lady, please calm down

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, in the north of Caizhou City, Zhonglie Temple.

At this time, a large sacrifice for ten thousand people, co-hosted by the eldest princess and the King of Chu, was held outside the Zhonglie Temple.

In addition to Fan Gongzhi, Zhang Chunxiao and other important ministers who accompanied the eldest princess here, Cai Yuan, Chen Jingyan and others from Huaibei were also present at the ceremony.

In the Zhonglie Temple, a bluestone tablet with a height of more than ten feet and a width of more than ten feet is densely engraved with the names of those who sacrificed their lives over the years since the beginning of the Tongshan Defense War in the eighth year of Fuchang.

Behind the Zhonglie Temple is a cemetery full of green pines and cypresses.

In front of the new tombs and old tombs with tombstones, family members wearing white mourning were burning paper money in front of the tombs, and the whole cemetery was filled with smoke.

But today, among the solemn white, there is an eye-catching red.

Ximen, who was responsible for maintaining order and preventing fires here, was delighted when he saw this. He couldn't help but ask his third brother Ximenfa, who was hanging by one arm, "Third brother, who is this woman? Why is she wearing a red wedding dress here?"

Ximen Fa, who was also looking at the strange woman, sighed lowly, but said: "The White Snake, the steward of the Tokyo Palace, the right-hand man of the princess."

"Why is she wearing a wedding dress here?"

"I don't know much about it. I only vaguely heard that the White Snake and the prince's personal guard battalion Commander Bai were engaged before. Unexpectedly, during the Battle of Tokyo, Commander Bai broke into the enemy's formation alone and died in the battle."

"Battle Commander Bai died in battle, but Lady Bai still honors her engagement?"

Ximen Xi probably figured out what was going on and couldn't help but feel in awe.

Although the two of them are currently serving as officials in Tang and Cai states, the three Ximen brothers were the most reckless at that time, so they naturally respect such a woman who values ​​righteousness and keeps promises.

"Hey, it's a pity that when we were in Tongshan, I met Commander Bai several times. He was a good man!"

Speaking of Lao Bai, whose face was blurred in his memory, Ximen sighed with emotion, but couldn't help but look at the third brother's arm wrapped in gauze and hung around his neck, "Is your arm okay?"

Seeing the concerned look on his second brother's face, Ximen Fa instead said calmly: "It's useless. My eldest brother specially asked Taoist Priest Wugen to diagnose and treat me. The Taoist priest said that a big tendon was broken. Although his arm was saved, he couldn't hold the knife or lift it. It’s a heavy thing.”

In the twelfth lunar month of last year, when the Zhou army invaded Huaibei, Ximenfa brothers also organized a militia to try to intercept Zhou's Western Route Army from attacking Caizhou.

During a certain battle, Ximen Fa's right arm was injured. Although he received emergency treatment and saved his life, his arm was disabled.

Brother Ximen's parents died early, and the three brothers had a very good relationship. Now that he heard the third brother's personal confirmation, Ximen couldn't help but look sad.

Ximenfa smiled and said: "Second brother, stop acting like a woman! Compared to heroes like Battalion Commander Bai, I am satisfied that I can still live! Besides, a crippled arm is not a crippled human being. After the big ceremony, I will follow my eldest brother If you go north to Hebei, you should do your best and calm down your hot temper when you stay at home."

After hearing what the third brother said, Ximen Xi's face looked much better. Instead, he said sourly: "Eldest brother Gao Sheng, you go with him to Hebei to be happy, and I am left alone at home."

The two brothers had just received confirmation from their elder brother a few days ago that Ruan Xianfang, the former Hebei Road Manager, had been appointed Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Anfeng court of Zhou Guo, and Ximen Gong was about to take over the post of Hebei Road Manager.

When they first heard about this, the two of them were dazed for a while.

