Mid-term.

When the spring flowers were blooming, in the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Zhang Ning sat on the stone bench of the pavilion, drinking tea while quietly looking at the scenery in front of him. Although the weather has warmed up now, she still puts on a thick coat.

After nearly two months of recuperation, Zhang Ning has recovered a lot, although his face still looks a little pale, but from the whole person's complexion, he no longer has the sick appearance of the past. But I don't know if Zhao Heng's home remedies are too effective, or Zhang Ning's condition is too serious.

I don't know how long, suddenly a sound of footsteps came into Zhang Ning's ears, but she didn't seem to hear it, and she still just silently drank tea and enjoyed the scenery.

After a while, the footsteps disappeared beside Zhang Ning, "Madam, why don't you rest in the house?" Now that the weather is humid, be careful of the wind and cold......" The person who came said softly, it was Ma Teng.

"Hehe, I've been lying in bed for more than a month, and if I don't come out for a walk, my body will become stiff~ What has happened recently?" Zhang Ning still looked at the scenery in front of her and smiled, as if there was something there that attracted her

Hearing this, Ma Teng's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he smiled in a casual tone, "But it's not a big deal, since it rained for a few days, the commotion in various places has also subsided, and I want to wait until the autumn harvest, everything will return to normal." As for the Li thief, there was no movement. ”

Hearing Ma Teng's words, Zhang Ning nodded, and then asked again, "What about Chaozhong?" Is there any movement from the doctors? ”

"Madame, don't worry, with the assistance of Wenhe, Junqi and others, the people in the court can't make any waves." Ma Teng chuckled, and while sitting down not far from Zhang Ning, he waved away the surrounding maids.

"Alas, Shoucheng don't believe too much in Na Jia Wenhe, although he is indeed a resourceful person, but after all, he is not a person from us. When I wasn't sick, I was fine, even if it wasn't as good as Na Jia Wenhe, but as long as I was careful, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. But now I don't know when my illness will be cured, just Shoucheng you and Junqi them...... Therefore, you must not listen to him in everything, especially those things related to the scholars......" Hearing Ma Teng's words, Zhang Ning sighed faintly.

Zhang Ning really admires Jia Xu very much, because in her opinion, Jia Xu is actually very similar to her, and they both belong to the kind of people who will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. It's just a pity that Ma Teng's identity prevented them from gaining Jia Xu's allegiance from the beginning. Or, in the whole world, how many scholars are really willing to be loyal to Ma Teng?

Before Zhang Ning finished speaking, he felt that his hand holding the teacup was held by a big hand, and when he looked up, he saw Ma Teng looking at him with a distressed face, "Madame's illness has not been cured yet, don't think about these troubles." Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Ma Teng patted Zhang Ning's little hand and smiled, "Moreover, no matter how tricky Jia Wenhe or those scholars and doctors are, can they compare to the sharpness of the sword in my hand?" ”

Hearing Ma Teng's words, Zhang Ning was unimpressed, and was about to say something when he saw a servant walking briskly in the distance, "Prime Minister, Meiyangjun, the eldest prince is back." ”

"Oh? Is Chao'er coming? Let him in~" Hearing the words of the servant, Zhang Ning immediately swallowed the words that came to his mouth back into his stomach, and said with a happy face.

Not long after, Ma Chao's figure appeared in the distance, and I saw Ma Chao today, with a face like jade Fu powder, lips like Zhu Zhu, eyes like meteors, tiger body and ape arms, and a wolf's waist. That look, in any era, is definitely a top beautiful man.

At this time, he was wearing silver armor and a white robe on his shoulders, and it looked like he had just rushed back from the palace and had not yet had time to change his clothes. However, this dress gave his overly handsome appearance a touch of murder. Anyone who sees it can't help but exclaim, "What a dignified and high-spirited young general!" ”

On Ma Chao's right hand, Wang Yi followed Ma Chao with a shy face. At this time, where can you still see the vigorous and resolute appearance when dealing with official business in her body? On the left side of Ma Chao, there is Ma Ji, who has just turned six, her eyes have been on Zhang Ning's body, and she looks like she can't wait to pounce on Zhang Ning's arms and be coquettish. Occasionally, he would look at Ma Chao beside him with a kind of adoring gaze.

Seeing this, Zhang Ning immediately wanted to get up and respond, but was held down by Ma Teng, "Madame's body has not recovered yet, let's wait for Meng Qi and them to come over." Ma Teng persuaded softly.

