I was Idle and Cool

"Mr. Cai?"

Sitting in the room, Lu Jinxi turned over the account book that Lai Chang had just handed over in his hand, and listened to Xue Chi's words, but when he heard these three words appearing in it, he was suddenly surprised, raised his head, looked at With Xue Chi.

Xue Chi sat cross-legged on the opposite side, because he met Liu Jin and the others on the way and was delayed for a long time, so he trotted when he came back.

He had only been home for a while, and he was thirsty.

Qingque's tea was just served, and he held it in both hands, drinking happily, and promoting his "big mouth" without any scruples.

"Yeah, it's the Mr. Cai you said before!"

Xue Chi raised his face from the tea cup, remembering that he had seen the real person before, and his excitement had not yet subsided.

"Uncle Liu said that he just came back from the border and just arrived in the capital. I also told him the story my mother told me, and he laughed!"

"..."

Now get a rag and stuff Xue Chi's big mouth. Is it still too late?

Lu Jinxi almost felt a chill in her heart when she heard a "squeak" in her heart!

"What you said, wouldn't be the part I told you the other day..."

"That's it, grass people borrow arrows!"

Xue Chi couldn't hear the voice in his mother's heart at all, she blinked a pair of big innocent eyes, and brought her face close to ask for praise.

"Do you think my son is caring? My mother tells stories better than the storytellers under the overpass, so they should know about it. Mother, do you think my son treats you well, filial piety?"

Okay?

Filial piety?

Lu Jinxi looked at Xue Chi's chubby face close at hand, and only felt itchy teeth and hands.

She slowly put down the account book in her hand, took a deep breath, and then showed a stern smile.

"It's very filial, so my mother believes that if you are filial, you will be considerate to your mother. Today, my mother is very tired, so I won't tell you stories."

"what--"

Xue Chi had a terrified expression on his face. He thought he would receive encouragement and praise, but Shu can imagine that he would not tell stories!

He has been looking forward to this thing for a few days!

This time, I was immediately anxious: "Hey, mother, why don't you tell me? Isn't it a good point, you tell stories every day when you come back? Besides, you are in the house all day long, and everything is handled properly. , Sister Bailu said that you have been idle lately. Why are you tired! You lied to me, and you lied to me again!"

The egret standing next to him was still snickering when he suddenly heard his name, as if he had run into a flying accident, and his smile froze.

She turned her face a little stiffly, and just happened to meet Lu Jinxi's speechless look.

It's over, offended my wife.

Egret knew at a glance, but only felt that his eyes were dark, and when he looked at Xue Chi, he no longer felt cute: This is the little ancestor who had to drag a group of people into the water when he was unlucky in the past!

After Lu Jinxi gave him a warning glance, he naturally retracted his gaze.

She has always been an old fox who can't wink when she lies, and who has no burden to lie to others. Facing Xue Chi's innocuous accusation, she has no pressure at all.

At this moment, he laughed like a flower: "Nonsense, my mother never lies, but today there is a decree in the palace, and there are really many things to be busy with. So I won't tell you stories for a while. "

"You're just talking nonsense, you just don't want to tell me a story - eh, no, there is a decree in the palace?"

As soon as Xue Chi heard this, he was about to make a fuss, but only halfway through the protest, did he suddenly notice the words mentioned in his mother's words.

"Is it the palace?"

"good."

The imperial decree is still being offered in the hall, and the rewards from the palace are also recorded in this account book. Lu Jinxi really has this thing in his heart. only……

"You kid, you don't have a proper job every day, why do you suddenly ask this? Are you interested in the palace?"

"no no."

Xue Chi hurriedly waved his hand, but he forgot the things he didn't tell stories about today, and what he remembered was what he thought about halfway through.

"I just thought, it seems that there are people from the palace coming from the Taishifu today, and Mr. Gu also went. But when he came back, he didn't say a word and stood there for a long time. Mother, do you think he doesn't? Are you happy? I'm his student, do you want to bring some sweet cakes tomorrow?"

"With sweet cake?"

Lu Jinxi couldn't keep up with his thoughts. She just felt that she was still talking about the will, and she wondered why Gu Juefei was unhappy, but why did the topic turn to sweet cakes?

"What does this have to do with sweet cakes?"

