Fengwei Building.
There was a gentle breeze in the small pavilion, and Da Xi Yingying asked: "Can I see my husband?"
Du Jin raised his eyes from the drawing, looked at her plump and fair body, and said calmly: "He is busy, so you can tell me if you have anything to do."
"After this incident, the right minister is afraid that he will never trust me again."
"Then you can just call me 'Genu' from now on."
"Er Niang is saying that the slave family no longer needs to go to Youxiang's Mansion?"
"That's right." Du Jin said, "Now that you have obtained the bond, you can just work for us with peace of mind from now on."
"Right... Ge Nu is narrow-minded. If he wants revenge, how should he respond?"
"Because of you?"
"The slave family is worried about Mr. Lang."
"It's not your turn to worry. With our current strength, how dare Ge Nu dare to retaliate easily?"
Da Xi Yingying's eyes lit up and asked: "Our strength?"
"At least he is stronger than your Shou Wang."
"What Er Niang said is true." Da Xi Yingying couldn't help but smile, as if she was trying to seduce Du Jin.
Du Jin frowned slightly and said, "I won't be here for the past two or three days, so you can take care of Fengweilou... Do you know what I am referring to?"
Da Xi Yingying had a thought in her mind and asked softly: "But the secret pavilion? Er Niang can rest assured to leave it to the slave family."
"Don't be suspicious of people, but don't be suspicious of people you employ." Du Jin said: "This place was originally your gambling house, and you know what to do. Xue Lang is most concerned about Stone Castle City right now."
"Here."
Daxi Yingying and Wanfu stepped back, left the small pavilion, looked up at the blue sky, feeling free but not used to it.
She has been led by others all her life, but now that she has changed her master, she feels uneasy without the shackles around her neck, as if there is something missing that cannot be completely filled.
But this feeling was actually quite good. She thought to herself that Xue Bai might not fully trust her yet and was still investigating.
~~
Du Jin arranged the trivial matters, went to the accounting room, pushed the door open and entered.
"go?"
"Yes." Du Si put down the account book, stood up, took Du Jin's hand, and walked to the stable together.
There is a family dinner today, and Xue Bai will also come to Du's house. They plan to go back early.
"The skill of cooking is gradually spreading, so we might as well open all the branches. According to Xue Bai's wish, we can invest all the money in our hands, and we can get it back when all the money is gone."
"Okay, I've sorted it out. Feel free to pay for it anytime."
"My grandfather has only held false positions for many years. Now that he has been appointed as a substantive officer, there will inevitably be some mistakes. You and I should pay more attention."
When talking about these serious matters, Du Jin is more like a sister... It should be said that she is more like a superior, and the tone is always arranged by her.
Du Wei, on the other hand, has a gentle temperament and doesn't care about these things. She always responds kindly and takes care of the things arranged by her sister.
The two got on the carriage. Du Jin was silent for a while and asked in a low voice: "Tonight?"
"Don't say it." Du Wei was slightly flustered and said softly: "I did such ridiculous things because I was drunk. Since you covered it up for me, why bother mentioning it again."
"Is it my fault?"
"I'm useless myself, how can I blame you?"
Du Jin asked: "I can't remarry anyway, so it doesn't matter. My sister is so secretive, but she wants to remarry?"
Du Wei was stunned and shook her head.
"I have long decided not to marry."
The carriage drove slowly into Du's house, only to see Du Wulang already waiting at the side door.
Du Jin slowly got out of the car and boarded the car. Seeing his brother's stupidity, he randomly found a reason to teach him a lesson. He pointed at the magpie droppings under the eaves and said, "If you have built so many bird's nests at home, why are you still standing there? Are you staying?"
"Second sister, can you please stop training me all day long? I drank with the Kunzi Festival Wine."
"You have worshiped the saint, and you are also my brother."
Du Wulang couldn't bear to talk to them, waved them in, and volunteered to greet the guests at the side door.
Today was just a family banquet, and Du Fu wasn't even invited. Instead, all of Xue Bai's family were invited.
After a while, someone came on horseback. They were Du Wei and Du You, Du Xiang's two sons in Chang'an.
