming Tan was very clear.


    In a place like Shangjing, where dignitaries gather, a marquis is actually nothing. The Jinganhou mansion is now so full of flowers and brocades, mostly because her father, Jinganhou, is a feudal official who holds real power and guards the border.


    The nobles are the first to attend the palace banquet, and there are more than a dozen of the Duke''s mansions above their marquis'' mansion, and counting the royal family, it is a special privilege to be able to attend the palace banquet.


    At this moment, there were many people in the Changming Hall but it was quiet. After Ming Tan sat down, he glanced towards the position of Duke Ling''s Mansion in front of him as if inadvertently.


    It''s okay not to scan, but after this glance, she felt unexplainably angry again.


    The Duke Ling''s Mansion thought that no one knew about her scandal or didn''t take her Ming family, A Tan, seriously, and brought the cousin who had a head and a tail here in a grand manner! Did they think it was some kind of occasion, that they wanted to bring someone over to make a familiar face in front of her so that they could get along with each other and serve her husband together? !


    Pei Shi noticed that Ming Tan''s expression was different, and called softly: "A Tan, what''s wrong?"


    The Pei family still didn''t know what the Duke''s mansion was hiding, Ming Tan looked away, reluctantly replied "nothing", and forced himself to suppress his anger, and sat upright, not expecting anything more.


    No one in Lingguo''s mansion noticed Ming Tan''s gaze before, but now that the female relatives of Jing''an Hou''s mansion have arrived, they couldn''t help but look over from a distance.


    Mrs. Ling Guogong was also included in this scrutiny, and she was somewhat complacent while sizing her up.


    The Ming family, A Tan, has always had a good reputation among the ladies in Beijing. His family background, appearance, and piano skills are all top-notch. His temperament is also suitable for movement and tranquility. It is very rare that he can not only please his husband and son-in-law, but also be able to handle the big scene. Fortunately, the marriage was arranged early, otherwise there must be a family with hundreds of daughters begging.


    Mrs. Ling Guogong can be said to be 120% satisfied with this marriage, but her worry-free son¡ª


    Thinking of this, she glanced back, and just happened to catch a glimpse of the woman timidly helping the teacup again, and she couldn''t help but sigh in her heart: Although she is her niece, she can''t be on the stage, after all, she won''t be on the stage.


    I don''t know how long this matter can be kept a secret. The term of Marquis Jing''an has expired, and when he returns to Beijing to report on his duties, the marriage of the two families will be put on the agenda. If she wanted to marry the Ming family''s A Tan into the door smoothly, she had to make plans for this matter early.


    Everyone in the hall has their own thoughts, but what is on the surface is exactly the same respectful and quiet.


    This silence lasted until the front servant shouted in a shrill voice: "The empress is here¡ª"


    All the people gathered their minds and stood up, kneeling in the direction of the queen: "See the empress, the empress is blessed and safe!"


    "Get up." Empress Zhang''s voice was quite gentle, and she seemed to have a smile on her face, "Today''s Shangyuan, I invite you all to enter the palace just to make it lively, everyone sit down, there is no need to be formal."


    Having said that, those who really dared to sit down informally have not yet entered the Eternal Brightness Hall alive, and everyone Qi Qifu responded "Yes" before sitting down properly.


    The order of banquets in the palace has always been cumbersome. Although Empress Zhang avoided some unnecessary ceremonies, after going through the process step by step, the delicacies for sharing were completely cold. All the wives and noble ladies took a symbolic bite or two, maintaining a quiet and dignified appearance at all times.


    The hall is full of silk and bamboo, and the dancer is graceful. From time to time, the family members and female relatives at the front chatted with Empress Zhang about interesting things in Beijing, and there were occasional brisk laughter coming from behind, and the atmosphere was considered relaxed.


    In the middle of the banquet, a servant rushed to Queen Zhang to pass on a message. I don''t know what was passed on, Queen Zhang ordered a few words, and then someone added two new positions to the first song.


    Although everyone didn''t look directly at them, they were all clear in their hearts, this tasteless palace banquet was finally getting to the point.


    Sure enough, as soon as this idea came up, some servants shouted back one after another: "The emperor is here¡ª"


    Ming Tan was thinking about his marriage with Duke Ling''s mansion, when he heard this sound, he hurriedly put aside his distracting thoughts, and went forward to salute with the others.


    There was a shout of long live in the hall, which seemed to echo in the open space. After Yu Shengping, a gentle yet majestic "Pingshen" came from above.


    Ming Tan was reminded of an accident: His Majesty''s voice was much younger than expected. Then King Dingbei is the cousin of the Holy Lord, so isn''t he younger?


    When I was seated, I heard Empress Zhang say: "A month ago, Dongzhou won a great victory. It is my great joy. It just so happens that today, His Majesty invited all the ministers to celebrate the meritorious service of King Dingbei in Hong''an Hall. I think Now, even though we are women, we should respect Daxian''s good son Lang Cai, so Tete invited the Emperor and King Dingbei here."


    After about a moment of silence, someone started, and the voices of praise and praise from the front came one after another, endlessly.


    Ming Tan knows that noble ladies in Beijing pay attention to subtlety and euphemism, but he doesn''t want to be reserved in the palace, and they have to make more detours. He is obviously looking at the princess, so he wants to call him a name of praise.


    She was far away, plus she couldn''t peek at Long Yan, the first three people were all a blur in the corner of her eyes.


    Just as she was thinking, could it be that His Royal Highness Dingbei is a dumb man, before such a toast and compliment can be said, a familiar charming female voice suddenly sounded from the opposite side: "I have heard that His Highness, at the age of tying up his hair, led three thousand elite soldiers to block three The barbarians of the Wanbei Region have made great achievements for Daxian, and my daughter has admired His Highness for many years. It is really a blessing to meet you today. My daughter is willing to present a song "Xiaoxiang Water Cloud" to His Highness..."


    She is the second daughter of Marquis Chengen, Gu Jiurou.


    Cheng''enhou''s mansion has always been unafraid of people''s words, and the Yugui Concubine, who was angrily denounced by the imperial censor for seducing the lord, is now still thinking about the position of the princess of Dingbei''s mansion.


    A word of admiration has been said, which is already available in dance and music. Gu Jiurou kowtowed profusely, and finally said humbly: "The minister is not talented, she is making a fool of herself."


    Ming Tan has been learning the piano since she was a child, under the tutelage of famous masters, if someone wants to perform the piano art in front of her, she is a little curious about how the other party will amaze everyone.


    It''s a pity that she didn''t have such a good ear. As soon as the charming voice in the front fell, the man in black brocade at the top interrupted coldly: "If you know you are ugly, don''t offer it."

 Chapter 3：

    For a moment in the hall, it was so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard.


    In a trance, Ming Tan thought that he had heard something wrong. Although His Royal Highness King Dingbei had won the Sacred Heart and held a lot of power, Gu Jiurou was also the daughter of Marquis Chengen after all, so it was too insolent and rude to speak like this.


    After a long time, the only two people in the palace who were qualified to refute did not say a word.


    Empress Zhang''s silence is understandable, after all, Gu Jiurou''s first sister, Concubine Yu Gui, has often made things difficult for her in the harem.


    But Emperor Chengkang, who had always been favored by Concubine Yugui, didn''t even say a word of perfunctory to smooth things over, and just drank alcohol on his own, as if the current matter had nothing to do with him.


    Until the black brocade robe left, there was silence in the hall, and the servants just bowed to see him off, no one dared to stop him.


    Before going to the banquet, probably no one expected that this palace banquet would end so hastily.


    It was not yet the end of the unitary year when I left the palace, the sky was about to get dark, and the imperial street was just beginning to be lit.


    Ming Tan stepped on the sedan chair and was about to get in the car, when he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind: "A Tan!"


    She turned her head, and when she saw who was coming, she couldn''t help smiling.


    After Bai Minmin yelled this, she was about to go forward immediately, but Ming Tan inadvertently looked back and smiled, and the flickering lights behind her seemed to be silent and pale in an instant.


    White teeth and bright eyes are like full autumn water, light eyebrows and curved lips are like stars and moons. There are beauties, that''s all.


    Bai Minmin stared at the place for a while, and only recovered after being reminded by her personal servant girl.


    Bai Minmin is the legitimate daughter of the chief house of Duke Chang, Ming Tan''s direct cousin. Because of the similar age, they have been close since childhood, and the two are also friends in the boudoir who have played since childhood.


    Earlier in the Changming Hall, the seats of the Duke of Changguo and the Marquis of Jing''an were in the same left row, and the two failed to meet face to face. Now that he was out of the palace, Bai Minmin couldn''t wait to find her.


    She stepped forward to hug Ming Tan affectionately, and then cleverly bowed to Mrs. Pei: "Min Min pays auntie greetings."


    She has an outspoken personality and doesn''t like to make detours, so she expressed her intentions straight after asking for safety: "Auntie, today is Shangyuan, I specially asked my elder brother to book a private seat on the Linjiang River in Tingyu Tower, and I want to invite Atan to go with me to enjoy the lanterns , Auntie will lend me A-Tan for a few hours?"


    Bai Minmin''s serious aunt is Ming Tan''s late biological mother, Bai Shi. With her status and temperament, she is willing to take the initiative to call Pei Shi "aunt", which is undoubtedly the best affirmation of Pei''s "virtuous" reputation.


    Not to mention how comfortable Pei was, there was nothing she could not agree to, she smiled and said decent things, sent her entourage to accompany her, and explained to Lue in detail, telling her to take good care of her young lady.


    I have to admit that Mrs. Pei is a smart person. Bai Minmin didn''t mention Shen Hua at all, and she just forgot that being the mistress of the Hou Mansion should be considerate in every way, and she didn''t say any unnecessary gossip about asking Shen Hua to go to the bustle with her.


    When Bai Minmin left with Ming Tan, Pei didn''t feel embarrassed, just pretending nothing happened, Xiao Yingying talked to Shen Hua about the various **** prepared in the mansion today.


    Shen Hua felt that these three people deliberately ignored her and was humiliated for no reason. When she responded to Pei, she smiled a little forcedly, and her hands clenched under her sleeves turned white.


    Shen Hua wrote about this all night, but Bai Minmin forgot about it when he turned around. On the way to Tingyu Tower, she lamented for a while how Mrs. Pei knew how to behave, and then complained along the way about how many complicated rules her new sister-in-law had set and how difficult her life was after being an assistant.


    Ming Tan wanted to ask Bai Minmin about something serious, but on this Lantern Festival, the roads were full of noise and excitement, so it was not convenient for him to talk. She had no choice but to hold back her temper and wait until she arrived at Tingyulou to inquire carefully.


    Tingyulou is the most famous teahouse in the capital, with good refreshments and a better view of Linjiang.


    Every early spring and late autumn, when the drizzle starts to fall, mist rises on the river, and the misty waves lean on the railing to listen to the rain, which is very popular among literati in Shanghai.


    In addition, every year in Shangyuan, official ships will set off fireworks on the Xianjiang River, and there is also a "one-night fish and dragon dance" scene of lights on both sides of the Xianjiang River.


    The location of Tingyulou is excellent, and it is the best place to watch the fire trees and silver flowers. No matter how high-ranking he is, it takes several months in advance to book this elegant seat on the riverside on Yuanye night.


    Bai Minmin''s private seat is on the third floor. It''s not a big place, but it''s very delicately arranged, and the view location is also considered good. But if we want to say the best, we still have to count the warm pavilion next to them in the middle.


    When the servant led Bai Minmin and Ming Tan upstairs, there were already four people sitting around the table in the warm room in the middle, chatting and drinking.


    The man sitting near the door is dressed luxuriously, and his whole body is of extraordinary quality. Of course, the most ostentatious thing was the suet white jade engraved with the word "Chapter" on his waist.


    "Zhang" is the surname of the queen''s mother''s family. Anyone who has a little understanding of the family in the capital knows that the person who owns this jade can only be the younger brother of the current queen, Zhang Huaiyu.


    At this moment, Zhang Huaiyu sat casually at the table, playing with the wine glass in his hands, and teased the man in black beside him, "Your Highness, there is a lot of movement at the Changming Palace banquet this time, and Miss Qianjin is full of affection." Wrong payment, I heard it was a palace crying all the way out."


    The man in black didn''t even lift his eyelids, but Lu Ting, who was sitting opposite him, asked calmly, "Is it Gu Jinzhong''s daughter?"


    Gu Jinzhong is the name of Cheng Enhou.


    Zhang Huaiyu raised his eyebrows and nodded.


    A stern look flashed in Lu Ting''s eyes: "There''s still time for her to cry." Then he picked up the wine glass and drank it down.


    Compared with Zhang Huaiyu''s showy appearance and Lu Ting''s fierceness, Shu Jingran, who is dressed in a brocade suit with moon and white cloud patterns, obviously has the gentle temperament of a handsome young man.


    Shu Jingran turned his jade finger, smiled and shook his head again, and said, "Actually, it''s not a big deal to lose face, it''s just that after doing this, the rumors of His Highness King Dingbei''s arrogance and domineering will spread to everyone in the streets and alleys before tomorrow." I know. At that time, if I want to find a good marriage again, I am afraid that the ladies in Beijing will be..."


    Before the words fell, there was a slight "squeak" sound from outside, followed by the servant''s indistinct voice: "Miss, please come inside."


    It seems that someone came from the private room next door.


    Shu Jingran stopped talking, and the others tacitly kept silent.


    "A Tan, sit down quickly. I asked them to prepare some refreshments, which are all your favorites. Oh, by the way, where did you just talk about?"


    Bai Minmin was able to talk, she never stopped talking all the way, from her own troubles to the palace banquet in Yongyuan.


    "The palace banquet, yes it is the palace banquet. Your girl is really capable of breaking her mouth. How can Shen Hua climb up to the Dingbei Palace? Her brother Shen Yu was appreciated by the Dingbei King, but she didn''t appreciate her subordinates so she sent her subordinates The reason why my younger sister married back to be a princess. What''s more, Gu Jiurou was humiliated on the spot. Speaking of this, Gu Jiurou is really daring. His Majesty and Empress are all there. Why don''t you express your admiration and present a song in public? want."


    "Gu Jiurou acted quite boldly, but His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang is too rude and arrogant." With Bai Minmin, Ming Tan has always been relaxed, and with Lue guarding outside, she rested her chin, He disliked without any scruples, "A martial artist is crazy and vulgar, I don''t think he is a kind person."


    Zhang Huaiyu: "..."


    Lu Ting: "..."


    Shu Jingran: "..."


    "Vulgar martial artist" himself also subconsciously paused.


    Ming Tan didn''t notice it, he sipped his tea gracefully, and finally remembered the business: "By the way, have you found out what uncle''s plan is these two days?"


    Bai Minmin always felt that she had forgotten something important, and now Ming Tan took the initiative to ask her to respond: "Oh, no. You also saw that day, my father''s posture, wishing to pick up a kitchen knife and go to order The Duke¡¯s Mansion murdered people, but Mr. Zhou persuaded him, and he was able to hold his breath these few days. I thought about it, and I probably wanted to wait for your father to return to Beijing before discussing it.¡±


    Ming Tan frowned slightly when he heard the words.


    The reason why she knew about her fianc¨¦-in-law''s infidelity was because a few days ago she went to Changguo Duke''s mansion to pay her respects to her ancestors, and was dragged by Bai Minmin to the study to find scriptures.


    She had already found the story book, and before she didn''t want to sneak away, her uncle Bai Jingyuan entered the study together with the guest, Mr. Zhou, and as soon as they entered the door, he became furious, smashed Fang Shanghao''s inkstone, and brought the eighteen generations of the ancestors of the Duke of Ling to curse together. , not giving them a chance to refuse to listen to the corner.


    "He had an affair with his cousin and had an illegitimate child before the main family came in. This kind of nonsense is only done by the Liang family! The little **** turned himself into a relative of the emperor. It''s not that the marriage was settled early, and the Liang family''s stinky **** can''t support the new wall, and they won''t be able to reach A Tan in eight lifetimes! Does he think that the Jing''anhou''s mansion is destroyed or the Changguo Duke''s mansion is destroyed? It really makes no sense! "


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin were both stunned at the time, hiding in place for a long while without moving.


    After recovering, Bai Jingyuan and Mr. Zhou swept away from the study like a gust of wind.


    In fact, when she realized it right away, Bai Minmin was so angry that she wanted to go to her father Bai Jingyuan and ask him to immediately go to the Lingguo Mansion to seek justice for Ming Tan.


    However, just as Mr. Zhou advised, this matter is not very honorable, and it is useless to make troubles greater than both sides. Moreover, Ming Tan''s father was already on his way back to Beijing to report on his duties, so his uncle''s rash appearance might be suspected of overstepping his position.


    He didn''t realize that he forgot about it for a while before, but when he thought about it now, Bai Minmin was still furious.


    She ate three yuan of dim sum in one go, scolded Duke Dunling like her father, patted the table and Ming Tan packed the ticket and said: "This is entirely the fault of his Liang family, how can his character be so bad?" I can be a good match for you! Ah Tan, you don''t have to worry, with my father here, this marriage will definitely be resolved!"


    "Of course I know that this person is unworthy, so I just canceled the engagement..."


    Ming Tan didn''t go on, but Bai Minmin and the people next door knew very well that this world is especially harsh on women, no matter what the reason is, breaking the engagement will definitely damage the woman''s reputation.


    Ming Tan paused, not knowing what came to mind, suddenly propped his chin closer, and asked tentatively: "Minmin, if you said that the engagement will be broken by then...how should I behave so that I can appear innocent and strong?"


    "...?"


    "Innocent and strong?"


    Bai Minmin put down her snack, and really thought about it carefully: "I remember that when the fifth girl from the Li family was divorced, she kissed her husband''s family to cut off her will. There is also the third girl from the Fang family in the east of the city. A brothel woman ransomed her body, and because she was pregnant, she was brought in as a good concubine, and when the third girl of the Fang family heard about this, she hung a white silk from the beam of the house and hanged herself.¡±


    "...?"


    "It doesn''t have to be so strong."

 Chapter 4：

    "Puff¡ªcough!" Hearing this, Zhang Huaiyu couldn''t hold back his smile, took a sip of his wine, and coughed out of choking.


    But before he could recover, his eyes suddenly flickered, and then he felt a numbness in his neck and a congested throat. He wanted to open his mouth to speak, but he couldn''t make any sound.


    Dumb hole!


    Although all the people present were practicing martial arts, the one who could do this without a trace, except for the **** of war beside him who made the barbarians of the northern region fearful - Dingbei Wang Jiangxu, didn''t think about it at all.


    Zhang Huaiyu widened his eyes, picked up the folding fan and pointed at Jiang Xu, accusing.


    Jiang Xu didn''t avoid it, he just raised his eyelids and looked at him quietly.


    Those eyes seemed to sink into a lake of icy water, without any ripples, dark and cold. For some reason, Zhang Huaiyu felt a chill down her spine, and put down her folding fan in the next second.


    Outside the window, the lanterns on both sides of the river are reflected on the river water, sparkling with sparkling light. The Nuan Pavilion fell into silence again, only the folding fan pendant on the table was shining with candlelight, and the long tassels were shaking lightly.


    "Minmin, did you hear something just now?" Ming Tan asked hesitantly.


    "Sound, what sound?" Bai Minmin looked blank.


    Ming Tan looked around, was silent for a while, then shook his head and said: "It seems that someone is coughing...Maybe I heard it wrong."


    In fact, listening to the rain building has paid attention to sound insulation. The Nuan Pavilion next door is full of martial arts practitioners, so you can naturally hear the movement outside. But if you don''t open the window to see the scenery tonight, you can''t hear half of it with your bright sandalwood ears.


    Maybe it''s a defensive feeling, or maybe it''s because the important matter has been finished, the two of them will talk about boudoir topics afterwards, it''s nothing serious.


    At the time of the garrison, the official ship stopped in the middle of the Xianjiang River, ready to set off fireworks.


    Bai Minmin stood by the window early on, and Ming Tan put aside the dignified and reserved attitude he usually pays attention to when he is outside. He lifted his skirt and stepped on the small steps by the window.


    The Shangyuan night in the capital is always lively and brilliant, as the so-called thaumaturgy and supernatural powers, singing and dancing, and all kinds of dramas are in touch with each other.


    On both sides of the Xianjiang River, the lights are brightly lit all night, and the people gather around to wait for the fireworks. There are also river lanterns floating out of the pier to pray for blessings. Looking from a distance, it is a scene of prosperity and prosperity.


    Amidst the cheers of the people on both sides of the strait, the fireworks of the official ships finally rose into the sky in clusters, and there were also rich families burning flames on the bank. For a while, the entire night sky seemed to be illuminated by this gorgeous light as if it were daytime.


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin came from aristocratic families, they have seen many good things, but after all, they are fifteen or sixteen year old innocent girls, at this moment they both hold their breath and open their eyes, refusing to blink for a moment.


    "It''s so beautiful." Ming Tan cupped his face and looked at the night sky, sighing softly.


    Bai Minmin nodded and said cheerfully: "I like the rabbit shape the most, it''s so cute!"


    "I like the kind of golden fireworks sprinkled from time to time. The sound is delicate and very pleasant, like...Look, it''s coming again!"


    The girl''s soft and joyful voice not only attracted her companions to look around seriously, but also caused several people in the warm pavilion next door to unconsciously look out of the window.


    Jiang Xu didn''t move, he was still pouring wine for himself, but his position was facing the window, and when he looked up, he had a panoramic view of the dreamlike golden rain in the night. His eyes flickered slightly, and the jade liquid trickled down his throat without feeling spicy.


    The fireworks are beautiful, but short-lived. When the night sky returned to silence, Ming Tan stood by the window, didn''t recover for a while, and even felt a little inexplicably melancholy.


    Fortunately, it was not too late, Bai Minmin wanted to go to Nanyuhe Street to have fun, and tried her best to encourage her to go with her. Her melancholy was quickly dispelled by Bai Minmin''s description of the parade of floats and colorful lanterns.


    Before this, Ming Tan had never been to Nanyuhe Street on the night of lanterns in the Lantern Festival. This long street along the river is very lively and full of fish and dragons. Every year in the Yuan Dynasty, women and children often have accidents in this area. Love let her girls set foot.


    The two carefully covered their veils, and when they got off the carriage, the lights were shining brightly and the bustle and bustle in front of them made Ming Tan dazzled for a moment.


    Bai Minmin, on the other hand, has adapted well because she sneaked here for several years in a row. She looked around, didn''t know what she found, and suddenly let out a "hey".


    "What''s wrong?" Ming Tan asked.


    "It''s nothing, it''s just that I seem to have seen Second Master Shu." Bai Minmin looked forward with a curious expression.


    The second son of Shu, Shu Jingran, is the son of the right prime minister. He is personable and has outstanding literary talent. Not a few women in the capital admire him.


    It is heard that he will also end in Chunwei this year. It is said that the second son of Shu is talented and good-looking, and he should be the best candidate for Jinke Tan Hualang.


    Ming Tan also met Shu Er halfway from a distance, he is indeed a gentle and noble son like Zhilan Yushu, if he didn''t make the family of the Duke''s Mansion feel bad about the marriage, it would not be bad if he wanted to come to discuss marriage with the Shu family. Speaking of which, her divorce is a matter of time, and how to find a good relative again should be considered in advance.


    Ming Tan was walking, and Bai Minmin was surprised again: "I''m not mistaken, Ah Tan, look, isn''t that Lu Dianshuai? Lu Dianshuai is here, and the person with him must be Second Master Shu!"


    Ming Tan followed Bai Minmin''s line of sight, and saw a tall man with a sword in front of him, a scar that was not deep and not shallow on his left forehead neatly stopped at the end of his brow. .


    It is well known that Lu Ting, Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu are friends. Before Ming Tan saw Shu Jingran who was with Lu Ting clearly, Bai Minmin couldn''t wait to drag her forward to find someone.


    "Hey...Miss!" The maidservant behind her came to her senses and hurriedly chased after her.


    The two walked very fast, but there were many people on the street, but in a blink of an eye, the people who were there before disappeared without a trace.


    Bai Minmin couldn''t help feeling a little regretful for not being able to see the handsome man up close. However, she has a lot of playfulness, and was soon attracted by the various stalls set up by Linhe.


    For a while, I want to buy sweet cakes, and for a while, I want to buy fried chestnuts. The gadgets I bought are in my hands, and the food I bought has to lift the veil and stuff them into Ming Tan''s mouth.


    Ming Tan has always been very particular about food and clothing, he would never dare to swallow these snacks on the street, you stuffed me to hide, the two of them laughed and made a fuss, which was very funny.


    "How about it, this Nanyuhe Street is much more fun than the Daxiangguo Temple with colorful sheds?" Bai Minmin proudly asked Ming Tan for credit after setting off the river lantern by the pier.


    Ming Tan was about to respond when suddenly someone raised a folding fan in front of him and shouted: "Sister Tan!"?


    Ming Tan thought for a moment that he was hallucinating.


    ¡ª¡ªThe man quickly stepped forward, proving with actions that she didn''t.


    "Sister Tan, this is... Sister Min?"


    The visitor was handsome in appearance, wearing a jade white brocade cloak with fine materials and exquisite patterns, and a crown of light golden hair, he looked like a nobleman.


    After seeing who it was, Bai Minmin wanted to step up and kick him, and said angrily, "Who is your sister!"


    The Duke of Ling''s Mansion is engaged to the Marquis of Jing''an''s Mansion, but they have no relationship with the Duke of Chang''s, and Bai Minmin refuses to accept it. This "sister Min" is indeed too close. The person who came did not argue, and hurriedly bowed his body and cupped his hands to show his apology for his abruptness.


    Bai Minmin knew that today was not the time to tear his face, but he still couldn''t get over his anger, and wanted to stab him verbally. On the contrary, Ming Tan pulled her, tried hard to keep calm, and asked: "My lord, how did you recognize me?"


    He smiled lightly, shaking his folding fan and said warmly, "Sister Tan is a shining pearl, even though she covers her face with a light veil, she doesn''t hide her brilliance."


    Ming Tan doesn''t show it on the face, but in his heart he can''t wait to slap him and tell him to speak human words.


    Strange to say, in the past she saw that her fianc¨¦, Liang Zixuan, was also a good-looking person who was gentle and polite. Compared with Shu Er, although he was a little less elegant, he was also a rare good son-in-law.


    But looking at it now, she only felt that her eyes were replaced by Blindness a few years ago, what kind of fan was she shaking in the cold weather! Words are so frivolous! Greasy! pretentious!


    Xu felt vaguely that Ming Tan''s mood was wrong, and Liang Zixuan explained with a smile: "Actually, I saw the hairpin in Sister Tan''s hair. Sister Tan seems to like this hairpin very much."


    Ming Tan didn''t take over.


    Liang Zixuan paused for a moment, then talked to himself in order to hide his embarrassment.


    It''s just that for some reason today, no matter what he said, Ming Tan remained indifferent, and the one from the Bai family even gouged him out from time to time.


    Could it be that...


    No, it''s impossible. That matter has been kept strictly a secret, how could the Ming family and the Bai family know about it.


    If he knew, how could Duke Chang not bother the Duke''s government with his short-cherished yet easy-going temperament?


    Thinking of this, Liang Zixuan felt a little relieved. But he also realized with hindsight how important the previous mother''s explanation was.


    He likes his cousin who is weak and pleasant, but he has always regarded Ming Tan as his unmarried wife, and the Ming family and Bai family behind Ming Tan will be a great help in his future career, and this marriage must not be lost.


    Thinking of this, when I talked with my mother before, the disapproval of "why is this" finally came to an end. He turned his hands back calmly, and the folding fan tapped his wrist lightly.


    At the same time, as if nothing happened, he found another topic and continued to chat with Ming Tan unilaterally.


    Ming Tan was waiting for Lu E and the guards to find him, as an excuse to go back to the house and get rid of Liang Zixuan''s entanglement. After waiting for a long time, when she finally caught a glimpse of Lu E, there was a commotion in the crowd in the distance.


    "Catch the thief!"


    "The one in front! Don''t run!"


    Ming Tan followed the prestige, but before he could see clearly, there were two figures rushing towards the pier in the rioting crowd. Before he could react, he felt a thrust¡ª


    "Adan!"


    "Miss!"


    Accompanied by Bai Minmin and Lue not far away exclaimed, there was a "plop" falling into the water without warning!


    Liang Zixuan reacted very quickly, shouted "Sister Tan", and anxiously took off his coat to save others.


    Lue stepped forward, seeing that it was the future son-in-law, Liushenwuzhujian seemed to be grasping at straws, and hurriedly nodded and urged: "My lord, please help my young lady!"


    Bai Minmin subconsciously grabbed Liang Zixuan, and shouted anxiously, "Don''t go!"


    No matter how playful she is, she is also from a rich family. No one understands better than her. With Liang Zixuan''s rescue, Ming Tan''s life will be over for the rest of his life!


    "Do you want to watch her die?" Liang Zixuan asked, and then threw Bai Minmin away regardless of the obstruction.


    Plop! There was another sound of falling into the water.


    Bai Minmin instantly felt cold hands and feet. She knows Ming Tan best, if she is rescued by Liang Zixuan in full view, it would be better to let her drown in this Xianjiang River!


    She stared at Jiang''s face, forced herself to calm down, and arranged for the guard maid who came:


    "You stop the people who are watching the excitement, and no one is allowed to approach!"


    "You two go down and pull Liang Shizi away. And you two, do you know how to swim? Go down too, and bring A Tan up for me!"


    "I''m afraid it won''t last long here, Lue, you go back immediately and bring more guards to help stop people!"


    "yes!"


    Spring had not yet begun, and the river water was bitingly cold, coupled with the bitter river wind blowing head-on, Liang Zixuan found out that saving people was not as easy as he imagined, let alone saving people, he even Ming Tan I didn''t see it anywhere.


    Not only did Liang Zixuan fail to see it, but the guards and maidservants arranged by Bai Minmin went into the water to search for a while, but there was no sign of him at all.


    The water at this pier is not too deep, and it is logically impossible to drown people silently in such a short period of time, but they are also sure that they didn''t even see half of Ming Tan''s clothes.


    It took about half an hour before the onlookers were forcibly stopped from the pier. It was only known that someone fell into the water, but the reason was unknown.


    Seeing this crowd of people blocking people, some idlers guessed that it was the ladies of the family, and they were all gearing up to get into the water, not sure if the opportunity came, they could still rely on the door for a good marriage.


    Seeing that it was about to be unstoppable, Bai Minmin was anxious and desperate in her heart, she only hated herself for coming up with the bad idea of ??visiting Nanyuhe Street, if something happened to Ming Tan, she, Bai Minmin, must be blamed for death!


    At this critical juncture, outside the crowd stopped by the guards, suddenly a man in a green shirt raised a handkerchief at Bai Minmin: "Miss Biao, why are you still here? It''s really easy for servants to find! My young lady cooked dumplings herself today. It¡¯s waiting for you to come over and taste it!¡±


    The woman in the green shirt deliberately raised her voice.


    But the voice sounded gentle and clear, and quite familiar.


    Bai Minmin turned her head and was stunned for a moment.


    That was...


    The most useful servant girl around Ming Tan, Su Xin?


    Why is she here?


    Also, what did she just say? She...her lady?


    Su Xin stepped forward, bowed to Bai Minmin in an orderly manner, and repeated the words that her young lady invited her to come over to taste Yuanzi.


    Seeing Liang Zixuan, who was already frozen behind Bai Minmin and being carried up by the guards, Su Xin was slightly surprised and asked, "Did Liang Shizi fall into the water?"


    Bai Minmin couldn''t react to the current situation, and didn''t know what to do.


    It wasn''t until she caught a glimpse of Lue who was rushing back from behind, still out of breath, waving her hands non-stop, and mouthing "It''s okay", that she suddenly understood something as if she had opened up the two veins of Ren and Du.


    She hurriedly answered: "Yes, yes. Prince Liang fell into the water. Ben...Miss Ben happened to meet him while passing by, so she sent guards into the water to rescue him."


    "Hey, it turned out to be a man."


    "A big man has fallen into the water and needs to be rescued, what a loser!"


    "The surrounding area is so tight, what''s the matter?"


    "It''s gone, I thought it was the official lady!"


    The onlookers waved their hands boredly, and soon dispersed.


    "???"


    Liang Zixuan was shivering from the cold, unable to speak, but his eyes were full of disbelief.

 Chapter 5：

    In fact, when they first fell into the water, Ming Tan and Liang Zixuan felt the same, only that the river water was icy cold and unbearable. She choked twice and struggled to cough for a while before realizing what happened.


    ¡ªShe was knocked overboard!


    In the compound of the deep house, there are countless "accidents" that happened because of the late marriage. Being in the same room when changing clothes after soiling them, and being rescued from falling into the water with skin-to-skin relatives, these two things are the most common.


    Mrs. Pei taught her how to guard against these secrets when she was outside, and even invited a female teacher to teach her how to drink water when she went to another village to escape the summer heat.


    Because she is not used at all on weekdays, and she has always been so delicate that she can sit in a soft sedan chair and never touch the ground. No one on the shore knows that she can swim.


    It''s a pity that the timing was wrong, Liang Zixuan took off his coat and jumped down before Ming Tan had time to tell them.


    In desperation, she had no choice but to sink into the river, thinking of bypassing Liang Zixuan and going ashore from the other side of the pier.


    Such a hasty response was considered astute, but the river was too cold, and she was usually not a very active person. After swimming in the water for a while, she felt a sudden soreness in her lower body.


    The throbbing soreness, combined with the biting coldness of the river, was like a needle prick, leaving only a white light in front of her eyes, making it impossible for her to swim any further.


    At that moment, many thoughts flashed through Ming Tan''s mind.


    For a while, I thought, "Let Liang Zixuan save it, it''s better to die here to preserve the reputation", and then thought, "Forget it, let''s ask for help, die here. The body is foaming and swollen. Move the beauty of Beijing."


    Just when she finished hesitating and decided to surface for help, a black belt suddenly pierced into the water without warning, quickly wrapped around her waist, and then tightened, pulling her to the shore and throwing her in the water. On the secluded reeds some distance from the pier.


    The force at the end of the belt was quick and sharp, without any sympathy. Ming Tan was thrown dizzily, and only vaguely glimpsed the half of the end of the black belt pulled from her waist.


    Judging by her experience of being pampered and pampered for more than ten years, the material of the belt must be extraordinary, with delicate and complicated dark patterns on it, it seems to be made of black gold thread, the thread is extremely fine, and it still has a faint luster under the heavy night light .


    Before she followed the belt to see the person standing there, the robe fell down, covering her body and blocking her sight.


    ¡­


    "And then?" Bai Minmin hurriedly asked.


    "Then, someone carried me back." Ming Tan leaned against the bed, pushed away the spicy cold **** soup, took the hand warmer handed by the maid, and recalled, "I asked several times on the way, asked Who are they, and where are they going to take me, but that person didn''t make a sound, put me at the back door of the Hou Mansion, and disappeared together with his robe."


    "They? More than one?"


    "The person who rescued me and the one who sent me back are definitely not the same person. The clothes are very different, and the person who sent me back seems to be doing what he was ordered, like... following the guards."


    Bai Minmin digested it for a while, but still had a lot of questions: "Wait, so you didn''t say that you are from the Jing''an Hou Mansion from the beginning to the end, but they sent you back to the Hou Mansion accurately?"


    "Well, this is exactly what I find strange." Ming Tan sat up leaning on the pillow, "If the purpose is impure, I checked it carefully after returning home, and I didn''t lose any personal items."


    Those who have a plan must rely on faith. He didn''t take it, "That''s really strange." Bai Minmin frowned and murmured.


    "Okay, let''s not mention this for now." Ming Tan thought of the more important things at the moment, "How is Liang Zixuan now?"


    "What can he do? You sent Su Xin over there, am I still so stupid that I can''t catch up? Of course, he fell into the water, and I passed by and asked my followers to save him. Don''t worry, I have already been sent away. He has returned to the Lingguo Mansion."


    Hearing what Bai Minmin said, Ming Tan''s hanging heart finally settled down. The public said that Liang Zixuan fell into the water, so no matter what happens afterwards, it can only be that Liang Zixuan fell into the water.


    After all, on the bright side, the in-law relationship between the two mansions is still very strong, and the accident of her unmarried eldest son''s wife is not a credit to the Duke Ling''s mansion. It''s not going well, they can only acquiesce in this statement.


    Speaking of which, she always felt something strange about this matter today. At that time, someone rushed over to catch the thief, but compared to being bumped, she felt more like being pushed and suffered this crime.


    Thinking of this, she said: "Minmin, go back and find someone to help me find out about the two people who bumped into me today."


    "You suspect that falling into the water was not an accident?"


    "I just don''t know, so I want to check it out."


    Bai Minmin nodded and responded readily. Seeing that Ming Tan''s face was still pale, she tucked up the quilt for Ming Tan again, and took the dispelling cold soup from the handmaid''s hand: "Don''t worry about this, come, drink the **** soup."


    The taste is too strong, Ming Tan doesn''t want to drink it.


    Bai Minmin was also stubborn, she stuffed it into her mouth reluctantly, and muttered: "Drink it, drink it, don''t think for yourself, do you have to think for me? If you don''t drink this **** soup, you will get a cold later." It''s all my fault that I can''t afford to sleep on the couch. You don''t know my dad''s bad temper, but you just have the heart to watch me being punished and kneel down in the ancestral hall? I''m afraid I can only..."


    Ming Tan''s brain ached from the chanting, he simply took the porcelain bowl, closed his eyes and swallowed it in one breath.


    Bai Minmin looked satisfied. Seeing that most of the timekeeping incense seals had been burned, she stood up and clapped her hands: "In that case, you should rest well. It''s getting late, so I''ll go back home first. Su Xin, Lu E, take good care of your young lady."


    Su Xin and Green Calyx all agreed, and respectfully sent Bai Minmin out of Zhaoshuiyuan.


    After all this tossing, Ming Tan''s body was a bit unbearable, and he really needed a good rest. She didn''t pay attention to the tedious maintenance before going to bed, she just applied some honeydew on her face, and soaked her hands in fresh goat''s milk for a while.


    It rained lightly in the middle of the night, and the full moon was covered by thick clouds. Ming Tan was already asleep under the brocade quilt, and the entire Jing''an Hou Mansion was also immersed in the dim light of the dense rain.


    Dali Temple Prison, the dungeon down the stairs is spacious and dark, and the oil lamps are lighted every ten steps, which still can''t hide the gloomy and lonely.


    Si Cheng walked in front and bowed to lead: "My lord, Second Young Master Shu, this way please."


    Shu Jingran has always been noble and elegant. This is the first time he came to this prison, and the depressive and corrupt atmosphere around him made him extremely uncomfortable. He glanced at Jiang Xu, thinking that the days of licking blood from the edge of a knife on the battlefield were a hundred times worse, so he was able to move forward indifferently with his hands behind his back. He sighed, and hurriedly covered his nose to follow.


    In the interrogation office, the instruments of torture hanging on the wall glowed with a faint cold light, and the person awaiting trial had already been tied to the rack by the jailer. Probably before he was executed, this person described himself as a mess, but upon closer inspection he was unharmed.


    Si Cheng opened the armchair for Jiang Xu and respectfully invited him to take a seat.


    Jiang Xu didn''t give way, and sat down straight with his hem lifted, and tapped the armrest with his fingertips, expressionless, looking at the execution rack in the dark.


    "My lord... my lord." The people on the rack saw the person coming, and fear welled up in their hearts, "Why, lord, why did you arrest this little minister here? The little minister was wronged!"


    "Wronged." Jiang Xu turned his head and looked directly at him, "You can wait a little longer, and when Marquis Cheng En is also in prison, you can also call him wronged."


    Cheng Enhou!


    The blood of the person on the rack froze instantly.


    In fact, as early as when he was arrested for no reason on his way back home, and no one explained to him why the arrest started, he had a vague premonition. But he has been unwilling and afraid to think about that. After all, if it is really related to Cheng Enhou, it will be a disaster for him.


    "Although Xiaochen has contacts with Lord Hou, but..."


    "Zhang Ji, I think you are a smart person, so I can guarantee that you are still full of beards and tails. Are you sure you want to go around in circles with me?"


    Jiang Xu got up, walked towards him slowly, and turned his head to look at him.


    Probably because of being in the dungeon, the faint hostility of conquest and killing spread from him, carrying a very heavy pressure. The voice is not high, but it makes people feel cold for no reason.


    Zhang Ji opened his mouth and was suppressed for a moment.


    He knew that this was the beginning of the liquidation, and he also knew that Jiang Xu had come here for this purpose, and the deadly silence spread with the rotten atmosphere of the dungeon.


    For a long while, he hesitated and wriggled his lips, still unwilling to give up trying to win something for himself: "I do have some things that the prince can use in my hands. If the prince agrees to one condition, I will... ah!" He didn''t say anything. After that, he let out a sudden pain.


    Shu Jingran was taken aback, only to realize that the torture blade with the barb on the wall had somehow avoided the vitals and pierced Zhang Ji''s waist and abdomen. Tick-tock on the dirty dark floor.


    "What qualifications do you have to negotiate terms with this king?" Jiang Xu leaned forward, whispered into Zhang Ji''s ear, and asked casually.


    He didn''t let go of the handle, the barb was sticking to the flesh and blood, and he was still pushing it in inch by inch, repeatedly twisting and turning.


    Zhang Ji''s face was pale with pain, and beads of sweat stood on his forehead. After all, he was a person who hadn''t suffered much, rolled his eyes and passed out in less than half a moment.


    Jiang Xu stood up straight and let the jailer pour cold water on Zhang Ji to wake him up.


    The stove beside the punishment wall was also lit, and the iron was burning red. Zhang Ji had just recovered his sanity when he saw the jailer approaching him with the iron, not allowing him to stop, and the iron went straight to the wound just now.


    There was another heart-piercing scream.


    There are various instruments of torture in the prison, Zhang Jicai peed in his pants after two tortures, and he was full of shame. He regretted that he didn''t drink the toast first, and shouted hoarsely: "My lord! My lord, I say! Marquis Cheng En seized the farm and opened a salt mine privately! The evidence is on the outskirts of the city, my private house in Jiulipo! It''s buried under the apricot tree in the backyard!"


    At midnight, the dungeon door opened.


    After leaving Dali Prison, Shu Jingran finally exhaled foul air. Xu Shi had a light rain, and he felt that the atmosphere in Beijing tonight was exceptionally clean.


    Just thinking back to the scene in the dungeon just now, when Jiang Xu stabbed the barbed torture blade into Zhang Ji''s waist without blinking, and then spun it inch by inch, he always felt that he would have nightmares tonight.


    But having said that, His Royal Highness King Dingbei is notoriously cruel and ruthless. Thinking back to when the Minister of the Household Department corrupted the army''s salary and delayed the military plane, he returned **** from the Shura field. He should not be ordered not to enter the palace. The first thing he did was to take the head of the corrupt official.


    His wife knew that she had no life to live, so in order to protect the beautiful twins in the family, she asked the twin daughters to serve as slaves by her side.


    With such an alluring look, it is reasonable to say that a man would be tempted, and to keep two women, for him, he can make sure with just a few fingers. But he was unmoved, ransacked the house according to the law, destroyed the family and beheaded, leaving no one behind.


    So, "Back to the river, why did you save Miss Ming''s family, and let the hidden guards send her back to the Hou''s Mansion, pity the fragrance and cherish the jade... It''s not like what you would do, Qizhi."


    He thought that Jiang Xu''s return to Beijing changed his mind and developed a heart of compassion. After walking around in the dungeon, he realized that he was thinking too much.


    Recalling the corner he accidentally heard in Ting Yu Building, he smiled again: "Could it be that you fell in love with that Miss Ming family at first sight?"


    Jiang Xu lowered his eyes, pulled his lips, wiped the blood on his hands slowly, and said unhurriedly: "As expected of Mr. Shu Er, who is famous in Beijing, he is really gentle and affectionate."

 Chapter 6：

    The five years of Chengkang''s Shangyuan passed away without any risk in the hustle and bustle, and the taste of the year also quietly dissipated with the fading winter snow.


    The two who knocked Mingtan into the water haven''t found out yet, but fortunately, the Duke''s mansion was savvy and directly accepted the statement that Liang Zixuan fell into the water, and even let Liang Zixuan lie in the mansion for a few days, all of which were covered.


    Mrs. Pei didn''t know the inside story, but felt that Duke Ling''s mansion was quite kind and kind, and he was a friendly family. Ming Tan didn''t appreciate it, and ordered the government to send people to greet and give gifts in private, but she didn''t pay much attention.


    At the beginning of spring, the tailor Xiuniang of Jinxiufang was invited to the Jing''an Hou Mansion to make tailor-made clothes.


    Ming Tan planned ahead, and thought that it would be inconvenient to publicize for a long time after the divorce, so this time he chose some simple and elegant colors, moon white, moxa green, and light blue.


    Mrs. Pei thought she was looking fresh, so she didn''t stop her. She just pointed out two more brightly colored horses to make her a coat, and put a pillow on it and said kindly: "It''s okay to be plain and clean in the mansion on weekdays, but this spring day is indispensable. Going out to enjoy the flowers, the girl''s clothes should be fresher, lively, and in good spirits, who would not like it."


    "Mother said so."


    Ming Tan didn''t delay much, and obediently agreed, but he was annoyed that Chun Ri couldn''t wear these beautiful clothes and go out to show off.


    Pei''s family will never fall into the shoes of others when it comes to trivial matters such as food and clothing, and has added rules to Ming Tan, and also added an extra share to Shen Hua.


    Putting aside the froth and taking a sip of tea, she thought of something, and explained to the woman in charge of Jinxiufang: "The remaining few horses will be made according to the figure of the young lady. Counting the time, the third lady will be back soon. I haven''t seen you for a few years, and I don''t know what my body looks like now, so I have to prepare first, and if it doesn''t fit, I will make a fit when I return to Beijing."


    "yes."


    The woman in charge accepted the errand, but she was wondering in her heart whether the fineness of these bodies should be done like the little lady. After all, she often walks in the compound of the deep house, so she cannot even notice the subtle changes of the Madam Hou in front of her.


    In fact, it wasn''t just Pei''s subtle attitude, Ming Tan and Shen Hua were also stunned for a moment when they heard "Miss Three".


    The Jing''an Hou Mansion has always been full of yang and yin, and in Ming Tan''s life, the number of girls can be counted on one hand. When the old lady was alive, she hadn''t been separated from her family for a few years, and her cousins ??had arranged their teeth together.


    There is no direct sister in Mingtan, the two cousins ??of the second and third bedrooms are all married. Mingchu, the concubine, is still in her boudoir, and she is about the same age as her. It''s just that Mingchu and Aunt Liu accompanied her father, Marquis Jing''an, to guard the border and hadn''t returned to Beijing for five years.


    Previously, Ming Tan only remembered that her father would return to Beijing, and the matter of retiring could be put on the agenda, but he forgot that Ming Chu and Aunt Liu would also come back together.


    She and Mingchu had a very bad relationship in the past, and when she came back now, wouldn''t it be one more person who saw her jokes when she retired?


    As for Shen Hua, the first thing that comes to my mind is Mingchu, Miss Mingsan, who is the same age as her. Although she is a concubine, she has a high family background and is favored, and her status is comparable to her. There are many suitable marriages in Beijing Now, when they return to Beijing at this time, the two of them are afraid that they will bump into each other in discussing marriage.


    For a while, several people in the hall were silent, their eyes lowered in thought.


    Seeing that the return date was approaching, Mrs. Pei ordered the Jinxiufang to prepare clothes, and at the same time ordered the servants to tidy up the Hou''s mansion.


    She was very appropriate in managing the household, within a few days, the entire Hou Mansion had been cleaned up, even Aunt Liu''s yard had been refurbished, and she couldn''t find any faults.


    Seeing Mrs. Pei being so caring, Mama Zhang couldn''t help nagging when she combed her hair: "Madam, why bother to take care of Mrs. Liu''s place? The one who didn''t make it to the public has occupied Lord Hou for five years. Now I''m afraid it''s the same. Very frivolous."


    Pei looked at the still beautiful and elegant face in the mirror, and responded.


    There was no one around, and Zhang''s mother leaned closer and whispered: "In the final analysis, the heirs are the most important thing in this house. Madam, it is difficult, but there are no beautiful girls in the mansion. Otherwise, there are many small families in Beijing. , Master Hou has been with the Liu family for so many years, and he should get tired of seeing new ones."


    Mrs. Pei picked up the hairpin and stroked it on her head, with a look of indifference.


    "Ma''am!" Mother Zhang couldn''t help shouting.


    Pei glanced slightly at the end of his eyes, and said in a low voice: "You are right."


    She put down her hairpin, and her gaze became deep and far away: "My relationship with Lord Hou is nothing more than that. When I was appointed as a foreigner, it was because I didn''t want to suffer the hardships of the border and asked me to stay in Beijing. I should thank Mrs. Liu for being the one. After five years at the border, Master Hou has not accepted any newcomers, let alone a son and a half daughter. This has saved me a lot of trouble, and I have changed to another concubine to accompany me. I think I am not as capable as her.


    "Let''s talk about heirs, I don''t have the fate to be around me. It''s impossible to take care of raising a young one, not to mention it, but it is absolutely impossible to inherit the title. Instead of such twists and turns, it''s better to spend more time on A Tan.


    "After all these years, you should also understand that half of the future of our Hou''s mansion lies in marrying a daughter, and the other half is with the elder brother. When I married into the Hou''s mansion, the elder brother was already too old to raise a mother and child. Relatives, but all these years because of A-Tan, he has not lacked respect for me."


    Mother Zhang agrees with this point very much: "My eldest brother has been working in Pangshan for the past few years, and he has never lost his etiquette in letters. Knowing that his wife has an old problem of knee pain, he even brought back the folk prescription from Pangshan. Although there is no big He is talented, but he is polite and affectionate."


    Thinking of this, Mrs. Pei curled her lips in satisfaction.


    After a while, she suddenly remembered something, and asked again: "By the way, Ah Tan has been a little unusual recently? When she entered the palace a few days ago, she stared at the Liang family''s female family members for a long time. She behaved very well outside. I wouldn''t be so rude. And Yuan Xi fell into the water...Later, the Liang family gave gifts and cared, and she was also indifferent, as if she was not happy."


    Mother Zhang said: "Miss is young, so the Liang family is the first baby relative. The two families have little contact on weekdays, and it is normal to be curious. As for the Liang family''s concern about gifts, it will be favored by the future husband''s family. The head must be happy, but the daughter''s face is too thin to show it."


    Pei still felt something was wrong, but didn''t say anything more.


    Compared with the fact that the Jing''an Hou Mansion is waiting for the head of the family to return to the capital, the nobles in Beijing are more concerned about another major event that suddenly broke out without warning¡ª


    Gu Jinzhong, the Marquis of Cheng En, forcibly occupied the farm and opened the salt mine privately, committing several crimes simultaneously. The noble concubine Yu Guifei, who has always been favored, was also imprisoned because of her involvement in the case. Fortunately, the crime is not as good as the family members. Except for those involved, the rest are only demoted to common people, and men are not allowed to enter the imperial examination.


    When everyone talked about this matter, they couldn''t help but sigh.


    "Being relegated to common people and failing to enter the imperial examination, there is no hope for the Gu family to recover within three generations." Bai Minmin sighed, "Gu Jiurou also boldly presented music at the Shangyuan Palace Banquet. It''s only been a few days, how could it be so sudden?"


    Zhou Jingwan, the daughter of Hanlin scholars who had good friends with Ming Tan and Bai Minmin, said softly: "It''s not sudden. That day I rested at home due to the cold and didn''t go to the banquet. Later, I heard about the things in the palace. The situation in the palace at that time was actually quite A lot of things have been foreshadowed."


    Ming Tan has already figured out the joints. What Zhou Jingwan said was exactly what she meant.


    Only Bai Minmin was at a loss: "Atan, do you understand? Why didn''t it happen suddenly, why did it foreshadow?"


    Ming Tan didn''t bother to explain, and pushed the stack of walnuts on the table in front of her: "Eat more, nourish your brain."


    "...?"


    Bai Minmin reached out and hit her.


    Ming Tan hurriedly hid, but reservedly said with disgust: "Look at you, you don''t have the slightest bit of virtuousness and chastity between me and Wanwan. How can you win the reputation of ''Three Sisters of Shangjing''?"


    "...?"


    "Never mind being Wanwan, what do you have to do with Xianshu Zhenjing, you will only pretend in front of outsiders, and speak boldly!"


    Ming Tan: "That''s better than you can''t pretend in front of outsiders!"


    "Okay." Zhou Jingwan smiled lightly, she was always weak, and her voice was soft and soft, "Stop bickering, I''ll say it."


    The three of them sat and tasted tea by the patio of Zhaoshuiyuan. They were all their own people inside and out, so there was nothing they couldn''t say.


    Zhou Jingwan explained patiently: "This incident happened, on the surface, it is said that Zhang Ji, the magistrate of Jingji County, had a close relationship with Cheng Enhou, and he collected a lot of criminal evidence of Gu''s family in private. But think about it carefully, Zhang Ji is because of Cheng Enhou. Enhou is a talented official, so why did he suddenly report? Is there really a corrupt official who will abandon evil and do good overnight?


    "Furthermore, in the past, the censor impeached Marquis Cheng En, but the Holy Majesty always lightly exposed it. But this time he was furious during the court and ordered a thorough investigation..."


    Hearing this, Bai Minmin seemed to vaguely understand something.


    Zhou Jingwan stopped short, then changed the topic and continued: "The king of Dingbei often goes to the north and rarely returns to the capital. I don''t know much about his temperament. But even if he is really self-respecting, he won''t let Concubine Yugui and Marquis Chengen go. In my eyes, if you directly disrespect others at the palace banquet, your majesty and empress will take light responsibility."


    "Oh... I understand." Bai Minmin calmed down his thoughts, "You mean, His Majesty wanted to clean up the Gu family a long time ago, so the scene was so ugly that he and the empress didn''t say anything for Gu Jiurou... Then if you think about it that way , His Royal Highness King Dingbei is very likely to have known His Majesty''s intentions a long time ago, so he is so presumptuous?"


    "In my opinion, that His Highness is just that presumptuous."


    A reckless man, what can he know. Ming Tansi dyed Danko gracefully, a little bit disregarded.

 Chapter 7：

    The days passed without rush, and soon on the eighth day of February, Jing''an Hou Mingtingyuan, who was appointed as the commander-in-chief of West Yangxi Road, returned to Beijing after his full term.


    He is in charge of the military and political power, and has made outstanding achievements in office. His return to Beijing to report on his duties is related to the change of senior officials in the court, and many people are secretly paying attention.


    Emperor Chengkang passed down an oral order, ordering the Marquis of Jing''an to face the saint immediately when he entered Beijing. After entering the city, Ming Tingyuan separated from his family and servants, headed straight to Qixuan Gate, and detoured all the way to Jing''an Hou''s Mansion on Nanque Street.


    Hearing that Lord Hou went straight into the palace without passing through the house, and it was Aunt Liu who came back first, the people in the Hou''s mansion slowed down a lot. After all, there are no rules in this world to welcome aunts and concubines back to the mansion with great fanfare.


    When Aunt Liu and Mingchu got out of the car, only Mama Zhang, who was with Mrs. Pei, led a few maids to wait at the corner gate.


    Perhaps it was because of the unique grace that she stayed in Yangxi Road and other places near the bitter cold of Xinjiang for five years, Aunt Liu''s appearance was the same as before, and she even added a bit of brilliance.


    Mingchu, the third lady, is hard to recognize at a glance. She was only eleven or twelve years old when she left Beijing. Five years later, her appearance has grown, and her temperament is also very different from before. She has a bit of the sassy demeanor of a general and a tiger girl.


    "You let my mother and I enter through the corner door?" Mingchu frowned, dissatisfied with Zhang''s mother''s arrangement.


    You must know that on Yangxi Road, no matter where she goes, she is the jewel in the palm of Shuai Si, and no one treats her poorly.


    However, this choice is very unreasonable, this is Shangjing, how can the gate be opened indiscriminately, even the Pei family enters and exits through the corner gate on weekdays. Of course, if they go back to the mansion with Lord Hou today, they will indeed have the honor of entering through the main entrance.


    Mama Zhang was about to explain, when Aunt Liu stepped forward to hold Mingchu''s hand and tightened it calmly.


    Thinking of Aunt Liu''s reminder on the way back to Beijing, Mingchu froze, and decided to hold back for now. She pulled her face past Zhang''s mother and stepped straight into the corner door.


    At the same time, Ming Tan was losing his temper in Zhaoshui courtyard.


    She slapped the letter paper in her hand on the table, and couldn''t help but sweep off the exquisite teacups and teapots on the table.


    The sound of porcelain breaking was sudden and crisp. She patted the table and got up suddenly. While circling in the room, she muttered: "You''re a scum, it''s just a scum! I thought this family was just unruly and shameless, but I underestimated them." , it was calculated on Miss Ben''s head!"


    Her voice trembled with anger. After the ten fingers were clenched tightly, the knuckles turned white, and the light blue meridian was faintly visible on the back of the hand.


    Su Xin and Lu E are quite frightened, the key is that they don''t know what happened yet.


    Obviously, the ladies of their family have been full of fighting spirit these two days, and they are going to dress up and overwhelm the third lady who is returning home today. This morning, I asked someone to take the morning dew from the flowers and apply it thickly with the jade powder. It is said that after washing the face like this, the skin will be extraordinarily smooth and bright.


    But just after breakfast, the maidservant of the Bai Mansion sent a letter saying that Bai Minmin wanted to come and tell her what was in the letter in person, but thinking that it is not appropriate to come to the Hou Mansion for a reunion today, he had to write a letter and ask someone to send it .


    I don''t know what was written in the letter, but it made the little lady of the Ming family who always said "No matter what happens to a famous lady, don''t lose her manners, what''s the difference between shouting and throwing things, and a crazy woman in the market?" madness...


    Thinking back to the golden chrysanthemum banquet the year before last, Princess Fengzhao came out halfway to take away the position of "Flower Lord" that she should have held securely. When she came back, she just dropped a porcelain cup, and she threw it on the imperial concubine''s couch. Did not knock.


    But this time, after dropping the tea bowl and porcelain pot, she walked around the house a few times, and suddenly rushed out with the letter.


    Seeing this posture, Su Xin, who has always been stable, panicked, and hurriedly chased to remind: "Miss, where are you going? Third Miss and Auntie have already entered the house, and you haven''t worn your new hairpin yet!"


    Ming Tan paused.


    right. hairpin.


    And that mother and daughter.


    She turned around, walked all the way into the inner room, and sat back in front of the dowry with no expression on her face.


    Su Xin bumped into Lu''e lightly, and Lu''e was a little confused, she stammered a few times before reacting: "Little... Miss, don''t be angry, once you get angry, you are not beautiful anymore... It''s not that you are not beautiful, Miss is beautiful no matter what, But when Miss laughs, she is even more, more overwhelming, and turning all living beings upside down!"


    I don''t know if it''s Lue''s compliment, or looking at his own face and calming down, after Ming Tan sat down, he calmed down a lot.


    Her father was entering the palace to meet the saint, and now he rushed out to find no one to tell, and made people laugh for no reason.


    Besides, when her father came back, she couldn''t just rush forward and shout for divorce. They haven''t seen each other for five years. Who knows how much Mingchu and Aunt Liu have given her father a bad wind. If there is a misunderstanding at that time, it is because of her lack of etiquette that the Duke of Ling''s government despises her, and it will be a bad thing.


    Furthermore, she wasn''t too sure that the father who treated her well in his memory, but he didn''t hurt his bones like her uncle treated Bai Minmin, would be willing to offend Duke Ling for her.


    She picked up the newly made silver moon tassel hairpin on the table, looked at it for a while, and suddenly ordered: "Su Xin, take a plain handkerchief and soak it in some garlic juice."


    "yes."


    "One more thing, come here."


    She motioned Su Xin to come closer, put the letter sent by the maid in the White House back into an envelope, handed it to her, and whispered a few words in her ear.


    Su Xin has always been the master who doesn''t say anything, so she doesn''t ask too much. After answering the errand, she bowed down.


    Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief, and then ordered Lu E: "Redress me, don''t be too grand, and change clothes."


    Previously, she only thought about how to overwhelm Mingchu, but forgot that meeting her father was the more important thing.


    So under her repeated pickiness and guidance, Lue finally arranged her into a delicate and delicate appearance.


    She stared at the bronze mirror that was as tall as a person for a while, and bent the corners of her lips in satisfaction: "Let''s go to Lanxinyuan."


    Lanxin Courtyard is Pei''s courtyard. From Zhaoshui Courtyard, you have to go through corridors and walls, and you have to pass through the garden of Dongkua Courtyard.


    A group of people went forward along the Chaoshou corridor, and as soon as they reached the garden of Dongkuayuan, they heard a noise ahead.


    "Oh...it''s the granddaughter of the old lady''s natal brother. How long has the old lady been here, and the relationship is really far away. And if I remember correctly, the old lady''s natal family was originally an uncle''s house, and she has been downgraded to the rank of noble. There is nothing to surrender, I haven''t been in touch with our family for many years, I''m a serious relative." Mingchu mocked.


    Shen Hua: "Third sister, you!"


    "What are you, cousin, I called you cousin because of the old lady who has gone. You really don''t treat yourself as an outsider. My mother and I just returned home, and we met you reading something sour in this garden. Poetry, don''t you mean to create trouble for me and my mother? If you want me to say, you should also do your part when you are under the fence!"


    Ming Chu was originally unhappy because he entered the mansion through the corner gate, and the servants he met along the way were far less thoughtful and attentive than those on Yangxi Road, and when Shen Hua was reciting some poems hurting spring in the garden, her evil fire I couldn''t hold it in any longer, the words I said were full of irony, and my tone was full of unreasonable and unforgiving arrogance.


    Shen Hua was extremely angry.


    In the past, she and Ming Tan were often annoyed at the slightest sign of separation, but Ming Tan is a noble girl from a famous family, she can hide a needle in her cotton, how could she be so vulgar, rude and without ladylike demeanor!


    She was about to open her mouth to block back, when suddenly another teasing voice came from behind: "Third Sister, please be careful, mother is in Lanxin Courtyard, but not here."


    Both Zhili and Li turned their heads subconsciously.


    I saw a group of green-clothed maidservants walking towards the corner of the veranda. After walking for a while, the group of maidservants stopped and spontaneously lined up in two rows, bowing their heads respectfully¡ª


    A girl in a brocade dress embroidered with jade-white gold silk embroidered steps forward. She has snow-skinned black hair, her pupils are water-cut, and she gently shakes a fan with her slender hands. Every time she takes a step forward, the silver moon tassel hairpin in her hair twitches. Gently shakes out a fine-grained luster.


    It is obviously not a very gorgeous dress, but when viewed from a distance, it has a delicate and delicate feeling like a precious porcelain vase, which is afraid of falling on the ground and afraid of breaking in the palm of the hand. It is so beautiful that people can''t take their eyes off it.


    Even if Shen Hua had seen this scene a lot, she was stunned for a moment before recovering. For a moment, she didn''t know whether to mock Ming Tan''s pretentiousness secretly in her heart as usual, or to thank her for her pretentiousness for shocking a shrew who didn''t know what a boudoir is like.


    "This is the Fourth Miss." Aunt Liu quickly recognized Ming Tan, smiled gently, and said softly, "I haven''t seen you for a few years, and the Fourth Miss is really beautiful now."


    The main reason why she couldn''t stop Mingchu before was because she didn''t take Shen Hua too seriously. But Mingtan is different. If Mingtan wants to talk about this title, he will go to Pei''s face. Nine can''t ask for good.


    "Auntie praises it a lot. I see, the third sister is also coming out now... It''s not the same as those of us girls who have lived in Beijing for a long time."


    Ming Tan responded to Aunt Liu''s words, but didn''t give Aunt Liu a look, just looked at Mingchu contemptuously from top to bottom as she just looked at Shen Hua clearly.


    After knowing it clearly, I came back to my senses: "You!"


    "What are you, third sister, this is Shangjing, pointing at people to talk, but it is very indecent." Ming Tan pressed down her finger slowly with a fan, "Third sister has not returned to Beijing for a long time, I think she has forgotten a lot of rules Like today, I don¡¯t know where my mother is, disrespecting my cousin who came from afar, not pity my younger sister, and just making a scene outside, it¡¯s enough to be laughed at for half a year. It¡¯s the third sister who should be responsible right."? ? ?


    Mingchu was blocked by what he said before, and was burning with anger, staring at Mingtan, his eyes were about to spit fire!


    Seeing that she was about to pull out the soft whip around her waist, Aunt Liu hurriedly stepped forward to hold her down, and shouted softly: "Chu Chu!"


    Mingchu stared at the girl in front of him, and the word "bitch" came to his lips, but for some reason, he finally swallowed it back.


    Her mother was right, no matter what she had to wait until after the marriage was engaged, Pei Shi was her aunt, if she caught her wrong and made a big fuss, it would be too uneconomical for her to get in the way when she was negotiating marriage!


    After persuading Mingchu, Aunt Liu forced a smile again, and looked at Mingtan: "Miss Si, she is Chuchu..."


    Ming Tan was too lazy to listen, so he interrupted directly: "It''s getting late, I still have to greet my mother, so I won''t accompany you any longer."


    Seeing this, Shen Hua followed, "Fourth sister, I''ll be with you."


    She has never liked Ming Tan, but today, under the background of Ming Chu, she feels that this arch-enemy looks a lot better.


    Or as the saying goes, the wicked have their own grind. These four younger sisters of hers can choke people, one mouth is indecent, one mouth is polite, and they are charged with the crime of "not pity the younger sister", they are only one year younger, no matter how young they are, they put gold on their faces It''s also really natural.


    But after a while, Shen Hua felt that she was wrong.


    Compared with putting gold on her own face, the singing skills of the little lady of the Ming family can kill famous actors in the Fuchun class.


    After they arrived at Mrs. Pei''s place, they sat there for a short time, when someone came in outside and spread the word that Master Hou had returned to his residence and was heading to Lanxin Courtyard.


    Everyone stood up to greet each other.


    Shen Hua inadvertently caught a glimpse of Ming Tan taking Fang Supa from his wide sleeve and pressing his eyes, then his eyes turned red and tears glistened.


    Shen Hua was thinking about it, but she didn''t realize that she had any deep father-daughter affection for the Marquis of Jing''an on weekdays... Then she saw her holding her skirt and pounced on the tall, short-bearded Zhong who had just walked into the courtyard. The young man was still calling "Daddy" repeatedly.


    Ming Tan''s voice is soft and clean, with a bit of pretended forbearance crying, which can make people want to protect.


    Sure enough, after not seeing his little daughter for five years, Ming Tingyuan, who should have been hard to recognize his face immediately, immediately patted Ming Tan''s thin shoulders, and comforted him in a rough voice: "Daughter, what''s the matter? Isn''t it?" Being bullied?"


    Ming Tan lifted his small head, with red eyes, shook his head and said: "No, it''s A Tan who misses Daddy so much." But as soon as he finished speaking, tears flowed down his eyes.


    She hurriedly wiped it with a handkerchief, then reluctantly took a half step back, Fushen said: "A Tan has seen Daddy, it is Ah Tan who lost his composure, and forgot the rules of etiquette for a while, please punish Daddy."


    Ming Tingyuan was very pleased.


    The little girl he hasn''t seen for five years, she is filial and sensible, well-behaved, and the key is that she looks like a fairy, um, she is indeed his Ming Tingyuan''s girl.

 Chapter 8：

    The warm scene outside the house was staged here, and Mrs. Pei just happened to lead the people in the house to welcome them out.


    Mrs. Pei called "Master Hou", helped Ming Tan up, and said with a warm smile, "I haven''t seen you for five years, Ah Tan misses Lord Hou so much, she cried like a little cat."


    Ming Tingyuan touched Ming Tan''s head, and laughed loudly: "I see Madam raised this little cat very well!"


    The smile on Pei''s face deepened. She was about to answer something when suddenly someone broke into the courtyard and shouted abruptly: "Daddy!"


    It is clear.


    She was still wearing the red dress, and she went up and hugged Ming Tingyuan''s arm, and said coquettishly, "Father, you are back at last, you brought Ah Fu and the others with you when you entered the palace, no one will practice whipping with your daughter." !"


    Mingchu''s set is very useful for Mingtingyuan on weekdays. After all, he was living in a remote area, and there was only such a daughter by his side, so it was natural to see what he wanted. But now, he subconsciously looked at the little daughter in front of him.


    I saw his well-behaved and sensible little daughter staring at the arm that Mingchu was hugging, startled for a moment, then lowered her eyelashes silently, as if trying to hide the disappointment in her eyes.


    There was a burst of inexplicable emotions in his heart. Looking at the embarrassment that was suddenly interrupted on Pei''s face, he was also inexplicably uncomfortable: "What are you doing nonsense, you don''t even salute your mother!"


    ...?


    Mingchu was stunned.


    "Going to Beijing is not as easy as you can do in other places. Girls, you should calm down. What kind of whip are you practicing? Learn more rules from your mother and sister when you have time!"


    When Aunt Liu heard this at the gate of the courtyard, she paused.


    Earlier, she went back to her own yard to rest, so she wanted to bring Mingchu to greet Mrs. Pei, but in the middle of the journey, when the servants said that Master Hou had returned to the mansion and was going to Lanxinyuan, Mingchu sped up angrily. step.


    She wanted to catch up, but Mingchu had learned three-legged cat kung fu for a few years, and she walked much faster than ordinary women. When she rushed to Lanxinyuan, she just heard Hou Ye''s reprimand.


    She regained her composure, stepped forward and knelt down and said, "I have met Lord Hou, and Madam."


    Mingchu was immersed in the grievance that her father had scolded her, and was dragged by Aunt Liu, so she reluctantly added a blessing: "I have met my father, I have seen my mother."


    "Family, don''t be too polite." Mrs. Pei can best show the gentleness and generosity of the mistress at this time, "Since the Marquis is back, don''t stand here anymore, let''s go in and set the meal."


    This lunch was served in the second room of the main room of Lanxin Courtyard, and the dishes were well prepared. Stewed deer tendon, crystal elbow, pork ribs in lotus leaf, lotus tofu... meat and vegetables are all available.


    Since entering the house, Aunt Liu has been standing by the side obediently, adding vegetables to Mrs. Pei''s soup. Mrs. Pei asked her to rest, but she lowered her head and said cautiously: "Serving the Lord and Madam is the duty of a concubine."


    Ming Ting was far silent, but he was obviously quite satisfied with her actions. Just now he was outside thinking that he shouldn''t have taken Mingchu to Yangxi Road back then, and was spoiled by Aunt Liu so much that he lost all manners. Now that he thinks about it, Aunt Liu is actually doing his duty, mainly because of Mingchu''s temper. Few people can manage it.


    Everyone was silent.


    Even the maids in this house are all elites who have experienced many years in the deep mansion, and no one except Ming Tingyuan would take Aunt Liu''s attitude seriously.


    Of course, Mingchu still felt aggrieved for her aunt sincerely.


    After all, in the past on Yangxi Road, they were a family of three eating together, but now it''s good that they can''t just sit down and eat, but they have to serve that woman who occupies the position of mistress and can''t lay eggs! Just thinking of this, Mingchu felt that all the delicacies in front of him lost their taste.


    But at this time, Ming Tan also gave Ming Tingyuan a piece of stewed deer tendon: "Daddy, try it."


    Not to mention how the deer tendon tastes, Ming Tingyuan is very satisfied with the movements of pressing her sleeves, changing the chopsticks, and silently putting the deer tendon into the small dish beside the bowl without dipping half of the sauce when pinching the deer tendon.


    He is a vulgar person with extremely limited literary talent and taste, but this does not prevent him from liking to pursue literature and appreciate elegance. If not, he would not be partial to the most talented Aunt Liu among the few concubines.


    Seeing that it was his daughter who was so generous and elegant, he felt a sense of comfort and pride in his heart. After tasting the deer tendon, he nodded and praised repeatedly: "Mmm, it''s soft and delicious, and it tastes good!"


    "As long as Daddy likes it." Ming Tan smiled and rolled his eyes.


    "Why don''t you like this stewed deer tendon, but A Tan specially made it for Lord Hou." Mrs. Pei also added a piece to Ming Tingyuan, "The deer tendon is extremely hard to soften, it is said that it will be hammered a few days ago Boil, simmer with broth, and then simmer again with chicken broth that has been hanging for a day. The broth and chicken broth used for simmering are also very particular. carefulness."


    Ming Tingyuan ate the piece of Pei''s pinch again, and felt deeply moved: "A Tan has been well-behaved and filial since he was a child. Of course, it is also thanks to his wife''s careful upbringing all these years."


    As he said, he made a pearl ball for Ming Tan and Pei Shi: "Don''t patronize me, this dish is beautiful, you should try it too."


    "Thank you, Daddy."


    "Thank you, Lord Hou."


    Mingchu: "..."


    Only ghosts believe that Miss Jiao, who doesn''t touch the spring water with her ten fingers, will make stewed deer tendon herself! It would be amazing to be able to tell the kitchen that this dish was made for her father, and it would be a filial daughter to cook, and Pei''s hen, who does not lay eggs, can really talk about it!


    The atmosphere on the table was undercurrent. Some people were talking and laughing, and the rice in their bowls had been poked until it lost its heat.


    Just at this time, Su Xin, who had not come to Lanxin Courtyard with attendant Ming Tan, told the maid outside the door, and suddenly entered the room quietly.


    Su Xin approached Ming Tan with small steps, and pushed Lue who was standing behind her, while serving the meal, she whispered a few words in Ming Tan''s ear while serving the meal.


    Mingchu kept staring at Mingtan, so naturally he didn''t miss this scene.


    Seeing Su Xin whispering a letter to Ming Tan under the table, Ming Tan still received it calmly, she had a premonition that something was wrong, so she quickly raised her voice and said, "Fourth sister, someone sent you a letter? Who sent it, the **** is mysterious." secret."


    Several people at the table followed the voice and looked over.


    "It''s nothing, it''s from the cousin of the Bai family. I asked my cousin to do a small matter before, and I thought it had a result, so she wrote to me to let me know." Ming Tan wrote lightly.


    Mingchu refused to let go: "Since the meal has to be delivered, it must be very important for the cousin of the Bai family. Fourth sister, why don''t you eat after reading the letter? If she is in a hurry to return, she might as well send someone to tell her."


    Ming Tingyuan felt that Mingchu''s words were quite reasonable, he was in charge of the military and political power, and he was most afraid of delaying the military situation on weekdays.


    Seeing that Ming Tan was in a dilemma, he thought she was afraid that she would break the rules when reading letters, so he self-righteously said: "It''s okay, the family doesn''t pay attention to these things, you just read, and if there are any important things, you can reply in time."


    Ming Tan wanted to say something, but Ming Chu didn''t give her a chance to refuse, and directly ordered the maidservant who was waiting beside her: "Not yet, Fourth Sister is the most particular, how can you read the letter if you don''t wash your hands?"


    Soon, the veils and clear water were delivered to the eyes.


    Ming Tan seemed to have no other choice but to spread the letter with clean hands.


    At first, she looked normal. But she didn''t know what she saw, she paused her eyes, pursed her lips, read the letter faster and faster, and her complexion became paler.


    After reading the whole letter, she read it again from the beginning without giving up. It''s just that after this time, she was pale and crumbling.


    "What''s wrong?" Ming Tingyuan frowned.


    Ming Tan didn''t respond, Supa covered her lips, her eyes were full of disbelief. In just a moment, her eyes turned red and tears rolled down.


    Seeing the situation, everyone panicked, and Ming Tingyuan snatched the letter from her hand.


    He read the ten lines at a glance. Although he didn''t know what happened to the drowning in the letter, he was not a fool. The letter clearly stated:


    On the day of Shangyuan, the two people who knocked Mingtan into the water had already left Beijing, and it was difficult to find them after many twists and turns after chasing them to Lizhou.


    These two people are not a thief and a stolen person who have never met before, but a pair of brothers!


    According to the two brothers, it was arranged long ago to bump someone into the water. The two of them got orders from Mrs. Ling Guo, and Shang Yuanye secretly followed Liang Zixuan, obeyed his orders, and acted according to circumstances.


    That day Ming Tan happened to be setting off the river lantern at the pier. If Liang Zixuan found her, he would try his best to lure her to the water''s edge and sing the whole scene of the hero who accidentally fell into the water to save the beauty!


    "Crack!" Accompanied by the sound of slapping the table, the delicate bowls and dishes on the table shook, Ming Tingyuan was furious, "How unreasonable!"


    Seeing this, Mrs. Pei quickly took the letter and read it carefully.


    After reading it, she was even more shocked than Ming Tingyuan. Shangyuan Mingtan fell into the water, and the son of the Liang family covered it up. She also thought that the government of the Duke of Ling was very kind and thoughtful, and he was a friendly family, but this matter was originally written by the government of the Duke of Ling! This is too unbelievable!


    "What''s wrong with fourth sister, what''s written in the letter?" Seeing the reaction of the three of them, she knew clearly that something must have happened, she couldn''t hold back, eager to read the contents of the letter.


    But it is obviously impossible for Mrs. Pei to give it to her. The Pei family has been in charge of the family for many years, and has experienced many things. Apart from being shocked and angry, he quickly understood that nothing else matters now. The most important thing is to understand why this happened and how to deal with it.


    She got up and said calmly, "I''m here for lunch today, let''s go."


    This is Lanxin Courtyard, if Mrs. Pei said to leave, she would have to leave if she didn''t want to.


    Mingchu still wanted to stay and watch the excitement, but Zhang''s mother blocked her and invited her out respectfully and forcefully.


    Compared to Mingchu, Shen Hua was more obedient, neither listening nor asking too much. But before leaving, she subconsciously glanced at the Supa in Ming Tan''s hand.


    Soon, only Ming Tingyuan, Pei Shi, and Ming Tan were left in the house. Ming Tan seemed to be tense for a long time, when the door closed, he suddenly cried.


    When she cried, she cried so much that it was like a pear blossom with rain, I felt sorry for her. His eyes were red, his thin shoulders were trembling, and his frailty seemed to be broken by the wind.


    Ming Ting puts his hands behind his back, the pressure of fire builds up and down, he is afraid that he will frighten Ming Tan if he opens his mouth. After a while, he asked in a deep voice, "What''s going on? What''s falling into the water! Why don''t I know!"


    Pei patted Ming Tan''s back and comforted him: "Master Hou, calm down first."


    Immediately afterwards, she told Ming Tingyuan about Shangyuan falling into the water.


    Hearing that Ming Tan didn''t have physical relationship with Liang Shizi that day, and outsiders didn''t know that it was Ming Tan who fell into the water, he calmed down a little.


    Ming Tingyuan: "Duke Ling''s mansion must have lost its mind and went insane, planning such a lowly thing!"


    This is also what Mrs. Pei thinks is wrong: "It is reasonable to say that the two governments have already made a marriage contract, and Hou Ye can put it on the agenda when he returns to Beijing. It is really superfluous to design a drowning rescue."


    She paused, and then said: "Unless the government thinks that this marriage may change after Lord Hou returns to Beijing."


    Change, what change? The baby-marriage that Bai had made before his death, everyone in the capital knew about this marriage. Is her son dying in a hurry to trick a daughter-in-law into the house to keep chastity and earn a chastity memorial for their family? If you are going to die, dare to go into the water in winter, then you will be clean if you die under the water early!


    Ming Tingyuan''s words came to his lips, but he suddenly thought of something... Wait, he hasn''t been in the capital for the past few years, and he didn''t know many things in time. Could it be that the Duke''s Mansion is involved in some serious matter that cannot be dealt with? , must use the marriage to tie Ming Tingyuan to the same boat?


    Officials can get involved in everything. Seeing Ming Tingyuan''s serious face, and not knowing where he was, Ming Tan hurriedly choked up and said, "Actually, my daughter knows why the Liang family is like this..."


    Word by word, she told the whole story of what she had heard in the study of Duke Chang''s mansion.


    "We got married with my cousin, and gave birth to a two-year-old boy?" After hearing this, the shock in Ming Tingyuan''s and Pei''s hearts was beyond words.


    Ming Tingyuan: "Why didn''t you say such a big thing earlier!"


    Ming Tan shed tears as he lowered his eyes and said: "...My daughter thinks that this marriage was decided by her birth mother, and I heard that their Liang family has some roots in the official department. My daughter doesn''t know the government. The promotion evaluation that affected Dad''s transfer back to Beijing..."


    "What kind of thing is the Liang family! It can also affect Lao Tzu''s transfer and promotion!" Ming Tingyuan was furious, and even "Lao Tzu" jumped out.


    "Daddy, don''t be so angry."


    Look, it''s this time, and I''m worried that he will be blown out of anger. His daughter was born so graceful, well-educated, educated, gentle and dignified, and also understands that the overall situation is the most important thing, and filial piety is the first priority in everything. She is simply a model of a famous lady who can''t be found with a lantern. How can she allow the Liang family''s immoral Li Zizi to be so cruel? !


    "Don''t be afraid, Ah Tan, I will decide this matter for my father." Ming Tingyuan''s heart was so angry that he couldn''t bear it for a moment, he slammed the door and walked out after speaking.


    "Lord Hou, Lord Hou!"


    Mrs. Pei didn''t stop, and hurriedly comforted Ming Tan with a few words: "A Tan, the Marquis will definitely decide this matter, but it is inappropriate to be so impulsive. You don''t need to worry, let Su Xin Lue serve you first Go back and rest, I will go to Master Hou to have a good discussion."


    Ming Tan was thinking about this, she nodded and said, "Mother, you must persuade Daddy."


    Pei didn''t say any more, and hurriedly chased him out.


    Su Xin and Lu E listened to the cries and roars outside the house for a long time, they couldn''t help worrying in their hearts, and got Pei''s order, they hurried into the house.


    "Miss, miss."


    "Miss, you didn''t¡ª" Su Xin didn''t finish her words, and suddenly stopped in place.


    The house was silent.


    Most of the delicacies on the table have not been touched.


    Her young lady sat at the table, fanned her eyes with her hand, and refilled herself a cup of tea slowly.


    "... Are you okay?" Su Xin finished the second half of the sentence subconsciously.


    Ming Tan said: "It''s nothing serious, it''s just that the veil you dipped in is really spicy."

 Chapter 9：

    After Ming Tan finished singing this big play, all he could do was wait for the good news.


    But on the other side, Ming Tingyuan slammed the door and came out, Pei hurriedly chased after him, tried to persuade him methodically, and finally persuaded Ming Tingyuan who almost rushed directly to Ling Guogong''s mansion.


    Thinking of the letter saying that the two brothers have been brought back to the capital and can face each other at any time. The Pei family prepared a gift and a car, and planned to go to the Duke Chang''s mansion with Ming Tingyuan first.


    This trip to Duke Chang''s mansion is of course to meet the brothers and understand the ins and outs of the matter face to face. Second, Bai Jingyuan, the Duke of Chang, is Ming Tan''s uncle. This marriage was decided by his sister Bai Shi while she was still alive. If the matter of retiring the marriage can be discussed with him first, it will show the friendship between the two governments.


    The Duke''s Mansion of Jing''an is still completely unaware of the fact that the Hou Mansion of Jing''an intends to retire. But hearing that the Marquis of Jing''an has returned home, the Duke''s wife, Mrs. Li, knows that there is no impenetrable wall in the world. If she wants to keep this marriage, she can''t delay this matter in her own mansion.


    She didn''t say hello early in the morning, so she asked the servants to pack up the things and prepare the carriage, ready to send people to leave Beijing.


    "The matter has come to this point, Zhu''er, it''s not that your aunt doesn''t love you, your aunt and your cousin have also thought of many ways, but..." Li Shi looked at the woman who had cried into her room and was already limp on the ground, and said pitifully, " You take Brother Min to live in Lizhou for a while, after Miss Ming''s family enters the door, the husband and wife have feelings for each other, and then tell her about the matter between you and Brother Min, naturally there will be room for discussion .¡±


    "How can the young lady of the Ming family agree to take a concubine when there is a relationship?" The woman called "Pearl" burst into tears.


    "How come!" Liang Zixuan hurriedly stood up.


    Mrs. Li glanced at him, beckoning him to shut up, then turned to look at Zhu''er, and said slowly: "Brother Min is your cousin''s eldest son, and you are Brother Min''s biological mother, how can you not remember. Now this The general arrangement is entirely for the sake of your cousin''s future, your cousin''s future is also Brother Min''s future, don''t you understand such a simple truth?"


    Hearing this, Zhu''er stopped her tears, and looked at Li Shi with flickering eyes.


    "Okay, everything has been taken care of in Lizhou. You can live in peace of mind. When the time comes, your cousin will take you two back to Beijing in a splendid manner."


    Zhu''er wanted to fight for something more, but Li Shi lowered her eyes, picked up the teacup, made it clear that this was the end of her words, and she didn''t want to discuss any further.


    Seeing this, the servants at Hou''s side stepped forward to grab Zhu''er, held her down one by one, and half dragged and half held Zhu''er out.


    "Cousin! Cousin..."


    Zhu''er looked at Liang Zixuan reluctantly, and called him out.


    Liang Zixuan couldn''t bear it, no matter how affectionately they slept together for quite a while, when Zhu''er left the yard, he couldn''t help but intercede: "Mother, is there no room for change in this matter? Cousin she..."


    "It''s not your fault!" Li Shi put down the teacup heavily, and shouted in a cold voice, "Go back and be sober, don''t be an eyesore in front of me!"


    Liang Zixuan was a noble son outside, but he didn''t dare to refute his mother at home. But after drinking him twice, he was so frightened that he saluted hastily and left in a hurry.


    Looking at Liang Zixuan''s back, Li closed her eyes and felt a terrible headache.


    Among the women in the inner house, she can already be called swift and swift.


    Before the palace banquet started that day, she was still thinking about how to marry the Ming family''s A Tan back to the mansion smoothly. When she left the palace, she saw Ming Tan from a distance not getting into the carriage of the Jing''an Marquis Mansion, but leaving with Bai Minmin hand in hand, and a plan quickly came to her mind.


    She sent someone to follow her from afar, and went back to the mansion to tell Liang Zixuan in detail how important this marriage is and how embarrassing their current situation is.


    When someone came to report that Ming Tan and Bai Minmin had left Tingyu Building and went to Nanyuhe Street, she made a quick decision and planned to rescue each other by falling into the water.


    If this matter is completed according to her plan, it should have the best of both worlds, it will not spoil the marriage, and it can be used as a bargaining chip to keep Zhu''er mother and son. Forget it, I have to bear the responsibility of falling into the water.


    This plan failed, and the Marquis of Jing An came back so quickly, what else could she do? They can only make such a bad plan to make Zhu''er mother and child disappear!


    Heartbroken until lunch time, the servants came to report: "Madam, the cousin girl and the young master have already left the city."


    The stone hanging in Li Shi''s heart was finally settled, she waved her hand wearily to let people back down, intending to be quiet and quiet.


    From Shangjing to Lizhou, the journey is said to be far away, said to be close or not. It can be reached in two days with fast horses, and about seven days with slower carriages.


    The journey was bumpy and tiring, seeing that she was far away from the hustle and bustle of Shangjing, and her servants were obviously treating her poorly since she left the city, Zhu''er felt more and more unwilling.


    "Girl, let''s rest here today, the road ahead is not easy, if you go further, it will be difficult to find the inn before dark."


    Zhu''er raised the curtain of the car, looked at her eyes, frowned and said: "This place is so dilapidated, how can we rest?"


    Tired for a day, the servant was in no mood to deal with the cousin girl who was doomed to be unable to bring her into the mansion after giving birth, and replied impatiently: "If you don''t rest, you can go on your own way."


    "you!"


    The servant stretched his waist, ignored her at all, and went into the hotel on his own. The nurse also got out of another carriage, and went in with the sleeping baby in her arms.


    Pearl helpless, had to get out of the car.


    Following up at the hotel, she wanted to go up to see her child, but the nanny turned aside and refused to let her go: "Girl, madam has repeatedly told me to take care of the young master, so I won''t bother you, you should rest earlier."


    Zhu''er: "Brother Min is my child, what do you mean!"


    The nanny, like the previous servant, took the baby into the house to rest and ignored her.


    Zhu''er had a vague premonition of something, and her heart instantly became half cold.


    She sat down straight as if venting her strength, and was stunned at the table for a long time. The heat of the meal was almost gone, and she picked up the chopsticks belatedly.


    But a reminder from a strange man suddenly came from the table behind him: "Don''t take the medicine."


    When Zhu''er froze, she subconsciously turned around.


    The man said again: "Don''t look back, someone is watching."


    Hearing that "the drug was taken" and "someone was watching", Zhu''er suddenly panicked, her mind was in a mess, and she didn''t know whether to believe what the person behind her said.


    Just at this time, she caught a glimpse of a wild cat wandering under the table looking for food, so she pretended not to clamp it firmly, and shook out the food.


    The wild cat meowed a few times, approached lazily, first licked it, and then picked and chewed the food on the ground. But after a long time, the wild cat didn''t have any special reaction.


    "You lied to me?" Zhu''er''s voice was trembling and uncertain.


    The man explained: "Ruan Jin San will only make people weak and unable to escape, and it is not fatal."


    Pearl braced herself up and stared at the wild cat for a while. It nestled in place, wagging its tail slowly, and it really didn''t move much, but the cat''s habits were just like this, so it didn''t prove anything.


    Wait... She was suddenly alert: "What are you talking about, why should I run away?"


    "When I return to Lizhou, I will marry Zhuangzi to fill in the house. Doesn''t the girl want to escape? Or the girl thinks that she can wait until the day when the scenery returns to Beijing?"


    When Zhu''er heard the words, she was struck by lightning.


    The attitude of the people around her after leaving Beijing did make her feel ominous, but marrying a steward to fill in the house... No, no, how is this possible! And she also has Brother Min, who is the eldest son of her cousin, it is impossible for her aunt and cousin to treat her like this!


    The person behind continued: "Mrs. Ling Guogong has a dowry Zhuangzi in the western suburbs of Lizhou. Zhuangzi is more than forty years old. His wife died of illness a few years ago, and he never married again. He only has four concubines and five sons. In the steward''s mansion, lanterns are hung and a happy birthday is posted. When the girl arrives, she can worship three times as a ceremony.


    "As for the little son, the blood is inseparable. If there is a chance in the future, he will definitely recognize his ancestors and return to his clan. It''s just that he will never have half a relationship with the girl. The girl will leave, and the mother and child will be separated. I think they will never see each other again in this life."


    These words sound extremely absurd. But her intuition told her that it was true, it was all true.


    The sound of teacups falling on the table came from behind, and the man said in a deep voice, "Girl, if you want to go back to Beijing to earn a future for yourself, I can help you."


    It was cool at night, and the outside of Shangjing was pitch black, but inside the city was lit up at night, making it lively and brilliant. Changyu Street, which is completely occupied by the Dingbei Palace, is probably a rare and quiet place in the city.


    Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran were talking with candles in the open room of the study room. The candles flickered, and a shadow entered the room with the wind. They bowed their heads and replied, "My lord, the girl and the child from the Liang family have been brought back to the capital, and they have been settled properly."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm" and raised his hand.


    The shadow understood and retreated silently.


    Shu Jingran circled three sunspots, covered his sleeves to take the chess, and said to himself: "I''ve been thinking about why you made the move that night. Let Liang Shizi save Miss Ming''s family, this marriage is a certainty, it''s not a bad thing. Now... I finally figured it out."


    Daxian has been in power for hundreds of years, his family is deeply rooted, and his power is getting stronger and stronger. The Holy One has long wanted to trim it.


    A few days ago, the Holy Majesty took the most insolent and unrestrained Marquis Cheng Enhou who dared to touch the salt mines. It would not be long before the Duke''s Mansion and the Marquis of Jing''an''s Mansion could not escape.


    If these two families get married, it will save some energy to settle the matter together. The Holy Majesty seems to have this intention too, but, "You don''t seem to want the Mingliang and Liang families to get married, why?"


    "Didn''t you figure it out?" Jiang Xu took a moment and slowly raised his eyes.


    "..."


    "I just want to understand that the reason why you saved people that day was because you didn''t want the Mingliang family to get married, that''s all."


    "It turns out that there is no need to think about it."


    Jiang Xu lowered his eyebrows and sneered softly. He almost directly questioned the ingenuity of Second Young Master Shu, wondering if he was worthy of the little lady who was waiting for him to play horses in the street in Chunwei High School.


    Shu Jingran coughed, feeling a little embarrassed.


    After all, he has not yet entered the court, and many things are unclear. Jiang Xu didn''t make things difficult for him anymore. He looked down at the chess game and said, "Haste makes waste. Besides, pruning the family is not my intention."


    It was very quiet in the bright room, except for the faint sound of candle flames beating.


    Shu Jingran smacked Jiang Xu''s words with some meaning.


    The first half sentence is easy to understand. It is a bit too hasty to clean up the two in one go. In recent years, the empress dowager eats vegetarian food and recites Buddhism, and she is quite peaceful, but the empress dowager''s family has deep roots, and has been a threat that cannot be ignored since the Holy Majesty ascended the throne. If the action is too big, it will inevitably leave some loopholes for them to win people''s hearts. Divide and transform, relatively speaking, it is more complete.


    But in the second half of the sentence, Shu Jingran paused.


    He has never been able to figure out the relationship between Jiang Xu and the current Holy Majesty.


    These years, the Holy Majesty really had nothing to say to Jiang Xu. On the contrary, Jiang Xu has not been very enthusiastic about the current Holy Majesty, and can even be called indifferent. Many times his attitude makes people wonder whether he is in the camp of the Holy One.


    The phrase "not my intention" also made Shu Jingran a little confused, whether it meant "not my intention, but I will still help you" or "not my intention, so I will sing the opposite of you".


    Jiang Xu seemed to know what he was thinking: "It is really rare for Ming Ting to dispatch troops from afar, let''s stay here for a while."


    Then settled the last sunspot: "You lost."


    Shu Jingran came back to his senses, at some point, Bai Zi, who was originally slightly better, was forced by Hei Zi, and he was trapped in the city of sorrow, with no room for mediation.


    But he didn''t intend to play chess tonight, so he pushed the chess pot away, and he asked: "Then if you want to stay away from Ming Ting and ruin his daughter''s marriage, what kind of marriage will you arrange for his daughter? Ming Ting is far away." Holding Yangxi Road in your hands, you should not be underestimated. And once the marriage is broken, it seems that many people will not be able to resist this temptation."


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just looked at him quietly.


    "...?"


    It took Shu Jingran a long time to realize something was wrong.


    He has always been as gentle as jade on the outside and inside, calm in dealing with things, advancing and retreating appropriately, but now he probably feels absurd. After concentrating on his words for a while, he laughed in disbelief: "Jiang Qizhi, what do you mean by that?" , I marry?"


    "The queen has already arranged for Zhang Huaiyu''s marriage. As for Lu Ting, he is too affectionate."


    "Then am I an unlucky person?" Shu Jingran still found it funny.


    Jiang Xu stared: "If you don''t marry, why don''t you let me marry you?"


    Shu Jingran: "That''s not a problem."


    Jiang Xu didn''t want to talk too much, so he went straight to see off the guests without lifting his eyelids.

 Chapter 10：

    There was no wind or rain overnight, and the next day was sunny. When Ming Tan got up to have breakfast, he heard that Lord Hou and his wife had left the door early, and seemed to be heading towards the Duke Ling''s mansion.


    She bent her lips, feeling very good, and used half a bowl of porridge extra.


    Yesterday Jing''anhou and his wife went to Changguo''s mansion to discuss the matter of retiring. Ming Tingyuan and Bai Jingyuan collided with each other, and the more they chatted, the more angry they became.


    In the middle of the discussion, the two of them were about to kill Liang Zixuan and forced him to die to apologize.


    Fortunately, the wives of the two families tried their best to persuade each other. After the two sides negotiated, they finally decided to use the method of courtesy first and then soldiers to come to the door to withdraw the marriage.


    After all, Ming Tan belongs to his daughter''s family, and if things get serious, he will suffer and be embarrassed, which may affect future marriage negotiations.


    Of course, if the government of the Duke of Ling pretends to be stupid and clings to this marriage, then don''t blame them for spreading all the ugly things to the public, one by one, do they still want to deny it? no?


    But when they arrived at Duke Ling''s Mansion, they found out that they really dared to deny it!


    Mrs. Ling Guogong''s wife, Mrs. Li, was sitting at the head. Although she was caught off guard by Jing''an Hou and his wife''s early departure, she quickly calmed down, pretended to be ignorant, and said in surprise: "You two What are you talking about? What does it mean that my son, Xuan, had a relationship with his cousin and an illegitimate child before he was welcomed into the main room? You can''t talk nonsense."


    Ming Tingyuan slapped the table and said angrily: "What are you pretending to do! Didn''t you deliberately design a drowning to rescue you just because you were afraid that the matter would be exposed! It''s really shameless!"


    He even knew about this.


    Mrs. Li''s palms were sweating, but she still had a smile on her face: "What is Hou Ye talking about again, I can''t understand why. It wasn''t my son Xuan who fell into the water."


    Pei hurriedly comforted Ming Tingyuan, not letting him continue to get angry.


    Mrs. Li was right, it was Liang Zixuan who fell into the water in Shangyuan, and it could only be Liang Zixuan. As long as they know about the behind-the-scenes design, they must not reveal it face-to-face, otherwise Ming Tan''s reputation will be damaged.


    Steady at the Ming Pavilion, Mrs. Pei looked at Mrs. Li again, straight to the point and said calmly: "Mrs. Li, we don''t need to go around the extra detours. Master Hou and I came to divorce today, so we have already found out the ins and outs of the matter.


    "Twisted melons are not sweet. Your Liang family has humiliated my daughter-in-law of the Ming family so much. If you resign this relative smoothly, the two sides will be happy. Our two families will return to the bridge and return to the road. From now on, the well water will not violate the river water. It''s not like you will die. If you don''t agree..."


    She clicked to the end and didn''t go on.


    When Mrs. Li heard this, she didn''t know well, and the smile on the corner of her lips froze involuntarily. But she had prepared for the worst, and it was not without countermeasures.


    After calming down, she tried her best to smile and said, "Where is this? I think the two of you have misunderstood my Duke Ling''s mansion. My niece of my mother''s family lived in the mansion for a while before her parents died. , I thought she was pitiful, so I left her to live in the mansion for a while. By the way, isn''t there a distant cousin living in your mansion, and there are not many relatives in any family. "


    Mrs. Li continued: "My niece, I have always wanted to ask me to find a family for her, but she likes quietness and doesn''t like the hustle and bustle of the capital. No, I found a good family for her in my hometown, and she was happy Huanxi packed up her things and went back to her hometown. Thinking about the past two days, her husband¡¯s family has already made arrangements to welcome her. Before leaving, she said that although the capital is nice, she is not used to living in it, so she might not be able to visit me again in the future.¡±


    As soon as the topic changed, Mrs. Li looked at the insignificant Mr. Ling again, and her voice softened a lot: "My lord and I have always attached great importance to this marriage with your mansion. My lord, I just look forward to it. Lord Hou returned to Beijing earlier so that this marriage could be put on the agenda.


    "Speaking of which, we have made great achievements in the dynasty, and the titles have been hereditary, but no one has had a smooth journey. Let''s talk about the Marquis of Cheng''en''s mansion, which is well-behaved, and accidents happen as soon as they are said. The father-in-law has always been thinking, our two houses After getting married, it will be good to have someone to take care of me in the future, so I won''t be randomly manipulated by others.


    "Of course, if we have offended you in any way, please be more considerate of Lord Hou and Madam. As long as Zixuan''s marriage goes well, everything can be discussed."


    The Duke of Ling is incompetent and mediocre as an official, and Li''s family affairs are all in charge. When Mrs. Li said that, he nodded in agreement: "That''s the truth, that''s the truth."


    Pei, who had originally responded, suddenly fell silent.


    They are all smart people. When Li Shi said this, she understood it. There are three meanings in these words:


    First, the person has been sent away to marry and will never return to Beijing. There is absolutely no possibility of the scandal being publicized, so you can rest assured in the Marquis.


    Second, the Duke of Ling¡¯s family intends to get married as before. Now that something happened in the Marquis of Cheng¡¯en¡¯s house, it is clear that the Holy Majesty does not like to use him for surgery. It is hard to say whether this is a signal of liquidation. If you get married, and everyone is in the same spirit, it will not be so easy to be manipulated by others.


    Third, as long as you don''t withdraw from the relationship, you can talk about whatever you want.


    These words already involved the court affairs, and also involved the concessions that the Duke of Linguo could make to complete this marriage, it was inconvenient for Pei to make a decision for Ming Tingyuan.


    She had grown up in a deep house and knew very well that in many cases, family affection and kindness are far behind interests. Not to mention that the person you are marrying is not a good person, even if it is not perfect, there are many honorable families who are willing to send their daughters away in exchange for the necessary bargaining chips.


    Looking at Ming Tingyuan again, his expression is difficult to distinguish.


    He didn''t make a sound, and the hall was silent for a moment.


    Just as Mrs. Li wanted to express her sincerity again, two maids came in hurriedly from outside, their expressions were panicked, and when they were in a hurry, they were polite.


    Mrs. Li was about to reprimand, but the girl gasped and said, "Madam, outside the mansion, outside the mansion..."


    "Auntie, cousin! What did Pearl do wrong? You treat me like this! I was pregnant in October and gave birth to Brother Min. I made it clear that Miss Ming would come in, so I took me as a concubine and let Brother Min On the family tree..."


    Before the girl could finish her sentence, a woman''s mournful cry could be vaguely heard outside.


    "...Just send me away, why do you marry me to the head of the village to fill in the house? Why do you treat me like this! Cousin, aunt!"


    When Li Shi heard the sound, his complexion suddenly turned ugly.


    Didn''t they all go away? Why are you back again!


    Ming Tingyuan''s face was so heavy that it could drip, he slapped the table and said angrily without thinking: "How dare you miss my Ming family girl, the stupid and poisonous woman of the family with such a bad character! You will also withdraw from this marriage." , If you don''t retreat, you will retreat!"


    After finishing speaking, he threw the engagement token on the ground and got up angrily.


    Since the woman made a fuss outside the mansion and ordered the Duke''s mansion to make any concessions, it would be impossible for this marriage to continue, and there was no need to withdraw the marriage in a low-key manner. Thinking of this, Mrs. Pei hurriedly got up too.


    Outside the mansion, Zhu''er hugged the child and burst into tears, all the onlookers were commenting and pointing fingers at the Duke Ling''s mansion.


    Pei Shi and Ming Tingyuan didn''t look much, got into the carriage and drove away.


    It''s just that when she returned home and got off the car, Mrs. Pei couldn''t help but asked softly: "Master Hou, if the woman didn''t make a scene, would you..."


    Ming Tingyuan understood what she meant, frowned and said in surprise: "What are you thinking about? Ming Tan is my daughter. Although I, Ming Tingyuan, can''t be regarded as a saint, I can''t do things like betraying a girl for glory! Besides What he ordered the Duke''s Mansion to produce is not worth my coveting!"


    He didn''t speak before, it was an unorganized curse! Madam actually looked at him like this! He hummed, flicked his sleeves and moved forward.


    Pei Shi was behind, looking at his back, and was stunned for a moment.


    In fact, the one who returned to the Jing''an Marquis Mansion one step ahead of Pei Shi and Ming Ting was the little girl sent by Ming Tan to inquire about the situation.


    The little girl told Ming Tan about what happened in front of Duke Ling''s mansion.


    After Ming Tan heard this, he was stunned, and the bird''s nest porridge in his hand lost all taste in an instant: "You mean, Mrs. Ling Guogong asked the woman to marry the village manager to fill the house, and the woman escaped, holding the child in her arms. Crying in front of the Duke''s mansion?"


    "Yes, ma''am. This matter...has come to blows..."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She wanted to divorce, but she hoped that the two elders would sit down and find a decent excuse to divorce in a low-key manner. In this way, the loss of her reputation can be minimized. After the limelight has passed, she will try to clean up Duke Ling''s mansion.


    Earlier, she was afraid that her father would not want to fight against the Duke of Ling because of her, so she specially sang that play to make her father''s anger towards the Duke of Ling reach its peak, and she offered to withdraw from the marriage.


    In addition, she knew Pei''s family well, and according to her usual thoroughness, she would definitely not let her father act impulsively, and most likely, she would discuss it with her uncle and aunt. As long as they were thinking about her sincerely, the result of the discussion would definitely be as she wished.


    Things were indeed developing in the direction she imagined, but she didn''t expect that Mrs. Ling Guogong was so vicious to her niece and niece that she forced her to escape and make a fuss without hesitation!


    Now that everyone in Shangjing knows about this scandal, what face does her Ming family''s A-Tan have!


    Ming Tan was hit dizzy by the news, coincidentally, Mrs. Pei came to see her again.


    Seeing that her complexion was not good, Mrs. Pei understood, and asked as she walked in: "Does A-Tan already know about the affairs of Duke Ling''s mansion?"


    She sent all the maids away, sat down again, and said softly: "Although this matter is unexpected, but you want to divorce, and now you have your wish."


    Ming Tan was startled: "You already know."


    "The letter from the White House was delivered early yesterday morning, how could I wait until lunch to find you."


    In the final analysis, this Jing''an Hou Mansion is the head of the Pei family, so no movement can escape her eyes. Besides, Ming Tan is a girl brought up by her, she knows that Ming Tan is definitely not a person who can only cry when things happen.


    Ming Tan lowered his eyes and was silent for a while: "Mother, it was A-tan who was wrong. A-tan didn''t tell you because he didn''t know where to start. Besides, this marriage was decided by his biological mother..."


    "You don''t need to say much, mother understands."


    How could she not understand that the young lady of a high-ranking family has never been involuntary in her marriage. She is not sure about her biological father, so how can she pin her hopes on herself.


    She originally wanted to talk to Ming Tan about her father''s affairs from the bottom of her heart, so as to enhance the relationship between father and daughter. However, her father has just returned to Beijing, so no matter how much he talks about it, it is not as true as his own experience. Moreover, the marriage was so embarrassing, she didn''t have the heart to think about anything else for a while.


    "Okay, let''s not mention these." Mrs. Pei held her hand and helped her brush her hair again, "Mother knows that you have been wronged, so it is not a bad thing to tear it apart now. If you really find another decent excuse to quietly Withdrawing from the marriage, you are always in a state of distress, and you are always uncomfortable."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    It seems to be comforted a little bit.


    In any case, the marriage ended at last.


    It''s just that within a day, the scandal of Duke Ling''s mansion spread all over the capital, and the young lady of the Ming family was mentioned inside and outside the mansion, either with sympathy, or with some undisguised gloating in the sympathy.


    Ming Tan didn''t hear those rumors, because she didn''t leave the yard at all, since Mrs. Pei left, she was sitting at the table directing the maids to pack their luggage.


    She didn''t want to ruin her will for a scum like Liang Zixuan, and she didn''t want to hang herself in vain, so she had to discuss it with Mrs. Pei, and found a reason to pray for blessings in a Buddhist temple, and went outside for a while. She appeared innocent.


    "The cold spring is not over yet, so I still have to bring that cloak embroidered with silver foxes, and I can wear it even in the cold night."


    "I don''t want this one, it was a fashionable material the year before last..."


    "These are new clothes too? Why do the colors look familiar? Forget it, they don''t quite match the embroidered shoes I''m going to bring, so let''s put them aside."


    Lvca cleaned up very hard. But Su Xin couldn''t help reminding: "Miss, we are going to the temple to pray for blessings. Does dressing up like this make it more public?"


    "Would it? I picked some plain clothes on purpose." Ming Tan glanced at the packed boxes and said uncertainly, "Since it''s too flamboyant, let''s reduce it."


    At night, in the study in the south of Dingbei Palace, the secret guard reported the news in a low voice:


    "...The few families that are not deeply involved in the Cheng Enhou Mansion are looking for a way to extract themselves, and the way to find it is just as the prince expected.


    "In addition, as soon as the matter of Duke Ling''s mansion came out today, the Queen Mother also called people into the palace before the key was locked at the palace gate as expected by the lord. Jing''an Hou''s mansion has prepared five carriages to send the fourth lady Go out of the house to pray for blessings and temporarily avoid the limelight."


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu, who hadn''t raised his eyes, suddenly put down the military book in his hand: "Five? What''s in it?"


    The dark guard paused for a while, and realized later that his words seemed to have misunderstood the prince in such a specific way. He bowed his head and said in shame: "It''s nothing, it''s all the clothes and utensils of that Fourth Miss."


    Previously, he also thought that the Jing''an Hou Mansion wanted to take this opportunity to transport something, so he sneaked into the stables to check, but it turned out that they were women''s clothes, shoes and socks, jewelry, hairpins, gauze tents, incense burners, tea sets and so on.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Do you think you are going to the draft?


    Ridiculous.

 Chapter 11：

    I don''t know that the Buddhist temple that the so-called young lady of the Ming family is going to pray for this time is Lingmiao Temple, which is located in Yunxiu Mountain three miles north of the city.


    This Lingmiao Temple is far less prosperous than Daxiangguo Temple, and it does not have the reputation of being particularly effective in seeking marriage and children. It is only warm mountains and soft waters, and the scenery is particularly beautiful. It is also known as "delicious vegetarian food" among the people.


    Ming Tan just liked the remoteness and cleanliness of it, so that she would not have to pray for blessings to avoid the limelight, and from time to time run into noble ladies from Beijing who came to offer incense.


    Now that the scandal in the Duke''s Mansion has been spread, Mingchu and Shen Hua definitely have no reason to be ignorant, and Aunt Liu is still her father''s bedside person, so maybe Mingchu even knew about the fact that she was designed to fall into the water.


    Originally, Mrs. Pei arranged for her to see her off early the next morning, but Ming Tan expected that when she left the house to see her off, Ming Chu would definitely not miss this golden opportunity to ridicule and ridicule her.


    Therefore, she didn''t intend to give Mingchu this chance¡ªshe informed Mrs. Pei at night, and before five o''clock dawned, she took Su Xin Lue on the road ahead of schedule.


    When we arrived at Lingmiao Temple, the monks started the morning classes. After all, it is a place of pure Buddhist practice, with morning bells and evening drums, and Sanskrit sounds are ethereal. Being in this mountain, I can''t help but feel a lot of peace in my heart.


    Because of Pei''s pre-arrangement, a monk who knew guests was waiting for Mingtan and his party outside the temple gate.


    Seeing Mingtan, Zhike monk put his hands together and said: "Amitabha, female benefactor, please come with me."


    "Thank you, Master." Ming Tan politely returned the salute.


    The temple is quiet and quiet. I followed the Zhike monk all the way, and saw the old trees scattered along the way, and the koi swimming in the release pond, which has a different kind of simplicity and tranquility.


    As for the wing room where the female guests stayed, although it was not as refined and luxurious as Zhaoshui Courtyard, it was spacious and clean, and Ming Tan could barely accept it. It''s just that before she had time to look at it carefully, a young novice sent a coarse blue shirt.


    Ming Tan paused, and asked with some hesitation: "Master, this is..."


    The Zhike monk replied gently: "All the short-term pilgrims in the temple need to wear this shirt. Donors don''t need to worry, the clothes are clean and brand new."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Is this a question of whether it is clean or brand new?


    Under Su Xin''s reminder earlier, she made a difficult choice and lost a lot of clothes and utensils, but no one knew her that she was caught off guard by a thunderbolt in this short-lived Lingmiao Temple!


    While she was in a daze, the Zhike monk explained many rules and regulations that short-term pilgrims also need to abide by, and finally said empathetically: "The almsgiver is tired from the journey, you can rest for a while, and the monk will not disturb you, Amitabha. "


    Ming Tan still couldn''t get back to his senses, he touched the clothes he had sent him belatedly, and was speechless for a while.


    Everything else is easy to say, but this dress has wide shoulders and long sleeves, no waist at all, and the color and materials are useless, not to mention plain heart and green calyx. ?


    Ming Tan sat there staring blankly, but when she entered the temple, she had no choice but to stay in the wing room and not go out.


    As for the meal, everyone has to go to the dining hall to share the food, and no one is waiting for it, and it is not allowed to take it out.


    When it was lunch time, the little lady''s stubbornness was finally defeated by Wu Zang Fu, which had no food left, and she reluctantly let Lue wait for her to change into this dress.


    Ever since he was born, Ming Tan has never dressed so plainly. On weekdays, she even chooses soft fabrics for her sleeping clothes, embroidered with intricate patterns, and tailors them to fit her figure. Sitting in the room wearing this dress, she felt that nothing was right.


    "If you''re so clean, how can you meet people?" She looked at the person in the mirror dissatisfied, and frowned.


    Lue: "Miss, don''t worry, there is no one around to see. When I came here today, the slaves and maidservants paid attention, there are not many pilgrims in this temple in a day."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Su Xin coughed lightly, and glanced at Lue.


    Lue came to her senses, slapped her mouth annoyed, and hurriedly added: "Besides, let me see, the coarse cloth green shirt shows the young lady''s figure and graceful figure even more. As the saying goes, ''Clear water comes out of hibiscus, natural to carve ¡¯, isn¡¯t it you, miss?¡±


    Ok.


    Hibiscus comes out of clear water, and it is naturally carved.


    These words penetrated into Ming Tan''s heart.


    Forget it, she has always been exquisite and appropriate, and occasionally she is plain, but it also shows her beauty and purity.


    Thinking of this, her originally unhappy mood suddenly brightened.


    However, it didn''t take long for it to become clear, and Lue comforted her inappropriately: "Your servant sees that this Buddhist temple is still quiet, so you can stay here for a while, and you don''t need to be sad.


    "Shi... Liang Shizi Duan is usually a good person, but he doesn''t want to be so unlucky. He is really blind. He missed a beauty like Miss for nothing. Don''t worry, Miss. After returning to Beijing, Lord Hou and Madam will be able to choose another one for Miss. A good son-in-law!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She wasn''t sad either.


    Liang Zixuan was not worthy of her sorrow.


    It''s just that Liang Zixuan and Mrs. Ling Guo''s scandalous deeds made her, an innocent person, have to bear some consequences, and she was quite upset.


    If she is not cheerful, then no one should think about it.


    Although she came here to pray for blessings, she was in a hurry, but before she left, she did not forget to arrange a good show for Duke Ling''s mansion.


    In Changguo Mansion, in Bai Minmin''s courtyard, Zhou Jingwan was standing in front of the book case, writing a pen.


    The Zhou family is a well-known scholarly family. For hundreds of years, there have been countless famous writers in the direct branch and collateral lineage. Zhou Jingwan''s father was born in the second place, and now he is a third-rank Hanlin bachelor, and his future is boundless.


    With family background, Zhou Jingwan is also a well-recognized talented woman among the official ladies who have not left the cabinet. She is dignified and calm in lower script with hairpin flowers in her hand. She just reads the content carefully¡ª¡ª


    "This sentence is too polite, Wanwan, please write more bluntly. When I went to the teahouse to listen to the book, those storytellers were not so reserved." Bai Minmin stood aside and pointed.


    Zhou Jingwan stopped writing, looked at it for a while, and felt that it was very indecent to mention such an insulting thing in such a vague way. She was a little embarrassed, and asked softly, "Then how can I be straightforward?"


    Bai Minmin: "This is not easy. You can just write that the Duke of Ling committed adultery with the aunt of the second-bedroom master Xinna! It can also be connected with Liang Zixuan''s matter. adultery!"


    Zhou Jingwan: "..."


    Before Ming Tan left the city to pray for blessings, he sent a letter to Duke Chang''s mansion. The letter asked Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan to polish a script together, so that he could tell the storyteller about the scandals in Duke Ling''s mansion.


    Ming Tan asked Bai Jingyuan to inquire about these scandals earlier, and they were all related to Duke Ling and his wife. They were originally intended to be used to clean up Duke Ling''s mansion after retiring smoothly.


    Now that Ping Shun can''t retreat, and the scandal spreads, she adds fuel to the fire. Firstly, exporting the evil spirit of being calculated, betrayed and implicated. Secondly, it can be regarded as the fact that he has made the whole family of the Duke''s Mansion unscrupulous. Thirdly, it would allow her to defend her reputation as a boudoir.


    "Forget it, it''s really embarrassing for you to polish these nasty things." Bai Minmin thought for a while, "Let''s leave it to Mr. Storyteller. You can write A Tan''s praise."


    Zhou Jingwan breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded in response.


    A Tan was already very kind in her heart, so she would naturally know it.


    "By the way, A Tannah also told me that she can be put aside, the most important thing is to praise her beauty." Bai Minmin paused, and muttered speechlessly, "I''m really not ashamed."


    Zhou Jingwan couldn''t help pursing her lips and smiling slightly when she heard the words.


    But from her point of view, A Tan was born beautiful, and it''s not against her will to boast. She picked up the pen and immediately wrote a praise.


    While Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan were busy helping Ming Tan with errands, Ming Tan went to the Zhaitang in the temple in plain clothes without wearing hairpins.


    There is no distinction between master and servant in the fasting hall, they all eat at the same table. Ming Tan has always treated his close maid generously, so he didn''t think there was anything wrong with that. But Suxin Lue dared not eat with her own lady, she insisted on staying outside the dining hall until the Mingtan was used up before entering.


    Ming Tan didn''t force it either.


    She went out early today, and she didn''t even have time to have breakfast, so she was really hungry at the moment. Hearing that the fast food in Lingmiao Temple was delicious, when she sat down, she was still curious and anticipating.


    But after she reservedly took a small sip, she didn''t spit it up or swallow it. She really didn''t understand the relationship between the roughness of the rice and the taste of the vegetables!


    She was about to leave the banquet, but a young novice came forward to stop her, and warned in a warm voice: "Amitabha, benefactor, don''t miss food after fasting."


    "..."


    I forgot about this rule for a while.


    The little novice looked at her gently, and kept on watching, seeing her reluctantly take a seat, holding the chopsticks slowly.


    When she bit the bullet and swallowed a small mouthful of the fast meal, she secretly looked at the little novice¡ªshe was still looking at her!


    "..."


    Miss Ben knows that she is beautiful, so she doesn''t have to!


    As a last resort, she could only continue to fast. Because the taste was so different from usual, she swallowed it whole without chewing it carefully.


    It''s just that she eats a small amount of food, and there is still half a bowl left. She raised her head pitifully: "Master, I really can''t use up this meal."


    The little novice saw that there was not much left, and she really ate hard, clasped her hands together and said: "Amitabha, if that''s the case, the benefactor should go to the small Buddha hall to reflect on himself and have a stick of incense."


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Still need to kneel down?


    Well, she was also a little afraid of the retribution of the Buddha because of her legacy.


    So she stepped out the door under the gaze and guidance of the little monk.


    However, the door that the little novice pointed out was not the main entrance of the Zhaitang. She walked outside for a while, but was dazed by the detour, and the more she walked, the more confused she became. There are treasure halls enshrining Buddha statues all around, which one is the small Buddha hall that the master said?


    No matter, introspection focuses on sincerity.


    Thinking of this, she entered the unmanned treasure hall in front of her, kneeling on the futon in a regular manner.


    The treasure hall here is extremely wide, with side halls on both sides. Ming Tan didn''t know that there was a quiet room next to the Sutra Pavilion on the left side of the hall.


    At this moment in the quiet room, the famous young God of War, His Royal Highness King Dingbei, is drinking tea and talking with Master Huiyuan, whose whereabouts are uncertain.


    "Buddha, A Tan, a faithful woman from the Ming family, usually eats fine clothes and eats a small amount of food. I am not used to eating fast food in expensive temples occasionally. I have regrets in my heart for leftovers. I hope the Buddha will forgive me and don''t suffer retribution."


    The quiet room suddenly heard this sound, and the little novice who was about to leave hurriedly said: "It seems that there is a mistake in self-examination with the helper of the altar, so I will lead her to the small Buddhist hall."


    This voice is very familiar.


    And he called himself A Tan of the Ming family.


    Jiang Xu thought of something, but didn''t pay much attention to it. He only lowered his eyes to focus on the chess game, and raised his hand to signal that he didn''t need it.


    And Ming Tan knelt outside, after introspection, he was quiet for a moment, then recalled what Lue said earlier about finding another good son-in-law, and thought: It¡¯s all here, why not pray together.


    So she clasped her hands together again, and said brokenly: "Buddha, apart from self-examination, there is another thing for believers to pray for. This time the divorce was originally due to the misbehavior of the fianc¨¦-in-law, and he was unworthy. But because of this incident, others criticized and ridiculed. After this incident, I returned to Beijing, hoping that the Buddha would bless the believer, and I would definitely find a good husband.


    "Langjun''s family background is all that matters, no matter what the royal relatives, princes'' family, scholarly family, believers pay more attention to talent and appearance. Along with talent, it is enough to be able to enter the first rank of Chunwei, and the appearance must be handsome, so this Only ordinary people are suitable for believers. Of course, the family property is richer, and life is more relaxed. It doesn¡¯t matter if there is no family property in the Marquis, as long as believers can use bird¡¯s nest porridge at any time, and Jinxiu Fang can cut a few boxes of fashionable clothes every season. If there is any fresh jewelry that can be bought in time, if there is a headache, the master doctor who can come to the Liangchun Hall in time..."


    The female voice that kept pouring into his ears disturbed Jiang Xu for a long time. Master Huiyuan had a slight smile on his face, while the little novice was watching his heart, reciting Amitabha silently.


    After half a stick of incense.


    "...It would be most appropriate if the stature could be higher than seven feet, and the mother-in-law at home must also have a good temperament. It is absolutely impossible to see that Tian''er sets up rules to groom the bride. It would be great if there is no mother-in-law. It is also best for relatives To put it simply, there must be no cousins ??who have a close relationship with childhood sweethearts. A believer''s daughter is not a jealous person, but it is a little too early to take a concubine within three years of marriage, which is not conducive to the development of a husband and wife relationship between a believer''s daughter and her husband. After the year, it is not advisable to have more than two concubines, as the population in the family is complex and troubles may easily arise. You must not be a person who hangs around the fireworks and willow lanes..."


    After a stick of incense.


    "...The body also needs to be strong, but being strong does not mean that you are overly fleshy. If you encounter an accident, it is good to be able to withstand one or two. The best way to practice martial arts is to practice swords. The posture is chic, and in this way, when dancing with swords, believers can also play the piano to add to the fun. , Husband and wife are happy. Well... that''s about it, and I hope the Buddha will bless you. If the believer finds such a good husband, she will reshape the golden body for the Buddha and add more incense."


    After finishing speaking, Ming Tan reverently kowtowed three times.


    Accompanied by the slight echo of kowtow, the little novice finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡ª¡ªThis little lady''s requirements for choosing a husband are really too high.

 Chapter 12：

    After Ming Tan left, the treasure hall returned to silence. In the quiet room, the fragrance of tea is wafting, but it is difficult to continue the hand-to-hand conversation.


    Master Huiyuan still had a slight smile on his face, and said softly: "It''s hard to make up your mind, so you don''t have to force it."


    Jiang Xu ignored him, and was about to lose the game, but the game was hanging in the air. Just now, the lady of the Ming family''s complicated and complicated request for choosing a husband sounded in his ears again.


    Without any further force, he put the sunspots back into the chess pot, stood up with his hands behind his back, and said in a low voice, "I''ll ask Master another day."


    Master Huiyuan looked at his back leaving neatly, twirled his white beard, but smiled and said nothing.


    Coming out of the treasure hall to pray, Ming Tan walked around for a while, and finally returned to the familiar place.


    Su Xin and Lu E have been looking for her for a long time, when they suddenly saw her, they rushed to meet her.


    "Miss, where have you been, you scared the slaves to death!" Lue said urgently.


    Su Xin also said nervously: "Just now I asked the little master in the Zhai Tang, and the little master said that the young lady left food and went to the small Buddhist hall to reflect on herself, but the servant and Lu''e went to the small Buddhist hall and did not find the young lady."


    "It''s okay, just get lost." Ming Tan said calmly, "I found another treasure hall, anyway, self-examination, no matter where it is, sincerity will lead to success."


    She is so sincere, thinking that the Buddha will not blame her, and maybe he will bless her to find a good husband.


    Well, that''s exactly what it is.


    Ming Tan: "By the way, you are looking for me, so you can use your food?"


    "Nothing, slaves are not hungry."


    "It''s useless, the slave is hungry."


    Su Xin and Lu E both responded at the same time.


    "..."


    These two people''s temperaments are completely different when they urinate, and they haven''t learned much from each other over the years.


    "It''s not over yet, so hurry up and use it, I''ll be enjoying the flowers nearby."


    In order to prevent Su Xin from bringing up such rules as "there is no reason for the master to wait for the servants", Ming Tan also added: "I want to be quiet for a while, don''t bother me."


    Su Xin no longer dared to say no.


    Seeing Lu''e pulling Su Xin into the dining hall, Ming Tan heaved a sigh of relief. Nothing happened, she wandered slowly to the side of the release pool, with her hands behind her back, she stretched out her head and looked down.


    The wind in early spring and February is gentle and warm, blowing across the surface of the pool, causing clear and shallow ripples, and the beauty of the city reflected on the water also swayed with the ripples.


    Ming Tan took a photo on the left and took a photo on the right, really felt a pity for Liang Zixuan. Liang Zixuan missed such a charming face without any makeup or hairpin.


    And what he missed was not only such a face, but what he missed was a peerless good wife who he would be proud of when he had a drink with his colleagues in the next few decades!


    Having said that, I don''t know who has accumulated eight lifetimes of blessings and finally married a woman as good as her. Hey, I just hate that she can''t tell. If she is a man, she will overcome all difficulties and offer her red makeup ten miles to marry him.


    Ming Tan looked at the shadow by the pool and felt sorry for himself, but he didn''t notice that Mei Lin on the other side of the release pool was walking past two dark figures.


    "My lord, little general Shen can only enter the city late at night, and tomorrow he will come to the palace in person to report to you about the handover of Dongzhou and Suibei Road." The dark guard followed behind Jiang Xu, whispering the latest news.


    Jiang Xu didn''t stop walking, his voice was very calm: "Didn''t you arrive in Hezhou yesterday, why did you enter the city tonight?"


    Hezhou is connected to Shangjing, the official road is convenient, and this time Shen Yu rides back to Beijing alone, under normal circumstances, he can arrive at noon today at the latest.


    "The subordinates don''t know."


    The dark guard felt ashamed. In terms of distance, it was indeed a bit slow to enter the city tonight, but the news he received was indeed so.


    Jiang Xu didn''t ask any more questions.


    But before they walked out of the plum forest, a familiar male voice came from the opposite side of the release pond: "Cousin Tan!"


    Jiang Xu stopped and turned his head to look.


    The dark guard also subconsciously glanced at the other side.


    Dark Guard: "..."


    He knew why Little General Shen could only enter the city late at night and come to see the prince tomorrow.


    "Cousin... why are you here?" Ming Tan turned around and was really surprised to see Shen Yu.


    Shen Yu hadn''t taken off her armor yet, and she saw that she was rushing here, her handsome face was slightly flushed from the sun, and there were light beads of sweat on her forehead.


    "I went back to Beijing today and stopped by a teahouse. I heard that my cousin, you, and the prince of Lingguo had divorced. When I returned home, I heard that Ah Hua said that you came to Lingmiao Temple to avoid the limelight, so I hurried over here."


    ...?


    shelter from the limelight.


    It doesn''t have to be so blunt.


    Shen Yu noticed the slip of the tongue, and hurriedly said: "This matter is not my cousin''s fault, so there is no need for my cousin to be too sad."


    Ming Tan avoided answering, but he asked politely: "Cousin is here, is there anything important?"


    Uh... no.


    Shen Yu has admired Ming Tan for a long time. When she sent Shen Hua to live in the Hou''s Mansion, she fell in love with Ming Tan at first sight. However, the beautiful woman had a marriage contract long ago, and he never had a chance to show his heart.


    When he returned to Beijing this time, before he entered the city, he heard someone in a teahouse outside the city mention that the Mingliang family had retired from their marriage, and his peaceful heart suddenly jumped up.


    In order to see Ming Tan as soon as possible, he sent a letter to the secret guard of the palace, saying that he could only return to Beijing late at night, and that he could report to the prince about the handover of Dongzhou tomorrow.


    After he hurried back to Jing''an Hou''s mansion, he realized that Ming Tan had come to Lingmiao Temple early in the morning to pray for blessings in order to avoid the limelight.


    Shen Yu came in a hurry, and didn''t really think of a valid reason for a while. However, he is different from Shen Hua, he has a young heart, and he is a man who marches and fights, and he doesn''t care about etiquette and tact.


    Since he couldn''t find a reason, he simply said bluntly: "I came here to tell my cousin that I have admired my cousin for a long time, but my cousin had an engagement with Duke Ling''s mansion earlier, and we have different identities...now my cousin is I have retired, and it is difficult to get married for a while, why don''t you marry me? This Dongzhou victory, the prince will definitely tell the holy majesty to promote me, although there is still a big gap between your status as the concubine of the Houfu, but I will definitely stand up again For your military merits, please seal the imperial order for your cousin in the future!"


    Shen Yu finished speaking in one breath, her eyes sparkled, and she took off the jade pendant from her waist and handed it to Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan was startled at first when he heard the words, and then was scared by the movement of handing the jade pendant back half a step.


    "Be careful!" Shen Yu was afraid that she would fall into the water.


    Ming Tan pressed down on the stone table by the pool and hurriedly stopped him: "Don''t move!"


    After keeping a distance of one foot away from Shen Yu, she collected herself and asked, "Does my cousin know what I''m talking about and what I''m doing?"


    Seeing that Ming Tan was neither happy nor shy, Shen Yu was a little at a loss: "I... am I asking my cousin for marriage?"


    "Cousin isn''t asking me for marriage, he''s trapping me in a place where I''ll never be able to recover." Ming Tan said in a steady voice, "You need to be ordered by your parents to ask for a marriage matchmaker. It''s such a simple rule, I think my cousin won''t understand it." .If I accept the gift my cousin said, it would be a private decision for a lifetime between two lovers, or it would be a private gift and acceptance."


    Shen Yu was dumbfounded.


    Ming Tan said again: "Since my cousin knows that I came to the temple to pray for blessings to avoid the limelight, I should know that Ah Tan''s words and deeds are walking on thin ice. As long as my cousin has three points of courtesy to A Tan, I will not come here rashly. Tell me your heart."


    Shen Yu: "I came here alone without prior notice. I was reckless, but cousin, I..."


    He hurriedly explained, but Ming Tan directly interrupted: "Since I know it is reckless, I ask my cousin to leave this place quickly, since Ah Tan has never seen my cousin today, and has never heard any proposals for marriage. And, Ah Cousin Tanyu has no intentions, there is absolutely no possibility of marrying my cousin, please don''t mention it again in the future."


    "..."


    Unintentional, absolutely impossible, never mention it again.


    The hidden guards following Jiang Xu couldn''t help but sweat for Little General Shen.


    This fourth young lady of the Ming family is truly murderous.


    Sure enough, after hearing the second half of the sentence, Shen Yu''s expression darkened instantly, and the brilliance in his eyes also dimmed. The words of explanation were stuck in his throat, and he could no longer speak.


    It happened that Su Xin and Lu E came to look for Ming Tan after finishing their meal, they were a little surprised when they saw Shen Yu, they were about to salute, but unexpectedly Ming Tan passed Shen Yu and directly ordered: "Let''s go, go back to the room copy scriptures."


    The prime heart and the green calyx should be equal.


    Following Ming Tan for a while, Lu E couldn''t help but look back curiously.


    Shen Yu still stood there dazedly, not moving for a while.


    Lue: "Miss, why is Master Biao here?"


    Ming Tan was too angry to speak, and did not respond.


    After returning to the house, Lue whispered again: "Young servant, look, Master Biao seems to be interested in Miss. In the past, Master Biao..."


    Ming Tan swished the knife with one eye.


    Lue seemed to be pressed against the throat by the knife, and shut up wisely, not daring to say anything more.


    About the same time when the three of Ming Tan returned to the wing, Shen Yu, who was standing by the release pool, moved back a little stiffly towards the gate of the temple.


    The little maid who hid behind the tree and peeked at the whole process also quietly left through another path.


    Naturally, this little movement could not escape the eyes of the dark guard, and the dark guard reminded him, but Jiang Xu ignored him, and suddenly ordered: "Go and find out the fourth lady of the Ming family, check whether she has been to Hanyan during the outing festival two years ago Temple."


    I met this fourth young lady of the Ming family several times, either only hearing her voice or seeing her shadow, but I didn''t take a serious look at what this girl looked like.


    This time I saw it clearly, although I don''t know why she didn''t wear the clothes of the five-horse carriage, but her bright eyes and teeth, her complexion is greasy, she is indeed a beauty that is hard to see. Judging from the appearance, the previous prayers did not seem so excessive. But these are not important, what is important is that he found this woman''s appearance somewhat familiar.


    In the wing room, Ming Tan, who seemed familiar to Jiang Xu, became angrier as he thought about it. Although Shen Hua was not very likable, he was still a shrewd person with a brain. How could there be such a brainless brother! This is not admiration and courtship, it is clearly wanting her life!


    But she also knew that Shen Yu was just speaking frankly and had no evil intentions. It''s just like this that makes people angry, you can''t blame, you can''t teach me a lesson, you can only be bored for life!


    No, the husband-in-law she wants to choose must not be like Shen Yu, who acts recklessly and speaks as he pleases. How can such a husband-in-law protect her well in the future?


    Thinking of this, she hurriedly got up, rearranged her appearance in front of the bronze mirror, and went back to the treasure hall where she prayed with Su Xin.


    She knelt upright on the futon and worshiped three times, put her hands together and said brokenly: "Buddha, the believer A Tan didn''t think carefully before, and there are still some things that need to be filled in the matter of choosing a good husband..."


    The little novice who was sweeping in the quiet room of Piandian was stunned for a moment, his scalp tightened. This little lady''s request for choosing a son-in-law, he has only seen His Royal Highness King Dingbei to be satisfied in his life.


    ...There are still?

 Chapter 13：

    At sunset, Lingmiao Temple beats bells and drums, and closes the temple to thank visitors. The little girl who had been peeking behind the tree before also sneaked all the way back to Jing''an Hou''s mansion, and honestly reported what she saw and heard to Mingchu and Aunt Liu.


    Mingchu listened, and said in contempt: "Seeing that Shen Yu today, I thought he was a plastic talent with a bit of blood and daring to fight and kill. He was much higher than his sister who could only recite sour poems, but I didn''t want to It''s also vulgar, seeing these delicate and soft women in Beijing, I can''t walk!"


    The little girl felt something was wrong.


    Chanting acid poems, delicate and soft.


    She couldn''t help but sneak a glance at Aunt Liu.


    Aunt Liu: "..."


    Mingchu came to his senses and quickly explained: "Mom, I didn''t mean you!"


    That''s all. Aunt Liu rubbed her forehead, she couldn''t figure out how she could spoil Mingchu like this.


    She waved her hand to signal the little girl to back down, and said helplessly: "Chuchu, how many times have I told you, my mother, that when I return to Shangjing, many things are different from before, don''t offend Madam, and don''t provoke Mingtan, why are you Do not listen?"


    "I just asked someone to go to the temple to have a look, there is no trouble. Besides, I didn''t let her be so ignorant!" Mingchu patted the table and got up unconvinced.


    "Why don''t you know how to check? You can''t go outside to talk nonsense!"


    "I know! I was just talking in my own yard, and you were too cautious after returning to Beijing." Mingchu was tired of being reminded every day, "Daddy promised a long time ago that he would find a good family for me, and you Why do you have to be so careful to make a small fuss against that Pei family?"


    "I was..."


    Seeing that Aunt Liu was about to persuade her again, Mingchu listened impatiently, took the soft whip and left the yard straight away.


    "neat!"


    "You stop!"


    Aunt Liu yelled twice, but she didn''t stop. With this temperament, she pinched the embroidered handkerchief, and her eyes couldn''t help showing a little worry.


    Day by day, except for Shen Yu''s abruptness that day, Ming Tan lived a leisurely and clean life in Lingmiao Temple.


    But evil comes with evil, her ex-fianc¨¦ Liang Zixuan has been in a state of desperation these days in the mansion.


    In fact, Liang Zixuan knew that his mother would send Zhu''er away after Ming Tan fell into the water, and he knew that his mother would not let Zhu''er take care of the child. He will never have the chance to re-enter the mansion of the Duke of Heling in his lifetime.


    But he didn''t know that his mother wanted to hand Zhu''er to a village manager in Lizhou to fill in the house! This is really too absurd!


    Maybe it''s because of a man''s inexplicable possessive desire for a woman - he can not want it, but he can''t do it, but let other men get involved. Liang Zixuan, who was originally angry because of Zhu''er''s troubles disturbing the yellow marriage contract, heard the reason for the trouble, and Zhu''er hugged the child in front of him and Lihua cried in the rain, all the anger was transferred to him who had been in charge of him for many years, accusing him of To the east, he dared not go to the body of his mother, Li Shi, to the west.


    "Mother, Zhu''er has listened to your words and left obediently for the sake of my future. Why are you so cruel to her! And sister Tan, it is common for a man to have three wives and four concubines to have several sons and daughters. Said, she may not be unwilling to accept Zhu''er and Brother Min! If you didn''t plan to fall into the water and anger the Jing''an Hou Mansion, how could such a good marriage come to this!"


    "You scoundrel! Are you going to put all the blame on your mother now!" Mrs. Li was stunned for a moment. As a gesture, she picked up the tea bowl on the table and smashed it hard, "For this bitch, you actually talk to me in such a tone!"


    Zhu''er hurriedly hid behind Liang Zixuan, weeping.


    "Cousin, don''t be afraid!"


    Liang Zixuan stretched out his hand to protect Zhu''er, but he was far less calm than he appeared on the surface.


    Li''s power has been accumulated for many years, and her obedience and fear of her seem to have become an instinct, which will be difficult to overcome for a while.


    Liang Zixuan has this instinct, and Duke Ling also has it. So even though the family was in such an embarrassing situation, Ling Guogong, the head of the family, always ignored it, as if these things had nothing to do with him, and he didn''t want to take care of them, and he couldn''t take care of them.


    But the disasters in this world are never related to you if you don''t intervene.


    Zhu''er''s incident turned the family upside down, but within two days, the teahouse in Jingzhong suddenly spread rumors about the secrets of their inner house in Duke Ling''s mansion.


    After the old Duke Ling passed away, because the old lady was still alive, the family has never been separated.


    The old lady prefers the eldest son, and in her early years she forced the old Ling Guogong to ask for the crown prince for the incumbent Ling Guogong who has little talent.


    In fact, in terms of his ability to be an official and how to deal with the world, the current Ling Guogong is far inferior to his second and third younger brothers, and even worse than the other two younger brothers who were born in concubine.


    Now the five houses are divided into two mansions that live side by side, and there is a moon gate in the middle that communicates with each other. There are many people and miscellaneous people.


    This time, the Jingzhong Teahouse spread the rumor that the inner house of Ling Guogong''s mansion was densely packed, and the five rooms were not lacking in one room, and they were neatly rotten together.


    Two of the most shocking things were¡ª


    Make the Duke of the state commit adultery with the concubine of the second-bedroom master Xinna;


    Before Mrs. Ling Guogong got married, she was in love with the third-bedroom master. Because the third-bedroom master couldn''t seize the title, Li had no choice but to marry the current Ling Guogong with hatred!


    The storytellers spoke in unison, saying that they were well-known and well-organized.


    Make the Duke''s Mansion completely blown up!


    On weekdays, when the whole family lives together, it is inevitable that there will be some discord, but outside the mansion, they are still a family that works together.


    First, the old lady is still alive, and no one wants to take the initiative to bring up the charge of disobeying the family; second, the several families have their own strengths, and they all need to take advantage of the situation. Everyone can at least maintain the superficial harmony.


    Unexpectedly, this time, the people in the several rooms don''t want the slightest decency. They are quarreling, beating and scolding, and they are in a mess. They are about to find out the old and new grievances and settle them together. demeanor.


    The outsiders were skeptical about what the storytellers said, after all, there is no evidence at all, so how can they say what is what is what, just listen to it. However, the subconscious reaction of Ling Guogong''s mansion cannot be faked.


    Especially the old man and wife of the third room have been at odds for a long time, and the relationship between husband and wife is very cold. Now knowing that the old man and sister-in-law still had an old relationship before they got married, and thinking of some unusual clues in ordinary times, the wife of the third room went crazy and made a fuss. Going back to her mother''s house and insisting on reconciling, it can be regarded as taking 10% of the dirty affairs of the family in the Duke Ling''s mansion.


    In fact, there are many noble families in Beijing, and every family has a few secrets that cannot be revealed to outsiders. But there is really no second home that is as noisy as Ling Guogong''s mansion, which is well-known in the streets and alleys.


    In the past few days, the storytellers in teahouses and restaurants have been talking to their heart''s content, and most of them will mention it again: the young lady of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion is outstanding in appearance, good in conduct, and outstanding in talent. Fortunately, he divorced the Duke Ling''s mansion in time, otherwise the pearl would be covered in dust, and it would be a waste of nothing!


    Daxian set up the censor platform to pick up all the officials, and the censors "heard rumors and bombed people", and they just wanted to find something for you to read a book if you have nothing to do. With such a big handle, it can be said that he directly took over the monthly classes of all the censors.


    The censors attended Ling Guogong for three days in a row, and even the second, third, fourth and fifth houses of Ling Guogong''s mansion were officials in the court. One counted as another, and no one could escape.


    Originally speaking of breaking the sky was nothing more than a lack of strict family management and a lack of personal morality, which was not a serious matter that could be discussed on the stage.


    Unable to hold back for three days, the booklets were flying all over the sky, and Emperor Chengkang was forced to remember the affair of the aunts and concubines in the Duke Ling''s mansion just by listening to people read the booklets to him.


    On the fourth day when he went to court, the censor came out to be the first to attend the court, and it was Ling Guogong again.


    Cheng Kangdi interrupted halfway through hearing this, and said annoyedly: "Since I have issued a decree to reprimand, these trivial housework should not be moved to the court anymore! Is this court an ancestral hall for their Liang family?!"


    The censors were very unconvinced. How can there be no reason not to participate if the family style of the Duke''s mansion has been ruined to this point, but only a small reprimand is made!


    So after visiting the Duke of Linguo''s mansion, he boldly remonstrated against Emperor Chengkang, saying that he was against the way of being a king by covering up and conniving with the Duke of Linguo''s mansion!


    In the next two days, Zhezi flew onto Cheng Kangdi''s desk like snowflakes with increasing intensity. Besides, these speakers seem to have a strong relationship with Duke Ling''s mansion. Didn''t your Majesty say that these are trivial housework? Then find something that is not a chore to participate in together.


    For example, the nephews and nephews of the Duke''s mansion forcibly robbed the daughters of the people, the officials of the third house took bribes for the evaluation of officials, and even took part in the idle jobs that the Duke of Ling had held.


    Emperor Chengkang suppressed it for another two days, and his participation remained undiminished, and the reason became more righteous, "the prince broke the law and the common people are guilty of the same crime", not to mention that he made the government of the state not even the clan''s relatives, so why are they happy!


    Emperor Chengkang seemed to be unable to bear the pressure. In desperation, he ordered someone to draw up an edict, listing dozens of crimes such as accepting bribes, lax family management, lack of virtue, and liking leisure and hating work. The descendants no longer enjoy the preferential treatment of the same rank as the nobility, and at the same time they were demoted to the far capital, and the rest of the officials who were officials were also demoted to varying degrees.


    "What did you say? Demotion?"


    When Ming Tan heard the news brought by Bai Minmin, he was so surprised that he even forgot to look at the exquisite tea that he had been craving for several days.


    "Well, I heard that we are going to be on the road tomorrow, and now I''m finally venting my anger!" Bai Minmin gloated, "I heard that Liang Zixuan had a fight with his mother because of his good cousin. Now Ling Guogong... ah, No, the residence of the Marquis is full of smog, noisy all day long, and many servants who didn''t sign the death contract have left."


    Zhou Jingwan, who came together, added in a soft voice: "And yesterday, the officials participated again. After the Marquis Mansion was demoted, it failed to restructure in time according to the regulations. The Ministry of Rites has already sent people to supervise."


    Bai Minmin: "Yes, it''s really pleasing!"


    Zhou Jingwan: "If you''re not in Beijing in the future, you''ll be out of sight."


    Ming Tan paused.


    Hmm... She is very happy to have caused the Duke''s Mansion to suffer.


    The worse the reputation of the Liang family, the more innocent she would appear.


    But, "When did I know that there are so many secrets in Duke Ling''s mansion? Aren''t the few things I asked my uncle to find out only related to Duke Ling and his wife?"

 Chapter 14：

    Ming Tan always felt that there was something wrong with this matter, she originally just wanted to make the Duke Ling''s mansion famous, but she didn''t expect that it would lead to the downfall of the entire family and the demotion of the noble.


    Sorting it out carefully, it is really unbelievable that the matter of the family house has shaken the old family that has been around for hundreds of years.


    But Bai Minmin didn''t feel that there was anything wrong, she just didn''t take it seriously and said: "If you do too much unrighteousness, you will kill yourself. We can find out about Linghou and his wife, so naturally some people know about the dirty secrets of the rest of them. These house scandals have led to injustice in the officialdom...isn''t it just that the embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in an ant''s nest, so there is nothing strange about it."


    That said, it seems to be right, and it sounds quite logical.


    Ming Tan thought for a long time but couldn''t figure out what was wrong, so he simply didn''t think about it.


    Bai Minmin: "By the way, when do you plan to go back? Now that the Marquis Mansion is notorious, no one will blame you for retiring the engagement. Good spring, all the mansions are rushing to hold flower viewing parties." .¡±


    Mentioning this, Ming Tan rested his chin on his hands and sighed: "It is agreed to pray for seventy-nine days, so naturally you will stay for forty-nine days, so what''s the matter if you run back halfway."


    Zhou Jingwan said: "Atan is right. There is only a month left, and I see the scenery here is very beautiful. Atan is here, so I can cultivate my mind quietly. If I am not used to fasting, I can let the servants of the mansion Bring snacks every day."


    "That''s not necessary." Ming Tan sighed again, her small face was slapped into two **** by her, her voice was a little worried, "Snacks are naturally more used than vegetarian meals, but when I return home, summer will not be far away gone."


    Summer clothes are light and thin, and you eat snacks every day, how can you wear a graceful figure with shaved shoulders and plain waist.


    In front of the appearance, dim sum is not worth mentioning.


    Zhou Jingwan is also a typical noble lady in Beijing. Thinking of this, she nodded in agreement.


    After Bai Minmin was upset, she rolled her big eyes, and it was written all over her face - in terms of affectation, no one in Beijing can surpass the Ming family, Atanqi.


    However, after carefully counting the days, Bai Minmin suddenly remembered something: "By the way, the Spring Festival should just end in the middle of next month. When you return home, you may be able to catch up with the new champion to go for a parade."


    The Spring Festival of the present Branch was supposed to start when Mingting Yuan returned to Beijing, but due to the ominous celestial phenomena observed by Qin Tianjian, it was postponed for half a month.


    Ming Tan counted the days, and it was true.


    Bai Minmin jumped up happily, and hurriedly said: "I have sent people to the Huichun Building in the past two days, and I have booked a private room with a window facing the street! You have to go through the Huichun Building when you go out from the Zhengde Gate for a horse tour. Day, there must be no way to walk on the road!"


    Ming Tan: "How can you be sure that he must be in high school?"


    "With Second Master Shu''s ingenuity, it''s really not difficult to rank first." Zhou Jingwan commented softly.


    "Exactly!" Bai Minmin agreed.


    "But having said that, it''s time for the second son of Shu, Chunwei, to discuss marriage. I don''t know what kind of wife he will marry for such a glorious person.


    "Hey, tell me, he can''t be Princess Shang, right?


    "But right now there is no princess of the right age..."


    Bai Minmin thought about it to herself, and finally said with regret: "If my mother hadn''t taken care of my future husband-in-law for me, my Bai family would not be bad. If I find someone to come to the door to talk about matchmaking, maybe the second son of Shu will lose his head in a moment. It should be done.


    "However, a character like Second Young Master Shu is only suitable for viewing from a distance. If he really wants to marry, he won''t be able to catch a half-line of poetry without any literary talent. How can he live his life?"


    Appearance, literary talent, family background and stature...


    It was in line with her wish.


    Ming Tan silently nodded while comparing.


    After a while, Bai Minmin''s conversation turned from Shu Er to another handsome man in Beijing, Ming Tan asked abruptly, "What do you think of me?"


    "How about what?"


    Both Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan had doubts in their eyes.


    Ming Tan coughed softly, sat upright dignifiedly, and showed his usual dignified demeanor, and said, "If Shu Er marries a wife like me, how about it? Isn''t it a good match?"


    Bai Minmin: "..."


    Zhou Jingwan: "..."


    Ming Tan also explained seriously: "Although Shu Er has many shortcomings, for example, the family relationship is complicated, his mother comes from a great family, very strict rules, many admirers, and the backyard is probably difficult to clean. But his appearance His conduct is quite impressive among the young masters of Shangjing."


    "Liang Zixuan, you think it''s good. How come the second son of Shu is so attractive, and your requirements for choosing a son-in-law are getting higher and higher?" Bai Minmin blurted out the doubts in his heart.


    Ming Tan said confidently: "Isn''t it possible? It''s because of the Liang family''s lesson, so I must be cautious when discussing marriage matters! Shu Er, let''s see if he can enter the first class of Chunwei."


    "Then I have to go and offer three sticks of incense to the Buddha, and ask him to bless Mr. Shu Er. This subject, Chunwei, must not be included in the list, so as not to be harmed by you!"


    "...?"


    "Bai Minmin! Stop!"


    Bai Minmin: "I don''t want to. I don''t feel ashamed to choose my own son-in-law!"


    Ming Tan: "Didn''t you also say that you want to marry just now, you are not ashamed!"


    ¡­


    The three friends in Lingmiao Temple laughed and laughed, and at the same time, Shu Jingran, who was studying in the prime minister''s mansion, sneezed inexplicably.


    He raised his hand and signaled the maid to close the window. I thought: I heard that Lu Ting specially invited Jiang Xu to the school grounds to watch the training of the Imperial Army today, and Zhang Huaiyu also went to join in the fun, could it be that these three people were plotting against him behind his back while he was away.


    Since leaving the palace that day, Shu Jingran was worried that Jiang Xu would directly ask for a marriage decree and force the Fourth Miss of Jing''an Hou''s mansion to him.


    It''s not that he has any prejudice against the fourth young lady, it''s just that the matter of marrying a wife is so casual, and he has many things to do, so he has no intention of starting a family yet.


    But this time the three of them were considered very wronged.


    Jiang Xu and Lu Ting didn''t talk much at first, and they didn''t even bother to talk about other things during the training. Zhang Huaiyu eagerly ran to join in the fun, without a word, and stood under the sun for two hours, his mouth dry and his throat smoking.


    At the end of the training session, Lu Ting actually asked him why he was still here and if he wanted to compete.


    Zhang Huaiyu frantically shook his folding fan, not knowing how he could befriend such a rough and reckless man who only knows how to fight and kill. In the end, he shut himself up to the point of leaving in a fit of anger, and secretly swore in his heart that he would never go out again before Shu Er finished the exam. No fun.


    It was late in the evening when Zhang Huaiyu left the school grounds, and Jiang Xu also had other military affairs to deal with, so Lu Ting sent him out while discussing with him the transfer of the imperial city guards during the spring.


    The two were discussing, when suddenly a secret guard led the servants from the palace over.


    "Slave greets the lord and the Commander-in-Chief." The servant saluted Jiang Xu and Lu Ting in a high-pitched voice, then bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty calls you to the imperial study room tonight."


    Jiang Xu hummed, as a response.


    The servant bowed again and retreated, busy returning to the palace to return to his orders.


    But the dark guard didn''t leave, and went forward to report another matter to Jiang Xu.


    Lu Ting had no intention of listening to the affairs of the palace.


    He deliberately walked away and ordered his subordinates to do errands.


    But Jiang Xu had no intention of avoiding it, and words like "two years ago", "Outing Qing Festival", and "Hanyan Temple" still drifted into Lu Ting''s ears from a distance.


    ¡ªI don¡¯t know which unlucky guy offended His Highness King Dingbei, and even the incident two years ago has to be liquidated.


    Lu Ting was thinking like this, but he didn''t pay attention. Jiang Xu was silent for a while after listening to the dark guard''s report.


    At night, the palace is empty and quiet, and in the dark night, the fragrance of flowers floats.


    A favored concubine, Niao Na, went to the imperial study to deliver soup.


    The servant bowed to stop him, and only said "Your Majesty is discussing important matters with King Dingbei", and the woman who wanted to act coquettishly outside the house stopped her voice angrily.


    In the imperial study room, the candles were brightly lit and the aloes were rich.


    Jiang Xu stood quietly in front of the case with his hands behind his back, and asked straight to the point: "Your Majesty called me here, why?"


    Cheng Kangdi motioned him to sit down.


    He didn''t move.


    Cheng Kangdi didn''t force it.


    "It''s nothing, I just think that the Liang family has handled it properly."


    No longer equal ranks, no more holy grace.


    Ling Guogong''s mansion will decline within two generations.


    In fact, Duke Ling himself is extremely mediocre and not a problem. However, Emperor Chengkang always had a more desirable candidate for the important positions in the official department scattered in the hands of the rest of the houses.


    Of course, what''s more important is that since Daxian''s reign, there have been a lot of lords and families, and there are many wine bags and rice bags that occupy the empty pay of the famous leaders, and there are also many people who are too powerful.


    In fact, in recent years, he has been in power, and some things can be done long ago, but he doesn''t want to make people''s tongue out of the unknown, and he can''t act too much to cause shock.


    This time, the government of the country was in a bad situation. In the eyes of the world, he was a monarch who wanted to protect him, but he was powerless to resist verbal criticism from officials, and all kinds of relegation were helpless.


    It can be said that it is exactly what he wants to take care of without criticism.


    Cheng Kangdi made himself beautiful, but Jiang Xu stood there quietly, without any reaction. To him, the matter of pushing the boat along with the current is nothing to worry about.


    Emperor Chengkang came back to his senses, seeing that Jiang Xu was a little impatient, as if he could say "retire if nothing happens" immediately, he hurriedly took a booklet and got up, talking about business.


    "You left the palace banquet in a hurry last time, and you didn''t take a good look at the woman below." He patted Jiang Xu''s shoulder with the booklet, and said earnestly, "This is a lady from a famous family specially arranged by the empress. Although the small portrait is not as detailed as Caixuan, it is not a problem to see the appearance clearly. After all, they are all boudoir women, so it is not easy to call people into the palace for portraits. If you have time to take a look, it is not in vain My queen and I are painstaking."


    "..."


    Jiang Xu accepted it.


    Cheng Kangdi calmed down a little. It''s just that when he mentioned marriage, he thought of another thing.


    "By the way, the Shoukang Palace has frequently called people into the palace recently, presumably they are plotting the marriage in the Jinganhou Mansion. Axu, what do you think?"


    From what he saw, it was natural to rush ahead of the Shoukang Palace and point out a marriage for the Jing''an Hou Mansion to be serious.


    It''s just that he hasn''t figured out who to choose.


    Earlier Jiang Xu said that he would stay in Jing''anhou Mansion for a while, and he agreed, but no one can say how long he can stay. Therefore, those who get married must be fully prepared including the continuation.


    Just as Emperor Chengkang had a suitable candidate in his mind, Jiang Xu suddenly put the roster of ladies on the table, and said flatly: "I marry."

 Chapter 15：

    The peaceful days passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Ming Tan had already stayed in Lingmiao Temple for seventy-seven forty-nine days, and he could return home after the blessing period expired.


    Although praying for blessings is just a pretext, during these days in the temple, Ming Tan also sincerely copied a lot of scriptures, and often introspected and prayed in front of the Buddha.


    Buddhism pays attention to fate, and Ming Tan also believes in this principle, so every time she prays, she will deliberately go around the treasure hall she entered by mistake on the first day.


    "Buddha, the believer A-Tan is going home today. There have been a lot of disturbances in recent days. Please don''t blame the Buddha. Believers also know that there are a lot of prayers, but everything is very important, the most important thing right now. , just to talk about a good relationship..."


    Going home?


    The little novice recited "Amitabha Buddha" silently, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.


    After all, no one would have imagined that the request for a son-in-law that lasted for a stick of incense that day was just the beginning. The female benefactor stayed in the temple for a short time, and would come to make up for it every now and then.


    In fact, she will also pray for other things, such as: wishing her parents and friends good health, wishing the prosperity and peace of the world to be free from disasters and disasters...


    However, the various appeals of this female benefactor in the matter of discussing marriage really left a deep impression on him, so that he was occasionally a little fortunate that he was a monk and did not need a secular marriage.


    After a while, Ming Tan finished his vow and bowed three times.


    When I left the treasure hall, the spring sun was scorching, and the branches and branches of ancient trees leaked mottled spring light.


    Ming Tan was going out, but he didn''t want to happen to meet Master Hui Yuan who suddenly returned to the temple after Yue Yu disappeared.


    She didn''t know Huiyuan, but when she met a monk in the temple, she would put her hands together and greet him politely: "Amitabha, Hello, Master."


    "Amitabha." Huiyuan occasionally heard his voice, and remembered something, with a slight smile on his face, "The almsgiver is sincere, and his wish will be fulfilled."


    "...?"


    Is this polite, or serious?


    Ming Tan paused for a moment, this master looked benevolent and kind, and also somewhat unpredictable, he didn''t seem to be casually polite... When she came back to her senses and wanted to ask, Hui Yuan had already wandered into the hall. She chased back, but there was no one there.


    In the Sutra Pavilion, the little novice who was about to go out to see him off just now also heard what Huiyuan said, and he couldn''t help asking: "Master, can that female benefactor really get what she wants?" But rare.


    Huiyuan searched for scriptures slowly, but he didn''t know what scripture he found, so he handed it to the little novice, with a smile in his eyes, and said something meaningful: "Monks don''t tell lies."


    Outside the Sutra Pavilion, Ming Tan, who hadn''t seen anyone, quickly left the treasure hall. She didn''t take this episode to heart, after all, she didn''t know that it was Master Huiyuan, an eminent monk who had been wandering around all the year round and was erratic.


    When he came to the temple to pray, there were five carriages in a mighty force. When he returned, Ming Tan sent the servants who transported the clothes back to the mansion.


    After staying in the temple for a month and a half, going to Beijing was full of traffic, bustling and bustling, just like in the past. However, the scenery is green in the depth of spring, and the ancient trees of weeping willows beside the river are green and green. Men, women and children have changed their old coats into new ones, which brings a new look to the eyes.


    Hearing that the apricot list of this subject''s general examination has been released, Shu Jingran''s name is at the top of the list. Bai Minmin had the foresight to reserve a place in Huichun Building early on. When the test results were announced, all the window-facing seats in the restaurants along the street were fully booked, and the prices had increased several times.


    Ming Tan returned home to rest for two days, and soon it was the day of the Golden Palace''s countermeasures.


    The Golden Temple''s countermeasure is only a question, and Emperor Chengkang asked the soldiers.


    The students are familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, but they know very little about both the army and the soldiers, and most of their thoughts are superficial words on paper, and those who can talk deeply are rare.


    Shu Jingran is also the son of Zaifu, and he has a close relationship with Jiang Xu Luting, so he naturally knows a lot, but Emperor Chengkang has higher demands on him than other candidates because of this.


    Shu Jingran''s actions in this palace test were excellent, but not as novel as another student from a poor family. In the end, Emperor Chengkang appointed him as Tanhualang.


    Of course, Emperor Chengkang also considered the unwritten rule that "Tanhualang must stand out in appearance and demeanor".


    The news that Shu Jingran was spotted by Hwarang got out, and the women in Beijing cheered.


    Emperor Chengkang bestowed rituals on the streets as usual, and walked out from the Zhengde Gate. The No. 2 winners all wore red flowers and rode tall horses.


    When the parade started, the crowds on the street were crowded and noisy. As Bai Minmin expected before, she couldn''t walk at all.


    The most dignified and self-sufficient women in Shangjing, who are usually the most dignified and self-sustaining, shouted "Tanhualang" and "Second Master Shu", throwing melons, fruits, and sachets.


    Ming Tan, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan both arrived at the restaurant early and waited. The three of them stood by the window, seeing the top three of the first class and the Jinshi behind them being surrounded and guarded by the imperial army, they couldn''t help feeling a little excited.


    Especially Bai Minmin, pointing at Shu Jingran, said excitedly: "Look! Second Young Master Shu, that is Second Young Master Shu! Take a look at this appearance, this demeanor, what is it called..."


    Zhou Jingwan: "People on Moshang are like jade, and your son is unparalleled in the world?"


    "Yes, yes! Moshang is like a jade, and your son is unparalleled in the world!"


    Zhou Jingwan nodded with a smile: "Mr. Shu''s talent and appearance are both top-grade, and he can indeed afford this poem."


    Ming Tan seldom praised men, but he had to admit that the second son Shu, who was famous in Beijing, was indeed pleasing to the eye. In fact, Zhou Zheng was also born in the second place of the No. 1 Scholar, but these two are standing close to each other, with pearls and jade in front, and the others, together with their appearance, seem to have become a foil.


    Ming Tan rested his chin and watched, his thoughts drifted away.


    Her father and uncle were both military generals, so they probably didn''t know Prime Minister Right very well.


    His wife doesn''t seem to like to be sociable, and when Mrs. Pei takes her out on weekdays, she doesn''t seem to have met Mrs. Right.


    Sisters and sisters who have not left the court... There should be no one. Shangjing is so big. If there is, she should know even if she is not familiar with it.


    It''s really strange.


    So unfamiliar, how to create a chance encounter?


    "...?"


    "Have you already thought of creating a chance encounter?"


    "If you say you don''t know shame, you really don''t know shame!"


    Bai Minmin''s eyes widened when he heard Ming Tan talking about his little Jiujiu.


    "What''s there to make a fuss about? It''s not that he''s just been selected as a Tanhua. These days, those who come to discuss relatives have to step on the threshold. I just want to find an upright occasion for him to feel from a distance. This lady is full of talent and good looks. Marry a wife and win the election, so there will be no overstepping the rules!"


    "A Tan is the most polite." Zhou Jingwan agreed.


    "You just love and get used to her!"


    Zhou Jingwan argued softly: "This is not habitual, A Tan is very aware of propriety."


    "..."


    What a talented girl, she was harmed by the Ming family''s A-Tan so much that she could only praise her!


    Zhou Jingwan said again: "If Ah Tan wants to meet Second Young Master Shu, I know of a fair and honest opportunity, and Minmin can also go together."


    Bai Minmin kept her mouth tightly shut, but she paused, and her ears moved over honestly.


    Zhou Jingwan: "Hanmiao...is the second wife and third lady of the Duke of Pingguo. She used to study in my private school, and I have some friendship with her. She is a child at heart, and knows many ladies in Beijing who have long admired the second son of Shu. I want to take this opportunity to do it." The last late spring poetry meeting. Cousin Hanmiao has already promised that he will invite Second Young Master Shu over to drink tea at the poetry meeting that day, and then you can take a look at the young lady who is curious about the presence of Second Young Master Shu."


    Zhang Hanmiao, the second bedroom and third lady of Pingguo Duke''s Mansion.


    When Zhou Jingwan said this, Ming Tan and Bai Minmin understood.


    If it was someone else''s cousin, it would be very difficult to invite Shu Er to drink tea at the designated time, and it would be difficult to guarantee that Shu Er would not be angry and never interact with him after knowing about it.


    But isn''t Pingguo''s mansion the queen''s mother''s house?


    Isn''t Zhang Hanmiao''s cousin the same as Zhang Huaiyu, the younger brother of the queen who had a good relationship with the second son of Shu, and the son of Duke Pingguo?


    That naturally means that if you can invite, you will definitely be able to invite.


    "Second Master Shu was not in high school before, so the post for the poem meeting has not been sent out to avoid accidents and embarrassment." Zhou Jingwan said, "Now that he is in high school, even if I don''t say it, she will definitely send you a post of."


    That''s true.


    Zhang Hanmiao was two years younger than them. It was the first time that the little girl''s family invited people to hold a poetry meeting, so she naturally wanted to make it lively and decent.


    If you want to be lively and dignified, Mingtan Bai Minmin, who is one of the most noble girls in Beijing, will definitely invite you as long as there is no festival.


    The two readily agreed.


    But it shows that Tan and Bai Zhou went out of the house to watch the horse racing parade together, they clearly disdain it, and they don''t have the ability to set up a private room near the street to join in the fun.


    Early in the morning, she whipped her soft whip in the garden of the mansion. The flowers blooming on the branches were smashed by her, and many delicate branches were also broken.


    Shen Yu was sent on a errand during this period of time, and when she heard that Ming Tan had returned home, she hurried back after finishing her work, but she didn''t even see anyone. He also had to go to the Gyeonggi camp to train soldiers, and when he went out, he was a little downcast.


