In the evening, Wu Xiang and his son made an appointment to the Zhou Mansion, and Zhou Kui set up a banquet in the lobby as usual, but only the three of them had a banquet. Zhou Kui first congratulated Wu Sangui and his son on their promotion, especially praised Wu Sangui a few words, and then changed the topic and said to Wu Sangui: "Virtuous nephew, you are now entrusted with a heavy task by the emperor, you can be described as a young man's ambition and a high level of attention, but although fame is important, this marriage event should not be taken lightly." ”

This Wu Sangui is a demon in the color, because he has served in the border for a long time, so he has not officially married, but his maid in the mansion does not know how much he has been ruined! Now listening to Zhou Kui, he said respectfully: "Alas! What my uncle said is, but I have been at the border for a long time, and it is rare for me to be able to go home once, and I can't marry a wife in the army, this is the law of the country, and I dare not violate it, and it is difficult to have both national and family affairs. ”

Zhou Kui said to Wu Xiang with a smile: "Hehe, I said brother, this is your mistake, why are you not in a hurry to handle your son's lifelong affairs?" ”

Wu Xiang sighed and said: "Who said I'm not in a hurry, but Sangui has been outside the gate for a long time, and he has not been at home for many years, which family's daughter is willing to marry a military man on the border?" And my dog is a high-eyed dog, and he can't look down on ordinary women, so how can I be born! ”

Zhou Kui said with a smile: "This is also true, but at the moment, the virtuous nephew happens to be in Beijing, and it will only be two days away from the capital when he comes to Shanhaiguan, so it will be much more convenient." Why don't you take the opportunity to return to Beijing this time to do your family affairs, won't it be a matter of your heart? ”

"That's good, of course! But where to find the right person in a hurry? Could it be that your brother has the right person? Wu Xiang asked.

"Hehe, there is a candidate, but I don't know if the virtuous nephew can see it, but this woman is not an outsider, but the goddaughter of the old man, called Chen Yuanyuan. I don't hide it from the two of you, my goddaughter has a sad life, I brought it back from Jiangnan, she has outstanding talents, a gentle temperament, and her appearance has also passed, how about it? After Zhou Kui finished speaking, he peeked at Wu Sangui.

Wu Xiang came here to know the true purpose of Zhou Kui's banquet for their father and son today. He didn't know when Zhou Kui took in a goddaughter, but he knew that Zhou Kui brought back a group of kabuprocas from Jiangnan, and he had also seen performances in Zhou Kui's mansion, but he had never seen Chen Yuanyuan, he thought that although these women were beautiful, they were all from the dust, how could they be worthy of their sons, this is not good! But Zhou Kui has always been good friends with himself, and he is the ruler of the country, so he refused directly for fear of hurting his face, so he said perfunctorily: "It turned out to be your goddaughter, so my Sangui is high, but I am stubborn, and how many people have asked him to go back, I have to find a woman like Xi Shi and Chang'e, alas!" The old man can't be his master! After speaking, he secretly glanced at Wu Sangui, then Wu Sangui is also a clever person, knowing that his father does not agree with this family business, and he heard Zhou Kui say that this woman was born poor, looks average, and has no interest, so he said: "Let my uncle laugh, the little nephew has always been concerned about national affairs, and now he has been entrusted with important tasks by the emperor, he is really scared, and he can't sleep, for fear that he will mess up the mission and live up to the grace of God, so the little nephew wants to put his personal affairs aside for a while, and wait until he is successful and famous to talk about marriage matters, and I hope my uncle will forgive me." ”

Zhou Kui guessed the thoughts of the two of them, and smiled secretly in his heart: "Hehe, I'll see Yuanyuan later, I see that you are still in state affairs!" He smiled and said: "Oh, the virtuous nephew is really a pillar of the country, and he has great ambitions, I said brother, it is really a blessing for the family that you have such a son, but the old man is reckless." So we drank and danced, and came, and drank this glass. ”

The three of them clinked glasses, and they all drank it all. Zhou Kui slapped his face, only to hear the sound of silk and bamboo behind the screen, and the dancers came out of the back hall and started the performance.

That Wu Sangui has been guarding the border passes, and he has been sparse for a long time, and now when he sees these coquettish and gorgeous women's performances, his heart is moved, and his eyes are staring at those dancers, Zhou Kui sees it in his eyes, and he already knows it in his heart. The three of them were talking and drinking, and suddenly the family came to report, saying that Wang Qiang, the chief of the inner house and the eunuch of the six palaces, was visiting, Zhou Kui heard it, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said in his heart: "At this time, what is he doing here?" Are you going to stir things up again? He instructed his family: "Go and tell the chief manager that I am not feeling well and have fallen asleep, and that I will personally go to his house another day to pay respects." ”

As soon as his words fell, he heard Wang Qiang say at the door: "You have silk and bamboo dancing here, delicious wine and food, but you say that you are not feeling well, dare you dare that the national lord does not want to see me Wang Qiang?" As soon as the curtain cage was raised, Wang Qiang had already stepped into the lobby.