Our Ximen family can actually produce a border official?
I don’t know which grass has grown up on the ancestor’s grave.
However, after several days of digestion, Ximen Fa was no longer as excited as when he first heard the news. Instead, he seriously reminded: "Second brother, don't get carried away! In the future, eldest brother and I will not be in Huaibei, so you must not make any mistakes. Let the eldest brother’s face be shameful in front of the prince!”

"You don't have to say it"

Ximen Xi, who had been repeatedly mentioned by his third brother, finally said displeased.

far away.

Bai Lu's figure attracted the attention of many people, and an insider explained it to everyone in a low voice. After a while, the story of the White Snake getting married before her death spread quickly among the crowd.

Although Mao'er did not show up, the sisters who were rescued with Bai Lu, Han Lu, Xiao Man and others gathered here today to see the sisters off for marriage.

At noon, after Bai Lu kowtowed three times in front of Lao Bai's tombstone, he was sent to Lao Bai's home in a sedan chair from the palace.

The solemn cemetery became even more heavy because of this sad wedding.

Since the eighth year of Fuchang, Huaibei has been changing rapidly, but it has also been coveted many times.

The Huaibei thieves at that time, and later Li Qiong, the military governor of Shandong Taining Army, and then the Three Kingdoms attacked Qi at the end of last year!

Everyone regards Huaibei as a piece of fat.
This pent-up anger finally got a little vent at noon.

Qu Yixian, Lu Yingxian, Liang Jizu and others who had been surrendered to the Jin Dynasty in Luoyang, together with the adult men in their families, were all dressed in only a pair of calf-nose trousers and were tied to a high platform built in advance in the cemetery.

Wang Wuye, the best swordsman in Huaibei for many years, led a group of apprentices and skillfully wrapped fine fishing nets around several people.

Liang Jizu, who had already guessed his own fate, looked at his sons who were also tied up on the stage and burst into tears.

Qu Yixian, who was pouted by the rag, stared at his father-in-law Lu Yingxian with red eyes. He was the one who encouraged him to betray Qi Tojin in the first place!
On the contrary, Lu Yingxian himself was relatively quiet, looking up at the white clouds and the sky with a sense of resignation after losing the bet.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, the cemetery at the rear has been prepared. Do you want to go and watch the execution?"

Xiao Yi walked into the main hall of Zhonglie Temple where the coffin was placed and reported loudly.

Chen Chu personally placed the tombs of Uncle Shen and Lao Bai on the altar. He was silent for a few moments, then turned to Jiaju and said, "Your Highness, why don't you go back and rest first?"

The bloody execution was not very friendly to women, so Chen Chu asked this question.

Unexpectedly, Jia Rou shook her head and said, "I will go with King Chu."

While the two were communicating in low voices, Fan Gongzhi and Zhang Chunxiao behind them looked at each other, and then looked at Cai Yuan, Chen Jingyan and other Huaibei officials.

However, Cai and Chen folded their hands in the same posture, looked down, and did not communicate with Fan and Zhang in advance.

These people are all important ministers, so they are naturally not lacking in political sensitivity. Just now, there is something wrong with the order in which Xiao Yi addressed him when he came to report!
No matter what, when reporting, he should first address him as 'Your Highness' and then 'King of Chu'.

But what Xiaoyi said was 'Your Majesty, Your Highness', and placed Jiarou behind King Chu in front of everyone.

This is not a trivial matter. Fan and Zhang did not believe that the people around King Chu would make such a low-level mistake.
However, the two parties involved, the eldest princess and the King of Chu, did not show any strange expression.

I don’t know if neither of them heard it, or if they understood each other tacitly.

A quarter past noon.

The execution began, and the first blow started with Lu Yingxian, the first mastermind of the Luoyang Mutiny.

I saw Mr. Wang Wu and his disciples first bowing to the front of the execution platform where the King of Chu and other officials were watching the execution, and then bowing to the elders from all directions.

Then he took the sharp knife from his disciple's hand, sprayed a mouthful of strong liquor on the blade, and scraped the blade with his thumb, as if he was satisfied with the sharpness.

