In Yinzhong, on the dark blue sky, there are many stars.

Although it is located in the south, the December night is still foggy.

The wind blew from the sea, cold and bitter.

Qiu Jinglan only wore a jacket and walked to the martial arts hall with a knife.

At the beginning of the morning, he stepped into the dining room as wet as if he had been fished out of water.

Half an hour later, after breakfast, I went back to my room to freshen up and change my clothes, and took the scholar Ruan Yi to the fine house where Xixi was located to start today's study.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the morning class is over, and Xixi will take a nap after eating. Qiu Jinglan took Ruan Yi back to the house, finished the homework assigned by Xixi in the morning, and practiced calligraphy for a while. It is estimated that Xixi has already gotten up, and he will go to be taught.

At half a time, the day's studies ended.

After saying goodbye to the west seat, eat first, and then go back to the house to do homework.

Homework is usually not completed until three o'clock in the morning.

There is a moment to freshen up, drink tea, and relax.

At the beginning of the day, I practiced a knife, and then I looked at the account books and records that Ruan Yi brought over, and wrote down my views and opinions on every account and every thing. At the same time, compare and reflect on the final results of these things.

After the child's hour, it is the hour when he places it most often.

"Childe is really hard!" The maids who served him in the spring dye, summer dye, autumn dye, and winter dye, each of whom had said such things more than once.

But only Qiu Jinglan knew in his heart that he didn't actually feel hard.

Because what torments him more than hard work is anxiety.

Especially every two months, when Ren Ziyong allowed him to listen to a message from Beijing: "How is it? ”

"The county lord is okay, the princess has gone out of the house to grab medicine again, and the little one has managed to see the prescription, like a cure for wind and cold."

"Wind chill? The mother concubine is not leaving the house, how can she get a cold? ”

"I think it's a walk in the yard, and our people are afraid of being discovered, so they don't dare to enter the house, so I don't know?"

"The mother concubine is not a person who doesn't know the importance of the matter, just walking around the yard, if you feel cold, will you not add clothes in time?"

"Could it be that the princess was careless?"

"How is this possible? The mother has always been the most careful...... You show me the list of the previous concubine as a dowry! ”

"Yes!"

"Sure enough...... There are so many big wool clothes, can it be said that ......"

"No matter what the reason, until Childe has a suitable reason to enter Beijing, what happens over there has nothing to do with you!" I don't know when, Ren Ziyong strode in, and said lightly, "Please calm down, don't call Concubine Lian's sacrifice in vain!" ”

He lowered his eyes, and after a moment, he raised his eyes: "It's not okay to send a big wool dress?" ”

"You can't send a needle!" Ren Ziyong was categorical, "For the nine thousand people of the mountain, the success is falling short!" ”

"What if I have to send it?"

"That subordinate can only strike first, send someone to send the princess and the county lord first, and go underground to reunite with the concubine and the prince!" Ren Ziyong said indifferently, "Lest the son be impulsive and cut off the last bit of the Qiu family's bloodline, so that his subordinates will not be able to explain to the concubine Niangniang when he goes underground!" ”

Qiu Jinglan stared at him for a long time, and finally walked away without saying a word - he knew that although he was the nominal master of "Tianya", he was the young master that Ren Ziyong respected repeatedly.

In fact, the real decision of "Tianya" is Ren Ziyong.

He couldn't resist this Mr. Ren.

At least for now, he can't resist.

Even if Ren Ziyong cheated to death and left the "end of the world" soon after this incident, Qiu Jinglan still did not dare to rashly contact his mother and sister who were far away in Beijing.

Before he left, he emphasized again: "The lives of the princess and the county lord are all in the mind of the son!" I also hope that the son will make a good choice, and don't leave lifelong regrets! ”

Think more...... Want to grow up faster?

I don't know how many times I looked up at the sky - it seems like a long, long time, since he was sent to the south by Ren Ziyong, he has witnessed the starry sky in every spring, summer, autumn and winter, every cold, summer, rainy and snowy night.

Under the starry sky, he drew his knife again and again, and read hard in the cold window.

