soy sauce lady

Chapter 19

Since His Majesty Chongde took power for one year, he has achieved remarkable achievements—of course, they are all under the sole control of the regent.

People's livelihood can be regarded as Antai-of course, except for the vast areas occupied by rebels.

Coupled with the successful treatment of the floods in the south of the Yangtze River this time, the imperial court decided to celebrate the New Year well.

The dinner was held on New Year's Eve. Although it was still as elegant as the previous few times, the atmosphere was quite different.

Wen Su made some statistics on this.

One is the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager's family was almost implicated because of the matter of the uncle of the country, and they have never recovered from it. This year, she has had a hard time, so she is not happy.

The second is the emperor, because the Queen of Qinghai is very proud, she looks like you are still waiting to decide whether I will marry or not, and she likes to show off, which greatly damages his [-]-year-old status, so he is very depressed.

The third is the King of Shu, the surrendered prince who came all the way to the capital to pay tribute. In fact, his greatest wish is to hug his precious son. Unexpectedly, he opened his hands and called baby for a long time. The regent's arms slipped into his arms, causing him to burst into tears.

Son, you are calling a thief your father!
The palace lanterns above the head reflect the magnificent scene of the main hall, the wine is fragrant, the delicacies are exquisite, the maids are dancing, and the music is curling up.

It's a pity that everyone at this banquet had their own thoughts, so that Wen Su felt that she was the only one who really came to eat the food.

Because Liu Ke was highly valued by the emperor, he was specially arranged to sit with Zhou Xianda, which happened to be diagonally opposite to her. Wen Su could only bury his head in his food, as if he didn't see anything.

I don't know who arranged the seat for her to sit with the regent. Although this is enough for the Qinghai Kingdom to see that Daliang attaches great importance to the New Deal, what will Liu Ke think?
Thinking of the "Su Su" that the Prince Regent said in front of him that day, Wen Su felt more and more guilty.How on earth should I tell him?

Is it to directly explain the unspeakable relationship, or to treat the previous promise as a dream?
Her sleeves flickered, and her thoughts were interrupted. When she looked sideways, she saw the regent holding a wine glass and paying respects to the opposite side.Looking in the direction of the wine cup, it turned out that he was drinking with the Queen of Qinghai Kingdom.

He had been distracted just now, and he didn't hear anything about the commotion in the hall.She stared at Dongde Yusong again and again, and suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the way she looked at the regent.

That look...does it mean he's still wanting to say something?

Is it because I think too much?Wen Su shook her head lightly, lowered her head and continued to eat.

But for some reason, thinking of the scene where Yusong of East Germany stood side by side with the regent that day, he suddenly felt dull.

"What happened to Wenqing?"

There was a burst of warm breath beside the ear, crisp and itchy, Wen Su couldn't help but shrink her neck with a smile, turned her head to meet Xiao Zheng's suspicious eyes, her face turned red again, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

This scene happened to fall into Liu Ke's eyes. It was the first time he had seen Wen Su's coquettish appearance, but it was facing the regent.

Most of the wine in the glass had been poured out at some point, but he didn't notice it...

After the banquet, the result is not optimistic.

The main reason is that Xiao Zheng did not abduct the Queen of Qinghai to the right way of agreeing to marry after all.

He was quite depressed and wanted to leave the palace and return home, but was stopped by Her Majesty the Queen again.

"Why is the regent in such a hurry to go back? Didn't it say that there was still an agreement that had not been negotiated?"

She stood at the gate of the palace, just looking at the regent with a smile like a flower, completely ignoring the gossiping eyes of the ministers who went in and out.

Wen Su pouted, and turned around consciously to leave, but her arm was grabbed by a hand.

With the help of the dimly lit palace lantern, Xiao Zheng approached her and whispered: "Wen Qing, please don't forget the appointment at the Huxin Pavilion tonight, my king will wait for you there then."

Wen Su was slightly taken aback, he had already turned around and walked towards Dongde Yusong.

Speaking of the appointment at the Huxin Pavilion, King Pingyang sent a message that day, but today he was not seen in the palace for a banquet, and he didn't know what he was busy with.

Wen Su glanced at the regent's back again, then turned and walked towards the carriage.

How did she know that Xiao Duan was busy with her date with the Prince Regent?

Just as she was about to board the carriage, she suddenly heard someone calling her, Wen Su stopped and followed the voice, it turned out to be Zhou Xianda.

"Master Zhou, what's the matter?"

Zhou Xianda changed from his gentle and refined appearance in the past, his face was a little heavy, he walked up to her, glanced at the coachman, waved to her, and signaled her to walk a few steps away with him to talk.

