[Seventy-five] Cat control the rivers and lakes

There was silence at the banquet, and even the sound of the wind suddenly stopped.Everyone stared at the emperor's young face, trying to find a flaw in it.

The queen sat calmly. Although Concubine Pang beside her kept a smile on her face, after all, that smile was not as natural as before.Under the table, the hands hidden in the sleeves were clenched into fists, and the sharp nails pressed against the hands in the palms, tightening bit by bit.

"Emperor, the Ai family knows your thoughts, but in the future, you have to ask Miss Gongsun herself." The queen mother suddenly interrupted everyone's thoughts, and also stopped a few people who wanted to rise up to oppose , "Today is the banquet hosted by the Ai family so that they can see the light of day again. It is not too late to discuss some things later."

The emperor was also shocked by his previous gaffe, smiled apologetically at the queen mother, and said, "The queen mother taught you the right thing. Come on, come on, everyone, you are welcome, eat and drink as much as you can!"

After the banquet, the Queen Mother went back to Yongshou Palace on the grounds of being tired, and Mei Niang took Gongsun Junruo to play around in the palace.It was a severe cold day, and although it was the coldest season, it was also the time when the plum blossoms were in full bloom.The plum blossoms in the garden, white, red and green, are not inferior to the flowers blooming in spring.

Shuttle under the plum tree, Gongsun Junruo looked at the plum blossoms on the branches, and touched the petals with his fingertips.The slight coolness of her fingertips calmed her heart instantly.

"Sister Gongsun, what's the matter, isn't she beautiful?" Mei Niang stood opposite her, smiling like a flower.Beside her is a red plum, which is in full bloom, making her smile more and more beautiful.The gold thread hanging from the eight-treasure hairpin was attached to her cheek, playful and lovely.

"Beautiful, it can make more money," Mei Niang said slowly, seeing the astonished expression on her face, "White plum clears away heat, red plum promotes blood circulation, green calyx plum clears throat, the flower can extract essence, and women often have a fragrance on their body. The flowers, leaf roots, etc. can be used as medicine, and the fruit can also be pickled into plums, a must-have snack for pregnant people, to relieve cough and thirst.”

With a stiff smile on her face, Mei Niang looked at Zhan Zhao begging for help, but she saw that the other party was leaning on the trunk of the plum tree, looking at Gongsun Junruo with a smile.The sunlight poured down on him, radiant.With a sudden heartbeat, she pressed her hand on her chest, and she took a silent step back.

That look was too gentle.In her impression, Zhan Zhao is gentle, but that kind of gentleness is only out of politeness to others, separated by an insurmountable distance, but his gentleness to Gongsun Junruo...not so much gentleness, Rather, it is more appropriate to say that it is pampering, tolerating everything and accepting everything, it is simply unbelievable.

Her heart was sour, she thought it would be him who attracted Gongsun Junruo, but unexpectedly it was Gongsun Junruo who attracted him.

Is she still a step late?

Looking away, she happened to see Gongsun Junruo's dodging eyes, not dodging her, but dodging... Zhan Zhao's.The blush on the earbones is so beautiful, just like the sunset at sunset, it appears and disappears secretly, so fast, so fast that one almost thinks it never appeared.

There are no words to describe her mood at the moment.She can be sure that the two of them are not attracted to each other, but to each other. It's just that one doesn't know and the other doesn't want to admit it.But obviously Gongsun Junruo has never shown any emotion towards him, why did she see it?Why did she discover this secret?

That's right, her favorite before was the fair and selfless Duke Bao, but Duke Bao completely rejected her, just like his attitude in business affairs, although he later apologized to her in person.

She knew that he had already given her face very much, but it was the first time she fell in love with someone, and that kind of sadness made her sad for a long time.Later, it was Zhan Zhao who enlightened her little by little, letting her get out of the sadness, and she gradually recovered.During that time, he not only became her best listener, but also her best friend. Many times at night, he would sit with her on the roof and watch the stars and the moon to ease her worries.And the more she gets along with him, the more she finds him good.His gentleness and thoughtfulness are like a big brother, taking care of you and caring for you in every possible way.Unknowingly, she has been attracted by him, and her eyes will follow him involuntarily. She is looking forward to the time when he will accompany Baogong to court every day, and the moment to talk to him, even if it is just a greeting or a look, it will make her happy sky.

