Competing in the morning and evening

Yuan Da withdrew all the maids, and was going to put on the daughters of each family in costumes to serve them, but he was afraid that Chu Yin would look down on the daughters' family showing their faces, so he ordered them to cover their faces with silk scarves.

Yuan Xizheng listened to Lu Zhu's words, spouted all the tea out of her mouth with a puff, and said with a smile: "The face of Yuan's daughter is really well covered." But this sentence was heard by Yuan's mother again, and Yuan Xi Zheng had no choice but to copy the Lotus Sutra in the ancestral hall again.

Lu Zhu competed for Yuan Xi's ink, and said with a smile: "Master, who do you think this distinguished guest will be? He was actually accompanied by the prince!"

Yuan Xizheng picked up a pen and wrote two words beside it: "Li Yan."

Lvzhu was taken aback, and said, "That's the King Fan?"

Yuan Xi said with a smile: "Northern Qi, Shu and my Southern Dynasty were originally a piece of homeland, but later they were divided into three parts of the world. To say that he is the king of Fan, that is Ruian's deliberate belittling."

Lu Zhu thought for a while, and couldn't help but said anxiously: "Do you think this Li Yan is here to trouble you?"

Yuan Xizheng chuckled and said, "If he wants to trouble me because of an angry remark from a woman he has never met, then he is not Li Yan. Yuan's family was the largest salt merchant in the Southern Dynasties, and there was a lot of dry land in the Northern Qi Dynasty. , lack of salt all the year round, I'm afraid that's why he came here." Lu Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Young master, no matter what, you should just hide in the ancestral hall for the past two days." Yuan Xi Zheng smiled and said: "The one who knows me is the green bamboo."

While the two were talking, their uncle said in a duck voice: "Nalan, I told you that women are not allowed to enter the clan ancestral hall!" A soft voice said from outside, "Uncle, I am Chu Yu."

The two looked at each other after hearing this, and only heard the uncle say: "It really is Chu Yu, let's go in."

Seeing Zeng Chuyu walking in slowly in a white shirt, Yuan Xizheng seemed to have put on a little powder, but the rims of her eyes were still pink, as if she had cried for a long time last night, Yuan Xizheng couldn't help feeling guilty.

Lu Zhu coughed and said: "Young master, I'll go back first, you two can talk slowly."

Yuan Xizheng quickly tidied up all the papers on the stone bench, and said, "Chu Yu, sit down!"

Zeng Chuyu slowly sat down in front of Yuan Xizheng, picked up a page, traced the beautiful font on it and said: "I used to hear people say that Yuan Jiaziqing is amazingly talented, a thirteen scholar, a fourteenth tribute student, and he will definitely From the Dragon Emperor." She smiled slightly, put down the paper slowly and said: "I always thought that I would marry a prince Fu, a master of the emperor."

Yuan Xizheng glanced at her, and said guiltily: "Chu Yu, besides this, I will find a way to get you whatever you want!"

Zeng Chuyu's eyes flashed, and he said: "You owe me the title of Mrs. First Grade, then you can pay me back with a princess."

Yuan Xizheng was slightly taken aback, frowned slightly, but seemed unable to bear to say anything after all, just sighed softly, and said, "Chu Yu, I was joking, the waiting door is as deep as the sea, not to mention you don't know me at all. Chu Yin, what a good match!"

Zeng Chuyu interrupted what Yuan Xizheng wanted to say, and said: "Everyone says that King Liang is handsome and suave, and many wealthy ladies in Jianye admire him, so why don't I like him, such a husband... No worse than you."

Yuan Xizheng couldn't laugh or cry, Zeng Chuyu seemed to be unable to bear it anymore, his eyes were red again, Yuan Xizheng immediately surrendered, and said: "Okay, okay, then I will find a way for you to meet Chu Yin, then you really like it Let's talk, okay?"

Zeng Chuyu stood up with a bang, and said coldly: "Then it's settled."

Yuan Xizheng supported his head and thought for a while, then Luzhu came in again and said, "Young master, what did Miss Chu Yu tell you?"

Yuan Xizheng sighed, and said: "She said that if she can't marry Yuan Xizheng, she will ask me to become her princess!"

Luzhu exclaimed "Ah", and Yuan Xizheng waited for a long time before softly saying: "If he is still here, I don't know how happy I would be."

Lu Zhu frowned, and said, "Young Master, this Chu Yin is not bad, and Miss Yuan won't feel wronged if she marries him."

Yuan Xizheng threw the pen in his hand lightly, just happened to hit the pen holder, and said with a bit of a headache: "It's not so easy to say, we have to meet this Chu Yin for a while."

