Mistress

Chapter 56

Aunt Song was shocked to hear that the master was in the wife's room, she paid New Year's greetings in a panic, and asked her two sons to kowtow to Xu Cheng and Li Yan, and hurriedly took them away.

When she arrived at Mingxiang Pavilion, she drank the shock tea that Bi'er handed over, and her mood stabilized a bit.

"Bi'er, it's a good thing that the Song residence didn't send guards in. If the master finds out, he doesn't know how to punish me. I'm afraid it's not just the woodshed. The last time the emperor came to see the master, the master was still sick. Today, it seems that the master But his face is radiant, without the slightest sign of sickness. He handed over all the power in the mansion to his wife, and she holds the lifeblood of Aunt Ji and me. If things go on like this, Chi Er and Jiao Er and I are really walking on thin ice. "

Bi'er blamed herself: "It's all because the slaves failed to win over Su Bai, otherwise, Auntie wouldn't have to be so afraid of Master and Madam."

Aunt Song smiled bitterly, "I can't blame you, after all, Madam is capable, why can she catch the master's heart, but I can't? In the past, the master would come to Mingxiang Pavilion two or three times a month, but Now, since returning from Jiaoyang City, he hasn't even crossed the threshold of Mingxiang Pavilion. Years ago, he went to Aunt Ji's room to eat a few times, but for me, he doesn't even want to drink tea."

Bi'er urged: "Auntie should not be afraid of the master, but should go to the master more often. If you don't express your love to him, how can he come to Mingxiang Pavilion? Now it is not what it used to be. Everyone is almost the same. Now he has sent Zhang Yuliu, Young Master Jun, and Second Miss. Aunt Ji has been locked up in the firewood room and grounded. Only Auntie is left as a concubine. Auntie doesn't need snacks, Madam can just find a reason Then I can deal with my aunt, and maybe get the third and fourth young masters out of the house."

Aunt Song was very flustered, "How can I use my heart, the master didn't look at me just now, and he was indifferent to Chi'er and Jiao'er, and only asked them a few words."

Bi'er found the purple robe that Aunt Song made for Xu Cheng, "Auntie, look, you can make this one today if you rush to work, and you can send it to the master tomorrow, how can the master not like it?" ?”

Aunt Song was a little unconfident, "Can you do something like this?"

Bi'er held it in her hand, felt it, looked at it, and said, "Auntie, how many people can make this style and color. If you can't do it like this, the old man doesn't have anything on it." There are a few that can be sold."

Aunt Song quickly found out the needle and thread, and now she can only rely on her only ability.

Jun'er and Xiao'er also came to greet Li Yan and greet Li Yan, and they were even more happy to see their father there.They were not in a hurry to go back, they had breakfast with Li Yan and Xu Cheng, and after talking, they reluctantly went back.

Seeing that Xiao'er had lost a lot of weight and her complexion was not good, Li Yan said worriedly: "In the past few days, Xiao'er has taken a lot of tonics, but her body is still weak, and she doesn't have much energy to speak. When the weather gets warmer, she should Let him practice the sword more."

Xu Cheng nodded and said: "Ma'am is right, I wanted Su Bai to teach Xiao'er how to practice swords before, but Su Bai really couldn't spare himself, so let Zhu Yan teach him when he has time, Xiao'er also learned basic kung fu with Zhu Yan in the past .”

"Well, Zhu Yan is also fine."

Li Yan paused for a moment, and then said: "Master, Aunt Ji went to make trouble in front of Zhihui Hall, and I locked her up in the firewood room for three days. I let her go back to Qiushui Pavilion yesterday, but her feet were still restrained. Master You said... the next step is to untie her, or..."

Xu Cheng waved his hand and said: "I can't lift her restraint. Someone will come from the palace later. If she comes out, she will definitely make trouble in front of the people who come from the palace, so that the emperor will know. As long as she can't make trouble, the emperor will He won't take the initiative to ask her, the emperor is in a state of desperation, how can he take care of her."

"Okay, then keep it banned and talk about it later."

Xu Cheng got up, pulled Li Yan up from the couch, and said, "You go to the front hall with me, the people from the palace should be arriving soon."

Before the two of them left Jinxiu Courtyard, the little leader who was guarding Wang Yingying in Yang's residence hurried over.

Seeing his nervous expression, Xu Cheng waved back the servants on the left and right, telling them all to leave the yard, but Li Yan didn't let him avoid him.

Xu Cheng seemed to have realized something, and asked directly: "What's wrong, Wang Yingying escaped?"

The little leader's face was gloomy, he plopped his knees and knelt down, and said, "My lord, I'll be damned! Originally, she couldn't escape even if she had wings. She called Gao Jin in to drink last night. Gao Jin was also on guard. He took the pills, and he came out without incident. But for some reason, in the early hours of the morning, Gao Jin vomited and went crazy with his sword, slashing wildly with his sword, and was taken hostage by Wang Yingying. 300 people approached, but there was no way to start. At that time, Wang Yingying fled with Gao Jin. After that, we searched the whole capital, but we couldn't find them. ...Come back and report."

