The little girl of the landlord's house

Chapter 148

Xie Yujiao and Zhou Tianhao sent the Xu family away, and took advantage of the fact that there was nothing to do in the army during the Chinese New Year, so they stayed at home for a few days.Zhou Tianhao only stuck to Xie Yujiao's round belly, listening to the movement inside, there was actually no movement, but it was just a sound like blowing bubbles.Xie Yujiao leaned on the soft couch, stretched out her hand and slid down the bridge of Zhou Tianhao's handsome nose, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Do you think she will be a boy or a girl?"

"Naturally it's a girl." Zhou Tianhao raised his head, stroked Xie Yujiao's belly twice with his huge palm, and said with a smile, "I heard her call me daddy just now."

Xie Yujiao couldn't help laughing, and asked solemnly, "Isn't it called Daddy?"

Zhou Tianhao frowned and thought for a while when he heard the words, then nodded and said: "Well, it seems to be called Daddy, I must have misheard."

Xie Yujiao poked Zhou Tianhao's forehead with her finger, lowered her head and said, "In a few months, I will go back to live in Xie's house. My mother wants to take care of my confinement child. I think she has good intentions, so I didn't refuse." .”

"You go, I'll visit you when I'm free, and I'm relieved to have your mother take care of you." Zhou Tianhao squeezed onto the soft couch, and the two slept together, looking at each other face to face, while Xie Yujiao lowered her head The head did not speak, but the expression on his face was somewhat indifferent.

Although Zhou Tianhao didn't talk to her about the military affairs these few days, she is not one of those ignorant women and children who only know how to stay at home and take care of their husbands and children. Dayong raised so much money this time and trained hard for another year , what is waiting is the moment of counterattack.

"Why didn't I hear you talking about your cannon recently? Not long ago, I could still hear the cannons outside when I was at home. I heard that you scared the people so much that they couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, thinking it was a natural disaster!" Xie Yujiao asked casually. , raised his eyes to look at Zhou Tianhao.

Zhou Tianhao bowed his head and remained silent, before speaking after a while: "The artillery has been successfully researched, and now the blueprints have been sent to the workshop for casting. When thirty red cannons are built, it is time for Dayong to counterattack."

When Xie Yujiao heard this, her heart became heavier and she pinched her fingers and counted the days when she would give birth, but it was only four months away, and she didn't know if Zhou Tianhao would be in Jinling by then.She thought about it but didn't ask him anything, she just put her arms around his neck and buried herself on his chest.

The snow outside had already stopped, and the maid was feeding a few sparrows that were looking for food in the snow in the courtyard. At this time, Mama Liu came in from the door with a look of haste, rolled up the curtain and went in, seeing the two of them looking at you. I was lying on the couch, my old face suddenly turned half red, I just bite the bullet and said: "My lord, madam, the empress is here."

Zhou Tianhao forgot what happened that day when he returned to Tangshan. He didn't want to make a statement at the time, but he didn't want Empress Xu to think that the position of the second prince's crown prince was already in her pocket, so she returned to her original defiant attitude.In fact, regarding the position of the crown prince, as early as when the emperor moved to the south, the emperor had already given orders to live and die with the capital.The position of the crown prince must be the second prince without a doubt.He is the Queen's direct son, backed by Duke An, and he is a bit smarter than the other princes. Presumably, if Concubine He hadn't been pregnant, the Queen would never have worried about it.

Xie Yujiao was stunned for a moment when she heard this. These few days she and Zhou Tianhao lived in secluded places, and they were just wearing homely clothes at home. At this time, the Empress Empress came, so she might have to spend time dressing up.A trace of doubt flashed in Xie Yujiao's eyes, and she asked, "Why is she here?"

Zhou Tianhao didn't expect that Empress Xu would visit in person, but he still smiled lightly and said, "Since you're here, you must go to greet her. Mama Liu, please go out and greet her first. The king and princess will arrive later."

