Jiangning County is thousands of miles away from the capital and can be reached in five days by riding a fast horse.
Li Yan, the son of the housekeeper Li Fu recommended by Wang Ma, is very reliable. He works as a guard at the Jiangning Prefecture and often goes out, so he is very experienced. Li Yan entered the capital easily without any incident. He did not immediately go to the Duke Protector's Mansion, but first found an inn. After freshening up, he went to a teahouse and restaurant.
This was also what the eldest lady had told him to do, asking him to first inquire about the young master of the Zhou family of the Duke Protector's Mansion.
In fact, there is no need to inquire. These days, there are rumors in the capital that Zhou Gu, the young master of the Zhou family, and Xie Lin, the young prince of the Ruian Palace, fought in the street over a woman.
It is said that the woman is Qin Luan, the second daughter of Qin Yuan, the censor Zhongcheng who committed a crime not long ago. After Qin Yuan was beheaded, the female family members of the Qin family were made into slaves. Qin Luan is beautiful, proficient in poetry and poetry, and is a famous talented woman in the capital. Zhou Gu and Xie Lin had already fallen in love with the beauty. Once the beauty was in trouble, the two of them got the news and immediately snatched the beauty into their home.
So, two groups of people bumped into each other on the street, and they started fighting without giving in.
It is said that Zhou Gu single-handedly beat up a group of guards of Ruian Palace and beat them to a pulp. Not only was he unscathed, he also beat up Xie Lin, and arrogantly robbed and released people. If he wants to, tell Xie Lin to stay away from whatever people or things he likes in the future.
Xie Lin was furious, but he had nothing to do with Zhou Gu, so he could only watch the beauty being snatched away unwillingly.
If the matter ended here, there would be nothing more to say. At most, it would be an interesting affair between two young men from good family backgrounds that would make the common people laugh.
But unfortunately, things are not over yet. Zhou Gu took people home. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw the old Protector standing at the door waiting for him with a military stick. When he came back, he beat him up without saying a word.
After the beating, the old protector warned him that he was engaged and if he dared to bring another woman in before the wedding, he would be beaten to death. Now he's only beaten half to death because he hasn't brought anyone in yet.
The old Protector didn't give Zhou Gu a chance to struggle at all, and had people carry him into the palace. With a wave of his hand, he sent Qin Luan's man into the palace, who looked pale, and said that your majesty would make the decision to deal with her. place. After all, because she caused such a big trouble, His Majesty couldn't possibly turn a blind eye.
His Majesty naturally heard about it and wanted to reprimand the two people for their nonsense, but one was beaten badly by the other, and the other did not get better either, and was beaten to the point of losing half of his life. Your Majesty has nothing more to say. He only asked Prince Rui and the Protector to raise their children and grandchildren, snatch women in the street and fight, causing such nonsense. What kind of words?
Therefore, His Majesty took the matter lightly and did not punish Qin Luan. Instead, he used her as a palace maid and asked the queen to train the people who were not yet served by the prince and send them to the East Palace to serve the prince!
What is the identity of the prince? In this way, neither of them has to fight anymore!
After all, the capital and Jiangning were thousands of miles apart, so it was inconvenient to spread the news. When it reached Jiangning, only the first half was spread, and the second half was lost.
After Li Yan learned what happened, he quietly inquired about Zhou Gu's usual behavior and character.
Someone said: "Hey, the young master of the Zhou family is sixteen this year. He is very good-looking. When he goes out on the street, all the girls and daughters-in-law love to stare at him. He hasn't grown yet. He will grow in two years. If it is opened, it will be amazing."
Someone said: "Tell me Zhou Gu. He is the youngest son in the Duke Protector's Palace. He has three older brothers. Not long after the Duke's wife gave birth to him, the Duke died in the battle. He was very fond of him. Fortunately, he was very fond of him. The old protector of the country taught him strictly, but he was usually not too arrogant. He did not bully good people, he only played and messed around with the officials' children. I didn't hear that he went to and from the red mansion and the powdery place. He just loved horse racing in the middle of the night and went out of the city. The sound of horse hooves makes it difficult for us to sleep well."
Someone said: "It is said that Young Master Zhou has wanted to join the army since he was a child. The old Protector of the Country did not allow him to join the army. He forced him to read the Four Classics and Five Classics from elementary school and go to the study room with the princes to attend classes. Hehe, Young Master Zhou is doing well. Every time They all made trouble for the teacher in class, either fighting with crickets or folding rice paper to make kites and playing with them. The teacher angrily sued him for disturbing the class. Later, His Majesty kicked him out of the study and asked him to go to the East Palace to feed the prince. As a reading companion. The prince's teachers are all strict, and the prince is also a good-natured person. No one will accompany him to make trouble, so he behaves himself. "
Someone said: "I had never heard that Young Master Zhou had a fiancée before. It was only that day when the old Protector of the Country beat Zhou Gu that everyone knew about it. I don't know which noble girl from a high family could be worthy of the Protector of the Country." Young Master Zhou of the mansion."
"The Duke Protector's office is too strict. Oh, we are all curious about which girl has been engaged to Young Master Zhou since he was a child?"
…
There are different opinions. Zhou Gu has done a lot of things that can be talked about. He is quite famous in the capital, and there is nothing serious or evil.
