little son-in-law

This is a small wine shop in Linhe on the edge of Shengjing City. A simple thatched shed was built facing the Huijiang River, and a dozen tables were placed along the river.

"Master, it's getting late, look...look at this..." The owner of the shop, dressed in coarse cloth and patched cotton, rubbed his hands, and stood in front of a table in embarrassment. The young man on the table He just poured himself a drink, and seemed to not feel the chill of Shengjing's late October night at all.This young son came here in Youshi, and it has been two hours now. He only ordered a jar of sorghum wine, and he didn't ask for side dishes or meals. His small wine shed is near the edge of the city, and he is usually a villager who enters the city. Resting with the porter for a while, and getting used to rough country people, this young man clearly came from a wealthy family in Shengjing City. Even if it was just a jar of ordinary sorghum wine, this young man drank it gracefully and naturally, People who don't know will think that it must be some fine wine.

The person who looked like a guard beside him, seeing this scene, the boss pulled him aside, stuffed him with a piece of broken silver, and said: "The store owner goes to rest first."

The shopkeeper looked at the money in his hand with surprise and joy. On weekdays, when the business was good, he could only collect a hundred and ten cash per day. As for the money, it was almost impossible to see. It is expected that he met a nobleman today.

He hurriedly replied: "Young Master, you can't just drink in such a cold day, there are also some dishes, may I ask the wife to cook some side dishes for the Young Master?"

"No need, let my young master stay here by himself, so don't come and disturb him." The guard sent him off.

The shopkeeper didn't dare to say any more, so he hurriedly called Qianer, and after a while, he heard the woman who was still waiting by the stove shout excitedly in a low voice.Covered by her man, the two of them were cooking in the stove, flipping through the sweet potatoes in the stove from time to time, discussing something excitedly.

Nangong quietly took a few glances.His eyes were too dark to shine.

"Master, would you like me to go over and tell them to keep their voices down?" Gu Shisan asked in a low voice.

Nangong Jing looked back deeply, waved her hand, and poured another glass of wine herself. The rough brewed sorghum wine entered her throat like a tongue of fire, which was extremely choking, but also refreshing.

"Has the edict arrived?"

Gu Shisan didn't know that when the master asked him this sentence, he was just talking to himself. Did the master hope to hear whether the imperial decree had arrived or not? At that time, the prince had already left the palace with the imperial decree, and it must have been announced at this moment." In fact, what Gu Shisan thought in his heart was that it was already past the time of Haishi, and it was three hours, and he probably could have announced the decree even if he went out of the city. It's been a while, let alone Prince Yu's Mansion, this is the closest mansion to the imperial palace.

"En." Nangong Jing replied lightly, expressing that he heard it.

Gu Shisan returned to the position of the guard behind Nangong Jingshen.

If Rong Jin knows all this one day, will she hate me?

Even if you hate me, I won't let go.

Even if you hate me, I will be entangled with you for the rest of my life.

Even if you hate me, I don't want to repeat the mistakes my father made.

The white porcelain wine glass in his hand shattered abruptly.

Gu Shisan glanced at the powdered wine glass on the table, asked the shopkeeper for another one in silence, boiled it in hot water, put it on the table, and retreated to his seat.

The year his father died in battle, he was already seven years old, and he could already remember many things clearly.

The father in my memory is a bold and bright person. He has many friends. Every time he comes back from the border, many people in the family will come to visit. The father likes military generals more than civilian officials. He occasionally complains when the family eats It is said that civil servants are so verbose even when they say something, it is not as straightforward as military generals.He likes to go out drinking and hunting with friends.

Every year he spends most of his time at the northern border, and sometimes he doesn't come back during the Chinese New Year, but he will definitely come back every year on the uncle's birthday, and he has many friends when he comes back, so he doesn't spend much time at home all year round.

The family's heirs are not prosperous, or it should be said that the whole Nangong royal family's heirs have always been weak. Even if the emperor's uncle now has three thousand beauties in the harem, for more than ten years, he has only one son and one daughter born by the empress.The father always treated the three children equally, and never favored each other. At that time, Yuanyuan was still young, and the father often hugged her, making the young Yuanyuan giggle.The father seems to like Zhiyuan more, maybe Zhiyuan's temperament is more similar to the father, but the father has never treated him badly, on the contrary, the father even seems to value him the most.Sitting in his arms with him in his arms, the king's father often said to him: Jingshen is the eldest son of our Prince Yu's mansion. From now on, he must be filial to your mother and take good care of his younger brothers and sisters.Every time he wanted to raise his head, his father would hold him deeply in his arms.

