The Wife is First

"Since Xiao Si left, the prince has never set foot in this courtyard again!" Mrs. Xiao said nonchalantly.

Mrs. Dingnanhou looked at her carefully and couldn't help but frown. The eldest lady of the Xiao family had always been very smart in the past, but now such a careless and resentful tone was not like her. Although they don't want to care about it, after all, the Dingnan Hou family and Prince Rui are already grasshoppers on the same rope. If the eldest lady loses power, even if Jingchen ascends the throne in the future, they will not benefit at all. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder: "You didn't create all this yourself."

When Mrs. Xiao heard this, she glared at her stepmother coldly: "If nothing happens, mother, just go back. I'm tired."

"The master you mentioned has hanged himself in Biyun Temple." Mrs. Dingnanhou clenched the handkerchief in her hand, trying to hold back her breath and said as calmly as possible.

"What?" Mrs. Xiao's eyes widened.

"That Mo Bei cheated and drank at the prince's house all the time, but you believe her the most. Now that the mistress is gone, he must have committed suicide because he was afraid that the prince would blame him," Mrs. Dingnan Hou took a deep breath and said, "I know you won't listen to what I say. I only advise you. Even though you are Prince Rui's wife, without the respect of the prince, you are nothing!" After saying that, without looking at Princess Rui's face, she stood up and left. .

On the way back, Mrs. Dingnanhou was still very angry. She was born as a concubine, and because the former Mrs. Dingnanhou was her sister, she was able to join the duke's house to fill the house. She had always disliked those people who were so quick to do so. The mother-in-law blames the misfortune on the concubine and concubine.

"Madam, if the princess looks like this, what should I do if I cold-blooded His Highness Prince Rui?" Seeing that the lady was angry, the dowry maid next to her started scolding Princess Rui.

"If she still has a shred of sense, she should quickly take the bastard from another courtyard and raise her with her." Mrs. Dingnanhou said a few words, and then she said no more. She just sneered in her heart. That sister of hers Daughters who have been taught have a different attitude towards housekeeping, but they probably have the same attitude towards concubines.

Jing Shao took his princess back to the palace. When the carriage stopped, the man in his arms was already asleep. The driver raised the curtains and the sun shone in. His long eyelashes cast two dark shadows. Making a silent gesture to everyone, Jing Shao picked up the person in his arms and carefully got out of the carriage.

The weather was already very hot, and even though the car was covered with jade mats, the two of them were still sweating while leaning against each other. Jing Shao didn't care much, but he was afraid that he would get too hot when he slept in the house, so he put him on the porch in the corridor.

As soon as he felt soft, Mu Hanzhang woke up and slowly opened his eyes.

"Sleep a little longer and I'll call you later at lunchtime." Jing Shao took the wet cloth handed over by the maid and wiped his face. Seeing the man on the bed open his eyes, he wiped him as well.

The cool cloth wiped away the stickiness on his face, and the gentle breeze blowing from the corridor was very comfortable. Mu Hanzhang couldn't help but squint his eyes, thinking that Jingshao, Mrs. Marquis Wenyuan, was doing more and more decent things. But I didn't dare to say these words, after all, my waist and hips were still sore.

Jing Shao saw the smile in his princess's eyes and, not knowing why, reached out to untie his belt.

"What are you doing?" Mu Hanzhang hurriedly grabbed his hand that was stretched out to his waist, thinking that he didn't even say anything, why did this man start to move?

"Isn't it hot to wear such a thick court dress?" Jing Shao saw his red face, and his heart moved, and he slowly moved closer, "What are you thinking about? Huh?"

Mu Hanzhang looked at Junyan who was close at hand and glared at him: "It's quite hot. I'll change." He was about to get up, but was pressed down by the person on his body and couldn't move.

"You're tired, I'll change it for you." Jing Shao said with a grin. Ever since he took apart the court clothes once, he couldn't put it down for the complicated court clothes of Marquis Wenyuan. He especially liked the process of taking them apart piece by piece with his own hands.

"No, no..." This is under the porch of the main house of Dongyuan, and servants will come over at any time. Mu Hanzhang was anxious and blurted out, "Are you really addicted to Mrs. Wenyuanhou?"

Jing Shao immediately stopped what he was doing, his eyes gradually became dangerous, and he said in a calm tone: "Jun Qing, what did you say?"

"No, it's nothing." Mu Hanzhang was stunned for a moment. He realized what he had said and stepped back subconsciously. "There is something I forgot to tell you. The eldest prince today...ah..."

Jing Shao quickly grabbed the two hands trying to push him, clasped the two wrists together, and pressed them above his head: "It seems that we have to re-determine today, who is husband and who is wife?" With that, he put the other hand on the other hand. He brought a hand to his mouth and breathed a sigh of relief, then with a grin, he reached for the ticklish flesh of the person beneath him.

"Ah... Hahaha... don't... um..." Mu Hanzhang couldn't struggle, and unfortunately, King Cheng tried to change his family's self-reliance.

