After the two people left the palace, they walked towards Prince Zhou's Mansion. When passing Chongrenfang, they suddenly noticed a group of people gathered outside a music hall in the distance.
Princess Gao'an liked to join in the fun and said: "Sister, it's still early anyway, let's go over and have a look."
Princess Yiyang took a closer look and found that the group of people were gathered in front of a wall. There seemed to be something stuck on the wall, so she said, "That's fine."
The two of them came to the outskirts of the crowd and saw a notice posted on the wall.
They were too far away to see clearly, and they didn't want to squeeze into the crowd.
Princess Gao'an saw two men outside the crowd pointing at the notice and talking about it. She must know the content, so she asked them: "Hey, do you know what is written on the notice on the wall?"
When the two men saw their beauty, their eyes lit up. One of them cupped his hands and said, "I have seen these two girls."
Princess Gao'an said impatiently: "Do you know?"
Another man rushed to say: "Young lady, you don't know something. The notice states that there is a music master from Shu who wants to challenge all the famous masters in Chang'an City."
Princess Yiyang's eyes lit up and she smiled and said: "That person has such a strong tone. Does he actually want to challenge the whole of Chang'an?"
First the man said: "Isn't it? Our Chang'an City is a place where outstanding people gather. If a mere Shu native wants to challenge the entire Chang'an City's music masters, he is really overestimating his ability."
Princess Yiyang gently stroked the Baihua Se in her hand and said calmly: "I wonder when she is going to challenge and where will it be?"
The latter man said: "This notice has been posted for three days. It is located in this music hall and the time is today at 8 o'clock."
He glanced at the harp in Princess Yiyang's hand and said with a smile: "Young lady must also be a master of music, and I happen to have some knowledge of the harp art. How about we find a quiet place to communicate?"
Princess Yiyang glanced at him sideways, ignored him, turned around and left.
In the past, Princess Gao'an would have asked her guards to teach the two of them a lesson, but after being scolded by Wu Chengsi, she did not dare to act too arrogantly and just snorted: "Who are you? Are you worthy of communicating with my sister?"
After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving only the two men with red faces, frightened and angry.
The two girls came all the way to Prince Zhou's Mansion. After the announcement, they passed through the palace gate and followed a maidservant to the water pavilion in the middle of the lake in the back garden of the Prince's Mansion.
The rocks in the garden are arranged symmetrically, with the water pavilion as the center, and there are rockeries in the southeast and northwest.
The two passed by the rockery in the south and followed the bluestone path to the front of the lake.
There are four water corridors on the lake, converging on the Huxin Pavilion in the middle.
The water of the lake is clear and elegant, the lotus flowers are in full bloom in the water, and the fragrance surrounds the entire lake.
But after hearing the clear voice of the woman in the pavilion, Li Zhiying and Liu Lanshuang were seen sitting in the pavilion, with two maids beside them saying something loudly, which made everyone laugh.
When I got closer, I could clearly hear them talking about the great victory in Yangzhou.
The two maids who spoke, one named Yu Mian and the other Hong Ming, heard the news from nowhere and described the Yangzhou Water War vividly.
Just listen to Yu Mian's clear voice saying: "At that moment, our General Black Teeth shouted, and his whole body swelled up to about five feet high. Then he shot his spear and smashed the Japanese warship into pieces.
!”
Qiu Chan smiled and scolded: "That's nonsense again. If General Black Teeth had grown that big, he would have sunk our own ship long ago!"
Yu Mian blushed and said, "Even if it's not five feet, it should be three feet." After saying that, he still wasn't sure and asked, "Three feet shouldn't be heavy, right?"
Hong Ming rolled her eyes at her and said, "Sister Yumian, the storyteller must learn to distinguish his words. Just listen to some obvious lies, and learn to pick out the truth!"
Yumian snorted and said, "Tell me which ones are true!"
Hong Ming coughed, cleared her throat, and was about to speak when Qiu Chan suddenly said: "Okay, stop talking, the two princesses are here!"
Only then did the girls notice Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an standing by the water pavilion. The maids all bowed in unison, and Liu Lanshuang stood up and bowed to each other.
Li Zhiying's belly was already swollen, and two maids were about to help her up. Princess Yiyang said hurriedly: "Sister-in-law Wang, there is no need to be polite. We are here to congratulate cousin Chengsi on his victory in the battle!"
Li Zhiying said: "Your Highnesses are interested."
Princess Yiyang immediately played the song she had prepared as a celebration gift.
Her playing skills were not inferior to Liu Lanshuang's, and as soon as she finished the song, all the girls in the pavilion cheered loudly.
Li Zhiying knew that Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an were here to see Liu Lanshuang, so she stood up and prepared to go back to the bedroom so that they could talk.
