Eight thousand soldiers and horses fought against the fierce and cunning nomads of the entire northern border, no matter how good the prince of Yu Wang was, and how experienced and brave General Yue Yao was, the battle became more and more difficult, and in the end, the young two were determined to die and live and die with the north.

As the stalemate between the two sides dragged on for more and more time, it gradually entered the winter, and the enemy country in the north had little food and grass, and it gradually became difficult to survive by snatching every year.

At this moment, the enemy sent envoys to negotiate with the prince of Yuwang.

Above the court, the ministers of the Lord and the majority of the ministers, after all, the world has not been peaceful in the past two years. The floods in the south were followed by the plague, which almost consumed most of the national treasury, and the bandits in the East China Sea wasted troops. The battle in the north lasted for several months, and the officials and households were like chickens and blood, and they were all trying to transport grain, grass and clothes there, and they almost emptied the treasury and sent it there. Even if the minister didn't say anything, the old emperor looked at it and twitched in his heart.

Originally, since his son went to the battlefield, he has been called sick and can't go to the court, and at this time, he was looking at the imperial brother who was sitting on the dragon chair with tears in his eyes. His own two sons are also extraordinary in martial arts, and it is unfair to let his precious sons go to war.

The old emperor didn't want to look at his own brother's face, how brave he was when he was young, and when he was old, he was obsessed with the affection of his children, did he forget the national righteousness!

But hate to hate, he didn't want to fight anymore.

He's old, he's really old. The heart is soft, the ambition is gone, and I just think that no one in the world will come out with any moths, and they will all live a peaceful life.

"But in addition to the food and money for the winter, the Tatar tribe also wants us to use the princess and the ......"

As we all know, although the emperor has many concubines, he has few heirs, and he only has two sons in his life, King Gong and King Qi.

"I have to choose a suitable one from all the princes' mansions." The old emperor muttered.

In addition to King Yu, the princes of our dynasty still have the two living princes of Yan and Xianwang, and they are all idle fairy princes in the prime of life, rarely go to the court, and most of the time they raise flowers and pox birds in the palace to make fun of their grandchildren, and they live very comfortably. As for the county lord, in addition to the county lord of Nanping, who married Gu Zhuangyuan, the only one who is unmarried at the right age is the county lord Ning Xin, the youngest daughter of the Yan Wang family.

"No! If you want money and food, you want money and food, why do you want the county lord and relatives, and the peace in exchange for women is too humiliating! King Qi spoke out angrily.

In the past, a large group of courtiers would have followed, but now it is different. The power of the Xu family fell, and Concubine Xu also lost power. Now the king of Qi is still the king of Qi, but these ministers are not the same ministers as before.

The King of Qi had his pride, and he thought that Jiangshan Sheji could not sell the happiness of a weak woman in exchange for stability, but his voice was soon silenced in the heated discussion among the courtiers about the Ningxin County Lord and the etiquette of his relatives.

On the eighth day of the lunar month, the war in northern Xinjiang was suspended, and the little daughter of the Yan family, Ning Xin, was named Princess Ning Xin, and set off for peace from now on. He ordered Yuan Zhiheng, who was both civil and military, to be a dowryman. The king of Qi asked to go with him, but the emperor agreed, but Concubine Xu was worried and became ill, and the emperor couldn't bear to refute his request. In order to show his attention, he changed King Gong to be the dowry messenger, and Yuan Zhiheng was the deputy envoy.

This day is Laba Festival again, Diancui and Aunt Xing got up in the middle of the night, washing rice, washing beans, smashing walnuts and making porridge.

"Don't worry, just to send the princess and relatives, not to fight," Yuan Zhiheng deliberately said with a smile in order to appease Dian Cui: "Even if I really fight, my martial arts are not in vain." You know, it's boring for this civil official to do things around. ”

Dian Cui listened to his nonsense there, and brought a bowl of thick and thick laba porridge to him with a straight face, and scooped four or five spoonfuls of sugar into it fiercely.

