It was already dark, and the main hall of the Rongguo Mansion was lively.

Ming Ran knelt at the foot of the hall and kowtowed to the old man who was sitting above.

This old man with a kind face towards Ming Ran was her maternal grandfather, Mu Kaiding, the famous Rongguo Duke of the Celestial Empire.

Rong Guogong is not only the father-in-law of the first emperor, but also the companion of the first emperor's father, Emperor Xiaozong, and has a deep relationship with Emperor Xiaozong since childhood.

If there was no concubine of the Rongguo Mansion to marry into the harem, presumably the first emperor's road to the throne would have been bloody.

The first emperor still relied on the Mu family to ascend to the throne, not to mention Xiao Yiqian now.

Rong Guogong got up from the chair with a kind smile on his face, he took Ming Ran's hand, looked at her feet, and said, "Is Ran Er injured today?" ”

Ming Ran smiled: "The small injury has been cleaned up." ”

Rong Guogong pretended to be angry and complained that she had not come to the Guogong Mansion for a long time, she found various reasons and explained to him softly.

It took a long time to coax this childish old man before he smiled.

There is also a young boy in the hall, he is Mu Zhiyan's youngest son Mu Ting, and at this moment he is pulling the sleeve of Ming Dye and keeps asking her to tell him stories.

Mu Zhiyan's wife, Lu Shi, sat at the bottom of the main hall, listening to the conversation and laughter of the three grandchildren, she walked forward with a chuckle and replaced the cold tea in Rong Guogong's hand.

Mu Xu and Mu Yang stood at the door of the room, standing tall on the corridor.

The wind was blowing on the corridor, and Muyang looked at his mother with a pleading face.

Lu shook his head imperceptibly.

Since entering the mansion, Rong Guogong knew that Ming Ran almost disappeared in the forest today, and felt that the two brothers had not protected their sister, so they let the two stand at the door and reflect.

Looking at the happy scene in the house, Ming Ran obediently told Rong Guogong some fun, as if he had completely forgotten the brother who was punished for her at the door.

Mu Yang couldn't help but cough lightly.

Ming Ran glanced at the door, then walked to the two of them at the door, and said to Rong Guo in the main hall: "Please ask my grandfather to spare the two elder brothers, today's incident is indeed not the fault of the elder brothers." ”

Rong Guogong beckoned to Ming Ran and said lovingly: "Come in, it's cold outside." ”

Mu Yang complained bitterly in his heart, it was cold outside, he was afraid that it would be so cold that it would be clear, wasn't he afraid that it would be cold to the two of us?

He quietly glanced at Mu Xu next to him with his peripheral vision, and saw that he was straight, and he couldn't see any displeasure on his face.

Ming Ran walked in slowly, and looked back at the two of them with a helpless look.

Rong Guogong smiled and asked, "Dye'er, you are also tired today, can you let your aunt take you back to the Moon Courtyard to rest?" ”

The courtyard of the moon is the courtyard where Mrs. Ming lived when she was not out of the pavilion, and later after Ming Dye came to the Rongguo Mansion, it became the courtyard of the exclusive Ming Dye.

Ming Ran hesitated slightly, and said, "Grandfather, two elder brothers, ......"

Rong Guogong waved his hand to interrupt her words, and said coldly to the two people at the door: "You two come in." ”

Mingye smiled, "Thank you, grandfather." ”

Lu chuckled and got up and led Mingran out.

When Ming Ran passed by Mu Xu and Mu Yang who stepped into the house, she made a look of self-help to Mu Xu.

She knew that Rong Guogong let the two of them into the house, not because the matter was over, but because the punishment began.

Although I don't know what punishment the two will receive, Mingran knows that no one can persuade them.

She and Mu Ting followed behind Lu and walked out of the house.

Mu Xu and Mu Yang stood in the center of the hall and lowered their heads.

Rong Guogong picked up the teacup and said, "Kneel." ”

The two didn't dare to hesitate and knelt straight on the cold ground.

