Border Cook

The emperor's answer was very smooth, "It all depends on what Lan'er likes."

The Queen Mother made her opinion clear, "It's a match made in heaven."

Mrs. Fan smiled and said, "General Shenhu is a good friend of Honghui. He is often mentioned in his letters and speaks highly of him. General Shenhu is young and promising, and his sister has a good relationship with Lan'er. I think it is a very good relationship..."

Fan Hongyu shook his head seriously and said, "I don't think it's appropriate."

"Why do you say that?" The Queen Mother was very surprised. "But do you think there is something wrong with this General Shenhu?"

You know, Fan Jinglan has the final say in the Fan family, especially her two elder brothers Fan Hongyu and Fan Honghui, who love her so much that they would rather give her the stars than the moon.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Fan Jinglan has a good impression of Xia Yunji, but it is strange that Fan Hongyu is acting inappropriately at this moment.

Fan Hongyu frowned and said, "I think that Lan'er is still young, so there is no rush to discuss marriage. It is better to wait for another two years."

If you like someone, after waiting for two years and getting to know him/her, maybe he/she will fall in love with someone else?

Who knows, maybe she has no interest in love between men and women at all and just wants to continue being a little princess at home?
There is nothing in this world that cannot be accomplished with time!
Queen Mother, "..."

Everyone, "..."

I understand. It's not that I think Xia Yunji is a bad person, it's that my sister's marriage is a bad thing.

A common problem for older brothers!

The Queen Mother coughed lightly and said, "This matter...it all depends on Lan'er's opinion."

What other people think is not important!

"Yes, the Queen Mother is right." Fan Hongyu said, "But if I can persuade her with emotion and reason, I think Lan'er will agree. What's more, I am Lan'er's brother after all, and Lan'er respects her brother, so..."

Fan Jinglan will still listen to him!

The Empress Dowager, the Queen and Mrs. Fan all glanced at Fan Hongyu.

I hope you will still be as confident when Fan Jinglan comes back later.

As they were talking, the competition between Fan Jinglan and Xia Yunji had ended amid cheers.

The Queen Mother raised her hand and told the two people to come over and talk.

Fan Jinglan felt extremely refreshed by the discussion just now. She was so happy that she acted coquettishly in front of the Queen Mother.

"Your Highness pays homage to the Empress Dowager and the Empress." It was the first time that Xia Yunji met the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and he saluted properly.

The Queen Mother, the Empress and Madam Fan looked at Xia Yunji carefully, nodded at the same time and smiled at each other.

"Yes, he is a good child." The Queen Mother praised and asked Fan Jinglan beside her, "What do you think, Lan'er?"

how do you feel

"Very good." Fan Jinglan expressed her attitude without reservation, and even emphasized it for fear that others would not understand her meaning, "I think General Shenhu is very good."

Fan Jinglan thinks he is very good?

This took Xia Yunji by surprise. His whole head buzzed and there was a brief blank.

After coming back to his senses, he hurriedly bowed to Fan Jinglan, "Thank you very much, Madam Fan, for your praise."

"You're fine usually, but why are you stuttering today?" Fan Jinglan glanced at Xia Yunji, "Why, are you surprised that I'm praising you?"

Not only was it unexpected, it was too unexpected!
Realizing that this was Fan Jinglan's recognition of him, Xia Yunji was extremely excited and shook his head like a rattle, "No, no."

But he felt that what he said was not quite right, and nodded his head hurriedly, "Yes..."

This extremely flustered and helpless look, although it seems a little unruly and not graceful enough, the most real feeling is completely consistent with the uneasy look of a son-in-law when meeting his wife's family.

The Queen Mother, the Empress and Madam Fan couldn't help laughing, and even the Emperor narrowed his eyes.

Only Fan Hongyu frowned and pulled Fan Jinglan to his side, "Little sister, listen to what big brother says, you are still young..."

"When my eldest brother got married, he seemed to be one year younger than Yunji." Fan Jinglan retorted.

"I was talking about your age..."

"My eldest sister-in-law was also half a year younger than me."

Fan Hongyu, "..."

"Actually, you can stay at home for two more years." Fan Hongyu said earnestly.

"Brother, I just want to get married, not to die. It's not like I won't go home in the future. You know, even before I got married, wasn't I often away from home?"

"That's what I said, but things after marriage are still different from before marriage..."

"Brother, do you mean that after I get married, I will change?"

