From Fuzhou along the mainstream of the Fenjiang River for more than ten days, to the shore of Lingxia, and then through the Huizhou land road for nearly ten days, you can see the Jinling City Wall. Along the way, Mei Changsu was basically divided by the two brothers. He was owned by Xiao Jingrui when he was on the boat, and instructed him in martial arts and battles. Almost no free time. When they saw the Jinghua Yanliu in front of them, the three people suddenly realized that the long journey had passed without knowing it, and it seemed so fleeting and short.
"It feels like time flies by so fast," Xiao Jingrui sighed in his heart and rushed out, "It would be great if Brother Su could live in Jinling for a long time."
"Stop dreaming," Xie Bi said with a flat mouth. "What is Brother Su's identity? It's just that you are ill and need to recuperate. Even if Brother Su is willing to live in Jinling, the people from the Jiang Zuo League will not let you go."
Xiao Jingrui said embarrassingly: "I just hope so, and I didn't force it."
The two brothers were bickering, but Mei Changsu was not listening. He raised his head and stared at the majestic and solid main entrance of Jinling City for a moment without a moment's gaze. There was no turbulence in his expressionless expression, only a black hair was blown up by the wind, and a few strands were scattered on his pale cheeks. , making the whole person reveal a profound vicissitudes and sadness.
"Brother Su..." Xiao Jingrui leaned over with concern, "what's the matter?"
"Jinling, the royal capital... I haven't been here for so many years, and I don't even feel the slightest change..." A smile formed on Mei Changsu's colorless lips, "I think that after entering the city gate, most of them are still crowned with the capital. It's a grand occasion..."
Xiao Jingrui was slightly stunned and asked, "Brother Su... has been to Jinling before?"
"Fifteen years ago, I was taught by Mr. Li Chong in Jinling. After he was demoted from Beijing, he never came back." Mei Changsu let out a long sigh, and closed his eyes, as if he was about to wipe his eyes. Flashy, "Thinking of the deceased teacher, I can't help but feel that the past is like smoke and dust, as if the clouds are scattered and the water dried up, how can there be a day to come again."
Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi couldn't help but look awe-inspiring when they mentioned Mr. Hongru Li from the previous generation. This great master of the world learned that when he was called to the court to teach the princes, he did not forget to set up an altar outside the palace walls. Those who were taught in front of his throne were rich, noble, and humble, and they had both, and there was no difference. However, for some unknown reason, Tianyan was angered, and Taifu's body was demoted to white clothes. He left Beijing in anger, and died in depression. This is the pain in the hearts of scholars all over the world. Mei Changsu's knowledge is unfathomable, the two brothers always thought that he must have a great origin, but they did not expect that they were taught by this old gentleman.
"Mr. Li, if you know from the spring, don't want to see Brother Su feeling sad for him and hurting your body," Xiao Jingrui persuaded in a low voice, "You are not in good health, and you came to Jinling to relax. Make us feel bad. Look at Fei Liu, how worried he is about you..."
Mei Changsu was silent for a while, then Fang slowly opened his eyes, first smiled at Fei Liu soothingly, then Fang slowly said: "Don't worry, since you came to the capital city, you must mourn the loss of loyalty of the deceased teacher. The sadness of leaving Beijing in anger, how can I indulge in sadness all the time? I have nothing to do, let's go to the city."
Xiao Jingrui carefully looked at his expression again, and then he felt a little relieved, restrained his horse's belly, and led the way first.
It was almost dusk, the day market was closed, the night market had not yet started, and the streets were a little quiet. When we arrived at the Marquis of Ningguo Mansion, it was just when people were busy holding lanterns.
"Oh, go in and report, the eldest son and the second son are back!" A sharp-eyed servant turned his head to see them, and immediately shouted loudly, and greeted him at the same time.
Xiao Jingrui threw off the stirrup and got off the horse. Seeing that Mei Changsu looked a little tired, he hurriedly came to the side of the horse to help him down, and instructed the servant, "Send someone to clean up the snow hut immediately, and replace it with a new one as soon as it is laid out."
Mei Changsu smiled lightly, and did not refuse politely. He followed him into the gate of the Hou's Mansion, and there was a shadow wall on the wall.
