Xiao Letian's face turned bitter at that time, and he thought to himself: "How do I know about Baihualou? I didn't arrange it." Just when Xiao Letian was surprised, everyone present did not know that next door to their private room, the man named Eagle was clinging to the wall and carefully eavesdropping on Xiao Letian's conversation, memorizing every word in his heart. .
Several soldiers around Xiao Letian all have green forest backgrounds, and they have basic skills in seeing and hearing in all directions. However, this guy named Eagle is obviously much more powerful than them. No one in the entire Taibai Building knows of his existence. .
That night, in a low-key mansion in Xicheng, Beijing, Yingying was kneeling on the ground and reported to his owner, "Ninth Commander, this is the detailed process of the whole thing, including the secret talks between Xiao Letian and the others. I have recorded it." Completely present a thick record.
The man named Jiu Shuai did not read the words, as if he already knew everything. "Are you confused? Why did I force Baihualou to go to Shuntian Mansion to complain? Haha, you don't understand, the Qing Dynasty is now , as long as I take action, none of the Manchu men will not pay attention to it, and I will put our brand on this young man. This is also a good cause, Amitabha, it is really good!"
Just as he was talking, there was a sudden sound of footsteps from the garden, and the eagle's ears stood up at that time. "It's Butler Zhao. Why did he come to the inner house at this time?" However, the result was a wave from the Nine Commanders.
"Master, an invitation has just been sent from Prince Gong's Mansion, inviting you to go to the mansion tomorrow to listen to a play. It said that a new theater troupe has been recruited, and I asked you, Master, to find fault..." Steward Wang stood outside the study, not even the people dared to do so. Enter.
The room was quiet, except for the sound of Jiu Shuai's tea bowl touching the table. It took a full quarter of an hour before Jiu Shuai said, "Well... what do you think is the appropriate amount of gifts?"
"If I go back to the master, I will definitely not be able to show up empty-handed as a master, but there are no rules for giving gifts to the theater troupe, so it is definitely not good to give money. It is best to give jewelry, jade, calligraphy and painting, etc... Last month, I followed Fan Kamate There is a box of Dongzhu in good condition and the price is not expensive at only more than 30,000 taels of silver. It is very appropriate to give this kind of gift..."
Ninth Commander waved his hand, "Okay, it's him. You go down and make arrangements. I have to give Guiziliu face no matter what." When the housekeeper left, a trace of murderous intent flashed in Eagle's eyes. "Ninth Commander, this old man This guy is going too far. You once said that you cannot approach the important area of the study without being summoned, but he actually ignored the prince's order... Also, the box of Dongzhu Fanyan received 25,000 taels of silver. This guy changed hands for corruption. It’s six thousand taels…”
The Ninth Marshal smiled when he saw the eagle's atmosphere, "Haha, you are so infatuated. This guy named Zhao is Cixi's subordinate. He and Yi? They are all on the same side. Do you think I don't know? You really think I have been fighting for these years." It’s all in vain…”
"Besides, six thousand taels is nothing. One day I will move all the treasury of the Qing Dynasty back home. Now I give them some sweetness, but it is just fishing bait. Okay, you continue to monitor Xiao Letian Bar……"
The eagle left, and the target he wanted to monitor now had no secrets for him to explore. Xiao Letian was teasing his future wife in the back garden.
"Come on, little lady, give me a smile... Ouch! You are quite stubborn. I like it. Then I will give you a smile... Hahaha, you finally laughed..."
The back garden of Fan's house has become Xiao Letian's private residence. It's no wonder that outsiders are gossiping. Xiao Letian, an outsider, has been living in the inner house of Fan's house for several months. Huniu and Xiao live there day and night. Lotte doesn't shy away from it either. How can we not let people make irresponsible remarks? l
But Xiao Letian and Huniu didn't care at all. It was common for them to count the stars and look at the moon together in the middle of the night. Even Fan Qian turned a blind eye and even moved to the study room in the front yard to sleep. He went and completely left the back house to these two people. At first, the servants couldn't stand it, but once they saw that his own father had no objection, the servants no longer had any interest in gossiping.