"Because eating sweet cakes will make me happy." Xue Chi said with a natural expression, "When I was unhappy before, Li sister used sweet cakes to coax me, and I was happy when I ate it."

"..."

Gu Juefei, who is famous all over the world, can be like you?

I really don't have the strength to roll my eyes.

Lu Jinxi didn't want to make any comments, and didn't bother to attack him, so he raised his eyebrows helplessly, and said perfunctorily, "It makes sense, then you can take it if you want."

Don't do her business anyway.

So, Xue Chi was fooled like this.

He was still at the age where what an adult said was basically anything, and he didn't feel that his mother's attitude was too perfunctory.

After a while, he carefully explained what he learned from Gu Juefei today and what interesting things he encountered.

Halfway through speaking, Xue Mingli and Xue Minglang also came and sat together to listen.

The two little girls listened with envious expressions, and Lu Jinxi noticed it.

In the evening, she left her three children to eat, and chatted with them for a while. In the end, she was bored with them and told another story.

It's just that this time, it's not the story of Mr. Cai, the white paper fan that promised Xue Chi before, but the story of Fang Shaoxing.

Fang Shaoxing has been with Xue Tingzhi for the shortest time and the youngest, but his credit and ability are the most conspicuous.

When telling his story, Lu Jinxi won't make up a lot, and it's just as wonderful.

Although Xue Chi was very dissatisfied with not telling Cai Xiu's story, he lost his temper after being stared at by his mother's beautiful eyes, and sat there honestly and listened to the two sisters.

At this time, Lu Jinxi had someone send them all back.

When Bailu was packing the tea cup, he didn't quite understand: "You promised my brother to tell Mr. Cai's story earlier, and the slave also thinks that Mr. Cai's story is more exciting, so why don't you tell it today, and change the one that you are not too old for. Favorite Mr. Fang?"

Lu Jinxi couldn't explain it.

She can't tell people that I'm afraid that I'll cause unnecessary trouble by over-editing it, right?

So I just lowered my eyes and smiled, and said nonsense as if nothing had happened: "It's nothing, I just think that Fang Shaoxing is not useless, right? A bowl of water needs to be leveled, so you can't keep talking about him, right?"

"Oh……"

Egret thought that things were never deep, and what Lu Jinxi said was what he said, but he didn't notice anything unusual about this sentence.

Qingque on the side remembered that on the street today, Fang Shaoxing was too lazy to listen to Xue Chi's story and left directly.

Thinking about the story Lu Jinxi told today, I felt a little inexplicable.

But that's not something she should take care of, so she shut up and didn't speak.

Lu Jinxi, on the other hand, couldn't help thinking of "Mr. Cai" that Xue Chi had mentioned earlier after he finished speaking.

Mr. Cai, Cai Xiu.

She had heard the name of this man earlier and knew that he was Xue Kuang's confidant and the think tank of the three armies. Looking at the archives records for a while, I occasionally mention Cai Xiu, but it is very rare, and I never go deep into the show.

But how vicious are Lu Jinxi's eyes?

She literally glimpsed Cai Xiu's strategy and intelligence from those few lines.

In several key battles, it was mentioned that he made a plan with the general Xue Kuang, or that after Xue Kuang got into some difficulties, he would temporarily dispatch the three armies to rescue them.

It can be said that Xue Kuang was able to escape death several times thanks to him.

One is a brave and resourceful general who is already as strong as a **** of war.

In the end, God was very kind. He put a wise military advisor like Cai Xiu by his side, but he didn't think about it for a while. If there was any omission, someone reminded him thoroughly.

So, how can you not win a hundred battles?

only……

In fact, Lu Jinxi has always had one thing that didn't quite make sense: like Liu Jin and others, they were promoted to rank in the year and after the war. Cai Xiu's credit is so great, why doesn't he have a half-official position?

Even if she hadn't been digging word by word at the memorial, she wouldn't have thought that he was a powerful person.

Having been by Xue Kuang's side for many years, giving advice and enduring the bitter cold at the border, but not seeking fame or profit, what is it for?

It can't always be a cavity of blood, a whole body of loyalty and righteousness, right?

Cai Xiu is a military advisor.

But in another sense, it is also a strategist.

