Suihe three years, summer.
In Jiang's residence, the trees are deep and the green shadows are heavy. The corridors are hidden in the bushes. People walking in it are not easy to notice.
Mu Mingtang was wearing a light blue striped silver crest with an interlaced collar and six pleated skirts, standing behind the bushes. The two people outside were concentrating on talking and didn't notice her.
She was originally dressed in light clothes, mixed in the mottled tree shadows, and it was really not easy to notice if you didn't look carefully. But Mu Mingtang knew that the real reason was that King Jin was too happy to meet his old love again. So that he, who has always been vigilant, did not notice that there was still a person standing behind the tree.
"Brother Ji, I was the one who was sorry for you back then. Blame me for being stunned, being deceived by a traitor, not telling you if you misunderstood, leaving behind your parents and running away from home. Fortunately, everything has been fine for you this year, otherwise, I really …”
The woman in the green clothes suddenly choked up and couldn't speak. She didn't put on makeup and she wore plain makeup. It wasn't amazing at first glance, but the more she looked at it, the more beautiful she became, the more attractive she looked. She has big eyes, high eyebrows, and looks very stubborn and stubborn. Now her eyes are full of tears, and she is still trying hard not to let the tears fall, which is especially distressing.
Xie Xuanji was so distressed that he couldn't help but take a step closer and held the arms of the woman in front of him, obviously wanting to force but holding back, he didn't dare to be abrupt: "Mingwei, it's fine, as long as you come back. These The position of Nian Jiang's family has been reserved for you, as long as you come back, nothing will change."
The woman known as Mingwei burst into tears: "But, Brother Ji, I'm no longer worthy of you. I was deceived by the Rong people, I don't know how to fall into a daze, and I even doubted your intentions. I ran away from marriage on the Yuan Festival. I have thought about it a lot this year, but the more I understand, the less I dare to come back to see you. Even if the Rong people hold me hostage, but to put it bluntly, I still don’t know who I am, and I brought it up to where I am today. , I can't blame others. I'm satisfied when I know that you are all right, and I don't dare to expect anything else. I heard that you are engaged to her, it's good, she will take good care of you for me. "
"No, Mingwei." Xie Xuanji seemed to be in a hurry, and took a step forward, almost sticking in front of Jiang Mingwei. He bowed and looked at Jiang Mingwei, his eyes focused and deep: "I said, as long as you come back, I will always be here. The marriage contract was postponed to Jiang Mingtang, but because the imperial decree was announced to the world, Uncle Jiang could not disobey the imperial decree, so he had to stay in I claimed a daughter outside and came back to take your place. But what is true is true, and what is false is false. Now that you are back, what do you need a substitute for? Princess Jin, it will always be you."
"However, I was kidnapped by the army, and my whereabouts have been unknown for a year. The royal family is most chaste. I know that I am clean, but how can others believe it? If I marry you, wouldn't it cause you to be laughed at by others?"
Jiang Mingwei seemed to be ashamed and ashamed when she said that, she couldn't help lowering her head, revealing a slender neck. Xie Xuanji was very happy when he heard it. He was always gentle, calm and self-controlled, but now he couldn't help laughing and hugged Jiang Mingwei into his arms almost gaffe: "That's great, Mingwei, do you know that you just did that? In other words, how happy I am to hear it. You do not belong to other men, you are still a virgin, and I am ecstatic. Don't worry, except for you and me, and Uncle Jiang Jiang, you have disappeared this year. Madam, no one else will know. When outsiders ask, you can just say that you are recuperating in other places. As for the father and mother, I will tell you, you just need to feel at ease and prepare for marriage. "
Hearing Xie Xuanji's words, Jiang Mingwei's face turned red, and red clouds appeared on her cheeks. After a while, she seemed to suddenly think of something, her face paled, and she gently pushed Xie Xuanji away: "Brother Ji, I am very moved by your heart for me, but now I am not worthy of it. You haven't been there yet. The princess of my wife has become someone else. She is better-behaved and more filial than me, and won’t make her parents angry like me. The parents who adopted her must think that she is more caring and suitable as a daughter than me. Since the marriage contract has been changed, I should be more interesting and walk away. If I show up again, it will not only delay your marriage, but also make the second lady unhappy. "
"Mingwei, what are you talking about?" Xie Xuanji said coldly and without any hesitation, "I have never had any feelings for her, I have always regarded her as your substitute. The same is true of Uncle Jiang and the others. It's not that she looks like you in three parts. With her humble identity as a refugee, how could she have entered the Jiang family's door? She was originally a refugee, but now she has enjoyed a year of wealth in the Jiang family, which is a great blessing. She knows that gratitude is fine. If she doesn't know her identity and dares to target you, I will never let her go."
