The wind was strong, the snow was cold, and the faces of the Qi king's attendants looked very unhappy.
Prince Chen is the younger brother of their prince, and he actually wants their prince to give way. This is too much! However, Prince Chen is moody and doesn't even give the prince of the Marquisate face. They are just small attendants of the prince, and they can only be angry but dare not say anything.
Prince Qi looked at Prince Chen without saying anything, nor did he move aside.
"Why, Fourth Brother doesn't want to give way?" Prince Chen looked at Prince Qi and sneered, "I am not feeling well today and cannot stand the cold. If I have offended you, please forgive me, Fourth Brother!"
After saying this, he rode his horse and rushed forward with the carriage.
The sound of horse hooves was heard, and the speed was getting faster and faster, with no sign of slackening.
Looking at the horse and carriage rushing towards him, Prince Qi remembered that when they were little, he and Yun Duqing had their eyes on the same palace lantern. Yun Duqing brought the eunuchs and had a fight with him, snatched the palace lantern and ran away.
"Your Highness, be careful!" The attendant pulled the horse under the King of Qi and moved to the side.
The carriage passed by the King of Qi, and the wind it created blew the fox fur on his cloak.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" The attendant looked at Prince Qi worriedly. Everyone could see that if he hadn't pulled that hand just now, Prince Chen's carriage would have really hit him.
"I'm fine." King Qi's face was as gloomy as water.
The carriage in front stopped. Prince Chen, who was sitting high on the horse, turned his horse's head and bowed to Prince Qi with a smile: "Thank you, fourth brother, for caring about my health."
"Prince Chen, please don't go too far!" An attendant said, "You are disrespectful to your brother. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the world?"
"My brother gave way voluntarily, what does it have to do with you?" The Prince of Chen sneered, "The master hasn't spoken yet, but you, a servant, are here to interfere and sow discord among the royal brothers. You deserve to be punished."
"Fourth brother, are you just going to watch this villain sow discord between us?" Prince Chen smiled lazily, "Look at these attendants around me. When have they ever been so bold as to talk too much when we are talking?"
"Thank you for your concern, Fifth Brother. I will take good care of my servants when I return." King Qi said coldly, "Since Fifth Brother is not feeling well, go back early and don't let the wind and snow hurt your body."
"Fourth brother is kind, but I have a bad temper. If I see this villain following you again in the future, I will teach you a lesson myself." Prince Chen looked coldly at the attendant who had just spoken: "We, the royal family, cannot tolerate such servants around us."
The attendant's face turned pale. He knelt on one knee on the ground and dared not say anything.
"Thank you for your reminder, Fifth Brother." King Qi tightened the reins and then slowly released them: "Fifth Brother, please go slowly."
"That's right." Prince Chen patted his horse and turned away.
After watching the carriage disappear in the snow, King Qi looked down at the attendant kneeling on the ground and said, "Get up."
"Your Highness, I am incompetent."
"It has nothing to do with you." King Qi lowered his eyelids slightly: "He was just looking for trouble today."
It was not necessary to take this route from Prince Chen's Mansion to Minister Ming's Mansion. Yun Duqing deliberately took a detour this way and forced him to give way. He was just holding a grudge against the fact that Marquis Pingyuan's Mansion had asked Ming Jiuzhu to avoid it that day.
"The Prince of Chen, relying on the favor of His Majesty, is simply lawless..."
"No need to say more." King Qi interrupted the attendant, "Go back."
As long as the emperor favors him, other princes and princesses have to avoid his edge.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu stuck her head out of the carriage. "You just had an argument with King Qi. Will there be any trouble?"
"What kind of trouble can it be?" Prince Chen pushed her head back again. "I have always acted this way. I don't care what others think. The worst that can happen is that people will say I am arrogant and disrespectful to my elders."
The old lady of the Zheng family brought her whole family to bully his future princess, a little girl. He couldn't complain to the old woman, so he could only seek revenge from her grandson.
The little head that he had pressed back popped out again, and Prince Chen glared at her.
"Don't press it, don't press it, let me say a few more words." Jiuzhu held up two fingers: "First, Your Highness is not arrogant at all."
He retracted a finger and said, "Second, Your Highness is not disrespecting your brother. You are helping me vent my anger, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Prince Chen poked her forehead, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Sit tight in the carriage. We are almost at the Minister's residence."
Jiuzhu looked at Prince Chen with a smile and said, "Your Highness is so good. Even if he helped her, he didn't want to leave his name."
Shen and Ming Jingzhou watched their daughter happily skipping into the house. They pretended to be just passing by the door and asked casually, "What do you want to eat tonight?"
Jiuzhu touched her stomach and said, "I'm not too hungry yet. Just a little bit will be fine."
Shen found a bulging purse tied around her waist: "What is this?"
"This is the jerky from Prince Chen's Mansion." Jiuzhu grabbed a handful and handed it to Shen: "It's delicious, try it."
Shen: “…”
I have a toothache and can’t eat.
"My dear, did you have a good time in Prince Chen's mansion?" Ming Jingzhou took a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, chewing it for a few times: "Not bad."
