Chen Bing was stunned, and in a blink of an eye, his stunned mood turned into upset.
But as a man who had been in officialdom for a long time and was well versed in the human relationships, he never showed what he was thinking on his face, and fell silent for a moment.
Who could have thought that when he was planning everything well, Jiang Xingzhou would suddenly show up and snatch the person from him?
The Jiang family is a family of scholars and officials for generations. Their status in Jinling is far beyond that of ordinary officials.
Whoever marries into his family can gild himself.
Pei Songyu, who is talented but comes from a poor family, needs such a marriage the most, so that he can gain a firm foothold in the aristocratic circle. The Ning'an Marquis's Mansion has been in decline in recent years, and it is obvious that it needs a talented son-in-law to help.
Why not choose this marriage made in heaven and choose a disabled and sickly prince?
This is really confusing. Did you have other plans in mind?
He disagreed, "You are too indulgent to your daughter."
Jiang Xingzhou suddenly became modest, "Nothing special."
Chen Bing felt a little upset. He didn't believe that Jiang Xingzhou hadn't heard the rumors outside. He knew that Jiang Xingzhou wanted to marry his daughter to Rong Ting, but he insisted on saying these words to him today. He was really cunning.
He circled his fingers in displeasure, "If my son likes a girl, it's easy, just go and propose marriage, you..."
You can't propose marriage to the emperor, right?
Jiang Xingzhou smiled, a faint smile, but he looked relaxed and confident. "The emperor has taken many of my paintings and owes me several rewards. He has wanted to marry me more than ten years ago. If I bring this up again, the emperor might agree."
Chen Bing choked.
He left the Ning'an Earl's Mansion with a painting of flowers and birds given to him by Jiang Xingzhou.
After stepping onto the carriage, Chen Bing unfolded the three-foot-long scroll, took a look at it, and threw it into the arms of the servant behind him with disdain, saying sourly, "I don't see what's so good about this painting. I don't know why the emperor likes it so much."
After returning to Chen's house, he summoned his confidant and whispered to him everything he had seen and heard in the Ning'an Marquis's house today. Finally, he said seriously and anxiously: "Go and tell this to the father-in-law."
…
Concubine Yun couldn't tell exactly when Fourth Master Jiang would let Jiang Rao go back.
She just said, "Don't worry. Even if your father doesn't agree in the end, I can go to the emperor and tell him that you are infatuated with him, and ask for an imperial decree to grant you marriage."
"The Emperor always responds to my requests, and they are not unreasonable.
I will not agree. ”
Jiang Rao nodded.
But she hoped that her father would agree.
If she relied on her aunt to ask for the imperial decree to grant the marriage, that would be fine, but it would hurt her father even more.
Concubine Yun remembered something at this time, raised the corner of her lips, and smiled nonchalantly, "Before I didn't have a child, they just treated me as a little grasshopper jumping around. Although they couldn't kill me, they couldn't make me mature. Now, I'm finally going to become a headache for the Xu family."
Jiang Rao was leaning against the window watching the snow. Then she turned around and glanced at Concubine Yun.
Concubine Yun was sitting on the couch, her slender figure leaning back, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
Lazy look, inexplicably...excited?
Jiang Rao walked back to Concubine Yun and peeled an orange for her. "Aunt, aren't you worried that you might become more dangerous?"
Concubine Yun liked to look at her fair and soft little face the most. She felt at peace just by looking at it. She rubbed her head like petting a cat. "I used to regard the queen as a thorn in my side. Although she hated me, she also looked down on me. In her heart, there are many opponents who are stronger than me. Maybe because I don't have a child, she secretly ridiculed and laughed at me, so I can only compete with her in appearance and figure, and in the emperor's favor. Although I can always win, it's so easy that it's really boring. I'm tired, it's time to change the game."
Jiang Rao was worried, "Then I'll teach you some ways to protect yourself."
Concubine Yun chuckled, "What can you do to protect yourself?"
Jiang Rao lowered her eyes and said nothing, fiddling with the purse at her waist with her fingers, revealing the object hidden by the purse.
Concubine Yun's smile faded and she became serious, "Why do you carry a dagger with you?"
Jiang Rao was vague, "For a while, my aunt always came to my shop by the Qinhuai River to block me, and I was a little scared."
Actually not.
She once thought that as long as she was with her parents, she would be well protected and there would be nothing to worry about.
