With the help of his brother over the years, Ning Yan has lightened the burden on his shoulders a lot, and gradually shifted his focus to dealing with the housekeeping of the house.

Originally, she initially proposed to transfer the internal affairs to Qing Ling, one was out of courtesy, and the other was to test Qing Ling's attitude towards her brother, but after being rejected by the other party, she had no intention of insisting on it. Sending someone to ask Qingling right now is just a formality, and I expect that she will definitely refuse again.

But I didn't know that Qing Ling agreed very happily this time, and then under the guise of learning and asking for advice, he ate and drank in the study of Ning Yan every day.

At the beginning, Ning Yan taught quite carefully, and explained the matters of the Hou Mansion, from expenses to personnel arrangements, to Qingling one by one.

In the palace of the imperial marquis of Daze, in addition to Baili Yu and a pair of children, there are also several side rooms and concubines of the imperial marquis. Qing Ling heard Ah Jing mention that Emperor Hao had selected a woman from the Chaoyan clan to give to the imperial marquis, probably with the intention of giving birth to an heir with pure divine blood, in order to replace Luo Yao's position as the son. However, Bailiyu did not care about these women, although he allocated the rich and spacious West Garden for them to live, take care of their food, clothing, housing and transportation, but almost never met them.

Qing Ling naturally saw the relationship between China and China thoroughly, but he didn't ask too much, only glanced at the daily expenses of Xiyuan a few times, and secretly sighed, "Lord Hou is really generous to his daughter!" ”

Ning Yan's expression was faint, "They are all people who serve their father, and they should be like this." ”

Qing Ling lowered his eyes and flipped through the scroll again, "Your brother...... Don't you have a concubine or something? ”

Ning Yan glanced at Qing Ling, as if she was figuring out her expression, and shook her head, "No." ”

"Oh."

Qing Ling nodded casually, closed the scroll, and sighed again: "Your Dazehou Mansion is really rich!" The place is not big, but the cost is not less than that of Suzaku Palace. The degree of food and clothing, the procurement is the best, and even the pearlescent silk produced in the southern continent must be used for a casual window! In the past, I couldn't see where he had any money when I looked at Xiao Qi, but today I turned over this account book and realized that the rumors that you are rich in the world are not false. ”

Ning Yan observed Qingling for a long time, retracted his gaze at this moment, and said in a slightly cold tone: "You supervised the treasury before, how could you not know Daze's strength?" If it weren't for the rich world of the Baili clan, how could Your Majesty marry you to your brother? ”

Qing Ling heard the faint displeasure in Ning Yan's tone, and raised her eyes to look at her in a little surprise.

Ning Yan did not dodge or dodge, and continued: "I know that you are not happy about this marriage. ”

Qing Ling tried to argue, "Where do I have ......?"

"Didn't you?" Ning Yan stared at her, and the corners of her mouth seemed to be taunted, "Although I am not a very smart person, I have followed my father in and out of business since I was a child, and I have learned to recognize people and things, and I still have a little eyesight." You have been in the mansion for so long, and when you open your mouth, you are still 'you Daze' and 'your Houfu', and you still call your father 'Yuhou' behind your back, and you never call your brother's name. These things are small, but they are the ones that reveal the most true thoughts in your heart. You don't see yourself as a member of the Baili clan at all, or rather, you don't see yourself as your brother's wife at all. Right? ”

Qing Ling chuckled in his heart. In the past, I always felt that Ning Yan was indifferent, but she ignored her extraordinary ability as the hostess of the Baili clan for so long, experienced and accumulated. Think about it, she has been with the cunning Bailiyu father and son for hundreds of years, how stupid can she be?

Qing Ling stopped arguing and smiled, "Everything needs a process to adapt. I'm new to Daze, so of course it takes time, right? Climbing Ning Yan's shoulder intimately, "Even if I really had something unhappy in my heart, I just saw your house...... Oh no, I couldn't have been more happy with our family's rich books! ”

She joked on her lips, and said in her heart: If I hadn't agreed to marry into your family, maybe I would have to marry you to my father! Look at you, you still don't appreciate me......

Ning Yan stared at Qingling silently, remembering the sad sound of the flute from the post house on the night when his brother got married, the mystery that pressed to the bottom of his heart surged out again, and he hesitated several times to ask, but finally held back, lowered his voice, and said slowly: "My brother is ...... He is a very good person, please cherish it. ”

Qing Ling stayed by Ning Yan's side like this, avoiding Xu Di's chatter, and dragged on until the New Year, but nothing happened.

But none of the news from Ling Xiao City could make her feel a little grateful.

After the marriage between the Fang Shan clan and the Chun Yu clan, they began to use this relationship and the influence of the Chun Yu clan in the south to quickly control the officials and financial affairs of several small countries newly included in the territory of Chaoyan. Yan Ye, Zhong Qi and Yu Zhong have just died in the country, and there are countless places where they can do their hands and feet, Fang Shan Xiuzi spares no effort to install people and fill the vacancy. In terms of finance and taxation, because Fang Shanlei was gradually valued by Emperor Hao, he had already suppressed Mu Chen's two henchmen, Ming Zhanyuan and Qiu Xiangyi, to the death, and it was difficult to make a difference.

Because of the last southern expedition, Fang Shanxiu realized the importance of military power, and did not dare to be careless, so he eagerly set up a family affair for his eldest son Fang Shanlei, and chose Xi Ying, a young lady of the Xi family who was born in the general, hoping to increase the influence of the Fang Shan clan in the army.

