As the New Year approaches, the comings and goings of various families in Shangdu have become more frequent, and feasting and drinking are even more common. Especially in the palace, several princes have reached marriageable age, except for the third prince King Zhou, who has a sick princess who doesn't know when she will hang up, the other five princes, including His Royal Highness the Prince, have no wives.

There are so many good girls in each family who have grown into unengaged parents, and if you want to choose a daughter-in-law who is satisfactory to your son in all aspects, you have to start early. The palace concubines who have adult princes in the palace understand this truth. Therefore, on the occasion of the New Year, the banquets in the palace are becoming more and more frequent.

Emperor Yongping knew what his little wives were planning, and he didn't stop it, but happily followed in the fun. Soon the results of joining in the excitement came out, and when the Wuyi Mansion received the marriage order, everyone was sluggish. That's right, the emperor didn't pay attention to the wife that Concubine Xian chose for his son, and he directly chose one, and the person he chose was Wang Jing, the daughter of Erlangjun of Wuyi Mansion.

King Wuyi was a little depressed for a long time, saint, this is not the same as saying good! Didn't you say that she took a fancy to the boss's granddaughter and made her a side concubine for King Zhou? Why did he marry his second son's daughter to the second prince King An as his stepfamily, he had plans for this granddaughter's marriage.

The old man was not in a good mood, so he chatted with his daughter-in-law and sister, "I originally thought that Enke would open next year and catch a jinshi for Sanniang to come back." There was obvious regret in his tone, his own children had a headache when they looked at the books, and they were alive when they picked up knives, guns and sticks, and they were going to go to the dark on the road of military generals. The children and grandchildren have no hope, the grandson-in-law can still struggle, why does the emperor even want to extinguish his little wish, it is really inhumane.

"Big brother wants to catch his son-in-law?" Wang asked.

Wang Changyuan's daughter-in-law Meng Shi was particularly helpless, and spit out with her sister-in-law, "For this, your brother trained the guards at home again and again, for fear that he would be slow to start or catch the wrong one." The husband took out the attitude of marching and fighting to train his subordinates, and also listed the plan to capture the son-in-law with his son and grandson, and he was full of interest every day, but he was honestly photographed by the emperor's actions. In the spirit of thrift (does it have anything to do with this?) The principle of not wasting it, Meng asked his sister-in-law, "There are still several girls in your family, and when the gold list comes out, let your brother lend you people and catch two grandsons-in-law back." ”

Damn, we don't need it! Yasukuni almost jumped up. But he found that his daughter-in-law was really thinking about this problem, and she had the posture of learning from her brother, and she also went to catch a grandson-in-law and come back.

"Wait, our fifth mother is already engaged, Siniang and Banniang want to choose a more talented descendant, you can tell Shiro and Goro, they have a lot of classmates." Yasukuni reminded his old wife with a headache, our family is not the same as your mother's family, and our family has taken the literati route.

Wang glanced at her husband and said disdainfully: "Who are Shiro and Goro's classmates, you are embarrassed to marry a concubine, and I am embarrassed to agree to other people's proposals." "Her two grandsons are talented, and all of them are the elites of the Lu Family Academy, I don't know how many people are staring at it, is this old man stupid!

"Those who can get into the jinshi are no better than those stupid boys who are still in the academy!" Yasukuni Gong choked out.

Wang's reason is particularly sufficient, "That's why I want to be caught back as my grandson-in-law." ”

Yasukuni Gong: ...... He forgot that he was the worst at pestering his wife, and it didn't make sense at all.

After Wang put her husband down, she said to her brother and sister-in-law: "Brother, sister-in-law, when you wait for Enke next year, I may have to trouble you." "The four girls of the eldest son's family, the jokes may be known to each family, rather than choosing her a mother-in-law who is similar to her disciple and marrying to be wronged, it is better to find a poor family in the lift, and people know how to be motivated, so that his future career will depend on the Guogong Mansion, and the granddaughter can live more relaxed.

