When Xiao Jingning walked into the Mengbai Restaurant, she was wearing a light blue Confucian shirt, heavy brocade silk sash at the waist, and eight treasures cloud shoes. She is a handsome scholar, but unfortunately, except for herself, basically everyone can see that she is a woman disguised as a man.
But the capital is a place full of nobles, and the nobles are a lot more eccentric. Looking at the style of this woman, it is estimated that her identity will never be low, so everyone sees it and doesn't see it, and doesn't want to mess with her, even the shop assistant is a customer officer, without showing that he has already seen that this is a female customer. look.
Xiao Jingning didn't glance at the lively hall downstairs, and immediately asked the second shopkeeper to go to the Yuzi private room, so he was taken to the second floor. Coincidentally, he had a face-to-face with Yan Yujin and the others.
"Jingning..." After struggling to swallow the exclamation that almost burst out of his mouth, Xiao Jingrui immediately rushed over, pulled her to his table, and asked in a low voice, "How did you escape? It's the rules!"
"What's the rule?" Xiao Jingning stared, but he didn't dare to speak aloud for fear of exposing his shrill voice, "You guys are outside every day, and this is the first time I've come out alone!"
"Can you be the same as us? You are the princess, how can you appear in the wine shop and tea house?!"
"What happened to the princess? The princess should be suffocated in the palace? Besides, I came out with my mother."
Yan Yujin was also taken aback, looked left and right, and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you see it? Where is the Empress?"
Xiao Jingning rolled his eyes at him, "Stupid, why is the mother here? She was invited by Aunt Liyang to Cousin Rui's house. I asked for a long time to take me with me, and now they are chatting, they don't need me. Come with me, I made an excuse to go back to the palace first, and find an opportunity in the middle to sneak out, how rare it is."
"That's enough?" Xiao Jingrui was even more anxious, "You didn't even know your mother, hurry up and I'll take you back."
"I want to play for a while," Princess Jingning said with a twisted temper, "I changed my clothes so carefully, and I didn't cause trouble. I'll go back by myself after walking around for a while. Sister Nihuang is still fighting to kill the enemy, I Is it a violation of the rules to go shopping?"
"Can you compare with the Princess Nihuang?" Yan Yujin pouted, "But as long as you are not afraid of the Queen's punishment, we don't care."
Xiao Jingning swallowed uneasily, and it seemed that he still had some guilt. In order to force herself to remain calm, she turned her eyes to Mei Changsu and asked, "This is..."
"Our friend, Mr. Su Zhesu." Yan Yujin introduced.
"Su Zhe..." Xiao Jingning tilted her head and thought for a while, then suddenly jumped up and screamed loudly: "You are Su Zhe?! I heard that you have a bodyguard, and you have a hundred moves under the commander Meng Zhi. Lost, where is he? Can we meet?"
Xiao Jingrui and Mei Changsu couldn't stop them in time, so they hurriedly looked around. All the guests on the second floor of the restaurant were shocked by these words, and all stared at this side blankly.
It is big news in itself that someone has gone through a hundred moves without defeat under Meng Zhi, not to mention that this person's identity is still a guard, which makes people curious, and I don't know what kind of character this guard's master will be.
"Don't make a fuss," Xiao Jingrui said anxiously, "You don't know anything about martial arts, and you don't even know what it means to walk a hundred moves in the hands of Commander Meng, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"I don't understand," Princess Jingning explained reluctantly, "but Sister Nihuang understands, she was also at your house just now, and I was very surprised when I heard Cousin Bi talk about this, and said that the guard's master will Extraordinary, she must meet her."
As soon as this sentence was said, Xiao Jingrui immediately realized that he had made a mistake. He should have pulled Jing Ning out of here immediately, instead of blocking her on the spot. Now it's good, the more you say, the more you say. Although the tone of the last sentence is not high, there are many people who practice martial arts in the restaurant, and it is difficult to guarantee that no one will hear it. This time, there are expert guards in front, and the county owner commented later. It seems that after the name Su Zhe has passed through today, it is difficult not to be famous in the capital...
But since they were wrong, of course they couldn't be wrong again, so Xiao Jingrui dragged Jing Ning, and the four of them hurriedly left the restaurant under everyone's curious eyes, passed through the crowded streets, and hid in a relatively secluded alley.
