Chapter 3 Chapter 3 I'll Take You Home
Unfortunately, the amber bead was taken away by A Niang, and Wu Jingxun gradually forgot about it.
When Wu Jingxun first saw the pair of cold eyes that looked even clearer in the sunlight today, he suddenly wondered where his mother had put the pair of amber beads.
Well, most of it was used as the betrothal gift to my future sister-in-law.
Wu Xucong saw the troops slowly passing by downstairs and said with a smile, "Look, my future brother-in-law is handsome and stands out among the generals. Isn't that right?"
After a long time without hearing Wu Jingxun's response, Wu Xucong looked back at her with some confusion: "Panpan?"
Wu Jingxun finally came to his senses and reached out to tidy up the strands of hair that were blown by the wind by his ears: "I didn't see it clearly."
Wu Xucong was a little disappointed: "You, you finally get to meet your future husband, but you don't want to see what he looks like, whether he has a flat head and a straight face?"
Wu Jingxun didn't want to continue discussing this topic, so he sat back at the table and said, "Brother, didn't you just praise Prince Pei for his handsome appearance and outstanding looks?"
Wu Xucong choked. Seeing Wu Jingxun already beginning to savor the candied haws and honey-covered twisted dough sticks, he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. He opened his folding fan to fan himself and said, "I brought you out to see the world with good intentions, but you've already put your mind elsewhere."
Cuiping and Ziping looked at each other with their eyes and their noses at their hearts. Their wives didn't like to quarrel with others, let alone their own brothers.
This awkwardness probably won't cause any trouble.
As expected, Wu Jingxun put down his chopsticks and said, "Thanks to my brother, I was able to taste the delicious candied haws and honey-covered mahua (twisted dough sticks). How can this not be considered an eye-opener? My brother also ordered new clothes for me. I'm very happy."
It was rare to hear this usually dull and old-fashioned sister talk so much, and the little unhappiness in Wu Xucong's heart disappeared immediately. Looking at Wu Jingxun's gentle and beautiful profile, he was suddenly very excited: "You are my sister, it is only natural for me to buy something for you! If there is anything else you want, buy it all back today!"
Wu Jingxun smiled.
·
After the brother and sister returned to the mansion, Wuxu Cong sent them back to Yuzhao Courtyard. He touched the things in his arms and said with a smile: "You take a rest, I'm leaving first."
"Yes, take care, brother." Wu Jingxun stood under the pear tree, watching Wu Xucong walk away with a happy pace. Just as he was about to turn back to the house, he heard Cuiping say indignantly, "The eldest young master was clearly accompanying you out for a stroll today, so why did he buy something for the second young lady? It would be fine if he gave it to her, but he had to do it so secretly. It's really despicable!"
Isn't it just because he's afraid Wu Jingxun will think too much if she finds out? This kind of feigned consideration, while actually being sneaky, and even thinking of their wives as being stingy, is what makes people's throats choke.
Wu Jingxun said nothing and walked straight into the house. Cuiping and Ziping exchanged a glance. Cuiping stamped her feet and quickly chased after him, saying anxiously, "Madam, the eldest son is your biological brother. Of course he should favor you! How could he, how could he—"
How could he favor the second lady born to Madam Sun from Fengpingyuan?
"Brother is not just my brother." There is nothing in this world that belongs to her alone. Hairpins, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, are all given by her mother.
Even her body was imprisoned under heavy shackles and she had no freedom.
Wu Jingxun said calmly, "Look, didn't my brother buy a lot of things for me? Take them in and put them away. Don't mention what happened just now again."
After saying that, she walked into the house. It looked like she was about to start copying books and embroidering again.
Cuiping was so anxious that she was about to cry: "Ziping, tell me, our wife is always so quiet and doesn't fight for anything. Will things really get better after she gets married?"
The Prince of Pingning is a good man, but every man's backyard is full of flowers and willows. What should I do in the future since my wife is so indifferent and doesn't like the hustle and bustle?
Ziping, a more composed woman, sighed and took the box from Cuiping. "We've all seen today that Prince Pei is a radiant and awe-inspiring general. Such a man's moral character should be impeccable. Our wife is well-educated and beautiful. Prince Pei... should treat her with respect and be a loving couple, right?"
