Yongjia South City, Pingkang Fang.

The courtyard of the Li mansion is deep, the smoke cage is cold, and there are flowers everywhere you look, and the rich and noble atmosphere is varied.

In the water pavilion in the southeast corner, Li Daoyan, with gray sideburns, sat on a recliner covered with a mattress, his hands in front of his lower abdomen, his eyes slightly closed, bathed in the warm sunshine of late spring.

Beside him was a young man of twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in a single coat of rich texture, sitting on a small round stool, holding a volume of poetry in his hand, and reading it carefully and carefully.

The young man's name is Li Gongxu, nicknamed Juvenile Fish, and he is the youngest son of Li Daoyan's fourth son, Li Dezhi, and Li Daoyan's youngest grandson.

The breeze was gentle, and fish could be seen in the pool in front of them, while the servants outside the pavilion were silent.

There was peace and tranquility all around.

Li Daoyan slowly opened his old eyes and called, "Juvenile fish." ”

The young man closed the book, got up and handed the book of poems in his hand to the servant not far away, turned around and replied, "Grandfather." ”

Li Daoyan looked at his respectful expression, a kind smile appeared on his face, and said, "Many people go to the north of the city to see the excitement today, including your cousins who are not successful, do you want to go?" ”

Li Gongxu replied crisply: "My grandson doesn't want to go." ”

Li Daoyan asked with interest, "Why?" ”

Li Gongxu thought for a moment, and then said: "Because my grandson wants to study more, I don't want to waste time on useless things." ”

The latter sentence finally shows a bit of childishness.

Li Daoyan smiled and said leisurely: "Do you think it is a meaningless thing for the three princes and the Manchu Dynasty to greet Lu Shen, the Marquis of Shanyang, today?" ”

There is a small trap hidden in this sentence, Li Gongxu is young but very intelligent, and he explained unhurriedly: "Grandfather, grandson has never thought of it like this. It's a lot of fun, but as an outsider, there's no point in wasting time watching the excitement. Instead of envying the scenery of others, it is better to work hard yourself. ”

Li Daoyan's eyes became more and more gentle, and he smiled: "Then in the eyes of the child, what is the significance of welcoming each other outside the city?" ”

Li Gongxu frowned slightly, although this question was not particularly complicated, it was inevitably a little difficult for him.

Li Daoyan didn't embarrass him, and changed his words: "Change the question, what do you think of the Marquis of Shanyang, who is young and has a weak crown and has made outstanding achievements?" ”

Li Gongxu replied: "Back to my grandfather, the ancients had clouds and prosperity and must decline, and the Marquis of Shanyang is now powerful, but I am afraid that it will not last long." He was not born in the imperial examination, and he had never been an official in Beijing, he had been working hard in the border army, and he was not familiar with many things in the officialdom. If he only stays in Beijing for a period of time this time, he shouldn't have any trouble, but if he enters the officialdom of Beijing, his grandson is not optimistic about his future. ”

Li Daoyan pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Don't say these words in front of outsiders. ”

Li Gongxu bowed his head and said, "Grandson understands." ”

Li Daoyan exhaled slowly, looked up at the blue sky, and said softly: "Living in the capital, it's not easy, I just don't know if that young prince has the courage to turn the rain and clouds, hehe......"

The young man looked at the solemn expression on his grandfather's old face, and couldn't help but fall into a long thought.

Grandfather seemed to be optimistic about the future of the young prince, was he really wrong?

The boy was puzzled.

……

Warp Weaving Division, General Office.

The maid Mo Ning carried the food box into the heavily guarded courtyard, and came to the hugging building in front of the hall on the east side through the corridor, bypassing the screen and going straight into the room, and saw the young man sitting in front of the desk window, as if he had not noticed that someone had come in, and was still immersed in the vast number of files.

Mo Ning sighed silently, walked closer with light steps, and said softly: "Childe, it's time to eat." ”

"Okay."

Yang Jingxuan put the dossier back in its place, got up and sat down at the table.

Mo Ning took out a bowl of green stem rice, a plate of green vegetables, a plate of stewed duck with winter bamboo shoots, and a cup of wild pigeon soup from the food box.

Yang Jingxuan's eating demeanor is very meticulous, and she pays special attention to chewing and swallowing slowly.

Mo Ning has been with him for many years, and they are very familiar with each other, but they don't have to abide by the courtesy, so they stood next to him and said, "Childe, I heard that the north of the city can be lively today." Several princes and princes were there, and in addition to the left prime minister, the chief officials of all the ministries went outside the city, just to welcome the Marquis of Shanyang, who led the army and triumphed. The people in the city are looking forward to seeing the demeanor of the border soldiers, especially on Suzaku Street, which is full of people. ”

Yang Jingxuan responded lightly.

Mo Ning's topic turned to him again, and he persuaded: "Now that the war on the frontier has been temporarily stopped, the affairs of the division should not be so busy, why should the prince work hard every day, your body and bones are already weak, and if you continue like this, you are only afraid of ......."

She wanted to speak and stopped, her eyes full of pity.

Yang Jingxuan swallowed the rice in his mouth and said slowly: "Although the war is suspended, when will the warp weaving division be idle?" Especially when we regain a large territory, those territories are mixed, and there are still fine works left in the north, and the warp weaving department will only be busier in the future. Two days ago, my uncle told me that the new General Hou specially found him, saying that on the way back to Beijing, he encountered several sneak attacks by the Shazhou Seventh Division, and asked the Warp Weaving Department to send people to help him keep an eye on it. ”

He looked up at the delicate maid, and a sneer appeared on his lips: "Listen, the warp weaver seems to have to do everything in the eyes of these adults. ”

Mo Ning said ashamedly: "It's all my fault for being too talkative, Childe should eat first, the food will be cold after a while." ”

"It's full."