    "Cousin?" Seeing Shen Yu, Ming Chu suddenly recalled something, and suddenly restrained himself, and called him.


    Shen Yu raised her head and saw that it was another cousin from the Ming family, who bowed her hands in a faraway salute: "Cousin."


    Ming Chu moved forward with his hands behind his back, but Shen Yu took a step back, remembering what Ming Tan said about keeping the etiquette.


    Mingchu chuckled lightly, "I''m not a ghost, what are you hiding, cousin?" She tilted her head and looked, "Cousin looks...in a bad mood."


    Shen Yu didn''t know her very well, so she didn''t want to say much, and cupped her hands again, wanting to leave first.


    "Cousin!" Mingchu hurriedly called to him, "Do you like my fourth sister?"


    Shen Yu froze, and said after a while: "Cousin speak carefully."


    "It''s just a pleasure, and it''s not a shameful thing." Mingchu didn''t take it seriously, "My cousin has made military achievements many times at a young age, and was appreciated by His Royal Highness Dingbei King. Oh, I heard that my cousin also made great contributions in the first battle of Dongzhou ...Thinking of such achievements, if you are happy with Fourth Sister, tell His Highness, His Highness will definitely ask for a marriage order for you."


    Shen Yu''s hand holding the hilt of the sword tightened unconsciously.


    If he asks for the honor of bestowing a marriage, perhaps there will be one. But the Jing''an Hou Mansion is not an ordinary family, and Cousin Tan is the only prostitute in the Hou Mansion. More importantly, Cousin Tan bluntly said that she did not want to marry him.


    Mingchu seemed to see what he was thinking: "Emotions need to be cultivated slowly, there is no one who will be happy with each other once they come up, and when a woman says she doesn''t like it or not, it''s usually not because she really doesn''t like it or not, it''s mostly because of shyness." I said this to my cousin because I saw that my cousin''s future is boundless, if the fourth sister can be with you, it can be regarded as finding a good home."


    "Cousin, think about it carefully. Don''t wait until Mingzhu falls by the wayside to come back and regret it. I''ll go first."


    The sun is approaching, and the slanting light of Dingbei Palace is half scattered. Shen Yu came to report the errand.


    He knew that the prince usually would not speak out when there was no doubt. He remained silent until the report was over, he paused, and suddenly asked: "My lord, if one day, my subordinate has someone he likes, can my lord ask for a marriage order for my subordinate?"


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes and hummed nonchalantly.


    Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief.


    Sure enough, this dignity is still there.


    He has already started to plan, when he goes back to explain to Cousin Tan the unintentional abruptness last time, and then asks Cousin Tan to nod in agreement, he will come to ask the prince for help again.


    Unexpectedly, the person at the top said again: "As long as it is not the fourth lady of the Ming family, or other women, this king can try my best for you."

 Chapter 16：

    ¡ªAs long as it is not the Fourth Miss of the Ming family, or any other woman, I can try my best for you.


    This sentence echoed in Shen Yu''s ears, the words were clear, but when connected together, people couldn''t understand: "Why, why?"


    His head was in a daze, and he couldn''t get back to his senses for a long time: "My lord, why can''t I be the fourth young lady of the Ming family? Is it because of her family status?"


    Jiang Xu looked directly at him, his eyes were very calm: "I don''t need subordinates who are bound by their children''s affair all day long."


    ...?


    Why are you confined to your children''s affair all day long?


    "You can lie to me just because you want to see her. How does this king know that in time, you won''t draw your sword to me because of her."


    Shen Yu was stunned for a moment, did the prince know that he went to Lingmiao Temple to meet cousin Tan?


    It was his fault to lie about this matter, but what could Cousin Tan do that required him to draw his sword to the prince?


    He wanted to explain something, but Jiang Xu had lowered his eyes, and said without emotion: "Go out."


    "Subordinates¡ª"


    "Little General Shen, please." The dark guard quietly came out from nowhere, and stopped Shen Yu with his scabbard from going forward to explain.


    When Shen Yu returned to Jing''an Hou Mansion, it was past dinner time. Shen Hua specially made some snacks and came to look for him. Seeing him practicing martial arts in the yard, the corners of his eyes were red, she understood a little.


    "elder brother."


    Shen Yu glanced at her, and left half of the move, turned around to draw the sword, and walked to the pavilion with a little panting: "Ah Hua, why are you here?"


    Shen Hua opened the food box, and said softly: "I heard from the girl, today you met Mingchu in the East Garden."


    Shen Yu nodded and sat down.


    Shen Hua also took a seat: "Did she, tell you to do something?"


    Shen Yu thought for a while: "It doesn''t count."


    Shen Hua wanted to tell the truth, but it is clear that this person is domineering and perverted, and his thoughts are not pure and kind, so don''t talk to him too much in the future. But seeing her brother''s expression, he didn''t care to listen to her right now.


    So she started another topic and said: "A few days ago, I heard by chance that the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty have both summoned Lord Hou into the palace to talk. It seems that they intend to marry the Hou family."


    "Where did you hear that?" Shen Yu was stunned.


    Shen Hua avoided answering, and only said: "Brother, don''t please Ming Tan."


    Shen Yu stood up suddenly: "Why doesn''t one or two make me happy with her, I¡ª"


    "Brother!" Shen Hua stood up and interrupted, "Is this hard to understand?"


    Shen Yu''s eyes were red with anger, don''t look away from her.


    "You don''t have the same temperament as Ming Tan. You have only met her a few times, but you are just pleasing to the eye. I have lived with her in the same house for half a year. You can''t control her temper and mind at all. You should marry a virtuous woman. Your wife set up the Shen family''s door for you in the future, she didn''t marry an ancestor who can only spend money and go home to make offerings!


    "Also, although I don''t know much about government affairs, I have also felt in recent days that Ming Tan''s marriage may not even be decided by Mrs. Hou Ye. As a general, don¡¯t you notice it? If you are in love with each other, you can fight for it, but they have made it clear that they have no intention of you, so why do you rush to find it?


    "This Shangjing family is a bloodless battlefield. Just because you and I live in the Jing''an Hou Mansion, you can''t and shouldn''t have any thoughts on Miss Ming''s family. Take a step back, you married Ming Tan smoothly, But have you ever thought about how Ming Tan and I will be criticized behind our backs?"


    She imitated: "The two brothers and sisters live in the Hou''s mansion, obviously with impure motives and desire to cling to them. The elder brother married the prostitute of the Hou''s mansion, and the younger sister is definitely not a good thing. Qing is waiting to climb the dragon and the phoenix!


    "Marrying a distant cousin who lives in my family''s mansion, maybe she has secretly done something scandalous with the money song. Didn''t the ex-fianc¨¦ of this young lady of the Ming family have an affair with her cousin? Shameless!"


    Shen Yu''s mind went blank.


    He turned his head to stare at Shen Hua, dazed.


    Shen Hua slowed down, and her voice also softened a lot: "Brother, Ah Hua is doing it for your own good. Love in this world is nothing but vain, not to mention this illusory, originally just your wishful thinking.


    "I just hope you still remember what daddy said, revive the Shen family as soon as possible, and honor your ancestors. Why don''t you have a wife? If you make great achievements for Daxian like His Royal Highness King Dingbei in the future, what kind of woman is not a woman?" You choose?"


    She took out the snacks from the food box and put them on the stone table, then took a deep look at Shen Yu, and walked away slowly with the food box.


    Shen Yu looked at her back and stood there for a long time without moving.


    In fact, Shen Hua didn''t want to speak so bluntly, but her brother was such a person that if you didn''t speak bluntly, he couldn''t understand or listen to him.


    She knew Shen Yu''s thoughts for Ming Tan very early on, but at that time Ming Tan still had a marriage contract, so it was useless to adore him. She couldn''t get used to Ming Tan, and a large part of it was because of Shen Yu''s admiration.


    If it was in the past, she would have let her brother bump into the south wall a few times with cold eyes, but since she overheard the Jinganhou couple worrying about the meaning of the palace, she has been thinking about it, and now she has figured it out a little bit. ¡ª¡ªThe marriage in the Jing''an Hou Mansion is probably not just a simple marriage of children, she can no longer let her brother get involved in it and cause any trouble.


    Thinking about it, that **** Mingchu also heard the news of the palace''s intention to give a marriage from Aunt Liu, so she was upset and didn''t want Mingtan to get married.


    She doesn''t care and doesn''t care how that **** wants to deal with Ming Tan, but if she dares to drag her brother into a raft, then she will remember this grudge well.


    She stopped outside the courtyard and looked up.


    When she came to Beijing last year, she didn''t realize that the night in Beijing was really thick, neither the stars nor the moon could be seen. Those who walk alone will fall into this boundless night if they are not careful.


    After the Spring Festival, and gradually approaching late spring, Zhang Hanmiao, the third lady of the second room of the Pingguo Duke''s Mansion, also wrote a poem post as scheduled.


    It''s just that this post was not only sent to Ming Tan and Bai Minmin as Zhou Jingwan said, but also sent to Shen Hua and Ming Chu.


    Judging by the situation, far and near are irrelevant, so I invite you to post.


    Seeing that it was a sour poetry club, Mingchu didn''t want to go at all, she couldn''t compose poems, and she was very tired of those young ladies in Shangjing who were constantly comparing themselves with each other.


    Aunt Liu persuaded her only after she talked about it. After all, she is also a woman of marriage age. Who knows if her future husband will be a cousin of a certain young lady''s family?


    Besides, there are not no martial arts girls who were born in the middle of the capital. It''s not a bad thing to go out and walk around and make friends with people.


    Last time, Mrs. Pei and Ming Tan said that they can discuss with her first if they have anything to do in the future.


    This time when I went to the late spring poetry meeting, when Ming Tan was choosing clothes, he mentioned Shu Jingran to Mrs. Pei: "Mother, do you know the second son of the Shu family who is now in Ketanhua? That day when he was riding a horse through the street, my daughter glanced at him from afar. His demeanor and appearance are very extraordinary."


    Mrs. Pei paused, originally she was still smiling when she saw Mingtan picking clothes, but she couldn''t help but lighten up a little when she heard the words, she thought about it and said: "The Shu family is full of nobles, and the children they raised... are not bad."


    "Well, my daughter doesn''t think it''s bad either." Ming Tan was in a good mood.


    Pei Shi took a sip of tea, feeling a little worried.


    During the time when Ming Tan entered the temple to pray for blessings, both the Queen Mother and the Holy One summoned Lord Hou to gossip about the family affairs. Although Lord Hou was careless, the Empress Dowager and the Holy One were both talking about their children''s marriage, so he could not fail to hear it. , This is meant to refer to relatives!


    This refers to relatives, the Holy Majesty still doesn''t know which candidates to choose, but the Empress Dowager has clearly given the position of a county king''s princess and a prince''s son''s princess for her to choose.


    Those two were not fading clans with empty names, but at the same time, they were both queen dowagers on the bright side. Besides, what Ming Tan mentioned about Second Young Master Shu again today, the appearance and bearing of those two are far from Second Young Master Shu, even far inferior to Liang Zixuan, how could she be willing.


    "Mother, what''s wrong with you?" Ming Tan asked.


    Pei Shi hurriedly smiled to cover up: "It''s nothing."


    She tentatively asked, "Does A-Tan like the Second Young Master Shu?"


    "It''s not really my favorite." Ming Tan''s eyes still fell on the table full of fresh heads, "I just think that if you want to talk about marriage, Second Young Master Shu is very suitable."


    It''s fine if you don''t like it.


    It''s a headache if you don''t marry.


    Mrs. Pei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about it, tomorrow is the poetry meeting, first let the little girl go out and relax, there is no conclusion about the marriage right now, it''s better not to add to her worries for the time being.


    Thinking of this, Mrs. Pei got up again, and picked clothes together with Ming Tan.


    Early the next morning, the chariots and horses stopped outside the second gate, ready to send the three ladies to Pingguo Gongfu.


    Ming Ting was about to go to court, so he went out much earlier than the three of them. And until the dynasty. At the end of the meeting, he wanted to leave with Bai Jingyuan, but he was stopped by the servant next to Emperor Chengkang, saying that His Majesty called him to the imperial study to discuss something important.


    Ming Ting went away with the servant.


    Entering the imperial study room, Ming Tingyuan bowed his hands and said: "I have seen Your Majesty, Your Majesty is blessed."


    "No need to be too polite." Emperor Chengkang raised his hand, went back to the table, held up a roll of bright yellow silkworm brocade, and blew on the ink that was still wet on it, "I called you here for the instruction I said earlier. about marriage."


    When Ming Tingyuan heard it, he wanted to evade it.


    Emperor Chengkang raised his eyebrows and looked directly at him, saying: "You know, Shoukang Palace is dissatisfied with you for making repeated excuses, and it already intends to make an order."


    "...?"


    Don''t save face and directly force marriage?


    "I won''t stop you, but I can give you a second choice." Emperor Cheng Kang knocked on the table, motioning him to come forward to see the imperial decree, "Look at the one I chose for your daughter."


    "..."


    What is this called the second choice, no it is forced marriage.


    Ming Tingyuan knew that he held a lot of power and was coveted by many parties, and he had always been extremely unwilling to get involved in these factional disputes. But now that the situation in the court is changing, it is obvious that he can no longer stand in the middle and stand alone, but it is just a marriage of children, which can lead to all kinds of hidden disputes.


    He bit the bullet and stepped forward.


    Cheng Kangdi stood aside and said brokenly: "Actually, the marriage of your children does not represent your Ming Tingyuan''s position. You don''t need to worry too much. I respect your choice. You don''t think about other things now. You only look at people. What you mean is comparable to what I chose for you?"


    Ming Tingyuan''s eyes were glued to the imperial decree, a little unbelievable. It was this one, how could it be this one?


    "Chen, can you allow me to think about it again."


    He was so startled that he stumbled a bit when he spoke.


    Emperor Chengkang: "The queen mother''s edict has been drawn up. I found an excuse to stay here temporarily. If I stay for a while, I won''t be able to stay forever. Maybe the empress dowager''s edict will come to your Jing''an Hou Mansion before you leave this palace. You What are you hesitating about? If he hadn''t spoken in person, I..."


    "marry!"

 Chapter 17：

    While Emperor Cheng Kang and Ming Tingyuan were discussing matters in the imperial study, the three young ladies of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion also packed up carefully and went out slowly.


    Shen Hua was dressed gracefully and gracefully as always, and her light pink dress made her graceful and graceful, and she was able to fit into a large group of noble ladies in Beijing.


    Mingchu is wearing a sassy red dress. At first glance, she looks similar to the day she returned home, but if you look closely, you will find that her current dress is much more delicate. There are four or five layers inside and outside. When walking, she gradually layers. The red is bright and flamboyant but not too eye-catching.


    As for Mingtan¡ª


    When they arrived at Chunzheng Street in front of the Duke''s Mansion of Pingguo, it was difficult for carriages and horses to move forward. I don''t know how many people this Miss Zhang Jiasan invited to hold a poetry meeting. The servants who went to the stables were a bit too busy, and many passers-by saw that Pingguo''s mansion was so lively today, and they also looked here.


    Ming Chu and Ming Tan Shen Hua took the same ride together, their hearts were filled with boredom, their faces were stinky all the way, and they didn''t want to stay with them for a moment.


    Seeing the car stopped for a while, she couldn''t help but lift the curtain, and asked impatiently, "Why don''t you leave?"


    "Miss San, the front is blocked, so I can''t walk."


    Mingchu: "Just let them move it!"


    Driver: "..."


    Ming Tan also raised the curtain of the car and looked out twice, and then the curtain fell, his eyebrows raised lightly: "The third sister wants Princess Fengzhao to make way for you?"


    Princess Fengzhao?


    Prince''s daughter?


    Mingchu was silent.


    In fact, Ming Tan didn''t like the Princess Fengzhao quite much. At the Golden Chrysanthemum Banquet the year before last, she composed and played "And Qiuyi" by herself. There is no objection.


    Who would have thought that this princess who returned from Yuncheng to the capital suddenly came to join in the fun, saying that she was just having fun and everyone can do whatever they want, but if a daughter of a small family didn''t choose her, she would immediately lose face, who would dare to offend her? When voting for chrysanthemums, they had to re-election one after another.


    Speaking of which, this princess is quite unaware, thinking that if she wins the Flower Master, she is truly a crown of beauty and talent. In the past two years in Guijing, she has been everywhere to join in the fun and show off. She can often be seen at flower viewing feasts, but when she appears, It can always make the original relaxed and comfortable atmosphere very subtle.


    Probably because of the flower master, Princess Fengzhao didn''t like Ming Tan very much, and when she met occasionally, she would always make trouble for her.


    Fortunately, Ming Tan is not someone who can take anger. Although she can''t offend the clan and royals, she can speak up.


    This Princess Fengzhao grew up in the southwestern border, and the rules are only a little better than Mingchu''s, not as good as Mingchu''s martial arts, but he can fight.


    When the two faced each other, Ming Tan would often talk about etiquette and cite the past and the present to the point where she couldn''t speak, and there were many such noble women around Ming Tan, and the singing and harmony were even more terrible.


    This time Princess Fengzhao is also here, Ming Tan thought, it is best not to contact her today, after all, she is here for Second Young Master Shu, so there is no need to give people the impression of being sharp-tongued.


    However, Ming Tan didn''t know that when she lifted the curtain to look around, her goal of meeting the Second Young Master Shu had already been achieved ahead of time.


    Originally Zhang Huaiyu couldn''t stand his cousin teasing him, so he agreed to invite Shu Er to come and taste tea. But Zhang Huaiyu is not a person who can drink tea peacefully, just as he mentioned it to Shu Er, Shu Er knew something was wrong and asked the truth.


    But Zhang Huaiyu agreed, and Shu Jingran knew the truth, so he had to help him save face in front of his cousin.


    Shu Jingran was parading around the street with a horse before, and his whole body hurt from being thrown by those melons and fruits. The shadow in his heart has not yet dissipated, and he will be watched by a group of ladies.


    So he suggested to Zhang Huaiyu that it is better to invite talented people in Beijing to taste tea and discuss poetry together, and have a garden next to his cousin''s poetry meeting.


    It was also because of this proposal that there was such a spectacular scene of cars and horses in front of the Pingguo Palace today.


    "Are you really not going?" Shu Jingran stopped at the corner of Chunzheng Street and asked.


    Jiang Xushu glanced at the bustling scene indifferently: "There is business."


    Last night, he was discussing matters in the right minister''s mansion, and it rained suddenly late at night, so he was stayed in the mansion for a while. Today, Shu Jingran was going to come to Pingguo Mansion to taste tea and discuss poetry, and he was going to the Gyeonggi Camp to handle military affairs, they went in the same direction, so they went out together.


    After Jiang Xu finished speaking, he started to walk away, Shu Jingran looked not far away, and suddenly said strangely: "Isn''t that the carriage of Jing''an Houfu?"


    Jiang Xu followed the voice and glanced over.


    With this glance, he just caught a glimpse of a carved carriage with the logo of the Ming Dynasty parked in the middle of the road. Gently tilting your head and looking out, it''s like spring water reflecting pear blossoms, bright and moving, not easy to see.


    Shu Jingran stared blankly for a moment, then smiled lightly with his hands behind his back: "This Fourth Miss of the Ming family can be considered a rare beauty."


    "Aren''t you unwilling to marry?" Jiang Xu asked suddenly.


    "I don''t want to marry, it''s not because I don''t want to marry this fourth lady of the Ming family, but because I don''t want to marry a wife for the time being." Shu Jingran explained, "Besides, my reluctance to marry has nothing to do with appreciating beautiful women."


    Jiang Xu glanced at him, didn''t bother to pay attention, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.


    The government of Pingguo is huge. When I entered the mansion, I was afraid that the delicate guests would be tired, so I prepared soft sedan chairs to welcome them. It''s just that the spring is just right, and the girls are willing to chat and laugh in twos and go forward on their own.


    In the Poetry Garden, there are rockery and flowing water, peonies and peonies are in full bloom, and camellias and azaleas are competing for spring. There are several long tables arranged neatly beside the flowers, with pens, ink, paper and inkstones on them. The rest place in the gazebo is equipped with fruit snacks and high-quality tea.


    Bai Minmin didn''t have a meal when she went out. When Ming Tan and his party arrived, she was eating green pears in sugar cheese in the kiosk. The green pears were crisp and astringent. They were cut into small pieces and placed on delicate porcelain plates. Sweet and delicious, do not have a flavor.


    Seeing that she almost ate up a plate of green pears, Zhou Jingwan politely persuaded her to restrain herself a little.


    Zhang Hanmiao just attracted a lady over, and when she met Bai Minmin, she did not forget to joke: "If elder sister Min likes this dish of sugared green pears, I will ask the cook to cook it in the Duke Chang''s mansion tomorrow, but it can be agreed, Sister Min still has to pay our cook according to the rules!"


    Bai Minmin: "That''s not necessary, I just want to rely on your Pingguo mansion to eat enough before going out!"


    All the girls around covered their lips with handkerchiefs and giggled lightly.


    Just at this time, the little maid led Ming Tan and the three of them to this side.


    Shen Hua is soft and pleasant.


    The bright red dress is bright.


    Ming Tan was wearing a light green short jacket and a white long skirt embroidered with pear blossoms in silver silk. Her makeup was light, but it matched her picturesque facial features and delicate skin. There were very few hairpins in her hair, only a jade-carved pear blossom inlaid with silver The steps are swaying slightly, showing the lightness of a girly spring when walking.


    Ming Tan decided on this outfit after two full days of consideration. After all, she just divorced not long ago, no matter the reason, it is inconvenient to flaunt it. But she still wants to attract Shu Er''s eyes, she can''t be ostentatious, it has to be special, don''t look at her very light makeup, it also took a lot of effort to portray it.


    Just looking at the involuntary flash of amazement in everyone''s eyes, Ming Tan knew that the painstaking efforts of these two days were not in vain.


    "Why did you come here? Ah Tan, we have been waiting for you for a long time."


    "I haven''t seen you for a few days, but our young lady of the Ming family is getting more and more fresh!"


    "A Tan, do you want tea? This fruit tea from Hanmiaobei is extremely sweet."


    ¡­


    Ming Tan made good friends with many noble ladies, and everyone greeted him as soon as he came. Shen Hua and Ming Tan often go to various houses for banquets. Although it is difficult to integrate into this circle, she is considerate and talented. At least on the surface, everyone can maintain a decent appearance, and she is also very popular with ladies from common clans. As soon as he appeared, many people came forward to talk and laugh.


    Only when Chu Chuchu appeared and no one paid any attention, it was Ming Tan who introduced him: "By the way, this is my third sister. She just returned to Beijing from Yangxi Road not long ago."


    Nowadays, the concubine and the concubine of the noble family are all taught the same way, only in the matter of marriage and marriage because of the family background of the mother''s family, there must be differences. So at least on the bright side, everyone has no prejudice against concubine girls.


    As the host, Zhang Hanmiao hurriedly praised Ming Tan Huatou in a charming voice: "You can tell at the first sight that Sister Chu must be a tiger girl in the general family, she is quite heroic!"


    That''s natural.


    Mingchu humbly said "Thank you", but his chin slightly raised, and he didn''t look at Zhang Hanmiao directly, but he didn''t see any humility.


    The smile on Zhang Hanmiao''s face froze for a moment, then quickly covered it up and turned to other topics.


    Seeing Mingchu like this, the other ladies who wanted to boast also stopped talking, and chatted about other things as if nothing had happened, only thinking in their hearts: People who are unfamiliar and don¡¯t need to make friends, have they figured out what kind of boundary this is? , What kind of score is it?


    Mingchu still didn''t know why, thinking that they were deliberately neglected by Mingtan''s instruction, and was not angry for a while.


    Also upset was Princess Fengzhao, who fell behind Ming Tan and his party but leaned a little. She obviously entered the garden one by one, and she didn''t let the servant girl make a sound, so everyone didn''t see her at all!


    After standing there for a while, she gave the maid a look.


    The maid hurriedly shouted: "Princess Fengzhao is here!"


    Only then did everyone look sideways, half-blessing: "See Princess, Princess Jin''an."


    "You don''t have to be polite."


    Feng Zhao was panicked, and walked forward while looking at Ming Tan coldly. When she walked to the pavilion, she looked at Ming Tan from top to bottom, and suddenly smiled: "The fourth lady of the Ming family is still so good-looking, the matter of retiring the engagement It doesn''t seem to have any effect."


    Everyone is silent.


    Finding faults is so straightforward, and she is the only one in Princess Fengzhao.


    But Mingtan ignored the second half of the sentence, and smiled a pair of shallow and sweet dimples: "Thank you princess for your compliment."


    "..." Princess Fengzhao said again, "Linghou''s mansion is not in Shangjing, so it will be difficult to see the ladies in their mansion again in the future. By the way, the fifth lady of Linghou''s mansion borrowed a book from the princess earlier. The rare ancient book has not been returned, and I don¡¯t know where it is now, Fourth Miss, you have a marriage contract with the Linghou Mansion, and you should have a letter with Fifth Miss¡ª"


    "Hey, what''s wrong with you, Ah Tan?" Bai Minmin suddenly supported Ming Tan, worried.


    Ming Tan: "It''s nothing, it may be because I haven''t had breakfast and I feel a little dizzy."


    Everyone was busy with each other and cared for each other, but Princess Fengzhao''s words became inexplicably cold.


    In fact, if she wanted to reply, Mingtan had hundreds of sentences that could make Feng Zhao speechless, but today she didn''t want to get entangled with Feng Zhao, she was still waiting for Second Master Shu.


    After a while of inquiring about the cold and warmth, the topic has been brought to light. Zhang Hanmiao was about to start the poetry meeting, but he could clearly see that Princess Fengzhao and Ming Tan were not on good terms, so he suddenly interjected: "Could it be that the fourth younger sister fell into the water and caught the cold before, and she still returned?" Not good?"


    overboard? What fell into the water?


    Everyone was stunned and dazed, even Ming Tan never thought that Ming Chu would bring up the matter of Shangyuan falling into the water on such an occasion.


    There was a moment of silence in the pavilion, but Shen Hua suddenly said: "The lotus pond in the mansion is still shallow, the fourth younger sister will not catch the cold, and the third younger sister doesn''t need to blame herself too much, just be more careful in the future."

 Chapter 18：

    Before Shen Hua finished speaking, Ming Tan subconsciously glanced at her, and Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan, who knew the inside story, couldn''t help but look sideways in surprise.


    The rest of the girls didn''t know the inside story, and after hearing Shen Hua''s words, they all had a look of sudden understanding.


    Oh, it turns out that Miss Mingsan is bullying people in her own mansion, relying on her superficial skills.


    This Miss Mingsan really has no rules. An aunt''s son is so arrogant that she intentionally hurts people into the water, and she is always thinking about what will happen to her when she falls into the water. Her thoughts are truly vicious. .


    They thought so, but they never suspected that Shen Hua was lying, because although Shen Hua and Ming Tan were called cousins, they were obviously not close, and they often had their own circles when they went out together. It is necessary to hide the signs secretly, so how can Shen Hua maintain it for no reason.


    Presumably this Miss Mingsan must be too domineering and unsightly, and she even dared to whip the whip at every turn, so Shen Hua''s distant cousin living in the mansion must have been bullied by her.


    Thinking of it this way, the eyes cast on Mingchu became more shameless and disgusted.


    Shen Hua also looked directly at Mingchu. Seeing that Mingchu recovered from his bewilderment and wanted to defend himself, she stopped him softly before anyone could speak: "Actually, the girl knows how to do it in a few ways." It¡¯s enough for self-defense, if you accidentally hurt someone, it¡¯s not good after all, and if you¡¯re not careful, you might even hurt yourself.¡±


    Mingchu: "I¡ª"


    Ming Tan lightly pressed his forehead, took Shen Hua''s voice, and said in a slightly soft voice: "My cousin is right, I just feel dizzy from breakfast, and it has nothing to do with the sunset, doctor. I also came to take the medicine for Guomai, but there is no sign of cold, so the third sister does not need to take this matter to heart all the time."


    Mingchu: "Shangyuan¡ª"


    "The third sister will definitely be able to see the fireworks of the Shangyuan Lantern Festival next year." Shen Hua comforted with a smile, and then explained to everyone, "The third younger sister has a heart, she came back from Yangxi Road earlier, and urged her all the way, that is I want to go back to Beijing on Lantern Festival and watch the fireworks in Shangyuan, but it''s cold and the road is far away, so I can''t catch up in a while."


    When Ming Tan heard the words, a little helplessness appeared on his face immediately, and he sang and said: "Actually, I am also to blame, if I hadn''t talked to the little girls about how lively Shangyuan Jingzhong was, and it happened that the third sister heard about it, which aroused regret. Well, the third sister won''t get sullen for no reason and wave her whip in the garden."


    "Speaking of Shangyuan, the dumplings made by A Tan this year are really delicious." Bai Minmin also reacted and added a sentence.


    Zhou Jingwan covered her lips, and said in a soft voice: "I also feel very regretful. In Shangyuan, A Tan posted a post, inviting me to go over to the mansion to taste the dumplings she made by herself, but this body is really unbelievable. Every autumn and winter It was windy and cold for several days, so I had to stay in bed to recuperate."


    Mingchu: "...?"


    Damn Yuanzi, what did you eat in Xianjiang?


    Are you talking nonsense with your eyes open?


    "Jingwan, my old lady has just found a remedy for her weakness, and it will be delivered to your house tomorrow, and you can find a doctor to see if she can use it."


    "A Tan, do you still feel dizzy now? It''s not good to go out without breakfast, it''s better to eat some snacks."


    "What balls? It makes me want to taste it. Why didn''t A-Tan give me some to taste, cheapskate, return the sachet I made!"


    ¡­


    Mingchu hadn''t figured out the nonsense made up by those people, and the topic of the conversation had gradually drifted away, and no one gave her a chance to speak at all.


    After a while, the talented scholars invited by Zhang Huaiyu also arrived one after another, and everyone''s attention was drawn to another garden separated by a wall of leaking flowers.


    Shen Hua purposely stayed behind, and when she passed by Mingchu, she warned softly: "I advise you to be quiet, if your fourth sister''s innocence is ruined, do you think you can find any good family? People would only say that the concubine''s daughter raised in Beijing since childhood is nothing more than that, not to mention the concubine''s daughter raised by the concubine.


    "Mr. Hou probably loves you so much that he can''t bear to touch you. What about Madam? What about the Duke of Changguo? Even if Master Hou loves you like his life, he insists on keeping you safe. What about your aunt, the mistress of a family, what else do you need to deal with a concubine?" The reason? If you die, you will die."


    Mingchu was startled suddenly, his back went stiff.


    She digested on the spot for a while, her mind was full of what Shen Hua said in that calm tone just now, that if she dies, she will die.


    Princess Fengzhao noticed that Mingchu was still standing in the gazebo, stepped forward and looked at her contemptuously, and asked: "The reason they just said about falling into the water, is it true?"


    Mingchu pursed his lips, stiffened for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and nodded.


    Feng Zhao didn''t want to talk too much with the little concubine at first, but when he heard the words, he felt bored and turned away with disdain.


    This scene fell into the eyes of Ming Tan who was not far away. She lowered her eyes and gently sniffed the falling pear blossoms, but said nothing.


    Not long after, there were frequent poems eulogizing spring in the garden next door. Shu Jingran was highly praised by literati and scholars in Beijing, and now in high school, even more so.


    Seeing this, the lady was also ready to move, and if she was bold enough, she yelled at the Louming flower wall in a coquettish voice: "Tanhua Lang is so talented, why don''t you also give us some advice for girls?"


    After all, there are a lot of booers. Those who are self-effacing, those who are confused, those who put a high hat on Tanhualang, you are all delicate young ladies, and I am afraid that few people can stand it.


    Shu Er shook his head helplessly, so he had no choice but to respond with a smile, and replied in a warm voice: "I don''t dare to give advice, ladies, you are naturally talented."


    Bai Minmin was very active just now, and now she is still looking around in front of the Leoming Flower Wall and said brazenly: "Did you hear that, Second Master Shu praised me for being so talented!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Zhou Jingwan: "..."


    Both of them had expressions of "as long as you are happy".


    Of course, Bai Minmin has only had a mouthful, and can''t compose poems.


    In terms of poetic talent, Zhou Jingwan is the best among all the women, and Shen Huaben is obsessed with this, and she can also be ranked in the top three.


    Ming Tan can compose poems, but among the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, her most outstanding is the piano skill, and the chess skill is also the best among ladies. For the sake of good-looking writing, reciting poems and composing Fu can only be said to be useless.


    After everyone wrote it, the poems and essays were collected in a pile and sent to the garden next door.


    "''The camellia hangs its shadow at night, and the new leaves leak the spring light.'' What a poem." Shu Jingran tasted it for a long time, and finally praised it.


    People in the garden next door cast their eyes on Zhou Jingwan: "Wanwan, did you do it?"


    Zhou Jingwan nodded reservedly.


    Afterwards, Shu Jingran praised Shen Hua''s poems about spring, and was very surprised to ask about the poems written by Princess Fengzhao, but Princess Fengzhao''s answer was irrelevant, and he still stumbled. .


    "Ten thousand branches are folded and the rain falls, and the fragrance comes from the tip of the moon." This is about pear blossoms.


    Shu Jingran looked at the small characters on the hairpin - this poem was at best above average, but for some reason, there seemed to be a very faint scene of pear blossoms and rain falling on the paper, and the tip of his nose seemed to be lingering with a light pear fragrance.


    He held up the paper, half-closed his eyes in the sunlight to look at it, then leaned closer to sniff it, and smiled suddenly: "I wonder which lady wrote this poem? It''s very elegant and interesting."


    Ming Tan stood in front of the Louming flower wall and responded: "Second Master Shu is absurd."


    Shu Jingran raised his eyebrows, and also looked at the leaky flower wall that he had been deliberately ignoring.


    At this look, he was slightly surprised: "Miss Ming Si?"


    "How does Second Master Shu know me?" Ming Tan was curious.


    Shu Er was dumbfounded, he couldn''t say that you fell into the water on the night of Shangyuan, so I watched the play seriously not far away. Fortunately, he had a flash of inspiration, and remembered that his old lady had a birthday party a few years ago, and this Fourth Miss should have gone there with Madam Jing''anhou.


    After explaining in this way, Ming Tan felt that it was quite predestined. The distant glimpse she had of Shu Er was also at the Shu family''s birthday banquet.


    Seeing her from such a distance unexpectedly, Shu Er actually remembered her, and can still recognize her now. Isn''t this a destined marriage?


    Shu Er changed the subject again, and asked how the fragrance and shadow of flowers came from.


    Ming Tan replied modestly: "It''s just a pity to see the pear blossoms scattered just now. It''s just a little bit of fragrance when you smash it into the ink. As for the flower shadow, you can just paint it after pounding the juice on the paper."


    Shu Jingran understood, and cupped his hands from afar and said, "Teach me."


    Ming Tan also bowed back from a distance, feeling very happy.


    She knew early on that the poetry society would have to write poems, but her poetic talent is not outstanding, so she can only work on other areas.


    The method I just mentioned just means the same thing, how can it be so elegant by just doing it casually, and the pear fragrance is light, and the ink will only be completely covered by the fragrance of the ink. This method focuses on paper. She made this in the mansion three days ago. Zuzu Lixiang painted the paper with dark scenes, and I brought it here to replace it.


    In fact, the reason for this poem is nothing more than flowers, plants and trees, shining in spring. She can be like Princess Fengzhao, find a talented person to help her write a few poems first, and then apply it.


    But she also thought of it a long time ago. If she can''t answer a few questions when she does this, or if she is asked to compose another song that cannot be applied temporarily, it will be extremely embarrassing, just like this Princess Fengzhao.


    And at the moment, Princess Fengzhao, who is extremely embarrassed, hates Mingtan very much!


    Second Young Master Shu actually talked to her a lot, and he still recognizes her after seeing her a few years ago, she was so angry that her hands turned white! Pointing to a clump of peonies nearby, he said coldly: "Miss Ming Si is talented, but this pear blossom is petty after all. How about writing a peony poem for Mr. Shu to comment on?"


    "..."


    peony poem.


    She is trying to make things difficult for others.


    A few years ago, during the selection in the palace, there was a woman who was attached to Concubine Yu, who was in charge of the selection at that time, and compared her to the flower king peony, which was praised in poems.


    There is nothing wrong with peony''s poems, but in the palace, the one who can be compared to Kao Peony is definitely not a mere noble concubine.


    Later, the poem was introduced into the ears of Emperor Chengkang, and Emperor Chengkang was furious. He immediately ordered Concubine Yugui to stop her feet and think about her mistakes. A heavy reprimand - if you can''t write poetry, you don''t have to write, if you can''t speak, you don''t have to speak.


    Later, there was a story about her father''s pleading guilty, and it was reported in the mansion that the girl''s high fever did not go away and she lost her voice.


    The wrath of Emperor Chengkang is still palpitating, so that in recent years, no one in Beijing has written poems about peonies, and no one has written any more simple praises without comparison. Naturally, Ming Tan is unwilling, I will not touch this mold.


    Feng Zhao has been dazzled by jealousy at this moment, and he doesn''t want to pretend to be easy-going at all. He only thinks that she is the princess of gold and jade, and why does she need to look at the faces of these women? She just wants to let them know what is the difference between high and low!


    So everyone watched helplessly as Princess Fengzhao stepped forward to pick a precious peony, played with it in his hands, and chanted poems.


    After finishing speaking, she stood in front of Ming Tan, put the peony into Ming Tan''s hair, and said carefully: "Miss Ming Fourth is very charming, but you don''t really match this peony." She knocked down the peony again. A peony, stepped on the foot, the toe is lightly crushed.


    There was a moment of silence in the garden.


    Everyone just thought that Princess Fengzhao might be crazy.


    But I have to admit that what she said is also true, she is the daughter of the prince, she can compose this poem, she can pick this flower, why dare not the royal family? Will His Majesty still make trouble for his niece because of this poem?


    But at this moment, all the people in Duke Pingguo''s mansion, including Duke Pingguo and his wife, rushed forward in a mighty manner, surrounded by a servant holding a yellow imperial decree.


    "The imperial decree has arrived, and the fourth lady of the Jing''an Hou Mansion has received the decree¡ª"


    The servant''s high-pitched voice sounded in the open space, and before everyone could react, they fell to their knees with their heads covered.


    Ming Tan was completely stunned.


    She accepts the order? What is she doing? Has this decree been announced to the Pingguo government? Did you read the wrong person? It is the Fourth Miss of the Pingguo Mansion, but it seems that there is no Fourth Miss in the Pingguo Mansion.


    She was stunned for a while, and was pulled by Zhou Jingwan before she knelt down obediently.


    Only then did the servant unfold the decree, and read aloud: "Following the emperor''s decree, the fourth daughter of the Ming family, Atan Shude, has a chapter, Duanfang Minhui, and Ke Xiannei... will be married to King Dingbei, and will be named Princess Dingbei. Here it is!"

 Chapter 19：

    The gentle breeze in the garden is blowing, the peonies on the branches are shaking gently, and the butterfly love flowers are fluttering around. However, there is silence all around, no human voice is heard, only the sound of the clear spring of Huajian.


    After a long while, the servant closed the imperial decree, bowed forward and presented it, breaking the silence: "Congratulations, Miss Fourth."


    Ming Tan''s mind went blank, and she couldn''t even remember the etiquette rules that she had done so well. She just looked at the imperial decree, until Zhou Jingwan pulled her clothes again before she regained consciousness. Only then did he recover from the momentary numbness, he kowtowed and thanked him unnaturally, and raised his hands slightly to receive the order.


    The servant secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a soft and respectful voice, "The slave will return to the palace first."


    He nodded to Duke Pingguo and his wife again to express his apology. After all, the decree of the proclaimer Jing''an Hou''s mansion was announced to the Duke of Pingguo''s mansion, which was really a bit abrupt.


    Although this matter is against the rules, but the servant didn''t explain much, Ping Guogong and his wife couldn''t speculate about the holy meaning, but they asked a few words about His Majesty''s greetings and Queen''s Empress''s greetings.


    It is not easy for the Pingguo government to speculate, and the rest of the people are naturally not good at speaking directly. Besides, compared to the announcement of the decree to other people''s houses, what is more shocking and surprising is the content of this imperial decree.


    The Ming family''s A Tan was registered as the princess of Dingbei Wang!


    High marriage is a common thing, not to say that the daughter of Jing''an Hou and the king of Dingbei are so disparate in status, how unworthy it is, it''s just that the Ming family, A Tan, has just divorced not long ago, no matter what the reason is, most people will wait for a while to understand Negotiable relatives. What the Holy Majesty did was really unexpected, and the marriage partner was still the God of War, His Royal Highness King Dingbei, who was only known by name but rarely seen.


    Everyone still remembers the fact that His Royal Highness King Bei Wang put down the face of the former Cheng Enhou''s Mansion at the Shangyuan Palace Banquet.


    "A Tan, A Tan!" Seeing that Ming Tan couldn''t get up for a while, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan couldn''t help calling her in a low voice.


    After all, the future Princess Dingbei who was given the marriage was still kneeling there holding the imperial decree. Except for Duke Ping and his wife, no one else dared to get up, but everyone couldn''t keep kneeling.


    Ming Tan came back to his senses, stood up with the support of the two, and slowly unfolded the imperial decree, staring at the words "four daughters of Jing''an Houfu" and "Princess Dingbei" for a long time.


    That''s right.


    It really is her.


    She was given a marriage.


    It wasn''t something that fell on me, after a while of shock, the others accepted it after getting used to it, and leaned forward to see that the imperial decree was so clearly written and covered with a shining jade seal, what else is unacceptable, What a great thing!


    Prince Dingbei is a super-grade prince promoted beyond the system, and Princess Dingbei is naturally a super-grade princess, and the status and power of King Dingbei is unmatched by other princes, otherwise the Shangyuan Palace Banquet would not be so expensive The lady rushed to perform.


    By the way, speaking of the prince, what did Princess Fengzhao say just now?


    Her father, King Yi, and the Holy Majesty are not from the same mother, and the late Emperor was not valued when he was there. When the mansion was founded, he was sent far away to the fiefdom of Yuncheng. Although it is a fief, it has no real power, and the Holy Majesty has been the elder brother for the past two years. Brother Youdi respected him, so he was allowed to return to Beijing to open the mansion.


    The daughter of an ordinary prince pointed to the nose of the powerful prince and concubine and said, I am worthy of peony and you are not worthy! It''s a joke in the world! These noble girls have never seen such a rapid and violent face-slapping scene in their lives for more than ten years.


    Bai Minmin was stunned by Feng Zhao''s anger just now, and almost stepped forward to argue with him, but now that such an imperial decree came down from the sky, how could she let Feng Zhao go easily, and she stepped forward and said: "Princess, I don''t know what do you think now? , this peony, is Atan worthy?"


    "..."


    Feng Zhao''s face has never been so ugly.


    Bai Minmin wanted to fold a peony for Ming Tan''s hairpin, but Ming Tan held Bai Minmin''s wrist: "Growth and trees have their own hearts, and if flowers are good, I am happy."


    Although Ming Tan hadn''t figured out the current situation and didn''t want to act rashly, once he said this, he had a clear opinion. Princess Fengzhao''s actions just now are even more barbaric and vulgar, which doesn''t match her identity.


    The people around didn''t speak, but their eyes were dense, and they fell on Fengzhao like needles, like contempt, like laughter, intertwined one after another into an unprecedented shame and humiliation!


    This Yuanzi Fengzhao couldn''t stay any longer, she gave Ming Tan a vicious look, left angrily, covered her face and went straight to Prince Yi''s mansion.


    After returning to the mansion, Fengzhao spent half a day crying and beating and scolding in the mansion, but before he had vented enough, the queen sent someone to the mansion of Yi Wang to reprimand her, bluntly saying that she had lost her virtue and should contemplate her mistakes behind closed doors in the mansion.


    Feng Zhao was dumbfounded.


    In fact, it is not a big deal for her to write peony poems and fold peonies, but the key is that the object of her wildness is the future Princess Dingbei. It is a precious variety that the queen gave to her sisters to enjoy and play, and she took good care of it in the palace. Who is she Feng Zhao trying to slap in the face!


    When Yiwang and his wife found out about this incident, they became very angry and ordered Fengzhao not to go out to meditate on his own past. As a result, no one in Beijing saw Fengzhao again for the next six months.


    Of course, this is something for later. Now that the imperial decree of bestowing marriage has come down suddenly, coupled with Feng Zhao leaving in anger, it is difficult for this poetry meeting to continue anyway.


    Fortunately, Zhang Hanmiao is a person who loves to be lively and to watch the excitement. Today, she enjoyed watching this show very much, and she didn''t feel worried because she was robbed of the limelight and the poetry meeting was disrupted. .


    Everyone went back to their respective homes, and the news that the Ming family''s A-Tan was married to His Highness the Northern King also spread as the poetry meeting ended in the middle.


    When Ming Tan and his party returned to the mansion, Mrs. Pei was sending several other servants who were unfamiliar to her out of the mansion.


    Seeing Ming Tan, the few servants could only squeeze out a forced and ugly smile, and left in a hurry after paying their respects.


    "Mother, what is this?" Ming Tan paused in his heart, his little head, which hadn''t recovered from the previous shock, was buzzing, wondering whether this was another frightening purpose. .


    Pei suppressed the joy in her heart, and said calmly: "Let''s go back to the house first, and then go back to the house to talk."


    The news of the gift of marriage has just been sent back to the Marquis of Jing''an Mansion, and Mrs. Pei was still restless before, but she suddenly heard about the gift of marriage, what else is there that she doesn''t understand! It must be that the Holy Majesty knew that the Queen Mother had sent someone to the mansion to forcefully point out the marriage, so he made an unruly move to strike first. This trick is ingenious, and what is even more ingenious is that the marriage partner, Dingbei King is comparable to those princes and princes.


    Mrs. Pei walked into the Lanxin Courtyard affectionately with Ming Tan on her arm, and Ming Tingyuan also walked into the Hou''s Mansion with a red face, and went straight to Pei''s courtyard to find someone.


    It turned out that what Emperor Chengkang said was true. He did block a decree from the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager could write, speak, and seal it. If there was one decree, there would be a second decree. He left the Ming Pavilion far away to talk and lobby , the queen mother knew, and the second Yizhi was sent out directly.


    After successfully lobbying and learning about this, Emperor Cheng Kang thought: It''s broken, how can I explain this to Jiang Qizhi?


    Fortunately, the love for Chenglong Kuai''s son-in-law sparked an idea in Ming Tingyuan''s mind: he knew that the Queen Mother was a person who respected rules, and there was absolutely no reason why only Pei''s stepmother was in the mansion and then announced a decree to grant the marriage. The Queen Mother didn''t know that Ming Tan was not here today In the mansion, the people below will definitely wait for him or wait for Ming Tan to return home before reading. So he suggested that instead of going directly to the Pingguo Mansion to announce the decree, it just so happened that ladies from all the mansions gathered today to hold a poetry meeting.


    Emperor Chengkang thought it was a good idea, so he immediately sent someone there, and it was done.


    After listening to Ming Tingyuan talking triumphantly for a while about the ups and downs of rushing to give marriage, Ming Tan: "..."


    She, discussing a marriage, was so motivating.


    She really underestimated her father, a vulgar and reckless man.


    But why is it King Dingbei?


    Isn''t that another vulgar and reckless man?


    Moreover, the king of Dingbei can give it, why not give it to the second son of Shu, isn''t the right minister also a loyal fan of the sage?


    Ming Tan really couldn''t digest this news. She prayed sincerely in front of the Buddha for more than a month. Did the Buddha miss something? Didn''t the Buddha say that he must have a talent and a good appearance?


    The position of Princess Dingbei is indeed extremely high, but she still feels suffocated when she thinks of the reckless and rude and arrogant behavior of the Shangyuan Palace Banquet! After this marriage, how do the husband and wife talk about each other? And as he is so self-respecting, I am afraid that sooner or later he will lose his head with him, right? ! The most important thing is that the appearance and demeanor of such a vulgar person must be incomparable with Shu Er.


    Ming Tingyuan didn''t notice Ming Tan''s extremely reluctant expression at all, sitting at the head, still talking about the heroic achievements of His Royal Highness King Ding Bei¡ª


    "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is truly a genius! Among the younger generation, there are not many who can really lead troops to fight! At the age of hair, 3,000 elite soldiers can stand against 30,000 barbarians in the Northern Region. It''s not like the weak soldiers of the Southern Barbarians who win with fewer It¡¯s not surprising, considering that back then when I led troops to support them, they had already invaded the hinterland and turned defeat into victory! At that scene, blood flowed like rivers, and corpses lay thousands of miles away!¡±


    Ming Tan: "..."


    His face paled a little.


    "...The spy fell into his hands. Naturally, he has no human form. The blood spurs are nothing. Tsk tsk, they dare not recognize them when they are thrown back. They have been silent for more than half a year!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    His complexion turned pale again.


    "There are still three years of Chengkang... At such a young age, he is so decisive and ruthless. He directly hung the corpse of the eldest son of the opponent''s leader on the city gate for three days, and dried it up in the sun!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    You are so happy, do you want your daughter to be exposed to the sun?

 Chapter 20：

    Because of the gift of marriage, Ming Tan lost his appetite for several days. No one noticed that she was in a bad mood, not to mention the high-profile decorations, everyone in the mansion was beaming with You Rong.


    On the day when the marriage was bestowed, the servants of the whole family tripled their monthly money for this month. The little girls went out to buy rouge gouache, and when they heard that it was from the Jinganhou Mansion, the shopkeeper even sold it and gave it away, insisting on stuffing it with two boxes of sweet-scented osmanthus oil.


    There was an endless stream of door-to-door congratulatory presents, all kinds of titles couldn''t stop them, and invitations to Pei''s family and several young ladies from the Ming family were also piled up like snowflakes.


    If it is said that Ming Tan is the youngest ancestor of the Jing''an Marquis Mansion, but now he is the great ancestor. The eyes of the whole family are all looking at the Zhaoshuiyuan, fearing that she doesn''t ask too much and can''t show how dedicated she is. .


    "...By the way, the little girls sweeping outside the courtyard are all so beautiful. They have straightened their backs when they go out these few days. Anyone who sees an eleven or twelve-year-old girl will call her sister. Miss, do you think it''s funny or not. "


    While combing Ming Tan''s hair, Lu''e chattered endlessly: "The maidservant and Su Xin have also been honored by the miss, Jinxiufang and Cuojin Pavilion have given clothes and jewelry to the maidservant and Suxin.


    "Miss, you don''t even know. It''s heard that Princess Dingbei is very fond of Jinxiufang and Cuojinge''s clothes, and they all rush to Jinxiufang and Cuojinge to order things. It''s the beginning of the next year!


    "Of course, no matter how good the business is, making things for the lady is the most important thing. The shopkeeper of the Golden Pavilion has already said that this time I want to polish a new look for the lady. The lady will definitely like it!"


    It''s also rare for Su Xin to catch up with Lu E''s words: "What''s so strange about this, the young lady is the benefactor of the Golden Pavilion, they are always close to the young lady and do their best."


    What Su Xin said is correct, Jinxiufang Cuojinge and Mingtan indeed have a deep relationship.


    Two years ago, Ming Tan figured out a new style by himself, and entrusted Wangzhu Pavilion, which was very prosperous at that time, to make a golden jade blessing hairpin with lace, and prepared to add makeup to his cousin who was about to get married.


    Because she didn''t want people to know her make-up ceremony in advance, she specially concealed her name when she sent her maid to Wangzhu Pavilion.


    Unexpectedly, Wangzhu Pavilion is used to serving dishes, and it is natural to be respectful when making jewelry for the Hou Mansion. It can be seen that the maidservant who came to order the hairpin was dressed plainly and looked unfamiliar, so she thought she was an ordinary wealthy family, and assigned the work to the craftsman at will. apprentice.


    That apprentice is not good at skills and likes to make Qiaoer lazy and cut corners. When the hairpin was finished and sent back to Ming Tan, Ming Tan saw something was wrong at a glance.


    At the moment, she didn''t have a seizure, so she just found other good things to add makeup, and asked Cuojin Pavilion, which had just opened and had a cold business at that time, to make a hairpin according to the original style.


    A few days later, at the flower viewing feast, a group of noble ladies chatted about the clothes and jewelry they had recently acquired. She took out two hairpins for people to comment on. craftsmanship.


    In fact, there are some things that ordinary people don''t see any difference, but these noble ladies are poisonous, whether the materials are good or not, and whether they are fine or not, they can be seen at a glance.


    But overnight, the Wangzhu Pavilion, which is usually very popular, quietly became indifferent among the ladies of the famous family.


    Some official ladies and rich household ladies also gradually discovered that the jewelry in Wangzhu Pavilion was no longer fashionable, and everyone turned their heads to pursue the newly opened Cuojin Pavilion in the north of the city, and the business of Wangzhu Pavilion plummeted even more visible to the naked eye.


    Behind Cuojinge and Jinxiufang is the same owner. At the beginning, Ming Tan''s few words made Cuo Jinge gain a firm foothold among the many jewelry shops in Shangjing. The owner and shopkeeper were very grateful, and they always devoted themselves to Jing''an Houfu''s affairs.


    Now that Ming Tan has become the Princess of Zhun Ding Bei, the two shops have risen with the tide because of Ming Tan''s favor. As Su Xin said, it is very common to be in front of others to polish her face carefully.


    It''s just that Su Xin Lu Calyx, including Ming Tan, don''t know, this time''s dedication is not the same as in the past -


    "Wh... what? Your Majesty gave the prince a marriage? The princess is that one, the young lady of the Jing''an Hou Mansion?" Uncle Fu, the chief steward of the Dingbei Palace, was so surprised that his eyes stared straight when he heard the news of the marriage.


    But the boy who replied always felt that there seemed to be some inexplicable joy in Uncle Fu''s surprise, he bent down respectfully, and replied: "Uncle Fu, it is absolutely true, the imperial decree has been announced, and everyone in the capital probably knows it by now." gone."


    Uncle Fu heard the words, got up and walked around a few times with his hands behind his back, thinking to himself: "The imperial decree bestows marriage, so the prince is willing to marry himself? If the prince is not willing, His Majesty will not grant the marriage..."


    Thinking about it this way, Uncle Fu nodded, thinking that this matter is very reliable.


    When Jiang Xu returned home in the evening, Uncle Fu looked for the reason to deliver the account book and observed Jiang Xu''s expression for a while.


    The prince of their family didn''t seem to be in any danger, so he boldly asked again: "My lord, I heard that the Holy Majesty gave you a marriage with the fourth lady of the Jing''an Houfu?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t look through the account books, but just raised his eyes and said, "Uncle Fu, just say what you want."


    "Then the old slave said it?" Uncle Fu probed, and seeing Jiang Xu''s acquiescence, he straightened up and said vividly, "The old slave thinks that the marriage bestowed by the Holy Spirit is very good! My lord, you are usually busy with military affairs. Pay attention to these ladies from aristocratic families, but this old slave knows that this young lady from the Ming family is the best among the beauties in the capital! The most important thing is that this young lady from the Ming family is extremely kind!"


    kind?


    Jiang Xu glanced at Uncle Fu.


    "Does your lord know about the newly opened Golden Pavilion in our mansion two years ago?"


    The palace has a lot of properties, and they are usually managed by Uncle Fu and some trustworthy stewards, so Jiang Xu has no time to remember what to do.


    Uncle Fu didn''t expect him to know, so he continued: "Two years ago, just after the opening of the Golden Pavilion, there was a war in the north, and the dog thief in the household department was greedy for the army''s salary to deceive the top and bottom, so you send someone to send a message urgently within eight hundred miles , let our family first raise the military salary, three sums, millions of taels of silver!


    "Our family took it out, but with such a rush to raise money, many shops were closed. It was not a good season, and many shops were unable to turn over. Thanks to the newly opened Wrong Golden Pavilion at that time, which had income, it was able to Use it to fill other shops. Speaking of the Golden Pavilion, it is inseparable from the young lady of the Jing''an Marquis Mansion..."


    Jiang Xu patiently listened to Uncle Fu explain the relationship between Cuo Jinge and his prospective princess.


    As he talked, Uncle Fu''s title also unknowingly changed from "Little Miss of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion" to "Wang Concubine".


    "...Our concubine loves the Cuojin Pavilion very much. I heard that Jinxiufang and Cuojinge are the same owner, and I even like the clothes of Jinxiufang very much, so this old slave has always let the shopkeepers below do their best. Since it''s not a big deal, and I haven''t mentioned it to you before, just tell me, isn''t this marriage a very good one, and a very fateful one?"


    "..."


    Jiang Xu understood what Uncle Fu meant. But he didn''t quite understand what this had to do with kindness.


    Uncle Fu was still eloquent: "This old slave has already thought about it, our princess must be the most prestigious girl in this capital! The old slave has already ordered to give the princess a set of hair in the name of the Golden Pavilion." Next, let¡¯s use the box of top-quality oriental pearls in the warehouse of our palace! That box of oriental pearls is shiny and shiny, and its appearance is unique! The empress¡¯s place probably doesn¡¯t have any, what do you think, my lord?¡±


    "..."


    Not all have been ordered.


    He rubbed his eyebrows, and said softly, "You can decide."


    Uncle Fu is all about supporting his own concubine, but in fact, regardless of whether he has Dongzhu''s face or not, Ming Tan, who must be the concubine of the North, is already very popular in Beijing.


    Zhun Ding Bei''s status as the concubine did satisfy Ming Tan''s vanity to a great extent. But every time she thinks about the endless troubles after marrying into the palace, and the appearance that she cares about most, it is difficult for her to show a smile.


    This day Zhou Jingwan and Bai Minmin went to the house to accompany her to make flowers, she held up the scissors and absent-mindedly trimmed the flower branches.


    At the same time, she kept talking about how inappropriate the marriage was.


    Her mind is so hard to calm down, the flowers and branches in the porcelain vase are scattered, and naturally they are trimmed so that there is no sense of remoteness or indifference.


    In fact, Ming Tan is more interested in the Second Young Master Shu, Bai Minmin understands. But she didn''t quite understand that His Highness King Dingbei was as unbearable as she said.


    Bai Minmin asked suspiciously: "You are such a reckless man, have you seen him?"


    "Why haven''t I seen it? Didn''t we meet at the Shangyuan Palace Banquet?"


    "...?"


    "I''m sitting a lot in front of you, I didn''t see it clearly, did you see it clearly?"


    Ming Tan made another sharp cut: "This still needs to be seen clearly? You don''t remember what he said to Gu Jiurou!"


    "Wanwan didn''t talk about it last time. It was His Majesty''s intention to clean up the Cheng''enhou Mansion. His Royal Highness Dingbei just followed the trend when he thought about it. And I sat at the front of the palace banquet at that time. I took a sneak peek, although I didn''t see it clearly, but looking at His Highness King Dingbei from a distance is very powerful."


    Ming Tan: "My dad, do you also feel that you are extremely powerful? The five big and the three rough don''t have power, and you, the wild boar, also feel that there is power!"


    Zhou Jingwan covered her lips and coughed lightly: "A Tan, since we haven''t met, you are prejudiced against your future husband."


    Can she not be biased?


    He speaks arrogantly and rebelliously, kills people without blinking an eye, and his trustworthy subordinates are also stunned like Shen Yu, how good is this husband-in-law?


    Seeing Ming Tan''s resistance, Bai Minmin suddenly suggested: "Otherwise, let''s find a chance and take a sneak peek at him first, how about?"


    Hearing this, the scissors in Ming Tan''s hand stopped suddenly.

 Chapter 21：

    Jiang Xu, the only two-character prince of the Daxian Dynasty. When he was born, he was the grandson of the emperor with a golden spoon in his mouth, but before his first birthday, his father, Prince Min Cong, passed away unexpectedly.


    The first emperor was conferred the title of crown prince, and later ascended to the throne with the reign name of Chunxing. Emperor Chunxing passed away due to illness after only ten years in office.


    As the grandson of the former emperor, Jiang Xu''s status was originally very embarrassing. Logically speaking, in the many changes in power, he was lucky to be able to grow up alive. Out of sight is in the corner.


    However, the current Holy Majesty enshrined him as a prince in the year he opened the mansion. The prince was super-ranked, and there was no one to advance to the Jin Dynasty. However, he was named a **** in one battle with three thousand soldiers. When he returned to Beijing that year, the Holy Majesty came to the city gate in person, stepped down from his chariot to welcome people, and sealed him with the word "Dingbei". For military commanders, it can be said that it is the highest honor for such a prince to be supplemented with military exploits and then an extraordinary title.


    ¡­


    Well, His Royal Highness King Dingbei is indeed very honorable.


    After thinking about the life of King Dingbei that Bai Minmin had found, Ming Tan nodded unconsciously.


    So here comes the question, where can I secretly meet this noble and powerful King Dingbei? Apart from these biography, his appearance, stature, habits and preferences seem to be very little known.


    At dinner time, Ming Tan managed to take a few mouthfuls before putting down the chopsticks.


    The hotter the weather, the worse the appetite. In the past few days, even the incense in her room has been withdrawn, and only a jar of fresh bergamot has been placed in the open room.


    Seeing that Ming Tan didn''t eat very much, and seeing that her little face has lost a little in recent days, Su Xin felt that something was wrong, so after finishing the dinner, she went to the kitchen again, rolled up her sleeves and started to eat.


    Ming Tan always likes the almond cheese she makes. This almond cheese must first be crushed and sieved, then mixed with water to make a slurry, then sieved and filtered, and then boiled with rice flour and white sugar. Stop stirring, the cheese can be fine and smooth.


    After the almond cheese was ready and cooled, Su Xin chilled it together with a bowl for a while, then sprinkled some chopped almonds on it, and brought it back to Zhaoshuiyuan.


    Seeing the ice-cold food, Ming Tan''s appetite really increased. Su Xin made two servings, and after she finished one, she wanted to eat another.


    But Su Xin refused to give in, and persuaded softly: "Miss, eating too much ice food will cause stomach upset. You haven''t gone out for a few days. Why don''t you take this almond cheese to the study to greet Lord Hou, so that you can loosen your muscles and bones?" .After the ice cream has been digested, I will cook chicken noodle soup for you when I come back. The chicken soup is hanging right now, and the little girl is watching the fire."


    Ming Tan thought for a while, it''s okay, it''s true that he hasn''t gone out for a few days. But her father was spared, she didn''t really want to hear her father talk about the great achievements of His Royal Highness King Dingbei who killed people like hemp.


    She asked Lue to serve her to freshen up and dress up, and took almond ice cream to Lanxinyuan.


    After delivering the ice cream, I chatted with Mrs. Pei in the flower hall for a while, when the manager of the mansion came to settle accounts, Ming Tan stood up and left.


    When returning to the courtyard through the East Garden, she happened to catch a glimpse of Shen Hua leading the maids to pick flowers in the garden. After thinking about it, she still walked over.


    In fact, she understood that at the Pingguo Mansion that day, Shen Hua was not speaking for her, but speaking for herself.


    Shen Hua lived in the Hou''s mansion when she was about to marry in order to gain a good reputation of being taught by Mrs. Hou. It is clear that if she destroys her innocence, it is tantamount to destroying Shen Hua''s innocence.


    On the contrary, Mingchu''s reputation is not that important to Shen Hua. Everyone knows that she is a concubine raised by her aunt in the border area. She just returned to Beijing. Even if she is stupid and vicious, no one will rely on Madam Hou The lax teaching implicated her in Shen Hua''s misconduct.


    But no matter why Shen Hua said something, it had really helped her, and she always wanted to thank her.


    "Cousin." Ming Tan stepped forward.


    "Fourth sister." Seeing Ming Tan, Shen Hua was not surprised, she picked up the peony in the basket, and said in a normal tone, "Is this from Lanxinyuan?"


    Ming Tan hummed lightly, and said with a little blessing: "On the day of the poetry meeting, I would like to thank my cousin for her words of help. If my cousin needs Atan, you can speak up."


    "It''s just telling the truth, the fourth sister doesn''t need to worry about it." Shen Huaxu helped her up, knowing that since Ming Tan accepted this feeling, it was enough, so she didn''t need to speak too clearly, "Oh right, I haven''t seen the fourth sister in recent days. Sister, I haven''t congratulated the fourth sister for finding a good relationship yet."


    Ming Tan smiled and said nothing, only looked at Shen Hua calmly.


    Back then, it was widely rumored in the mansion that Shen Hua might be carried into Changyu Street and fly to a branch to become the side concubine of King Dingbei. When he entered the palace on the day of Shangyuan, Shen Hua''s dress was obviously intended to be the side concubine of King Dingbei. But now she seemed to be wishing sincerely, and she didn''t mean to be angry.


    They are all smart people, so Shen Hua naturally knew what Ming Tan was thinking. She picked a peony and started another topic: "The fourth younger sister just said that if I need it, I can speak it out. In fact, I do need it.


    "Although the wedding date of the fourth sister has not been set, it should not be far away. We are both in the Marquis Mansion, according to the ancestor''s rules, I should marry you first when I get married with the third sister, so this matter of marriage must be put on the agenda. I just hope that Fourth Younger Sister can speak more kind words for me in front of Madam, so that Madam can choose a suitable husband for me."


    The meaning of these words is to show that he has no intention of being a high-ranking concubine.


    Ming Tan nodded: "Naturally, my cousin is both talented and beautiful, even if I don''t talk about it, I will definitely find a good husband."


    Shen Hua said modestly, "It''s not as good as the fourth sister."


    At that time in the Yuan Dynasty, the palace hosted a banquet and invited female relatives to choose a concubine for His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang. Shen Hua really thought that he might be selected as a side concubine. But at that time, she didn''t know much about the princes of the aristocratic families in Shangjing, and she thought too highly of herself.


    The Jing''an Marquis Mansion is only as expensive as sitting at the gate of the palace, and the line of seats outside the palace gate, with the bitter cold wind, seems to have no end. In addition to the palace banquet, His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang didn''t even give half of the face to Concubine Yu''s sister and Cheng Enhou''s daughter. Since she left the palace gate, she dispelled all her delusional thoughts and reconsidered her own marriage.


    It''s just that now this kind of honor falls to her fourth younger sister, look, her fourth younger sister is not very happy.


    "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is extraordinary, and he is really a good match. Why, the fourth sister seems to have something on her mind?"


    "He is extraordinary?" Ming Tan grasped the key point, "How does my cousin know that he is extraordinary?"


    Shen Hua paused: "My brother mentioned it once, saying that His Highness the King of the North will use soldiers like a god, and he is extraordinary."


    Isn''t this just an ordinary compliment to the general''s talent, how do you know it? No, her four younger sisters... seem to be particularly concerned about the word "Yinglang".


    Shen Hua understood something, and suddenly covered her face with a smile and said, "My brother praised his heroism but not his bravery, so if you think about it, His Royal Highness King Dingbei should at least have a decent appearance.


    "It''s common for ordinary people to see each other before they get engaged, but the fourth younger sister was granted the royal marriage by His Majesty, so naturally there is no such arrangement, but it''s okay for the fourth younger sister to see each other in private."


    Ming Tan nodded lightly, and said with a bit of embarrassment and reserve: "His Royal Highness King Dingbei''s whereabouts are unpredictable, how can he see each other in private at will."


    This is true.


    Shen Hua thought for a while: "If Fourth Sister can trust me, I have a way for you to meet in private."


    Her brother didn''t have a good heart, so getting a clue from him would save a little more effort than picking flowers and making wine. Besides, Ming Tan''s marriage is going well, so for her, it has all benefits but no harm, so she must help.


    Three days later, at noon, Shen Hua prepared a basket of lunch, and led the two little girls straight to Gyeonggi Daying.


    When they arrived outside the camp, the soldiers guarding the camp stopped them. Shen Hua gave a soft blessing, and then showed the token given by Shen Yu, saying that she was the younger sister of General Shen. It was hot, and she came here to give her brother a light lunch. The battalion guard rubbed his nose with red ears, and let her in very simply.


    After entering the camp, the two little girls behind her, who had always buried their heads, quietly raised their heads. The two little faces of Ming Tan and Bai Minmin who came to join in the fun came into view.


    The three of them walked to a secluded place, and Shen Hua confessed: "You wait outside first, I will deliver food to my brother, and then try to get him to agree to take the extra lotus leaf porridge to His Highness King Dingbei. "


    It can be said that Shen Hua knows Shen Yu well, and Shen Yu still finds it difficult to accept Ming Tan''s marriage to the King of the North.


    But at the same time, he respected King Dingbei very much, and he was conflicted and sad for a while. He would be willing to share the porridge, but he would never be willing to deliver it himself. In this way, she could make Shen Yu agree to point out a soldier at will and take her servant girl to deliver the porridge.


    Things went very smoothly, within a short while, Shen Hua left the tent, and told Ming Tan and Bai Minmin who were guarding outside the tent: "You two, follow this little soldier to the prince''s camp, and send some lotus leaves Porridge."


    The two of them should be happy together.


    When he arrived in front of King Dingbei''s tent, the tent guards were not so easy to talk about. He glanced up and down at the two of them, and said in a rough voice: "You two girls, just give me the porridge."? ? ?


    How can that work!


    Seeing that the soldier was about to come to pick up the food box, Ming Tan became wise in a hurry, and said nonsense in a serious manner: "Master Jun doesn''t know, this lotus leaf porridge is soaked in ice cups to keep it cold. I''m afraid the military master won''t be able to open it, but it won''t be beautiful if it gets spilled."


    Oh, it''s because they dislike them for being so thick and rough that they will break their... bing... bingjian?


    But I really don''t know what it is, these rich people eat something really delicate.


    He retreated half a step resentfully, and lifted the curtain: "Just one girl can go in, please come out quickly after delivery, don''t disturb the prince''s business."


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin looked at each other, and Bai Minmin kept gesturing towards her.


    In fact, being with Bai Minmin is not so nervous, she is alone, this is really...


    But it has come all the time, and there is no reason to let Bai Minmin go in to look at her for her. Moreover, Bai Minmin''s eyes, up to the Second Young Master Shu, she thinks are handsome, and down to her father, she also thinks they are very powerful.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan blessed the body: "Thank you, Mr. Jun, for your accommodation."


    After entering the tent, Ming Tan felt very quiet.


    From the outside, the prince¡¯s tent is much larger than other generals¡¯ tents, and the interior is also very comfortable. She vaguely saw a black figure standing in front of the military sand table, and her heart was beating like a beating. Walking up to the desk with a watchful eye, controlling his voice from a distance as usual, Fuli said: "My lord, little general Shen sent a servant to bring you porridge. The lotus leaf porridge is still iced, which is a light way to relieve the heat."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    this voice.

 Chapter 22：

    After about half a cup of tea, the figure standing in front of the sand table did not move at all, let alone respond. Ming Tan''s heart was agitated, her hand holding the food box trembled slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, and she lifted it up little by little.


    What reached his line of sight was the black figure that he had glimpsed earlier, tall and straight, with a tall stature, and looked slightly taller than Shu Er and Shen Yu by half an inch.


    ¡ª¡ªIt''s not a reckless man with five big and three rough.


    Ming Tan looked away very quickly, seeing that he had no intention of responding, he had to slow down, put the porcelain bowl on the table, and poured the lotus leaf porridge very slowly, thinking whether he could delay the time until he took the initiative Turn around so that she can see the face clearly. At the same time, she couldn''t help raising her eyes, carefully peeking at the back of that figure.


    But that figure from the back seemed to have made up his mind, he didn''t move, and there was no sign of turning around.


    Ming Tan is a little maid now, so it is impossible for her to talk for no reason, if she is dragged out and punished for talking too much, then there is really no reason for her.


    After dawdling for a while, seeing that the porridge was about to be poured out, she was unwilling to do so, and sneaked back more and more frequently.


    Suddenly, the figure moved, as if there was a sign of turning around, Ming Tan was so startled that the porridge almost spilled, he looked back in a panic, and lowered his head like a guilty conscience.


    The person who came walked very slowly.


    The distance from the sand table to the table was only three or four feet away, but she felt that it was more than half a cup of tea before the clothes and boots embroidered with dark patterns slowly approached and fell into her eyes.


    Standing in front of the table, Jiang Xu casually glanced at the little maid who was standing by the table with her head bowed, opened her hem and sat down, took a sip of the lotus leaf porridge.


    The hands of a marching man are naturally not very delicate. His palms are calloused, his fingertips are rough, and the back of his hand has new wounds from a recent sword practice. However, his hands are very beautiful, with wide palms and knuckles. Slender, with well-defined phalanges.


    As Ming Tan watched, a heart rose to his throat, and he raised his eyelashes more slowly and subtly than before.


    What catches the eye is first the overlapping collar of the coat, and then the neck, Adam''s apple, chin, lips, nose, eyebrows and eyes¡ª


    It was a clean-cut, extremely handsome and flawless face. Sword eyebrows and star eyes, a straight nose and thin lips. Like the cold moon in the distant mountains, it is unstoppable. He was different from those soldiers she had seen before. In terms of appearance and demeanor, he was not inferior to the second son of Shu who was famous in Beijing, and even had a kind of...a sense of dignity as heavy as gold and cold jade.


    Ming Tan was stunned.


    Is this His Royal Highness King Dingbei?


    Is... Is it a mistake?


    As soon as the thought flashed by, someone pulled up the curtain and entered the account to explain her confusion.


    "My lord, send a message from the palace."


    The visitor kowtowed on one knee to report, and the conversation stopped for a moment. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the ignorant little maid in front had no intention of avoiding it, and the prince didn''t seem to wave back, so he hesitated.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes, looked down at him and said calmly, "Say."


    "Yes." The visitor bowed his head and clasped his hands, and continued, "There is a letter from the palace, the "On Encouraging the Army and Disciplining the Army" written by the prince, the Holy Majesty ordered the Hanlin Academy to copy it, and collated it with the several articles on the art of war written by the prince earlier. Into a book, I don''t know what the prince has to say?"


    "Just follow the holy will."


    "Yes. Then... this subordinate will leave."


    The visitor glanced at the little maid again.


    But at this moment, the little maid was thinking: Can she still write articles? Although it is an art of war related to marching and fighting, it is a unique opinion to be able to come up with your own theory. It is normal for generals who lead troops to fight to have their own opinions on the art of war, but not all generals can express their opinions well.


    Just like her father and her uncle, her father can barely say one, two, three, four after chasing Wen Shangya, but her uncle has a whole body of skills. It''s not easy to explain clearly, so her future husband is quite¡ª


    "What are you still doing here?"


    Ming Tan was engrossed in her thoughts, when suddenly a voice interrupted her, like the lotus leaf porridge soaked in the ice mirror, it has the coolness to cool off the heat.


    She shivered, met that calm gaze for a moment in a panic, then hurriedly lowered her eyes, and softly confessed: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, this servant will leave now."


    She tidied up the empty bowls and food boxes unskillfully, and hurriedly blessed and left. When he turned around and went out, his steps were much faster than usual.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her petite and thin back, then lowered his eyes to the director again, but he couldn''t see any extra emotion.


    "How''s it going?" Bai Minmin hurriedly asked in a low voice when he got out of the tent and got a little further away.


    Ming Tan pursed his lips and remained silent, his small face was still white with tension.


    After meeting Shen Hua and leaving the Gyeonggi camp together, Bai Minmin was in a hurry, and turned around Ming Tan and said, "My little ancestor, you are telling me! What happened? Petrified?"


    It was hot at noon, and Ming Tan''s throat was a little dry. She relieved her nervousness, swallowed hard, and said: "It is... indeed very powerful."


    "..."


    It''s over, it''s really like a wild boar.


    Bai Minmin''s head buzzed for a few breaths, a white light seemed to flash in front of his eyes, standing under the sun, he was dizzy and swayed.


    After a while, she came back to her senses, and suddenly pressed Ming Tan''s shoulder again, comforting herself without knowing it: "Don''t panic, don''t panic! I''ll find a way."


    Bai Minmin has never been a very reliable person when it comes to thinking up ideas. At this moment, his mind is full of the scriptures of talented scholars and beauties that he has read before. thing.


    She had a flash of inspiration, and hurriedly said: "Yes, why don''t you go back and report to my father, and say that His Highness King Dingbei''s description is ugly and vulgar. You really don''t want to marry. I will grind my father with you and let him do it for you." You are considerate, just arrange another funeral by accidentally slipping and drowning!"


    "It''s just that, Atan, you may not be able to stay in Shangjing anymore. From now on, you will hide your name and go to a rich place in the south of the Yangtze River. Father will definitely find a good family for you, so that you will be rich and have no worries in this life." Up to this point, tears welled up in Bai Minmin''s eyes, "Although it will be difficult to see each other in the future, this is also for the sake of your lifelong event. Wanwan and I are in the capital, and we will definitely miss you from time to time."


    "Is the appearance serious, so vulgar...?" Shen Hua hesitated.


    Bai Minmin: "That must be extremely vulgar, describing a wild boar¡ª"


    Ming Tan had been distracted thinking about that person''s appearance and expression before, only to realize the word "appearance" that Shen Hua said, and retorted loudly without thinking: "Who says he is vulgar? Who says I don''t?" Willing to marry? The position of Princess Dingbei must belong to this lady even if she dies!"


    "...?"


    Bai Minmin and Shen Hua were stunned for a moment by her refutation, and they couldn''t help but look at each other.


    Ming Tan didn''t bother to explain: "Follow me to the Zhou Mansion."


    "Go...to find Wanwan? Just dress like this?"


    Ming Tan glanced at himself up and down, and almost forgot, she is still dressed as a maid, and it is not good for the girl to flaunt outside during the day. Either way, she was too impatient.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan changed his mind again. First, he went back to the mansion by the same route, then wrote another letter and sent it to Zhou Jingwan.


    Waiting until dusk, Zhou Jingwan finally sent a little girl to the door, and brought a few pages of the newly transcribed "On Encouraging the Army and Solving the Army", and attached a comment from her father: "There is something in the words, new and not empty."


    Uncle Zhou is a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. He is a talented minister, brilliant and extremely noble. To be able to make such an evaluation, it must be written very well.


    Ming Tan''s dinner was useless, so he couldn''t wait to read this military theory first.


    She didn''t understand the formation of troops, but at least she could understand what was being written. Looking at its theories, the logic is meticulous and clear, the writing is concise and sharp, and every word and every word is pearly, which has a bit of the charm of pine and bamboo.


    After reading it, Ming Tan''s eyes still fell on the paper, reluctant to linger. At the end of the page, she found that Zhou Jingwan also attached a piece of paper, writing: "Father''s words, new disciplines to select scholars, the topic of the Golden Temple''s countermeasures issued by the Holy Majesty comes from His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang."


    Can you give questions to the candidates?


    That''s a top-notch talent!


    Joy spread quietly in Ming Tan''s heart, he looked at what was said on the paper with his chin in his hand, and the corners of his lips even raised up unconsciously.


    Her future husband-in-law has a noble status, is handsome, and has an extraordinary bearing, yet he is so talented!


    "Miss, what are you laughing at?" Lu''e and Su Xin asked curiously while laying the table together.


    Ming Tan didn''t answer, but said cheerfully: "Bring the bronze mirror."


    At this time, what do you need a bronze mirror for? Lv''e, with a foggy head, cleaned her hands, and hurried into the inner room to fetch a small bronze mirror.


    Ming Tan took the mirror, looked left and right, and found that the past few days have been a little lighter, but it''s better to be lighter, summer clothes are thin, so it will add a little softness of weak willows and wind, which is very good.


    Before going to Gyeonggi Daying at noon, she thought very carefully. Firstly, in order to avoid being recognized by the prince in the future, and secondly, because the soldiers in the camp would see her as too beautiful, they thought she was a little girl deliberately trying to seduce the prince and prevent her from entering the tent, so she deliberately played ugly.


    Of course, the ultimate ugliness she can accept is just to put on some yellowish powder to make herself look less fair.


    After returning home, she washed and dressed again. At this moment, her smoky brows and star eyes, icy muscles and snowy features were clearly reflected in the mirror.


    The beauty''s complexion is delicate and delicate, which perfectly matches her future husband.


    Ming Tan was satisfied.


    Only Lue and Su Xin muttered to themselves, originally they only took a picture of grooming and grooming in the morning and evening, but now they also take pictures of meals? Shouldn''t there be a small bronze mirror on the dining table?


    Ming Tan said again: "Su Xin, tomorrow you go to the cashier to pay some money... That''s all, it''s my wish, so I should use my private house."


    She changed her hand to rest her chin, and continued to order: "Take it from the dowry silver my mother left me, and add a thousand taels of incense oil to Lingmiao Temple, and then ask the abbot Master, for that day I will take you to worship." How much money does it cost to reshape the golden body of the Buddha in the previous treasure hall, just say, your lady has made a wish here, and if her wish is fulfilled, she will reshape the golden body of the Buddha, and the abbot, please don''t refuse."


    Su Xin: "A thousand...a thousand taels?"


    "Is it missing?" Ming Tan vaguely heard Mrs. Pei mention that if you don''t stay fast, you can usually go to the temple to pray for blessings and add fifty taels, and if you stay fast and rest, you can spend more than a hundred taels. But her wish came true, a thousand taels is really not much, "Why don''t I add another thousand taels?"


    Su Xin tactfully said: "Miss, it''s not missing, Qianliang is already full of heart."


    Although the dowry left by Mrs. Xian is extremely rich, when the young lady gets married, the Hou Mansion and Chang Guogong Mansion will definitely prepare another dowry, but her young lady is a loose hand, and the Dingbei Palace is so big, I don¡¯t know what the situation will be. They all need to be taken care of by her young lady, so they should save some money for emergencies.


    It''s just that her young lady obviously didn''t think so far-reaching at the moment, she explained the matter of fulfilling the vow, and she was so excited that she asked Lue to prepare a pen and ink, and she wanted to paint.


    Su Xin and Lu Calyx advise: It is getting late, painting hurts the eyes, it is better to wait until tomorrow to go to the garden to paint.


    After trying to persuade him, Ming Tan still remembered the matter of painting all the time, and rushed to the East Garden early the next morning. For several days, Ming Tan was painting and writing poems in the mansion, often lamenting something, the appearance in the paintings was not half as good as his real life, and the poems he wrote were not half satisfactory.


    Su Xin Lue didn''t know what her lady was going crazy at first, Lue wanted to ask, but Su Xin stopped her from asking. In the end, it was Ming Tan who couldn''t help himself, and told them about this sneaky look.


    Those soldiers didn''t remember half a word about them, and my lady didn''t remember the non-repetitive words when describing the appearance of the future uncle, but they just talked about it day and night, and the two of them knew that the future uncle''s appearance His bearing is so handsome that he has reached the heart of his young lady.


    It was rainy in the summer, and it was sunny for a few days, and suddenly there was thunder at night, and it was pouring rain the next day when I woke up. Originally, Ming Tan invited Zhou Jingwan and Shen Hua to the East Garden to paint and make some pretense. But today obviously not.


    Ming Tan was bored in the room, thinking of her father taking a bath today, and seeing that the rain outside was getting lighter, she ordered Su Xin to prepare a portion of almond cheese, took an umbrella and went to the study to greet her father.


    Ming Tan is quite good at speaking, so he only tactfully introduced the topic to her future husband-in-law, and Ming Tingyuan began to talk about the great achievements of His Royal Highness King Dingbei with great interest.


    Speaking of autumn hunting in the sixth year of Chunxing, Emperor Chengkang, who was still the prince at that time, was attacked in the forest and was surrounded and killed by several dead men. At the critical moment, he rushed into the siege alone, was seriously injured, but protected the prince with his own strength, and used the death penalty to find out the murderer of the siege from the mouths of the remaining dead.


    Ming Tan cupped his face and exclaimed: "There is love and righteousness, no wonder the Holy Majesty trusts him more than him!"


    Let''s talk about the servant minister of the household department who was greedy for Mo''s military salary two years ago. He came back from the battlefield by chance. Not to be confused by the stunning twin sisters, he personally tried and judged the crimes, and supervised and beheaded all the servants of the household department.


    Ming Tan''s eyes glowed, and he echoed: "It''s really bloody!"


    ¡­


    Ming Tingyuan spoke with great joy, and Ming Tan also had a great time listening to it.


    The news that the little lady had a good talk with Lord Hou and his daughter quietly spread to the mansion. Ming Chu stomped his feet angrily, and brushed off the teacup on the table; Seeing some clear intentions, he played the fan lightly, but smiled and said nothing.


    In the afternoon, Ming Tingyuan talked so dry that he drank four or five bowls of tea and went to the toilet twice. After he finished speaking, he let out a long breath, his voice was already a little hoarse.


    Ming Tan obediently added tea for him, and ordered the girl waiting outside the house to bring some pear soup to soothe his throat.


    After giving the order, she said inadvertently: "By the way, Daddy, the imperial decree that His Majesty bestowed on the marriage was taken away by my daughter, but she always felt that it was inappropriate and afraid of losing it, and she couldn''t sleep well at night. My daughter thought, or should I send it to you?" Daddy will keep it for good."


    "The decree given to you, of course, is yours to keep."


    Ming Tan covered his lips, and said in a reserved and soft voice: "So, my daughter is afraid that she will be afraid until her wedding day, but... I don''t know when is the auspicious date proposed by the Ministry of Rites?"

 Chapter 23：

    Asking about the auspicious day stumped Ming Tingyuan, but he was also at a loss, and did not get any information.


    In fact, after Emperor Chengkang bestowed the marriage, the Ministry of Rites was busy with the marriage between Dingbei Prince''s Mansion and Jing''an Hou''s Mansion.


    Marriage in the royal family is extremely cumbersome. If the higher-ups don''t pay attention to it, it''s okay to catch up with the time. But when it comes to hair, it must be handled according to the highest standard of the prince''s wedding ceremony, even if it is slightly exceeded, then There are many things to pay attention to in this.


    Qin Tianjian planned an auspicious day, and the old men in the Ministry of Rituals debated for a long time. They either felt that the day was not auspicious, or they felt that the time was short and it was difficult to complete all the procedures before the wedding.


    Others have far-reaching considerations, and they all thought that the northwest border is undergoing a change of regime, and if one is not easy to cause riots, will His Royal Highness King Dingbei go to quell the chaos? If he was going to pacify the chaos, would he have to rush to get married before then, or would he have to wait for the peace to return to Beijing before welcoming the princess into the mansion?


    After many considerations, the Qin Tianjian couldn''t resist, so he had to re-draw the auspicious dates, and the Ministry of Rites also searched for the ancestors'' system, bit by bit finalizing the highest standard of the emperor Jinkou Yuyan.


    Although no specific schedule has been set for the time being, the meaning of the Ministry of Rites is that it will be next year after all these wedding ceremony procedures.


    Upon hearing this news, Ming Tan only felt that the marriage period was too long!


    As far as Yu Mingtan is concerned, the marriage period is indeed still very long.


    But Yu Mingchu and Shen Hua were already a little nervous.


    Nowadays, it is not uncommon for high-school girls to stay for a year or two after the ceremony, but before that, they basically have a favorite husband-in-law.


    Ming Chu and Shen Hua were old enough to discuss marriage, one had no one to look at in the frontier, the other wanted to be educated in the Marquis Mansion and his brother was promoted, neither of them had any intention of choosing a husband before.


    Now, with Ming Tan''s younger sister being given a marriage, the marriage that should have been on the agenda between the two has also become tense.


    Pei has always paid attention to reputation, regardless of whether he takes it seriously in his heart, anyway, on the surface, he still showed his dedication to their marriage.


    She saw that Tian''er took the two of them out to participate in various flower appreciation and tea tasting, and elder birthday banquets. It can be said that she got to know all the families of the same family in Beijing and the age of starting a family.


    Shen Hua is very popular in these relative families. She is from a weaker background, but she is also the first daughter of the family. She looks good, is well-bred, and her brother is very competitive. In recent days, there have been many people coming to propose relatives.


    As for Mingchu, she always pulled her face when she went out, she was just a concubine girl, in contrast to Shen Hua, her demeanor was nothing to boast about.


    But after all, she is a decent young lady of Jing''an Hou''s mansion, and she has the advantage of accompanying the border guards and being favored by Jing''an Marquis, and in addition to her very neat appearance, there are many people who come to propose marriage in the name of Jing''an Hou''s mansion.


    It''s just that Mingchu has a high heart, and doesn''t care much about these people who come to propose marriage.


    "Young Master Rongping''s Second Household, it''s okay for your mother to look after you. There is only one seedling in the Second Household of Rongping Bo''s House, and he will be the head of the family in the future. Besides, he has won three points of fame in this department, so he doesn''t need to rely on the shadow of his ancestors. I think I have a bit of talent." Aunt Liu said in a warm voice.


    "But what''s the matter! Uncle Rongping''s mansion is just a mansion of a declining uncle, where the eldest brother is standing there. The title of the old uncle''s death has nothing to do with the second bedroom. What kind of family can he do for him, and he has passed two exams It''s just beyond the top two, so what kind of talent is there!"


    "You think Uncle Rong Ping''s family has a low family status?" Aunt Liu thought for a while, and then said, "What about the sixth son of Fengchunhou''s mansion? The sixth son¡ª"


    "A concubine, if I marry him again, it means we are together! What kind of family are they, and they are worthy!"


    Aunt Liu: "..."


    She put down the name card in her hand, was silent for a long time, and suddenly said quietly: "Chuchu, if you want to compare with Mingtan, you can''t compare anyway. Whether it is the Dingbei Palace bestowed by the Holy Lord, or her divorce Duke Ling''s mansion is not something that ordinary daughters can climb."


    "I know, but it''s just because she''s a concubine daughter and I''m a concubine daughter, but how can I be worse than her!" Mingchu knew it well, but he was still unwilling and said angrily.


    She is still immersed in the infinite scenery that she was the jewel in the palm of Shuai Si when she was on Renyang West Road.


    Even though she was in the Pingguo Mansion that day, Shen Hua''s words had made her a little bit out of complacency, and she has also restrained herself recently. However, what I think in my heart can be changed overnight.


    Aunt Liu was a little silent when she heard this.


    After a while, she finally said: "You are naturally no worse than Ming Tan, after all, it''s all your mother''s fault." Speaking of this, she felt a little sad, "It''s all your mother''s fault that prevents you from marrying like Ming Tan. Such a good family, not even a family where distant cousins ??see each other."


    "Mother," Mingchu shouted urgently, "I didn''t mean that, I didn''t blame you!"


    Aunt Liu still lowered her eyes and remained silent.


    "That **** Ming Tan is fine, I can''t even compare to that **** Shen Hua, mother, what are you talking about!" Ming Chu didn''t pay attention to Shen Hua at all, let alone why her mother called her Even Shen Hua couldn''t compare.


    Aunt Liu said softly: "Do you know that the second young master of Li Siye''s family proposed marriage to the one from Fenghe Yuan?"


    Mingchu was puzzled: "Li Siye?"


    "Although Siye is only of the sixth grade, he is capable of coordinating wine sacrifices, but the Li family is a noble family, and the eldest son of his family is married to the Zhou family, a scholar of the Imperial Academy¡ªthat is, the sister of the Miss Zhou family that Mingtan made friends with. .


    "I have always been a prime minister in the Hanlin Dynasty, and I have his support. In addition, the current Guozijian Jijiu is old and is about to retire. Li Siye''s promotion is just around the corner.


    "And I heard that the second son is diligent, studious, refined and elegant, and has a very noble character. The one from Fengheyuan is also quite satisfied with this marriage. Madam will arrange for them to meet each other soon."


    In this way, it is indeed a good family, much better than the Fengchun Hou Mansion in Rongping Bo''s Mansion, which is famous but has no real job.


    But why does such a family want to propose marriage to that **** Shen Hua, it''s just that they are used to pretending to be weak and polite to please the elders in the family!


    Since the day he returned to the mansion, Mingchu had met Shen Hua''s soft nails a lot in the mansion. Now that he heard that Shen Hua was satisfied, he felt more and more unable to let her do what she wanted.


    Aunt Liu said again: "If you can find someone like Li Siye, your mother will feel at ease."


    With Mingtan''s Dingbei Palace in front, Mingchu didn''t think much of a sixth-grade family, but she felt that it was more than enough for her to be matched with such a family. Of course, the most important thing is that she can''t let Shen Hua''s marriage go smoothly like this.


    Thinking about the past two days, Mrs. Pei did say that if the proposer''s family is interested, he can arrange for the two of them to meet each other, and he clearly didn''t know what he thought of, so he suddenly thought of it.


    Seeing that Mingchu said perfunctorily, "Mother, you don''t have to worry" and hurried out of the courtyard, Aunt Liu fell silent, then slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip.


    The woman serving beside her sighed softly, and said slowly: "You have worked so hard to plan the marriage for Miss San."


    "I don''t plan for her, who would really plan for her." Aunt Liu lightly skimmed the tea foam and looked at the hanging flower gate in the distance.


    In fact, she had already inquired about those Rongpingbo Mansions and Fengchunhou Mansions, they were all ostentatious, Ming Chu didn''t like them, and she didn''t like them either.


    But Mingchu was pampered and raised by her, but now she is too ambitious and wants to compare with Mingtan. This Daxian Dynasty couldn''t find a second Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, and if they found it, it would be absolutely impossible for them to marry him.


    She had to let Mingchu recognize this fact, and on top of that, let Mingchu be willing to fight for a good marriage within her ability.


    The Li Siye''s family that Shen Hua likes is very good, she thinks it has a promising future, and the family is also soft and gentle, who can tolerate Mingchu''s delicate temperament. As for how to fight, she has her own share, but the most important thing is that she needs to be willing.


    If he didn''t get excited today, how could Mingchu be willing?


    It''s summer, and the sun is getting hotter and hotter. Early in the morning, all the courtyards of the Jing''an Hou Mansion were busy, making arrangements for travel.


    Today, Mrs. Pei wants to take three girls from the mansion to Daxiangguo Temple to offer incense. On the surface, it is to offer incense, but secretly, it is for Ming Chu and Chen Hua to meet the man who is said to be a relative.


    Originally, the Pei family only arranged for Shen Hua to meet with the second son of Li Siye''s family, but that day Mingchu suddenly came and said that he thought the sixth son of Fengchunhou''s mansion was good, so why not arrange to meet with the second son of Li Siye''s family together? Shi thought about it, so he invited them together.


    Ming Tan originally didn''t want to go, they kissed their relatives, she already has a husband, so why join in the fun.


    But who would have imagined that before going to bed last night, Shen Hua suddenly sent a maid over to send a message, saying that her brother was going to the Gyeonggi Daying for the night, and accidentally revealed something that His Royal Highness King Dingbei would go to Daxiangguo Temple tomorrow.


    When Ming Tan heard this, he was refreshed, sat up from the bed, and immediately sent someone to tell Mrs. Pei that he would go to Daxiangguo Temple to offer incense tomorrow. Invite Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan to go together. After doing this, she sat back in front of the dowry, carefully applied Yulu, and picked out the top of her clothes for more than half an hour.


    So much so that before going out the next day, Mingchu looked at her suspiciously, thinking: Could it be that this **** Ming Tan didn''t want to see her and Shen Hua get along well, so he deliberately dressed up so that the wives and sons of the two families could only see her. she? It''s shameless for someone who is engaged to be married to be so ostentatious!


    Daxiangguo Temple is not as secluded and deserted as Lingmiao Temple, it occupies a very large area, the incense is very prosperous, and there is an endless stream of pilgrims every day, so it is very common for female relatives from various prefectures in Beijing to meet here.


    No, outside the temple, the entourage from Jing''an Hou Mansion met Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan.


    Ming Tan and her are on good terms, and today Japan doesn''t have anything to do with her, so it is logical to be with them together.


    They walked together to the temple, and when they separated from Mrs. Pei and the others at the fork, Ming Tan asked in a low voice: "Wanwan, did you bring Qin?"


    "Miss orders, how dare you not obey." Zhou Jingwan teased Ming Tan softly, and gestured to the servant girl behind her.


    The servant girl saluted and hurriedly went outside to fetch the piano from the carriage.


    Ming Tan is very good at piano art and has many good pianos in his collection, but it is really inconvenient to take them out today, so I had to ask Zhou Jingwan to bring one when sending a message last night.


    The three of them walked all the way to the resting place in the back mountain of the temple.


    If there is no urgent matter, people of some status will stay for lunch when they come to Daxiangguo Temple to pilgrimage, rest their feet, and enjoy the scenery at the back mountain. Although Ming Tan didn''t know what important things her future husband would come to the temple for and when he would come, but he guessed that he couldn''t get away from the back mountain, if there was a destiny, maybe he could meet again.


    After finding a flower pavilion, the three of them drank a cup of green tea and talked and laughed for a while.


    When the girl came to fetch the piano, Ming Tan burned incense and played a piece.


    Zhou Jingwan is an elegant person, and she also has some insights into Qin art. After listening to it, she smiled and said with deep meaning: "A Tan Qin art is getting better and better. Today''s song is well prepared."


    Bai Minmin didn''t do much research on it, but the song played by Ming Tan was not a cold one. She had heard it a dozen or eight times at least, and she was very familiar with it.


    Hearing Zhou Jingwan''s praise, she was a little confused, is that so?


    Originally, she didn''t intend to say it, so as not to be laughed at by the two of them if she made a mistake, but she really couldn''t hold back, and stopped for a while, so she asked: "Why do I listen, it seems that the last paragraph is wrong? sound?"


    Ming Tan rested his chin, beckoning Bai Minmin to approach. Then he said in a somewhat mysterious manner: "What do you know, this is called, the song is wrong, Jiang Lang Gu!"


    Not far away, Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu, who had been listening for a long while, suddenly realized; Lu Ting, who was drowsy, also woke up a little drowsy; Jiang Lang, who heard the words, really responded and took a look.

 Chapter 24：

    There is a wind blowing, and the bamboo forest in the back is rustling, and there are occasional bursts of pines.


    After Ming Tan finished speaking, the three people in the pavilion were silent for a moment, looked at each other suddenly, and laughed together again, the laughter was blown by the wind, full of girls'' tenderness.


    "You are not ashamed! I don''t know who used to call out ''reckless man'' one by one, but now that people are handsome, they don''t need to be reserved at all. Just come and meet them by chance, it''s a mistake." Lang Gu'', thank you for thinking it out!" Bai Minmin hurt her.


    There was no one around, and there was a servant girl guarding nearby, Ming Tan was not afraid to admit: "A gentle lady like a gentleman, how can a lady not be happy with a handsome gentleman?"


    Bai Minmin: "Wanwan, look at how virtuous she is! If you say she is handsome, you will say she is handsome, and she will boast that she is a lady without any shame!"


    Ming Tan raised his chin slightly, and he was about to sit down. It''s not ashamed. She put her hands on the piano, and played the song "Bamboo Language in Late Spring" to the sound of pines and bamboos.


    When she plays the piano, she always concentrates and concentrates. Not only has she learned from famous masters, she has superb skills, but what is rare is that she is not trapped by skills, and the sound of the piano is smooth, agile and affectionate. Only at the end, she repeats her tricks and makes a wrong sound as if inadvertently.


    After the song was over, Ming Tan was very satisfied, and murmured with Zhou Jingwan about what other songs should be suitable for the occasion. However, she didn''t know that her Jiang Lang was very face-to-face, and he had already taken another look at her when she mispronounced.


    Jiang Xu and his entourage came to Daxiangguo Temple today, in fact, they came to visit Master Wu who was practicing in the temple.


    Wu Wu is a great Confucianist in the former dynasty. During the Chunxing period, he was once an official and worshiped Zaifu, and he was an extremely human minister. During those years, he gave lectures, and the world was full of peaches and plums. He was also the teacher of Jiang Xu and the others. Long before the first emperor was buried in the imperial mausoleum, he escaped into Buddhism after enlightenment, and did not care about worldly affairs, only meeting foreigners every year on his birthday.


    Today is his birthday, several people came to see him. I don''t want to see Fang Chu, so that I can hear the sound of the piano in the back mountain.


    After listening, several people wanted to leave quietly without disturbing. Who would have thought that Zhang Huaiyu would step on half of a dead branch as soon as he took a step.


    "Who!" Lue subconsciously shouted.


    Four people: "..."


    The maids brought by Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan hurried forward with their skirts in their hands, and the guards followed immediately.


    Zhang Huaiyu paused in embarrassment, subconsciously looking at Jiang Xu.


    It was Shu Jingran who came to his senses first, cupped his hands from a distance, and apologized: "A certain friend passed by the back mountain, heard the sound of the piano, and stopped to listen to the music for a while. .¡±


    The girls were all stunned, hey, isn''t this...Second Master Shu? They had all seen it from afar when they accompanied their young lady to watch the horse-racing parade. Really unforgettable.


    The three of Ming Tan also came out of the pavilion when they heard the sound.


    Seeing that Shu Jingran was the first to salute, Bai Minmin''s eyes lit up instantly.


    "Master Shu!"


    Bai Minmin walked fast, Zhou Jingwan was a little slower, followed behind, and greeted him very politely. Ming Tan originally wanted to attend the salute with her, but when she glanced at Shu Er''s side, a young man in pine green and brocade pattern uniform with black eyes, he froze.


    Bai Minmin didn''t realize it, and was a little excited to get close to Shu Jingran: "Master Shu also came to burn incense with his friend today?"


    She looked at the other people, and guessed: "I have heard that the second son of Shu has a good relationship with Zhang Shizi and Lu Dianshuai. I think this is Zhang Shizi of Pingguo Gongfu, and this is Lu Dianshuai? Then this is¡ª¡ª "


    When Bai Minmin recognized Zhang Huaiyu and Lu Ting, Shu Jingran nodded with a slight smile, but when she looked at Jiang Xu suspiciously, Shu Jingran paused and coughed unnaturally.


    Shu Jingran didn''t introduce him, so Zhang Huaiyu stood aside, waving his folding fan, looking like he was enjoying the show. Lu Ting was originally indifferent and had no intention of participating, his sword hand was behind his back, and his gaze inadvertently rested on Zhou Jingwan for a few moments.


    Ming Tan pulled Bai Minmin to ask her not to ask any more questions, but Bai Minmin didn''t notice, she was a little confused, and turned around to praise Jiang Xu again.


    Ming Tan''s ears were burning when he heard it, and he thought in his heart: how could he be with Shu Er and the others, when did he come, he must not have heard those words just now, right?


    In a blink of an eye, she compared unconsciously: Long time no see, her future husband is wearing this pine green uniform today, standing among the green bamboo forests in the back mountain, the awe-inspiring feeling is a little less, and it adds a bit of the clear and meaningful look of the rocky mountain and the pine wind flowing into the water. I mean, it seems to be a little more handsome.


    Bai Minmin saw that no one introduced her after boasting for a long time, and this person didn''t introduce himself, so she finally felt something was wrong.


    There was silence.


    With the sound of rustling and bamboo, Jiang Xu cast his eyes down, and finally said: "So-and-so, Jiang Xu."


    Bai Minmin: "..."


    Zhou Jingwan: "..."


    The two of them looked at Ming Tan!


    Ming Tan had already adjusted his mood during the short time when Bai Minmin was boasting hype, and made up his mind that no matter whether they heard what he said just now, he would pretend to be stupid and pretend nothing happened.


    She acted as if she had never seen Jiang Xu before, she was stunned for a moment, then came back to her senses very quickly, and gave a gentle blessing: "A Tan has met His Highness King Dingbei, Your Highness is blessed and safe."


    Zhang Huaiyu was holding back her laughter so much that she was going crazy, and Shu Jingran also had a hard time enduring it.


    Shu Jingran thought to himself: This young lady of the Ming family is really not an ordinary woman, her acting skills are superb and she is calm and composed. When she enters the Dingbei Palace, facing Jiang Xu, a cold stone, she will always have a good show.


    In fact, Shu Jingran was more surprised than Ming Tan when he heard that the Holy Majesty had granted him a marriage in the Pingguo Palace earlier.


    The poetry meeting ended halfway, so he went to Daying, Gyeonggi, and asked Jiang Xu why he made such an order. Jiang Xu was writing a memorial at the time, and stopped him without raising his eyes: "Didn''t you say that this king is here to marry you?" , it¡¯s not impossible.¡±


    Shu Jingran was at a loss for words, and he felt uneasy because of this, so he said after a long silence: "I just think that if you don''t really want to marry, then don''t waste the life of the young lady. And if you made such an intention because of my words, wouldn''t it be me?" guilt?"


    It was fine before, but when Shihui saw her, he felt that the Fourth Miss of the Ming family was a very interesting woman, and it would be a pity if she became a **** in the court''s secret struggle.


    Hearing the words, Jiang Xu asked back, "What is sincerity?"


    His voice was flat, but to the point: "You don''t want to marry, and this king doesn''t want to marry either. What kind of life do you think she will have?"


    Shu Jingran was silent.


    After the downfall of the Marquis Cheng''s Mansion, Concubine Yu was imprisoned in the Leng Palace and allowed to be bullied by others. Gu Jiurou, the second daughter of Marquis Cheng En, who was so flamboyant in the past that she could outspokenly admire Jiang Xu in the golden palace, was sent to the mansion of her deadly enemy by her cowardly brother to seek freedom. Bao, the consequences can be imagined.


    The women of these aristocratic families are all delicate flowers raised in deep houses. Born in high families, their lives cannot be controlled by others, and their prosperity and loss are inseparable from their families.


    When they are in prosperity, they are really colorful and eye-catching, but without the nourishment of the power at their peak, they can''t even be in a corner, and they will only be trampled and trampled by the rainstorm, and they will be smashed into mud.


    Jiang Xu said again: "How much is sincerity worth? She owes me kindness to this king, and this king will keep her safe for the rest of her life."


    "Wait, yes?"


    "Come here, see off the guests."


    That day when Jiang Xu said "you are kind", he ordered someone to send him out of the camp. He was extremely curious, but he still couldn''t find out the cause and effect from Jiang Xu''s mouth. However, since Jiang Xu promised to keep her life safe, perhaps marrying into the Dingbei Palace would be the best destination for this young lady of the Ming family.


    And what I saw today, this young lady of the Ming family seems to be very fond of her future husband - thinking of this, Shu Jingran couldn''t help laughing, and like Zhang Huaiyu, she looked at Jiang Xu playfully.


    After Ming Tan bowed his knees and did not get up, Jiang Xu was silent for a while before saying: "Miss Ming doesn''t need to be too polite."


    Ming Tan slowly stood up straight, still bowing his head, deliberately showing half of his fair and delicate neck, even the angle facing Jiang Xu, he tried to be the most perfect.


    There was nothing Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan didn''t understand, they silently took half a step back, not daring to disturb the little lady''s screen.


    But Zhang Huaiyu, who has no eyesight to see, just suppressed his laughter and let it go, and couldn''t help but interjected: "From now on, we will be a family, so of course there is no need to be polite!"


    Hearing this, Ming Tan''s eyelashes lowered again, and his neck was dyed crimson.


    Just when Ming Tan was thinking about how to say a few more words to her future husband in a logical manner, Ming Chu''s high-spirited and familiar voice came from not far away: "Cousin, I really underestimated you , if it is really a biting dog, don¡¯t bark.¡±


    "I don''t know if a biting dog barks or not. Mad dogs bark and bark all the time." Shen Hua''s voice was as gentle as ever.


    "You!" Mingchu was exasperated.


    The two seemed to be walking towards the resting side of the back mountain, and the voice was getting closer. It was slightly intermittent before, but now it is very clear.


    Mingchu: "Don''t think that if you meet the second son of Li Siye''s family as you wish, this marriage will definitely come true, and Li Siye is only a sixth-rank official. What are you proud of? After meeting Ming Tan If you don¡¯t, you have to kowtow and salute!¡±


    "It''s right to salute the princess, I''m afraid that some people don''t even have the chance to salute."


    "Who cares about this opportunity!" Mingchu laughed angrily, "Shen Hua, Shen Hua, you are really able to stretch and bend. I heard that before I returned to Beijing, you two got along very well. Why, seeing that he is going to be Now that the princess is here, you want Baba to join her?"


    "Don''t think I don''t know. In order to please Ming Tan, I took your brother''s news and took her to the capital camp to spy on the prince. Your brother doesn''t know? You are really cruel to your brother. What can''t you do for the sake of glory and wealth?!"


    "...?"


    Ming Tan closed his eyes.


    I''m not, I''m not, don''t talk nonsense.

 Chapter 25：

    Due to the suddenness of the incident and the shock, Ming Tan''s mind went blank for a moment. She forgot to stop it at the first moment, and it was too late to react.


    Although Shen Hua didn''t recognize it, and blocked her back with the principle of being cautious in words and deeds and not talking indiscriminately, she didn''t know how Mingchu''s mouth could be so babbling. sentence.


    And he didn''t understand the reason why two people should do things together, and he never forgot to talk about Ming Tan in his words, and in a few words, he described Ming Tan as a vixen with two faces in front of him and another in front of him, pretending to be ostentatious all day long.


    "...Do you think that she will really look at you if you do this little fuss? Look at her beautifully dressed today, and she doesn''t need to look at her. Who will she come to the temple to look at? Isn''t it just to attract you? You and I look at other people''s attention, I don''t want you and my marriage to go smoothly."


    The back mountain is very quiet, and the clear voice becomes clearer and louder.


    Ming Tan''s mind was buzzing, and he felt that the image of being talented, beautiful, quiet and courteous that he carefully created today is collapsing in front of his future husband.


    What''s more terrible is that her little head, which is usually very bright, can''t even think of an idea to restore her image at this moment.


    It was only when she heard Ming Chu babbing to Fengzhao Princess that she remembered the trick she used to deal with Fengzhao that day-thirty-six tricks, and fainting is the best strategy!


    "Ah, Ah Tan?"


    "Adan, are you alright?"


    Seeing Ming Tan''s body swaying suddenly and covering her forehead as if dizzy, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan hurriedly supported her.


    Thinking of Zhou Jingwan''s weak body, Ming Tan''s heart swayed, his head tilted, and he leaned directly on Bai Minmin''s body, then he closed his eyes tightly, making up his mind to pretend to be dizzy.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Zhang Huaiyu, Shu Jingran, and the invisible Lu Ting all twitched their lips in unison.


    Bai Minmin was somewhat startled and uncertain, for a moment she didn''t know whether Ming Tan was pretending to be dizzy or really dizzy. After all, it''s not impossible for a face-saving person like Ming Tan to be **** off by his concubine sister in front of his fianc¨¦-in-law.


    Not far away, upon hearing this movement, Mingchu''s babbling mouth finally stopped.


    She stepped forward quickly, and saw a mess ahead, Ming Tan leaned on Bai Minmin with her eyes closed tightly, Zhou Jingwan and all the servant girls were anxiously calling "A Tan" and "Miss", if it wasn''t for the fact that they were still standing nearby. Four strange men who were quite calm, she thought that God had the power to make this little vixen die suddenly on the spot.


    She was amused, and said subconsciously, "You''re pretending to be dizzy again."


    Ming Tan pretending to be dizzy: "..."


    Mingchu was about to step forward to watch a good show, when the man in the pine green brocade patterned long coat suddenly said, "Chasing Shadow."


    A dark figure flashed out from nowhere, and stood respectfully with bowed head.


    The man said again: "Please come here, doctor, it''s a symptom of summer heat."


    "What kind of heat syndrome, she is clearly pretending to be dizzy." Mingchu''s tone was not as ostentatious as before, she looked up and down the man in the pine green brocade pattern dress in front of her, with her hands behind her back, her eyes were amazed The meaning is not concealed, "I don''t know who you are, and why are you here?"


    Ming Tan, who was still pretending to be dizzy, heard the interest in Ming Chu''s tone, and almost sat up straight from Bai Minmin''s arms.


    Mistake. These days, he was so busy with the gift of marriage that he didn''t even bother to deal with this idiot Mingchu. This idiot is also living too comfortably, how dare he fall in love with her! of! male! people!


    Fortunately, her man did not respond.


    The idiot continued: "My Fourth Younger Sister''s troubles don''t need to bother Your Excellency, and she is an engaged woman, if you take action, it may damage her reputation, I''ll see¡ª"


    In the middle of Mingchu''s speech, for some reason, his neck went numb, and he suddenly lost his voice.


    She had learned a bit of Three-legged Cat Kungfu, and knew that someone had tapped the Ya acupuncture point. She covered her neck and looked around suspiciously, and then looked at the man in front of her. No, it''s impossible, she didn''t even see this person make a move!


    Not far away, Zhang Huaiyu saw this scene, waved his folding fan, and was quite emotional. It was finally not him who received such treatment today.


    ...?


    Ming Tan closed her eyes, she didn''t know what happened, she only knew that this idiot Mingchu didn''t finish his sentence, and the surrounding suddenly fell into silence, she deliberately squinted and peeked, but the direction of fainting was not quite right.


    It was Zhou Jingwan who observed carefully, and whispered in her ear: "It seems that Ya acupoint was tapped by your future husband."


    Dumb point? When Ming Tan heard this, he subconsciously squeezed Bai Minmin''s hand.


    But she closed her eyes and didn''t pay attention, and pinched it into a maid''s hand by mistake, and the maid subconsciously exclaimed in surprise: "Miss Si seems to have moved!"


    "..."


    I don''t.


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu glanced at her lightly, then glanced back at Shu Jingran.


    Shu Jingran hurriedly recovered from the state of watching a good show, covered her lips and coughed lightly, stepped forward and said to Zhou Quan: "Since the fourth lady is suffering from the heat, why don''t you go to the side room to rest a little, so you can wait for the doctor."


    Zhou Jingwan nodded: "Your Highness Lao, and Second Young Master Lao Shu."


    Shu Jingran said: "That''s it, we won''t bother you any more. It''s hot at noon, if nothing happens, the young ladies can go down the mountain after sunset."


    After speaking, they left quickly.


    Without the people watching the theater, and without the obvious noise, this farce will soon come to an end. Ming Tan also slowly pretended to wake up, and sat up from Bai Minmin.


    Looking at the disappearing figures of the group of people, she was stunned for a while. After a long while, she suddenly stood up and went back to the wing room without saying a word.


    Seeing that something was wrong with her, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan hurriedly followed her in, but as soon as the door was closed, Ming Tan frantically wandered around the table. After going back and forth for a while, she sat down again, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a drink. After that, he lay down on the couch very peacefully, with his hands folded on his lower abdomen.


    "Leave me alone."


    Bai Minmin: "..."


    Zhou Jingwan: "..."


    Ming Tan said quietly, but she kept wondering about her future husband''s impression of her, and whether she would receive a letter of resignation when she returned to the mansion, but the sage''s golden words, it is impossible to contradict what he said.


    Yes, exactly.


    Since there is no possibility of going back on promises, then there is no fear of running out of firewood to keep the marriage. When they get married, her husband will definitely find that she is an excellent wife who is both chaste, virtuous, talented and beautiful.


    But, it''s still good! leave! people! Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!


    Ming Tan covered his face with his hands and rolled on the couch.


    She didn''t even dare to think carefully about the scene just now, because after just thinking about it for a while, she couldn''t help feeling suffocated.


    On the other side, the time limit for Mingchu''s dumb acupoint has expired, and just now she heard Zhou Jingwan say "Your Majesty", she was full of doubts, and when she was able to speak, she asked a servant girl to find out that the man in the pine green brocade pattern long coat The handsome man is Ming Tan''s fianc¨¦-in-law, His Royal Highness King Dingbei!


    Mingchu was stunned for a moment, jealousy flooded her seldom rationality completely, she pulled out the soft whip and slammed it hard against the tree with her backhand! At the same time, he suddenly changed his original plan.


    Because Ming Tan didn''t want to stay in Daxiangguo Temple for a moment, after lunch, the group prepared to return to Jing''anhou Mansion.


    It was hot at noon and the main road was not very shaded. The coachman suggested to Mrs. Pei that it would be better to take a detour along the small road, where there are few people and it is quiet and quiet.


    Mrs. Pei thought that there would be no danger with the guards and the sky was bright and bright, so she agreed.


    When they came here, Ming Tan was in the same carriage as Pei, and Mingchu was in the same carriage as Shen Hua, but on the way back, Mingchu was reluctant and insisted on sharing a carriage with Ming Tan and Pei, making it clear that he didn''t want to sit with Shen Hua .


    She didn''t want to sit with Shen Hua, and Shen Hua didn''t want to sit with her much, Pei knew in her heart that the two of them were going to be quarreling because of some petty movements. In the end, it became Pei and Ming Chu, and Shen Hua and Ming Tan.


    On the carriage, Shen Hua briefly told Ming Tan about seeing each other¡ª


    Earlier, Mrs. Pei arranged for Shen Hua and Mingchu to meet each other. They originally arranged for each of them to be by the release pond and under the blessing tree, so that they could take advantage of the opportunity of feeding the koi in the pond and throwing the wishing red rope on the tree, and they would be fair and honest. Stay for a while, and talk to the man.


    Aunt Liu placed someone next to Mrs. Pei, she knew there was such an arrangement, so she secretly manipulated them, took the two to the place where they met each other, and made a mistake.


    Unexpectedly, Shen Hua had already found out a thing or two, so he simply used his tricks. Follow the leading woman all the way to Fangsheng Pond to meet the Sixth Young Master of Fengchunhou''s Mansion. By the way, I will take a step ahead and send the girl to tell the second young master of Li Siye''s family that the meeting place has changed.


    Mingchu went under the blessing tree for a while, but realized later, when he rushed to the release pool, the two young masters had already been attracted by Shen Hua.


    Although the two young masters kept the etiquette and did not dare to go beyond the rules, they each talked with Shen Hua, as if they were jealous of each other. Seeing this clearly, they were naturally very angry!


    After hearing these twists and turns, Ming Tan''s depressed mood improved slightly today.


    It was hot at noon, but fortunately, the path was shaded by trees, and the wind blowing from the forest was a bit cool.


    Ming Tan and Shen Hua were talking, when there was a sudden exclamation from outside the carriage, the two paused, lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see a group of thugs rushing out of the forest in the clear sky and broad daylight!


    "Bold! Do you know which chariot and horse this is! It''s going to kill you!" The guard in front shouted, raising his scabbard.


    The leader of the gangster also raised his chin, and raised the knife in his hand: "We brothers, we only want money, not life! Anyone who is sensible, hand over the gold, silver and jewelry to me!"


    The guards of the Jing''an Marquis Mansion are not vegetarians, they can come up to **** all kinds of messy things, what kind of guards do they protect.


    The two guards in the front met their eyes, and stopped talking and charged forward with their swords. The guards in the back were also divided into two groups, one group moved forward, and the other group guarded near the carriage, and they fought in an instant.


    But when they were fighting with the guards, they found that something was wrong. These gangsters were very well-organized in every move, not like a reckless bandit who rushed up with a knife in his hand, it was very difficult to deal with.


    After the gesture was over, the leader of the bandits made a gesture, and soon, a wave of bandits gathered towards the carriage where Shen Hua and Ming Tan were sitting.


    The guards around the carriage were overwhelmed for a moment, they cut the curtain with a long knife, and both Shen Hua and Ming Tan were startled.


    However, the gangster who cut the curtain was also a little confused, not saying that it would be good to just take away the one who doesn''t know kung fu, but the two girls are so weak and weak, they are still sitting in there stupidly, they have no power to resist, and they don''t look like they know kung fu look.


    After he glanced, no companion could spare time to help him identify.


    The two girls pulled out the hairpins together and shouted, "Don''t come over!"


    Bandit: "..."


    These two little girls thought they were pretty fierce.


    The guards of the Jing''an Hou Mansion are really brave, the situation is urgent and there is no delay, the gangster looked behind him and ignored it, he just picked a better-looking one, thinking that if it wasn''t for his stunning looks, that person wouldn''t have to spend this money With so much money, taking such a big risk to remove the threat, he felt that his idea was very reasonable, so he slipped Ming Tan out.


    Ming Tan''s face was pale, trembling all over, after being lifted out of the carriage, he held up the hairpin to pierce the man.


    Unexpectedly, she was thrown onto the horse by the thugs, and the hairpin went down, directly binding the horse madly, raising its front hoof, raising it upwards, and neighing!


    The fight was intense, and the situation changed suddenly.


    Seeing that Ming Tan was about to be thrown to the ground by the maddened horse, at the very moment, a belt wrapped around the arm of a martial arts practitioner came sharply, wrapped around his waist, and tightened immediately.


    For a while, Ming Tan felt that the tip of his nose seemed to be filled with a very faint sandalwood fragrance, and he saw a pine blue figure at the end of his eyes.


    In the next second, she was pulled forward by the belt, and fell into a somewhat strange embrace.


    She subconsciously clung to something, lowered her head, and saw that the belt loosened from her waist was embroidered with extremely complicated and slightly familiar patterns, made of black silk thread, **** wide¡ª


    Suddenly, she remembered something.


    Shangyuan night, falling into the water, wearing a belt.


    Ming Tan was still in shock, and after a long while, she swallowed, raised her eyes to meet those somewhat indifferent eyes, and asked in a low voice: "Husband, Husband, yes, is it you?"

 Chapter 26：

    The "Husband" was very soft and soft, Ming Tan felt something was wrong after shouting, she was dazed for a while, she blushed, pinched her earlobe embarrassedly, and buried her head in a panic.


    With Jiang Xu''s skill, he didn''t need weapons at all, and these gangsters couldn''t get close to him, but when he heard the "husband", he also stopped for a moment. His sword stabbed straight at him. The blade of the sword reflected the scorching sun at noon, reflecting extremely dazzling white light.


    Jiang Xu didn''t move, didn''t raise his eyes, and when the tip of the sword was only an inch away from him, he was forced to stop¡ª


    He put **** together on the thin sword blade, obviously he didn''t use any force, but the gangster who held the sword seemed to use all his strength to push forward, the sword body trembled slightly, and suddenly folded, long The sword was snapped, Jiang Xu pushed his palm, and the gangster was shaken to fly far away before he got close, and fell to the ground on his back, throwing up dust!


    Jiang Xu''s accompanying dark guards are also first-class masters.


    It took less than half a cup of tea to enter the arena to deal with these gangsters. It was as if the autumn wind swept away the fallen leaves, neat and ruthless.


    Jiang Xu glanced at the survivors left behind, and ordered: "Take it down."


    The two hidden guards took the lead, carried them away, and quickly disappeared. A few other hidden guards didn''t need to be ordered, and went straight to clean up the corpses.


    The situation changed so quickly that everyone seemed to have not recovered from the fright. Mrs. Pei was also quite shocked, her face turned pale, supported by the girl, she got off the carriage tremblingly, with one hand still covering her heart .


    But when she got out of the carriage and saw Ming Tan was still held in Jiang Xu''s arms, she seemed to be dazed again, and almost couldn''t stand still.


    My goodness! What is this doing?


    Ming Tan is a married girl!


    "Many, thank you for your help, little girl¡ª"


    Hearing Pei''s voice, Ming Tan regained his senses in shock, and hurriedly withdrew from Jiang Xu''s arms.


    However, although the belt was half loose, it was still wrapped around her waist. She blushed so much that her fingertips were burning hot. She hadn''t untied it for a long time, and it kept getting more and more messy. Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and glanced at her long and With trembling eyelashes, he directly tore off the sleeve end of the drawstring.


    All the long belts fell on Ming Tan''s body, she took half a step back, bowed her head, and said softly: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving your life."


    Your Highness?


    Pei Shi suddenly collected himself.


    Earlier in the Daxiangguo Temple, she accompanied the two wives of Fengchunhou''s Mansion and Li Siye''s Mansion to chat, offered incense and unwrapped the lottery, and heard the girl behind her report that the fourth lady and her party met Ding in the back mountain. His Royal Highness the King of the North... Could it be that the one in front of you is His Royal Highness the King of Dingbei, their famous God of War?


    She looked at Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan understood and nodded slightly.


    Mrs. Pei hurriedly saluted: "My concubine, Mrs. Pei, has met the prince, and the prince is blessed and safe. Thank you for saving my life."


    "Ma''am, you are very polite." Jiang Xu bowed slightly.


    It is His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    What a blessing in misfortune!


    Mrs. Pei''s original heart fell back to the original place, but she didn''t know what to think of, and then bent the corners of her lips, carefully deliberating and tentatively said: "The gangster came here today very strangely, and is quite fierce. If there is no action by the prince, I am afraid that the little girl will die." There are many bad luck and bad luck. The reputation of the girl in the boudoir is the most important thing, thanks to the prince¡ª¡±


    Jiang Xu understood, looked straight at Mrs. Pei, and said slowly: "Madam, don''t worry, this matter will not disturb the government office. The king will hand over the survivors who are brought down to the hands of the Marquis of Jing''an."


    Pei laughed again: "Thank you, my lord, for your compassion."


    It is not a good thing for the three women in the boudoir to go out to pilgrimage. If His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei comes out to rescue him, the fourth lady of Jing''an Houfu will hug and flirt with the prince before she even passes the door. It is inevitable that some people will criticize and criticize Ming Tan behind his back.


    And she already had a feeling about this matter, if after investigation, she found out that the scandal was caused by her own family, then the Jing''an Hou''s Mansion would be no different from the old Lingguo''s mansion if it got into the government office, it would be a joke.


    When Ming Tan returned, Mrs. Pei took Ming Tan''s hand again, and said lovingly: "A Tan is shocked, don''t worry, mother will definitely find out what happened today and ask you to understand."


    These words were obviously meant for Jiang Xu.


    Ming Tan is the princess of Dingbei who has never been married. Today, such a big trouble happened in front of His Royal Highness Dingbei. She is expressing her stance: Even if it is finally found out that the scandal was caused by her own family, she will never be wronged because of her own thoughts. To cover up and forgive.


    In fact, Jiang Xu didn''t care how the Jing''an Hou Mansion handled the family affairs, he just nodded and said that he still had important things to do, so he needed to take a step first, and let the dark guards **** their horses and chariots back to the mansion.


    Mingchu, who was still on the carriage, looked angry and annoyed, and flashed a trace of uneasiness and panic that he hadn''t noticed.


    After returning to the mansion, Mrs. Pei calmly ordered: "Everyone is frightened, so go back to your own courtyard to rest first. Mama Zhang, please go to the kitchen and tell the ladies to bring a bowl of calming soup to the ladies later."


    Zhang''s mother should be blessed.


    The three of Ming Tan were also served by maidservants, and returned to their yard.


    The half day today has been full of ups and downs, and Ming Tan was indeed tired, she freshened up and washed, used calming soup again, clutched the belt and leaned on the imperial concubine''s couch for a while, before falling asleep without knowing it.


    Ming Tan can sleep well, but some people dare not even close their eyelids at this moment, for fear that once they close their eyes, they will never be able to open them again.


    "... What are you doing to change the carriage? Isn''t this telling others that you have a problem!"


    Aunt Liu always spoke in a soft voice, but now she heard what Mingchu and the accompanying maids said, her blood surged, she was flustered and anxious, and she even spoke louder unconsciously.


    Mingchu didn''t realize how serious the matter was at all, and stubbornly refused to answer.


    Aunt Liu closed her eyes and sat down with her forehead supported. She couldn''t figure out why she gave birth to such an idiot as Mingchu!


    She was the aunt who entered the mansion when Mrs. Bai was there. After Mrs. Bai left, Mrs. Pei continued her marriage. When Mrs. Pei''s foundation in the mansion was not stable, she quietly placed someone in Lanxin Courtyard.


    In fact, she didn''t intend to do anything with the manpower, but it was just in case of emergency. Later, seeing that Mrs. Pei had no intention of dealing with these aunts, she was always submissive and did not interfere with the water of the well. She didn''t have to use it until this time when she was planning a marriage for Mingchu.


    She was already prepared to be discovered by Pei Shi with this use. It''s just that she expected that this matter would not harm Pei''s interests, and Pei''s probably would not destroy the balance with her for many years for a Shen Hua.


    It was also for this reason that she dared to take the risk and send people pretending to be gangsters to block the sinking painting and damage her reputation.


    According to her plan, Mingchu should have met the second son of Li Siye''s mansion smoothly. Mingchu''s appearance is not bad, and when he is willing to speak well, he is more lively and pleasant than ordinary women. Even if he finally finds out that he has met the wrong person, the second son of the Li family will still have some impression of Mingchu.


    With these impressions, plus Shen Hua''s reputation lost after being taken into captivity for half a day, the marriage between the second son of the Li family and Mingchu will naturally go much smoother.


    But who would have thought that Mingchu was so stupid that he was tricked by Shen Hua at the first step, and then he was so stupid that he changed the carriage on his own, dragging Mingtan into the water!


    If Ming Chu and Shen Hua were in the same car, Shen Hua was taken captive, and Ming Chu knew martial arts, no one would suspect that he escaped, and Ming Tan and the Pei family would not be offended. Only a distant cousin living here was lost, how could Mrs. Pei investigate deeply.


    It''s all ruined now.


    She took such a big risk for her good daughter''s thoughtful marriage, and it was completely ruined by her good daughter''s stupidity!


    When Ming Tan woke up, it was already dusk.


    Seeing that she had woken up, Lue stepped forward excitedly and said, "Miss, something happened to those two in Yiyun Courtyard!"


    Yiyun Courtyard is the courtyard of Aunt Liu.


    Did something happen to Aunt Liu and Mingchu?


    Ming Tan faintly guessed something, as if he hadn''t woken up yet, he said in a lazy voice: "Make up, let''s join in the fun."


    Sitting in front of the dowry, Ming Tan regained consciousness. Looking left and right in front of the bronze mirror, she changed her mind again: "Forget it, it''s better to be this plain and pale."


    By the way, she picked out a plain dress and went to Lanxin Courtyard with her green calyx and plain heart.


    At this moment in the Flower Hall of Lanxin Garden, Ming Tingyuan and Mrs. Pei are sitting at the top, Aunt Liu is kneeling on the ground crying pear blossoms with rain, while Mingchu is standing stubbornly, her eyes are red.


    The Pei family has been managing the inner courtyard for many years, so they already have some skills. There are some things that she turns over casually on weekdays, because she doesn''t want to pursue it, but today she wants to investigate it, and it only took one afternoon to find out the matter clearly.


    Who was the culprit assigned, where did they come from, who were An''s eyeliners in Lanxinyuan, and what did they do, all were laid out in front of Ming Tingyuan''s eyes, clearly. Even beside Ming Tingyuan, a nail planted by Aunt Liu was found.


    As for why Aunt Liu had so much private money to find someone to do things with, and whether she had accepted bribes in the name of Lord Hou on Yangxi Road, Mrs. Pei only showed the account books that she had found, but did not go into details.


    When Ming Tingyuan first heard about this, he was furious!


    However, after Aunt Liu was detained, she didn''t have any sophistry, she just cried in the rain, taking all the faults on herself, and said that all kinds of things to herself were just love for her daughter, how did the Marquis and his wife treat her? She can do anything, but Mingchu is from the blood of the Hou family, and she is young, so she hopes that Lord Hou and his wife can be punished lightly.


    Mingchu also admitted everything, but she made another gesture of being stubborn and unwilling to shed tears. Standing and complaining, she said that since returning to Beijing, her father treated her worse than before, and recalled that when she was on Yangxi Road, her father took her to ride a horse, took her to pick fruits in the mountains and forests, and took her to the military camp to see Soldiers performing martial arts... There is a bit of sadness in the words.


    The two came up together like this, Ming Tingyuan was a little uncertain.


    After all, he has been together day and night for five years, and he does have some feelings for the two of them, and the two of them are just looking for a better marriage, and the intention is not to hurt Ming Tan, and now all kinds of things have not caused any irreversible consequences . He pondered for a while, thinking that it would be fine if the two of them were sent to the nunnery to meditate for a while.


    When Ming Tingyuan was discussing with Pei''s family, Ming Tan had already stepped into Lanxin Courtyard with half a foot, and coincidentally, Shen Hua also rushed over from Fenghe Courtyard.


    Ming Tan was about to talk to Shen Hua, when she suddenly remembered something, she subconsciously blurted out, "It''s broken!"


    Lue was stunned: "Miss, what''s wrong?"


    Shen drew it clearly, and gestured to the maidservant behind him.


    The maid hurried forward and handed over a Supa.


    "I think the fourth sister was in a hurry to go out, so she forgot to bring her handkerchief." Shen Hua covered her lips and said softly, "The garlic juice has a slightly stronger taste, and the pepper water has a lighter taste."


    "..."


    Ming Tan took the handkerchief and sniffed it.


    Very good, as expected of her former opponent.

 Chapter 27：

    Mrs. Pei was talking to Ming Tingyuan, but she just went to the nunnery to think about the past and was afraid that something might be wrong. Ming Tan and Shen Hua came into the house together just in time.


    The two first looked at Aunt Liu who was kneeling and Mingchu with red eyes at the same time, their eyes were full of doubts, and then they temporarily suppressed their doubts and greeted Zhou Quan.


    Ming Tan: "Greetings to father and mother."


    Shen Hua: "Greetings to Lord Hou and Madam."


    After seeing the ceremony, Ming Tan couldn''t help asking again: "Third Sister and Auntie, this is..."


    There was a moment of silence in the flower hall, and Mrs. Pei coughed lightly, and explained the whole story in detail.


    After listening, Shen Hua covered her lips with a handkerchief, terrified, and Ming Tan''s face was full of disbelief. The two kept asking about the details of the matter, and the more they listened, the more faltering they became.


    After a while, Ming Tan seemed to digest this fact, tears rolled down his eyes suddenly, and his voice trembled involuntarily: "Third Sister, Auntie, I feel sorry for you, you actually want to Hurting me like this!"


    Shen Hua was also crying, and said in a soft voice: "Ah Hua knows that he and the Hou family are only distant relatives. The third sister is right. She should be more honest and peaceful when she lives under someone else''s fence. But the third sister is dissatisfied with me, so she should be blunt." That''s right, why do you want to destroy Ah Hua''s innocence?"


    Ming Tan: "That day at the Pingguo Duke''s Mansion, the third sister wanted to tell the public about the fact that I was designed to fall into the water on the night of Shangyuan. The third sister didn''t like me, so let''s do it together several times on the famous festival. I think the third sister is not only trying to destroy To destroy the innocence of me and my cousin, this is an attempt to destroy the Jing''an Hou Mansion together!"


    At that time Ming Tan was hard to accept because of the sudden marriage offer, he didn''t have time to reason with Pei Shi and Ming Ting Yuan about it, Pei Shi and Ming Ting Yuan didn''t know about it. Knowing now, both of them were shocked: "Has there ever been such a thing?"


    Ming Tan nodded: "Fortunately, there was a cousin who helped Ah Tan at that time, and the third sister didn''t let the third sister finish talking."


    Shen Hua also had lingering fears: "The words of the third younger sister at that time were really shocking, and I don''t know where the third younger sister heard about the falling into the water."


    Where did you hear it? You don''t have to think about it, it must be Aunt Liu. Ming Tingyuan immediately looked at Aunt Liu fiercely!


    He has always regarded Liu Shi as a caring person, and he will not be defensive when resting at her place. About Mingtan falling into the water, he did tell Liu Shi that the behavior of Duke Ling''s mansion was too low, and he couldn''t get angry. He didn''t scold enough during the day, and he scolded freely at Liu Shi''s place at night.


    At that time, Mrs. Liu asked him not to get angry with worry, and even advised him, saying that this matter would damage Mingtan''s reputation and must not be spread outside the public.


    As a result, her so-called not to spread it outside, she said it to Mingchu when she turned around! Mingchu is her daughter, she knows her temperament best. No matter what he said, he still didn''t restrain him, allowing Mingchu to ruin Mingtan''s reputation in public!


    Although he is not a woman in the inner house, he is also very aware of how important a name is to a woman. If today''s incident was intended to be with Shen Hua and not with Ming Tan, then what about wanting to expose the incident of falling into the water in public? This is obviously not a momentary thought, but knowing how powerful it is, so I used the famous festival as a raft several times!


    Ming Tan''s tears dripped down the tip of his nose, stayed for a while and then fell down patter: "Actually, during the five years when Daddy went to Yangxi Road, Ah Tan often thought that if he could be by Daddy''s side all the time like the third sister, would he be happy?" how nice.


    "Father is not in the capital, and elder brother also went to Pangshan to take office. Only mother and A Tan are left in the capital. A Tan works hard to learn the rules, dare not make mistakes in words and deeds, and dare not make half a step in the future, because he is afraid of discrediting his father. Discredit the Jing''an Marquis Mansion..."


    When Ming Tingyuan heard the words, he was a little afraid to meet Ming Tan''s eyes again.


    He already felt ashamed of Ming Tan in his heart, thinking about it now, Ming Chu felt that after returning to Beijing, his life on Yangxi Road was very different, so he felt wronged, what about Ming Tan?


    Ming Tan has been alone in Shangjing for the past five years, no matter how virtuous and kind Pei is, she is not her biological mother after all. But she has never had any resentment, nor has she done anything to hurt others because of jealousy or hatred, and she always thinks about the reputation of the Hou Mansion.


    But to Mingchu, what is the reputation of the Hou Mansion? I''m afraid it''s not worth mentioning at all!


    Seeing this, Mrs. Pei added softly: "That child, Ayu, went to work outside the city two days ago, and he should come back after thinking about it. The most important thing is, His Royal Highness King Dingbei..."


    Yes, there are also Shen Yu and His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    Shen Yuruo knew that Aunt Liu and Mingchu wanted to change his sister''s marriage, but the result of the matter being revealed was just to go to the nunnery to think about it, so he would not give up. Shen Yu''s child has a promising future. Leaving his brother and sister to live here is a good relationship, not an enemy for himself. Not to mention, King Dingbei is still waiting to explain. It was indeed because he didn''t think well just now.


    Mingchu was about to go crazy with anger, her father was obviously planning to treat him lightly, but Ming Tan and Shen Hua, two little bitches, came in and cried, and her father changed his mind again by crying! Without thinking about it, she pulled out the soft whip around her waist, and hit Ming Tan''s face, thinking that it would be better to smash this bitch''s face to pieces!


    Ming Tan had been paying attention to Ming Chu for a long time, afraid that she would suddenly go crazy, and when she was about to whip her whip, she would hide to the side, and did not forget to ask Ming Ting Yuan for help: "Daddy!"


    Ming Ting''s eyes were sharp and his hands were quick, he rushed forward to protect Ming Tan, he received a scorching whip, and the anger in his heart was also intensified by this whip.


    He handed over Mingchu''s whip and slapped her hard: "Slap!"


    "You are usually arrogant and willful, I don''t say anything about you, but you are so vicious to your sisters and sisters at a young age, how can I, Ming Tingyuan, raise a daughter like you!"


    Mingchu was stunned by the roar. Ming Tingyuan was usually very talkative, even if he asked questions, he could only put on a serious face. She covered her face, aggrieved and shocked.


    Seeing her unrepentant look, Ming Tingyuan was furious at this moment. Aunt Liu panicked when she saw that he was serious, she knelt down and hugged his thigh and begged, "It''s all my concubine''s fault. It''s my concubine''s fault, Chu Chu¡ª"


    "Of course it''s your fault! Do you think you''re innocent?!" Ming Tingyuan was furious, and kicked Aunt Liu away, "I thought you were an honest and peaceful person who didn''t fight or grab! One by one, how can an honest and responsible person do it, and teach your daughter such virtues!"


    He was already furious, but was annoyed by crying, and with his sleeves and hands behind his back, he said in a rough voice: "Come on, drag the third lady and Mrs. Liu down, and give them twenty slaps each! After the beating, send the third lady into the ancestral hall. Only food and water are allowed, and no one is allowed to let her out without the order of the Marquis! Mrs. Liu is also dragged down and locked in the woodshed!"


    The twentieth board is either dead or disabled, but at least it will hurt for ten days and a half month without getting up, let alone resting after the fight.


    Mingchu yelled and refused to accept, Aunt Liu also cried and struggled. Sitting at the top, Mrs. Pei only glanced at the wind, and then a woman stepped forward to gag the mouths of the two of them with a handkerchief, and took them down.


    After the room was clean, Ming Tingyuan sat back on the head and said: "Mingchu''s temperament has been taught by Mrs. Liu, the two must not stay together anymore!"


    Mrs. Pei nodded: "What Hou Ye said is true."


    Ming Tingyuan reconsidered for a moment: "I still have to entrust Madam to find Mingchu''s family. The previous ones didn''t count, so I looked for them at a lower level. Don''t be in the capital, otherwise I don''t know what troubles she will cause when she gets married! In short, Before getting married, let her stay in the ancestral hall to reflect on herself, and don''t let her out again!"


    "Yes." Pei replied obediently again.


    "As for the Liu family," Ming Tingyuan paused, feeling annoyed when thinking about it, and waved his hand, "Madam should be in charge of the inner house, and she can deal with it as she says, and don''t let this poisonous woman appear again. In front of this Marquis!"


    Mrs. Pei should not say this, she asked softly: "After all, Mrs. Liu is different from other aunts. If the concubine loses her according to the rules of the house, if the Marquis thinks of her in a few years, he will blame the concubine for having too much hair." , but what should I do?"


    "This poisonous woman, Ben Hou, still thinks of what she is doing? You just send me!"


    Pei''s eyes drooped: "Aunt Liu was born in the family, and later became a common house, and then brought up my aunt, so she is a slave. According to the rules of the mansion, it should be **** with someone''s teeth with the deed of sale and sold outside."


    Ming Tingyuan heard the words and fell silent.


    Mrs. Pei said again: "Mr. Liu''s mistake is really unforgivable. However, she gave birth to a daughter for the Hou family, and served him for many years. There is no credit but hard work¡ª"


    She paused: "Thinking about being locked up in the firewood house for a few days, Mrs. Liu must have the intention of introspection, and she is clear about the marriage, and she has a concubine to help her look after her, so there is really nothing for Mrs. Liu to worry about. Concubine Yi The meaning of the body is not to send it to the nunnery, and then eat fast and chant Buddha, so as to redeem one''s own mistakes.


    "Second elder brother and second sister-in-law take office in Mei''an. Mei''an is a place of Zhongling Yuxiu with Buddha nature. There are many Buddhist temples and nunneries. It would be great for me to send it there. If there is anything wrong, second elder brother and second sister-in-law will also How much can you take care of?"


    Although they are both sent to the nunnery, the meaning is completely different. Ming Tingyuan previously wanted the two of them to think about the past and come back after thinking about it, but Mrs. Pei wanted Mrs. Liu to become a monk directly and accompany the ancient Buddha of Qingdeng forever.


    Ming Tingyuan thought for a while, and then agreed, thinking that although he was sent away from afar, the consequences would not be as miserable as being sold into slavery, and his second elder brother and second sister-in-law are also kind people, not to mention treating someone who is guilty of a crime. The concubine''s room in the nunnery can be taken care of, but it won''t let her die after a few days.


    Xiashou Ming Tan and Shen Hua understood that life in this nunnery would be difficult.


    Mrs. Liu usually calls her servants and maidservants, so she doesn''t need to work **** her own. After falling into a nunnery, she has to do everything by herself, and in a place as high as Mei''an, she can''t be pitiful and can''t beg for pity. After a long time, it''s hard for her father to think about it. It''s hard to get people back.


    After dealing with Ming Chu and Aunt Liu, Ming Tingyuan freed himself to talk and comforted Ming Tan and Shen Hua.


    Of course Ming Tan and Shen Hua were understanding, they talked for a long time, they were all trying to persuade him not to get angry and so on, Ming Tingyuan was deeply moved, and as soon as it was time for dinner, he set up a table in Lanxin Courtyard meal.


    When I came out of Lanxin Courtyard, the sky was already heavy.


    Ming Tan and Shen Hua walked towards the East Garden together, and chatted a few words, when the evening wind came suddenly, Ming Tan stopped fanning, changed the topic, and asked softly: "There is something that I don''t understand, My cousin told me last night that His Royal Highness King Dingbei will also go to Daxiangguo Temple, is it really just to inform me?"


    Shen Hua said calmly: "Of course not. I was on guard against the third younger sister. I thought that the fourth younger sister would go with me, so I might be able to help me. As for the conversation with the third younger sister later, I really didn''t think about it." After being heard by the prince, I don''t even know about the return journey. Although I have selfish intentions, I never thought of harming the fourth sister, can the fourth sister be trusted?"


    Ming Tan looked at her and nodded: "I will believe what my cousin says."


    In the past, the two of them were both tricked by women in the boudoir, and they never really hurt anything. Now, Shen Hua has no reason to intentionally drag her into the water. The two fanned and walked into the depths of the fragrance of flowers.


    In the past few days, Mingchu and Aunt Liu have finished their business, and the house has become much cleaner. Ming Tan''s longing heart revived, and he stared at the belt of His Royal Highness King Dingbei''s all day long.


    She originally thought about washing and ironing it, and sending it back to the palace with a thank you letter. But he also felt that being so proactive might inevitably remind His Royal Highness King Dingbei of what Mingchu said that day.


    And just send back a belt, how can she show her thoughtfulness... Send something else, okay, how can a girl send things out casually, she is so unrestrained, if someone finds out, she I really don''t want to live anymore.


    After thinking about it for a few days, Ming Tan couldn''t think of a good way to not give too many things, but also to make her future husband feel that she is extremely caring.


    Until one day when she was looking through a miscellaneous book, she found a novel recipe for making incense, which was said to have a clear and refreshing fragrance, and had the effect of repelling insects and evil spirits.


    As summer comes, there are more and more mosquitoes, so it is useful to repel insects and ward off evil spirits.


    And when the property is returned to its original owner, it can be dyed with incense at the same time, so that it will not fall into the trap of giving and receiving privately, and it can also show her virtuousness and appropriateness, which is great!


    Ming Tan regained his energy, and immediately started working with the little girls in the Zhaoshui courtyard.


    In fact, Ming Tan was extremely considerate in her work, she first showed the prescription to the doctor, and the doctor said that the combination of these spices and medicinal materials really has the effect of repelling insects.


    After the incense was made, she showed it to the doctor again, and the doctor said it should be really effective, so she soaked the incense on her clothes.


    The smell of this fragrance is really clear and special. For two days in a row, she wore clothes soaked in the fragrance and went to a place where there were many mosquitoes in the garden, and the mosquitoes did not come close to her.


    Reassured, she soaked the belt in this fragrance herself, picked out the brocade box for a while, ironed the belt, folded it neatly into the box, and sent someone to Dingbei Palace.


    When she sent someone to Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, the wind was blowing miscellaneous books by the window, and after a few pages of blowing, she saw that it said: "The seven-flavored fragrance prescriptions in the previous ones all have the same problem. After a few days of incense , the fragrance disappears, and the peculiar smell gradually flourishes.¡±


    Jiang Xu was not a ostentatious person, so Ming Tan sent the belt back, and the subordinates inspected it, and he accepted it without any problem. As for the effect of repelling insects and evil spirits that Uncle Fu brought, he didn''t take it seriously.


    Jiang Xu usually wears black clothes and black belts. After a few days, it was rare for him to change into a light-colored long coat, and went to the Gyeonggi camp to discuss important matters with the generals.


    While talking, he could faintly smell a strange smell, and the generals who were close to him also felt as if they smelled some stinky fragrance, but he thought, when he was not on the battlefield, the prince was always clean. In the same room as him, I have never even smelled the smell of sweat that men in the army usually have. I guess I must have smelled it wrong, so I suppressed it and kept silent.


    But after a while, the peculiar smell gradually became stronger.


    Jiang Xu paused for a while, looked at the belt on his arm, and then slowly untied it round and round.


    It''s okay if you don''t untie it, but once you untie it, the stinky smell in the incense will become more intense. In the end, all the generals in the camp subconsciously covered their noses to avoid it.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    To ward off evil spirits.


    So he is the evil that people should avoid?

 Chapter 28：

    When Ming Tan realized that there might be something wrong with the belt he gave him, it had been several days since Jiang Xu had **** the belt with the stinky smell in it and drove a general in Daying, Gyeonggi.


    Ming Tan wears clothes in the summer, and they are almost the same. After wearing the clothes soaked in spices, she found that they can indeed repel insects, so she didn''t wear them again. After leaving it for a long time, one day Lue opened the box and tidied it up, and suddenly found that the whole box of clothes was already fragrant and stinky!


    Ming Tan was stunned, and after searching for a long time, he found out that some two fragrances in the insect repellent spice had strong fragrances, which would produce a peculiar smell after the fragrance dissipated.


    She was apprehensive, and secretly prayed that her future husband would never use it. If he felt that he didn''t need to take back the old things when he delivered them that day, it would be best to just throw them away!


    But Shen Hua completely shattered her prayer¡ª


    When the two were embroidering sachets together in the yard, Shen Hua looked at her from time to time while embroidering, somewhat hesitant to speak.


    Ming Tan saw it and asked: "Cousin, do you have something to say?"


    Shen Hua hesitated for a moment, then said in deliberation: "Yesterday evening, I went to deliver dinner to my brother. My brother said that the army has been passing on His Royal Highness Ding Beiwang for the past few days..."


    When Ming Tan heard "His Royal Highness King Dingbei", his ears perked up.


    "It is said that His Royal Highness Dingbei doesn''t like bathing, and his body stinks... There are also rumors that His Royal Highness Dingbei''s preference for smell is very unique." Shen Hua said very euphemistically.


    "...?"


    Ming Tan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood something.


    It''s over.


    It''s over!


    Wouldn''t her future husband think that he was dissatisfied with him on purpose to punish him? !


    Before, you sneaked into the barracks without restraint to see each other secretly, and later, you returned the belt and soaked it with incense to ward off evil spirits. It was obvious that the heat was unstoppable, but Ming Tan felt as if a gust of cold wind had blown through it, making it feel chilly.


    Ming Tan wanted to explain it well and convey an apology to her future husband, but she was a girl, and she didn''t have any reason to come to someone to talk about it for no reason, and within a few days, Shen Hua told her, His Royal Highness King Dingbei I went to the north to patrol the soldiers. I am afraid that this patrol will not return to Beijing until the end of the year.


    After hearing this news, Ming Tan was depressed for several days. Originally, she was thinking that at the Dragon Boat Race on Xianjiang during the Duanyang Festival, many dignitaries and dignitaries would be present, so maybe Neng could catch a glimpse of her future husband from afar, if she could create an opportunity then, it would be fine to just explain a few words to him OK Well now, there is absolutely no chance.


    But fortunately, her future husband did not want to divorce her because of this. Instead, the Ministry of Rites sent someone to the mansion, saying that the wedding date has been fixed, and after the ceremony is completed, they will be married in the spring of next year.


    After several days of wilting, Ming Tan finally regained his spirits!


    After the wedding date was set, Li Cheng walked away in an orderly manner.


    The palace gave her the future Dingbei Princess rewards one after another. People who came to tailor clothes and prepare auspicious clothes for her came five times. Empress Zhang also sent a teaching nun to teach her royal rules.


    Ming Tan has always been good at learning the rules, so she didn''t bother to pay any attention to it, but she didn''t become self-righteous and slack because of her good skills.


    Queen Zhang was very satisfied when she learned about this. Thinking back to Nuan Pavilion on the way to Yongyuan, she immediately fell in love with Mingtan, and now she feels that she has a very good vision.


    While learning the rules and etiquette with the nanny, Ming Tan also started a half-year-long careful grooming.


    How much you can only eat in a day to maintain a slim body, how to maintain the delicate and moist skin all over your body...


    She did these things in the past, but now she is more strict with herself. After all, what she is doing now is to become the most beautiful bride and change her future husband''s opinion of her in one fell swoop, so there is no room for loss!


    Ming Tan is busy every day, and the others are not idle either.


    Surrounding her are girls who are about to get married in their boudoirs, and the family is busy with engagement matters. During this period of time, there has been an endless stream of wedding celebrations in Shangjing.


    Shen Hua was very satisfied with the second son of Li Siye''s family whom he met earlier. The second son of Li Siye had a good family background, but not so good that she couldn''t climb up to him at all. And his father has a good official reputation, and his promotion is just around the corner. The most important thing is that when Shen Hua saw each other at the Daxiangguo Temple earlier, Shen Hua had a glimpse of his character, which was quite upright and motivated.


    So Shen Hua nodded her head on this marriage, and let Mrs. Pei discuss it, it was settled smoothly.


    Since it was not a royal wedding, the two families'' ceremony went much faster. The Li family also valued Shen Hua very much, and they couldn''t help but pay attention to the ceremony of marrying a wife, and the dowry was quite generous.


    Apart from Shen Hua''s marriage, Pei also made a low-key marriage with Ming Chu.


    The family that the Pei family appointed for Mingchu was the third son of Feng''s family in Xuanwei''s mansion. General Xuanwei was a fifth-rank military officer with a low rank and his residence was not in the capital. It was completely in line with what Ming Tingyuan had proposed Require.


    Ming Tingyuan had dealt with General Feng before, and he had a good impression of this General Feng, and he inquired about it, and the gentlemen of the Feng family were all very good.


    The Feng Sanlang who wanted to get married was quite like his father, and he became the commander of the Hezhou barracks at a young age, so when Mrs. Pei showed him the marriage, he didn''t think much about it, and he was satisfied with the decision , settled down at once.


    Ming Tingyuan is a man, it is extremely difficult to be able to pay attention to the conduct of the other party''s father and brother, how can he pay attention to other things. However, Ming Tan and Shen Hua knew after a little inquiring that Ming Chu''s staying at Feng''s house might not cause any trouble.


    The old lady of the Feng family runs the family very strictly and is also very aggressive. In the previous generation of the Feng family, there was a family separation issue. Ordinary families would hide their ugliness from the outside world, but Mrs. Feng was different. If there was a scandal in the family, she would just not cover it up. When it came to the yamen, he insisted on asking for an explanation, and he was very famous in Hezhou.


    And when Mingchu married, there were two more sister-in-laws from the family of generals. These two sister-in-laws were serious generals, and together with Wu Wu, they were probably more flamboyant than Mingchu Much stronger.


    In this way, Mingchu definitely did not rely on his background in Jing''an Hou''s mansion to be arrogant and violent in his in-law''s house.


    When Mingchu learned about the marriage at the beginning of the ancestral hall, he also had a rough time, crying, beating, and threatening hunger strikes, but these were not enough in front of Mrs. Pei.


    Pei Shi used to be too lazy to take care of her, but now if he wants to take care of her, he can naturally tidy her up into a docile manner.


    As soon as Mingchu went on a hunger strike, Mrs. Pei cut off her meals on the grounds that "Miss San is obsessed with Taoism and does not eat food". When Mingchu couldn''t bear it anymore and gave in, she used her ancestors'' family law, filial piety and morality to use many torture methods. Not long after, the ancestral hall settled down, and the mansion no longer heard Ming Chu yelling that she would never marry anything.


    Generally speaking, the two marriages in Jing''an Hou''s mansion went smoothly, but the marriage in Chang Guogong''s mansion did not go well.


    The couple of the Duke of Chang''s Mansion had pre-selected Bai Minmin''s family earlier. Although they hadn''t made the decision publicly, the two families knew it well. How did they know that at this juncture of discussing marriage, they actually went to the Sujun Prince''s Mansion without saying a word, and made an engagement with the Qingyao County Lord in the Sujun Prince''s Mansion!


    Bai Jingyuan was very angry, and lost his temper in the mansion.


    This time, Bai Minmin had a very peaceful life, she didn''t cry, make trouble or get angry, anyway, she didn''t really want to marry, that family was her parents'' favorite, she didn''t feel much about it. Fortunately, there was no courtesy before, and if she wants to see other people again, she can do it at any time.


    Zhou Jingwan has also reached the age of marriage, but Zhou''s family passed on poems and books to the family, and there are many famous scholars and ministers.


    The matchmaker broke the threshold of Zhou''s family, and her parents didn''t give anyone an accurate word. They said it was not in a hurry. Their Jingwan was young, so they just got to know each other slowly.


    Only Zhou Jingwan found out by accident that among the people who proposed marriage, there was actually the fearsome deputy commander in front of the palace, Lu Ting. She was so frightened that she couldn''t sleep for several days, and she was looking forward to her father and mother. Hurry up and return the Iceman sent by Lu Dianshuai.


    "Lu Dianshuai?" Ming Tan was surprised, "Why did Lu Dianshuai propose marriage to you? Do you know each other?"


    Zhou Jingwan shook her head, and said softly: "I don''t know, and I don''t know why I proposed marriage."


    Bai Minmin thought for a while, propped his chin and teased: "I''ll see, Lu Dianshuai must have fallen in love with you at the first sight at Daxiangguo Temple that day!"


    "What are you talking about!" Zhou Jingwan was overwhelmed with embarrassment and embarrassment.


    "What''s wrong with me? It''s just a one-sided meeting. It''s not love at first sight." Bai Minmin didn''t spare her, "What''s wrong with Lu Dianshuai, he is the commander of the deputy commander in front of the palace, and now the commander is temporarily suspended. Assuming nothing, the chief of the palace is Lu Dianshuai who has the final say, the chief of the palace, he has such a high position and authority at such a young age, he will have it in the future!"


    The more Bai Minmin talked, the more enthusiastic he became: "Although Lu Dianshuai has a bad reputation, he was not as scary as the rumors when he watched it at the Daxiangguo Temple that day. When it comes to killing people with cruel methods, isn''t His Royal Highness Dingbei even worse?


    "But we all saw His Royal Highness King Dingbei with our own eyes, and heard what he said. It''s cold, but he''s so handsome, and he''s also very polite. So, these rumors are prejudices!"


    Ming Tan held his face and nodded in agreement.


    Bai Minmin: "Besides, Lu Dianshuai is on good terms with His Royal Highness King Dingbei and Young Master Shu. You can''t believe His Highness King Dingbei, but Second Young Master Shu is well-known in Beijing for his precious character. You should trust him, right?"


    "...?" Ming Tan retorted with a face of approval just now, "Why can''t my future husband be trusted?"

 Chapter 29：

    Bai Minmin felt that Ming Tan''s habit of turning his elbows out before he even passed the door could not be changed no matter what. The closer the wedding day is, the more unable to hide Ming Tan''s indistinct hatred for marriage.


    Usually she is reserved outside, but when she talks in private, she often talks about such shameful words as "after getting married", and occasionally she holds her face and sighs, and murmurs: "I haven''t been married yet." It''s the end of the year!"


    Both Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan felt blindsided.


    Days passed by without any haste, the Duanyang Festival, which Ming Tan originally expected to meet his future husband, had already passed away with excitement, and in a blink of an eye it was July Qixi Festival.


    The festival of begging for cleverness on the Qixi Festival has always been valued by daughters. Every year, the Xungui family will build a colorful building in the courtyard of their home for their girls to burn incense and pray piously.


    It was also very lively outside, near the Qixi Festival, there was a lot of traffic and horses in Shangjing, and there were many shops on the street, and there were many more strange things than usual.


    Ming Tan, who seldom goes out because of preparations for marriage, also stepped out of Jing''an Hou Mansion on this day.


    According to the custom of the Daxian Dynasty, the girls'' families would often give each other some small things on Qixi Festival. Ming Tan stayed at home preparing for marriage, and had nothing to do most of the time, so he gave Bai Minmin, Zhou Jingwan, Shen Hua, and other weekdays gifts early. The aristocratic ladies in Beijing who I befriended prepared sachets, handkerchiefs and other things embroidered by myself.


    In fact, Ming Tan is not very enthusiastic about female reds, it takes a lot of effort to go through the needles, and it hurts the eyes. However, although she is not keen, in order to become a leader among noble ladies in Beijing, she has already practiced needlework to a very good level.


    The objects made by her are exquisite in materials and novel in embroidery, even if the embroidery is not as good as some girls who are proficient in this art, it is quite delicate and lovely in the hand, and in the sachet, she also put a small Jewelry, rouge gouache, fine wood carvings and other gadgets.


    Bai Minmin received a sachet and a very exquisite Kongming lock, which was brought back by Mingtan''s elder brother who took office in Pangshan.


    Pangshan is a small place, but it is close to the fortress, there are many merchants, and there are many novelty things. Every once in a while, her elder brother never forgets to bring some good things to Beijing.


    Zhou Jingwan received a small round fan in addition to the sachet. The top-quality silk used for the fan is embroidered with budding camellias that suit her very well. It also imitates her handwriting and embroiders two lines of camellia poems that she made herself. The handle is perforated and wrapped with a very transparent Tassel jade pendant.


    Zhou Jingwan couldn''t put it down, even if she changed the fan.


    This time, Ming Tan was too busy to prepare things with such care, and Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan were rarely embarrassed. What they prepared was really not enough to look at when they took it out.


    Bai Minmin played with the Kong Ming lock in her hand, not knowing what she was thinking about. Listening to Ming Tan thinking about whether her complexion has become more radiant recently, and after she gets married, will her future husband like her appearance¡ª¡ª


    Bai Minmin suddenly put down the Kongming lock, beckoned to Mingtan mysteriously, and lowered her voice slightly excitedly: "Tonight, Bieyulou is very lively, do you want to go and see the excitement?"


    Upon hearing Bieyulou, both Ming Tan and Zhou Jingwan stared in unison.


    Ming Tan: "Could it be that you lost your mind and went crazy, what are you going there to do?"


    Zhou Jingwan also covered her lips with a fan: "You have always been playful, but don''t let the bustle of Yulou be a girl''s house to join in, so stop talking about it."


    "A Tan, I''m thinking of you. My second brother has some kind of friendship with Miss Shuiying from Bieyulou. You must have heard of Miss Shuiying''s name. You just want your future husband to like you. I Looking at your little face, there is no need to bother anymore, if you have to worry about it, it is better to work on other places."


    Bieyulou is the first flower building in Beijing. To be number one in Beijing, the power behind it must be extremely powerful, and there must be something special about it.


    Although it is a flower building, most of the girls in Bieyulou are courtiers who sell their performances but not their bodies. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also extremely talented. Pay big bucks for it.


    Miss Shuiying is one of the best.


    I heard that this Shuiying girl was originally from an official family, but she was convicted of ransacking her home and was not enslaved before she was exiled in the Land of Fireworks. She has a beautiful appearance, a slender figure, and is proficient in all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Most importantly, there are countless men who bow down to her pomegranate skirt.


    In fact, those who are really greedy for **** in bed will not be obsessed with Bieyulou. There are many gentle villages in Beijing, and there is nowhere to go. The nobles who come to Bieyulou mostly do it for elegant stunts.


    However, this Shuiying girl not only attracted romantic and famous people to drink tea, cook tea and pass on poems to get along with each other, but also caused many princes in Beijing to fight for her, and she almost killed her. As attractive as she is, there must be something unique about her.


    The idea of ??a lady going to the Hualou to watch the excitement is really out of bounds, if someone bumps into her, she can''t argue with it. And the reason why Bai Minmin made such a bold proposal is because every year on this day, Bieyulou will thank guests behind closed doors in a grand manner.


    Although guests are not welcome into the building, everyone will set up another Qiqiao building outside and hold a banquet. The girls in the building will thread needles on the moon, lock spiders and weave webs, burn incense and worship, and do things that ordinary women do on Qiqiao festivals. Let''s make another fun show for everyone, of course, there will be freshly arranged songs and dances to add to the fun, dancing under the moon, making poetic gestures.


    Every year on Qixi Festival, the crowds who come to look up at the beauties outside the Bieyu Tower are full of people, which is quite spectacular. However, if you want to see the beauties up close, you have to have some connections to book a private room.


    "Bie Yulou is going to Qiqiao today. There are so many people going to see the excitement. Let''s go and see what''s going on. It''s not that we actually entered their flower building, but we just took a closer look at the Qiqiao shed outside. Who is that Shuiying girl? It''s not an exaggeration to say that He Fengzi is so attractive. And if we sit in the private room, no one will notice through the screen." Bai Minmin said confidently.


    "Are you asking me to learn from that Shuiying girl how to seduce your husband?" Ming Tanchi asked.


    Bai Minmin: "..."


    Understand it a little more straightforwardly.


    She tactfully said: "I mean, you can observe why she is attractive, and you can also observe how she gets along with men."


    This statement, Ming Tan is a little bit more acceptable.


    These girls rarely see foreigners in their families, and it is difficult to say a few words when they see them, let alone get along with them. The high-ranking lady has always only taught how to control the middle class and how to make her husband respect her, but she never knew how to get along with her husband or how to cultivate a relationship with her husband.


    Hmm...Ming Tan was actually persuaded.


    Besides, it''s just to watch the excitement outside.


    Ming Tan was persuaded and moved, but Zhou Jingwan was unwilling to go, and she was weak, so Bai Minmin didn''t drag her along.


    At night on the Qixi Festival, the city of Shangjing is full of lights and crowds. Outside the Bieyu Building on the north bank of the Xianjiang River, the newly built Qiqiao shed is full of odd objects. The girls in the Bieyu Building are holding round fans, talking and laughing, and walking gracefully and gracefully. Fragrant wind.


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin wore veiled hats, got out of the sedan chair quietly away from the crowd, and went straight to the back of the Qiqiao building, followed by the servants into the private room in the building.


    "Which one is Miss Shuiying?" Ming Tan asked in a low voice.


    As soon as she finished speaking, she saw a graceful beauty covering her face with a fan, walking up the steps slowly, every step she took was reserved and coquettish. That kind of style is particularly conspicuous among the girls.


    Come to think of it, this is the rumored girl Shuiying. Just such a delicate and uncommon mood is indeed enough to attract people.