For many years after his father passed away, he often thought of what his father said at that time, but his face was always confused.

When the father said those words, did he already know that one day he would stay forever in the place where he shed his blood.

The father likes to live in autumn, and he mostly lives there every time he comes back. His mother doesn't seem to have much reaction. Instead, it's Aunt Li. He has seen her shed tears several times in secret.

In fact, there were many times when he didn't understand why his father married Aunt Li. His mother was a lady brought up by a big family, and it was a marriage bestowed by the emperor. Naturally, he couldn't refuse, but Aunt Li was just a refugee picked up by his father on the way. At first, she was kept by her side as a personal maid. She was pretty, but her temperament was too weak and her health was not good. She spent half a year in a hospital bed.

Until later, probably three years after the death of the father, he also inadvertently broke into the secret room of Qiu Shangju, seeing the paintings in the whole room and still not understanding, Aunt Li carefully From the looks of it, there are three or four points between the eyebrows that look like Uncle Huang, and it's only three or four points. If he hadn't seen the paintings that filled the room, he probably would never have thought about that, after all, it was too shocking. Yes, his father and king have loved his elder brother with a desperate and pious attitude throughout his life, that existence that is beyond reach.

When he was taken into the palace, got closer to the top of the royal family, and saw the secret books about the royal family in the dark study room that would never see the light of day, he realized that the family seemed to be cursed and fell into an insane state. The father of Lun's relationship is not the first nor the only one.And most of them didn't end well.

His father ended his life at the age of 26 by dying in battle.

Why not even Uncle Huang?

Others may not know, but he has been with that person for more than ten years, no matter how secretive he is, after more than ten years, he will always find some clues. Falling in love with someone, and that person is his brother-in-law—Linyang Rongxi.

He didn't want this seemingly cursed fate, he wanted to be with Rong Jin forever.So don't blame me, Rong Jin, before you become my relatives, let me cut it off with my own hands, what you have suffered today, I will double the compensation to you in the future.From the day I met you, I was doomed not to let go.

He also knew that his temperament was a bit cold by nature, so when he first learned the truth, it was difficult for him to understand his father's choice to choose such a heavy relationship and wait for it for the rest of his life.Until I met Rong Jin.

Daning has a history of more than 500 years since it was established. In these 500 years, although not all emperors are guaranteed to be wise, there has never been one that is too shameful. Generally speaking, Daning is considered to be under the rule of the Nangong royal family. Haiyan River is clear, the politics is clear, and the people live and work in peace and contentment.However, this 500-year-long peace period has brought about another disadvantage, that is, the powerful family. Some families are growing stronger and stronger, and even intermarry and link up with each other. If one prospers, one loses the other, they form a larger interest group.For their own benefit, these groups began to place their relatives and friends in various departments of the imperial court, protégés and old officials, and wantonly wooed officials. Let these cronies run amok.

When the emperor's uncle came to the throne, he had to be said to be a talented emperor. After he took the throne, he didn't make drastic reforms at first, but it was calm for a few years, and those who were temporarily quiet because of the new emperor's ascension to the throne began to act unscrupulously. People collect their evidence, while wooing people they can woo, and among them, the Prince Rong's Mansion, which supported Uncle Huang's ascension to the throne, is the most important force.For hundreds of years, it has controlled one-third of Daning's troops and guarded the longest border in Daning.As far as he knows, Prince Rong's Mansion turned to Uncle Huang's side at the beginning, and it was precisely because of the firm support of Prince Rong's Mansion that Uncle Huang started what was called "Tongxi Change" in the history of Daning. Change, those rich and powerful families should be suppressed, those who should be punished should be punished, the emperor's uncle insisted on cutting grass and roots, and whoever ransacked their homes, regardless of women, children, old or young, would not leave any survivors.In those years, the ground of Caishikou Execution Ground in the capital city was said to be red even after digging a finger deep.Then Uncle Huang promulgated a series of reforms, and politics was quickly cleared up.The imperial power was stabilized.From this aspect, Uncle Huang is a far-sighted and talented emperor.But on the other hand, because of the excessive killings during that reform, he was criticized by historians and was given the reputation of "rule governance and lack of benevolence".

But it was also at this time that a well-known change occurred, and the royal family and Prince Rong's mansion broke apart.Although the eldest princess of the royal family, the number one beauty in the capital—the eldest princess Xilan, was married to Prince Rong.However, Prince Rong has disappeared from the capital since then. Even a year later, the eldest princess returned to Beijing alone with her child, but Prince Rong did not set foot in the capital again. Yes, the Nangong royal family and Prince Rong's mansion are completely broken.

