On Chinese New Year's Eve.

Before dawn, Zhong Zhuyu was woken up by the sound of Qi Bo leading his subordinates around the ash pile.

This ash heap is a custom unique to Dayu. It is before dawn on Chinese New Year's Eve, hang copper coins on bamboo poles, and then take this copper money pole and vigorously beat the ash heap or garbage heap.

It is said that as long as the ash heap is beaten, the owner of this family will turn evil into good fortune throughout the year, and the death will be auspicious.

Zhong Zhuyu hadn't seen this formation for many years, so she hurriedly got up and followed Qi Bo to look behind, and when she was interested, she had to do it herself, and when it was time to eat breakfast, she was covered with ashes.

Chunhe took the basin of water and cleaned her hands carefully, and said worriedly: "County Lord, you are like this, you will have to bathe and change clothes later!" ”

"Is it that serious?" Zhong Zhiyu looked down at himself suspiciously: "I think I'm pretty clean!" ”

"County Lord!" Chunhe accentuated his tone: "After all, if you want to face the saint, it's better to be cautious." ”

After speaking, he ignored Zhong Zhuyu, and asked to himself: "After bathing, you will have to smoke incense." The slave and maid saw it yesterday, and there are three kinds of incense in the treasury: osmanthus, rose, and orange fruit, which one does the county lord want to use? The slave maid thinks that osmanthus is good, and it can also match with osmanthus head oil. ”

"You don't have to have a head oil... Isn't that incense a little lighter? The corners of Zhong Shuyu's mouth twitched slightly.

"Hmm......" Chunhe recalled as he cleaned up: "Yes, yes, but it's the bamboo leaf incense used by men." ”

"This is good! It's bamboo leaves! Zhong Zhuyu clapped.

"Then the slave will go and prepare." Chunhe was blessed and went out with a group of girls and slaves, leaving only Zhuzhu to serve Zhong Zhuoyu for breakfast.

Zhong Zhuyu was originally in a stable state of mind, but looking at Chunhe's mighty movements, his heart began to be a little nervous. After she finished bathing, changing clothes and incense, she spent another noon waiting for her hair to dry, and even ate only a few bites of lunch in a hurry, and was pulled by Chunhe to the dressing table to coil her hair in a bun.

It wasn't until the sun was faintly setting in the west that Zhong Zhiyu took Chunhe and Xiao Wu to get on the carriage to the palace.

·

Wan Jinxiu and Chen Jinglan were also among the invitees to this Chinese New Year's Eve banquet, of course, they came together as family members.

The two were at loggerheads in private, but the fathers were peaceful, at least on the surface.

So Chen Shilang, who arrived first, insisted on letting Wan Shilang go in first in order to express his goodwill to Wan Shilang, but Wan Shilang didn't dare to accept this gratuitous kindness, and he excused himself again and again, and the scene suddenly froze here.

When Zhong Zhiyu arrived, he saw two carriages blocking the west gate.

Because he shared two invitations with King Zhenbei, Zhong Shuyu and King Zhenbei did not ride in the same carriage - not to mention that King Zhenbei was not willing to take the carriage at all, and ran away on a horse earlier.

Yi Zhong Zhuyu didn't know which house these two people belonged to, but he only saw that the regulations of the two carriages were not high, and thought that he should be able to speak, so he sent Chunhe there.

Chunhe got out of the car, and made a sign of the salute to the two families, and said crisply: "Everyone, the slave and maid are from the palace of the king of Zhenbei, seeing that the adults are here to reminisce about the old days, blocking the way of the people behind, the county lord asked the slave and maid to ask the two adults, but they are willing to enter the palace first, and it is not too late to talk about the old days." ”

Both of them have been in the officialdom for more than ten years, and when they heard that it was from the Zhenbei Wangfu, they knew in their hearts that they were the county lord who had never seen before.

The final result was to enter the palace according to the first come, and this time Chen Jinglan cocked her tail proudly, until she sat down, she still raised her chin to look at the Marvel.

