Lu Hao was not too surprised that the emperor knew about the fight between him and Sima Hong. There were so many imperial guards in the palace, and the guards were even stricter tonight. There must have been someone nearby at the time, but they just didn't dare to come over to break up the fight. The emperor must have told those who saw it not to leak it.
All in all, it was not a glorious thing for two ministers to fight in the palace. If it got out, it would only become a joke for the people to talk about after dinner. The most important thing was that Mingyu's reputation would plummet.
Lu Hao knelt down before the emperor and admitted his mistake, promising that such a situation would never happen again and bring shame to the boss.
The emperor waved his hand and told him to go back and recuperate. He was sick for the next two days and should not embarrass himself before the wound on his face healed. When the banquet was over, the ladies were eagerly waiting, but they did not see the much-anticipated Lord Lu and the handsome Marquis Anxi appear again.
After Sima Hong left, Miao Shu let Xu Mingye go. After finally waiting for the banquet to end, Xu Mingye was worried and concerned about Mingyu, so he hurried back. He saw Dongyuan at the palace gate, "Where is Mingyu?" Xu Mingye asked.
Dong Yuan said quickly, "I'm going home. I'll send the young lady back and come back to wait for you."
Xu Mingye felt relieved and asked again, "Miss, did you leave the palace alone?"
Dong Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said honestly, "No, Lord Lu and Lord Sima sent her back together." Seeing his young master's somewhat messy expression, Dong Yuan hardened his heart and continued to attack, "Lord Sima insisted on sending the young lady back. When we got home, I saw that the Lord's face was covered in bruises. Could it be that the young lady had beaten him?"
"Impossible!" Xu Mingye denied it flatly. How strong could Mingyu be? It would be strange if she could beat Sima Hong so badly. So... was it Lu Hao who beat him? "Did they... say anything along the way?"
Dong Yuan shook his head and said, "I didn't hear the young lady and Lord Sima talking on the way. When she got home, she didn't talk to Lord Sima either after getting off the carriage."
Hearing this, Xu Mingye finally felt relieved and got on the carriage. I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, but I'm afraid of thieves thinking about it!
After Sima Hong returned home, he was afraid that Miao would worry, so he went back to his own courtyard directly, and did not talk to Miao as usual before going to bed. Bai Hao looked at Sima Hong's swollen nose and couldn't help sighing, "Oh, what a bad start, dear!"
Sima Hong applied the medicine. He angrily stabbed a straw man named Lu Hao in his heart, and stabbed countless needles on it. He was shameless and dared to steal his wife! Now it's all right. Mingyu ignored him at all, and there was a purse in his arms that was like a hot potato. He thought carefully about the face of the girl who gave him the purse, but he couldn't remember it no matter what. He didn't pay attention to it at the time. Now he thinks that she is pale and a little childish. There is a diamond necklace around her neck, but he has no impression of her at all. It's hard to find it even if he wants to.
It must be that shameless villain Lu Hao who deliberately set a trap to trick him, otherwise how could Mingyu see it by chance? Sima Hong thought about it and felt that it was unlikely. The girls who could enter the palace banquet hall were all from good families. The diamond necklace on the girl must be worth a lot of money. It is impossible for her to do such a thing just because of Lu Hao's words. Besides, if the rich lady was instructed by someone, how could she send things to him with several people
Does that mean she really admires him? Sima Hong thought about it. He was no longer young and frivolous. He didn't feel complacent, but felt overwhelmed. However, he didn't really take it to heart. The people in the capital were open-minded, and it was common for girls to express their love to the men they admired. When he went to Beijing to offer captives last year. There were many women wearing silver armor and riding horses on the road, throwing purses and handkerchiefs with Ruyi knots at him.
"Take it out!" Sima Hong took out the purse from his arms and threw it to Bai Hao. "Throw it away, throw it away!" Sima Hong looked at the purse with disgust and said.
Baihao took the purse and looked at it over and over again. It was a red embroidered purse with spices in it, which was obviously a girl's boudoir item. He winked and smiled, "Sir, which girl gave it to you?"
"I don't know!" Sima Hong said stiffly, lying on the bed with his legs crossed, his hands behind his head, looking at the stone-blue tent above his head. Suddenly he thought of Mingyu's expression when she talked about the purse, and his tone was sour. Suddenly he suddenly understood, could Mingyu be jealous? !
Thinking of this, Sima Hong was extremely happy and jumped up from the bed excitedly. However, he laughed too hard and pulled the corner of his mouth that was hit by Lu Hao and bled, causing a sharp pain.
"Master, what's wrong with you?" Bai Hao asked hurriedly, startled and jerking as if possessed by a ghost.
Sima Hong covered his mouth, frowned and told Baihao: "Don't throw it away, cut it into pieces and throw it into the kitchen to burn. You should burn it yourself, don't let others do it."