It turned out that Wang Qiang saw that Wu Sangui was indeed sealed as the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan yesterday, which was in line with history, and he began to worry unconsciously, and suddenly remembered that according to history, Chen Yuanyuan finally became Wu Sangui's wife, which led to the allusion of being angry at the crown, and Chen Yuanyuan has also been infamous for the ages! He thought that he couldn't let Wu Sangui succeed no matter what, and he had to do it quickly, so he was cheeky and asked for marriage again. When he was waiting for his family to report at the door, he heard the sound of silk and bamboo in the inner hall, and asked the gatekeeper, saying that Zhou Kui was feasting Wu Sangui and his son, and his heart couldn't help but sink, and he said secretly: "It's bad, it seems that Lao Tzu is still a step slower!" He was in a hurry, and he didn't care about any courtesy, so he broke in, and just heard Zhou Kui's words to his family, so he went into the lobby with a conversation.

Zhou Kui hated Wang Qiang, but Wang Qiang was the chief manager of the inner palace, and he was deeply favored by Chongzhen, so he didn't want to offend him, so he had to get up with an embarrassed smile and said: "Oh, it's the general manager Wang who is here, please come in, welcome, welcome." Just now, the old man felt that this was already a cold and drunk, and he was embarrassed to entertain the chief manager like this, and wanted to make a special trip to invite you to another banquet another day. ”

"Hehe, where is it, the prince is too polite, I took the liberty to come, how much to disturb, who are these two?" Wang Qiang pretended not to know Wu Sangui and his son.

"Oh, let me introduce to you, this is the new Admiral Wu Xiang Wu of the Shenji Battalion, this is the new General Wu Sangui Wu of the Shanhai Pass, and this is the prince of Wang Qiang, the chief of the Inner Palace." Zhou Kui introduced a few of them one by one.

Wu's father and son have heard of Wang Qiang's name for a long time, and they know that he is young and talented, and he is the emperor's confidant, so they all politely greeted him. Zhou Kui ordered someone to add dishes and chopsticks to Wang Qiang, and notified the kitchen to add a few more dishes, and everyone quieted down and then watched the song and dance. Zhou Kui originally wanted to arrange for Chen Yuanyuan to come out to meet Wu Sangui, he estimated that once Wu Sangui met Chen Yuanyuan, he would definitely be fascinated, and then he would set up this family affair along the way, but now that Wang Qiang is involved, I am afraid that this plan will be ruined. Looking at Wang Qiang beside him, he felt as if he had eaten a fly.

Wang Qiang sat on the side, watching the song and dance while thinking in his heart: "This week, Kui Lao'er invited the Wu family and his son to a separate banquet, which shows that the relationship between the two families is good. Not! The first strike is strong, I have to propose marriage first, it is estimated that Wu Sangui, this kid is jealous of me, so he won't dare to rob me, although Zhou Kui Lao'er is not afraid of me, but he also has to give me three points of thin noodles, and he doesn't dare to refute me in person. Thinking of this, he took advantage of the break between singing and dancing, and said to Zhou Kui: "Uncle, this is the second time I have been to your mansion, and I have caught up with the song and dance performance both times, which is really a blessing for the eyes." ”

"Hehe, Mr. Wang is a distinguished guest, of course he wants to be entertained well." Zhou Kui said perfunctorily.

Wang Qiang pretended to sigh and said, "Alas! I'm not afraid of your jokes, since the last time I saw Chen Yuanyuan in your house, I haven't had a day in my heart, why do you say? ”

"Oh? Why the hell? Zhou Kui asked.

"Then I'll just say it directly, I want to ask the round girl for a kiss, and I hope that Uncle will be fulfilled." Wang Qiang said cheekily, after speaking, he couldn't help but feel a panic in his heart, and his face was also feverish.

Wang Qiang's words surprised several other people. Zhou Kui said secretly: "Oh! It turns out that this little eunuch is here today for this purpose! It's really a toad that wants to eat swan meat, dream about you! He thought about the countermeasures in his heart, pretended to think, and was silent for a while.

Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui were also surprised, thinking: "It's not strange for a eunuch to marry, but it's a little different for this little eunuch to ask for marriage in front of everyone so straightforwardly, what kind of character is this Chen Yuanyuan, it actually makes a eunuch moved." ”

Zhou Kui was still embarrassed by Wang Qiang's trouble, but when he heard Wang Qiang bring up this matter, his eyes rolled, and he thought about it, and said secretly: "Okay! Since you kid is so cheeky, then don't blame the old man for making you lose face! ”

Several people were silent for a while, and at this moment, they only heard the sound of silk and bamboo, and the screen of the hall was removed, but there was still a bead curtain hanging behind it, and behind the bead curtain was a slim woman, it was Chen Yuanyuan!

Although it is not clear through the bead curtain, Chen Yuanyuan's graceful posture and elegant temperament still attracted everyone's attention. Chen Yuanyuan blessed everyone through the curtain, and then sat in front of him and played a tune. This song is soft and sad, such as melancholy, like sadness, touching heartstrings, although Wang Qiang does not know the name of the song, but also heard the rhyme, he wants to enter the palace this time, suffered a lot of grievances, and is naturally depressed in his heart, this song should reflect her state of mind at this time.

