An Changqing was led by him and walked forward. The man's pace was unhurried, tall, with a straight spine, as sharp as the long gun behind him. When he stands by your side, without any action or words, it already gives people an unparalleled sense of security.
After taking two steps, An Changqing couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to protect me no matter what I do?"
"Of course." Xiao Zhige gave him a puzzled look, and said rightly, "You are my princess."
When he said this, the man's expression was always serious and serious, and the doubts between his eyebrows seemed to ask "who else can I protect if I don't protect you".
An Changqing pursed her lips and snickered, and pulled him to another path: "If you don't go back first, then accompany me to the West Courtyard."
Although Xiao Zhige didn't know what he was going to do, he kept pace with him.
The An Mansion is the mansion of Wujin, and the old lady lives in the main courtyard in the middle. An Zhike and An Zhixue, who have the most power in the Anjia family, live in the East and West respectively. An Changqing took Xiao Zhige through the chasing veranda and through a hanging flower door before arriving at the West Courtyard.
The west courtyard is bustling. People running in and out carrying pots of hot water, and occasionally one or two wailing and screaming and bursts of wailing could be heard.
When An Changqing and Xiao Zhige came in, the servants all paused, and then they remembered something, and avoided them and entered the room with pale faces. There was a well-dressed maid who glared at An Changqing with an angry face, her mouth wriggled for a while, and finally didn't dare to say anything.
"That's An Changqi's jadeite." An Changqing complained, "Later An Changqi's tricks against me were all she thought up."
Fei Cui was probably aware of An Changqi's thoughts, and saw that he was very unpleasant. She gave An Changqi an idea to force him to submit, but secretly she would find every opportunity to humiliate him. At that time, he was young and soft-natured, so he could only secretly feel wronged and angry, and there was nothing he could do.
But it was different now, he knew someone would back him up.
The boy's voice was three-part complaining and two-part squeamishness. He looked at Xiao Zhige with wide eyes, like a little brat who had been wronged and complained to the adults in the family. Xiao Zhige's heart softened when he saw him, and he couldn't help but feel light. Gently rubbing the fingers wrapped in the palm of his hand, he approached his ear and said in a low voice, "She is from An Zhike."
"!!!" An Changqing's eyes widened, full of surprise.
After all, this is not a suitable place to talk, Xiao Zhige stopped at the point: "She is a very good pawn. If she uses it well, it will not only save An Changqi's life, but also make An Zhike's brother eccentric."
An Changqing looked puzzled, but he didn't think about clearing the customs for a while, and looked at him puzzled: "How to use it?"
"I think about it myself." Xiao Zhige did not give an answer immediately, but went to the wing with him instead. An Changqing wanted to say something, but was stopped by an angry shout.
"You still dare to come!" An Zhishou's wife, Mrs. Sun, rushed towards An Changqing with a high-pitched scream: "Little slut! It's not enough for you to seduce Chang Qi, and you hurt him like this, I want you to pay for your life! "
An Changqing couldn't react in time. Seeing that he was about to be poked in the eyes by the woman's sharp fingernails, he saw Xiao Zhige react quickly and kicked the person out, hitting the heavy rosewood chair heavily.
Xiao Zhige had an angry look on his face and shouted in a deep voice: "On the day the princess returned to Ning, An Changqi was disrespectful and disrespectful, and it was merciful for this king to cut off his hands and feet. "The sullen eyes swept over the Sun family, who had messy hair, and Xiao Zhige asked coldly, "Or Madam Sun thinks... this punishment is light?"
Sun's legs, who had just been lifted up, softened, and he knelt heavily on the ground again. An Zhishou also knelt down in fear: "I'm ignorant and ignorant, and I love my son so much.
Xiao Zhige ignored the two kneeling people and looked at An Zhike with a condensed expression: "The prime minister should not be busy with the government all day long, this family style should also be rectified, or sooner or later it will cause a catastrophe and affect the whole family."
An Zhike's face twitched, and he cupped his hands and bowed: "Your Highness has taught me." After speaking, he looked at An Changqing again, his eyes became more displeased, but he was concerned about Xiao Zhige, who was staring at him, so he could only Squeeze out a smile: "Is there something else the princess is here?"
"Anti-God Evil God"
An Changqing came here to find him, and she was not polite at the moment: "Yu Concubine has been ill for a long time, and she has not been cured after taking medicine. It happened that there was a doctor in the palace who was good at treating intractable diseases, so I borrowed someone from the prince. In two days, let the doctor come and take a look."
An Zhike's eyelids jumped, but before he could speak, Mrs. Li, who was beside him, spoke up: "The doctor who sees Concubine Yu is an old doctor from Deren Tang. If he doesn't like it, I'm afraid it's a replacement..."
"Then let's look at another doctor." An Changqing interrupted her: "There is always a doctor who can treat me, my father said, is this the truth?"
An Zhike's face was ugly, but the one who stood in front of him was no longer the shy son who was allowed to handle it. Just because of the King of the Northern War standing behind him, An Zhike had to bow his head: "That's the truth."
An Changqing nodded coldly, and added: "Also, the location of Lanhong Garden is too far, and there is no competent person in the yard. The prince was worried that it would not be safe, so he left Zhao Shi behind."
An Zhike's face was blue and white, and his teeth were about to break. After a long while, he said word by word: "It should be like this, but I didn't think about it carefully."
After the goal was achieved, An Changqing smiled with satisfaction, and said to An Zhishou and his wife, who were kneeling aside and did not dare to get up: "There are a lot of things in the palace, I will come to see my cousin another day."
Sun shi was so angry that his fingernails were pinched into the flesh, but he didn't dare to make a sound. On the contrary, An Zhishou said quickly, "I don't dare to work the princess."
