Jiang Rao didn't have time to think about why Ming Shao called Rong Ting's return as a good thing, but was woken up by the news.
She lifted the brocade quilt at once, and all the sleepy people were swept away, "Really?"
Ming Shao said "Mmm", got up and lit the candles, and the room was brightened instantly, "I thought to myself, the girl must have wanted to see His Royal Highness Ninth Prince early, so she woke up so early."
Jiang Rao heard the guilt in her tone, sat up straight, put her feet on the side of Ba Bu's bed, and swayed slightly, "I'm sorry to trouble you, get up early in the morning."
Ming Shao put down the flint to light the candle, and looked back at Jiang Rao.
Jiang Rao was leaning against the edge of the Babu bed with her head tilted, her long hair was still uncombed, hanging behind her back, her face was cute and cute, shining like a painting under the lights.
He didn't mean to annoy her at all.
It's so easy to coax.
"Ming Shao, where is Your Highness the Ninth Prince?"
"Ah Liu said that the carriages and horses coming back from Yunling went to the gate of the palace. His Royal Highness should enter the palace first to meet the Holy Majesty. If the girl wants to see her, the maidservant will wake Jiang Ping up and tell him to hurry up. He can stop His Highness the Ninth Prince in front of the palace gate."
"... Hurry up, it's not necessary."
Jiang Rao coughed, "Go to the palace during the day, just find a chance to meet him."
Only now did Jiang Rao notice the change in Ming Shao's attitude, and asked him softly, "Aren't you stopping me from seeing His Highness the Ninth Prince?"
Ming Shao sighed, "I won't stop you."
"The slave has figured it out. The slave has been serving the girl from the beginning to the end. It doesn't matter who is the aunt. The slave is just afraid that the girl will be unhappy, but watching from the sidelines, the girl is really unhappy when she is with Master Pei. happy.
Jiang Rao nodded.
When she was with Pei Songyu, when she thought of his stomach full of sage books, and his gentlemanly demeanor that couldn't be faulted in his speech and behavior, she felt cautious all over.
She didn't grow up in Jinling, where the etiquette is strict, and her parents were not so strict with her. The lazy and lazy temperament she raised was deeply rooted in her bones. She was too uncomfortable around someone who was too well-behaved like Pei Songyu up.
"Besides..." Ming Shao cast a glance at Jiang Rao, helplessly, and sighed, "I can't stop my servant."
Jiang Rao: "..."
This is the real reason why she didn't stop her.
"As long as it's a girl who thinks it through." Ming Shao couldn't figure out why a person with a very likable character and character, who has an outstanding appearance and family background, is obsessed with a disabled prince. "Young lady must think it through."
Jiang Rao's face was full of smiles, like a child who got candy, and happily hugged Ming Shao's arms, "I've already thought it through."
The most important thing for her is to protect her family.
If there is no home, there will be no her.
…
Splendid Palace.
Before dawn, the palace was covered with luxurious and extravagant carpets, and the incense mist from the four-cornered auspicious beast incense burner was misty.
Beside the wall, several maids gathered together, muttering something.
Empress Jiahe raised her eyes and glanced at them, and the maids heard her getting up, and all looked over to Empress Jiahe's bed.
At this time, a maid was pushed out.
Empress Jiahe looked at her, her face without makeup looked a bit mean.
She glanced at the dimly lit sky outside, with an impatient expression, "What's the matter?"
That Gong'e looked angrily at the person behind her who pushed her out.
She kowtowed on the ground, "Your Majesty, what this servant wants to say may spoil your mood today."
Empress Jiahe's complexion changed slightly, she sat up straight, "What's the matter?"
Gong'e said tremblingly: "His Royal Highness is back, and the plank road on Yunling's side has also been repaired."
"Didn't you say no two days ago?"
Gong'e knelt on the ground, trembling with fright at the sudden sharp voice of Empress Jiahe.
"Those are all fake news from unknown sources. Today, His Highness the Ninth Prince returned to the palace to meet with Lord Chen Bing to meet the Holy Majesty. Only after October did he know that the construction of the plank road was going smoothly. It was just that the news was blocked and no publicity was made, so This kind of false news will only spread in Jinling."
