The capital city is prosperous, and even the city gates are different from those in other states and counties, being particularly majestic and magnificent.
Ming Jisi opened the carriage curtain and looked at the words on the city gate with burning eyes, his eyes full of desire: "Sister, it would be great if we could own a house in the capital."
The girl in the pink shirt said nothing.
"I never thought that the person who rescued you from Huaxi River was a nobleman." When Ming Jisi mentioned this nobleman, his breathing became heavy, unable to suppress his excitement: "I don't know what the status of this nobleman is. If he is..."
"Brother." The pink-shirted girl interrupted him and said, "The Ming family is very powerful in the capital. Don't mention them and bring trouble to yourself."
Ming Jisi looked embarrassed and whispered in defense: "Zhenyu, since they separated from their ancestors, they have not had any contact with us and have never retaliated against us. Why are you so nervous?"
Ming Zhenyu bit her lower lip: "I hope so."
After eleven years, she finally stepped into the capital again. Her memory of the capital was only of the bustling streets, the three courtyards of the Ming family, and... the cold look in Mrs. Ming's eyes when she looked at her.
【You are not my daughter.】
【Where have you hidden my daughter?】
After she was sent back to Lingzhou, these two sentences almost became her nightmare. When she was eight years old, she was ridiculed as a "fake lady" and ran out of the house in anger and fell into the Huaxi River.
"I remember when you came back that year, you were soaking wet." After entering the city, Ming Jisi saw that ordinary people in the capital were all wearing beautiful clothes, and his expression became more nervous: "When you came back, tell us who saved you, so that we can get in touch with the noble earlier."
"Your identity is mysterious and you don't allow me to tell it. How could I dare to tell my family?" Ming Zhenyu lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously tickling the forbidden steps.
"You were lucky that year, as you had the help of a noble person." Ming Jisi recalled his childhood: "On the day you fell into the water, a girl who was a few years older than you from the family at the end of our alley died. I heard that she was in the water for several days before she was found."
"Really?" Ming Zhenyu stopped her hand from doing the forbidden steps: "I don't remember."
"After you were rescued, you had a high fever that wouldn't go away. You were fine after being nursed for more than half a month. No one told you this, so you naturally didn't know this."
The carriage fell silent for a while. Ming Jisi could not help but speak again: "Tell me, has the Ming family's daughter been found?"
After the three brothers of the Ming family separated from the clan, the family seldom heard news about them. They only knew that their positions became higher and higher, and their status became higher and higher.
"If Madam Ming hadn't discovered that you were not her daughter, you would be the daughter of a high-ranking official now." There was a hint of regret in Ming Jisi's tone.
He really didn't understand. When his family sent his sister to the capital, they had made all the necessary preparations. Ming Jingzhou and his wife had never even seen their daughter grow up, so how did they find out that his sister was an imposter?
"Who wants to be their daughter?" Ming Zhenyu snorted coldly: "Maybe their daughter is already dead."
As they were talking, they found that the carriage suddenly stopped at the corner of the street. Ming Zhenyu opened the curtain of the carriage and smiled sweetly to the driver: "Brother, have we arrived at the benefactor's house?"
"Don't worry, young lady. There is a nobleman's carriage passing ahead. We should let him go first." The driver parked the carriage steadily with a simple smile. No one would have thought that such an ordinary-looking person would be a dragon guard.
Noble?
Her "benefactor" was a nobleman, and now the people they have to avoid are also noblemen. How many noblemen are there in the capital?
Soon, eight snow-white horses pulled a luxurious carriage through the middle of the road. The carriage was inlaid with gold and jade, and was accompanied by sword-wielding guards on horseback. Even these guards were wearing luxurious sleeved robes, looking majestic and impressive.
I wonder how noble the person sitting in the carriage is?
Just at this moment, the window curtain of the luxurious carriage was opened by a hand. The hand was white, tender and slender, with light pink nails, which matched the hand perfectly.
