Chapter 38 Chapter 38 The first words she said to him: Home...

Chapter 38 Chapter 38 The first words she said to him: Home...

The light snow stopped again at noon.

When the dark clouds in the sky parted, a thin ray of sunlight appeared, as if it was dyed by snow, and became as thin as a silver blade.

Chen Changshi accompanied Cheng Yian in the warm room west of the front hall, waiting for news.

Chen Changshi sat on the west side, Cheng Yian on the east side, leaving the main seat for the eldest princess.

It was not easy to just sit there, so Cheng Yian started chatting with Chen Changshi.

"How many years has Master Chen been coming to the Princess's Mansion?"

Chen Changshi was wearing a green robe, had delicate features and a warm expression, and looked to be no more than forty years old.

He smiled and replied, "I have served the princess for nearly twenty years."

Cheng Yian had seen Chen Changshi many times, busying himself with the affairs of the princess's residence, satisfying all the princess's reasonable and unreasonable demands. He was truly an extremely capable and patient man. "Chen Changshi is capable and seeks perfection in everything. Only you can serve the princess."

Chen Changshi suddenly stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Highness chose me not because I am capable, but because my birthday is on New Year's Eve."

Cheng Yian said in a hoarse voice, "New Year's Eve? This is really rare. Only extremely blessed people can be born on New Year's Eve."

Chen Changshi laughed, "Your father's birthday is also on New Year's Eve."

"ah?"

Cheng Yian really didn't know that his father's birthday was on New Year's Eve?

Suddenly I realized that the princess chose Chen Changshi because he and my father were born on the same day.

What an obsession this is.

This is a bit embarrassing.

Cheng Yian blamed himself for being too talkative and dared not chat any more.

At this moment, they heard voices outside and knew that the eldest princess had returned.

Cheng Yian's expression darkened, and he and Chen Changshi immediately went out to greet them.

When I came out of the warm hall, I saw the eldest princess being helped into the hall by two female officials.

“Your Highness!”

Hearing the voice, the princess couldn't help but stare at her.

Cheng Yian looked at her steadily, and felt that something was different about her, as if she had suddenly lost all her strength, and looked a little dazed and a little empty.

Cheng Yian thought that she had been wronged in the palace, and immediately asked one of the female officials to hold her back.

"Your Highness, what happened? Have you been blamed?"

The princess was led by her into the warm hall and sat down. She looked at her and smiled, "No, everything went well. If nothing unexpected happens, I will go south for your father."

Cheng Yian's expression froze.

"How can this be possible?"

She asked Lu Xusheng to help, but Lu Xusheng carried it up by himself.

If you ask the eldest princess again, she will go in place of her father.

What's wrong with each of them?

"Is there no other capable ministers and generals in the court?" She was so anxious that she wanted to cry. "If one fails, we can send two or three more. It will eventually work."

The princess held her hand and said with a smile, "Silly child, didn't you say that you wanted me to be like him and surpass him? So, I have to do his unfinished work."

Cheng Yian, "......"

She was just joking.

How can I take it seriously?

"What if there's danger?"

"I won't go into battle to kill the enemy, so what danger can there be? Assassinating a royal princess is a crime tantamount to treason, who dares to do that? Besides, there are so many guards in my Princess's mansion. If a bad guy rushes in to assassinate me, that's great. I will investigate and kill him as a warning to the rest. I will clear the way with swords and see who dares to resist."

Deep down, the princess and Lu Xusheng are the same type of people, full of blood.

Cheng Yian felt that it was unlikely that the emperor would allow the eldest princess to go to Jiangnan alone, and the court must have a foolproof plan.

She always felt that the eldest princess was less energetic than before, and she was worried, "Your Highness, did His Majesty agree to your request so easily?"

After all, it is an important matter of the court, and it is impossible to change its course based on the words of the princess.

The eldest princess said no, "His Majesty also made a request to me."

"What do you want?"

"Let go of your father from now on!" said the eldest princess calmly.

Everyone present was stunned.

Cheng Yian stood up and stared at her blankly, "Then do you agree?"

"Of course." How could the lack of agreement have enough weight to convince the emperor to give up Cheng Mingyu.

Cheng Yian closed his eyes deeply, his heart was in turmoil. He thought it was a blessing in disguise.

Being able to let go was a blessing for the princess. Cheng Yian couldn't help but hug her again.

"Your Highness, you must do this..."

It is really painful to hold on to an obsession that you cannot obtain.

Just like how she had spent five years in her previous life thinking about a child day and night, torturing herself beyond recognition.

