Shen Wen said that after the new year, he would start drawing pictures of weapons. After the Lantern Festival, Zhang Yunzheng took Zhang Yunming to the courtyard every night to have a look, but it was not until the night of the 21st of the first lunar month that Shen Wen came to the courtyard again.
When they arrived, the lights had already been turned on in the house, and now Shen Wen came and went frequently, and he almost regarded this place as his own.
Since talking with Su Wanniang, Shen Wen has figured out many things. She used to be so focused on planning that she completely ignored life itself. Now I suddenly feel that she came back not only for revenge, but if she put all her body and mind on revenge for the prince, it would be a waste of a good life. She should also live a good life: treat her relatives well, give up the narrowness of the previous life, be grateful for everything that life gives, and try to taste the colorful life.
She came here first this time, picked up a flint by the lampstand and lit the lamp. She remembered that Zhang Yunzheng had said that the gatekeepers here were an old couple who would never come to the back, so she was very free.
There was no one in the house for nearly a month, and there was no dust on the furniture, but Shen Wen was bored, so she picked up the duster next to the eight-treasure stand and dusted it casually, which was the first time she did housework in her life.
Maybe it’s because the selected furniture is of high-quality wood. There is a faint fragrance in this room. Shen Wen and Zhang Yunzheng made a model of the Lost City here. The two hadn't seen each other during the Chinese New Year. Shen Wen heard a sound in the yard, guessing it was probably Zhang Yunzheng and the others, and was very happy for a while.
Zhang Yunzheng pushed the door, it was bolted, he patted on the door, Shen Wen asked in a tired voice, "Who is it?"
Zhang Yunzheng said viciously: "Who else?!"
Shen Wen came over and opened the door, and smiled sweetly at the two of them: "You guys are here..."
Hearing Shen Wen's tone, both Zhang Yunming and Zhang Yunzheng shivered, Zhang Yunzheng said angrily, "Can't you speak well?!"
... Well, this person has a bad temper... but who is he? How can change him? His parents named him "Yunzheng", which sounds like "disputes are allowed", so why can't I tolerate him? Don't criticize him anymore, just accept it... Shen Wen dragged his voice with a smile and said: "That's how I talk..." Seeing Zhang Yunzheng stare at her fiercely. That gaze pierced straight into her smile like a sharp sharp sword, making her suddenly feel ashamed. Shen Wen was taken aback for a moment, the smile on her face disappeared, and she instantly understood Zhang Yunzheng's meaning: He doesn't need her tolerance at all! He doesn't need her perfunctory!
As soon as Shen Wen raised his chest, he immediately widened his small eyes, looked back, and said loudly: "... What's wrong?!" As soon as these words came out, Shen Wen suddenly felt relieved! Zhang Yunzheng is the only person in this world who does not need her hypocrisy. In front of him, she can be unscrupulous, and she can express her dissatisfaction and protest 100%, because this is exactly what he wants to be true.
Zhang Yunming laughed: "You've changed your face again!" But Zhang Yunzheng seemed very satisfied, snorted with his nose up, and didn't even look at Shen Wendi and Zhang Yunming entered the room. Shen Wen confirmed his judgment just now: this guy is arrogant and confident, demanding the most essential feedback domineeringly, and he does not accept any falsehood.
Shen Wen smiled, and suddenly felt that Zhang Yunzheng was a very nice person, and she used to bother him probably because she always wanted him to obey her subconsciously. Once you give up your inner pursuit, the world suddenly becomes vast. Even if Zhang Yunzheng is a passer-by to her, he is a unique person, and there will never be another Zhang Yunzheng in the world. He can allow others to be his true self, and use his own unscrupulousness to inspire others to be unrestrained. No wonder Zhang Yunming said that his brother is kind-hearted or something...
As if she was meeting Zhang Yunzheng for the first time, she blinked and looked at Zhang Yunzheng. Zhang Yunzheng's sharp eyebrows are handsome, his brows are slightly frowned, but the corners of his lips seem to be slightly raised, his eyes are serious and persistent, and his whole body exudes the pure masculinity of a young man... Shen Wen sighed, if it weren't for her thousands of years of knowledge, Zhang Yunzheng would be far better than her Smart and sharp, serious and capable...
Seeing Shen Wen's gaze on Zhang Yunzheng, Zhang Yunming pointed to the duster in Shen Wen's hand and said, "Wow, Second Miss Shen can actually dust dust."
