Chapter 59 Chapter 59 What to do

"With your rock-hard temper, no one wants to make peace with you."

Lu Huairu had said so much, but he found that the other person was as hard as a rock and refused to listen. He just snorted and walked out of Yuxing Palace without looking back.

The imperial concubine covered her chest, and Aunt Meng, the palace maid beside her, quickly brought warm tea over. "Your Majesty, please don't be angry with the Marquis. The Marquis has been like this for a long time. Fortunately, he can't hurt the Marquis' wife."

That's true, but what does it mean to lock someone up at home? Ask around in the capital, who locks up their wife at home?

Lu Huairu said, "Call him into the palace tomorrow!"

She gave the order, thinking that she would hold him in the palace tomorrow, explain everything to him clearly, and release him quickly.

Who would have thought that the next day after court was over, the palace servant who ran to deliver the message came back with no one and reported with a bitter face.

"My lady, I followed your instructions and invited the Marquis to come to Yuxing Palace, but the Marquis ignored me and rode away."

As he said this, it seemed as if his brother's stern expression appeared in front of Lu Huairu.

Lu Huairu's eyes really swayed.

"Your Majesty!" The palace maids on both sides hurried forward to support her.

Fortunately, the imperial concubine was still young and did not get so angry that she fell to the ground.

But she looked far away in the direction of Yongding Marquis's Mansion outside the palace——

With such a bad temper, who can control him when his parents are not around? !

*

Jiqingfang, Yongding Marquis Mansion.

He returned to the main room in the evening.

Du Lingjing received a letter from Nian Jiachuan, saying that she had told the Royal Concubine about the matter. The Royal Concubine invited him into the palace after the court session that day. It should be that Du Lingjing would be released soon.

But five or six days had passed, and it was already March, and he still didn't allow her to go out.

It can be seen that even the imperial concubine can't control him at all.

At this time, Du Lingjing saw him coming back and was about to go to sleep in the west wing. Before she even went out the door, he grabbed her arm.

"You haven't said a word to me for six days and six nights."

Ever since the night he asked his nanny to burn incense.

But he locked her up at home and refused to let her out. Even the queen could not do anything to him, just like he could call the shots in the court. Even Dou Ge Lao could not suppress him. He could do whatever he wanted. If His Royal Highness Prince Hui ascended to the throne, he would be able to do whatever he wanted under heaven.

But the mouth was on someone else's body, and she didn't want to say another word to him. How could he pry her mouth open?

She tightened her lips even more and remained silent.

Her face was so cold, as if river ice had fallen on one's heart, so cold that it made one's heart shrink again and again.

But she didn't say anything, so he had no way to force her to speak. He could only pick her up and hold her sideways, trapping her in the bed.

Between the curtains, he forced her to sleep with him.

... ...

The next day, when he went to court, someone came to the palace. It was Aunt Meng, who served the imperial concubine and had been serving her since before she got married.

Aunt Meng was very familiar with the Marquis' Mansion, but the mistress of the mansion had changed. Aunt Meng was not at all arrogant and waited outside at a leisurely pace.

Du Lingjing didn't expect that the queen had sent Aunt Meng, so she quickly changed her clothes and went to the front hall to greet her.

As soon as she arrived in the hall, she understood why Aunt Meng came.

The Imperial Concubine had a lot of things given to her as a reward, in the name of the seashell wind chime that His Royal Highness Prince Hui particularly loved. But these things were much more valuable than the wind chime.

The queen didn't come to express gratitude, but to "apologize" because she really couldn't do anything about her brother.

Du Lingjing was unworthy of the honor, but Aunt Meng told her to just accept it with thanks, and then sent everyone away, and took out something from her sleeve.

"Her Majesty said that those are nothing, and the Marquis's wife doesn't need these gold, silver, and jewelry. But Her Majesty just hopes that Madam can be a little happier these days, so she picked up her old craftsmanship and made a silk cord for Madam."

As soon as the words fell, Du Lingjing was shocked.

She stood up quickly and said, "How dare you, the queen, make me a silk scarf?!"

If this matter were to be made known to others, it would certainly be against the rules, but Aunt Meng said.

"The Queen has already hit him, Madam, just let him go. The Marquis has a bad temper... Alas, I just hope Madam won't take it too seriously."

