Chapter 98
The next day at noon.
Princess Axiang came to Shunning Palace.
Qu Duanbian was fighting a desperate battle with Yi Dian Bai. The guy had dug up half of Xuan Fei's vegetable garden. He raised a wooden board and hit the dog's butt.
Yidianbai struggled hard and screamed.
He has made some progress in internal strength, which is more than enough to suppress a dog.
The battle between man and dog ended with Princess Xiang's awkward but polite cough.
She finally understood what her mother meant when she said "Shunning Palace is different". She had never seen any palace as lively as Shunning Palace.
Qu Dubian patted the dog's fur on his body, "Aunt Xiang?"
Princess Xiang smiled and said, "Would you like to sit together?"
"OK."
Qu Dubian invited her to his room in Shunning Palace, and Ye Xiaoyuan poured tea for them both.
Princess Xiang said sincerely: "Auntie, I want to thank you for taking care of the Cining Palace over the years. Otherwise, I might never be able to see my mother again."
Qu Dubian was stunned for a moment, thinking it was something else, but he didn't expect it was this.
He waved his hands, refusing to take credit for this, and said, "It's nothing. I went to play with the toffee ladies because I was bored. The ladies just indulged me."
Princess Xiang: "No, nephew, this is very important."
"It is not easy for a princess who married far away to return to the capital. Who knows if there will be another chance to meet? Maybe this is the last time we will see each other... Your care is very precious to me."
Qu Watanabe: "Aunt Xiang is too polite."
After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I heard that you passed by the border town on your way back to the capital. Since you met Uncle Ming, I wonder if you..."
Princess Ah Xiang asked, "You want to ask your grandfather, right?"
Qu Watanabe nodded.
The last time we met he was just over two years old, and it has been nearly ten years.
Grandpa was getting older and older, and he was stationed in the northern border. He only received news from him once every two or three months, and sometimes even once every six months. He was very worried about his grandfather's health in the past few years.
Although my grandmother didn't say anything, she was actually always holding her breath.
Princess Axiang: "When the tribes in the northern border were in turmoil, I had communications and consultations with Marquis Chijian and General Xia Hong. This time when I passed by the border town of the northern border, I stayed there for two days to rest. I met with Marquis Chijian and talked a lot."
Of course, they didn’t live in military camps or cities, but set up tents outside.
After all, she was accompanied by people from the Northern Frontier, and it would not be a good idea to leak the city's defenses.
Qu Watanabe: "How is Grandpa?"
Princess Ah Xiang smiled and said, "I still eat as much as I did back then."
Most of his hair and beard are white, but he looks in good spirits.
"The Sword-Holding Marquis handed the clerical work to General Xia Hong. Ten years ago, the power in the Northern Frontier was divided, and Prince Ming led the eunuchs to serve as military supervisors. Because of the military supervisors, the issuance of military orders was much slower. The Sword-Holding Marquis was afraid that he would get angry and kill the military supervisor, so Xia Hong was the one who went to handle the disputes every time."
Qu Duanbian smiled, "Grandpa doesn't like trouble."
Princess Xiang: "Oh, I almost forgot. Among the things I brought this time, there is also a wooden box that the Sword-wielding Marquis stuffed in and asked me to deliver to Madam Wu. But it is now in the Princess's Mansion. I will send someone to deliver it after I return."
After hearing this, Qu Dubian stood up and bowed to Princess Xiang, "Aunt, I have an unwelcome request."
Princess Ah Xiang raised her hand to support him: "No need to do that, please sit down quickly. Just tell me, I will definitely do it within my ability."
Qu Dubian said, "It's not a big deal. I just want you to go to the Marquis Chijian's mansion in person and tell grandma about grandpa's recent situation. Tell her more, just daily life or just make up a little story. Grandma really misses him."
Even if there is correspondence, it is not as good as talking in person.
Even if it's just a little comfort.
Princess Axiang: "It's just a small matter."
In the past day, she heard a lot about the Seventh Prince's deeds and felt that he was a noisy and lively child, but she didn't expect that he was actually so thoughtful.
She found the child more and more pleasing to the eye, and said gently, "Aunt will be in Beijing for another month. If you have anything else, you can come to me."
Qu Watanabe: "Thank you, Aunt Xiang."
They had a meal in Shunning Palace. When Princess Axiang saw Zhiyi, she praised her beauty and said that she was old enough to choose a prince consort and they could meet her as soon as possible.
Some polite chat.
After lunch.
Qu Dubian followed Princess Axiang to the princess's mansion, took the wooden box that Marquis Chijian had stuffed in, and went to Marquis Chijian's mansion.
After they left.
