The summer mornings in Yecheng are cool and comfortable.

There is a privet tree in the courtyard where the princess of the Great General's Mansion lives. The leaves of the privet tree are bright green, and this is the time of flowering, and the green leaves are full of clusters of snow-white flowers in full bloom. The flowers of the privet tree are not precious flowers, but they are fresh and chic, and the princess Yuan Zhonghua likes them very much.

The flowers of the privet tree are white astragalus, and each flower is very small, and it is a branch that is clustered together. The flowers are fragrant and smell slightly bitter. Yuan Zhonghua used to like to play the flute under the privet tree, but now he hasn't played the flute for a long time. Ah Jiao said that it is not advisable to rest, for fear of hurting the vitality.

She had no other flute except the jade flute, which had been broken in two.

Early this morning, Yuan Zhonghua woke up early. Or should I say that she had been sleepless last night. I finally fell asleep at normal times, but I didn't sleep long and woke up soon. Because her husband, the general Gao Cheng, was coming back, she was worried and couldn't sleep.

The general Gao Cheng sent an envoy to Southern Liang as an envoy of the Great Wei State to Jiankang, the capital of Liang State, and it was already a matter of several months back and forth. Judging from the news sent back, the general has returned from Jiankang, and dozens of days have passed.

Since knowing the news, no matter what mood Yuan Zhonghua is in his heart, he has been looking forward to the day when his husband returns. finally looked forward to yesterday, saying that the general had arrived not far from the outskirts of the national capital and would return to Yecheng tomorrow, Yuan Zhonghua almost couldn't hold it in his heart, and even wished that he could leave the mansion and the city immediately to see his husband and take him back.

But she knew that now she was not alone, and she could not be as casual and willful as before.

Barely survived until early this morning. When I couldn't sleep last night, I suddenly worried, since I had reached the outskirts of the city, why didn't I enter the city? Is there any discomfort in the husband? Or was he wounded again? While thinking wildly, he also refuted his own speculation. An envoy is not an expedition, so how can he be injured?

Thinking of the arrow wound on his shoulder, it was so hideous and terrifying that it was right in front of her eyes, and her heart was sour, and she almost wanted to cry again.

Early in the morning, Ah Jiao saw that the princess herself got up early, so she always kept careful to check Yuan Zhonghua's expression on the side.

Since the last time the Duke of Taiyuan took his mother to Dongbaitang and came back, the well-known secret has finally revealed his true face in front of the princess. is sad and happy, the princess is actually pregnant. Ah Jiao's heart is also full of ups and downs, and she has to be careful to appease Yuan Zhonghua, and she has to be extra careful for fear that the princess will make a mistake and hurt the fetus in her womb.

In fact, Ah Jiao is more looking forward to the return of the lord Gao Cheng soon. When you meet, you can always clarify misunderstandings and make things clear. She believes that a foreign woman, no matter how much the prince loves her, she will not ignore the princess. Second, if the prince knows that the princess is pregnant again, he will be very happy, which is a great thing for the main mother. She can also shirk her responsibilities and no longer have to be so fearful.

Commanding the slaves and maids to wash and change the clothes of the master and mother together. Doing everything well and slowly and carefully is also the meaning of helping the housewife to pass the time. Ah Jiao felt that the prince would not come back so quickly, and he should enter the palace first.

How do you know that things are not what Ah Jiao thinks.

Before the meal arrived, Yuan Zhonghua was looking at the trembling golden phoenix hairpin that Ah Jiao put on her head in the bronze mirror, and the slave maid who had just combed her tassel bun to check the hair falling from her shoulders, when he suddenly heard urgent and heavy footsteps outside.

Yuan Zhonghua was taken aback and glanced at Ah Jiao. Ah Jiao hurried out to see what was going on.

"It's so urgent, it scares the mistress!" Ah Jiao didn't dare to raise her voice when she scolded.

"Lord Lang is almost at the gate of the mansion." The slave's voice reached Yuan Zhonghua's ears with a breath that had not yet calmed down.

Yuan Zhonghua immediately helped the slave and maid to stand up. When Ah Jiao came in, she saw Yuan Zhonghua hurrying outside. Ah Jiao hurriedly came up to help Yuan Zhonghua, for fear that she would act too quickly.

"Madame, slow down, just wait in the front hall." Ah Jiao persuaded.

Yuan Zhonghua didn't listen to persuasion at all, went straight outside, walked out of the courtyard and went straight to the gate of the mansion. Ah Jiao knew that the master mother was worried about Lord Lang in her heart, and she had always hidden such great good news in her heart, and she wanted to wait for Lord Lang to come back and tell him in person. Keeping a common secret for such a long time, there is no way to tell Gao Cheng, this is really beyond the limit for Yuan Zhonghua. It was inconvenient for Ah Jiao to stop her, so she could only follow closely step by step, and there would be no mistakes.

