The continuous Black Mountain Range separates the intermediate boundary between Yunzhou and Yanzhou.

Previously, Emperor Xiaozong moved the Xiao family, who had been stationed in Yanzhou for generations, to the neighboring Yunzhou, and Mingli said that he was pitiful to the Jingguo Mansion who sacrificed many men for the country, and did not want Xiao Rui, who was the only remaining fruit, to go to the front line again but not far away from his homeland.

And in the roads around Yunzhou, Gan and other prefectures, it is the way for the Xiao family to return to Luojing.

The two states of Youyan are now controlled by the Youzhou Shi family, which was supported by the Han State, and in the early years, Shi Da, the head of the Shi family, had already claimed the title of emperor, established a pseudo-Qi country, and used the "Jianyan" year.

The Yunzhou soldiers who were originally used to take care of the Xiao family had to become guards on the front line, and they had several frictions with the pseudo-Qi on the border, winning less and losing more.

Xiao Hong rushed back to Yunzhou in the tenth year of Taiye, and was able to catch up with his father Xiao Rui's untidy "big birthday", and also caught up with his father's jubilant gathering of relatives and friends, and the local military and political officials in Yunzhou who came to celebrate his birthday from top to bottom.

The banner of Jing Guogong was re-raised, and Xiao Rui's behavior of seizing the military and political power of Yunzhou was impassioned.

He is the heir of the prince of Jingguo who swore to guard the border for the country from the beginning of the Chen Dynasty, no matter how ridiculous he was when he was young, he still has the blood of the Xiao family in his bones, not to mention that Xiao is still the uncle of today's bixia, a serious national relative.

If the officials in Yunzhou do not act, the Xiao family will naturally take action to replace them.

The Xiao family's seizure of power was not fundamentally different from that of the Shi family back then, but it was enough after all.

After the complete victory of a big battle between Taiye and the puppet Qi State in the winter of the tenth year, the Xiao family has firmly controlled Yunzhou and is about to start seeking a broader space.

Thousands of miles away in Luojing City, it is said that there are thieves and wolves on all sides, and the city is even more because of the heavy food burden due to the continuous disasters, and Emperor Chen is determined to tour the south. It has been decided to start the dragon boat from the Luo River in June of the 11th year of Taiye.

Under such circumstances, there is no better opportunity to justify his name than to send troops to King Qin.

But if you want to go south, there must always be a smooth road, and the adjacent Luzhou He family is a world friend, but if you add more sincerity to the contract on the interests that have been negotiated, it will naturally be more haode.

In April, the soldiers and horses of Yunzhou did not move. It was not grain and grass that arrived in Luzhou first, but a low-key courtship team.

Xiao Ze, the prince of Jingguo, once again pretended to be the old man of the moon and came out for his younger brother's marriage.

The head of the He family, He Minglan's grandfather, He Kun, opened the door and greeted Xiao Ze and his party. And Xiao Ze, who entered the He family, did not mention the main topic, but still worshiped his former friend who died early.

He Ming died less than the anniversary, and the unmarried sisters in the inner courtyard were still serving the deceased.

The deceased is gone, and the backyard lady wrapped in a plain robe and green clothes heard the news that Xiao Ze arrived with a heavy gift. They all showed joy in unison, and even some of them floated up with some ambiguous eyes, and directly thought of He Minglan's head.

Among the daughters of the He family who have not left the cabinet, the seventeen-year-old He Minglan is the largest, but the family affairs have not yet been settled.

In the past few years, it was because He Minglan was the most beautiful among the girls in the He family and the one He Kun liked the most, so naturally she chose the most haode. And since she went to Xiao Rui's birthday banquet in Yunzhou last year, she hasn't talked about family affairs for a long time. It wasn't for He Ming's bad news, but for her earth-shattering sentence at the banquet.

Then. It's a coincidence.

