Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Meeting
It was dark inside the tent. The person sleeping on the inside of the bed had her back turned. Lu Shenru looked at her silently for several times and couldn't help but think of the situation in Mianlou that year.
This moment is just like that moment.
Outside Mian Tower that day, the weather was hot and humid. The treetops did not move at all, and the cicadas kept chirping, the sound of which was piercing people's ears.
It was pitch dark outside, so she didn't go upstairs. She just asked Qiulin to take away all the writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone that she usually used. She waited downstairs, took the things and was about to leave.
But he stopped her at the corner of the moon gate in the backyard.
No one walked around in the backyard at night, and he couldn't expose himself so as not to cause trouble to the Du family.
He could only hide in the shadows in the corner.
His injuries had not yet healed, and the wounds that had been torn open in his haste were still aching.
"Miss, can you let me have a few words?"
No matter what happens in the future, he should tell her what he means.
But she refused to even look at him. She turned her face away and stood in the moonlight, a world away from the shadow in the corner.
"I don't want to know who you are, nor do I want to know what you want to tell me."
She spoke in a deep, cold voice.
"I just know that you and I should never see each other again."
After saying this, she resolutely turned around and left through the Moon Gate without caring that he hadn't said a single word yet...
Many years have passed in a flash, and the moonlight outside the tent is as cold and lonely as the moonlight that fell on her that year.
Lu Shenru closed his eyes silently and lay flat on his back, not knowing whether he was asleep or not.
After an unknown amount of time, she turned over and suddenly sat up.
The man woke up immediately.
As soon as the floor dragon was lit, the room became a little dry.
She asked for some water and sat up drowsily.
Lu Shenru didn't ask any questions. He got out of bed, poured her some water and handed it to her.
She took it with half closed eyes and drank half the cup in small sips.
Seeing that she had no intention of drinking anymore, Lu Shenru took the cup from her hand.
She was still dazed, so she sat on the side of the bed, the moonlight falling on the ground and reflecting on her profile.
This moment was no different from the days they had been married, as if they had never been apart for all these days.
Lu Shenru couldn't help but raise his hand and hold her hand.
Her hand still had the moist warmth from the quilt, it was thin and soft, and he held it gently in his palm.
But the next moment, she suddenly woke up.
She raised her eyes to look at him and immediately pulled her hand away from his palm.
The moonlight condensed on the stone slabs.
She turned her back again and ignored him.
Lu Shenru closed his eyes, said nothing, pursed his lips and lay back down.
... ...
The next day, before dawn, the man got up early as usual and prepared to go to court.
He looked back at his wife in the bed, did not disturb her, changed his clothes and went outside.
Chongping was waiting outside and went up to him to report two things.
The man listened, nodded, and gave a few instructions, but then he thought of something.
"The examination is over," he thought of the sixth son of the Jiang family, his face calm, "some people can make him get out of Beijing."
He said, "In the future, the Jiang family..."
But before he could finish his words, the door was suddenly opened.
She stood in front of the door wearing only a thin middle layer of clothing, her long hair draped over her shoulders, and looked up at him.
"What are you going to do to the Jiang family?!"
The night wind still retained the chill of a winter night, and she stood in front of the door with her hair loose and only a single layer of clothing.
Chongping was startled and quickly lowered his head and looked away.
Lu Shenru's eyes almost burned on her.
"go back."
But Chongping saw from the corner of his eye that the lady stood there without moving, and did not return to the room, but stared at the marquis in silence.
The night wind in the entire courtyard seemed to suddenly blow violently at this moment, and Chongping, who was standing nearby, could almost feel the Marquis's entire aura being suppressed.
He wanted to say something to persuade her, but he saw the man tear off the cloak from his shoulders, wrap the lady up, and carry her straight back to the room.
The warmth in the room was replaced by the cold wind blowing in from outside the door.
"What did I say?!" Lu Shenru asked his wife word by word.
Du Lingjing's eyes trembled, "Don't touch anyone from the Jiang family."
Those eight words were like nails driven into the man's ears.
His eyes were fixed on her, and his low, hoarse voice was filled with something that could no longer be suppressed.
"The Jiang family is your eyes, how dare we move?!"
After the rhetorical question was asked, their eyes met and the room became almost dead silent.
Chongping couldn't help but speak hurriedly outside the window.
"My Lord! Madam..."
In the room, Du Lingjing's eyes were filled with tears.
Lu Shenru stood up and turned to leave.
... ...
For two days in a row, spring flowers all over the capital gradually blossomed, but the Marquis's Mansion was so cold that it was still in the dead of winter.
