Recently, Cui Wenxi has been staying at home and has not heard anything going on outside the window.
Since the last time King Qing came to cause trouble, I thought there would be some action soon in the palace, but in the end there was no movement. She sent someone back to the Duke's Mansion and received a reply saying that there was no trouble in the palace. Cui Wenxi felt relieved a little.
Public opinion is heated nowadays, and she is at the forefront of the storm. If she wants to calm down this matter, she needs a bigger thing to attract people's attention.
No, someone took advantage of the opportunity and came to visit.
This afternoon Cui Wenxi was sitting in the side room reading the county annals to pass the time. It had started snowing yesterday, it was cold outside, and the charcoal fire inside the house was burning brightly. She was only wearing a spring shirt, enjoying the peace very much.
Suddenly there was a sound outside. Fangling opened the door curtain and came into the house and said, "Madam, we have a visitor."
Cui Wenxi raised his head and asked curiously: "Who is visiting?"
Fangling seemed to find it strange and replied: "It's Mr. Lin Xiaolang from Changyin Pavilion."
Cui Wenxi was stunned and couldn't help but feel confused. What was he doing
The master and servant looked at each other. After a long gap, Cui Wenxi said: "Please go to the side hall, I will go there later."
Fang Ling responded yes and stepped out.
Cui Wenxi became more and more curious, what was that kid doing at this juncture
After waiting for tea, she packed up and went to the side hall to meet the guests.
Lin Qiong was wearing thin clothes and seemed a little uneasy. When she saw Cui Wenxi entering the side hall, she stood up and saluted and said, "Lin is here unexpectedly. Please don't take offense to Mrs. Cui."
Cui Wenxi looked him up and down, made a gesture to sit down, and said politely: "Does Yongning Mansion know that you came to see me in private?"
Lin Qiong replied: "The eldest princess doesn't know." Then she added, "Lin has nothing to do with the eldest princess, and he is free."
Cui Wenxi didn't like to hear this, "Yongning and I are in a relationship. She is interested in you, so I won't get involved. Now you come to see me behind her back, which is neither emotionally nor rationally appropriate."
Hearing this, Lin Qiong became anxious and hurriedly knelt down and said: "Ms. Cui, please listen to Lin's words before issuing an order to expel guests."
His move frightened Cui Wenxi, and he frowned and said, "You're so good, why are you kneeling?"
Lin Qiong said in embarrassment: "In the year since I came to Beijing, Lin has become accustomed to kneeling."
Cui Wenxi was stunned. Knowing his family background, he didn't say anything. He just said: "Get up and speak first."
Lin Qiong then stood up.
After a while, Fang Ling came with tea, and Cui Wenxi said seriously: "I am on the cusp of the storm right now, and I didn't want to see you. Now that you are here, just tell me if you have anything to do, and don't talk around in circles with me."
Lin Qiong responded and presented a wooden box he had brought.
Fang Ling stepped forward to take it and presented it to Cui Wenxi.
She opened the wooden box and felt curious when she saw the old books inside. She carefully took it out, and it turned out to be a chess book.
Lin Qiong said seriously: "Ms. Cui is very good at chess. I heard that Zhang Yan's chess is collected in the Duke's mansion. This Yan chess score should also belong to the same owner."
Cui Wenxi was surprised when he heard Zhang Yan's chess score: "Is this Zhang Yan's chess score?"
Lin Qiong nodded, "Ms. Cui is a knowledgeable person, so she will definitely cherish her."
Cui Wenxi carefully looked through the old chess records and said: "The mansion has a replica of Zhang Yan's chess records, but there is no original handwriting. The handwriting does look like Zhang Yan's handwriting."
Lin Qiong: "My father acquired this by accident. He is a businessman and does not understand the elegance of scholars. He only treats it as a collection of ordinary things. Madam Cui knows the goods and should be its owner."
Cui Wenxi looked at him. To be able to take out such a treasure, he must have something to ask for, so he said immediately: "Do you want to ask me to do something?"
Lin Qiong thought for a while and looked at Fang Ling.
Cui Wenxi said: "Go and guard outside. No one can come near."
Fang Ling responded yes and left to guard.
Lin Qiong then said: "Lin has also heard the recent rumors about Lady Cui and the Crown Prince. The rumors are so vivid that Lady Cui must also be very distressed."
Cui Wenxi raised his eyebrows, "Is this why you came here?"
Lin Qiong shook her head, knelt down and begged again: "Lin wants to ask Mrs. Cui to help me."
Cui Wenxi was surprised, "What do you mean?"
