Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Quiet Night
Du Lingjing couldn't tell what time someone came back in the evening.
The next day everything was normal.
After having dinner with him in the morning, she saw Nian Jia coming to look for her. He went to deal with the news coming from the capital, while Du Lingjing and Nian Jia took a walk on the hillside behind the mountain house.
She asked Nian Jia how he slept yesterday.
She just found out when she came here yesterday that this mountain villa did not belong to Nian Jia and Wei Cong, but to her master the marquis.
Du Lingjing couldn't count how many manors and courtyards he had in the capital, but she still did her best to be a good host and asked the guest a few questions.
Nian Jiadao was good, saying that this place was peaceful, without the hustle and bustle of the capital, and without the constant howling sandstorms from the northwest.
"I went to bed early yesterday morning, but I heard some noises while I was half asleep. I thought the prince had pulled his wound and got sick, so I was so scared that I sat up."
She said that when Wei Cong was injured a few days ago, the situation was indeed quite dangerous. She was afraid to sleep at night, for fear that when she woke up, the groom she had managed to recruit would be gone.
Du Lingjing asked quickly, "Is the prince okay?"
"It's okay, it's okay," Nian Jia shook his head at her, "I made a mistake. I don't know where he went last night, and he just came back at night."
She said, glancing at Du Lingjing, "It should be your Lord Lu who is looking for him."
Du Lingjing thought of someone who also came back very late, and it seemed to be just as Nian Jia had guessed.
The two of them walked a few more steps on the hillside. After the spring rain, the ground looked even greener. The grass looked green both from a distance and up close, swaying softly under their skirts.
Nian Jia had sharp eyes and saw a carriage coming from the direction of the capital.
"It should be Doctor Li who is here to examine the prince. Let's go down."
Du Lingjing followed her all the way down from the back mountain and went straight to the courtyard where Wei Cong was recuperating. Sure enough, she saw Doctor Li entering the door.
Everyone greeted each other, and Doctor Li washed his hands and examined Wei Cong. He cut both hands and checked several other wounds.
Nian Jia asked quickly, "How is it? Is the prince okay?"
Doctor Li was old, and he stroked his graying beard and nodded with a smile.
"Your Highness is young after all, and he has a strong body from practicing martial arts. In just a few days, he has shown obvious improvement."
"Really?" Du Lingjing saw Nian Jia's eyes light up, "Then can you please go back to see my mother and tell her that I took good care of the prince and he will be alive and well soon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room started laughing.
Du Lingjing covered half of her face and smiled, which showed that Princess Yu had severely reprimanded Nian Jia before.
At this moment, she asked Wei Cong, "Your Highness also thinks that I have taken good care of you, right?"
She was actually a little unconfident and could only go to the real owner to confirm.
Wei Cong did not refuse her at all. He smiled at her and said, "Princess, you must wake up and look at me three times every night. With these three looks, I will definitely get better soon."
Nian Jia's eyes widened at these words, "You know all that?"
She thought he was fast asleep, so she would draw aside his curtains every night and look him up and down.
Nian Jia's face felt a little hot.
Wei Cong did not explain much, but smiled and said to Doctor Li, "Please go back and tell the princess that the princess did her best."
Doctor Li looked at the two of them with a smile, and said that he would definitely convey the message.
Lu Shenru asked him about the conditions of the emperor, the empress and Prince Hui in the palace. Doctor Li gave a brief reply and everyone sent Doctor Li back to the capital.
Du Lingjing and Nian Jia only sent her to the second gate. Du Lingjing saw her still muttering, "He actually knew everything..."
"You share a bed with the prince. He will naturally know as soon as you move." Du Lingjing explained for her.
As for Du Lingjing herself, if she made the slightest noise at night, someone would sit up and ask her if she was not sleeping well and if she wanted to drink some water.
It seems that these generals who were born into the military and fought in wars had a very shallow sleep at night, and would be awakened from their dreams by the slightest movement.
Not wanting her to explain, Nian Jia muttered again, even more quietly.
"But I didn't sleep with him..."
"Ah?" Du Lingjing heard it.
Nian Jia said quickly, "He has wounds all over his body. I'm afraid I'll accidentally bump into her when I fall asleep."
She always had someone set up a bed for her and slept nearby.
Although she gave an explanation, her expression was not very natural.
Du Lingjing thought about what she said, that they had been married for three years but were still not very familiar with Prince Wei.
According to Du Lingjing's observations these days, Wei Cong is quite lenient towards Nian Jia and has no bad intentions towards him. How come after three years, the two of them haven't become familiar with each other?