Rong Guogong lifted the lid of the cup, and a hot breath permeated, and he blew lightly and took a small sip.

"Do you know why you were punished?"

Mu Yang glanced at Mu Xu sideways, and saw that he lowered his head as if he was pondering.

Muyang's thoughts couldn't help but be confused, the eldest brother didn't plan to defend himself?

He gritted his teeth and said boldly: "It's because the grandchildren didn't protect Dye'er, so she almost got into danger today." ”

If she hadn't found her way out of the forest she said today, then it was likely that she would have been trapped in the forest, and she had just stood outside the house for an hour and shivered coldly, and if Mingran had been in the forest all night......

didn't dare to think about it anymore, Mu Yang was afraid for a while, no wonder the eldest brother didn't make a defense, this matter really deserves to be punished.

Rong Guogong got up and slowly paced to the door of the house, he stood with his hands in his hands, looking at the outside of the house with a slight candle flame.

He said in a melancholy tone: "Do you know that the emperor is about to become the queen." ”

On the day of the palace banquet, Mu Xu had not returned home, and Mu Yang also went to pick up people outside the city, so he did not participate in the palace banquet.

But they had already heard of what had happened at the palace banquet.

Rong Guogong strode in front of the two of them, pointed at Mu Xu and said excitedly: "You know that Dye'er should avoid suspicion now, but you hide it from everyone and help the emperor let Dye'er go hunting." ”

Mu Xu's face was shocked, he immediately leaned over and kowtowed, and said: "Grandfather, my grandson didn't deliberately hide the emperor's going hunting with him that day, just because the emperor told his grandson that he was out of the palace in Weifu, and it was inconvenient for too many people to know, so he asked his grandson not to tell outsiders." The grandson never thought that on the first day of the new year, the second aunt would let Dye Er go too, this matter was the fault of the grandson, and the grandson was willing to be punished. ”

Rong Guogong sneered twice, "Outsiders? The people who dare to love this Rongguo Mansion are all outsiders. ”

Mu Xu hurriedly explained: "That's not what Sun Er meant. ”

By outsiders, I mean people other than hunting.

Mu Yang saw that Rong Guogong was furious, and said, "Grandfather, this matter is not the fault of the eldest brother alone, the grandson is willing to be punished with the eldest brother." ”

Today, he also went to the hunting ground, only to know that the emperor was also there.

Rong Guogong sat back on the chair above, took two quick breaths, calmed his breath, and said: "What is related to Dye'er behind is not only the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, but also our Rongguo Mansion, when your eldest aunt was victimized in the palace, I swore in front of the ancestor spirit that I would never let my Mu family's bloodline enter the palace again to be harmed, your eldest aunt has no bloodline in this life, only your little aunt has an affair and a daughter, those intrigues in the palace, do you bear to let Dye Er enter the palace?" ”

Mu Xu and Mu Yang's faces were full of remorse, and at the same time said, "My grandson doesn't want to." ”

Rong Guogong nodded with satisfaction, and then looked at Mu Xu, "You have been in the palace since you were a child to study with the emperor, can't you really figure out a thing or two about the emperor's thoughts?" ”

Mu Xu looked at Rong Guogong with a reminiscing expression, and said after a long time: "Sun Er just didn't expect that the emperor would put his mind on Dye'er." ”

Rong Guogong sighed deeply, recalling the conversation he had with Mrs. Ming in the study on the day she returned to the house on the first day of the new year.

"The heart of an emperor is as deep as the sea."

He got up and walked around the two people on the ground and walked out, and when he walked to the door of the room, "Go and receive the family law yourself, and kneel to the ancestral hall tonight." ”

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Mu Xu was full of thoughts in his heart because of Rong Guogong's words.

The two of them went to the housekeeper to receive the twenty boards, and their bodies were strong because of their martial arts, and the people who held the canes did not dare to really put down their hands, so the twenty boards were not too serious for them.

After receiving the board, the two went to the ancestral hall and knelt in front of the spirit all night.