Shen Wen waved the duster at him: "I can still beat people's hands! Mr. Zhang, do you want to give it a try?"
Hearing the two of them chatting and laughing, Zhang Yunzheng frowned and sat down on the chair, and immediately told the fourth prince in advance: "In Guanyi Pavilion, the fourth prince said that Su Wanniang's beautiful voice will probably spread to the palace."
Zhang Yunming said: "Oh, I also heard these days that on the night of the Lantern Festival, a woman in Beihou's Mansion was so beautiful that everyone chased her around to watch."
Shen Wen put down the duster, clapped his hands, and said: "Sister Wanniang only said that there were many people watching them in the street when she came back, so they came back quickly. She is so humble." Su Wanniang also regretted wearing new clothes for a long time. The face, probably because I didn't see the fourth prince, let others see it. These days Su Wanniang's hair covered most of her face again.
Zhang Yunming asked: "You won't let her enter the palace, will you?"
Shen Wen glanced at him: "Does this still need to be said? Of course not."
Zhang Yunzheng looked proud: "I knew it! Then what do you do?"
Shen Wen waved: "It's very simple. Let the prince help stop it."
Both Zhang Yunming and Zhang Yunzheng were stunned, Zhang Yunming asked: "How to stop it?"
Shen Wen said with a smile: "Did I not say it? To deal with the prince, just say a few words. He is afraid of too many things and will be very obedient."
Zhang Yunming frowned and said, "That's an insidious villain, not a coward."
Shen Wen said: "Many people become sinister and vicious just because they are timid."
Zhang Yunming thought for a while, smiled, nodded and said, "Don't say it, it's really the case. It's because of cowardice that he takes every possible precaution to protect himself, lest he get hurt."
Shen Wen said: "Actually, it is useless to be afraid. The more you are afraid, the more often you will come."
Zhang Yunming became unhappy: "It's not yet the first month, can you not say such unlucky words?"
Shen Wen asked in a low voice: "Master Zhang who is superstitious, are you afraid of Beirong in the future?"
Zhang Yunzheng chuckled and said, "That's not necessarily the case, he's probably afraid of marrying the Fourth Princess."
Zhang Yunming frowned at Zhang Yunzheng: "You want to fight again?!"
Shen Wen laughed, pointed at Zhang Yunming and said, "You are indeed afraid of marrying the fourth princess!"
Zhang Yunming sighed helplessly: "A good man doesn't fight with a woman. I'm not afraid of fighting with real swords and guns on the battlefield. But when dealing with a woman, there is a villain like the prince behind me. I really don't know it."
Zhang Yunzheng was a little surprised: "There are times when you, a big liar, don't know what to do?"
Zhang Yunming was a little depressed: "You don't understand, there are so many ways for girls to play tricks! For example, when they walked towards you, suddenly their skirt was torn off, and her people were all around, saying that you were touching her Or, you are near the water, and she fell into the water with a "plop", even if you did not say that you pushed her, she also fell into the water in front of you. Do you save it or not? If you don't save it, it is a crime to treat the princess without saving her life. Mo Dayan. Help, huh, she is your wife. Another example, you were stuffed with something, or not stuffed at all, and you were walking, and this thing fell beside you. This thing is the princess’s private You can’t argue with anything! For example, when you are walking, she rushes over from behind and throws you to the ground or beside you... "
Zhang Yunzheng looked at Zhang Yunming with disgust: "How do you know this?"
Zhang Yunming rolled his eyes: "Do you understand if you want to know yourself and the enemy? Besides, this is not a simple matter for a woman to marry, it means to be in charge of my Pingyuanhou's mansion. If I make a wrong step, our family will lose its reputation."
Shen Wen said with a smile: "Everything remains the same. There are only a few types of conspiracies in the world. There are not many tricks for women to marry men."
Zhang Yunming said with some uncertainty, "Tell me, what types are there?"
Shen Wen wrenched his fingers at Zhang Yunming: "First, to make cooked rice with raw rice is to use aphrodisiacs or something to dedicate myself to you. Second, to frame her, that is, to say what you have done to her. Third, human The fearful words are to let everyone know that you have something to do; the fourth, the unstoppable family affection is to mobilize your family members to force you, or force your family members to force you to submit, or tell you that you will not marry She, the family members will not live; fifth, coercion and temptation, that is, if you don’t follow her, you will die; if you follow her, you will be a high-ranking official and rich salary. Sixth, looking for death and life, is to hang yourself in front of your house. Seventh. …”
Zhang Yunzheng frowned at Shen Wen: "Enough! You know too much!"