Yuan Yuan was playing the piano behind the curtain while looking at the situation in the lobby, but the first thing she saw was Wang Qiang, her heart tightened, and she said secretly: "I said that I wanted to choose a son-in-law, but how did I invite him to come!" She then looked at the others, thinking in her heart: "That old man should be Wu Xiang that my father talked about, and the son next to him should be Wu Sangui. Look at him very elegant, but he is a mighty general, probably showing his heroism when he goes into battle to kill the enemy. She listened to Zhou Kui's introduction to Wu Sangui in advance, and she had a preconceived good impression, but now that she has seen it, she naturally thinks about the benefits.

"Wu Sangui? Wu Sangui! When I first met him today, I seemed to have heard his name somewhere, and where was it? Yuan Yuan thought suspiciously, saw Wang Qiang in a flash, and suddenly remembered that when he met Wang Qiang in Suzhou, Wang Qiang specially told her that he must not marry Wu Sangui! At that time, she didn't know who Wu Sangui was, thinking that it was just a joke, and she didn't take it to heart, and after a long time, she forgot about it. Now that he really saw Wu Sangui, why did Wang Qiang say that in the first place, could he have predicted the prophet and expected such a day? Should I trust him or not? Yuanyuan couldn't figure it out, his mind was flustered, and the sound of pointing to the piano was also perfunctory.

At the end of the song, Yuanyuan turned around and retreated to the back hall. Wu Sangui was deeply moved by the round charm, and regretted that he had rejected this family business just now, and couldn't help but glance at Wu Xiang complainingly. Zhou Kui saw it in his eyes, and he already knew it in his heart, he smiled and said to Wang Qiang: "Haha, the prince just mentioned that he wanted to propose to the little girl, and the old man is a little embarrassed here, because before that, the old man and General Wu also happened to talk about the marriage of the little girl, both of them are pillars of the country, young talents, and the old man really doesn't know what to do." Saying that, he raised his eyes to look at Wu Sangui, and Wu Sangui heard that he still had hope, so he quickly nodded to express his gratitude.

Zhou Kui pretended to ask for a moment, and said as if he was determined: "That's it, it's better to do this, this lifelong event will be handed over to the little girl for herself, and I will let the little girl come out to meet you later, and the little girl will toast whichever of the two of you she likes, even if it is her self-chosen husband, what do you think?" ”

Wu Sangui hurriedly nodded yes. Wang Qiang pondered that he was a eunuch, and Yuanyuan misunderstood himself very deeply, and he was eighty percent useless, but the two of us boasted of being bosom friends, and we still had twenty percent hope, and now the situation is not okay, so I have to nod.

Zhou Kui entered the back hall, found Chen Yuanyuan, and said pretending to be anxious: "Daughter, today I chose a son-in-law for my father, I don't want that little eunuch to come uninvited, I guess I want to ask for you for the emperor, fortunately, General Wu is already in love with you, and he has military power, he should be able to protect you, I don't know what you think?" Decisions must be made as early as possible. ”

Chen Yuanyuan wanted to think about it before making a decision, but after listening to Zhou Kui's words, he no longer hesitated, and said in a loud voice: "In this case, it will be according to what my father said." ”

"Good! Then please go out with your father and give General Wu a glass of wine, this family affair will be settled, and your father will choose a day to complete your marriage as soon as possible, and you will completely break off other people's thoughts. Zhou Kui said.

Chen Yuanyuan followed Zhou Kui to the lobby, Wang Qiang and Wu Sangui saw Chen Yuanyuan come out, and they both raised the wine glasses in their hands, and they were also looking forward to and uneasy in their hearts. Chen Yuanyuan walked to the table, but he didn't even look at Wang Qiang, took the wine glass handed by the maid and gently touched Wu Sangui's wine glass, then covered his face shyly, and quickly retreated to the back hall. Listening to only two sounds, the wine glasses in the hands of Wang Qiang and Wu Sangui fell to the ground almost at the same time.

When Wu Sangui saw Chen Yuanyuan's true face of Lushan, he was stunned, and his true soul came out of his shell, and he said in his heart: "Isn't this a fairy descending to earth?" Could it really be that God favored Sangui and let me enjoy such a beautiful blessing! ”。

That Wang Qiang felt that the world was spinning, his hands and feet were numb, and he whispered softly: "Yuanyuan, you don't even look at me, you are so ruthless, you have lost our bosom friend in vain." ”

That Zhou Kui's treacherous plan succeeded, and he looked at Wang Qiang with a sneer, and he was very proud in his heart.

Wang Qiang was so discouraged that he didn't even say hello, he left the Zhou Mansion in despair, beat his horse and galloped to the west of the city. It was dark, I don't know when it rained lightly, Wang Qiang's heart was painful, he wanted to cry without tears, he walked along the embankment of the Kunyu River, the rain soaked his hair, soaked his clothes, and was cold on his body, but he seemed to be numb, and he didn't realize it. Wang Qiang returned to his house late that night, his heart was depressed, and he fell ill at once, and he had a high fever for three consecutive days, and he was delirious and nonsense.