Yuan Zhiheng took a bite, only frowned sweetly, and finished it with a smile. It's so sweet, I'm afraid he won't forget it for two months.

Dian Cui held Brother Yun in one hand and Sister Ci in the other, and saw him go all the way to the door of the Nine Palaces, watching his straight back walk in step by step.

Over the years, Yuan Zhiheng's cold and hard man's heart has already been turned into a finger-twisting softness. After taking a few steps, I couldn't help but turn around, hugged Diancui into my arms, kissed her forehead heavily, and said in her ear Everything at home is bothering Mrs., wait for me to come back.

Turning his head and saying to Sister Ci to protect your mother and brother, Sister Ci nodded solemnly, and the little adult-like father can rest assured, leave it to his daughter.

Yuan Zhiheng smiled and touched Sister Ci'er's hair, and was about to turn his head.

"Wait," but Tingcui suddenly called with a crying voice, "Listen...... I heard that the women in Northern Xinjiang are stunning, do you ...... When you come back, you are not allowed to bring one back, for no reason! ”

Diancui cried first after she finished speaking, she didn't know why she said these useless things, she actually wanted to say that she wanted to come back early, come back healthy, and come back alive. But for some reason, she didn't dare to say it, as if she didn't even dare to think about what bad things would happen......

Yuan Zhiheng wanted to laugh when he heard her say this, but when he looked back at the tears on her face, he couldn't laugh anymore, and only said seriously that if he didn't bring anyone, he wouldn't bring it, and I would come back by myself...... Then it disappeared into the twilight of a winter morning.

In the following days, Dian Cuiqiang suppressed the cranky thoughts and longings in his heart, took care of the shop during the day, and after putting Brother Yun to sleep at night, he picked up what he liked in the past - he made a hairpin by himself.

Although she hasn't made this hairpin for a long time, when she touches those gold and silver jade beads on the tips of her fingers, she looks like an old friend who has not been seen for a long time.

Doing business and making hairpins is the most exhausting and energetic, but it can make her busy every day, but it is fulfilling.

The maids below are also more silent than the other, although the master and son are together. After many years of winter snow, he picked up the account book and started to calculate, which can still make the account room in the shop amazed. In order to draw a more desirable picture for her wife, Rose either talks to herself or buries herself in a book every day, as if she is stunned.

As for Aunt Xing and Xin'er, the food for the big guys and taking care of the little young master Yun Ge'er are their most important tasks now. Good

As the days passed, Diancui made one jewelry after another, whether it was a hairpin, there were still crowns, step shakes, Yingluo, sideburns, rings, arm ...... Wait a minute.

But she does this, and she doesn't sell it in the Angelica Pavilion. I only took a large box, and opened it to put one block after another of the dark compartments. She carefully placed the jewelry one by one into the lattice, then locked it and placed it under the head of the bed.

She doesn't sell it, and everyone naturally won't persuade her to do anything, after all, everyone knows that these jewelry are made by Mrs. when she misses adults, and they have different meanings.

Now the business of Angelica Pavilion is very good, Diancui also sealed a big red envelope and waited to be sent to the shopkeepers up and down the shop on the day of the New Year.

The Chinese New Year's Eve is celebrated by the whole country.

Outside, there was heavy snowfall, up and down the Yuan Mansion, except for the crazy Aunt Qin, everyone gathered in the big kitchen in the backyard to make dumplings.

This is also the first time that Aunt Han and her sisters have watched Diancui make noodles, adjust fillings, and make dumplings...... The movements are skillful, and the hands and feet are quick and complete. On the other hand, several of them are from the inner palace, and it is inevitable that they will be clumsy to do this, and it is not as good as the maids around Diancui, but the kung fu of Xiao Yingying's hands does not fall at all, washing vegetables, brushing dishes, cutting vegetables, cutting meat, killing chickens, going to fish scales, setting up pots and burning fires...... In order.

