That night, it was not until the gong sounded on the second watch that Mrs. Wei Guo returned to the Guogong Mansion.

Under her repeated pleas, Princess Qing finally agreed.

Early the next morning, Princess Qing personally went to Jingzhao Mansion and told Jing Zhaoyin that she had reached a settlement with the Geng family, and asked Jingzhaoyin to release Geng Tinglian. However, Jing Zhaoyin delayed again and again on the grounds of verifying the details and unfinished official documents, and the Duchess of Weiguo came to the door several times, but he didn't see it, and it dragged on for ten days, which released Geng Tinglian.

When Geng Tinglian came out of Jingzhao Mansion, her face was pale, her feet were floating, and her whole person had lost a lot of weight, describing herself haggard, and she no longer had the fighting spirit of ten days ago. The maid Anlan carefully supported her girl.

"Sister Lian! My sister Lian, you have suffered! ”

In the carriage, Duchess Wei Guo hugged her daughter who had just gotten into the carriage and cried bitterly, only feeling that her heart and liver were as if a piece had been stripped off, and she was in pain.

Geng Tinglian lay in the arms of the Duchess of Weiguo with a dull gaze, losing her soul, and seeing the Duchess of Weiguo even more distressed. She hugged her daughter's shoulders and cried: "Sister Lian, you speak, don't scare your mother......"

"Mother!" After a long time, Geng Tinglian shouted in a low voice, tears fell from her beautiful eyes, and her delicate body trembled like a residual leaf in the wind and rain.

The black-lacquered flat-headed carriage sped away in the direction of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion amid the sobs of the Duchess of Weiguo's mother and daughter, leaving the Jingzhao Mansion and the curious eyes far behind......

In the past few days, Geng Tinglian's matter has become a hot topic in various provinces in the capital.

In contrast, the happy event of Liu Qifang's promotion to the general political envoy of the former Jingzhaoyin has been covered up a lot, but Liu Qifang doesn't care, thinking about the bitter tears of the past few years, Liu Qifang really pinched a tear of sympathy for the next Jingzhaoyin.

After he happily finished handing over the Jingzhao Mansion with the poor little man who took over his own errand, he went to the general political envoy to take up his post with a spring breeze.

As for the Patriotic Mansion, it fell silent.

Geng Tinglian's matter was originally just a little bit of disgrace in the daughter's family of the boudoir, but from the moment Geng Tinglian was detained in Jingzhao Mansion, it became a contest between Wei Guogong and Cen Yin, judging from the results, there is no doubt that Cen Yin won a big victory!

The attitude of the emperor also silently proves this.

In the past, Wei Guogong was a big celebrity in front of the emperor, but now it is different from the past, and now Lord Cen has long been replaced, no, he is more trusted and respected by the emperor than Wei Guogong.

No, Liu Qifang is knowledgeable enough, and now he has been promoted two levels in a row, and he is proud, and in the past few years, none of those who have gone against Cen Yin have ended well.

Two or three officials standing outside the imperial study were whispering to each other, and there was a sigh of embarrassment in their hearts.

At this time, one of the short and fat middle-aged men heard the slight footsteps in the imperial study, and hurriedly glanced at the two colleagues beside him.

The three of them hurriedly stood motionless, and out of the corner of their eyes, they caught a glimpse of a young man in a bright red unicorn robe stepping out of the threshold and walking out of it, the corners of the big red robe flying with his steps.

The three officials didn't dare to raise their eyes to look directly at each other's faces, and lowered their heads and said, "Lord Cen Governor." ”

The bright red figure did not stop at all, and left unhurriedly.

Seeing the red color walking away, the short and fat middle-aged man raised his head, glanced at Cen Yin's back, breathed a sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. The same is true for the other two officials.

The three of them settled down, and followed a small chamberlain into the imperial study.

After Cen Yin left the imperial study, he changed into an ordinary blue straight jacket, went out of the palace to the drunken Xiaolou on Huashang Street, ordered a few porridge dishes, and enjoyed the belated lunch comfortably.

The summer afternoon was quiet and lazy, until the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the seat.

"Overseer, I just saw your sister-in-law ...... below," a mustache dressed as a retinue walked in quickly, and said respectfully.

Cen Yin was stunned for a moment, only then did he realize who his righteous sister was.

The corners of his lips curled slightly, and he looked down the window, only to see a pair of familiar sisters standing in front of a newly opened dim sum shop across the street.

When Cen Yin walked out of the drunken sky, the sisters also happened to buy snacks, and when they saw Cen Yin, the two stepped forward to greet him with a smile.