Baihao listened to Sima Hong's serious instructions, and he did not dare to hesitate, and hurried to find scissors to cut the purse. Sima Hong lay back on his bed. He had fought in the northwest in recent years, and was seriously injured several times, and his life was in danger. He survived a narrow escape, and he did not care about the minor injury caused by Lu Hao.
The next day, Miao woke up and asked if the Marquis had come back. When she heard that Sima Hong had come back at night, she went straight into her yard and hurried to her son. Early in the morning, Sima Hong was practicing boxing in the yard with his back to her. He took off his shirt, revealing his strong upper body, and was sweating. When he heard Baihao's report, he froze in place for a while, hesitated for a long time, and then turned around to look at Miao.
When Miao saw her son's face, she almost fainted. After a night, the bruises on Sima Hong's face were at their worst, much more serious than when he had just fought last night.
"Who... who beat him? Didn't you go to the palace? How did you get into a fight?" Miao asked after taking a long breath. Sima Hong was a fourth-rank general, a legitimate marquis. Who would be so bold as to beat her son like this? Besides, her son was quite skilled, and he wouldn't be beaten like this so easily.
Seeing that his mother was so angry that smoke was coming out of her head, Sima Hong quickly advised: "I'm fine, just a minor injury, I didn't suffer any loss, that kid's injury is much more serious than mine, I guess he can't go out for a few days."
"Who is that boy?" Miao was a smart person and asked immediately.
"No one..." Sima Hong said vaguely, "It was dark, and I couldn't see his face clearly."
Seeing that Sima Hong was unwilling to talk, Miao sighed and did not force him. She thought that her son was arrogant and was hated by others, so she hit him with a club. She looked at her son's face carefully and found that it was only some superficial injuries. It should heal in two or three days. She said, "You are not young anymore. Don't be so impulsive and reckless as before. This is the capital, not our home in Tianshui. We can't be the same as before..."
Sima Hong looked at the white hair on his mother's temples, his heart tightened, and he put on a relaxed smile, "Mother, I know this, I know my limits."
Miao smiled, took out a handkerchief and wiped her son's sweat. She was thinking about something else, so she pretended not to care and asked, "Did a lot of young ladies go to the palace last night? I heard that the daughter of Duke Deng was there too. Did you see her?"
Sima Hong took the outer robe handed to him by Bai Hao and said nonchalantly: "I didn't pay attention, how would I know who she was!" He followed Mingyu out not long after, so he had no time to look at those chattering young ladies.
"You don't know?" Miao was surprised for a moment, and quickly said, "Miss Deng has a diamond necklace hanging around her neck, which is quite conspicuous. Have you seen it?"
Sima Hong was about to answer subconsciously that he had not, but vaguely remembered that he seemed to have seen a shiny diamond necklace last night, and then he thought of the girl who gave him the purse, whose appearance he could not even remember. Was she Deng Zhenzhu? Sima Hong was furious and said with his neck stiff, "I have never seen her before. She even hung a diamond around her neck. Are you afraid that others will not know that the Deng family is rich?"
"How can you talk like that, kid?" Miao was unhappy. "Miss Deng had a serious illness when she was young. A high monk said that she had to use a blessed diamond to protect her life so that she could live in peace and security. Look at you, do you think the Deng family is some kind of vulgar and tasteless upstarts?"
Sima Hong curled his lips. The Deng family believed the monk's words of deception. "You treat a sickly girl like a treasure. What if the diamond can't control her after you marry her and she dies of illness in two days? You want me to be a widower!"
Miao was so angry at her son's sharp tongue that she was speechless. She slapped her son hard on the forehead and said, "Even a widower is better than a divorced!" After that, she left angrily. Nanny Wei and Nanny Tan hurriedly followed her and persuaded her along the way, which helped Miao calm down a lot.
After a while, Sima Lian entered Sima Hong's yard and saw Sima Hong sitting under the porch drinking tea. He smiled and said, "Second brother."
Having lost so many relatives, Sima Hong became much friendlier to this sister whom he had never paid much attention to. Moreover, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sima Lian would be getting married and would be someone else's daughter-in-law. Sima Hong felt reluctant to let her go. Thinking of this, he could understand why Xu Mingye's attitude towards him was so bad.
Seeing Sima Lian coming over, Sima Hong smiled, stood up and asked, "Why is Sister Lian here?"
Seeing Sima Hong's face covered in bruises, Sima Lian suppressed her laughter and asked, "What's wrong with Second Brother's face?"
It was really a waste of time. He couldn't embarrass himself in front of a girl. Sima Hong coughed and said seriously, "It was dark last night, and I fell and bumped my head."
"My second brother is really extraordinary." Sima Lian covered her mouth and laughed. Others would at most hit their arms and legs when they fell, but her second brother only hit his face and nose. "I heard that the madam wants to arrange a marriage for you." After laughing, Sima Lian talked about the business.
Sima Hong smiled and said, "That's not the case. Don't listen to the servants' nonsense."