Cui Mingde came early, I and Dugu Shao were of course courteous to each other, even Ah Huan also greeted us in person, Cui Mingde met with us in a hurry, I thanked her for her help first, but she gave me a solemn salute and said: "The twenty Lang and the thirty-nine Lang in the family have not been selected for many years, or they can only be selected as the best products by Erniang, and I want to thank Erniang." ”

It was my own idea to choose officials for her two younger brothers who were not very good at studying, because the Cui family was well-educated, and it was not difficult for the children to enter the imperial examination. I inquired from Dugu Shao, and recommended the same mother and cousin who had a good relationship with Cui Mingde to the ministry, one chose the secretary orthography, and the other chose Shangxian County, all of whom are officials with good prospects - this matter is small, and it is difficult to communicate the news inside and outside the palace, so even Ah Huan doesn't know that Cui Mingde is in the deep palace, and the news is so convenient, which is beyond my expectations.

I glanced at her and said with a smile: "Twenty Lang and Thirty-Nine Lang are both handsome and talented, and when they meet Ming, it is only a matter of time before they wait, without me, there are others who will be promoted, and they dare not be a big gift for Erniang." ”

Cui Mingde smiled without saying a word, and followed us upstairs. I specially didn't let people clean up the mess, and when I passed by, I watched her reaction, but I saw her walking by without squinting, and after she sat down, she only talked about Fengyue, without mentioning what Dugu Shao said, and did not talk to Dugu Shao.

Ah Huan looked across from me, and she asked someone to take away the pitcher and ordered someone to serve the food.

Today, most of the vegetables and fruits, meat dishes are all raw meat, the first people come up, wave like flying, cut the beef and fish into very thin slices, the same on the plate - the beef is crimson and pink, then it is served in a crystal plate, and the fish is crystal white, and it is filled with coral. On the side of the meat slice there are four small porcelain plates, containing mustard, dogwood, ginger vinegar, orange and so on, each of which is also matched with the color of porcelain according to the sauce, which is not like food, but like a pearl hairpin ring.

In addition to meat, there are crabs, now eat crabs as in my previous life, there are also paste yellow and so on, but the origin of the crab is different, today is the mother of the special gift of the big crab, has been carefully raised in the palace for half a month, big and fat, each person followed the first three: a raw food, in addition to orange and ginger vinegar, and another new flavor of osmanthus fruit, the name is very elegant; one peels the shell, pours in the seasoning, steames on the fire; one mixes the paste yellow and the meat in one place, wraps it in batter and fried, that is, the so-called "crab gluttony".

After the first few things, the people retreated aside, the workshop played music, first there were two people who stepped forward, played the scene of swallowing the knife and spitting fire, both of them were in the mouth and the two hands took turns to make fire, the two hands danced, the three flames were sometimes big and small, sometimes green and red, gorgeous and very; after these two people, there was a rope play up, a long rope danced like a living thing, sometimes like a spirit snake out of the hole, probed to the table, sometimes like a goddess scattered flowers, floating in all directions, and the long rope could be fixed flat, from the bottom to the top, straight one, the artist climbed up and down along the long rope out of thin air, the body was rolled on the rope, making all kinds of funny plays, which caused us to applaud repeatedly。

I only ordered people to serve fruit drinks, but not wine, but halfway through the banquet, Ah Huan smiled and said: "There is no wine for the banquet, it's not interesting, it's better to ask them to drink." ”

Cui Mingde was noncommittal, but Dugu Shao said: "You drink, I am on duty today, and you can't drink." ”

Ah Huan said with a smile: "It's just some fruit wine, drink a few glasses, when there is no hindrance, you see Jin Wu Xiaowei, drinking in the middle of the day is not a big deal." ”

Dugu Shao Zhengse said: "In the past, Sun Wu beheaded the love of King Wu, and then there was the edict of the Son of Heaven who did not let the fine willows, where the military law is, I dare not forget it for a moment, and Siniang forgives the sin." ”

I know that Dugu Shao attaches great importance to the position of Keju, and he is always giggling and laughing, and he will never slack off in official business, for fear that Ah Huan will be embarrassed, and he was just about to come out to play a round, but he saw her casually raising a glass and sipping, turning the cup in her hand, and said slowly: "So, does Sixteen Niang really treat Mulan Riding as a government soldier?"

Dugu Shao said with a slight annoyance: "The queen mother is known as Mulan Cavalry, and she sets up a team of Zheng and even chiefs, and gives examples according to grades, so she naturally treats her as a guard, hoping that she will be brave and clean, and she will not lose to men." ”

Ah Huan chuckled and said, "Yes, I thought that Mulan rode to train the palace people, but it was just for the purpose of playing ball and holding the honor guard." After all, I have seen the Sixteen Niang drill several times, and the people who do it are just a simple line of battle, that is, a juju game, and there is no common marching, slashing and slashing scenes in the army. ”

Dugu Shao's face was slightly red, and he explained: "Standing in line is the beginning of the rectification of the soldiers, everything is always easy to difficult, and it cannot be achieved overnight." ”

Ah Huan laughed: "I see. Holding a cup, he saluted Dugu Shao and said, "In this case, we don't want to drink, just drink with fruit." Although he said this, there was a mocking smile on his face, Dugu Shao was extremely displeased with her, hindering her identity, but he didn't say much, so he could only drink tea sullenly. Cui Mingde glanced at Dugu Shao, turned to me and said, "Although you can't drink, you can play." ”

I immediately said, "You can throw pots." Cui Mingde smiled and said: "Halfway through autumn, I feel weak and tired recently, so I still play some gentle games, such as long walks, dice games, etc." Look at Ah Huan again: "The place is not wide, there is no need to leave so many people to serve, just one or two people are waiting for the announcement at the door, what does Siniang think?"

