swear not to be concubine

Chapter 117

Jian Yan woke up early the next morning.

It was not yet bright outside, there was unmelted snow on the pine trees in the courtyard, and there were some thin and short ice skates.

After carefully opening the door and watching for a while, she saw that there was indeed no one in the courtyard, so she raised the corner of her skirt, quickly dodged out the door, and rushed to the house where Si Yue lived temporarily.

Si Yue was sleeping in a daze, and in the daze, someone was knocking on the door, and at the same time calling her in a low voice, it seemed to be a girl's voice in a trance.So she hurriedly put on her jacket, got out of bed and got up to open the door.

Jian Yan stepped into the room, rubbed her hands, her cheeks were icy cold, but she still said with a smile on her face, "It's so cold."

Si Yue looked at her, then looked at the sky outside, and finally turned her eyes back to look at her, the expression on her face was finally cracked like a frozen lake surface blown by a gentle breeze.

When the girl comes back at this time, does that mean that she spent the night at the eldest son's place last night?
Si Yue only widened her eyes in shock, and looked at Jian Yan in front of her in disbelief.The voice was even more like a mouthful of cold wind, and the girl didn't come out with the following content after a long time.

Jian Yan knew what she was going to ask and what was going on in her mind, so she hurriedly said, "Don't think too much, nothing happened last night."

It's just that she was still very guilty when she said this.

Although it didn't reach the last step in the end, but so many intimate contacts before...

Thinking of this, Jian Yan couldn't help but blushed.But she still looked very serious and said: "Nothing really happened last night."

Si Yue stretched out her finger, pointed at her nose tremblingly with her backhand, and asked dumbly: "Girl, do you think this servant is stupid?"

Jane Yan: ...

"Even though the servant believes that you will not do anything to the eldest son, the slave does not believe that the eldest son will not do anything to you."

Jian Yan: She was speechless.

But fortunately, Si Yue didn't say anything, and hurried to get the quilt, and let her go to bed to rest.Then she took off her jacket and lay down in another quilt.

After going out like this, the drowsiness of both of them disappeared a little, and they couldn't fall asleep much.So in the end, she simply chatted some gossip, but as she was talking, Jian Yan finally felt confused and fell asleep slowly.

When she woke up again, the sky was already bright.She hugged her and sat up, and through a half-open window, she could see the snow in the yard shining crystal clear in the sunlight.

April lifted the water and opened the door to come in.Seeing that Jian Yan had woken up, she smiled and said: "It just so happens that the girl is awake. The servant has brought hot water, and I will serve you to freshen up."

Sitting on the dressing stool after washing, Siyue asked her, "What kind of bun will the girl wear today?"

Jian Yan is thinking that she will go to Zheng Guogong's mansion later. If she is really Zheng Guogong's daughter and they recognize her smoothly, then she will no longer have to worry about Zhou Yuanzheng's affairs, so today she must behave The better ones are.

Hearing Si Yue's question, she thought about it, and according to what Zhou Yuan said at that time, Mei Niang should be a very gentle and quiet person, and Mei Niang and Mrs. Zheng Guogong are cousins...

"Give me a bun that looks very gentle and cute."

Si Yue responded, thought for a while, and then divided Jian Yan's beautiful hair into strands, knotted it at the top, and hung another strand of hair on her shoulders.There is no complex and beautiful jewelry on it, but a round white pearl hairpin with a few small and delicate pearl flowers.

Then Si Yue clapped her hands and said with a smile: "Girl dressed up like this, she looks like pink camellias covered with snow in the yard. She looks tender and elegant."

There is a Shu tea planted beside the rocks in the yard outside.Even though the spring is cold and the snow has not disappeared, the leaves are still green and there are several camellias with thick petals.

Jian Yan smiled, got up and took Si Yue out of the house.

In the front main hall, Xu Miaojin was sitting at the table, talking with Xu Zhongxuan.

"Brother, is your wind and chill really all gone?"

She originally wanted to accompany Xu Zhongxuan last night.It's just that she was not in good health, Jian Yan saw her and asked her to go back to the room to rest, only saying that she would watch over her.She obediently went back to the house, but she was worried after all, she didn't want to see Xu Zhongxuan early this morning, but saw him refreshed, looking very well, and he didn't look sick at all.

