He Shi slowly brushed off the floating leaves on the tea soup with the tea lid, and glanced at Mama You lightly, her eyes flashing slightly.

A few years ago, Duanmuxian forced her to return the Li family's dowry to Changfang as soon as possible, but because of Xiao He's deception, the dowry was nearly half empty, which is unreasonable.

He took another sip of hot tea and said lightly: "Don't worry, it's just a concubine, I originally thought that if the eldest prince likes it, it would be best to take the initiative to mention it to the concubine." It seems that it can only be a few days, and I will go to the palace again to talk to the concubine. ”

He looked calm, but there was actually a trace of apprehension in his heart.

Since the concubine told her that she wanted to hire Duanmujun as the princess, the He family did not dare to enter the palace except for Chaohe and Lantern Festival.

He Shi thought about it, and even Biluochun in his mouth felt bitter, as if he was talking to himself, and said as if complaining: "I don't know what's good about Duanmujun, Ah Yan actually wants to give her to the eldest prince!" ”

The "Ah Yan" that He said is the name of Duanmu Guifei, and of course Mama You knows it.

He didn't say anything about this before, so it was the first time that Mama You heard about it, and she was instantly stunned, and almost wanted to ask He when it happened.

Seeing that He's face was pale, Mama You's lips moved, and she didn't ask after all, and another question couldn't help but arise in her heart: So, does the old lady know about this?

He Shi's hand squeezing the teacup was slightly harder, and his voice was even colder: "She is an orphan girl whose parents have died, and she is really delusional!" ”

Just because Duanmu Jun also wants to be the princess, and even the mother of the world in the future, dreaming!

Mama You echoed a little absentmindedly, both the master and the servant had something on their minds, so no one noticed that there were two teenagers standing on the other side of the curtain at some point.

It was the eldest prince Mu Youxian and Duanmu Heng, Mu Youxian originally came to resign on purpose, but he didn't expect to hear these words.

Mu Youxian stood there stiffly, he had long known that his mother had asked his grandmother to ask his grandfather what he meant about this marriage, and he had been waiting anxiously, but there was no news for a long time, and it was not good to ask his grandmother directly, but he didn't expect his grandmother to have such an attitude towards his marriage with his cousin......

Obviously, the grandmother kept the matter a secret, so he and the concubine naturally did not get any response.

Thinking about it, Mu Youxian's heart was filled with a faint bitterness, as well as disappointment in He's family.

Duanmu Heng's face is not good-looking, leaving aside the question of whether the Duanmu family should have another girl marry into the royal family, how can grandmother hide such a big event without authorization...... Grandmother was too extravagant. He had to tell his grandfather about it!

Duanmu Heng glanced at Mu Youxian, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Mu Youxian took a deep breath and said deliberately aloud: "Cousin Heng, my grandmother is inside, right?" ”

Before Duanmu Heng could respond, Mu Youxian had already opened the curtain and entered by himself, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing the two cousins come in, He's face was a little stiff when he was sitting on the Luohan bed, and then he smiled again, "The eldest prince, I just talked to Mama You about you, you are like a strip this month, and you have grown a lot taller." But I was a little nervous in my heart.

Mu Youxian stepped forward, saluted the He family with a smile, and quietly said to her: "The mother concubine also said that the palace has grown taller...... He also said that Hongu looked more and more like his grandfather. ”

When He heard Mu Youxian mention Duanmuxian, he chuckled in his heart again, but when he looked at Mu Youxian again, he felt that his face was as usual, and he felt that he shouldn't have heard it, on the one hand, he was relieved, and on the other hand, he was also alert, he wanted to keep the eldest prince and Hanxing for a while, but now he has changed his mind.

She chatted with Mu Youxian kindly for a while, and almost impatiently asked Duanmu Heng to send Mu Youxian away.

He himself had a weak heart, so he didn't notice that Mu Youxian and Duanmu Heng's eyes were a little complicated and subtle.

After two teas, the cousins came out of Yongxi Hall again, and their moods changed drastically from before they came.

Duanmu Heng looked at Mu Youxian's calm side face without saying anything, and called out in a complicated tone: "Cousin Xian......"