When Lu Shenru came back from outside that day, he saw Shopkeeper Zhao.
Manager Zhao came to look for Ruan Gong with a pile of books and a stack of letters, and it seemed that he had just come from Guilin Tower.
She couldn't go out, so she could only ask Manager Zhao to come every other day.
At this time, Shopkeeper Zhao was talking to Ruan Gong.
"The examination is over, and there is still more than a month before the results are announced. These candidates have already come to Guilin Building."
As he talked about these students, he also said that he had long wanted to display the book to the owner of the library. Some of them had bought the Selected Contemporary Essays published by Du, which came in handy for this exam.
"They thanked Madam in person. Everyone else increased the price of the books, but why didn't she increase the price? Instead, she reduced the price. All the poor students praised Madam Du. But since Madam didn't go to Guilin Tower, they didn't want to come to the Marquis' Mansion."
They thanked Mrs. Du, but not the Yongding Marquisate. After all, the civil and military officials had always been at odds, and Lu Shenru had a very bad reputation among the literati. Even if he had rescued the Fu party, it would be difficult to change the literati's opinion of him in a short period of time.
It was good enough that the scholars and literati did not call him a corrupt official, so they would certainly not come to his mansion.
What they regretted most was how the emperor could give the girl from the Du family to him.
Manager Zhao had no choice but to ask these people to write a letter if they were interested, and he would take it to the Marquis' Mansion and pass it on to his wife.
At this time, Manager Zhao handed a thick letter to Ruan Gong and asked a question.
"Is my lady all right?"
Ruan Gong didn't say whether it was good or bad, he just said.
"Madam is unwilling to talk from morning till night now. She spends most of her time in the west wing studying and doesn't even leave the main courtyard."
Shopkeeper Zhao let out a long sigh.
Lu Shenru stood behind the wall, the shadows of the trees making his ink-black brocade robe look even darker. He looked through the layers of walls and looked far into the main courtyard.
But the man turned around and called Chong'an, "Come here."
Chong'an stepped forward quickly, "What do you want, Lord?"
*
Main courtyard, west wing.
Ai Ye came in with tea and snacks, and saw that the lady had spent half a day repairing books today. Since she could not go out, she made rapid progress in repairing the books, but her eyes had always been red recently.
Ai Ye couldn't help but say, "Madam, why don't you go out for a walk? Why not stand at the Soseki Pavilion? The view from the Soseki Pavilion is high and wide, and it will be much more comfortable for your eyes."
Soseki-tei is a great place to go, especially when the spring flowers are in full bloom. Looking around, you can see beautiful scenery both inside and outside the palace.
But Du Lingjing shook her head and had no intention of going.
Ai Ye wanted to give him some more advice, but Qiu Lin came back.
As she entered the room, she asked, "Madam, guess who's here?"
Du Lingjing raised her head.
The marquis didn't let her out, and nobody else could come in, so who else could it be? It could only be Shopkeeper Zhao.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Lin opened his mouth and said, "Madam, Princess Nian Jia is here!"
"Nian Jia?"
Du Lingjing couldn't help but stand up. She hadn't replied to Nian Jia's post yet, and she didn't know how to reply. She asked immediately.
"Where is Nian Jia?"
Qiulin also just received the news.
The princess might have been invited by the Marquis, Qiu Lin replied, "The princess is now in the outer courtyard, but a message came from the outer courtyard saying that the princess will come to see you soon!"
... ...
Outer courtyard.
Lu Shenru asked a few questions about Wei Cong's condition in the past few days.
Princess Nianjia returned to Beijing with her husband, Wei Cong, the son of the Earl of Zhongqing, to recuperate.
Lu Shenru had previously visited Wei Cong at the residence of Marquis Zhongqing.
His external injuries were not too serious, but it was said that his internal injuries were quite severe, so he did not dare to delay and returned to Beijing.
But Lu Shenru heard a few words from him, which revealed some other meanings -
He returned to Beijing for another matter.
But there were many people visiting the patient at that time, so he didn't stay for long, and the two of them didn't say much.
Wei Cong was a taciturn and steady man. Seeing that he was not in a hurry, Lu Shenru calmed down and waited.
At this time, he asked Princess Nianjia about Wei Cong's situation.
The princess opposite had a bright face, adorned with jewels all over her body. Her every move and gesture exuded the demeanor of a royal princess. She was very dignified and no one dared to underestimate her.
If you didn't know that she and Jingniang had known each other for many years, it would be hard to believe that they had such a deep friendship.
At that moment, Princess Nianjia briefly told her son about his illness. After that, she started to ask him questions.
