Very late, Shen Ruoyu returned home from the palace. Nangong Qiu is not there; Lu Jiang told her that Ma Sanbao came over with the carriage and horses of the palace, saying that the prince and Niangniang were going to take the lord of Cheng'an into the palace, and took Qiu'er away, along with all her things, including the things she had just rewarded her.

Now that he has become the county lord, he naturally can't live in the Hongjia Hotel anymore; What's more, the county lord is married, and on the day of the wedding, the groom will of course take out the county lord's palanquin from the palace in a dignified manner. However, the more important reason is that although King Yan and Princess Yan love Nangong Qiu's innocence and cleverness, they also see that her heart is too clean, and they are somewhat worried that she will not learn to be a gentle and virtuous wife, so they have the intention to let her live in the palace for a period of time and train her well.

On the third day, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and Princess Xu officially recognized Nangong Qiu as a righteous daughter in the Yan Palace, and then canonized her as the lord of Cheng'an County, conferred the county lord's canonization treasure, and announced that Shen Ruoyu was the guest of honor in Cheng'an of Yan Mansion, and the marriage date was on the 30th Chinese New Year's Eve of the month of Layue, that is, a month and a half later.

King Yan's move to appoint a folk woman as the county lord caused dissatisfaction in the imperial court. The Son of Heaven ordered the Zongren Mansion to dispose of it, but the Zongren Decree of the Zongren Mansion approved by Zhu Yuanzhang was King Yan himself. Zhu Di put the emperor's nephew's orders on the shelf. Zhu Yunwen was helpless and gave Zhu Di a letter of repair, implicitly expressing his criticism euphemistically. However, the wood has been completed, the treasure has been granted, and for a time it was spread all over the world, Zhu Di replied to the emperor, I don't know how to explain, in short, Zhu Yunwen lost his temper - or, he didn't have a temper from the beginning - no longer spoke, and the matter was over in Yingtian.

However, in Beiping, the situation is completely different. In the eyes of the people of Beiping, the Son of Heaven is the King of Yan, the county lord is the princess, and whatever the King of Yan says is what it is. The military and people of Beiping did not have the concept of the imperial court in their hearts, but now they finally have it, and it is also because the imperial court wants to cut the feudal domain, and the image is no different from that of a tiger and a wolf. And they resolutely support King Yan to rise up and seize the throne, and the true son of heaven in his mind naturally has the right to make the folk woman he likes a princess. Of course, the ultimate goal of Zhu Di's move is to completely control Shen Ruoliao in his own hands, and at the same time to see everyone under him, so as to win people's hearts on a larger scale.

Now, the princess is going to get married; Shen Ruoliao became the third guest of honor in Yanfu, or it is better to simply say that the future concubine, so some people began to boast in the streets and alleys of Beiping that he had foreseen that he had foreseen that he would definitely become the big celebrity of King Yan when Shen Ruoliao stopped the two princes on the street a year ago, and was caught by the prince in the palace and released unscathed.

As a result, the number of guests in the Hongjia Hotel surged, I don't know for what reason, it seems that the people of Beiping want to squeeze into this small hotel, spend a little money or two to eat a few mouthfuls of wine and food, say a few good words to the shopkeeper, and be lucky enough to see the guest of honor. For a while, Yao Biao also seemed to feel that he was a little overshadowed when he walked beside Shen Ruoliao, who used to pick up dung and water flowers for his home.

Shen Ruoyu was not interested in this set at all, he regarded all the guests who came to the hotel as strangers, ignored their gaze, and did not react when he heard words that had nothing to do with the wine and food, and when he was free, he was still busy in the store himself, no different from the original shopkeeper, but he no longer fought with the guests, and he no longer cared about the wine money - because no one had the courage to repay the debts and go crazy with alcohol in the Hongjia Hotel.

Soon, people saw his high level, so they very smart began to praise Lu Jiang's craftsmanship, how fragrant the wine and food were, how diligent the people were, how neat and comfortable the small shop was, how good Sister-in-law Hong was, how kind she was to others, it was Guanyin Bodhisattva who went down to earth - finally found out Shen Ruoxiao's thoughts, coaxed him to be happy every day, Rao knew how much honey these people had smeared on their mouths, and they couldn't help but smile and thank them from time to time.