Mu Youxian stopped, looking in the direction of the palace, the weather was sunny today, and the sky was clear, but his mood was a little heavy, as if he had grown a lot overnight.

"Cousin Heng, can you not let your grandmother know that we heard it?" Mu Youxian said slowly, his calm tone was not inaudible, he paused for a moment, and added, "Don't tell your grandfather for the time being." ”

Duanmu Heng sighed silently in his heart, and nodded in response: "A gentleman is hard to chase after a horse." ”

The wind was raging and the trees were swaying, as if they were sighing helplessly.

When Duanmu Heng sent Mu Youxian away, he returned to Yongxi Hall to return to the He family.

Yongxi Hall was filled with a faint fragrance of incense and tea, and after Mu Youxian left, the room seemed a lot quieter.

He was still a little uneasy in his heart, and he was always worried that Mu Youxian and Duanmu Heng would not hear anything, so he said tentatively: "Brother Heng, I see that you get along well with your cousin, you are cousins, you should be closer and closer on weekdays, don't be estranged." Did you say anything when your cousin left? ”

Since Duanmu Heng agreed to Mu Youxian, he said in a light tone: "Cousin Xian said that he recently got a copy of Wang Xizhi's copybook, and he knows that I like Wang Xizhi, so he will send someone to send it to me later." ”

Seeing that Duanmu Heng was still as serious and old-fashioned as usual, He finally put his mind at ease and comforted himself in his heart: Her grandson has always been sincere, but she didn't hear it.

Besides, even if the concubine has this idea and wants to kiss and kiss, the eldest prince will inevitably look down on a rough girl who grew up in the north like Duan Mujun, with the identity and character of the eldest prince, she has to be a noble girl from a famous family in Beijing to choose.

There was a smile on He's well-maintained face again, and he kindly and lovingly pulled Duanmu Heng to sit down on the Luohan bed, and asked with a smile: "Brother Heng, what do you think of your cousin He Jiayi?" She was going to talk for a long time.

But Duanmu Heng didn't have this thought, he thought about the eldest prince for a while, and then thought of Duanmu Jun and Duanmu Fei sisters, Huo Di stood up and said seriously: "Grandmother, I still have homework to do, I will retire first." ”

He really wanted to say that his homework was not in a hurry at this time, however, Duanmu Heng didn't give her this opportunity, and after making a salute, he withdrew, making He feel helpless, and could only secretly sigh who this eldest grandson of Mu Ne looks like!

Duanmu Heng didn't look back at He's, his mood was a little complicated, he used to feel that his grandmother was graceful, virtuous, virtuous, and moderate, not such a narrow-minded and short-sighted woman, but now it seems that ......

He only knew one thing and didn't know the other, and only saw something superficial.

In this family, not only his mother, but even his grandmother is indebted to the long house.

In other words, there are probably a lot of such "debts" in the past five years.

Duanmu Heng looked in the direction of Zhanqing Courtyard and let out a long sigh.

Merely......

He thought of something and pursed the corners of his lips.

This is not a reason for the fourth sister to skip class.

This morning, the husband of the boudoir came to him to complain again, and the fourth sister excused herself for being afraid of the cold, and she didn't go to the boudoir for seven or eight days in a row.

His fourth sister is bright and bright, but she has no ambitions, and she likes to be lazy and obedient every day.

Duanmu Heng's eyes were a little helpless, and then he was firm, he still had to talk to his fourth sister, it was one thing to be lazy, and the books that should be read should still be read.

Duanmu Heng thought as he walked towards Duanmu Xian's outer study.

Although he promised Mu Youxian not to talk to his grandfather about this matter for the time being, it can be seen today that his grandmother must have hidden more than this one thing from his grandfather, and he still has to talk to his grandfather and ask his grandfather to pay more attention to the inner house.

At this moment, the sunset has begun to sink in the west, and the sky is full of colorful clouds, dyeing the entire Duanmu Mansion a brilliant golden red.

Duanmu Heng pondered that Duanmu Xian should go back to his house at this hour, but he didn't expect that it would not be today.

The first watch, the second watch, the third watch...... Duanmu Heng waited until the dead of night, and Duanmu Xian did not come back.