    When Shui Ying appeared, many people came out from behind the screen in the private room, stepped forward to warm up with him, and the second cousin of the Bai family who brought Bai Minmin and Ming Tan did the same, he couldn''t wait to get up and come out.


    The second cousin of the Bai family is indeed acquainted with Shui Ying, and Shui Ying also sells his face, always smiling softly and listening to him.


    "...My sister, and my cousin also came here with me today to see your demeanor." The second cousin of the Bai family laughed.


    cousin?


    The water fills up slightly.


    Those who are in their line of business are well aware of the family relationships of the dignitaries in the capital. The second young master of the Bai family has many relatives, including several cousins, but that one is not the only one in the capital... Shui Ying suddenly smiled.


    With her smile, the bright moon seemed to turn pale tonight, and the second cousin of the Bai family stared blankly for a moment.


    Shui Ying said in a soft voice: "The ladies are young, but they are still innocent and sincere. It is because they are straightforward and lively." She smiled again, "In this case, I must add a glass of fruit wine for the two ladies. Thank you for your kindness."


    Bai Minmin and Ming Tan were sitting behind the screen, whispering to each other about the mood of this watery girl, who would have imagined that this watery girl would suddenly be served with a pot of wine and walk around to temporarily separate them with a screen The private room added wine for the two of them!


    The two of them didn''t even have time to put on the veiled hats they took off, their faces were filled with astonishment, and they thought to themselves: What did my elder brother (second cousin) say to this Shuiying girl?


    And when Shui Ying saw Ming Tan''s half-faced face, she confirmed her previous guess about her identity¡ªthe lord was given a marriage, and these subordinates couldn''t even know the future mistress. The portrait was passed on to everyone early on.


    Looking at it now, people are three points more beautiful than paintings.


    As for the reason for the girl who is going to be married to come to the flower building to watch the excitement, Shui Ying knows it without even guessing.


    The big wives of rich families are all self-respecting and dignified, but they also know very well in their hearts that just being dignified is not enough to please their husbands. They are afraid that their own girls will suffer from the loss of the first concubine after they marry. They have been privately asked her to teach the girls in the court all these years. There are also many people.


    It''s just that they didn''t expect that their future mistress was different, and she came to observe quietly by herself.

 Chapter 30：

    Earlier, Shui Ying thought this marriage was very boring.


    The fourth young lady of the Ming family, presumably, was no different from the other ladies in Beijing, dignified and quiet, and at the same time kept etiquette to the point of rigidity.


    Their master is already dull and indifferent enough, and if there is another well-behaved and boring mistress, there is no need to expect that their master will have a tough and tender side in his lifetime.


    But now, Shui Ying thinks this marriage is interesting.


    She was full of smiles, poured a glass of fruit wine for Ming Tan and Bai Minmin, and said a few polite words.


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin picked it up, but there was no sign of drinking.


    Shui Ying smiled knowingly: "This wine is very sweet, specially prepared for my daughter''s family, the two young ladies are welcome to have a taste." She poured herself a glass, covered her sleeves and drank it.


    When we met for the first time, there was no resentment or enmity, but Miss Shuiying would not be poisoned in the wine. Seeing her drink, Ming Tan also dipped a little in the glass.


    The smile on Shui Ying''s face became even wider: "My family wants to perform a dance, so I won''t bother the two young ladies. I just hope that my family''s dance will make the two young ladies show their faces."


    She bowed softly and stepped back.


    But in the middle of the retreat, she seemed to suddenly think of something, raised her head again, leaned forward slightly, and whispered in Ming Tan''s ear: "Actually, I know why Miss came here today. In the past, there were many ladies in Beijing. Come to Xunnu''s house to ask for advice on this. If the lady is interested, you might as well enjoy a dance. After the slave''s dance is over, go with the slave''s house to sit in the building for a while.


    "The slave family only dances one song today. After sitting down for a while, the bustle outside has not ended. Miss, you can rest assured. If you are not at ease, let the second young master Bai guard the outside. And the slave family just wants to marry the lady because of the good looks of the lady. It''s a good fate, the slave''s family usually receives fifty gold for an hour, and the young lady will also give the slave''s fifty gold."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Fifty gold an hour.


    The top girl in Bieyulou is really worth a lot.


    Of course, fifty gold is not a big deal.


    After Shui Ying Kuan left, Ming Tan finally came back to his senses: "She...she said she knew why I came today, but how did she know?"


    Bai Minmin was also a little stunned, and simply dragged her second brother, who was dumbfounded by the beauty, to a seat, and asked viciously, "What did you and that Shuiying girl just say?!"


    Bai Er was very innocent: "What? I didn''t mention your names, and I''m not stupid, I just said it was my sister and cousin!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Doesn''t that mean that she is the only cousin he has in Beijing!


    However, she admired this Shuiying girl a little. She was able to judge her identity so quickly from a few words, and from her identity, she could deduce the purpose of her coming here today. The intertwined relationship between them is well understood.


    Being able to stir up romantic affairs in Beijing and China, and still keep things out of the way, is really very good at dancing with long sleeves. So knowing her purpose, she took advantage of the situation and took the initiative to throw branches to make a good relationship, which is not difficult to understand.


    Ming Tan hesitated with his chin propped up, and tapped lightly on the table with onion-like fingers.


    As she thought about it, the bustle outside had already begun. Shuiying led a group of dancers to dance the song "Seven Pan Dance".


    The dance has a long history, and it is a dance that blends rigidity and softness, not lacking in softness and beauty, but also extremely powerful. The dance in Bieyulou tonight seems to have been re-arranged. The leader is Shui Ying, slim and soft, with a kind of unconventional coquettishness on her body, which is very eye-catching when she dances.


    Ming Tan was hesitant at first, but after watching Shui Ying''s dance without blinking, she suddenly made up her mind.


    The bustle of Qiqiao Building outside is still going on, and the lights are shining on the river, sparkling. No one noticed, two girls wearing veiled hats left quietly from the private room, followed the young man to the back door of the Bieyu Building, and entered the building.


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin have never been in a flower building, but they used to pass by the Yanhualiu Lane in a car, and the girls in the flower building were all dressed in cool and cool clothes outside to welcome customers. Looking from a distance, the inside is full of bright red and green, and they can feel it when they are not close. The smell of powder is pungent and choking.


    But don''t look inside the Jade Tower, it really doesn''t look like a flower building as imagined, the corridors and patios are very elegantly arranged, quite poetic. Although it also depicts gold and jade, it doesn''t make people feel vulgar, but it has a noble and elegant charm.


    Thank you guests behind closed doors in the building tonight, it is very clean. I followed the boy all the way up to the third floor, but I didn''t see many people.


    When it came to the private room for entertaining distinguished guests, Ming Tan saw the meaning of a flower building. After all, there is absolutely no reason for ordinary restaurants and tea houses to put incense tents and soft beds in the private room.


    Bai Minmin''s second brother is a frequent visitor to the building, so she didn''t feel that there was anything wrong, but Ming Tan and Bai Minmin were both on pins and needles. Fortunately, after sitting for a while, Shui Ying changed into her clothes and floated into the room with a smile on her face.


    Shui Ying: "It''s my family''s fault to call the Second Young Master Bai and the two young ladies to wait. Please forgive the Second Young Master Bai and the two young ladies."


    "It''s okay, it''s okay." Bai Minmin and her second brother waved their hands.


    Earlier, the young man led the three of them into the building, saying that it was Miss Shuiying who asked them to move to a better place to enjoy music and dancing, but Bai Er didn''t know the inside story, thinking that he was proud of himself.


    Shuiying punished herself with three cups to make amends, and then played piano music for them. She talked and laughed with them for a while while watching the singing and dancing outside by the window. He deliberately found a reason to get the pipa, and quietly withdrew.


    Ming Tan and Bai Minmin looked at each other, and suddenly made up their minds, they also stood up: "I''m going to change clothes."


    The second elder brother of the Bai family didn''t realize it for a while: "What kind of clothes should I wear?"


    "Second brother, are you stupid!" Bai Minmin gouged him out.


    "Oh, oh! Go, let someone outside take you there." It''s all because Bai Minmin is too rough on weekdays, he didn''t realize it for a while, his cousin Tan would say it so euphemistically when she went to the toilet.


    There was a servant waiting outside the house, seeing Ming Tan coming out, he hurriedly led her to Shuiying''s boudoir.


    Shui Ying was already waiting in the boudoir, when she saw Ming Tan coming, she said with a smile: "Miss Si, sit down quickly."


    Ming Tan looked at Shuiying''s boudoir, and slowly sat down. Before she could speak, Shuiying went straight to the point and said, "Miss Si, I''ll just say it straight. Although Bie Yulou said that he was a performer and not a person, but Hualou? , All rules are negotiated. Men can control everything, but they can''t control their belts no matter what. "


    "...?"


    Ming Tan was stunned, what did she hear?


    She... she didn''t come to listen to this!


    Seeing Ming Tan''s face turned red for a moment, Shui Ying covered her lips and smiled embarrassedly: "This slave is a little bit more straightforward, and the obscene words have dirty the ears of the young lady. But although the young lady will be dignified and dignified in the future Madam, but if you want your husband to like you, you have to know a thing or two about the above things."


    She glanced at the bed meaningfully.


    Ming Tan was still in a daze.


    Her original intention tonight was just to see why this Shuiying girl is attractive, so that when she gets along with her husband in private, she can learn how to find words and how to show herself. But it''s enough to enter the building as if bewitched. Listening to the girl of Shuiying, the most important thing to win the heart of the husband is actually...? !


    Shui Ying stood up, and took out a green face booklet from the cage.


    Ming Tan turned a page hesitantly, then threw it away as if catching a hot potato, and almost went into shock.


    Shui Ying did not see this scene uncommonly. When she went to teach the young ladies from wealthy families, those young ladies reacted in the same way, as if they could die of embarrassment and anger just by looking at it.


    She picked it up patiently, and then said: "Young lady is about to leave the cabinet, I don''t show these things to the young lady, and the wife at home must show the young lady before she leaves the pavilion. But the lady is concerned about her face, so she doesn''t want to teach her carefully. Ordinary fire avoidance maps are definitely not so detailed. As for the matter of husband and wife, if you don¡¯t understand the beauty of it, it will be very difficult¡ª¡± She paused, ¡°I want to be here, Miss Si feels uncomfortable watching, slave Go get some refreshments."


    After saying that, Shui Ying stood up, quietly exited, and closed the door.


    At the same time, in another private room in Bieyu Tower, Jiang Xu suddenly put down his wine glass, glanced at the people who were reporting back and forth in front of him, and said softly, "Say it again."


    The person who replied paused for a moment, and cold sweat broke out on his back: "Miss Shuiying said, Wang... the fourth lady of Jing''an Houfu, in her boudoir, the other girls of Shuiying didn''t say anything."


    "The Fourth Miss of the Ming family has come to Bieyu Tower?" Shu Jingran''s voice was full of surprise, and the wine glass was almost unsteady, "What is she doing here?"


    The person who answered the question asked three questions.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know what he was thinking, but before Shu Jingran could say another word, he got up.


    The boudoir was silent, only the faint sound of flipping books.


    Ming Tanchu felt that such obscene pictures were simply unbearable and shameful! After Shuiying went out, she didn''t even touch it.


    But anything that has a sense of taboo is more confusing. Her fingers approached slowly and inch by inch... At first she was curious to read a page, but before she knew it, she turned back several pages, flipping through the pages with one hand. , covering his face with one hand, cooling his hot face.


    When Jiang Xu pushed the door and entered, she thought it was full of water, hurriedly closed the pages of the book, took a sip of tea, trying to calm down.


    But when she saw who was coming, she froze!


    She must be hallucinating.


    Why is her future husband here?


    Impossible, absolutely impossible!


    But Jiang Xu approached slowly, lowering his eyes, trying to pull out the **** album in her hand.


    Only then did she come to her senses, pressed it tightly, and subconsciously blurted out: "Don''t look!"


    Jiang Xu looked at her: "You, say no to this king?"


    His voice was as pleasant as knocking gold and laying jade, but what he said made Ming Tan tremble.


    Ming Tan''s mind was in a mess, his heart seemed to fly out, and he couldn''t help but stumble a bit when he spoke: "I didn''t mean that, Your Highness...how could His Highness be here, not a patrol¡ª"


    Realizing that she had missed something, she immediately shut up.


    But Jiang Xu didn''t expose her fault, and answered along the lines: "Go back to Beijing in advance."


    Although Ming Tan was in chaos, he still knew that the most important thing for him was to explain why he was here.


    But Jiang Xu didn''t seem to be interested in why she was here, so he took out the **** album from her hand, but after flipping through two pages, he threw it away.


    "Miss doesn''t need to read these things, and this is not the place where you should come." His voice was very calm, "My lord will send you back to your residence."


    "...?"


    Ming Tan wanted to cry! Want to explain, but don''t know where to start.


    Seeing Jiang Xu turned around to leave, she stepped forward to stop him in a panic: "I''m not what Your Highness thinks, I..."


    She was in a hurry, and forgot all the rules of defense between men and women in the past. She unconsciously grabbed Jiang Xu''s clothes and looked up at him with tears in her eyes: "Does your Highness think that I am shameless?" , think I..."


    Jiang Xu saw that her fluttering eyelashes were already stained with tears, and suddenly interrupted: "Miss is fine, this king didn''t think so."

 Chapter 31：

    All the way back home, quietly. The crescent moon of Qixi Festival is shallow and round, as quiet as water. Ming Tan wore a veiled hat and followed Jiang Xu from a distance of Zhang.


    At first, what Jiang Xu said was to send someone to take her back to the mansion, but somehow, after leaving the Bieyu Tower, it was him who sent her off in person.


    Although it is a gift, it is more like a guide.


    The two kept their etiquette and stayed far apart, and except halfway, Jiang Xu found that Ming Tan couldn''t keep up, so he stopped for a while, and he didn''t look back, let alone say a word.


    Ming Tan endured all the way without making a sound, and when she walked to the back door of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, she felt that her legs were about to break, and the soles of her feet were burning and painful, so she couldn''t help it, and cursed softly in her heart, "Reckless man! "


    After all, no one would have guessed that His Royal Highness King Dingbei would give someone away by leaving.


    Not to mention the carriage, she didn''t even have a horse. It was quite a few miles to walk from Bieyulou back to Jing''an Hou''s Mansion. Today, she walked the distance that usually takes several months.


    "Thank you, Your Highness, for sending me off."


    Standing at the door, Ming Tan endured the soreness in his legs and gave a blessing from a distance, thanking him softly.


    Jiang Xu nodded slightly and was about to leave.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help shouting again: "Your Highness..."


    "What''s the matter?" Jiang Xu paused.


    Ming Tan originally wanted to explain the misunderstanding tonight, but it was really hard to say, and the words turned into: "It''s nothing, just... At the time of the Shangyuan, it was His Highness who rescued me and sent me to the Marquis Mansion The back door, Ah Tan thought of it, and was very grateful."


    Because of this sentence, Jiang Xu raised his eyes, and asked a few more words: "How does miss know that I was the one to take action on the night of Shangyuan?"


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Last time in the forest, she asked, "Husband, is it you?"


    Didn''t he hear?


    Jiang Xu naturally heard it, but at the time he thought that the fourth lady was just surprised by his sudden appearance.


    Ming Tan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: It''s good not to have heard, good not to have heard. After all, the degree of embarrassment of the "husband" is no less than that of reading the Bihuo album today.


    She hurriedly explained: "Because the prince used the same belt when he rescued people in the forest last time. Although the color is different, the material weaving method and the dark pattern on it are the same. If I guessed correctly In other words, I used the mist-woven brocade newly tributed in Suzhou in the past two years. As for the dark pattern, the one in Shangyuanye used black gold silk thread, and the one in the forest last time was black silk thread, and the embroidery method used was scattered. Needles, scale-engraving needles, ice-pattern needles... Weaving mist brocade is very rare, and the annual tribute is no more than a dozen pieces, which are usually royal tributes, and the palace rewarded father with one piece, so A-Tan has seen it."


    Jiang Xu paused.


    He didn''t even know that a belt was so delicate.


    Miss Ming Jia has researched deeply about this.


    Ming Tan also realized that she had talked a little too much, and when it came to the belt, she even cheated her future husband.


    Thinking of this, the bases of her ears burned even more. Today, this one has not been explained yet, but the last one has been pulled out. She is really ashamed to face her future husband again, and hurriedly said: "In short, thank you for your help, and thank you for your help. See you off tonight. A Tan will go in first, and His Highness should pay more attention when he returns home."


    All the way back to the courtyard from the back door, the burning heat on Ming Tan''s face did not subside, until Su Xin took a cold water handkerchief to cover her face before she calmed down a little.


    After washing up and going to the bed, Ming Tan was tossed and turned in ice brocade wrapped in ice, and did not fall asleep all night.


    To die is to die!


    She is obviously a dignified and quiet lady, why would she repeatedly lose face in front of her future husband! With such an image, there is really no need to live! After marrying, he will be virtuous and virtuous to take a few concubines for him, please avoid the ones that hinder his eyes, it''s better! And when he said "Miss is very good, this king doesn''t think so", he definitely didn''t want to embarrass her too much, but in his heart he already felt that she was a shameless and half-reserved girl!


    She grabbed the corner of the quilt and covered her face, while annoyed at her stupidity, she still did not forget to lament why her future husband is so kind.


    The little girl who was watching the night outside was a newcomer, Ming Tan was startled all night, and she didn''t know what to do, so she bit the bullet and went to invite Su Xin in the middle of the night.


    Su Xin came in cloaked clothes, just in time to hear Ming Tan humming twice, she knocked on the door lightly, and asked worriedly: "Miss? You are a slave, what''s wrong with you?"


    "It''s nothing, you all go and rest."


    Ming Tan emerged from the brocade quilt, and replied sullenly.


    Ming Tan said "it''s nothing", but since the Qixi Festival, the whole person has become sluggish, and he is not like before, tossing about something with high interest every day. It''s useless to toss, anyway, she feels that this image has fallen again and again, and it seems that there is no way to get it back.


    After Qixi Festival, there are Zhongyuan, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice, Longevity, and New Year''s Eve. Big days came one after another, but Ming Tan didn''t go out much, only during this period, Shen Hua and Ming Chu got married one after another, and she had to show her face as a younger sister.


    Mingchu married to Hezhou, and couldn''t return to Ning for three days, that is, if she married far away, she would be innocent if she couldn''t see it.


    Shen Hua was married in Jing''an Marquis Mansion since she was married, and she married in Jingzhong. Gui Ning naturally also returned to Jing''an Marquis Mansion. Seeing that Shen Hua returned to Ning with a good complexion, and her husband was very considerate, Ming Tan felt a little worried again.


    Shen Hua could see that something was wrong with her, but when she asked, Ming Tan didn''t know where to start, he couldn''t say that he had already lost face in front of his fianc¨¦ before he got married, so he just stopped talking.


    Autumn is passing and winter is coming, and the firecrackers sound again, saying goodbye to the old and ushering in the new. The wedding that Ming Tan had been looking forward to day and night is getting closer.


    The closer the wedding date is, the more lively the Jing''an Hou Mansion will be.


    In the beginning of spring, the Ministry of Rites hired Da Ding on behalf of Dingbei Wangfu. There were six servants who came to roll the name. They sang from morning to night, and their voices became hoarse. The people outside Nanque Street changed one after another, only to watch the betrothal gifts being carried into the Marquis of Jing¡¯an like flowing water. government.


    In recent years, it''s not that there are no princes and concubines in Beijing, and the emperor''s daughter is married, but I have never seen such a battle.


    When the betrothal gift was finished at dusk, the head servant wiped his sweat and hoarse voice, handed over the gift list respectfully, and said with a smile: "Master Hou, madam, this dowry gift list is divided into two parts, one is for Prince Si Yi The order was made, and the other one was added by Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, which is a total of one hundred and twenty-eight lifts, which shows that the prince attaches great importance to the princess and the Hou''s mansion."


    Ming Tingyuan stroked his short beard, his face was flushed, and Mrs. Pei also had a smile on his face, he hurriedly asked the servants to serve tea, and then personally stuffed the servants with the Xijin who had worked so hard to come this way: "Your Highness Thanks for your hard work."


    This dowry list is indeed extremely thick, and it holds a lot of weight in their hands. They also thought before that the Dingbei Palace would add 48 or 68 levies to the prince and concubine ritual system, how could they expect such a silent If there is no sound, it is one hundred and twenty-eight lifts! It really gave Ming Tan enough face, and it also gave them Jing''an Houfu enough face.


    When the princess of this dynasty comes down, the dowry is one hundred and eighty-eight lifts according to the regulations. They originally thought about preparing a one-hundred and twenty-eight dowry for Ming Tan, even if it is extremely beautiful, but the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is so sacrificing, so their Jing''an Hou Mansion will not increase the dowry to one hundred and sixty-eight I can''t even justify it.


    The people in the mansion were full of joy, and the betrothal gifts filled the back room of the main courtyard. Ming Tan went to see it, and he was also a little happy in his heart. It seems that her image in her future husband''s mind is still saved!


    It''s just that after the joy, Ming Tan fell into worry again.


    In the past two days, Bai Minmin came to look for her, and the two chatted about going to Bieyulou on Qixi Festival, and she suddenly remembered something that she hadn''t even thought about before¡ª


    It was wrong for her to go to Bieyulou that day.


    Then he decided to go down with His Royal Highness, right?


    Why is he here? And that day when the door was closed to thank the guests, he was still in the building, so he must be one of the distinguished guests in the building. He was able to enter Shuiying''s boudoir without even knocking on the door, presumably because he was very familiar with him! Thinking about it carefully, Shui Ying took the initiative to make a good relationship that day. Could it be that she knew that she was the future Dingbei Princess and wanted her to pass through the door and allow her to enter the mansion? The more Ming Tan thought about it, the more chilled he felt.


    Her Ming family, Ah Tan''s eyesight is so poor?


    And see a good-looking man who looks for flowers and asks willows?


    The divorce period is less than half a month, and the wedding dresses and tiaras of the prince and concubine have been delivered to the Jing''an Hou Mansion, but Ming Tan still looks depressed, no matter how happy Ming Tingyuan and the Pei family are, they feel that something is wrong up.


    One day at lunch, seeing Ming Tan''s little bird stomach was full with just a little bit of everything, Pei Shi and Ming Ting looked at each other, and thoughtfully asked about the half-night discussion between the two of them the night before. : "A Tan, why are you dissatisfied with this marriage?"


    "My daughter is not dissatisfied."


    Ming Tingyuan also put down his chopsticks, pondered for a long while and said: "A Tan, you can speak your mind, if you don''t want to marry, now that you are hired, as a father, you will lose your position and rank..."


    "...?"


    "Daughter doesn''t want to marry, and father doesn''t need to lose his official title."


    She was indeed extremely hesitant. She has a good impression of His Highness King Dingbei, but the doubts between him and Shui Ying are in her heart, and she can''t get over it no matter what.


    It''s just that no matter how difficult it is, the Holy Majesty''s gift of marriage doesn''t mean that you don''t marry if you don''t marry, you are willing to lose your official title, but the Holy Majesty is afraid that your entire family will be killed.


    Hearing what she said, Ming Tingyuan felt relieved, and didn''t say anything further. He originally wanted to say, "Now that I''ve been hired, as a father, I can''t solve this marriage even if I lose my official position and title." "Come on.


    Ming Tan misunderstood, thinking that her father was going to disobey the holy will for her, and was quite moved in his heart. She thought that if she really misunderstood His Highness King Dingbei, for the sake of the Hou Mansion, if she married her wholeheartedly, it would be regarded as the complete family friendship.


    She was so moved that she used half a bowl of rice extra, and kept adding more vegetables to Ming Tingyuan. Ming Tingyuan happily picked it up, but just touched his nose with a guilty conscience.


    On the eighth day of March, it is suitable for marriage and good luck. It was the auspicious day chosen by Qin Tianjian and the Ministry of Rites for His Royal Highness King Dingbei. During this period of time, Jiang Xu went north again to handle military affairs, and did not return to Beijing from Qingzhou until the seventh day of March, the night before the wedding.


    Under the care of Uncle Fu, Dingbei Palace has already been decorated with lanterns and festoons, and the mansion is full of red.


    He got off his horse and entered the mansion, and Uncle Fu''s hanging heart finally settled down. Uncle Fu had thought earlier that the prince of his family might really do something to miss his wedding because of military affairs.


    Knowing that he was going back home tonight, Shu Jingran came here to wait for him and warmed a pot of wine. Jiang Xu pushed coldly: "No need, this king has to go to Dali Temple Prison."


    "...?" Shu Jingran laughed, "You will get married tomorrow, and you are going to interrogate the prisoner tonight?"


    "It''s just marriage, it has nothing to do with interrogation." Jiang Xu said lightly.


    Shu Jingran was very incomprehensible: "Since you are married, you should at least respect Mrs. Zu. Are you going to marry in the mansion tomorrow with blue eyes? Or, you also have to put on this cold face when you bridal chamber, or put the new bride Madam, lay aside and catch up on sleep first?"


    Jiang Xu was indifferent.


    Shu Jingran continued: "It was only two days ago that I learned that the Fourth Miss of the Ming family recently, because you appeared in Bieyulou that time, seemed to have misunderstood your affair with Miss Shuiying. Worrying. Didn¡¯t you go to the fourth lady of the Ming family last time? You didn¡¯t even explain why you appeared in Bieyulou? Since she is kind to you, if you want to marry her and treat her well, you have nothing to say about Bieyulou. Is it right? Besides, interrogating these trivial matters is more important than not being able to get married tomorrow, I see that it is better for you to rest tonight."


    The last time Shu Jingran was in Bieyulou, he also ran into Bai Minmin by accident, and a few days ago when the Pingguo government held a Cuju banquet, he met Bai Minmin again.


    Bai Minmin asked him side-by-side, the last time he went to Bieyulou with His Royal Highness King Dingbei, what was the matter, and he guessed three points of the reason.


    After Jiang Xu heard this, he didn''t know what he was thinking, and he didn''t show any expression.


    After a while, he walked out suddenly, and Shu Jingran called him from behind, but he ignored him.


    Shu Jingran shook his head, thinking that this fellow was not allowed to enter, so he really went to Dali Temple to interrogate prisoners again.


    At night, the Jing''an Hou Mansion was still glowing red, even the lanterns were slightly blush, showing the joy of a big wedding. Ming Tan stayed up late, laying down by the window, staring blankly at the moonlight.


    She is getting married tomorrow.


    Will that man be her lover?


    She was a little certain before, but now, she is not so sure.


    She felt a little tired and closed her eyes to rest for a while.


    But the tip of the nose suddenly filled with a light sandalwood fragrance.


    She opened her eyes slowly, first she saw a jade pendant, and then slowly raised her eyelashes¡ª


    "...?!"


    Must be hallucinating.


    She subconsciously rubbed her eyes.


    "Miss is not mistaken, it is the king." The man stood in front of the window and looked down at her, "I took the liberty to come here because I wanted to tell the lady that Bieyulou is the secret sentry building of Dingbei Wangfu. This king and Shuiying are the same There is no personal relationship between subordinates. Tomorrow, the prince will come to the Jing''an Hou Mansion to greet his relatives, and the lady can rest well."


    The man''s voice was neither high nor low, and he was tall and tall. Standing in front of the window, he actually matched the moonlight like water.

 Chapter 32：

    In the Daxian Dynasty, the princes and princes were greeted by the unmarried clans. For the Dingbei Palace, it had already been arranged that the Prince of Ruijun, who had just passed the crown ceremony in the clan, would welcome the bride on his behalf.


    But who would have thought that, when Ming Tan was pulled up to dress up early in the morning, and the three aunts and six wives in the Zhaoshui courtyard were chatting around her, a woman outside came into the room with a happy face and reported: "It''s terrible! My uncle is here!" Welcome to the front of the house!"


    Ming Tan didn''t sleep well, and he was dug out from the brocade quilt before dawn, and he was always a little drowsy. Hearing this, she seemed to smell the familiar sandalwood fragrance, and she suddenly became sober.


    It was...really.


    He really came last night.


    Jiang Xu came and went very suddenly last night. After explaining, he disappeared into the night in a flash of divine effort. So much so that Ming Tan lay by the window in a trance wondering whether he was trapped in his heart just now, and he had hallucinations of self-comfort.


    How could His Royal Highness Dingbei sneak into the girl''s courtyard late at night? And, when did he say so many words?


    In the middle of the night, she couldn''t help it, and ran outside with her clothes on to check carefully, trying to find some evidence that her future husband came at night.


    Of course, she didn''t find anything, otherwise she wouldn''t have known she was going to get married the next day, and would have been disturbed by doubts so much that she didn''t sleep well all night.


    Now, because of the voice of the woman outside, the inner room of Zhaoshui courtyard became more and more lively:


    "Since I was a child, I have always said that the fourth girl in our family is a lucky one. No, my uncle came to welcome us in person!"


    "Except for the prince of Xianjun''s personal welcome and the marriage of the clan in the past few years, I have never seen such a decent family."


    "The relationship between Prince Xian and Princess Princess is different after all. As childhood sweethearts who urinate together, no one in the capital knows that Prince Xian has a deep love for Princess Princess."


    "So, the four girls in our family are blessed. As for the betrothal gift, yo ho, isn''t the Dingbei Palace the Dingbei Palace? After all, it is different from ordinary dignitaries!"


    ¡­


    Ming Tan listened, and the joy and sweetness in his heart also quietly spread, her husband really came to marry her in person.


    She had been worried that Mrs. Quanfu would hurt her face when she opened her face, as if she was ruining her appearance, but now the thin thread was twisted across the face, the pain was painful, and it was not as unbearable as she imagined.


    The dress of the princess is extremely graceful and complicated. The red and gold-painted double phoenix mandarin ducks, peonies wrapped around branches, and double lotuses with double stalks are layered on top of each other. The embroidered shoes are exquisite and meticulous. Dazzling, so gorgeous that people can''t take their eyes off.


    After dressing up, Ming Tan struggled to get up, he had to be supported by someone before he could move around carefully.


    The girl had to bid farewell to Gaotang and cry for marriage before going out, but the two Gaotangs in the Jinganhou Mansion were overjoyed, Pei Shi somehow made some pepper water to smoke his eyes, and Ming Tingyuan smiled all over his face, it was half a drop Tears can''t be squeezed out. Ming Tan couldn''t cry either, she had tossed about the makeup on her face all morning, if she really cried twice, after crying off the makeup, it took a lot of effort to make up her face.


    Therefore, in the main hall, only Ming Tan and Pei''s reluctantly whispered a few times, and Ming Tingyuan explained some things, and finally said impatiently: "In short, Dingbei Prince''s Mansion and Jing''an Hou''s Mansion It¡¯s not too far away, just go back if you want.¡±


    Jing''an Hou Mansion was lively inside, and it was even more lively outside.


    As for the welcoming team at the main gate of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, it was three points more spectacular than the day when Chunwei unveiled the list and went on a horse parade.


    The second son of Shu who was famous in Beijing, the uncle of the country, the prince of the Duke of Pingguo, and the deputy commander in front of the palace, Lu Ting and Lu Dianshuai. A group of generals.


    Of course, the most eye-catching thing among them is His Royal Highness King Dingbei, who is dressed in a bright red auspicious suit and sits high on a horse, displaying the **** of war.


    The name of the God of War is so powerful that it can be said that there are very few people who have seen his true face. When they saw it today, everyone felt astonished.


    Sword eyebrows and star eyes, black hair and red clothes.


    Reining in the reins, he was careless and somewhat disdainful.


    If the second son of Shu is said to be "a man from Moshang is like a jade, the son is unparalleled in the world", then His Royal Highness King Dingbei is probably "Lang Yan is unique, unparalleled in the world".


    Because His Royal Highness King Dingbei was famous, he got off his horse and entered the mansion. Everyone subconsciously backed away, and some even couldn''t help but want to kneel down.


    In the beginning, everyone was stunned, so naturally no one dared to make a fuss about asking for money, or Bai Minmin, who was so courageous and not afraid of death, rushed over from Mingtan''s boudoir, and yelled for His Highness to make a reminder, asking for money is money, she The sister-in-law didn''t even pull her back, she was so frightened that half of her soul died.


    But His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang was unexpectedly easy to talk, as if he had been prepared, he nodded on the spot, and made the first reminder as he said, and someone in the welcoming team gave Bai Minmin golden peanuts as a gift.


    With Bai Minmin starting, the juniors in the Jing''an Hou Mansion were also eager to try, and the atmosphere gradually became lively. The older ones didn''t dare to make trouble with His Royal Highness Ding Beiwang, so they caught Shu Erzhang Huaiyu to make a fuss.


    When Ming Tan showed up with Shanshan supported by Ming Tingyuan, Jiang Xu had already reached the fourth reminder.


    Everyone thought that these makeup reminder poems had been prepared long ago. Since he could invite Shu Er, who is good at poetry, it would be no problem to ask someone to help prepare two poems. word tags.


    As soon as I said this, someone next to me thought it was bad food! Just about to change the subject, unexpectedly His Royal Highness Dingbei nodded happily. After thinking for a while, he composed another song according to his rhythm, and it was very good.


    Everyone was amazed, this military general under King Dingbei has such a literary talent? Was it really him who made this reminder poem?


    Wentao and martial arts, so handsome, high position and weight, to win this gentleman, this fourth lady of the Jing''an Houfu is really blessed! When they watched Ming Tan get into the sedan chair, everyone was thinking about it.


    With a shrill "lifting the sedan chair" resounding through Nanque Street, the welcoming team of Dingbei Palace set off again.


    Along the way, the ground is paved with colorful red, drums and music blare, and salutes are thunderous. The relatives and friends of the bridegroom in front of the bride are marching steadily forward to meet the bride''s eight-carrying sedan chair. The one hundred and sixty-eight dowries from Jing''anhou''s Mansion followed, and they walked from Nanque Street around Yujie Street all the way to Changyu Street where Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is located.


    Later people said that during the Chengkang period, there was no more wedding ceremony than this pomp.


    Compared with Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, which is extremely lively, Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is inexplicably deserted even though it is also decorated with red and colorful decorations. Firstly, Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is much more regulated than Jing''anhou''s Mansion, and secondly, Jiang Xu''s relatives are not many, and there are almost no direct lineages.


    Ming Tan married in as a super-grade prince and concubine, so he had to perform a ceremony first. After the book ceremony, it was time to go to the Xitang to hold the big wedding ceremony. Fortunately, there were no parents-in-law, so it was easy.


    Ming Tan was pressed under the phoenix crown, and came all the way, her head and back were numb and painful. After the three worships, her legs were so weak that she couldn''t stand up. It was her husband who gave her a hand to keep her from falling. Faint in front of the crowd.


    After the three worships, it is sent to the bridal chamber.


    The newlyweds held the scarf, Ming Tan could only see the toes, most of which were covered by the complicated dress, she held the end of the red silk in a regular manner, and Jiang Xu slowly led her into the new house carefully.


    The new houses of ordinary people are disturbed by people, but Dingbei Palace has no relatives, and no one dares to make disturbances, so it is very clean, only Quanfu''s mother said auspicious words in it.


    Jiang Xu took over the heavy wedding scale, gently lifted the hijab¡ª


    Plop, plop... Ming Tan''s little heart was beating really hard, just as she was hesitating whether to raise her eyes to meet her husband''s gaze, she heard her husband order softly: "Call Wangfei''s maid."


    Ming Tan raised his head in doubt.


    Jiang Xu also happened to be looking at her quietly: "The phoenix crown is too heavy, you might as well take it off. Let them serve you, I''m going out to socialize first."


    He actually knew that the phoenix crown was heavy.


    Ming Tan looked at him, subconsciously a little happy.


    After Jiang Xu left, Su Xin and Lu E came in, Ming Tan hurriedly called for their help, took off the heavy phoenix crown for her, pinched her stiff neck, washed and washed again, and put on another set of scarlet pajamas .


    Ming Tan has been busy here, and finally he can take a break, but Jiang Xu''s entertainment outside has just begun.


    A group of generals, friends and subordinates usually dare not exceed the rules, but today they finally seized the opportunity to pour him wine openly.


    The newlyweds were overjoyed, and Jiang Xu had no reason not to drink, he would not refuse anyone who came, and drank it all in one gulp.


    The feast lasted until nightfall. Many military generals who got married taught their Royal Highness King Dingbei how to get along with each other through their drunkenness.


    Although Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu were not married, but they drank some wine, the reasoning was the same, and they were much more verbose than usual:


    Shu Jingran: "Now that you are married, you must not be too indifferent to your wife on this wedding night. If you think about it carefully, your husband and wife sleep together, and the girl is shy. You can''t just say nothing like usual! "


    "That''s right, you won''t die if you say a few more words!" Zhang Huaiyu echoed.


    "Hey, bad luck! Why do you say that word on a happy day. Qizhi, you listen to me, you must be right." Shu Jingran hiccupped his lips, his voice was obviously drunk, "you just look Talk about topics that Madam likes, but don¡¯t mention the use of soldiers in war, for example, you can talk about... Poems and songs, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t understand."


    "Yes, you have to take the initiative to say something. It''s not easy to get straight to the topic when you start, you have to have some foreshadowing, you understand the foreshadowing?" When it comes to "straight to the topic", Zhang Huaiyu looked at him teasingly, with a hint of ridicule.


    Jiang Xu glanced at the two of them without emotion, not knowing whether he listened or not, turned his head to touch Lu Ting, and had another drink.


    At the end of the day, the night was quiet.


    Ming Tan, who entered the bridal chamber early, finally waited for his husband who smelled of alcohol. She was very sober at the moment, because she had already taken a rest and had some pastries, she was already full of energy, and she was so bored that she wanted to look through the fire escape album that Pei Shilin gave her before leaving the house.


    Fortunately, it didn''t turn over.


    Seeing Jiang Xu come in, she sat up on the edge of the bed.


    Although Jiang Xu reeked of alcohol, he was obviously still conscious. He walked to the table and stood still, looked at Ming Tan with his hands behind his back, and called out in a low voice, "Come here."


    "...?"


    Ming Tan got up obediently and walked to the table.


    She was half a head shorter than Jiang Xu, and after letting go of her complicated bun, the top of her head could reach Jiang Xu''s jaw.


    The two stood close to each other, the strong smell of wine mixed with the faint scent of sandalwood, which made Ming Tan blush and heartbeat, and he was a little at a loss.


    She took the Hebei wine that Jiang Xu had poured out, and trembled unconsciously. After handing over the glasses, she stood on tiptoe because of her stature, and the wine glass was so far away from her that it was out of reach!


    But Jiang Xu looked down at her, leaned over suddenly, accommodated her figure, and drank the glass of wine with his head down.

 Chapter 33：

    Ming Tan was a little dizzy, obviously it wasn''t a spicy and strong wine, but after swallowing it, she felt as if she was drunk. There was indeed a blush on her face, but she didn''t know if it was because of the wine or something else.


    The red candles in the room were shining brightly, and the two of them were silent for a while, Ming Tan thought nervously, according to the book of avoiding fire that he had read in Bieyulou, he had already drunk, should he take off his clothes and go to bed?


    She raised her eyes to peek at Jiang Xu, and slowly stretched out her little hand.


    Jiang Xu''s scarlet auspicious suit was also very complicated, there were so many layers inside and out, Ming Tan shivered and unbuttoned it for a while, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, before he managed to unbutton his coat.


    Seeing that she had to bite the bullet and continue explaining, Jiang Xu for some reason remembered what Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu had said - don''t be silent, don''t embarrass the girl, remember to find a topic. So after a long silence, he suddenly asked bluntly: "Are you good at playing the piano?"


    Ming Tan paused and nodded hesitantly.


    He continued: "I heard that at the Jinju Banquet two years ago, you played a piece you composed yourself."


    Ming Tan nodded again: "Husband wants to hear it?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t think about how to respond, but Ming Tan had already thought of it - he even found out that she had composed and played herself at the Golden Chrysanthemum Banquet. Could it be that her husband was fascinated by her piano sound in Daxiangguo Temple?


    Thinking about it this way, Ming Tan was even more nervous than happy. She backed away half a step, pretending to bless the body dignifiedly, and said tentatively: "Then...the concubine is not talented, so I made...a ugliness?"


    Oops! As soon as she finished speaking, she remembered that Gu Jiurou said at the Shangyuan Palace banquet that she wanted to make a fool of herself, but her husband made people hurry up and stop doing it. He almost ruined the entire palace banquet with one sentence, and her bridal chamber wedding night should also be ruined by this sentence.


    Jiang Xu didn''t think much about it at first, but Ming Tan''s expression changed inexplicably after he finished speaking, and then he remembered that at the Shangyuan Palace banquet last year, he seemed to have said something to the lady who was about to make a fool of herself in Cheng Enhou''s mansion.


    And it was precisely because of "what he said", that his wife had a deep prejudice against him at the beginning, and she was still listening to Yulou and her friends'' arrangement, saying that he was a reckless, vulgar and rude man.


    Ming Tan cautiously raised his eyes to sneak a peek, unfortunately, he happened to bump into Jiang Xu''s rare emotional eyes, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly said: "It''s not ugly, this king only thinks that my wife is very beautiful."


    ¡ª This is also taught by Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu, praise her.


    Ming Tan was dumbfounded.


    Just now, did your husband praise her for being pretty?


    Before she could react, she suddenly felt herself being hugged horizontally. When he came back to his senses, he was already lying on the couch. The complicated red clothes she couldn''t untie no matter how hard she tried fell to the ground one by one before the red candle was extinguished...


    Ming Tan''s little heart started beating uncontrollably again, and she folded her hands neatly on her lower abdomen, and she could feel a tall person laying down beside her, with a lingering faint smell of alcohol and sandalwood.


    However, there was no further action as drawn in the fire-avoiding atlas.


    Ming Tan calmed down a little nervous, couldn''t help but tilt her head, looked at the man lying beside her, and said in a low voice, "Husband?"


    "Ok."


    Still not asleep.


    So isn''t he going to do something?


    Of course, Ming Tan was too embarrassed to ask this, and could only think about it in his heart. After opening her eyes and being silent for a while, she restlessly moved her hand inch by inch towards Jiang Xu under the quilt, thinking, if you don''t do anything, it''s okay to hold the little hand.


    When she touched it for the first time, the big palm didn''t respond, it was still cool. After she held it and squeezed it lightly, the big palm slowly wrapped around her little paw and placed it by her side.


    Ming Tan raised the corners of his lips unconsciously.


    The moonlight outside the house was like water, and the blush reflected by the lantern could be seen faintly. Ming Tan couldn''t sleep, and suddenly asked softly: "Husband, your Majesty bestowed the marriage, did you voluntarily?"


    Jiang Xu closed his eyes and said "hmm".


    "Then last year''s Shangyuan Palace Banquet, Your Majesty and Your Majesty intended to choose a princess for you. Did you plan to marry another girl at that time?"


    "Never." He didn''t even want to marry a wife.


    "Well... everyone in the capital knows that Second Master Shu, Lu Dianshuai, and Duke Pingguo are acquainted. Husband, why are you also familiar with them? I have never heard of it before. Then you and Second Master Shu... umhhh!"


    Ming Tan wanted to ask something more, but the person beside her suddenly jumped up unexpectedly, blocking her from continuing to ask questions.


    The two layers of thin red pajamas on her body were gently pulled, and it spread from her waist, and the rough palm that held her hand just now covered her delicate skin.


    Jiang Xu''s eyes were dark, and his desire was floating.


    Perhaps he is famous for killing people, but others say that he is heartless and heartless, but they forget that he is only in his early twenties, and he is just young.


    Since he married a wife, no matter the reason, he never thought about not touching her. He just cared about the future and was not in a hurry. No, he is not in a hurry, but his wife is in a hurry.


    ¡­


    Su Xin and Lu E, who were watching the night outside the house, didn''t hear anything for most of the night, and they were a little bit cold in their hearts. I heard that if the husband-in-law is not happy, the wedding night may not be consummated.


    But just when she was drowsy, heavy and unintentionally suppressed gasps suddenly came from the room, as well as her young lady''s whimpering. The sobbing and whimpering sound was intermittent and delicate, Su Xin and Lu E belonged to Yunying''s unmarried girl, it made her blush and heartbeat.


    Once the commotion broke out, it didn''t stop in the middle of the night.


    In the middle of the night, I asked for backwater.


    Su Xin led the little girl in to send it off, just because of the smell of waste inside, she was so ashamed that no one could look at the bed.


    From the corner of her eye, Su Xin caught sight of their uncle pulling off the brocade quilt, wrapping his young lady around him, and carrying him to the bathroom.


    ¡­


    But half an hour later, there was another return water inside, and when Su Xin led the girl in again, she realized that the water from the previous bathroom was spilled from the tub and spilled all over the floor.


    Don''t need to think too much, they also knew what happened, thinking to themselves: my uncle looked cold, but this matter is really out of control.


    It wasn''t until the fourth watch that the movement of the bridal chamber flowers and candles stopped completely.


    Ming Tan shrank under the quilt in shame, he had no face to face Jiang Xu, and he didn''t even dare to hold hands anymore, wishing they could share two quilts, so as not to touch each other!


    Also, the fire-avoiding atlases are all fake! When she was really doing that kind of thing, she couldn''t think of anything at all, it was all done by her husband!


    After silence until five o''clock, Jiang Xu got up.


    He glanced at Ming Tan who was curled up into a ball and was still sleeping soundly, his eyes were condensed, and he pressed the corners of the quilt down a little.


    According to the system, today is to enter the palace to thank you, and it is so cumbersome.


    When Ming Tan woke up, thinking of this incident, the aches and pains all over her body became more and more obvious. She blushed, and while watching the old woman take away the red yuan handkerchief, she grabbed the corner of the quilt and asked softly, "Where is your Highness, Aren''t you going to enter the palace to thank you today?"


    "Your Highness, Ms. Gu Nian, has delivered a message to the palace, saying that it will not be too late to go tomorrow." Lu E replied brightly, her brows and eyes were bright, and she was very happy that her young lady was loved by her husband.


    Su Xin was also very happy, took the conversation from Lu E and said: "Your Highness went out to practice martial arts before dawn, and specially ordered not to wake up the young lady, but to have breakfast together when the young lady wakes up."


    The mother-in-law jokingly said: "Why do you two girls still call you miss, it''s time to call you princess!"


    Su Xin and Lu E looked at each other, pursed their lips and said with a smile, "Yes, my servant greets the princess."


    Ming Tan blushed again, pulled up the corner of the quilt, and half reservedly half impatiently ordered: "Then wash me up and have breakfast, Your Highness is practicing martial arts, you must be hungry."


    Su Xin and green calyx should be in full swing.


    One day before the wedding, Suxin Lue and the wives of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion came to the palace to set up tents, and they got acquainted with the dining room of the palace by the way. Uncle Fu, who was in charge of the palace, seemed to welcome the new owner of the palace very much. He had no intention of seizing power. He had spoken early, and the princess would follow whatever she wanted, and the dining room naturally obeyed them.


    Not long after, Lue combed Ming Tan into a beautiful bridal bun, and chose a delicate and complicated dress. After all, newlyweds should not be too simple and elegant. Only two strokes of her eyebrows were lightly brushed, and she looked a little light.


    When Jiang Xu entered the room, the breakfast that Su Xin had ordered early in the morning was also served on the table like flowing water.


    He stood at the door of Mingjian, looked at a group of maidservants entering the room, and paused for a moment.


    Soft jade porridge, golden milk crisps, crab powder pearl buns, white jade balls, green pears with sugar cheese... This breakfast has a full list of dishes.


    Seeing him, Ming Tan blushed and his eyelashes fluttered. She got up and bowed politely, and said softly: "Your husband must be tired from practicing martial arts, let''s have breakfast."


    Jiang Xu was obviously not used to the sudden appearance of a soft and beautiful little princess in the mansion, so he nodded and sat down after a moment of silence.


    As soon as he sat down, another four or five servant girls rushed up one after another with a bunch of things, asking him to wash his hands and wipe his face.


    Although he was born in the royal family, he knew the etiquette, and he was born with the standards of an incomparably noble emperor''s grandson, but since his father passed away, he has never cared about these complicated etiquettes.


    Jiang Xu didn''t like extravagance, but thinking that he, the little concubine, had just entered the mansion, she was used to luxury, so she didn''t say much, just patiently wiped her hands and face, and began to eat.


    When Jiang Xu was eating, Ming Tan also scooped up the porridge in a gentle manner, and secretly looked at him from time to time.


    Seeing that the porridge in Jiang Xu''s bowl was gone, he hurriedly signaled the girl to add more. Seeing that Jiang Xu seemed to want to eat soft crisps, he hurriedly grabbed a piece for him.


    It took Jiang Xu a while before he remembered how to reciprocate, so he also put a snack for Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan was overjoyed, seeing that Jiang Xu had almost used it up, she put down the porcelain spoon, and suddenly asked reservedly: "Husband, look at my makeup today, is it okay?"


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes.


    "..."


    If she didn''t tell him, he wouldn''t be able to see that he was wearing makeup.


    Seeing that his concubine was still waiting for him to say one, two, three, four, he thought about it, and based on the principle of "praising her" that Shu Jingran and Zhang Huaiyu said last night, he replied: "Very good."


    But Ming Tan was not particularly satisfied with this answer, he held his face and tilted his head: "Husband, take a closer look."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Ming Tan moved closer and reminded: "Eyebrows?"


    Jiang Xufu said to his heart, "It''s a little lighter."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Lue came to him with a smile and held her eyebrows: "Your Highness, why don''t you paint the eyebrows for the princess?"


    Ming Tan was also embarrassed and said: "I don''t know if it''s convenient for my husband? Ah Tan himself always feels that it''s not right to draw today. Husband thinks that to match today''s makeup and clothes, is it better to paint water-curved eyebrows or distant mountain eyebrows?"


    Jiang Xu picked up Meidai from the drawer and looked at it for a while, then raised his eyes and suddenly asked: "How to use this thing? What is water curved eyebrow, and what is distant mountain eyebrow? What''s the difference?"

 Chapter 34：

    When Jiang Xu asked questions, his expression was serious, not perfunctory.


    Ming Tan was speechless for a moment, then subconsciously explained: "Luo Dai...you can use it by dipping it in water. As for Shui Wan Mei and Yuan Shan Mei, on the day of Daxiangguo Temple, A-Tan painted Shui Wan Mei. At the Marquis Mansion the night before, he painted It is Yuanshanmei."


    After explaining, she looked at Jiang Xu''s expression.


    Very well, from her husband''s expressionless but handsome face, it can be seen that he didn''t notice the difference between her eyebrows in the Hou Mansion the night before and in Daxiangguo Temple that day.


    Ming Tan had thought before that her husband was cold-tempered and might not be willing to paint her eyebrows, but he never expected that her husband was serious about not being able to paint.


    Nowadays, young masters in Beijing are promiscuous with prostitutes, and poems depicting eyebrows and emerald greens are frequently praised, even her father knows a little bit about it.


    Ming Tan pondered for a while with a serious face, unwilling to give up, and wanted to give some advice, but Jiang Xu suddenly put on an appearance of "Isn''t it just a thrush, this king can learn without a teacher", and insisted on it quite calmly. Take the snails, soak them in water, and¡ª


    He made a rough stroke on her eyebrow.


    That thick one is very horizontal.


    Ming Tan looked at the bronze mirror and was stunned.


    He, what did he think he was painting? Are you painting Rin Rin Shochiku or are you painting the defense map of the capital? It''s just to draw an eyebrow, so there''s no need to be so imposing!


    Seeing that the man still intends to harm the other side, Ming Tan came back to his senses, hurriedly covered his forehead, and blocked it with a hand: "Husband... Husband, Ah Tan should come by himself, Husband is a general who leads troops and fights, why not I''m so sorry to bother my husband to waste time on such trivial matters, ah, Ah Tan can paint his eyebrows by himself!"


    "..."


    Jiang Xu stopped moving.


    It''s her to paint, and it''s her not to paint.


    Marrying a rich lady is really complicated.


    He put down Luo Dai and didn''t bother anymore: "My king is going to the barracks."


    Watching Jiang Xu get up and go out, Ming Tan covered his half-torn eyebrows, and couldn''t help but cursed softly in his heart: "You reckless man!"


    This is the first day of Ming Tan''s marriage into Dingbei Prince''s Mansion. Originally, he was going to enter the palace to thank him for worship, but because Jiang Xu''s message was postponed, the first day of entering the mansion was inexplicably leisurely.


    Ming Tan was naturally a little uncomfortable with suddenly leaving the Jing''an Hou Mansion where he had lived for more than ten years. The furnishings in the house, the trees, flowers and plants in the courtyard, all have a happy wedding, but they all look strange.


    After breakfast, wandering around the courtyard, she always felt that it was not real, as if she was just a small resident in this mansion and did not belong here.


    But before she could clear up the unexplainable emptiness in her heart, Uncle Fu, the chief steward of the palace, led the stewards from all over the mansion to see her.


    "Old slave Song Laifu, please greet the princess."


    Ming Tan heard Su Xin Lv E talk about the Song chief steward. This Song Chief Steward used to be a member of the East Palace. After Prince Min Cong passed away, he has been taking care of the young master, who is also the prince of their family. Everyone in the house respects him and calls him "Uncle Fu".


    Ming Tan hurriedly stepped forward to help: "Uncle Fu, please get up quickly, such a big gift is absolutely impossible."


    As soon as Uncle Fu was supported by her, he didn''t insist on kneeling and worshiping, he just smiled until his eyes were narrowed, and sighed: "This old slave looks forward to the stars and the moon, but he is looking forward to the princess''s entry into the mansion!


    "The Dingbei Prince''s Mansion occupies the entire Changyu Street. It is frighteningly large, but His Highness is simple and not often in the capital, so he is really not very popular. No, this old servant has guarded for more than ten years, always looking forward to us Your Highness is marrying a princess, so you have a proper mistress!"


    Ming Tan pursed his lips and smiled slightly.


    She was born extremely beautiful, and she was not the kind of aggressive and gorgeous beauty, with bright eyes and white teeth, so charming that it was easy to fall in love with her.


    Uncle Fu was already grateful to the big patrons of the Golden Pavilion, but seeing the real person now, he felt that he had a unique vision. Their princess and concubine seemed to have a kind face! So it became more and more enthusiastic.


    In a short while, Uncle Fu went from the repairs and renovations prepared to welcome the new princess to the young master who had not yet been born, and also sent all the keys to the warehouse to Ming Tan¡ªthe name is that the princess has entered the palace. In the future, the princess should be in charge of the government.


    In fact, when a bride enters the house, no matter how many people are right, it is not easy to get the housekeeping power from the previous person in power.


    It is very common for a new daughter-in-law with a mother-in-law to survive for seven or eight decades without being able to manage the house independently. There is no mother-in-law at the top, and it is not an easy task to make the original stewards of the mansion docile.


    Ming Tan originally thought that there would be a lot of trouble, but he didn''t expect that someone would come to his door directly, and showed his deep love for her new princess. In this way, Ming Tan didn''t want to care so much.


    "Uncle Fu is an old man in the mansion, and he manages the palace well. I''m new here and I''m not very familiar with the palace, so I have to rely on Uncle Fu."


    Uncle Fu hurriedly said: "Princess, don''t say that! It is the honor of the old slave to have a useful place, and the old slave will die. But this palace should be taken care of by the princess. If there is anything unclear Yes, the old slave will help you sort it out slowly."


    It''s all about this point, it''s okay if Ming Tan doesn''t pick it up.


    She has never been short of clothes, and she is indifferent to the management of accounts. But she knew that the mistress of the house had to be proficient in this way, so when she was a girl, she also learned it seriously from Mrs. Pei.


    After taking the account book and flipping through it, Ming Tan paused.


    As early as the appointment, it can be seen that the Dingbei Palace is rich and powerful, but the extent of the rich and powerful seems to be a bit more exaggerated than she imagined.


    "... Jinxiufang, Cuojinge, are they all properties of the royal palace?"


    Uncle Fu seemed to be waiting for her to ask, so he hurriedly said "Hey", and then vividly described her fate with Jinxiu Fang in the Golden Pavilion in the past.


    Ming Tan thought of something: "So, the set of Dongzhu head noodles given to me by the Cuojin Pavilion earlier was made by Uncle Fu."


    Uncle Fu didn''t dare to take credit, and said modestly: "The main thing is that I got His Highness''s approval."


    Ming Tan was slightly stunned, nodded, lowered his eyes and continued to look at the book, but the corners of his lips could not stop bending upwards.


    But within a short time, Ming Tan and Uncle Fu got acquainted. Jiang Xu had never been particular about it, and let anyone who could make do with it continue to make do. Uncle Fu guarded a lot of money and had nowhere to spend it, which was quite uncomfortable. No, someone who can spend is here, Uncle Fu feels that he is finally looking forward to a bosom friend.


    "These two trees are very tall. You can make a swing here. In the past, the trees in the Hou''s Mansion were not so tall, and the swing made was a bit low."


    ¡­


    "The garden in the mansion seems to be a little smaller, but it can be moved another five zhang to the west. I haven''t seen the flowers and plants in the garden. Let me go and have a look, and see if I need to invite more skilled craftsmen to take care of it."


    ¡­


    "How can your highness only have this small area for martial arts training? Dongyuan can be converted into a small martial arts arena, and it is also close to Fuchu Hyogo. There is a shooting range here, and your highness''s friends can also try together when they come to the mansion." Ming Tan He gestured on the map of the Wangfu, "There is still a lot of weeds here, how about taking a rest and making a Cuju venue. Pingguo Duke''s Mansion is much smaller than our Wangfu, and there is a Cuju venue in his mansion."


    ¡­


    "By the way, it''s almost summer. How about making this vacant attic in the west of the lotus pond a cool room? Bamboo rafts are placed around it, and the water is diverted from the eaves... There is such a small cool house in the Hou Mansion, but the view is not beautiful. Build one by the pool, it will be very pleasant in summer!" Ming Tan felt very comfortable even thinking about it, and looked at Uncle Fu with sparkling eyes.


    Uncle Fu nodded again and again: "Good! Good!"


    He dipped his ink in a hurry and wrote it down in the booklet.


    On the other side, Jiang Xu, who had returned to the barracks after training, was rarely free.


    In fact, under the conquest led by him in these years, the barbarians in the north have restrained a lot. If it weren''t for the lack of food in winter and the fluctuating people''s hearts, there would be few incidents. And before getting married, he went north to patrol the army for the second time, and by the way he dealt with the legacy of the First World War in Dongzhou. Within this year, it would be very peaceful to come to the Northland.


    He read a mansion newspaper, and Shen Yu suddenly lifted the curtain to enter the account.


    After reporting on the official duties, Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, and couldn''t help asking: "Your Highness got married yesterday, and there is no important matter in the army today, why don''t you stay with the princess in the mansion?"


    Jiang Xu said casually: "It seems that the tasks I have arranged for you are too few, and they are all in charge of my family affairs."


    Shen Yu pouted her neck and said: "Wang... the princess is also considered as a subordinate cousin after all, and it is not an exaggeration for the subordinate to care about one or two things."


    Jiang Xu paused for a moment: "Princess is tired, resting in the mansion, what questions do you have?"


    ...?


    tired?


    Why are you tired?


    He also went to drink the wedding wine at the big wedding yesterday, and the bride was supported and hugged from front to back, and she didn''t walk a few steps at all, so she wouldn''t be tired.


    Jiang Xu said again: "Go out."


    Shen Yu was stunned for a while, her head green, and she followed the order to leave the tent. But after going out of the tent for a while, he was still a little confused, not understanding whether the prince''s perfunctory manner meant that he didn''t like cousin Tan.


    It wasn''t until he heard a few soldiers under his command talking about the love affairs in Yihong Courtyard some time ago that he seemed to understand something in a trance.


    "That Mei''er girl has a really good small voice, her elder brother is longer and her elder brother is shorter, it''s so loud! It''s great!"


    "I''ll just look at Rouge girl, that little waist, hehehe, she told me coquettishly that she was exhausted the next morning!"


    ¡­


    Shen Yu poured herself a glass of water in a daze, and she couldn''t imagine that when Cousin Tan and the prince were together, the older brother was older and the younger brother was younger, and she even said coquettishly what it would be like to be tired and broke her waist.


    I don''t know if it''s because Shen Yu came to tell me that he didn''t accompany the princess in the mansion on the first day of his wedding, Jiang Xufang and Xishi went back to Dingbei Palace.


    As soon as I entered the mansion, I saw servants coming and going in the mansion. Either carrying a flowerpot or a gold-painted box in his hand.


    He didn''t say much, and walked all the way to Qi''an Hall where a new little princess entered.


    Compared to the outside, Qi''an hall was even more lively. At the gate of Qi''an hall, he met Uncle Fu who was just about to leave.


    When Uncle Fu saw him, like beans poured into a bamboo tube, he happily shared the renovation of the palace that he had discussed with the princess today. During the period, "the princess really has an idea", "the princess is really a wonderful person", "the princess speaks well" All right" and so on.


    "..."


    Such extravagance.


    Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, then walked into the house.


    Inside the room, Ming Tan was flipping through the books while stretching out his hand, asking the little girl to dye her Danko.


    Seeing Jiang Xu enter the room, Ming Tan''s eyes lit up for a moment, he got up hurriedly, approached Jiang Xu actively, and raised his soft and boneless hands to his eyes: "Husband, you are back, do you look good?"


    She was close, and there was still a faint fragrance on her body. Jiang Xu couldn''t help feeling a little distracted when he thought of last night. His Adam''s apple rolled inconspicuously for a moment, and the extravagant words that he wanted to speak became¡ª


    "nice."

 Chapter 35：

    After receiving this praise, Ming Tan smiled with eyebrows and eyes crooked. She dragged Jiang Xu around the house with great interest, and introduced each place carefully.


    It was only then that Jiang Xu realized that in just half a day, the interior of Qi''an Hall had changed a lot according to the preferences of his little princess.


    After the introduction, Ming Tan asked cautiously: "A Tan arranged the house on his own initiative, does your husband not like it, is there any discomfort?"


    It''s quite uncomfortable.


    Ke Mingtan pulled him to shake and act like a baby, his hands were limp, and he still twitched restlessly in his palms. He is not good at, and has never dealt with women like this, and the words he said are against his will.


    "No problem."


    "As long as you like it."


    When Ming Tan heard this, his smile widened a bit, and he was very satisfied.


    Of course, her satisfaction is not in vain, and she has to make up for it in another way at night.


    After tossing twice at night, Ming Tanxiang was dripping with sweat, and she was so tired that she was about to fall apart. She lay limply in Jiang Xu''s arms, and she was still thinking in a daze: the strength of a martial arts practitioner is really extraordinary. There are many, but they are so enthusiastic at night. Is it possible that husband and wife need to be like this every day? That was really too hard.


    In fact, Ming Tan''s perception of hard work is still somewhat biased. Because Xie En entered the palace had been postponed for a day and could not be postponed any longer, Jiang Xu restrained himself a lot on purpose. If she wanted to have fun, she might not be able to survive a day in a princess-level gown.


    Waking up from Jiang Xu''s arms the next day, Ming Tan was still sore all over. She rubbed her eyes, and wanted to change her position to lie down, but found that the hands around her waist were tightly tightened.


    She couldn''t move much, but fortunately she could look up and see her husband''s handsome face up close.


    I have to admit that her husband is really handsome! In the past, all the women in Beijing said that Second Master Shu Yushu Linfeng was a good-looking talent. She saw that Second Master Shu was indeed handsome, but compared to her husband, he seemed a little gentler and less awe-inspiring than a man on the battlefield.


    She stretched out a finger and touched Jiang Xu''s face. Seeing that he didn''t respond, she secretly added another finger, pinched them together, and pushed his eyelashes upwards.


    Jiang Xu slept very lightly and woke up early. Just when he was about to pull down Ming Tan''s troubled hand, Ming Tan suddenly rubbed up, kissed his chin lightly, then rubbed his little head against his neck, and wrapped his arms around him very dependently. waist.


    Her lips are warm and cool, like sweet cheese steamed through a sieve, delicate and soft. Jiang Xu paused for a moment, not knowing whether he should wake up or not.


    As the ancients said, a gentle township and a tomb of heroes.


    He suddenly felt that there was some truth to it.


    Lying on the couch until the beginning of the morning, the two of them were awakened together by the maid.


    After dressing up and freshening up, it was about time, and the two of them got into the carriage that the palace rarely used once a year on weekdays, and entered the palace together.


    After entering the palace gate, the two walked in two ways. Jiang Xu went to the imperial study to meet Emperor Cheng Kang, while Ming Tan was led by the servants to Shoukang Palace to meet the Empress Dowager.


    Thinking back to the time when the Empress Dowager wanted to give her a marriage, Ming Tan felt a little anxious about being embarrassed. However, she didn''t show any anxiety on her face. After parting with Jiang Xu, she showed the dignified demeanor that a prince and concubine should have, keeping her eyes fixed and calm.


    The current Empress Dowager and the current Holy Majesty are not biological mothers and children.


    The Holy One came from the late Emperor Yuanhou, and the Empress Dowager of Shoukang Palace was the late Emperor''s successor, and she has two biological sons herself.


    Although the past cannot be traced back, if you think about it a little bit, you will know that there are three legitimate sons from two empresses, and the change of the throne is definitely not the peaceful succession that is visible on the surface.


    Coupled with the early death of the first emperor Yuan Empress, Yuan Empress''s mother''s family was far inferior to the stepmother''s family with deep roots. Come to think of it, if the Holy Majesty hadn''t been in the East Palace when he was born, and had cultivated a faction of the East Palace who was a staunch heir, it would have been difficult to get benefits when he was contending with the Empress Dowager Su.


    And after the empress dowager Su lost the battle for the position, she was still able to live in Shoukang Palace, and no one dared to treat her with contempt, so she was definitely not a good stubble who only wanted to be with the ancient Buddha of Qingdeng forever.


    When thinking about this, Ming Tan has been led to the gate of Shoukang Palace. An old nanny came out to handover with the servants, and led Mingtan in: "Princess Dingbei, please."


    Ming Tan nodded, and secretly took a deep breath.


    Suwen Empress Dowager has devoted herself to the Buddha in recent years, and the Shoukang Palace does have a bit of the simple and ancient atmosphere of a person who is devoted to the Buddha. The light scent of incense scattered makes people feel involuntary.


    "The concubine sees the empress dowager, and sees the empress dowager. I wish the empress dowager and the empress dowager a healthy body and good luck."


    The nanny didn''t remind me all the way, but the empress was also here. Fortunately, Ming Tan''s eyes were sharp, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the women sitting at the head, besides the woman holding a rosary, she could be identified as the Empress Dowager at a glance, and there was also a young woman wearing a brocade skirt with deep red peonies and golden phoenix patterns. Wearing a nine-phoenix Chaoyang hairpin on the head-this kind of dress, except for the queen, don''t think about it.


    "Get up, give me a seat."


    The Empress Dowager Su''s voice is very gentle, it sounds quite kind, but now Ming Tan dare not think how kind the Empress Dowager is.


    She is not a fool, if the Empress Dowager hadn''t signaled it, how could the leading nun have not reminded that there are other people in the palace besides the Empress Dowager. Especially the empress, if she had not been sharp-eyed just now, and she was not honored by the empress, it would be difficult for the empress to feel unhappy.


    "Look, Empress Dowager, what the concubine said is half wrong?" Empress Zhang smiled, "Princess Dingbei is dignified and polite, she is the most virtuous and chaste."


    The Empress Dowager nodded kindly, and said with compassion on her face: "It''s a good one. Ai Jia looks at it, and it matches Xu''er very well."


    As soon as she finished speaking, a nun standing beside her stepped forward and presented Ming Tan with a gift of meeting in a red sandalwood box.


    Ming Tan stood up, bowed his head to receive it, and thanked the Queen Mother respectfully.


    There were five girls sitting in the hall. Apart from the empress dowager, Ming Tan also guessed from the narration that the one wearing the six-piece skirt of the Butterfly Play and Hundred Flowers was the youngest daughter of the empress dowager, Princess Wenhui; After Concubine Yu was sent to the cold palace, she is now the most favored concubine orchid in the palace; there is another young and beautiful girl¡ª


    "Tch, boring."


    Before Ming Tan guessed the girl''s identity, he saw the girl looking her up and down, and suddenly gave a soft snort.


    "Nianci, don''t be rude!" Princess Wen Hui scolded.


    The queen mother glanced at her eyes, and said in a warm voice: "Nianci has such a temperament, you can say whatever you think, and you don''t have to be too harsh. Xu''er is a good princess, so why would she care about a little girl like her."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She is also a little girl.


    Concubine Lan probably knew that this was not the occasion for her to speak, she fiddled with the tea cover with her downcast eyes, she was quiet and didn''t make much noise. It was the Queen who took over the conversation and introduced Zhai Nianci to Ming Tan.


    Zhai Nianci is the daughter of Princess Wen Hui, also the granddaughter of Empress Dowager Su, she is very fond of Empress Dowager Su, and Empress Su also gave her the title of "Lord of Yongle County". That being the case, it''s not that she doesn''t have the confidence to hate people when she sees them.


    Ming Tan didn''t plan to fuss with this kind of person who won''t see each other for three to five years, but she didn''t plan to fuss about it, but this Yongle county lord did not know what was wrong, and stared at her non-stop.


    For a while, he said, "Aren''t the noble ladies in Beijing all these years like princesses? It''s so boring", and then said, "The princess just doesn''t understand fighting in the battlefield, so how can I have a topic to talk with His Royal Highness Dingbei?"


    Ming Tan listened for a while with a smile, and suddenly asked a question: "The concubine has been in Beijing for these years, and I have rarely heard the name of Yongle County Lord. I think the County Lord didn''t live in the capital for a long time?"


    Zhai Nianci was lazy and didn''t answer her at all.


    It was the queen who made the siege and said: "Nianci went to the north with his father, and it is true that he seldom returns to Beijing."


    Oh, I got it.


    The family background is prominent and clear.


    There is also the Northern Expedition with the father. Isn''t her husband the King of Dingbei? This Yongle county lord Xu has followed his father to the north for these years, so maybe he has some relationship with her husband.


    Besides, the Yongle County Lord said both inside and outside the words that a spoiled boudoir lady like her is not worthy of His Royal Highness King Dingbei, so isn''t this the same as saying that she is very worthy?


    After figuring out the crux of the hostility, Ming Tan is not afraid to prescribe the right medicine.


    She took a sip of tea in a gentle manner, and said with a gentle smile: "The county magistrate doesn''t let the men show up, and his heroic demeanor is really admirable to the concubines, but the ladies in Beijing have always set the example of the empress dowager and empress empress. How to be dignified and virtuous, learning how to restrain oneself and restore etiquette, learning how to be imperial, how to manage the family, so as to stabilize the rear of the husband''s family, is not boring.


    "Besides, His Highness is usually in the barracks, and some generals chat with him about soldiers and generals. When he returns to the mansion, what he needs more is a clean place. As a wife, she can send a bowl of soup and gossip for a while. It will make His Highness feel more comfortable."


    "..."


    Zhai Nianci was stalked, and he didn''t say a word of rebuttal for a while.


    Isn''t Princess Dingbei just pointing at her nose and saying that she is uneducated and disrespectful? Unexpectedly, she can''t refute anything, after all, everyone has moved out the queen mother and queen to stand in the way.


    What made her even more heartbroken was that Princess Dingbei was talking both inside and out. His Royal Highness Dingbei didn''t want to talk about dispatching troops with his wife. Going home is full of boudoir fun. Don''t be self-righteous and meddle in other people''s business .


    On the other side, in the imperial study room, Emperor Cheng Kang knocked on the table with the approved booklet, and asked with great interest: "How about the new marriage? After marrying the princess, you are finally married."


    With his hands behind his back, Jiang Xu replied nonchalantly, "It''s not that bad, it''s just a little cumbersome."


    "..."


    "Who asked you if it was complicated?"


    Jiang Xu looked at him quietly again with a look of "what is His Majesty asking?"


    Cheng Kangdi was speechless.


    Forget it, Zuo is just that he himself wants to stay far away in Ming Ting and make an expedient marriage, and with his temperament, he doesn''t know who he is embarrassing if he expects him to get married and suddenly become enlightened.


    Emperor Chengkang thought for a while, and then said: "I heard that you, the princess, have a certain reputation among the ladies in the capital. After all, you are also a daughter-in-law who has been married back home. You should not be treated lightly."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm".


    Yesterday, she spent five thousand taels for all that trouble, and he didn''t say anything, so it wasn''t a small treat. However, according to her plan to repair the palace, it would cost another one hundred thousand taels, which was too extravagant, and she would still have to order one or two after returning.


    Emperor Chengkang didn''t know what Jiang Xu was thinking, seeing that he didn''t take it seriously, thinking that he didn''t want to mention the new bride very much, so he changed the subject and talked about the recent court affairs.


    Around noon, Emperor Chengkang and Jiang Xucai left the imperial study together. Jiang Xu didn''t want to stay in the palace for dinner, so he went straight to Shoukang Palace to pick up Mingtan.


    When he arrived at Shoukang Palace, he saw Ming Tan coming out of the hall together with the queen and others.


    She was walking with the Yongle county lord, she didn''t know what to say, suddenly her figure flickered, as if she had left her feet on the steps, and then she frowned slightly and hissed softly.


    Without even thinking about it, Jiang Xu stepped forward and hugged her by the waist.


    Zhai Nianci: "...?"


    Cheng Kangdi, who heard the news in his own palace, was also puzzled for a moment.

 Chapter 36：

    In fact, Ming Tan never thought that her husband would go up to hug her so directly.


    Coming out of Shoukang Palace, Zhai Nianci relentlessly followed, pestering her with some sarcastic remarks, Ming Tan was very annoyed, just happened to catch a glimpse of her husband walking towards her from a distance, and suddenly she had a plan.


    She interrupted Zhai Nianci, and said softly: "The county lord seems to know very little about men. Since that''s the case, the county lord might as well take a good look at what kind of woman His Highness likes." Then she made a sprained look, frowning lightly Hiss a dragon.


    According to Ming Tan''s thinking, her husband would probably salute the queen first, and then go up to her and ask her: "What''s wrong?"


    She could follow the conversation, with tears in her eyes pitifully, and said "no problem" forbearance, and then bit her lip to emphasize, "it was my concubine who accidentally sprained herself."


    With this move, not to mention how much sympathy she won from her husband, it would definitely not be a problem for him to help her leave intimately.


    But now her husband''s behavior has exceeded expectations, Ming Tan was so stunned for a moment that he forgot to smile gently at Zhai Nianci.


    This is in the palace!


    Thinking back to last year''s Shangyuan Palace Banquet, she was so energetic that she didn''t dare to make a wrong step. Now being carried by her husband to run wild in the palace, it''s a bit too ostentatious.


    "Husband...husband, don''t you go in and greet the empress dowager? And the empress dowager...husband doesn''t seem to salute, is this unreasonable?" Ming Tan put his arms around Jiang Xu''s neck and asked cautiously.


    "It''s okay." Jiang Xu didn''t take it seriously.


    After walking for a while, Ming Tan asked again: "By the way, is your husband familiar with the Yongle County Lord? The Yongle County Lord is very heroic, and he also followed his father to the north. From what she said, it seems that he has some relationship with your husband. "


    "Unfamiliar." Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and looked at her lightly.


    Ming Tan whispered "Oh" as if he had been read through his mind, and obediently did not ask further questions.


    In fact, Jiang Xu''s "unfamiliarity" was not perfunctory. His impression of Yongle County Lord was all from the Queen Mother and her father who was still brave and good at fighting.


    As for the fact that the Yongle county lord fell in love with him, that he had pretended to be in the camp, followed his father to the north for him, and even cried in private that he wanted to be the princess of Dingbei, he didn''t know anything about it. His concubine could be anyone, but she could never be a close relative of the Empress Dowager Su.


    Walking to Yeyang Gate, Jiang Xu suddenly asked, "How about the foot injury?"


    Ming Tan shook his head: "It''s a slight sprain, it''s fine."


    Jiang Xu paused.


    Ming Tan reacted, and immediately hugged his neck tightly again, and said coquettishly: "But it still hurts a little, and I can''t walk by myself."


    "..."


    cumbersome.


    He stepped forward and continued to walk out.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help but bend the corners of his lips upwards, since he was showing off, if he didn''t show it to the end, wouldn''t he be wronged by the censor for a few books?


    Ming Tan is very self-aware, knowing that such a ostentation will inevitably have to be recorded by the official censor.


    In the early morning of the next day, after discussing the important matters, there were speakers who came out and decided that His Highness the Northern King had no words or deeds in Da Nei.


    It''s just a routine for people to participate in the class. After completing the monthly class, there is no hope that they will get any punishment for participating. After all, as long as His Royal Highness King Dingbei is in the capital, it will not be a few days for someone to behave in words and deeds.


    But the newly-promoted father-in-law quit.


    Ming Tingyuan came out and said, "I think that it''s human nature for a newly married prince to be anxious to protect his concubine when he sees her injured, so why talk about words and deeds without words?


    "Furthermore, the accusation of laziness raised by the censor is also extremely absurd. Civil servants and military generals originally performed their own duties. When the prince went to battle to kill the enemy, he did not see Shen Yang. The censor had never served the country. Staring at other people''s housework is considered lazy!"


    Bai Jingyuan, Duke of the Chang Kingdom, also came out to agree: "I think what Jing''an Hou said is very true. If the king of Dingbei can be called lazy, then I am afraid that there are not many hardworking and loyal people in the court. Even if there are, It''s definitely not Yang Yushi who only cares about trivial matters!"


    Yang Yushi: "..."


    Cheng Kangdi: "..."


    The hall was silent for a moment, but no one came forward to make things right.


    Because the fact is that His Royal Highness King Dingbei acted like this in the palace, and he was indeed arrogant.


    But His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang has always been like this, even if the palace banquet is disrupted, is he afraid of this? What''s more, Duke Chang and Marquis of Jing''an are right, His Majesty doesn''t mind the newlyweds, and it''s unnecessary for you to say that it''s bad luck to find someone.


    As for the discussion in the court, it was not that His Royal Highness King Dingbei had never been there before, but when someone came up, he would either stand silently or just mock the Queen Mother, so it''s better not to go up.


    For a long while, no one answered, and the Luan Hall was silent. Finally, Emperor Chengkang had to cough twice, and smoothed things over by himself: "Aiqing, there is no need to argue. King Dingbei is young and just married. This... loves his wife very much. "


    He paused, always felt that what he said was strange, but he had said it all, so he had no choice but to continue: "And King Dingbei is dedicated to the country, and the illustrious military exploits he made for Daxian are obvious to all, and he does not go to the court to discuss matters." , is also authorized by me, so there is no need to be harsh."


    After speaking, he looked to the right.


    The right minister agreed, hurriedly came out to report the matter, changed the topic, and gently turned over the incident.


    Emperor Cheng Kang didn''t think too much about gossip, he didn''t know that his "beloved wife is eager" has been spread since the next court.


    There is nothing important in the court recently, and the ministers are also willing to gossip, and when they return to their own mansions, they still don''t forget to chat with their wives. So the rumor that His Royal Highness King Dingbei "loves his wife eagerly" spread to all the nobles in Beijing in just half a day.


    The married woman returned home in three dynasties, Ming Tingyuan was in the court hall angrily refuting Yang Yushi, and Jiang Xu had just finished practicing martial arts and returned to Qi''an Hall, ready to accompany Ming Tan back to the Jing''an Hou Mansion.


    Jiang Xu is usually dressed in black, but Ming Tan is putting on his makeup and looking at him from the bronze mirror, saying that he was in Daxiangguo Temple last year, and the pine and green casual clothes he wore were very is good looking.


    Jiang Xu: "The clothes are torn."


    "Doesn''t my husband have any other clothes that are not black?" Ming Tan couldn''t believe it. He got up and rummaged through the cage himself, found out the moon white gown and compared it to Jiang Xu, "How about this one? Ah Tan looks like good."


    Jiang Xu doesn''t like Yuebai.


    But before he could open his mouth, Ming Tan looked at him expectantly again and said, "A Tan also wears a moon white brocade dress, come home today, husband and A Tan wear the same color, okay?"


    "..." Jiang Xu looked away unnaturally, "It''s up to you."


    So the couple wore moon-white brocade clothes of the same color, and returned to Jing''an Hou''s mansion with a few cars prepared by Uncle Fu to return to Ningli.


    When the two returned to the mansion, Ming Tingyuan had already descended to the court, and spread out infinitely what Emperor Chengkang said about "the eagerness to love his wife", until his face was flushed and proud, Mrs. Pei was skeptical when he heard it, and always felt that The "love my wife is eager" that my Lord Hou said has nothing to do with His Highness King Dingbei who I met on the wedding day.


    It is not a trivial matter for the princess to return home, although it was not arranged in a big way, but the Jing''an Hou Mansion invited all the relatives of the same clan in Beijing, and organized a family banquet.


    Naturally, Shen Hua and Bai Minmin also came.


    Men have men''s occasions, and women have women''s private conversations. After dealing with the three aunts and six wives who came to greet each other, Ming Tan found a free time and went back to Zhaoshui Courtyard with Shen Hua and Bai Minmin.


    In fact, I haven''t been back for a few days, and the furnishings in the Zhaoshui courtyard are still the same, but Ming Tan somehow feels that the boudoir time in the Zhaoshui courtyard for more than ten years is far away from her, and the more time goes by, the distance will become further and further away.


    "How is it? During the few days of your wedding, His Highness has treated you pretty well, right? I came here with my father today and heard that your Highness hugged you in the palace yesterday, and was read by Yang Yushi. , and then my father and your father **** off Yang Yushi in the hall. Anyway, it sounds like your Highness is very pleased with you." Bai Minmin asked excitedly.


    Ming Tan held his face and nodded shyly: "Your Highness treats me very well, it should be... a little bit pleasing, right?"


    She has always been a well-behaved lady. Apart from reading a few scripts with Bai Minmin, I haven''t even met a few outsiders, and I don''t know what it means to like and what it means to be happy.


    But her husband is good-looking, and she is willing to spend her whole life with her husband, so she should be happy with her husband. And her husband also praised her for being good-looking and treated her well, so he should also be pleased with her?


    Ming Tan quite approved of his own logic, and after thinking about it, he nodded affirmatively to himself,


    Shen Hua flapped her fan lightly, and echoed with a smile: "Looking at the radiant face of Fourth Sister and the spring in her eyes, I know that His Highness treats Fourth Sister very well."


    Bai Minmin was not married yet, so she didn''t understand the meaning of Shen Hua''s "radiant face, eyes full of spring", so she asked curiously, "His Royal Highness Dingbei treats you very well, so how can you and His Royal Highness Dingbei treat you?" Is there a round room?"


    Shen Hua''s ulterior joke made Ming Tan''s ears turn red with embarrassment, and Bai Minmin was so stupid to ask, her neck was even red with embarrassment.


    "Is it round or not?" Bai Minmin insisted.


    "It''s round, it''s round!" Ming Tan couldn''t bear the disturbance.


    Bai Minmin''s eyes glowed: "Is it really round?"


    "..."


    Ming Tan doesn''t want to talk to her.


    "Then His Royal Highness King Dingbei... how about it?"


    Bai Minmin pointed her fingers with a gossiping face.


    Now it''s Ming Tan''s turn not to understand: "How about what?"


    "Just¡ª" Bai Minmin scratched her head, and she didn''t know how to describe it euphemistically. She was very curious recently, and the fresh scriptures she found said everything, and the newlyweds would chat with their friends about bed curtains, so Just learn to ask the previous question.


    Shen Hua is married after all, and she has some experience in this, so she bent her lips and asked in a low voice, "How many times did you ask for water in one night?"


    Ming Tan understood, without thinking, he hit Bai Minmin with a fan and stared straight at her: "Do you know how to be ashamed, a girl who hasn''t left the court?"


    "That''s why you don''t feel ashamed anyway."


    Bai Minmin is very good at turning over old accounts, and she has recounted absurd things like sneaking into the military camp to peek at the fire escape map when she was not out of the cabinet.


    In short, the topic circled around, Bai Minmin and Shen Hua didn''t spare her, and finally returned to the matter of the bed curtain.


    Ming Tan put his hands on his cheeks, pinched his earlobes in embarrassment, recalled it for a while, and replied shyly: "Your Highness should be, quite powerful? It is a bit hard to have to drink water twice a night." She has no experience to compare, Who knows what is great and what is not.


    Bai Minmin was puzzled: "Does the water need to be used twice? If I read it, it would take seven times."


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Is that right?


    So according to Bai Minmin, her husband is not very good?


    Fang walked to the door of the boudoir, and Jiang Xu, who wanted to call Ming Tan out for dinner, also paused.

 Chapter 37：

    Ming Tan always felt that after returning home today, her husband looked at her a little strangely. She couldn''t tell what was strange about it, but when they met their eyes, they seemed to pause for a breath or two more than usual.


    She didn''t take it too seriously either.


    After the family feast, Bai Minmin and Shen Hua both returned home.


    In recent days, Bai Minmin''s mother and her sister-in-law have been holding her tightly. After all, they are all big girls who want to see other people. It is useless to let people know that seeing Tian''er running around is not good for her reputation.


    Shen Hua wanted to go back to see some shopkeepers. Since entering Li''s mansion, her mother-in-law has asked her to assist Zhongfu. Although she is used to reciting poems and fighting against others, she is not incompetent in common affairs.


    After they left, Ming Tan went to Lanxin Courtyard to talk with Mrs. Pei for a while.


    Pei also took Shen Hua as an example: "... She is a blessed person. Now in Li Siye''s mansion, she is living like a fish in water. The husband is motivated, the husband and wife are harmonious, and the sisters-in-law are easy to get along with. Her sister-in-law, no Is it Miss Zhou''s older sister who you are befriending? I don''t have to say anything about her temperament and appearance. And the most important thing is that her parents-in-law are open-minded and don''t judge others. Now she can assist in the middle school as soon as she enters the house. You should also learn more .¡±


    Ming Tan nodded, pondered for a moment and said: "Mother, I understand the truth, but I don''t have any sisters-in-law. On the first day of the wedding, the steward of the palace sent me all the keys to the account books."


    "..."


    "Is there no one in the mansion to embarrass you?"


    Ming Tan thought for a while, then shook his head.


    "Since I entrusted it to you, I believe you. You should take good care of the property of the palace."


    Ming Tan made a "hmm".


    Seeing that there was no one around, Mrs. Pei lowered her voice and asked again: "Is there a concubine in the house?"


    Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is not like other sects, they can inquire about one or two before marriage, not like other sects, if there is something dirty before marriage, they can still refuse to marry, on this road, Pei family has always been quite worried.


    Ming Tan said without thinking, "No." But suddenly she paused again, her tone became hesitant, "Shouldn''t there be any? I''ve been in the mansion for three days, and I haven''t heard of any other women in the mansion. "


    "His Royal Highness has been resting in your room for three days?"


    Ming Tan blushed and said "Yes", and said reservedly: "I live, it seems to be the courtyard where my husband has been living, and all his clothes are in the house."


    The two lived together? Pei Shi was slightly surprised.


    But in this way, what Master Hou said today when he came back to "love his wife eagerly" seems so credible.


    Pei''s heart was relieved a lot, and he held Ming Tan''s hand again, and said earnestly: "My lord loves more than you now, which is great. But my mother said something bad, the lord is young and promising, with a high position. Weight, only you at this moment, does not mean only you in the future.


    "In the house, heirs are the most important thing. Taking advantage of the strong relationship between husband and wife and no one to disturb you, it is serious to give birth early and stabilize your position as princess. As long as you are in charge of the royal family and have children under your knees, then in the future, you will be in the palace. , no one can surpass you."


    What Mrs. Pei said is very reasonable, and it is also what women think in the minds of women nowadays. But when Ming Tan thought that there would be other women who would have children with her husband in the future, he felt a little panicked for no reason.


    "Mother knows that you don''t like to hear these things being said now, but you have to take a long-term view of everything, so that you won''t feel sad when it comes to it."


    "My daughter knows."


    "Still getting out of the car?"


    At sunset, the carriage stopped in front of the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, Jiang Xu stood outside the carriage, glanced at Ming Tan who was still sitting in the carriage in a daze.


    When he went out in the morning, he, the little princess, pestered him to ask questions, she was full of energy, but she was silent and absent-minded all the way back home, wondering if she was thinking about what her friend said, "I want water" one thing.


    Jiang Xu originally wanted to verify with her that night, what it felt like to ask for Qihuishui, but something happened in the palace, and the palace gate gave the key and called him into the palace.


    After four days of marriage, Ming Tan is not used to suddenly staying alone in an empty room.


    It rained violently in the middle of the night, with lightning and thunder, and she tossed and turned wrapped in a brocade quilt. Thinking about the newcomers coming into the mansion in the future, they would all be as bright as flowers. Sadness comes from it.


    Early the next morning, the rain cleared and the clouds cleared away. As soon as the window was opened, there was a fresh air filled with the fragrance of flowers, plants and trees.


    Ming Tan sat in front of the dowry with blue eye circles, not energetic.


    Just as she was reassuring herself to talk about things later, and there was no need to be so unfounded, a little girl suddenly came in outside, with her head buried low, and she said in a somewhat unspeakable way: "Princess, Aunt Yun and Aunt Fang is here to greet you."


    Ming Tan was startled, her head seemed to be blown away, she was so shocked that she couldn''t recover for a while.


    Lue was also in a daze, the jade comb stopped in Ming Tan''s hair, and she forgot to comb it down.


    "You... what did you say? What aunt?" Lue asked in disbelief.


    The little girl replied cautiously: "Aunt Yun and Aunt Fang. It is complicated for the princess to enter the mansion, so the two aunts came to greet the princess today."


    Lue: "Why have I never heard that there is an aunt in the mansion before?"


    The little girl shook her head, faltering and saying: "I don''t know."


    Su Xin was able to hold back a little bit, waved the little girl back, and quickly comforted her: "I think it is the common room that His Highness used to use in the mansion, welcoming the main room, and lifting the room. This is also common in ordinary houses. Too much concern. His Highness never mentioned it before, probably because he didn''t take them to heart."


    "Yes, yes." Seeing Ming Tan''s distraught face, Lu E quickly agreed, "If it''s a serious role, His Highness doesn''t mention it, but Uncle Fu will always mention it, and other servants in the mansion will also discuss it.


    "Since no one has mentioned it these days, it must be insignificant. I came here to greet you at this moment. Maybe I wanted to toast the young lady with a cup of concubine tea, but His Highness didn''t come back. This young lady doesn''t like to drink tea. Just find a reason not to drink it." gone."


    Ming Tan didn''t say a word, and didn''t know what he was thinking, he was silent for a long time before letting Lue continue to make up for her.


    After more than half an hour, Ming Tan finished packing and appeared in the flower hall of Qi''an Hall. She sat down at the head, raised her eyebrows slightly, and slowly looked at the two brides who appeared out of nowhere like a bolt from the blue.


    Although these two aunts are not as good-looking as hers, they are not bad either. One is beautiful and the other is delicate and charming. They all look two or three years older than her, and they are very beautiful.


    Before she could finish digesting the mixed emotions in her heart, the beautiful aunt conveniently folded her hands and knelt down on one knee: "Your maidservant, see the princess."?


    Something seems wrong.


    Ming Tan didn''t understand for a while, and subconsciously asked: "Are you, Aunt Yun?"


    "yes."


    The other one is Aunt Fang.


    As soon as Ming Tan looked over, Aunt Fang was full of happiness and said coquettishly: "My slave Fang''s family is Ruomei, I have seen the princess."


    Compared to Aunt Yun who salutes in a weird way, this one is very much like Aunt Yun. It''s just that they call themselves "Nu''s family". Which concubine''s room in the capital city calls themselves "Nu''s family"? Ming Tan listened awkwardly, but inexplicably thought of the water surplus in Bie Yu Lou.


    "Get up and watch the seats."


    Ming Tan suppressed the emotions in her heart, but she didn''t want to look at the two of them anymore. She fiddled with the lid of the teacup and bowl, she couldn''t go against her heart, and said, "From now on, we will all be sisters, and we must be of one heart and one mind to be good." Serve the prince, and spread the branches and leaves for the prince as soon as possible." Words like this came.


    It''s too uncomfortable, my heart is too uncomfortable.


    She took a sip of her tea, her eyes hurt from the steaming heat, and her eyes were covered with mist.


    Unaware of this, Yun Yi stared at Ming Tan''s slender hands playing with the lid of the teacup and bowl without blinking her eyes.


    Fang Ruomei tilted her body and bumped into her lightly: "What are you looking at?"


    Yun Yi replied subconsciously: "The movement of the princess turning the tea lid is very beautiful, and her hands are also very beautiful. I have never seen such beautiful hands."


    After finishing speaking, she also picked up the tea on the table, imitated, flicked it bluntly, and then flicked away the tea leaves that hadn''t stretched and sank into the bottom of the tea.


    "..."


    Where did this idiot come from.


    Aunt Fang''s eyes almost rolled to the sky.


    Just as the flower hall sank into a strange silence, the girl came to report: The prince has returned.


    Ming Tan raised her eyelids, but at the moment she was so uncomfortable that she didn''t want to see that man again, until she saw a piece of brocade clothes in her eyes, she lowered her eyes and got up, and saluted somewhat perfunctorily.


    Jiang Xu is not a careful person, but his little princess has "I''m not happy" written all over from her hair to the necklace on the embroidered shoes, so he can''t fail to see it.


    Sitting next to Ming Tan, he glanced at Yun Yi and Fang Ruomei, and introduced in a low voice: "This is the guard I found for you, Yun Yi is good at swords, Fang Ruomei is good at poison and medicine, if I am not in the mansion, Let them protect you."


    "...?"


    Ming Tan raised his eyes suddenly.


    Yunyi: "My subordinate, Jinyunwei Yunyi, is ordered to protect the safety of the princess."


    Fang Ruomei: "My subordinate Bieyulou Fang Ruomei is ordered to protect the safety of the princess."


    The two saluted solemnly.


    Ming Tan was even more confused.


    This Aunt Fang is really from Bieyulou.


    After the introduction, Jiang Xu glanced at the two of them, and they bowed their heads knowingly, and bowed back.


    Soon there were only Ming Tan and Jiang Xu left in the flower hall.


    Ming Tan was still immersed in the ups and downs of emotions, and he couldn''t get back to his senses: "Aunt Yun and Aunt Fang, are they... guards? Are they just guards?"


    "Just guards."


    "Then why do you want them to be aunts?" The female guards in the storybook are all personal servants.


    "This king doesn''t like the fact that there are many people in the mansion."


    After saying this, Jiang Xu got up and asked someone to set the meal. When he came back early in the morning, he thought he would have hot porridge, but he didn''t expect that because of the two female guards, his princess stopped the virtuous and virtuous on the fourth day of their wedding.


    Ming Tan didn''t know what he was thinking, but she was still pondering over his sentence "I don''t like the fact that there are many people in the house". After pondering for a long time, after considering all kinds of situations, she came to a more reliable conclusion : Her husband doesn''t want to take concubines for now.


    It is impossible for the palace to have only one concubine. Even if her husband doesn''t want to take concubines, there will always be people who will find all kinds of beauties in the palace. Instead of waiting for people to fill in, it''s better to fill in two of them first, so that there is a reason for the refusal.


    At night, Ming Tan asked Jiang Xu to confirm this idea in the bed, and got a positive response. She was so happy that she became more enthusiastic for a while, and despite the hard work, she cooperated until midnight.


    to finish


    When returning to the water for the second time, Ming Tan thought that he could sleep peacefully like the previous few days, so he closed his eyes peacefully.


    But who would have thought that after Jiang Xu hugged her behind him for a while, he suddenly regained the momentum of recovery. Soon Ming Tan was turned over without any refusal. Xiumei frowned slightly, sweating profusely. She whimpered, tears burst out, and she complained intermittently while beating.


    In a daze, she suddenly heard Jiang Xu whispering in her ear: "Didn''t the script say that you need seven times of water?"


    "...?"


    "But that''s not... I didn''t say it, uh!"

 Chapter 38：

    "Is the princess awake?"


    "Not yet."


    "Then is breakfast still hot?"


    "Leave a porridge and let it simmer. At this time, it''s better to prepare lunch earlier."


    ¡­


    As the sun rose, people in the dining room of the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion asked from time to time, "Wang Concubine can get up." When they asked about Sizheng, they were still not up, and the servants murmured for a while.


    Those with good intentions folded their hands in front of their bodies, raised their chins slightly, and pretended to be high-spirited: "I see that you don''t need lunch anymore, just wait and prepare dinner."


    "Why? The princess is out of the palace?"


    The good-for-nothing wanted to show off, but it happened that a servant woman who knew the inside story brought a basket of water spirits into the kitchen, and couldn''t wait to talk: "You don''t know? Last night, Qi''an Hall called for water four or five times. Tsk tsk, it''s almost morning, how can the princess get up!"


    "what?"


    "Is there such a thing?"


    Everyone unconsciously gathered together and pricked up their ears.


    There are a lot of rough women who have given birth in the kitchen, they are used to talking, they are naughty and not shy, and they don''t blush or heartbeat when talking about the lengths of these houses, and they still have a bit of energy.


    "From Fugui''s family, isn''t your daughter working in Qi''an hall, is Qi''an hall really so noisy?"


    "That''s not it. Don''t look at our prince''s cold face all day long. It takes a lot of effort. This princess has only been in the house for a few days. See Tian''er''s tossing around at night, and the whole yard can listen to it. My daughter-in-law The one who was on duty in the tea room said he didn''t sleep well all night, so he heard the princess crying and shouting tenderly."


    "I''ve heard that too, especially last night, it was called four or five times! Later I heard that the princess cried for a while and lost her temper, otherwise there would be trouble."


    "The concubine looks like a fairy, and she is very delicate. How can a man not love her when she sees it? My eyes are straightened when I look at it. And the skin is like soft tofu, white and thin, I am afraid it is a You can get water when you pinch it, I walked in the garden a while ago, and the sun shines on it, it is really dazzlingly white."


    "I also see that the concubine is very attractive to people, but even a person like our prince who talks about how brave he is usually can''t get down on the beauty''s couch."


    ¡­


    The servants in the kitchen talked embarrassingly, the little girl blushed and ran away after listening to it a few times, but what these servants said was not exaggerated.


    The water in Qi''an hall didn''t stop last night, and even a girl like Su Xin Lue, who had no experience in human affairs, could faintly feel that Your Highness...seemed to be tossing too hard.


    The young lady of their family was fine at first, but she cried a lot for a while in the middle, and she also whimpered at the end, but she was probably too dumb, and her voice dropped a lot.


    On the last trip, Su Xin sent water in, and after a quick glance, she saw her young lady with messy hair, wrapped in a quilt and nestled in His Highness''s arms, like a rabbit anxious, her eyes were red, her voice was low and hoarse, and she didn''t know what to do. He said something, and suddenly bit the man''s neck hard after speaking.


    Su Xin was so frightened that her legs gave way, and she almost knelt down to intercede for her young lady.


    But His Highness didn''t even frown, and responded in a low voice: "Okay, resettlement."


    Although there is no emotion, but in response to the charming atmosphere in the room, it seems to be somewhat deceiving.


    After running out of water, His Highness asked for some medicine.


    The red candle in the room was quiet for a moment before it went out.


    When the surroundings were completely silent, the sky was already covered with a faint gray light.


    Jiang Xu was in good spirits, he didn''t delay at all early in the morning, got up to practice his sword, went back to the house and had breakfast, and then went out as usual. Only Ming Tan fell into a deep sleep, from Chenshi to Sizheng, he had no intention of waking up at all.


    After sleeping until noon, Ming Tan slowly woke up, and after waking up, his eyes were blank for a while, his head was empty, he half leaned on the couch, very tired, and didn''t really want to get up.


    It happened that Lue came in with a box of gadgets, and Fushen said happily, "Miss, you''re awake. Miss Min sent someone to deliver something, saying that it was a new kitty item in the past two days, from the other side of the Western Region. , would you like to see it now?"


    It''s okay not to mention it, but when Bai Minmin is mentioned, Ming Tan becomes furious.


    The culprit!


    "dont see!"?


    Lue was stunned, at a loss, thinking that she had done something wrong.


    Ming Tan was furious, and said again: "Find out the ugly flower handkerchief that Bai Minmin gave me last time, and bring me a pair of scissors."


    Lue was at a loss, said yes, and carefully put down the box, hurriedly searched for the ugly handkerchief that Bai Minmin had embroidered earlier, and sent it to the bedside together with scissors.


    Without even thinking about it, Ming Tan picked up the scissors and cut the ugly handkerchief twice, and then ordered angrily: "Put it in the box for me and send it back to Duke Chang''s mansion, just say I''m here today!" Just break the handkerchief with her, Bai Minmin!"


    Lue: "...?"


    "Ah Choo!"


    Bai Minmin, who was forced to become a female celebrity in Changguo''s mansion and was embroidering mandarin ducks, suddenly sneezed loudly. She rubbed her nose and was still thinking: Could it be that some young master took a fancy to it in the recent acquaintances? her?


    It is not known whether any young master has a crush on Bai Minmin, but in recent days, Lu Ting, Lu Dianshuai, the deputy commander of the palace, clearly has a crush on Zhou Jingwan, Miss Zhou''s family.


    Zhou Jingwan was at the age of marriage, gentle and beautiful, full of talent, there were originally many young talents who came to Zhou''s family to propose marriage, but since Lu Dianshuai also went to Zhou''s family to propose marriage, those young talents before were all inexplicable. It fell silent.


    First, a Hanlin editor went to Hualou, and was read by the censor, saying that it insulted the Qinggui of the Hanlin, and was reprimanded.


    Later, the son of the servant boy rode a horse in the street and injured a street vendor. The defendant went to the Yamen and paid a sum of money. He also injured his leg and had to stay in bed for half a year...


    Whether these things are small or not, the only connection is that they all went to Zhou''s door to ask for marriage.


    Everyone seems to have realized the joint, and gradually, the number of marriage proposals from last week''s family became less and less.


    Zhou Jingwan''s marriage has been chosen since Ming Tan was given the marriage, and now Ming Tan is married, no matter how delicate her daughter is, she has to be on the agenda.


    But now in this situation, Zhou''s mother, who was not in a hurry to pick things out, couldn''t help becoming anxious, and Zhou Jingwan was even more frightened, worrying every day that no one would ask her to marry her, and in the end she would only marry that handsome Lu Dianshuai.


    Spring is in full bloom in April. Ming Tan invites Zhou Jingwan to visit the house to enjoy the flowers.


    She renovated the palace and rebuilt the flower garden. When the exotic flowers and plants arrived, she invited a talented woman from Zhou to write an inscription for the flower garden.


    As for Bai Minmin, her idleness has not dissipated, and her post has not been sent to Duke Chang''s mansion, but Bai Minmin came here uninvited by the Zhou family''s carriage.


    Zhou Jingwan was originally weak, but recently she was depressed and even thinner.


    When Ming Tan and Bai Minmin pressed her to ask, it was hard for her to speak, and she talked about her marriage that seemed to be stumbling in the dark.


    "You look down on Lu Dianshuai like that?" Bai Minmin was puzzled, "I think Lu Dianshuai is pretty good."


    Zhou Jingwan: "He''s pretty good, why don''t you marry?"


    Bai Minmin was choked up: "Then he asked you to marry him? What does it have to do with me?"


    She turned her head and asked Ming Tan again: "Isn''t His Highness Dingbei Wang familiar with Lu Dianshuai? Why don''t you ask His Highness what this Lu Dianshuai means?"


    Ming Tan paused.


    Since the last time she was quarreled and lost her temper in the bed, she and her husband haven''t said a few serious words.


    As soon as her husband was busy with military affairs, he didn''t go home for a few days. He is also a boring gourd when he is at home. If he doesn''t take the initiative to pick up some topics, he can sit at the table and read military books all night;


    Second, she was unable to have **** until the letter date, a man who could only see some emotions in the bed, had no **** for a few days, and looked a little cold;


    In the past three years, she was also a little frightened by the tossing, and she was not very willing to get close to him.


    "What are you thinking about?" Bai Minmin shook her hand.


    "Nothing." Ming Tan took a sip of tea as if nothing had happened, "When my husband comes back, I''ll ask him."


    Bai Minmin didn''t think too much, and went on to comfort Zhou Jingwan: "Shuai Lu Dianshuai''s behavior seems to be something inevitable, and it''s not just a whim. In my opinion, you don''t have to be so resistant to him. Wait for A Tan to ask My lord, it''s not too late for you to understand and make a conclusion."


    Zhou Jing moved gently.


    But Ming Tan accepted this job, feeling a little distressed in his heart. She has just passed her monthly letter, so if she asks today, why does she feel a little bit like a sheep looking for trouble?


    After hesitating until Jiang Xu returned home, when he heard that he went straight to the study, Ming Tan gritted his teeth and decided to go all out for Zhou Jingwan.


    She specially changed into a tighter set of clothes, the neckline of which covered her neck, and went to the study with a cup of bird''s nest porridge that had been simmering on the fire at noon and a plate of jade belt cake.


    "Your Highness, the concubine is here." A guard announced at the door.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes: "Go in."


    Jiang Xu''s study room is spacious and simple, with numerous ancient shelves in his eyes, on which are mostly military books and short weapons. There are also sand tables, chess tables, and narrow couches for rest.


    Ming Tan only took a glance, then looked away, walked to the table, and said softly: "I heard that my husband is busy with business, so I didn''t have dinner, so Ah Tan made bird''s nest porridge and jade belt cake by myself. Husband, please try it, business matters. , the body is more important."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    A few days ago, when he had a good time, his little princess would tell him that his nose was not his nose, his eyes were not his eyes, and for several days he would ignore him. For a while he said that he was not feeling well, and for a while he said that Guishui came, and he would kick him if he accidentally touched it during placement, so he simply slept in the study for a few nights.


    This is today, he paused, and looked at the bowl of bird''s nest porridge and the stack of jade belt cakes.


    "You did it?"


    Ming Tan nodded and explained how he made it: "This bird''s nest porridge is simmered very delicately. It has been simmering over a warm fire since noon. Someone must watch over it while it is simmering. Every half an hour, take a spoon and move it in the same direction. Stir for a while, the bird''s nest porridge simmered in this way can melt in your mouth.


    "There is also jade belt cake, which is made of glutinous rice flour, sifted three times, and then mixed with water, lard and white sugar after a fine sieve, layered on top of each other, and then steamed on high heat. The number of layers and the degree of steaming are different. It is very particular, otherwise it would not be so crystal clear, with a dense taste..."


    Jiang Xu tasted it, and it was indeed quite different from his usual porridge and snacks.


    He subconsciously glanced at Ming Tan''s hands, her hands were neat and clean, still stained with Danko, completely untouched by Yang Chunshui.


    He confirmed: "You did it yourself?"


    "Yes," Ming Tan took it for granted.


    Jiang Xu paused for a moment, then suddenly put down the porcelain spoon: "Go out, I have important things to do."


    Ming Tan didn''t understand, so: "Husband don''t use any more? Ah Tan personally..."


    "My king doesn''t like to hear people lie, you go out first."


    "...?"


    "Why did Ah Tan lie?"


    Ming Tan was dumbfounded.


    "You said you did it yourself." Jiang Xu raised his eyes to look at her, his eyes were straight and quiet.


    Ming Tan met his gaze and didn''t dodge at all: "I did it myself. If you don''t believe me, you can ask the kitchen staff. I personally ordered the kitchen, how much ingredients to use, and how much fire to use. , and personally went to the kitchen twice, all the witnesses and evidences are there!"


    Jiang Xu was silent, and found that the two people''s understanding of "in person" was greatly different: "You said you did it yourself, did you do it yourself?"


    "Otherwise, why don''t you let me roll up my sleeves and make a face?!"


    Straightforward.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Ming Tan is about to die of grievances, this is her own exclusive secret recipe, although it looks the same as ordinary ones, but the taste is quite different. The stinky man drank her porridge and tasted her snacks, and even slandered her for lying! He is not worthy!


    Thinking of this, she packed up the bowls and spoons, and was about to leave with the food box.


    "Wait." Jiang Xu grabbed her wrist.


    Ming Tan broke free with a flick of his hand, walked to the door and pushed it open.


    And Jiang Xu also got up, and grabbed her wrist again behind her, this time with a little force, Ming Tan was pulled back two steps, and could not help turning around and crashing into his arms.


    The door to the open room of the study was just pushed open by Ming Tan, and the warm and cool spring night breeze blows in.


    Shu Jingran stood outside, and the guard who was about to report also opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.


    excuse me.

 Chapter 39：

    The moment the door opened, Ming Tan bumped into Jiang Xu''s chest, and he didn''t see anyone outside the house. Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran, who was standing at the door, looked at each other for a moment, then looked away, and closed the door abruptly.


    Shu Jingran was stunned for a long while. When he met Jiang Qizhi a few days ago, Jiang Qizhi seemed to have commented that the rumor of "loving his wife eagerly" was extremely boring, but tonight...he turned around wisely and left, thinking of something, and suddenly chuckled. , The pace is also a little brisk.


    In the study.


    Jiang Xu let go and took the food box: "This king misunderstood."


    Ming Tan ignored it, and walked to the ancient bookshelf in anger, picked up an incomprehensible military book, and pretended to read it, and while she was flipping through it, she peeked out of the corner of her eye¡ª¡ª


    Even though he was sensible, although he didn''t apologize sincerely, he still silently used up all the bird''s nest porridge and jade belt cake she had made so hard.


    Seeing that the dishes were clean, Ming Tan remembered the purpose of this trip, put down the military book again, walked back to the table, and tidily packed up the food box.


    She was preparing a speech in her heart, when Jiang Xu suddenly asked, "Aren''t you hot?"


    In the April day, we could already see a slight heat, usually she was seen wearing a light and thin shirt, but today she was wrapped tightly in layers, covering most of her white neck that was usually exposed outside.


    Ming Tan: "..."


    It''s fine if you don''t mention it, but when she mentions it, she really feels a little flustered, and a thin layer of sweat seems to form on her back. But she still bit the bullet and said nonsense: "It''s colder than usual when I was young."


    "Have you had a good time yet?"


    Ming Tan was vigilant, subconsciously covered his neckline, changed the topic and said: "The ink is dry, A Tan will grind ink for your husband."


    Jiang Xuben just asked casually along the lines, without thinking much, but Ming Tan was inexplicably nervous, which made him glance twice.


    Grinding ink looks easy, but it is really labor-intensive. After a while, Ming Tan felt numbness in his palms and sweat on his forehead. Her little face was blushing, and while Jiang Xu was not paying attention, she freed up a hand to fan herself.


    After grinding away half of the ink ingot, she picked up the topic and asked after some consideration: "Husband, are you and Lu Dianshuai very familiar?"


    Jiang Xu paused for a moment: "What''s the matter?"


    "I don''t know if my husband has heard about Lu Dianshuai''s proposal to the Hanlin scholar Zhou''s family?"


    "heard."


    "Does that husband know why Lu Dianshuai proposed to the Zhou family?"


    "What do you have to do with this king?"


    Ming Tan was choked up: "Then...that Jing Wan was my handkerchief, and Lu Dianshuai''s proposal made others dare not go to Zhou''s house again. Jing Wan has been very sad these days." She paused, forced Added a sentence, "A Tan cared about his friends, and it was very sad."


    Only then did Jiang Xu raise his eyes: "What does it have to do with Lu Ting if other people don''t come to the door? I''m cowardly and courageous, so blame others?"


    Ming Tan language condensed. Although it feels like something is wrong, my husband also seems to be very reasonable.


    She hesitated for a moment, and then asked cautiously: "But Shuai Lu has a fierce reputation, and I don''t know if he really wants to marry... In two days, it will be the Buddha Bathing Festival, and many people will go to Daxiangguo Temple to watch the ceremony. Husband, how about arranging one or two, let Jing Would it be good for Wan to meet Shuai Lu in person?"


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Does he look so chatty?


    Seeing that he didn''t answer, Ming Tan tugged at his sleeve, and added in a very low voice: "A Tan''s little life is over, won''t your husband go back to the house to rest today?"


    The study was quiet for a moment, and Jiang Xu put down his pen: "This king will inform Lu Ting."


    That night, the Qi''an Hall, which had been quiet for several days, was noisy again for half the night. The red candles flickered, the incense curtains were half-closed, and when Ming Tan sat on Jiang Xu''s body, crying and moaning, he did not forget that her body was torn and randomly The new clothes thrown on the floor feel distressed.


    If I had known this before, I would not have worn this suit. This is a newly made Yaohua satin in Suzhou, and there are only a few pieces in the entire capital.


    The Empress gave her the two horses, and she only wore them once when she made new clothes, but they were a bit tight and difficult to untie, as for tearing them up? Reckless!


    Seeing that she was not paying attention, Jiang Xu suddenly bumped her hard.


    Ming Tan whimpered, and hurriedly wrapped his arms around his neck to beg for mercy, but he was still thinking in his heart: no, this piece of satin must belong to Jing Wan!


    On the eighth day of April, the Buddha Bathing Festival, all Zen temples in central Beijing open their temple doors early, and hold Buddha bathing and fasting meetings. Among them, Daxiangguo Temple is the most lively, and most of the people who welcome and send off are dignitaries.


    This is the first time Ming Tan has officially appeared in front of everyone since he married into Dingbei Palace. Usually staying in the mansion doesn''t feel it, but as soon as you go out, you can really feel the difference between the Fourth Miss of the Ming family and Princess Dingbei.


    After getting off the sedan chair at Daxiangguo Temple, the abbot greeted him personally, and all the wives and ladies saluted with blessings, saying in unison: "Give Bei Wangfei my best regards."


    There is no crown prince in this dynasty, and the princes are all young, which means that for many years, there will be no crown prince and concubine.


    Among the princes, only His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei holds great power and a detached position. It can be said that apart from the queen mother and empress who cannot leave the palace at will, Ming Tan is already a most distinguished woman.


    Ming Tan obviously knew this too, otherwise the Princess Fengzhao and the County Lord Yongle who had not seen anyone for a long time in the crowd would not have saluted so unwillingly.


    In the past, Ming Tan was extremely popular among the ladies in Beijing, but now that he has become a princess, there are countless people who cling to him to please him.


    Feng Zhao looked at the people saying flattering words and putting on the same smiling faces, and felt that the flattery was dazzling, and his heart became more and more unhappy.


    It has been nearly a year since the Late Spring Poetry Meeting in the Pingguo Mansion. Feng Zhao became a well-known laughing stock in Beijing, and was shut up in the mansion by Yiwang and his wife to think about his mistakes. People, after thinking about it, they still don''t want to let her go out to embarrass themselves.


    Speaking of the family Yiwang and his wife met, Feng Zhao was even more upset. Her parents wanted to marry her to the Jiangyang Hou Mansion in the middle of Sichuan.


    The marquis of Jiangyang is over thirty years old and already has a son. She is a majestic princess, and she wants to commit herself to a mere marquis as his successor. What a humiliation is this? Moreover, the Marquis of Jiangyang came to Beijing to report on his duties this time, but in just ten days he had taken in two beautiful maidservants, one can imagine how licentious he was in the mansion in central Shu!


    The most chilling thing is that this person''s character is so bad, her parents don''t care about it at all, they just want to marry her to pave the way for her brother!


    Fengzhao was so uncomfortable that his heart was tangled up. Seeing that Ming Tan, who used to be pleasing to the eye in front of her, now had a radiant face, wearing a brocade dress embroidered with peony patterns and bordered with black and silver silk threads, and a peony in his hair. Liusu Fengchai felt that it was the first time in a year that Ming Tan was still deliberately hitting her in the face.


    ¡­


    "I have long heard that His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei loves the concubine a lot. Seeing the concubine''s good looks today, this statement is indeed true."


    "Of course, His Majesty''s words of ''beloved wife is eager'', how could it be false?"


    Speaking of this, everyone giggled tacitly.


    Feng Zhao was so annoyed, he turned around and walked out. As soon as she left, she happened to meet Zhai Nianci outside the door who also left angrily before her.


    "Stop, who are you? You don''t even salute when you see this princess."


    Feng Zhao desperately wanted to find a punching bag to teach him a lesson, but he didn''t want to be unlucky and bump into a hard stubble.


    Zhai Nianci turned around, looked at her critically from top to bottom for a long time, and rolled his eyes with disdain: "It turns out that she is the Princess Fengzhao of Prince Yi''s Mansion, what kind of noble person should I be, and I am worthy of the County Lord to salute her?" .¡±


    The rank of the county lord is indeed lower than that of the princess, but no matter how noble Fengzhao''s rank is, it can''t compare to her having a big Buddha like the Queen Mother. She just doesn''t behave politely, so what can Fengzhao do to her?


    Hearing this, Zhao was furious: "You!"


    The maid next to her hurriedly reminded: "Master, this is the daughter of Princess Wen Hui, the owner of Yongle County, and ''Yongle'' is a title bestowed by the Empress Dowager herself."


    Mayor of Yongle County?


    Feng Zhao knew that there was such a person, but he had never seen him before, and he didn''t have any perception of the queen mother''s doting, so what if he only thought about doting, could it be greater than respect and inferiority? And now that she hasn''t married in Shuzhong, why would a cat or a dog dare to step on her in front of her, what will happen in the future?


    Thinking of this, the fire she was holding back turned into a sharp slap¡ª


    "Snapped!"


    "You are a county magistrate with a foreign surname. The queen mother gave you the title of empress dowager benevolence. Even if the clan is not considered arrogant, you dare to be arrogant in front of this princess. Come, hold her down for me, and let her kneel down for this princess! "


    Zhai Nianci was stunned by the beating, covered her face, and asked in disbelief: "How dare you hit me?" She was still in shock, her mind was buzzing, "Are you crazy? I must report to the Queen Mother !"


    "I don''t have any respect for you, but you still dare to use the name of the Queen Mother to flaunt yourself. This princess thinks you are crazy, kneel down!"


    Zhai Nianci is the same as Mingchu, to put it nicely, he is heroic, but to put it more practically, he just knows a few tricks, but not good at it. In fact, two people who know martial arts came up, and they were detained by her within a few strokes. .


    She was kicked from the back of her leg and knelt in front of Fengzhao. She suddenly woke up and her brain exploded: "Let me go! Are you all dead!"


    Zhai Nianci also brought people, but the accident just now was too sudden, and all the people she brought were blindsided, which allowed Feng Zhao to seize the opportunity. At this moment, when he came back to his senses, the followers brought by both sides scuffled together, and soon there was a commotion outside.


    Everyone was alarmed, Ming Tan led a group of people out, seeing that it was the Lord Fengzhao and the Lord Yongle County, he was so shocked that he didn''t know what to say, he was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly shouted: "Stop! What are you doing?"


    "The master of Yongle County has no dignity. Seeing that the princess is not polite and even speaks out against her, so what if the princess teaches her?" Feng Zhao was not as embarrassed as Zhai Nianci, and said with certainty after straightening his bun.


    Zhai Nianci was so angry that he had never been humiliated like this since he was a child: "What kind of respect are you, you are worthy of making the head of this county kneel down, and you dare to take action against this county!"


    Feng Zhao wanted to talk back again, Ming Tan saw this, and hurriedly motioned to hold the two of them.


    She figured it out, when these two mindless people met together, they both treated themselves like onions, thinking that they were the most noble in the world, and then started fighting at the slightest disagreement, even arguing in front of everyone Such a big joke that has never been seen before.


    How many surprises do these two people have that she doesn''t know? She was about to laugh out loud.


    Of course, you can''t laugh, hold back.


    Ming Tan settled down, and said calmly with the demeanor of a princess: "Daxiangguo Temple is a pure place of Buddhism, and today is the day of bathing in Buddha, where are you going to put the face of the royal family here?


    "To sum it up, you two can also call me aunt or aunt. In this case, I have to discipline you two for King Yi and Princess Chang. Come, Princess Fengzhao and County Lord Yongle are arguing regardless of the occasion. It''s not royally dignified, first take it to the Small Buddha Hall and kneel for two hours, meditating on your own past."


    Princess Fengzhao: "...?"


    Mayor of Yongle County: "...?"

 Chapter 40：

    In fact, counting carefully, the masters of Fengzhao County and Yongle County are still one and a half years older than Ming Tan, and even though Ming Tan is married and has a bun, she still looks like a girl. Neither of them thought that she would suddenly Use the status of elders to suppress.


    Of course, the most important thing is that the first emperor and Prince Min Cong have the same father and half mother, and King Yi and Emperor Chengkang are not from the same mother, and the queen mother is the successor of the first emperor. It couldn''t be more reluctant, and this aunt and aunt''s is really tight.


    The two of them probably didn''t come back to their senses, and they were taken down before they could argue.


    Everyone was quiet for a while, and some people rushed to flatter Ming Tan, praising her for her good handling, safe and dignified, and her princess-like demeanor. joke.


    Everyone in Beijing and Zhongzhong''s officials and family members knew about that joke, and when it was mentioned a little, some people would smile knowingly.


    There are also people who don''t bury Fengzhao on the bright side, but sweetly boast that Ming Tan''s peony-patterned clothes and the peony spring sleeping phoenix hairpin on her head complement her perfectly, and match her perfectly.


    As for the owner of Yongle County, she was not in the capital before, and everyone knew little about her, but not everyone knew nothing about her.


    Some people said that because of the empress dowager''s favor, the princess of Yongle County has always been arrogant, arrogant, defiant, and lacks the restraint that a girl should have.


    Hearing that she once got a glimpse of His Royal Highness Dingbei by chance, and fell in love with His Highness Dingbei at first sight, that''s why she followed her father Beizheng without hesitation. In order to meet His Royal Highness, he pretended to enter the camp to disrupt military discipline. Knowing that the emperor and the empress wanted to choose a concubine for His Royal Highness Dingbei, they even cried, made trouble, and hanged themselves, begging Princess Wen Hui and the Queen Mother to plan for him. As for why the plan failed, it is unknown.


    "This Yongle County Lord is so bold?"


    "In order to see His Highness pretending to enter the camp to disrupt military discipline, how can a woman in the boudoir be so disrespectful and lose her composure? It''s really appalling!"


    "It''s not uncommon for such a virtue to fail to become a princess. The prince is a member of the royal family and knows the etiquette. Naturally, he likes a lady from a well-known family who is knowledgeable and reasonable like the princess. How can I look down on such a frivolous look that is not self-respecting."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    The gaffe is appalling.


    I was vaguely offended.


    Feeling guilty after being praised, she hastily coughed twice to change the subject: "It''s windy outside, everyone should go in first, Master Yuanming should give a lecture."


    Ming Tan led the crowd back into the hall, and subconsciously glanced at Zhou Jingwan.


    Zhou Jingwan understood, found an excuse to change clothes, and led the maid to the direction of the release pool.


    Today is the Buddha Bathing Festival, and the Daxiangguo Temple is more lively than usual. Some people throw copper coins and fish food by the release pool, praying and praying, and children swim and laugh with the koi carp.


    Zhou Jingwan found a shady place and waited quietly.


    She didn''t want a child chasing the spinning top to whip her, and ran madly to where she was. Because she lost herself in playing, the child didn''t notice someone standing beside her, so she swung the whip rope and whipped her.


    Zhou Jingwan couldn''t dodge it in time, she was about to be whipped by the child, suddenly the sharp knife came out of its sheath, and with a flash of white light, she quickly cut off the whip rope that was about to hurt people.


    The child was stunned for a while, staring at the neat whip rope at the end, then looked up at the tall man, and suddenly let out a "wow", and was so scared that he ran away crying without taking the top.


    Zhou Jingwan was weak and timid at first, and while she was still in shock, she was disturbed by the cry of a child, her lips turned pale subconsciously, she covered her heart and took half a step back.


    This Lu Dianshuai is too scary.


    If there is a disagreement, they dance with swords and swords.


    No wonder it has the reputation of stopping children from crying at night.


    However, she still had to bend her knees, bit the bullet and saluted: "Thank you Lu Dianshuai."


    "It''s a small matter, Miss Jingwan doesn''t need to be polite."


    It was indeed a small matter, even if he thought about killing a lot of people, it was not a big deal to him.


    Thinking of this, Zhou Jingwan''s back was a little stiff, and she didn''t dare to raise her eyes to look at Lu Ting. In fact, she felt that the hostility of the man in front of her was a bit overwhelming just from a distance of ten feet.


    After a long while, she plucked up her courage and asked in a soft voice: "Dare to ask Mr. Lu Dianshuai, have you ever heard of ''Zhuang Hui discusses fish''?"


    Lu Ting glanced at the koi swimming in the release pond, and replied as gracefully as possible: "I heard a little."


    Zhou Jingwan said again: "Zhuang said: ''minnows travel leisurely, which is the joy of fish.'' Hui said: ''You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of fish?''"


    Lu Ting''s hearing stopped at this sentence, but Zhou Jingwan didn''t finish, "Zhuang You said: ''You are not me, how do you know that I don''t know the joy of fish? It is certainly not a fish, and the child does not know that the joy of fish is complete.''¡±


    The passage that Zhou Jingwan recounted eloquently later became in Lu Ting''s ears: "You are not me...the joy of the fish...I am not the son...not the fish...the joy of the fish..."


    Without waiting for Lu Tingshun to understand, Zhou Jingwan took care of herself, lowered her eyes and said suddenly: "If Jingwan understands fish, you know that fish are not happy."


    The side of the release pool was quiet, and the catkins were blown lightly by the wind.


    Zhou Jingwan felt uneasy, and her hands were sweating from tension. She really didn''t know if she would annoy this Marshal Lu by expressing her reluctance and displeasure so clearly.


    Lu Ting was left speechless, he didn''t understand what Zhou Jingwan wanted to say, he hesitated for a while before asking: "Then feed more fish food?"


    Zhou Jingwan''s lips turned paler, and her body was also a little crumbling.


    Did he think that she would be happy if he put in more dowry? But what does this have to do with the betrothal gift? She, Zhou Jingwan, is so short-sighted and only wants to be rich and famous. Does she need to be so despised by him for nothing?


    "Although fish are humble and small, they are living beings who think for themselves. If you are not happy, you would rather not eat rashly." Zhou Jingwan''s voice was soft and trembling, her head was buried low, and tears rolled in her eyes. After speaking, she Bianfu said, "Jingwan still wants to listen to the master''s lecture, so she can''t stay longer. This intention has been decided. I hope Lu Dianshuai thinks twice."


    "..."


    What has been decided?


    Looking at the back of Zhou Jingwan leaving in a hurry, Lu Ting suddenly asked the follower: "What did she mean by what she just said?"


    The entourage replied honestly: "I don''t know, the young lady of the Zhou family is worthy of being a young lady from a scholarly family, and she didn''t understand a single word she said. But the small ones have been written down. Why don''t you go back and ask the prince or Second Young Master Shu? "


    Lu stopped and nodded.


    The entourage wiped off his sweat, thinking distressedly, if my master really wanted to marry this young lady of the Zhou family in the future, the errands would be very difficult, and he might not even understand the orders.


    But before he knew it, two hours had passed.


    Princess Fengzhao and County Lord Yongle, who were punished to kneel, came out from the east and west sides of the small Buddhist hall respectively, and heard from the servants'' ears what other people talked about each other after the two were taken away.


    When they ran into each other outside the Buddhist hall for a while, it was naturally another burst of sarcasm¡ª


    "It is said that you don''t distinguish between superiority and inferiority, and you have no rules or discipline. I can''t imagine that you are really so unruly. You even sneaked into the military camp in disguise. Oh, you cried, made trouble, hanged yourself, and insisted on marrying King Dingbei Your Highness, it''s so funny, if you really want to hang yourself, why are you still standing here, ignorant and shameless!" The moment Princess Fengzhao spoke, there was a strong smell of gunpowder.


    Zhai Nianci was not to be outdone: "I am standing here because of the blessings of the Empress Dowager. But you, who know how to be superior and inferior, turned out to be the one who committed the following crimes against Princess Dingbei and the Empress, and was ordered by the Empress to think about her mistakes at home and not to go out. Ah. You know so well, why didn¡¯t I see you make peony poems and fold peony flowers today?¡±


    "you!"


    "Also, so what if I didn''t marry His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang, I have the protection of the Queen Mother, what kind of husband can I find? You are quite arrogant when you are happy, marrying Jiangyang Hou and others, You are not even worthy to carry shoes for the county chief!"


    The previous defeat was originally due to Feng Zhaotai not playing cards according to common sense, and playing as he said. In terms of verbal skill, Zhai Nianci is probably going to win by a few points.


    Moreover, Feng Zhao was indeed hit by Zhai Nianci''s weakness at this moment, his eyes were staring straight, but he couldn''t say anything to refute.


    Seeing her like this, Zhai Nianci''s mind became clearer, and he continued to poke her heart with a half-smile: "You don''t have to blame me for not giving you face. After the matter of the late spring poetry meeting, who in the whole capital is willing to give it to you?" Face, I take you as a joke, you don''t know it, do you?


    "And I didn''t make a joke about you. The person who made you a joke is very proud of himself, and he can still call himself your aunt. Not to mention that you won''t even be worthy of carrying my shoes in the future, even if you are already She is not worthy to carry shoes for her, marry Jiang Yanghou again, tsk."


    "Shut up!"


    Feng Zhao was so angry that his hands were clenched white. He knew that Zhai Nianci was trying to provoke her on purpose, but he couldn''t stop thinking along the lines:


    The **** of the Ming family who is not worthy to lift her shoes is now the princess of Dingbei. How comfortable her life is, she dares to pretend to be Zhang Zhi in front of her wearing a peony on purpose.


    However, as a princess, she was made the laughing stock of the whole capital by this slut. If not, her father, queen, mother and concubine would not necessarily marry her far away in Shuzhong, and make her a wife for the licentious Marquis of Jiangyang... Continuation.


    She couldn''t bear this tone at all, how could she bear it!


    Feng Zhao turned around and was about to leave, but after walking a few steps, she suddenly turned her head and stared at Zhai Nianci sarcastically: "It''s a joke, so what, it''s not like she robbed the person I like. She robbed you and cried and made trouble three times." The person you love, who can''t even get hanged, can still pretend to be your aunt, and you still have the face to flaunt the Queen Mother''s banner. You really humiliated the Queen Mother and her old man. Just wait, let''s go Watch!"


    On the back mountain of Daxiangguo Temple, Ming Tan and Bai Minmin stayed with Zhou Jingwan after bathing in the Buddha and watching the ceremony.


    "He really said that? Is there some misunderstanding?" Ming Tan was a little puzzled after hearing Zhou Jingwan''s talk about the meeting between the two.


    Zhou Jingwan choked with sobs: "Could there be any misunderstanding?"


    Bai Minmin was extremely angry: "I''ve looked at this Lu Dianshuai in vain, he is so frivolous, I want to marry Jingwan with some dowry, who am I to offend!"


    Zhou Jingwan seemed to have been greatly wronged, tears kept falling, and she stubbornly said "If he marries by force, he will kill himself". Ming Tan and Bai Minmin were quite worried after hearing this. She was already weak, so if she cried like this, she might have to pass out after crying for a while.


    In fact, Ming Tan always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn''t ask for a while, so he could only comfort him first: "Don''t cry, there must be a way to resolve this matter, let''s think about it together."


    Bai Minmin echoed: "Yes, at worst, let A-tan go to ask His Highness, and once A-tan begs, His Highness has nothing to say."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    This is not the solution she said.


    Her legs are still shaking now!

 Chapter 41：

    With Ming Tan and Bai Minmin''s consolation, Zhou Jingwan felt a lot of reassurance, temporarily stopped crying, and went to the front to listen to the scriptures together, and no one else noticed anything strange.


    Although there was an interlude, the Buddha Bathing and Zhai Party in Daxiangguo Temple was quite successful. Everyone observed the rites and enlightened the Dharma, prayed and worshiped, and the temple people distributed jieyuan beans, fragrant medicine and sugar water, which was very popular with children. At dusk drum time, the temple was closed to see off the guests, and all the talents left slowly.


    It was only when Ming Tan was on her way home that she remembered Feng Zhao and Yong Le who were punished by her to go to the Buddhist hall.


    Today, because I want to accompany Jing Wan, I only let them kneel in the Buddhist hall for a while, which is a little bit easier for them.


    Back at the mansion, Ming Tan sent someone to prepare a gift, and asked Su Xin to send her to Prince Yi''s Mansion and Princess Chang''s Mansion, and carefully asked her to express her apology for punishment on her behalf, and then report what happened in Daxiangguo Temple Give it to Princess Yi and Princess Wen Hui in full.


    Su Xin has always been safe in handling things, so naturally there will be no mistakes or omissions. When they returned home for a business trip, they brought more gifts in return, Princess Yi and Princess Wen Hui did not forget to ask her to convey their apologies for improper restraint, and promised to discipline them more in the future.


    In fact, Ming Tan doesn''t care much about being disciplined or not in the future. If Princess Yi and Princess Wen Hui wanted to, they would not have allowed them to grow up to be as virtuous as they are now. Sending Su Xin to go is just doing his best to let himself be clean for a few days.


    "Your Highness hasn''t come back yet?" Ming Tan asked casually when he saw that there was not much movement outside after washing up.


    Lue: "Miss, you forgot. Your Highness went to Hezhou early this morning. Although Hezhou is close, it may not be possible to go back and forth in a day. Why don''t you go to bed first?"


    "Can''t sleep," Ming Tan leaned on the side of the imperial concubine''s bed, casually flipped through a miscellaneous book, and said, "Go down first, I''ll read for a while."


    "yes."


    Lue responded, changed a bright candle lamp, added half a teaspoon of light spices to the incense burner, and quietly left the inner room.


    When Jiang Xulou returned to the mansion at night, the Qi''an hall was still brightly lit with candles, but Ming Tan, who was leaning on the side of the imperial concubine''s bed, had already quietly fallen asleep without knowing it.


    The page of the book in her hand happened to be on the supplementary note that was missed by last year''s warding off evil spirits. Jiang Xu glanced at it and found that she had made a deep crease on this page.


    Drowsy and drowsy, Ming Tan felt himself falling into a slightly chilly embrace. She mumbled "Husband" subconsciously, and then she rubbed against the man''s arms, breathing quietly and evenly, with a faint fragrance.


    When I went to Beijing this night, there was the Yiwang Mansion, which was located in the south of Tongbei Street, just like the Dingbei Palace, where the candles were brightly lit.


    Concubine Yi lost her temper a lot in the mansion, pouring hot tea and throwing bowls and cups, because of Feng Zhao''s troublesome headache.


    "Princess calm down, this matter is not the fault of the county owner, the Yongle County owner''s insulting words, humiliating the princess, even if we make trouble in front of the emperor, we are not unreasonable." The girl comforted from the side.


    Concubine Yi closed her eyes and raised her forehead: "Do you think our Prince Yi''s mansion has much face for the emperor to uphold justice?"


    Although the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are at odds, they will certainly not make things difficult for the Empress Dowager because of Yi Wangfu. If the Empress Dowager is determined to teach her beloved granddaughter a lesson¡ª


    Princess Yi''s head hurt even more.


    Feng Zhao, a troublemaker, will kill Prince Yi''s mansion sooner or later! It was not enough to offend the Queen and Princess Dingbei, but as soon as she was let out, she offended the Empress Dowager, if she had known this, she should not have been let out, and it would be serious to send her to Shuzhong directly!


    "Prepare for the ceremony, and send it to the Eldest Princess'' mansion tomorrow morning, and say that the princess'' words and deeds are shameless, that she hurt people, and make an apology to the Yongle county princess on her behalf." Princess Yi calmly ordered, "Send a few more people to watch Now, don''t allow the princess to go out."


    "Yes." The maidservant responded, but asked a moment later, "But the Marquis of Jiangyang..."


    I almost forgot, Jiang Yanghou was still waiting to meet Feng Zhao. This side also has to be seen.


    Concubine Yi thought for a while: "Look at it first, it won''t be too late to let her go out on the day of meeting."


    ¡­


    "Mother concubine really said that?"


    The maid was in a dilemma, and replied in a low voice tremblingly: "Princess, the princess is also doing it for your own good."


    Feng Zhaozhi sat down straight, his face pale and full of unwillingness. She grabbed the corner of the table, her fingernails were blue and white, and she didn''t even notice it when she dug them in.


    For her? Who will believe this?


    Isn''t it because Jiang Yanghou''s family property is very rich, and because of Zu Yin, he has received some favor from the Holy One, so he can give some strength to pave the way for her brother.


    Ming Tan, that bitch! If it wasn''t for this slut, how could she have ended up in what she is today!


    I don''t know what to think of, Feng Zhao got up suddenly, pulled away the dowry full of jewels and emeralds, grabbed a handful and handed it to the maidservant who came to report the letter, and said in a deep voice: "Organize the matter for this county. After the matter is completed, this box It''s all yours."


    The maid was panicked.


    After listening to what Feng Zhao whispered in her ear, she felt even more uneasy.


    But the maid still couldn''t resist the temptation of gold, silver, pearls and emeralds, and thought that she was just looking for some medicine and didn''t let the princess go out, so it wasn''t a big deal, so she gritted her teeth and agreed.


    After a long night without dreams, when he woke up the next day, Ming Tan found that he was inexplicably on the bed, and Su Xin and Lu E were not in front of him.


    She asked a little girl outside the house and found out that His Royal Highness returned to the mansion last night, but this morning, he went out again after five o''clock this morning.


    Ming Tan was a little displeased at first, but the girl said again: "Your Highness said that the Yaohuang cultivated in the palace this year blooms extremely beautifully, which matches the delicate color of the princess. Someone has already brought a few pots back for the princess to appreciate."


    "Your Highness really said that?"


    Ming Tan was delighted, but at the same time had some doubts. Her husband couldn''t even say a few sweet words to her. Would he really tell others that Yao Huang suits her delicate complexion?


    The little girl smiled: "If the princess doesn''t believe it, wait until Sister Suxin and Sister Lue ask back and you will know, everyone has heard it."


    Early this morning, Lu''e went to the storeroom to get the spices, while Su Xin went to the dining room to have breakfast, and after half an hour, the two of them returned to Qi''an Hall.


    When the two came back, Ming Tan couldn''t wait to repeat what the little girl said, and asked again: "Your Highness, did you really say that?"


    Seeing Ming Tan''s anticipation, the two looked at each other and nodded.


    The corners of Ming Tan''s lips couldn''t stop rising, and he hurriedly asked Lu''e to dress her up, saying that he was going to the flower garden to admire Yao Huang.


    Green calyx should be, but my heart is a little weak.


    "The Queen''s Majesty has spread the word that the Yaohuang cultivated in the palace this year blooms extremely beautifully, which matches the delicate color of the Princess. If you like it, you can ask someone to bring a few pots back to the house for the Princess to admire. The Prince has already sent someone to move it."


    ¡ª This is actually what the entourage next to His Highness said this morning.


    But His Highness also said "um", so His Highness thought so too. Miss is so happy, it''s better not to spoil the fun.


    Thinking of this, Lue didn''t think about it any more, and quickly tied Ming Tan into a simple and elegant bun, and to appreciate the scenery of Yao Huang, gave her a peony and butterfly hairpin.


    Peony is the king of all flowers, and Yaohuang is the best among peonies. The flowers and leaves are full and neat, and the light yellow is delicate and fresh. It is still very eye-catching when placed in a flowerbed full of exotic flowers and grasses.


    Ming Tan was admiring the flowers when Su Xin came over suddenly: "Miss, a note from the Pingguo Palace."


    Ming Tan picked it up, not surprised.


    After the Buddha Bathing, there will be no more grand festivals in April and May, but there is no shortage of excitement in various prefectures in Beijing competing to host poetry festivals and flower banquets.


    In the late spring of last year, the most talked about was the poetry meeting in Pingguo Mansion. Although it was only halfway through and left in a hurry, firstly, there were gatherings of talented scholars and beauties; The gift of marriage is really impressive.


    It seems to be to make up for the regret of only holding half of the show last year. This year, Zhang Hanmiao, the third lady of the Pingguo Palace, organized the Late Spring Gathering again. This time it is not called the Poetry Fair but the Gathering, because the scale of the banquet has expanded again Several times.


    Zhang Hanmiao was young, so he handled things properly. He only invited her verbally at Daxiangguo Temple yesterday, and now the official invitation will arrive.


    Ming Tan opened his eyes and looked a little surprised, because not only her, but also His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei and the concubine were invited to go together.


    It was only then that she remembered that Zhang Hanmiao seemed to have said yesterday that Yaji also opened a shooting range and a polo field this time, so it was very reasonable to invite couples.


    It''s just that her husband shouldn''t want to go to such an occasion, right?


    After bathing in the evening, Ming Tan changed into her pajamas, sat by the patio of Qi''an Hall, enjoying the soft spring night breeze, while Ren Lue stood behind and helped her twist her hair.


    Jiang Xu just strode forward.


    Seeing Ming Tan, he quickly curled up his lips, got up and greeted him at the hanging flower gate: "Husband!"


    Ming Tan just walked briskly, but Jiang Xu mistakenly thought that she was going to throw himself into his arms, subconsciously let go of the hands behind his back, and opened them slightly, intending to receive someone.


    Ming Tan didn''t mean that at first, but she was not stupid, so when she saw this, she hugged her happily.


    Lue lowered her head and sniggered, made a blessing ceremony, cast her eyes at the little girls in the courtyard, and quietly backed away.


    Ming Tan hugged Jiang Xu''s strong waist, then stood on tiptoe, wrapped his arms around his neck, and said coquettishly, "A Tan has been waiting for you for a long time, and I also waited for a long time last night."


    Jiang Xu calmly said "um", and after concentrating for a moment, he finally found a caring word from his mind: "Is it cold?"


    "You won''t be cold if you hug your husband." Ming Tan tilted his head and looked at him with bright eyes.


    "..."


    Jiang Xu didn''t say much, he suddenly picked her up and walked into the house.


    In fact, after that bout of fun, Jiang Xu could feel that his little concubine was terribly afraid of the matter of the bed curtain, and would whine and chirp when asking him for something, and wanted to avoid it after a few perfunctory attempts.


    But today she was quite active, she planned to take a rest earlier, but she lay on the bed and said, "Does your husband really think that A Tan is as delicate and delicate as Yao Huang?"


    Jiang Xu hesitated for a moment, as if he understood something.


    He froze for a moment, and said "hmm" calmly.


    Ming Tan rested his chin on his shoulder, looked at him very closely and asked: "Then the Duke of Ping''s mansion is going to hold the Late Spring Gathering, will my husband go with A Tan?"


    She originally thought that her husband would definitely not go, but now that the atmosphere was right, she felt that she might as well give it a try: "I heard from my cousin that my cousin''s husband will also accompany her."


    "when?"


    Ming Tan recalled: "Ten days later."


    "My king will go to Qingzhou in a few days, and will stay in Qingzhou for a few days."


    "That''s it..."


    Ming Tan was not particularly disappointed, but a little bit regretful, her husband is so handsome and handsome, it would be a pity not to take it out to show off!


    Ming Tan was still regretting, and moved her little head away from Jiang Xu''s shoulder, but suddenly Jin was lifted halfway, and she was pulled into the arms of the person beside her again, with her lips and teeth touching.


    The red candles in the house were on and off, and Ming Tan heard a low, unintelligible voice next to his ear: "It depends on your performance."

 Chapter 42：

    Originally, Ming Tan was thinking about telling her husband about Lu Ting''s little blackness, but when he returned home last night, he didn''t have time to say it, and the cloud and rain behind him, and he only cared about sobbing and falling asleep so tired, he ignored this important matter. Forget it all.


    But it didn''t matter if she forgot, today happened to be the day of the military exercise of the imperial guards in front of the palace once a month, and Lu Ting was also waiting for Jiang Xu to come to answer his questions.


    The entourage around Lu Ting has a good memory. He still remembers what Zhou Jingwan said at the release pool yesterday, but he only remembers his words and doesn''t know their meaning.


    After Jiang Xu heard this, he couldn''t help but look up at Lu Ting.


    A rare fluctuation appeared on Lu Ting''s perennially cold face: "Your Highness, what does Miss Zhou mean?"


    "..."


    "I don''t want to marry you."


    Lu Ting was silent for a long time before he couldn''t help asking: "How do you know?"


    Jiang Xu watched the soldiers performing martial arts on the martial arts arena, and explained in a low voice: "Knowing that the fish is not happy, it means that she doesn''t like the way you propose. If you feed the fish more food, she probably misunderstood that you want to force the marriage with more dowry, so , would rather die than obey."


    Would rather die than obey?


    Why is this.


    After the martial arts performance was over, Jiang Xu walked back. When he passed by, he paused for a moment, and said softly for no reason: "Feed more fish food, you can really talk."


    Lu Ting: "..."


    Jiang Xu didn''t want to take care of Zhou Lu''s matter, nor did he have time to take care of it. But Ming Tan was only thinking about his good sisters, and when he remembered this, even when he set off for Qingzhou, he never forgot to send someone to catch up with the messenger.


    After reading the exhibition letter, he took up a pen and wrote back one.


    "Zhou Zhangyuan is very famous, and the eldest daughter has already entered the Li family, so it is not appropriate to discuss the relatives of Gao Xian''s civil servants."


    Although it is only a short sentence, the stakes are very clear.


    The matter of marriage is not based on Zhou Jingwan''s willingness or unwillingness.


    His father was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and he was a prime minister. Fame is a good thing, but if he is too famous, he also regards civil servants as relatives, so it is inevitable that he will make friends and build momentum for his position.


    In contrast, Lu Ting is in the front office of the palace. Although he is in command of the imperial guards and has a high position, he is directly under the Holy Majesty and only accepts orders from the Holy Majesty. It is indeed more suitable than other people who come to ask for marriage.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan couldn''t help feeling a little melancholy.


    No matter how suitable Lu Dianshuai is, Jing Wan doesn''t like it either. However, the matter of marriage has never been determined based on whether the daughter''s family likes it or not.


    That''s right, it''s probably because her husband got married as he wished, and he was a little carried away. If in the end, Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou think it''s suitable, no one else has the right to comment.


    In late spring, the flowers are fragrant and the wind is warm, and the days seem to pass much faster than usual. Unknowingly, ten days later, the Late Spring Gathering in Pingguo Duke''s Mansion quietly arrived.


    Jiang Xu went to Qingzhou and never came back. After all, he didn''t catch up with the excitement. But Ming Tan is very good at comforting herself, that''s fine, if her husband is away, she can pretend to be a tiger and show off her concubine demeanor.


    Su Xin has been suffering from the wind and cold for the past two days, Ming Tan asked her to be raised in his own house, and took Yun Yi, who was dressed as a maid, to go out together.


    Yun Yi is a master from Jin Yunwei, since she got the order, and temporarily assumed the title of concubine in the palace, she had to come to Ming Tan to say hello to Ming Tan from time to time.


    Ming Tan met her several times and found her to be very interesting.


    It stands to reason that the dark guards who have been trained since childhood have blood on their hands, so they are naturally more ruthless, but Yun Yi kills people calmly, and she usually looks pure, kind and straightforward, and feels everything she sees. Curious and fresh.


    Because Ming Tan Shang''s clothes are too delicate and complicated, every time she comes back to pay her respects, she has to go to Aunt Fang with the clothes in her arms, and ask them to help them dress them before going out together. Today she was going to dress up as a servant girl, so she came to Qi''an Hall with her clothes in her arms, and asked Lue to help her dress.


    After dressing up as a servant girl, Yun Yi followed Ming Tan, and suddenly asked without thinking: "Ms. Wangfei, I bought a roast chicken when I went out of the house yesterday. Can I pay the bill from the public? My monthly bill is about to expire used up."


    "How did you spend it all? No, why did you go out of the house to buy roast chicken?" Ming Tan was inexplicable.


    Yun Yi said bluntly: "I was a little hungry last night, and I didn''t want to bother others, so I wanted to sneak to the dining room to find some food, but the palace is too big, I searched for a long time but couldn''t find where the dining room is, so I climbed over the wall and went outside I bought a roast chicken. I also bought you a pack of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, so can I pay the bill from Gongzhong?"


    "...?"


    "Where''s the sweet-scented osmanthus cake?"


    "I was still a little hungry after eating the roast chicken, so I ate it too."


    "No candy, no support."


    Lue couldn''t listen anymore, is Aunt Yun serious? For such a trivial matter, I have to come to her lady.


    Also, her young lady looked like a child when she met Aunt Yun, the dignified princess was arguing with Auntie about some roasted chicken candied cakes early in the morning!


    Fortunately, Yun Yi is an honest person, and immediately promised to buy another pack of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes for the concubine tomorrow, and then sincerely praised the concubine for a while for her beauty, she is really a goddess.


    Ming Tan was in a very good mood when he was praised, so naturally he became very good-natured, so he immediately changed his mind and agreed.


    "By the way, you haven''t said it yet, why did you spend all your savings?"


    "A few days ago, I went to the east of the city and met a little beggar. Seeing how pitiful he was, I bought him a few steamed buns, but suddenly a large group of little beggars came up and asked me for steamed buns¡ª"


    "..."


    Well, it''s also considered kind.


    Today, there are many people in Pingguo''s mansion, and Yunyi is brought along, firstly, just in case, and secondly, Yunyi has never seen such a lively scene before, and takes her out to see the world.


    Before getting into the carriage, she warned: "When you arrive at the Duke of Pingguo''s mansion later, you should follow Lue carefully, do what Lue does, and don''t run around."


    "Yes, ma''am."


    At the Spring Poetry Festival at the end of last year, the Chunzheng Street in front of Pingguo¡¯s mansion was noisy and congested, and Feng Zhao¡¯s car stopped in front of the cars and horses of Jing¡¯an Hou¡¯s mansion, which caused Ming Tan and Ming Chu to stumble over this matter. I said a few words.


    This time, the front of Chunzheng Street is still full of hustle and bustle. It can be seen that the carriages and horses with the logo of Dingbei Prince''s Mansion are coming.


    Feng Zhao watched from afar, sneered, and didn''t know what he was thinking.


    When such absurd things happened in Daxiangguo Temple, Concubine Yi kept her attitude very low, sent someone to prepare a gift and apologized, and even went to the Eldest Princess'' mansion in person.


    Although Zhai Nianci didn''t want to expose it lightly, Princess Wen Hui didn''t want to spread the conflict in her daughter''s family, so she decided to suppress it.


    Therefore, these days, the two governments are considered to be calm.


    It''s just that Yi Wang and his wife are determined to marry Feng Zhaoyuan to Shuzhong, and they have been shutting Feng Zhao these days, and they are not allowed to go out to cause trouble again. As for letting her go out today, it was only at Jiang Yanghou''s request, so that Jiang Yanghou could meet the princess he was going to reunite at the Gathering.


    The chapter contains wonderful and ingenious thoughts. In the name of elegant collection, it is necessary to do all the elegant things.


    The spring is just right, the wind is breezy, and while the flowers are competing for spring, the early lotus is also swaying in the lake, and the breeze brings a refreshing lotus fragrance.


    The men were arranged to go to the polo field to play polo and compete in archery, while the female family members were led forward by the maids of the Duke of Pingguo''s mansion. They didn''t say where they were going, and they only heard the sound of the gurgling water. It was actually going to be an extremely elegant feast of "Flowing Cups of Qushui" by the bank of Qingxi River.


    "Qushui Liushang" is an old custom of literati. It is nothing more than placing wine cups on bamboo rafts, flowing down from the upper reaches of Qingxi River, and serving them when you want to drink.


    It''s just that it''s a little new today, and the luncheon of the women''s relatives is also seated here.


    The people sat on both sides of the Qingxi River separately, tasting delicacies. The wine cups were still placed on the bamboo rafts, and they went down the water, but only one cup at a time. Whoever stopped in front of them, the question would be given by the person who stopped the cup in the previous round.


    This question can be ordered to write poems and lyrics, or it can be used to guess riddles and explain words, it all depends on the heart.


    If the person who stops the cup can''t answer, he will drink the cup. If the answer comes up, you can point to any other person to drink the cup.


    Ming Tan is the princess of Dingbei, so she sits at the top, very close to the upper reaches, the wine cup is going down by the water, it is almost impossible to stop in front of her, this game has nothing to do with her, she does Have a good time.


    The clear stream is gurgling, and sometimes there are falling flowers flowing down the water. Some people compose poems impromptuly, some people sing a cappella, and the polo field can be heard far away. The atmosphere is pleasant and lively.


    But this rare good atmosphere didn''t last long, and it seemed that Zhai Nianci and Feng Zhao were going to mess it up again.


    It turned out that the wine cup went down the water and stopped in front of Zhai Nianci. The people who stopped drinking in the previous round did not dare to embarrass the owner of Yongle County. The question was very simple. After Zhai Nianci answered, he pointed to the owner of Fengzhao County to drink her wine.


    Although Feng Zhao''s face was not good-looking, he still drank it.


    The two of them exchanged a few words, and Zhang Hanmiao rounded up the situation, barely holding on. But who would have thought that just by such a coincidence, the next glass of wine stopped right in front of Feng Zhao.


    According to the rules, Zhai Nianci, who was suspended in the previous round, should write the question.


    Zhai Nianci seized the opportunity, laughed aloud, got up and said bluntly: "Then please ask Princess Zhao to compose a peony poem."


    As soon as this statement came out, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay!


    In the past, I only felt that Princess Fengzhao loves to find trouble, but I didn''t realize that County Chief Yongle''s skill in finding trouble is not inferior to the former one at all.


    Ming Tan also watched this good show from a distance, and according to Fengzhao''s temper, it is not impossible to directly pour wine on Zhai Nianci''s face.


    Unexpectedly, Feng Zhao was so angry that he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it. What was even more unexpected was that Feng Zhao actually composed a peony poem while holding the wine.


    Although it is poorly made, I didn''t say how delicate it must be. There was a moment of silence, but Feng Zhao actually said provocatively: "Since the princess has answered, I will invite Princess Dingbei to drink this wine."


    Ming Tan who was waiting to watch the play: "...?"


    Why can''t she be forgotten in the endless drama.


    Soon, the glass of wine was brought to Ming Tan by the maidservant.


    Ming Tan was suspicious. Fengzhao has touched this wine before, so there should be no problem, why is she so worried.


    But under the watchful eyes of everyone, she had to drink, and she couldn''t test the wine in public. If she had a problem with the alcohol test, then let it be. If there was no problem, the slap would not only be Feng Zhao''s face, but the face of Ping Guo Gongfu.


    When Ming Tan was hesitating, Yun Yi''s voice suddenly came from his ear: "Princess, don''t worry, I have changed."


    Changed?


    Ming Tan heard the words and drank the cup calmly.


    When no one was paying attention, she asked softly: "How did you change it, and where did you change it?"


    Yun Yi was silent, she only cared about getting her own concubine, she didn''t care about other people''s lives, she just exchanged a glass of wine with a lot of wine that hadn''t gone smoothly.


    But she made a mark with a scratch.


    Oh, unfortunately, it seems to be the cup that the Yongle county lord is drinking.

 Chapter 43：

    When Yun Yi replied, Zhai Nianci was drinking the contents of his cup. Ming Tan watched helplessly, not knowing what to say for a moment.


    So much so that during the banquet, she had to take a look at Zhai Nianci from time to time. But after watching it for a long time, Zhai Nianci didn''t show much difference.


    Perhaps she was overthinking, Ming Tan thought.


    There were no other incidents in this banquet, after the Qushui banquet, Zhang Hanmiao had a smiling face again, and invited everyone to go to the polo field to watch the fun.


    It doesn''t matter if you don''t like the bustle, the garden in the east has all kinds of good scenery and tea, whether you are writing poetry or painting, or playing the piano to enjoy the scenery, you can do whatever you want.


    Ming Tan was overwhelmed with alcohol, after drinking two glasses of pear wine, she felt a little hot in the face, the polo field was full of heat, she sat on the sidelines for a while, her mind was even more dizzy, so she had to get up, and together with Bai Minmin, went to the east garden to take a rest .


    "You went to see Jing Wan yesterday, is she okay?"


    On the way, Ming Tan asked.


    Bai Minmin nodded: "I seem to be in good spirits. The doctor said that I would be fine after drinking two more medicines. It''s hot and cold in April, and it''s easy to get cold. She also asked me to drink more. Ginger soup."


    "That''s good."


    Zhou Jingwan has been unwell for the past two days, but Ming Tan has become a princess, so it''s not good to just visit the house like before, so she can only send someone to Zhou Mansion to deliver some things. Even though the servants who were sent away were full of good things to say in return, it was not as reassuring as Bai Minmin said.


    Bai Minmin thought of something: "By the way, when Dianshuai Lu heard that Jing Wan was ill, he also sent a lot of things to the Zhou Mansion, and he even wrote a letter to Jing Wan."


    Ming Tan was curious: "What letter?"


    Bai Minmin frowned and thought back: "I can''t remember exactly how I wrote it. The handwriting was really ugly. The general idea is that it was just a misunderstanding when he was released by the pool that day. Let Jing Wan take a good rest."


    "What did Jing Wan say?"


    "Jingwan said that it is not polite to send a letter in private, but I see that she is not as angry as before, and she is still interested in seeing what gifts are given, and I heard Jingwan''s maid say, choose As for the son-in-law, Mr. Zhou seems to be quite fond of Lu Dianshuai."


    When he got to the garden, Ming Tan wanted to ask more detailed questions, suddenly several noble ladies came forward, bowed down and said, "Greetings to the princess."


    It turned out that there were already people enjoying the scenery in the garden.


    Ming Tan had dealt with these noble ladies before he came out of the pavilion, now that he met them, he had no choice but to put down the conversation for the time being, and enjoy the scenery with them as if nothing had happened, chatting and laughing.


    They were chatting, but they didn''t know who led the conversation to the male guest.


    Someone laughed and said, "Jiang Yanghou is also here today, I wonder if he wants to meet his wife who hasn''t been married yet."


    Bai Minmin: "Marquis of Jiangyang?"


    "You do not know?"


    Bai Minmin shook her head and glanced at Ming Tan. Ming Tan remembered someone mentioning it at the Sun Bathing Fozhai meeting some time ago, but at that time she was thinking about Zhou Jingwan and didn''t pay much attention.


    The previous person said again: "The Marquis of Jiangyang has been living in the middle of Sichuan. This time he is coming to Beijing to report on his duties. It''s normal if you haven''t heard of it. Speaking of the origin of the Marquis of Jiangyang''s mansion, you may have an impression."


    Bai Minmin: "What''s the origin?"


    "This Marquis of Jiangyang''s mansion originated from the late emperor''s wet nurse. Because of his role as a guardian, the late emperor has always taken good care of her family, and even conferred a marquis on the old baby brother, the old Marquis of Jiangyang.


    "Old Jiang Yanghou was quite capable and loyal to the late emperor. When the news of the late emperor''s death spread to the middle of Shu, he wrote a letter to resign and asked himself to guard the tomb of the late emperor. On the way to the mausoleum, he went with the first emperor.


    "The Holy Majesty was grateful for the old Jiangyanghou''s devotion to the late emperor, and granted the Jiangyanghou''s mansion the same level as the nobility. Jiangyanghou''s mansion also received a lot of holy grace. The rewards in the palace on weekdays were not forgotten to give to those who are far away in the middle of Sichuan." The Jiangyang Marquis Mansion also sent a copy."


    In this way, Bai Minmin had some impressions, she nodded, and then asked: "What about the lady who has not been married, she has already become a noble, and she is not yet married?"


    "If you have a son, you will naturally succeed."


    Got it, marry a second wife.


    "Then which lady does he have a crush on, do we know each other?"


    After talking for a long while and returning to her point, the lady pursed her lips and said with a smile: "I know him, isn''t he the most honorable Princess of Prince Yi''s Mansion?"


    Feng Zhao? Bai Minmin and Ming Tan looked at each other, a little surprised.


    After all, Feng Zhao is also a princess, so why did he marry the prince''s mansion as a sequel?


    "Jiangyanghou''s mansion has a lot of property. It is well-known in the middle of Shu for its wealth. Jiangyanghou is also used to enjoying life. In the past few days since he entered Beijing, he has taken in two beautiful maidservants. The Marquis also spends a lot of money to get the top spot. I heard that the Marquis Mansion is even more serious, there are more than ten aunts, and there are countless people without titles."


    It''s fine to be a stepmother, but she''s still such a licentious person.


    Although Ming Tan and Feng Zhao had a good relationship, but when they heard about such a marriage, they couldn''t take pleasure in other people''s misfortunes.


    At this point, there happened to be a servant girl from the Duke of Chang''s mansion entering the garden, and she bowed to everyone according to the rules, and then turned to Bai Minmin: "Miss, madam is looking for you, let you come over."


    On such an occasion today, all the noble ladies and wives in Beijing have come, and it is a good time to see each other. You don''t need to think about it, what is your aunt calling Bai Minmin to do?


    Naturally Ming Tan would not disturb her aunt''s arrangement, but she was still drunk and didn''t want to talk to these girls anymore, so she got up and left with Bai Minmin. It''s just that after leaving the garden, she parted ways with Bai Minmin and went to enjoy the lotus by the lake.


    Mrs. Pingguo loves lotus very much. Every midsummer, there will be a scene of ten miles of wind and lotus in the mansion.


    It''s still early now, and the lotus has not yet fully bloomed, but the wind blowing from the lake has already dyed a faint fragrance of lotus, which is refreshing and pleasant to smell.


    Since Shangyuan fell into the water last year, Ming Tan seldom went near the lake for banquets on weekdays, but today there are clouds, it is not difficult for her to pick lotus pods even if she wants to.


    She was shaking the round fan, Lue and Yunyi were joking behind her, the three master and servant enjoyed the scenery along the lake, most of the alcohol dissipated quickly.


    It''s just that when he walked to the corner along the lake, he saw a few ladies standing on the arch bridge in front of him from a distance, Ming Tan stopped, not wanting to go forward to socialize with others.


    "Let''s go back¡ª"


    As soon as Ming Tan opened his mouth, the girls in front suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! Come on, come on quickly! Someone fell into the water!"


    On the arch bridge, some people backed away in fright, while others looked forward. The beautiful pearls and emeralds swayed wildly, and there was an instant chaos.


    overboard?


    Because the falling water fell on the other side of the arch bridge, Ming Tan couldn''t see clearly from this side, so he moved closer.


    He didn''t notice it just now when he was far away, but now that he is getting closer, Ming Tan couldn''t help wondering: Although the stone railing on the arch bridge is not high, it can reach waist-high, how did it fall into the water? If someone pushes it, can it be pushed down? And with all these individuals above, can they be pushed by others?


    "Hey, miss, isn''t that Mr. Shu?" Lue pointed at the light boat on the lake on the other side of the arched bridge with sharp eyes and said.


    Ming Tan''s position was blocked from sight, she moved a few steps, and looked at the other side of the arch bridge.


    "..."


    It really is.


    There are several young masters in the same boat, and none of them seem to have a long entourage.


    Look, why is it a bit like... the rumored intentional marriage?


    She tried her best to identify the ladies standing on the bridge for a while, their faces were not very familiar, and their appearance probably didn''t mean they were of high family status.


    More like that.


    And Shu Er who was standing on the boat at the moment was also very helpless.


    The canoes prepared by Duke Pingguo''s mansion were very small, and they traveled the lake to compose poems without any long entourage. When they reached the center of the lake, they saw a few ladies coming up the arch bridge, and they were eager to paddle away. Who knows that the oars are still not as fast as falling into the water, and with a "plop", it is a jackpot!


    "Well, I don''t know how to use water, so I really can''t help."


    "I''m engaged to Miss Chang''s family. I can''t save this lady."


    "Cough, cough, cough! A certain wind and cold has not recovered, cough, cough, cough..."


    Several people looked at Shu Jingran together.


    Shu Jingran: "..."


    Although he knows martial arts, it is impossible for him to be like Jiang Qizhi and save people without touching him.


    But if he didn''t save them, not to mention how their reputations would be afterward, even because of the one in 10,000 possibility that she did accidentally fall into the water, he couldn''t help but save them.


    Ming Tan saw Shu Er walking towards the bow of the boat, and felt bad.


    What a joke! Shu Er is a good friend of her husband, and she was also the best husband-in-law candidate when she wanted to marry and had to plan hard, and she failed to win after planning! Of course, it''s not because of her ability that she failed to win... In short, how could she just watch Master Ruyu fall into such a clumsy trick so easily!


    She made a decisive decision and hurriedly said: "Yunyi, go and rescue that young lady and stay away from the boat of those young masters."


    "yes."


    Ming Tan asked Yun Yi to save people, but he spared his life and stayed away from the lake, standing under the shade of a tree. However, when she and Lue looked at Yunyi from afar with amazed faces and stepped on the water, the two of them were caught off guard by a sap on the back of the neck!


    Ming Tan felt a numbness in the back of his neck at first, but when the severe pain hit, his eyes went dark, and he lost all consciousness.


    When Ming Tan woke up again, the back of her neck was still in unbearable pain. She subconsciously wanted to rub it, but when she moved, she realized that her hands were tied behind her back, her legs were tied, and her mouth was draped. The sub-groups are blocked. ? ? ?


    what''s the situation?


    She was lying on her side, struggling for a long time in vain, she looked like a bed, she was startled, and suddenly felt a female voice behind her. When she turned over on her hands and feet, her eyes widened!


