The capital city is prosperous, and even the city gates are different from those in other states and counties, and are particularly majestic and magnificent.
Ming Jisi lifted 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 saved you from Huaxi River was a noble man." When Ming Jisi mentioned this noble man, his breathing became heavy, unable to suppress his excitement: "I don't know what the status of this noble man is. If he is..."
"Brother." The pink-shirted girl interrupted him, "The Ming family is very powerful in the capital, don't mention them, it will only cause trouble for yourself."
Ming Jisi looked embarrassed and whispered in defense: "Zhenyu, since they separated from their ancestors, they have not had any contact with us, nor have they retaliated against us. Why are you so nervous?"
Ming Zhenyu bit her lower lip: "I hope so."
After eleven years, she finally set foot in the capital again. Her memories of the capital city were only of the bustling streets, the three-story courtyard of the Ming family, and... the cold look that Mrs. Ming gave her.
[You are not my daughter.] 】
Where did you hide my daughter? 】
After she was sent back to Lingzhou, these two sentences almost became her nightmare. When she was eight years old, she was laughed at as a "fake lady" and ran out of the house in anger and fell into the Huaxi River.
"I remember when you came back, you were soaked." After entering the city, Ming Jisi saw that ordinary people in the capital were 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."
"The nobleman's identity is mysterious and he doesn't allow me to tell it. How could I dare to tell my family?" Ming Zhenyu lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously scratching the forbidden steps.
"You were lucky back then, as you had someone to help you." 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 she was in the water for a few days before she was found."
"Really?" Ming Zhenyu stopped her hand from taking the forbidden step: "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 naturally you didn't know this."
The carriage fell silent. After a while, Ming Jisi could not help but speak again: "Tell me, has the Ming family's daughter been found?"
Ever since the three brothers of the Ming family separated from the clan, the family seldom heard news about them. They only knew that they were becoming more and more powerful officials with higher and higher status.
"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 why his family had made all the necessary preparations before sending his sister to the capital. Ming Jingzhou and his wife had never even seen their daughter grow up, so how did they find out that their 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 lifted the curtain of the carriage and smiled obediently to the driver: "Brother, have we arrived at the benefactor's house?"
"Don't worry, young lady. There is a distinguished person'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 man would be a Dragon Guard.
Noble person?
Her "benefactor" was a noble person, and now the person they want to avoid is also a noble person. How many noble people are there in the capital?
Soon, eight snow-white horses pulled a luxurious carriage passing through the middle of the road. The carriage was inlaid with gold and jade, and there were guards with swords on horseback surrounding it. Even these guards were wearing luxurious robes with tight sleeves, looking majestic and impressive.
I wonder what kind of noble status the person sitting in the carriage has?
Just at this moment, the curtain of the luxurious carriage was lifted by a hand. The hand was white, tender and slender, with light red nails, which matched the hand very well.
Ming Zhenyu saw the face of the carriage owner. It was a beautiful and naive face, as delicate as a princess respected by gold and jade.
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, turned his head and said to Ming Zhenyu: "Sir, Miss, the master has prepared a secluded courtyard for you. Please follow me and settle down 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 the benefactor to provide me with a place to live." Ming Zhenyu smiled gently: "This time I came to the capital to repay the benefactor's kindness, there is no other intention."
"Young lady, you really know how to repay your kindness." The driver sighed, "To be honest, my master has been in trouble recently, so he has no time to come and see you."
Seeing that the groom seemed a little unhappy, Ming Zhenyu felt a little uneasy and forced a smile, "In that 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 the prince's consort, Jiuzhu is definitely the one who is most diligent in returning to her parents' home among the princes' consorts. To outsiders, it seemed that Princess Chen was helping Prince Chen to win over the Ming family's power. In fact, Jiuzhu was 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 her personally every time Jiuzhu and Prince Chen came to visit, and she enjoyed doing it very much.
Ming Jiyuan was in a very complicated mood. In the past, he had only seen his mother cook a few times throughout the year, but now everything has changed.