Mu Chen, who was in Lingxiao City, knew that these news could not be hidden from Qingling after all, so he wrote to her to tell her not to worry about the situation in the court.

But how could Qing Ling be completely unconcerned?

When I thought of the hard work I had put into paying taxes in the past, in the most difficult period, I had worked hard to expand the ways of income, and the treasury was full at the cost of marriage, and I was actually making a wedding dress for Fang Shan's family, and I must have felt a little unwilling.

But these are unwilling, and they can't be expressed on the surface.

If he made demands and conditions to Emperor Hao, he would inevitably and in turn ask her about having a child......

On New Year's Eve, Windy City has always had the custom of taking a boat ride and displaying lanterns.

According to the practice of previous years, the celebration was presided over by the patriarch of the Baili clan. So at the beginning of the night, Bailiyu took his family, female dependents and VIPs to climb the city tower in the west of the city, facing the vast West Sea that gradually turned into deep blue under the sunset.

The city gate at your feet, leading to the ocean, was already crowded with many small boats decorated with lanterns, floating brightly in the current. The people on the ship looked up at Baili Yu who had climbed the city tower, and let out a lively cheer, while each clenched the oars in their hands, and just waited for an order, they were about to rush into the magnificent sea that had nourished their ancestors for thousands of years.

Baili Yu took an ice crystal bow and crossbow from the hand of the attendant, aimed at the ocean outside the city, injected divine power into the arrow, and shot it out with great force.

The ice arrow entered the water, and then a large wave was rolled up, rushing towards the direction of the castle tower. The people on the boat, however, were not afraid, but shouted with joy, shook their oars, and rushed to the surface of the sea with white spray.

Luo Yao, who was standing beside Qing Ling with his hands in his hands, explained to her, "This is Daze's custom. Only those who have the courage to brave the stormy seas will make their New Year's resolutions come true. ”

Qing Ling leaned over and looked at the various colored boats that were struggling to gush out in the anxious waves, and said secretly in his heart, no wonder the masters of the Protoss from Daze, almost everyone practiced the water system exercises, otherwise, they would rush to this strange custom one after another, even if they originally wanted to refine the fire system or something, they could only be extinguished in the end......

She straightened up, looked back and saw Bai Liyu, who had just put away his crossbow, staring at the sea, with a faint gloom on his face, and then suddenly covered his mouth and coughed violently.

Ning Yan stepped forward, as if he wanted to hold his father, but was stopped by Bai Liyu waving his hand.

Bai Liyu struggled to stop coughing, turned around, maintained his usual elegant posture, and slowly walked down the tower. Ning Yan stood in place, and his tightly pursed lips revealed a touch of sadness and anger.

Qing Ling was a little suspicious, and looked up at Luo Yao, "Master Hou...... What happened to your father? Are you really sick? ”

Since the Great War hundreds of years ago, Baili Yu has always avoided contact with the Central Plains clan, often handing over most of the official affairs to his subordinates or children on the grounds of illness. Over time, everyone had the impression that this Daze prince was sick all year round. But Qing Ling knew in his heart that it was just an excuse he made up.

Luo Yao lowered his eyes, his fingers lightly supported the battlements of the city wall, and silently looked at the colorful boat flow under the city.

After a while, he slowly raised his eyes, his eyes reflected the sparks surging in the sea below him, seemed to hesitate for a long time, and said in a low voice: "My father and my mother met on Chinese New Year's Eve in Windy City. ”

Couples who had loved each other deeply and were once united despite the opposition of their families and the world, eventually parted ways because of the war between Chaoyan and Jiuqiu. For hundreds of years, they lived in a corner and never saw each other again.

Qing Ling looked up at Luo Yao, and saw that his handsome face was set against the dark blue night background, revealing an uncommon loneliness and melancholy, and in an instant, it seemed to make all the glitz and noise around him disappear......

After a while, a servant came up to tell him that the colorful boat for the Barrys to go to sea was also ready.

Luo Yao and Ning Yan, together with their relatives and friends, as well as the guests who came to participate in the celebration, went down to the city tower, boarded the tall double-decker colored boat, and slowly sailed to the sea with the flow of the people in the city.

The people who have reached the front of the boat have begun to put lanterns full of good wishes into the sea one after another. Qing Ling leaned on the side of the boat, looking at the brilliant lights spreading out on the water in the distance.

Chun Yuyan walked to Qing Ling's side, carrying a lotus lantern in his hand, "What is Emperor Ji's New Year's wish?" ”

Qing Ling picked his eyes and looked at the lantern in Chun Yuyan's hand, "Isn't it?" Do you still believe this? ”

Chun Yuyan turned the lamp and smiled narrowly, "I heard that it is the person who fought with the waves just now that he can be sure of seeking the favor of the sea god." I'm like this, it's obvious that I'm just putting on a show, squeezing in the girls' pile while the lights are on, and taking advantage of it. ”

Qing Ling spat out, "Shameless." ”

Chun Yuyan laughed, leaned on the side of the boat, and quietly looked at the colorful lights gradually increasing on the sea.

Qing Ling turned his head to look at Ning Yan and Luo Yao, who were standing not far away and greeting the elders of the clan, and said to Chun Yuyan: "Instead of squeezing the girl you don't know, you might as well directly ask Ning Yan to go with you to put the lanterns." In terms of beauty and talent, looking at the whole Daze, who can compare to her? ”