Qingya was lying on the ice-like ground, her feet were red from the cold. When she raised her hands, the plain clothes on her arms swayed slightly. Such a posture made his nose suddenly sore.
"Your Majesty, please, Your Majesty!" She kowtowed, her voice so loud.
He wanted to get up and help him, but he was afraid that he would lose her from now on. Her body was so straight, there was no trace of wantonness, and no trace of nostalgia.
He thought deeply for a long time before slowly opening his mouth: "Qingya, do you have to leave?"
She didn't answer, just lying on the cold ground without raising her head an inch.
He looked around the cold hall. He saw that the wintersweet on the table had withered, and the charcoal in the stove had burned out, leaving only a pile of smoky ashes. He gently touched the porcelain cup next to him, but he only felt a sense of warmth.
Looking at this quiet scene, he was also speechless.
"If you really want to leave, then... how about leaving after the Spring Festival?" He wanted to persuade her to stay.
"No, Your Majesty, I have been bothering Your Majesty the Queen for nearly half a month. The New Year is approaching and my mother is still pregnant. I also want to take care of my mother," she shook her head.
He searched for a long time and didn't know how to answer her determination.
"Qingya, my aunt, your uncle will take care of you, so you can stay here through the Spring Festival!" Mingxuan sat upright and came to her side to help her up, but she never thought of it.
She suddenly raised her chin, and her beady red lips opened and closed in front of her eyes, but he was speechless and interrupted.
"Then, it's up to you! If you want to go back, just go back!"
"But next time, if you come back to King Gu, King Gu will not let you go no matter what," he said this after thinking for a long time.
She knelt down on the ground and made a big salute, and said bluntly: "My little daughter, thank you, Your Majesty!"
His gentle gaze was cast on her, and when she saw it, she immediately dodged and pretended it was nothing. In the hall a few steps away, between his black robe and her plain clothes, there were mountains and layers of barriers, and the soft light could not be seen at a glance.
In the afternoon of this day, Qingya had not gone out for two days. She was embroidering flowers in the house and drawing pictures under the bright window, passing the lonely time of the year before.
One afternoon, when the sun was shining slantingly, Princess Jiaxiang Wanyanying fell asleep lazily on the swing chair in her Mu Rouxuan courtyard. The injury on her hand had already healed, leaving only a slight some marks.
Her swing chair was built by Wan Yanliang himself. Strong rattans were hung around the bench, and bouquets of flowers were wrapped around the rattans. The four seasons never stopped. In spring, people planted peaches and plums, and in summer, they tied small lotuses and lilacs. There are chrysanthemums and golden osmanthus in the cool autumn, and plum blossoms are indispensable in the cold winter.
The small chair can be used to place quilts and pillows, and you can have a good sleep against the back.
A white fluffy kitten on her lap screamed in her arms, as if her tail was pressed down by her. She was sleeping soundly and innocently. She didn't even wake up to the loud sound of a cat.
Wan Yanliang walked from the Yuan Gong Gate to the inner courtyard. He originally wanted to discuss something with her, but seeing her naive expression, he decided to tease her.
He reached out and plucked a leaf from the flower bed next to him, and walked up to her happily. He slowly squatted down and poked her ear with the tip of the leaf.
She felt itchy, so she scratched her ears and continued to sleep: "Yeah... Yeah!"
He poked the tip of the leaf into her ear again, and she scratched it here and there again.
When he saw the poor cat, he quietly took the kitten down, rushed directly in front of her, and shouted: "Ah, eat you!"
That "Ah" startled her. She opened her eyes suddenly and looked at the kitten's face. She was startled. She immediately raised her head and fell back. She only heard the clang of the swing. , the base and the rope were all taken off, and she fell down on her butt.
Seeing this, he quickly pulled him up with his big hands, but he saw that she kept covering her buttocks and rubbing her buttocks non-stop, and several maids next to her quickly came to support her.
She pouted and looked at him angrily: "Brother, you bullied me again..."
She clenched her little fists and ran after him, but he was a man, tall and stalwart, and he took a few steps to reach her.
He strode in front, turned around and looked at her running in small steps, and laughed at her: "You, with your little arms and legs, still want to catch up with your brother and me!"
"I'll tell my aunt and sister!" She turned around and ran towards the entrance of the garden, crying.
He quickly chased after her, trying to grab her belt.
She was as graceful as a swallow and trotted along the corridor. The maids and servants on the way felt puzzled by this move.
Arriving at the small pavilion in Yuyuan, there were people sitting around a round stone table with some pastries to eat. Concubine Tu Shan, Mrs. Da Tai, and Concubine Shan Lirou of Qi State were sitting around the table chatting about household matters.
Li Rou was still holding a child's bellyband in her hand, and with her other hand she was carefully embroidering the lotus on the bellyband.
When Wan Yanying ran over crying, everyone thought something had happened and quickly raised their heads.
