Mu Yan pulled the horse rope, ran to the sky to know the master's intentions, and immediately turned the direction and returned the same way in the direction of the south city gate, the horse's hooves flying.

He followed closely with a dozen or so of his own soldiers, and they all rode horses and followed behind.

Along the way, those ordinary merchants and passers-by avoided themselves.

They came smoothly all the way to the south city gate, and inside and outside the south city gate, as usual, there were many people who wanted to enter and leave the city, lined up in two long lines.

Those people who were waiting to enter the city avoided one after another, allowing Mu Yan and his party to advance.

Mu Yan and those lifters went out of this city gate in the morning, and the city gate guards knew that Mu Yan would return the same way, so they were already watching.

As soon as Mu Yan came back, the city gate guards hurriedly cleared the way, retreated to both sides of the city gate, bowed down and hugged his fists and said, "See the regent!" ”

Several city gate guards on both sides bowed their heads respectfully, not daring to look up at Mu Yan.

Ben Xiao carried Mu Yan through the city gate without stopping, heroically and coolly, and walked away along South Street.

The merchants and people waiting at the city gate all craned their necks to look at Mu Yan, their eyes bright, wanting to see what the legendary regent looked like.

After Mu Yan and his party drove through the city gate, several city gate guards shouted: "Those who want to enter the city hurry up and line up, one team here, one team there......"

Those who were waiting were ordinary people, and they did not dare to say anything, so they hurriedly returned to all of you, and lined up in two long lines.

Those who enter the city continue to enter the city, and those who go out of the city go out of the city, in an orderly manner.

In the procession entering the city, a caravan of seven or eight carriages lined up in the middle and rear of the procession, winding its way with the people in front.

As he walked, the leader of the caravan raised his hand and patted a young man in front of him on the shoulder, and said to the other party with a smile: "This old brother, where did you come from just now?" I look heroic and extraordinary, and the extravagance is compelling! ”

The young man glanced back at the caravan leader, twisted his eyebrows, and felt that this person was afraid that his ears were not very good, so he said casually: "Didn't you hear the city gate official call him regent just now?" ”

As he spoke, the young man's face was glowing with a strange brilliance, and he looked in the direction where Mu Yan left, feeling that he was really lucky today, and occasionally entered the city, he could actually meet the regent.

The leader of the caravan said with a smile: "Brother, I thought I heard it wrong, but I didn't expect to see the regent on a rare trip to the capital!" What a blessing! ”

"That's it." The young man also felt the same way, nodded his head, and thought absentmindedly: Maybe today is an auspicious day, why don't he try his luck later?

The leader of the caravan took a step closer to the young man and asked curiously, "Brother, I see that the regent has just returned from outside the city, do you know where he has gone?" ”

"I know that!" An old woman in Tsing Yi in front of the young man heard their conversation and turned her head to join them in with great interest, "The regent just sent some people to Huaizhou, saying that he wanted those people to educate the barbarians." ”

"That's what happened!" The young man nodded in response, and pursed his lips disdainfully, "In my opinion, if those barbarians can be educated, pigs can also climb trees!" ”

"That's right. Those Nanhuai barbarians drink blood, can they be literate? ”

Several people in front of and behind laughed, causing more people around to look at them.

The caravan leader grabbed the horsewhip in his hand, and his eyes were dark, "I also heard that what marshal from Nanhuai was executed a few days ago?" ”

There were even more people who knew about it, and on the day of the execution, it was a grand occasion, and there were many onlookers who went to the noon gate execution ground to watch.

More people gathered around with great interest and said:

"I went that day, too!"

"Oh, that Marshal Nanhuai is really vicious."

"Yes, he is eight feet tall, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, eyes like copper bells, and a mouth like a blood basin, if a timid person looks at it, he will faint with fright."

"I heard that after his head fell off at that time, he actually said a word without looking at it!"

“……”

The more these people talked, the more lively they became, and they also attracted the attention of several city gate guards.

A tall, muscular gate guard came up to them and said angrily, "Go into the city when you should go in, don't gather." Don't go any further! ”

A few people only agreed and hurriedly returned to their respective positions.

The people entered the city one by one, and after a cup of tea, it was the caravan's turn.

The gate guard casually glanced at several carriages of the caravan, stretched out his hand, and said, "Where are you from?" What about the guides? ”

The leader of the caravan replied respectfully in standard Beijing: "Lord, we are from Xiangzhou. This is our guide. So saying, he took a path from his bosom and handed it to the guard at the gate.

