When Mrs. Li and Duanmujun returned to the main hall, they were still talking about Duanmufei's dowry.

Duanmu Fei was eating grapes, and as soon as he heard them talking about the dowry, he pricked up his ears and said seriously: "Grandmother, sister, my dowry is really enough!" ”

She didn't say that it was okay, but Mrs. Li, Duanmujun and the Xin family all looked at her with a sigh and pity, as if she was going to get married in two days.

"Sister Scarlet, what do your children know!" Xin patted her little hand very boldly, "Of course, the more dowry the girl's family, the better, so that the husband's family will not look down on you." ”

Duanmu Jun and Xin exchanged a sympathetic look.

Xin said to Duanmu Jun with great interest: "Sister Jun, I will go back to Minzhou this time, and then I will see if there are any good Western objects that can add makeup to Sister Scarlet." ”

So the Xin family also joined the discussion between Mrs. Li and Duanmujun, and as for Duanmufei, he was accidentally ignored by them.

Duanmu Fei had to obediently eat grapes on the side, she wanted to say, in fact, it was okay to lack a little dowry, and Feng Yan would not return her anyway.

But looking at the way the three of them danced with their eyebrows, she still swallowed her words back with great interest.

Hey, my grandmother, second aunt and sister are happy!

On the same day, the sisters stayed at Li's house for lunch, Duanmufei was the youngest one, and always the one who was the most concerned, and was sandwiched a lot of dishes by the two elders and her sister, and she accidentally ate half a bowl of rice.

By the time the sisters left Xiangyun Lane, it was already close to Shen Shi, and the officials of Jingzhao Mansion had already left, but Nankai Street outside was still a little congested.

Duanmu Fei lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw that two long seals had been affixed to the outside of the house that Pan Fanglu had placed for him.

The play ended, but the people who watched the play were still unsatisfied, and some people even rushed to see the excitement when they heard the news, and curiously asked someone to inquire about the news: "Is that the house?" A woman just killed the outer chamber? Won't such a good house become a murderous house in the future?! ”

"What is this! It's just a house with two entrances. I heard that Jing Zhaoyin also took people to seal the Pan Mansion, and that house is a big mansion with five entrances! ”

"It's not good that the Pan family can't even keep the ancestral house this time!"

Duanmufei quickly lowered the curtains of the carriage, but the conversations of passers-by outside were still clearly heard in the carriage.

The more passers-by talked, the more excited they became, and one by one they were like a river.

"It's not wrong! Who let Pan Fanglu and other unfilial sons come out of the family! ”

"That Fifth Young Lady Pan, I've been here several times last month! Pan Fanglu took a concubine to seek joy during the state funeral period of the Queen Mother, and the Pan family let it go, and it should be punished heavily! ”

"This Pan family has always been unruly, and it was not that they let other people's serious concubines not marry, but they had to marry a niece of a concubine......"

“……”

As the carriage gradually drove away from Nankai Street, the chatter outside became indistinct.

Duanmu's scarlet eyes flashed slightly, and he took a sip of tea.

This Pan family is simply inexplicable, Liu Yingshuang and Pan Fanglu almost injured their sister by mistake during the dispute, and the Pan family should be seized.

People always have to pay for what they do.

Regarding what happened to the Pan family, Duanmu Fei went in with his left ear and out with his right ear, and he didn't take it to heart.

The carriage quickly carried the two sisters back to Duanmu Mansion.

In the following days, Duanmu Mansion was busy, and everyone was in full swing preparing for Duanmu Heng's marriage.

Although the preparations for the marriage were a little urgent, in order to show the importance of the county lord of Hejing, there should be everything.

The Hanlian Academy for the newlyweds has been repaired, the dowry has been prepared, and the people in the house have also added a new set of clothes because of the wedding, and even the list of banquet guests has been carefully revised by Duanmu Jun several times, and then shown to Duanmu Xian and Duanmu Chao, and then the final list was set.

The invitations were quickly sent to the homes of Duanmu's relatives and friends.

It's just that the court has not been quite peaceful recently, so there is no fanfare, and both the number of tables and the number of guests at the banquet are reduced as much as possible.

In the court, the atmosphere has become more and more solemn recently, counting the days, if the envoy group headed by the three princes and Lin Yingtong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is hurrying up, it is almost time to go to the north.

Everyone, including the Emperor, was waiting for the outcome of this peace negotiation.

It's just that, unlike the emperor's single-minded pursuit of peace, there are already many people in the court who are secretly preparing for war.