People always smile and groan when happy events come to an end, and sincerely feel happy. But this happiness is not absolute; While Shen Ruoliao felt happy during these days, he was also accompanied by loss and distress; While he was sought after and concerned by the people of Beiping, he was also ignored and neglected by some people. Since he came back, he had never seen the third brother and a group of beggars—not only did they not come to the Hong's hotel, but they seemed to have disappeared from the city of Beiping, and no one ran over—even secretly—to congratulate him, and no one ever asked. He could not find them, and there was no trace of them in the temple of the land outside the city.

And then there's Nightshade, since he returned to Peking this time, he hasn't seen her either. Lu Jiang also wondered why she couldn't come. And now that he is outside with a big face, he can no longer swagger to Wanliuer Hutong to find her as before - he used to be not afraid of gossip, but now he can't be afraid anymore. He is about to marry Qiu'er, if the streets and alleys talk about him running to Wanliu Hutong to steal a girl from Huiyinglou, let the prince know that he is allowed to skin him, he will never want to touch Qiu'er again in this life.

After returning to Beiping, he heard from Yao Biao that his second brother Liang Tiehan was arrested in Beijing at the same time as the whole family of King Zhou when he was in the palace of King Zhou, and was later released by the court because he was innocent; It happened that Wang Bin, the inspector of Yangzhou Patrol and Supervision of Yushi, reported on his work in Beijing, and Wang Yushi and the second brother were old friends, so he helped the second brother find an errand in Yangzhou Mansion. The second brother moved to Yangzhou with his sister-in-law. He wrote the invitation, asked for the address of the second brother from Master Yao, and sent the invitation to the second brother and Wang Jing to the post station and sent it. The rest of the people to be invited were in Beiping, so he sent the invitations to everyone one by one.

Only the last invitation to Nightshade remains; Shen Ruoyu hesitated for a long time, and finally found a quiet afternoon, quietly slipped outside the back door of Huiying Building, and saw that there was no one around, so he grabbed a handful of stones and hit them one by one on the wind chimes hanging under the eaves.

The wind chimes rang pleasantly. This is the secret word for him and Nightshade; In the past, every time the wind chimes rang, Xiang'er would immediately run out and open the door. This time, however, he had shot two handfuls of stones, and there were no more stones to pick up around; The back door of the building is still closed.

Shen Ruoyu was already restless, for fear that passers-by would see him here, and he couldn't open the door at the moment, and he was even more anxious like an ant on a hot pot. He couldn't wait any longer, so he took out the big red invitation card in his arms, stuffed it into the crack of the door, turned around and hurried to leave.

He had just taken a few steps when suddenly a girl's voice sounded behind him:

"Stop!"

He stopped, turned around, and saw a narrow slit open behind him; Nightshade stood inside the door and threw his invitation out of the door.

"Take it."

The door then closed again. Shen Ruoyu was puzzled and even more unhappy. He strode back to the back door, picked up the invitation, and raised his hand to slap it on the door.

"Xiang'er! Open the door! ”

He filmed for a long time, but there was no response. Shen Ruoyu knew that Nightshade was standing in the door, a little light. He stopped, took half a step back, looked at the closed back door, and said coldly:

"If you don't open the door again, I'll kick it."

The door opened. Nightshade stood proudly and coldly in front of her, raised her chin, stared at him with disdain, and mocked:

"Lord Yibinlang is so cultivated."

Shen Ruoyu got angry and said, "Xiang'er, what do you mean?" I sincerely invited you to my wedding, why did you throw my invitation? ”

Ye Laixiang sneered and said: "Yo, you have a big wedding, and you are married to the county lord of King Yan, why did you come to invite me to a Qinglou woman?" Look at you, you don't dare to go to the front door, and you go to the back door to ring the bell so hard, and you are afraid of being seen; That's sincere! Pretending to make so much trouble for yourself, can you afford it! ”

"Xiang'er?!" Shen Ruoyu looked at her in surprise, he had never heard her speak so ugly. "What the hell is wrong with you? Did I do something wrong, as if you've been very opinionated with me since I came back, and you don't even want to see me? If I have something to do with you, you should tell me that you shouldn't avoid me. ”

"Hiding from you? Can I not hide from you? How many heads do I have, dare to argue in front of you? ”

"Xiang'er, don't say anything about Yi Binlang again. I've always treated you as a good friend, so I came to send you an invitation. What did I provoke you? ”

"Provoke me? Where do I have that level, so that you can be embarrassed by Lord Yibinlang? Ye Laixiang sneered, "However, I'm really curious, I want to know how much the county lord of Cheng'an knows about her Yibin Lang?" ”

Shen Ruoyu's heart sank. "What do you mean?"

