Nirvana In Fire

Chapter 13: Princess Nihuang

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"Several young masters, can you have a good time today?" Facing the almost undisguised surprise of everyone in the shed, the visitor didn't care at all, he bowed slightly with a smile, flicked the brush in his hand, and cupped his hands. salute.

"Ah, I don't dare to be so, Eunuch Gao, please take a seat." Xie Bi was the first to react and stepped forward to support him.

"You don't need to sit down." Although he is an old confidant who has served in front of the emperor's car for more than 30 years, and has long been promoted to the chief eunuch of the sixth palace, Gao Zhan has always been unassuming in his dealings with others. A child who was a few rounds younger, he was still not rude, with a smile on his face, "Come with us, the Empress Dowager wants to see you."

"Empress Dowager?" Xie Bi was taken aback. "Her old man is here too?" "No. The Empress Dowager saw you children having fun in Yingfeng Tower, and asked you to go up."

"All of us?"

"Yes, this gentleman, and this little brother, all go up."

Xie Bi turned around and everyone looked at each other for a while. The Great Empress Dowager is the emperor's grandmother. She is now ninety years old. She has never asked about political affairs, so she is relieved and has a long life. The Empress Dowager has passed away for many years, and she is still alive and well. She likes to see a group of juniors around her the most, so it's not uncommon to send someone to summon her, but I didn't expect her to be able to see who is sitting below her with her old eyes.

However, in a daze, the emperor did not dare not to go when the empress dowager summoned him. The group had to tidy up their clothes, and as Gao Zhan got out of the Jin Peng, they entered the Yingfeng Building from the side ladder.

The Empress Dowager is not in the main building, but is driving and sitting in a warm pavilion sheltered from the wind. As soon as he entered the pavilion door, he saw an old lady with white hair leaning on a soft couch, with a wrinkled face and a kind face. In addition to the group of palace maids Cai'e and the internal supervisor's attendants, there were also four people sitting beside them.

Mei Changsu's eyes turned slightly, and he had already confirmed the identities of these four people.

The first one wore a phoenix crown and a yellow robe, and the person with a graceful bearing should be Empress Zhenggongyan. There are wrinkles around the corners of her eyes and lips, and she only vaguely retains the beauty of her youth. On the right hand side of the queen is a woman in a palace dress with a high bun and beauty. She is also over forty years old, but she has been better maintained and her skin is still quite shiny. This is the birth mother of the prince. The beautiful middle-aged woman sitting on the left hand side of the queen was more dignified, and her beautiful eyebrows were familiar, so she was naturally Princess Liyang. The last one is a young woman. She has simple clothes and light makeup. Although her face is not perfect, she is full of vigor and spirit. There is no one in the room who can suppress her momentum. Princess Huang, who is so handsome

"Are you here?" The Empress Dowager sat up tremblingly and smiled, "Quick, call me here and tell me which children they are?"

Yan Yujin couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, and was glared by Queen Yan.

Because of her advanced age, the Empress Dowager has become a little confused in recent years. Although she likes to be close to young people, she can't remember who is who.

Gao Zhan led the crowd forward, and Mei Changsu Xunxu coaxed Fei Liu in a low voice, "Will you let the grandma pull your hand later? Give the grandma a good laugh, will you?"

Fei Liu's face was cold, showing a reluctant expression.

"You listen to me, I will sing to you at night."

Fei Liu's eyes suddenly lit up.

At this time, the Empress Dowager took the hand of Xiao Jingrui who was closest to her, and Gao Zhan hurriedly introduced from the side: "This is Xiao Jingrui, the eldest son of the Hou of Ningguo."

"Xiao Rui, are you married yet?" the old man asked kindly.

"not yet… "

"Oh, hurry up!"

"Yes… "

After touching Xiao Jingrui's head, she turned around and took Xie Bi's hand.

"This is Xie Bi, the second son of the Duke of Ningguo."

"Little Bi, are you married yet?"

"No… "

"Hurry up!"

"Yes… "

Next, the Empress Dowager beckoned to Fei Liu again, Mei Changsu hurriedly pushed him over, the young man had a cold face, and forced the old Empress to hold his hand.

"This little brother is called Fei Liu..." Gao Zhan quickly asked Xie Bi and then introduced.

"Xiao Fei, are you married yet?"

"No!"

"Hurry up!"

"No..." Before Fei Liu could say "don't", Mei Changsu hurried over to cover his mouth. The Empress Dowager's attention naturally shifted to him immediately, took his hand and looked at it with a smile.

"This is Mr. Su Zhesu." Gao Zhan said.