Nian Jia didn't say anything more. He said that the sun was burning at noon and he needed to go back to change his clothes, and then he walked away quickly.
But Du Lingjing thought of herself. She had always been a slow-tempered person, but after being married for more than half a year, she had become so familiar with that person that she couldn't be more familiar with him.
Since the marriage was officially granted, he had not allowed her to be estranged from him. After the marriage was consummated... ...She had become so familiar with him that she often felt that she was out of her control... ...
His thoughts just flew for a moment, and then he stepped into his shadow cast under the sun.
His figure and breath surrounded her at the same time, and Du Lingjing saw him standing by the doorway.
Du Lingjing raised her eyes slightly and saw him lowering his head slightly and tilting his head, then extending his hand to her.
Last night, he had a gloomy face for no reason. It was clearly him who proposed Sanlang, but no one else said anything. Later, he apologized, but she ignored him.
Du Lingjing immediately decided not to go through this door again and took another route.
But before she could take this step, someone grabbed her waist and held her in his arms.
He's like that again.
He held her in his arms. Du Lingjing tried to push him away but failed. She frowned and turned her face away.
But he asked her, "If I was injured on the battlefield, would Quanquan take care of me like Nian Jia took care of Wei Cong?"
Did you get up three times a night to check on him?
Du Lingjing didn't respond, but heard him say something.
"Of course, the princess's way of taking care of people is not very good."
Du Lingjing: "..."
He still looks down on Nian Jia?
It's good enough that Nian Jian can take care of people like this.
But she said, "In my opinion, the Marquis should just take care of himself."
He said in a low voice, as if he was not satisfied with her answer, but he couldn't find any fault with her.
After all, no one is mentioning Sanlang for no reason right now.
He paused slightly, and Du Lingjing took the opportunity to push him away and left quickly.
*
In Beijing, the Jiang family’s new house.
Ever since the Sixth Master of the Jiang family passed the imperial examination and became a tribute student, the threshold of his new house has been almost broken down by people.
There was an endless stream of people coming to congratulate him, but in addition to those who came to congratulate and establish relationships, there were also people who sent matchmakers to propose marriage to the unmarried Sixth Master Jiang.
Jiang Fengchuan was patient enough to deal with the situation at first, but as more and more people came to his door, he simply closed the door and hid in Hongluo Temple.
I didn't expect that even in such a quiet place like Hongluo Temple, I couldn't escape.
His adoptive parents, who were far away in Qingzhou, were overjoyed to hear that he had passed the imperial examination, but they also sent a letter mentioning his lifelong affairs and entrusted the matter to Concubine Dowager Jiang.
The families in Beijing who were planning to marry off their daughters got the news from somewhere and all of them rushed to Hongluo Temple. Jiang Fengchuan had no choice but to return to his new home.
Nanny Park came to the door right after.
She came here at the behest of the Concubine Dowager and brought with her a thick stack of books.
Jiang Fengchuan invited Madam Pu to have tea and asked her to have a good rest, but Madam Pu told him all about the families in the book from beginning to end.
"What the Concubine Dowager meant is that Sixth Master's marriage cannot be ambiguous. You must carefully select a suitable family and girl, but the most important thing is still up to you, Sixth Master."
Madam Park asked on behalf of the Concubine Dowager, "Does Sixth Master find anyone in this booklet interesting?"
Who would have thought that when she asked this, she saw Liu Lang lowering his eyebrows and sighing softly.
He had handsome eyebrows and eyes as long and narrow as feathers. He lowered his eyes and sighed at this moment, which made Nanny Pu feel pity.
"What's wrong, Sixth Master? Why are you sighing at your happy occasion?"
She asked and heard Liu Lang sigh again.
"Mammy, you also know that Liu Lang was abandoned by his biological parents when he was young and grew up eating at other people's homes. It was thanks to my third brother that he picked me up and brought me home. Unfortunately, my third brother was in poor health and died young before getting married. My parents are also old and should be able to have grandchildren, but Liu Lang..."
He paused and sighed, "Liu Lang feels that all these families and girls are good, but they have nothing to do with me."
He said that he was a cultivator and that he should always pay attention to fate and the law.
"These families were chosen for me by the Empress and the Madam. I also want to pick someone I like, like my third brother who has a favorite girl, but I just can't choose one. Isn't that a disappointment to the Empress, the Madam, and my parents?"
He was depressed and sad because of this.
Madam Park exclaimed, "Is it just because of this?"
