Chapter 2: The Banquet

"Miss, Miss Xia from the Prime Minister's Mansion handed over the post, saying that she invited Miss to enjoy the flowers in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow." The maid walked in with a gilded post and handed it to Su Nuo'er.

Su Nuo'er was lying on the desk writing something, she was stunned for a moment, and then threw away the brush in her hand, with a hint of annoyance in her voice: "Take the post and burn it, you don't need to report this kind of thing in the future." ”

Nian Xia's face turned pale with fright, and she didn't know where she made Miss unhappy, so she quickly knelt down and admitted her mistake: "Miss is angry, it is Nian Xia's disadvantage, and I ask Miss for forgiveness." ”

"Get up." Su Nuo'er pinched her eyebrows with a little headache, her face was still not good, but her voice slowed down significantly, "I'm sorry, it's me who is out of control." As he spoke, he got up and helped Nian Xia up, "I said you don't have to kneel in front of me, get up." ”

"Miss Xie." Nian Xia lowered her head and responded, feeling a little aggrieved, and she didn't know what was wrong with Miss, her mood had been cloudy since she woke up, and she didn't know what she was worried about, in short, it was like a different person. Although the previous young lady said that her temperament was not good, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she was a gentleman, but she never lost her temper for no reason. But the current lady either stays in the study all day long, writes and paints, or sleeps in the room, and she sulks at every turn, which makes people tremble.

"Nian Xia, you go down first, let me be alone for a while." Su Nuo'er patted her head a little irritably, and sat back at the desk, "Oh yes, bring the post." ”

"Yes." Nian Xia hurriedly put the post on the table, and when she saw Su Nuo'er lowering her head and writing something, she stopped talking, and finally walked out gently, for fear of disturbing her.

Su Mo was coming this way, "Where's No'er?" ”

Nian Xia saluted and said: "Go back to the eldest son, the eldest lady is in the study." "But I don't seem to want to be disturbed...... Nian Xia didn't dare to say the next words, and watched Su Mo push the door in, and quickly covered his ears and walked away.

Su Nuo'er, who was disturbed again, was like a lit firecracker, and exploded: "What's the matter!?" ”

Su Mo was taken aback, and stared at Su Nuo'er like a ghost: "Nuo'er, are you okay?" Why are you so angry? ”

Su Nuo'er took a deep breath and said in a slowed tone as much as possible: "I didn't do anything, I just had nothing to do and read some books." ”

"Can reading a book be so atmospheric? Let me see. Saying that, Su Mo looked at the table, and Su Nuo'er hurriedly covered the pages she had written and didn't let him read them.

Su Mo looked like "I know your secret", raised his eyebrows and said, "Who are you writing to?" Let me guess, Ruobai that kid? ”

"It's not." Su Nuo'er quickly put away the pages and shook her head, "What is the matter with my eldest brother?" ”

"Tsk, if you don't let you see it, you won't let you see it." Su Mo was distracted and said, "Don't forget that tomorrow is your brother's twenty-year-old birthday banquet, but you will preside over the affairs in this mansion, and there will be many important guests at tomorrow's birthday banquet, I'm afraid it will be hard for you." ”

"Didn't the second aunt and Su Shuang'er snatch the power of the family?"

"Just go back to your room and see. This morning, Su Shuang'er ran to your room to make a big fuss and was known to her grandfather, so he punished her for confined to the frost courtyard for a month, and the second aunt's power in charge was also taken back. Su Mo explained, "You have been staying in the study naturally because you don't know these things, and grandpa also ordered that you are in charge of all the affairs in the backyard of this house, and no one is allowed to interfere." ”

Su Nuo'er resigned herself to her fate: "Okay, your birthday banquet has always been prepared by the second aunt, and I believe that the preparation is almost complete, I will go to see if there is any revelation in a while." After a pause, he suddenly remembered the report of his subordinates, and asked, "By the way, I heard that the prince will come tomorrow?" ”

"Hmm." Su Mo nodded, but mentioned that the prince's face became a little bad, "The prince has been in the northwest camp for three months, and he just came back a few days ago, and I heard that he refused a lot of banquets, but he agreed to come to my birthday banquet tomorrow, I'm afraid there will be a lot of things happening tomorrow." ”

