Volume 1: Swan Goose Chapter 13: The Gentleman on the Liangshang Smiles (3)
Xiaoxiang Villa saw off the last batch of guests when the east was white, and the singers and servants all carried their tired bodies back to rest. The villa that had been noisy all night suddenly became quiet, leaving only a mess.
Only a window on the third floor still gave out a faint light, and the shadow of a beautiful woman was printed on the yellowed window paper.
"Xueyan, am I getting old?" Hua Fangyi looked at her face in the bronze mirror and asked sadly.
"What are you talking about, Miss! You are the most beautiful woman in the capital! You are still young now, but you are already old!"
Xue Yan helped her remove all the hairpin rings and said seriously. She is Hua Fangyi's personal servant. Even though she is only thirteen years old, she is an eloquent and quick-witted spirit.
"So what if it's beautiful? He still can't see it, and he won't be surprised if he sees it." Hua Fangyi looked at her other self in the mirror sadly, as if talking to herself.
As clever as a snow goose, he immediately understood what she meant and hurriedly comforted him: "Miss, don't think nonsense. Who says His Highness is not interested? He is just not good at expressing himself. Think about it, you have been the only confidante beside him for so many years! And he is almost always responsive to your requests, but he is the envy of others!"
"I want to be his woman more than my confidante, even if I don't have any status." This is what Hua Fangyi thinks in her heart, but she will never say it out loud because of her arrogance.
After Xueyan helped her to bed, he turned off the lights and went to rest. Hua Fangyi was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
A few days ago, she deliberately made things difficult for the three caravans. Yu Fengjin scolded her for this, and then she never came to the villa again. This made her not only worried, but also regretful:
What happened to her? When she first met the young leader of the caravan, an unknown fire ignited in her heart. When she thought that Yu Fengjin was going to win over the caravan and would inevitably meet the leader of the Lu gang frequently in the future, she was filled with jealousy and couldn't bear it. Just try to embarrass the other person.
Unexpectedly, Yu Fengjin, who had never said a harsh word to herself, would actually become angry...
"Hey!" She hugged the quilt tightly, buried her face deeply in it and kept sighing.
A gust of night wind suddenly blew open the window, and a figure flashed past the window in the darkness. Hua Fangyi sat up in shock, holding her breath and looking motionless at the wide open window.
After a long time, when there was no sound, Hua Fangyi quickly lit the candlestick, put on her clothes and got out of bed and went to close the window. As soon as she reached the desk, she suddenly stopped and stared at the desk in horror. Her clothes were covered in cold sweat. Through--there was a bright red invitation on the desk with the word "reply" written on it.
She stretched out her hand tremblingly to pick up the reply, and hesitated for a long time before daring to open it. After reading the contents, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly leaned out of the window to look around.
But the window was empty without even a ghost. Hua Fangyi gritted her teeth and closed the window again, threw the reply note on the desk, walked back to the bed in vain, and sat down with her legs weak.
This night, Hua Fangyi didn't feel sleepy at all. She stared straight into the night and stayed up all night.
When the sky was bright, Hua Fangyi immediately sent her servant to Prince Yi's Mansion to report the reply that dropped from the sky. However, it was not until three o'clock in the morning that Yu Fengjin arrived late with Yan Rong.
When Yan Rong saw Hua Fangyi, who was pale and haggard, he couldn't help but be startled: "Why are you so haggard after not seeing her for just a few days?"
Hua Fangyi stared at the reply in Yu Fengjin's hand, bit her lip and said, "This leader of the Lu Gang is really talented! He has to jump out of the window without leaving the door! He doesn't deliver the letter during the day, but chooses to do it at night!
What kind of chivalrous woman walking around the world is nothing more than a petty thief in my opinion!"
After hearing this, Yan Rong walked to the window and opened it, stretched out his upper body and looked outside, and couldn't help but sigh:
"In order to prevent flower-picking thieves from sneaking in, this building has been specially raised a lot, and there are no strong points on the wall. It seems that the leader of the Deer Gang is not only good at using the nine-section whip, but he is also really good at lightness!"
