lady, please calm down

The girls cry sweetly in the red silk tent, and the mandarin ducks are a pair in the quilt.

Night, the beginning of the hour of Hai.

Inside the house in Nongyu Lane, Ayu's eyes were blurry and her expression was dazed. It took more than a hundred breaths before she slowly woke up from the lingering emotion.

She quietly raised her head from Chen Chu's arms, only to find that he was also looking at her. Ayu felt shy and retracted her head into the quilt.

After leaving the mansion today, the two of them were a little crazier than usual. Ah Yu was shy, so Chen Chu changed the subject and asked, "Ah Yu, do you know the Lu Qian family in Zhedong?"

Hearing Chen Chu asking about the business, A Yu pulled the quilt down a little, revealing his eyes. "I know. His ancestor was named King of Yue as early as the late Tang Dynasty. Later, his grandson led the people to surrender to Zhou and was named King of Cheng. The family has lasted for nearly three hundred years. Although the current head of the family, Qian Luzhi, lives in seclusion in the countryside, his students and old friends who have been funded by him are all over the court and the country of Zhou. It is the largest family in Liangzhe. I heard that the imperial farms set up after the Zhou Dynasty moved south were all bought from the Qian family."

"Ah."

Chen Chu put one arm behind his head and the other arm around Ayu's shoulders.

Seeing him in deep thought, Ayu probably guessed something. Now the situation north of the Yangtze River is generally calm. If nothing unexpected happens, after April, my uncle will be ready to take action against the Zhou Kingdom, which is in a corner.

In his early years, Ayu helped his father deal with official documents, and later worked as Chen Chu's secretary for a period of time. He had in-depth contact with Huaibei's political affairs and naturally understood Huaibei's style of doing things.

At this moment, when Chen Chu asked about the Qian family, he took the initiative to express his opinion, "Uncle, the affairs of Jiangnan are not the same as those of Huaibei and Central Plains."

"Oh? What's the difference?"

"In the year Dingwei, most of the truly wealthy families in Qi followed the Zhou Dynasty and migrated south, creating a power vacuum at the grassroots level in various places. This allowed my uncle to push forward the land reform relatively smoothly."

"Relatively smooth?" Chen Chu sighed, "This journey has not been smooth at all!"

Hearing him say this, Ayu hid in the quilt and tucked on her bellyband, then sat up and said seriously: "Ayu and uncle analyzed everything one by one. Back then, Zheng Yi took advantage of the large-scale migration of gentry from Huaibei to the south and occupied half of the fertile land in Langshan County. But he looked fierce, but was hated by his superiors and the people, and was actually the weakest. At that time, I'm afraid uncle didn't expect that it would be so easy to take over Caizhou, right?"

"really."

"As for the land reform in Hebei, my uncle used the strong army as a backing, the benefits of the workshop as bait, and the plaque of "Good Family" by Jia Rouqin to make the local gentry voluntarily "surrender the land."

"Yes."

"Finally, let's talk about the gentry in Xiangfu County, west of Beijing. They were the most stubborn and the most resistant to the land reform policy, which led to the Xuande Gate Incident. Uncle should have seen that although the landlords in the above places have fought against uncle openly or secretly, most of them are alienated from the people, while the gentry in Jiangnan are different."

"Well, go on."

"The aristocratic families in Jiangnan, represented by the Qian family, are the real wealthy families. They have been in the local area for hundreds of years, and they have more than ten thousand tenants and servants. The people only know the clan leader, not the court. From the perspective of the gentry in Jiangnan, Tian Gai is just sucking their blood out of them, and they are unwilling to sit and wait for death. If my uncle enters Jiangnan and still uses the same method as before, they may incite the people to rebel."

"In Ayu's opinion, what should we do?"

"Ayu is a woman who lives in a secluded house. She shouldn't be giving advice on national affairs."

A Yu was in a yandere mood and even though she had a lot to say to Chen Chu, she still said this.

Chen Chu laughed and said, "We are the only couple here, you and I, so feel free to talk."

Ah Yu then said: "If you want to lure them with the benefits of the workshop, it won't work. The gentry in Liangzhe, Jinghu, and Jiangnan have accumulated wealth for hundreds of years, and each of them is rich enough to rival a country. They will not look down on even a small concession.

Inviting them by ‘name’ is also not an option. For example, the Qian family, their ancestors were once kings and were noble for hundreds of years. Their uncle suddenly rose to power, and even if they were given a title, they might not appreciate it.”

The meaning of 'sudden rise' is just nouveau riche.

To put it bluntly, those old money people might even look down on a newcomer like Chen Chu, not to mention the title bestowed by him.

Didn’t the Chen family of Yingchuan have a similar mentality at the beginning?