Wan Jinxiu didn't care about her at all, but most of the children in this high-ranking official circle have good handkerchiefs that they have played since they were children, and there are only a handful of people like her who have risen up later. Unable to find anyone to speak, she could only turn her eyes around to look around at the palace that seemed too luxurious and delicate to her, and at this glance, she was the first to see Zhong Zhuyu walking this way.

I saw a woman walking slowly wearing a small jacket with a white background auspicious clouds and dark patterns, a lake-green cotton skirt, and small boots made of deerskin on her feet, which looked warmer than her own cotton shoes.

It wasn't until she got closer that she could see the appearance of the person who had come. Distant mountain eyebrows, smiling lips, a pair of smart eyes are really stunning in the world, and there is a touch of red flower between the eyebrows, which shows the delicate eyebrows and eyes.

Thinking of the rumors a few days ago, this county lord is not a good-tempered person, seeing that Zhong Zhuyu was about to walk to his table, Wan Jinxiu immediately got up and half-squatted to salute Zhong Zhuyu: "County lord An." ”

Zhong Shuyu was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said: "No courtesy." ”

Zhong Shuyuyuan was just passing by, and her seat was not in this square, but on a high platform with ten steps up. It is also different from the large round table around which they are gathered, and it is a rectangular stand-alone seat.

was stopped halfway, Zhong Zhuoyu was at a loss in his heart, did he know this person?

And the surrounding relatives who were reminded by Wan Jinxiu also saluted when they saw this, but saw that Zhong Zhuyu only looked at Wan Jinxiu with a calm face, and his timid heart was already uneasy, and he slandered that this county lord was really not a good person to deal with.

Zhong Zhuyu turned over all the people before the age of twelve, and didn't match the woman in front of him, so he had to secretly give Chunhe a look: Who is this person?

Chunhe also made a look: I don't know either.

The teammates didn't give it a try, so Zhong Zhuoyu had to ask himself: "I just returned to Dayu, and people still don't recognize it, I don't know who the girl is?" ”

"The courtiers are the daughters of the servants of the ministry, Wan Jinxiu." Wan Jinxiu was neither humble nor arrogant, and added: "It is the first time that the courtier and the county lord have met, and it is appropriate that the county lord does not know the courtier. ”

"She was the daughter of a servant. Since you and I met for the first time, how did you recognize me? ”

"The county lord has an extraordinary bearing, and he is different from her." Wan Jinxiu nodded as she spoke, seemingly very sincere.

Zhong Zhuoyu, who was "extraordinary", quietly straightened his waist, smiled and was modest, and then sat down with the palace people he led.

There are not many seats on this high platform, the seats of the king of Zhenbei and Zhong Zhiyu are listed at the bottom of the high platform, and the rest of the seats are all serious royal people, even if the prince whose fief is not good, he is also ranked in front of the king of Zhenbei who is halfway stuffed in.

King Zhenbei has no objection to this, and Zhong Zhiyu doesn't care. The earlier she was in the queue and closer to the emperor, the more restrained she became, and she couldn't even eat properly.

Zhong Shuyu shrugged his shoulders and waited for the arrival of the emperor and empress to prepare for the opening of the banquet.

·

Seeing Zhong Zhuyu walking away, Chen Jinglan pulled the little sister who was playing with her, and raised her voice: "How do you say that only the governor is allowed to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps?" Some people have a first-class ability to sneak around and pat horses, and they look down on others. ”

Everyone at this table was quiet, and the little sister who was pulled by Chen Jinglan was even more secretly hated, Chen Jinglan actually pulled herself to be this bird. Quietly glanced at the still calm and relaxed Markham, and didn't dare to talk.

Chen Jinglan was not happy to see her like this, and muttered: "What are you afraid of, we didn't say anyone, no one can sit in the right seat, and then come to beat you." ”

Wan Jinxiu didn't talk, only played with his cup, as if there was some mystery in this cup, which made Chen Jinglan bored herself.

In fact, Wan Jinxiu was reflecting on himself in his heart at this time, how could he have been bullied by such stupid people before? If the county lord is really an arrogant person, then everyone will not salute, and maybe they will be hated...... But this county lord is far from the rumors.

