In late September, Gu Chong returned to the capital.

Gu Ci was practicing calligraphy seriously, and she didn't hear anyone coming in, Bajie called out quietly, and as soon as she put down the pen, her eyes were blindfolded. She didn't say anything, and raised her hand to cover the big hand that covered her eyes.

This hand is different from before. Several brothers practice martial arts day and night, but no one has so many calluses on their hands.

"Ah Luan doesn't cry, I'm back." Gu Chong reluctantly let go of his wet palm, stood in front of her and whispered.

"Third brother......" Gu Ci sobbed, pulling his sleeve and not letting go, as if as soon as he let go, he disappeared immediately.

Gu Chong was much stronger than before, his complexion was slightly darker, and he had completely faded away from the youthfulness and thinness of a teenager, and the adult man's figure suddenly stood up, and he seemed to be taller than Gu Ao.

Hu's mother quietly ordered someone to prepare a hot water towel and retreat, and Gu Chong hugged her to freshen up.

"I'm here to serve the county lord."

"How dare you work with the army Lord Cao."

Gu Chong really didn't dare to wipe her face, he wiped her tears just now, and he left red marks. Gu Ci washed his face and returned to him.

"When did the third brother arrive?"

"Chongyang received the order, these days to change people do not change horses, come back five days early."

"In such a hurry? Tired or not? Would you like to take a break? ”

"It's okay, I'm used to it." Gu Chong turned to talk about the gifts she brought her, boasting about how popular the food she let people bring over and how warm her clothes were.

Gu Ci listened happily, and suddenly clapped his hands: "Ah, I'll go and tell the kitchen to cook the dishes you like to eat today." ”

She anxiously picked up the corner of her skirt and trotted, Gu Chongxiao watched her run out, and the smile on her face gradually sank. He hurried back, apparently hoping that the marriage date would be advanced, and the two families of Ren Lei, the son of the Ren family, and his younger brother Ren Yan, who happened to be training the navy in Anton, would return to Beijing for the gold festival, and the real reason was that Gu Ci and Gu Xi found out about the accessibility of the goods store.

In Beijing, Xiao is in charge, and he is much more efficient than Gu Xi. Within ten days, it was found out that this goods store was funded by Mrs. Fang's brother Fang Ting, and there were dry shares of Zhongshan Wang and others behind it. Gu Chong picked up the few people caught by Xiao Xiao's steward halfway, marched all the way, and escorted them back to Beijing.

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The rest of the matter is not something that Gu Ci should know, and everyone has the ambition to keep it secret from her. Of course, she can't care about this, it will be the gold festival soon, and because Gu Chong's wedding date was advanced to the eighth day of November, Gu Ao's marriage was discussed with the martial family, and it was also advanced to October 16, and she followed her mother to be busy for this. Yuyi happily ordered someone to tidy up the yard for the two sons in the Guogong Mansion, and the east courtyard directly drew out four large courtyards, and the brothers would have one for each family in the future. Fortunately, the Qingyi Mansion is not a princess's mansion, otherwise Gu Ao, as the prince of the protectorate, would have to move to live in the mansion over there.

After the grand gold festival was over, the prince took the Wurate Mansion out of the city to hunt that night, and then changed his clothes in Yuyi's courtyard, and drove south from Jian. On October 28, the emperor issued an edict for the crown prince to tour the south, and Gu Ao and the guards of the Wurate Mansion set up a guard of honor and slowly marched south.

No one noticed that the crown prince himself was not in the honor guard, and everyone's eyes were focused on a few other things.

First of all, the Qingyi Yuan of the Protectorate held two much-anticipated weddings more than 20 days apart, and the ten miles of red makeup made the people of the capital talk about it until the New Year. As a sister-in-law, Gu Ci still couldn't visit the wedding process, except for entertaining female guests at the banquet, that is, when the bride entered the cave room, she ran to bring some food.

Secondly, some time ago, among the beauties who competed for the position of crown princess around the queen mother, there were several outstanding celebrities who suddenly had masters, such as the eighteen-year-old eldest girl of the Wenli Hou Zhong family, known as the 'Shuangshu of the capital', and the second son of the king of Hengshan County, Yuan Kai, who was married, and the eldest girl of the Debo Lu family was given to Chongyi's eldest son Ye Wei, and the granddaughter of Chai Cifu, another talented and good-looking granddaughter of Shuangshu, will marry Qiao Zhen next year. Li Fuxiang's family affairs also made up her mind before she and Lu, the second grandson of the Zhang family, who had just told the old secretary of the military department, although he was born in the army, but this one is a seed of reading.

