By the pool in the garden, with the breeze blowing, bursts of fresh and elegant lotus fragrance wafted out, refreshing.
A few maids hid behind the rockery by the lake and gossiped, one praised the other for its beautiful new clothes, and the other praised the other for its chic pearl flowers...
The sound of shoes stepping on fallen leaves suddenly came from behind, which startled the little maids. Following the sound, they saw a familiar figure walking out from behind a willow tree, and then they breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Sister Que'er!" A little girl in pink called out affectionately.
Que'er carried a small and exquisite bamboo basket, and said with a smile: "The concubine Shizi gave me some red bean and coconut crisp rolls just now, I thought I couldn't finish them all by myself, so I shared them with you... It's still hot! "
As soon as she opened the plate on the dim sum, a seductive fragrance of milk wafted out, and the golden red bean and coconut crisp rolls were exquisitely made, and the little maids were salivating when they saw it, and thought: This world's concubine really appreciates it It's a good thing. Several people hurriedly thanked Que'er.
The little maids ate with relish, Que'er yawned lazily, and patted her shoulders again, the little maid in pink saw how tired she looked, and asked curiously: "Sister Que'er, what are you doing?" What are you busy with? Look, you are tired..."
Que'er hadn't answered yet, another little maidservant in Cuiyi thought of something, and said, "I heard that there were a lot of people in Bixiaotang's daughter-in-law's accountant yesterday!"
When talking about hiring an accountant, the maids naturally thought of the hottest topic in the mansion recently, that is, the division of property between the eldest son and the second young master. It seems that the imperial concubine took away several boxes of account books from his wife a few days ago. .
The little maid in pink couldn't help asking again: "Sister Que'er, can you choose the accountant?" As she spoke, she showed a hint of envy, that is a thousand gold, and these little maids like them can't earn it in a few lifetimes.
"That's natural, and ah..." Que'er said deliberately, "The one hired is the successor of the old man!"
After the old man? The little maids looked at each other in blank dismay, and became even more curious, pulling Que'er's sleeve to ask.
Que'er let them beg for a while, and then said: "Anyway, you will know sooner or later." She lowered her voice mysteriously, "Do you know Shen Daguan?"
Most of the little maids were puzzled, at their age, how could they know about Steward Shen who passed away more than ten years ago. On the contrary, the green-clothed servant girl said thoughtfully: "I heard from my mother, but the steward Shen who served the old prince?... Could it be said that he is a descendant of the steward Shen?" When the old princess was still alive, she His mother used to be a third-class maid in the main courtyard.
Que'er nodded, and said again: "The son of Shen Da's steward is helping Shizi Concubine to check the accounts now!"
Shen Da’s son?! The maids were very energetic, and they couldn’t help exchanging glances. These days, the palace is really lively. No, there is a new topic to talk about.
Que'er secretly laughed in his heart, but he pretended to remember something, and said: "Oh, I almost forgot what the concubine Shi Zi told me, you should eat these snacks slowly, I have to go first."
"Sister, go slowly!" Several little maids rushed to send them off.
On the same day, the maidservant in Cuiyi told my wife about it, and my wife told her acquaintances... One spread to ten, ten to hundreds, and within a long time, everyone in the whole house was saying with emotion that the son of the steward of Shen Da had died again. The matter of coming to serve the son of the world, I feel that this is a beautiful talk.
Soon, even Xiao Fang, who didn't leave home and was still recuperating, learned about it, and his expression changed drastically.
When she first heard that Bi Xiaotang was in the recruiting room, she and Nanny Qi laughed and said that Bi Xiaotang was sharpening his guns before the battle. Unexpectedly, they recruited Shen Ping's son?!
How can it be!
How could it be such a coincidence!
Of course Xiaofang still remembers Shen Ping... Shen Ping has been with the old prince for nearly thirty years and has always been quite trusted. He even took care of all the general affairs of the palace back then.
Before the old prince died, he even entrusted Shen Ping with all the property left to that bastard Xiao Yi.
She is Xiao Yi's aunt, the property left by the old prince naturally has to be managed by herself, how can she give it to a slave?!
Shen Ping is a person who doesn't like water, no matter how many benefits he has promised him, he just ignores him, and she has no choice but to...
Isn't Shen Ping loyal? Then go to accompany the old prince, and get the reputation of "martyrdom", why not do it!
Over the years, Shen Ping's family members have all disappeared, and Xiao Fang gradually forgot about them. He never thought that his son would appear at this time. Xiao Fang couldn't help but wonder if Bi Xiaotang had found this person a long time ago, and deliberately took the opportunity of the recruiting room to let him come out in an open and honest manner... Thinking of this, Xiao Fang couldn't help but feel a little palpitation, Bi Xiaotang is really too insidious !
