The new emperor has only been on the throne for only five years, and he should have been celebrating the founding of the country, and there should have been more bells and meals, which did not fail to show the grandeur of a great country. However, this capital, this city wall pottery, this corridor Qionglou, on the surface seems to be bright and splendid, but in fact it is a dream of squeezing out of the people's rations.

All this is because of the insolence of the current monarch, the extraordinary grandeur of the royal banquet, and the people of the two worlds are separated by this wall. The princes and princes will be shown in the same celebration as the food and clothing of ordinary people.

Mu Ruoying walked home from the suburbs, wearing a tattered white dress stained red by blood, and there was no trace of waves on her face, as if she had long forgotten that she had killed someone half an hour ago. found a tailor shop in the east of the city, the proprietress looked at the murderous intent and coldness in the eyes of the young girl, and she didn't dare to say a word, so she changed her clothes. Mu Ruoying threw down a silver ingot, hid all the loneliness and coldness, and walked out of the store like a girl next door parading in the suburbs.

"Bring it! Don't pay the rent today! So I sold your daughter! Be a cheap maid to the eldest son of Mu Mansion! That boy brother, but he is ruthless in playing with women! ”

The voice came from a tea house in the distance, Mu Ruoying was not a person who inquired about the world and meddled in the mortal world, but when she heard Mu Jianran's name, she raised her eyebrows, her eyes were not shocked, her eyebrows were lowered, and her slender eyelashes were bent in a beautiful arc, but she didn't even have a slight tremor, she didn't even raise her head, she just looked at the swarms of ants on the ground, and listened to the story with great interest.

Her elder brother is the only son of Mu Fu, not stupid, a little smart, and he was raised by Mu Jinghong in the palm of his hand. After all, when the head of the Mu family dies, Mu Jianran should become the next head of the family, or......

The next monarch. As for women, he and Mu Jinghong are really father and son, * excessive, but they only love power and gold and silver, and they can be called a prodigal son.

"Please! Official! We only paid the ground rent five days ago, didn't this land rent be paid at a moment's notice? ”

The woman fell to her knees, kowtowed three times to the two messengers in black clothes, and hugged her fourteen-year-old daughter in her arms, trembling and crying. This girl, as soon as she entered the door of Mu's house, was in that mass grave within three days.

"Today is the fifth anniversary celebration of the new emperor's accession to the throne, and the government and the opposition have sent congratulatory gifts. Naturally, it's between your teeth! I can't collect your rent today, and my brothers and I won't be able to live! ”

For a long time, a local official who looted the people's fat and ointment, Mu Ruoying sighed in her heart. But this silver tael, Mu Ruoying knew in her heart, turned around a thousand times, and it also went to the silver treasury of Mu Mansion. Mu Jinghong is now in power, and no one can say whether this world is the new emperor's or Mu Jinghong's. However, the dynasty that can say that the exploitation of the people is so straightforward, and does not even need the last layer of fig leaf, Mu Ruoying has already begun to count down to the death of the country in her heart.

"Official, our small shop only earns fifty taels a day, you can kill me, I really can't give these fifty taels of silver, I just ask you not to sell my child."

Mu Ruoying listened to the tearful cry of the woman in the tea shop, and only then did her eyes pass over the ants, watching the woman's grief and despair from a distance, and moved her heart of compassion, and her lonely eyes trembled a little. Fifty taels ...... It seems that tonight's grand ceremony is really making money step by step. She looked at the little girl who was trembling in her mother's arms, her face was wet with tears, but she still didn't make a sound, she was also very afraid to come to the treacherous hell of Mufu.

"What can I do! Stop it! Fast! Come with me to Mu's house! The two envoys lost patience and dragged the girl in the woman's arms into the carriage, leaving only the woman's screams and the girl's tears of despair.

The carriage drove away, and the place it was heading to was very familiar to Mu Ruoying. Like those people, she watched from afar, without helping, and without saying a word, she watched the tragedy come to an end. The woman of the tea house committed suicide.

When the crowd dispersed, Mu Ruoying was still in the square inch away from the tea house, and she couldn't forget for a long time, the woman's desperate and helpless eyes. She has always been a cold-blooded person, but that mother's love evokes her little miss for her mother today.

Mu Ruoying paced down the streets, still hearing the woman's roar and the high-spirited carriage. But now, under my eyes, I have seen the princes and nobles talking about poetry, wine and tea in the high-rise building, and the ladies of the mansion are also very happy with each other in the jewelry shop and the tailor shop, as if the world just now is an illusion.

It seems that the capital should be so prosperous. The pavilions and buildings are inlaid with gold wire edges and jade rings, and the rockery courtyards with high mountains and flowing water are built in the high-walled deep courtyards, and the music of the piano and song can be heard on the left side, and the drunkenness of the thirty-year-old wine can be smelled on the right side.

