The woman in the painting stands under the plum tree, her figure is quiet and beautiful. She was wearing a scarlet cloak woven with golden embroidered peony patterns, and behind her was the vast white snow. She tiptoed to sniff the plum blossom, only half of her profile was exposed, her pink cheeks were crystal clear, and her lips were smiling. That face looked a bit like Wei Luo's, with similar nose and lip shapes, but she was demure and gentle, while Wei Luo was lively and clever.
Wei Luo understood who this woman was in an instant, and it was precisely because of this that she became angry.
He casually arranged a marriage for Chang Hong, and Chang Hong punished him to kneel in the ancestral hall if he didn't agree, while he remembered Jiang Miaolan's portrait here? What does he mean? Chang Hong's marriage is Jiang Miaolan's last wish
When Wei Kun noticed her coming, he was astonished and did not forget to roll up the portrait to prevent her from seeing it. "Ah Luo, why are you here? Why didn't you say anything while standing there."
It's a pity that it's too late, I've seen everything I should have seen.
Wei Luo stood a few steps away from him, stared at him with pursed lips, and said after a while, "I heard that Daddy wants to marry Chang Hong, and the other party is Li Xiang, the daughter of King Ruyang?"
Wei Kun sealed the picture scroll with red silk, and said calmly: "That's right. I have thought about this matter for a while. Miss Li's family is about the same age as Chang Hong, and they are in the same family. Let's make a marriage arrangement now, and we will get married in two years." Not too late."
Wei Luo remained silent.
He said again: "Did Chang Hong tell you? It's just right, you can help him persuade him to change his mind, don't be stubborn..."
"Daddy!" Wei Luo interrupted him with a rare sharp voice, "Have you forgotten that Li Song pushed Chang Hong into the water? Since then, the British government has had a grudge with the Ruyang palace. Now Do you think that if Chang Hong marries Li Xiang, the two families can settle their differences and shake hands to make peace?"
Wei Kun was choked by her words, wanted to refute, but also felt embarrassed to be poked at the center.
King Ruyang really had such a plan in discussing marriage with the British government this time. The Duke of England has been under the command of King Jing Zhao Jie for many years, and Zhao Jie has great prestige in the court. It will not be long before Emperor Chongzhen abdicates, and the world will be Zhao Jie's. King Ruyang saw that the situation was not good for him, so he wanted to find a way out for himself, marrying his daughter into the British government, not to mention whether he could save himself at a critical moment, at least he could save his daughter's life after Zhao Zhang lost power.
As for why Wei Kun agreed, it was actually because he owed Princess Gao Yang a favor back then.
Zhao Xuan, the eldest princess of Gaoyang, has read his articles, admires his talent, and intends to have a close friendship with him. At that time, he had already hit it off with Jiang Miaolan, so he politely declined the eldest princess' kindness. Later, he wanted to marry Jiang Miaolan, but the Duke of England and Mrs. Tai refused to agree, so Princess Gaoyang came forward to persuade her with a word or two, and the two old men let go.
Now that he let Chang Hong marry Li Xiang, he can be regarded as repaying this kindness.
Wei Kun said with a stern face: "Nonsense, why are you talking to daddy like that? Can daddy hurt Chang Hong? What's wrong with Miss Li's family that one or two of you rush to refuse?"
Naturally, Wei Luo couldn't tell what happened in her previous life. She clenched her fists and said slowly, "On the Lantern Festival, Li Xiang's brother treated me lightly. Naturally, Li Xiang can't do much better with such a tutor."
Wei Kun's face changed, he loved his daughter after all, and immediately slapped the table and stood up: "You, what you said is true?"
Wei Luo nodded expressionlessly.
For Chang Hong's marriage, it's okay to use Li Song as a shield. What's more, what she said was not all lies. Although there were many people that day, it was not impossible to avoid them, but he stayed so close without moving, which was clearly intentional. And she is not afraid of losing her reputation. Wei Kun loves her so much that she will never tell it. As long as it can dispel the idea of marrying Li's family, it is fine for him to misunderstand her.
