It was not until a moment later that he saw a crimson figure walking out of the bamboo courtyard with a maid.
As soon as the girl came out of the yard, she looked around and soon saw him.
The autumn afternoon sunlight is almost transparent gold. When the wind blows, the ginkgo trees rustle and sway, and floating lights flicker between heaven and earth.
The moment her eyes found him, a smile appeared on the girl's face, just like the light swaying in the wind between heaven and earth at this moment, seemingly ordinary and quiet, but bright and open.
In an instant, Cui Jing felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness in his heart. He remained calm, but subconsciously clenched the hand holding the white chess piece behind his back.
When he came to his senses, Chang Suining had already arrived in front of him and said with understanding, "So Commander Cui is here too. What a coincidence."
Just now, Cui Lang came back to the table and casually told her that his eldest brother was outside. As a friend, there was no reason for her to avoid him and she had to come out and say hello.
Cui Jing held the chess piece, feeling a little guilty for some reason. To cover up his guilt, he said casually, "I didn't expect you to play chess so well."
"Did Grand Commander Cui see everything just now?"
Cui Jing nodded and looked towards the half-open window on the second floor. Chang Suining followed his gaze and understood.
"So what do you think of Grand Commander Cui?" She asked jokingly, "Not only am I good at chess, but I also have good manners, right?"
As she spoke, she sat down at the stone table and raised her hand to motion for him to sit down with her.
Her movements were very casual, and when Cui Jing came to her senses, she had already sat down opposite her.
He felt a little strange today, but he thought it was probably because...she seemed to have more and more secrets.
As usual, he reminded himself not to pry too much, and just followed her question and said, "You are very polite, and you can even be called quite tolerant of her."
"I've read his articles." Chang Suining said honestly, "This person is truly talented and knowledgeable. I always respect people with abilities. And you never know when such a person might become famous. It's better to leave some room for him and just treat it as a good relationship, isn't it?"
Song Xian is not a bad person, although his personality is not likable. But not everyone in this world is born to be likable. It doesn't matter if he has flaws, as long as the good outweighs the bad.
She is always willing to give in to capable people within a reasonable range.
Of course, it is also true that she likes to make good friends with people.
After hearing the words "establish good relationships", Cui Jing looked at the chessboard with its twisting momentum and asked her a question: "When I said at the beginning that I would not compete with him in calligraphy and painting, was it also to give him some leeway?"
"Well..." Chang Suining looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he said to him, "It's to save some face for myself."
Cui Jing looked up at her.
"There is one thing I am not good at." She smiled and said frankly: "My poetry is terrible."
"..." Cui Jing was silent for a moment, then said, "So, you first said that we would not compete in calligraphy, painting, riding or archery, and only said that the victory was not fair, in order to make him give up the poetry competition?"
Chang Suining nodded: "Yes."
This also makes her look graceful, killing two birds with one stone.
Cui Jing: "...It is his blessing to meet you."
Chang Suining sighed: "He should be convinced."
There was a faint smile at the corner of Cui Jing's mouth.
"It is extremely rare for a young man like him who comes from a poor family to reach this point at such a young age." Chang Suining looked at the golden crow that was setting in the west and said, "I hope he can get what he wants in the next spring imperial examination."
Cui Jing also looked at the setting sun with her: "Yes."
The sage is particularly determined to rectify the imperial examination system. Next year's spring examination will be presided over by Tutor Chu, and these poor students will have the most fair examination room in history.
"Well... it would be best if I could pass the imperial examination and come back as the top scholar." The girl went on to say, "Although I didn't take the imperial examination, the top scholar was defeated by me. Maybe he would be rumored to be my student - which would be more glorious than passing the imperial examination myself."
Cui Jing looked at her with amusement: "This way, you can become famous again."
"Yeah." Chang Suining also looked at him and said with a smile, "I can't play this game of chess with him for nothing."
Cui Jing hummed, and said seriously: "But this should not be heard by Mr. Song——"
"Why?"
Cui Jing said seriously, "If he knew you were planning this, I'm afraid the first thing he would do when he returned would be to burn all the books. He would rather not take the imperial examination than let you get away with it."
Chang Suining let out an "ah" and said seriously, "Yes, this seems like something he would do... Then you have to keep it a secret for me."
"No problem." Cui Jing suggested, "How about exchanging it for a game of chess?"
He also wanted to play chess with her.
Chang Suining nodded obediently: "Okay."
"There is no rush now." Cui Jing said: "Today I will hold a banquet for you at Wuershe. It will not be too late to fulfill my promise another day when I am free."
Unlike him who has no other friend, she is always busy and has many people to take care of, just like the colorful ropes on the Dragon Boat Festival.
"Then you are always at my service."