Huangliang is like a dream, and some people's lives are good enough to live in a dream for a lifetime; But some people, fate never allows them to be unconscious, what they can do is to look at this prosperous era and understand how difficult their situation is.

"Have you heard? Chu Lingran has returned to Beijing! The woman covered with heavy rouge and the lady next to her made a fuss.

"Chu Lingran! It's the youngest general in my country, Chu Lingran! ”

"Have you heard? Chu Lingran has returned to Beijing! ”

"I really don't know what the new emperor will reward him! He has great achievements in war, and he does not want to give him the position of prince. Gold, silver, jewelry, or beauty, he has no shortage of them! ”

Everyone seemed to be boiling because of Chu Lingran, it seems that this young general with great achievements is indeed very capable, but if it is a simple martial artist, who will not be interested in the world? Don't want a fief, don't want a prince, it sounds transcendent, but the world is worldly after all, and no one can escape its immersion.

What if he wasn't interested in the whole world, not a small fiefdom on the distant frontier?

Chu Lingran, Chu Lingran......

Thoughts were interrupted in front of the Mu Mansion, today is the palace celebration, and it is also the fifth year of the Mu Mansion's power, the Mu Mansion is so busy that people are turning over on their backs, and they don't have time to care when a concubine will return home. Mu Ruoying quietly slipped into the house through the back door, wanting to seek a moment of peace by taking advantage of her inner room in the most remote south. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by the chief butler halfway.

"Mu Ruoying, you are not in the mansion in the morning, the master has looked for you, you go over and ask for guilt." The tone is contemptuous and rude. Picking up the shelf of the big housekeeper, he regarded Mu Ruoying as a subordinate to scare him, I am afraid that he did not know at this moment that his son had already died in Huangquan and his bones were gone.

"Okay, I see, you go down." Mu Ruoying raised her head and stared at the housekeeper, took a step forward, and there was a cold aura around her, as if she was an emperor who dominated the world, so majestic, no one in the world could refute it. Mu Ruoying has always been submissive in the house, gentle and kind. I don't want to be so aggressive today. The housekeeper was forced to take half a step back, a little bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he couldn't say a word.

Hmph, shit. Like his son.

"Steward Mu, today, I will make my words clearer. I respect you as the third generation of the head of the Mu Mansion, and you have never held a young lady's shelf. But today, it is the day of celebration between my father and the entire court, you should keep your duty and do things honestly, if you can't get along with me sincerely, I am also the second miss of Mu Fu. It's the blood of the regent, you say? You are a smart person, you don't need me to say more, you will live to the day when Mu Jianran is in charge. ”

Mu Ruoying said word by word without the slightest emotion, and at a volume that only the housekeeper and herself could hear, but she smashed the housekeeper's heart word by word, Mu Ruoying, who has never been in front of others, said such a thing to herself today, and she was speechless when she questioned her. Such an aura, and the cold atmosphere, made him freeze in place, unable to say a word.

Mu Ruoying turned around and walked towards the corridor of Mu Jinghong, the master of the Mu Mansion, took away all the cold on her body, and pretended to be a promise who didn't dare to look at others. She is making her debut today for three purposes. First, she doesn't have anyone around her, and it will not be convenient for her to travel in the future. Second, since she was born, Mu Jinghong has seen it with two hands and can count it, and the so-called "nothing to do" can be counted on two hands. It was the day he was supposed to be busiest, and it seemed that he was planning to use his daughter to do something. But if she is used for no reason and doesn't ask for some benefits, it is not her Mu Ruoying's style. For example, the girl who was arrested today. Third, sooner or later, the chief housekeeper will find out the whereabouts of his son, and in case he will find trouble for himself in the future, it is better to take the lead today. In the future, we can be safe.

"Father, Emperor Yu Ruyi, who paid tribute to the court today, doesn't seem to be satisfied." It was Mu Jianran who was talking to Mu Jinghong about the gifts of this year's tribute, and the entire government and the opposition, and even the new emperor knew that the congratulatory gifts for the tribute over the years were first checked by the Mu Mansion, and the good Mu Jinghong deducted it himself, and then gave it to the new emperor. In previous years, the new emperor was grateful to Mu Jinghong for his contribution to the throne, and he was also afraid of his ability to lean towards the government and the opposition, and did not dare to say anything, but endured the nest alone, who would have thought that the wolf would one day be raised and bite himself.

"Oh? Then you bring the statue of Guanyin of the local official's tribute, and I will personally give it to the new emperor at the banquet tonight. Mu Jinghong's eyes were full of ridicule, if he hadn't thought that the combat power of the frontier could not be sustained, how many days would that wretch be enough for him to be so chic?