Sure enough, Wei Kun sat back in the rosewood armchair with a serious expression and fell into deep thought.
Wei Luo thought for a while, and then said: "Chang Hong has never even met Li Xiang, so it would be too hasty to make a marriage between the two. Soon there will be a hunting ceremony, and the fifth prince invited Chang Hong to go. Li Xiang should I will also go with Li Song, and when they meet, they will see if they are eye-catching, and it will not be too late to make a decision." After she finished speaking, her eyes showed sadness and said: "Why is Dad so eager for this moment? I am as old as Chang Hong , you are eager to say goodbye to him, are you planning to marry me off earlier? Is there anything we don't satisfy you? "
Daughters are different from sons, and daughters should be pampered. Wei Kun has always loved Wei Luo more than Chang Hong. Seeing her sad now, he immediately softened his face, "When did I say such a thing? Even if Chang Hong is engaged now, it will take a few years to get married..." After finishing Sighing, he said rather helplessly: "Forget it, just do as you said. We will make a decision after the hunting ceremony. If there is anything wrong with Li Xiang, you have to tell me one, two, three. "
Wei Luo complied, and before leaving, she glanced at the scroll in his hand without any trace, a deep thought flashed in her eyes, and she turned around and walked out of the study.
The corners of that painting are already yellowed and damaged, does he often take it out to look at it? That woman had already abandoned him, so what else did he keep
Coming out of the study, Wei Luo went to the ancestral hall again.
She told Chang Hong about this, and Chang Hong had no choice but to agree to participate in the hunting ceremony.
Wei Luo reassured him: "You just need to be the same as usual, no matter what Li Xiang does, you don't care about it."
As for Li Xiang, she has too many loopholes. In her previous life, she could not do anything to her because she was not in the British government, but now she only needs to spend a little effort to expose her true nature to everyone. At that time, Wei Kun would not agree to this marriage even if he didn't have to speak up.
In this way, even if she didn't want to participate in the hunting ceremony, she had to go.
There are still four or five days before the hunting ceremony.
Early the next morning, Wei Luo was sitting on the couch by the south window and reading "Fa Yan Yi Shu" while casually thinking about her plans for that day. A servant girl came in from the front yard and said, "Miss, someone in the palace invited you out."
Wei Luo put down the book and looked up: "Who is it?"
The servant girl put her hands in her hands and said nervously: "It seems to be Princess Tianji's person."
She was slightly surprised, did Zhao Liuli need something urgent to find her? But why didn't you say it in advance? She thought that Liuli was going to invite her into the palace, so she changed her clothes, put on a cherry-coloured Su embroidered peony pattern gown, and went outside.
When he came to the gate of the British government, he saw an eight-treasure canopy chariot parked in front of the gate, and two nuns dressed in plain clothes stood in front of the chariot. Inviting her into the palace usually does not have such a grand posture, so she has to be extra careful. Stepping on the pedals and stepping into the carriage, the moment he lifted the embroidered gold curtain, he heard an excited voice from inside: "Ah Luo, come in quickly."
Zhao Liuli sat in the carriage, changed into prosperous clothes, and dressed up like a little girl from an ordinary family. She wore a simple bun, wearing a white silk shirt, a light yellow skirt, and an ink cloak over it. Although it was simple, it did not lose its grandeur.
Wei Luo sat beside her in surprise, and said in disbelief, "Why are you here? Did the empress allow you to leave the palace?"
She nodded happily, like a canary just released from the cage, "My brother saw that I was bored in the palace all day, it was so pitiful, so he said a few words to the queen mother for me, and ordered the guards to protect me all the way. The queen mother reluctantly agreed." She was very excited, and raised a finger and said: "I can only leave the palace for a day, I heard that there are people singing "Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix" outside the palace, shall we go and see together?"
She was out of the palace for the first time, and everything she saw was new. I don't know what's on the street, let alone any new stuff. She often listened to operas in the palace, so she wanted to know the difference between the ones outside the palace and those inside the palace, so she wanted to go with Wei Luo to listen to people singing.
Wei Luo nodded in agreement.
The carriage drove into the city, walked through several streets, and finally stopped at the gate of Rongchunfang.