Liu Lanshuang said: "Sister, sit down and we will go back to Xinglan Courtyard to talk."
Li Zhiying didn't force herself and said, "Sister, if Sister Xu doesn't come back at three o'clock in the morning, remember to call her back home for dinner."
Liu Lanshuang agreed and left the water pavilion with Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an.
The three girls returned to the Xinglan Courtyard. Princess Yiyang and Liu Lanshuang were discussing the song, while Princess Gaoan was wandering in the apricot blossom forest. After wandering for a while, she basked in the sun on the corridor.
After a long time, Liu Lanshuang saw that it was getting late, so she stood up and said, "Yiyang, I'm going out to pick up Sister Xu back home." This sentence had the meaning of seeing off a guest.
In the past, Princess Yiyang would have said goodbye and left, but today she did not seem to intend to leave just now. She smiled and said: "Sister-in-law Wang, let's go with you."
Liu Lanshuang was slightly surprised, but she did not refuse. She got into the carriage with the two of them and drove towards Guangling Garden.
On the way, Princess Yiyang told everyone in Shu about challenging all the famous music masters in Chang'an City.
Liu Lanshuang's eyes flashed and she said softly: "Then we have to compete with him."
Princess Yiyang tentatively said: "It's midnight in the evening, and cousin Chengsi should have returned home. I wonder if he will let us show up?"
Liu Lanshuang said: "He will." There was a gentle smile on his face.
Princess Yiyang thought to herself: "It seems that the harmony between cousin Chengsi and Erwang's sister-in-law Qinse is really enviable." She felt sour in her heart and did not speak anymore.
Soon, the three of them came to Guangling Garden and entered the garden. They saw a song "The Song of King Lanling Entering the Battle" being sung on the high platform.
Xu Wenqing and Lu Wei sat together at the front seat of the stage. They ate preserved fruit and watched with gusto. From time to time, they clapped and applauded like the audience next to them.
Princess Yiyang also noticed Xu Wenqing and thought to herself: "This Third Prince's sister-in-law is too disrespectful of etiquette. The majestic concubine of the royal palace actually yells like a group of ordinary people in the market and is not afraid of gossip."
Liu Lanshuang walked straight towards Xu Wenqing. The guards behind Xu Wenqing were immediately alert. Seeing the second lady coming, they hurriedly said: "Third Madam, the Second Madam is here."
Xu Wenqing hurriedly turned his head, saw Liu Lanshuang and smiled: "Sister, why are you here?"
Liu Lanshuang said with a wooden face: "What time is it now?"
Xu Wenqing was stunned, turned to Lu Wei and asked: "What time is it?"
Lu Wei secretly estimated the time, his eyes were a little dodgey, and he said: "It should be the time."
Every time Xu Wenqing went to the theater, he would ask her to remind the two of them to go home around Shen Shi.
But Lu Wei was more enthusiastic about watching the theater than Xu Wenqing. He always forgot the time, causing the master and servant to often watch the theater very late.
Once, when Wu Chengsi came home, neither of them went back and asked a few more questions. From then on, Li Zhiying would always find time to have someone call them home for dinner.
Xu Wenqing glared at Lu Wei and showed a flattering smile to Liu Lanshuang: "Sister, I forgot about the time. Let's go back now."
After returning to the carriage, Liu Lanshuang looked out the window expressionlessly, while Xu Wenqing lowered his head and twisted his fingers, as if he had done something wrong.
Although both of them were first-class ladies, Liu Lanshuang had a majestic temperament about her, and over time, she developed awe of her without even realizing it.
In fact, not only to her, but to the entire palace servants, compared to the gentle Li Zhiying, the unsmiling Liu Lanshuang was more feared.
After returning home, Xu Wenqing, his master and servant, and Liu Lanshuang separated at the gate.
Back at Qingzhuyuan, Xu Wenqing immediately scolded: "It's all your fault that I couldn't hold my head up just now!"
Lu Wei pouted and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Who made today's show so good?"
She knew that if she didn't change the subject, her young lady would complain non-stop, so she said, "Miss, have you noticed anything strange?"
Xu Wenqing was about to blurt out his second reprimand when he swallowed the words and asked quickly: "What's weird?"
Lu Wei said: "Of course they are the two princesses, haven't you noticed, they always come here to see the second lady."
Xu Wenqing hummed: "What's so strange about this? Princess Yiyang and Sister Liu both like music. Isn't it normal for the two to become friends?"
After speaking, he walked to the chair, sat down, and took a sip of tea.
Seeing that the topic was successfully changed, Lu Wei smiled secretly, nodded and said, "That's true."
