Different from the lively crowds outside the palace, the harem is as quiet as in the past, and in the Wutong Palace, where the fragrance is permeated, the queen with a peaceful and loving face is listening sideways to the middle-aged woman in front of her who is wearing exquisite makeup and palace clothes.

"My father is not like him now," said the woman, "and my uncle has defeated the barbarians and returned to Beijing all the time, and when he arrived, my father did not say a word of greeting, and hurriedly called back to the palace." When I sent someone to ask, I said that I had been sitting under the city wall for a long time, sweating my collar and bathing. ”

When the queen heard this, her face was not obvious, and she only said lightly, "It's been like this since more than ten years ago, why should you care?" She glanced at the woman meaningfully, and said, "As long as the children and grandchildren below are in order, what is the difference?" That's it, what are you doing with these, why didn't you bring your family Rongyue when you entered the palace today? It's also good to be with Rong An. ”

It turned out that this woman was the queen's daughter-in-law, Princess Hui, although she was over forty years old, her complexion was snow-white and stunningly beautiful, and she looked younger in a crimson palace dress. She called Rong An out of the palace early in the morning, and called Miss Lin of the Shangshu family of the Ministry of War, and at this moment, I don't know which private room in the Star Picking Tower is watching her uncle's convoy into Beijing! ”

"Really?" The queen also laughed, clapped her hands and said, "It's really a monkey spirit!" No wonder I haven't even seen Rong An today," she wiped the corners of her eyes, paused and said, "Speaking of Rong An, did the things that you paid attention to last time have any results?" ”

When Princess Hui heard this, her eyes lit up, she stretched out her hand and hooked the queen's arm affectionately, and said with a smile, "The queen mother doesn't say that I also want to beg with a cheeky face, and ask the queen mother to give her daughter-in-law this favor!" ”

"Oh? How so? The queen asked.

"The day before yesterday, the concubine went back to her parents' house to talk to her sister-in-law, and during the chat, she talked about the matter of the queen mother asking the concubine to pay attention to her husband's family to Rong'an. Who knows, this actually made the daughter-in-law's unsuccessful nephew hear. When he learned about this, he knelt in front of his daughter-in-law with a plop, saying that he had seen Rong An at the palace banquet before, and since then he has never forgotten it, and he begged his mother to give him a chance! ”

"This ......", the queen also laughed when she heard this, and frowned after a little thought, "Isn't that one in your brother's family who has been married for many years, and the children can run away?" ”

"Oh, the queen mother is talking about the eldest brother," Princess Hui said angrily, "doesn't my brother have a younger son?" The one whose name is also white. You hugged it when you turned one! Although he has been weak since he was a child, he rarely goes out, but a few years ago, when you were old, he also entered the palace. Moreover, in last year's scientific examination, he took the first place! Have you forgotten? ”

"Oh-", the queen nodded, and the appearance of a thin and small newborn child really appeared in her mind, and she suddenly remembered that after last year's scientific expedition, she also asked his mother to lead him into the palace to take a look, and vaguely remembered that he was a handsome, tall and thin young man, although he was weaker, fortunately, he was smart and clever, and Rong An was very compatible, and immediately laughed steadily, and said, "Is it really a love at first sight?" ”

"Yes, yes, the concubine asked carefully, and he actually said that if he couldn't marry Rong An, he would rather not marry for the rest of his life! Just because the sincerity is unshakable, you can't let others down. ”

"Good! Good...... "Okay," the queen clapped her hands, her expression full of satisfaction, "although the friendship of young people is not tribulated, it is the most moving. If he has a heart, he will find an excuse for them to meet in a few days! Also," she glanced at Princess Hui, and added, "Now that your uncle has returned, it's time to think about Brother Shan'er." ”

Princess Hui nodded, her eyes rolled and she quipped, "Why does the queen mother need to worry about Brother Shan'er's marriage?" Miss Hayashi is a master of poetry and painting, and is recognized as the first beauty in Kyoto. Are you still afraid that you will not be able to wronged your good brother? ”

The queen nodded her forehead and said, "What is there to be wronged by him?" I'm afraid that I have wronged Miss Lin. When the Qi family was at its peak, the Lin family would never cling to it, only because the two young ladies were close friends in the boudoir, so they got married, and it was agreed that if the two families had a son and a daughter in the future, they would become husband and wife. After the defeat of the Qi family, the Lin family has never been defeated, and has always helped and supported each other, this kind of friendship my Qi family can never forget, and I will definitely marry Miss Lin family in a beautiful and beautiful way. Besides, Brother Shan'er is also very good, and the word came out of the hall in front of him, saying that he had the demeanor of the Wen family in the past. ”

"Why don't you ask your father to give you a marriage?"

"Good!" The queen really agreed very much, and said, "If you want to give marriage, you have to choose a grand day to give marriage!" ”

The two were talking, both with happy and satisfied looks, but a eunuch came to report outside the door, saying that the prince of the protector and the prince had entered the palace, because the emperor was still bathing, so he came to greet the queen first.

When Princess Hui heard this, she immediately stood up and saluted and said with a smile, "Congratulations to the concubine, now it can be regarded as a family reunion." ”

"Where is the family reunion?" The queen also smiled, "When your husband comes back from the flood in the south of the Yangtze River, it can be regarded as a serious reunion!" ”

"Yes, the concubine will go home and repair a book for the prince, so that the prince can come back." After speaking, she was led by the palace people from the side door, and the queen saw her leave, dressed up the pale yellow palace dress and headdress, and looked up to see two men walking in front of the door.

