lady, please calm down

Chapter 571 You choose the couple, I will be the matchmaker

In June, after the last six months of study abroad, Caizhou Girls' School entered the graduation season.

In their spare time, Hutou, Jia'an and a few others formed a women's poetry club, and often gathered together with their sisters to write poems and lyrics to pass the time.

The tenth day of June, at the hour of Yin in the afternoon.

Caizhou's Sajin Lane Palace occupies nearly one-third of the five-courtyard area in the Qingzhu Pavilion, where towering maple trees and low magnolias are arranged in an orderly manner. There are winding water pavilions and scenery on all sides, and the main house in the courtyard is hidden behind a grove of Xiangfei bamboo.

As soon as I walked in, I felt the summer heat disappear, and even the noisy cicada sounds that I usually heard became much softer.

Si Lan, a girl's school student who came here for the first time, was also born in a wealthy family, but at this moment she completely forgot the advice of her classmate and girlfriend Mingxiu. She kept looking around and couldn't help but whispered in amazement: "Mingxiu, Zhao Xiangyi has occupied such a large and beautiful garden by herself? The place she lives alone is almost as big as my house!"

Mingxiu carefully glanced at the maid leading the way, and then replied in a low voice with a proud look on her face: "My aunt grew up by your majesty's side since she was young. Your majesty dotes on my aunt even more than the queen. I heard from Heng Ge'er that when your majesty ascended the throne, he wanted to follow the old Tang calendar and confer the title of princess on my aunt. It was the queen who thought this was too much, so she asked my great-grandmother to turn it down together."

In early May, Mingxiu and Zhao Heng had been engaged by their parents, so it was okay to call the latter "little aunt, great-grandmother" at this time.

Hearing this, Si Lan whispered back, "The Queen is wise! If Your Majesty does that, should the Consort Shu's sister be given a title? If you treat them all equally, how many princesses, county ladies, and county ladies will be created? If you only give it to Zhao Xiangyi, it's too obvious that you favor her."

When she said this, she instantly put herself into the role of the queen, and indeed she had said the reason why Mao'er refused on behalf of Hutou, but Mingxiu was startled, and glanced at the maid in front of her, and hurriedly said: "This is not your boudoir or mine, don't talk nonsense! Otherwise, I won't take you to see my aunt and the others."

Si Lan thought that he hadn't said anything that shouldn't be said. Seeing Mingxiu so scared, he thought that he was too timid. But he said, "I know I'm wrong, isn't it? I promise I won't say anything nonsense later."

This meeting opportunity is hard-won!

This morning, Mingxiu promised to bring her to meet the current queen's sister. After her family found out, they were so excited that they didn't even have lunch. They urgently summoned knowledgeable relatives and friends in the clan and wrote three poems on the spot, one about summer, one about the daughter's melancholy, and one about the general fighting on the battlefield.

Singing about summer is just right for the current season.

The daughter's melancholy was just right for Zhao Xiangyi, a girl of her age who was prone to sentimentality.

The general's expedition coincides with the time when His Majesty is personally heading south.
The Si family took great care in creating a good atmosphere for Si Lan and Madam Zhao to interact with each other.

Although Si Lan felt a little uncomfortable, he also understood his family's efforts.

Just as her grandfather said, sending her to a girls' school was the most important decision made by the family in recent years. The school weakened the family background of each family. No matter whether they were the children of orphaned martyrs, or from a wealthy family, or the second generation of the top nobles of the new dynasty, they could all call each other classmates in the school.

But after graduation, perhaps we will never meet again in this life.

The Si family wanted her to seize this last opportunity to get close to the circle of nobles in Da Chu and open up a broader world for her Si family and herself.

While they were thinking, the two of them followed the maid to the flower hall shaded by bamboo trees.

"Madam Zhao, Madam Ming and Madam Si are here."

"come in."

A clear female voice came from inside, and the maid gently pushed open the door and invited the two in.

In the middle of the flower hall, there was a copper ice jar over two feet long, emitting a hint of cold air. On top of the ice jar, there were a few bunches of grapes and sweet cheese.

The grape skin is covered with a thin layer of white frost, and the sweet cheese has also formed a milky skin due to the low temperature.