"Master Cen ."

Duanmu Fei smiled slightly, lifted the dim sum box in his hand, and said, "Master Cen, this newly opened dim sum shop is said to be a century-old shop in the south of the Yangtze River, do you want to try it too?" ”

She smiled at Cen Yin with crooked eyebrows, very well-behaved, and her big black and white eyes did not shy away from looking at him.

On the day of the Condensation Meeting, she really wanted to "bully" people by using Cen Yin's momentum, which did not need to be avoided.

Cen Yin raised his eyebrows slightly, and there was a faint smile in his long and narrow charming eyes. This little girl is obviously as well-behaved as a milk cat, but she is a person who does not suffer losses, and her little paws are quite sharp.

"Then I'll be respectful and obey." Cen Yin raised his hand to take the box of snacks, and the smile in his eyes became stronger.

It's good for her to have such a temperament!

Now he can always protect the two sisters.

Cen Yin casually held the snack box in his hand.

The mustache behind him subconsciously reached out to pick up the box of snacks in Cen Yin's hand, but found that the overseer had already lifted it himself, and the mustache's two hands froze in mid-air, and said in his heart: Isn't this him?! He could be the overseer's hand! Why did the Overseer mention it himself?!

Cen Yin didn't look at the mustache, his smiling gaze moved from Duanmu Fei to Duanmu Jun, and said, "Duanmu girl, I heard that you are looking for a racecourse?" ”

"yes." Duanmujun nodded hurriedly, she had been inquiring about the horse farm for more than two months, "It's a pity that Liaodong is too far away, and there is no news so far." ”

Cen Yin said unhurriedly: "Dasheng's horse farms are mostly in the eastern and northwest areas of Liaodong, with long mountains and big valleys, licorice and green water, so that good horses can be raised. However, even if you buy a horse farm in eastern and northwest Liaodong, you need to arrange reliable people to take care of it, which is a long way away and inconvenient. ”

I see. Duanmu nodded instructively, so should she look nearby.

Duanmu Fei was a little stunned when he listened to it, and his eyes looked at Cen Yin for a while, and looked at his sister for a while, with a silly little face.

Strange, why did my sister suddenly buy a racecourse again?

Why didn't I know that my family was going to buy a horse farm?!

Duanmu crooked his little face, and his big eyes blinked.

"Miss Duanmu, I know that there is a horse farm for sale, which is on the outskirts of Beijing." Cen Yin continued unhurriedly, "The scale of that horse farm is not large, and it only occupies half of the mountain. ”

What an unexpected surprise! Duanmujun's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Can Gongzi Cen tell me where the horse farm is?" "It's a rare opportunity, she's going to have to go over and take a look.

Cen Yin hooked his lips again, his beautiful face became more and more gorgeous, and he said with a smile: "It's better to choose a day than to hit the day, if the two girls are free, how about I take the two of them on a trip?" ”

If you miss this village and don't have this shop, Duanmu Jun responded again and again, and her spirit was radiant.

From beginning to end, Duanmufei had no room to intervene at all, her brother and sister had already made up their minds, and when she came back to her senses, she had already ridden out of the city gate and went all the way to the western suburbs.

In the rear, two Dongchang fans wearing entourage clothes followed not far away, and the two exchanged a look with a sharp heart, in fact, they could call the owner of the horse farm to the capital, why did the governor want to run in person?

Maybe the Overseer wanted to give his sister-in-law a "confession gift"? The mustache threw an uncertain look at his colleague.

The two Dongchang fans silently communicated with their eyes and mouths, and Cen Yin in front of him was talking to the sisters about the racecourse:

"The horse farm is in the area of Qixia Mountain, and the horse farm owner's family originally did some tea and silk business in the capital."

"He was originally from the north, and now that I, Dasheng, have a truce with Beiyan, he plans to take the business here and go back to the north, so he can't take care of the horse farm here."

"There are about two or three hundred horses in the horse farm, most of them are northern horses......"

Duanmu skillfully manipulated the red horse under his crotch, and he was one with it, looking comfortable.

As soon as she heard the northern horse, her eyes brightened, and she nodded: "Our northern horse is not bad." "There are vast grasslands in the north, blue sky and clear water, and it is also a good place to raise horses, but unfortunately, the devastation of years of war has made the people miserable.

"The North is also a great place to raise horses!" As if hearing her heart, Cen Yin's voice sounded in her ears, "Shuyu Valley used to be a place where wild horses gathered......