Concubine Guo seemed worried.
The moment she saw Princess A Xiang, the anxiety and worry she had been hiding were like being pierced by a needle.
She said to Concubine Xuan, "Your Majesty will not choose another princess to marry in the Northern Frontier, right?"
Concubine Xuan: "The northern border is now stable, and Princess Xiang is not overwhelmed. His Majesty has not expressed any intention of marrying again."
Lady Guo: "Your Majesty didn't say clearly that he would not marry another princess to strengthen support for tribes close to the Great Zhou, right?"
Zhiyi is two months short of turning fifteen, but she is about to turn fifteen.
Sihe is still young, and the only princess of the right age is Zhiyi.
Concubine Xuan said, "It seems unlikely in the next few years. If you want to eliminate the possibility of marriage, you should carefully recruit a consort for Zhiyi."
Concubine Guo said worriedly, "I'm afraid Zhiyi won't agree."
She either followed the deputy director of the Astronomy Department to learn mathematics, or went to the Xie family to help Yuan Jie'er prepare all the things for her wedding. She had no intention of finding a prince consort at all.
-
The mansion holding a sword.
Qu Dubian and Princess A Xiang brought the wooden box to Wu Siwan.
When the wooden box was opened, there was a box of stones and an eagle bone flute inside.
Princess Xiang was surprised and said, "No wonder it's so heavy. There are..." She counted carefully, "eight stones."
Each one is as big as a palm and is ground into a gourd shape.
Wu Siwan: "Xiaoguai, I don't know how to play any musical instrument. This flute was given to you by grandpa, and the stone was given to me by him."
The eagle bone flute was filled with a chill. Qu Dubian held it in his hand and blew it a few times. The sound of the bone flute seemed a little desolate and distant. "Grandma, what does it mean that grandpa gave you a stone?"
Wu Siwan smiled but shook his head.
"This is a secret between your grandfather and me."
She pulled Princess Axiang aside and asked her to talk more about the Northern Frontier.
Qu Dubian flew onto the roof and tried to blow the bone flute.
He can play some musical instruments, including the flute, but he is best at guitar and violin.
Qu Dubian had something on his mind. The older he got, the more things he had to think about. After trying to play the flute for a while, a simple tune flew out.
Wu Siwan listened to Princess Axiang talking about things in the northern border.
She looked at the gourd and stone in the wooden box.
At that time, the Sword-wielding Marquis was not yet a marquis, but a young man who had heard the promise of "Three thousand rivers of water, but only take a sip from one" from somewhere.
He felt that this promise was not generous. Isn't a ladle just half of a gourd? It would be better to give the whole thing. So he changed it to "Three thousand rivers of water, all the water in the gourd is given to you."
Later, when the Marquis Chijian went to the northern border, he would grind out a stone gourd every year. He would either find an opportunity to ask someone to deliver it to him, or he would save it for himself and bring it back when he returned home.
The stone gourd became the commitment and longing between them that lasted throughout their lives.
-
Princess Xiang's Mansion.
In addition to some maids, Ah Xiang was also accompanied by the nephew of the leader of the royal court.
He was about fifteen or sixteen years old and his name was Agumuduo.
He had two large bone earrings on his ears, his hair was braided into small braids, his facial features were deep, and his honey-colored skin exuded a wild nature.
Agumuduo was not the son of the chief of the royal court, and this time he was only the chief of the guards accompanying Princess Axiang, so Emperor Chongzhao did not invite him to a separate banquet.
He was from a tribal branch that was close to the Great Zhou Dynasty. He had been exposed to some Han culture spread by Princess A Xiang since he was a child, so he was quite curious about the customs of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After staying in the princess's mansion for a few days, he finally couldn't help but go out.
After he left, some vendors pushing carts disappeared around the princess's mansion.
-
There are crowds of people walking around and it is very prosperous.
Agumuduo: "The Central Plains is great. It would be great if the herdsmen from the Northern Frontier could also live in such a place." He was followed by two Northern Frontier warriors. The three of them were dressed in exotic styles, which attracted a lot of attention.
Some are hostile, some are curious, and some don't care much.
Agumud walked around and entered the building with the most people. There were three words written on the plaque - Ruyi Building.
He liked the hustle and bustle, so he didn't go to the private rooms on the second and third floors. Instead, he found a secluded place on the first floor to listen to the storyteller tell stories.
Just when I heard the exciting part, I heard an indignant voice from the side:
"…At the beginning, Xia Hong came from the northern border to Zhennan Pass, overwhelmed Nanning, and won the title of Marquis of Changping, but everyone knew that this was just to divide the power in the northern border. He got the title of Marquis, and your maternal grandfather got nothing but gold and silver rewards."