There is a small garden in front of the main house in Dongyuan, with green bamboos and shrubs planted in layers. Miao Xi, who came to deliver tea, had just stepped through the moon gate when she heard the princess gasping and stopped immediately. She couldn't see clearly through the bamboo, but she could only vaguely see the prince pressing on the princess... The little girl immediately blushed. The prince, this was too much for Meng Lang. He didn't dare to send any more tea, so he turned around and ran away.

After tossing for a long time, both of them were sweating. Jing Shao simply lay on his princess and stopped moving. The exquisite court clothes had been torn apart, revealing a shiny chest, with a thin layer of crystal sweat oozing out from it. .

Mu Hanzhang gasped for a moment and pushed the big head that was close to his chest. The head was pushed back an inch and then moved back two inches spontaneously. He couldn't help but roll his eyes, but the eldest prince's behavior today still had to be the same. Jing Shao said: "Today my brother mentioned that he wanted to set up a port to try, but the eldest prince actually had no objection, and he wanted me to go there.

Although this was planned from the beginning, he also wanted to go to the port in person and become familiar with the business. Maritime business is something he has always wanted to get involved in, but the imperial court does not recognize maritime business. Whether as Princess Cheng or Marquis Wenyuan, he cannot get involved in it. Even if it is not comparable to selling salt, it will still be criticized.

Jing Shao's eyes were fixed on a pink bean next to him. There were red marks on the surrounding skin from what he had chewed last night. It looked very tempting: "Of course he wouldn't be so kind. He probably wanted to Send you out immediately, and I will be trapped in the house without knowing anything."

"I don't think it's that simple. Will they tamper with the port?" Mu Hanzhang frowned, always feeling that the eldest prince was much more gloomy than before after returning from Yunnan and Tibet.

"Don't worry, just do whatever you want. No one can touch you as long as I'm here." Jing Shao said and moved forward again, like a big dog that saw meat but was too lazy to stand up, and tried his best to stick out his tongue. , and took a lick on the still somewhat red and swollen adzuki bean.

There has been no good news coming from Jiangnan. As soon as the fourth prince arrived in Jiangnan, he took all the military power into his own hands and did not allow the general soldiers from Jiangnan to follow him to the battlefield. The reason was that he was afraid that the soldiers would not know who to listen to. Lu Zhanpeng was also enjoying his leisure time, folding his arms and watching the excitement. Since he didn't go to the battlefield, he naturally didn't need to write a battle report to the emperor.

Emperor Hongzheng couldn't help but frown when he saw the report sent back by Jing Yu. It only said that King Huainan was huddled on the tower and did not dare to come out to challenge. So far, there has been no progress.

In fact, the fourth prince's life was not good at all. King Huainan was on the tower, but his general was below the tower! Every day he would send a general out, as if to tease him, and then run away with a slap in the face. When he chased him, he would be greeted by either a stumbling rope or rivets, which made him extremely angry.

At this time, the Marquis of Beiwei's Mansion was ushering in the full moon feast for the youngest son of Marquis of Beiwei.

Jing Shao really wanted to go see his brother-in-law, who was just one month old, because he heard that he looked very similar to Mu Hanzhang when he was a child. But last time he ran out because of the death of the fourth child of Prince Rui's Mansion. This time, the Prince of Beiwei's Mansion was full of people from Beijing. King Cheng, who is a powerful and powerful person and is still in confinement, cannot go under any circumstances.

Marquis Beiwei spoke to his guests with a glowing face, and received compliments that were either true or false. Mu Hanzhang said hello to his father and went to the inner house to visit his mother and brother who had just given birth.

"Lin'er, be good, I'll see you soon, brother." Ms. Qiu was wearing a dress made of soft material, sitting on the bed and teasing the young son in her arms. Her slightly fat face looked shiny and rosy, and her eyes were similar to Mu Hanzhang's. Full of lovingkindness.

Looking at the peaceful and beautiful scene in front of him, Mu Hanzhang couldn't help but curl his lips and moved closer to the bed to see his brother.

Mu Long's scales have faded away from the red color when she was born, and her wrinkled little face has also unfolded. She is white and tender, and she is very happy. She is quiet and does not cry. Her big eyes are rolling, and she is very happy to see Mu Hanzhang. Out of curiosity, I couldn't stop staring at him.

"Lin'er, this is brother, please call me brother." Qiu smiled and hugged the child in front of Mu Hanzhang.

"Mom, it's just a full moon, why are you calling someone?" Mu Hanzhang was amused by his mother's behavior.

"The earlier you teach him, the sooner he can speak. Back then, you were able to speak at seven months," Mrs. Qiu said, gradually fading her smile. Hanzhang could not stay with her when she was a child, so she could only visit her every few days. , instead of being able to hold her in her arms like Lin'er every day, she couldn't help but sigh and said instead, "I heard that Princess Rui took back the concubine and Wang Ji who lived in another courtyard."

"Why does my mother always worry about the affairs of Prince Rui's Mansion?" Mu Hanzhang was a little funny. The Marquis of Beiwei's Mansion couldn't even worry about it, and my mother always cared about other people's families. He had not cared about these affairs of the inner house for a long time.