"It tastes good, right?" Jiuzhu handed the dried meat to Ming Jingzhou and smiled, "The people in the palace are very nice, including His Highness."
The jerky that was originally delicious suddenly became tasteless. Ming Jingzhou took two big bites.
Which father-in-law would like a stinky man who kidnapped his daughter?
"My son and the fourth son are having a conflict?" Emperor Longfeng closed the secret report in his hand and asked Liu Zhongbao: "What happened a few days ago when the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion asked Miss Ming to avoid the trip?"
Liu Zhongbao recounted what had happened.
"The old lady of the Zheng family is old." Emperor Longfeng stood up: "The old ones are losing their minds, and the younger ones are mediocre. Under the clusters of flowers, there is only a pool of rotten mud."
With a sigh, Emperor Longfeng said with some emotion: "When the old Marquis Pingyuan was still alive, the Zheng family was so powerful. The younger generation is incompetent and has ruined the reputation of the ancestors. It is really a pity."
Liu Zhongbao bent down and exchanged a cup of tea for Emperor Longfeng.
"I remember that a few days ago, Marquis Pingyuan submitted a petition, hoping to find a vacancy for his son?"
"Your Majesty has a good memory. I only vaguely remember this incident."
"Return the memorial. With such family traditions in the Zheng family, how can the younger generation serve in the court?" Emperor Longfeng found Zheng Wangnan's name on the list of the younger generation and drew a cross on it with a red pen: "Although Marquis Pingyuan is seriously ill, I should have mercy on him, but the most important thing for an official in the court is moral integrity. I cannot treat the country as a joke because of temporary mercy."
Liu Zhongbao looked at the bright red cross and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the world has benefited from your grace and talented people have emerged. If there is no Zheng family, there are still Sun family, Li family, Ming family, tens of millions of talented families in the world, all of which are at your disposal."
Emperor Longfeng chuckled. He glanced at the sky outside and put down his red brush. "It's snowing heavily today. Let's go to Mingyue Palace to eat hot pot."
As for the secret report about the conflict between Prince Chen and Prince Qi in the street, it was thrown into the fire by Emperor Longfeng.
Du Qing is young and hot-tempered, and it is normal for him to vent his anger on his future daughter-in-law.
"Your Highness, since the Prince of Chen is so aggressive, why not let the historian accuse him of disrespecting his brother?"
"No." The King of Qi flatly refused: "My father favors my fifth brother. Even if there is a report to the emperor, he will not punish him too much. On the contrary, he will think that I, as the elder brother, am not magnanimous enough and cannot tolerate my younger brother."
"Even if Your Majesty does not punish him, it will let all the civil and military officials know that the Prince is unreasonable..."
"Don't the civil and military officials know his temper?" King Qi sneered, "Who dares to say no to him in front of him?"
The counsellor fell silent. The prince was right. As long as His Majesty favored Prince Chen, nothing they did would be of any use.
"Your Highness, even if His Majesty favors Prince Chen, he is still the Emperor." The counselor lowered his voice and reminded Prince Qi: "He is so reckless that he will touch His Majesty's bottom line sooner or later. When necessary, we can add fuel to the fire..."
"My Lord, your wedding is imminent. The most urgent thing is to quickly gain control of the Sun family and make plans for the future." The strategist said, "Having the Sun family is equivalent to having the support of countless scholars in the world."
King Qi thought of the girl from Sun's family, who was a very smart woman who knew when to advance and when to retreat.
It snowed for two days. On the third morning, Jiuzhu woke up and saw the sun hanging in the sky. She sighed and said, "The snow is going to melt."
"Don't worry, young lady. It may snow again this year." Chunfen smiled and comforted her: "You will be able to see beautiful snow scenery every winter in the future."
Jiuzhu leaned on the windowsill, looking at the icicles hanging on the branches: "We can't let it snow all the time, it will freeze people."
"Yes, the snow has been falling for too long, and the common people are suffering." Chunfen used a comb to gently comb Jiuzhu's long hair. "I heard that some people were frozen to death in the past. Since your majesty ascended the throne and built shelters in various places, such incidents have become less common."
"Your Majesty is truly an amazing emperor." Jiuzhu turned to look at Chunfen: "Sister Chunfen, have you always been by our mother's side?"
"Yes, I entered the mansion when I was six years old and stayed there for twelve years." She looked at Jiuzhu's beautiful face and continued, "At that time, the old man had just been rehabilitated, and there were very few servants in the mansion. The lady was kind-hearted and took in several girls who were abandoned by their parents, and I was one of them."
What Chunfen didn't tell Jiuzhu was that the lady took them in because of the young lady. Perhaps it was because she saw how pitiful they were that she thought of the young lady who was fostered in the Lingzhou clan's old home.
Although she was only eight years old when the fake young lady entered the mansion, she still remembered how sad and desperate the lady cried after she found out the truth.
Fortunately, God blessed the young lady and she returned safely to her wife.
"Good sister, tell me more about the past." Jiuzhu was very curious about the people in her family.
Chunfen smiled and continued to tell Jiuzhu interesting stories about the old man, the mistress and the young master. Seeing the light in Jiuzhu's eyes, she felt a little sad in her heart. How great would it be if those so-called clansmen of Lingzhou had not abandoned the young lady?