"Xiaoshu," the Empress Dowager asked the same question inarticulately, "Are you married?"

"No."

"Hurry up!"

"… "

It was Yan Yujin who was finally pulled over. After Gao Zhan's introduction, the Empress Dowager still asked, "Xiaojin, are you married yet?"

Yan Yujin blinked and said mischievously, "We're already married."

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment and seemed to be reacting, but then she asked a new question: "Have you given birth to a child?"

Yan Yujin was stunned and muttered, "Not yet..."

"Hurry up!"

"… "

Empress Yan stepped forward and said respectfully, "Grandmother, will the children sit with you for a while?"

"Okay, okay," the Empress Dowager was very happy, beckoned and arranged, "Sit down here, Xiao Rui and Xiaobi are here, Xiaojin don't stand, Xiaofei is too far away, and Xiaoshu, all sit down Next to grandma…”

Sitting around by the young people, the old man's expression was relieved, and he ordered people to keep bringing trays of delicate fruit to eat, just like the children, and gave them to eat. He watched and smiled extremely happily.

However, although she was in a happy mood, the Empress Dowager was already old, and she soon became fatigued. Empress Yan was afraid of making a mistake, and together with Princess Liyang, she persuaded and deceived, and finally coaxed her to agree to return to the palace to rest, and a few people were considered to be released.

Mei Changsu thought that this unusual summoning should end smoothly, he relaxed a little, and walked out of the warm pavilion with everyone. Unexpectedly, just as he reached the entrance of the stairs, he heard a clear and pleasant female voice calling from behind: "Mr. Su, please stay."

Although she only called "Mr. Su" to stop, it is conceivable that everyone stopped and turned around together.

Princess Nihuang came over gracefully, with a graceful demeanor and a strong-handed demeanor. It's too stuffy and not suitable for someone like me in the military. If Mr. Su doesn't mind, would you like to accompany me to the corridor to see how the competition below is going?"

Not to mention that this is the well-known Nihuang County Lord, even if it is just an ordinary woman, there is no reason to refuse, so Mei Changsu took the order with a smile, and after giving orders to Xiang Fei softly, he walked slowly with the County Lord. Go to the corridor outside the pavilion room.

Fei Liu's face was cold, and he stood still, his eyes looking straight into the distance like a solid body, and his whole person seemed to have turned into a sculpture. But the other three nobles couldn't pretend to be sculptures like him, and they all stopped at the entrance of the stairs and were in a dilemma. Let's go, don't worry about Mei Changsu, don't go, this place isn't something you can stay if you want to stay, just now you can't make up your mind, Eunuch Gao has already moved over and said with a smile on his face: "How many guests have the county master stayed? What is there to worry about, Master? Please take a seat in Jinpeng downstairs, staying here is too restrictive for everyone."

Although the words are euphemistic, the meaning is very clear. The three of them had no choice but to go downstairs like this. But what surprised them was that although Gao Zhan had been living in the deep palace, he seemed to know Fei Liu's identity very well. He chased away the three high-ranking nobles, but he didn't care about this gloomy young man. He stood like a nail at the entrance of the corridor.

But what Xiao Jingrui and the others didn't know was that although Mei Changsu was still calm and peaceful on the outside, in his heart he wasn't sure about the true intention of the county lord to keep the guests, but the sect lord was deeper in the palace, and he didn't reveal it. The county lord stood side by side upstairs, as if he was enjoying the scenery with ease.

"Mr. Su," Nihuang County Lord's phoenix eyes flashed, and he focused on Mei Changsu's side, and asked, "Yesterday I was waiting at the Ningguo Mansion for a long time, and I heard that you were unwell, but I didn't have the chance to see it. Look at today's The situation seems to have recovered?"

"Yes, I've recovered." Mei Changsu replied nonchalantly, without being pointed out by others that you should be embarrassed when making excuses.

"Originally, I wanted to see how Jiang Zuomeilang responded to the concubine of the Empress. It's a pity." Princess Nihuang looked at him and seemed to be more interested, "Do you know how your troubles came about? ?"

"Trouble?" Mei Changsu brushed a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the wind, "Am I in trouble?"

"I'm sure that after the gentleman returns to the Jin Peng of Ningguo Hou's mansion, His Royal Highnesses and His Royal Highnesses will come to visit immediately. Do you believe it?"

"How dare you not believe what the county master said?"

"Don't you think it's strange?" Princess Nihuang's eyes were like swords, and his tone was arrogant, "Although you are in charge of the world's largest gang, Mei Lang's talent and talent are famous all over the world, but after all, he is only a commoner, and he is very arrogant to the DPRK. In fact, the dispute is not very helpful, but why are the Crown Prince and Prince Yu so interested in you?"

