The man was hurrying across the deck with his head down, a round patch of dark red flowers looming on his back shoulder.

Ye Wushuang was extremely familiar with that patch, because she had patched it up with her own hands. She remembered that the owner of the cotton coat was a fellow surnamed Li. Because there are elderly people and several children to support at home, even an eldest son is reluctant to waste. When I got on the boat, I brought such a cold cotton coat, but I still mended it again and again, and I was reluctant to throw it away.

Because this guy surnamed Li has a good relationship with Wu Qingfeng, sometimes his cotton clothes are torn, and Ye Wushuang will make up for it. She still clearly remembered that the round piece of fabric was originally the leftover material for making clothes, and she was going to keep it for Wu Qingfeng to make a purse, but because Wu Qingfeng didn't allow her to do too much needlework, she kept it in the sewing basket and didn't move.

Later, when she saw that the torn damage on the cotton garment was quite large, and it happened to be round, she turned the rag out of the sewing basket and mended his clothes. So nothing else, she could recognize this old cotton dress with her eyes closed.

Just looking at the back, the person wearing this old cotton coat is obviously not the guy surnamed Li. He is such a warm clothes, which will never be given to people. Even thinking of those fierce and vicious water bandits last night, Ye Wushuang's heart couldn't help but tighten, and he hurriedly retreated to the house and closed the hatch tightly with his hands.

Ye Wushuang returned to the house, but his heart was still pounding. I secretly wondered who that strange back was, but unfortunately I was too flustered and didn't find a chance to see his appearance. If it's really the bandits who get on the boat, it's a big deal.

Ye Wushuang's heart became more and more uneasy, she sat back at the table in distraught, picked up the unfinished needlework and continued to work. Who knew that after a few stitches, I felt a pain in my fingertips. She snorted softly, scrambling the bloodied finger into her mouth.

A gentle knock suddenly sounded outside the door, it was Wu Qingfeng who came back, Ye Wushuang was overjoyed, as if he had found the backbone, and hurriedly stood up and hurriedly opened the door.......

The fleet traveled for another hour or so, and finally approached the wharf on the edge of the city of Gunzhou, and the cargo ships slowed down and prepared to dock. There will be a lot of merchants disembarking here, and there will be a lot of new guests coming on board. In addition, each ship needs a lot of supplies, so the already prosperous Gunzhou wharf is becoming more and more bustling and lively.

Hua Lianyue and Xiao Fengnan dangled outside for an hour, seeing that the cargo ship was about to dock, they each returned to the cabin to prepare for landing. Feng Qi saw that she was back, so he hurriedly greeted her quietly and said, "The master mother is back, and the prince has asked a few times." ”

Hua Lianyue stretched her neck and looked at the door of the half-hidden study, and asked, "Are the guests gone?"

Feng Qi chuckled and said, "I let the prince send him away without saying a word, and now it is Zhang Duwei who is accompanying him to talk inside." ”

Hua Lianyue originally opened her legs and was about to go to the study, but when she heard that Zhang Duwei was inside, she took half a step and paused in the air for a moment, and actually shrank back. Feng Qi looked stunned for a moment and said, "Don't you go in?"

Hua Lianyue sneered: "It's better to wait for Zhang Duwei to leave before I go in! lest they talk about something important, and I will be in the way in front of me." She turned and tried to slip out.

Liu Hui's calm voice came from inside: "Come in!"

Feng Qi saw that Hua Lianyue pretended not to hear and wanted to continue to go out, so she hurriedly flashed in front of her, and said with a smile: "Mastermother, please go inside!" Hua Lianyue glared at him fiercely, and finally walked towards the study helplessly.

The furnishings of the study are extremely simple, except for a huge Nanmu desk and four high-backed chairs, which is a bookshelf firmly nailed to the wall, but there is a thick wool felt on the floor, which is quite soft when stepped on.

Liu Hui sat behind the desk, and Zhang Duwei changed into civilian clothes and sat on the chair below. Seeing Hua Lianyue coming in, Zhang Duwei's shining eyes first looked around her, and then stood up and saluted with fists, and said, "I've seen Madame!"

Madam?

Hua Lianyue remembered that Feng Qi had quietly told her at night that this Zhang Duwei was the elder brother of Zhang Jiao's mother, and he was also the fastest rising official among the descendants of the Zhang family. He is shrewd, capable and very eye-catching, and with Liu Hui's assistance, his future achievements must not be underestimated.

Feng Qi and Hua Lianyue didn't know that Liu Hui had secretly reached an agreement with the patriarch of the Zhang family, nor did they know that Zhang Jiao had long known that she had no relationship with Liu Hui, and what she did was just to paralyze the prince and make him think that he could use her jealousy to destroy the cooperative relationship between Liu Hui and the Zhang family.

