Chapter 25 Cheng Yaojin, you old man! (pink and tender)
"Mother, that direction is Duke Lu's Mansion, right?" A girl with picturesque and charming eyebrows, but wearing plain clothes and thorn hairpins, raised her head and listened curiously to the faint noise coming from the distance.
There is a cute and playful little mole at the tip of her eyebrows, which adds a bit more agility to her brows.
A middle-aged woman with a slightly gray hair raised her head from the dim oil lamp.
"Well, yes, it is precisely because of the blessing of Duke Lu's mansion that we are able to rent this house nearby in this prosperous place in Chang'an City at such a low price."
"Mom, the lamp is too dark. Let's mend it tomorrow." The girl picked up the scissors, broke off a section of the wick, and advised the middle-aged woman who had lowered her head and started mending.
"It's okay. Let's fix it quickly. We'll clean it up tomorrow and then send it to the Zhang family.
This silk shirt cost him fifty yuan, so we can't delay it any longer."
"Mom, when I learn well, let me make up for it." The girl sat over and gently rubbed her mother's back and legs.
"Okay, our Mei Niang is the most considerate." The woman chuckled lovingly.
He looked back at the third daughter lying on the couch next to him, already sleeping soundly, and the second daughter who was well-behaved and considerate, and couldn't help but feel sad.
The silks and satins of the past have been replaced by these coarse cloths. In the past, I was picky about food and would not eat this or that. Now, even wheat rice with only pickles is still delicious. Alas...
After letting out a low sigh, the woman steeled herself and continued to mend the holes in the skirt of her clothes.
Fortunately, there are many high-ranking people living around who are willing to pay high prices. Otherwise, how could a weak woman like me earn a living and depend on her two daughters?
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"What's going on with Ke'er? It's already this hour and you still haven't entered the palace yet?" Li Shimin put down the book in his hand and said with some displeasure.
The eldest grandson Wugou next to him glanced at the sky outside the house and smiled gently.
"Ke'er has always been well-behaved and polite. He hasn't entered the palace yet. I guess something must have delayed him temporarily."
"Huh, well-behaved and polite, that's just on the surface. Who is this kid? As a father, can I not know clearly?
He is very naughty and mischievous in private, but he pretends to be quite honest on the surface."
Hearing these words, the eldest grandson Wugou couldn't help but be polite, and subconsciously glanced at his childhood sweetheart and husband who has been with him to this day.
Seeing that Li Shimin was a little embarrassed, he touched his nose and muttered in a low voice, "Can you please give me some face, please?"
"I didn't say anything. It's our Qinghe's marriage. I wonder how your majesty has considered it?"
Li Shimin's expression suddenly became serious, he frowned and thought carefully for a while.
"My husband still thinks it would be more appropriate to marry her to Cheng Chuliang, the second eldest son of the Cheng family. I wonder what your wife thinks?"
"Cheng Yaojin has made outstanding contributions to the court, and his eldest son will inherit the title of Duke in the future.
Among the other disciples, except for the second and third oldest, they are all too young to show their character, so this reward should be given to Cheng Chuliang."
"Actually, I originally thought that the third child in his family looks more handsome, like his mother Cui, but it's a pity..."
Among the rough guys in Lu Guogong's family, Cheng Laosan is the only one who is as handsome as his mother, the most beautiful woman of the Cui family in Qinghe. It's a pity that he is crazy...
Li Shimin also nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's a pity that that boy Cheng Chubi, now even Taoist priests Sun and Yuan dare not be sure of his condition.
As parents, we certainly don’t want our daughters to suffer.”
"My husband is very considerate. I have also heard that the second son of the Cheng family is honest and conscientious in his work. He is a good match for our Qinghe family."
While the couple was talking, they saw a eunuch hurried outside the house.
"Your Majesty, the bodyguard of His Majesty the King of Shu has something urgent to ask to see His Majesty."
"Ke'er's guard, what's going on? Please tell me quickly."
Li Shimin and Changsun Wugou looked at each other, and they couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Could it be that something happened to Li Ke just after he was lifted from the ban?
"I see your majesty and my empress." The guards of the Shu Palace quickly saluted respectfully after entering the house.