The biggest thing is that the mountain bandits of Yuye City on the road to Beiguan entered the city and looted and caused civil unrest. His army brought a lot of noble children from the Five Cities Janissaries and the Imperial Forest Army, the supervisor was Mu Wanqing, and he was accompanied by a former imperial doctor who returned to the countryside, and he suppressed bandits all the way along the way to impeach the magistrates. Almost the entire civil and military officialdom in the north has undergone a major blood change, which is more powerful than the previous military general adjustment, making many people who have been secretly operating in Beiguan for decades secretly vomit blood. Some people who reacted immediately began to clean the tails of their hands to erase the traces, and they were still secretly trying to trouble the Gu family in the arrogant people's house, and Gu Xi was also very busy in order to swell their faces.

In these major events that shook the Beijing Division, the prince's request for funds to try out the new law in Jiangnan to build roads was passed without a splash. Since mid-September, the cities in the south of the Yangtze River have raised funds and prepared materials under the initiative of Xie Qing, and will build roads after the autumn harvest. After Gu Ao was in place, he began to consult the classics and genealogies of key towns, so as not to let the magistrates point too fingers, and Gu Chong's seized money and goods were also under the hint of the emperor, leaving a considerable part of it for a steady stream of support for road construction. The whole country has set off a peak of highway construction, and the household department has not spent much money, from the emperor to the common people who are brainwashed every day by 'building roads before you want to get rich' are very happy.

***********************

The initiator Gu Ci was unhappy, and sent the two brothers away in a row, and only later did he know that the prince had left, and the New Year could not make her lively. Yuyi, who has a daughter-in-law this year, doesn't need her daughter anymore, and she is busy with Wu Shenqiu, she really can't stand her sullen little appearance, and she is worried that the dark tide in Beijing will not let her go out, so she has to take her out of Yin Wuju and throw her to Gu Yi. Gu Ci really stuck to Gu Yi for a few days, but after knowing that the little brother was going to go out to study next year, he hugged Bajie and cried and ran back to the house, no one paid attention to it, and no one was allowed to tell Yuyi. Gu Yi was helpless outside the closed boudoir door for a long time, so he had to recall Gu Yi, who had been happy recently.

"What's wrong with my baby?" Gu Yi, who was hanging her child, rushed back with a horse, came in through the window of her sister's boudoir, and poked a thick cocoon wrapped in the quilt on the bed.

"My little brother is going to go out next year, and I feel uncomfortable at home alone." Gu Ci pear blossoms shed tears in the rain, and her eyes were as red as peaches.

"Brother Qi broke his leg, see how he gets out, okay?"

Gu Yi threw a stone on his lap outside the window.

"I know you're all on business, but I'm just uncomfortable."

There are no computers, no mobile phones, no planes in this place, how difficult it is to deliver a letter and meet in person! The more Gu Ci thought about it, the more sad he became, and he couldn't help himself. Gu Yi couldn't stand still, so he also turned in, and dug her out with Gu Yi and hugged her.

"I won't be going for too long, I have to take the autumn exam."

"Little brother is deceiving, you are only twelve, what kind of autumn test do you take."

"Master said that I will go to Langya City to study next year and come back, so let me try it."

Gu Yi teased him, "Yes, there is also a junior sister in Dingkang City, who happened to pass by and let people take a look." ”

"Huh? The Ma family? Gu Ci hiccuped, and the tears immediately stopped. Gu Yi's master is the son of the country and the horse sacrifice wine, and his ancestral home is Dingkang.

"It's not. Listen to your mother's affairs. ”

Gu Yi glared at Gu Yi, and when he saw that his sister was not crying, he helplessly began to explain that he would pass by Dingkang when he went to Langya, so he was going to visit, as for the family affairs, he had not yet skimmed the eight characters, and promised that he would not accept until the little sister nodded. Seeing Gu Ci collect tears, Gu Xi made persistent efforts to talk about his eldest brother Gu Ke. Gu Ke's marriage was supposed to be on the sixth day of February next year, and Yuyi had advanced the wedding date of her two sons and had already informed the mansion over there, but the second lady didn't care and still insisted on the original day. As for whether Mrs. Fang would be unbalanced in her heart, no one in Qingyi Yuan cared.

"Mrs. Tai can't take care of the eldest brother's side, her sister-in-law comes to the door every day to ask her father and third brother to give an explanation."

"Say?"

"Tongda Cargo Bank was seized, all the lines of sales of stolen goods were terminated, Lin Qianfeng's family was imprisoned, and General Lin's family lost any position. That's it, do you still want to say? If you don't send the Fang family in together, it's for the sake of your grandfather's face. ”

"Is their problem so big?"