"It's always good for Princess Rui to be more open-minded," Mrs. Qiu sighed, "No matter how good the relationship between the prince and brother Rui is, they can't help the accumulation of small mistakes and complaints. Please persuade the prince more and talk openly to your brother. , don’t have any misunderstanding.”

Mu Hanzhang looked at his mother in surprise. He could infer so accurately just based on the jealous rumors between women. It seemed that his approach was right. He didn't let Jing Shao investigate the Biyun Temple matter any further because he was afraid that there might be some conspiracy involved and he would fall into a quagmire if he got involved. Jingchen is much deeper than Jingshao. People like this tend to think too much, so the best way is to be straightforward and not shy, so that there will be less conflicts between their brothers.

After coming out of the Beiwei Hou Mansion and dealing with those relatives all day long, Mu Hanzhang felt very tired. He had been away from the bad things in the inner house for a long time, and now he sounded really upset. The simple and clean Prince Cheng's Mansion is a truly reassuring home. Thinking of this, when he got into the carriage and saw his prince who secretly came to pick him up again, he couldn't help but reward him with a kiss.

The matter of the maritime port was finally settled, the regulations of each ministry were drawn up, and the courtiers had no objections to the temporary opening of a port. After the morning court, Emperor Hongzheng called Mu Hanzhang to the imperial study.

"I am willing to go." Mu Hanzhang said firmly.

"Then where do you think the port is suitable?" Emperor Hongzheng asked, looking at the mountain and river map of Qianshan.

"I think it would be better to open in the south of the Yangtze River," Mu Hanzhang lowered his eyes and continued without waiting for Emperor Hongzheng to ask, "First of all, the southeastern area has just withdrawn from the vassal and is not stable. Moreover, the products in the south of the Yangtze River are rich, and those Fans can The land sale will prevent them from causing trouble if they stay in Dachen for too long."

Emperor Hongzheng turned around, looked at him quietly for a long time, took out a handwriting from his sleeve and handed it to Mu Hanzhang: "I have already arranged it with someone. You can leave for Luzhou in a few days."

Mu Hanzhang took the bright yellow envelope and knelt down to receive the order.

"Luzhou?" Jing Shao looked at his father's handwriting. Luzhou is not a state, but a place name. It is not far from Pingjiang City. Because it is the mouth of a big river, there is a sandbank there where egrets often appear. So it’s called Luzhou.

"My father asked me to leave in a few days, what should I do?" Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao. He thought it would take some time, but Emperor Hongzheng was more anxious than him. Now that Jing Shao is still grounded, they Are they going to separate?

Jing Shao obviously thought of this, and gradually frowned, wondering what on earth did Gu Huaiqing do for food? Why didn't Jing Yu come back crying after so long?

In the morning of the next day, Emperor Hongzheng announced that Marquis Wenyuan would be the imperial envoy to go to Luzhou to arrange trade matters. Marquis Wenyuan was already responsible for paying tribute to other countries, and he was also responsible for the maritime trade issue, so there was nothing wrong with sending him there now.

Mu Hanzhang was secretly worried. When he saw the flash of light in the eldest prince's eyes, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Jingchen also frowned secretly. This time, the eldest prince and the others did not stop him. He felt that something would happen if he let his brother-in-law go alone.

"Report——" At this moment, a loud announcement came from outside the hall, "Eight hundred miles urgent!"

Emperor Hongzheng immediately asked someone to hand it over. This was an eight hundred mile urgent letter from the Jiangnan General Soldier. The language in it was simple and plain. It only said one thing, that is, the King of Huainan took the initiative to send troops and defeated the army of the four princes. Now, Two cities have been destroyed in a row, and Pingjiang City is about to be invaded!

"You bastard!" Emperor Hongzheng was so angry that his hands shook.

The courtiers looked at each other in shock. The fourth prince had been attacking Huainan for more than a month and had not captured a single city. However, he actually lost two cities in a row. It was really...

"Your Majesty, the south of the Yangtze River is only 800 miles away from the capital. Once the level of the river is broken, the capital will be in danger!" the Minister of War said loudly in a louder voice than usual.

After crossing the Pingjiang River and going up the canal, the plains reach the hinterland of the capital. This is why the emperors of the Chen Dynasty in the past were afraid of the Huainan King. It is like a knife hanging on the throat at any time, making people want to pull it out all the time.

"The fourth prince's battle report never mentioned this. Perhaps the Jiangnan commander was exaggerating?" Mao Guogong suppressed the horror in his heart and said as calmly as possible.

"Your Majesty, we must not let King Huainan attack Pingjiang under any circumstances!" Dingnanhou had defended Pingjiang City when he was young. He naturally knew the stakes involved and said sincerely.

"Father, I think I can't care about anything else now, so I must send the king to fight as soon as possible!" Jingchen said in a deep voice as he came out of the queue.

There was a moment of silence in the court. Everyone knew the so-called "others", and they couldn't care less about training the young prince or the grounding order.

"I also believe that King Cheng should be sent to the expedition!" the Minister of War said loudly.

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"