Lu Jinxi inexplicably remembered her previous judgment on the word "strategist", and as her eyes flashed, she thought to herself: What kind of person is this person?

Moreover, he did not return to the capital after the war, but stayed at the border for six years.

Now that the news of the peace talks has spread all over the country, the envoys of the Xiongnu have also entered the customs, and they will enter the palace to meet them soon.

Seeing that things were about to happen, Cai Xiu came back.

How do you think, how do you feel that it is not as simple as simply returning to the capital.

Lu Jinxi pondered, and his eyes fell on the account book again, so he remembered the decree from the White Palace, and his head became a little bigger.

Entering the palace means trouble.

Etiquette, uniforms, and interpersonal relationships you need to know...

It is not easy to deal with each piece.

"Forget it, go to bed today, and get up and work on the rest tomorrow."

After all, it wasn't enough to figure out what was done overnight. Lu Jinxi simply closed the ledger and threw it aside. After taking a shower, he went straight to bed.

The next day, the news that the court was going to hold a peace ceremony with the Xiongnu on February 15 spread all over the streets. In addition, two days ago, Gu Juefei just started the test in the Yuewei Museum with the topic of "discussion and harmony", which has caused a lot of heated discussions, and now it is even more talked about by everyone.

It's just that compared to the simple emotions of anger or joy of the people, many ministers and their families in the court and the opposition are much more complicated.

Because the emperor's decree was not only given to the general's house.

All ministers who are officials in the capital and are of high rank must observe the ceremony and participate in the palace banquet; among the ministers' mothers and wives, those whose official orders are above the third rank will not observe the ceremony at that time, but they will also participate in the palace banquet.

Needless to say, the palace banquet of the ministers must have been in the previous dynasty; but on the side of the wives, it must be in the harem.

Although foreign women have the qualifications to meet at major events, they rarely have the opportunity to enter the palace on weekdays.

Now that the decree has come, and can enter the palace, many people have become more active.

For a time, there were not a few ladies and gentlemen in Beijing who came attentively.

Even Lu Jinxi did a lot of homework for this, and sat down with Mrs. Ye from the British government next door to learn about the situation in the palace.

Needless to say, since the Qing'an Emperor ascended the throne, various parties have been fighting endlessly, and there has been no time for them to settle down.

That's the men's business, and Lu Jinxi doesn't care now.

But things in the harem have some subtleties that make people think.

Qing'an Emperor Xiao Che, the third prince of the previous emperor.

He came from the Duan Concubine Ji's family, and the Ji family's status was humble, and Xiao Che was not good at that time, so both mother and son were not favored.

Being able to sit on the throne today is all because of the palace change thirteen years ago.

It is said that the fourth prince, who was extremely favored at the time, took advantage of the late emperor's illness, plotted to usurp the throne, and brutally killed the first empress Wei Shi and the first emperor's direct son, the seventh prince who was only five years old at the time.

Fortunately, Princess Yongning found out early and secretly notified Gu Taishi and Wei Taifu, which prevented her conspiracy.

Afterwards, the first emperor went on a grand tour, and the edict was read out, and it turned out that the seventh prince was named the crown prince, and he would inherit the great line after his departure.

But at that time, the Seventh Prince was dead, how could he be on the throne?

So the two auxiliary ministers together supported Xiao Che, the third prince who had no outstanding features.

After Xiao Che ascended the throne, the fourth prince who had rebelled before was imprisoned and soon died of illness; as for the seventh prince who unfortunately died in the palace change, according to the last photo of the previous emperor, he was posthumously named the crown prince.

The following year, the country's name was changed to "Qing'an", and the new dynasty began.

Xiao Che's biological mother, Duan Concubine Ji Shi, became the Empress Dowager at once; Shen Shi, the concubine Shen, who was originally from the family of the fifth-grade Dianyi family, also became the Empress.

Generally speaking, this doesn't seem like a big deal.

But now the situation in the harem is quite delicate, and it is precisely because of this—

At the beginning, Xiao Che was not favored, and it was only with such a background that Shen shi could become his concubine. But after Xiao Che ascended to Dabao, he is already an emperor, and all the beauties in the world are allowed to enjoy it, not to mention that he is still young?

The thoughtful ministers all stuffed their daughters into the palace.

