On the Mid-Autumn Festival, both Ru Lan and Ming Lan were very busy. The Wei family did not have a garden this year, but many wealthy families in Bianjing City sent invitations to the Wei family.
These people were either kind to Wei Chen, were Wei Chen's immediate superiors, or had close friendships with Wei Chen. In short, none of them could refuse.
So, on the wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival, Wei Chencheng was surprised to announce that Ru Lan and Minglan followed Wei Chen, and the couple visited eight gardens in one day.
From the Han family of Longtuge bachelors to the Liu family of Hanlin bachelors, from the Lu family of the Ministry of Industry to the Wang family of Dali Temple ministers, as well as the Qi family of Duke Qi, the Gu family of Ningyuan Hou, and so on.
Rulan and Minglan went around with smiles on their faces like two social butterflies. They were gentle, virtuous, and generous, and received praises from many girls. But at the end of the day, they were almost falling apart.
After returning home, Rulan and Minglan were so tired that they fell asleep, sleeping like two little pigs, as soundly as a dead body.
Wei Chen was also very tired, but his physical strength was still enough. He originally wanted to drink wine and admire the moon with his wives, have some fun under the moonlight, and have a warm and peaceful moon-viewing activity for the whole family, but he couldn't do it no matter what. Rulan and Minglan couldn't wake up from their deep sleep.
Even though Wei Chen gave Ru Lan and Ming Lan a complete massage, they just hummed a few times unconsciously and still slept soundly.
Wei Chen was quite helpless when he saw this, so he had no choice but to put away the distracting thoughts in his heart, and fell asleep peacefully with his delicate body as soft and fragrant as orchids on his left and right.
On the morning of the first day after the festival, after Wei Chen did his morning exercises, he heard from Yuan An that a visitor was coming. It turned out that it was Sheng Changbai, Qi Heng, and Sheng Changfeng who were students from the Sheng Family School who came together to meet their teacher Zhuang Jun today.
Although Zhuang Jun had a cold personality, he was very happy to see his former students coming to visit him. The teachers and students talked all morning. After lunch in Zhuang Jun's courtyard, Sheng Changbai and others stood up to say goodbye to the teacher.
After coming out of Zhuang Jun's courtyard, Wei Chen led the three of them to the back garden of his home. They spread a bamboo mat under the ginkgo tree in the garden, placed a low table on the mat, and the four of them sat on one side.
The female servant leaned over to fill the teacups of the four people, and then consciously retreated into the distance.
Wei Chen picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then closed his eyes to reflect. The cool autumn wind was blowing the fallen leaves on the trees. Occasionally, a withered yellow leaf swayed and fell on him. The wind blew again and floated into the distance again. .
The picture was quite peaceful and beautiful, but Sheng Changbai and the others seemed a little agitated.
The incident of Rong Feiyan's abduction was already causing quite a stir in Bianjing City. It was said that after Concubine Rong in the palace learned about the incident, she cried and fainted three times, which made Zhao Zhen extremely distressed.
Under Zhao Zhen's instructions, all three squads of Kaifeng government officials went out, blocked the roads, and searched the entire city. Now even the Imperial City Department was dispatched, but except for the carriage, they still found nothing.
Sheng Changbai sighed: "It's been so long, but I still can't find anyone, and I don't see anyone extorting money. I'm afraid the Rong family girl has met with something unexpected."
Everyone thought the same way. If a weak woman disappeared all night, what good ending could there be?
Qi Heng frowned and said: "At the feet of the Emperor, in the most virtuous place, there are such vicious thieves running rampant. The governor of Kaifeng cannot absolve himself of the blame. I will definitely take part in his crime!"
Of course Wei Chen knew about the major events that happened in Bianjing City today, but he vaguely guessed that there were shadows of King Yong and King Yan behind this matter, and did not want to discuss it in depth.
He immediately put down the tea cup, looked at Qi Heng, and asked with a smile: "Yuan Ruo, I heard that your marriage has been decided?"
