Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Your Highness
The weather was hot and the coffin could not wait, so the younger brother Du Zhanming rushed to the capital from Baoding after receiving the news. Du Runqing and his sister and brother were going to carry the second lady's coffin back to their hometown.
Du Lingjing had been in charge of many matters in the past few days. Before the young lady and brother left Beijing, they made a special trip to the Marquis' Mansion.
The two families have separated, and the eldest sister is married. She can handle and let go of many of the previous complicated matters and no longer cares about them. It is inconvenient for her to go back for the second lady's funeral in Qingzhou, but she still sent funeral expenses.
When the brother and sister came, Lu Shenru was also in the mansion and accompanied his wife to the front hall to meet them.
Du Runqing heard the Marquis's footsteps from afar, but she never looked up. She stood with Zhan Ming, watching his movements with her eyes and nose.
Until Lu Shenru walked into the hall and sat at the head of the table, the two men came forward to pay their respects. The little girl heard her brother call her brother-in-law, so she also politely called him, "Brother-in-law."
The man nodded.
Du Runqing never gave him any more glances for no reason, but just listened attentively to his sister's explanation of their return home.
After finishing the story, Du Lingjing said.
"It's getting late, you guys go."
Without the eldest sister, how could the two young siblings handle the funeral? They both kowtowed solemnly in front of their eldest sister.
After leaving the Marquis' Mansion, they carried the coffin out of the bustling capital city and headed for their hometown in Qingzhou where they had not returned for a long time.
The Gu family was really ransacked. Gu Yangsi ordered people to assassinate the marquis and wanted to practice witchcraft in the capital. He has been imprisoned and will be executed in the autumn.
The emperor was ill again, and he did not want to kill anyone. He spared all the Gu family members except Gu Yangsi. Liang took her children and left the capital quickly. Madam Wan went crazy after vomiting blood that day.
The old servant didn't keep an eye on her and ran out into the street in dishevel. Whenever he saw a young girl, he would hold her hand.
"Come here quickly, follow me, I will definitely find you a noble marriage partner. I am the matchmaker of the capital. You can listen to the old lady and you will be right..."
She was running around in the streets, and rumors were spreading. Families who had asked her to be matchmakers in the past were all a little embarrassed, and the whole city was watching and laughing. This matter was reported to the palace.
The emperor was having a headache, and when he heard what happened to Madam Wan, he covered his forehead and frowned.
"No more dignity..."
After the emperor finished saying this, the clan leader Prince Yan sent people to capture Madam Wan that night and sent her to a nunnery outside the city.
She was at least a royal relative. But when she was arrested and sent to the nunnery, she was still screaming, but she became silent after arriving at the nunnery.
A few days later, Du Lingjing heard the news that Madam Wan had passed away.
The Gu Mansion in Huanghuafang was confiscated. One day, a rainstorm washed away the ghostly gate, and the door was completely locked, waiting for a new owner to enter.
As May came, the summer heat moved from the south all the way north to the capital.
Yuanxiu Pavilion in the Yongding Marquis Mansion.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but worry about someone's injury. "Didn't the Marquis have strong muscles and bones since he was young? Why is the injury healing so slowly?"
Lu Shenru wanted to laugh when he heard this. It had only been over half a month, and even a person with iron bones couldn't get better immediately.
He asked his wife, "Why is Quanquan in such a hurry?"
She looked down at his injuries, her voice muffled.
"Summer is here, and the heat will make injuries heal more slowly."
She was melancholy, but Lu Shenru couldn't help but think of the year in Mianlou. Recovery in the summer was indeed slow. He had hidden in her Mianlou from the beginning of summer until the end of midsummer. There was still a little bit of summer left, but he was still not well.
In the end, he left Mianlou before his injuries were fully healed.
But many years had passed, and the sword wounds on his body had long since healed. As for the rest, he hugged his wife and said, "Quanquan was so worried about me, what does a mere summer heat mean to you?"
He held her in his arms, and seeing her sighing, he lowered his head and pecked her lips.
She didn't dodge, but blinked a few times, her long eyelashes scratching his nose, making him feel itchy all the way to his heart.
She did it on purpose. When Lu Shenru saw the hidden smile in his wife's eyes, he suddenly turned around and stopped pecking her lips and rubbed her ears instead.
The little ear was white, soft and tender. He had just rubbed it twice when she was eager to push him away.
It would have been fine if he just pecked my lips just now, but now he's rubbing my ears, Du Lingjing said.
"You have bad intentions."
She started to glare at him again like she did to those old men above, but Lu Shenru started to laugh.
"It seems like I've hit the spot."
The other party was furious because he couldn't easily get his hands on something.
He bit her earlobe more and more. Her shoulders trembled and she wanted to move away, but he held her waist and would not let her go. She did not dare to move because he was hurting her and bit her lip in anger.