Xie Yujiao just stretched lazily, and the maids came forward to change her clothes. Now that she is pregnant, she faces the sky all day long. Fortunately, she is naturally beautiful, and her complexion is a little more delicate than before.Zhou Tianhao had already changed his clothes at this time, so he went to the front yard first.

After a while, Xie Yujiao went down to the front yard with the help of the maidservant, and when she went in, she saw several boxes of gifts piled up at the door, several court ladies were guarding the door, and Empress Xu had already sat down in the hall.

Seeing Xie Yujiao coming, the palace maid only pulled back the curtain and said, "Go back to Madam, Princess Rui is here."

The maid stepped forward to close the curtain, Xie Yujiao lowered her head slightly and entered, and saw Empress Xu sitting on the main seat in the hall. Although she was still in a high position, the heavy makeup on her face couldn't cover up the haggard look in her eyes.

Xie Yujiao stepped forward and bowed her knees to Empress Xu. Empress Xu stood up hurriedly, gave Xie Yujiao a little support, and said with a slight smile on her face, "I didn't see my siblings entering the palace during the Chinese New Year. It's weird. Thinking about the wilderness, and not knowing whether you are used to it or not, I asked the emperor to come and have a look. Looking at it now, the younger siblings look pretty good."

Xie Yujiao only felt Empress Xu's cold palms just now, so she turned around and told the servant girl, "Go to that hand stove and warm it for the Empress."

Although silver charcoal was burning in this room, Xie Yujiao was pregnant, so she was more afraid of heat than ordinary people, so although the hall was not cold, it was not too warm.

When Empress Xu saw Xie Yujiao mentioning these things, she felt a little embarrassed, and hurriedly let her sit down and said, "How do you feel now? In my opinion, this is the first child, so it's better to be careful, and wait a few months to get older." , just go back, there is an imperial doctor nearby to serve, how relieved you are."

Because Xie Yujiao didn't know the reason for Empress Xu's visit, she just saw that her tone of voice was a little softer than before, clearly in a flattering tone, so she couldn't help but glance at Zhou Tianhao, and saw him drinking tea with his eyes downcast. , as if he didn't care about their conversation, he knew that he must have something to hide from himself.

"Although it's my first child, I'm being taken care of by a medical lady. I'm extra careful, but I haven't made much trouble. My mother loves me so much, she only asks me to go to her place in a few months, so that she can take care of me." Xie Yujiao only spoke slowly, and really chatted with Empress Xu.

Empress Xu originally just said casually that if Xie Yujiao really returned to the capital, she would have to take care of her a little more. In fact, she didn't have the energy to do so. After hearing this, she laughed and said, "That's fine, after all, it's mother Take good care of her, but it's a pity that I don't have this blessing." Empress Xu talked for a long time, but she didn't say anything about the last time. Speaking of it, she really couldn't talk about it softly, but when she thought about the future of the second prince, she couldn't help it. I have to go hard.

Empress Xu's words made Xie Yujiao unable to answer for a while, so she had to drink tea with her head down. After a while, Xie Yujiao heard Empress Xu say: "The matter of the two maids last time was my misunderstanding. ..." When Empress Xu said this, she didn't know what to say. She was a dignified queen, she was spoiled and spoiled when she was in the An Guogong's mansion, and after she got married, she was the first wife, from the princess to the princess and then to the queen. Any woman lowers her head, but now, for the sake of her son's future, she has to admit her mistakes to this little girl who came out of nowhere. Empress Xu's strong heart was broken in an instant.

Xie Yujiao listened halfway, and then looked at Zhou Tianhao's still calm and breezy cheeks, and suddenly understood a little bit, maybe he didn't know what was blocking the embarrassment of the emperor's sister-in-law, so that she had to give in?In fact, Xie Yujiao had already put that matter aside, why did she get so angry at this moment.

"Your Majesty, stop talking like that. I understand the reasoning here. If you want to blame it, you can blame those two court ladies for their bad lives. How about this incomprehensible prince of ours? It's just another family. I'm afraid it won't be the result."

