The Anjun Mansion looks quiet from the outside. Because it is located in the best part of the city, the idle commoners did not dare to pass by, and most of the officials and eunuchs walked around, so even if any carriages, mules, carts, etc., entered through the corner gate, no one would generally notice.

Taohua returned to the house, and walked through the side door naturally, but after entering the door, he walked in for a while, and found that there was a dilapidated carriage parked there in the direction of the corner gate, and the horse pulling the cart was not big, and it was not a horse used in the county king's mansion at first glance.

"Princess—" Chu Yi greeted him from inside, "The princess invited the princess to the study. As he spoke, he lowered his voice, "That one has been brought back." ”

"Brought back?" Although Taohua expected that it was mostly Cao Xiuwan's business, she didn't expect to be able to bring people back, "Where did you find it?" ”

"Whew!" Chu Yi's eyebrows fluttered, "The princess is afraid that she can't imagine that she went to Quanzhou at the beginning, and then Governor Cui died, and she couldn't survive there, so she ran back to the capital." ”

Even Taohua couldn't help but be taken aback at this time: "She still dares to go back to the capital?" "I have to say that Cui Xiuwan is stupid and bold and not afraid of death, or is she well versed in the truth of darkness under the lamp?

"Not really!" Chu Yi pursed his lips, "It's hiding in Cui's house!" Cui listened to the princess's words in the palace, and there was a ghost in his heart, so he wanted to send people to Lingnan. Who knows this - I don't want to go to Lingnan again, I want to go back to Quanzhou. Halfway through, I knocked out the people who were waiting and escaped, and I was caught by our people! ”

At that time, Shen Shu sent four guards and walked a while away from Beijing, and found that the Cui family had a soldier divided into two routes, one was still going to the Cui clan, and the other was going to Lingnan.

The leader of these four people is Yin Zhongxing. He followed Dingbei Hou in and out of the battlefield, and he knew the art of war, and after a little analysis, he felt that the road to Lingnan was very well-written, and anyway, there were enough people, so he also followed them separately. So Cui Xiuwan finally seized the opportunity to escape, and was caught by Yin Zhongxing before she ran far.

"In fact, if it wasn't for Brother Yin taking her away, she would have been captured by the Cui family." Chu Yi's face was full of contempt, and he didn't have a good impression of Cui Xiuwan from the beginning. At the beginning, Shen Shu came to the door repeatedly, Cui Xiuwan didn't even see her face with a shelf, and the first one, who was accustomed to the northwest atmosphere, thought she was hypocritical, and when she found out later, she knew that she was in love, which could make him angry to death. If it weren't for the capital, I'm afraid that Shen Shu would cause trouble, and he would definitely take out the adulterer and beat him up before anything else.

Now that feng shui is turning, Miss Cui has fallen into a wild place like Lingnan sent by her own family, and she wants to escape but can't run away. If the princess of his family is changed, let alone a few subordinates, even the guards may not be able to stand it, right? If nothing else, if the princess has a knife in her hand, it will not be a problem to disembowel.

No, no, what the hell was he thinking. If it was a princess, she would not have let herself fall into that situation at all, so why should she run away?

Seeing that he had arrived at the door of the study, Chu Yi quickly restrained his thoughts, and bowed slightly to pick up the curtain for Taohua. Taohua stepped in, and saw Cui Xiuwan wearing an old dress, sitting on a chair with a shrunk back. And Shen Shu was reading by the window, as if there was no such person in the study.

"Miss Cui." Taohua looked at Cui Xiuwan. That dress was obviously inferior, not only was the material rough and didn't fit her body, it was changed when she ran away, and Yin Zhongxing and the others obviously wouldn't go out of their way to buy her clothes, so they let her wear this and bring it back.

"You-" Of course, Cui Xiuwan knew Taohua, but at that time she was a high-ranking prefect girl, the future princess of the county, and Taohua was just a doctor's girl. In the blink of an eye, the status of the two was reversed, and the changes were so great that she couldn't accept it for a while.

There are always those who haven't seen each other in the last two years. Cui Xiuwan's gaze was uncontrollably fixed on Taohua. The last time we met, it was at the West Mountain Hunting Grounds. At that time, the Jiang family was serving the Queen Mother with him, and the clothes he wore were similar to those of the palace people, and the jewelry he wore was also simple.

