As the wedding day approached, Huan Ci was finally released from the palace.
The evening ceremony was to be held in the palace, and the prince would come outside the palace to marry her, so the queen mother allowed her to leave the palace five days in advance.
Although the Queen Mother's original intention was for her to come back early to prepare the dowry, how could Huan Ci be free?
Her father was going to Beijing today, so she ran to the teahouse at the gate of the city early in the morning to wait. Coincidentally, she met Li Jinxiu in the teahouse today.
This year's imperial examination was postponed to May, so he had nothing to do these days and only visited relatives and friends in the capital every day.
Today he made an appointment with his friends to have tea here, but he happened to bump into Huan Ci, and then he learned that Huan Yuan was in Beijing today.
Things in the past made him a little afraid of this person, and he felt uncomfortable when he thought about meeting him soon.
"Are you so afraid of my father?" Huan Ci looked at him funny.
Li Jinxiu's expression was so serious and nervous that she couldn't help but want to tease him.
Huan Ci didn't know about the matter between him and his father. After Li broke off their engagement, she never cared about it again. The only things she knew about it were from A Yao's words, and her father would not say these things in front of her.
"Your Majesty is indeed awe-inspiring." Li Jinxiu said solemnly.
Huan Ci grinned lightly, crossed her arms and looked at the people coming and going downstairs. There were many people below who were sent by Zong Zhengyuan, which made her very upset just looking at them.
"I have an impression of him." The man next to Li Jinxiu suddenly said.
Huan Ci turned to look at him curiously.
She had noticed this man early in the morning. Although he was wearing coarse clothes, he had an extraordinary bearing. Most importantly, his appearance was so attractive that even Li Jinxiu was surpassed by him.
Huan Ci was so distracted that she didn't realize that she was really losing her composure until the other person stared at her intently.
She cleared her throat and asked, "Do you know my father?"
Li Jinxiulang laughed a few times: "This is the friend I mentioned to you. He came to the capital to do some business and will return to Yongzhou in a few days."
"Kong Lin?" Huan Ci quickly thought of him.
"Miss Huan, you're fine." The man cupped his fists at her and said.
Huan Ci opened his mouth and looked at him doubtfully: "Have we known each other before?"
The man smiled: "I have met you before at my brother's wedding banquet."
Huan Ci smiled hurriedly and nodded, as if he understood. However, she had completely forgotten what Kong Lin's brother looked like.
"Ziye really has a good memory. According to what you said, I have met Miss Huan before." Li Jinxiu patted his shoulder and said.
Ziye should be his given name, so Huan Ci secretly remembered this person's name.
Kong Lin glanced at Li Jinxiu lightly, and then looked out the window.
He was the only one Huan Ci had met, not Li Jinxiu. The reason was simply because they met in the back house.
He drank secretly that day, and who knew he was actually drunk. Because his father was very strict in discipline, he had never touched alcohol before. While everyone was waiting to welcome the bride, he ran alone into his yard.
That was the first time he met Huan Ci, and in fact, it was also the only time before.
A little girl about ten years old actually went to their tree to drink, and she sat on it carelessly, swinging her legs without fear of falling down.
"Which family are you a wild girl from, and you came to my place to act wild?"
The man on the tree must have been drunk too. He looked at him and laughed a few times and said, "Wine is such a good thing. After drinking it, I can see such a handsome boy."
Kong Lin immediately turned black, raised his head and glared: "What are you talking about?"
"How can I talk to my aunt?" The girl on the tree looked down at him, unable to hide the proud smile on her face.
"You wait." Kong Lin gritted his teeth and said.
He looked around for a moment and saw no one was around, so he started climbing up the tree.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked unhappily.
"This is my tree. I can climb it whenever I want."
"Then I'm going down." The woman let go of the shaky wine bottle and was about to jump under the tree.
"Are you crazy? Be careful and break your leg." Kong Lin's eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing the woman's unconscious look, he suddenly woke up. Before she jumped down, he jumped down first.
When the unexpected weight hit him, he grimaced in pain.
"Madman." He angrily pushed the woman on him away, only to find that she was staring at him and giggling.
"Auntie, are you crazy?"
Several women suddenly rushed up from behind and immediately surrounded her.
The girl was quickly carried on someone's back, and she actually fell asleep like that.
Kong Lin frowned and looked at these people, guessing her identity.
After they walked away, he patted the dust on his body and tried to stand up, but suddenly there was a heartbreaking pain in his leg.
In order to save this ungrateful man, he actually dislocated his joint.
What was even more irritating was that when his father came to see him, he smelled the smell of alcohol on his body, and found out about him and the woman from his servants. He gave him a severe scolding and punished him by copying many books.
From his father's words, he knew the identity of the woman.
It turns out that she is the domineering Princess Huan Ci of Ding'an County. It turned out to be so when we saw her today, but she was not as scary-looking as the rumors said. In fact, she was quite good-looking. But he obviously saved her and didn't even get a word of thanks.