At this time Zhou Tianhao was drinking tea with his head down, he couldn't help but choked, covered his mouth and coughed heavily, his cheeks were already flushed.Xie Yujiao covered her mouth and smiled lightly, and the queen over there also smiled awkwardly when she saw this scene.

Zhou Tianhao simply got up and said: "You entertain the emperor's wife well, I'll go to the barracks to have a look."

Seeing that Zhou Tianhao was about to run away, Xie Yujiao thought he was annoyed, so she just tossed off the veil and said casually, "Then you go."

After Zhou Tianhao left, Empress Xu felt relieved. She wanted to say a few words to Xie Yujiao about establishing the crown prince, but she was afraid that she would not understand anything, so she took a detour and said, "This time the prince is the court's official." A lot of military pay was raised, and the He family also donated 40 taels, and He Zhaoyi is pregnant again, and has already become a concubine.

When Xie Yujiao heard this, she immediately understood Empress Xu's troubles. She had watched a lot of Gongdou dramas, and the empress who fell out of favor was actually pitiful. look at yourself?
"Emperor's sister-in-law is respectful to the world, and the second prince is smart and smart. The first thing to bear the brunt right now is to drive the Tartars out of Dayong. Since the emperor's brother has come to the south, he has to buy some people's hearts. If the emperor's wife takes a step back at this time, the emperor's brother will be in the future." I respect you even more, so why worry?" Xie Yujiao said lightly, looking up at Empress Xu.

Nanjiang is rich, and what is most lacking in war is money. If she is the emperor, she will definitely buy people's hearts first, and get enough of the benefits. It's a pity that Empress Xu only thinks about her own benefits, and she can't even understand this truth .

When Empress Xu heard Xie Yujiao's words, she was stunned for a moment, and only lowered her eyebrows for a moment, then she felt that there was some meaning, but she couldn't help but said: "My lord didn't say this to me..."

When Xie Yujiao heard this, she fully understood that this apology was also fake, and she was here to instigate herself to blow Zhou Tianhao's pillow?But Xie Yujiao didn't bother to bother with her, after all, she still ran this trip, and she meant it.It's just that Xie Yujiao is definitely not willing to get involved in the matter of establishing a crown prince, so she smiled and said, "I don't care what the lord says, but the concubine just thinks that the sister-in-law of the emperor should be more considerate of the emperor's brother."

When Empress Xu came back from the small courtyard, she pondered Xie Yujiao's words carefully, and found it very reasonable. Although she was still not convinced, she felt as if a stone had fallen from her heart.The emperor knew that she had traveled a long distance to visit Princess Rui, so he also praised her a few words, and stayed in Fengyi Palace that night.

Empress Xu showed the gentleness and care of the emperor before he ascended the throne, leaning on the emperor's arms and said: "The concubine knows what your majesty is thinking, now that we have come to the south, those old aristocratic families and old meritorious deeds in the north are no longer useful. , the south of the Yangtze River is rich and prosperous, if His Majesty wants to go back, he must follow the wishes of these people, these courtiers and concubines understand."

When Empress Xu said this, she generously donated a few drops of crocodile tears, which moved the emperor into a mess for a while, so he just hugged her and said, "I'm really gratified that you can think of this. You are more capable than me, and you will always have someone to rely on in the future."

When Empress Xu heard the emperor's words, she was secretly delighted. She couldn't help but burst into tears. She just wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "It's the concubine who misunderstood Your Majesty. The concubine is a wife in vain."

One of them felt guilty, the other was secretly happy, and immediately hugged each other, and it was rare for them to be upside down again.

When Zhou Tianhao returned to the courtyard, Xie Yujiao had already sent Empress Xu away.Seeing him come back, Xie Yujiao stood on the porch and looked at him without blinking, and said with a smile on her face: "It's a pity that you were reborn as a powerful prince, and even the queen dared to offend, otherwise, I don't know how I am. dead!"

While talking, Xie Yujiao went back to the house, sat down and held the stove, covered her hands, raised her eyes and saw Zhou Tianhao coming in, and continued: "You know why she came, so you just hide away?"