"To be honest," Mei Changsu said with a wry smile, "I've always been very strange. I think I'm just ordinary, but being supported by a bunch of brothers is a little bit of a bad name. Being able to live in the rivers and lakes, I have never had anything. How can the merits of Anbang and Dingguo make the princes favor? The county master has such insight, please tell the two highnesses, Mei Changsu is really useless."

Princess Nihuang laughed loudly, and gave Mei Changsu a deep look, and followed him to look farther, looking at Jinling City in the mist, and after a while, he slowly said: "Your trouble... comes from Langya. Court…”

Mei Changsu raised his eyebrows, and then turned to look directly at the county master with a moving expression, "Langya Pavilion? What does the county master mean by this?"

"His Royal Highness has paid a lot of money to the Langya Pavilion, asking for a recommendation for a talented person in the world." Princess Nihuang looked at him with sympathy, "Unfortunately, you were recommended."

"I'm not in the position, I don't want to be in the government." Mei Changsu said coldly, "'Governing the world' is still the matter of His Majesty the emperor. What are the other people's concerns in advance? Shiliangcai, I will only be used after the new emperor ascends the throne, right?"

"Do you really think people are looking for good people who can rule the world? In fact, what exactly did he ask at that time, there is no need to go into it now, but Langya Pavilion's answer is memorable." Princess Nihuang said slowly, "According to me As far as I know, the answer is like this, 'Jiang Zuo Meilang, the talent of the unicorn, can win the world'."

"A unicorn?" Mei Changsu said with a smirk, "The county lord sees my appearance, does he have any connection with that guy with four dislikes?"

"You can still laugh?" Princess Nihuang's expression was very admirable, "If it's just that the princes recruit talents for their own mansion, and you can't do it, they won't have any obsessions. But with With the comment of 'unicorn talent', you will be in big trouble. Before they get you, both of them will persevere, but once someone gets you, the other party who doesn't succeed will definitely try their best to kill you. . Don't you feel anything else about this situation?"

"Of course," Mei Changsu said seriously, "I feel that Pavilion Master Langya must have a grudge against me."

Princess Nihuang couldn't help showing a smile, half turned around and leaned on the railing, his eyes flickered: "After meeting with Mr., I think Pavilion Master Langya may be right again this time..."

"Please, the county lord," Mei Changsu hurriedly bowed his hands and said, "I have no grudges with the county lord. I have already been on the grill, why does the county lord come to add a fire?"

"This fire has already been burned, I advise you to choose one soon."

"Will be chased by another soon?"

"In this way, there will be at least one person who will try to protect you. It's better than letting the two of them die and chase you together." Princess Nihuang's tone suddenly turned cold, "Who would you choose? The prince is still the reputation. king?"

An extremely arrogant expression flashed across Mei Changsu's brows, but the sharpness was fleeting, and he was still that slack, sickly young man. "Good ministers choose their masters. You came to Jinling, didn't you want to accomplish something?"

"The disabled and sick body, what about merit? It's just that I want to take a break for a while."

"Come to the capital for a rest?" Princess Nihuang looked into the distance, but mocked in his mouth, "Jiang Zuomeilang is different, he really knows how to choose places."

Mei Changsu ignored her sarcasm and said lightly, "Why is the county master unexpectedly concerned about the direction of the court?"

Princess Nihuang turned his head suddenly, his eyes were full of brilliance, and he shot at Mei Changsu extremely fiercely.

But Mei Changsu looked at him calmly, with a smile on his lips from beginning to end.

After a long while, Nihuang County Master finally retracted the anger that he had deliberately exuded, and snorted coldly, saying: "My Mu family has been guarding Yunnan for generations, and it can be said that it is interdependent with the court. The direction of the court will affect our town. Great, why not care?"

"I just think," Mei Changsu bowed and bowed, "In fact, the change of thrones in the past dynasties has nothing to do with Yunnan. No matter who holds the throne of the emperor in the future, no one dares to move the Mu Clan who guards the southern domain for Daliang. Why should the county master be so interested in the battle for succession?"

For this question, the Nihuang County Master did not answer at all. Instead, he looked up to the sky with a long smile, and his dazzling bearing, although it appeared in the body of a woman, was full of the pride and domineering of one of the princes, which was heartbreaking. , you can imagine how shocking it was when she launched her offensive like a raging flame on the battlefield. If the young king of the small county, who has recently become an adult, has half of his sister's style and momentum, it will be enough to make the Yunnan palace the most difficult to shake.