"But if you want to marry Xia Yunji, you will definitely settle down at the border. Father, mother and elder brother will definitely miss you very much."

"My second brother is at the border, he will probably be very happy about this. At worst, how about I bring my father and mother to live at the border? Although the border is not as prosperous as the capital, it is also a place of great beauty, it is true!"

Fan Hongyu, "..."

So, my younger sister considered a lot, but she never considered her elder brother who worked in the Ministry of Households and had difficulty going to the border?
Why am I suddenly a little jealous of Fan Honghui?

"Little sister..."

"Brother is a man of action and resolution. Why are you suddenly so fussy now?" Fan Jinglan's face was full of disgust.

"Brother is also worried that you will suffer in the future." Fan Hongyu sighed.

"But I can't endure hardship." Fan Jinglan didn't care at all.

Not to mention that Xia Yunji is now in a high position, with a lot of military pay every month, and the emperor's reward this time is also very generous. She personally has countless assets. The only hardship she has experienced in her life is the medicine she has to take when she is sick.

"But this suffering is not only financial, but also emotional..."

"That's easier said than done. If we like each other, we'll be together. If we don't like each other, we'll separate. It's very simple."

"But if he has three wives and four concubines by then..."

"Let's not talk about Xia Yunji not being able to do that. Even if there really comes a day like that..." Fan Jinglan blinked and clenched her fists, "Then beat him up!"

Fan Hongyu completely agreed to the idea of ​​beating him up, and nodded frantically, saying, "When the time comes, just leave it alone and let me do it!"

As for beating up the brother-in-law, it could be done by him, the elder brother-in-law!

Although he is a civil official, he still has a solid foundation in martial arts. Even though there is still a slight gap compared to Xia Yunji, he can start practicing now!
"Then it's a deal." Fan Jinglan held out her finger, "Let's pinky promise!"

"Okay, pinky promise!" Fan Hongyu also stretched out his finger.

The two of them put their thumbs together and smiled for a while, but Fan Hongyu suddenly felt something was wrong. Wait, did he compromise and agree to this?
Is it too late to regret now?

The sky seems to have collapsed...

The conversation between the brother and sister was heard clearly by others, who also completely understood Fan Jinglan's thoughts and ideas at the time.

Mrs. Fan smiled and nodded to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother understood and said with a smile, "It is better to do it today than to wait for a better day. Then I will take charge and approve the marriage between Xia Yunji and Lan'er!"

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Mrs. Fan smiled and thanked first.

Fan Jinglan and Xia Yunji also hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude.

Xia Yunji, in particular, was so flustered because happiness came too suddenly that he couldn't control himself. He fell to his knees with a thump, and the floor almost shook as he banged his head when he was expressing his gratitude, which was quite deafening.

He even stammered, "Thank you, Queen Mother, thank you, Madam Fan, thank you, Lord Fan. I will definitely, definitely treat Madam Fan well. Yes, I will definitely treat her well. Don't worry, everyone!"

This simple and honest appearance once again made everyone smile and nod, which was considered as recognition of Xia Yunji.

Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan came over upon hearing the news and also expressed their gratitude.

"I know the character of you two, and I am relieved that Lan'er will marry into the Xia family."

The Queen Mother said, "You also know that Lan'er is the apple of my eye. Her status is more respected than that of a legitimate princess. Since Lan'er wants to discuss marriage, she will be named Princess Ping'an and married with the ceremony of a princess. The marriage will be arranged by the Ministry of Rites."

"The imperial decree granting the marriage and the enfeoffment of the princesses will also be handed over to the Ministry of Rites to choose a good day. From now on, you two will work with the Ministry of Rites to arrange many matters. Just one thing, do not let Lan'er down."

"I sincerely obey the Queen Mother's decree."

"I will obey the Queen Mother's order."

Lu Qiyan and Xia Mingyue saluted together again.

A marriage was settled in this way, and it was a very rare thing, especially since this marriage satisfied almost all the people involved.

Everyone was very happy, with smiles almost overflowing from their faces.

The happiest people among them were Xia Yunji and Fan Jinglan.

Needless to say, Xia Yunji had completely forgotten everything at this moment, and turned into a silly boy who only knew how to smile foolishly.

Fan Jinglan also smiled, and even after returning to her seat, the corners of her mouth were still curled up.

