Zhiying turned her head and instructed Xiaoqiu: "Xiaoqiu, go to the side courtyard and ask Prince Jing to come and have dinner together, he doesn't know that the prince is coming back, he hasn't seen him go out and walk around much in the past few months, and it's not good for his body to be bored." ”

Xiaoqiu agreed, and trotted all the way away, Zhong Luhuan and Zhiying sat on their knees, but the expression on their faces was a little uneasy, glanced out of the door, pursed their lips and did not speak.

"What's wrong?" Zhiying stroked the back of her hand and asked, "Huaiyou and you are also cousins, and it's not once or twice that you eat together, but you still have scruples in your heart?" ”

Zhong Luhuan's face was embarrassed, and she said in a slur manner: "If he treats me as a cousin, that's fine." ”

Cui Xiang had a crush on Zhong Luhuan and Zhiying for a long time, but she pretended not to know and asked, "What do you say?" ”

Zhong Luhuan hesitated for a while, and said, "If it's inconvenient to say it, forget it, I'll call someone to chase Xiaoqiu back." "Don't do it, I'm ......" Zhong Luhuan's expression struggled, and finally lowered her head and whispered, "Sister, I have something to hide from you."

"What's the matter?" Zhi Ying asked.

Zhong Luhuan snorted for a while and said, "I'...... My mother asked me to ......."

Zhiying remembered Zhang's courteous appearance, and remembered Cui Xiang's inexplicable love for Zhong Luhuan, so she guessed a few points, but didn't say anything, and asked her: "Second aunt told you something?" Tickler? Is there anything I can do to help? ”

Zhong Luhuan immediately shook her head quickly: "Don't, don't!" Don't, sister, you have to be on my side and make decisions for me. ”

Zhiying laughed: "Why wouldn't my sister help you, just say, what's the matter?" ”

Zhong Luhuan seemed to find it extremely difficult to speak, but she still stammered: "My mother...... That day, the prince asked me about my age, and asked me if I had promised someone, and my mother thought about it, and wanted me and the prince to become husband and wife, kiss and kiss, and was reprimanded by my father, saying that the prince has a deep love for his wife, and we can't be the wicked people who beat the mandarin ducks, and it is not good for me, although my mother promised not to mention this matter again, but ...... Still not very willing, just ...... again ...... again"

"I want you to marry Prince Jing again, do you?" Zhiying said the unspeakable words for her.

Zhong Luhuan nodded sadly, and said, "Sister, you know me, I love a warrior like my father, a general, and a prince Jing...... He's just a kid who hasn't grown up, and I don't want to live with him for the rest of my life. ”

In the courtyard outside the door, Cui Xiang listened to Xiaoqiu's words, and learned that Zhong Luhuan was also eating in the main courtyard today, almost rushing over, and was about to step up the steps, but when he heard this, his steps froze, and he didn't fall for a long time.

Zhong Luhuan continued: "General Yang is heroic and majestic, and he is deeply affectionate, I have no relationship with him, and I am not blessed......"

Cui Xiang stood in front of the steps, like being struck by lightning - Zhong Luhuan likes Yang Qiong! What is so good about that man who has no room for fun in his family?

"But even so, I didn't change my mind."

Cui Xiang's heart was even more desperate - knowing that Yang Qiong didn't like her, she was still infatuated?

I was so sad and angry that I didn't want to eat, so I turned around and left.

Zhong Luhuan didn't know that his words were half carried by him and ran away, still saying: "Since I vowed to marry a general, I must get my wish, not General Yang, there will be other generals, I am not afraid to wait." In fact, it's not good for me, my mother said that, I didn't dare not listen, when the seventh prince came to Jiangzhou Mansion, he cried and made trouble, didn't eat or drink, my mother asked me to visit him, and said some words of relief, I thought it was nothing, so I went, who knew that he would entangle me, running to the yard where I lived every day, or sending someone to send something over, I was really afraid of him, and I didn't dare to refuse him, sister, what do you say I should do? ”

Zhiying was really ridiculous after hearing this, she didn't expect that there would be such a thing between them, Zhong Luhuan was afraid that Cui Xiang would entangle herself, and she was afraid that she would cause more trouble if she rejected him, and she was in a dilemma, and there was no one to say, if it wasn't for the fact that she accidentally thought of inviting Cui Xiang to come over for a meal today, she was not sure when she would have to hide it.

"The palace is big, and there are many people, I didn't know there was such a thing," Zhiying smiled, the maid served the food, Xiaoqiu came back, and her expression [Vertical and horizontal your uncle] wanted to speak again, "Xiaoqiu? What about the prince? ”

Xiaoqiu glanced at Zhong Luhuan and said vaguely: "The prince said that he was not feeling well, so he didn't come." ”

Zhiying knew that things must not be so simple, and she was afraid that she would not be able to say it in front of Zhong Luhuan, so she nodded: "Look, I just said that I was going to get sick, and I will go to see him after dinner in a while." - Let's eat first, where did you just go? Oh yes, Huaiyou doesn't go out much on weekdays, and he can still send you things in a different way? ”

Zhong Luhuan gave Zhiying a bowl of soup, sat down and said seriously: "This is exactly what I want to say, my sister is pregnant, I shouldn't bother my sister with these things, but the prince will send a pair of hairpins today, a pair of bracelets tomorrow, and a horse the day after tomorrow, all of which are excellent things, I wondered how he could have so much money, and he gave me nearly a thousand taels of silver before and after." ”

Zhiying was taken aback: "Something that costs nearly a thousand taels of silver?!" ”

Does Cui Xiang have so much money? Yes, although he was cut by Cui Jie, because of his good attitude, he still retains the title of the prince, thousands of households, plus some of the original family backgrounds, a thousand taels of silver is nothing. But no matter how much silver there is, it is also in the palace of the capital, his money is touched clean when he eats in the restaurant, and he has to work by himself to pay off his debts, where can he find so much silver to give Zhong Luhuan a gift?