"Well, everything is fine." Xu Zhongxuan said while looking outside.Seeing that Jian Yan was bringing Si Yue in, she smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your elder sister that my wind and cold recovered so quickly."

Jian Yan squeezed the handkerchief in her hand, and her face began to feel slightly hot again.

Last night, when she held onto his back, she could clearly feel that he was sweating so finely.

After sweating all over like that, why wouldn't the cold be good?

Xu Miaojin turned around when she heard the words, and when she saw Jian Yan, she hurriedly stood up, called Sister Yan, and said that she worked hard last night to study her sister, and then hurriedly let her sit down.

Jian Yan sat beside her calmly, took a deep breath, and raised her head to meet Xu Zhongxuan.

It seemed to be an illusion, but she just felt that the smile on Xu Zhongxuan's face was so meaningful.

When she was about to leave early in the morning, Xu Zhongxuan held her hand and refused to let her leave.But Jian Yan shook off his hand, ignored him, turned around and ran away very quickly.

What would it look like if people saw her coming out of Xu Zhongxuan's room at dawn later?Although everyone knows that she and Xu Zhongxuan are close, the fig leaf still needs to be covered up.

Breakfast was already set on the table.Xu Zhongxuan didn't have any cooks here, so all the breakfast was bought from the street.

Hot chicken soup wontons, steamed buns, white as snow steamed cakes, lotus root starch osmanthus sugar cakes, were all set up on the table.

Xu Zhongxuan took a bowl of wontons in chicken soup and put it in Jian Yan's hand, and said with a smile: "The wontons in chicken soup here are very good, try it."

Clear chicken soup, black wood mustard, green onion, several thinly sliced ​​yellow egg rolls, and thin-skinned wontons, all packed in a white porcelain bowl, it is really mouth-watering to look at big move.

Jian Yan was not polite to him either, she took a spoon and ate it with her head down.

After what happened last night, she doesn't dare to look at Xu Zhongxuan now.

Still very shy.

Xu Zhongxuan on the opposite side looked at her with a gentle smile between his brows.

Even though her face was the same as before, there was still a faint red layer around her ears.

She was still very shy about what happened last night, right?So now I dare not even look at him.

And as long as he thinks about those things last night, Xu Zhongxuan's eyes can't help but darken.

God knows how evocative that kind of ecstasy and soul taste is.

Although Jian Yan kept her head down and ate the wontons in the bowl, she could still feel Xu Zhongxuan's fiery eyes were always on her.So her face couldn't help getting hotter.

After thinking about it, she turned her head and said to Xu Miaojin in a very calm tone: "Your elder brother's cold has recovered so quickly, it seems that the medicine he drank yesterday is indeed effective. In this case, let me now Qi Sang cook another bowl for him to drink, to strengthen and consolidate, so as not to relapse again."

Xu Zhongxuan was originally taking a spoon to scoop up a wonton and brought it to his mouth, and was about to eat it. Hearing this, his hand shook, and the wonton fell back into the bowl again.

He raised his head and looked at Jian Yan with horror in his eyes.

But Jian Yan was already ordering Qi Sang with a calm face: "Hurry up and decoct the same medicine as yesterday and give it to your eldest son."

Xu Miaojin also nodded and said yes.And Qi Sang, who had no eyesight, actually agreed, and turned around to cook the medicine.

Xu Zhongxuan could only support his forehead helplessly.Then he stopped Qi Sang with a loud voice, and ordered him to harness the carriage.

Xu Miaojin had just heard Xu Zhongxuan say that she would accompany Jian Yan to Zheng Guogong's mansion today, so she smiled and said: "Sister Yan, it seems that we are going to see that Li Nianlan today."

Jian Yan nodded: "Yes."

Li Nianlan is Zheng Guogong's daughter.If she really is the daughter of Zheng Guogong and Mrs. Zheng Guogong, then isn't this Li Nianlan her concubine?

