Two bowls of hot paste-like porridge went down, and Zhu Gaoxu felt that his stomach was warm and conscious again, just like a man who had not been close to a woman for a long time, and once again hugged a certain warm and soft body into his arms.

After Zhu Gaoxu and Veda were full, there was still a lot of porridge left in the pot. When the others wake up, add a little more firewood to warm up and eat.

When Wang Bin and others came over before, the carriage they took stayed in the restaurant. Zhu Gaoxu and Veda drove the carriage out.

Unfortunately, there were raindrops in the sky, and the clouds were very thick, so I was afraid that heavy rain was coming.

Passers-by on the streets of Kunming City are in a hurry, and people are busy sheltering from the rain. The busy scene of pedestrians in long robes and short clothes, as well as barbarians in strange costumes, seems to inject some vitality into this quaint city.

After all, if people were so busy without this rain, this place would be prosperous.

Sure enough, the rain soon fell heavily and gradually spread. On both sides of the street, the quaint and slightly old houses on the top of the hill were connected by the heat of the rain and the splash of the heavy rain, and a white mist gradually rose between the sky and the earth.

Just like Zhu Gaoxu's mood at the moment. He has been away from Yunnan for a year, and today he just arrived in Kunming City, and suddenly he has a little strangeness; He also left from Beijing in a hurry, and he could only see the affairs of the court vaguely.

Veda wore a large hat and sat in front as a groom, and they drove the carriage along the streets of the city to the northwest. First, I passed through the more prosperous downtown area, and after the south of Caihaizi, there were fewer and fewer people on the road, which seemed a bit barren.

Shen Xu's mansion is in this place, and the location of his residence is considered remote in Kunming City. On a rainy day, the scene outside the Shen family's mansion didn't even see a pedestrian on the street.

The carriage stopped next to the gate. Veda turned to take a glued envelope and stepped out of the carriage, holding on to his big hat and hurried towards the gatehouse.

Fortunately, it was a felt car, and although it was raining heavily outside, Zhu Gaoxu sat inside, at least he wouldn't get wet.

After waiting for a while, Veda returned. Wei Da's figure with an umbrella went straight through the rain curtain, walked to the position in front of the car, turned his head and said, "Mrs. Shen didn't go to the pear orchard, she happened to be in the house." Let's drive the car straight into the house. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Okay." ”

An ordinary felt cart, with the permission of the door, rushed into the house. Zhu Gaoxu didn't get out of the car from beginning to end, so there would be no idle people waiting to see who was here.

In front of a gatehouse, the carriage stopped. Zhu Gaoxu opened the back door, Wei Da held up an umbrella to help Zhu Gaoxu cover the top of his head, and the flowing water on the eaves hit the umbrella, and the sound suddenly became louder.

Zhu Gaoxu walked straight into the gatehouse, and as soon as he walked under the eaves of the blue tiles inside, he saw Shen Xu, who was wearing a dark skirt, standing on the eaves in front.

When Zhu Gaoxu approached along the corridor of the eaves, Shen Xu clasped his hands in front of his abdomen and bent his knees: "His Royal Highness the King of Han, don't come unharmed?" ”

"Something's wrong." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Shen Xu said: "Your Highness, please." ”

In the Shen family's mansion, a large area is a one-story building with green tiles and tiles, without glazed tiles and colorful paint, this rich residence does not look so luxurious.

The quaint house and the dark dress set off the skin on Shen Xu's face and neck that was very white and shiny. She also wore a gown of a different color on her upper body, which she felt cool after the rain and put it on at home.

The silk fabric on her body is flawless, and her skin, which is weak and muscular, is smooth and delicate. When you see Shen Xu's family at a glance, you can know that in this era, only the rich and noble can be like this.

This is a living room, and Zhu Gaoxu sits down on a mahogany Taishi chair. Shen Xu personally made tea and stepped forward, taking advantage of the time between doing trivial things, she looked at Zhu Gaoxu carefully repeatedly, and when she approached the coffee table, she asked, "I don't know when His Highness will return to Yunnan?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu replied: "This morning." I didn't want Mu Sheng to know about my return for the time being, so I avoided people as much as possible. Maybe it's just in vain, after we enter Yunnan, who knows if someone who knows Mu Sheng has found out? ”

"I see." Shen Xu said.

Zhu Gaoxu began to look at her, and always felt that Shen Xu was a little strange. She also found Zhu Gaoxu's unscrupulous gaze, and hurriedly reached out and gently touched her cheek, revealing an embarrassed smile: "Your Highness, what's wrong?" ”

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu finally caught what was wrong with her, that is, when she smiled, her face was also faintly covered with a trace of sadness and depression.

It's no wonder that when they met just now, although Shen Xu's face was full of surprise and concern, his expression and demeanor were different from before. When they met before, whether Shen Xu was trying his best to please or skillfully controlling the distance between each other, they were full of enthusiasm. When people have a picture, of course, they will have enthusiasm.