First of all, the fourth lady of the He family and several old acquaintances and sisters who came to Yunzhou talked privately about the little girl, and mentioned that her sister likes the sixth son of the Xiao family but may not like her, which made Minglan listen, and shouted with red eyes and throat, "I just married Xiao Liu, so what?" ”

This bold word was not only listened to by the little girls. The wives who happened to go together to look at the girls of each family also listened correctly, of course, Mrs. Xiao Xu, and He Minglan's mother-in-law Li.

At the moment, there are ladies who are familiar with both families clapping their hands and praising each other, saying that this family is the best. And Mrs. Xu also took Minglan's hand affectionately. After a few words of relief, he directly took the permeable jasper bracelet he was carrying and put it on Minglan's wrist.

I thought this was the prelude to the Xiao family's approval of Xiao He's marriage, but I didn't want to, and it was Xiao Hong, the sixth elder of the Xiao family, who directly stated the news that he had been married in front of He Kun.

Mrs. He Li felt uncomfortable, and she really sent someone to inquire, but several old relatives couldn't tell whose daughter Xiao Xiaoliu had decided.

Xiaoliu of the Xiao family may be an excuse to refuse to kiss, but this attitude shows that they don't mean anything to Minglan, so what can they do? If you want to blame, you can only blame your own daughter for saying the wrong thing recklessly.

The He family didn't mention the plan to marry the Xiao family again, and when Jingguo Gong took advantage of the birthday banquet to clean up the affairs of Yunzhou, he said goodbye and returned to Luzhou.

Then, the He family got the bad news that He Ming was killed by bandits on the road.

After He Ming's aftermath was cleaned up, and then thinking about the Xiao family's affairs, everyone from He Kun and below felt a little uneasy.

The Son does not kill Beren, but Beren dies for the Son. If it weren't for the safety of the Xiao family, He Ming would not have stayed in Qingyuan at all, so that he died young, leaving only a child less than three years old.

Therefore, this time Xiao Ze actually led someone to Luzhou in person, and the He family's instinct was that the Xiao family was determined to marry in order to make up for it.

The marriage partner should still be Xiao Xiaoliu and He Minglan.

Although the man is too arrogant, the marriage is to get married with two surnames, not to mention that the daughter likes it. So as soon as he got the news, the Li family went straight to his daughter He Minglan's yard, and brought his youngest daughter Mingqi who caused the accident at the beginning.

Walking on the road and listening to her mother, the little girl who seemed calm and a little timid compared to last year was relieved.

That time, the fast mouth made the sister who used to treat her very close to her like an enemy, and the eldest brother He Ming is no longer like before, and he will no longer coax each other between the two sisters as before.

The door of the banquet room in the courtyard was wide open, and the mother and daughter sat together, while He Minglan personally ordered tea for her mother, while waiting for the mother-in-law who was probing the news in the front yard to report quickly.

He Minglan was dressed in plain blue clothes, even after listening to the speculation of his mother and sister whispering about the arrival of the Xiao family brother, he just hummed softly, without any joy, quiet as water.

Mingqi accompanied him with caution, and Li raised a handkerchief from time to time to cover the corners of his mouth with a smile in the middle of the two sisters. After a long while, He Minglan gently curled the corners of her mouth.

The harmonious atmosphere in the room gradually warmed up, so that the mother-in-law who tiptoed to the door was not sure what kind of expression to use to report the good news that Old Man He let the inner courtyard be transmitted.

"The slave has come to say hello to the second lady and the fourth lady!" , frustrated the back molars, and the old woman at some ages still decided to say it according to Old Man He's instructions.

Hearing this, Li Shi turned his face and raised his eyebrows, waved his hand and was about to call people in. But the hand was suddenly fixed in mid-air, "Fourth Miss? ”

"Yes! Say hello to Miss Four! The old woman simply walked up to He Mingqi, who was also stunned, and bowed and said: "Xiao Shizi of Jingguo Mansion came to ask the old lady to marry the fourth lady Mingqi for his eighth brother Xiao Long, and the old lady has already agreed. The special slave maid came to the second lady and asked for the fourth lady's Geng post for Najib's marriage. ”

"Xiao Long marry me?" Thirteen-year-old He Mingqi stood up in a daze and pointed to himself. The young boy who also liked to revolve around his sister in the impression was going to become his fiancé like this, and the little girl didn't expect it.