"Tongda Cargo Bank may have the shares of Zhongshan King."

"Does the emperor know?"

"It was the emperor who found out, so he let the third brother kill all the way, and most of the people who got off the horse were the King of Zhongshan, Aunt Chunyi, and the Marquis of Xiuning. At present, there are not even a few officials above the fifth grade. Gu Yi said lightly, "By the way, Wen Changbo also mixed a kick, missing half of the input, this year is not good, Aunt Xiangyi is ready to leave." ”

"Oh." Gu Ci no longer has a good face for Xiangyi's mother and daughter. "Is the Fang family okay?"

"Only Mrs. Tai's sister-in-law, the Shen family, was arrested, so the fifth aunt also made trouble together in the upper courtyard."

Gu Ci immediately looked back and called Ganyu, "Go and inquire, what is Mrs. Tai's trouble?" ”

Ganyu glanced at Gu Xi, went out and ordered a few words before coming back to say, "The people in Mrs. Tai's yard have been kicked out, but Qingfen's sister-in-law heard a few words when she swept the floor, and the fifth lady said that the capital for opening the shop was given by the Gu family, and there was no reason to take the Gu family out if something happened." There was also Mrs. Fang who seemed to mention the second master, and then the fifth lady was sent out, and Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Fang entered the inner room, so they couldn't hear it. ”

Gu Yi, who had been silent, suddenly asked, "What did you mention about the second uncle?" ”

"Old Madam Fang hasn't finished speaking, if you want to know more details, let the slave and the others go to the fifth and second rooms to inquire for a few more days."

"Go ahead, and let me know if there's any news."

Ganyu was ordered to retire.

"You're a good girl." Gu Yi boasted.

"It's much more capable than your family, who can only meditate and chant scriptures."

***********************

Coaxed Gu Ci to eat dessert and sleep in the afternoon, and the brothers went back to the outer courtyard to sit. Since the elder brother got married, they all moved out of the east courtyard and moved to live in the outer courtyard where the outer study was located.

"Seventh brother, do you need my help in the mansion over there?"

Gu Yi told him in detail about the situation found out by Tongda Cargo Bank, and he didn't deliberately hide it from him before, but because Gu Yi went to the palace every day now, he also asked a few words when he saw the third brother causing turmoil in the DPRK and China, but he didn't involve it too deeply.

Gu Yi thought for a moment, "I'll pay more attention to the house, you're just busy outside." ”

"Don't you just read the books of the sages?"

"Who made you too weak." Gu Yi didn't bother to give him a roll of his eyes. Gu Yi immediately jumped up when he heard this, and the brothers moved their muscles and bones well.

In fact, it can't be blamed that Gu Yi has difficulty in inquiring about things in the house, he is a bully when he is young, and whoever sees it walks around, even his little servant Kong and Wen Dao are also walking in the house with the wind under their feet, which is not as good as Gu Yi's popularity. Gu Yi doesn't like to talk, he is solid in learning, and his other cousins have a very good impression of him, and he has a lot of contacts on weekdays.

***********************

Gu Ci's crying scene was quickly reported, Yuyi generously sent Wu Shenqiu to comfort her for a long time, and Xiao Lu also specially came back from Tiemei Temple to accompany her. The grandfather and grandson were very interested in holding the hand stove next to the brazier, sitting on the shore of the mandiwu dock, enclosing a shed with thick cotton cloth, and smashing a hole in the lake to play ice fishing.

"Ah Luan can want to go far away?"

"It's too exciting, it's moving......" said that I don't want to be false. Although the carriage with the primary version of the spring is much more comfortable, but there are no tires, even if you go to Dingwu City, which is the closest to Shangjing, you have to sit for seven or eight days, which is a great test for the butt. This is not the era when you can board a trolley and arrive on the day of take-off. And she is a girl, she even has to carry the toilet in the car, think about solving the internal emergency problem in the carriage, and then the maid takes it out and pounces it, and then carries it and rushes back to the car.

This picture should not be too pretty......

"It's true that your little girl is not as convenient as a boy, but it's not that you can't go." Xiao Lu told her that he used to take Xiao Tong from Tianjin Port to Langya and Andong by sea, and then to Xiangyuan City, Liujin City and Fubo City in the south, and then to Changli City and Leling City in the west, and then to the north from Yanmen Pass and Tianshui City in the northwest to the east, through Luoya City and Changjing all the way back to Shangjing, and walked for almost two years.

Gu Ci was extremely impressed, and afterwards he went to Gu Yao's study to get a map, and slowly studied the route. After strengthening her determination to go far away, she blushed and went to her master to ask how to solve the personal hygiene problem.

