Tanhualang

As soon as the twelfth lunar month entered, the weather became colder and colder.

This day Shen Jing was just about to go off duty, when he was stopped by Lu Meng, he breathed into the palm of his hand, and said: "Come out with me to drink later. It's so cold, it's suitable to eat a few pots to warm up. And Yu Zhijing and the heads of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials."

Shen Jing hesitated a little: "I'm afraid it will be too late again."

These days, when he was off duty every day, Zhao Heng took him to the new yard, where he sat and slept, and the two of them were almost together.

There were two times in the middle, he was delayed due to official business, and he went back late, so he couldn't have dinner with Zhao Heng.Although Zhao Heng doesn't show it on the face, but every night, he always finds a place between the pillows and mats, so that now Shen Jing doesn't dare to return late.

Seeing his hesitation, Lu Meng made a gesture of dissatisfaction: "It's better to stay later. Take a bath tomorrow and sleep more. Since you came back from Jiangnan, how long has it been since you went out with us? Our friendship of the same year also needs to be in touch from time to time. Everlasting love. If you go on like this, we will ignore you."

Shen Jing hurriedly explained with a smile: "It's really something at home."

Lu Meng said: "You are a widow, what great things can happen in your family?"

Smiling quietly, without changing his face, he said: "To be honest, I went back to the south of the Yangtze River with Mr. Zhuo, and met an old friend."

As he spoke, he recounted the incident of meeting his righteous sister Cao Xiaoyu in Huzhou, and finally explained: "I have asked someone to bring my eldest sister and the child here. I think I will arrive in the capital in a few days. thing."

Lu Meng nodded and said, "You can be regarded as being kind and righteous. But the two of them, mother and son, have come to the capital, where do they live?"

As he spoke, he reminded Shen Jing: "Don't mind if I say something more. Although she is a sister, she is not biological after all. It is always inconvenient for you to live together. What's more, you are not married yet, so you have to be careful to avoid suspicion. People Words are terrible, and it would be bad if there were any rumors. In my opinion, even if you spend a few more money, you'd better go out and rent another yard for their mother and son. Don't go wrong."

Shen Jing nodded and said: "Thank you for the reminder. This is natural. I have already planned it. Their mother and son are newcomers, and they are not familiar with the place, so it is inconvenient to go out to live. When the time comes, let them live in the current yard, and I will move out to another place. Just find a place."

After hearing this, Lu Meng couldn't help but praise him: "You are really kind."

After finishing speaking, he smiled and said, "No wonder, I said that you don't invite me to your house for dinner and drink these days. I was wondering if you were a 'Golden House Cangjiao', but I didn't expect it to be for this reason. My little one I count on you."

Although Lu Meng's words were not right, they were not far away, Shen Jing couldn't help feeling guilty after hearing this: Isn't there a beautiful prince who is hidden by him every day?

But he said with a smile on his face: "I would like to hide the beauty in the golden house. But I don't know which unlucky beauties are willing to hide in those shabby houses of mine?"

Lv Meng dragged him to go out, and said with a smile: "Don't underestimate yourself. Not to mention the identity of Tanhua Lang, you are handsome, but you were chosen by the Holy One and hand-picked for marriage. Want to marry me?" To be hidden by you, you have to have enough status to be worthy of it!"

Shen Jing heard the words and sighed inwardly: Hiding a majestic Prince Yu, this identity should be enough, right?

The few people Lv Meng invited that night included Jinshi from the same discipline, editors from the Imperial Academy and the Six Departments. They were all young people, so they were very open-minded.

Two hot pots were hung on the table, one was stewing mutton, and the other was dried fish stewed in a casserole. The smoked room was warm and fresh, and the aroma was overflowing.As soon as everyone was seated, they greeted each other a few words before lifting their chopsticks, first ate some hot soup and hot dishes to warm up their bodies, and then two or three pairs toasted each other.

Lu Meng talked the most, but Shen Jing talked the least. The two happened to sit together again, only to hear Lu Meng talking non-stop with one joke after another in a strong Cantonese accent; He didn't say a word, just smiled at the side, and others didn't know whether he was listening to Lu Meng's joke or was distracted.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone drank happily, and they talked more.

Lu Meng began to tease an elderly scholar Meng from the Hanlin Academy again, saying that he secretly married a third concubine a few days ago, but now his main wife found out, and brought someone to take the concubine back home , Poor that Meng Xueshi, too scared to go home, and sleeps in the yamen every day.

Everyone laughed for a while while talking, and drank a few more glasses, Yu Zhijing took the conversation: "Didn't you say that Prince Yu chose a concubine last time? I just heard some adults from the Ministry of Rites chatting today, saying that Prince Yu It seems that several families have been selected for the candidate of the princess, and now they are waiting for the judgment of the Holy One."

Immediately someone asked: "Whose family's young lady?"

Yu Zhijing held the wine glass and thought for a long time: "It seems to have mentioned the family of King Shouye, the King of Jijiu in the Imperial College, and the family of Shang Maoshi, a scholar of Wuyingdian University."