"What exactly does Lord Zhou want to say?" Wen Su asked again after the two walked into the shadows.

"Master Wen, I've always been reluctant to interfere in your personal affairs, but tonight I really couldn't bear it. Chaoqing suddenly fainted on the way back just now. Do you want to go and see?"

"What?" Wen Su was shocked, and after a little startled, he quickly walked towards the carriage.

Fortunately, Liu Ke's residence was close to the Prince Regent's Mansion. Wen Su urged the driver to speed up all the way, and found an excuse to stop near the Prince Regent's Mansion, which did not arouse suspicion, so as not to cause trouble at that time.

Speaking of which, it was the first time for her to come to the place where Liu Ke lived, and the only feeling she felt standing at the gate was deserted.

I heard that Liu Ke's parents died early, and now there are no close people around after high school. It is no wonder that there is such a scene, there is not even a lantern at the door.

As if afraid of disturbing the silence, Wen Su hesitated for a moment before mustering up the courage to knock on the door.

After a while, the door was opened, and a middle-aged man in charge poked his head out.Seeing Wen Su, he was stunned for a moment, and then immediately asked: "Maybe this is Mr. Wen Suwen?"

"Exactly."

"That's great, my son is still talking about you in a daze."

Wen Su was embarrassed, everyone in the family knew her, hadn't she been talking about her more than once?
With him leading the way, Wen Su rushed to see Liu Ke in a hurry.

The house is not very big, bypassing the front yard and passing through a small and exquisite garden to Liu Ke's residence.

The steward was very knowledgeable, he stopped by the courtyard gate and gestured to her inwardly, then turned and left without disturbing her.

Wen Su had no choice but to walk towards the candlelit room by herself.

When she reached the door, she hesitated for a while before raising her hand and knocking on the door.

There was no response for a while, and Liu Ke's erratic voice came out after a while: "Who?"

"I, Wen Su."

There was a flurry of hands and feet, and a moment later the door was opened, and Liu Ke's face was obscured by the candlelight.

"Susu, you, why are you here?"

"I'll come and see you." Wen Su was somewhat apologetic and embarrassed to look into his eyes, lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Are you feeling better? Why did you faint suddenly?"

"It's okay, it's just that I drank too much alcohol." Liu Ke hurriedly explained, but after finishing speaking, there was no topic to talk about, and the two froze by the door, speechless for a while.

"Since there is nothing wrong, I, I will go back first." Unable to bear such an atmosphere, Wen Su instinctively wanted to escape.

"Susu!" Liu Ke stepped out of the door and reached out to grab her cuff, "Give me an answer when you return to Beijing as you said that day, I have been waiting..."

Wen Su's body froze.

"Susu, have you... already made a decision?"

"I..." Wen Su sighed, "Chaoqing, it's my fault that this matter has been procrastinating, but I really haven't thought it through yet, can you give me some more time?"

"I'm afraid you don't need time to think about it anymore." Liu Ke's voice was full of melancholy, and Wen Su couldn't help but feel a little sad when he heard it.

"Chaoqing, it's not what you think."

"What's that like?" He suddenly approached, stretched out his other hand to wrap her shoulders, and pulled her to face him, "Susu, you, just speak up, I won't blame you."

The more he said this, the more Wen Su felt guilty. Fortunately, it was dark outside the door, and they couldn't see each other's expressions clearly, which also slightly avoided the embarrassment of confronting each other.

"Chaoqing, I really haven't figured it out yet. I... didn't mean to avoid you like this."

"Then how do you think about it?" Maybe it was because of drinking, Liu Ke suddenly pulled her towards him, and even grabbed her waist. Even ten guts dare not.

"You..." Wen Su was extremely flustered, and quickly reached out to support his chest, "Chaoqing, you, you, you, calm down!"

"I'm cool, I'm just..." Just jealous.

Seeing her smile at the regent and seeing the way the regent looked at her made her jealous.

He has been silently waiting for her to return to the capital, but what he waited for was such a scene, why is it like this?Did something happen in Jiangbei that caused a change between them?

Liu Ke felt some strength in his hand, Wen Su felt a little pain, and before he could utter a soft hiss, he had already pulled her into his arms, his forehead felt cold, it was his slightly trembling lips, which could be touched immediately. Leaving is like a superficial touch.

"Susu, I'll give you time. You, you think about it."

Maybe it was because he was too nervous, he hurriedly let go, turned around and left, feeling uneasy all the time in his heart.

That "susu" sound from the regent king was undoubtedly announcing his intention in front of him, but his current behavior was declaring war on the regent king. Thinking of this, he became more and more flustered.