Du Lingjing understood it in her heart.

Luozi was not beaten for her, but for the queen's brother, a powerful official who no one could do anything to.

The Queen is also a soft-hearted person, really different from someone else.

Du Lingjing had no choice but to take it in her hands, put it in her hand, and was about to kowtow to express her gratitude, but was helped up by Aunt Meng again.

It was a long aqua-green ribbon that could be tied around the waist or hung on the hem of the skirt. When they were stacked together, the production method was complicated and beautiful, something Du Lingjing had never seen before. But when the ribbon was hung down, it looked like water flowing down from the waist, like a waterfall in a mountain stream.

Du Lingjing was stunned. "Your Majesty's craftsmanship is so exquisite, and you are too fond of Lingjing."

Aunt Meng smiled and said, "Your Majesty only hopes that Madam can be more cheerful."

She said that this technique itself has the meaning of praying for blessings, "The Queen told Madam not to put it away, but to wear it often."

As she spoke, she took out another ribbon from her sleeve and said, "In fact, there is another one, which the Majesty also tied for the Marquis."

But compared to the previous ribbon that was like flowing water, this one given to someone was dark and had a hard line, forming a black ball at the end.

Du Lingjing was confused and Aunt Meng cleared her throat.

"The queen was also very angry, and she made a black stone ribbon for the marquis..."

The black stone...

Du Lingjing pursed her lips tightly to suppress the smile that shouldn't have appeared.

She quickly changed the subject and praised the Imperial Concubine's needlework, "I guess the Imperial Concubine often does some sewing for the Emperor and the little prince."

She said she would go, but Aunt Meng didn't respond.

Aunt Meng said, "Your Highness is indeed good at needlework, especially this kind of extremely complicated ribbon. There are not many people in the needlework department of the palace who can make this kind of brocade."

But she said that tying this kind of ribbon was too stressful, "Your Majesty usually has no time, and she hasn't done it for many years, especially since His Royal Highness Prince Yong left the palace..."

Aunt Meng stopped talking here and just sighed softly.

Du Lingjing knows a little about it.

After his biological mother Shao died, Prince Yong followed Lu Huairu, who had just married Prince Yin, when he was two or three years old. He grew up with her, from a toddling child to a teenager. He would not remember his biological mother Shao, but he would definitely remember Lu Huairu who raised him.

But in the end, a rift developed between mother and son.

Du Lingjing only had a vague idea about the secret affairs of everyone in the palace. She was afraid that except for the people involved and the "omnipotent and omniscient" Marquis Lu, no one else could know the full picture.

It was like the story of Lu Huairu marrying into Prince Yin's mansion. At that time, Du Lingjing was in Beijing with her father and witnessed the event with her own eyes, but she only knew one side of the story.

That was the fourteenth year of the Hongqi reign. The Yongding Army was trapped outside the Great Wall, and the Tatars suddenly wanted to negotiate peace with the court. The civil and military officials in the court were divided over whether to advocate peace or war, and they almost came to a fight in the court.

At that time, the third, fourth and fifth princes of the late emperor all went south to offer sacrifices to their ancestors on behalf of the late emperor. The unfavored King Yin, now the emperor, was unable to go with them and remained in the capital.

However, the late emperor was unable to make a decision because of the endless debate between the civil and military officials on whether to advocate peace or war, and he became ill due to anger. At this time, the several older princes vying for the throne were not there, so the only option was to have the King of Yin act as regent temporarily.

The King of Yin suddenly had the power to make the decision on this matter.

It was at this time that Lu Huairu entered Prince Yin's palace. This eldest daughter of the Lu family, who was the center of attention, voluntarily became Prince Yin's concubine.

The person first entered the palace, and then the ceremony of taking a concubine was completed.

After she married quietly, King Yin immediately put the peace talks on hold and insisted on sending troops to aid the Yongding Army. Although it was a little late, the Yongding Army had suffered countless casualties, but it was not completely destroyed. Later, it gradually recovered to the present... ...

At that time, Imperial Concubine Lu Huairu was only eighteen years old.

There were rumors that she had actually been engaged to a young general in the Yongding Army. Du Lingjing didn't know whether it was true or not, but at that time her father and grandfather were both at the border, her mother had passed away, and her grandmother was bedridden.