Shen Wen snorted at him: "What are you afraid of? I know it won't work. I'm very proud! It's not mine, so I don't want it!" Because he told Su Wanniang about this, Shen Wen looked very noble.
Zhang Yunzheng looked at Shen Wen angrily, and said in a low voice, "Pig!"
Shen Wen blinked in confusion: "What does this have to do with pigs?"
Zhang Yunming was afraid that the two of them would start exchanging words again, so he interrupted: "It really has nothing to do with pigs! She can't move the people in my family, don't worry about those, it's easy to guard against aphrodisiacs and so on, but it's the framing, which is more difficult to prevent." .”
Shen Wen pointed his chin with his index finger and said: "Nowadays there is a difference between men and women. If you want to be framed, you have to have witnesses. It's not that easy. Remember, whenever you want to go to the place where the fourth princess is going, you Just be careful."
Zhang Yunming narrowed his eyes, and Shen Wen smirked at him. Zhang Yunming smiled and asked Shen Wen: "It seems that you have a solution?"
Shen Wen raised a thin eyebrow: "Don't forget what you promised me."
Zhang Yunming said in his heart that anyway, I have already told my father about your third brother's desire to marry my sister, so I don't have to play tricks, and said repeatedly: "I will never forget, I will never forget, just tell me."
Shen Wen said: "The easiest thing to do is Li Daitao's stiff! At that time, where there are four princesses, there will be five princesses."
Zhang Yunming's face was a little red, he didn't dare to look at Shen Wen anymore, Zhang Yunzheng pushed him: "Don't be so hypocritical, you are secretly happy!" He looked at Shen Wen, "Quickly go on, what else?"
Shen Wen said: "What's more, it's misfortune. You need to find someone who can replace you. If you want to find someone they can't kill, you can find a young man of the right age in the Marquis of Changle, but you can't come forward to look for it, so as not to There are traces. In the future, if they dare to attack you personally... "
Zhang Yunzheng interjected: "Whoever strikes will take the place of the dead!" There was an irrefutable sternness in his tone, Shen Wen glanced at Zhang Yunzheng, knew his heart, and could only sigh: "It probably will be like this."
Zhang Yunming carefully grasped Shen Wen's words, and nodded slowly: "I probably understand what you mean. I want to ask your third brother to help me." That kid can't be idle.
Shen Wen immediately put on a smile again: "That's okay." As long as he can marry your sister in the end, what's the use of helping you
Zhang Yunzheng asked Shen Wen irritably: "Didn't we hit the fire? Why didn't he come to marry the fourth princess?"
If it had been in the past, Shen Wen would have rolled his eyes at Zhang Yunzheng or something, took the opportunity to shoot a sneer at Zhang Yunzheng, and now he just smiled and said: "How can it be so fast? It's winter, who will come out at this time? How can we get summer. And, Even if Huo Luo asks to marry, the fourth princess might not get married."
Zhang Yunming frowned: "What do you mean?"
Shen Wen said: "Which emperor easily married his own daughter? Most of the women in the previous dynasties and Fans were court ladies or daughters of noble relatives. There are a few real princesses who are also widows or cannot marry. In my dream, the five princesses marry Well, it's because of the prince's planning, the queen is in charge, and the fifth princess has a limp temper, so she knows how to cry. Now, the queen is abolished, and the fourth princess quarrels in front of the emperor, and the emperor probably has to be replaced. her."
Zhang Yunzheng said unhappily: "Then we didn't accomplish anything even after fighting with fire."
Shen Wen glanced at Zhang Yunzheng: "What didn't work? We won't let the fifth princess reconcile."
Zhang Yunzheng only felt that Shen Wen's temper was exceptionally good today, and the look he gave him was not hostile at all, but it made people feel a little warm. He coughed, and said seriously: "We have news from the people who follow the prince." Shen Wen really looked at him intently, and Zhang Yunzheng was delighted, and continued: "They have been following several of the prince's staff these days, and found a I contacted several car and horse dealers, and negotiated prices with two of them. The time is late March, and the goods will be shipped to the north. Another one, told his family that he will go out to do business for the prince at the end of March, and he will not come back until about half a year .In addition, the manager of the arsenal recently drank wine with the prince's people several times."