Living under the same roof with such a concubine sister, I'm afraid it will be troublesome.But Jian Yan thought again, she just wanted to fight against Zhou Yuanzheng as a daughter of the Duke's Mansion, as for the others, she could bear it as long as she could.She will also marry Xu Zhongxuan after a while, and she will not stay there for a long time after leaving Zheng Guogong's mansion.

Thinking of such things as getting married, she couldn't help but looked up at Xu Zhongxuan, then turned her head away with a twinkle in her eyes, and pursed her lips slightly.

Xu Zhongxuan only thought that she was afraid, so he said softly: "Don't be afraid. Jin'er will always be with you later. And I'm in the outer courtyard, so I will know what's going on."

Jian Yan nodded and did not speak again.

Even though she wasn't scared, she was still a little nervous.

*
When it comes to Zheng Guogong's mansion, we have to mention King Duan.

Duan Wang was originally the youngest son of the former emperor and the current queen mother.Back then, the Empress Dowager and the First Emperor had been married for many years, but they only gave birth to a daughter, and they would never have a son.The queen mother couldn't do it, so she could only record the son of a concubine under her own name, and taught her carefully. So far, the son was appointed as the heir apparent when he was ten years old.But the following year, the Empress Dowager gave birth to a pearl, and after she was pregnant in October, she actually gave birth to a son.

With his own biological son, the first adopted son is naturally not enough to look at.So the queen mother naturally had the idea of ​​changing the crown prince.It's just that abolishing the prince is not a trivial matter after all, and at that time the prince's wings were already full, he was supported by ministers outside, and he was calm and cautious inside, and he couldn't find any mistakes. Wait until you find the right time.

But within five years, the first emperor died, and the crown prince took the throne as the emperor as a matter of course.

Even if he was not pulled down when he was the crown prince, it is even more impossible to be pulled down when he became the emperor.So the queen mother's thoughts can only be wasted.

But fortunately, the emperor was very kind to the queen mother and her son, at least on the face of it.Not only did he confer the title of King Duan early on, but he also thought about the deep love between mother and child. Even after he became an adult, he couldn't bear to ask him to leave the capital to go to the fiefdom, so he specially built a peaceful palace in the capital. The palace is for him to live in.

It's just that this Prince Duan is restless, he always thinks in his heart that he is the only heir of the queen mother, and the position of emperor should belong to him, how can it fall on the head of a son born to a concubine?So later, when he felt that the time was right, he used the name of the Qing emperor to pull the emperor down and sit on the throne by himself.

No matter how good the emperor is, he can't bear this.So at that time, Uncle Ning Yuan was used as the general to kill the rebels all the way.Later, the kings of Duan were forced to commit suicide, and the rebels were cleared. The emperor was overjoyed, and he was promoted to the title of Uncle Ning Yuan and named Zheng Guogong.He also divided Duanwang's mansion into two, half of which was given to Zheng Guogong as the mansion, and half was given to the daughter of the Queen Mother, Princess Anchang.

Jian Yan silently listened to Xu Zhongxuan's science popularization on the road, and remembered them one by one in her heart.

Not long after, when Zheng Guogong's mansion arrived, Xu Zhongxuan got off the carriage first, and then asked Qi Sauna to come forward with the greeting card.

The guard at the gate saw that it was the invitation letter from Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials, so he hurriedly reported it in, and soon a steward came out to greet him.

Although Zheng Guogong had made great achievements in the past and wiped out the rebels in one fell swoop, the king Duan who was forced to death was the Queen Mother's own son after all, so the Queen Mother naturally didn't want to see Zheng Guogong, so the emperor would say a few words about Zheng Guogong when there was nothing wrong It's not.In addition, the emperor also wanted to establish the image of a filial son to the people of the world, and as the saying goes, the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog cooks; the birds are exhausted, the good bow is hidden, there is no need for Zheng Guogong to do anything for the time being, and he bestowed the title of duke. After rewarding a house, what is there to be dissatisfied with?Therefore, Zheng Guogong is currently the only one whose title sounds nice, but in fact he has no real power in his hands.In comparison, although Xu Zhongxuan is only the left servant of the official department, he has great real power, so Zheng Guogong naturally dare not underestimate Xu Zhongxuan.