Wen Su was dazed in place for a long time before she came back to her senses, raised her hand to caress the forehead that he had lightly touched, sighed, turned and walked outside.

It was only a very short distance from the Prince Regent's Mansion, but it took her a long time.

On the deserted road, she walked extremely slowly, gusts of cold wind rolled into her neckline, but instead of feeling cold, she felt a lot more awake.

She felt that she had never encountered such a difficult thing in all these years.Liu Ke is the most suitable person for her, but the Prince Regent treats her with great kindness.

Wait, she suddenly remembered something. Although the regent had hinted at it, he didn't say it explicitly. Could it be that she misunderstood his hint?Maybe he didn't mean that at all?

The more you think, the more you doubt.She laughed at herself, shook her head and walked into the Regent's Palace.

It was already night, and the mansion was quiet, only the lanterns on the corridor kept her company.

Walking all the way into the back garden, just about to go to the residence, there was a leisurely sound of the piano in her ears. She paused, listened carefully, followed the source of the sound and passed through an arched door, and suddenly panicked.

The regent had promised her to meet at the Huxin Pavilion, but she forgot!
At this time, the sound of the zither came from the Huxin Pavilion, Wen Su didn't dare to think too much, and hurriedly ran towards the Huxin Pavilion with the hem of her skirt, but when she got closer, she suddenly stopped.

Eight lanterns hang high above the head, illuminating the pavilion as bright as day.The ventilated places around are covered with curtains, only the entrance is left, and there is a stove with a lot of charcoal fire in it, and the hot air is still oozing out.

A man was sitting behind the piano table in a thick cloak, his black hair was half scattered on his shoulders, his eyes were lowered, and he was concentrating on playing the strings, but I don't know if it was because of unfamiliarity, he always made one or two discordant sounds from time to time. The sound, the brows could not help but wrinkled again and again.

"Guanguan Jujiu, in the river continent. A fair lady, a gentleman is so good..."

After the sound of the piano paused, he shook his head and continued to play the piano again, "Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river continent. My fair lady..."

After another pause, he couldn't help shaking his head and sighed heavily, as if extremely annoyed.

His expression was so focused that he didn't notice Wen Su for such a long time, and he also ignored Zhao Quan who was hurting internally from holding back his laughter in the dark.

He was wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes and continued to hold back his laughter. Our wise and mighty Prince Regent is actually a music idiot. How can you imitate others to play the piano!
Wen Su didn't think so. Seeing the helpless look of the regent in front of her, she suddenly felt relieved.

Because this gave her a feeling that the man in front of her still had something she didn't know, at least not to the point of perfection, the kind that would make her feel ashamed and want to retreat at a glance.

With a smile unconsciously drawn from the corner of her mouth, she walked slowly into the pavilion.

"My lord sings very well, why are you sighing?"

Xiao Zheng looked up, and when he saw her, he immediately showed embarrassment, "Well, this king is just doing nothing, just playing casually."

"My lord called my servant to attend the appointment, just to watch you play the piano by yourself?"

"..." Xiao Zheng coughed dryly and remained silent.

It's all his good nephew's fault, that's the idea for him? !
"This king is not good at rhythm since he was a child. Lin Xuan taught it for a long time before, but it didn't work." He explained lightly, slightly relieving the unnaturalness on his face.

Wen Su sat down beside him, raised her hand and plucked the piano, "That's much better than a low-level official who doesn't know anything, at least the prince's singing voice is still very good."

"Wen Qing thinks it's good?" Xiao Zheng turned to look at her. Although his face was still calm, he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes.

"Well, the lord sings very well, but..." She turned her face to meet his gaze, "Did the lord sing for the lower officials?"

Never expecting her to ask so directly, Xiao Zheng was taken aback for a moment before nodding, "Yes."

There was nothing to hide, this date was prepared just for her, and naturally it was for her to know what she wanted.

Wen Su lowered his eyes, "I see..."

that's it?Xiao Zheng was slightly disappointed.

"My lord?"

"Ok?"

She looked up at his fingers resting on the strings, and smiled slightly, "Thank you..."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the imperial court specially exempted the early morning, but the regent was still busy, because the palace welcomed the Queen of Qinghai as a distinguished guest.

Wen Su thought that this visit was a bit weird.

Early in the morning, she was preparing for the routine ceremony to pay New Year's greetings to the Prince Regent, when she saw a group of people walking briskly past her, led by East German Yusong.