For example, Duanmu Xian, the injury on his right arm has not yet healed, so he is busy calculating the silver money of the treasury, although the treasury is empty, he plans to allocate silver from the salt tax and iron tax, plus the summer tax is almost complete.

For example, Shen Cong, the secretary of the military department, calculated from Nanzheng and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies which guard could be called.

For another example, Jun Ran visited the mansion of the eldest princess of Anping on this day.

Feng Yan was in the mansion, and he was not surprised by Jun Ran's visit, he directly led Jun Ran to his outer study.

The afternoon was extraordinarily quiet, the green trees outside the window reflected the green in the room, and the Xiangfei curtain at the door of the house was still swaying slightly, like a continuous drizzle, rustling.

Jun Ran sat down by the window, his eyes looked deeply at Feng Yan, who was only two feet away from him, his eyes were so sharp that he seemed to see through his skin and go straight to the depths of his soul.

"You...... What's the plan? ”

After being silent for a moment, Jun Ran asked Feng Yandao directly.

Feng Yan casually played with a small porcelain cup in his hand, his expression was a little casual, and he asked without answering: "What do you think of Dasheng today?" ”

Jun Ran was silent, his thin lips outlined a mocking arc, and his eyes were as cold and indifferent as if they were covered with a layer of ice.

Dasheng has long since decayed!

Feng Yan raised his head and drank the remaining wine in the porcelain cup, looked at Jun Ran calmly, and said openly: "Since Mu Jianming is not good at this world, then don't be the emperor." ”

Feng Yan calmly called the emperor by name, as if he was just an ordinary person, not a dignified son of heaven.

Jun Ran's pupils deepened, and he had a feeling in his heart that this was indeed the case.

He clenched his fists, looked at Feng Yan without blinking, and asked a second question: "Do you want to support a prince, or do you plan to ......?"

The more Jun Ran spoke, the slower he became, "You take your own place......"

Jun Ran had already thought about it countless times before he came, and he didn't plan to test it with Feng Yan, after all, Feng Yan's intentions were already self-evident.

Could the ones that Feng Yan had worked so hard to arrange in the northern realm just make wedding clothes for others?!

Jun Ran actually had the answer in his heart, but he still needed Feng Yan to tell him personally.

Feng Yan hooked his lips and smiled, and raised his hand to himself.

Jun Ran looked at the familiar and vaguely strange young man in front of him.

It seems that he has known Feng Yan for so many years, but he doesn't know the real him at all.

It was a complicated feeling, and what he knew for sure was—

Be obedient to your heart.

Feng Yan can spare his life for him, and so can he!

"So, what do I need to do now?" Jun Ran asked succinctly.

Feng Yan stretched out his hand and crossed the small square table between the two of them, and patted Jun Ran on the shoulder twice, "Recuperate, the battlefield in the north still needs you." ”

Hearing Feng Yan mention the northern realm, Jun Ran's eyes churned violently, and then he calmed down, as if he had removed a boulder from his body.

"I'll leave the north to me!"

"As long as the court doesn't make trouble, how can Beiyan be afraid!"

Jun Ran looked at Feng Yan confidently, his voice was clear and firm, and his eyes were bright and sharp, like a half-unsheathed sword, shining with cold light and murderous aura.

At this moment, he is a general, a general who has been on the battlefield and beheaded the enemy.

Feng Yan smiled, Jun Ran also smiled, and for a moment, it was all silent.

Jun Ran grabbed the wine glass in front of him, raised his head and drank it all, and when the wine glass was put down, he also recovered from the solemnity of Fang Cai to the young man with a little frivolity on weekdays.

Their Jun family is a general, and for more than 100 years, they have relied on military exploits to gain a foothold in the court.

Since he was a child, his father taught him that it is their duty to go to the battlefield for their generals, that the horse leather shroud is glory, and that dying on the battlefield is the best destination.

If his father died simply because of the defeat, Jun Ran would not blame anyone, but would inherit his father's will and continue to fight on the battlefield.

And yet—

Strictly speaking, the father did not die at the hands of the enemy, but died in the suspicion of the present.

From the beginning, when the Northern Yan army came to attack, the emperor sent his father to the north to fight the enemy on the one hand, and on the other hand, he found someone to contain his father and divide the northern army.

Later, the Northern Yan army broke through the Lanshan Pass, entered Yinzhou, and went all the way south, forcing the father to retreat to Lingwu City.

and finally Lingwu City broke the city, to put it bluntly, it was just because my father couldn't call the generals of the other surrounding cities......