Last night, it happened that Kang Naning followed Gao Cheng back to Yecheng for several days, and he was overworked and injured his fetal gas, so Gao Cheng had to stay overnight near the outskirts of the city and couldn't go back to his mansion because of his heirs.

Rushed to Yecheng early this morning, he first ordered to send Xiao Yi, the king of Xiangdong, and other Liang people to the pavilion Lin Quanshe, and after saying goodbye to each other, he took Kang Naning and got in the car and went to the general's mansion.

In fact, both of them were uneasy along the way.

In the past, although Kang Naning had also thought about the grand occasion of the concubines in the Great General's Mansion in Yecheng, it was not immersive after all. I don't have the empathy when I'm so close. She has been in Yecheng for several years, and she never thought that the Quanchen Inner Mansion would have anything to do with her. When she was in Jiankang, she was looking forward to returning to Yecheng, and now she was going to the General's Mansion immediately, and she was so nervous that she almost suffocated.

Gao Cheng's mood was more complicated. If you usually have a concubine, or bring back a prostitute who has a relationship with a minister's family and is pregnant, it is not a big deal. But this time, I went away for a few months, obviously to envoy Liang Guo, and I did very important things, but I suddenly brought back a pregnant concubine, and I always felt that it was a little difficult to explain to Yuan Zhonghua.

No matter what mood the two of them were in, willing or unwilling, the ox cart finally slowed down and stopped at the gate of the General's Mansion.

Gao Cheng got out of the car and walked inside. The slaves and servants knelt down to welcome the lord back to his house. Although Gao Cheng was in a hurry to get in, if there was no one around, the attention of the servants was quickly attracted by the person behind Lord Lang.

Cui Jishu and Chen Yuankang did not follow Gao Cheng back home, but Liu Taozhi was Gao Cheng's cangtou slave, so he naturally had to follow him closely. It's just an ordinary cane-headed slave, that's all. The most eye-catching is Kang Naning. She was still wearing the robe with green flowers on a white background, the clothes of the Sogdians, with a small waist, and her belly was growing fast these days, and the clothes were held so tightly that they almost burst open, and her pregnancy was obviously sufficient.

Gao Cheng has two sons, both of whom are concubines. The princess Yuan Zhonghua has been infertile for a long time, and Gao Cheng has no son-in-law so far. This in itself is intriguing enough, but the lord of Lang brought back a pregnant concubine once he sent an envoy, and the general's mansion, which had been calm for a long time, suddenly made waves, and the servants did not dare to speak, and there were a lot of thoughts in their hearts.

Everyone is excited to see the excitement. is pregnant so soon, it must be the favor of the general. Moreover, Kang Nanen was still a beautiful and unusually Sogdian, which aroused the strong interest of the servants in the palace. Because the General's Mansion has always been as calm as water, without a single ripple, the appearance of this Sogdian beauty seems to be some kind of sign, the opening of a certain situation, and perhaps the Mansion will not be silent after that.

The princess Yuan Zhonghua didn't care about Ah Jiao's worries at all, but she was not a child after all, not to mention that this fetus was not easy to come by, and she was really careful. Ah Jiao couldn't help but think crankily in her heart, afraid that her skirt would be long, and that there would suddenly be stones under her feet......

As soon as I bypassed the main hall in front of me, I suddenly heard the slaves and maids reporting inside one after another, "Lord Lang is back." "It was all about the excitement.

Before Yuan Zhonghua could catch up, she suddenly saw her husband Gao Cheng in front of her, as if falling from the sky. Gao Cheng still has a small crown and a wide scarlet robe, and is walking inside. He hadn't seen that Yuan Zhonghua had already come out.

Yuan Zhonghua saw her husband at a glance, her feet were almost soft, others didn't know, and her heart was already beating like a deer. I don't know how I came over, and it seems to have floated over, and I have already arrived in front of Gao Cheng.

Gao Cheng felt that something was wrong, and when he looked up, he suddenly saw that Yuan Zhonghua had already walked in front of him. In fact, he was very tolerant of Yuan Zhonghua in his heart, and did not require her to treat her strictly with etiquette, as long as she was safe and sound, he would be relieved to see her smile at him.

Stopping and taking a closer look, Yuan Zhonghua was obviously plumper, his face was like a full moon, his complexion was excellent, his hair was black and shiny, and his hair was combed like a tassel hanging down his shoulders, and he was wearing a wide goose-yellow treasure flower skirt. In the months since he left, she seems to have grown taller and fatter, and she has a charm compared to the weak and restrained appearance when he left. For a moment, his heart pounded, and he could barely control himself.

She is not a beauty who captivates the country and the city, she can't sing and dance lightly, and even she doesn't please him, and she always makes him angry, but she can always make him miss him, can't forget, can't put it away.

