"Isn't it? I didn't expect the old lady to be so excited. I thought she was just passionate for three minutes." Su Nuannuan picked up a fish-flavored eggplant strip and stuffed it into her mouth. If she didn't eat it, Duan Tingxuan would eat it all.
"Three minutes of enthusiasm?" The young marquis looked up in confusion, but heard his wife say calmly, "Nothing, just a moment of interest, and then it's gone."
Duan Tingxuan did not delve into it and said with a smile: "The old lady loves to be lively. Since she is not tired at all, why not accompany her to have fun for once."
"That being said, how is the security in and outside the capital? I heard that there are a lot of bandits and thieves active. How are they? Have they all been arrested?" This is what Su Nuannuan cares about most. If the security is not stable, she really doesn't dare to go to Pushan Temple so ostentatiously. You know, in the eyes of those lawless guys, the women of Anping Marquis's Mansion are nothing less than a big fat sheep, and they are already roasted on the outside and tender on the inside. Once they can't resist the temptation and eat them, whether they succeed or not, it will be a shock.
"It's all right now. We've captured hundreds of people. I heard they were all desperate criminals who escaped from Chongguo after its demise." Duan Tingxuan picked up the last few eggplant strips with fish flavor and put them into his mouth. "Because of this, the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Guards, and even the officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp have been at peace for more than two months. I originally thought that this was a diversion to make the court officials run around for these bandits, but the secret goal was to target someone else. But now everything has calmed down, and no one has been harmed. It seems that I was overthinking it."
"It's better to be safe than sorry. You are a court official, so it's normal for you to be more concerned." Su Nuannuan put down the bowl: "If that's the case, then I'm relieved. Otherwise, seeing everyone in the mansion laughing these days, I really can't bear to pour a basin of cold water on you."
Duan Tingxuan said with a smile: "Why are you pouring cold water on us? A whole family of children are going, and there must be a large group of servants to protect the house. Do you think any blind thief would dare to mess with us? Not to mention that I will follow you."
Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "That's right. With a top expert like you, what do I have to worry about? What I should worry about is Pushan Temple. If those thieves are blind and really rush out to get stabbed and buried on the spot, will it pollute the purity of Buddhism? Oh, right. Isn't the whole mountain the property of Pushan Temple?"
"They do want to, but it's just wishful thinking. There are many examples in history where the whole country worships Buddhism and the people suffer. The wise and powerful people today will never sit idly by and watch such a sign of national destruction happen." Duan Tingxuan finished speaking and stretched himself. He smacked his lips and said, "What kind of fish is steamed today? It tastes really good."
Su Nuannuan glared at him angrily: "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You knew it was a lucky fish, but you still insisted on snatching one away. It's just a common barracuda. What's so surprising about it? You really had the heart to do it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhaocai let out a "meow". Duan Tingxuan picked up a fish bone from the table and flicked it with his finger. It hit the black spot on Zhaocai's forehead. He laughed and said, "You're crying because I ate a fish of yours. Why don't you calculate how much food you stole from me? Do you think I don't know because your grandmother helped you hide it? You should be grateful for my grace of not killing you since you are still alive today. Besides, didn't I give you half of the sausage today? As a cat in Chunfeng Garden, you should be tolerant and generous. Remember the good deeds of your master and forget the evil deeds of your master. This is the rule you should abide by."
"How can a person be so shameless?" Su Nuannuan held her forehead and sighed, while the girls covered their mouths and tried hard to hold back their laughter. It was so hard.
"Grandma, the Pushan Temple is in front of us. Look, it is really magnificent. It turns out that the temple is built halfway up the mountain."
Xiangyun lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, which prompted Su Nuannuan to also look out. She saw continuous mountains in front of her. On the highest mountain in the middle, there was a magnificent building complex halfway up the mountain. The sound of bells added a sense of solemnity. That was the Pushan Temple.
"We'll probably have to walk down the road, as carriages can't go up." Su Nuannuan got off the carriage, and Zhaocai jumped down after her. The big tabby cat was wearing a brocade vest and small quilted brocade shoes on its four paws. He walked with his head held high and looked very majestic, and was very eye-catching among the crowd.
Dozens of sedan chair bearers came over with a sedan chair. Duan Tingxuan was arranging for Old Lady Fang and others to get on the sedan chair when he suddenly heard the sound of galloping horses. He turned around and saw several horses galloping towards him.
When they got closer, the leading rider jumped off his horse, walked quickly to Duan Tingxuan's ear and whispered a few words, which made the usually calm young marquis change his expression instantly.
"Grandmother, we have arrived at Pushan Temple. The abbot and the monks are all here, so it is safe. I have something to do and I need to rush back to the capital. You can just stay in the mountain and worship Buddha until I come to pick you up. If you don't see me before dark, you can just stay in the temple for one night."
"What happened?"
Old Lady Fang pulled her grandson's hand and asked anxiously. From Duan Tingxuan's expression, the old lady could feel that something big had happened. The key was that this big thing did not seem to be a good thing.