The more Xiao Fang thought about it, the more she frowned, and she said in a deep voice, "Nurse Qi, go to Fang's house as soon as possible, and get my third brother here... You can do this yourself!"
Nanny Qi knew all about Xiao Fang's affairs, so she naturally knew that this matter should not be delayed, so she quickly bowed her knees and accepted the order.
Madam Qi left in a hurry, and half an hour later, she hurried back again, panting and sweating profusely.
"Ma'am, it's bad!" Grandma Qi looked very anxious.
Seeing that there was no one behind Nanny Qi, Xiao Fang vaguely guessed that something was wrong, and her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly asked the maids in the room to step back, and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Nanny Qi took a breath, and said vigorously: "Ma'am, Master Xuanbiao went to the government office early this morning to beat the Dengwen drum, and sued the fourth uncle and his wife, accusing them of being unfilial and seeking family property. , poisoned his stepfather." Young Master Xuan Biao was referring to Fang Shixuan, the concubine son of Fang Chengxun, the Fourth Master of Fang.
Xiao Fang was dumbfounded, this is too outrageous!
She asked impatiently: "What's going on? It's so good, how could Brother Xuan..." The fourth brother and the fourth sister-in-law are Brother Xuan's biological father and aunt, and it would be a crime of unfilial piety for a son to sue his parents. Could it be that the child is crazy!
Thinking about it, Xiao Fang had an ominous premonition in his heart.
Nanny Qi had a strange expression on her face, and after sorting out her thoughts, she said: "My maid asked about it, and said it was..." She said with some embarrassment, "...the fourth uncle's wife had an affair with the third uncle. The young master’s biological mother, Aunt Yu, was smashed, and because of this, Aunt Yu was drugged and sold by the fourth uncle’s wife..."
Fang Shixuan clearly wanted to stand up for his biological mother, but it was a pity that he was still a bit stupid. According to Dayu's regulations, if a son sues his father, if the accusation is false, it means that the father has no son to accuse him of the crime, and the son shall be hanged; If it is true, even if the father did commit the crime that the son accused, the son should also be punished with a hundred rods and three years in prison. In other words, Fang Shixuan's life is totally ruined!
Nanny Qi sighed inwardly, swallowed her saliva, and added: "Master Xuanbiao's lawsuit against his parents is probably spread all over the city now..." This is a big embarrassment for the Xia family!
Xiao Fang felt dizzy for a while, and caught his breath in his chest.
She counted on her brothers and sisters-in-law to be her help, but they are so unbelievable! Especially the third brother, there are so many women in this world, what kind of stunning beauties does he want, and he insists on going with the fourth sister-in-law...
Thinking of this, Xiao Fang's chest was violently heaved again.
She collected herself and said: "Go and invite the prince here, just say...just say I'm unwell..."
Before the words finished, a little servant girl announced from outside the curtain: "Madam, the prince is coming this way, and he has already reached the entrance of the courtyard."
Xiao Fang rushed out of the house with Nanny Qi to greet her, and then she walked to the main hall, and saw King Zhennan striding across the threshold, looking very angry.
Knowing Zhennan Wang Ru Xiaofang, how could he not see Zhennan Wang's unrepressed anger, and felt a little uneasy: Could it be that the prince already knew...
Xiao Fang patiently endured the anxiety in his heart, and saluted Zhennan Wang as if nothing had happened: "I have seen the king..."
The King of Zhennan sneered, and interrupted Xiao Fang with an angry voice: "You have lost all face of this king! Your two elder brothers are really absurd!"
The King of Zhennan looked at Xiao Fang with disgust. One of Xiao Fang's two elder brothers murdered his stepfather, which was disobedient and unfilial;
Xiao Fang's heart felt cold, Zhennan Wang really knew about it.
She also resented the two elder brothers in her heart, but they and she were both born in the same mother's womb. Xiao Fang gritted her teeth, knelt down suddenly, looked at the Zhennan King with tears in her eyes, and said: "My lord! No matter how many third and fourth brothers there are, they are also the elder brothers of concubines, especially the fourth brother. Like the living dead..." Xiao Fang sobbed and begged, "My lord, please..."
Hearing Xiao Fang's tone, do you want to cover up for her two elder brothers?! Zhennan Wang was so angry that the veins on his forehead were throbbing, and he interrupted Xiao Fang again impatiently: "Shut up! You think this king is ashamed! Isn't that enough?!"
Fang Chengxun's murder of his stepfather has long been known in Heyu City, but it was only private in the end. As the saying goes, "the people don't sue the officials and don't correct them", the Fang family had a saying when they expelled Fang Chengxun's family from the family. For King Zhennan and the entire Fang clan, this is a relatively appropriate way to deal with it, and it saves everyone's face.
But now that Fang Shixuan hit the Dengwen drum, it was equivalent to pulling off the fig leaf and making this matter go away!
