As they left the Ministry of Justice prison, the snow began to fall even more heavily.
The imperial city in the distance was brightly lit, illuminating a small patch of sky above and the snowfield in the distance, where light and shadow intermingled.
The eunuch beside him held a tray and stood silently next to the young civil official.
He heard his master say that if the Turks and the Great Ye Zhen canceled their intermarriage, then the person beside him would probably be promoted another rank.
Although he didn't understand why, his master said that intermarriage reform would be beneficial to Daye. So he just listened to him.
A powerful minister of the first rank who is only twenty years old—there has never been anyone like him in the past hundred years since the founding of the Great Ye Kingdom.
However, at this moment, Lord Wei, with his handsome face, after personally seeing off his political enemy, turned around and said to him in a calm manner, "The wind and snow are too strong and give me a headache, so I will not return to the palace. I would be grateful if you could trouble the eunuch to go back to the palace and inform the Emperor."
The eunuch nodded quickly and said "yes" in a hurried voice.
Wei Qinglou watched him board the carriage with a smile before turning to Shujian beside her and asking, "Where do you think she is right now?"
It goes without saying who this "she" refers to.
Shujian replied, "On the way here, I saw Luzheng, who was with Miss Zhu, carrying a food box from Zuixianju towards the Nie residence. I suppose Miss Zhu should be at the Nie residence at this time."
"However, if you don't return to the palace, what will happen to the Emperor..."
Wei Qinglou smiled faintly: "If I draw less attention to myself, the Emperor will feel more at ease with me. Rather than going back to the palace and engaging in heated debates with those old guys, it's better to go and bring her home."
"Oh, right, remember to prepare a New Year's gift for Mr. Yue. I went to great lengths to invite him to Yujing to tutor the Crown Prince, but unexpectedly, he was disliked by the Crown Prince because of his constant melancholy, and now he can only spend his days idly in Yujing. If only I had known this..."
At this point, he chuckled and said in a low voice, "If I had known this would happen, I would still have gone to Suiping back then."
Otherwise, how could I have met Ayu?
He shook his head: "If Mr. Yue had been by the Crown Prince's side to advise and guide him back then, the Crown Prince would not have gone down this path."
Shu Jian fell silent, not daring to answer. He simply gripped the reins, turned his horse around, and carried his young master towards the Nie residence.
"Yan Feng is still missing?"
As the wheels rumbled through the snow, Wei Qinglou thought of this person and suddenly asked.
Shu Jian was silent for a while before hesitantly saying, "No. Perhaps he's too scared to come back?"
"Alright then." Wei Qinglou nodded, closed his eyes, and leaned against the carriage for a short rest.
A moment later, the carriage came to a smooth stop, and Shujian's voice rang out through the curtain: "Young Master, we have arrived at the Nie residence."
Wei Qinglou gave a soft "hmm" and lifted the curtain to get off the carriage.
Shujian tied his horse to a tree and then went to the gate of the Nie residence. He said to the guards, "My master has come to pick up Miss Zhu. Could you two please come in and inform him? Thank you for your trouble."
In the Green Grass Pavilion, Song Jiangmei, who was drinking, heard that Wei Qinglou had arrived and instantly sobered up halfway.
As she instructed the servants to invite the man in, she nudged the drunken Zhu Jiayu, who was sprawled on the carpet, and said, "Wake up, the man surnamed Wei is here."
Zhu Jiayu impatiently turned her face to the other side and waved her hand, slapping it on Song Jiangmei's hand: "Who cares what his surname is. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, I wouldn't want to move. Let me lie down for a while."
Song Jiangmei was helpless and wanted to say more, but then she saw that Wei Qinglou had already arrived.
She stood up, gave him a curtsy, and chuckled twice: "Since Lord Wei has arrived, I'll head back now. I'll leave Ayu in your care."
Wei Qinglou nodded slightly, and only after she left the pavilion and walked far away did he step forward and enter the pavilion, sitting down on the stone bench next to Zhu Jiayu.
Seeing Zhu Jiayu gazing groggily at the crescent moon in the sky, he leaned down and pinched the tip of Zhu Jiayu's nose: "Let's go home."
Zhu Jiayu hummed twice, turned her head, and looked at him with half-open eyes. After a while, she smiled foolishly, reached out and stroked his chin, and said in a daze, "What a handsome young man, come back to the mountains with me... hiccup, how about becoming my wife?"
Wei Qinglou smiled and said, "Of course. But you're drunk now, so how about I take you home?"
"Very well!" Zhu Jiayu suddenly straightened up, slammed his hand on the table, and nodded with an air of authority, replying, "Whatever Madam says goes!"
Wei Qinglou picked her up horizontally, rubbed his forehead against her brow, and almost sighed, "Little drunkard."
Green Kite followed behind him, walking alongside Book Sword. The only difference was that Book Sword could keep up with Wei Qinglou's pace, while Green Kite had to follow step by step.
Only after leaving the Nie residence and carrying Zhu Jiayu into the carriage did Wei Qinglou speak to Lüzheng, saying, "You are serving by her side, so you should protect her well."
Green Kite lowered her head in fear and stammered in agreement.
Then she heard him say, "But she's stubborn and often doesn't listen to your advice, I know that. Let it go this time, but if something like this happens again, you can send someone to report to me."
Green Kite looked up, bewildered: "What if..."
Shujian looked at her with pity.
Then Wei Qinglou added, "If you can neither persuade her next time nor help her cover it up, then you won't need to serve her anymore."
Green Kite pursed her lips and replied softly, "This servant understands."
...
After the palace banquet and Chang Beiqiu's death in prison, the snow on Yong'an Street continued to fall for a long time, continuing into the following year.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the new emperor officially ascended the throne and changed the era name to Yanjia.
That day, Zhu Jiayu was watching her father fish in the mansion. Before her father caught any fish, she saw Gu Jinshu first.
“I came here specifically to thank you. Wei Qinglou’s method worked, and the Turks agreed to cancel the marriage. I don’t have to get married.” Gu Jinshu smiled and took her hand. “I should have come earlier, but I’ve been with my father these past few days. As soon as he left today, I came to find you.”
Zhu Jiayu smiled and nodded, "That's good, but you shouldn't thank me for this."
"What does it matter?" Gu Jinshu pouted. "You're all in this together anyway, so thanking you is also a way of thanking him."
“The weather is nice today, let me accompany you to Cuihuanzhai to look at jewelry,” she said again.
Cuihuanzhai is the largest and best jewelry shop in Yujing City. It is famous in Yujing for its exquisite workmanship and expensive materials. Noble ladies and noblewomen in Yujing City are proud to own a set of jewelry produced by Cuihuanzhai.
Zhu Jiayu didn't lack jewelry and had no intention of looking at jewelry, but Gu Jinshu's words meant that she wanted to buy her a thank-you gift.
To put Gu Jinshu's mind at ease, Zhu Jiayu thought for a moment and then said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Princess."
Gu Jinshu waved her hand, and after bidding farewell to Zhu Congjian together, she pulled her out of the mansion and into the carriage.
Zhu Congjian had been fishing all morning but hadn't caught a single fish in the pond. It was fine when his daughter was here, but now that she was gone, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "This pond must have bad feng shui. I'm going to go fishing by the river!"
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