Ever since the dream in Yecheng, she understood that she couldn't always count on her parents to protect her, as there would always be times when they could not protect her.
Even though it might not work, she had to give it a try.
She didn't even dare to hold this dagger before, but later she met Hu Tang, who not only taught her how to use it, but also told her where the vital points of a person are.
Hopefully she'll never have to use it.
Jiang Rao drooped her eyelids and moved the purse back to cover the dagger. She gently patted the purse with her fingers and raised her eyes seriously, "I have some drug powder in here that can make people faint."
The little girl is cute and honest, with rosy cheeks and cleaner than a flower bud, but she is being taught to do bad things. Seeing Jiang Rao's domineering appearance, Concubine Yun laughed until tears came out. She leaned on the couch and kept calling "darling".
"I'm worried that you've just encountered something recently, so you learned to carry a dagger with you. Have you changed it?" She laughed for a long time before she stood up. "I've been in the palace for so many years, and the word evil is written on my face. Only you think I'm a vegetarian. I have more ways than you, so I should teach you."
"Oh." Jiang Rao responded slowly, put down her hand, and looked at Qin Yun eagerly with clear and sincere eyes, "Then, Auntie, teach me."
Concubine Yun was overjoyed once again.
How could there be such an obedient and fun child?
"When you go back this time, I will ask the tutor who taught me before to come to your side and teach you how to defend yourself and other things you should know before getting married."
Jiang Rao widened her eyes and blinked her eyelashes as if she was frightened. "The latter one is not necessary."
"Could it be that you already know everything?" Concubine Yun looked at her mischievously.
"I, I can't." What can I do? Jiang Rao covered her burning ears and screamed in her heart.
"Didn't you tell me just now that the Ninth Prince's leg would definitely heal? You can't escape it." Concubine Yun leaned close to her ear and whispered, "If you knew more, you would have suffered less at the beginning."
"Although his leg has been injured for so long, didn't he win glory for the emperor in the martial arts arena in the first half of the year? He can't pull a bow weighing hundreds of kilograms without strength." She hugged Jiang Rao's waist, looked at him for a few times, and said with a click of the tongue: "Listen to me, don't be too shy, you should learn from me, otherwise your waist is as thin as a willow and as tender as a flower, and you will suffer."
Jiang Rao was so embarrassed that she could hardly breathe. The thin white fingertips that were hooking her ears seemed to be burned and turned red. She was holding her breath like a fish out of water. Concubine Yun stopped teasing her and thought to herself that she should just ask the governess to teach her when the time comes. This kind of thing would be more embarrassing if she talked about it with people she knew.
But seeing her like this, she felt relieved.
Just now she saw that her eyes were clear and it didn't look like she was interested in the Ninth Prince. She was worried that she had other reasons for wanting to marry Rong Ting. Now seeing her being shy and hiding, she felt relieved.
If she didn't like it, her look would have been one of disgust when this kind of thing was mentioned.
Jiang Rao took a deep breath and evened out her breathing. "Aunt, why does the Emperor trust the Empress so much?"
Let’s talk about business. Her face won’t be so hot when she talks about business.
"Rather than saying that the emperor trusts the queen, it's better to say that he trusts the Xu family." Concubine Yun said in a calm voice, "The father-in-law fell ill a few years ago, resigned from his post, and dismissed his retainers. He was so sick at that time that it seemed that he would die in two years. Who knew that he would be stronger in the past two years, but now he is very old. The retainers in the mansion have dispersed, he has no real power, and he doesn't often interact with officials. In addition, he has two daughters and no sons. The emperor is naturally relieved that the relatives can take the initiative to give up power and do this."
Jiang Rao lowered her head and frowned, thinking of the letter with the words "The withered flowers in the eastern suburbs reflect the light in the hall" that she had erased before leaving home.
She asked Rong Ting whose daughter the queen wanted to marry him, and he replied, Chen?
The only person with the surname Chen that she and Rong Ting knew was Chen Bing.
Chen Bing is from the Xu family, but no one knows that he has any dealings with the Xu family. Who knows how many people like him there are in the court.
If you think about it this way, even though Xu Guozhang looks like a dead tree, the roots underneath are actually very deep.
The Queen wanted Chen Bing, who seemed to have nothing to do with her, to marry her daughter to Rong Ting. She probably didn't want Rong Ting to know that his future partner was someone she had arranged.
Only with spies like this would Rong Ting not be on guard.