King Zhennan felt as disgusting as swallowing a fly when he thought about it, he neither wanted nor wanted the palace to have anything to do with this matter!
"These days, you just stay in the house obediently for this king to 'recover from illness', and you are not allowed to go anywhere!" As he said, King Zhennan squinted at Nanny Qi, "You are not allowed to send anyone to your natal house either! You can go to the temple and stay there!" After finishing speaking, King Zhennan left in a huff!
"My lord..." Xiao Fang yelled loudly, but he couldn't call Zhennan King back, let alone bring back the downfall of Fang's third house!
In less than a day, Fang Chengxun and his wife murdered their stepfather in order to seize the family property. There was a lot of noise in Luoyue City. And Fang Shixuan's suing his parents and aunts was also unfilial. For a while, people couldn't help asking why he did this. After asking, they suddenly understood!
The Fang family is really a place where all the filth is hidden!
The people in Fangzhai hardly dared to go out, they were almost drowned with saliva, and many people even went to Fangzhai to throw rotten eggs, rotten fruits, and rotten leaves...
The prefect Mo of Luoyue City was very upset by this case, so he had to come to the palace to quietly ask Zhennan Wang what he meant, and finally got an instruction to "handle it impartially".
Therefore, the prefect Mo boldly interrogated Fang Chengling, Mrs. Fang Si, and Fang Shixuan... Attracting countless people in the city to watch the interrogation.
The facts of the case are not complicated. Fang Chengxun and his wife had conclusive evidence of murdering their stepfather. The Prefect Mo received the advice from King Zhennan to settle the case as soon as possible, so he sentenced him on the spot!
Fang Shixuan sued his biological father and aunt for three years of military service for receiving a hundred sticks; Fang Chengxun and his wife traveled three thousand miles and were exiled to a wild place in the northwest, where they set off the next day.
As for the adultery, since no one came to report it, prefect Mo pretended not to know.
The case had already reached Nangong Yue's ears when the incident happened just now. Fang Chengxun's family was allowed to step out of the Fang family's mansion, and they were allowed to go to Luoyue City to seek refuge with Fang Chengling, and they waited for this day. None of the three families of Fang's family were kind, and if these two families insisted on getting together, something would happen sooner or later. However, Nangong Yue did not expect that it would be so fast...
After the case was closed, Nangong Yue told Mrs. Fang about it as a joke.
"They left today?" The old man Fang in the wheelchair looked up at the sky above, his tone was light, and it was Fang Chengxun and his wife who asked.
Nangong Yue pushed Old Master Fang's wheelchair for a walk in the yard, letting the old man bask in the sun and breathe the fresh air outside.
"Yes, grandfather. Today, the yamen servants escorted them from the north city gate." Nangong Yue pushed the wheelchair to the stone table under the green shade in the backyard, and the two little maids immediately set tea and snacks on the stone table.
Nangong Yue directed Old Master Fang's gaze to Que'er, and said, "Grandfather, my maid likes to join in the fun, so I went to see it this morning, I'll let her tell you about it!"
Fang Chengxun and his wife set off at Maoshi, Que'er wanted to watch this good show, which meant that the cock crowed and was about to leave Bixiaotang, which was not easy. I'm afraid this is not to watch the excitement, but to watch it specially for myself.
Mrs. Fang knew it well, looked at Que'er with a smile and said vividly that Mrs. Fang Si, who was in shackles, looked like a beggar woman now; People are not ghosts, they were tied to wooden carts and dragged away.
When the two of them were escorted out of the city, a lot of people came to watch, and they all complained that retribution was not good, evil people have evil retribution, and some people poured bad water on them...
Que'er spoke dryly, Old Master Fang smiled and rewarded her with a bowl of tea and some fruits, after Que'er thanked her, he stepped aside.
Fang Chengxun's family deserved what they have come to like now, and they should have a good taste of what they have suffered for so many years! It's just that the third room of Fang's family... Mrs. Fang picked up the teacup, and slowly dialed it with the tea cover. Open the tea, thoughtfully.
After he put down the teacup, he already had some calculations in his heart, and said to Nangong Yue: "Ah Yue, I will write a letter later, and you send someone to send it to the old patriarch for me... Hey, the lintels of our Fang family are all Let the Sanfang be destroyed, and the patriarch must be invited to come over." The Sanfang cannot continue to act recklessly in Luoyue City relying on their kinship with the Xiaofang clan! Qing Yu is really going to be ruined by these filthy people!
"Grandfather," Nangong Yue persuaded softly, "Don't be angry with such people, it's not worth it."
Facing Shang Nangong Yue's concerned eyes, Mrs. Fang's mood stabilized a lot, and he said with a smile: "Ah Yue, what you said is true. It's not worth it for this kind of people..." He still needs to take care of his body and hug his great-grandson Woolen cloth!
