Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Madam
It was the twelfth lunar month when two light snowfalls occurred in the capital.
Du Lingjing went to see Hu Tinglan. Hu's injuries had improved a lot, but when the day of Shao Boju's sentencing came, he still looked lonely.
After Tingjun gave his confession, he hurried back to Cangzhou.
Du Lingjing originally wanted to invite her to have dinner at the Zhenyue Tower and then sit in a teahouse near the Chongjiaofang Imperial College, but Tingjun was concerned about her children at home, so Du Lingjing could only make an appointment with her to meet again after the New Year.
She herself was not idle. The spring examination was approaching in February of the following year, which was the time when contemporary books were selling best. In the past, the Du family seal company in Qingzhou would sell well during the small examinations, and even more so during the autumn examinations of a province.
This year's autumn examination was due to her marriage in Beijing, so only Shopkeeper Zhao was struggling to support Qingzhou. Now she called Shopkeeper Zhao to Beijing and opened a shop. Shopkeeper Zhao recruited many people and said to her, "It's just the end of the year and the capital is full of students from all over the country waiting for the exam. We are going to make a fortune!"
It sounds as if she opened a bookstore just to make money from readers.
But he changed his mind and realized that she was now managing Guilin Building instead of Mian Building. The money she brought with her was not enough to collect books at Guilin Building these days, so he gave her a large sum of money and the chief steward of the clan also sent a steward to assist.
There was so much silver that Manager Zhao's eyes almost popped out.
Collecting books costs money, but it is not a long-term solution to only spend money without earning any money. She told Manager Zhao not to think about the money allocated by the Marquis' Mansion. Then the spring examination was approaching, and Guilin Tower had just gained a reputation. The most important thing was to sell some books and slowly put Guilin Tower on the right track as a library.
Therefore, Manager Zhao wanted to take the opportunity to make more money, and she naturally did not object. She left the city in the past few days and went from the Marquis' Mansion to Guilin Tower.
Who would have thought that she went to Guilin Tower on the first day, and someone sent someone to pick her up on the second day. The day after that, she went out of the city again, and just one night later, he sent someone to pick her up again.
She thought that this was not a bad idea, at least she could stay in Guilin Tower for one night. But it had only been two times, and today she left the mansion early in the morning, and it was still dark in the afternoon, so he simply asked Chongping to pick her up and take her home.
Guilin Tower is not far away, but it takes some effort to go there and back in a day.
Du Lingjing returned to the Marquis' Mansion and found that nothing was happening there. She took a book and read under the window without saying a word.
As soon as he sat down, he came back from the outer courtyard.
Du Lingjing just flipped through the book and ignored him. She wanted to see if he could say anything important that would make her call him back and forth every day.
I didn't expect him to not mention the reason, he just said.
"The old mansion in Xi'an sent a few deer to Beijing. They look pretty strong. And the flock of geese in the back garden, Chong'an said, often act arrogantly. Madam, do you think we should have some meat prepared on the stove to roast in the evening?"
She went out in the morning and was called back by him in the afternoon, just to have some barbecue in the evening?
She didn't say anything, but didn't continue reading. She closed the book and looked into his eyes.
There was a breeze in her watery eyes, blowing up small waves of anger on the water surface. But her anger was just like a feather scratching his heart.
Lu Shenru couldn't laugh when she was angry, so he could only say, "It's cold, it's not easy to go to court."
It was cold and it was difficult to go to court in the morning. What did it have to do with her going to Guilin Tower?
But Du Lingjing understood it immediately.
Because it was cold in the morning and it was difficult to go to court, he asked her to accompany him at night.
He looked at her, and although he didn't say what he meant next, his dark eyes reflected her figure, and his eyes asked her if she was willing.
Du Lingjing's face was slightly hot, but she said, "Guilin Tower needs to use the few months before the Spring Examination to stabilize its foundation."
I didn't want him to ask, "Is the money not enough? I'll ask the chief steward to give you some more."
Du Lingjing opened her eyes wide. Is it about money?
She opened her eyes wide and looked at him. He said, "The money for a few books is still available in the Marquis' Mansion."
Du Lingjing knew that he was pretending not to understand on purpose just to keep her at home.