Shen Wen nodded and said, "It should be the end of March, are the bandits ready?"
Zhang Yunming said: "I have been training for more than half a year as a soldier, and Lianghu's boat has also been prepared."
Shen Wen said: "The robbed food will be transported to the wine cellar, is there any support there?"
Zhang Yunming replied: "There are all kinds of chariots and horses. Master Song came back before the New Year's Eve and said that the wine cellar had been built and the first batch of wine had come out. The nearby tile kilns built for wine storage also burned wine vats." Wine jars and jars. The second wife of the Yan family will go back to celebrate the New Year, and when they come back after the first month, they will continue to make wine."
Shen Wen said: "This is good. The prince and the others transported the grain for the first time. They should have no precautions. They just went to grab it. Just be careful not to be too professional, and don't show off that you are a sergeant. It’s better to be a real bandit.”
Zhang Yunming said: "Master Song said that some people were bandits before, let them come forward this time."
Shen Wen said: "Try to save lives as little as possible. It must be a group of timid bandits who happen to rob things. Remember, you have to be very, very stupid!"
Zhang Yunzheng frowned: "You just want to pretend to be stupid, what should you do if you can't rob?"
Shen Wen smiled faintly: "If it can't be robbed, it will be burned! Never let them transport the grain to Beirong."
Zhang Yunzheng thought for a while, then suddenly raised his brows and said, "Okay, this way, it will be easier."
Zhang Yunming also nodded and said, "Indeed."
Knowing that both of them understood, Shen Wen said, "It's time to draw a picture."
Zhang Yunzheng stood up and said, "Enter the secret room."
Zhang Yunming also got busy: "Let's go together."
Zhang Yunzheng knew that he couldn't be bored in the secret room with Shen Wen in front of his brother, so he led the way into the secret room, lit the lamp, Shen Wen followed in, Zhang Yunming blew out the light in the room, and entered the secret room as well.
Three people squeezed into the narrow secret room, and it became very narrow immediately. Shen Wen and Zhang Yunzheng were almost standing side by side by the desk, and Zhang Yunming was standing opposite. Shen Wen spread out a piece of paper, and Zhang Yunzheng said to Zhang Yunming: "Don't just look at it, study ink!"
Zhang Yunming said: "Hey, why are you so disrespectful to your brother?" But the inkstone was right under his nose, so he had to start grinding ink.
Knowing that Zhang Yunzheng would draw it again, Shen Wen drew very sloppy: "The arc here is 30 degrees, and this is 135 degrees... Uh, we need to find a feng shui compass with scales on it, or make a feng shui compass. Semicircle."
Zhang Yunzheng said: "I saw my mother had a feng shui compass, I will bring it next time..."
Zhang Yunming said: "That is the treasure of mother's town house, you have to tell mother."
Zhang Yunzheng waved to Zhang Yunming: "Go, don't worry about it, I'll give it to me as soon as I say mother... What does this mean?" He pointed to a point on the picture.
Shen Wen replied: "The two pieces of wood here need to fit together like this... Let me draw a detailed picture for you... First cut the wood like this... The other piece is like this..."...
Zhang Yunming looked at the two people asking and answering, and felt that it was very gray and very unpleasant! After a while, he finally interrupted unbearably: "Second Miss Shen draw it first, and then we can talk about it together? Let's go out first! Let her concentrate on painting here."
Zhang Yunzheng was not happy: "Why? Now that I figured it out, I can draw part of it during the day without waiting for her to finish..."
Zhang Yunming insisted: "No! I want to play chess with you!"
Zhang Yunzheng opened his eyes wide: "Why do you suddenly want to play chess?"
Zhang Yunming said stubbornly: "I just thought about it! That time the fourth prince didn't want to play chess with me, I was very disappointed! I want to play chess with you!"
Zhang Yunzheng shook his head and said, "But I don't want to play chess right now."
Zhang Yunming resorted to his trump card: "Then I don't care! You forced me to play chess so many times in the past that I didn't want to. Now it's your turn!" He remembered bitterly that it was Zhang Yunzheng who pestered him to play chess in the past. Who would have thought that things would turn around now? , I also have today!
Shen Wen also knew what Zhang Yunming meant, so he nodded and said, "I'll draw first, you go outside, and help look at the door."