After eating and drinking, the 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 examination 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 snacks, but his hand stopped in mid-air. What did his father-in-law mean by this 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 stuffed a piece of dessert into his palm.
"It's okay." 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 a compliment?" 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 don't show compassion to 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 for fun and a momentary indulgence, but for ordinary people, it is their whole life.
"Your Highness is different from them." Jiuzhu's tone has a kind of innocence that is not tainted by the world but sees through the world: "There is light in your eyes."
"Well, I have a candle 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 to illuminate his heart.
King Huai stood in the outer hall behind the Suzaku Gate, feeling a little sour as he watched the carriage with the King Chen's logo returning to the palace. When he goes out of the palace, he has to choose a time when his father is in a good mood. But when his fifth brother goes out of the palace, it's like he's 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 head-on. Since New Year's Eve, Yun Yanze has lost a lot of weight, and his eyes look cold when he looks at people. King Huai doesn't like to talk to him.
"Brother." Yun Yanze called him and bowed to him.
"There's no one else here, so we two brothers don't need to pretend." King 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." King Huai walked up to him and lowered his voice, "I saw the hand that pushed my fifth brother off the rockery fifteen years ago."
Yun Yanze raised his eyelids and looked at him without saying anything.
"No matter what a man says, I will not believe a word he dares to fight with his blood brother at such a young age." King 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 second brother who was not very smart, 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, my father had not yet ascended the throne at that time, and everyone was under house arrest in the palace. 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 vent his anger on all of their brothers and not let anyone go.
"It's being said outside that my father will make Yun Duqing the crown prince." Seeing that King Huai no longer refuted his words, Yun Yanze continued, "As the eldest son of the emperor, are you willing to be inferior to him?"
King Huai stared at him silently for a long time before he mocked himself sarcastically: "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?" King Huai said with a sigh, "When you were still the King of Qi, I never saw you dare to confront him."
Yun Yanze's eyelids twitched, and it took him a long while to regain his composure.
"How can you, a prince who can't even protect his title, try to sow discord between me?" King Huai smiled contemptuously, turned around and strode away.
Yun Yanze looked at his back gloomily, his eyes full of murderous intent.
King Huai returned to his courtyard and heard from the eunuch that his mother's condition had worsened again. He sighed softly and lay down on the bed.
"Come, call the imperial physician. The prince 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 she not wait for her son, she also learned that her son had caught a cold. She was so angry that she almost suffered from a heart attack.
This useless son didn't catch a cold at all. He clearly wanted to avoid her and 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 some gifts. Would you like me to send them over now?" Yang Yidu was the 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 might as well go over and 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 more nourishing soup for His Highness."
His 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 "benefactor".
“In the beginning, I sent someone to bring you two brothers and sisters to Beijing in order to complete a fate that existed back then. But who knew that your family suffered a disaster some time ago. 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 sad, 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 use."
"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 Ming Zhenyu'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 clearly said that the person who saved her was of extraordinary status and noble identity, and he was very courteous to her and her brother along the way. How come as soon as he stepped into the gate of the capital, he even wanted her gold 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 invigilator. 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 and said, "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 golden hairpin from his sister's hair, and placed it in front of the benefactor: "I will repay you for saving my life. I hope you can get through the difficulties as soon as possible."
Ming Zhenyu looked at her brother in disbelief. This was her hairpin, how could he pull it out so easily?
“Since you are so sincere, I will accept it with reluctance.” The benefactor did not refuse and immediately put away the hairpin.
Ming Jisi frowned slightly. It seems that the word "reluctantly" should not be used here?
You are a person who collects gold hairpins, and you have the nerve to say that you are doing it reluctantly.
"I have arranged a courtyard for you, just live there carefully." After the benefactor put the hairpin away, 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, so 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 down and out, I am a man of my word." The benefactor said solemnly, "I will definitely not take back the yard that 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 a courtyard like that 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. With such a shallow and greedy look, if you do something for money, you will be fined.
How audacious!
Let’s call Jiuzhu over to come and watch the fun tomorrow.
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