The gate guard looked carefully at the road guide in his hand, and at the same time raised his hand to make a gesture, and the other triangular gate guard went to look at the goods in the carriage.

The leader of the caravan said in a proper manner: "These are the specialties we brought from Xiangzhou, the first two carts are tea and dried fruits, the middle two carts are bacon plate ducks, the back cart is embroidery, and the last two carts are ......."

"We came to the capital to do business, and we plan to set up a small shop in the capital."

The gate guard confirmed that the caravan's guide was correct, so he returned the guide to the other party, waved his hand, and said, "Go in." Hurry up! ”

"Yes, yes. Thank you. The leader of the caravan said yes to his men, and the wagons of the caravan entered the city one by one.

A lively and noisy atmosphere came to the face.

It's only halfway through now, and the streets of the capital are full of people and traffic, and the guys and vendors of those shops are selling their goods on both sides of the street.

The caravan rode slowly through the streets of the capital until it came to a street where there were no people, and the leader of the caravan at the front suddenly raised his hand and made a gesture.

The carriages that were with them all stopped.

In the last carriage walked a woman in blue in her thirties, slightly plump and agile.

"Boss." The woman in blue walked quickly to the caravan leader's side, her Mandarin was less standard, with an exotic accent.

The leader of the caravan looked to the left and right, saw that there was no one around, and said, "...... You go and get in touch with him. His voice was so low that only the two of them could hear him.

"If you are in charge, you can rest assured." The woman in blue answered solemnly and hurried away.

She walked two blocks back and went to a pastry shop she had just passed and bought two boxes of snacks.

She bought another food box with red paint and gold, put two snack boxes into the food box, followed someone to inquire, and went to Liuye Lane in the west of the city.

"Tuk-tuk."

The woman in blue raised her hand and knocked on the corner door of Xu's mansion.

"It's coming, it's coming." The porter of the Xu family quickly opened the corner door, and half of his head poked out from behind the door, he looked at the woman in blue, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you ......?"

The woman in blue showed a warm smile and handed the food box in her hand to the porter, "This master, I am from the Xiang's dim sum shop on Huashang Street, and the third girl in the house ordered pastries in my shop, and I specially sent them to her, and I bothered this master to help me hand it over." ”

After a pause, the woman in blue added, "I've already paid." ”

As soon as the porter of the Xu family heard that the dim sum had been paid, he accepted it with confidence, and replied with a smile: "Don't worry, the boss lady, I will transfer the dim sum to the third girl of my family." ”

With a "squeak", the corner door of the Xu Mansion closed again.

The woman in blue left, and the food box she sent into Xu's house was handed over to a porter by the porter, who in turn sent the food box to the inner courtyard and handed it to Xu Xiyu's personal maid.

"Girl, this is a dim sum from Xiang's Dim Sum Shop." The goose-faced big girl sent the food box to the small square table next to Xu Xiyu.

Xu Xiyu put down the teacup, and the corners of her lips curled slightly, "It's here!" ”

A pink-clothed maid next to her said playfully: "Third girl, is the dim sum in this Xiang's dim sum shop so delicious?" The slave had never heard of the shop. ”

Xu Xiyu glanced at her lightly and sent the other party away: "Han Lian, you go to the garden for me to fold a few osmanthus flowers to insert a bottle." ”

The pink-clothed maid took the order to retreat.

Only Xu Xiyu and the two big maids were left in the house, and the two big maids glanced at each other tacitly, and one of the big maids went to guard outside the house.

Xu Xiyu almost couldn't wait to open the food box, took out the two boxes of pastries placed inside, and put them aside casually without looking at them.

She reached out and rubbed it in the food box again, lifting a thin wooden board at the bottom, and under the wooden board was a folded note.

Xu Xiyu's eyes lit up, and she quickly opened the note.

There was only one sentence written on the note, and she glanced at it and read it.

Xu Xiyu lingered and read the line of words on the note twice, her eyes were dark, like two deep pools.

The goose-egg-faced girl immediately came over with a lit candle, and Xu Xiyu put the corner of the note on the flame.

The golden-red flames greedily devoured the note, turning it to ashes.

Xu Xiyu shook his right hand out of the window, and the ashes dispersed with the wind, leaving no trace.

The flame of the candle brightened Xu Xiyu's eyes, as if two clusters of flames were burning in her pupils.