But now, Jiang seemed to have grown taller again, wearing a pale red shirt, the fabric was smooth as water, light as paper, and as she walked, it showed some soft lines, just outlining the slender figure.

This material looks like plain noodles, but if you look closely at the sunlight, you can see that there are extremely fine carmine silk threads woven into auspicious clouds, and people wear them as if they are in a cloud of red clouds, which is indescribably elegant. Jiang was originally born beautiful, and being lined with this clothes made him even more glamorous.

This is true for clothes, not to mention jewelry. Because the shirt is a bright color, the jewelry is made of white jade and pearls, although the color is elegant, the handiwork is exquisite, and the material is even better. The jade pearl can be seen to be soft even in the house, even if the clothes are so bright, they are not expensive.

Cui Xiuwan subconsciously clenched her fingers, but the tentacles were not the silk handkerchiefs she was used to, but the cuffs of coarse cloth, and there was some dust and dirt. Only then did she realize how crudely she was dressed, and her body couldn't help but shrink even tighter.

When a woman meets, she will always unconsciously compare her appearance and clothing. Although Cui Xiuwan felt that Tao Hua was beautiful in the past, she was from a noble background and read poetry and books, so her temperament naturally won. Who knew that when they met again now, they realized that their so-called bearing was just wrapped in gorgeous clothes, and the golden and jade grains would be raised. The so-called residence migration qi and body transfer, once she is no longer the girl of the prefect's family, there are no more of those who used to be self-assured.

Shen Shu only raised his head from the book at this time and smiled at Taohua: "You say, should we invite Mrs. Cui over, or send Miss Cui back?" ”

Cui Xiuwan subconsciously shivered again, only to feel that the chair under her was like an ice cube, and the April day in early summer made her cold from head to toe. She had been brought into this study for nearly an hour, and Shen Shu had treated her as if she had nothing. At first, she wanted to beg for a few words, or explain a thing or two, but under Shen Shu's indifference, she couldn't say it after all.

If she still had a little delusion in her heart at that time, wondering why Shen Shu took her to the study, leaving only the two of them alone, then now she knows - in Shen Shu's eyes, she is no different from a thing, and there are no others in the study, just to wait for the Jiang family.

"Let's invite Mrs. Cui over first." Taohua didn't look at Cui Xiuwan anymore, "You have to make things clear before you can send Miss Cui back, right?" ”

Get back? Cui Xiuwan felt a glimmer of hope in her heart, why, Shen Shu didn't plan to hand her over to the emperor to treat the Cui family's crime of bullying the monarch?

"The prince of the county-" Cui Xiuwan licked her dry lips, Yin Zhongxing and others are used to living in the northwest, there is a shortage of water in the northwest, and sometimes they don't drink much water for a day, so naturally they can't imagine that Cui Xiuwan is a delicate southerner, and she often drinks water and tea. is to come back all the way, except for a few mouthfuls of water during the meal, Cui Xiuwan is so dry that her throat is smoking, and she feels hoarse when she speaks at this time, as if she has stuffed a mouthful of sand.

Shen Shu frowned in disgust. He dislikes Cui Xiuwan, but it's not entirely about eloping for her. Although his fiancée's elopement is tantamount to slapping him in the face, if it weren't for this, he might miss Taohua. Now that he is a beautiful wife in his arms, and his life is satisfying, the anger caused by the man's self-esteem at the beginning has also dissipated.

What he hates is actually Cui Xiuwan's gutslessness and incompetence. Yin Zhongxing and the others only lowered their faces slightly on the road, and Cui Xiuwan said everything: how she went to Quanzhou at the beginning, how she returned to the capital later, how she went to Lingnan now, and how she escaped.

Hearing these things in Shen Shu's ears, he only felt that Cui Xiuwan was simply confused, ridiculous, and incompetent to the extreme. Think about what he would have been like now if he had married such a woman. As a daughter, Cui Xiuwan disregards her relatives. As a wife, Cui Xiuwan can abandon her husband at will. Such a woman, who used to be proud of her identity, how can she not make people disgusted?