Ye Laixiang said disdainfully: "Shen Ruoliao, what you want to marry now is the county lord, people can't be deceived, and it's not something you can coax with a sentence or two." Does she know anything about your past story? Do you have the guts to tell her? ”

Shen Ruoxiao was silent for a moment and said, "Xiang'er, thank you for your concern for Qiu'er. You can ask her yourself. When we first met, I told her everything. I never lied to her. ”

Nightshade was stunned for a moment, and then followed, the disdain and sarcasm on her face replaced by anger.

"You've already told her, haven't you? Okay, it's really a master, what a clever wrist. ”

Shen Ruoyu was simply inexplicable. "Xiang'er, what's wrong with you?"

Ye Prima looked at him contemptuously and said, "Shen Ruoliao, have you completely forgotten what you said?" You used to tell me that you are sorry for your sister, you don't want to be a negative person, but now? Your sister was thrown out of the sky by you? You don't care if she's alive or dead anymore, do you? There's a county lord here, and you just want to be your guest of honor, and everything else can be treated like dung. ”

Shen Ruoyu said coldly: "Since I first wanted to marry her, King Yan hasn't seen her yet. I can tell you that in order to test my sincerity to her, the prince once forced me to express whether I wanted to die or her. As a result, he is now in charge of this family business himself. When you talk about my sister, I still feel sorry for her and regret it, but what I did is irreparable. I can't have a future with her. I used to think that I would be lonely for her for the rest of my life, but I hadn't met Qiu'er at that time. But now, I don't want to ruin another girl's happiness for the sake of the past. Do you understand? ”

Nightshade said, "Really? What about me? ”

"You?" Shen Ruoyu couldn't turn the corner for a while.

Ye Laixiang said coldly: "Shen Ruoxiao, how long do you plan to continue to pretend to be stupid?" Once I wanted to marry you. I used to think that you were the person I was waiting for all my life, and I wanted to be your wife, but you didn't want to, you used your clan sister as a shield, and I was so naïve that I thought you were really so single-minded, and I was willing to give up to fulfill your single-mindedness. Now it seems that fortunately, I didn't stick to it at the beginning. What your sister, what you don't want to be ashamed of, it's all just an excuse. In the end, you don't bother to trick me into getting into your bed, I'm just a girl in a green house, and it will make you feel cheap, right? Thank you so much. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at her in surprise.

"Xiang'er?! - What are you talking about?! ”

"You are shameless, Shen Ruoliao, you are really shameless," Ye Prima finally couldn't help but grit her teeth and scolded, "You just continue to pretend to be stupid!" Only the simple and naïve lord of Cheng'an can't see through you, but you can't fool me anymore! Go ahead and pretend to be high; Take away your filthy and hypocritical invitations; I tell you, I look down on you! In the future, you will never appear in front of me again! ”

She scolded menacingly, turned around and was about to go in. Shen Ruoyu instinctively reached out and grabbed her. Nightshade was furious, raised her hand, gave him a resounding slap in the face, and then plunged through the door, slamming it in front of his face.

Shen Ruo stood in place speechlessly, only feeling that his cheeks were hot. He stood motionless, and did not raise his hand to touch his face, but just froze, as if he was stupid.

Three years ago, in Qing'er's room in Zhenshui Village, the angry wooden swing also gave him a slap in the face. Two girls, the same temperament, the same former closeness, the same no martial arts. Twice, he obediently took their beatings; The first time was for Qing'er; The second time, it was for Qing'er again.

When Nightshade was angry, it was exactly the same as the wooden swing that day. This is also his retribution, right?

He was helpless, hesitated for a long time, and finally inserted the invitation into the crack of the door, and then turned around and left Wanliuer Hutong gloomily.