Hearing Wei Chen suddenly mention this matter, Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng both turned to look at Qi Heng with smiles. Qi Heng's handsome face was slightly red, he lowered his head and whispered: "It was just decided a few days ago that it belongs to the family of the Minister of Rites Shen. daughter."
Wei Chen smiled and nodded. There was only one Minister Shen in the Ministry of Rites of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and that was Shen Zhengyi, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites.
The Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites is not a small official. This position is qualified to directly enter the cabinet and become a bachelor. Qi Heng has got a good marriage!
Speaking of which, in the original plot, Shen Zhengyi was Qi Heng's father-in-law, but that happened after the rebellion.
According to the original plot, Qi Heng first married the head of Jiacheng County, and then married the daughter of the Shen family after the death of the head of Jiacheng County.
And the incident of Rong Feiyan's kidnapping, which is currently making a fuss in Bianjing City, is closely related to Qi Heng in the original plot.
However, there were some deviations in this life. Rong Feiyan was kidnapped not on the Shangyuan Festival, but on the Mid-Autumn Festival. It seemed that it was not necessarily the work of King Yong, and Qi Heng also crossed the line of marrying the head of Jiacheng County. In one step, he directly made an engagement with the Shen family.
In the final analysis, all these changes were actually due to Qi Heng passing the Jinshi exam ahead of schedule.
In the original plot, Qi Heng was just a playboy from a lord's family, but now, he not only holds the title of Jinshi, but also a minister of discipline with the power to correct and impeach hundreds of officials. Even important court officials such as Kaifeng Fu Yin, It also means impeachment.
The difference between them cannot be measured in a few words.
As far as Wei Chen knew, the Lord of Jiacheng County and Rong Feiyan still fell in love with Qi Heng as in the original plot, but there was no such thing as King Yong detaining the Duke of Qi and forcing Qi Heng to marry the Lord of Jiacheng County.
the reason is simple.
King Yong could easily rub the titular Duke of Qi's palace, but he could not force a censor to submit.
Not to mention that he hasn't even become a prince yet, even if he does become an emperor in the future, he will have to pay a corresponding price for doing so.
This is why, after Qi Heng passed the examination and became a Jinshi, the Duke of Qi sent his son to the Metropolitan Procuratorate despite all the favors.
The identity of Qi Heng's censor is a talisman for the current Duke of Qi.
And when Princess Pingning does not need to face too much external pressure and has the power to freely choose her in-laws, Prince Yong's Palace will naturally be excluded.
Even if King Yong becomes the emperor in the future and the Lord of Jiacheng County is honored as a princess, so what?
In the eyes of ordinary people, the princess's consort is already an extremely noble person, but for a Jinshi with a bright future, becoming the consort is definitely not a good choice.
Therefore, Princess Pingning only considered it briefly, declined the olive branch offered by Princess Yong, and resolutely chose Shen Zhengyi, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, as her in-law.
Princess Yong and her daughter were naturally unwilling to accept this result, but they could not change anything.
However, even though Qi Heng was no longer the trigger, Rong Feiyan was still kidnapped, which puzzled Wei Chen.
Qi Heng has already made an engagement with the Shen family. Does King Yong still need to deal with Rong Feiyan?
Maybe not.
Is it true, as some people have speculated, that because Rong Feiyan had a few quarrels with Princess Yong at the banquet, King Yong and Princess Yong were going to kill her?
Although this is not completely impossible, Wei Chen always feels that it is not the case.
If it wasn't King Yong, who would have done it?
It couldn't really be such a coincidence that a group of vicious thieves just happened to appear, right?
Wei Chen didn't believe there was such a coincidence.
There must be sufficient motivation, careful planning, and sufficient strength...
After thinking for a moment, a vague guess gradually emerged in Wei Chen's mind.
Thinking of this, Wei Chen's face couldn't help but look a little solemn. It seems that there is really no one who is qualified to participate in the battle for the final reserve position...