And when they met again today, Shen Xu's expression was as if he felt that nothing was boring or powerless.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, and then asked, "What happened in Jingshi, Mrs. Shen already knows?" ”

Shen Xu nodded and said: "The big thing must be known, the officials of the three divisions of Yunnan have all worn filial piety clothes for three days." The edict of the eldest brother of the king of Han on the throne was also sent from the Di newspaper. There is also the fact that the King of Han criticized the East Palace in public in Beijing, and it also spread quickly. Even if it is thousands of miles away, people with a heart can always hear the news. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he nodded slightly, and now he could understand Shen Xu's feelings.

…… Zhu Gaoxu suddenly remembered a story about the ancient city of Pompeii. The story goes that the ancient city was full of all kinds of contradictions and strife, and just when people were inseparable, suddenly a volcano erupted, and everyone was buried under the ash, and the natural story ended.

The competition of mortals was obviously powerless to compete with the wrath of the heavens, and suddenly became an ant-like existence.

The Shen Xu clan used to travel between the Mu Mansion and the Min Wangfu, and later the Han Wangfu also joined. She has obviously done a lot of things in order to prevent the family property from being annexed, and for more profits. Zhu Gaoxu even guessed that even the value of her stepdaughter Shen Baoyan seemed to be within the scope of Shen Xu's business.

However, the struggle for imperial power suddenly intensified, reaching a fever pitch. Shen Xu unfortunately found that she could no longer escape...... With Shen Xu's cleverness, I am afraid that it can be easily imagined that in the Yunnan jade business, the alliance between the Shen family and the Han Wangfu is difficult to keep secret; King Min was squeezed out of Yunnan, and his desire to annex the Shen family was frustrated, and he may also hold a grudge. In short, it is impossible for the Shen family to dissociate themselves from the Han Wangfu now.

For a businessman, the struggle for imperial power, and even the civil war of the entire Ming Dynasty, is no longer within her control. Just as mortals can't control how a volcano erupts.

Zhu Gaoxu said in his heart: It is no longer a matter of one person to raise troops now, and a large number of people will be involved in this whirlpool, which is completely uncontrollable.

At this moment, Shen Xu's voice interrupted Zhu Gaoxu's trance-like thoughts. When he raised his head, he saw Shen Xu say with a serious face: "King Han has always treated his concubine well, and if there is a useful place, the concubine will not hesitate to go bankrupt." ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at her and immediately believed Shen Xu's words. If she wasn't short-sighted, that's what she should do...... Once the Han Wangfu fails, the Shen family will be involved in the great crime of rebellion, and there will be nothing left, and it will be difficult for the Shen family to even survive.

However, her generosity, I am afraid, is not out of gratitude and willingness, but is really inseparable from helplessness and powerlessness?

Zhu Gaoxu hugged his fists and said: "If this king wins, he will not treat Mrs. Shen badly." ”

Shen Xu looked at him with some grief and anticipation, and nodded vigorously.

Seeing her worried appearance, she didn't even save kind words, it was obvious that Shen Xu was very optimistic about Zhu Gaoxu.

In the past, Zhu Gaoxu boasted in front of her that he had passed Haikou and put down the Yiren rebellion in Yuezhou for two months, but Shen Xu was not optimistic at that time, but Zhu Gaoxu did it...... But this kind of thing can't make Shen Xu believe that he still has a chance of winning this time. After all, whether it is the people of Yuezhou Yi or the native people of Luchuan, Zhu Gaoxu has a strong strength advantage.

This time it is against the Ming court, how can you be sure? Even Zhu Gaoxu himself was not sure, so he did not blame Shen Xu for not believing him.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Now I need Mrs. Shen to help me do a small thing, can you quietly call Mu Zhen out?" ”

Shen Xu pondered for a moment and said, "The concubine asked Li Lou to try it first." ”

So Zhu Gaoxu told Shen Xu how Mu Zhen secretly ran out. It was on the banyan street west of Mu Mansion that Mu Zhen came out of a Yi slave's house every time. These things, Zhu Gaoxu's "palace guard" has already been investigated.

"It's better to meet at Shen Yuan at the back of the theater, at least people outside can't tell whether Mu Zhen is running to listen to the play or who she is meeting with." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Shen Xu said: "The concubine will do it." After a while, he called Xu Cailiu over and took the prince to Shen Yuan. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

Shen Xu got up and said, "Wait a minute, the concubine will come when she goes." There is a tandoor next to it, so if you want to drink tea, do it yourself. I'm going to have to snub you. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's okay, we are on the road, and we have suffered more than this." ”

"The prince does look tired."

Shen Xu said goodbye and quickly disappeared at the door.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered, and when Xu Cailiu arrived, he would go straight to the gate outside the small courtyard to get into the carriage, and still take the carriage to the pear orchard.

He sat alone in this tiled house, listening to the noisy sound of rain outside, looking thoughtful. Sitting still for long periods of time, he occasionally changed his posture and looked up at the rain outside.

When will the hazy rain dissipate and the clouds will see the sun?