She said, "I used to have some reputation in Mianlou. Now I have opened Guilinlou in the capital, and many students from all over the country come to visit me."
If she were in the Marquis' Mansion, people would not come because of the Marquis's reputation, but it was different when she was in Guilin Tower.
Most of these students would bring her some hard-to-find books, which were very valuable. She was not in Guilin Tower, so she could only ask Manager Zhao to meet them. As she spoke, she thought of something else and said, "The younger brother of the Feng family has also been helping me in Guilin Tower recently, so I can't just stay at home and enjoy my leisure time."
It would have been fine if she didn't mention Feng Xiang. As soon as she mentioned Feng Xiang, Lu Shenru snorted.
"He is not young anymore, but he blushes when he sees people. I wonder if he has any illness. Should we ask the imperial physician to take a look?"
He didn't just blush when he saw people, he blushed when he saw his wife. He even started to stutter and couldn't speak clearly.
Not a good boy.
Lord Lu pursed his lips in displeasure. How could Du Lingjing not see it?
Du Lingjing could only explain to him, "Little brother Feng has been shy since he was a child."
But he just snorted, "Then he should focus on his studies. Once he passes the exam, I can help him get some experience outside."
He said the Jiangnan area was good, "of course he would go to Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places which would be better."
Jiangnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, Fujian? Did he send the Feng family's younger brother as far away as possible?
Du Lingjing was so angry that she almost laughed. She was about to say something to him in secret, but he suddenly repeated what he had just said.
"Quanquan, it's not easy to go to court in this cold weather."
Du Lingjing: "..."
His eyes were burning, and he just asked her if she could stay at home with him in the evening.
Du Lingjing felt inexplicably soft-hearted.
"... ...All right."
She changed her schedule to go in the morning and come back in the evening.
The marquis was obviously happy, and he went out and ordered his men to surround the plum forest in the backyard so that they could barbecue meat in the plum forest. He also asked them to warm up a pot of wine so that he could have a drink.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but laughed softly.
But looking at his tall and broad figure, I suddenly remembered that he said marrying her was also a helpless act under the imperial decree, but fortunately she was the person he fell in love with at first sight in Zhenyue Tower.
Du Lingjing had never experienced a moment of love at first sight, and always found such things hard to believe.
But what other reason could there be for him to marry her and treat her like this?
She couldn't think of it for a moment.
*
Hongluo Temple.
When the Jiang family heard that Jiang Fengchuan had settled in the capital to wait for the exam, they were afraid that he would be too tired in the next few months, so they sent a manager and two servants from Qingzhou to serve him.
Liu Lang was young after all, and he wasn't as depressed as Hu Tinglan because of Shao Boju's matter. His injuries were much more serious than Hu Tinglan's, but he recovered much faster.
Concubine Jiang asked an imperial physician to take his pulse. The physician said that he would be well by February of next year and would have no problem taking the imperial examination on the ninth day of the spring festival.
His brother Jiang Zhuxiu could not endure the exam on the 9th, but he could.
He has been working very hard lately. He gets up before dawn, walks around the temple twice, and then sits in the room for the whole afternoon. He does not need to take a nap in the afternoon, but can stay up until midnight by lamplight.
He was so hardworking that the Concubine Dowager couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She was afraid that he couldn't bear it, so she asked Nanny Park to stew medicinal food for him every day to nourish his body and send it to the study in the guest house.
Whenever Liu Lang saw Nanny Pu coming, he would stand up and rest for a while, asking her to sit down while not letting her open the medicine bowl. "Nanny, let me guess, what medicines are in it today?"
He always guessed correctly, which amazed Nanny Park.
Today, Madam Pu asked him, "Sixth Master, did you often follow Third Master in the past? Do you know all kinds of medicinal herbs?"
Liu Lang said that he was not well-versed in medicine. "When it comes to medicine, I am not even one-tenth as good as you. But why can I accurately tell you what medicine you put in? Why do you think so?"
How could Nanny Pu guess it? She thought he knew the Taoist divination technique, so maybe he figured it out by counting with his fingers?
I don't want to hear him say, "It's because the two palace maids who help you pick the medicine pass by my window every day, talking about today's medicinal food. It's hard for Liu Lang not to know..."