An Changqing nodded politely before leaving with Xiao Zhige.
After leaving the prime minister's residence, An Changqing got into the carriage as usual, and Xiao Zhige followed him on horseback.
It was already afternoon, and the winter sun was also languid, hanging on the west side, emitting a few traces of warm light. An Changqing lifted the curtain of the carriage to see Xiao Zhige. The man was still wearing his morning clothes, sitting tall and straight on a group of black horses. He couldn't see his facial features clearly against the light, but An Changqing felt inexplicably that this man was still the same person. Tall and handsome.
There was a hustle and bustle of people on both sides of the street. An Changqing watched the people for a while, and then curiously looked at the shops on both sides. When he saw the big plaque of "Sanweizhai", a hint of slyness crossed his eyes.
He stretched out his hand from the car window to tug at Xiao Zhige's sleeve, and whispered, "I want to eat plum cake."
Xiao Zhige pulled the reins and stopped, looking down at him. The young man looked up and saw that the orange sunset happened to fall on him, coating him with a furry halo, and Xiao Zhige could even see the tiny fluff on his porcelain-white face. Like his people, soft.
"I'll go buy it." Xiao Zhige stopped the carriage, dismounted, and strode toward Sanweizhai.
Sanweizhai's business is good, and there will always be people queuing in front of the door. But when Xiao Zhige came, it was like a sharp blade in the sea, and the crowd retreated to the sides in fear, letting him go first. Xiao Zhige was also accustomed to this kind of treatment, with his brows still, he handed out a piece of silver to Xiao Er and bought a box of freshly baked plum blossom cakes.
"Just eat two pieces." Xiao Zhige handed him the plum blossom cake and said, "I will have dinner when I go back."
The freshly baked plum cake had a stronger aroma. An Changqing picked up a piece and took a bite. Hearing what he said, he tilted his head and thought, "It won't taste good when it's cold, what a waste."
Xiao Zhige said, "I'll buy it for you again."
An Changqing shook his head, smiled, picked up a piece and handed it to him, his eyes flashing: "You eat too."
Xiao Zhige lowered his eyes and stared at the piece of plum cake without moving. However, there was a sound of inhalation behind him. An Changqing and Xiao Zhige turned their heads to look at the same time. The surroundings were silent, and everyone around them hung their heads and went about their own business.
An Changqing turned around and urged, "If you don't eat it, it will be cold."
Xiao Zhige had to bow his head slightly and bite away the plum blossom cake in his hand. The small piece of plum cake is not big. The filling should be made of plum blossoms. The entrance is faintly scented with plum blossoms. There is not much sugar, but it is sweet to the heart.
"Go back." Xiao Zhige's Adam's apple moved slightly, and his eyes moved to the curtain of the carriage: "Leave me what you can't eat."
An Changqing gave a "uh", then took another piece and put it in his mouth.
***
Back at the palace, Wang Fugui brought his servants to welcome him. An Changqing stepped down from the horse stool, and found that he was limping, and asked casually, "What's wrong with Butler Wang's legs? If you're not feeling well, go and rest."
Wang Fugui stopped, hesitating and not knowing how to explain it, and he didn't dare to really rest, so he could only look at Xiao Zhige nervously.
"He did something wrong and should be punished." Xiao Zhige said lightly.
An Changqing rolled his eyes, did not ask any further questions, and went back to the main courtyard with him. The two cleaned their hands first, and the maids began to set meals. After the food was served, An Changqing was not used to being served on the side, so he waved away the maid, leaving only him and Xiao Zhige.
Xiao Zhige caught a piece of fish and was seriously picking the fishbone.
An Changqing stared at him intently, and suddenly asked, "Is it because of me?"
"Huh?" Xiao Zhige raised his head.
"Steward Wang's injury."
Xiao Zhige nodded, and continued to pick the fishbone: "He should have prepared the return gift list. He neglected his duty and should be punished."
"What if the other people in the manor also bullied me?" An Changqing stared at him with sparkling eyes, unable to help herself.
"Someone bullied you?" Xiao Zhige frowned.
"No." An Changqing smiled and shook his head: "I mean if."
Xiao Zhige's frowning brows loosened, and he said, "Just deal with it."
"But I want to teach them a lesson myself." An Changqing shook his head. After feeling the man's connivance, he couldn't help but want to stick his soft body out of the shrunken shell and test the man's behavior step by step. Bottom line.
"Let me teach you a lesson?" Xiao Zhige was a little puzzled, frowning and hesitantly said: "There is a torture chamber in the mansion, just ask them to deal with it for you." If you want to teach others by yourself, it is easy to hurt yourself.
Knowing that he would be wrong, An Changqing couldn't help laughing out loud and said more bluntly: "I mean... I'm your princess now, and it's time to learn to take care of the palace. Butler Wang used to take care of it because there was no one in the house. Now I want to try it."
After saying that, he looked at him expectantly.
Xiao Zhige was stunned for a while, but just when An Changqing thought he didn't want to, he heard him doubt and said, "Of course it's your housekeeper. If you want to do anything, just do it."
This time, it was An Changqing who was stunned. It took him a long time to understand. This man actually thought very simple. Because he is his concubine, he protects him as a matter of course; because he is his concubine, he also takes charge of the palace as a matter of course.
Because he took it for granted, he was so puzzled when faced with An Changqing's request.
In the last life, he must have thought so too. It's a pity that An Changqing didn't understand until this moment. In the eyes of a man, what he asked for should be what he deserved. In the last life, he was too cowardly and gave up.
"I see." An Changqing smiled at him with bright eyes.
Xiao Zhige was infected by him, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. He put the fish meat that had been picked clean of fish bones into the plate in front of him, and said, "Eat."