In the afternoon of this day, several young talents from famous families chatted with Yu Wenye over tea in the study of the East Palace, and talked eloquently about the affairs of the DPRK and China in the new year.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, I heard that Yanzhou County is seriously ill and difficult to recover, and his life is not long, I don't know what you think of this matter?" The young man who opened his mouth wore a blue brocade robe, a hairpin with a silver crown, a handsome face, and his eyebrows and eyes were heroic and calm.

The corners of Yu Wenye's lips seemed to be hooked, and his tone was a little playful: "The Ling family is really well-informed. ”

"Your Highness said with a smile, our Ling family's sons are fighting on the battlefield, and raising a few spies in the house is also a trivial matter, and it is not enough to worry about."

This person is Ling Fengxu, the eldest son of the Ling family, the brother of Ling Fengchen, the commander of the patrol battalion. If it is said that Ling Fengchen is familiar with military books and martial arts, and is a good seedling of generals in the future, then Ling Fengxu, who is both civil and military, and is clever and decisive, can be regarded as a handsome talent in his bones. Ling Fengxu is the current head of the Ling family at a young age, inheriting the title of his grandfather, the first-class duke of General Wanchang, and sticking to the glory of the first general of the Tianxi Dynasty.

"The three generations of the Ling family are loyal to the imperial court, so my father is particularly compassionate, and now there is no need for you to guard Mobei and Xijing." Yu Wenye stared at Ling Fengxu, who was calm and graceful, and couldn't help but laugh, "The family of loyal martyrs should continue the bloodline as soon as possible, General Ling has not married yet, I don't know what the reason is?" Could it be that you are waiting for your father to marry him personally? ”

Hearing the prince talk about family affairs, Ling Fengxu was a little irritable in his heart, and his mother and clansmen often urged him to marry a wife and have children as soon as possible to continue the offspring. He is twenty-five years old this year, and he can be regarded as the second oldest bachelor in the noble family of the capital. There are countless famous ladies who want to marry him, not because his eyes are above the top, but because he already has a sweetheart. Ling Fengxu has been waiting silently all these years, because of that person's golden branches and jade leaves, he never dared to exceed the rules. He secretly hoped that one day the marriage would be given by divine decree, and if not, he would have to wait until she got married first.

Shangguan Yi, who has never married Ling Fengxu and has always been good friends with him, is also quite curious: "Yes, what is Brother Ling waiting for?" I am eight years younger than you, and I have made a marriage contract with Lord Mingjun. ”

In the past, when he talked about this occasionally, Ling Fengxu always avoided it, but today he thought about it again, instead of waiting, he might as well confide in it. Looking at Yu Wenye's concerned and suspicious expression, he took a deep breath and finally made up his mind to speak: "Actually, I already have a person in my heart." Four years ago, during the autumn hunt, I picked up a hosta at the horse farm, and I happened to be looking for it with Princess Mu and others. When she saw that I was holding her hosta in my hand, she thought for a moment that I had deliberately stolen it, and the princess was so angry that she reprimanded me severely. At that time, I didn't even have the courage to defend myself. The next day, Princess Mu and Mu figured out the cause and effect, and took the initiative to find my account and apologize to me. She was still young at the time, and her face in the sunset was deeply seared into my heart, and it was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life. ”

When he said the last sentence, Ling Fengxu unconsciously lowered his head, and his tender appearance made his heroic facial features soften instantly. He was born in Jiangmen, his personality is not rigid, and the people here are all close friends of the prince, no one dares to say nonsense and spread rumors to ruin the reputation of him and Princess Hemu, so he will spit out the enthusiasm that has been pressed for many years.

After hearing this, Yu Wenye tapped the table and suddenly realized: "No wonder you kept glancing at the princess's seat when you were drinking in the palace during the Shangyuan Festival last year, and the prince noticed that something was wrong at that time." ”

Everyone hurriedly showed "I see" eyes and joked.

Suddenly, Sun Zhan, the grandson of the Ministry of Rites, couldn't help but say: "After Brother Ling is a heroic hero, his family background is prominent, if he really appreciates Princess Hemu, he can enter the palace and ask His Majesty to marry, why delay for many years." ”

Ling Fengxu took a sip of the teacup, looking quite embarrassed: "Everyone in the world knows that Your Majesty loves and admires the princess the most, and the age of me and the princess is not suitable, but I am afraid that Your Majesty has no intention of giving marriage." ”

Sun Zhan laughed loudly and said disapprerovingly: "What's the matter with age? When the first emperor was alive, he married the fifteen-year-old princess Rongxi to the general of Xijing, who was over thirty years old. Since ancient times, beauties love heroes, and men are not afraid of age! ”

Ling Fengxu smiled but didn't answer, his eyes couldn't help but turn to look at Yu Wenye. Sun Zhan is the son-in-law of the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Rites, and he is proud of the young man in fresh clothes and angry horses, and he has always been hearty and straightforward. As everyone knows, Ling Fengxu is different from Sun Zhan, he supports the rise and fall of the entire Ling family behind him, and he will inevitably have a lot of worries before doing anything.

