Qiuyuntang is located on the west side of the Hou Mansion. Although the location is remote, the advantage is that it is far away from Qingheng Courtyard and there is no need to meet the people of the main house.

Rong Juan was very angry at Izumo Tower, and when he returned to Qiu Yuntang, he told Pei Yun what happened during the dinner.

"He is just a sixth-grade official, but he dares to be so presumptuous! When I marry into the Jiang family in the future, I will definitely call him——"

"Jue'er!" Pei Yun interrupted her and scolded: "How did my mother teach me in the past? "Yours?"

"Mom, I'm not messing around. You weren't in Izumo Tower just now, so you don't know how unpleasant what Gu Changjin said!" Rong Juan's chest heaved violently, "Dad, too, you have to give that person face. He actually let that mother-in-law come back. Have we ever been so angry?"

Pei Yun slowly lowered her eyes and said calmly, "What he said makes sense. My mother-in-law is a concubine and has not received orders from my mistress. , I can't sit at the same table with my mistress."

"But the person dad likes is you. You and dad are in love, if it weren't for the man from Qinghengyuan who insisted on marrying into the Hou family. Mrs. Hou should be you. Besides, my mother was once the legitimate daughter of Shangshu Mansion. How can she be compared to the one from Qinghengyuan? "Why should she not allow you to go to the banquet?"

Rong Juan's angry words made Pei Yun wince. He frowned and was about to scold him when the servant girl outside suddenly came to deliver a message.

"Auntie, the eldest lady has come to Qiu Yuntang and wants to tell you something."

Pei Yun's frown suddenly relaxed.

Rong Shu?

Rong Juan, who was on the side, heard what the servant woman said. He straightened his face and said, "Why is she here? Could it be that she wants to come here just like her husband to mock you? No, I'll go find dad! I really think Qiu Yuntang is the one who can do it." Are you so careless?"

As she was about to stand up, Pei Yun grabbed her and scolded her in a low voice: "Go back to your own house! If you dare to go to your father to complain, from now on, You just treat me like a mother!"

Pei Yun rarely spoke in such a stern tone. Rong Juan was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, he heard Pei Yun say again:

"I have worked hard on your temper these past few months. You know, if you think that you can do whatever you want by marrying into the Jiang family, then I will personally go to the Jiang family to refuse your marriage!"

Pei Yun used to do what he said, but Rong Juan did not dare to refute, so he had to leave the house unwillingly! .

As soon as he went out, he met Rong Shu who was following the servant woman. She stopped and looked at Rong Shu coldly.

In the past, in the boudoir, the relationship between Rong Shu and Rong Juan was not good, but at least they were decent on the surface. It was rare for anyone to have such a cold face.

Rong Shu knew it was because of the incident in Izumo Tower, so he didn't bother to argue with her, and just nodded with a calm expression.

Rong Juan was angry, but he finally remembered Pei Yun's words and did not dare to make trouble with Rong Shu in the yard. He glanced sideways at Rong Shu and left Qiu Yuntang with a cold face.

When the maid who led the way saw this, she explained with a smile: "The wedding is coming, and the second girl is feeling nervous."

Rong Shu glanced at the maid with a half-smile but said nothing.

Everyone in the mansion was proud of the marriage between Rong Juan and the Jiang family, even the maids of Qiu Yuntang were no exception. Ever since Rong Juan decided on this marriage, these people have always tried to suppress Qinghengyuan in everything they do in the house.

But the marriage between Rong Juan and Jiang Shenglin was not considered a good match at all.

Seeing Rong Shu being silent, the maid thought she was feeling uncomfortable. She opened the curtain with a smile and said, "Miss, please come over here. My aunt is waiting inside."

Speaking of which, this was Rong Shu's first time . Come back to Qiuyuntang.

Although the location is remote, the scenery is very elegant.

The path leads to a quiet place, lined with sycamore trees and plum trees. There is also a flower stand under the corridor, which is filled with twining peonies.

