Taohuaxi

Chapter 65 Hairpin
"Bean sprouts—"

I got up, caught up, and said, "If you have something to do, don't hide it from me."

"I know."

He put his hand on my shoulder: "Sister, if the water is clear, there will be no fish. Being awake all the time is not as good as being drunk for a while. The past cannot be admonished, but the coming ones can still be pursued. No matter who it is, as long as you do something, It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hurt you. I don’t care. I still say the same thing, your happiness is more important than anything else.”

"I don't know."

He smiled and interrupted: "I will stay in Yangzhou for a while this time, so I can spend time with my mother and sister."

"Are you on official business?"

"Yes."

He put his hands behind his hands and said: "Your Majesty's sister, Princess Pingning, has reached the age of marriage. The Empress Dowager Cisheng and Your Majesty decided to choose a son-in-law for her, and handed the matter over to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. My people have drafted several candidates. , I am here this time to finalize the matter and bring the new consort back to the capital to get married."

Under the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, the prince-in-law must be selected from the families of civilians or low-level officials.Moreover, the close relatives of the family whose children were selected could no longer serve as officials. Even those who were already serving as officials had to resign and go home. "Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty" contains: After many dynasties, the royal family was not allowed to be removed from the capital, and it was also appropriate to prevent idleness.

I remembered meeting this Princess Pingning when I was working as a painter in the palace.She wore flowing braids and nestled next to the Queen Mother, looking very charming and naive.

"Princess Pingning is the Queen Mother's dearest person. You must take good care of this."

"Ah."

He flew away and went.

Xiaoyin came over with warm water. After I washed myself, I got on the bed.

The words Qin Mingxu said tonight were swirling around the curtain.I tried my best to boil it into medicine and apply it on my heart.

However, when I fell into a dream, I still saw Cheng Huaishi.

He was in dire straits in a maze that I couldn't break into.

"Madam, don't come here, don't come here -" he screamed loudly.

I reached out and everything disappeared.

The next day, I went to the cabinet and as soon as I opened the door, a guest came.

It's Uncle Zheng Guo.

He was wearing stone-pink silk clothes, holding his hands, and leading a large group of servants behind him.

"Yesterday, such a big thing happened in Zhujia Liquor House, and it was spread all over Yangzhou City. Boss Zhu, you are very resourceful. I like women who are resourceful."

"Uncle Guo, if you want to buy wine, come in and don't block the door."

He stood outside the door, glanced around, and said loudly: "I have to stand outside the door. I am giving you a platform, and you can't even see it? I, Zheng Tai, am here to buy wine from you in a big way. . Those rumors that there is poppy powder in the toast to the family should be debunked! Who dares to say bad things about what I say is good?"

Hua Lian stepped forward.

He subconsciously took a step back: "You, you, what are you going to do? I said, I wish you the best, boss, if the dog bites Lu Dongbin, you don't know a good heart! I can tell you, I brought realgar today, if you dare to let the snake go, I Don’t be afraid either!”

Those people under his command were planning to come over.

I said, "Uncle Guo, Hua Lian is inviting you in. Why are you panicking?"

Hua Lian said with a straight face: "Please——"

Uncle Zheng Guo straightened his collar and coughed: "Who is panicking? What a joke!"

Then, he walked in grandly.

His men delivered the banknotes, and I ordered the men to carry the wine to his carriage.But he was lying on the counter, refusing to leave, grinding his teeth with me.

"Boss Zhu, do you like listening to opera? There is a new Hui opera troupe in Yangzhou city, and their performance of "Nan Ke Ji" is a masterpiece."

I ignore him.

He was singing to himself: "May the soft fragrance of jade be everlasting, and on this day every year, we can drink wine with grapes..."

I interrupted him: "Since Uncle Guo likes "Nan Ke Ji", don't you think there is one of the most wonderful lines in this play?"

"Which one?"

"All forms are empty, all phenomena are only consciousness."

He was a little embarrassed.

After a while.

He said with a smile on his face: "I hope the boss is a female generation and opens his business. It is inevitable that someone will make trouble. Haven't you ever thought of finding someone to rely on?"

"I already have a fiancé. Uncle Guo, please don't make any mistakes again."