Early the next morning, Duanmu Heng went to Guozijian to learn from the same window that an urgent military report of 800 miles came from the south, and Qianzhou lost two more cities.

It has been almost nine months since the Marquis of Yongding led the reinforcements to Qianzhou in the south, and after the support of the capital in the south, the morale of the two armies was greatly boosted, and the two armies of the enemy and us were stuck in the Xuanmeng Mountain area of Qianzhou for several months, and they fought a few times, but they did not set off any big waves, and it seemed that both sides were trying to consume each other's military supplies...... and the military heart.

This stalemate situation did not change until the beginning of the month, the general Liang surrendered to the enemy Nanhuai, so that the south lost Changxu City, the original like a copper wall like the Xuanmeng Mountain area suddenly appeared a gap, this is like a thousand miles of embankment collapsed in the anthill, the Dasheng army collapsed for a while, only to lose the Xuanshui, Tongjian two cities in a row.

Now the southwest of Qianzhou is equivalent to the fall of Nanhuai, if the people of Nanhuai go further, the entire Qianzhou is afraid that it will not be guaranteed!

Marquis Yongding quickly sent this 800-mile urgent military report from the south, on the one hand, to inform the emperor of the military situation in the south, and on the other hand, to ask the imperial court for assistance.

This military report caused an uproar in the Jinluan Palace, and they were uneasy.

The emperor's face on the throne sank like water, and he couldn't let the people of Nanhuai continue to go north, once Dasheng lost two states in a row, I was afraid that it would shake the country and the people, and the people of Yunnan and Qianzhou would go north and cause turmoil in other states.

Soon, a minister came out of the ranks, bowed his head, and said righteously: "Your Majesty, the crisis in the south is the incompetence of the Marquis of Yongding to lead the troops, and he needs to be severely punished......"

Before he finished speaking, another military general came out and retorted: "Your Majesty, you must not, it is taboo to change generals before the battle." Moreover, the loss of two cities in Qianzhou was because Liang Sicheng defected to the enemy, and it had nothing to do with Yongdinghou. ”

"What General Hu said is very true." Another gray-haired military general stepped out and hugged his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the top priority is to send reinforcements to support the southern border as soon as possible." ”

The Emperor's face was even more ugly, and his right hand clutched the armrest of the throne tightly, and he only felt that they were talking nonsense. How did he not know to send reinforcements, just......

The emperor's eyes flashed, his gaze looked at a certain figure in the queue on the right, and said, "Where is Prince Jane?" ”

King Jian, dressed in a crimson gold woven dragon robe, walked out of the queue with his head held high, and his voice was loud and shouted at the emperor: "The minister is here." ”

"I put you in charge of recruitment, how is it going?" The Emperor asked in a deep voice with a tight eyebrow.

King Jian had a difficult face, and replied helplessly: "Your Majesty, as of three days ago, 50,000 recruits have been recruited, but half of them have been recruited one after another after the ......."

The first of these 50,000 recruits to enter the camp was only in November last year, which means that most of the soldiers combined for training took less than two months.

Before King Jian could finish his words, he was interrupted by the emperor unhappily: "Half of the recruits are only recruited into the camp after the year, what are you going to do?!" The Emperor was furious, "You have so much trust in you and put the task of conscription in your hands, you have disappointed me so much!" ”

In fact, everyone knew that the emperor was angry.

King Jian only took over the conscription in mid-October last year, because the officials below were greedy for the money allocated by the imperial court, and forced Zhuangding to enlist in the army, which led to complaints from the people, and many good people fell into the grass. After King Jian took over this errand, he spent a lot of time making up for and solving the mess left by his predecessors, and it was not easy to successfully recruit 50,000 recruits.

King Jian knew that no matter how much he argued at this time, he would be empty and powerless, so he proposed loudly: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that for the sake of today, it is necessary to transfer troops to the state guards as soon as possible. ”

The emperor's expression moved, and his fingers rubbed slightly on the dragon head of the armrest.

