female concubine

Fufeng County, Qishan County.

It has been a month since the Lihou Grand Ceremony, and there is no other news except Beijing and China.

At noon, an official sedan chair stopped at the gate of the Yamen in Qishan County.

"The prefect of Fengxiang is here!"

"Ah Lang, the prefect of Fengxiang is here again, isn't he here to find fault again?"

The king of Chu put down the pen in his hand and was about to stand up. The master beside him shook her hand and said, "He is the head of a government. The magistrate of Wei must not be reckless."

"I know."

The Yimen in the courtyard of the yamen lobby was opened from the inside, and the yamen servants from Qishan County lined up in two rows to welcome them.

The King of Chu stood motionless at the door until Liu Shubai tugged at his sleeve, "Magistrate, don't forget to salute."

Only then did the King of Chu bow his hands, "Your Majesty, I have seen the magistrate."

Prefect Fengxiang approached with a big belly, and patted King Chu on the shoulder, "Well, I am here this time to inspect, and to reward you. I heard that you have made outstanding achievements in governing Qishan, and I heard that you are familiar with The laws of the Song Dynasty have solved several major cases one after another."

"I'm not an official, but I'm good at reading."

The magistrate smiled, and stopped laughing immediately, "It's good that young people are capable, but don't forget your sense of proportion because of their arrogance!"

"Yes."

The prefect of Fengxiang walked around the Qishan county government office, looking at the official documents on the desk in the hall, "The person looks upright, and the character is as beautiful as the person."

The magistrate, who had just returned from the capital, looked at the king of Chu, and felt that he was similar to someone, and he seemed to have met him somewhere, but somehow he couldn't remember it.

When the King of Chu didn't answer, Liu Shubo teased her again, and she had no choice but to say, "Thank you for the prefect's compliment."

"Don't be too happy, this officer has always been very clear about rewards and punishments, if you make a mistake one day, this officer will not show mercy."

"Your Majesty understands."

An hour later, the Fengxiang prefect, who did not wait for the new magistrate to express, exchanged a few words with them and left with a straight face.

"Qishan County is a rich county, he comes here repeatedly just to ask for bribes, magistrate..." Liu Shubo looked at King Chu.

"Is this the same for the previous magistrates? How did a person like him become the magistrate?"

"He is the prime minister's student."

"Prime Minister, which Prime Minister?"

Liu Shubo looked around, and immediately approached the King of Chu and said in a low voice, "That Tong Ping Zhang Shi from Zhongshu, the county magistrate came from the capital, he should know that Tong Ping Zhang Shi is the prince's grandfather, how dare we Offended."

"So that's how it is..." King Chu turned his head to look at the place where the magistrate had left, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Not long after the prefect of Fengxiang left, another group of people came to the gate of the yamen.

"The magistrate of Fufeng County has arrived!"

A green-robed official who was about the same age as Liu Shubai walked in, "Magistrate Wei, long time no see."

Behind him was a young man wearing a round neck and narrow sleeves, who said politely, "Magistrate Wei, Uncle Liu, my nephew is here to greet you."

Liu Shubo, who was beside the King of Chu, saw the county magistrate of Fufeng County and his son, his face turned pale instantly, "I have seen it before, magistrate Zhang County."

"Isn't there any official business in the Fufeng county government? How come the magistrate of Fufeng county has time to come to Qishan?"

The young man followed behind the magistrate of Fufeng, leaned closer and whispered: "Father, daddy, don't forget what my son told you before going out."

The magistrate of Fufeng stroked his beard, "I'm not here to find the magistrate of Wei." Then he turned around and smiled at Liu Shubai and said, "This time, the official is here to find Master Liu."

The young man behind the magistrate of Fufeng turned around with a smile and waved: "Bring it in!"

Several yamen servants walked in carrying a couple of geese carrying several boxes.

Liu Shubo was shocked, "This is?"

The magistrate of Fufeng stroked his beard and said with a slight smile, "This is a betrothal gift."

The young man followed the words and continued: "My nephew wants to marry Uncle Liu's daughter-in-law as his first wife."

----------

It's night, and the Cold Food Festival is approaching.

Little Six scratched his head, "Alang has never been the kind of meddlesome person, how did he take the place of Master Liu today and reject the dowry offer from the magistrate of Fufeng County?"

"Didn't you see Liu Zhubo's pale face? I guess that the son of the magistrate of Fufeng must not be a good guy. Besides, the little lady of the master Bo's family has her own heart. In this world, only women have a hard life. I know How can you watch her marry someone she doesn't like."

