Xiaotong's eyes were slightly red, and he quickly kowtowed to thank him. There was an uproar in the venue, Liu Ji's face was a little bad in an instant, and there were also Master Mu and Mrs. Mu who had a bad face in the venue at the same time. Mu Bin's eyes stared at Xiaotong brightly.

Zhang Yue said, "Lord Liu, I don't know if the righteous sister of this palace, the emperor's personal lord of Tongyi, can participate in the talent girl performance competition. ”

Liu Ji hurriedly smiled and said, "Of course the county lord can participate, hehe, I don't know what talent the county lord shows?" ”

Xiaotong said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Lord Liu, Xiaotong is not talented, is the painting Danqing good?" ”

Liu Ji smiled, "Okay!" Then he sent someone to prepare tables, chairs, paper, pen and ink.

After Xiaotong took his seat, it seemed that the full house of guests did not exist, and he concentrated on painting and writing. The audience was talking in a whisper, Liu Ji returned to his seat to wait, picked up a glass of wine, and seemed to whisper to Li Dongyang beside him, "Hmph, a servant girl was born, do you still know Danqing?!" ”

Li Dongyang's eyes flashed with a chill when he heard this, and he also picked up a glass of wine, "Maybe she understands?" ”

Liu Ji was stunned and was about to ask again. Li Dongyang had already turned his head to look at Xiaotong, with a leisurely look on his face.

Zhang Yue's mood at this time was relaxed, eating unhurriedly, at this time Xiao Jing gave her a pot of wine from the side, Zhang Yue was stunned, and was about to excuse herself.

Zhu Youzhu whispered softly in her ear, "This is cold honey water, hangover cure, you have drunk a lot of wine tonight, don't drink it anymore." ”

"Oh!" Zhang Yue obediently picked up a glass of "wine" that Xiao Jingxin poured for her, and gently sipped it, sweet, cool, and a sense of comfort flowed into her heart.

Zhu Youzhu looked at his beloved wife's comfortable appearance and whispered, "Yue'er is not worried about Xiaotong at all? ”

Zhang Yue glanced at him, "I taught Xiaotong's calligraphy. ”

Zhu Youzhu smiled, "Guessed, calligraphy can win, but it's just painting?" You can't teach anyone. ”

Zhang Yue smiled innocently, "Well, of course I can't, she learned painting with Master Danqing of the academy with me, Master Danqing is angry every time he sees my painting, but he is very pleased to see Xiaotong's painting." Straight to say that Xiaotong has a high talent for painting, he taught her very hard, and when Xiaotong left the academy, he had already learned the four successes of Master Danqing. ”

Zhu Youzhu smiled, "I wonder if these four successes can win against Miss Wang?" Miss Wang's Danqing belongs to the Wuzhong School of painting, and it is quite rare for her age to have such painting skills! ”

Zhang Yue tilted his head slightly, smiled slyly, and said teasingly, "What? The emperor has taken a fancy to that Miss Wang's painting? Do you want to be summoned to the palace to accompany you to paint every day? ”

Zhu Youjiao's eyes were smiling, and he gently squeezed Zhang Yue's hand under the table, "I'm anxious for you, but you squeeze me." ”

Zhang Yue stretched out his other hand to cover his mouth to hide his smile, and after a while, he whispered, "I forgot to tell you, the name of Master Danqing of our academy is Xiao Yiming." ”

Zhu Youzhang's body shook slightly, Xiao Yiming, the grandmaster-level master of the Landscape Pastoral Painting School of this dynasty, has lost his whereabouts for many years, and he is actually in Xuanwei Academy. The academy is indeed a crouching tiger. Zhu Youzhu thought for a moment.

Soon, Xiaotong stopped writing, stood up, and bowed to the emperor and queen, "Your Majesty, Niangniang, Xiaotong has been completed." ”

Zhang Yue smiled, "Okay, then it's hard for Lord Liu, Lord Li, and Lord Zhou to appreciate and evaluate it." ”

Xiaotong's painting was picked up and erected aside, and when the banquet was looked at by candlelight, they were amazed, it was actually a picture of a lady in the mountains appreciating chrysanthemums. The painting depicts a graceful lady lingering in the mountains admiring the blooming chrysanthemums, and the painting is realistic and moving. The paragraph on the side is a quatrain of appreciating chrysanthemums, with a line of letters, and the handwriting is beautiful and elegant.

A hint of amazement flashed in Mu Bin's eyes, and his eyes towards Xiaotong became a little more fanatical.

Liu Ji and others attended one after another, and when they came to the painting to take a closer look, Liu Ji's face was cloudy. Li Dongyang always had a smile on his face, with a look of understanding, while Zhou Hongmo still had a serious expression and couldn't see joy or anger.

After the three of them watched for a while, after discussing with each other, they came to the emperor and queen, and Liu Ji respectfully announced, "Your Majesty, Niangniang, and the old minister think that this picture of the lady of Tongyi County Lord touring the mountains and appreciating chrysanthemums is ingenious, and it should be the first place in this talent competition." ”

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar at the banquet. Zhang Yue smiled and said, "This palace is a layman in calligraphy and painting, since several adults think that Xiaotong's calligraphy and painting are the best, naturally she is the best." Your Majesty, what do you say? ”

Zhu Youzhu bowed slightly, "Okay, in this Mid-Autumn Festival Talent Competition, the county lord of Tongyi is the first." ”

Xiaotong hurriedly knelt down, "Xiaotong thank Your Majesty and Niangniang!" ”

"I said before that I wanted to reward the first place, Xiaotong, what reward do you want?"

Mu Bin's eyes on the side immediately stared at Xiao Tong with hope, and Xiao Tong bowed his head and was silent.

