"I remember that you and the Fourth Prince were somewhat close friends?" Ming Jingzhou answered without asking, "Have you had any correspondence in the past two years?"
"It's not really a friendship, but the King of Qi read a few of my articles and said that my son is very talented." Ming Jiyuan thought about his past with the King of Qi: "My son didn't dare to take it seriously. He went to the tea parties held by the King of Qi a few times, but didn't do anything else."
"Then do you know that after you left the capital, the King of Qi once said in public that you are his confidant and that reading ten of your essays is better than reading books for ten years?"
"Isn't that nonsense?" Ming Jiyuan had been serving in the north for two years. He had been in contact with local people frequently, so his accent was slightly affected. He was anxious and spoke with an accent: "I'm not a fool. Why would I be a confidant of an adult prince? Do you think it's not troublesome enough or what?"
Ming Jingzhou glanced at him and said, "Straighten your tongue and speak Mandarin."
"Father, I don't have that much friendship with the King of Qi." Ming Jiyuan pulled his sleeves and said, "I know that none of these princes have good intentions. They all have bad intentions."
"Okay, don't be angry, just don't have any contact with him in the future." Ming Jingzhou saw him pulling his sleeves: "Pull your sleeves back. Remember, when we Ming family members go out, we are all elegant and cultured people, do you understand?"
Ming Jiyuan took two deep breaths and said, "Father, tell me how Prince Chen and Concubine Su saved my sister."
"When your mother and I found out the truth, you were already on your way home. We didn't tell you because we were afraid that the letter you wrote would be stolen and cause trouble." Ming Jinghai talked about what happened in Jiuzhu's childhood.
When he talked about Jiuzhu being tied up hands and feet by Zheng's servants and pushed into the icy river, Ming Jiyuan could no longer bear it and punched the rockery, causing a large piece of the rockery to fall to the ground.
"The Zheng family is so cruel!" Ming Jiyuan gritted his teeth and said, "I will make them pay the price."
"You came back too late. The Zheng family has been thrown into prison. The head of the Zheng family was sentenced to beheading. Adult men and women were exiled, and all descendants were enslaved." Ming Jingzhou glanced at the broken rockery stones on the ground and said, "Control your temper. I told you a long time ago that we scholars must be mature and stable. I won't get angry when others are angry, but we won't help others to get angry to death. In addition, the cost of repairing the rockery will be deducted from your salary next month."
"Father, why are you so quick?" Ming Jiyuan bent down to pick up the broken rockery stones on the ground and tried to push them back. Unfortunately, the broken rockery stones were like broken bowls and could not be put back together.
"It's not just my credit." Ming Jingzhou laughed sarcastically: "As soon as I started investigating the Zheng family, several forces brought evidence to me. There are many people in this capital who want the Fourth Prince's maternal family to be in trouble."
There are many people in the capital who praise the Fourth Prince as a wise king, but there are also many people who take advantage of his misfortune.
"The Zheng family is finished. The Fourth Prince's mother has been sentenced to death, and the Fourth Prince has been stripped of all his titles." Ming Jingzhou put his hands behind his back and walked towards the East Courtyard with his son: "Jiyuan, the moment Jiuzhu becomes the Prince's fiancée, our Ming family can no longer stay out of it."
"unless……"
Unless they give up their daughter Jiuzhu and let her marry Prince Chen, the Ming family will not interfere no matter what happens.
"No." Ming Jiyuan knew what his father was going to say and interrupted without thinking: "Father, we have already lost our sister once. Now our family is finally reunited. We can't do this to her!"
Ming Jingzhou looked at him.
"Back then we had nothing, not even Jiuzhu." Ming Jiyuan's eyes were red again: "Now we have Jiuzhu, even if we become penniless like we were back then, there is nothing to be afraid of."
"Is this your decision?" When Ming Jingzhou didn't smile, no one could see through his thoughts.
"Yes." Ming Jiyuan nodded.
"But you are still very young now." Ming Jingzhou chuckled: "If you want to support your sister, then learn from me and your uncle how to be an official and how to be a human being."
"Your Highness." Shen asked Prince Chen, "I wonder if Your Highness has any dietary restrictions?"
"I am not picky, anything is fine." Prince Chen lied with his eyes open.
Jiuzhu, on the other hand, named several of her favorite dishes. Shen looked at her daughter and Prince Chen with a smile. How could she not know when Jiuzhu started to like these dishes?
"Okay, I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare these dishes." She stood up and walked out the door: "Jiuzhu, accompany His Highness for a walk in the mansion."
"Okay." Jiuzhu agreed happily, stood up and pulled the sleeve of the King of Chen: "Your Highness, I will take you to see the little white horse."
Prince Chen remembered the dog-like horse. If he remembered correctly, he gave that horse to Jiuzhu.
If he hadn't picked the little white horse for her that day, he might have ridden that crazy horse.
"Ming Xiaozhu." He called her.
"Hmm?" Jiuzhu turned around and looked at him.
"Tell me..." He held her hand and said, "Are you the bride sent to me by the god of Huaxi River?"
"Impossible." Jiuzhu shook his head: "Master said that there is no river god in Huaxi River, and river gods are all liars."
Why is it not raining? It means the river god has been angered and we need to offer sacrifices.
The continuous heavy rain must have angered the river god, so we still have to offer sacrifices.
These are all tricks used by fake fortune-tellers and fake practitioners to deceive people, but they have harmed many people.
Prince Chen: “…”
Okay, I don’t think we can continue chatting today.
"Although there is no river god in Huaxi River, Your Highness is a fairy boy who has descended to earth." Jiuzhu looked at him with a smile: "If it weren't for Your Highness, I would have been buried in the belly of fish in Huaxi River long ago, how could I still be alive?"