"Why did you pull me out?" Princess Jingning was greatly displeased, "Even if you are my cousin, you have no right to control me, right?"
"His Royal Highness," Xiao Jingrui's tone sounded a little angry, "you and I belong to the monarch and minister, I can't control you. But since you left the palace and met me again, you can't pretend not to know each other, right? How can you publicize this in public? Do you know that this will cause trouble for Brother Su?"
"I didn't do it on purpose, I was surprised for a while." Princess Jingning snorted, "What's the big deal, this princess is taking care of that Su Zhe, he's just a commoner, can't this princess still protect him now? He's not angry, why are you angry?"
Mei Changsu smiled bitterly. He wasn't angry because he knew it was useless to be angry, and he just blamed why he didn't leave a moment earlier to avoid this impatient princess. Now being yelled at by her like this, according to the speed at which the gossip spreads in the capital, it seems that in a day or two at most, rumors about someone sending a guard to fight Mengzhi and then winning the favor of the county master will spread all over the place, attracting countless curiosity and attention. . But he can't care about this for now, because Princess Jingning's voice just fell, Xiao Jingrui's face sank, obviously angered by her contemptuous tone. But the other party is a princess after all, and her identity is there. If Xiao Jingrui is allowed to attack her, she will go back to the palace to file a complaint, and maybe tomorrow there will be rumors that "the docile and good-tempered Young Master Xiao has a fierce conflict with the princess in order to protect Su Zhe. ” and other rumors, plainly increase everyone’s interest in themselves. So Mei Changsu didn't wait for Xiao Jingrui to speak, he grabbed Xiao Jingrui's arm and said quickly, "Jing Rui, I'm tired, let's go back first."
Xiao Jingrui was stunned, but as long as he looked back at Mei Changsu's eyes, he immediately understood his intention, so he had to endure it, turned his body to Yan Yujin, and said, "Yujin, I will send Brother Su back to the manor, princess. I have to ask you to…”
Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized that Yan Yujin, who had been standing beside him silently, was not looking right. His face that used to be smiling all day was now tense, his mouth was pouting, and his eyes were staring at him with bulging eyes. He looked unhappy, but Xiao Jingrui thought about it and didn't understand where he had provoked this uncle, so he had to ask, "What's the matter with you?"
When he finally came to ask this question, Yan Yujin immediately angrily and loudly accused: "None of you tell me!"
"tell you what?"
"The matter of Fei Liu's fight with Commander Meng! I've been with you all day today, yet you didn't tell me!!"
"Uh, this..." Xiao Jingrui scratched his head a little sadly, "because the matter has passed, we had a good day, and we didn't expect to tell you..."
"You didn't take me to heart at all!" Yan Yujin still gritted his teeth and stomped his feet in pain, "Oh my God, Fei Liu fought against Meng Zhi! I didn't see such a big excitement, it's really... Bai Zai I've been in the capital for so long..."
"I said Yujin," Xiao Jingrui could only smile again, "Even if we told you today, you wouldn't be able to see it."
"That's why I'm talented," Yan Yujin said bitterly, "Meng Zhi's shot is already very rare, let alone with Fei Liu... Fei Liu..."
"Is that guard's name Fei Liu?" Princess Jingning asked curiously.
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Xiao Jingrui said angrily at her before she calmed down.
Princess Jingning ignored him and asked Mei Changsu directly, "Hey, what is that... Su Zhe, is your bodyguard still there? Call him out to this princess and see."
"His Royal Highness," Mei Changsu said indifferently, "Although Fei Liu and I are both masters and subordinates, we are brothers. His whereabouts are up to him, and I will not summon him at will. I'm afraid I will disappoint the princess."
"Oh?" Princess Jingning raised her eyebrows and sneered, "You have a big air, and his air is not small. Could it be that the princess called him into the palace, and he dared not come?"
Mei Changsu held down Xiao Jingrui, who was about to get angry again, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry about it, I have a way to persuade her to go back." After speaking, he raised his head and smiled slightly, and said warmly, "Could the princess take a step to speak?"
Hearing Mei Changsu's request, Princess Jingning was startled and asked, "What are you going to say? Can't you say it here?"
Mei Changsu smiled without saying a word, and walked to the side slowly. Xiao Jingning couldn't help but be curious for a while, but walked over.
