After a brief hesitation, Li Qiao spoke hesitantly: "How can a villain be worthy of a noble person if he comes from a humble background?"
Mrs. Wu opened the skylight and spoke frankly: "Why should Li Langjun belittle yourself? The reason why I betrothed my daughter to you is of course not a whim, but the result of careful consideration."
"I know that you are not a thing in the pond, and you will achieve something in the future, so I will marry my daughter to you."
"I think you also know the current situation of the Wu family. We are short of someone who can inherit the connections and legacy of the Wu family's army. And you can also use the Wu family's ladder to save you several years of hard work. In this way, wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?”
There is no need for nonsense between smart people and smart people.
Li Qiao solemnly saluted Madam Wu: "Thank you Madam for never giving up."
When Mrs. Wu saw that he was so neat, she also secretly praised him, and then asked him gently: "At this time, it is a national crisis, and it is a time for family filial piety. It is just a matter of urgency. I can make the decision with full authority. Do you still have any relatives alive?" ?”
Li Qiao shook his head and said, "I'm the only one left."
Mrs. Wu then said: "In that case, let me prepare for the wedding."
Then he asked: "Are you interested in finding a godmother to decorate your family? The Wu family can still do such a small thing."
Li Qiao shook his head again: "I am who I am, how can I cling to the rich and powerful at the expense of my family?"
"Okay, be ambitious!"
Mrs. Wu put her hands on her hands and smiled, and immediately ordered: "Go and clean up the east courtyard, ask your new uncle to live there, and send three thousand gold coins there. The young people will be welcomed and sent there, and they will make friends. How can you have no money?" "
Everyone on the left and right responded respectfully.
Even though Li Qiao had contempt for Wu Cuicui, he couldn't help but be impressed by Mrs. Wu's skills. With such a mistress controlling the family, the Wu family might not be able to prosper again.
He bowed to her again: "In that case, my son-in-law would like to thank my mother-in-law here."
Mrs. Wu smiled with a calm expression: "We are already a family, why should we be so polite?"
…
Today's emperor's palace is not actually a palace, but the governor's mansion of the local state and county has been renamed. No matter in terms of grandeur or vast area, it is not enough to compare with the former imperial capital.
Wu Cuicui rode a carriage to the door. While waiting for the chamberlain to come and convey the news, she also noticed that the eyes of the people around her were densely focused on her, either in surprise, ridicule, sympathy, or calm. After looking up and down, he calmly looked back.
A layer of goosebumps appeared on the skin under Wu Cuicui's wide sleeves.
She could only force herself to calm down.
The servant in charge came out and led her all the way into the main room. Even if the Supreme Emperor abdicates, he is still the father of the new emperor. Who dares to treat him badly in terms of etiquette and treatment?
It's just that compared with the high-spiritedness of the past, the Supreme Emperor has finally aged.
With a head full of white hair and deep wrinkles, and a sense of twilight lingering around his body, Wu Cuicui almost didn't recognize him when she first saw him.
The Supreme Emperor slowly sat up from the recliner, looked at the visitor for a while as if it was difficult to focus, and then called out slowly: "It's Cui Niang here..."
This familiar name and old voice.
Wu Cuicui came to her senses and burst into tears.
She knelt down and cried: "Father, my unfilial daughter has come to pay you respects!"
"Get up, get up," the Supreme Emperor asked someone to help her stand up, and went to help her himself: "I just got sick, what are you doing with these stupid things?"
He looked full of regret: "I am no longer the emperor I used to be."
Wu Cuicui immediately said: "No, in Cuiniang's heart, you will always be the emperor!"
The Supreme Emperor turned to look at her, his eyes looking cloudy because of his old age: "What a silly child."
He slowly sat back on the recliner, put his hands on his knees, and sighed: "Today is different from the past. When people get old, they have to accept it."
After a brief pause, he continued: "When a person loses, he must admit defeat."
With a shrunken expression, the hero is dying.
The old people who had served in the room for many years all wept silently.
Wu Cuicui saw the emperor's eyes dimming like the scorching sun in the past, and then recalled that her father and brother died in vain on the battlefield, but she felt sad: "It is obvious that they are using evil tricks. In order to eradicate dissidents, they did not even let their own people go." But, have they forgotten that the rebels are still in front of them?!"
Thinking of the tragic death of the noble concubine, I couldn't help but shed more tears: "The country has reached this situation, but it has to put all the blame on a woman. Is this the responsibility of the new emperor? Xishi destroyed the Wu Kingdom, and the Yue Kingdom Who died? It was just to find someone to take the blame, so as to gain inner peace!"
The Supreme Emperor turned his face and looked at her steadily, tears seemed to flash in his eyes: "Good boy, I thank you."
"Not for anything else, just for the few words you said for her."
"Your concubine, she is my interpreter flower." His mind fell into the beautiful memories of the past, and a kind of drunkenness that only a young or middle-aged person could have appeared on his face: "She... Now that I'm gone, who else can I say those thoughtful words to?"
Wu Cuicui stayed at the Supreme Emperor's house for more than an hour. The two talked a lot intermittently, about the imperial concubine, about her father and brother, and about the happy days in the imperial capital where there seemed to be no sorrow. It was inevitable that they would talk about it. Her reconciliation with Li Tianrong...
The Supreme Emperor sighed and said: "It's okay, it's okay. Since we don't like each other, being together for a long time is just a grudge. Thinking about it now, I feel that I can't help you. Originally, I wanted to be with you." Infatuated and unintended, it ended up harming you."
Wu Cuicui hurriedly said: "What are you talking about, foster father? I am only grateful to you in my heart!"