"Uncle Qin, Uncle Zhuo and the others are still there?" Xie Bi also came in and asked an old servant who greeted him from inside.
"Back to the second son's words, Zhuo Zhuangzhu and his wife went back to Ping Zuo ten days ago, and the young lady and Zhuo Uncle also left together."
"Where are your parents?"
"The Marquis is in the mansion, but the madam worships the Buddha today and will stay at the princess mansion. The third son returned to Songshan Academy to study, and he has been gone for several days."
Xiao Jingrui was really concerned about Yan Yujin, and when his younger brother finished greeting his parents and family, he immediately interjected and asked, "Do you know that Mr. Yan is back?"
"Master Yan returned to Beijing ten days ago."
"Is he safe? Did something happen?"
Uncle Qin blinked his eyes in confusion: "I didn't hear anything happened, the old slave saw him yesterday, and he was very spirited..."
Xiao Jingrui put his heart back into his stomach, but he didn't realize that he was already smiling, and said happily: "You send someone to Yanfu to inform him that we are back and ask him to come over tomorrow."
"Yes."
"Brother Su, shall we go to the hall to see father?"
Mei Changsu smiled and said, "If you enter the palace to disturb you, you should meet the master."
The two brothers, one on the left and one on the right, accompanied them into the second door with a smile, and the servants along the way knew that it was a very important guest when they saw the pose, but they looked pure and simple in the white shirt. , I can't guess where it came from, but the handsome and cold young man behind him should not be an ordinary person.
According to the usual practice of aristocratic families, unless it is to meet imperial decrees or people of higher rank, generally do not open the middle door and do not enter the main hall, so the two brothers directly led the guests to the east hall. Although there is still afterglow outside, the hall is already burning with bright candles. Mei Changsu motioned for Fei Liu to stop, and he took a half-step behind and followed the two brothers to the door. I saw under the warm yellow light, a person holding a scroll in his hand, stepping on the mirror-smooth water-milled marble floor, walking slowly, thoughtfully. Hearing the sound of someone coming in, he stopped, turned around, and the long beard under his chin was automatic without wind.
This is Xie Yu, the Marquis of Ningguo, who was highly relied upon by the emperor and was called the pillar of the court.
The handsome man who was once hailed as "Zhilan Yushu" is now over fifty years old, but his straight face and handsome facial features still retain the handsomeness of his youth, and his body shape is still well maintained. At this time, he was wearing a set of half-old home clothes, with no luxurious accessories except a jade belt around his waist, but he showed a grace that could not be ignored.
Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi bowed respectfully, and said in unison, "My son has seen his father."
"Get up," Xie Yu raised her hand, her eyes fell on Xiao Jingrui, and she took a closer look, her tone turned slightly stern, "You still know how to come back? Even the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion day has been forgotten, it seems that you are really serious to you on weekdays. Not disciplined enough…”
Just after teaching this sentence, Xie Yu suddenly found that there was a fourth person in the hall, and immediately stopped, "Oh, there are guests?"
"Yes." Xiao Jingrui bowed and said, "This brother Su Zhesu is Ba'er's friend and has always taken care of him. This time, Ba'erli invited him to Jinling to recuperate."
Mei Changsu stepped forward, obedient to the younger generation's salute, but his bearing was very calm: "Caomin has seen Hou Ye."
"Mr. Su is very polite, the visitor is a guest, not to mention the dog's friend, so you don't need to be so humble." Xie Yu raised her hand and returned a half-salutation, seeing that although the young man was sick and thin, he had a handsome face and elegant temperament. That is, he was recommended by his son, and he was not an ordinary person, so he couldn't help but take a second glance, "Mr. Su is a good person, since the guest of honor resides in our mansion, he is like his own home, and there is no need to be restrained."
Mei Changsu bowed and smiled, without being polite, and took a step back slowly.
Because of the presence of outsiders, Xie Yu was inconvenient to reprimand Xiao Jingrui more, not to mention that he didn't want to blame him at all, so he just glanced at him and slowed down his tone: "The guests are tired from afar, you can arrange a rest first with your company. No snooze is allowed tomorrow, go to the princess mansion to welcome your mother back, and I will come back here after I go to court, and I have something to tell you."
