"What? Ding Kui only wants mules and horses to haul goods? Does he think he is still a member of the military? He can easily get good horses from the Northern Empire. Ωbiqu ge" Tang Jun thought that the steward had heard wrongly.
"The prince-in-law made it very clear. He especially emphasized that he did not want high-quality war horses." The housekeeper of the Tang Dynasty was also aggrieved.
"Isn't he going to run Juyang City well? Let people pay attention to the Ding family. Maybe he has other channels to buy horses." Tang Jun was sensitive to this aspect.
The eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony was held in advance. This kind of thing is quite common in the royal family. There are always things that are more important than adulthood, such as the wedding.
Because Shaodian Luan had decided to get married early, the clan government did not have any major arrangements for the coming-of-age ceremony. They only invited some clan relatives and some nobles to attend.
Ding Kui undoubtedly had to attend his fiancée's coming-of-age ceremony. Considering the huge expenses in the future, he reluctantly took out the cat's-eye fire diamond as a birthday gift.
To be honest, the cat's eye fire diamond was of great help to him in practicing fire magic. He wanted to keep it for himself, but he took it in front of Shaodian Luan, and she would have to keep it with him in the future.
As I go about my daily life, I always ask about the whereabouts of the cat's eye diamond, so instead of trying to find a way to evade it, I might as well just give it to her.
He met Nangong Pin in front of the palace, but Nangong Pin held him back.
"Does the land at Yuntian Inn in Dongshi belong to you?"
"Ang, the meeting gift given to me by the Duke of Beizhen is a little too much." Ding Kui knew what Nangong Pin meant.
"First of all, we don't know where it belongs to you, and Lian Hu didn't go there for you; secondly, you captured people from the Lian family and sent them to the Senate. Everyone knew that you detained his people in front of Lian Hu, which caused a disturbance in the Nangong family.
It’s too shameless, so you have to give us a step down.”
Nangong Pin was in a dilemma, Lian Hu was disgraced in this matter, and Ding Kui handing him over to the Senate was like a slap in the face to the Nangong family.
"At that time, I let that so-and-so Dian Huan keep his mouth shut. If he did as I said, nothing would happen later. It's not like I didn't give your family face." Of course Ding Kui would not think that he had done anything wrong.
"The matter must have been caused by various misunderstandings. Now there are rumors in the aristocratic circle that you don't take Princess Nangong seriously and bully other nobles based on your status as consort. If this continues, it will be rumored that you bully the Nangong family." Nangong Pin.
I had wanted to communicate with Ding Kui for a long time, but my family stopped me.
Once someone discovers that Nangong Pin is actively looking for Ding Kui, rumors will spread that the Nangong family is bowing to Ding Kui.
"Then Lian Hu is seeking death. This will hurt both sides and no one will benefit!" Ding Kui was angry.
After a little analysis, he guessed that Lian Hu was behind it. Although it might be a rumor spread by the Tang family, if being found out would mean offending him to death, there was no need for the Tang family to take such a big risk.
"My father has already reprimanded Lian Hu, but he denied it. Regardless of whether he did it or not, we must find a way to end the rumors."
Ding Kui looked around and asked, "What can you do?"
"If you want to praise me more tonight, you'd better show public concern for Princess Nangong's condition and show enough respect." Nangong Pin said in a low voice.
"Oh, it's not difficult. If I have the chance, I will give you a compliment and say hello to your sister. By the way, is Her Royal Highness your biological sister?"
"Don't I look like me?" Nangong Pin's face was dark.
"Haha, I haven't seen Her Royal Highness the Princess before," Ding Kui has always been curious.
The Nangongpin in front of me is only twenty years old. How old is his sister? Shao Diandan is fifty years old, and the eldest princess is as old as Nangongpin.
The nobles who enter the palace today usually bring with them the younger members of the family. The protagonist of the coming-of-age ceremony is only eighteen years old and will not have anything in common with the old men.
No surprise, Ding Kui saw his old friends, Yang Mian, Kong Ren and Long Shuang, and even the first runner-up Shao Dianfei was also present.
"If you don't use the famous sword, can you defeat him?" Ding Kui pointed at Yang Mian and tried to bite Shaodian Fei with his mouth.
"It's hard to say. I heard that he was promoted to the Fearless Knight two months earlier than me." Yang Mian obviously didn't want to dwell on this topic.
"Haha, it seems that I am ahead of you all." Ding Kui made a breakthrough half a year earlier than Yang Mian.
Shao Dianfei noticed Ding Kui coming to the scene and walked straight over.
"Ding Kui, I'm sorry that I didn't play against you in the knight competition. I wonder if I will have a chance in the future?"
Ding Kui did not expect Shao Dianfei to be so direct and answered vaguely: "The competition is impossible. There is no such feeling as a competition between friends. I would like to compare with you on the battlefield."
Shao Dianfei pondered for a while and said: "You have experience and I'm afraid I'm not as good as you in leading troops. Let's compete to see who can advance to the Dominion Knight first."
"Okay, you can have this." Ding Kui said happily, being aroused by Shao Dianfei's competitive spirit.
Yang Mian smiled bitterly and said: "Aren't you forcing me to say this? How about counting me in?"
"Count me in, too." Long Shuang was not to be outdone.
"I shouldn't have come over here," Kong Ren said with a helpless look, "Talking to you about cultivation is just a blow to my self-confidence."
"I'm sorry." Shao Dianfei bowed slightly to Kong Ren, "You guys talk slowly." After saying that, he walked to a corner.
"This guy is so lonely, I've never heard of anyone getting close to him." Yang Mian complained softly about Shao Dianfei.