Xu Cheng was silent.

The little leader apologized to Xu Cheng and kowtowed, and said, "Gao Jin's martial arts are so strong, if it weren't for vomiting and sword madness, Wang Yingying would not be able to hijack him. At that time, other people said that Gao Jin and Wang Yingying would be killed by arrows." We shot together, but I... because Gao Jin and Gao Jin have always been friends, I couldn't bear to kill him, so I..."

He drew out his sword and held it up with both hands, "I hope that my lord will kill me, so as to honor the military order!"

Xu Cheng took the sword in his hand, Li Yan was secretly startled, could the master really do it?But she didn't try to stop it, she believed that Xu Cheng had his own way of doing things, and she, a woman, shouldn't interfere.

Xu Cheng swung his sword and slashed at the little leader. Li Yan closed her eyes in fright, and couldn't help but yelled "ah".

When she looked slowly, she found that the little leader was still kneeling there, but half of one arm was exposed. It turned out that Xu Cheng had just cut off his sleeve.

The little leader kowtowed and said: "My lord refuses to kill me, I am ashamed."

Xu Cheng's eyes flickered coldly, and he said in a deep voice, "You should be killed for betraying the military order out of personal loyalty, but today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I don't want to kill you. Gao Jin's martial arts are superior to yours, and his wisdom is not weak As for you, there must be something wrong with him being kidnapped by Wang Yingying. You go back to the camp first to appease the soldiers, and this matter will be investigated later."

The little leader kowtowed again before getting up and going back.

Li Yan came to Xu Cheng's side, and asked with a little worry: "Wang Yingying is not dead, if she knows that the master has been playing tricks on her, will she assassinate the master in secret somewhere?"

Xu Cheng shook his head and said: "Ma'am, what you said is wrong. Wang Yingying's escape must be to Jiaoyang City. Now that the Wang clan has fled to the northwest, there will be wars these days. She will only stay in the barracks to help the war, not She came here. Besides, she may not know that I am lying to her. This time, the emperor sent troops to fight, and it has nothing to do with me. Even if she finds out in the future, she will not be able to get close to me. If anyone can easily assassinate me, you She's already a widow."

Li Yan hurriedly said: "Bah! Bah! Bah! On the morning of the first day of the new year, the master is not allowed to say such unlucky words."

Xu Cheng smiled slightly, "Let's go to the front."

As soon as we arrived at the main hall, the servants outside came to report that the chief eunuch of the palace, Eunuch Jia, had arrived.

Xu Cheng frowned slightly, the emperor unexpectedly sent a eunuch, in the past he always sent Prince Bao or other princes, and then he went to the palace with the princes to meet the emperor.

He hesitated before, and he didn't want to be too heartless in some things, but now he realized that he shouldn't have any womanly kindness.

The chief eunuch, Eunuch Jia, came in and was not as respectful as before, with a calm expression and a drawn duck voice, he said: "Oh, An Lehou finally got up, and the emperor is still worried, saying that if An Lehou doesn't do well, the whole family will die." You don’t need to go to court after a hundred days, just stay at home to take care of your life. An Lehou used to work too much, now it’s time to rest.”

Xu Cheng hummed in his heart, he was only 30 years old, what kind of life he was looking forward to, and Eunuch Jia had a mouthful of An Lehou, this could not be more obvious, that is, the emperor did not want him to be the prime minister anymore.

Eunuch Jia came on behalf of the emperor. Xu Cheng took Li Yan to pay respects to Eunuch Jia, and then handed him tea.Xu Cheng made a relaxed and indifferent look, and said humbly: "I'm really helpless, and I don't want to bother any more. I will take my son-in-law with you to meet the emperor later. , From now on, I will take care of the countryside with peace of mind."

Eunuch Jia showed joy, and replied: "The Marquis of An Le has such a heart, it seems that he is a sensible person. Being a Marquis of An Le is much more worry-free than being a prime minister. You have already achieved success and fame, and you will not be able to enjoy the glory and wealth for generations. Yes, there is really no need to work hard anymore. As for meeting the emperor, there is no need for it. The emperor has been busy recently, and he was still busy at the military plane on New Year's Eve yesterday, so there is really no time to spare."

Li Yan felt aggrieved when she was listening. Xu Cheng was naturally dissatisfied with the way the emperor treated Xu Cheng.Speaking of which, the emperor probably didn't care whether Xu Cheng was convinced or not, thinking that with Xu Cheng's little force, there was nothing to be afraid of.If he is convinced, he will stay there until his old age; if he is not convinced, the emperor plans to kill him with an order.

Xu Cheng replied tremblingly: "Since the emperor is so busy, then I won't bother you. The emperor is worried about state affairs, but I enjoy leisure at home. It's really a sin, a sin."

Eunuch Jia waved his hands and said with a smile: "You don't have to blame An Lehou, you can worry about whatever position you are in. Since you have already planned to resign from your position, you can just stay at home for the New Year."

Xu Cheng hurriedly said, "Eunuch said so."