"Princess golden branches and jade leaves, how noble is in the palace, how can outsiders see it? Even if the princess wants to be summoned, Fei Liu is willing to see it, I am afraid that this edict will not be passed on to the palace." Mei Changsu first He refuted her words, and then whispered, "The excuse of going to the altar of the ancestors to sacrifice to the gods to atone for sins can't be kept for a long time, and I advise the princess to take advantage of the matter and go back to Luan Jia earlier, so as not to be punished by the empress. "
Princess Jingning turned pale with fright, her lips trembling violently, and it took a long time to utter a sentence: "How do you know that the excuse I slipped out is to sacrifice to the gods at the altar of the ancestors?"
"Probably because the princess and I have heard the same story..." Mei Changsu rolled his eyes with anger, half a smile, "It's probably not the first time that the princess has worshipped the gods at the altar of heaven, and she doesn't want to be. The last time. Xiao Jingrui is a smart man, as long as I tell him that old story once, he will understand everything immediately, will the princess want me to tell him?"
Princess Jingning stared at his leisurely smile, and her heart suddenly felt a little nervous.
"I think the princess went to Mengbai Restaurant to meet someone, right?" Mei Changsu ignored her already pale complexion, and said calmly, "Suddenly speaking so loudly, maybe it was for the sake of Remind someone that Jing Rui and the others aren't harassing you, and tell that person not to rush out to rescue you, right? It would be better if we could get us to leave sooner and leave you alone at the same time. now…”
Princess Jingning took a deep breath and squeezed her fingers tightly, her face turning from white to blue.
About a year ago, Xiao Jingning met a very old palace servant in the palace. By chance, he heard the old palace servant tell a story about a previous princess. It is said that the princess fell in love with a bodyguard, but the emperor refused to marry. The guard dug a secret passage under the Tianzu altar outside the palace, leading to a secluded part of the city. The princess left the palace through the Forbidden City and walked to the foot of the Tianzu altar. She suddenly said that she had an unbearable headache. A roadblocker told her that she had rushed into the divine way of the gods and asked her to immediately set up a brocade barrier under the altar and burn incense and pray in it alone. an hour. The servants did not dare to neglect, and immediately erected a tight brocade barrier to surround the Tianzu altar in the middle. Xiao Jingning didn't take this story to heart at first, but when she was passing by the Tianzu altar one day, she had a whim and followed the same method. She didn't expect that there was actually a secret way under the altar, which allowed her to free herself for the first time. The guard of honor, that is, that time, she met a young bodyguard who helped her drive away the harasser. The two of them knew that their identities were very different, and they were hopeless to bond, but they couldn't control their affection for each other. In order to come out to see him, Xiao Jingning pretended to be seriously ill with the help of his confidant maid, saying that while he was sick, he dreamed that the god blocking the road came to sue, and every time he went out of the palace, he had to go to the Tianzu altar to set up obstacles and burn incense for two hours. Only then can she be forgiven for her sin of rushing to the road last time. The emperor and empress saw that their daughter's disease was strange, and the good was also strange. Of course, they would rather believe that it was there than that it was not. Since then, although as a princess, she has not had many chances to leave the palace, but with an excuse, she can stop the car and drive at the Tianzu altar every time, put up a brocade barrier, and disappear under the cover of the confidants. an hour. This time it was just as smooth. When she left the palace, she sent a confidant to inform her lover to wait for her at the old place. She left Ningguohou Mansion first, and slipped out through the secret way of Tianzu altar on the way. Lou, was hit by Xiao Jingrui. In her panic, she had to find ways to act to remind her, for fear that her lover in the private room would be discovered by them. I thought everything was going well, as long as I found a way to get Xiao Jingrui away and get rid of Yan Yujin, I would be able to go back and meet my lover again, but what I never expected was that the seemingly ordinary and gentle young man came here. She took out her trump card, but she couldn't figure out how he knew it.
"Has the princess thought it through?" Mei Changsu said softly, "I don't care about the princess' personal affairs, and I'm not in the mood to tell anyone. I just hope that the princess will go back early today, so as not to cause trouble."
Princess Jingning's heart skipped a beat, her teeth clenched her lower lip tightly, and a row of purple spots appeared. After pondering for a while, she asked softly, "Are you really saying nothing?"