It was the midwinter festival at this time, and as soon as the sun set to the west, it lost the warmth of noon. Yuan Xizheng tidied up the Four Treasures of the Study and was about to leave when a male voice said, "Excuse me, is Lord Cong Long here?"

Yuan Xizheng's name was Ziqing, and his name was Conglong, but only people in the Jianghu called him Lord Conglong. Uncle Gong said: "In it, women of the clan are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall."

The male voice sounded young, and spoke very politely, saying: "Mr., I am not a woman."

The uncle stopped talking, and soon two men came in. The one who walked in front was handsome and honest. He couldn't help being stunned when he saw Yuan Xi, and after a while, he said: "Excuse me, are you Cong Longjun?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Exactly, may I ask..."

The man breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I'm a passing businessman. I heard that divination from Lord Long is like a fortune teller. I wanted to pay a lot of money to ask Mr. Yuan to do a divination for me."

Yuan Xizheng smiled slightly, and said: "I haven't divination for others for a long time, sir, I'm afraid I'm going to make a wrong trip."

Seeing that Yuan Xizheng refused so simply, the man couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Behind him, the middle-aged man dressed like a servant took out twelve taels of gold from his bag and put it on the table, saying: "Mr. Come on, it is very sincere, please look at this point, if you can accommodate me, I will not disturb you, just ask a question."

Yuan Xizheng glanced at Jin Jin, and the green bamboo was already gently tapping his back with his fingers, Yuan Xizheng smiled slightly, and said: "I didn't bring fortune-telling, I can't do the math class, how about this, I will test a word for you, How about just one word?"

The man hesitated a little, and immediately said: "Okay!"

Lu Zhu was overjoyed, and went to get the gold, but was suppressed by the servant's hand, and he smiled and said: "Mr. Yuan, although you are well-known, there are many people who have made a name for themselves these days, you have to let them go." Our young master can collect gold only after seeing some real kung fu." Yuan Xizheng grinned when he heard the words, the servant seemed to be stunned, then heard Yuan Xizheng smile and said: "Then how do you want to see me?"

The young master said: "Why don't you take a look at where we come from from Lord Long?"

Yuan Xi stretched out her hand and said, "Please give me the word."

Green Bamboo immediately sent paper and ink, the man hesitated for a while, then wrote a question on the paper, and said with a smile: "Since it is a question of divination, then there is no need to look far away, just this question."

Yuan Xizheng stretched out her slender fingers to tap the word, and said with a slight smile, "Sir, you must come from the north!"

The man was taken aback, and it took him a long time to honestly say: "I grew up in the south, but this time I did come from the north. I don't know why I learned from Lord Long?"

Yuan Xizheng smiled and said: "Your accent is a southern accent, but the door on this question is indeed facing south. It must be that you live in the north now, so you naturally come from the north."

The man and the servant looked at each other, and said: "Maybe you can test from Lord Long again whether everything is going well with me here?"

Yuan Xizheng looked at him, and said indifferently: "The word is closed in the door, so it can be seen that there is something difficult to say, Mr. is not the person in charge, I am afraid that he will not be in charge when things happen."

There was a slight look of surprise in the man's eyes, he was silent for a while, and then said: "Then sir, why don't you test whether I will be effective here, I can't be the master, but my master is a person who can be the master."

Yuan Xizheng looked at it with a smile, lightly parted her thin lips, and said: "Heart to mouth, mouth to heart, is a dull word. I am afraid that I will return depressed this time."

The man's face changed drastically, and his servant smiled slightly: "Now that there is no more war between the north and the south, and the border market is newly opened, I will go to the south of the Yangtze River first to take advantage of the opportunity, but Lord Conglong said that I will return in depression. Really puzzling!"

Yuan Xizheng raised his eyes, a flash of clarity flashed in his eyes, and he said leisurely: "The Northern and Southern Dynasties fought, the Southern Dynasty proclaimed their vassals, and the Northern Dynasty ceased the war and truce. It is because they are tired, not because they have no intention of continuing to go south. I'm afraid the two of you won't be able to do business for long."

The servant smiled and said, "Mister's words are quite pessimistic. According to your words, the fall of the Southern Dynasty will only take a few years."

Yuan Xizheng smiled slightly, and said: "You are wrong, if the Southern Dynasty can adopt my good words, it will surely stop the Northern Qi from going north of the Yellow River, making it difficult for them to move forward!"

The young man blurted out: "Arrogance!"

The servant smiled and asked, "Please enlighten me, sir!"