The Fifth Princess, who was closest to her, winked at her and even touched Fan Jinglan's arm. "No wonder you changed your way of addressing Anle Township Lady a long time ago and only called her sister. It turns out that you are thinking about someone's brother. Should I call you a scheming old woman?"

"What you said is, I like Sister Xia because I like Sister Xia, and I like Xia Yunji because I like Xia Yunji. These are two completely different things. How can they be confused?"

Fan Jinglan puffed up her cheeks in pretending to be angry, "You have to look at the current situation carefully. You should know that Sister Xia will be my real sister from now on. If you want to try Sister Tanzui's cooking skills in the future, you need to get my permission first."

"Yes, yes, my Miss Fan." The Fifth Princess chuckled and handed a plate of honeydew melon on her table to Fan Jinglan. "I'll bribe you right away."

"Then I, an old woman, will bribe you as well." Old Madam He also joined in the fun and took a small plate of winter bamboo shoots and ham from her table.

"Then I'll join in the fun too?" Xia Mingyue joked and went to pick up the winter dates on the table.

Several people were playing together.

The other female relatives around them soon learned that the Queen Mother had arranged a marriage for Fan Jinglan and Xia Yunji.

Many people were secretly thankful that they had not taken the initiative to look for Xia Mingyue to talk about Xia Yunji's marriage, and even more people were thankful that before they sat down at the table, they did not try to curry favor with Madam He and Fan Jinglan in the west hall because they looked down on Xia Mingyue.

Fan Jinglan will become Xia Mingyue's sister-in-law in the future, and Xia Mingyue is Fan Jinglan's real aunt. What will they gain by going to her to curry favor with her?
We have become enemies!

Not only did he become Xia Mingyue's enemy, but he also offended Fan Jinglan, and maybe even Madam He would hold a grudge against him.

In the future, we really can't look down on anyone, let alone casually flatter the powerful and trample on the weak, or fight for benefits, otherwise we will really end up losing more than we gain, and the loss will outweigh the gain...

Everyone thought clearly and when they looked at Xia Mingyue, there was more respect in their eyes.

On this side, a group of officials who also learned about the granted marriage between Xia Yunji and Fan Jinglan, congratulated them one after another.

This is the benefit of being hypocritical. You can always treat others with a smile. As long as you don't fall out with others, and don't hit a smiling person, there will always be room for maneuver.

Especially before a happy event like this, it doesn’t take much effort to say a few more auspicious words, right?
Xia Yunji naturally knew what the visitor was thinking, so he just laughed it off and responded politely.

The banquet became more lively because of this incident.

But at this moment of excitement, a servant quickly walked into the door of the hall and handed the things to the eunuch at the door.

The young eunuch did not dare to delay and quickly handed it to Ding Dahai.

Ding Dahai took advantage of the moment when the emperor was not busy to present the things to the emperor.

"What is that?" The emperor was enjoying the guzheng played by a noble lady at the moment, and seemed a little nonchalant.

"It's a letter from Lord Wei Ruiliang."

"Oh?" The emperor withdrew his admiring gaze, took the letter, slowly opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter inside.

There was only one piece of letter paper with only a few lines of words. The emperor read it quickly, and then his face instantly became gloomy, and even his brows were furrowed together.

His clenched fist accidentally hit the table, making a "bang" sound.

The sound was neither loud nor soft, but loud enough for people around to hear clearly.

Everyone present was shocked, even the lady who was playing the guzheng was so frightened that she quickly stopped playing and knelt on the ground.

The entire Chongyang Palace was suddenly filled with silence; one could hear a pin drop.

The emperor came back to his senses and saw everyone kneeling on the ground in fear and trepidation. He coughed lightly and said, "I am a little drunk. I will go out to sober up. You can do whatever you want."

"Let your Majesty go up." The Queen was a little worried, but when she saw that the Emperor did not refuse, she stood up and accompanied the Emperor out of the hall.

The Queen Mother was still in the palace having fun with everyone, and her face looked normal, without any worries, so everyone was slightly relieved.

Inside the main hall, the banquet continued as usual.

Xiao Luochen witnessed all this, drank the wine in the glass, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.

Judging from the situation just now, this sudden letter should be about the death of Xiao Luoan.

It couldn't have come at a better time.

Xiao Luochen chuckled and did not forget to glance sideways at Xiao Luohe.

At this moment, Xiao Luohe's heart suddenly sank. He stared intently, but said softly, "Brother is indeed as good as a god. He guessed everything so thoroughly." (End of this chapter)