Jiang Mingwei's eyes were full of tears, and her eyes that were always strong were full of tears, and she would not fall: "Brother Ji..."
"Mingwei." Xie Xuanji was heartbroken by her gaze, so he couldn't help hugging her tightly, "Just come back. Uncle Jiang and I have been waiting for you for a year, and now, it's time for everything to return. It's time to return the position and things to their original owners."
…
How touching, Mu Mingtang put a light smile on his lips, the more he laughed, the more he felt that he was a joke. Childhood sweethearts, the two have no guesses, but they passed by because of a misunderstanding. Now they go around, the two finally reunite, express their feelings to each other, and solve the misunderstanding. What will happen next is probably to enter into marriage with the blessing of both parents and live happily ever after.
What a moving scene, what an enviable feeling. And Mu Mingtang is the intervenor in this pair of childhood sweethearts, a replacement who knows nothing about the sky and the earth, and the only outsider in the whole incident.
The "she" in Jiang Mingwei's mouth and the "substitute" in Xie Xuanji's mouth are Mu Mingtang.
As Xie Xuanji said, Mu Mingtang is indeed not of high background. Especially compared with the two people in front of them, Xie Xuanji is the prince, who has been divided into King Jin, and the other person, Jiang Mingwei, is the daughter of a high-ranking official, and Xie Xuanji grew up together as childhood sweethearts. As for Mu Mingtang, he wasn't even from the capital.
She was originally from Xiangyang, and her family was neither a scholarly family nor an official family, but a merchant full of copper odor. Although he was not born in the mainstream, but fortunately his parents were harmonious and the family was prosperous. With the love of his parents, Mu Mingtang grew up smoothly until he was twelve years old. Originally, her life trajectory should be the same as that of many ordinary girls in small towns, with ordinary family background, loving parents, growing up step by step, and then marrying another ordinary man when she was a child, having a biological child, and forming an ordinary small family. .
The first half of Mu Mingtang's life was exactly the same as the above, but when she was twelve years old, all peace was broken.
In the third year of Hongjia, Xiangyang was besieged. After the prefect resisted for a few days, he saw the menacing Jie people coming. When the prefect left, he also swept away the city's elite troops and weapons. Without weapons and command, Xiangyang was self-defeating, and the Jieren entered the city to massacre. Mu Mingtang's parents were killed by the Jieren in order to cover Mu Mingtang's departure from the city.
It's a pity that even so, Mu Mingtang didn't run out of Xiangyang in the end. After all, there are many ordinary people in the world. Mu Mingtang has neither the martial arts skills of flying over the eaves nor the wisdom to stay calm in danger, so he was discovered by the Jie people halfway through. She almost went with her parents, but fortunately, after the Marquis of Wu'an entered the city, she saved her life.
After that, Mu Mingtang followed many refugees to the north, looking for a place to live. After his hometown was destroyed, Mu Mingtang instantly fell from a wealthy business lady to a penniless refugee who could step on him. She is a girl, or a beautiful woman of twelve or thirteen years old, and what she will experience on the road is self-evident.
Mu Mingtang had a very difficult journey, but fortunately she met her mother-in-law Zhou who had also lost her family. She protected her in the name of her grandson and grandson, so that she could live and walk to Yingtian Mansion completely.