Xu Wenqing sat in a daze for a while, then suddenly thought that dinner was about to be served, so he stood up and returned to his dormitory, intending to change his clothes.
When I arrived at the dormitory, I found that the room was clean and spotless.
I couldn't help but sigh: "That girl in Yuping is so diligent. She is supposed to come and clean every two days, but she comes and cleans every day."
Lu Wei clasped her hands together and whispered: "Miss, why don't you take Sister Yuping into our courtyard? After all, you are the wife of a first-class country. It is not good to have only me as a maid by your side."
Xu Wenqing glanced at her and said with a smile: "There's nothing wrong with it, as long as the prince doesn't care. Okay, go get some money and give it to Yuping."
Luwei groaned and rummaged through the cabinet for the money box.
Seeing the three full money boxes, he suddenly said: "Miss, you have so much money per month, shouldn't you spend more, otherwise the cabinet will not be able to fit in it in the future."
Xu Wenqing sat on the couch, swinging his legs gently, and said, "How do you want to spend it?"
Lu Wei suggested: "How about buying a theater troupe? If we have our own theater troupe, we can listen to plays in the mansion every day and no longer have to worry about being late when we get home!"
Xu Wenqing glanced at her: "I know it's a bad idea. It's a waste of money to raise a troupe! The prince is currently at war, and there are many places to use money. I want to save the money and use it as military expenses for the prince in the future!"
Luwei murmured something in a low voice, took out fifty copper coins from a box, and left the house.
When she came back, Xu Wenqing had already changed into the clothes he wore at home.
"Let's go and have dinner in the side hall," she said.
"Wait a moment, I want to change my clothes too!"
Because Lu Wei was changing clothes, when Xu Wenqing came to the side hall, Li Zhiying, Liu Lanshuang and the two princesses were already sitting in the hall talking to each other.
Lu Wei broke up with her outside the door and went to another smaller side hall next door to eat with Wen Rong, Lu Xiong, Qiu Chan, Yu Mian, Hong Ming and others.
Xu Wenqing walked to his chair and sat down. He listened carefully to their conversation for a while and found that they were talking about the Yellow River bursting its banks.
When Xu Wenqing was young, he lived in the north with Xu Yuanju for several years and knew that the Yellow River could easily burst its banks.
Although the imperial court spends huge sums of money to repair the embankment every year, as long as it rains heavily, there is still a possibility that the embankment will be breached.
Just listen to Liu Lanshuang say: "I heard from my father that there was too much rain in May, which caused the riverbank downstream of Mengjin to be breached."
Princess Gao'an said in surprise: "Ah! If the river embankment is breached, will the crops outside the embankment be damaged?"
Princess Yiyang rolled her eyes at her: "Not only crops, but also houses and people will be washed away. Every time the dike breaks, many people may be drowned!"
Li Zhiying said gently: "In fact, it's not that serious. Generally, when the river water exceeds the abnormal height, local officials will evacuate the people near the river bank in advance. As long as the embankment breach is not too serious, there will be no casualties."
Princess Yiyang said: "But people will always be displaced. After leaving their homes, it may be difficult to survive."
Xu Wenqing interrupted: "I heard my father say that the imperial court built Yicang and Changpingcang on both sides of the Yellow River to prevent floods!"
Li Zhiying nodded in approval and said, "Sister Xu is right. The imperial court has built granaries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait just to prepare for emergencies."
The other women also looked at her with surprised eyes, as if they didn't expect that she had such knowledge, which was of indescribable benefit to her!
At this moment, a voice came from the direction of the door: "What are you discussing?"
The girls followed the sound and saw Wu Chengsi walking in from the door, followed by Feng Wu.
Xu Wenqing stood up in a hurry and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are back. We were just discussing the floods in the Yellow River!"
Wu Chengsi nodded and came to sit next to Li Zhiying.
Li Zhiying smiled and said: "Husband, I heard good news came from Yangzhou, you can feel at ease now."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Yes, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
He turned his eyes to Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an, and said with a smile: "The two cousins are here too."
Both women stood up and bowed.
When Wu Chengsi saw Feng Wu staring at him with urging intent, he said, "Let's eat." The girls stopped talking and started eating one after another. Except for Feng Wu and Wu Chengsi, everyone ate elegantly.
Extremely.
Princess Gao'an took a few bites and couldn't help but ask: "Cousin, you just said you were relieved when you heard the good news. Could it be that you didn't have confidence in the Yangzhou navy before?"
Liu Lanshuang put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that you don't have confidence, but that you are under too much pressure."
Princess Gao'an was even more surprised: "What kind of pressure?"
Liu Lanshuang explained: "Including my father, the civil servants in both Korea and China were opposed to attacking Japan, but because the military unanimously agreed, they had no choice."