"False news?"
Jiahe Queen's face became gloomy.
How can there be so much fake news if no one is responsible for it
Rong Ting's face that was always half a smile appeared in Jiahe's mind almost immediately, and when he woke up from the nightmare, he clenched his fists and kicked off the edge of the bed in resentment.
She was cheated!
Empress Jiahe took a few breaths to calm down, pinched his palms and asked, "What's your majesty's reaction?"
"The emperor promoted Mr. Chen Bing to the official position, and handed over the area of Gyeonggi and a hundred miles below Yunling Mountain to the jurisdiction of the Ninth Prince. He said that the Ninth Prince had stayed there for nearly half a year and was familiar with it."
"That fief...wasn't it originally the fourth prince's?"
That was the Baili land that the Xu family tried their best to win for the fourth prince. She also put in a lot of effort, and it was not easy to get it.
Gong E replied timidly, "Yes."
Jiahe Queen's breathing was stagnant, and they almost passed out.
…
The sky brightened up little by little.
Outside the Golden Temple.
Chen Bing followed Rong Ting, and said with a smile: "This time, I have won the honor of His Highness the Ninth Prince."
"Master Chen is too famous."
Chen Bing paused and asked: "Your Majesty would like to invite His Highness Ninth Prince to come to the mansion to have a talk. I wonder if His Highness Ninth Prince would like to go?"
Rong Ting smiled lightly.
After getting along for nearly four months, Chen Bing would no longer regard the innocent smile on the young man's face as a deceitful and bullying expression, but the expression he looked at Rong Ting was still the expression of satisfaction and joy that others could tell at a glance. appreciate.
He said sincerely, "As I mentioned to you earlier, my daughter has just passed the age of Ji. She is good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and has a quiet temperament. Based on my understanding of His Highness Ninth Prince, the two of you must have similar temperaments. As soon as the family speaks, His Royal Highness Ninth Prince will also be able to see her."
Huaiqing bumped Wu Que with his elbow, and exchanged a look with Wu Que.
—Master Chen still wants to set up a red line for His Highness Ninth Prince and his daughter.
—he can't succeed.
Huai Qing frowned.
Wu Que whispered, "Did you forget about Yunling?"
Huai Qing silently lowered her head, with slight resistance in her gaze.
Chen Bing had a kind smile on his face, waiting for Rong Ting's answer.
Rong Ting smiled embarrassedly, "Master Chen..."
He is young, with clear eyes, and he looks like he can't lie, "I can't do it today, I have important people to see today."
"If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely visit your lord's residence."
If there is a chance in the future.
Chen Bing's face darkened.
He could hear the perfunctory in this, and said displeasedly: "His Royal Highness should know that there are not a few people who propose marriage to the lower officials."
If you pass this village, there is no meaning of this store.
He had mentioned his daughter many times in front of Rong Ting before. He thought that a disabled man like Rong Ting with two broken legs would be lucky if he could have a marriage. He lowered his figure and threw the hook first. Rong Ting should immediately bite and be grateful to him, but unexpectedly, he actually refused
I really don't know what is good or bad.
Rong Ting didn't speak, just silently, with his head down, looking at his two legs.
Chen Bing thought about his eyes, stroked his beard, and figured out some meaning from the calm and gloomy expression—could it be that he felt that he was a cripple, unable to climb up
Thinking of this, his face softened a lot, "Xiaguan's daughter had a high fever when she was young, and she couldn't hear in one ear, and it hasn't been cured for so many years. Your Highness, the Ninth Prince, don't despise her."
Rong Ting raised his head, the smile on his face was very faint, making it impossible to see what was going on in his heart.
He just shook his head and didn't answer Chen Bing's words directly. Instead, he said, "Master Chen must be tired after a long journey. It's better to go back to the house to rest. There are some things we can discuss later."
Seeing that he still didn't agree to see his daughter, Chen Bing felt a little offended, even though he was sympathetic to Rong Ting's disability, he was more annoyed, and he flung his sleeves and walked away.
His Majesty's palace path is no more than a hundred steps, Chen Bing is angry, and his steps are extremely large.