Yuan Xizheng took the pen with a smile, and wrote eight words on the paper in a fluttering motion: Xi Lian Shu Kingdom, NATO Khitan.Those eight characters were written with silver hooks and iron paintings, coupled with Yuan Xizheng's calm expression and handsome eyebrows, it really shocked people's hearts.

The young man's eyes showed surprise, but the servant bowed politely and said, "Thank you!"

The man got up, and the two of them didn't go far. Yuan Xizheng laughed behind them and said, "Since you two came here sincerely, I might as well give you a few more words. In ancient times, it was difficult to jump through the dragon gate. The word for the gate is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. If you want to rush forward, you must be on the road of Shu. If there is a way, the road to Shu is difficult.

The young man didn't answer, but the servant turned around with a faint smile and said, "Thank you for your words."

He didn't talk much just now, which made it difficult for people to pay attention to him, but now he only smiled so slightly, as if he had a kind of arrogance that looked down on everything, he took a deep look at Yuan Xizheng, and then bowed and left.

As soon as the two of them left the ancestral hall, the young man wiped the sweat off his brow and let out a sigh of relief: "Jianye is really a place where dragons are hidden. I'm afraid this Yuanxi competition will see through our identities. I don't know if the patriarch of the Yuan clan Is it so powerful, if it is so powerful, Your Highness should be careful when discussing cooperation with him!"

The middle-aged servant didn't seem to hear the man's muttering at all. He just slowly pulled off the beard and wig on his face, revealing a handsome face. Such a handsome boy."

In the ancestral hall, the green bamboo danced excitedly with gold, and said: "Young master, if you knew how to make money by fortune-telling, you would be able to open a fortune-telling booth in the future."

Yuan Xizheng smiled slightly and said, "Do you know who those two people who came here just now are?"

"Who?"

Yuan Xizheng smiled and said, "It's the King Fan you're talking about."

Lu Zhu opened his mouth wide, and said, "It's Li Yan, the Second Prince of the Northern Qi Dynasty?! How did you know, Young Master?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "In winter, the north is extremely cold, while the south is warm, so northerners love to wear felt hats, but southerners rarely wear them. The two of them must have been wearing northern clothes all the way south, and they just changed when they arrived in the south." Southern clothing, but the brim mark on the forehead has not been removed yet!" He stretched his waist and joked: "You really hit the spot, this Li Yan was really unconvinced and came to see me, but he But I don't know that I really saved his life, if Ryan really becomes his princess..." He said with a slightly embarrassed face and didn't continue.

Lu Zhu stuck out his tongue and said, "So you figured it out, and I really think you figured it out. But I heard that Li Yan is very powerful. I don't know if he will become the emperor of Northern Qi in the future?"

Yuan Xizheng said lazily: "There are only two princes in the Northern Qi Kingdom. Most of the Northern Qi Dynasty was fought by the eldest son Li Sheng and the current Northern Qi emperor Li Xu. Li Yan, the second son, is said to have waited 20 years for Li Xu to have his second son." He is a son who is extremely favored. Li Xu has repeatedly expressed his intention to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones, but because of the obstruction of the elders in the court, he has not replaced him for a long time."

Luzhu smiled and said: "So what, the emperor has the final say on the world's affairs!"

Yuan Xizheng smiled slightly, and said: "Pack up your things quickly, since Li Yan has arrived, I'm afraid Chu Yin is not far away."

As soon as the two returned home, Yuan's mother showed joy and said, "Ziqing, your father is thinking of you after all, and he found you an opportunity. When the time comes, ask your uncle to introduce you to the tenth prince Chu Yin. Said that he loves playing chess very much, and respects chess players very much."

Yuan Xizheng laughed and said, "Then should I have a veil on my face?"

The original mother was in a happy mood, so she didn't care too much about Yuan Xizheng's talkativeness, she just laughed and cursed: "Be serious, don't make your uncle angry, come with me, your uncle will tell us about the future later. Details of the reception."

Yuan Xizheng smiled and answered yes, and followed her mother towards the compound. When she reached the gate of the compound illuminated by the red light, Yuan's mother's usually straight waist seemed to be a little bent. In front of the vermilion gate, there are even fewer people.

"Ziqing, go in!" Yuan's mother turned around and said, "I'll wait for you here."

Yuan Xi contended: "Mother, what's the harm in going in together?"

The original mother waved her hands again and again, and said: "I can't, I can't, how can I enter this kind of place, this is where you men stay."

Yuan Xizheng didn't force herself, turned around and sneered slightly, lifted her clothes, and crossed the high threshold of Yuan's house.