"Yes." The two brothers bowed together and withdrew together with Mei Changsu. They didn't relax until they were outside the courtyard gate.
Xiao Jingrui knew that since his father didn't scold him today, he wouldn't scold him again in the future. He felt that it was Mei Changsu's credit and was very happy. He turned his head and instructed Xie Bi, "Second brother, go to sleep first, and I will accompany Brother Su to Xuelu. "
"Why should you accompany me? I want to accompany you too! Everyone is obviously friends. Do you think that you are the only one who can accompany you when you have known Brother Su for a few days?"
"I didn't say that I was the only one who could accompany you," Xiao Jingrui couldn't help arguing even though he knew that his younger brother was joking, "I think you are the head of the manor, and you can take care of me, so I say I'm with you... "
Mei Changsu shook his head and laughed, and came over to relieve the siege: "Where is Xuelu? Whoever you are, just take me there quickly, I'm really tired."
Xiao Jingrui finally came to his senses, smiled embarrassedly, and now leads the way. Xie Bi stopped joking when he saw this, and the two accompanied Mei Changsu to Xuelu together.
Because they had been instructed earlier, the people of Xie's house had already cleaned the courtyard of Xuelu, replaced it with brand-new furnishings, and prepared hot tea and hot water.
Because dinner was too early, the three of them had jujube porridge for supper together in Xuelu. Fei Liu didn't like eating porridge, so Xie Bi ordered someone to make him another pasta. Everyone was eating and chatting, and there was a sudden sound of people outside the hospital. Someone laughed loudly and said as they walked: "You guys are walking so slowly, I'm getting hairy waiting for me!"
Xiao Jingrui was overjoyed, jumped up and grabbed the visitor, "Yujin."
"Brother Su seems to have lost some weight," Yan Yujin scrutinized the light and turned to stare at Xiao Jingrui, "You must have arranged the schedule too quickly! Did you forget that Brother Su is in bad health? Aren't you a very considerate person before?"
Xiao Jingrui smiled weakly at Mei Changsu: "Brother Su, do you now know how I have always been bullied by the two of them?"
"Well," Mei Changsu nodded seriously, "I know now."
"Yujin, didn't I tell you to come back tomorrow? What are you doing in such a hurry so late?" Xie Bi asked from the side with a cold expression.
"Don't worry, the matter of Mrs. Hu and Mrs. Hu is very stable now. The emperor secretly sent a special envoy to Binzhou. The case will not be tried until the conclusion of the investigation. There has not been any turmoil yet, so don't rush to avoid suspicion." Yan Yujin Hao He didn't care, he still said cheerfully, "I just wanted to see Jing Rui and Brother Su so late, I didn't come to see you, and I came to bite me if I wasn't convinced..."
"Bah!" Xie Bi spat, "who can bite your skin so thick?"
"Okay, okay, I'm not kidding anymore, I'll be serious with you guys," Yan Yujin dragged a stool and sat down at the table, grabbed a cup of tea and drank it, "You probably don't know if you've come back. How timely?"
"In time?" Xiao Jingrui blinked in confusion, "Have we caught up?"
"Haha," Yan Yujin patted his friend's shoulder vigorously, "You guys caught up with a big buzz!"
Hearing what he said, Mei Changsu was fine, but Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi opened their eyes together, showing a curious expression. Because the two of them know Yan Yujin very well, and know that this uncle is the most popular person in the whole capital to watch the fun. Wherever there is fun, there will be his shadow. The "big" lively in his mouth will definitely not be too small.
"Don't be tempted, let's talk, what's the fun to watch? Does the court want to add Enke to order Wu Kui?" Xie Bi urged.
"It's more lively than that," Yan Yujin waved his hand, "Do you still remember, who we saw outside the small county where we met Brother Su for the first time?"
"I see..." Xiao Jingrui thought for a while, "Ah, that Da Yu mission!" Having said this, he naturally thought of the stolen credentials, and he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Mei Changsu. There were a lot of chores along the way, and I forgot to find a chance to ask the suzerain of the Jiangzuo League what he wanted to do when he stole his credentials...