"Little sister, what's wrong with you!" Li Rou quickly took her hand and greeted her cordially.
"Sister-in-law Lirou, please take care of your brother, sister, maid, brother, he bullies me..." As she spoke, she turned her head to the other side of the two elders.
Then Wan Yanliang's figure quietly arrived.
"Yuan Gong, why did you offend Ying'er again?" She frowned.
He slowly sat on the stone pillar next to Li Rou, and while sitting he spoke seriously: "My son did not bully her, he was just teasing her!"
She pouted, touched her butt aggrievedly, and said with red eyes: "That's not true! My daughter was sleeping fine in the cage, but my brother came to scare me, causing my daughter to fall on her butt. It’s still in pain now!”
"Yuan Gong, you are already a grown man, how can you still act like a child? How can you be so decent!" The lady taught him a lesson, which also made everyone laugh.
He took a piece of pastry and threw it into his mouth and chewed it: "I was looking for something to do with her, but I just caught her not reading and writing well and being lazy!"
"Ha, brother, I know what you want from me, but I just won't help you. I'll make you mad!" She rolled her eyes and stood next to her mother.
Concubine Tudan handed her a small pastry and asked, "Ying'er, what can my brother do for you?"
"Honey, you don't know, my brother made a mistake a few days ago and offended his sweetheart. She ignored him for several days in a row. He is looking for ways to make her happy! He must be looking for me. Discussing how to please others."
Her unthinking words caused Li Rou, who had been embroidering with peace of mind, to suddenly become distracted and prick her finger. She endured the pain for a while, did not make a sound, and lowered her head to continue embroidering.
"Tch, she is a little girl, but she still dares to ignore King Gu. Gu is the prime minister of the dynasty who is less than one person and more than ten thousand people."
"I didn't know that brother, you usually put on a cannibalistic face in front of us, but you are still not submissive in front of others! Haha, you are talking like this to Qingya!"
She trotted up to him, pulled the braid under his head to provoke him, and then jumped back to the seat between the dowager and the dowager. The few words they said made the two elders very happy.
After hearing this, the concubine asked with a smile on her face: "Is this Wulu's little cousin you told me about?"
The concubine patted the back of the concubine's hand and praised: "That's right, she is the niece of Princess Bi's consort. I met her some time ago. The girl had a happy face and was very beautiful!"
"I seem to have seen the child in Ying'er's room, but I have forgotten her appearance."
"It's just Yuan Gong!" The concubine raised her eyes.
"Ma'am, what do you say?"
"If you like it, then find a time to talk to Mr. Li and bring the girl to the house so that the mother and concubine can take a closer look! The prince and concubine are not like ordinary people, so they must take a closer look. .”
"My son knows that, thinking about the Spring Festival, he started preparing for the appointment. What do you think?"
"What are your plans?"
He put his hands on the case and spoke to the concubine, very seriously: "That girl is twelve years old and is still young, so we can start with the gift and engagement first, and the wedding can be postponed for a few days."
"You seem to have an idea in mind?" She took a sip of thick milk tea.
"My son is married now, so naturally he has to take care of everything. I will talk to my mother-in-law in person in a while."
Seeing his confident look, the concubine nodded. She suddenly remembered something and asked: "Yuan Gong, I suddenly thought that Lu'er was married to her Li family?"
He seemed a little disappointed and replied: "Yes, we have made a marriage contract with the Li family."
"What should we do?"
"Ma'am, don't worry. My son will find his own solution. I'll talk to Wulu privately later."
"Okay! Yuan Gong, you are always cautious in doing things, and you know how to measure yourself, so I can rest assured."
When the wife heard the praise for her son, she quickly said modestly: "How does he know how to measure things? He and Chong'er are both prime ministers, so he is not as thoughtful as his brother."
After Wanyan Liang heard this, he looked at Concubine Tudan's lowered eyes. Wanyan Chong was her adopted son. His biological mother died young and he had been raised by her. However, she lost her beloved son this year. She finally got over the sadness, but every word brought her into pain.
He nodded slightly: "Ma'am, please don't be too sad. Although my eldest brother is gone, my son is still here. He and his younger brothers will definitely honor you."
When the concubine saw how filial he was, she felt proud of him: "My son has grown up, and his words and deeds now are quite similar to your father's demeanor back then."
"Filial piety comes first among all good deeds. This principle will last for thousands of years. Your son should keep it in mind."
Wan Yanying suddenly grinned and said, "Honey, my brother has changed a lot now. Ever since he met Miss Qingya, his temperament has become kind and gentle. He is not at all as naughty as he was when he was young."
He immediately grabbed her face and said, "You just keep asking about Gu Wang's past all day long, no matter how big or small."
While the two were playing around, he suddenly saw the delicate bellyband in his wife's hand, and immediately went over to touch it with his hand: "Why does the imperial concubine embroider a baby's bellyband?"