The smile in the man's eyes overflowed.
She said, "My Lord, you just keep bullying others. Have you ever thought that there might be a day when you will be bullied back by others?"
This question made Lu Shenru laugh even more.
"If you can just keep bullying others, how can others have a chance to turn things around?"
Du Lingjing opened her eyes wide, never expecting him to say such words without thinking.
But she didn't argue with him, because she would not be able to win the argument even if she did.
She blinked and looked at his ears, then suddenly blew a breath on his earlobe.
The breath swept from the earlobe to behind the ear, and even though she didn't bite it as lightly as he did, the tingling feeling spread throughout her body.
Lord Lu had never had anyone blown his ears, especially by his wife.
The numbness hasn't dissipated yet.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and the next moment he pressed her against the window.
"So people who bully others must never let their opponents turn the tables, otherwise the feeling... ...he can't stand it."
Before Du Lingjing could process what he said, she opened her eyes wide and saw that he had pinned her against the window.
His kiss was indeed not allowing her to turn over. Not only that, she even had difficulty breathing.
She regretted provoking him just now.
Fortunately, at this moment, Chongping came to the window.
"My Lord..."
Before Chongping could finish his words, he said, "We'll talk about it later."
Du Lingjing: "..."
But Chongping was in a dilemma outside the window.
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded outside the window.
"Uncle, aunt?"
When this voice came out, the two people sitting on the couch inside the window were both stunned.
Your Highness King Hui!
Why did the little prince leave the palace? !
Du Lingjing took advantage of someone's moment of surprise and quickly got off the bed. She straightened her clothes and the man had to straighten his body.
Du Lingjing asked him in a low voice, "My hair is not messy, right?"
Scholars pay the most attention to their appearance.
Lu Shenru adjusted her hairpin and told her not to panic.
"He is His Highness, not an outsider, so it's okay."
As they talked, they walked out the door.
Du Lingjing had met Prince Hui Fengzhen at a previous palace banquet, but was not comfortable chatting with him and had never approached him.
At this moment, she saw Feng Zhen standing in the yard, a boy of nine or ten years old. He had not yet grown up, but judging from his face, he was vaguely similar to her master.
The two men came forward to greet him and then led him to the study for tea.
Lu Shenru asked, "Why did His Highness leave the palace?"
He really didn't know about this.
Feng Zhendao was leaving the palace temporarily.
"When Mr. Sun was giving a lecture this morning, I did not answer his questions in time for three times in a row, and he got angry. When my mother heard about it, she asked me to leave the palace and go to Mr. Sun's home to apologize to him."
Seeing that it was still early, he said, "I stopped by my uncle's house."
The young prince was smiling when he said this, but Lu Shenru frowned when he heard it.
"It's just that I didn't respond in time. Do you really think the prince is a student from an ordinary family? You don't even have this much patience!"
He said that Mr. Sun, who taught Fengzhen, was "a pedantic old man. In my opinion, it would be better to replace him."
Du Lingjing and the little prince were both shocked.
Du Lingjing never expected that he would react so strongly. Although he had many disagreements with civil officials and the scholars in the literati circle, he still respected his teachers. Mr. Sun did lose some patience with His Highness, but he had no patience for Mr. Sun's behavior.
Feng Zhenze said quickly, "Uncle, calm down. After I apologized to you today, you have forgiven me and no longer blame me."
Lu Shenru still had a gloomy face. He thought of something and turned to ask Du Lingjing.
"How is Hu Tinglan teaching students? I think he has a gentle temperament and is quite patient. Why not ask him to teach Your Highness?"
Most of the civil officials stood on the side of Prince Yong, and it was difficult to entrust the little Prince Hui's studies to them. However, Hu Tinglan had a moderate attitude and was an upright person. He was also a successful candidate in the two imperial examinations, so there was no problem for him to be Prince Hui's tutor.
Du Lingjing hesitated, "Would it be bad to just change the husband like this?"
Mr. Sun had taught King Hui for more than a year. Apart from being a little strict, there was nothing wrong with him. Feng Zhen was also very hesitant.
They both looked at Lu Shenru, but Lord Lu said it was okay.
"I'll find a suitable excuse."
He really wanted to replace someone because of this little thing. Seeing that he had made up his mind, Du Lingjing didn't say anything more.
However, for Hu Tinglan, the previous incident with Shao Boju made him depressed. Now that he has been transferred to be a tutor, maybe he will feel better.
And his patience couldn't be better.
Lu Shenru thought about this matter and changed the subject. He saw that the sun was gradually setting, but there was still some time before the palace gates were locked, so he said to Feng Zhen, "How about staying at the Marquis' Mansion tonight for dinner and going back before the palace gates are locked?"