They can talk about everything, but the most talked about is nothing more than: the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked, and the bird is hidden.After those big clans were cleaned up, not to mention those who were suppressed and killed, but those who remained were mostly closely related to the royal family, such as the queen’s natal family, the Lin family, or those who had been loyal to the emperor for generations, such as the Yun family. Some are from the Qingliu family, such as the Mo family, and the rest are not able to overcome the big waves.And in this, the Rong family with a large army in their hands and the contribution of this assistance can be said to be extremely powerful.This undoubtedly became the thorn in the emperor's eyes, and it was impossible to say that the Nangong royal family had no suspicion of the Rong family.

What happened at that time, it is said that there are noses and eyes, and someone saw it with their own eyes. When the emperor borrowed money to treat King Rong, he secretly poured poison into the wine, intending to poison Prince Rong to death, but was noticed by Prince Rong. Escorted by the guards, he returned to Linyang overnight.

But what surprised everyone for many years was that Prince Rong's mansion did not rebel because of this.What also puzzled everyone was the attitude of the current emperor. The cold attitude towards the rich and powerful families at that time was surprisingly tolerant towards the Rong Wangfu. The rewards from the palace have never been short of half a cent.

Maybe it wasn't until this time that everyone began to realize that the reason why Prince Rong's mansion didn't rebel was because it had been planning in secret all these years, and the reason why the emperor didn't show any emotion was because the emperor had already made arrangements in secret.

Nangong Jing deeply remembered the mutterings of the ministers who had heard outside the upper study room today. It is still like this in the court hall. It is estimated that the folks who do not know why, let alone how it has been passed on. It is estimated that several scripts have been published. As soon as the news of Rong Jin's divorce from Princess Qing Yun came out tomorrow, it would probably add to the conversation of everyone after dinner, and how embarrassing it would be.

The reputation of Prince Rong's mansion, which has been achieved with the blood of our ancestors for hundreds of years, will be wiped out tomorrow!

Nangong Jingshen's lips were filled with a sarcastic and cold smile, and he raised his glass to drink the wine in his hand.

And it was none other than himself who contributed to this. The Rong family has fallen to the point where it is today. If Uncle Huang is the spearhead that stabs the Rong family, then he is undoubtedly the sharpest part of the spearhead, which can ruthlessly penetrate the body. .

Rong Jin always thought that the secret room on that moonlit night was their first meeting, but in fact, it was earlier, when Uncle Huang had already decided to take action against the Rong family, as the saying goes: know yourself and the enemy, and you will win every battle.

He took the initiative to ask for orders to go to Linyang City, the capital of Nanchuan, to investigate. Linyang's Spring Festival in April is famous all over the world. At that time, Linyang is full of merchants and tourists, and his presence in it will not arouse suspicion.

In Linyang, he saw the kind of hibiscus flower that seemed to only exist in legends, and also saw the young man named after hibiscus, and from then on... forever.

Hibiscus trees have existed since ancient times, but they only grow in Nanchuan, especially in Linyang. If they are moved to other places, it is absolutely impossible to survive. Therefore, many people outside Nanchuan only know that hibiscus flowers are extremely beautiful, but they probably will not survive them all their lives. Never seen.

The hibiscus trees on Linyang's main street cover the sky and the sun, most of them are thousands of years old, and it takes four or five middle-aged men to embrace the thicker ones.

The hibiscus bloomed overnight, bloomed one day, and withered overnight. Fortunately, Nangong Jingshen got up early and arrived at the spring festival four or five days later. A few days before the spring festival, Nangong Jingshen walked the streets and alleys of Linyang City, This place is different from the grand atmosphere of opening and closing in the north of Shengjing, but it has a different meaning, it is such a breath of fresh air from the mist and rain, from the well-planned houses and bluestone slabs. The spaciousness of the road exudes crispness.The faces of the common people are full of busy and earnest satisfaction. There are even few beggars on the street, and you can often hear the respect and gratitude to the Rong Palace.In their mouths, this Prince Rong and his family are all good people, needless to say, Prince Rong is generous, benevolent, brave and good at fighting, defending a territory and protecting the safety of the people. Applying medicine, I heard that the medical skills are very good, but it is a pity that it is difficult for doctors to heal themselves. Princess Rong herself is not in good health. In the past few days, I have heard several women discussing that they will go to the temple on the day of the Spring Festival Concubine Rong prayed for blessings and disaster relief, and wished her good health as soon as possible.