Rongchunfang is a special place for listening to operas. Below it is the lobby with dozens of seats for people to listen to operas. The second floor is the private room, where the dignitaries sit. You can order a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks while listening to the opera. It is cleaner and more stylish than the first floor.
Zhao Liuli seemed to have already settled on her seat, and followed Mammy to a private room on the second floor, pushed aside the fan, and said with a smile, "Brother, we are here."
Wei Luo followed her, and was taken aback when she heard the words, only then did she realize that there was already a person sitting in the private room.
Zhao Jie was sitting behind a small table with red sandalwood embossed and cloud patterns, wearing a brocade robe with tangled branches and lotus patterns, pouring tea into a white-glazed azalea-patterned teacup calmly and calmly. Hearing this, she put down the porcelain pot, looked up at Wei Luo who was standing behind her, and said with a curved lip, "Sit down."
Wei Luo sat down next to Zhao Liuli, just now Zhao Liuli said that she would come to listen to "Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix", she thought she was the only one, but Zhao Jie was also there.
Why didn't Liuli tell her
She lowered her eyes, and a cup of tea suddenly appeared in front of her. Zhao Jie pushed the white-glazed teacup in front of her, propped his chin and said, "Liu Li wants to leave the palace, and only the queen personally takes her mother to agree. She couldn't let you go, so she diverted to the British government halfway. Wait here first, she invites you to come together."
The explanation was reasonable, Wei Luo felt relieved, raised her head with a smile and said, "Since it was Liuli's invitation, how could I not come? Thank you Brother Jing for the tea."
Zhao Jie bent his lips and did not answer.
The music soon sounded on the stage, and "Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix" slowly kicked off. Zhao Liuli rested her cheeks and stared at the actors on the stage with relish, without taking her eyes off her. Everyone else was listening to the opera, while Wei Luo was absent-mindedly looking downstairs. One was because he didn't like listening to operas, and the other was because he was thinking about Chang Hong's marriage. The hunting ceremony is about to begin, how can Chang Hong reject this marriage logically
She didn't listen to what was sung on stage, she pursed her pink lips, and lowered her head to take a sip of tea. The taste of the tea is light, and the mouth is refreshing. She closed her eyes and began to think about things again while drinking.
Zhao Jie stared at her, she was not quite right today, she didn't know what was going on in her head. He looked at her for a while, but she didn't notice.
What is she thinking? Or, who are you thinking about
A dark color flashed in Zhao Jie's eyes, but he disappeared soon after.
After the play was over, Zhao Liuli couldn't get enough of it. She walked out of the entrance of Rongchunfang together with Wei Luo, and her eyes lit up immediately when she saw a vendor selling fried Lantern Festival in front of her. Ever since she heard Wei Luo talk about it, she couldn't forget it. Unexpectedly, there were still people selling it during the Shangyuan Festival. She looked expectantly at Zhao Jie behind her, and pointed to the front: "Brother, I want to eat that..."
Zhao Jie followed and said in a low voice, "Go, let Yang Zhen be with you."
She nodded joyfully, pulled Yang Zhen who was beside her and passed.
Wei Luo stood there and waited.
Zhao Jie stared at her, and slowly called out: "Ah Luo."
She tilted her head to look.
Zhao Jie's black pupils were quiet, and just about to open his mouth, he heard someone behind him calling: "Brother Jing?"
Looking back, I saw Gao Danyang standing a few steps away, wearing a dark green crepe shirt and a white silk skirt. She also came to listen to the play, with her younger sister Gao Qingyang. When she saw Zhao Jie's back, she was not sure it was him, so she called out. After Zhao Jie turned around, her bright eyes curved, and a pleasant smile appeared on her delicate face: "It's really you, I didn't expect Jing Cousin will also come here to listen to the opera. I heard from my father that you came back from Binzhou and have never had a chance to see you." After finishing speaking, he looked behind him, "Who did you come with? I saw Liuli, where did she go?"
Zhao Jie frowned slightly, and followed her to look behind her.
There was nothing behind him, Wei Luo had disappeared.