"Fortunately, I still have some contact with you, otherwise I would be like him, sitting quietly next to you." Ding Kui knew that most proud people are like this.
Nangong Pin also got together with his friends, including Tantai Xiu, Tantai Jin, Linghu Yu and other indigenous duke children, but it could be seen that there was a bit of a gap between the Tantai family and him.
Although Shaodianluan's coming-of-age ceremony was a simple one, all the ten dukes were present, as were the natal families of the three concubines represented by Tantaihong, Nangongxing and Tangjun.
On the surface, everyone was in harmony, chatting and laughing, as if all the rumors of discord were fabricated, and there were no disputes in the king's harem and his family. Ding Kui would believe this without what happened at Yuntian Inn.
Ding Kui found an excuse and came to the area where the native duke's children were. The originally cheerful atmosphere suddenly cooled down, and several people showed awkward expressions.
"Haha, long time no see." Ding Kui only knew Tantai Xiu, Tantai Jin, Linghu Yu and Nangong Pin, so he was greeting them.
"Although I haven't seen my consort for many days, I often hear about your deeds. Your voice and appearance are still fresh in my memory. Everything seems like yesterday." Tantai Jin reacted quickly and glanced at Nangong Pin casually.
"Next time we meet, I will call you cousin. Don't say polite words to me." Ding Kui knew that this beauty was very thoughtful.
"I thought the prince-in-law became more arrogant after being promoted to a higher position. I wonder who we are." Nangong Pin deliberately said something thorny.
Ding Kui stepped forward and hugged Nangong Pin hard, and said: "I have seen you the most often, so don't be so harsh. Your Highness, your sister, how are you in good health recently? The one hundred thousand gold coins I sent last time were just to honor the princess."
, if you need anything else, just tell me.”
Nangong Pin's face froze: What one hundred thousand gold coins? We didn't mention this during the discussion just now. This guy is clearly taking advantage of me!
"Well, you're too polite. Let me thank you on behalf of my sister. My sister especially likes to eat the chilled food from Juyang City. It would be even better if it has the flesh and blood of a level five monster."
Damn, this kid is so shameless. He really dares to ask for it. Even if I come to support you and gain some verbal advantage, I can't owe you any favors in the future.
Ding Kui cursed endlessly, and without thinking about how much of a rogue he was, he casually made up a hundred thousand gold coins.
"No problem! Don't ask if it's available. If not, I'll have to find a way to find it. I'll ask someone to rush it back later." He opened his mouth and couldn't take it back.
Several other native nobles looked strange. They did not expect Ding Kui to be so generous to Nangong Pin, which was very different from their impressions before coming here.
"Whoever dares to say that the consort is not a good friend in the future, I will be the first to slap him in the mouth. Brother Kui is the most generous person I have ever seen." Nangong Pin opened his arms and hugged Ding Kui, with a proud smile on his face.
Ding Kui pinched Nangong Pin secretly, and then said: "Don't listen too much to other people's words. Come to my house to play mahjong when you have time, and you can come too."
Linghu Yu whispered: "Aren't you going to give money to your house?"
"An elder is here. I'll pay him a visit." Ding Kui pretended not to hear and walked towards the entrance of the palace.
With those few words just now, he gave the Nangong family enough face. Firstly, Nangongpin took the initiative to communicate with him, which meant that the family was sincere in resolving conflicts and did not want to ruin the relationship between the two families because of Lian Hu's matter. Secondly, in public, he had to take care of the face of the higher-ranking nobles.
, after all, he is a duke, and his father is a first-grade marquis.
Taiwei Shao Dianhuang walked into the hall. Ding Kui knew the process. It was the king's and the eldest princess's turn to appear later. They first greeted the old leader and then prepared to welcome his father-in-law and fiancée.
"Are you ready for the wedding? Has the Protector of the Kingdom not arrived in the capital yet?" Shao Dianhuang was most concerned about the eldest princess's wedding, which was the most important event of the clan this year.
"All preparations for the wedding are ready. My father will be home in a few days. Your Majesty, Lieutenant Lao, will take care of you." Ding Kui received a notice from his father that the people who had returned from Lu State had already entered Zhuangwang Prefecture, and they would be arriving in the next few days.
Rushed to Zhenjing City.
"That's good. You've been less troublesome lately, and you should bring a guard of honor when you go out. Now that you are a person with status, you can't do anything on the street like before. Your every move affects the reputation of the royal family."
Obviously, Shaodianhuang knew what happened at Yuntian Inn, so it was nothing to teach Lian Hu's servants a lesson. He was mainly worried that Ding Kui would cause bigger troubles, and he only hoped that Ding Kui could live in peace before the wedding and not cause any trouble.
"The king is here! The princess, the eldest princess, and the eldest prince are here!" The steward's voice sounded outside the palace.
People in the palace immediately flocked to both sides of the gate.
Ding Kui followed Shao Dian Huang to the side and made way for the main road into the palace.
The beautiful Shao Dian Luan walked into the palace with the handsome Shao Dian Dan on her arm, and the bejeweled Tan Taiyue followed behind, dragging Shao Dian Feng, who was less than her waist.
This wife is so beautiful. What does the king like about me? He just gave me such a beautiful daughter? Even I feel jealous of myself.
Ding Kui was dazzled by his fiancée's beauty and felt uneasy in his heart.
(Special thanks to Koilan Si who supports Tiantian Sahua, as well as the recent Sahua article, and of course other friends who have given rewards. I will thank them one by one in the future. The word count in brackets does not count.)