As soon as the triennial draft starts, and there are many new faces in the harem, the Queen's background is not enough to see.

Not to mention, Wei Yi came later.

The first of the three beauties in the capital, she is in full bloom, and she is also the daughter of Taifu Wei. When he first entered the palace six years ago, he was conferred the title of concubine. Three years ago, he added the character "Xian" as a title, and gave him the right to assist in the six palaces.

In addition, Wei Yi is a strong person and has powerful means. It didn't take long for the palace to close, and only the concubine Xian did not know the empress.

"It's not that the Queen's concubine is soft-natured, it's her method, and she can't compare with the concubine Xian who was born in the Taifu's residence."

"After all, Concubine Xian got closer to the eldest son, and everyone said that if she was a man, she might not have lost the eldest son."

"You must know this better than me."

When Ye Shi left, he did not forget to mention Lu Jinxi and said it clearly.

"So, the most useful thing to talk about in the palace is Concubine Xian."

"It's just that because Concubine Xian was born in the Wei family, she was the niece of the late empress; when the late emperor was there, the concubine was not favored, and she had a bad relationship with the empress. Therefore, concubine Xian was not used to concubine Xian. of."

"They will all come to the palace banquet this time, but you can bring your own snacks."

After saying this, she clapped Lu Jinxi's hand and officially said goodbye.

As the old saying goes, three women play one show.

The empress dowager in the palace, the empress Shen Shi, and the virtuous concubine Wei Yi, didn't they just make a scene?

After sending off the Ye family, Lu Jinxi became a little curious: what kind of person should Wei Yi, the head of the three beauties in Beijing in the past, be...

After all, according to the rumors, Gu Juefei ran away from home because of her and fell out with Gu Chengqian.

So, in this intriguing curiosity, more than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Taking advantage of this free time, Lu Jinxi did a lot of things.

The first thing was that the garden that Pan Quan'er had been instructed to take care of had been completed. She checked it inside and out, and was quite satisfied, so she hired Pan Quan'er to take care of it.

The second is please sir.

Xue Chi worshipped Gu Juefei as a teacher, and after Gu Juefei's injury was healed, he went to Xuezhai to go to school.

But when she saw the mention of her husband that day, Xue Minglang and Xue Mingli were very envious, so she also thought about looking for the two little girls, contacted a famous female gentleman in Jinan, and waited for a few days. Come.

The last thing is Xue Tingzhi.

After all, this matter is too deviant, and if you are not careful, you will get into trouble, and you will be criticized by the sour scholars in the DPRK.

But now that peace is being negotiated, the timing is just right, not necessarily impossible.

Therefore, after thinking about it, Lu Jinxi went to Princess Yongning's side to find out.

As a result, Princess Yongning laughed outright and said something very unusual to her.

"Why is this so troublesome?"

"Now that the peace has been negotiated, the emperor has rewarded you with many things, but others have not. This is a shame, and it is also shown to others. And it has already been negotiated. Even if Xue Tingzhi has half of the blood of foreign races, why bother? "

"Don't underestimate yourself, just find an opportunity to go to the emperor, 80% of the time."

Lu Jinxi had taken into account the stakes in her analysis.

From the timing of peace talks to the attitude of the emperor.

But she had never thought about such a thing directly in front of the emperor. After listening to it, I couldn't help but be a little surprised.

But Princess Yongning didn't take it seriously. Instead, she looked at her, and said, "What kind of medicine did you take? It's just that you changed your attitude towards the boy who was born to Orchid. It's not a joke. If something goes wrong, or the holy will is unpredictable, who are you going to cry to?"

That's what she said, but Lu Jinxi saw that she was not angry, so she smiled and replied, "That's why I asked my aunt first, hoping that my aunt will give me an idea. If my aunt says it can be done, I'll give him a hand. It doesn't matter; if my aunt says it can't be done, I naturally don't dare to worry about it."

Hearing what she said, Princess Yongning was satisfied.

She doesn't mess around, she can handle it clearly, and stop being the same as in previous years, which is enough to make people feel relieved from the bottom of their hearts.

After the talk, after a while of tea, she didn't stay long and left.

The next day is the day of the palace banquet.