Xu Xiyu stood up from the chair and walked back and forth, while the goose-faced girl blew out the candle again.

Xu Xiyu bit her lower lip and said to herself a little irritably: "This end of the Mu Fei is really cunning, when it comes to talking, ten sentences are true, nine sentences are false, and I can't inquire about anything." ”

Thinking back to the several confrontations with Duanmu Fei after entering Beijing, Xu Xiyu bit her lower lip again, and her expression became even more annoyed.

Every time she wanted to talk, she was blocked by Duanmufei lightly.

What's even more troublesome is that I don't know what Duanmufei said to her grandparents in private, and now her grandfather and grandmother are staring at her very strictly, and even when she goes out, they ask questions.

The goose-egg-faced big girl comforted her: "Girl, if you have a helper in Beijing in the future, you will definitely act more smoothly." ”

Xu Xiyu walked back and forth again, then went to the inner room, and walked straight to the dresser and sat down.

She held a large lacquered and gold-painted dressing box in front of her, skillfully opened the dark compartment of the dressing box, and took out a palm-sized, white paper as thin as a cicada's wing.

The egg-faced maid handed over the pen and ink.

Xu Xiyu took a thin wolf hair, dipped it in some ink, and after groaning, he quickly wrote a sentence on the paper, and then carefully dried the ink and folded the paper as thin as a cicada's wings.

"Bailing, you hand it out." Xu Xiyu beckoned to the goose-faced maid, and said a word to her in her ear.

Bai Ling nodded, took the note, and quietly withdrew.

Xu Xiyu sat alone in the inner room and pondered for a moment, then called again: "Yun Yan." ”

Another big girl, Yun Yan, immediately came in from outside and curtsied.

"Yunyan, you go and wait at your grandmother's, and tell me as soon as your grandfather comes back." Xu Xiyu commanded.

After Mrs. Xu returned home from the yamen every day, she always went back to the main courtyard to see Mrs. Xu first.

Yun Yan, who received the order, also retreated, and only Xu Xiyu was left in the inner room.

Xu Xiyu was still sitting in front of the mirror, her eyes drooping slightly.

It's not just Duanmu Fei who is in trouble, but also his grandparents......

She looked gentle and demure silently, her thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and under her eyelashes, the eyes that were like autumn water on weekdays became unfathomable, flashing with sharp light, as if she had suddenly changed a person.

The inner room was silent, and there was no sound at all.

The sun outside was setting in the west, and little by little it was sinking into the western sky.

I don't know how long it was, but a slight sound of footsteps broke the silence in the room.

The door curtain was raised from outside, and the maid Yunyan came back again, and said on her knees: "Third girl, the old lady is back." ”

Xu Xiyu, who was originally motionless like a sculpture, finally had a slight reaction, stroked his sleeve, and said, "It's time to go to the morning and dusk province." ”

As she spoke, she returned to her usual gentle appearance.

Xu Xiyu left his courtyard with Yun Yan and went in the direction of the main courtyard.

Twilight is four, and the lights are on.

The courtyard is lit up with red lanterns, which illuminate the surroundings like fireflies.

The Xu family knew that the three girls were filial, and they would come to the main courtyard at this time every day to greet the two elders, so the maids in the main courtyard did not go out of their way to pass the ceremony, so they led them into the east room.

Xu Mingzhen changed into a azure regular clothes, and sat on the Luohan bed, his gray hair was neatly curled behind his head, and only a bamboo jasper hairpin was inserted, with a gentle and elegant bearing, which made people feel good at first sight.

Mrs. Xu sat beside him, holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, and smiling warmly.

The couple smiled and talked about homely things.

"Grandfather, grandmother." Xu Xiyu came over and bowed to her grandparents.

Mrs. Xu said softly: "Sister Yu'er, sit down." ”

Xu Xiyu sat down obediently on the side, and the maid immediately served her tea.

Xu Xiyu pretended to take a sip of tea, and then pursed her lips without saying anything, "Grandfather, what I said last time, grandfather probably didn't believe it, but I still feel inappropriate in my heart......"

Xu Xiyu said vaguely, but Xu Mingzhen knew that she was talking about the affairs of the Jinjun Palace.

Xu Mingzhen stroked his goatee slowly, but did not speak, he also remembered the gossip he heard in Taimiao on the ninth day of the first month.