Later, Mu Mingtang and Zhou mother-in-law stopped at Chenliu and planned to start life again. Although Mu Mingtang did not know Granny Zhou at all, but after fleeing all the way to the north, Mu Mingtang really regarded Granny Zhou as her grandmother, and planned to take care of Granny Zhou in the future. The two of them depended on each other for life, sewing, washing clothes, weaving bamboo strips, and everything. As a result, life finally improved a little, but mother-in-law Zhou fell ill because of overwork.
Mu Mingtang spent all his family wealth to seek medical treatment for Mother Zhou, but Mother Zhou still did not survive, and died before spring came. After the mother-in-law Zhou died, Mu Mingtang cried a lot and wanted to send the mother-in-law Zhou to the ground with dignity. Heroes are born in troubled times, but they are just ordinary people. They don't have the martial arts to charge into battle, and they don't have the talent to raise their arms. They can only survive like mustard grass. Grandma Zhou had no dignity when she was alive, but after she died, she could walk with dignity.
Unexpectedly, God would not let Mu Mingtang realize such a humble wish. After Granny Zhou died, the pawn shop owner saw that Mu Mingtang was pretty, and he had a bad heart. He told the people in the street that Mu Mingtang stole.
Mu Mingtang was so angry that he scolded the pawn shop owner on the street. On the way to escape, Mu Mingtang exercised a copper and iron body, swearing and swearing, and the pawn shop owner was robbed by her one after another. Mu Mingtang has been able to survive until now, the innocence and restraint in the boudoir have long since been honed, and when he sees it, he bites and grabs the ground and fights with each other. As a result, during the tearing, he was stopped by a line of well-dressed guards.
When Mu Mingtang and the pawnshop owner were pulled away by the guards, she didn't know what happened, but when she looked at each other's clothes, she knew that this was someone she couldn't afford to offend. People who seek life are most aware of current affairs, Mu Mingtang immediately restrained his arrogance, lowered his head and dared not contradict. At this time, it stopped far away, and a maid came down from the very wealthy carriage. The maid was wearing a clean Shiqing Ru skirt, her hair was tightly pursed, and the soles of her shoes were cleaner than Mu Mingtang's face. Seeing Mu Mingtang's appearance, the maid seemed to dislike it for a while, and then she pinched her nose and said, "Your ancestors smoked green smoke, and you are lucky. Come with me, our wife wants to see you."
The identity of someone who can be called a wife is no trivial matter. Moreover, seeing that the other party has a carriage, he can also use guards, and maybe he is a man from the government. Mu Mingtang followed tremblingly, only to discover later that her identity not only limited her knowledge, but also her imagination. The people who stopped her that day were not only from the official family, but also the wife of the main house of the deputy envoy of the third division in the capital.
The three divisions are in charge of salt and iron, Duzhi, and the Ministry of Household. The deputy envoy of the third division is the second-in-command of Ji Province. To describe it with a concept that Mu Mingtang can understand, that is, the deputy of the prime minister who is in charge of the national finance in the imperial court, is tantamount to the deputy prime minister.
Mu Mingtang never thought that he just got into a fight and bumped into the wife of the deputy prime minister. Mrs. Jiang looked at Mu Mingtang for a while and asked someone to take her back. Mu Mingtang arrived in the capital in a daze and trembling. She washed for a long time at night, changed her clothes the next day, and was brought to Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang.
Mr. Jiang watched for a long time, and nodded lightly to Mrs. Jiang: "Just as you said."
According to what? What did Mrs. Jiang say
Mu Mingtang didn't understand, but soon, she knew.
Her life was turned upside down from here. She was adopted by Mrs. Jiang as her adopted daughter and became Jiang Mingtang, the second daughter of Jiang Honghao, the deputy envoy of the Third Division. She was an out-and-out lady from the official family and a daughter of a famous family. How could Mu Mingtang, who was tumbling among the refugees, imagined that she would have such a fortune. Officials, people and merchants are like moat. In the past, even if it was the daughter of a master of the Xiangyang government, the Mu family would have to take a detour with their tails tucked in, not to mention the daughter of the deputy minister in the central court.