This made the two people, who had just traveled across half of Caizhou in the hot weather to get here, salivate.

Two people sat cross-legged on the bamboo mat next to the ice jar. Zhao Xiangyi leaned his elbows on the mat and held a pen in one hand. On the letter on the mat, there was a half-written poem with some scribblings. A pair of bare feet stood upright behind him in a relaxed manner.

On the desk on the other side, there was also a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, writing with a frown on her face.

Si Lan took a quick look and recognized who was present.

In addition to the Queen's sister Zhao Xiangyi, the other two people at the table were Zhou Zhiruo, the daughter of the fifth-rank cavalry general Zhou Zongfa, and Wu Junru, the daughter of Guide General Wu Kui.

The one sitting next to the desk is Jia'en, the former princess and the younger sister of the current concubine.

Over there, Hu Tou sat up, rubbing his numb elbow, and said, "Here, I've saved some sweet yogurt from Bingjian for you two. Eat it to cool down."

Mingxiu, who was a little bit nervous, didn't go to get the food. Instead, she gently pulled Si Lan and said, "Aunt, you still remember Si Lan, right? She was in the same class as you, but in Class A3. We met once outside of Captain Kang's residence at the beginning of last year, and we went to Beijing for study tour at the end of the year together."

"Just call me by my name. Auntie, auntie, it makes me sound old."

Hu Tou first corrected Ming Xiu's address, then said to Si Lan: "Of course I remember it. Si Lan, I heard from Sister Xiu that you are good at writing lyrics. Are you interested in joining our poetry club?"

"If Sister Xiangyi doesn't mind Si Lan being stupid, Si Lan would be willing."

Si Lan smiled, neither humble nor arrogant.

"That's good! The day before yesterday, our Great Chu's vanguard had already advanced to Lin'an. Our poetry club plans to write a poem to be published in tomorrow's Chu newspaper as a congratulatory message. Can you give it a try?"

"Have you taken Lin'an?"

Si Lan was stunned.

She knew about the Great Chu's southern expedition, but it took only a dozen days for them to capture the Zhou's secondary capital. This was not even fast enough to describe it as astonishingly fast.

"Well, the Southern Dynasty Emperor abandoned the city and fled a few days ago. Our army won without a single blow! We just received the news this morning, so it's too late to report it today."

Hu Tou's face was filled with joy, and his peach blossom eyes, which looked very similar to his sister's, curved into a crescent.

Si Lan was still shocked. At this moment, she agreed more and more with some of the things her grandfather said.

Zhao Xiangyi told her all this in person, of course not to show off, and there was no need to keep the matter secret. The reason why the outside world had not received the news was simply because there was no time to print the newspapers today.

The news that the core circle of Huaibei can get access to earlier than others means a lot to ordinary people. Si Lan even has the urge to say goodbye and go home immediately, and let his father buy Huaibei concept stocks before the stock exchange closes.

But reason eventually triumphed over the temptation of short-term interests, and Si Lan quickly adjusted his mind, "Your Majesty is indeed extraordinary! The reunification of the country after three hundred years of destruction is just around the corner! Sister Xiangyi, which ci tune do you want to use as the song?"

The general had already memorized the new poem about the battle, but Si Lan did not take it out directly. Instead, he took the initiative to ask Hu Tou what tune he would use.

This time, others naturally couldn't tell that she was prepared.

It didn't matter what tune was used, Hu Tou said directly: "Any tune will do!"

"Okay, then I will give it a try, and I will give you all some inspiration, and congratulate you, His Majesty, and the Great Chu!"

Seeing that Si Lan was not as shy as other girls, Hu Tou immediately smiled and said, "Okay!"

After Si Lan received the task, he took paper and ink, and lay down at the other end of the desk to start pondering.

Seeing that she had a strong supporter, Sandra Ng, who was forced to do something, stopped pretending, stood up, stretched, and walked to the bookshelf.

Seeing this, Hu Tou could not help but urge: "Aru, don't be lazy, we agreed to have one poem each!"