"Don't try to coax me. I already know that you and Qin Mingxu have no marriage contract. Besides, people go to higher places and water flows to lower places. If you follow me, you will be a relative of the emperor. Isn't it better than following a person?" A hundred times more powerful as a businessman? I have a good appearance, but I don’t have enough people to support me..." He said arrogantly.

"My uncle Guo has eight wives and concubines in his house, so why are there so few people to help him?" I lowered my head and took note of the account.

He said: "When the flowers bloom, it is spring. I don't dislike you, so I will take you as my ninth concubine. Madam is not good at managing the family, so I will leave the housekeeping to you. How about this? This should become the city of Yangzhou." A wonderful story."

"What good stories does Lord Zheng want to hear? Feng can just tell Sir Zheng to relieve his boredom."

A voice from far to near.

Feng Gao is here.He looked at Uncle Zheng with a calm expression.

Uncle Zheng recognized him and knew that he was the "capital attendant" who had won the Holy Heart now. He was somewhat taboo, and a polite smile suddenly appeared on his face: "A few days ago, the imperial concubine sent me a letter home. I knew that Mr. Feng was coming to Yangzhou. I was still thinking of inviting Mr. Factory to his house for a banquet. I didn’t expect to meet Mr. Feng here. "

Feng Gao smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Master Zheng, you're too polite. Our family doesn't like to have banquets, and we are afraid of making mistakes and saying the wrong thing after drinking. If you drink the wrong wine, it doesn't matter. If you say the wrong thing, you will offend someone."

Feng Gao walked up to me and said, "Sir Zheng, we are here to introduce you. Boss Zhu, you are my family member."

Uncle Zheng Guo was quite surprised and said awkwardly: "Oh? But I don't know what relatives they are?"

"Very important relatives."

Feng Gao said this word by word and looked at Uncle Zheng Guo.

Uncle Zheng understood.

In public, I felt I had lost face.

But he was also afraid of the power of Dongchang.

I had to pretend to be confused.

He casually bowed his hand to Feng Gao, said "goodbye", and hurried away with a group of followers.

After Uncle Zheng walked away, I said to Feng Gao: "Douya, Concubine Zheng is so favored, why do you have to offend her family? This Zheng Tai is a libertine, and my sister can just deal with him and leave him at will."

The coldness in Feng Gao's eyes has not gone away.

"I can't hear anyone talking to my sister like that. No matter who he is."

I poured him a cup of Yunsi.

"Did you stay at Qingyue Pavilion last night?"

"Yes."

He finished his drink and walked to the backyard.

I knew he was going to see Qin Mingxu, so I followed him.

Unexpectedly, he walked to the persimmon tree, suddenly turned around and came back.

"Sister, I'm going to the Liang Mansion today to be a minister, but I won't see him."

He said loudly: "Mr. Qin, it's good for you to recover from your injuries." After saying that, he left.

I opened the door and found Qin Mingxu lying on the couch. His complexion had recovered somewhat today.

"Mr. Feng is here?" Qin Mingxu asked.

"Yes. He came to Yangzhou this time on official business," I said.

"He...did he tell you what official business it was?" Qin Mingxu's fingers gently stroked the edge of the couch.

"According to the decree, I choose a consort for the princess."

Qin Mingxu stopped his fingers and said to me softly: "Sang Yu, Mr. Feng values ​​you, which is a good thing for you. When he comes to Yangzhou, you should get together with him more often."

I laughed: "That's natural."

I helped him stand up and ordered Hua Lian to bring him some soup and feed him to drink.

He was a little embarrassed and said, "Sang Yu, I'll do it myself."

"Your hands are inconvenient, so let me feed you." I insisted.

He didn't refuse anymore and looked at me with happiness in his eyes.

In a flash, it was early March.

The rain in March in the south of the Yangtze River is light, and the umbrella is light and fragrant.

Green penetrates the river bank.The willow silk is hundreds of feet long.All kinds of flowers are blooming.

The persimmon tree in the backyard of the winery has new leaves and is very lush.

Qin Mingxu's injury gradually recovered and he was taking care of Tianshenglou's affairs as usual.As the doctor said, my right arm is disabled and even lifting it is hopeless.He comforted me several times and said, "I'll just try to use my left hand. It won't get in the way or anything."