This disgust is together, he doesn't even want to listen to Cui Xiuwan's words, not to mention that this voice like a broken gong is really not good: "Take her down." ”

Chu Yi came in from outside in response and compared with a contemptuous face: "Miss Cui, please." "It's better to go by yourself, don't let him touch his hands, he doesn't want to touch this woman."

"Lord Wang-" Cui Xiuwan hesitated and didn't want to leave, "That sister-" Shen Shu didn't plan to expose her elopement, what about Cui Youwan's family affairs? She knows that now that her father is dead, the family is counting on two brothers, and only when the two brothers get up, can she have a good life.

However, there is no one to support them, and even if the Cui brothers can study, the road to the future will be extremely difficult. Now that the Queen Mother has arranged a marriage for Cui Youwan, it is equivalent to pointing out a way for the Cui family, and now if Shen Shu refuses this marriage, who can the Cui brothers expect to go?

Shen Shu didn't want to hear Cui Youwan's name at all. Although it was not his fault that the Queen Mother pointed out the marriage, Taohua also gave him a few rolls when he came back, and now let Cui Xiuwan mention it, would he still let him eat rice balls for a few days in a row?

"Take it down!"

On the first day of junior high school, Cui Xiuwan was not allowed to say any more, and it didn't matter what men and women gave or not, they dragged Cui Xiuwan with one hand and left. Cui Xiuwan couldn't beat his strength, and she was pulled out when she stumbled, and only then did there be a movement in the courtyard, and there was no sound when she looked down, obviously Chu Yi didn't pity the jade at all, and knocked people unconscious.

"She's got a big face—" Momoka laughed angrily. did such a thing, and still expected Cui Youwan's family affair to come true? I didn't look like a fool when I looked at Cui Xiuwan before, but now this is - the situation is poor, and the IQ has also decreased?

"Ignore her!" Shen Shu also felt as if he had swallowed a fly. The first emperor actually arranged such a marriage for him, which really stained the wisdom of the first emperor, "Call someone to Cui's mansion, hurry up and call someone over for me!" He didn't even want to say a word.

"Take a piece of jewelry from Miss Cui." Taohua thought for a while, "Otherwise, Mrs. Cui won't dare to come over." ”

"Go, go, go." Shen Shu waved his hand as if chasing flies, "Listen to the princess, just hurry up." ”

Although Cui Xiuwan was sent to Liuzhou to take care of her, Mrs. Cui still prepared a lot of soft for her, and of course, jewelry was indispensable. When Cui Xiuwan ran away, it was difficult to bring other things, and she still wrapped a few pieces of jewelry. Mint picked out a rather chic treasure-shaped flower-headed hairpin from it, put it in the box and went to Cui's house.

When Mrs. Cui heard that someone from the Anjun Mansion was coming, she paused in her heart, but she still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that the princess of Anjun had figured it out and let people come to discuss the matter of welcoming relatives. Who knew that when I entered the hall, I only saw the princess's eldest maid, and before she could speak, she was stuffed with a box. It was supposed to be a dowry or something, but when I opened it, I almost choked on it and couldn't get up: "This, where did this come from?" ”

Mint is in the next life today, where will she be angry with her: "What, Mrs. Cui doesn't recognize it?" If you don't recognize it, forget it, and I'll go back to give the princess a life. ”

How could Mrs. Cui not recognize it! This hairpin pattern is not common, but it is a piece of jewelry that Cui Xiuwan loves, although it is not heavy, it is often worn. Now that she sees this hairpin, she knows that most of Cui Xiuwan has an accident.

"Please, girl, wait, I'll pack up and go to see the princess." Mrs. Cui only felt bitter in her heart. She naturally knows mint, in the past, when she came to Cui's Mansion with the Jiang family, even the big girl next to her didn't talk to this girl very much, but now she has to politely call her a girl.

said that it was to clean up, but in fact, Mrs. Cui didn't have that thought, just to change into a slightly neater outward clothes and comb her hair. Now this is going to the Anjun Mansion to pretend to be a grandson, but the more plain and pitiful the dress, the better.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Cui Youwan was putting on her face in the room, and when she heard that someone from the Anjun Mansion was coming, she hurriedly rushed over, "Is there someone from the Anjun Palace?" "Didn't you come to discuss her family affairs?