Different from the past, Dongde Yusong specially wore the attire of a Han woman. The gorgeous red palace attire made her fresh and tender face even more beautiful, and added a bit of gracefulness to her original aloof aura.

Isn't it weird that the queen of a country does not enter the palace to meet the emperor and queen mother on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but instead comes to the Prince Regent's mansion, and even puts on such an elaborate and flattering attire?
At this time, she took another look at the closed door of the Prince Regent's study, wringing her hands in silence.

Zhao Quan comforted her intimately: "Lord Wen, don't worry, the prince's singing last night was not enough to express his affection for you? The queen came to see the prince for official business. On the first day of the new year, I will have a New Year's greetings." Ah, don't be so nervous."

Wen Su didn't reply, but just glared at him sinisterly until he shut his mouth wisely.

After he said this, he unconsciously remembered the scene of last night.I didn't think so at the time, but now that I think about it, it's really scary.

The Regent, it is none other than the Regent, who sang to her!And it still sings Guanju.

Guan Ju!That is a love song!
In other words, the Prince Regent sang a love song to her!
Wen Su took a deep breath, covered her chest, her mind was buzzing, what the regent said last night, she seemed to be unable to remember, but his singing was really memorable.Low and gentle, it seems that there is a hint of... shyness?
Uh……

I couldn't think about it anymore, the door of the study finally opened from the inside at this time, and the regent came out, followed by Dongde Yusong.

"See you, my lord, and your majesty the queen." Wen Su hurriedly took two steps closer, and saluted the two respectively.

"Wen Qing doesn't need to be too polite." Xiao Zheng spoke indifferently as usual, but Wen Su heard something strange.

They were obviously quite intimate last night, er, no, they were very cordial, why have they become so alienated now?

She quietly raised her eyes to look at the regent, but just in time saw the red face of His Majesty East Germany behind him.

Just now she didn't respond to Wen Su's salute, but now she looked like this again, Wen Su couldn't help wondering what kind of topic she had talked with the regent inside.

At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps, Wen Su turned his head to look at the courtyard door, and saw the butler walking in eagerly, but before others arrived, someone had already walked out from behind him.

Dressed in a crimson fur coat, hair tied in a golden crown, and delicate eyebrows implying heroism, he turned out to be the little emperor Xiao Yi.

All the people present were stunned, Xiao Yi had already stood on the opposite side, looked coldly at the two people beside Wen Su, and remained silent.

"The queen is in great interest."

After staring at each other for a long time, he suddenly dropped this sentence, turned around and left without staying for a moment.

Wen Su looked at the two people in front of him, and had vaguely guessed the reason for His Majesty's anger, so he hurriedly chased after them.Xiao Zheng's dark eyes flickered a few times behind him, but he didn't say anything.

It was not until the gate that Wen Su barely caught up with the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, stay here!" She hurriedly stepped forward to stand in front of the emperor and saluted, "Your Majesty must have misunderstood, Her Majesty the Queen has nothing to do with the Regent..."

The voice was interrupted by the emperor's suddenly raised hand, he shook his sleeve angrily and said, "Wen Aiqing, I understand your kindness, but you don't even know what happened?"

He said this with restraint and anger, and his face flushed red because of it.

Wen Su probed to look at the gate, the guards were far away, and there was no one in sight. It was quiet in front of the mansion gate, so she cupped her hands at the emperor in peace and said: "Your Majesty, please tell me clearly, what will happen when you come out?" What happened?"

"Hmph!" The emperor gasped heavily, and after a while he lowered his voice and said, "It's something that makes me lose face!"

"Ah?" Wen Su frowned, really not understanding the meaning of his words.

The emperor seemed to be suppressing something, clenched his fists and said nothing.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I would like to share your Majesty's worries, but please speak clearly."

"Wen Aiqing..." the emperor frowned and shook his head, "It's not that I don't want to say it, it's just that... I don't know how to say it."

"Your Majesty, a man can bend and stretch, not to mention that you are the king of a country, so losing face is nothing."

Only then did the emperor feel a little shaken, he pursed his lips and thought for a long time, then waved to her, beckoning her to come over by his ear, and whispered so and so.

Wen Su was completely stunned, and almost fell down when his knees gave way.

When the emperor saw this, the strength he had held on for a long time suddenly collapsed, and his face turned blue.

Wen Su came back to his senses, and quickly comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't worry, don't worry, these are all misunderstandings, really, I will tell His Majesty the solution tomorrow, and His Majesty will surely save face."

"Really?" The emperor's face improved a lot.

"It's absolutely true, I assure you." In fact, Wen Su didn't even know what he was talking about.