Ming Zhenyu saw the face of the carriage owner. It was a beautiful and naive face, as delicate as a princess in a royal palace.
She saw that all the carriages along the way were avoiding this woman, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Brother, this noble lady is so beautiful, is she a princess?"
"She is not a princess, but she is as noble as a princess." Although the people in the carriage could not see, the coachman still saluted in the direction of the carriage: "That is the Princess of Chen. Not only is she respected by the Prince of Chen, but also His Majesty and the Queen like her very much."
"Princess Chen..." Ming Zhenyu murmured, with a hint of envy in her tone. It was so good to be a prince's consort. Everyone in the capital had to respect and give way to her.
Someone came over and whispered something in the groom's ear. The groom nodded slightly and turned to Ming Zhenyu and said, "Sir, Miss, the master has prepared a secluded courtyard for you. Please follow me and settle there."
Ming Zhenyu was a little disappointed. It seemed that the nobleman had no intention of meeting her right away.
"It is difficult to repay the favor of saving my life, how can I ask you to provide me with a place to live." Ming Zhenyu smiled gently: "I came to Beijing this time to repay your kindness, and there is no other intention."
"Young lady, you are really grateful." The driver sighed and said, "To be honest, my master has been in trouble recently, so he has no time to come to see you."
Seeing that the groom seemed a little unhappy, Ming Zhenyu felt a little uneasy and forced a smile, "In this case, I will stay in your yard for the time being."
Never mention repaying a favor again.
The groom smiled and said, "Please sit down, young lady. We will be there soon."
As a prince's consort, Jiuzhu is definitely the most diligent one among the prince's consorts in going back to her parents' home. To outsiders, it seems that Princess Chen is helping Prince Chen to gain power in the Ming family, but in fact, Jiuzhu is simply taking His Highness back to her parents' home for dinner.
Ever since Prince Chen praised his mother-in-law Shen Ying for her good cooking skills, Shen Ying would cook for them herself every time Jiuzhu and Prince Chen came to visit, and she did it very happily.
Ming Jiyuan felt extremely complicated. In the past, he had rarely seen his mother cook throughout the year, but now everything has changed.
After eating and drinking, the whole family sat in the yard drinking tea and chatting, feeling extremely comfortable.
Ming Jinghai sat for a while, then took Ming Cunfu back to read. This year, His Majesty would hold an imperial examination, and Ming Cunfu would also have to take the exam.
For this reason, Ming Jingzhou, as Ming Cunfu's uncle, did not interfere in any matters related to the imperial examinations this year in order to avoid suspicion.
Looking at Ming Cunfu's back as he was carried away by his eldest brother, Ming Jingzhou smiled and turned to look at Prince Chen.
Prince Chen stretched out his hand to take the snack, but his hand stopped in mid-air. What did his father-in-law mean by that look? Was he going to take him to read a book too?
"Your Highness." Ming Jingzhou smiled.
"Please speak, father-in-law." Prince Chen straightened his back. At the critical moment, Jiuzhu considerately put a piece of snack in his palm.
"Nothing." Ming Jingzhou took a sip of tea and said, "I heard that Your Highness and Jiuzhu rescued a few decent girls who were forcibly bought by aristocratic families some time ago?"
Prince Chen nodded: "Is there anything wrong with this matter?"
"I want to say that Your Highness has done a great job." Ming Jingzhou said gently, "Your Highness has a compassionate heart for ordinary people."
Prince Chen was stunned for a moment. Was his father-in-law praising him?
After leaving the Ming family, Prince Chen asked Jiuzhu in confusion: "Little Pig, is my father-in-law praising me?"
"Is that an exaggeration?" Jiuzhu asked blankly, "Father is just telling the truth."
Prince Chen was silent.
He forgot that Ming Xiaozhu was the one who liked to praise him the most.
"Your Excellency, if you have no compassion for the people, it may be a disaster for ordinary people." Jiuzhu leaned on the shoulder of the King of Chen: "For example, the late emperor, and those aristocratic families who exploit the people. If they were half as kind as Your Highness, there wouldn't be so many people suffering innocently."
