After a round of small cards, Xin Nian and Aunt Gu deliberately livened up the atmosphere. Gu Yunxiang also boldly tried to show his social side, and the atmosphere gradually became warm again.

At noon, Gu Yunxiang and Liu Zai Yaya were left to have lunch in Shouning Palace, while Xin Nian went back to Qingliang Courtyard to have lunch with Aunt Qin.

After dinner, the two of them drank tea. Aunt Qin naturally thanked Xin Nian profusely. Suddenly, she heard a report from outside that the prince was coming, so she stood up and left.

He went out through the back door with his front foot, and Gu Changting came in with his back foot. Because he was wondering: "I heard you talking to people in the house in the yard, why did you come in but there was no one there?"

Xin Nian rolled her eyes at him and turned her face: "What do you think? Do you still need to ask? I'm not ignorant. I know you don't want to look at her, why are you still here to embarrass each other?"

Gu Changting finally came to his senses and stopped talking. He heard Xin Nian ask him again: "Don't you have to go to the Yamen today? Where did you have lunch?"

Gu Changting said: "I went to the camp on the outskirts of Beijing in the morning. I didn't want to go out in the afternoon. I had lunch at my mother's place."

Xin Nian asked hurriedly: "So, the emperor still wants to appoint you as the commander of the camp on the outskirts of Beijing? But you are still filial to me."

Gu Changting said: "So what? The emperor must use me, so he will naturally 'steal his love' to appoint me, and the ministers can't say anything."

Xin Nian pondered: "The key is the emperor's attitude. Why does he trust you so much? Does this mean? Because you are naturally on the side of the prince, so the emperor will use you to protect the prince's future rise to power."

Gu Changting didn't think there was anything wrong with what Xin Nian said. He used to discuss military formations with General Xin, and she was always by his side to provide advice, and she often had unique insights. After a moment of silence, he said softly: "Not necessarily, maybe just right.

It’s because the prince brother and I are not as close as we imagined, so the emperor entrusted me with this important task.”

Xin Nian's heart trembled, and after a moment of silence he chuckled and said: "This is worth pondering. The water in the imperial court is indeed unfathomable. You are now the pillar of Prince Duan's palace, but you must think twice before you act. You are in the whirlpool.

, this is inevitable, but we must not let it be swallowed up by the whirlpool.”

"Don't worry, I know this."

Gu Changting nodded, then looked around: "Where are Liu Zai and Yaya? Have you taken a nap?"

"We are having dinner at the concubine's place, and the third girl is also there."

When I asked for the coffin, I didn’t even dare to raise my head when talking. Today, when I played cards with my ancestors, I could tell a few jokes from time to time, making my ancestors laugh."

After speaking, he sighed: "I really like the temperament of Third Sister. When I see her, I feel like I saw me leaving Qingliang Pavilion that day to congratulate the concubine on her birthday. I am willing to do everything to live a good life and cherish it."

This is a hard-won opportunity.”

Gu Changting felt a little uncomfortable: Xin Nian could be said to be her own choice, but why did Gu Yunxiang get to this point? It wasn't because the lice on the bald man's head were obvious, but because his mother forced him to do so.

As smart and strong as he was, he was unwilling to admit this fact, so he changed the subject and said: "I always hear you say that you should go to your ancestors. You should also visit your mother from time to time. Your father died in the war, and your mother suffered no more than your grandmother."

Small."

Xin Nian looked at him and said calmly: "Do you really think I can comfort the concubine if I go to her place? Besides, she has grandma and Aunt Qiu and Aunt Feng to greet her. From our ancestors, only Aunt Gu and I often go there. Madam

I haven't been feeling well these past few days."

Gu Changting frowned: "Why do you seem to be divided into two factions? Isn't this bad?"

Xin Nian lowered his eyes and smiled and said: "What are you talking about? This is obviously to give in to others and get what they need. In this way, neither the ancestor nor the concubine will be lonely. We have also fulfilled our filial piety for you. Why?

Are you going to misunderstand us?"

The corner of Gu Changting's mouth twitched twice, and he glared at her and said angrily: "You are so unreasonable."

"Oh?" Xin Nian raised his eyebrows: "If you have justice, then use it. You can take off all your errands and immerse yourself in this backyard for a few months to see how to unite everyone and take care of everything.

,how?"

"I……"

Gu Changting was speechless, then Xin Nian sneered: "What? Are you in trouble?"

"This kind of thing shouldn't be done by a man like me. As the saying goes, the man is the master of the house and the woman is the master of the house."

Xin Nian smiled and said, "Don't be so pushy. As the saying goes, it's hard for an upright official to handle household affairs, but we know it's complicated. If you think we're doing something wrong, then let's change it and let grandma and

How about Aunt Feng, Aunt Qiu, go to serve the ancestors, and my wife, Aunt Gu, and I go to serve the concubine? Or, you want us to act together? Don’t forget, there are three women in one play, and then the concubine and the ancestors will be together.

If you feel depressed and upset because of this, you have to step up and admit that it was your idea, and don't try to blame me."

Gu Changting finally had nothing to say. He waved his hands and said, "That's all. It's up to you. There's just one thing: everything is going well for the family. Small things are fine. But for big things, the whole family must work together."

Xin Nian said calmly: "Prince Duan's Mansion is our home. Our relatives are all here. Naturally, we hope that everything will be prosperous for our family and everything. You don't need to worry about it."

These words sounded so perfunctory, but Gu Changting deliberately ignored them.

*****************

A cold rain in late autumn knocked most of the last leaves off the trees.

Xin Nian stood in front of a cluster of chrysanthemums in the courtyard, stretched out his hand and gently touched the flowers as big as the mouth of a bowl, and drops of raindrops rolled down.

She sighed softly, looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and murmured: "Winter will start in a few days, and this may be the last rain of the year."

"Yes, the weather seems to have gotten colder earlier this year. Last year at this time, I remember it was not so cold. If these dark clouds don't clear up tonight, there might be snowflakes tomorrow."

Jin Zhen echoed behind him. Xin Nian turned his head, looked at her and said with a smile: "Have you finished embroidering the quilt?"

Jinzhen stretched himself, with unconcealed joy on his face, nodded and smiled: "I finished the embroidery. It took me a lot of effort. After looking at it for a long time, this is actually the best quilt I have embroidered. It's not in vain."

I have worked very hard these past two months."

Xin Nian touched his palm and praised: "Your embroidery skills are top-notch even among the big embroidery houses in Beijing."

After saying that, he said enthusiastically: "Let's go, I'll go over and have a look. It's really well embroidered, so I will give this quilt to the third girl so that she can use it when she gets married."

"Yes. The third girl came to see me the day before yesterday. I saw that she also liked it very much. If my aunt gave it to her, she would be happy for some reason."

As the two of them talked, they walked into the house. As soon as they went up the steps, they suddenly heard a thump of footsteps behind them, and then a little girl ran in quickly, fell to the ground with a somersault, and shouted: "Auntie, it's not good.

, the sixth young master and the fourth girl fell into the water in the garden."
Chapter completed!