Du Wei is in his early twenties, handsome in appearance, gentle in temperament, and very easy to get along with; Du You is only twelve years old this year and smart.
"Uncle." Du Wulang saluted Du Wei first, then saluted the young Du You, and said, "Fifth uncle."
"Goro be good."
Du You smiled, stood on tiptoes, raised his hand and touched Du Wulang's head.
Du Wulang laughed and laughed, turned around and said, "Uncle, when will you get married?"
"Soon." Du Wei couldn't help but smile when he mentioned Li Shiniang, "When you come to watch the ceremony, don't forget to bring your friend Xue Lang with you."
"Xue Bai and you are two different people." Du Wulang muttered.
Not long after, the Xue family also came. Xue Bai and several brothers rode in front. Du Wulang went out to greet them. Without looking at them, he went straight to the carriage to greet Liu Xiangjun.
"Auntie is here, and I always talk about you. She said that among the famous families in Hedong, you are the best friend she has in Chang'an..."
~~
Although no one introduced him, Xue Bai quickly met with Du Wei.
"But in front of Xue Lang, who has become famous recently?"
"I don't dare to take it seriously. It must be brother Du Wei?"
"I'm a generation older than Du Qi." Du Wei smiled, very cordially.
Xue Bai also smiled and said, "I have a friendship with Zimei, who is the same generation as me."
"Then let's discuss our own affairs." Du Wei said, "I've heard about it. Maybe you and I can be brothers-in-law."
Xue Bai waved his hand.
If he doesn't go back and has reached this point, it is unlikely that he will marry Li Linfu's daughter again.
The reason why he still interacts with Li Tengkong is because he thinks she is Zong Xiaoxian to maintain that friendship. If there is a big disaster in the Li family in the future, he will always have to return many favors to her. Instead, if he married her, he would be buried with the Li family.
This idea definitely doesn't make sense with Du Wei.
They quickly changed the topic, first talking about each other's mutual friends.
After entering the banquet and having a few drinks, we talked about Du Wei's world-famous friends.
"Liu Changqing, I met the scholar brother when I was traveling in Luoyang. At that time, he made wild remarks at the literary conference, calling himself the 'Five-Character Great Wall'. No one believed in him. I competed with him on fifteen poems, and I was convinced that he lost. It was also him who said that his house in Luoyang was vacant and wanted me to take my wife on a trip;"
"Cui Hao, Brother Cui is my father's disciple, and I am both a teacher and a friend. He looked like Xue Lang when he was young. He was a handsome young man and a charming young man. At the age of nineteen, he was awarded the title of Jinshi. Even Li Bai said, 'You can't see the scenery in front of you. , Cui Hao wrote a poem on it, which shows his talent;"
"Cen Shen, Brother Cen and I have known each other for three years since Tianbao. At that time, he went to Chang'an to take the imperial examination and passed the imperial examination. He stayed in the election for three years and finally got his official status this spring..."
Xue Bai couldn't help but ask: "Brother Cen is still in Chang'an?"
"He is." Du Wei said, "He will also come when I get married. Can Xue Lang come?"
"You should go to the meeting."
"I also have a good friend who has arrived in Chang'an recently. Although his poetry name is not obvious, he has a similar temperament to Xue Lang, so you will definitely be able to chat with him. He once had a long discussion with me about the salt method, and he was full of praise for it."
"I wonder who it is?"
"In the Yuan Dynasty, Yuan Gongfu was born in poverty. In his early years, he fell in love with the daughter of the famous general Wang Zhongsi. Regardless of the opposition at home, Mrs. Wang resolutely eloped with him and followed him to Chang'an for the imperial examination. In the first year of Tianbao, Gongfu's brother became a Jinshi in high school. What a shame. Now that my term has expired, I will return to Chang'an to guard the election."
~~
You may not realize how important family status is at ordinary times, but you can see it by comparing Du Wei and Xue Bai at this time.
When Du was young, he was able to guard the border with his father and gain experience in the Chinese army's large tent. It should be noted that if 999 of a thousand soldiers are killed in battle, the remaining one will not get such an opportunity.