The envoys of the Xiongnu have arrived in the capital these two days, and the ceremony of negotiating peace has passed the auspicious time calculated by Qin Tian, ​​and it is scheduled to be held at the beginning of the time, which is nine o'clock on the Western Clock.

But Lu Jinxi was dragged up before dawn, dressed and washed, and tossed for an hour, then went out at the hour, and two hours later, he entered the Inner Imperial City and went outside the Xuanzhi Gate.

At this time, the ministers had already gone to the morning court.

Most of the people waiting outside the palace gate were the wives of princes and ministers or old women, all bearing the imperial order on their heads.

Those who knew each other gathered together in twos and threes, but they did not dare to speak loudly.

At three quarters of the hour, the palace gate opened, and the **** came out to summon everyone, inviting everyone to enter.

The wives went in one by one.

But when it was Lu Jinxi's turn, the **** who summoned the eunuch, the **** who went to the General's Mansion to announce the decree, waved his hand and said, "Madam, please come this way."

Lu Jinxi looked in that direction, but it was another palace gate to the east of the Taihe Gate of the main palace gate, the Hongzheng Gate.

"Isn't that the door that civil and military officials go to when they go to court? This..."

"You are really a noble person who forgets things. Didn't the emperor return the decree not long ago? The other ladies are going to the banquet and go to the harem. You want to go to the ceremony first and then go to the banquet, so you will go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in a while. Empress Dowager Empress Dowager , The Empress and the Eldest Princess are all here now."

The **** laughed and asked her to go to the door.

Lu Jinxi didn't hear Wei Yi's name, so she thought about it.

Even this empress who was in the prime of her favor was not qualified to watch the ceremony. Her own face, or in other words, Xue Kuang's face, was really big enough.

She figured it out, thanked her, and followed the **** to the door of Zhihongzheng.

The **** walked a little forward, and Lu Jinxi stepped behind.

She just didn't expect that, seeing that she was about to enter the palace gate, a silver light suddenly fell in front of her eyes, and it turned out that a heavy silver gun fell from the side and smashed directly one foot in front of her steps!

"Dang!"

With a crisp and heavy sound, the thick bricks on the ground shook, and a lot of dust was splashed.

Lu Jinxi was startled, took a step back, and looked carefully.

It was the tip of the gun that hit the ground, and it was wiped clean. Looking up along the handle of the gun, you can see the dragon pattern carved on it.

A rough palm, with a little carelessness at this moment, was placed on the handle of the gun.

Lu Jinxi raised her eyes, and happened to meet a pair of already familiar and playful eyes.

Fang Shaoxing was wearing the armor of Jinwuwei. It looked like that, and he was a little majestic, but the helmet that was supposed to be on his head was crooked.

People are lazy too.

He leaned back against the palace wall, as if he had no bones; his hands were placed together, as if he had not woken up.

"Hey, Mr. Fang, you really scared our family!"

The **** didn't expect this, and when he heard the voice, he turned around and saw that it was one head and two big.

Since Da Fang Shaoxing was demoted to be the Jinwu Guard who patrols the capital and guards the palace gate, there has been no less trouble.

It’s okay to have a lot of things in Beijing, what matters is that the ministers in the DPRK have difficulties going to the DPRK!

Every time it was this temperamental Lord Fang’s turn to guard the gate of the palace, if any minister was not pleasing to the eye, the spear and halberd would cross the middle of the road—

He won't let you go!

How many courtiers slumped in anger, but they couldn't do anything about him.

If you want to have a theory, go ahead with the court; if you don’t have a theory, you will be panicked. It is useless to report to the emperor and read a few of his books.

The emperor said that such a hero has been demoted to a gatekeeper, so let him vent his anger.

What can ministers do?

This bird's breath has been endured since then, and it has been half a month now.

It's just that recently everyone has also thought of a way, and simply ask the Guards not to arrange Fang Shaoxing to guard the palace gate, he can do whatever he likes.

But who would have thought that I saw him again today!

Who the **** arranged him to guard the gate again?

This white and fat eunuch, named Sun Jiu, was also serving by Xiao Che's side, and the chief executive Zhou Dequan was his master.

His face was recognized by everyone in the palace.

But now standing in front of Fang Shaoxing, he didn't dare to take it, and he had to smile: "Sir, this is the wife of the general. The emperor has specially ordered to invite him to watch the ceremony, but he dare not delay."

