"Creak" As soon as the door of the woodshed was pushed open, the smell of alcohol that had been suppressed all night came out, and Qingrong frowned slightly.
"Is he... really okay?" Yun Niang followed Qingrong and saw that the monk was tied up by the guards arranged by Qingrong at Jiang's residence, stuffed with cloth strips in his mouth, and thrown into the woodshed. He is still unconscious.
.
The guard stepped forward and probed his mouth and nose, "He is still alive, he is not dead yet."
Qingrong was relieved when she heard this. She asked the two guards to keep an eye on this person, then turned around and took Yun Niang and Azhen to find Jiang Xu Niang. She asked, "What happened last night?"
Jiang Xuniang was obviously frightened and a little scared. She shook her head and said, "I don't know too well. Bai Li and I were doing needlework in the house last night and forgot about it. When we heard the noise and went out to look, we saw that the monk had been knocked unconscious.
On the ground! The two guards said that this man came in over the wall and peeked into the room furtively, so they knocked him unconscious and tied him up... I even took a look, but I had never seen this man before.
, I don’t know where it came from.”
The more she talked about it, the more frightened she became. No matter what the intentions of this sneaky person who sneaked into her yard in the middle of the night, luckily they were discovered by Lu Qingrong's people. If something really happened, she and Bai Li would not be a match for a grown man.
Last time, because of Jiang Dalang's incident, Lu Qingrong sent two guards to guard the courtyard. Nothing could be seen outside, and they would not be too conspicuous.
Yun Niang asked: "Madam, look...should this matter be reported to the official?" A drunken monk sneaked into the woman's home in the middle of the night. This matter did not sound simple at all.
Before Qing Rong could say anything, Jiang Xuniang immediately shook her head, "No! The reporting officer just made this matter bigger, and with the previous incident, it would be too conspicuous. Since he came here secretly, then deal with him directly, and then
Why don't you just let someone throw her out of the city quietly at night?" In this way, no one would know, and no one would be able to involve her.
Just kill people directly?
Qingrong muttered: "This man seems to be a monk from Xizhou, and he has the status of a good citizen. It is against the law to kill good people at will. I don't know which temple he belongs to. If he dies like this, it is hard to say that he will not cause trouble again."
, I’m afraid it will be more troublesome then.”
Jiang Xuniang became a little anxious and asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"
"I think I'll ask the guards to keep an eye on him first. I'll knock him unconscious early tomorrow morning and throw him into the streets. He will definitely not come back to haunt him in public. Then I'll find someone to follow him and find out his identity."
Jiang Xuniang was a little uneasy. What Lu Qingrong said was not impossible, but she was powerless and had no one. She was not afraid that the person would turn around and join forces with others to retaliate. So after several struggles, she had to ask Lu Qingrong if she could
I can't let myself go to her place to stay for a few days.
Qingrong thought for a while and agreed to her. It was really hard for her to show up too much at the moment.
Qingrong asked Yun Niang to accompany her and come back together after packing her bags in the morning, while she and Azhen went back first to have the house tidied up.
After they left, Azhen couldn't help but asked Qingrong: "Madam, do you plan to let her stay here forever?"
Qingrong thought for a while, shook her head and said, "Maybe she herself won't want to live here forever." And Jiang Xuniang knew from the beginning that she wouldn't stay in Xizhou forever...
When Azhen heard this, she also felt a little emotional, "This Lady Jiang is really different from before." In fact, she didn't have much impression of this princess whom she had only met once. She only remembered that she had openly spoken in front of the Duke's Mansion.
It was difficult for the lady to embarrass her, and the rest was very vague. However, these two times in Xizhou, she felt that the "princess princess" had really changed. In the past, she would never have imagined her obedient and polite face towards the lady now.
…
Qingrong sighed softly, "Times have changed, it's just normal."
She didn't feel proud about this, after all, those misunderstandings had passed for a long time, and it was not a matter of bitterness or hatred. Although she did not have any special feelings for Jiang Xuniang, she did feel that it was difficult for her, and she did not want to take the opportunity to make things difficult.
Qingrong felt that it was actually quite good that we were living in peace now.
"Go back first and let the servants clean up the house. The furs I asked you to send yesterday are probably not that fast. After you go back, you can find two new coats from me and send them to her house."
Azhen nodded in agreement, "My maid knows."
…
After Xue Shao came home and heard Qing Rong talk about this incident, he didn't say much and said, "You have the final say in matters at home."
Qingrong nodded and smiled, "Okay. By the way, did you know that the person who said he would take Xu Niang to Dunhuang was Prince Ju? It seems that Prince Ju has a close friendship with Xue Yan?"
Xue Shao was not surprised when he heard this, but instead said, "This Prince Ju is still in Xizhou City."
"You haven't returned to Kucha yet? Have you met him?"
Xue Shaodao: "When he came here, he definitely wanted to meet me. Lu Kaiyan was there that day, and there were a few people who joined the army. He deliberately brought up the story of his acquaintance with Xue Yan on the table, and deliberately favored me both inside and outside his words.
, and Lu Kaiyan treated him very warmly."
"Really?" Qingrong felt a little strange for a moment when she heard what he said.
Xue Shao suddenly asked: "Why do you think he hasn't left yet?"
This Ju family is a descendant of the royal family of Gaochang. I heard that Prince Ju was a romantic man. When he was a hostage in the capital, he loved to drink and have fun. He did not care about worldly affairs, but he was able to return safely from the capital to the Western Regions. He would really be a man addicted to wine and sex.