Both of them are wearing battle armor, and there is still a slight smell of blood and a murderous aura on their bodies, the former has two sideburns and white beards, his old face is wrinkled, a faint scar extends from the tail of the eye to the ear, the left hand is behind the back, and the right hand is holding the sword at the waist tightly, although he is old, he is not rickety, but has a majestic state. The young man behind him looked at him for no more than two years, but he did not have half of the childishness of a young man, his eyes were clear and his complexion was slightly yellow, and his appearance was actually a first-class handsome, he also held the sword at his waist, his steps were extremely steady, as if he was walking on the field, his eyes were looking straight ahead, and his eyebrows were full of perseverance and stability.

The two entered the hall and immediately knelt down and saluted, "The ministers pay a visit to the queen mother, and respectfully invite the queen mother to be sainte." ”

The queen immediately came over to help the two of them, looked at Qi Yan and Qi Shan, and unconsciously burst into tears, choked up and said, "Brother has worked hard all the way!" ”

After speaking, she took Qi Shan's hand again, looked at him carefully, and said, "Shan'er is so old now, do you remember your aunt and grandmother?" ”

When Qi Shan heard this, he knelt down with the queen's men and said, "My aunt and grandmother are kind, and my grandson will never dare to forget it." I haven't seen you for many years, I don't know if my aunt and grandmother are okay? ”

"Good, good, everything is fine with my aunt and grandmother!" The queen was even more satisfied, she wiped her tears and hurriedly sat the two of them, and ordered the palace maid to serve tea and snacks. I remember that every time I entered the palace in the past, it was like a busy traffic, but now there are even half of the palace maids? ”

When the queen heard this, she sighed lightly and said melancholy, "The Qi family is prosperous, and there are naturally many people who come and go. Besides, although my brother is based in the southwest, he should also know that since the emperor was injured by the Xiao Ji family more than ten years ago, he hated and feared women, not only dismissed the palace concubines and maids, but even relied on eunuchs to serve for food, clothing, housing and transportation on weekdays. Although he still gives me the dignity of the queen, he is not easy to meet on weekdays. ”

After that, she glanced at Qi Shan embarrassedly, saw that he was upright and had no disdain, and looked at her with faint concern, and then sneered, "Actually, it's very good, I've long been disheartened by him, but I'm afraid of the concubines next to me." Now he doesn't see me, but he doesn't see anyone else, and he only gets close to a few granddaughters and princesses on weekdays, so I am at ease. ”

When Qi Yan heard this, he lowered his head and thought about it slightly, and sure enough, he thought it was good, so he said, "It's okay." Only you remember, now that I have returned to Beijing, I have never asked others to bully you, and there is always a brother to protect you in everything. ”

As soon as these words came out, the estrangement between the brothers and sisters that had not been seen for more than ten years immediately disappeared, and the queen was about to cry, but the palace maid who guarded the door came in to spread the word, saying that Princess Rong'an and the county lord Rongyue came to ask for peace.

When the queen heard this, she immediately laughed, ordered someone to call them in, and said to Qi Yan, "These two girls should come to see you, but one is quiet and doesn't like to talk, and the other is a girl who does everything from heaven to earth!" ”

After speaking, I saw two young girls walking in outside the door, holding hands intimately, both wearing gorgeous and delicate palace skirts, and wearing the same delicate and agile headdress, the two were of equal size, like siblings. Only the one on the left seemed to be taller, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, a pair of apricot eyes narrowed, and his cheeks bulging like a tree rat in the mountains. The other is thinner, but the facial features are heroic but the small mole at the corner of the eye adds a bit of coquettishness for no reason, a pair of willow leaf eyes are slender and bright, Qi Shan looked at it, this is actually the girl he saw on the street today!

He stabilized his mind, and saw the two girls walking in front of him, and saluted the queen in a very regular manner, and the girl with a round face and a lively face turned sideways and saluted Qi Yan and Qi Shan, "Rong Yue greets my uncle and grandfather!" Meet my cousin! After the ceremony, he took two or three steps to the queen and leaned crookedly on the queen, and another gourd painting scoop also saluted, but when he faced him, his face was slightly red, obviously knowing who he was.

Qi Shan didn't break it, and he didn't see the two girls standing on both sides of the queen on the left and right, like the fairy daughter on the side of the queen mother. I heard the queen take the round-faced girl's hand and say, "This is your nephew King Hui's youngest daughter Jinghan, fifteen years old, the most eccentric!" He pointed to the girl by the window and said, "This is the only daughter of King Ling, called Jingci, seventeen years old, and her temperament is excellent," paused, and said to Qi Shan, "Brother Shan, have you seen your cousins?" ”

Qi Shan pretended not to know, and got up again and saluted, "I've seen Princess Rong'an, I've seen Lord Rongyue." ”

Jing Han hid behind the queen and did not answer, but Jing Ci said politely, "In Beijing, I often hear that the young general of the Qi family is brave and good at fighting, and he is smart, and when I see it today, I know that what I said is true. My cousin was polite. ”

When Qi Shan heard this, he blurted out, "My cousin praises falsely." ”

Jing Ci was stunned, obviously he didn't expect that this young general was such a person who climbed the pole, so he also stood quietly behind the queen and said no more.

After that, Qi Yan asked a few more words about King Hui's body and family, and talked about King Ling's old affairs, so he led Qi Shan and the queen to say goodbye and go forward to take up his post with the emperor.

After the two finished their work and had a banquet in the palace, they only left the palace when they were in the palace, and when they finally went out of the palace gate, General Feng Ke squeezed forward and said, "Young General, I found out who the first beauty in Kyoto is!" ”

Qi Shan looked straight ahead, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "No need, I already know who she is." ”

With that, he kicked the horse's belly and walked away, leaving General Falco in confusion and muttering, "What does this mean?" Could it be that Major General already knew that Lin Ruowei, the first beauty in Kyoto, had a marriage contract with him? ”