Little Six let out a long sigh, walked to the door of the study, closed the doors and windows, and said slowly: "There is news from Tokyo City that King Zhao went to Chengwang's Mansion before the grand ceremony, but the Privy Envoy also went in after a while, and talked with him." It took a while to come out, and as you expected, there was no movement from Tokyo City for a month after the Empress Dowager Ceremony."

The King of Chu smiled and said, "The King of Zhao doesn't take care of it, but the Privy Envoy still has it."

"Then do you need to send a letter back to the eldest lady?"

King Chu shook his head, "No need."

Then he got up and went to the window and pushed it open, a gust of cold wind hit, and he looked up to see the thin crescent moon on the treetops, "It's almost the cold food festival."

----------

On the eve of the Cold Food Festival, the Palace of the Prince of Chu was much quieter this year than last year, and no one in the kitchen carefully prepared cold food.

In the main room of the east courtyard, Xiao Youqing was holding a pair of iron tongs to hold the red charcoal, filling the hand stove with charcoal and carefully wrapping it up.

"Okay, let's go after putting out the fire in the charcoal basin, if you don't go, brother will send someone to remind you again."

"Yes."

Two female envoys helped Princess Chu into the car and sat in the front of the car with the driver.

"Drive!" The carriage slowly left towards the south.

Xiao Youqing looked down at the stove in his hand, which was wrapped in embroidered cotton cloth.

The carriage went out from Madao Street through Baokang Gate to Xincheng, went southeast along the Cai River for a few streets, and stopped suddenly at the corner of an alley.

"Who dares to block the frame of Chu Palace?" Looking at the blocker in front of him, wrapped in black cotton robes, the two female envoys stood up vigilantly, thinking they had encountered robbers.

The people who stood still did not pay attention to the questioning of the female envoy, but walked slowly towards the side of the carriage, and immediately took off the black robes wrapped around their heads, causing the two female envoys who had jumped out of the car to try their best to stand still suddenly, stunned looked at her.

The people in the car felt longing for the stove in their hands, and wanted to fall asleep and dream because of the night.

"Dreams cross the dry mulberry from the bottom of the sea, and read the wind and waves of the Milky Way."

The familiar voice came to the ears, causing the sleepy person to open his eyes, and the heart was shocked again.

Xiao Youqing got up and pushed the car door open, and got out of the car holding the stove.

Under the hazy moonlight, two thin figures stood in the night wind, and the shadows approached slowly until they were stepped on by her, until they blended together.

It's just that the moment I saw her, the calmness in my heart was defeated, I didn't lose my mind, I came out from the arms of the black robe and dragged her into the carriage, I didn't secretly rejoice at her return, but wrote my worry on my cold face He asked, "Are you crazy? You ran back privately. There are so many eyes in Tokyo, why did you come back?"

The King of Chu just stared at her blankly, and then said with a gentle smirk, "Because, I miss my sister."

Just a simple answer made Xiao Youqing unable to restrain the longing hidden in his heart any longer, and tears welled up in his eyes.

The King of Chu looked at the stove she held tightly in her hand, covered it with his left hand and stroked it lightly, and then stretched out his right hand to wipe away the tears flowing from the corners of her eyes.

He smiled and said: "The order of the year is updated, the spring breeze is new, I hope my sister will stay young forever, every year today, every year."

Today is her birthday, and the day before the Cold Food Festival, besides her mother, only this person would care so much about it, and would rush back from thousands of miles away.

It was fine when I left Beijing last year, but now I came back with a weathered face, my nose and hands were red from the cold, Xiao Youqing covered her cold face with warm white hands, "Does it hurt?"

King Chu shook his head slightly, "I can see you, and I feel that there is only warmth in this world, and there is no pain."

Xiao Youqing lightly raised her slender eyebrows, took her hand away from her face and put it on her right hand, and said anxiously, "Why is your hand so cold...you, how did you come back?"

King Chu didn't answer, but just stared at her tenderly.

I dare not tell her that I came back alone on a fast horse from the trail, and I dare not tell her that in the winter when the snow melts and the beasts no longer appear, the horse she sat on when she was about to arrive in Xijing could not bear the overnight gallop. But exhausted, she had no choice but to walk back to Xijing City to change a horse. She dared not tell her that she rode a fast horse for three whole days and nights.

Even if the King of Chu didn't say anything, she knew that Xiao Youqing held her hand full of strangle marks tremblingly, and threw herself into her arms, trembling with tears, "Why are you like this?"

Guilt and sadness welled up in King Chu's heart, and he said again and again: "Sister, don't cry, it's all my fault, I made my sister worry."

Xiao Youqing grabbed her skirt, buried her head in the collar, cried and complained: "Why do you humiliate yourself like this, don't you feel sorry for yourself at all?"