This battle should not have been lost, and my father should not have died.

The soldiers fought outside for the sake of the country, the people, and the king, but the dignified king of a country dragged the frontier back for his own selfishness, and made the soldiers and people of northern Xinjiang pay the price of their lives......

This is what Junran can't tolerate!

He never believed that the monarch wanted his ministers to die, and since the monarch was mediocre, it was not worth him, and it was not worth their continued allegiance to the palace!

For Jun Ranyan, compared to today, the Feng Yan who is willing to take risks alone and who travels thousands of miles to the north for him and his father is more worthy of belief!

Jun Ran raised his right hand at Feng Yan, Feng Yan smiled slightly, and also raised his right hand.

"Smack!"

The palms of the two struck in mid-air, crisp and neat, as if they had reached some kind of covenant.

Under the sun, the faces of the two of them were a little uninhibited in the world, and a little bit of young people flying wantonly, as bright and bright as the sun outside.

Then there was silence in the room...... Until the sound of pouring wine sounded, Jun Ran refilled the two with wine, and asked casually: "Ah Yan, are you surnamed Feng or Mu?" ”

"Mu." Feng Yan replied briskly.

Jun Ran suddenly understood, as if the many scattered beads in his heart were finally strung together at this moment.

I see.

Jun Ran drank the wine slowly, and the conversation changed: "What are your plans?" ”

Feng Yan's expression was indifferent, "Mu Jianming has already admitted to the people of the world that he killed his brother and usurped the throne, and admitted that he slandered the Zhenbei Palace. ”

"Next ......"

Speaking of which, a regular knock sounded outside the study, "Knock knock, knock knock......

Soon, a young man with an ordinary face in a gray robe walked in quickly, and saluted Feng Yan without squinting: "Childe." ”

Feng Yan didn't care about Jun Ran, and said directly: "Say it." ”

The young man clenched his fists and replied: "It's the news from the commander's side, saying that Lin Yingtong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who went to the north to negotiate peace, was killed by Marshal Beiyan, and Marshal Beiyan put back the three princes, and the three princes brought back Lin Yingtong's head, and now the three princes are on their way back to Beijing." ”

"......" Jun Ran and Feng Yan subconsciously looked at each other.

Both Feng Yan and Jun Ran understood that it was impossible for this peace to be made, and there was a chance that Beiyan would kill chickens and monkeys, but they didn't expect that Beiyan would directly kill Dasheng's envoy.

After all, the two countries are at war and do not kill them, which is the default rule of several countries.

Feng Yan squinted his eyes and commanded decisively: "You go back and report to your family leader, just say I know, see you in the old place in the evening." ”

The old place is, of course, the Tea Restaurant.

After the young shadow guard received the order, he quickly retreated, walking silently like a ghost.

"Ah Ran," Feng Yan then stood up and beckoned Jun Ran, "You come with me to see Wuchen." ”

Feng Yan's dark phoenix eyes became more profound, and Jun Ran's face also froze.

The two young men hurried out of the study, only the faint smell of wine in the lower half of the room did not dissipate, and the sky outside was gloomy at some point.

The torrential rain hit that day, and in the middle of the night, the rain became lighter, and it rained endlessly for several days, and the entire capital was shrouded in a hazy mist.

Cen Yin's news was one step faster than the military report of the imperial court, and the imperial court received the military report early the next morning, and two days later, the third prince Mu Youjing quickly returned to the capital.

The dignified third prince was no longer as graceful and noble as he once was, but was covered in blood and embarrassed, and he didn't have time to freshen up, so he hurriedly took the head of the Ministry of Rites into the palace to see the emperor.

His return was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, and there was an uproar.

As soon as the three princes returned, the emperor urgently summoned a number of cabinet ministers and the governors of the five armies into the palace, and everyone packed the imperial study.

The air seemed to have suddenly entered the cold winter, stagnant and heavy, and everyone was breathless.

The grizzled Mu Youjing knelt on the gold brick floor, and talked in horror about what happened to them in the north-

"Erchen and Lin Shangshu traveled all the way to the north, but before they reached Lingwu City, they were intercepted by the Northern Yan people."

"That group of Beiyan people didn't listen to the peace conditions put forward by your father at all, and directly killed Lin Shangshu, and asked his son to come back with Lin Shangshu's head to pass the word to his father......"

Mu Youjing said, his body trembled slightly, and he looked like he had palpitations.