Zhang Ning nodded when he heard this, and sat down again. It's just that Zhang Ning, who has been focusing on Ma Chao and the three of them, didn't notice that at a certain moment, a trace of worry flashed in Ma Teng's eyes.

"The child greets his father and mother! May the mother be in good health and recover ......soon," Ma Chao and the three of them entered the pavilion, and directly bowed down in front of the two of them and said respectfully.

"Come on, why are your family so polite?" Zhang Ning got up and walked in front of Ma Chao and the three of them, and helped them up with a smile.

"Mother be careful, take care of your body......" Seeing this, Ma Chao hurriedly got up and supported Zhang Ning to prevent her from bending down. And Wang Yi on the side also got up and supported at the same time, but the shyness on his face became stronger and stronger.

After sitting down again, Zhang Ning took Ma Chao's hand and said with a smile, "Since I got sick, I haven't seen Chao'er, I didn't expect to be so tall and handsome~" Zhang Ning's eyes were full of love, and he didn't alienate Ma Chao at all because he was not his and Ma Teng's child. In fact, among all Ma Teng's children, Zhang Ning has always loved Ma Chao the most, and even after Ma Ji was born, this love has not diminished at all.

However, this kind of pampering is obviously easy to make people jealous, "Mother, Ji'er wants to hug ......" Ma Ji pulled Zhang Ning's arm and said coquettishly, obviously seeing Zhang Ning pulling Ma Chao to talk, which made this little girl very jealous.

"Okay~Hug~Hug~" Zhang Ning responded softly, and then hugged Ma Ji in his arms and smiled, "During this time, has Ji'er studied hard?" ”

"Yes, my sister-in-law has been teaching Ji'er to read and write!" Ma Ji said in a coquettish voice, and one sentence suddenly made Wang Yi's already shy face even more red as if he could drip blood.

"Sister-in-law? Hee-hee, who is the sister-in-law that Ji'er is talking about? Your eldest brother is not married yet~" When Zhang Ning heard this, he immediately looked at Wang Yi and quipped.

"Of course it's Sister Junqi~ Last time, Ji'er saw her and her eldest brother in the room...... Hmm...... "Before Ma Ji finished speaking, his small mouth was covered by Wang Yi, whose face was flushed. But looking at her flustered and shy appearance, it is obvious that there is a ...... between her and Ma Chao Well, after all, Ma Chao and Wang Yi both grew up in Liangzhou, and because there are a large number of Hu people in Liangzhou, the atmosphere is inevitably a little open.

"Hehe, it seems that Yi'er can't wait to marry in~" Zhang Ning looked at Wang Yi playfully and teased.

"Master~~" Wang Yijiao sneered, completely looking like a little daughter's family.

Looking at Wang Yi's appearance, Zhang Ning liked it more and more, and suddenly smiled, "Chao'er has turned seventeen this year, right?" Well...... After my body is healed, you will get married~"

"Thank you, Mother!" Ma Chao said happily when he heard this, and he didn't mean to ask Ma Teng's thoughts at all.

However, Wang Yi turned his head to look at Ma Teng with some concern, seeing this, how could Zhang Ning not guess what this girl was thinking? "Shoucheng, this matter is settled, what do you think?" Zhang Ning turned his head to look at Ma Teng and said with a smile.

"Hehe, it's all up to Madame." Ma Teng stroked his beard and smiled.

Hearing this, Zhang Ning nodded, and continued to chat with Ma Chao. And Ma Teng just sat silently on the side, without the meaning of speaking at all, and ...... It seems that he can't interject at all, because neither Zhang Ning nor Ma Chao has any intention of talking to Ma Teng. As for Ma Ji, after being held in Zhang Ning's arms, he has already entered the realm of ignoring things outside the window.

This feeling makes Ma Teng very uncomfortable, Wang Yi and Ma Ji are okay to say, they are very close to Zhang Ning, but Ma Chao, as his eldest son, now feels more and more alienated from himself......

You must know that since Ma Chao became General Huben, basically every time he met with Ma Teng, it was just incidental when he met Zhang Ning. As for all kinds of official business, he only looks for Zhang Ning every time, although this is also because Zhang Ning has always been responsible for various affairs of the imperial court before, but Ma Chao's attitude obviously makes Ma Teng very uncomfortable.

If this situation were someone else, I'm afraid I would have had a good talk with Ma Chao a long time ago, right? However, because Zhang Ning has always been too strong, and Ma Teng himself is a loyal and honest person who is not very good at talking, this situation has continued and gradually become more rusty......