Xu Xiyu frowned slightly, and continued: "Grandfather, Cousin Yan's status is noble, our Xu family has been away from the capital for a long time, and now we can't help my cousin in Beijing, but I can't watch my cousin being trampled on. ”

She looked at Xu Mingzhen worriedly, looking worried.

Xu Mingzhen was still silent, and the words of the third granddaughter also somewhat touched some of the worries in his heart.

After the Taimiao sacrifice, Xu Mingzhen thought about whether he should talk to Mu Yan about this matter, but many officials in the court and the central government "sent a tribute" in advance, and there was a shortage of manpower in the yamen, and there were many trivial matters, so he ignored it again.

Xu Mingzhen's face was thoughtful, pondering in his heart.

Xu Xiyu had been paying attention to the change in Xu Mingzhen's expression, realizing that he was moved, and was about to say more, when he heard the voice of the maid saluting outside the door curtain: "Second lady, fourth girl, fifth girl." ”

Second Mrs. Xu took her two daughters into the East Room and also interrupted the topic.

Second Mrs. Xu's mother and daughter greeted the second elder with a smile and greeted each other. Second Mrs. Xu also brought a basket of pomegranates from her mother's family to the second elder.

Xu Xiyu's eyes flashed slightly, she knew that it was too late, and she didn't talk about it anymore, she elegantly picked up the teacup and drank the tea.

With the arrival of the younger generations of the Xu family, the main courtyard became more and more lively, and there was a lot of laughter and laughter.

The younger generations of the Xu family all had dinner in the main courtyard before leaving together.

By the time they left, the sky had completely darkened, the round moon hung high in the night sky, and the early autumn night was particularly quiet.

Xu Mingzhen and his wife sat back on the Luohan bed, and without these juniors, the room suddenly became a lot more deserted.

The second elder used hot tea to consume food, and the elegant fragrance of tea lingered in the air.

Xu Mingzhen was a little absent-minded and seemed to be preoccupied.

Mrs. Xu just gave a simple look, and the servants in the room retreated knowingly.

"Old lady," Mrs. Xu had been holding back the words in her heart for a while, and asked worriedly, "I saw that you looked a little wrong when you talked to Sister Yu'er, but what happened?" ”

They have been married for decades, have a deep relationship, and have always known each other. Xu Mingzhen raised his eyebrows slightly, and Mrs. Xu knew that his mood was not right.

Xu Mingzhen put down the blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand, and his eyes were deep.

Facing his old wife, he also said truthfully: "On the ninth day of the first month of this month, when I was sacrificing in Taimiao, I occasionally heard someone talking privately from ear to ear, saying that the eldest girl of the Duanmu family and Cen Yin were too close. ”

Speaking of which, Xu Mingzhen's voice was a little harsh, and his tone was lowered. Whether this matter is true or not, it will not be good for anyone's reputation if it spreads.

Mrs. Xu's pupils shrank.

Xu Mingzhen clenched his fists and raised his eyes to look at the full moon like white jade outside the window, "Before that, Sister Yu also came to tell me that on the day she was invited to the Jinjun Palace, she saw the two of them behaving intimately...... I didn't take it to heart in the first place, I didn't want to ......."

Xu Mingzhen's eyebrows were raised, and it was difficult to hide the worry between his eyebrows.

After he finished speaking, the east room was quiet again, and the candles in the lantern swayed slightly with the night breeze.

"......" Mrs. Xu slowly twisted the Buddha beads in her hand, also frowning.

Only then did she understand what Xu Mingzhen was worried about, and her heart sank slightly.

Duanmujun is Duanmufei's eldest sister, and Duanmufei is Mu Yan's fiancée, and the two have also sacrificed to Taimiao together, and their status has been implemented.

This matter fell in the eyes and mouths of others, that is, Mu Yan had no discipline, and even his wife and sister could be sent out for the sake of Cen Yin.

In this way, Mu Yan's reputation will be completely ruined!

Mu Yan is the future son of heaven, his reputation cannot be flawed, and they can't bear to see him have a flawed reputation as elders, this child is not easy.

People are terrible, and the three of them become tigers.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu Mingzhen know this best.

At the beginning, their daughter Xu Jingsi was for the sake of Dasheng and the country of Qinpu, not only for the sake of protecting the Xu family, but also for the sake of righteousness.