Although the old lady doesn't pay much attention to the granddaughters of the concubines, she is her grandchildren after all, so she naturally hopes that they can live well. When the Wang family went back to tell the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law their ideas, Su Zhoude was silent for a lot, and his eyes were red with gratitude, "Thank you A-Niang for thinking about Siniang." ”

Wang said unhappily: "Don't play with your mother, Siniang is also my own granddaughter, I can still look at her badly!" ”

Su Zhoude rubbed his hands awkwardly, "After the New Year, students from all over the world will gather in Shangdu, we have to prepare early, lest the good ones be chosen by others." He raised his eyes to look at his mother, and saw that she was smiling and relaxed, and then continued: "Ah Niang, the niece of the eldest cousin's family, will be eighteen after the New Year." "The daughter of my uncle's cousin was chosen by the saint as Princess An, and everyone knows about it. Then it is very likely that she will enter the Zhou Palace's niece as a side concubine before, and she will lose the election by herself. Su Zhoude's concubine was born in the family for six years, and the four daughters and eight daughters were born with the same mother, and he was seventeen years old, and he also reached the age of taking relatives.

He is quite shrewd, and Su Zhoude also values him very much, so he wants to choose a powerful family for him. It just so happens that the daughter of the prince of Wuyi is unlikely to become the concubine of King Zhou. He has also seen this niece, she has a good appearance, I heard that she is also very talented, and the most important thing is that she is very similar to her family background, he thinks this family business is good, so he wants to ask his mother to talk to his cousin.

Of course, the Wang family understood the meaning of the eldest son, and she also felt that her mother's family had a princess, and the second niece and granddaughter were unlikely to be the side concubines of King Zhou. She pondered carefully, these two people were indeed a good match, so she nodded and agreed, "Okay, I know what you mean, tell your uncle one day." ”

Wang Shuyun was also enlightened by the emperor's divine stroke, and she was originally full of confidence, and she began to suffer from gains and losses. In addition, the past few days are enough for her to figure out the background of the delicate girl who almost disfigured her on the street, as well as the peach news generated by her. Almost after the emperor gave the second prince a marriage, many people felt that the emperor was planning to approve Wei Banniang's mind and make her a side concubine to King Zhou, obviously Wei Banniang himself thought so.

On this day, ten thousand families set up a plum blossom banquet, and invited people to come to the house to have fun. Su Yan, who came with her family, saw her friend Guan Qiwen sitting behind Princess Ping at a glance.

She took a closer look at her friend and saw that Guan Qiwen was wearing a bright red dress, her face was ruddy, her apricot eyes were smiling, her figure was much plumper compared to when she was not married, and she looked good. When Princess Ping talked about her newly married daughter-in-law, her demeanor was calm, and her words were full of satisfaction. When he spoke to Guan Qiwen, his tone was not harsh, and he even faintly protected him.

After Su Yan quietly observed, he was a little relieved. Of course, Guan Qiwen also saw her, and raised the corners of her mouth at her, which happened to be seen by Princess Ping. Princess Ping looked at Su Yan along Guan Qiwen's gaze, her expression becoming more and more gentle, "I don't need you to serve me, let's go around with the tenth lady." You young ladies can talk together. ”

Guan Qiwen bent his knees and slowly walked over to Su Yan, and Lu Shi also waved his hand with a smile, "Go, go, I know that you haven't seen you for a long time, and I miss you very much." ”

Su Yan and Guan Qiwen stood shoulder to shoulder,

At the mention of her newlywed husband, a smile flashed in Guan Qiwen's eyes, "Although he is ridiculous, he still listens to persuasion." "If you don't listen to persuasion, you will beat him until he listens to the beating, and he can't beat himself anyway.

"What about the princess? How does she treat you? Su Yan asked about another person who was closely related to his friend's life. In today's woman's life, the influence of her mother-in-law on the newlywed little lady is no less than that of her husband. If she is lucky enough to meet a reasonable mother-in-law and a reasonable husband, that woman's life can be regarded as happy.

Hearing her friend mention her mother-in-law, Guan Qiwen replied without hesitation, "My family is a good person." "It's a pity that I was too unlucky to marry the bastard King Ping. I repair my husband on weekdays, thanks to the support of my mother-in-law.