The next morning, when he went to see Zhu Di, King Yan had heard about what happened in Wanliuer Hutong out of nowhere, and seriously forced him to explain the problem. This time, there was no Dao Yan and Yao Biao present, but it was Princess Yan - the eldest daughter of Xu Da, the king of Zhongshan and the mother of the three princes of the Yan king - who questioned him with the king of Yan. Luo Yang and Ma Sanbao were also not there, only some palace maids were waiting on the side.

Shen Ruoyu had no choice but to tell the story of himself and Yang Miqing, and all the circumstances of Ye Laixiang to King Yan and the princess. He repeatedly explained to the prince and Niangniang that he only wanted to marry Qiu'er, and he was really afraid that this matter would hurt her. Princess Yan confidently told him that although he could rest assured, Qiu'er's side would be handled by her, and it would be fine. Zhu Di asked about the situation of Nightshade, and then persuaded him to relax, it may be a good thing to make some scandals at this time; He said nothing else, and seemed to be lost in thought.

Two days later, Shen Ruoyu overheard in the chatter of passers-by on the street that Ye Lixiang was actually caught by King Yan and put in the palace for a night, and only returned to Huiying Building the next day, and it seemed that he had been beaten. Soon he found that the rumors had been all over the city, and the content was becoming more and more bizarre and terrifying, and later it had evolved into the fact that he Shen Ruoyu instructed the guards to grab the night incense to wantonly insult and torture, so that she would never see anyone in the future, let alone expose his evil deeds in front of others.

The Hong's hotel is still thriving, and the guests who come to drink are still happy to be able to take a look at Shen Ruoxiao, but apparently now they are not here to catch a glimpse of the legendary young and handsome and extraordinary Yi Binlang, but to see the face of the legendary tyrannical and debaucherous bully.

Shen Ruoyu could only adopt the same method as before, ignoring their whispered curses and ridicule as well as the previous flattery.

Half a month later, Shen Ruoyu received a reply from Liang Tiehan. The second brother said in the letter that his sister-in-law is pregnant and frail and needs to be taken care of, and he is now at home every day with her, and it is inconvenient to move, and I am afraid it is impossible to go out to Beiping. He and his sister-in-law could only bless their fourth brother and younger siblings from afar in Yangzhou. When the child is born next year, he will definitely bring his sister-in-law and little nephew to see them.

Shen Ruoyu was happy for her second brother and second sister-in-law, but she was very disappointed on the other hand. Since Ye Laixiang turned his face with him, he has become more and more eager to hope that his only remaining relatives can appear by his side, his second brother and sister-in-law, and Wang Zhenren. Now, the second brother and sister-in-law are determined not to come, and all his hopes are pinned on Wang Jing. Even for the sake of the autumn wind, Wang Zhenren should appreciate his face, right? There really is no one relatives around him, although there is King Yan and friends, and even a mother who recognizes, and treats him as well as his own mother - he is still lonely in his heart, and it is not a taste to think of night primrose.

I hope that these can pass soon, I hope that everything will go well in the end, and I hope that Qiu'er will marry him soon, and he can finally stop being lonely.

During this period, new progress was made in the war in Yunnan. He Fu, the former general who took over the military power of the late Marquis Muchun of Xiping, finally captured the traitor leader Dao Ganmeng and showed his head to the public. At this point, the imperial court won a complete victory, the Luchuan rebellion was completely quelled, and the Yunnan frontier was stable and worry-free.

The third brother and his entourage of beggars are still missing and cannot be found. A few days later, Wang Jing's reply was finally sent from Wudang Mountain to Beiping. Shen Ruoyu took the letter, and as soon as he read half of it, his heart sank. Wang Zhenren wrote a full paper of blessings, but said that he was not coming, and Yuan Gao was there to represent him. He Wang was shocked to preside over Shen Ruoxiao's last wedding in person, and now was not the time.

Shen Ruoyu pondered Wang Jing's sentence repeatedly. The last wedding, now is not the time -

What do you mean?

He was upset when he thought of the night incense, and felt more and more that everything before the wedding was extremely unsmooth, which was not a good sign. He began to pray secretly every day and night that there would be no more accidents, hoping that everything would be because of good things.