Now Cheng'an country, there are small border countries frequently attacking, there is an old emperor who is seriously ill and dying soon, the situation in the court is a little unstable, it is not surprising that it is a matter of time before the crown prince An Jiuchen ascends the throne as the emperor, as the future prince, An Jiuchen is naturally very sought-after. In order to tie up to An Jiuchen, many ministers of the DPRK and China stood behind him early to show their support, but the General's Mansion has gone through three generations of state changes, but it has never engaged in these sectarian disputes, and has never participated in the contest between the three religions and nine streams, no matter who is the emperor, the General's Mansion has always only taken the maintenance of peace in the world as its own responsibility, and it can be said that the existence of the General's Mansion is the guarantee of the security of the country. It's just that there are not many famous families in this imperial city, but An Jiuchen only took the initiative to show favor to their general's mansion, and the deep meaning had to be investigated.

Hearing this, Su Nuo'er nodded contemplatively. "Yes, knowing that our General's Mansion has never participated in those partisan disputes, and he doesn't have to worry about his status as a prince, so I'm most afraid that he has some other ideas." The tree is a big move, and it is inevitable that no one will be blushing, but I am afraid that An Jiuchen's initiative will bring unnecessary trouble to the General's Mansion.

Su Mo sighed, rubbed Su Nuo'er's head and said: "Nuo'er, now that my father and mother have passed away, and my grandfather is also old, there are only two brothers and sisters left in this general's mansion, you are what I watched grow up, I know your heart best, and I know that you are the most soft-hearted, but Nuo'er, the current situation is unstable, maybe one day there will be a war, the general's mansion will rely on you and me to support it, when the time comes, you can't help but forgive the people who hurt you, you have to remember that no matter what happens, even if your brother is not there one day, You are the only one left, and you have to live well, only by surviving can you protect the General's Mansion and avenge your father and mother, understand? ”

Xu is early this morning made Su Mo see through a lot, although he didn't want Su Nuo'er to know these annoying things at a young age, but the current situation did not allow him not to make up his mind. Cheng An will have to go to war with other countries sooner or later, and he, as the commander, will leave the general's mansion to fight on the battlefield. Now that he is teaching him hand-in-hand, Nuo'er can have the ability to protect himself and take charge of himself, and even if he dies on the battlefield like his father and mother, he can rest assured.

"Brother......" Although Su Nuo'er didn't know what Su Mo was thinking, she could guess a little from his expression, reached out to hold her brother's hand, and said seriously, "Brother, don't worry, Nuo'er remembers." "Nuo'er will protect her brother, she will protect her grandfather, and she will keep the entire General's Mansion, because she can no longer bear the pain of losing everything, and she knows best what is the most important thing to live again.

Family is all she has to protect.

"Okay, it's not early, I'll go see grandpa, you rest early." Su Mo looked relieved, and the uneasiness in his heart was a little lighter, and he went to his grandfather's yard instead.

Su Nuo'er took out the pages from her sleeve, and her expression relaxed a lot. What was written on the paper was the method of dealing with the flood disaster, as well as various methods for dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, and they were written very clearly one by one.

Yes, she was irritated for days, just to come up with these ideas. Because she clearly remembered that in January of her previous life, the southeast region of Cheng'an was suddenly flooded, and a large number of refugees were forced to leave their hometowns and pour into the imperial city. Although the elder brother succeeded in retracting the flood in the end, he was jointly signed by other ministers because of the lack of materials to appease the refugees, and the elder brother was not only taken away from most of the military power, but also punished and sent to guard the border. Grandpa couldn't afford to fall ill because of this, and the General's Mansion was suppressed everywhere, which can be described as difficult.

It's already the third day of January, counting the days, there are about four or five days left, so it's no wonder she's been so irritable these days.

While pondering, the maid Nianxia pushed the door in and said cautiously, "Miss, do you want to have dinner?" ”

"No need, I'll go to the teahouse for a walk, you can wait for me in the Liuli Courtyard."

"But Miss, it's getting dark, and I'm afraid it's not safe outside." Nian Xia worried. In the past few days, the young lady has been running outside as soon as it gets dark, and sometimes she doesn't come back all night, although she comes back safely every time, but it is also worrying.

