The next three months passed very peacefully, and the third brother and Du Yuxuan got closer and closer, and finally asked the emperor for marriage last month. It is a great honor for the emperor to give marriage, and of course, this glory is absolutely affordable. And begging the emperor for an edict, I think, is also to break the thoughts of the seventh princess. Now the emperor has promised that the Lantern Festival will be officially married.

Before that, Ding Xiang also asked me, and he was still hesitant between the Seventh Princess and Du Yuxuan. I only said: "My brother is a person of great affection, and it is enough for us to have a crown princess involved in the royal family." ”

In fact, Ding Xiang's final choice of Du Yuxuan was in my expectation, but I didn't expect the emperor to agree so readily. It is said that the emperor should not want the marriage of the Ding and Du families, but the emperor doesn't care? It can only be said that he has absolute trust in Marshal Du? I couldn't think of it, so I had to give up.

The third brother and Du Yuxuan are about to get married, but I still don't like Du Yuxuan. Because I know the meaning of the strings, I can always see the artificial steps and plans in her poems, although she has always been kind to me, I always feel that this kind of good is very deliberate. Relatively speaking, the third brother is a very simple person, he is very capable, and his martial arts are not weak, but he is by no means a candidate for officialdom. If Du Yuxuan plays tricks with him, ten Ding Muyu can't play one Du Yuxuan. Therefore, I wanted to talk to the third brother several times, but when I saw the happy look on his face when he mentioned Du Yuxuan, I had to swallow the words back. In the end, he even helped their engagement.

"If she likes her brother, she shouldn't count him. And judging from all the things now, she should like her brother. Her scheming is just right to help her brother in the future. "I've been convincing myself like this over and over again.

"Miss, what are you thinking?" Rulan came in and saw me holding a book, but her eyes were blank, and she interrupted my thoughts, and then she stuffed a soup woman into my quilt and placed it on my right knee.

I smiled and shook my head: "Every time it rains, I feel like I'm in confinement." I can't get out of bed, I can only nest here, and you still have to talk to me, just find me a hat and help me dress up thoroughly. ”

Rulan chuckled: "Miss, you will laugh now." ”

Yes, in the past four years, although the third brother has given me a trace of warmth from time to time, I still feel cold and lonely through the bones, I don't know what arrangements I made for coming to this place, and I don't know what my fate will be, and where my goal is. But the last time I saw him, although I knew that he was not him, it inexplicably made me feel familiar and safe. Even though he betrayed me, I felt as if I had come here to ...... with him Meet him again. I despised this idea from the bottom of my heart, but I couldn't help it. I know that as far as the current situation is concerned, he and I are like parallel lines that can never intersect, just like I analyzed last time, he may marry anyone now, but it cannot be the daughter of the Ding family, not only Ding Muyan, but also me, Ding Muqing.

"Now the whole family is busy, the third young master will soon be engaged to the eldest lady of the Du family, and is preparing for the bride price with the Du family, and in three months, the eldest lady will officially marry the prince, and the second miss is now frequently summoned by Ruan Guifei, as if she admires her talent, so the affairs of the second young lady and the fourth highness have also been spread by the people in the mansion with noses and eyes, maybe it will be prepared for them for a long time......" Rufeng began to play her gossip expertise as soon as she entered the door. I don't have to go out to hear most of the right and wrong at home and even in the entire capital, I can hear most of it from her mouth. And she and everyone in the courtyard seem to have a special gossip sharing mechanism, so although I believe in her loyalty, I will never tell her to go to important and confidential matters, so as not to become a sharing topic in her sharing mechanism.

"Miss, do you think the second miss can really marry the fourth highness?" Like the wind, I began to unconsciously take my words.

"Whether it's true or not, it's not something you can discuss. Besides, the real or fake has nothing to do with your half a dime! "I was a little confused, and I unconsciously spoke the modern language again. Rulan Rufeng frowned unconsciously, fortunately, they were used to it, anyway, if you ask me, I just said which book I saw it, and it was a lot of prevarication, and they knew that it was the standard answer, so they didn't bother to ask again.

Fourth Highnesses, Jiang Yunlin, Yunlin......

Chapter 12: The Nine Emperors

Fast forward and I spent my fifth Chinese New Year's Eve here. The first four Chinese New Year's Eves were accompanied by the third brother, but this Chinese New Year's Eve was not with the third brother. Because a month ago, the third brother had been ordered to receive the order of the inspector and went to the northwest to inspect. Ben said that he rushed back a year ago, but then he received a letter from the third brother, saying that it would take some time to come back, as if he had met some bosom friend, and the expression was quite vague, and I had to guess myself.