She pondered for a moment, "I understand now. It turns out that the Sixth Master didn't like the girl he was destined to be with. But why should we worry about this? The Sixth Master just passed the imperial examination, and the palace examination is not here yet. We can wait and see. There is no need to rush."
She said there was no rush, Jiang Fengchuan put away his depressed look, and winked at Madam Pu, "But there are too many people coming to our house, Liu Lang, to be honest, can't handle it."
Nanny Park completely understood what he meant, and couldn't help but point her finger at him and smile at him.
Liu Lang also smiled, poured her tea himself, and handed it to her respectfully.
Madam Pu said, "Then Sixth Master should close the door first. The Queen Mother has been tired these days. I will go and tell the Queen Mother that Sixth Master's fate has not come yet, so it won't be too late to wait."
Jiang Fengchuan laughed when he heard this, "Mammy loves me the most."
He served the best tea in the new house, but Madam Pu said she didn't want to eat anymore. "It's getting late. I have to go back to Hongluo Temple."
Jiang Fengchuan escorted Nanny Park all the way to the gate.
With Madam Park's words, he had the door closed. "You haven't passed the palace examination yet. Anyone who comes to propose marriage will be turned away."
The doorman received the order.
Jiang Fengchuan returned to his study and finally felt at peace. On his desk was a pile of newly delivered letters, but he ignored them all and took out a small box from the drawer.
The box was very small. He opened it and found a small red jade seal inside.
The jade is red like a red maple in autumn, with a lush maple leaf finely carved on it.
The evening clouds disperse, the setting sun hangs, there are maple leaves in the river and reeds on both sides.
It was a gift from her.
Jiang Fengchuan asked Uncle Hui to collect all the gifts from others, except for her red jade seal, which he placed on the desk.
His parents and the Dowager Concubine asked him to choose a suitable marriage for himself, but he really couldn't pick one, and he really couldn't see which girl was destined to be with him, but...
Uncle Hui came in with tea.
Jiang Fengchuan didn't hide anything. He pinched the small red jade seal, rolled up his sleeves, dipped it in the ink, and wrote the word "Feng" in small seal script on the paper.
Uncle Hui went forward to pour tea, took a look at the gift sent by Du Lingjing, and heard Jiang Fengchuan ask.
"She is still being held captive at home by Lord Lu?"
Uncle Hui replied, "Not really. The Marquis has been out of the capital with his wife these past two days."
"oh."
Uncle Hui glanced at him and said, "The Marquis will not do anything to Madam, Sixth Master, you don't have to worry."
"Yeah?"
He suddenly asked, "Uncle Hui knows Lord Lu quite well? Or does Third Brother also know him?"
He asked again out of the blue, and Uncle Hui was frightened.
"What on earth do you want to ask, Sixth Master? I don't know you, Marquis. Neither does Third Master."
This time Jiang Fengchuan didn't say anything, just looked at the jade seal.
Uncle Hui looked at him and said, "Sixth Master, don't think too much about it. Third Master's last words were not to tell Madam that he committed suicide by changing the medicine."
He said, "If the Madam doesn't know, then let her not know. The Third Master's last words should also be remembered by the Sixth Master!"
Given the lady's personality, I don't know what she would do if she knew about this.
Uncle Hui knew that his words carried no weight, so he could only use Jiang Zhuxiu to pressure Jiang Fengchuan.
Jiang Fengchuan didn't understand what he meant and started laughing.
"Uncle Hui, don't be nervous. I heard it."
Uncle Hui poured him some tea with a worried look on his face and stepped back.
The study was quiet and only Jiang Liulang was left.
He looked at the small red jade seal, and then saw a stack of papers with detailed inscriptions on them beside him.
That was before the imperial examination, she helped him to comment on the essays. He handed the essays to her, she read each one carefully, and then picked up a pen to comment next to his words.
She wrote many words in her comments on his writing. Although they were not as densely packed with words as when she commented on Third Brother's writing in the past, she still wrote long paragraphs to him.
Her handwriting is elegant and lively. Even the small characters that are densely packed together are as elegant and beautiful as the clear spring water falling from the mountains.
Jiang Fengchuan's eyes fell on her handwriting, and inexplicably, stayed there for a long time.
*
A mountain villa in the suburbs of Beijing.
Everyone was riding horses on the hillside behind the mountain house. Lu Shenru and Wei Cong were sitting side by side on horseback and talking.
"You don't have to force yourself as your injuries haven't healed yet."