    Zhai Nianci?


    She was also **** and thrown on the bed!


    Moreover, Zhai Nianci was sweating on his forehead, and his face was flushed abnormally, Ming Tan immediately thought of the glass of wine that Yunyi had replaced at the Qushui Banquet earlier.


    Fengzhao, is Fengzhao.


    She was tricked by this idiot!


    Ming Tan was very flustered in her heart, but she also knew that the more it was like this, the less she could panic. She forced herself to calm down and kept thinking of ways to get out.


    Soon, she found that although Zhai Nianci had been tricked, he was still sane. She hastily gave Zhai Nianci a look, signaling her to turn her back, and at the same time turned her back herself, struggling to feel for the knotted hemp rope in Zhai Nianci''s hand with her movable fingers.


    The hemp rope was tied very tightly, and she managed to find where the knot was loose, when suddenly there was a slight closing sound of the door outside, followed by a malicious male voice: "Princess? The Marquis is here."


    Too bad, Ming Tan''s heart instantly sank to the bottom.


    She closed her eyes and kept implying that she must be calm, calm, and calm again.


    In the sound of footsteps wandering outside, sweat broke out on her forehead.


    Why can''t I move? !


    Zhai Nianci didn''t have much strength, but he was obviously very anxious, so he told her to hurry up.


    Beads of sweat flowed along the corners of the forehead above the eyelashes, and then slowly soaked into the eyes along the eyelids. The eyes were a little sore. She heard the footsteps as if she had entered the inner room, and the bead curtain inside was also moved. , Pull the loose end out little by little...


    Suddenly, she opened her eyes.


    Untied!


    Di Nianci''s hands were relaxed, he tore off the veil in his mouth, and tremblingly untied the hemp rope on his feet. She has learned kung fu for a few days, and her physical strength is somewhat stronger than that of the other women. After taking the medicine for so long, she is still mentally clear.


    Ming Tan hastily motioned for her to untie it for him.


    Zhai Nianci did subconsciously try to pull the veil out of Ming Tan''s mouth, but the voice outside became clearer and clearer, and she was not stupid, so she quickly judged that the man was Jiang Yanghou.


    Thinking of something, she sneered, suddenly changed her mind, retracted the hand that was in front of Ming Tan, and staggered out of bed, not forgetting to push Ming Tan into the bed, before the man entered. Before reaching the inner room, he hid behind the screen.


    Ming Tan was dumbfounded.


    She saved Zhai Nianci, and Zhai Nianci treated her like this?

 Chapter 44：

    "Princess, he has gone in." Not far away, someone reported to Feng Zhao.


    When Feng Zhao heard this, the corners of his lips could not help but hook up.


    Very good, help her every day.


    Originally Ming Tan didn''t respond, she thought it was a problem with the medicine, but when someone reported that Di Nianci had a reaction, she was a little puzzled, Ming Tan obviously drank the glass of wine, why did Di Nianci respond?


    She didn''t know what went wrong during this period, but after she panicked, she thought that dealing with Zhai Nianci was not bad, and Zhai Nianci''s brain was much easier to deal with than Ming Tan who never slipped away from the crowd.


    But she never expected that just when she was planning to let Ming Tan go, the opportunity came to her. Without even thinking about it, she was knocked unconscious and sent to be with Zhai Nianci.


    She just wanted to see, now that the lustful man had entered the house, after today, how would these two people still flaunt themselves, and what face would they have to survive in the world!


    "ignition."


    Feng Zhao''s eyes were extremely bright, and there was a little madness in his arrogance.


    She had already said, let them wait and see.


    If she is not having a good time, then no one should think about it.


    Before the beginning of the day, the sun was scorching at noon. The concierge of Duke Pingguo''s mansion greeted people for a long time, and finally had time to relax. Just as he was about to take a nap, there was the gradual sound of horseshoes outside.


    Jiang Xu let go of the reins and got off his horse.


    "May I ask who you are?" The concierge was suppressed by his aura for a moment, and after recovering, he quickly bowed and asked, "Today, the Fuchu is holding an elegant fair, and you need an invitation to enter. Can you...can you show the invitation?" ?¡±


    Jiang Xu didn''t talk nonsense, and threw him a jade token.


    The concierge read a few words, took the jade tablet, saw the word "Dingbei" on it, and was startled, his legs suddenly became weak: "Ding...His Royal Highness Dingbei?" He hurriedly opened the door, stepped aside, "You little one has eyes but doesn''t know Mount Tai, so please forgive me, my lord, please come here, please!"


    Jiang Xu walked straight into the mansion.


    The concierge wiped the fresh sweat from his forehead, and hurriedly asked someone to lead the distinguished guests to the polo field, and at the same time, another person stepped up to pass the news inside, His Royal Highness Dingbei King has come down!


    When Jiang Xu was brought to the polo field, the atmosphere on the field was very lively.


    Zhang Huaiyu stepped forward to meet him in high spirits, and did not forget to pat him on the shoulder, teasing: "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is here, it is really rare." What did he think of, "But you didn''t go to Qingzhou, you came back so quickly, Is it over?"


    Jiang Xu said "um", and his eyes swept around the field.


    Zhang Huaiyu raised his eyebrows and asked, "How about it, let''s have a game?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, but asked instead: "Where is Shu Jingran?"


    "It seems that the great talent from Su invited him to go boating and compose poems. It''s been a while since he went there. Wait, I''ll find someone to call him over."


    "No need," Jiang Xu pondered for a while, "Where is the princess?"


    "Princess?" Zhang Huaiyu didn''t expect him to ask this, and was a little surprised at the moment, "I can''t see that you care about your wife. It''s really different after getting married."


    Zhang Huaiyu understood Jiang Xu''s patience very well. Before Jiang Xu got impatient, he replied seriously: "But I really don''t know where your little princess is. Don''t worry, ask my sister."


    But before Zhang Huaiyu went to find Zhang Hanmiao, Zhang Hanmiao came over in a panic.


    She had never seen Jiang Xu before, and she didn''t recognize that this was His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang, so her eyes turned red, and she asked Zhang Huaiyu for help in a low voice: "Second brother, help me quickly, Princess Dingbei and County Lord Yongle are gone. !"


    No matter how capable she was, she was only a teenage girl, and it was very rare for such a major event not to pass out immediately.


    As soon as she agreed to make arrangements, she was still too flustered, and she didn''t dare to go to her aunt, so she only dared to ask her cousin who loved her very much for help.


    "What did you say?"


    Zhang Hanmiao was taken aback. She didn''t expect that before her cousin was surprised, it was another man who asked the question first, but how did he hear it?


    "Say it again."


    His voice was extremely cold, and there was a kind of flustering uncertainty.


    Zhang Hanmiao swallowed unconsciously, and responded tremblingly, "Ding... Princess Dingbei and County Lord Yongle are gone."


    Zhang Hanmiao didn''t think it was a big deal when the maid of Yongle county lord came to tell her that her county lord had disappeared.


    The owner of Yongle County is the same as the owner of Fengzhao County. He is a very unlikable owner. He speaks with a gun and a stick, leaving no room for every sentence. Maybe he went somewhere by himself.


    But not long after, there was an accident of falling into the water by the lake. What was even more surprising than falling into the water was that the maidservant next to Princess Dingbei went to save the person, but Princess Dingbei disappeared when she turned around. The concubine''s maid was also knocked out and hid in the grass!


    Only then did Zhang Hanmiao panic, and hurriedly suppressed the matter to keep silent, and at the same time ordered his servants to search nearby.


    I heard that Princess Dingbei''s maidservant is very skilled, at least half a moment before and after saving someone, and only half a moment away, such an accident happened, no one would believe it, not to mention that she came prepared!


    On the other side, the third wife of the Pingguo Mansion was chatting and laughing with a group of wives and ladies, and was about to go to the stage to watch the new play scheduled by the Fuchun troupe.


    In the middle of the journey, someone suddenly said "Oh", pointed to a spot in the southeast corner, and said, "There is smoke coming out of that end, is it water?"


    Everyone hurriedly approached there.


    "Go... let''s go to the water!"


    "The water is gone! The water is gone!"


    Some of the servants have already found out and are rushing to tell them. The third wife immediately went forward and arrested someone and asked, "Where is the water?"


    "Cuiyuan, go back to Third Wife, a room in Cuiyuan is flooded! Also... someone saw that Jiang Yanghou went there."


    Hearing this, the third wife turned pale with shock.


    Cuiyuan is not far from the lake, but it belongs to the inner courtyard, and outsiders should not enter it. But the third wife didn''t know what to think of, and her face was a little pale.


    Cuiyuan used to be the residence of a certain aunt of their third bedroom. That aunt had committed adultery with the housekeeper, and she quietly opened a small door in a remote part of the garden, leading to the outer courtyard.


    Later, when the incident happened, the aunt and the salesman in charge beat the troublemaker to death. There are no people living in Cuiyuan on weekdays, and it is only used as a temporary residence for the distant guests in the mansion when they come to the mansion.


    Someone saw Marquis Jiang Yang going there...


    She hurriedly ordered people to find Mrs. Ping Guogong, and another person went to fetch water to put out the fire.


    In fact, the fire was not that big when it was discovered, but the fire looked very strange. It didn''t burn the main house, but it was surrounded by the main house, surrounded by four sides, which looked a little scary.


    When a group of ladies and ladies approached, most of the water was stopped, and the servants rushed to the fire in an orderly manner, only thick smoke billowed, a little choking.


    "Help!"


    "Come and save me!"


    "Help! Help!"


    ¡­


    Everyone''s expressions suddenly changed, there was actually a man and a woman calling for help in the main room? This! It must be that people saw thick smoke inside and didn''t know that the fire hadn''t reached the main room, so they were so anxious.


    The third wife''s complexion also changed again and again, afraid that people would misunderstand that the house in the Pingguo Mansion was dirty, so she hurriedly explained: "Although this Cuiyuan belongs to the inner courtyard, it is usually uninhabited, and for some reason, there are people here. There is a small door leading to the outer courtyard." She pointed to the previously sealed small door in a remote place, "This is the one, it has always been sealed here, and it looks like it was opened from the outside."


    Everyone understands.


    Is this sneaking into someone else''s inner courtyard? That man seems to be Jiang Yanghou, who is that woman?


    Someone in the crowd said: "I was by the lake just now, and it seems that someone is looking for Princess Dingbei and County Lord Yongle."


    For a moment, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.


    These two.


    It''s unlikely, is it?


    Just as the servants were carrying water to fight the remaining flames, Mrs. Ping Guo came in a hurry, and when everyone was whispering, suddenly a black figure seemed to move away, at a speed that everyone couldn''t react to. , Straight into the garden.


    Jiang Xu looked indifferent, surrounded by thick smoke, but he seemed not to be affected by anything, stepped on the steps, and kicked open the gate of the main house of Cuiyuan.


    There is still an unfinished aftertaste of fascination in the house.


    Jiang Yanghou''s clothes were half undressed, as if he was frightened by the sudden fire, he hid under the table with his head in his arms.


    Seeing that the door was suddenly opened, he crawled out from under the table, but just as he stood up tremblingly, Jiang Xu caught a glimpse of a woman curled up in the corner. his neck.


    "Let... let go... let go..."


    Jiang Yanghou''s complexion gradually turned pale, his eyes protruded a little, his expression was extremely painful, his voice was incomplete, and his breath gradually weakened.


    Jiang Xu stared straight at the figure in the corner, her clothes were messy and she was huddled into a ball. He couldn''t help but fold his hands, there was a very slight sound of bones breaking, Jiang Yanghou''s face froze, and there was no more movement, Jiang Xu seemed to be throwing something dirty, and casually threw away the lifeless man in his hands.


    He wanted to walk towards the group in the corner, but before he could take a step, he suddenly discovered something, and the steps he didn''t take soon turned into a question: "Where is my concubine?"


    Standing at the bottom of the steps outside the house, Ming Tan shook her head, and really wanted to say "I''m here", but she didn''t know whether it was because she was too frightened or something, but she couldn''t make a sound for a long time.


    On the contrary, Jiang Xu seemed to have a feeling, and subconsciously turned around.


    The sun at daytime was westward, falling on her jade white brocade skirt, and also falling on her slightly embarrassed and dusty face, it seemed to cast a very gentle arc on her, looking from a distance, delicate and charming.


    He walked down the steps step by step, walked up to Ming Tan, and looked down at her.


    The fire was extinguished, and everyone entered the courtyard. Mrs. Ping Guo sent her maid into the main room, and Zhai Nianci''s maid, who was very anxious, also entered the house.


    "County Master! County Master, what''s wrong with you!"


    Everyone was surprised.


    It really is the Yongle county lord.


    The maid sent by Mrs. Pingguo entered the house, and she noticed Jiang Yanghou lying on the ground first, and she couldn''t help but screamed: "Ah! Jiang, Jiang Yanghou! Lord Hou is dead!"


    When everyone heard the words, they glanced at Yama in the courtyard from a distance of three zhang.


    Ming Tan was also startled, his throat a little dry, and he raised his eyes to look at Jiang Xu.


    The Marquis of Jiangyang was greatly favored by the Holy Grace and died in full view of the public. How should he explain to the Holy Majesty?


    Jiang Xu seemed to know what she was worried about, so he raised his hand subconsciously, wiped the dust on her face with his rough fingertips, and said indifferently: "If you die, you will die, what will happen to me."

 Chapter 45：

    There was silence everywhere, obviously the servants and maidservants were still running for the fire, but the ladies and ladies standing in the courtyard couldn''t help feeling that they were a little cold all over, and no one dared to make a sound.


    These words are extremely arrogant, but they come from the mouth of His Highness King Dingbei, it seems that there is nothing wrong with it.


    Ming Tan didn''t know how to respond for a moment.


    Although she knew many deeds of killing gods before marrying him, the Jiang Xu she had seen had never been as terrifying as the rumors, but he was colder and rougher, and he was usually very good at speaking and never made things difficult for others.


    "A-Tan, A-Tan!" At this moment, Bai Minmin who got the news hurried forward, "Are you all right? Let me see."


    She pulled Ming Tan over and looked nervously.


    Everyone: "..."


    The Mrs. Chang Guogong who followed hurriedly pulled Bai Minmin to rob someone in front of His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang. Who gave her the courage!


    "I''m fine, don''t worry."


    Bai Minmin asked anxiously, "What''s going on?"


    Although Zhang Hanmiao ordered people to keep silent, but the two living people disappeared and there were still people looking for them, so how could they keep it secret?


    Many people now know that Dingbei Princess and Yongle County Lord disappeared, and Dingbei Princess'' personal maid was knocked out.


    Ming Tan had already thought up the excuse to pick himself out, and then he came back to his senses and said: "I was hit by a wooden stick just now by the lake, and then I was carried over here by a maidservant with a face, but I was halfway After waking up, I found a chance to stab her with a hairpin, and ran away in a hurry. Fortunately, I met a maid who came to look for me, so I resisted her, and forced her to find out... Princess Fengzhao asked her to do this .¡±


    "Princess Fengzhao?!"


    Everyone was astonished, but after the astonishment, they felt that it was reasonable. After all, the grievances between Princess Fengzhao and Princess Dingbei have a long history.


    Ming Tan nodded: "She confessed that County Master Fengzhao also kidnapped County Master Yongle, and set fire to attract people to come to ''catch rape''. I wanted to find someone to rescue him right away, but this matter will end with my daughter''s family..."


    She clicked to stop, and said: "My maid is very skilled, so I didn''t say anything. I thought about bringing the maid over to help first. When anyone wants to come, there will be thick smoke billowing here."


    Everyone was so shocked that they didn''t know what to say.


    Is this Princess Fengzhao really crazy? To do such a frenzied thing in someone else''s house!


    In fact, Ming Tan originally only wanted to say that he broke away from the maid, and then rushed over when he saw the water flowing here, and he didn''t know anything else.


    If this is the case, her relationship with this matter can be minimized, and it has nothing to do with her whether Zhai Nianci was victimized or had an affair with Jiang Yanghou. As for Feng Zhao, Zhai Nianci would not let go of the first one, and she has plenty of ways to deal with it slowly.


    But now that her husband has killed Jiang Yanghou, she has no choice but to directly pull out Feng Zhao, and it is true that Feng Zhao set up a trap, and Jiang Yanghou also intended to **** and humiliate the county lord.


    But Jiang Yanghou is indeed worthy of death!


    The words that Feng Zhaozhi sent to Jiang Yanghou earlier were not in her own tone, but in the tone of Princess Yi¡ª¡ª


    It implies that she has a stubborn temper and is not willing to marry yet, so why not cook raw rice first.


    With such a beautiful event, Jiang Yanghou certainly didn''t want to miss it. So seeing Ming Tan who was bound on the bed with his hands bound and his mouth gagged, he didn''t feel strange, he only moaned and stepped forward, wanting to do something good.


    At first, he really thought that Mingtan was Princess Fengzhao, but when he got closer, he found that the beauty inside was wearing a bun like a bride''s hair, and there was a very high-grade jade medal hanging around his waist, his eyes changed Even Ming Tan could see that he had discovered that he was no longer Feng Zhao.


    But he has countless concubines, and it''s not like he hasn''t committed adultery with other people''s wives. Not to mention, other people''s wives are always more comfortable when they do things, and these women''s reputations are important, and they dare not speak out when good things happen.


    Thinking of this, he decided to make the mistake and play with this beauty first.


    If he wanted to accomplish something good, he could just tie his hands and stuff his mouth, but it would be inconvenient to tie his feet, so he stood by the couch and untied the hemp rope on Ming Tan''s legs with a malicious expression, intending to play with his jade feet.


    Unexpectedly, Ming Tan stared extremely accurately and reacted extremely quickly, the upper part of his foot was loose, without waiting for him to clenched, he kicked hard towards his face!


    That kick was not only accurate, but also extremely hard. No one would have thought that Ming Tan, the most typical delicate and noble girl, would have such strength. Jin Xing''s nose became even hotter, and blood flowed out.


    "You little slut, how dare you kick me!"


    Ming Tan had already panicked to the extreme in her heart, but it was precisely because she panicked to the extreme that the situation would not be worse than now, and her mind became more sober.


    Once her feet were free, she immediately ran down from the bed and deliberately bumped into the screen where Zhai Nianci was hiding.


    Although the screen was not too heavy, it was still a bit painful when it hit Jiang Yanghou, and it could last for a while, and once the screen fell, Zhai Nianci, who was drugged and struggling to endure it, had nowhere to hide!


    Taking advantage of Jiang Yanghou''s astonishment, there was a beauty hidden in this room, so Ming Tan hurriedly ran outside.


    "Hurry up and chase her, if she runs away, you will die!" Zhai Nianci reminded, his deliberately rough voice was already full of irresistible coquettishness.


    Ming Tan didn''t have the time to insult Zhai Nianci in his heart, so he ran to the outside and tried his best to knock on the door, but she didn''t let go, the door seemed to be locked from the outside, and it couldn''t be opened no matter what.


    "Bitch, where else do you want to go?" Jiang Yanghou''s eyes were cruel and lecherous, and he wiped his nosebleed and went outside.


    There was an enchanting incense burning outside, Ming Tan struggled to control his breathing while slamming on the door, but the despair in his heart overflowed slowly.


    After a while, Jiang Yanghou approached and grabbed Ming Tan''s hair.


    He pulled Ming Tan away from the door, and was about to teach him a lesson, but at the very moment, the door was kicked open from the outside¡ª¡ª


    Yunyi!


    It''s Yunyi!


    Ming Tan''s already desperate heart suddenly became joyful, and his eyes were inexplicably blurred with tears, and a thought flashed in his mind inexplicably: She must buy a lot of roast chicken for Yun Yi!


    Seeing Ming Tan''s description of being embarrassed, Yun Yi''s eyes changed, and he pushed out his palm, which made Jiang Yang Hou let go of his hand and take a few steps back. Then he pulled Ming Tan over neatly and tore off the tightly stuffed veil in Ming Tan''s mouth.


    Ming Tan was so disgusted by the veil that he coughed a few times, and the tears were also coughed out.


    "Ma''am, I''m late!"


    Yun Yi untied Ming Tan, a flash of guilt flashed in her eyes, and then she stepped forward again, as if she wanted to attack Jiang Yanghou.


    Seeing this, Ming Tan hurriedly pulled her back: "No need."


    Since Feng Zhao set up this game, there must be another trick, and they have to leave quickly.


    She checked and found that there was nothing left on her body or the hairpin on her head, and she said decisively, "Let''s go."


    As for Zhai Nianci, she paused.


    In fact, she thinks that she has no deep hatred with Zhai Nianci, but she will take the risk to save the last time if she feels even half apologetic. Good luck.


    As soon as the two of them stepped out of the house, water started to flow in the side rooms next to them, and it would not be long before someone would come.


    Yun Yi didn''t know what to think of, she turned around suddenly, locked the door, and then quickly left the yard with Ming Tan on her arm.


    "Yunyi, where is this? How did you find it?" Ming Tan asked while going out.


    "Hui Niangniang, I don''t know where this is, I only know that it is a courtyard of Pingguo Duke''s Mansion." She didn''t know the way.


    As for how to find it¡ª¡ª


    Earlier she found Lu''e who had been knocked out nearby, woke up Lu''e, asked a few words, then got up and planned to save Ming Tan.


    She is different from Zhang Hanmiao''s way of looking for someone. Her thinking is very simple. Today, it is obvious that the one who has trouble with her mother is the Princess Fengzhao. If she is looking for someone else, she can just go to the Princess Fengzhao.


    It''s ridiculous that Princess Fengzhao dared to walk around the neighborhood in an open manner.


    She didn''t bother to talk nonsense, so she directly questioned the master and the servants. At first, they were very stubborn, but she is not a person who likes to be reasonable, so she hit her if she didn''t speak, and the maid let go , and then she threatened her life to force someone to lead the way, so there was nothing she couldn''t find.


    After listening, Ming Tan had to admit that although Yun Yi''s method was a bit rough, it was extremely effective.


    Now Fengzhao''s master and servant are still being buckled by Yun Yi who doesn''t play cards according to common sense. Ming Tan fulfilled his previous words and wanted to hand over the maid who beat the sap to Mrs. Pingguo for disposal.


    Mrs. Pingguo hurriedly said: "The princess was frightened. In the final analysis, what happened today was due to the lack of hospitality from the Duke of Pingguo, so all kinds of troubles occurred. The Duke of Pingguo will definitely give an explanation to His Highness and the princess."


    "No need." Jiang Xu''s voice was cold.


    Ming Tan turned to look at him.


    In fact, Ming Tan''s thoughts are very normal. A princess made a move to harm someone, a county princess was stigmatized, and a marquis died suddenly on the spot. Each family is still up to Dasheng to listen to it, and it should be up to the master to make a statement. Mrs. Ping Guo obviously also felt that she had to bear this responsibility.


    But she forgot that her husband is His Royal Highness Dingbei King who stands at the top of the power, and she didn''t have to bother to justify herself here today. Because what her husband said was what she said.


    "The Marquis of Jiangyang broke into the inner house privately and raped the county lord. This crime is unforgivable. This king will report to the Ming sage and make up a copy of the decree. Fengzhao County lord intends to murder the princess and the county lord. He will be imprisoned by the Dazong Zhengsi for investigation. disposal."


    His voice was calm and decisive, with an undeniable disdain.


    Ming Tan propped up his body until now, and at the same time he breathed a sigh of relief, he was already extremely tired.


    Her figure swayed, Bai Minmin''s sharp eyes were about to reach out, but Jiang Xu had already supported her thin shoulder bones from behind.


    His hands were a little cold, and his embrace was also cold.


    Ke Mingtan inexplicably felt relieved.


    She turned her head and looked up at Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu also looked down at her. Under the eyes of everyone, he suddenly hugged her horizontally.


    "go home."

 Chapter 46：

    In Shangjing at dusk, the setting sun gradually became dizzy. Under the vast rays of light, the already majestic Dingbei Palace seemed to be able to see only a heavy silhouette.


    In Qi''an Hall, the golden sunset slanted in through the leaky window. The servants brought water, and those who brought soup delivered soup. The courtyard was orderly and very quiet.


    After Ming Tan took a bath, he changed into light-colored pajamas. After washing off the powder, the face looks more soft and clean.


    Her facial features are extremely delicate, with delicate eyebrows and a small nose, but her eyes seem to be filled with two clear springs, and there are very small drops of water on her eyelashes. Xu Shi had a good time during the marriage, her small face was pouted, she looked a bit more girlish and naive than when she put on makeup.


    She came out of the clean room, looked around for a while, but didn''t see Jiang Xu''s figure, so she was served by Lu''e, and got into the bed.


    The imperial doctor had been waiting in the flower hall for a while, and the little girl went to the hall to report back after the tent was settled and ready.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes when he heard the words: "I''m going to be the imperial physician."


    Imperial Physician Feng hurriedly got up and cupped his hands, "It''s the duty of a humble minister."


    Jiang Xu got up without saying anything, and followed Imperial Physician Feng into the inner room.


    Across the bed curtain, Imperial Physician Feng greeted Ming Tan, sat on the stool again, took out the pulse pillow, covered the outstretched jade hand with a brocade handkerchief, and respectfully took the pulse.


    After a while, Imperial Physician Feng paused for a moment, then answered after consideration: "Your Majesty was shocked, but there is nothing serious about it. I will prescribe a soothing decoction, just drink it before going to bed."


    He noticed the traces of Ming Tan''s wrist being bound, and heard that she had been hit with a sap, so he added: "If the skin wound is not broken, just apply the medicine for removing blood stasis externally, and apply it for a few days. The traces will disappear."


    "Thank you, Imperial Physician." Ming Tan withdrew his hand, and thanked politely on the bed, "I''m too sick to meet guests, please forgive me, Imperial Physician."


    Imperial Physician Feng respectfully returned the salute again: "Your Majesty is serious, I''m going to prescribe a soothing medicine for your Majesty, so that your Majesty can rest well."


    As he spoke, a maidservant came to lead him to prescribe medicine.


    But Jiang Xu raised his hand suddenly, and the maid who came to guide the imperial physician to prescribe the prescription stopped knowingly, and retreated silently. Jiang Xu glanced at the bed again, looked at Imperial Physician Feng for half a breath, and walked out.


    When he reached the outside of the main room, Jiang Xu stopped and asked in a deep voice: "Is the princess all right?"


    Imperial Physician Feng hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty is fine, the prince can rest assured. It''s just that your Majesty seems to have inhaled some...aphrodisiac fragrance before. Fortunately, the amount is small and it will not harm your body."


    Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, and said "En".


    The imperial doctor Feng said again: "Take the pulse today, the empress is actually a little better than a month ago, the minister will adjust the dosage of the medicine according to the situation. The empress is still young, and she will be fine after a year or two of recuperation."


    "Okay, thank you."


    Imperial Physician Feng is from Jiang Xu, and he came to the mansion in the first few days of their wedding to ask for Ming Tan''s pulse.


    He checked the pulse and found that although there was nothing serious about the little princess''s body, she did not move much, was weak, and her physique was a bit poor. Coupled with her young age and small body, it would be difficult for her to conceive if she were to conceive.


    At the moment he reported to Jiang Xu, Jiang Xu said, not to let the princess get pregnant for the time being. He also thought the same way, so according to Ming Tan''s body, he formulated a non-destructive contraceptive prescription, and let the princess drink it as a tonic soup on weekdays.


    After seeing off Doctor Feng, the twilight also gradually sank.


    Ming Tan took a nap for a while, when she woke up, she leaned against the head of the bed and asked softly, "Where is Your Highness?"


    "Your Highness is in the study, do you want your maidservant to pass the message?" Seeing that she woke up, Lu E hurriedly responded.


    Ming Tan shook his head: "No need."


    She was a little confused, how should I put it, after returning to the mansion to calm down, she was actually very disturbed in her heart, saying that in the Pingguo mansion, although most people can be fooled, but her husband... Thinking about it now, Yun Yi has already put I told him all the ins and outs.


    In fact, in such a short period of time, nothing really happened to Jiang Yanghou and Zhai Nianci in the house, but they were in the same room under the eyes of everyone, no matter what the truth was, and whether they were framed or not, Zhai Nianci''s reputation would be ruined.


    And she also shared a room with Jiang Yanghou... Although nothing happened, she didn''t know if her husband would mind.


    Thinking of this, she bent her legs, hugged her hands, and rested her chin on her knees, feeling a little melancholy.


    When Jiang Xu returned to the room, what he saw was a beauty hugging her knees on the couch, three thousand blue hair pouring out, Ruyu''s face was full of melancholy.


    He stepped forward and sat down on the edge of the couch, and asked in a deep voice, "How do you feel?"


    "Husband? Ah Tan is fine."


    She shook her head, her voice was low, but her eyes couldn''t help but dodge a little.


    Jiang Xu was not good at getting along with women, and Ming Tan would always talk about it and take the initiative to act like a spoiled child, but today she was quiet and wanted to hide from him, he didn''t know what to say for a while.


    Xu Shi''s method of dealing with Jiang Yanghou in front of her today was a bit straightforward, which scared her.


    Thinking this way, Jiang Xu sat quietly for a while, then got up and said: "Feng Zhao, you don''t need to worry, with this king here, she won''t walk out of Dazong Zhengsi again." .¡±


    After speaking, he wanted to leave.


    Seeing this, Ming Tan quickly pulled the corner of his clothes: "Husband, where are you going?"


    "My king still has some military affairs to deal with."


    Ming Tan bit his lower lip, and asked hesitantly: "Do we have to deal with it now?"


    "..."


    of course not.


    He just saw her dodging and planned to take the initiative to go to the study to make a living.


    Seeing Jiang Xu not making a sound, Ming Tan felt even more disturbed, Husband already disliked her? From now on, you only want to maintain a superficial relationship with her, never want to share the bed with her, never want to touch her again?


    She felt a little wronged.


    In fact, she was already very wronged today, and she has been enduring it all the time, until now, she seems to be a little bit unbearable.


    "why are you crying?"


    Seeing Mingtan shedding tears without warning, Jiang Xu was stunned for a rare moment.


    Ming Tan didn''t speak, but turned his back to Jiang Xu, twitching, and his thin shoulders twitching.


    "Do you think it''s too cheap for her to keep Fengzhao in Dazong Zhengsi? The clan made a mistake, and according to the law, Dazong Zhengsi should deal with it. As for how to deal with it, I will take care of it. If you think it''s too light, I can also¡ª"


    Before he finished speaking, Ming Tan shook his head.


    Dazong Zhengsi is not a good place. He is locked in there all year round, and he will not have a good life to live. Hearing that there is a prince who offended His Majesty when he was fighting for the throne in the past, he has been locked in there, and he has already gone crazy.


    Standing by the couch, Jiang Xu stretched out his hand subconsciously, but he didn''t know how to comfort him.


    Fortunately, after crying for a while, Ming Tan felt that this must be said clearly, and if her husband really minded, she should understand.


    She grabbed the corner of the quilt and wiped away her tears, turned around, lowered her head, and asked with a choked voice: "Is your husband unwilling to share the bed with A-Tan in the future?"


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    She said to herself: "It''s nothing, Ah Tan can bear it, my husband said it right, and my husband doesn''t have to wrong me to sleep in the study. If my husband minds, A Tan claims to be sick, so I ask you to stay away. From now on, I won''t be an eyesore in front of my husband." yes."


    Jiang Xu was silent, and couldn''t help asking: "Why did you say that?"


    Ming Tan raised his eyes, the eye sockets were still red, filled with tears, as if they would fall in a blink.


    "Isn''t your husband minding that A Tan also shared a room with Jiang Yanghou?"


    "Never."


    Seeing that he deserved it very simply, Ming Tan hesitated, and asked cautiously: "Really?" She hiccupped tears as she asked.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know why, but when he saw her inexplicably charming face with her head up and tears, a strange emotion surged in her heart very rarely.


    "Even if it''s you in the house today, I don''t mind, it''s not your fault."


    His voice was neither fast nor slow, like heavy gold and cold jade, pleasant to the ear.


    Ming Tan was stunned, and when she recovered, she subconsciously knelt down on the couch, hugged his waist forward, and the golden beans fell down as if she didn''t want money: "Wuuuuuu husband¡ª"


    Her mood, which had been ups and downs all day, was finally completely relaxed at this moment.


    Jiang Xu''s eyebrows twitched.


    Why is she crying harder again?


    He raised his hand and touched her head uncomfortably.


    Her black hair was long and thick, and still very soft. Jiang Xu touched it, and touched it again, and gradually felt that it was very comfortable to touch, and he inserted his fingers without a teacher. into her hair and rubbed it.


    After crying enough, Ming Tan hiccupped and moved away from Jiang Xu''s chest with red eyes.


    "Husband still has to deal with military affairs?" Because she had just cried, her voice was a little waxy, and it sounded a bit reluctant.


    "It''s not too late to deal with it tomorrow."


    "Then why did my husband insist on going to the study to deal with military affairs?"


    Jiang Xu choked up: "I thought you were frightened and didn''t want to share the bed with me."


    Ming Tan understood. When he killed someone, he was dressed in black and with black hair, and the clouds were calm and breezy, which was indeed a bit scary. But he obviously killed Jiang Yanghou for her, and she was not so ignorant.


    "Adan thought about it."


    she blurted out.


    Ok? Jiang Xu looked down at her, and for some reason, smiled softly.


    The smile was so faint that Jiang Xu didn''t notice it himself, Ming Tan''s face was hot, and he buried his head in **** him, and missed this rare scene.


    There was a wind blowing, the candles in the house were flickering, and the bed curtain that was caged by the side of the bed was also gently shaken by the blowing.


    Jiang Xu put his hand next to Ming Tan''s ear, wrapped in his breath, and her whole body was also caged under him.


    The two looked at each other.


    Ming Tan thinks that her husband''s eyes are beautiful, especially when she is the only one in his eyes. She was shy, but she mustered up the courage to stretch out her hand, put it around his neck, and asked in a low voice: "Husband, kiss."

 Chapter 47：

    Since getting married, although there is no lack of **** in the bed, Jiang Xu rarely kisses her, and even if he kisses, it is mostly on the eyebrows, neck, and the skin of his body.


    Ming Tan remembered that the men and women in the storybook all kissed mouth to mouth.


    Perhaps because the candle was blown out by the wind blowing in from the window, Jiang Xu''s eyes dimmed a little, his throat was dry and his Adam''s apple rolled up and down unconsciously.


    Her lips are light in color and look soft. Jiang Xu leaned forward, their noses were facing each other, their lips were less than half an inch apart, and their warm breaths were intertwined.


    What is this fool thinking? They are already so close, and the kisses are not left behind!


    Ming Tan was shy and timid, and a little annoyed, his chest was pounding, his eyelashes were trembling, and finally he couldn''t help it, and took the initiative to peck his lips upwards.


    She pecked and wanted to retreat, but Jiang Xu didn''t give her a chance to retreat. Taking advantage of the situation, he pressed on, supported the back of her head with one hand, and drove straight in.


    It''s just that Jiang Xu''s skills in this matter are not very proficient, and his lips and teeth depend on each other, but he stumbles from time to time. Ming Tan was bitten and hurt several times, and sometimes he couldn''t breathe, but the feeling was intimate and confusing. My whole body seemed to be slowly burning.


    Clothes were quickly scattered, and with the night wind blowing in from the south window corner, men''s and women''s clothes also fell on the side of the couch, entangled one by one.


    Ming Tan''s body is like a piece of delicate and warm warm jade, but it is much softer than warm jade. The two are close to each other. At first, Jiang Xu deliberately controlled it, and his movements were very gentle. This kind of thing can''t last long.


    "Husband..."


    "Husband, take it easy... oh!"


    Ming Tan was originally on a mandarin duck soft pillow, but later her whole face was buried in the soft pillow, and her voice became muffled and sobbing, and then the soft pillow disappeared, and she was pushed into a corner, with messy hair. Si was wet with sweat, embracing the man''s neck, twitching, her face was covered with tears, she looked like a pitiful little girl who had been bullied.


    The corners of Jiang Xu''s eyes were also red, his black hair was disheveled, and there was also some cruelty that was rarely revealed, which made him more handsome and handsome.


    He pressed himself down, licking the tears on her face bit by bit, his scorching breath fell down, and he didn''t know whether he was comforting or flirting.


    The spring breeze blows slowly overnight.


    The little girl who was on duty at night didn''t rest all night, her eyes turned blue.


    She remembered that some time ago, she met the girl who took care of the flower garden and said flatteringly that her sister was an errand in Qi''an Hall, so she was naturally more beautiful than the ones nearby. I couldn''t help but sigh in my heart, not everyone can be a poor Qi''an hall. Of course, not everyone can be a concubine. Compared with the concubine crying every night, keeping watch all night is not hard work.


    The next morning, it was rare for Ming Tan to wake up with Jiang Xu. The sky outside was still dim, with a grayish gray glow.


    Jiang Xu originally planned to go to practice martial arts alone as usual, put the jade arm around his body into the brocade quilt, and was about to get up, but unexpectedly, the jade arm was wrapped around him again, and Ming Tan hugged him sleepily. He even rubbed against his arms, his voice seemed to be hoarse from sleep, and he said lazily, "Husband, are you going to get up?"


    Jiang Xu said "hmm": "Did this king wake you up?"


    Xu Shifang woke up, his voice was low and hoarse, gentler than usual.


    "No." Ming Tan shook his head.


    "The king went to practice martial arts. He was tired yesterday. You should sleep a little longer."


    What Jiang Xu said was that he was troubled in Pingguo''s mansion yesterday, but when Ming Tan heard it, he blushed and grabbed him. It wasn''t because he was demanding too much, otherwise he would be tired! She buried his neck and took a bite out of frustration.


    But with her strength, a bite is no different to Jiang Xu''s bite from a mosquito. If there is a difference, it is probably because her bite is more numb.


    The servant girl waiting outside heard the commotion inside, quietly walked outside the bead curtain in the inner room, and asked softly, "Your Highness, are you going to wake up?"


    "Ok."


    Soon, the maid closed the curtain, and sent the laundry into the inner room as soon as she answered the laundry.


    On weekdays when Jiang Xu got up, Ming Tan was sleeping soundly, and the movements of the servants could not be lighter. Jiang Xu also only asked people to deliver things, and didn''t like people to wait for dressing. They put things away as usual and prepared to leave. Cheng thought that the concubine and empress woke up very early today.


    "I want to get up too."


    Jiang Xu turned around: "What are you doing up so early?"


    Ming Tan leaned forward and hugged his arm: "I want to watch my husband practice martial arts."


    Jiang Xu was silent.


    "is it not OK?"


    The servant girl stole a glance boldly, and saw that the princess was not wearing her pajamas, nor her little gown, and was covered with a brocade quilt below her shoulders, but her white jade arms had changed from hugging her arms to her neck, and she was almost No one is hanging on His Highness and acting like a baby.


    Who can stand this.


    Sure enough, His Royal Highness quickly said "um",


    Unlike Jiang Xu, Ming Tan is a delicate master who can be served by others but never does it by herself. Jiang Xu was about to change clothes, and she just finished rinsing her mouth in a gentle manner.


    Seeing that her husband wanted to change clothes by herself, Ming Tan hurriedly signaled the girl who was wiping her face to hurry up, changed into a kneeling position, straightened up and snatched the jade belt from Jiang Xu''s hand.


    "Husband, Ah Tan will help you."


    Jiang Xu paused, did not refute, and opened his arms slightly.


    Jiang Xu''s regular clothes were much simpler than the gowns on his wedding day. Ming Tan carefully helped him arrange the collar, fasten the jade belt around his waist, and hang up the jade pendant. For some reason, she turned her head and thought for a while, Suddenly raised her head and asked: "Husband, do you feel that your waist is a little empty, something is missing?"


    "What''s missing?"


    "Of course it''s a sachet, my husband, you don''t even wear a sachet!"


    "What is Peilai doing, repelling mosquitoes and evil spirits?"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    It doesn''t take that long to remember!


    Although blocked by Jiang Xu''s rhetorical question for a while, Ming Tan did not give up the idea of ??making a sachet for his husband. After grooming and going to the martial arts field to watch Jiang Xu practice martial arts, she sketched the color and pattern of the sachet in her mind.


    Having said that, after Ming Tan re-planned the map of the palace, the most important thing to do was to build a small martial arts arena for Jiang Xu to practice martial arts.


    The martial arts arena was empty, surrounded by bald plum groves that had not yet bloomed, and Jiang Xu practiced his sword in the arena.


    Ming Tan had seen Jiang Xu take action twice before this, one was when Daxiangguo Temple was on the way back to the mansion, he and his hidden guards wiped out a gang of bandits effortlessly, and the other time was yesterday in Pingguo Mansion, where he casually So he killed Jiang Yanghou... Speaking of which, she was also a little curious, how good is his skill? Why does it seem so easy to solve the opponent? Moreover, he used the belt on his sleeve to save himself twice, and the belt was so obedient that he could shoot straight out.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan stared at the tulle and Luopibo he was wearing.


    Halfway through Jiang Xu''s set of sword skills, he suddenly caught a glimpse of his little concubine sitting on the sidelines, constantly raising her arms and chanting words.


    "Is it too light?"


    "Why don''t you fly out?"


    "Are you going to stand up?"


    After raising it for a while, she seemed to be about to give up with sore hands, rubbed her wrist bones lightly, puffed her face, and sat down unhappily.


    A smile flashed across Jiang Xu''s eyes, and he turned around and continued to practice moves.


    After practicing a set of sword skills, Ming Tan took the initiative to go forward, wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, and asked him what he was curious about. She has seen not many people with high martial arts skills, and Yunyi''s walking on the water yesterday left a deep impression on her, so she added a question: "If compared with Yunyi, is it your husband who is more powerful, or is it you?" Is Yunyi stronger?"


    "What do you say?"


    Jiang Xu''s tone was very light.


    Ming Tan deliberated before answering, Jiang Xu glanced at Mei Lin who was nearly ten feet away from the martial arts field, raised his wrist and turned the hilt, and pushed the sword out neatly with his backhand.


    Ming Tan paused for a moment, his eyes slowly followed the hilt of the sword and landed on the tree. After a breath, the not-so-sturdy little tree fell down.


    "..."


    "Husband, you are more powerful, you hacked my green calyx to death."


    Lu''e, who was still recuperating in the house after being hit with a sap yesterday, suddenly sneezed.


    After practicing martial arts, the two returned to Qi''an Hall for breakfast together.


    Jiang Xu watched Ming Tan Siwen finish drinking the tonic soup, and remembered what the doctor Feng said about recuperation, and suddenly said: "You are weak, so you should get up earlier, and go to the martial arts field with me to exercise."


    Ming Tan was puzzled: "What am I exercising for?"


    "What do you want to practice?"


    "I don''t want to practice anything." I just want to be a beautiful princess.


    "..."


    "This king can teach you archery."


    "..."


    I don''t want to learn.


    "Or practice Baduanjin."


    "What is Baduanjin?" It sounds very beautiful.


    It just so happened that the maid came to report, and Aunt Yun came to pay her respects to the princess, so Jiang Xu ordered, "Show the princess the Ba Duan Jin."


    Yun Yi: "...?"


    She took a look at the brocade skirt she had come to ask An Tedi to change into. She did not dare to disobey the order of the Lord.


    "Hold the sky with both hands to manage the triple burner!" Yun Yi raised her hands up and held them up neatly.


    "Bowing left and right is like shooting a vulture!" She straddled her legs and made a lunge. She put one hand on her chest and pushed the other outward.


    Wait, wait... This action is too ugly!


    Ming Tan was stunned, he couldn''t imagine that he would do such rough movements to her husband every day in the martial arts arena, he hurriedly stopped and said: "Archery, husband, you should teach Atan archery."


    At any rate, archery needs to be taught by hand, and it looks like a husband and wife.


    Jiang Xu said "hmm".


    Yun Yi also withdrew her movements, An Fen stood aside.


    Ming Tan asked her to eat together, she shook her head.


    She asked herself that she didn''t have the ability to bear it like the princess. Although the breakfast was exquisite and sumptuous to the point of dazzling, she was afraid that she would choke to death on the spot when eating at the same table with the lord.


    "I''ve invited you, and I''m not backing down." The voice was very weak.


    "¡­yes."


    Yun Yi always felt that she had forgotten something, but the Lord had spoken, she obeyed her instinct, bowed her head subconsciously, and stepped back.


    It wasn''t until she walked out of Qi''an Hall that Yun Yi discovered the sweet-scented osmanthus cake hidden in her chest. Oh, she came to give the sweet-scented sweet-scented cake to the princess. She agreed to make a pack of sweet-scented sweet-scented cake for the princess today. I went out from the wall and waited until the store opened at 5:30 to buy the first batch of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes.


    She walked back without thinking, but when she entered the room, she saw from a distance that the concubine''s breakfast was inexplicably used on the prince, sitting obliquely, with her arms around the prince''s neck, and asked reluctantly: "My husband cut off my green calyx, how can I make up for it?"


    What, Miss Lue was beheaded by the prince?


    "How do you want to make it up?"


    "Hmm...the husband feeds A-tan porridge."


    Why feed it, didn''t the concubine eat well by herself just now? Moreover, the life of Miss Lue is worth a bowl of porridge? Didn''t it mean that Miss Lue grew up with the princess since she was a child? Such an inexplicable request, presumably the prince would never agree.


    Just as this thought flashed through her mind, she watched helplessly as the prince scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to the princess'' mouth.


    "..."


    The prince is really fed up.


    Miss Lue''s life is really only worth a bowl of porridge.

 Chapter 48：

    Yunyi''s heart is empty. She and Lue failed to take good care of the princess yesterday. She and Lue should be punished. However, Miss Lue has been with the princess for many years and she was cut off directly. Then she...


    Thinking of this, she put down the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and quietly left the main room.


    "Aunt Yun."


    In the corridor, someone suddenly called her.


    Yun Yi turned her head: "Miss Suxin."


    Su Xin smiled gently, and went forward to hand over the snack in her hand: "My aunt needs to use some, the crispy cheese that Fang brought back from the dining room is still hot."


    "No, thank you."


    I''m going to die, I have no appetite.


    Su Xin only saw that she liked to eat this when she came to Qi''an Hall on weekdays, so she didn''t force it: "Then auntie, go slowly, I''ll send it to Lue."


    "Wait, Lue?"


    "Well, what''s the matter? Her stick hit her harder than the empress. Yesterday, the empress asked the imperial doctor to show her too. She said that she was going to rest for a few days and was still resting in the room."


    Not hacked?


    Yun Yi paused, then suddenly asked: "Miss Suxin, what is the origin of Miss Lu''e''s name?"


    Although Su Xin didn''t know why she would ask this question, she still patiently answered: "I can''t tell you the origin. Your Majesty liked plum blossoms when she was young, so when Lu''e and I were assigned to Your Majesty''s side, they were named after plum blossoms. Your Majesty In the past, the courtyard in the Hou''s Mansion was called ''Zhaoshuiyuan'', which is also the name of the plum blossom."


    Yun Yi seemed to understand something, nodded and walked forward. But after walking a few steps, she suddenly came back, took a small stack of crispy cheese, and said solemnly: "Miss Lu''e can''t finish it all by herself, I will share some for her."


    "...?"


    Su Xin looked at Yun Yi''s back in confusion.


    Jiang Xu was going to enter the palace today, and after breakfast, Ming Tan sent him all the way to the second gate, he couldn''t help feeling a little worried.


    Although her husband is highly trusted by the Holy One and has done things that are not in compliance with the rules more than once or twice, but killing a Marquis in full view is not a trivial matter after all.


    It''s just that she doesn''t understand the state affairs, and her husband doesn''t seem to care much, so she asked a few questions, but it''s not good to ask more.


    Emperor Chengkang had been waiting for Jiang Xu in the imperial study room since he left the early court. It wasn''t until the middle of the corner that the person he was waiting for arrived.


    Emperor Chengkang laughed angrily: "You are in a good mood, you didn''t come yesterday, why, you got a good night''s sleep in the mansion, and you practiced martial arts early this morning, and you thought about going out after having breakfast?"


    "How does His Majesty know?"


    Cheng Kangdi: "..."


    If he died suddenly, he probably was angered by Jiang Xu.


    He didn''t want to say a word, he just clicked on the two stacks of papers on the table: "Take a good look yourself."


    Killing Jiang Yanghou on the spot in the Pingguo mansion, no matter what the reason was, the officials were bound to impeach him. In the early morning today, all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty were discussing what happened in Pingguo''s mansion yesterday. After the court, the excerpts also flew onto Cheng Kangdi''s desk like snowflakes.


    Of course, Jiang Xu was not the only one who was involved, and many books were involved in the Pingguo Duke''s Mansion, and even Empress Zhang was involved.


    In fact, what worried Emperor Cheng Kang was not the death of Jiang Yanghou, but how to deal with Feng Zhao.


    Feng Zhao''s actions this time meant that he would die and die together, and he did it blatantly, and he didn''t expect to get out of his body at all. As for the catastrophe brought to Prince Yi''s mansion, in her opinion, it was just the end that father, queen, mother and concubine favored the eldest brother.


    After being imprisoned in Dazong Zhengsi, Feng Zhao confessed and even took the initiative to explain her plan clearly. Here, some private affairs of the Pingguo government were also involved.


    The reason why she was able to run amok in the Pingguo Palace is also due to the help of the internal staff in the Pingguo Palace.


    Gongqing''s family is intertwined, and the relationship between in-laws is also complicated. The third-bedroom master of Pingguo Gongfu has a flat wife, who is the concubine sister of Princess Yi, who is also Fengzhao''s aunt.


    Feng Zhao had known some important things about this aunt before, and this aunt had always been at odds with the third wife, she was always fond of embarrassing the third wife, coupled with the temptation of profit, Feng Zhao was able to act cheaply in the elegant market.


    She pleaded guilty thoroughly, and the Empress Dowager Su also made a rare speech on Zhai Nianci''s behalf. Everyone was waiting for an explanation. It would be impossible not to deal with Feng Zhao seriously this time.


    But after dealing with Feng Zhao, what should Nan Lu do with his marriage?


    Nanlu is a small country of Nanyi, next to Yuncheng, the terrain is high, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Due to the discord between Daxian and Beidi, the horse trade has been cut off for many years. Fortunately, Nanlu Kingdom is also rich in fine horses, and the two countries have always maintained a friendly relationship of tea and horse trading.


    This time, the new king of Nanlu wants to maintain a friendly relationship with Daxian, so he intends to send envoys to Daxian to marry a princess.


    This news was sent back by spies when the government was changed a month ago.


    Emperor Cheng Kang had no reason not to agree to such a trivial matter as raising a clan daughter and getting married.


    He had a brief discussion with Jiang Xu earlier, and he felt in his heart that Princess Fengzhao of Prince Yi''s Mansion was the best candidate for marriage.


    One is that Feng Zhao is at the right age for marriage, the other is that Prince Yi''s mansion does not touch both ends, and he has no scruples, and the third is that King Yi''s family has returned to Beijing from Yuncheng, and they are not unfamiliar with Nanlu. Other royal families are suitable.


    But he didn''t care too much about Yiwang''s mansion, and he never said hello to anyone about this matter. Yiwang and his wife didn''t know it, and they secretly planned to marry Fengzhao to Jiangyanghou, so that Fengzhao was desperate and dissatisfied, causing all kinds of troubles. somethin''.


    Now, even if the courtiers and other families can act as if nothing happened and agree to let Fengzhao get married, then Nan Lv is not a fool. It is not obvious to look down on them for giving them such a woman with a bad reputation. Are they Nanlu, are they married or enemies?


    Seeing that the envoy was going to Beijing in a few days, he couldn''t find a more suitable candidate.


    There are not many clan women of the right age, and Nanlu is a small country on the border, and it has already established a queen. Compared with becoming a concubine with relatives, clans with some backgrounds are naturally more willing to choose a son-in-law in Daxian.


    "Now you say, what should we do?" Cheng Kangdi asked.


    "Feng Zhao''s character is not suitable for getting married, so choose another."


    "You said it lightly, would you choose one for me to try?"


    Jiang Xu said lightly, "Master Yongle County."


    "Yongle can''t do it, what about Yongle..." Emperor Cheng Kang subconsciously wanted to dismiss it, but he didn''t know what he thought of, and suddenly paused again.


    Yongle was disheveled in the same room as Jiang Yanghou under the eyes of everyone, and she had already lost her innocence, but she was framed, and her conduct was not at fault.


    Moreover, the chastity of women that Daxian cares about is not worth mentioning in Nanlu. The folk customs in Nanlu are open, and the queens are all married for the second time, so they will definitely not mind this matter.


    In addition, Yongle is the granddaughter who is loved by the empress dowager, so marrying her will show the sincerity of the family. As for the Empress Dowager, she would definitely not agree in the past, but now that Yongle is in Daxian, it is difficult to find a good husband again, she is used to weighing the pros and cons, so she will not have any objections.


    In this way... Yongle is really the best choice!


    Chengkang Emperor Longyan Dayue shouted three "yes" in a row, and immediately drove to Shoukang Palace.


    Cheng Kangdi originally thought that because of the empress dowager''s temper, even if he agreed, he would deliberately delay thinking about it for two days, but he didn''t want her to ponder for a moment, so he agreed directly. This seems to be the first time in many years that the two have come to an agreement so quickly.


    That night, when Zhai Nianci heard the news in his residence, he was struck by lightning!


    Nothing happened between her and the Marquis of Jiang Yang, she is innocent, her future husband will naturally know that if she can''t go to Beijing, if she goes back to the north, why can''t she find a good marriage?


    But up to the queen mother, down to her parents, they all think that the concubines of Nanlu and other small barbarian countries are her best home now, and no one cares what she thinks!


    She wanted to enter the palace to see the queen mother, but the queen mother said that she was ill and would not see any guests for the time being. She was making a fuss in the mansion, at first her mother cared about her emotions and tried to persuade her gently, but then she was locked in the house directly and asked her to reflect and calm down.


    So what''s the difference between her and Feng Zhao?


    Back then in Daxiangguo Temple, she still mocked Fengzhao about her marriage, but now those mocking words turned back on her as if she had committed a crime. The so-called pampering given to her by the Empress Dowager is so insignificant!


    Zhai Nianci felt his teeth were cold for a while.


    Two days later, the matter of the Pingguo government was finally decided.


    Emperor Chengkang decreed that Princess Fengzhao murdered Princess Dingbei and County Master Yongle. His behavior was extremely bad and his crime was unforgivable.


    King Yi has no way to teach his daughter, and his virtue is lacking. He took the title of prince, demoted to king of Yijun, and moved back to Yuncheng.


    Although the Marquis of Jiangyang was dead, he humiliated the county lord, corrupted his morals, and died with more than culpability.


    At the end of the hundreds of essays, Emperor Chengkang said lightly that King Dingbei acted recklessly, Duke Pingguo was not strict in governing the family, and ordered the two to pay half a year as a punishment.


    Ming Tan felt that the other decrees were quite reasonable, but the last sentence of blaming her husband was just...?


    However, the civil and military officials of the whole court were not surprised, and even thought that this time the emperor ordered the words "behave recklessly" and fined him half a year''s salary, which is extremely difficult.


    With this decree, the matter of the Pingguo Duke''s Mansion has been successfully concluded. Generally speaking, Ming Tan is still very satisfied.


    It''s just that Zhai Nianci was obviously one of the links that framed her, but now he has become a complete victim. Although she couldn''t find a good relative in Shangjing, she was protected by the Queen Mother, and she was still at ease when she returned to the north. angry.


    But she soon lost her temper.


    Three days later, the envoys of the Nanlu Kingdom came to Beijing, intending to marry Princess Daxian. The Holy Majesty readily agreed, and even ordered Princess Yongle to descend to Nanlu to tie the knot between the two countries.


    And this Princess Yongle is the former head of Yongle County, Zhai Nianci.


    For the princess herself, the surrender of a princess from a great country has never been a good thing. Leaving home and being a concubine, few concubines and concubines have been able to die well. And only changed the royal surname Jiang, and didn''t even bother to change the title, it was extremely perfunctory.


    Although Ming Tan wasn''t angry, he didn''t gloat over others'' misfortune either. A woman''s fate is like duckweed, most of which she can''t help herself. It can only be said that this may be the bitter fruit of her own injustice.


    When Nan Lv came to Beijing this time, besides asking to marry the princess, he also paid tribute to Da Xian with many rare treasures and good horses.


    When a good horse entered the palace, Emperor Chengkang specially invited Jiang Xu to go to the racecourse to select it. Jiang Xu already had many famous horses, and he was not interested. But when he saw a snow-white pony, his eyes paused and his steps froze. After a pause: "Zhaoye Jade Lion."


    The horse master of the horse training department hurriedly replied: "My lord has good eyesight, the Zhaoye jade lion was born in the Western Regions, but this time Nanlu also donated a horse, it is just a young horse, it will take some time to grow up .¡±


    Jiang Xu looked at it for a while, then suddenly said: "The pony is not bad."


    Cheng Kangdi glanced at him inexplicably: "What do you want the pony to do?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, he only wanted this horse.


    Just at this time, a servant who was serving by Emperor Chengkang came back and said that the rare treasures that Nanlu paid tribute had also been cataloged and stored.


    "Well, the ones that are suitable will be handed over to the empress, and the harem will be rewarded. By the way," he remembered something, "I remember that among the tribute items this time, there is a pair of carved orchid ruyis, which were sent directly to the Concubine Lan''s palace."


    "yes."


    He casually asked Jiang Xu again: "Would you pick some to go back too?"


    Cheng Kangdi really just asked in a polite manner, the Dingbei Prince''s family has a great business, and there is no shortage of these things, and Jiang Qizhi is always simple, two sets of clothes can be worn for three months, if he hadn''t directly rewarded him , If there is anything on weekdays, it is mostly dismissed with a "no need".


    But I don¡¯t know if the Dingbei Palace was robbed today or what. It¡¯s rare that he took the initiative to ask for the horse back, but he nodded his head as he said, and specified the objects: "Silks and satins, jewels, hairpins and hairpins. Just one box."

 Chapter 49：

    Ming Tan originally thought that the Nanlu tributes from the palace were just ordinary rewards, and each family had quite a few.


    It wasn''t until a few days later that the Nanlu Mission escorted the surrendered Princess Yongle to leave the capital, and Empress Zhang found an opportunity to call her into the palace to talk, and only then did she know that it was not.


    "I wanted to call you into the palace a few days ago, but firstly I was busy with Princess Yongle''s surrender, and secondly I thought you were shocked, so it is better to rest more in the palace.


    "Speaking of which, I really wronged you a few days ago. The Duke of Pingguo''s hospitality was not good enough. I should compensate you for the Duke of Pingguo''s residence."


    "Your Majesty is serious, the ministers and concubines have nothing to do, but they are not feeling well. A few days ago, they got some snow green from Cangshan Mountain. I wanted to invite Hanmiao and the others to come to the house to have a meal. Is it because they are not feeling well and it is inconvenient to invite guests?" .¡± Ming Tan responded with a smile.


    She didn''t make much money for Duke Pingguo''s mansion, after all, the Holy Majesty reprimanded Duke Pingguo for "not strictly governing the family", if she bluntly said that she would not do anything about Duke Pingguo''s affairs, she would have paid a little bit of flattery. A little mention of the meaning of the chapter can be just right to show that she has no grudges against the Pingguo government.


    After hearing this, Empress Zhang flicked the teacup lightly, and said with a smile: "Speaking of the snow and greenness of Cangshan Mountain, Qizhi really loves you very much. The emperor came to Changchun Palace the day before yesterday and told this palace that if you were rewarded in the past, the capital of Qi It was a refusal, but this time Nanlu''s envoy paid tribute, but he specially asked for a box of silk and satin, a box of gem hairpin father and son for you, and later heard that Nanlu also paid tribute to Cangshan Xuelu, so he also had to leave halfway. I think that Zhao Yebai is also for you."


    etc¡­


    Those things were not rewarded by His Majesty, but the husband asked for them on his own initiative?


    Seeing her expression, Queen Zhang teased softly: "Why, you don''t know?"


    Ming Tan shook his head, a little embarrassed, half of the backs of his ears were red.


    Fortunately, Empress Zhang didn''t deliberately humiliate her anymore, and only told her aunt who was standing by her side: "The princess loves tea, so I will give the princess all the nectar that I got this year."


    "Yes." The aunt who stood there answered.


    Ming Tan was still shy, but he didn''t forget to follow the steps, stood up and thanked him: "''The only thing known in the qin is Lushui, and in the tea it is Mengshan.'' Thank you for your kindness."


    Concubine Shu, who was sitting beside her, chuckled lightly: "Princess Dingbei has a good appearance, a good temperament, and a good talent for learning. No wonder King Dingbei loves her so much."


    "Ms. Concubine Shu is absurdly praised." Ming Tan slightly nodded, dignified and slightly shy.


    This time when Empress Zhang called her to talk, it happened that several concubines came to Changchun Palace to pay their respects. Concubine Shu, who just spoke out, was heard to be an old man in the Eastern Palace of the Holy One. She had been with her for many years, and although her favor gradually faded, the Holy One has always treated her kindly because of the affection in the past, and she seemed a bit unwilling to fight.


    A woman in green clothes sitting at the bottom took Concubine Shu''s words smoothly, and added: "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is really a person who loves talents."


    "..."


    There was a sudden silence in the hall.


    When Ming Tan heard this, he thought it was just a compliment, and didn''t think there was anything wrong, but for a moment, the hall was so quiet that it was a little awkward and strange.


    She looked at it calmly, and found that several eyes fell on Lan Fei, who had been quiet on the opposite side intentionally or unintentionally. Lan Fei was also turning the lamp, and it seemed that because of these words, her movements subtly paused for half a breath.


    Ming Tan didn''t know much about Daxian''s harem, but he also knew that since Concubine Yu was imprisoned in the cold palace, Concubine Lan was the most proud in the harem.


    This concubine orchid was deeply favored by the Holy Grace, and she was promoted to two ranks in less than a year. She still jumped from nobleman to imperial concubine without achieving anything.


    I heard that this Concubine Lan is extremely talented.


    Ming Tan didn''t know why, thinking back and forth, he always felt that something was wrong.


    But before she could figure it out, Empress Zhang made up a few words to get rid of the topic, and then talked about the arrangements for going to the palace this year to escape the summer heat.


    "The emperor came to Changchun Palace the day before yesterday and talked about going to Yongchun Garden to escape the summer heat. Look at this day, it''s so vicious early in the morning. It''s time to move."


    The fast-talking green-clothed woman just now asked with some expectation: "Empress, when shall we set off?"


    "No surprises, it should be half a month later, and I have drawn up a list of entourage, but what the emperor means is that this time the harem will not bring many people, only Concubine Shu, Concubine Lan, Concubine Li, and Concubine Chun are ordered. There is Mrs. Mu." Empress Zhang glanced at her lightly, "Concubine Zhuang stays in the palace to take care of the palace affairs, noble lady, you are from Concubine Zhuang''s palace, so you should also stay in the palace to accompany Concubine Zhuang."


    Oh, it turns out that the concubine in Cuiyi is a noble person.


    Ming Tan didn''t make a sound, and secretly calculated... only five people were ordered, and including this noble lady who didn''t plan to bring along and Concubine Zhuang who left behind to take care of the palace affairs, there were seven concubines. Quite few, so the total number of concubines in the harem is at least twenty or thirty.


    Just as she was thinking about this, Queen Zhang looked at her again: "By the way, Wangfei, the emperor has also arranged a residence for your prince. If you have time, you might as well stay with him in Yongchun Garden. Yongchun Garden is the most quiet and beautiful. That¡¯s okay, it¡¯s also good to relax.¡±


    Ming Tan bent his lips hastily, stood up and politely said: "Yes, the Holy Majesty and the Empress are bothering."


    ¡­


    Ming Tan entered the palace for the first time, and came out of Changchun Palace around noon. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, Jia Gui who came out behind did not shy away and said mockingly: "How long has it been since Your Majesty came to Changchun Palace? The day before yesterday, I came to sit down for a while, and the Empress mentioned it over and over again like this!"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Is it okay to mock the queen like this in the harem?


    Just when Ming Tan was wondering, someone came up to talk to her: "Princess Dingbei."


    She turned her head: "Concubine Shu."


    Concubine Shu smiled, looked at Mrs. Jia not far away, and thoughtfully explained her doubts: "Mr. Jia is a girl from the Du family in Longxi. She has entered the palace not long ago. She has a straightforward temper. If there is any offense , I don''t think it was intentional, the princess doesn''t have to take it to heart."


    Longxi Du''s family, a century-old family.


    No wonder he was so reckless when speaking in the palace.


    It''s just that Mr. Jiagui offended her, could it be that Mr. Jiagui said earlier that "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is really a person who loves talents"?


    Ming Tan couldn''t help recalling the delicate atmosphere at that moment. It seems that all the clues are pointing to... Lan Fei.


    Concubine Shu seemed to think of something, and smiled softly: "The empress said, the concubine loves tea? There also happens to be some newly acquired green snow in the Jingting Pavilion in this palace, why not wrap it up and give it to the concubine. In this harem, Concubine Lan is the one who is best at tasting tea. This wooden tongue of this palace has never tasted anything good, so giving it to the concubine will save me from ruining it for nothing."


    It''s Concubine Lan again.


    Ming Tan seemed to understand something, after a moment of silence, she replied calmly: "Concubine Shu is too polite, since Concubine Lan is the one who is best at tasting tea, it would be more appropriate to give this tea to Concubine Lan .¡±


    Concubine Shu still smiled softly, but with a little bit of reluctance and self-deprecation: "I have some in this Palace, how could Concubine Lan not have them?"


    Ming Tan laughed softly when he heard the words, his voice was still soft and clean, but it sounded meaningful: "The lady has it, how do you know that the ministers and concubines don''t have it?"


    Concubine Shu was startled.


    But Ming Tan didn''t fight with her any more, bowed to her, and left straight away: "There are still important matters in the mansion, so I won''t stay any longer."


    Just now in the Changchun Palace, the first person to praise her for her talent was Concubine Shu, and then the noble lady quickly answered, and it was Concubine Shu who first looked at Concubine Lan, and then reminded her that noble lady Jia was guilty of what she said. Concubine Concubine Shu''s meaning, mentioning that Concubine Lan also loves tea - all kinds of things, this Concubine Shu is quietly guiding her to think, does her husband have something to do with Concubine Lan?


    It is true that Concubine Lan and her husband are indeed very suspicious, but this concubine Shu is not a good friend who has been quiet for a long time.


    They are all concubines of the emperor, and they can fight as much as they want in the palace. It has nothing to do with her, and they can do whatever they want. Do you want to use her hand to deal with Lan Fei? Sorry, no way.


    Although she didn''t pick up on Concubine Shu at all, Ming Tan still couldn''t care less. When she returned to the mansion, she sent someone to find out about Concubine Fan Lan''s details immediately.


    Concubine Lan''s details are not difficult to find out, she was born in a decent official family, her grandfather was the most prominent in her family, because her grandfather was an official worship minister of the Ministry of Rites, and also held the title of Taifu, the teacher of Prince Min Cong.


    Isn''t Prince Min Cong her father-in-law who passed away many years ago?


    Ming Tan was lying on the couch, leaning on the leading pillow to doze off, thinking of this, suddenly there was a very slight noise, someone opened the curtain and entered the room, the sound of footsteps was very familiar.


    Jiang Xu lifted the curtain of the bed, just in time to face Ming Tan who opened his eyes.


    "Husband, why are you back at this time?" Ming Tan was slightly surprised, she had never seen Jiang Xu return home at noon.


    "There is nothing in the army, so I went back earlier." Jiang Xu responded calmly, and glanced at her briefly.


    It''s sweltering in the summer, and Ming Tan was dressed too lightly when taking a lunch break indoors. Under the neck and shoulder bones, a large area of ??snow-white skin was exposed, and near the undulating hills, the smoky pink soft gauze enveloped her exquisite figure , the belt around her waist is half loose, and her slender waist seems to be too tight to hold.


    Jiang Xu''s eyes darkened slightly, and his voice lowered a bit: "Why didn''t you sleep?"


    "Some can''t sleep." Ming Tan didn''t feel anything, but got up and hugged Jiang Xu''s waist, and said lazily and coquettishly, "Is your husband sleepy? Why don''t you sleep with A Tan."


    Jiang Xu didn''t refute, Ming Tan took care of him to loosen his clothes, and talked about the matter of entering the palace today.


    She didn''t think about anything else, but she just wanted to have a lunch break with her husband, and by the way, it was best to ask her husband what the relationship between Concubine Lan and him was. .


    After Jiang Xu got on the bed, Ming Tan obediently rubbed his arms into his arms, still muttering about making the groundwork, laying the groundwork, laying the groundwork... Just now we talked about Nanlu''s tribute.


    "By the way, my husband, is that Zhaoyebai pony also given to me?"


    Jiang Xu said "Yes" and said, "I''ll teach you how to ride a horse when I have time."


    "..."


    No need.


    Why do you always want to teach her to do something unladylike!


    She directly avoided the topic and said: "I heard what the empress said, I went to the stables after I came back from the palace, and the little pony is really beautiful, snow white, without a single hair, I like it very much! Hmm... Then let''s call it ''Little White Rabbit'' from now on, shall we?"


    White Rabbit.


    That is obviously a jade lion.


    He didn''t respond, his eyes fell on the gaps in Ming Tan''s clothes that were becoming more and more messy, his Adam''s apple was rolling up and down, and suddenly he was holding onto something, Ming Tan paused, looked up at him in disbelief, he gently squeezed and rubbed slowly , the warm breath sprayed in her ears, and her voice was low, with a faint smile: "Well, it is indeed a little white rabbit."


    The author has something to say: Jiang Qizhi met ghs!


    Note: "The only thing known in the qin is Lushui, and it used to be Mengshan in the tea." From Bai Juyi''s "Qin Tea"

 Chapter 50：

    The sun was scorching at noon, the leaves were sun-drenched green, and the cicadas on the branches were constantly chirping, exuding the lazy atmosphere of midsummer.


    In the palace, many people were drowsy, but the tea room was not as busy as the other places. They had to wait for the masters to drink tea and water all the time. Although they were sleepy, they couldn''t avoid it.


    The two little girls were playing palm-leaf fans by the stove, when someone in front suddenly said that His Highness had returned, one of the girls hurriedly got up and went into the house to deliver tea, but after a while, the little girl came back with a face full of shame. In the tea room, the tea in his hand was not sent out.


    "What''s the matter? Didn''t you go to deliver tea?"


    The little girl was a little embarrassed to speak, and while fanning herself with a burning cattail fan, she muttered in a mosquito-like voice: "You will know if you go outside and listen."


    The girl who had been sitting by the stove was curious, so she got up and left the tea room.


    When it came to the entrance of the main house, there was an unexpected low moaning sound from inside, mixed with heavy panting, oh my god, it''s broad daylight! The little girl''s head buzzed, her face suddenly became hot, and she hurried back to the tea room.


    There was silence everywhere, only the boiling hot water on the stove was boiling, the cicadas on the treetops were making noise, the two little girls were blushing and flapping their fans, no one said a word, but they all thought in unison in their hearts: these two The master is also becoming more and more outspoken. Before, it was only at night, but now it is even tight during the day.


    In fact, Ming Tan didn''t expect that Jiang Xu would dare to do such a thing by her during the day.


    It doesn''t matter on weekdays and nights, but in this day and night, everything can be seen clearly, which is really embarrassing. She bit her lip and didn''t dare to make a sound, but Jiang Xu had a dark heart and always moved in a leisurely manner. When she got used to being undefended, he deliberately hit him hard, making her have to break and make a sound.


    ¡­


    It continued until the sun was setting.


    Bunches of golden sunset sun cast in from the window lattice, revealing a hazy halo.


    Ming Tan''s body was soaked in sweat and was sticky and greasy, he was already exhausted and had no strength left.


    She was taken to the quiet room to use the backwater, and when she returned to the bed, the maidservant who came to change the brocade quilt was about to leave. They all buried their heads very low, but their ears were so red, it was obvious that they had seen the bed on those Huan. The messy marks after love are a bit embarrassing.


    Everyone knows about doing this kind of thing during the day.


    Ming Tan was so ashamed and indignant that when he got off the couch, he rolled himself up in the brocade quilt, retreated into a corner, and forgot about Concubine Lan for a moment.


    Jiang Xu finished changing his clothes refreshedly, looked at the long one who was huddled inside the bed, and asked, "You don''t need dinner?" His voice was low and hoarse, with a bit of careless satisfaction.


    Ming Tan shook his head, and replied two words in a very low voice: "Not hungry."


    Jiang Xu didn''t force it: "I''m not hungry, so you rest. I''ll go to the study first."


    You are not hungry, of course you are not!


    Ming Tan slandered while biting the corner of the quilt.


    When Jiang Xu went to the study, he didn''t come out for several hours. During the period, there were secret guards reporting matters, and Shu Jingran came to him to play chess.


    Shu Jingran could obviously feel that Jiang Xu was in a good mood today, and he would say "um" at most when he had a lot of conversations on weekdays, but today he was still interested in asking one or two questions.


    "When I just entered the mansion, I met the extremely skilled maid next to the princess, the one who rescued the fallen lady and rescued me in the Pingguo mansion that day. Is she... from Jin Yunwei? "


    "Yunyi? Yes."


    Shu Jingran didn''t know what to think of, and suddenly laughed: "How can the palace treat people badly, and even buy roast chicken from outside."


    "Are you interested in her?" Jiang Xu asked unprecedentedly.


    Shu Jingran was stunned, and subconsciously wanted to deny it, but when the words of denial came to his lips, he couldn''t say anything.


    Just now when I met that girl Yun outside, he took the initiative to say hello, but there was no response from her. He reminded her about the matter of the Pingguo Palace that day, and she suddenly realized.


    But it was obvious that she was only following the orders of the princess that day, she didn''t know at all, and she never paid attention to whom she was helping.


    In the end, she politely asked if she wanted to eat roast chicken, but she asked honestly with her hands, she didn''t intend to give him the roast chicken at all, and she even breathed a sigh of relief after he politely refused.


    This cloud girl is really interesting.


    He unconsciously smiled again, but didn''t answer directly, he just said to Jiang Xu: "It''s the first time I see you are interested in these things."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Both were silent for a moment.


    "Actually, if it wasn''t for helping me out that day, the concubine wouldn''t have to suffer that kind of crime." Thinking about the Pingguo mansion, Shu Jingran felt a little guilty and apologetic, "Is the concubine in the mansion right now? I should apologize to her face to face. "


    "No need," Jiang Xu lowered his eyes, and said while drooping, "She''s sleeping in the room."


    "Sleep?"


    At this time, what kind of sleep should I make up for?


    "She is tired in the afternoon, and dinner is useless."


    Shu Jingran paused for a moment. Why did he feel that Jiang Qizhi''s words... seemed to have some deep meaning, and the explanation was so detailed... Maybe he wanted him to follow along and ask why the princess was tired in the afternoon?


    Thinking of this, he really asked along the way: "It''s hot in summer, and the sun is even more venomous at noon, what is the princess tired of doing?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer any more.


    But Shu Jingran felt that his question was not wrong. Jiang Qizhi just wanted him to ask such a question, and he didn''t answer it on purpose. From Jiang Qizhi''s stretched eyebrows, he seemed to catch a little enjoyment.


    Shu Jingran left the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion when it was almost Haishi. Jiang Xu followed him out of the study room, but Shu Jingran went out of the mansion, and he went back to Qi''an Hall.


    The night wind is blowing, and the dark fragrance is floating.


    When he returned to Qi''an Hall, Jiang Xu stopped outside the house and asked Su Xin: "Can the concubine eat something?"


    Su Xin respectfully replied: "I haven''t eaten yet, and the concubine hasn''t gotten up yet. Does Your Highness need some supper?"


    "Alright," Jiang Xu nodded, "Be prepared."


    "yes."


    Su Xin understood, turned towards Jiang Xu''s back as he entered the house, blessed Fushen, and hurried to the kitchen to prepare supper.


    She asked someone to prepare some of Jiang Xu''s favorite dishes, and specially prepared some of Ming Tan''s favorite ones.


    When Ming Tan was dug up by Jiang Xu to eat, his eyes were sleepy and he was a little dazed.


    She didn''t want to eat at first, so she was pushed softly by Jiaolalan twice, Jiang Xu didn''t call anymore, but ordered someone to put the supper beside the bed, and after a while, the scent of small scallion wontons went straight to her. Drilling in the nose, sleepy can''t help being woken up a lot.


    After a while, her appetite overcame her drowsiness, she sat up, rubbed to the edge of the bed, and sat side by side with Jiang Xu, her little jade feet swaying slightly.


    Because she just woke up, she was a little dazed and didn''t want to talk, so she quietly stared at the little wontons on the table, she was as cute as a baby, very cute.


    Seeing her staring at the little wonton, Jiang Xu calmly put the wonton in front of her.


    But who would have thought that she would blurt out: "Husband, hello."


    Jiang Xu paused.


    Su Xin, who was at the side of Bu Shan, couldn''t help but pursed her lips and snickered, and stepped back wisely.


    Ming Tan made this sound because she had just woken up and didn''t think about it. After she finished speaking, she reacted slowly.


    But when she realized it, Jiang Xu was silent, suddenly hugged her on his lap and sat on his side, and scooped up the small wonton slightly unfamiliarly, and fed it to her lips.


    Ming Tan was stunned for a moment, and ate.


    Immediately after the second scoop, the third scoop...


    Wontons are salty, but Ming Tan unconsciously has a hint of sweetness in his heart. After she was full, she gently hugged Jiang Xu, rubbed into his arms, and whispered coquettishly: "Husband, you treat Ah Tan very well."


    Jiang Xu put down the porcelain spoon.


    In fact, he didn''t understand why he would do this. He clearly felt that the princess he married was cumbersome and tiresome. It was best not to have any communication other than sex, but sometimes he always hinted to himself that both married If you miss her, you should treat her better, but it''s just a small request, and it doesn''t matter if you agree.


    She slid down a little, he picked her up, lingered on her neck, and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to go to Yongchun Garden to escape the summer heat?"


    "Yongchun Garden?" Ming Tan hurriedly raised his face, nodded with bright eyes, "Today, the empress also said that she will go to Yongchun Garden to escape the summer heat in half a month, and she also said that the Holy Majesty has reserved a place for you so that we can be free. Let''s go live together, I was going to tell you at noon, it''s all your fault..."


    She was thin-skinned, she didn''t finish her sentence, and when she thought about the embarrassing person, her body became inexplicably hot again.


    Jiang Xu didn''t feel embarrassed at all, as if he didn''t do all the things at noon, he pondered for a moment and replied: "Then I will take you to Yongchun Garden to escape the summer heat."


    "it is good."


    Speaking of Yongchun Garden, Ming Tan finally remembered about Concubine Lan. She got tired of Jiang Xu for a while, and suddenly asked: "By the way, sir, are you familiar with Concubine Lan in the palace?"


    "Concubine Lan? I''m still familiar."


    "What does it mean to be familiar?"


    "When she was young, she was accompanied by the princess and studied together."


    "Oh, childhood sweetheart."


    Jiang Xu was completely unaware of the jealousy of the little princess in his arms, and thought about it: "Her grandfather was my father''s mentor and took good care of me when I was young. When my father was around, he even intended to marry the two families."


    There is such a source.


    "Then why not?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, but Ming Tan felt speechless after asking. you still need to ask? Naturally, it was because his father died soon, and he would not be the grandson of the emperor soon either!


    She hurriedly changed the subject: "What does your husband think of Concubine Lan?"


    "How about what?"


    "It''s just...does your husband think there is something good about her?"


    "Good talent."


    Hearing Jiang Xu''s praise of other women''s talents, Ming Tan felt sour in his heart: "Then, then me or Empress Lan... who do you think is better?"


    Jiang Xu felt that the question was inappropriate: "What are you asking, is someone gossiping?"


    Ming Tan didn''t answer.


    "This king and Concubine Lan are only acquainted with each other, there is nothing else. The one who studied together at the beginning was the Holy One."


    "Oh."


    In fact, even a concubine like Mrs. Jia who has just entered the palace can find out about the past of Concubine Lan. Ming Tan knew that her husband and Concubine Lan should have nothing to do. She thought to herself, after all it was different.


    Hearing his explanation now, Ming Tan felt much relieved. He put his arms around his neck and whispered Xiao Hei like in his ear: "Today in the palace, Concubine Shu is soliciting disputes. Hint me, what''s the matter between your husband and Concubine Lan."


    Concubine Shu?


    very good.


    "Also, the husband hasn''t answered my question yet. Since the husband thinks that Concubine Lan is very talented, if the concubine Lan has not entered the palace, would the husband want to marry her? I am

 Chapter 51：

    The time sequence ends in midsummer, and in May, the sun is very harsh. Ming Tan is afraid of the heat, so he has to stay in the cold room next to the lotus pond for most of the day, and there is no ice in the Qi''an Hall.


    Fortunately, the day when the Holy Spirit moved to Yongchun Garden soon.


    Yongchun Garden is the royal summer garden. As the name suggests, the garden is like spring all the year round. Emperor Taizong once appointed ten places in the garden as "Ten Views of Yongchun". When the famous masters of the previous dynasty entered the garden to enjoy the scenery, they also wrote ten poems chanting the scenery, which were widely circulated later.


    The emperor moved to the palace, no matter how simple it is, the traveling team is also mighty. Jiang Xu was too lazy to join in the fun, so he brought Ming Tan into the garden after two days had passed since Shengjia moved to the palace.


    The residence that Emperor Chengkang left for Jiang Xu was named "Chunxing Pavilion".


    Outside the Chunxing Pavilion, Ming Tan looked up at the plaque. The words on the plaque are sharp and inexplicably familiar, but I can''t remember where the familiarity comes from.


    She bent her lips and exclaimed: "''Dark Water Flowing Flower Path, Spring Star Leads Thatched Cottage.'' The name is really well chosen, and the calligraphy is also very well written."


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu glanced at her.


    The servant who led the way nodded with a smile, and praised in agreement: "Your Highness is talented, so the name is naturally good, and the characters are also good."


    The corners of Ming Tan''s lips stiffened.


    This name was given by her husband? And this word... Oh, she finally understood why the familiarity came from just now. She saw her husband writing in the study once, and it was so sharp like a plaque.


    But she originally wanted to flatter the Holy Master without a trace in front of the servant, after all, the Holy Spirit never forgot to think about her husband...


    Jiang Xu seemed to have seen through her careful thinking, and said to the servant in a flat voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the king and the concubine."


    "yes."


    After the servant retreated, Jiang Xu walked straight forward with his hands behind his back, and Ming Tan also followed behind him in small steps. He looked around and asked curiously, "Husband, have you lived here before? Why are you called ''Chun''?" Star Pavilion''?"


    "It''s a good night."


    It''s a good night...? Ming Tan couldn''t help raising his head and looked at the sky. If the sky is clear at night, spring stars are dotted, and the clear stream beside the flower path is gurgling, she is sitting in the pavilion outside the pavilion playing the piano, and the husband is playing with the flute and flute. Thinking is also extremely beautiful. Oh, by the way, can my husband play the flute?


    She rushed to catch up and asked.


    "No, but this king can sword."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    You don''t have to.


    Seeing that Ming Tan didn''t make a sound, he asked back: "Don''t you think that when you dance swords and play the piano, you can also count as husband and wife harmony?"


    "Then, being able to sword and being able to dance with a sword seem to be different things."


    She never forgot the great feat of someone showing off his skills, killing a green calyx ten feet away with a single sword.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Chunxing Pavilion is located in the north of Yongchun Garden, which is usually the residence of the royal family.


    The west side of the garden is the residence of the concubines. Ming Tan heard that two days ago there was a dispute between the concubines because of the preference of the residence. She was puzzled, didn''t she just bring five concubines? The accommodation is not enough.


    Only later did I find out that the Holy Majesty originally planned to bring only five, but the women in the harem are all charming, one day she is charming and inviting, but tomorrow she is pitiful, and the Holy Majesty is a passionate person, so in just half a month, the concubines who accompanied them on the trip, That''s more than doubled.


    When Ming Tan talked in the Queen''s Palace that day, he only got a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of disputes in the harem, but this tip was enough to make her stay away.


    She made up her mind that if she could not go to the west during her short stay in Yongchun Garden, she would definitely not go there.


    After two days of peace, Queen Zhang sent someone to invite her to the theater to watch a show, and said that the lychees from the south had arrived, and they were fresh and delicious.


    Ming Tan put down the miscellaneous books in his hand, thinking that watching the opera, tasting tea and eating lychees would be a pleasure, and I heard that there is a cool room in the theater building, so there is nothing to heat it up.


    She didn''t refuse, she tidied up carefully, and left the door according to the time.


    It''s just that she ran into the third prince on the way. The third prince was young and naughty. He didn''t listen to the advice of the wet nurse and servant girl, and insisted on clamoring to climb the rockery. The rockery was quite high, Ming Tan felt that it was very dangerous, so he patiently persuaded him a few words.


    She originally thought that if she couldn''t be persuaded, she would send someone to report to the Empress Empress, but she didn''t expect that the little Douding would listen to her when she saw that she was born beautiful, so she came down obediently and didn''t say anything, and even ran forward shyly. She poked her face, then ran away again.


    Ming Tan was in a great mood, thinking narcissistically that she was quite popular with children.


    It''s just this delay. When Ming Tan arrived at the theater, everyone else had already arrived. She saluted Empress Zhang and explained why she was late.


    Naturally, Empress Zhang would not blame her. She was ordering a play, and when she saw Ming Tan arriving, she smiled gently and waved to her: "Come on, take a look at the play list, there are some plays you like to hear."


    What Ming Tan and Bai Minmin listened to together in the past were mostly the elopement trysts of gifted scholars and beauties, but these theaters were not allowed to be performed at all, so she ordered the reunion drama in a regular manner.


    After she finished ordering, Empress Zhang handed the playlist to Jia Shuyi and asked her to order.


    Ming Tan was surprised. In just half a month, that noble person who was unable to travel with the car not only traveled with the car, but also became Jia Shuyi.


    She looked at Jia Shuyi, who was full of spring, and saw her eyes flicking casually from the play list, and suddenly stroked her temples: "I''m tired of listening to the songs on this play list, why don''t you come out with "Mother of Meng''s Three Moves"?" Can you sing?"


    "Go back to Empress Shuyi, yes."


    She smiled with satisfaction, closed the playlist, and looked at Queen Zhang again: "For some reason, after being pregnant with the little prince, the concubine kept thinking and looking forward to it, and even thought of how to teach him in the future. My son came over and said that with such an impatient mother like Chenqie, the little prince in my belly might be impatient in the future."


    It turned out to be happy, no wonder.


    But the imperial physician couldn''t tell the difference between male and female, so she insisted that she was the little prince, which was too straightforward.


    Sure enough, soon some concubines laughed and said, "How would Jia Shuyi know that she must be the little prince, what if it''s a little princess?"


    Jia Shuyi showed an unsuspecting face, she didn''t answer, she just winked at the beauties beside her.


    The beauty in the palace costume hurriedly said: "Princes and princesses are naturally good, anyway, they are all for the emperor. Besides, it is Jia Shuyi''s blessing to be able to conceive. It is better than some people who can''t conceive at all." Be good." After saying this, Shu Jiayi and she both looked at Concubine Lan.


    Concubine Lan wore the Moon Palace dress and focused on the stage with a calm expression.


    Although she didn''t make a sound, naturally there were concubines who stood by her side to speak out for her.


    Ming Tan reservedly peeled the lychees, and while eating, he listened to these concubines coming and going, with a calm expression on his face, but in his heart he felt that the performance off stage was much more lively than on stage.


    In fact, if there is no prejudice, Ming Tan also thinks that Concubine Lan deserves to be favored just by listening to these things today. Her appearance and talent are all excellent.


    In the middle of the play, Concubine Shu came slowly. It turned out that the fourth princess raised under her name was spitting milk, and she took care of the fourth princess to fall asleep before rushing over.


    Of course, Empress Zhang would not blame her, so she asked someone to send the list of plays, and said as gently as before: "There is a play specially reserved for you, you can see which one you want."


    Concubine Shu smiled and took the playlist, looked at it for a while, and suddenly took the playlist and asked Concubine Lan who was sitting next to her: "My sister thinks this "Singapore Rain" is better, or this "Man-Moon" "Yuan" OK?"


    Concubine Lan pondered: ""Wu Tong Yu" is a bit sad."


    Concubine Shu nodded: "Then it''s Concubine Yilan''s sister, click on "The Full Moon"."


    As soon as Concubine Shu''s voice fell, Jia Shuyi laughed, and said inexplicably: "Concubine Lan actually likes this play, but in this play, Mrs. Wang and her husband are married with their fingertips, and they have a very deep relationship. I''m so envious. I just don''t know if Princess Dingbei likes it or not?"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    Watching a play doesn''t let her live in peace.


    The play "The Full Moon" was staged by a famous theater troupe in the former dynasty. It tells the story of a woman named Wang whose husband disappeared after he went to the battlefield. , the story of Wang''s keeping the clouds open to see the moon, and his love with her husband to the end.


    It is true that Jia Shuyi said that her fingertips are for marriage, but this is only a brief explanation in the play. When it comes to this play, everyone admires Wang''s love and kindness. She only uses her fingertips for marriage. Come out and say, the intention of provoking trouble is obvious.


    Concubine Lan didn''t think about this level at all, she paused in fanning, and subconsciously looked at Ming Tan.


    Others couldn''t help looking at Ming Tan. This is the princess of Dingbei appointed by the Holy Majesty, and her family background is still very prominent. If she hates Concubine Lan, then there will be good things to see in the future.


    But what is disappointing is that although Ming Tan loves to watch plays, she doesn''t like to let others watch her good plays.


    "This is very good. The Wang family is affectionate and righteous, and his husband is also a man who protects his family and defends the country without forgetting his heart. I am connected with Empress Lan." Ming Tan smiled and looked at Lan Fei, still far away. I respected her a glass of lychee wine from afar.


    Concubine Lan was a little startled, but she also nodded, covered her sleeves and drank.


    Jia Shuyi was choked up by Ming Tan''s nonchalant behavior, she remained silent for a while, and couldn''t help but said in a strange tone: "I didn''t expect the princess to drink so well, and her temper is even better."


    Ming Tan smiled softly, and her voice was also extremely gentle: "Jia Shuyi is so lucky, when my cousin is happy, she will feel nauseous after saying the first three sentences, and she will suffer from bad happiness."


    This means that, unlike you, you open your mouth while pregnant with a child and babble all over the place.


    "By the way, I wonder if Jia Shuyi reads every day? I heard people say that what the mother reads and talks on a daily basis, the child in her womb will follow after birth."


    This means, stop gossiping around and give the child in your stomach some morals.


    Jia Shuyi obviously understood, and her face was a little embarrassed.


    She was a bit jealous of Ming Tan''s identity, but she was spoiled and raised, and she has never been wronged when she entered the palace.


    "The princess has never conceived a child, so she knows a lot. Speaking of which, Dingbei Palace has not given birth to an heir, and the princess should hurry up. If she is unable to do what she wants, she might as well find someone to share it with her. His Royal Highness Dingbei is our eldest daughter." He is a **** of war, and heirs are a big deal."


    Although Jia Shuyi couldn''t speak her head, her words really touched Ming Tan''s weakness. Ming Tan was about to respond, but suddenly two slender figures walked in from outside the cold room.


    Jiang Xu glanced at Jia Shuyi, and then his eyes settled on Ming Tan whose cheeks were a little flushed after secretly drinking the lychee wine. His voice was very cold, as if he had been soaked in ice for a long time, and he said casually: "I don''t know , little Shuyi can be the master of Dingbei Palace."


    The author has something to say: "The dark water flows along the flower path, and the spring stars lead the thatched cottage." From Du Fu''s "Night Banquet Zuo''s Village"

 Chapter 52：

    The audience was silent, and for a moment, the theater building and the cool room below were so quiet that a needle could be heard. I don''t know who stood up first, the beauties in palace costumes all stood up in twos and threes, and saluted together: "I have seen the emperor, the emperor is blessed and safe."


    Emperor Cheng Kang didn''t make a sound, everyone was half-blessed and didn''t dare to get up by himself as usual, even Jia Shuyi who was very proud of her child was not at all pretentious, tense and half-yielding, behaved well.


    Cheng Kangdi''s expression was difficult to distinguish, and he walked up to Jia Shuyi with his hands behind his back.


    Jia Shuyi was also obedient, she knew something was wrong, she quickly admitted her mistake and said: "The concubine made a slip of the tongue, please be punished by Your Majesty."


    She was also used to speaking bluntly in front of Emperor Chengkang on weekdays, and said many things that were out of order. Cheng Kangdi was used to beauties in the harem being obedient and respectful, so he indulged her occasional presumptuousness.


    This time I accidentally offended His Royal Highness King Dingbei. She thought that she would admit her mistake obediently, and the emperor would at most reprimand her and she would gently expose the matter. After all, she usually refuses to admit her mistake or admits it reluctantly. Well, the emperor didn''t really take her seriously.


    But Cheng Kangdi''s attitude today was a bit unexpected, his voice was cold and majestic: "If you don''t change after repeated admonition, I should punish you."


    "Your Majesty!" Jia Shuyi hurriedly raised her head.


    "Come on."


    Seeing that Emperor Chengkang was going to make a real move, she hurriedly turned around, gave Jiang Xu and Ming Tan a deep blessing, and quickly said before Emperor Chengkang gave orders: "My lord, my concubine, just now I made a slip of the tongue, please ask my lord and my concubine Forgive me."


    Ming Tan looks at Jia Shuyi with admiration at the moment, she is not brainless at all, at least at critical moments, she is very relaxed.


    Jia Shuyi is indeed considered Zhang Zhi frivolous in the harem. Relying on her good family background, she often provokes high-ranking concubines, bullies low-ranking concubines, and even dares to insinuate that the queen is unfavorable outside the queen''s palace. It is the family background and the arrogance that is not afraid of death.


    She knew that Concubine Lan had always been an innocent and talented girl, so she must have disdain to argue with her. As long as she was not too presumptuous, Concubine Lan would not fight back.


    And the empress always maintains a magnanimous, virtuous and dignified demeanor of the mother of the country. In her eyes, all the quarrels in the harem are nothing more than concubines. Even if she arranges a few words about her in private, she would not bother to do it Put down your figure and make more calculations.


    Just now she ridiculed Ming Tan, she was out of breath for a while, she really lost her sense of proportion, unfortunately, she was bumped into by the emperor and King Dingbei again, the emperor was fine, mainly because King Dingbei killed a Hou Ye a while ago. What else can I do when I meet this unprovoked killing god, I can only admit cowardice.


    She admits it without hesitation, but there is no reason in this world that if you admit it, others must accept it.


    "If you commit a crime, you can cover it up with a slip of the tongue, and what you want the law to do." Jiang Xu said coldly.


    Emperor Chengkang pondered for a moment, then nodded: "King Dingbei''s words are reasonable, come, Jia Shuyi..."


    Seeing this, Jia Shuyi was in a hurry, and suddenly frowned and covered her stomach, shouted softly, and made an appearance of patience: "Chen, my stomach¡ª"


    The palace concubine who helped her talk before helped her to sit down, and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, Jia Shuyi is not feeling well, maybe it is caused by the fetus in the womb. According to my concubine''s opinion, it is better to let Jia Shuyi go back to rest first." Come on, it¡¯s not too late to talk about other things later.¡±


    "If you''re not feeling well, you can rest if you rest. If there''s an emergency over there, can you wait until you get better?" Jiang Xu said casually, "If there''s a war, fight it, and if you''re sick, treat it."


    Emperor Cheng Kang glanced at Jia Shuyi, and ordered in a deep voice: "Come here, please ask the imperial physician."


    Jiang Xu: "Please confer the title of Imperial Physician."


    Jia Shuyi bit her lip and looked at Emperor Chengkang: "Your Majesty, the concubine''s concubine''s fetus has always been seen by Imperial Doctor Li."


    "Shuyi can''t trust the Imperial Physician?"


    She held back the panic and fear in her heart and said: "Then, can the prince not trust Doctor Li?"


    "I can''t believe it."


    "..."


    Only His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang dared to say this.


    There was no one to refute, and Emperor Chengkang sat at the head with mixed emotions, waiting for the doctor Feng to come to take the pulse.


    In fact, everyone present here is very clear in their hearts, how can they be unwell by such a coincidence, whether they will be given a step or not, it is all up to the emperor''s will.


    It''s just that His Royal Highness Ding Bei Wang would be so serious for the sake of the princess, and directly made the decision for the emperor, not to give Jia Shuyi any shame.


    Sure enough, Imperial Physician Feng took the pulse several times carefully, and said cautiously: "Return to Your Majesty, the dragon fetus in Empress Shuyi''s womb is very stable. It stands to reason that it should not have abdominal pain. This abdominal pain... I really don''t know where to come from." come."


    Jia Shuyi was terrified in her heart, she bit her lip and dared not speak out.


    Emperor Chengkang looked at her for a while, and suddenly he blew his head angrily: "Pa¡ª¡ª"


    The sound of porcelain shattering was extremely crisp, and everyone knelt down unconsciously. Only Jiang Xu stood with his hands behind his back, fearless of the emperor''s wrath.


    "Jia Shuyi''s words and deeds are insignificant, and she uses her son to favor her, so she is not worthy of the position of Shuyi. She will be demoted to a noble person, and she will be confined until she returns to the palace, so she can calmly raise her baby and think about her past." Emperor Chengkang made a final decision in a calm voice. conclusion.


    Jiang Xu nodded slightly: "Your Majesty is wise."


    Others also hurriedly shouted: "Your Majesty is holy!"


    Cheng Kangdi: "..."


    He glared at Jiang Xu angrily.


    Jiang Xu seemed not aware of it: "If there is nothing wrong, I will leave."


    Cheng Kangdi waved his sleeves, signaling him to get out of here.


    He turned around and walked in front of Ming Tan, stretched out his hand towards Ming Tan who was still kneeling on the ground, and said quietly: "Get up."


    Is this possible?


    It seems that no one has an opinion.


    Ming Tan paused, carefully stretched out his little hand, and slowly got up. After getting up, she bowed to Emperor Chengkang, and was led by Jiang Xu obediently, and left the cool room step by step.


    Concubines: "..."


    It was a little envious.


    Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief when she walked to a place far away from the cold room, but she was still worried, and while taking small steps forward, she asked after deliberation: "Husband, you are like that just now, will the emperor be a little... "


    As if forcing the emperor to dispose of Jia Shuyi, I always feel that the emperor will be dissatisfied with him. How to put it, Jia Shuyi is pregnant with dragon sons, and the face of dragon sons should be given.


    If Jia Shuyi is depressed because of this and hurts the fetus in the womb, it is hard to guarantee that the emperor will not have a grudge against him in the future.


    But Jiang Xu didn''t take it seriously, he just replied: "It''s okay."


    Since he said this, he presumably had his own sense of propriety, and although he didn''t know why, Ming Tan also felt that Emperor Chengkang''s trust in Jiang Xu seemed to have exceeded the trust that ordinary monarchs and ministers and royal cousins ??should have.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan nodded obediently, and did not continue to ask. It''s just that she hesitated again, and talked about another topic coyly: "Actually, what Jia Shuyi...Jiagui said is true. Husband, we have been married for more than three months, and my stomach doesn''t seem to be moving at all. "


    "It''s only March, what do you want to do?"


    "Then many people are newlyweds and they will be happy..."


    "Then many families still have no heirs for life."


    "..."


    "Which one?"


    Ming Tan was genuinely curious.


    Jiang Xu paused: "I''m not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry, and a woman''s early pregnancy is not good for her body."


    "Oh."


    When Jiang Xu said that, Ming Tan was relieved a lot. Since the husband is not in a hurry, then she is not in a hurry, and she really has no plans to become a mother.


    The garden is quiet in the evening.


    Jiang Xu left the garden and went to work in the military camp. Ming Tan was bored playing the piano in the pavilion, but Concubine Lan came to find her on her own initiative.


    Ming Tan was slightly surprised: "Lady Concubine Lan."


    "Princess." Lan Fei saluted.


    Lan Fei is a light and graceful beauty, her temperament is somewhat similar to that of Shen Hua, but in comparison, Lan Fei is more calm, looking a little cold and cold. Ming Tan has seen her several times, but has never heard of her. Said a few words.


    Before Ming Tan could speak, Concubine Lan took the initiative to explain: "Thank you, Concubine Wang, for not caring about me today. I really have no other intentions when I click on "The Full Moon".


    "I know, Concubine Lan doesn''t have to worry about it."


    Concubine Shu asked her to choose between "The Rain of the Indus" and "The Full Moon", and it was absolutely impossible for her to choose "The Rain of the Indus".


    Sadness is one thing, the most important thing is that "Wu Tong Yu" is about the love between the emperor and his favorite concubine, and the queen is still sitting there, so what''s the matter praising the true love between the emperor and his favorite concubine?


    "It''s just that the harem is full of chaos. Concubine Lan needs to be more careful in the future." She reminded.


    Concubine Lan didn''t know what to think of, she was silent for a while, then nodded lightly: "By the way, I saw that Wangfei likes to eat lychees today, and there happened to be some fresh ones in the palace, so I brought them over along the way."


    Ming Tan saw it, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Concubine Lan, for your kindness."


    Ming Tan really likes to eat lychee, but this fresh lychee is a rare item, this time the tribute, apart from the queen, only the second concubine Shulan, as well as the noble lady who is pregnant.


    Yesterday, Chunxing Pavilion also sent a small basket, she had already finished eating it, and today I used another small dish in the cold room, still a bit greedy, I didn''t expect that Concubine Lan would like her, and look at it This amount is to send all the rewards from the emperor.


    Concubine Lan said again: "The lychee is warm in nature, but it will be cold after being soaked in the ice mirror. It is better for the princess to eat slowly."


    Ming Tan reservedly agreed.


    But after Concubine Lan left, Ming Tan hurriedly ordered the maid to put out all the lychees.


    It''s not watching a show in the cool room, and she doesn''t have to peel it by herself. While eating the ice lychees peeled by the maidservants, people are dyed with Danko, and Su Xin is still reading to her, listening to the night wind. Cozy" is a great word.


    But if he knew that the price of this comfort was abdominal cramps in the middle of the night, and the whole Yongchun Garden mistakenly thought that someone was killed in the Spring Star Pavilion, and the Holy One almost came here, Ming Tan would definitely listen to Lan Fei''s words.


    "How is the princess?"


    Imperial Physician Feng deliberated: "Princess eats too much ice lychee, again, again..."


    "And what?"


    "The letter arrives again every month, so I have cramps in my lower abdomen."


    Doctor Feng was startled by the anxious look when the servant girl came to look for him, and the sweat on his back was blown dry by the wind, and it was still chilly: "My minister has prescribed a remedy for the concubine. It varies from person to person, and it may take some time before the pain can be relieved."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    He was in the camp tonight, he was going to hold a candle meeting with the generals who came back from Qingzhou, when someone came to report that the concubine had abdominal cramps, her face was pale, she suspected that someone had poisoned her, so he had to leave all the generals behind and hurried back.


    But I ate too many lychees.


    He was silent, and suddenly lifted the curtain and entered the room.


    Inside the house, Ming Tan curled up on the couch, he had no strength to cry anymore. The lower abdomen was still cramping, and every time it hit, beads of sweat would roll down her forehead, she curled up into a small ball, the pain was so painful that her consciousness was a little blurred.


    The matter discussed today is very important, and Jiang Xu was a little bored to be interrupted by such absurd things. Seeing her disheveled hair, pale face, uncomfortable and pitiful appearance, the boredom immediately are replaced by other emotions.


    He sat on the edge of the couch, and gently helped her brush away the hair sticking to her face. His rough fingertips stayed on her soft little face for a while, and just as he was about to lean over, he met her dimly opened eyes again.


    "Husband." Her voice was very small, and she was crying, "What''s wrong with A-Tan, is A-Tan going to die?"


    "Nothing, don''t be afraid."


    He thought for a while, picked her up, held her in his arms, and pressed his warm palm against her lower abdomen.


    "What''s the matter with Ah Tan? He bled a lot just now. Could it be that he ate something wrong and had a miscarriage?"


    She had never felt such pain in the past, and today she frequently mentioned the matter of pregnancy, so she subconsciously thought about it.


    Jiang Xu had no idea why she thought of this, and was speechless for a moment, not knowing whether he should answer or not.


    Seeing that he didn''t make a sound, Ming Tan thought it was a tacit agreement, and tears flowed down his face: "A Tan is sorry for our unborn child, it''s all Ah Tan''s fault, what is it, is it Jia Guiren? ..."


    "No, it''s not a miscarriage, it''s just that I ate too many frozen lychees and received a monthly letter." Jiang Xu had no choice but to explain.


    "..."


    Ming Tan immediately stopped crying, looked at Jiang Xu with teary eyes, and hiccupped unconsciously.

 Chapter 53：

    In the middle of the night, the moon is melting, the stars are dotted, and the candles in the Chunxing Pavilion are also brightly lit.


    When Ming Tan found out that what he had thought was an oolong, he felt a little embarrassed after his heart was settled. But she didn''t embarrass herself in front of Jiang Xu once or twice, and now she can handle it with ease.


    A few moments after she hiccupped her tears, she immediately frowned and covered her lower abdomen, laying on Jiang Xu''s shoulder, and said angrily, "Husband, it hurts so much, Ah Tan''s stomach hurts so much."


    Although she was changing the subject, Ming Tan didn''t lie, her stomach was still throbbing and aching.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know how to appease her, so he just patted her on the shoulder, and comforted her unskillfully: "Be patient."


    Fortunately, the medicine prescribed by Imperial Physician Feng was finally decocted and brought in. The medicine was warm, and brown sugar should have been put in it, it was sweet. Jiang Xu patiently fed him spoonfuls, Ming Tan was also obedient, and didn''t resist at all.


    It''s just that, as the doctor Feng said, colic varies from person to person, and Mingtan did not show signs of relief after drinking it for a long time.


    Su Xin fed Pozi Tang again and brought it in, Jiang Xu took it, and according to Su Xin''s words, put it on Ming Tan''s lower abdomen through the inner garment.


    But using Mrs. Tang in this hot day, Ming Tan sweated more and more. It was just pain, but now there was a lot of heat. She felt as uncomfortable as a sick kitten, her lips were pale, and she could only curl up softly in Jiang Xu''s arms. middle.


    I don''t know if it was retribution for changing the subject of the stomach pain just now or what, after a long time, she still felt that the stomach pain became more frequent and severe.


    "Husband, Ah Tan really hurts." She couldn''t help crying out aggrieved.


    Jiang Xu hugged her tightly, put his chin against her head, gently rubbed her hair, and comforted her unnaturally: "Be good, don''t cry."


    "Husband, can you just knock A Tan unconscious, so that there will be no pain."


    Not to mention, Jiang Xu really thought about it seriously.


    But soon Ming Tan choked again and said: "Forget it, it hurts to be knocked out, if you don''t faint after one blow, it''s too much suffering... Does your husband know acupuncture points? Are there any acupuncture points that can make you faint with just one tap? "


    Yes, there are, but the acupuncture points that can make people fall into drowsiness immediately are very dangerous.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know what to think of, and suddenly put her on the couch, lowered the curtain, and summoned Imperial Physician Feng to come in.


    "Prince doctor, the concubine''s abdominal pain has not been relieved yet, can I take medicine or give acupuncture to make her fall asleep?" he asked.


    Ming Tan added in a low voice in the tent like a little pitiful: "Don''t give needles, it''s very painful."


    "This..." Physician Feng thought for a while, "This disease should be relieved rather than blocked. I''m afraid it''s inappropriate to use random medicine. In this way, I will reduce the dosage and prepare a dose of soothing soup for the princess, so as to help the princess fall asleep as soon as possible. What does the prince think?" ?¡±


    Now there is no other way.


    Jiang Xu nodded in agreement.


    Imperial Physician Feng hurriedly bowed and resigned, and went to prescribe prescriptions for Ming Tan.


    After a while, the calming soup came, and Ming Tan drank the bowl of soothing soup that the imperial physician personally stared at, but she was not so relieved yet, and she wanted to go to the toilet, after all, the soup was full of water. Several bowls.


    So Jiang Xu carried her to the couch again.


    Jiang Xu wanted to carry her directly to the toilet, but Ming Tan was afraid of embarrassment, so he almost lost his voice, and refused to let her go. He only asked the maid to help her, and walked to the toilet with difficulty.


    In her situation, going to the toilet is also very troublesome, she has to endure the pain to change the menstrual belt, and insist on cleaning her hands and face.


    After all the tossing, it was almost three o''clock when I returned to the bed.


    Fortunately, Ming Tan''s lower abdominal cramps eased a little, and he finally felt a little drowsy.


    Mrs. Tang was already cold, and she refused to let her drink any more, saying that she was too hot, so she only moaned and asked Jiang Xu to warm her with his hands. Help A Tan rub his stomach, okay?"


    Jiang Xu was responsive at this moment, kissed her on the brow and eyes, and patiently helped her rub her belly.


    "Okay, go to sleep." His voice was low, and there was a rare gentleness in his voice.


    Ming Tan felt that the pain in her lower abdomen was gradually disappearing, and her consciousness was also slowly disappearing.


    When Ming Tan fell into a deep sleep, Jiang Xu slowed down rubbing his stomach. He looked at Ming Tan in his arms, and he didn''t know what he was thinking, but his expression was much softer than usual.


    That night, no one in Chunxing Pavilion fell asleep, and the nobleman of Fengzhixuan also didn''t close their eyes all night.


    She only had quarrels with Princess Dingbei during the day, and at night Princess Dingbei suffered from abdominal cramps and was suspected of being poisoned, how dare she close her eyes? If she was really poisoned, wouldn''t everyone be the first to suspect her? !


    So here comes the question, is someone trying to use her name to get rid of Princess Dingbei, or is someone trying to make this happen deliberately to put the blame on her?


    Who is the one? Queen? Concubine Lan? Or did Princess Dingbei sing a play by herself?


    Since she was poisoned, she naturally had to find out where the poison came from, so she shouldn''t have been planted with nails here, hiding the poison in the house in advance so that when someone comes to search, she can catch someone and get it, right?


    Thinking of this in the middle of the night, Mr. Jia couldn''t sit still, turned upside down the Fengzhixuan where he lived overnight, and even brought many servants into the house for interrogation.


    This busy work has been busy until dawn, but there is no result from the busy work. Mrs. Jiagui is pregnant, her eyes are black and blue, she is very tired, and she really can''t hold on.


    Just at this time, someone came to report: "Your Majesty, Princess Dingbei was not poisoned last night, it seems that she... ate some iced lychees and got upset."


    "..."


    Jiagui''s hand supporting his forehead slipped, and after a long while, his eyes became dull, and he asked slowly: "What did you say? Frozen lychee, stomach upset?"


    "yes."


    For some reason, Mrs. Jia rolled her eyes and passed out from anger.


    Not only Jiagui knew about Ming Tan''s trouble, but everyone else also knew about it. After all, Yongchun Garden is so big, and everyone is paying attention, so they can''t hide it if they want to.


    Ming Tan now feels very regretful in his heart, and has no face to go out.


    Back then, Liang Jiaming, Chu Fengzhao and Yongle''s designs failed to destroy her reputation that she had carefully maintained for more than ten years, but now she accidentally planted it on a few ice lychees! She felt like she was about to suffocate just thinking about being talked about behind her back that Princess Dingbei could eat a lychee and someone would assassinate her!


    The only good news is that no one dared to discuss it in front of her.


    Having no face to go out these few days, Ming Tan had to stay in the Spring Star Pavilion and embroidered the sachet for Jiang Xu that he had agreed upon earlier.


    No matter how delicate the sachet is, it doesn''t take much time to make it. After embroidering the sachet, Ming Tan had nothing to do. exercise.


    Earlier, she promised Jiang Xu that she would learn archery, but it was one thing to promise, and another to learn it. She hid herself from laziness, pretended to sleep today, and couldn''t get up tomorrow, so she dragged herself to Yongchun Garden and didn''t go again Pass the martial arts arena in Fuchu.


    This time she was on a whim, and she was afraid that Jiang Xu would think that she was unwilling to teach her archery again and again, so she sold the colic in the lower abdomen and offered bribes with carefully sewn sachets. Of course, the result was very smooth. Jiang Xu agreed to the matter again.


    Although there is no martial arts arena in Chunxing Pavilion, there is a bamboo forest behind it. Jiang Xu asked someone to set up an archery target in the open space in the forest, and specially ordered someone to send her a small bow that was custom-made for her before.


    As the saying goes, if a worker wants to benefit from his work, he must first sharpen his weapon. Jiang Xu thinks this way, and Ming Tan thinks the same way, but her sharp weapon is not the bow, but the archery suit.


    After she decided to learn archery, she leaned over the table and drew a picture of Zhang Xue''s archery clothes, marked the color matching clothes on the side one by one, and sent someone to Jinxiu workshop in a hurry.


    Jinxiufang also lived up to her expectations, and within two days, a learning archery uniform that was exactly the same as the picture she drew came out.


    After Ming Tan changed into it, she was very satisfied: "Husband, does it look good? Doesn''t Ah Tan look very heroic in this dress!" She held up the skirt and spun around in front of Jiang Xu, her eyes bright and her teeth shining brightly.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Ming Tan also said: "I also asked someone to make a pair of small boots, but they haven''t been delivered yet. If I put on the small boots, this body will be more perfect, and it will definitely look better by then!"


    "Archery lies in posture, strength, and accuracy, not clothes." Jiang Xu couldn''t help reminding.


    "No, Ah Tan thinks that it''s important to have a good posture and strength, but it''s also important to have a suit of neat clothes."


    "What''s important?"


    "The important thing is to be in a good mood." Ming Tan said confidently, "Archery and war are actually the same thing. When you lead the army into battle, my husband, don''t you need to boost morale first? Although Ah Tan doesn''t know the art of war, he also knows that morale is not good. The key to winning a war is the same, the interest and enthusiasm in learning archery is also the key to achieving remarkable results in learning archery. Wearing clothes that make you feel happy and learning archery full of energy will not make you get twice the result with half the effort?"


    "..."


    There are so many fallacies.


    Jiang Xu didn''t bother to pay attention to her, so he took a step outside first, and Ming Tan hurriedly followed.


    Walking all the way to the bamboo forest, Jiang Xu handed the small bow to Ming Tan, planning to teach her the correct archery posture first.


    Ming Tan reached out to catch it, but as soon as she took it, she was almost staggered forward by the small bow, and had to use both hands to stabilize it.


    "Why is it so heavy?"


    Ming Tan was startled, seeing the delicate and delicate bow, the weight was really beyond her understanding.


    She was startled for a while, then looked at the normal-sized bow and arrow Jiang Xu was holding in one hand: "Husband, is yours heavy too?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t speak, and handed the bow to her directly.


    Mingtan held the small bow just now with both hands, and she could still hold it, but Jiang Xu''s bow was so heavy that she felt that she could hold it tightly, so she hurriedly returned it.


    Ming Tan really didn''t expect it, she thought that she would shoot empty or could not shoot at all, but she never expected that she couldn''t even hold the bow, even holding it! No! rise! Come!


    The atmosphere froze suddenly.


    Jiang Xu actually thought that she was weak, but he didn''t expect that she was so weak that he had to use two hands to support the small bow and arrow.


    Ming Tan coughed, and tried hard to hold the small bow with one hand. She could hold it, but she could only hold it by her side and couldn''t lift it up at all. She tried to lift her arm a few times until it reached Half of the arm is so sore.


    Ming Tan has some doubts about life: "Husband, why don''t we start today and take a rest...?"


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Her plausible fallacies just now are still in my ears.


    Of course, Ming Tan will not forget what she said just now, her face became hot for a while, and she said in embarrassment: "My husband, you should practice by yourself, Ah Tan will go to have some breakfast first, maybe it is useless to eat, the body No energy."


    After she finished speaking, she turned around and hurried back, covering her face, muttering in her heart: I''ve lost my life, I''ve lost my life.


    At this moment, a small snake suddenly sprang out from the bamboo gap in front of it, and moved nearly ten feet away.


    Ming Tan was afraid of snakes, so before his legs went limp and screamed, a flash of sword light flashed in front of his eyes, Jiang Xu moved to Yi Ying and approached him, and slashed seven inches with his sword at a speed so fast that he couldn''t see clearly. , the sword fell back and was inserted on the ground in front of Ming Tan, the blade was still shaking.


    "Non-toxic, don''t worry. But don''t come to the bamboo forest alone on weekdays."


    Ming Tan was indeed frightened, but staring at the sword, for some reason, she suddenly remembered a few conversations with Jiang Xu when she entered the garden a few days ago:


    "Husband, can you play the flute?"


    "No, but this king knows how to sword." "Don''t you think that playing the piano while dancing with the sword is also considered as husband and wife harmony?"


    "Then, being able to sword and being able to dance with a sword seem to be different things."


    At that time, she followed the Huatou and didn''t think there was anything wrong, but now when she saw the sword, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.


    How did the husband know that she felt that playing the piano and playing the piano together during the sword dance can also be considered as husband and wife harmony? If I remember correctly, she seems to have only made a wish in Lingmiao Temple.

 Chapter 54：

    Returning from the bamboo forest to the house, Ming Tan was a little absent-minded, occasionally glanced at Jiang Xu, but hesitated to speak.


    Jiang Xu thought she was frightened by the snake, so he didn''t think much, just sipped the porridge and read the mansion newspaper delivered early in the morning.


    In the end, Ming Tan couldn''t bear it anymore, and asked sideways: "Have you ever heard of Lingmiao Temple, Husband?"


    Lingmiao Temple?


    Jiang Xu paused for a moment, then continued to drink the porridge, without even raising his eyes, he just asked calmly, "Didn''t you pray for blessings there after you divorced the Duke Ling''s mansion?"


    "Ah, yes..."


    Ming Tan buried her head and supported her forehead, closed her eyes and wished she could slap herself twice, how could she forget about the divorce.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s nothing." Ming Tan hurriedly changed the subject, and put a piece of shortbread for him, "Husband, try this, Su Xin specially went to pick fresh flower petals to bake this morning."


    Jiang Xu picked it up without further questioning.


    Ming Tan secretly heaved a sigh of relief, she didn''t want to talk to her husband about the old calendar of divorce, and it wasn''t a good thing that Guangzong Yaozu would make her look good.


    Seeing that Lingmiao Temple can''t bring up the topic anymore, Ming Tan didn''t know how to ask again, so he could only comfort himself, just now, the husband answered the words just like half a minute, and it has nothing to do with her chanting in the temple, maybe she was talking in her sleep , or maybe she said it by accident but she doesn''t remember it herself.


    Jiang Xu flipped through the mansion newspaper, glanced at Ming Tan who was still resting his forehead in frustration, and the corners of his lips raised unconsciously.


    Today Emperor Chengkang summoned Jiang Xu to have an audience. Before going out, Jiang Xu gave the secret guard an order: "Take people to the bamboo forest and kill all the snakes." He said it calmly.


    "Yes, this subordinate takes orders."


    The secret guard took the order happily, but when he turned around, he thought blankly: Killing the snake, it would be more enjoyable than letting him kill people.


    There are many snakes and insects in midsummer. Even if the bamboo forest is cleared, there are many plants and trees in the Yongchun Garden, and there are many snakes from other places. How to clean it?


    Qingping Hall is empty and quiet, with aloes curling up.


    Cheng Kangdi and Jiang Xu sat at the chess table and played chess.


    As an emperor, Emperor Chengkang naturally knows everything. In terms of chess, he doesn''t need Jiang Xu to release water, and he can evenly share with him.


    At this moment, Emperor Chengkang talked about political affairs with Jiang Xu while he was sitting down: "Yesterday, Yu Bozhong, the ship envoy of Lingzhou City, handed over the note, saying that the supervisor Zhou Baoping was violent with prostitutes and indulged too much. He died violently at home five days ago."


    Jiang Xu''s eyes fell on the chess board, and he listened quietly.


    Emperor Chengkang continued on his own: "Lingzhou''s city ship tax has been reduced year after year, but there are more and more people coming and going. I just sent Zhou Baoping to find out the truth, and it was folded in less than half a year. It seems that this Lingzhou Zhou, it¡¯s really impossible to pour water into it, and it¡¯s impossible to insert a knife.¡±


    Jiang Xu still didn''t make a sound.


    Cheng Kangdi babbled on for a while, seeing that Jiang Xu didn''t say a word, he couldn''t help knocking on the table: "What do you think?"


    "What do you think of the right minister?" Jiang Xu asked back.


    "The right minister thinks that Lingzhou is the last piece of land of the Su family. It is not easy to take over from generation to generation. It needs a long-term plan." After Cheng Kangdi patiently repeated, he couldn''t help complaining, "It''s all nonsense."


    "The Right Prime Minister is right. The Empress Dowager''s lineage has deep roots. The biggest reliance now is Lingzhou Maritime Trade. Rabbits will bite people when they are in a hurry. If they move too much, I am afraid that the gain will outweigh the loss."


    "I don''t know, but this bone is difficult to chew, so I won''t chew it? Lingzhou''s maritime trade is becoming more and more prosperous. What''s the matter with his family planning to be king here, you give me some ideas."


    Jiang Xu looked at Heizi who was surrounded by corners and was difficult to stand out from. He lowered his eyes and suddenly landed a child not far from him.


    "What your Majesty wants is to control the sea trade. Since Lingzhou is difficult to attack, why not open another port and gradually plan it."


    Cheng Kangdi paused.


    Before Daxian lost sixteen prefectures in the northern land, after three dynasties, the remaining five prefectures were still in his hands and had not been taken back. It was Jiang Xu who led the army for many years in conquests before taking back the four prefectures of Xi, Li, Yu, and Dong from the northern barbarians.


    The troubles from the north continued, and the intrusions from the southern barbarians did not stop. When it comes to opening the port, several dynasties have been cautious.


    It''s not that Emperor Chengkang never thought about opening the port again, but the opening of the port cannot be accomplished overnight. If it cannot be opened, the courtiers can debate repeatedly for more than a month.


    He thought for a long time, and suddenly asked: "If you open another port, where do you think is the best place?"


    "Quanzhou, Tonggang."


    "Tonggang?"


    When Jiang Xufu mentioned such a small place, Emperor Chengkang didn''t remember where it was for a moment, and it took a long while to outline its geographical location in his mind.


    Thinking of something, he suddenly put down the chess game and called for someone to come over with a map.


    Quanzhou and Lingzhou are separated by two states, and they can communicate with major countries such as Moyi, Boni, Jiaozhi, and Chenla. geographic conditions.


    Moreover, the whole prefecture is adjacent to Yuzhou, and the western region of Yu is a fortress for communication with the Western Regions. There are Xizhi, Pangshan and other Wang counties in the Zhou Dynasty. If Tonggang can be re-opened in the whole prefecture, the transportation between Yuzhou will be more convenient.


    The most important thing is that the far north of Quanzhou is also far away from the southern barbarians. If the port is opened here, there is no need to worry about the alliance of pirates and barbarians.


    It''s just, "The whole prefecture is not prosperous, and the Tonggang you mentioned is just a small sea town in the prefecture. It has been poor for a long time, and it is incomparable with Lingzhou." basic condition.


    "A blank sheet of paper is easier to write on."


    That''s right.


    Cheng Kangdi nodded.


    "Let me think about this matter again." Emperor Chengkang clicked on the map, "Even if the port is opened, it will be difficult to get a piece of the pie from Lingzhou in the short term, so this Lingzhou... No matter what, at least people have to get in, Bobuy No matter what, this extraction has to be handed over to me.¡±


    He sighed again: "Zhou Baoping is loyal and quick-witted. He has been in Lingzhou for nearly half a year. He suffered this time. Presumably he got something. I have to send someone to find out how he died."


    Jiang Xu was noncommittal.


    He thought for a while and asked, "Ah Xu, who do you think is suitable?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just raised his eyes and met him.


    "It''s not necessary for you to go." Cheng Kangdi subconsciously denied, "I see, let Shu Jingran go, so that he can experience it. He is the son of the right minister, and the Su family will not act rashly."


    "There is nothing left and right, I will go with him and go to Tonggang by the way."


    "That''s fine, it''s up to you." Cheng Kangdi didn''t struggle too much.


    After discussing the business, Emperor Chengkang chatted with Jiang Xu again, but Jiang Xu never had any interest in chatting with him, so he wanted to get up and leave soon.


    When he got up, Emperor Chengkang noticed that he was wearing a sachet on his waist, and suddenly felt a little strange: "When did you wear the sachet?"


    When he was young, he liked to walk with Jiang Xu, his cousin. Perhaps both of them were facing the same predicament, so he always treated Jiang Xu in a special way.


    But Jiang Xu never gave him a good face since he was a child. On a certain Dragon Boat Festival, he gave Jiang Xu an insect repellent sachet embroidered by a maid. Jiang Xu didn''t appreciate it, and said to him with a swollen face: " A gentleman does not admire boudoir playthings."


    Jiang Xu did what he said, and if he didn''t wear it, he hadn''t worn it for more than ten years.


    Moreover, what Jiang Xu said made him feel very guilty. He didn''t wear a sachet for more than ten years. If he wanted to wear it, he tied it behind his elbow and hid it in his sleeve.


    Strangely today, this "boudoir plaything" probably has legs, and it climbed up the waist of His Royal Highness King Dingbei by itself.


    Cheng Kangdi glanced at him with a half-smile.


    He didn''t bother to explain, turned around and left with his hands behind his back.


    Emperor Chengkang looked at his back and was so excited that he suddenly called the palace servants and asked: "Which concubine made a sachet, show it to me."


    The palace people should be, busy to get the sachet sent by a talented person, muttering in their hearts, when it was delivered from the palace the day before yesterday, didn''t His Majesty say: "What kind of sachet to embroider, just stay in the palace and keep yourself safe, there is nothing much to do." Copy a few scriptures and calm down." Turning around, he scolded him, "This new talent doesn''t understand the rules, and you don''t understand the rules either? When did I wear a sachet? Send me everything!"


    The emperor''s mind is really unpredictable.


    On the other side, on the way back to the Spring Star Pavilion, Jiang Xu ran into Concubine Lan.


    Seeing him, Concubine Lan stopped walking and said: "I have seen His Royal Highness King Dingbei."


    Jiang Xu nodded slightly, this road only leads to the Spring Star Pavilion, he asked: "Are you looking for the princess?"


    Concubine Lan kept a distance from him, lowered her eyebrows, and said "yes": "I heard that the princess ate too much ice lychees a few days ago, and she had a stomachache. I have always felt guilty in my body and mind. The basket of ice lychees was given by me. .Today I want to bring some good tea to make amends for the princess."


    "It''s her own gluttony, and it has nothing to do with you."


    gluttony.


    It was the first time I heard him describe a woman with such emotional words.


    As she approached the pavilion, Concubine Lan pursed her lips, she didn''t know what to think of, and said suddenly: "Since I met Your Highness here, please ask Your Highness to pass these teas to Wang Fei on my behalf."


    As soon as she finished speaking, a woman shouted from the pavilion ahead¡ª


    "what-!"


    "princess!"


    "Miss!"


    Hearing the sound, Jiang Xu looked not far away, suddenly tapped his toes, and Yi Ying left the ground.


    These screams came from the swing outside the Spring Star Pavilion.


    Ming Tan sat on the swing and was pushed by the maidservants. She wanted to enjoy the wind and see the boundless scenery of Yongchun Garden from a high place. Who wanted to push it for a while, and she suddenly saw the figures of Jiang Xu and Lan Fei with sharp eyes. .


    She wasn''t sure if she had misread it, and urged the maid: "Push it higher, push it higher."


    "Miss, it can''t be any higher, it''s dangerous." Su Xin said worriedly.


    "It''s okay, just go higher."


    Ming Tan finally saw clearly.


    It was really Jiang Xu and Lan Fei.


    How could the two of them walk together? Look... It seems that a group is coming to the Spring Star Pavilion.


    Although Jiang Xu had already explained the relationship between the two, Concubine Lan was also the woman who almost had a marriage contract with him, she was as calm as an orchid in an empty valley, and she was still a talented person whom he had personally praised.


    A thought subconsciously flashed in Ming Tan''s head, no, she can''t lose if she stands with Lan Fei!


    So she hurriedly said: "Su Xin, shake the pear tree quickly, and you, push the swing higher."


    She imagined that the pear blossoms were raining, she was flying on the swing, her clothes were fluttering, coupled with the girl''s brisk and joyful laughter, um, very good, it has the charm of a fairy descending to earth.


    Ming Tan was still brewing a laugh, and when the swing fell to a low place, he let go of his hand, trying to tidy up his messy hair and front skirt.


    Unexpectedly, when she let go, the swing was pushed to the highest point in an instant, and her other hand was out of control, half of her body was thrown out, and then the whole body was thrown out, unexpectedly flying out at the highest point !


    At that moment, Ming Tan''s mind went blank, her heartbeat seemed to stop, and there was a sudden sound of wind in her ears. She couldn''t think of anything, she just followed her instinct and closed her eyes and screamed: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

 Chapter 55：

    Since the incident happened only in an instant, Ming Tan didn''t even have time to think whether he would be half disabled or dead if he fell, so he threw himself into a cold embrace.


    There was a white light in front of her eyes, a golden star flashed for a while, and she vaguely saw her husband''s familiar handsome face.


    Not far away, Lan Fei was also stunned.


    Following the screams, she rushed to the outside of the courtyard, just in time to see Princess Dingbei flying down from mid-air, and threw herself into Prince Dingbei''s arms. Rao is the prince''s deep inner strength, so he was thrown back half a step.


    There was silence in the courtyard, no cicadas calling out. For a moment, the picture seemed to be frozen, and even the wind was still.


    The first group of maidservants came back to their senses. Their hearts seemed to fly out together with Ming Tan. Now that they had settled down, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, admitting their mistakes: "Damn you, damn!"


    Ming Tan was pulled back to her sanity by the sound of guilt, her five senses slowly came back to her senses, and at the same time she was still in shock, her originally blurred vision gradually became clear. In front of her, she was staring at each other with a pair of calm and familiar star eyes.


    The eyes of the two met.


    After a long while, she finally realized what happened just now¡ª


    She accidentally flew out of the swing, in a posture that had nothing to do with the fairy descending, and flew out with an uncontrollable shriek.


    Then she was caught by her husband.


    That is to say, after she sneaked into the military camp and was clearly exposed, and after she went to Bieyulou to learn how to avoid fire and was caught, she created a third embarrassing peak in front of her husband. Thinking about it, it is impossible to surpass it that kind of peak.


    Because this time, the crowd watched her embarrassingly, and there was Lan Fei, whom she had been comparing with in her heart, who could be regarded as a half-rival in love.


    Ming Tan turned his head stiffly to look at Concubine Lan, then turned his gaze back to Jiang Xu. Her scalp was numb, her expression was frozen, she didn''t know whether to cry or laugh, she just felt that this time she was so embarrassed that she could pick out a Ming Tombs with her toes.


    After the maids confessed their sins, they all knelt tremblingly, waiting for the master to punish them. Finally, Jiang Xu spoke and broke the silence in the courtyard: "It''s not good for the master to protect the master. Everyone will be punished twenty times."


    When Ming Tan heard the words, he couldn''t care less about the embarrassment for a moment, and hurriedly stammered and explained in a low voice: "Husband, Husband, it has nothing to do with them. They also said that swinging high is dangerous, and I insisted on swinging so high..."


    As she spoke later, her voice became softer, and in the end, it was so small that it was almost inaudible.


    But Jiang Xu remained unmoved: "Being close to one''s heart and mind, one has the responsibility of distinguishing and admonishing. If one advises not to listen, then one should advise twice. If not, one day they will do evil, will they also be slaves to tigers? Suxin, Lvye, stick blame thirty."


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Why are you fighting more and more? No, if you don''t just swing on a swing, how can you rise to the level of being a tiger''s minion?


    She was still about to speak, but Su Xin Lu E hurriedly kowtowed in front of her and said in unison: "Thank you for your teaching, my servant is willing to accept the punishment."


    The two of them not only spoke in unison, but also thought in unison in their hearts: Please miss, please stop talking!


    Jiang Xu''s merciless accountability brought Concubine Lan, who was stunned aside, back to her senses.


    In fact, sometimes, people who accidentally run into embarrassing situations are more at a loss than those who create embarrassment.


    She saluted from a distance, then coughed lightly, and hurriedly said: "I am here to deliver tea, the tea has been delivered, there are still some things in the palace, I will not bother the prince and princess any more."


    After finishing speaking, she signaled the palace servants to come forward to deliver the tea, gave another blessing to herself, and hurriedly turned and left.


    After Concubine Lan left, the courtyard fell into silence again.


    Mingtan is still hanging on Jiang Xu''s body. She was so ashamed that her eyes were dazed, her limbs and bones and thoughts in her head had no place to rest.


    Jiang Xu originally was holding her face to face, but suddenly threw her up, carried her on his shoulders, and walked into the house while coldly ordering: "The swing is dismantled."


    I don''t know if it was stimulated by these four words or what, Ming Tan suddenly struggled, kicked his calf, and did not forget to pat Jiang Xu''s back: "You let me go, woo woo woo... It''s so embarrassing, I don''t want it!" Alive!"


    Jiang Xu ignored her, carried her directly into the inner room, and threw her on the bed.


    Ming Tan fell into the soft couch, picked up the brocade quilt and covered her face, kicking her legs while stuffing herself in the brocade quilt, venting wildly, after a while, she finally calmed down.


    "Have you had enough trouble?"


    Jiang Xu had been standing by the bed watching, seeing that she was quiet, he suddenly reached out and pulled the brocade quilt away.


    Ming Tan''s hair is disheveled, his eyes are dull, and his face is still red on one spot and another on his face, just like a little lunatic.


    But the little lunatic never forgot to pay attention to his image, it was like this, and he didn''t forget to turn around immediately and turn his back on Jiang Xu.


    In fact, Jiang Xu was a little angry just now. For some reason, seeing Ming Tan''s appearance, his boredom disappeared suddenly, which was inexplicably funny.


    "What do you want for lunch?"


    "Do I seem to be able to swallow my lunch?" Ming Tan''s voice was very low, and it sounded a bit resentful.


    "..."


    Too.


    Ming Tan folded the embroidered pillow to cover his face, his voice was muffled by the pillow: "Husband, can you leave me alone."


    Jiang Xu didn''t say anything when he heard the words, he paused for a moment, and quietly retreated out.


    The boards for Suxin and Lue on the outside have already been beaten, and they can still walk staggeringly under the thirty boards, which shows how hard the water is released.


    Seeing Jiang Xu, the two confessed their crimes in fear and fear, and asked cautiously if they could come in to serve him.


    "No, let her be quiet."


    The two answered yes, looked at each other, and didn''t dare to go in and disturb them.


    Ming Tan was quiet from noon to night.


    Jiang Xu didn''t take this matter to heart at first, the little girl is thin-skinned, so she will be fine slowly. But he went out to the garden, and came back to hear that the princess has neither eaten nor gone out since noon, quite surprised.


    He lifted the curtain and entered, and walked slowly to the bed.


    There is no incense in Mingtan in summer, only bergamot green pears in the house, with a faint fruity fragrance.


    She didn''t sleep, and when she heard footsteps, her body obviously paused.


    Jiang Xu sat on the side of the couch, first glanced at Ming Tan, then slowly stretched out his hand, and brushed away the broken hair on Ming Tan''s face: "Are you trying to get angry with me?"


    Ming Tan shook his head slightly: "I''m fighting with myself."


    "What are you angry about?"


    "I am ashamed of myself."


    "Who said you were ashamed?"


    She turned around suddenly, her eyes were red: "I didn''t say anything, but I must have thought so in my heart!" Especially you!


    Jiang Xu seemed to know what she added in her heart: "No matter what others think, this king doesn''t think so." He paused for a while, looking into her red eyes, "Is it because of this that you are crying?"


    Ming Tan hurriedly covered her eyes, but her eyes hurt a little, and it was uncomfortable to cover them, so she simply covered Jiang Xu''s eyes, and said unreasonably: "Show which law prevents women from crying in anger!"


    Jiang Xu laughed heartily, and covered her little hand with a wide palm, and just about to take it away, she made a somewhat vicious look: "Don''t look at it, it''s so ugly!"


    "It''s okay to be ugly, anyway, a poor wife will not go to court."


    "...?" Ming Tan let go of his hand, stared straight at Jiang Xu, and said in disbelief, "Why am I such a poor wife!"


    On the wedding night, the scene of her husband telling her, "My wife is not ugly but beautiful" is still vivid in front of my eyes, and within half a year, I have become an ugly wife who doesn''t matter.


    Sure enough, the relationship between husband and wife in the world is only mediocre!


    Her heart suddenly turned cold, and her mouth was flattened.


    Seeing that Ming Tan was about to take it seriously, Jiang Xu touched her soft cheek, scratching the tear stains under her eyes with the pulp of his thumb, and said, "I''m just joking."


    "..."


    "Can my husband still joke? It''s not funny at all!"


    Ming Tan was really angry! Turn around again.


    But she couldn''t get angry, and soon turned back by herself, looked at Jiang Xu and complained: "Can''t you say something nice to coax me? Reckless man! It''s not interesting at all."


    "Sex?" Jiang Xu repeated slowly, then sneered softly, and ordered outside, "Come here, prepare water, and the princess will take a bath."


    "...?"


    "I don''t want to take a bath!"


    Jiang Xu easily hugged her into his arms, and patted her sweaty back: "Aren''t you going to take a bath?"


    "Then, then I''ll take a bath alone, not with you."


    Just now when he was talking about fun, he asked people to prepare water, and he knew what bad things he was going to do, she didn''t want it! Every time I was in the water, the clean room would be covered with water stains, and the movement was loud, which was embarrassing.


    During the bargaining, the clean room was soon filled with water mist, the veil swayed lightly, and the petals floated on the water surface, showing a hazy red color.


    Jiang Xu carried her into the clean room, and put her on the stool next to the bathtub. There is a white jade bathing pool in the clean room of the Spring Star Pavilion. After the two came to Yongchun Garden, they haven''t had **** twice, and naturally they haven''t tried it in this pool.


    Ming Tan rubbed his little feet uneasily, full of resistance: "I, I can wash it myself, don''t go with you."


    She hasn''t been lingering for many days, she always has a premonition, if he succeeds here tonight, she won''t want to get up tomorrow.


    Jiang Xu laughed very lowly: "I''m afraid it''s not up to you."


    As soon as Ming Tan didn''t hear well, she got up and was about to flee, but she was no match for Jiang Xu, she was quickly caught and pressed against the screen.


    Jiang Xu stuck to her ear to remind: "If you move again, the screen will fall down."


    "..."


    Then the girls outside the house would think that the prince and princess are so fierce.


    Ming Tan didn''t move, pretending to surrender. But when Jiang Xu''s handsome face slowly approached, she suddenly bumped his forehead with her forehead, took a breath, and wanted to run out again.


    It''s just that she didn''t notice that the laces on her clothes were still held in Jiang Xu''s hands. With this movement, most of the clothes were torn apart to reveal her fragrant shoulders, and she almost fell forward.


    Jiang Xu supported her, and said with a half-smile: "Wangfei is demonstrating in person, teaching me how to play hard to get."


    "..."


    certainly not!


    Shy and angry, she stretched out her hand to push Jiang Xu, but instead of pushing, she slipped on her feet and leaned back¡ª


    "Plop!"


    Fell into the bath.


    The girls outside the house thought: The prince and the princess are so fierce.

 Chapter 56：

    After falling into the pool, Ming Tan thumped twice. The messy clothes on his body were completely wet, outlining exquisite lines.


    With her eyes closed, she coughed from choking, and finally managed to breathe smoothly, and was pressed against a warm chest again.


    She subconsciously backed away, and that warm chest also pushed forward, and when she fell to the edge of the pool, there was no way to retreat.


    Ming Tan has the ability to judge the situation, to be able to bend and stretch, and seeing that she couldn''t escape, she immediately changed her face, holding Jiang Xu''s hand aggrieved, and begging for mercy while shaking: "Husband, just once, once is okay?" Well, the little days are just over."


    "Once?" Jiang Xu leaned over, and his voice fell on the side of her neck, making her itchy.


    Ming Tan shrank back subconsciously, his back was tense, and his eyes were a little dodgy.


    But his hand had already wrapped around her waist, caressing ambiguously at the waist bone, she trembled and numb, and tried to give in: "Those two times, at most two times, no more!"


    A trace of desire flashed across Jiang Xu''s eyes. She looked pale, freed up a hand, pinched her small chin, and lifted it up.


    He seemed to be looking at a piece of fine porcelain, his eyes lingered on her face, getting darker and darker, and getting closer.


    When they were very close and the tips of their noses were facing each other, he whispered two words: "Three times."


    Then he blocked Tan''s mouth directly, biting, licking and turning, so that she could not help but lean back. The aggression that has not subsided in him for a long time is extremely domineering and cannot be rejected at all.


    It was quiet outside the window, and the sudden night wind blew away the fragrance of plants, trees and flowers.


    The moonlight hidden among the grass and trees is dim, and the spring stars are dotted densely, and sometimes a few flickeringly flicker, as if curiously watching the boundless spring in the boudoir of the world. color.


    ¡­


    I don''t know how long it took, Ming Tan knelt down with pain in his knees, desperately wanting to beg for mercy, but his voice was shattered, only intermittent sobbing and involuntary moaning could be heard clearly in the sentence.


    The thin layer of pajamas on her body has been half-untied after being wet by the water, floating with the water, and shaking wetly with the movement.


    She was indulging in a kind of excruciating pain and unspeakable trembling joy. In the joy, the waist seemed to be cut off, stiff and numb.


    But the man behind him didn''t intend to let her go at all, and after a while, he turned her over and sat on his body. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she groaned, unconsciously frowned, and sank into a new life. Lost in the wheel.


    Later, when he was wrapped up and returned to the bed, Ming Tan didn''t want to move for a moment, his eyes were half closed, and his long eyelashes trembled slightly.


    She cried a few times today, her eyes were a little swollen, the tip of her nose was flushed, and her soft cheeks also had a faint blush after ebbing tide, she looked lovely and pitiful.


    Jiang Xu couldn''t help but rubbed her head, then lowered his head and kissed her eyebrows: "How about taking you to ride a horse tomorrow?"


    Ming Tan didn''t know if he heard it, so he turned over and turned his back to him, but was soon turned back and stuffed into the familiar chest.


    A night without dreams.


    When he woke up the next day, the sun was already high, Ming Tan''s body was cool and cool, although he was also sore, it was much better than expected.


    She stretched out her hand to let Lue wait for her to change her clothes. After asking the two of them about the board yesterday, she asked along the way: "The medicine you gave me? Or Suxin?"


    Lue pursed her lips and snickered: "I would like to think about it, but the prince loves it and doesn''t want to give it to others."


    "..."


    Ming Tan was ashamed and gave her a light look.


    Lue''s smile remained undiminished, and she continued to straighten her collar: "Su Xin went to get the meal, the young lady had breakfast yesterday, so I can use more today, and the prince will bring the young lady with me when he comes back. Going to ride a horse? Riding a horse is exhausting."


    "horse riding?"


    "That''s right, the lord ordered before going out that he would come back to pick you up at noon, and asked us to prepare our riding uniforms."


    Ming Tan finally remembered that before going to bed, he seemed to have said such a thing, and from his tone, it seemed that he had made a special compensation to coax her.


    Hmm... A reckless man like him can only think of this kind of wishful thinking as compensation for coaxing her.


    "By the way, the little white rabbit is also well fed. Its fur is shiny and smooth, and its body is flawless. It must complement the young lady''s heroic appearance." Lue said again.


    "What little white rabbit?"


    Ming Tan asked in doubt, just after she finished asking, she remembered by herself, it was the horse Zhao Yebai.


    Speaking of which, the name "Little White Rabbit" is a poor choice, but taking it casually has caused her troubles in bed. Last night her Little White Rabbit also suffered a great crime.


    At noon, Jiang Xu returned.


    It was a bit ruthless last night, the little princess also accused him of not being able to coax people, so he wanted to take the little princess to the horse farm in Yongchun Garden and teach her how to ride a horse. So patient, it can be coaxed.


    In fact, Ming Tan has no interest in riding horses, but she thought that she and her husband rarely get along with each other except in bed, since the husband spared time to accompany her to coax her, she didn''t want to disappoint her.


    The most important thing is that she also wants to stay with her husband for a while, so as to enhance communication outside the bed.


    The weather is fine today, the sun is not shining, and the racecourse is also empty. Ming Tan looked at the snow-white Zhaoyebai foal, couldn''t help but stepped forward, stroked it along the fur, and sighed while admiring: "It''s so beautiful, the saddle It¡¯s also pretty, and the patterns on it are very delicate.¡±


    "..."


    Jiang Xu was quiet for a while, stepped forward, slowed down and got on the horse, showing her a demonstration.


    Soon he came down again and patiently explained to her the basics of how to mount and control a horse.


    "Remember, after getting on the horse, hold the reins tightly, step on the stirrup with your forefoot, not the sole of your foot¡ª" Halfway through the speech, seeing Ming Tan still staring at the delicate saddle, he stopped asking, "Do you understand?"


    "Yes, I understand." Ming Tan nodded, and in order to prove that he was listening carefully, he briefly recounted what he had just taught.


    It''s just that her brain understands, but her body doesn''t. As soon as he stepped on the stirrups, his body''s center of gravity could not help but shift.


    It''s no wonder she, this little pony is a living creature that can run and move, and it''s not as simple as talking about it when it really rides up.


    "Don''t be afraid, I will help you."


    Jiang Xu held her waist in time and sent her up.


    Someone guarded her, and Ming Tan became more courageous. She held the reins tightly, overcame the tension caused by the restless kicking of the pony below her, and stepped on the horse with her eyes closed.


    "Husband! Don''t let go, don''t let go, hold me quickly!"


    After getting on the horse, she felt that the support on her waist was suddenly withdrawn. She glanced to the side in a panic, then hugged the horse''s neck and did not let go, calling for help.


    "Don''t hug, just sit up straight and hold the rein as I said earlier." Jiang Xulong stood aside, no longer helping, only speaking to guide.


    But Ming Tan was terrified, every time he raised his body a little, he immediately crouched down again in fear.


    "Sit up straight."


    "I can''t sit up straight, A Tan''s waist seems to have a mind of its own..."


    "No hurry, take your time, let go first, don''t hug."


    Ming Tan didn''t dare to let go at all, swallowed, and said in a trembling voice: "My husband may not believe it, but my hand seems to have a mind of its own..."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Not far away by the shade, the Queen''s guard of honor was parked.


    Empress Zhang half-closed her eyes and looked at the pair of jade couples on the racecourse, as if feeling something in her heart, she sighed very softly: "The love between young couples is the most rare."


    "That''s right, the Empress and the Emperor are also young couples, so they can''t be compared with others." The talented young man who was temporarily taken to Yongchun Garden yesterday because of the sachet won the favor of the Emperor, greeted him from behind.


    The queen smiled lightly, but said nothing.


    Concubine Shu, on the other hand, bent her lips and looked at the two people on the racecourse who were not letting up and acting coquettishly, and suddenly joked: "Let''s just guess, His Royal Highness King Dingbei, who is killing everyone...will he be able to stand this beauty?"


    "I guess it''s because I can''t stand it. It''s hard to bear the grace of a beauty!" A concubine laughed angrily.


    "Exactly, the prince treats the concubine as much as the prince Xian and the concubine who grew up together since childhood."


    "Sister Lanfei, what do you think?" Concubine Shu asked again.


    Lan Fei didn''t answer, just shook her head slightly.


    In fact, the Jiang Qizhi she knew was not a person who would compromise.


    When she was young, she was accompanied by the princess to study, and she studied in the palace with the prince, princess, clan and nobles, and Jiang Qizhi was also there. At that time, she was extremely curious about the former grandson of the emperor who almost married her fingertips.


    Perhaps because of this curiosity, she always pays more attention to him unconsciously, and this attention accumulates day by day, and a different kind of affection also accumulates.


    Knowing Mu Shaoai''s age, she had a very brief fondness for Jiang Qizhi, which was throbbing and bitter.


    Bitter because she knew that he was a man with big ambitions, and one day he would be able to realize his ambitions, and love was irrelevant to him, let alone worth mentioning.


    And she is destined to enter the deep palace and become the emperor''s woman, even if she stands face to face with her, there will be no more intersections.


    What can be comforted is that she always thinks that although a man as amazing and talented as he does not belong to her, he will not belong to any woman.


    But now it turns out that she might be wrong.


    "Sure enough, I guessed it right!"


    The concubines laughed coquettishly.


    Not far away, Ming Tan was lying on the horse''s back, unable to sit up straight, and from time to time he rubbed Jiang Xu who was standing beside him.


    Jiang Xu was unmoved at first, but after being worn down for a while, he still gave in and took the rope, and took her for a short distance.


    Ming Tan is used to making progress, and when he succeeds, he let Jiang Xu hug her and sit on his galloping horse. The name is that the two of them ride together, and they can teach each other hand in hand, and Jiang Xu agrees.


    Jiang Xu wanted to teach by hand, but Ming Tan didn''t really want to learn by hand. After riding for a while, she leaned comfortably in his arms and asked curiously: "Can my husband ride fast? How fast can I ride?" quick?"


    "If you don''t change horses, it will be four hundred miles at most."


    "So fast! Now that my husband is free, can you take A-Tan out for a ride? A-Tan has never experienced the feeling of galloping on horseback." Ming Tan looked up with a little admiration. with him.


    Jiang Xu made a "hmm" sound, and said in a deep voice, "It will take a while, my king is going to Lingzhou in two days, and I will take you there when I come back from Lingzhou."


    "Lingzhou?" Ming Tan knows that Lingzhou is very prosperous, but it is also far away from Beijing, more than half the distance than Qingzhou, "Husband is going to go for a long time this time?"


    "It''s more than a month, and it''s three months."


    "so long¡­"


    Since marrying Jiang Xu, although Jiang Xu has gone out on business from time to time, he has never been there for two or three months. Suddenly hearing that he was going to leave for so long, Ming Tan felt a little inexplicably lost.


    At night, Ming Tan tossed and turned and couldn''t fall asleep.


    She kept moving around, and Jiang Xu couldn''t sleep peacefully. He suddenly grabbed her body, hugged her in his arms, and asked in a sleepy voice, "What''s wrong?"


    "My husband is going to Lingzhou this time, but Lingzhou is not like Hezhou and Qingzhou... I heard that it is bustling and prosperous, and it is not worse than the capital city."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm", then casually continued to ask: "What else have you heard?"


    "I also heard that there are 180 boats in Lingzhou. The boats are connected by picturesque boats, and small boats pass by. The women are slim and beautiful, and there are everything you need.


    "And the women in Lingzhou are gentle and beautiful, and they are famous for having many beauties. There used to be an aunt in my uncle''s house, which was brought back by my uncle when he went south to Lingzhou. Morning. Minmin used to say that if that aunt is still here, she might have to step aside."


    "The princess has heard a lot."


    Ming Tan asked in a low voice: "So, so will my husband suddenly bring back a girl...? A Tan is not jealous, definitely not jealous, so if my husband brings back a girl, can you write a letter in advance? Let Ah Tan have some mental preparations?"


    what to prepare?


    Are you going to demolish the golden Buddha statue in Lingmiao Temple that did not keep its promise?


    Jiang Xu''s eyes hadn''t opened yet, he could only hear Ming Tan chattering nonstop, and when she finished chattering, he responded lazily and in a low voice: "If the princess is worried, you can actually go with me."


    The author has something to say: Traveling Atan o(¨Rv¨Q)o

 Chapter 57：

    Ming Tan has never been away from Shangjing since he was born, and the farthest he has gone out is to burn incense and pray for blessings in Buddhist temples in the suburbs of Beijing. Suddenly mentioning going to Lingzhou together, she couldn''t recover.


    she goes? What is she going to do? Can she go too?


    Ming Tan looked at Jiang Xu, dazed at first, and then slowly came back to his senses, a little hesitant, but also a little uncontrollable joy.


    She carefully pulled down Jiang Xu''s sleeve, and asked, "Husband, are you serious? A Tan can go too? Will you disturb your husband''s work?"


    "It''s okay, it''s just that the journey is long, and the boats and cars are exhausting¡ª"


    "It doesn''t matter, A Tan is not afraid of getting involved!"


    Ming Tan answered without hesitation, and his eyes were sparkling.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Not very convinced.


    But soon, Jiang Xu understood why the always coquettish little princess could say so firmly that she was not afraid of being troubled.


    For the trip to Lingzhou, he originally planned to start directly from Yongchun Garden, but Ming Tan wanted to go back to the palace first, and he happened to plan to go to the Dali Prison before leaving, so he agreed.


    It''s just that he didn''t expect that when he returned to the mansion from the prison of Dali Temple, he would see a row of carriages neatly parked at the second gate of the mansion.


    His brows twitched, and he belatedly remembered the five carriages she used when she went to Lingmiao Temple to pray.


    "These are the luggage that the princess will bring?" he asked.


    "Go back to the prince, yes. The princess said-"


    "Husband!"


    Before the servant finished speaking, he was interrupted by Ming Tan who came to check the luggage not far away. Ming Tan greeted happily, and walked forward quickly with the hem of his skirt.


    Walking closer, Ming Tan grabbed Jiang Xu''s wrist as if asking for credit, his eyes brightened: "Husband, come and see the luggage that A Tan prepared."


    She turned her head, and Su Xin immediately and respectfully handed over a thick luggage book.


    "I wrote a luggage book in the order of the carriages. I can check what I need to take on the road. Isn''t it very convenient?" She turned her head and said, "This first carriage is naturally the carriage we will take. , Lingzhou is far away, and it is hot summer, so I have to use ice, so I prepared an ice mirror inside, and added three wooden windows to the car curtain, so that if it rains, the rain will not enter the car. "


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    As Ming Tan said, he also led him to the first carriage, and Su Xin also stepped forward to close the curtain.


    This carriage is extremely spacious. The soft couch inside can sleep two people. There is a table in the middle that can hold a game of chess. The ice silk fabric used is cool, and it will not be too hot to sit on. The rest is decorated with vases of calligraphy and painting. In general, fine elegance and luxury can be seen everywhere.


    Except for this carriage, the ones in the back are mostly clothes for two people, as well as utensils and dry food.


    Ming Tan wanted to introduce him one by one, but after seeing two of them, he interrupted: "I''m going to Lingzhou, and I have business to do. Do you think these dozen or so carriages are suitable?" After a long battle, I''m afraid she thought she was going to take over Lingzhou.


    "How can there be more than a dozen cars, only ten cars." Ming Tan corrected strictly.


    "..."


    Only, does she feel that it is quite small?


    Jiang Xu didn''t know where to refute for a while, looking at the last empty car and asked: "Don''t mention anything else, what are you doing with an empty car?"


    "Lingzhou is prosperous, so there are naturally many rare items, and I still need to bring a lot of souvenirs back. If I don''t bring an empty car, how will I bring them back?"


    "If you can''t fit it, why don''t you just buy the carriages and horses when you return to Beijing?"


    "But the ones we buy now are definitely different from the ones in our mansion. In this way, the return team will not be so neat and beautiful."


    "..."


    He was really convinced.


    Ming Tan also reasoned and said: "Husband, Ah Tan also knows that traveling is not easy, these carriages have been streamlined, and the remaining items are indispensable."


    Jiang Xu believes that, after all, she needs five cars to go to Lingmiao Temple, and Lingzhou is far away, she tried her best to make it as short as ten cars, which hurt Fanshen very much.


    It''s just that with so much luggage, it''s impossible for her to bring all of them. He didn''t bother to bother, and said directly: "If you want to go with me, you can only bring two carriages at most."


    "Two? That''s too little!"


    Ming Tan looked up at him incredulously and pitifully.


    He was unmoved: "You decide for yourself."


    After finishing speaking, he opened Ming Tan''s soft little hand and stepped inside.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help wringing her handkerchief and stamping her feet, she must be going to Lingzhou, she hasn''t left Beijing after living for so long. But looking at the row of carriages, she frowned, and it was really difficult to make a choice.


    The car the two of them were going to take couldn''t be reduced no matter what. The Duobaoge in the carriage could barely fit her head and face, but the other things couldn''t fit. The soft cushion brocade quilt, clothes and shoes, and utensils How can a carriage hold dry food and other things!


    As she flipped through the thick luggage booklet, her head ached.


    On the other side, after Jiang Xu put down the conversation, he went to the study to deal with official business.


    After returning to the room to rest at Haishi, he found that Ming Tan seemed to be a little angry because of this incident. When he heard him enter the inner room, his small body, which was originally lying flat, suddenly turned to the side and made a noise on purpose.


    Ming Tan waited for a long time, waited for someone to enter the inner room, and then waited for someone to take off his clothes and get on the bed, lying heavily beside her.


    But she waited and waited, but she didn''t wait for a word of relief. See, it meant that she was going to sleep. She was out of breath for a while, and turned around twice on purpose, so as not to let him easily sleep on the pillow.


    Although this trick is deliberate, it is very effective.


    Jiang Xu originally planned to leave it alone, but he finally sighed, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into his arms.


    "What kind of temper?" He asked in a low voice.


    "Who''s acting out of temper? The concubine behaved well and did as the prince said, reducing the carriage to two!"


    The concubine even claimed to be in love, and dared to say that she didn''t show her temper.


    "Does the lord think that the concubine''s preparations are all for himself? In short, when the time comes, what the lord wants or lacks, just don''t rely on the concubine for not bringing it along!"


    "Won''t."


    "...!"


    Ming Tan was so angry that he turned back again.


    It was rare for Jiang Xu to take the patience to explain: "This time when I go south to Lingzhou, the places I will pass will not be too far away. If there is something missing, just buy it again."


    Ming Tan didn''t say anything.


    Jiang Xu said again: "Whatever you want, I will buy it for you."


    Hearing this sentence, Ming Tan just "hummed" in a tone of "it''s not too bad", and didn''t express his anger.


    The next morning, before the sun rose, Jiang Xu set off with Ming Tan and the two carriages she had streamlined.


    This time I went to Lingzhou by land. Considering that Mingtan was not very able to endure hardships, Jiang Xu made some detours on the original route, trying to ensure that he could find a good inn in a lively place to rest.


    Even the luggage is so simple when going out, the maids don''t want to bring more, Su Xin and Lu E, Ming Tan doesn''t know who to bring, so he simply brings Yun Yi.


    When going out, more people who can practice martial arts are more safe.


    When Shu Jingran met them outside the city, he was quite surprised to see Yun Yi: "Miss Yun."


    Yun Yi looked at him suspiciously: "You are?"


    Shu Jingran was slightly taken aback, then burst out laughing.


    It wasn''t that he was narcissistic and boastful, but it was indeed the first time that a woman could not recognize him after seeing him for the third time.


    At this moment, Ming Tan raised the curtain and greeted him with a smile: "Master Shu."


    Shu Jingran hurriedly cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Greetings to the princess."


    "Master Shu, you don''t need to be too polite."


    Yun Yi finally remembered that this was the man the concubine wanted her to save, and later she met Hui in the mansion, she said some polite words, and almost walked away with a roast chicken.


    She mentioned this when she went to pay her respects to the princess, and the princess said angrily at that time, he is the most beautiful man in the capital, how could he do such an insulting thing like roasting chicken.


    She hurriedly lowered her head, followed Ming Tan and shouted: "Second Young Master Shu."


    "Miss Yun thinks of Shu?"


    Yun Yi nodded honestly: "The princess said that you are the most beautiful man in the capital."


    Shu Jingran laughed again.


    Ming Tan felt a little embarrassed, but she was not wrong to say that in Jingli.


    On the contrary, Jiang Xu suddenly put down his military strategy, and said calmly: "I have to go to Hezhou before dark, and I want to stay here to talk, so I can only sleep in the carriage tonight."


    Ming Tan glanced at him hesitantly, and thought: Could it be because she said that Shu Er is the most beautiful man in the capital, so she was jealous? Probably not. Didn''t he have a close personal relationship with Second Young Master Shu? Look at his expression... I can''t see anything.


    There was nothing to say all the way, and I didn''t want Jiang Xu''s word to become a prophecy.


    As Youshi approached, the originally fine weather suddenly changed, with strong winds and showers blowing in the face, and the horse neighed, unwilling to go any further.


    "My lord, I can''t go any further." The dark guard said calmly, holding the rein.


    "Find a place to shelter from the rain first." Jiang Xu''s voice was also very calm.


    Because of Ming Tan''s careful arrangement, the carriage they were riding in actually felt nothing. With the windows closed, the inside was still comfortable, but the sound of the rain outside was a bit scary.


    Ming Tan worried and asked: "Husband, will we not be able to make it to Hezhou?"


    Jiang Xu said "hmm": "As you wish, sleep in the carriage."


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    How could it be as she wished?


    In fact, Hezhou is adjacent to Shangjing. After leaving the city, you only need to climb two low mountains to enter the boundary of Hezhou. Half a day is enough to ride alone on weekdays.


    However, the speed of the two horse-drawn carriages was no match for them. They had originally planned to arrive at Shu Town, Hezhou before sunset, but they missed it due to the sudden rainstorm.


    There was a stone pavilion in the middle of the mountain for people to rest their feet. Except for Jiang Xu and Ming Tan who stayed in the car, the rest of the people, including Shu Jingran whose windows were not covered from the rain, also entered the stone pavilion to shelter from the rain.


    By the time the rain stopped, it was already dark.


    Ming Tan was a little dazed, she couldn''t believe it, on the first day she went out, she was faced with the situation of sleeping in the wilderness for a night.


    "Then I can''t eat, I can''t take a shower tonight, and I can''t have a spacious bed to settle down, right?"


    Ming Tan lit a lamp, and still maintained his posture of sitting upright on the soft couch and flipping through the book gracefully, but his expression couldn''t be stretched any longer.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know why, he glanced at her, gave a short "um", and got out of the car.


    Ming Tan wanted to ask him where he was going, but he moved too fast, and he went down before she could say anything.


    Ming Tan felt a sense of grievance in his heart, and he stopped making any reserved gestures. He kicked off his embroidered shoes suddenly, put his feet on the soft couch, and hugged his knees with his hands. How much love is left for this couple? It would be better to invite him back to the mansion tomorrow, and not bother to trouble him.


    About a moment later, Jiang Xu lifted the curtain, saw her like this, and paused: "What are you doing?"


    Ming Tan tilted his head and ignored him, his eyes were still red suddenly.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    For a moment, he didn''t know whether he was taking a daughter or an ancestor out.


    He got in the car, half-kneeled in front of Ming Tan, and while stuffing her feet back into the embroidered shoes, he said quietly: "Isn''t it necessary to eat, take a bath, and sleep on a spacious bed?"


    Ming Tan was startled suddenly.


    Jiang Xu got up: "Get out of the car, I will take you there."


    "Where are you going? Isn''t it too late?" Ming Tan stood up and asked in a dazed voice.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just went straight to a horse.


    A wind lamp was hung on the horse, Jiang Xu turned around, carried her on the horse together, reined in the reins, the horse let out a long cry, raised its front hooves slightly, and shook off the raindrops on its mane.


    "It will take half an hour to go to Shuzhen, and it will inevitably be bumpy, so bear with it." As he spoke, Jiang Xu suddenly flicked his horsewhip, "Crack!"


    The horse galloped quickly, Ming Tan hadn''t recovered yet, but couldn''t help but let out a soft cry because of the movement of galloping under him.


    There is a sudden whistling of the wind in my ears, and the Qifeng Lantern reflects the faintly visible road ahead. After the rain, the night sky is as clear as washing, the stars are bright, and the moon is bright and clean.


    After galloping for quite a while, Ming Tan finally came to his senses and couldn''t help but ask, "Is your husband going to take me to Shuzhen first?"


    "Otherwise, if I don''t bring you to settle down first, will I want to go back home tomorrow?"


    "How does my husband know?" Ming Tan blurted out.


    "..."


    He really brought an ancestor.

 Chapter 58：

    Shu Town is the nearest town to Beijing in Hezhou. It is not a big place, but there are many business travelers and it is quite lively.


    At this time, Jiang Xu and Ming Tan''s night trip, the main street is still brightly lit, and there are various stalls on the street, cooking wontons, hot noodles and pancakes, and passers-by are sitting on low stools beside the stalls and eating, eating happily taste.


    Jiang Xu had stayed here before, and took Ming Tan straight to the best inn in the town.


    "Two guest officers, do you want to be a top student or stay in the store?" The waiter with a tablecloth on his shoulders led the two of them in.


    Jiang Xu stepped over the threshold: "Stay in the hotel."


    "The two of you, this way, please," the waiter hurriedly led them to the cabinet again, "Shopkeeper, these two guest officials want to stay in the shop!"


    "One upper room, one night."


    Before the shopkeeper could speak, Jiang Xu paid the ingot.


    "Hey, that''s good. You can order wine and food in this small shop before Haishi. If you two want to eat and drink, just talk to Xiaoer, and someone will take you to the house later." Seeing the shopkeeper The two of them have good looks and extraordinary manners. They know that they are masters who can afford money, and their attitudes are very warm.