The Supreme Emperor ordered people to open the warehouse again, and gave many things one after another. Finally, he quietly took out a jade pendant and gave it to her: "This is a good thing. You can play with it."
A trace of ridicule appeared on his face, and he sneered: "That scoundrel has come to ask for it several times, how can I let him get what he wants?"
Wu Cuicui held the jade pendant in her hand, feeling as if it was of great weight: "Father..."
The Supreme Emperor smiled and closed her hand, and told her to hold the jade pendant: "Hold on tight. This thing can command three thousand Confederate troops. It may not be useful when the army is fighting, but it really comes to a critical moment." , but it can also protect you. If you encounter danger one day, take it with you to find Wang Lin, the commander of the Southern Army."
Wu Cuicui's heart felt warm, and her eyes began to feel hot. She knelt down again and kowtowed to the Supreme Emperor solemnly to express her gratitude.
After more than an hour passed, the Emperor's face showed a somewhat sleepy look, and Wu Cuicui said her goodbyes at the right time. When she was about to leave, she was stopped again.
The palace servant who came to deliver the message covered his mouth and smiled, looking at his face, he looked familiar: "The Queen heard that the girl is here, and sent her slave to invite you to come and talk."
Wu Cuicui knew that there was no good banquet, but she could not refuse, so she agreed and went with her.
Arriving at the courtyard where the former crown princess and now the queen lived, Wu Cuicui saluted her and greeted her. However, the queen never called her, or even sent a female official out to speak.
The courtyard is paved with bluestone slabs, which are hard and carry the chill of late spring.
Wu Cuicui knelt for a quarter of an hour, only to feel the cold air going down her knees and into the bone seams, and her hands on the ground were so cold that she lost consciousness.
If it were in the past, she would have walked away long ago - thinking of this, Wu Cuicui couldn't help but smile.
For the sake of being under the roof of others, this unrealistic idea will come up.
If it were true in the past, how could the queen dare to treat her like this?
Wu Cuicui seemed to have accepted her fate. She knelt on the ground sadly and embarrassedly, her body shrunken. There were palace servants and concubines coming and going all the time. It was inevitable that their eyes would be cast on her face, even if she walked out for a while. From a distance, she could also hear those people talking quietly.
"Who is that?"
"That's an incredible person. The adopted daughter of the Imperial Concubine, the former Crown Princess of Wei..."
"Hehe, she also has today!"
Most of Wu Cuicui's proud family's prosperity had already been overthrown, and the dignity and elegance maintained by her father and brother were completely destroyed on this day.
But she didn't cry, not even a tear fell.
Wu Cuicui has her own pride, even if it is ridiculous pride, it is still pride!
Shedding tears in front of the enemy will only make the enemy happy and will not help you at all!
Wu Cuicui will not cry here!
…
Wu Cuicui was sent back to the Wu family by the Supreme Emperor's people.
"The Emperor summoned the Queen and reprimanded her..."
Mrs. Wu could only be considerate: "The Supreme Emperor has the same difficulties as the Supreme Emperor."
He also sent money to the servants.
Then he turned around and looked at his daughter with no color on her face, feeling really heartbroken.
Otherwise, why would everyone want to climb up?
People are like swordsmen, and I am like flesh and blood. These eight short words express all the sadness in the world!
…
Li Shimin brought dozens of reliable military experts, changed their clothes, and quietly came to the outside of Qingzhou City. Not long after arriving here, he heard an unexpected news.
Great victory in Gyeongju!
Gyeongju City was captured by King Wei's army yesterday, and the morale of King Wei's army was greatly boosted.
And while everyone in the Wei Palace was rejoicing, a happy event was also being planned in the west.
It's a wedding.
The male and female protagonists of the wedding are one named Li Qiao and the other named Wu Cuicui.
While everyone was surprised by this marriage, they couldn't help but envy Li Qiao's good luck in their hearts.
That is the daughter of the Wu family, and her appearance is so bright and charming!
Even if the Wu family is weak at this time, there are still many children from famous families who want to marry!
I never thought that such a good piece of meat would fall into the dog's mouth!
People who are watching the excitement feel aggrieved and will inevitably say a few harsh words - this Miss Wu family is not a soft-tempered person. Even the Crown Prince of Wei could not live with her for a long time. Could it be that she is a different person? Is that enough?
Although it was not widely announced, who didn’t know that Wu Cuicui’s newly married man was once a slave, whom she bought with a piece of gold?
The queen sighed and said, "This Cui Niang is no longer a child. Why does she still do things based on her own whim? The same goes for Mrs. Wu, no matter how hard she works for the funeral of her husband and eldest son, It's sad, don't even care about your biological daughter... From my perspective, this marriage may not last long."
It's just the fact that the spectators were disappointed.
After experiencing a failed marriage, Wu Cuicui seemed to have completely learned her lesson, changed her past arrogance, and really focused on being Li Qiao's wife, just as Mrs. Wu hoped.
She helped her mother keep the house in order, and the children of Li Qiao's subordinates were also well taken care of. She served her husband in the inner house, and even Li Qiao, who was prejudiced against her, did not find any fault. Come.
She is really trying to be a good wife.
What, are you tired?
Of course I’m tired!
But how can it be possible for people living in this world to have everything go smoothly?
In the past, she was able to do everything well because of the protection of her father and brother, but now that her father and brother are gone, she must stand on her own feet!
And Li Qiao did not live up to the high expectations of his wife and mother-in-law. With the support of the Wu family, he soon began to stand out in the army and repeatedly made extraordinary achievements.