He was a little curious that this son of Prince Rong was very fond of Prince Rong, so he named him Jin.The common people also have a lot of compliments, and they actually think that the word "hibiscus" is only suitable for the little prince.It is said that the son of the Rong family not only managed the successive floods of the Lingjiang River, planned the construction of Linyang City, but also set up a school, where children under the age of ten in each family could learn to read and count without school.It is said that this son can go to the battlefield to kill the enemy at the age of 14, and make military exploits... Nangong Jing sneered deeply, he didn't know anything else, as for military exploits, every time he sent troops to the border, he had to report to the court. Punishment, although the Southern Army is under the jurisdiction of Prince Rong's Mansion, Rong Xi did not treat it as his own private soldier. He reported what should be reported. He had read all those military newspapers, but he had never seen Rong Jin in it. name.

His first impression of Rong Jin's name was that when Rong Jin was ten years old, Rong Xi gave the emperor's uncle a son, requesting that Rong Jin, the eldest son of the Rong family, be named his son, which was regarded as the official establishment of Rong Jin's position as the heir.

At that time, he was reading some brochures that Uncle Huang had thrown him on the chair next to Uncle Huang.

There was a crisp sound, and the pen holder of the hard jadeite that King Myanmar paid tribute to was cut off at the middle. You must know that when King Myanmar paid tribute, he said that these hard jadeites were harder than rocks and indestructible.

Uncle Huang's blood stained the memorial with ink, and the words on the memorial were blurred by the blood, but it was still faintly visible, and it looked up: Rong Jin, mother, Rong's Yu Xuanxuan, Nan Shaoguo's family...

The day of the Spring Festival is coming soon. There are several ancient hibiscus trees next to the inn where Nangong Jingshen lives. When I opened the window before going to bed, I saw bare branches and only a few scattered small flower bags. In the early morning of the second day, I felt a fresh fragrance, which was not as strong as the general fragrance of flowers. It was as clear as a cold spring in the mountains. It was dark but ubiquitous. Come to think of it, it's no wonder that many temples in Nanchuan Prefecture also like to plant some hibiscus trees.

Open the window and look, the whole Linyang City is surrounded by a sea of ​​white flowers, whiter than snow, bigger than pear blossoms, and a bit more firm and biting.

After breakfast, the Spring Festival officially began. No one from the Prince Rong’s Mansion showed up. Linyang’s parent officer, a middle-aged man in a Daning sixth-grade navy blue official uniform, read a congratulatory speech as usual. It is to pray for the peace of the country and the people. If the weather is good this year, Nan Gongjing didn't listen carefully late at night.Then came the sound of firecrackers, newly decorated floats, people walking and dancing on stilts, followed by some cars decorated with ribbons, on which were sitting or standing immortals dressed by ordinary people, most of the people along the street Carrying a basket with flowers in it, it is said that if you sprinkle flowers to the gods you pray to, you will be blessed.Yesterday, I saw the proprietress picked all the peonies that were in full bloom in the garden of the inn, leaving none of the buds, but this Linyang is also interesting, even if the whole city is full of flowers, no one is going to climb the hibiscus .

Nangong Jingshen never liked these bustles, but she was greedy for the beauty of these hibiscus flowers.

Gu Shisan suggested: "Master, why don't you go for a walk by the river? There are also a lot of hibiscus trees by the Lingjiang River. Now that the people are all on the street, the riverside is more remote. It must be very quiet there."

Many years later, Nangong Jingshen asked herself whether she regretted going to the riverside that day, whether she regretted meeting Rong Jin, and the answer she got every time was that she had never regretted it, she was lucky, lucky to meet him in this life.

The young man in Tsing Yi who smiled at him amidst the hibiscus flowers in the sky was taken away by just one glance and lost his mind.

At that moment, he knew that maybe this was the person, this was the person.Perhaps what he has been waiting for all this time is the appearance of this person, and even this only smile is not for him, but for the young man in white who is the same age beside him.

But it doesn't matter, it will be his after all.

At that time, Gu Shisan was standing beside him, and he was shocked to find that the young master, who had always been cold and indifferent, had extremely deep possession and plunder in his eyes.

"Rong Jin, don't blame me," Nangong Jingshen drank the last glass of sorghum wine, turned and left.Gu Shisan hurriedly threw the money for the drink on the table, and followed closely behind.

The shopkeeper and his wife huddled beside the stove, trembling with fright, why did the two disappear in a blink of an eye.

The farther you go to the inner city, the brighter the lights are. Although it is late at night, the red lanterns hanging in front of every house will last all night.

Close to Prince Yu's Mansion.

"Master, look at home..." Gu Shisan stopped in his tracks.

Nangong Jingshen also saw that Prince Yu's mansion was brightly lit in the middle of the night.