After entering the house, the furnishings in the inner room are more elegant than those in the courtyard. A simple Jiaowei Qin, a row of sandalwood ancient racks filled with pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and two paintings hanging on the wall are everywhere. Show elegance.

Rong Shu's eyes fell on Pei Yun.

In fact, she didn't see much of this aunt. From the first day she entered the house, Mrs. Shen spared her the trouble of sleeping in the morning and evening.

Qinghengyuan and Qiuyuntang are far apart. Except for meeting each other during family banquets, Shen and Aunt Pei always stay on the same page.

Aunt Pei is a beautiful woman with elegant temperament, her green hair is like a Juan, her eyebrows are lightly swept, and she is as beautiful as a hibiscus in the distant mountains. If Rong Shu remembered correctly, she should be thirty-seven years old this year, but she looked only twenty-six or seven.

Also, her father takes care of everything for her, and her grandmother takes care of her. She also gave birth to the only boy in her family, and her daughter is about to marry into a noble family.

How could such a life be uncomfortable?

Normally, Aunt Pei is a concubine and can only be half a master. She should have bowed to Rong Shu when she saw her. Aunt Pei has never saluted Mr. Shen, so how could she salute a junior like Rong Shu?

Then he saw her nodding lightly, and said to Rong Shu neither humble nor overbearing: "I wonder what the eldest lady wants to find a concubine for?"

Rong Shu's lips curled up into a smile.

"My grandmother insisted that my mother bring out the Zhuangzi in the eastern suburbs and said she wanted to add makeup to her second sister. Does my aunt know about this?"

Pei Yun heard this and said, "I don't know."

Rong Shu nodded: "I also know this. My aunt would definitely not bother to do it."

Since she knew it was not her, why did she condescend to come to Qiu Yuntang?

Pei Yun frowned and waited for the next sentence.

But after Rong Shu finished speaking, he stopped talking and just walked a few steps to the side, looking up at the paintings on the wall.

This is a painting by Pei Yun, a picture of red plum blossoms in the snow and a picture of bamboo repairing after the rain. Both paintings are excellent, with delicate brushwork, lofty artistic conception, and a sense of tranquility and far-reaching.

"Good painting, my aunt has good painting skills." Rong Shu praised sincerely: "Such good painting skills naturally require the use of the best paper and the best ink."

As he spoke, he gently rubbed the edge of the painting with his fingertips and said with a smile: "The Chengxintang paper, which is rare for ten gold, is really as smooth as spring ice and as dense as a cocoon. And the ink that my aunt loves to use must be Cuisongtang's thrush ink? This ink is clear and light, and the color is dark and dark. " Xiang Ning, no wonder a piece of ink is worth a piece of gold." (1)

"Are these papers and inks from Tongqinghengyuan? When my mother got married, boxes and boxes of gold and green jewelry were carried to the Hou Mansion. I don’t know how many women I have envied. But now, those ten miles of red makeup have turned into every flower and tree in the Marquis’s mansion, and also into the paper and ink in my aunt’s painting.”

“My mother is kind-hearted. I don't like to argue with others, but I have made the people in this house more and more greedy. Grandma wants to steal the village that my mother left for me, so that I can put it in my second sister's dowry list, so my aunt probably knows about it. Don’t take it seriously. It’s my grandmother who gave it to my second sister, so what does it have to do with you, Qiu Yuntang?” Right

?

That's grandma's thing. As long as she's not willing to give it to her, why should grandma ask for it? Why can the people of Qiuyuntang accept it with peace of mind?

Rong Shu looked at Pei Yun and gradually stopped smiling.

"Auntie, don't you think you should be a good person in this world?"

Pei Yun suddenly raised her eyes, and a rare hint of embarrassment flashed through her beautiful eyes.

During the years she lived in Qiuyuntang, there were more than a hundred people in the house, and no one dared to speak rudely to her. Even the old lady and Mr. Shen have never embarrassed her like this.

It’s not that I don’t know that Qiu Yuntang’s food and clothing expenses are all supported by Shen’s dowry, but so what?

