soy sauce lady

Chapter 4

King Pingyang is actually Xiao Zheng's nephew, the nephew of his direct relative.His father is the eldest son of Emperor Chongjing, and Xiao Zheng is a brother of the same mother.

Xiao Zheng is the No.17 son of Emperor Chongjing, and also his youngest son, who is more than 20 years younger than the eldest son of the emperor.Xiao Zheng's biological mother passed away when he was five years old, and he grew up almost dependent on his elder brother to take care of him. Therefore, his affection for this elder brother is as brother and father, and he respects him very much.

When the eldest son of the emperor was young, his body was caused by some shady schemes and schemes, and his health has been in poor health.He had two sons under his knees, and the eldest son inherited his father's weak physique and died before he was one year old.The youngest son's name is Xiao Duan, and his health is not very good, but he survived tenaciously.

Xiao Duan is only six years younger than Xiao Zheng, and the two are called uncles and nephews. In fact, they grew up together since they were young, and they are as close as brothers.

After the death of Emperor Chongjing, the health of the eldest son of the emperor became worse and worse. Soon after Emperor Chongguang ascended the throne, he passed away. At the end of his life, he entrusted his only son to Xiao Zheng, who was still a boy at that time.

Xiao Zheng was actually very attentive to this nephew. Half of the reason why he went to battle to kill the enemy and make meritorious service was to be able to protect him in the future.

At the end of last year, Xiao Duan performed the gift of the weak crown, and wanted to divide the fiefdom and release it to the outside world. The little emperor Xiao Yi didn't like this brother very much, so he directly allocated the barren Cangzhou area to him.

When Xiao Zheng got the news, he immediately rushed to the imperial study room, but he didn't say a word. He just stood in front of the imperial case with his arms folded and looked at him until His Majesty changed the fief to Pingyang, which is rich in products and pleasant in climate. .

Thus came the present King of Pingyang.

But no one expected that Xiao Duan would run back to the capital in less than half a year.

or private...

Wen Su didn't have enough food that night, so she sneaked into the kitchen to eat, and when she went out, she saw a black shadow sandwiched by another black shadow that was about to pass over her head.

The poor girl from the small town had never seen the world, so she insisted on seeing the dignified first-class guards as flying robbers, and immediately yelled out "Catch the thief", and Zhao Quan, who was in mid-air, fell to the ground in shock.

Before Wen Su had time to escape from the scene, a figure rushed over and directly crushed her to the ground, with such force that it almost crushed the pride she thought she had.

Grinning her teeth in pain, she suddenly felt a faint scent of medicine coming from the tip of her nose, and then a pleasant voice rang in her ears, like the first breeze blowing through flowers in early spring, refreshing and gentle, with a hint of weakness, "Hey, it's a woman?"

There were footsteps and shouts from servants all around, Zhao Quan strode over, lifted the person on Wen Su's body, and said in a helpless tone: "Prince Pingyang, please go with your subordinates, you live here. They are all female staff members of the prince's mansion, so it is not appropriate to stay for a long time."

"Oh? Female staff?"

As night fell, the light from the high hanging lanterns beside the corridor was not bright at this time, and Wen Su couldn't see his expression clearly, but he could also deduce that he was full of interest from the tone of his voice.

However, no matter how interesting he found it, Zhao Quan couldn't stop Zhao Quan from wanting to save face. As soon as the servants stepped into the courtyard, he had already picked up King Pingyang and flew away. Next line: "You haven't seen us!"

Wen Su sat on the spot and blinked her eyes, suddenly startled, oh my god, that was King Pingyang just now?
Is it popular for princes to play this kind of game now?

Xiao Zheng who was sitting in the study was very unhappy.

Sitting across from him was Xiao Duan, looking at him with a smile while rubbing his sore arm, even such a simple movement was extremely elegant.

His appearance is very good, like Xiao Zheng, he has inherited the beauty of his beautiful grandmother.But compared to Xiao Zheng, he is even more feminine.His face was pale and almost transparent due to his frail body, and his eyes were set off to become blacker and brighter. His long eyelashes trembled from time to time when he looked at Xiao Zheng, like a butterfly, fluttering its wings. .

"Uncle, you don't seem happy."

Only this title also shows the closeness of the relationship. His nephews of the same generation, including His Majesty the Emperor, all respectfully call Xiao Zheng "Uncle Emperor", only he can call him uncle so directly and generously.

