The next day was the time to return home. Mrs. Su spent the night visiting her mother at her parents' home and did not return. Shen Xuan went to court early in the morning. When the two of them went out, it was deserted. Only Mrs. Liu came over to give a few words of advice and asked Bei to leave. After explaining the courtesy when returning home, he hurried away again.
The rain hadn't stopped yet, so Shen Zangfeng took a ride with his wife.
The carriage pulled out of Taifu's Mansion and looked out through the crocodile silk curtains. The streets of the imperial capital were spacious and clean, with rows of locust trees and willows on the roadsides and numerous pedestrians. The prosperity was far better than that of Fengzhou, and the customs were also different.
... In such a vibrant imperial city, it is impossible to tell that sporadic wars are raging in the northern and western regions. Bandits were also rampant in the vast territory of Wei, and in many places, people were in dire straits.
On the way from Fengzhou to the Imperial Capital, even though he was surrounded by guards and servants, Wei Changying could vaguely hear the embarrassment and poverty in some counties he passed on the way. The misery and helplessness of the common people who were struggling to survive was something that Wei Changying, who was born with good food and clothing, could not imagine before.
After seeing the common people, and then looking at the prosperous and majestic imperial capital, Wei Changying always felt empty, inexplicably irritable and worried.
When Shen Zangfeng saw her staring blankly out of the car and saying that she longed for the scenery in the imperial capital, he said, "I will be on duty from tomorrow onwards. I will take you out for a walk during the next holiday?"
"Ah?" Wei Changying came to his senses and said, "It's not..."
Just as he was talking, the two riders trotted past the car. Perhaps they saw the mark on the car. The knights wearing bamboo hats reined in their horses and drove slowly. They greeted the car: "Is it Brother Yao Ye who is returning home with his wife in the car?"
Guard Chief Ying also remembered this voice and asked in a low voice: "Is this Mr. Gu?"
Shen Zangfeng nodded, opened the curtain on his side and answered Gu Yiran: "Exactly, how come Brother Ziming and Brother Gu Xian are here?"
Wei Changying had met Gu Yiran before, and now he nodded slightly and greeted him through the opened curtain - he saw another man riding beside Gu Yiran, an undressed man with long eyebrows and bright eyes. Although he was wearing The bamboo hat was covered with a coir raincoat, and one could feel that he was looking strong and healthy. The two of them answered together: "I heard that Pingxu was ill, so I arranged a shift with Chen Guang, and now I'm going to visit him."
"Pingxu Ran is ill? How could it be like this?" Shen Zangfeng asked in surprise.
But he saw Gu Yiran looking at the undressed man and saying with a wry smile: "We just found out the news and were about to go visit and inquire."
After saying a few more words, the two sides said goodbye.
Listening to the sound of horse hooves disappearing, Wei Changying asked: "Are these all your close friends?"
"Yeah." Shen Zangfeng responded casually, a little absent-mindedly.
Wei Changying asked again: "Who is Pingxu? He is sick, why are you so worried?"
"It's Zhang Luoning, the legitimate son of the Zhang family." Shen Zangfeng mused, "It might be a bit troublesome... Before I went south to Fengzhou, I heard rumors in the palace that the Holy Emperor was interested in choosing a consort for Princess Linchuan, and someone recommended him at that time."
Wei Changying knew that this dynasty treated princesses favorably, and that the nobles were very fierce, and it was very common for princesses to beat and scold their consorts at every turn. They are just ordinary people. Children of famous families are proud of their family status, and they have grown up with thousands of favors on them. They are very impatient to serve. Therefore, I heard that when the royal family chooses a prince-in-law, the children of famous families, especially the children of our sect, are praying to heaven and earth for their unwillingness to be chosen.
At this moment, trying to figure out what Shen Zangfeng meant, he asked tentatively: "He...is this person not very willing?"
"No." Shen Zangfeng touched his chin with a puzzled expression, "At that time, I politely inquired in private according to the holy order, and Zhang Pingxu had no intention of rejecting the marriage." He also explained, "Although Princess Linchuan's temperament is a bit tricky, However, Zhang Pingxu is quite famous in the imperial capital. Her Royal Highness the Princess likes his poems very much and has praised him several times in front of the Emperor. Therefore, the people around the Emperor thought of making him the Princess of Linchuan, and the Emperor also thought it was okay... What now? Are you sick?"