Precisely because she also came from a noble family, Ayu was able to grasp the minds of those powerful families.

"Fame and fortune are both useless. If you want to win someone over," Ayu continued, "the only way is to give him 'power'."

"But I can't give them this." Chen Chu said with a smile, but his tone was very firm.

A Yu seemed to know that Chen Chu would have this attitude, and he gave a serious suggestion: "A Yu's meaning is not to really let them continue to rule one side, but to say that uncle should stabilize them first, and then free up his hands to deal with them after the north and the south are unified, so as to prevent them from helping the Zhou Dynasty when uncle marches south and causing more difficulties for our army."

"Haha, but they can't wait to take action first. It's too late."

As Chen Chu spoke, his big hands had already climbed up along Ayu's slender waistline to her smooth back, and accurately touched the straps of her bellyband.

"It's late? What does that mean?"

Ayu, who was immersed in the atmosphere of discussing national affairs, suddenly felt cold. She looked down and found that her bellyband had slipped off. She couldn't help but screamed and subconsciously covered her chest with her arms.

Chen Chu chuckled, pulled the man into his arms, and said as if to show off: "My skill of untying a bellyband with one hand is pretty good, right?"

"Wow! Auntie is so awesome!"

"Wow, wow, Aunt Shen is teaching Nian'er."

At 1:00 p.m., in the back house of the palace on Sui Mian Street.

The gardens of the ladies either had exquisite rockeries or flowers and plants, but the yard where Tiedan lived had a bare martial arts field. On the weapon beams placed against the wall, there were all kinds of swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks and forks.

Under the bright candlelight, Tiedan was holding a pear blossom spear, and the cold light was shining all over, which was very beautiful.

The two boys, Ji'er and Nian'er, were fascinated by the show and couldn't stop clapping their hands.

With the encouragement from the children, Tiedan played more vigorously.
After a while, Cai Huan, who had just returned from her previous residence, heard that there was a lot of hustle and bustle here, so she turned into Tiedan's garden.

Seeing Mao'er and Yunong sitting in the chairs, a group of children stared at Aunt Shen who was very good at playing with guns.

Cai Huan twisted her waist and walked to Yunong's side, sticking out her butt and twisting it, and squeezed herself into the chair that could only accommodate one person.

Yunong was squeezed so hard that she screamed, "Oh! Sister Cai, you are squeezing me to death. You are squeezing the baby in my belly! Sister, look at her. Sister, please take care of her!"

Mao'er was quite speechless towards Cai Hua, and turned to Bai Lu and said, "Move another chair over."

A few moments later, Bai Lu brought a chair, but Cai Hua still showed no intention of moving. Yunong had no choice but to get up by herself, and sat on the other side of the cat with the chair in a wronged manner.

Over there, Cai Hua stretched lazily and looked around. Seeing that only Zhuan Yun was beside Nian'er, she couldn't help but ask, "Hey, the prince and Little Goldfish left the house early in the morning. Haven't they come back yet?"

"Xiao Yi just came back and told me that the master and A Yu will not be returning home tonight." Mao'er replied.

Cai Hua, who was slumped in the chair, couldn't help but curl her lips and said, "The house is so big, isn't it enough for them to mess around? They even went out and pretended they were having an affair!"

To be honest, the process of Ayu entering the house was not glorious, and it could indeed be considered as "stealing someone".

Yunong, who had just been bullied by Cai Hua, murmured softly, "A crow has landed on a pig. Some sisters only see the blackness of others and don't think about themselves."

Yunong does have the confidence, after all, she was taken home by Chen Chu himself, and Maoer even drank the tea she offered her.

By this calculation, Yunong was one of the few people in the family who followed the normal procedures to enter the house.

Upon hearing this, Cai Hua immediately sat up straight, then leaned forward, looking past the cat, looking at Yunong and said domineeringly: "Who do you say is the crow? Who is the pig? I didn't steal it at the beginning! I robbed it! It's just that I didn't succeed!"

These words made Mao'er laugh. Cai Huan really was more like trying to rob Mao'er's husband.

To prevent the two from arguing again, Mao'er suddenly said, "Master, you took out some money from the government a few days ago. Could it be that you have bought some property?"

This is not difficult to guess. Even though Chen Chu is low-key, he still needs guards to accompany him. He and Ayu are not returning tonight, so it is not realistic for them to stay in an inn. I guess he bought a new house.

"Oh, little goldfish is happy. The two of them went out of the palace to have fun, but left their son at home. No, I have to buy a house in the city, so that I will have a place to stay when I leave the palace in the future."

Mao'er did not comment on Cai Hua's words, but asked, "What did you do in the front house just now?"

"Oh, Li Ke and his family came to Tokyo, and they specially asked his wife and children to meet me."

