In August in the capital, the summer heat gradually subsided and white dew arrived.
After noon, Mu Zhiming sat in the study, carefully looking at the archives of the Ministry of Rites, Caiwei brought the tea and fruit plate and gently placed it in front of Mu Zhiming: "Master, these days, why do you always keep yourself in the house, why , Don't go to the General's Mansion to meet friends like you did some time ago?"
Mu Zhiming smiled: "I'm no longer suitable to go to the General's Mansion."
"Then you can go shopping with Ayin more." Caiwei advised, "Look at Ayin, he runs out every day these days, even if he returns to the mansion, his heart will float outside."
"There's nothing to do when he's idle anyway, let him play more." Mu Zhiming smiled.
Caiwei sighed: "Young master, you are as old as A Yin, why are you so patient? I'm really afraid that you will bore yourself out."
Mu Zhiming smiled and said nothing.
Suddenly, a servant came knocking on the door: "Master, the master and his wife are calling you to the side hall."
"Okay." Mu Zhiming stood up, "I'll go right now."
Mu Zhiming walked to the side hall. Mu Boren and Gong Shi sat on the pear wood armchair. After Mu Zhiming saluted, Gong Shi smiled and waved to him: "Li Zhu, sit next to Lai Niang."
Mu Zhiming nodded, sat down beside Gong Shi, and asked in confusion, "I don't know why the parents called for the baby?"
Gong shi smiled and said, "I really have something important to discuss with you."
"Major event?" Mu Zhiming became more and more puzzled, and looked at Mu Boren, "What's the major event?"
Mu Boren's expression was a little uncomfortable for some reason, he coughed lightly, winked at Gong Shi, and asked Gong Shi to speak.
In such a moment, the clever Mu Zhiming suddenly realized what his parents wanted to say when they were looking for him.
As expected, Gong shi smiled lovingly and kindly, and said, "Li Zhu, you are at this age, and it's time to tell you about your marriage."
Mu Zhiming was stunned, not knowing how to respond: "..."
Gong continued: "I called you here today because I wanted to ask if you have someone you like. If not, there are quite a few candidates in your mind, and when the time comes, you can find the most famous matchmaker in the capital and exchange them for Geng Tie. Eight characters, you will definitely be able to find a happy golden and jade relationship."
"Father, Mother"
Mu Zhiming said softly, "..."
He opened his mouth, but couldn't speak anymore.
"Huh?" Gong Shi was delighted, "Could it be that Li Zhu is really interested in you?"
"I..." Mu Zhiming hesitated, "I..."
Mu Boren patted the chair and said anxiously, "If you have it, you have it, if you don't have it, you don't have it. What's the matter with the hesitation?"
"Aiya." Gong Shi hurriedly said, "Don't rush, the child is shy!"
Mu Zhiming suddenly stood up, bowed his head and saluted: "Father, mother, can you give the child ten days to think about it, and after ten days, the child will give the father and mother an answer."
"Okay." Gong Shi nodded, "Li Zhu, both parents hope that you can find a good fate. If you have a sweetheart, you can tell your parents, you don't need to care too much about your background, your parents only look forward to you. Just be happy."
Mu Zhiming didn't say a word, bowed deeply, and exited the side hall.
Gong shi said softly, "Does this child have a sweetheart or not?"
Mu Boren shook his head and sighed, "Ma'am, don't you think that there seems to be something in Li Zhu's heart?"
"Press, very heavy, very heavy thing."
The next day, Mu Zhiming went to court, and after making a presentation and discussing government affairs, he went to Fengyi Palace to visit the noble concubine. As soon as the noble concubine saw Mu Zhiming, she angrily pointed at his forehead with sallow white, accusing him of not coming to see him much, Mu Zhiming said helplessly: "I am already weak, and it is not easy to enter the harem now. The emperor's word will do."
Years of undefeated beauty, the noble concubine is still as agile as a mountain deer, her jade palm rests her chin lightly: "Hey, okay, then I don't blame you, come, eat melon seeds, tell me about this outside the palace, Are the lotus flowers still blooming in Yongquan Temple on the outskirts of the city? Wait, Xiaolizhu, you are already weak, why haven't you married yet?"
Mu Zhiming smiled helplessly and said, "Empress Concubine, why, even you mentioned this..."
The imperial concubine slapped the seeds: "I just heard about it yesterday, and I just remembered that you are this age."
"Huh? What's the matter?" Mu Zhiming reached for the melon seeds.
The imperial concubine said: "Today, the emperor summoned the Yulin general Gu Heyan, and wanted to marry him and Princess Qinghe, and make him his concubine. Princess Qinghe's biological mother, Concubine De, was so happy when she found out about it, and talked about it in our ears every day.
The melon seeds that Mu Zhiming just picked up were scattered all over the table.
The imperial concubine was startled: "Huh? Xiaolizhu, what's wrong with you?"
"No... it's fine." Mu Zhiming came back to his senses, and in a panic, he gathered up the melon seeds on the table and smiled apologetically towards the imperial concubine.
The imperial concubine thought he was slippery and didn't care, and continued: "I still remember that spring hunting, General Gu attracted hundreds of attention with three arrows, then I knew that he would become a talent in the future, Xiaolizhu, do you know? Actually Gu When He Yan was seventeen years old, the emperor wanted to give him a marriage, but the frontier war was in a hurry that year, and he didn't get it. He left the capital and went to the frontier for five years. Now that he has just returned, the emperor wants to give him another marriage. It seems that you really care about this matter, Xiaoli Zhu?"