Xiao Zheng remained sullen, without any change in expression, "Why did you suddenly return to Beijing? Don't you know this is a felony?"

The tone of the last sentence was aggravated, like a heavy hammer falling into Xiao Duan's ear.

Xiao Duan gracefully raised his hand to caress his ears, with a smile on his face, "Uncle, please don't be so angry, my nephew came back because of you."

"What did you say?"

Xiao Duan saw that he didn't believe he could be himself, so he sighed helplessly: "Uncle, did you forget that your birthday is coming?"

Xiao Zheng frowned, only then remembered that his birthday was in April, and it was coming soon.However, could this also be his reason for secretly returning to Beijing?

Xiao Duan saw that the anger on Xiao Zheng's face became more and more obvious, his expression changed, and the elegant and noble son suddenly turned into a pitiful and beautiful lady, "Uncle, think about it, the Xiao royal family was not rich in population, and now there are people like King Wu. Yes, it’s even more messy. Right now, you and I are still close, you work hard for the country and the people, how can you not have a relative by your side on your birthday!”

Xiao Zheng's expression softened, he was right, the current Xiao royal family is really too deserted, it's hard for him to remember his own birthday, even if it's a little absurd, it's still a filial piety.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this for now." Xiao Zheng waved his hand, and finally took a step back, "Just wait for me to find a reason to talk to His Majesty tomorrow."

"Why bother, Uncle, you are the Regent, so why don't the emperor say anything?" Xiao Duan and Xiao Yi, the younger brother, are not at odds, even though he is now the emperor, he still doesn't want to see him.

Although Xiao Zheng didn't say much when he heard the words, his gaze was obviously under pressure.Xiao Duan coughed unnaturally, and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, when I came in with Zhao Quan, I saw the female aides in Uncle's house. It seems that Uncle is very concerned about the New Deal, but I don't know this group of people Among them, is there anyone who can be called a stunner?"

As soon as the joke was finished, the study suddenly fell silent.Zhao Quan, who was guarding the door, couldn't help shivering when he heard it.

Everyone in the court knew that the word "beautiful woman" should not be mentioned in front of the regent, but now the culprit who caused this result said it openly.

This matter can be traced back to Xiao Zheng's weak coronation ceremony seven years ago. At that time, he was still the King of Jin, and Emperor Chongguang was still alive. He specially held a grand ceremony in the palace for this young but illustrious brother. , the whole world celebrates, it's so beautiful.

At that time, Xiao Duan was taken into the palace by the emperor to take care of him. As to whether the emperor really cared about this nephew or whether he was using him to restrain Xiao Zheng, let's not go into it for now.In short, this banquet made Xiao Duan meet his uncle whom he hadn't seen for a long time, so he was naturally in a good mood and had nothing to say, so he couldn't help drinking a few more glasses during the banquet, and accidentally got drunk.

Three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.After all the ministers said their congratulatory words, Emperor Chongguang suddenly made fun of Xiao Duan who was drunk and asked him to say a few words of congratulations to Xiao Zheng.

Xiao Duan was weak since he was a child, and he admired his uncle for his meritorious deeds at a young age. He wanted to express his respect for him a long time ago, so Dang even nodded and said that he would write a poem dedicated to him .

Xiao Zheng laughed when he heard the words, but straightened his sitting posture and looked at him with anticipation.

The handsome and elegant young man has a unique style after he is drunk. His sleeves are thrown down to reveal a pair of tender arms. The slender fingers of both hands are holding a chopstick, and they knock on the bowl in front of them. The palace is better than Qingdu."

As soon as everyone heard it, the first sentence was good, saying that the palace was even more beautiful than the palace where the Emperor of Heaven lived, what a talking child.Looking back, Emperor Chongguang really showed a satisfied smile.

Xiao Duan didn't seem to care about the compliments around him at all, and continued knocking with half-closed eyes: "Guangshan Yunwei rises to help Su."

This is to praise His Royal Highness King Jin's noble character.Everyone whispered to each other for a while, and the voice of appreciation continued.

Immediately afterwards, there was another soft sound from the mouth of the bowl, and the voice that came out carried a trace of momentum straight at Xiaohan: "One look at Pingque and move in all directions!"

This time, even Emperor Chongguang couldn't help saying "OK" in a low voice, Xiao Zheng, who had been expressionless all this time, slightly hooked the corners of his mouth.