However, after the news of the death of Pu Wangxian reached Dasheng, those self-proclaimed literati and scholars were most concerned about the tradition of Pu Guo's "father died and son stepwife", at that time, there were still people who came to Xu's mansion and admonished Xu Mingzhen outside the words, these people wished that their daughters would commit suicide to protect their innocence, as if their daughters were shameless and did not abide by women's morals.

For the world, it doesn't matter what the truth is, what they want is the opportunity to play on the topic, they don't care about spreading falsehoods, they just want some after-dinner topics, and they never care how much the bad words in their mouths will affect others.

Mrs. Xu subconsciously clenched the Buddhist beads in her hand, and her lips were tightly pursed together.

The husband and wife were silent for a long time, until a night wind blew suddenly, blowing out an octagonal palace lamp by the window, and the room became a little darker.

Xu Mingzhen looked at the extinguished palace lamp, squinted his eyes, and said, "Ah Yan is afraid that he doesn't know that there is such nonsense outside." ”

Now there are too many people staring at Mu Yan in the court, especially recently so many people have been forced to "Zhishi" in advance, I am afraid that they hate Mu Yan even more, these people are eager to catch Mu Yan's mistakes and practice Mu Yan's reputation in private.

Xu Mingzhen knew that Mu Yan had been too busy recently, and he probably didn't have the heart to care about these messy things, so he had to quickly remind him that he should check if he should check, and take people when he should take them, and he couldn't let these rumors spread again, and he said that the fake ones were true.

Mrs. Xu nodded in response, and slowly twisted the string of Buddhist beads in her hand.

"Old lady, Sister Yu'er, this girl is really ......" Mrs. Xu sighed, "She is a girl who has not yet left the cabinet, and this kind of thing can be put in her mouth and talk nonsense." ”

For this third granddaughter, Mrs. Xu also has a headache. This girl's heart is twisted and turned, and it is not so easy to break it over, and it is impossible for her to keep an eye on her all the time.

During these days, she also thought carefully about what to do with this girl......

Mrs. Xu pondered for a while, looked at Xu Mingzhen beside her and proposed: "Old lady, I've been thinking about it recently, whether to ask Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of Anping to borrow a nurturing grandmother, do you think this thing will be successful?" ”

The male protagonist is outside the female protagonist, and the Xu family is no exception, and the matter of raising these girls in the family has always been decided by Mrs. Xu.

Xu Mingzhen bowed his head and said, "It's up to you." ”

After a pause, Xu Mingzhen's eyes were a little complicated, and he said, "This girl is indeed lacking in proportion." ”

"Then I'll go to the princess's mansion tomorrow." Mrs. Xu immediately decided. Since I can't keep an eye on it all the time, I can only find someone to discipline this girl.

Xu Mingzhen picked up the teacup again, and when the teacup was brought to his chest, he remembered one thing, and said casually: "When you go to the princess's mansion, by the way, give a message to Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, and ask Ah Yan to come over after returning from the Xishan camp." ”

Mrs. Xu responded again.

After that, the couple changed their conversation and started talking casually.

The night is getting deeper, and the autumn night has a slight coolness, and the night has passed in a snap of a finger.

Early the next morning, Mrs. Xu went to the mansion of the eldest princess of Anping, and was kept for lunch, and in the afternoon, when she returned to the house, there was an extra nurturing grandmother by her side, and instructed the eldest maid to personally send people to Xu Xiyu.

"Third girl, this is Grandma Sun. It was Mrs. Tai who borrowed from Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of Anping. The eldest girl smiled and introduced the nurturing grandmother beside her, "Grandma Sun came out of the palace and knows the rules and etiquette best." The girl must not let down Mrs. Tai's love for her grandson. ”

"Three girls." Mama Sun bowed her knees to Xu Xiyu, and her demeanor seemed to be measured out with a ruler.

Mama Sun looks to be about fifty years old, medium height, slightly chubby, wearing a purple dark pattern gown, gray hair combed in a simple bun, plain body, on that round face, the corners of the mouth are tightly pursed, and there is a bit of unsmiling majesty in her expression, which makes people look at her and can't help but be in awe.

Xu Xiyu also knew that Mrs. Xu went out to the princess's mansion this morning.

After telling her grandfather about that incident yesterday, she saw that her grandfather didn't pay attention to it at all like last time, so she estimated that her grandparents would probably go to Mu Yan to ask about it in the past two days.

Therefore, as soon as Mrs. Xu went out this morning, she asked people to pay attention to it at the Yimen, but she didn't expect to wait for a nurturing grandmother.