Zhang Yunzheng said to Zhang Yunming with an unhappy face: "Okay, just one plate!" It was the same as Zhang Yunming's answer to him in the past.
Zhang Yunming secretly said "Retribution", pulled Zhang Yunzheng out of the secret room and said: "One game is one game! I'm not afraid of you!" According to Zhang Yunzheng's temperament, this game will last most of the night! Shen Wen must leave in the middle.
The two went to the outhouse, re-lighted the lamp, and set up the chessboard.
Zhang Yunming asked Zhang Yunzheng: "The fourth prince asked you to play chess, did you use the trick of pestering people again?"
Zhang Yunzheng said: "What is pestering? That is seriousness! Even though you are defeated, you don't know how to do it."
Zhang Yunming snorted, "That's called stalking."
Zhang Yunzheng said: "Who wants to listen to you? I can play whatever I want!"...
The two began to play chess, bickering while playing, Shen Wen now knew that this was the way for two people to get along, with an intimacy that outsiders could not understand, so he didn't take it to heart, and gradually sank into his own thoughts... almost only for a moment, Just heard Zhang Yunzheng say at the door: "It's four o'clock."
Shen Wen suddenly came to his senses, put down his pen, and seeing Zhang Yunzheng's cheerful expression, she was puzzled, "What are you doing? So happy?"
Zhang Yunzheng came over to wash his pens and said, "I won! It's only been half an hour!"
Zhang Yunming said loudly: "I let you!"
Zhang Yunzheng turned his head and said: "No! You are not paying attention." He folded Shen Wen's sketch and put it away.
Zhang Yunming replied: "Isn't that just letting you go?"...
Shen Wen shook his hands and said, "Goodbye, goodbye!" Ignoring the two brothers, he went out and went home.
Zhang Yunzheng tidied up the secret room and came out, looked at the door, and said, "It's not polite to say goodbye!" Then he looked at the scattered chessboard in Zhang Yunming's hand, "Are you lazy? Can't clean it up?"
Zhang Yunming thought that Zhang Yunzheng was able to concentrate so fully just now, and he didn't seem to be distracted by Second Miss Shen, so he said relaxedly: "What are you packing? You need to use it next time."
Zhang Yunzheng came over to clean up the chessboard: "That must be put away first!"
Zhang Yunming waved his hands: "I want to do something important. I'll take care of the food robbery, but I have to borrow a few people from you."
Zhang Yunzheng put the chess set on the shelf, and replied, "Don't think about it! Last time it was done by you, this time I'll do it!"
Zhang Yunming looked at Zhang Yunzheng suspiciously: "Are you okay? Children..."
Zhang Yunzheng punched him, and Zhang Yunming yelled, "Why didn't you say 'want to fight'?! It's really worthless!"
The two of them fought and quarreled, blew out the lights, and went back home together.
Shen Wen went back and whispered to Su Wanniang about the threat of her beauty, and the two discussed the next day's performance before falling asleep.
The next day, after getting up, Shen Wen went to Shen Xiang's yard, but he didn't see Shen Xiang who was practicing martial arts, but he chatted with a few maids and talked about the crowds on the street on the night of Lantern Festival.
Back in the courtyard, seeing "Wang Zhi's family" and several maids were there, Shen Wen made a fuss and said to Su Wanniang: "Sister Wanniang, have you heard? You were on the street that night, and many people saw you. Said that you are so beautiful that you can enter the palace and be a concubine!"
Su Wanniang said embarrassedly: "Miss, what are you talking about? The imperial palace is also so easy to enter?"
Shen Wen said loudly: "Of course! Now the emperor doesn't have a queen, so he has to choose a queen anyway? Sister Wanniang might be the queen!"
Su Wanniang hurriedly waved her hands and said, "I am the daughter of a prisoner, how can I be a queen?"
Shen Wen frowned: "The daughter of a prisoner cannot enter the palace?"
Su Wanniang sighed: "I didn't accompany you into the palace that year because of this."
Shen Wen said innocently: "Sister Wanniang is so good-looking, as long as the emperor takes a look, the emperor may like sister Wanniang. Then investigate the case of sister Wanniang's father, maybe, sister Wanniang will If you are not the daughter of a prisoner, you can enter the palace."
Su Wanniang smiled and said, "If that's the case, I will never forget you, miss."