His sweat flowed through the seasons, and he absorbed all kinds of lessons with the most devout and fearless mood.

But the more I wanted to fly to that familiar palace, the slower the days seemed to pass.

According to Ren Ziyong's plan, after he was fourteen years old, he began to end pure hard study and penance, and gradually showed up to cover for his future identity.

Relying on the spendthrift and the handsomeness passed down from his parents, it didn't take much effort for him to become famous in this city.

Riding a horse leaning on the bridge, full of red sleeves.

In a circle of his age, the scenery in front of people is nothing more than that.

Ren Ziyong has no objection to him messing around with those Qinlou Chu Pavilions: "As long as the son is not seriously addicted to it, it is okay to relax occasionally." ”

This was born under the knee of the most important but untimely death of the deposed prince of Dezong, and was entrusted by Concubine Lian's henchman, of course, he would not let him go to talk to the Oiran for such a simple reason, "In the future, when the prince arrives in Beijing, similar occasions must be frequented often, after all, General Ruan's current situation can no longer pave the way for you, you can only rely on your own management, the means in the wind and snow, it is always right to learn more!" ”

In the end, he still has to learn things - but Ren Ziyong's arrangement is really useful, and after arriving in Beijing, he managed to meet the two most famous Oiran in Beijing, and with a little trick, he made the accustomed and attentive Hua Shen and Penglai Yue both look at him differently and help him.

As a result, he caught up with Ling Zui, the youngest son of the Marquis of Jingchuan and the eldest princess of Maode.

There is a reason for choosing Ling Zui, as the former prince of Xihe who returned to Beijing as the illegitimate son of the Ruan family, Qiu Lulan is burdened with a deep hatred of blood, but he can't startle the snake. This is destined for him to be prosperous in the court to accumulate capital for revenge, but he can't be too ambitious to be exposed, attract the attention of the Gu family and the Guo family, and kill him first for the sake of everything.

Ling Zui is a typical gentleman, but his conduct is not useless, and he is a person worth befriending.

The point is that his parents, who have a place in the clan and in the court, and are both members of the Centrist Party.

In the dispute between the two queens, the Queen Mother Party and the Queen Party are vying to win over the neutral party, after making friends with Ling Zui, unless there is evidence, the queen mother party will never deliberately embarrass a friend of the son of an important member of the neutral party.

This is very important to Qiu Jinglan.

After all, his identity on the surface is the heir of the Ruan family, and he has a deep relationship with the Queen Mother's party.

And Ling Zui's identity and growth environment also determine that although he has never entered the ranks, his ability in Beijing is definitely not small. These are exactly what Qiu Jinglan urgently needs when she first sets foot in Beijing.

On the surface, one is a well-known Qinglou frequent visitor in the south, and the other is a well-known gentleman in Beijing - the difference is that although the former is put. swing, but he happens to have the talent of a scholar; Although the latter is not very good at reading, he gave birth to a good family - so that the two can get together, and the serious smell is similar, there is nothing strange.

Except for Ling Zui, Qiu Jinglan did not deliberately make friends with other people.

Sure enough, Ren Ziyong's cautious arrangement did not attract any attention from the Queen Mother's Party - even if he arrived in Beijing not long after, Qiu Lulan was involved in the dispute between the two queens, but the Queen Mother's party's precautions against him were always based on the illegitimate son of the Ruan family, and such a misjudgment gave him the most urgently needed development opportunity.

In the spring of the following year, he was named on the gold list and became a student of Xue Chang, who was the prime minister of the dynasty.

At the age of less than twenty, the youngest Jinshi of this dynasty deservedly won Xue Chang's favor. earnestly instructed and taught frequently, and even if Xue Fangmi hadn't been a hindrance, he would have been the son-in-law of the Xue family.

Although there is Xue Chang's love for talent, his behavior of getting closer to Ling Zui first is not without influence - the confidant friend of the younger generation of the Neutral Party, with Xue Chang's person, he doesn't say anything on his lips, but he will give some extra benefits in action.