"Tsk tsk! You can tell just by looking at these two!" Li Xiushi, the chief official who came with him, sighed immediately after hearing this, "These two are the leaders of civil servants in the world. Prince Yu Now that he has the military power in his hands, if he gets another father-in-law like this, he will win over half of the officials of the imperial court. The Holy Majesty treats this younger brother with extreme favor and trust."

Someone murmured: "The courtier is too favored, I'm afraid it may not be a good thing. It is said that His Royal Highness Prince Yu has a very violent temper. It seems that he openly contradicted the queen at the state banquet."

Shen Jing, who had not spoken all the time, put down his wine glass when he heard the words, and said in a warm voice: "There are many rumors in the market, and I am afraid that these rumors are not true. I have stayed in the palace for a while, and I have also been with His Royal Highness Prince Yu. It looks serious. Some, but I have never seen someone lose their temper. They are also very lenient to the servants."

Li Xiushi next to him answered, "Shen Jing's words are not bad. It is also rumored that His Royal Highness Prince Yu doesn't take the Holy One seriously. I don't think it's true. I heard that in the past, every time the Holy Majesty violated the harmony of the dragon body, King Yu would personally serve him. Illness, guarded it all the time, and never pretended to be in the hands of others. I don’t know if it’s true, if it’s true, it’s no wonder the Holy One favors him so much.”

A head of the Ministry of Rites who came with Yu Zhijing nodded and said: "This is indeed true. The last few days when the emperor was in the wind and cold, I happened to be on duty at night, and I saw King Yu come out of the palace with the imperial doctor with my own eyes. I heard from the eunuchs in the palace that His Royal Highness King Yu was taught and raised by the Holy Majesty since he was a child.

Yu Zhijing nodded and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Yu must have had a deep affection for the deceased princess, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed with her for so many years. But judging by the posture this time, the matter of accepting the concubine this time should be That's right too."

But Lu Meng sighed from the side: "In my opinion, your gossip is really unreasonable. What kind of mind are we talking about when other people marry a daughter-in-law? I'm just worried. It's almost the Chinese New Year, but my wife is far away in Guangzhou. Know when we can meet again."

Li Xiushi smiled and said, "That's not necessarily the case. Prince Yu accepting a concubine, how can it be as simple as us people marrying a daughter-in-law? The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the queen, and Ming Degong are all watching eagerly, wishing that they could Having an extra girl who looks more like a fairy can win over this Prince Yu, who holds military power. This is a matter of controlling the situation, and it is a matter of great importance to the state."

Most of the family members of these young people are not in Beijing, and they are not in a hurry to go back, so they talked and ate wine, and it was getting late.

Everyone chattered at one another, Shen Jing listened silently the whole time, drinking one cup after another, until finally he was seven or eight points drunk.

As the hour approached the third watch, Li Xiushi and his colleagues from the Ministry of Officials staggered to their feet and said goodbye: "We will be on duty tomorrow, so let's take our leave first."

Lu Meng, Shen Jing and Yu Zhijing were left to continue drinking around the stove.

Among the three, Yu Zhijing was the oldest, stable and honest.Seeing that Shen Jing had filled the wine glass again, he put the wine glass aside and persuaded him: "You have almost drunk tonight. Be careful that you won't be able to go home later."

"Hey, Brother Yu, you're spoiling the fun." Lu Meng raised his hand to snatch the wine glass from Yu Zhijing's hand, and handed it to Shen Jing, "It's rare for Shen Jing to be happy today, so what are you afraid of drinking a few more glasses? Sleep more tomorrow That's it. I asked the shopkeeper just now, there is a carriage here, let's hire a carriage to go back together later, and send Shen Jing first."

Yu Zhijing gave him a squinting look: "You're still persuading others, and you're almost drunk. Later, if you two drink too much, let's see who will carry you two home?"

Hearing this, Lu Meng snatched Shen Jing's glass in a shy manner: "Okay, don't drink it, or Brother Yu won't carry you later."

Hearing the words, Shen Jing slowly raised his head, his drunken eyes seemed to be watery, looked at them one by one, tapped his fingers on the table a few times, and said with a smile word by word: "It's rare to be so interested today...Brother Yu, Brother Lu, don't worry. I can walk by myself."

As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass again, raised his head and drank it down.

Lu Meng was taken aback by his look, and it took a while to recover.He was also a little drunk at this time, holding the wine glass, turned his head to Yu Zhijing, and smiled with his tongue out: "Tsk tsk, look at Xiao Shen's eyes just now, they were watery, and when I glanced over, I felt that the bones were going to hurt." Soft—no wonder he was caught by the Holy Spirit."

"Your bones are weak because you drank too much." Yu Zhijing shook her head helplessly, looked back at Shen Jing, hesitated, and sincerely persuaded, "Xiao Shen, there are no outsiders here, I have a saying here, I don’t know if I should say it or not.”

Shen Jing put down his wine glass: "Brother Yu, please tell me."