If Li Ke had not been supported by Cai Huan back then, he would not be where he is today. Therefore, it was only right for him to visit Cai Huan after arriving in Beijing.

However, Mao'er frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Li Guofan just came to Beijing a few days ago, and Li Ke is here today too. Is there something going on?"

Li Guofan is Li Mule. Guofan's courtesy name was given by Chen Chu. It sounds much more elegant than Li Mule. Although Mao'er is not completely clear about Li Mule's specific job, he knows that he and Li Ke have helped the official do a lot of big things in recent years. Now, the two have entered Beijing one after another, which seems to mean that something bad is about to happen.

"I don't know. I guess the prince is about to ascend the throne and is worried that someone might cause trouble?"

Cai Hua then cursed again, "Li Ke is a tight-lipped guy nowadays. He didn't reveal anything to me this time."

The next day, March 18th, the sun was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

When Ayu woke up, he touched his side but found nothing.

Slowly opening his eyes, looking at the sunlight slanting into the room and the unfamiliar furnishings, Ayu was confused for a moment.

There was no Nian'er, no uncle, and even Zhuan Yun was gone. For a moment, Ayu even thought she had had a dream that spanned ten years.

But then, her slightly sore waist and the still warm quilt beside her reminded her of how crazy she had been last night, and the sense of unreality gradually disappeared.

Thinking that Chen Chu had already gone on duty, Ayu suddenly felt a little lost.

After a few breaths, the door was pushed open with a creak. Ayu turned her head and saw Chen Chu, who was already dressed neatly, walking in.

Ayu felt a sudden pain in her nose and started to cry.

Chen Chu walked forward in surprise, but before he could say anything, A Yu had already lifted the quilt, knelt on the bed and hugged Chen Chu.

"Why are you crying so early in the morning?"

Chen Chu said curiously as he stroked Ayu's delicate back.

Ah Yu choked up and said, "Just now, when I opened my eyes and didn't see my uncle, I thought...I thought all these years were just a dream."

Literary young women, sentimental, can also cry
Chen Chu coaxed you with gentle words, and then said: "I wanted to take you around the city today, but there are guests in the city, and I need to entertain them. Let Xiao Yi take you back home first."

Ayu was a little reluctant to see this time alone come to an end, but she was not going to act like a spoiled child like Yunong, nor was she going to say "I must follow you" like Cai Hua. In the end, she responded sensibly, "Well, uncle, be careful. Ayu will be back home now."

At 2:15 in the morning, Ayu's carriage left Nongyu Lane.

Chen Chu sat alone in the outer courtyard for a while. Not long after, Li Muli and Li Ke walked in together.

"Your Majesty, we stayed at Xinjin Posthouse, fifty miles south of the city, last night. According to the walking distance, we can enter the city this evening."

Li Ke reported, and Chen Chu tapped the table with his index finger and asked, "Have you figured out how many people are on the other side?"

"The intelligence provided by Mr. Chen of Lin'an is very rough. We only know that someone wants to harm the prince. After investigation, we have confirmed that the enemy has 22 people disguised as merchants and divided into two groups to enter the capital one after the other."

Li Mule, who had been silent the whole time, added: "The enemy is extremely alert, and I dare not get too close to them, so as not to alert them. The assassin may have other people who have not been discovered by me yet. In my opinion, it would be best for Your Majesty to go out less recently."

Chen Chu couldn't help but laugh and said, "How can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?"

As soon as Li Mule heard this, he knew that Chen Chu was not going to accept the military's suggestion, so he continued, "After my subordinates made inquiries, we have roughly confirmed that the family who has been keeping a distance of ten miles from the assassin is Zhang, the widow of Xu Derang, the Minister of Rites of Liu Qi, and his descendants."

"Xu Derang?"

Chen Chu thought for a moment before remembering who this person was. But then he asked in confusion, "Did they come together as a family?"

I just heard that the Xu family always kept a distance of more than ten miles from the assassin, which naturally made people think that the Xu family was related to the assassin.

But when he heard that the other party had even brought their offspring with them, Chen Chu couldn't help but doubt his own judgment. If the Xu family came here just to cooperate with the assassination, they shouldn't have brought their offspring with them!

If they do this, once the truth is revealed, their entire family will be wiped out.

Li Ke immediately guessed Chen Chu's idea and said, "Your Highness, bringing your family along will make it easier for people to relax their vigilance! Just like me, I was able to travel with the assassin for a while and spy on him at close range because I brought my wife and children with me. That's why they were no longer wary of me! King Chu should not underestimate the resentment in the Xu family. Back then, Xu Derang was willing to crash to death in the Daqing Palace, which shows how stubborn the family is! This time, the possibility that the Xu family is risking their lives to murder Your Highness is very high!"