After that, he went to the western Xinjiang and entrusted his sister to Ling Zui, and sure enough, Ling Zui was very concerned. Even if they were forcibly sent to the south by Jingchuan Hou and his wife to avoid the limelight for a few days, after returning to Beijing, the first thing he did was to visit Qiu Yulan.

At this time, Qiu Jinglan had already forgotten the flower that was pulling the string for him and Peng Laiyue deeply.

He didn't feel guilty at all, he felt that he had been involved in the money anyway, the money and goods were both good, and the rest was just a show.

The two Oirans were stubbornly entangled, which only showed that they were not professional enough - there was a time when he resented Ren Ziyong very much.

resented his harshness and severity, resented him for threatening himself again and again with Princess Ruan and Qiu Yulan, and resented the indifference of everything in his words except for Concubine Lian's entrustment...... But unconsciously, Qiu Jinglan found that she had gradually become another Ren Ziyong.

Calculations without moral burdens, simplicity that only seeks ends and means are unscrupulous, and indifference that is regarded as a mustard except for people and things that are valued in their eyes......

Many years later, he finally understood that Mr. Ren: not necessarily indifferent and cruel, but the responsibility on his shoulders was so heavy, the goal ahead was so far away, and on the road to the end, he was weak, tired, desperate, sad, painful, and doubtful...... There are so many reasons for interruption - so, you can only keep moving forward, you can only stare at it without blinking, even if you know that you will miss countless scenery for this, and how many beautiful things in life will pass by, and such a miss is very likely to be irreparable in this life!

However, he can only make his heart a little colder and colder, so cold that he is indifferent to all external objects, immersed in a world where there is only himself and his goal.

But for that faint hope.

As for whether such behavior has also cut off the hope of others, Qiu Jinglan is indifferent.

After hearing the bad news thousands of miles away, he entered Beijing overnight, and stepped into the familiar and unfamiliar mansion with the greatest perseverance in his life to maintain a calm expression, and saw the deserted mourning hall of Princess Ruan, and his sister who was cautious but could not hide his suspicion behind the tent, he thought sadly and calmly: "There is nothing in this world that I can't do!" ”

From that day on, he forgave Ren Ziyong, and he became more and more like Ren Ziyong day by day.

After Hua Shen failed to threaten him with death, he cried and asked him: "Do you have a heart?!" ”

He turned away with ease, his resolute back was better than thousands of rejections—so crisp and unconcerned, and his heart was so calm that he couldn't make any waves.

Only when he treats his sister can he find the "Annunciation of Mud" in full bloom like a few lives ago, a few lifetimes ago, his grandmother is still there, his parents are still there, in the Xihe Palace, in the courtyard where his mother lives, under the stone steps and behind the low hedge, the blooming "mud gold annunciation" is as gorgeous as the rippling golden lake, and like the rippling sunset - he likes to lie on the low hedge and pick one of the flowers he thinks is the best, and take it to tease his infant sister: the pink baby of Yuxue will laugh when he is awake, and the laughter is crisp and delicate, as sweet as the silver wind chimes hanging in front of his window; She pouted slightly when she fell asleep, her long eyelashes hanging down on her eyelids like a small fan, and she placed the flowers beside her, and the little child was like a fairy conjured up in the flowers—such carefree and full of laughter, so far away that it was untouchable, but so vivid that it seemed to have happened a moment ago.

This was the only solace in his torn heart.

So when he inadvertently heard the Shenghuo red clothes pulling Qiu Yulan and asking, "Don't you think you lack a cousin?" ”

He only felt that this seemed to be a trouble, and he didn't have the slightest bit of joy and pride in being favored by the beauty or the only daughter of Jing Bo.

His hunch was not wrong at all - after refusing without maneuver, he thought that the young lady with such an identity would never come clearly again, right?

But the entanglement again and again annoyed him, and he also had to look at the entire Ou family with admiration: it's okay to raise this kind of girl who stalks men, and the most rare thing is that the elders of the entire family seem to know nothing, and let Ou Qinglan toss ......