Does Shen not know why she was able to marry into the Rong family?

At the beginning, Prince Qiyuan believed in evil ways and disrupted the national unity. The vassal kings from all over the country besieged the capital in the name of "Qingjun side".

The people of Dayin were in dire straits and starved to death everywhere.

Later, Prince Qiyuan was poisoned and killed in the inner court, and Emperor Jiayou Xiao Yan became the final winner.

But at that time, Dayin's treasury was empty, and natural and man-made disasters continued one after another, not to mention the fact that there were still foreign enemies looking at him.

Money is needed to compensate for disasters, money is needed to stabilize people's hearts, and money is needed for border soldiers to defend the country.

The treasury is empty. Where does the money come from?

At that time, Emperor Jiande had not yet died, and Emperor Jiayou had not yet ascended the throne, but his advisers had already made a list of names, intending to kill a few "fat sheep" to establish their authority, so that wealthy businessmen from all over the world would willingly hand over their property.

The Shen family is the richest man in Yangzhou and a famous rich man in Dayin. He is just like one of the "fat sheep".

However, Mr. Shen was accustomed to judging the situation and saw through the situation early. Before the court listed the charges against the Shen family, he handed over the marriage branch to the Rong family.

In this way, the Shen family took the initiative to hand over most of their property with the help of Old Master Rong.

Not only did he save the Shen family, he also took the opportunity to arrange a marriage with the Rong family.

At that time, the Rong family, the old man and Rong Jun were still alive, and they had made a lot of contributions to Emperor Jiayou. The entire military household in Taiyuan regarded the old man as the leader.

After Emperor Jiayou ascended the throne, the future of the Rong family was just around the corner.

When the Shen family married Shen Yizhen into the Rong family, didn't they want to make a comeback by taking advantage of the Rong family's fortune of becoming a dragon?

In Pei Yun's view, the marriage between Shen Yizhen and the third master is just a business deal between the Shen family and the Rong family. One wants to fight and the other wants to suffer.

However, at this moment, when Rong Shu said those words, Pei Yun's pride as a noble daughter of an aristocratic family felt as if someone had viciously stepped on the ground.

She comes from the Pei family of Zhongmingdingshi. Her father, Pei Jue, was once a minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. He had countless disciples. However, in the thirty-sixth year of Jiande, he was jailed for his father because he directly remonstrated with the prince and listened to the evil talk. The prince Qiyuan of the country was killed in the inner court with a stick to make a warning to others.

The Pei family suffered as a result, and the male family members were sent to the border areas, while the female family members were sent to Jiaofangsi or Yeting.

She also fell from the clouds into the quagmire, and went to Yeting to work as a maid at the age of fourteen.

The old Pei family was afraid of Prince Qiyuan's anger, so no one dared to help her.

It wasn't until the vassal kings everywhere rebelled and the Forbidden City was in chaos that Rong Xun took the risk to rescue her and hide her in an alley that she finally left Ye Ting.

Later, Emperor Jiayou came to the throne and granted amnesty to the whole world, and the Pei family was rehabilitated. She also broke away from her humble status and was carried into the Rong family by Rong Xun as a noble concubine.

If Pei Yun wanted to at that time, she could marry someone else and become a real wife.

However, her life was saved by Rong Xun.

She identified this man from the moment he rescued her from Yeting regardless of his life.

After entering the prince's mansion, although she was officially a concubine, no one in the prince's mansion dared to be rude to her.

Rong Xun treated her well every ten years.

Until today, Rong Shu broke the balance between Qinghengyuan and Qiuyuntang and went to Qiuyuntang to slap her in the face.

How could Pei Yun, as smart as Pei Yun, not be able to figure out the purpose of Rong Shu's visit today?

She said coldly: "Don't worry, eldest lady, I will personally go to He'an Hall to persuade the old lady. Juan'er will not want that village in the eastern suburbs. Her marriage into the Jiang family has never depended on whether the dowry is rich or not."