"I recognize it, and you still use it?"

Fang Shaoxing snorted, not even looking at Sun Jiu at all, his eyes only fell on Lu Jinxi, and he smiled when he spoke to her.

"Ma'am, it's been a while. I slipped my hand just now, didn't I scare you?"

Slippery?

It's really time for this hand to slip.

Lu Jinxi raised her eyebrows slightly, and smiled with a good temper. Wen Wen replied, "I haven't been scared yet. It seems that Mr. Fang is okay, so I can go?"

"Hey, I'm asking Madam to stay, I'm really curious about something."

Fang Shaoxing was still standing so lazily, and his voice was still casual, as if he just mentioned it casually.

"I heard a story from Young Master Xue two days ago. Fang is very curious. Madam thinks, on the battlefield, between me and the general, which one is more powerful?"

She didn't answer for a while, just raised her eyes and looked at him.

It's the same face I've seen before, those evil eyes.

But maybe it's the reason why this suit of armor matches the scar at the corner of his eye so much, it looks like a different kind of sassy demeanor.

Gee, I haven't seen it for a while, but it looks a lot better.

"Who is the most powerful? When Mr. Fang was the deputy general of the general, he made many extraordinary achievements, entering and leaving the enemy's line as if he were no one, and he even gave advice and suggestions, and made a few clever plans for ambush. No matter from which aspect, he is a hero. He's already a teenager. If you consider the same age, you won't lose to the generals..."

Lu Jinxi pondered for a moment, then spoke.

Fang Shaoxing heard that the two slanted eyebrows were raised, and he seemed extremely satisfied with her answer.

But the next sentence, she changed the conversation.

"It's a pity that Mr. Fang is younger after all, and he has only been on the battlefield for a year or so, so..."

Lu Jinxi stretched out her fingers with a smile, and pinched a small segment of her knuckles.

"Unfortunately, it's still so close!"

"..."

Fang Shaoxing squinted his eyes, just looking at her like this, there was a sense of danger in his eyes, he didn't speak for a long time, and he didn't move the six-foot silver gun that was blocking the road.

The atmosphere was a little tense for a while.

Sun Jiu, who was beside him, was sweating on his forehead. He looked at Lu Jinxi on the left and Fang Shaoxing on the right. He just felt that the situation was indescribably strange.

He forced a laugh, then wanted to go up and persuade, "Master Fang—"

"You go."

Unexpectedly, before he could speak in detail, Fang Shaoxing laughed inexplicably, and when he turned his wrist, the heavy silver gun with a cold light was already retracted.

"If it weren't for the lady's beauty, this door would be impossible to enter today."

This sentence, he looked at Lu Jinxi said.

The meaning of molesting is already obvious and outrageous.

Sun Jiu was so frightened that his heart beat faster. I was afraid that this great general's wife would turn her face. She turned her head and saw Lu Jinxi's calm face, but she couldn't find the slightest anger!

Even with that slight smile.

What could she mind?

Quan Dangfang Shaoxing is complimenting himself.

Isn't this a real "face brushing" in and out? Others are afraid that they will not have this honor.

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Fang for letting go."

Lu Jinxi was calm, gave a very hypocritical salute, and then turned to greet Sun Jiu.

"Father-in-law, we can go."

Sun Jiu couldn't explain the feeling in his heart.

Too strange.

This is so strange!

It's just that Lu Jinxi shouted away. He had thousands of doubts, so he could only cover his stomach and waved his hands quickly. Like before, he led people into Hongzhengmen.

Fang Shaoxing just stood against the wall and didn't feel that he was an identity with the Jinwu guards standing upright next to him.

He only looked at Lu Jinxi leaving like this, and then hummed: "This woman, she is talking nonsense with her eyes open!"

Does that mean that he has admitted that he is actually better than Xue Kuang? He also had to stretch out his hand and come out from a little distance.

Just cover your ears and steal the bell.

Recalling the smile on her face when she just made that gesture, Fang Shaoxing didn't know why, but she was suddenly in a good mood, so she couldn't help standing there and laughed.

Another Jin Wuwei not far away turned his head and saw that he only suspected that he had hit the evil and saw a ghost——

Laughing so stupidly, it must not be Mr. Fang!