Su Nuo'er rubbed her little face like a bitter melon with some amusement, "You don't know what your young lady is capable of, don't worry, don't forget to help me hide it from my grandfather and brother." After speaking, he solemnly patted Nian Xia's shoulder and walked out with his hands behind his back.

said that she would go to the teahouse, Su Nuoer really came to the teahouse, changed her outfit, and was a suave son. Although it is night, the teahouse is not closed, because of the Chinese New Year, there are only a lot of people in the teahouse, and the stage is still babbling and singing, and the audience is cheering, which is very lively. Su Nuo'er went all the way directly into the private room that had been booked a long time ago, asked for a plate of melon seeds and snorted slowly, and when the melon seeds on the plate bottomed out, she was too late.

"Sister Su, I'm sorry, my forehead ......" Bai Ling'er, who rushed in all the way, was stunned, and then changed her words, "Su, brother?" ”

Su Nuo'er glared at her dissatisfiedly, "I came so late, I don't know if I've been waiting for a long time?" ”

Bai Ling'er scratched her hair embarrassedly, and then she entered the door, looked around very carefully, and saw that no one had closed the door, so she came over and said excitedly: "Guess who I saw just now?" You won't guess it guaranteed! ”

"Love to say it or not, I have a serious business to come to you."

"It's boring." Bai Ling'er rolled her eyes widely. Anyway, she is also one of the best characters in the Forget Worry Pavilion, well, except for the emperor, everyone in the world can not be treated politely when they see her, how can it be that this is not the case at all when they come to her! Bai Ling'er couldn't help but be depressed. "Why does Brother Ruobai like a woman like you, it's not likable at all."

Leng might as well hear Gu Ruobai's name, Su Nuo'er almost choked on the tea, coughed a few times and glared at her: "I said that there is something serious, and it is useless to talk less." ”

"It's useless! During the time when you were in a coma, Brother Ruobai went down to the mountain every day to see you, and I didn't think about it for your injury, but you didn't want to eat, you are fine, not only did you not thank me Brother Ruobai, but also closed the door all day long and didn't see anyone, do you know that Brother Ruobai was injured and bled a lot a few days ago? You don't even go to see him, what a stinky woman with no conscience! Bai Ling'er grew up in the Forget Worry Pavilion since she was a child, so she regarded Gu Ruobai as a hero, and she always obeyed him, knowing that Gu Ruobai's sweetheart was Su Nuo'er, so she couldn't see Su Nuo'er live up to Gu Ruobai.

"Okay, okay, everything you said is right, it's me who is wrong." Su Nuo'er avoided the important and trivialized, leading to the topic of Gu Ruobai. "Who did you just see?"

"I'll just say you will never guess, because what I saw is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and your best friend, what is Xia? Oh, anyway, I saw them get into a carriage, and it seemed that they were cautious for fear that someone would see it, tsk, in the middle of the night, lonely men and widows in the same carriage, there must be something unsightly! "If you want to talk about gossip, Bai Ling'er is definitely the most interested, although she is not very old, she has to admit that she still sees things very thoroughly.

Su Nuo'er frowned, An Jiuchen and Xia Wanwan? "Are you sure it's the two of them?"

"Absolutely! With my eyesight, can I still see the wrong person? Besides, the carriage sign in the Prince's Mansion is so clear, it's hard to read it wrong. Bai Ling'er looked affirmative.

"Okay, I got it." Su Nuo'er nodded, a trace of doubt was stained between her eyebrows, one is the current crown prince, and the other is the eldest lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion, these two people are together now, no matter what happens, it will not be a good thing after all. Su Nuo'er couldn't help but have a headache, reached out and pinched her eyebrows, it seems that there will be a lively scene at her brother's birthday banquet tomorrow.

Su Nuo'er looked distressed, and Bai Ling'er looked as excited as she discovered a new world, obediently, she only now found out that Su Nuo'er, a stinky woman, was really similar to Ruobai's brother! Even the action of pinching her eyebrows when Shen thinks about things is exactly the same, no wonder she always feels that she has a very familiar aura on her.