He patted Nangong Yue's hand, and said with relief: "Grandfather knows that you and A Yi are filial!"
As he spoke, Mrs. Fang smiled and waved her, "It will be your birthday in a few days, and grandpa has a birthday gift for you." He took out a slightly yellowed piece of paper from his arms and handed it to you. Gave it to Nangong Yue.
Nangong Yue took it over, unfolded it, and couldn't help being surprised, "Grandfather, this..."
This is a deed, a deed for an iron mine.
Old Master Fang said in a good mood: "This is your grandfather's private property, not Fang's father-in-law's property. You married A Yi, and your grandfather didn't send any congratulatory gifts. This is even making up for your marriage and your birthday." Come on, you can’t say grandpa is stingy.”
Faced with the kind eyes of the old lady Fang, Nangong Yue respectfully blessed her body and said, "Thank you, grandfather."
Of course Nangong Yue knew that Mrs. Fang just gave this mine to A Yi in the name of her birthday. With this iron mine, more iron arrows can be made in a short time... A battle with Nanliang must be needs.
Seeing that Nangong Yue didn't refuse, knowing that she had realized what she wanted, Mrs. Fang smiled.
These days, the matter of A Yi and Xiao Luan's division of property has been raging in the mansion. Of course, Mrs. Fang has heard about it, and knows that A Yi's life in the past was even more difficult than he thought. They can privately take over the property left by the old prince, which makes old master Fang feel bad. The last time A Yi bought iron ore from him, he obviously needed it urgently, but he didn't buy a lot. Mrs. Fang guessed that the young couple probably didn't have much money.
This mine was his private property when he was young, and it was a fitting place for Xiao Yi to give it to him.
Thinking of Xiao Yi, Mrs. Fang's eyes flashed, and he couldn't help feeling a little worried, thinking: A Yi is on the battlefield, and I don't know what's going on...
"Grandfather." Nangong Yue saw his worry and said confidently, "Don't worry, with A Yi here, Huiling City will definitely be able to defend it!"
…
Speaking of Huiling City, it is a city on the southeastern border of southern Xinjiang. It, together with Yanding City, Yongjia City, and Dengli City, formed the defense line to the southeast of Dayu.
Huiling City is famous for being good at defending. After losing three cities in a row, Huiling City relied on its solid city walls and united with the top and bottom to hold on for half a month.
At this time, in the depths of a forest on the outskirts of Huiling, hundreds of tents were connected together. Most of the soldiers were covered with blood and dirt all over their faces. Injuries, and cleaning armor, repairing weapons... There are several groups of soldiers patrolling around vigilantly outside the camp.
They had just fought an ambush under the leadership of the eldest son Xiao Yi, and it was rare for them to have a little time to rest.
In the central tent, Xiao Yi was polishing his heavy bow while listening to a young man in his early twenties telling him.
"...My lord, the inventory has been completed. In this ambush, our army killed 31 people, seriously injured 12 people, and slightly injured more than 60 people. The enemy's entire army was wiped out, and all the captured siege equipment has been burned." The young man said. His name was Wu Chenming, and his armor was still stained with wet blood. It was obvious that he had just come down from the battlefield, and he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
They rushed all the way to Huiling City, and went through three or four battles, large and small. Under the leadership of Shi Ziye, they achieved great victories, and the morale of the whole army was greatly boosted.
But today, they had just ambushed a 1,000-man supply battalion in Nanliang, and seized four ladders and two siege towers that were about to be transported to Huiling City.
The vanguard army led by Xiao Yi was a cavalry force, whose value lies in rapid advance and surprise attack. Although these siege equipment were useful, they were also somewhat in the way, so Xiao Yi simply ordered that all of them be burned.
After listening to the report, Xiao Yi pondered for a moment and asked, "Captain Wu, what is the situation in Huiling City now?"
Wu Chenming clasped his fists and replied: "Returning to my son, the spies sent out just now came back to report that the Nanliang army attacked Huiling City again in the middle of the night last night. Huiling City was once in crisis. Later, Master Situ, who was guarding the city, went to the city to call on the people." We worked together and poured hot oil down the city to barely pass this hurdle! There are still tens of thousands of soldiers and horses approaching from Nanliang, and Huiling City may not be able to last for too long." Speaking of this, he couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Xiao Yi nodded slightly.
The 3,000 cavalry he led arrived first to support and harass the enemy, and the 20,000 army would take at least seven or eight days to arrive in batches. Based on what we have seen these days, Huiling City may not be able to survive the day when the army comes...
It seems that we can only take risks!
While Huiling City still has the power to fight...
Xiao Yi resolutely said: "Let the whole army recharge their batteries and make a surprise attack tonight!"
Wu Chenming knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and respectfully responded: "Yes, my son!"