"If there is no betrayal of Shi Shihan, my grandfather has not been defeated, my father has not died in battle, my grandmother is still there, and my mother is also a good ......" Tired of Ou Qinglan's interruption and disgusted by the Ou family's indulgence of her daughter, Qiu Jinglan felt infinitely embarrassed, "Is Lan Lan the same as her?" ”

The kind of stubbornness that ignores the name, ignores the world, is not afraid of rejection, and does not care about the scarred persistence, at a glance, you can see that you have grown up in a thousand obedience, grown up in love, and are full of enthusiasm and recklessness of newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers.

How can a mind that has not been protected to the point of ignorance be able to get up again and again after a fall, and continue innocently?

And the pearl in his palm should have grown into such a girl, right? There is no haze, no calculation, full of sunshine and flowers like a clear sky.

Even the occasional crying is like a raindrop reflecting the rainbow: the sadness has not yet reached the bottom of the heart, and there is a new joy to replace it - this is the life that the lord of the Xihe Wangfu should have!

So he became more and more reluctant to see Ou Qinglan.

He couldn't help but immerse himself in all kinds of assumptions - and the "ifs", "ifs", "ifs" ...... will push him step by step into the abyss of weakness!

Even if Ou Qinglan rushed to the western frontier thousands of miles away and was almost humiliated at the hands of Guo Qingwu for this, Qiu Jinglan still didn't feel anything moved.

He has trampled on the hearts of too many beauties, and he has already sharpened his heart of stone, and the beauty in the eyes of ordinary people is profound, but it is tasteless to him.

If he could, he would rather use this beauty to be affectionate and exchange it for a capable subordinate.

In this life, the two burdens of revenge and guilt, he is already very difficult to carry, and he is really not interested in distracting him anymore.

- So that year, in the cold wind and sand of Western Xinjiang, on a night when the moonlight was like frost, Qiu Jinglan stared at the red-clothed girl in front of her, and listened to her calmly cite all kinds of reasons why she didn't marry, and the impatience in her heart gradually faded: "It is true that I have reached the age of marriage, if I don't marry a wife, it will be a trouble!" ”

Not to mention anything else, just the people at the bottom guess whether he is a good man, or simply not - such a reputation is a trouble for him who tried to take charge of the Zhenxi Army at a young age!

Before that, it could be said that he was concentrating on revenge and had no intention of starting a family; After that, he always had to start a family, and he couldn't delay it too long – at least before the rumors came out.

Among the candidates for marriage, Ou Qinglan is among the best both in terms of her own conditions and the forces behind her.

At that time, Qiu Jinglan perfunctorily thought of the wording she had come up with, and slowly thought in her heart: "Marry her?" It seems to be okay: good looks, good family background, and most importantly, simple enough in mind. ”

At least when facing him, he is simple enough and obedient.

Simple people are easy to coax - for Qiu Jinglan, a wife who is loyal and guaranteed, does not need him to spend much effort to envelop him, and can bring him the effect of marriage, can be said to be a small investment and high return.

After all, more than ten years of rigorous schooling, rain or shine, and the years of never having a pastime and rest under Ren Ziyong's whipping - even when he was alone with the Oiran in the hook bar, he had to always keep in mind Ren Ziyong's advice, even if Qiu Jinglan was not a lazy person, he felt tired after a long period of tension.

He also admires those women who are good at dancing with long sleeves and splendid hearts, but to say that they are pillow people, and they are also serious wives...... Forget it!

For example, the Jiang family who almost asked him to marry, whether it was the bad-tempered Jiang Fifteen and Jiang Seventeen, or the good-tempered but deep Jiang Eighteen. If it weren't for the power of the Jiang family, Qiu Jinglan wouldn't have any interest in them.

The Xue family's Xue Fangmi is the same, to say that Xue Rongqing is also the same as Ou Qinglan, a girl who doesn't have too much thought-but not to mention that after Xue Fangmi makes such a show, it will be very troublesome for Qiu Jinglan to marry a girl from the Xue family again, which requires him to spend a lot of thought, and it will inevitably make him feel that he can't make it.