"Nothing, just a few thieves who went crazy and wanted to assassinate the prince. They have been killed." Duan Tingxuan said, patted the old lady's hand, turned around and was about to leave. Suddenly, he saw Su Nuannuan, Xu Ranyun, Xue Zhilan and others coming together. He stepped forward and grabbed Su Nuannuan's hand, and said in a deep voice: "Nuannuan, something happened to the prince. I have to rush back to deal with it immediately. I will leave the old lady, the madam and this group of people to you. Please wait for me to pick you up in the Buddhist temple. Do you understand?"
"I got it. You should go back soon." Although they are not real husband and wife, they are real friends and their destinies are linked. So at this time, Su Nuannuan knows that she must also be Duan Tingxuan's backbone.
Sure enough, her performance did not disappoint Duan Tingxuan. She did not look pale like Xu Ranyun, Xue Zhilan and others, nor did she ask anxious questions. She just said eight words calmly. It was these eight words that made the young marquis feel at ease all of a sudden. He nodded, and he looked at his wife deeply again. Suddenly, he stepped forward and hugged her in front of everyone, and whispered in her ear: "I leave it to you."
The hug was very brief, so brief that before Su Nuannuan could react, Duan Tingxuan had already strode away. She turned around and saw the man in the sun climb onto his horse with great agility, then turned his horse's head and rode away surrounded by several imperial guards. His bright red cape fluttered in the autumn wind, creating a dazzling and colorful color, and he gradually went farther and farther from her sight, and finally disappeared.
"Don't worry, old lady and Madam. Whatever the problem is, it will be easy to solve it with my help." Su Nuannuan was distracted for a moment when she saw the speeding figure, but she quickly came to her senses and came to Old Madam Fang and comforted her with a smile.
"I don't know why, but my heart is beating so fast." Old Lady Fang held Su Nuannuan's hand and said angrily, "Alas! It's my fault, I'm so old, why am I still making trouble? It's taking up Xuan'er's energy, and the Crown Prince... won't get into trouble, right? The Queen only has this one son."
"No, you are worrying too much." Su Nuannuan smiled like a flower, and in the eyes of Old Lady Fang, this smile actually had the power to calm people's hearts. She nodded, and seeing that the abbot of Pushan Temple had already come up to chant the Buddha's name, she suppressed all the worries in her heart and bowed with a smile.
Pushan Temple is very magnificent. The family surrounded Old Lady Fang and they were halfway through the tour when the old lady said she was tired. Well, although they went up the mountain in a sedan chair, she lacked exercise on weekdays, and she had something on her mind, so she couldn't hold on any longer, right?
Madam Yang and Liu Min accompanied Old Lady Fang into the temple's guest room that had been arranged for them to rest. Xu Ranyun and Xue Zhilan also followed them in. Such opportunities to enjoy the favors of their elders were rare, so they naturally could not miss it.
Su Nuannuan was not in the mood for this. She called Aunt Jing over and the two of them sat under a big tree in the courtyard. Su Nuannuan asked in a low voice, "We heard earlier that several wealthy families would come with us to worship Buddha. Why haven't they shown up yet?"
Aunt Jing smiled and said, "It was just a rumor, but she didn't say she would definitely come. Sister has never cared about these social events, so why do you care about them today?"
Su Nuannuan said in a deep voice: "When the master left, he entrusted this family to me, so I must be careful to protect everyone. No, we have to send someone down the mountain to check the situation. The old lady of Anping Marquis's Mansion has been dispatched. Even if those noble families didn't all come to curry favor with her, it's impossible that there is no one to flatter like now. This matter is suspicious."
Aunt Jing is now also in charge of a few people in the mansion. When she heard Su Nuannuan say this, her face became serious. She called the maid Zhu Xiu and carefully instructed her, "Go to the front hall and ask the housekeeper Zhuang to find a few nimble servants to go down the mountain and check along the road back to the capital. If there is anything wrong, come back and report immediately."
"yes."
Zhu Xiu agreed and left in a hurry. Aunt Jing said, "Don't worry, sister. Anping Marquis's Mansion is prestigious in the capital. I don't believe anyone dares to challenge it." Before she finished speaking, Su Nuannuan said calmly, "Even the prince was assassinated. Can our Anping Marquis' Mansion be bigger than the prince? Besides, before leaving, Master said that we should wait for him in the Buddhist temple. If he doesn't come to pick us up, he would rather let us stay in the Buddhist temple than return to the capital without permission. I always feel that there seems to be some doubt in his words."
Aunt Jing remained silent. She knew that Su Nuannuan was right, but she still didn't believe that anyone would dare to attack the Anping Marquis's Mansion. She lowered her voice and reminded, "Sister, we can just talk about this, but don't let anyone hear it. Otherwise, the servants will get into chaos in an instant, and even the old lady may not be able to suppress it."
Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, how could I not be so sensible? In the end, it's just my guess. In fact, I also think that no one should attack a group of us, the elderly, the weak, women and children. But it's always better to be careful. It's better to be safe. Once something happens, we can deal with it in time and not be caught off guard."
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