    Jiang Xu nodded slightly, and together with Ming Tan, followed the waiter upstairs.


    Although this inn is the best inn in the town, it is still incomparable with the Jingzhong Restaurant, and the upper room is also arranged so that it is difficult for Ming Tan to see.


    These are nothing, but Ming Tan never rests outside, even if he goes to Lingmiao Temple, all the things in the wing room are replaced by his own.


    At first she thought she could get used to it, but she could not fall asleep while lying on the couch after washing up.


    It wasn''t the mattress she had prepared, her body seemed to be full of resistance, her spirit was tense, and she felt uncomfortable all over.


    And all the way fast, sitting on the horse only felt bumpy, but when she got off the horse, she felt hot from the saddle between her legs. I didn''t even bother to take a bath, so I simply wiped the rest of my body with warm water.


    "Why, can''t sleep?" Jiang Xu asked.


    Ming Tan originally wanted to tell the truth, but when he thought that her husband had brought her here on a horseback ride at night, there was absolutely no reason to be more critical, so he swallowed the words he wanted to say: "Some people recognize the bed and fall asleep soon, husband, you Go to bed too."


    Seeing her obediently closing her eyes, Jiang Xu didn''t ask any more questions.


    Ming Tan just maintained a long and even breath, endured the discomfort, and stayed up all night. In the second half of the night, she couldn''t stand it any longer. In a blur of consciousness, she seemed to feel that the person beside her got up for a while.


    On the other side, Shu Jingran watched Jiang Xu ask his wife not to have a brother, and ride away on a night walk alone without saying hello, which was really an eye-opener.


    What happened to Jiang Qizhi? Every time he mentions his princess, he always shows a perfunctory attitude that doesn''t take it seriously, but every time he bumps into it, why is it so confusing?


    The accompanying guards went to look for wood and hay to make a fire, Yun Yi didn''t know where she went, and disappeared for a long time.


    Shu Jingran came back to his senses, and was asking his entourage where Miss Yun was, when she came back with a few fish forked with a branch.


    "Miss Yun, who is this?" His tone was slightly hesitant.


    Yun Yi looked at him calmly: "Grilled fish."


    Shu Jingran was startled, he wanted to say that there was dry food and cakes in his carriage, so there was no need to sleep in the open air, but Yunyi was already sitting cross-legged in front of the burning fire, putting the cleaned river fish on the fire, turning over and over again. bake.


    He stood for a while, then picked up a clean place and sat opposite Yun Yi.


    "I heard that Miss Yun is now the aunt of the palace?" He thought about it, and started to talk.


    Yun Yi stared at the grilled fish and nodded.


    "Then what does Miss Yun usually do in the mansion?"


    Yun Yi raised her head and glanced at him: "Protect the princess."


    "..."


    Of course he knew that he was protecting the princess, and he had asked Jiang Xu about this matter, but he didn''t have the nerve to ask more.


    So he didn''t know whether Yun Yi was performing the duty of guard under the name of aunt in the mansion, or whether she had to perform both the duty of guard and the duty of aunt.


    Yun Yi concentrated on turning the fish''s face, and said: "However, the guards in the mansion are very strict. When the princess is not going out, I can''t be used. I am usually practicing martial arts, and I occasionally go on missions."


    "Then, how will your prince and concubine treat you?"


    Yunyi nodded naturally: "Princess treats me very well, she will send a portion of delicious food to my yard, and also give me a monthly fee so that I can go out to buy food by myself, um... and often give it to me. I will give you clothes and jewelry, but I am not used to wearing those clothes, and they are not as good-looking as my mother in a million..."


    Hearing her talking about the princess without any mention of the prince, Shu Jingran seemed to understand something, followed her words, and asked a few words calmly to confirm what was in her heart.


    Yun Yi is also honest, she can answer whatever she asks, but in the middle of the answer, she suddenly stopped speaking, and looked strangely at Shu Jingran who was listening seriously: "Second Master Shu, why do you keep asking me about the princess? "


    "...?"


    How could he inquire about the princess? Isn''t it true that everything she says can be turned on the princess.


    Yun Yi had already completed a complete set of logic in her brain, and suddenly persuaded seriously: "Second Master Shu, I heard that you and the Lord are good friends, and you are also a person who has read poetry and books, so you should know that a friend''s wife should not be bullied.


    "Although I don''t know why the princess asked me to save you and praised you as the most beautiful man in the capital, but the prince and the princess are very affectionate, you should not have any unreasonable thoughts. You should know the temper of the lord. You If this road continues like this, not only will it harm me, but it will also harm the princess."


    "No, no, Shu didn''t have any unreasonable thoughts, Miss Yun misunderstood¡ª"


    "It would be best if I misunderstood."


    Yun Yi got up, the fish had already been grilled, and she planned to give one to Shu Jingran, but she felt that this person was using the name of the prince''s friend, secretly coveting his own princess, so he didn''t deserve to eat fish at all, so she kept the fish while talking went back.


    Shu Jingran got up and wanted to explain, but for the first time, he felt dumbfounded that he didn''t know where to start to explain, even though he had a long mouth.


    Early the next morning, a group of people sleeping in the stone pavilion got up and set off. Jiang Xu and Ming Tan had breakfast and planned to move on.


    Before the night trip yesterday, Jiang Xu had told Yun Yi that they would meet directly in Pengcheng, Hezhou today.


    Pengcheng is the center of Hezhou and the most prosperous place in Hezhou. Because it is adjacent to Shangjing, many wealthy families who are not officials in Beijing also live here.


    Ming Tan sat on the horse wearing the veil hat he bought. He didn''t sleep much all night, and his spirit was not very good. He just leaned softly on Jiang Xu''s chest.


    On the way, she thought of something in a daze - didn''t Mingchu just marry in Hezhou? General Xuanwei''s mansion seemed to be in Pengcheng, Hezhou.


    After Mingchu got married, Mingtan never met her again, only heard from Mrs. Pei that her husband seemed to write letters to her father often, and this year he was promoted to an official position in the Hezhou military camp. As for Mingchu, he hadn''t heard much about it.


    When they arrived in Pengcheng in the evening, Shu Jingran and his group took a shortcut and arrived half an hour earlier than them.


    There is a restaurant under the name of Wangfu in Pengcheng, after arriving at the restaurant, Ming Tan dismounted with difficulty.


    The pain between her legs was worn yesterday, and today she rode a horse for a long time. Although it was not as fast as yesterday, she felt that these two legs were no longer her own.


    She barely maintained a dignified and reserved posture, and walked in behind Jiang Xu, but all this fell into the eyes of Shu Jingran and Yun Yi who were eating by the window on the second floor, and the meaning changed a little.


    "What''s wrong with your princess, walking seems a little strange."


    Yun Yi was expressionless: "Second Master Shu may not understand, this is the love between the prince and the concubine."


    In fact, she didn''t understand it at first, but with Aunt Fang''s earnest teaching and the ambiguous discussions of the servants in the mansion, she now understands a lot.


    Shu Jingran was speechless for a moment, and wanted to ask her how she knew so much, but then he found that the more frightening thing was that he himself suddenly understood what these words meant.


    A few days ago, he was transferred to the Ministry of Industry and had to go out with his colleagues for a few social meetings.


    His colleagues from the Ministry of Industry are no more refined and talented than those he used to associate with, and most of them are older than him. They don''t want to maintain an image of a noble gentleman in front of him. Forced to understand the relationship between men and women somewhat.


    The two stared at each other.


    Yun Yi is the kind of person who is not embarrassed by other people, she will definitely not be embarrassed, looking at each other for a while, in the end it was Shu Jingran who was defeated, put down the bamboo chopsticks uncomfortably, and found an excuse to get up.


    After dinner, Jiang Xu went to discuss matters in Shu Jingran''s room. Ming Tan took this opportunity to take a bath and apply medicine, and spread the soft quilt on the carriage, and fell asleep.


    Shu Jingran is in the room.


    "Is there any clue about Zhou Baoping''s matter?" Shu Jingran asked while pouring wine.


    "Last night, Chaying sent back news that the Su family is also looking for the things Zhou Baoping left behind."


    "Su''s family is also looking for it... I think it should be the evidence that the Secretary of Shibo has secretly deducted it." Shu Jingran thought for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Xu, "I thought that you really had to travel to Shuzhen at night for the sake of the princess. It turned out to be an appointment with Zhuiying."


    He knew that this trip was not very low-key, and he didn''t rush on the road blindly, because it was a cover.


    A few days ago, Jiang Xu sent Jin Yunwei to Lingzhou to spy on Zhou Baoping''s sudden death.


    As for them and their party, it is impossible to keep a low profile. Since the initiative was made, someone followed them all the way.


    He didn''t know what came to his mind, but he suddenly realized, and speculated: "So you purposely and the concubine... are you going to Shuzhen at night in order to let the people watching secretly think that you are hungry?"


    "What?" Jiang Xu raised his eyes suddenly.


    "However, you are too disrespectful to the princess, and you can''t even walk." Shu Jingran felt quite insulted and politely reminded, "In my opinion, it''s better not to cover up the princess in the future, and spread the word. Yu Wangfei''s reputation is damaged."


    There is no way to go.


    Jiang Xu paused.


    Shu Jingran said a few words of persuasion uncomfortably.


    Jiang Xu vaguely understood something, touched his Ya acupoint impatiently, got up and looked at him, and said four words indifferently: "I don''t know what it means."

 Chapter 59：

    When Jiang Xu returned to the room, Ming Tan was already fast asleep. The room was very dark, there was a lamp on the table for him, but it had been extinguished at some point, only the moonlight outside the window was shining through the window paper, casting a faint shadow.


    He walked to the side of the couch, gently lifted the brocade quilt, and looked at the wound between Ming Tan''s legs.


    Although the room was dark, it could still be seen that the area between her legs was bruised and purple by the saddle. Compared with the white skin next to her, it was quite shocking.


    This matter was his negligence, he was used to riding a horse, and he could travel hundreds of miles a day without hindrance, galloping the horse all the way, he forgot to think about whether this little princess who was usually very delicate could bear it.


    During these two nights, she didn''t cry or make trouble.


    Jiang Xu scratched her cheeks with his fingertips, and wanted to apply medicine to her, but found that he had already applied it, so he paused for a moment, so he had to cover her with the brocade quilt again.


    On the road the next day, Ming Tan noticed that the cushion in the carriage seemed to be several layers thicker. Because she used to support the table when reading, today the table was inexplicably shorter.


    Jiang Xu was riding a horse outside, and she just got up to observe.


    She found that only her side of the cushion was thicker.


    She was a little bit puzzled, lifted the hood of the car, and motioned Yun Yi, who was accompanying the car, to approach: "Did you add the upholstery on the car?"


    Yun Yi shook her head blankly: "What cushion is the princess talking about?"


    She remembered something, and said again: "The Lord ordered someone to put something in the car this morning, maybe it was the cushion you mentioned?"


    Husband?


    Ming Tan was startled for a moment, then moved forward, glanced at Jiang Xu''s tall and handsome back, the corners of his lips suddenly turned up, feeling inexplicably satisfied.


    Because they were driving in the city, they couldn''t speed up, and they couldn''t get out of the city for half a morning.


    As noon approached, Jiang Xu signaled to stop, and found a nearby restaurant to rest and eat.


    I don''t know what kind of shop is opposite this restaurant, it''s very lively, during the short time they were seated, there were several waves of ladies and ladies who were dressed in bright clothes and were served by maids in and out.


    When the waiter came to deliver the food, Ming Tan asked curiously: "Excuse me, what kind of shop is the opposite? It''s so lively."


    "On the opposite side, Yuluofang! It''s a ready-made clothing store, newly opened in the past few days." They ordered a lot of food and wine at this table, and the waiter introduced him very enthusiastically, "The things in Yuluofang are very expensive, but they My family is quite good at doing business, so what else can I say besides the fabrics of the clothes in the store... The new store opened, and in the first three days, I specially prepared unique clothes for ladies and ladies. It¡¯s so hyped up, and it only opens at noon every day, and only ten pieces are brought out every day, and every lady can only buy one piece a day.¡±


    Ming Tan became a little interested when he heard the words.


    Xiaoer leaned closer and clicked his tongue again: "You don''t even know how good the business in Yuluofang is these few days, it''s so expensive, and the ladies and ladies in the city are still rushing to buy it every day. There was still a quarrel in the past two days. G, the first three days... Today seems to be the last day, madam, if you are interested, you might as well go and have a look."


    After he finished his introduction, he took the empty end drawer and withdrew.


    Ming Tan turned to look at Jiang Xu. Although she covered her veil, it was not difficult to see how much she was looking forward to from her shining eyes.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her and ordered: "Yun Yi, go with Madam."


    "Thank you, husband!" Ming Tan stood up immediately.


    Yun Yi who was staring at the braised pork, the plate of braised pork was fat and thin, and the sugar color was fried very well, it was soft, glutinous and delicious, and it was extremely tasty.


    She swallowed calmly, and followed out with her sword in her arms. She didn''t know if she had noticed Shu Jingran''s signal to her, "Don''t worry, Shu will leave you half a plate".


    On the opposite side of Yuluofang, Ming Tan looked at the plaque that was previously blocked by street stalls.


    The words on the plaque are well written, and the wood used is also excellent red sandalwood, and the words are covered with fine gold leaf.


    Seeing a visitor, the clerk came out to greet him with a smile: "Madam, do you want to see the clothes? Come, this way please."


    Ming Tan nodded and followed him inside.


    The shop is quite elegantly decorated, behind the cabinets are neatly placed all kinds of silk and satin cloths, and the men''s and women''s finished clothes are hung on two sides, and there are not too many hangings, and each piece has enough space for people to look at it carefully. , but it was no different from those tailor-made clothing stores she frequented in the capital.


    "I don''t know what kind of clothes Madam would like to see. There are plain and luxurious ones in small shops." The clerk asked attentively beside him.


    Ming Tan glanced casually over the hanging clothes, Yun Yi followed behind and responded indifferently: "Of course our wife only looks at unique ones."


    The man understood, and bowed a little more: "The lady, please."


    He walked forward quickly and raised the curtain for Ming Tan.


    Separated by a door curtain, there is a cave inside, and one can tell at a glance that it is a resting place prepared for distinguished guests.


    The clerk led her to sit at a table with the Eight Immortals, and offered her a cup of tea: "Madam, wait a moment, the clothes you still have today will be brought to you right away."


    Hearing what he meant, he had already sold quite a few of them.


    It''s normal, isn''t there someone in the room who is fighting for clothes.


    She didn''t touch the tea, but looked diagonally across from behind the Eight Immortals Table half-hidden by a screen, the set of clothes that was being displayed in the hands of the tailor and embroiderer, and was being scrambled for.


    That set of clothes is apricot pink and jade white, cross-collared blouse and pleated skirt. It is far away, and the embroidery on the top is not clear. It is worth mentioning that the blouse is actually made of Yaohua satin.


    Yao satin is a new style produced in Suzhou this year. It was paid tribute a few months ago, and there were less than ten pieces in total. The empress got two horses and gave them to her as a reward. She had just worn them once when she made them into clothes, but they were torn apart by someone who didn''t know how to restrain herself.


    I heard that Yao satin is not easy to weave. Although it has been several months, the output should still not be much. She kept talking about asking Zhou Jingwan to pay her satin, and Zhou Jingwan agreed, but she didn''t pay her until she went to Yongchun Garden.


    This Yuluofang now has clothes made of Yaohua satin, which is indeed quite capable, no wonder people are fighting for it.


    "This set of Yaohua satin clothes, our wife took a fancy to yesterday, and asked me to buy it today. It''s better for Ms. Su to be more sensible." The person who spoke was a girl, I don''t know which family it was from, it was very classy. Take advantage of the power to bully others with arrogance.


    "Miss Ganoderma lucidum also needs to be reasonable. Who didn''t fall in love with this set of clothes yesterday?" Miss Su''s girl couldn''t help arguing, "The shopkeeper said that they won''t sell it yesterday, so whoever comes first today will be the one." Yes, our young lady came early, so it should belong to our young lady."


    The girl who was called "Ganoderma lucidum girl" smiled: "Since you come first, why don''t you pay the bill first? You even make gestures, because it''s too expensive and doesn''t fit you well."


    "you!"


    Then Miss Su stopped the girl, and said out loud: "Then I will pay the bill now, why do you want to stop me?"


    "Before paying the bill, it''s not yours. My wife''s bill is paid here first, and this dress belongs to my wife." Ling Zhi glanced at the tailor and embroiderer next to her, "Do you think it makes sense?"


    "This¡­"


    Today Miss Su came to ask for this dress first, but she just wanted to try it out first and see how it could be changed to make it fit better, so this dress is naturally Miss Su''s.


    But the master of the girl Ganoderma lucidum... they are not easy to offend, the tailor and embroiderer looked at each other, really embarrassed.


    Ganoderma lucidum impatiently said: "Think about it clearly, our wife is from Jing''an Hou Mansion, she is the sister of Princess Dingbei, if my wife is offended, write a letter to Lord Hou and Princess, your shop will still be open It¡¯s not good if you can¡¯t keep going!¡±


    Hearing this, Ming Tan: "...?"


    When did she have such a good sister?


    At this moment, the man who greeted Ming Tan earlier brought another tailor and embroiderer over with several sets of clothes: "Ma''am, these¡ª"


    Ming Tan interrupted, looked at the screen diagonally opposite, and asked softly: "Over there, shouldn''t it belong to General Xuanwei''s residence?"


    The guy nodded, showing embarrassment, but he couldn''t say much else.


    Obviously, what Lingzhi said hit the point, there was silence on the other side of the screen, and it was Miss Su who held back her breath and offered to give way: "Give it to her, I don''t want it anymore."


    After finishing speaking, Miss Su took the girl out of anger and walked straight outside.


    Her little girl hugged and said: "Just because there is a sister who is a princess who is rampant all day long, she is not a princess!"


    Ming Tan wanted to call to stop the two of them, but he didn''t know what he thought of, so he pressed it temporarily, and gave Yun Yi a look not to act rashly.


    There are also several ladies and ladies in the room who are looking at the clothes. Some of them have nothing to do with themselves, as if nothing happened, while others stepped forward to flatter the Ganoderma lucidum girl: "In my opinion, this dress suits your wife well. Two days later, at the Fenghe Banquet, if Madam wears this dress, she will definitely outshine all the others."


    "That''s natural. I accept your good words. I bought the clothes and have to go back to my wife, so I won''t accompany you."


    That Ganoderma lucidum''s tone was so arrogant that she didn''t even call it "servant". A girl who is so frivolous to this point, if she is in Jing''an Hou''s Mansion and Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, she might be betrayed a hundred times.


    After she left, Ming Tan tried his best to keep calm, looked at the clothes and asked the guy beside him: "I''m new here, I don''t know if this third young lady in General Feng''s mansion is also so majestic in the past?"


    The clerk practiced Tai Chi and said: "Our shop has only been open for the third day, and the nobles in the city can''t recognize them all, so how can we know so much?"


    Ming Tan glanced at Yun Yi, and Yun Yi took out a bag of silver and handed it to the guy.


    The man was startled, this lady is really¡ª¡ª


    It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and when he turned around, he lowered his voice and said: "Although our shop has only been open for three days, but I worked in another shop before, and I have heard something about the third young lady of the Feng family. The third young lady of the Feng family..."


    Ming Tan listened patiently, the more he listened, the more he couldn''t suppress the fire in his heart.


    It turned out that when Ming Chu first married into General Xuanwei''s mansion, the old lady of the Feng family oppressed him, and there was not much trouble inside or outside the mansion, and he even seldom went out to show his face.


    But since the beginning of summer this year, the old lady of the Feng family has been ill and has not sobered up to this day, so she became crazy. The two sister-in-laws in the mansion are both generals, she did not dare to easily confront her, but when she left Feng''s mansion, she often used the name of Jing''an Hou''s mansion and Dingbei Princess to publicize.


    Especially Princess Dingbei, how can anyone in Hezhou be worthy of such a character.


    Although I haven''t heard whether the princess and her elder sister are close, but they are all sisters. If she can say that, the relationship is naturally the same.


    Hearing this, Ming Tan almost fainted.


    Mingchu is really good enough, she is still restless after marrying in Hezhou, didn''t she look down on her like that before? Now she goes around using her banner to flaunt and deceive others.


    However, she is not as stupid as before. With such a behavior, firstly, she gains advantage by gaining power, and secondly, she loses her reputation. Isn''t it killing two birds with one stone?


    The guy said again: "... Miss Su family today, I heard that she was going to discuss marriage with Saburo Feng. For Miss Su''s family."


    Ming Tan didn''t say a word.


    After a long while, she suddenly got up and said: "I want the clothes, Yunyi, pay the bill."


    When she returned to the restaurant, Ming Tan was on fire all over her body, even if she covered her veil, she couldn''t hide her anger, as if pouring a basin of water on her body would make the smoke rise.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her, and then at Yunyi.


    Yun Yi: "..."


    The braised pork is not fragrant.


    Ming Tan suddenly asked: "Husband, I can give orders, right?"


    Jiang Xu nodded: "What''s the matter?"


    "Nothing, don''t trouble your husband."


    Since she dared to use her name to bully others, she wanted to let her know what price she would have to pay for using her name!

 Chapter 60：

    Two days later, there was a lotus feast at the house of Yu Zhifu in Pengcheng, Mingchu dressed up a bit, and attended slowly in the Yaohua satin dress that Yuluofang wore.


    Since she got married, Mingchu has understood some of the joys of noble girls in Beijing who love Qiluo brocade. Of course, the main reason is that the two sisters-in-law in the family are quick and easy-going, and they have left nothing for her on the road of heroism. room to play.


    And what a man loves is color after all. When she married in, her husband already had a roommate.


    Although due to the prestige of the Marquis of Jing''an, she has not been promoted as an aunt, but her husband takes care of her everywhere, and she always spends ten or so days in that house every month, which is more difficult than staying in the house of her rightful wife. Not much.


    That Tong Fang is so pretty, and is used to knowingly looking at the weak and weak, since she entered the door, she has often dug holes and stumbling blocks for her.


    At first she was impatient, and wanted to act in a courteous manner, but the little **** dared to beat her up and find the old lady and her husband to make decisions for her. Heart bored.


    However, after studying in the backyard for a long time, she also gradually realized that many things, men don''t understand, but they have biases in their hearts, and sometimes they just pretend not to understand.


    Fortunately, Liu Xinxun, the girl who served her mother in the past, came to ask her to take her in. Liu Xin had many ideas, so she carefully analyzed the current Feng family''s backyard with her, and advised her to learn to dress up, learn to be patient, and learn to be gentle with her husband. Restrain your temper in front of you. Slowly, it has achieved some results.


    Now the old lady is so sick that she can''t control her, and she found an excuse to kill Tongfang, and life is finally getting better.


    In Yu Mansion, as soon as Ming Chufu appeared, many wives and ladies stepped forward and surrounded her, saying flattering words.


    Nowadays, whenever such an occasion occurs, Mingchu will consciously or unintentionally mention her good sister.


    This is what Liu Xin taught her.


    Liu Xin said, Jing''an Hou''s Mansion and Dingbei Wang''s Mansion are two strong backers, it''s a pity not to use them. Moreover, Hezhou is not the capital city, and she has not done any evil deeds to bully men and women under the banner of the two prefectures, so it is difficult for people to know.


    At first, Mingchu was very nervous, why did she take advantage of that **** Ming Tan!


    But Liu Xin said again, since she hated her, wouldn''t it be nice to use her hands to run amok, gain advantage and damage her reputation?


    When she thought about it carefully, it was exactly the reason.


    "The clothes are just passable. If it were my younger sister, the concubine, she might not be able to look at her very much." Someone praised her embroidered satin, and she said casually, "My younger sister likes extravagance the most. There are also some things to cut and play with."


    "After all, she is a princess. I haven''t seen anything good."


    "That''s right, I heard that the Su family wanted to **** this dress two days ago, and he really overestimated his capabilities."


    Ming Chuzheng was talking lively around here, and whoever said "Hey", everyone turned their heads and was stunned for a moment, and they couldn''t help being a little surprised in their hearts, everyone looked at the woman who was walking slowly, rustling They whispered to each other.


    When Mingchu looked at the person, his face suddenly changed.


    Su Rongrong?


    Why is she wearing Yaohua satin!


    This Su Rongrong is the young lady of the Su family who was robbed of her clothes by girl Mingchu in Yuluofang two days ago.


    I saw that she was wearing a brocade skirt of Yaohua satin, butterfly and begonia, red and white, with tinkling rings, as if there were butterflies fluttering in her movements.


    Compared to Mingchu''s upper body, which is only made of Yaohua satin, her body is obviously much more luxurious, and the embroidery patterns on it are exquisite and complicated. One can tell at a glance that the workmanship is extremely ingenious and of great value.


    Not only the clothes, but also the embroidered shoes and pearl hairpin earrings, which seemed to be specially matched with this outfit, they were all very impressive items at first glance, making her look a bit brighter and more attractive than usual.


    "Rong Rong, is your body also a Yaohua satin?" Someone who has something to do can''t help but ask.


    Su Rongrong nodded reservedly.


    "Could it be that there were other Yaohua satin clothes in Yuluofang that day?"


    "That''s not true." Su Rongrong glanced at Ming Chu casually, "I couldn''t afford such a good dress, but today''s outfit is a gift from a nobleman."


    "Your Excellency? What Honorable Person?"


    Everyone became curious. The Su family was considered a wealthy family in Hezhou, but it was only rich, and there were no high-ranking officials. It was never heard that her family knew any noble people.


    Su Rongrong smiled: "Speaking of it, it''s also thanks to Mrs. Third Young Master. That day in Yuluofang, I originally wanted to buy the clothes worn by Mrs. Third Young Master. But the Ganoderma lucidum girl next to Mrs. is so domineering that she insisted that I didn''t pay the bill. This dress is not mine, and I forced Yuluofang to sell the clothes to her, otherwise I would write a letter to Princess Dingbei, so that the business of Yuluofang could not be done. You don¡¯t have to make things difficult for Yuluofang, so I took the initiative to give in.¡±


    Everyone: "...?"


    This... the third young lady of the Feng family has not been domineering for a day or two. Miss Su''s dare to say so much today, is it crazy? Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, but no one answered for a moment.


    Su Rongrong said again: "Speaking of which, I was a little angry at the time. I was robbed of my clothes for no reason. If you were replaced by you, wouldn''t you be angry? But what''s the use of being angry, and being angry can''t be exchanged for a noble sister like Princess Dingbei. At that time, I still thought, King Dingbei is the famous God of War who made a great show of calming the Northland for me, why did he marry such a bullying concubine?"


    "..."


    Everyone was stupefied in shock, is Su Rongrong tired of living? To say in public that Princess Dingbei is bullying others?


    "I was so angry for a day. Who would have thought that a distinguished guest came to the door the next day, saying that her wife happened to witness the Ganoderma lucidum snatching my clothes yesterday in Yuluofang. Her wife felt very sorry, and she just happened to do the same." The new clothes made of Yao brocade, which I haven''t worn yet, were given to me by Ben Tete as an apology."


    Some people are sensitive to "I''m sorry" and "Apologize", and some people just want to know who is so courageous. Isn''t this behavior openly against Princess Dingbei?


    However, no matter how these people asked, Su Rongrong just smiled and said nothing, turned his head and leisurely looked at it, it was clear that something was wrong with his expression.


    "The third young lady still has time to come here to participate in the wind and lotus banquet today, and you are not in a hurry to return to the mansion to receive the order from the princess?" She asked slowly.


    "Princess''s decree?"


    "What decree?"


    "Miss Su, how do you know?"


    Everyone smelled something wrong, and you asked me one sentence at a time.


    Just at this time, the extremely arrogant Ganoderma lucidum girl next to Mingchu suddenly ran over, she hurriedly whispered in Mingchu''s ear: "Ma''am, it''s not good, Princess Dingbei sent someone to come to the house The edict has reprimanded you! Master, the master happens to be in the mansion."


    Mingchu''s complexion, which was already green with anger, suddenly turned livid.


    Only then did Su Rongrong smile and continue to explain: "Do you know who is the nobleman who sent someone to my house to deliver the clothes? It is the good sister that the third young lady always talks about, Princess Dingbei."


    Everyone was in an uproar.


    "The concubine is also wondering how she has such a good sister who is so majestic, and she is using her name to go around. No, Tete went to General Xuanwei''s mansion and issued a Taoist order to this good sister. Woolen cloth."


    Everyone, you look at me and I look at you. Although the details are not very clear, you basically understand that the relationship between Princess Dingbei and her concubine is not only bad, but also extremely bad.


    I knew about this two days ago, but I had to wait until today for the Fenghe Banquet to let Su Rongrong slap her in the face in public, and even go to Feng''s mansion to issue an order to reprimand her. I am afraid that she would be angry if she learned that this concubine sister was showing off her power in Hezhou by virtue of her name. It''s not easy.


    At this moment, everyone in the Feng residence was also very angry.


    Now that the old lady in the family is seriously ill, the rest of the people dare not be too constrained by this woman. This woman calls herself "Eldest Sister of Princess Dingbei" everywhere outside, they know something about it, but they can''t do anything to her if they know it, she is indeed the eldest sister of Princess Dingbei, Princess Dingbei didn''t say anything, they How can I put my beak on it?


    And she also killed Saburo''s Tong Fang earlier, because she was originally the main wife, punishing a Tong Fang is not a big deal, and with the backing of Princess Dingbei, although the methods were ruthless, no one dared to pursue anything.


    But it''s fine that this woman and Princess Dingbei are not as affectionate as she boasted, how much enmity is this? It actually caused people to come to the door and slap her face without any regard for sisterhood, and ordered her to "use the power of the prince''s house to run amok" and "shouldn''t flaunt her personal virtues". Even their house also said "the family is not strict". Warning!


    When Ming Chu returned to the mansion with a livid face, a woman directly carried her to the flower hall of the main house. Before she could speak up to defend herself, General Feng yelled: "Stupid woman, kneel down!"


    She refused to kneel at first, and wanted to find Feng Sanlang, but she didn''t realize that her husband was already kneeling there due to lack of restraint, but with a flash of divine skill, a servant woman kicked her leg, and pressed her to kneel on Feng Sanlang''s body sideways.


    General Feng is a rough man, he has been a soldier all his life, and he has never done anything to bully others. Today, he was scolded by a young concubine, and his old face is completely humiliated!


    He lashed out at the couple, telling them to go and kneel in the ancestral hall, and warned Feng Sanlang not to let this stupid woman go out for half a time, and the two girls beside Mingchu named Liu Lingzhi , one who instigated right and wrong and one who relied on others'' power, all of them were beaten to death!


    Mingchu was naturally unwilling, she struggled angrily: "If your Feng family treats me like this, if my father knows¡ª"


    Before she could finish speaking, General Feng threw a letter in her face and said harshly: "This is the letter from your father! Your father said that now you are the daughter-in-law of the Feng family, how to discipline you is up to the Feng family." If you want to give up in the future, you don¡¯t have to send it back to the Marquis of Jing¡¯an¡¯s mansion, just take a carriage to Mei¡¯an and join your aunt in the green lantern ancient Buddha!¡±


    Hearing the words, Mingchu''s ears rang for a while, and his eyes widened, quite unbelievable.


    After a long while, she unfolded the letter with a pale face, her hands trembling. It was actually her father''s handwriting and seal on it.


    "It''s my Feng family''s misfortune to marry such a stupid woman like you! If you cause trouble again, my Feng family will divorce you immediately!"


    She vented all her strength, the fear and helplessness of being imprisoned in the ancestral hall of the Hou Mansion welled up in her heart, and she did not dare to be presumptuous any more.


    When the Feng family was in trouble, Jiang Xumingtan and his party were already far away from Hezhou, and the carriage was driving on the official road to Yuzhou at a leisurely pace.


    Seeing that the book in Ming Tan''s hand hadn''t been turned for a while, Jiang Xu suddenly asked, "What are you thinking?"


    Ming Tan slowly put down the scroll, and thoughtfully said: "I''m thinking, at this moment, my third elder sister should know what the price of acting in my name is."


    It was impossible for her to let her husband stay in Hezhou for two days without reason, so she only kept Yunyi, asked her to deliver things to Miss Su''s family, and then specially waited until today''s Fenghe Banquet, and she also delivered a letter to Jing''an Houfu Well, thinking about it, if Mrs. Pei spoke from the sidelines, Dad wouldn''t even be confused about this matter.


    ¡­


    "Actually, if she is only using the name of Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, I will write a letter to Dad at most. Dad always treats the third sister with a little bit of pity. But she shouldn''t, she shouldn''t use Dingbei Princess Act in name.


    "She acted like this, not only hurting my reputation, but also the reputation of the palace and my husband. My husband''s military exploits and prestige were all fought with a knife and a gun on the battlefield. How can I allow her to be invincible?" Those who do stupid things will waste it later."


    Seeing her serious and angry appearance, Jiang Xu was a little surprised, but also a little touched. In fact, he never thought that his little concubine punished his concubine for the sake of his reputation.


    Ming Tan took a sip of tea to relax, and added angrily: "I haven''t ruined it yet!"


    Jiang Xu paused.


    Silently took back the touch just now.

 Chapter 61：

    Two days later, Yun Yi and Shu Jingran who took the initiative to stay with her in Pengcheng finally caught up with the team, and the horses and chariots had already marched to Yuzhou.


    Reading books and playing chess all the way in the car, Ming Tan was very tired.


    After talking with each other for two days, the husband obviously didn''t want to play against her again, and when he saw her holding a chess pot, he went out to ride a horse.


    Ming Tan was quite depressed, her chess skills were also ranked among the best ladies in the capital, so why was she so disgusted by him.


    Fortunately, she soon entered the territory of Yuzhou, and the fatigue and depression in her heart were finally relieved.


    The Yuxi area is a fortress in the Western Regions, and the scenery along the way is quite exotic, and her elder brother is the county magistrate in Pangshan in Yuzhou. The husband has promised her that he will stop by Pangshan for a day and take her to See my brother.


    Ming Tan''s elder brother, named Ming Heng, is eight years older than her. He has participated in the Spring Festival twice, and he was born as a Jinshi in the second year of Chengkang. In the same year when Bo gained fame, he got engaged to Dr. Zuo Jianyi''s eldest daughter, who knew that not long after the engagement, Dr. Zuo Jianyi''s eldest daughter died of a chronic illness.


    Although Ming Heng has no great talent, he is diligent and down-to-earth, and he values ??love and righteousness. He only met his fianc¨¦e once, but he still vowed to mourn her and not marry for three years. And he insisted on going his own way, he didn''t want to stay as a Beijing official according to the situation of the Marquis''s mansion, so he asked him to let him go, and he was willing to be a small county magistrate.


    This year is already the fourth year he has been released to Pangshan, and he will return to Beijing next year after his term is completed, and he will be transferred after his duty report.


    Jiang Xu paid attention to Ming Heng''s evaluation in the Ministry of Officials, and he was excellent every year. From the evaluation point of view, he is a good parent official.


    This detour to Pangshan was not only to satisfy Ming Tan, but also because he himself wanted to meet Ming Heng.


    Ming Heng was very excited when he learned that the little sister whom he hadn''t seen for a few years was going to pass by Pang Mountain with her prince and husband.


    Ming Tan got married, he couldn''t go back to Beijing to watch the ceremony, so he could only send someone to add a dowry for his younger sister. After Ming Tan got married, he wrote several letters to Jingzhong, and every time he asked about Ming Tan, he replied that he was very good. But the reply is a reply, and I haven''t seen it with my own eyes. How can I jump to conclusions if it is good or not.


    "My lord, aren''t you going to Yizhuang today?" The little policeman chased after him and asked.


    "Just let me go, my official sister is coming today." After adjudicating today''s land dispute case, Ming Heng took off his official hat and hurried to the county government''s residence, halfway, he stopped suddenly, He quickly said to the little policeman who followed, "Qinghe, don''t go too, you are a girl''s house, and you can just help me clean up the house."


    The little catcher called "Qinghe" said in surprise: "Sister? Is that... the sister in the middle of the capital? How did she come to Pangshan?"


    Everyone in the county government office only knew that his lord was in Shangjing, but they didn''t know that he was the heir of the Hou family. But after getting along with the adults for a long time, everyone can vaguely perceive that the status of the adults should be extraordinary.


    Several times when he was in danger, there were hidden guards who rescued him. When the prefect came to Pangshan for inspection, he was also very polite to his own adults.


    "It''s a long story, in short, you and I go to clean up the house first."


    "yes."


    Qinghe took the lead, and became a little more curious about this county magistrate''s younger sister who had heard her name for a long time.


    The adults seldom mentioned family matters, but every time he mentioned it, he would always mention his beautiful and lovely little sister who looked like a fairy. And the adults are always simple, eat and drink in the county government office, dress cleanly, but spend the money to collect rare things to send to the capital without hesitation.


    She really wants to see what kind of person this young lady is.


    At noon, she finally saw it.


    After the chariots and horses drove into Pangshan County, Ming Tan covered his veil and lifted the hood, his eyes lingering all the way.


    She hasn''t seen her elder brother for nearly four years, and she wants to take a closer look at what the place under his rule for four years looks like.


    But seeing this, Ming Tan couldn''t help feeling somewhat sad.


    Although Pangshan is Wang County, it can''t be compared with Shangjing. Those nobles in Shangjing are not gallant, red-sleeved, but her brother has a solid eye and insists on becoming a county magistrate in this small place. Keeping mourning and not marrying has a stalemate with his father, and now he doesn''t even have a sister-in-law.


    When she got off the car in front of the county government office, Ming Tan lightly stepped on the sedan chair, covered with a thin veil, and wore a jade-white pear flower gauze skirt all over her body, fluttering like a fairy, because she didn''t have the green calyx to accompany her, her hair was simply tied in a bun, only the hairpin Green jade hairpin, but it is still difficult to hide its picturesque eyebrows.


    After getting out of the car, Yun Yi stepped forward and held up a paper umbrella for him.


    Qinghe was dumbfounded.


    Ming Heng was also dumbfounded.


    When he left Beijing, Ming Tan was just a pretty little girl with pouty cheeks, who would call him "brother" sweetly with a smile. Unexpectedly, after four years of absence, she would be like a fairy. Stop, like pear blossoms in spring water, lovely and charming.


    "elder brother!"


    Ming Tan''s eyes flicked across the group of people who came out to greet him, and soon settled on the long man in the leader''s uniform of the county magistrate.


    The man looks dignified, upright and gentle, with the kind of face that is easy to get along with at a glance, she couldn''t help but yelled softly.


    Mingheng regained his senses, and almost blurted out "sister", but he held back for now, because his eyes were quickly attracted by the man in black who stepped out of the carriage.


    The man in black was tall and tall, with cold eyes, and just got off the carriage with the aura of a superior. Presumably this is the famous Daxian God of War, his brother-in-law, His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    Ming Heng was stunned for a moment, then turned his eyes back to Ming Tan, and it took a long while to restrain the excitement surging in his heart: "You two are too tired to travel, please come inside."


    Seeing Shu Jingran getting off from the carriage at the back, he also politely said: "Second Master Shu, please come inside."


    Shu Jingran nodded and smiled, he wanted to call "Shizi", but he didn''t know what to think of, so he called "Master".


    He didn''t know Ming Heng well, but he remembered that in the past when his elder brother invited people to cook tea and discuss poetry, this Prince Jing''an was a frequent visitor.


    A group of people followed Mingheng into the Pangshan county government office.


    Walking all the way to the reception flower hall in Yamen, Ming Tan finally couldn''t help taking off his veil, stepped forward to hug Ming Heng, and shouted: "Brother!"


    "Sister!" Ming Heng also hurriedly hugged Ming Tan and stroked her head, his voice trembling with excitement.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    His little concubine usually keeps her mouth shut outside, but now her elder brother can hug her casually.


    "Brother, why are you so thin? Is it because you are so busy with business that you don''t eat properly? Ah Tan misses you so much!" Ming Tan had tears in his eyes, and his heart ached.


    Hou Zai swallowed his saliva in Qinghe not far away, marveling at the beauty of the adult sister, but also wanted to make a point: the adult has obviously grown thick since he came to Pangshan. A new set, you can''t open your eyes and talk nonsense even if you look good.


    However, she is not the only one who is talking nonsense, Ming Heng also said: "You still talk about me, you are so thin that the wind can blow you down, don''t you¡ª"


    Before he finished speaking, Jiang Xu glanced at him, his eyes seemed to be asking: "Why, the prince thinks that the Dingbei palace has treated the concubine badly?"


    "I''m fine, brother don''t have to worry." Ming Tan recovered first and stopped Ming Heng from talking, "By the way, brother, this is my husband." She then introduced to Jiang Xu, "Husband, this is my brother .¡±


    The eyes of the two men finally met.


    There were outsiders present, and they didn''t take the initiative to reveal their identities. Ming Heng didn''t know how to address him for a moment, so he called out after deliberation: "Brother-in-law?"


    Jiang Xu was silent for a long time, then he nodded and said, "Brother, just call me to start it."


    brother? Ming Heng nodded, although there was nothing wrong with it, but he faintly felt that he had taken a big advantage.


    It''s not easy for siblings to meet each other this time, since Jiang Xu brought Ming Tan here, it''s not like he didn''t even give him a chance to talk alone. He took the initiative to leave with Shu Jingran, leaving only Yunyi outside the flower hall waiting for the two to talk.


    After saying this, it was a whole afternoon. In the evening, Ming Heng prepared a table of good wine and food early, and had a drink with Jiang Xu, his brother-in-law, and Shu Jingran, an old friend.


    Ming Tan was overjoyed, and had two drinks with them. But she doesn''t drink well, and what she drank was not fruit wine. After two glasses, her little face turned red.


    Jiang Xuben only allowed her to drink a small cup. Seeing that she had started to drink the third cup secretly, he suddenly snatched it away and drank it down again. He said to Yunyi expressionlessly: "Madam is drunk, send Madam back home." room to rest."


    As soon as he spoke, Ming Tan got up obediently like a child who was caught doing something wrong with a guilty conscience.


    Seeing this, Ming Heng couldn''t help feeling worried. When talking in the afternoon, Ming Tan said that the lord treats her very well, but no matter how you look at it, it seems that his younger sister is eaten to death by the lord.


    There was no one else around, he poured the wine, hesitantly said: "My lord, Sister She is young and doesn''t know anything, if you make any mistakes on weekdays, please bear with me."


    Jiang Xu drank a glass of wine by himself, and his voice was as clear and indifferent as this wine: "Don''t worry, brother, my concubine will naturally not make mistakes. If there is a mistake, it is someone else''s fault."


    "..."


    Very good and overbearing.


    That night, Jiang Xumingheng and Shu Jingran chatted very late. But most of the time it was Jiang Xu and Ming Heng who were chatting, Shu Jingran seldom interrupted, he knew that Jiang Xu was thinking of employing people when he deliberately passed by Pangshan this time.


    Assuming that Tonggang is opened in time, Yuzhou in the whole prefecture must be completely controlled by his own people. Mingheng has stayed in Pangshan for four years and knows Yuzhou very well. If someone is available, he can''t miss it.


    ¡­


    It was late at night when we returned to our room.


    Seeing the silence in the room, Jiang Xu thought that Ming Tan was drunk and had already fallen asleep. Not wanting to go to the back room, Ming Tan suddenly got out from under the quilt.


    For some reason, she changed into the Western Region dance dress that she bought outside today. The scarlet color, the upper body reveals fair and delicate shoulders, neck, waist and abdomen, with many decorative glitters on the edges, and the lower body is a thin layer of scarlet gauze, hazy Covering the important parts and the two straight and slender legs.


    "Husband, is A-tan good-looking?"


    She had a sweet voice, and was quite drunk, she got up swayingly, imitating the dancer from the Western Regions she saw at the market today, and looked straight at Jiang Xu. She didn''t learn it well, but she learned a little bit of contrived charm in the pure and innocent, and it was terrible to be coquettish and annoying.


    Jiang Xu put his arms around her slender waist, clasped her two restless little hands behind his back, and said in a low voice, "Don''t make trouble, this is at your elder brother''s house."


    "Brother? Uh...brother?"


    She was so drunk that she couldn''t quite understand what Jiang Xu was saying.


    "Brother who are you calling?" Jiang Xu heard her calling Mingheng brother again and again during the day, and there was a very strange impulse in his heart. At this moment, Mingtan was not so clear-headed, and some impulse was faintly stirring in his heart, he asked calmly said, "What''s my king''s name?"


    "Well...Jiang...Qizhi."


    "What''s the name of the word?" He tempted.


    "Enlightenment of..."


    "Whose house is this in?"


    "elder brother?"


    "Link up."


    "...?"

 Chapter 62：

    Ming Tan''s eyes are drunk at the moment, and asking some simple questions that don''t require thinking will make her connect... She hiccups, her head is tilted on Jiang Xu''s chest, and she is tilted up, her eyes are hazy and puzzled.


    "Connected?"


    How to connect?


    Thinking of something, she suddenly stepped back, pulled off the tie on Jiang Xu''s sleeve, staggered in circles, and wrapped it around herself.


    At the end of the circle, the belt was not long enough, and she fell back into Jiang Xu''s arms with inertia. Her little head, which was not sober at all, turned dizzy and hit the familiar chest, which seemed to be a little painful.


    She frowned, rubbed her forehead, pulled the belt, and muttered, "It''s connected."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    He also drank a lot of wine tonight, and his body smelled heavily of alcohol. As far as he could see, he could see the crimson gauze and white skin on Ming Tan''s body. The silver glitter swayed with her soft waist, arousing her The faint fragrance from his body penetrated straight into his nostrils. His eyes darkened, and his throat rolled unconsciously.


    However, Ming Tan still teased him recklessly, sticking to his body, rubbing back and forth restlessly: "Husband, why is it cold on your body, um... that''s great."


    Jiang Xu''s body was picked up by her fidgety little hands, cluster after cluster of fire, thinking that he was in Mingheng''s residence, he endured it for a while, but in the end he didn''t want to bear it anymore, suddenly picked her up and walked towards the bed, and threw her on the bed. On the bed, he leaned over and pressed down.


    He put one hand on Ming Tan''s ear, and with the other he slowly untied the messy belt around her body. After untiing it, he tied those flailing little hands to the top of his head with a belt, so as not to give her any chance to make trouble.


    Ming Tan was very drunk, her chest was stuffy, and her whole body was on fire, but she still felt the approaching danger, so she moaned vaguely, subconsciously wanting to shrink into a corner.


    She didn''t want to turn over, and the tulle held by Jiang Xu made a clear tearing sound. She was already in pain, and when she saw that the clothes were broken, she complained a little bit aggrievedly: "Why did you break it again?" my clothes!"


    Jiang Xu pinched her chin, and his eyes lingered very closely on her eyebrows. Due to drunkenness, her face was flushed, and the corners of her eyes were also red, watery, coupled with a small expression of grievance, inexplicably, it made people want to bully her severely.


    "It''s broken," he said in a low voice, meaning that he didn''t understand, "How about the king compensate you?"


    As he said that, he tore off the tulle that was no longer covering her body, and said in a hoarse voice next to her ear: "Hey, don''t break the broken ones first."


    Ming Tan nodded obediently, and wanted to open his mouth to say something, but unexpectedly his lips were sealed and his teeth were pried open.


    She was already dizzy and flustered, but this **** made her body soften even more. She groaned twice, and involuntarily clinging to him, catering to his rhythm.


    When Mingheng asked Qinghe to help tidy up the house, he deliberately changed the bed curtain with smoke powder that the girl''s family Xu Hui liked.


    At this moment, the smoke powder bed curtain was shaking, Ming Tan didn''t know whether it was hot or numb, and the tears from the corners of her eyes were also mixed with the fragrant sweat from her forehead. It will be fine soon."


    "You... you just... said that too."


    "Really." Jiang Xu''s eyes seemed to be on fire, and he kissed her earlobe, and the fire was densely burning along the ear, and his voice was hoarse and whispered, as if coaxing, "Brother Qi, I will hurry up!" some, okay?"


    Ming Tan has gone from limp to sore, as long as he is quick, everything will be fine, so he immediately shouted without any backbone: "Brother Qizhi¡ª¡ª"


    Who would have thought that before the words were finished, a gust of wind and rain would strike, and Ming Tan couldn''t bear it any longer, so he exclaimed, calling "Brother Qi Zhi" one after another as if begging for mercy, the more he shouted, the more he broken.


    Her body trembled, sometimes in the clouds, sometimes at the bottom of the water, sweat and tears were intertwined on her little face, and her black hair was full, some of which fell on her cheeks, entangled with his black hair.


    ¡­


    After a night of having fun, Ming Tan woke up the next day with a severe headache and a throbbing brain. Because of being drunk, he couldn''t quite remember what he did last night and what happened again.


    It''s just that seeing Jiang Xu who was still lying beside him and the brocade quilt exuding an ambiguous atmosphere in a mess, some embarrassing images sporadically appeared in his mind that was still chaotic just now.


    Brother Qi?


    Did she call brother Qizhi last night?


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan blushed, hurriedly covered his face and rolled over, his body curled up into a small shrimp.


    She is too shameless, why would she shout like that? This is in my elder brother''s house, I don''t know if anyone heard it last night, it was really a mistake to drink, a mistake to drink...


    Suddenly, the long arm behind him pulled her into his arms, and his rough fingertips lingered unscrupulously on her body.


    She hurriedly slapped it away, turned around and said angrily: "You last night! Knowing that you are in brother''s house, you are too bad!"


    "This king is drunk." His voice was low and satisfied.


    Drunk, why don''t you see him drunk on weekdays? And Yun Yi clearly said that the Lord will not get drunk after a thousand cups! Ming Tan was so ashamed that he couldn''t do anything about him, so he punched him twice, but the force was also light.


    Jiang Xu cupped her little fist, and comforted her in a hoarse voice: "It''s nothing, Shu Jingran and your brother are also drunk."


    "Really?" Ming Tan was suspicious.


    Jiang Xu said "hmm".


    Ming Tan was skeptical, but he felt a little more at ease.


    After warming up on the bed for a while, the two got up and changed their clothes. Seeing that Jiang Xu was going to wear black again, Ming Tan held him down, picked out loose green casual clothes for him, and graciously helped him put them on one by one.


    After putting it on, she picked up the black brocade clothes that Jiang Xu had replaced, trying to take out the things in the secret pocket.


    He usually puts some silver bills, signal smoke bombs, and seals in his secret pocket.


    "G, Husband, what is this?" Ming Tan suddenly took out a long black jade tablet and looked it up curiously.


    The top of this thing is pierced, it seems to be hung on something, the whole body is black, it looks like jade but not jade. There were obvious signs of blunt wear and tear on it, Ming Tan looked at it, somehow it looked familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he saw it.


    Jiang Xu paused: "You don''t know?"


    Ming Tan shook his head: "I don''t know him, but he looks familiar."


    "This thing saved my king''s life." He took it from Ming Tan''s hand, stroked it for a while, and then put it into a secret pocket.


    Saved a life? Ming Tan wanted to ask more carefully, but Ming Heng suddenly went outside the house and knocked on the door, calling them to have breakfast together.


    Hearing Ming Heng''s voice, the up and down string in Ming Tan''s mind suddenly tensed, she hurriedly agreed, and raised the small bronze mirror to have a look.


    Very well, the bun and makeup are all in place, she tidied up her skirt, and pulled Jiang Xu out together.


    The breakfast was served in the flower hall, and during the meal, Ming Tan knocked sideways and asked, "I heard from my husband, brother and Mr. Shu were both drunk last night? Did you rest well?"


    Ming Heng rubbed his head, feeling a little helpless: "I''m a little drunk, I fell asleep when I got back to the room."


    Shu Er nodded and sighed: "Me too, in terms of drinking capacity, I''m still no match for Qizhi."


    Ming Tan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the words.


    Jiang Xu ate the porridge by himself, raising the corners of his lips almost imperceptibly.


    The destination of their trip was Lingzhou, and they could only stop for a day by passing through Pangshan Mountain. According to Jiang Xu''s intention, they had to continue their journey after eating breakfast. However, Ming Heng was so kind and insisted on keeping them for another lunch, Ming Tan also blinked at him.


    Thinking of her hard work last night, Jiang Xu nodded and acquiesced.


    After breakfast, Ming Heng took them to have a look around the county government office, and took a stroll around the street.


    The people of Pangshan are very familiar with Ming Heng. When the old lady who sells vegetables saw him, she insisted on bringing him some fresh vegetables from her own home. The proprietress of the cloth shop on the street also yelled "Master Ming" one by one, twisting her plump waist Lies forward, both inside and outside the words are trying to introduce someone to him.


    Ming Tan has been covering her veil in a regular manner, and walked forward beside Jiang Xu. When she heard that someone was going to introduce someone to her brother, she finally couldn''t help it, and said aloud: "Brother, you have been in mourning for sister Yang for three years. When I return to Beijing next year, this marriage has to be put on the agenda. Although Dad doesn¡¯t say anything, he is very concerned about your marriage, and mother has secretly found several girls for you.¡±


    Mentioning this topic, Ming Heng felt a little uncomfortable. Qinghe, who was following behind, also paused for no reason, and raised his eyes to secretly look at his lord.


    At that moment, Ming Tan sensitively caught the subtle reactions of the two.


    She looked at Qinghe curiously, at first she didn''t pay much attention, she only thought of him as a small policeman in the yamen, and didn''t think whether this small policeman appeared too frequently.


    Looking at it now, this girl Qinghe is very pretty, and she looks very smart and capable. The most important thing is that she admires Ming Heng very much, and among the three sentences she utters, one of them must start with "Our Lord".


    Ming Tan has a delicate mind, and few people can stand up to him when he wants to say something, let alone a girl like Qinghe who works in the yamen and is used to being straightforward.


    She just tossed a few words at random, and Qinghe explained clearly the geomantic treasures where the bones of her three generations of ancestors were buried like beans in a bamboo tube.


    Well, there is a bit of a difference in status. Daddy''s pass is definitely not easy, but status is not a big deal. The wife of the eldest son of Jing''an Hou''s mansion doesn''t need to be too prominent, just innocent.


    It''s just that the elder brother is the son of the eldest son, and his wife will be the clan wife of the Ming family in the future. The responsibilities that need to be borne may not be able to be carried by the girl Qinghe in front of her. Thinking up to this point, Ming Tan was a little worried.


    When she returned to the county government office, the kitchen was preparing lunch, and Yun Yi also took advantage of this time to pack her luggage.


    Ming Tan found that girl Qinghe was looking at their horses, so he stepped forward and asked, "Can girl Qinghe know how to ride a horse?"


    Qinghe shook his head embarrassingly: "I don''t know. There are no horses at home, and there are only two old horses in the county government that are used to report letters, but I have always wanted to learn."


    "You want to learn? Just so I can teach you."


    "Miss, you will?"


    Qinghe scratched his head, and questioned bluntly, after all, his lord, this younger sister seemed to be an untouchable, and it seemed difficult for her to get on the horse.


    "certainly."


    Ming Tan had been instructed by Jiang Xu personally before, and she was bored sitting in the carriage all the way, and she also rode with Jiang Xu from time to time, accepting Master''s advice by the way. Although she couldn''t ride steadily, she remembered quickly, and now she has quite a lot of theoretical knowledge.


    So when Jiang Xu and Mingheng passed by, they saw Qinghe sitting on a horse dangling, and Mingtan pointed beside him seriously: "Yes, that''s it, hold the rein tightly, straighten your waist, be sure to sit up straight, and clamp the horse tightly." belly¡­"


    "My lord, can Ah Tan know how to ride a horse? He can teach others." Ming Heng was surprised.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    One who dares to teach and one who dares to learn.

 Chapter 63：

    Xu Shimingtan''s theoretical knowledge is in place, and Xu Shiqinghe''s understanding is good. The two of them tossed around like this, but nothing went wrong.


    After a while, Yun Yi came over.


    Yun Yi is a serious Jin Yunwei, killing people is like cutting cabbage, so riding a horse is naturally a no-brainer. Ming Tan was very self-aware and vacated the post of master, and let Yun Yi Haosheng teach Jiao Qinghe.


    Seeing that Qinghe was really interested in riding horses, Ming Tan secretly told Jiang Xu to keep the horse and give it to her.


    After lunch, no matter how reluctant they were, they had to continue on their way. Fortunately, Ming Heng would return to Beijing to report on his duties in one year, so saying goodbye would not be too sentimental.


    Before leaving, Ming Heng sent another box of things to Ming Tan: "These are the gadgets my brother collected for you in the past six months, and I originally planned to bring them back to Shangjing next month, since I''m here, I''ll take them with me to relieve my boredom on the way. "


    "Thank you brother."


    Ming Tan bent his lips, took the brocade box, opened it and looked at it.


    Inside there are delicate and complicated Luban locks, nine chains made of jade, painted Mohele, and dazzling gemstone hairpins, all of which are new styles that are hard to see in Beijing.


    Just as he was about to close it after reading it, Ming Tan suddenly caught a glimpse of an easily overlooked black color in the corner. Curious, she stretched out her hand and picked it up, and took out the piece of black jade buried in the corner.


    This piece of black jade is very similar to the one I saw in the pocket of Jiang Xu''s clothes this morning, but the shape is different. This piece is oval, more like a pebble.


    "Brother, what is this?" She put it in the sun and took a photo, but it didn''t see through.


    Mingheng explained: "Oh, this is a kind of jade produced exclusively in a small country called ''Wuheng'' in the Western Regions. It is called ''Wuheng Jade''. This jade, but the output is very small, I got this piece by chance, seeing the rare black jade, thinking that you might be able to use it for jewelry, so I put it in it."


    Ming Tan heard the words and nodded clearly.


    Mingheng thought of something, and said again: "But this jade, I had someone give you a piece of it before, don''t you remember?"


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Have it? Ming Tan was puzzled for a moment, but soon relieved.


    She has countless gemstone hairpins, and she only opened and looked at the top-quality Dongzhu hairpin that Uncle Fu borrowed the name of the Golden Pavilion to give her, but she has never worn it.


    Since the elder brother said so, then maybe there is. In this way, when I saw the jade of my husband this morning, I felt quite familiar, and it made sense.


    Ming Tan didn''t think much about it, and after getting in the car, he took out this piece of Wuheng jade and dangled it in front of Jiang Xu''s eyes, looking at it and talking: "Husband, this piece of jade and yours seem to be the same thing, what is it called ''Wuhengyu''? Heng Yu''?


    "My brother said that he gave me a piece of jade before. No wonder I saw your piece of jade very familiar today. But I don''t know what my brother is thinking. This black jade is actually used as jewelry for me. Whose girl?" What kind of black jade can be used for jewelry, my brother doesn''t know much about girls..."


    While talking, Ming Tan suddenly paused.


    Jiang Xu also looked at her quietly.


    Wait, she remembered, a few years ago, she seemed to have really received such a piece of black jade, and felt it was fresh now, she really used this black jade to make jewelry, and it was Jiang Xu who made it. The long strip of jade plaque in the secret pocket is hung on the top of the waist, just as an embellishment.


    The ban on walking should be because he thought it was unlucky after returning home from a trip to Hanyan Temple three years ago, so he locked it together with the rest of his clothes and jewelry in a cage, and never took it out for use.


    Speaking of Hanyan Temple, Ming Tan couldn''t help thinking of some old things.


    Hanyan Temple was in Shangjing in the early years, and the incense was also very strong. But three years ago, the fire burned it down completely one night. Since then, people in Beijing have kept this temple secret, and no one mentioned it again.


    Ming Tan remembered that the fire that burned down the Hanyan Temple was burning during the Outing Festival that year.


    At that time, she was in the year of cardamom, and she went to Hanyan Temple to look for spring and enjoy flowers together with the ladies in Beijing during the outing festival.


    The location of Hanyan Temple is quite remote, and it is quite famous for its success in seeking children, and then somehow, it became known that it is also very effective in seeking marriage.


    Boys and girls are just getting to know Mu Ai for the first time, and they are a little ignorant about marriage, so they don''t hesitate to go out of the city to visit Hanyan Temple.


    At that time, Ming Tan and Liang Zixuan were engaged, they had never seen anything in the world, so they were quite satisfied with this marriage.


    When she went to Hanyan Temple, she stopped by to worship, praying for a smooth marriage, but after praying and asking for a lottery, it was a murderous lottery, which made her very angry.


    Because of this lottery, she was in a bad mood, and she sat around with a group of ladies in the back hill of the temple to enjoy flowers and grasses, but she couldn''t lift her spirits up much.


    I also don''t remember which lady was about to fly a kite at that time, the wind blew the kite high and far away, the lady chased forward, her eyes were not paying attention, her feet were not paying attention, and she stepped on her light-colored skirt. Several footprints.


    Ming Tan suffered an indiscriminate disaster, and his already bad mood became more and more depressed.


    It''s just that it''s impossible for her to lose face because of being stepped on and dirty her clothes, so she can only sulk in her heart. And when the girl was waiting for her to change clothes in the wing room, someone happened to bump into her annoyed moment.


    Halfway through the change of clothes, the monk knocked on the door, saying that an assassin had entered the temple, and wanted her to open the door to check.


    She was so angry at the time! The investigators have found her here, so do you want her reputation for talking nonsense?


    She grabbed the etiquette and talked to the outside, one, two, three, four, without taking a breath.


    The monks outside the temple looked at each other. It was not easy to publicize the investigation. After thinking about it for a while, they still didn''t force their way in. They went to investigate other places first.


    It''s just that when she changed her clothes and left, she suddenly saw sporadic blood stains on the corner of the screen. She was so panicked that her mind went blank for a moment, her whole body was stiff, and she almost couldn''t walk. Fortunately, she managed to calm down in the end, and walked out of the wing as if nothing had happened.


    That outing was really not going well, Ming Tan was angry and afraid, and felt that Hanyan Temple was full of bad luck. After returning home, she fell asleep in a very bad mood. Who would want to wake up and hear that the Hanyan Temple was on fire last night, and the entire temple was burned down.


    The government office in central Beijing said to the outside world that during the Qingming Festival, many people burned incense and paper, which caused a mountain fire, and Hanyan Temple unfortunately suffered disaster.


    But this incident is full of weirdness, it is said to be a mountain fire, and I have never heard of any mountain burning bald, but only a Zen temple was burned, and only a small part of the temple people were killed or injured, and the rest have been transferred to other places. Zen temple.


    Although Ming Tan was young at the time, he also felt that something was wrong, and he was even a little afraid that he let the assassin go, which caused Hanyan Temple to suffer such a catastrophe.


    But later, she vaguely learned from Mrs. Pei that Hanyan Temple''s disaster was not accidental, but that the higher-ups deliberately cleaned it up¡ªsome monks in Hanyan Temple seemed to be involved in some shady business.


    Pei didn''t say much about the details, perhaps because she was afraid of dirtying her ears. But in that year, there were several wives in Beijing who either hanged themselves or died of illness, and those wives all had their wishes fulfilled in Hanyan Temple.


    All these connections, coupled with the very occasional dark rumors in the market, Ming Tan faintly made a bold guess: there may be licentious and fake monks in the Hanyan Temple, and the so-called success in begging for a child is nothing more than threatening each other to ask for love. That''s all.


    Later, she also paid attention to the families where the wife passed away, and without exception, the children born there died one after another due to various reasons. Only one family said that their child was weak and would be sent to his hometown in the south of the Yangtze River to recuperate, but there has been no news so far. This obviously confirmed her guess even more.


    Ming Tan fell into memory and was silent for a while, Jiang Xu suddenly asked: "What are you thinking?"


    Ming Tan came back to his senses, subconsciously shook his head: "It''s nothing... By the way, sir, you said earlier that that piece of Wuheng jade saved your life?" She was still more interested in this matter.


    Jiang Xu said "Yes": "Three years ago, when Yuzhou was regained, there was a difficult battle. After escaping from the battlefield, he was hunted down again. The heart guard was broken, and it blocked the poisoned arrow for the king once."


    Ming Tan was stunned, and immediately remembered what his brother said about this jade being extremely hard. But her husband had experienced such a dangerous thing, she was afraid and said: "In this way, that jade really saved my husband''s life, fortunately my husband is fine."


    Jiang Xu was silent, he only said one sentence lightly, but it was hard to explain in thousands of words.


    Before regaining Yuzhou, Daxian was peaceful and prosperous on the surface, but in fact, internal and external troubles had reached their peak.


    The Empress Dowager Su stared at Emperor Chengkang several times, and even used the lewd and fake monks of Hanyan Temple to control the family members of several important officials in the court, threatening each other step by step, and confusing their heirs, in order to let them use for themselves and steal important information.


    Jiang Xu sneaked into the temple to investigate, and because he underestimated the enemy, he was wounded and hid in the wing room. Unfortunately, it was the wing room where Ming Tan changed clothes.


    At that time, he was hiding behind the screen, and Ming Tan was changing clothes on the other side of the screen.


    She put the changed coat on top of the screen, and also casually put on her pearl-shiny forbidden steps. For some reason, a small black jade tablet suddenly fell from the top of the forbidden step, the sound was crisp and clear to the ears.


    At that moment, Jiang Xu moved to kill.


    But the little **** the opposite side didn''t care about the dropped things, she just muttered angrily about how inaccurate the lottery in this temple was, how expensive her clothes were, and someone came to check on the assassin later, she seemed very angry and said clearly Tiao turned back, and abruptly pushed him away from the wing.


    Jiang Xu couldn''t help looking at the gap between the screens. The little **** the other side seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, with a delicate face and a little childishness.


    She used etiquette to block people, and later deliberately dawdled and changed clothes, buying him an extremely critical moment. At this moment, he healed and recovered to 50% of his internal strength, and left Hanyan Temple smoothly.


    Burn temples and arrest people at night, and the dark tide is raging during the day. Many things have not been said on the surface from the beginning to the end, but the world has been turned upside down overnight.


    The case of Hanyan Temple can be said to be the key to the empress dowager''s lineage being silent all those years ago, so things went too far, and several important ministers who were originally in the middle expressed their position angrily, which is incompatible with the empress dowager''s lineage.


    His little princess accidentally helped him once in Hanyan Temple, and the black jade tablet that he took away saved his life in the Battle of Yuzhou not long after.


    The recovery of Yuzhou was the most difficult and dangerous battle he encountered in his life. The front line was in trouble, the court was greedy for pay, and the Daxian army retreated steadily, causing tens of thousands of casualties.


    He was seriously wounded, and when he was using his body as bait to lure the enemy to chase him down in the forest, he suddenly fired several arrows, one of which went straight to his heart. The jade tablet turned out to be the indestructible Wu Hengyu, which blocked the poisoned arrow for him.


    The matter of fate is always wonderful, some people have known each other for several years but no more than nodding acquaintances. And some people are destined to meet once in a lifetime.

 Chapter 64：

    Departing from Pangshan Mountain, we traveled without any haste for ten days, and finally arrived at Lingzhou.


    Ming Tan has never left Beijing before. He only knows that Lingzhou has a developed sea trade, a prosperous economy, and many beauties. It is heard that in the past dynasties, the number of women sent to the capital from Lingzhou was much more than that from other dynasties.


    It wasn''t until she entered the territory of Lingzhou that she accidentally learned from Jiang Xu that the Queen Mother Su was not only from Lingzhou, but that the Su family behind her had even controlled more than half of Lingzhou.


    From the previous dynasty to the present, the shipping department of Lingzhou City has always been the voice of the Su family. Several city ship envoys are all from the Su family''s faction. The largest private merchant fleet in Lingzhou is also funded by the Su family. Or private maritime trade, they are all completely in the hands of Su''s family.


    The local governors in Lingzhou also often have connections with their families, and those who have no connections and do not want to have connections will always die for various reasons.


    Ming Tan was dumbfounded: "Then, aren''t we in danger?"


    Ming Tan has always been taught that women are not allowed to engage in politics, so she never asked about Jiang Xu''s business affairs. When she went south to Lingzhou, she didn''t ask what kind of job Jiang Xu was doing. She subconsciously thought that she could take both She must be in no danger.


    "Scared?" Jiang Xu raised his eyes to glance at her.


    Ming Tan was immersed in the shock of knowing this, and nodded honestly. After clicking, she came to her senses, shook her head immediately, and said forcefully, "With my husband here, A Tan is not afraid, there is nothing to be afraid of."


    She said so, but her body was very honest, her back tensed instantly, and she cautiously lifted a corner of the veil to look out.


    Jiang Xu raised the corner of his lower lip imperceptibly, looked down and flipped through the book, but didn''t tell her not to worry.


    Lingzhou is already the last bargaining chip of the Su family, they don''t want the current prince and the son of the right minister to have an accident in this area. Taking a ten thousand step back, if there are really people who have mischief and want to do something, it depends on whether they have the ability.


    At noon, the carriages and horses stopped in a small town in the southwest of Lingzhou, and the group found a restaurant in the town to rest and have a meal.


    A few people were sitting in the private room on the second floor, Ming Tan frowned, and just about to say that the Dragon Well was not good, it was mixed with old tea, when there was a commotion downstairs, it seemed that someone had eaten free food and refused to pay the bill.


    Ming Tan looked downstairs, and saw that the shopkeeper was very stubborn, and was stopped by others, and he was not allowed to go out without paying the bill.


    However, it was tough to eat free food, rolled up his sleeves and stepped on the stool, spit vulgarly on the ground, and said loudly: "I am! I tell you, my sister has been transferred to take care of the ninth girl in the third room of the host family. ! When my sister gets the monthly silver, are you afraid that I won¡¯t be able to pay you a few pennies? My sister is very pampered by Miss Jiu, and it will be a matter of minutes to give me an errand in Sufu in a few days, you Damn it, I don''t have eyes!"


    ...?


    Is it so arrogant to eat free food these days?


    Ming Tan looked carefully, and saw that the shopkeeper really hesitated when he heard these words.


    Seeing this, the free eater triumphantly scooped up half a shiny roast chicken on the table, swaggered out of the restaurant, and the shopkeeper didn''t let anyone stop him.


    Wait, my sister is the favored little girl in front of the third and ninth girls of the Su family, so can he be so arrogant? It seems that this house is in Lingzhou, and it is really the emperor of the earth.


    Ming Tan became more and more anxious.


    Two days later, they finally arrived at the destination of the trip, Lingzhou Quancheng.


    When he arrived in Quancheng, Jiang Xu didn''t intend to continue to keep a low profile, so he revealed his identity at the inspection office of the city gate.


    After hearing the news, the magistrate rushed to the city gate to meet him personally.


    "I don''t know that the lord is here, but I''m not far away from welcoming you. Please forgive me." The magistrate was terrified. He knew why Jiang Xu came, but he had to pretend he didn''t know it. He had to ask carefully, "My lord." Your Majesty is here this time, but you have an errand?"


    "Does the king need to inform the magistrate first of his actions?" Jiang Xu said indifferently, with his hands behind his back.


    "The lower officials dare not!"


    The magistrate''s legs are almost weak. He knew that Lord Yan was coming, but he didn''t expect that he would reveal his identity directly. Didn''t Lord Yan stay in inns quietly in so many places in front of him? Why did he find him as soon as he arrived in Quancheng? lost him? He is not a host family!


    He kept complaining in his heart, and bowed down to explain: "Your Majesty, what I mean by this officer is that if there is anything that the lord can do, I will do my best to cooperate with you!"


    Jiang Xu glanced at him lightly: "Then it''s hard work for Mr. Zhifu."


    The magistrate nodded, wiped his sweat, and led them back to his own mansion courteously, entertained them with delicious food and drinks, and dared not neglect them at all.


    It''s just that Ming Tan is vigilant, he dares not touch anything, the entrance must be tested for poison, the edges of the utensils are not spared, and the mattress furnishings must be inspected carefully.


    In the evening, the magistrate took great pains to make some arrangements, inviting Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran to Xianquanfang to clean up the dust for them.


    This Xianquanfang is the largest one among the 180 boats in Lingzhou, with a total of 68 boats connected to each other.


    Knowing that Jiang Xu was going to have a dinner party here in the evening, Ming Tan was worried, and he hesitated to speak several times during the meal.


    Jiang Xu thought that his little concubine was jealous again. After deliberation, he rarely took the initiative to say: "There is something tonight, you...don''t worry. If the female relatives of the magistrate''s family invite you, you can also go to have fun with them." She is used to I like to be lively, and I am afraid that I am too nervous these days because of the exhaustion of boats and cars.


    "Mr. Ke, go to the Immortal Spring Square¡ª"


    "The concubine should have some confidence in herself." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of meat for Ming Tan.


    "...?"


    She is very confident in herself, okay? She has come to Lingzhou with everyone, are you afraid that he will not be able to bring a woman who is a painter back?


    Well, she was indeed a little bit afraid, if she traveled together and he could pick up a woman back home, then she wouldn''t have to be a human when she returned to Shangjing.


    But what she is more afraid of now is that Su''s family will be unfavorable to him. As the saying goes, a strong dragon will not overwhelm a local snake. Now on his territory, if the errands he wants to do involve their interests, no matter how capable he is, it will be dangerous.


    Before Jiang Xu went out, Ming Tan couldn''t help but babbled and said: "My husband can drink a lot, but when we arrive in Lingzhou, we should drink less and be more careful in everything."


    As he said that, he also gave him the detoxification pills that he secretly asked for from Imperial Physician Feng before leaving Beijing, and said in a low voice, "If you feel uncomfortable, please take a pill. This is what I asked for from Imperial Physician Feng. An ordinary drugged poison."


    "..."


    Jiang Xu wanted to say something, but felt it was unnecessary, so he just nodded and told Yun Yi, "Take good care of the princess."


    "yes."


    Yun Yi surrendered and took the lead.


    Jiang Xu''s sudden appearance not only caught the Zhifu by surprise, but also made the female family members in the prefect''s mansion a little flustered.


    They learned that His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei brought the princess to live with him in his mansion, and his lord invited the prince and the right-hand man to Xianquanfang to pick up the wind and wash away the dust. The princess, they can''t just hang out in the mansion like this. .


    So at night, the magistrate''s wife also arranged a play in the river, and invited Ming Tan to watch it.


    This river opera is a major feature of Lingzhou. It originated from the 180 boats in Lingzhou. Later, some opera troupes improved it and created a river opera that was only sung at night in Lingzhou.


    As the name suggests, the opera in the river is to be sung in the river. The stage is set in the river. At night, the stage is surrounded by lights, and clusters of river lanterns are also lit on the river. The audience sits in the painting boat to enjoy the cool, smell the fragrance of lotus, and enjoy the night opera. Don''t have a good time.


    When Ming Tan received the invitation, she subconsciously wanted to reject it. How could she join the river in a place she was not familiar with? Was she too famous or lived too long?


    But her refusal made Madam Zhifu very flustered, thinking that she was not thoughtful, so she came to invite her in person, with warm and sincere words.


    Ming Tan wanted to push back his physical discomfort, but suddenly remembered what his husband said earlier, why did he specially remind him that he can have fun with the female relatives in the magistrate''s mansion? Could it be that he is hinting at her to let her get in touch with the female relatives in the magistrate''s mansion?


    Seeing that Ming Tan was hesitant, Yun Yi whispered: "Princess, don''t worry, the Lord still left two top experts of Jin Yunwei as guards."


    Ming Tan looked around.


    Have it? Why didn''t she feel it at all.


    But even so, she didn''t continue to refuse, and estimated that she would stay in Lingzhou for a few days to get in touch with the female relatives here, maybe it would be helpful for her husband''s business.


    The magistrate''s office is very close to the Lingyu River where the theater is being watched. Along the way, the magistrate''s wife also explained the origin of the Lingyu River to her in detail. Tan listened to each other, not very interested.


    However, the words of the second lady of the prefect''s family are more interesting: "Princess Wangfei, have you heard of our Lingzhou''s 180 boats? Look, the bright spot is our Lingzhou''s 180 boats. , the Xianquanfang where the prince and daddy went is the one on the right."


    Madam Zhifu gave her a hasty look to signal her to shut up.


    What is it worth showing off to lead your husband to the boat room for fun? It''s a big face for the princess not to blame, she has the face to be with others!


    But Ming Tan really looked along the Huatou, and the river in the distance was brightly lit, shining brightly, and above the sparkling waves, reflected a somewhat dreamlike scene of lights. She thought, if she was closer, she might still be able to hear the woman''s coquettish laughter.


    The magistrate¡¯s wife arranged a very spacious painting boat, and the Eight Immortals Table on the top had already set up delicate fruit plates and snacks. The night breeze was blowing on the river, and the boat stopped when it was a little distance from the river. Not far away, on the stage, actors also appeared on stage. .


    After Ming Tan learned that the glorious place in the distance was the 180 boats of Lingzhou, he was always a little absent-minded when watching the play, and he had to look over there from time to time.


    When "Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night" on the stage came to an end, Ming Tan suddenly caught a glimpse of clusters of green smoke rising from the distant lights.


    What kind of new program at their place is this?


    She couldn''t help staring, but the more she stared, the more something went wrong. Why did she stare, as if there were large groups of figures moving? She sat up straighter, and suddenly, she asked in surprise: "Is there water running over there?"


    As soon as this remark came out, everyone watching the theater on the painting boat couldn''t help but look there.


    They were so far away that they couldn''t see clearly. The magistrate''s wife ordered a young man to row a boat to look over there. The boat hurriedly turned back halfway, and the young man shouted to the top of the painting: "Ma''am, it''s out of the water! That, that Your head is in the water!"


    Needless to say, everyone can see clearly at this moment, the fire is rushing up rapidly, clusters of green smoke are burning, look at the position, it is the rightmost side of the big light, Xianquanfang!

 Chapter 65：

    Madam Zhifu''s face suddenly turned pale, Xianquanfang? Then, isn''t my master... and His Royal Highness King Dingbei and Young Master Right!


    There was a flash of white light in front of her eyes, she just stood up and took a look, then fell back to her buttocks and sat down again, bewildered, unable to open her mouth for a long while in panic.


    The play on the stage stopped, and everyone on the boat was chattering, waiting for the magistrate''s wife to make up her mind:


    "Oh my god, if this wind blows, the boat will probably burn up!"


    "It''s Xianquanfang! Mom, what should I do? Daddy is still on it!"


    "Ma''am, do you want to send someone to put out the fire?"


    "With such a big fire, the submerged fire army should have already been dispatched?"


    ¡­


    The ladies and wives on the boat talked to each other, and even secretly thought to themselves with the intention of watching the fun: The water is going so well, it would be better to burn all the foxes in those boats clean , so that you don''t have to be so enchanting and so pitiful all day long, and you won''t be able to hook up with men!


    The prefect''s wife has never encountered such a scene. She usually spends her days pampered and pampered in the inner house. At most, she just takes care of the miscellaneous trivial matters among the wives and relatives. She is pointing at her to make decisions for a while, and her mind is completely blank.


    At this moment, Ming Tan suppressed the panic that was surging in his heart, and said calmly: "Madam, please send someone to notify the Submarine Fire Army and the City Defense Department immediately, and let them go to fight the fire. The soldiers that the government can mobilize are the best. They are all dispatched to fight the fire!"


    The magistrate''s wife had no backbone, when she heard Ming Tan''s words, she came back to her senses, nodded quickly and said: "Yes, yes, what the princess said is right, hurry up and do what the princess said!"


    The servants looked at each other in blank dismay, this...it is nothing to inform the Qianhuo Army, the Qianhuo Army will definitely send people there, maybe they are already on their way to put out the fire right now.


    But the city defense department and the soldiers of the government office, they can''t be mobilized by reporting the letter, and the magistrate''s wife and princess don''t have the right to do so.


    The magistrate''s wife was in a panic at the moment, how could she expect to get this level, seeing them hesitated, she commanded in a panic, "Hurry up!"


    Someone looked puzzled: "Madam, if there is no order from the magistrate, the city defense department and government soldiers, even the younger ones will report to them and they will not listen."


    Ming Tan heard the words, and immediately retorted: "The magistrate is also trapped in the boat now, how can he have a warrant? You just go, and say it is the order of the princess!" She said, tearing off the princess jade around her waist. "If you don''t obey the order, tell them that if something happens to the prince and the second son of Shu in Quancheng tonight, neither the city defense department nor the people in the government office of Quancheng can get away with it!"


    How could she not know that the imperial concubine''s decree could not dispatch soldiers from Fucheng, but at the moment she didn''t care so much, she could only threaten coldly: "My concubine still has some weight in saying this in front of the emperor."


    As soon as these words came out, the servants were sweating down their backs, and hurriedly bowed to accept the jade plaques, not daring to shirk.


    As expected, the potential fire army had already rushed to the boat to fight the fire. However, the city defense department and the government soldiers all argued that they should not act rashly without the magistrate''s warrant, and the person who went to report took out the princess jade card and repeated Fan Mingtan''s words , the two officers began to hesitate.


    As the saying goes, the prince of the court, the son of the right minister, and the magistrate are all there, so it is really unreasonable to go to a submerged fire brigade to fight the fire. If something goes wrong, the emperor will be furious and bury him with him, and the Su family may not be sure keep them.


    Thinking of this, the city defense department and the government office both said yes, hurry up and set off.


    The painting boat for watching the play has already landed, and everyone is standing on the bank waiting for someone to report the fire, and Ming Tan has been staring at the place where the fire is escalating.


    Seeing that she was nervous, Yun Yi comforted her in a low voice: "Princess, don''t worry, with the master''s skills, it is impossible to be trapped by the mere fire, and the master also has hidden guards with him, so you don''t have to worry."


    Yun Yi''s words are actually very conservative. From what she sees, it''s not only impossible for the Lord to be trapped by the fire, it''s not bad if he didn''t set the fire.


    However, Ming Tan can''t feel at ease, how could she not know that her husband is very capable, but this is in other people''s territory, if this fire is aimed at him, and there was an ambush before, who would know the current situation?


    The Qianhuo Army, the City Defense Department and the government office were dispatched, and the news from the other side of the boat soon came back.


    "Prince Wang, madam, the fire started from Xianquanfang, the river is windy, and the fire is spreading rapidly. The prince and his party have not been found yet!"


    Madam Zhifu''s face was pale, and her voice trembled: "I didn''t find it, so why don''t you come back and find it!"


    "Don''t forget about the water, you have to send people to find it under the water." Ming Tan ordered quietly.


    "yes!"


    This person left after reporting, and soon someone ran and loudly sent back a message: "My lord, my lord has found it!"


    Ming Tan stepped forward and hurriedly asked: "The magistrate has found it? What about the prince and Second Young Master Shu?"


    The man was panting heavily, and his voice was intermittent: "Bi, Wangfei, I only found the prefect under the water, the prince...the prince and the second son of Shu haven''t seen the figure yet."


    The prefect''s wife rushed over and asked, "How is your lord? Where are you?"


    "Your Excellency choked on water and fell into a coma. I don''t know if he was injured yet, but... But his life should be safe. The government soldiers are planning to carry you back to the mansion."


    The magistrate''s wife was shocked by the shock earlier, but at this moment, she suddenly heard that her lord was alive, she covered her chest, and muttered "It''s fine if you don''t have anything to do, it''s fine if you have nothing to do". , fell back limply.


    "mother!"


    "lady!"


    Everyone was in a hurry to help the magistrate''s wife who passed out.


    "..."


    Such a little thing makes me dizzy.


    Ming Tan pursed his lips, thinking of Jiang Xu who had not heard from him yet, clenched his hands in his wide sleeves so tightly that the edges of his fingertips turned white.


    In fact, reason is telling her that no news is the best news, and the magistrate is fine, so how can something happen to the God of War who is decisive in fighting on the battlefield? But she kept thinking in her heart, what if someone targeted her husband by injecting some rare drug and poison in an attempt to set fire to cover it up?


    Countless thoughts flashed through her mind every moment, and she even wondered if this was a situation that the magistrate''s wife knew very well, in order to deceive her so that she could be used against her husband?


    Those thoughts were all mixed, but they all reminded her that she should believe that her husband would be safe, that she should stay here and wait for the good news, and that she should protect herself from acting rashly. She is the princess of Dingbei, and every thoughtless and hasty decision may cause irreversible consequences.


    But no matter how she tried to persuade herself to calm down, as long as she thought that there was such a one-ten-thousandth chance that her husband would be framed and set up by someone, and he was in deep flames at the moment, she couldn''t bear to just stand here like this, passively waiting for someone to send back news.


    Finally, she made a decision.


    "Send Madam back to rest, and everyone should leave first, as long as I''m here." Ming Tan suddenly ordered.


    Now that my father was found, my mother passed out again. The ladies of the magistrate''s family didn''t want to stay here any longer, so they said goodbye and hurriedly helped mother back to the house. Seeing this, the rest of the wives and ladies thought that it had nothing to do with their own family, so they responded one after another and quickly scattered away.


    After everyone had left, Ming Tan suddenly looked at Yun Yi, his eyes burning and said: "Yun Yi, I want to go."


    Yun Yi was stunned: "In the past?" She was afraid that she would make a mistake, so she deliberately looked at the burning Xianquanfang, "Your Majesty... the past is dangerous now, and you can''t do anything if you go, and the Lord will not Something happened."


    "I must go and have a look."


    "Please forgive me for not being able to obey orders, the Lord said..."


    "Since Husband sent you to protect me, then you are mine." Ming Tan interrupted, "I also remember Husband said that Jin Yunwei does not matter to two masters, who is your master now, do you listen to it?" Whose words?"


    Yun Yi was dumbfounded, and felt something was wrong, but couldn''t tell at the moment.


    Ming Tan looked around again, and raised his voice: "Aren''t there two hidden guards? Where are they? If something happens to the prince, what''s the use of protecting me?!"


    There was silence all around, only the water waves swayed gently.


    Yun Yi was a little confused by Ming Tan''s words, who would have thought that Ming Tan would take advantage of her unguardedness, suddenly lift up the hem of her skirt, and step onto the small boat docked on the shore.


    She bit her lip, untied the rope vigorously, and picked up the oar in a dignified manner, as if she wanted to paddle by herself.


    Seeing this, Yun Yi hurriedly flew onto the boat and snatched the oar from Ming Tan''s hand.


    Ming Tan knew that he would not be able to make it through, and his idea was to lure Yun Yi into the boat.


    Seeing Yunyi boarding the boat, her eyes turned red as soon as she said it, and her voice suddenly softened, she was small, and she still pinched the hem of her clothes: "Good Yunyi, just take me there, nothing will happen, I will definitely not Something will happen."


    Yun Yi: "..."


    This was the first time she saw her own princess being so anxious. Although she was calm on the face, she was like a child who didn''t want candy in her heart. She was so anxious that she was about to shed tears in an instant.


    She remembered that when she was framed by someone in Pingguo''s mansion, the princess was always rational and clear-headed at critical moments, and even when she escaped danger, she never forgot to check her body for missing items.


    For some reason, there seemed to be slight ripples in her heart, which had been calm all year round.


    After a moment of silence, she suddenly blew a whistle, and the hidden guard who had been guarding in the dark finally appeared, tapped water quietly, and floated onto the boat.


    Yun Yi instructed: "Your Majesty, you can''t go near the boat, you can only stay on the boat."


    As long as Yunyi is willing to take her there, she will naturally be fine at the moment, she nodded obediently, and promised: "I will stay on the boat, and I will not put myself in danger."


    Soon, the boat rowed to the middle of the river.


    Not far away, the fire had spread to other boats, but most of the fire in Xianquanfang had been extinguished. The boats were sunk and collapsed, and there were many charred beams and corpses floating on the water.


    Soldiers from the Submarine Fire Army, the City Defense Division, and the government office were searching the wrecked ships that were emitting black smoke. When they encountered charred corpses, they carried them to the shore one by one.


    "Hurry up and look for it." Ming Tan hurriedly said to the two shadows at the stern whose faces were tightly covered.


    Shadow was very obedient, nodded slightly, then ordered some water, and flew to Canfang.


    These boats in Xianquanfang are all very spacious and luxuriously built. The lowest one has two floors, and the tallest has nearly five floors.


    After not seeing anyone back for a while, Ming Tan couldn''t wait any longer. The rumors and imagination about Su''s house in her mind were infinitely magnified, and the pictures of being with her husband before were intertwined with it.


    She turned around and rubbed Yunyi: "The fire in Xianquanfang is almost out, so let''s look for it too."


    "Your Majesty, you promise me that you won''t get off the boat, and you won''t put yourself in danger."


    "The fire has almost been extinguished, so it''s not dangerous." Seeing that it was not far from Xianquanfang, she simply said, "If you don''t let me go, I''ll just swim there by myself."


    Yun Yi: "..."


    After Ming Tan said that, Yun Yi had no choice but to let her get on the boat as she wished.


    Although the fire had been extinguished, the thick smoke above was still choking, Ming Tan covered his mouth and nose with a water-soaked handkerchief, and searched for the boat that had not yet been searched by others, shouting: "My lord, my lord! Husband!" She didn''t know whether she was choked by the thick smoke or anxious, but tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.


    Yun Yi didn''t leave even an inch, and accompanied her, searching from time to time.


    These boats not only built several floors upwards, but also had open cabins. Ming Tan felt that if he was accidentally trapped, the possibility of being trapped in the bottom cabin was the greatest, so he insisted on searching in the cabin after searching for the top.


    But at the moment the cabin at the bottom was like a steamer, the temperature was extremely high, scorching hot, Ming Tan crawled up and down, his whole body was already in a state of distress.


    Although Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran were not found, in the cabin, they accidentally found a woman who was tightly **** and was already dying. Ming Tan and Yun Yi worked together to rescue her up.


    "Didn''t find it?" Jiang Xu stood among the reeds on the bank and suddenly asked the visitor.


    The visitor shook his head: "No, Zhuiying has already gone to investigate the female corpse."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm" and didn''t intend to continue entanglement here, but at this moment, another figure suddenly settled down, clasped his hands and said in a low voice: "My lord, my concubine is at Xianquanfang."


    "What did you say?" Jiang Xu was slightly taken aback.


    "The princess went to Xianquanfang in order to find you."


    "..."


    There was a sudden pause in his heart.


    In the thick night, no one could clearly see the emotion on Jiang Xu''s face, only that there was an inexplicable silence for a while, and then he moved forward suddenly.


    After rescuing a woman who was **** in the bottom cabin, Ming Tan wanted to continue searching the bottom cabins of other boats, but she was physically weak, after a lot of tossing, her hair was messy, sweat was pouring down, and her face was covered with sweat. It was also all dirty and ash, and it was exhausted.


    She didn''t know what she was insisting on. She knew that the fire was all out and she hadn''t found him yet. With his ability, he should have been out of danger, but if she didn''t hear from him for a moment, she couldn''t feel at ease for a moment.


    She wanted to go to other boats that hadn''t been searched yet.


    The boats are connected by a narrow single-plank bridge, seeing that Ming Tan is about to board the bridge, Yun Yi hastily put down the rescued woman for the time being, and followed her.


    "Crack¡ª¡ª"


    The single-plank bridge looked intact at first glance, but the other end was already scorched. Ming Tan had just taken two steps, and the opposite side was about to collapse.


    Yun Yi was about to reach out to support her, when suddenly someone flew over, first she grabbed Ming Tan''s slender waist, turned around in mid-air, touched the water with her toes, and then landed firmly on the boat .


    Seeing the person coming, Ming Tan was stunned: "Husband, husband?" Her voice was already choked by the thick smoke.


    "Come here, are you crazy?"


    Jiang Xu rubbed her head and asked in a low voice.


    Ming Tan has a lot to say, but he doesn''t want to blink for a moment, and just lingers on his face, carefully identifying his eyebrows and eyes.


    For a long time, the heart she had been holding in her throat finally fell down: "Husband, it''s good that you''re fine, it''s fine that you''re fine."


    As she spoke, she felt that the tight string in her head was completely relaxed, light and light, and her eyes were inexplicably blurred.


    Before she lost consciousness, she had only one thought left, which was so embarrassing, that she passed out just like the magistrate''s wife...

 Chapter 66：

    "...The concubine said that if the subordinate did not take her up, he would have to swim there by himself, so the subordinate had no choice but to take the concubine onto the boat. Of course, the subordinate could knock the concubine unconscious directly, but it is true that the subordinate saw the concubine. Some of them are very worried about the master, and some can''t bear to do this... It''s the subordinate''s dereliction of duty, and the subordinate is willing to accept the punishment."


    Back at the magistrate''s office, Yun Yi explained everything that happened tonight.


    "Can''t bear it?" Jiang Xu glanced at her indifferently.


    Yun Yi knelt on the ground, but her back was very straight: "This subordinate is from Jinyunwei, so I really shouldn''t bear it, but after being with the princess for a long time, the first time this subordinate sees the princess, he loses his composure like today. The princess doesn''t know what the lord wants to do. What to do, I am just afraid that something will happen to the Lord, and I just want to be the savior, and please don''t blame the princess."


    "Are you blaming the king?"


    "Subordinates dare not." Yun Yi lowered her head.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know what he was thinking, he was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "You have found the person this king is looking for, let''s forget this time, if you indulge the princess in danger again, you don''t have to appear in front of this king again, go down. "


    "yes."


    After Yunyi retreated, Jiang Xu stood quietly in the bright room for a while, the night was dark outside, and there were sporadic birds and cicadas, he suddenly stepped up and walked to the inner room.


    The inner room is quiet, and it is full of magnificence that she usually finds vulgar, but fortunately she brought the mattress and soothing incense herself, perhaps it is because of this that she sleeps so soundly at this moment.


    Sitting by the couch, Jiang Xu glanced at the slight burns on her hands, then picked up the wet handkerchief placed by the basin, and wiped off the remaining dirt on her face.


    In fact, the reason why he agreed to the magistrate''s invitation to go to Xianquanfang tonight was because of the evidence left by Zhou Baoping, there were clues.


    A few days earlier, he had sent his secret guards into Lingzhou to investigate the case of Zhou Baoping''s sudden death, and the result had already been obtained.


    Undoubtedly, Zhou Baoping was silenced because of the evidence that the Lingzhou Shipping Department had manipulated Bobuy, concealed reports, etc., and was given an ugly cause of death by prostitution, tyranny, and excessive indulgence.


    However, Zhou Baoping was able to become a person trusted by the emperor, and he was also very sharp and intelligent. Knowing that he was in danger, he hid the evidence in advance.


    During his tenure as a prison officer in the shipping department of Lingzhou City, he often walked alone and seldom made friends with others. In the territory of Su''s house, obviously no one dared to make friends with him.


    The dark guard went to Lingzhou to search for a few days and found that the only thing he could call a hobby was going to the 180th Boat to listen to music for fun. He had been to many houses, and the one he visited the most was the one that was as famous as Xianquanfang. Muchunfang.


    And the few girls in Muchunfang that he favored a lot are the evidence and foil for his absurd death of prostitution, tyrannical prostitution, and excessive indulgence.


    According to the investigation by the hidden guards, the Shibo Secretary should have controlled Zhou Baoping as soon as he got the evidence. I don''t know what happened. Anyway, Zhou Baoping never let go. The Shibo Secretary saw that he couldn''t pry anything from his mouth. , simply solved him, and then followed his usual relationship to find the girls in Muchunfang.


    The girls didn''t know anything about the evidence, and claimed that Master Zhou usually only listened to twists and turns to make fun of them, and never talked about their own affairs.


    However, as a person who has relatively more contact with Zhou Baoping, Shi Bosi will not let them go easily. After the torture failed, he directly killed a few of them, and then made a group with Zhou Baoping to make a prostitute. The illusion of sudden death.


    So far, there are no clues of the evidence hidden by Zhou Baoping. The secret guards searched for several days but failed, and the Su family also made no progress.


    Until they entered Lingzhou, someone secretly contacted the secret guard, claiming that Master Zhou had given the things to her for safekeeping, but she was entrusted by Master Zhou, so she had to hand over the things to someone sent by the Holy Majesty herself.


    The person who secretly contacted the dark guard was an inconspicuous little girl in Muchunfang, Qiuyue.


    During the famine year, Zhou Baoping kindly saved her life, and she has been serving Zhou Baoping faithfully.


    As early as three months before Zhou Baoping was transferred to the Shipping Department of Lingzhou City, she came to Lingzhou alone and found a job as a fire girl in Muchunfang in advance.


    Qiuyue has a bland and forgettable face. She usually concentrates on doing things and keeps silent, with no sense of presence.


    When Zhou Baoping went to Muchunfang to order people to sing, she brought tea to the house several times, but she was so insignificant that no matter whether it was the host or the secret guard, she ignored it during the investigation.


    However, because of Zhou Baoping''s incident, several leading girls were lost in a row, and the company came to check people every now and then, Mu Chunfang''s business has been sluggish in recent days, so it had to send all the girls including Qiuyue away. out.


    Qiuyue has always kept in mind her master''s instructions, and she will not hand over the evidence until the person sent by the Holy Lord appears. In order to avoid being found to be suspicious, she did not act rashly. Like most other girls, she found a job in Xianquanfang nearby manual labor.


    Jiang Xu was invited to Xianquanfang tonight just to meet this Qiuyue girl in person.


    It''s just that Qiuyue took the initiative to contact the dark guard to show her flaws. After Jiang Xu entered Xianquanfang tonight, before meeting her, Su''s family sensed something was wrong and sent someone to rob her.


    However, there were many hidden guards on the ship, but the people who came robbed Qiuyue but couldn''t take it away smoothly. In desperation, they simply threw it into the cabin, spread oil, and set fires everywhere.


    This season is flammable and dry, and the wind on the river is the easiest way to disperse the fire, so Jiang Xu and his party can be temporarily forced to leave the boat.


    The person who came probably thought that if Qiuyue hadn''t been smoldered to death by the time the fire was extinguished, it would be best for them to kidnap him again. If he died, Jiang Xu and his party might find it difficult to find evidence for the time being.


    This move was indeed a success, and the Xianquanfang leaked water for no reason, Jiang Xu and Shu Jing had no choice but to evacuate temporarily.


    The dark guards intercepted the visitors when they wanted to escape from the boat, but the visitors were all dead men, and they killed themselves by biting poison before they could be questioned. The only thing that is certain at the moment is that they will not have time to take Qiuyue away in the future .


    Seeing that the fire on the boat was completely extinguished and Qiuyue was not found, Jiang Xu didn''t want to stay any longer, but unexpectedly, Mingtan''s accident happened¡ªhis little princess was so stupid as to go to the boat to rescue him.


    In fact, when he walked into the water, he thought for a moment that the river opera in Lingzhou is very famous, and the magistrate''s wife might invite the princess to watch it tonight, and then she might see the boat catch fire.


    But he only thought about it for a moment. How do you see it? so what? She has always been a bit clever, so she would never think that he would be troubled by this.


    So much so that when he heard the dark guard coming to report, when the princess got on the boat to save him, he didn''t recover. After regaining consciousness, I felt absurd for a while, and felt indescribably touched for a while.


    ¡­


    Ming Tan felt that he was very tired, as if he had slept for a long time, when he slowly opened his eyes, he saw that the outside of the house was pitch black, and the lights inside were already on.


    Jiang Xu was sitting on a couch not far away, reading a book.


    Hearing movement on the bed, he raised his eyes, put down the scroll in his hand, got up and walked to the bed.


    "Woke up."


    Ming Tan nodded, wanting to sit up.


    Jiang Xu helped her and set up the brocade pillow for her to lean on. He also lifted his hem and sat down on the edge of the couch.


    "How does it feel?" he asked softly.


    "No problem, how about you, husband, are you injured?"


    "My lord is fine, but you, who slept all day and all night, do you need to ask the doctor to take a look?"


    Ming Tan paused: "One day and one night?"


    She thought she had just slept for a few hours.


    So, it was already yesterday that the boat went into the water?


    She hurriedly asked a few things about last night, remembering that Jiang Xu had boarded the boat to rescue her last night, and asked cautiously: "By the way, husband, I got on the boat last night, so I didn''t cause you trouble? Qi rescued a girl from the bottom of the cabin, she was tied up, I don''t know what happened, is she still alive?"


    "Alive, she happens to be the person this king is looking for. The princess didn''t cause trouble, but helped me instead."


    Ming Tan was a little surprised: "Really, really? Why did your husband find her?"


    In fact, she was just asking in passing, but after she finished asking, she felt awkward and hurriedly interrupted, trying to cover up the conversation.


    Unexpectedly, Jiang Xu took the initiative to bring the conversation back, patiently, and told her everything, including what he and Shu Jingran did when they came to Lingzhou, and even included many court affairs. Things.


    There was too much information in these words, Ming Tan was stunned for a while, unable to digest for a while.


    After she suppressed the shock in her heart and slowly digested these things, she couldn''t help but said in a low voice with some hesitation: "Husband, women in this dynasty are not allowed to interfere in politics...you tell me these..."


    "It was the king who told you, and it wasn''t you who took the initiative to inquire." Jiang Xu interrupted, "And women are not allowed to participate in politics. They have always restrained stupid people who have no opinions. You don''t have to deliberately avoid it in the future. You are a princess, say The above few sentences are not important, if they are useful, I can listen to them, if they are slanderous, I will be swayed by them, it is because I have no ability to distinguish right from wrong, so it has nothing to do with you."


    Ming Tan stared at him blankly.


    Some of what he said today went beyond what she had been taught before, but it sounded quite reasonable.


    "What are you thinking?"


    Ming Tan shook his head: "Husband talks a lot today."


    "..."


    Ming Tan hastily explained: "I don''t dislike my husband talking too much, it''s because my husband talks less on weekdays, and my husband said more today than in a normal month."


    It gets darker and darker.


    When Ming Tan didn''t know what to say to make up for it, Jiang Xu suddenly said, "I have something that I want to ask you."


    "What''s up?"


    "Why do you want to board the boat?"


    Thinking about today from last night, he barely understood why she felt that he could not escape safely. It''s nothing more than thinking that Su''s family occupies land in Lingzhou and is king, and their hands and eyes are open to the sky. This situation is deliberately framed by Su''s family.


    But in his perception, even if something happened to him, the princess should not be so impulsive.


    If Su''s family can kill him on the boat, she will die in vain if she goes up. She has always been smart, so she can''t even understand this point, and she also cherishes her life. Why would she do this?


    In fact, he vaguely had an answer in his heart, but for some reason, he still wanted to ask her personally. After asking, he just kept watching, his eyes calm and straight.


    Ming Tan looked at him for a while, and suddenly looked away unnaturally.


    She grabbed the corner of the quilt, and the roots of her ears began to feel hot for no reason.


    Now that she is awake, she also feels that she was so stupid that she lost control last night, but now she did that, she just felt that if something happened to her husband, she would not want to live alone, so she didn''t know what was wrong, maybe she was tricked into it. Maybe, why do you keep asking her!


    "I, I seem to be a little dizzy, and I want to sleep for a while..."


    As soon as she said that, as soon as she pulled up the brocade quilt, she got into it, even her little head was tightly covered, and she turned inside, step by step, approaching the corner of the bed.

 Chapter 67：

    Summer nights in Lingzhou are quite different from those in Shangjing. The night wind is humid and still has the heat from the day.


    Ming Tan didn''t want to answer, and Jiang Xu didn''t force it. He stood for a while and then quietly exited the inner room. He walked all the way outside the house, standing on the steps with his hands behind his back, not knowing what he was thinking.


    And Ming Tan nested in the quilt with quails, his mind was also very confused, and he even felt a little flustered due to confusion and unknown.


    She knew that she had always liked her husband very much. But what she likes should be her husband who is outstanding in appearance, identity, conduct and talent.


    The so-called liking and admiration are all based on the premise that this man is her husband.


    If there is no change, no marriage, and her husband is replaced by Liang Zixuan or Shu Jingran, she will also like it and get along with him wholeheartedly. What''s wrong with a woman getting married and obeying her husband?


    She had always thought this way before. But now, she was a little uncertain. No matter who her husband is, in times of crisis, she will disregard her life for him, doesn''t she want to live alone?


    She closed her eyes, and for some reason, scenes of getting along with her husband in the past appeared uncontrollably in front of her eyes.


    He is always quiet, solemn, indifferent, and sometimes shows very obvious impatience, but he is always gentle, tolerant, and tolerant towards her...


    Thinking of something, Ming Tan''s little head popped out of the quilt suddenly. She turned over, the corners of her lips curled up unconsciously, her heart was both tangled and sweet.


    After a while, she stuck her head out from the edge of the bed, and tentatively called out: "Husband? Ah Tan is a little hungry."


    There seemed to be a "hmm" sound outside, and after a short while, Jiang Xu led the servants who were serving supper into the house.


    ¡­


    Such a good night cannot be let down.


    Shu Jingran idled to admire the moon, found a secluded place, and was about to play the flute to the moon, when he suddenly saw Yun Yi half leaning on the eaves not far away, gnawing on a chicken leg rather unsightly, he couldn''t help calling out: "Miss Yun."


    Seeing him, Yun Yi slowed down the movement of gnawing the chicken leg, and subconsciously wiped the oil from her mouth.


    "Second Master Shu."


    Shu Jingran nodded, and flew up to the eaves.


    "Second Master Shu, do you know martial arts?" Yun Yi was a little surprised, walking all the way, she didn''t realize that this man had practiced martial arts.


    "Slightly clear." Shu Jingran smiled, brushed off the tiles, opened his robe and sat down.


    These words are not self-effacing, from his lightness kung fu, Yun Yi can also see that his inner strength is not deep, it is probably just an ordinary level of self-preservation.


    She had just gnawed half of the chicken leg, so she couldn''t continue alone for a while, but she was so delicious that she didn''t want to put it down. After thinking about it, she still passed the other bag of chicken legs that she was clutching in her arms: "Here, Shu Er Young master, please eat."


    Shu Er lowered his eyes and smiled suddenly: "Then thank you Miss Yun."


    His brows are bright, and when he smiles, he is even more like a spring breeze. Yun Yi was stunned for a moment, then quickly withdrew her hand, and continued to gnaw on the chicken leg, but her movements could not help but restrained a lot.


    "Is this camphor tea chicken from Lingzhou?" Shu Jingran asked after smelling it.


    Yun Yi nodded: "I found the one with the best business, and they said that it has been in business for three dynasties, and the store will start the furnace at three o''clock every day, selling dozens of furnaces every day, the aroma of camphor tea is very strong, Shu Er Young man, you can try it."


    Shu Jingran wanted to taste it very much, but it was a bit embarrassing for him to eat it with bare hands like this. After pondering for a moment, he said: "Shu Fang used to have supper, and he will definitely taste it when he returns home."


    Yun Yi glanced at the chicken leg in his hand, nodded slowly, but didn''t say much.


    "By the way, Shu has always wanted to ask Ms. Yun a question. Why does Ms. Yun like roast chicken so much?" Shu Jingran asked a little curiously.


    Yun Yi is inexplicable: "Roasted chicken is delicious, not to mention I don''t just love roasted chicken, I also like roasted duck and roasted goose, I like everything that is delicious."


    Shu Jingran smiled again.


    Yun Yi lowered her eyes, and after gnawing half a chicken leg, she said in a vague voice: "Jin Yunwei has no father or mother, everyone can eat well, maybe he suffered from famine when he was a child, but I don''t remember it either. "


    Hearing this, Shu Jingran paused, "I''m sorry, it was Shu who was being rude."


    "It''s a fact that Jin Yunwei has no father and no mother. It''s a good thing that he can''t remember what happened when he was a child. You don''t have to feel sorry for Second Master Shu."


    "It''s really rare for Miss Yun to have such an open-minded state of mind."


    "Second Master Shu, do all of you scholars talk like this?" Yun Yi felt a little embarrassed, "Or is it just the high school pros?"


    "''This'' is...how?"


    "It''s just... very good at complimenting people?" Yun Yi rubbed her nose, "I always care about the feelings of others when I speak." He is a good friend, but he is not like the master, who makes people get away every day, and makes people come to see him .


    Shu Jingran smiled very lightly: "There are enough difficult things in life, and it would be great if you don''t get in trouble with others. In fact, Shu was ignorant when he was young, and he used to hurt his classmates when he was in school, but he didn''t know that he Childhood is not valued by the family, struggling so hard, a few words almost made him commit suicide, ignorance and cruelty hurt people the most, he made mistakes, after introspection, he more or less knows how to be gentle."


    Yun Yi nodded with a half-understood understanding.


    Shu Jingran looked at the moonlight, and suddenly thought: "Miss Yun, would you like to listen to music?" He stroked the jade flute gently.


    "it is good."


    Shu Jingran got up, stood tall and tall under the moon, rose up, and played the song "Xijiang Moon" like flowing clouds and flowing water.


    At the end of the long song, Shu Jingran slowly put down the jade flute: "This song "Xijiang Moon" is divided into three parts, the first part..."


    Shu Jingran turned around, only to see Yunyi''s head bit by bit.


    "Miss Yun?"


    Yun Yi''s head suddenly fell, she opened her eyes in confusion, and subconsciously wiped away the saliva that might have been around her mouth: "Oh, three folds, three folds."


    This song is quite hypnotic. She wanted to listen to it carefully, but it was really meaningless. After listening to it for a while, she became sleepy. The hobbies of these scholars are really strange.


    ¡­


    "This song "Xijiang Moon" is played really well. The first fold is smart and misty, like the hazy early moon first uncovered. The middle fold is tranquil and quiet, like the moonlight rising and flowing. The last fold is long and endless, and the aftertaste reverberates. I heard Shu Ergong''s flute early Shuangjue, once I heard about it today, it really deserves its reputation." Ming Tan praised while waiting for Jiang Xu to be fed.


    Jiang Xu paused his hand to ladle the porridge, and his voice was calm: "The princess seems to be very concerned about the piano and flute ensemble, why don''t I let Shu Jingran come over to play with you some other day."


    "Really? Alright, alright." Ming Tan''s eyes lit up, and he nodded his head.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    The silver spoon in his hand slightly moved to the side of the bowl, and then moved forward.


    Ming Tan wanted to say something more, but when he saw that he was feeding the porridge, she leaned in and took a sip, but she frowned and said, "It''s hot!"


    "Stop talking if it''s hot."


    "..."


    It turned out that my husband didn''t really want to invite Second Young Master Shu to play with her, so Ming Tan let out an aggrieved "Oh".


    Because Ming Tan and Yun Yi accidentally rescued Qiuyue, Jiang Xu soon got the evidence left by Zhou Baoping. Obviously, this matter could not be hidden from the Su family, so the next day, Yu Bozhong, the ship envoy of Lingzhou City, sent a greeting card to Jiang Xu.


    When he learned of this, Ming Tan was studying ink for Jiang Xu in the study in the courtyard: "Husband, what is the relationship between Master Yu and the Su family?"


    "The son-in-law."


    That''s why it''s no wonder his surname is not Su.


    Jiang Xu put down his pen and said to the reporter, "Please come to the study."


    "yes."


    Ming Tan was startled: "Your husband is here to see him?"


    "Why not?"


    Ming Tan shook her head, it was not impossible, but she thought that they would go to a formal banquet outside, or invite the magistrate to meet in the flower hall together.


    That being the case, she put down the ink ingot sensibly: "Then Ah Tan will go back to the house first."


    She wanted to leave, but she didn''t know that Mr. Yu had grown some legs, and he was so fast that he was already outside the house in a few words. She was dazed, and subconsciously looked at Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu didn''t pay much attention, he just looked at the screen.


    Ming Tan understood, and hurriedly hid behind the screen, but she hid in a hurry, and forgot to grind the ink so that she was sweating, so she put the silk gauze covering on the chair outside.


    "Your Majesty Yu Bozhong, I pay my respects to His Highness King Dingbei, His Highness Wan''an."


    Yu Bozhong saw that he was about to stand up in his late years, and he was a little bit blessed. When he came in, he respectfully bowed to Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu didn''t even raise his eyes, and his voice was very calm: "My lord Yu, please save two fires, and I will be safe."


    Yu Bozhong: "..."


    Hearing the name of King Dingbei''s Killing God earlier, he did not expect that he is so powerful at such a young age, just one sentence made his back break out in cold sweat, and he didn''t know how to answer it.


    Ming Tan hid behind the screen, he didn''t expect her husband to be so straightforward, he didn''t seem to intend to fight more with the visitors.


    "Since you came to see me today, you know that I don''t want to entangle you with Shi Bosi, and the evidence can be returned, but there are two conditions.


    "First, Lingzhou has waived taxes in the past two years and made up all of them. In the future, Lingzhou Port will not be allowed to waive taxes. Second, Zhou Baoping is a loyal minister, so he should not die in vain."


    Yu Bozhong also began to sweat on his forehead: "This..."


    "If you can''t be the master, go back and discuss with the master if you can. Come and see off the guests."


    Yu Bozhong was in a daze the whole time. He never expected that he had worked hard to make up a speech all night, but today he was only given the opportunity to kneel down and worship. Strips of satin yarn.


    After returning, Yu Bozhong vomited bitterness to his father-in-law.


    "...His Royal Highness King Dingbei is indeed difficult to deal with, and he never gave his son-in-law a chance to speak. In fact, Zhou Baoping''s matter is easy to talk about. It is nothing more than paying a few people and making up an interesting cause of death for him, but this can''t be solved. , Father-in-law, it will take nearly two years to make up for it, the Holy Majesty is too ruthless, how can Shibosi have so much money in this short period of time!"


    Master Su pondered for a moment: "If you say that the future withdrawals will not be deducted, it is very possible, but it may not be the Holy Majesty''s idea to make up for the withdrawals of the past two years."


    "You mean, this is His Highness King Dingbei''s own idea?"


    "The empress dowager''s letter has always been to make preparations for the tax refund and withdrawal, but she never mentioned that she will have to make up for the withdrawal of the past two years. If it is too late, the Holy Majesty should not be so urgent. .¡±


    Yu Bozhong thought for a while: "Could it be that the fire a few days ago made that Lord Hades a little unhappy?"


    Master Su snorted: "It''s not your stupidity!"


    Yu Bozhong was embarrassed, and hurriedly said: "My son-in-law will try his best to make up for it, try his best to make up for it."


    "What do you make up for? You will raise the tax money?"


    "That''s right, my son-in-law went to see His Highness Dingbei Wang today, and found that His Highness Dingbei Wang..." Yu Bozhong suddenly approached, and whispered to Mr. Su, "So, as long as this Lord of Hell calms down, I want to come to this condition." There is also room for negotiation.¡±


    When Mr. Su heard the words, his face softened: "Go ahead and do it."


    "Yes Yes."


    Yu Bozhong backed out quickly.

 Chapter 68：

    The next day, Yu Bozhong sent a post, finding a reason to cleanse the dust, and invited His Royal Highness the King of the North and Second Prince Shu to sit down at the Huilou, tasting wine and enjoying the music.


    Before going out this time, Jiang Xu purposely said a few more words to reassure Ming Tan.


    Now that Ming Tan knows the game of interests, he can naturally analyze what the Su family should do to him.


    Unfortunately, I just heard from the magistrate''s wife yesterday that the women in the Hui Tower in Quancheng are all skinny horses in Yangzhou. They are different from the girls who greeted and sent off in the 180 boats. They were brought back by dignitaries. There are many aunts in the mansion.


    Ming Tan felt a little awkward in his heart, but he didn''t want to say anything, so he murmured in a low voice: "If you invite someone, you can invite someone. I don''t know how to find someone who can listen to me. I have been in Lingzhou for several days. Take the wind and wash the dust, my husband is not a feather duster, how can there be so much dust."


    While muttering, she waited for the change, dawdling with her eyes downcast, and after hanging up the jade pendant, she secretly hung a black sachet with the pattern of mandarin ducks playing in water for him.


    Jiang Xu only noticed that the color of the sachet was relatively low-key, and he didn''t pay attention to the embroidery patterns on it. After putting it on, he gave Ming Tan a few words, rubbed her head, and went out with Shu Jingran.


    Yu Bozhong held a banquet this time, not only in the name of cleaning up the dust for His Highness King Dingbei, but he had to invite a few more officials to accompany him. Apart from the magistrate, the general judge and other local high-ranking officials also came neatly.


    After Yu Bozhong exchanged greetings, everyone took turns to toast Jiang Xu.


    Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei met today compared to yesterday, Yu Bozhong was no longer so trembling. After drinking a glass of wine, he returned a more polite sentence: "My lord and Mr. Shu Er have been in Lingzhou for a few days, I should have come down sooner." It''s just to clean up the dust for the two of you, but the next official has something to delay, and the hospitality is not good, the hospitality is not good."


    Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and played with the wine glass, and said in a calm voice: "Master Yu, if this is the case, it''s not your fault that you didn''t entertain well."


    Everyone: "..."


    Indeed, the magistrates and judges are still alive and well, so it''s his turn to be a city envoy to set the host''s profile. No matter how Lingzhou is the territory of the host family, this statement is really arrogant.


    Yu Bozhong''s face was a little stiff, and the fear of being dominated by the power and pressure from yesterday surged into his heart again. A layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, and he quickly apologized with a smile: "Yes, yes, there is also the magistrate, the magistrate, and it''s not the next turn." The official entertained first, it''s just that the subordinate officials have admired the prince''s reputation for a long time, and want to do a little more for the prince."


    Jiang Xu didn''t respond anymore.


    Yu Bozhong wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then had a polite conversation with Shu Jingran. Fortunately, Shu Jingran listened a lot while speaking, which eased the nervousness in his heart.


    After drinking for three rounds, Yu Bozhong finally brought up the matter: "By the way, my lord, I have something to report. The death of Zhou Baoping, the supervisor of the Shipbuilding Department, has been investigated for a long time by our company and the government. Officials have always kept themselves clean and diligent, and they will never be the kind of people who are obsessed with prostitution and pleasure all day long."


    Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran listened quietly, while the others nodded their heads to match Yu Bozhong''s performance.


    "Everyone also thinks that there should be something else wrong with the sudden death of Supervisor Zhou. However, after a long time of investigation, the clues were not found. The lower officials thought that Supervisor Zhou was a person who was valued by the Holy One, so they did not dare to hide it. It was time to write down the official cause of death of Supervisor Zhou and hand it over to Beijing. But these days, the real cause of death of Supervisor Zhou has finally been found out."


    Yu Bozhong said without blushing, "It turned out that the boss in the Shibo Department had been at odds with Zhou Supervisor for a long time, and there was a rift in his heart. Those stickers, officials, and Kong Mu colluded together to amass money in private. Unfortunately, they were discovered by the supervisor Zhou. The supervisor Zhou was upright and didn''t want to get along with him. If he couldn''t win over, the gang of officials killed him Silenced, deliberately framed, and intentionally damaged his reputation behind him!"


    Jiang Xu still showed no expression, Shu Jingran lowered his eyes and sipped his wine, thinking to himself: It''s embarrassing for Mr. Yu to sacrifice his flesh, and he was willing to hand over so many people to Zhou Baoping to be buried with him.


    "Now all the people involved have been sent to the government office. These people have harmed their colleagues. They have been dishonest officials. It is not a pity to die. They just need to be escorted to Beijing to wait for their release. However, Supervisor Zhou has devoted himself to the Secretary of the Municipal Shipyard, and his character and talent are obvious to all. , Such a loss of life is really innocent. I hope that after His Royal Highness returns to the capital, he can express his feelings to the emperor on behalf of the officials of Lingzhou City, and return Master Zhou''s innocence, so that loyal ministers can rest in peace under the nine springs."


    After Yu Bozhong finished speaking, the others couldn''t help but agree:


    "Yeah yeah."


    "Master Zhou is so innocent."


    "It''s a pity."


    Jiang Xu didn''t know what he was thinking, after hearing the statement, he didn''t express his opinion.


    Yu Bo was loyal and worried, thinking carefully whether there was anything wrong with what he said just now, or is it that His Highness is still not satisfied with this change of words?


    After a long time, Jiang Xu finally said "um", and poured himself another glass of wine.


    This "hmm", does it mean you are satisfied?


    Yu Bozhong carefully looked at Jiang Xu''s expression. After a long while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly clapped his hands again, leading a group of charming girls into the room.


    Not long after, I saw a group of girls approaching gracefully, lined up in a line and said in a soft voice: "Greetings to His Royal Highness Beiwang, and greetings to all adults."


    Shu Jingran couldn''t help staring at them for a moment, these women seemed to be more eye-catching than what they saw in Xianquanfang that day, and they were fat and thin, each with their own merits, and their looks were comparable to those of the concubines in the palace.


    These are the girls who have been well-educated for many years in Huilou. They are not comparable to ordinary prostitutes. They are all first-class beauties. The benefits of coming here, several of them were raised by the masters of the host family who originally planned to use them, but now they have to be used to entertain the King of Hell.


    Jiang Xu glanced, and for some reason, he paused for an extra breath on the second **** the right.


    Yu Bozhong was very good at observing words and expressions, and when he saw this, he hurriedly signaled the girl to come and serve him.


    The rest of the girls didn''t get close to the other men, they quietly retreated, and only a few girls with good looks, but not so top-notch, came in to accompany them.


    The girl who was assigned to serve Jiang Xu was wearing a crimson skirt, with snow-like skin and full-bodied eyes.


    She made a salute, and sat obediently beside Jiang Xu, keeping a distance of an inch. She only held up the jade chopsticks and added a chopstick of green bamboo shoots to Jiang Xu. Her voice was also soft and clean: "Lingzhou green bamboo shoots are fresh and crisp. Stir-fry tastes the best, may you try it, Your Highness?"


    Everyone was paying attention to Jiang Xu''s reaction, including Shu Jingran. This girl has an extremely beautiful complexion, but what does he look like, the eyebrows and eyes are familiar? It''s like... like... He seems to be thinking about it, and he can''t remember it for a while.


    Jiang Xu didn''t look at the girl, but after a moment of silence, he held the chopsticks and picked up the green bamboo shoots that the girl had added for her.


    Yu Bo is loyal to his father''s decision, the hero is sad about the beauty pass, the hero is sad about the beauty pass. He knew that His Royal Highness King Dingbei was indifferent on the surface, but he was able to get married in the study in private. Presumably, he would not reject the girl in Huilou. This move was really right!


    At this moment, in the magistrate''s government office, Ming Tan is also tasting the Lingzhou delicacies specially prepared by the magistrate''s wife.


    Lingzhou is rich and rich, and the food is also very delicate. Ming Tan tasted a few novel snacks in a row. He was talking to the magistrate''s wife. When he returned to Shangjing in the future, he would definitely find a chef from Lingzhou to enter the mansion. : "Concubine, madam, Yu, Lord Yu sent a few girls from Huilou, saying that they are... saying that they are going to be given to His Royal Highness King Dingbei."


    The smile on the corners of Ming Tan''s lips froze slightly, after a while, she put down her chopsticks, got up and asked, "What did you say?"


    The servant was trembling, repeated what he said just now, and said: "The girls are waiting outside the flower hall now..."


    Ming Tan stood quietly for a moment, then suddenly ordered quietly: "Please come in."


    She turned around and sat upright at the top of the flower hall, and the magistrate''s wife sat beside her without daring to show her air.


    The girls from Huilou entered the room gracefully again, lined up to greet Ming Tan and the magistrate''s wife.


    Ming Tan looked at the past one by one, and the unknown anger burst out in her heart. She clenched her jade hand tightly and asked: "Every girl came from Huilou, did the prince know about it?"


    These... the girls looked at each other in blank dismay. When they left, the prince didn''t know about it, and if they knew about it later, then they didn''t know either.


    Seeing their expressions, Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief, and she asked again: "Where is the prince?"


    One of the girls was very active, thinking that she would be the prince''s man in the future, if she didn''t want to be taken in by the prince for a while, she would be thrown aside and not allowed to go back to Beijing with her, and she had to be close to the concubine.


    After all, no matter how good-looking and talented these people are, they are doomed to abandon them at any time if they are born there. After all, this back house is decided by the princess. Seeing that the princess doesn''t like them, why don''t they draw attention away, and then find another opportunity to pursue her. To get asylum, at least you have to go back to the capital and enter the palace to not be considered a disadvantage.


    Thinking of this, the girl stepped forward to give a blessing, and replied politely: "Back to the princess, when the servants came, the prince was still having a drink with the adults, the prince only let Qingyu accompany, and the other servants didn''t know about it. "


    Ming Tan was a little startled: "Qing Yu?"


    "Yes. Qingyu is the best girl in Huilou, and also the most valued girl by my mother. The slaves and maidservants are not close to her."


    How could Ming Tan not understand the meaning of the eye drops in these words, but she is too lazy to care about the woman''s thoughts now, the prince pointed out the girl as a companion - this news is enough to make her worry about gains and losses.


    There was another singing and dancing in Huilou, and after a while, someone came to report to Yu Bozhong, saying that the girls had been successfully sent to the mansion.


    Yu Bozhong nodded in satisfaction, put down his wine glass, and said after deliberation: "My lord, is Miss Qingyu''s service satisfactory?"


    Although from the beginning to the end, His Royal Highness King Dingbei only ate a piece of green bamboo shoots and didn''t look at people seriously, but how can he not understand the thoughts between men? Not rejecting does not mean accepting.


    He smiled again and said: "When the prince is away from home, there must be some caring people around him to serve him. The guards and maidservants are clumsy, how can they compare with the gentleness and carelessness of the beauties. But I thought, if only Miss Qingyu If you are alone, you might miss something when you are busy, so I sent the girls from before to the mansion to wait."


    Yu Bozhong was quite satisfied with this thoughtful arrangement, and he couldn''t wait to lead to the issue of extraction: "...It''s just that the matter of making up for the extraction that the prince said earlier is true. In the past two years, there have been many The wind and waves caused serious damage to the fleet, and the Shipbuilding Department is really stretched. This can make up for the past two years, can you..."


    Jiang Xu interrupted suddenly: "You sent someone to the government office?"


    His voice was suddenly cold, and Qing Yu, who was about to pour wine for him, couldn''t help shaking, and the wine beads rolled down on his sachet.


    She was a little flustered, and subconsciously wanted to wipe it with a handkerchief, but Jiang Xu pressed the sachet first: "Don''t touch it."


    He stood up on his own, brushed off the wine drops on the sachet, and only then noticed the delicate embroidery on it.


    Qing Yu: "Your Highness..."


    "Step aside."


    Jiang Xu didn''t give half a look, and was about to leave the table with his hands behind his back. Shu Jingran also stood up.


    Yu Bozhong was stunned, and he didn''t know what was going on: "My lord, my lord, I''m an official..."


    Jiang Xu stopped slightly: "Master Yu can spend a lot of money to find many beauties. If you want to come to Shibosi with a lot of pockets, it will not be difficult to make up for the sea trade for the past two years. If that is the case, please ask Mr. Yu again Divide the profit according to the market line, make up the interest together, and fill the treasury, which can be regarded as benefiting the common people."


    Yu Bozhong: "...?"

 Chapter 69：

    The face of His Royal Highness King Dingbei changed so suddenly that Yu Bozhong froze in place and couldn''t recover for a while.


    It was Miss Qing Yu who reacted first, shouted "Your Highness", and couldn''t help but follow out.


    Qingyu is the most outstanding girl in Huilou, her mother has raised her carefully since she was a child, and when she leaves the pavilion next month, she will be sent to her lodging house.


    Although Su''s family is the local emperor of Lingzhou, but they are people''s playthings, and the way out in the future is only in that courtyard.


    Moreover, the second master of Su''s family is old enough to be her father, and there are more than ten concubines in the family, and it is even more difficult to count the nameless ones.


    The most important thing is that the fourth son of the second master''s mansion is also coveted by her. If she really enters the Su mansion, she doesn''t know what day will be waiting for her in the future.


    Therefore, she must not miss His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    Seeing her chasing her out, the dark guard hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to stop her, after all, she was accompanying the master just now, and the master did not refuse.


    After hesitating for a moment, Qing Yu has already chased after him. I don''t know where she got the courage, she stepped forward and opened her arms, blocking Jiang Xu''s way.


    Jiang Xu paused slightly.


    Qing Yu looked directly at him, summoned up his courage and asked, "His Royal Highness King Dingbei, can this servant go with you?"


    This Highness is young and handsome, with a high position and authority, let alone a concubine, even if she is nameless, as long as she can follow him, she will be regarded as flying to the top of the branch, and she will have a bright future to earn in the future.


    She glanced at Jiang Xu''s waist embroidered sachet with the pattern of mandarin ducks playing in water, and said: "I don''t ask for anything, I just want to be with His Highness forever."


    This situation, the beauty is like a complaint, Shu Jingran couldn''t help but feel moved, and looked at Jiang Xu.


    Obviously, this Qingyu girl is very smart, knowing that there is no shortage of stunning looks around a man like Jiang Xu, and seeing that the previous docileness has not moved him, she made such a bold gesture to treat her differently with a three-pointer.


    And Jiang Xu¡ª¡ª


    According to his understanding, he would indeed look a little differently at those who act boldly.


    For a while, Shu Jingran was also a little uncertain whether Jiang Xu would take away the Qingyu girl, after all, during the dinner just now, his attitude was a little bit unusual.


    But when Shu Jingran thought of this, Jiang Xu gave a merciless response.


    "You are not worthy of staying with me forever."


    His expression was dull, and his voice was emotionless, light and airy, without even the slightest hint of being aroused.


    Qing Yu was stunned, red and white intertwined on his face.


    How could it be, she was at least 70% sure of doing this, how could this His Royal Highness King Dingbei not have the slightest hesitation? She is not worthy, so who is worthy?


    But before she could figure it out, Jiang Xu bypassed her and left Huilou directly.


    Outside the Hui Tower, most of the 180 boats on the Lingyu River were destroyed by fire, and all the boats were ordered to rest.


    After returning to the government office, Jiang Xu ordered the secret guard a few times, and went straight back to the small courtyard where he was temporarily staying.


    The main room in the courtyard was brightly lit, presumably someone was still asleep. Jiang Xu pushed the door open, unexpectedly the girl who was making the bed inside turned her head and knelt down in fright.


    "Where''s the princess?" He looked around and asked suddenly.


    The little girl knelt on the ground and replied tremblingly: "Go back to the lord, the princess is enjoying the shade in the backyard, she said... she is very excited and wants to blow some air, and she also asked the servant to put a mint sachet under the pillow when making the bed, so as to inhale some cool air. "


    As she spoke, she presented the sachet with both hands respectfully.


    Excited.


    Jiang Xu glanced at the mint sachet, his eyes darkened.


    After standing still for a while, he turned around and left the main room, and went to the backyard.


    There is a small flower garden at the back of the small courtyard arranged by the magistrate for them. During this season, there are colorful flowers blooming everywhere. During the daytime, there are also butterflies flying around, and the summer fragrance is also refreshing.


    There is a swing entwined with vines in the flower garden, which is very eye-catchingly decorated, but Ming Tan probably had an embarrassment on the swing in the Yongchun Garden before. He has been in the house for a few days and has never sat on it. Now he is moving to enjoy the shade I took a soft couch and leaned sideways.


    Half an hour ago, she asked the magistrate''s wife to temporarily find a place to accommodate the Huilou beauties, and then went back to the yard by herself, feeling wronged, and fell asleep unconsciously. The maidservant next to her didn''t dare to slack off, she still fanned her gently.


    Seeing Jiang Xu coming, the maid wants to kneel.


    Jiang Xu raised his hand, indicating that there is no need, just continue to fan.


    When the prefect''s wife invited him earlier, Ming Tan specially changed his clothes. The snow-colored skirt is as elegant as a fairy in the night, and the red myrobalan embroidered with delicate patterns of begonias and branches on her chest is just as white as her skin, and her red lips seem to attract people to pick.


    He approached, scraped her soft little face with his fingertips, and helped her brush away the messy sleeping hair on her cheeks.


    In her sleep, Ming Tan felt something rough rubbing against her face, her eyelashes trembled, and she couldn''t help frowning her brows slightly, her cherry lips were tightly pursed, the corners of her mouth curled down in displeasure, and her small face was slightly puffed up.


    Jiang Xu stared at her, and waved away the girl who was playing the fan.


    Unexpectedly, Ming Tan couldn''t bear the heat at all, and within a few breaths of fanning, she was so hot that she slammed her mouth, turned to the other side, and unconsciously pulled the vermilion myrobalan on her chest.


    There is no one around, and there is a faint fragrance floating around. Jiang Xu stared at her without blinking, his throat tightened inexplicably. He propped himself on the edge of the soft couch, leaned over slowly, and stopped on her lips, hesitating for some reason. A kiss on the lips.


    Ming Tan didn''t wake up, but the heat was unbearable, and he almost tore off the myrobalan covering his chest with three or two strokes.


    Seeing this, Jiang Xu picked up the Luo fan that the girl had put aside, and slapped her a few times. But he had never done this kind of work before, and his hands were neither light nor heavy. The first two slaps were just a little hard, but the third slapped her chest directly, as if he had slapped her chest hard. hand.


    Ming Tan woke up with a start, subconsciously covered his chest and shivered, his eyes were sleepy, and after he was confused, he stared in surprise: "Husband, husband? What are you doing?"


    "..."


    Jiang Xu threw down the fan expressionlessly.


    Ming Tan looked at the fan, and suddenly understood something, slowly sat up from the couch, sat on the edge of the soft couch, looked around, and hurriedly tidied up the loose skirts.


    She just woke up, and her mind was a little confused. She hadn''t had time to resume the emotions before going to bed, but now she was arranging her clothes, and she suddenly remembered something¡ª¡ªhow did she sleep outside? Oh, by the way, the beauty of Huilou, I was **** off by the beauty.


    She paused, and her whole aura suddenly changed, she said indifferently: "Why did my husband come back? I thought that my husband had a good time with all the adults and was accompanied by a beautiful woman. I will not come back tonight." Woolen cloth."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Sure enough, what should come will always come.


    People who are jealous always think that they are covering up well, but they don''t know that the smell of vinegar is so strong that it can kill the delicate flowers in the garden.


    Ming Tan was like this, and continued as if nothing had happened: "The beauties sent by Mr. Yu, I have asked Madam Zhifu to find a place to settle down, but there are too many people and they came in a hurry, I am afraid it will be crowded. Don''t blame me. At the beginning, I wanted to bring more carriages, but my husband refused to let me go back to Beijing soon, so I can only buy more carriages and horses."


    "..."


    "I don''t know that he will beheaded first and then played, sending those women into the mansion."


    Ming Tan was indifferent.


    Jiang Xu didn''t explain much, just said: "According to the time, the dark guard should have sent him back."


    Ming Tan just glanced at him, and after a long while, she suppressed the desire to question again, lowered her head and straightened her sleeves, and said calmly: "That''s right, Miss Qing Yu alone can be worth a thousand purples and reds."


    "..."


    Who told her that.


    Seeing that Jiang Xu was silent, Ming Tan paused, and his heart sank.


    She adjusted her breathing and asked, "Where is Miss Qingyu, did your husband bring her back? Or do you want to find a good day to pick her up at Huilou?"


    "The princess wants me to bring her back?"


    ...?


    Why do you want to say that she wants it?


    Doesn''t she hope that he doesn''t know what to do!


    Ming Tan was so angry that he said stubbornly: "It''s lonely in the mansion, it''s good to have several sisters as companions. The concubine is clumsy and clumsy, she doesn''t know how to serve the prince, she is not considerate enough, but it makes the prince suffer."


    Jiang Xu stared at her for a while: "Since that''s the case, this king will order someone to take her over."


    With that, he turned around.


    Ming Tan exploded in an instant, grabbed the hem of his clothes, and hit him without thinking.


    There was a sudden silence all around.


    Ming Tan also suddenly woke up.


    What is she doing? Hit your husband? Isn''t this a violation of the jealousy in Qichu? She still has nothing to do, isn''t your husband going to divorce her? Or use this as a threat to get her to agree to the entry of the woman in Huilou?


    Ming Tan''s mind went blank for a moment.


    After a while, her expression cleared up a little, and suddenly she hit Jiang Xu again.


    "...?"


    Seeing the look on her face after beating someone, Jiang Xu almost understood what was going on in her mind, but after a pause for a while and then hit, he was a little confused.


    "Why hit me again?" He asked.


    Ming Tan poked his neck and looked at him with red eyes, and said confidently: "I''ve been beaten all the time, and I committed seven times. Wouldn''t it be a disadvantage if I didn''t hit him a few more times!"


    Hearing the words, Jiang Xu froze for a moment, with an imperceptible smile in his eyes: "What the princess said is very reasonable."


    As he spoke, he suddenly picked up the person and walked into the house.


    "What are you doing, aren''t you going to pick someone up?"


    "Who are you picking up?"


    "Didn''t you say¡ª" Ming Tan paused, and then he realized that he had been teased by him, "Why are you like this!"


    "How about this king?"


    Ming Tan was too angry to speak.


    On the contrary, after Jiang Xu put her on the couch, he suddenly pinched her cheek: "Wangfei looks jealous, very cute."

 Chapter 70：

    This seemed to be the first time Ming Tan heard Jiang Xu praise her for being cute, so he couldn''t help but stare at him, stunned for a moment.


    At that moment, most of her dress was stripped off, and the man came over with a familiar aggression.


    The two had a good time last time, and they were still in Pangshan. They hadn''t done anything for a few days, and when they got close suddenly, Ming Tan was inexplicably shy and uncomfortable. This seemed to be the same as after the boat put out the fire. It''s about affection.


    Her small face was soft and reddish, her eyelashes dodged, half drooping shyly, and her little hands were still restlessly pushing back gently, arousing the desire in Jiang Xu''s eyes. The color is a little more intense.


    The spring color in the inner room was getting brighter, but suddenly there was a sudden communication from outside the house: "My lord, my lord, please see me."


    This is the magistrate''s government office, and the lord the maidservant refers to is the magistrate.


    Jiang Xu''s arrow was on the string, and he wanted to ignore it, but Ming Tan pushed his chest, panting intermittently: "The magistrate is here now, if he wants to come, he must have something important to discuss..."


    He was silent, turned his head to look at the door, and asked in a low voice: "What''s the matter?"


    "The slaves don''t know, my lord only let the slaves pass the message, and ask to see the prince."


    Jiang Xu''s eyes were full of lust. The color hadn''t faded, but he finally turned over and sat down on the bed, tidied up the loose skirts, before leaving, he leaned over and pinched Ming Tan''s cheek, his voice was hoarse: "Wait for me to come back."


    Ming Tan covered the right cheek that had been pinched by him, sat up with the other hand supporting the bed, and wiped the marks on his body shyly and flusteredly.


    Outside the house, Jiang Xu went straight out of the courtyard, his eyes didn''t rest on the magistrate, but his voice was not at all warm: "You better have something important."


    The magistrate was sweating, if he could, he wouldn''t want to bother the king of Hades, okay, he can''t afford to offend if he doesn''t live here, so he can only survive.


    He bowed his body and said with trepidation: "His Royal Highness, there is a girl Qing Yu who claims to be from Huilou, and wants to see you."


    "That''s all?"


    The magistrate nodded, with a troubled expression on his face: "This Qingyu girl refused to leave no matter what, she said she had something important to discuss with the prince... Excuse me, the official didn''t know how to stop her, so I had to invite her to the flower hall."


    It''s not that he doesn''t know how to stop him, if he really doesn''t know, he doesn''t have to do anything, there will be hidden guards to stop him back, but it''s because he came under Yu Bozhong''s name, and he didn''t want to offend Su''s family, so he invited him here Flower hall, and then came to invite Jiang Xu.


    The magistrate was anxiously waiting for Jiang Xu''s response, but suddenly someone behind Jiang Xu stepped forward slowly and said calmly, "Since you''re here, it''s okay to meet you."


    Ming Tan saw Jiang Xu''s seal and thought that if he had something important to do, he might have to use it, so he hurriedly changed his clothes and chased him out. He didn''t expect to hear what the magistrate said just after he came out.


    At this moment she remembered that she was still angry just now, but she was interrupted by someone and forgot.


    It¡¯s true that he sent those beauties away, but as for that girl Qingyu, he didn¡¯t explain it from the beginning to the end, but now it¡¯s good, he won¡¯t pick it up, she will come to the door by herself, she wants to see what it is Amazing character.


    After finishing speaking, she asked the magistrate to lead the way without waiting for Jiang Xu to speak.


    In the flower hall, Qing Yu changed into a long blue dress and was sitting and waiting. Seeing the magistrate coming, she got up, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of His Royal Highness Dingbei''s joy, before she could see the strange woman startled slightly.


    The woman''s snow-skinned appearance, bright eyes and bright teeth, was so beautiful that people couldn''t take their eyes off as she took every step. It seemed like a rare treasure, delicate and fragile, which made people hold their breath inexplicably, not daring to breathe freely.


    Ming Tan is also looking at the woman in front of him, this woman is extremely beautiful, but she seems to have seen her somewhere, there is a very subtle sense of familiarity.


    Concubine Lan, Empress, Bai Minmin, Zhou Jingwan, Shen Hua, Yun Yi... Many familiar and beautiful faces flashed in her mind, and she even briefly recalled her appearance when she took a selfie in the mirror, no, no.


    But these eyebrows...


    Before she could figure out the answer, Qing Yu knelt down in front of her with a "plop", kowtowed three times, her back straightened, which seemed a bit neither humble nor overbearing.


    "The servant has seen the prince and the concubine."


    On the way here, she met all the companions who had just been sent back to Huilou. Knowing that His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei was going to Lingzhou this time, the princess accompanied him all the way, and the person in front of her was obviously the princess.


    She knelt on the ground and continued: "Your maidservant knows that her status is lowly and she is not worthy of serving the lord, but Shibo makes the lord press her hard. If the lord refuses to accept this servant, this servant..." She kowtowed a few more times in Ming Tan''s direction, "I also ask the concubine to stay with me. The slaves are willing to be cattle and horses in return, and they will never exceed the rules."


    This attitude, those subtle familiarity disappeared suddenly.


    Ming Tan was thinking about where the familiar feeling came from, but Qing Yu mistakenly thought that Ming Tan was moving, and continued to talk about how difficult it was to live in Huilou since childhood, implicitly implying how much she wanted to get rid of Huilou and her hostel. .


    Ming Tan sat down at the head and was about to speak, but when she looked up, she caught a glimpse of the Luoshen Spring Water Picture hanging on the right side of the flower hall. Suddenly, she thought of something, her heart trembled, and she subconsciously looked at Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu exchanged a glance with her, acquiescing to what she was thinking.


    Ming Tan slowed down, his heart settled, he picked up the teacup, and took a half sip with restraint, then he looked at Qing Yu who was kneeling on the ground, and asked in a warm voice: "Miss Qing Yu wants to leave Huilou?"


    "Yes." Qing Yu replied without hesitation.


    She finally persuaded Yu Bozhong to let her come and have a try. No matter what method she used, she would fight for another chance for herself to stay with His Royal Highness Dingbei King, even if it meant crossing the river and demolishing bridges and offending Su''s family.


    Ming Tan pondered: "Wangfu is not a refuge. If anyone comes and asks to be taken in, the Wangfu will be crowded and there will be no place to stand. However, Miss Qingyu is quite close to each other. If I want to leave Huilou, I will I can help you once more."


    Qingyu endured the turbulent emotions, only showing gratitude on his face, and immediately wanted to kowtow to thank him.


    Sure enough, she made the right bet. These Miss Jiao who have never experienced hardships are very soft-hearted. Instead of confronting them, it is better to keep their posture to the minimum and win their sympathy.


    But Mingtan said again: "Miss Qingyu, don''t rush to say thanks, I can help you leave Huilou, and I can also guarantee that Mr. Yu won''t trouble you because of this matter, but this good fortune only ends here After leaving Huilou, whether you will be poor or miserable, rich or noble, will all depend on the girl herself.


    This means that she can help her leave Huilou, but she cannot allow her to enter the palace? Qing Yu raised his eyes, meeting Shang Ming Tan''s gentle gaze.


    "Princess, servant¡ª"


    "Miss Qingyu, don''t rush to answer. I''ll give you a day to think about it. If you want to leave Huilou before sunset tomorrow, someone will arrange for you."


    Qing Yu fell silent for a while, and couldn''t help but look at Jiang Xu, hoping that he could say something for her.


    Earlier in Huilou, His Royal Highness King Dingbei obviously took one more look at her, which proved that he was at least not completely uninterested in her. What went wrong?


    After a while, Jiang Xu spoke, but not for her.


    "Come here, take her out. Regardless of whether she wants the favor of the princess or not, I don''t want to see this person appear in front of the king and the princess again." His voice was cold, and he didn''t look at her, apparently not paying much attention.


    On the way back to the courtyard, there was silence all the way, Ming Tan was thinking about what to say, but he didn''t know how to speak. All her previous emotions had dissipated, and only a faint worry about her husband remained in her heart.


    When she suddenly caught a glimpse of the picture of a beauty in the flower hall, she finally remembered the origin of the familiarity between Miss Qingyu''s brows and eyes, didn''t it come from the portrait of Princess Min Cong that was covered by the rolling curtain in the palace study?


    She saw it once by accident. It should be painted by her mother-in-law when she was established as the crown princess. She was wearing the crown princess uniform. Her appearance and demeanor were meticulously drawn, lifelike, and she was an unforgettable beauty. .


    The appearance and demeanor of that Qingyu girl is far inferior to that of her mother-in-law who passed away, but after a rough glance, her eyebrows and eyes are very similar, so it is no wonder that the husband will let her accompany her.


    Husband, you should miss your mother-in-law very much.


    Before he was one year old, his father-in-law passed away unexpectedly, and he never enjoyed the love of a father, but his mother-in-law died of depression when he was five years old¡ª¡ª


    "This queen mother and concubine comes from the Yi family in Lingnan, with a prominent family background. She was raised according to the standard of the mother of the country since she was a child." For some reason, Jiang Xu suddenly took the initiative to speak.


    Changing home in Lingnan?


    This is indeed a prominent family.


    "After the death of the father, the Sheng family intended to support the emperor''s grandson, but the mother and concubine did not want the king to become a **** in the struggle for power, and only hoped that the king''s life would be safe and smooth.


    "Her choice brought a lot of disaster to the Yi family. The owner of the Yi family once denounced her as unworthy of being a daughter of the Yi family. She may not be a qualified Yi family daughter, but she is a very good mother."


    When he was going to marry into the Dingbei Palace, Ming Tan had inquired about his past, and his uncle had indeed said that, as the grandson of the former emperor, he was able to survive the two regime changes without the protection of the Crown Princess, but she didn''t go into it at the beginning. She didn''t even know that her mother-in-law came from the Yi family in Lingnan.


    She hesitated for a while: "Husband, that Qingyu girl, otherwise..."


    "It''s just three points similar, how can she compare with this queen mother and concubine, don''t worry about it, and don''t care about it."


    Ming Tan nodded slowly, but in his heart he hoped that the girl Qingyu would be more clear, and with this slightly similar face, she could choose a smoother life.


    However, things backfired, Mingtan received the news the next day that Miss Qingyu was unwilling to leave Huilou.


    She is the most outstanding girl in Huilou. When she leaves Huilou, she has nothing but a face. She can''t find a stronger backer than Su''s family for a while, so she might as well stay. Su''s family says nothing in Lingzhou. With her With ability, it is not difficult to want to be more pampered after entering the mansion.


    Knowing this, Ming Tan felt inexplicably melancholy. Individuals have their own destiny, and she can''t say that others'' choices must be wrong.


    It''s just that her husband''s work seems to have come to an end, and she will leave Lingzhou in a few days. She packed her clothes and fell into deep thought, what can she do for her husband?

 Chapter 71：

    Two days later, something happened in Lingzhou.


    In the case of Zhou Baoping''s sudden death, the Department of Shipbuilding made an appeal to the court, and Emperor Chengkang issued an order to restore his name after death.


    On the surface, this is the best explanation that Emperor Chengkang can give him. In the dark, Emperor Chengkang will take care of his family, at least to ensure that his life is rich and safe. Yin, has a bright future.


    As for the withdrawal of Lingzhou Port, the two-year tax payment and the inexplicable extra interest are undoubtedly a blatant cut of meat from Shibosi.


    However, Jiang Xu didn''t give any room for concessions. The Empress Dowager Jingzhongsu and Emperor Chengkang secretly confronted each other, and Emperor Chengkang said both inside and outside that what King Dingbei meant was what he meant.


    In fact, Cheng Kangdi originally just wanted to give Su''s family a warning. He can turn a blind eye to controlling Bobuy and official private sea trade for the time being, but if he still dares to act recklessly even in the future, don''t blame him If you tear your face apart, you will hurt yourself by 800, and you will hurt the enemy by 1,000. As for making up the taxes and interest for the past two years, he had never thought about it, but Jiang Qizhi thought it was okay when he mentioned it this way.


    This is clearly intended to hurt Su''s family, but it won''t hurt to the point where both sides are hurt. After all, if that evidence is brought out, the Shibo Secretary will inevitably face a complete reshuffle, including the many people involved. Officials in Lingzhou, and even the Sujia faction in central Beijing, will suffer losses.


    They can cut off their wrists to exchange blood, and help another person to the top, but the Su family is not united in one mind. If they really abandon each other, the sacrificed families will inevitably feel jealous, and those officials and followers who are attached to the Su family will inevitably care about it. People''s hearts are fluctuating, and there is no guarantee that Emperor Chengkang will not leave a loophole to place chess pieces in Lingzhou to cultivate power. In contrast, it is not so unacceptable to pay a huge amount of tax money.


    Sure enough, no matter how unwilling the Su family was, they finally agreed to make up the tax payment and its interest, but said that it would take time to raise the tax payment, and it was hoped that it would be extended until the end of the year.


    Jiang Xu was easy to talk about, when to make it up, and when to hand over the evidence. Su''s family was very heartbroken, and changed their minds that they must make up within the next month.


    The amount of tax money to be supplemented was negotiated, and Jiang Xu asked for 30% of it to pay for the troops stationed in the North. The national treasury has added a large amount of income, and the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs who has always been the best at crying about the poor is rare and generous, and he agreed to the matter.


    After the matter here, Jiang Xu and his party did not stay in Lingzhou for long. The officials in Lingzhou were terrified for several days, and finally sent him out of the city respectfully, and heaved a sigh of relief.


    Even Su''s family, who had been slapped hard for a while, didn''t show any complaints, and only hoped that the king of **** would leave soon, so that no more troubles would happen in Lingzhou.


    Ming Tan thought that after Jiang Xu''s errand was done, they would return to Beijing the same way. But she didn''t know until the day before leaving the city that Jiang Xu planned to go to Tonggang, Quanzhou.


    "You and Shu Jingran go back all the way first, and this king will catch up as soon as possible. If you can''t catch up, you should go back to Beijing first."


    Ming Tan couldn''t help tugging at the corner of his clothes: "Can''t A Tan go together?"


    "Do you know where Tonggang is?"


    Ming Tan shook her head, Quanzhou is not a place of transportation, how could she know about the nameless town under Quanzhou.


    "After Tonggang is remote, even taking a bath is difficult. It won''t be much better than sleeping in the woods." Jiang Xu patiently explained.


    Ming Tan was a little puzzled: "Isn''t Tonggang facing the sea? Why is it so difficult to take a bath?"


    Jiang Xu paused: "The sea water is salty, you can''t drink it, and you can''t use it for bathing."


    Ming Tan grew up in a boudoir, and has never seen the sea in her life, so her knowledge is limited. She always thought that the sea is a boundless river, but she didn''t know there was such a difference.


    She suddenly said: "No wonder there was a drought in Lingzhou. I heard the magistrate''s wife say that the Lingyu River was named after praying for rain. I always felt something wrong. Then I thought about it, why do we need to pray for rain near the sea in Lingzhou? So it is... "


    Jiang Xu nodded: "So, you go back to Beijing with Shu Jingran first."


    But Ming Tan came back to his senses, and was a little reluctant. He walked forward, hugged his arm and said coquettishly: "Husband...A Tan doesn''t want to go back to Beijing first, and A Tan is not afraid of being tired. If he can''t take a bath... just bear it for a few days." Come on, take me with you, I want to see what the sea looks like."


    For some reason, Jiang Xu was very easy to talk this time, he only pondered for a while before replying: "Don''t go back on your word after setting out, I won''t delay for you."


    "Yeah, I won''t delay my husband''s business!" Ming Tan immediately straightened his small body, raised three fingers and swore.


    Jiang Xu believed it for now.


    However, Ming Tan said that there would be no delay, and shortly after leaving Quancheng, he tentatively made a request: "Husband, I just looked at the map, and it seems that we can take the road of Li County, and we can return to the original place in half a day''s journey at most. Determine the route, Li County is richer than Cheng County... I want to go to Li County to add some things, so as to save Tonggang from lacking things."


    "Isn''t it an addition in Quancheng?"


    "The previous purchase...may not be enough." Ming Tan risked his cold face and racked his brains to find an excuse, "Besides, we passed through Li County when we came here. Didn''t we eat a delicious pastry? I want to have another Buy some."


    Jiang Xu put down his book of war and looked at her fixedly.


    Ming Tan thought to himself: It''s over, it''s over, my husband will definitely scold her with a straight face and no mercy.


    Her small face was tense, and her heart was disturbed, but Jiang Xu looked at her for a while, without moving his eyes, and only said to the outside of the carriage: "Take Li County."


    This agrees? Husband is too lenient today, isn''t he?


    Ming Tan sneaked a look at him calmly, but his expression remained the same, and he continued to read the military book with his lowered eyes.


    Li County, Lingzhou, the hometown of fireworks, is rich in various firecrackers and fireworks.


    Walking along Lixian Street, at least seven of the ten shops are in the fireworks business. Even the fireworks needed to be lit for palace celebrations are mostly sent to the capital from Li County.


    They went to Quancheng earlier, and they stayed in Li County temporarily for one night. After this matter was over, Ming Tan also thought that he would return via Li County, so he sent Yun Yi here early to make some preparations. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and find some excuses that sounded vexatious to try.


    After arriving in Li County, they stayed in the inn on the way when they came.


    Taking advantage of Jiang Xu''s inattention, Ming Tan asked Yun Yi in a low voice, "Are you all ready?"


    Yun Yi nodded sharply, quite a bit of "you can rest assured that I will do things".


    Ming Tan followed Jiang Xu back to the room, freshened up a bit, and then pretended to hold him back, asking him to accompany him to buy pastries.


    During this journey, Ming Tan was mostly accompanied by Yun Yi when he went out, and Jiang Xu only went out with her once.


    It''s not because Jiang Xu doesn''t want to accompany him, but because Ming Tan doesn''t like having him accompany him.


    Go shopping with him, if she doesn''t speak, he won''t say a word. If asked whether it looks good or not, he will answer both. If you ask which one is better to buy, let her buy them all... It''s like a walking log, and although he doesn''t express his opinion, there will always be a sense of urgency in people''s hearts, "Have you finished shopping?" It''s better to go shopping by yourself.


    Now going out, it''s the same again, obviously two people are together, but Ming Tan has a feeling of loneliness for no reason, after buying pastries, she has no interest and wanders aimlessly, if it is not for waiting for the dark, she wants to go back The inn is closed.


    Just when she was so bored that she looked up at the sky in three steps, the silent wood beside her became a spirit.


    Jiang Xu suddenly stopped and asked, "How do you sell this sugar figurine?"


    "Hey guest officer, you can choose these pinched five cents a piece. If you want to pinch them now, you can get eight cents a cent." The vendor responded enthusiastically.


    "Can you pinch one like my wife?"


    Hearing this, Ming Tan couldn''t help but glance at him, feeling quite strange as if the sun was coming out from the west.


    "Of course I can do it. Ma''am, you look like a fairy, you are so lucky!" When a business came to the door, the vendors talked loudly, clearly covering their veils, and they could boast about their fairy looks, "Young master, you have to pinch yourself!" One or two are cheaper, how about only fifteen cents?"


    Jiang Xu wanted to say no need, but Ming Tan responded first: "Okay, then we will each pinch one like us."


    "Hey, good! A good couple is made in nature, good things come in pairs."


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu didn''t say anything more.


    This small vendor has a quick mouth, but his craftsmanship is not as good as his mouth. According to the sugar figurine made by the two of them, except for the color of the clothes on the body, there is no resemblance in other parts.


    After paying the bill, Ming Tan took Jiang Xu''s sugar figurine to enjoy himself: "How did you make it? It''s just that I can''t make out the face with the veil covered. My husband is so handsome, but he was made into such a shape. Look at the face is more than twice as wide, and the eyebrows, the mouth..."


    As she spoke, she picked up the sugar figurine and compared it to Jiang Xu''s face: "Tsk, it''s really ugly. If your husband is so dignified, I''m afraid A Tan will have to wipe his neck on the first day of marrying into the Dingbei Palace. went."


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Ming Tan was babbling about being ugly here and there, when the person beside her suddenly snatched the sugar figure from her hands, and bit off the sugar figure''s head without changing his face.


    "...?"


    Ming Tan froze for a moment.


    This candy is mostly for viewing, and the taste is not good. Her husband is too cruel, so ugly that he even eats himself!


    Thinking of this, she subconsciously looked at the candy figurine that Jiang Xu was pinching for her.


    Jiang Xu also looked at the veiled sugar figurine in his hand, twisted the stick twice, and then made a gesture of wanting to eat it.


    Ming Tan stared straight!


    He is the only one who is ugly, why even bite off her head!


    But when the sugar figurine was brought to his mouth, his body and head did not instantly separate as Ming Tan expected. He lowered his eyes and only licked it lightly.


    "..."


    Ming Tan''s ears were hot, and he stepped on his boots regardless of the reservedness he always paid attention to when he was outside.


    lecher! rash! Dirty! !

 Chapter 72：

    Except for being happy, Jiang Xu is very serious on weekdays, and suddenly he does something unserious, it''s no wonder that Ming Tan walked forward alone in embarrassment, and walked straight out of half a street.


    Jiang Xu glanced at the sugar figure in his hand, and followed behind him at a leisurely pace.


    The sky was getting dark, and when he reached the intersection, Ming Tan suddenly remembered the business, looked around, only to realize that he was going in the wrong direction. She stopped and wanted to turn around, but she was unconsciously attracted by the excitement not far away.


    At the intersection of the two streets, I don''t know what to do, passers-by are surrounded by three layers of people, whispering and whispering from time to time.


    Jiang Xu followed. He didn''t know whether the sugar figurine in his hand was eaten by him or thrown away. Ming Tan didn''t pay attention, but just looked at the crowd with his head, and muttered curiously, "Are you doing juggling?"


    "This is too difficult!"


    "In my opinion, that little bird can''t get it out at all, it''s just a lie."


    "Yes, if the head can come out, the wings can''t come out, and the body can''t come out if the wings come out. How can there be such a reason!"


    ¡­


    The two stepped forward, and the onlookers were discussing enthusiastically.


    Ming Tan saw several women watching, so he inquired: "Miss, what are you doing?"


    "Setting up a stall to solve the mechanism." The girl kept her eyes on and explained enthusiastically, "This man said that an expert in the mechanism stayed at his house for a night and gave him a mechanism object as a thank you gift. Here, That''s the thing."


    Ming Tan followed his line of sight, and saw a small wooden cage on the stall, and inside the cage was a small wooden sparrow, beside which was written crookedly "Fifty Wen once, half a stick of incense once". .


    "Don''t tell me, this thing is quite exquisitely made. This man took it out to set up a stall, saying that whoever can get that little sparrow out of the cage without breaking it, he will give it to anyone. Solution Fifty cash at a time, only half a stick of incense can be unpacked at a time, and five taels of silver must be deposited in advance, if something is broken, the five taels of silver will not be returned!"


    There were about a few hundred texts in the bowl, which means that several people tried it, but they didn''t succeed.


    "Why do you just watch it and not try it? What else is there to pay attention to?" Ming Tan couldn''t help asking.


    Then the girl turned her head and glanced at her, thinking that she hadn''t heard what she said earlier, she deliberately made a "five" gesture: "I want to bet five taels of silver, which is not easy to afford. Even if you take I got five taels of silver, who knows if the wooden thing will be accidentally broken, and the five taels of silver will be wasted for nothing, who would not feel bad about it!"


    Five taels of silver is a lot? Ming Tan hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Xu again.


    Jiang Xu lowered his head and asked her, "Like it?"


    "...It looks very delicate, it should not be something that can be made casually."


    Jiang Xu nodded, stepped forward slowly, and put down the ingot of silver directly.


    Seeing that what he put was ten taels of silver, the person who set up the stall didn''t ask him to pay the fifty cents first, so he quickly put on a smiling face, took up the wooden caged sparrow mechanism with both hands, and passed it forward: "Young master, please, please."


    Jiang Xu got the caged sparrow mechanism, his gaze was fixed for a moment, and Ming Tan who was standing beside him couldn''t help but feel surprised.


    Jiang Xu noticed her reaction and asked, "Know?"


    Ming Tan nodded, hesitantly said softly: "This should be the organ made by Master Yun Yan? I have read "On Mechanisms" written by Master Yun Yan in my boudoir before, although I have never seen the real thing, but I heard that the organ he made All of them will be engraved with flowing cloud patterns."


    In front of this caged sparrow mechanism, the base of the wooden cage is engraved with extremely delicate flowing cloud patterns, which is exactly the same as the one printed on the top of "Mechanism Technique".


    The person who took it out to set up a stall to solve the mechanism probably didn''t know Yunyan, and he only asked people to bet five taels. Doesn''t this mean that in his eyes, the mechanism is only worth five taels? For those who know how to do it, five hundred taels is not a problem.


    Yun Yan was a master of organs during Gaozong''s period. When he heard that Gaozong was alive, he asked him to design organs in the mausoleum for himself, so that future generations would not be disturbed by Xiaoxiao. After Gaozong''s death, he also disappeared from the world, and never heard from him again. There are very few Jikuo works by him now.


    Jiang Xu looked at it for a while, and then began to explain.


    There are only two small round holes on the top and bottom of this wooden cage, neither of which can be opened. The whole body is surrounded by five wooden fences. The wings of the little bird can move up and down, and other parts cannot move.


    It was obvious that the little sparrow could only be taken out from the gap in the wooden fence, but the little sparrow''s head was round and could only be stuck in the gap in the wooden fence. If you change the direction, the feet can come out first, but the wings will be caught by the wooden fence. If you move the wings and let the wings come out sideways, the body will be stuck again...


    In short, no matter how you move it, if you leave one part, there will always be other parts stuck by the wooden fence.


    Jiang Xu originally thought it was simple, but after fiddling with it for a while, he couldn''t figure it out. He focused on his expression and tried his best to control his strength, so as not to destroy the mechanism directly if he was not careful.


    The hour of half-burning incense is approaching, Ming Tan glanced at someone whose whole body was inexplicably cooling down, and couldn''t help feeling a little embarrassed in his heart.


    The little girls who were watching just now were all whispering, this young man is very handsome, and he looks very confident, he will definitely be able to solve this mystery. She also thinks so, and is fully expecting her husband to show his supernatural powers and win the opportunity of Master Yunyan to give her.


    "My lord, half a stick of incense has arrived." The stall owner reminded cautiously.


    Jiang Xu didn''t even raise his eyes: "It''s time to buy half a stick of incense."


    "G, okay, okay."


    ¡­


    Seeing that the half stick of incense was about to burn out again, people around talked a lot, saying that this thing is a scam, and it is impossible to untie it.


    Ming Tan stood aside and watched Jiang Xu untie for a long time, but saw some tricks. She tugged at Jiang Xu''s sleeve, and couldn''t help whispering: "Husband, why don''t you let me try?"


    Jiang Xu paused, and handed the organ to her: "It''s a bit difficult."


    She held it in her hand and didn''t rush to move. First, she observed carefully for a while, and after confirming what she thought, she tried to change the direction of holding the wooden cage, and moved left and right very quickly, and finally Pressed his head from the inside out¡ª¡ª


    Out.


    So fast? really came out?


    Ming Tan himself was startled.


    Needless to say, the rest of the people couldn''t help being silent for a moment. Several people were unable to untie it before, but she started, and within a few breaths, she took Xiao Que''er out of the wooden cage, which was really unbelievable.


    "Girl, have you ever played with this mechanism?"


    "Yeah, how come it''s so fast!"


    "This can really be solved, how did you do it, have you seen it clearly? I was dazzled just now."


    Others may not have seen it clearly, but Jiang Xu, who was standing beside him, could have seen it clearly.


    In fact, since she changed the direction to take the wooden cage, he noticed the details that he had overlooked before, and also figured out the solution to this mechanism.


    The five wooden rails on the top of the wooden cage are evenly enclosed at first glance, but the actual gaps are slightly different. The gap where the wood sparrow can be taken out is slightly wider than the side. Of course, the sequence of pulling out the wood sparrow parts The angle and angle are also very critical. If you make a wrong step, you will not be able to take it out smoothly.


    There were discussions around, and even the boss wondered if she had played this mechanism before. Ming Tan said no, but everyone still didn''t believe it.


    But Jiang Xu knew that she couldn''t have played it. All the works of Master Yun Yan are the only one, and this work is not recorded in "Mechanism Art". It should be done after hiding from the world. Know the solution before.


    Ming Tan happily won the Bird in a Cage mechanism from the boss, and did not back down the ten taels of silver he bet on. He even told the boss the origin of the mechanism, and wanted to give him some more silver.


    However, the boss was also honest, saying that the rules had been set early in the morning, and he felt sorry for not giving back the ten taels of silver.


    Ming Tan thanked him. He was very happy to win the organ. After walking for a long time, Ming Tan didn''t know what to think of, and suddenly slowed down, gently tugged at Jiang Xu''s clothes, and asked cautiously, "Husband is angry?" ?"