Simply speaking, Xue Rongqing's character is simply worse than Ou Qinglan, but it is too soft.

is so soft that she is dragging her feet, and Qiu Jinglan, who seriously wants to find a wife who does not cause trouble for herself, naturally will not consider her.

He will please girls, it doesn't mean that he is willing to do it - it's too late to grab power and coax his sister, he just wants to take a break when he has some time, and he doesn't want to serve the girls who may not be able to take care of the simplest backyard completely!

So Ou Qinglan, who doesn't need him to please, but always thinks about pleasing him, and is so spicy to others that he can't afford to suffer a loss, in his opinion, it is simply cheap.

But it's not just him who can deceive people in this world - in particular, Ou Qinglan's family background and relationship with Qiu Jinglan's brother-in-law make him have to be cautious: it's okay to refuse Ou Qinglan, once she marries, unless she steals someone, it's impossible to reconcile with her!

Therefore, he asked a very sharp question: "If the last general wants to bring all the pink confidants in the early years into the backyard, Miss Ou, can you agree?" ”

"If you agree, the last general can immediately stop the marriage with the Han family, and tomorrow I will send someone to send you the hairpin ring left by the last general's mother as a token of affection!"

When he asked this, he was ready for Ou Qinglan's promise - after all, this girl did do for him what many men couldn't do at this time to pursue their sweethearts, didn't she?

He was confident that the other party would compromise.

In fact, he didn't remember those pink confidants in the past, and the reason why he asked for this was nothing more than to show Ou Qinglan the color, so that she knew that even after getting married, it was best to stay in the backyard obediently and not disturb him.

Qiu Jinglan, who has long exhausted her life's experience and enthusiasm on the road to revenge, is very interested in love. Love looks very lightly and lightly. The main purpose of his marriage is for career considerations and the continuation of his heirs.

The two are happy, grow old together, and love lingers...... These are all boring in his eyes.

The Yue family has something to rely on, his wife is docile and obedient and doesn't want him to worry about it, and then gives him children...... That's how life goes. He was too lazy to think about the others, but Ou Qinglan pursued him so hard, once she became a relative, she would inevitably have unrealistic fantasies, and he felt that she should be made to wake up.

Don't be disappointed and change your face.

"This will be mentally prepared to get along with a group of sisters and sisters under the same roof in the future, and when the time comes, I won't take a concubine or a few less, maybe she will be grateful to me, right?"

Qiu Jinglan thought coldly.

Hit a stick to give a sweet date, that's right, that's what he thinks and does.

- But even if you read the spring of the world like him, there are times when you don't want to make mistakes.

Ou Qinglan refused.

The girl who never hesitated when she was the grandson of the Jiang family, and after she was almost insulted by Guo Qingwu, she didn't show much weakness after running for her life, and she struggled as if she was about to drown in the moonlight.

He thought that in this case, her answer with tears and tears was impossible but to compromise!

Unexpectedly, she refused to be grief-stricken, but she was also as firm as a rock: "I am willing to die for you, and I am willing to do everything for you - except taking a concubine!" ”

"I must never share you with anyone else!"

She almost shouted her decision - she didn't promise!!

Even if he promised that as long as she verbally agreed, the hairpin ring representing the dowry would be delivered to her the next day, and the identity of Qiu Ou's family that she dreamed of would be fulfilled - what does it matter if she regrets it after marriage? She's not a motherless person!

Not to mention Jing Bo's status at that time, because of the friendship between her maternal brother and Qiu Jinglan's brother-in-law, Qiu Jinglan, who loves her sister, will not make it difficult for her sister.

No matter how simple these Ou Qinglan are, she should understand, but she still said "no"!

At that moment, it was difficult for Qiu Jinglan to tell her mood clearly, surprised? Lose? Touch? Exasperation? Relaxed?

It seems that there is a little bit, but it is impossible to say it accurately - the strangest thing is that it is relaxed, I don't understand why, when I saw the girl in red lose her soul and wanted to turn away, because she was not ready to refuse at all, he forgot how to answer for a while, and he took off his robe fluently and put it on!