"That's right! The purpose of the envoys sent by Da Yu is similar to what we guessed at the time. It really is to seek marriage and marriage!"
"So that's what happened..." Xie Bi was a little disappointed, "The emperor will definitely check these messengers as usual. Although it's interesting, it doesn't seem to be very lively."
"Don't worry," Yan Yujin gave him a sidelong glance, "There are not only the emperor, but also the envoy of Da Yu, and a third party you can't even think of! Guess who?"
Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi just started to think, but Mei Changsu already said, "Did the embassy from Beiyan also arrive in Jinling?"
Yan Yujin felt a little frustrated, but quickly regained his spirits: "Brother Su guessed right, the scale of Beiyan's embassy is not small. He didn't want to make a decision at all, so he issued an imperial decree, and three days later, there will be a fair competition outside the Suzaku gate!"
"It's interesting," Xiao Jingrui raised his eyebrows, "there is at least one golden eagle Chai Ming in the Great Yu mission. Although Beiyan doesn't know if Tuoba Hao is here, it won't be any worse. The competition between the two sides is indeed worth watching.”
"Where it's just a competition between two sides, it's three sides!" Yan Yujin smiled smugly.
"Ah?" the two brothers asked in unison, "Which other mission is there?"
Yan Yujin was about to sell off his son, but Mei Changsu laughed again: "I guess there is of course the host. A slender lady, a good gentleman, shouldn't we, the warriors of the Liang Liang, be allowed to fight for this opportunity?"
Facing the inquiring eyes of Xiao Xie and the two, Yan Yujin had no choice but to affirm: "Brother Su guessed right, it is these three parties."
Xie Bi was very surprised and said: "It's really strange that the emperor has such a decree. If he doesn't agree to the marriage, he will refuse. If he agrees to the marriage, why would he bring in the natives for a test?"
"You don't understand now?" Yan Yujin became happy again, "I told you just now that this is a kiss, not a kiss! You think it's the same as before, if the emperor agrees, it will be in the princess princess Pick someone of the right age to marry, and the other party doesn't care who it is, anyway, she is married as a noble daughter of the Daliang clan?"
"Listen to what you mean, Da Yu and Bei Yan are here this time, are there any specific candidates for marriage?"
"That's right." Yan Yujin said with a mysterious expression, "A specific candidate, someone they would be willing to marry if they've got a lot of money... Do you want to guess who it is..."
Before he finished speaking, Mei Changsu plucked the hair hanging from his shoulders: "I guess it's Princess Nihuang."
Xiao Jingrui and Xie Bi jumped up together and lost their voice: "What?!"
In terms of Yujin, he stared at Mei Changsu resentfully, and said bitterly, "Brother Su, although you are admirable for your intelligence, this kind of fault of guessing everything is really bad, it makes people feel very It's boring, it's very unfulfilling!"
"I'm sorry, I'll reflect, it won't be like this in the future." Mei Changsu smiled, "You continue."
"What are you going to continue, what should be said is almost done..." A big man complained, puffing out his cheeks, and he looked a little cute.
"That's almost it?" Xie Bi said loudly, "What kind of nonsense is Da Yu and Beiyan asking for? The emperor should have rejected it at the beginning, so what is the public competition?! The ministers did not remonstrate How could Princess Nihuang get married?"
A faint smile appeared on Mei Changsu's lips.
Yes, how could Princess Nihuang get married? She is not an ordinary noble girl who grew up in a secluded palace in a deep palace, but a genius commander in charge of the 100,000 frontier cavalry in the southern border as a girl. Ten years ago, the strong enemy of Chu State to the south of Daliang was reviving the army, and Mushen, the king of Yunnan who was in charge of the southern defense line, died in battle, and his daughter Nihuang was ordered in danger. After this battle, the imperial court issued a decree, ordering Nihuang County Lord to guard the south on behalf of his younger brother, and the entire army in the southern border belonged to him. The county owner also pointed to the heaven and swore that if the younger brother could not bear the heavy responsibility of the king of Yunnan for one day, she would not marry for one day. She is now twenty-seven years old and still single.