Lin Qiong looked sad and said nonchalantly: "Ms. Cui must also know something about Lin's life experience. I moved to Beijing from Jiazhou a year ago. Before that, my family was well off, but something unexpected happened and both my parents died in a fire. , my sister and I escaped by chance, and for the next three years we pretended to be crazy and acted like fools in Jiazhou before we were able to leave our hometown."
Cui Wenxi felt uncomfortable, frowned and asked, "Is there something fishy about that fire?"
Lin Qiong nodded, her eyes slightly red, "Our Lin family makes a living by selling porcelain. We are wealthy and well-known in the local area. Who would have thought that the bandits would take notice of them? The bandits colluded with the domestic slaves to commit evil, and they cooperated inside and outside to rob the house. He also set fire to the ancestral home, so that my parents were killed in the flames, but my sister and I narrowly escaped death."
"and after?"
"Later, I reported the matter to the official, but to my surprise, the local government was perfunctory and randomly arrested people for scapegoating. I was not convinced, so I appealed one after another. The superior officials protected me, but I had no way to seek help. Finally, I went to the Jiazhou Governor's Office, but I still couldn't get the law."
"So you came to the capital?"
"Someone gave me directions and asked me to go to Beijing to file a petition, but at that time I had no way to escape. I didn't even have a chance to leave the county. Every move I made was monitored by the locals.
"The only wealth of my Lin family has been depleted by constant appeals. My brother and sister were really forced to have no choice, so they pretended to be crazy and escaped secretly at the end of the year. They were rescued by kind-hearted business travelers on the way, and then they moved on. Beijing.
"Since the Jiazhou governor was able to suppress the Lin family's affairs, it shows that he has deep power. I am afraid that someone in the capital has contacts with Jiazhou, so I dare not act rashly.
"Later, by chance, I entered Changyin Pavilion and tried to find a way out through the surrounding dignitaries in the capital, but they didn't regard me as a human being at all and just wanted to play with me.
"Those years were really hard. I didn't dare to trust others, so I kept tolerating it."
After hearing his experience, Cui Wenxi frowned and said, "I am involved with the prince, so you want to use my method to redress your grievances?"
Lin Qiong: "Lin is really desperate. Others can't believe it. He just wants to go directly to Tianting and complain about his grievances through the hands of Lady Cui." He added, "Right now, everyone in the capital is talking about Lady Cui and the prince. If in this situation When the time comes, uncovering the old cases of the Lin family will inevitably attract new attention."
Cui Wenxi gently touched Zhang Yan's chess book and remained silent.
Lin Qiong kowtowed to her and said, "I would like to ask Mrs. Cui to give Lin a hand. I have experienced the ups and downs of human kindness over the years, but I still want to believe that there is justice in the world."
Cui Wenxi said thoughtfully: "You could have asked Yongning."
Lin Qiong shook her head and said in despair: "The eldest princess only wants Lin's skin, and only wants to tame Lin. If she knew Lin's life experience, she would only stay far away. But Lady Cui is different from them. Since you were able to communicate with Qing in the first place, Wang Heli, it can be seen that there is arrogance in his bones, and a proud girl is more humane than those powerful people."
The word "human touch" is used very well. Cui Wenxi said: "Since you are determined to follow my path, do you have a complaint paper?"
Lin Qiong hurriedly submitted the written complaint.
Cui Wenxi stretched out his hand to take it and took a closer look. The writing was excellent, smart and powerful, every word was tearful, and the literary talent was excellent and very contagious. She read it carefully and carefully, with clear organization and clear appeal, which shows that she has put in hard work.
After reading the complaint, Cui Wenxi put it away and said: "I can't stand your Zhang Yan chess score." He added, "Don't try to fool me with fake chess scores. My father is very knowledgeable about Zhang Yan's chess scores. If he can identify it, It’s fake, just make sure I don’t cause trouble for you.”
Lin Qiong showed her face and said: "Lin will definitely not dare to fool Madam Cui."
Cui Wenxi said seriously: "You go back and wait. I will find a way to present your grievances to the East Palace. If the grievances are not true, you should know what consequences you will suffer."
Lin Qiong: "It's enough to hear Madam Cui's words. Whether it's true or false, the superiors will know after checking."
Cui Wenxi nodded, "If I send someone to look for you, which workshop should I look for?"
Lin Qiong immediately told her about her current location in detail, and Cui Wenxi took note of it carefully.
After sending people away later, Cui Wenxi returned to the side room and looked through Zhang Yan's chess records. It is said that there are only two original copies of Zhang Yan's chess records, and the rest are reproductions.
She couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not, so she took it back to her father for appraisal one day. If it was genuine, she bought it with some silver. The boy was poor and probably lacked money.
