On the palace of Prince Li Menggong.

An old man wearing a black felt hat, a blue-gray cotton robe, and a pair of gray sheepskin boots stood guard outside the gate of a certain part of the palace. Although it was spring, the weather in Limeng was still very cold, the old man bent his waist, paced back and forth outside the door to keep warm, and his hands that were still not warm enough in his sleeves were taken out from time to time and closed to his mouth to breathe hot air.

I'm afraid that even people who are very familiar with him will find it difficult to recognize that this standard Limeng dressed as a person is the left prime minister Fei Ning who once held heavy power in Jing'anguo and called for wind and rain in the court.

"What's the matter, why is it so cold here, it's not as good as our Jing'an at all." There was no one around, and Fenning muttered a little louder.

Unlike other Limeng nobles, Prince Gong admired Jing'an culture very much, and even the palace where he lived was built in imitation of the pattern of those wealthy compounds in Jing'an. The whole palace is located on a separate piece of land on the north side of the imperial court, and the outer wall alone occupies an entire street, so it will not be incompatible with the ornate felt tents of other houses.

At present, where Fei Ning is located, is outside the door of the general affairs hall used by Prince Gong to take care of the housekeeping of the mansion every day.

I don't know how long it took, I suddenly heard a "squeak" sound, and the originally closed courtyard door opened, and the stewards who came to pay tribute came out in twos and threes.

Fei Ning perked up, rubbed his somewhat dizzy old eyes, and tried to make his way around the group. After a while, he finally caught the man who had been looking for two days.

The man was walking and commanding the people around him, not noticing Fenning, whose eyes were shining not far away. Without paying attention, he let the other party approach and pull his sleeve.

"Butler, I've found you." Fei Ning exclaimed excitedly. That look is no less than seeing a long-lost relative.

The big butler secretly said that he was unlucky, how could he let this entangled old man catch him again.

However, the big butler will definitely not write the impatience in his heart on his face. On the contrary, he habitually showed a polite and thoughtful smile, and asked very kindly and knowingly: "Does Master Fei have something to do with me?" ”

Who is Fenning? When he first learned to intrigue with others in officialdom, the big butler was still playing with mud with his bare fart. The other party's perfunctory implicit disgust, how could Fei Ning not see it.

If it were to meet such a rude subordinate before. He would immediately order someone to drag him down and kill him, without blinking an eyelid. But now that he has a request from others, he can only pretend that he doesn't know. He said with a smile on his face: "Big butler, do you have an answer to the question you asked a few days ago?" When will the prince see me? ”

The chief butler secretly rolled his eyes, and said with a little impatience: "Master Fei doesn't need to be anxious. The prince has been staying in the barracks for the past few days. I haven't been home for days. I wanted to ask for you, but I really didn't have the chance. ”

Hearing this answer, Fei Ning was not surprised.

habitually pulled out his cuffs, wanting to take out some broken silver to make the big butler, but helplessly found that he was already penniless.

Fei Ning put down his hand in disdain, and there was no money to make a point, so he could only redouble his flattery to please the other party. "The big housekeeper, who doesn't know that the prince and princess in this house rely on the most. That's you. You can do it, help me send a message to the prince, the old man stays in the palace all day for nothing, and has no chance to serve the prince, so he is really uneasy. ”

The chief butler pursed his lips noncommittally and said perfunctorily: "Don't worry, I will pass on the words to the prince for you." Please wait patiently for a while, the prince will naturally summon you when he is free. With that, without waiting for him to react, he strode away.

Rao is Fei Ning's skin is as thick as the courtyard wall, and in the face of this style of avoiding snakes and scorpions, he is really in no mood to put it on again to annoy people. After watching the big butler walk away, he spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground and muttered in a low voice, "Phew, what a thing!" ”

It turned out that the man in black was finally persuaded by Fei Ning that day, and after several rounds with him, he finally escaped from Jing'an. This man in black was Prince Gong's subordinate, and after returning to Limeng, he threw Fei Ning into the palace, ignored it, and never appeared again.

Fei Ning has been in this palace for nearly a month, and his food and clothing are not much better than those of the people in the palace. He is also a talent, in such a short period of time, grinding the little girls who specially delivered him food, he roughly learned to speak, and daily communication is no problem.