All the ministers were excited, expressing His Royal Highness King Jin's heroic appearance on the battlefield with just one look, wonderful!So what will the last sentence be?Oops, I'm so excited!Everyone is gearing up, their necks are elongated, their eyes are shining, so looking forward to it, so looking forward to it...

Xiao Duan's cheeks were reddish, his expression was intoxicated, his eyes were blurred and shimmering.The chopsticks in his hand knocked out another crisp syllable, and the last sentence clearly escaped from his lips: "Uncle Huang is a stunner."

call out--

It was as if there was a wind blowing the leaves and drifting in front of everyone, and there was silence around.

All the ministers who were full of anticipation were dumbfounded. On the spot of petrification, Emperor Chongguang almost spit out a gulp of wine from his mouth.

Xiao Zheng's hand holding the wine glass shook slightly, but he didn't spill a drop.After lifting it to his lips and taking a sip, he looked up at Xiao Duan quite calmly, and said two words: "Good poetry."

The neutral tone and neither salty nor dull eyes made Xiao Duan instantly sober from drunk.

So far, His Royal Highness King Jin has shocked the whole court with his strong psychological quality.

However, according to the young eunuch who cleaned up the mess afterwards, the silver cup used by His Royal Highness Jin was obviously dented by two pieces, which was probably pinched out by fingers.

Another entourage serving Xiao Duan added that His Royal Highness King Jin kindly sent his master back that night, but on the way he suddenly pulled his master into a bush, and when he came out, his face was bruised and swollen , appalling.

At this moment, when Xiao Duan finally realized that his words brought back that not-so-good memory, Xiao Zheng's voice of gnashing his teeth rang out: "You stay in the Prince Regent's Mansion well during this time, if you dare to casually If you run around, I will let you stay in Pingyang forever and never come back!"

Xiao Duan shrank his neck, and nodded his head.

Before going out, Xiao Duan, who felt that he had been wronged, couldn't help but defend himself: "Then what, uncle, it's actually a beauty, it's a description of a person..."

"Get out immediately."

There was no room for negotiation in the cold voice, Xiao Duan silently bit his lip and went out the door.

Uncle, that describes a person as good-looking, nephew means you are beautiful, why can't you understand it?

Time slipped by like flowing water. March was coming to an end amidst the warm sun and wind, and catkins flying. The accidentally perfect imperial examination finally came to a successful conclusion, and the internal test of the Prince Regent's Mansion will follow.

Wen Su is in a hurry, in order not to be kicked out of the palace, she has been gnawing on the book in the dark for several days, even Fu Qingyu, who has always worked hard, feels that she is desperate.

As for Qin Rong's ladies from the official family, they finally realized the urgency of the matter at this time, and stopped trying to get close to the regent, and instead went to study behind closed doors.

The entire Regent Palace is immersed in a strong cultural atmosphere...

The weather on the day of the test was fine, but except for Fu Qingyu, the rest of the people were in a gloomy mood.

Guided by Zhao Quan, the seven girls were taken all the way to the Prince Regent's study, and the door was pushed open. Before Xiao Zheng himself arrived, seven small cases had already been neatly placed in the spacious and spacious study, and one piece was placed behind each case. Upholstered for kneeling.

The small case is placed under Xiao Zheng's desk, with everyone's name posted on the desk, just sit according to the seat.

Because Qin Rong was allocated the first position in the first row, her face immediately burst into a smile, and she didn't forget to turn her head to show off to everyone, and incidentally glanced sympathetically at Wen Su, who was arranged in the last position.

Wen Su was actually very glad that she sat at the end. Thinking of the regent's majestic eyes and the condensed and serious atmosphere around her, her teeth could not help but shiver, and she didn't want to get too close to him.

After a while, the door of the study was pushed open, and the sunlight poured in instantly, bringing a sense of spring.Xiao Zheng walked in in a black court dress, obviously he came here just after court.

Several people hurriedly got up to salute, but he waved his hand to stop them, "No, let's start directly." He walked to the desk and sat down slowly.

Zhao Quan immediately took a few brochures from his desk and walked to the small case. He saw all the beauties staring at him nervously, and his face, which always thought he was rough and thick, couldn't help but blush.

"Uh, girls, the prince gave each of you a question, and it's all in this book. It depends on each person, and each question is different. Please be sure to answer it within a stick of incense time."

Zhao Quan explained the situation, and began to distribute it to several people one by one according to the names on the booklet.