Mu Mingtang soared so fast that he was scared. As the saying goes, the children of famous families are neither humble nor arrogant, but the villains will be mad if they are successful. Mu Mingtang can understand this mentality very well. She was too afraid of losing all of this, so she would do whatever Mrs. Jiang asked her to do, and she would do whatever the maid said.
Mu Mingtang later learned that the reason why Mrs. Jiang appeared in Chenliu that day was because she went out to find Miss Jiang, Jiang Mingwei, who was lost.
The maids said that the festival was too crowded, and the eldest lady went out to look at the lights and got lost accidentally. Even if Mu Mingtang had never entered the government, he could still feel that this sentence was wrong. She was originally the daughter of a merchant. When she went out to see the lights, her parents would arrange for a maid and a maid, and Miss Jiang was a dignified lady. Would Mrs. Jiang neglect the guards? But Miss Jiang was lost, no matter how she lost it, Mrs. Jiang said it was. Mrs. Jiang found Chen Liu all the way, but saw no trace of her daughter, but caught a glimpse of Mu Mingtang on the street.
Mu Mingtang was scolding and beating at the time, which was very conspicuous. Mrs. Jiang looked at it for a while and found that Mu Mingtang and her lost daughter were similar in age, and even their faces were somewhat similar.
That's why Mrs. Jiang brought Mu Mingtang back. After Jiang Honghao saw it, he felt that it was not a solution, so he agreed. Later, Mu Mingtang was adopted by the Jiang family and changed his surname to Jiang.
Mu Mingtang knew his identity from the beginning. His parents missed their beloved daughter, but they couldn't find it for a long time, so they put a look-alike person in front of him to comfort him. Mu Mingtang understands very well, so he willingly becomes the shadow of another person, wears Jiang Mingwei's favorite color, lives in Jiang Mingwei's former house, learns Jiang Mingwei's speech, and learns Jiang Mingwei's walking.
She erased the characteristics that belonged to Mu Mingtang in her body bit by bit. Mrs. Jiang despised her for being vulgar, and she thought it was disrespectful to fight in the street. Mu Mingtang interrupted the minions she had cultivated in the troubled world and became gentle and well-behaved. Smile without showing teeth, walk without showing steps. Whatever you say, speak softly and slowly.
She hides all her true personality and turns into another person. She was afraid of being thrown out of Jiang's house, and she was afraid of going back to the days of precariousness and scramble for food with wild dogs. Dignity is useless in a chaotic world, let alone imitating a person
Mu Mingtang was locked up and intensively trained for a year, and finally transformed into the famous lady that Mrs. Jiang wanted. It's easy to be like skin and hard to be like bone. Of course, she can't compare with Jiang Mingwei, who was born rich and rich. Both in terms of knowledge and conversation, they are far worse, but when she was not talking, Mu Mingtang already had a bit of Jiang Mingwei's shadow.
Mrs. Jiang was reluctantly satisfied. In March this year, she officially took Mu Mingtang out to cross the road. After that, Mu Mingtang really understood why the Jiang family had adopted an adopted daughter, and why Mrs. Jiang was anxious to train her well.
It turned out that the glory of Jiang's house was not only Jiang Honghao's ranking in Ji Province, but Jiang Mingwei was even given a marriage to the prince.
There is no reason for the emperor to take back what the emperor said, let alone the imperial decree for marriage. Jiang Mingwei disappeared last year on the Spring Festival. It is easy for her to find freedom, but it is difficult for the Jiang family to step down. Mrs. Jiang chased after Chen Liu herself, on the one hand, she was worried about her daughter, on the other hand, it was also for the marriage of the Jiang family and King Jin.