Chen Chu couldn't help but fall into silence, but Li Ke winked at Li Mule several times, signaling the latter to say something.

After a few breaths, Li Mule bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if the Xu family is really involved in the assassination this time, I beg you to cut the grass and root it out. Don't let any of the descendants of the Xu family let go!"

The subtext is that the prince was kind and spared the Xu family. Now it seems that hidden dangers are still left.

That afternoon, the palace saw Xing Garden.

"After you leave the mansion, you must not tell anyone about what happened in the mansion. My elder sister is going to tell my brother-in-law about this matter herself, so you must not let the news leak out."

When Jia'an sent the imperial physician out, she gave him some careful instructions and stuffed a silver ingot into his hand.

The imperial physician hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know what happened in the palace. I will not reveal a word after I leave the palace."

"That's good, don't call me Your Highness from now on."

After sending the imperial physician away, Jia'an returned to her sister's room, only to see Jiarou leaning against the window gazing at the spring scenery in the courtyard with a faint smile on her lips.

Jia'an came forward, smiled, reached out and gently stroked Jia'an's belly, and whispered: "Sister, this time you will definitely give birth to a boy."

Jiarou smiled gently and said, "I hope so."

At the beginning of the month, Jiarou's period had not arrived. Today, Jiamen specially invited an old doctor who had met the sisters several times in the past to come to the house for a consultation. At this moment, it was finally confirmed that Jiarou was pregnant with a little life.

However, compared to the fanfare after Yunong's pregnancy, Jiarou kept the news a secret.

It has nothing to do with her personality. Having lived in the palace in her early years and now being a little out of tune with everyone else in the palace, Jiarou has become accustomed to being cautious.

"Sister, when your brother-in-law comes back, you should take the opportunity to ask for a few maids and servants for your courtyard. You see, your place is so cold and lonely, like a cold palace."

"I am used to it."

Jiarou said it was a habit, but there was actually another reason.

Mao'er would naturally not treat Jiarou harshly by not providing her garden with the necessary servants. However, those maids and old women sent here were either from Mao'er's house or transferred from Cai Huan. Jiarou was very wary and naturally did not want to use maids raised by others.

The one who came to see the patient today was an imperial physician from outside the palace, and the female physician Wang, who did not live in the palace, came for the same reason.

Here, Jia'an kept staring at her elder sister's belly, muttering to herself, "May the gods and Buddhas bless me, and I will make sure my elder sister gives birth to a little prince and that he will grow up quickly and support me, his aunt!"

Maybe it was because Hu Tou grew up with Chen Chu, or maybe it was because Hu Tou's sister was the principal wife of the palace. In any case, she could call Chen Chu brother with a clear conscience.

But Jia'an couldn't shout out. Although her sister had suffered fear and separation over the years, she now very much hoped that her elder sister could give birth to a baby boy to bless them, the sisters who had lost their father and brothers.

The sisters were in tune with each other. While Jia'an was chattering on and on, they both thought of their father and brother almost at the same time.

But Jia'an looked around and saw that there was no one nearby, so she whispered, "Sister, I occasionally heard people say that the fight between the two brothers for the throne was caused by my brother-in-law! Some people also said that it was my brother-in-law who killed my father!"

When her two brothers were fighting for the throne, Jia'en was still young. Not only did she have a weak relationship with her two brothers, but she could only see her father a few times a year. Now she couldn't even remember what he looked like.

It was for this reason that she was able to ask in a relatively calm tone.

But when Jiarou heard this, her face suddenly changed. She quickly turned around and closed the door. Then she whispered to Jiamen, "What nonsense are you talking about! I was in the palace on the night when our father passed away. Your brother-in-law had not yet entered the capital. How could he harm our father!"

“I don’t believe it either.”

Jia'an quickly explained.

Jiarou's face looked better, and she continued, "Those rumors were spread by the Southern Dynasty Emperor in order to alienate your brother-in-law and the old ministers of Qi. Next time you listen to nonsense, I will ask the steward Weng in the front yard to arrest the person and punish him!"

Seeing her elder sister's big reaction, Jiarou said softly, "Sister, don't be angry. I won't say nonsense again in the future."

Jiarou couldn't help but soften her heart. After a few breaths of silence, she slowly said, "Sister has to be careful everywhere so that she can bring you to live in this world. He is not only sister's husband, but also Mian'er's father. We sisters are orphans of the previous dynasty. If we were to wander around in the world, we would have been kept as curiosity. In this world, only your brother-in-law would treat us sisters like this. From now on, you can't bring those nonsense from outside into the mansion."

"Ah."

Jia'an nodded obediently, but she didn't have the courage to ask the question in her heart: "If the rumors outside are true, what will I do?"