Su Yan occasionally heard some things about Princess Ping when she was young from her mother's mouth, as if this princess was also famous when she was not married. It's a pity that when she met someone who was unladylike, she had such a husband as King Ping, so that after she got married, she gradually disappeared in the palace and didn't come out much. When Lu mentioned King Ping and Princess Ping, he would inevitably show a little pity for Princess Ping, feeling that King Ping was too straw and not worthy of Princess Ping. But if you let Su Yan say, King Ping's straw bag is just right, and King Ping's son is also very appropriate, which is enough to ensure that King Ping's lineage can be passed on in wealth and peace.

Think about the saint's outstanding brothers, what is the fate now, the grass on the grave is quite high, there is not a single child or grandchild left, and the daughter is not dead by then, but they are all used to make peace, or hastily married, the young ones are gone, and there are few who are alive now.

The age of the saint is getting older and older, and it will only be better for King Ping, the only younger brother who is built in the future, as long as the friend has a firm foothold in King Ping's Mansion, his future life will be smooth, and there will be no more twists and turns.

Su Yan shook Guan Qiwen's soft jade hand, and smiled sideways: "At that time, your marriage was really good. ”

Guan Qiwen also smiled, "Who said it wasn't." How many people were waiting for her jokes that day, she had to live better, so that those who laughed at her would lose face.

The two tacitly agreed no longer to talk about Guan Qiwen's post-marriage affairs, but to talk about gossip in Beijing. Guan Qiwen married into the royal family, and the gossip environment is very good, especially for royal affairs, it is because of his own unique sources.

"I heard from the prince that the sage seems to be planning to choose the eldest lady of the Liu family to be the princess of Qi." Guan Qiwen leaned into Su Yan's ear and whispered, "Li Xiurong in the palace has invited the sisters of the Liu family into the palace several times. ”

There are quite a lot of Liu families in Shangdu, and there are a few who are suitable to be princesses of Qi, Su Yan didn't react for a while, who this aunt of the Liu family said was.

Guan Qiwen saw a rare look of confusion in his friend's eyes, raised his eyebrows proudly, and whispered, "The eldest daughter of General Youwuwei." ”

"Liu Chunjiao, no wonder ......" Su Yan realized a little, no wonder the sisters of the Liu family were even proud when they met together in the last few times, and the flattery around the two of them also increased, and the most important thing was that the little lady who was a little cold to them was also easing the relationship.

Guan Qiwen poked his friend, "What's the wonder?" Although she has a unique source of gossip, due to her newlywed, except for one time when she returned to her parents' house, she has been locked up in the Pingwang Mansion, and when she rarely comes out to walk around, she does not know about the affairs of each family in a timely manner.

Su Yan winked at his friend and commented matter-of-factly: "They have become much more popular recently. ”

Guan Qiwen sighed, "I thought this news was hidden enough, but I didn't expect it to be known for a long time." ”

Su Yan didn't speak, it had long been a habit for the courtiers to study the emperor, and even every move of the concubines in the palace didn't know how many possibilities were derived in their minds, and it was really not easy to keep some things secret.

The two of them chatted idly, occasionally stopping to admire the red plum blossoms.

"I'm a little tired, Shi Niang, let's go to the pavilion in front of us to rest." Guan Qiwen pointed to the octagonal pavilion in front of him, and built a yì road.

Su Yan nodded.

The plum grove of Wanjia is very famous in the upper capital, and the plum blossom banquet in winter can be comparable to the peony banquet of the eldest princess of Anping, which is a good place for young men and women to meet and "date". Every year, there are young men and women who meet each other at the banquet and then get married. Therefore, the water pavilions, warm pavilions, and book pavilions set up in the plum forest are always used most frequently.

Su Yan has been back in Beijing for a long time, and he is also very familiar with this kind of tricks before the banquet. Anyway, everywhere in the resting place, the main family will arrange a lot of maids, and it will not really let the young ladies and ladies be alone. In addition, every resting place will attract many people to enter, and they don't have to worry about encountering any indecent scenes in the warm pavilion.

Su Yan and Guan Qiwen held hands, talking about Guan Qiwen's pet who had recently become a mother, Su Yan still remembered the combat effectiveness of his friend's cat, and when he heard that it became a mother, his heart moved, and he joked with his friend: "Then I will prepare a gift tomorrow to hire a raccoon slave." "She has a large collection of books, and nothing worries her more than rats to wreak havoc. Although she has two leopards and two tiger cubs in her yard, they are of no practical use except for being arrogant and cute, and they can't catch mice!