Fei Ning knows very well that the most feared thing about a chess piece is that it is useless. And he, a sinner who is not tolerated by his homeland, once he is useless, he will end up with only a dead end. Yes, after learning the language, he immediately found the housekeeper in the house and pleaded to see the prince.

Prince Gong Kerimu and the current Limeng Emperor Kericha are the brothers of the same mother, holding heavy troops and managing every day. How can you have the kung fu to meet Fei Ning, a discarded chess piece? If he hadn't listened to the report of his subordinates, he thought that he might be able to come in handy in the future, and he would not have been so kind to raise him in vain.

What a shrewd person the chief butler is, how can he not guess the mind of his master? Therefore, Fenning pestered him for so long, and he did not gain anything at all.

Fei Ning returned to his lonely courtyard in a gloomy manner, wanting to talk to someone, but it was empty, and there was no one in it. The little girls who took turns to bring him food made him scared, and he would never appear until the meal, and even if he did, he would put down the food box and leave.

Adding two pieces of charcoal to the extinguishing brazier in the room, he sat down on a small pestle by the fire, stretched out his hands and roasted the fire. The days of idleness are really like years, and the prince refuses to see him, nor does he send him any messengers, and he wants to find some pastime, but he really can't find it. Reading books, I can't understand them; Playing chess, no one accompanies you; Writing and drawing? Paper, ink, pen and inkstone, which are not rare things in Jing'an, are very expensive here, and even the most favored side concubine is not qualified to use it, not to mention that he has not found a use for this waste child? All Fei Ning can do at present is to reminisce about the past except to eat and drink Lazar.

Just as he was recalling the birth of his eldest daughter when he was twenty years old, the sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner again.

Today, it was the turn of a little girl named Tae-joo to deliver food, and she put down the food box and left as usual.

"Tae-joo, don't go so fast, teach me what you say here, right? There's still a lot I haven't learned. Fei Ning looked at her back and said in a jerky whisper.

Tae-joo threw down the sentence "If you are lazy, you will be scolded", and walked out without looking back.

Fei Ning sighed, opened the food box and looked at it, I don't know if it was the big housekeeper who took revenge on him for the entanglement he didn't know, and the only dish today was a big bowl of greasy and fishy mutton soup. When he smelled this smell, Fei Ning wanted to vomit, and he had no appetite at all. After taking out the second layer of fried rice, he lifted the food box in disgust and put it in the courtyard outside the door, and then turned back to eat the fried rice.

This fried rice tastes crispy and delicious, but it is slightly harder. The people of Limeng usually eat it soaked in mare's milk, and Fei Ning couldn't stand the smell of mare's milk, so he could only nibble on it with boiled water.

Just as he was chewing on the fried rice mechanically like chewing wax, the sound of the door opening came again. Maybe it was the old woman who came to collect the dirty clothes and wash them, Fei Ning didn't look back, and drank half a glass of boiling water with his neck up.

"Oh, why does Lord Fei just eat fried rice? But the mutton soup is not to taste? The voice of the chief butler suddenly sounded behind him, and there was unprecedented concern and enthusiasm in his tone, which made Fei Ning swallow a mouthful of water and cough violently.

"Ahem...... Cough...... Bassoon...... Great butler, you ...... Cough...... You're here. Before he could calm down, Fei Ning hurriedly greeted him, lest he slacken off.

The chief butler hurriedly stepped forward and tapped him on the back to give him relief, and his mouth was full of apologies: "It's all my fault that I'm not good, and I suddenly startled Master Fei." Are you okay? Would you like to ask a doctor to come and have a look? ”

This earth-shaking change in attitude made Fei Ning realize something, he waved his hand indifferently, indicating that he didn't need to ask for a doctor, and then stared eagerly at the big butler with eyes full of expectations: "But the prince wants to summon the old man?" ”

The other party nodded, confirming his guess: "The prince just sent someone from the barracks to send an order over and ask the little one to send you over to meet him." Mr. Fei has eaten well? Would you like to serve you a few more Jing'an dishes? ”

Speaking of the hometown dishes that he had been thinking about, Fei Ning secretly swallowed his saliva, and finally shook his head and rejected this tempting suggestion: "The old man is already full, so there is no need to bother anymore." Let's go, don't keep the prince waiting. (To be continued.) )