For the respected, it is entertainment and a moment of indulgence, but for ordinary people, it is their whole life.
"Your Highness is different from them." Jiuzhu's tone was innocent and yet she saw through the world: "There is light in your eyes."
"Well, I have a candle hidden in my eye." Prince Chen smiled and squeezed Jiuzhu's hand: "So our little pig looks at me differently."
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu snorted: "I am also telling the truth."
Prince Chen smiled and held her in his arms: "Okay."
In fact, there was light in her eyes, sparkling and bright. She only needed to look at him twice, and even his heart would be illuminated.
Prince Huai stood in the outer hall behind the Suzaku Gate, watching the carriage with the Prince Chen's logo return to the palace, feeling a little sour. He had to choose a time when his father was in a good mood to leave the palace, but his fifth brother's leaving the palace was like going shopping.
When it comes to favoritism, my father is the best at it.
"Forget it." He muttered softly and turned back.
On the way, he ran into Yun Yanze. Since New Year's Eve, Yun Yanze had lost a lot of weight, and his eyes looked cold when he looked at people. King Huai didn't like to talk to him.
"Brother." Yun Yanze called him and bowed to him.
"There's no one else here, we're just two brothers, there's no need to pretend." Prince Huai sneered, "If you have anything to say, just say it directly."
Yun Yanze lowered his eyelids: "I don't understand what you said, big brother."
"If you don't understand, forget it." Prince Huai walked up to him and said in a low voice, "Fifteen years ago, I saw the hand that pushed my fifth brother off the rockery."
Yun Yanze raised his eyelids and looked at him without saying anything.
"No matter what a young man says, I will not believe a word he says, as he dares to fight his blood brother." Prince Huai shook his sleeves and said, "Goodbye."
"How is the elder brother better than the younger brother?" Yun Yanze asked calmly, "You saw it, but you didn't lend a hand to help him."
The only person who tried to reach out and pull Yun Duqing was the not-so-smart Lao Er, but unfortunately he was a little slow.
Unfortunately, Yun Duqing was lucky. Although he fell headfirst, he only hit his elbow.
From then on, Yun Duqing was no longer close to them. Fortunately, at that time, the emperor had not yet ascended the throne, and everyone was under house arrest in the Qian Residence. Yun Duqing was young and ignorant, and he didn't know that someone had pushed him on purpose.
If it were now, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Yun Duqing would definitely anger all of their brothers and not let anyone go.
"It's being rumored that my father will make Yun Duqing the crown prince." Seeing that Prince Huai no longer refuted his words, Yun Yanze continued, "As the eldest son of the emperor, are you willing to be inferior to him?"
Prince Huai stared at him silently for a long time before he mocked himself in a sinister tone: "It's as if he's not the crown prince now and we, his brothers, dare to mess with him."
"So after all these years, you still haven't gotten used to it?" Prince Huai said with a sigh, "When you were still the Prince of Qi, you never dared to confront him."
Yun Yanze's eyelids twitched, and it took him a long time to calm down.
"How can you, a prince who can't even protect his title, try to sow discord between us?" Prince Huai smiled contemptuously, turned around and strode away.
Yun Yanze looked at his back gloomily, his eyes full of murderous intent.
Prince Huai returned to his own courtyard and heard from the eunuch that his mother's condition had worsened again. He sighed quietly and lay down on the bed.
"Come, call the imperial physician. The king has caught a cold and cannot get out of bed."
Be it his brother or his mother, driven by their ambitions, they did not regard him as a human being.
He, Yun Liuan, is also a person with flesh and blood and thoughts.
Concubine Xu waited for a long time, but not only did her son not come back, she also learned that her son had caught a cold. She was so angry that she almost suffered a heart attack.
How could this useless son have caught a cold? He clearly wanted to avoid her, but he didn't want to be labeled as unfilial, so he pretended to be sick.
How could she give birth to such a useless thing!
"Brother is sick?" Jiuzhu heard the news as soon as he got up in the morning.