Mei Changsu's eyebrows moved, and he already understood what the female commander-in-chief of the Southern Region meant.

It is true that Yunnan Mu Mansion is loyal to the imperial court, but the imperial court must be able to control it. The hero of Nihuang County's daughter and middle-aged hero, how could a casual master make her bow her head? What kind of person is the future emperor, and how did she win the throne? How could she not come and see for herself

"Mr. Su," Nihuang County Lord smiled and looked back with a smile, and he has changed his name, "Would you like to do this County Lord a favor?"

Mei Changsu hurriedly said, "If the county master commands you, you should do your best."

"Your Majesty has a purpose. Only the top ten candidates in the martial arts test are eligible to participate in the literary test. I would like to ask Mr. Su to be the examiner for the literary test and help this county master arrange the seats of these suitors."

Mei Changsu was quite surprised by this request, and his first reaction was to decline: "The text test was originally ordered by His Majesty, how can there be any reason to say more?"

"Who doesn't know Mr. Su's talent name? Your Majesty will not object." Princess Nihuang's eyes were faint, and she was a little soft, "Since you have persuaded me that women will marry sooner or later, it is not necessary to choose carefully. It's wrong."

Mei Changsu pondered for a while, and asked, "Is the seat of this literary test used to confirm the order in which the county master will compete with him?"

"Yes, the winner of the literary test will have a chance to compete with me first. If he wins, the next nine will have no chance."

"What if this person loses?"

"The next one will make up for it in turn. If ten people can't win against me, then I won't be able to marry this time." Princess Nihuang sneered, as if she had already seen the ending she said, "Sir can agree. Is it?"

Mei Changsu knew the current situation, no matter how low-key he was, it wouldn't help, and he was not afraid of the limelight. He nodded slowly, stared at the sword, light, sword and shadow that had never stopped on the platform in front of the building, and sighed: "If there really is a county in this place. The Lord's destined person will be fine..."

Princess Nihuang took a step closer, stood side by side with him, looked at the battle below indifferently, and asked softly, as if muttering to himself, "Why didn't Mr. Su participate?"

"Me?" Mei Changsu laughed, "I'm afraid that with a body like this, I'll be knocked out in the first round. I still want to be a unicorn at that time, it's fine if I don't become a meatloaf..."

Hearing his description, Princess Nihuang couldn't help laughing, "Mr. Su is really funny. I don't know what kind of disease Mr.

"It's just a chronic illness, it won't affect my life for the time being." Mei Changsu replied smoothly, still casually looking at the crowd below, not knowing what he saw, suddenly his eyelashes trembled slightly and his eyes swayed slightly. Although this throbbing was like a light feather dripping water, and there was no trace in the blink of an eye, but Nihuang County Master was like a person, he immediately noticed it, and hurriedly followed his line of sight, but after looking for a long time, he could not tell who he was. what did you see.

"Yingfenglou is not a place for me to stay for a long time. If the county master has no other orders, I'd better go to the Jinpen below." Mei Changsu said warmly, "Besides, Qilin always doesn't go back. Are you in a hurry?"

"That's right, see you early and good morning." Princess Nihuang also nodded and smiled, "Then don't delay, sir, please."

Mei Changsu bowed his hands and gave him a resignation ceremony, while the female marshal of the Southern Region, who had always been indifferent to the princes and princes, actually folded her clothes and bowed, returning a half salute to him. After the two broke up, one returned to the warm pavilion, the other went down the stairs, and Fei Liu naturally followed behind.

From the exit on the side of Yingfeng Tower to the entrance of Jinpeng District, it is connected by a long corridor. The guards are all guarding outside the wall, and the whole road is very quiet. As Mei Changsu walked slowly, he lowered his head to think, until Fei Liu made an "ah" from behind, then he raised his head and saw the burly figure coming towards him.

As the commander of the Imperial Army, Meng Zhi is responsible for the safety of the palace city. The emperor is here, and he has a heavy responsibility. He needs to patrol around and be extra careful. However, Mei Changsu was ordered by the Empress Dowager to enter Yingfeng Tower. Of course, he was in control of the overall situation and could not have known it, so he did not go forward to check, but greeted him with a smile.

Mei Changsu also smiled slightly and nodded as a salute. The two of them each had their own business, as if they met by chance, neither of them wanted to stop for a word or two.

However, at the moment when they passed each other, Mei Changsu's lips suddenly moved a few times, and he spat out a very soft, but extremely severe tone: "Tell them both to go back to me! "