Feng Zhen of course wanted to stay outside the palace longer, and he nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice.
Du Lingjing found it hard to imagine that this was the noble prince, and smiled with pursed lips.
Feng Zhen called her, "The seashell wind chime my aunt gave me, for some reason, has the effect of cooling off in hot summer weather."
Du Lingjing asked, "How do you say this?"
She heard the little prince say, "When the sun is at its hottest, I hear the sound of the sea breeze from the seashells, and I feel like the sea breeze is really blowing on my body, and my heart feels three points cooler, which is the way to relieve the summer heat."
Du Lingjing smiled. The little prince still retained the innocence of a child, but the court was already in turmoil because of him.
Du Lingjing saw that he loved sounds, so she even wore a jade pendant on her waist that was of a special style and could make a bell-like sound.
She suddenly thought of something and asked someone to bring it to her.
The object saw Lu Shenru from a distance and shouted, "My Lord, My Lord!"
"A red-billed green parrot!" Feng Zhen recognized it. Seeing the parrot calling him "Mr. Hou," he asked, "How could this parrot know my uncle?"
Du Lingjing said, "Not only does it know him, it also knows how the Marquis speaks."
As soon as she said this, the parrot started to cry.
"There will be a great reward, there will be a great reward!"
The man smiled helplessly and glanced at Du Lingjing.
She really knows how to teach nice things and tell them to her little nephew.
Feng Zhen was almost out of breath from laughing, and said to Du Lingjing, "Aunt, when I go back and tell mother, she will definitely be out of breath from laughing too."
He couldn't help but look at his uncle, and saw that his uncle was smiling and glancing at his aunt while squeezing her hand. His aunt kept trying to pull her hand away, but his uncle wouldn't let her go.
The two people looked at each other and seemed to be talking.
That's great. Feng Zhen was stunned for a moment.
Although my father favored my mother, he had more than one concubine, and he even had his own queen. There was no such a happy and cheerful time between him and my mother as between my uncle and my aunt. Instead, my mother listened carefully to every word my father said, and took great pains to think about it... ...
Du Lingjing ordered someone to prepare the meal, but Lu Shenru said to put the meal on the floating pavilion.
That was the tallest pavilion in the mansion second only to the Soseki Pavilion. Du Lingjing would sometimes take a few books and go to the floating pavilion to look out and listen to the wind.
But as soon as they entered the pavilion, Lord Lu asked someone to bring his flute.
The little prince was so overwhelmed with joy, "Uncle, do you want to play the flute?"
He hasn't heard of it.
There is another person who has never heard of it.
Lu Shenru looked at her and saw that she was standing on the left and right of Feng Zhen. Like Feng Zhen, her eyes were wide open with curiosity and surprise.
He chuckled.
Two children.
He looked at the two of them with gentle eyes, then stood under the window holding the flute.
Chongping opened all the windows on the four sides of the pavilion, and in an instant, the pavilion turned into a platform.
The wind whistled past, fluttering his clothes. He held his breath and played the flute. The melodious sound of the flute rang out, and gradually leaped up from the wind.
He was playing a tune that Du Lingjing was not familiar with, but the sound of his flute was like riding on a horse, galloping across the desert, vast and loud, as if it could shake the wind into waves.
In a trance, Du Lingjing seemed to see him commanding thousands of troops in the northwest.
She was stunned and remembered Chongping's words.
He said that the Marquis took off his armor, put down his sword, left the northwest where he grew up, and came to the capital city where the clouds were treacherous.
He said that he came from afar just for the millions of Yongding troops behind him.
The Northwest is his hometown where he grew up, and he also longs to go to the south of the Yangtze River, but he can't go anywhere and can only stay in the capital.
Even if those civil officials called him a traitor and a traitor, and said that he brought shame to the Yongding Marquisate, which was full of loyal and brave people, he would still draw his sword and mount his horse, and would never waver...
There were storms rising on the floating pavilion.
Until the flute music ended, the pavilion was quiet, as if the music was still echoing.
Lu Shenru looked at the two of them, "Why are both of you stunned?"
Feng Zhen blinked blankly, "How come my uncle plays the flute more steadily and majestically than the teacher who teaches me how to play the flute?"
Lu Shenru laughed out loud, and Chongping replied.
"The Marquis has been able to play the flute on horseback since he was not yet enlightened, and his breathing is steady and not disordered."
As for the majestic momentum, it is because under the Marquis's flute are thousands of troops stretching for thousands of miles along the northwest border.
Lu Shenru looked at his wife again, and after a closer look -
Why are your eyes still red?
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and Du Lingjing quickly blinked and focused her attention.
She said it was so good, "If it was a hu flute, would it be more powerful than this?"
She whispered to him, "In the Mian Building, there is a hu flute given to my grandfather by his friend. I have practiced it, but I can't play it well."