Hearing the key words, Agumudo looked over immediately.
There were four people at that table, three of whom were complimenting the boy who was the most gorgeously dressed.
It was the Sixth Prince.
Three years ago, in the great victory at Zhennan Pass, Nanning offered a hostage, and the main credit went to Xia Hong.
The other three generals of Zhennan Pass only received gold and silver rewards and family connections, but no titles.
The current situation of the two marquises in the northern border sharing power is the template of Zhennan Pass that Emperor Chongzhao followed. He wanted to be stable, so he would not easily move the three armies of Zhennan Pass.
Concubine Lan’s maternal family was one of the three generals of Zhennan Pass. The sixth prince’s cousin came to Beijing to receive his reward and took the opportunity to stay in the capital to develop.
The Sixth Prince had often come out to play with them since three years ago. As he went out of the palace more often, he made some bad friends.
Xu Cheng is one of them.
He couldn't curry favor with the Seventh Prince, who always avoided him. He was very angry. They were obviously relatives, so why was the Seventh Prince avoiding him?
Later, he set his sights on the Sixth Prince. He was very good at flattery, and after a while, the Sixth Prince began to regard him as a good friend.
Xu Cheng knew that the Sixth Prince liked to hear nice things, so he often stepped on Xia Hong to flatter the Sixth Prince's in-laws.
The Sixth Prince: "We are not in a private room, don't say such things outside. Xu Cheng, next time you invite me out, if I can't book a private room, I won't come."
He looked with disdain at the guests who were eating and chatting in groups of three or five in the lobby on the first floor.
There are so many people that the air feels turbid.
Xu Cheng smiled apologetically: "Of course, of course."
He quickly called everyone else and poured tea for the Sixth Prince.
The Sixth Prince: "You are right, it is very unfair. The people of Northern Frontier are not that powerful. Xia Hong just took advantage of the Sword-wielding Marquis."
"Yes. Xia Fuyang, the son of Marquis Changping, should be taking the military exam soon. Your two cousins are also candidates this year." Xu Cheng raised his eyebrows, covered his lips with the fan, and whispered to the Sixth Prince, "There is only one champion in martial arts."
The Sixth Prince's eyes flickered, he took a sip of tea, and said nothing.
He was still a bit shrewd and knew that there were some things he could say and some things he couldn't say.
The military examination selects young future generals and not only examines the literary test, but also the martial arts test, including but not limited to horsemanship, archery, weightlifting, fighting, and military tactics.
It was organized by the Ministry of War and supervised by the Ministry of Rites.
They spoke in a very low voice, but Agumudao listened carefully and got the general idea.
He was not interested in the complicated calculations of their Great Zhou, but he could not bear to hear the words "the people of Northern Frontier are not that powerful".
Agumudo sneered, stood up with the scimitar at his waist, walked to the Sixth Prince's table and stepped on it.
The people on the first floor immediately looked over.
"Northern Frontier isn't that powerful? Are you powerful? How about we practice with each other?"
The Sixth Prince's face instantly turned ugly, "Are you from Northern Frontier?" He had never been provoked in his life. He stood up suddenly, stepped onto the table, and raised his head without any fear.
"What are you practicing for? Who do you think you are? Why are you talking to me about practicing?"
Second floor.
Private room.
Qu Dubian and Xi Zixing are playing Gobang.
"Xia Fuyang is preparing for the military exam. He should be able to get into the top three. After the exam, he will be sent to the countryside to serve as a junior general. Has he told you where he plans to go?"
Qu Watanabe: "He once said that he wanted to go to the south, to a more remote place to train people."
He stared at the chessboard, made another move, and said happily: "You lose, you lose, you promised, if you lose, you have to help Yuan Jie'er stop the marriage."
When Yuan Jie'er got married, the Xie family had to block the door and find a few talented people to embarrass the son-in-law who came to pick up the bride. Xi Zixing was well educated and was suitable for making things difficult for others.
Xi Zixing glanced at him and said, "Let's play another round."
Qu Duanbian: "You will lose in another game. I am invincible in Go." Only Master Fang and his uncle can beat him occasionally.
The two of them set up another plate.
Qu Duanbian asked casually: "How is your booklet? I have taken you to observe my brothers."
Xi Zixing paused for a moment, "It's okay."
Qu Dubian had no idea that he also had a booklet. Every time he took Xi Zixing to observe other princes, Xi Zixing was also observing him.
Just as he was about to start another game, there was a sudden bang from the floor below.
The sound was so loud that it could be heard clearly in the private room.
Qu Dubian blinked and said, "Let's go take a look?"
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