Li Xia originally planned to meet Li Ye, talk about coins and then go back for dinner, but because Li Ye talked more about academic issues, it took longer than expected, so he and Li Ye simply went to have dinner with Han Chengxu.
When night fell, he turned back to the back office.
In recent years, the situation has not been urgent. Li Xia usually does not take care of paperwork after dark to avoid damaging his eyes. At night, he just spends time with his wife and concubines.
Most of the time they spent chatting. They usually interacted with Guan Juan, and they always had a lot of trivial matters about human relations or changes in the city to tell Li Xia.
For example, today Lin Zi's wife Yang came to complain, saying that she had a conflict with her mother's family. From now on, it can be seen that the old Tan Hualiang and Yang Qixin, the manager of the transportation department, may have some criticism of Li Xia, and Li Xiakong needs to win over him a little bit.
Ichiban.
For example, Lu Xiufu's wife had not exchanged letters with Gao Mingyue for a long time. Gao Mingyue gave her a gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but she never received a gift in return, which probably showed some kind of dissatisfaction or embarrassment on Lu Xiufu's part.
These are all implicit expressions hidden behind the scenes.
Zhang Wenjing wrote letters to many of her close friends in the north. Some were delivered, some were not, and very few responded.
But she would be happy for a long time when she got a reply from time to time. She looked forward to recruiting many scholars from the north in the future, and she could talk a lot about the customs and customs of the north with just that letter.
Sometimes Tang An'an would play the piano or dance in the hall. Li Xia couldn't tell how good the music was, but he only knew that her dancing was really beautiful.
She and Zhang Wenjing are both talented women. They usually compose some poems or draw some portraits together, and then praise each other's beauty.
There were not many entertainment activities. Games such as Cuju, cricket fighting, and Chuiwan were very interesting to people at the time, but Li Xia only found them boring and had no time to play these.
He did say that he would write some scripts when he had free time and send them to Vashel to be rehearsed for dramas, but he never started writing at all. He only told stories to his wives and concubines when he was free.
Han Qiaoer, Nian'er, always likes this time the most. She refuses to go to bed every time. When everyone else is asleep, they still have to discuss it for a long time with their heads together.
Gao Mingyue had to go back to her room to sleep early. As a princess, she was actually very busy every day.
…
That night, Li Xia walked with her through the corridor and said, "Sometimes I feel that you work harder than me."
"It's not hard work. I just sit at home and do some trivial things. People still envy me for my blessing." Gao Mingyue thought for a while and then said: "If the officials think that I am hard work, why don't you exempt me from morning exercises?"
"Hey, you are like this too, you are the best performer so far."
Hearing Li Xia's tone, Gao Mingyue couldn't help but smile, and she looked a little shy like before she got married.
Privately, she always looks like a delicate and timid little girl.
"Okay then, even if no one else will accompany you for your morning exercise, I will still accompany you. But I can't do it tomorrow."
"Um?"
"That... is here."
"That's good. I've been worried about it for several days. Now that I'm pregnant again, I'm afraid your body won't be able to bear it."
"I'm curious, does it seem like the bones in Guanren's body can't be broken?"
"Life lies in movement. Sleep and movement are the best ways to repair strain..."
Gao Mingyue lowered her head, smiled, and whispered: "Okay, the child is sleeping soundly in the room. Don't wake him up. Go to the quiet room."
"One more thing, I will go to Chongqing next month to welcome Gao Erlang on his triumphant return and take office. How about you and Qiaoer coming with me?"
Gao Mingyue raised her head, feeling a little happy. She hadn't gone out with Li Xia for a long time in recent years, and she missed going to Kaifeng and walking in Dali.
"What about Hanzhong?"
"I've made the arrangements, it doesn't matter. I'll be there soon, and the return trip won't take more than a month."
"I'm afraid it's still not possible. The child is still young and can't leave. You can say hello to the second brother for me." Gao Mingyue also wanted to go, hugging Li Xia, burying her head in his arms, and whispered: "Wait later.
When the child is older, can you take me out for a walk again?"
Li Xia lowered his head and whispered in her ear.
It's vaguely "my moon" or something...
Gao Mingyue blushed slightly and pushed him.
"I'm sleepy. Go wash off your sweaty stench."
"Stay with you for a while."
"Then stop talking, you'll wake up the child..."
~~
In the hall, Zhang Wenjing told a joke that made Han Qiaoer laugh so hard that she fell forward and backward.
"He's really good at tossing around, isn't he?"
"Yeah, brother Li is good at everything, he's great at everything, but he's too serious every time he asks people to do morning exercises... Sister Zhang, look at me, I finally turned white and I'm even tanned. Nian'er, you too
Don’t you like running?”