Before Sandra Ng answered, Zhou Zhiruo rubbed her wrist and said, "Xiangyi, please don't make things difficult for us! In the graduation exam, she got 36 points in poetry class, and the teacher said: bullshit. I got 41 points, and the teacher said: bullshit. Even if we stay up all night with you, we can't do it!"

"That's it!"

Sandra Ng casually picked up the shiny, rubbed Pleasant Goat puppet on the bookshelf and said as she played with it, "When you founded the poetry club, you said you wanted to bring us in to make up the numbers. Who knew you would actually write poetry?"

"How dare you say that? You two failed the poetry class, so it counts as academic failure. If you fail the general studies class, you won't be able to find a job, and even if you get married, you won't be able to manage your household."

The three sisters grew up together, so they have no scruples when speaking to each other.

If Hu Tou's words were between other young sisters, they would have been extremely serious.

But Wu Junru didn't care at all. Instead, she smiled and said, "My father said that it's useless for women to learn so many things. In the end, they still have to get married. Anyway, Brother Yan doesn't despise me. Uncle Peng said that once the war in Jiangnan is over, he will arrange a wedding for me and Brother Yan."

At this point, Sandra Ng looked at Zhou Zhiruo and said casually, "By the way, when are you and my brother going to do it? You better hurry up. If you don't get married, I can't get married either."

"Are you anxious? Hahahaha"

Seeing the future sister-in-law and her husband quarreling in the hall, Hu Tou suddenly stepped forward, snatched the puppet from Sandra Ng, and muttered, "You've studied for so many years, but it's all in vain. You're just thinking about getting married. You're useless!"

"Huh~"

Sandra Ng looked at Hu Tou strangely and burst out laughing, "We are women. Even if we become university scholars, we still have to get married. Are you going to live with the Queen for the rest of your life?"

"."

Somehow these words touched Hutou's head. He was just pretending to be angry just now, but now he was really unhappy.

Just at this moment, Xiaoman knocked on the door and entered, "Xiangyi, the Queen wants you to go to the back."

"Oh"

Hu Tou responded and slowly put on his shoes and socks. When he was about to go out, he saw the puppet that she had temporarily placed on the coffee table. He seemed to be worried that Sandra Ng would play with it again, so he tied the puppet to the colorful ribbon hanging from his waist and used it as a forbidden step.

The forbidden step, also known as the skirt-pressing step, can not only prevent the wind from blowing open the skirt, but also remind women not to take big steps and to pay attention to their manners when walking.

However, most of the forbidden steps are gold and jade rings and pendants, which is why the term "rings and pendants jingle" comes into being.

Hu Tou is probably the first person in the world to use a puppet to perform the forbidden steps.

The rear house is Hanchun Hall.

Hu Tou followed Xiao Man to the outside of the flower hall, and heard a woman's chuckle from inside the hall, "The Queen is too kind."

The laughter was appropriate, neither hurried nor impatient, and even the intervals between each 'hehe' were extremely standard.

To say that this laughter is emotionless, but there is a certain warmth in it; to say that this laughter comes from the heart, it seems too routine. In the past, Hu Tou could not tell the difference between laughter, but after following A Jie for a long time and seeing the world, she could tell at a glance that this laughter must belong to a self-important noblewoman.

So, before entering the door, Hu Tou suddenly stopped, tiptoed to the window and looked inside secretly.

I saw Ajie sitting at the top of the hall, with sister Ayu on her left, and the wife of Duke Ying on her right. Below the wife of Duke Ying was a woman who looked familiar but I couldn't remember who she was.

But the next moment, Hutou suddenly remembered this person. Wasn't she Sister Ayu's third aunt?

Back then, when Hu Tou accompanied A Yu to Yingchuan to celebrate the birthday of the old lady of the Chen family, he had met the third aunt several times.

Afterwards, Hutou saw a young man in his twenties behind Aunt San. The man had a powdered face, red lips and white teeth, and was even more handsome than an ordinary girl.

However, due to the incident with Chen's in-laws, Hutou was generally not fond of the Chen family, and he disliked the kind of scholar who was so weak that he could not even tie a chicken.

But when she noticed that her elder sister's gaze would always linger on the young man for a few moments and she frequently revealed a satisfied smile, she couldn't help but exclaim: Something's wrong!