Zhang Yue answered on the side, "Your Majesty, Xiaotong is nineteen years old this year, so good-natured, talented and beautiful, and there are many talents of the right age who came today, how about recruiting a county horse for her on the spot, this is the best reward!" ”

As soon as Zhang Yue's words came out, the banquet was in an uproar again, and many children of the family lit up their eyes and were eager to try, you know, although this Xiaotong was born from a humble background, but now she has become the queen's righteous sister, and she has been named the lord of Tongyi, and her identity is not the same.

Zhu Youzhu paused slightly, his eyes seemed to flash over Mu Bin unintentionally, and said, "Just according to the queen's words." ”

Mu Bin looked shocked when he heard this, and looked at Xiaotong eagerly. But Xiaotong went to the banquet and never looked at him.

In an instant, a handsome young man came out of the banquet table, knelt on the ground, and said, "Minister Cui Weiming, the second son of Cui Zheng, the Duke of Wu, is now serving as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and he sincerely wishes to marry the lord of Tongyi." ”

Then another one came out, "Minister Zhao Gang, the eldest son of General Huwei Zhao Zhi, is now a member of the military department, and is willing to marry the lord of Tongyi as his wife." ”

"Minister...."

In a moment, four or five sons of the family stood up, and Zhang Yue squinted his eyes on the side and glanced at everyone.

"Huh! There are so many admirers of Xiaotong, is there any? As he spoke, he glanced at Mu Bin intentionally or unintentionally.

Mu Bin struggled to break free from his parents, stood up, and knelt down in front of the emperor.

"Chen Mu Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, is willing to marry the county lord of Tongyi."

Xiao Tong heard a familiar voice, and his eyes instantly turned red.

Zhang Yue glanced at Mu Bin expressionlessly, and then said, "This palace believes that you are sincerely asking to marry the county lord of Tongyi, but this palace has a condition, if anyone present agrees, this palace will immediately marry Xiaotong to her!" ”

Everyone said in unison, "Niangniang, please speak!" ”

"A person who marries a small pass must not take a concubine for any reason! must not let her suffer a trace of grievances, and cherish it as a treasure all her life. ”

The crowd took a breath of cold air. The previous sons of the family hesitated. Which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines, how can he bear it if he doesn't let him take a concubine in this life?!

At this moment, Mu Bin resolutely straightened his waist and said loudly, "The minister Mu Bin swears to the sky that except for the lord of Tongyi, he will never marry another in his life, and he will love her like a treasure, and will not let her suffer a little grievance. ”

The banquet was in an uproar, and Master Mu and Mrs. Mu looked at their son in disbelief.

Zhang Yue smiled with satisfaction, looked at Xiaotong, and then at Mu Bin, "Xiaotong, are you satisfied with this person?" ”

Xiaotong blushed and said in a low voice, "Xiaotong is willing to obey the mother's arrangement." ”

Zhang Yue nodded, looked at Zhu Youjiao, the corners of Zhu Youzhang's mouth rose slightly, and said loudly, "I officially marry the county lord of Tongyi and the commander of the Jinyi Guard, Mu Bin, today, and hand it over to the Ministry of Rites to choose an auspicious day to complete the marriage." ”

Mu Bin and Xiaotong knelt down together to thank him. The ministers also followed and shouted long live together. The banquet garden is brightly lit and reflects the moonlight.

——————————————

Soon after the Mid-Autumn Festival night banquet, the will to give marriage was sent to the Mu Mansion, and the marriage was officially scheduled on the eighth day of the next month. Master Mu and his wife saw that the matter had come to this, so they had no choice but to accept it.

Zhang Yue prepared a large amount of dowry for Xiaotong, and was busy for a month, and on the first night of marriage, Xiaotong hugged Zhang Yue and cried for a while, and asked Rushui and Zhiqiu to take good care of Zhang Yue for a while, and then said that he would not marry, and he was reluctant to let the queen mother.

Zhang Yue couldn't cry or laugh, appeased Xiaotong, and finally married off the little ventilation scenery the next day.

Zhang Yue was extremely concerned about how Xiaotong's marriage was going, and summoned Xiaotong into the palace several times to inquire, Xiaotong replied that Mu Bin was very good to her, and her in-laws were not bad to her.

Zhang Yue was afraid that Xiaotong would deceive her, so she inquired many times from the side and learned that Xiaotong did not deceive her, so she was relieved.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was an inconspicuous thing in the palace, as soon as the banquet passed, Zhu Youzhu issued an edict to let King Xing immediately go to Luzhou, Guang'an, and Huhu, without delay, otherwise he would be punished for the crime of ulterior motives, and the words in the will were very heavy.

King Xing had no choice but to leave Beijing in accordance with the order, and before King Xing left Beijing, he came to Kunning Palace to say goodbye to the imperial sister-in-law, Zhang Yue said that he was sick and did not see each other. King Xing left disappointed after a long stop in front of Kunning Palace, and left the capital with his family the next day and went to the vassal kingdom.

In the blink of an eye, it has been more than three months since Xiaotong got married, and it was very calm in the palace during this time. After Xiaotong got married, Zhang Yue's personal maids were only Rushui and Zhiqiu, who were calm and smart, and Zhang Yue used them very well on weekdays, but they replaced Xiaotong's vacancy.

On this day, Zhang Yue was chatting with Rushui and Zhiqiu in the palace, and suddenly the eunuch outside the palace sent in a letter from Li Dongyang to let him in, Zhang Yue opened it suspiciously, and after reading it in a hurry, he stood up with a "snap", his face overflowed with joy,

"He's coming back!"