"Why didn't Jingniang come to greet me? Why didn't she respond to the invitation and go to my Prince Yu's mansion?"
These two questions of hers are not easy to answer.
Lu Shenru only said, "It's the same in the Marquis' Mansion."
Nian Jia glanced at him. The meaning of these words was quite ambiguous, so she snorted slightly.
What a weirdo.
Why did Jingniang, such a gentle and quiet person, marry him?
It was just because the third brother of the Jiang family was in poor health. However, Jingniang was not in Qingzhou, but in the capital, so they had more opportunities to meet.
Lu Shenru asked Chong'an to take her to the back.
Du Lingjing changed her clothes upon hearing the news and was now walking towards the gate. After walking a few steps, she saw the person coming.
The person who came was wearing a willow-yellow jacket embroidered with gold thread. The hairpins in her hair reflected the bright sunlight at the moment. When they shone into people's eyes, their mood also brightened along with her.
"Jingniang!"
"Princess..."
The two hadn't seen each other for many years. The moment they met, they held each other's hands without even saying hello.
The princess, who was always so high and mighty in front of others, held her childhood friend's hand tightly when she saw her.
"Great, you're in Beijing too! You don't know that I've been bored to death in Xi'an these past few years!"
Du Lingjing couldn't help laughing when she heard her tone.
The maids beside the two men covered their mouths and tried not to laugh.
Nian Jia also felt that his tone was too excited and cleared his throat embarrassedly.
"Indeed, I have been going to Shaanxi Province to observe the people's sentiments on behalf of the Emperor and Empress in the palace in recent years."
She even tried to bring it back up to redeem herself as a royal princess.
Du Lingjing wanted to laugh even more, but she also agreed with her.
"The princess is absolutely right."
Then he took her to the main courtyard.
But a steward came over and said, "Madam, the Marquis has had the Mingqin Pavilion by the lake in the back garden cleaned up. Madam, why don't you invite the princess to have tea and enjoy the scenery in Mingqin Pavilion?"
Mingqin Pavilion stands right by the water. At this time of year, with the spring breeze blowing on your face, it is most pleasant to enjoy the scenery by the water.
But Du Lingjing didn't want to go along with what he said.
However, Nian Jia didn't know what was going on, so she just said, "I've rarely been to the Yongding Marquis' Mansion. I didn't expect you to be the mistress of the Yongding Marquis' Mansion. Take me there for a look."
Du Lingjing doesn't dare to be a mistress, she is just a prisoner.
But she was reluctant to spoil Nian Jia's fun, so she walked out of the main courtyard with her and went to the garden at the back.
Just after walking out of the main courtyard, I saw a man standing under a tree at the intersection ahead.
He was not standing in the bright sunlight, but in the shadow under the tree. His eyes were half closed, and his gaze passed by others and fell silently on her face.
Du Lingjing paused slightly, but immediately looked away.
The man was silent, and it was Nian Jia who asked a question.
"Hey, Lord Lu, who is so busy, do you have time to have tea with us in the backyard?"
Du Lingjing noticed again that gaze passing by her face from afar.
His voice was lower than usual.
"I won't go, Princess, please do as you please."
He was replying to her, but his eyes could not help but stick to the person beside her. Nian Jia blinked.
I'm afraid these two are not right...
But the man quickly turned and walked away, and they went to Mingqin Pavilion which had been cleaned up in advance.
The window was opened and the warm spring breeze blew in, carrying the fragrance of flowers.
"Jingniang, does it feel like the time when we were in the palace?"
Du Lingjing personally brewed tea for her, poured it into a cup and handed it to her.
She said, "At that time, the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Dowager also took us to the waterside to have tea and enjoy the view."
Memories opened up a narrow gap, and Nian Jia immediately started to talk nonstop. When she talked about the things she did when she was playing in the palace in the past, it was as if they were still vivid in her mind.
Du Lingjing's thoughts also flew away with her. The capital city at that time seemed completely different from the city before her.
Nian Jia has been a talkative person since he was a child. However, at that time, Du Lingjing remembered something. One of the three sentences Nian Jia spoke must be related to Wei Jue.
Although she had not met Wei Jue many times at that time, because of Nian Jia, she did not feel unfamiliar with the current commander of the Jinyiwei.
But at this moment, Nian Jia recalled the past days in the palace and said a lot of things, but he never mentioned Wei Jue again.
It was as if the person who was closest to her in childhood had never existed in her life.
Du Lingjing had an indescribable sour feeling.
It seemed that everyone thought that Nian Jia would marry him. Even the late Queen Mother teased Nian Jia about this, and Concubine Dowager Jiang did not object.