The King of Jin is the direct descendant of the prince, known as a virtuous man, and is the most popular candidate for the crown prince in the court. If the emperor hadn't seen that he was neighbors with the Jiang family before he ascended the throne, he would never have put such a great honor on the Jiang family's head. Jiang Mingwei's escape from marriage—of course, escape from marriage was Mu Mingtang's own statement, and Mrs. Jiang always insisted that her daughter was kidnapped—this sage's appreciation became a sign of life for Jiang Honghao. Jiang Honghao was furious when he learned that Jiang Mingwei was gone, and he was so angry that he said that he did not have Jiang Mingwei as a daughter, and even refused to send someone out to chase Jiang Mingwei. Mrs. Jiang felt sorry for her daughter and saddened by her husband's unkindness. The husband didn't care, she could only take care of it herself. Later, I happened to meet Mu Mingtang, and Mrs. Jiang, desperate, came up with a plan that Li Daitao stiffened.
Mrs. Jiang only hoped that Jiang Mingwei was on a whim, and would come back when her heart was dissipated. If she didn't come back, or it was too late, then letting Mu Mingtang on top would be a remedy. After all, the sage gave marriage to King Jin and Jiang Honghao's daughter, but he didn't say that it must be Jiang Mingwei. After adopting Mu Mingtang, Mu Mingtang barely counts as Jiang Honghao's daughter.
In March, Mrs. Jiang completely gave up her expectation of Jiang Mingwei, and officially introduced her second daughter "Jiang Mingtang" to the wives of officials in the capital. In April, Mu Mingtang and Jin King Xie Xuanji, under the care of their elders, looked at each other across the screen. Even if the fiancées met before marriage, they acquiesced to the marriage.
Ask Mu Mingtang to say that King Jin is really infatuated with Jiang Mingwei, and his heart can be learned from. Jiang Mingwei escaped from marriage and was suspected of running away. King Jin, as the prince and prospective fiancé, did not get angry, but quietly helped Mrs. Jiang to find Jiang Mingwei. Later, seeing that the wedding date was approaching, Xie Xuanji even said nothing and accepted the imitation product arranged by the Jiang family.
His infatuated Mu Mingtang was moved when he saw it. As a stand-in, Mu Mingtang understands her position very well. She knows that what Mrs. Jiang sees and thinks in her heart has always been her daughter, and even when King Jin looks at her, she is looking for something similar to Jiang Mingwei. Mu Mingtang can enjoy brocade clothes and jade food in this life, and finally can be a princess, she is already frightened, she is not greedy, and she will not expect the love of King Jin.
She is ready to exist as Jiang Mingwei's shadow all her life. Before she gets married, she will be a good daughter who looks like Jiang Mingwei but is more docile than Jiang Mingwei. After she gets married, she will be the projection of the white moonlight in King Jin's heart. As for who Mu Mingtang is, what she likes, and what kind of person she used to be, it doesn't matter.
Who knows, just today, at the birthday banquet arranged by the Jiang family and his wife for Mu Mingtang, the main owner Jiang Mingwei actually appeared.
Jiang Mingwei didn't appear in front of people, but Mu Mingtang found that King Jin suddenly disappeared, and an inexplicable intuition in her heart told her that something was wrong. Mu Mingtang followed quietly, not expecting to hear such a touching play.
Standing behind the shadow of the tree, she listened to the true confession of the affectionate prince and Bai Yueguang for a long time, and felt that their love was really great.
King Jin's deep affection and single-mindedness towards his lover are touching.
So what about her, her poor substitute, the lowly refugee, how is she going to get rid of it
Mu Mingtang didn't want to listen any more, so he turned around and walked back. She walked halfway and came out looking for her maid who chased out. Seeing her, the maid immediately raised her eyebrows in disgust: "Second miss, my wife said you can't walk around, why can't you remember it?"
The maid stood in the other direction and did not see the figure behind the bushes. Xie Xuanji and Jiang Mingwei both stopped talking when they heard the voice. Xie Xuanji's expression changed, he quickly bypassed the block and saw a light blue background in the corridor slowly moving away. Her outer cover was printed with silver frost flowers, covering the light blue Ayala like a frost cloud.
Always wear light and high-end blue and white, and always carry the alienation of passers-by and confidants in the world. From Xie Xuanji's point of view, this back is really like Jiang Mingwei.