So, Li Yan had a clue in his mind, and on the day he found out that the Duke Protector was in the house, he went to the door of the Duke Protector's house.
After revealing his identity, the doorman looked him up and down in surprise and hurriedly went to report. He didn't have to wait long before the steward of the Protector's Mansion came out in person to welcome him into the Protector's Mansion.
Li Yan secretly looked at the Duke Protector's Mansion, thinking that it was so impressive that it was as grand as the ten Jiangning Prefecture's Mansion. It was indeed a first-class Duke's Mansion.
The old protector met someone in the study. Li Yan presented the letter. After reading it, the old protector smiled and said, "Time flies so fast. It turns out that the little girl is almost ready to have hairpins."
He said: "You should rest in the house first, let me think about it, and then I can reply to your wife."
Li Yan should be.
The old protector ordered the housekeeper to arrange for Li Yan to stay, and asked him to send someone to call Zhou Gu to the study.
Zhou Gu was beaten severely by the old Lord Protector and lay in bed for seven days. Fortunately, his bones were in good condition and he was able to walk around after seven days. Now half a month has passed and his injuries are almost healed.
He had been bored in the house for half a month. On this day, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore and wanted to go out to play. As soon as he walked to the stable and took out his beloved horse, he heard someone calling the old man and asking him to go to the study. .
Zhou Gu put down the horse's reins and said, "I haven't gone out to cause trouble in the past half month. Why does grandpa have anything to do with me?" He muttered as he walked, "You are old and your hair is white. Why are you so nosy? I?"
I would like to say who makes you the least troublesome. Among the other young masters, none are as troublesome as you. It stands to reason that the descendants of military generals' families are indeed more noisy than the descendants of civil servants' families, but your noisy spirit is really too much. Ever since you were young, you have been able to cause more trouble than others.
Zhou Gu came to the old Protector's study and greeted him lazily, "Grandpa!"
The old Protector became angry when he saw him, and pointed at him, "Look at you, you can't stand, you can't sit, you're as lazy as if you have no bones, you don't have a proper shape, those three brothers of yours, One is more upright than the other, what about you? The more you grow, the more crooked you become. You are unworthy of your descendants and have fallen into the lintel of my Duke Protector's Palace."
Zhou Gu had something to say, "Grandpa, my three brothers grew up in the army. The discipline in the army is strict, so they are naturally well-educated. What about me? You don't like me now, but you refused to let me live or die at the beginning. I grew up in the military like them, and now you are blaming me? Why?"
The old Protector choked up and said, "What kind of place is the study room? You don't study hard. What kind of place is the East Palace? There are countless strict teachers around the prince who can't control you. If I had known that you would grow up to be such a virtuous person, I should have strangled you to death as soon as you were born.”
Zhou Gu curled his lips and said, "You sound nice, but if you strangle me to death, what can my grandmother and my mother do?"
The old protector was so angry that he felt regretful and said, "Hey, they spoiled you rotten."
The only thing he couldn't do well was to imitate others and steal women. When he was in the study room and disrupted his teacher's class, he was not so angry.
He saw that Zhou Gu's nose was not a nose, and his eyes were not eyes, "Your Majesty has given Qin Luan to the prince, so don't worry about it."
Zhou Gu snorted and said nothing.
The old protector glared, "What's your expression? Then Qin Luan just read a few poetry collections and wrote a few poems about flowers and grass, and then he was praised as high as the sky by a bunch of boys in the capital. , in my opinion, that's all. Don't be dissatisfied. Qin Yuan, that flamboyant thing, was used as a gunman, especially without knowing it. A fool, he ruined the whole family, and he brought it on himself. He can raise it. What kind of good girl can you come up with?"
"Grandpa, you once told me not to slander people behind their backs. Have you forgotten that?" Zhou Gu rolled his eyes.
The old Protector coughed and glared, "What I said is the truth. You remember this clearly. Why don't you remember other things I told you?"
He was not angry, "I have told you a long time ago that you have a marriage contract that you have made since you were a child. You must not act recklessly, but you turned a deaf ear? I tell you, for the descendants of our Duke Protector's Palace, the first wife will not enter the house, and we are not allowed to take concubines. There can be no intercourse. No descendant can violate this rule, and so do you, do you hear it?"
"I heard it, so what?" Zhou Gu was also annoyed. He didn't want to take a concubine, let alone have a wife.
"So, if you have a marriage contract, you can't act recklessly, and you can't provoke other women at will, let alone snatch women from outside. Otherwise, I will break your legs." The Protector said forcefully.
Zhou Gu was extremely angry, "It's enough for you to make an engagement for me since I was a child, but you made one for me that I can handle? Why am I so unlucky? I can't go to the army to follow my brothers since I was a child. Even the engagement , you don’t even make me happy.”
He asked with a dark face: "Am I just a cabbage picked up from the field? Do you want me to cause trouble all by myself?"
The old Protector's face also darkened, "What the hell are you talking about? You haven't seen this girl, so why do you feel like you can't do anything about it?"
Zhou Gu snorted coldly, "A little concubine from Jiangning County, what kind of status is this? How well-educated and capable can she be as a concubine?"
The old Protector choked up and opened his mouth to refute, but was held back again.
Zhou Gu took the opportunity to express his attitude, "I won't marry her!"