The steward came out to welcome him, saluted Xu Zhongxuan, and said with a smile on his face: "Our Duke has been waiting for you in the flower hall for a long time, and please invite Xu Shilang to go with the villain."

Xu Zhongxuan nodded to him, but he didn't immediately follow him. Instead, he turned around, lifted the curtain on the carriage behind him personally, and said gently to the inside: "Come out."

The steward saw two young girls coming out of the carriage one after another.One is covered with a pink floral satin cloak, and the other is covered with a lake blue jacquard satin cloak, both of which are carved from raw pink jade, like figures of beauty lamps.

The steward's eyes scanned the two of them, and then looked at Xu Zhongxuan suspiciously.

Although the invited adults also brought their family members here today because the side concubine Ning also came here, but no one in the capital knows that Mr. Xu Shilang is alone, coming and going naked without any worries Why did you bring your family here today?And there are two more?

The steward wanted to ask, but since Xu Zhongxuan looked indifferent, he didn't want to explain to him who these two girls meant, so he knew the current affairs and didn't ask, just bowed and smiled: "Please Xu Shilang and The two girls come with the younger one."

The reputation of Prince Duan's Mansion was outstanding back then, and it really lived up to its reputation.

Jian Yan followed Xu Zhongxuan into Zheng Guogong's mansion, and saw carved beams and painted buildings along the way, corridors and waists, which were extremely magnificent.

Arriving in front of a gate of ceremonies, the steward stopped, turned around and said to Xu Zhongxuan respectfully: "Xu Shilang, our lord and the adults invited today are having tea in the flower hall, now you go with the young ones? And these two girls, Concubine Ning and the family members of other adults are admiring the plum blossoms in the back garden, and the younger one called the servant girl to come over and lead these two girls over?"

"Trouble you to invite the Duke over here," Xu Zhongxuan said with a calm voice, "I have something to say to him alone."

The person in charge didn't dare to disobey, so he said please wait a moment, turned around and asked Zheng Guogong to go.

At this time, Jian Yan asked Xu Zhongxuan in a low voice: "Do you want Zheng Guogong to meet me?"

Xu Zhongxuan nodded: "There are always some similarities between parents and children, let's meet each other first."

Jian Yan was a little nervous at first, but now that Xu Zhongxuan said it so seriously, she couldn't help but become even more nervous, her heart was beating extremely fast, and her palms felt wet.

Xu Zhongxuan noticed it.Covered by the wide sleeves of the crane cloak, he quietly held her hand and comforted her in a low voice: "Don't be nervous. I'm here."

Jian Yan nodded, feeling that her heartbeat was not so fast.But I still feel my mouth is dry, and my palms are still wet.

Xu Zhongxuan only felt that the little hand in his palm was cold, without any warmth at all.So he stretched out his thumb and stroked the back of her hand gently over and over again.

After a while, the steward came along with Zheng Guogong.

Xu Zhongxuan withdrew his hand, with a decent smile on his face, looking at the person coming.

Jian Yan also looked up.

Zheng Guogong Li Yi was less than 50 years old, and he had a face with Chinese characters, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his demeanor looked extremely mighty.

Jian Yan quietly looked at him for a moment, then looked away, only thinking in her heart, everyone said that her daughter looks like her father, but looking at Zheng Guogong's appearance, she is not at all like him.

At this time Xu Zhongxuan was already bowing to salute Zheng Guogong, saying in his mouth: "I have seen Zheng Guogong."

Zheng Guogong took two steps forward, stretched out his hand to support his arm, and smiled brightly: "Zhongxuan is polite."

He asked again: "Why didn't you go to the flower hall to drink tea and chat with all the adults, and specially called me over, do you have anything to say to me alone?"

Jian Yan thought in her heart, this Zheng Guogong didn't seem to have any pretensions, and he just called himself me to Xu Zhongxuan, not my lord or lord.

Hearing this, Xu Zhongxuan turned his head slightly, and then smiled modestly at Zheng Guogong: "This is my sister-in-law and my cousin. The two of them came to Beijing to watch the lanterns during the Shangyuan Festival two days ago, because I heard that you suppressed the rebels back then. The heroic deeds of the army, I really want to see your heroic appearance. The next officer is bold today, so he brought the two of them here to see you, and asked the Duke to make amends."