Wen Su, who had been tense for a long time, calmed down now. She turned her head and looked at Fu Qingyu beside her, and saw that she had opened the booklet to read the questions, and her expression was still as calm as ever.But when she opened the booklet by herself, she immediately drooped her shoulders.

This topic is really suitable for her status: King Wu wants to study in Jiangdong and Jiangnan to obtain scholars, what do you think should be done?

Wen Su frowned, can this king of Wu have something else to play with, or you can go to another place to play, you just want to play in the south of the Yangtze River, the city gate caught fire, and the fish in the pond were hurt.

She was troubled for a while, and then went to look at Fu Qingyu, and saw that she was already ready to answer the question with her sleeves up.

There is a big difference between people...

During this period of time, Wen Su prepared all the rote theories. How could he think that the regent's exam was actually about current affairs, which is really embarrassing.

She held her pen in worry, her eyes flickered to the Prince Regent above her, and she was slightly taken aback.

Xiao Zheng frowned, pinched his pen and looked down at the memorial below, his lips were tightly pursed, seemingly displeased.

Wen Su looked at his appearance, then at herself, and suddenly felt that she was very similar to him at the moment.

Could it be that the regent also encountered a problem?

Xiao Zheng had indeed encountered a problem. In fact, His Majesty the Emperor just had a big fight with him.

The last item of the imperial examination - the palace examination has ended, and it is time for His Majesty the Emperor to write his name with the golden pen.

This time the little emperor took a fancy to a young scholar surnamed Liu Mingke, thinking that he had unique insights and was an incomparable talent.But Xiao Zheng didn't take it seriously, he took a fancy to Zhou Xianda, the son of Wenyuan Pavilion Zhou University scholar.

The achievements of these two people are equal, but their political opinions are slightly different.

Liu Ke was born in a poor family, young and aggressive, but what he said was more or less theoretical.Zhou Xianda came from an aristocratic family, and he was calm and respectful. Although he was a bit self-styled, he had the ability to advance and retreat, and to fight steadily. Under the current situation, such talents are needed.

However, His Majesty the Emperor thought that Xiao Zheng was interested in Zhou Xianda's family background, and felt that he was expanding his power, so he was naturally dissatisfied, so he couldn't help but had a big fight with him in the imperial study.

The incense on the table was half burned, Xiao Zheng withdrew his thoughts and looked down, except for Fu Qingyu who was writing eloquently, the rest of the people were scratching their heads and looking anxious.

As if his eyes were locked on himself, he turned his head slightly, and was facing the fair and clean face at the end.

Just like the last time when the pastry was delivered, the black and white eyeballs rolled straight, as if they were exploring something, with a hint of cunning.

As soon as she caught Xiao Zheng's sight, Wen Su was startled, and quickly lowered her head, like a frightened rabbit, only showing two red ears.

Not long after, she slowly raised her head again, but she was aiming at the incense burner on the desk. There was still a short distance before she lowered her head with a sad face, and finally dipped in the ink, ready to answer the question.

Xiao Zheng was unconsciously attracted by her appearance, so he simply put down the pen in his hand and stared at her movements.

For a while, he frowned and thought, for a while he shook his head and sighed, for a while it seemed that he had made some cruel intentions, and wrote hard...

For the first time, Xiao Zheng felt that this woman's expression was very vivid. It was different from any woman he had ever seen before. It was not a submissive awe, nor a frailty pretending to be reserved. Every frown and smile were natural, although a little... Carelessly.

He looked at it for a while, shook his head with a smile, and lowered his head to continue the government affairs in hand, but this tiny movement fell into the eyes of Zhao Quan who was standing beside him, which made him feel terrified.

My lord, please don't fall in love with someone who can make cakes...

The time for a stick of incense finally passed, and there was only a wisp of smoke left in the incense burner, Xiao Zheng put down his pen, "Zhao Quan, put it away."

Zhao Quan said respectfully that as soon as he walked up to Qin Rong's small case, he had already seen her start to weep sadly, and it seemed that the situation was not optimistic.

The rest of the people were not much better, except for Fu Qingyu who had a calm face, all of them looked disheartened, and Wen Su was the most prominent among them.

Because her expression was neither sad nor annoyed, but...angry.

Zhao Quan stared at her face for a long time before he dared to take the booklet from her hand, being very careful not to touch the thorns on her body.When he took the booklet back from her hand, he followed her line of sight inadvertently, his jaw almost dropped in shock.

Wen Su was actually angry at the regent.

Well, girl, are you stupid in the exam?