Cui Jing was not at home, Mrs. Cui felt that she had no backbone, and when she saw her little daughter, she couldn't help but redden: "Your sister, your sister is afraid that it will fall into the hands of Princess Anjun!" ”

"What!" Cui Youwan cried out in a frustration, "How could it be! "Wasn't Cui Xiuwan sent to Liuzhou?

Mrs. Cui wiped her tears and pointed to the hairpin: "The eldest maid next to the princess of Fangcai County sent this and asked me to go to the county king's mansion." ”

Cui Youwan stared at the hairpin, as if staring at a moving poisonous snake: "Mother, what do you want?" ”

Mrs. Cui was stunned for a moment when asked: "What else can I do, I have to get your sister back." ”

"What about my family?" Cui Youwan looked up and glared at her mother, her eyes were hooked.

Mrs. Cui couldn't help but hide her face. She's not a fool, she understands very well what it means for the Anjun Mansion to ask someone to send this. No wonder that in the palace that day, the Jiang family was not in a hurry, and Cui Xiuwan was mentioned several times in his words, and this is what he meant! Now there are two paths in front of her: either ask the Queen Mother to resign from the marriage, or wait to be exposed for the Cui family's crime of bullying the monarch.

"Mother, you say!" Cui Youwan pulled Mrs. Cui. Could it be that for Cui Xiuwan, I want to resign from the Queen Mother's side?

"Mother, if you offend the Queen Mother, what future will the two brothers have in the future? You have to think about it! ”

"Don't I know?" Mrs. Cui was cornered, and finally lost her temper, "But if you don't listen to King Anjun, and the original incident is poked out over there, our whole family is guilty of bullying the king, and we are all dead!" "My life is gone, and I still have a future.

There was a dead silence in the house, and after a while, Mrs. Cui sighed: "I'll go to the county king's mansion to have a look, and I have to save the lives of the whole family." Don't worry, your dowry is still there, and when your brother has a fame, it won't be difficult to find a good family affair. ”

Mrs. Cui said as she hurriedly changed her clothes and went out, leaving Cui Youwan alone in the house.

Cui Youwan sat for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the hairpin and fell to the ground. The hollowed-out silver hairpin flicked on the ground and broke a petal. Cui Youwan was still angry, and stomped on her feet. However, she was wearing thin-soled embroidered shoes at home, and when she stepped on it, the soles of her feet hurt when she was pierced by the tips of the petals.

"Ahh Cui Youwan screamed suddenly, regardless of the pain in her feet, she crushed the hairpin hard, and trampled on a good treasure flower. Shi Qing heard the voice and ran in from outside in a panic: "Girl, girl! Be careful with sore feet. ”

Cui Youwan gasped and kicked the already bent and deformed hairpin into the corner. Cui Xiuwan, what kind of sister is this! Why did she suddenly run back to the capital before she got married, and why didn't she even go to Liuzhou, but fell into the hands of Princess Anjun? Just when she was about to marry Shen Shu, did she have to come out to stir up the situation?

"Girl-" Shi Qing also vaguely heard a few words outside just now, seeing that Cui Youwan didn't dare to land on one foot, she couldn't help but feel her heart don't jump straight, and said cautiously, "Girl, this is also a helpless thing, Madame also wants to save the lives of the whole family." ”

Since Zhu Qing's death, Shi Qing has been afraid of Cui Youwan. Until now, Cui Youwan kicked over, and the scene of Zhu Qing falling to the ground still appeared in front of her eyes from time to time, and the expression on Cui Youwan's face was almost hideous at this moment, Shi Qing only felt that she would kick over at any time, and she couldn't help but be afraid.

"Save the lives of the whole family......" Cui Youwan muttered.

"yes." Seeing that she seemed to be calmer, Shi Qing hurriedly comforted, "As long as the family is safe, it is better than anything else......"

Cui Youwan smiled coldly. What if a family is safe? In the future, the Cui family will only be left with mediocrity, even if her dowry is doubled, what good relatives can she find? Speaking of which, if Cui Xiuwan was really dead at the beginning, it would be great, and there would be no trouble today.