On the fourth night of the New Year, her elder sister suddenly asked her if she had any man she liked.

Although Hu Tou was close to A Jie, they had never discussed this issue before. Caught off guard, he blushed and could only stammer "no".

Considering this sign, how could Hu Tou not guess what was going on.

"Tiger head?"

Xiaoman, who had already reached the door, turned around and found Hutou climbing through the window and eavesdropping, so she quickly called out to him.

Hanlu, who was guarding inside the door, had seen Xiaoman outside the door, but could not see Hutou's figure. She could not help but look at Xiaoman and ask what was going on.

But then, Hanlu and Xiaoman were surprised to see Hutou suddenly plucked a few peony leaves from the corridor, crushed them in his hands, and smeared them on his clothes.

The green and yellow juice immediately stained the light pink summer shirt dirty.

Then, Hu Tou raised his hand and pulled at his hair. The originally neat and cute dovetail bun immediately became messy.

A few moments ago, she was a lady from a noble family, but now she suddenly turned into a tomboy who had just come back from robbing a bird's nest from a tree.

Just when Xiaoman stared with her eyes wide open, at a loss, Hutou suddenly picked up her skirt and ran into the hall.

"Sister, sister, what do you want from me? I'm so thirsty."

As he was speaking, Hutou had rushed to the side of Cat like a whirlwind, picked up the tea on the table, drank it all in one gulp, then wiped his mouth generously before turning back and exclaiming "Huh~" in surprise.

It seemed that he had not noticed the presence of guests in the hall until now.

"."

In the top, the cat is staring with its mouth wide open, and its chest can be seen rising and falling under its loose clothes.

Tan was also surprised and even subconsciously looked at her sister-in-law.

After a brief surprise, Ayu seemed to understand something. After living together for many years, she naturally knew that although Hutou, who was pampered by the whole family, was a little naughty, he would never be to this extent.

"Xiangyi, you've been playing with Nian'er and the others again, and your clothes are all dirty. Go wash and change clothes before we talk."

Ayu spoke up and tried to save the situation.

“I didn’t see it.”

Tiger Head wanted to kick away the step that Ayu handed him, but Cat couldn't help it anymore and called out, "Xiang Yi!"

Well, I still should stick to my sister’s advice.

Tiger Head remained silent.
Just when he was feeling awkward, he saw Ayu's third aunt Zhou's face full of doting smile, looking at Hutou and said: "I haven't seen you for a few years, Xiangyi has grown into a big girl. I often heard Defei say that Xiangyi is straightforward and is quite loved by the children in the family. The saints said that those who love others will always be loved by others. It is a great blessing for the princes and princesses to have such an aunt."

The step that Hu Tou wanted to kick away was moved back by Zhou.

With her words endorsed by a saint, everyone's expressions suddenly became much more relaxed.

After chatting for a while, Zhou finally said, "Xiangyi, do you still remember your brother Yingyi? You met him once when Xiangyi went to Yingchuan in the early years."

Ugh. He is more effeminate than me. I might as well call him sister!
Hu Tou wanted to touch his chest and pretend to vomit, but under the scorching gaze of A Jie, he finally didn't dare to.

"Yier, greet your sister Xiangyi."

On this side, after hearing his mother's words, Chen Yingyi, the eldest son of the third branch of the Chen family, blushed slightly and said with a bow, "My foolish brother, I am honored to meet you, my sister."

He looks like a modest gentleman.

Also under the gaze of Ajie, Hutou bowed reluctantly but did not speak.

"Xiangyi, Yingyi came to Caizhou with his parents to visit relatives. He is not familiar with this place. Since you two are old acquaintances, you can take your brother around the city."

"Ah? I have something else to do!"

Hu Tou refused immediately, but under the increasingly hostile gaze of his elder sister, he finally pouted and said, "Oh, I know."

At three quarters past three in the morning, Hutou returned to Qingzhu Pavilion in a bad mood to change clothes.

When passing by the flower hall, Si Lan, who had just finished writing a new poem, hurried forward and handed over the paper in her hand, "Sister Xiangyi, this is my humble work, please give me some advice."