Zhou Tianhao untied the cloak and handed it to the maid at the side, and only stepped forward and said, "Although my sister-in-law usually doesn't have any heinous intentions, she always likes to hold her things firmly in her hands. Willing to give people a good face."

Xie Yujiao saw that Zhou Tianhao's evaluation of Empress Xu was very pertinent, so she nodded with a smile and said, "To paraphrase a sentence in "A Dream of Red Mansions", the golden hairpin fell into the well, it was hers or hers, why worry about it!"

After Zhou Tianhao heard this, a look of contempt appeared on his face, and he said with a smile: "You're bullying me because I haven't seen "Dream of Red Mansions", and you're still dragging me?"

Xie Yujiao smiled and took the teacup and handed it to him, jokingly said, "I've read it several times, and I'll be silent tomorrow, maybe I can become a great writer."

The servant girl at the side was still in the fog after hearing the conversation between the two, but...seeing that the masters were all smiling happily, she just laughed along with her.

Two days later, the New Year's Eve was almost over, and Zhou Tianhao's army began to practice again. Xie Yujiao had nothing to do, so she proposed to visit the military camp.Ordinarily, this must have been inappropriate in ancient times, how many men must have been in the barracks, and if Xie Yujiao went to stand there for a while, it must be a state of tens of thousands of people paying attention.It's just that Zhou Tianhao didn't think there was anything wrong with it, so he readily agreed.

Xie Yujiao usually saw ancient military camps in TV dramas, but when she actually went there and saw them, she realized that TV dramas were all lies.I saw the endless earthy yellow and green tents, with no boundaries at all, and there were gravel roads between the tents. From a distance, it seemed chaotic, but when I walked in, I realized that they were in order and well organized.

Because Xie Yujiao was coming over, Zhou Tianhao wore casual clothes on purpose, and was helping Xie Yujiao to walk on the path in the camp.People passed by from time to time, and they only bowed their heads respectfully.Zhou Tianhao just nodded slightly, but those people still looked serious, and only dared to leave when they passed by.

It seems that Zhou Tianhao seems to be joking, but his prestige in the army is very high.In fact, Xie Yujiao also understands that apart from Zhou Tianhao's status as Prince Rui, these prestige is also achieved by him with real swords and guns.As a royal family, he could have hid in the camp and commanded the battle, but he didn't, he rushed ahead of the soldiers.

Xie Yujiao turned her head slightly, and seeing Zhou Tianhao's resolute and heroic face, she couldn't help but clenched his palm even more tightly.

The two of them entered the tent, Xie Yujiao took a careful look at the furnishings in the tent, it was unpretentious and unpretentious, nothing like a lord, just an office chair with a raised head and a soft couch at the back. There are two rows of chairs, and on the open space on the left is a ten-foot-long sand table with countless small flags planted on it.This is not only a place where Zhou Tianhao usually rests, but also a place where everyone discusses military affairs.

Xie Yujiao went to the sand table and took a look. According to the characters on the flag, she could vaguely distinguish the location of the capital. Now the Tartar army is stationed in the Shandong area, using the surrounding capital for supplies. Although there is no further attack, it still looks like a tiger. .

Xie Yujiao stood in front of the sand table for a moment, then frowned and said: "If you use artillery to attack the city, even if the capital is brought back in the future, I'm afraid it will be half a ruin, but if it is not brought back, it will be half a country after all. It can't last long either."

The fact and experience of too many southward migrations in history tells us that the prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River will wipe out the heart of an emperor and the people to return to the north. We must counterattack and go back immediately while the people of Dayong still have this breath.

"If the city is destroyed, it can be repaired. If people's hearts are broken, I'm afraid the road back to the north will be difficult." Zhou Tianhao looked at the sand table, and finally planted Dayong's flag on the top of the capital.

The two were speechless for a while, when the curtain flashed, Yun Song came in from the outside and said, "Your Highness, Madam, Housekeeper Liu is here, and he is waiting in the small courtyard at this moment. It seems that something happened to Xie's family?"