Half of the Yongding Army was waiting for support, and the court was in a stalemate with no one making a decision.

She was the only one who made the final decision on the life and death of the Yongding Army.

She gave up her status as the eldest daughter of the Lu family, entered the palace in a sedan chair, and became the concubine of the least favored King Yin.

If King Yin had not ascended the throne, what would have been the fate of Lu Huairu, the eldest daughter of the Lu family?

Nobody knows.

... ...

Aunt Meng had a chat with Du Lingjing and mentioned that the queen also liked the seashell wind chimes she sent.

"Your Highness, let alone, sometimes hangs on the porch to listen to the wind, and sometimes puts it close to his ear to ask what the sound of the waves is like?"

After they chatted for a while, it was getting late. Just then, the "arrogant" marquis returned from court. Aunt Meng said that the queen had a few words to tell him, so she said goodbye and left.

Du Lingjing didn't know how many words the imperial concubine had given her brother, but he still locked her up at home and she couldn't even step out.

It was useless for anyone to post the invitation, except for the 77th birthday of the wife of Marquis Jing'an, who brought the invitation to her desk.

If Du Lingjing simply did not leave the house, he would have no way to deal with him, but this was a big event in the capital, and Du Lingjing did not care too much for the sake of the imperial concubine.

But she still didn't talk to him.

On the eighth day, Wei Cong, the son of the Earl of Zhongqing, who had returned to Beijing to recuperate, came to visit and brought Nian Jia with him.

The two of them brought wedding gifts. Du Lingjing also went to the front hall and saw a tall and mighty man standing next to Nian Jia.

He was about the same height as Marquis Lu, but he was obviously a general who had never left the battlefield. His whole body was roughened by the wind and sand, which made him look even more powerful. Nian Jia looked petite standing next to him.

She looked at the two of them more, and especially saw Nian Jia standing next to General Wei, she felt indescribably uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but look at Wei Cong twice more quietly.

But these two glances were caught tightly by someone. He frowned and asked her why she was looking at someone else's husband?

Du Lingjing doesn't have as many thoughts as he does.

Besides, she can’t go out anymore, so can’t she even see people?

In her opinion, Wei Cong was one year older than him, but was much more stable than him. He sat very steadily, calm and taciturn, and had the demeanor of a great general in the books who never showed his emotions.

On the other hand, a certain powerful minister, who was used to being arrogant and domineering, with his eyes and eyebrows showing his tyranny, somehow ended up calling out "Shen Ru".

Be as cautious to the end as at the beginning?

He doesn't look like the kind of person who would be trembling with fear or treading on thin ice.

He was still staring at her, his eyes becoming darker and more serious. Du Lingjing didn't want to pay attention to him, but it was not good to keep looking at others.

At this moment, she saw the servant bringing tea. His right hand was injured and wrapped thickly with white cloth. The tea was placed next to his left hand, but two fingers on his left hand were also injured.

Nian Jia couldn't help but look at him, worried that his left hand was not dominant and his fingers were injured, so he would not be able to lift the boiling tea.

But Wei Cong's expression did not change at all. He slowly pinched the lid of the bowl to stir the tea leaves twice, then put the lid down and picked it up steadily without even a tremor.

Du Lingjing saw that Nian Jia was obviously relieved, but her eyes suddenly met her husband's gaze.

The two people's eyes suddenly met in mid-air across the empty space in the center of the hall. Nian Jia quickly turned away, pretending that he didn't care at all whether the person opposite him could have tea. He concealed his sight with the lid of the tea bowl and lowered his head to take several sips from the teacup.

Du Lingjing glanced at her panic-stricken look, but found that Wei Cong was not as strange as her. His eyes were relaxed, and there seemed to be a barely perceptible smile between his eyebrows.

But Nian Jia didn't dare to look at her even once.

Du Lingjing was used to dealing with books in the library, but this was the first time she found the eyebrow and eye lawsuit so interesting.

However, Nian Jia also noticed that she was looking at him, and immediately glared at her. Wei Cong also talked to the marquis at the top about what had happened in the army under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Dusi and the Shaanxi Xing Dusi in the past six months.

The four of them exchanged a few words, and the chief steward of the clan had the banquet prepared. Marquis Lu and his wife naturally invited the two distinguished guests to the banquet.