In literary matters, even Cui Hao was a disciple of Du Hope. Wang Wei also treated Du Hope as a teacher. Du Wei studied literature with these people since he was a child. And Du hopes that the official will be in the third rank, and he will have great military exploits, and he can be the second son of the official.
Du Wei's personal connections with the world's heroes are far beyond what Xue Bai currently has.
The two clinked another glass of wine.
Xue Bai asked: "What is the relationship between Brother Du and the Right Prime Minister?"
Du Wei shook his head and said, "My marriage to the Fourteenth Mother has nothing to do with her grandpa."
Where Xue Bai looked out of the corner of his eye, he saw twelve-year-old Du You drinking the sweet-scented osmanthus dew, shaking his head and curling his lips, as if to say, "Brother, I'm so ignorant."
Afterwards, the little guy and Xue Bai looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
…
This family dinner is to celebrate Du Youlin's return to office. Before the evening drum sounded, Du Si brought wine, congratulated Du Youlin with a few words, sent a little poem, and took Du You to say goodbye and go home.
This is just to enhance the relationship between relatives.
However, relationships and positions influence each other. After Du Wei left, Du Youlin talked about business with Xue Bai.
"Now that I have come down, Mr. Pei is planning for me to be a member of the household department. He wants to check the accounts over the years. He thinks that the king must have embezzled taxes."
"There must be embezzlement, but if the amount is not large, it is meaningless." Xue Bai said: "The saint should allow them to be greedy within a certain range."
Du Youlin said: "Do you know which imperial censor I asked to work with me on this matter?"
"Yang Zhao?"
"That's right." Du Youlin frowned, "This spit pot sticks to my uncle like dog skin plaster."
"When you have just gained real power and have no available people, it is normal for you to appoint relatives."
Xue Bai knew that with Du Youlin's temperament, he might suffer some losses if he worked with Yang Zhao. But it’s okay, it’s better to learn a lesson now than to make a big mistake later.
There is no need to express dissatisfaction with his cousin in front of Yang Zheng.
"Yang Zhao is only of some use. He is familiar with Ge Nu and Wang Zhi." Du Youlin said: "He said that the cost of Wang Zhi's new house is unimaginable by ordinary people. In fact, it cost tens of thousands."
"Datang only charges more than two million yuan a year for rent, right?"
"Yes, let's not talk about anything else. I just want to talk about the Ziyu Pavilion in the Wang Mansion. Yang Zhao saw it with his own eyes and said that it was made by skilled craftsmen from the Western Regions. It cannot be copied by others and the cost is higher than the Qingliang Palace of the Saint."
At this point, Du Youlin leaned forward and said: "It should be noted that when the sage built the Qingliang Hall, Chen Shiyi even remonstrated with him because he wasted money and wasted people. Do you think we will investigate the king's pheasant from this matter?"
Xue Bai shook his head.
Du Youlin was stunned and asked, "Why?"
"My uncle just got an official position, and he didn't even know all the people in the household department. Yang Zhao gave such news. When did he do his best?"
"this……"
"To defeat political opponents, the most important thing is timing. If a saint wants to change people and someone can replace Wang Zhi and Ge Nu, a word is enough. Now that Yang and Pei are not yet stable, why should they replace them as prime ministers? My uncle went to the Ministry of Household Affairs Likewise, standing firm is the key.”
Du Youlin nodded and said: "Sure enough, I almost got killed by this idiot Shihu Hu."
Xue Bai wrote down what happened at Ziyuting, and secretly said that Genu and Wang had controlled the government for many years, and the skilled craftsmen of Chang'an must also be under their control.
~~
It's mid-April, and the moon has become chubby.
A civet cat Hua jumped out from between the trees, rolled in front of Du Wulang, and began to lick its paws, which attracted several children of the Xue family to come forward and take a look.
Lu Fengniang and Liu Xiangjun crowded together and chatted.
Du Jin propped her head and sat aside to listen to her grandfather talking to Xue Bai. Only she dared to listen. Du Jin was quiet all night. She drank a few glasses of wine by herself and her face was slightly red.
A family banquet was coming to an end, and Qing Lan was about to go to the carriage to move the quilt, planning to spread it on the adjacent room next to Xue Bai's room.