At this moment, Hu Tou no longer had the mood to appreciate poetry or talk about lyrics, but he felt bad for calling someone over in such a hot day, so he took the paper and took a look.

Unexpectedly, after taking a closer look, I was surprised to find that the new lyrics that the other person created in two quarters of an hour were actually an above-average work!
Although it is not as graceful as Sister Ayu's, nor as majestic as her brother's lyrics, it is definitely a masterpiece among the students in their girls' school.

Even if it is printed in the newspaper tomorrow, it will not lose face!
"Ah! I didn't expect that Sister Si Lan is actually such a talented woman! Your family must be a scholarly family!"

After saying that, Tiger Head seemed to suddenly think of something. His eyes suddenly lit up and he looked straight at Si Lan. His little mouth couldn't help but widen wider.

Si Lan was overjoyed because Hu Tou called her "sister", but she noticed that there was something wrong with the latter's eyes.

It feels like a big bad wolf is targeting a little white rabbit.
"Sister Xiangyi, what's wrong with you?"

Si Lan was a little scared when she was stared at. Unexpectedly, Hu Tou grabbed her hand and leaned close to her ear to ask, "Sister Si Lan, do you have a man you like?"

Her relationship with Hutou is not the same as that between Hutou and Sandra Ng and Zhou Zhiruo.

Such a private question immediately made Si Lan blush, but in order to promote the relationship with Hu Tou, she still said the truth: "My grandmother passed away three years ago, and the mourning period just ended in March this year. My father has not yet had time to arrange a marriage for me."

"Great!"

Hu Tou almost wanted to clap his hands and shout, God will not let Zhao Xiangyi die!
But Si Lan looked stunned. My grandmother is dead, why are you so happy?

"No, no. My condolences to you, sister!"

Hu Tou apologized quickly, and then lowered his voice and said, "My cousin came to my house. He was born in a noble family in Yingchuan. He is well-educated and talented. The most important thing is that he is handsome. He is not even a woman, but he is very handsome. He is still unmarried. We will go out of town to play later. How about I match you two together? I guarantee you will not lose out!"

"."

Aren’t you here to make friends with Zhao Xiangyi today?

How did we suddenly get to the point of discussing marriage?

Si Lan is not a bad person, but influenced by her family, she is very purposeful in doing things. Hu Tou's sudden proposal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her and even for her family.

The direct descendant of the Yingchuan family. Not to mention the two important officials of the Chen family and the Empress Defei of Da Chu, just the reputation of being noble for a thousand years is already a family background that a small wealthy family like Si Lan dare not dream of.

At this moment, his father and grandfather are not around, so Si Lan has to make the decisions on his own.

Si Lan lowered her red face, and under Hu Tou's repeated urging, she murmured, "Sister Xiangyi, please don't talk about matchmaking. I was born in a humble family, how can I be worthy of the noble family in Yingchuan. If, if we can go out together, I can see the demeanor of the children of the noble family, and I will be satisfied."

It sounded like she was refusing, but she agreed to go out with us. It's just that she is a girl with a thin face.

How could Hu Tou not see it? She just laughed and waved her hand, saying to Jia Man, Wu, and Zhou: "Young ones, follow me out of the city."

Si Lan was stunned again and again. Is this the lady from a noble family?

She looks just like a female bandit leader.

Unexpectedly, Wu Junru and Zhou Zhiruo jumped up from their seats and shouted, "Yes, my Lord! Please tell me where to send our troops!"

"Send troops to Qinglian Temple in the east of the city!"

Tiger Head pointed at Sandra Ng, "Benboerba, go get the horse ready!"

"Yes!"

Then he pointed at Sandra Ng and said, "Babolben, go and call Yan Ge'er and Zu Ge'er."

"Yes!"

Finally, he pointed at Jia'er and said, "Xiao Zuanfeng, go prepare some snacks and water."

Si Lan couldn't help but look at Jiamen, thinking: She is a real princess of the previous dynasty, how could she follow you and make trouble!
Sure enough, the well-mannered Jiarou rolled her eyes.

But he said in his mouth: "My lord, I obey your command."

puff~
Bandit's den!
(End of this chapter)