After all, it was another salute.

Zheng Guogong's heart was extremely happy for such a flattery without a trace.

After the battle against King Duan, although he was conferred the title of Duke Zheng, he was mostly idle at home, and the gold and iron horses of the past were just seeing each other again in a dream.But now there are two younger girls who know about his deeds back then, and they came here to see him, how could he be unhappy?

So he laughed out loud twice at the moment, although he said modestly that he was old and useless, don't mention the things of the past, but his face was still full of smiles.

Xu Zhongxuan also had a smile on his face, and then turned his head to Jian Yan and Xu Miaojin and said: "Come and see Zheng Guogong."

Xu Miaojin came forward to meet him first.Zheng Guogong laughed heartily, and only repeatedly praised what a pretty little girl.He also ordered the steward to go down quickly to prepare a generous gift and bring it to Ms. Xu.

Afterwards, Jian Yan went up to see her.

She wears a hood on her head.There was a circle of white fox fur on the brim of the hat, which was so fluffy that it covered half of her face.

Now she raised her hand and brushed the hood on her head back, and took two steps forward, bowed her knees to bow to Zheng Guogong, and said respectfully: "Little girl Jian Yan, pay my respects to Zheng Guogong."

When she bent her knees, she lowered her head halfway.When she heard Zheng Guogong say excuse me, and stretched out his hand to help her, she straightened up and raised her head at the same time, looking at Zheng Guogong standing in front of her.

When Jian Yan came to see Zheng Guogong, Xu Zhongxuan had been observing the expression on his face.

Obviously, when Zheng Guogong saw Jian Yan's appearance clearly, his face was full of surprise.

So Xu Zhongxuan asked: "Why is the Duke so surprised to see Cousin She?"

However, Zheng Guogong didn't answer him immediately, instead he looked at Jian Yan carefully, and then turned to Xu Zhongxuan and said: "Your cousin, Zhongxuan, looks very similar to my wife. When I saw it just now, I was taken aback."

Xu Zhongxuan had some success in his heart.So he laughed again and said: "Since my cousin She looks like Mrs. Zun, speaking of it, it's my cousin's blessing. I don't know if the Duke may allow my sister and cousin to visit Mrs. Zun?"

When he saw Zheng Guogong just now, he just felt that Jian Yansheng was extremely similar to Mrs. Zheng Guogong, but he didn't suspect anything else.And it's not easy for him to be too eager here, otherwise it will make people suspicious.So the best way is to let Jian Yan go down to see Mrs. Zheng Guogong.

As Zheng Guogong said, it is true that Jian Yan and Zheng Guogong's wife look alike, and Zheng Guogong's wife will naturally be surprised when she sees it. After reading it carefully, there is a very small blue character chiseled on a hidden place above.And according to the news he inquired from many sources, when Mrs. Zheng Guogong was not married, her boudoir name at home was Qingniang.Thirdly, the birthmark on Jian Yan's back, presumably Zheng Guogong should not be clear about it.

At that time, Mrs. Zheng Guogong gave birth to Jian Yan prematurely on the road, and Zheng Guogong was not by her side, so only Mrs. Zheng Guogong and the servant girl beside her knew about it.Therefore, it is better for Mo Ruo to let Jian Yan go directly to Mrs. Zheng Guogong.

Zheng Guogong naturally agreed to Xu Zhongxuan's request.

He asked the steward to call a servant woman over, because he said to Xu Zhongxuan and Jian Yan: "My wife is not in good health. Although there are family members of many adults here today, she only rests in the house and does not come out to wait. I asked the maid to lead Lingmei and Lingcousin directly to the courtyard where my wife lives."

After thanking Xu Zhongxuan, he turned around, looked at Jian Yan, and said in a gentle voice, "You go to see Mrs. Guogong. I am here. If there is anything, please come and let me know."

There was a sense of stability in his eyes, and Jian Yan felt that her nervousness had disappeared a lot.So she nodded slightly to him immediately, signaling him to rest assured.

(End of this chapter)