"Nurse Chu," Nangong Yue said softly, "Since you are an old man in Fangfu, you must have served your mother and concubine for many years, right?"
Nanny Chu didn't expect Nangong Yue to talk to her suddenly, she was taken aback for a moment, and then replied respectfully: "Concubine Hui, my maidservant has been serving the concubine since she moved to Qiwuyuan when she was nine years old. gone."
As she spoke, she proudly puffed her chest out and said, "The servant girl is the nurse in charge of Qiwu Garden, and she manages the yard together with the late concubine's wet nurse, Nanny Lu. Later, the concubine got married when she was fifteen years old, and the servant girl and Nanny Lu Mammy served as the concubine's companion and came to the palace. Concubine Mengxian held her in high esteem, and the slaves also helped the concubine take care of the trivial matters in the courtyard in the Bixiao Hall."
Nangong Yue responded lightly, seeing that she didn't show any signs of impatience, Nanny Chu continued: "Every time the former princess returned to Ning, she always had her servants to accompany her, and Nanny Lu stayed at Bixiao Hall." Said, thinking to himself: The concubine Shizi is a smart person, she should understand her hint, right? I am the first person in front of the former princess!
Nangong Yue smiled slightly, and said casually: "Since Mammy used to serve near the concubine mother, she must know the concubine mother's affairs very well?"
Seeing that Nangong Yue's attitude towards her was much better, Nanny Chu secretly heaved a sigh of relief, thinking to herself: I was still too impatient before. It seems that it is still necessary to win the trust of the crown prince first, and then give advice later.
"That's natural." Mother Chu hurriedly said, "I still remember that the first concubine liked to eat milk cakes made by my servant when she was alive... and the son of the world." She slowed down her steps, looked at Xiao Yi, There is a bit of nostalgia on the wrinkled face, "My son also liked it very much when he was young..."
Nangong Yue raised her brows, showing some interest. It turned out that A Yi liked to eat milk cakes since she was a child.
Nangong Yue said: "Then I will ask my mother how to make milk cakes someday."
Upon hearing this, Nanny Chu secretly said happily: "Could it be that the son of the world still likes to eat milk pancakes now, then I have to behave myself!"
Thinking about it, she immediately cheered up, echoed respectfully, and then said: "My lord, my concubine, after turning right ahead, you will be at Qiwu Garden."
While speaking, they turned right along a hand-painted corridor.
While admiring the scenery, Nangong Yue asked seemingly casually, "Mother Chu, where is there a rockery in this mansion?"
Could it be that the crown prince likes rockery? While pondering in her heart, Mother Chu replied enthusiastically: "Concubine Hui Shi, there are in the big garden, and there are also small gardens next to Qiwu Garden. However, the rockery in this small garden is Taihu Stone. The rockery in the garden is a thousand-layer stone, which is far inferior to this Taihu stone. In the past, when the princess was alive, every time she returned to Ning, she would go to the small garden to admire the stone." Mother Chu said, with a bit of nostalgia on her face .
Nangong Yue frowned slightly, and quickly exchanged a look with Xiao Yi. She was still wondering where the garden and rockery Sun Xinyi's aunt was talking about. The Taihu stone in this small garden is amazing.
Nangong Yue then ordered: "Mrs. Chu, take me and Master Shizi to the small garden."
Could it be that the person who likes rockery is actually the son of the world? Nanny Chu quickly glanced at Xiao Yi, not daring to ask any more questions, and hastily answered.
A few people temporarily changed their course and walked to a bluestone path on the right. After crossing a small bamboo forest, a small garden in front came into their sight.
Nanny Chu hurriedly introduced: "Shi Zifei, this is the small garden."
In the words, Nangong Yue and Xiao Yi were led by Nanny Chu into the small garden.
At this time, the bright red sun had already begun to slant westward, shedding soft red light, covering the flowers, plants, and gazebos in the small garden with a thin layer of red gauze.
Nangong Yue and Xiao Yi walked side by side along a cobblestone path, and Nangong Yue talked to Xiao Yi about the flowers and plants around them from time to time.
She didn't seem to care, but in fact, she had noticed that this small garden had been neglected in recent years. Many plants had been pruned recently, and some potted plants should have been temporarily placed in flower beds.
The tea is cold... Nangong Yue's eyes flashed with emotion, and after walking half a circle around the small garden, Mother Chu said again: "Master, Concubine, just ahead." , Exquisite and penetrating rockery.
Nangong Yue smiled and said to Xiao Yi: "Ah Yi, this Taihu Stone really lives up to its reputation!"
Xiao Yi stared at the rockery a few feet away, and Taohua's eyes were gloomy. After a while, he said casually: "Pangu is vigorous and graceful, is this Jingshan Taihu Stone?"