Chang Suining's eyes fell back on the chessboard after he finished speaking, and he suddenly asked, "Why is there a chess piece missing here?"
Cui Jing's eyebrows jumped, and he looked over with her: "...Is there?"
Chang Suining pointed confidently to the last move: "Right here, there is a missing white piece."
Cui Jing: “…”
Is it really reasonable to be so sharp? He tried to make his voice sound natural: "Just now, a guy came over and wanted to take down the chessboard. It should be that there were fewer people at that time..."
This wasn't really a lie, he just... said half the story.
But, is a chess piece a secret worth keeping?
As early as Cui Lang spoke, he could have put it back calmly. Isn't that the normal reaction?
So, what was he doing? Cui Jing was puzzled, and his peripheral vision caught sight of his subordinate standing not far away. He couldn't help but wonder - could it be that Cui Yuanxiang had infected him with some strange brain disease? Yuanxiang was somewhat puzzled when he noticed the sight of his own commander-in-chief.
Behind the moon-shaped door leading to the bamboo courtyard, the pink-robed young man hiding there lowered his voice and said, "Did you see? My master and my elder brother are sitting and talking!"
Yihu nodded repeatedly: "I saw it, I saw it..."
So could you please take away the hand that was forcibly twisting his head and stretching his eyes? "Help me see clearly, and remember to tell my mother later!" Cui Lang forced Yihu to look again and again, "This is my credit!"
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Cui Lang suddenly showed a sigh of regret: "Let's not worry about whether it can be accomplished or not. I have worked hard for my mother. Think about how much hardship I have endured for this family over the years, and how many people have looked down upon me... Cui Lang, Cui Lang, this family would be broken up without you."
After saying this, he turned around and said in a tone of mind: "Okay, let's go."
Chang Suining did not sit with Cui Jing for long. When they stood up, they agreed to play chess together another day.
Cui Jing watched her return to the bamboo courtyard before turning around and leaving the music hall. Before leaving, he asked Yuan Xiang to pay more for the tea.
As he mounted his horse, the young man thoughtfully took the chess piece into his arms and placed it properly.
The young man rode away and his figure quickly disappeared on the long street.
As the sun sets, someone stands quietly for a long time in Dengtai Tower, looking up at the famous painting of a tiger walking in the forest.
The four words "famous" used to sound a bit ironic to him, but now...
There were people coming and going around him from time to time, some who came to see the paintings, and some ordinary diners, but these had nothing to do with him. In his eyes, there was only the painting hanging high in the building.
His face looked calm, but his heart was never at peace.
The lights in the building began to light up.
During curfew days, there is not much business at night and the waiters in the building have already started preparing to close.
But the young man who had been standing for half a day was still standing alone in the building looking at the paintings, but he probably couldn't stand any longer, so he sat on the ground instead.
When Meng Lie heard this, he did not ask his servant to drive him away, but instead instructed: "Leave a light on for him tonight."
Although it had only been half a day, the news of Mr. Song losing the game of chess had already spread.
"Come to think of it, this little girl in General Chang's mansion..." He suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "She is really a completely different person from before."
The shopkeeper who was checking the accounts smiled and said, "The boss hasn't seen this Madam Chang much before, right?"
"It's because I didn't see her often before..." Meng Lie looked up at the second floor where the painting was hung, and thought: "But now I can hear her almost every day."
In this capital city, there are new things happening every day. It is not an easy thing to be remembered and mentioned often.
"That's because you spent four thousand taels to buy that painting and hung it in our restaurant." The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Whoever sees that painting will mention the painter."
Meng Lie suddenly felt a pain in his heart.
His four thousand taels! No, it was His Highness's four thousand taels! If His Highness were still alive, he would be heartbroken to learn about this and would definitely accuse him of not protecting his family business! Meng Lie cursed Chang Kuo, the old thief, in his heart again.
Soon, he returned to the backyard and came to his bedroom.
He had no children, and although he had another residence in the capital, he still stayed here most of the time.
There was only a gauze lantern lit in the bedroom. Meng Liexing walked behind the bed, turned the mechanism in the secret compartment on the wall with his hand, and took out a box hidden inside.
The wooden box was opened, and only half a token was found inside.
Meng Lie picked up the half token, it was cold and heavy.
When His Highness left, he left this to him, saying that if there was any errand for him to perform, he would send someone to meet him with the other half of the token the next day.
Was it just to give him something to think about? -- He didn't like to think about this possibility.
"Your Highness, more than ten years have passed..."
He sighed. Under the dim light, the lines at the corners of his eyes became clearer year by year. “If you don’t have any more errands for me, I will be old.”
Does he really have the chance to see the other half of the token in his lifetime?
The night wind blows through the window lattice, lonely and silent.