"Hey, I said, you called me out for days in a row, and today you are going to give me a task?" Bai Ling'er yawned and said, "Don't let me follow people anymore, so sneaky things are really hard, it's easier to let me kill people directly." ”

Bai Ling'er is one of the best killers in the Tianxue Mountain Forget Worry Pavilion, and she is also one of the most powerful subordinates of the pavilion master Gu Ruobai, don't look at her young age, she is very good at martial arts, and was sent by Gu Ruobai to protect Su Nuo'er, but she has always looked down on Su Nuo'er, thinking that the official ladies in the imperial city are pampered and obviously useless and stinky, so she sneaked out and hid far away when she found an opportunity, and did not want to have anything to do with Su Nuo'er. didn't think that after she sneaked out that time, Su Nuo'er and others went upstairs to watch the fireworks. If she was fine when she was around, Su Nuo'er would definitely not fall, but on that night, Su Nuo'er fell from a tall building and saw blood on the spot, and then she was in a coma for half a month before waking up. Bai Ling'er swore that she had never seen Gu Ruobai have such a big fire, and for the first time, she was punished to go to the dark room to think. Originally, she was very aggrieved, until one time she secretly followed to the General's Mansion, not only saw Gu Ruobai's sad appearance of deep self-blame, but also saw the scene of the maid in the Liuli Courtyard secretly crying for her master.

The eldest daughter of a general's mansion who is more noble than a princess secretly opened a medicine hall to give free medicine to the poor, and personally sat in the hall to see a doctor for the poor people, and even adopted many homeless orphans in a courtyard in the countryside, not only teaching them to read, but also teaching them self-defense martial arts, treating them as younger brothers and sisters. If she was really as useless and cruel as she thought, how could she have done such a good deed? Since then, Bai Ling'er has had another person to admire, coupled with the guilt of Su Nuo'er's accident, so since Su Nuo'er woke up, she has been secretly protecting her, and she has done her best to complete whatever Su Nuo'er commands. Although he would contradict Su Nuo'er from time to time, he was willing to follow Su Nuo'er in his heart.

"Why, this person, I'm going to trouble you to check it out for me." Su Nuo'er took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and unfolded it, revealing a portrait of a middle-aged man. "This person is the current Prime Minister Xia Zhuofeng, I need you to help me check the distribution of his properties in the Imperial City, not counting on the surface, the most important thing is his actions in secret, especially the recent movements. He is the most cautious person, he is an old fox, it is estimated that it will be difficult to get close, you have to be careful, you must not be strong, otherwise I am worried that something will happen to you. "The Forgotten Worry Pavilion is a god-like existence in the hearts of the world, and he has never interfered in the world's mundane affairs, even the old emperor wanted to ask Gu Ruobai to go down the mountain and was refused, if it was found that Bai Ling'er of the Forgetting Worry Pavilion actually helped Su Nuo'er of the General's Mansion to do things, I am afraid that the consequences will be difficult to end.

"Bah, I can't have an accident if something happens to anyone, you don't curse me." Bai Ling'er took the portrait and looked at it carefully, and put it away. "But for your sake, I'll forgive you. Don't worry, I promise you'll do it properly. Bai Ling'er patted her chest and said confidently.

Su Nuo'er smiled, knowing her ability, she didn't say much. "Go back and rest, this matter is not in a hurry."

Bai Linger nodded to indicate that she knew, and did not walk out of the private room door, but directly turned the window and disappeared.

The night is like ink.

Su Nuo'er took out a semi-circular jade pendant from her arms, held it in her hand and looked at it stunned, her expression was a little sentimental for a while.

This was given to her by Gu Ruobai, no, to be precise, it was given to Su Nuo'er, the original owner of this body. At that time, her father and mother were still there, and she was still a little girl who did not know the world. I still remember that my mother, who had been out for a long time and had not returned, finally came back, she ran to find her mother in a hurry, but saw a little boy with pink carvings and jade beside her mother, that was the first time she saw Gu Ruobai, and she felt that people were good-looking, so she stared at it vigorously. Mother said that since then she has had another brother, and she is naturally happy, and since then she has lived with Gu Ruobai and her brother until Gu Ruobai is taken away by her mother. She didn't know where her mother had taken him, and she never asked, because she was afraid that if she did, the answer would be that he would never come back. Gu Ruobai had already known that she was leaving, and before leaving, he secretly stuffed her with a jade pendant, and the jade pendants of the two of them together were a complete round jade pendant. Gu Ruobai said that if she was willing to wait for him to come back, then keep this jade pendant, and when he came back, she would definitely come to marry her. But if you don't want to wait, you will break this jade pendant, there is a sense between the two jade pendants, one piece is broken, and the other piece senses, and you will also be broken. At that time, he knew that she had a sweetheart, and he would never bother her again.