"No, I'm not used to being served by others, so I just want to move."
"You seem so lazy to me these days."
Zhang Wenjing could not tolerate Han Qiaoer's fuss, so she asked Tang Anan to drink the medicine and rest while calling Yan'er and Feng'er to prepare some hot water for Li Xia to bathe.
After a while, when Feng'er came over to report, she got up and walked to the bathroom.
Yan'er was lying there holding a bath towel and looking into the room. When she turned around and saw her eldest sister coming, she complained.
"I think my slave is taking too long to wash, so I want to wash it myself."
Zhang Wenjing just smiled when she saw it, took the bath towel from her hand, and said, "Go to sleep."
She pushed the door open, walked around the screen, and saw Li Xia taking off her clothes, her eyes filled with admiration.
"In those days in Luyi, your flesh was not so hard, otherwise you might not be able to shoot an arrow."
"It's an exaggeration, but muscles do have a great protective effect on internal organs, and the probability of death on the battlefield can be lower..."
"Is not funny."
Zhang Wenjing scolded him, and seeing Li Xia pretending to be serious, she still smiled and stepped forward to rub his back.
"I heard from my sister-in-law that you want to take Fifth Brother to Chongqing?"
"Well, let him get more familiar with the situation in Shuzhong now. In two years, he will be able to take charge of the rear. Zhang Wulang is a talented person who can defend his position."
"I'm afraid that fifth brother won't get along well with Gao Erlang after meeting him. I should give more instructions to my sister-in-law."
"It's not necessary." Li Xia said: "It just so happens that they don't get along well. I have to force them to get along well with each other when I have free time. I don't need them to be inseparable, to be friendly with each other, and not to miss official business, so as not to be unable to cooperate in the future wars.
.”
"Can it be done?"
"I am strong." Li Xia said: "With a sufficiently powerful leader, it should not be difficult to strictly prohibit internal fighting before it even begins."
"Preventive measures?"
"Um."
Zhang Wenjing suddenly became distracted.
She admired him very much in her heart. She had admired him a long time ago. There were few heroes in the North who could match his heroic appearance when holding a sword and riding a horse, and his courage to kill Mongolians.
In recent years, she has felt more and more how strong he is, both physically and mentally.
The word "I am strong" that he casually said was the confidence in his bones and the dominance he gradually developed.
Regarding state affairs, Li Xia often said, "Song's problem is that it is weak and needs a strong person to replace it."
When it comes to personal matters, he is actually very physically strong...
What we are talking about at this time is the matter of Zhang Wulang and Gao Erlang, but in fact, Li Xia treats her and Gao Mingyue the same way, and wants the two women to always get along well.
This matter is actually simple to say, but difficult in fact. She and Gao Mingyue are both from well-known families, and they can tolerate concubines, but they inevitably care about the other party.
Before, Yuan Yan said that Li Xia was very good at running a family, but Zhang Wenjing didn't understand it very well, but now she realizes that Li Xia is very good.
She stroked Li Xia's shoulders with a pair of catkins, smiled, and said with a smile: "Officials are strong... and they like to bully the weak."
"How can there be bullying?"
"Um?"
"I don't mean outside, I mean at home."
"Then I don't have any."
"Don't think I don't know how An An got sick?"
Li Xia smiled bitterly.
He didn't want to hide it. Tang An'an felt that it was really embarrassing to fall ill like that and he didn't want to say it.
I thought she had great dancing skills, was willing to cooperate, and was really beautiful... She really tried her best at that time, but she was indeed a little delicate, but she fell ill.
"Since we're talking about physical strength, why don't you exercise properly?"
"Hmph, you are indeed a lecher. I have no reason to ask others to do morning exercises with you."
"Speaking of this, I asked the doctor that it's still early for you and you can move more. Your body is more delicate. I should have taken you to practice earlier."
"I am the daughter of a famous general. I can ride a horse and shoot an arrow. How can I be more delicate than An An?"
Li Xia really knew this matter best. He believed that Zhang Wenjing had not been wronged, and said: "If you don't like to get up early, we can exercise in the evening."
"No, you said that Princess Rui died of illness at a young age, but you also said that she liked Cuju. It shows that you may get sick if you keep fit."
"The difference is that she is born... huh?"
Li Xia looked back and found that Zhang Wenjing had tied his hair into two braids at some point. He was speechless for a moment.
"Hurry up and untie it for me. It looks ridiculous with my muscles."
Zhang Wenjing couldn't help but laugh, her eyes turned into crescent moons.
"If you don't tell me, I still don't think it's funny... Then why don't you force me to suffer? I'm a bit squeamish, but I'm not delicate."