A cold laugh rang out beside Mingqi, and then, a pot of freshly boiling water slammed into the ground. Splash all around.

"Minglan!" , Li Shi stepped to protect the little daughter who was scared and cried, and his dissatisfied eyes glared at the big one.

The bright girl on the opposite side glared back without showing weakness, pointed her outstretched finger to the door, and pouted and cried at the poor girl, and said, "He Mingqi, are you proud now?" If you're proud, go back to your incense courtyard and laugh! ”

Li whispered a few words to Mingqi, who was crying more fiercely. opened his mouth to say a few more words to his eldest daughter, but he didn't know how to persuade him. I had to pull through my daughter's mother Qi and whispered a few words, and then left the courtyard with Mingqi, whose calf was burned.

In the following days, the care of the He family seemed to have shifted overnight to Mingqi, who was originally scheduled to marry into the Xiao family about two years later, and Miss Hesan's Yuhua Courtyard became a place for everyone to avoid.

In fact, except for the first time when he heard the news, he lost control and angered his little sister who had killed him at the beginning, He Minglan had already readjusted his mood, but his family was now more concerned about Mingqi, who was burned. Instead, I want to leave her to dry up and calm down more.

"Mother Qi! In fact, Xiao Hong and Xiao Long are not good matches, right? To put it bluntly, they are all dispensable existences of the Xiao family. If I want to marry, I will naturally marry a man who is a hundred times better than them. ”

Looking at the beautiful and vivid face in the mirror that was more beautiful and vivid than He Mingqi and other women, He Minglan raised her eyebrows confidently and showed even more arrogance.

"Miss is naturally the most haode. The slave maid said that the young lady would make it even if she was the queen's mother. ”。 A middle-aged woman in her forties and fifties standing beside He Minglan smiled. A black mole the size of a bean in the right corner of the thin lips became more distinct as he spoke.

"Mother Qi always loves flattery!" , the pretty face in the mirror, with some anger between her eyebrows, but the corners of her mouth are more curved, and she commanded in a low voice: "Is the ointment that Lan'er asked you to prepare?" If it's okay, we'll take it with me to see my sister. ”

Mingqi and Xiao Long's marriage was negotiated, and He Minglan simply rejected the idea of entering the Xiao family again.

Sisters marrying a family together is a pure waste for the He family, which does not have many daughters to be married. This basic truth, He Minglan naturally knows it clearly.

It's just that the bad effects caused by saying the wrong thing in the past may have put her family affairs off for another two years. He Minglan felt helpless, but it was a good thing to think that she would have more time to look at people.

"The old slave came back after purchasing the proper materials. If it weren't for the information from my goddaughter, the old slave wouldn't have been able to find a southern merchant who sold this kind of scalding medicine! While Qi's mother showed her efforts to buy the best medicine, she did not forget to pull her newly recognized goddaughter.

"Mother's goddaughter is the newly married daughter-in-law of He Shuxiang in the outer courtyard?" , He Minglan's brows furrowed slightly.

He Shuxiang was originally the personal entourage of his eldest brother He Ming, and he was arranged to work in the outer courtyard after He Ming's death. Thinking that his brother died on the road, but He Shuxiang was also a newly married wife on the way home, Minglan felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

The girl who has grown up since she was a child has high eyebrows and low eyes, how can she not see it?

Mother Qi looked at her face and carefully explained: "The old slave was willing to admit her because Hui Xin and Shuxiang were married by the young master...... The young master instructed Shuxiang to pick her up from the water, but her family unscrupulously said that she was ruined, so the young master simply bought her for money and let her marry ......" (to be continued......