Yang Jingxuan picked up the handkerchief she had prepared and wiped her mouth.

Mo Ning looked towards the table, and saw that a bowl of blue stem rice had eaten a small half, and the stewed duck with winter bamboo shoots basically did not move the chopsticks, and the green vegetables were all eaten.

She sighed helplessly and persuaded: "Even if you don't have an appetite, Childe should drink this soup." ”

Yang Jingxuan looked at her insistent expression, shook her head and said, "You are more and more like an old mother now." ”

Having said that, he still picked up the soup cup and drank it slowly.

Mo Ning smiled lightly: "As long as the son can take care of his body, I am willing to be an old mother, maybe Lord Qin will see that I take good care of me, and he will happily reward me with a few hundred taels of silver......

"I'm going to Dingzhou."

Yang Jing interrupted her suddenly.

The smile on Mo Ning's face instantly froze, and he looked at the young man in a daze, and muttered, "Childe, what did you say?" ”

"I'm going to Dingzhou."

Yang Jingxuan seemed to be strengthening her confidence, and then said: "I have been training in the general office for nearly four years, and I have handled more than 1,000 secret reports, and I can be qualified for the position of external release. I am well versed in the rules and regulations of the Warp Weaving Division, and I know how to deploy men and train spies, and I have all the abilities to be in charge of a place, except that I don't know how to do martial arts. Huaizhou Su Yunqing has not fought with many people, so it doesn't matter whether he can do martial arts or not. ”

The panic in Mo Ning's eyes was undoubtedly revealed, and he shook his head and said, "Childe, Lord Qin will definitely not agree with your idea. ”

Yang Jingxuan smiled faintly, did not respond directly to this sentence, and said calmly: "Just now you mentioned the noise in Beicheng, in fact, I envy Lu Shen, not for his military merits and title, but for his ability to fight with Jingren." ”

Mo Ning suddenly remembered something, and those words of persuasion could no longer be spoken.

Yang Jingxuan understood that she had reacted, and nodded slightly: "You should know that my uncle will not object, because he can't object, no matter what kind of identity I am, it is natural to avenge my father." ”

He turned around and walked to the window, stared at an inch of sunlight outside the window, and said quietly: "Do you think that today the capital is empty of thousands of people, and Lu Shen enjoys the glory of being greeted by hundreds of officials, but in fact, how many people understand the significance of his contributions?" In the past two years, I have been hiding in the shadows and watching, and I am afraid that even my uncle is not clear enough. ”

"He seems to have infinite scenery in the crowd, but I feel that he, Xiao Dadu and the border soldiers are very lonely, and the smell of this capital makes me more and more depressed and disgusting, so I want to go to the frontier."

"Fight alongside them."

……

Suzaku Street runs through the central axis of the north-south direction of Yongjia City, starting from Wangjiangmen in the north and reaching the Royal Street outside the Imperial City in the south.

The three princes, Lu Shen and the Manchu Dynasty ministers, walked all the way south along Suzaku Street, receiving cheers and appreciation from the people of the capital on the way.

Walking behind the princes, Lu Shen smiled and behaved quite decently.

When I came to the square outside the palace, the surroundings finally quieted down.

The second prince opened his mouth and said, "Is the Marquis of Shanyang interested in poetry and articles? ”

This sentence came very abruptly, Lu Shen's eyes condensed slightly, and then he said calmly: "Second Highness, the minister doesn't understand this. ”

The second prince smiled gently, and said casually: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, you are a martial artist and not a civil servant." In the next few days, there will be a poetry meeting in Beijing, and there will be many literary circles during the banquet. Many people heard that you were going back to Beijing, and they wanted to see the demeanor of the border army generals in person, but they were afraid that you would not like it, so they begged to come to this king. ”

In front of the other two princes and a group of ministers, the second prince looked at Lu Chen and said leisurely: "I wonder if the Marquis of Shanyang can give this king a face and let the Chinese people in Beijing see it for a long time?" Maybe there will be a famous sentence coming out, and it will also be a good story. ”

Lu Shen knew that his return to Beijing this time would not be very peaceful, but he didn't expect that these Tianhuang nobles would be so direct.

First, the eldest prince quietly showed his intention to woo, and then the second prince threw out the invitation of the so-called literary meeting.

On the contrary, the third prince became very silent, and compared to his two brothers, it seemed that he suddenly looked at a lot more pleasant.

Before Lu Shen could answer, Xue Nanting, the right minister, said with a smile: "If the Marquis of Shanyang is free, it doesn't hurt to go and relax." ”

The eldest prince looked as usual, and glanced at the second prince as if he had not yet done so.

Lu Shen had a plan in his heart, and bowed his head slightly: "The Second Highness is gracious, but the ministers are disrespectful, and they will go at that time." ”

The second prince let out a hearty laugh and arched his hand: "Refreshing!" That's a deal! ”

The eldest prince coughed lightly and interjected: "Marquis of Shanyang, my father let you enter the palace alone to meet you." ”

"Obey."

Lu Shen responded, and immediately turned his head to look at the majestic palace city, only to see that outside the Hening Gate, the great eunuch Lu Shizhou was waiting quietly with more than a dozen small yellow gates.

He said goodbye to the three princes and the Manchu court, turned around and walked towards the palace gate, his steps were steady, not hurried.

(End of chapter)