Xiao Lu was afraid that she would be shy, so he tried his best to endure a smile and said, "We are not in a hurry, we have an inn and post station that has been ordered in advance every day, so that Ah Luan will not be unable to take a bath." ”

"So, what about on the road?"

"When the time comes, you will bring not only maids, but also female guards, just let them bring the curtains."

Oh, so many girls, then she shouldn't be embarrassed.

Gu Ci's eyes sparkled as he looked at his master and asked, "When are we leaving?" ”

"I'll have to wait for the road to be repaired." Then he touched her head and pointed, "You have to please your mother and the queen mother, otherwise if they don't let go, you won't be able to get out of Dongquemen." ”

Gu Ci thought so, and racked his brains to please Yuyi, the Queen Mother and the Emperor throughout the New Year, from the beauty recipe of egg white and honey milk to make a mask, to the vegetarian food of tofu eighteen, the half-sleeved cloak, the nest rabbit scarf, etc., the palace banquet and the Shangyuan Festival on the second day of the junior high school also squatted in the imperial dining room respectively, and specially selected a team of imperial chefs to make two big dishes.

One is 'nine treasures and one product', nine treasures refers to two quail eggs, suckling pigeon, three yellow chickens, ducks, meat rabbits, fat geese, suckling pigs, lambs and half-year-old calves. In addition to the cow, the head, tail and feet and internal organs are removed, washed and marinated respectively, the eggs are put into the belly of the pigeon, and then stuffed into the belly of the chicken, in turn, each layer is smeared with different spices and sauces and mushroom shrimp skin and other ingredients, and finally the calf belly is sewn up to leave a mouth, the four hooves are tied, roasted on the fire, and the soup stock is poured into the slit from time to time. The meat of the finished product is very tender and juicy, and the fragrant is overflowing, and the imperial chef who is skilled in knife work will also cut off the fattest two pieces of each chest and put them together with two quail eggs to form two plates and present them to the Queen Mother and the Emperor.

The second dish is the famous 'Buddha jumping over the wall', which is the signature dish that Gu Ci was best at in his previous life. Eighteen kinds of main ingredients and twelve kinds of auxiliary materials are integrated with each other, meat such as oxtail, lamb elbow, pork belly, hoof tip, deer tendon, Jinhua ham, chicken gizzard, duck gizzard, seafood such as fish lip, shark fin, sea cucumber, abalone, dried scallops, fish belly, fish maw, sea cucumber, turtle skirt, scallop, bamboo clams, and auxiliary materials such as pigeon eggs, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, etc. Raw materials and auxiliary materials are used in frying, frying, cooking, frying a variety of methods, concocted into a variety of dishes with their own characteristics, and then stacked layer by layer in a large Shaoxing wine jar, injected with an appropriate amount of soup and Shaoxing rice wine, with other sauces, and then add mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots and other ingredients, so that the soup, wine, vegetables are fully integrated, the mouth of the altar is sealed with lotus leaves and covered tightly, smokeless white charcoal is selected, the first fire is boiled, and then simmered slowly for six hours. The whole dish almost includes the food of the world, running in the sky, swimming in the water, growing on the mountain, and buried in the ground. After the table is served, it is supplemented by a plate of sweet and sour shredded radish and mung bean sprouts mixed with sesame oil soy sauce, and a plate of frozen tofu that absorbs the soup.

In order not to let the imperial history say that she is extravagant, Gu Ci also specially pointed out that the ingredients of Jiuzhen Yipin are all produced in her Zhuangzi, and the materials of Buddha jumping over the wall are all seafood and mountain delicacies sent from farms all over the family, and there are no rare things such as bear's paw hump, and there is no waste of violent heavenly things such as canary tongue, all of which are made of ordinary ingredients.

Sure enough, the Queen Mother and the Emperor were full of praise for these two dishes, and they rewarded them greatly.

After the New Year, Yuyi, who was idle, invited her daughter who was in the limelight to whisper.

"Why is Luan so well-behaved lately?"

Gu Ci embarrassedly buried his head in his mother's arms and coquettishly, "Master said that he would take me out in the future, I was afraid that my mother and the queen mother would be sad, so I wanted to honor you more," said as he said, his eyes turned red, "I used to like to talk about what will happen in the future, but now that Yeye has not come back, I will not see you again as soon as I go out again...... It's better to do it when you think about it, and don't wait for later. ”

The mother hugged her head and cried. The next day, Yuyi rushed into the palace and cried to the queen mother, and the emperor knew the ins and outs almost immediately, and under the pressure of the three women of his ancestors and grandchildren, he promised that as soon as Beiguan was stable, he would summon Gu Yao back.