Then again, the reason why she was willing to lend a hand was because she really wanted to suppress the limelight. To suppress the limelight, she could only create a more eye-catching topic to attract people's attention.
If this case of the Lin family is revealed, it will indeed be quite topical.
Within two days, Zhao Yue came to Changlingfang, and Cui Wenxi was surprised to learn about his arrival.
Ice had formed under the eaves, and the entire capital was covered with snow. Zhao Yue entered the courtyard wearing a fox fur coat, and Cui Wenxi came out to greet him and salute him.
Zhao Yue stepped forward and took her hand, and said affectionately: "I heard that Uncle Four Emperors came to have a quarrel with Yuanniang a while ago?"
Cui Wenxi said "Yeah", "Pingyang and Yongning were both there at the time."
Zhao Yue looked at her and said with a smile: "He even went into the palace to quarrel with the saint."
Cui Wenxi asked curiously: "Has Erlang been called for questioning?"
Zhao Yue nodded and said, "Yes, I even had a quarrel with the Fourth Emperor's Uncle."
Cui Wenxi: "..."
Zhao Yue secretly said: "I made him angry and drove away."
Cui Wenxi pinched him and he said "ouch", and she said angrily: "The saint must be half angry with you."
Zhao Yue entered the side room with her, and Cui Wenxi took off the fox fur for him. He put his arm around her waist coquettishly and said, "There are rumors circulating outside these days that Yuanniang has been wronged."
Cui Wenxi looked at him and said: "I told you at the beginning that I could handle Yuan Wulang's matter well, but you insisted on showing off, and ended up spreading rumors and causing a lot of trouble."
Zhao Yue said unhappily: "It would be a good thing if we didn't kill him for that disaster."
Cui Wenxi: "..."
Killing is a serious crime.
Fang Ling brought tea, and Zhao Yue took a few sips to warm himself up. Cui Wenxi sat on a chair and asked, "Are you still willing to let you out in these days?"
Zhao Yue raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "My legs are growing on me, who can stop me?" After a pause, "It's the New Year and the affairs of the court are complicated. It's not easy to go out. Don't take Yuanniang offended."
Cui Wenxi: "This matter is getting more and more outrageous. I haven't asked you yet how you want to end it."
Zhao Yue immediately told her in detail the circumstances of King Qing's entry into the palace that day, which made Cui Wenxi smile.
No, Zhao Yue complained: "What kind of vision did you have back then? How did you fall in love with that guy?"
Cui Wenxi: "How did I know that he was so bad at heart? Even though we had been getting along fairly well over the years, I have never seen him act like this."
Zhao Yue: "He doesn't want to see you well now. When I said I wanted three matchmakers and six betrothals to marry me, he became anxious at the time." After saying that, he looked at her and said, "Does Yuanniang want to piss him off to death?"
Cui Wenxi was amused by his tone of voice, "How angry are you?"
Zhao Yue said coaxingly: "You see, not only are you not in a miserable state after leaving him, but you can also marry better. Three matchmakers and six have joined me in the East Palace. In the future, I will be the empress of the palace and the mother of a country. He always feels that you are too big-hearted." It’s narrow and sterile, so let’s have a litter and make him mad to death.”
Cui Wenxi covered her mouth and said, "You have a beautiful idea."
Zhao Yue blinked her eyes and said, "I am a serious person. From now on, I will send official matchmakers to the Cui family to ask for marriage instead of forced marriage." After saying that, he held her hand and said, "The important thing when asking for marriage is to ask for it and get it." You are sincere and I beg you to put down your guard and come to me and spend the rest of your life with me.”
Cui Wenxi withdrew his hand and did not feel dizzy. Instead, he said soberly: "The palace will definitely not agree."
Zhao Yue said: "I came here today just to tell you about this. That day, the Fourth Emperor's uncle made trouble with the saint, and my father naturally refused to allow it, but it doesn't matter, because he wants to be the Supreme Emperor."
Cui Wenxi: "You are threatening him."
Zhao Yue didn't take it seriously, "How can sugar cane be sweet at both ends?" He added, "I haven't asked for anything since I was a child. Only you, Mr. Cui, is the first time I ask him, and he won't refuse. , It just takes a while.”
Cui Wenxi frowned, "What about your mother-in-law?"
Zhao Yue picked up the tea bowl and said, "I was about to tell you this. She is much smarter than my father. She wants to start with you. She knows that you are prudent. Once you don't want to enter the East Palace, my work will be in vain."
Cui Wenxi smiled and said: "It seems that Queen Ma still understands me."