What's more, the Princess has remained the same for thirty years.

She hopes the eldest princess can be herself.

Anyone who sees the eldest princess can only be afraid. Cheng Yian is the first and only one who dares to hug her.

The eldest princess thought it felt good to be hugged.

"You want me to do it?" she asked Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian raised his head in her arms, "Yeah."

The eldest princess frowned and stroked her hair, "Then I can't let our An An down, right?"

After saying that, she pulled Cheng Yian up, looked towards the window, and said in a daze,

"Chen Changshi, take your men to my study and bedroom and collect and seal all the things related to Cheng Lang."

Chen Changshi and the two female officials looked at each other, hesitating and not knowing how to react.

From the moment they entered the mansion, they were told everything about Cheng Mingyu. Their understanding of Cheng Mingyu was perhaps as good as that of the servants in the Cheng mansion. His preferences, taboos, stature, clothing, date of birth, everything was engraved in these people's bones.

Now that they were suddenly asked to stop paying attention to such a person, they were all a little confused.

If they are like this, what about the eldest princess herself?

The orders of the eldest princess have always been carried out unconditionally by everyone in the palace.

Chen Changshi did not say anything, but suppressed his heartache in his chest, bowed to the princess, left a female official to serve, and took the rest to the backyard.

The princess came back to her senses and looked at Cheng Yian. Her eyes had never been so clear and gentle. "An'an, is that so?"

The light in her eyes was like the thin sunshine in the sky, so faint that it seemed like it would be blown away by the wind.

Cheng Yian doesn't know what it feels like to love someone deeply, but he knows that it is not easy to eliminate someone from your heart.

"Everything will be fine."

The eldest princess smiled and said nothing.

A ray of sunlight peeked out from the clouds, framing an edge in the gaping blue sky.

The princess murmured, "All of you go out. I want to be alone for a while."

Cheng Yian came up to her and kowtowed to her solemnly.

"Your Highness, please take a good rest. Go back peacefully. If you have any instructions, just send someone to let me know."

The eldest princess smiled and waved to her, her eyes following her far away. The moment she looked back, she looked like the high-spirited young girl of her youth, with the same bright eyes and brows.

He was so beautiful, as beautiful as a beam of light cast from heaven that made people unable to help but chase after him. But now that beam of light was like a ray of winter sunlight falling on the courtyard wall, gradually appearing in her eyes, bright, dim, and finally covered by darkness.

I don't know how long she sat there, maybe because she was hungry, the princess slowly stood up with the help of the handrail and walked towards the backyard.

I walked along the wide corridor to the entrance of the main hall and entered the east side room as usual.

As soon as she stepped in, the princess was stunned. The magnificent screen at the door was gone. The originally luxurious east room suddenly became like an empty dry well. An extreme sense of emptiness came over her. The colorful lights in the room were taken down, and the calligraphy and paintings that she loved so much were gone. The various blue and white porcelains with his image engraved on the antique shelf were nowhere to be found. The long rosewood table in the middle of the three grilles was empty, with only a stack of newly delivered rice paper moving without wind.

The princess sat down beside the desk, with her left hand under the desk, consciously reaching towards the pen holder. What should she do at this moment... Oh, yes, she should imitate his regular script. It was really an exquisite regular script, with a fine tip like a blade, and each stroke was smooth and beautiful, and the characters formed were particularly upright and elegant. Just looking at the handwriting was enough to make her heart beat fast and she could hardly control herself.

But she touched it and felt nothing. Her hands were empty and her heart was empty. She suddenly didn't know what to do.

Oh, yes, I'm hungry.

"Someone come..."

The female official at the door bowed immediately and responded, "What do you want, Your Highness?"

"Set the table."

"Yes, sir."

The female official turned around and glanced at the maid, who immediately went to serve the meal after receiving the signal. The female official walked to the side of the eldest princess and looked around. The long table, desk, and writing desk that were filled with decorations in the past were all empty. In the past, no food was allowed to be served here, and no meat or fish was allowed to be smelled.

"Your Highness, where is it?"

A gust of wind blew the yellowish lamp outside the corridor, and the light passed through the window curtains and cast a ball of light behind the princess, making her figure extremely lonely and desolate. Hearing this, she turned her head to the side, and the light chased after her and illuminated her eyebrows. Her white fingers gently touched the table beside her.

"That's it."

*

It was late again when he returned.

During the New Year's Eve, even Cheng Mingyu, who had a strict schedule, could not avoid being disrupted and would not return to the Cheng Mansion until the hour of Xu.