"Then we can talk about it after the baby is born?"
"When the time comes, I will practice with Sister Mingyue instead of you... Do you want to wash your hair too? I'm afraid it won't be dry."
"It's still early in the night, we can do it."
Zhang Wenjing stopped talking, but a blush appeared on her face...
~~
The next day.
When the sun came up, Han Qiaoer struggled to get up, rubbed his eyes and said, "If you endure it for one more day, I will go home to live tomorrow."
She didn't want to go there before, so she called it "Han Mansion", but now it has become "home".
Pushing open the door, he saw Li Xia lifting a heavy stone pier in the morning light.
Han Qiaoer couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"Sister Wen Jing is right, brother Li is very capable of tossing things around."
…
There may be some small complaints, but less than half a day after Han Qiaoer was taken back to the Han Mansion, she already missed the Prince's Mansion.
"Father, there are thirty volumes for girls. My daughter has already memorized them."
"Memorize it? I think you don't understand. My father wrote annotations specially for you, so memorize them all. Your memory is extraordinary. It shouldn't take more than two days. After that, I will become a famous female student..."
"Nvhong? But my daughter..."
"No but, my father has long thought that you are too undisciplined! What are you doing to see my father? My dear, come and supervise her, this girl is getting more and more outrageous."
Han Qiaoer raised her head to look at her pregnant stepmother Kong, then looked down at the womanly virtues her father painstakingly annotated on the eucalyptus, and she had only one thought in her mind.
"Han Mansion is such a miserable place... If I stay here for a few more days, I will go home..."
~~
Finally it’s September 20th.
Because the imperial court had agreed to Li Xia's request to make Han the concubine, Han Qiaoer also had a phoenix crown and a harem.
She actually knew that her grandfather and father had great expectations for her.
But too lazy to think about this.
Because she has been with Li Xia for the longest time, she understands her brother Li's character best.
The sedan chair went all the way to the palace she was most familiar with, and after bowing to heaven and earth, she finally settled on a name.
Passing by the backyard, I glanced through the round fan and saw the fat bamboo bear. Because it was disturbed, it tried to turn over but failed, so it had to bite a bamboo leaf angrily.
Han Qiaoer was relieved to see that it was not starving or thin.
After that, I sat in the new house and waited, vaguely expecting something in my heart.
Finally, night fell completely.
…
"Brother Li?"
Li Xia watched Han Qiaoer put down the fan and suddenly fell into a daze.
She was thirteen years old when they first met, dark and small. At that time, he seemed to be only three years older than her, but he was much more mature mentally.
In the past five years or so, I said I pampered her, but in fact I still didn't notice her changes.
Tonight, he was surprised to see her put on rouge and red lips, looking somewhat charming.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Han Qiaoer said proudly: "I told you a long time ago that you are not a child anymore."
Li Xia was annoyed by her and was a little silent. He sat down by the couch and didn't move.
On the contrary, Han Qiaoer took his hand first, looked at him closely, and said: "Brother Li, I have wanted to marry you for a long time. Dad said he would wait until sixteen, but you said you would wait until eighteen. What's the difference?"
Han Qiaoer leaned her head on his shoulder, acting naturally.
She raised her legs, looking very happy. After waiting for a while and seeing no movement from Li Xia, she stretched out her hand and waved it in front of him.
"Are you stunned by my beauty? It's great. I can stay with you forever. I was always afraid that you wouldn't want me anymore..."
Han Qiaoer was actually panicked when she said this, but since she was already intimate with Li Xia, she still squeezed past.
Li Xia wanted to say, "Even if you weren't beautiful, I wouldn't want you," but then she realized that it was better not to say this.
He stretched out his hand and hugged Han Qiaoer, but still didn't know what to say.
"Brother Li, I don't want to do morning exercises tomorrow, just promise me?"
"Um?"
"She's also very beautiful. Just promise me if you act like a spoiled brat."
"Who did you learn it from?"
Li Xia looked around and couldn't tell whether the look on her face was charming or a bit silly.
Han Qiao'er had raised her head and tried to get closer. The rouge on her lips seemed to be touching Li Xia's lips.
"We are finally married. Can Brother Li be as close to me as he is to Sister Gao?"
…
"Brother Li... Lang Jun... um... um..."
With great difficulty, Han Qiaoer lowered her long stretched legs. She stretched out her hand to push away the hair that was wet with sweat and stuck in her mouth. She couldn't help but tremble again.
Only then did she realize that what people said about Li Xia being able to do anything was not what she thought she meant.
I used to say that when I grew up, they must be secretly laughing at me.