Apparently Xiao Zheng also saw her expression, a slight surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he waved his hand, "Everyone, please go back, Miss Wen stay."

Qin Rong burst into tears when she heard the words.

Wen Su maintained a state of anger, stood up leisurely, and after everyone withdrew, walked in front of Xiao Zheng.

"Why is Miss Wen so angry?"

Xiao Zheng's voice was steady and indifferent, even though there was no ups and downs, there was an air of superiority, Wen Su swallowed, and secretly squeezed his palms tightly so as not to flinch.

"Minister... I have something to say."

"Say."

"Minnv thinks that the exam questions given by the prince to Minnv are really absurd!"

"Boom!" Zhao Quan was sorting out the brochures on a small case, when he heard this, he stumbled and hit his head on the case.

Xiao Zheng's face did not change when he heard the words, but his eyes were filled with a tinge of interest: "Why did you say that?"

"The prince kept asking the minnv how to deal with the fact that the king of Wu was recruiting a scholar in the south of the Yangtze River, but the minnv thought it would never happen."

"What?" Xiao Zheng was stunned upon hearing this.

She would say such a thing, and the spies reported that the king of Wu had already started to prepare for this matter, and it would be implemented in early April, but she said that this matter would never happen?

Seeing the shocking expression of the regent, who has always been as stable as Mount Tai, Wen Su felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart, and then puffed out his chest with great momentum.

Xiao Zheng suppressed his surprise, and said lightly: "Tell me the reason."

Wen Su said: "My lord, why don't you first tell me why you think King Wu can do this."

"The spies report that he is ready, even the exam date has been set."

"So that's how it is." Wen Su smiled slightly, with a flash of brilliance in his eyes, as if he had grasped some key point, with a hint of pride in his expression.

"So, what about those scholars? Has the prince ever thought about them?"

Xiao Zheng frowned, seeming a little puzzled.

Wen Su took a step back and saluted him respectfully, "My lord, the answer of the girl is already in the book, I'd better ask you to read it yourself."

After finishing speaking, he raised his head and smiled, and Shi Shi ran back out, calmly, as if everything was under control, and everything was stable.

Xiao Zheng was very surprised by her behavior, so he asked Zhao Quan to pick out her brochure for him to read.

Before Zhao Quan recovered from the shock just now, Xiao Zheng finally woke up after calling him again, and hurriedly found Wen Su's brochure and presented it to him.

The moment he opened the booklet, Zhao Quan thought that his lord's expression would be a nod of approval, and then smiled, at least Wen Su's performance just now gave people such a feeling.However, it turned out that it was an illusion. Not only did Xiao Zheng not smile, but he frowned instead.

Because there is only one sentence written in the book: "The famous people in the south of the Yangtze River are so noble, so don't worry too much."

Xiao Zheng was a little annoyed by this innocuous sentence, but when he thought about it, he understood Wen Su's performance just now.

No wonder she asked him if he had considered the scholars, and it turned out that was what he meant.

It is true that the king of Wu wanted to hold a scientific examination, but that required the cooperation of the scholars.

Wen Su's words in the book are simply: Don't underestimate us Jiangnan scholars, we all have backbone, and we won't take part in Wu Wang's informal scientific examination so badly! ! !
That's where that angry look came from.

Xiao Zheng closed the booklet, and finally smiled as Zhao Quan wished, "Maybe this king is really worrying too much. A literati has many integrity, so it should not be so easy to betray."

As a confused but loyal Zhao Quan, the only response he can give at this time is: "Your Highness is wise."

After he finished speaking, his eyes wandered to the door, and he knew that Miss Wen, who had just walked out with her airs on, was sticking to the door in the shape of a gecko to eavesdrop.

Wen Su heard her father say before that if you want others to believe that what you said is the truth, you have to take the initiative to speak out first, giving people preconceived notions, so she said that just now.

I have to say that although I was nervous, I could say that I was able to control it just right, not tepid, and let Xiao Zheng experience it by himself in the end, it would be more effective.Because if she said it directly, it might be regarded as talking nonsense and making unreasonable words.

Xiao Zheng glanced around the door, threw away the booklet in his hand, and deliberately raised his voice: "Although there is a suspicion of sophistry, there are some truths, so it is barely qualified."

There was a rustling sound outside the door, as if something was jumping, it seemed unusually excited.

Xiao Zheng hooked his lips, are you so excited?
(End of this chapter)