His figure quickly disappeared behind a hanging flower door.
The smile disappeared on Rong Ting's face at the same time.
He looked in Chen Bing's direction, tapped the arm rest of the wheelchair twice, and said softly, "Wu Que."
Behind him, Wu Que understood, and immediately found a stranger Chen Bing didn't know, and followed in the direction where Chen Bing disappeared.
…
On the top floor of Zhaixing Building, Jiang Rao hugged Xiao Fugui and looked down.
This Star Picking Building is the tallest building in the palace, and it can almost overlook the whole palace at a glance.
Jiang Rao stood on the top floor, and could see the people outside the Jinluan Hall from a distance.
The Zhaixing Building is far away from the Jinluan Palace, Jiang Rao stretched out his hand to measure it, and felt that the size of the pile of villains seemed to fit into the palm of her hand.
Rong Ting's figure is easy to recognize because he is in a wheelchair.
After he came out of the Golden Luan Hall, Jiang Rao recognized him almost immediately.
She took another look, and saw a person talking to him on the opposite side of Rong Ting, who seemed to be wearing a red and two-color official uniform. After thinking about it, she thought that it should be Du Qingshui official, Chen Bing.
Jiang Rao bounced downstairs, intending to find Rong Ting, when the sound of her stepping on the wooden planks of the stairs came from the empty building, which merged with the sound of another footstep going up.
someone
Jiang Rao stopped walking, looked down, and saw a blue shirt in his sight.
The person walking from bottom to top also noticed Jiang Rao's presence, he raised his head and met Jiang Rao's eyes, "Yo, Miss Jiang Rao."
He raised his eyebrows jokingly, "It just happened to happen."
Jiang Rao yelled in her heart that it was not a coincidence.
It is the fourth prince.
She has always kept a respectful distance from those princes who are related to the Xu family, He Jia and the queen.
The fourth prince looked at Jiang Rao's face, his eyes gradually changed.
Most of the girls in the Jiang family have good looks, he knows this, but he has seen many women, so he doesn't feel anything, except for Jiang Rao, who will give him a refreshing sense of amazement when he sees them later.
There was an indifference in her eyes that was neither humble nor overbearing, neither flattering nor casual, and she was beautiful and charming.
This kind of beauty, even a man can't resist, he just wants to drag her from the clouds to the quagmire, crush the coldness on her face, let her fall into the world of mortals, she can't leave him, and begs him to love him.
The Fourth Prince was so excited when he thought of that scene, his eyes became more cloudy and wanton.
Jiang Rao gave him a hard look.
When she went back, she asked her younger brother and Hu Tang to teach her to whip, and if there was such an unscrupulous look in her eyes in the future, she would directly smash the eyes of such a person.
She originally wanted to follow the rules and calm down and talk to him, but now she just didn't bother to pay attention and walked down the Star Picking Tower.
But the fourth prince turned around, followed behind her, and went out of the Star Picking Tower with her, chattering endlessly: "I didn't expect such a coincidence to meet the fourth girl in the Star Picking Tower. Today is a good day. My ninth younger brother just came back from Yunling and got a reward..."
Jiang Rao stopped walking.
Seeing that she cared about Rong Ting's matter, the fourth prince couldn't help but smiled contemptuously.
It turned out that what Brother Seventeen said was true.
Unexpectedly, she looks so noble and no one cares about her, but she is someone who can communicate with men in private.
Really good at pretending.
Immediately, his gaze became more irregular, with a hint of disdain, and he narrowed his eyes and glanced at Jiang Rao.
Good-looking is good-looking, but it's a pity that I have really bad eyesight. I can't fall in love with anyone, but I have to fall in love with a cripple.
"In the matter of the Yunling Plank Road, he helped Mr. Chen to make meritorious service. I heard that Mr. Chen wanted to marry his daughter to him. Fourth girl, tell me, if Mr. Chen uses his merits to ask my father for a marriage , Lord Chen's daughter is a well-known talented woman in Beijing, tell me, will my ninth brother be very happy?"
Jiang Rao stopped in her tracks, turned her head, and glanced at her angrily.
The Fourth Prince saw the anger on her face clearly, and instead laughed even worse, feeling extremely satisfied in his heart.