At the banquet, the chief steward of the clan personally served the dishes to Wei Cong. Wei Cong kept saying it was inappropriate, but Lu Shenru just told him to sit down.

His right arm and right hand were seriously injured, and his left hand was also inconvenient, but fortunately he was able to walk without any hindrance.

The chief steward of the clan served him the dishes and went downstairs. After the chief steward left, Du Lingjing saw Nian Jia steal a few glances at him again, and then when he was not paying attention, she quickly picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and gave it to him.

It was a bit like doing the job of looking after him, but not even letting him see the job.

He was talking to Lu Shenru, but just as he finished this sentence, he turned around and caught the chopsticks that flew away after Nian Jia put down the dish.

"Thank you, Princess." He said softly.

Nian Jia never expected that he would be seen by him so soon. He had to reply but did not dare to look at him. He just urged him.

"Eat quickly, my prince."

The man's eyes were smiling.

"good."

Du Lingjing found it very interesting. According to what Nian Jia had told her before, she was bored to death in Xi'an and had never looked for Wei Cong. Although they had been married for three years, they were almost like strangers.

But now it seems that people don't treat her as Princess Nianjia, but as a stranger and unfamiliar person.

Du Lingjing was secretly finding it interesting when she discovered that a piece of food had fallen into her bowl.

Someone also picked up some food for her, a handful of boneless fish tender meat.

It's that marquis.

Logically, she should have said "Thank you, My Lord", but Du Lingjing didn't say anything.

Lu Shenru put some more food into her bowl with chopsticks, but she still didn't say anything, pretending she didn't see it.

Eight days.

The meal that Lord Lu ate was like the fish had its gallbladder cut out, or the seasonal vegetables had coptis root added to them. Each dish was more unpalatable than the last...

After the meal, everyone tasted the sweetness, sourness, bitterness and spiciness.

The four of them took a few slow walks in the garden. Wei Cong had come all the way from the northwest to the capital, so he certainly didn't come back to eat. Lu Shenru also knew what he meant, and from time to time he ordered people to follow his wife and accompany the princess to the back garden for a spring outing, while he and Wei Cong went to Yuanxiu Pavilion to talk alone.

Without the two of them around, Du Lingjing and Nian Jia were happy and at ease, especially Nian Jia, who breathed a sigh of relief.

Du Lingjing asked with a smile, "I think the prince is a very steady and thoughtful person."

"Who said it wasn't?" Nian Jia replied.

"Then why are you and the prince..."

Still acting weird after three years of marriage?

Du Lingjing didn't ask the second half of the sentence, but how could Nian Jia not understand it, so she changed the subject directly.

"Let's go to the Shuseki Pavilion on the rockery. I think the scenery there is nice."

Du Lingjing found it funny, and seeing that Nian Jia didn't want to talk about it, she followed her lead and said no more.

But Nian Jia suddenly noticed the long ribbon tied around her waist.

"Huh? Your ribbon is very delicate, rare and complex yet flexible. Who made it?"

Du Lingjing thought that she had asked the imperial concubine to reprimand someone, so she whispered to her, "It was the queen who beat me."

Nian Jia was also shocked.

She said, "Lord Lu is really powerful. Even Your Majesty can't cure him."

Du Lingjing didn't want to mention this matter anymore.

However, Nian Jia looked at the ribbon and said something.

"I did hear some old stories about the Empress in Shaanxi, but I don't know if they are true or not."

"What old thing?"

Nian Jia looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he spoke softly.

"Your Highness was engaged before. Her husband was with a young general from her maternal family, the Guo family. But in the fourteenth year of Hongqi, when the Yongding Army suffered a severe setback, Your Highness married the Emperor and parted ways with General Guo."

"Where is General Guo?"

Nian Jia raised his head and glanced far toward the northwest.

"In the third year after your majesty got married, he died on the battlefield..."

*

Yuanxiu Pavilion in the outer courtyard.

There is no need to beat around the bush with Lu Shenru and Wei Cong.

The two of them had been in the army together since childhood, and had gone through life and death together countless times. When he came to the capital and entered the court, Wei Cong stayed behind to guard the border for him and sit in the northwest.

He asked directly, "Now that you're back, have those spies from back then reappeared?"

After he finished speaking, he saw Wei Cong's expression calm down and he nodded slowly.