Duanmujun nodded subconsciously, and was about to respond, when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly hooked his lips and smiled thoughtfully, and asked briskly: "Young Master Cen, haven't you also been to the north?" There was a bright smile on Duanmujun's lips, which became brighter and brighter in the bright sun.

Duanmu also looked at Cen Yin when he heard this, and blinked curiously.

Cen Yin's long and thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and his right hand subconsciously pulled the horse rope, and the black horse under his crotch snorted, and his speed slowed down.

The corners of his red mouth twitched slightly, and a faint sadness appeared in his dark and complex eyes, and then he returned to his original tranquility, smiled slightly, and said lightly: "I grew up in the north since I was a child, and I ...... back then."

As he spoke, he paused, and the horse under his crotch moved forward unhurriedly, "When the Zhenbei Wangfu was slaughtered, and then the Northern Yan people attacked, I fled all the way to the capital with the refugees from the north. ”

Duanmu Fei followed behind the two thoughtfully, looking at Cen Yin's tall back. She had long wondered if Cen Yin had known the two sisters a long time ago, if they were really in the north......

Duanmujun's eyes condensed slightly, and he also followed Cen Yin's words into that memory, it has been more than ten years since the fall of the Zhenbei Palace, and for the people of the north, they will never forget those difficult years.

In that year, the Zhenbei Wangfu was punished by the decree of the whole door, and after the king of Zhenbei was not in the north of the town, the Northern Yan army immediately made a comeback, and from time to time sent troops to attack the cities of the northern border......

At that time, Zhen Zhen had not yet been born, and their family of three lived in Xiyan City in the north. She was still too young, and her parents didn't talk much to her, but she remembered clearly, in her memory, for nearly a year or two, she saw groups of refugees coming from farther north from time to time, and the people in Xiyan City were panicked, and the people were afraid that one day, the Beiyan Iron Hoof would come to the city......

Suddenly, Duanmu Jun came back to his senses from his memory, and subconsciously looked at Cen Yin's handsome side face again, and couldn't help but think of the peony banquet last year, one night, Cen Yin was alone by the lake to put lotus lanterns.

Cen Yin's family should have been killed at that time, right?

"It must have been hard back then." Duanmu said in a low voice.

After all, Cen Yin should have been less than ten years old back then, so he was lonely......

Cen Yin was silent, the sound of horses' hooves echoed in their ears, and several people rode their horses all the way.

When Duanmujun thought that Cen Yin would not talk about this topic anymore, he suddenly said: "The person who worked hard is not me, it is my sister." ”

At that time, my sister was still there, and the two of them could still rely on each other.

Cen Yin's eyes looked ahead, and his eyes were slightly in a trance.

He didn't continue, and suddenly the conversation changed: "It's here." ”

He pulled the horse rope, and the horses under his crotch began to slow down, and the others began to slow down in a "shout".

Dozens of zhang in front of you, you can see a circle of wooden railings extending to both sides, enclosing a large area of green shade and a small lake, a huge plaque is hung above the main entrance, and the dragon flies and the phoenix dances to write the four big characters of "Qixia Racecourse".

Inside the railing, seventy or eighty horses could be seen gathered in twos and threes, either running, grazing, or drinking water by a small lake, and flicking their tails leisurely. These horses have sturdy, well-proportioned bodies, and their long manes seem to glow in the sun.

Duanmu Fei couldn't take care of Cen Yin anymore, his bright big eyes were attracted by the scene in front of him, and he looked ahead from afar, dizzying.

There was no need for Cen Yin to order, the mustachioed man took the initiative to run to the horse farm, and said in a loud voice: "We want to buy a horse farm, can your boss be there?" ”

"Yes, yes!" The young man in Tsing Yi, who had been hiding under the tree and yawning, was shocked, nodded again and again, and ran towards a courtyard in the northwest corner of the racecourse.

After a while, a middle-aged man in a brown ingot-patterned brocade robe followed the little man in Tsing Yi panting and hurriedly greeted him.

"I've seen Childe, two girls." The middle-aged man hugged the three of them with a smile on his face.

He looked at the three of them quietly, and saw that these three people were all gorgeously dressed and had outstanding temperaments, and at first glance they were not ordinary children, so his heart became more and more excited, and he introduced himself: "Don't give your surname Cheng, I heard that the three of you want to buy a racecourse?" …… Why don't I take the three of them around first? ”

Cen Yin nodded and said casually, "Master Cheng, take us to the stables to have a look." ”

"Three of you, please go this way."