If it weren't for the eldest lady of the Yuan family, who was wearing a high-quality Hangzhou silk revolving jacket and sheepskin pleated skirt, and her fingers did not touch the spring water, the aunts almost thought that this was not the mansion of the first-class official in the imperial court at all, but a small family in the countryside with a good family background and happiness.

I saw Sister Ci'er stretching out her legs, propping up her arms on the table, and drooping her eyelids, which almost reminded Diancui of His Royal Highness the proud King of Qi who was like a little rooster. The sunset next to her stood straight, like a door god who didn't move.

"Sister Ci, you are a girl, you have to sit and sit!" Dian Cui reprimanded again angrily.

"Daddy said that those who do big things are not informal." Sister Ci'er didn't even blink her eyelids, and she spoke like a ruffian.

She's learning from her daddy! Since beating her father and telling her to take care of her mother and brother when he left, she has become like this. She was a little serious, but she was very funny, which made several maids laugh.

Dian Cui held back the anger in his heart and said:

"Instead of being bored there, why don't you come and help your mother make dumplings." People say that the girl is the mother's little padded jacket, the longer this is, the less soft it is, the person is a small padded jacket, she is just a small armor.

Sister Ci'er still supported her head with one hand, picked up the teacup on the table with the other hand, took a sip gently, and said lightly:

"Making dumplings? I'm not here. ”

Diancui: "......"

Just as Diancui picked up a rolling pin and chased Sister Ci all over the kitchen, Ye Hong led a group of people into the yard.

"Sister, my mother and sister-in-law asked me and Sister Yun to accompany you and Sister Ci to celebrate the New Year together." Gui Shuhuai walked in front, followed by his niece Gui Miaoyun, who was only a few dozen days younger than him in age, but he had always had the consciousness of being a little uncle, and he loved and cared for Miaoyun very much in the home, and Miaoyun loved to stick to her little uncle the most.

"Yun'er, how about meeting my aunt, cousin Ci?" Miaoyun's temperament is very gentle and sensible, Diancui saw that her heart melted, and then looked at her own naughty, very helpless.

"Cousin, you're here." Sister Ci naturally likes her cousin, but now she is not the usual her, she has to be steady and serious.

Her appearance attracted a rolling pin again, but she was really agile, and she easily dodged it with one turn.

Ye Hong was afraid that Mrs. would beat Sister Ci again, so she hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Madam, they are all here too." ”

This is Tang Yu, Li Chunfang, Xue Qiu, the three of them came in together, knelt down together, kowtowed, hugged their fists and said: "Fourth aunt (madam), Yu'er (Fang'er, Qiu'er), I have a New Year's greeting for you!" ”

"Oops, hurry up!" Diancui immediately threw away the rolling pin, stepped forward and helped the children up, why are they here, your father.

"Fourth aunt, my father and mother asked me to accompany you and Sister Ci'er to celebrate the New Year, but I didn't come because Brother Dong went to bed early." Li Chunfang said with a smile, and the other two also said the same thing.

Diancui knew that this was her father, mother, brother and sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law, and they were afraid that they would feel uncomfortable for the New Year alone, so they asked the children to accompany them.

"Okay, since you're all here, don't take it with you in the kitchen, let's go to the water pavilion first, let's keep a New Year in the water pavilion today!"

The dumplings were served in the water pavilion, and a few dishes were served one after another, and with the children here, the atmosphere of the New Year was also very lively and jubilant.

Diancui gave red envelopes to everyone one by one, and the children were very happy, and the three aunts didn't expect that they also had red envelopes, and they were a little shy for a while, but it was difficult to hide the joy of the festival.

Du Xiaozhu came in from outside, dusted off the snowflakes on his body, Xin'er came over and put a soup woman in his hand, Du Xiaozhu took it with a smile, and wanted to say something, but Xin'er turned around in a hurry, and Du Xiaozhu had to swallow the words.

"Madam, there is news from the palace that His Majesty has fainted at the banquet, and the imperial doctor is treating him, but he has not woken up, I am afraid that he will ...... The ministers were also in the palace. Du Xiaozhu said.