In the capital, it is necessary to ensure that the elite of the 100,000 forbidden troops stay behind, otherwise if there is another war in the north, or someone learns from King Su and Sun Mingying to force the palace to rebel, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Many of the ministers below are good at perceiving the holy will and observing words and feelings, and General Hu hurriedly seconded the proposal: "Your Majesty, what Prince Jian said is very true. ”

"The minister thought that he could transfer troops to Xiangzhou Wei, Yuzhou Wei, Jinzhou Wei and Qinzhou Wei nearby." Another general then proposed.

For a while, other ministers also seconded the proposal, feeling that the southern border was in danger, and the matter of rushing to help should not be delayed, which was the best solution to solve the urgent situation of Qianzhou at present.

The emperor hesitated again and again, but finally made a decision, and on the same day he issued an order to transfer troops to the various guards, and horses with an expedited speed of 800 miles galloped away from several gates of the capital.

However, the emperor's dispatch went like a mud ox entering the sea, and for seven or eight days, no news was received from several nearby guards.

The emperor issued another order, again and again, again and again, when the third order went down, Yan Zhaolin, the chief soldier of Jinzhou, finally received the order, and asked the order to personally lead the troops to the south to help.

The emperor also knew that those guards should not be afraid that the soldiers lent out would not be returned, and Yan Zhaolin proposed to lead the troops in person because he was also afraid of losing his military power, although the emperor was a little annoyed, but he couldn't help it for a while.

Thinking that "the lesser of two evils is the lesser", the emperor responded.

Led by Yan Zhaolin, the other guards near the capital did not dare to pretend to be dead, and they were afraid that the emperor would settle the old accounts in the future, so they finally responded one after another.

Immediately afterwards, on February 15, the emperor's eldest son, Mu Youxian, asked the emperor to go to the south with the army in front of the Manchu civil and military forces in the Jinluan Palace.

In the afternoon of the same day, Duanmu Fei learned the news from Duanmu Xian's mouth, and he was surprised and proud of this prince's cousin.

The reason why Duanmu Xian went back to the house in advance to inform Duanmu Fei of the news was to let her enter the palace to see Duanmu Guifei.

Duanmu Fei cleaned up a little, and immediately took a carriage into the palace and went to Duanmu Guifei's Zhongcui Palace.

The atmosphere in Zhong Cui Palace was very solemn, the air was heavy, and those palace attendants knew that the master was in a bad mood, and they were silent one by one, and they didn't even dare to take a breath of air.

In the east side hall of Zhongcui Palace, there are only three people sitting Duanmu Guifei, Hanxing and Duanmu Fei.

"Cousin Scarlet," Han Xing wrinkled his little face worriedly, took Duanmu Fei's little hand, and said a little helplessly, "The eldest brother is only sixteen years old, except for spring hunting and autumn hunting, accompanying the southern tour, he has not been out of the capital much, and he is about to go to the battlefield...... He, he didn't even discuss it with his mother. ”

Duanmu Guifei, who was sitting on the Luohan bed, also had her eyebrows tightly locked, and her bright face had a sad expression, and her face was slightly pale. Mu Youxian is her only son, how can she rest assured that her son will go to such a dangerous place in the south!

"Cousin Hanxing, don't worry too much." Duanmu Fei held Han Xing's little hand and comforted, "Although the southern border is dangerous, my cousin is going out on behalf of the king, in order to boost the morale of the soldiers, just sit in the rear of the army, and will not be in danger." ”

After a pause, Duanmu Fei persuaded again in a soft voice: "Now that the will has been made, no matter how much you think about it, it won't help, cousin Hanxing, we might as well think about what to bring to Cousin Xian to the south, I heard my grandfather say that the army will go out soon." ”

According to Duanmuxian, the emperor has mobilized 100,000 troops from the three major battalions of the guards and the forbidden army, and will soon march from the capital and the guards to the southern territory in batches, including Yan Zhaolin, the chief soldier of Jinzhou, who led troops directly from Jinzhou to Qianzhou.

Thinking of Yan Zhaolin, who he had seen in Lin Pu Town in October last year, Duanmu Fei's expression was a little complicated, and a strange light quickly flashed under his eyes.

Obviously, Feng Yan's plan is proceeding step by step, and after Yan Zhaolin arrives in Qianzhou, the next thing to do is ...... Well, she actually had a part in what happened next.