Shen Wen clapped his hands: "Of course, if Sister Wanniang enters the palace, I will go to play with Sister Wanniang!"
"Wang Zhi's family" was filled with envy: she is also a maid, but Su Wanniang came out of the brothel, and now she wants to enter the palace? ! Dream it!
Two days later, the conversation between Shen Wen and Su Wanniang was conveyed to the East Palace.
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In fact, the fourth prince's prediction of the prince was not completely correct this time. The prince's recent thoughts are not on beauties, but on Chu Rong.
After seeing Churong that time, he walked around the East Palace, but he never saw Churong again. In the end, a staff member found the roster of palace maids, and only then did he find Churong. She is a woman who has been in the palace for ten years, twenty-five, at the age where she can be released from the palace. The time the prince saw her was the day before she was going to leave the palace. Probably to replace a palace lady who was sick at that time, and temporarily asked her to lift the curtain of the palace chariot for the prince. The next day, she left. The address on the roster was several hundred miles to the north.
The prince then asked another staff member to go to Churong's hometown to find her to see if she was married, and if not, bring her back to the capital.
The prince didn't even know why he had to go through so much trouble. Churong was the most unremarkable woman he had ever seen, and even the petite princess was prettier than her. Moreover, the contact between the two of them was less than a minute, and the prince stubbornly wanted to see her again. How many months have passed, this idea has not weakened, but has become stronger and stronger, like a seed that sprouted in my heart and began to take root.
After another three months, the staff member came back and said that he had found Churong's house. Her parents had just arranged a marriage for her, and they were filling in the house. Hearing the prince's request, he withdrew his marriage again, and let Churong return to the capital with his staff. The aide found a private house for Churong and settled down.
When the man arrived in the capital, the prince began to worry about gains and losses again: after all, he just met once, would he be disappointed when he sees him again? If it's not good, and then send the person back, will it make everyone know about it after such a toss? Churong's family has retired all the relatives, and the daughter has returned, will there be trouble? Will Mrs. Lu be dissatisfied with the fact that he hired a woman outside the palace and spread the word? …
In the end, the prince decided that if he didn't like it, it must be that Churong had deceived his feelings back then! Let people poison Churong to death, and tell her family that she died of illness in the capital. This is so invisible that no one will find out. I have never forgotten her in my heart for so many months, and I have surpassed all the women with the depth of love. Even if I killed her, I did not treat her badly.
With no worries left, the prince took a chance to go out of the palace and went to the small courtyard where Churong lived. As soon as he saw Churong, the prince knew that he had done nothing wrong in bringing Churong over.
Churong came out to welcome him, and saluted the prince with a slight smile in the courtyard, another fine wrinkle appeared at the corner of his eyes. But her smile was indeed as gentle and kind as he remembered, without any attempt.
The crown prince waved his hands, indicating that everyone else should stay outside, and entered the house by himself.
The furniture in the room is simple, there are no carvings on the tables and chairs, and there is an embroidery stand next to the table, on which is a half-embroidered vulgar flower branch, which looks like a spring or something.
The prince sat down, Churong didn't come over to flatter him with sweet words like all the girls in the past, but just poured tea for him, put it by his hand with a smile without saying anything.
The crown prince suddenly felt very tired, and he didn't bother to speak for a while, so he glanced at the embroidery frame, Churong sat down obediently, and continued to embroider her flowers.
When the two entered the room, they didn't say a word. The prince drank tea in silence, watching Churong concentrate on embroidery in a daze. The corners of Churong's mouth curled up, as if he was always smiling. Behind her, on the wall was a New Year picture of an ordinary family, a big fat boy riding on a big red fish. The windows were covered with rough paper, which had already turned yellow. In the room, the light was soft...Suddenly, a burst of heat welled up in the prince's eyes, and he swallowed hard to restrain his sorrow.
After drinking the tea, the crown prince stood up, Churong looked up, inserted the needle into the stretcher, and got up too. The prince didn't speak, and without waiting for her to salute, he turned and walked out, out of the yard, got into the car and went back to the palace. As if he had had a good night's sleep, he felt comfortable all over. Never before has any woman felt so pleased when she kept him from going to bed. He decided to come to Churong's place when he had free time in the future, watch her embroider and have a cup of tea, that's all.
