Chang'an is good

The two of them randomly came to the bamboo forest and walked slowly along the winding path. The July breeze was no longer dry. Yao Xia mustered up the courage and asked, "Did you ask the Grand Princess to come? You...you also have the intention, why did you wait until today..."

Chang Sui'an's mind went blank as he was thinking about how to start the conversation.

He didn't ask his mother to come forward, and he didn't know that his mother was here today for this matter. He was looking for an opportunity to tell his mother, but she had already guessed it...

But there is no need to explain this matter, otherwise it would seem very disrespectful. Besides...Yao Xia said... "also"?
Chang Sui'an raised one hand and gently scratched his forehead, with an irrepressible smile on the corner of his mouth.

Yao Xia lowered her head, unable to see his expression, and only asked softly, "I, I want to ask you a question..."

Chang Sui'an came back to his senses from his silent giggle and said quickly, "Actually, I... didn't know what you meant before, so I was just waiting for you to choose... I thought that this way, I wouldn't have to speak carelessly and put you in a difficult position."

Yao Xia's eyes widened slightly and he exclaimed, "Ah" - waiting for her to choose? Why did he think she dared to choose him? Was it the same way that the crown princess chooses the emperor's husband? But how could Yao Xia have such a grand show?

Chang Sui'an asked her back, "Since you... don't hate me, why haven't you said a word to me?"

"There's such a huge gap between my family and yours..." Yao Xia also told the truth: "I'm not sure about your feelings, so I'm naturally afraid of being laughed at."

She is not a little girl of fifteen or sixteen years old. Even if she doesn't care about herself, she has to consider the dignity of her family.

Besides, if you really like someone, you may seem to feel inferior. It is clear that she never thought she was bad before.

"I don't have a good family background, nor am I as outstanding and determined as my cousin..." Yao Xia evaluated herself: "I am neither quiet nor talented, and my appearance is just average."

In comparison, the person she liked was much more capable. Even without mentioning his family background, he himself was also very outstanding, both in terms of willpower, courage, military achievements and official position.

She searched through all her drawers and couldn't find any good points in him. She had no idea what she could do to match him.

So she could only think that if she couldn't wait, after he got married to another girl, she would put her mind at ease, stop having delusions, and think about how to live her life. No matter what, she still had to live a good life.

"But I don't think you're ordinary at all. Besides, even if you are ordinary, so what..." Chang Sui'an said seriously, "You are honest, brave, kind, and optimistic... I feel very happy when I see you. This is also a very powerful ability."

Yao Xia looked up at him: "So you also think that I am indeed ordinary in appearance, right?"

"..." Chang Sui'an almost tripped, stopped, and shook his head quickly: "You are also very beautiful!"

"Who are you kidding?" Yao Xia: "I have seen countless beauties, so I know I am not a beauty."

"Then..." Chang Sui'an said weakly, "At most, we can only say that you and I have different perspectives."

Yao Xia: "Then your vision is not that good, not even half as good as mine."

Chang Sui'an was very firm: "I think it's great."

A smile finally appeared on Yao Xia's lips and he continued walking forward.

Chang Sui'an followed her and said seriously, "I hope you don't think I'm stupid."

"What's wrong with you?" Yao Xia: "A stupid person can't win so many battles. A stupid person won't think he's stupid."

"No, I'm really stupid..." Chang Sui'an felt a little ashamed: "I have never thought about your worries and your situation."

He never compared himself with others based on his social status, so he never thought that she would doubt herself and retreat because of the difference in their family backgrounds.

Chang Sui'an: "This is my fault. I should have said it earlier."

"It's not too late now." Yao Xia: "I now feel that words said later will last longer."

If not for this, they might not be able to understand the mind so clearly.

Chang Sui'an: "Then..."

Yao Xia: "Then..."

The two of them said "that" almost at the same time and looked at each other at the same time.

Facing Yao Xia's expectant eyes, Chang Sui'an immediately said, "You speak first!"

Yao Xia: "Then when you meet the emperor in the future...can you take me with you occasionally?"

"......?" Chang Sui'an was stunned for a moment. Seeing that she was still waiting for his answer, he quickly assured her: "Of course I can!"

Yao Xia finally showed a satisfied smile, feeling like a double blessing.

The uneasiness and bitterness of the past few days disappeared at this moment. She walked forward, quietly closed her eyes, and secretly said in her heart - thank God for being so kind to her, she will be a good person, and will do many good deeds. Please believe that she will definitely be the person who knows how to cherish blessings the most in this world!