Every time she thought of this, Su Yan was a little confused, why did she be relied on by these stupid things who couldn't catch mice except for eating and playing with her?

Guan Qiwen was about to have fun with her friends, when she heard a sharp scolding from a woman in the warm pavilion. The two of them stopped at that time, and at the same time looked up at the nearby warm pavilion door.

This octagonal pavilion hidden in the plum forest has been tightly surrounded by lattice doors that can be freely loaded and unloaded, and a thick warm curtain hangs down at the door, and more than a dozen maids in willow green dresses stand quietly in front of the door with low eyebrows and drooping eyes, as if they are unaware of what is happening in the pavilion.

Su Yan was careful, and had long found that although these maids were dressed similarly to the maids of the Wanjia, the materials used in the skirts were slightly different, and the colors were also a little different, so they should not be the handmaidens of the Wanjia. She secretly pulled Guan Qiwen's hand and asked her friend with her eyes, do you want to go in?

Guan Qiwen shook her head decisively, and finally had a pleasant chat with her girlfriend, so as not to be disturbed by irrelevant things.

Su Yan was similar to what she thought, and when the two of them turned around to continue shopping, the door curtain was lifted, and a woman was thrown to the two of them, and fell heavily to the ground, letting out a painful □□. Then, the two maids rushed out crying, knelt beside the woman, and called anxiously: "Erniang." ”

This voice is very familiar, and when Su Yan saw the more familiar figure, he sighed heavily in his heart, this time there is no need to go. She stopped, smiled apologetically at her friend, and then squatted down, supported the woman who was unconsciously shrunk into a ball, and asked softly, "Second cousin, who bullied you?" ”

At the door of the warm pavilion, an arrogant voice sounded, with arrogance and pride, "It's me!" What, you still want to give her a headshot? ”

Su Yan raised her eyes and saw that she also knew the person who spoke up, it was Wei Banniang who had a relationship in Furong Garden, and then was forced away by her. She raised her eyebrows and said nonchalantly, "It turned out to be you." He no longer bothered with Wei Banniang, and helped Wang Shuyun up with the maid.

Wang Shuyun not only fell a little hard, but his face was also miserable. Half of his face was swollen, and there were clear palm prints on it, and even scratches on his fingernails could be seen. The corners of his mouth were also broken and bloodshot. Tears are smeared, and the scattered hair is also stuck to the face a lot, where can you still see the delicate appearance like a flower.

Su Yan took a closer look with some concern, and felt that the scratches on his nails seemed to be a little deep, and it was easy to leave scars. Wang Shuyun had a headache, a sore face, and a pain in her legs, her whole body hurt, she leaned on the maid, held Su Yan's hand hard, and asked with difficulty: "Tenth cousin, my face ......" Because she was slapped, her speech was a little slurred, but she still stared at Su Yan stubbornly, her eyes were full of worry and hatred.

Su Yan didn't want to lie to her, but the current situation couldn't stimulate her anymore, so she had to say vaguely: "It should be fine, I'll go back to the doctor in a while." ”

Wang Shuyun turned his head to look at Wei Banniang, and the bitter hatred in his eyes made the arrogant Wei Banniang unconsciously take half a step back. Wei Banniang seemed to feel that her appearance just now was very bad, and she took two steps forward aggressively, and sneered with her hands on her hips: "Look at it, I warned you last time, if you dare to go to King Zhou's mansion, I will smash your face!" She glanced at Su Yan proudly again, and said provocatively: "Su Shi Niang, aren't you capable, take revenge on your cousin now!" ”

There were few people she brought on the street that day, and she couldn't compare to Su Yan, so she had to return home aggrieved, not to mention the fire. Besides, there are more than 20 maids around her, much more than Su Shi Niang and them, and if there is another conflict, she will definitely be able to get back the scene that day. Hmph, she must slap Su Shi Niang a few times with her own hands to see if she dares to be arrogant.

Su Yan's hand was grabbed by Wang Shuyun, she frowned, and comforted gently: "Cousin, I'll let you take home." "Of course, I also have to tell the master's family about today's matter, and I have to say it in front of all the guests invited by the Wanjia, so that people can see the upbringing of the Wei family's daughter, Wei Ba wants to be the concubine of King Zhou, in the next life! If she does this, whether she can marry or not is a matter of two words.