"Master, you have a good eye." Nanny Chu praised in a hurry, her eyes narrowed with a smile, "This Taihu stone is because of the year when the former princess moved to Qiwuyuan, the old master specially spent a thousand dollars to get it from the stone. It was brought here from Jingshan, and people were ordered to build a pond here. The former princess liked it very much, and when she was in the mansion, she would often sit in the octagonal pavilion by the rockery, enjoy the flowers and play the piano... "
"This is a good place." Nangong Yue suggested with a slight smile, "Ayi, let's sit in the pavilion for a while."
Xiao Yi responded, and the two went to the Bajiao Pavilion.
After they sat down on the railing bench in the pavilion, they looked in the direction of the rockery and saw the setting sun showing half of their heads above the rockery. The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the pond beside it, forming a shimmering wave .
This octagonal pavilion is probably the most suitable place to enjoy the scenery in this small garden. It contains the love of Mrs. Fang for her daughter... Nangong Yue felt her eyes a little sour, but she still tried to calm down and said: "Chu Madam , I heard that one year, when the concubine was pregnant and returned to Fangfu to visit relatives, Fangfu seemed to have seen blood... "
Most of the things that happened so many years ago, Grandma Chu can't remember very clearly, but that time was an exception. That time was the last time Dafang's family returned to Ning before he passed away, not to mention, there were such things that happened in the mansion that day. Although they are just two servant girls, the Fang family is a family of great kindness, and they have always been kind to their servants. This little servant girl acted frivolously and recklessly, and offended her master by accident!
It's just that, why did the concubine Shi Zi even hear about what happened more than ten years ago, and even asked specifically... Could it be that the concubine Shi Zi wants to test herself
The more Mother Chu thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.
Originally, the family ugliness of the Fang family was not publicized, but the concubine was not considered an outsider.
So, Mother Chu respectfully replied: "Returning to the First Concubine, it was also the time when the servant accompanied the former princess back to the Fangfu, so the servant still has an impression..." She tried to recall, "It seems that the first princess returned to the Fangfu. The next day, that day, the mansion killed two servant girls."
After a pause, Mother Chu continued: "Actually, the slaves were not there at the time, and I heard some women in the mansion talk about what happened later, saying that Mrs. Wu Tai brought the five-year-old Mrs. The third young master came to release the paper kites in the small garden. At that time, Mrs. Wu Tai met Mrs. Liu Tai by chance, and the two went to the side to talk. When the third young master released the paper kites, the two little maids suddenly ran from behind the rockery laughing. When he came out, he accidentally knocked the third young master into the water... The woman and maid who served beside the third young master couldn't swim. Fortunately, the wife who was still in her boudoir passed by, heard the sound, and jumped into the water to rescue him. Third young master. Although the third young master only choked on a few sips of water, the fifth wife was so angry that she ordered the mother-in-law to beat the two little maids thirty sticks on the spot. Perhaps the beating was a bit heavy, and the two little maids swallowed. Angry."
lady
Nangong Yue frowned.
The one who can call Nanny Chu like this should be Xiao Fang.
This incident seemed to be an accident at first, but if you contacted Sun Xinyi for what he said, the reason why the two maids were beaten to death that day must have something to do with being suspected of seeing the conspiracy, that is to say, the so-called "Bumping into the third young master" was purely an excuse. Since this is an excuse, it is obvious that Sanfang has something to do with them if they can make such a concerted effort to put on a show!
And after that, Xiao Fang's family became the "successor princess" of the Zhennan Palace, and the fourth son of the third house became the heir of the long house. In the future, there is every chance to inherit the wealth of the Fang family. There is no doubt that Sanfang is the biggest beneficiary of this change.
only…
A mere concubine, where did he have the guts to get involved with Baiyue? In other words, how did Baiyue fall in love with them... With Baiyue's cunning and changeability, after he got the salt mine, what reason is there for this family to live
Nangong Yue glanced at Xiao Yi, his eyes showed the same doubts as hers.
Now wanting to tidy up the three rooms is just Xiao Yi's words, but it is very likely that all the clues will be interrupted. I've been waiting for nearly twenty years, and it's not too short of a few days.
It's better not to startle the snake...
Nangong Yue stroked her sleeves, and asked casually, "Where did Sanfang live when there was no separation?"
Nanny Chu pointed to the southwest and said, "On the southwest side of Fangfu, Master Wu Tai and Mrs. Wu Tai live in Chu Yuyuan." As she spoke, she murmured, "Speaking of which, Chu Yuyuan is about a short walk away. It's a stick of incense, Mrs. Wu Tai rarely brings the third young master here on weekdays, and those two girls are also reckless..."
Nangong Yue smiled faintly, didn't she? It's okay to run so far just to release a paper kite!