"Princess, I have prepared gifts. Would you like me to send them over now?" Yang Yidu was the chief steward of Qilin Palace personally selected by Emperor Longfeng and Empress Su. He was very experienced in handling these miscellaneous matters.
"It just so happens that I haven't seen my sister-in-law for a few days, so I just went to see her." Jiuzhu finished dressing up and went straight to Zhangliu Palace.
Jiuzhu asked Yang Yidu, who was accompanying him, "Your Highness has been very busy lately. Please ask the kitchen to make some nourishing soup for Your Highness."
Your Highness left home early today, and I don’t know how long he will be busy.
"Yes, I've made note of it."
Teahouse.
Prince Chen was sitting in a dark room, separated from him by a wall were Ming Jisi's brother and sister, as well as his slightly ugly-looking "benefactor".
“At that time, I sent someone to bring you two brothers and sisters to the capital in order to fulfill a fate that had happened in the past. But who knew that your family met with a disaster some time ago, and now all your land and houses have been sold, and you are unable to make ends meet.” The benefactor had pockmarks on his face, and when he looked worried, his appearance was even more unsightly.
His eyes swept over the bracelets on Ming Zhenyu's hands. These were bought for her by the Dragon Guards before she went to the capital.
Ming Zhenyu felt a little distressed, but under the other party's obvious hint, she had to take off the bracelet: "This item was originally bought for me by my benefactor. Now you can take it for emergency."
"How can I do that?" The benefactor hooked his hand and put the bracelet into his sleeve. He raised his eyes and saw the gold hairpin in Mingzhen's hair: "The workmanship of this hairpin is a little poor, but it looks like it is made of pure gold?"
Ming Zhenyu was silent. This hairpin was made for her by her mother before she went to Beijing.
When those people found her, they said that the person who saved her was of high status and noble status, and treated her and her brother very courteously along the way. How come as soon as they stepped into the gate of the capital, they even wanted her golden hairpin?
What kind of noble person is this?
"I didn't expect that the young lady would be so grateful. My family has some friendship with this year's supervisor. If he knew that you two siblings are so grateful and noble, he would definitely look at you more." The benefactor covered his face with his hands in guilt: "When I get through this difficult time, I will take good care of you two siblings."
"You are my sister's benefactor, how can I let you take care of us." Ming Jisi reached out and took the gold hairpin from his sister's hair and placed it in front of the benefactor: "I will repay you for saving my life with gratitude. I hope you can get through the difficulties soon."
Ming Zhenyu looked at her brother in disbelief. This was her hairpin, how could he pull it off so easily?
"Since you are so sincere, I will accept it with reluctance." The benefactor did not refuse and immediately took the gold hairpin.
Ming Jisi frowned slightly. It seems that the word "reluctantly" should not be used here?
You are a gold hairpin collector, and you have the nerve to say that you are doing it with reluctance.
"I have arranged a courtyard for you, just live in it carefully." After the benefactor put the golden hairpin in his pocket, he looked sad but did not ask them for anything else: "Recently, many scholars have come to Beijing to take the imperial examinations, and the better courtyards have been rented out. You two brothers and sisters have just arrived in Beijing and are unfamiliar with the place. I will feel more at ease if you live there."
"My benefactor has already sold the house and the land, why does he still keep that yard?"
"The imperial examination is important. Although I am poor, I am a man of my word." The benefactor said solemnly, "I will definitely not take back the yard since I have given it to you to live in."
After hearing this, the doubts in the brother and sister's hearts gradually disappeared.
It is not easy to rent such a courtyard in the capital. It seems that this person is not a liar.
In the next room, Prince Chen tapped the table lightly with his index finger.
Judging from the reactions of the brother and sister, it didn't look like they were approaching intentionally at the behest of others.
It seems like he just wants to take advantage. If you use money to do something with such a shallow and greedy look, you will be deducted money.
How audacious!
Let's call Jiuzhu to come and watch the fun tomorrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