When Zhong Zhuyu, who was "far from the rumors", was chatting in every possible way, the emperor and the empress finally came hand in hand in a shrill "The emperor and the queen have arrived-".

Everyone got up and saluted, and after the emperor flattened everyone, he sat down again, his buttocks only overlapped with the edge of the stool, and he tried to show his best demeanor.

Zhong Zhuyu was hidden in the crowd, and then got up and hurriedly raised his eyes to look at the emperor

I didn't see it too clearly, I felt like a lean old man.

The seats of the emperor and the queen are the highest, and Zhong Zhiyu's small movements are naturally taken into the eyes of the two.

It's a lively one.

"Today's Chinese New Year's Eve, we invite all Aiqing here, don't be restrained, today only talk about eating and drinking, not about state affairs!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." And they all stood up and bowed in unison.

"Brother Huang, I found out that there is an extra sister today, why didn't Brother Huang introduce me." A male voice who felt like a hanger just by his voice grinned.

Hearing that it seemed to be directed at him, Zhong Zhuyu's heart suddenly suddenly, and he looked up at the source of the sound, and a little boy with a jade crown and a python robe smiled at him.

"I was negligent." The emperor laughed, and there was no appearance of negligence at all: "But the county lord of the Zhenbei Wang family? ”

"It turns out that my sister is the county lord of the Zhenbei Wang's family!" The little boy didn't have a look of sudden realization at all, obviously he had known it for a long time, and at this time he was just talking to the emperor.

Speaking of this, he almost named his surname, Zhong Zhuyu got up and walked to the center of the high platform, and saluted generously: "Courtier Zhong Shuyu, see the emperor and queen." ”

"No courtesy." The emperor was obviously very satisfied with her self-consciousness, and turned his head to the king of Zhenbei and said: "For the safety of the people of Dayu, it was really a knot in my heart to let the county lord go to Beiyi alone at a young age. Now I am very relieved to see the county lord return safely. Yongnian... I hope you don't blame me. ”

"I don't dare." King Zhenbei also walked out and hugged his fist.

"Don't dare? You're really still weird......" The emperor's expression became serious, and his brows furrowed even deeper.

Hearing this, King Zhenbei immediately answered: "The minister does not blame the emperor. ”

"It's good not to blame,......" the emperor muttered, as if he had a matter on his mind.

Zhong Zhiyu, who was still standing in the middle, said that he was embarrassed. The two of you have been going back and forth, have you ever asked me for my opinion?

Before she finished slandering, the emperor named her: "County lord, you can get used to it after returning to Dayu." ”

"Back to the emperor, get used to it." Zhong Zhiyu was worried that it would be too wrong to say more, so he said concisely.

"Just get used to it, I will reward you with fifty taels of gold, I have worked hard for you in the past few years."

"Emperor Xie!" Zhong Zhiyu was a little excited, but he didn't expect that there would be additional gains on this trip.

Looking at the overflowing joy of the next person, a glimmer of light flashed in the emperor's eyes, and he suddenly asked: "Since you have lived in Beiyi for so many years, what do you think Dayu should do with Beiyi next?" ”

Zhong Xiyu was stunned by this sudden question, and when he saw that the emperor was looking at him directly, he hurriedly lowered his head and sorted out his words: "The courtiers think... The people of Beiyi have small wisdom and no big strategy, but they are good at cavalry combat, and they have always been eyeing me Dayu, so they must be guarded against. If conditions permit, it is better to send troops to occupy the grassland for themselves. ”

"Oh?" The emperor clapped his hands and said: "She is worthy of being a girl of eternal age, and as soon as she opened her mouth, she directly asked for other people's grasslands." ”

He asked in a deep voice, "Then won't you be reluctant to let go of your friends in Beiyi?" ”

Zhong Zhuyu's heart was sudden, and he hurriedly denied it: "Although the courtiers are blessed in Beiyi, they have always remembered Dayu in their hearts. The courtiers always remember that they are a Dayu person, and these petty feelings are not worth mentioning in the face of the country's righteousness. ”

"Good!" The Emperor smiled heartily for the first time of the night.