In that case, the young lady can grow up with the old man and his wife, being loved by her parents and cared for by her brothers.
"So your brother also loved climbing trees when he was a child?" Jiuzhu was very happy to hear the similarities between her brother and herself: "I also loved climbing trees when I was a child. The masters always said that I should be a monkey instead of a dog, because only monkeys like to jump up and down."
"How can there be a monkey as cute as you, young lady?" Chunfen helped Jiuzhu comb her hair and said, "The sun is so bright, after breakfast, young lady can go out for a walk."
"Okay." Jiuzhu wanted to buy a new set of paintbrushes to paint a snow scene for His Royal Highness Prince Chen.
The sun after the snow seemed particularly bright. After Jiuzhu got off the carriage, she just looked up at the sky and her eyes were hurt by the sunlight.
"Miss Ming."
Hearing someone calling her, Jiuzhu turned around and looked: "Miss Zhou?"
The visitor was Zhou Xiao, the daughter of Zhou Rui, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Jiuzhu had met her the first time she went out with Ming Cunfu. Although they met on other occasions later, they did not have the chance to chat.
"I saw someone who looked a bit like you from a distance just now." Zhou Xiao got off the carriage, "Do you want to go to the teahouse to listen to stories?"
Only then did Jiuzhu notice that there was a teahouse next to it.
"There is a female teacher here who tells stories to female guests. If you have nothing else to do, Miss Ming, please do me the honor of going with me to listen." Zhou Xiao had a gentle appearance and spoke in a soft voice. Jiuzhu nodded involuntarily.
"My father and your father are colleagues and good friends, and my mother and your mother have also been close friends for many years." Zhou Xiao took Jiuzhu upstairs to the teahouse: "There were other people present a few times before, so I couldn't talk to you in detail."
"Come, sit here." Zhou Xiao picked a good seat and sat down. She gave the waiter money as if she knew the place well and asked him to serve tea and snacks.
"Miss Zhou..."
"I'm a few years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me sister." Zhou Xiao whispered in Jiuzhu's ear, "You may not know that Master Ming Liu was afraid that you would be bored when you go out, so he asked me to play with you this morning."
When Zhou Xiao mentioned Ming Cunfu, her cheeks turned red and she lowered her head and took a sip of tea.
Jiuzhu held her face and looked at the girl from the Zhou family and blinked.
The last time they met Miss Zhou and Mr. Zhou, Brother Fuliu and Miss Zhou didn't show any abnormality. Unexpectedly...
Are all the men and women in the capital so good at concealing their true feelings?
"Sister Zhou and Brother Fuliu..." Jiuzhu smiled, "I understand." "Thank you, Sister Zhou, for making this special trip for me."
Zhou Xiao's cheeks flushed: "Sister Ming, go listen to the book quickly and stop having wild thoughts."
Jiuzhu blinked her big eyes, but she clearly wasn't thinking about anything.
"Ladies and young ladies, last time we talked about how the handsome prince and the lady from a noble family have become engaged." The lady knocked on the wooden table, and everyone in the room focused their attention on her.
"The handsome prince is handsome and elegant, and I wonder how many women in the capital are attracted to him." The lady sighed, "But there is one person who hates the handsome prince and makes things difficult for him in every way."
Jiuzhu lowered her head to peel peanuts. The peanuts in this teahouse were fried very well.
"The evil prince took advantage of his power to bully others and embarrassed the beautiful prince in the street. It was extremely rude."
The more Jiuzhu listened, the more she felt that there was something wrong with the story. She frowned and looked at the female teacher, who was still talking nonstop.
"The beautiful prince cannot bear to hurt the friendship between brothers, so he will not argue with the evil prince..."
"Wait." Jiuzhu interrupted the lady's story, "I don't like this story, please change it."
"Miss, although I don't have many customers here, I can't change the story at will." The lady looked at Jiuzhu carefully: "Miss, this should be your first time here. I'm afraid I don't know how many female customers like this story of the beautiful prince."
"I don't like any beautiful prince." Jiuzhu poured out the silver from her purse: "Tell me a story about an evil prince who had everything going for him, had many children and grandchildren around him, and was loved by countless people."
"Girl, you..."
"Go ahead." Jiuzhu put the silver in front of the female teacher. Seeing that the female teacher didn't say anything, he put a few more pieces of silver.
"Of course, satisfying the guests' requests is also what we storytellers should do." The female teacher put the silver in her arms and changed the subject: "Speaking of that evil prince, he seems arrogant and domineering, but in fact, all this is just a disguise. In fact, he has a dark mind and a kind heart..."
In the palace, the maid whispered in Concubine Ning's ear: "Your Majesty, I have given the storybook to the female teacher. Many female relatives like this story. I believe that in the near future, the prince's good name will spread among countless female relatives."
"Well done." Concubine Ning smiled with satisfaction.
People in the world don't understand how powerful women's mouths and ears are. They are men's wives and mothers.
I believe that in the near future, Prince Chen’s arrogance and absurdity will become more deeply rooted in people’s hearts.
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