It rained for several days in a row, until April 26, when it was sunny, the dew drops were covered with summer grass, and hundreds of peonies showed their flowers, such as spitting fire and steaming glow, and there were only six days left before Wang Shuhuai's birthday.

Early in the morning, the third wife called Xie Yunchu to discuss the birthday banquet, and the other wives and grandmothers sat in the weeping flower hall to drink tea.

Xie Yunchu took care of it in front of everyone, "The third aunt is in charge of the guest list, and the rest of the kitchen arrangements will be handed over to the nephew and daughter-in-law." "Presumably, the will will come down soon, take the work in hand first, and save the third wife from wasting.

The third wife showed her appreciation when she heard this, "Look, if the fifth child of my family can have such a capable daughter-in-law as Chu'er, I will wake up with a smile in my dreams." "The third wife has a son and a daughter, the fifth master and the second girl, all of whom are discussing marriage, because they are the grandsons of the eldest princess and the grandfather of the country, they are hot in the capital.

The second wife, Jiang, only thought that Xie Yunchu was courteous to the third wife, vomiting to death, and snorted awkwardly.

The sound of bamboo outside the curtain was like a groan, and the third wife told Xie Yunchu what to pay attention to, and Xie Yunchu lowered his head and listened silently. After a while, a servant woman ran to the verandah in front of her, and she looked obviously frightened.

The third lady saw that this person was familiar, and it was the mother-in-law who had a head and a face in the house and suddenly made a face, "What are you doing to be scared like this, there is a room of masters sitting here, what kind of system." ”

The eldest lady sitting at the top recognized that it was the housekeeper beside her, her heart sank slightly, and she hurriedly leaned over and asked, "What's the matter?" After all, she is not the serious wife of the Wang family, and she has a little less confidence to speak.

The servant woman knelt down in front of her, tears raining down, "Madam, our uncle was just carried back, saying that he was doused with ink by someone when he was parading in the street, and that person even threatened to compete with our uncle. ”

The eldest lady staggered, "How is that possible?" ”

The third wife's face suddenly became gloomy, "It's just lawless." ”

After a while, the little guy who followed the uncle Wang Shuzhao was called and asked why.

The little guy snorted and wept,

"That person is five big and three coarse, known as the general of the Jing'an Mansion in Western Chu, and said that he entered Beijing this time to challenge the eldest grandson of our Guogong Mansion and find the grandfather of the country to settle grievances." In the end, his voice was extremely low, and he secretly glanced at Jiang.

As soon as these words came out, no one spoke in the weeping flower hall for a while.

The grievances between the grandfather of the country and the king of Jing'an of Western Chu are well known to the whole family.

Reasoning, the object of revenge in Jing'an Wangfu should be Wang Shuhuai, and the eldest lord Wang Bin followed his mother to the Wang family since he was two years old, and outsiders regarded him as the eldest son of the grandfather of the country, and he found the head of the long house with revenge.

The matter is so delicate that the third wife, Zhou, doesn't know how to turn around for a while.

The eldest lady was so tearful that she collapsed in the circle chair in shock, both aggrieved and angry.

Jiang Shi brushed his forehead silently, and for the first time he was glad that someone ignored the identity of Wang Shuhuai's eldest grandson.

Xie Yunchu was not so lucky, she knew that the will of the eldest prince would come down soon, Wang Shuhuai would definitely be pushed to the forefront, in his previous life, his younger brother blocked the disaster for him, and in this life she detained her younger brother in the academy, so what should Wang Shuhuai do.

It's not that I'm not worried, even if I'm cold to him, he is her husband in the end, the father of the child, both glory and loss.

The wives quickly dispersed, Xie Yunchu followed Jiang back to the second room, and when there was no one, Jiang couldn't hold back his schadenfreude.

"See, it's not called not reporting, it's not time yet, isn't it to occupy the name of the eldest grandson, but it's good, people are looking for revenge, let them have a headache."

Jiang's eyelids were shallow, and he didn't have a long-term concern, Xie Yunchu didn't have time to take care of her, so he sent her to Ning Hetang and went back to the room.

Sure enough, in the evening, news came from the palace that the eldest princess was about to give Wang Shuhuai a crown salute in the palace.

Jiang almost cried and fell into her husband's arms,

"Why do you push my Huai'er out, they have the benefits, let's hold the pot, is there a king in this world..."