Yuan Da glanced at Yuan Xizheng, nodded, and frankly said that he never disliked this nephew from a bad background, regardless of his handsome character, what's more rare is that he is really talented. No matter how you look at it, Yuan Xi is fighting for the top spot.But for some reason, he always felt that Yuan Xizheng always concealed a kind of contempt towards them under Yuan Xizheng's faint, seemingly polite conversation, but when he wanted to suppress this kind of contempt with the majesty of the patriarch, he just couldn't bear it. Yuan Xizheng was always able to pull a thousand pounds in fours and twos, and lightly turned his provocations into nothing.

"Uncle!" Yuan Xizheng said politely.

"Sit down!" Yuan Da said.

Yuan Xizheng swept the seats and said: "Uncle, didn't you say that the sisters will also participate in entertaining His Royal Highness the Tenth Prince? Why haven't I seen them?"

Yuan Da snorted coldly, and said: "How can the girls get to the banquet? If there is anything, wait for their elder brother to go back and tell." Yuan Xizheng sat down, and Yuan Da began to explain in detail how to entertain tomorrow. After reading it again, they explained how and which dish their daughter should serve tomorrow on a household by household basis.Yuan Xizheng listened, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

When it was time to finish, Yuan Da put on a forgiving look and said, "Ziqing, you caused a lot of trouble in the capital, and you shouldn't have been allowed to see His Highness, but after all, you are from Yuan's family. Children and grandchildren, I can't bear to see that you have no hope of official career, so I will take the risk to introduce you, you must seize this opportunity."

Yuan Xi made a bow in an upright manner, and said, "Thank you uncle for your care, Ziqing dare not live up to his trust."

Yuan Da looked back with satisfaction, and said: "Everyone, go back now, tomorrow is your chance, and you have to figure out what to do."

Yuan Xizheng followed his uncles and brothers out of the compound. Instead of going home, he took a few detours to the outside of the weaving courtyard in the village, and mysteriously caught Uncle He who was sweeping the street, saying: "He Uncle, how is the river at the end of the village cleared up?"

He Bo is a foreigner who fled famine and came to the original village, so he became a servant in charge of food here, responsible for cleaning the courtyard of the village every day, and picking up some chores. There are the most threads outside the weaving room, so he often cleans here.When he suddenly heard Yuan Xizheng's words, he showed confusion, and said, "Young Master Ziqing, what happened to the stinky ditch at the end of the village?"

Yuan Xizheng was shocked and said: "You didn't clean it, the patriarch entrusted me..."

He seemed to realize something in the middle of his speech, and immediately shrank his mouth, but at this time the sound of the loom in the room stopped, so although Yuan Xizheng's voice was not loud, he could still hear it clearly, Yuan Xizheng said vaguely: " You must clean it up before tomorrow, and remember to burn incense, and there must be no one here."

Uncle He was extremely confused, and said, "Why is this?"

Yuan Xi contended: "If you are told to do it, do it, don't ask why?"

He Bo said: "But, Master Ziqing, I have to make it clear so that I can clean it."

Yuan Xizheng said helplessly: "Because someone wants to dig out lobsters here, remember not to let others know about it, and not to tell anyone, do you understand?"

Uncle He murmured yes, and Yuan Xizheng walked away. Uncle He touched the back of his head and said, "Which family is this bad boy, who wants to pick out lobsters in winter?"

Yuan Xi came to Zeng Chuyu's house after meeting Uncle He, took a deep breath and opened the curtain, and said with a smile, "Aunt Gu, is Chuyu there?"

Seeing that Yuan Xizheng had arrived, Aunt Gu quickly whispered: "Chu Yu doesn't know what's wrong. I haven't been very happy these two days, and I've been locking myself in the room..." Before she finished speaking, she listened to Zeng Chuyu's words. Said: "Mother, is brother Ziqing here?"

Aunt Gu said, "It's Ziqing, come out quickly."

Zeng Chuyu was silent for a while, and said, "Let him in!"

Aunt Gu was taken aback for a moment, and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Yuan Xizheng who raised her hand, Yuan Xizheng came to Hui Chuyu's room, tapped with her hand, and said with a smile: "Chu Yu, I'm coming in. "

Yuan Xizheng pushed the door open and entered, but saw Hui Chuyu standing in front of the window in a white gauze dress, a black veil with a jade inlaid butterfly love flower stuck in her head, and the golden hairpin complementing Zeng Chuyu's original beauty A beauty.

Even Yuan Xizheng couldn't help but be amazed at this beauty.

The two looked at each other for a long time before Zeng Chuyu asked a little hoarsely, "Why did brother Ziqing come here?"