Before she finished speaking, Nanny Pu couldn't help laughing. She felt that laughing was not in accordance with palace etiquette, so she quickly covered her mouth, but she liked the young Sixth Master even more as she looked at him.
Jiang Fengchuan personally poured her some tea and said something jokingly.
"I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Yan will stay at Hongluo Temple after the New Year. Is he coming here for Madam Pu's cooking skills?"
Nanny Pu initially served in the imperial kitchen, and later was transferred to Concubine Jiang's palace because of a hand injury. However, her cooking skills had never declined. With just a few words of advice from her, the meals prepared in the stove would be different.
His joke only made Madam Park smile even more.
She said she was not worthy of it. "His Royal Highness Prince Yan comes to stay at Hongluo Temple every year to pray for blessings, not for my craftsmanship."
"So His Royal Highness Prince Yan comes every year. Is there a fixed time for when he comes? I have never met His Royal Highness, so I'd better not offend him."
Nanny Park told him not to worry, "His Highness would come to the temple to stay for ten or half a month every first month of the year. His Highness loves scholars the most. The Sixth Master is well-versed in literature and reason, and His Highness loves him very much."
After saying these words, Nanny Pu stood up and said that this was the medicinal meal ordered by the Concubine Dowager, and asked the Sixth Master to eat it while it was hot. "I still need to reply to the Concubine Dowager, so I will not delay the Sixth Master."
Jiang Fengchuan stood up and walked her out of the yard.
But when they returned to the courtyard, Uncle Hui asked, "Why did Sixth Master ask about His Royal Highness Prince Yan?"
His Royal Highness Prince Yan is the uncle of the current emperor. Although he is only four or five years younger than the emperor, he has a higher generation status.
He never went to his fiefdom in his entire life because he had a problem with weak hands and feet since he was born, and he could not write steadily with a pen. The late emperor loved this younger brother like his own son and was afraid that he would not be able to receive medical treatment in his fiefdom, so he built a mansion for him in the capital.
Jiang Fengchuan knew all this, but it didn't matter.
He smiled at Uncle Hui and said, "Just asking casually. Uncle Hui, what are you worried about?"
Of course Uncle Hui was worried.
Although King Yan had no real power, he was entrusted with an important task.
He is the clan leader of the clan government where the emperor arranges marriages every Mid-Autumn Festival and all the wealthy and powerful families have to hand in their names!
Others might not know about the Emperor's imperial decree granting the marriage, but Prince Yan, the clan leader, knew it all.
It’s just that this prince lives a secluded life and ordinary people can never meet him, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan won’t talk about him casually.
But the Sixth Master heard about this prince from the clan, who was going to stay in Hongluo Temple for a short period of fasting.
Uncle Hui clenched his hands secretly under his sleeves.
Is it possible that Sixth Master is going to take this opportunity to inquire about the marriage between the Marquis and his wife granted by the Imperial Decree?
But Uncle Hui didn't dare to ask him any more questions. If he said one more word, Sixth Master would grab a thread and tell him everything.
The personalities of the Sixth Master and the Third Master are very different.
Uncle Hui didn't dare to ask more questions and was just worried.
Jiang Fengchuan ate the medicinal food slowly and even served a bowl to Uncle Hui, speaking with a smile.
"Uncle Hui, do you want to take some supplements? Madam Park's medicinal food today is soothing and calming, so don't worry too much."
Sooner or later, he will know what he should know.
But he did not say this to Uncle Hui. He just stood up and put a few pages of paper on the desk. He said that these were the articles he had written in recent days. "Uncle Hui, please send them to the Marquis' Mansion for me. Please ask her to take a look at them for me."
The girl had read all of San Ye's previous articles and would give him detailed comments. San Ye often felt that the girl's comments were much more accurate than those of ordinary readers.
Now the Sixth Master also wanted to ask the girl to read the article. Uncle Hui was a little hesitant, but then he heard the Sixth Master say, "It's just an article. Can't this be unacceptable?"
Uncle Hui had no choice but to agree, and saw Sixth Master take out another brocade bag from his waist.