Yu Wenye saw through Ling Fengxu's worries, his face remained silent, and he persuaded with a smile: "General Ling might as well choose a day to express his mind to his father, and go to the New Year with Sister Mu, and the father should also choose a horse for her in the coming year, you have both talent and virtue, and you may not be a candidate for a quick son-in-law in the eyes of your father." ”

"What His Royal Highness said is very true, Ling used to think that Princess Hemu was still young, but now that the princess has grown up, Ling should really express his intentions. If there is a chance in the future, I hope that His Royal Highness can help Ling Mou say a few kind words in front of His Majesty. At this point, he was straight to the point.

In terms of family background, talent, and character, he Ling Fengxu is enough to match Princess Hemu, and the only fly in the ointment is that his eldest princess is nine years old. The emperor chose a horse for Princess Hemu, who was on the tip of his heart, and age may not be taken into account. He is willing to reveal his heart today, that is, he hopes that Yu Wenye can help him say a few words in the future, so that he has a better chance of winning.

Coincidentally, a maid came in to report that His Royal Highness King Xu had come down.

Sun Zhan has always been close to King Xu, who is of the same age, and said with a sincere smile at this time: "It seems that we really came here today to meet King Xu, who has been away from Beijing for half a year, here with His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

Xu Wang Yu Wenyuan Xuan is free and uninhibited, idle and sparse. He is a frequent visitor to Goolan Washe, an amorous man in the fat powder pile, and his piano skills are unparalleled in the world, and he often holds poetry meetings in the restaurant, inviting literati and ink writers to drink and sway. Who has King Xu in the capital?

The maid raised the brocade curtain to block the wind in winter, and walked in a handsome son. casually took off the cloak of the sable fur collar, and Yuwen Yuanxuan held a finely carved white jade hand stove. The man holds the stove for warmth, and only King Xu will not make people feel weak, but on the contrary, he has a sense of nobility of the son.

I haven't seen him for half a year, and King Xu's handsome face is even better than before, which almost dazzled several nobles here, and they all sighed to themselves.

I saw him clasping his fists at Yu Wenye with a fake and indecent fist, and shouted with a smile: "Cousin Ye." Then he turned his head to greet the rest of them one by one, approachable, without the slightest arrogance of the royal family's sons and daughters.

Let's say that according to the generation, King Xu and Yu Wenye are indeed cousins, but when the rest of the children in the clan meet them, they must respectfully call "His Royal Highness the Prince". This is an unwritten rule to show respect, and thus also shows that the status of the prince is far more noble than the rest of the princes. At present, King Xu is still smiling and calling "Cousin Ye" as he was when he was a child, which shows how close the relationship between the two is.

Yu Wenye also smiled and nodded slightly.

Yuwen Yuanxuan found a position close to Sun Zhan and sat down, and before he opened his mouth to smile, he heard it: "The snow in the capital is really cold, far worse than Yanzhou's red willows and green flowers are like spring all year round." If it weren't for the emperor's uncle waiting for me, the inspector, to return to Beijing to report, I would have been reluctant to leave. ”

Ling Fengxu lowered his eyebrows and smiled: "His Royal Highness King Xu is alone, it is better to settle down in Yanzhou, and you can witness the delicate flowers of spring all year round." ”

Everyone here understands that Ling Fengxu's "delicate flower" that joked about King Xu meant something else.

"His Royal Highness King Xu went to Yanzhou this time, and I don't know how many 'delicate flowers' were picked to return to Beijing?" Sun Zhan also went down to tease him.

Yuwen Yuanxuan didn't mind, raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Jiaohua didn't have it, I only found a beautiful girl, and I planned to ask for a grace to be named a side concubine when the emperor's uncle was happy during the New Year." ”

As soon as he said this, everyone was slightly stunned.

King Xu is known to the world, and he loves to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion, but he is by no means a fool. There are a few concubines in King Xu's mansion, and the rest are unconcerned maids. Now that I went to Yanzhou, everyone thought that at most King Xu's Mansion would add one or two more concubines, but I didn't expect King Xu to be shocking and endless, and he wanted to accept the side concubine when he opened his mouth. It's ridiculous to take a side concubine before marrying a princess!

No matter how approachable King Xu is, in the end, his status is noble, no matter how surprised and suspicious others are, it is inconvenient to ask more, and at this time, Yu Wenye can only speak.

After a moment of silence, Yu Wenye really frowned and asked, "Which girl do you fall in love with?" ”

Yanzhou can be worthy of being the official concubine of King Xu, but the daughter of the county guard of Yanzhou is barely qualified. However, in Yu Wenye's impression, there is only one woman under the knee of Gao Xun, the Shou of Yanzhou County, who is disabled and ugly. Yuwen Yuanxuan definitely couldn't look down on her.

Her surname is Shu, her maiden name is Jing'er, she was originally the daughter of a well-known businessman in Yanzhou, but two years ago, her parents died one after another, and she was sent to her uncle's house. I met her by chance, at first I just pity her for her miserable background, but after getting along, we cherish each other more and more, and we promise each other for life. Yuwen Yuan Xuan spoke eloquently, his eyebrows and tone were very gentle, and his moon-like eyes showed undisguised pity and love, and his expression was different from the debauchery he used to talk about when he talked about those warblers and swallows.