Gao Hei's mount Xuanbo staggered half a horse's head and led Wei Cong's mount across a small stream at the foot of the mountain.
"It's not a big deal." Wei Cong replied, turned to look at the Marquis beside him, and lowered his voice.
"The Yongding Army has been searching for these spies for more than ten years. They have tried many times but have never caught any important people. Instead, they have suffered many casualties..."
For example, Lu Hengru, the second master of the Lu family.
Wei Cong whispered, "It doesn't matter if we can't catch them this time. These people are unusual, and the power behind them has never revealed even a little bit. We can just look for another opportunity."
He is a steady and cautious person who prefers to take things step by step.
Lu Shenru knew.
He looked from afar at the man riding a horse towards him from the woods and nodded.
He did not mention the matter any more, and Wei Cong did not mention it any more either. They both looked towards the distance and saw two people sitting on a white horse.
It was Nian Jia and Du Lingjing who were racing horses.
One of them was wearing aqua green and the other was wearing bright red. Their skirts fluttered on the white horses, which was eye-catching for a moment.
But the two of them made a small circle and stopped in front of the tea stall of the Marquis' Mansion Guards.
Chongping personally went over to help his wife get off the horse, but Nian Jia didn't get off. He pointed to a small pony beside him and said, "Do you dare to ride it yourself, Jingniang? Try using that small pony."
Lu Shenru saw that she said something to the pony first, and then got on the pony. Unexpectedly, the pony didn't give her face. It was clear that she had just made an agreement with the pony, but the pony refused to move.
Chong'an led the horse in front of her, and they finally started walking. However, as soon as they started walking, the horse started to run away. She was not ready and almost fell off the horse.
She didn't dare to ride anymore and stood beside the horse wiping her sweat.
Lu Shenru chuckled and rode over.
“Ride this.”
He turned over and carried her directly onto his amber.
Du Lingjing couldn't even control that small pony, so how could she possibly ride such a tall horse?
She kept saying no.
But Xuanbo was much more "well-behaved" than the pony. He didn't move at all. Instead, he snorted at her in a familiar manner.
Du Lingjing stroked his mane and he sniffed at his ears.
She was no longer afraid. She sat steadily on Xuanbo's back and smiled.
Lu Shenru also had a smile in his eyes. He let her try to ride the horse by herself, and he held the reins for her.
Nian Jia got off her white horse and Wei Cong helped her up.
She was only looking at the two people in front of her.
"Tsk tsk, I never thought that Lord Lu would have to lead someone's horse one day. What a rare sight."
Wei Cong laughed, but only looked at the person beside him.
"The princess has condescended to take care of me personally one day."
His eyes were warm, "Wei Cong is honored."
Why did this person suddenly say this?
Nian Jia said quickly, "The Crown Prince is my Yibin, and the Crown Prince is my Yibin. It's only natural for me to be his Yibin!"
The man chuckled.
She didn't know what he was laughing at, so she just said, "Don't be polite, my lord."
He took over her words, "Okay, from now on, I won't be polite to the princess all the time."
These words had some implications. Nian Jia suddenly thought of something, his face flushed, and he quickly got back on the horse.
"I'll run two more laps!"
He ran away and disappeared.
*
Du Lingjing had been riding a horse for a while and was sweating a little. After washing up in the evening, she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.
I just woke up in the middle of the night.
She sat up, and normally someone would sit up with her, but tonight she saw that the outside of the bed curtain was empty.
It was very cold outside and he didn't know how long he had been walking.
Du Lingjing lifted the curtain and saw a pot of tea on the small table beside the bed.
It was prepared for her.
But he wasn't there at all.
Du Lingjing remembered that he had something to do last night, and suddenly remembered that before leaving, in Yuanxiu Pavilion, the second master's silver snow sword was empty on the sword rack.
Du Lingjing didn't drink the tea, but put on her clothes and walked out.
At this moment, the entire mountain villa is filled with stars and the moon hanging high in the sky, the wind is calm, and the trees are still. Occasionally, a spring insect chirps twice, and then quickly disappears into the grass.
The lights under the eaves illuminated the courtyard, and the courtyard was peaceful, no different from usual.
Except, he wasn't there.
As soon as Du Lingjing walked to the corridor, someone came forward with a lantern.
"Madam, are you awake? What do you want me to do?"
It’s Chongping.
He went out at night, but left Chongping with her.
Du Ling stood quietly in the night and paused for a moment. The entire mountain house was silent.
She and Chongping shook their heads.
"Nothing."
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