I don't know how long it took, but Ma Teng, who finally couldn't stand it, coughed dryly twice, then looked at Zhang Ning and said with a smile, "Madam, it's almost time, let's go back to the house and rest early." ”

Hearing this, Ma Chao hurriedly spoke, "Mother, the child has a report about the little emperor." ”

"Okay, these little things will be told directly to the father in the future. Your mother has been sick because of these little things, and she has not been cured until now......" Ma Teng looked at Ma Chao with a look of dissatisfaction and blamed.

"Shoucheng doesn't have to be like this." Zhang Ning chuckled when he heard this, and then smiled at Ma Chao, "But Shou Cheng's words are not unreasonable, just let him deal with such a trivial matter." ”

Although Ma Chao didn't say what it was, in Zhang Ning's mind, it was nothing more than that the little emperor was going to do something to show his presence. This kind of thing has happened almost every few months in the past few years.

After speaking, Zhang Ning stretched his waist, looked at the three of them a little lazily and smiled, "I'm a little tired, then I'll go back and rest first~ The rest of the things depend on you~"

Looking at it, Zhang Ning seems to really plan to take a good rest during this time, perhaps because she feels that with the current situation, even if she doesn't come forward, there will be nothing wrong, right?

After Zhang Ning left, Ma Teng took Ma Chao and the three of them out of the garden and came to the front yard. After letting his subordinates take Ma Ji down to study, Ma Teng asked lightly, "Say, what's wrong with the little emperor?" ”

"Back to my father, the little emperor sent someone to find the child, saying that the concubine had reached the end of the year and wanted to make her the queen." Ma Chao said in a deep voice when he heard this. His attitude is also very bland, if people who are not familiar with it see it, I am afraid they will not think that they are father and son at all, but just an ordinary relationship between superiors and subordinates, right? And it's the kind that doesn't have a good relationship.

As for this different atmosphere between the two of them, Wang Yi on the side did not react at all. But it's no wonder, because since she became Zhang Ning's disciple, the atmosphere between the two has always been like this.

Hearing this, Ma Teng subconsciously shook his head and sighed, "That little emperor is really idle, he just made a concubine selection not long ago, and now he is ready to ...... the queen."

"Then the boy is going to refuse the little emperor." When Ma Chao heard this, he immediately responded, this time, his report on the matter was false, and his visit to Zhang Ning was true. After the emperor? How could Ma Chao care about such a small thing?

However, after hearing Ma Chao's words, Ma Teng suddenly waved his hand and said, "But it's not in a hurry." With that, Ma Teng sent someone to invite Jia Xu and others. In addition to Yin Feng and other disciples of Zhang Ning, the Liu brothers and Zhong Xuan were also within the scope of the summons.

When he saw Ma Chao's surprised eyes, Ma Teng smiled and said, "Chao'er, they are all new people who have joined the service of their fathers......

Hearing Ma Teng's explanation, Ma Chao didn't speak, but just turned his head to look at Wang Yi on the side. Seeing this, Wang Yi suddenly smiled and said, "That's right, these people are sycophants who want to cling to the prime minister, although they can't be completely trusted, but such a trivial matter, it doesn't hurt to discuss it with them." Moreover, it is a test of their faithfulness. ”

"I see." Ma Chao didn't say anything more when he heard this, and sat next to Wang Yi and waited quietly, but he didn't know what he had just done, which made Ma Teng feel a little dissatisfied in his heart.

After half a ring, Jia Xu and others came one after another, and as soon as Ma Teng told them about the matter, Jia Xu suddenly smiled and said, "Prime Minister, the lower officials think that it is okay to agree to this matter." Just like the concubine in the past, the prime minister can take the opportunity to improve his prestige in the hearts of the people. At the same time, you can also take the opportunity to win over those scholars. As for the rituals, after all, they have just passed the great drought, and everything can be simple, and there will be no dissatisfaction with the saints and those scholars. ”

"The lower official seconded the proposal." Zhong Miao and the others said one after another when they heard this, but Ma Chao and Yin Feng didn't have any idea about it, and looked at Wang Yi, who was silent, and also chose to be silent.

Seeing this, Ma Teng nodded and said lightly, "Since that's the case, then let's agree, Wenhe, I'll leave this matter to you." ”

Just hearing Ma Teng's words, Jia Xu said respectfully, "Prime Minister, what do you think about this matter being handed over to Zhong Shilang?" ”

In a word, it immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.

"Okay, let's do it." Ma Teng nodded, not giving the others a chance to speak.