For days he wondered if his impulsiveness—he thought he was impulsive—and he didn't know if it was good or bad?

The impulse of the moment and the promise of a lifetime are two different things.

He didn't think that because of that moonlit night, such an inexplicable heartbeat, he would take care of her for the rest of his life as Ou Qinglan was counting on, and even on that moonlit night, he tacitly promised Ou Qinglan not to accept concubines...... To be honest, I don't really have any intention of complying with it.

"Let's live first, I always have to get married, don't I?" The busy schedule left him with little time to get distracted and forced himself to devote himself to the office. When he went, he said to himself, and he was shocked, "Isn't this what she is trying to convince me?" ”

Shaking his head, he didn't think much about it, a little ostrich thought - let's live first!

Before he knew it, years passed in a flash, and he finally returned to Beijing to reunite with his worried sister.

During this period, he and Ou Qinglan experienced a lot, the most unforgettable thing was the loss of the eldest daughter of the two, at that moment he hugged her into his arms, and for the first time he saw in her pupils was not himself, but completely empty!

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he also had a home!

He is no longer simply Qiu Yulan's brother, he is Ou Qinglan's husband.

Husband and wife are one, the sister who has long been out of the cabinet, and someone else has sheltered her from the wind and rain.

And he should do his duty to his wife.

It's just that after the touch of this moment, the secret envoy from the north brought a proposal about the then Zhenbei Bo and the later Jianjia Emperor, so that he could once again devote himself to the plan for his sister - after returning to Beijing, he was lonely under his knees, and naturally loved his sister's children as his own flesh and blood.

Ou Qinglan never blamed him for the untimely death of her eldest daughter, but regarded Jiang Huiying as a treasure.

That day, he went back from the city and brought his niece and sister's favorite pastries, but he forgot to buy anything for his wife. How so? I'm not yours! ”

This wife is really coaxing, she laughs brightly on the spot, and she doesn't care about anything!

…… There are many such things, sometimes he remembers and sometimes he doesn't, but not once he is blamed, because when he was a teenager, he had the experience of not touching a leaf in a thousand flowers, and dealing with a wife who loved him wholeheartedly, it was really a gesture and not worth mentioning.

Until one time, Ou Qinglan, who was already gray-haired, frowned and complained: "Why did you go to buy this pastry in person?" Didn't I tell you that I didn't like to eat it for a long time? It rained yesterday, and you had an early injury on your leg, and it was difficult to walk on such days, so you really want to buy it, so don't you just ask someone to run errands? ”

He skillfully coaxed: "It's just a few steps, and then I think you like it, where can I think of the pain when I go to buy it?" ”

"That's not going to work!" Ou Qinglan shouted angrily, "You don't hurt me—you said you were mine, and in the future, you won't be allowed to go without my permission!" ”

"Good, good! I will listen to your ...... when I go out in the future" Speaking of this, Qiu Jinglan, who prides herself on being romantic and accustomed to seeing the wind and moon, was suddenly stunned - looking at the white-haired old woman who was still frowning and complaining, and then looking at the frosty sideburns faintly shining on the smooth glaze of the sweet white golden peach blossom vase not far away, he thought blankly and puzzledly: Didn't he just say that he was just looking for someone who was not troublesome and had a family background to marry, and then he would talk about it first?

Why...... So you're old?!

The most terrible thing is that over the years, when did Ou Qinglan, who had always been obedient and gentle to him, gradually begin to call him around, and he who has always been the flower of Kaolin in front of her, reserved and arrogant, is actually so happy? !

In a trance, he looked at his wife, who finally finished complaining, happily opened the oiled paper bag, and squinted to enjoy the pastries like when he was a girl: in vain, he boasted that he was accustomed to seeing the spring in the world, and he knew the way of the wind and the moon well, but he didn't know that this was the real master, moisturizing things silently, and let himself obediently follow her for a lifetime!!

Moreover, he didn't mind at all, and even thought: "Don't toss in the next life, it's still her!" ”