Mei Changsu comforted: "The princess has a good reputation, how can I be humiliated? If it wasn't for the princess who repeatedly dragged me out to provoke Young Master Xiao today, I would not have said much. In the future, the princess should not know me when she sees me, and I will never do it. There will be actions against the princess in the slightest."
A cold light suddenly flashed in Princess Jingning's eyes, and she said coldly, "If you don't mention any conditions, this princess is a little bit unbelievable."
Mei Changsu raised his eyebrows lightly, as if he thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "If the princess doesn't believe me, then I'll make a condition. In the future, no matter what the occasion is, no matter what the princess hears, she must agree with me. Agree, is this condition achievable?"
"This is it?"
"This is it."
"Hmph," Princess Jingning said proudly, "how many occasions can you, a commoner, be with this princess? Isn't this condition a vain mention?"
"That's true," Mei Changsu didn't refute, "but it's up to me to raise any conditions, the princess just needs to say yes or no."
Princess Jingning pursed her lips tightly, and almost squeezed out a few words between her teeth: "Okay, I promise."
"Actually, the princess doesn't need to be so annoyed," Mei Changsu said with a slight sympathy in his eyes, "You are the arrogant daughter of heaven, but it is truly a pity that you can't make the decisions of your own life. The conditions I mentioned are nothing but falsehoods. Whether the princess abides by it or not, I will keep my promise, and I will never leak a word or hurt the life of that person. Just for the sake of the princess and that person, listen to my advice, don't meet again, the meeting will only add to the pain, What's the benefit?"
Jing Ning's eyelashes trembled, and he almost burst into tears when he said these few words. The status of the lover is too low, and there is no hope of staying together in this life. Even if he tries to cry and beg in front of his mother, I am afraid that he can only be killed for him in vain. This young man said every word, although despairing, it was an indisputable fact.
Yan Yujin and Xiao Jingrui watched from a distance. Although they couldn't hear what they were saying, they could see that Princess Jingning's expression changed and changed. , Shuangshuang came over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I told you a long time ago that I am a very reasonable person," Mei Changsu said with a smile, "I explained filial piety and etiquette to the princess just now, and I was moved by the princess like this..."
"You're talking nonsense again," Yan Yujin raised his eyes, "How could such a thing happen!"
"Forget it if you don't believe it." Mei Changsu leaned down, looked into Princess Jingning's eyes tenderly, and said softly, "Princess please think about what I said just now. Go back now, don't worry, Yu Neither Jin nor Jing Rui will come with you, so be careful on your way alone."
"What?" Xiao Jingrui said in surprise, "How can she walk alone?"
"Since the princess has promised to go back, she will definitely go back. You are with you, but it seems that you can't believe that you want to escort her. If I were the princess, I would not be happy to be treated like this. Can I just listen to Brother Su today, we are here Let's part ways with the princess at the alley ahead."
Princess Jingning had been worrying about how to get rid of Xiao Yan and the two of them and quietly returned to the exit of the secret passage. Otherwise, even if Mei Changsu didn't say anything, things would have to be revealed. Gratitude in my heart, I hurriedly said, "That's right, I will go back directly, you don't have to worry. Mr. Su, thank you for explaining filial piety to me just now. I will be more filial to my mother in the future, and I will never let her down in a willful way."
"Ah," Yan Yujin's face filled with disbelief, "are you really explaining filial piety?"
"Why are you so surprised?" Mei Changsu glanced at him sideways, "Since ancient times, the teachings of sages and sages are the most touching, and I will tell you about it another day. Okay, no need to say more now, everyone goes to their own place. All right."
Xiao Jingrui glanced at Princess Jingning and frowned. Mei Changsu knew that although he was dissatisfied with Princess Jingning's words and deeds today, he was still a little worried about her safety because of his affectionate nature, so he took his arm, leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll let Fei Liu follow her. "
After hearing this, Xiao Jingrui was relieved and no longer objected. According to Mei Changsu's suggestion, the four broke up at the entrance of the alley. The princess disappeared into the crowd first, Yan Yujin went back to his uncle's house, Xiao Jingrui then called a soft sedan and accompanied his brother Su back to Ningguo Hou House.
As soon as I arrived at the front door of the mansion, the sedan chair was dropped, and a servant saw it long ago, and turned over and went in to report. After a while, Xie Bi hurriedly came out, and as soon as they met, he said loudly, "Why did you guys come back? It's been a long time since someone wanted to see you!"