Zhao Yue asked: "If my mother-in-law asks you if you are willing to enter the East Palace, how should you answer?"
Cui Wenxi replied: "Of course I don't want to."
Zhao Yue curled her lips and said, "You have no conscience."
Cui Wenxi: "I have a small belly, your uncle the Fourth Emperor has already said that."
Zhao Yue: "It doesn't matter, you are loyal to me, and I will naturally treat you as a treasure, Yuanniang."
Cui Wenxi looked at him and said slowly: "Your fourth uncle also said this at the beginning."
Zhao Yue was not in a hurry, and just said: "I said just now that I want to marry you. You have been married once before, so it is reasonable to be cautious. I don't force you to make a choice. I just hope that Yuanniang can Think carefully about the future between you and me. What I, Zhao Yue, ask for is your willingness, and I ask that you stick to your heart and not make any changes to compromise."
Cui Wenxi said nothing.
Zhao Yue continued to say seriously: "I am telling you this because I really like you. It is this person who likes you, not the background of your Cui family, nor other external considerations, but you. This person is Cui Wenxi."
These words were so heartwarming that Cui Wenxi couldn't help but pinch his face, "Where did you learn those sweet words?"
Zhao Yue: "These are not sweet words, they are my sincerity." After a pause, "I don't lack anything, and you don't need to flatter me. I love you, no matter good or bad, it's you, I Everybody can bear it.”
Cui Wenxi pursed her lips and smiled, "I will consider it carefully."
Zhao Yue: "You're serious, don't deal with me."
Cui Wenxi said "hmm", as if remembering something, and said: "I took over a matter two days ago, let you take a look." After saying that, he took the Lin family's complaint from the drawer and presented it to Zhao Yue. He opened it and took a closer look. Then he frowned.
Cui Wenxi narrated the cause and effect and said: "Erlang must handle this matter seriously so as not to chill people's hearts."
Zhao Yue: "Did that person follow your path?"
Cui Wenxi nodded and went to get Zhang Yan's chess score and gave it to him, "Take a look, is it authentic?"
Zhao Yue was very interested in the chess records. She immediately looked through them carefully and said, "I only have a copy of the chess records in my hand, which was given to me by my teacher Chen Ping. The handwriting looks like Zhang Yan's handwriting."
Cui Wenxi: "I can't tell if it's true or false. I'll show it to my father to identify it someday. If it's false, I'll have to beat that kid up."
Zhao Yue grinned, "That Lin Qiong is really smart. I'm worried that I can't suppress the limelight."
Cui Wenxi: "The backbone of my Cui family is almost broken."
Zhao Yue: "If you agree to my marriage proposal, won't it be solved easily?"
Cui Wenxi slapped him angrily, "You have a beautiful idea."
The two of them were getting along as peacefully as before, as if no matter how big the storm was, they could not be affected, because all the problems she encountered were solved by Zhao Yue.
There is an essential difference between that boy and Prince Qing. He would never tell his difficulties in front of a woman, nor would he get angry in front of a woman because he felt it was disrespectful.
Some maturity has nothing to do with age, but has to do with a person's bearing and mind, and this bearing and mind are learned from the words and deeds of Emperor Wu.
Although Emperor Wu's behavior has been criticized, his many excellences are also obvious to all.
Zhao Yue's temperament was greatly influenced by him, and at the same time, he also had the careful guidance of the great scholar Chen Ping, who created Zhao Yue today, a young boy with a charming personality.
When you are with the right person, even in silence, you will feel comfortable and comfortable.
It feels good to have someone's support. Even if Cui Wenxi has prepared for the worst, even if Empress Ma summons her, Zhao Yue has given her some ideas to deal with it.
He seemed to have predicted everything that could be expected, giving her enough peace of mind and confidence to understand her, and giving her solutions instead of blaming and evading.
Cui Wenxi was a little impressed by him. He seemed not to know what impatience was and had enough patience to deal with it.
Later in the afternoon, Zhao Yue hurried back to the palace. Before leaving, she gave a careful explanation with a serious attitude.
Cui Wenxi is not afraid of Queen Ma.
No, the summons came the next day.
Cui Wenxi was ordered to enter the palace.
Empress Ma was sitting on the phoenix couch, while Cui Wenxi was sitting on the chair in front of her. In the past, the two of them had interacted with each other as sisters-in-law, but now they were suddenly related to her son, which really made her feel uncomfortable.
I don't know how long it took before Queen Ma coughed dryly and said, "The fourth child came into the palace that day and made a scene. I just want to ask Changyue what do you think?"