She said, "The flute was broken at one point, but it inexplicably got better one day. It happened just before my grandfather's death anniversary. I guess it has some spiritual power."
She asked him if he wanted it, and she asked someone to get it from Qingzhou.
Lu Shenru glanced at her.
How could a broken flute suddenly become good?
What a dork.
But he didn't want the flute.
How could he take back what his grandfather had given him?
He smiled and asked his nephew if he wanted to play the flute.
It was a rare opportunity to ask for guidance from his uncle, so Feng Qi also played the new piece he had learned. Lu Shenru patiently guided his nephew for a long time. As the sun set, it was time for dinner.
Just then, an aide came to look for him, and Lu Shenru said a few words to him.
Du Lingjing called Feng Zhen.
"Your Highness, prepare to eat."
But maybe Fengzhen was too focused on the flute in his hand and didn't hear it.
Du Lingjing said it again softly.
He still didn't hear it.
Du Lingjing was stunned, but saw Lu Shenru coming over. He didn't call Feng Zhen, but walked straight to his side and held the boy's shoulder.
"Your Highness, it's time for dinner."
Feng Zhen heard it only then.
The three of them had dinner together, and it was already late.
Lu Shenru and Du Lingjing escorted the little prince all the way to the palace gate. Before the palace gate closed, the little prince looked back three times and bowed to them, then left reluctantly.
The next day he sent gifts to his uncle and aunt.
The gift for his uncle was a palm-sized jade flute. Lu Shenru tried it and found that he could really play it accurately. However, at this size, it looked more like a pendant.
What was given to Du Lingjing was a jade bell that could be tied around the waist.
Lu Shenru could see the origin of the bells. "It was His Highness's favorite thing when he was young. He likes things that make sounds. The Queen specially asked someone to make this pair of bells for him. They are made of the finest mutton-fat jade."
Using the same piece of jade, the imperial concubine also carved a jade plaque for Prince Yong Fengqi, who was still in her arms at the time.
One jade produced two objects, which were given to two brothers.
But times have changed.
*
Jiang Fengchuan was appointed to the Hanlin Academy.
Zhu Feng and a group of old friends invited him to have dinner at Bingzhu Tower.
However, Jiang Fengchuan refused to let them treat him, "You are all brothers, older than Liu Lang, and this time we are celebrating for me, how can I let you spend money?"
More importantly, they were all Jiang Zhuxiu's friends during his lifetime.
"All the brothers have been very helpful to me in the past. Liu Lang would like to thank you on his behalf!"
He raised his glass to toast everyone and then drank himself, three glasses in a row. Someone said something.
"You two brothers are really good. Qianyun sent us letters before he died, asking us to take care of you. Now that he is gone, you passed the imperial examination and came to the capital, and you thanked us for our help on his behalf."
He said that they couldn't really help much, "but the friendship between you brothers is rare."
For brothers and sisters in the world, being able to live in harmony is already a destiny. Many of them become enemies because of fighting for family property.
How could there be such a close and sincere relationship between the Jiang brothers?
But Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Liulang are not brothers from the same mother.
Jiang Qianjun has passed away. Everyone feels sad when talking about their old friend who died young. After having a few drinks, they sigh even more for him.
"We all used to envy Qianyun, saying that he was a top scholar, which made him superior to others, and Lord Du also took a fancy to him and wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law, and marry him to the owner of Dongxiang Pavilion. If Lord Du had not passed away unexpectedly, and Qianyun had not died of illness, his future would have been limitless, and with his talent, he could have risen to the top. Qianyun married his childhood sweetheart, how could we not envy him."
Du Lingjing's name among the literati was often referred to as "Master of Dongxiang Pavilion", a name that his father had casually given him as a joke.
Her father was Shangfang Sanren who lived in the upper house, and she was Dongxiang Gezhu who lived in the east wing. However, "Shangfang Sanren" was not used much, but "Dongxiang Gezhu" became popular.
When they talked about Du Lingjing, they all sighed.
The girl from the Du family ended up marrying into the Yongding Marquis's Mansion.
Someone said, "Qianyun really cares about her. Why didn't they have a happy ending?"
Everyone sighed, but Jiang Zhuxiu's old friend Zhu Feng said nothing.
Jiang Fengchuan sat next to him and drank with him, but Zhu Feng didn't want to drink much and kept looking out the window in the direction of Yongding Marquis Mansion.
"What are you thinking about, brother?" Jiang Fengchuan asked.
Zhu Feng was silent. Unlike everyone else who was sighing, he felt a little melancholy and dazed.
"I wonder if Sanlang has anticipated today's situation."
He said softly, "There were some things in the past that I couldn't understand why Sanlang did, but now when I think about it, many things seem to connect the dots."
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