"Husband." Yuan Zhonghua couldn't control his heartbeat, his face was crimson, and he saluted cautiously. Ah Jiao came over and saluted Lord Lang, and then helped Yuan Zhonghua up.

This "husband" is okay with others, Kang Naning, who was a little farther behind Gao Cheng, heard it in his ears, and his heart suddenly became sour.

This is the first time Kang Naning has met the princess Yuan Zhonghua. These days, on the way back, she has heard the slaves and maids tell her about the house, as if unintentionally and intentionally. She was also stunned. I never thought that my husband was such a high-ranking surname and an important position. In the hints of the slaves and maids, it seemed to be understood that the husband was the chief assistant of the powerful Great Wei, and even the emperor valued her husband very much.

This was not the ordinary Sogdian man she wanted, and everything in front of her made it clearer to her that she was not his wife, and it seemed that it was impossible for every one of his wives to be equal.

She also knew that her husband's concubine was the emperor's sister and Her Royal Highness the eldest princess. But she didn't expect that when she saw the princess for the first time, she turned out to be such an ordinary little girl. If you talk about appearance, you can only call it dignified and beautiful, fresh and chic, and it seems that you don't understand the world and have no scheming in the boudoir. Presumably because she is the eldest princess, her husband attaches great importance to her, right? It's like her brother values him, all because of his identity. The importance of identity cannot be so clearly understood without being in reality.

But today, seeing the prince and the princess together for the first time, Kang Naning felt that what he thought might not be right. Although she was standing behind Shizi and was a little farther away, she could feel that Gao Cheng was particularly warm and moved when she faced Yuan Zhonghua just by her back. This is something he didn't have when he was with her. She couldn't help but move forward, trying to see better.

At this time, Yuan Zhonghua suddenly saw Gao Cheng behind him, his face changed, and he stared at Gao Cheng with some puzzlement.

Gao Cheng saw that her face changed suddenly, and subconsciously turned around, and when he saw Liu Taozhi at a glance, he breathed a sigh of relief, and turned his head to Yuan Zhonghua and smiled, "This is a cangtou slave, Your Highness can send him if he has something." ”

There are no people in the house that Yuan Zhonghua doesn't know, maybe Liu Taozhi is too different from others, so Yuan Zhonghua was surprised.

Liu Taozhi was quite clever this time, and when he heard the prince say this, he immediately came up and knelt down to worship the princess.

A cane-headed slave, although it doesn't look like a cang-headed slave, is not a big deal. Since the husband likes it, Yuan Zhonghua naturally has no objections. Because he was in a good mood, he smiled and said, "In this case, I came back with Lord Lang from a long way, so let's go rest and rest first." ”

It is rare to see Yuan Zhonghua so pretentious, Gao Cheng looked at her with a smile.

Yuan Zhonghua was embarrassed by Gao Cheng. She was just about to say something, but suddenly her eyes were attracted by a person behind Gao Cheng. That little smile on her face slowly faded, staring at the man curiously.

Kang Naning had already walked behind Gao Cheng, and was also looking at Yuan Zhonghua with anxiety.

Ah Jiao behind Yuan Zhonghua also saw Kang Naning. Ah Jiao knows Gao Cheng's temperament very well, so she naturally understands what is going on at a glance.

Gao Cheng saw the change in Yuan Zhonghua's expression, and his heart sank. You don't have to look back to know that Yuan Zhonghua has seen Kang Naning. He saw Yuan Zhonghua standing there quietly and curiously looking at Kang Naning, and suddenly remembered how she looked when she first saw Yuan Yuyi a few years ago, just like at this time.

The first thing Ah Jiao's eyes saw was Kang Naning's belly. Did this Sogdian woman who was wearing such a tight garment and such a conspicuous belly mean to show her mistress? Ah Jiao opened her mouth, but she really didn't know if it would be appropriate for her to tell the good news that the princess was pregnant and tell Lord Lang first?

Ah Jiao subconsciously glanced at Yuan Zhonghua, and quickly made a judgment: it was not suitable. This news is still left to the master to tell the lord herself, it may be better.

Without waiting for Yuan Zhonghua to ask, Gao Cheng preemptively turned his head to look at Kang Naning and ordered, "Come and meet the master mother." ”

Suddenly his voice was so unfamiliar, and it seemed to be very far away, didn't he remember that they were also sweet and intimate? Or did he deliberately do it for the princess? But to sacrifice her in vain?

At this time, all the Sogdian temperaments in Kang Nanen's body had been completely suppressed by the environment in the general's mansion, and she had to come up slowly, walked in front of Yuan Zhonghua, knelt down with difficulty, and bowed to the mistress as a concubine.

Kang Naning was already extremely aggrieved in her heart, and she was sour, so she had to control herself and didn't dare to shed tears.