How about you, recognize the face of his ninth younger brother, are you angry
Jiang Rao pursed her lips without saying a word, moved her fingers, and patted Xiao Fugui's butt.
The fourth prince was admiring Jiang Rao's angry appearance, when he suddenly heard a loud "croak", which startled him.
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Then, caught off guard, a heavy object hit his face.
It was Xiao Fugui with flapping wings, claws scratching at his face.
The fourth prince hurriedly waved his hands, trying to drive away the sharp-clawed golden mynah.
But Xiao Fugui didn't hesitate when he saw the cat. After being hit twice by the fourth prince, he became annoyed and pecked his forehead fiercely.
Seeing that the fourth prince's guards were coming to arrest Xiao Fugui, Jiang Rao hurriedly carried Xiao Fugui back.
The fourth prince covered Bao's forehead with one hand, and pointed at Jiang Rao angrily with the other hand, "How did you raise the bird?"
Jiang Rao didn't bother to give him a good face, she didn't admit her mistakes, didn't apologize, and ran away.
Few of the princes are normal.
The seventeenth prince wanted to let the cat scratch her, but the fourth prince jumped out halfway and said a bunch of inexplicable things to her.
Who believes his nonsense!
Even if she tried to provoke dissension, she couldn't find anyone who could fool her.
Suddenly, Jiang Rao remembered something.
A few days ago, Hu Tang told her that the Xu family was wooing the Hu family recently, and the husband and wife of the country invited Mrs. Hu to the Xu mansion for tea several times.
It's just that the Hu family doesn't like the Xu family's hypocrisy, and they don't want to deal too much with their relatives, and disdain to associate with them.
Maybe they had tried to find someone who could fool her, but they couldn't find one.
Jiang Rao was running out of breath, but there were always footsteps chasing her behind her.
The fourth prince's distraught voice came, "Catch her and that bird!"
The people who watched the fourth prince had already caught Ming Shao, and they were going to catch her soon.
A cold light flashed, and a long sword stopped in front of the eunuch in purple who was chasing after Jiang Rao.
The person holding the sword was Wu Que, not far away, Rong Ting's wheelchair stopped under the hanging flower door, his eyes were cold.
Jiang Rao immediately ran to him.
The fourth prince saw Rong Ting.
He learned this morning that Yunling Mountain, which was originally under his jurisdiction with a radius of hundreds of miles, was rewarded by his father to Rong Ting on the grounds that he did not manage it well.
Stealing his things, rewarding a man who was once unworthy to carry his shoes, and calling him "mismanagement"
A ninth younger brother who was inferior to him in everything when he was a child is now in the limelight, which is too humiliating.
The fourth prince was furious, "Ask your people to let go of my guards."
Rong Ting took it easy, "Call your person first, let go of her maid."
The fourth prince's face was ashen, he clenched his fist and raised it slightly, but at the last moment of gaining momentum, he suddenly let go of his hand.
Rong Ting is different from when he was a child.
When he was a child, he was weak, thin and bullied. But no matter how many times he was beaten, no matter how young he was, the next time they raised their fists in front of him, he would still bite like a little mad dog, his fierce eyes were bloodshot, he would never learn bow your head.
But this time, when he watched him raise his fist, the expression on his face remained unchanged. He looked at him lazily, with a half-smile, and there seemed to be some teasing anticipation in his eyes.
Expect him to hit him
The fourth prince suddenly remembered that his fief in Yunling had just been given to Rong Ting by Emperor Zhaowu.
If he beat Rong Ting today, others would definitely say that his fief was taken away, he would hold a grudge, beat others for revenge, and in the end he would get a bad reputation for being a small belly.
The fourth prince's fist fell to his side, his phalanges were still tense.
He still had a red mark on his forehead that mynah scratched just now, he stretched out his hand to touch it twice, gritted his teeth and looked at Rong Ting, threatening: "Ninth brother, I advise you not to meddle in my affairs."
Rong Ting moved the wheelchair, protecting Jiang Rao who was holding Mynah behind him.
He raised his eyelids and glanced at the Fourth Prince, "What if I insist?"