Princess Gao'an was about to ask again, but Princess Yiyang stretched out her hand under the table and pulled her, so she stopped asking again.
Seeing that the two princesses were silent, Xu Wenqing was afraid of neglecting the guests, so he asked them about the situation in the palace.
Princess Yiyang's heart moved, and she replied that everything was fine, but she hinted that she was not very free in the palace, and she hoped to be able to open a palace outside like Princess Taiping.
After speaking, he glanced at Wu Chengsi quietly.
However, Wu Chengsi did not respond at all, and was talking with Li Zhiying about inviting the Li family to the palace for dinner in a few days.
This meal was arranged by Li Zhiying. She planned to invite Li Ji and Li Jingye together, hoping that Li Ji could forgive Li Jingye and let him go home.
"Your eldest brother should be coming, right?" Wu Chengsi asked.
Li Zhiying nodded and said: "Brother should be here. I can feel it. He is no longer as stubborn as before, and he rarely mentions King Pei anymore."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "That's good."
At this time, Liu Lanshuang suddenly said: "Husband, I want to go out in the evening to compete with a music master from Shu."
Princess Yiyang and Princess Gaoan immediately pricked up their ears.
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "How can I rest assured if you go alone?"
The two women were immediately disappointed, but Wu Chengsi continued: "I asked Feng Wu to accompany you."
Princess Yiyang said happily: "Cousin Chengsi, we also want to go together, can we?"
Wu Chengsi said: "Of course." He thought to himself: "Why are you asking me if you are going?"
Not everyone was satisfied with his arrangement. Feng Wu, who was concentrating on eating, suddenly raised her head with reluctance on her face.
Wu Chengsi did not tolerate her and ignored her protests.
After dinner, Liu Lanshuang and her three daughters went out together, while Wu Chengsi accompanied Li Zhiying in the main hall.
"Kid, remember, when you grow up, you will be like your father, a capable minister who can govern the country with literature and guard the borders with military force. Do you understand?"
Wu Chengsi squatted in front of Li Zhiying and said to his stomach.
Li Zhiying smiled and said: "Husband, I know your ability in fighting, but I didn't expect you to have the ability to govern a country. I'm really disrespectful."
Wu Chengsi was not at all humble and said with a smile: "Your husband has many abilities, but some of them are not suitable to be displayed now."
"Yes, I have no idea about your bragging ability before."
Wu Chengsi snorted secretly and thought to himself: "Ever since Zhiying's belly got bigger, her temperament has changed a bit. She never teased me like this before, and I don't know if she can recover after giving birth."
At this moment, Qiu Chan suddenly came to the dormitory and said: "Your Highness, Supervisor Zhang is back, and with him is Deputy Supervisor Yang. They said they have something to see you and are waiting in the study."
Wu Chengsi sighed and said, "I really don't have a moment to relax."
Li Zhiying said softly: "Husband, they are coming to see you together. They must have something important. You'd better go there quickly."
Wu Chengsi nodded and left the dormitory.
When they entered the study, they saw Yang Tai and Zhang Gou discussing something.
When the two of them saw Wu Chengsi coming in, they both bowed. Yang Tai, who has always been straightforward, said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, I would like to recommend someone to you!"
Wu Chengsi slowly walked to the table and sat down, then stretched out his hand to signal the two of them to sit down, and then asked: "Who do you want to recommend?"
Yang Tai said: "This man's name is Wang Chen, and he is the number one carpenter in Shu. It is said that his ancestors were inherited from the Luban lineage, and his carpentry craftsmanship is extremely exquisite."
Wu Chengsi was stunned for a moment: "Sichuan again?"
Zhang Gouqi asked: "Your Majesty, what happened to Shu?"
Wu Chengsi pinched his chin and said, "I just heard that a music master from Shu came to Chang'an. Isn't it quite a coincidence?"
Yang Tai smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, this is no coincidence. Wang Chen's wife is the number one music master in Shu, and he and his wife came here together."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said, "Then bring him over to see me when you have time."
Yang Tai hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Highness, Wang Chen has a weird personality. Although I have a good relationship with him, if you don't invite him personally, I'm afraid he won't serve the imperial court."
Wu Chengsi was silent.
Yang Tai continued: "Your Majesty, our artillery needs to be mounted on a wooden cart for easy movement. Wang Chen is best at building carts. If he can design an exquisite wooden cart for the artillery, it will definitely increase the power of the artillery!
"
Wu Chengsi was finally persuaded and stood up and said: "That's fine, I will go with you."
Yang Taixi said: "That would be the best."
Because Feng Wu was not there, Wu Chengsi took Lu Xiong and a few more personal guards, and followed Yang Tai and Zhang Gou out of the palace.