Chu Wanglou hugged Xiao Youqing, lowered his head and rubbed her neck, and hugged her tightly, "Why don't you feel bad, because I know my sister will be sad for me, but I still want to see you."

The carriage continued to move slowly, and when it entered the busy city, because there were too many people and horses passing by, the road was too crowded, so it stopped and moved slowly along the street with the flow of people.

The person who had been running for three days in a row fell asleep in Xiao Youqing's arms not long after entering the carriage.

Xiao Youqing leaned into the car and carefully let her pillow him, and then took out the cloak prepared in the car.

Gently caressing her face that had gradually heated up, the original fairness was scratched by the cold wind, and after more than half a year, she has become so thin. Holding back tears, Xiao Youqing couldn't help twitching and snorting in distress, "You fool!"

The carriage passed through the busy city and entered the alley, and when it was about to stop in front of the stone lion in front of the Founding Duke's mansion, the female envoy said, "Drive the carriage into the backyard."

Instructed by the coachman, he continued to drive with the carriage, and found the entrance of the backyard of the Founding Duke's Mansion with ease.

Xichun jumped off the horse, instead of going to the carriage to remind Xiao Youqing, he walked towards the mansion, after a while Xiao Xianrong and his second son Xiao Yunze rushed to the backyard, and dismissed everyone in the yard.

Only then did Xichun return to the carriage, "Girl, you can come down now."

Xiao Youqing helped King Chu get off the car, but the people beside him surprised his father and brother.

"This is my brother-in-law?"

Xiao Xianrong said in a loud voice: "Hurry up and help your sister!"

"Oh."

"No need, the official is asleep, I'm afraid my brother will wake her up."

"Me?" Xiao Yunze knew that his younger sister disliked him for being rude, "He is such a big man, how are you going to get him back, San Niang?"

"Hold her back." Xiao Youqing hugged her horizontally, "Youqing is also the daughter of the general!"

Xiao Yunze let out a sigh of relief, "Hey, my father and I have separated everyone on the way from the backyard to your boudoir."

Xiao Youqing nodded to his father, "Thank you, Daddy."

"Go back quickly."

After Xiao Youqing carried King Chu back to his room, Xiao Yunze specially ordered someone to bring hot water.

The candlelight in the room was dim, she wrung out the white silk in the hot water, wiped the tired body of the sleeping person, and changed her into clean clothes.

Until late at night, Xiao Youqing sat on the edge of the couch and put her hands in her arms, watching quietly, watching the person walking out of a dream, so she dared not fall asleep because she was afraid of waking up from the dream. She disappeared.

----------

In the early morning of the Cold Food Festival, Xiao Youqing woke up from her embrace, and asked gently: "If the crown prince falls, will he let you back?"

"Well, if the crown prince is going to fall, Zhongshu must fall first. He will not let the Shen family dominate."

"What happened in Beijing..."

"I already know that both the crown prince and the king of Zhao are the kind of people who must take revenge. After the ceremony of establishing a queen is over, the king of Zhao will have no scruples. He will definitely do something to the crown prince."

Xiao Youqing raised his head, "King Zhao has no scruples, it's because there are some things he doesn't know..."

King Chu turned around, gently held her hand and said with a slight smile, "But there are still many things they don't know about."

"Does this include concubines?" Xiao Youqing pulled his hand away.

The warmth and softness in his hands suddenly disappeared, "What do you mean by sister?"

"Market value of ambergris...where did you get it?"

The King of Chu turned over and oppressed her, pressed her wrist with one hand, admired her lower body sideways, his eyeballs turned from top to bottom, and freed up his other hand to gently draw lines on her body and said: "Mo Bing Li Ma , how can you do without money, sister just stay at ease in Beijing, I won't let you wait too long!"

Xiao Youqing stretched out his hand, bit the back of his hand and held his breath and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Although it may not kill him with one blow, at least it can cause a serious setback. Then there will be a big drama in Beijing!"

----------

At dusk after the Cold Food Festival, a carriage left westward from Fayun Temple in Xincheng.

At the same time as the carriage was leaving Jinyaomen, a handyman walked into the brothel south of Genyue in the old city.

Si'er walked quickly towards the room where his mother was in the depths of the brothel, and then stood at the door and knocked lightly on the door - dong dong! ——

"Who?"

"Mother Yun, the younger one is Sanchi."

"come in."

The boy pushed the door open and walked in, closing the door tightly and approaching with hurried steps, "Someone asked the little one to give this to you."

While talking, Si'er took out a sunspot on the chessboard from his arms and handed it over.