The expressions of the people around him were different, some frowned, some secretly exchanged glances, and some showed thoughtful expressions......

Duanmu Xian's face was silent, but in his heart he was secretly glad that he listened to Feng Yan's persuasion and did not go to the north to negotiate peace.

If he dies, the eldest grandson Duanmu Heng has no fame, Duanmujun, Duanmufei and several other grandchildren are either not married, or they have not even got married.

Without himself, the Duanmu family will no longer be the first auxiliary mansion, and the descendants of each house will be scattered from now on, and the Duanmu family will be finished.

More importantly, on the issue of Beiyan and Dasheng, he has always been the main battle, if he is sent by himself, with the emperor's suspicion, maybe he will think that he is disrespectful, which will annoy Beiyan, not only did he lose his life in vain, but also sabotaged the peace talks between the two countries.

It doesn't matter if he dies, I'm afraid that this death will implicate the whole family and cause trouble! ! !

Duanmu Xian stood with his head bowed, his fists clenched together silently.

Among all the people, the most ugly face is probably the emperor.

The emperor had been seriously ill for those two secret decrees before, and he had not yet recovered, and his body seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and his shape was erect.

Unexpectedly, one wave was calmer, and one wave after another, and the third prince brought back such bad news, so that the emperor could only hold on to his weak body to the imperial study to discuss matters.

Listening to Mu Youjing's eloquent words, the emperor's face became more and more pale, and he was angry.

He was so bent on making peace that he even sent his own son to the north as an envoy, and the result would be like this......

At this moment, the emperor only felt that the courtiers below were watching his jokes.

Especially those who are in the main battle, especially Jun Ran.

"What did the Northern Yan people ask you to bring to me?" The emperor impatiently urged Mu Youjingdao, and the green tendons around his neck burst out.

The air in the study was even colder.

Mu Youjing quickly raised his eyes and glanced at Jun Ran, who was only a few people away from him, before he said indignantly: "Father, the people of Beiyan said that if you want to negotiate peace, you must hand over Jun Ran to them. ”

Mu Youjing gritted his teeth and complained: "Father, the failure of this peace meeting is because Jun Ran went to rob King Jian's body without regard for the overall situation, which annoyed Beiyan. ”

"Lin Shangshu's death, Jun Ran should be the first to blame!"

As he spoke, Mu Youjing's body trembled slightly unconsciously, his eyes were panicked, and his heartbeat was beating faster and faster.

Looking back now, Mu Youjing still feels scared.

Originally, he thought that this was a beautiful trip, Dasheng proposed such a good peace condition, then it was impossible for the Northern Yan barbarians not to be moved, as long as he could successfully complete this peace errand, his father could also look down on him.

I didn't expect the ending to be like this......

Mu Youjing's nose was slightly raised, his body was tensed even tighter, as long as he thought of the scene where the Beiyan people cut off Lin Yingtong's head with a raised hand, and the hot blood sprayed on his face and body, he felt terrified.

With Mu Youjing's words, the eyes of all the ministers subconsciously looked at Jun Ran, including the emperor after the imperial case, the emperor's eyes were bright and dark, and he slowly turned the jade wrench on his thumb.

Mu Youjing glanced at the emperor's face, then raised his voice again, and said indignantly: "Father, it is all because of Jun Ran's fault that this peace negotiation did not succeed!" ”

"Now in exchange for peace between the two countries, the only way to calm the anger of the Northern Yan people is to use Junran!"

After Mu Youjing finished speaking, there was a dead silence in the imperial study.

Everyone secretly looked at the emperor for a while, and secretly glanced at Jun Ran for a while, and after a few breaths, Jun Ran hooked his lips and smiled, letting out a mocking sneer.

Immediately, the surroundings became quieter.

Duanmu Xian sighed secretly in his heart, crying out for Jun Ran.

As the saying goes, where there is a father, there is a son.

This is true of Jun Ran, and so is the third prince.

This third prince is really like his father, who advocates peace, and he acts and speaks too subserviently.

The Northern Yan army has reached Lingwu City, and most of the northern territory has already fallen, seeing that the Northern Yan army is about to wave its troops in the Central Plains, the three princes really think that all this is Jun Ran's fault.

Could it be that the generals guarding the northern border are at fault, the soldiers who fight to the death are at fault, and the people who resist are at fault?!

Could it be that in the face of the attack of the Northern Yan army, in the face of the burning and plundering of the Northern Yan army, they Dasheng will let the enemy army come and go freely?!