Claiming illness is a common tactic used by the disciples of famous families when they don't want to be their master. Moreover, this matter was mentioned privately in February. By now, there is almost a clear rumor or even an order. Zhang Pingxu is ill. No wonder Shen Zangfeng will do so. Suspect.
Wei Changying pursed his lips: "Didn't Mr. Gu say he was ill? He didn't say it was a serious illness. Maybe he just had a headache and a fever, and he would be fine in two days?"
Shen Zangfeng thought about it. Although Zhang Pingxu relied on his talent and reputation, was very familiar with the romantic places in the imperial capital, and had a reputation for being romantic and unruly, he was not a person who went back on his word. Since he had acquiesced before that he would not oppose Princess Shang Linchuan, he should not change now. Maybe he was overthinking it.
He smiled and introduced the two people he had just met on the road to Wei Changying: "Brother Ziming is Gu Yiran, whom you met in Fengzhou? The man next to him is also named Gu, but he is a descendant of the Gu family in Hongzhou, and is now the empress's wife. My nephew’s name is Gu Wei, and he is still unnamed.”
"I remember that Gu Ziming was a Yiwei?" Guard Chief Ying Qi asked, "Is this Gu Wei the same?" The queen's nephew, with the methods of the queen now, should not fail to praise her mother's family.
Shen Zangfeng shook his head: "Gu Wei is a personal guard." He said, "We perform martial arts in front of the emperor. We are lucky enough to win often, so we are familiar with each other among the three guards. Brother Ziming has a humble and tolerant temperament. He is a descendant of the imperial capital, and rarely interacts with him. He has no good friends, and the people he associates with are not limited to the three guards."
"What about you?" Wei Changying said with a smile, "I see you have a bad temper, but why don't you seem to be as popular as him?"
Shen Zangfeng looked at her with a half-smile and said, "Ah, you think I'm not bad-tempered? How can I not be bad-tempered? Is there any reward?"
"You have such a good temper, why should I reward you?" Wei Changying responded quickly and said immediately.
"Is this forcing my husband to treat you badly in the future?" Shen Zangfeng stretched out his finger to scratch her cheek and said with a smile.
Wei Changying shook his pink fist at him out of habit and scolded: "How dare you!"
Shen Zangfeng touched his chin and laughed.
The two of them joked for a while and forgot about Wei Changying's question, but Wei Changying understood it after a brief thought: Shen Zangfeng always takes first place, no matter how modest his temperament, he is an eyesore, how can he compare with Gu Yi? Ranbi
When they arrived at the Wei Mansion, the second son Wei Changyun and the third son Wei Changsui had been waiting outside the gate for a long time. Seeing the couple getting out of the car, they came up to greet them.
After a few words of greeting, Wei Changyun said with a smile: "Father and mother are already waiting for you in the hall." They let each other in humbly.
Wei Shengyi also took a leave of absence that day to wait for them. The two parties exchanged courtesies and couldn't help but look at each other. Wei Changying met his second aunt for the first time, and found out that they were both daughters of the Duanmu family. Mrs. Duanmu's profile was quite similar to that of the Duanmu family, and her palace was also quite rich. Before he had said a few words, Wei Changying's eyes were filled with emotion. She was so kind and loving, as if she were in front of Mrs. Song - if you didn't know, the Wei Mansion was waiting for the return of your beloved daughter today.
Two cousins, Wei Changyun and Wei Changsui, helped Wei Shengyi receive Shen Zangfeng, and Mrs. Duanmu invited Wei Changying to the back hall to talk.
On this day, Wei Changwan, the real eldest daughter of the Wei family, also came back. This eldest daughter Wei was beautiful in appearance, but her expression was indifferent. She was a little lukewarm towards Wei Changying, and the look she occasionally looked at Huang who was accompanying her was even more revealing. chill. Wei Changying saw this and couldn't help but wonder what Huang had done to her eldest sister in the past, which made Wei Changwan hate her so much that he even became angry with her.