Of course, Liu Hui also secretly promised countless benefits to the patriarch of the Zhang family in exchange for his freedom, and Zhang Duwei was the first beneficiary. Even so, after returning to Beijing, Liu Hui could not escape a charge of disrespect. Although it will not lead to beheading, severe punishment is inevitable. One bad one will even make his years of hard work go to waste.

Zhang Duwei is Zhang Jiao's own brother, and he knows the inside story somewhat. Although he intellectually knew that his sister and Liu Hui were destined to become husband and wife, he still couldn't help but feel sorry for his sister who was outstanding in appearance and talent.

In Zhang Duwei's eyes, the virtuous king, who has always been wise and martial, gave up his flawless sister for the sake of such a woman who is not amazing in appearance and not shocking the world, and who is not even very gentle and virtuous.

Because in Zhang Duwei's opinion, if Liu Hui really can't let go of this Jianghu woman, he can be admitted to the palace as a concubine or a side concubine, I believe that with his sister's mind, he will never say a word. In this way, he can not only be beautiful in his arms, but also can not disobey the holy decree to please the emperor, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds.

In his mind, King Xian was temporarily confused by her and gave up Zhang Jiao. In the future, there will be Li Jiao, Wang Jiao, Chen Jiao, Yang Jiao and countless other beauties. He didn't believe that Mrs. Yue would have such a great ability to trick King Xian into refusing to get close to other women in the future.

Because of his disapproval from the bottom of his heart, he looked at Hua Lianyue's eyes with a hint of meaning. Hua Lianyue felt it keenly, so she subconsciously wanted to avoid it, but unfortunately Liu Hui didn't give her a chance to back down.

Even if she can't hide from it, Hua Lianyue will definitely not be underestimated. She met Zhang Duwei's aggressive gaze, bowed her head slightly, and said lightly: "Lord Duwei is so polite!" After speaking, she flicked her sleeves and walked past him towards Liu Hui, who looked relaxed.

Liu Hui didn't seem to see the dark tide surging between them, so he only gently took her hand and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you all morning, what are you busy with?"

Hua Lianyue didn't reply, she just flipped through the thick stack of gift lists on the table, frowned, and said, "What are you going to do with these things?"

Zhang Duwei, who was at the head of the bottom, couldn't help but pout secretly when he heard this, in the end, it was a woman from the rivers and lakes, her eyelids were shallow and she had no knowledge, how could she rush up and look at the gift list like this and couldn't pull out her legs. If those women in their own house want to take advantage of him, they know that they will try their best to coax themselves to be happy before making a tactful request.

Just when he was secretly slandering, he heard Liu Hui speak: "I don't have any ideas for the time being, what do you think?"

A touch of disdain flashed in Zhang Duwei's eyes, he didn't expect the shrewd Xianwang to be so confused or spoiled without a bottom line when facing this woman. What woman doesn't like extravagant jewelry, or luxurious and elaborate clothes....... As soon as he asked, Mrs. Yue would definitely take the opportunity to include all these valuable gifts in her pocket.

I saw Hua Lianyue smiling at Liu Hui's lips and said, "Since you asked, I have an idea." ”

Liu Hui looked at her for a long time, his smiling eyes were shining, and he said softly: "Madam, please speak, listen to me." ”

Hua Lianyue thought for a while and said, "Just now I went to ask the steward and helped him clean up the list of boatmen who were killed by the bandits last night. Roughly counted, fourteen were dead, seven were seriously wounded, and two were not even recovered.

Most of these people are the breadwinners of the family, and when they die, the family will lose their livelihood, and the orphans and widows in the family will have no income and will live on the streets. Even if those who are seriously injured do not die, they will be cured in the future, and they will no longer be able to earn this hard-earned food.

And although these gifts were sent by those businessmen to make amends, they are a hot potato in your hands, and it is easy to attract criticism from the world. I think we can simply exchange all these things for cash and give them to the families of the dead and wounded. In this way, they get benefits, and you leave a clear name, isn't it the best of both worlds? ”

Liu Hui listened quietly, glanced at Zhang Duwei who showed a strange look behind Hua Lianyue, then hooked his lips and smiled, nodded and said, "Very good, in this way, it is indeed the best of both worlds." ”

Hua Lianyue sighed slightly and said, "I also saw that Xiao Shi became a helpless orphan after the death of the coral, so I had such an idea." Xiaoshi is lucky, and he will be taken care of by Brother Wu and his wife in the future. But in places where we can't see, we don't know how many orphans and widows will starve and freeze. ”

Zhang Duwei couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up and hugged his fist at Liu Huihua Lianyue, and said loudly: "Lord Wang, please rest assured, this matter is just handed over to his subordinates, and it will definitely be properly handled." ”

Why did she become a housewife again?