"Pfft, pfft, pfft, children speak without restraint, good luck." Prince Chen interrupted her: "What kind of fate is this? It's unlucky to say such things in the first month of the year."
Jiuzhu wanted to tell King Chen that when she was with her master, there were not so many rules. But seeing how serious he was, she swallowed back all the words: "Then what should I say?"
"Say...live a long life and everything goes well." Prince Chen thought for a moment, coughed dryly, and turned his head away from Jiuzhu: "May you live happily ever after and grow old together? That's also fine."
He glanced secretly at the girl. In eighteen days, they would be married.
"Isn't that what others told us?" Jiuzhu looked at him.
"We bless ourselves, what's the problem?" Prince Chen asked back, "Haven't you ever thought about it?"
"I never thought of leaving His Highness." Jiuzhu said as a matter of course: "I chose to leave Lingzhou and come to the capital for only two reasons. One is to see my family, and the other is to find His Highness to repay his kindness."
"Then have you ever thought about what to do if you can't find me, or if I'm no longer in the capital?"
"I don't know." Jiuzhu shook her head honestly: "Because I have already found His Highness."
The assumption is that it doesn't exist, so don't even think about it.
"I should repay you for saving my life with my body." Prince Chen laughed with an ambiguous meaning, bent down and looked at Jiuzhu at eye level: "Ming Xiaozhu, don't forget what you said today for the rest of your life."
Jiuzhu thought carefully about what she had said to His Highness today. It seemed that she had said too much: "Everything?"
"Everything." Prince Chen nodded, especially the words that he had never thought of leaving.
"Okay." Jiuzhu nodded. She would try her best to write down everything that happened and said today.
After Ming Jiyuan took a bath and changed into clean clothes, he saw his sister strolling in the yard with a big white dog, and Prince Chen followed her. The two of them had their heads close together, and in order to accommodate his sister's height, Prince Chen's whole body was tilted, looking neither graceful nor comfortable.
He didn't understand. Why should he just walk? Why maintain such an uncomfortable posture?
"Brother." Jiuzhu saw him and waved at him. The Prince of Chen, whose body was crooked like a twist, stood up straight in an instant and became the high and mighty Prince of Chen again.
"Sister, are you walking the dog?" Ming Jiyuan walked up to the two of them and glanced at the big white dog.
"Brother, this is a horse, not a dog." Jiuzhu touched the pony, "Take a closer look."
"It turns out to be a dwarf horse. It looks so cute." Ming Jiyuan reached out to touch the pony. The horse let him touch it obediently and was very docile.
"This was given to me by His Highness a few months ago." Hearing her brother praising her pony for being cute, Jiuzhu smiled even more happily.
Ming Jiyuan turned his head to look at Prince Chen, and Prince Chen smiled friendly at his future brother-in-law.
"Jiuzhu." Two trembling hands stretched out from the other side of the wall with difficulty. After struggling for a long time, the owner of the hands finally crawled over from the other side of the wall: "I heard that the third brother is back, so I came to see him."
"Sixth brother." Ming Jiyuan looked at Ming Cunfu who was climbing over the wall with difficulty in surprise: "Why are you climbing over the wall too?"
My sixth brother used to be so gentle that he would straighten his clothes even when going down the stairs, let alone climbing a wall. So what kind of earth-shaking changes have taken place in the family during the two years he was away?
"Everyone in my family can climb. I can't be inferior to my sister." Ming Cunfu sat on the wall and panted, "Third brother, come and give me a hand."
"You just do useless things all day long." Ming Jiyuan stepped forward and helped his youngest cousin down from the wall with one hand: "You just said that your sister also climbed the wall?"
He turned his head to look at Jiuzhu. Jiuzhu smiled embarrassedly and shrank behind King Chen.
"It's okay. Being able to climb the wall means you're in good health." Ming Jiyuan smiled and said, "Young girl, move more so you can live longer."
He turned his head and glared at Ming Cunfu fiercely. How could you, as her cousin, teach your sister like this while he is not at home?
Ming Cunfu: “…”
If he said that he learned how to climb the wall from Jiuzhu, would his third cousin believe him?
"Your Highness, Miss, and the two young masters, lunch is ready." Chunfen walked into the bustling courtyard and said, "Please go to the front hall to eat."
The maid took the little white horse away, and Jiuzhu reached out and held Prince Chen's sleeve: "Your Highness, let's go."
Ming Cunfu felt that the way his sister led Prince Chen was quite similar to the way she led the little white horse.
After lunch, Jiuzhu saw that her father and brother had something to discuss, so she decided to accompany Prince Chen back to the palace.
Ming Cunfu thought silently, the Prince of Chen is such a big man, and he is followed by a group of dragon guards. In the whole capital, except for His Majesty, he is the safest person.
But Jiuzhu didn't think so. Ever since the New Year's Eve banquet, she felt that there were many treacherous people in the capital, and anyone could harm her prince.
Prince Chen led the horse and walked side by side with Jiuzhu on the street, and also bought Jiuzhu a few toys that the little girl liked.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Several young men in brocade clothes passed by and greeted the King with a smile: "Your Highness, you came at the right time today. We just saw a very powerful rooster in the cockfighting arena. Its crown is like red jade, its claws are like eagle feet, and it is very powerful..."
"What rooster?" Prince Chen interrupted them expressionlessly, "As descendants of the royal family, why do you keep thinking about these useless things?"
"Your Highness, it's not a rooster, it's a fighting cock..."
"What cockfighting? I don't know anything about cockfighting." Prince Chen looked at Jiuzhu, his expression helpless and sad: "These distant cousins of mine are idle all day long, which makes me worry so much."
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