King Jian has a meritorious service in resisting the enemy, and Jun Ran snatching back King Jian's body under the nose of Beiyan is also a great achievement, which is enough to boost the morale of the army and encourage the people, but in the mouth of the three princes, it has become an unrighteous act to destroy the diplomatic relations between the two countries!

It's simply reversing black and white!

Duanmuxian went to see the emperor again, and the emperor's face was pale and uncertain.

Duanmu Xian hesitated, took half a step forward, and opened his mouth to persuade: "Your Majesty, this Beiyan is cunning, where is this to want to negotiate peace with our Dasheng, it is clearly to break off one of my Dasheng's generals!" ”

Duanmuxian looked at the emperor with a straight face, Dasheng is now in danger, the south and the north are in the midst of war, lack of money, lack of soldiers and even less generals, at this moment of crisis, Jun Ran is the hope of Dasheng to fight back against the Northern Yan army.

Duanmuxian's words were like mud cows entering the sea, and he didn't get any response.

The emperor didn't speak, and the movement of turning the jade wrench stopped.

The crowd waited with bated breath.

Mu Youjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, with his understanding of his father, he was seventy or eighty percent sure that his father would be on his side.

"What Duanmu Shousuke said is wrong!" Mu Youjing argued with Duanmu Xian rhetorically, "Xianjian Wang Junji was defeated and lost the city, Junran should have returned to Beijing immediately, but he didn't return to Beijing, and he still acted on his own in the north, this is the rebellion!" ”

"It was because of Jun Ran's reckless behavior that he gave Beiyan an excuse to attack."

Duanmu Xian listened, and was even more disappointed in Mu Youjing in his heart, and retorted lightly: "Your Royal Highness the Third Prince, what you said is as if the Beiyan people don't have a 'suitable' excuse, they won't violate the border?" ”

"......" Mu Youjing was speechless for a while.

Several of the main battle factions around were secretly applauding Duanmuxian's words.

Even a few lords and factions felt that what Duanmu Xian said was reasonable, and what the three princes said today was a little servile.

They are peacemakers, believing that peace is precious, and they also support Dasheng to negotiate peace by ceding land, gold and silver, and even in the form of peace, but they never think of handing over their own soldiers to beg for mercy.

"His Royal Highness the Third Prince," at this time, Yuan Weigang, who was temporarily acting as the Grand Governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, sneered and said, "Why don't you go to the army and talk to the soldiers about what you just said?!" ”

"Your Highness thinks that it is not enough for these soldiers to die on the battlefield, and they have to humiliate the enemy with their corpses, so that they don't cause trouble to Dasheng?!"

Yuan Weigang's words were even harsher and sharper than Duanmuxian's.

The green tendons on Mu Youjing's forehead jumped, and his chest rose and fell violently.

He quickly calmed down, since he couldn't fight, he simply didn't fight with Yuan Weigang, and said in his heart: This martial artist is a martial artist, and he doesn't know how to take care of the overall situation.

"Father!" Mu Youjing looked at the emperor in front of him again, and said loudly, "The people of Beiyan insist that we hand over Jun Ran first before we are willing to negotiate peace. For the sake of the great prosperity of the country, for the dawn of the great prosperity of the people, I also asked my father to make a decision as soon as possible. When the Northern Yan people continue to wave their troops south, it will be too late! ”

The eyes of everyone in the imperial study were also focused on the emperor again, including Jun Ran, Duanmu Xian, and Cen Yin, who was standing in the corner without saying a word.

Cen stood in the shadows of the corner, his long, ghostly eyes becoming deeper and deeper, like a ghost from hell.

The emperor's lips tightened into a straight line, and he was silent for a long time, and for a long time, he said with some inexplicable meaning: "The treasury is empty. ”

"......" Everyone in the imperial study is the Son of Heaven, not only are they all smart people, but they also have seven or eight points of understanding of the emperor, and the emperor's short sentence has made them vaguely guess the emperor's mind.

The Emperor continued, speaking more slowly: "The war in the south is still unresolved. ”

At this point, everyone was convinced that the emperor wanted to be soft on Beiyan.

This...... This...... This is simply sensational!

The ministers looked at each other in twos and threes, their hearts were extremely cold, and there was a kind of sadness of cold lips and teeth.

On the contrary, Jun Ran laughed instead of being angry.

He had no expectations for the emperor for a long time, so naturally he was not disappointed.

Maybe if my father is still here, I will definitely be disappointed.