Hey, I still don't want to!

What Yan Zhaolin, she didn't know at all! I've never seen it either! Duanmu Fei thought to himself, picked up the teacup, and diverted his attention.

What she said just now was not only for Hanxing, but also for Duanmu Guifei, Duanmu Xian was afraid that the calm Duanmu Guifei would do something out of the ordinary for her son, so she deliberately let Duanmu Fei enter the palace to appease Guifei and Hanxing.

"......" Duanmu Guifei sighed, with a wry smile on her face, how could she not understand these truths.

This morning, the emperor asked for an order to go out on the Jinluan Palace, the emperor has already responded, and the Manchu Dynasty knows that at this time, no matter what he does or what he says, the emperor will never change his mind.

After all, Duanmu Guifei has been in the palace for more than ten years, and she has seen a lot of storms, so she calmed down and said: "Hanxing, this palace has asked people to list the things that your eldest brother will bring on this trip, and you and your cousin will help this palace to refer to the details." ”

As soon as Duanmu Guifei said this, Mama immediately took a stack of lists and gave Duanmu Fei and Hanxing a look.

Duanmu Fei slowly flipped through those lists, page after page, and after only half of it, she probably knew that Duanmu Guifei should be equipped according to the autumn hunting trip, and added battle robes, battle armor, medicinal herbs, ointments, and other things, so many things could not be loaded without four or five carriages.

Han Xing was also looking at those lists, and when he thought of something, he asked the grandmother if she had written it, and the palace maid on the side was still taking notes from time to time.

Duanmufei put down the list in her hand, and she could only pour cold water on their mother and daughter.

"Aunt Guifei, I don't think it's appropriate." Duanmu Fei said bluntly.

There was silence in the room, and everyone looked at Duanmu Fei in unison.

The grandmother hurriedly defended herself: "Fourth girl, everything on this list is necessary, I don't know what's wrong?" Mama knew that Duanmufei and Hanxing were close, so her tone of voice was quite tactful, but there was a hint of arrogance in her eyes, and she didn't know anything about a little girl like Duanmufei, and she was a little dissatisfied with her errand.

Duanmu Fei didn't need to convince this grandmother, so he didn't argue with her, and said directly to Duanmu Guifei: "Aunt Guifei, cousin Xian invited himself to go to the south this time, thinking that he wanted to fight for his 'future'......"

Duanmu Guifei's long and thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and she also understood this.

The princes under the emperor's knees gradually grew up, the second prince, the third prince and the fourth prince each had their own strengths, before the second prince was disgusted by the emperor because of the monk's affairs, Duanmu Guifei also secretly rejoiced, but since last autumn hunting, the second prince and Chu Qingyu made a marriage, the emperor has gradually been a lot kinder to him.

Now the eldest prince does not have any advantage among the princes except for the position of the eldest son of the emperor, and if he wants to stand out among the brothers, he must do something.

If everything goes well on this trip to the south, then the eldest prince can not only make the emperor look differently, but also stand out from the princes and let the courtiers face it.

Seeing that Duanmu Guifei was thoughtful, Duanmu Fei continued: "If Cousin Xian carries so many things with him, he will inevitably stand out from the crowd and be suspected of extravagance, which will only make the soldiers think that Cousin Xian is going to the south to mess around, so wouldn't it be self-defeating for him to fight for the future with his life?!" ”

Han Xing listened, and her beautiful little face also showed a contemplative look.

"Aunt Guifei, cousin Xian, he is going on the expedition on behalf of the king." After Duanmu Fei finished saying this, he didn't say more.

Going on behalf of the emperor is both an honor and a heavy burden, and if there is any mistake in his actions, the emperor will feel that he has ruined the reputation of the Son of Heaven, which is a crime of one degree.

The more Duanmu Guifei listened, the more reasonable she felt, and she bowed her head and said, "Sister Scarlet, what you said is true." These things are inappropriate! She sighed in her heart, and almost thought about it, but her father had the foresight to let her little niece enter the palace to mention a few words to herself.

------Off topic------

Hmm, Double Twelve, have you chopped your hands? I don't seem to have anything else I want to buy.