However, she was pulled by Caiyun, and the two girls whispered a few words.
"Really? Then has Xue Langjun been with you..."
"No, but we are making very fast progress."
"How fast."
"I won't tell you anymore."
After hearing this, Du Jin made arrangements casually: "In order to avoid making a mattress, Qinglan and Caiyun will be in the same room tonight."
"Okay." Caiyun was very happy and pulled Qinglan and said, "We just have a chat."
"oh."
We will go out for an outing in the city tomorrow. After the banquet, everyone will go back to their houses.
When walking around from the back garden to the west verandah, when no one was paying attention, Du Jin pulled Xue Bai over. The two of them retreated into the shadows at the corner and kissed deeply.
"I'll come over at night."
"Okay, I'll take Wu Lang to the west wing."
"Um."
Back in the house, Qing Lan did not forget to change Xue Bai's clothes first, which made him feel a little funny.
"I can still change my clothes myself."
"Then I have to fulfill my duty. I will leave after Mr. Lang lies down."
"By the way, I've started to help you deregister your citizenship and become a good citizen. Is your ancestral home settled in Longyou?"
Qing Lan nodded and looked at Xue Bai, her mind filled with thoughts about concubine.
"Then think carefully and write to me about any relatives you can still find."
"No more relatives."
"It doesn't matter, I will check it, and you can think about it slowly."
"My husband treats me so well."
"go to sleep."
Xue Bai watched Qing Lan walk away, and suddenly felt that this situation was familiar. It happened the night before moving out of Du's house.
…
Sleeping late at night, Xue Bai suddenly woke up.
Before Du Jin came over, he turned over in a daze and smelled a faint fragrance on the tip of his nose.
"Why don't you come in?"
He muttered, stretched his hand out of the curtain, and a catkin held his hand.
After a gentle tug, she came in obediently, carrying the scent of her body after bathing.
Xue Bai then hugged her into his arms. She was warm and fragrant, considerate and comfortable.
The weather is just right tonight, neither too cold nor too hot, and my skin feels dry and smooth.
Under her cloak is a spring gown...
~~
In mid-April, the peach blossoms have almost fallen, just like late spring has shed its bright dress.
The begonia flower is in full bloom.
The most abundant crabapple in the Du family is the Four Seasons crabapple, which is redder than apricot flowers and pinker than peach pollen, which is pleasing to the eye.
At night in late spring and early summer, the budding petals finally opened, swaying left and right in the breeze, and a faint fragrance drifted.
When the wind blows, the flower branches stand high again, becoming more scorching and brighter.
~~
In this season of budding affection, the cat meowed.
The moon seemed to hear it and shyly buried itself in the clouds.
The night is getting darker.
There was a creaking sound in the house, like the windows were shaking.
Some people couldn't hold it back, they gritted their silver teeth and let out a long sigh from their noses.
Suddenly, Xue Bai whispered in her ear: "Miniang?"
"Woo!"
"..."
The moon emerged from the clouds again, and its faint light shone on the silhouettes of people in the house.
The beautiful figure who was sitting suddenly fell down, trembling uncontrollably.
Xue Bai felt the subtle difference and called out again.
"Miniang."
"..."
The clouds rolled, and one cloud overtook the other, wrapping the moon again.
~~
There is no one in the deep courtyard. The spring night is long, and the bees are busy coming and going. Begonia is so charming and shy that she relies on the spring breeze to urge her to make up her face.
~~
The next day, it was dawn.
Xue Bai opened his eyes, he was the only one in the room, and there was a faint lingering fragrance.
The Du family courtyard is busy, and everyone is still preparing to go on an outing.
He stood on the porch, dazed for a while, and saw the Du sisters walking arm in arm from the backyard.
Du Jin yawned, and then Du Jin also yawned.
This scene is very similar to one day some time ago, but now the relationship between the three seems to be even more different.
…
In the corridor of the main room, Du Youlin and Lu Fengniang came out, saw Xue Bai, and sighed with some regret.
"My mother-in-law still doesn't like such a good man?"
"Pity."
(End of chapter)