However, for those spies from all sides who are willing to spend money to explore Xiao Letian's secrets, every move of Xiao Letian is information that can be exchanged for money, especially this kind of disrespectful behavior, which is what those corrupt Confucians are trying to do. The target of spying.
"Okay, okay, it's been three days, and I've never seen you smile. Now it's finally a day when the dark clouds have dispersed..." Xiao Letian stretched out greatly, picked up the teapot on the stone table, and made a splash. Take a swig. Update as soon as possible
"Xiao...Brother Xiao, are you really teaching that old Hanlin a lesson for me?" Huniu's eyes suddenly became unusually gentle, and she looked at Xiao Letian with tears just now.
"Of course, if you dare to make my Huniu cry for three days in a row, I will destroy him for the rest of his life." Xiao Letian said extremely firmly. He was not just fooling Huniu. He was telling the truth. Right now It was not easy for the Qing Dynasty to find a woman who matched Xiao Letian's aesthetics. The most important thing was that Huniu's cheerful personality matched his temper. This kind of personality was very rare in the late Qing Dynasty.
However, there were still quite a few among the Manchu community. At that time, there was a nickname called "Manchu aunt", which refers to these women who were bold and fierce, could see better than men, and could also manage things.
At that time in Beijing, every Eight Banners man who could leisurely visit a teahouse had such a capable aunt running the family behind him. Otherwise, because of their playfulness, they would have gone to the streets to beg for food.
Wait, when Xiao Letian thought of the image of Aunt Manchu, what came out of his mind was the appearance of Fu Qing's sister Fu Hui, with her big talking eyes blinking at him.
"Brother Xiao!" Huniu seemed to have mustered up all her courage and suddenly threw herself into his arms. "Brother Xiao, please marry me. I will be your roommate..."
Huh! People in the room? Shouldn't you call me madam or daughter-in-law? Why does the little girl use such a word to describe herself? But when he turned around and thought about it, Xiao Letian understood. Isn't that what the ancients called concubines? The eldest daughter of the first wife also had this title. Update as soon as possible
Xiao Letian was stunned. He found that there seemed to be an indescribable emotion permeating Huniu's body. He didn't know that as his popularity gradually increased, Huniu and shopkeeper Fan Jian had secret meetings many times.
In the hearts of the father and daughter, perhaps when they were first in Yi County, they still had the idea of being on an equal footing with Xiao Letian and making Huniu the first wife, but since Xiao Letian came to Beijing, everything has changed.
"Daughter, you have to accept your fate. When Mr. Xiao was in trouble before, I really thought about marrying you to him. But since I entered Beijing, Mr. Xiao is not something we can afford."
"A lonely overseas traveler who can drive so many heroes, a master of Western learning who can write "A Journey to the West" that shocked the city of Beijing, and now he can also set up a clever plan to defeat Wang Laohanlin... Also, there is the scene in Tailing Fire, do you think there is no trace of Xiao Letian here?"
"Daughter, even if our family has a little money, compared with Mr. Xiao, it's as big as heaven and earth. Girl, think about it carefully. If you are determined to go with Mr. Xiao, I'm afraid you can only Make it smaller.”
Fan Qian traveled all over the country all his life, and every word he said to his daughter was the truth from the bottom of his heart. Although Huniu was a bit rebellious, she was not stupid. She understood everything when she played the drum without hitting it with a heavy hammer.
Huniu has been crying these past few days and has always been depressed. It is not so much Wang Shizheng's reason that is actually the root cause of Xiao Letian. When the girl discovers that the man she loves is flying higher and higher, the inferiority complex in her heart disappears. It's getting more serious.