    Before getting married, the mother in the palace came to the mansion to teach that when a woman gets married, her husband must be put first in everything, especially in the royal family, she must never push herself in front of her husband. She used to learn seriously, but her husband used to her, after marrying into Dingbei Palace, she seemed to have done more than one or two things beyond the rules.


    "Why are you angry? Is Princess Qi smarter than this king?"


    Ming Tan nervously and sincerely explained: "I am not smarter than my husband, because I love to untangle Jiulianhuan, Kongmingsuo, and Lubansuo since I was a child... I just saw my husband playing with it for a long time, and I wanted to try one after I had observed the way. Try, I didn''t expect it to be so smooth. In fact, if you give Husband some more time, Husband will definitely be able to do it."


    Jiang Xu was about to say something, telling her not to be so cautious, he was not such a stingy person.


    Then Ming Tan shook the mechanism in front of him again, and blinked: "If the husband is angry, can I give this to you, A Tan will try his best to hide his clumsiness in the future, so as not to let himself be smarter than the husband?"


    When it came to "working hard to hide clumsiness", Ming Tan finally couldn''t continue acting. He burst out laughing "àÛàÍ" and walked briskly forward with the opportunity he won, chanting "Why am I so smart", "I''m simply a little genius", "Such things as intelligence really can''t be concealed"...


    Jiang Xu looked at Ming Tan''s back and paused for a moment. He might have lost his mind and went crazy to believe that his concubine would be so timid that she would feel uneasy because she stole his limelight.


    It was getting dark, and the streets were gradually lit up.


    Jiang Xu stepped forward, rubbed the head of a certain embarrassing little princess, took her hand, and led her to avoid the carriage that was speeding behind him.

 Chapter 73：

    Li County is much smaller than Pangshan County, and has only one main road that is not very wide. Fortunately, it is lively, with vendors hawking along the street at night and brightly lit.


    The two of them passed by the inn where they stayed, Ming Tan pretended not to see, and kept interrupting to talk about other things, Jiang Xu pretended not to know what she was thinking, and followed her along.


    When he was about to reach the west city gate, Ming Tan suddenly said: "By the way, my husband, I was in Jingjing county a few days ago. I heard people say that there is a snow-reflecting lake outside the west city gate. The color reflected on it is very quiet and beautiful.¡±


    "Then why isn''t it called Yingyue Lake?"


    ...?


    Ming Tan didn''t expect Jiang Xu to ask this question, Yu Ning took a moment to answer: "Maybe it''s more beautiful when it snows?"


    She held onto Jiang Xu''s hand again and said, "Husband, let''s go and see if it''s okay, the West City Gate is ahead."


    "The gate of the city has been closed."


    "But my husband has a pass order."


    Jiang Xu couldn''t help but glanced at her: "You''re thinking about everything."


    "That''s natural." Ming Tan said as it should.


    When I rode alone at night to Shuzhen, it was already past the closing time, but my husband took out the pass, and the guards at the city gate let him go without saying a word, and it seemed that he did not reveal his identity.


    Jiang Xu glanced at the west city gate not far away.


    Li County is not a place where military strategists must contend for because of its superior geographical location. The city walls are simple and low, and there are only two people on duty on the tower at night.


    "Hold tight." Jiang Xu reminded in a low voice.


    Before Ming Tan could react, he was carried by Jiang Xu and flew up the tower, and then easily jumped down. Until it settled outside the city wall, the sound of "hug tight" seemed to still be echoing in my ears.


    While Ming Tan was in shock, he felt a little irritated. He followed Jiang Xu''s footsteps with his hands on his chest, and exclaimed softly, "Husband, you can actually fly people so high. I asked Yun Yi, and Yun Yi said that if she took People can only climb trees or roofs at most, and this city wall is much higher than the roof."


    "You asked her what to do, and wanted her to take you out secretly?"


    ...?


    Why is your husband so sensitive?


    She just didn''t want to see guests for a few days before, and she said she was unwell and needed to rest in bed, but one night when he didn''t return home, she wanted to go out to get some air, so it was inconvenient to go out from the front door and called herself to say that she needed to rest in bed face, so I secretly asked Yun Yi.


    She said with a guilty conscience: "No, I am a princess. If you want to go out, you can go out in a fair manner. Husband, don''t judge a gentleman''s belly with a villain''s heart."


    Jiang Xu pulled the corner of his lips lightly, nodded and said, "Well, I''m a villain, a concubine is a gentleman." Then he glanced at her belly.


    Ming Tan pressed both hands in embarrassment.


    Fortunately, Yingxue Lake is not far from the city gate, so they can be seen from a distance in just a few words.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help heaving a sigh of relief. Today, she dragged her husband out for a long while, her legs were already swollen and sore. If Yingxue Lake was farther away, she would have died before reaching the lake. stop.


    Yingxue Lake is not big, but the water of the lake is indeed smooth and crystal clear. A small boat prepared by Yunyi was tied to the lake, with wine and food prepared on it.


    Ming Tan didn''t hide anymore, and directly pulled Jiang Xu to the boat: "Husband, come quickly."


    After getting on the boat, Ming Tan was about to explain his arrangement to Jiang Xu, but Jiang Xu deftly untied the hemp rope, let the boat float with the water, and poured water for himself while holding the pot with downcast eyes. Had a glass of wine.


    ...?


    "Husband already knew?" Ming Tanchi asked.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just glanced at her.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help feeling disappointed and a little bit angry. Fortunately, she interrupted all the way to make excuses, and racked her brains to lure him to Yingxue Lake. He didn''t expect him to know about it a long time ago, so what a surprise!


    Seeing this, Jiang Xu pondered for a moment, and explained: "The dark guard saw that Yunyi was acting alone, and reported it to the king, but the king doesn''t know what the princess has prepared."


    Oh, not comforted.


    But it¡¯s all here, Ming Tan was silent for a moment, adjusted his mood, and actively poured Jiang Xu another glass of wine, and then, as expected in advance, led the conversation back to his childhood, talking to Jiang Xu about the time when he was a child. thing.


    Jiang Xu listened quietly without interrupting.


    "...I thought life would be much easier after my concubine sister left, but who knew that life would become more and more difficult. I have to learn piano, embroidery every day, and I have to go to Chang Guogong''s mansion to go to private school." Ming Tan was short. I counted on my fingers, "Originally, my mother wanted me to go to Zhou''s private school. The Zhou family is a scholarly family. There are many celebrities in the family. They are also very famous in the women''s private schools in Beijing. Does your husband know why I didn''t go in the end?"


    "Why?" Jiang Xu replied with a face.


    "At that time, Nanque West Street was not open, and it took a long detour to go to Zhou''s mansion. You had to go out at the beginning of Maochu, so you had to get up at 3:30 Yinshi at the latest, but it was too early. Changguo Gong''s mansion is much closer, Yinzheng Er It¡¯s never too late to wake up.¡±


    "When Maochu went out, why did he have to get up at three o''clock at Yinshi?"


    "Washing, dressing, changing clothes, having breakfast... don''t you have to get up at three o''clock."


    Jiang Xu thought of all the things she had done when she got up in the mansion in the morning, and suddenly understood.


    Ming Tan rested his chin and continued: "Fortunately, I didn''t go. Zhou''s private school is too scary. I have to study for three hours a day. I still have a lot of homework to do after returning to the mansion. If I go back to the mansion and learn something else, I will not be able to do it in a day." There is no need to rest."


    Ming Tan babbled on about his time in private school, and how he was punished by his teacher for not being serious about learning the piano.


    She said this to comfort Jiang Xu. She has lost her mother since she was born, and her father has not only been her daughter, but she has been in office for several years. She is always working hard in the mansion to become a model of noble girls in Beijing. For the hard work, it can be regarded as pity with him.


    Unexpectedly, Jiang Xu thought about it, and suddenly said: "When you were in private school, I should have gone to the Northwest Army. The northwest is very dry, and the army has a ration of drinking water every day. I remember that I went back to the enemy camp to spy on the army. He was found, got lost after escaping, and was exposed to the sun for two days, neither the king nor his companions drank a drop of water, and almost died of thirst on the way back to the camp."


    "..."


    Ming Tan was speechless.


    Why does she feel that she has had a hard time? She is just studying privately, doing homework and learning some rules to embroider flowers. If she refuses to do it, no one will force her. Compared with her husband, this is really worth it It is pampered.


    After imagining what her husband said about almost dying of thirst on the way back to the camp, Ming Tan felt distressed and didn''t know what to say.


    Jiang Xu hadn''t realized what Ming Tan was talking about before, nor had he realized that he had killed the world in just a few sips, so he poured himself a drink, and even poured a cup for Ming Tan as well.


    Ming Tan picked up the wine cup in a hurry and took a sip, put his other hand behind his back, and made a gesture quietly, that this topic can''t go on, it''s better to get down to business earlier.


    Yun Yi waited for a long time until her back became stiff, and finally she saw Ming Tan move. She hid behind the tree, moved her neck, and stretched her waist.


    After a while, there was a strange sound and it lifted into the air, and after reaching a certain height¡ª¡ª


    "boom!"


    "Bang bang bang!"


    "Husband, look!" Ming Tan put down the wine cup, grabbed Jiang Xu''s sleeve with one hand, and pointed at the night sky with the other.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes.


    Tonight, the night sky is as blue as blue, the moon is bright and clear, dotted with autumn stars here and there, clusters of fireworks rise into the sky not far away, bursting out dazzling brilliance on the night, and reflecting sparkling lights on the silent lake.


    This fireworks is very special, never seen in Beijing before.


    After the fireworks take off and bloom, they should be static, but they look dynamic, like a comic book, and the dynamics are coherent when they are flipped through. The fireworks are also one cluster after another, and their shape changes slightly when they lift off, very fast to form a picture of a man dancing with a sword.


    Although the shape of the fireworks is not lifelike, Jiang Xu can already see that those sword moves were all used by him in front of her.


    "Is it the king?" he asked.


    Seeing that he recognized him, Ming Tan suppressed the little pride in his heart, and asked for credit: "Is it very similar? It took me two hours to draw it. I can''t remember some movements. Thanks to Yun Yi who told me that I know." How to draw."


    Jiang Xu stood up and looked up at the night sky with a serious expression he had never had before.


    Ming Tan also got up and walked to his side, thinking brokenly: "I heard that Li County can make any kind of fireworks, so I asked Yun Yi to take my blueprint and come to Li County in advance to find someone to do it. I want to give it a try, but I can¡¯t really make it in a hurry, but if I give it a little more time, maybe I can make it more like¡­


    "Mr. G, after you return to Beijing, why don''t you mention it to the sage, isn''t there fireworks in the palace every year? I heard that the fireworks in the palace are also made in Li County, but the style is not new. I have seen it outside the palace several times. , It seems to be the same every year, maybe this year we can do something moving, such as a boy''s New Year''s greetings? It looks fresh."


    "No."


    "Why?" Ming Tan was puzzled, could it be that there are rules in the palace even for the style of fireworks?


    "This is the trick you thought of for this king, why let other people see it."


    He finished speaking slowly, and looked at Ming Tan with deep eyes.


    Ming Tan was a little startled, he didn''t expect him to say that at all, and after staring at him for a while, his ears felt a little hot again.


    In fact, it sounded domineering, but she somehow felt a little happy and satisfied.


    She lowered her eyes to avoid Jiang Xu''s sight, then moved forward little by little, holding Jiang Xu''s hand shyly: "Does that husband like the fireworks that A Tan made for you?"


    "Yes, I like it."


    "It''s as long as my husband likes it. In fact, Ah Tan does this because he is afraid that my husband will feel sad when he sees the girl Qingyu and thinks of the concubine. Ah Tan hopes that my husband can be happier." Ming Tan blushed and bulged. Courage explained.


    Jiang Xu kept looking down at her. Over the years, some people have sincerely done him good, but no one has ever said that they hope he can be happier. His life seems to have never had any connection with happiness.


    After a long time, he held Ming Tan''s hand back: "A Tan has a heart, this king... is very happy."


    This was the first time he called her name, his palms were slightly wet, and he was sweating a little rarely.

 Chapter 74：

    I don''t know what kind of wine Yun Yi prepared, Ming Tan took a sip and became a little drunk. After the fireworks were set off, her head was dizzy, and there were some things she wanted to say to Jiang Xu, but she couldn''t think of them for a while.


    She held her face in both hands, the night sky in front of her was bright and bright, the lake was clean and clear, occasionally the night wind would wrinkle the dots of broken stars on the lake surface, and when a burst of dizziness hit, these pictures rotated and staggered again, as if dragging her into a quiet place. Beautiful dream.


    In the dream, there was an endless starry sky, a mirror lake covered with broken stars, and trees standing still. She lay on her husband''s broad shoulders and walked forward step by step.


    The touch of the broad shoulders was too real, she couldn''t tell whether it was a dream or not, so she hiccupped and muttered a poem for some reason: "When I''m drunk, I don''t know that the sky is in the water, and the boat is full of clear dreams that press down on the galaxy. Uh...but I''m not...not drunk!"


    Jiang Xu glanced back slightly from the corner of his eye, and gently lifted her up.


    All this was originally very quiet, but Yunyi saw this scene not far away, and without thinking about it, she stepped forward and offered to share it with the Lord. After all, it seems that there is no reason for the Lord to come in person for such a job.


    "..."


    "No, take care of yourself."


    He stayed briefly in Li County for one night, and the next day, Jiang Xumingtan and Shu Jingran parted ways and headed for Tonggang, Quanzhou. The accompanying dark guards also parted ways, most of them were sent by Jiang Xu to protect Shu Jingran, and Yun Yi was also asked to leave by Shu Jingran.


    In fact, he didn''t plan to give it to Yunyi, but in the end he gave it anyway. Ming Tan was a little puzzled by this arrangement, and asked him on the way: "Why did my husband let Yun Yi go with Second Young Master Shu?"


    "Why do you think so?"


    Ming Tan thought for a while, and tentatively said: "Could it be because Second Master Shu is interested in Yun Yi, husband, do you want to fulfill them?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, Ming Tan said again: "Madam Youxiang is famous for being strict in Beijing, how could she let Second Master Shu and Yun Yi be together, husband, are you sure...is it okay?"


    Along the way, she couldn''t see that Shu Jingran treated Yun Yi differently. Yun Yi didn''t respond at first, but after coming out of Quancheng in the past few days, Yun Yi obviously warmed up to Shu Jingran.


    She saw it, but she always pretended not to see it, and never matched the two. Because in her opinion, there should be no possibility of these two people.


    Between Young Master Youxiang and the secret guard of Jinyunwei, there may be thousands of distances between the princes of the Marquis Mansion and the small police officers of the government government. It is impossible to even get married with an ordinary family, let alone Yunyi, could it be possible that Yunyi should marry him as a concubine?


    According to Mrs. Youxiang''s reputation of being strict with rules, she might not even be able to accept her as a concubine, and a girl as easy-going as Yunyi, why would she want to enter his Youxiang''s mansion as a concubine? So instead of having many difficulties in the end, it is better not to have too many entanglements in the morning.


    "Shu Jingran''s matter, he will handle it himself. He is a very assertive person, you don''t have to worry about it." Jiang Xu explained, although he just felt that Yun Yi was in the way, and had no intention of matching.


    Ming Tan nodded, but felt a little disappointed. She was also worried, in the end, no one seemed to be able to control her except herself. It had been more than a month since she left Beijing, and she still didn''t know what was going on with Bai Minmin and Jing Wan''s marriage.


    In just three days, the horses and chariots traveled across the state, but the road to Tonggang was not easy. The first half of the official road was full of narrow potholes, which seemed to have not been repaired for many years. In the comfortable carriage, Ming Tan was jolted to the point of being dizzy and nauseated. What was even worse was that in a town near Tonggang, Jiang Xu said that he could no longer take a horse-drawn carriage any further.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help asking: "Why?"


    "There are many small roads ahead, it is difficult for a carriage to travel, and the countryside is remote, so it is not suitable to be ostentatious."


    Now that the husband has said that, Ming Tan didn''t want to cause him any trouble, and rather consciously looked up and down at his own dress, which although he tried his best to be low-key, was still very conspicuous in the crowd, and asked: " Do you want to change the dress too?"


    "It''s better to change it, it''s better to be simple."


    Ming Tan nodded obediently, and took out a small bronze mirror from the eight-treasure cabinet, and took a selfie with it.


    After a while, she murmured annoyedly: "But with my appearance, even with a veil, it''s hard to hide my charm. Is it possible that I have to wear a veil all the way?"


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Although Jiang Xu has repeatedly stated that Tonggang is a remote and poor place, but Ming Tan has not seen it with his own eyes, so he can''t imagine what it means to be remote and poor. After all, by her standards, Pangshan, Wang County, where Mingheng is located, is already a poor place. Far Beijing small land.


    There was no inn along the way, only a simple wild shop at the foot of the mountain, Ming Tan saw the dilapidated appearance of the roof that seemed to be about to collapse at any time, he didn''t even want to sit down and drink a bowl of tea.


    She changed into a plain fine cloth dress, temporarily abandoned the carriage, and took a ride with Jiang Xu instead.


    In order to take care of her, Jiang Xuxu also slowed down his riding speed a lot, even got off his horse on difficult roads, and led the horse in front.


    It was getting dark, Ming Tan looked around and saw the desolation along the road, so he couldn''t help asking: "Husband, where shall we rest tonight?" Maybe he will sleep in the woods.


    Afraid of what would happen, Jiang Xu responded, "When I am marching, I often sleep in the wilderness."


    With one hand behind his back, he led the horse in front with the other, without looking back at Ming Tan who was sitting on the horse.


    Ming Tan thought that what he said just now had no meaning, and when he was mentally preparing to sleep out, he suddenly said: "But there should be someone in front, just find someone to spend the night with."


    Ming Tan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Although she didn''t bring her own quilt, it was difficult for her to fall asleep during the night, but it was much easier to accept than sleeping in the woods. At least she didn''t have to worry about being drenched in the forest when it rained at night.


    However, after spending the night with someone else, Ming Tan found that this worry could not be eliminated.


    They stayed at the Orion family at the foot of the mountain. There were about five or six such families at the foot of the mountain. The house they stayed at was the one with the largest and most neatly built house. The prey looked much richer than the others. But the house is still very simple, the gaps in the roof are finger wide, if it rains, there is no way to hide.


    "The man in my family has been hunting in the mountains for the past two days, and the roof has not been repaired in time. It may rain tonight. Use this to pick it up, and suffer." He sent them a small wooden basin.


    "Thank you Mrs. Liu." Ming Tan smiled with curved lips.


    "It''s not popular in our place." The woman called "Sister-in-law Liu" waved her hand, "You two can stay at ease for one night, and you don''t have much to eat tonight. Steamed buns and pickles, you two will eat it tomorrow. I''ll make minced meat porridge for you early in the morning."


    "No need for Mrs. Liu." Ming Tan hastily declined, the place is so dilapidated, meat is not an ordinary food, so it would be a shame to ask someone to serve it.


    "What''s the matter? Our family is not rich, and we can still eat meat. My man is good at hunting, and this is the case everywhere in the villages." Mrs. Liu gave a thumbs up, with pride and satisfaction that could not be concealed on her face. "My man is good to me and my baby. Every time I go back to the town to sell prey, I always bring back two catties of meat. If you don''t eat it, my baby will also eat it."


    As soon as she mentioned the baby, the baby in her arms began to cry. She coaxed her skillfully, then raised her head and said, "Then you guys rest first, I''ll go feed the baby first."


    Ming Tan nodded hurriedly.


    After Mrs. Liu left, Ming Tan looked at the wooden basin she sent, and remained silent for a while.


    In the mansion before, she also saw servants using wooden basins to catch rainwater, but they were all placed outside under the eaves, and they were replaced when they were full, in case the rain was too heavy to clog the drains. She never thought that people lived The house also needs to put pots to catch the rain.


    Of course, she never thought that the house that people live in can be so simple, and it is a very wealthy family in this land.


    I heard from Mrs. Liu that the room they lived in was the one his eldest daughter lived in before she got married. There was a wooden bed against the wall, and a dressing table...it was hard to call it a dressing table. It was full of sundries. , the corners of the table were uneven and rickety, an old small round table with a set of semi-old pottery tea sets on it, two tea bowls were missing, and there was nothing else.


    When Ming Tan entered the house for the first time, he felt that there was no place to stand, sit or stand. He couldn''t imagine how a girl''s family would live in such a house for more than ten years.


    But from Mrs. Liu''s tone, she and her man valued this girl quite a lot, and there was no reason for a girl to have a room alone in the other houses, and she and her man waited for the girl to get married before they got a boy doll. It''s so important that it can''t be found in ten miles and eight villages.


    Ming Tan didn''t know what to say, so he sighed softly with Jiang Xu for a while, but Jiang Xu said: "Actually, more than 70% of the common people in Daxian are not living as well as they are. There are houses to shelter from the wind, and food to eat. That''s a lot. What the people want in their lives."


    Ming Tan was stunned, for a moment it was hard to imagine how many people Qicheng was.


    Today, the sky is not beautiful during the day, and there is a sign of rain. Sure enough, the two of them did not talk for a while, and it started to rain outside. It smashed into the gap, and splashed water, splashing in all directions.


    There is more than one finger-width gap in the roof, and a wooden basin is obviously incomplete. Jiang Xu put the wooden basin on the important bed, and hugged Ming Tan who was sitting on the bed at a loss, to the corner of the bed: "You sleep here, you won''t be drenched by the rain."


    "What about you, my husband?"


    This half of the place that will not be exposed to the rain obviously cannot fit two people.


    "Ben... I''ll just sit down."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the dim oil lamp in the room was blown out by the wind.


    Ming Tan huddled in the corner of the bed, the rain fell into the wooden basin on the bed, ticking continuously, and soon splashed, wet her sleeves, and it was icy cold.


    The rain outside the house was getting heavier and heavier, with occasional flashes of lightning, and the not-so-secure windows were suddenly blown open, and the wind and rain blew in unscrupulously.


    Jiang Xu got up, closed the window again, walked to the side of the bed and asked, "Can''t sleep?"


    ...who can sleep here?


    Ming Tan originally wanted to agree to come to Tonggang and never cause him any trouble, so no matter how unbearable it was, she had to endure it and not complain, but she had never encountered such a predicament before, and she huddled in a corner and could not complain. Not daring to move, her sleeves were splashed by the rainwater in the wooden tub, and once there was thunder outside, she shrank once.


    After holding back for a while, she still groped to the edge of the bed in the dark, stretched out her hands to wrap around Jiang Xu''s waist, and whispered aggrievedly: "Husband, please hold me, I''m a little scared."


    Jiang Xu slowed down, hugged her, and stroked her thin shoulder: "Don''t be afraid, I''m here."

 Chapter 75：

    The night was muddled, Ming Tan curled up in Jiang Xu''s arms, sometimes sleepy, as if he had already fallen asleep, but the next moment he was awakened by the raindrops splashing on his body and the muffled thunder outside, and occasionally he could hear a few faint cries of a baby.


    It wasn''t until five o''clock that the sky outside the house became hazy, and the rain gradually weakened.


    The twilight of the morning light reflected the slightly distressed scene inside the house. There was water on the ground, the tables and chairs were wet, and the wooden basin on the couch was almost full. The window was probably blown open once, and two pieces were left on the chair that were destroyed by the wind and rain. of residual leaves.


    Jiang Xu hugged Ming Tan, leaned against the head of the bed and closed his eyes to rest.


    Seeing that he seemed to be asleep, Ming Tan withdrew from his arms lightly, put on the plain embroidered shoes, and left the room quietly.


    Outside the house, after the rain, the turbid air disappeared, and there seemed to be a fresh air filled with the fragrance of plants and flowers in the mountains and forests not far away. The birds chirped and chirped, and the voice was ethereal and clear.


    Ming Tan exhaled heavily. Before last night, she had never imagined that she could endure such a harsh environment for a night. The house was not as good as the cleaners of the Jing''an Hou Mansion.


    Thinking of what her husband said, that 70% of Daxian''s people might not be as good as them, she felt very complicated.


    There was the sound of a broom sweeping the floor in the main room, Ming Tan finished moving his numb body and walked towards the main room.


    When she entered the house, she happened to see Mrs. Liu had finished sweeping the floor, and then picked up a rag and started wiping the rain-soaked tables and chairs in the house.


    In fact, Sister-in-Law Liu had already gotten up to work at the fourth watch, and the main room was tidy at the moment, and there was still a fire on the stove at the back, cooking porridge.


    Seeing that Ming Tan had a clear circle of cyan under his eyes, and his expression was much more haggard than yesterday, Mrs. Liu stopped her movements, and asked in a low voice with some embarrassment: "Sister, it was raining last night, so you didn''t rest, okay? It''s all my man''s fault." , The roof has also been broken for a few days, and I didn''t fix it, which caused you and your man to suffer."


    Not only did Ming Tan not rest well, he didn''t rest much at all, but he kindly took them in for the night, so there was no reason for him to feel sorry.


    She hurriedly shook her head and said, "You''re being serious, I have a light sleep at night, and it''s common for me to be unable to fall asleep during thunder and rain." She changed the subject again, "By the way, Mrs. Liu, I seemed to hear Xiaobao crying last night? "


    Speaking of her doll, Mrs. Liu couldn''t help but sigh: "Hey, that''s right. The adults couldn''t fall asleep, but the doll was scared by the thunder and rain, and it took most of the night to coax her to sleep. Is it bothering you?"


    "No." Ming Tan hurriedly shook his head again.


    After coaxing most of the children, Mrs. Liu didn''t take much rest, but she also didn''t rest all night. Mrs. Liu was full of energy when she said this, and continued to wipe the tables and chairs vigorously.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help asking: "Sister-in-law Liu, aren''t you tired, do you want to take a rest?"


    "What are you resting for? Resting, I watched the baby sleep soundly before getting up to do things quickly. When I woke up, I was screaming for milk. I was very worried." Aunt Liu replied without thinking, "Besides, the village Which family''s women don''t have to work. The Wang family''s daughter-in-law in front gets up to do things every day at three o''clock, feeding chickens, pigs and vegetables, and serving her in-laws. I am luckier than her, and there are no in-laws waiting to serve. I''m used to doing rough work, so I''m definitely different from you, my sister."


    She looked up at Ming Tan in a hurry, and asked curiously: "By the way, sister, why did you and your man come to Tonggang? I looked at you two with your appearance and attire. Are you from a wealthy family? This place is very poor, the front mountain turns over to the town, the wind from the sea blows all day long, and the town smells salty and fishy everywhere!"


    "Me, me and my husband..." Ming Tan was speechless for a moment, and quickly made up a reason, "He wants to do some business, and he plans to take a look around the coast."


    Hearing this, Mrs. Liu was surprised and said, "Doing business in the sea?"


    Ming Tan didn''t respond, it was a default.


    Mrs. Liu quickly waved her hands and said, "Sea business is terrible, don''t do it, don''t do it!"


    "Why?" Ming Tan was curious.


    "You don''t know how fierce the sea is. Once the wind and waves hit you, you won''t know how to die. Of course, don''t do it!" Mrs. Liu kindly pointed out, "If you want to work with the fleet, you still have to go to Ling State, there are big ships there, safe!"


    Ming Tan listened carefully.


    "Hey, our place is not so poor that we can''t get rid of it. No one dares to go to sea. In the past, there were men who went to sea and brought back things, but no one took them from our place. We still have to sell them in Yuzhou, Lingzhou. But this little I have to go out, the road is not easy to walk, and I am very tired.


    "It will take at least a year to make it back and forth. If you don''t come back for a year, the dolls in the house can talk, and what you can get, the big fleet in Lingzhou can''t get it? Take the things to the city Here, it can¡¯t be sold at a good price, it¡¯s not worth it, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±


    When Ming Tan heard the words, he was thoughtful, but he didn''t say much, just nodded slightly.


    Aunt Liu finished her work in the main room, went to get porridge from the stove at the back, and called Ming Tan to ask Jiang Xu to get up and have breakfast together.


    Mrs. Liu is busy with her work, and she cooks simple and clean breakfast. A small pot of porridge with minced meat, a stack of steamed buns with pickled vegetables, and fragrant hot rice milk made by herself are placed on the small square table, which is inexplicably very interesting. Appetite, Ming Tan seldom moved his chopsticks, so he used up everything.


    Before breakfast was finished, Mrs. Liu and her husband came back from hunting. Mrs. Liu''s husband''s surname is Zhu, and he was originally the fourth eldest in the family, so the neighbors around here call him Zhu Si.


    Zhu Si is a tall and rough man with a simple and honest face, he came back suddenly, Ming Tan was eating porridge, and he didn''t have time to put on his veil.


    In this world, people like Ming Tan and Jiang Xu have never been before. Zhu Si couldn''t help but stare blankly for a moment, and thought he whispered to Mrs. Liu: "Mother, these two people are like gods, where did they come from?" Yes, why did you come to our house?"


    Mrs. Liu also bit his ear twice.


    To be honest, if it weren''t for Ming Tan and Jiang Xu who were born like gods, they would be either rich or expensive at first glance, and they wouldn''t be able to figure out what their family was, and Liusao was a woman with a child, no matter how enthusiastic she was, it would be impossible to let them in casually. Room.


    After figuring out what was going on, Zhu Si was stunned, and warmly greeted the two of them to continue eating, and went inside the room to take a look at his sleeping baby son.


    These hunters go into the mountains, and they can''t get out for two or three days. It rained heavily last night, so Zhu Si and his companions spent the night in the cave. , rushed back early in the morning.


    After seeing his son, Zhu Si came out to have breakfast with them.


    Mrs. Liu has already scooped up the porridge for him, she should be familiar with his speed of drinking porridge, the bottom of the bowl here, and Mrs. Liu just scooped up a big spoonful for him to add more, she still reprimanded: "Let you slow down!" Eat slowly, no one will fight with you, what if you choke if you eat too fast!"


    "I can''t choke, don''t worry, don''t worry." Although Zhu Si said so, he still obediently slowed down the speed of drinking porridge, and looked at Jiang Xu and Ming Tan and praised, "My mother-in-law''s porridge is delicious, and you can also eat porridge." Drink more, there is nothing else to entertain at home, but don''t be polite, it''s really delicious!"


    Aunt Liu elbowed him to stop him from talking nonsense, but the corners of her mouth couldn''t stop turning up, her face was satisfied and sweet.


    After breakfast, Ming Tan and Jiang Xu planned to continue on the road.


    After Ming Tan cleaned up, he was going to say goodbye to Mrs. Liu, but when he walked to the back of the main room, he saw Mrs. Liu washing dishes with her husband.


    The two chattered about making arrangements, after the hunting this time was sold at the market, they would add something to the family. He also talked about the need to repair the roof as soon as the sun cleared and the ground dried outside. He also said that she bought him a few more pairs of shoe soles at home in the past two days, and often changed them frequently when walking in the mountains. Make it a little thicker, and it will definitely be comfortable on the feet...


    The two of them chatted about ordinary and trivial matters, which sounded boring, but they had a lot to discuss, and her man would spare his hands to wipe her sweat from time to time. It seemed that the days changed just as you said and I said. Gotta come alive.


    Seeing this scene, Ming Tan felt inexplicably warm, and his heart was also inexplicably touched. He even couldn''t help thinking that if she could do the same with her husband, it would be good.


    Hmm...Of course, she doesn''t know how to wash the bowls. Her hands are so delicate because they are moistened with goat milk and honeydew. Once the bowls are washed, fine lines will appear on them. not bad.


    After thinking about it messily for a while, seeing that Mrs. Liu and his wife didn''t find her, she didn''t step forward to bother her, but stepped back lightly, and put a bag of broken silver beside the sewing box where Mrs. Liu had packed the soles of her shoes and hadn''t confiscated the needles.


    She originally wanted to put a banknote directly, but she thought that this place is poor, and it might be a hassle to recruit people to change banknotes, or the use of broken silver is not so eye-catching.


    "...So if you want to open a sea trade in Tonggang again, you must at least have a smooth official road, otherwise it will be very inconvenient to transport, but along the way, I found that the terrain in the whole state seems to be very complicated, which is different from the flat and open state of Lingzhou. very different.


    "Furthermore, the road leading to Lingzhou is not as good as leading to Yuzhou. Yuzhou is closer, and the Yuxi area is closely connected with the Western Regions. If Tonggang and the sea trade are opened in time, Yuzhou will be the intercommunication between tea horses and sea trade. Place."


    Jiang Xu and Ming Tan continued on the road. On the way, Ming Tan talked about some of his thoughts on Tonggang''s opening of maritime trade.


    "Also, I heard from Mrs. Liu that the wind and waves in Tonggang seem to be much more severe than those in Lingzhou Port. Why is this? Is it because of the different location, or is it that Tonggang is too backward and does not have enough experience in going to sea? If the experience in going to sea is not rich enough, I don''t know How to fight the wind and waves is easy to solve, but if it is the former, it may be a little troublesome."


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, but asked in a low voice: "You only talked with that woman for a few words, and you thought so much?"


    Ming Tan looked back, hesitantly said: "I think...isn''t it right?"


    "That''s right, this king just didn''t expect that the princess is so smart."


    "...?"


    "Did you think I was stupid before?"

 Chapter 76：

    Bickering all the way, when they arrived at Tonggang Town, it was already unapproved.


    On the way, Ming Tan murmured that when he arrived in town, he would go to Jiabuzhuang to buy new clothes. The clothes were soaked by the rain last night. Although they were dry now, they were still uncomfortable to wear.


    Jiang Xu didn''t agree, and he didn''t blame her for being coquettish. He just reined in and said softly, "We''ll talk about it in town."


    After arriving in town, Ming Tan was startled.


    There are as many as eighteen large and small towns passed along the way. Ming Tan thinks that this trip can be regarded as a glimpse of the people''s livelihood, but when she arrives in Tonggang, she suddenly finds that she has seen too little of the world.


    If it wasn''t a town, she would believe it was a slum or a village that had just been hit by a disaster.


    All the way forward, there is no half a good road, full of potholes, three steps and one foot muddy.


    The houses along the street are also dilapidated, the windows are glued with glue strips of various colors, and the clothes that have been washed white are stretched out from the windows on the second floor, densely packed in rows.


    The sun is very hot, and the hot wind is blowing on the face, and there is an extremely unpleasant salty smell in the breath. Ming Tan couldn''t help covering his nose, slowing down his breathing.


    To be honest, she thought that Tonggang was relatively poor, but she never thought that it would be so poor. She seriously suspected that Jiang Xu had already known what kind of mess the town was, so he didn''t agree to her proposal to buy clothes. How dare he think about it? Clothes, it would be nice to have a place to live at night.


    She got off the horse, and together with Jiang Xu, led the horse forward.


    After walking a few steps, a little beggar suddenly ran forward, wanting to hug her leg.


    Jiang Xu blocked it without a trace, his eyes downcast indifferently.


    The little beggar flinched when he saw Shang Jiangxu''s gaze, and wanted to back away in fright. But he didn''t know what he thought of, he looked at Ming Tan, still swallowing his saliva, and said in a low voice: "Brother, sister..."


    The little beggar was filthy all over, and his face was dusty and muddy. He was small and thin, and seemed to have only a leather bag and skeleton left.


    Ming Tan couldn''t bear it, and subconsciously wanted to pay for the money.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her.


    Ming Tan hesitated, and suddenly remembered that Yun Yi bought steamed buns for someone back then, but was entangled by a large group of beggars and entangled Yue Li.


    "Sister, I haven''t eaten for three days. Please do me a favor, and the Buddha will bless you." The little beggar begged again in a sincere and childish voice.


    Ming Tan didn''t care too much anymore, looked around, saw that there was no one else, so he took a bag of pastries from the bag, and stuffed it with a small piece of silver.


    The little beggar''s eyes lit up for a moment, hugged the pastry, bit the broken silver again, and quickly bowed to thank him: "Sister, you are really a good person, thank you."


    Ming Tan bent her lips in relief, and when the little beggar ran away, she gently pulled Jiang Xu''s sleeve, and said coquettishly: "If you want to come to this town, you can''t buy any clothes, so it''s just doing good deeds. OK?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t speak, just glanced at someone who was in trouble and didn''t know it.


    There is only one inn in the town.


    Seeing a guest coming, the shopkeeper was very surprised.


    Ming Tan looked around, and it really lived up to expectations, but shelter from the rain shouldn''t be a problem¡ªthat''s right, after last night, her minimum requirement for the residence has been reduced to shelter from the wind and rain.


    It''s just that she was ready, but Jiang Xu suddenly changed his mind.


    "Let''s go." He grabbed Ming Tan''s wrist and turned around to go out.


    "G, guest officer, doesn''t the guest officer want to stay in an inn, there is only an inn in the town!" The shopkeeper shouted twice behind him.


    Ming Tan didn''t know why, so he quickly followed Jiang Xu''s pace. After being pulled out of the inn, she had time to ask: "Husband, husband, what''s wrong?"


    "Do you think this looks like an inn?"


    Ming Tan was speechless, although it was a bit broken, but the word "Inn" was indeed written on the signboard, so it wasn''t an inn.


    She suddenly thought of something, and tentatively asked nervously: "Could it be... a black shop?"


    She had read a storybook before, which said that the rich daughter eloped with the poor scholar, and accidentally stayed in a black shop at night. .


    At the very moment when the rich daughter was about to be defiled, the poor scholar reported to the officials and led the officers and soldiers to wipe out the bandits'' lair and rescue the rich daughter.


    When Qian Jin''s family learned of this, they greatly changed their view of the poor scholar, and agreed to their marriage. The two finally tied the knot and lived a happy life.


    It''s not because of anything else that she memorizes this script, it''s purely because the script is too outrageous.


    Regardless of why the bandits let the scholar go, and how the scholar reported his official status, it is enough to suffocate that the rich family''s daughter was kidnapped by the bandits and can happily talk about marriage.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, but only motioned her to look at the clothes on the second floor of the inn.


    Ming Tan looked up following his line of sight.


    The clothes drying outside the inn are not quite the same as those in the other places. Although they are all rags in her eyes, the dozen or so clothes in this row are all brightly colored... She had a flash of inspiration, as if she understood something, and then remembered the The incongruity felt in the inn.


    This is not an inn, this is a flower building selling dog meat!


    No, to say that Hualou is too flattering, there is no such thing as a Hualou, at most it can be considered a brothel for prostitutes.


    Ming Tan clutched her small chest, while walking forward, she turned her head to look at the prostitute''s brothel, coincidentally, she saw a man in rags walking in staggeringly when she looked.


    It''s really a kiln.


    "It''s not an inn, why do you want to keep us?"


    "If you have money to earn, naturally you want to keep it."


    There is no definite number of things to do in this kind of place.


    Ming Tan murmured in a low voice: "They are so poor that they still go to the brothel, aren''t they afraid that they will starve to death after visiting the brothel?"


    "Food and **** are all human desires."


    "But people''s desires should be prioritized. If I''m too poor to let go, I must find a way to earn money to build a house and fill my stomach. I don''t have the mood to go shopping."


    "..."


    He didn''t expect his little concubine to be so motivated and ambitious.


    As dusk approached, there were no more inns in the town to stay in. Ming Tan was a little worried: "Husband, where are we going to stay tonight?"


    "Where can you accept."


    Ming Tan thought for a while: "As long as it can keep out the wind and rain."


    "Easy to handle."


    ¡ª¡ªHe led Ming Tan to find a ruined temple in the outskirts of the town.


    Ming Tan: "..."


    It''s really only a shelter from the wind and rain.


    Ming Tan was in a daze, he didn''t know where to stand when he entered the ruined temple. Jiang Xu found a clean place, spread his coat on the floor, and motioned, "Sit."


    "Oh."


    Ming Tan obediently sat down.


    The two hidden guards accompanying him appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly carried two stacks of dry firewood and a chicken.


    "There are still chickens to catch in the mountains?" Ming Tan hesitated.


    "Go back to the princess and buy it from a farmer."


    Oh, so why not just buy it cooked? Is it more interesting to bake it yourself? She hesitated to ask, but before she could ask, the two hidden guards disappeared without a sound.


    Ming Tan sat with his knees tucked aside, watching Jiang Xu proficiently light the fire, and put the cleaned chicken on the fire to roast. Hmm... In fact, she really wanted to say that there is still dry food in the bag, so there is really no need to reproduce the real scene of survival in the wild like this.


    This chicken roasted like this must not taste good. She has watched Fuchu chefs roast chicken from afar. From marinating to choosing firewood to seasoning, every step is very delicate.


    Seeing that the corns would be baked for a long time, and Jiang Xu was very bored, Ming Tan touched his arm, and took the initiative to find a topic: "Husband, I met that inn today, it reminded me of a storybook."


    "What script?"


    She told Jiang Xu the story of the rich daughter eloping with the poor scholar vividly, and at the end she didn''t forget to express her own opinion.


    Jiang Xu kept looking at the roasted chicken, his voice neither high nor low: "There are indeed some problems with the script, but why do you think that after the rich daughter is taken into captivity, you can no longer talk about marriage?"


    "Fame is damaged, so naturally it is impossible to talk about marriage. If a woman is really kidnapped by bandits, even if she is rescued, she will probably wipe her neck for trouble. How could a scholar marry her?"


    "This is not the fault of the rich family."


    "It''s true that it''s not her fault, but morals in this world are harsh on women, and fame is more important than life, so only the scriptures dare to arrange things randomly." She rested her chin, and made a boring assumption, "If I were the daughter of a rich family, and my husband is That poor scholar, what should my husband do? I was kidnapped by mountain bandits, will my husband save me? Will you still marry me after saving me?"


    "Of course it will be saved." Jiang Xu turned the grilled chicken over, pondered for a moment, and said indifferently, "But I don''t need to go to the government, but I can make the bandit''s nest full of corpses and blood flow into rivers. You both In terms of fame, apart from this king, there will be no second living person who will know about this matter, so there will be no one to talk about marriage."


    "..."


    Really thoughtful.


    "Taste."


    After a while, the chicken was roasted, Jiang Xu tore off a chicken leg and handed it to her.


    "etc."


    Ming Tan took out the bamboo tube, poured some water to wash his hands, took out a clean veil, and carefully held the chicken leg through the veil.


    In all fairness, the grilled chicken looked pretty good. She took a small bite and swallowed it without daring to taste it. She boasted against her will: "It tastes really good, and your husband''s craftsmanship is also great."


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes and glanced at her: "The chicken legs and wings are left for you, eat slowly."


    ...?


    Ming Tan choked up: "No, no need, my husband will eat too."


    "Isn''t it delicious?"


    "It''s delicious... I can''t eat so much."


    Not half a moment after saying this, Ming Tan slapped his face.


    She can, she can! Husband¡¯s grilled chicken is also delicious!


    After nibbling a chicken leg and a wing, she stared at the remaining fat leg.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her, tore it off and handed it to her.


    She took it piously, swallowed quietly, and asked a question from the depths of her soul: "Why is my husband able to roast so deliciously? I used to watch the chef roast chicken in the mansion. The steps are very complicated, but the taste doesn''t seem to be good." Big difference."


    "Because your husband baked it."


    ...?


    After saying this, Jiang Xu suddenly raised his eyes and looked outside the ruined temple. He wiped his hands with the Supa that Mingtan had used, and said: "You have caused trouble."

 Chapter 77：

    Ming Tan couldn''t react, he bit his chicken leg and raised his head, looking at him ignorantly.


    How did she get into trouble?


    But before Jiang Xu could explain, she heard footsteps coming from outside the ruined temple. Those footsteps were chaotic and hurried, some were light and some were heavy.


    Ming Tan seemed to understand something: "Here, did the innkeeper bring someone here?"


    When they came to Tonggang Town today, they seemed to have only met the innkeeper. Could it be because they knew the true face of the inn and brought someone here to kill them?


    But this...it shouldn''t be. The people in the town are clearly aware of what the inn is doing, otherwise no one would have gone straight there, so whatever they did, they would provoke people. Come to silence?


    Ming Tan didn''t want to understand for a while.


    But she couldn''t figure it out, but her body reacted quickly. She hurriedly put down the chicken legs, and hid behind Jiang Xu cowardly. Fearing that Jiang Xu would lose, she tugged at Jiang Xu''s sleeve, trying to hide behind the Buddha statue with him.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her, but said nothing.


    The footsteps outside were getting closer, and Ming Tan was getting more and more nervous, and the hand holding Jiang Xu''s sleeve was sweating.


    But what she didn''t expect was that the footsteps were approaching menacingly, but they all stopped outside the temple, and then there was a painful cry of falling to the ground outside the temple¡ª¡ª


    "Ouch!"


    Ming Tan belatedly remembered, oh yes, there are two hidden guards outside who can cut firewood and buy chickens, and talk less than the husband.


    She felt a little more at ease.


    Half a moment later, the dark guard **** all the people outside tightly, carried them one by one, and threw them in like sandbags.


    One, two, three...


    ten.


    When the tenth one was thrown, Ming Tan was stunned for a moment, his eyes fixed on the man, and he didn''t move or blink for a while.


    She had seen that person before, it was the little beggar who looked very pitiful during the day, and she gave him a bag of pastries and an ingot of broken silver.


    Why is it him?


    "How is this going?"


    She looked at Jiang Xu puzzled.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, he got up and condescendingly glanced at the man lying on the ground who was the first to be thrown in.


    Without saying a word, he just stretched out his foot, stepped on the left side of the man''s face, and ground him slowly.


    "Ahhh! My lord, spare your life! Forgive me!" The man screamed, his face was deformed by the trample, and the corners of his mouth were bleeding.


    Seeing this, the others were frightened and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.


    The little beggar who had been given charity by Ming Tan before was even paler, trembling, tears pouring out uncontrollably.


    He humbly moved forward to Ming Tan, and didn''t dare to get too close, so he kept kowtowing in fright, his voice was small and whimpering: "Sister, sister! I was wrong! Please forgive me! Sister, I Kowtow to you! Spare me, spare me!"


    After a while, he kowtowed until his head was bleeding. The blood on his forehead was mixed with the dust and tears on the ground, as if he was unconscious.


    Ming Tan knew that this matter had something to do with him, so it could be seen that he was small and pitiful, so he still couldn''t bear it: "Stop knocking!"


    She suppressed her anger and asked again, "tell me, what''s going on?"


    The little beggar wanted to say something, but before he opened his mouth, he couldn''t help but look at the man trampled by Jiang Xu, and flinched inexplicably.


    Ming Tan sensed something was wrong, squatted down, and asked patiently: "Tell me, what''s going on?"


    The little beggar was trembling with fear and nervousness. After a while, he whimpered cowardly: "Sister, I don''t want to hurt you, but if I don''t obey, he will beat me."


    he?


    Ming Tan looked at the man trampled by Jiang Xu.


    The man seemed to want to say something, he struggled a bit, but he was still unable to move, and he couldn''t open his mouth. Jiang Xu''s feet seemed to be a little heavier. The man was in so much pain that he couldn''t bear it, and passed out directly. .


    There was a faint guess in Ming Tan''s mind, she handed a clean handkerchief to the little beggar, her voice could not help softening, even a little gentle: "Don''t be afraid, speak slowly."


    Seeing that the man passed out, the little beggar was greatly relieved. I don''t know what scruples he had, he hesitated for a while, but finally he mustered up the courage and stumbled to talk about the ins and outs of the matter.


    It turned out that the little beggar was named Xiao Shitou, and he was kidnapped from another village to Tonggang Town. The person who kidnapped him was the man Jiang Xu stepped on, Chen Wu.


    Chen Wu, Li Si, and Wang San Mazi often abducted children from the villages near Tonggang. When they got a group of abductors, they took them from Tonggang to a more affluent town nearby.


    Those who have joints over there will specially train them to be swindled beggars, and not everyone can be a swindled beggar. They have to be nimble and quick-witted, otherwise they will only be short of arms and legs. Selling miserably and begging.


    The small stones will be taken away in two days. Today, they happened to meet these two foreigners on the street. Chen Wu pushed him out to beg. It was not enough, and I gave back ingots of broken silver!


    Seeing that there were only two of them, Chen Wu thought that they were both incompetent, so he couldn''t help but have a bad idea, and followed them all the way secretly during the day. fiscal.


    What Xiaoshitou said was not too different from what Mingtan thought, but when she heard Xiaoshitou say that those who can''t do the job of cheating and abducting will be directly cut off their hands and feet, she couldn''t help but gasped.


    They are all children, why are they so cruel?


    She suppressed the uneasiness in her heart, stretched out her hand gently, and brushed away the **** messy hair of the small stone: "Do you still remember where home is?"


    Xiao Shitou choked with his head down, and said in a small voice, "I remember."


    Ming Tan almost wanted to blurt out, "Then sister will take you home", but thinking of the purpose of this trip, she swallowed the words again.


    Just when she was about to ask Jiang Xu if the dark guard could send these children back, Xiao Shitou sniffled again and kowtowed to Ming Tan, his voice full of fear and humbleness after the disaster: "Sister, You are a good person, we don''t want to harm you, can you spare us?"


    "Stop knocking." Ming Tan couldn''t help but give him a hand, "Sister, let someone take you home, okay?"


    Hearing this, Xiao Shitou raised his head to look at her, his nose bubbled out of joy, "Thank you sister, you are such a good person!" He wiped his hand, glanced at Jiang Xu, and lowered his voice involuntarily, " I can go back by myself without bothering my brothers and sisters."


    This child is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed.


    Ming Tan glanced at the other children who were also yellow, emaciated and gray, and felt very uncomfortable. She got up, took out all the broken silver and dry food in the bag, and divided them among them.


    Jiang Xu let her move without stopping her.


    Those who came tonight, besides the children who were brought in as helpers, were also Chen Wu''s companions, Li Si and Wang Sanmazi, but Li Si and Wang Sanmazi were more capable outside before, so they naturally suffered from the hidden guards After a heavier blow, he passed out long before being thrown into the ruined temple.


    After Ming Tan finished distributing things to these children, Jiang Xu ordered the dark guard to send them away from the wilderness, and then asked the dark guard to remove the arms and legs of the unconscious trio and throw them into the mass grave.


    The ruined temple returned to silence.


    The unfinished chicken legs were cold.


    Ming Tan was not in the mood to eat anymore.


    She sat with her knees hugged beside the lingering fire, and after a long moment of stupor, she asked in a daze, "Did my husband know that I would get into trouble if I gave something?"


    Jiang Xu opened his hem and sat next to her, his voice was quiet: "People who have been hungry for three days, when they see pastries and silver, how can they not move pastries to bite the silver."


    Ming Tan recalled the scene in the daytime, hesitantly said: "Can we infer from this? Maybe he needs money for emergency, or maybe he wants to take the pastry back to eat with other people, it''s not...not necessarily?"


    Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and said indifferently: "You haven''t been hungry for three days, it''s normal if you don''t understand."


    When Ming Tan heard this, he couldn''t help turning his head to look at him, his eyes were full of surprise.


    "Husband, have you been hungry for three days?"


    She asked the question without thinking, and after asking, she suddenly remembered that her husband said before that he almost died of thirst while marching.


    He has had the experience of almost dying of thirst, and the experience of almost starving to death may not be uncommon for him. Husband is a dignified prince, what kind of life did you live in the past? Ming Tan felt even more uncomfortable.


    But Jiang Xu didn''t respond, he just took her shoulders and let her lie flat on his lap: "You are tired, go to bed earlier."


    Ming Tan wanted to say something else.


    Jiang Xu lowered his head and brushed the broken hair off her face: "Go to sleep."


    Looking at it from this angle, the contours of the husband''s face seemed to be much softer than usual, and even his voice became hoarse and gentle.


    She looked at Jiang Xu without blinking for a while, and said suddenly: "Husband, A Tan will treat you well in the future."


    Without waiting for Jiang Xu''s reaction, she hugged Jiang Xu''s waist, arched inward, and closed her eyes with peace of mind.


    Jiang Xu was slightly startled, and a very faint warmth flashed across his eyes.


    The night fell.


    Tonight is fine, the moon is shining like a wash, everything is quiet, only unknown birds and beasts are crying intermittently in the mountains and forests, it sounds a little lonely.


    After studying these days, Ming Tan has fallen asleep peacefully in this harsh environment.


    Seeing that she was fast asleep, Jiang Xu gently placed her on the straw mat, gave the dark guard a look, and melted into the boundless night outside the ruined temple alone.


    ¡­


    Under the **** of a hidden guard, Xiaoshitou and his group of children safely left the ruined temple in the wilderness and returned to their residence in the town.


    Seeing the dark guard leave, the children fell silent for a while.


    Suddenly, Xiao Shitou said, "I don''t know what happened to Chen Wu, Li Si and Wang Mazi. Let''s go to Hehua Town tonight, lest they wake up and tell us, and those people come to trouble us again."


    The children listened to him and nodded.


    Little Stone''s previous cowardice was gone, replaced by a maturity that didn''t quite match his age: "I''ll go outside first to see what''s going on, hurry up and pack up your things, and pack up all their valuable things. "


    After speaking, he got up, patted the ashes on his buttocks, and walked out quickly.


    Late at night in Tonggang Town, the streets are very quiet.


    Little Shitou walked all the way to the intersection without seeing anyone. It seemed that the man who sent them back had really left, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    But when he turned around, he suddenly stopped.


    Under the cold moonlight, a man dressed in black came down from the roof. He had no expression on his face, his eyes were very indifferent, and it seemed that a pool of still water had sunk inside.


    "Where do you want to go?"

 Chapter 78：

    Little Shitou was stunned, and for a while, many thoughts ran through his mind: run away? Pretending not to understand? Or continue to sell poor?


    But he and Jiang Xu looked at each other for a long while, and finally chose to take off the disguise, and said calmly: "You know everything? What do you want?"


    Jiang Xu just looked at him quietly, walked forward slowly, and stopped suddenly when he was less than half a foot away from him.


    Little Shitou pursed his lips, pretending to be calm, not letting himself take half a step back, but a thin layer of uncontrollable sweat had already formed on his back.


    He couldn''t help regretting in his heart, he could see that this man was not simple during the day, if he had known earlier, he wouldn''t have gone with those idiots of them, and caused trouble for nothing.


    Thinking about it, it will be very difficult to get out tonight, but he is still a little unwilling: "How do you know?"


    "They listen to you too much." Jiang Xu wrote lightly.


    Of course, there is more than this one, maybe it can be said to be an instinctive intuition, the first moment he saw the child, he knew that trouble was coming, so he found a ruined temple to rest at night, a ruined temple in the wilderness, to solve the problem. It rises cleanly without alarming others.


    Little Shitou paused for a while, and realized something later. He only cared about winning the woman''s sympathy and trust, but forgot to care about the performance of his companions behind him. They were all stupid, but they were not as good at pretending as he was.


    "People die for money, and birds die for food. Now, I have nothing to say, you can kill or cut up as you like. But other people are innocent, they don''t understand anything, I hope you can let them go. "


    "Man dies for wealth, and bird dies for food." Jiang Xu looked at the child in front of him who was facing an enemy, pretending to be a dignified adult, and suddenly asked, "Have you ever studied?"


    Hearing this, Xiao Shitou turned his head, not wanting to speak.


    This man looks smart, but he is also stupid. How can someone who is capable of studying come out to do these sneaky things!


    In the final analysis, Tonggang is too poor. Parents are so poor that they don¡¯t hesitate to send their children to Chen Wu and the others to learn how to be beggars and be deceived. The family also earned a few bites to eat.


    Of course, he was different. He had no father or mother since he was a child, and he grew up rolling in the mud. One person was full and the whole family was not hungry.


    In fact, when they were in the ruined temple before, Xiao Shitou was not completely lying. They were indeed going to Hehua Town. By selling miserables and begging.


    It''s just that they are different from those children, they are all voluntary, and everyone in the family knows that they have a cooperative relationship with Chen Wu, Li Si and Wang Sanmazi.


    During the day, he also saw Ming Tan''s bulging baggage, so he took the initiative to go to Ming Tan to beg.


    In fact, he was satisfied with a bag of pastries and a piece of silver, but Chen Wu and the others saw the money and saw that there were only two people and one horse. They discussed excitedly and insisted on making a vote before going to Hehua Town.


    He also said that the women in the inn were loose and old, and they asked for five copper coins once, which was not worth the price. This little girl from a foreign country is very juicy, with thin skin and tender flesh. The buddies can still enjoy it for a while, and then take it to Hehua Town to sell it, and it can be sold at a good price.


    He didn''t want to go at first, but they won''t go to Hehua Town to talk about things if they can''t finish the ticket. The other children are very embarrassed, and don''t know who to listen to. How to beat and scold them.


    He didn''t want anything to happen to his companion, so after thinking about it, he went with him, but halfway he found an opportunity to quietly tell his companion that if something went wrong and something happened, he would blame Chen Wu and the others, saying that it was Chen Wu. Five kidnapped them, they were children, adults would believe them.


    Sure enough, that man was difficult to deal with, and something happened before he entered the ruined temple.


    Later, things developed as he expected, and they also escaped smoothly, but unexpectedly, in the end, they missed a move.


    "If you want to kill, kill it, don''t talk too much!"


    If you do something wrong, admit it.


    Little Shitou has never studied, but there used to be people in the town who told stories. He sneaked in and listened to them a few times. He remembered that the heroes in those stories had to close their eyes and hold their necks high when they died, so he closed his eyes too. He held his neck forward, as if he was going to die generously.


    "..."


    Jiang Xu paused.


    After a while, Xiaoshi didn''t wait for the cold sharp knife on his neck, nor the cold arrow that pierced his chest, but only a question.


    "What do you think of the person who sent you back just now?"


    Xiao Shitou''s eyelids trembled uncomfortably, and he asked back with little confidence: "What do you want to do!"


    "I asked you a question, and you answered yes." His tone was undeniable.


    Xiao Shitou hesitated, and involuntarily recalled in his mind the man who sent them back just now. It was also the same man who broke into the ruined temple earlier. With one dodge and two movements, he beat Li Si and Wang San pockmarked to death.


    "He, his martial arts are very strong, very powerful."


    "Then do you want to become as powerful as him?"


    Little Stone suddenly opened his eyes.


    "What did you say!"


    "I''ll give you a chance." Jiang Xu looked at him, "It''s just that whether you can become like him is all up to you."


    Little Stone was stunned.


    He, can he also become so powerful? He was a little hesitant, this...couldn''t be some scarier liar, right?


    But after thinking about it, no matter how bad it is, it''s nothing more than death, even his life, so there''s nothing to be afraid of.


    His clenched fist loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened again, after a while, he made up his mind and said, "Okay, I''ll listen to you! But I have one condition."


    "You are not qualified to negotiate terms with me."


    Without thinking, Jiang Xu stopped back, turned around and walked back.


    Little Shitou didn''t give up, and took a small step forward to chase: "Then other people, can we..."


    "cannot."


    The qualifications are too poor.


    Jinyunwei is not a shelter.


    But after walking for a while, Jiang Xu suddenly stopped: "Ignorant righteousness is useless and cheap. You can''t help them. The one who can help them is either yourself, or Tonggang, which is no longer poor in time."


    In time, Tonggang is no longer poor.


    Xiaoshi stayed for a while, and found it hard to believe that there would be that "time".


    Jiang Xu continued to walk forward, Xiao Shitou caught up suddenly, stretched out his small hand, stopped in front of him, raised his head and said seriously: "I don''t want to become as powerful as him."


    Jiang Xu looked down at him.


    "I want to be as good as you."


    The hidden guard not far away: "..."


    Dare to think.


    Jiang Xu didn''t laugh at him, but just looked at him and wrote lightly: "You can look forward to that day."


    "I certainly will!"


    Dark Guard: "..."


    No you won''t.


    You know nothing about the prince.


    The dark guard was rarely distracted when the person behind him suddenly poked him with a hairpin and said in a low voice, "Let''s go."


    The dark guard came back to his senses, bowed his head and took orders.


    Ming Tan followed behind the hidden guard, stooped through the alley, took a shortcut and walked back to the ruined temple, all the way he did not forget to warn in a low voice: "When you go back, you are not allowed to tell the prince that I have come out, just treat it as something Nothing happened.


    "It''s not a big deal at first, there''s no need to tell the lord, and you disobeyed the order to bring me here, and you won''t be able to tell the lord, so don''t say anything, nothing happened, remember?"


    Dark Guard: "..."


    No, we did not disobey the order, you are overthinking.


    If the lord hadn''t said that if the concubine woke up and insisted on coming out, he would bring her here, even if they knocked people unconscious, they wouldn''t be easily threatened by her.


    The concubine underestimated that Jin Yunwei was well-trained, and not everyone would follow the concubine''s way like Yunyi, who dared to contradict the lord with just a few words.


    "Ah Choo!"


    Yun Yi, who was far away on the way back to Beijing, couldn''t sleep well, and sneezed in the middle of the night.


    After returning to the ruined temple, Ming Tan was full of thoughts and couldn''t calm down no matter what.


    She had barely fallen asleep leaning against Jiang Xu''s arms, but suddenly she left his arms, the straw mat was not very warm, and she woke up quickly.


    When she woke up and saw that Jiang Xu was not there, her heart skipped a beat, and many thoughts ran through her mind, and she also remembered what was wrong before.


    At the moment, she was affected by the emotions provoked by the little stone, and her thoughts were completely affected by sympathy, but after sleeping and waking up to think about it, she always felt that many things were not quite right.


    As an abducted child, Xiao Shitou knew that his hands and feet might be cut off after being transferred to the town?


    Chen Wu and the others brought their abducted children to rob, wouldn''t they be afraid of being rebellious, turn to them for help, and fight against themselves with them?


    Also, although he was dirty and sallow and thin, there were no visible scars on his body, and so did the other children.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan couldn''t sit still.


    Because it was a shortcut, after the dark guard led Ming Tan back to the ruined temple, about half a quarter later, Jiang Xu came back slowly.


    Ming Tan felt that he might not be good at pretending to be asleep, and his heartbeat hadn''t calmed down at the moment, so he could tell it by touching it.


    She simply turned over sleepily, pretending to be waking up, yawned and said lazily: "Husband? Where have you been? Have you gone out?"


    "..."


    In all fairness, the little princess''s acting skills are not bad, her hair is messy like a deep sleep, and her voice is as if she has been hoarse from sleep, and she can really be blinded by her without knowing it.


    Jiang Xu wanted to cooperate with her, but when he walked in front of her, he found that he still couldn''t cooperate.


    "Stop pretending."


    "..."


    Ming Tan''s yawning was in the middle, and he stopped abruptly, looking at him in a daze, tears were forced out of the corners of his eyes.


    She subconsciously thought it was a small report from the hidden guards outside, but Jiang Xu sat down, lit a handful of hay with a fire pocket, put it into the burnt fire, and said: "It''s none of their business, if this king even If no one knows what''s coming nearby, and let others overhear the conversation, then the king has died at least a hundred times."


    He glanced at Ming Tan: "Do you think this king is you?"


    ...?


    Why did it connotate her for no reason?


    Had she been overheard in the conversation without knowing it?


    No, "I''ve confirmed with the dark guard clearly, it won''t be discovered after such a long distance." Ming Tan doubted.


    "That''s their distance, not this king''s distance."


    Ming Tan was choked, and after a long while, he hugged his knees and boasted dryly: "Oh, that husband is really powerful, no wonder Xiaoshi wants to become as powerful as you."


    "You don''t have to take it seriously when you coax a child."


    Seeing him skillfully lighting the fire, Ming Tan understood his meaning with his expression of not paying attention at all¡ª¡ª


    Want to be as powerful as this king? I''m dreaming, don''t think about it, it''s impossible.

 Chapter 79：

    After not sleeping well the night before, and spending another night in the ruined temple, Ming Tan visibly haggarded a lot.


    But she didn''t feel tired, so she took a rest for two hours, and the next morning, she followed Jiang Xu to the seaside fishing village to find out what the sea storms in Tonggang have been like in recent years.


    Ming Tan had previously analyzed the difficulty of opening Tonggang port, and it is not bad. It is nothing more than that Tonggang is too poor, lacks various basic conditions, and the sea is constantly changing and unpredictable.


    In fact, as long as the imperial court is willing to allocate funds and provide strong support for the former, it is not difficult to change the appearance of the poor and remote areas. The latter is the key to whether Tonggang can become the next Lingzhou Port.


    How should I put it, Tonggang is really poor, from the inside to the outside, from the town to the village, it''s so poor that it doesn''t differentiate between you and me.


    The fishing village by the sea is in disarray, the sea is salty, the sun is completely exposed, Ming Tan is covering his veil, and he feels his face is burning hot and painful.


    Jiang Xu had transferred the local chronicles of Tonggang earlier. Although Tonggang had not been very rich, it was not so bad going back two dynasties.


    Tonggang became what it is today, and it should be said that during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Tonggang sea dam was in disrepair for a long time, and the sea tide broke the embankment.


    The break of the sea dam is a major event, but it is only a major event for the important salt fields. In a small place like Tonggang, the break of the embankment will also break the embankment. Chase for a text.


    After the embankment broke, the sea tide rose during the heavy rain, and the seawater backflowed. The surrounding fertile farmland was eroded by the seawater, hardened and turned white, and could no longer be cultivated. A large area of ??famine followed.


    The famine during the reign of Emperor Taizong forced the young people in Tonggang to leave their hometowns to find another way of life. Only the elderly and weak stayed behind, and Tonggang was declining day by day visible to the naked eye.


    To this day, the Tonggang sea dam has not been repaired, and it has to burst its embankment every few years. Quanzhou officials have never paid much attention to Tonggang. They only think that it is a remote and sparsely populated place, and even the road does not need to be repaired.


    All kinds of things, it''s no wonder that this place is poor and difficult.


    Jiang Xu and Ming Tan inquired about several companies in the fishing village, and when they mentioned going to sea, they shook their heads again and again, saying that the sea was very windy and rough, and they would die if they went there.


    There are also villagers who are enthusiastic and talk to them about the past examples of going to sea without returning.


    Is there a man in the village who wants to go to the sea to earn money, but he hasn''t returned for several years after he went there, and there is no news at all. In the past two years, his daughter-in-law didn''t wait, and remarried to a neighboring village, and gave birth to a fat boy. On the wreckage of the ship, the daughter-in-law recognized that the items on the ship belonged to the first man, and cried hard for a while.


    There used to be countless such incidents of going to sea to die, but now it is rare. Those who want to go to sea to earn money have tried their best to go to Lingzhou, and most of them are old, weak, women, children and lazy people, fishing and hunting, and can eat and drink. That''s it.


    Mrs. Liu of the Orion''s family also briefly talked about these things, and Ming Tan patiently asked about the specific situation of the wind and waves at sea.


    But when asked about this, the villagers couldn''t tell the reason, most of them said that when the sea was in trouble, there were lightning flashes and thunder, the tide was turbulent, and the fishing boat capsized all of a sudden, which was very scary.


    Ming Tan didn''t know what came to mind, so he asked in a different way: "Then aunt, how long has your family lived here?"


    How long have you lived here?


    The aunt thought about it carefully, and hurriedly said: "My mother''s family is in the next village, and my husband''s family is here. The two ancestral graves are on the mountain, and the ancestors have been there for several generations!"


    Ming Tan heard the words, nodded, thoughtfully.


    After the aunt left, the two continued to walk to the rocks beside the village.


    Ming Tan sorted out while walking: "Although they all said that the sea is very stormy, and the tide will come back every few years, but the ancestors have lived here for several generations, and the wind and waves are not as severe as they said.


    "Isn''t Lingzhou Port also prone to storms? Master Yu has sold you on this matter, but when I was in Lingzhou, I told the magistrate''s wife that it seems that as long as the fleet is experienced and can accurately observe the sea weather It is not difficult to go to sea with more effort in ship construction."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm", and stood in front of the reef with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance and said, "The influx of the sea tide is caused by the breach of the embankment. There are many such disasters in the coastal areas. If there is no solid embankment in Lingzhou Port, you can''t escape it either. It¡¯s not enough to be overflowing.¡±


    "Hai Yi?"


    Jiang Xu explained: "The disaster of sea overflow cannot be resisted by manpower. It is recorded in history books that sea overflow is mostly caused by earthquakes. If there is a danger of sea overflow here, no matter what, the port cannot be opened."


    Ming Tan had never heard of Hai Yi before, but it sounded similar to a great flood at sea? She nodded with a vague understanding.


    "Actually, before delineating Tonggang, I also considered other coastal towns, many of which are far superior to Tonggang in terms of geographical location, but the local annals of these places contain many traces of earthquakes. It will not be just this one time, and in the long run, it is not suitable to open the port. Tonggang has no previous history, and there is no difference when looking at it on the spot."


    The waves in the distance are dark gray and blue, and the nearby area is dirty and messy. There are also dead fish with white bellies, and the salty smell of the tide is mixed with the rancid smell. The sky is clear, but the gray-blue is boundless, and the sky is also stained with a bit of gloom, as if something has accumulated, and it almost wants to be suppressed.


    Seeing that Ming Tan hadn''t made a sound for a while, Jiang Xu turned to look at her, only to find that she had been looking at him.


    "What are you looking at?"


    Ming Tan stared at him fixedly, his small face was tense, and he suddenly said seriously: "I discovered something."


    "what?"


    "Husband, you didn''t call yourself ''my king'' just now."


    "..."


    "Husband didn''t call himself ''the king'', suddenly he was much more amiable." The seriousness on Ming Tan''s face was suddenly replaced by teasing. She imitated Jiang Xu, put her hands behind her back, and stepped forward briskly on tiptoe, deliberately Put your arms around him.


    "This king is young, why should he be amiable?"


    "Is your husband young? Let me do the math, my husband is one, two, three, four, five older than me..." Ming Tan began to count with his fingers.


    Jiang Xu couldn''t help looking at her: "You think I''m old?"


    "I didn''t say that my husband is a prince, but I can''t just wrong people. And I don''t dare to dislike it. People say that I married His Highness King Dingbei as a high-ranking marriage. Even if there is such a small opinion, naturally It can only be hidden deep in my heart."


    "This king really pampered you."


    He lowered his eyes and pinched the back of Ming Tan''s neck.


    "Don''t pinch, itchy!" Ming Tan hurriedly dodged.


    But Jiang Xu''s hand easily followed her, and Hua Er was willing to stop only when she was pinching her to plead guilty and beg for mercy.


    ¡­


    The two stayed in the fishing village until noon. They planned to go back to the town to find some food to fill their stomachs, but Ming Tan was extremely thirsty. Seeing this, Jiang Xu dragged her to find a random house and asked for a bowl of water.


    Most of the people in the fishing village are simple and simple, just begging for a bowl of water. The lady who opened the door agreed without thinking too much, and warmly invited the two of them into the house to rest: "What are you doing here? Right? Come in and sit down."


    Ming Tan was really dizzy from the sun, and his feet hurt a lot. He thought it would be good to take a break to inquire about the situation, so he went into the house with Jiang Xu.


    Who would have thought that as soon as they entered the room, the aunt who had been kind and enthusiastic to the two of them just now turned around and yelled at the people in the room: "It''s dishonest to kneel! I think you owe a beating!"


    Ming Tan was startled by the sudden rough voice, and his heart skipped half a beat.


    Only then did the aunt remember that there were two guests behind her, she turned around immediately, smiled, and apologized to the two of them: "I''m sorry, I let you see a joke, the baby at home is disobedient, you sit, sit whatever you want, I will I''ll go get you some water."


    Ming Tan nodded, and sat with Jiang Xu on half of the kang with lingering fear.


    She looked around the room.


    If the hunter''s family at the foot of the mountain is said to be poor, their family here is a serious family with no walls. Strictly speaking, there should be three walls of the house, and the wall facing west has collapsed, and only a piece of tarpaulin was pulled to cover it indiscriminately.


    Kneeling in the east corner is a thin and small child, probably the disobedient own doll that the aunt said.


    "Come on, water."


    Ming Tan took it with both hands, and quickly thanked: "Thank you, Madam."


    She was so thirsty that she didn''t care how broken the bowl was, but just after taking a sip, the aunt turned her head and cursed harshly: "You dead man went to that smelly brothel in the town again?! If you don''t come back all night, you''re good at it!" You! If you have the ability, just die there and never come back!"


    Ming Tan almost choked to death.


    She calmed down, took another half sip, and pulled Jiang Xu''s sleeve calmly, intending to leave.


    But suddenly I heard the aunt swearing at the lazy man who had just entered the house and turned into a puddle of mud: "My children will be sent there to beg for food, you still have the face to go shopping in brothels, tell me if you are a human being!"


    Send it over to beg for food?


    Ming Tan subconsciously looked at the child huddled up and kneeling on the ground in the corner of his eyes.


    She didn''t see the child with his back turned to them earlier, but now she turned her head, she saw clearly that this child was one of the children who went to the ruined temple last night.


    He was also peeking at them, looking at his expression, he should have recognized them, and he was a little afraid that they would cause trouble for him and his family because of what happened last night.


    Ming Tan felt a little uncomfortable.


    She kept thinking, what kind of family would send their children to beggars to learn how to cheat? Should it be cold-blooded and ruthless, selfish? But this aunt can treat strangers warmly, obviously she is not without kindness.


    After leaving the aunt''s house, Ming Tan suddenly asked melancholy: "Husband, in time, Tonggang will no longer be poor, can they really live a good life?"


    Jiang Xu paused, but in his opinion, it wasn''t necessarily true. What was terrible was never poverty, but the compromise that was engraved into the bone marrow and was already content with the status quo, but seeing her feeling lost, he still responded: "Yes."


    Ming Tan already had the answer in her heart, she followed in Jiang Xu''s footsteps, and said as she walked forward: "In time, when the port is opened here, the town will become more and more prosperous, and scholars will come here to set up schools, and those children will be able to understand the principles and knowledge." When you grow up, you can either stay here to build a side, or go out to see a wider world, in short, it will definitely get better and better."


    Jiang Xu was slightly taken aback.


    In fact, he hadn''t thought of such a distant thing, but according to what she said, it was true, the only way to change the poverty of this town was to study.


    He stepped forward, took Ming Tan''s hand, and repeated the sound quietly, as if to promise something.


    "Will do."


    After staying in Tonggang for three days, the two finally returned, Ming Tan always remembered what he said when he came, even if he couldn''t hold on, he didn''t complain for a while.


    In fact, the matter of eating and sleeping, just bear with it and pass, eat less and sleep less, at most a little hungry and tired, the most unbearable thing for Ming Tan is that he hasn''t bathed for three days.


    On the third day, she didn''t dare to get close to Jiang Xu''s body anymore, for fear that her husband would smell something she shouldn''t, and she would never remember the fragrant and exquisite little fairy from before.


    Jiang Xu didn''t understand what she was being hypocritical about. When he left Tonggang, he rode with him, and suddenly said that he didn''t want to sit in front.


    He asked for a long while before she reluctantly whispered, "I haven''t bathed for three days, and I don''t know if I smell."


    "My king hasn''t bathed for three days, so if he stinks, he stinks." Jiang Xu didn''t care.


    "How can it be the same? You are a man, and there are stinky men who say it, but no stinky woman. Who wants to stink with you!" Ming Tan retorted without thinking.


    "..."


    After a stalemate for a while, Jiang Xu suddenly said, "Come up and take you to take a bath."


    "...?"


    "Can''t make it to the neighboring town tonight?" Ming Tan hesitated.


    The road in Tonggang is so bad, and there is no way to gallop on horseback. When I came here, I spent a night at the foot of the mountain, which she will never forget.


    "If you can''t make it, I''ll take you to the hot spring to take a bath."

 Chapter 80：

    Jiang Xu has always acted after making decisions. Before he left Beijing, he had already memorized by heart the route to the south and the map of Ling, Yu, and Quanzhou, where he would stop for a long time.


    At the foot of Mount Xumin, about fifty miles away from Tonggang, there is a hot spring.


    Although I can''t make it to the nearby town where I can rest comfortably tonight, there is no problem in rushing to this hot spring later.


    The two of them rode slowly, chatting one after another, and finally arrived at the foot of Xumin Mountain when the bright moon rose to the middle of the sky.


    Perhaps the mountains here are remote, and the night sky is extremely blue, with stars and moonlight like water. Under the night, a hazy mist rises above a pool of hot springs, like a half-covered beauty, seemingly concealed, graceful and graceful.


    When Ming Tan saw the hot spring, he seemed to come back to life.


    "Hot spring, it''s really a hot spring!" She got off her horse, and when she got closer, her tone became cheerful and brisk, "Husband, can I go down now?"


    "whatever."


    Jiang Xu settled his horse and stepped forward.


    Having got the right words, Ming Tan impatiently began to untie her clothes, but just as she undid the belt around her waist, she thought about it again, and discussed with Jiang Xu: "Why don''t I wash it first, my husband, make a fire, and I''m going to Pass the clothes in the water, and my husband will bake it for me, okay?"


    "..."


    Jiang Xu''s hand on the belt around his waist stopped suddenly. After a long while, he said "um", turned around in silence, and went to pick up dry firewood.


    Ming Tan ignored him, and soon happily played with the water. After Jiang Xu started a fire by the hot spring, she imitated the girl in the mansion to wash clothes, holding the clothes and rubbing them in the water in a decent manner.


    "Okay, husband, here it is!"


    Jiang Xu approached, took the clothes, and sat back by the fire, patiently hanging her small clothes, jackets, short shirts and skirts one by one on the temporary branch of the tree.


    The dancing flames reflected his neat and clean outline, his sword eyebrows and starry eyes, his nose straight and his lips thin, and his half-pursed lips inexplicably set off his serious expression.


    Seeing him roasting clothes, Ming Tan looked like he was looking at official documents, some wanted to laugh, and some wanted to tease him.


    "Husband!" Ming Tan shouted suddenly.


    Jiang Xu looked sideways.


    Ming Tan saw the timing, bowed up a handful of water and poured it on him.


    But Jiang Xudong didn''t move, just quietly watched the handful of water she splashed ruthlessly half a foot away from him, then looked away, and said lightly, mockingly: "boring."


    Ming Tan: "..."


    There seems to be a cold wind passing through the forest.


    Jiang Xu didn''t realize it, and continued: "You are in the water, you are in a low position, and you have a long distance. If you want to splash water on me, you can''t do it without internal strength. Of course, I don''t want to let you It''s useless if you have internal force to bless you."


    "..."


    "I think you are boring!"


    How could there be such an incomprehensible man? Back when Liang Zixuan spoke, he would praise "Sister Tan is a shining pearl, even if she covers her face with a light veil, she doesn''t hide her brilliance", but this man would only say "you can''t do it", "you are boring", "this king is the best".


    Ming Tan angrily turned his back, moved to the farthest corner from the shore and squatted, for the time being, he didn''t want to see a certain His Royal Highness the God of War who was so powerful that there was no one in the sky and no one on earth, and my king was immortal.


    However, the hot spring water is no different than ordinary clean water, the temperature of the water does not stay low, Ming Tan feels hot after soaking for a while, and wants to go ashore.


    But at this moment she remembered that she couldn''t go ashore naked, and the clothes were still in someone''s hands. But she was so obviously angry, wouldn''t it be embarrassing to take the initiative to talk to her now?


    Just as Ming Tan was squatting in the corner, adjusting his breathing and struggling whether to initiate a conversation, a dangerous aura suddenly came from behind him.


    Could it be... something in the water? The hairs on her back stood up, and she subconsciously turned around, wanting to scream.


    But in the next breath, she was caught off guard and hugged into her arms, her screams were stuffed between her lips and teeth, turning into muffled murmurs.


    After a long while, Jiang Xu let her go and let her breathe.


    "Why did you come down?" Ming Tan asked in surprise.


    "Anyway, the clothes will be baked for a long time."


    "Then you also¡ª"


    "Don''t move." His voice was low and hoarse.


    Ming Tan was held in his arms, skin-to-skin with him, so he immediately noticed something.


    Her scalp tightened, and she really didn''t dare to move.


    I don''t know if the hot spring water was too hot, or she was too nervous, but for a moment, her heartbeat seemed to be much faster, as if it was about to pop out of her throat, and the base of her ears, cheeks, even her neck and collarbone were all pink. gosh.


    Oh my god, although there is no one around, but this wilderness is full of scenes, she doesn''t want to do anything in this place! Which good girl dares to do such a thing outside!


    She was very obedient, frightened obediently, motionless.


    But Ming Tan was still too naive, the man wanted to do something, and she couldn''t solve it by obediently.


    After a moment of stalemate, Jiang Xu retreated half an inch, Ming Tan slowed down, thinking that the crisis was temporarily lifted, he breathed a sigh of relief, and quietly moved his already numb feet.


    Unexpectedly, the water waves behind her suddenly moved, and the loose strings in her mind tightened again, and there seemed to be ten thousand ants crawling on the soles of her moving feet. fell into someone''s arms.


    "Didn''t I tell you not to move? It seems... the concubine really wants to throw herself into her arms and do something."


    Jiang Xu''s voice was low, his wide palms lingered on her delicate skin, and his tone was calm and breezy like "this king will do what he can to help you".


    ...?


    No! I don''t, I don''t want to, don''t talk nonsense!


    Before Ming Tan could utter his rebuttal words, he was pulled into his arms and sealed his lips.


    The waves of the hot spring swayed in circles, her eyes complained, and her voice sobbed, but they were all covered by the curling mist on the hot spring, and the moonlight also became ambiguous under the steaming heat. The birds and beasts in the forest who are accustomed to singing at night seem to be shy away, and there are only rough panting and coquettish moaning from the gaps in their teeth that they have endured so hard.


    Not only did he lose face, but he also lost his face.


    ¡­


    In the dead of night, there was a sudden sound of wind.


    When the water waves returned to calm, Ming Tan was also extremely tired, and the accumulated fatigue of the past few days seemed to surge up all at once tonight.


    When she was unconscious, she only remembered that someone had twisted her hair and dressed her again. The clothes were baked to be warm, and the small and middle clothes inside did not need to be leaked out, so they were made of the materials she usually used, and they were extremely comfortable to wear.


    She didn''t want to do anything, she didn''t even want to lift her hand, and after getting dressed, she fell asleep lying on someone''s chest.


    After going on the road for the next two days, Ming Tan was uncomfortable, shy, always avoiding Jiang Xu''s eyes. Jiang Xu didn''t know why she was shy, it was just sex, and she did it a lot, what''s the difference between being in a hot spring and being in a clean room?


    On the return journey to the town where carriages and horses were previously suspended, the hardships of the journey were finally relieved.


    With the experience of Tong Gang, Ming Tan no longer felt tired when he returned to Beijing in the carriage.


    In fact, the return journey should have been much easier since he had nothing to do. Jiang Xu planned to take her along a section of the waterway around a rich place to satisfy her need to buy ten carriages to return to Beijing.


    But Ming Tan suddenly became sensible, and he didn''t buy much except for preparing souvenirs for relatives and friends in Beijing and China.


    As soon as Jiang Xu asked, she seriously talked about Daxian''s various livelihoods. There are still many poor and remote places like Tonggang in this world. Now that she is a member of the royal family, she should set an example and practice frugality.


    Jiang Xu wanted to say something, but it was rare for her to have the heart, even if it was a whim, she shouldn''t pour cold water on it, so she let her go.


    As Ming Tan is sensible, he will be sensible enough to return to Beijing.


    I went south to Lingzhou in midsummer, and now I am back in Beijing. It is late autumn in Shangjing. The weeping willows on both sides of the Xianjiang River are bleak, but the ginkgo is covered with golden patches along the street. When the wind blows, the city will be golden and fall, which is really beautiful.


    Since Jiang Xu was away on business, he must first go to see Emperor Cheng Kang when he returned to Beijing. At the fork in the road, Jiang Xu ordered people to send the princess back to the mansion first, and then rode into the palace alone.


    Dingbei Palace.


    The carriages and horses stopped outside the door, and Ming Tan got out of the carriage.


    Fushu Tete opened the door, and the servants went in two rows from the door, and stood straight into the second door, and they couldn''t see the end at a glance.


    "Welcome Wangfei back to the mansion!" Seeing Ming Tan getting off the carriage, everyone saluted and welcomed people in, the voice of greeting and greetings was extremely loud.


    Ming Tan hadn''t seen such a big battle for a long time, he felt nostalgic and flattered at the same time.


    Fortunately, she has been away from Beijing for a few months, and she still remembers that she is the princess of Dingbei. She nodded calmly with a princess look, then curled the corners of her lips, and said warmly to Uncle Fu: "My lord and I have been away from Beijing for a few months. Uncle Fu took care of it, it''s hard work."


    "No hard work, no hard work, this is the duty of an old slave."


    Uncle Fu is still as humble as ever, and his smile is as respectful and kind as ever.


    "It''s so vast outside, it''s not as comfortable as our own house. Your wife must be very tired after having to travel outside for several months. You should go back to Qi''an Hall and rest. Miss Suxin and Miss Lu''e have married you and the prince a few days ago. Xin''er, who is returning to Beijing, is very happy, he has been so busy these days!"


    Ming Tan nodded, accompanied by Uncle Fu, entered the mansion and walked to Qi''an Hall.


    Needless to say, Uncle Fu puts all his heart and effort into her as a concubine. In the past, when Jiang Xu went out on business in Beijing, he would go there and come back, but he didn¡¯t open the front door now, and all the servants lined up to welcome him all the way to Qi¡¯an Hall. pomp.


    Arriving at Qi''an Hall, lights and festoons were displayed outside the courtyard, and all the maids in Qi''an Hall were dressed in bright new clothes. I didn''t know what to expect and thought that there was some kind of happy event in the palace.


    There is a brazier at the gate of the courtyard.


    Across the brazier, Su Xin and Lv''e said happily and obediently inside, "Congratulations to welcome the princess back to the mansion, please raise your noble feet high, step over the brazier, and welcome good fortune."


    "..."


    Okay, there seems to be a custom in Shangjing that those who return from afar have to step over the brazier.


    Ming Tan stepped over.


    Su Xin and Lu E rushed forward to meet her, and couldn''t bear it anymore, calling Miss Wangfei one after another.


    "Miss, why are you so thin!"


    "Why are you still wearing this dress, my God, the embroidery on it is all off!"


    "Did Miss suffer some crime outside?"


    ¡­


    The two of you talked to each other without stopping, and they directly dragged her into the room without giving her a chance to speak.


    Even Su Xin, who had always been prudent, kept looking at her nervously. The previous joy dissipated, replaced by red eye circles and a choked voice.


    "Miss must have suffered outside, her face has become so thin, and her complexion is so haggard!"


    Lue''s emotions were also aroused, and she looked up at Ming Tan''s bun: "That''s right, there are slaves around, when did the young lady wear such a simple bun, it can''t be called a bun at all.


    "Aunt Yun came back a few days ago, and she even said that the young lady had a good life all the way. This is not a good life, she is clearly going to suffer! When did our young lady suffer such grievances!


    "If I had known this before, Miss shouldn''t have brought Concubine Yun there. Concubine Yun only knows how to wield swords and swords, so she doesn''t know how to take care of others. If she had brought slaves, Miss would not have suffered such hardships and suffered such crimes."


    Both of them have been serving Ming Tan since childhood, and they have never been away from Ming Tan for so long. They look at Ming Tan as if they were eyeballs.


    While talking, the two surrounded Ming Tan and burst into tears.


    Ming Tan was dizzy from the two crying, and after a while, she found a gap and shouted helplessly: "Stop, stop, those who don''t know why the Dingbei Palace has been wronged by the two of you, are you ashamed? Are you two mourning, I just went out and returned, not resurrected from the dead!"


    "Bah, bah, bah! Miss just came back, how could she say that word! Miss, please pay your respects to the gods." Su Xin looked worried.


    "..."


    Ming Tan couldn''t help but couldn''t hold back these two girls, so he obediently bowed towards the door.

 Chapter 81：

    In fact, Ming Tan has never been away from Su Xin and Lu E for such a long time, and he misses her very much.


    After a while, people outside moved their luggage into Qi''an Hall one after another. Ming Tan looked for it, and in a large sandalwood box, he took out two small boxes that were extremely delicately carved.


    "Okay, don''t cry. Take it, a gift for you two."


    The tears on the faces of the two stopped, they looked at each other, and smiled at the same time.


    Lue said happily: "This servant knows that Miss loves us the most!"


    She opened the box and saw the exquisitely woven necklace and hairpin rouge inside. She was so happy that she immediately wanted to decorate herself and go outside to show off how much her princess valued her.


    Su Xin was also happy, but after all, she was more stable and able to hold on, wiped away her tears, and hurriedly said: "The journey is tiring, miss, why don''t you take a bath first to relieve fatigue? The servant went to the garden early in the morning to pick fresh petals , the small kitchen is also stocked with almond cheese, tender bamboo shoots and chicken soup, as well as crystal buns and white porridge.


    "Because I was tired all the way and the food was not the same everywhere, I only prepared these few easy-to-break foods, which are not hurting my stomach. They are just right for you after you take a bath. If you want to use others, the slave will order the small kitchen to give you Prepare."


    That''s right, it''s really a little tired to rush into the city at five o''clock today.


    Ming Tan nodded, Su Xin immediately went to greet people to enter the water, and Lu E was not idle, ordering the little girl to put her luggage in an orderly manner, and did not forget to make tea for Ming Tan and squeeze her shoulders.


    Ming Tan sat in the open room, watching a girl go to move the box that had just brought Su Xin Lu E a gift, suddenly remembered something, called "Stop", stepped forward again, and took out the box that Ming Heng gave her. That box of gadgets.


    As soon as she opened it, Lue said cleverly behind her: "The young master gave it to you, the young master really has nothing to say to you."


    She had heard from Yunyi earlier that this trip stopped at Pangshan, and then looked at the strange things inside, who else could there be except the young master.


    Ming Tan bent her lips, took out the small piece of Wuhengyu from inside and rubbed it for a while, then suddenly remembered something, she suddenly asked: "By the way, Lue, do you remember the one I wore when I went to Hanyan Temple a few years ago? That series of forbidden steps?"


    "Forbidden step?" Lue thought for a while, "Miss, your forbidden step is not one hundred, but eighty. The time you went to Hanyan Temple... It seemed to be the outing festival? Before the outing festival, the servant girl and Su Xin I didn¡¯t take good care of you and let you suffer from the wind and cold, Madam is punishing us, so I didn¡¯t go with you.¡±


    "I know, but I lost my temper when I came back from Hanyan Temple. I don''t want the clothes, jewelry and embroidered shoes I wore that day."


    Lue finally remembered: "Oh, there is such a thing, you said no, the clothes and jewelry slaves were put into the cage as usual, why did the lady suddenly ask about this?"


    It¡¯s no wonder that Lue couldn¡¯t think of it for a while, every time Ming Tan got angry outside, he would blame the clothes and jewelry he wore that day, there are so many things that Jing¡¯an Hou Mansion wears once or twice, and then they are thrown into the cold palace gone.


    "Where are those things now? In the Hou Mansion?"


    "It should be in the Hou''s mansion. The young lady has a rich dowry. We came to Dingbei Wang''s mansion without bringing anything except the usual clothes."


    When I went back to the door earlier, the madam also said that the young lady''s yard would remain there for the convenience of the couple. The Hou''s mansion is not short of money, and it is impossible for Madam to move things in Zhaoshuiyuan without saying hello.


    Ming Tan nodded, and planned to go back to his yard to look for it when he returned to Hou Mansion to deliver the letter in two days.


    Ming Tan went back to the house first to resettle, but Jiang Xu stayed in the palace until the key was about to be released.


    It turned out that when Shu Jingran returned first, he was still far away from Lingzhou and was ambushed by dead men sent by his family. Fortunately, Jiang Xu sent most of the dark guards to protect Shu Jingran, accompanied by Yun Yi and other close experts. Nothing major went wrong.


    Later, Su''s family probably received a warning from Jingzhong, so they didn''t continue to act rashly, because they couldn''t get what they wanted even if they moved rashly.


    As early as the first time he got the evidence, Jiang Xu resorted to Mingxiu plank road to covert Chen Cang, and he fought with Su''s family on the surface, but privately transferred the evidence to the Dingbei Army, and the army general Babailijia He was rushed back to Beijing.


    He had expected early on that the tax evacuation was not a small amount, and he even opened his mouth to ask people to make up the tax and interest for the past two years.


    As for the fact that he dared to go straight down to Tonggang with Ming Tan and two hidden guards, he was not attacked by the Su family in Yuan Lingzhou, because the state capitals he passed through had already arranged for troops to be stationed, no matter how powerful the Su family was. , and will not be willing to face the army as an enemy.


    Cheng Kangdi talked with him in detail for nearly three hours, and finally heaved a long sigh of relief, and said with satisfaction: "Fortunately, you went this time. If it was just the boy from the Shu family, I am afraid it will not go so smoothly. By the way, Wangfei How is it? The empress was still talking about it yesterday, I am afraid that I am very tired from this journey, I will rest in two days, and I will definitely invite the concubine to enter the palace to enjoy the green chrysanthemums that bloomed."


    Without mentioning entering the palace, Jiang Xu hadn''t thought of it yet.


    As soon as he mentioned entering the palace, Jiang Xu tapped on the table, and suddenly said: "The Su family didn''t know that Zhou Baoping still kept a list of bribes, Lingzhou can''t move, and bribes go to nearby state capitals, what does your majesty think?"


    Emperor Chengkang paused, pondered for a moment, a little confused: "Accordingly, it should be done immediately, but this Concubine Shu is an old man in Qiandi, who has been with me for many years, and there is hard work without credit. She is already pregnant with a dragon fetus, but it has not been disclosed to the public because it is not yet three months old. Therefore, I plan to delay this matter for a while."


    If anyone on the list of bribes wants to do it, concubine Shu''s father and brother should be the first ones to do it. Emperor Chengkang doesn''t have many heirs, so it''s only natural to hesitate.


    Jiang Xu was quiet: "Well, if there is nothing else, the minister will leave first."


    "No meal left?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer any more, just nodded slightly as a salute, and soon left the imperial study.


    Outside the imperial study room, Jiang Xu lowered his eyes, rubbed his wrists carelessly, and ordered: "Check when Concubine Shu was pregnant, and then check whether there were any servants around the Holy Majesty who were acting abnormally on the day the evidence entered the palace."


    "yes."


    Stepping down the steps, Jiang Xu suddenly changed his mind again: "No need, go to Kunning Palace and ask the queen to check, she will check."


    The affairs of the inner palace are the cheapest to be done by the lord of the sixth palace.


    But it shows that the news of Tan''s return to Beijing spread, and the next day, invitations to pay respects flew into Dingbei Palace like snowflakes. After a few days.


    Ming Tan picked up a few important ones and read them, while Lu''e and Su Xin read the rest.


    Lu E didn''t know if it was because her ears were not good and she had auditory hallucinations, she actually heard her young lady muttering inadvertently: "The invitation stickers inlaid with gold foil are too extravagant."


    extravagant?


    She glanced at Ming Tan suspiciously.


    She must have heard it wrong. How could the young lady dislike the extravagant invitations? In the past, the Jing''an Hou Mansion held a flower appreciation banquet, and the invitations carefully prepared by the young lady cost twenty taels of silver, embedded with gold leaf. It''s nothing.


    But after lunch, Jinxiu Workshop was supposed to come to tailor autumn clothes and thin winter jackets, but Ming Tan actually said no, she didn''t need to make autumn clothes and thin jackets this year.


    Both Suxin and Lue have some doubts.


    Lue thought that this time Li Jing had already bought a lot of autumn clothes and thin jackets in other places, and some of them couldn''t wear them, but then the boxes of luggage brought back by Ming Tan were all for human beings. There are only one set of new clothes for the souvenirs, and they are still summer clothes!


    This is just too weird.


    What''s even more strange is that after Ming Tan took a nap at noon, he actually ordered Lu E to find out the autumn clothes and thin jackets that he hadn''t worn much in the past two years, and he will wear them this year.


    "Miss... what''s wrong with you?" Lue couldn''t help asking.


    "What''s the matter?" Ming Tan took it for granted, "If you don''t take out the ones you haven''t worn, wouldn''t it be a waste? But I don''t know if your stature has changed a lot in the past two years. You pack it up and I''ll try again. If it doesn''t fit, then find a tailor in Jinxiufang to have it changed."


    The green calyx is struck by lightning!


    Miss what''s the matter? To be able to say the word "spoiled" out of his mouth, and to change the clothes that don''t fit, this is impossible, the young lady must have been changed by someone.


    Lv E went to Su Xin to discuss with her, but Su Xin didn''t know where to refute it, and she didn''t take it seriously when she told her to prepare less food for breakfast and lunch. But even the clothes have to be worn out, which is a big problem.


    The young lady''s clothes are of course not bad, but after a year or two, the material is outdated, and the young lady never wears them, not even the young ladies in Beijing, so people will definitely laugh at them if they wear them.


    Su Xin didn''t respond for a while, and Lu E was already anxious, wondering if it was time to prepare something like black dog blood to exorcise evil spirits.


    Su Xin patted her lightly: "Don''t think about it! The young lady is probably thinking of something."


    At first, Lue wanted to say something more, but she suddenly paused, and felt that what Su Xin said was quite reasonable. In the past, when the young lady sold herself miserably in front of Lord Hou, she always dressed plainly. This time, she might have to do something thing.


    It is right to think so.


    Lue finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Jiang Xu didn''t expect that his little concubine could persist in this momentary whim until she returned to Beijing.


    Seeing that she had returned to Beijing for a few days, she didn''t have the same clothes as usual, she wore several clothes he had seen before, and her three meals were cut by more than half compared with usual, and it seemed that she was getting less and less.


    This morning after sword practice, he went back to Qi''an Hall and saw four steamed buns and two bowls of rice milk on the table. Jiang Xu was silent, not knowing what to say.


    Ming Tan hurriedly took the handkerchief from the handmaid, wiped him off his sweat, and sat him down again: "There was a lot left over from yesterday''s breakfast, and today Ah Tan only prepared steamed stuffed buns and rice milk. , A-Tan, A-Tan can''t eat, if Husband is missing, A-Tan can give Husband another half more."


    Jiang Xu had no choice but to nod, but he picked up the bun and took a bite¡ª¡ª


    It''s still vegetarian.


    Others might not believe it when he said it. He made a big show of Ding Bei Wang, and he returned to Beijing for a few days and still hadn''t had a single bit of meat in his breakfast.


    "..."


    "The princess doesn''t have to be so frugal."


    Ming Tan was puzzled, and wanted to talk to him about the people''s livelihood that he had seen along the way. Jiang Xu thought for a while and said, "Many things can''t be changed overnight. The princess is strict with herself, and the money will not flow into the hands of the people." .Even if you are harsh on yourself and use the saved gold and silver to do good deeds, you can''t change the state of poverty at the root.


    "If poor people develop the habit of being favored, to a certain extent, they are not helping them, but harming them. As you said when you were in Tonggang, only by reading wisely can you make them build one side, Or getting out of poverty and seeing the wider possibilities in this world is the fundamental solution.


    "To let the people of Daxian live and work in peace and contentment is what the ruler and the entire Daxian court have been doing in the past, are doing now, and will continue to do it in the future."


    Of course, he still affirmed Ming Tan''s sense of frugality: "It''s good for the princess to think so. It''s just that it''s not extravagant, and it doesn''t mean that you have to be demanding on yourself, and you don''t have to be like this in the future."


    Ming Tan rested his chin, a little unhappy: "Then there is nothing A Tan can do to help?"


    Jiang Xu thought for a while: "After a while, the queen will invite you into the palace to enjoy the flowers. You can mention it to the queen so that the queen can make up her mind. Winter is coming. If the queen can call on the officials and family members to donate some gold and silver, It¡¯s not bad to add a batch of warming things for the people in the bitter cold place.¡±


    Ming Tan nodded, feeling warm in his heart.


    It is indeed more suitable for the queen to come forward than her princess Zhang Luo.


    Jiang Xu will enter the palace today, and he will leave the palace after eating those three vegetarian buns.


    When Lue combed Ming Tan''s hair, seeing no one around, she whispered with admiration: "Miss, this trick is really clever."


    ...?


    Ming Tan was inexplicable: "What did you say?"


    Lue thoughtfully analyzed: "This time out, does your Highness feel that the lady is too extravagant? The lady has returned to the house for a few days to pretend to be frugal. When the highness saw it, she must have felt that she was too demanding of the lady. Today, I finally endured I can''t help but point out that Miss doesn''t have to be like this!"


    "You think I''m pretending to be frugal?"


    "Of course...Of course not, the meaning of the servant girl is¡ª"


    "Okay, you don''t need to say it, I understand."


    Ming Tan was about to die of anger! These little girls actually thought that she was pretending to be frugal, deliberately demanding herself to win her husband''s sympathy!


    Seeing that the situation was not right, Lue hurriedly took out a life-saving trick to praise Ming Tan, and held up a small mirror in front of Ming Tan''s eyes: "Miss calm down, Miss has such a beautiful face, just look at it a few more times, and all the anger will disappear gone."


    Well, it''s an old trick, but it works.


    Ming Tan admired the appearance of snow-skinned flowers in the mirror for a while, and after a long while, he calmed down and asked calmly, "Do I not look like a thrifty person?"


    "This¡­"


    "to be honest!"


    "Not like."

 Chapter 82：

    After going back to the mansion to rest and shut himself up for three days, Ming Tan finally got down to business.


    She arranged for someone to divide the hand letter brought back, wrote a short note herself, ordered people to send it to various families in Beijing, and sent people to Changguo Duke''s Mansion and Zhou Mansion to invite Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan to the palace for a talk.


    In Shangjing in late autumn, it is best to enjoy the flowers at noon, when the sky is clear and the wind is cool.


    The three of them were sitting in the gazebo in the palace garden, the little girl brought the fire and the teapot, and made tea with a fan on the side.


    "How about going south for a few months? Isn''t it fun?" Bai Minmin only wanted to play, and asked curiously when he saw Ming Tan.


    Zhou Jingwan sized her up carefully, and said with concern in a gentle voice: "It seems that the body has lost a lot, are you tired these few months?"


    "Of course I''m tired, don''t mention it. I''ve lived in a leaky house, a ruined temple, and slept in the forest along the way. I haven''t had a bath for three days in Quanzhou."


    Ming Tan had too many things to say to the two of them, and this time he opened his mouth, he babbled about it for nearly two hours.


    Ming Tan complained, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan could have foreseen it, but she didn''t expect that after she finished complaining this time, she changed the subject and talked about her emotions along the way. After listening, the two looked at each other with the same expression The green calyx is comparable.


    "What''s your reaction?"


    Zhou Jingwan always speaks tactfully, she doesn''t mention her long speeches, she just asks if she has been wronged outside in the past few months.


    Bai Minmin also swallowed her saliva, and hurriedly echoed, "That''s right, if you''ve been wronged, don''t hold back, let''s talk about it together, you''re so scary..."


    Ming Tan understood, and the two of them also felt that they were stimulated together!


    She picked up the teacup silently, drank most of it without even skimming off the froth.


    Zhou Jingwan quickly comforted her: "A Tan, we have no other intentions. In fact, in my opinion, what the prince said is quite right. It is good to be kind and thrifty, but you don''t have to be too demanding on yourself all of a sudden. It''s too late."


    "I''m not demanding myself." She propped her forehead and said depressedly.


    After her husband said it, she also thought about it carefully. It really made her suffer haha. In addition, it is extravagant and wasteful.


    She also planned to wait until she was done with the business dealings at hand, and in a few days, she would pack up all the things she didn''t like to use, and sell them for money to buy winter supplies for the people in the bitter cold place.


    Thinking of this, she lobbied Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan again.


    After hearing this, the two of them also felt that this was a good thing, and they agreed to go back and packed up the gold, silver and soft goods that were no longer needed, and donated them as soon as there was news from the queen.


    Only then did Ming Tan feel satisfied, and after taking a sip of tea, he thought of something, and hurriedly asked: "By the way, let''s just talk about me, how are you two doing these days?"


    "What''s the matter, isn''t it all about those things every day, enjoying flowers, drinking tea, and watching polo learning female celebrities..." Bai Minmin counted boredly, "Oh, yes, the Pingguo Palace held another birthday banquet last month, you Why is Pingguo''s mansion so evil¡ª"


    She paused for a moment, then changed her words: "Why are there so many incidents? At the birthday banquet, there was another ugly incident between men and women. Although it was covered up on the surface, it was discussed in private for a long time. I heard Mr. Pingguo She is so angry that Hanmiao is no longer allowed to host the Lao Shizi banquet, Hanmiao is also innocent, so what does it have to do with her."


    "Stop, stop, you know that''s not what I''m going to ask."


    When he left Beijing, his aunt was looking around for Bai Minmin, and the Zhou family seemed interested in Lu Dianshuai.


    We haven''t seen each other in the past few months, so there must be some progress in discussing the marriage. Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan are not too young.


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan looked at each other again, both seeming to be inexplicably uncomfortable, especially Zhou Jingwan, with two red clouds flying over her face.


    In the end, it was Bai Minmin who spoke quickly: "Shuai Lu and Jing Wan are already engaged, and the wedding will start in the spring of next year."


    Zhou Jingwan glared at her lightly, covered her face with a handkerchief in shame, and said after a while: "Don''t talk about me." She looked at Ming Tan and hurriedly changed the subject, "What Minmin said just now is not completely irrelevant. "


    Ming Tan listened to her talk.


    "Earlier, the Pingguo government held a birthday banquet, and everyone ate at the banquet, but there was a scandal at the Houhu garden, which was smashed by the cousin girl of the Pingguo government.


    "The cousin girl is only seven years old, she is still a child, so she doesn''t know much about these things. When she returned to the banquet, she actually asked about this scandal in front of everyone. Mrs. Pingguo''s face was very ugly at that time¡ª¡ª "


    "It''s not just ugly, I''m worried about Mrs. Pingguo, what''s going on." Bai Minmin couldn''t help but interjected.


    Zhou Jingwan continued: "Do you know who made the scandal? It is Grand Master Zhang''s granddaughter and the third son of the Bu family."


    The third son of the Bu family? Isn''t that the famous prodigal son in Shangjing, the kind who would be rejected directly when he came to propose marriage. It''s not unusual for him to cause scandal in other people''s mansions.


    It''s just... wait, Grandmaster Zhang''s granddaughter?


    Ming Tan came back to his senses, surprised.


    She remembered that on the way to the south, her husband told her that the empress had personally seen the marriage of Duke Pingguo''s son, Zhang Huaiyu, and had made a granddaughter of Zhang Taishi. Zhang Taishi was just such a granddaughter and valued her very much.


    Seeing the expression on Ming Tan''s face, it was obvious that he already knew about the marriage between the prince of Pingguo and the granddaughter of Grand Master Zhang. Zhou Jingwan was not surprised that His Royal Highness King Dingbei had a good relationship with the prince of Pingguo.


    She continued: "When the Empress heard about this, she was furious. Grand Master Zhang is already old enough to spend his entire life in Beijing, and he only needs to enjoy the Taimiao after his death.


    "But because of this, he entered the palace for his granddaughter, took off his hat and plain clothes, wept bitterly, and confessed to the emperor outside the Palace of Qinzheng, and claimed that the family was not strict and the family style was not correct. Please take back the honor of being worthy of the Taimiao. "


    Ming Tan thought for a while: "Master Zhang is the elder of the three dynasties. He is upright and upright, and his achievements have been recorded in the annals of history. The emperor will definitely not take back the honor of being entitled to the Taimiao because of this matter."


    Zhou Jingwan nodded: "Not only that, but I heard that the Holy Majesty consoled Grand Master Zhang and asked the imperial physician to accompany Zhang Taishi back to the mansion and ask for a safe pulse. It''s just that after this incident, the Holy Majesty can''t beat the empress and the empress. The face of the Pingguo government."


    Don''t think about it, the only ones who suffer are the Bu family.


    "Lord Bu lost his official position. The third son of the Bu family is heartless. He still wanted to go to the flower house to drink, but when he woke up, he was eunuched."


    Zhou Jingwan felt that this was quite indecent, so she covered her lips when she said this.


    "The Zhang family also came to the door in person, and went to the Pingguo Palace to apologize. It hurt Grand Master Zhang''s face, and the Pingguo Palace was on fire, but there was nothing much to do. Of course, the marriage will definitely not happen."


    After talking for a long while, Zhou Jingwan covered her sleeves and took a sip of tea, moistening her throat.


    "Ping Guogong''s son is not young anymore. The queen sees this marriage as dirty, and she becomes more picky when looking at other families. A few days ago, there was a polo match held in the middle of Beijing, and Yu Jun Wang played, and everyone pressed Yu Jun. Wang Sheng, only Minmin defeated Ping Guogong''s son Sheng, guess what happened?"


    "Duke Pingguo won?" Ming Tan guessed while sipping fresh melons and fruits.


    "How could it be that the King of Yujun is a polo player who shows himself to be a first-class polo player. Naturally, the King of Yujun won."


    "..."


    Ming Tan looked at her with a look of "Then what are you trying to do?"


    "But the empress heard about this, and felt that Minmin was very discerning, so she summoned Mrs. Chang Guo to the palace twice in this month." Zhou Jingwan looked at Bai Minmin jokingly, "I want to come to the empress, most likely because of Shang Min. Min is now my sister-in-law."


    "What are you talking about!" Bai Minmin was annoyed, "I also want to suppress King Yujun, if Zhang Huaiyu didn''t seek me out in private, and asked me to suppress him to save face and pay me back ten times, who would want that?" Squeeze him! With his polo level, he still wants to beat Yu Jun Wang, it''s a dream!"


    Zhou Jingwan: "Then why didn''t he look for others, but came to look for you?"


    "You! Your handsome Lu Dian is not enough for you to worry about! Just think about some messy things!"


    "Hi~" Ming Tan looked at the two of them bickering with each other, and suddenly let out an indecent hiccup sound.


    Seeing the two people looking at him, Ming Tan hurriedly motioned them to continue, and took a sip from the tea cup, a look of satisfaction flashed across his eyes.


    Very good, as expected of her little sister, everyone is neat and tidy, and they are not idle.


    In the evening, Jiang Xu returned home. During the meal, Ming Tan talked to him about Zhou Jingwan and Bai Minmin''s marriage.


    At Zhou Jingwan''s place, it was already eight before leaving Beijing. It''s been close to ten, and Ming Tan is not too surprised to hear that they are engaged.


    But Bai Minmin and Ping Guogong''s son, she really never thought that these two people could get together.


    Jiang Xu obviously knew about this, and he said in a low voice while picking up some food: "Pingguo Duke''s and Changguo''s mansions are on the same page, and it''s normal to discuss relatives. But your cousin''s temper is not what the Queen thinks. The best candidate, but the queen only has Zhang Huaiyu as a direct younger brother, and everything will be based on his preferences."


    Speaking of this, Jiang Xu paused, and glanced at Ming Tan: "It was Zhang Huaiyu who told the queen that he was interested in your cousin."


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    "The Holy Majesty also persuaded her. Anyway, the granddaughter of Grand Master Zhang that she had chosen out of thousands of thousands of people had no more virtue than this. It would be better to follow Zhang Huaiyu''s wishes. The queen heard it and thought it was very reasonable. That''s why she frequently called your aunt into the palace recently. "


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She also thinks it makes sense.

 Chapter 83：

    Xu knew that Mingtan had already started to receive guests. The next day, Empress Zhang sent someone to the Dingbei Palace to spread the word, saying that the green chrysanthemum was newly cultivated in the palace this year, and it bloomed just right recently, and invited her to the palace to enjoy the flowers together. .


    Ming Tan readily agreed.


    This green chrysanthemum took a lot of effort to cultivate. After Ming Tan entered the Dingbei Palace, people have been carefully cultivating it, but this matter can''t be rushed. This year, the ones grown in the mansion are only light green at the edges.


    "After all, the gardeners in the palace are more proficient in this way. In addition to the green clouds and green peonies, these ink lotuses, handsome flags, and jade pot springs are also in full bloom. Especially this phoenix vibrating feathers is really dazzling According to the courtiers and concubines, they are the most suitable for the empress." Ming Tan praised with a smile.


    "It seems that the concubine is someone who understands chrysanthemums." Empress Zhang couldn''t help but bent her lips, held Ming Tan''s hand, patted it, and said in a gentle voice, "I haven''t seen you for a long time after I left Yongchun Garden. Ben Gong is watching, You have lost a lot, but take good care of yourself."


    "Yes, thank you Empress for your concern."


    Empress Zhang said again: "If you like these chrysanthemums, how about picking some good ones of each and sending them to Dingbei Palace?"


    "Thank you, Empress, for your kindness," Ming Tan said respectfully, "It''s just that the concubine thinks that these chrysanthemums are the most beautiful when they are arranged in clusters of flowers. For no reason, some of them have been moved to the palace, and the others are a little lonely. It is extremely satisfying to get those two handsome flags."


    There are only so many flowers in the imperial garden, if she scoops up a few pots of each of them, there may not be many left, how can the emperor use them to reward other concubines?


    After becoming Princess Dingbei, she gradually learned about many things in the palace. It turns out that even flowers in the palace have a fixed number, and what rare species you get in any season is a symbol of the status of the concubines in each palace. She still does not take people away. The good is good, after all, the Dingbei Palace does not lack these three or two potted flowers, and if the queen really wants to pick some of each kind for her, she will not ask "how".


    Empress Zhang nodded, and the smile deepened on her lips.


    This Princess Dingbei is indeed showing a degree of advance and retreat that is hard to see.


    "That''s fine, King Dingbei is a rare talent for a general, and the handsome flag is a perfect match for him. Come and send those two pots of handsome flags to Dingbei Prince''s Mansion."


    I don''t know what came to mind, Empress Zhang raised her hand and pointed forward again, and ordered: "The two pots of jade pot spring, send them to the Duke Chang''s mansion."


    Bai Minmin, who had been standing next to the empress for a rare time, hurriedly saluted and said: "Thank you, empress, for your kindness."


    The queen also smiled at her gently: "Don''t be nervous, just treat it as visiting your own garden."


    Bai Minmin said "yes" on her lips, but her palms couldn''t help sweating.


    In the past few times the queen had called her mother into the palace, but this time she was called into the palace without saying hello, she didn''t even have time to prepare her clothes, how could she not be nervous! Fortunately, Ming Tan was here today, so she felt a little more at ease.


    Compared with Bai Minmin, Ming Tan is better at dealing with these false rituals, and has entered the palace more times, and now he is even more at ease.


    She thought it was quite funny to see Bai Minmin Ansheng being honest for a while, and joked: "It''s rare to see my cousin as obedient as she is today. I think it''s because I was overwhelmed by the empress''s majestic demeanor."


    Bai Minmin couldn''t help but glared at her, the queen''s eyes moved over, and she immediately lowered her head, looking at her nose, nose and heart, like a quail.


    The queen bent her lips and smiled slightly: "Minmin is lively, seeing Ben Gong for the first time today, I am nervous, and I will be more diligent in the future, so I won''t be too formal."


    Zhang Huaiyu had identified the girl from the Duke of Chang''s mansion. She was not very satisfied when she first heard that the girl had a wild temper, but after thinking about it carefully, she felt that the emperor''s words of reassurance made sense.


    Zhang Taishi''s granddaughter had been seeing each other for a full year before finally making a decision. She thought she was a decent, decent, dignified and quiet girl, but she turned out to be an unruly girl!


    After the accident, she was afraid that the **** from the Bu family would force her to insult the girl''s innocence, so she asked someone to investigate carefully, but the girl from the Zhang family was not at all unwilling, and was bewildered by the blandishments of the **** from the Bu family. Yes, after the incident, he begged Grand Master Zhang hard to save his lover, and almost killed Grand Master Zhang from anger.


    Although this girl from the Bai family was a bit out of touch, her family background was not bad, and Zhang Huaiyu liked it... She thought about it, but it wasn''t impossible.


    With a queen like her in the Zhang family, it is inevitable that the relatives'' monopoly will fall into the limelight. His father has always only led the rich and idle, and Zhang Huaiyu will inherit the title in the future.


    Of course, Zhang Huaiyu didn''t have much sharpness to show at first, and he didn''t care much about becoming an official, but he was diligent in thinking about idle things.


    According to his temperament, if he can marry a girl he likes and live a prosperous and peaceful life, there is nothing to stop her as a sister.


    Thinking of this, she took Bai Minmin''s hand again, and patted it lightly: "Come on, sit with me, I''m tired from walking."


    "Yes, empress."


    Bai Minmin and Ming Tan accompanied Queen Zhang to sit in the gazebo in the garden. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ming Tan asked Queen Zhang to donate useless things and sell them for silver, so as to provide some winter supplies for the people in the bitter cold land. thing.


    Empress Zhang thought for a while, then smiled and said: "This is a good idea. The officials in the capital have always liked extravagance, but the country is prosperous and the people are safe. It will only be counterproductive to force everyone to be frugal, but if you just donate some useless old things, I think everyone will be happy."


    Bai Minmin also took the initiative to say something: "I feel that this useless old thing should also be determined in terms of quality and type. After all, donating is not about picking up rags, and I''m afraid it will be difficult to sell if it is too shabby..." After finishing speaking, Bai Minmin hurriedly made up for it. Said, "This is just a humble opinion of the courtiers. If you say something wrong, don''t take it to heart, empress."


    "How can you not take it to heart?" Empress Zhang said with satisfaction, "I think Minmin''s words are very reasonable."


    Ming Tan also looked at the opportunity like Wang Po selling melons and boasted: "Yes, although my cousin is lively, she is always smart and careful, and can often think of things that others can''t think of."


    Bai Minmin was a little embarrassed by the praise, but she seemed to be encouraged, and then she took the initiative to say some opinions that came to her mind, and Ming Tan helped to make up for anything that was not thoughtful.


    This kind of thing of sitting and collecting fame can be said to be beneficial to Empress Zhang without any harm. She listened carefully and thought it was very feasible. Finally, she picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then calmed down slowly.


    "Since that''s the case, I will hold a tea party in a few days and invite a few imperial wives to tell everyone about it. As for the sale of donated goods, the idea was suggested by the princess, and Minmin also has some ideas. , let the princess be in charge, and Minmin assist from the side, how about it?"


    The two looked at each other, and hurriedly Qi Fu took the order.


    When talking to a smart person, many things can feel comfortable with each other without having to explain too clearly.


    Empress Zhang got such an idea of ??reaping fame, and she didn''t feel at ease to monopolize it, but delegated power to Ming Tan for supervision.


    It is true that Ming Tan didn''t intend to gain fame through this matter, but she sincerely wanted to do it herself, and she was very grateful that the queen could make her wish come true.


    Asking Bai Minmin to assist her, the empress obviously had thoughtful considerations. As an unmarried girl, it would be a good thing for her and her future husband''s family to gain more fame.


    Moreover, doing this kind of thing can clearly see a person''s character and ability. No matter how lively the wife of the prince of the Pingguo government is, she can''t even have the ability to control the middle class.


    The matter was settled, and it was getting late, Ming Tan and Bai Minmin got up to leave.


    The palace is not a place to talk, even though Bai Minmin had a lot to say, she still held back her painstakingly and left the palace with Ming Tan peacefully.


    It''s just that outside the Hongyong Gate, the two of them met Jiagui''s sedan chair.


    Bai Minmin has no official orders, she is just a lady of the official family, she should salute when she sees the concubines in the palace.


    It''s just that she was confused for a moment, seeing that the concubines on the sedan chair were wearing palace attire that should be below Shuyi''s uniform, but they were riding in the sedan chair...


    Before she entered the palace, her mother invited someone to specially teach her that only Shuyi and above are eligible to ride in a sedan chair in the palace, so what is the status of this palace concubine? Up and down, the etiquette is different.


    When she was confused, Mrs. Jia stopped the sedan chair, clutched her pregnant belly, condescendingly looked down at the people with the end of her eyes and said, "Who is this, who is not polite when he sees the palace sedan chair?"


    Bai Minmin hurriedly wanted to squat down according to the etiquette above Shuyi, but Ming Tan stopped her without a trace, and said with a smile: "Jia Shuyi has been reset, congratulations."


    "you!"


    This Princess Dingbei will never end! It''s not enough to cause her to be degraded, now what pot is not opened and which pot is lifted!


    Seeing that the month is getting older now, it is said that her child is guaranteed to be a little prince, and the emperor has also calmed down on her recently, released her confinement, and granted her permission to ride in a sedan chair, but this part has been delayed. complex!


    She was still jealous of King Dingbei in her heart, but she didn''t dare to make trouble anymore, she just turned to look at Bai Minmin, and asked again: "Who are you? Why are you so rude when you see me, do you understand the rules!"


    Ming Tan was about to speak, but he saw a handsome young man in a crimson brocade suit outside the Hongyong Gate waving a folding fan, and said in a dawdly way: "Which palace do I think I am, my noble lady, you really understand that you are one of my own palaces." Very well behaved."


    The position of Shuyi is like a moat. If you go up, you can take a sedan chair, and you can call yourself your own palace, and if you go down¡ª¡ª


    An exception can be made for the sedan chair, but this claim does not make an exception. Mrs. Jia is still stuck in Shuyi''s scenery and unable to get out, and she is pregnant, and no one is serious with her on weekdays.


    Seeing the person coming, Mrs. Jia held his breath in his chest, unable to get up or down.


    Okay, here comes another one I can''t afford to mess with.


    If you can''t provoke her, you can''t hide from her!


    She bit her lip and said angrily, "Let''s go!"

 Chapter 84：

    After Lady Jia''s sedan chair left, the corridor in front of Hongyong Gate suddenly became wider.


    The visitor moved forward with a folding fan, and the suet jade pendant on his waist swayed with his steps.


    Seeing the person coming, Bai Minmin was obviously startled for a moment: "The nobleman is pregnant, you talk to her like this¡ª"


    "What are you afraid of? She is not the only one who is pregnant in the palace. Concubine Shu''s airs are not as big as hers." Zhang Huaiyu didn''t care.


    "you!"


    never mind! He is the uncle of the country, so naturally he is not afraid of heaven and earth.


    Bai Minmin asked again angrily, "Why are you entering the palace at this hour?"


    Zhang Huaiyu glanced at her: "Why, the queen summoned me to dinner, and Miss Bai must agree to it?"


    Immediately, he closed the fan again, cupped his hands and bowed to Ming Tan who was at the side: "Princess."


    Ming Tan also nodded back and said, "Shizi Zhang."


    She stopped saying hello after saying hello, just quietly thinking about what Zhang Huaiyu just said¡ª¡ª


    She is not the only one who is pregnant in the palace, Concubine Shu is not as airy as her... Could it be that Concubine Shu is also pregnant?


    Even though he knew that this was not a good place to talk, Bai Minmin couldn''t help but confront Zhang Huaiyu: "The empress made it clear just now that you have accumulated food at noon, and you won''t be serving dinner tonight, so you can tell lies a little more reliably. "


    Zhang Huaiyu raised his eyebrows: "That''s it. The queen didn''t want to keep you for dinner, so she paved the steps for you. Are you serious?"


    "Zhang Huaiyu, you!"


    Bai Minmin was so angry that she almost exploded in the palace. fry.


    In the end, Zhang Huaiyu looked up and down for a while, and Yun Danfeng said lightly: "Today''s clothes are not bad, it''s fine, if you don''t leave the palace, the palace gate will be locked, the princess will naturally have a place to rest, as for you... "


    Bai Minmin rolled her big eyes at him, pulled Ming Tan and rushed forward angrily: "I really don''t know how Master Shu would make friends with someone like you!"


    Zhang Huaiyu: "Then you don''t know a lot."


    Resisting the urge to kick him, Bai Minmin deliberately bumped into his arm.


    Zhang Huaiyu turned her head, looked at the back that disappeared quickly with anger, smiled, and walked leisurely to Changchun Palace.


    In the Changchun Palace, Empress Zhang was looking at the account book of the inner palace, and when she heard that the prince had arrived, she covered the account book, and the messenger came in, and ordered someone to prepare the Jin Junmei tea that Zhang Huaiyu liked.


    "Greetings to the empress."


    "Sit down." Queen Zhang responded casually.


    Zhang Huaiyu was also polite, and sat on the other side of the soft couch.


    The maid quickly served tea to Zhang Huaiyu. Although it was still hot, the fragrance of the tea rising was very familiar. Zhang Huaiyu couldn''t help but smiled knowingly: "It''s my sister who loves me."


    "Knowing that Bengong loves you, you still rush into the palace. Why, are you afraid that Bengong will swallow your ideal person alive?" Queen Zhang squinted at him.


    "Sister, what are you talking about? I''m afraid that she won''t understand the rules and offend you."


    After hearing this, Empress Zhang sneered and said, "Everyone is a lady, how can you be more unruly than you?"


    "Every lady? Sister, you must have misunderstood something. What kind of lady is she? She¡ª" Zhang Huaiyu was halfway through speaking, and realized that it seemed that she shouldn''t say such things as wanting to marry a wife in front of his sister, and then silently Swallowed it back.


    "How is she?"


    Zhang Huaiyu took a sip of tea and praised against his will: "You are more disciplined than me."


    Queen Zhang couldn''t help but chuckle again.


    Zhang Huaiyu continued to sit there without blushing, and pretended not to know that his sister was laughing at him, and tried to cover it up by explaining: "Of course I know that my sister will not do anything to her, but there are many nobles in this palace. , with her temper, she might bump into someone accidentally, sister, you''d better not let her enter the palace in the future."


    "If you don''t enter the palace now, if you become the wife of the prince in the future, you will have to enter the palace during the New Year''s Eve. How can you just hide?


    "Okay, my palace has its own measure, and you don''t have to run into the palace every now and then. With my palace in this palace, can people suffer? Now that you''re here, go to Qinzheng Hall and ask your brother-in-law install."


    The Palace of Qinzheng was far away, so Zhang Huaiyu stood up reluctantly and said "Yes".


    At the same time, Ming Tan and Bai Minmin also left the palace smoothly before the palace gate was locked.


    Out of the palace gate, Bai Minmin was finally able to speak freely. She kept scolding Zhang Huaiyu in a small mouth without even taking a breath. Be quiet and shut up.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her, and said to Ming Tan: "Let''s go, go home."


    Ming Tan was stunned for a moment, then bid farewell to Bai Minmin and got into the car.


    "Husband, why are you here?" She was a little surprised when she got into the carriage.


    "Today, I went to the Dianqian Division. After I finished my work, I saw that it was about the same time, so I came over."


    Ming Tan nodded slowly, then remembered something, and hurriedly told him about the errand assigned to her by Empress Zhang in the palace just now.


    This matter was expected by Jiang Xu, and he was not surprised.


    The two chatted all the way back home, and after dinner, Jiang Xu allowed her to go into the study together, and placed an extra huanghuali chair opposite the table, and the two shared a Duan inkstone, writing official documents and articles of association , Occasionally say a few words, the candlelight is warm and yellow, and the desk is silent.


    Previously in the palace, in order to let Bai Minmin perform well, Ming Tan still had many suggestions that he had not put forward.


    She remembered that when she went south to Hezhou, the women in Hezhou were very fond of those gorgeous clothes, but the clothes and jewelry they wore were mostly the latest fashion in the capital.


    In farther and smaller places, rich local girls are still wearing clothes and patterns that were popular in Beijing two years ago.


    According to her observation, some things are not unaffordable for these people, but it takes time to spread to the local area. Occasionally, some people spend a lot of money to ask someone to buy fashionable items. Even if there is a little bit of it, it is very dignified to take it out.


    So she thought, there is no need to exchange all kinds of clothes collected, if they can be taken to places that need these things, they will not worry about not being able to sell them for a good price.


    She talked about this idea to Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu thought for a while and said: "The idea is good, but the time required for the round trip and the cost of the road must also be taken into account. If the cost is equal to the price difference between the two places , it is not feasible.¡±


    Ming Tan still has too little experience, Jiang Xu said this, she just remembered.


    She nodded, and while adding this point, she said seriously: "Then we must first calculate the difference between the cost and the price that can be discounted..."


    The lowercase letters she wrote were neat and beautiful, and her cheeks puffed up slightly when she was chanting.


    Jiang Xu watched, a little distracted, the thick ink dripped from the pen tip, and quickly smeared on the paper. He regained his senses, crumpled it into a paper ball and put it aside, re-laid the paper, and began to write the official document.


    Three days later, the empress invited some famous wives in the capital to enter the palace, and while admiring the flowers and drinking tea, she told them about the donation.


    Several people agreed one after another, praised the empress for her kindness, and very sensiblely broke up the news after leaving the palace.


    Donating some useless things can gain fame and help others. This is a good thing. The official women are very active.


    In less than two days, more than 80 boxes of gold and silver were raised, and by the third day, it exceeded 200 boxes.


    In the next few days, compared with others, some people felt that their own donations were less, and they were busy and made up donations. Some people still had things that had just been cleaned up...the number of donations continued to increase.


    Ming Tan wrote the book, and Bai Minmin sorted it by category.


    Zhou Jingwan was also brought in by Ming Tan to help, she was talented and well-written, and after raising so many things, Ming Tan asked her to write a thank-you letter, and was going to return politely to each other when things were done. government.


    Since it was Queen Zhang''s proposal, not many dared to use junk to deal with it. Every young lady took at least four or five hairpins, and many even got a set of hairpins, although it is no longer a fashionable style in Beijing. But many are brand new and look like they''ve never been used.


    It is worth mentioning that this time Shen Hua sent someone to send a box full of jewelry. She was very happy, and many newly made clothes could not be worn, so she also sent them.


    In the few months since Ming Tan left Beijing, Yuan Guozijian Jijiu retired and returned to his hometown, Li Siye was promoted to the post of Jijiu, and the second son of Li also won the praise of the emperor for his good writing. Li''s mansion is now very good.


    After returning to Beijing, Ming Tan sent souvenirs to Li''s residence, but he didn''t care to meet Shen Hua for a while, but just looking at the things she sent, he knew that she should be living a very happy life in Li''s residence now.


    Ming Tan remembered that the Hou Mansion still had some old things from her boudoir, and decided to go back to the Jing''an Hou Mansion to count them out, and just in time to send the souvenirs brought back from the south.


    In fact, when she returned to Beijing earlier, she planned to go back to the mansion as soon as possible, but Mrs. Pei went back to her mother''s house for a wedding and was not in the mansion, so she never came back.


    Knowing that Ming Tan was going back to Jing''an Hou Mansion, Jiang Xu had nothing to do with him, so he planned to go with her.


    Ming Tan also knew that it was very honorable for her husband and son-in-law to accompany her back to her mother''s house, but with him, the whole Hou family would be so busy that they would not touch the ground. persuaded.


    The next day when I went back to Jing''anhou''s mansion alone, Mrs. Pei went to the door to greet her, and went back to Lanxin Courtyard with Ming Tan on her arm. The mother and daughter talked for a long time.


    It turned out that after Ming Tan left Hezhou, the Feng family wrote letters to the Hou Mansion every month.


    Mingchu now feels tight to be good, and will go to old lady Feng to serve soup and medicine every now and then, and everyone in the Feng family also respectfully obeys the princess''s order and arrests her in the mansion, preventing her from going out to cause trouble.


    It''s just to tell the truth, Mingchu is also a girl from the Hou''s family, and their Feng family doesn''t want to have quarrel with the Hou''s family, so if they want to do something, they will always write to ask for instructions first.


    Ming Tan thinks this is very good, as long as Ming Chu doesn''t cause trouble, she doesn''t intend to argue with him too much.


    After speaking clearly, Mrs. Pei mentioned Shen Hua unsurprisingly: "Her pregnancy looks very good this time, with a pointed belly. If it is not well-preserved, it will be a boy. The grandchildren of the Feng family do not have a boy. If they give birth to a big Fat boy, Mrs. Feng is afraid that she will hand over all the power of managing the family to Ah Hua.


    "Of course, it''s also good for a girl. Her family Erlang said earlier that he likes little girls, and it''s good to have a daughter. In short, as long as they can be born safely, it''s good. And Ah Hua is blessed, and the other people vomit It''s dark, and there''s only bile left, and she can''t eat anything, but she hasn''t vomited for a few days, and now her appetite is good. Last time I saw her, she was rounded, and she was a sensible person in her stomach."


    Ming Tan Chuchu heard nothing, and agreed.


    But Mrs. Pei immediately mentioned that the wedding wine she drank at her mother''s house this time was the twins'' full moon wine, and she kept talking about how cute and clever the twins were...Ming Tan gradually realized that. The meaning is coming.


    Sure enough, as soon as the conversation changed, Mrs. Pei looked at her stomach and asked tentatively: "Speaking of which, you have been married to the prince for some time, and there is no movement at all?"


    Ming Tan shook his head and said hesitantly: "My husband said that I am young and I am not in a hurry, and also said that it is not beneficial for a woman to conceive early."


    Mrs. Pei sighed, and said pitifully: "That''s because the prince loves you. You are young, but at the prince''s age, many children from other families can go to school. How can you not be in a hurry."


    But this is probably because he married late. Even if she married and was happy immediately, the child would not be able to study. Ming Tan thought silently in his heart.


    Seeing that Ming Tan was silent, Mrs. Pei babbled on for a long time, it was nothing more than old sayings that children are important, and that the back house needs to have children by its side.


    Ming Tan always respected her, but he didn''t refute her, he was dizzy and reluctantly drank tea to agree with her.


    After lunch, Ming Tan finally breathed a sigh of relief, she led Lue back to the Zhaoshui courtyard to have a rest, and by the way, someone tidied up the old things in the courtyard.


    "By the way, watch carefully. If you see the string of forbidden steps I wore when I came back from Hanyan Temple, tell me."


    Lue agreed, but her eyes couldn''t see it. Her young lady had too many things. After opening the boxes, they were still full of beautiful things. Besides, she didn''t even remember what the young lady wore when she went to Hanyan Temple. all over.


    After all, Ming Tan has sharp eyes¡ª¡ª


    "stop."


    She got up suddenly, walked to a sandalwood box, and looked through the clothes.


    That''s right, when she went to Hanyan Temple, she was wearing this dress, and the traces of being trampled on were still there, and the one that was stacked underneath was the one she changed into in the wing room later.


    Then she opened the brocade box in the box.


    Unsurprisingly, there is a string of exquisite and complicated bans lying in the brocade box, which still look very unique today.


    Ming Tan picked it up and looked at it carefully.


    The sunlight came in from outside the Mingjian room, dazzling the heavy steps. Her eyes moved inch by inch, but she still couldn''t find the long black jade tablet that should be on it. Finally, her eyes stopped at On the small gap on the lower left side¡ª


    This place is empty, it should be missing an accessory.


    She suddenly remembered the jade tablet in Jiang Xu''s pocket.

 Chapter 85：

    In fact, when she was in Pangshan, a thought flashed into Ming Tan''s mind, but that thought was fleeting. After all, she never thought that the little jade card on her forbidden step had already been lost.


    But now it seems¡ª¡ª


    She lowered her eyes, and while putting the forbidden step back into the box, she carefully recalled what happened in Hanyan Temple that year.


    The blood in the wing room, the fire that burned down the Hanyan Temple, and the unusual events that happened one after another in Beijing...


    She calmed down and recollected her memories.


    ¡­


    When he returned to Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, Ming Tan had sorted out a certain possibility that made sense both before and after. It''s just that she doesn''t know that what she guessed may actually be almost the same as the truth.


    There is something in the army today, Jiang Xu sent someone back to the mansion to inform him, and he will not come back for dinner today.


    Ming Tan originally planned to ask him during dinner, this is good, a table of dishes was prepared for nothing.


    She was thinking about something in her heart, she didn''t have any appetite, she drank a cup of soup, and the rest was withdrawn to share among herself.


    After taking a bath at night, Ming Tan walked up and down the room.


    She had already checked out Jiang Xu''s secret bag at home, but it was not there, presumably he had it with him.


    She didn''t know what she was thinking, and while turning around in the room, she lowered her head and bit her fingers lightly, as if she was thinking about something serious.


    Finally, there was movement outside the courtyard.


    Ming Tan turned around and hurried out to meet him.


    But when she walked to the outside, Ming Tan paused again, she walked back, hurriedly sat back on the soft couch in the inner room, picked up the book, propped her head, and pretended to be reading .


    After a while, Jiang Xu entered the room.


    "Husband, you are back." Ming Tan put down the book, showing a slight surprise.


    Just after taking a bath, she has black hair and shawls, and her scarlet skirt sets off her skin like frost Sai Xue, because in the house, she only wears a pair of wooden clogs, curled up on the couch, her feet are exposed, white Toes are fidgeting.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her while undoing his cuff tie.


    She tried her best to maintain her composure, put on her wooden clogs, walked up to Jiang Xu without blushing and heartbeat, and said softly and softly as usual: "Husband is tired today, I will ask someone to prepare water, Husband takes a bath first To relieve fatigue, you can have supper after taking a bath. The food in the barracks is not good, and it is cold at night at this time of year. I specially simmered minced **** and chicken porridge, which can warm the stomach and drive away the cold. My husband will use it more later. "


    As she spoke, she helped Jiang Xu change his clothes calmly.


    Jiang Xu didn''t seem to notice it, and said "um" very softly, and looked at her quietly with lowered eyes: "The princess has a heart."


    Hearing this, Ming Tan was inexplicably guilty, his movements were slightly sluggish, and he continued to undress him.


    The maidservants quickly brought hot water into the house, and a hazy mist rose from the clean room.


    Seeing Jiang Xu going into the water, Ming Tan finally felt relieved, and quietly exited the clean room, taking the secret pocket in his clothes by the way.


    She went back to the inner room while rummaging, and soon, she took out the small black jade tablet from the secret pocket, she quickened her pace, and hurriedly went to the dowry to get the forbidden step that she brought back today.


    The prohibition is heavy, and compared to the jade medal, it has little weight.


    Her heart was beating fast and her hands were shaking slightly.


    She slowly aimed the small black jade tablet at the gap where the step was forbidden, and her pupils shrank suddenly¡ª¡ª


    Right on!


    The small hole on the jade plate can be matched with the gap on the forbidden step. That is to say, the piece of Wuhengyu her husband owned belonged to her, and she guessed it right!


    Ming Tan hurriedly turned around, but before she could take a step, she bumped into a warm and stiff chest.


    At some point, Jiang Xu put on a pajamas and stood silently behind her, the water on his body was still wet.


    She was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously hid the little jade tablet behind her back, her heart almost stopped in fright.


    However, Jiang Xu only glanced at the secret bag she put on the table.


    Ming Tan followed his line of sight, feeling annoyed for a moment, she let go of her hands dejectedly, and handed back the small jade token.


    Jiang Xu was about to pick it up, but Mingtan suddenly remembered something¡ª¡ª


    No, why is she upset, why does she feel guilty about being a thief? This piece of Wuheng jade is obviously hers, someone should explain why this piece of Wuheng jade was taken as his own.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan suddenly became confident, and when she raised her hand, Jiang Xu''s outstretched hand caught the emptiness, and paused for a moment.


    Immediately afterwards, she raised her small head, poked his chest with the small jade tablet, and asked righteously: "Husband, now that things have happened, should you explain to me the meaning of this Wuheng jade?" The origin, this piece of jade is obviously mine, you already know it, right?"


    "..."


    "You are sneaking around for this reason?"


    "Who, who is sneaking around!"


    "Well, I don''t know who it is, but I still pretend to be ignorant even though I know that the king has returned." Jiang Xu glanced at her indifferently.


    Long before entering the house, he saw Ming Tan''s figure scurrying back and forth under the light of the candlelight outside. Looking at that figure, he obviously wanted to go out to meet him, but in the end he scurried back to curl up on the soft couch inexplicably.


    Entering the room, seeing her curled up on the soft couch, he thought that the little princess wanted to ask for something tonight, and wanted to seduce her with her looks. At first, he planned to reluctantly accept it, but now it seems that he thought too much.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help being a little ashamed and annoyed when he exposed it.


    "What do you want to know, just ask me directly, you don''t have to spend so much trouble."


    "I originally wanted to ask my husband directly, but I was afraid that my thinking would be wrong and something would happen...I want to confirm if it is my jade first." Ming Tan couldn''t help muttering in a low voice.


    She often makes embarrassments in front of her husband. If she doesn''t confirm this time, she will just make up a big show by herself. If the jade is not for her, it will be a big oolong.


    Moreover, the husband said that this jade saved his life, so he rushed to recognize the savior indiscriminately. If there was an oolong, and the husband didn''t laugh at her, she would have to find a crack to get in!


    After Jiang Xu listened, he was silent again, couldn''t help rubbing her little head, and smoothed her hair.


    "It''s not an oolong, the princess is indeed the king''s savior." He admitted directly.


    Ming Tan raised his head suddenly.


    He also looked at her without avoiding it, and narrated the incident at Hanyan Temple and the incident in the forest later.


    ¡­


    Ming Tan was a little dazed when she heard that, and finally she finally figured out something: "Then, I have saved my husband twice?"


    "Ok."


    "Then when you were in Pangshan, why didn''t your husband say anything?"


    "You didn''t ask."


    "..."


    Ming Tan opened his mouth, but he didn''t know where to refute.


    The maid came in with the supper, and Ming Tan sat down at the table to eat with Jiang Xu, but what Jiang Xu said just now sounded unbelievable to her, and she was stuck in it for a long time and couldn''t recover.


    It was really hard for her to believe that she and her husband had so many interactions before they met each other.


    Thinking about it this way, many things that she hadn''t thought about seemed to be explained.


    For example, when Shangyuan fell into the water, why did the husband come to rescue him? And why did he know that she was the young lady of the Jing''an Hou Mansion, and sent someone to send her back to the mansion...


    So from the beginning to the end, the husband knew about it.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan felt a little complicated.


    After turning off the lights and going to bed, Ming Tan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.


    Jiang Xu took her into his arms: "Sleep early, don''t you have to enter the palace to see the queen tomorrow?"


    "But I can''t sleep."


    "Why can''t I sleep?"


    Ming Tan leaned against his chest, hesitated for a while, but couldn''t help it, and asked in a low voice: "Husband knew that I was your savior?"


    "..."


    In fact, it wasn''t early in the morning, I only remembered it after seeing her face in Lingmiao Temple. It''s just that Jiang Xu didn''t deny it. If she denied it, with her intelligence, she would soon realize that when Shang Yuan fell into the water, he didn''t have enough motivation to save people.


    For some reason, to this day, he no longer wants to pursue why he married her in the first place.


    But he didn''t want to pursue it, but Ming Tan really wanted an answer. After hesitating for a while, she asked softly: "Then you marry me because you want to repay your kindness? Is it because you want to repay your kindness for your husband''s kindness to me?"


    She is not stupid, with his power and relationship with the Holy One, if he is not willing to marry, the Holy One will definitely not order a marriage at will.


    Jiang Xu was silent for a long time.


    When Ming Tan thought he would not answer for so long, he said, "Not all."


    These three words have many meanings.


    When he married her back then, it was true that it was not all because of repaying kindness, but more out of consideration for the Jing''an Houfu. His relationship with her after marriage may have been mostly due to kindness and tolerance at first, but now he knows very well that it is not.


    Ming Tan was prepared in his heart, so he was not very disappointed when he heard the answer.


    She forced herself to calm down, accepted this fact, and after a while, she asked in a low voice with some reluctance: "Among the other reasons why the husband is not all, is it because you like A Tan?"


    It''s hard to answer this kind of thing with words. Jiang Xu hugged her up, sealed her lips, drove straight in, and responded with practical actions.


    Ming Tan was so kissed that he couldn''t breathe, whimpered, and his cheeks were flushed. When Jiang Xu let go of her, she panted and pressed against his chest, her eyes raised wetly, meeting his calm and straight gaze.


    "What do you say?"


    His voice was hoarse, and the answer in his eyes was too obvious.


    Ming Tan''s ears were hot, and he was embarrassed to chase him to say it himself.


    In fact, she is very satisfied with this, so what about repaying the favor, at least there is still affection involved. What''s more, the husband not only repays her kindness, but also likes her now. They still have a long, long time, and she believes that the husband will fall in love with her!


    Jiang Xu''s desire was aroused, and he quickly leaned over to cover her soft body. The warm breath lingered all the way down, burning clusters in the places he passed, and ambiguous low panting and moaning came from the tent from time to time.


    After a while, it was the time when the love was strong, but there was a sudden silence in the tent.


    "Have you come to Sunflower Water?"


    Ming Tan nodded honestly.


    Jiang Xu''s eyes were still red, and his voice was suppressed: "Why didn''t you say it just now?"


    Ming Tan said innocently: "My husband didn''t ask."


    "..."


    It turned out to be waiting for him here.

 Chapter 86：

    Frost''s fall came before I knew it, and it was less than half a month before the beginning of winter. The gold, silver and soft goods donated by the officials and family members of Beijing have been registered and sorted, and they have been sorted out by category. There are more than 40 boxes of jewelry hairpins and more than 200 clothes. box, and a number of other items.


    Ming Tan originally entrusted Bai Minmin with asking about transportation costs, thinking that with his uncle and cousin of the Bai family around, the matter should not be difficult.


    Who would have thought that when Zhang Huaiyu heard about this, he quietly found a friend, omitting all the complicated things in the middle, and directly approached the Western Region merchants entrenched in the Yuxi area.


    Those merchants in the Western Regions were willing to accept this batch of gold and silver at the market price in the Yuxi area, and directly exchanged them with a large amount of warming materials of equivalent value.


    After careful calculation, Ming Tan seemed to be a mutually beneficial and very suitable deal.


    Now time is very tight, and the things should be distributed to the people before the winter solstice at the latest, otherwise what is it called to keep out the cold?


    It can be sold and converted into silver to add supplies, which is also cumbersome. Nowadays, some people are willing to directly omit the intermediate process and barter, which can be said to save trouble and effort. Although the market price in the Yuxi area is not the best, it is definitely more cost-effective than random trading in Shangjing.


    No matter how he cares about it, Ming Tan feels that this method is very good, and there is no reason why he should not accept it.


    But Bai Minmin didn''t agree very much, she murmured reluctantly, "Who knows if the person he''s looking for is reliable or not."


    "Do you think I haven''t even figured out this point?" Ming Tan felt amused.


    Bai Minmin was dissatisfied again and said: "Then who would accept so many things for nothing, and is willing to trade at the market value of the Yuxi area? I think it''s either unreliable, or Zhang Huaiyu agreed to other conditions in private.


    "If Zhang Huaiyu reached a deal with them in private to facilitate this matter, then what''s the point of us accomplishing this matter? It''s just relying on others'' ability to gain fame!"


    "Not really, you''re thinking badly."


    Bai Minmin was puzzled.


    Ming Tan said slowly: "I have inquired about this matter, and the merchants in the Western Regions can sell our goods to small countries in the Western Regions.


    "In Wuheng and other countries in the Western Regions, things from Daxian Shangjing have always been expensive and novelty, and our fine gold and silver are originally owned by Daxian''s concubines and officials, and sold to small countries in the Western Regions. The benefits of this are far from other The places are comparable, and they will agree to the deal because they can make a profit."


    "Can--"


    "But what?"


    Bai Minmin originally wanted to say that Zhang Huaiyu did this to make her owe him favors, but this matter was suggested by the queen, even if he was helping, what''s wrong with helping his sister? If she embraced herself, it would be too pretentious and sentimental!


    Seeing Bai Minmin''s silence, Ming Tan thought she had no objection, and he rested his chin in a trance, and couldn''t help but regretted: "My brother is also in Yuxi, so I didn''t think of this method. In the past, I seldom paid attention to Zhang Shizi, but now it seems, Zhang Shizi is not an ordinary person."


    Of course he is not an ordinary person, which ordinary person can be so outstanding in the two things of being able to speak out and making people unhappy!


    Bai Minmin turned her back angrily, still quite unhappy about being forced to accept Zhang Huaiyu''s favor.


    The twelfth lunar month is approaching in a blink of an eye, and the winter solstice is approaching. Among the many seasons in a year, besides New Year''s Eve, counting the winter solstice is the most important.


    As the supplies to keep out the cold were successfully delivered to the people in the bitterly cold places they donated, the errand assigned by Queen Zhang was finally completed satisfactorily.


    The censors have written letters one after another, saying that Empress Zhang is compassionate, caring for all living beings, virtuous and kind, and can be a model for women in the world. Having this mother of the country is a blessing to the common people.


    Although there is no lack of praise from the ruling and opposition parties, Empress Zhang did not take the credit alone. She never forgot to say that it was the benevolence of the officials and family members in Beijing, who were willing to donate materials to raise funds, and it was everyone''s credit for being able to help the people in the border areas.


    As the actual facilitator of this matter, Ming Tan naturally had to be rewarded. Emperor Chengkang even made a special trip to issue an imperial decree, praising her for her quality, intelligence and quick-wittedness.


    Now fame is not so important to Ming Tan, she was already very proud and satisfied in her heart when the first thing she wanted to achieve was successfully completed.


    It''s just that the end of the year is approaching, and there is no room for her to rest. After finishing this errand, she started to manage the affairs of the mansion without touching her feet.


    Although Uncle Fu is in charge of the palace most of the time, Uncle Fu is too busy managing the government affairs and the shops outside, and he has no time to deal with all the favors received and sent from the mansion.


    The main reason is that when there was no princess in the past, the palace was solemn and deserted, and there was no mercy in the palace. Now that there is a princess, the palace is much more lively than before. Ming Tan has to worry about the extra things that happen here.


    "The gift from the Li family is too light, how do you prepare it? Add some supplements that pregnant women can use, and add a top-quality old ginseng, which is most suitable for the old lady of the Li family. By the way, add a few more Good leather, although the lord and I were not in the mansion a few days ago, but I remember that after the autumn hunting, there was a piece of white fox fur among the rewards sent by the Holy Majesty?"


    The handmaid should be.


    "Add the white fox fur. Remember to tell me that it is specially given to my cousin to keep out the cold. I am pregnant in winter, and it is too bulky to go out. The white fox fur is warm and light, and it is most suitable for my cousin."


    The maid answered yes again.


    "There is also the Duke of Pingguo''s mansion. This time, Duke Pingguo''s son has helped a lot. This gift can''t be overstated..."


    After all, she is a girl who has learned how to run a family. Although Ming Tan handles these things in a hurry, she is also methodical.


    She spent a day preparing for the winter solstice ceremony, looked at the account books for another day, and then spent most of the day wandering around the palace, pointing out the places that needed repairs in the mansion to the attendant, and ordered her to supervise them. After all, once the winter solstice is over, New Year''s Eve will not be far away. During the Chinese New Year, the mansion should be brand new and clean.


    By the time I get dizzy and busy enough to catch my breath, it is already the eve of the winter solstice. It was only then that Ming Tan remembered that Ming''er Shengjia came to the Ancestral Temple in person, and her husband, as the prince of the clan, naturally wanted to travel with him. She originally thought that she would eat dumplings with her husband tomorrow, but now it seems that is impossible.


    In recent days, she was so tired that she often settled down early before her husband returned home, and the two of them didn''t speak much for several days.


    Tomorrow''s winter solstice can''t be spent together...Ming Tan didn''t know what he was thinking about, but in the end, before Jiang Xu returned home, he asked Lv E to hold the lamp, and dug out the winter boots that were pressed at the bottom of a certain sandalwood box.


    She held it for a while, and finally remembered how to continue sewing the winter boots.


    She has been so busy recently that she almost forgot. When she went to Tonggang to rest at Orion''s house before, she overheard the conversation of his husband and wife by chance, and she was enthusiastic about the warmth of ordinary married life for a while, so she also wanted to learn what others can do for her husband.


    On the way back, Jiang Xu left her at the inn for a few days, and went to patrol the Dingbei Army''s garrison alone. She had nothing to do, so he dug out the fur and made winter boots for him.


    Thanks to her being a bit fussy about the speed with which she can make things, if she were to make ordinary boots, she might have to wait until the spring of the next year to give them away.


    "Miss, these deer boots are so exquisitely sewn, are you planning to make them for His Highness?"


    Ming Tan made a "hmm" sound, and soon began to sew seriously.


    Seeing that Ming Tan was still sitting in front of the couch and threading needles earnestly after being tired all day, Lu E couldn''t help but asked again: "Miss, you are tired today, why don''t you take a rest first, it''s not too late to sew during the day."


    "No, I have to finish it before my husband returns home."


    "Then how about I help Miss? It doesn''t look like much. It''s not good to burn people sewing under the lamp and hurt your eyes."


    "No, you can go outside and watch." Ming Tan was a little sleepy, so he yawned involuntarily, but his attitude was still very persistent.


    Lue couldn''t help it, so she had to change her to a brighter candle, and then silently backed out.


    Without Lue talking aside, the room suddenly became extremely silent. Ming Tan cheered up and continued to sew the left boot, and patted himself on the face from time to time to cope with the rising sleepiness.


    Perhaps because she was too sleepy, the tip of the needle stuck on her fingertips several times, and small drops of blood suddenly emerged from her fingertips. She hissed lightly, and sucked her fingertips again. The pain seemed to wake her up slightly.


    Tomorrow''s winter solstice, Shengjia will go out of the palace to pay homage to the Taimiao. The military preparations in Beijing are all in full swing. The Imperial City Division is responsible for guarding the city, while the imperial guards under the command of Lu Ting need to guard the holy driver all the way.


    Jiang Xu discussed with him very late, and when he returned home late at night, he thought that the little princess must have gone to bed early as usual, but he didn''t expect that the lights in the house were still on today.


    When he entered the room, Ming Tan was holding back his yawns to hem his winter boots. For the last two needles, she inserted them one by one. When she heard the movement outside the curtain, she couldn''t help being distracted, and then stuck to her fingertips again. Tiny blood beads came out again. She hissed softly and sucked her fingertips skillfully.


    When Jiang Xu lifted the curtain and entered, he happened to see this scene.


    "Husband." Ming Tan looked up, quite surprised.


    Jiang Xu didn''t respond, and went forward to hold her wrist, only to see that her fingertips were red, and there were many fine pinholes on her head. After pinching it hard, small blood beads leaked out again.


    "What is this doing?"


    Ming Tan withdrew his hand in embarrassment, finished the last stitch, and then cut the needle and thread with scissors.


    "The winter boots made for my husband. The soles are thick and soft. It will be very comfortable to walk on. The fur inside the boots is also very warm. Even if it snows, you don''t have to worry about it. There will be no water seepage inside."


    Ming Tan swept away his sleepiness, and looked at him expectantly: "Husband, do you want to try?"


    Jiang Xu looked at her quietly for a while, then gave a soft "um" and took the deer boots.


    This pair of winter boots was made extremely meticulously. Jiang Xu caught a glimpse of the word "Qizhi" embroidered on the inside of the left boot. He subconsciously looked at the right side, and the word "A Tan" was also embroidered on the inside.


    "You embroidered words in the dark."


    Ming Tan nodded, looking at him expectantly, waiting for his compliment.


    But he didn''t want him to look at it for a while, and obviously wanted to say a word of praise, but said: "Embroidered in boots, won''t it stink?"


    "..."

 Chapter 87：

    The smile on Ming Tan''s face froze suddenly, and the joy that filled his heart seemed to be poured by a basin of cold water, leaving only a lingering smoke.


    Can this person speak?


    Is it because he can''t speak on weekdays so he rarely speaks?


    After Jiang Xu finished speaking, he also felt that this question seemed to be wrong, he explained: "I don''t have any other meanings, what I mean is¡ª¡ª"


    "Your feet stink!" Ming Tan''s drowsiness has been driven out of Jiang Xu''s anger, and he is so energetic that he can sit down and read ten more books now.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Ming Tan sat down and tidied up the needlework by himself, without even looking at him.


    Jiang Xu was silent, and also took a seat on the other side, and put on Ming Tan''s new winter boots.


    "It''s very comfortable and fits well. The princess has a heart." After putting it on, he said.


    Ming Tan ignored him.


    He got up and stood in front of Ming Tan, and the winter boots came into her sight.


    She couldn''t help but cast a glance.


    It really fits well, just how she imagined her feet would look like. But she did such a good job and hid her own little thoughts inside, this man couldn''t understand the amorous feelings so far, and became even angrier!


    She got up, and was about to go to the dressing table with her packed sewing box, but Jiang Xu blocked her way. She wanted to go around, but Jiang Xu stretched out his hand again, blocking her way.


    "Why are you stopping me?" Ming Tan asked angrily.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just took the sewing box from her arms, put it back on the dressing table, and found the medicine box from the drawer.


    "Your hand is injured, my lord..." Jiang Xu paused, "I''ll give you medicine."


    Ming Tan didn''t say a word, and let Jiang Xu drag her back to the soft couch.


    "It may hurt a little, bear with it." He said in a deep voice.


    "No matter how painful it is, it doesn''t hurt when you get stabbed!"


    Jiang Xu''s movements stopped, and he raised his eyes to look at her: "Does it hurt?"


    "Of course it hurts."


    Ming Tan is not some silly girl who silently dedicates without asking for rewards or distress. She usually watches people making snacks and can explain it in detail in front of Jiang Xu for half a moment. She planned to have such a big surprise. To invite credit, let the husband feel how much she really cares for him from all aspects!


    She was so angry just now that she didn''t want to talk to him, but now he took the initiative to ask, she would not let go of this great opportunity, she kept chattering non-stop, from the idea of ??how to start all the way to today''s hand There are eleven stitches on the top.


    The more she talked, the more aggrieved she became, and she handed her hot drugged fingers to Jiang Xu: "I''m not exaggerating, look, eleven stitches are enough."


    Jiang Xu was silent for a while, not knowing how to respond.


    After a while, he said, "It''s my king''s fault."


    He felt that he was wrong, but he also felt that something was wrong.


    It''s just that Ming Tan didn''t give him much time to think about it: "Then blow it up." As he said that, he moved his paw closer.


    Jiang Xu hesitated for a moment, but followed what she said, and blew lightly.


    Ming Tan asked again: "Does my embroidery look good?"


    "¡­Ok."


    "But I see, Husband doesn''t seem to like it very much."


    "like."


    "Do you really like it?"


    "Of course, tomorrow the king will wear the new boots you made, and the princess will worry about it."


    "My husband, why is he always so polite when talking to me!"


    Jiang Xu was silent for a long while, and finally said with difficulty: "Ah Tan is bothering you."


    Hearing the sound of "A Tan", Ming Tan was finally satisfied, she stood up and grabbed Jiang Xu: "Husband, hurry up and settle down, I have to go to worship the Taimiao tomorrow, but I am very tired."


    Jiang Xu nodded, inexplicably relieved.


    During the winter solstice, there was nothing wrong with worshiping the Taimiao, so Jiang Xu got up after two hours of rest.


    When he changed into the court clothes, it was still dark outside, the house was silent, and Ming Tan was still sleeping deeply.


    He looked at Ming Tan''s peaceful sleeping face for a while, twisted the corner of the quilt tightly, and wanted to get up, but he didn''t know what to think of, so he leaned over and kissed her forehead again, and then went out quietly.


    The winter sacrifices are complicated, traveling to the Taimiao, praying for blessings in the suburbs, and temporarily resting in the fasting palace, so I can''t go back to Luan for three or five days. The paving shops outside were also on strike, so there was nothing to do. With nothing to do, Ming Tan simply met several customers.


    This first wave is Shen Hua and her mother-in-law, Xiang Shi.


    Xiang Shi is a kind-hearted person, she was very satisfied with Shen Hua the first time she saw each other, and later got married, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have always gotten along very well.


    When she came back to Dingbei Palace, Xiang Shi was also worried that Shen Hua was pregnant, so she came here to take care of her.


    Shen Hua still doesn''t show her bosom now, but her figure is obviously plump, her brows and eyes are full, and she is radiant. Seeing her like this, Ming Tan also knows that she is living a very happy life now.


    The three of them gossiped about family matters and had a very pleasant chat, but they didn''t know whether it was Shen Hua''s intention to avoid taboo or what, she and Xiang Shi hadn''t found out a word about Tan''s body.


    On the contrary, Ming Tan curiously touched Shen Hua''s slightly protruding belly, and sighed: "My cousin is going to be a mother, and I don''t know when I will be a mother. I always feel that I haven''t grown up yet."


    Hearing the words, Xiang Shi hurriedly said: "The princess is still young, so I''m not in a hurry."


    Ming Tan deeply agreed: "The prince also said so."


    Seeing that Ming Tan didn''t mind this topic, Xiang Shi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.


    Shen Hua didn''t know what she was thinking, she pondered for a while, and didn''t say much, and she said to Ming Tan after the maid took Xiang Shi to the toilet, "I heard what my aunt said earlier, and I was a little worried about your heir, but I see you, you don''t seem worried."


    "I was a little worried at first, but the prince is not worried. He also said that I am young and there is no need to rush to get pregnant. It makes sense when I think about it. If there is no rush, let nature take its course."


    Shen Hua hesitated to speak, but after a long while, she still asked after deliberation: "Did you see a doctor?"


    "The imperial doctor will come every month to ask for a safe pulse, no problem."


    Only then did Shen Hua feel relieved: "You''re right, I think my aunt is afraid that you will be like her... But the prince is not in a hurry, just let nature take its course."


    Ming Tan nodded, but what Shen Hua said, she planned to ask the next time the imperial doctor Feng came to ask for the Ping''an pulse, if there is any way to increase the chance of getting pregnant. What''s more, she and her husband haven''t had **** for half a month. If they don''t have sex, the child will never be conceived out of thin air.


    Three days later, Shengjia returned to Luang. After sending Emperor Chengkang and Empress Zhang back to the palace, Jiang Xu also returned home early.


    Shangjing, which was closed for three days and reopened, was very busy. Jiang Xu rode on the horse and walked forward at a leisurely pace, not knowing what he was looking for. When he walked to the corner of the street, he caught a glimpse of a cloth shop that was doing very well, with a constant flow of people coming and going.


    Recalling Ming Tan''s enthusiasm for shopping in garment shops when he was in Hezhou, Jiang Xu tightened his reins and dismounted.


    "Guest officer, please come inside." The clerk in the store greeted him very warmly, "What do you want to see? Winter clothes or silk satins, our store has everything."


    Jiang Xu scanned around, his eyes fixed on a piece of plain satin with a faint luster.


    The waiter looked very winking, and hurriedly said: "Guest officer, you really have discernment. This snow satin is an excellent material, and dignitaries like it very much. Look at the luster and the feel. It''s just a good material. The other ones must be more expensive¡ª"


    "Two horses." Jiang Xu said straight.


    "G, okay, okay." When meeting such a straightforward customer, the clerk was very attentive, "Just wait a moment, and I''ll wrap it up for you."


    Since he went south and returned to Beijing, he didn''t seem to see any new clothes for his little princess. A few days ago she gave him winter boots, and today he gave her fabric, I think she will be happy.


    It''s just that before he returned to the mansion to see someone happy, another accident happened in the capital camp, and he needed to go to deal with it.


    It was nearly dusk when he finished his work and returned home.


    He had been silently preparing his speech for a long time, but when he returned to Qi''an Hall, Ming Tan was not there.


    "Where is the princess?"


    "Returning to Your Highness, the princess was waiting for you to come back to have lunch together in the mansion, but you sent someone back to the mansion and said that you would go to the barracks first, so the princess used it alone. After resting for half an hour at noon, Miss Bai sent someone to come. Please, Wangfei went to the Duke Chang''s mansion to have tea, and she also ordered that her dinner is not necessary today." Su Xin, who stayed in charge of Qi''an Hall, replied.


    Jiang Xu was silent, didn''t go into the house, just handed the two bolts of satin to Su Xin: "The king went to the study, the princess came back, and told her that the king picked it for her."


    Su Xin hadn''t regained her senses at first, but after taking the satin, she suddenly understood something, and couldn''t help pursing her lips and snickering.


    Ming Tan ate two cups of green orange wine at Duke Chang''s mansion today, and her face was a little hot. When she returned to the mansion, it was already dark. Seeing the silence in the courtyard, she asked casually while going back to the house: "Your lord hasn''t come back yet."


    Su Xin helped her undress and said with a smile: "I''m back, the prince is in the study right now."


    "Back?" Ming Tan was slightly surprised.


    Su Xin smiled mysteriously: "Not only did you return, the prince also specially picked out a gift for you."


    "What gift?" Ming Tanjiu woke up a bit.


    Su Xin turned around and presented the two pieces of satin that Jiang Xu had brought back.


    Ming Tan saw it and was speechless for a while.


    Snow satin? It''s been at least three months, right? Ordinary wealthy people in Beijing still wear them, but the ladies and ladies she knows don''t wear them long ago.


    Look at the logo of the Golden Thread Pavilion on it, presumably he didn''t give it as a reward from the palace, but bought it himself in the Golden Thread Pavilion.


    His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang went to the Golden Thread Pavilion and carefully selected two long-outdated fabrics, which made people feel a little sad in the funny way, and made people feel a little moved in the sad.


    The corners of her lips turned up, she touched the fabric lovingly, she didn''t know what she was thinking, after a long time, she suddenly ordered someone to prepare food, she also cleaned up her makeup, changed her clothes, and led Su Xin to the study went.


    In the study, Jiang Xu was discussing with several generals who came in secret in the secret room to start the layout and recover Rongzhou, the last remaining Rongzhou in the thirteen prefectures of the Northland. Halfway through, he suddenly heard familiar footsteps approaching outside the house Thinking that the guards outside didn''t know that he was having a secret discussion with someone, and would definitely not stop the princess, Jiang Xu closed his voice, motioned them to wait for a while, moved the mechanism, and walked out of the secret room alone.