The second half of the sentence was covered by the second master, and he was angry and panicked.

"You don't have to say a word, nagging these can be used for a fart."

The second old man was also so anxious that he was incoherent, and when he came back to his senses, he caught a glimpse of his daughter-in-law and sons hanging their heads one after another, annoyed that he had lost his words, his expression was scornful, and after a moment of silence, he looked at Xie Yunchu,

"First girl, you have a little thin face in front of the eldest princess, tomorrow morning, you enter the palace to ask to see the eldest princess, please show the eldest princess, how to deal with this matter."

Xie Yunchu knew that this road was not going through, "Father, why don't we wait for the second master to come back, let's discuss it first, and then make a decision?" ”

The second master was reminded by her like this, and he also knew that it was too reckless to find the eldest princess now, this matter is very important, and the grandfather of the country will definitely come back to give an explanation, the second master has never been so aggrieved as he is today, a pair of deep eyes are red, his forehead is full of blue tendons, and he is full of countless grievances to vent.

Wang Shuhuai is the backbone of the second room, once he has an accident, the second room will never come out.

Jiang cried, the second old man was depressed, Wang Shukuang and Wang Shutong were indignant, and the rest wiped their tears, but there was nothing they could do.

Xie Yunchu quietly withdrew and returned to Ning Hetang.

The lights broke through the night silently, strung together into a swimming dragon and shuttled through the Xuanjun Guogong Mansion. The willows are swaying, the phoenix tail is forested, and a particularly slender man is standing next to a peony in his arms to play, the man points to the sparkling water and says something to the child, the child pokes out half of his head from his arms, and his eyes are wide and stunned by the rippling water.

Probably aware of Xie Yunchu's footsteps, the person turned his head over, his eyes were deep and long, the azure embroidered silver bamboo pattern straight, half new but not old, I don't know which time she sewed it with her own hands, □□ the wind slowly, gently hunted the hem of his clothes, he was like a feather immortal.

The appearance is extremely clear, and her expression is also warm, but she is aware of the iron-clad aura, and the calmness that is not shocked. Originally, she complained that he was happy and angry, but at this moment, she was glad that this man was responsible, at least after so many years of ups and downs, she had never seen him show timidity or violence, he was always peaceful and calm, as if everything was under control.

Xie Yunchu didn't regret keeping his younger brother, but he didn't want his husband to fall into the fire pit, and when he came to Wang Shuhuai, his eyes were red unconsciously.

Wang Shuhuai had already handed over the child to the nursing mother, and at this moment, only the husband and wife were left in the lakeside water pavilion.

Wang Shuhuai looked at his gentle and dignified wife, her beautiful face turned a little whiter, full of uneasiness, and cared for him as always.

"Don't be afraid, I have a sense of proportion." Low-alcohol voice, pleasant to the ear,

"The Western Chu people are cruel, you can't take it lightly, second master, you have a way to avoid fighting with them." Xie Yunchu watched Wang Shuhuai go from a weak scholar to the first assistant of the dynasty, he was scheming, and there was definitely a way to make the other party retreat without a fight.

Wang Shuhuai's expression was extremely calm,

"Madam, Biwen is not an opponent, I don't necessarily lose in the competition."

In other words, Wang Shuhuai would not say such straightforward words, but he was really worried that Xie Yunchu would be frightened, she was docile and weak, don't be scared of illness.

Xie Yunchu looked at her husband with a smile in his eyes, and she wondered, "You don't seem to be unhappy?" ”

Wang Shuhuai raised his eyes slightly, his cheeks hidden in the flickering lights, "Forcing the eldest princess to admit the identity of my eldest grandson in public, why not." ”

This is not only to tell the world that the big house dove occupies the magpie's nest, but also to warn the third room, even if they are the sons of the eldest princess, but the long house of the Guogong Mansion is the second room, and the grandson of the long house is his Wang Shuhuai, which is orthodox in blood and cannot be blasphemed.

In addition to this, he has a deeper plan.

Xie Yunchu looked at her husband's victory and had nothing to say.

Sister Ke's cry suddenly came from afar, and the couple walked back together, to the fork in the road, to the left is the Chunjing Hall, to the right is the study, obviously the atmosphere is just right, Xie Yunchu did not invite Wang Shuhuai, and Wang Shuhuai did not stop.