Eunuch Jia sat for a while and then left. Xu Cheng just said that he would take his son-in-law to see the emperor just casually. He knew that the emperor must have ordered Eunuch Jia not to go.

After Eunuch Jia left, Xu Cheng brought Li Yan to Zhihui Hall, and told Li Yan what he was up to these days.

"Ma'am, you just saw that Xu family's ancestors fought for the Ye Dynasty for several generations, and none of them died in battle. Now it's my generation, but it ended like this. You know, I was in Jiaoyang City years ago. It is also close to death. Therefore, I can't just sit and wait for death, otherwise the emperor will be unhappy and say that if he wants my head, he will take my head."

Seeing that Xu Cheng was willing to tell her these things, Li Yan knew that he already regarded her as his beloved wife who was of the same heart and mind and had no grievances against her.

Li Yan said straight from the bottom of her heart, "My lord, I agree with whatever you do, that is, you must have a perfect plan, so that nothing will go wrong. The lives of the whole family in the mansion are tied to your hands, and The second brother's family and Prince Bao's concubine may also be implicated in the Wu clan."

Xu Cheng held Li Yan's hand, and said solemnly: "If it really fails, Madam will go to the guillotine with me, are you afraid?"

Guillotine?Li Yan was startled, how could she not be afraid, there are few people in this world who are not afraid of death.But she was also embarrassed to show it in front of Xu Cheng, and said with a slight smile: "I will definitely be afraid of beheading, but as long as I am with the master, I am willing to die."

Xu Cheng looked seriously into Li Yan's eyes, "Don't worry, ma'am, I won't let you die, and I won't die myself either. We still have half our lives to live, and my good life with you has just begun."

Seeing Xu Cheng's self-confidence, Li Yan was still a little worried, and asked, "How many soldiers and horses does the master have, can he really beat the emperor?"

Xu Cheng paused for a moment, then said: "Although the military strength is not very strong, it has an advantage over the emperor. The emperor is mobilizing more troops to fight against the Wang family. There are very few troops left behind on the borders, and the capital is even weaker. Wait for the prince and When both of the Wang family are in danger, the army sent by your father and some of my troops will be able to encircle them. These days I have already arranged the troops in the capital, and once your father hears the news, I can force the palace."

Li Yan trembled slightly when she heard the word forced palace, Xu Cheng is going to be the emperor!Her voice was trembling, and she asked: "Didn't my father send a large army to help the prince? If he doesn't help to fight the Wang family, so the emperor... the emperor will not be suspicious? If the emperor is suspicious, he will definitely rearrange his troops in the capital. "

Xu Cheng smiled and said: "Ma'am, you are too worried. Your father is far away in the northwest, and the messenger will spend two days on the road. Your father just received the emperor's order yesterday. It stands to reason that his army has just set off. It will take quite a while to get to the prince. It’s just that I told your father several days in advance that his army has already arrived yesterday and is lying in ambush dozens of miles away.”

Hearing Xu Cheng's meaning, he is very sure about the outside affairs, and he has made arrangements for the capital, Li Yan's heart that was suspended just now is settled.It is not easy to say that it is not easy to be the prime minister's wife. She is worried all day long, for fear that one day she will be caught and beheaded.

Xu Cheng saw that Li Yan's breath had stabilized, and knew that she had been shocked just now.He shook her hand just now, squeezed it hard again, and said: "Either you succeed, or you become benevolent. I also hope that my wife will advance and retreat with me."

Li Yan grinned, "Of course I'm with you, my father obeys your arrangement, if I don't go with you, can I still make things for myself?"

Xu Cheng patted the back of Li Yan's hand, smiled without saying a word.

It was getting late, and there were many people outside the mansion waiting to come in to pay New Year's greetings to Xu Cheng and Li Yan.This year is different from previous years. Everyone knows that the emperor intends to release the power in Xu Cheng's hands, so the number of people who come is much less than in previous years.Although fewer than in previous years, there are dozens of people.When the doorkeeper came to report, Xu Cheng didn't even think about it, and said, "Close the door and thank you!"

The boy was stunned for a moment, thinking it was unlucky to close the door to thank guests on New Year's Day, the key was that he didn't know how to reply to those people outside.

Xu Cheng said again: "Let's just say that I'm not feeling well, I need to rest and recuperate, and it's not suitable for seeing guests!"

The boy took orders and ran away quickly.

At this moment, Ma Xing came to report, "Master, madam, Aunt Ji... she is going to hang herself, and Qiaoer and Yinger have already cried together."

Xu Cheng then asked: "Is she going to hang herself, or has she already hanged herself?"

Ma Xing was slightly startled, "I don't know, it seems like I'm going to hang myself."

"If she really wants to hang herself, will she still wait for you to report? Madame, let's go and see what tricks she plays."

Xu Cheng got up, and Li Yan hurriedly followed behind, thinking in her heart, Aunt Ji played this cruel trick to make Xu Cheng feel soft, and then released her restraint, so she can plot revenge and seduce Xu Cheng.What she thought was really beautiful!Do you really think I, Li Yan, eat dry food?
(End of this chapter)