"Midori?"
Shangguan Wanning hugged Lu Guang happily, but heard Lu Tong burst into tears.
"Silly girl, what's wrong?" Shangguan Wanning pulled Lu Tong out of her arms and asked with concern, "Did someone bully you when I wasn't home?"
Lu Tong shook her head desperately and burst into tears.
"Miss, your worry is completely unnecessary. Who dares to bully her?" Huo Gang walked over slowly and clasped his fists to Sun Jinyao.
Sun Jinyao just nodded slightly in return.
"It's good enough that she doesn't bully others." Huo Gang said with a big laugh.
"How could I..." After Lu Tong calmed down, she took Shangguan Wan Ning's hand and said, "Miss, I miss you so much."
Shangguan Wanning pinched Lutong's cheeks and pulled Grape, who was following behind Huo Gang, over. "I miss you too. I haven't been home for a while. Are my parents in good health?"
"Miss, don't worry, the master and the mistress are in good health." Grape replied softly.
"Brother Huo, why are you here?" Shangguan Wanning asked with a smile.
"Ning'er, why don't we find a place to sit down and talk." Sun Jinyao pointed to the teahouse behind him.
The group entered the teahouse and sat down at a window seat. Lutong and Putao stood beside Shangguan Wanning as usual.
"You guys sit down too. There aren't so many rules when you're out."
"Miss, you have been away from home for more than half a year and have not come home to visit. Although you have letters delivered every month, the master and the mistress still miss you very much. So, let me come to Yaowang Valley to see you and bring you some more clothes and jewelry for the changing seasons."
Huo Gang pointed at the two carriages that followed him. "These two girls have been pestering me for several days, insisting that I bring them along. I asked the master and the mistress, and they finally agreed."
"Well...I also want to come and see the young lady." Grape and Lutong are different.
Lu Tong grew up in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Everyone knew that she was Shangguan Wanning's confidant. Even when Shangguan Wanning was not around, no one in the mansion dared to bully her.
But she...
After all, Grape had just arrived, and without Shangguan Wanning by her side, she always felt like something was missing.
"Miss, how about... you let this servant stay and serve you. You need someone to do the laundry and cooking."
"Yes, yes, Miss, please let me and Grape stay."
"Eh? You two...what did you say when we came here? If you two don't go back, how can I report to the master and the mistress?"
Only then did Huo Gang realize that women’s words really could not be trusted.
This is not what they said when they begged him to take them out. They solemnly promised to follow his arrangements when they were away from home.
Grape felt a little guilty and stepped back in fear; Lutong was not afraid at all and made a face at Huo Gang.
Shangguan Wanning could imagine that Lutong must have caused Huo Gang a lot of trouble along the way.
She asked many questions about her parents, and Huo Gang answered them one by one.
She hesitated for a long time and asked, "Brother Huo, has anything happened in the capital in the past six months?"
After all, Shangguan Wanning still has some trauma from her past life.
Huo Gang hesitated for a moment and replied, "There are two things. Not long after you left, the Crown Prince's concubine reportedly had a miscarriage."
"Jing Yan had a miscarriage?" Shangguan Wanning was a little surprised and felt regretful in her heart.
Miscarriage is not only physically harmful to women, but also mentally painful.
Mu Jingrui should be very heartbroken as well.
The moment she thought of Mu Jingrui, Shangguan Wanning's hands trembled involuntarily.
Huo Gang seemed to see through her thoughts and immediately changed the subject.
"The other thing happened recently. The Turkic princess Ge Shuyan is coming to the Central Plains to marry the emperor as his consort."
Shangguan Wanning was stunned, and the heroic image of Ge Shuyan emerged in her mind.
"I didn't expect that such a proud girl would actually..."
"Maybe there's nothing we can do about it." Huo Gang also felt sorry for Ge Shuyan. "I heard that the Turkic Khan died suddenly not long ago. Ge Shuyan's brother, the second prince of the Turkic Khanate, inherited the Khanate's throne. But this second prince seems to lack both ability and prestige."
"In order to stabilize the throne, he naturally had to rely on external forces. He took the initiative to write to the emperor to ask for peace, and to show his sincerity he even sent his sister to the Central Plains. The emperor agreed for the sake of peace on the border."
After listening to this, Shangguan Wanning sighed deeply.
It is clearly a fight between men, but it has to sacrifice women's lifelong happiness.
After chatting for a while, Sun Jinyao went to purchase daily necessities for one month and brought Huo Gang and others to Yaowang Valley.
Huo Gang took out the gift prepared by Shangguan Yue and gave it to Lu Xiangzi. He stayed in Yaowang Valley with Lutong and Grape for seven or eight days before leaving.
Lutong and Putao didn't want to leave, but Shangguan Wanning didn't agree to let them stay.
First, he didn't want to embarrass Huo Gang, and second, Lu Xiangzi didn't like too many people staying here.
On the way back, Lu Tong was in a bad mood, holding his chin and looking listless.
"Sister Lutong, don't be unhappy. Maybe the eldest lady will be back soon." Grape pulled her sleeve and comforted her.
The group had been traveling for several days. One evening, they arrived at the post station to stay the night, but were told that the station did not accept anyone.
Huo Gang looked up at the sky. It was definitely too late to rush to the next town store, so he took out the token from the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Seeing this, the waiter hurried in to report to the postmaster. Not long after, the postmaster came out in person to greet him.
"Master Postmaster, we are servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion. We are passing through here on our way out to do some work. It is getting late, so please give us some convenience."
Huo Gang spoke very politely, and the postmaster bowed repeatedly.
"My dear brother, if it were any other day, not to mention your Prime Minister's family, even ordinary people would be able to stay here. But today... the situation is a little special. I won't hide it from you, just take a look inside."
The postmaster turned sideways so that Huo Gang could see the situation in the hall.
He discovered that there were actually Royal Guards, and there were also Turkic flags next to them.
A light bulb went off in Huo Gang's mind.
Is it such a coincidence?
"Could it be a Turkic princess?"
The postmaster smiled. "As expected of someone who came from the Prime Minister's Office, you have good insights. The Turkic princess came to the Central Plains for a marriage alliance, but she missed the opportunity to stay here. In order to protect her safety and reputation, we cannot receive other people for the time being."
Huo Gang nodded to show his understanding. "In that case, we'll take our leave."
The postmaster secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Huo Gang was about to mount his horse and leave, a maid came out and said to him, "My princess has learned that an old friend is visiting. Please come in and chat with us."
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