Hua Lianyue was a little confused, but she didn't care about Zhang Duwei's title, she only said with a serious face: "It's not that I don't believe Zhang Duwei, but the ugly words have to be said in front." If Zhang Duwei wants to take over this matter, he has to ensure that all the money exchanged for these things will be handed over to the families of those victims, and there can be no slightest embezzlement. ”

Zhang Duwei did not feel insulted because of Hua Lianyue's questioning, but said very sincerely: "The master mother can rest assured, this matter will definitely be handed over to the henchman, and will let him make a note, if there is a despicable act of secretly embezzling ink and money, it will be regarded as a violation of military discipline, and naturally there are eighty military sticks waiting for him." ”

Eighty sticks? That's a deadly rhythm. Probably with Zhang Duwei's cruel words, his subordinates didn't dare to mess around. Hua Lianyue finally smiled at him, and said with satisfaction: "There are punishments and rewards, and only the people below will do their best." I will prepare a reward for the reward, and when the matter is understood, I will reward those who have done their duty. ”

Zhang Duwei clenched his fists and said convincingly: "It's still thoughtful ....... the master's mother."

Listening to Zhang Duwei's mouthful and mother, shouting extremely naturally, Feng Qi, who was guarding the door, couldn't help but smile. They will be convinced that Hua Lianyue is the main mother, not because of Liu Hui, but because they really admire this woman and are willing to serve her as the main mother for the rest of their lives.

They will never call Liu Hui's other women as housemothers, but they also believe that Hua Lianyue will not let Liu Hui have other women.

......

The fleet slowly docked at the Gunzhou wharf, and with the increase in the number of people boarding and disembarking, the wharf became bustling and extremely lively.

Feng Qi and several officers and soldiers escorted Hua Lianyue to get off the boat first, she did not go far, but stood quietly on the side. Occasionally, a few familiar faces could be seen in the hurried crowd, most of whom were clamoring to take down the flower before the bandits arrived. Now that I know her background, and see that the guards behind her are officers and soldiers with serious faces, I can't help but feel weak and afraid, and one by one I can't help but avoid her cold eyes, almost dare not come out, and hurry by the wall.

Hua Lianyue didn't pay any attention to these people, and her eyes stayed on a double-cocked carriage parked on the side. Several officers and soldiers were busy loading things inside. Shiny silk and satin, smooth and silky animal skins, bundles of medicinal herbs, boxes of jewelry....... Soon the spacious carriage was crammed to its brim.

When the things were finally loaded, she watched Zhang Duwei explain a few more words to a few people, and then let them all get on the horse and escort the carriage and leave slowly. Liu Hui, who fell to the end, came to Hua Lianyue's side and said with a smile: "It's all in order, let's go into the city for a walk." ”

"Into the city?" Hua Lianyue said in surprise, "Will the fleet stay for a long time?"

Liu Hui sighed and said, "You forgot, so many people died last night, it must have alarmed the government." The fleet will not be able to leave at all for a while and a half, and will not be allowed to go until it has been checked. There are also corpses under the cabin, which will definitely stink after a long time, and it will also need to be dealt with by the government, so it will be fast to walk tomorrow morning. ”

Hua Lianyue quietly stuck out the tip of her tongue, she really forgot about it. After thinking about it, she said again: "If someone from the Gunzhou Mansion comes, do you need to go and see it?"

Liu Hui didn't think about it, and shook his head directly: "I'm impatient to deal with them, let's find a clean place to nourish our spirits." He turned his head again and instructed the officers and soldiers behind Hua Lianyue: "You are not needed here, go back!"

"Yes!" several officers and soldiers saluted respectfully before retreating to Captain Zhang's side.

Feng Qi led the carriage that Zhang Duwei had specially left behind, and said with a smile: "Get in the car! While it's still early, we can still take a stroll around Gunzhou City." ”

"I'm not in a hurry, I just want to lie down on a bed that doesn't shake. As she spoke, Hua Liyue covered her mouth and yawned, then lifted her skirt and wanted to climb into the carriage.

"Wait, Moon girl, how can you leave me!"

In the distance, Xiao Fengnan's unceremonious call came. Hua Lianyue's body stiffened, stopped her movements and looked up. I saw Xiao Fengnan rushing over with a smile on her face like a flower butterfly that couldn't be driven away.

Hua Lianyue sighed with a headache, but felt a warmth in her hand, it turned out that Liu Hui quietly reached out and held her hand. His eyes kept following Xiao Fengnan closely, with a faint smile on his lips, and he said slowly: "Yue'er, since he wants to be with us, let's wait for him!"

No, it's not right! The weird smile on Liu Hui's lips made Hua Lianyue's scalp tingle, and she suddenly had a premonition that this black-bellied man's patience had reached the limit, and he was brewing a conspiracy. Xiao Fengnan, who was rushing over happily, would definitely be unlucky, and very unlucky.