If Cui Xiuwan is really dead...... This idea is like a seed that grows unstoppably once it sprouts. Cui Youwan clenched her fingers tightly - to save the lives of the whole family, and to protect her relatives, in fact, there is a way, as long as Cui Xiuwan is really dead, then it is not a bully, and the Anjun Mansion will no longer be able to handle the Cui family!

"Girl?" Shi Qing watched the crazy expression on Cui Youwan's face gradually disappear, and it seemed that she had calmed down, but somehow, she felt a chill on her back, and a little hairs stood on end, as if Cui Youwan was more terrifying now.

Cui Youwan seemed to have really accepted her fate, and stretched out her hand to Shi Qing: "Help me go back to the room." ”

"Hey." Shi Qing hurriedly and carefully helped her back to her yard, took off Cui Youwan's embroidered shoes and cried out when she saw it, "Girl, your foot is injured." "The thin sole of the shoe was punctured, and the snow-white sock was dyed a little red.

Cui Youwan's face was expressionless, as if she couldn't feel pain: "Go get the medicine." ”

Shi Qing turned her head to look for trauma medicine, and Cui Youwan beckoned to the maid Huaqing standing by the door: "You go to the second gate to find the little servant Fuquan and buy some □□." ”

Hua Qing was newly brought up after Zhu Qing's death. Now the Cui family is not as good as before, since the death of the Cui prefect, the subordinates of the family have also been dismissed, and a lot of the big maids who have reached the age of marriage have been released, and most of the little maids have been brought up from below. Hua Qing is only twelve this year, and she has just been promoted to a second-class maid before, and she mentioned Cui Xiuwan's side again before she is proficient in her work, and she is a little trembling because of her lack of confidence. After listening to Cui Xiuwan's instructions, she didn't dare to ask more, so she took the broken silver and ran out.

Shi Qing came back with the medicine, and was almost knocked down by her, and couldn't help but say, "What is this crazy girl running for?" "Go to the master's side to serve, do things quickly, but you can't show the emperor, I've taught it several times, why can't I remember!

Cui Youwan said lightly: "I asked her to go to the second gate to find Fuquan to buy something." You're right, saving the lives of the whole family is all that matters. I'm afraid my sister is going to be frightened this time, you go to the kitchen and instruct you to pick up her favorite food and prepare a few more things. ”

Shi Qing only felt relieved when she heard this, and hurriedly said, "The girl is right." If the family is safe and secure together, there will always be a way in the future. "Thank God, it's good that the girl has figured it out," in fact, Anjun Wangfu - although it is the meaning of the Queen Mother, but the girl is always a side concubine when she goes in, and she has to be tossed by the princess of the county, so it is better to be the master herself. ”

Cui Youwan listened coldly, didn't say yes or no, and waited for Shi Qing to finish speaking before saying: "I remember that my sister likes to eat that taro paste ginkgo fruit, and there are few people in the kitchen now, so I'm afraid I don't have that much work to do." If the taro paste is not fine, it will not taste good, you ask the kitchen to buy some authentic Lipu taro, and I will make it. ”

Although Shi Qing was very happy that Cui Youwan had figured it out, she didn't know where she felt that something was wrong. But taro paste and ginkgo are indeed Cui Xiuwan's favorite food, Cui Youwan thought it was very interesting to make taro paste when she was a child, and she did it for Cui Xiuwan a few times, so it seems that there is nothing wrong with it. So although he was puzzled, he could only apply the medicine for Cui Youwan, and then went to the kitchen to give instructions in person.

Cui Youwan was the only one left in the room. She sat on the bed staring at the window in a daze. The sky outside the window is blue, the early summer sun falls, the shadow of the begonia tree in front of the eaves is reflected on the window paper, and the faint fragrance is carried into the house by the breeze, everything looks so beautiful.

"Sister, don't blame me." Cui Youwan slowly clenched her fingers, her voice was as thin as a gnat, even if someone stood next to her at this time, she might not be able to hear it lightly, "On such a good day, you are willing to let go, but I am unwilling." If I don't want to, neither you nor my mother can teach me to let go. You've planned for yourself, and I'm going to plan for myself now. ”