When it came to the latter part, the two maids were a little uncertain. They looked at each other and sighed softly.
When the girl's skirt embroidered with osmanthus and camellia brushed past the threshold, she held onto the door, as if she remembered something.
"Cui Ping, between the candied haws and honey-covered mahua, honey-covered mahua tastes better."
After saying that, she didn't stop and went straight into the house.
Cuiping was left stamping her feet in the same place. Sometimes the key points her wife grasped were really enough to make her laugh and cry.
·
A gorgeous chestnut horse galloped out from the crimson palace gate. He looked towards the big willow tree opposite the palace wall. A young man in strange clothes was leaning against the tree.
Seeing his lost and found brother, the gloom on Pei Jinguang's face disappeared. He dismounted his horse swiftly, walked over and patted the boy on the shoulder: "Erlang, have you been waiting for a long time?"
The young man's features were mostly obscured by his unkempt hair and heavy ermine hat. He looked up at the young general's face, which looked even more gentle and handsome in the sunlight, and said coldly, "You people from Jinling are so hypocritical. I've been waiting here since you entered that door. Don't you know how long I've been waiting?"
His voice was as clear as an icy spring winding down from the snow-capped mountains on the grassland, but his accent was a little strange, with a hint of foreignness, and it was as if he had not spoken for a long time. Compared with the pure and clear voice of a young man, his voice was more hoarse.
On his way back to Jinling from Donghu, Pei Jinguang had more or less figured out the temperament of his second brother, who had been stranded on the grassland since childhood.
Although she seemed to have a bad temper, she didn't dare to go back home alone to face her mother, and would rather wait for him here.
Pei Jinguang smiled and said, "Yes, it's my fault, brother. I kept Erlang waiting for so long. Let's go home and see Mother together!"
The boy ignored him and walked towards his horse.
His horse was dressed like him, unlike the horses of the rich young men in Jinling that were adorned with jade and golden saddles. The simplest saddle and reins could not conceal the inherent pride of the snow-white horse.
Just like Jiro.
Pei Jinguang came back to his senses when he heard a buzzing sound in his ears.
The young man was wearing a wolfskin ferret and was bloated. He sat on a snow-white horse. Against the light, Pei Jinguang couldn't see his face clearly, but he could feel that he was a little impatient at the moment.
Erlang is still the same as when he was a child, he doesn't like to wait for people.
Pei Jinguang smiled and jumped on his horse: "Come!"
·
Erlang, who had been missing for a long time from the Pei family of Marquis Pingning, was found!
When this news reached Madam Tong's ears, she was somewhat incredulous. She quickly packed up and went to find Wu Peifeng: "Has Pei's Erlang been found? Wasn't he abandoned on the grassland—"
He swallowed the second half of the sentence back down under Wu Peifeng's somewhat cold gaze.
Madam Tong lowered her head. "I'm also worried about our Banban. She hasn't even married yet, and suddenly she has a younger uncle. Madam Pei lost her husband in middle age, and now she's old and has welcomed her younger son back. She might be partial to him, which is why the matter of the Crown Prince inheriting the title has been delayed for so long. Our Banpan was going to marry in and become the Crown Prince's wife in a grand manner. How could she..."
Her words were interrupted again by Wu Peifeng.
"All right," Wu Peifeng, who always had no patience for her words, said, "If you have nothing to do, go make some new clothes and pick out some new jewelry. Don't act like a gossip and start making up stories about other people's families."
Mrs. Tong stood there somewhat embarrassedly. She lowered her eyes and looked at her new clothes, which were densely embroidered with plum blossom patterns in dark silver thread. Before he went to Beijing that year, he had said that he liked the noble posture of plum blossoms.
Thinking about her joy at finally having an excuse to come and see her husband, Mrs. Tong felt a mixture of anger, loss, sadness and other emotions. She finally couldn't help herself and her mind got hot.
"You just can't stand my merchant background and the stench of money, so you keep clinging to that bitch Sun Luqiu! But so what? She's a daughter of a chancellor's family, so noble. How could she look down on a poor scholar like you from the countryside?" Fuming Madam Tong was no longer afraid of Wu Peifeng's gloomy expression, which was about to rain down. She just shouted, "You've been giving me cold butts for more than ten years and it's not enough. How much energy have you devoted to me, Cong'er, and Banban? If it weren't for my hard work and raising our two children, do you think that Sun Luqiu, a hen that can't lay eggs, could have supported your Wu family in the future?"