Xiao Letian finally figured out the crux. He scratched his head in frustration, "Huniu, Huniu, it turns out that this is what you are worried about. In this case, I will tell you the truth. You are still young this year. Wait until the year after tomorrow when you are eighteen. , I am marrying a matchmaker in a big sedan chair, how about I let you be the principal wife..."
Before Huniu could finish his words, she jumped up from his arms, "Really? You didn't play tricks on me?" But after asking, the look in her eyes dimmed again, "Don't lie to me. , I am a country girl, I don’t understand the rules, and I am very talented, so I am not qualified to be a concubine..." After saying this, tears fell again.
Xiao Letian was angry and funny. He grabbed her hand and said, "Let's go see your father. How about I formally propose marriage in front of him? If a matchmaker is needed, I will ask Mr. Qing to prepare to go tomorrow. Isn't that okay?" ?”
Having said this, Huniu's doubts were completely dispelled. She was almost blinded by happiness. The little girl actually felt ashamed and turned around and ran back to her room. Just when Xiao Letian wanted to chase, there were three cuckoo calls on the roof, and then a black shadow rushed down. It was Wang Huaiyuan who was on night patrol.
"Military advisor, I just returned from Wang Shizheng's home. The old man suffered the same fate as Mr. Lian. He had a stroke and couldn't even speak... But on the way back, I always had a strange feeling, as if there was a man in our Fan residence. People I'm not familiar with are wandering around, and I can't even lock them down..."
Xiao Letian's face changed drastically when he heard this. Wang Huaiyuan and Sima Yun were the best in Qinggong among the guards. They were both disciples of famous sects in the world. If he said there were strangers in Fan's house, there would definitely be them.
"Come into the house, grandma, someone is staring at me so quickly? Could it be a dog Tatar?"
"I don't feel like it. Most of the knights and knights attracted by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are northerners. Except for the Yanzimen in Cangzhou who are good at Qinggong and hiding methods, there are really no outstanding Qinggong masters in the northern green forests. In addition, even if the Manchu and Qing Dynasties gave us Keep an eye on me, just because the designer Wang is correcting this matter, there is no way the Tatars won’t come and arrest you..."
Just when the two of them were feeling the weird atmosphere, suddenly the housekeeper from the front yard ran over and said, "I'm so happy, I'm so happy, woo hoo..." The housekeeper started crying.
"Prince Gong's Mansion sent a message, Prince Gong's Mansion actually sent an invitation!" Good guy, a loud voice woke up everyone in Fan's house in the middle of the night, and then the lights were brightly lit, and Fan's house was even brighter than during the day. Amid this commotion, a black shadow like an eagle suddenly flew up from a roof in the back garden and quickly fled to the north.
"Protect Mr. Xiao, I'll go after him..." With a loud roar, Wang Huaiyuan smashed through the window lattice, jumped up from his bed and rushed north.
"Sima Yun, you go to support Wang Huaiyuan. Xiao Hexin and Thirteen Niangs are here to protect you. It's enough!" After saying this, Xiao Letian took out the loaded revolver. "I really think I'm a weak scholar. Let's If I catch you, I have to punch you with three transparent holes with my own hands..."
The housekeeper in the front yard knelt down in fright as soon as he entered the back garden. How could he want to deliver good news but greeted him with a foreign gun? "Sir, don't be angry. It's good news. The invitation has been sent by Prince Gong's palace. I want you to come and listen to it tomorrow." Opera, the prince’s family has a new opera troupe!”
When Xiao Letian saw the frightened look on the butler's face, he was really embarrassed and quickly helped him up. "Butler, don't be surprised. This guy is not going after you... Can you tell me the specific situation? Is it necessary to give gifts to such a banquet?"
"Hey, my Mr. Xiao, that's Prince Gong, the emperor's uncle. How can he come to the door empty-handed? At least you have to prepare a gift of about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan before you can get it..."
"Fart! Give him 30,000 taels of silver? My money didn't come from the strong wind, so I just walked in empty-handed. I wonder if he can see me..."