Ah Huan smiled: "I also suspect that there are a lot of people, so it is better to ask them to remove the seat and move the bed over, the four of us all sit on the bed, talk and play games, if you are tired of playing, you can also lean on the window to enjoy the flowers." Seeing that we had no objections, he asked someone to move the bed and put the long chessboard in the middle, and the two of them and the two of us sat on one side, and Cui Er's attendant Xiunu and Ah Huan's attendant Qiqi stood at the staircase and waited.

Cui Mingde and the others were sent out from afar, and Fang looked at Ah Huan: "I don't know if Siniang specially mentioned the military discipline of Mulan Cavalry, did she see lawlessness in the guard in the past, but Ah Shao didn't pay attention to it, or is there another reason?"

As soon as she spoke, Dugu Shao went straight to look at Ah Huan again, Ah Huan smiled and said slowly: "Mulan rode for the ceremony chosen by Ah Jiaqin, and Sixteen Niang governed the army strictly, and there was no lawlessness under his command." Without waiting for Dugu Shao to burst into laughter, he added: "But this is just a matter of palace selection as a guard of honor." If it is really like the government soldiers, get up in the morning and go out to rest at night, not to mention the worship of the palace people, compared to the army, it is far more generous, and there are many involvements behind it, and the drill is not successful, and it can also return to the palace and enter and exit freely. ”

Dugu Shao was silent. Cui Mingde's eyes flashed, staring at Ah Huan and said: "However, even Jin Wu and Baiqi may not be as Siniang said, practicing day and night, and military discipline is strict. ”

Ah Huan said with a smile: "If the ambition of the Sixteenth Niang is only a guard of honor, then I don't say anything, but according to me, the ambition of the Sixteenth Niang seems to be far more than that." ”

Cui Mingde said lightly: "The supreme attendant and the honor guard are what everyone in the army wants, and Ashao can fill this great responsibility as a daughter, and she is already the best of her concubines, what kind of ambition can she have? Siniang is probably wrong." ”

Ah Huan laughed: "Then I was wrong." Raising the chess, I just made the next move, but I saw Dugu Shao raise his head, look at her, and then look at me, and said in a deep voice: "Siniang is right, my ambition is indeed more than that." ”

Cui Mingde frowned and called "Ashao".

Dugu Shao looked at her fixedly, then she sighed and said softly: "Don't forget that your family is still counting on you to inherit the ancestor." ”

Dugu Shao muttered: "I'm not unmarried." was glared at by Cui Mingde, so he frowned rarely, sighed, and hung his head silently.

Ah Huan touched my hand a few times, I knew what she meant, looked at Dugu Shao, and then looked at Cui Mingde, and asked softly: "In Erniang's heart, is the family so important?"

Ah Huan touched me again, I pinched her hand, slapped it in her palm to soothe, and looked at Cui Mingde and Dugu Shao, both of whom were shocked at the moment, as if I was not suffering from heartache "heart disease", but epilepsy "heart disease".

Cui Mingde quickly returned to normal, and raised his eyebrows to look at me: "Erniang thinks the family is not important?"

I smiled to avoid her meaning: "One surname, one name, inheritance for thousands of years, although there are many things to cherish, clan relatives, growing up in one place, deep feelings, is also a good thing." But after all, a family is a family, and everyone in the clan is just relatives, outsiders, and their own family is the real family. If the family is really so important, why are people always willing to pass on their wealth and fame to their sons, rather than the sons of the clan? If the family is really so inseparable, why are there always so many disputes among the high-ranking families, and most of them have to separate clans and houses after a few decades, so as not to be close to each other?"

The two on the other side wrinkled their brows tighter, and Ah Huan saw that I had already said this, so he held my hand and added coldly: "If it is really according to the patriarchal law, it is best for Dugu Gong to choose the son of the clan as the heir, but he wants to recruit the door for Sixteen Niang, presumably in his heart, his daughters are still much more important than the etiquette and clan." ”

Dugu Shao showed a thoughtful look, but Cui Mingde straightened up and said: "The concubine has to go back to copy the scriptures, so I will leave first-I still have to thank the princess for choosing officials for the two younger brothers, if there is a dispatch in the future, but the envoy will pass the word, and he will never refuse." ”

As soon as Cui Mingde said goodbye, Dugu Shao also said goodbye, but he was slow to walk, unfinished, walked to the courtyard, and looked up at us, I saw her like this, turned my head to look at Ah Huan, looked at her and smiled, and returned with the same road. (. Just Love)