Yuan Xi contended: "I want to ask you for something!"

Zeng Chuyu slowly walked towards Yuan Xizheng, and said, "Why can't you just marry someone?" As she got closer and closer, she almost wanted to post her whole body.

Yuan Xi hurriedly took a quick step, staggering the distance between the two of them, and casually took a wooden hairpin from the dressing table, then lowered her head and said vaguely: "I will send a green bamboo to find you tomorrow morning, you must be Don't leave." After speaking, he left in a hurry, leaving Zeng Chuyu alone.

Yuan Xi scrambled out the door, raised her hand to look at the wooden hairpin in her hand, and let out a long sigh.This wooden hairpin was originally bought by Ada for Zeng Chuyu. He picked it out in the gold and silk shop in the capital for a long time but couldn't decide to pay attention to it. Nothing is more suitable for Chu Yu than Muchai."

His original intention was to joke that Ah Da was a piece of wood, but Ah Da immediately bought the wooden hairpin with great interest.

The head of this wooden hairpin is a vividly carved dragon with its head up and breathing out, which is quite different from the usual lotus and plum hairpin.When Zeng Chuyu first saw it, she didn't like it because the hairpin was too flamboyant, but she didn't have many accessories. Although there was a precious jade-encrusted Butterfly Love Flower Buyao, it was also a gift from the aunt when her mother moved to the original village. It is extremely precious, and I would never wear it for fear of losing it on weekdays. Therefore, although I don't like this wooden hairpin, I wear it all year round.

Yuan Xizheng turned the wooden hairpin with her slender fingers, and said after a long time: "Don't worry, Ada, I will remember the promise I made to you."

On Yuri, a team of horses galloped along the trail in the middle of the bush. Two handsome young men in fancy clothes rode side by side.The one on the right has a face as smooth as jade, and a deep purple jade ring tied his black hair. He is handsome and gentle, but he is the current Tenth Prince Chu Yin.

The horse team was originally not fast, but Li Yan liked to scold and run quickly.Chu Yin I is also a prince with a heart. He usually practices martial arts and horses and does not dare to relax. If Li Yan follows the rules, he is a prince of the Southern Dynasty, so naturally he cannot be presumptuous, but since Li Yan wants to ride a horse, it is exactly what he wants.

The horses that Chu Yin picked were all war horses, and they were naturally good horses. The two horses were also good at horse skills. The two of them were always evenly matched along the way. Just after passing the bamboo forest and about to go to the fork in the original village, Chu Yin pulled the horse. , but saw Li Yan reining in the horse's head.

As soon as he made a move, the horse stopped the castration.Chu Yin naturally reined in the horse, but because he reined in too quickly, the horse's hoof was raised high, and he was thrown off immediately. His entourage screamed in surprise, and it was impossible to save him, but Chu Yin felt that his falling body suddenly eased After a while, after landing, seeing Li Yan smiling at him, he knew that he was the one who supported him just now.

"Second prince, why did you stop your horse?" Although Chu Yin was extremely embarrassed just now, he asked politely after standing still.

"Then why did the Tenth Prince lose his mind?" Li Yan laughed softly.

When Chu Yin listened carefully, he heard the sound of a zither in the bamboo grove, and he couldn't help but let out an ahhh.

The sound of the qin is comfortable and beautiful, like the ding-dong of spring water, with a kind of elegance that transcends the world, like picking chrysanthemums in Nanshan, or crossing the Taoyuan leisurely, but when the two of them stopped walking, the sound of the qin seemed to have changed: The rivers and rivers are beautiful, and the idyllic scenery is soothing and gradually changing rapidly. There are only a few sounds, and suddenly there seems to be a world of difference. The two armies faced each other, and there was a sudden sound of killing and cutting, and they were besieged on all sides.

Li Yan's complexion changed drastically. He participated in the North-South War, and he knew that if he became famous, his bones would die. The sound of the piano seemed to make him see countless bones and blood stained thousands of miles.

Chu Yin had never been on a battlefield before, but he was so excited by the sound of the piano that he seemed to have the courage to stand alone in front of everyone in an instant.The two listened to the piano sound at the same time, but because of their different circumstances and feelings, Li Yan took a deep breath, listening to the piano sound change again, and gradually eased up again, as if the wind and sand were gradually flattening, and the journey was thousands of miles away.

Li Yan felt desolate when he heard it, but Chu Yin felt indignant when he heard it. Suddenly, the war horse behind them neighed sharply, and Li Yan just woke up from a dream. He looked up to the sky and laughed, saying: "Good piano!" Skill! I don’t know who the owner is?”