At this time, the old ancestor had his younger generation coming to take care of him, but Cheng Mingyu did not bother to bother them. He went straight back to the study through the small door and called the housekeeper to ask if there were any household problems. The housekeeper held a book of accounts and read them to him one by one.

Cheng Yiyan has been away from home quite a lot recently, and all family affairs are reported to Cheng Mingyu. After getting the dividends, some of the Cheng family's playboys inevitably cause trouble outside. Just today, a young master from the eighth room gathered a group to gamble outside and was reported to the Disciplinary Institute.

"The old lady of the eighth room came to the old ancestor today to beg for mercy, saying that the eldest master of the eighth room has only one son, who was born weak and was usually neglected. Please give him a lighter punishment for the sake of the eighth old lady."

The young master of the eighth room is named Cheng Yike, and he is the biological brother of Cheng Yian's close friend Cheng Yike. Cheng Yike's father and stepmother had an affair and had this son. He was raised in luxury and was one of the most mischievous young masters in the Nan Mansion.

Cheng Mingyu sat upright in the armchair, his brows furrowed as he said calmly, "This is not the first time he has violated the clan rules."

The housekeeper said, "Yes, this is the third time this year."

"First, deal with him according to the clan rules. After the New Year, send him to the shop in Suzhou and let Old Xu take care of him. Let him suffer a little at the border to train him. If he still fails, then give up."

Giving up means that Cheng Yike will no longer be given any resources in the future, which is equivalent to being removed from the Cheng family.

"Yes, Patriarch."

He wrote this down and told someone to do it, then moved on to the next task.

"I have already paid the full amount of rent you promised the court to the Ministry of Revenue, but today an official from the Ministry of Revenue came and said he wanted to exchange 30,000 dan of grain for some silk to make new clothes for the palace masters for New Year's Eve."

The two grain ships in Tongzhou had lost a lot of silk. Now the Imperial Household Department and the Textile Bureau were in a state of panic, seeking help everywhere.

Cheng Mingyu suddenly raised his eyes and looked at the housekeeper sharply, "What's your answer?"

The housekeeper lowered his eyes and bowed, saying, "I don't think there are so many silks. Even if there are, they are just some old and bad stuff. I'm afraid they dare not defile the masters in the palace. Then the official left."

At this point, the housekeeper looked up at him and said, "I thought that our young master was in the Ministry of Revenue, and they came directly to the mansion without him. It was obvious that they had run into trouble with the young master. I dare not give in to anything that the young master did not agree to, so I returned like this."

Cheng Mingyu was very satisfied.

Being a steward in the Cheng family is no less than being on duty in one of the six ministries. In fact, these stewards are more cunning, scheming, and socializing than some officials in the six ministries.

Cheng Mingyu raised his hand to press his forehead and stroked it back and forth. "The food is for disaster relief in Jiangzhou, not for filling the hole of the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Household Department."

"Well, take my name card and go to the residence of Xu Kun, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and ask him to check where the donated materials are circulated in various parts of the Ministry of Revenue."

The Ministry of Revenue's Jieshi Zhong was responsible for assessing and supervising the Ministry's officials. Once any illegal activities were discovered, they would immediately report to the emperor. Any official whose record was recorded by the Jieshi Zhong of various departments would have a direct impact on his promotion.

It is extremely intimidating to officials from various departments.

"In addition, you should contact the famous families in the capital who donated materials, and call a few stewards to go to the Ministry of Revenue to ask them for the return of the materials. The two rooms should be squeezed together to prevent the officials of the Ministry of Revenue from misappropriating materials."

"I understand, old slave."

After discussing a few more things, the butler closed the book and told him with a smile,

"Yesterday, our people went to the Lu residence to pick up the third young lady, but she said she was too busy with household chores to come. We went there at noon today, but we didn't see her. We thought she wouldn't come today. But at the end of the afternoon, we saw the carriage of the Lu residence parked at the door. The third young lady came with a lot of bags and said she would stay at the residence for a few days. The old ancestor was so happy that he asked if you would like to go and see the third young lady later."

Thinking of the little enemies, Cheng Mingyu got a headache.

"No, she will come to me on her own initiative.

”

Didn't he realize what his little daughter was doing?

See what tricks she can come up with.

After sending away the housekeeper, Cheng Mingyu called the old servant inside to take a bath, changed out of the official robe he had worn during the day, and put on his old tea-white robe that he usually liked to wear. Although Cheng Mingyu's family was wealthy, he never liked to buy new clothes, and his clothes were simple, but although simple, they were all made of the best materials.