He closed the window and turned around, but met Yu Fengjin's reproachful gaze. He couldn't help but stiffen: "Brother, did I say something wrong?"
"Why don't you get it right?" Yu Fengjin's face darkened and she asked in a cold voice, "Did you do anything inappropriate when you went to send the invitation?"
"Why... why did you say that?" Yan Rong's smile froze, and he was perfunctory with a guilty conscience. But when he saw Yu Fengjin's face was as heavy as water, it didn't look like he was joking. He had no choice but to scratch his head and said with a smile.
:
"Hey, I still can't hide it from my brother! When I went to the caravan that day, the leader of the Lu gang was not there, so I went in and waited for a while. Unexpectedly, the Gu family and his son suddenly came to visit, so I had to hide on the beam in desperation. Unexpectedly, Lu
The gang leader had discovered me a long time ago, but he never exposed me until the Gu family and his son left and called me down!"
"You are so rude." Yu Fengjin said with a straight face and a somewhat stern tone.
"Brother, don't be angry!" Yan Rong quickly served a cup of tea and said with a careful smile: "I was worried that the Gu family and his son were here for Han Yan, so I hid and eavesdropped. The Lu gang leader and I explained it the same way afterwards,
She wasn’t harsh at that time!”
Yu Fengjin glanced at him and said sternly: "First, she came to apologize, but Fang Yi blamed her everywhere for not getting off the stage. Then Yan Rong sent the invitation, but hid on the beam and eavesdropped on her conversation! Don't forget, it's
We want to win over the caravans, not the caravans who want to take refuge with us! If you do this, they will feel that the king's people are ignorant of etiquette and bully the weak and fear the strong!"
Yan Rong did not dare to argue anymore, but just stood aside silently with his arms folded.
Hua Fangyi, however, had a cold face and complained dissatisfiedly: "Even so, this Lu Gang leader is going too far! If they have no intention of cooperating with you, they can just say that they are demonstrating to you by doing such a thing?
"
Yu Fengjin glanced at her and said calmly: "Don't forget, respect is mutual. The Lu gang leader broke the window to send back the post in the middle of the night, which is a warning and reminder. Since we have done something wrong, we have to suffer.
Others’ blame!”
Hua Fangyi bit her lip and said unwillingly: "I have known His Highness for so long, but I have never seen you favoring anyone so much! I really don't understand why you want to favor that gang leader. Could it be that you have a crush on her?"
Hearing this, Yu Fengjin immediately cast a warning look at her and said coldly: "Nonsense! I have never seen her before, so how can I be interested in her? And I told you, before the great cause is accomplished,
I don’t want to waste my energy on my children’s personal relationship, have you forgotten?”
Hua Fangyi lowered her eyes and said with disappointment: "I understand. In His Highness' heart, nothing is more important than your great cause! Don't worry, I will never provoke the leader of the Lu Gang again in the future! Even if she comes to provoke me, I will never
There won’t be any complaints!”
Yu Fengjin's expression softened slightly, and she sighed quietly: "This is a process of mutual selection. With the background of the caravan and its power in the world, there are many people who want to win him over. If we want the caravan, we will be willing to do so in the future.
To be used by us, you must show greater sincerity than others!"
At this point, Yan Rong and Hua Fangyi looked at each other and didn't know what to say.
"By the way, how is Miss Hanyan?" Yu Fengjin slowed down her tone and turned around and asked.
Hua Fangyi stabilized her mind before replying: "The first few days after I came here, I was not used to it. I always felt like a frightened bird that someone was going to kill her. I treated her with good food and drinks every day. These days, she
My mental state is much better.”
"Well, bring her here. I have something to ask her." Yu Fengjin nodded and added: "However, if she is not ready to see me, there is no need to force it!"
"Yes." Hua Fangyi bowed slightly and retreated. After a while, she walked in the door again with Han Yan.