Although Zhong Luhuan didn't say anything clearly, the meaning was already very clear, Cui Xiang Bacheng took the money from the palace for personal use.

Yanzhou is already poor, Cui Yi is a prince who has been robbed, he almost didn't even have the money to eat at the beginning, and the little savings in the treasury are all saved by hard work in the past two years, and they are used when there is a big event, but Cui Xiang actually embezzled it behind his back?

Now Zhiying is not even in the mood to eat, so she asked Xiaoqiu to ask the housekeeper to open the warehouse and take a careful inventory, and then come over to talk back.

The butler came back half an hour later, stumbled into the door, and knelt down when he saw Zhiying, and wept bitterly: "The old servant is incompetent! Please punish Madame! ”

"What are you doing, get up! Xiaoqiu, quickly help people up. As soon as Zhiying saw his appearance of this catastrophe, she knew that she had guessed correctly, and while asking someone to help the housekeeper up, she drank saliva and suppressed her shock.

The housekeeper snorted and said with tears: "Madam, the old servant has just counted the silver in the treasury, and it is a full loss of 1,300 taels!" This is the silver that Mrs. has worked hard to take everyone to get up early and be greedy for darkness, and finally hoarded it! The old servant neglected to check, and so much was stolen by someone, and the old servant couldn't make up for such a big mistake even if he apologized for his crime with death! ”

Zhong Luhuan hadn't left yet, she was accompanying Ying to be a female celebrity, she gasped when she heard the words, and the spool in her hand rolled out a long way, and said in disbelief: "What? How so? Be...... Could it be ......" turned his head and looked at Zhiying in surprise.

Holding Ying grabbed the teacup in one hand, suppressed his anger and said, "Xiaoqiu, call all the people who manage the treasury, and then invite Prince Jing here!" Xiaoqiu went right away.

After a while, seven or eight pro-soldiers and the bookkeeper came, seeing Zhiying's solemn face, Zhong Luhuan was also angry, although he didn't know what was going on, he still had eyes, and knelt down obediently when he entered the door.

After waiting for a while, Cui Xiang also came.

The little prince looked haggard, and after entering the door, he said hello listlessly: "Second sister-in-law." He glanced at Zhong Luhuan with sad eyes.

"Huaiyou, it's been a few months since you came to Yanzhou, and I didn't take the time to ask if you were doing," despite his anger, Zhiying still maintained basic politeness, and said some polite words first, "Yanzhou is not as good as the capital, the conditions will be worse, and there is no way to do it, I hope you can get used to it." ”

Cui Xiang said cowardly: "With the second sister-in-law of Lao to worry about, I read books every day, take a walk, and live okay." ”

Xiao Qiu's eyes widened and he scolded: "Are you okay?" If you really give you three points of color, you will open a dyeing workshop, and secretly take more than 1,000 taels of silver from the house to use, but they are just 'okay', so how can you live well? Is it that the entire Yanzhou tax is close to you, and you are satisfied with the squandering of it? ”

Zhiying immediately reprimanded: "Xiaoqiu! Shut up, how can you talk to the prince? ”

Only then did the soldiers in charge of the treasury guard understand what was going on, and they were all so frightened that they kept kowtowing and shouting, "Madame, spare your life!" Madame's mercy! The little ones were derelict in their duties, they didn't take care of the treasury, and begged their wives to spare their lives! ”

Cui Xiang looked inexplicable: "What's wrong?" ”

"Huaiyou, the second sister-in-law asked you something, you have to answer the second sister-in-law honestly," Zhiying saw that he looked innocent, and thought that he had made a mistake, so for the sake of prudence, he decided to ask him first, and listened to him say in person, "There is more than 1,300 taels of silver missing in the palace treasury, do you know where it went?" ”

Cui Xiang blurted out: "I asked someone to get it, what?" ”

Zhiying's eyes were dark, and he almost fainted, but Cui Xiang admitted it without hesitation, and he couldn't see any shame, he was so calm!

"Madame! Madame, are you alright? Xiaoqiu was next to her, and when she raised her hand to support her forehead, she was so frightened that she was so busy supporting her that she couldn't help her.

Holding Ying pressed her heart with one hand and gasped, struggling to ask, "You put the money ...... Where did it go? ”

Cui Xiang didn't answer immediately, glanced at Zhong Luhuan again, and then said: "I bought some worthless gadgets and gave them to Sister Zhong, if the second sister-in-law doesn't believe it, you can ask her." ”

Zhiying was almost so angry that she fainted, and she couldn't speak, Zhong Luhuan kept stroking her back with one hand, seeing that she couldn't slow down for a long time, she was angry and anxious, and stood up with a stomp: "You——! Don't you think you are angry enough with your sister? Worthless things, which of those things you sent me wasn't expensive? You can say such a thing. ”

Cui Xiang smiled faintly: "If you really think that the price is expensive, how can you completely ignore me and ignore me?" ”

This time, even Zhong Luhuan almost made him angry, stroking Zhiying's back with one hand and pointing at him with the other: "You, you—"

The housekeeper had to stand up and speak: "Seventh Master, you want to buy a gift for the cousin girl, it's not impossible, but you also have to say hello to the old servant, how can you take away the silver without making a sound, and take so much!" This is all the money that the military and civilians of Yanzhou have saved with great difficulty! ”

"Master speaks, is it your turn to interject?" Instead of feeling guilty, Cui Xiang turned around and scolded the housekeeper, "This is King Wu's Mansion, the home of the second brother of this king, when will it be your turn to call the shots?" ”

The butler stammered, spread his hands, and was simply speechless.