Wu Peifeng sat behind his desk, originally admiring a scroll of flower and bird paintings, but now he had completely lost his mood. Facing Madam Tong, who looked like a shrew in the market, he took a few deep breaths before saying, "You can go now."
He is always like this, always like this!
No matter how hurtful her words were or how outrageous her actions were, Wu Peifeng always acted tolerant and didn't bother with such a fool as her.
But what she wants is a husband, a person who understands her and knows her feelings, not this nobleman from Jinling who will always look down on her!
Mrs. Tong wanted to continue to curse without caring about anything, but Wu Peifeng's indifference and contempt made her so upset that she couldn't speak.
She covered her face with her hands, tears falling from between her fingers. Wu Peifeng may have seen it, or may not have seen it. He picked up the scroll of flower and bird painting again, and when he lowered his brows, the noble majesty that he had shown in his years of service as an official was gone, and he looked more like the handsome scholar who had studied hard in Fengcheng in the past.
The ebony carved door was slammed shut, and the woman's messy footsteps gradually faded away.
Wu Peifeng sat quietly behind the desk. After a while, the wooden door was opened from the inside again.
He went to Fengpingyuan.
He hadn't seen her for several days since their last unpleasant parting.
It was spring at the time, and the flowers in Fengping Courtyard were fragrant. The sunlight poured down, shining on those precious and beautiful flowers, but for Wu Peifeng, they were no match for the woman in purple sitting by the stone table in the courtyard.
Madam Sun heard the noise of the visitor but didn't look up. "If you're still mad about what happened last time, you can leave. I don't want to argue today."
Wu Peifeng frowned: "Do you think I want to argue with you? Qiu Niang, I——"
"Don't call me that." Madam Sun finally raised her head, her expression cold and filled with a hint of hidden disgust as she looked at Wu Peifeng. "Wu Peifeng, I'm telling you again. In public, you're the son-in-law of the Shangshu Mansion, but behind the scenes, don't even think about it. If you really want a son with our Sun family bloodline, then just ask my concubine sister to come into the mansion and serve you."
The maids in the courtyard lowered their heads, not daring to get involved in the quarrel between their masters.
Wu Peifeng's face turned ashen, and he clenched his fists, tightening and unclenching them.
After a long while, he finally spoke: "Erlang from the Pingning Marquis' Mansion has been found. We have to hold a banquet for everyone to recognize him. When the time comes, you can take Jingxun and Shunhua with you."
Mention the Pingning Marquis Mansion.
Madam Sun's expression wasn't much better. "Your first wife nearly turned our house upside down over the engagement with the Marquis of Pingning. You asked me to bring the two girls with me. Are you afraid that Tong-shi won't turn our Fengping Courtyard upside down?"
In the past, when the Pei and Wu families made a marriage contract, it only said that the two families would become a close relationship, but did not specify which daughter of the Wu family was wanted.
Speaking of this, I'm getting off topic again.
Wu Peifeng was somewhat helpless. "You come from an official family, so you have to be polite when you encounter these occasions. The Prince of Pingning has just returned to the capital, and Jingxun has never met him before. If her mother goes with him, it will inevitably cause some jokes."
The handsome, dignified middle-aged man looked distant and cold when he mentioned his first wife. Madam Sun looked at him and suddenly laughed out loud, "You two are really a perfect match. She doesn't mind you being a son-in-law and a scholar, but you despise your first wife for giving you money to go to Beijing for the imperial examination. It's a joke."
"Interesting, really interesting."
Wu Peifeng walked away, "It's settled now."
After Wu Peifeng left Fengping Courtyard in a rage, Aunt Dong, who served Madam Sun, stepped forward and poured her a cup of fresh tea from a small purple clay teapot. "It's rare for the master to come here, Madam, why bother arguing with him?"
Madam Sun snorted coldly: "Am I afraid of him?"
Her temperament has been like this since she was in the boudoir. Aunt Dong sighed and said nothing more.