, are you just asking about big things? Or are you just doing it deliberately to deceive others?
Qingrong naturally knew the meaning of Xue Shao's words. Ju Yunwei had a special status. He was just suspicious of Ju Shizi. She said: "It's hard to judge what happens at the moment, but now that he is here, it doesn't matter if anything happens."
If you can find out earlier, you don’t have to worry too much.”
Xue Shao thought so too, so he had already arranged for someone to keep an eye on Ju Yunwei secretly. Now that he was under his nose, he also wanted to see what tricks the prince was going to play. He nodded, "I can only
So. By the way, Prince Ju will invite people to go hunting in some time. Do you want to go with me?"
…
Before Lu Kaiyan returned home, he heard the news from his entourage.
"Did you see it with your own eyes?"
His entourage nodded and said in an affirmative tone, "I dare not deceive Alang. I have seen this with my own eyes." After saying that, he closed his mouth tightly.
Lu Kaiyan nodded and waved for him to go down.
After the others left, he cleared up his desk and got up to go home. As he walked, he thought, this Xue Shao is really not simple. What is his plan?
During the last dinner, Prince Ju had deliberately tried to win over him. He was cold and polite on the surface, but it turned out that in private he was not ambiguous at all. Seeing that Prince Ju was interested in Mr. Jiang, he immediately asked Mrs. Lu to take him to his residence. It seemed that
He has made up his mind to use Jiang to win over Prince Ju.
He is just a military commander, and guarding the border is his duty. Why should he spend this energy to show his favor to Prince Ju? There is also a plan to persuade him to betray Master Jueming to save face. Is it because Master Jueming doesn't want to make it public, or because he doesn't want to let it go?
Are people going to investigate further? From the matter of making winter clothes for the soldiers, it can be seen that he also has some contacts with Hu merchants who have been operating in Xizhou for many years. Has he already had the idea of winning over people's hearts?
He spared no effort to make friends with high-ranking sects, eminent monks, and even Hu merchants in Xizhou. Such careful consideration cannot be without intention! If he continues like this, I am afraid that he will also respond to everything in Xizhou in the future!
Is this prince really sincerely loyal to Daye? The four towns of Anxi have just been unified and the situation is unstable. Could he also want to interfere with it?
Thinking of this, Lu Kaiyan felt a little frightened, and couldn't help but wonder how to deal with it, but one thing was that the two of them must not be allowed to join forces no matter what! Lu Kaiyan suddenly remembered that Prince Ju said at the banquet that day that he wanted to invite everyone to go hunting together.
He originally didn't plan to go, but now he doesn't think so anymore.
Cui Liniang had long heard reports from her servants that Alang was back, but after waiting in the house for a long time, no one was seen. So she got up and went out, and saw her husband standing in the yard in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.
Cui Liniang stepped forward and asked with a smile: "Shaoze, why are you standing here blowing the cold wind when you come back and not going in?"
When Lu Kaiyan saw her coming, he couldn't help but frowned, hugged her into his cloak, and said in a helpless tone, "Why don't you come out without wearing a cloak? Be careful of freezing."
Cui Liniang huddled in his warm cloak and buried herself in his arms. She smiled and looked at him and said, "It's only a few steps away. It's nothing. I haven't seen you back for a long time. I wanted to come out and have a look."
Lu Kaiyan smiled and said, "I was just thinking about something and got distracted for a moment. It's my fault that I kept you waiting for too long."
Cui Liniang shook her head, "Go in."
Lu Kaiyan looked at her and smiled warmly, "Okay."
The two of them entered the house together, and Cui Liniang ordered her servants to prepare the meal.
She pulled Lu Kaiyan to sit down together and said, "When the weather was nice two days ago, Ajin and I went out to get some cloth to sew winter clothes. On the way, we happened to see someone selling white folds, so we bought some.
, I’ll make you two pairs of cotton socks in two days.”
Lu Kaiyan looked at her, his originally depressed mood suddenly lifted. He shook his head and said, "Just keep it for yourself. Just do this to pass the time. Don't tire yourself. I see you haven't eaten much these days.
, all lost weight."
"I don't really want to eat it either. Those soup cakes feel greasy and I can't eat them."
Lu Kaiyan asked her, "Then what do you want to eat? Let the kitchen cook you some appetizers?"
Cui Liniang smiled and said, "What a coincidence. I made this papaya shredded dish in the kitchen today. It's sour and spicy for appetizers. I ate well and used half a can at noon. Do you want to try it?"
Lu Kaiyan picked up the chopsticks, and it was extremely spicy. Cui Liniang was amused when she saw this, and hurriedly gave him tea. Lu Kaiyan couldn't eat spicy food, and this time he burst into tears. He shook his head in a funny way, "You used to
I also don’t eat spicy food, but now my taste has really changed! People say that sour children and spicy girls are sour, but I think there’s a good chance that you have a girl in your belly.”
Cui Liniang smiled and said: "If that's the case, it's not bad."
"It's not enough to just eat vegetables. You have to eat more meat." Lu Kaiyan paused and said, "After a few days, Prince Ju invited General Xue and others to go hunting together. I will also go. If the time comes,
If I can find a deer, I will hunt it and bring it back to you. I heard that the deer blood and venison are very nourishing."
Cui Liniang didn't have much appetite now, but thinking of his intention, she just smiled and said yes.