As the crescent moon gradually waxes, the rich fragrance of osmanthus fills the capital, and the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives.
What follows is the long-awaited Mid-Autumn Flower Banquet.
In addition to appreciating chrysanthemums and osmanthus, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a good time to appreciate hibiscus.
The flower banquet was held in Furong Garden in the suburbs of Beijing.
The flower banquet starts on the Mid-Autumn Festival and lasts for three days. Every family that receives an invitation to the flower banquet must bring their girls of marriageable age to Furong Garden to attend the banquet.
It was already afternoon when Chang Suining and his father and brother arrived at Furong Garden.
The autumn weather is clear and the scenery is pleasant, with hibiscus in full bloom. It is indeed a great place to enjoy the scenery.
But everyone knows that no one who enters this garden comes here to enjoy the scenery.
Every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor would entertain all officials. Today's dinner is for the ministers, and the female relatives are just there to keep them company. Tomorrow's flower show will be the time for the girls to show off.
Therefore, the women's side dispersed earlier, as they still needed to prepare for tomorrow's flower show.
After Chang Suining left the table, he walked out of the banquet hall, went down the stone steps, paused for a moment, and subconsciously looked at the eunuchs guarding the corridor.
"But is there something wrong?"
Suddenly a voice sounded behind him. Chang Suining turned around and saw Cui Jing walking towards him.
He was wearing the general's uniform of the Xuan Ce Mansion. He must have just finished arranging some affairs outside. His body seemed to be tainted by the coldness of the night, but the usual coldness in his eyes when treating people was gone at this moment.
"Nothing." Chang Suining had become more and more casual with him, "It's just that I didn't seem to see Attendant Yu today."
She hadn't seen A Zeng for a long time, not since she heard about that incident from Yu Xie.
She had never deliberately looked for him because he was busy with the affairs of the Palace Office and rarely had the opportunity to leave the palace.
"Someone needs to stay in the palace. Attendant Yu did not accompany the emperor this time." Cui Jing said to her.
The year is peaceful and clear.
It turns out he didn't come.
"If you have anything to do, you can send someone to find me." Cui Jing said.
Chang Suining looked at him. He thought that she needed Yu Zeng's help with something.
She smiled and said, "Nothing to do now."
At this time, Ming Luo, dressed in the uniform of a female official, came out of the hall. Seeing this scene, she paused for a moment, then calmed down and walked over.
Her gaze did not linger on Chang Suining, but only looked at Cui Jing. After paying her respects, she said, "The Saint summoned Grand Commander Cui to discuss matters after the banquet."
Cui Jing nodded and looked at Chang Suining: "I'll go first."
Chang Suining nodded.
When Ming Luo turned around with Cui Jing, his brows frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Chang Suining was just about to leave when he saw a group of brightly dressed girls walking out of the banquet hall.
"Sister Chang!"
Yao Xia walked towards her quickly and took her arm affectionately as usual.
Chang Suining's attention was drawn to a girl in green who was surrounded by a crowd of people: "Is that... the lady of the Changsun family?"
Yao Xia nodded and whispered, "Yes, that is the youngest daughter of the Zuo Xiang family, the Seventh Lady, Sun Xuan."
Chang Suining nodded.
It’s true.
This Zhangsun Qi Niangzi looked very much like her eldest aunt, the Empress Zhangsun, her father's former empress.
The Changsun family had produced two queens, and more than one of the family's sons had married princesses. The father of this Changsun Qi Niangzi, Changsun Yuan, was the superior of the current Left Prime Minister, Wei Shuyi. Although their style was different from that of the Cui family, which did not marry into the royal family, the Changsun family came from a powerful family in Guanlong, and was also a real noble family.
In opposing the Empress Ming's abuse of power, the Changsun family's position was highly consistent with that of other aristocratic families.
Even leaving this matter aside, the feud between the Changsun family and the Empress Ming goes back even further.
When Zhangsun Yuan's elder sister, Empress Zhangsun, died, Empress Ming took her place and became the master of the harem.
The Third Prince, who had been beaten by her for bullying Ah Xiao, had been raised by Empress Changsun since childhood and was the one that the Changsun family wanted to support.
When she was Li Xiao, she had been involved in the open and covert struggles for the position of crown prince, and she had also experienced the methods used by the Zhangsun family.
"I heard from people privately that... this Zhangsun Qi Niang is the best candidate for the Crown Princess." Yao Xia said in a low voice.
Chang Sui Ning does not make any comment.
It should be said that Chang Sun Xuan was the best candidate for Crown Princess in the eyes of those aristocratic officials.
But in the eyes of the Queen, it was just the opposite.
But, which girl are you going to recommend to compete with it tomorrow?
Good night everyone
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