She hoped that this kind of life would last longer. She obviously couldn't restrain her emotions, but it happened to be like a flood, and she couldn't stop it no matter what.She wanted to hide this love silently in her heart, because she was afraid that once Zhan Zhao found out that she liked him now, he would think that she was empathetic and flirtatious.She didn't want to make a bad impression on him, so even though it was hard to endure, she warned herself and gritted her teeth desperately.

However, when she thought that they would go on like this forever, he had other backs in his eyes. Was the original decision wrong?

In Yongshou Palace, the Empress Dowager was sitting on a chair with a serious face, the jadeite hairpin on her head was shaking slightly, and the shadow of the sun was mottled, pouring down on the ground. Even so, it still made the Yongshou Palace not warm.

"Huang Er, you are too impatient." She said suddenly, her whole body exuding majesty.

Concubine Pang sat below, lowering her head and chuckling.She knew that the Queen Mother would definitely take care of this matter, no, it was definitely, definitely.It seems that without her coming forward, that vixen Gongsun would never want to come in!

The emperor lowered his head slightly, "The empress mother taught me the right thing, and when I thought about it later, I found out that I was indeed a little impatient."

"The Ai family knows that you are interested in that girl Jun Ruo, but the Ai family can see that she is not the kind of person who clings to the powerful. During the time with the Ai family, she knew that she kept her duty. The Ai family likes her because of her indifferent temperament." The queen mother paused, and then said, "There are too few women in the world who can see wealth and splendor clearly."

"But the queen mother, the son feels that I am fully capable of keeping her in the palace and by my side."

The Empress Dowager sneered, she was afraid that Luohua wanted to be ruthless, but she didn't say these words after all.

Back in Kaifeng Mansion, as soon as he got off the carriage, Gongsun Junruo saw his elder brother Gongsun Ce waiting at the gate of the mansion.Seeing her getting out of the car, he hurriedly responded, looked left and right to make sure there was nothing wrong before he settled down.

In the following time, all the people in Kaifeng Mansion began to be busy with the Chinese New Year, and when the Chinese New Year happened, the thieves also began to run rampant.In the past, the yamen servants had to catch thieves and appease the people, and they had to help the family prepare the new year's goods for the New Year, which can be described as extremely busy. Fortunately, this year, there are three more girls in the house, and their burdens are relatively light. Saved a lot.

In the early morning of December 29, it was snowing in the sky, which was the first snow this winter.

Pieces of snow fell from the sky, falling on the streets, alleys, roofs and bare tree branches one after another.The streets were filled with the sound of children playing. Children in thick padded jackets and trousers faced the icy cold wind, opened their hands to let snowflakes fall into their palms, and watched it melt into a drop of water in their palms.And some naughty ones stick out their tongues to catch the snowflakes, wanting to taste the taste of snowflakes.

Zhan Zhao stood at the corner of the street, looking at the gray sky above his head, watching the snowflakes fall without blinking his eyes.

He was the last one on the tour back to the mansion. The four guards of Kaifeng Mansion were surrounding the stove to warm up the fire. Even though they were wearing thick clothes, they still couldn't resist the biting cold.

"What the hell weather, I'm almost turning into a zombie!" Zhao Hu moved his hand closer to the fire source, stomping his feet while gasping, "It wasn't so cold last year."

Dynasty on the side gave him a blank look, "You, don't blame God, believe it or not, he will bring you a drought next year, and you will have no harvest!"

When Zhao Hu heard this, he immediately closed his mouth, and then changed his words, "Yes, it's good to snow, and kill all the pests, so that next spring there will be a good harvest."

What he said caused the other three brothers to sneer.

"Hey! Every year during Chinese New Year, Kaifeng Mansion is deserted for a long time. I thought it would be more lively with a few more people this year, but I didn't expect it to be like this in the end." Facing the clear and cold courtyard, Zhang Long said with emotion.

Yes, everyone else has families and relatives, and even Xiaoyue, the elf, went back to the countryside with Gongsun Junruo, and there are only a few of them left. They are a few rough men who came from bandits, and they are left to control Kaifeng Mansion. Can it be deserted? ?

Ma Han chuckled, and said, "Actually, you can ask Miss Gongsun to take you with you. Anyway, you are strong and will make people happy."

Zhang Long gave him a blank look, as if he was too lazy to talk to him.

"You are all here." Zhan Zhao walked over, squeezed into the place Zhang Long vacated for him, and started to warm up.

"Hero Zhan, why did you come back so late?" Zhao Hu asked with a loud sneeze.