In fact, the northwest frontier is the country of Hu in the past, although it is called a country, but in fact it is only a city in the desert. The situation is similar to that of Mongolia in the history I know well: the borders are constantly harassed because of the lack of supplies. The northwestern city of the Ming Dynasty is called Ancheng, which is guarded by Du Yuxuan's grandfather Du Yunqi. And two years ago, the emperor also sent his ninth son, Jiang Yunxiu, to assist in the guards, and this ninth prince was only thirteen years old at that time. At that time, I thought that this Nine Emperor Princes were quite miserable, and at such a young age, he was sent to the border city to drink the "Northwest Wind". I heard that this Jiang Yunxiu's mother is just a palace maid, and she was fortunate to get pregnant because of the emperor's occasional favor. The Nine Emperor Sons were given to Concubine Ruan to raise after birth, and the biological mother seems to have passed away soon. It may be difficult for such a prince to be valued by the emperor, so he will be sent to the frontier.

And the bosom friend that the third brother met this time, I think it is probably the Nine Emperor Princes of the same age as him. When the Nine Emperor Princes first went to the frontier, he made great achievements as a left forward, and later after being taught by Du Yunqi, he showed his excellent military talent. Several solo battles have won a great victory, and now the achievements are impressive, and I heard that the prestige in the army is close to Du Shuai. Before the third brother went, he had already highly respected him in his words, and the post of supervision envoy was also requested by himself, in order to meet the young general. After all, the New Year is the time when the frontier soldiers miss their relatives the most, so the imperial court has this practice.

Sure enough, it wasn't until the eve of the Lantern Festival that the third brother rushed back. Although it was hard, he didn't care, and under his words, he had completely introduced the Nine Emperors as a confidant. praised him as something in the sky and nothing in the ground, from appearance to character to talent, I have never seen the third brother serve a person like this.

"It's true, Qingqing, I'll catch up with a small counterattack from them as soon as I go. Didn't you see Jiang Yunxiu appear on the battlefield, wearing a white robe, like a god descending, those barbarians actually collapsed without a fight, I heard that they were scared by Jiang Yunxiu. Now the three armies are obeying his orders, and the position is not inferior to the generalissimo at all. I competed with him, and I was defeated in a hundred rounds, but I was still defeated! I also want to invite myself to the border pass, cook wine with him and talk about heroes, happy revenge, but it is much more comfortable than hunting in this capital! Men should be like this! ”

The third brother's words, since he came back, I have heard him say many times. If I hadn't known that he was in love with Du Yuxuan, I would have even thought that he was in love with that Jiang Yunxiu, because every time he talked about it, he was excited, his eyes lit up, and his base was full of emotion!

And I could only hit him every time: "Don't worry, Daddy will never let you go to the frontier!" ”

"Why? Yuxuan's elder brother Du Yichun has already stayed there when he went with me this time, and I heard that the marshal has begun to teach him, I am really envious! ”

"He has a younger brother in his family, but you are the only son in my family. Moreover, Marshal Du is Du Yichun's grandfather, and he can be regarded as staying there in his own home. Besides, if you go, what will Sister Du do? Seeing that you and Sister Du are about to get married in April, you are happy to have a grudge, will Sister Du go to the border city with you to suffer or stay in the capital to be a widow? ”

There is another sentence that I didn't say: I'm afraid that the emperor won't rest assured that the third brother will go to the army for training, the Ding family's power in the court is enough, how can the third brother be allowed to stand up in the army again. If it weren't for the third brother's begging this time, I am afraid that the emperor would not even give him a chance to get close to the army.

Actually, from the bottom of my heart, I don't want the third brother to go. One is that because it is really dangerous, from a selfish point of view, I really don't want the third brother to risk himself; Second, the current situation in the court is delicate, with Ding Xiang in the text and Du Shuai in the martial arts. And Concubine Ruan and the Queen Mother control the Hou 0 Palace, and the Ruan family and the Queen Mother's maiden family, the Shen family, also restrain each other. Ding Xiang is now towards the crown prince, Du Shuai is absolutely loyal to the emperor, and the emperor listens to Concubine Ruan, but he has to consider the queen mother, and it is an indisputable fact that the emperor favors the fourth highness. Therefore, at present, all parties in the court are restricted, and no one has an absolute advantage, so Ding Xiang can only plan, but cannot move. If the third brother is in charge of the military, then it means that this balance will be broken, and Ding Xiang will definitely make a move, then ...... He would be dangerous. I don't necessarily have to help him, but at least I don't want to be his enemy.