The owner of the field cordially stretched out his hand to make a petition and led them to the northeast row of horse sheds.

This horse farm is obviously some years old, and when you get closer, you can see that there are many traces of tinkering on the stable, and the wood has been damaged by years of wind and rain, and it is difficult to hide the vicissitudes of life.

The warm summer breeze blows, swaying the foliage around it, and sending a fishy smell peculiar to horses and their neighing.

The owner of Cheng looked at the two girls a little nervously, for fear that they would show disgust and cause the business to fall apart.

Duanmu Jun and Duanmu Fei often go to the stable to take care of Shuangxuan, Feipian and Wuye in Duanmu Mansion, and they have long been accustomed to this taste, and the sisters have not changed their faces.

The men soon came to the first row of stables, and the sound of horses coming from the stables came one after another.

The sisters looked around the stables with great interest and found that it was fairly clean.

At the moment, some of the horses were walking and grazing on the grass outside, and some of the horses were locked in the stable, drinking water or eating feed, and a few grooms were brushing the horses.

Duanmujun casually walked in front of the two white horses, one big and one small, with affectionate expressions, obviously mother and son. Duanmu Jun glanced at the foal with interest, and guessed, "This foal should not be more than a year old, right?" ”

Master Cheng was a little surprised, and blurted out: "The girl still understands horses?" ”

Cen Yin also raised his eyebrows in a little surprise, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

"I've just had foals." Duanmujun said with some emotion, his eyes soft as water. Their family Feipian is only one year old and four months old, and she and her sister have grown up little by little.

"To raise a horse, you must first learn to be a horse, do you two know how to look at the age of a horse?" Cen smiled implicitly.

Duanmufei walked to Duanmujun's side and said with great interest: "Master Cen, I read that the Book of Horses says that from the teeth of an adult horse, you can see its age!" ”

"Not bad." Cen Yin nodded, and as soon as he raised his hand, the mustache cleverly took two steps forward and skillfully broke the horse's mouth.

Cen Yin raised his hand and pointed to the mare's teeth, and explained, from the incisors, canines, and deciduous permanent teeth to the number of teeth, tooth shape, and tooth ridges.

The two sisters nodded quite teachablely, Duanmu Fei was familiar with some Soma Sutras, but listening to Cen Yin's explanation, he could be regarded as matching the words with the real thing, and there was a feeling of "listening to your words is better than reading a book for ten years".

Lord Cen knows a lot. Duanmu said in her heart, fortunately, Cen Yin came to accompany her to see the racecourse today, so she can rest assured.

Even the mustache was satisfied, and although his hand failed to carry the snack box for the Overseer, it came in handy now, didn't it?

The two sisters followed Cen Yin to look around the racecourse, Duanmujun already had a rough idea in his heart, and he didn't go around in circles, and asked the owner of the racecourse directly: "Master Cheng, how much silver do you want for this racecourse?" ”

Duanmufei, who was having a lot of fun with "......", suddenly remembered the purpose of their trip, and was stunned again, and said in his heart: So, my sister is really going to buy a racecourse?

Looking at Duanmujun's bright and firm eyes, Duanmu crooked his little face, and said to himself, just buy it, my sister is happy. Multiple horse farms are also very good, and in the future, she can also bring Feipian and Shuangxuan here to play with her friends!

The owner of the Cheng farm is also a cheerful person, he saw that although Duanmujun was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl's family, he was sharp in words and deeds, and he was a person who could take ideas, so he said: "This girl, I am in a hurry to go back to my hometown, so I want to sell this horse farm quickly, as long as eight thousand taels, but please also ask the girl to raise money as soon as possible." ”

Cen Yin bowed slightly, if such a horse farm is usually at least 10,000 taels, 8,000 taels can be regarded as a cheap sale.

The price was so cheap that Duanmujun expected, her mind was racing, she calculated the silver she could get in her hand, and decisively clapped the board: "Okay! ”

The voice of the girl's house was clear and clear, and it was loud and loud.

Cheng Chang smiled happily, rubbed his hands, and said cautiously: "Then let's write a deed first, and ask the girl to give a deposit of 20% today." We will go to the Yamen again three days later to transfer the account and pay the rest of the money at once. ”

Duanmu Jun said briskly: "Then I will bother the owner of Cheng to draw up the deed quickly." ”

All this happened too quickly, Duanmu Fei watched her sister look at the deed prepared by the other party, then signed and pledged, and gave a deposit on the spot, a face value of 1,000 taels and a silver ticket with a face value of 500 taels.