"Pingsheng, where's Ke'er? Why didn't he come?" Li Shimin asked with a sullen face.
"Your Highness, he is so drunk that he is unconscious. I have already sent His Highness back to the house."
"Hmm?!" Li Shimin raised his sword eyebrows, stood up and put his hands behind his back, his whole aura changed.
"Damn it! I just lifted his restraint, but he dares to behave like this. It's too much."
"Your Majesty, this is no wonder His Highness. Your Highness went to Duke Lu's Mansion today, and as a result..."
"..." Li Shimin's face froze, and he asked after a long time. "Why did he go to Duke Lu's Mansion?"
"Your Majesty, Your Highness went to Duke Lu's Mansion to visit Third Young Master Cheng. After all, Third Young Master Cheng..."
"Husband, please sit down and talk." Changsun Wugou tugged on Li Shimin's sleeve with a strange expression, and nodded slightly towards the trembling guard of the Prince of Shu's palace.
"Just tell me exactly what is going on."
The guards of the Prince of Shu's Mansion stood in the house and told tremblingly that after Li Ke was released from the ban, he first went to Fang's Mansion and called Fang Jun. The two brothers went to Lu Guogong's Mansion to visit Cheng Chubi.
The three brothers had not been together for a long time, and naturally they had a very pleasant chat. As dusk approached, something unexpected happened when the two of them said goodbye and left Lu Guogong's mansion.
"...His Highness didn't even have time to greet us, so he ran away with the Second Young Master Fang. Ahem, he ran away. Unfortunately, he was discovered by Duke Lu and taken back to the mansion..."
"Capture..." Changsun Wuguo, a virtuous empress who must remain calm when faced with important events, her eyelids were twitching wildly at this moment, and she almost couldn't maintain her image as a virtuous empress.
Li Shimin's face turned even darker, and he squeezed out a sentence through his teeth. "Cheng Yaojin... you old man..."
When Li Shimin heard that Ke'er was forced to attend the Cheng family banquet, the three naughty children of the Cheng family brought out a killer weapon: Wolf Heart and Dog Feather Soup.
Wuguo, the eldest grandson of the empress, couldn't stand it any longer and quickly turned his head away and coughed violently.
Li Shimin's face was extremely ferocious, he wanted to laugh wildly but also wanted to curse.
In the end, Li Shimin, the wise monarch of the Tang Dynasty and the master of the Zhenguan rule, dug hard at the legs of the case with one hand and pinched his own thigh with the other hand, struggling to maintain the dignity of the emperor.
After the guards of the Prince of Shu's Mansion respectfully withdrew, the couple looked at each other speechlessly, neither knowing how to express their complicated feelings at this moment.
"This matter, if this matter gets out... I don't even know what to say."
Empress Changsun, who had finally stabilized her mood, quickly covered her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief to prevent her husband from seeing anything strange.
"Alas...what the hell is this? This wolf heart was sent by Ke'er himself.
Now it’s all right, the dignified King of Shu and the Second Young Master, Prime Minister of the State of Shu, had a feast of wolf heart and dog lung together in Duke Lu’s Mansion.”
Changsun Wugou gritted his teeth and said angrily and funny.
"I feel that this is because Lu Guogong wants to involve more people, so that everyone in Chang'an City will not make his old Cheng family a laughing stock."
Hearing his wife's meaningful words, Li Shimin couldn't hold back and laughed a few times, but soon frowned again.
"Now that's good, that little bastard Li Ke has become a laughing stock, and the waiter of the Fang family. I don't know how Fang Qing will feel when he hears the news today..."
Li Shimin rubbed his eyebrows. The Tang Dynasty was so powerful and had countless famous officials and generals, but there were always some unsettled elements inside that caused trouble and headaches.
I wanted to laugh at Old Cheng, but I was angry that Cheng Yaojin, an old man, actually forced his son to drink several bowls of Wolf Heart and Dog Feather Soup.
Sigh... what is this? Although Li Ke is the victim, Li Shimin always has the urge to rush to the Prince of Shu's mansion and kick this little bastard's feet right now.
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