"Where do the other rooms live?" Nangong Yue asked again.
"The second bedroom lives in the Hengwu Courtyard to the north, the third bedroom lives in the Qinghui Courtyard to the east, and the fourth bedroom is..." Nanny Chu said one by one.
As the sunset was getting lower and lower, Nangong Yue and Xiao Yi sat down for a while, and Nanny Chu took the opportunity to talk about some past events, and felt that she was getting closer to the eldest son.
After that, they left the small garden, and this time, they came to Qiwu Garden without stopping.
Qiwuyuan has been tidied up, and Baihui led a group of maids to arrange all the masters' luggage, except for a few rosewood boxes that have not been put away.
As its name suggests, Qiwu Garden has many sycamore trees in the yard. The sycamore trees are lush and lush, forming patches of dense green shade, which makes people feel relaxed and relaxed when they are in it.
Xiao Yi looked up at the phoenix tree in the yard, and didn't speak for a while, until Baihui brought a group of servants over to salute: "My lord, my concubine, the house has been tidied up, and the hot water for bathing has been prepared. Do you want to have dinner first with the master and concubine, or..."
Nangong Yue took a look at Xiao Yi and said, "Take us into the house first."
Baihui led the way, but Nanny Chu wanted to follow, but was stopped by a maidservant in Tsing Yi, who said with a smile, "Mammy Chu, you must have worked hard these days, sister Baihui Said, please hurry down and rest."
Nanny Chu's face froze, she had stayed in Bixiaotang for two months, and she knew that in the room of the Shizi Concubine on weekdays, except for An Niang and a few big maids, ordinary servants were not allowed to enter casually.
Nanny Chu glanced at Xiao Yi and Nangong Yue in front, but she still didn't dare to say anything, and backed away silently.
Qiwuyuan is the place where Dafang lived when he was not married. Unlike the house in Bixiaotang, it is elegantly and softly decorated, and it looks like a woman's residence.
At first glance, the house is clean and tidy. In fact, from many details in the house, it can be seen that the place has been covered with dust for many years, and many of the furniture are old and bleak. It is estimated that someone started to clean up the yard after Mrs. Fang regained his sanity...
Nangong Yue sighed slightly in her heart. In fact, she already had a faint feeling in the small garden just now. The small garden has been abandoned to this point, let alone the boudoir where Mrs. Da Fang lives.
If you look carefully, you can find that the matching mahogany dressing table, wardrobe, etc. in this room have been removed long ago, and the ones that are placed here should all be found out of the storeroom by the high mother temporarily.
Xiao Yi looked around, how could he not see it, he frowned at first, but his temper was calm, and then he was relieved.
Even if everything remains the same, so what
That is to say, things are right and people are wrong.
The most important thing is now, the person who is by his side at this moment.
Xiao Yi looked down at Nangong Yue, looked at the faint tiredness between her brows, and felt distressed, and said: "Ah Yue, you should go take a bath first, rest early, and we will come back early after going to the smelting workshop tomorrow, I will take you around Take a stroll." As he said that, Xiao Yi was already thinking about taking her to Yucheng first tomorrow, and then going to Qingai Lake in the next day. He went there once when he was a child, and the stinky girl would definitely like it...
Thinking about it, Xiao Yi's peach blossom eyes were shining brightly, and those bright black pupils were so soft that they almost melted into water.
That night, after dinner, both of them took a rest early.
At dawn the next day, Xiao Yi got up again with the cock crowing, put Nangong Yue who also woke up to sleep, and went out to practice martial arts in the yard.
Nangong Yue fell asleep again in a daze, and this time she slept until dawn, when she faintly heard a familiar eagle cry outside...
"Small gray… "
She opened her eyes, muttered, and sat up.
They obviously didn't bring Xiao Hui when they went out this time, is she dreaming
The thrush outside heard the commotion in the inner room, and came in through the curtain, saluting: "Prince Concubine, Housekeeper Zhu has sent a letter to the crown prince, and Xiao Hui has come chasing the carrier pigeon..." Thrush said with a strange look on her face. With a facial expression, "Prince Princess, Xiao Hui also 'brought' Han Yu here." While talking, Huamei thought, "Is Xiao Hui abducting Han Yu from An Yihou's family to elope?"
The more Huamei thought about it, the bigger her head became. She was really afraid that the stinking Xiao Si in An Yihou's house would suddenly appear and come to beg for Ying.
Nangong Yue couldn't help laughing, the drowsiness of sleepiness dissipated in the laughter, and she thought to herself: This little gray!
She got up to put on her shoes, and noticed that the sky outside was completely bright, thinking about going out today, she asked, "Humei, what time is it now?"
Huamei hurriedly replied: "Concubine Shizi, it's only time."