    When Ming Tan entered the study, Jiang Xu happened to sit back at the table.


    Before he had time to ask her what she was doing here, Ming Tan swept up in front of him like a gust of wind, put down the food box, sat down on his lap without any refusal, put his arms around his neck, and said coquettishly: " Husband, you don''t care about the things you gave, the snow satin has been out of date for three months, don''t you like A Tan, don''t you love A Tan anymore!"


    "..."


    "My king..."


    "Here we go again!" Ming Tan was always dissatisfied with his claim.


    "I--"


    Ming Tan leaned closer, and continued to act like a spoiled child intimately: "It doesn''t matter, I will punish my husband to kiss A-Tan!"


    Jiang Xu glanced at her with a look of "Are you sure?" Ming Tan seemed to be impatient, kissed him first, and she didn''t believe it. She was so active and enthusiastic tonight, and the husband still didn''t understand the relationship between husband and wife. Some fun.


    Facts have proved that he really can''t understand¡ª¡ª


    "Don''t make trouble, you go back to the house first." His Adam''s apple rolled slightly for a moment, his voice was low and hoarse.


    Who made a fuss? Ming Tan was dissatisfied and wanted to sue him, when there was a sound behind the ancient shelf.

 Chapter 88：

    "What sound?" Ming Tan was puzzled for a moment, then got up and approached Bogujia.


    "The book fell down." Without thinking too much, she rearranged the fallen military books and walked back to the table.


    The secret room was not very soundproof, and several generals were sitting in it, their scalps were tight, and they looked at each other with wonderful expressions on their faces.


    Several people murmured in unison in their hearts: I never expected that the prince and concubine would be so boring when they get along in private...


    Thinking back to when the prince got married, they also came to the palace to have a wedding banquet. At that time, they couldn''t see how much the prince valued this marriage, and after they got married, the prince rarely mentioned the princess, as if there was no such person. Everyone naturally thought that the relationship between the two was mediocre.


    Now a few people are sitting on pins and needles, some people even think that if they heard something they shouldn''t hear here today, will the prince let them stay in this secret room forever? I don''t know if it''s too late to save my life by making myself deaf and blind.


    Jiang Xu didn''t intend to let the few people in the secret room stay inside to eavesdrop on the corner, and he didn''t intend to make Ming Tan embarrassed enough to pick out another Ming Tombs with his toes because of her sudden rise of embarrassment.


    He closed the book and got up, holding Mingtan in one hand, and the food box in the other: "The study is not ventilated, let''s go back to the room and use it together."


    Ming Tan originally wanted to say that opening the window would allow ventilation, but he grasped her warmly, she swallowed her words again, she just nodded obediently, and let him lead her out.


    However, just as the two were about to go out, a certain general in the secret room who was suffering from a cold couldn''t hold back any longer, and suddenly "sneezed"!


    As soon as the door was opened, the early winter wind was pouring in, making it chilly.


    Ming Tan seemed to be petrified, her mind went blank, and she didn''t know how long it took before she looked at Jiang Xu belatedly.


    Jiang Xu was silent, seeing that he couldn''t hide it, he had no choice but to explain concisely: "There is a secret room behind the Bogu shelf. Before you came, I was discussing matters with someone."


    Ming Tan subconsciously wanted to ask him why he didn''t say it sooner! But the matter of Cai Cai quickly flashed back in her mind, and at the same time her shame and anger surged up wildly, she couldn''t ask her questions confidently anymore, after all, she didn''t give her husband a chance to speak earlier.


    She shook off Jiang Xu''s hand, her whole body seemed to be on fire, she covered her face and hurried to Qi''an Hall.


    Dying to die! The embarrassing fourth peak appeared so unexpectedly! At the beginning, she shouldn''t have thought that those three peaks must be insurmountable, wouldn''t it be easy to surpass them now! How could such a thing happen, it is really outrageous!


    Unsurprisingly, when Jiang Xu returned to Qi''an Hall, the faceless and embarrassing person had already locked himself in the room, and was so ashamed that he got under the quilt and refused to come out.


    Jiang Xu sat on the side of the bed, lied and comforted without blushing, "What are you doing, it''s normal for a husband and wife to have an intimate relationship, they don''t think much about it, and you don''t have to worry about it."


    Ming Tan obviously didn''t believe a word.


    "I have warned them, don''t worry, they will not tell anyone what happened tonight, let alone have any impact on the good reputation of the princess."


    These words were true, but Ming Tan only whined twice in the quilt, and did not give any more reactions.


    I don''t know how long it took to comfort him dryly, and someone''s little head finally got out of the quilt, but it didn''t seem like he had figured it out, but was bored to death.


    She whispered: "Husband, don''t comfort me, let me be quiet."


    As she spoke, she turned over and faced the inside of the bed, her body curled up into a small shrimp.


    Jiang Xu also had nothing to comfort her, and after a long silence, he turned off the lights and got on the couch, rubbing her head.


    "Go to sleep."


    Ming Tan gave a muffled "hmm".


    He hugged her from behind, seeing that she didn''t resist, he turned her over again and embraced her in his arms. After pondering for a moment, he tried to speak: "My lord, I¡ª"


    "I told you that my husband doesn''t need to comfort me anymore, I''m fine."


    "I''m not consoling, I just want to ask why the fabric is out of date for three months, is it moldy?"


    "..."


    Ming Tan got out of his arms with a grunt, and continued to face the inside of the bed, so angry that he shut himself up.


    Jiang Xu didn''t get the answer from her mouth, he was still thinking about this question seriously, and planned to ask the girl next to the little princess when he got up early tomorrow.


    Once the winter solstice passes, the year is drawing to a close. There is no major event in the court, and the palace is also preparing for the New Year''s Eve palace banquet in full swing.


    In the imperial study room, it was rare for Emperor Cheng Kang to put down the memorial and sit and talk with Jiang Xu.


    "Really not coming? There are new tricks for the fireworks in the palace this year, and several new cooks have come to the imperial dining room. You can''t be blamed."


    "I have seen the best fireworks."


    "What?" Cheng Kangdi raised his head subconsciously.


    "It''s nothing." Jiang Xu looked down at the chess board, and wrote lightly, "The concubine has been preparing in the mansion for many days, and the minister will not come."


    Cheng Kangdi thought about it, but he didn''t force it anymore. After all, it was the first time for the young couple to celebrate the New Year after they got married, and it''s normal to want to spend alone in the mansion.


    "Then I will ask the servant to bring food to your residence."


    Jiang Xu didn''t refuse anymore. After all, giving food is not just giving food in the literal sense, but more represents the trust and intimacy between the monarch and his ministers.


    After two games of chess, the servant presented the list of New Year''s rewards drawn up by the empress to Emperor Chengkang for his review.


    Emperor Cheng Kang opened it and glanced casually, seeing that the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion was at the top of the line, he threw the booklet over: "Look at what else is missing."


    A pair of golden hairpins made of begonias with eight treasures in silk, a pair of Ruyi jade from the South China Sea, a brocade quilt with golden Ruyi cloud patterns twisted on silk...


    Jiang Xu read the end patiently, and suddenly asked: "Are these brocade and cloud satin the latest fabrics?"


    Cheng Kangdi: "...?"


    He was just politely asking him to look at the list, but unexpectedly he really fell in love with it, and even expressed his opinion after reading it.


    Hou''s servant at the side replied respectfully: "My lord, brocade spring satin is a new material that Suzhou paid tribute to. Only 20 bolts were paid in total. It is the most gorgeous spring clothes. Although this Liuyun satin is not a new material, it is If the imperial tribute is not given, it cannot be worn outside the palace."


    Jiang Xu nodded, closed the booklet, and handed it back.


    Cheng Kangdi couldn''t help it, and asked, "What are you asking about the material?"


    "It''s nothing, it''s just that I bought two bolts of brocade last time, and the princess thinks it''s outdated."


    He used to only know that there are new and old clothes, but he didn''t know that women in Beijing also pay attention to new and old materials. Although he thought it was outrageous, he would not let his princess suffer such grievances by wearing outdated clothes all day long.


    "..."


    "Would you still buy brocade?"


    Jiang Xu looked back calmly with a look of "why not".


    Cheng Kangdi was speechless for a while, just looked at him in amazement, and he couldn''t even get back to his senses for a long time when he asked him to leave.


    Jiang Qizhi would have bought brocades for his princess, and now even if someone came to report that Rongzhou was destroyed without attacking, he would believe it.


    At the end of the new year, every family is in a hurry, the auspicious snow heralds a good year, and the seventh year of Chengkang''s New Year''s Eve finally arrives as scheduled in a heavy snowfall.


    "It''s snowing!" Early in the morning, Ming Tan heard the snow falling outside the house [email  protected] sound, he stood up barefoot and opened the window.


    She was only wearing thin pajamas and a loose shawl in black hair. She leaned out on tiptoes excitedly, and even reached out to catch the snow, as if she didn''t feel the cold.


    Not long after, someone took a thick crane cloak and put it on her shoulders: "Be careful of catching a cold."


    The crane cloak was not hers, it was thick and heavy, as if a thick quilt was suddenly pressed on her body.


    Ming Tan didn''t care, just took back the snowflakes he received carefully, and stretched them out in front of Jiang Xu: "Look, husband, it''s really snowing!"


    "Is this the first time you''ve seen snow?"


    "No, but the snow came late this year. I made an appointment with Min Min to build a snow lion, but the snow has not come down for a long time."


    This is true, the first snow this winter did not fall until New Year''s Eve.


    The window is covered with snow, the roof seems to be covered with a goose feather brocade quilt, and the branches are bent under the weight of heavy snow. The wind is icy and cold, and the coldness of the new snow is blown into the house, making the house happy. The decadent breath after the love has blown away a bit.


    Last night until the middle of the night, someone shouted that if he couldn''t get up on New Year''s Eve tomorrow, it was all his fault, so he restrained himself a little bit, but now it seems that someone is just exaggerating, this early morning The spirit is very good, and I am in the mood to come to the window to enjoy the snow.


    Jiang Xu brushed her long black hair, hugged her back to sit on the soft couch by the waist, and said in a deep voice, "Running barefoot on the ground can easily catch cold."


    "How can a burning earth dragon catch a cold?"


    Ming Tan retracted his feet back into the crane cloak guiltily.


    Jiang Xu saw it, but didn''t say anything.


    Ming Tan confirmed to him again: "Husband, don''t we need to enter the palace today?"


    "No need to."


    Ming Tan finally felt relieved. He had heard from Princess Yujun that in previous years, if he was in the capital, His Majesty would invite his close clans into the palace, have a New Year''s Eve banquet together, enjoy the New Year''s fireworks, and stay in the palace.


    This is the first time she and her husband have returned to celebrate the New Year, and she doesn''t want to enter the palace to meet a large group of concubines who are making a fuss.


    She didn''t know what to think of, and she said again: "Husband, are you going to the martial arts arena later?"


    "go."


    "Then let''s go together."


    "What are you going to do?" He couldn''t even lift the bow, and he no longer expected her to condescend to go to the martial arts field to practice.


    "I want to build a snow lion, will my husband accompany me?" Ming Tan looked at him brightly.


    "..."


    childish.


    Jiang Xu blurted out and wanted to refuse, but Ming Tan stretched out his hand and tugged at the corner of his clothes, so when the words reached his lips, they turned into a reluctant "hmm".


    Having received this answer, Ming Tan was so happy that he straightened his body from the soft couch and hugged Jiang Xu''s neck, kissed him on the cheek, and said coquettishly: "My husband treats Ah Tan the best!"


    The crane cloak slipped to the bottom because of her movements, Jiang Xu stretched out his arms to hug her, picked her up horizontally again, and carried her to the bed.


    "My lord sees that you are not as you said last night. You are too tired to speak or walk, and you are in good spirits."


    His voice was slightly hoarse, with the danger that Ming Tan was already familiar with, but when she realized it, it was too late to dodge.


    "I- um! umm!"

 Chapter 89：

    Early in the morning, when the snow was still falling outside the house, Ming Tan was pressed on the couch and messed around again.


    When she got up, her hair was in a mess, her little face was flushed, and the maids who came in to serve her looked at her heart, but she didn''t know whether it was a guilty conscience or something, Ming Tan always felt that they all had a knowing smile on their faces It made her feel uncomfortable.


    New Year''s Eve, New Year''s Eve, New Year''s Eve.


    Today in the mansion, everyone is dressed happily from top to bottom, the maidservants are wearing fresh and new jackets, Ming Tan also specially put on a firefox cloak, but Jiang Xu is an outlier, still wearing a thin black brocade dress.


    Ming Tan wanted him to change it, but he said that he had to go to the martial arts arena, and it would be inconvenient to wear heavy clothes. Ming Tan thought about it too: "Then husband, put on a crane cloak first, and Atan will help you get it when you get to the martial arts arena."


    As she spoke, she picked up the crane cloak and tiptoed to put it on Jiang Xu''s body.


    It was snowing all night, and the branches on the roof were all white, but someone had already cleared out a clean place on the martial arts arena for his prince to practice sword.


    Ming Tan sat at the side, hugged his cloak, and held a small hand warmer in his hand.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know whether it was on purpose or what, he didn''t practice well in the cleaned place, and after a few moves, he fell to the snow. He was dressed in black clothes, and the sword light reflected the snow, and his moves were sharp and awe-inspiring.


    It''s just... strangely beautiful.


    Ming Tan unconsciously became fascinated by it, thinking with all his heart and eyes: Husband is so pretty! Husband is really amazing!


    She stared at Jiang Xu without blinking her eyes, and the sharp blade provoked snowflakes to dance in the air. When she drew the sword, she was still unsatisfied and looked at it with her face in her hands.


    When Jiang Xu walked towards her with his hands behind his back, she realized later that a little snow lion had piled up with a sword in the snow behind him!


    Ming Tan stared wide-eyed, hurriedly got up and looked at the snow lion that was squatting in the snow and had already outlined its outline.


    After a while, she admired from the bottom of her heart: "Husband, you are too powerful, you can almost pile up with just a sword, so cute!"


    Jiang Xu casually broke a dead branch and handed it to her: "You do the rest."


    Ming Tan nodded, leaned closer and squatted down, and used a branch to draw hair on the snow lion''s body. It''s just that the hand left the stove suddenly, and it was so cold that when I used my left hand for a while, I had to tuck it into my sleeve and replace it with my right hand.


    Fortunately, there was not much left, and she finished it in a short while. She got up and looked around for a while, and she looked pretty decent. She smiled with satisfaction.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her reddish hand, and put the hand warmer back into her hand without any trace.


    ¡­


    Bai Minmin and Ming Tan can be regarded as having a good understanding. When they woke up and saw it was snowing outside, they also asked the children in the house to build a snow lion together.


    But working with children is no better than working with His Royal Highness King Dingbei. Children don''t understand anything, so forget it if they can''t help, and make trouble for her.


    Bai Minmin had been busy all morning, and she was almost dizzy from the anger of the brat, her hands were still red and red from the cold, and she didn''t feel it for a long time. After returning to the house and soaking in warm water, the palms of her hands were itchy and painful, and the servant girl complained distressedly, and hurriedly applied chilblain ointment to her.


    A few days later, Bai Minmin saw Ming Tan and talked about making snow lions. Who would have thought that before she could complain, Ming Tan excitedly talked about the cute and mighty snow lions he and his husband made, and how they made snow lions? It''s fun, and the two of them will pile it together again when it snows tomorrow.


    Bai Minmin asked hesitantly, "Aren''t your hands cold?"


    "Why is it cold?"


    Bai Minmin was very surprised, after careful questioning, she found out, oh, her so-called snow lions were piled up in sevens and eights for her by her husband. The hand stove, even if it is piled up by two people.


    Very good, having a husband is great. For some reason, her marriage has been bumpy for nearly two years, and for the first time she has the urge to hate marriage.


    Leaving aside what happened later, on New Year''s Eve, after the snow lions were piled up, Ming Tan took Jiang Xu together and distributed three months'' worth of silver rewards to the servants in the mansion. He was also grateful and encouraged. Feeling joyful.


    In fact, the palace did not treat them lightly in the past, but the palace is usually deserted and solemn, and there is always a little less popularity during the New Year''s festival. Now that there is a princess, this festival is a festival and a new year, and they all have the appearance they should have.


    Ming Tan didn''t know that this was Jiang Xu''s first time celebrating the New Year in his own mansion after he opened the mansion as an adult.


    In the past, sometimes in the frontier, sometimes in the palace.


    Fortunately, in the frontier, although the conditions are difficult, the cooks in the army will also cook a sumptuous meal and roast the sheep with a pile of bonfires. Everyone sits in a circle, which is very lively. It''s not interesting in the palace, he is alone, even the grand fireworks fall in his eyes, it is deserted, not very attractive.


    In fact, from the south direction of the Dingbei Palace, one can also see the fireworks in the Forbidden Palace, but tonight in the Dingbei Palace, no one seems to be watching the splendor.


    In Qi''an Hall, Ming Tan and the maidservants below laughed and quarreled, chasing and setting off fireworks.


    A fire was set up in the courtyard, and the cook¡¯s marinated roast lamb was placed on top of it and turned back and forth. Occasionally, oil splashes splashed in the fire, the skin was golden and shiny, and it sizzled.


    A table and chair were moved to the side, and the pot from which the broth was boiled was milky white and bubbling, beside it were various thinly sliced ??beef and mutton, juicy fresh vegetables, served with various dipping sauces prepared by the cook, Delicious need not mention.


    Jiang Xu sat at the table and poured himself a drink, his eyes following the petite figure in the Firefox cloak.


    The maidservants were afraid that he would be too scared to be presumptuous at first, but His Highness seemed to be very talkative tonight, for a moment he forgot his dignity and laughed with the princess, and he showed no sign of getting angry and pursuing it.


    But with the prince here, the maidservants and Ming Tan naturally know how to be measured when laughing and laughing. After a while, Ming Tan was tired and sat down to rest, and they also retreated with a sense of humor.


    Beads of sweat appeared on Ming Tan''s forehead, he took a sip of the fruit wine Jiang Xu had poured, and smiled with satisfaction.


    Seeing that there was no one around, she also confirmed that there was absolutely no secret room in the house, so she got up and sat on Jiang Xu with the excitement that had not dissipated.


    "Husband, today is the happiest New Year''s Eve I have ever had." She looked at him seriously, "Spending New Year''s Eve with my husband seems to feel like home. Anyway, I am very, very happy."


    Jiang Xu stared at her, and just about to respond, Ming Tan remembered something again: "Oh yes, I have a gift for my husband."


    She kept it close to her body all the time, and after looking down for a while, she took it out as if offering a treasure.


    It was the sachet with the pattern of mandarin ducks playing in water that he had received before, but this time the color of the sachet was a little different from before, and there was a concentric knot tassel on the bottom.


    He took the sachet and opened it, and inside was a bunch of hair tied together with a red string. This lock of hair is long and short, uneven.


    Ming Tan explained embarrassingly: "My hair is well taken care of, I''m a bit reluctant to cut it, and I don''t dare to cut my husband''s hair, so I picked it up on the bed and in front of the dressing table." He said. Then, she became confident, "Anyway... In short, if it''s not yours, it''s mine. If you are in me, and you are in me, then it can be regarded as ''married as husband and wife, and there is no doubt about love and love''!"


    Jiang Xu considered, but didn''t make a sound.


    Ming Tan feels that he is a little bit shameless, and he is not willing to cut his hair if he has a knot in his hair. Is it because my husband hates it?


    She was hesitant, and was about to ask if it was too late to cut a bunch, so Jiang Xu closed the sachet tightly and put it in his arms again: "The princess''s gift, I like it very much."


    After he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong, so he changed his words consciously: "I like A Tan''s gift very much."


    Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as Husband likes it!"


    "But, I didn''t prepare a gift." Jiang Xu thought for a while, "So, what wish do you have? If I can help you realize this wish, it will be a gift for you."


    Ming Tan didn''t even think about cheating for a gift in return, and when he got the promise for a while, he didn''t know what to wish for.


    "Hmm...let me think about it." Ming Tan wondered.


    "It''s nothing, you think. It''s just a New Year''s gift, after tonight it won''t count." Jiang Xu said solemnly.


    How can there be such a thing!


    Ming Tan glanced at him accusingly, but still racked his brains to remember.


    Ming Tan used some fruit wine while thinking.


    Soon when the child was approaching, Jiang Xu carried her up to the roof at the request of someone who was dizzy.


    The Dingbei Palace is ruled by the Prince, and the roofs are higher than the other ones. Tonight, thousands of houses in the capital are brightly lit. At midnight, clusters of fireworks suddenly rise into the sky, not only from the Forbidden Palace, but also from the wealthy families in the capital. , the night sky was instantly reflected like day.


    Ming Tan leaned against Jiang Xu''s arms and looked at the splendor of the night sky, and he still didn''t forget to evoke the memory of his husband in a low voice: "It''s good-looking, but it''s not unique."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm".


    On Yingxue Lake in Li County, he had seen the best fireworks in his life.


    After the hustle and bustle, the night sky will always return to silence, Ming Tan looked at the silent night sky in a daze, and suddenly said: "It''s snowing."


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes, and the crystal snowflakes were falling again and again in the night.


    The two sat quietly for a while, and when the snowflakes were scattered densely, Jiang Xu carried her off the roof.


    Seeing that Jiang Xu wanted to carry her into the house, Ming Tan reminded: "Tonight I will watch the year."


    "There are many things to be busy on the first day of the junior high school, so there is no need to keep watch, let''s sleep for a while."


    That''s right, let''s relax on New Year''s Eve, and there will be many things to do in the next few days. Thinking of this, Ming Tan didn''t insist anymore, anyway, there are only two people in the mansion, it doesn''t matter if they stay together or not.


    When he was placed on the couch, Ming Tan still stuck to Jiang Xu and would not let go.


    Before falling asleep in a daze, she finally thought about her wish.


    She clung to Jiang Xu''s ear, whispering sleepily: "Husband, my wish is that in the new year, you can like me a little more, a little more than before, okay, so that I will love you every year?" Make a wish once, and you will love me more and more..."


    Jiang Xu looked at her quietly.


    He didn''t seem to be sure that this wish would come true for her. Because now, he seems to already, like her very much.

 Chapter 90：

    On the first day of the new year, the emperor held a court meeting in the Golden Luan Hall as usual.


    Jiang Xu is usually not used to going to court, but the grand court meeting is unusual and it is not easy to be absent, so he got up at five o''clock.


    Ming Tan got up too, and she put on Jiang Xu''s court clothes, and she didn''t forget to tie knee pads in his trousers, babbling: "I heard my father talk about the grand court meeting on the first day, and the etiquette was complicated and complicated. If you go, your husband doesn¡¯t often give a big gift, so it¡¯s better to tie it up.¡±


    Jiang Xu didn''t make a sound and let her move.


    After helping Jiang Xu get dressed, Ming Tan also put on his cloak and sent him all the way to the gate of Qi''an Hall. The sky was gray and it was not yet bright.


    She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the face, and without waiting for his reaction, she pushed him away: "Husband, hurry up, it''s not good to be late."


    Jiang Xu looked at her slightly flushed cheeks, gave a soft "um", then turned and walked out of the mansion.


    A string of shoe prints drifting away gradually fell on the snow, where Ming Tan couldn''t see, he bent the corner of his lower lip almost imperceptibly.


    ¡­


    In fact, for Ming Tan, there were not too many things to do on the first day. He went to the ancestral hall to offer incense to his father-in-law and mother-in-law who had never met, received a bunch of familiar and unfamiliar invitations, and sent people to send a bunch of acquaintances. There is nothing else to do with greeting posts that are familiar or not.


    The second day of junior high school was very busy, on the day of returning to Ning, she got up early in the morning to freshen up, and took Jiang Xu together to worship the God of Wealth. When she went out, she didn''t even have time for breakfast, so she asked Su Xin to make some cakes in a hurry.


    After leaving the door, the road was full of noisy vehicles and horses, and it was extremely congested. Because there were gifts on the vehicle, it was not easy to abandon the vehicle and ride the horse halfway. The short distance took nearly half an hour.


    When the two arrived at Jing''an Hou''s Mansion, Shen Hua and his wife, who also returned to Ning, had already arrived. Shen Hua looked a little rounder than before, and her belly began to show.


    This time Gui Ning got together, the man talked about government affairs, and the two of them chatted happily with Mrs. Pei.


    It''s just that Jiang Xu still needs to go to the palace today, so he can''t stay for a long time. After sitting for a while, he agreed with Ming Tan to pick her up after finishing his work, and then left before lunch.


    Unexpectedly, not long after Jiang Xu left, Mingchu and her husband Feng Sanlang also made a special trip from Hezhou to Beijing to return to Ning.


    This is the first time Mingchu has returned to the Jing''an Marquis Mansion after she got married. She combed her hair in a woman''s bun, wore expensive hairpins, and wore a new scarlet jacket that is also fashionable in Beijing. She looks very good. It can be seen that the Feng family did not treat her harshly according to Ming Tan''s order last time.


    I don''t know whether it was because he had learned the lesson before and dared not make mistakes, or he was trying to behave well in front of his father in order to restore some of the worn-out father-daughter relationship. Ming Chu looked very peaceful when he saw Ming Tan and Shen Hua today.


    If she doesn''t look for trouble, Ming Tan doesn''t bother to bother with her, just pretends that she doesn''t exist. The same is true for Shen Hua.


    But Mingchu''s peace was only for a while, and while she was having lunch, she suddenly looked at Shen Hua, and asked quite kindly: "I heard that cousin Hua is happy?"


    Shen Hua paused for a moment, then nodded politely.


    Mingchu asked again: "I wonder if there is any taboo for being pregnant? My eyes are darkened, and I still don''t know anything."


    As soon as these words came out, everyone at the table was silent for a moment.


    "What do you mean by that, you are also happy?" Ming Ting asked far away, putting his chopsticks away.


    Mingchu lowered his head and smiled, "Yes, my daughter is already one month pregnant."


    Feng Sanlang also hurriedly added: "Chu Chu''s pregnancy was just one month old, and my son-in-law thought that the road would be bumpy and he shouldn''t go out, but after Chu Chu got married, he hadn''t returned to the Hou''s mansion, so he missed Mr. Yue Zhang very much, and still wanted to go out. Then I personally told the two elders the good news, but my son-in-law couldn''t help it, so I took Chu Chu to Beijing to pay New Year''s greetings."


    Ming Tingyuan nodded, and looked at Mingchu with a much more relieved look.


    "It turns out that the third sister is also happy." Shen Hua smiled softly, and replied in a gentle voice, "There are so many taboos for pregnant people, and I can''t remember them all, but my mother-in-law told me early, the things to taboo I don¡¯t do anything on weekdays.¡±


    Speaking of this, she asked curiously: "Third sister, you are also one month pregnant. Didn''t you ask a doctor to carefully list the taboos and hand them over to the kitchen at home? How could you be so blind?"


    Mingchu: "..."


    She said this just to draw out the words of pregnancy without any trace, and to respond to someone who is not pregnant. This Shen Hua still never forgets to fall into the trap when speaking!


    Mingchu didn''t fall for it, but her husband, Feng Sanlang, was afraid of being misunderstood by the Yue family for treating her harshly, so he hurriedly explained: "Of course I invited her, the doctor made a three-page list of taboos. I haven¡¯t eaten any taboo food again.¡±


    Mingchu pinched him under the table, and only then did he realize that this explanation was inconsistent with what she said earlier, so he stumbled and tried to make up for it: "Chu...Chuchu is the same as my cousin, yes, I don''t remember much. I don¡¯t know what to eat and what not to eat.¡±


    Hearing this, Shen Hua took a look at Ming Tan. It''s just that Ming Tan didn''t respond, and only picked up vegetables for Ming Tingyuan and Pei Shi from time to time.


    Mingchu was not reconciled to seeing her act so insignificantly. After holding back for a long time, he still couldn''t help asking: "How is Fourth Younger Sister recently? Is there any movement in her body?"


    "I don''t know what kind of movement the third sister is referring to?" Ming Tan raised his eyelids.


    "Fourth sister, don''t pretend you don''t understand. You and the prince have been married for a long time. Don''t you think there is any joy? This is a big deal to reproduce children. Fourth sister needs to pay more attention. If you can''t do it yourself, the aunt in the house will give birth Yes, it¡¯s the same if you hug and raise yourself, it¡¯s better to be kind than to raise kindness.¡±


    Mingchu didn''t hold back after all, and gloated and said it happily.


    Feng Sanlang sensed something was wrong and couldn''t stop it.


    Ming Tan chuckled, and didn''t raise his eyes to look at her, he just talked about what happened at the stage when he went to Yongchun Garden earlier¡ª¡ª


    "...that Empress Shuyi took advantage of her pregnancy to give advice on the family affairs of the Dingbei Palace. Guess what? In a rage, the Holy Majesty restrained her feet and demoted her position."


    Shuyi, who is pregnant and favored in the palace, has her status lowered because of her talkativeness, let alone others? Hearing this, Feng Sanlang broke out in cold sweat, and hurriedly pressed Mingchu to stop her talking nonsense.


    He gave him a clear look.


    Feng Sanlang complained incessantly in his heart, he really felt that his daughter-in-law was a bit too thick, and thought she was a sister in her boudoir, but now she is the high-ranking Princess Dingbei, with a world of difference in status, where did she have the courage Feel free to make a mistake!


    Mingchu was just trying to be brave on the surface, after hearing Mingtan''s words of "take care of yourself", he felt really nervous in his heart, so he didn''t say anything more.


    There was no more episode in Guining, although Ming Tan didn''t show the slightest difference in front of Ming Chu, but on the way back home, she couldn''t help feeling melancholy, even Ming Chu was pregnant, why wasn''t she?


    Although she didn''t think much about having children, whether or not she could have it and whether she wanted to have it were two different things. When it was mentioned several times, she couldn''t help but care about it.


    After Guining in the second day of junior high school, it is the New Year greetings among relatives and friends.


    Jiang Xu didn''t care about everything, it was all thanks to Ming Tan, the mistress of the house, who greeted him. Of course, the people who greeted him were all people she knew well. Zhang Huaiyu, Lu Ting and Shu Jingran were the only ones who came to the mansion to pay New Year''s greetings because of Jiang Xu.


    The three of them came together at noon, although they knew each other very well, they still prepared a lot of gifts.


    Coincidentally, not long after they were seated, a cup of tea was served when someone came to spread the word that Miss Chang Guogong and Miss Zhou family had come.


    Zhang Huaiyu and Lu Ting paused for a moment when they heard the words.


    Being a guest on this New Year''s Day doesn''t pay much attention to the defense of men and women, Ming Tan invites them in together, but unexpectedly, only one of the two people who passed on the message came in.


    Before Ming Tan could ask, Lu Ting asked first, "Where''s Miss Zhou?"


    "Back to Lu Dianshuai, Miss Zhou''s family has something to do, she came outside the mansion, and suddenly went back." The servant replied.


    Bai Minmin glanced at him: "Didn''t you hear that someone is coming outside? Jing Wan is the most polite. The wedding is approaching. How can a man and a woman meet outside? You have to ask!"


    Zhang Huaiyu suddenly opened the folding fan, raised his eyebrows, and pointedly said: "Then it seems that Miss Bai has not learned from Miss Zhou''s family. She knows that my son is here, but she still comes in."


    "...?"


    "you!"


    Bai Minmin''s face flushed suddenly, from embarrassment to anger.


    But soon, she took another deep breath, and smiled angrily: "Master Zhang will really put gold on his face, who came because of you, I heard that Second Master Shu is here¡ª"


    Speaking of this, she looked at Shu Jingran with a smile, gave a pretentious blessing, and her tone became gentle three degrees: "Second Master Shu, long time no see."


    Shu Jingran''s scalp was numb, he laughed dryly, and hurriedly nodded in return: "Miss Bai is very polite."


    Zhang Huaiyu was not calm anymore, she stared at Shu Jingran for a while, then looked at Bai Minmin, and closed the folding fan in her hand a little: "You, why are you like this?"


    "What about me?" Bai Minmin said confidently.


    "You are a girl who wants to marry others, but you still covet others!"


    "Who said I''m going to promise someone else? Zhang Shizi, you can''t talk nonsense, you can talk nonsense if you like, don''t damage my innocence."


    ¡­


    These two are also enemies, they didn''t know each other before, and they didn''t talk to each other when they met, but now, no matter where they meet, when they start talking, they can only hear the two of them come and go and refuse to give in to each other.


    Ming Tan managed to find a place to speak, and asked what they wanted to eat, so she sent people to arrange dinner early.


    It''s just that a few people bumped into each other today, and dinner is destined to be useless here.


    Knowing that Zhou Jingwan came and left, Lu Ting couldn''t sit still for a long time, and found an excuse to leave first. Zhang Huaiyu and Bai Minmin quarreled for a while, but somehow the atmosphere suddenly eased. Zhang Huaiyu mentioned that the performance of the barbarians in a tile shop was particularly wonderful, and Bai Minmin, as if he had been charmed, hurriedly urged him to take him to see it.


    In the end, only Shu Jingran was left alone for dinner. After dinner, Jiang Xu led him to the study to discuss matters.


    Ming Tan didn''t bother her. Since years ago, her husband frequently entered the palace and discussed matters with others. Occasionally, she could see a map of Rongzhou when he entered the study. It should be on the agenda.


    The two discussed with candles until late at night, Ming Tan was concerned that her husband didn''t have much for dinner, so he prepared a midnight snack and sent it to Wanjuanzhai where the study was located.


    The night was dark, and before Wanjuanzhai arrived, she saw a figure quietly coming out of the side door from a distance, heading towards the back door of the palace.


    Ming Tan paused a little, that figure was definitely not a hidden guard, it looked a little strange, but also a little familiar, she seemed to have seen it somewhere...but she couldn''t remember it for a while.

 Chapter 91：

    Ming Tan didn''t bother much, and continued to walk to the study. Fang stepped into the courtyard door, and Shu Jingran just pushed the door and walked out.


    Seeing that it was Ming Tan, he cupped his hands and saluted: "Princess."


    "Second Master Shu is leaving now? I''m about to get some snacks to fill your stomachs." Ming Tan was a little surprised, took the food box from Su Xin, and walked forward slowly.


    Shu Jingran smiled regretfully: "Thank you, Princess, for your kindness, but it''s getting late, and my father is still waiting for Shu in the mansion, so I''m afraid he won''t have the chance to enjoy the snack prepared by the princess."


    so.


    Ming Tan understood, and didn''t force him to stay.


    After ordering someone to send Shu Jingran out of the house, Ming Tan went into the study alone. Jiang Xu was still standing in front of the sand table, not knowing what he was playing with. She put the food box on the table and glanced at the three wine cups that hadn''t been cleared away.


    "Husband, I prepared some supper, but you don''t even need much for dinner, so hurry up and use some."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm", turned around and sat back at the table.


    He also noticed the three wine cups, but he didn''t seem to have any intention of mentioning them when he sat down for a snack. Although Ming Tan was a little curious about the figure he had just glimpsed outside, it was obvious that Jiang Xu didn''t intend to mention it, so she Did not take the initiative to ask.


    The next day, Jiang Xu was going to enter the palace again. Ming Tan was free, and he wanted to ask Imperial Physician Feng if there was any way to get pregnant earlier, so he sent someone to invite her early in the morning.


    Unfortunately, the imperial doctor Feng went back to his hometown for the New Year, and he is still on his way back to Beijing.


    She thought about it, and then asked someone to invite Dr. Renxintang Yu, who gave Shen Hua an abortion.


    When Dr. Yu heard that Princess Dingbei had an invitation, he was very nervous. His heart was in a state of turmoil. While packing up the medicine box, he nervously handed money to the maidservant who came to invite someone: "Girl, do you know that the princess is looking for a villain?" , What is the matter? As far as the villain knows, the princess has always been asked for pulse by the imperial physician in the palace."


    The maid smiled and pushed the silver back: "Don''t worry, doctor Yu, the second young lady of the Li family is the cousin of my concubine. Didn''t you give the second young lady a baby? The second young lady is full of praise for you and said You are a master of gynecology, that''s why our princess wants to invite you over to the house."


    Hearing that it was the second young lady of the Li family who recommended it to the concubine, Doctor Yu finally swallowed his heart, and he almost figured out what the concubine wanted to do in looking for him.


    Ming Tan knew that a doctor who could make a name for himself in Beijing would not be a fool, so he talked to him a few words in the flower hall, and then asked him straight to the point.


    Dr. Yu also answered quickly and meticulously. He has practiced medicine for many years, and not one or two people asked him about assisted conception methods, and he could blurt out the words without thinking carefully.


    Ming Tan listened carefully, nodding from time to time. Although she doesn''t know medical skills, she also feels that Dr. Yu has some real talents.


    After he finished his instructions, Ming Tan took the initiative to say: "Then please ask Doctor Yu to take the pulse. For Chinese New Year, the imperial doctor went back to his hometown to visit relatives. I haven''t checked Ping An''s pulse for a long time."


    Doctor Yu hastily answered yes, and took out the pulse pillow and fine cloth from the medicine box graciously: "Princess, please."


    Ming Tan put his hand on it.


    After a while, Doctor Yu withdrew his hand, and said gently: "The princess is a little weak, she walks around more on weekdays, and she needs to pay more attention to her diet, and eat less spicy, raw or cold food."


    "That''s what the doctor said too."


    Doctor Yu comforted again: "The imperial physician is skilled in medicine, and there is an imperial physician to take care of the princess. It''s not a big problem if her body is weak. The princess is relieved, she will be pregnant sooner or later."


    Ming Tan nodded, signaling Su Xin to offer the consultation fee.


    Although it was expected that Dr. Yu would not dare to say anything outside, but to be on the safe side, she still wanted to hint a few more words, and don''t tell others about today''s family visit. It''s just that before she had time to speak, the little girl below brought in the soup.


    "Let''s put it aside for now, and drink it when it cools down." She ordered.


    Doctor Yu glanced at it, but didn''t pay much attention to it, but the soup was still steaming, trickling into his nostrils.


    He seemed to smell a kind of medicinal material that seemed to be there, it was very faint, but also very rare, and it was rare to see. He had only seen it once, and he was not sure at all. He hesitated and smelled it again, and subconsciously asked: "Princess This is what you drink?"


    "The imperial doctor specially prescribed the tonic soup for me to take care of my body." Seeing his expression, Ming Tan noticed something, and asked suddenly, "But... is there something wrong?"


    Doctor Yu''s heart skipped a beat.


    The doctor prescribed it.


    Isn''t the rounding off the acquiescence of His Highness King Dingbei?


    Dr. Yu is also a smart person, and after turning his mind for a while, he hurriedly responded nervously: "No, no, nothing wrong, the villain just asked casually."


    He complained endlessly in his heart, and now he regretted it, very regretful.


    If he had known this, he shouldn''t have come to the Dingbei Palace, and he didn''t know if His Royal Highness Dingbei knew that he had been to the Palace today, would he be able to see the sun tomorrow morning!


    Thinking of this, he couldn''t stop sweating from his forehead, swallowed, and quickly got up to leave.


    Then he retreated to the door, but someone stopped him.


    Ming Tan sat on the head, scooped up the bowl of tonic soup, and said calmly: "Doctor Yu, what''s wrong with this soup? Tell me."


    "Small, the little ones dare not."


    "If you tell me, the prince may find you trouble. But if you don''t say it, I will find you trouble now."


    "..."


    When it came to this point, Doctor Yu had no choice but to step forward tremblingly, tasted the mouth tonic soup to confirm, and carefully separated the doorway inside from Mingtan.


    After Ming Tan listened to it, he was silent for a while, and there was no emotion on his face.


    Dr. Yu cautiously searched for it and said: "This Bizitang is not harmful to Princess Yu''s body, and the herbs in it do have the effect of warming and tonifying. Perhaps, maybe the imperial doctor prescribes it temporarily."


    Ming Tan didn''t respond, but waved his hand, signaling the maid to take him down.


    The flower hall suddenly became empty and quiet, Ming Tan sat quietly for a while, and suddenly ordered: "You don''t need to tell the prince what happened today, remember those little girls."


    "Miss--"


    Su Xin wanted to persuade something, but Ming Tan waved back without refusal: "You go down first, I want to be quiet for a while."


    Inviting Doctor Renxintang to enter the mansion was originally in the name of seeing a doctor for Su Xin. When Jiang Xu returned to the mansion, he heard the secret guard routinely reported the affairs of the mansion, so he didn''t think much about it.


    Two days passed so unhurriedly, Su Xin looked at her young lady as if nothing happened, and treated the prince as usual, she was really worried and frightened.


    Her family''s young lady is not a temper who can hold things back. Usually, she will make trouble immediately, and she can''t wait, but this time...everything is abnormal, there must be a demon.


    On the third day, there was a message from the Imperial Medical Office that the Imperial Physician Feng had returned, and after noon, he would come to the palace to ask for a pulse for the princess.


    Ming Tan waited patiently for Imperial Physician Feng, and when Imperial Physician Feng came to the mansion, she cut to the chase and asked him how to help her conceive.


    Imperial Physician Feng paused for a moment, and then answered carefully, several of which were consistent with what Doctor Yu said.


    Ming Tan observed his expression calmly, and finally drank a bowl of tonic soup in front of him, but except for a slight hesitation when she asked about the method of assisted conception, he didn''t show any abnormality on his face.


    Jiang Xu had something to do, so he went straight to the study when he came back at night.


    At Haishi, Ming Tan went to visit him with snacks. He just finished his work and ate snacks in the study. The two of them walked back to Qi''an hall slowly under the cold moonlight, chatting a little bit on the way, just like Usually relaxed and comfortable.


    After returning to the house, the two took a bath together, and it was rare to have a lingering time when the love was strong.


    Jiang Xu found that the little concubine was very enthusiastic tonight, she came twice in the clean room, and pestered him to ask for it twice when she got back to the bed. On weekdays, she would have been crying and screaming for pain and tiredness.


    When the wind stopped and the rain rested, Ming Tan was so tired that she couldn''t lift her hands, she panted and said softly: "Husband, help me put the pillow under my waist."


    "do what."


    "Physician Feng said that this is more helpful for conceiving." Ming Tan moved his position seriously, his voice was quiet but serious.


    Jiang Xu was silent: "Didn''t I say it last time, you are young, it doesn''t matter if you give birth two years later, don''t worry."


    "But my cousin Hua and my concubine are both happy. During this New Year''s festival, there are not a few people who are happy to visit and pay New Year''s greetings. I don''t have one. If it wasn''t for the doctor Feng who said that I was fine, I would have thought that I couldn''t conceive. Woolen cloth."


    Jiang Xu was speechless for a long while.


    Ming Tan didn''t seem to realize it, and counted down the methods of assisted pregnancy that the imperial physician said, intending to try them one by one.


    Jiang Xu listened, and suddenly interrupted: "There''s no need to try, you won''t be pregnant yet."


    He rubbed her head and told the whole story about Bizitang.


    Ming Tan listened to him quietly, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief¡ª¡ª


    She was right, the husband didn''t want her to conceive on purpose. In the past few days, her mood was very complicated, and countless speculations flashed in her mind, but in the end she still wanted to believe in her husband, and believed that it was not that he didn''t want to have children with her. That''s why she pretended not to know today, and she did a full set of acting, just wanting to hear him tell about Bizi Tang himself.


    Even though she was acting, she couldn''t be unsurprised, so she stared straight at her and asked, "Then Butang is Bizitang? Why didn''t your husband say it earlier?"


    "I didn''t tell you before, because I thought it was unnecessary, but I didn''t expect that you would have so many burdens." He took her into his arms and said quietly, "Wait another year or two, you can have as many children as you want." Give birth to a few, and wait for your health to recuperate first." Waiting for the king to recover Rongzhou first, he said silently.


    In fact, Ming Tan has been taking care of him for nearly a year, and now his childbearing is completely fine, but sooner or later, the first battle in Rongzhou took place in the past two years, and the battlefield is never victorious. If he can''t return with a complete victory, then he will have no children necessary.


    He didn''t want his child to be like himself, who lost his father before he knew it, and he didn''t want his wife to be like his mother, living alone in the world, with unnecessary ties.


    Ming Tan nodded, and nestled obediently in his arms. She is very sensible, as long as he is willing to take the initiative to tell, she is willing to understand.


    The moonlight was like water, quietly falling from the window lattice, and the two had their own thoughts.


    In fact, Jiang Xu didn''t know it. Today, when the imperial physician replied, he heard the clues. After checking that Dr. Yu who came to the mansion that day was a master of gynecology, and he was not good at wind, cold and miscellaneous diseases, it was not difficult for him to guess that she knew how to avoid it The matter of Zitang. All kinds of dramas and temptations tonight, all she wanted was his frank confession, and since that was the case, her wish was fulfilled.

 Chapter 92：

    The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shangyuan.


    This year''s Shangyuan was different from the past. A concubine proposed to hold a banquet by the Jinming Pool and invite the royal family members to enjoy the lantern night tour. Emperor Chengkang thought this idea was very good, and discussed it with Empress Zhang early on to make arrangements.


    Jiang Xu previously postponed the New Year''s Eve palace banquet and the Lantern Festival, and Emperor Chengkang forbade him to postpone it no matter what he said.


    Ming Tan originally thought about going on a night tour with her husband at Nanyuhe Street, but this is a good time, it''s all in vain.


    Thinking of entering the palace and having to deal with the group of concubines who are not safe, she had a severe headache.


    This time, the night tour of Jinming Lake was organized by Lan, Concubine Shu and Concubine Rou, who had recently regained her favor. After all, there were many things during the New Year''s Eve, and Empress Zhang couldn''t take care of these things in the palace alone.


    Lan Shu''s second concubine Ming Tan is already very familiar with her, but this soft concubine, Ming Tan has entered the palace several times, but she has no impression of her at all.


    At the banquet, Ming Tan asked Jiang Xu in a low voice: "Husband, what is the origin of this soft concubine?"


    "..."


    "This king is not a servant."


    "..."


    That''s right, my husband is planning to regain Rongzhou, so I don''t have the time to pay attention to the fact that the concubines in the harem are no longer favored.


    Sitting next is the Yujun Wang and his wife, who are well-known childhood sweethearts and young couples in Beijing. Ming Tan and Princess Yujun often enter the palace together, and they often chat.


    At this moment, the soft concubine on the opposite side was toasting the emperor and the empress, the concubine of Yujun leaned slightly, and chatted with Ming Tan: "Sister Tan, do you know who this concubine Rou is from?"


    Ming Tan shook his head slightly.


    Princess Yujun said mysteriously again: "Concubine Rou used to belong to Concubine Yu. After Concubine Yu was imprisoned in the cold palace, she also fell out of favor. My sister also knows what is going on in the palace. A concubine who has no favor and no family background, the days It won''t be easy, so in the past two years, Concubine Rou didn''t even have the chance to show her face in front of people, and the emperor had already forgotten about her."


    Ming Tan gave a questioning look.


    Princess Yujun wanted to say more, but King Yujun tugged at the hem of her clothes, signaling her to be more honest.


    She pulled back the corner of her clothes from his hand in dissatisfaction, and continued to gossip with Ming Tan: "I heard that she was able to regain favor this time, thanks to the support of Concubine Shu. Isn''t Concubine Shu pregnant? It is human nature to want help." It''s normal. Concubine Rou''s status is not low, and she was drugged long ago under Concubine Yu Guifei, making her unable to have children..."


    Princess Yujun held Ming Tan and chattered non-stop. King Yujun had a headache, but he couldn''t do anything about her, so he looked at Jiang Xu rather ashamedly.


    Jiang Xu didn''t think there was anything wrong, picked up the wine that the maid had just poured for Ming Tan, and drank it all in one gulp.


    Today is a family banquet, and all the royal family members are here, the rules are looser than usual, and during the meal, there are many low-ranking concubines who are usually unattractive and show their best.


    I have to admit that women who can enter the palace still have a few brushes, and they are very good-looking in performing dances and music.


    Ming Tan admired it carefully, and whispered to Jiang Xu: "Just now this beauty''s music is very nice. Although it is a little worse than mine, this tune is a bit fresh."


    "..."


    The phrase "a little bit worse than me" is very spiritual.


    Jiang Xu glanced at her, noncommittal: "If you want to learn new songs, I''ll ask someone to find some scores for you."


    "That''s no need, I can compose myself." She also emphasized her creative talent by the way.


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    The bright moon is rising, dancing and music are in full swing, everyone is drinking, talking and laughing, and having a good time.


    Empress Zhang said with a gentle smile at the beginning: "Today''s banquet was well organized. There are Concubine Lao Shu, Concubine Lan and Sister Rou Concubine."


    The three hurriedly got up to give blessings.


    Concubine Shu smiled and said modestly: "It is the hardest work for the empress to manage the six palaces. It is the blessing of the concubine and the two younger sisters to share the worries for the empress. Besides, the concubine is pregnant, so it is not cheap. But it¡¯s nothing more than false pretense, and it¡¯s Sister Lan Concubine and Sister Rou Concubine who are serious about it.¡±


    Concubine Lan, as always, said in a calm voice, "The concubine didn''t do anything¡ª"


    Before she could finish speaking, Concubine Rou took the conversation again with a smile: "Sister Lan Concubine is too modest, how can I know anything, Concubine Shu is pregnant and it is not easy to disturb, Sister Lan Concubine who usually makes up her mind, My sister will not delay this credit."


    Ming Tan didn''t pay much attention to what they were talking about, and just casually looked at Concubine Shu''s stomach for a while.


    Concubine Shu seems to be pregnant for more than three months, her winter clothes are thick, and there are no signs of showing signs of pregnancy. She is no better than the noble lady below. It is filled with four big characters of "mother depends on child".


    Ming Tan was a little curious, taking advantage of no one''s attention, he asked Princess Yujun again: "I heard that Concubine Shu was an old man when she was hiding in the mansion?"


    "Well, that''s right," Princess Yujun is young, but she knows a lot of things. If you throw her a topic, she can talk a lot without pausing, "Ms. The status is not high, but Shengzai has been with her for more than ten years. Although she has no children, the Holy One still made her the fourth concubine, and also entrusted her to raise the fourth princess, the daughter of Wang Meiren who died prematurely due to dystocia. It can be regarded as a very honorable pet, and now she is pregnant... I think it is only one step away from the position of imperial concubine."


    In addition to the crown princess, the prince of this dynasty can also have two Liangdi, two Liangyuan, and four selected attendants. Concubine Shu was just a good lady when she was in the residence, and her status was indeed not high.


    However, being a fourth concubine as an old man in Qiandi is not considered a kind of honor and favor. Concubine Lan still has no children, and the fourth concubine just sits and sits. After all, it is just Jane in the heart of the emperor.


    But what Ming Tan is even more curious about is that Concubine Shu should be nearly 30 years old now, how did she suddenly get pregnant when she has been with her for more than ten years without having children?


    After the banquet, the moon is empty. The crowd got up together with Empress Chengkang and went out for a night tour along the Jinming Pool with lanterns.


    Earlier in the hall, the concubine Rou suggested that it would be better to have something fresh for a night tour. The Holy One and the Empress led the male and female members of the clan to swim around the Jinming Pond separately. Along the way, there was a lantern riddle for ten steps. many.


    This proposal was a bit interesting, Cheng Kangdi agreed without thinking too much.


    So after leaving the palace where the banquet was held, men and women parted ways.


    I have to say that the people who organized this night tour spent a lot of thought. The lanterns along the ten steps along the way are all ingenious, so beautiful that people can''t take their eyes off them. There are dazzling blooms on the street, and there are hot tea and snacks not far away. You can sit down and take a rest when you are tired. Lantern riddles are also ingenious. Machine included.


    There are many concubines among the concubines who are outstanding in poetry. Even if it is difficult to guess the words and poems, someone will always solve it after staying for a long time, but those who can solve it are very rare.


    The machine lantern is very exquisitely made, not as good as the candles lit in other lanterns, it has a luminous pearl inside, and the light reflected on the lamp surface is very soft, and the answer of this lamp is to take out the luminous pearl inside .


    Several concubines went up to try it, but they still couldn''t untie it. The young princess was curious and fiddled with it for a while, but in the end she pouted and backed away.


    Ming Tan was walking with Princess Yu Jun, and he didn''t want to show any limelight on this occasion. However, there will always be people who can''t forget her.


    With a big belly, Mrs. Jia taunted the concubines who tried before without distinction, and did not forget to give Lan Fei hatred: "If you want to talk about talent, we still have to count Sister Lan in the palace, but it''s a pity that Sister Lan It is the person who wrote the question, and it is difficult to understand the mechanism. The younger sisters entered the palace not long ago, thinking that they have outstanding intelligence if they have read a few miscellaneous books outside the palace. Learn more from Sister Lanfei."


    Lan Fei has always been too lazy to argue with her. Among those concubines, there were some nobles like her, but she had a big belly, and no one wanted to argue with her, so no one refuted her, they just pinched their noses and let her sneer.


    Originally, Mrs. Jia said a few words about this lantern riddle and it was over. Hurry up and solve it to be serious, but Concubine Rou then smiled and said: "No one in our palace can solve it, but princesses, princesses and county lords can solve it." The Lord...hasn''t stepped forward to look at it yet."


    She looked at Ming Tan, saluted lightly, and said in a soft and respectful voice: "I heard from the emperor earlier that Princess Dingbei is extremely intelligent and very good at tricks. Even Master Yunyan''s tricks can be solved. Want to give it a try?"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    When she returned to Beijing, she prepared souvenirs for the acquaintances, and the palace also prepared a copy, but she thought that there was no shortage of anything in the palace, except for some special souvenirs. The caged bird machine was also given away.


    Emperor Chengkang admired Master Yunyan''s works very much. After he got the prize, he asked Jiang Xu specifically. It was a surprise.


    Ming Tan wanted to evade, but nobleman Jia Jia chuckled at the right time: "Princess Dingbei? I only heard that Princess Dingbei likes to eat lychees. When did she become good at explaining things again?"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She could bear it without mentioning lychees, but she dared to be so presumptuous in front of her, and this nobleman''s status really didn''t have a long memory.


    Ming Tan glanced at her, and then said nonchalantly: "Mr. Jia has been confined for a long time, so the news is naturally not well-informed."


    Hearing the foot restraint, Mrs. Jiagui''s expression changed, and she wanted to say something more, but Queen Zhang frowned slightly: "If Mrs. Jiagui is tired, you can go back and rest first."


    Mrs. Jia shut up.


    Ears were cleansed, Ming Tan stepped forward slowly, and looked at the machine including the lamp.


    The cover light of this machine is a bit heavy, she held it in her hand and tried to rotate the bottom, listening carefully to the sound inside.


    Click, click... the sound is very regular, and it will be empty every three times.


    She turned around twice, and finally confirmed that there should be a groove structure inside. Every time she reached the groove, she could push it up half an inch.


    Mrs. Jia, who hadn''t shut up for half a moment, felt that she was playing tricks, and couldn''t help whispering: "I see that the princess is very embarrassed, and it''s a waste of time. Why don''t you solve a few other lantern riddles and figure out what the emperor and the others are going to do?" It¡¯s coming too, we¡¯ve only solved so much, don¡¯t lose too badly later.¡±


    No one spoke.


    Empress Zhang watched Ming Tan solve the machine intently, but ignored her.


    While she felt that it was boring to stay here and no one would talk to her, she wanted to wait to see Mingtan''s jokes, and said to herself: "I don''t know how long it will take, the dragon fetus in the concubine''s stomach can''t stand for a long time, even In this case, the concubine should go to the side to rest..."


    Before she finished speaking, there was a "click", and the bracket light turned on.


    A small door protruded from the side of the lamp automatically, and the huge night pearl was held in the center by the six-claw lamp, shining brightly and shiningly.


    Ming Tan''s heart relaxed, he couldn''t help but bend his lips, and stretched out his hand to take it.


    But when her hand touched Ye Mingzhu, she suddenly realized something was wrong¡ª¡ª


    This night pearl is actually hot.

 Chapter 93：

    As soon as Mingtan was taken out, she immediately wanted to put it back, but before she could move, her wrist suddenly went numb, and the luminous pearl rolled down to the ground.


    Everyone exclaimed softly, subconsciously lowered their heads to look for them, but they were all gathered together, the winter clothes and skirts were thick and complicated, and the shadow of Ye Mingzhu had not been seen yet, the crowd suddenly commotioned again, accompanied by two screams, one in front and one in back Exclaimed, the voices of the maidservants were also full of panic and fear¡ª¡ª


    "Ma''am!"


    "My lord!"


    Ming Tan was also pushed and shoved so that he almost lost his footing, but fortunately Princess Yujun helped him up from the side.


    When she stood still, there were two screams at the same time not far away. After the scream, there was another cry of pain: "It hurts, my child!"


    Ming Tan''s head went blank for a moment, what''s going on? Concubine Shu and Lady Jia both fell to the ground!


    Just at this time, Cheng Kangdi and his party had already swam not far ahead, and when they heard the sound, they rushed over quickly.


    Seeing the two pregnant concubines who fell to the ground, Cheng Kangdi''s face suddenly became ugly: "What are you doing in a daze, why don''t you call the imperial physician!"


    "Already invited, come, quickly help Concubine Shu and Jia Gui to Ruyan Pavilion!"


    Facing the sudden accident, Empress Zhang was still calm and methodical, her voice was slightly tense and hasty.


    Concubine Shu and Mrs. Jia''s personal servants hurried forward, together with the nearby servants, helped their own mother to go to the nearest Ruyan Pavilion.


    Jia Guiren was only in some faint pain at first, but when she got up, she was dizzy and dizzy from the pain, and her face suddenly turned pale: "It...it hurts!"


    Concubine Shu''s side was even more tragic, and the maid was so frightened that she cried out intermittently: "Bleeding... bleeding! Your majesty is bleeding!"


    The maid''s hand was red, and the hem of Concubine Shu''s clothes was also soaked in dark color.


    Ming Tan''s heart sank.


    Cheng Kangdi''s face was livid, and he asked angrily, "What''s going on?!"


    Concubine Rou hurriedly knelt down to admit her mistake: "It''s all concubine''s fault. Concubine insists on asking Princess Dingbei to untie the lamp. The concubine untied it, but maybe she was too happy. Ye Mingzhu didn''t hold it securely that night. Rolled to the ground, sister Jia stepped on it, slipped and fell, sister Concubine Shu was standing next to sister Jia, and was also knocked down by sister Jia."


    The Empress and Concubine Lan wanted to argue for Ming Tan, but the situation was too chaotic just now, they didn''t see clearly what happened, but several low-ranking concubines corroborated Rou Concubine''s statement.


    When Emperor Chengkang heard the words, he looked straight at Ming Tan with sharp eyes.


    Ming Tan subconsciously wanted to kneel down, but Jiang Xu suddenly stood in front of her, stretched out his hand to block it, and looked at Cheng Kangdi quietly without avoiding his gaze.


    Cheng Kangdi looked at him for a while with complicated eyes.


    The surroundings were very quiet, and the atmosphere suddenly condensed into a dead silence that the atmosphere dared not utter because of the two people''s gazes.


    However, in the end it was Cheng Kangdi who looked away first. He said nothing, but walked towards Ruyan Pavilion with his sleeves flung.


    Soon, everyone followed to Ruyan Pavilion, only Ming Tan and Jiang Xu remained under the lamp.


    Jiang Xu held her already cold hand, and after a while, she moved her fingers and said softly: "I''m sorry husband, A Tan seems to have troubled you."


    "Nothing to do with you."


    "No, I was careless."


    "It''s okay, I''ll take care of it."


    His voice was as heavy as gold and cold jade, it was low, but it made people feel inexplicably at ease.


    Ming Tan held him back tightly, and then remembered to explain: "Just now, the luminous pearl was hot in my hand. I sensed something was wrong, so I didn''t dare to throw it away. I just wanted to put it back, but my wrist didn''t know why. , I suddenly went numb, and by the time I realized it, Ye Mingzhu had already fallen to the ground, and I don''t know how it happened after that."


    Jiang Xu believed what Ming Tan said, and he comforted him: "Don''t worry, I''m here."


    He led Ming Tan to the place where Concubine Cai Shu fell down.


    There was still fresh blood on the ground, and he stretched out his hand: "Give me the handkerchief."


    Ming Tan obediently handed over the handkerchief.


    He took a handkerchief to dip the blood on the ground and observed carefully.


    Ming Tan suddenly thought of a possibility.


    "Is it human blood?" she asked nervously.


    "yes."


    Before Ming Tan had time to be disappointed, Jiang Xu said again: "She has a meticulous mind and will not leave a flaw in this kind of thing."


    Ming Tan was stunned for a moment: "Husband, what do you mean, concubine Shu...?"


    Does he have any evidence? It was so straightforward to believe that there was something wrong with Concubine Shu.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, he looked around and found the falling night pearl in the corner.


    Ye Mingzhu is not as hot as before, but it still feels warm when held in the palm.


    Jiang Xu sized it up for a while, then said directly, "It''s moonlight powder."


    "Moonlight powder?" Ming Tan was puzzled.


    "The powder prepared by grinding a kind of ore in the Northland is silver in color and slightly flooded. After being sealed, it will heat up quickly when exposed to air."


    Ming Tan looked down at Ye Mingzhu: "So this Ye Mingzhu is painted with moonshine powder?"


    Jiang Xu was noncommittal: "Let''s go."


    But at this moment in Ruyan Pavilion, the two rooms are in a panic.


    Mrs. Jia was screaming heart-piercingly, there were already signs of premature delivery, Empress Zhang hurriedly ordered people to find the midwife and make all kinds of preparations for the delivery.


    There was only suppressed sobbing in Concubine Shu''s room, and the imperial physician and Emperor Chengkang whispered back, then shook their heads lightly, and slowly withdrew.


    Concubine Shu leaned on the bed, her hair dazed, her tears rolling down silently.


    Cheng Kangdi sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand, feeling quite painful for a while.


    Concubine Shu''s child is gone, and the imperial doctor said that Concubine Shu''s physique is not easy to conceive, this time it is extremely difficult to conceive, this time it is gone, and there will be no more in the future.


    The nobleman outside cried one after another, crying heartbreakingly: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"


    Concubine Shu seemed to be suffering from hearing it, her eyes were blurred by tears, but she still half stood up, choked up and said: "This concubine is here, it is unlucky for sister Jia, concubine... please allow your concubine to go back to the palace first .¡±


    Cheng Kangdi didn''t know what to say, so he held her hand tightly, patted it, and promised in a deep voice: "I will definitely give you an explanation for today''s matter, and I will send you back to the palace first, the nobleman is making noise here , you can¡¯t rest well either.¡±


    Concubine Shu nodded with tears in her eyes.


    But just as the sedan chair arrived outside Ruyan Pavilion and the maid was about to help Concubine Shu up from the bed, Jiang Xu led Ming Tan in.


    Seeing Jiang Xu guarding him firmly behind his back, Emperor Chengkang felt deeply unhappy, and the atmosphere in the pavilion suddenly became depressed.


    Jiang Xu didn''t care about his mood, and said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, the night pearl is painted with moonlight powder."


    Cheng Kangdi frowned upon hearing this.


    Ming Tan came out from behind Jiang Xu, saluted, and unhurriedly explained the strangeness he felt when he took Ye Mingzhu just now.


    Cheng Kangdi frowned even more after hearing this: "According to what you said, someone tampered with the Ye Mingzhu and deliberately prevented you from holding the Ye Ming Pearl?"


    "Return to Your Majesty, that''s right."


    The servant presented the Ye Mingzhu to the front, Cheng Kangdi picked it up and looked at it for a long time, the surface was slightly silvery, it was indeed moonlight powder.


    This thing is rare in Beijing, and there are ways to preserve it, Jiang Qizhi couldn''t carry it with him, just to excuse his little princess.


    He raised his head, glanced over Concubine Lan and Concubine Rou, and said without anger, "What''s going on?"


    Concubine Lan and Concubine Rou knelt down together.


    Before Concubine Lan could say a word, Concubine Rou first called out her injustice: "Your Majesty, I don''t know, I have never heard of moonshine powder, and this lantern riddle and palace lantern were all prepared by Sister Lan Concubine, I am wronged! "


    Concubine Lan couldn''t help but glanced at her: "Sister Rou, what is the meaning of this? Didn''t you suggest this machine lamp?"


    "The concubine only made this suggestion after hearing His Majesty say something about Ji Kuo once, but the concubine only made a suggestion. Isn''t the rest of the concubine Lan''s responsibility?"


    Concubine Lan wanted to refute again, but Concubine Shu couldn''t believe it: "Sister Lan Concubine, you? Why did you do this?"


    "not me."


    "Yes or no, my sister can''t tell clearly. After all, tonight''s lanterns and lantern riddles are all prepared by my sister." Concubine Rou knelt on the ground and said, "Please order a thorough investigation of the Lanwu Palace. What my sister did, I will definitely find clues in the palace, if I can''t find it, I can also return my sister''s innocence!"


    Hearing this, Ming Tan ticked Gou Jiangxu''s little finger calmly. Although the two did not look at each other, they already understood what the other was thinking.


    It turns out that tonight''s play is still waiting here. Killing four birds with one stone, Concubine Shu is really a good strategy.


    Thinking about it, there is already a bottle of moonshine powder waiting in the corner in Lanfei''s Lanwu Hall.


    As expected, half a moment later, the servant came back to report and presented a sealed bottle of moonshine powder.


    Cheng Kangdi glanced, then looked at Concubine Lan, his voice could not hear any emotion: "Concubine Lan, how do you explain?"


    Before Concubine Lan could open her mouth, Concubine Shu suddenly rushed forward, and big tears fell down like she didn''t want money: "Sister Lan Concubine, why did you hurt me so much? You like His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang, and you hate Princess Dingbei, so you will Use her hand to get rid of my child!"


    As soon as these words came out, Concubine Lan suddenly raised her eyes.


    Concubine Shu looked straight at her: "Do you dare to say that you are not His Royal Highness King Xinyue Dingbei?!"


    There was a sudden silence all around, Cheng Kangdi''s expression was hard to distinguish.


    Ming Tan''s heart sank slowly, she was wrong, Concubine Shu didn''t kill four birds with one stone, but wanted to kill five birds with one stone¡ª¡ª


    Harm the nobleman''s pregnancy; cover up the truth that she was not pregnant; let her bear the fault of accidentally causing a miscarriage; put the blame on Concubine Lan; and also, divorce the trust between the Holy Majesty and her husband.


    And the most troublesome thing is that the husband can reveal the true face of Concubine Shu, but he can''t influence Concubine Lan''s choice, and the most important thing is Concubine Lan''s choice.


    It was obviously only a few breaths, but Ming Tan felt that it seemed like a long, long time.


    After a long while, Concubine Lan finally made a move.


    She suddenly put down her hair, solemnly kowtowed three times, her eyes were red: "The concubine read with the princess when she was young, and once read with your majesty. At that time, your majesty was lazy and sat behind the concubine. His Majesty cut off a strand of concubine''s hair for fun, which made them cry. At that time, in order to coax them, His Majesty promised to come and hire them when they were ready.


    "Your Majesty may have been ignorant when he was young, so he didn''t take the promise seriously, but the concubine has always taken it seriously. The concubine knows how difficult the harem is, but when she learned that she can enter the palace, she still has no hesitation. In the palace these years, the concubine has never They didn''t intend to fight for anything, and they didn''t dare to disturb His Majesty too much, they just waited quietly in the palace for His Majesty to come and find them in his free time.


    "It doesn''t matter if those slanderous crimes are all blamed on the courtiers, but if you suspect that the courtiers have a double heart for His Majesty, the courtiers are willing to become nuns, ask for long-term companions, Qing Deng, and never interfere with the affairs of the palace. To prove this identity for the rest of my life.¡±


    Cheng Kangdi''s heart shook: "Lan''er, what are you doing? Get up!"


    Concubine Lan knelt stubbornly, as if she would not be able to kneel here for a long time unless she was innocent.

 Chapter 94：

    Concubine Lan''s move was obviously beyond everyone''s expectations, and even Concubine Shu couldn''t help being stunned for a moment.


    Concubine Lan...how could it be? She is very noble in her bones, she doesn''t bother to invite pets and flattery, she doesn''t bother to act against her will, but now she actually...


    The only concubine in the room couldn''t understand the situation in front of her, so she knelt forward: "Your Majesty, the Lanwu Palace has been found, you can''t listen to the one-sided words of Concubine Lan, Concubine Lan¡ª¡ª"


    "Shut up!" Cheng Kangdi gritted his teeth.


    Concubine Rou was so frightened that she quickly swallowed back the words, and subconsciously looked at Concubine Shu.


    But Concubine Shu didn''t look at her.


    idiot.


    She took it for granted that Concubine Lan was a noble person who disdained to flatter her and act against her will, so what would His Majesty think?


    The favor in this palace has always been Jane in the emperor''s heart, and so is the trust.


    Concubine Lan did this today, not to mention just finding a bottle of moonshine powder in her palace. Even if she admits that she is the heir of the emperor who killed her, the emperor will only think that she loves him badly, and won''t see other women have it. His heirs can be easily exposed with a little punishment.


    In today''s game, she underestimated the enemy.


    Emperor Chengkang ordered at the right time: "Come here, send Concubine Shu back to the palace first. Concubine Shu has had a miscarriage and is in unbearable grief. She should not stay here anymore. I am here, and I will find out what happened today!"


    Concubine Lan''s heartfelt confession made the Holy Majesty believe in her, and if she tried to push this matter to her, the gain would not be worth the loss. The two most important goals of left and right have been achieved, and the rest of the mess will be left to that idiot.


    Thinking of this, Concubine Shu just acted in a state of unbearable grief and loss of soul, and let her servant Gong''e help her up.


    When it was possible to reach the door, Jiang Xu suddenly said, "Mrs. Concubine Shu, please stay."


    Concubine Shu paused, and Emperor Chengkang also frowned at him.


    "Doctor Feng will be here soon."


    "What did you call Imperial Physician Feng for?" Cheng Kangdi asked.


    Without waiting for Jiang Xu''s response, Imperial Physician Feng hurried in with a medicine box on his back: "My servant, please greet Your Majesty."


    "rise."


    Imperial Physician Feng stood up respectfully, then nodded to Jiang Xu as a salute.


    Jiang Xu glanced at him: "Take Concubine Shu''s pulse to see if she has had a miscarriage."


    As soon as this remark came out, Concubine Shu''s expression changed: "My lord, what do you mean!"


    She was astonished, how could King Dingbei know about this? Impossible, absolutely impossible.


    Jiang Xu didn''t even bother to look at her, he just ordered quietly: "Take the pulse."


    Concubine Shu panicked, she knelt down with a "plop", her eye circles suddenly turned red, and she burst into sobs in the next moment: "Your Majesty, my concubine was just talking nonsense. It was because of the loss of our child that I didn''t notice it for a while. The prince has a high position and authority. , deeply favored, but why do you want to be so domineering! In front of you, you have to humiliate the concubine! The concubine lost her fetus today, and she didn''t want to live. If you want to suffer this humiliation again, the concubine The concubine would rather die here by bumping her head!"


    "..."


    In this Shangyuan Festival, everyone is going to die or live, what''s the point? ! This Jiang Qizhi would find trouble for him!


    But Concubine Shu is not Concubine Lan, Emperor Cheng Kang complained in his heart, but his trust in her was far less than that of Jiang Xu.


    He knew very well that it was impossible for Jiang Qizhi to act like this for no reason, so no matter how much Concubine Shu cried and made misery, he just lowered his voice slightly: "All the imperial physicians are here, it won''t be too late to get the pulse back."


    Concubine Shu''s eyes widened, and she couldn''t help stepping back. However, Emperor Chengkang had already spoken, and his own servant pushed her back to the bed and sat on the bed, and appointed the imperial physician to feel her pulse.


    After a while, Imperial Physician Feng got up and said cautiously: "Concubine Shu did have signs of miscarriage."


    Ming Tan was startled.


    But Imperial Physician Feng then said: "It''s just that Concubine Shu''s miscarriage is a false sign caused by taking drugs, and it''s not actually a miscarriage." He paused, "My minister carefully checked Concubine Shu''s pulse, The imperial concubine should be... not pregnant at all."


    Everyone in the room was shocked except Ming Tan and Jiang Xu.


    "What did you say? Concubine Shu has never been pregnant?" Cheng Kangdi asked in disbelief.


    Imperial Physician Feng nodded: "Concubine Shu''s pulse condition is not happy at all, and today''s pulse condition is easily misdiagnosed as miscarriage. After careful examination, I can confirm that it is indeed caused by taking medicine. Tell your lord to come and see him."


    Imperial Physician Feng''s words have reached this point, Concubine Shu''s face has lost all color, and she has completely disappeared from the previous grief and anger, what else Cheng Kangdi doesn''t understand.


    Jiang Xu passed the words of the imperial physician again at the right time, and said without emotion: "On the day Shen Yu sent the Lingzhou account book and the bribery list to the palace, Shuanglu, the servant of Qinzheng Palace, was cleaning and changing shifts with the servant of the same room, and went to Qiyun secretly. palace."


    The seat of Qiyun Palace is Concubine Shu.


    When Cheng Kangdi heard this, he slowly came to his senses.


    So all of this was planned by Concubine Shu?


    Before he starts to deal with it, he preemptively strikes, and uses years of companionship and the dragon child in his belly as bargaining chips to protect his father and brother.


    It''s just that this fake pregnancy can be concealed for a while, but it cannot be concealed for a lifetime. As the months go by, the belly does not show, and it will not be concealed in the future.


    So she wanted to use the hands of Princess Dingbei to conceive this baby in a logical manner, and by the way, harm the dragon child in the womb of the noble lady, and then push all of them to Concubine Lan, and use the guilt of Princess Dingbei and Concubine Lan''s love to make him feel Jiang Qi''s heart There is a rift.


    She might have expected Jiang Qizhi to hold great power, and even if he had suspicions about Jiang Qizhi, he would not immediately turn against him, so no matter what, he would not deal with Princess Dingbei.


    Since she can''t deal with Princess Dingbei, she can only compensate her as a victim. Her father and brother can continue to be preserved, and she can even be promoted because of this¡ª¡ª


    Cheng Kangdi''s face was livid, and he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "You poisonous woman!"


    Concubine Shu sat on the bed, exhausted all over her body, tears poured down one by one, she stretched out her hand to wipe them away vigorously, her expression was unprecedentedly calm.


    She is a smart person, and she never makes unnecessary struggles. The matter has come to this point, no amount of sophistry is useless. His Royal Highness King Dingbei obviously came prepared, the imperial physician, the servant... those clues that could have been concealed must have been all at this moment He held it in his hand.


    She didn''t know what to think, and suddenly chuckled: "The concubine is a poisonous woman, that''s right."


    She turned her head, her eyes stopped on Concubine Rou, Ming Tan, and Concubine Lan one by one, then raised her eyes slightly, facing the furious Emperor Cheng Kang.


    "But in this palace, who has been a poisonous woman from the beginning? Now, all the things are thanks to His Majesty!"


    She raised her head, tears slipped down her nose, and the corners of her lips curled up again.


    "Concubine Lan met you when you were young, but the concubine entered the East Palace when she was sixteen. The concubine''s family background is not obvious. When she first entered the East Palace, she was just a little girl who didn''t understand anything.


    "It was a joke to enter the palace to greet the empress. After returning to the East Palace, the concubine was too ashamed to go out. You came to the concubine''s courtyard to comfort the concubine. You said that the concubine was chosen because she was innocent and kind. Your Majesty, do you still remember?


    "At that time, I thought that what you said was fancy was really fancy. But it was only later that I found out that you can fancy the innocence and kindness of your concubines, and you can also fancy other women who are graceful, good at singing and dancing, and gentle and gentle." , Bright and generous... You have too many fancy eyes! There are so many that the East Palace can''t fit, and this harem can''t fit too!


    "The concubine also looked forward to it again and again, but in the end, she was always disappointed. It was only later that the concubine realized that the most useless thing you fancy is innocence and kindness.


    "If the concubine had been innocent and kind for ten years, the bones would have already turned into ashes. How could she stand in front of you and tell you how cheap your likes and wishes are?"


    As she spoke, she raised her eyes to look at him, and the corners of her lips curled up in a cold and sarcastic arc.


    Cheng Kangdi was extremely angry, his face was twitching, and he was speechless.


    Concubine Shu, however, had nothing to fear, and she just said to herself: "Sometimes I really envy Princess Dingbei and Princess Yujun, they have such a good family background, and they don''t have to spend their lives in the palace.


    "No matter how rare or delicate the flowers in this palace are, they will either be pruned, not appreciated, or turned into mud. They will never end well."


    As her voice fell, the room fell into deathly silence again.


    "Your Majesty! Your Majesty Jia had a difficult labor, and she has already collapsed!"


    At this moment, someone hurried in from outside to deliver a message.


    When Emperor Chengkang heard this, he turned around and walked into Mrs. Jia''s room. When he reached the door, he paused: "Show me this poisonous woman first!"


    Concubine Shu pulled out a clear and sarcastic smile from behind, her eyes moved slowly, and when she moved to Concubine Lan, she said without beginning and end: "I underestimated you, I didn''t expect you to be so busy, In the end, I made a wedding dress for you."


    She didn''t mean to harm Mrs. Jia''s fetus. At seven months, the fetus has already formed. If Mrs. Jia dies in a dystocia at this time, then the prince or princess who will give birth must find a foster mother. How can I ask in this harem? Who is more suitable than her, a high-ranking concubine who has lost her dragon fetus and can no longer have a child?


    With another emperor''s heir under his knees, the position of imperial concubine is close at hand. It would be even better if she was a prince. Mrs. Jia was born in the Du family in Longxi. In order to help the prince, she would not have to worry about getting the Du family to be her backing. In this way, her father and brother would also have stronger support.


    It is ironic that such a good plan should be woven with Concubine Lan.


    Concubine Lan got up, looked at her calmly, and said nothing.


    At the beginning of the Hai Dynasty, Mrs. Jia gave birth to a little prince, but she fell into a coma due to excessive blood loss. The imperial physician said that Mrs. Jia''s blood collapse has damaged her health, and even if she wakes up, she won''t last long.


    When Emperor Chengkang heard the words, he was silent for a long time, and immediately decreed that Jin Jia''s nobleman should be a good concubine, jumping two ranks in succession.


    Concubine Shu was taken back to Qiyun Palace to be strictly guarded and waited to be punished, while Concubine Rou was sent to the Leng Palace without even a chance to defend herself.


    The full moon hangs high on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it is cold and bright, there should be fireworks being set off on the Xianjiang River, and the "one night fish and dragon dance" scene on both sides of the river, but in the deep palace, there is a tight silence.


    After leaving Ruyan Pavilion, Ming Tan stood on the steps and said softly: "Thank you."


    Concubine Lan stood beside her, her voice was light and ethereal: "No, I''m just... telling the truth."


    She couldn''t admit that she liked Jiang Qizhi, not in the past, not now, not in the future, not to anyone.


    She couldn''t bear the innocence of a single thought, and that single thought would ruin herself, her family, and possibly Jiang Qizhi. The price was too heavy for her to bear.


    After all, she is just an ordinary person.


    Concubine Shu thought she had won, but she was the only one who knew how uncomfortable it was to tell other men against her will in front of the person she liked. What''s even more sad is that she will suffer like this for a lifetime.


    Maybe it''s uncomfortable and uncomfortable, and I can get used to it slowly from now on, after all, I have never been each other''s lover.


    The palace gate has been locked, and it is destined to stay in the palace tonight.


    Ming Tan and Jiang Xu walked slowly to the Huayin Building where they rested temporarily. On the way, she asked many things that she didn''t know before. For example, what is the relationship between the list of bribes and Concubine Shu, and when he found out that Concubine Shu was pregnant in another way.


    Knowing that the servants of Qinzheng Palace were found out by Queen Zhang, Ming Tan was stunned again.


    Queen? There is actually a queen''s handwriting here?


    In that case, the queen also knew about Concubine Shu''s fake pregnancy a long time ago? But the empress was not involved in anything from the beginning to the end, even when the incident happened tonight, she was still guarding the nobleman''s room...


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan suddenly realized¡ª¡ª


    This is the brilliance of the empress. She is the empress who sets an example for the mother and the world. Most of the time, she doesn''t have to do anything. She just needs to pick herself out of the disputes and avoid the embarrassing moments that the emperor may face, and she will always be the queen. Daxian is a virtuous and benevolent queen who is praised by everyone and recognized by the emperor. Perfect, impeccable.


    It''s just that after listening to Concubine Shu''s words tonight, she was inexplicably emotional, and also inexplicably curious, whether the impeccable queen empress would ever have a moment of youthful emotion?


    It''s a pity that she has no way of knowing, and even if she once had it, she probably won''t have it now.


    Ming Tan looked at the cold moonlight, and couldn''t help whispering: "In this way, the emperor has failed many women."


    "I want you to love me, so why not let me down." Jiang Xu was not moved by her, and tried to correct her in vain, "The harem is originally an exchange of checks and balances between the court families. If they don''t want to, the emperor will not force them into it." In the world, there must be gains and losses. It is necessary for the family to be honored and favored, and the emperor''s heart is the same. This is not dared to write like this. On the day they enter the palace, they should think that the king of a country cannot spend all day. in love."


    Ming Tan was silent, she understood the truth, but she still couldn''t help retorting in a low voice: "I don''t dare to say it, I have read several books."


    "..."


    "If you look at it, it''s different. It dares to do anything. Don''t you dare to write seven times of water overnight?"


    "...?"


    Ming Tan stared wide-eyed, and suddenly exploded!

 Chapter 95：

    Everyone in the palace is doomed to sleepless tonight, and Ming Tan didn''t sleep well either.


    In the early morning of the next day, Ming Tan pulled Jiang Xu and quietly left the palace when the palace gate opened. The palace was in chaos, and she finally got herself out, she absolutely didn''t want to get involved in it anymore.


    A few days later, news came out from the palace that the concubine Jia had passed away.


    The emperor decreed that the good concubine had meritorious service in giving birth to the emperor''s heir, and that he was specially allowed to be buried with honor as a concubine.


    She gave birth to a little prince, and before she left, she was promoted to a concubine, and she was buried with concubine lavishly. Naturally, the Du family was not dissatisfied, and even wanted to take advantage of this honor to find a job for her concubine brother in the Ministry of Rites. The Holy One didn''t like this behavior, However, in order to compensate the Du family, he agreed.


    When Ming Tan heard Jiang Xu say this, he felt very uncomfortable.


    No matter how good the family background is, being sent to the palace is doomed to be just a **** in exchange for benefits. Now that the benefits are in hand, life and death seem to be less important to the family.


    As for the little prince born to the concubine Jia, the emperor seemed to intend to record it under the name of Concubine Lan.


    This is a good thing. Concubine Lan has always been cold-tempered and doesn''t make friends with others. Raising a little prince can alleviate the loneliness in the palace. Moreover, the little prince has a high-ranking mother and concubine, so life in the palace will be much easier.


    As the instigator of everything, Concubine Shu naturally had no good end. She was imprisoned in the Qiyun Palace first, and then a personal servant took the initiative to find her in the Queen''s Palace, and confessed the despicable things she had done to other concubines and heirs over the years.


    Don''t look at Concubine Shu who doesn''t fight or snatch, and is used to showing others a gentle and virtuous appearance, most of the big and small things that happen in the palace these years are actually written by her.


    The queen checked them one by one and presented the report. The more Cheng Kangdi listened, the more gloomy his face became. He never knew that the person next to him who was always kind and kind could be so vicious!


    Originally, he was thinking about his past love, and only planned to demote her into a beauty and put her in the cold palace, but now it seems that just doing this is too cheap for her.


    "This poisonous woman, ten thousand deaths will not be a pity!" Emperor Chengkang slapped the table and got up, "Come here, pass the decree, Concubine Shu killed the concubines, murdered the emperor''s heir, disrupted the harem, and did a lot of evil! From now on, the title will be taken away, demoted to a commoner, and bestowed upon you!" A piece of white silk, to forgive my own sins!"


    Concubine Shu seemed to have expected this result a long time ago, when the white silk gift arrived, she retreated to the left and right very calmly.


    Half a moment later, there was the sound of a stool falling to the ground in the room, and the servant opened the door again to enter. She closed her eyes and was out of breath.


    Concubine Shu was given death, and her father and brother, who had been healthy because of her pregnancy earlier, naturally could not escape the responsibility. Those on the list of bribes were investigated one by one, especially her father and brother were the most guilty of crimes. Return to Beijing.


    At the end of the matter here, after seeing the emperor''s wrath, the palace finally calmed down, the concubines followed the rules and kept their duty, and even encounters and invitations for pets had not happened for a long time.


    When the palace is quiet, life is safe outside the palace. Ming Tan is happy that he doesn''t have to enter the palace for many days. He has nothing to do, and embroiders the dowry with Zhou Jingwan.


    This first month, Zhou Jingwan and Lu Ting''s marriage is about to be put on the agenda.


    It stands to reason that men and women should not see each other before they get married, but Lu Tinghai is not a fastidious person, so he went to Zhou Mansion three times to pay New Year''s greetings during the first month.


    Zhou Jingwan had no choice but to pretend to have met him by chance in the mansion, lest he would have to come back four or five times if he couldn''t see anyone, and when it got out, it would be ridiculous.


    Hearing Zhou Jingwan''s complaints, Bai Minmin straightened the silk thread for them, and joked: "Don''t get cheap and act like a good boy, who doesn''t know that Lu Dianshuai searched through Jingzhong Study Bookstore in order to marry Zhou''s talented woman, what kind of ancient books and paintings? I bought them all back, even the treasures of the store.¡±


    Ming Tan did not forget to sing and tease: "It''s not just the study and bookstore in Beijing, even the library in the palace was robbed by Marshal Lu. The last time he entered the palace, the emperor told my husband...that''s what he said, cough cough !"


    She stopped the needle and cleared her throat, and imitated Cheng Kangdi''s tone: "This Lu Ting is really impolite. I asked him to go to the library to pick whatever he wanted. He really picked it up. It''s not enough to pick it by himself. Which servants are rarer!"


    "Is this really the case?"


    "It''s still fake."


    "I can''t do it, I''m so ridiculous, why is Lu Dianshuai so funny!" Bai Minmin held her stomach and laughed non-stop.


    Ming Tan also covered his lips, and laughed along with her.


    In fact, her imitation was not exaggerated, but she also omitted the most important sentence.


    Cheng Kangdi was overwhelmed at the time, and looked at Jiang Xu hesitantly: "He didn''t learn this from you, did he?"


    She was listening on the sidelines at the time, and was so ashamed that she almost found a crack in the ground to slip in.


    Zhou Jingwan was already thin-skinned, but now her cheeks were flushed by the two people''s words, and she was so ashamed that she almost found a way to slip in.


    She was ashamed and annoyed, she didn''t know what to think, suddenly she started to speak softly, and shifted the topic to Bai Minmin: "You still have time to criticize me, you can''t even embroider a handkerchief, what will the Empress think of you in the future!"


    "It''s not that I want to marry the empress, besides, the empress said that she just likes me to be cheerful and lively, isn''t that great?" Bai Minmin said boldly, "and Zhang Huaiyu, why should I embroider a handkerchief for him!"


    Zhou Jingwan kept looking at her, but when she heard this, she suddenly smiled, and her tone suddenly became teasing: "Look, who keeps saying that Mr. Zhang is not as good-looking as Mr. Shu Er, and that he doesn''t want to marry Mr. Zhang? Even the empress would like it?" Like, whether to embroider a handkerchief for Shizi Zhang have been considered, it can be seen that a certain person really has a different heart!"


    Bai Minmin paused for a moment, only then did he realize that he had been tricked.


    She put down the silk thread in her hand, and scratched Zhou Jingwan''s tender neck: "Okay, Zhou Jingwan, you''re not married yet, so how can you talk like that? That guy Lu Ting must have spoiled you!"


    Zhou Jingwan was afraid of being scratched, but she knew that Bai Minmin was also afraid of being scratched, so she quickly stretched out her hand to fight back.


    Ming Tan happily watched the two of them scratching each other, helping Bai Minmin and echoing Zhou Jingwan from time to time. The provocation was in full swing, the two of them reacted for some reason, and suddenly pointed the finger at her, brought up the embarrassing things she did before they got married, and even started to scratch her together, she did it herself, and she was scratched I have to apologize repeatedly.


    After the 15th day, the first month will soon be out.


    Although the affairs in the palace had calmed down, it was not a good sign after all that there was blood in the Shangyuan Palace.


    As soon as the first month came out, Qin Tianjian Jianzheng urgently reported the astrology to Emperor Chengkang, saying that he was watching the stars recently, and the stars in the south changed frequently.


    The prisoner bowed and reminded: "Your Majesty, Changxing''s twenty-eight mansions are the image of the king, and the stars are the image of the people. If the stars fall, I am afraid that the people will lose their homes."


    south.


    Cheng Kangdi frowned and thought.


    But before he could figure out why, there was news from Yuzhou that Taoist priests from Chuan had been haunting the Yuxi area recently. God, woe."


    This Yinchuan Taoist, like Master Yunyan, was a capable person in Gaozong''s period. Gaozong once said that he "knowledges people without worrying about others, and can know things in advance".


    He traveled all over the world and lived in seclusion for many years. Since the death of Emperor Gaozong, he has never made a prophecy. Even if Emperor Chengkang didn''t believe in ghosts and gods, he had to pay more attention to this prophecy.


    That night, Emperor Chengkang urgently called Jiang Xu into the palace.


    Jiang Xudao: "The Taoists of Yinchuan are not my juniors. During Gaozong''s time, he predicted the embankment of the E river, the plague of locusts in Chongxian County, and the entry of southern barbarians."


    Cheng Kangdi nodded solemnly: "That''s why I came here for you."


    Jiang Xu walked to the imperial case and stood shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Chengkang. He picked up a pen and wrote a slightly complicated "`" on the paper. After that, the two were silent for a long time.


    Wu Yiyu is a god, which refers to ''(spirit).


    Emperor Chengkang had heard Qin Tianjian talk about the south before, and he was still wondering if something would happen to Tonggang just as the port was opening, but now he realized something was going to happen after closing the prophecy of Taoist Yinchuan, Xu Shiling State.


    "The Sea Dragon King was born, what do you think should be explained?" Cheng Kangdi asked again.


    Jiang Xu''s voice was calm: "The birth of the Sea Dragon King is nothing more than the rebellion of Lingzhou, the chaos of pirates, or Haiyi."


    Judging from the current situation, unless Su''s family lost his mind and felt that life was too comfortable, it was impossible to act rashly.


    Pirate rebellion... Gaozong sometimes had it, but in the previous dynasty, Lingzhou Port was very prosperous, and the sea trade had gradually matured. Pirates were extremely rare. .


    So if the sea overflows¡ª¡ª


    Emperor Chengkang was silent for a while, then suddenly said: "I would rather be rebelled by my family, or invaded by pirates."


    The disaster of Haiyi stretches for thousands of miles, especially in a place like Lingzhou, where millions of people will be killed and injured, people will be displaced, disasters will occur frequently, and chaos will inevitably arise.


    "What does Shoukang Palace say?" Jiang Xu asked.


    Emperor Chengkang was silent for a moment before answering: "I asked Qin Tianjian to go to Shoukang Palace, and I also sent someone to send the prophecy of Taoist Yinchuan to Shoukang Palace. There are only four words in Shoukang Palace, which is nonsense."


    There has never been a precedent for Lingzhou''s sea overflowing. Now if it is said that Lingzhou may be overflowing with seas, the Empress Dowager Su will not believe it. Even with the words of Taoist Yinchuan, she would probably only suspect that Emperor Cheng Kang had found this person out of the mountain, intending to force her to hand over Lingzhou Port with prophecy.


    Take ten thousand steps back and say, even if you believe it, the Queen Mother Su will not do anything.


    If the sea is about to overflow, Lingzhou will definitely close the port. Now the volume of Lingzhou''s maritime trade entering and exiting in a day, if it is closed for a day, the loss will be immeasurable. And let the people of Lingzhou evacuate... Lingzhou is not a small place, the people of Hezhou evacuated, where did they evacuate from, and where did they evacuate? What about the hostel?


    There are too many things involved here, and it will affect her whole body. She can only choose not to believe it, and she can only pray. This is just a situation where Emperor Chengkang intends to regain Lingzhou.


    In fact, the result is conceivable, but Jiang Xu couldn''t help being silent for a moment after hearing this.

 Chapter 96：

    The disaster of sea overflow is different from other disasters. It cannot be prevented. No matter how strong the Lingzhou embankment is built, it is only used to resist the influx of ordinary and visible sea tides. For the current plan, the only way is to evacuate the people as soon as possible to avoid inestimable and heavy casualties.


    It''s just that Lingzhou is now completely controlled by Su''s family. If Su''s family doesn''t move, it will be difficult to move forward. But Jiangshan Sheji has never been easy, even if it is difficult, a king has to go forward bravely.


    In the early morning of the next day, Qin Tianjian was raising the matter of astrology at the behest of Emperor Chengkang, and Prime Minister Zuo also brought up Mr. Yinchuan''s prophecy in the court hall.


    "The prophecy of Yinchuan pointed directly at Lingzhou, and the birth of the Sea Dragon King was very suspected of Haiyi, and then combined with the astrology... I think that Lingzhou Port should be closed immediately and the people of Lingzhou should be evacuated, so as to avoid the sudden arrival of Haiyi. All over the place."


    Some officials from the Su family lined up to refute: "The alchemists are alarmist, how can we believe it? The closure of Lingzhou Port is tantamount to cutting off our road to Daxian''s maritime trade. It must not be done."


    "How can Yinchuan be an ordinary alchemist? Is Mr. Liu saying that Emperor Gaozong doesn''t know people clearly?" Prime Minister Zuo asked urgently.


    The two were about to fight when someone else came forward and said: "Mr. Yinchuan is a master of the world, but this prophecy may not refer to Lingzhou. There are eight cities and towns in the south with "Ling" in their names. There has never been a sea overflow in the state before, but Linghui County in Ruzhou once had a sea overflow.


    "Furthermore, whether the ''sea dragon king''s birth'' is a sign of Hai Yi is still unknown. I think this matter needs to be discussed in the long run. After all, Lingzhou Port is extremely urgent. If nothing happens, the people of Lingzhou will complain. .¡±


    "Exactly what I said to my lord."


    The Sujia faction responded one after another.


    "What is the extreme? Hai Yi will wait for the adults to make a long-term plan." Jiang Xu suddenly said.


    He never went to the court on weekdays, but it was rare for him to stand above the court today because of the prophecy.


    Without him, looking at the Daxian court, the **** of killing that everyone fears is only His Royal Highness Ding Beiwang. The matter is of great importance, and the ministers are fighting. Specifically asked him to go to court today.


    Sure enough, when Jiang Xu said this, no one refuted it for a long time.


    He also said: "Hundred officials entering the court, soldiers and soldiers killing the enemy are all for the country and the people. Now that the people may be in trouble, they should take precautions in time regardless of the cost. His Majesty has this intention, even if the prophecy is false. His majesty will only bear the responsibility for this crime, saying that your majesty listened to the slander of alchemists and evacuated the people of a state, so what does that have to do with you adults?"


    Cheng Kangdi: "..."


    Don''t worry, the historian will not let you off, His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang.


    Jiang Xu swept down the circle indifferently: "On the contrary, the adults are obstructing the evacuation of the people in Hong Kong today. If the sea overflows and the corpses lie thousands of miles away, will you say again that the disaster of heaven is due to the injustice of the ruler? Not benevolent or diligent, forcing His Majesty to issue an imperial edict to bear the blame?"


    It went down in silence.


    That''s right, the Su family really thinks so.


    There has always been a difference between heaven and earth, and it is because the emperor has lost his virtue and is not worthy of his position. If Lingzhou Haiyi is irreversible, he can also instigate many actions among the people at that time, forcing Emperor Kang to issue an imperial edict to punish himself. Buckle it firmly on his body, and take out Su Jia cleanly.


    As for the Su family and the Queen Mother, I thought more deeply.


    If Lingzhou is really overflowing, it will be a crisis and a turning point for them. If the emperor does not match, it will lead to disaster, and it is only logical to change the emperor with both virtues and virtues.


    This was also what Jiang Xu discussed with Emperor Chengkang last night. If Lingzhou is lost, the Su family will have nothing to rely on and nothing to fear, and it is very likely that they will fight to the death. Now I''m not afraid of the Su family''s last fight, but if they really come to such a field, people''s grievances are everywhere, people are struggling to live, and they blame the monarch, Chengkang Emperor can''t avoid it.


    That''s why Jiang Xu brought this matter up in the court - today the king wants to save the people, but the officials refuse to allow it, but in the future, the officials will be willing to bear the accusations of thousands of people?


    The hall was silent.


    After a long time, Emperor Chengkang said in a deep voice: "Decree, Lingzhou will close the port immediately, and all the people in the thirteen coastal cities will retreat to the Lingxi area. Yuzhou will not close the city for ten days, and the people of Nalingzhou will avoid disasters. There must be no mistakes!"


    Emperor Chengkang''s imperial decree was issued, but how to implement it depends on Su''s family. If they don''t want to close the port and retreat, they can find all kinds of excuses to delay each other, so Emperor Chengkang and Jiang Xu thought of another way.


    The Dingbei Army dispatched an urgent message at 800 miles last night, and the storyteller was spreading the supernatural powers of Mr. Yinchuan in Lingzhou, and led to the prophecy of the birth of the Dragon King of the Sea. The Su family is trying to stop these storytellers from spreading alarmist words. Several nursery rhymes about Haiyi''s prophecy were played, and for a while Haiyi''s prophecy was heard in the streets and alleys, causing people to panic.


    Lingzhou is rich and comfortable, and there are people who don''t believe the rumors that the wind and rain don''t change, but there are also many people who are timid and fearful, especially those who don''t have much money. They come and go to avoid disasters, but they just stay in another place, and the loss is not big. However, they couldn''t resist the common people''s eagerness to leave the city.


    Two days later, at the beginning of Shenchu, the spring city of Lingzhou suddenly shook! The ground was cracked with vertical and horizontal gullies, accompanied by thunderous rumbles, countless houses collapsed and collapsed. In less than a moment, the prosperous spring city in the past became completely unrecognizable, with terrified and crying endlessly.


    However, this was just the beginning of a nightmare. It was night, when Lingzhou Harbor overflowed, the wind suddenly blew up, and the waves rolled up to two feet high. .


    Most of the thirteen coastal cities in Lingzhou were destroyed overnight, and countless civilians were killed or injured.


    But this is not the worst result. Before Haiyi, hundreds of thousands of people had evacuated to the Lingxi area or fled to Yuzhou, and escaped.


    "Lingzhou Haiyi?" Ming Tan was stunned when he heard the news.


    In the past few days, she has devoted all her attention to Zhou Jingwan''s marriage. Seeing that her husband leaves early and returns late every day, she just thinks that she is trying to plan for the affairs of Rongzhou, but she doesn''t know that Lingzhou is actually overflowing!


    That was the place she had been to, and now it was turned into a large area of ??ruins due to the earthquake and sea overflow, she couldn''t believe it.


    Don''t say she can''t believe it, the people in Beijing are talking about it, they all think it''s unbelievable, this Haiyi is a rare thing, and most of the historical records are in remote places, Lingzhou Port Haiyi, put it in the past, it is simply unthinkable Dare to think.


    The future troubles brought about here are also endless. Lingzhou closed the port, the sea trade was temporarily closed, and the imperial court lost a large sum of tax revenue. The people were displaced, refugees fled everywhere, and occasional riots broke out, causing many troubles.


    Due to the numerous deaths and injuries in Lingzhou, and the difficulty in dealing with dead bodies in a timely manner, the weather warmed up in spring, and a new epidemic spread in Lingzhou, which had just been hit by the disaster. This epidemic even spread to Shanghai with the refugees fleeing everywhere.


    During the eventful autumn, Jiang Xu even had to temporarily put aside the affairs of Rongzhou. He never touched the ground all day long, and saw few people for several months.


    Ming Tan didn''t dare to trouble him at this time, so he could only control the Dingbei Palace, and never let the Dingbei Palace have the possibility of being infected with the epidemic.


    At the same time, she also tried her best without telling Jiang Xulue, and set up a medicine shop outside the city, invited doctors to come to see her, provided a large amount of medicinal materials, and provided assistance to those infected with the epidemic in central Beijing.


    If there is any benefit brought by this Haiyi, it is probably that Emperor Chengkang took back Lingzhou from Su''s family without spending any soldiers.


    It''s just that today''s Lingzhou is riddled with holes, and there is a lot of waste waiting to be built. There has been a case of overflowing seas. There must be no maritime trade here. The former Lingzhou Port can only be slowly transferred to Tonggang, which is currently under construction. .


    Cheng Kangdi couldn''t help but sigh with emotion when he was busy. Fortunately, he chose Tonggang to open another port after hearing Jiang Qizhi''s words. Otherwise, he would not know when the sea trade would be restored.


    The aftermath of this sea overflowing disaster thousands of miles away stretched from the first month of the seventh year of Chengkang to the late autumn of the seventh year of Chengkang.


    When the epidemic was over, Lingzhou was steadily rebuilt. The imperial court devoted all its efforts to building Tonggang, trying to build it into a second port to replace Lingzhou in the shortest possible time.


    For more than half a year, Emperor Chengkang was almost out of breath due to the affairs of Lingzhou. During this period, under Jiang Xu''s layout, he invisible suppressed Su''s family''s dying counterattack.


    Su''s family is also desperate, God knows how something so good will really happen! Lingzhou, which was entrenched and rooted, was destroyed in an instant, and it was not destroyed in the hands of Emperor Chengkang. It is very aggrieved to think about it.


    Without Lingzhou, without Haimao, Sujia is nothing to fear, and Cheng Kangdi wants to deal with it, it is simply as easy as pie.


    The Su family is very self-aware, knowing that they have reached a desperate situation, and when Emperor Chengkang solves the aftermath of Haiyi, he will use them to sacrifice the souls of the people of Lingzhou. So instead of waiting for this one to shrink his neck and make a knife, he thought of a pre-emptive move, cooperating inside and outside to make a sudden change.


    For this reason, they also secretly contacted Ping Wang and others who were sent back to Yuncheng by Emperor Chengkang and had been demoted to Pingjun Wang. As a child, the Empress Dowager listened to the government behind the curtain, and then used Prince Kang, who was born by the Empress Dowager Su, as the auxiliary minister, so that the imperial power could be firmly held in the hands.


    They dared to think about it, and the plan for the palace change was also carefully planned. If they think about it carefully, it is not completely impossible for them to succeed.


    But the defeat was that the opponent they met was Jiang Qizhi.


    Jiang Qizhi''s layout turned their tense planning of the last stand into a joke that ended just after the beginning, and even gave Lu Ting a great credit for escorting him for nothing. Lu Ting was not polite, so he used it This credit earned the newly married wife a royal order.


    He has been busy with Haiyi affairs for the past half year, and Emperor Chengkang has done nothing. He was still suffering from the intense summer heat in the palace, and finally he was able to take a breather in late autumn. Come for a fall hunt.

 Chapter 97：

    Autumn hunting happens every year, but before leaving the pavilion, Ming Tan is not a royal woman, and she has no royal orders, so she is not allowed to participate. Last year, she went south with Jiang Xu, and when she turns back, she will miss this grand event. So this autumn hunting, tomorrow Tan really wanted to go and see the excitement.


    "Alright, you are bored in the mansion these days, you should go out to get some air. Didn''t you make riding and shooting uniforms before, and you can just wear them." In the study, Jiang Xu read the secret report sent back from the northwest, and said casually Talk to Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan rolled his big eyes in his heart, put down the ink ingot, and said emphatically: "The riding and archery suit was already made in the early summer of last year!"


    "Then make a new one."


    "Do you use the snow satin that your husband gave you that is more than a year out of date?"


    Jiang Xu was speechless, for a long while, he said silently: "Isn''t the princess trying to be frugal?"


    "Then it''s different this time!"


    "How is it different?" Jiang Xu resealed the secret report, looked up at her, and seemed to be listening attentively.


    Ming Tan took small steps, sat down in his arms, put his arms around his neck, looked into his eyes and said: "This time, the fifth prince and sixth princess of Nanlu are coming."


    "What does it have to do with you?" Jiang Xu couldn''t avoid his eyes.


    Ming Tan looked at him for a while, and saw that he had no guilty conscience, and his eyes lingered from top to bottom again, stopping at his chest, and stretched out an index finger, poking his chest up and down, speaking threateningly Slowly said: "What do you say has nothing to do with me?"


    Jiang Xu''s reaction to this kind of matter is always not sharp enough. After a long while, he finally understood while Ming Tan was talking about "Princess Nanlu"¡ª¡ª


    "Nonsense."


    "Since there are such rumors, it will not be groundless." Ming Tan tightened his grip again, and said reluctantly.


    Jiang Xu was silent, unable to refute for a while.


    This rumor was originally spread to the capital from merchants in the north and south. It was said that after Princess Yongle Di Nianci went to Nanlu to get married, Nanlu took care of Daxian and treated her very politely. The six princesses born out of Queen Nanlu and loved by thousands of people had a dispute at a banquet.


    And this dispute was actually for His Royal Highness King Dingbei of Daxian¡ª¡ª


    It is rumored that in the year when His Royal Highness King Dingbei was dancing an elephant, he went to Nanlu with a mission. At that time, the sixth princess of Nanlu was only about ten years old, and her father had not yet ascended the throne. During the banquet, she fell in love with His Royal Highness Dingbei at first sight. .


    When the new king of Nanlu came to the throne, and wanted to marry Daxian to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, the sixth princess of Nanlu went to her father to act coquettishly and show anger, and wanted him to ask for this marriage, but she didn''t know, what she was thinking of His Royal Highness King Dingbei has married his concubine.


    Hearing about this, the Sixth Princess made a scene and unreasonably asked her father to revise the state books, and asked Emperor Daxian to order King Dingbei to divorce his wife. King Nanlu was almost fainted by her anger.


    Not to mention that Emperor Daxian ordered Dingbei King to be moved, and the concubine''s family was famous, and her father held a heavy army in Daxian''s hand. How could Emperor Daxian do such a stupid thing? In the past, the Guoshu Xiu felt that Nanlu''s life was too comfortable, didn''t he?


    After a few days of hard work, the sixth princess said that as long as she could marry His Royal Highness King Dingbei, she would be fine as a concubine.


    She may be all right, but King Nanlu is still shameless!


    She is born of the queen, she is the most honorable princess of Nanlu, what is going on in rushing to be a concubine for Prince Daxian?


    In order to prevent this beloved daughter from coming up with any other whimsical ideas, King Nanlu hurriedly sent envoys to ask Daxian to marry the princess, and finally gave up on her idea.


    It''s just that the sixth princess of Nanlu was unwilling, and she blamed the matter on going to marry Princess Yongle, thinking that if Princess Yongle hadn''t married Nanlu first, she would have been able to become the side concubine of King Dingbei as she wished, yes So in Nanlu Palace, she often troubled Princess Yongle.


    But Princess Yongle is not a good-natured person, she endured it a few times, one time she drank alcohol at a banquet, she got into an argument with her in public, and asked her to recognize herself and stop daydreaming there all day long!


    ¡­


    In fact, this rumor has been going on since last year, and the details of the story have been passed on in detail, Ming Tan thinks it is quite credible. However, Nanlu is thousands of miles away from Beijing, so she can''t control that far, and her husband is popular, so she also has a good face, the girl''s little vanity...


    It''s just that it was one thing when we were far away in Nanlu, but now it''s another thing to go to Beijing with the mission to pay tribute and to participate in autumn hunting.


    Seeing that his little concubine made it clear that she didn''t want to let him go, Jiang Xu was silent for a while before asking, "How are you doing?"


    What Ming Tan was waiting for was his sentence: "Then they want to make the same riding and archery uniform as my husband, the kind of riding and archery clothing that you can know at a glance that I am the husband and princess."


    "You are with me, no one knows that you are my concubine."


    "I don''t care, I will do it. If my husband doesn''t do it, he doesn''t love me." Ming Tan pestered him, whispering coquettishly.


    "..."


    Wearing the same riding and archery uniform in public, and with her vision of making clothes, it must be very gorgeous, Jiang Xu really didn''t think it was necessary.


    However, the night was dark, and the little concubine seduced her with her looks, and the game still ended with the defeat of King Dingbei.


    A few days later, Huanglin Qiuhun in the suburbs of Beijing. As the first grand event held in Beijing in the past six months, all officials gathered together and it was very lively.


    When Jiang Xu and Ming Tan arrived at the hunting ground, most of the people had already arrived. When they saw a pair of Bimen wearing two sets of riding and archery suits with the same embroidery, one black and one white, everyone''s eyes could not help but fall on them.


    Ming Tan has always been a model of etiquette for walking on such big occasions. She is dignified and demure, but also radiant. She is neither rigid nor frivolous when she walks.


    It wasn''t until he greeted Empress Chengkang and sat down in his seat that Ming Tan seemed to be inadvertently and glanced in the direction of Nanlu''s envoy.


    Very good, although she didn''t accurately recognize the sixth princess of Nanlu at this glance, but she already felt the extremely warm gaze from the direction of Nanlu''s envoy.


    As she thought, the sixth princess of Nanlu was staring at her in a daze.


    In fact, those rumors about Nanlu in Shangjing are mostly true. The six princesses did fall in love with him at first sight when Jiang Xu was sent to Nanlu a few years ago.


    This time Nanlu paid tribute, she was also making a fuss, took it back to Daxian and met His Highness Dingbei King, she obediently went back and married the imperial concubine as a condition, and then Nanlu King let her go and let her and the envoys Let''s go together.


    It has been four or five days since she came to Daxian with the emperor''s brother, but she was detained by the emperor and could not run around, and His Royal Highness King Dingbei did not participate in the Fengfeng Palace Banquet, so she finally saw Xin Xinnian His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    Not seen for several years, His Royal Highness King Dingbei is still the same as before, tall and handsome, handsome and extraordinary, but it seems that he has lost the youthful spirit she was most obsessed with before.


    He is no longer the ice-cold young God of War with angry brows and eyes when he was sent to Nanlu a few years ago. Now he has matured a lot. The blind princess.


    His concubine is so pretty, she looks like a person walking out of a painting, even the arc of her smile is so pleasing to the eye, she has never seen such a delicate girl in Nanlu...


    No, no, this is her rival in love!


    But it just looks a little nice!


    Thinking of this, the sixth princess hastily adjusted her sitting posture secretly, and quietly straightened her back.


    After a while, everyone arrived. As usual, Emperor Chengkang recalled all the hardships of the court in Panlingzhou, and said some encouraging words for the opening of the day. It is announced that the autumn hunting begins.


    Jiang Xu was wearing a riding and shooting uniform, and he came to hunt in a serious way, but Ming Tan was wearing a riding and shooting uniform, and he was here to show his affection, so he had no intention of getting on a horse at all. After watching Jiang Xu enter the dense forest, she went to find Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan.


    Zhou Jingwan is now the wife of Lu Ting, the deputy commander in front of the palace. Although due to the difficulties in Lingzhou, the wedding ceremony that was supposed to be organized by Shili Hongzhuang was low-key and simple, but Lu Dianshuai loved his wife and valued his wife, and he took the credit for saving him. In exchange for my wife''s first-rank imperial order, all the women in the capital are envious.


    The marriage between Bai Minmin and Zhang Huaiyu has also been finalized. This marriage was originally intended by Empress Zhang to be bestowed by Emperor Chengkang, and it also looks dignified and dignified. The Duke''s Mansion of the State and the Duke of Chang''s Mansion negotiated marriage on their own.


    Empress Zhang is just such a younger brother, and the marriage is saved. This marriage can''t be simpler, so the wedding date is set for this winter. Counting the days, it will only be a month or two.


    Bai Minmin is neither a relative of the emperor nor has an imperial order, so she was not allowed to participate, but this time it was only with the special permission of Empress Zhang that she came to join in the excitement of the autumn hunt.


    "Zhang Huaiyu said he wanted to shoot a fox, and skin the fox to make me a blanket. I see his level of riding and shooting. It would be great if he could shoot a rabbit to make me a scarf. I don''t know why he has so little about himself! "Bai Minmin said angrily.


    "You!" Zhou Jingwan nodded her forehead, "Master Zhang is as unbearable as you said."


    Bai Minmin held her face and sighed: "Anyway, His Royal Highness King Dingbei and Lu Dianshuai are very skilled, and they can always shoot a lot of prey. Just give them to me when the time comes."


    Ming Tan had never heard two good words from Zhang Huaiyu from her, so he couldn''t help feeling unfair about it: "You too underestimate your future husband, although Zhang Shizi looks cynical¡ª"


    Bai Minmin: "It''s actually cynical."


    Ming Tan was speechless.


    Zhou Jingwan continued: "Shizi Zhang seems to be pretty good at it. Last year''s polo match, although he lost to King Yujun, he still won the second class."


    "What''s the use of the second class? Who can remember the second class when the first class is in front of you?" She said for example, "Let''s talk about the imperial examination the year before last. Everyone knows that the number one scholar is Mr. Su Jingsu, but they still remember the second place." who is it?"


    Ming Tan said without hesitation: "The second place is Liu Minzhi Master Liu."


    Bai Minmin: "..."


    "Isn''t it true that everyone still remembers that Tan Hualang is the second son of Shu? Does anyone not remember? Aren''t you chasing after the second son of Shu that much?"


    Bai Minmin was speechless for a moment.


    The three of them were talking, and the Princess Yujun of the Wang Family of Yujun that Fang was mentioned also came over.


    The princess of Yujun is cheerful and lively by nature. Although she doesn''t know how to wield a sword, she knows a little about riding and shooting. Seeing that the three of them are all wearing riding and shooting uniforms, she invites them to go hunting in the forest together.


    The three of them were in agreement at the moment, saying "nothing, no way", and shaking their heads like a rattle.


    However, the princess of Yu County was very enthusiastic: "I don''t know much about it. Let''s go around the forest around here and let someone lead a pony to see if we can hunt a rabbit or two pheasants. It''s all right."


    Indeed, this hunt also encloses a small area for the female relatives to play, and the rabbits in it are fatter than the other, so there is no need to wait for the rabbits, and the rabbits will lie on the bushes for them to hunt.


    There is nothing left and right, and it is not easy for Princess Yujun to play alone, so the three of them agreed.


    The Sixth Princess of Nanlu has practiced martial arts since she was a child, and she is good at riding and shooting. When she heroically caught a dozen prey from the forest and was about to turn around and put them aside first, she saw a few girls in the shallow forest in front of them asking the guards to lead the pony Laughing.


    She reined in her horse and looked at it for a while, but she was also convinced. One looked more decent, and the arrows were all shot at the tree stump, and the other arrow fell limply to the ground as soon as it was shot, and the remaining two were more powerful. Can''t pick it up.


    And the beautiful and exquisite Princess Dingbei is one of those girls who can''t hold up two bows.


    The sixth princess couldn''t stand it any longer, so she raised her bow, took aim, pierced the wind with one arrow, and nailed the walking rabbit to the ground. Chin, with a bit of disdain in his pride, he said: "Are all the girls of yours so bad at riding and shooting? Do you want me to teach you?"


    Several people looked at her with respectful eyes.


    "The little rabbit is so cute, the sixth princess is too cruel!"


    "that is."


    "I''m seeing blood!"


    "It''s too pitiful. Let''s bury it."


    I was still waiting for a few people to envy and admire the sixth princess who asked for advice: "...?"

 Chapter 98：

    At the moment when the sixth princess doubted her life, Ming Tan and the others were instructing the guards to dig a hole, and carried in the unlucky rabbit that she had nailed to the ground. A small wooden monument.


    The sixth princess reined in the reins, and was so dazed that she forgot to say "this is my prey".


    After a long while, the cheers of men catching their prey came from a distance, and the sixth princess came back to her senses¡ªoh, this is really hunting, she was not mistaken.


    She looked at the people in front of her, and fixed her eyes on Ming Tan, and couldn''t help but said: "You women who are showing off are too pretentious, hunting is serious, who will show such pretentiousness!"


    Several people answered silently in their hearts: Of course they did it for you to see.


    Ming Tan tidied up his clothes, wiped his hands with a clean handkerchief, slowly met the eyes of the sixth princess, and said reservedly: "God has the virtue of being good at life. Although it is only a hare, it is still a fresh life. The sixth princess It is a prey, but we can also treat it as a life. I don¡¯t care about the sixth princess hunting and showing off her heroic figure. Why should the sixth princess care about me burying my bones and erecting monuments. I have heard that Nanlu is also good at learning my court etiquette. There is an old saying, ''Don''t do to others what you don''t want done to you'', I wonder if the sixth princess has ever learned that?"


    Princess Six: "..."


    What is she spinning around? Although it sounds reasonable, it always feels like something is wrong... But the sound is still very nice.


    No, the sixth princess closed her eyes, woke herself up, and said again: "You, what nonsense are you talking about, you look like you can''t even lift your bow, you still have the nerve to teach me, I don''t know that King Dingbei How could His Highness marry such an embroidered pillow like yours!"


    Hearing this, Ming Tan bent his lips, motioned for someone to help him get on the pony again, and pretended to straighten his sleeves pretentiously: "It''s a coincidence, my husband likes such beautiful embroidered pillows like me, As the saying goes, ''beautiful looks can be eaten'', just looking at me, my husband can eat several more bowls of rice."


    "On the contrary, it''s a woman as heroic as the sixth princess¡ª" She looked at the sixth princess in front of her from top to bottom for a while, and said regretfully, "Before and after I got married, I sent away several times. My husband is too popular. What a sweet annoyance, too.¡±? ? ?


    The sixth princess blushed.


    This embroidered pillow was reserved just now, why is it so unashamed to speak now! Didn''t it mean that Daxian women are extremely dignified and self-respecting?


    But looking at the little sisters behind her, they all nodded in agreement, and the sixth princess fell into self-doubt again.


    After a long while, she held the rein without confidence, and turned to the side: "Forget it, forget it, you have too many people, I can''t quarrel with you!"


    She rode a horse and rushed to the camp where the prey was cleared. Looking at the small figure, she seemed to be running away.


    Ming Tan sighed lightly, and said without interest: "The sixth princess has a bit of a temper, but she''s not as clumsy as she imagined."


    Not far away, Jiang Xulu stopped the horse and the others were silent, thinking in unison: Obviously you are the ones who are more messy.


    Autumn hunting usually lasts for three days, and the hunting on this first day is not over until sunset. In the camp outside the forest, around the imperial tents of Emperor Chengkang and Empress Zhang, many tents of different specifications have been built around. tent.


    In fact, there is a palace less than ten miles away from the imperial forest in the suburbs of Beijing. However, the residence of the palace is a bit less wild in autumn, and the Qin Tianjian has observed the astrology. Not far away, there are tens of thousands of elite soldiers guarding the Gyeonggi camp not far away, so there is a designated area for the camp.


    On the first day of this autumn, Wu Zhuangyuan got the most prey, followed by Lu Ting, the commander of the deputy capital in front of the palace, and Zhang Huaiyu, the son of Duke Ping.


    As for Jiang Xu not even getting into the top three, it was purely because he was too lazy to hunt more. This time he went into the dense forest, he just wanted to hunt two firefoxes and make a cloak for Ming Tan. She wore that firefox cloak on New Year''s Eve, which was very bright and charming. , but when the servants baked it closer to the charcoal fire, a small area was scorched, and she refused to wear it again.


    The firefox was hard to find, and he had to turn around all day, and he only got one, and accidentally hurt its fur, so he gave it to Zhang Huaiyu, and let him use it to make a scarf for others.


    At nightfall, the autumn stars twinkle in the night, clusters of bonfires are lit in the camp, and all kinds of prey are placed on the fire. Under the light of the fire, the oil is flowing and bubbling, and the smell of meat and condiments is scattered. Fragrant and tangy.


    Although it is a wild hunt, there are special people guarding and feeding this imperial forest, so if it is sent to the mouth of the imperial relatives, it is clean and safe.


    Ming Tan sat obediently beside Jiang Xu, and let him roast the chicken for himself. This time, he added condiments, the appearance of the roast chicken was even more attractive, and the fragrance was even stronger. Ming Tan swallowed his saliva several times calmly, From time to time, she tugged at the hem of his clothes and whispered, "Husband, are you alright?"


    "Wait a little longer." Jiang Xu turned the iron skewer with a calm expression, "Bring the green onion."


    Mingtan devoutly offers porcelain bowls with green onions on top.


    After flipping and roasting for a while, and sprinkled with chopped green onion, Jiang Xu finally took the roast chicken off the skewer and put it on a plate, and handed it to her: "It''s done."


    Ming Tan told Jiang Xu early on that he wanted to eat the roast chicken he made today, so he hasn''t eaten since he left the house. He just ate two pieces of snacks and a small plate of grapes to satisfy his hunger. He is already hungry Hungry.


    She was sitting by the side, and was about to reach for it in a hurry, but as soon as she touched it, her hand was scalded by the roast chicken, and she immediately pulled it back, and could not help but hiss softly.


    "What are you in a hurry for?"


    Jiang Xu held her hand and looked at it. Fortunately, nothing happened to her.


    "Soak in cold water."


    Ming Tan said "Oh", and obediently put a pair of jade hands into the basin filled with cold water.


    After a while, Jiang Xu took a piece of cotton cloth to wipe her hands clean, and then asked, "Does it still hurt?"


    Ming Tan shook his head.


    The roasted chicken had cooled down a bit, so Jiang Xu tore off a chicken leg and gave it to her: "Eat slowly, don''t choke."


    Ming Tan took a bite gracefully, and was so satisfied that he wanted to slip into his husband''s arms, it was so delicious! The skin is slightly crispy, the meat is tender and juicy, this familiar taste is so blissful!


    Ming Tan sat at the side and boasted without hesitation¡ª¡ª


    "Husband, you are too good! It''s so delicious to bake!"


    "My husband''s failure to be a cook is really a loss to the culinary world!"


    "But my husband can do everything so easily, it''s a pity to be a cook!"


    ¡­


    Hearing her boast, Jiang Xu remained silent.


    However, where Ming Tan couldn''t see, there was an almost imperceptible smile across his face.


    The sixth princess saw this scene not far away, and felt that the secret roast leg of lamb at hand was no longer fragrant.


    Is that still His Royal Highness King Dingbei, the Iron Faced God of War? What happened to him all these years? How is the family background of that embroidered pillow so prominent? He actually condescended to give that embroidered pillow a roast chicken! That is the hand used to hold the Wanjun bow and lift the Wanjun sword to guide the country to fight the enemy! What a chicken! !


    Although she saw His Royal Highness Dingbei King again, she was not as crazy as before, it can be seen that he is still so upset about the embroidered pillow... The roast chicken looks delicious, and the embroidered pillow is delicious So fragrant, it must be delicious. I don¡¯t know if she would like to exchange her secret roasted leg of lamb and embroidered pillow with her. She should be willing. She would exchange such a big leg of lamb for a chicken leg, no matter how you look at it. She''s at a loss, it''s really not good, it''s good to change to chicken wings...


    "Royal sister! Sit down!" The fifth prince saw that his little royal sister stood up suddenly, as if she was about to walk in the direction of the Daxian King Dingbei, so he hurriedly reached out his hand and grabbed it nervously.


    The sixth princess broke away from his hand: "Brother, what are you doing, I''m just going to exchange for a roast chicken!"


    "The emperor will bake it for you."


    The sixth princess looked disgusted: "Then I might as well do it myself."


    As she spoke, she lifted the roast leg of lamb and walked to King Dingbei''s camp without looking back.


    "His Royal Highness Dingbei, can I exchange a leg of lamb for you a roast chicken?" She stood in front of Jiang Xu who was still turning the skewer, and asked a little nervously.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyes, glanced at her, lowered his eyes again, and continued to roast the chicken: "This king is roasting the chicken for the princess, and whether to exchange it or not depends entirely on the princess."


    Although I expected such an answer, it sounded even more frustrating.


    The sixth princess turned to Ming Tan again unwillingly: "Princess, can I change with you? Yours looks delicious."


    After finishing speaking, she hastily added: "Of course, mine is not bad either. I baked it myself. It''s the secret roasted leg of lamb that Nanlu can make. It''s different from yours. It''s delicious. .¡±


    "Since it''s delicious, why did Princess Six want to trade it with me?" Ming Tan asked pretending not to understand.


    "I, I eat it often in Nanlu, and I''m tired of it." The sixth princess compromised, "Then I will exchange legs for legs, and I will exchange lamb legs for your chicken legs, how about it? My lamb leg is so big, you always No loss."


    She only wanted to change the chicken leg, but didn''t she raise the request first, and lower it so that the other party would be more acceptable.


    However, Ming Tan still didn''t respond, as if he was seriously thinking about whether the deal was worthwhile.


    The Sixth Princess lost her little confidence, her steamed bun face puffed up, and her voice sank a bit: "Chicken wings are also fine."


    Ming Tan looked at her slumped white and tender bun face, and inexplicably felt that the touch felt good when poked.


    When she was about to respond, someone from the imperial tent sent a message saying that His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang is invited. Jiang Xu got up, glanced at the harmless sixth princess, explained to Ming Tan, and went to the imperial account with the servant.


    After Jiang Xu left, the six princesses relaxed a lot, and their bargaining skills became more articulate.


    Ming Tan seemed to be moved by her unyielding spirit, pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Okay, I''ll trade it with you, and I won''t take advantage of you, I''ll give you a roast chicken."


    The sixth princess stared straight: "Really?"


    Ming Tan moved to the side: "If the sixth princess doesn''t dislike it, she can sit here and eat."


    Jiang Xu also prepared a dipping sauce for the grilled chicken, which tastes even more delicious when used with the dipping sauce.


    The sixth princess thought to herself that the embroidered pillow was actually quite kind, and sat down on it unceremoniously.


    The sixth princess was very self-aware. After sitting down, she took a silver needle from the side and kept piercing the leg of lamb. After piercing it up, down, left, and right, she handed out the leg of lamb, and said frankly, "Don''t worry." , non-toxic, if you are worried, I can also have a taste first."


    Ming Tan is not worried about her being poisoned, Nanlu missions are here, as long as she is not crazy, she can''t do such stupid things.


    And as she watched, she wasn''t so crazy about her husband. Just now when he was still there, she just stared at the roast chicken, and didn''t take a second look to the side. With a sigh of relief, the whole person became more at ease.

 Chapter 99：

    Seeing the reaction of the sixth princess, Ming Tan was naturally a little curious about how many rumors about this jewel in the palm of King Nanlu were true and how many were false.


    The Sixth Princess is an undefended character, Ming Tan just made a slight show of favor, she seemed to completely forget that the person in front of her was her rival in love. I explained it.


    It turns out that in those rumors, the part about her admiration for His Royal Highness Dingbei King is true, but the part about her and Zhai Nianci is really outrageous!


    "...I don''t even want to see her. Who wants to find fault with her? After she arrived in Nanlu, she heard that I love His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang. If there is anything to do, she will come to me and say that His Royal Highness and the princess are you!" He glared at Ming Tan angrily, "Keep talking about how much you two are in love! I told her that I didn''t want to hear it, but I don''t know how I offended her. She couldn''t admire herself, so she insisted on pulling me It''s so tiresome to be uncomfortable with her!"


    "Oh, by the way, once she came to pay her respects in the mother''s harem, and we happened to meet, and she said again! I couldn''t help it, so I quarreled with her. It happened that my father came over and heard me arguing with her. He reprimanded me harshly, not only that, but the father also said that the mother and the queen are useless to teach the daughter, which made me mad!"


    "Then on weekdays, your father is more partial to her?"


    "How is it possible, I''m my father''s favorite little princess!" She proudly puffed out her small chest, "My father just said a few words to me face to face just to save her face, and then he sent me a lot Good thing, I even gave away my favorite little bow."


    As she said that, she thought of something again, tightened her bun face, and said solemnly: "But the father treats her well, because the father attaches great importance to you, don''t get me wrong, no one in our Nanlu Palace treats her well." shoes."


    Hearing this, Ming Tan nodded slowly: "That''s really a pity."? ? ?


    "What did you say?"


    "It''s nothing, I mean, since she has gone to Nanlu to get married and become your father''s concubine, her words and deeds must conform to the rules of Nanlu Palace. You are a princess, so you don''t have to be too tolerant in everything."


    Ming Tan said while watching her white and tender bun face dangling in front of his eyes, couldn''t hold back, and suddenly stretched out his devil claws and poked her face.


    "What are you doing?" The sixth princess was inexplicable.


    "You got something on your face."


    Ming Tan''s face was not red and his heart was not beating, and he put on a serious appearance of kindly helping her remove the dirty things, but he was sighing crazily in his heart: The little bun face of the sixth princess is so easy to poke, it turns out that the fleshy face on the face feels so good , I really want to poke it again, what should I do!


    The sixth princess didn''t notice it, she was still stupid and continued to talk about Ming Tan''s previous words: "I can''t bear her, that''s why I quarreled with her at the Queen Mother''s Qianqiu Palace banquet. Don''t worry, with me here, she Nothing will happen. Besides, didn¡¯t the Empress Dowager claim that she is out of illness? I heard that she is her biggest backer, she may have gotten the news, and she has had a lot of health in recent days.¡±


    That''s true.


    She is the granddaughter of the Empress Dowager Su, if something happened to the Su family, how could the Zhai family escape the liquidation?


    Now the Empress Dowager Su has claimed from the Shoushoukang Palace that she will not be sick, and she will never be sick again in this life. His father was demoted, and although his mother, Princess Wen Huichang, was not implicated publicly, the attitude of the dignitaries in Beijing to him was obviously not as good as before.


    In such a situation, how could Zhai Nianci still be arrogant in Nanlu.


    The Sixth Princess was also a chatterbox, she couldn''t stop once she opened the chatterbox, she chatted with her about what Zhai Nianci had said to her.


    There is no lack of slander against Ming Tan here, but without Ming Tan''s explanation, she blamed all those bad words on Zhai Nianci''s nonsense.


    Ming Tan didn''t expect that she just exchanged a roast chicken, and the sixth princess would consciously put herself in the same camp as her, which seemed to be a bit of a common enemy with her.


    ¡­


    On the other side, when Jiang Xufang entered the imperial account, Emperor Chengkang got up from the imperial case and handed him a secret letter: "Look."


    There are hundreds of words in the letter, but the most important thing is: Guo Bingmao trusts Beihe and suspects changes.


    Jiang Xu looked at the ten lines at a glance, and there was no emotion on his face.


    Emperor Chengkang said in a deep voice: "Since the new leader of Beihe succeeded to the throne, he has been eyeing Yangxi Road all the time. If it wasn''t for the internal strife and being too busy to take care of himself, he would have taken advantage of the turmoil in Lingzhou to make troubles. I think it is because I am facing the turmoil. Fangping, I don''t have enough spare power , I thought of joining forces with Qiang and Yu."


    Jiang Xu put the letter on the imperial case: "It''s not surprising that one wants to win the three states of Yangxi Road, and the other wants to protect Rongzhou."


    "Earlier, Ming Tingyuan didn''t have any troubles on Yangxi Road. Now it''s better to replace Guo Bingmao. This Guo Bingmao is Ming Tingyuan''s capable subordinate. Ming Tingyuan strongly recommends him as his successor¡ª"


    Jiang Xu suddenly interrupted: "This matter should have nothing to do with the Marquis of Jing''an."


    "How do you know that?" Cheng Kangdi immediately asked back.


    Cheng Kangdi always had scruples about Ming Tingyuan.


    After Ming Tingyuan returned to Beijing at the end of his tenure, he was transferred to the Privy Council as a deputy envoy of the Privy Council. The Privy Council is the highest military and political organ of the dynasty. After he was promoted to Deputy Privy Envoy, he took charge of the north room and Hexi room under the twelfth room of the Privy Council.


    Yangxi Road is under the jurisdiction of Hexi Fang, and he himself has been operating Yangxi Road for many years. Although the position of commander is changed, he still holds the power of commanding troops, and the successor commander is still his former capable subordinate. Power is not insignificant.


    However, because Jiang Xu intervened, Emperor Chengkang missed the best opportunity to cut him off by pruning the family. In the past two years in Beijing, he also kept his own place. In addition, even if others were in Beijing, even if they held the power in the northwest frontier, they would not be able to escape. Therefore, Emperor Cheng Kang did not intend to touch him casually.


    It¡¯s just that this secret letter tonight¡ª


    "In the past, the Marquis of Jing''an was unwilling to get involved in court disputes. Now that he has been in the Privy Council for two years, he has never overstepped the rules. With his current status, there is no need for collaborating with the enemy and treason. If there is, it is only possible. It''s to help me and plot a big plan." Jiang Xu said suddenly.


    Emperor Cheng Kang was startled, and suddenly realized: "What nonsense are you talking about, I don''t mean that, I have never doubted you!"


    Jiang Xu''s expression was extremely indifferent: "Your Majesty has no doubts about your ministers, nor do you need to be suspicious about the Marquis of Jing''an. Although the Marquis of Jing''an strongly recommended Guo Bingmao, Guo Bingmao has been in charge of West Yang Road for two years, but he has no important military power in his hands. Other thoughts. Why Guo Bingmao and Bei He communicated with each other, and what plans they have in the next step, have yet to be verified."


    These words also make sense, Cheng Kangdi thought for a moment, then nodded: "Then I will leave this matter to you, if he really has two minds... then it is better to follow the plan."


    Just as Jiang Xu had this intention, he nodded slightly in response.


    After a long silence, Emperor Chengkang sighed, and patted him on the shoulder again: "It seems that you have taken care of that little princess. You have changed a lot since you got married."


    Jiang Xu didn''t like to discuss personal matters with him very much, and he didn''t respond to his words, he just said in a low voice: "If there is nothing else, I will leave."


    Looking at the back of Jiang Xu who was about to lift the curtain to get out of the tent, Cheng Kangdi suddenly called him back: "Ah Xu!"


    Jiang Xu stopped.


    "I will always trust you."


    Jiang Xu paused for a moment, but still left the imperial tent without looking back.


    Not far away, the newly promoted concubine who came to deliver the roasted venison hid in the dark and quietly heard this sentence, and couldn''t help being curious.


    After Jiang Xu left, the concubine entered the imperial tent to serve Emperor Chengkang eating venison and drinking deer blood wine.


    Seeing that Emperor Chengkang was a little drunk, she squeezed carefully, kneading his shoulders and neck for Emperor Chengkang, and said casually, "By the way, my concubine just met His Highness King Dingbei outside."


    Cheng Kangdi closed his eyes and remained silent.


    She pretended to be curious and asked cautiously: "The concubine has heard that His Majesty has a lot of trust in His Royal Highness King Dingbei, but His Royal Highness King Dingbei has a heavy army, and his father-in-law, Marquis Jing''an, is also the deputy envoy of the Privy Council. Could it be that His Majesty is so relieved?" Is it? Even brothers are not so good."


    After finishing speaking, her hands were a little gentler, and she hurriedly added a sentence: "My concubine is straightforward, so I dare to ask, if I make a mistake, don''t blame your majesty."


    This newly promoted concubine was quite a bit like the noble lady Jia from before, she was very daring to speak, but she was more able to observe the situation and judge the situation than noble lady Jia. Cheng Kangdi liked this temperament, and recently called her to accompany her every day.


    At this moment, Cheng Kangdi still closed his eyes, and after a long silence, he slowly responded: "You don''t understand, and you don''t have to understand."


    He didn''t reassure her, but he didn''t mean to blame her for meddling in politics.


    In fact, it was not just the new concubine who was puzzled, there were many people who were puzzled by this, and many people even believed that Emperor Chengkang''s trust and connivance towards Jiang Xu were all forced to kill him.


    Now Daxian still can''t do without this **** of war, so he can only let him be the master of war. If Daxian no longer needs him in time, or if he has a second heart, then his death will not be far away.


    But Emperor Chengkang knew that there would never be a day when Daxian would always need King Dingbei, and he would never have the heart of disobedience.


    ¡ª¡ªThe throne was once in front of him, but he chose to give it up.

 Chapter 100：

    The wind stopped overnight and the trees were quiet. In the early morning of the next day, Jiang Xu and his party accompanied Emperor Cheng Kang and marched towards the encircled area deep in the dense forest.


    Ming Tan didn''t have the strength to toss around today, he didn''t even change his riding and shooting clothes, he sent Jiang Xu out of the tent, and then got back into bed, and fell asleep until the sixth princess was chattering outside the tent, insisting on Lue entering the tent to wake her up .


    Lue is very obedient, she doesn''t want to be disturbed by the account, but she was woken up by the two of them.


    She opened her eyes, stared blankly at the top of the tent for a while, leaned against the brocade pillow, and said to the outside: "Let the sixth princess come in."


    It was finally quiet outside.


    The sixth princess was led into the tent by Lue, and when she saw Ming Tan leaning against the couch, who hadn''t woken up, she finally felt embarrassed: "Did I disturb your rest?"


    "It''s good to know." Ming Tan glanced at her wearily.


    The sixth princess rubbed her nose, felt embarrassed for a moment, then sat down on the side of her couch confidently, shook her arm and urged: "Anyway, you''re already awake, why don''t you get up quickly."


    Ming Tan was a little dizzy from being shaken, stopped shouting, and said helplessly: "Okay, get up, get up now."


    Hearing the words, Lv''e bowed her body slightly, and quietly retreated.


    Not long after, she brought four little maids into the tent to wait for her to wash and groom.


    The sixth princess gave way, thinking that she and Ming Tan would be able to pay out of the account in at least one moment, but who knew that one moment passed, and two moments passed... An hour passed, and she was so bored that she returned to her own account to change. A pair of old boots that don''t wear out, Ming Tan is still dressing up!


    The sixth princess was confused, why did she still need to soak goat milk in her hands? Why are petals added to goat milk? What kind of ointment do you apply on your hands after soaking? Why do you have to wash it with water after applying it for a while? What is it after cleaning?


    "The sixth princess doesn''t know something. The princess uses fresh goat''s milk to protect her jade hands every morning and before going to bed. The goat''s milk must be fresh goat''s milk that has been squeezed out for less than two hours. Apply a thick layer of jade cream, after washing, apply honey dew made from morning dew, and take care of it every day, so that your hands will be delicate and smooth without fine lines."


    While combing Mingtan''s hair, Lue narrated to the sixth princess.


    The sixth princess was already dumbfounded when she heard that, Pian Lue combed her complicated hair, put down the corner comb, and turned slightly to her side to give her a blessing: "Now you are going out, and many things are not complete, which made the sixth princess laugh. "


    "..."


    I see, I see, it''s ridiculous.


    "You, you Daxian women are all like this..."


    Ming Tan covered his lips in boredom and yawned: "That''s not true, one of the women you saw yesterday is my cousin, she wakes up very quickly to wash up in the morning."


    The sixth princess was comforted a little bit, otherwise she really didn''t know whether she was living like a princess or Daxian''s daughter was living more like a princess.


    She was so dazed that she also forgot that she came to Ming Tan this morning to teach her riding and archery, to show off her superb skills, and after Ming Tan finished washing, she realized: "Why didn''t you change your riding and archery uniform? !"


    "Why do you want to change? I was too tired yesterday, and I don''t want to go into the jungle again today."


    "...?"


    No, just yesterday she and her little sister buried rabbits by the edge of the forest, why did she get tired? Walking two steps outside, you can see the big camp, what kind of dense forest it is!


    Ming Tan motioned to Lu E to help her pinch her neck, and said lazily: "Besides, there will be a riding and shooting competition tomorrow, and I will have to sit for half a day. Today I have to stay in the camp to rest and recharge my batteries. By the way , I also invited people to play Shuanglu, the sixth princess wants to play together?"


    "..."


    "Then I''d better hunt some prey first," the sixth princess pouted, "My emperor''s elder brother is not good at riding and shooting, and we both have pitifully little prey in the future. Wouldn''t it damage my Nanlu national prestige!"


    Ming Tan looked at her with an admiring look of "I didn''t expect you to be such a sixth princess" for a long time, felt embarrassed at her, and said "what are you looking at", and ran away .


    Coming out of Ming Tan''s camp, the sixth princess didn''t delay much, got on her horse and entered the dense forest alone.


    Her riding and archery skills are good, but if she goes deeper today, she has to have more guards to accompany her.


    She was annoyed by the guards following behind, whipped the horsewhip, and shouted: "Drive!"


    Then he suddenly threw the guard away.


    The horse galloped among the dense forests, and suddenly, she saw a white figure leaping past extremely fast.


    Hey, is it a white fox?


    She ran forward to catch up--


    It''s really a white fox.


    Leaping under a thick tree, the white fox slowly wagged its tail and rested against the root of the tree.


    For some reason, she suddenly thought that using this white fox fur as a cloak for the embroidered pillow would look very nice.


    Thinking of this, she pulled up her horse and raised her bow, aiming intently at the little white fox in the distance, but the horse under her seemed to be bitten by some wild insect in the forest, and suddenly raised its hoof, shaking restlessly. shook.


    With this shake, the Sixth Princess who let go of the rein was on the verge of falling, and the arrow was on the string, and she had to shoot it, but she deviated from the direction, and she didn''t know where it went!


    "Clang!"


    The sound of arrows being knocked down came from the front.


    Before the sixth princess had time to look at it, she just went to rein in the reins, and then a blurred and changing white light mixed with the tree shadows in front of her eyes. In the confusion, someone hugged her waist and took her away from the fierce horse that was getting more and more frenzied. After a few breaths, he landed firmly on another horse.


    Her heartbeat suddenly became extremely fast following the sudden change, and when she was still in shock and her head was blank, she only saw a wide and straight back in front of her.


    The guards quickly caught up behind her, and the horse moved forward for a short distance before stopping. The person sitting in front of her quickly got off the horse, lowered his head and cupped his hands, and apologized: "Girl, please act in a hurry. Sorry for the abruptness."


    "Princess Six!" the guard shouted from behind.


    The man paused, and added: "I have seen the sixth princess."


    The sixth princess has regained her senses at this moment, but her heartbeat has not gradually calmed down, she is fixed on looking at the man who dismounted from the horse.


    This man is very good at martial arts, his appearance is also extremely upright, and he is full of youthful vigor.


    After a while, she asked, "Who are you?"


    "I''m Shen Yu."


    After following the guards to the front, they found that the person was Shen Yu, and hurriedly knelt down on one knee and saluted: "I have seen General Shen."


    The sixth princess became more and more curious: "Are you Daxian''s general?"


    Shen Yu always remembered what Cousin Tan said about keeping the etiquette before, and she felt extremely uncomfortable just now when she hugged someone''s waist, and now she didn''t even dare to look up at the person, and only nodded slightly as a response.


    The sixth princess wanted to ask something else, but Shen Yu didn''t want to stay for a moment, and cupped her hands before she could speak: "The sixth princess is hunting in the dense forest, it is better for the sixth princess to let the guards follow, if there is nothing wrong, I will take a step first. "


    The sixth princess paused for a moment, looking at his back that was in a hurry and drifting away, and suddenly reacted: "Hey! Don''t go! This princess has something else to do!"


    Shen Yu walked faster.


    "Your horse!"


    Shen Yu had disappeared.


    The sixth princess was inexplicably angry, looked at the horse under her, and said to herself: "Why are people in Daxian so weird, just leave as soon as you want, it''s not like you don''t even want the horse, you idiot!"


    She patted the horse''s head lightly, and murmured after a long while: "But this idiot is no worse than His Royal Highness Dingbei King, and I don''t know if he is engaged... He is quite suitable to be a son-in-law, at least he is much better than the son-in-law that my father had a crush on." .¡±

 Chapter 101：

    "Shen Yu?" Ming Tan paused, "He should be, he is not yet married, you ask this because you want to...?" Ming Tan took out Zhang Yezi and looked at the sixth princess hesitantly.


    The Sixth Princess wanted to speak directly to her, but when she saw Princess Yujun, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan who were playing with her, they swallowed the words again, thinking that they hadn''t revealed it, and said softly, "" Nothing." With his hands behind his back, he tiptoed and walked away briskly.


    Ming Tan was originally playing Shuanglu with Bai Minmin, and when Princess Yujun came over, she was eager to try, but Shuanglu could only play with two people, so Ming Tan pulled Zhou Jingwan, who was a female celebrity, and played leaf cards instead.


    They were playing and chatting, Princess Yujun was asking why the Sixth Princess of Nanlu went to her camp early in the morning, Ming Tan answered halfway, and the Sixth Princess drove the horse back from the depths of the dense forest to the camp where she was stationed up.


    Seeing her leave now, Bai Minmin looked at her back and patted Ming Tan: "The sixth princess, could it be that she has taken a fancy to General Shen?"


    Ming Tan didn''t answer, just meditating, but Zhou Jingwan and Bai Minmin exchanged a tacit look.


    Princess Yu Jun didn''t know Shen Yu very well, so after playing the cards, she thought for a while before asking: "Little General Shen is the younger brother of the second young lady of the Li family?"


    "Exactly." Bai Minmin replied, "A-tan''s distant relatives, they are called cousins. They used to live in Jing''an Hou Mansion."


    Princess Yu Jun nodded her head slowly: "Then I will be able to match the number. I heard that this little general Shen is very brave and good at fighting, and he is quite trusted by His Royal Highness King Dingbei."


    Ming Tan was noncommittal.


    After she married into Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, she almost never saw Shen Yu again, remembering how he thought about her in the past... After so long, it should fade away, right? If he still has any intentions, the husband will not keep him by his side forever.


    Thinking about it this way, Shen Yu and the sixth princess are a good match.


    ¡­


    At noon, the sixth princess went into the dense forest again and hunted the white fox back. She graciously carried the white fox to Ming Tan to ask for credit, saying that she would give the white fox fur to her as a cloak, and in the meantime ask her further about Shen Yu.


    With short hands, Ming Tan had no choice but to tell her what he knew about Shen Yu.


    "Is he your cousin?" The sixth princess was startled.


    "Well, yes, it''s always been called that. In fact, it''s already out of the third server, and the relatives are a little far away."


    The sixth princess seemed to have never heard of it, and used her limited head to think for a while: "Then if he becomes my son-in-law, I will be your cousin?"


    Ming Tan: "..."


    She hadn''t filmed the matter yet, but she had already thought of raising her seniority.


    The sixth princess asked again: "Then he is neither married nor engaged, but does he have a girl he likes? At his age, shouldn''t it be time for you to discuss marriage?"


    This question-


    Ming Tan choked up.


    "The girl I like... I guess I don''t have one." She pondered for a while, then focused on the word "girl".


    The sixth princess could not fail to hear the implication, she stared straight at her eyes and asked, "Could it be that there is a man you like?!"


    ...?


    "No, no, that''s not what I mean, what I mean is, the one he likes...may not be a girl anymore, maybe...already married?"


    In fact, Ming Tan didn''t want to hide it from her. Many misunderstandings were caused by hiding it from her. If there is something wrong, it''s better to make it clear earlier, not to mention that she and Shen Yu have nothing to do with each other.


    It''s just that it''s really hard for her to say that Shen Yu once liked her, so she can only hint and hint like this.


    The sixth princess heaved a sigh of relief: "Since you''re married, it doesn''t matter."


    She picked up a grape casually, before she put it into her mouth, she suddenly reacted. She raised her eyes suspiciously, and looked at the slightly guilty Ming Tan: "The one he likes, shouldn''t it be you?"


    "He...in fact...a long time ago...I think it''s already¡ª"


    The sixth princess put down the grapes, her bun face tightened: "You!"


    "My cousin has absolutely no intentions." Ming Tan hastily assured.


    "You just look better, why are you so attractive!"


    "The matter of appearance is not something I can control." Ming Tan looked innocent.


    The sixth princess couldn''t help but glared at her.


    But she was depressed for a while, and she didn''t know why, she seemed to have figured it out by herself: "Then I once liked His Highness King Dingbei, and he once liked you, so it''s even."


    Even though she was thinking about it, she got up and walked outside for a while, and she turned back with a grudge, and took the white fox away.


    Ming Tan really thought about what kind of white fox cloak to make for a while, but now there is no need to think about it, this little princess is too realistic!


    ¡­


    In the evening, Jiang Xu and his entourage returned to the camp after hunting. Today, they had a good harvest. Chengkang Emperor Longyan was very happy, and distributed all the prey he had hunted to the ministers.


    Jiang Xu also hunted two Firefox as he wished.


    After getting a new Firefox fur, Ming Tan''s smiling eyes crooked, and he finally forgot about the depressing incident that the Sixth Princess took away the white fox just now.


    "By the way, sir, cousin Shen came to the paddock today?" Ming Tan thought of something and asked suddenly.


    Jiang Xu said "Yes": "Yesterday he was away on business, and he just came today." As he spoke, he glanced at her indistinctly.


    Ming Tan thought that Jiang Xu didn''t know Shen Yu''s thoughts about him, and wanted to help the sixth princess find out about Shen Yu''s recent situation: "Then what is he doing now, I seem to have heard my cousin Hua say that my cousin was promoted. gone?"


    Jiang Xu patiently answered a few times, but every time he finished answering, she had new questions.


    Jiang Xu finally couldn''t help it, and asked in a deep voice, "What are you doing asking Shen Yu all the time?"


    Ming Tan paused, and said in a calm voice as if nothing had happened: "He...is my cousin, I haven''t heard about him for a long time, I care about him, what''s wrong?"


    She didn''t say anything about the Sixth Princess'' interest in Shen Yu, after all, it was a girl''s family, and it was useless to say that being in love with fame was useless.


    Jiang Xu said indifferently, "What kind of cousin is he who has been counted for three thousand miles?"


    Ming Tan: "...?"


    Jiang Xu got up suddenly, and said again: "I just remembered that your mother has always suffered from knee pain, so I''d better give that Firefox fur to your mother. You rest first, and I will go out for a while."


    It seems that it is not enough to prevent Shen Yu from entering the palace on weekdays, but when they meet suddenly today, they have so many thoughts.


    Ming Tan didn''t know what he was thinking, he was completely confused.


    Of course, there is nothing wrong with giving it to your mother, but didn''t you agree to make a cloak for her? Why did my husband suddenly change his face?


    After losing three pieces of fine fox fur in one day, Ming Tan suddenly became a bit sad, and Jiang Xu went straight to find Shen Yu, planning to arrange some errands for him to go out of Beijing.


    Shen Yu didn''t have any objection to going to Beijing to do business. Just as she was about to come down, she heard her prince beating coldly: "Since the princess is already a princess, it''s better not to see her in the future. Don''t have thoughts that shouldn''t be there."


    "...?"


    "What did you say? The subordinates don''t understand."


    Jiang Xu looked at him quietly.


    His eyes were confused and frank, he really didn''t understand.


    "You haven''t seen the princess today?"


    Shen Yu shook her head: "What''s wrong with the princess?"


    Jiang Xu paused, gave him a look of "take care of yourself", and left without saying a word.


    The next day was a riding and shooting competition.


    This kind of competition is mostly reserved for young people to show their talents. Apart from firing arrows at the beginning, Jiang Xu has not played since then. Because of Shen Yu''s answer last night, she was not ordered to leave Beijing overnight to run a business, but she was able to play on the field, showing off the demeanor of the Northern Army.


    In the shooting area, the sixth princess, wearing a riding uniform and holding a longbow, rushed straight to Shen Yu who was trying out the string, with a bright smile: "Little General Shen!"


    Shen Yu was startled: "Princess Six."


    She bent her lips, her eyes turned into crescent moons when she smiled: "You still remember me."


    "..."


    I just saw him yesterday, and he is not an idiot, Shen Yu was a little puzzled.


    "By the way, little general Shen, you didn''t ride your horse away yesterday. I had someone tie it up near my camp, and even fed it myself."


    "Ah... Thank you, Princess Six." He forgot this.


    "Then when the competition is over, I will return it to you personally."


    Hearing "in person", Shen Yu''s heart beat again: "Don''t bother the sixth princess, in fact, if the sixth princess likes it, it''s okay to stay."


    "Really?" The sixth princess looked surprised, "Give it to me?"


    Shen Yu was about to nod her head when she said again: "Then is this a token of love?"


    ...?


    This, how is this, how is it a token of love.


    Shen Yu was stunned, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He swallowed and replied, "Six, Princess Six, be careful! Let people hear you, yes, it will damage your innocence, Princess."


    The sixth princess was puzzled: "How can this damage my innocence?"


    Shen Yu didn''t know where to start to explain.


    The sixth princess muttered again: "It''s really strange for you to make a big show. If I just say a token of love, it will damage my innocence. Then it''s too difficult for you to show off a woman''s innocence."


    Shen Yu: "..."


    To be honest, he felt the same way.


    The sixth princess wanted to ask him a question, but wouldn''t it damage the innocence of the embroidered pillow if she asked it directly?


    She thought for a while, and then changed her method: "Little General Shen, I heard that you are not yet married, so do you have a woman you like now?" She also emphasized, "This woman includes both married and unmarried."


    Shen Yu was a little dazed, he had never met such a direct woman, his tongue was tied.


    "Could it be that you guys are innocent too, and I''m hurting your innocence by asking me like this?" The sixth princess fell into deep confusion. Suddenly, she thought of something, "So, you hugged me in the forest yesterday." Me, this should be more serious, right? Shouldn''t you marry me?"

 Chapter 102：

    What was she afraid of? Shen Yu was most afraid that the sixth princess would mention the accidental hug when she was saving someone yesterday. The sixth princess didn''t seem to think there was anything before, and she didn''t mention it all the time, but now she has reacted.


    He blushed and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.


    The sixth princess was considerate and said: "I didn''t mean to force you. If you don''t want to answer, then I will compete with you later on. If I win, you can tell me?"


    Shen Yu blushed, her neck was thick, and she stammered, "Yeah, if you compete with a woman, you won''t win by force."


    "Little General Shen, please don''t look down on women," the sixth princess raised her face proudly, "My riding and shooting are really good, I want to compete with you!"


    "Since that''s the case, then, then you will be given three arrows."


    The sixth princess didn''t argue with him any more, she just drew the bow and tested the string, and said briskly with her hands behind her back: "Deal!"


    Not long after, the competition began.


    Ming Tan and Jiang Xu sat together, posing as a dignified and quiet princess. In fact, she thinks these riding and archery competitions are very boring, people are not handsome enough, even if they hit every shot, they are not good-looking.


    Sitting quietly for a while, seeing the sixth princess and Shen Yu playing together, Ming Tan finally cheered up.


    I don''t know what the two said, Shen Yu made a "please" gesture, and the sixth princess stepped forward holding her bow and arrow, straightened her waist, aimed at the bull''s-eye, and started shooting.


    Before, she only heard the little princess bragging about herself, and she only found out that someone was shot when the rabbit was nailed to death in the forest, so she had never seen how graceful the little princess is when she shoots an arrow. Not too much.


    Her little bun face was tense, she concentrated on drawing the bow, and kept taking arrows from the quiver on her back. She fired ten arrows in a row, and the arrows hit the bull''s-eye.


    On the other hand, Shen Yu, who played later, even hit the bull''s-eye with his arrows, but he only shot seven arrows before stopping.


    Ming Tan approached Jiang Xu and whispered: "Husband, do you think the Sixth Princess of Nanlu and Shen''s cousin are quite suitable when standing together?"


    Jiang Xu nodded rarely.


    Leaving from Shen Yu''s camp last night, he found the secret guards to investigate carefully, only to find out that he was thinking too much, and the little princess asked about Shen Yu, it should be because of the Sixth Princess of Nanlu.


    Soon, the competition in front of him was over, Ming Tan looked at the sixth princess''s little bun face with a bright smile, proudly puffed out her small chest, and took a sip of the fruit wine in a good mood.


    After today''s riding and archery competition, they will leave camp and go back to the city. The Nanlu Mission has been in Beijing for a few days, and they have already made plans to return the next day.


    But on the way back to the city, the sixth princess suddenly got into Ming Tan''s carriage sadly.


    Seeing her suddenly depressed, Ming Tan asked cautiously, "What''s wrong?"


    "Before the competition, I made an agreement with Little General Shen. If I win, he will answer me. Now, do you have a woman you like?" She held her chin, her face full of sadness, "I just asked, and he said no."


    Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief: "Isn''t that great?"


    "I asked him again if he would like to be my son-in-law. He said that he is a soldier of Daxian, and he will defend his family and country until his death. How can he be the son-in-law of another country? I said he misunderstood, and I didn''t mean to ask him to leave Daxian. Wouldn¡¯t it be good to get married? Then he said, I just knew yesterday, how to talk about marriage, we need to understand each other to make a decision, but I will go back to Nanlu in the future, how can I have time to understand each other with him .¡±


    Speaking of this, the sixth princess''s whole little bun''s face collapsed.


    "You said he hated me so he refused repeatedly. Is it so troublesome for you Daxian to marry? Although I can ask your Emperor Daxian to fight for it by force, but if he doesn''t want to, wouldn''t it be more pleasing to me to do so? Suspect?"


    Ming Tan thought for a while, and said carefully: "I think he didn''t deliberately find excuses to refuse, you really have known each other too shortly, he needs to be cautious about marriage, and you should be even more cautious."


    "Really?" The sixth princess looked at her pitifully.


    Ming Tan nodded and waved again, motioning for her to come closer.


    She hesitated to get closer.


    Ming Tan said softly: "Just now when you were competing, I asked my husband, and my husband said that Little General Shen''s riding and shooting skills are unmatched by anyone in the Dingbei Army. If he wants to, he can hit the bull''s-eye just now , shoot your arrow down."


    The sixth princess was stunned for a moment, then said slowly: "Then he let me in on purpose?"


    Ming Tan defaults.


    The sixth princess hurriedly held her hand: "Then he doesn''t hate me, how can we understand each other, it''s only been two days, and besides, my father has already taken care of my son-in-law in Nanlu..." At the end , she felt a little guilty.


    As soon as Ming Tan thought about it, she came up with a solution, but she suddenly remembered the white fox being carried back by the little princess, and when she reached the point of her mouth, she swallowed it again.


    She pretended to cough twice, and then said slowly: "Of course there is a way. It depends on whether the princess really wants to know."


    The sixth princess was a little confused: "I''m very sincere."


    Ming Tan didn''t look at her, just smoothed the wrinkles on the clothes slowly, and thought to himself: "Winter is coming soon, I haven''t made winter clothes this year, and I didn''t make new clothes last year. Hey, Tang Tang Concubine, it''s true that I live too frugally."


    The sixth princess finally came to her senses: "The white fox fur is for you!"


    "Yesterday you gave it with sincerity, that''s the price, but you took it back, today it''s not the price."


    "Then, I''ll give you whatever you want."


    "Before you leave, come to the palace and roast a leg of lamb for me."


    "it is good!"


    Ming Tan was satisfied, and then smiled and motioned her to lean her ear over, and whispered a few words in her ear.


    When the sixth princess heard this, Baozi''s face brightened immediately: "Two lamb legs, this princess will roast two for you!"


    Two days later, the Nanlu Mission was preparing to return. Emperor Chengkang prepared more than a dozen car gifts and a letter of condolences, which can be regarded as a token of friendship.


    Ming Tan got up early in the morning to make up, and drove to the city gate to see him off in the palace carriage.


    Seeing that it was Ming Tan, the sixth princess hurriedly got off her horse, and said with a smile, "I thought you weren''t coming."


    "How come, I promised to come and see you off, so I will come naturally."


    Lue sent a brocade box at the right time, Ming Tan took the brocade box and handed it over.


    "Give it to me?" Princess Six picked it up and asked curiously, "Can I watch it now?"


    Ming Tan nodded: "Of course."


    She couldn''t wait to open it, and there was an extremely delicate sachet lying inside, she sighed intently: "It''s so beautiful! Did you embroider this?"


    Before getting off the carriage that day, the Sixth Princess casually asked Ming Tan where he got the sachet on His Highness King Dingbei''s waist, it was so beautifully embroidered. Ming Tan took this matter to heart, and embroidered one for the little princess when he returned home.


    The sixth princess couldn''t put it down, she looked at it carefully for a while, pointed to the word "Chun" embroidered on the inside, and said pleasantly, "You also embroidered my boudoir name."


    Ming Tan bent his lips and nodded.


    "But what is this? Is this a steamed stuffed bun?" The sixth princess looked at the embroidery pattern on the sachet, and was a little confused. It looked like a steamed stuffed bun, but why did she embroider the steamed stuffed bun on the sachet.


    Ming Tan couldn''t help pinching her cheek: "It''s the bun!"


    ...!


    "Okay, anyway, if this happens, you will come to Beijing again sooner or later, so I won''t send you any more."


    The sixth princess was still a little bit reluctant, but she said so, it seems to be the same, she nodded, glanced at Shen Yu who was riding a horse with a tall and straight back like a small pine, hugged Ming Tan happily, and whispered to Ming Tan Said in the ear: "You just wait for me to be your little cousin!"


    Ming Tan: "..." These sixth princesses are not very old, why are they so focused on raising their own seniority?


    Shen Yu sneezed inexplicably, and subconsciously turned her head to look at the sixth princess who was whispering to her cousin Tan. She always had a bad premonition in her heart, and she was sent to **** the gift back to Nanlu for no reason. It will be too safe.


    Sure enough, not long after leaving the city on the road, the sixth princess intentionally slowed down her pace. When she was walking alongside Shen Yu, she smiled and said, "Little General Shen, the return trip is long, and now we have time to get to know each other better!"


    Shen Yu: "..."


    It turned out she asked for it.


    After seeing off the sixth princess, Ming Tan was too lazy to rest at home for several days and never went out again.


    Now that the matter in Lingzhou is over, the recovery of Rongzhou seems to be on the agenda again. In the past few days, Mr. Jiang Xu was meeting guests at Wanjuanzhai, and Ming Tan didn''t bother him. Winter is coming, and it is almost the end of the year, and she still has a lot of things to do.


    On the other hand, Mrs. Pei rarely went back to Dingbei Palace.


    She is Ming Tan''s mother, so it is not unusual to come to the palace, but she thought that she is not Ming Tan''s biological mother, and she is not good at treating the palace as her own back garden. .


    "Mother, why are you free to come over today?" Ming Tan quickly helped Mrs. Pei to sit at the head of the flower hall, and then ordered Su Xin to serve Mrs. Pei''s favorite tea and snacks.


    Mrs. Pei flipped the lid of the tea and said with a gentle smile: "It''s all right, I''m going to Chang Guogong''s mansion today to watch the new play of Fuchun Troupe, and I''ll drop by to see you."


    Changguo Duke''s Mansion and Dingbei Prince''s Mansion, this road is so smooth that they can go back to Jing''an Hou''s Mansion twice. Ming Tan understood, and signaled the maids of the royal family whom Mrs. Pei didn''t know to step back for now.


    After the left and right screens retreated, Ming Tan asked: "Mother, what''s the matter?"


    Mrs. Pei didn''t go around too much, thought for a while and then asked carefully: "Recently...has your lord told you anything about government affairs?"


    "Never."


    Mrs. Pei pondered for a moment, and then said: "It''s nothing, but I have seen your father worry a lot these few days, and I asked him, but he didn''t say anything."


    Mrs. Pei sighed: "Your father and I, you also know, it''s all in the past, but now..." She was a little embarrassed, and after a long while, she whispered something in Ming Tan''s ear.


    When Ming Tan heard this, his eyes widened.

 Chapter 103：

    "Really? Can the doctor read it?"


    Mrs. Pei nodded: "I invited two doctors to come and see it, and they both said it was..." Mrs. Pei was really speechless, she was too old, no matter how she got a diagnosis and treatment, she didn''t have such fate, she had already looked down on it, but at this moment, It''s really embarrassing to say that there is good news again.


    Ming Tan was still in astonishment, unable to recover for a while.


    Mrs. Pei gently caressed her lower abdomen, and the corners of her lips could not help but bend into a gentle smile: "Recently, I have been a little addicted to spicy food, and they say it''s a sour girl. I wish I could be a little girl, just like you when you were a child. Yes, Yuxue is cute, well-behaved and lively, and she is very attractive."


    Ming Tan also subconsciously glanced at her lower abdomen, and suddenly smiled slightly: "Siblings and sisters are all good, after all, they are lucky. Of course, it is even better if it is a younger brother. It is always difficult for a daughter to do her best in front of her parents when her family is married. Filial piety and thoroughness."


    When Mrs. Pei heard this, her smile deepened: "You''re right, after all, you are a lucky person. In the future, you will have older brothers and sisters to rely on. If you are really a bastard, let him learn from your elder brother."


    Ming Tan nodded with a smile and took a sip of tea.


    She didn''t know that Mrs. Pei was looking forward to having a son in her heart, but because she had an elder brother in the mansion, she was afraid that her own hope would lead to her misunderstanding and hurt the relationship between mother and daughter, so she said so.


    In fact, she really hoped that Mrs. Pei would give birth to a son. She also understood his brother''s ability and temperament. He was kind-hearted, benevolent, but also conservative and stubborn. If you want to be like your father, who was able to expand the territory when he was young, and now he can rule a party, then there is no need to think about it.


    The Jing''an Marquis Mansion has been standing for a hundred years, and it is full of famous generals. If the present flowers are to continue in the future, they must continue to produce new generals. It is also for the long-term plan that famous families are looking forward to having more children.