Rong Juanneng She got married to the Jiang family because Jiang Zhen was her father's student.

Jiang Zhen used to admire her, and the two families wanted to be friends with Qin and Jin. But after something happened to the Pei family, he listened to his elders and chose to stand by and watch her being sent to Ye Ting. Now he is determined to get Rong Juan to marry into the Jiang family and become the clan's wife, which is just to atone for his sins.

Rong Shu didn't care why Rong Juan was able to marry into the Jiang family.

All she wants is Aunt Pei's accurate words.

"In this case, I would like to thank my aunt here. My grandmother is used to looking after my aunt. A sentence from my aunt in front of my grandmother is much more effective than ten words from my mother."

Rong Shu's lips raised a smile again, and she looked at Pei Yun. , said slowly: "When I came back from Yangzhou, my mother-in-law told me that she and you are both poor people, so I should not bear any grudge against you. Over the years, my mother-in-law has always treated Qiu Yuntang with dignity. This time, I hope that My aunt also showed her dignity. "

Chang'an Street.

Half an hour ago, just as Rong Shu left Qinghengyuan and rushed to Qiuyuntang, the carriage with the wooden sign of Cheng'an Houfu had already driven out of Qilin East Street and headed for Chang'an Street.

In the carriage, Chang Ji handed the official document in his hand to Gu Changjin and sighed: "I didn't expect that the young lady's life in the Marquis Mansion would be more difficult than we thought."

The master had not yet got married, and they had already checked Rong Shu's details. The old Huang Li in the Cheng'an Marquis Mansion also knew about it.

The Marquis of Cheng'an spoiled his concubine and destroyed his wife. Before his wife even married into the Marquis's house, he raised an extra wife outside.

Later, the new emperor granted amnesty to the whole world, and after the Pei family became ordinary, he brought people into the house in a grand manner, pampering them like eyeballs.

I heard that today I even want my concubine to attend the banquet with my mistress. This is simply unheard of, but any more discerning family would not be so indifferent.

It is true that after Pei Yun became a loyal minister, his experience was also embarrassing.

As long as she chooses to be a concubine, she should know that in terms of etiquette and law, a wife is a wife and a concubine is a concubine. The dignity and inferiority have been determined.

Chang Ji sighed in this room, but Gu Changjin in the other room lowered his eyes at the official document in his hand and turned a deaf ear to his words.

Changji saw that he was looking at him seriously and knew that his master didn't care about the young lady's affairs, so he had to keep his mouth shut.

Heng Ping, who was driving in front, gently pulled the reins, and the carriage slowed down steadily and entered the busiest section of Chang'an Street.

Although it was noon, the place was still bustling with people.

Several peddlers carrying burdens on the road saw the Marquis's carriage and glanced at each other. One of the peddlers took out a bow and arrow from a basket on one side, swung the load and shot an arrow through the carriage window.

The salesman's archery posture showed that he was a member of the Lian family.

Heng Ping raised the reins of his horse and shouted loudly -

"There's an ambush!"

The car suddenly stopped, and the arrow shot through the crack of the window, piercing into Gu Changjin's left shoulder with a "whoosh" sound, and the blood immediately wet the clothes on his shoulder.

"Take the documents away and go to Shuntian Mansion to call someone. Hengping and I can last for half an hour." Gu Changjin ordered coldly.

This is not the first time the three of them have been in danger, and they have already developed a complete tacit understanding. As soon as Gu Changjin finished speaking, Chang Ji jumped out of the window, leaped a few times, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Just as Chang Ji left, a crazy horse suddenly rushed out from the front and crashed into the carriage with a bang.

In the swaying carriage, Gu Changjin broke the arrow on his shoulder and was about to get out of the carriage when his eyes suddenly flashed and a slender figure rushed towards him.

"Gu Changjin, be careful-"

The panicked girl disappeared as soon as she touched him.

As fast as a gust of wind passing through the treetops.

Gu Changjin frowned.

Was that scene just an illusion?