Ping Yan inquired about what happened in the front yard and taught Qi Lingzhan every word.
Qi Lingzhan was playing a chess game by the window, with a jade-colored chess piece wrapped around his black clothes. After hearing this, he said: "It's true that people's hearts are not enough, how can the girl in the Hou family let her take what she has? I'm afraid that the Han family That little yard is not enough to take care of the crickets."
Ping Yan was a little confused and asked: "Since the young master doesn't agree with this marriage, why didn't he say it at the Han family last time? I'm sorry that Han Feng didn't dare to say anything."
"There's nothing to be afraid of Han Feng. I'm just afraid that the more I object, the more Zhao Wei will marry her. What I'm afraid of is our second ancestor."
The white piece was placed on the plate, and the black piece followed. Qi Lingzhan suddenly smiled and said to Ping Yan: "But fortunately, things have turned around. This marriage may not be possible. Come here, I have something to tell you."
Ping Yan stepped forward and after hearing him explain such and such, he geared up and said, "Don't worry, young master, this matter is foolproof and the second lady will never notice it!"
Qi Lingzhan nodded, "Go back quickly."
The next day was New Year's Eve, and suddenly an official matchmaker visited Han's family, diligently asking Han's mother about Han Feng's marriage to the Yongping Marquis.
The official matchmaker has a three-foot beak. When she asked, Mother Han couldn't help but express her bitterness: "It must be that my family is weak and poor, and she wants to regret the marriage, and she is afraid of being known as treacherous. She just feels sorry for my son Yu Chi'er, who was raped." Hanging on this tree forever, unable to move up or down!”
The official mediator said: "Then I'm here today. Do you know Chen Wuniang who lives in Yankangfang? She is Zheng Zhongcheng's daughter. She has been a widow for four or five years. Recently, she was looking for a man to have sex with. One time she happened to see Han Lang. Jun Gujiu is very interested and asked me to ask."
Mother Han hesitated: "Ziyu is engaged to Qi Er, isn't that bad?"
The official matchmaker laughed at her for being pedantic, "She is already twenty-five years old, and there are really no good shops in this village. What capabilities does Yongpinghou Mansion have? Yongpinghou has already surrendered his troops and is a post-remuneration official. Although the prince of the mansion is the deputy prime minister, he and Qi Er are not biological brothers and sisters after all. He wants to use Qi Er as a raft to climb up. If Han Langjun marries Qi Er, he will offend him. On the other hand, Zheng Zhongcheng, a protégé of Prime Minister Yao, marries his girl. , that would be called leaping over Xiaolongmen, and Zheng Zhongcheng told me that if we get married in April next year, I can find Han Langjun a deputy envoy position in the Forbidden Army in June, and ask him to stay in Yongjing for a long time. Enjoy!"
The official matchmaker spoke one word after another and analyzed the pros and cons of Han Mu clearly. Mother Han said that this was not good, but the hand holding the tea trembled again and again. The matchmaker smiled and helped her: "Mrs. Han, think about it quickly. It is best to make a decision during the New Year, or strike while the iron is hot and walk around. Be careful." Don’t let anyone rob you of this good marriage!”
At the same time, when Han Feng was on duty in the imperial guard camp, he encountered a carriage blocking the road. The driver drew a felt curtain in front of him, and a beautiful woman sat in the carriage.
The woman smiled earnestly at him: "My surname is Zheng Xingwu, and I have a handkerchief with Erniang Qi. If Erniang has something to say, she asked me to bring it to Han Lang. Please get in the car and talk to Han Lang."
Han Feng's face heated up at her smile, and he clasped his fists and said, "Let's sit down in a teahouse and talk. Don't dare to interrupt the lady's carriage."
Zheng Wuniang said: "There is no teahouse open at the moment. It's just a matter of a few words. Don't stand there in the cold."
Han Feng still hesitated, Zheng Wuniang winked at the coachman, and the coachman stepped forward and pushed Han Feng into the carriage.
There is a charcoal stove in the car, burning old pine wood. The warm fragrance is lingering and refreshing. Zheng Wuniang held a flower fan, half-hiding her face, and looked at Han Feng with a smile. Han Feng's face was as hot as ashes, and she was cautious and did not dare to move.
Zheng Wuniang laughed at him: "You are really an honest and responsible person. With Qi Er's fierce temper, what do you see in you?"