He was actually punished for it.
Kong Lin angrily copied the book and put all the blame on her.
But before the day came for him to settle accounts with her, the raiders broke into his courtyard.
He will never forget the situation that day, and he will never dare to forget it.
Kong Lin smiled sourly and turned to look at the woman who was concentrating on looking at the city gate. Ten years passed by, and he was the only one who remembered that incident.
"Abba!"
The woman suddenly exclaimed and ran downstairs happily.
The commotion downstairs told him that Dingyuan Wang Huanyuan had entered Beijing.
"Do you think he can go back alive?" Li Jinxiu asked softly in his ear.
Kong Lin sighed silently: "If you were Zong Zhengyuan, would you miss this opportunity?"
The private room soon fell into silence, with only two men silently watching the cheering people downstairs.
"Dad, you've lost weight." Huan Ci muttered, holding his father's arm.
Huan Yuan was very relieved after not seeing his daughter for more than four months. He touched Huan Ci's head and said softly: "You have lost weight too. Look how thin your arms are."
"Daddy, do you want to go to the palace first? Or go to my place?"
"There is no rush to enter the palace." Huan Yuan glanced deeply at the bustling capital, but the uneasiness in his heart became stronger.
After receiving her father, Huan Ci took him to the house given to her by Zong Zhengyuan. Now the newly appointed Minister of Dali Temple lived next to it, and Huan Ci had little contact with him.
Huan Yuan walked around the yard angrily: "My daughter comes to the capital, and she can only live in a place like this?"
Huan Ci hurriedly stepped forward and took him into the house: "Partition walls have ears. Father, please be careful."
Huan Yuan snorted coldly, glanced at the wall impatiently, and followed Huan Ci into the house.
After sending everyone away, Huan Ci closed the door and talked with his father.
"Dad, how dare you go to Beijing? This is too dangerous."
Huan Yuan sighed: "I haven't broken up with the emperor yet, and he has issued an imperial edict. If I don't come now, he will have even more reason to deal with me. Besides, this is your marriage, how can I not come?
Woolen cloth?"
"But——" Huan Ci stopped talking.
"Don't worry." Huan Yuan's voice was very low, "There are people I brought outside the city. If anything happens, they will come to rescue you soon."
Seeing that Huan Ci was still frowning, his expression became more serious: "A Ci, sooner or later Zong Zhengyuan and I will have to decide the winner. As my father, I have seen too many lives and deaths in my life as a soldier, and now I can't worry about you.
one."
He paused and then said: "And your mother-in-law. Although you have never met her, you should remember her."
The portrait of his mother instantly appeared before Huan Ci's eyes.
Although she has never met her mother, she has seen many portraits of her mother. There are many portraits of her mother hidden in her father's study, and she liked to peek at them when she was young.
In fact, she didn't know much about her mother. She only knew that her mother was tortured to death by the Yong people, and her body was not even left behind.
It is said that Rongguo was at war with Yongguo at that time, and his father followed Emperor Wu to fight everywhere. At that time, he was still a fledgling boy and had just gained the respect of Emperor Wu.
When the soldiers were marching and fighting on the front line, the Yong people secretly attacked Yunzhou, and Huan Ci's mother was kidnapped at that time.
Her father never told her these things. The only thing she knew was what people talked about when she was in the house. But when those people saw her, they fell silent, and all of them lowered their heads and said nothing.
"Dad, are you hiding something from me?" Huan Ci looked at his father and asked.
Huan Yuan looked sadly at the woman in front of him who was somewhat similar to her, and the heavy memory appeared in his mind again.
He forced a smile: "Silly girl, what can I hide from you? I will get married in a few days, and I will be a big girl in the future. Don't be as naughty as before."
"How could I be naughty?" Huan Ci muttered.
Huan Yuan smiled heartily, and suddenly his expression changed: "How did I hear that you were in contact with that boy named Fu again?"
"Father is really well-informed."
"A Ci, he can't protect you, he is not your lover." Huan Yuan said in a deep voice.
The smile on Huan Ci's face slowly dissipated. She lowered her head and fiddled with the belt in her hand. After a long while, she hummed softly.
Huan Yuan felt a little distressed when he saw her like this, but how could a marriage be such a trivial matter, let alone his daughter?
Ayao's voice suddenly came from outside the door. It turned out that she had made tea and was about to bring it in.
Huan Ci responded in the room and suddenly remembered another thing.
"Dad, why don't you see Ah Lian? Why doesn't he even write a letter these days?"
Huan Yuan took the tea from A Yao and said softly: "I originally planned to take Ah Lian with me when I set out, but he suddenly found clues about the Kiyuan case, so he didn't follow me."
"Is he still investigating that matter?" Huan Ci asked, frowning.
The Kihara case was hastily settled, and all the evidence was destroyed by those who wanted to, leaving Huan Ci unable to investigate at all.
"This case is really strange. We have found clues several times before, but they are always interrupted suddenly. The people behind the case must always be watching our every move."