On the other hand, Miss Wei Changjuan, who was only eleven years old, was very enthusiastic. She asked Wei Changyin and asked questions, and even Mrs. Duanmu couldn't get in the conversation. Wei Changjuan is pretty and has bright eyes and white teeth. She is wearing a red-colored peony blouse with wide sleeves, a silver clay and pink lotus root silk skirt, and a double snail. Her appearance and temperament look similar to Shen Zangning's, and both are lively and loving. Noisy little girl.
At first, Wei Changying was asked to answer a few words, but soon she was the one doing the talking.
The seventh lady's voice was clear and she spoke very fast, and her topics were all imaginative. Starting from the cost of food and clothing in the imperial capital, Wei Changying felt dazzled listening to them. They even talked about the palace - Wei Changjuan said that she was very familiar with several princesses in the palace. At this point, she was interrupted by Mrs. Duanmu coughing and asked Wei Changying if he was used to living in the Shen family. Questions like how Weng Gu's sister-in-law is doing.
Wei Changying naturally said everything was fine.
Mrs. Duanmu said: "Originally, your eldest aunt and second aunt were coming over, but your eldest aunt caught the cold two days ago and couldn't get up. What about your second aunt? If you think about the Su family's affairs, you will have to worry about it. letter… "
Wei Changying has a total of three aunts alive now, of which only the second aunt Wei Zhengyin is a legitimate child. Mrs. Song only trusts her own flesh and blood, and does not pay much attention to her children who are born by a concubine, nor does she often mention them. Therefore, Wei Changying only knew that his eldest aunt Wei Shengxian married into the Song family, and his third aunt Wei Shengshi married into the Zhang family, but the specific children and so on were not clear.
However, she knew that these two concubine aunts should not be in the imperial capital. At this moment, after hearing Mrs. Duanmu's words, she was surprised and said: "The eldest aunt has come to the imperial capital? What about the third aunt?"
"Your eldest uncle moved to Gyeonggi Province to take up a post, and your eldest aunt also came back with him. He only arrived about five or six days ago. I think I haven't had time to send you a message." Mrs. Duanmu said, "Your third aunt is still following your third uncle in Yan. state."
Now that Wei Shengxian was mentioned, Wei Changying wanted to ask a few more questions, but Mrs. Duanmu sighed: "Your eldest aunt and your eldest uncle are fine. It's just that they have been married for many years, but they only have two girls. Recently, there are rumors The Song clan intends to persuade them to adopt an heir."
Wei Changying asked cautiously: "What about eldest aunt?" Since Mrs. Duanmu said that, she might have been entrusted by Wei Shengxian and was waiting for her to come back to convey the message.
"Your cousin Xiyue is already fifteen. Unless there is mercy, the heir will definitely be adopted." Sure enough, Mrs. Duanmu took a sip of tea and frowned, "It's just... what your eldest aunt means is that after all these years, They don’t have any sons anymore. It’s better to wait until your cousins Ruxuan and Xiyue are out of the cabinet before we discuss it.”
Although Song Ruxuan and Song Xiyue were both girls who could not pass on the incense, they were both the biological flesh and blood of Wei Shengxian and her husband. Even if he adopted an heir, Wei Shengxian always favored his own child. However, once the heir entered the family, his status was higher than that of the two daughters.
Not to mention, what if the adopted heir is already married, and the woman he marries is not very virtuous... In addition, if the heir's parents and uncles are still alive, privately instigating and instigating behind the scenes, Wei Shengxian hopes to be able to reassure him. After the two daughters are married, the dowry and private property have been posted. At this time, there is nothing to fear about having a step-heir - this is also human nature.
When Wei Changying heard these words, he knew that he was indeed waiting for her: Wei Shengxian was troubled by the pressure from her husband's family, but the son of the Song family she married was also a branch of the Song family, and the head of the Song family was her grandfather. Isn't the next clan leader and his own uncle in the imperial capital now
Although Wei Changying had never met his uncle, he was his mother's only brother after all. When he visited Song Zaishui, he asked her to convey a message, and he expected that Song Yuwang would give some face to his niece. After all, to Song Yuwang, this was just a casual remark. (To be continued)