Han Feng himself didn't understand this matter, so Zheng Wuniang explained his doubts: "Let me tell you, Er Niang was having a quarrel with her brother at that time, and she always had to fight with the prince. She casually engaged you just to anger the prince. That's why the prince always dislikes you. Now that Er Niang's anger has subsided, their brother and sister have reconciled, and Qi Er also regrets this marriage."
Han Feng's face turned cold: "You're talking nonsense!"
"What nonsense am I talking about? I really feel sorry for you. My mother-in-law is hanging on to you. Your years are worthless, but my youth is a pity." The soft grass is like snow, the sound of honey is like a sigh, and the fragrance of my daughter faintly touches the tip of my nose. , Han Feng wanted to refute her, but his throat was so tight that he couldn't say a word.
Zheng Wuniang took off the sachet from her waist and gave it to him, but Han Feng refused to take it. Zheng Wuniang got angry and picked up the flower fan and hit him. Instantly, her eyes turned red and she felt like crying.
"You are a dignified military officer, are you afraid that I am a little lady? I don't eat people, and I won't use this to frame and slander people. I just want to teach you how I feel. If one day Er Niang is willing to let you go, you must first Come and find me.”
Han Feng was helpless: "There is no reason, how can we start talking about this..."
Zheng Wuniang glared at him: "If you don't accept it, I will find a rope to hang myself when I get back."
"Hey, don't..."
Finally accepted it.
Han Feng walked home carrying the sachet, which felt like a piece of coal, which made him feel panicked. He thought of Qi Erniang for a while, and Zheng Wuniang for a while. He couldn't help but think about Zheng Wuniang's words, and his heart was in a mess.
Snow started to fall again in the evening, and the cold on the street made people's bones tense, but there were still children gathering together to set off firecrackers, and many wealthy families couldn't wait to set off fireworks.
The Yongping Marquis Mansion has not been so lively for several years. Rong Yuqing is a guest and Zhaowei returns home. It is rare that Qi Lingzhan is not busy with official duties.
The annual custom in Yongjing is to cook glutinous rice balls, and Rong Tinglan cooks it herself. Zhaowei and Rong Yuqing help from the side, scrambling to mark the glutinous rice balls, almost knocking over the basin, but Rong Tinglan picks them up and kicks them one by one. Kicked out of the kitchen.
The two blamed each other, and the noise spread to the neighboring yard. Qi Lingzhan was leaning on the corridor and looking at a rubbing of a stele and calligraphy. Hearing the sound, he raised his head and glanced in the direction of the neighboring yard.
He felt a little strange in his heart. Rong Yuqing and Zhaowei were separated by generations, and the quarrel between them was neither big nor small. However, he, an elder brother of the same generation, acted like a stern elder in every aspect.
In fact, when he was a child, he had a better time with Zhao Wei.
Qi Lingzhan closed the tablet and raised his hand to catch the snowflakes outside the threshold. The white velvet snow gradually melted into colorless in his palm. Through the thin hand clothes, he felt a hint of coolness.
Zhaowei was born in Xizhou and grew up in Qingcheng. When he came to Yongjing at the age of seven, his temperament was already difficult to educate. She would never be as well-behaved as Yon Ning. She neither copied the female precepts nor imitated the female workers. She spent the whole day playing cicadas under the tree with a slingshot. When she saw Qi Lingzhan practicing martial arts in the early morning, she insisted on learning even though she was noisy.
Master Wu refused to teach her, so she begged Qi Lingzhan as a "good brother". This was the first time she changed her story, and she promised that she would never make faces to anger the old lady again, so Qi Lingzhan agreed and asked her to get up an hour early every day and come to the courtyard to look for him.
He taught Zhaowei how to use bow and horse. She didn't want to listen to the female precepts, so Qi Lingzhan taught her how to read the Four Books and Five Classics.
She often made wild and arrogant remarks. When Qi Lingzhan explained to her the "Book of Zhou" in "Shangshu", he once told the story of King Wu of Zhou attacking King Zhou of Shang on the grounds of "abolishing the worship of the temples of hundreds of gods in heaven and earth for no reason".
Zhaowei was listening distractedly while teasing the wild cat with a ruler. When he heard this, he suddenly said: "King Zhou does not believe in ghosts and gods, and does not indiscriminately kill people and sacrifice animals to heaven and earth. This is the wisdom of great enlightenment. Since people today understand that it is wrong to kill the poor and weak indiscriminately, why He still calls King Zhou the most stupid king in the history. Is it because he was granted the title by Confucius and Mencius, so he dare not say anything else?"