He shuttled between Tiansheng Building and Zhujia Winery, treating me with not only the warmth of the past, but also a bit of affection and concern.

Hua Lian returned to the mountains at the beginning of the month. When spring came, she had to be busy with farming. She still had a piece of land and was reluctant to let it go to waste.Asked me to take a few days off.

When she was there, Zhu Xifeng was afraid of her.

When she was away, Zhu Xifeng asked me almost every day: "Sister, why hasn't Hua Lian come back yet?"

I said, "She didn't sell it to our family. She just went wherever she wanted."

"Sister-" Zhu Xifeng looked at me nervously: "Is something going to happen to Hua Lian?"

"Crow's mouth!" I cursed.

He sat down on the threshold: "That damn girl is so fierce. She caused trouble elsewhere, and no one let her go! Humph!"

Looking at his angry look, I just felt funny.

Feng Gao came to see me almost every other day.Sometimes, we go to Qingyue Pavilion and have meals with Cai Qingyao.Sitting under the eaves of Qingyue Pavilion, listening to Cai Qingyuan playing the piano.

Cai Qingyao looked at Feng Gao with eyes full of love.

That day, it was drizzling, so Cai Qingyao made a coir raincoat and put it on Feng Gao with his own hands.She looked at Feng Gao and murmured in detail: "When Taiyue was young, he liked to wear raincoats and go fishing by the river on rainy days..."

She was immersed in the past.Feng Gao accidentally caught a glimpse of a white hair on her temple.

Cai Qingyao, who was charming with a smile, aged rapidly in the six months after Zhang Taiyue's death.

Feng Gao looked at her, opened his mouth, and called out the word "mother" with difficulty.

Cai Qingyao was stunned for a while, and tears fell.

This was the first time Feng Gao called her mother in front of her.

She hugged Feng Gao tightly, excited.

The matter of choosing a prince-in-law has already begun.

After screening to the end, the remaining two families were Liang Bangrui, the Liang family's son, and Shen Bi, the Shen family's son.

Feng Gaogeng leaned towards the Shen family and wanted to return to Beijing to resume his life.

The night before leaving.

I prepared a basket of fried cakes and planned to give them to him at Qingyue Pavilion.

But the business on the counter was really busy, and it was only around midnight that I had some free time.

I pushed open the door of Qingyue Pavilion.

When I got to the courtyard, I saw a dark shadow flashing past. I looked again, but there was nothing there.

I rubbed my eyes and saw the wind blowing in the bamboo forest, and the bamboo shadows were mottled.

Feng Gao didn't seem to expect that I would come in the middle of the night. He was a little surprised, but he quickly calmed down.

I handed the cake to him: "Take it to the capital to eat."

He said: "I thought I would go to the cabinet to say goodbye to my sister early tomorrow morning, but my sister came here at this time."

"Douya, when will you be able to escape from Beijing?"

"About half a year."

I smiled and said, "I'll wait for you to come."

He hesitated, took out a hairpin from his arms and handed it to me.

The hairpin is made of bamboo.Carved in concentric shapes.Very exquisite.On the back of the hairpin, there is a line of words engraved in square regular script: The good times are good, the present and the past are happy.

I took it and said, "Where did it come from?"

He said: "I bought it at the market during the day. I saw that the blessing words on this hairpin were very unique, so I bought it as a gift for my sister."

was talking.

There were rapid footsteps coming from the wall.

A voice said: "Master Factory, there is a decree from above."

The visitor was a eunuch from the palace, who was very respectful to Feng Gao.

Feng Gao said: "What is the purpose?"

The two of them arrived in the bamboo forest and talked secretly for a while.

The man went.

Feng Gaofang walked towards me.

I asked, "What happened?"

Feng Gao waved his hand and said: "Nothing. It seems that the choice for the prince consort must be Liang Bangrui."

At this time, I paid no attention to it.Neither did Feng Gao.Since the inner court has a decree, just follow it.

I held the bamboo hairpin in my hand and couldn't put it down.

"Bean sprouts, sister likes this hairpin very much. Let's go to the market to buy one tomorrow."

"This..." He wondered, "I wonder if I can still meet that craftsman."

(End of this chapter)