Finally, he turned to Lu Yingxian, cupped his fists and said, "I'm offended!"

After that, Wang Wuye flicked his wrist, and a circular hole suddenly appeared in Lu Yingxian's chest, and a piece of flesh and skin the size of a copper coin fell down.

His disciple had already brought the copper basin and accurately put the skin and flesh into the basin.

"Well!"

Lu Yingxian's face suddenly turned red with his mouth blocked, and veins popped out on his forehead. "Okay! The traitor deserves what he deserves!"

Amidst the loud cheers below, a soldier's widow wearing white mourning screamed.

And Liang Jizu, who was beside Lu Yingxian, had stinky urine flowing down his legs.

Jiarou seemed to be feeling uncomfortable and raised her head slightly unnaturally, looking past the execution platform and towards the blue sky.

That night, the fifth person in the palace entered the Qingzhu Pavilion.

Jiarou accompanied Jiacheng, who was staying in the palace, and had a conversation with her sister. After her sister left, she asked Zhuan Yun to bring Mian'er over.

Mian'er has been hiding in the palace since she was born. It was not until last year that she came to Caizhou for the first time and met a group of sisters of similar age.

Therefore, she still has some impressions of this large house with many children.

However, after arriving in Caizhou the day before yesterday, her mother not only did not take her to play with her sisters in the back, but even when a group of aunts came to visit, her mother asked Zhuan Yun to take her and hide out.

At such a young age, Mian'er still couldn't figure out what was going on, but she felt a little unhappy in her heart.

After returning to her mother, she clamored to go to the back to play with sisters Rao'er and Ran'er. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Jiarou refused.

The little girl couldn't help crying. Jiarou, who was already in a bad mood today, got angry and pushed her daughter on her knees and spanked her several times.

This time, Mian'er cried even more painfully. When Jiarou saw this, she also cried and said, "This is not our mother and daughter's home. Can you go to the back house if you want?"

But Mian'er cried and said: "Daddy is here, why is it not Mian'er's home?"

"Your father is not just your own father! He is also the father of Sister Rao and Sister Ran!"

"Mian'er doesn't care, Mian'er has to go back and play with her sister!"

When Zhuan Yun saw the two of them bickering and crying, he didn't dare to persuade her, so he secretly asked someone to invite the prince.

When Chen Chu came in, the older one and the younger one had tears on their faces, back to back, not looking at each other, and seemed to be still sulking.

Mian'er, who was standing facing the wall, saw her father coming, and her cries that had stopped suddenly started again. She ran forward and hugged Chen Chu's legs. She also didn't forget to lift up her skirt to let her father see her red face. Buttandan pointed sideways at Jiarou, who was sitting on the chair with her back to her father and daughter, and cried: "Daddy, daddy, she hit me."

Oops, my mother didn’t even scream anymore.

Jiarou wiped the tears on her face with a handkerchief, then turned around and glared at Mian'er angrily.

Mian'er shrank her neck, raised her head and said with an aggrieved face: "Daddy, daddy, she also said that this is not Mian'er's home."

"Who said this is not Mian'er's home?"

Chen Chu leaned over, picked up Mian'er, and whispered into the little girl's ear: "Don't cry. Daddy also spanked mommy at night. Can I help you get revenge?"

"Okay!" Mian'er immediately stopped crying, but then couldn't help but look back at her mother, whose eyes were red from crying. Finally, she hugged her father's neck and whispered back: "Dad, please don't hit him too hard. Mother will feel pain."

"Haha, okay. Listen to my good girl."

After saying that, Chen Chu turned around and asked Zhuan Yun the whole story, and couldn't help but said: "I thought it was a big deal, Zhuan Yun, taking Mian'er to Wangxiang Garden to play with Sister Rao."

Chen Chu handed Mian'er to Zhuan Yun and said, "Go to the princess's place again, take Ran'er to Wangxiangyuan, and let the three sisters stay at Yunong's place tonight."