"Hey, you say..." In a good mood, Yao Xia's expression became lively again, and she slowly recovered her "original nature". She whispered to Chang Sui'an: "How good-looking do you think the child born by His Majesty and the Protector of the Saint will be in the future?"

When she thought about such a beautiful child being born... God can testify, if she hadn't just vowed to be a person who cherishes blessings, she would have wanted to reincarnate right away.

Of course, it was just a thought. After all, her merits were still shallow, so it was impossible for her to have such great fortune.

Chang Sui'an didn't attach much importance to the word "good-looking". His focus was on: "... he must be very smart and must be a genius among geniuses."

As he said this, he couldn't help but look forward to it: "Then I can teach you martial arts!"

"There's no need for you to teach. I think the prince should teach it himself. Just teach your own..." Yao Xia stopped talking, his cheeks turned hot, and he turned away.

Chang Sui'an looked straight ahead and seemed not to understand, but he was already over 20 years old, so how could he really not understand?

He wanted to keep silent, but he felt that this would make it seem like he understood, so he quickly added, "You're right."

Fearing that she might misunderstand him, he quickly added: "I mean, the prince should teach him himself - that's right!"

However, this seemed to make things worse; their faces turned red and the atmosphere became weird.

Yao Xia's fingers were twisted until they turned red. After a long while, she quietly turned her head to look at the young man beside her. Finally, she had the audacity to think - her future child should also be good-looking, right?
Chang Sui'an had developed a keen sense of perception on the battlefield. When he realized that she was looking at him, he turned to look at her. When their eyes met, Yao Xia did not dodge but smiled, revealing a pair of fangs.

Chang Sui'an couldn't help but laugh along with her.

The mottled shadows of the bamboos sway, and the birds chirping sound like music. Being in the midst of it makes one's mood become light and lively.

That night, the eldest princess returned to the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's residence, sat down leisurely, and said two words to Chang Kuo: "It's done." What did it mean?
Oh, she went to act as a matchmaker for Yao Tingwei's niece today.

Chang Kuo reacted, but inexplicably became even angrier. Originally, he had the Yao family members to keep him company, but now the only troublesome one was his brat. How could he not be angry?
"How come other people can accomplish anything by just pulling the red string, but I can't even put a single stroke of the pen in my work after writing and drawing?" Chang Kuo resisted the urge to scratch his head frantically.

Li Rong rolled his eyes and said, "I have already drawn these two strokes, and you are still dreaming."

Chang Kuo turned to look at her: "What do you mean?"

Li Rong narrowed his eyes. "You raised your son, but you haven't figured out anything yet? When your daughter-in-law drinks the tea later, you'll probably point at the bowl of tea and ask me what I mean, right?"

Chang Kuo didn't bother to retort. His big eyes rolled and he suddenly came to his senses: "You mean, these two kids... fell in love with each other?"

"When did this happen?" Chang Kuo pondered: "We haven't met each other very often! How come..."

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but wonder, "He can't be like his father...he's obsessed with him after just one meeting?"

Li Rong raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

Meeting her knowing and proud eyes, Chang Kuo straightened his clothes and said, "What are you looking at? I'm not talking about you..."

The next moment, someone grabbed my ears and asked, "Who is that? Huh?"

"…Jealous woman! Let go!"

Lao Kang, who was about to go in to ask for an audience with the Marquis, heard the voice and looked at him with a look of "What a sin, this is too shameful to watch" and quietly retreated.

The marriage between Qiao Yubai and Chang Sui'an was arranged in advance, which made many people who were interested in it feel very regretful.

Recently, Wei Miaoqing has been busy bringing a group of friends to Yao Xia's home to interrogate him about what happened.

At the same time, as the emperor's wedding date approached, visitors arrived in the capital one after another to congratulate him.

Among them were old people from Jiangdu who had not been able to come and watch the emperor's enthronement ceremony, such as Shen Sanmao, Zheng Chao and others.

Shen Sanmao came to congratulate, but also brought his own good news.

Shen Sanmao got married in the winter of last year, and he informed the emperor of the matter before the wedding. This time he came to the capital with the good news that his wife was pregnant.

Inside the Ganlu Palace, Shen Sanmao had tears of excitement in his eyes. After paying homage to the emperor and being granted a seat, he talked about his wife and daughter with an unconcealable look of peace and satisfaction on his face.

Shen Sanmao is already forty years old. Due to his background and experiences in the first half of his life, he has never married.

After gaining a firm foothold in Jiangdu, soon everyone knew the name of Shen Daguanshi. When the new emperor ascended the throne, Shen Daguanshi became a big shot that the whole Huainan Road had to show respect to.