Wang Shuyun also knew that Wei Banniang couldn't do anything today, she could only write down this account and settle it later.

Wei Banniang didn't plan to let Wang Shuyun and Su Yan go lightly, she waved her hand, and immediately came out with five or six maids, blocking the way of Su Yan and the others, "If you want to go, let this cheap maid kowtow to me, and then promise never to step into the gate of King Zhou's mansion before leaving." ”

Guan Qiwen has always had a bad temper, after listening to Wei Banniang's words, she took a step forward, and Liu Mei was about to speak, but was pulled back to her side by Su Yan, "Ah Wen, you don't need to make a move." ”

Guan Qiwen has had a lot of contacts with Su Yan, and knew that her friend was not a disadvantaged character, so she took two steps back with peace of mind and waited to watch the show. Anyway, with her current status, among the younger generation, except for the royal princess and the princess of Zhou, there are few people who can compare to her. When necessary, using identity pressure can also crush people to death.

Su Yan glanced at Wei Banniang lightly, her eyes were never sharp, and her voice was not in a hurry, calm and calm: "This is someone else's house, I really don't care about you." Now honestly go back to the pavilion, don't mess with me again. ”

Wei Banniang giggled, and even covered her stomach exaggeratedly, half-bent over, "Ouch, I'm really scared." After finishing speaking, he immediately changed his face and pointed at Su Yan and the others, "Catch her for me, I want to teach her a good lesson." ”

Wei Banniang was surrounded by more than 20 people outside the pavilion before, and after listening to her order, although he hesitated slightly, he still surrounded him.

Su Yan and Guan Qiwen wanted to whisper, and besides, this was in Wanjia, and they didn't bring many people, plus the maids of the three of them who were around Wang Shuyun before, together they were only enough for ten people. Moreover, they are all personal maids, delicate and frail, not much stronger than their masters.

Guan Qiwen's eyes showed excitement, and he rolled up his sleeves, "Shi Niang, look at me." "The skills she practiced at home before are finally useful.

Su Yan looked at her friend who rushed out and kicked over a girl, and felt that she seemed to be becoming more and more violent after getting married. However, when it comes to the end, she is not without hole cards. Without Qingyun blowing the eagle whistle, a white shadow rushed down from the sky, and with a few claws, the maid who dared to make a move at Su Yan covered her face and screamed and fell to the ground, blood seeping out from her fingers.

The white eagle let go of its claws, and a few things that resembled human eyeballs fell to the ground, and the claws were still dripping with blood, so they flew to the plum tree next to them and fell, tilting their heads to "coo" at Su Yan twice, as if they were asking for credit.

Because of the appearance of the white eagle, the scene was quiet, whether it was Wei Banniang's maid or Su Yan's people, they all stood in a daze, their bodies were weak, their hands were tightly covering their mouths, and they didn't dare to make a sound.

As soon as Guan Qiwen rushed to Wei Banniang's side and grabbed her hair, she saw that the shape of the field had changed greatly, and she looked at the white eagle who fell on the branch on the side, tilting her head and coquettishly at her best friend, and she couldn't react a little.

Her delicate and beautiful, weak and slender friend showed a smile that overwhelmed all beings, and praised in a coquettish voice: "Our Xiaobai is really amazing." ”

The white eagle on the tree seemed to understand, flapping its wings proudly, "quacking ......" a few times, and another black eagle also fell, with sharp eagle eyes, staring at Wei Banniang who was grabbed by her without blinking, and was ready to pounce. Guan Qiwen didn't doubt that if she let go of Wei Banniang, the black eagle would be able to disfigure her immediately.

"That, Shi Niang, this is ......" Guan Qiwen pointed to two eagles, one black and one white, and really didn't know what to say. Wei Banniang, who was being held by her, seemed to be frightened, shrunk beside her, and didn't dare to move.

Su Yanzheng raised his chin at Xiaobai and called it, "Wash your paws." Hearing her friend call her, she smiled sideways, and her excited tone was full of show: "Ah Wen, is my Xiaobai particularly powerful?" ”

Guan Qiwen: ...... Please don't make trouble!