These memories originally belonged to the real Su Nuo'er.

Later, Gu Ruobai left, his father and mother were ordered to go on the battlefield and died on the battlefield, his brother was framed, his grandfather was also ill, and the general's mansion was in turmoil. Gu Ruobai finally had news, at that time he was already the master of the Forgotten Worry Pavilion who was admired by the world, and when he learned the current situation of the General's Mansion, he was about to come back from the mountain, but at that time she had an accident, and her amnesia was used by An Jiuchen to help him ascend the throne and finally die miserably, not to mention, and killed Gu Ruobai with his own hands.

Recalling the past, Su Nuo'er's heart throbbed. She is just a wisp of soul reborn from the body of this ancient Su Nuo'er, although she has the same name and surname, she is not the real Su Nuo'er of the General's Mansion after all, nor is she the Su Nuo'er that Gu Ruobai loves.

What's more, in her previous life, Gu Ruobai died because of her, and in this life, she should not let the tragedy happen again no matter what.

Su Nuo'er suddenly clenched the jade pendant, walked all the way out of the teahouse, and tapped her toes straight in the direction of Tianxue Mountain.

Nothing was said all night.

As the sky was about to dawn, the General's Mansion was lively, and by the time the guests had arrived, it was almost noon. Su Nuo'er was busy figuring out the details of the banquet, and when everything was ready, the next person came to report that the crown prince An Jiuchen came with the side concubine.

The crowd that had already taken their seats got up to greet them, and only after a salute did they sit down again. An Jiuchen was also very easy-going, drinking and eating food and watching singing and dancing with everyone, it seemed that he really came to congratulate Su Mo on his birthday.

"I always feel that something is not right, but I can't say what is wrong." Su Nuo'er, who had been quietly observing An Jiuchen in the side hall, couldn't help frowning, An Jiuchen was too normal today, but it was so normal that it made her feel uneasy.

The maid Nianxia whispered: "Miss, the eldest prince asked you to go to the main hall to entertain the female dependents." ”

"Got it." Su Nuo'er let Nian Xia tidy up her clothes, and at the same time exhaled deeply, the soldiers will cover the water and cover the earth, what are she afraid of.

As soon as Su Nuo'er appeared, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone at the banquet. Su Nuo'er saluted with a shallow gaze, thinking that there would be no mistake in her dress today, so she sat down calmly. In fact, I don't blame others for being surprised, the eldest lady of the General's Mansion has no ink on her chest, and she loves to mess around the most, and even the old general can't control it. But when I see it today, why does it seem to be different from the rumors?

When everyone was secretly looking at Su Nuo'er, Liu Qianqian, the side concubine beside An Jiuchen, suddenly spoke: "I have long heard that the eldest lady of the General's Mansion has a beautiful appearance, and when I see it today, it seems that the rumors are too modest." ”

As soon as she opened her mouth, someone chimed in: "Yes, yes, the water and soil of the General's Mansion are good, not only the little general is handsome, but the eldest lady is even more natural." The others also laughed and agreed, and the atmosphere was a little lively for a while.

In the midst of the bustle, an extremely disdainful voice sounded: "Cut, it's just a face that has brought disaster to the country and the people, what is there to be proud of." "The voice is not loud, but the people at the banquet are not intelligent ears, eyes and ears, and they don't want to hear it.

The only one who can slander his family on such an occasion is Su Shuang'er. As soon as Su Shuang'er's words fell, the lively atmosphere was quiet.

The most embarrassing thing is Su Nuo'er. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Su Nuo'er didn't panic, smiled shallowly, and said in a crisp voice: "If it weren't for the father and mother who gave Nuo'er such a good look, Nuo'er wouldn't have been praised by the side concubine today." As for whether it is the posture of heaven and man or the disaster of the country and the people, it depends on what the people who appreciate this appearance think in their hearts, as the so-called Buddha in the heart of the Buddha Everything is a Buddha, and Nuo'er never cares. ”

"It's a good sentence, reciting Buddha in my heart, everything is a Buddha. If Bai didn't know that there really was such a woman in the world, it would make people curious. A warm voice came, and a spotless white dress came into everyone's eyes.