"Huh?" Mu Zhiming came back to his senses," the noble concubine, you said.
The imperial concubine asked worriedly: "Why are you always in a trance today? Is there something uncomfortable?"
Mu Zhiming hurriedly shook his head: "No, no." Is it really okay? "
"really."
"That's good."
After chatting with the noble concubine to relieve the boredom, it was almost evening when Mu Zhiming returned to the mansion of the State of Yan. Caiwei called him for dinner. Mu Zhiming shook his head and said that he was not hungry. Walking slowly in the garden of the mansion, and walking to the pavilion at the four corners of the bamboo forest in the courtyard, Mu Zhiming seemed to remember something, walked quickly to the center of the pavilion, lifted up his robe, and sat down slowly on the stone bench.
When Wen Heyin returned to the mansion, it was already dark, and with a mahogany food box in his hand, he excitedly ran to the wing to look for Mu Zhiming, but he couldn't find it.
Wen Heyin scratched her head in confusion and went to find Caiwei. Caiwei saw him and asked with a smile, "Ayin, I just came back, is Jingzhao Mansion looking for you to help? What is in this hand? ?"
"It's Jiyuezhai's dessert. Didn't the young master love to eat their cakes since he was a child? Wen Heyin lifted it up in front of him, and said with a loud laugh, "I passed by today and bought it. "Passing by Jiyuezhai? Why did you run so far?" Cai Wei felt strange, "It was several neighborhoods away.
Wen Heyin's eyes flickered: "I, I'm good at Qinggong, it's not very far, young master." The young master was sitting in the bamboo forest pavilion. "Caiwei sighed," for some reason, after returning from the palace, she sat there without saying a word, and didn't eat dinner. "
"What? I didn't eat dinner, so how can I do it." Wen Heyin was anxious.
Caiwei: "He said he has no appetite, so let's go, Ayin, send the pastries from Jiyuezhai, maybe the young master likes it and eats it."
"Yeah!" Wen Heyin nodded, and ran to the bamboo forest pavilion with the food box. From a distance, he saw Mu Zhiming sitting alone at the stone table, quietly looking at the rustling bamboo forest with the west wind. On the side of the child, Yan Junyi is unparalleled, Haoyue strokes her bright eyes, and Bamboo Shadow falls into her arms
Wen Heyin suddenly remembered that he had seen this scene before.
when he was fourteen. "Ayin." Hearing the footsteps, Mu Zhiming turned his head and called softly after hearing the sound of the crane. "Master, why don't you eat dinner, don't you feel bad when you are hungry?" Wen Heyin walked over and put the mahogany food box on the stone table, "This is Jiyuezhai's pastry, I also bought you My favorite sweet-scented osmanthus cake, please eat some, young master.
"Okay." Mu Zhiming smiled gently.
Wen Heyin asked, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
Mu Zhiming hesitated for a moment and said, "Yesterday, my father and mother mentioned marriage to me. Wen Heyin's eyes widened suddenly, and her hands slammed on the stone table: "Marriage! What? ! marriage? ! This, this should be a good thing, then, that, this, this, this, and this.. to less. Lord, are you worried about this? "
Mu Zhiming shook his head and nodded again.
"Is that so? What does shaking his head and nodding mean?" Wen Heyin asked in confusion.
Mu Zhiming said, "I have something I don't understand."
Wen Heyin: "What's the matter? Say it and I'll help you think about it.
Mu Zhiming said with a smile: "Ayin, do you remember, when we were fourteen years old, one day, I woke up in the morning and cried like crazy, and then sat motionless in this bamboo forest pavilion the next day. a day?"
"I remember! Wen Heyin hurriedly said," I remember it clearly. You didn't know what happened that day. When you woke up, you didn't wear your shoes or change your clothes. You talked a lot of nonsense, and cried while talking, and then the next day, you sat here in a daze, ignoring everyone, terrifying everyone, and losing your soul. "
Mu Zhiming fell into memory, and his voice was very soft:
"Actually, I thought a lot that day.
A lot of things I want to do in the future, including who to marry.
"Huh? Who is it?" Wen Heyin asked curiously.
Mu Zhiming: "Forbidden Army, Censor Terrace, Thousand Cavalry Guards."
Wen Heyin became more and more puzzled: "But these are not people."
Mu Zhiming smiled, with a very shallow smile: "The commander-in-chief and the governor all have daughters of my age."..."Wen Heyin thought about it, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong." How can I listen to this, young master, so weird? So young master, what is it that you don't understand? "
The ice wheel was lonely, the moonlight was cold, Mu Zhiming looked at the Cang Cang Bamboo Forest again, and murmured in distress: "Ayin, the only thing I want in this life is to protect the Mu family and you, I once sat in this cold On the stone bench, I thought about it for a whole day, and then from the age of fourteen to the present, every step I took was like walking on thin ice, and I was trembling with fear. Now, I have reached a crucial step, but why do I hesitate so much?"
"Master... I don't understand very well."
Wen Heyin was confused, scratched his head, thought for a moment and asked,
"But when you hesitate, what are you thinking about, or who are you thinking about?"