Xie Yujiao's face changed slightly when she heard the words, Mrs. Xu came over a few days ago and said everything was fine, why did something happen after only a few days?
Seeing Xie Yujiao's face change, Zhou Tianhao just scolded Yun Song and said, "I don't say anything clearly, watch your ass carefully!"

Only then did Yun Song realize that he had said the wrong thing, and he hurriedly said: "Damn the servant, and the servant doesn't know anything, just looking at the anxious look of the young man who was talking back and forth, and thought that the Xie family had something to do!" Yun Song After Song finished speaking, he frowned, closed his eyes and clapped his mouth.

Xie Yujiao had settled down a little at this time, the Xie family was always safe, and there would be no major incidents during the holidays, so she said, "Don't fight, I'd better go back and ask what happened."

How could Zhou Tianhao rest assured that Xie Yujiao would go back by herself, he only went out to explain, and then accompanied her back to the small courtyard.

When he went back, Liu Fugen had just finished drinking a cup of tea, and his urgency was restrained a little bit. Seeing that Xie Yujiao and Zhou Tianhao had both come, he said, "Go back to your lord, it's like this, the 6-year-old padded jacket made last year, They were all sent to the front line, but yesterday the people from the Ministry of War said that there was something wrong with the padded jacket, saying that it was filled with unscrupulous cotton, so they called Master Qi to question him."

Xie Yujiao felt that something was wrong when she heard this. The 6-year-old cotton jacket last year was the first time she received business from the imperial court. Afraid of meeting the Tartars, I have been worried for a long time.

"Maybe I made a mistake. I have seen all the cotton that I brought back, and there is no black-hearted cotton." Xie Yujiao lowered her eyebrows and thought for a while, then turned her head and asked Zhou Tianhao, "Aside from Xie's family, there are Did someone else make this padded jacket?"

Zhou Tianhao frowned and thought about it for a long time, then he just said: "I just remembered, there were a total of [-] padded jackets that day, because I wanted them at the end of August, so I was afraid that Xie's family would be too late, so I only ordered [-] pieces, as for the rest I don't know which company made the [-] pieces."

When Xie Yujiao heard what Zhou Tianhao said, she understood a little bit in her heart, and she only advised Liu Fugen: "Go back and talk to your mother first, and say that this matter has nothing to do with the Xie family. Uncle Seven was just called in for questioning, so it shouldn't be a big deal. In a while, I will send someone to the Ministry of War to inquire about it."

Liu Fugen only nodded vigorously and said: "Originally, the wife asked to go to the uncle first, but the slave thought that the uncle didn't know about this matter, so he came to ask the girl directly, and it happened that the prince happened to be there."

Zhou Tianhao's complexion was not very good at this time. When fighting on the front line, the most feared thing is the problem of military pay. If it is true as Liu Fugen said, there is black heart cotton in the padded jacket, and there will be big troubles again. Although he doesn't care about the military pay , but now that I know about it, I have no choice but to ask.

"Don't send anyone to investigate. I'll go to the Ministry of War in person to see what's going on. If there is such a problem, I will definitely punish it severely!" Xie Yujiao saw that Zhou Tianhao's face was already a little angry Instead, he persuaded him: "Okay, don't be angry, the order purchased by the imperial court must be profitable, and the black-hearted cotton is made inside the cotton-padded jacket. I'm afraid it will be nothing if someone finds out this time." It was an accident, you have been fighting for several years, have you not noticed it before?"

Xie Yujiao guessed it right this time, as the so-called no comparison means no harm, this time the Xie family sent the padded jackets from other families to the front line together, and the quality of the padded jackets stood out from the comparison.The soldiers who fought were all straight-hearted men. When they saw that something was wrong, they tore it open and took a look. Only after looking at it did they find that some cotton jackets were all black-hearted cotton, and even more exaggerated, they were filled directly. Get some straw in!

When the Ministry of War heard the news, it was startled. Everyone who escorted the military pay was in danger, and hurriedly asked the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of Rites checked the family responsible for the military padded jackets last year, and Xie's family was among them. Naturally, questioning is indispensable. up.

(End of this chapter)