    She tactfully shared her thoughts with Mrs. Pei.


    Pei''s mind is sensitive and has a great reputation. She always thinks that she is not her biological mother, and does not want people to think that her stepmother is trying to curry favor with the palace. Therefore, after she gets married, it is better not to be as close to her as she used to be in her boudoir.


    She has always wanted to talk to Mrs. Pei, but she couldn''t find a suitable opening. Now that the conversation came here, she also held Mrs. Pei''s hand and said, "After A Tan got married, my mother became more and more cautious. Yes. People in the world often say that being kind is not as great as raising kindness, and A-Tan thinks so too. You are A-Tan''s mother, and it''s normal to walk around and get close, so how can you get others to talk about it?"


    Pei Shi held her hand back, his eyes flickered, and his heart was full of emotion for a moment.


    "By the way, you just said that Dad has a lot of things on his mind recently and he refuses to share with you. When did that start?" Ming Tan remembered something and asked again.


    Mrs. Pei pondered and said: "That is, in the past few days, after Qiu A returns to Luan. The main reason is that your father will take the initiative to discuss with me when he has something to do, but this time I asked, and he just said nothing. That''s why I thought of coming to you to inquire about it."


    "Then I''ll ask my husband later."


    "Don''t." Mrs. Pei hastily stopped, "If it''s a political matter, it''s useless for a woman to ask more questions. Don''t cause a quarrel with your husband because of such things."


    Ming Tan originally wanted to say that her husband had already allowed her to ask questions, but Mrs. Pei said again: "It''s because I was thinking a lot during pregnancy that I panicked for no reason. If there is any important matter, His Highness will take the initiative to talk to you. If you don''t tell you, I want to come." It''s nothing serious."


    This is true.


    Ming Tan nodded and didn''t think any more.


    Although he didn''t think about it, Ming Tan originally planned to ask Jiang Xu, but Jiang Xu was so busy these days that it was hard to see anyone, and she also had a lot of things.


    Shen Huaping added an eldest grandson to Li''s residence, and everyone in the entire residence was beaming with joy. Li Jijiu was always humble and low-key, and it was rare for him to allow a 100-day banquet in the residence.


    After Ming Tan attended Shen Hua''s 100-day banquet, he was busy adding makeup to Bai Minmin. This year''s end of the year, happy events followed one after another, and the most lively one was the marriage between the Duke of Ping and the Duke of Chang.


    The two mansions are both distinguished and noble families, and the newcomers are both talented and beautiful, and they are in love with each other. The end is a golden and jade marriage, which everyone admires.


    On the day of the wedding, there was a mighty welcoming team, with red makeup stretching far away, and it was even rarer for the empress to come back to the palace to officiate the wedding for the couple.


    Bai Minmin and Zhang Huaiyu can be regarded as not being enemies and not getting together anymore. When someone else''s family gets married, the bride looks forward to the groom''s early clearance to welcome the bride, so she has to explain to her relatives and friends that they will not make trouble with him, but when it comes to Bai Minmin, she is on her own. To make suggestions, for a while, he said that the poem riddle was too simple, and for a while, he felt that the place where Xi Xie hid was not hidden enough, and he did not forget to tell the juniors in the family, remember to ask for more red sees when stopping the groom outside, so that he can give birth Returning blood is considered a relief.


    Seeing her fighting wits and courage, she really doesn''t want to get married.


    Zhang Huaiyu was also in a state of unhappiness. After finally taking the bride out of the house, he secretly lifted his hijab to take a look where others were not paying attention, and couldn''t help but mocked: "The face is so thick, is it painted on the city wall? Shouldn''t it be?" It will be disfigured, and you want to rely on this marriage?"


    "You are disfigured! Let me down!"


    Seeing that the two of them wanted to have a kiss once they went out, the bridesmaids hurried forward and pushed the groom into the wedding sedan chair.


    The bride got married and returned home for three dynasties. When returning to the banquet, Ming Tan saw Bai Minmin''s face was rosy and radiant, and he also joked with her for a while after the banquet. Bai Minmin is also a newlywed. A bit ashamed and annoyed, so I never forget to change the subject.


    "Why didn''t your Highness come here today? On the wedding day, he only showed his face, and he didn''t come with you."


    "He has been very busy recently. He is away all day, and he often goes straight to the study when he returns home. On the day you and Zhang Shizi got married, he only came back from Qingzhou early in the morning. Didn''t he just have time to show his face?"


    Bai Minmin nodded, seeing no one around, it was rare to talk about serious matters: "Is there going to be a war in the north? I see that my father has been very busy these days. When the mansion was busy preparing for my marriage, the outer courtyard It is also full of customers every day.¡±


    Ming Tan was noncommittal, but when she heard the word "menke", a very subtle thought flashed through her mind, but she didn''t catch it for a moment, and she didn''t even know where the subtle feeling that flashed for a moment came from. .


    The days passed unhurriedly, and the winter solstice of the year will soon be approaching.


    Ming Tan found an opportunity to ask Jiang Xu one night if something was wrong with her father. Jiang Xu paused for a moment, and only briefly replied "Don''t worry", and she didn''t ask any more.


    Instead, he asked if there was going to be a war in the Northland. Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, and then replied in a deep voice: "The mountains and rain in the Northland are about to come, and there will be war in the next year at the latest."


    "After a year at the latest?" Ming Tan was stunned.


    She had expected that a war might start, but she didn''t expect it to be right in front of her eyes.


    "Then, the husband wants to..."


    "It should be New Year''s Eve, I can''t spend it with you."


    The news came so suddenly, Ming Tan was slightly startled, not knowing what to respond to,


    Because of the resettlement, the lights were cut off early, and the moon was covered by thick clouds tonight, leaving only a seemingly endless darkness in the house, and silence slowly spread in this darkness.


    Jiang Xu thought that she didn''t want him to go to the battlefield, and explained: "This king is Daxian''s Dingbei king. It is my duty to go to battle to kill the enemy, protect the family and the country. And only Rongzhou is the only one in the thirteen prefectures of Daxian. A state is scattered outside, regaining Rongzhou and rebuilding the defense of thousands of miles will ensure that our dynasty will not be invaded by the barbarians in the north for a hundred years. After this battle, there should be no wars in the border areas for several years."


    "A Tan knows." Ming Tan replied very softly, "That''s just a little sudden, I''m not ready yet..."


    Jiang Xu hugged her tighter.


    "Then is this battle dangerous? Can you be sure?"


    "The battlefield changes rapidly, and there is no definite number."


    Knowing this, I still want to ask. Ming Tan pursed his lips and remained silent.


    During the winter solstice ceremony, Jiang Xu accompanied the holy car as usual to pay homage to the Taimiao.


    On the day of the trip, Ming Tan Tete got up early to see her off. It was cold in the morning at this time of day, so Jiang Xu wrapped her cold little hands in a cloak, and for some reason, suddenly confessed: "During this period of time, the king is not here. What happens, we will wait for this king to come back."


    Ming Tan thought it was an ordinary confession, and was about to nod, but Jiang Xu said slowly, "Trust me."


    She was stunned for a moment, and felt that these words sounded strange, and she still asked: "Husband... what''s the matter?"


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer, just rubbed her head.


    ¡­


    On this trip to pay respects, he returned to Luan in three days, but Jiang Xu did not come back with him. The secret guard who returned to the mansion said that the prince was away on business, and it would be a few days later before he could return to Beijing.


    It''s better not to go directly to the Northland.


    Ming Tan felt a little relieved.


    But before she could rest her mind for three days, something happened to the Jing''an Hou Mansion¡ª¡ª


    The imperial guards in front of the palace surrounded Jing''anhou''s mansion without any warning. Lu Ting, the deputy commander of the palace in front of the palace, personally led the army to search. In the dark room of the study, several letters of correspondence with Beihe were found. They were suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason. Jing''an Hou Mingtingyuan was immediately arrested. He was imprisoned in Dali Temple Prison, and all the people in the mansion were also detained. Ming Heng, the prince of Jing''an Hou who was promoted to Tonggang and has not yet taken office, was also detained in Pangshan. After the investigation here is clear, he will be escorted back to Beijing.


    The Marquis of Jing''an communicated with Beihe, suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason? ! This is not to say that it is not a thunderbolt.


    When Ming Tan heard the news in the Dingbei Palace, she almost didn''t stop, her mind went blank for a long time, and when she realized it, her first thought was¡ªimpossible.


    How could daddy be collaborating with the enemy and treasoning the country, is he crazy? There must be something wrong in this, the letter may be framed by others!


    Ming Tan immediately wanted to go out to find Lu Ting, the person who came to detain him was Lu Ting, he must know something.


    But just as she was about to go out, she was stopped by soldiers outside. Although it is not as bad as marrying a daughter, Ming Tan married the Dingbei Palace, and the Dingbei King is also the person in charge of the military. For such serious crimes as collaborating with the enemy and treason, it is difficult to guarantee that there is any connection between the son-in-law. people, but they were also surrounded by soldiers.


    Ming Tan was flustered.


    Her intuition told her that the "belief" that her husband told her when she left the house referred to today''s events. Presumably, her husband already knew that her father would be detained.


    But now that Dingbei Palace is also surrounded, it''s hard for her not to think about whether her husband forgot that she might also be in the planning of others when he was planning.


    If so, then his "belief" is useless, because now, he may not be able to protect himself.


    Of course, this is the worst possible outcome.


    Ming Tan was not allowed to go out, so he could only go back to Qi''an Hall, forcing himself to calm down and think.


    She drank a cup of tea with shaking hands before she could barely remember the upcoming war in the Northland.


    That''s right, the war in the North, the recovery of Rongzhou... that can''t be the worst outcome involving your husband.


    Da Xian couldn¡¯t leave her husband now, even if the Holy Majesty wanted to get rid of him, he would not choose such a time. Restoring the lost land of Rongzhou would be equivalent to returning all the thirteen prefectures in the Northland. A hundred years later, the meticulous history books will be the most worthy of the Holy Majesty when he was in power. Just mentioning a great achievement, how could the Holy One give up the name of immortality in order to get rid of a powerful minister?


    Ming Tan breathed a sigh of relief, but in the next moment, the hand that was playing with the tea cover stopped suddenly.


    Since the husband will not be involved, then the husband is a part of planning this matter, knowing that this matter still does not return to Beijing, did he do it on purpose?

 Chapter 104：

    At noon, on Qiaofang Street, the residence of Lu Ting, the deputy commander in front of the hall.


    Zhou Jingwan was standing in front of the desk in the study and writing. She always had to learn five big characters before her lunch break, but today she couldn''t calm down, and her writing was absent-minded.


    The personal maid rushed in, Zhou Jingwan hurriedly raised her head and asked, "How is it?"


    "Miss, my uncle said that there are many ministers in front of the palace, please rest early tonight, he will not be able to return until later."


    Hearing this, Zhou Jingwan paused for a moment, then put down her pen heavily, and walked out of the study without saying a word.


    "Miss, where are you going?" Seeing Zhou Jingwan going straight out the door, the maid hurriedly followed up and asked.


    "He refuses to go back and hides from me, so I''ll go look for him in front of the hall." Zhou Jingwan''s voice was soft but firm.


    "Miss..." The maid couldn''t help but pulled her, showing embarrassment, and stammered, "Miss, don''t go, aunt, aunt...My aunt wants you to stay at home for the next two days and don''t go out."


    "What do you mean?" Zhou Jingwan''s back stiffened.


    The servant girl bit the bullet and replied: "Slave servant girl, this servant girl has just returned from the front of the hall, and my uncle sent some guards to guard the door by the way, and we are not allowed to go out again..."


    "He restrained me?" Zhou Jingwan''s question was full of disbelief.


    The maid didn''t know how to answer, she lowered her head nervously, not daring to breathe.


    ¡­


    In the middle of the night, everything was silent, and Lu stopped to return home.


    There was no light in the room, so Lu Ting couldn''t help but heaved a sigh of relief, slowed down, and pushed the door open.


    But just as he stepped into the inner room with his left foot, there was a sudden "crack" on the soft couch, and a fire was lit.


    Immediately, the lamp was lit.


    Zhou Jingwan sat on the soft couch and looked at him quietly.


    He paused for a while, then called out unnaturally: "Awan."


    Zhou Jingwan responded.


    He just stood there, not knowing whether to retreat or advance: "Why haven''t you stopped yet?"


    Seeing that he didn''t intend to take the initiative to confess, Zhou Jingwan didn''t go around in circles with him, and asked straight to the point: "You went to arrest Uncle Ming?"


    "..."


    Sure enough, what should come, can''t be avoided no matter what.


    Lu Ting was silent for a while, then stepped forward and sat on the other side of the soft couch: "Awan, I am in charge of the front office, and everything is done according to orders."


    "Since you are following orders, why do you hide from me? What is going on? Why is it so sudden? Did you know something long ago?"


    Lu Ting opened his mouth, but he couldn''t answer anything.


    Zhou Jingwan''s eyes were red, and she stood up suddenly.


    Lu Ting also stood up.


    "Don''t come here, you get out!"


    "I''m not here to sleep." Lu Ting felt helpless.


    "I don''t care where you sleep!"


    Lu Ting wanted to explain something, but in the end he didn''t say anything, and just left the main room in silence.


    The night sky is not very clear tonight, and the moon is also hidden in the clouds. Lu Ting stood in front of the house with his hands behind his back, thinking quietly, Awan is usually delicate and quiet, it seems that since he knew her, she


    It was the first time to speak so loudly, and it was also the first time to get so angry at him. It seemed that the princess held more weight in her heart than he had imagined.


    On the other side, in the Pingguo Mansion, Bai Minmin kept pestering Zhang Huaiyu to ask what was going on, but Zhang Huaiyu ignored the government, so Bai Minmin didn''t know what to ask.


    Seeing that Bai Minmin was sullen, he still dared to call Qu: "Although I have a good relationship with Lu Ting, it''s not easy to intervene in government affairs, right? The Duke of Pingguo is a foreign relative, and it is inappropriate to intervene in matters of collusion with the enemy and treason, so ah , It doesn¡¯t work if you fight with me, if the Marquis of Jing¡¯an hadn¡¯t done this, Dali Temple would definitely return him to his innocence.¡±


    Clean clean clean clean! How can people be innocent even if all the letters are found! Bai Minmin didn''t want to talk to him at all.


    She actually went back to the Duke Chang''s mansion and asked her father, but her father didn''t know anything, he just kept saying that it was far from possible for Ming Ting to do such a thing.


    Her father was walking around the room with his hands behind his back, more anxious than she was, and for some reason he slapped his head and thought of entering the palace, Mr. Zhou hurriedly persuaded him to come down.


    Collaborating with the enemy and treason is a serious crime. If it is really determined, Chang Guogong''s family, as the mother''s family of Mrs. Jing''an Hou Xiantou, would think that it would be reasonable for him to be separated from the nine clans.


    Besides, it is not enough for him to enter the palace to face the saint. Whether the Marquis of Jing''an is treasonable or not has yet to be verified, and he cannot be convicted and exonerated in a few words, and he has a son-in-law as capable as King Dingbei, and King Dingbei has not yet returned to Beijing. , everything is yet to be determined.


    What Mr. Zhou said this time is also very reasonable. After Bai Minmin heard it, he couldn''t say anything to refute it.


    Dingbei Prince''s Mansion is also under strict guard now, people inside can''t get out, people outside can''t get in, for the current plan, we can only wait for Dingbei King''s reaction.


    For three days in a row, Jiang Xu didn''t send back any news from outside, and there was no progress in Dali Prison. The only gratifying thing is that I heard that Lu Ting greeted Dali Prison and allocated a separate cell for the pregnant wife of Marquis Jing''an, Mrs. Pei.


    It''s not like Mingtan didn''t do anything these three days. Although the palace was surrounded by soldiers and generals, it didn''t mean that meals were not allowed. Everyday, as usual, people came to deliver fresh vegetables to the door, and at night, some people also delivered Gong barrels outside the mansion. Ming Tan took advantage of the occasion when he had to go in and out, and communicated with Bai Minmin several times, and also got some outside news.


    Of course, this letter is not easy to spread. If it is discovered, it will make the current situation worse. Fortunately, Ming Tansu likes to read miscellaneous books, and he and Bai Minmin once tried the method in ancient books: "Writing with alum water makes it dry, pour it with five seeds decoction, and it will become black characters."


    There is nothing on the paper I come and go, and I have to use some special methods to make the writing appear.


    However, on the fourth day of the letter, Ming Tan soaked the paper with five son soup, waited patiently for the handwriting to appear, but saw the unfamiliar handwriting, and wrote: "The king of Dingbei has returned to the capital secretly, hiding in Bieyulou, and finally Three days later, we will dispatch troops to march north."


    This letter was not written by Bai Minmin.


    There was a bang in Ming Tan''s mind, and various thoughts flashed across, if it wasn''t written by Bai Minmin, who could it be? Is the above book true or false? What is the purpose of the person who wrote the letter? How did this person drop the letter, and how did he discover the method of communication between her and Bai Minmin?


    Ming Tan was in doubt, and the next moment she touched the paper, she suddenly realized that it was wrong.


    The paper used to write this letter is thin cloud paper, which is medium, more expensive than the misty paper that Bai Minmin usually uses.


    But the raw material of this cloud paper is produced in Lingzhou. After the disaster in Lingzhou, the supply of raw materials is difficult. If you want to increase the price because of this, there are more good papers to choose from. , This year, Jingzhong Paper Factory no longer produces this kind of paper.


    If I remember correctly, because the Dingbei Prince''s Mansion provided the servants with fiber cloud paper all the year round, all the last batch of fiber cloud paper before the suspension of production in Jingzhong went to the Prince''s Mansion.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan quietly ordered: "Su Xin, Lu E, go and check quickly, everyone in the mansion may have come into contact with this letter today."


    "yes."


    After all, Su Xin and Lu E are big girls with many years of experience, so it is easy to investigate a servant in the mansion. After a while, they found out, and Mrs. Wang from the handyman''s office was taken to the flower hall of Qi''an Hall.


    This Mrs. Wang has gray hair and an honest face. She looks like an ordinary servant who is used to rough work. She has been in the mansion for more than ten years. Like an invisible person, she has been quietly working in the handyman''s office, filling in wherever there is a shortage. After all, she has never done any important work, nor Things will come, so I have been in the government for many years and have only been third class.


    Today Su Xin Lv E went to check on her, saw that she looked wrong, she evasively evaded her, and she showed her flaws after a few forced questions, and now she slipped in front of Ming Tan, even more so.


    It turned out that she was the nail that the Empress Dowager Su had planted in the palace many years ago. She had never been exposed before, because she had never acted before. She was used to living a life of duty, and suddenly she was asked to do things. She was really nervous, so seeing people When I came to check, I panicked. Now that the trick was over, she knelt on the ground, still kowtowing and begging for mercy, with a cowardly look that only wanted to survive.


    Ming Tan glanced at her with an unclear expression, and fiddled with the tea cover in a leisurely manner. After a long while, she said very calmly: "You don''t intend to live by exposing yourself through such a big detour, do you? Very skillful, forbearing, sacrificing, loyal, you are very good."


    As soon as this remark came out, Wang Pozi, who was kneeling on the ground, stopped kowtowing. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her head to look at Ming Tan, her face was no longer timid as before: "The princess has good eyesight."


    Su Xin and Lu E heard the words and hurriedly stood in front of Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan waved his hand, motioning for them to back away.


    It is not appropriate for Yun Yi to know the question, so she did not let Yun Yi guard in the flower hall. In order to prevent this person from practicing martial arts, when he was brought here, his hands and feet were bound tightly, and he was forced to pour a bowl of Ruanjin powder. It burns with an impotent incense, and both she and Su Xin Lv''e have taken medicine beforehand.


    This person came with no kindness, if he hadn''t been so well prepared, Ming Tan wouldn''t have dared to meet her rashly.


    "Enduring dormancy for more than ten years without revealing it, how can you be an ordinary person who betrays his master''s life, willing to work as a third-class handyman, and it is nothing more than the fact that the palace has to track down the eighteen generations of ancestors every time he is promoted. You can''t tolerate half a mistake. Ming Tan looked at her, "And that handwriting, it''s really well written."


    She often speaks like a person, and she can tell by looking at the handwriting that she cannot be an ordinary servant who has not done anything for more than ten years and just wants to continue to live a peaceful life.


    "Tell me what the Empress Dowager Su wants you to pass on."


    "What the old slave wants to pass on, I wrote it all in the letter." Mrs. Wang knelt upright and answered calmly.


    "Why do I believe you? Besides, what if the prince returns to the capital? Doesn''t the queen mother think that the prince is hiding from me and if I don''t save my father, I will blame him."


    "Collaborating with the enemy and treason, if you just don''t save it, it''s nothing, but if you frame it?" Mrs. Wang looked up at her.


    Ming Tan paused for a moment, then covered it up again, still as if nothing had happened.


    The old woman said again: "Why does the princess think the prince married you? Do you like it? Or is it because the emperor has to obey? Or, is it because the princess thinks it is a repayment?"


    Ming Tan raised his eyes suddenly.


    Mrs. Wang smiled: "My concubine is so naive. Who is His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang? Your unintentional kindness is at best a coincidence. Is it really worthy of being hired by His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang as a concubine? Isn''t it because... You have a father who is highly accomplished and doesn¡¯t know how to surrender military power obediently. But the disaster is not as good as a married woman, thinking about the kindness of the princess, it¡¯s enough to protect the Jinganhou¡¯s mansion from implicating the nine clans.¡±


    "continue."


    "The Empress Dowager is not alive for a few days now. It is said that people are about to die, and their words are good. The Empress Dowager just doesn''t want the princess to be used by others. She is kept in the dark. When the time comes, she will destroy the family and ransack the house, and she must be considerate of the enemy. "The lady Wang paused, "Of course, if the princess thinks that the queen mother is provoking the relationship between you and your husband, it''s all right. After all, the queen mother, the emperor, and His Royal Highness Dingbei are enemies for life, so naturally I can''t see them well."


    Ming Tan did not respond.


    Mrs. Wang said again: "There must be an edict outside the mansion at this moment. Maybe it was issued like this. "After investigation, the Marquis of Jing''an colluded with the enemy Beihe, leaked the military situation, and ransacked his home and asked to be executed. The King of the North is the head of the Beizheng Commander, and three days later, he will lead his troops to conquer Beihe.''¡±


    Ming Tan didn''t say a word, after a while, she ordered: "Take him down and keep him under strict guard."


    Lue blessed her body, and signaled to the stout servant who was guarding outside to take him down.


    Ming Tan sat quietly for a while, and then told Su Xin: "No matter what method is used, I want to know whether there is an edict outside to investigate and deal with Dad."


    After all, she has been married to the palace for a long time. Although she has not deliberately managed it, she still wants to find out the news outside the palace, so she is not helpless.


    An hour later, Su Xin returned.


    Her face was pale, seeing Ming Tan, she didn''t say anything, just knelt on the ground with a "plop".

 Chapter 105：

    "Now that the palace is surrounded by soldiers, how did you communicate with Shoukang Palace? I want to know how to leave the palace." In the firewood room, Ming Tan looked down from a high position, quietly looking at Mrs. Wang who was **** and thrown on the ground.


    Mrs. Wang didn''t seem to care about the dirtiness of the woodshed, she leaned half against the wall, looked up at her, and said with a sneer, "Being able to communicate with Shoukang Palace doesn''t mean that the old slave has a way to get out."


    "Forget it if you don''t have one." Ming Tan didn''t want to talk to her, so he turned around and wanted to leave.


    But the old lady called her again: "Princess!"


    Ming Tan stopped.


    "I heard that there is a secret passage in the palace leading to the outside of the palace, but this old slave does not know where the secret passage is. Even if I know it, I can''t get close to it, but the princess may be able to."


    Ming Tan heard the words and went out without looking back.


    Is there a secret passage in the mansion? Ming Tan immediately thought of Jiang Xu''s study.


    At that time, I only knew that there was a secret room in the study. Now that I think about it, the guards didn''t seem to know that Jiang Xu was having a secret discussion with someone. If they knew, they should not have let her bring snacks in, at least they should have let them know first. is.


    If the guards didn''t know, how could the person discussing the matter appear in the secret room out of thin air?


    She thought of something and went straight to the study.


    ¡­


    The night in deep winter was pitch black, and the moon was covered by thick clouds for several days in a row. When Ming Tan walked out of the palace through the secret passage of the study, it was very cold outside, and the wind was so cold that it seemed to be able to blow through the thick cloak.


    She got into the gray-covered carriage and drove all the way to Bieyulou.


    Passing the government office, she raised the curtain and looked out, and suddenly called out: "Stop."


    She got off the carriage, walked straight to the bulletin board outside the government office, and slowly read the edict word by word.


    When Suxin came to report before, she always felt that it was not true, but now seeing the several jade seals on the edict, she felt that the red color of the jade seals was particularly dazzling. What''s even more eye-catching is that this edict is almost the same as what Mrs. Wang said.


    The only difference is that King Dingbei did not lead his troops to attack Beihe in three days, but tomorrow.


    She couldn''t wait any longer, she had to see Jiang Qizhi tonight and listen to him explain in person.


    That was her father, her elder brother, and her clansman. It seemed that she still couldn''t believe in an illusory sentence, and sat peacefully in the mansion to gamble the lives of the Ming family.


    The war in the Northland is about to start, and the capital is turbulent, but Bieyulou is still a dreamy and gentle town, soft jade and fragrant, singing and dancing are peaceful, and from a distance, it is a place of bright lights.


    The time was too short, and Ming Tan didn''t have time to make all the preparations, so he simply changed his clothes in the carriage and pretended to be a servant, and met his cousin Bai''s family outside the building, and entered Bieyulou with him.


    Going up to this building, she was still an unmarried little girl. She was begging for a coincidence on Qixi Festival. It was lively outside but empty inside. In the boudoir full of water, she nervously and curiously opened the fire escape album.


    Now the hall is full of colorful colors, and as far as the eyes can see are the stunning ladies on the first floor of the capital. She also seems to see Shui Ying dancing down with ribbons, and some new dance is choreographed, and there are crowds of onlookers.


    The Bieyu Building is as lively as yesterday, but the anxiety and embarrassment that once hid in the empty building seems to have happened a long time ago.


    "Second cousin, you are here, I will go up." Ming Tan whispered.


    "G, that''s not acceptable! I''ll accompany you, how can I let your girl''s family go up alone."


    "It''s okay, I have a measure."


    "That''s not okay, I..." The second cousin of the Bai family was talking, his eyes glanced unintentionally, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the corner upstairs, and he murmured, "Mr. Zhou is here anyway, isn''t he not?" Is it close to a womanizer?"


    "Which Mr. Zhou?" Ming Tan followed his gaze, but couldn''t find anyone for a while.


    "It''s my father''s most trusted doorman. You know my father''s temper. It''s like a firecracker. It''s crackling at one o''clock. Only Mr. Zhou can persuade him."


    Ming Tan''s eyes froze for a moment, focusing on a figure that was extremely difficult to notice in the dark, and after a long while, her hands were unconsciously clenched and clenched, until they were pinched into the flesh, as if she didn''t feel the pain.


    Mr. Zhou.


    It turned out to be him.


    She has never been able to figure out why the figure that she had a quick glance at the palace that time looked familiar, but she couldn''t remember where she saw it. Now she remembered that the day Shu Jingran came to the mansion, the third person in the study was him. .


    The proud guest next to this uncle turned out to be one of Jiang Qizhi''s people.


    Many forgotten details suddenly came to my mind at this moment¡ª¡ª


    Ming Tan recalled that a long time ago, he and Bai Minmin were hiding in the study room flipping through the scriptures, and accidentally ran into his uncle rushing into the study room angrily, insisting on skinning Duke Ling''s mansion. At that time, Mr. Zhou was the one who advised him with kind words, telling him to be calm and not to be impatient, and to wait for her father to return to Beijing to talk about it, so as not to let others talk about his uncle''s family taking over.


    If, if what the Empress Dowager Su said is true, then his planning started before she divorced the Duke of Linguo, right?


    Thinking about it now, the cause and effect of many things in the past were indeed ignored.


    How did the uncle find out about the private affairs and illegitimate children that kept the Duke''s house a secret? Is there Mr. Zhou, or his Highness King Dingbei, among them?


    Uncle helped her find out about the secrets of the residence of the Duke of Ling. Was it uncle who found out about it, or did he want her to know about it through Mr. Zhou?


    And she obviously only knows one or two of them, so why did the various rumors in the Duke''s Mansion cause such a commotion in the city that it was out of control?


    ¡­


    Was her divorce and marriage a foregone conclusion from a long time ago?


    For some reason, Ming Tan didn''t dare to think about it any further, even for a moment, she hesitated in a trance, a little afraid to step on the steps under her feet.


    It seems that as soon as she steps on it, she will know whether the so-called love and liking really exist, or she just walked into it on her own wishful thinking... It''s obviously not very delicately woven, but she is willing to enjoy it.


    In fact, if you think this way, she once asked, and he also answered.


    "Then you married me because you want to repay your kindness? Is it because you want to repay your kindness to me because of your kindness to me?"


    "Not at all."


    She looked up at the lanterns on the top of the Bieyu Tower, where the brilliance flowed, so dazzling that it hurt her eyes.


    "...There is no need for soldiers to stay here. The situation is dangerous. It is best to drag out all the soldiers, horses, food and grass. The two armies on the left and right are ready to attack the Qiang and Yu, and the recovery of Rongzhou is the main purpose of this battle."


    "Then His Royal Highness and his party will leave tomorrow via Qingzhou?"


    "After the troops leave Beijing tomorrow, your troops will be divided into three groups and set off first. This king has something else to do."


    "My lord wants to go back to the palace?" In the past few days, the affairs of the Marquis of Jing''an''s mansion have been raging, and the inside is very strange. The lord has never expressed his position on this matter. He returned to Beijing yesterday and did not return to the palace. Those who have good things can''t help it asked.


    Jiang Xu was noncommittal.


    Suddenly, his eyes paused, and he glanced outside the room.


    Everyone in the room also noticed something, and became very quiet for a while.


    Ming Tan hid all the way up to the top floor of the Bieyu Tower. When she knew that Bieyu Tower was the property of the royal family earlier, she asked Jiang Xu and knew that if he came here, he would probably be on the top floor.


    It''s just that the top floor is heavily guarded. She managed to come up, and before taking two steps, she was stopped by the guard with crossed sword scabbards, and shouted: "Who are you? You are not allowed to enter or leave this place at will, leave quickly!"


    Ming Tan was silent, and suddenly took off the hat on her head, her hair was full of black hair, she raised her eyes and said calmly: "I am Princess Dingbei, come to see the prince, why, can''t I?"

 Chapter 106：

    The guard was obviously stunned. When he saw the princess jade card in Ming Tan''s hand, he quickly bowed and said respectfully: "My subordinate failed to recognize Wangfei, please forgive me, Wangfei wait a moment, this subordinate will pass on the information to you. .¡±


    There are all martial arts practitioners in the room, and the voices outside can be clearly heard.


    Several military generals who had hidden in the secret room of the palace and listened to private conversations couldn''t help but look at Jiang Xu. The princess has all come to Bieyulou...


    Jiang Xu was silent for a moment, and the guards had already passed the message outside the door.


    He turned back: "Come in."


    Not long after, Ming Tan followed the guards into the house.


    She just stopped at the door, wearing a young servant''s blue shirt, not wearing a single hairpin on her hair, and not wearing any makeup on her face.


    Jiang Xu looked at her, and for some reason suddenly thought that if she usually saw such people but dressed up like this, she would be so ashamed and annoyed that she would find a way to sneak in.


    The surroundings were very quiet, and the two looked at each other.


    When Jiang Xu slightly raised his hand, the generals in the room understood and retreated. Mr. Zhou was at the end, and when he passed by Ming Tan, he paused for a while, Ming Tan glanced at him, that glance was too fast, and he couldn''t see any emotion.


    Soon, there were only Yu Jiangxu and Ming Tan in the room, and Ming Tan walked forward slowly, but she stopped when she was about ten feet away from Jiang Xu.


    "You came out of the secret passage?" Jiang Xu asked first.


    Ming Tan stared at him fixedly, but didn''t respond.


    "That secret passage is not safe, it has collapsed inside, so don''t leave in the future."


    "So it was because of the collapse that Mr. Zhou had to leave through the back door of the palace that night?"


    Jiang Xu pursed his lips, noncommittal.


    It is true that Mr. Zhou is someone he deliberately placed next to Duke Chang, but there are more or less one or two people around the senior officials in the court, either belonging to Emperor Chengkang and him, or belonging to the Queen Mother Su. There is nothing to explain.


    He changed the subject and said: "This is not a place to talk, I will let the hidden guards take you back to the mansion first, and I will return to the mansion tomorrow..."


    "Is there anything you can''t just say now and have to wait until tomorrow? Jiang Qizhi, look at me, do you still want to tell me to believe you?" Ming Tan''s eyes turned red suddenly, and he interrupted him violently, talking back Nodded, "I would like to believe you, but my father has been convicted of collaborating with the enemy and treason. What is the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason? What can you not tell me? You have to wait! That is my father, my clansman , I don¡¯t even understand why you married me, how do you want me to wait and believe?!¡±


    Jiang Xu wanted to step forward, but Ming Tan subconsciously took a step back.


    Jiang Xu didn''t know what he was thinking. For a long while, he turned his back to Ming Tan, and suddenly ordered: "Come here, take the princess back to the mansion. Without this king''s order, no one is allowed to enter or leave the Dingbei Palace. Everything will wait for the king to return tomorrow." The government will discuss it again."


    As soon as he finished speaking, two shadow guards flashed out and stopped in front of Ming Tan.


    Ming Tan was startled.


    He just didn''t like to take the initiative to speak before, but now she asks, he doesn''t speak anymore. Did he treat her seriously as his wife for a moment?


    "Princess, please."


    Ming Tan moved back slowly, took a few steps back, and just as she was about to turn around, several carved windows in the silent room suddenly opened! Ming Tan raised his eyes, and saw several feathered arrows nailed to the window casement!


    Without the cover of the window, the feathered arrow broke through the wind and shot straight at Jiang Xu from the depths of the dark night.


    I don''t know if Jiang Xu was prepared, he pulled out the sword thrown on the table of the Eight Immortals, the blade of the sword reflected a dazzling white light, clanged several times, and all the feathered arrows scattered on the ground, he turned his head and ordered in a deep voice: " Protect the princess and leave!"


    "Be careful!" The dark guard was about to answer, Ming Tan''s gaze paused, and he suddenly stepped forward to pounce on Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu reacted very quickly, subconsciously pushed her away, turned slightly sideways, and when the cold arrow passed by, he picked up his sword sharply and knocked her to the ground.


    Unexpectedly, a little later than this arrow, there was another arrow coming from the carved window in the west, it was not aimed at Jiang Xu, but at Ming Tan.


    "A Tan!" He stepped forward to catch Ming Tan who was about to fall with a muffled grunt, because he pushed the arrow slightly, and only hit Ming Tan''s shoulder, but the arrow was poisoned and glowed with a faint cold light. The blood smeared from Ming Tan''s shoulder was stained black.


    Jiang Xu''s eyes were heavy, and he quickly touched a few acupuncture points around him and said, "Call Imperial Physician Feng to come up."


    The moment the arrow hit her shoulder, Ming Tan''s five senses seemed to disappear. It wasn''t until she fell into Jiang Xu''s arms and moved a little that she felt the severe pain that quickly spread to her limbs and bones. Beads of sweat were profuse, and the color of his lips suddenly turned pale.


    But she endured the pain, her eyes were red, and she said in a trembling voice: "This arrow is definitely going to shoot you, shoot, miss. No matter what I say... it is also for you to block this arrow, no matter what, you let it go Jing''an Hou Mansion, okay?"


    She knew that with his ability, it was not too difficult to hide the arrows, but if she didn''t take advantage of her kindness, how could she plead for mercy. No matter whether he uses it or likes it, in the end, there is always a relationship of kindness between her and him.


    Jiang Xu didn''t answer this question, the murderous aura that he usually suppressed suddenly overflowed, he hugged Mingtan with one hand, and held the sword in the other hand, the sword light turned, and the poisoned feather arrows were knocked down one by one, For the last arrow, he held the hilt of the sword with his backhand and swiped it out in the air. The arrow broke in two and fell to the ground.


    The lurking Jin Yunwei were all dispatched in the dark night, and after two rounds of arrow rain, they surrounded this group of fine archers who were the most proud of the Queen Mother, and who were not easy to get out.


    The signal is released.


    The hidden guard in the room also slowly put the sword back into the scabbard, and asked Jiang Xu for instructions.


    Jiang Xu didn''t raise his eyes, he just uttered a word: "Kill."


    The dark guard paused, when the Holy Majesty discussed with the Lord earlier, it seemed that he intended to take this group of fine archers for his own use... He didn''t say much, took the order, and sneaked into the dark night.


    ¡­


    "This poison can be cured. I happened to get a snow grass earlier, but Wang Hao needs to pull out the arrow immediately, otherwise I may lose too much blood and the wound may be infected." Doctor Feng''s voice was very low, trembling slightly. , "However, I don''t have enough strength, I''m afraid I won''t be able to pull it out once, and it will only increase the pain for the princess."


    Jiang Xu didn''t ask any more questions, and sat down beside the bed.


    "I''ll draw the arrow for you, bear with it."


    Hearing of drawing the arrow, Ming Tan desperately shook his head, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead: "No, I''m afraid!"


    "If you don''t pull out the arrow, you will die from blood loss."


    Hearing "death", Ming Tan flinched, but her resistance was still obvious, but it still hurts if she didn''t pull it out, and now she felt that she was going to die.


    She never thought that she would have today, tears were falling, her eyes and nose were all red.


    After a while, she weakly let go: "Then, then I will let you draw the arrow, and you promise me to let Jing''anhou''s mansion go, okay?"


    "Leave the Jing''an Hou Mansion alone?" Jiang Xu looked down at her, his voice indifferent, "Impossible."


    Ming Tan''s teary eyes were dim, and he suddenly raised his head to look at him. To be honest, no matter how much she thought, she never thought that she was already in such a state. He would not let go of her begging him like this, and he would not show any compassion, so she He just doesn''t have the slightest status in his heart, so¡ª¡ª


    "what--!"


    Ming Tan was still in the shock of Jiang Xu''s ruthless and decisive turn, and she couldn''t recover. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her shoulder, and she couldn''t help screaming. Just before the pain was so painful that she lost consciousness and passed out, she There is only a dim glimpse of being pulled out. The **** arrow that came out, and Jiang Xu''s slightly loose face.

 Chapter 107：

    Ming Tan didn''t know how long she slept, she seemed to have fallen into an extremely lengthy dream.


    In the dream, when she was a child, her father pushed the swing for her. The swing was pushed so high that it seemed as if she could fly out of the high walls of the Hou Mansion, and she could see the catkins swaying in summer, the golden ginkgo in autumn, and the heavy snow in winter in Shangjing. .


    In a blink of an eye, it was her wedding ceremony again. The pearls were shining and the house was full of guests. She was wearing a bright and complicated brocade dress. On the brocade skirt, the gorse on the cardamom branches were all clearly visible, and the luster of the pearls on the hairpin was also clear and lustrous. .


    Before she walked towards the hairpin, the picture changed in a daze, and it was the wedding day again.


    The red eyes were full of joy, and the husband held the scale of happiness and lifted her red hijab. She exchanged glasses with him, and then she bowed her head again, and untied the jade belt around her waist for him anxiously.


    Suddenly, a cold arrow shot in from the window, she was just watching in a daze, but her husband suddenly blocked her in front of her¡ª¡ª


    "Husband!"


    Ming Tan suddenly opened his eyes.


    Her eyes were blank for a moment, and when she closed her eyes, she realized that there was a light pink tent in front of her.


    It turned out to be a dream, but fortunately, fortunately, it was just a dream.


    Her heart was beating extremely fast, and a thin layer of sweat was forming on her back, but when she wanted to get up, the pain from her shoulders made her face turn pale again, and she went down slowly, finding a position to relieve the pain and lying down , did not dare to move.


    "Miss, you''re awake!" Lue happened to come in to change the water, and when she heard the movement, she covered her mouth in disbelief, her eyes flushed, "Miss, you''re finally awake! Slave, I''m going to be so worried!"


    "It''s nothing..." Ming Tan opened his mouth, but his throat was very dry, the words he spoke seemed to be silent, and he couldn''t use his strength all over his body.


    Seeing her frowning and subconsciously swallowing her saliva, Lu''e was overjoyed and flustered, but also did not forget to come forward to give her some water to moisten her throat.


    "Come on, miss, drink slowly."


    After taking a few sips of water, Ming Tan finally came back to life, and his voice became loud.


    "I''m still in... Bieyulou?" The curtains and the room are the same as what she saw before she fell asleep.


    Lue nodded hurriedly: "Physician Feng said, you should not act rashly before you wake up, you have just been detoxified, you are very weak, coupled with the bumpy carriage, moving back and forth may easily cause the wound to open, so His Highness directly sealed the Bieyulou, Let you recuperate here, don''t worry, the servants inside and out are all the maids of our palace, and we will never let those dubious women get close, and outsiders will not know that you are in this building." She Thinking that Ming Tan thought the brothel was dirty, Tete explained it.


    But Mingtan only noticed: "Am I poisoned?"


    "That''s right, the arrow was poisoned. Fortunately, Imperial Physician Feng''s medical skills are excellent, and His Highness sealed the acupoints around you in time, so that the poison will not spread." Lue looked at her distressedly, "But Feng Feng The imperial doctor said that the young lady was seriously injured by the arrow poisoning this time. After the injury is cured, she will have to recuperate for at least a year and a half before she can fully recover. And this right hand must not be a female celebrity for a long time in the future. Get back your life, if you shoot down more, how can you let the slaves live!"


    Ming Tan was about to comfort her, but suddenly something flashed through her mind, and she asked again: "How long have I been in a coma?"


    "You''ve been in a coma for five whole days, and this servant almost thought you wouldn''t be able to wake up!" Lu''e replied crying while wiping her tears.


    Five days?


    Ming Tan was stunned.


    "That husband... my lord, have you already set off?"


    "The army has been going out for five days, but you have not woken up, so His Highness will stay and take care of you, but His Highness has to go out tonight, and if it is later, you will not be able to catch up with the army..." Lue slapped his head, "Oh no, Your Highness is only watching I missed you, I saw that you were not awake, so I went to change into my military uniform, so I must have already left!"


    She got up in a hurry: "Your Highness is going to pass the message to His Highness. His Highness has been guarding you for the past few days. You have not woken up. If you can know that you are awake before you leave, Your Highness will feel much more at ease on the battlefield." Yes. By the way, I still have to pass this letter to the old lady..."


    Ming Tan was still stunned by the news that someone was about to leave the capital and couldn''t regain his senses. After a moment of delay, he suddenly stopped Lu E: "What did you just say? Mrs. Madam?"


    Lue reacted later: "Look at the brains of this servant, I forgot to tell you when I was happy, the master has cleared up his grievances!" She said comfortingly, "This matter of collaborating with the enemy and treason was framed by the queen mother, and those letters were also framed by the empress dowager. It is not the master who is forging, collaborating with the enemy and treasoning the country, but the remnant of the old party and the former subordinate of the master, the current Yangxi Road Commander Guo...Guo Bingmao! Yes, it is Guo Bingmao, the Dali Temple has already found out the truth and the master is innocent!"


    When Ming Tan heard the words, his thoughts wandered for a while.


    So, is it a temporary expedient measure to arrest father, or did he soften his heart after all and let the Jing''an Hou Mansion go?


    At the moment when Ming Tan was in a daze, Lu E had already gone out to communicate.


    Jiang Xu brought a small group of people and was about to leave the city, when he heard that Lue came to announce that Ming Tan had woken up, he raised his hand to signal the crowd to stop, and said in a deep voice, "Leave on time in half an hour." Saying this, he quickly got off his horse , dressed in military uniform, went straight to see Ming Tan.


    Not long after, Jiang Xu stepped into the house.


    Ming Tan raised his eyes, met Jiang Xu''s gaze not far away, he was usually silent, walked to the side of the bed, and sat down quietly.


    "How do you feel?" His voice was slightly hoarse.


    Ming Tan didn''t respond, enduring the pain, turned over and turned to the inside.


    But Jiang Xu turned her over again: "Facing in will press the wound."


    Ming Tan didn''t refute him, just kept silent and didn''t look at him.


    He fixedly looked at Ming Tan for a while, brushed away the stray strands of hair from her thin face, and said in a low-pitched voice, "I''m going to leave the city in half an hour, at least half a year, and at most a year." , some words, whether you believe it or not, I should explain it to you.


    "Your father''s matter is a plan to plan. Your father already knew about it and cooperated fully. The so-called correspondence with the enemy was also created by your father. This is a big matter. If you don''t pay attention, you will startle the snake, so you can only hide it." After returning to Beijing, I didn¡¯t go back to the mansion immediately, but I also wanted to catch the Queen Mother¡¯s elite archers, and I didn¡¯t intend to plot against the Jing¡¯anhou¡¯s mansion.¡±


    After a while, he added another sentence: "At least, not now."


    During the autumn hunt, he sent Jin Yunwei to Yangxi Road to investigate the communication between Guo Bingmao and Beihe.


    It turned out that Bei He held evidence that Guo Bingmao had accepted bribes and silver on Yangxi Road, so he threatened to cooperate with him and promised a large amount of gold and silver. However, Guo Bingmao has no real power in his hands, and what Bei He really wants to cooperate with is the actual power holder of Yangxi Road, Ming Tingyuan.


    After finding out the ins and outs of this matter, Emperor Chengkang called Ming Tingyuan into the palace.


    According to Emperor Chengkang''s intention, since Bei He had this idea, it would be better to follow his plan instead of falsely exchanging information, discovering the truth, obtaining information, and then using the crime of collaborating with the enemy to create a decent reason for Daxian to go out first.


    When the army goes out to fight, there is no turning back, and this crime can be passed on to the Empress Dowager Su. The Empress Dowager Su has done a lot of evil, and it seems that she is going to die. Buried in the imperial mausoleum.


    But the queen mother of a country can''t move easily. Previously, the Su family tried to launch a palace change, and the whole family suffered. Only the queen mother retreated to Shoukang Palace and retreated. Get the punishment you deserve.


    Ming Tan was silent for a while, then suddenly asked: "There are none now, so there were some in the past, right?"


    In fact, some things are very obvious. In the past, the emperor and the empress dowager were competing to bestow the marriage. Your majesty was worried that your father would have too much military power and could not be suppressed for a while, and he didn''t want your father to be wooed by the empress dowager, so he cut off the marriage first. It''s just her I never thought before that what His Majesty wanted to cut off this marriage might not be to win him over, but to make it disappear completely.


    Jiang Xu didn''t make a sound, so Quan should acquiesce.


    Ming Tan said calmly again: "Father doesn''t seem to have the right to choose not to cooperate with the enemy. If he cooperates obediently, he still has the same room for maneuver as today. If he refuses to cooperate, then he will be on Dad''s head and sit down. There is nothing wrong with this charge. This trick is half-truth and half-false. It is also implying to my father that the monarch will never be able to let go of his guard against a courtier who cannot be fully trusted and has a heavy soldier in his hand. It is reasonable to turn over the military power after the matter is over. ,Am i right?"


    "It''s not what you think."


    "What''s that like?"


    Jiang Xu had no way of explaining this, because Emperor Cheng Kang might indeed have thought so.


    Emperor Chengkang was afraid of Marquis Jing''an, even if he knew that he had no intention of rebellion, he had to seize his military power to be completely at ease. This time, although all kinds of tricks were used, Marquis Jing''an could feel all kinds of feelings in it. It means how taboo the ruler is to the ministers who hold power.


    Half an hour was exhausted in the silence between the two of them. There was already a signal from the general downstairs. Jiang Xu got up, stared at Ming Tan, and said in a deep voice: "No matter how it used to be, how you think, I am happy." For you, so as long as you are the princess of Dingbei for a day, I will protect Jing''anhou''s mansion with glory for a day regardless of the cost."

 Chapter 108：

    At night, it began to rain lightly, and the rain dripped from the corner of the eaves. Ming Tan lay on his side on the couch, listening to the sound of rain quietly.


    When Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan came in the rain, Su Xin warmed up the porridge and was about to send it to the house.


    Bai Minmin took it smoothly: "I''ll do it."


    Su Xin nodded, turned towards them, and glanced at the person behind them.


    Zhang Shizi, Lu Dianshuai, and Shu Ergongzi came quite complete.


    Su Xin originally thought that it was unruly for a man to enter the house, but then she thought again, staying in this flower building for a few days is already the most unruly thing, and there is still Miss Jingwan, so she didn''t say much .


    Bai Minmin carefully carried the porridge and led everyone into the room. She walked quickly to the side of the couch and sat down, put down the porridge bowl in her hand, and looked at Ming Tan with tears in her eyes: "A Tan, you have suffered!"


    Ming Tan''s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he said weakly: "I''m fine, why are you here at this hour?"


    "I can''t sleep at night these days. I heard that you are awake, how can I sit still!" She held Ming Tan''s hand tightly, "Does it still hurt? It must be very painful. I will let Zhang Huaiyu take someone to go I''ve found a rare medicine from the Western Regions, and it will surely remove the scars so that they can''t be seen at all, don''t worry!"


    Ming Tan slightly bent his lower lip: "You still know me best."


    "Of course¡ª" Bai Minmin couldn''t stop when she opened her mouth, Zhou Jingwan gently pulled her, her eyes fixed on a large piece of dark color that was blurred on the brocade pillow.


    "A Tan, you have an injury on your shoulder. You shouldn''t be sleeping on such a high pillow. Change it to another one."


    Zhou Jingwan''s voice was soft and her movements were extremely careful. She supported Ming Tan and signaled Bai Minmin to change the pillow.


    Bai Minmin did not know why, only to find that the brocade pillow was wet. She was startled, feeling more and more distressed.


    On the other hand, Ming Tan seemed quite calm, and asked Bai Minmin to feed her porridge. Bai Minmin nodded, and hurriedly picked up the porridge bowl, scooped it up one by one, blew carefully, and then put it into Ming Tan''s mouth.


    The room was very quiet, Shu Jingran and the others entered the room, it was not easy to go forward, they just stood so far away.


    After Bai Minmin finished feeding the porridge and the three sisters finished talking, Zhou Jingwan passed a sentence very lightly, without looking at anyone: "Is there something to say, let''s make a long story short, A Tan still needs to rest."


    When Lu Ting heard the words, he spoke first. After all, A Wan has been cold for many days, if she hadn''t brought her to see the princess tonight, she would probably continue to be cold.


    It''s a pity that he doesn''t know how to speak, and he can''t get to the point: "... Dali Temple Prison is also a sky prison. Even if His Highness explained it, the conditions are the conditions of the sky prison. The Lord Hou must have suffered a lot, but the princess can rest assured. , Lord Hou¡¯s life is safe.¡±


    After hearing this, Shu Jingran felt a little wanting to help his forehead, so he had to take over and explain: "Lu Ting means that Lord Hou is fine and has not suffered from flesh and blood, but the prison is humid and the food is simple. He has been wronged these days. Father."


    Lu Ting pursed his lips and nodded.


    Seeing that Mingtan didn''t respond, Shu Jingran continued: "Actually, Qizhi doesn''t want to hide it from you, but there are also spies from Beihe and Qiangyu in Beijing. If they startle the snake, then the information that Hou Ye has previously obtained will be completely invalidated. After all, Even the Dingbei Palace has the nails that the Queen Mother has buried for many years, isn''t it?" He paused, "And besides His Majesty, Qi Zhi, Lord Hou and Lu Ting, no one else knows about it. You know, your orders cannot be violated."


    Will this be useful? Zhang Huaiyu couldn''t help but glance at him.


    Ran Shuer advanced without any haste: "On the day when the imperial edict was issued, half the work was done. Qizhi originally wanted to return to the residence immediately to make you feel at ease, but he was suddenly ambushed by the remnants of the old party on the way."


    Ming Tan''s fingertips moved slightly.


    "The Empress Dowager Su imprisoned herself in the Shoukang Palace. The plan was for the emperor''s tomb to be buried and incense worshiped in a hundred years. But she saw that His Majesty and Qizhi didn''t want to give her this opportunity, so they simply dragged people to be buried with them, one by one, while ambush Qi On the other hand, at the same time, he did not hesitate to use the hidden piles that the palace has hidden for many years to drive a wedge between you and Qizhi.


    "Bie Yulou that night, Qi Zhiben was waiting for the fine archer of the Empress Dowager Su. When you appeared suddenly, he couldn''t predict when the other party would strike. He wanted to send you back to the palace. He was also afraid that there would be accidents if you stayed here. Unfortunately, this The accident happened in the end."


    Ming Tan more or less understood these things, and did not give any further reactions.


    Zhang Huaiyu''s heart pounded, and for the 10,000th time he doubted whether Shu Jingran could do it.


    "Of course, I know that this is not what the princess cares about the most." Shu Jingran said suddenly, "I wonder if the princess still remembers the fire on the Lingyu River when she went south to Lingzhou? The princess fell asleep all day and night, and he kept watch all night without sleep. , I asked him to rest and change the servant girl to take turns guarding him, but he said no. For the first time in his life, a woman rushed into the sea of ??fire in order to save him. He asked me, is it because you like him? I asked, if the heart How do you please him? He replied¡ª¡ªIf you like it, you can''t let it down."


    Ming Tan couldn''t help pinching the brocade quilt.


    "Although it was not his intention to marry the princess, when the decree of marriage was issued, he also said that once he marries you, he will keep you safe for the rest of his life. In fact, he never thought of dealing with Lord Hou. On the contrary, he has always admired Lord Marquis," he paused for a moment, pointing out something, "if it wasn''t for the revelation, the residence of the Marquis of Jing''an and the residence of the Duke of Linguo might have become relatives in need."


    Zhang Huaiyu couldn''t help but look sideways. For Jiang Qizhi, he even connoted His Majesty... These words are advanced layer by layer, and he really deserves to be Tan Hualang.


    At this point, Shu Jingran paused for a moment, and then said slowly: "Whether many things are true or false, the princess must have a judgment in her heart. Although the situation is forcing this time, it is not what he wanted, but the princess is unconscious. When he woke up, he said he was wrong - ''It was my biggest mistake to hurt my wife.''¡±


    Both Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan couldn''t help being moved.


    A person like His Highness King Dingbei can say such a thing... If he didn''t believe in the character of Mr. Shu Er, Bai Minmin really doubted that he himself was making up things indiscriminately.


    "Shu has finished what he should say. Qizhi''s nature is like this. He doesn''t like to talk too much. In fact, his temperament is much better than before. In the past, he never bothered to explain things to others. Sometimes after a year or so, the next Talent suddenly realized.


    "The reason why I took the liberty to come here tonight is because Shu knows that Qizhi cares about the princess. It is dangerous and difficult to go to the northwest. If the princess can forgive me, he will take care of himself even more if he wants to fight the enemy. In this way, Shu I can still see him come back with his life."


    He saluted from a distance: "Shu is bothering me, please forgive me, Wangfei."


    Lu Ting wanted to echo, but Shu Jingran gave him a nonchalant glance, he opened his mouth, and continued to remain silent.


    In contrast, Zhang Huaiyu was much more sensible, and Shu Jingran''s words were to the point, and it would be less meaningful if he went on to sell miserably, so he didn''t intend to say more at all, and just gave Bai Minmin a "go first" eyes.


    Bai Minmin understood, looked at Zhou Jingwan, and said softly: "A Tan, it''s getting late, you should rest, and I will come to see you with Jingwan tomorrow."


    Several people retreated lightly, and gently closed the door.


    ¡­


    After leaving Bieyulou, Lu Ting walked beside Zhou Jingwan and asked her in a low voice if she was satisfied with her performance today.


    Zhou Jingwan didn''t look at him, but only looked at the carriage not far away, and whispered softly: "The words are all from Second Master Shu, even if Ah Tan is relieved, it has nothing to do with you."


    Lu Ting wanted to say something more, but Lu E suddenly called out from behind: "Miss Minmin, Miss Jingwan, stay!"


    Lue raised her skirt and chased after her, her face full of anxiety: "Miss! Wangfei! Miss, she..."


    "Speak slowly, what''s wrong with A Tan?" Zhou Jingwan asked.


    Lu Ehan was in a hurry: "Miss, I don''t know why, the servant just went in, so I insisted on finding someone to prepare the horse, saying that I want to go out of the city!"


    Bai Minmin''s eyes widened: "Going out of the city? Could it be that she wants to chase after the prince? She is so injured, she must be crazy!"


    "Well, it''s really not necessary, just write a letter." Shu Jingran also felt a self-defeating sense of astonishment.


    "But the young lady has already struggled to sit up, and said that she must leave this city today, and if the servant can''t find someone to take her there, she will walk over by herself to see who dares to stop her."


    She definitely wouldn''t dare to stop her, and she wouldn''t be able to get through if she walked. It''s just that if you faint again if you don''t go downstairs, no one can afford this crime.


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan were about to persuade Lue together, when they saw Ming Tan tremblingly leaning on the window sill, looking down.


    "A Tan!" Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan shouted worriedly.


    Lu Ting didn''t know which nerve was wrong, seeing that everyone was anxious to go upstairs to persuade her, he said suddenly: "I''ll take Wangfei."


    Zhou Jingwan: "...?"


    From Shangjing to Yangxi Road, one needs to exit from the west city gate. However, Bie Yulou is from the capital to the east, and a team of soldiers and horses hastened for more than an hour before they can leave the city gate.


    As soon as he left the city gate, it began to rain. The winter night was bitterly windy and the rain was icy cold. A general reined in his horse and suggested, "My lord, why don''t you camp here tonight and wait until the rain stops before moving forward to climb the mountain?"


    Jiang Xu reined in the reins, looked back at the tower not far away, and ordered in a deep voice: "Stop, rest here tonight."


    The simple camp tent was set up quickly, and a small fire was raised with a small amount of dry firewood. Everyone gathered around to keep warm, found a place at random, and fell asleep quickly.


    Jiang Xu was also sitting by the fire, and the dry wood crackled from time to time, and sparks occasionally shot out.


    He has been guarding Ming Tan for the past few days without much rest, but now that he is not guarding her, he seems unable to fall asleep.


    In fact, if he had known that it would rain, he would have stayed for another night, but after thinking about it, it didn''t seem to make much difference whether he stayed or not, she still didn''t want to see him.


    Sit quietly all night.


    It was dawn at five o''clock, and everyone woke up, packed up and opened the tents, and prepared to go on the road.


    Jiang Xu held the reins, looked behind him for the last time, at the West City Tower, which gradually became clear in the twilight of the morning light, and gave orders without hesitating: "Let''s go."


    "Jiang Qizhi!"


    "drive!"


    "drive!"


    "Jiang Qizhi!"


    The Maxima galloped and neighed under him, and beside Jiang Xu, a general suddenly reminded him loudly: "My lord! It seems that someone is calling you from behind!"


    Jiang Xu slowed down a bit, but he heard it too, but the voice was weak and familiar, so he thought he was hallucinating.


    A group of people were moving at a slow pace, the sound of horseshoes was quiet, and the voice calling his name behind him was far away, but it was clearer than before.


    "Jiang Qizhi! If you don''t come back, I will never forgive you!"


    Jiang Xu slowly turned his horse''s head and looked at the tiny figure on the tower in the distance.


    "Is it the princess?"


    "Seems¡­"


    Someone boldly suggested to Jiang Xu: "My lord, do you want to go back and have a few words with the concubine? It''s only an hour or two left, and we will catch up with the army if we rest a little later."


    "No need."


    Jiang Xu stared at that figure, obviously separated by a long distance, but he seemed to meet her eyes.


    After a while, he raised his hand, his eyes were sharp and firm: "Recovering Rongzhou, this battle is urgent, let''s go!"


    With a flick of the whip, the horse turned around neatly, its iron hooves raised dust, and gradually disappeared into the mountains and forests far away from Shangjing.

 Chapter 109：

    Three months later, I went to Beijing.


    People change their winter jackets into spring shirts, and the willow trees along the Xianjiang River sprout, and it is another year of spring. The Chunzheng Street in front of Pingguo''s mansion was blocked by vehicles and horses from various mansions. It turned out that the wife of the Duke and the wife of the prince organized this year''s spring banquet together.


    Bai Minmin is now the wife of the eldest son of the Duke of Pingguo, and it is her duty to assist in the affairs of the government. However, she enjoys the banquet, so if she is asked to host the banquet, she will not be very interested.


    Fortunately, there is a sister-in-law like Zhang Hanmiao who is keen on this way in the mansion.


    Because Zhang Hanmiao''s previous banquets always had troubles, Mrs. Pingguo didn''t allow her to organize it for a long time. But now thinking that she has also reached the age of seeing others, and doing it a few more times is the right to practice, so I just turn a blind eye and let her go.


    "It turned out to be Hanmiao''s effort. I don''t know when you were so thoughtful and appropriate." Zhou Jingwan sniffed the bamboo green tea specially prepared for her, and said softly.


    "Although it''s Hanmiao''s effort, but I have someone prepare your bamboo green tea, okay? Last time when you watched a play, you said that you have accumulated food for the past few days and your breath is not going well. I will keep that in mind." Bai Minmin He would never let down his own contribution, "There is also this cup of A-Tan, which is cooked with the fresh snow on plums stored in winter, A-Tan likes it the most!"


    Hearing the words, Ming Tan picked up the teacup and sniffed it lightly, took a sip, put it down and said, "Is it married after all, it''s never been so meticulous before."


    Bai Minmin wanted to refute her, but she had a thin face and pale lips, she swallowed the words again, then turned around and ordered: "Bring a hand stove for the princess."


    The servant girl should be blessed, Ming Tan shouted: "No need, it''s already spring, what kind of hand stove should I use?"


    "Although it''s spring, it''s warm and cold at this time. Your injuries are still not fully healed, and your bones are weak, so you can''t catch cold."


    Bai Minmin''s words were a little lower.


    Outsiders didn''t know about Ming Tan''s injury, and he didn''t show up for several months, and he only found a reason for the cold. After all, such a major incident happened in the Jing''an Hou''s mansion. It is only human nature for her not to go out and flaunt her serious illness.


    Speaking of which, the matter of the return of the military power by the Marquis of Jing''an is also very delicate.


    If it is said that His Majesty is magnanimous, this military power has actually been taken back.


    If it is said that His Majesty cannot tolerate the Marquis of Jing''an, the serious crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason has actually cleared his grievances.


    The Marquis of Jing''an asked to resign, and His Majesty was also very generous, and sang three requests and three persuasions with him before reluctantly accepting the military power. However, he was not allowed to resign from the post of deputy privy envoy. Later, he took the imperial physician to visit the palace in person, and promoted Ming Heng, the prince of Jing''an Hou, as the general judge of Quanzhou and concurrently as the envoy of Tonggang City. declining momentum.


    "By the way, I heard from my father-in-law that my uncle got into an argument with Liu Yushi in the court yesterday?" Bai Minmin probed, "It seems that it is because His Royal Highness Dingbei killed a general in the northwest, because of this incident , Liu Yushi also turned up the old account of him delaying it for five days before catching up with the army."


    Ming Tan didn''t seem to have heard the last part of the sentence, so he replied as if nothing had happened: "It''s not the first time that my father and Liu Yushi have quarreled. They were so red-faced in court, and they can drink together in private, so the relationship is not bad."


    She used a small piece of green pear with sugar cheese, and said: "Speaking of which, after Dad handed over the military power, he became a lot more relaxed. It is a good thing that he can spend more time with the child when the mother gives birth."


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan looked at each other.


    His Royal Highness King Dingbei went out of the city that day, but someone insisted on chasing him, temporarily transferred a spacious carriage, and invited Imperial Physician Feng to accompany him along the way to prevent the wound from bursting.


    Fortunately, the night rain never stopped, so a group of soldiers and horses were stationed outside the city, and when it was daylight, they finally caught up.


    Everyone thought that she did this to let the past go, but after returning home, she never mentioned it to His Royal Highness King Dingbei.


    In the past three months, the situation of the Northwest Army has spread to Beijing, and she has never taken the initiative to inquire about it. Some people say that no matter whether she wins or loses, she is indifferent, and she does not read the letters sent home, let alone reply.


    Bai Minmin was very courageous, taking advantage of the large number of people in the house today, she turned her face and brushed her own face, and asked cautiously: "A Tan, I can''t figure it out. On the day His Royal Highness Dingbei left the city, you still chased after him." Don''t let people die, how come the news to the prince in the past few months is..."


    Ming Tan glanced at her, and said in a cold voice, "I told him not to die, it was out of consideration for the overall situation, if his life and death has nothing to do with Daxian''s territory, and Daxian''s soldiers, whoever wants to take care of him."


    "Then you really endured humiliation for the sake of the country and the people..."


    Getting used to fighting with Zhang Huaiyu, Bai Minmin answered without thinking.


    "...?"


    "Is the Pingguo government chasing away guests now?"


    "Minmin can''t talk, so ignore her." Zhou Jingwan pushed the sugared green pear in front of Ming Tan, and then gave Bai Minmin a look, "Don''t go up front to greet her, don''t bother A Tan here."


    Bai Minmin looked astonished and innocent, "I" didn''t say anything for a long time, and Zhou Jingwan rushed to the front to entertain guests.


    However, Bai Minmin is not the only one who can''t speak. Ming Tan has not been out for a long time, but when he suddenly appeared, many noble ladies stepped forward to talk to him.


    I don''t know who joked: "The spring feast today reminds me of a few words, ''Spring feast, a cup of green wine and singing again, and then three wishes to Chen: one wishes the king a thousand years old, the other wishes the concubine to be healthy, The three wishes are like Liang Shangyan, and we will meet each other every year." I heard that the king of Dingbei had led his army into Lu County, Rongzhou a few days ago. May your husband live a thousand years."


    Ming Tan smiled and remained silent.


    Zhou Jingwan changed the subject calmly and said: "I don''t know if my husband will be a thousand years old, but it''s not easy for my concubine to be healthy. This time, the wind and cold have been going on for a long time, and everyone hasn''t seen each other for a long time."


    "Yeah, it''s better now? It looks a lot thinner."


    "We have to keep warm in this cold spring. If you catch a cold, it''s not worth getting back sick."


    ¡­


    After a few sentences, everyone talked together, went to the theater to watch a couple of plays, and then went to the polo field to watch polo, Ming Tan''s injury will heal soon, and he shouldn''t be too tired, so he planned to Turned around.


    Saying goodbye outside the mansion, Ming Tan was about to board the carriage when suddenly the guards from the Gyeonggi Camp hurried over and had something to report to Zhang Huaiyu.


    Seeing that his face was familiar, Bai Minmin didn''t pay much attention and wanted to let him in, but when he saw Ming Tan while saluting, he couldn''t help but take a second look, Bai Minmin noticed something strange, and suddenly asked: "What do you have to tell the prince? Northwest military situation?"


    "This..." the guard hesitated, "Yes, my subordinates have something to report to the Northwest Army.


    "What''s wrong with King Dingbei, tell me quickly!"


    "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is seriously injured and unconscious!" The guard gritted his teeth, finished speaking very quickly, and buried his head firmly.


    Ming Tan''s figure seemed to shake for a moment, and his lips turned pale.


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan both stepped forward to support her.


    "A Tan, are you okay?" Bai Minmin was a little worried and annoyed, the guard''s expression just now didn''t seem to be joyful, if I had known this, I might as well not have asked!


    Zhou Jingwan also said with relief: "His Royal Highness King Dingbei is an auspicious person, and he will definitely wake up. The military situation is probably delayed, and it is impossible to believe that His Highness has already woken up at this moment."


    "Wake up or not, it has nothing to do with me." Ming Tan quickly recovered, stood firm, and turned back expressionlessly, "I''m back home."


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan watched her get into the carriage, with deep worry that couldn''t be concealed in their eyes.


    The carriages and horses of Dingbei Prince''s Mansion drove all the way out of Chunzheng Street, Ming Tan was sitting in the car, for some reason, she suddenly opened the curtain and ordered, "Go to Lingmiao Temple."


    The siege of the city has always been difficult. The twelfth lunar month was deep in winter until the spring warmed up. The northwest frontier was already full of corpses. The battlefield was smoky, and the blood was mixed with the smell of corpses that would not be cleaned up in the future, and the whole sky was infected. They''re all dark shades of gray.


    The origin of the battle in the northwest was because Beihe Hu looked at Yang West Road, but now the main two sides in the battle have become Daxian and Qiang Yu.


    Bei He was caught off guard by Da Xian, and retreated steadily, how could he dare to Xiao Xiangyang West Road, and moved back a hundred miles northward in desperation, even abandoning Qiang and Yu who were allied with him.


    Don''t chase after poor bandits, and what''s more, the intention of making a big show is not in Beihe, and the troops in the northwest are not enough to divide the troops to fight, so Jiang Xu made a fuss about the alliance between Qiangyu and Beihe to take Yangxi Road, and made a fuss about Qiangyu''s occupation. Rongzhou marched forward and launched a battle to recover.


    If Rongzhou is recovered, it will not become the last state of Daxian''s lost thirteen states. The Qiang and Yu soldiers were strong and strong, and they had all the advantages of the terrain. Even Jiang Xu and other generals led the troops personally, and they were very difficult to conquer. They often advanced three inches and were forced to retreat two inches.


    No one knows how long this kind of time will last. Now His Royal Highness King Dingbei is injured, and sometimes even the soldiers start to doubt whether they will have a day to reunite with their families.


    ¡­


    "My lord is awake! My lord is awake!" The soldiers guarding the tent suddenly ran outside to announce happily.


    Soon, the military doctor and his confidant generals all rushed to the commander''s account.


    After diagnosing the pulse, the chief military doctor breathed a sigh of relief: "My lord is fine, and I will be able to stay in bed after a few days of rest."


    It was true that Jiang Xu was in a coma for a few days after being ambushed, but he was not as seriously injured as the letter said. He was unconscious, most likely due to days of hard work, exhaustion, and lack of rest.


    It''s just that the more exaggerated the better the news that goes out, otherwise how can the thieves relax their vigilance.


    The military doctor said that they need to rest for a few more days. For those who are capable of fighting, every day they stop, they burn all the money, money, money and lives of the army, so how can they allow them to rest well.


    After Jiang Xu woke up, he listened to the reports from the generals for an hour, and the subordinates handed over a thick pile of secret letter notebooks, and he sat under the oil lamp, and asked people to present the serious ones.


    After he finished reading and answering each letter, his subordinates reminded him: "My lord, here is a letter of condolence from His Majesty. Pingguo Duke''s Mansion, Changguo Duke''s Mansion, Jing''an Hou Mansion, and Zuo Xiangfu''s Mansion have all written letters. There are Yi family."


    "Is the palace still there?"


    "No¡­"


    Jiang Xu was silent: "Bring it from the Jing''an Houfu."


    The subordinates are busy presenting it.


    He scans the letter.


    It was written by his father-in-law, and it was all about arguing with Liu Yushi in the court, whether he should be reprimanded for beheading the lazy war general without asking the holy will, and there are more than a hundred words in it, without mentioning a single person.


    He read the remaining few letters one by one, all concerned about his injury, he read very quickly, with no expression on his face.


    It happened that Shen Yu heard that he was awake, and came to see him with another general.


    Jiang Xu raised his eyelids, and seeing Shen Yu''s face full of spring breeze, he asked abruptly, "Did you win Rongzhou? Why are you so happy?"


    The general next to him teased: "Little General Shen just read the warm letter from Nan Lu, aren''t you happy?"


    Shen Yu scratched the back of her head embarrassingly, coughed twice, and said dryly, "My lord, you are awake, are you okay?"


    Jiang Xu stared at the topographic map of Rongzhou with downcast eyes, and said in a chilly voice, "This king is very good. You will be better off if you don''t stand in front of this king."

 Chapter 110：

    The frontier is cold and bitter, and spring is deep in Beijing.


    The news of His Highness King Dingbei''s awakening came to the capital a month later together with the news that King Dingbei led his army to kill Yuehe and approach the main city of Rongzhou.


    When Ming Tan heard the news, he was offering a fruit plate to Prince Yu Cong and his wife in the ancestral hall of the mansion. With a "bang", the fruit plate fell to the ground. Ming Tan paused for a moment, but he didn''t care about it. He just turned around and asked in a daze: " What did you say?"


    Lue was so happy that tears rolled down her eyelashes, and she repeated it again: "My lord led the army to kill the Yue River, and he has arrived at the main city of Rongzhou. I think he will win and return to the court soon!" She hurriedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "It turns out that His Royal Highness has woken up a long time ago. It''s just that the battle situation on the front line is complicated, and the news has not been sent back to Shangjing. For the sake of the prince, the lady has lost a lot of weight in recent days. Now that she has the good news, the lady can finally sleep well. Got it!"


    Ever since the news of the prince''s injury came out, she saw that her young lady often had nightmares and woke up in the middle of the night, and she only used half a bowl of food at most.


    These slaves, they see it in their eyes, and they are anxious in their hearts, but it is such an important matter, even Su Xin doesn''t know how to comfort her, but fortunately, the clouds are finally open to see the moonlight.


    The news came too suddenly, Ming Tan''s mind went blank, and he didn''t know how to describe his current mood.


    After returning to her senses for a while, she moved her fingertips slightly, and retorted firmly: "Who is worried about him?" She touched her thin cheek unconsciously, "I, I have unhealed arrow wounds, besides, Xia Shutian also It''s not far away, summer clothes are light and thin, you have to be thin to wear a graceful posture, what do you know¡ª" She glanced at the scattered fruits on the ground, "It''s time to tidy up here."


    "Yes." Lue smiled through her tears, bowed her head, and did not argue with someone who was duplicity.


    When Lue came over with a fresh fruit plate, Ming Tan also bowed devoutly to the tablet and got up from the futon.


    When she walked out of the ancestral hall, she paused for a while, and suddenly ordered: "Get ready, go to Lingmiao Temple tomorrow morning."


    It is not too late to fulfill a wish. If you are too lazy to keep your promise and offend the Buddha, what should you do if the wish is fulfilled immediately?


    At the same time that the families in Shangjing felt at ease and rejoiced because of the progress of the Northwest War, the situation in Rongzhou became more and more confusing.


    Although they have crossed the Yuehe River and approached the main city of Rongzhou, it seems that it is still too early to return to the victory that Lue said.


    Speaking of crossing the river, it was much easier than the soldiers and generals imagined. Once the river was crossed, the road ahead was unobstructed, and it was Yaocheng, the main city of Rongzhou. After it fell into the hands of Qiang Yu, Qiang Yu changed it. Chinese name, Suiyang.


    Whether it is called Yaocheng or Suiyang, it is a battleground for military strategists and has great military significance. The generals think it is very abnormal for them to cross the natural barrier city and Chen Bing so easily.


    "The spies surveyed the enemy from a high place and reported back. There were only a few soldiers in Suiyang City, and the patrols consisted of six people. They only appeared in the east of the city once in two hours, and the granary was not heavily guarded¡ª"


    Someone frowned and said: "There is only one patrolling army left on the tower. This is not in line with common sense. The strength of Qiang and Yu troops should be more than that. Could it be... do you want to play an empty city plan with us?"


    "As for the brains of the Qiang and Yu people, is there still an empty plan?" A burly general sneered indifferently, "I think you are thinking too much about the future, and the 80,000 elite soldiers are afraid that they will not be able to attack a Suiyang? So far, the city The guards are estimated to be less than 20,000, according to me, just kill them directly, don''t talk too much!"


    "That''s not what I said. The ambush last time almost made them succeed. It can be seen that the Qiang and Yu people have no shortage of strategies. General Sun must not underestimate the enemy. As the old saying goes, arrogant soldiers will lose."


    "Yes, everyone thinks that the Qiang and Yu people are straight, but they have fought many times, and there are many cunning people among them. It is better to set up camp outside the city first, and then send 20,000 reinforcements from Qingzhou. In this way, the strong attack will have a better chance of winning."


    "Waiting for Qingzhou reinforcements, how long will we have to wait? Let''s wait for reinforcements, they may not be waiting for reinforcements, let them take a breath, I''m afraid they will still be entangled!"


    ¡­


    The generals were arguing endlessly, Jiang Xu stood in front of the sand table with his hands behind his back, and didn''t say a word for a long time.


    I don''t know how long it took, the crowd''s throats were smoking, their faces were flushed and they were gasping for breath, but they finally stopped.


    "The quarrel is over?" Jiang Xu raised his eyes quietly, scanned the faces of the crowd, and then stopped on Shen Yu who had not participated in the debate, "What do you think?"


    Shen Yu was named, and after deliberating for a while, he said slowly: "The general thinks that the siege of the city should not be delayed any longer. Summer is coming, and the northwest frontier, autumn and winter are bitterly cold, and summer is hot. When it gets hot, people will be impetuous It is inevitable, and this battle has lasted for nearly half a year since the end of the year, and the soldiers are already very tired. If it continues to drag on, I am afraid it will not be optimistic.


    "The Qiang and Yu people are not without schemes, but because of this, they should also know that if our army finds out the situation in the city, they will think that they are playing an empty city plan and will not act rashly. If this is the case, then how to judge, they are not Are we delaying time because of our army¡¯s doubts?¡±


    These words are also very reasonable, but it is difficult to determine the real situation in the city, and many generals with reservations are still not in favor of attacking the city in the near future.


    Shen Yu can see clearly that what they think is not very important, the key is what the person who gives the order thinks.


    He boldly asked: "I don''t know if the prince has a plan in mind?"


    Jiang Xu ignored him, just picked up a small flag and played with it in his hand: "All the army, tonight, when you are ugly, attack the city."


    "My lord, think twice!"


    "Is this too hasty..."


    He raised his eyes: "One hour ago, the king received a secret letter. The Qiangyu leader was in conflict. The third son of the leader of Qiangyu transferred his troops and turned back. Thousands of soldiers, sit in the city of sorrow." With a deep voice at the end, he firmly planted the flag on Suiyang.


    ¡­


    At night, the sky is dark and there are no stars.


    Jiang Xu was wearing a black battle robe embroidered with dragon patterns, holding the reins of his horse, and quietly looked at the Suiyang city gate not far away.


    Behind him, stood neatly and neatly, densely packed with 80,000 Daxian soldiers. They obviously didn''t move, but there was a sense of chilling blowing towards their faces.


    Jiang Xu has never been a general who can say long words of encouragement to make the soldiers full of enthusiasm. However, as long as he leads the troops in front, the soldiers will be filled with courage and confidence to move forward when they look at his solemn and firm back.


    Without him, that is to share life and death with them, His Royal Highness Dingbei King, who has been conquering for many years and displayed his **** of war.


    Jiang Xu raised his hand, and the rumbling war drums sounded, the battle flag fluttered in the night, and the eagle totem on the flag spread its wings under the firelight.


    "The thirteen prefectures in the north have been lost to the barbarians for a long time. After three dynasties, countless soldiers fought **** battles, and today we are waiting for the last battle. Rongzhou is my big loss. I can''t give up an inch of land. In the previous dynasty, the emperor guarded the gate. There is no need for the Son of Heaven to go to battle in front of the territory and the country, but we have our own soldiers to guard it!"


    His voice wasn''t very loud, but in the quiet night, it seemed that every single word struck into the hearts of the soldiers behind him.


    "Defend the territory, recover Rongzhou! Defend the territory, recover Rongzhou!"


    ¡­


    "It''s time to change the word Suiyang back to Yaocheng." Jiang Xu drew his sword and pointed at the city gate. The white light reflected his smooth and handsome outline, "Siege the city!"


    "kill!!"


    Thousands of troops rushed forward, and the catapults all went into battle, and the flames outside Suiyang city were shining brightly, reflecting courageous faces.


    ¡­


    Three days later, under the continuous onslaught of the 80,000 Dingbei Army, the main city of Rongzhou was ruined.


    The enemy defending the city is obviously at the end of their strength, but the Qiang and Yu barbarians have no shortage of crazy beasts in their bones. Sex, previously pretending to be an empty city in an attempt to make the Dingbei Army hesitate, and win the chance to survive.


    Now that the overall situation has been decided, the Dingbei Army did not harm the people when they attacked the city, but the Qiang and Yu soldiers who defended the city abandoned the people in the city.


    "Little General Shen!"


    Watching helplessly a beam on the city tower collapsed by fire oil fell straight in Shen Yu''s direction, the soldiers under his command were about to burst into tears and yelled violently.


    Hearing the sound, Jiang Xu swept away the enemy army in front of him with a sword, moved to Shen Yu''s body at an unmatched speed, and propped up the broken beam with all his strength.


    "Go." He said in a deep voice.


    "My lord!"


    The beam was extremely heavy, and with this support, the bones of his left hand were probably broken. Shen Yu stopped breathing for a few moments before regaining consciousness.


    A few beams were quickly dropped from the front to block the way out. One person supported him, and only one person could escape. Shen Yu''s back was seriously injured, but now that he left, Jiang Xu couldn''t escape. Without even thinking about it, he went straight forward to support the beam with Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu glanced at him, but didn''t say much.


    Some soldiers wanted to come over to help, but they were entangled with the enemy army and couldn''t get away for a while. Shen Yu didn''t know what to think. She glanced at Jiang Xu, squeezed her teeth with difficulty and sincerity: "A few days ago, I belonged to the army. I thought, I thought my subordinates did something wrong, but later I found out that the prince has never received the letter from the concubine¡ª"


    Jiang Xu: "..."


    Shen Yu said again: "Yes, but my subordinates received a letter from my cousin from the Ming family. Nothing was said in the letter, except that there was only a piece of dark jade. The subordinates only discovered two days ago that there was actually a letter in it."


    There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and he continued to hold on: "When the letter was taken out, it accidentally fell on the ground. There was a sentence written on it, and asked the subordinates to send Na Wu, Wu Hengyu, Yes, hand over the Wuhengyu...to the prince, and, besides, the letter from the cousin of the Ming family also wrote that it was entrusted by someone, and this subordinate wondered if it was... entrusted by the concubine..."


    "Where''s Yu?" Jiang Xu asked in a deep voice.


    "The subordinate forgot where to put it, yes, so I dare not tell the prince immediately."


    "..." "This king shouldn''t have saved you."


    In the summer, the news of Suiyang City''s collapse quickly spread across the country.


    The city of Suiyang was destroyed, and Rongzhou was in the palm of hands. However, it took nearly three months to clean up the garrison in the counties and towns, and the army returned to Beijing.


    After traveling for more than a month, on the occasion of the autumnal equinox, the news that the Dingbei Army''s squadron was returning to the court spread like wildfire in the capital.


    "It''s only been a few days. What an honor it is to recover all the thirteen prefectures in the Northland. Zhang Huaiyu said that His Majesty will come to the city gate to greet you this time." Bai Minmin trimmed the flowers and branches, and said quickly.


    Zhou Jingwan glanced at Ming Tan unobtrusively, and saw that Ming Tan''s eyelashes were trembling slightly, not unresponsive, she also picked out a sprig of fresh and plump peonies, trimmed them and followed Bai Minmin''s words in a soft voice: "Lu Ting has been doing this for the past few days. In front of the palace, the news that His Majesty is here to greet you personally is true."


    She put the pruned flower branches in the Ming Tan vase, and asked seemingly unintentionally: "Lu Ting will definitely not care about me that day, A Tan, why don''t you come and pick me up to watch the excitement?"


    "You ask Minmin to pick you up, I''m going to Zhuangzi in the suburbs to settle accounts." Ming Tan concentrated on fiddling with the flowers and branches in the vase.


    "When can''t the account be settled, I have to go in these few days." Bai Minmin couldn''t help muttering.


    Ming Tan glanced at her: "My Zhuangzi, I can go whenever I want." She put down the copper scissors, "It''s getting late, and it''s time for you two to go home, Su Xin, Lu E, see off the guests .¡±


    "..."


    Soon, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan were forcibly sent out.


    The patio in the courtyard was suddenly silent, Ming Tan sat quietly for a while, then suddenly waved, signaling the second-class girl Yudie who was waiting at the door to come forward.


    "Yudie, I heard that your brother is the second innkeeper in Huichun Building?" Ming Tan asked casually as if chatting.


    "Back to the princess, yes."


    "I''ve also heard that...the location of the window facing the Huichun Building is very difficult to determine."


    "Actually, it''s fine on weekdays. If there''s something exciting going on, it''s hard to decide on this position. It''s like the number one scholar parading the streets every spring, or like our lord who won the victory and returned to the court to lead the army into the city-this time from the west gate. Come in, pass by the Huichun Building, the place near the window must be packed." Yudie smiled and said everything.


    Ming Tan naturally knew these things, she thought about it, and said: "That''s right, I have a friend who just happened to be planning the window location of Huichun Tower these few days. I wonder if your brother...can you make it easier?"


    Yudie hesitated for a moment: "Princess, are you the friend you are talking about?"

 Chapter 111：

    In the September Festival, the dew is cold and will condense.


    The time is cold and dew, and autumn in Beijing is getting stronger. The ginkgo trees on both sides of the Imperial Street are dense, and the ground is full of golden yellow.


    Early in the morning, both sides of the long street were crowded with people waiting for each other. The carved windows of teahouses and pubs along the street were opened, and all of them stretched their necks to look out.


    "Enter the city, enter the city!"


    "The emperor is going down the tower!"


    Shengjia came to the west city gate today to welcome the victorious army into the city. The Imperial City Division and the imperial guards in front of the palace were surrounded by densely packed guards at the west gate. It was extremely difficult to see what was going on inside. Occasionally, there was news of the victorious army entering the city and the emperor going down the tower, and the people who were looking forward to it were already excited.


    Not long after, Emperor Chengkang''s oral order came from the west gate.


    The great victory in Rongzhou, all the thirteen prefectures in the North have returned to the imperial court, and such feats have been immortalized through the ages. Emperor Chengkang naturally wants to reward the three armies and amnesty the world. Taxation for three years.


    In the past, Lingzhou was overflowing with epidemics and diseases, and the imperial court only exempted them from taxes for one year, but now it has been three years, which is enough to show how happy Emperor Chengkang was with the recovery of Rongzhou.


    In the middle of the corner, the sound of marching finally came from the city gate.


    Jiang Xu, who rode a famous horse thousands of miles away, slowly appeared at the end of the long street. He was handsome with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, with no expression on his face, as cold and serious as before.


    The closest behind him are Shen Yu and other confidant generals, as well as the coffins of the generals who died in the recovery battle that lasted more than half a year.


    Rao is victorious and returning to court, the army is still serious and orderly, without any complacency or arrogance.


    "His Royal Highness Dingbei is really¡ª" Bai Minmin stared straight at her eyes. After a while, she murmured, "Why do you think His Royal Highness Dingbei looks better than Second Master Shu today..."


    Zhang Huaiyu tapped her on the head with a folding fan.


    Bai Minmin stroked the back of her head after knowing it, her eyes still fixed on Jiang Xu, and murmured again: "A Tan''s life is really good..."


    Zhang Huaiyu snorted softly: "In this way, your life is really hard."


    Bai Minmin stared obsessively for a while, and when the army was halfway through, she looked away, cupped her face and sighed softly: "Yes, my life is really hard."


    "..."


    "If life is hard, you should take it well."


    "Zhang Huaiyu, you!"


    The two of them were used to arguing if they couldn''t say a few words, and the maidservants who were serving at the side shook their heads helplessly.


    The army continued to march forward, throwing melons and fruits all the way without stopping.


    Zhou Jingwan is not with Bai Minmin today, but with Shen Hua. Shen Yu has made great contributions in this battle, and Shen Hua is very pleased. Before his father passed away, he has been telling the two of them to work hard and shine on the lintel of Shen''s family as soon as possible. Brother With such an uplifting spirit, I think my father can smile and feel at ease when he is under the nine springs.


    Shen Hua and Zhou Jingwan talked about their son Shen Yu, and their eyes fell on Jiang Xu who was in front.


    "Is the sachet hanging on the waist of the prince?" Shen Hua was careful, and at a glance, he noticed something hanging from Jiang Xu''s waist that didn''t quite match his body.


    Zhou Jingwan looked at it carefully, nodded, and responded softly: "The color matching should be done by A Tan."


    The two exchanged glances tacitly.


    Jiang Xuduan sat on the horse and saw many familiar faces along the way into the city. Even his father-in-law stood in the crowd with a blushing face, nodding and chatting with Duke Chang beside him from time to time.


    But, he didn''t see his princess.


    After being happy in the past, Ming Tan huddled in his arms and said lazily: "I heard that your husband was awarded the title ''Dingbei'' that year, and the holy majesty came to the city gate to add the title? Then next time your husband wins and returns, I will definitely return early Go to the gate of the city and guard it, and see what kind of demeanor it is to show off the God of War!"


    Thinking of this, Jiang Xu''s eyes darkened slightly, and he tightened the reins in his hand.


    At the end of the long street, the crowd was still densely packed into a ball, and the cheers were endless. Jiang Xu sensed something in the crowded crowd, and suddenly raised his head and looked at the carved window on the left upstairs.


    Many people by the window were waving and cheering for him, but only one window was empty.


    He thought for a moment, his eyes fixed for a moment.


    To return to court after victory, the general must first enter the palace to report his affairs and have a banquet to celebrate his victory. Emperor Chengkang hosted a banquet in Yongyuan to reward the three armies, and they drank until late at night before they could be counted.


    Jiang Xulei returned to the mansion at night, and Uncle Fu had been waiting at the gate of the palace. Seeing him coming back, he hurriedly greeted him inside.


    Jiang Xu handed him the whip, untied his cufflinks, and asked softly, "Is the princess asleep?"


    Uncle Fu raised his head and choked: "This..." He was not sure, "Princess, maybe you are asleep?"


    Jiang Xu looked up at him: "What do you mean ''Xu Shi is asleep''?"


    "Princess, she is not in the mansion, and I don''t know if the old slave is asleep." Uncle Fu looked puzzled, "Princess has to go to the suburban Zhuangzi to settle accounts early this morning, and she will go today if she doesn''t go early or late. It doesn''t work to persuade, probably because I don''t want to see you."


    After finishing speaking, Uncle Fu paused, and subconsciously covered his mouth, how could he tell the truth quickly.


    Jiang Xu was silent, and only asked, "Which Zhuangzi?"


    Uncle Fu hurriedly recalled: "It seems to be the one near the Sishui River in the western suburbs. It is... the dowry of the princess."


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu withdrew the whip from his hand, twisted the belt in the opposite direction, tightened it in twos and threes, turned on the horse again, turned the horse''s head neatly, and ran towards the dark night.


    "G, my lord! My lord!"


    Uncle Fu yelled several times from behind, but Jiang Xu didn''t seem to hear it, and his back quickly disappeared into a small black spot in the distance.


    Uncle Fu sighed sadly. Since the princess is angry, she should think of a way to coax her. What''s the use of rushing over by this lonely person? At least she should take two carts of spoils to show her sincerity. Too young, too young.


    Uncle Fu walked back with his hands behind his back, shaking his head regretfully.


    The night sky is dark and full of autumn stars. The nights in the suburbs of Beijing seem to be more leisurely and quiet than those in central Beijing. It''s late autumn, and the disturbing frogs and cicadas in the summer night have already quietly left the scene, only the occasional night bird is beckoning, the wind blows through the treetops, and the dead leaves are either withered or rustling.


    Ming Tan tossed his head on the bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what.


    It''s not because the house is simple and unfamiliar, the village is built next to the water, the soil is fertile and very fertile, and the farmers live a very prosperous life.


    Hearing that the master''s family came to pay the bills, the manager of the village head tidied up a spacious room for her early on. All the things in the house were newly purchased from Beijing. The decoration is elegant and comfortable, and the mattresses are even more so. Lue packed it up and brought it from the mansion.


    But Ming Tan just couldn''t sleep.


    As soon as he closed his eyes, his mind was full of the handsome figure of Jiang Qizhi leading the army across the long street.


    This man simply played a trick on her.


    Obviously thinking not to forgive him easily, but always involuntarily defending him in her heart, always thinking that he also has his own difficulties, and it seems difficult for her to take her eyes off him when he is there, just like today Long Street... Ming Tan patted his face, turned around and put on the brocade quilt, telling himself not to think about it any longer.


    Suddenly, there was a very light sound from the door and window, Ming Tan subconsciously thought it was Su Xin, and muffled under the brocade quilt: "Go to sleep, there is no need to keep watch."


    After a while, no one responded, and then she poked her head out of the quilt in doubt.


    The night is very good today, the moonlight pours into the window lattice like water, reflecting someone standing quietly by the window softly and clearly.


    Ming Tan was stunned, staring at the visitor without blinking, half propped up and sat on the bed, his heartbeat began to beat faster unconsciously.


    Is she wrong? Or is it that she is in a dream now, and what she sees is something she thinks about every day and dreams about at night?


    She pinched her face unconsciously, it hurt a little, it was not a dream.


    In just a short while, Jiang Xu had already approached.


    He was wearing the armor that was glowing with cold light when he led the army into the city during the day, it was darker and heavier, and there was still a light chill on his body that came before the night, and he could only see clearly when he was close. He was much thinner than when he left Beijing , the Adam''s apple is prominent, and the lines of the face are becoming clearer and more handsome.


    His eyes were full of extremely difficult to understand emotions, like a lake of still water, but under the still water, there was a dark tide surging.


    He stared at Ming Tan, and after an unknown amount of time, he slowly stretched out his hand, brushed the hair scattered on Fu Ming Tan''s face, and said in a hoarse voice: "I''m back, Ah Tan."

 Chapter 112：

    For a moment, Ming Tan really wanted to go forward and hug him, but she moved her fingertips slightly, and she restrained herself from extending her hands, but backed away instead.


    "It''s scary to enter the house without saying hello in the middle of the night. Your Highness, don''t you know that it''s scary." She turned her eyes away and didn''t look at him, her voice was stiff and cold.


    "Well, my fault."


    Jiang Xu''s eyes were deep, and he was still looking straight at Ming Tan.


    Acknowledging her mistakes so straightforwardly, Ming Tan felt a little uncomfortable. After a long silence, she turned over and covered herself with a brocade quilt, and lay on her side: "I''m going to sleep."


    "it is good."


    The next moment, the answer from [email protected]@ came from the side of the bed Clothes sound.


    ...?


    Ming Tan turned around, opened his eyes wide, stepped back, and couldn''t help but tie a knot and said: "You, what are you doing, what clothes are you taking off!"


    When she retreated, Jiang Xu just made room for Jiang Xu, who lay down on the outside of the bed very naturally, and quickly closed his eyes.


    Ming Tan was stunned, looked at him for a long while, then stretched out his hand to push him.


    Jiang Xu frowned and moved his elbow slightly.


    injured?


    Ming Tan let go subconsciously, and moved his eyes to the wound.


    "When I attacked Suiyang City, my left hand fractured. The condition of the frontier was limited, and the wound was treated poorly, so it hasn''t healed yet. But now it''s fine, so you don''t have to worry." He closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.


    "..."


    Who asked him? No, who is worried?


    Ming Tan was about to refute, when Jiang Xu said again: "Actually, when I was ambushed earlier, the arrow was only half an inch away from the mouth, which was much more serious than the injury to the left hand, but it''s okay, after all, I came back alive as you wished. .¡±


    "..."


    How can she go on?


    After a long while, she silently moved to the side, silently acquiescing to him occupying half of the bed.


    Jiang Xu never opened his eyes, but curled up his lips almost imperceptibly in the darkness.


    ¡­


    A night without dreams.


    Ming Tan couldn''t fall asleep at first, but for some reason, after Jiang Xu lay beside her, she fell asleep unconsciously after a while.


    When she woke up, there was no one beside her, the bed was cool and there was no warmth left, if it wasn''t for the sleepy folds on the brocade quilt, she almost thought that last night was just a too real dream.


    Hearing the commotion in the room, Su Xin and Lu E quickly entered the room and waited for Ming Tan to wash and get up.


    Both of them had cheerful smiles on their faces, Ming Tan was inexplicable: "What are you laughing at?"


    "It''s nothing, the young lady and the prince are reconciled, we are also happy for you as slaves." Lue said cleverly.


    Ming Tan paused and snatched the belt from her hand: "Who said I''m reconciled with him?"


    Su Xin and Lu E looked at each other, and continued to do the work in hand, without answering the words.


    After changing Ming Tan''s clothes, Su Xin turned around and said: "The prince is practicing swords outside, and he said that he will have a meal with you when you wake up."


    "It''s not that you''re injured, what kind of swords are you practicing?" Ming Tan answered without thinking.


    The two of them looked at her teasingly, as if they were saying¡ª¡ªlook, they care so much about the prince, and they still say it''s not reconciliation.


    Seeing their eyes, Ming Tan really wanted to explain something, but the more she explained, the more she seemed to reveal her guilty conscience, and she swallowed the words, she didn''t argue any further, and just ordered her breakfast to be served in the When I came to the house, I also specially told not to prepare too much, just drink porridge today.


    But she didn''t expect her unwillingness to have breakfast with someone to be so obvious, someone still entered the room, sat down directly beside her, and brought two steamed buns and a small plate of pickles.


    "Can you use some?" Jiang Xu pushed the plate forward seeing Ming Tan staring straight at the pickled steamed buns on his plate.


    Ming Tan immediately looked away, scooped up the porridge one after another, and said politely: "No need, Your Highness can use it by himself."


    When Jiang Xu heard this, he really started eating pickles by himself.


    After a while of silence, Ming Tan stole a glance at him out of the corner of his eye.


    After watching, Ming Tan: "..."


    Why is this man like this? Is he really here for breakfast?


    Ming Tan almost laughed out of anger, scraping the bottom of the bowl with the porcelain spoon in his hand, rubbing the porridge off the edge of the bowl.


    Suddenly, she paused, and couldn''t help but said coldly: "I remember that His Highness likes steamed stuffed buns filled with meat for breakfast, but doesn''t like vegetarian steamed buns. In fact, you don''t have to force yourself."


    "You still remember that I love buns filled with meat."


    Ming Tan choked up: "It''s not important, the important thing is..."


    "Very important."


    "you are important to me."


    The room fell into silence for a moment, Ming Tan put down the porcelain spoon and got up, walked out without saying a word. Jiang Xu was a little late and followed slowly.


    ¡­


    Since it is in the name of coming to Zhuangzi to reconcile accounts, then this account must always be reconciled.


    Throughout the whole day, the Zhuangtou steward accompanied him and led Ming Tan around the Zhuangzi, and then brought back the account books from the past two years and handed them to Ming Tan to look through.


    Jiang Xu followed quietly all the time, the account book was delivered, and occasionally flipped through one, Ming Tan didn''t pay much attention to him, but he didn''t drive him away either.


    Coming out of Zhuangtou''s steward''s house at dusk, Ming Tan walked forward and said calmly to Jiang Xu who was behind him: "Don''t worry, Your Highness, since Your Highness has said that as long as I am the princess of Dingbei, I will be safe for a day." Anhou Mansion, even if it is for the Marquis Mansion, I will also fulfill my duties as a princess, and I will return to the mansion after I settle the accounts of the farm, Your Highness really does not need to waste time here."


    "I don''t feel like I''m wasting my time."


    "But I think so!"


    Ming Tan finally couldn''t hold back anymore, this man chased him from a long distance, he was naked and showed no sincerity, if he had something to say to her face to face, she obviously gave him many chances to speak , but he was just like a moving log, quietly sticking beside him without saying anything.


    Thinking about how Shu Er was so eloquent back then, she almost believed what he said, why did he have nothing to say when he came to him, won''t he repeat it? He stood in front of him without saying a word because he wanted her to see through the few expressions on his face and understand it on her own?


    She just wanted to hear him spend more time explaining to her from the beginning to the end, even if marrying her was a calculation, even if the emperor wanted to take back the military power from his father, he knew it and just watched it coldly, but As long as he explains a few more words in person, if he is wrong, apologize and coax her, since she likes him so much, maybe he will forgive him?


    The more Ming Tan thought about it, the angrier he became: "Don''t follow me anymore, I won''t like you anymore!"


    "No way."


    "Won''t!"


    "Then why did you enclose Wu Hengyu in your letter?"


    "That''s my elder brother''s own opinion, so it has nothing to do with me." Ming Tan had already planned his speech when he presented the jade plaque.


    Jiang Xu didn''t intend to entangle her more on this point, and asked again: "Then why did you go to Lingmiao Temple to pray, hoping that I can wake up safely and return to court smoothly?"


    "How do you know!" Ming Tan turned around, his face full of astonishment.


    "I also know that Princess Dingbei is devout to the Buddha. The news of my king''s awakening and crossing the water spread to Shangjing. Princess Dingbei went to Lingmiao Temple to fulfill her vow and donated golden bodies to all the gods and Buddhas in Lingmiao Temple."


    Ming Tan was too shocked to speak.


    She didn''t know that every time she went back to Lingmiao Temple to pray for blessings, all her thoughts fell into the ears of the little novice in the Zangshuge of the side hall.


    This little novice is Master Huiyuan''s apprentice. After the capture of Suiyang, Master Huiyuan sent a letter to Jiang Xu. Mingtan''s many broken words were written down in the letter and sent to Jiang Xu. .


    "The Buddha must bless my husband to wake up safely. If his wish is fulfilled, the believer would like to be a vegetarian for three years... No, it would be a bit embarrassing for me to be a vegetarian for three years, and if the woman is only a vegetarian, it will hinder her body, so I still give it to you." Let the Buddha reshape the golden body, and if the wish is fulfilled, the believer is willing to donate the golden body to all the gods and Buddhas in the temple."


    ¡­


    "Although my husband has woken up safely, I don''t know when I will be able to return to Beijing. There are still so many counties and towns in Rongzhou. The believer is afraid that after taking back Suiyang, he and his subordinates will be arrogant and complacent, and they will change when they underestimate the enemy. I also ask the Buddha to bless my husband. It is necessary to return to the court smoothly. The believer is willing to refill the sesame oil and repair the expensive temple."


    ¡­


    Hearing this, Ming Tan felt unsteady on his feet and staggered.


    At this juncture, she was still stubborn, refusing to admit her concern: "I hope you wake up as soon as possible and go back to your home. That''s because I care about Daxian territory, and I look forward to recovering the thirteen northern states as soon as possible." , if you have any troubles, it will definitely, it will definitely affect morale, so you don''t have to be sentimental!"


    The sky had darkened unknowingly, and Ming Tan''s voice fell, and suddenly realized that she had gone the wrong way, but Jiang Xu was following her, and it was hard for her to say that she had lost her way in her own farm, so Bite the bullet, and struggled forward in the half-person-high crops, pretending to be familiar with the road.


    In contrast, Jiang Xu walked with ease, he always followed Ming Tan, and when she saw her denying it, he didn''t forget to ask: "Then I asked the girl in the mansion to book the window seat of Huichun Building today, and I was just being passionate. what?"


    ...?


    Ming Tan was completely unable to stand still, the mud slipped under his feet, and he fell back with a "bang".


    With sharp eyes and quick hands, Jiang Xu caught her.


    Ming Tan stared straight, as if asking, "How do you even know this?"


    But Jiang Xu didn''t answer this question, he just hugged her from behind, snuggled up to her ear, and said calmly and seriously: "A Tan, I did deceive you when I first got married, but it wasn''t as bad as you imagined. Since I marry you, I will keep you safe for the rest of my life.


    "Everything in the past was my fault, and I will definitely not do it again in the future. I will never put your close ones in danger again, and I will never make you fearful again. Can you give me a chance?


    "If there are things that are not done well, I can change them. I like you, and I don''t know when it started, but I hope that you will always be the princess of Dingbei, and I hope that you will always be Jiang Qizhi''s wife."

 Chapter 113：

    The night was extremely quiet, and the hazy moonlight flowed from the rising new moon, falling gently on the two of them.


    Ming Tan looked at Jiang Xu with his head half upturned, his eyes seemed to be filled with the deep and emotional still water of the lake, his brows were getting closer and closer, and the warm breath between his thin lips was gradually spraying, Ming Tan seemed to be lost in it, not knowing what to do how to react.


    When the distance between the tips of their noses was less than half an inch, suddenly there were a few barks of dogs not far away¡ª¡ª


    "Wow!"


    "Wow woof!"


    Ming Tan suddenly woke up, and immediately left Jiang Xu''s embrace, and stood up limping, she didn''t know whether she was frightened or what, her heart was beating very fast, and she didn''t seem to calm down for a long time.


    The dog barked very suddenly and fiercely, Jiang Xu stroked her back: "Are you scared?"


    Ming Tan covered his heart and shook his head, then awkwardly broke away from his wide palm, and whispered as he walked forward: "Don''t touch me, don''t think that you can dismiss me by saying a few nice words."


    "What I say is from the heart, not perfunctory."


    Ming Tan walked forward in depths and shallows, glanced back from the corner of his eyes, and spoke with disgust: "Why didn''t I hear the sound from my heart."


    "I speak for it."


    "..."


    "His Royal Highness King Dingbei borrowed the words from Second Young Master Chaoshu to open his mouth, why can he speak so well tonight?"


    Ming Tan wanted to ridicule him a few more words, who would have thought that there is a hunting hole set up by the farmer in the crops!


    This hunting hole seems to be very hidden during the day, the hole is covered with a layer of soft mud and hay, hidden in the crops, it is extremely difficult to find, not to mention the lack of light at night. Ming Tan didn''t pay attention, stepped on the ground, and stepped on it, and the words that were about to come out suddenly turned into a scream that pierced the night sky: "Ah!"


    "Adan!"


    Jiang Xu took a few steps away from her, and when he stepped forward, Ming Tan had already fallen into the trap. The soft mud and dry grass spread on the hole covered her body, and what was worse, there were traps placed by the farmer at the bottom of the hole. .


    Ming Tan''s foot, which was already sore from walking, was tightly caught by the trap, and she didn''t feel it at first, but after a few breaths, the sharp pain hit, and a white light flashed in front of her eyes, she couldn''t help it, and cried with difficulty. Shouted: "It hurts! Well, it hurts!"


    The hunting hole was dug very deep, and the inside was also big. They were crowded together, and could accommodate two or three people. It was originally prepared for the wild hogs that go down the mountain at night to destroy the crops.


    Jiang Xu squatted down, holding her hand tightly, trying to pull her up.


    But she kept shaking her head: "My foot is clamped and I can''t use it."


    Jiang Xu paused, just now he thought that Ming Tan cried out in pain because he broke his foot, but now he realized that he was caught by the traps in the cave.


    "Don''t move, there may be other traps in there."


    When Ming Tan heard the words, he was too frightened to move.


    Seeing her trembling, Jiang Xu calmed down again: "Don''t be afraid, I''m here."


    He avoided Ming Tan, and stretched out his sword to probe the bottom of the cave, as expected, there were a few animal traps scattered in other places at the bottom of the cave, and where the blade was probing, there were a few "clicks", and the traps were all closed.


    Only then did Jiang Xu put away his sword, leaped down from the hunting cave, grabbed Ming Tan''s waist, and led her out of the trap.


    Ming Tan was covered in weeds and dust all over his body, he was in a very embarrassing situation, his fair and clean face was also dirty, mixed with the tears pouring out from the pain, like a little sloppy just dug out of the soil.


    Jiang Xu looked at the wound on her foot, the animal trap was still holding her foot tightly, and the white socks were soaked with blood stains.


    Ming Tan was sweating on his forehead, and every inch he moved was painful.


    Jiang Xu didn''t move rashly, and carefully observed the animal trap on Ming Tan''s feet for a while, this kind of animal trap is not very fashionable nowadays, there is no spike blade on it, but it is also more difficult to open than the fashionable animal trap nowadays, A key is also required.


    Ming Tan''s tears flowed non-stop, two white tear stains dripped from his dirty face, he hiccupped and asked, "You...can you...open it...open it?"


    Jiang Xu raised his head and glanced at her bun. He didn''t know how she became so simple today, and only used a wooden hairpin.


    But now there is no more convenient tool at hand, so he still took off the wooden hairpin from Ming Tan''s hair.


    Seeing that he was going to use the wooden hairpin to open the lock, Ming Tan reminded tearfully: "Be careful!"


    Jiang Xu thought she was worried that the wooden hairpin was broken in the lock, but she didn''t expect that she then said: "This wooden hairpin is made of the best agarwood tribute from the South China Sea. It has a light pear fragrance that lasts for a long time. Master Lu''s work is unique and unique, so don''t ruin it."


    When it came to the baby''s things, she stopped hiccupping, and her feet didn''t hurt so much anymore. Her eyes were full of tears, and she stared nervously at the animal trap on her feet.


    Jiang Xu paused for a while, and his voice was a little helpless: "If it breaks, I will pay you."


    "I said it was an orphan!"


    "Is that Master Lu still alive?"


    "Still."


    "Since he is still alive, there is no absolute orphan. I found him, and if I can''t make an identical wooden hairpin, I just don''t let him go."


    ...!


    "Idiot!"


    With a very light "click", the trap opened.


    Ming Tan''s foot loosened, but the pain did not ease, on the contrary, it seemed to be released, and it became more intense.


    Jiang Xu supported her.


    She bit Jiang Xu''s arm in pain.


    Jiang Xu didn''t move, he just stroked her back gently, and after she relaxed a little, he said in a deep voice, "I''ll carry you back, and after taking the medicine, it won''t hurt anymore, good boy."


    He carried Ming Tan on his back carefully, avoiding the wound on her foot.


    Ming Tan lay softly on the familiar but unfamiliar broad shoulders, for some reason, tears could not stop flowing down.


    "It doesn''t hurt if you say it doesn''t hurt, and it''s not you who hurts, liar!"


    The wound on her foot seemed to implicate the memory of the previous arrow wound. The grievances and worries that had accumulated for a long time and all kinds of complicated emotions broke out completely. To appease, but it didn''t work, Ming Tan just talked to himself to vent.


    "You also said you wouldn''t let me get hurt again, and I got hurt twice under your nose, what about His Royal Highness Dingbei, it''s useless, hiccup!"


    "It''s my fault, I''m sorry, Adan."


    "Of course it''s your fault!" Ming Tan''s eyes were sore from crying, swollen into two peaches, her vision was blurred, her voice was choked up, and she complained intermittently, "You, you still tear down my desk, sir It''s to demolish me! Wu Hengyu, Lingmiao Temple, Huichun Tower...you know it when you know it, why, why do you keep saying it, I don''t want to lose face!"


    "No one else heard it." In the past, there were many things that were heard by others, but he didn''t mention a word.


    "If others didn''t hear it, my face doesn''t matter, right? You''ve got a reason... Hiccup!"


    "Okay, it''s my fault too."


    "It was your fault in the first place. Besides, Second Master Shu would defend you. Why didn''t you explain to me yourself? You only said that you let me believe you, that you liked me, that it was yours. Wrong, then where did you go wrong!"


    Jiang Xu was silent for a moment.


    In fact, after Shu Jingran spoke for him, he even wrote to him, in which he specifically told him that he should explain it to Ming Tan in person.


    But these explanations, Shu Jingran can say, but he can''t tell them apart. After all, he married her for an impure purpose, and Cheng Kangdi wanted to take back the military power. He guessed it well. Facts seem to be an excuse to shirk responsibility.


    Ming Tan hiccupped again, his voice was hoarse from crying: "Why, you can''t speak again."


    Jiang Xu gently lifted her up: "It''s all my fault for hurting you, frightening you, not taking your face into account, and failing to explain to you in time. And I didn''t stop the Holy Majesty from taking back your father''s military power." , it was my fault for putting your father in danger. When I get back to the palace, I will personally visit the door and make amends to my father-in-law, okay?"


    Ming Tan thought to himself, this is more or less the same, but he didn''t respond.


    I don''t know how Jiang Xu found the way. After walking for a while, he vaguely saw the familiar dim light ahead.


    Su Xin Lue originally thought that it would be a good thing for the young lady and the prince to be alone together, so why not pack up the luggage first, maybe they will return home early in the morning. Unexpectedly, the two of them were indeed getting along alone, but halfway they met with a dirty face and an injured leg! The two of them rushed forward to meet people, and the people below were boiling water and calling for the doctor.


    The doctor''s medical skills in Zhuangzi can only deal with minor injuries. After bandaging Mingtan, he was still trembling, and he thought he whispered to Jiang Xu: "Wangfei''s injury, this injury can be healed, maybe it will leave a scar. ¡ª¡ª¡±


    When Ming Tan heard the words, he suddenly exploded: "I don''t want to leave a scar!"


    "No scars will be left." Jiang Xu turned around and promised Ming Tan, and dismissed the doctor casually.


    "How can you guarantee that the previous arrow wound, Minmin found me the best scar-removing medicine, but it couldn''t completely get rid of it." Ming Tan''s nose was flushed, and there seemed to be tears in his eyes, ready to burst out at any time.


    "That''s because the medicine she found wasn''t good enough. On the way back to Beijing, I found Shuanghua Ointment."


    "Shuanghua Cream? Really?"


    Shuanghua ointment is the secret medicine of the royal family of Banshuang, a small country in the Western Regions. It has the miraculous effect of removing scars and nourishing the skin. It can make the skin white, tender and smooth, as delicate as porcelain. She also heard Bai Minmin''s annoyance a few days ago that she had spent a lot of effort but failed to find this cream, so she knew that there was such a miracle medicine in the world.


    Jiang Xu took out the Shuanghua ointment that he carried with him. Inside the small white jade bottle, there was a translucent ointment with a light smell, which was soothing to smell.


    Ming Tan wanted to try to wipe it on his body, but Jiang Xu stopped him: "I have ordered someone to pass on the seal of the Imperial Physician. When the Imperial Physician Feng comes, it will not be too late to see how to use it for better effect."


    makes sense.


    Ming Tan let go of the small jade bottle and shrank into the brocade quilt.


    "The medicinal materials used in this Shuanghua Ointment are expensive, and it is indeed effective in removing scars. However, this Shuanghua Ointment can only be used on the scabs that have healed. The princess''s previous arrow wound can be used, but this injury on the foot¡ªit is better to wait for a few days before using it. That''s good." Imperial Physician Feng came late at night, looked at this precious medicine, and said cautiously.


    Jiang Xu nodded: "It''s time to work."


    "This is what I should do." Imperial Physician Feng didn''t know what to think of: "Oh, yes, the prince''s medicine is used up? Now the coldness should not be a serious problem, take another bottle, and the cold poison can be wiped out."


    "What cold poison?" Ming Tan was at a loss.


    Imperial Physician Feng paused, slightly surprised: "Why, the princess doesn''t know?"


    Jiang Xu interrupted: "Nothing."


    Ke Mingtan persisted and asked: "Physician Feng, what kind of cold poison is it?"


    "This... the princess was hit by an arrow earlier, and the arrow was tainted with a strange poison, and she needed to use snow grass to counteract it. However, at that time, the princess couldn''t swallow the medicine by herself, so she had to use her lips to cross it. The snow grass is so cold, the prince doesn''t need it The solution is that I suffered from cold poison while taking the medicine¡ª¡± Feng Taiyi paused, ¡°But the prince¡¯s cold is not deep, and his inner strength is deep, so the cold disease only occurs once a month, and the medicine prepared by the minister can relieve it.¡± , shouldn''t be considered very serious."


    When Ming Tan heard the words, his eyes shifted to Jiang Xu.


    Jiang Xu avoided her eyes: "It''s just a small matter."


    Ming Tan remained silent.


    After Imperial Physician Feng left, only Mingtan and Jiang Xu were left in the room, Jiang Xu whispered: "I''ll stay, if you feel pain at night, call me."


    "What''s the use of calling you, you can''t relieve the pain." Ming Tan muttered something in a low voice, then moved his body to the side very honestly, making room for Jiang Xu.


    At night, the pain in Ming Tan''s feet eased a lot. Seeing her sleeping soundly, Jiang Xu folded the quilt for her, and slowly closed his eyes.


    In the dead of night, seeing that Jiang Xu was sleeping soundly, Ming Tan took advantage of the moonlight leaking into the room from the window, and very lightly lifted the jacket on Jiang Xu''s back.


    He has a broad back, but there are many old scars and new wounds on his head, intertwined with each other, which looks very scary under the moonlight.


    Ming Tan lightly touched it twice, then carefully took out the Shuanghua ointment from under the pillow, dipped some ointment on the pad of his ring finger, and gently applied it on his scar little by little.

 Chapter 114：

    Due to a foot injury, the accounts in the village were closed after a day of serious meetings. Early the next morning, Ming Tan returned to the palace in a spacious carriage, and Jiang Xu accompanied him on a single horse, always taking care of the bumpy gravel road.


    When the group returned to the palace, Uncle Fu was quite amazed.


    The concubine is really easy to coax, just like the prince, really coaxed people back!


    Watching Jiang Xu lift Ming Tan up and walk towards Qi''an Hall, Uncle Fu''s face was wrinkled with a smile, and his eyes were even more narrowed.


    Lue reminded: "Uncle Fu, I have to trouble you to arrange someone to send those dishes to Anjifang."


    Uncle Fu came back to his senses, and looked back: "Yo, this will be an account, what, why did you bring so many dishes back?"


    "Isn''t it the farmers in the village who set up some kind of traps to catch wild pigs, which caused the princess to suffer, no, I feel sorry, and they have to deliver food to us, don''t they?"


    Uncle Fu understood, and nodded: "Sure, I''ll arrange for someone to send it to Anjifang."


    Anji Fang was established by the government to help the poor and the poor, and to support the orphans, widows, and sick. It existed since the beginning of the dynasty, but the government itself had difficulty maintaining it, and it was mostly useless.


    Now Chengkang years are considered peaceful and prosperous. When Lingzhou Haiyi caused an epidemic, at the suggestion of a group of women from Shangjing headed by Ming Tan, Queen Zhang restarted Anjifang to resettle the victims.


    After the epidemic, this Anji Square has not been idle. Now there are two squares in the middle of Beijing, east, west, north, south, and north, and other state capitals are gradually being built. Ming Tan would visit from time to time, and most of the old people there knew her.


    ¡­


    After being raised in the mansion for a few days, Ming Tan''s foot injury obviously improved, Xu knew that Jiang Xu was in the mansion, and no one dared to disturb the mansion these days. Even Suxin and Lue seldom appear in the house, and Jiang Xu is taking care of drinking medicine and applying medicine.


    When the wound on the foot healed, there were indeed two faint scars left, but they were not as serious as what Dr. Zhuang Zhong said, and they would fade away naturally after a while.


    After taking a bath at night, Jiang Xu Kuanyi sat by the couch, looked at Ming Tan''s white and tender feet, and asked, "Do you want to use Shuanghua ointment?"


    "Of course." Ming Tan didn''t know what to think of, and said again, "Turn around."


    Jiang Xu turned his back to her according to his words.


    She lifted up Jiang Xu''s shirt and looked at it, her eyes widened suddenly: "It''s really so effective!"


    She couldn''t help stretching out her hand to touch it, and those scars really disappeared, only a few deep ones were still slightly visible, and it would be completely healed after two more uses.


    Jiang Xu was silent: "Shuanghua ointment is rare, you can keep it for yourself, don''t waste it on me."


    Ming Tan paused, put down the hem of his clothes, took up Shuanghua ointment and wiped the wound on himself, and said guiltily: "Don''t be so sentimental, this is me, this is to use the wound on your back as a wound." The experiment, although Imperial Physician Feng has seen it, but it is something on the upper body after all, how can I rub it on my body casually, of course I have to confirm that it is really useful. Well, now that it has been confirmed, you don''t have to think about it anymore It can still be used."


    Jiang Xu didn''t expose her, he just said "um", took the Shuanghua ointment, and patiently applied it to her.


    There were scars on the instep and soles of the feet. When it was applied to the soles of the feet, Ming Tan struggled to hold back for a while, but he still couldn''t hold back. He laughed and curled up his toes involuntarily.


    "Hurry up... it''s itchy!"


    Hearing this, Jiang Xu had a thought, deliberately slowed down his movements, and pinched her to prevent her from hiding. Ming Tan laughed so hard that he rolled on the bed, tears came out, and he kicked his feet indiscriminately, but he couldn''t make money. Open Jiang Xu''s hand.


    After a while, Ming Tan''s belt was half loose, revealing most of her fragrant shoulders. The green pear fragrance on her body after bathing and the faint medicinal fragrance of Shuanghua ointment affected Jiang Xu''s nerves. Jiang Xu already put one hand on her ear, and leaned on her body.


    His Adam''s apple was rolling up and down, his eyes were dark, and his eyes were full of desire.


    The smile on Ming Tan''s lips froze for a moment, and his heart was inexplicably nervous, and there was also some strange, lingering... longing.


    She avoided Jiang Xu''s eyes and swallowed with difficulty.


    Immediately, a cold kiss landed on her neck, and slowly moved upwards, covering her cheeks, eyebrows, lips...


    His kiss is still familiar, it seems that it can mobilize long-lost memories in an instant, Ming Tan is a little confused, and responds to him unconsciously.


    The clothes gradually fell off, and the two got closer and closer. Ming Tan clung to him, secretly looking forward to a deeper intimacy, but Jiang Xu stopped at a critical moment, and whispered in her ear: "A Tan , can you?"


    Ming Tan was awake for three minutes, but his body felt tight, and he still honestly needed his approach.


    It''s just that she is still angry with him now, asking her to answer shamelessly, but she really can''t save face, so she can only hold back her broken voice and stare at him with no deterrent force. A small fist hammered on his shoulder.


    Jiang Xu didn''t make things difficult for her anymore, he kissed her earlobe, and said in a rustling voice, "Then I will take it as your consent."


    Ming Tan hugged his neck tightly, and suddenly let out a heavy snort.


    ¡­


    After waking up the next day, even though Ming Tan refused to admit it, he became more intimate with Jiang Xu unconsciously.


    Autumn has passed from winter to winter, and spring is coming again. This year, the winter in Shangjing has snowed heavily. When the green trees sprout new buds and the ice and snow melt, Dingbei Palace finally has the scene of spring and everything coming back to life.


    In the six months since Jiang Xu returned to Beijing from the northwest, Ming Tan showed signs of softening and forgiving early in the morning, but she never let go, and made some coquettish gestures from time to time. Seeing Jiang Xu''s patience and indulgence, she couldn''t help being presumptuous some.


    Until the heavy snowfall on New Year''s Eve, Jiang Xu, who has always been like an iron man, suffered from a sudden wind and cold. He was ill for half a month, and he had a high fever, groaning, and drowsy. , and then he relaxed and said forgiveness.


    "Why do I feel now... I''ve been deceived." The more Ming Tan thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and when he invited Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan to come to the mansion to enjoy the flowers, he murmured, "Physician Feng clearly said that if you take another bottle of medicine, the cold poison will disappear." But I was worried, and I asked Doctor Feng for an extra bottle, so he had already finished two bottles of medicine, how could he still suffer from the cold because of the cold poison?"


    "You think too much. There are many people who suffered from the wind and cold this time. What''s wrong with your Highness suffering from the wind and cold? He is not a god." Bai Minmin continued bored.


    "But I never saw him get a cold."


    "I''ll see you now?"


    Ming Tan choked up, but still felt that something was wrong: "But this time it was windy and cold, and the other people could recover in at most five or six days. He is physically strong, absolutely incomparable to others, how could it take half a month?"


    In the past six months, Zhou Jingwan has obtained a lot of rare calligraphy and paintings that Jiang Xuming gave to Lu Ting as a gift to her, so she spoke for him calmly: "Do you think His Highness is pretending to be sick or procrastinating to deceive you? If it is true, Think about it, what is the reason for His Highness to act like this at the expense of his own body? It is just because you are soft-hearted and forgiven, then this is enough to show that His Highness is sincere to you."


    "..."


    Although there seems to be something wrong, it sounds reasonable.


    Jiang Xu specially found Zhang Huaiyu a errand to go to the south of the Yangtze River to inspect, it is most suitable to take Bai Minmin to go sightseeing in the mountains and rivers, and Bai Minmin''s wish to go out of Beijing to play has come true, so he naturally closed his eyes to help: "Jing Wan is right , you have been tossing and tossing for half a year. Today you want to soak in the hot spring of Wuyin Mountain, and tomorrow you want to see a flash in the pan. How can your prince not follow you? Besides, the imperial doctor said that only one bottle is good, you must It might be counterproductive for people to eat two bottles."


    "..."


    It seems that there is some truth to it.


    Ming Tan thought for a while, then nodded slowly, didn''t think any more, just coughed twice, couldn''t help shaking his snow-white wrist to show off.


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan looked at each other, and praised the venue very much¡ª¡ª


    "Why is this bracelet so beautiful? This jade has a special color and is so pure and transparent!"


    "I noticed it just now. This is Qinglian Jade from Yuncheng? I heard that it is very difficult to find. The jade beads in your hand have been ground into jade beads of the same size, which is even rarer."


    "Last month your lord went to Yuncheng on business, and it was your lord who found it for you again, right?"


    Ming Tan bent his lips, and in front of the little sister, he also pretended to be half helpless and half showing off: "Last month, he went to Yuncheng with brother-in-law of the Li family to do business, and he found it back, and he didn''t tell me that it was half a month before the golden pavilion rushed to work. It came out. A few days ago, my cousin Hua came to the mansion and saw this bracelet and mentioned it by the way, it took him a lot of effort to find this Qinglian jade in Yuncheng, and he didn''t sleep a wink for several nights."


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan drank tea tacitly, and said silently in their hearts: When did Shen Hua mention something casually? Don''t even think about how Li Jiaerlang got into the household department.


    Seeing the two of them drinking tea, Ming Tan also took a sip of the buttered tea made by the new Northwest cook in the mansion.


    It''s just that as soon as he swallowed the butter tea, Ming Tan felt inexplicably nauseated.


    Seeing this, Su Xin hurriedly stepped forward to cover her lips and spit it out, then picked up tea and let her moisten her throat.


    Ming Tan looked disgusted: "This butter tea is really boring, take it away quickly."


    Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan glanced at their tea bowls, feeling inexplicable in their hearts, they were a little tired, but they wouldn''t react so badly just after taking half a sip.


    Bai Minmin didn''t know what was coming to her mind, she was suddenly blessed, and said casually, "Your prince isn''t coming back for dinner today, is he? Then I can stay in the palace for dinner. By the way, Suxin, I like it." Eat the steamed fish cooked by the chef in your house, and quickly order the kitchen to prepare one."


    "Yes, servant girl is going now."


    ¡­


    At dinner time, a sumptuous dinner was served in the side hall of Qi''an Hall. Bai Minmin ordered steamed fish, but ordered someone to put a bunch of other dishes in front of her. After coming and going, the steamed fish could only be placed in front of Ming Tan.


    For some reason, Ming Tan felt that the fish smelled very fishy today, and he felt like vomiting when he smelled it.


    But Bai Minmin ate happily, she couldn''t eat enough by herself, she even picked up a chopstick and insisted on stuffing it into Ming Tan''s mouth.


    Ming Tan had no choice but to take it, and as soon as she took it in, she couldn''t stand it anymore, spat out the fish meat, and vomited heavily into the bowl that Su Xin sent in time.


    Bai Minmin didn''t expect her reaction to be so big. While panicking, she couldn''t help feeling a little bit of joy in her heart. She hurriedly ordered: "Go and find the imperial physician, what is the name of the imperial physician who often asks the princess for a peace pulse? Feng imperial physician, yes, That''s right, it''s Imperial Physician Feng!"


    Ming Tan turned pale from vomiting, and she also had a faint guess in her heart. She rinsed her mouth and looked weakly at Bai Minmin: "Do you have the intention to torture me to death?"


    Not long after, Imperial Physician Feng hurried over with a medicine box on his back.


    He skillfully took Ming Tan''s pulse, and when he finished, he withdrew his hand as if he was uncertain, and took the pulse again.


    The pulse remains the same.


    He got up quickly, and congratulated him respectfully: "The pulse condition is smooth, like pearls rolling on a jade plate, this is a slippery pulse, I congratulate Wangfei, you are happy!"

 Chapter 115：

    Are you happy?


    Ming Tan''s mind went blank for a moment.


    When she vomited just now, although she was surprised and suspected that she had such a guess, but the news came from the mouth of the imperial physician, she still couldn''t react.


    She sat on the soft couch and didn''t move for a long time. The white jade wrist wearing the green lotus bracelet rested on the pulse pillow, her fingertips shook slightly, and she took it away for a long time.


    Everyone in the room was so happy that they didn''t know what to say, they exclaimed and sighed around Mingtan for a while, Zhou Jingwan recovered first, and immediately ordered people to get the blanket hand stove, Bai Minmin followed closely, and hurriedly sent people to Jingji University The camp informs Jiang Xu, the room is suddenly in a hurry, the freshly boiled porridge and thick blankets are all piled up in front of Ming Tan in a short while.


    The news came so suddenly, everyone was too surprised and happy, completely forgot to hide it first, after a while, the news flew all over Dingbei Palace with wings, and there was a strong intention to fly outside the palace.


    When Uncle Fu got the good news, he first leaned back, rolled his eyes, and passed out with joy. When he woke up, he wiped his tears and went straight to the ancestral hall and walked like flying. Hearing that the old man kowtowed to comfort him outside the ancestral hall, he babbled about it for half an hour.


    Jiang Xu was dealing with military affairs in the Gyeonggi camp today, two of his generals had a conflict, they fought even if they didn''t agree with each other, and in the end both of them were injured, which was quite embarrassing.


    After the other side dealt with the two of them, someone from the mansion came to report the matter.


    "What?" Jiang Xu raised his eyes, "Say it again."


    "My lord, my concubine is happy! The imperial doctor Feng is still in the mansion, it''s absolutely true!"


    There was no expression on Jiang Xu''s face, and no emotion could be seen, but he only paused for a breath, then got up conveniently and left the tent.


    Shen Yu was about to ask him to ask for leave, but he didn''t give him half a look. He got on his horse and ran straight out of the camp. The night breeze was cool, but it couldn''t cool his burning chest.


    "My lord! My lord!" Shen Yu shouted twice from behind, but there was no response.


    Well, this leave will not come to an end.


    Shen Yu shook her head, helpless and annoyed.


    ¡­


    When Jiang Xu returned to the palace, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan had already left, and Ming Tan stayed in the inner room alone, and did not let anyone wait on him, saying that he wanted to be alone. Imperial Physician Feng still stayed in the flower hall of the mansion to drink tea, so as not to be dragged back for questioning after leaving.


    Sure enough, no matter how powerful the **** of war is, he is happy to meet his beautiful wife, and he cares about things that ordinary people would care about. It''s been a few months, and the fetal sign is stable, so what needs to be paid attention to. Imperial Physician Feng knew it well, so he responded fluently.


    After sending off Imperial Physician Feng, Jiang Xu walked into the inner room.


    Seeing Jiang Xu coming in, Ming Tan got up subconsciously. For some reason, she always felt a little unreal and a little dazed when such a big thing fell on Youxi.


    "Don''t move around." Seeing that she got up and walked unsteadily, Jiang Xu stepped forward, picked her up, and put her on the bed.


    Ming Tan half leaned against the side of the couch, hugged his neck and did not let go, he couldn''t stand up straight, so he simply sat down.


    "What should I do... I''m happy." Ming Tan suddenly asked absentmindedly after a while.


    "What should I do? Haven''t you been looking forward to happiness?"


    In the past, when others were happy but she had no news, she was indeed anxious and worried, but now that it really happened, she was quite at a loss.


    "Fear?"


    Ming Tan didn''t respond.


    "Don''t worry, with me here, Ah Tan doesn''t have to be afraid." Jiang Xu rubbed her head, then pressed her forehead again, and promised in a low voice.


    Ming Tan is not afraid, but a little confused.


    After her thoughts drifted away for a while, she suddenly hit Jiang Xu: "Physician Feng said that it has been more than a month, and it must be because of the hot spring in Wuyin Mountain that time, and it''s all your fault!" After saying no, she pressed her twice , she wasn''t even ready to be a mother!


    Jiang Xu is very talkative at the moment, and he doesn''t refute how active she was in the hot spring when she was confused and infatuated. He just responded in a low voice with a little coaxing: "Well, it''s all my fault."


    Ming Tan was not in the mood to fight with him too much, she lowered her head, touched her belly timidly and hesitantly, it was really hard to believe that there was already her and Jiang Xu''s child here.


    Ming Tan''s reaction seemed to be a bit late, and Jiang Xu had already fallen asleep after cutting the candle for a long time, and her heart was in confusion, quietly spreading strands of joy.


    She suddenly sat up from the couch and shook Jiang Xu up.


    "What''s wrong, Ah Tan?" Jiang Xu rubbed his eyebrows, his voice hoarse.


    "We have a baby."


    Jiang Xu said "hmm" and waited for her next words.


    But Ming Tan puffed his cheeks in dissatisfaction after saying this sentence: "Why are you not happy at all?"


    "..."


    "When did I get upset?"


    "Right now, go to the bronze mirror and look at your own stinky face."


    Coincidentally, outside the mansion, there was the sound of the watchman''s clapper, and Jiang Xu was silent: "It''s the fourth watch, now... how happy should I be?"


    "..."


    It''s four o''clock, and it''s really not normal to be smiling now.


    Ming Tan let him go for the time being, then retreated back into the bed, and leaned on his side alone, thinking that she and her husband might have a well-behaved son like Brother Hua''s cousin Jia Yin, or a son like Shanglong in Yujun Prince''s Mansion. With such a lovely daughter, she couldn''t help but raise the corners of her lips and snicker under the blanket.


    "why are you laughing."


    "It''s nothing." Ming Tan turned around and looked at him solemnly, "I just think that the baby will be as good-looking as me in the future, so I''m happy for him. This is a good fortune cultivated in eight lifetimes!"


    "..."


    "Husband, do you think I''m right?" She leaned forward, rubbing against Jiang Xu''s arms again and again.


    Jiang Xu was silent for a while, without changing his face and without beating his heart, he said: "What A Tan said is correct."


    Only then was Ming Tan satisfied, curled up in his arms, found a comfortable corner, and fell asleep peacefully.


    It''s just that Ming Tan''s belated joy didn''t last long, because she soon discovered that after she was happy, she lost her freedom!


    "This, this, and this are all locked in the warehouse. In Qi''an Hall, no spices are allowed to be burned except for fresh melons and fruits. Did you hear that? If any spices are stained on the side, you have to go back to the house and change your clothes immediately." You can only enter to serve!"


    Early in the morning, Lue took up the pretense of a princess marrying a big girl in the open, and sternly explained.


    Su Xin, who is usually gentle and gentle with others, is the same as Lu E today. She taught the little girls on the phone very majesticly, and at the end she didn''t forget to put pressure: "These princesses love to eat but can''t eat now. Uncle Fu already Tell the kitchen that you are not allowed to buy, let alone prepare, even if the princess orders, you are not allowed to secretly buy it from outside the house to please the princess, if you find out later, His Highness will not show mercy, understand?"


    All the little girls should be blessed.


    It''s not that Ming Tan is confused, for the sake of the child in her belly, she will naturally not eat what she can''t eat.


    But the people in the mansion are too nervous. Doctor Feng clearly said to eat less raw and cold food, but the mansion implements it, and they will never see raw or cold food again. She just wants to eat half a bowl of almond sorbet, and she can''t live without it. It''s not summer yet, so it''s conceivable that this summer will be difficult.


    Forget about eating, Ming Tan is not a person with multiple appetites, but eating is tolerable, but clothing is unbearable. Now her lower abdomen is flat enough to hold a bowl of tea, and Su Xin Lue has already wrapped all the waist. The clothes were all put away, leaving only some loose clothes with no waist at all. She discussed that she would loosen the ties, but she was not allowed at all.


    Ming Tan was extremely depressed and couldn''t wear nice clothes, so she naturally lost the desire to go out.


    Bored in the mansion all day long with nothing to do, she had no choice but to toss Jiang Xu in various ways, arguing about which wonton she wanted to eat, and having sore legs and shoulders and needing to be squeezed by him, Jiang Xu was always patient.


    Thoughtful during pregnancy, Ming Tan was already delicate, but became more sensitive after having a body, and would get angry if she was unsatisfactory, and easily sentimental if she was too happy.


    One day Jiang Xu brought her a piece of hot sugar cake, and she hugged Jiang Xu tearfully in the middle of eating it, and asked, choked with sobs: "Husband, is Ah Tan too difficult to serve? Do you dislike me a little?" gone?"


    After asking, she didn''t give Jiang Xu a chance to answer, and counted all kinds of crimes that were hard to deal with.


    Jiang Xu comforted him for a while, and kept repeating "A Tan is fine", at last she finally stopped her tears and hiccupped, faintly disgusted that he would only say this one sentence over and over again.


    Ming Tan has been staying in the mansion since she became pregnant, and it was the first time she stepped out of the mansion to attend her own brother''s hundred-day banquet.


    Pei was born. She was old, and the birth was not smooth, and she only gave birth to a baby boy after a narrow escape.


    Because it will be raised, it is a simple table meal for three full moons, and it is also because Mrs. Pei can finally come out and walk around now.


    In the Ming family, the girls are from wood, and the boys are from jade. Ming Tan gave her brother a single name, Lang, Linlang beautiful jade, impeccable and rare.


    Brother Lang was not born like Ming Tingyuan, but very Xiao Mingtan. Others would joke when they saw him, saying that this brother can really give birth, why is he like a sister like a fairy? He is a handsome and talented man with red sleeves all over the building.


    Ming Tan was extremely relieved to hear that, but now that she is pregnant, it is inconvenient to hug Brother Lang after all.


    Ming Tingyuan is naturally very happy when he is old and has a son. The Pei family can''t work hard now, and Ming Tan has a body again. This time for the hundred-day banquet, Ming Tingyuan has the cheek to invite Mrs. Chang Guogong and Shen Hua to come to the mansion. Managed.


    People are in good spirits on happy occasions, there are many toasts, and people who come from Mingting from afar will not refuse. Seeing that Ming Tan is worried that Mr. Yue Zhang will not be able to drink, Jiang Xu steps forward calmly and blocks the wine for him.


    Who would dare to respect His Royal Highness King Dingbei who blocks the wine? Except for a few who were not afraid of death, everyone walked away angrily.


    The Hundred Days Banquet was held with great excitement, and when it was time to leave, Ming Tingyuan had no chance to get drunk, his face was flushed, he didn''t know what to think, and suddenly said that he wanted to have a chat with Ming Tan.


    Speaking of which, the father and daughter haven''t talked alone for a long time.


    Hearing the words, Jiang Xu nodded clearly, and retreated voluntarily.

 Chapter 116：

    In the flower hall, left and right retreated, only Ming Tingyuan and Ming Tan sat up and down, Ming Tan took the initiative to ask: "Daddy, what do you want to say to me?"


    "It''s nothing, just, it''s been a long time since I talked to you." Ming Tingyuan took a sip of hangover tea and cleared his throat again, "Others say that Brother Lang looks alike to you, but in fact, if you want to say alike, it''s still It''s more like that kid Mingheng."


    Ming Tan seemed to understand something, so he didn''t answer, and took a sip of his tea with downcast eyes.


    Ming Tingyuan paused for a moment, Ming Tan, the youngest daughter, was the most considerate in his mind, she was always able to pick up the next step when he made the first move.


    After waiting for a long while without Ming Tan responding, Ming Tingyuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and circle around for a while, his mouth was dry, and finally he couldn''t help but asked directly: "Ah Tan, your brother Your marriage can''t be delayed any longer, and now he doesn''t even go home, what do you think about this?"


    Ming Tan was puzzled: "Didn''t my brother have a woman he likes, and it''s not up to him if he doesn''t go home this time. Now that my brother holds an important position in Quanzhou, how can he return to Beijing at will?"


    "How can that girl succeed!" Ming Ting Yuan waved his hand without thinking, "That family background, don''t mention it, don''t mention it."


    When Ming Tingyuan was suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason and entered Dali Temple Prison, Ming Heng was also detained in the Pangshan County Government, and was later escorted to Beijing, but within a few days of entering Beijing, Ming Tingyuan cleared his grievances.


    In the past, the relationship between the father and son was tense, and it was rare to find some relief due to this disaster, but within two days of relief, Ming Heng proposed to marry Qinghe, a small policeman from the Pangshan county government, but Ming Tingyuan strongly opposed it.


    Although Ming Tingyuan is a military commander, he respects family rules in his bones. Ming Tan''s biological mother, Bai family, and now the successor Pei family, are all well-known ladies, dignified and generous. Ming Tan and Ming Chu are two daughters, he is obviously more satisfied with Ming Tan''s noble daughter style. He never thought that Ming Heng, the eldest son of the Hou family, would want to marry a little catcher with no family background at all!


    "Father, if you are dissatisfied with Miss Qinghe because of your family background, you really don''t have to." Ming Tan said slowly, "Don''t you understand that you have given up the military power this time? Getting married to Gaomen might not be the icing on the cake."


    Ming Tingyuan was silent: "Of course I understand this truth, and I didn''t want to marry another family like Dingbei Wangfu, but no matter how careful our Houfu is, we won''t be reduced to marrying such... such a prince. Ma''am? How decent is this!"


    The more he talked, the more he couldn''t figure it out: "Is there anyone in Shangjing? The daughter of Mr. Lusong Academy, and what else... the younger sister of Yan Bianxiu of the Imperial Academy, this is a scholarly family, which one is better than a female arrester from a small county? ?¡±


    "They are very nice, but my brother doesn''t like them." Ming Tan put down the teacup, "Dad, you know that this time Jing''an Hou''s mansion is in trouble, and my brother was taken to the capital. Miss Qinghe insisted on coming to the capital despite her family''s objections?"


    Ming Ting was far silent.


    "Before that, she didn''t know her brother''s identity, let alone her father, but just because she admired her brother, she was willing to believe that his father was definitely not a traitor who collaborated with the enemy and treason. , she also insisted on coming to send this last journey, this friendship is so rare, how can my brother live up to it?


    "Although my elder brother has never been in the army, he is very stubborn. Daddy, you also know that there is no way to change his mind. Daddy might as well follow his wishes. Maybe you can restore some father-son relationship with your elder brother. Miss Qinghe''s family background is not obvious. , but at least innocent, for the Hou Mansion, this is enough."


    Ming Tingyuan was silent, but seeing his expression, it was obvious that he had loosened.


    Ming Tan wanted to persuade him, but Ming Tingyuan waved his hand: "Let''s not talk about him, let''s talk about you."


    Ming Tan was slightly taken aback.


    "Your mother has always been worried that you and the prince have had too much trouble, and the relationship has broken up. I see today that he still cares about you, so I am relieved. I can''t blame the previous incident. On his head, as the saying goes, the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die. For your husband''s sake, the emperor has shown mercy to the Jing''an Houfu."


    "I didn''t quarrel with him either..." Ming Tan defended a little guiltyly, took a sip of tea, and changed the subject again, "Daddy, there is something I have never understood."


    "What is it?"


    "Since the emperor is so taboo against courtiers who hold great power, why does he trust her husband so much?"


    Jiang Xu holds 500,000 Dingbei Army, which accounts for half of Daxian''s adjustable force. He also has many masters in Jinyunwei, who are far more threatening than Mingting. Mingtan is never the only one who has this question one person.


    Ming Tingyuan pondered for a while: "The two of them have grown up together since they were young. The princes are all fighting for the throne. It is normal for cousins ??to be close. Besides, the emperor has been in crisis many times, and it is Qi Zhi who took action." Helping each other, this is not a one-off friendship."


    He didn''t know what to think of, and sighed softly again, his voice was very slow: "Besides, Qizhi is different from your father. What do you think, with the current situation of setting up the Northern Army, what else can the emperor do besides trusting him unconditionally? Not now, but long ago, that is.¡±


    When Ming Tan heard the words, he didn''t answer for a long time.


    ¡­


    When he came out of Jing''anhou''s mansion, it was almost dusk, Jiang Xu carried her into the carriage, and conveniently put the soft pillow on his seat behind her waist.


    After a long silence, Ming Tan couldn''t help asking: "Aren''t you curious about what Dad said to me?"


    Jiang Xu paused, followed her lead and asked, "Then what did Master Yuezhang say to you?"


    "It''s nothing, I just chatted about my brother''s marriage," she propped her chin, and shifted her gaze to Jiang Xu''s face, "and told me not to make trouble with you, so that you don''t dislike me... Take me back to the Hou''s mansion later, it''s okay Or take in a few side concubines and concubines."


    "Ah Choo!"


    ¡ª¡ªMing Tingyuan, who didn''t say the second half of the sentence, sneezed inexplicably in the mansion.


    But it''s no wonder that Ming Tan wants to choke people with these words. Since Northwest returned to the capital, the feudal royal family and neighboring countries and allies came to Beijing to congratulate.


    Fortunately, Jiang Xu had learned a lesson in Lingzhou before, and this time he dealt with it neatly and cleanly. Ming Tan had only heard a few rumors, so he definitely couldn''t put things like this in front of her. The mansion is so clean now. Soon, even Yunyi moved out.


    Thinking of this, Ming Tan asked again: "By the way, where has Yun Yi gone now? The last letter said that she was in Tonggang. It has been a long time since then."


    "I don''t know, but with her skills, you don''t need to worry about it. When you want to go back, you will naturally go back."


    Ming Tan nodded when he heard the words, feeling a little melancholy.


    Yun Yi left Beijing because of Shu Jingran. Ming Tan didn''t know much about the two of them. He only knew that in the past half a year, Mrs. You Xiang had a high-profile visit for Shu Jingran. Lingzhou''s aftermath has been outstanding in these two matters, and now it has been trusted by the emperor on the surface.


    When Yunyi left, she said: "He has a bright future and great ambitions. I don''t think I''m not good enough for him, but I don''t want to delay his realization of his ambitions because of me. Besides, I also have things I want to do , Traveling around the world, holding a sword to the end of the world, isn''t it great?"


    When she said this, her expression was as magnanimous as ever. He was also very chic when he left, with only a small burden, waved his hand, and melted into the boundless night without turning his head.


    After Yunyi left Beijing, Shu Jingran seemed to be the same as before, but he seemed to be much calmer than before. He often spoke out in court, and Emperor Chengkang trusted him more and more.


    After the Right Prime Minister passed away, Zhou Jingwan''s father, Hanlin Zhouzhangyuan, took over the position of Right Prime Minister. Shu Jingran also held a third-rank civil service at a young age, and he intends to succeed his father in the future and become the right-hand man of the Holy Majesty.


    He never took the initiative to talk about Yun Yi, but for some reason, Mrs. You Xiang looked at each other for a long time, and then quietly said nothing.


    After a long time, the noble daughters of Shangjing frequently discussed why the Lord Shu, who was highly valued by the emperor, was not married yet? Obviously he used to be Mr. Pianpianyu, the most romantic in Shangjing, but he is a lonely family, and he doesn''t even have a concubine. Could it be that he has a hidden disease, or he doesn''t like women?


    There were various speculations, and some even sent the young lady from the South courtyard to his residence, but he sent them all away.


    Until the spring of that year, Shu Jingran reached the second rank and became the youngest minister of the Daxian Dynasty. He was only one step away from the most powerful official. He came to Beijing with a letter from the far south, with fluttering willow catkins on it. One sentence: "The camphor tea chicken in Lingzhou is as delicious as before. If Second Master Shu wants to eat it, I will bring you one back."


    Shu Jingran smiled.


    Leaving aside the future events here, the upcoming lively events in Beijing still have to be counted on Shen Yu, the deputy commander of the Northern Army and general Yunhui, who is going to marry the sixth princess of Nanlu as his wife.


    In the past, Shen Yu avoided the sixth princess of Nanlu, and for some reason, he escorted the envoys back to Nanlu as a gift, but he actually proposed to marry the sixth princess at Nanlu''s welcome banquet. The sixth princess already has a candidate for a son-in-law, but King Nanlu did not respond directly.


    When war in the northwest was about to start, he made a promise and turned his horse around and headed straight to the northwest. After recapturing Rongzhou, at the celebration banquet, he exchanged his illustrious military achievements for Cheng Kangdi''s personal letter.


    Sincerity is so far, the sixth princess herself is very willing, and King Nanlu naturally has no reason not to agree.


    The girls in Beijing are very envious of the six princesses, how much they like it, Nanlu only sent a reply, and General Shen rushed to Nanlu to pick up the princesses by himself.

 Chapter 117：

    Princess Nanlu married into Shangjing to show Daxian''s friendship with Nanlu''s friends, and the wedding ceremony was organized according to the regulations of Princess Daxian.


    There has not been such a lively wedding in Shanghai for a long time. The gongs and drums are blaring, the hall is full of splendor, and the brocade is shining brightly.


    It''s just that Ming Tan has been looking forward to joining the fun for a long time, but in the end he failed to participate in the wedding ceremony.


    Without him, although there was a marriage letter at the beginning of the year, the sixth princess came to Beijing from Nanlu. Detour to Beijing by land, the wedding date was postponed again and again, and it happened to be postponed until Ming Tan gave birth.


    Ming Tan''s delivery was not smooth, it started in the morning, and the pain continued until nightfall.


    Jiang Xu wanted to break in several times, but Ming Tan refused to let him, saying that he was too ugly at the moment and didn''t want him to see him. Imperial Physician Feng and the midwives were also cautious and advised him not to enter. He stood outside the house with his hands behind his back, and the air pressure around his body was so low that he dared not breathe.


    As the people approached, the crying and shouting inside suddenly became weaker, only to hear people shouting nervously around the side: "Princess, don''t sleep! Wake up, wake up!"


    Jiang Xu couldn''t wait any longer: "Get out of the way!"


    He went straight into the house with extremely cold eyes, and no one dared to stop him.


    "My lord..."


    "My lord, you can''t..."


    He didn''t pay any attention, and stepped towards Ming Tan, holding her cold hand: "A Tan, wake up, it''s me."


    There was an unconcealable tension in the golden and jade-like voice.


    Ming Tan''s eyelashes fluttered, and he barely opened them for a while, then turned his head to look at him, his voice was weak and pitiful like a kitten: "Husband, I''m so tired, I want to sleep for a while..."


    "Hey, sleep later, I''ll be with you."


    Seeing that she opened her eyes, the imperial physician, midwife and maid beside her also cheered her up and said, "Yes, my concubine, hold on a little longer, it''s almost time to come out!"


    The ginseng soup was brought in quickly, Jiang Xu took it, blew a spoonful of it and fed it to her, and finally gave her some ginseng slices.


    She slowly regained some strength, she didn''t know if she had read too many scripts or what, she suddenly looked at the imperial physician, and said weakly: "If you can only protect one person, then protect my child, anyway..."


    "Concubine Bao." Jiang Xu interrupted without refusal.


    The imperial physician wiped off his sweat, and replied cautiously: "My lord, don''t worry, as long as the concubine works hard, the mother and child will be safe." If something happens, it''s not up to the elder to protect the younger, usually neither.


    However, the imperial physician is the most conservative in speaking, since he can say that everyone is safe, he has full confidence.


    "Your Majesty, the fetal position is very upright now, you just need to work harder at the end, you should relax first, take a deep breath, you will definitely be able to do it."


    Ming Tan seemed to have some hope after being told, she turned her gaze back to Jiang Xu, and insisted in a low voice with a crying voice: "Then you go out first, okay, it''s so ugly, don''t look at it anymore."


    "Adan is not ugly."


    Ming Tan didn''t expect him to say anything like "A Tan will always be the most beautiful girl in my heart". He looked at him with tears in his eyes for a long while, and felt some comfort from the bottom of his heart, but he still kept talking. Push people out.


    Jiang Xu had no choice but to follow her and retreated.


    When there was a sound of "squeak" closing the door, Ming Tan asked someone to bring ginseng soup and drank a couple of sips, then took a deep breath, closed his eyes, bit his lip, and exerted all his strength.


    She was trembling all over, her face was pale, and there were beads of sweat rolling on her forehead. Combined with the blood on her bitten lip, there were strands of pain spreading around her lips, but this pain was almost negligible compared to the pain in her lower body.


    Suddenly, Ming Tan''s eyes went blank for a moment, and the consciousness of the whole person was also withdrawn at that moment with a slight sense of relief under his body.


    "gave birth!"


    "It''s born, it''s born!"


    "The princess is born!"


    Not long after Jiang Xu came out, he heard the shouts of joy and the cries of the baby growing up from small, so he turned around, pushed the door open and entered.


    "Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations to my lord! The concubine gave birth to her little son safely!" The midwife hugged the child in a brocade quilt, and stepped forward to show it to Jiang Xu with a happy face.


    But Jiang Xu didn''t give half a look, and even stretched out his hand to block it, signaling for others to stay out of the way.


    "How is the princess?" He asked in a low voice.


    The imperial doctor hurriedly replied: "Princess lost her strength and passed out for a while. Miss Suxin has fed ginseng slices. I think she will wake up later."


    Jiang Xu looked at Ming Tan, who was lying on the bed without blood and soaked in sweat, and was about to step forward, when Su Xin, who was standing beside Hou, said again: "My lord, the slaves are going to change clothes for the princess."


    He was silent for a while, stepped back half a step, and let the maidservants put down the bed curtains to change Ming Tan''s clothes.


    Taking advantage of this pause, he glanced at the crumpled child whose eye sockets were wrapped in brocade swaddling clothes. It seemed that because of his overpowering, the baby cried louder and louder.


    Jiang Xu frowned, and said indifferently: "It''s too noisy, hold it down, don''t disturb Wangfei''s rest."


    The midwives looked at each other: "..."


    Ming Tan woke up half an hour later, knowing that she loves to be neat and tidy, the maidservants changed all the clothes and brocade quilts, and the smell of blood in the room was also completely dispelled by the newly burning incense.


    It is said that having a child is equivalent to passing through the gate of hell. After the birth, all the scattered energy seems to be slowly returning. When Ming Tan woke up, he felt a lot more relaxed.


    "Husband, have I finished giving birth? Is it a boy or a girl? Or...my child is not kept?" Seeing the extremely quiet surroundings, Ming Tan was at a loss.


    "It''s over, it''s a baby boy, I''m afraid to disturb your rest, so I let someone carry it down."


    "I want to see." She looked at Jiang Xu eagerly.


    Jiang Xu said "um", ordered someone to bring the baby over, and reminded him in advance: "The imperial doctor said that the newborn baby has been soaked in amniotic fluid and is a little wrinkled, so it doesn''t look very good."


    Ming Tan nodded, but he didn''t care, he just waited expectantly and nervously for the child to come.


    When the child really came over, Ming Tan stared for a moment, and his heart stopped for a moment.


    After a while, she seemed to be unacceptable and said slowly: "This...isn''t it not very good-looking."


    "It''s good to grow it."


    Ming Tan''s heart was ashamed and he said: "The fourth son of Fengchunhou''s mansion also grew up from a novel in the same way." Now he has grown up, but the longer he grows, the uglier he is, so ugly that he can''t even marry a daughter-in-law.


    "..."


    "That''s not the case with our children."


    Ming Tan was silent: "That''s right, we are Dingbei Prince''s Mansion after all, no more than Fengchunhou Mansion, it''s getting worse and worse." She seemed to be comforted a little bit, and after a long silence, she half stood up and sighed, "Forget it, mother doesn''t think the son is ugly, come, give me a hug."


    The midwife who came forward with the child was full of doubts, how ugly is Xiao Shizi? A nose is a nose, a mouth is a mouth, beautiful and beautiful, but now it is just a little wrinkled. Based on her experience, Yuxue will be cute in a while!


    "It''s so ugly..." Ming Tan took the child with distaste on his lips, but he still cautiously approached him and kissed his little cheek, "I''ll call you ugly."


    "...?"


    The midwife couldn''t help but glance at Jiang Xu, but Jiang Xu didn''t change his face, and responded, "You can call him whatever you want."


    The little prince is so pitiful!


    ¡­


    Ming Tan is too addicted to mouth, the royal family often enters the palace during festivals, and can''t really introduce him to the family members of the palace, and his child''s nickname is Chou Chou.


    From the Jiang family to this generation, the name is still a single character, the male Cong å², the Ministry of Rites prepared characters with excellent meanings early on, and the princes and princesses all have them, but after sending them, Jiang Xu didn''t read much, he had his own idea of ??the child''s name.


    "Ding? Jiang Ding?" Ming Tan looked at the words on the paper and couldn''t help asking.


    He stopped writing for a while, and wrote another two characters aside.


    "North Return? Is this a word?"


    Jiang Xu said "hmm".


    "So **** off words?"


    "I also had words not long after I was born."


    Nowadays, it is not too unusual for a man from a high family to choose characters early, but he actually gave his son his title as a character. Who doesn''t know that returning to the north is the glory of his life that has been recorded in the history books.


    Ming Tan stared blankly for a while, then suddenly threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly.


    ¡­


    "Jiang Ding?" Cheng Kangdi thought for a moment, then nodded, "It''s a good name." He looked at the baby for a while, then raised his eyebrows and said, "This child looks exactly like you did when you were a child."


    "The emperor was only a child at that time, how can he remember clearly." Jiang Xu retorted him lightly.


    "What''s the matter, kid? I have a good memory. I even hugged you, brat!"


    Ming Tan is quite convinced of this statement. After the full moon, the child has changed a lot from when he was just born. The little face is soft and tender, and the eyes are clear and bright. The facial features are wide open, very cute and good-looking. My husband looks like this now She looks so good-looking, she might have looked like this when she was a child.


    As if to prove that he really has a good memory, Emperor Cheng Kang talked about some old things from his childhood, and Jiang Xu occasionally corrected a few words, but he was always so angry that Emperor Cheng stared and blew his beard that didn''t exist.


    It was rare for the two of them to talk about homework, and Empress Zhang bent her lips, signaling Ming Tan to go outside to enjoy the flowers with her.


    Ming Tan was pregnant and hadn''t entered the palace for a long time, and today it was because Emperor Chengkang wanted to see Jiang Xu''s first child, so he summoned their family in while the courtiers were resting.


    After the war in the Northwest, the court was relaxed, and Jiang Xu often refused to come when he was called. Finally, Emperor Chengkang kept lunch and dinner, and insisted on keeping Jiang Xu to talk with him. The whole family had no choice but to Stayed in the palace.


    At night, the doubts in Ming Tan''s heart could not help popping up again. Lying on the bed, she asked in a low voice: "Husband, can I ask... why does His Majesty trust you so much? Although His Majesty also trusts others, but always feels that, It''s different to you."


    "It''s a long story."


    "The long story short?"


    Jiang Xu rubbed her head: "It''s okay to talk long."


    In fact, before the death of Emperor Taizong, it was found out that his favorite Prince Min Cong died not by accident, but was killed by the prince who succeeded the East Palace at that time, that is, the first emperor.


    The first emperor was not a cruel person, but because he was always benevolent and capable of governing in peace, Emperor Taizong chose him to inherit the great rule.


    After the incident, the first emperor knelt in front of Emperor Taizong and wept bitterly, saying that he was obsessed with ghosts and made a big mistake because of the confusion of his old daughter. After the death of the emperor''s brother, he could not sleep at night and regretted it. He would like to let the grandson of the emperor imprison himself Zhengji, he made up for his mistakes with the rest of his life in confinement.


    In fact, at that time, the succession of the first emperor to the throne was already expected by everyone. He could completely deny it, and even allow Emperor Taizong to die early without anyone noticing it. .


    At that time, Jiang Xu was still young, and the court was turbulent. Even if he let the virtuous to him, it was hard to say how long he could sit in that position, so Emperor Taizong wrote down the secret decree to return the power to the emperor''s grandson Jiang Xu after the death of the first emperor. , Locked into the precision mechanism made by Master Yunyan. At the same time, the first emperor also promised Emperor Taizong that he would keep his promise. After a hundred years, it will be said that he will be the emperor''s grandson Jiangxu.


    The daughter-in-law Su mentioned by the first emperor was later the Empress Dowager Su. Even though the first emperor had disliked her, the power of the Su family had reached its peak at that time. Due to various pressures, the first emperor still let her take the throne after the death of the former empress.


    The first emperor was benevolent all his life, but a single mistake hurt his elder brother who had always trusted and loved him, and he sat on the throne that did not belong to him. Although he worked hard to govern, he was deeply depressed, and died of illness after only a few years in power.


    Before the death of the late emperor, Jiang Xu was no longer a child, and he had already found out the truth. He always thought that the late emperor was cunning and hypocritical.


    Unexpectedly, before leaving, the first emperor personally told the whole truth in front of Jiang Xu and Emperor Chengkang, who was firmly seated as the crown prince, and took out the mechanism containing the emperor Taizong''s secret decree, and his own handwriting. An imperial decree of the book was handed over to Jiang Xu.


    The content of the secret decree and the imperial decree are the same, and they are both passed down in Jiangxu.


    After doing this, the first emperor breathed a sigh of relief.


    How should I describe that feeling, like punching cotton, the grievance is here, but it is not satisfactory.


    He also couldn''t transfer this hatred to Cheng Kangdi and let it continue.


    He and Emperor Chengkang have known each other since childhood, and they have gone through all kinds of hardships together. Even when Chu Chu learned that the late emperor killed his father and enemy, he never thought of taking revenge on his son. Similarly, his belief has always been to kill the enemy with his hands, and he never thought about taking back the throne that should have belonged to his father.


    In all fairness, Emperor Chengkang is more suitable than him to be the king of a country, so in the end, in front of Emperor Chengkang, he burned the two imperial edicts that could change the entire Daxian court, left the palace alone, and rushed to the Northland, as if he could only fight bravely on the battlefield Only by killing the enemy can he feel the meaning of his existence.


    It was almost five o''clock after Jiang Xu finished telling the story that started from the Taizong Dynasty.


    Ming Tan didn''t know whether he couldn''t digest it for a while or something, but he didn''t make a sound after a long time.


    But she finally understood why Cheng Kangdi could unconditionally tolerate and trust Jiang Xu''s attitude even though he was slightly offended many times.


    This trust not only stems from the love and friendship of sharing weal and woe since he was a child, but also from guilt, and even more from the throne he handed over.


    How could a person who would simply give up on his legitimate succession to the throne be so contrived to seek power and usurp the throne?


    The days passed unhurriedly, unknowingly, another year of Ching Ming, Ming Tan, Bai Minmin, Zhou Jingwan, the sixth princess and Shen Hua, made an appointment to take their husband to the countryside to enjoy flowers.


    It was rare for Jiang Xu to meet him, so he accepted the matter.


    The place they went to was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was the former site of Hanyan Temple that was razed to the ground by a fire. Now an academy has been built on this flat land, the birds chirping in the forest, and the sound of books is clear and loud.


    Ming Tan and Jiang Xu were assigned the task of fetching water by the stream, walking all the way to the stream, Ming Tan looked at the academy from time to time, and happily said to Jiang Xu: "By the way, husband, my brother wrote to say that Tonggang is also here this spring. Opened an academy and accepted more than 50 people to study."


    "It''s a good thing."


    "I heard from my brother that Tonggang looks quite prosperous now. Hey, I want to see it too."


    "Go if you want, nothing to do in the near future, I will accompany you."


    Hearing this, Ming Tan, who was yearning just now, hesitated twice, but didn''t respond.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "I''m afraid I won''t be able to go in the near future." Ming Tan raised his eyes to look at him, pretending to be suspicious.


    "Why?"


    Ming Tan thought for a while, motioned him to lean over, then stood on tiptoe, leaned into his ear and whispered: "I seem to be happy again!"


    Jiang Xu paused, his Adam''s apple rolled up and down, his voice was still hoarse: "Really?"


    "Ah Chun showed it to me, it''s unmistakable."


    He had forgotten that the Sixth Princess of Nanlu also knew some medical skills.


    "Ah Chun also said that this time it''s very likely to be a little girl. It would be great if it was a little girl. If Brother Ding is like you, the little girl must be like me." Ming Tan stroked his face which was still very flat now. The lower abdomen already had a bit of anticipation, "If you are a little girl, what would you call her?"


    Jiang Xu stretched out his hand and touched her belly, his voice softened a lot: "It''s called Kou Kou, it was here when I first met you, when you Fang and Dou Kou were still little girls."


    At that time, he didn''t know that that delicate little girl would become his wife in the future. In his life, he once lived for revenge and also for Daxian, but after meeting Ming Tan, it seems that there are many stories related to warmth in his life.


    "Okay, I''ll call it Kou Kou!" Ming Tan thought for a while before agreeing.


    Seeing that none of the four were there, she put her arms around Jiang Xu''s neck again, tiptoed and kissed him on the lips.


    Not far away, you can hear the laughter of Bai Minmin and the sixth princess chasing after each other, which seems to be vaguely mixed with Zhou Jingwan and Shen Hua''s persuasion with a smile. Sheng.


    Ming Tan tilted his head, stretched out his hand to block the slightly dazzling sunlight, and looked at the man in front of him who was fetching water and wanted to maintain his royal demeanor, and the corners of his lips could not help but curl up.


    When she left General Yunhui''s mansion that day, she learned that she was probably pregnant again, so she quietly went to Lingmiao Temple.


    All the noble ladies in Shangjing love to worship the Daxiangguo Temple, but they don''t know that in Shangjing, the Lingmiao Temple that no one cares about is the most effective.


    Here she begged Mr. Ruyi, and her husband returned safely. On that day, she made another wish, but this wish was too long. Thinking about it, she would have to wait a hundred years before she could fulfill her wish.