"And this. The abbot of Hongluo Temple met me yesterday morning and gave me a peace amulet. I am a Taoist, so I don't need a Buddhist amulet. But since it was consecrated by the abbot, I'll give it to her."
How can you get a peace amulet that was personally blessed by the abbot of Hongluo Temple?
Although the Sixth Master always bothered the Madam, whenever he got good things, such as books, spring water, amulets... he would always give them to her.
Uncle Hui sighed, found out where Du Lingjing was, and went straight to Guilin Tower.
Du Lingjing was not too surprised to receive Liu Lang's article. She said that after she finished reading it, she would add a few comments and return it to Liu Lang for his reference.
As for the amulet he gave her, she asked Changpu to take two volumes of selected contemporary essays that had just been compiled by Feng Xiang and had not yet been published and circulated as a return gift.
Qianqian finished a few things and it was getting late. Chongan was already at the door to pick her up.
She thought of someone's words "It's not easy to go to court in cold weather" and could only smile and shake her head. She thought to herself that she would teach this sentence to the red-billed green parrot later, not knowing what the situation was.
She returned to the capital with Chong'an.
However, the carriage almost collided with an oncoming vehicle in the city.
Opposite them was the carriage of the Duke's Mansion. Chong'an turned around and said to her, "Madam, this is the carriage of the wife of the Duke of Weiguo's son."
Miss Yang from the Rongchang Marquis’s Mansion.
Although the carriage opposite was from the mansion, she was indeed the marquis' wife, so Miss Yang should give way to her.
However, Du Lingjing didn't care about these things. Thinking about what happened at the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion, she asked Chong'an to hide on the side of the road.
Unexpectedly, the carriage on the opposite side actually moved back a little, then turned directly into a small alley on the side and went away from another road.
"Why is the prince's wife so rude?" Qiu Lin whispered.
Du Lingjing shook her head and said it was okay. She saw that Miss Yang's carriage was heading to her mother's house, the Rongchang Earl's Mansion, and thought that the Earl's wife was in even worse condition.
As the New Year is approaching, the Emperor asked the Dali Temple to postpone the trial of the two cases. It can be seen that he wanted to wait until after the New Year to decide the two cases.
But no matter whether it is Shao Boju or the two young masters of Rongchang Earl's Mansion, they are all in danger. Both Miss Yang and Mrs. Rongchang Earl must have a very sad year.
Du Lingjing did not care about the matter and returned to the Marquis' Mansion, but when she turned into the alley in the carriage, Yang's roommate Nanny couldn't help but say.
"The Marquis's wife gave way to Madam, and Madam ordered to turn around and leave. Would the Marquis's wife be unhappy?"
If the Marquis's wife is dissatisfied and says a few words in front of the Marquis, the Marquis will not care about the affairs of the two young masters of the Yang family.
But when she was worried, she heard what her own prince's wife, Miss Yang Jinyu, said.
"What can I do if I'm unhappy? The Marquis doesn't care about our family's affairs anymore. Dad can't come back to Beijing, Mom cries every day at home, and those two are just waiting to die in prison. The Marquis is just waiting for the case to be solved, and then he can focus on promoting the people who are against the party brought by Du Shi. Why would he care about our life or death?"
She said to herself, "I am trying to please Madam Du now. Can I go back to before the incident and let the Marquis choose again?"
She said no, and suddenly said, "It would be great if Madam Du was arrogant and domineering. Maybe the Marquis would get tired of her and change his mind, thinking about the benefits we, the noble generals, have received over the years!"
When she said this, she was suddenly stunned.
Time cannot go back. The members of the Fu Party have been rescued. Maybe the Marquis just wanted to save them and win them over.
But if the Marquis could find out that neither Lady Du nor the civil officials behind her were on the same side as him, the Imperial Concubine, and Prince Hui, would he change his mind and think that the most important thing is to capture the noble generals who support Prince Hui?
If this is possible, perhaps the Marquis and the Imperial Concubine can still save her two brothers before the Emperor punishes them...
Miss Yang was lost in thought.
The accompanying nanny heard some of the implications and asked quickly, "What does Madam want to do?"
Yang Jinyu didn't say anything for a moment, but just looked out the window at the intersection where Du Lingjing's carriage was driving away.
"Let me think about it."
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