As soon as he returned to the palace, his staff told him the news of Zhenbeihou's mansion: "Su Wanniang went to the Lantern Market on the night of the Lantern Festival. The people saw her beauty, and they all gathered around to watch her. The streets were blocked for a while, and the reputation of Su Wanniang's beauty spread all over the night. In the capital, many people said that she should enter the palace. Su Wanniang and Miss Shen Er also heard this rumor, and they were very happy. Su Wanniang was a little worried that she was the daughter of a prisoner. Miss Shen Er said that if the emperor could see Su Wanniang, maybe Just because of her beauty, I investigated her father's case, cleared her reputation, and brought her into the palace... "
The prince interrupted: "Absolutely not!"
An aide whispered: "We understand." The case of her father Su Changting will involve the crown prince. What would the emperor think if the emperor knew that the crown prince had been placed in the household department so early and was still an important position in the Ministry of Finance? This matter must not reach the emperor's ears!
The prince said: "Find someone to say hello to Eunuch Sun who is beside the emperor."
Someone responded in a hurry, and the prince asked, "How is the arrangement for the grain transportation?"
One person replied: "The car and horse dealers have all been contacted. On March 28, the grain and ironware raised by various places will be gathered in Yuncheng, three hundred miles away from the capital, and then loaded on to the grain carts to be transported northward." .only… "
The prince frowned: "Just what?!"
The staff sighed: "There is nothing for ironware, but now is the year of disaster, and when winter and spring are in short supply, all places have to open warehouses to release grain. It turned out that the grain that was agreed to be given to us was either not given, or only a small half was given. Now the price of grain has risen more than dozens of times compared to when it was so hot. If you pay for it, you may need a lot of silver taels. We originally wanted to raise 200,000 catties of grain for this batch, but we got less than 100,000 catties. , plus ironware, more than 40 mule carts were transported away. The 300,000 jin per year agreed with Beirong must not be fully raised. "
The prince said: "It's drought here, do they have rain there? It must be a disaster year, and food must be even rarer. It's good to have food! Those who follow you should explain it to them and tell them that these food are worth a lot of hardships. Don’t think it’s easy for you to raise money!”
The staff also said: "Although it is a business traveler, there is famine everywhere and bandits are frequent, so you still need to have guards to accompany you."
The prince waved his hand impatiently: "Everyone won't ship goods in a famine year? Go hire an escort agency, this kind of thing shouldn't be for me to worry about!"
The aide immediately said: "Yes." He did not discuss the details with the prince.
A few days later, the emperor, who was flipping through the memorials in his study, suddenly asked Sun Gonggong next to him, "I heard that on the night of the Lantern Festival, there are thousands of people in the alleys, and they are watching a beautiful maid in Zhenbeihou's mansion?"
Eunuch Sun hurriedly said: "Let this servant girl go and inquire about it."
The next day, Eunuch Sun whispered to the emperor, "Actually, it was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei who was walking on the street with two maidservants that day. That Miss Shen was dressed in a red uniform and was known as the 'Tiger Girl of the Jiangmen' and attracted everyone's attention. Being surrounded by people, crowded together, but there is no such thing as tens of thousands of people. The Zhenbei Hou Mansion doesn't like people talking about the eldest lady, so they let out the word that everyone is looking at the appearance of a maid."
The emperor nodded, and did not pursue the matter further. He also didn't believe how beautiful a maid could be: if she was really good-looking, this maid would have been confiscated long ago, so how could she continue to be a maid
The prince found out and let go of his heart. But then he thought that he had seen Su Wanniang before, she was already beautiful at the time, and she must be even more beautiful now. When the Second Miss Shen reached Ji, he set up a trap and brought her into the mansion, so naturally her maids would not be able to escape either. The beauty of Su Wanniang must also fall into his hands. With this plan in mind, the prince repeatedly ordered people not only not to spread the rumors about Su Wanniang's beauty, but also to cover up these rumors as soon as possible, so as not to attract the emperor's attention again.
The fourth prince waited in fear for more than a month, but there were no rumors about Su Wanniang's beauty in the palace, neither the emperor nor the crown prince showed any interest in Su Wanniang. The crowd watched on the night of the Lantern Festival, as if it hadn't happened, and this incident gradually faded out of people's discussion.
The fourth prince couldn't think of any way for the people behind the Zhenbeihou mansion to achieve this. He even thought that Su Wanniang was lucky and escaped the catastrophe in a daze. He thought it was almost impossible of. In any case, he felt that he already owed the other party a great favor.