"The daughter of a merchant whose parents died in the middle of the family, it is impossible for her father to give her the title of side concubine." Yu Wenye's cold words shattered Yuwen Yuanxuan's intoxicated dream.

However, Yuwen Yuanxuan immediately retorted: "I originally wanted Ming Media to marry her, but Jing'er is knowledgeable and reasonable, and she knows that her status is low, so she can't bear to embarrass me." I have to give her the position of concubine! ”

On the way back to Beijing, he had long thought about facing all kinds of obstacles, although he was extremely wealthy in the Tianxi Dynasty, his status was not as good as that of a poor talent. What's more, his Shu Jing'er is already in the middle of the family! In the noble capital, her status is only higher than that of the woman in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion.

"Do you remember the instructions your mother gave you before she died?" Yuwen Ye Huo Ran stood up, and the rest of the people were so shocked that they also hurriedly got up and stood up.

Speaking of his mother who loved him the most, Yuwen Yuanxuan's eyes suddenly turned red, and he recalled with embarrassment: "When the mother concubine was dying, she said that she would not ask me to make contributions in this life, but only hope that I will be loyal and patriotic, marry a virtuous and virtuous princess, give birth to a group of lively and lovely children, and live in harmony." ”

Yu Wenye suddenly raised his voice, slightly angry: "In the past few years, the Ying Song and Yan Dance of King Xu's Mansion, and now you have brought back the daughter of a businessman, which family is willing to marry a good daughter to you as a princess in the future?" ”

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Ling Fengxu and the others hurriedly found reasons to say goodbye.

Seeing that everyone was gone, Yuwen Yuanxuan, who was missing his deceased mother, took a deep breath, turned his face and smiled and bent the corners of his mouth: "That's it, don't mention it." As soon as I came back today, Cousin Ye was angry, and I was always inauthentic. As he spoke, he deliberately squeezed his eyebrows and pretended to be ugly to make him angry.

Yu Wenye, who was still calm and handsome just now, was amused by him, and finally couldn't hold back his laughter, and reached out and patted Yuwen Yuanxuan's shoulder twice, and then hooked his lips and said: "I knew that you would come back today, I have already ordered Wang Quan to prepare wine and food, and today our brothers will not return if they are not drunk." ”

"They're gone, and I have something to say before I drink." Yuwen Yuanxuan's voice subconsciously lowered a few points, "Gao Xun is about to die, when the position of Yanzhou County Guard is vacant, do you have a candidate in mind?" ”

Yu Wenye was not surprised by this news, and said quite coldly: "Gao Xun is Yu Wencheng's lackey in private, although he is a little capable, but it is not a pity to die." ”

"Gao Xun turned out to be the person of the lobby brother?" Yu Wenyuanxuan, who had no intention of politics and was too lazy to fight openly and secretly, was dumbfounded when he heard this.

Yu Wenye lowered his eyes and was silent.

As if he suddenly remembered something, Yuwen Yuanxuan grabbed Yuwen Ye's arm as if he had just woken up from a dream, and his face was full of concern and not fake: "By the way, how is your body?" I heard that you were poisoned, and I almost scared to death in Yanzhou! ”

Regarding his exaggerated tone, Yu Wenye glanced at him and ignored it indifferently: "It's good that you are scared to death in Yanzhou, just give Gao Xun a funeral in advance." ”

Yuwen Yuanxuan hurriedly smiled: "Cousin Ye, I will give you a funeral at most in my life, I am willing, but I will not be willing to be someone else." ”

"Flim, no wonder all girls like you." Yu Wenye shook off his hand, raised his eyebrows and pretended to be serious.

At this time, the maid led a woman who looked like a well-dressed female official in, and respectfully bent her knees and said, "Your Royal Highness the Prince, the queen mother sent Aunt Pin'er to spread the word. ”

Pin'er is the palace maid beside Queen Tong, who is deeply trusted by her master, and her style of action is shrewd and neat.

"Slave maid to the two highnesses to say goodbye." After saluting, I saw Pin'er say with a smile, "The queen mother heard that His Royal Highness King Xu had returned, and her heart was very happy. Tell the slave maid to pass a message, tomorrow lunch to invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and King Xu to go to Kunning Palace together, Niang Niang wants to talk to you. ”

Yuwen Yuan Xuanwan smiled: "This king knows, thank you aunt for passing the word, and you will thank the queen mother on my behalf." ”

Pin'er nodded in agreement, and said again: "It just so happens that King Xu is in the East Palace at this time, so I don't need to send the slave to King Xu's Mansion to run again." ”

Yu Wenye instructed the maid to send Pin'er out, and in an instant, there were two cousins left in the study, and they couldn't help but smile at each other. They have had a good relationship since childhood, and after being separated for so long, they miss each other in their hearts.

"I heard that there is a woman who lives in the East Palace, should Cousin Ye be honest?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's not important, tell me about it."

……

At the end, Yuwen Yuanxuan talked about what he had seen and heard in Yanzhou for half a year, and he would not come together for the time being.