But when they grew up and reached the age for marriage, she was far away in Qingzhou, but heard that Nian Jia had married Wei Jue's cousin, Wei Cong, the son of the Earl of Zhongqing.
It was not that the emperor forced the marriage, but that the two families discussed it and went to the emperor together to ask for an imperial decree for the two of them.
There are rumors that Wei Jue is the emperor's cousin from his uncle's family, and Nian Jia is the emperor's niece. It would have been fine if the emperor had not ascended the throne, but after he ascended the throne, the difference in seniority was quite inappropriate, so this matter did not succeed.
Some people also say that Wei Jue's family was originally a branch of the Zhongqing Marquis' Mansion, but because the emperor ascended the throne, Wei Jue's father was named Xinyun Marquis as the emperor's uncle. Since then, his mother, Lady Baoguo, has looked down on Nian Jia, who was born a posthumous daughter, and believed that she had no one to rely on and would be of no benefit to Wei Jue's future.
Others say that Nian Jia was wavering between the two Wei brothers, so Wei Jue simply gave her up.
Du Lingjing still doesn't know what the reason is.
She only knew that Wei Jue had not yet married, and his mother, Madam Baoguo, was very worried about this.
Nian Jia did not mention Wei Jue at all, but instead mentioned her current husband Wei Cong.
This prince had been leading troops at the northwestern border. He was first appointed as the governor of Shaanxi Province in the northwest. Later, because of the affairs of the Yang family in the Rongchang Marquis's Mansion, Lu Shenru transferred him to Ningxia.
"The prince was seriously injured this time. When I saw him, he was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. I thought I was going to be a widow!"
They have been married for three years and have no children.
Du Lingjing told her not to talk nonsense, but Nian Jia didn't care about it when he talked to her.
"Fortunately, he was saved! This time he returned to the capital to recuperate for a while, so it's a good opportunity to find a few imperial doctors to treat him properly."
She pouted and muttered as she spoke.
"It's all Lu Shenru's fault. The prince was doing well in Gansu. When the Yang family got into trouble, Lord Rongchang should have been the one to make contributions. But he insisted on transferring the prince to Ningxia. Before the prince could get familiar with the situation, he was suddenly attacked by the Tartars. It was really an unprovoked disaster!"
She was very dissatisfied with Lu Shenru.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.
Nian Jia said, "Jingniang, why are you sighing? The good things Lu Shenru did have nothing to do with you."
As she spoke, she suddenly asked her, "Why? You still care about him?"
Nian Jia thought of the strange situation between the two of them, and blinked again in inquiry.
But Du Lingjing shook her head.
Seeing that she didn't want to think much, Nian Jia said.
"That's right. You've only been married for half a year. The prince and I have been married for three years, and I'm not familiar with him."
She said that Wei Cong was stationed at the border in Gansu, but their residence after marriage was set up in Xi'an.
She said, "The noble families in Xi'an are so boring. Sometimes they try to curry favor with me, but sometimes they are afraid that I look down on them. It's very uncomfortable to get along with them. And the people in the Qin Palace, I can't get along with any of them. It was interesting when I first went there, but later I was so bored that I wanted to go to Gansu."
Du Lingjing asked her, "Why didn't you go to Gansu to look for the prince?"
"It's because the sandstorms in that area are so fierce and the Tartars are restless. I didn't want to eat sand, so he didn't say anything."
But after three years of marriage, the two met only a handful of times, but Nian Jia seemed to have no dissatisfaction with her husband.
Nian Jia only said that he really wanted to climb the mountains in Shaanxi again, "I was so bored, now I'm finally back to Beijing!"
She asked Du Lingjing, "Did you meet your old friends in Jingkedu?"
Du Lingjing smiled and nodded to her, saying that she had met the Hu brothers and sisters. Nian Jia also heard about Shao Boju's story, and said with a sigh, "It would be better if he didn't get the title of Tanhua. He lost his way."
Du Lingjing felt the same way, she said she met some old friends from the Fu Party, but Nian Jia didn't recognize them. But Du Lingjing glanced at her and said something.
"Commander Wei also returned to the capital after the New Year. When he heard about my wedding, he sent me a valuable gift of four Song editions."
Wei Jue had just returned to the capital, and Nian Jia and he were both in the capital, so they were bound to meet sooner or later.
Du Lingjing said this, and Nian Jia's eyes trembled slightly.
The flying princess' eyes darkened at this moment, and she said "Oh" very lightly. She lost her previous excitement and just said it lightly.
"I haven't heard anything about him in many years."
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