But Xie Xuanji knew it wasn't. Xie Xuanji frowned secretly, why is she here
The maid naturally talked for a while that Mu Mingtang was not ladylike or elegant, and Mu Mingtang endured it. She didn't think about it before, but today she found out that in the Jiang family, even a maid dared to blatantly despise her.
Yes, because she is a stand-in. Jiang Mingwei's imitation, the substitute for the white moonlight in King Jin's heart, still draws tigers and can't be anti-dogs, especially with the feeling of Dongshi effect.
The maid chattered endlessly, and Mu Mingtang just ignored it, didn't argue, and didn't respond. She waited quietly, waiting for the Jiang family to deal with her.
She thought that Jiang Honghao, the worst of Mrs. Jiang, would always send someone to talk to her at night. However, Mu Mingtang found that people really couldn't be self-righteous. She waited for a long time, and no one came to her at all. There was only one mother, who said to her coldly: "Second Miss, this is the eldest lady's house. The eldest lady doesn't like it. If others touch her things, please move out."
Mu Mingtang was stunned for a while, then stood up and nodded and said, "It makes sense. This was my sister's room originally. Now that the eldest sister is back, I have no reason to occupy her room. I'll clean it up."
"No need." Mammy turned her eyelids down, left her indifferently, and said, "Everything in the room belongs to the eldest lady, even the clothes. It's enough for you to come out by yourself, second lady."
Mu Mingtang thought that the Jiang family had adopted her after all, and this year, she gave her clothes and food, and sheltered her in a mansion, so she held back the humiliation, didn't say anything, and left for a year in almost humiliation. house, moved to a cold guest room. In the previous year of exile, Mu Mingtang had been taught how to be affectionate and warm, her eyebrows high and low, and she became practical and philistine.
Mu Mingtang thought, she is so sensible, so there will always be someone from the Jiang family who will come to her to greet her.
Facts have proved that Mu Mingtang still thinks highly of himself. She was left in the guest room and lived unnoticed for three days. At noon on the fourth day, someone finally came to her: "Second Miss, the official passed you over."
Mu Mingtang tidied himself up and walked to the study like a well-behaved gift. In the study, Jiang Honghao was already sitting. To her surprise, Xie Xuanji was also there.
Mu Mingtang only glanced at it before retracting his gaze, and saluted Jiang Honghao very ladylike: "Father."
As for Xie Xuanji, it turned out that they were fiancées, but now they are not, so Mu Mingtang has no reason to talk to a foreigner. Jiang Honghao didn't speak, so Mu Mingtang couldn't take the initiative to greet Xie Xuanji.
"Well." Jiang Honghao just nodded. He looked at the girl in front of him, thinking of what was going to happen in a while, and it was rare to feel some pity. In any case, she stayed in Jiang's house for a year, and after two days to get married, prepare more dowry for her.
Jiang Honghao was very satisfied with his kindness. He held his beard in one hand and said, "You must have known that your eldest sister is back. King Jin's marriage contract was originally with Mingwei, and it is really helpless for you to replace him. You should understand?"
Mu Mingtang bowed his head meekly: "I understand."
"That's good. But don't worry, since you have become my adopted daughter, I will not treat you badly. King Jin asked His Majesty for orders a few days ago, and His Majesty agreed today to let you marry into the Qiyang Palace."
Jiang Honghao said with a smile and said: "Although you are my adopted daughter, the Jiang family is by no means a family that favors one over the other. After you marry into the Qiyang Palace, you are still a princess, and your sisters will become concubines in the clan. We must watch each other so that we can live up to our father’s teaching. You have today, you are truly extraordinary.”
Mu Mingtang was stunned for a long time before he realized what Jiang Honghao was saying. She is still the princess, but instead of marrying the King of Jin, she is the King of Qiyang
And listen to Jiang Honghao's meaning, she is the daughter of a merchant, and later became a refugee, and she can become a princess, all thanks to the light of the Jiang family. Mu Mingtang slowly raised his head and asked, "Father, King Qiyang, isn't he already a living dead?"