"Father, I heard from the chief butler that you have looked for me." Mu Ruoying pretended that nothing had happened, and the lotus flowers under the eaves of the corridor reflected each other, and her dress rippled, like a fairy in the world walking away from the fairyland, stepping on the long light clouds.

Mu Jinghong looked at his daughter's appearance and was fascinated, and it was rumored in the outside world that the concubine of Mu Mansion was better than Peony, and that was only because Mu Ruoying bowed her head when she saw everyone, and she never existed like a phantom. But if it is really stunning, Mu Ruoying is the demonic flower who laughs at the city and then laughs at the country. It is this kind of appearance that can help him balance the frontier and obtain the throne for himself in the future.

"Ying'er is here, my father and you haven't seen you for a few days, tonight, you and your father and your brothers and sisters go to the celebration together, Ying'er is also old, father should take you to meet the scholars."

Sure enough, Mu Jinghong's mind had already been guessed by Mu Ruoying.

Mu Ruoying hid the sarcasm in her heart, the smile that unconsciously rose from the corner of her mouth, looked up at the man who pretended to be a kind father, and said happily and innocently: "Really! Is my father really going to take me to the palace! ”

"Of course, later, let the people in the house dress you up. Today, the Zhenyuan general who shook the northwest, Chu Lingran, is coming back. ”

It turned out that his father was in love with Chu Lingran. This name comes to mind a lot today.

"Chu Lingran? Is it good to have a father? Ying'er will definitely see you later. But ......"

Mu Ruoying's face was embarrassed, and she lowered her eyes, as if it was difficult to speak to her father. Mu Jinghong was overjoyed by his daughter's boasting, and said with a smile, if there is any difficulty, there is an answer.

"I want a servant girl, otherwise other young ladies will be watching, Ying'er is afraid of showing cowardice and losing her father's face."

"It's simple, I'll let you dial a sensible one later." Mu Jinghong thought for a few seconds, and then readily agreed to Mu Ruoying's request. However, it is not so simple to do business with this old fox, not so much to find a sensible person to take care of food and clothing, but to find a loyal person who watches his own life freedom.

"Can I specify? When I returned home today, I saw batches of young girls sent by the housekeeper, and one of them looked like Ying'er, and Ying'er was overjoyed. ”

What Mu Ruoying needs is a heart-to-heart who can risk her life, not a lackey of Mu Jinghong. Mu Jinghong thought for a moment, thinking about the big deal that he would give that servant girl some benefits, in the end, how could his heart be towards her, a powerless concubine? I readily agreed.

However, Mu Jinghong was scheming, but he missed a little. What if the slave girl's mother died because of you? Would a woman with hatred in her heart be loyal to you?

Just after noon, the principal took the girl to Mu Ruoying's room, explained a few words and left, the people in the house were shocked, they had never been welcomed, and the second lady who had lived in the side house for a long time was also favored by the lord to be a maid.

"Boom."

It was the sound of a bag of broken silver falling to the ground. Mixed with the maid's dark eyes, there was hatred in them.

"Your mother died, a moment after you left, and died a terrible death. I still read your name when I die. ”

Mu Ruoying described everything cold-blooded and ruthlessly, to a girl who had just turned fourteen and encountered the most difficult time in her life, the girl fell to the cold ground, and tears were dripping endlessly.

"Now you have two choices, take these pieces of silver and run away, I declare to the public that you have escaped, and as for your future life, I am not in charge. Second, avenge your mother, be my man, if you have a share of wealth and glory, you will not lose half an inch. ”

The girl was indifferent, just crying blindly, refusing to look up at Mu Ruoying.

"You may not believe me, but at least, I gave you a life today. Yes, I'm just the second miss of Mu Fu now, the second miss who is useless, but it doesn't mean that I will be subservient to others for the rest of my life. But at least, now I can afford to give you fifty taels of silver, but you and your mother lost their lives because of those fifty taels of silver. ”

These are such cruel and cold words, but they are engraved in the heart of the girl on the ground word by word, and she can't help but refuse to engrave her future fate. Mu Ruoying is glorious, she is glorious; Mu Ruoying was defeated, and she also died.

"My name is Su Qing."

The girl wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked at Mu Ruoying in the sun. Su Qing, is the sun shining? It's a good name, but how can the fate of the two of them deserve such a name?

"I'll call you Ling'er in the future. Only when it is cold and cold can we use everything to seize the opportunity and light. Ling'er, fate, it has never been human. No one can escape, but since it is such a field, if you don't support yourself, you will one day return to the mass grave with no bones left. ”

Mu Ruoying looked at the girl on the ground who was still playing in her mother's arms a day ago, but now she was carrying a deep hatred of blood, and told her what she said to herself eight years ago, she looked out the window, the gongs and drums were noisy and the huge conspiracy hidden in the world was secretly sad. In the next capital, there will be no peace for a day.

"Yes, miss. Ling'er understood. ”