The next morning, the will was officially transmitted to the palace through the holy decree, Wang Shuhuai received the will and then went to the palace to thank him.

King Jing'an of Western Chu and Grandpa Wang He are old rivals, King Jing'an proposed to accompany Grandpa Guo on this trip to the Great Jin Dynasty, and Grandpa Guo readily agreed, not only that, Grandpa Guo was very calm, no matter how provoked by King Jing'an, he was calm.

However, the courtiers couldn't sit still, and the scholars of the various ministries cherished their talents, worried that a prodigy like Wang Shuhuai would fold under the hands of the Western Chu people, and they came to the grandfather of the country as lobbyists, so that he could prevent the two from competing in martial arts, but the grandfather of the country just waved his hand lightly.

"The big husband stands up to the sky, why is he afraid of life and death?"

Wang Shuhuai is also in the household department every day, doing what he should do, the grandparents and grandchildren are calm and relaxed, but they make others secretly anxious.

In a blink of an eye, on the first day of the fifth month, Grandpa Guo never returned to the house to worship, Wang Shuhuai also forgot the agreement with Xie Yunchu, Xie Yunchu didn't care, the competition was imminent, and the couple didn't take this mistake seriously.

Compared with Wang Shuhuai, Xie Yunchu was more worried about his younger brother's sudden return to the house, and sent people to stare at the city gate and Xie Mansion for several days in a row, making sure that Xie Yunyou would not rush back before Wang Shuhuai's birthday.

The second day of the fifth month.

Before dawn, the Wang family put on their command clothes and went to the palace, on the way, Jiang and the second master rode together, and Xie Yunchu and the two concubines took a car.

Xu Shiwei was greedy for sleep, leaning aside and dozing off, but Dou Keling looked at Xie Yunchu's outfit, only to see her combing Lingyun bun, inserting a five-phoenix Chaoyang dotted cui step shaking, the thin gown of the begonia red fragrant cloud yarn, the water-red flower skirt, the bulging chest, with that face, it can be described as "swaggering through the market", Dou Keling looked very envious,

"The second sister-in-law is really outstandingly dressed today, but I don't know if I will eat the second master's chops when I turn around?" Wang Shuhuai respects the rules and does not like to be in the limelight. In the past, Xie Yunchu tied his chest, and Dou Keling, who was a concubine, knew it.

Xie Yun didn't even look at her at first, "It doesn't matter if he likes it or not, I just like it myself." "What's more, Wang Shuhuai is not in the limelight today?

She shook Concubine Xiang's fan, looking unwilling to say much to Dou Keling, and Dou Keling touched his nose.

The palace is not far from the palace, two quarters of an hour arrived, with the waist card given by the eldest princess, the people of the palace led into the palace, behind the capital famous eunuchs in an endless stream, although today is Wang Shuhuai and the crown ceremony, it is a confrontation between the two countries, the significance is not trivial, the capital has a head and face want to come in to join in this lively.

When I arrived at the Changchun Palace where the eldest princess was, the sky was already bright.

There were already palace people outside leading everyone into the palace.

Xie Yunchu followed behind Jiang's and followed suit, the main hall is magnificent and wide, there is a dragon incense tripod in the north, there is sandalwood burning in it, the first emperor and the first queen of the West Mountain longitudinal horse figure are hung above, the left and right are the praise of the royal pen mentioned by the emperor today, the golden silk nan long case displays all kinds of new melon and fruit incense candles and the like, it can be seen that worship from time to time.

Turn into a carved window on the right side, the ground is covered with a big red brocade carpet, a group of people walk on it silently, go north along a full moon carved door to enter, is the east side of the palace where the eldest princess lives daily.

Through a jade bead curtain, I vaguely saw a person lying on the side of the soft collapse of the red sandalwood dragon, with female officials serving on the left and right, and a big red sprinkled flower soft pillow on the collapse, a square backrest sewn by fragrant cloud yarn, because the eldest princess was afraid of the cold, and did not use the cool jade cushion, the palace people laid a whole piece of delicate ivory cushion, which was not hot or cold.

After a while, I could hear footsteps below, the bead curtain was opened by the palace maid, and the figure on the collapse gradually got up, she hadn't raised her eyes, all the wives and grandmothers of the Wang family knelt down together,

"Your Highness, please."

"Get up."