Cui Wenxi replied neither humble nor arrogantly: "Since I couldn't accommodate Prince Qing's wife, I naturally couldn't be as high as the Prince of the East Palace."
Queen Ma was secretly happy, "So, it's all my son's wishful thinking?"
Cui Wenxi: "The relationship between me and the prince was aunt and nephew, which is against the rules of ethics. Moreover, I am six years older than the prince. It is really not a match. Not only that, I have been married to someone before and have no children. I definitely don't dare to dream about the Eastern Palace." The position of Crown Princess.”
"So Chang Yue still understands in his heart."
"Don't worry, Madam, Chang Yue won't have any thoughts that she shouldn't have."
Seeing that she was so knowledgeable, Empress Ma didn't say much. She just said: "I have been sister-in-law with you for so many years. If it were a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, I would really not be used to it."
Cui Wenxi twitched the corners of his mouth and did not answer.
Queen Ma seemed to have remembered something, and asked out of the blue: "Just now you said you were sterile, how come I heard Pingyang say you can have children?"
Cui Wenxi immediately objected: "The empress must have heard wrongly, I am incompetent."
Queen Ma suddenly looked at her with a strange expression. After a long while, she said, "Don't try to coax me. Pingyang told me, have you ever dealt with a fetus, was it Erlang's?"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
Queen Ma stood up and walked towards her, secretly asking, "Are you really fertile?"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
Seeing that she remained silent, Queen Ma became anxious. Seeing that her situation was probably true, she immediately asked: "You have been seeking medical advice for so many years, but now you finally got one, how come you got rid of it?"
Cui Wenxi said awkwardly: "There is no such thing."
Queen Ma was even more surprised, and gossiped: "It's really strange. You and the fourth child can't have children, but you can have children with the second son. Is there something wrong with the fourth child?"
Cui Wenxi: "Don't Prince Qing have a baby bump now?"
Empress Ma looked at her and said, "Then you were wronged or not. You have been taking the blame for seven years. Now you finally got one. How come you got rid of it?"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
The more Empress Ma thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong, and asked, "Changyue, what do you mean? Are you feeling embarrassed about carrying Erlang's son?"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
Queen Ma: "Let me ask you, my second son is the one who will inherit the throne in the future. All the noble ladies in the capital are eager to get his seed. Why did you get rid of him?"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
The more Empress Ma talked, the more she couldn't understand, "It's strange, which noble girl in Beijing doesn't want to enter the East Palace, but you, Cui Changyue, are not happy. Why are you not happy?" She added, "Let me ask you, is my second son still in the East Palace?" Not worthy of you anymore?"
Cui Wenxi quickly waved his hand and said: "Of course not."
Queen Ma: "Then why don't you want to enter the East Palace?"
Cui Wenxi said seriously: "I am six years older than the prince."
Queen Ma blurted out: "You think he is too young?!"
Cui Wenxi: "..."
She suddenly felt that she was in a dilemma. If she said she didn't want to enter the East Palace, people would say that she despised the prince.
No, Queen Ma's initial joy turned into incomprehensible. She couldn't understand that Mrs. Cui actually despised her son and didn't want to enter the East Palace. She even got rid of her son's seed.
It's really ridiculous!
So for half a day, Queen Ma kept asking Cui Wenxi what was wrong with her cub, making Cui Wenxi dumbfounded.
On the other side, Zhao Yue personally handed over the Lin family's case to Huang Jie, the Yushitai, and went to Jiazhou for an unannounced visit. She originally wanted to use this case to create a hot spot to cover up the affair between him and Cui Wenxi, but she never thought that the Qing Palace would come out at the beginning of the spring. Something went wrong, and the commotion once again shocked the entire capital.
There was a banquet in the palace on New Year's Eve. Prince Qing and Zhao Yue were unhappy and did not attend. Cui Wenxi returned to the Duke's Mansion to celebrate the New Year.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, she accompanied her mother Jin to Tianxin Temple to offer incense. By chance, she met Yan Lan from Prince Qing's Mansion. At that time, she was escorted by Xiao Tao to the main hall.
Fang Ling saw that the girl didn't like her, so she whispered, "If that foxy girl doesn't stay in the back house well, she will be embarrassed when she comes out."
Cui Wenxi: "Talk too much."
Jin felt curious and asked, "Who is that?"
Fangling replied: "It's Yanlan, Prince Qing's concubine."
As soon as I heard about this Jin family, I became excited and wanted to take a look.
Cui Wenxi said: "Why am I going to join in the fun? It will be so embarrassing if I meet Prince Qing."
Jin said "hum", "That girl is so powerful, I want to see her in the world."