This is not all done in a single cup of tea.

It turns out that my sister usually carries so much silver with her. Duanmufei's expression suddenly became a little strange, and his eyes were full of "awe" when he looked at Duanmujun.

The deed was written in duplicate, and Duanmujun and Cheng Chang each collected their own share, and made an appointment to go to the yamen to go through the transfer procedures three days later.

Duanmujun carefully put away the deed, feeling that another big thing had been accomplished today. Her bright little face was radiant, and she said in her heart: The horse farm has been bought, and her sister's dowry is the same.

Duanmu Jun glanced at her sister with almost loving eyes, hmm, what will she prepare for her sister next? I don't know if there is a Zhuangzi with a hot spring in the suburbs of Beijing......

However, she had some cash on hand and had to save it again...... She went to inquire first and learned about the market.

Duanmu Jun secretly pondered in his heart, and accidentally flew out of the sky.

"Then I'll send a few!"

The owner of the Cheng field smiled and personally sent Duanmujun, Duanmufei and Cen Yin out of the racecourse, courteous and thoughtful.

Duanmu Fei touched his frost, and was about to get on the horse, when he heard a rumbling sound of horses' hooves in front of him, mixed with the shouts of some men.

The sound of the horses' hooves was getting closer and louder, and I saw twenty or thirty horses galloping towards this side, and the people on the horses were all wearing bronze armor and iron helmets, and they seemed to be imposing.

The air around them froze slightly with the arrival of these people.

Master Cheng raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the visitor, his face changed slightly, and his eyes flickered.

With the neighing of horses, the cold-faced knights all pulled the reins and stopped their horses, and the high-headed horses raised their legs and snorted.

One look at the dress of these knights shows that they are forbidden soldiers.

The leader of the forbidden army is a thirty-six or seventeen-year-old man with a big beard, and judging by his dress, he should be the commander of the forbidden army.

The commander of the forbidden army rode on a brown horse, his chin slightly raised, looked down at the few people in front of him, and asked in a rough voice, "Who is the owner of the horse farm here?" ”

He didn't wait for anyone to reply, so he continued on his toes and said: "The war in the south is urgent, the imperial court wants to requisition horses, and this horse farm has been requisitioned!" ”

Duanmu Fei blinked, and subconsciously looked at Duanmu Mian beside him. If she understands correctly, this is not a "requisition", it is a robbery, right?!

There was silence for a moment, and the temperature seemed to drop quite a bit.

The owner of the Cheng farm eagerly pointed to Duanmu Jun and said with a smile: "Master Jun, this horse farm has been sold to this girl, and the deed has been signed!" ”

There are two layers of meaning under his words, one is to signal this group of forbidden troops to find Duanmujun to ask for the horse farm, and the other is to declare to Duanmujun that this deed is booksigned, and the transaction is completed, even if the horse farm is to be expropriated by the government, it has nothing to do with him, and the balance that Duanmujun should pay still has to be given, otherwise, he can go to the government to sue Duanmu Jun with the deed.

Obviously, this Cheng farm owner is well-informed, and he doesn't know where he learned that his horse farm is going to be expropriated by the imperial court, so he hurriedly dumped the horse farm and planned to pit others.

Duanmu Fei glanced at Cen Yin with a subtle expression, pursed his lips and thought: Hmm, is this considered Cen Yin's slander?

"......" Duanmujun frowned slightly, doesn't this mean that his sister's dowry will be less?!

Duanmujun turned his head to look at the Cheng field master, and argued without flinching: "Cheng field master, although the deed has been signed, you didn't say in advance that the imperial court would requisition!" I won't eat this loss. Either return the money, or you give me another horse farm! ”

Duanmujun's eyes were bright and his expression was determined.

Cen Yin was stunned, the corners of his lips curled, and that relaxed and pleasant aura naturally emanated from his body.

The two subordinates behind him were already stupid, and their bodies were stiff as if they were frozen, especially the mustache, and they secretly said in their hearts: I thought that I had done a beautiful job on the horse farm this time, but I didn't expect that I was negligent and didn't inquire carefully enough, which caused the overseer to be falsely accused and lose face.

And another subordinate looked at the owner of the Cheng field with a look similar to Duanmu's, feeling that this boss had really eaten the bear's heart and leopard's guts, and even dared to slander the overseer.

The corners of Duanmufei's mouth were slightly hooked, his eyes were shining, and instead of a trace of annoyance, he felt that -

Why is it so interesting?!