Qi Lingzhan told her to be silent and not let her master hear her.
He took out the ruler from Zhaowei's hand, pretended to slap it on her palm, and corrected her sternly:
"A ruler must not be high-minded and self-respecting when he governs his people, otherwise he will not be able to issue orders alone. In the three ancient times, the most important affairs of the country were sacrifices to the Rong. If King Zhou did not sacrifice, the people would feel fearful. Fear will lead to alienation, and alienation will lead to chaos. When chaos breaks out, the people go into exile, and the number of people killed exceeds the number of people sacrificed to the ancestral temple.”
"Oh..." Zhaowei was young at that time and had difficulty understanding the principles of governing the country.
Qi Lingzhan stretched out his hand to pluck off the stained cat hair on her sleeve, and suddenly chuckled, "It's okay if you don't understand. Only people who are in the same situation can understand the suffering of King Zhou. I hope you will never be in this situation in your life and be able to Live happily and don’t have to go against your will for the general trend.”
Zhaowei was indeed not a person against her will, so she dared to ignore the silence of the imperial censor and impeach him in front of Yao Heshou to establish a party and cut off the northern territory to make a living.
And the relationship between their brother and sister has gradually become discordant since then.
It was dark at night, and red gauze lanterns were hung in the corridors under the eaves. The warm light was full, and the light was even brighter than during the day.
Ping Yan, who was dressed as a coachman, ran over happily and told Qi Lingzhan that the matter was done, "Han Feng is really soft-eared. It's no wonder that Zheng Wuniang has the ability. I saw him carrying the purse given by Wuniang, which is better than buying it for his mother." The pig's head meat is still tightly packed, hey, the young master is also very good at predicting things, how do you know that he must be fooled?"
Qi Lingzhan lazily gathered the cloak around him and said: "All the calculations are just the words 'to suit one's own ambitions'. Mrs. Han is shallow and eager, so she can be tempted by getting a job in the capital for her son; Feng only met Zhaowei once and nodded to marry her. He must be a passionate lover who cares about her. If Wu Niang is willing to do this, he can't leave."
Hearing this, Pingyan understood and exclaimed, "How wonderful, how wonderful." Qi Lingzhan raised his hand to shut him up, and turned around to see Zhaowei walking along the verandah.
She wore a festive red gown, with a circle of snow-white mink velvet rolled with gold thread along the skirt. The hair is tied up in a double bun, because the hair is so dense and thick, it looks like two Wuluoshan mountains are pressed down. It is studded with pearls and big red silk flowers, which makes the oval face as white as a silver plate, full of life and hope.
This is a common outfit worn by girls aged 12 or 13. My mother must have subconsciously thought that she was still young, so she made her a dress like this again this year.
Seeing that she was still holding a food box in her hand, Qi Lingzhan said silently in his heart, like a boy delivering blessings.
Zhaowei asked Pingyan to bring over a small table, put the food box on the table and opened it. There were five or six glutinous rice balls in a casserole inside. She took a spoon to scoop the glutinous rice balls into a bowl, poured some more milky white soup, and then handed the bowl to Qi Lingzhan.
Qi Lingzhan took a bite, and the mellow sesame filling burst through the glutinous rice skin and poured out. It was a rare food he liked.
"How is it? Does it smell good?" Zhaowei looked at him earnestly, "There are still two or three hours before the New Year's Eve dinner. Mom asked me to give you a bowl first to fill your stomach. She specifically told you to use a casserole to serve it. It's so cold. slow."
Qi Lingzhan slowly blew the glutinous rice balls in the spoon and asked: "My mother feels sorry for me, but what are you trying to do? You didn't replace my glutinous rice balls with kuding filling, but you went all the way to make this trip. What do you want from me?" "
"My brothers and sisters, what can I ask for?"
Zhaowei didn't hide it. When he saw that he had finished the five or six glutinous rice balls, he said confidently: "I heard that court officials above the fourth rank will receive invitations from Xianghui Tower. I know that my brother is very fond of Wasi Baiji." I’m not interested, can you get me two, and I’ll take my uncle to see them for a while.”
Qi Lingzhan put down the bowl, looked at her and said, "Uncle has traveled all over the country, and he has a lot of experience. You heard that the Douchi team is coming to Beijing this year, and you want to join in the fun, right?"