Yu Zhijing put away the wine glass in front of him, lifted the teapot and filled it up for him: "Drink a sip of tea to wake up your mind. Listen to what I say, if you don't like it, just treat it as a joke."

Shen Jing smiled and said, "I'm all ears."

Yu Zhijing said earnestly and earnestly: "As the saying goes, when a man gets married, you are not too young. We have entered the court for more than half a year, but the Holy Majesty has not made decisions for you for a long time. The Holy Majesty favors His Royal Highness King Yu. Where is your age?" If you can speak, you might as well go to him and ask him to help you inquire about the holy will. Otherwise, if you wait for so long, all the major events in life will be delayed."

After Shen Jing listened to this speech, with half-drunk eyes hanging down, she stayed for a while before realizing what Yu Zhijing meant, raised her head and stared at Yu Zhijing, and said with a smile: "Brother Yu means... ...ask His Royal Highness King Yu to go to the Holy Majesty to ask him, so that the Holy Majesty can be a matchmaker for me and say a marriage—is that what you mean?"

Yu Zhijing nodded: "That's what it means."

As soon as the words were finished, Shen Jing pushed the tea bowl in front of her, let out a "ha" laugh, and then leaned on the table and laughed loudly.

He leaned on his arms and laughed for a long time, until he finally choked, and then coughed violently again, the coughing was earth-shattering.

Yu Zhijing hurriedly stepped forward to pat him on the back. When Shen Jing finally stopped coughing and raised her head, she saw that half of his face was covered with tears, and she couldn't help being startled: "Why are you coughing up tears? Hurry up!" Shinobu, don't cough up your throat."

Seeing this, Lu Meng hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to Shen Jing with a smile: "Wipe it quickly. I don't know, but I thought it was crying."

Shen Jing waved her hand, took out her handkerchief from her sleeve, slowly wiped away the tears, and said with a smile, "Probably weeping with joy."

"Okay, okay." Lu Meng stood up as he spoke, took a break from the bar, staggered to the side, picked up a pile of robes, and raised his hands to Shen Jing and Yu Zhijing: "It's really too late to make a fuss today. .It's time to go back."

Yu Zhijing was the most sober among the three of them, so she went to the backyard to ask the shopkeeper to borrow a carriage.Shen Jing and Lu Meng were supported by Xiao Er, one by one, and walked out staggeringly.

When he came out of the restaurant, he saw a large carriage parked not far away, with a lantern hanging in front of it.Lu Meng squinted his eyes for a long time, then turned his head and smiled at Shen Jing: "Hey, what a magnificent carriage!"

As he said that, he wanted to go over there, but was dragged back by Xiaoer: "Oh, my son! No way! That's not our carriage!"

Shen Jing also looked up, but laughed: "Ah, that's too bad...he's here to pick me up."

As he spoke, he took his arm out of the little second hand, and walked over step by step. The anxious little second dragged Lu Meng to catch up: "Wrong! Wrong!"

It happened that Yu Zhijing came out from the backyard, and when she saw this, she hurriedly got off the carriage and chased after her: "Xiao Shen! Xiao Shen! Come back quickly!"

Unexpectedly, the coachman on the carriage went forward first, supported Shen Jing's arm and went to the carriage: "Sir, be careful."

Yu Zhijing and Xiaoer were stunned for a moment, and when they came to their senses, Yu Zhijing hurriedly stepped forward to hold Shen Jing, and apologized to the driver with a smile: "I'm sorry, brother, my friend is very drunk, I mistook the carriage—”

"Master Yu?" The coachman smiled and saluted Yu Zhijing, his manner was sharp and his words were capable, "I have not admitted my mistake, I am here to pick up Mr. Shen. I have been waiting here for a long time."

Yu Zhijing was taken aback for another moment, and turned to look at the carriage.

The light leaked through the gaps in the curtains on one side of the carriage, but the curtain at the front of the carriage was thick and heavy, covering the carriage airtightly.

Yu Zhijing hesitated for a while, but still did not let go of Shen Jing, tugged him, and asked in a low voice: "Xiao Shen...do you know this little brother?"

Shen Jing raised her sleepy eyes, looked at the coachman, and nodded: "I recognize... this is Tian Zheng."

Only then did Yu Zhijing hesitate to let go of his hand, and the driver saluted him again, saying politely: "Thank you, Mr. Yu, for taking care of my husband."

Yu Zhijing Nuonuo returned the salute, stepped back, and supported Lu Meng.

He watched from afar as the coachman helped Shen Jing get into the carriage.

Before the coachman let go, the curtain was lifted from the inside, and a pair of hands stretched out to support Shen Jing, and led him into the carriage.But with a flash in front of his eyes, Yu Zhijing could see clearly that the sleeves of the dark green robe protruding from the carriage were embroidered with gold thread, the hands in the cuffs had slender and strong fingers, and there was a jade wrench on the thumb, which was obviously a talent for martial arts practitioners There will be a pair of hands.