·
Pingning Marquis Mansion
Pei Jinguang dismounted, and his attendant Shu Qing took the reins. Knowing what he was about to ask, he spoke before he could open his mouth, "The Second Young Master is in the stable."
The young general, who had spent a long time mediating to get the emperor to take back his military power, had a look of obvious fatigue on his face. He walked towards the stables and said, "Erlang has loved horses since he was a child. For his birthday this year, I must choose a fine horse for him."
Shu Qing looked at Pei Jinguang's back, with a smile on her face but bitterness in her heart.
Their eldest son single-handedly supported the Pingning Marquisate for the sake of peace in the northern border. Why is Madam Qiong still so partial to him?
"Shuqing."
Pei Jinguang stopped and said, "I ordered a saddle from Tiangong Pavilion. Go and get it."
Needless to say, Shuqing knew who the new saddle was for just by thinking.
Shu Qing responded and walked away muttering to himself.
"etc."
Shu Qing turned around and saw Pei Jinguang shaking his head. "I've been busy these past few days and haven't been able to take Erlang on a proper tour of Jinling. I'll go with him to get it."
Pei Jinguang arrived at the stables. The smell wasn't particularly pleasant, but the young man stood quietly beside them. His long, slender hands, contrasting with the snow-white horse, looked a bit rough, the grain of wheat worn by the cold grassland wind. "Erlang."
Pei Huaiguang was still not used to this name, and just touched the horse's soft fur indifferently.
Pei Jinguang had sharp eyes. Seeing that the young man had his back to him, his ears moved sharply but he didn't say anything. He knew that the boy just didn't want to pay attention to him.
"I made a new saddle for it." Pei Jinguang walked over, took out a piece of malt candy from the purse hanging on the jade belt around his waist and handed it to the horse.
The snow-colored divine horse turned its head away somewhat arrogantly, but its pair of large, impressive eyes were rolling around, looking at its owner.
"Eat." Pei Huaiguang spoke, his eyes, which were the most unlike those of Pei Jinguang, were cold and indifferent. "It's fine the way it is now. It doesn't need a new saddle."
He is used to using old things.
He felt a warm and moist touch on his palm. The horse's big tongue nimbly rolled up the piece of candy. Pei Jinguang looked at him and said gently, "Would you like to go out for a ride with me? I've been busy with military affairs since returning to Jinling these few days, and I rarely have the chance to talk to you. I don't know how you've adapted—"
Pei Huaiguang interrupted the rest of his words impatiently.
"Okay, let's just ride a horse. Why are you talking so much?"
Pei Huaiguang felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have been curious about what "home" was and followed his so-called brother back to Jinling.
He was free and unrestrained on the grassland, but was dissatisfied with everything when he came to Jinling.
Pei Huaiguang thought of the young general who was still tall and straight in the wind on the grassland, and the hands holding the knife and gun stretched out in front of him.
"Erlang, I am your brother."
"Mother is eagerly awaiting your return home in Jinling."
"I'll take you home."
Wandering on the grassland, a young man as beautiful as the wind looked up at him, thinking nonchalantly, life is boring anyway -
It’s better to go with him.
If Jinling is fun, he will stay for a few more days. If it is not fun, he will make sure that the young man in front of him, who is smiling gently, will never smile again.
Pei Jinguang seemed oblivious to his brother's bad temper. This young general, known for his decisiveness on the battlefield, simply smiled and said, "Okay, that fermented glutinous rice wine stall on Xuanling Street that you loved as a child is still open. Let's go and try some."
Pei Huaiguang didn't respond. He simply jumped onto his horse. The young man raised his chin slightly, revealing a hint of the arrogance of a wolf leader on the grasslands and snowy mountains. "Do you want to compete?"
A clear and melodious sound was heard, and a huge horse came galloping over.
Pei Huaiguang saw him climb onto the horse and tightened the reins in his hand: "Go——"
The author has something to say:
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Today's Diary Theatre——
Pei Da: Three sentences to make a little wolf come home with me
Pei Er: What's fun in Jinling? Let's pack up and get ready to go back to the grassland.
This chapter still has thirty small red envelopes, and will continue to be updated at 9 o'clock on Thursday night. Remember to come and see (*^_^*)
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