Nangong Yue breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately, there is still plenty of time.
After Xiao Yi came back, they went to the main courtyard together to have breakfast with Mrs. Fang.
Then, when a carriage drove out of Fangfu lightly and simply, it happened to be Sishi.
The carriage was speeding smoothly on the wide street. Today, Xiao Yi also had the cheek to lie in the carriage.
Grandpa Fang looked at the greasy and crooked looks of the young couple, couldn't help but stroking his beard and laughing, and said, "Ah Yi, Ah Yue, today we are leaving the city from the south gate, the Yunan Street just opposite the south gate is very lively, There are quite a few jewelry shops, cloth shops, and dim sum shops, but they are no worse than Luoyue City. I'll go to the nearby Liufang Restaurant and sit for a while, and you can go out with Ah Yue and buy more things! We'll leave the city later."
Xiao Yi originally planned to go shopping after he came back, but it's not bad to go shopping before going out of the city, so he didn't refuse, and he spared no effort to compliment: "It's still your grandfather who is thoughtful!"
Old Master Fang said boldly: "Ah Yue, don't save money for A Yi."
"Grandfather, don't worry, Ayue wants to save me, and you want me to agree, right?" Xiao Yi sang and said, "Well, grandfather, you might as well go with us, so that Ayue won't stop me! "As he spoke, he winked at Old Master Fang, which made Old Master Fang laugh so much that he stroked his beard in response.
Seeing that the grandparents and grandchildren were in high spirits, Nan Gongyue followed suit and had the right to please the old man.
However, not long after she arrived at Yunan Street, she regretted it.
What is Xiao Yi called shopping? This is clearly mopping up.
It's just that she took a second look at the fabric, and he ordered Zhuzi to buy it; as long as he thought it was suitable for her jewelry, he asked Zhuzhu to ask for money; Buy a few boxes of snacks...
Originally, she could persuade a few words, but now that Mrs. Fang is here, he still thinks that Xiao Yi didn't buy enough, so Nangong Yue can only keep silent, looking at the grandparents and grandchildren, wishing they could move their shop back home!
Buy too much and can't hold it
That's not a problem, Zhuzi only needs to say "Send it to Fangfu on Beizheng Street", and the shopkeeper will understand.
That's the Fang family, the famous Fang family in southern Xinjiang, and the in-laws of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion.
Many people recalled with regret the scandal that happened in the Fang family last year. The Fourth Master Fang dared to poison his stepfather as an heir.
But the old man of the Fang family has no children, after all, he still has to have another step-heir... Wait!
Could it be that the old man in the wheelchair is Mrs. Fang
Then this young and handsome young master acted so ostentatiously, could he be the new heir or grandson
The more those shopkeepers thought about it, the more they felt that this was the case. Once it was passed on to ten, ten to a hundred, Xiao Yi and Nangong Yue walked halfway through Yunan Street. All the restaurants and shops on the street knew about Fang's God of Wealth. When they came, I didn't know which shop it started from, so they were called "Mr. Fang" and "Mrs. Fang".
Nangong Yue and Xiao Yi didn't bother to correct them, so they let them misunderstand and bought while shopping. After nearly an hour, Nangong Yue felt more tired than walking for half a day, and reminded in a low voice: "Grandfather, A Yi, We're going out of town!"
Old Mrs. Fang and Xiao Yi looked at it, still not satisfied, thinking that these shops would not run away anyway, so they agreed.
They got into the carriage again and continued on the road. Nangong Yue secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
After a while, I heard Mrs. Fang and Xiao Yi chattering about buying less of this just now and less of that. Nangong Yue felt helpless, but Huamei couldn't help laughing. Not to mention the old man above.
The carriage left the city slowly, Nangong Yue lifted the curtain, looked out the window with great interest, and chatted and laughed with Xiao Yi and Mrs. Fang from time to time.
But at this moment, a fast horse came galloping from behind. Hearing the sound of hooves, Xiao Yi also leaned over to take a look, and then ordered the carriage to stop.
The one who came was Bixiaotang's escort, Wang Chaoyuan, who was left in Fangfu by Xiao Yi today.
He reined in the reins, got off his horse, and after saluting with his fists clasped, he presented a small bamboo tube and said, "My lord, this is the letter from the flying pigeon just delivered from Luoyue City."
There was just a letter from Feige in the morning, and it was only a few hours later that another letter came. It must be urgent.
Xiao Yi took the bamboo tube, removed the lacquer seal, and took out a piece of tissue paper from inside. There was only one sentence on the tissue paper:
Report to my son, Mother Lu has been captured.
Xiao Yi's heart skipped a beat, Nanny Lu... is the murderer who poisoned his mother and concubine!