For example, the wine cup he was used to drinking from was a Doucai cup fired in the official kiln during the Chengming period of the previous dynasty. This cup was extremely small, not even as big as a human wrist, but only five top-quality cups were fired that year, three of which were presented to the imperial palace, one was given by the emperor at that time to the Emperor of Northern Qi as a birthday gift, and the remaining one was passed down to the Cheng family. When the previous dynasty fell, the three wine cups were also destroyed. It is said that the one used by the Emperor of Northern Qi was also broken, so the one used by Cheng Mingyu became a unique piece.

Every day before going to bed, Cheng Mingyu likes to drink a sip of Suzhou wine. This wine is neither strong nor light. It has a dark color like blood and a rich taste. It has a fruity aroma when it first enters the mouth, and a subtle hot and spicy feeling when you taste it. In the end, only the aftertaste is left.

Cheng Mingyu worried too much and had trouble sleeping. This was the prescription given to him by an old doctor and brewed for him by a veteran craftsman of the Cheng family. This was the secret recipe of the Cheng family. This kind of wine sold very well in Suzhou and was supplied in limited quantities each year. In the words of Suzhou people, if you want to drink a sip of Suzhou wine a year, you have to make a reservation in the early spring of the previous year, and you can only get some at the end of the year. Only the rich or the noble can drink Suzhou wine, and ordinary people can't afford it. Even if you can order it, it is only one and a half catties at most, and there is no more.

Precisely because of its rarity, the three words "Gusu Liquor" have become a symbol of power and nobility in recent years.

Cheng Mingyu has become dependent on this glass of wine over the years. He cannot fall asleep without a sip.

The old servant poured him a cup as usual. Cheng Mingyu drank it all in one gulp, walked through the corridor and came to the piano room.

Outside the building is a dense forest. The bamboos in the forest have withered early in this season. In order to continue this scenery, Cheng Mingyu later planted a few Laojun plum trees here. Now the plum branches are slanting horizontally, and a hint of green emerges from the thin snow, which is the only novelty in the cold winter.

Cheng Mingyu's piano room is deep in the bamboo forest. Outside the forest are lush green trees. The overlapping layers of leaves create a quiet and peaceful environment. Normally, the sound of the piano cannot be heard from here.

Cheng Mingyu is the eldest son of the Cheng family. He received the best education since he was young. He started playing the zither as soon as he learned to use chopsticks. Over the years, he had become a master of music. When Northern Qi was performing military exercises on the border to put pressure on the Great Jin, he used a song of "Pozhenzi" to support the soldiers.

Compared to the study, this piano room is small and has few ornaments. There is no light in the room. Cheng Mingyu closed his eyes subconsciously, covered the strings with his slender fingers, and a series of notes like flowing water slid out from under his fingertips.

There is no sheet music, no rhythm to speak of, just play whatever comes to mind.

The two fingers flew like flying, sliding from the west corner all the way to the southeast, the speed was getting faster and faster, the sound of the piano was like a flash of sword and shadow passing through the air, and gradually moved back up along the southeast, this time like pearls falling to the ground, each stroke was sonorous and sharp, with ups and downs, and this went back and forth for about ten times, until finally the little finger of the right hand slid downwards, and the ending sound ended abruptly.

The whole world was quiet.

Sweat dripped down his forehead. Cheng Mingyu held the piano with both hands and took a deep breath.

What was the first thing she said to him?

"Thank you for your hard work..."

Afterwards, she hurried over, holding a cup of tea with her slender fingers, and handed it to him. The dim light cast a layer of velvety light on the back of her fair hand, where there was still a thin layer of sweat.

He didn't even bother to look at what she looked like. Her figure was revealed in the residual light. She was breathing softly, like a delicate flower wet by the rain, trembling and unable to stand.

For such a thing, she told him that she had worked hard?

He took the teacup, drank it all, and left without looking back.

I opened my eyes and saw the snow falling outside the window and the plum branches swaying in the wind. Eighteen years had passed in a flash. In the Buddhist world, eighteen years is considered a reincarnation, so the snow in the forest now is the same as the snow that year. In this way, we can grow old together.

While I was in a daze, I heard the sound of footsteps at the door at the end of the corridor behind me, and the old servant's voice came.

"Master, the Third Miss personally prepared a midnight snack for you."

The old servant pushed open the door, and saw a very deep corridor. Cheng Yian raised his eyes while holding the food box, and saw the slender figure trapped at the end of the darkness.