As soon as the emperor left, Wen Su quickly walked towards the west pavilion. Just as she was about to enter the door, she saw the regent and Dongde Yusong coming out together.

Seeing her by the door, Xiao Zheng was taken aback for a moment, and when he turned his eyes, he already counted.He raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation to Dongde Yusong, motioning her to go out with him.

Wen Su's mind was in a mess, and he didn't know whether he was frightened by the emperor's words or made up by his own wild thinking.After such a long time, he still stood at the gate of the courtyard without moving.

"Wenqing, do you have anything to do with me?"

When she looked up, she saw the gentle face of the Prince Regent in front of her. It turned out that he had already returned here.

"My lord..." She opened her mouth, hesitating and not knowing how to speak.

"If you want to ask something, just ask it directly, without hesitation."

Wen Su winked at Zhao Quan who was next to him, signaling him to avoid it, then turned to look at the regent, squeezed the palm of his hand, took a deep breath, finally made up his mind, and asked, "Does the lord know the Qinghai kingdom?" Has the queen changed her marriage plans?"

Xiao Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly, but remained silent.

"It's no accident that Your Majesty came here just now. Today, the queen suddenly asked the envoys around her to convey to him her willingness to marry, and the person she wants to marry..." She pursed her lips and met his gaze. Your lord."

But anyone who is proud and arrogant needs to be tamed.

This is Wen Su's summary of the matter afterwards.

Although Dongde Yusong is young, she has a calm mind because she took power early. Needless to say, she acts proudly and pays attention to ostentation. Such a person never takes others seriously, not to mention that generally no one will go against her will.

But this myth was ended by His Royal Highness Prince Regent of Daliang.

As early as when the two met on Bibo Lake, His Majesty Dongde's proud heart was shocked by Xiao Zheng's faint aura.After some rebuttals in the Golden Luan Hall, the regent refused to give in. She was at a loss for words, and suddenly she felt that this mature and powerful regent was a worthy opponent.

In fact, it was this tit-for-tat start that led to her later thoughts.

In Qinghai, no one has ever disobeyed her, no one has ever dared to talk to her so high, or she never knew that there are such aggressive men in the world, shouldn't men in this world lower their eyebrows and submit item?

She was not angry, and she had smashed things angrily, and had the idea of ​​ending this personal visit and going back to the country, but when she thought of the man's faint eyes, she felt unwilling.

That pair of eyes fell on her occasionally, but it seemed that they were only looking at the army and the country behind her, and never looked at her more?
She is the queen admired by all the people of Qinghai Kingdom, and the goddess worshiped by all men, but when she comes to him, she keeps going back and forth about those few topics:

Marriage, alliance, distribution of frontier forces.

After all, she is only a young girl, and the Queen of Qinghai's feelings for Xiao Zheng can be said to come from unwillingness, and from the feminist mentality that has long been used to nature.

But no matter what, she did put it into practice.

The young emperor sitting on the golden throne was too young and immature, not to mention that the regent is now the real master of the country.

So His Majesty Dongde, who went his own way, forgot the compliment his aunt Dongde Zhuoyi had given to the little emperor before he came, and directly instructed the envoys around him to go and tell the emperor, to the effect that you can figure it out for yourself. up.

His Majesty the Emperor was naturally upset, how could he be slapped like this?

He is the real dragon emperor, why should he lose to the regent?Just because he has real power?

He rushed to the Prince Regent's Mansion angrily, but he never wanted to see the beautiful and flowery Queen standing beside his uncle with red ears, how could he have the slightest momentum to rush straight into the Golden Luan Palace that day?
So things went sour.

Wen Su raised her hand and touched the center of her eyebrows. For so long, she had never been so worried even when facing Liu Ke, but this matter really bothered her at this time, because she did not forget the Haikou that she boasted just now to appease the emperor.

What method will she use tomorrow to make him regain his face?

There might be some hope in overthrowing the Regent.

"My lord, what are your plans?" She frowned and looked at Xiao Zheng, but found that there was no wave on the latter's face.

"The queen did tell me about such a thing today." Xiao Zheng crossed his arms and said in a calm tone, "So the king is now thinking about how to deal with it."

"...My lord, you don't seem to care at all." Wen Su looked resentful.

Xiao Zheng smiled, "Why should I care?"

"My lord, you have been spotted. Are you really planning to marry yourself?"

He said this without thinking about it, and after finishing speaking, both of them were stunned.

A smile slowly appeared in Xiao Zheng's eyes. He leaned forward slightly, looked at her at the same level, and stared into her eyes with interest, "Then Wenqing thinks, should the king agree?"

(End of this chapter)