"I just caught a thief, so it's been a while."

The four fell silent.Speaking of which, the few of them did things hastily, who made it so cold outside?And tomorrow is the Chinese New Year, thinking that the thieves should call it a day and go home to celebrate the New Year, so I hurried back home after the tour.

"By the way, where is Mr. Bao?"

"My lord is in the study."

Zhao Hu was talking, when Bao Gong lifted the curtain and came out.Seeing that they were all there, he smiled, "So you are all here, where is Mr. Gongsun?"

"In the words of your lord, Mr. Gongsun has returned to the countryside."

"Oh..." Baogong was thoughtful, and then he remembered that Gongsun Ce and Gongsun Junruo had brought Xiaohong and Xiaoyue back to the village together, "I forgot about it."

"Adults have a lot of things to do, so it's reasonable to forget."

Bao Gong looked around the empty courtyard, and suddenly said, "How about we go to Mr. Gongsun's place together, what do you think?"

The four guards looked at me and I looked at you, but no one spoke to them.Who knows whether this is what Bao Gong said on a whim or if he really had such a plan. If it was a whim, who among them agreed, wouldn't it be a joke?It's better to keep silent.Although they really wanted to go outside, Kaifeng Mansion was too deserted.

"The subordinates think it's okay."

The four guards looked at Zhan Zhao eagerly, with the expectation of "we are optimistic about you" written in their eyes.

"That yard has been lived by people, big and small, old and young. The New Year is not like usual. It must be lively and lively."

Baogong smiled and nodded, "This government thinks so too, we can help you in the past."

"Guard Zhan, then you can buy some gifts and let's go there together."

Yeah—the four guards cheered in their hearts, but they didn't dare to show it on their faces. They all looked at Bao Gong with adoring eyes.

On New Year's Eve, everyone goes home to reunite with their families for the New Year. Whether in the city or in the countryside, there is a lively atmosphere.Coupled with the heavy snow that fell all night, the atmosphere of the New Year is even stronger.

On the country road on the outskirts of Bianjing, a horse-drawn carriage was slowly moving forward, with snow nearly half a foot thick on both sides, which was cleaned by the villagers for the convenience of walking.The snow fell lightly, and the path was covered with a thin layer of snow again. After the carriage passed, a series of horseshoe marks and two rows of gear marks were left on the snow-white path.The whip was whipped on the horse's legs, and the horse walked forward step by step with a heavy breath, and the breath exhaled from its nostrils condensed into white water vapor.The cheeks of the two men who drove the horse were flushed from the cold, but even so they were still in high spirits.

In front of a few small huts at the entrance of the village, the children were having a great time playing snowball fights, making snowmen, building snow bridges, or sitting in wooden basins and being carried by a few big wolf dogs in the snow.

The two men looked at each other and smiled, it seemed that the destination was coming soon.

In a big courtyard, the door is tightly closed and cannot stop the children's play. There is a pair of couplets pasted on the door.With Zhan Zhao's support, Bao Gong got off the carriage, and when he saw the couplet, he stroked his beard and smiled.

Chao Chao stepped forward to knock on the door, only to hear a hula, and it seemed that many people surrounded him.

"Who is it?" A childish voice came from behind the door.

Prompted by Bao Gong's eyes, Wang Chao said, "Is Mr. Gongsun there?"

"Who is Mr. Gongsun? We don't have Mr. Gongsun here." The words fell, and there was a burst of laughter from inside.

The Dynasty is no different. He is the least good at dealing with children.

Zhan Zhao took a step forward and said with a smile, "Dabao, Erya, Chunni, I'm here to see you."

It was quiet inside for a while, and then another voice came: "I recognize this voice, but how can the New Year's Eve come without a present?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and shook his head.It's been a long time since we saw each other, and these children have already started joking with him. "The gift is here, if you don't open the door, you won't have it!" As soon as he finished speaking, the door was opened, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, seven children rushed out, rushing into Cheng Zhao's arms, vying for gifts.

"Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, you two go." Bao Gong said to the two guards beside him.

The two had to order the back to help Zhan Zhao, especially Zhao Hu, who directly lifted a boy by his back collar.The children became quiet one after another. Seeing Bao Gong's face that was comparable to black charcoal, someone burst into tears, and then several of them shouted that the monster was coming, and ran into the house while shouting. .

Bao Gong froze in place.Although more than one child cried with his face, it was the first time in his life that he was called a monster...