At her signal, Han Yan timidly walked up to Yu Fengjin, slowly knelt down and said in a trembling voice:
"Daughter of the people Han Yan... I'd like to meet His Royal Highness King Yi! Thank you very much for your life-saving grace, your great kindness... The girls of the people will definitely repay you with a spring of water!"
Yu Fengjin stared at the girl with eyes filled with autumn water, and I felt pity for him, and said gently: "Yes, I also know the phrase 'Report from the Spring'. It seems that she has studied. Such country girls are rare."
.”
Han Yan lowered his head and whispered: "Back to Your Highness, Min Nu's father is the only scholar in the village. He said that 'a woman's lack of talent is a virtue' is a fallacy. Only women who can read and read can not be deceived."
Listening to her talk, Yu Fengjin said approvingly: "Although your father is only a scholar, he has some real insights. Where is he now?"
Mentioning her father, Han Yan's eyes suddenly turned red, she bit her lip and remained silent, tears filled her eyes, but she bit her lower lip and refused to cry.
Seeing her appearance, Hua Fangyi bowed and said politely: "Your Highness, Miss Hanyan's father... was beaten to death by Pingyang Hou's people..."
Yu Fengjin put down the tea cup and sighed: "So, I made a mistake." He looked at Han Yan and asked softly: "Miss Han Yan, are you willing to tell the whole story in detail?"
But Han Yan still lowered his head and refused to say a word.
"Han Yan." Hua Fangyi persuaded patiently: "Didn't you always say that you have so many grievances but no way to complain? Now that His Highness is willing to uphold justice for you, why don't you speak out quickly?"
Han Yan slowly raised his eyes to look at Yu Fengjin and asked word for word: "Your Highness, are you...really willing to help the women of the country uphold justice? Aren't you afraid...of offending Marquis Pingyang?"
Yu Fengjin didn't answer. He picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly before saying quietly: "Miss Hanyan, you must know how many people are chasing you and how skilled they are. So you should also understand that this king is here to kill you."
How much did it cost to bring you safely to the capital for the first time? If you still don't believe me, then I have nothing to say."
With that said, Yu Fengjin slowly stood up, dusted herself off and prepared to leave.
"Your Highness, please calm down!" Han Yan kowtowed quickly, and when he raised his head again, tears were streaming down his face: "This is a daughter of the people who doesn't know how to appreciate me! Your Highness, please stay and listen to the women of the people redress their grievances!"
Yu Fengjin paused for a moment, sat down again, and listened to her narrating the whole incident:
"There is a large paddy field in our village, which is all the villagers depend on for survival. Once, Pingyang Marquis passed by when he was out for fun and took a fancy to the paddy field. He insisted on occupying it to build his new house. So he sent someone to find the village chief.
When he explained the matter, the lieutenant refused. Pingyang Hou was so angry that he sent someone to beat the lieutenant to death.
Later, his people lobbied everywhere: if they handed over the paddy fields, they would get a sum of gold and silver. The country people had never seen the world. After hearing what he said, some people were tempted and signed a sales contract with Marquis Pingyang. Damn Pingyang
Hou secretly changed the contract - from eighty taels of silver to eighty taels!
For such a large paddy field, we were given only eight taels of silver! Not to mention the dozens of people in the village, we couldn’t even feed one family. And we, the people, know nothing but farming. If we leave this paddy field, we have no money.
If you don’t have enough money to survive, you are waiting to starve to death!
At this time, everyone realized that they had been cheated, so they united to resist Pingyang Hou and refused to recognize the unequal contract. But when Pingyang Hou had the black and white writing in his hand, he immediately changed his face and killed the villagers who had signed but refused to recognize it one by one.
He was killed, and he even brought people here to seize the land by force.
The villagers were so angry that they united and ran to the paddy field to guard. No one dared to leave even half a step, vowing to fight to the end against Pingyang Hou. Seeing how tough we were, Pingyang Hou led his guards and massacred the entire village.
.All one hundred and eighteen people died tragically, and the blood that flowed out dyed the entire paddy field red..." This chapter has been completed!