Being a big shot who was alone, it was inevitable that people would send him beautiful concubines, and some people would line up to marry their daughters to him to be the wives of the Shen family, but all of these were politely declined by Shen Sanmao.

When the news spread that Manager Shen was going to get married, almost everyone craned their necks to find out, wanting to see what kind of outstanding background this new lady had, or how stunning her beauty was.

But what was disappointing and puzzling was that the new lady was of humble origin, just an ordinary-looking woman, or more precisely, a widow with a baby girl.

The widow was from Jiangdu, her surname was Ye and her name was Qiao Niang.

Everyone was extremely curious about the new lady, some people privately joked that this woman must be very skilled in martial arts, so at the wedding banquet, everyone could not help but take a closer look at her and ask a few more questions, and they also discussed how to make a big fuss in the bridal chamber and so on.

However, before the toast, the usually smooth-talking Shen Sanmao smiled and said to the guests who loved to laugh: [I am cunning and shameless, but my wife is honest and kind. I hope you will not make jokes or laugh, so as not to disturb my wife and young daughter. ]

This sentence made everyone immediately stop talking nonsense, and they just laughed in surprise, "Steward Shen also has such a protective side," but they also had to look at this lady squarely.

After half a lifetime of experience, Shen Sanmao wanted a stable and solid life rather than vanity and beauty, and in his opinion, his wife was indeed very good.

Qiao Niang lost her husband at an early age. She was one of the first women to go out to work after Jiangdu encouraged women to go out to work. She endured many cold eyes and ridicules, and supported herself and her young daughter with her own hands. Later, she opened a breakfast shop. Shen Sanmao often went to that shop to eat breakfast. This self-reliant, brave, hardworking and tenacious woman was full of advantages, and every point was worthy of appreciation and respect.

In Shen Sanmao's words, marrying Qiao Niang was his blessing and a talisman given to him by God.

Shen Sanmao often feels that everything he has now is unrealistic. This is one of the reasons why he refused to be an official. He often feels as if he is floating in the air. It is only when he returns home and sees his wife and daughter that he feels rooted again.

He also told the emperor that if his wife had not been pregnant and it was inconvenient for the trip, they would have come to the capital to pay their respects.

After saying this, Shen Sanmao realized that his words were too trivial. He felt a little panicked and ashamed. He asked about His Majesty's health and then asked, "Why haven't you seen the Protector of the Saint Prince?"

Li Suining smiled and said, "He has gone to inspect military affairs across the country on my behalf and has not yet returned to the capital."

Shen Sanmao was stunned and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He came too early. He should have counted the days and worked in the workshop until the last day.

The Holy Prince hasn't come back yet, why is he so anxious?
All he could do was sigh in admiration: "It is a blessing for the country, a blessing for the country..."

With such a beautiful couple in the country, there is no doubt that Dasheng will prosper.

Shen Sanmao left Ganlu Palace with admiration in his heart. On his way out of the palace, he met Chang Sui'an who was entering the palace.

Shen Sanmao's eyes lit up and he bowed deeply to Chang Sui'an.

Chang Sui'an felt that this person looked familiar. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized: "It's you!"

Chang Sui'an had never stayed in Jiangdu, and his impression of Shen Sanmao was still at the initial stage where he first disguised himself as a Taoist priest to sell duck eggs from other places, then disguised himself as a doctor and a child to cheat him out of money, twice in one day, and then was knocked unconscious by Ningning, put into a sack and thrown to the farm to work.

As for what happened with Shen Sanmao afterwards, I only heard about it vaguely, and it was far less profound than my initial impression.

Facing his former benefactor, Bole, Shen Sanmao bowed again with shame and gratitude.

Chang Sui'an did not mention the past, and asked in a low voice: "I heard from A Che that the flying fire machine was invented by you? This thing was of great help in repelling the Northern Di and Tubo!"

"I don't deserve it. This is not the work of me alone, but the work of many craftsmen." He bowed in the direction of Ganlu Palace and said, "As for the first achievement, it must be your majesty's wise decision to build a workshop in Jiangdu."

Speaking of gunpowder, he brought a lot of wedding gifts to His Majesty from the gunpowder factory this time.

Shen Sanmao said goodbye to Chang Sui'an with a smile, and went to count and put away the gifts.

Inside the red palace walls, the golden osmanthus has begun to bear green spikes of flowers, waiting to present the capital with its rich autumn fragrance in half a month. (End of this chapter)