When Rong Ting had no power to fight back, the Queen openly bullied him, and when his power grew and he was not as easy to bully as before, the Queen started to play dirty tricks?
The change is disgusting.
After changing it, Rong Ting didn't bite the hook she had set.
Jiang Rao suddenly felt doubtful.
Chen Bing hid so well, how did Rong Ting know that he was the Queen's man?
And why has he become so close to Chen Bing until now?
…
Beishen Courtyard.
Wu Que stood in front of Rong Ting with his hands behind his back and reported, "I have been with Chang Xing almost every step of the way. I have been with Master Chen for seven days. I only met him yesterday.
The first time I saw it, someone came out of his house in the middle of the night to meet the father-in-law. ”
Wu Que's face was covered with cold sweat, and he lowered his head, "Master Chen is really untrustworthy."
His face looked somewhat embarrassed.
Earlier in Yunling, he felt that Rong Ting’s behavior of throwing away the eggs sent by Chen Bing was inappropriate and somewhat... ungrateful, so he saved a few eggs to feed the stray dogs in the village.
Half a day later, all the dogs were vomiting continuously.
Rong Ting sat behind a desk with a thick stack of official documents in front of him. He held a red pen, his brows lowered, without looking up from the documents, and nodded very lightly.
Wu Que was puzzled, "Your Highness, do you want to break up with Master Chen Bing?"
“No need.”
Just two words,
No explanation.
Wu Que didn't dare to pry into his thoughts. After finishing his report, he walked out of the study.
Rong Ting's face was pale, his eyes were cold, he blinked, but revealed a hint of interest.
Chen Bing and Xu Guozhang probably firmly believed that he regarded Chen Bing as a benefactor.
This is fine, just think that he feels sorry for them, let them mistakenly think that he is being played around by them, and give them a few days of happiness.
He would not give Chen Bing anything he wanted, but he wanted all of Chen Bing's connections in the Ministry of Industry.
Chen Bing came to his doorstep to help pave the way for him, and he would never refuse such a free benefit.
Things will become interesting when he is no longer useful and then we can teach him a lesson.
When Wu Que went out, he heard a heavy cough in the study.
Huai Qing happened to come back from outside. Wu Que glanced at him and asked, "Where did you come back from?"
Huai Qing raised the oil paper bag in his hand and showed it to him, "I went to buy some Li's dim sum. The Ninth Prince suddenly likes sweet things these days and wants Li's dim sum every day."
Wu Que pulled him aside and said, "I heard His Majesty the Ninth Prince coughing. His illness is much more serious than yesterday. What does the doctor say is going on?"
Huai Qing said, "The doctor who came to see him said that His Highness had caught a cold at night, but I have carefully checked the charcoal fire and bedding in the room, and they are clearly warm. Perhaps he was tired. His Highness had just entered the Ministry of Works these days, and he had been given so many official documents. When he had time, he wanted to go to the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion. How could he withstand such a tossing and turning."
He pretended to be sick when he wasn't sick before, but this time he was really sick, and he didn't seem to want to let Jiang Rao know. Huai Qing couldn't figure out Rong Ting's thoughts, so he just said, "Maybe this is also a mental illness."
Wu Que asked, "Your Highness, can you knock on the door of the Ning'an Marquis's mansion today?"
Huai Qing shook his head.
Wu Que said, "It's the same result of not seeing you behind closed doors anyway. Your Highness is ill, why bother going there every day?"
The door of the study was now open.
Rong Ting coughed and moved out in his wheelchair, "No need to discuss this anymore."
“I have to suffer a little.”
We can't let Jiang Rao suffer alone.
He took the oil paper bag from Huai Qing and returned to the study.
Waiting for the night to fall, he went to bed with his clothes on, but calculated the time. When the moon was just hanging high in the sky, he slowly stood up, changed into black clothes, let his long hair down, and tied it up high again, like Wu Que's usual look.
With his face covered by a black scarf, he took the pear cake that he had asked Huai Qing to buy from Li's, dodged the guards arranged by Fourth Master Jiang, and sneaked into the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.
A few nights ago
The study room, which was always lighted, was plunged into darkness and silence tonight.
Rong Ting frowned, moved closer to the door, and put his ear close to it.
There is no human voice.
Where is she? !
Rong Ting's heart was shaken and he coughed heavily.
At the same time, on the road outside the courtyard, the guards who were guarding the courtyard heard the noise inside and immediately became alert. They rushed to the study from all directions, "Who's there?"
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