Yunong is a well-known doting child in the palace, and the three girls will go crazy when they come to her tonight.

But when Jiarou heard that Mian'er was going to stay in someone else's courtyard at night, she couldn't help but stood up nervously and wanted to stop her.

Chen Chu saw through her worries at a glance and said with a smile: "What a nonsense. Our family doesn't have as many dirty things as there are in the palace. Mian'er will definitely not have any problems living in Wangxiangyuan."

Jia Rou has seen and heard too many horrifying cases since she was a child. She is really worried that her precious daughter has left her protection.

But seeing Chen Chu's resolute decision, Jiarou recalled Yunong's childlike character and sat down.

After Zhuan Yun left with Mian'er, the room became quiet.

Chen Chu then said: "You are so good, how can you say such things to Mian'er? Why is this not your mother and daughter's home?"

Jia Rou silently looked at Chen Chu with her red phoenix eyes, wanting to say something, but she didn't say anything.
Coming to Caizhou from the south of Tokyo this time is very different from the last time Jiarou came here specifically to celebrate the New Year.

This time, not only Jia Rou came, but also important ministers such as Fan and Zhang from the DPRK. It can be said that the small imperial court in Caizhou at this time was able to operate independently from Tokyo.

Furthermore, Jiarou has been regent for several years and finally has several news channels of his own.

According to the news she heard, after the decisive battle in Tokyo last year, the old official system of Qi in the DPRK also completely saw the direction of the wind. Some Qi officials who wanted to show off in front of the King of Chu were secretly discussing how to force the palace.

There is even more terrifying news. I heard that the Huaibei Army stationed in Tokyo even dared to discuss in public the matter of when King Chu will ascend the throne. Some people say that as long as His Highness dies suddenly, there will be no obstacles for King Chu to ascend the throne.
These messages cannot be judged true or false, but they can also prove from the side that the king of Chu has replaced Liu Qi, which is expected by the public.

Jiarou is trapped in the palace, how can she not be afraid?

Therefore, when she came to Cai this time, Jiarou wanted to ask Aiqing face to face what she planned to do with her.

However, at this moment, the two of them looked at each other, and Jiarou's courage, which she had finally mustered up, disappeared again.

As they looked at each other, Chen Chu noticed something in Jiarou's complicated eyes, and couldn't help but sigh: "Jiarou, what rumors have you heard?"

"Is it really just a rumor?" Jiarou lowered her eyes.

"Don't think too much. You live in the palace, so others can naturally see what I mean. No one dares to touch you."

This is true. It is said that after arriving in Caizhou as Jiarou, he lived in the palace, which was very against the rules.

But in this way, Chen Chu's intention to not allow others to act rashly became obvious. Furthermore, it was once again a subtle statement about his relationship with Jia Rou, so that many ministers could be mentally prepared.

After hearing this, Jia Rou smiled sadly and said: "From now on, just don't let Mian'er suffer. I know that I have become a stumbling block for you. You may not be willing to kill me, but the people under your command Where are you helping the arrogant warriors?"

"Jiarou, this matter is not as terrible as you think."

In the middle of Chen Chu's words, Jia Rou suddenly stood up, came over, put her index finger on Chen Chu's mouth, looked up at Chen Chu, squeezed out a smile and said: "You and I haven't seen each other for a long time, we must not Let’s talk about politics again, okay?”

"Ah."

"Then let me ask you, have you thought about me in these many days?"

"Think about it."

Hearing this, Jia Rou put her arms around Chen Chu's waist, looked up at the man close at hand, and murmured: "King Chu, can I call you husband?"

Chen Chu looked at Jiarou, who was lying on her chest with the little bird leaning against her, and responded by lowering his head and kissing her.

The husband is the guide of the wife. Jia Rou's words have shown her attitude of being the wife of the Chen family. The dowry is the more than 20 million Qi subjects and the land of Qi, which is four thousand miles from east to west. (End of chapter)