The voice was cold and low, with a bit of nonchalance.

Everyone hurriedly got up, stood on the left and right, and held their breath.

Xie Yunchu stood below the Jiang family, and quietly glanced up, the eldest princess was wearing a stone blue silk plain gown, sitting there upright, only a white hosta pulled her hair into a peony bun, and her body was unadorned, even so, it did not reduce her nobility at all.

The eldest princess is over sixty years old, her cold white face is interlaced with fine lines, her long eyebrows are in her temples, she is thin and tough with a sharp sheath, a pair of narrow Danfeng eyes are lowered, and two deep nasolabial folds are spread out to the wings, and she is gently sipping the blood swallow ginseng soup handed over by the palace people.

After drinking, the palace people gave her the string of rosewood Buddha beads that she was playing with in her hand, and she twisted it into the palm of her other hand, and then raised her eyes and swept it to the people below.

The gaze is like water, faint, and there is no emotion to be seen, but it gives people an invisible coercion.

She spoke slowly in silence, "I haven't been back to this palace for a long time, is my home okay?" ”

The palace is the head of the third wife, the Zhou family, and she bowed down and replied, "Thanks to my mother and father, there is no big problem at home." ”

The eldest princess raised her hand slightly when she heard this.

The fourth wife, Li, saw that her mother-in-law was showing signs of getting up, so she hurriedly took a step and hugged her with a smile.

"Mother, be careful." The fourth wife's voice was soft and thin.

On the other side, the eldest lady Qian Shi, who was closest to her, also silently hugged the eldest princess.

The second wife, Jiang, was blind, and the third wife, Zhou, was solemn.

The eldest princess descended the steps and stood in the hall, her eyes falling on Xie Yunchu first.

"Your third aunt said that there is no big problem in the house, what about Brother Huai's daughter-in-law, how are you?"

It is not for nothing that everyone in the palace is afraid of the eldest princess, every sentence of the eldest princess has a deep meaning, and if she makes a mistake, the consequences are unpredictable. Jiang Shi glanced at the eldest princess in horror when he heard this, and his hands under his sleeves were trembling slightly.

Fortunately, Xie Yunchu had the experience of his previous life and figured out the thoughts of this grandmother, she was used to being complimented, and the truth became precious, so Xie Yunchu curtsied and said truthfully,

"Back to my grandmother's words, my granddaughter-in-law is a little worried about my husband."

The eldest princess was not surprised, and even asked her with a kind face, "Do you blame me?" ”

The uneasiness in Xie Yunchu's eyes has not faded, but his expression is extremely firm, "It's not strange." "It's useless to blame.

The eldest princess pursed her lips and said nothing.

Xie Yunchu continued, "If the people of Western Chu inquire about it, they will know that Shuhuai is the grandson of his grandfather, and it is his duty to deal with the war. ”

"Even if a person cannot accomplish great things, he must act without being worthy of others. I think that's what my husband thinks the same way. ”

Presumably, this is also the reason why Grandpa Guo did not stop the eldest princess, the old man has been prosperous all his life, and he will not ask others to replace his grandson to die.

This road is the common choice of the eldest princess, Grandpa Guo and Wang Shuhuai. They each have their own things to want.

The eldest princess nodded with satisfaction, "It's good that you understand." "She likes women who are knowledgeable.

Who said that women are inferior to men, women can also achieve a career.

The hour was not early, the eldest wife and the fourth wife waited for the eldest princess to enter to change clothes, the third wife led Xie Yunchu and others to greet the queen, when everyone left Changchun Palace, there was a cold sweat on their backs, Xu Shiwei quietly pulled Xie Yunchu's sleeve,

"The eldest princess asked you, I was shocked, for fear that my sister-in-law would be punished, my sister-in-law is really powerful."

Xu Shiwei complained about Xie Yunchu, but now seeing that Xie Yunchu is thriving, she also has a close mind.

Xie Yunchu looked ahead and didn't pick up her stubble.

At the right time, the Chongguang Hall was full of people, and Wang Shuhuai and the crown ceremony were held here.

The emperor sits upright, the queen is on the left, the eldest princess is on the right, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military ceremony, except for the prince and the Jiang couple, the rest of the female dependents retreated to the apse.

And the crown ceremony is just a formality, lively but not festive. The real eye-catcher was the school competition in the afternoon.