As if aware of the gaze from the hostess, Big Bird stiffened, and his eyelids suddenly began to fight up and down again, as if doing so would make it appear that the sudden awakening just now was just hysteria in his sleep.
Xu Mingyi was too lazy to look at the big bird in the show, and raised his hand to open the food box on the small table in front of him.
Miss Cai seems to be really obsessed with cooking recently.
According to Ms. Cai, the reason why she chose such a hobby that was considered fatal to those around her was also for the sake of the credibility of her scene. She said that doing so would make her stand out in the government office.
The status is closer to life.
But Xu Mingyi couldn't help but feel that the taste of these foods was quite out of touch with life.
Fortunately, Miss Cai is also relatively frugal. The two small plates containing pastries and dried meat in the food box are not large, so they cannot be called too wasteful.
Seeing the two plates being taken out, the Tianmu on the side moved his eyes and secretly stretched his head over while quietly paying attention to Xu Mingyi's reaction.
Xu Mingyi, who had just taken out a secret letter, could see Big Bird's movements from the corner of his eye and pretended not to see it.
The big bird looked like "I knew you couldn't see me", stretched out its long beak and took out a piece of dried meat.
——He doesn’t dare to eat dim sum, but no matter how you make the dried meat, it shouldn’t be bad, right?
However, when the dried meat entered the mouth, the big bird's eyes widened in disbelief.
——As expected... is it still reckless?
Big Bird subconsciously wanted to spit it out, but he probably thought that doing so would expose the fact that he had eaten it secretly, so he just kept it in his mouth, flew off the chair, and silently walked out of the room.
Not long after, he walked in again.
And he also came in with something in his mouth——
The big bird flew back to the chair, placed a large piece of dried meat in its mouth on the small table in front of Xu Mingyi, raised its head and called out to her.
Xu Mingyi was stunned when she saw Big Bird's pity look of "eat it".
… Over and over again, Tianmu felt that she could no longer afford decent food, right?
So, he donated the good things he had secretly hidden to help her?
And for such a big piece of meat, it was lucky that he was so cruel and willing to take it out.
Based on this level of sympathy, Xu Mingyi even felt that it was possible for Da Niao to turn around and go to the kitchen the next moment and personally cook three dishes and one soup for her.
She touched Big Bird's head with great relief and said with a smile: "Finally, I didn't raise you in vain."
Tianmu barked twice more, seeming to urge her to eat quickly.
Xu Mingyi felt that he needed to explain, otherwise the worried big bird would have to go out to catch prey tomorrow to support the family. If Wu Chao found out about this, wouldn't he think that she was abusing his own son?
Xu Mingyi asked Akui to bring beef jerky over, and then he gave the big bird a good meal, in order to tell it - look, our family is quite wealthy, don't be so stressed, and be careful not to grow taller.
Not growing taller is naturally the second most important thing. The most powerless thing is that you only gain weight but don’t grow taller.
The satisfied Third Eye finally felt at ease and took the piece of meat away again.
Seeing Big Bird walk out, the smile in Xu Mingyi's eyes gradually faded.
She had just read the secret message in the food box.
It was not much different from what she had guessed before, and it could be regarded as confirming her and her grandfather's guesses.
She should talk to her grandfather.
But my grandfather was summoned to the palace today. He must have just arrived at the palace at this time. At least, he may not be able to come back until Shen Shi.
Xu Mingyi, who had nothing to do, simply went to the study.
After all, I have nothing to do, so I might as well write a letter to Wu Chao.
By the way, I told him about Tianmu's offering of dried meat today - the child has grown up and is sensible, and knows how to repay his master with gratitude. This growth is so gratifying.
On the other side, in the Imperial Courtyard, Mrs. Cui was looking at the portraits of young men, and the more she looked at them, the more she thought about them and couldn't help but frown.
"Look at what kind of human oil these are. They come from the heart, good or bad..."
Ms. Cui put down one painting and picked up another. Seeing the man's clothes on it, she couldn't help but shake her head: "The color scheme of these clothes is too exaggerated. I can't suppress my appearance. I really don't know how to wear it."
Just imitate others and wear dark colors...it's okay, okay."
Qingying listened and couldn't laugh or cry.
Madam only chooses her looks and family background, why should she care about how others dress...
"In your eyes, looking at this capital, I'm afraid no one is worthy of a girl..." There was no one else in the room, so Qingying didn't hide her words. She just lowered her voice slightly and sighed: "
If the outside world doesn’t know, they still think you are doing it on purpose..."
Deliberately what?
Cui raised an eyebrow.
Just like her stepmother who gave her an unpleasant meal before she died - deliberately suppressing the marriage of the girl in the house, turning the little girl into an old girl, and not looking for a good husband?
"No matter what the outside world says, it's enough for my family to know clearly." Ms. Cui didn't care.
In the past two years, none of the people who came to propose marriage could be said to be very suitable. This was a fact - did she have to go against her will just for the sake of a virtuous and good reputation?
Speaking of sleeping, the husband often mentioned the only son of Zhou Shilang's family——
If someone has a loyal character, he must be a good match.
Loyal character is of course very important, but the child has a big belly at such a young age and is very round... Is the husband looking for a son-in-law, or does he want to recognize his son?
After they were really married, the father-in-law and son-in-law would spend all day together thinking about what to eat?
Thinking of this possibility, Ms. Cui felt helpless.
Although appearance is not the most important thing, her family's conditions are here, why not find someone who is truly satisfactory in all aspects?
The so-called honesty of character means that there will be less conflicts between husband and wife after getting married. But if this is all you want - wouldn't it be better not to get married? Why bother?
And we can also get a glimpse of many problems that a woman will face after she gets married - once she gets married, whether her life is good or bad depends almost entirely on whether her husband's character is stable. It is not enough to look at the husband alone, but also the character of her parents-in-law.
, even if the husband takes a concubine, if he is not careful, he will be in trouble.
Whenever she thought about a girl who had grown up protected by thousands of pets in her family and had to marry into a strange place where she would be tied up, serve her difficult parents-in-law, and deal with all kinds of concubines, Mrs. Cui felt as if her heart was being cut out with a knife.
She even couldn't help but think - how about recruiting someone Zhao Zhao likes as a bride-in-law for their Zhenguo Duke's mansion?
People are watching under their noses, so Zhao Zhao cannot be wronged.
But then I thought about it, most of the people who are willing to get married are coveting the power and property of the Xu family - how can such a scheming person really feel at ease when he stays by Zhao Zhao's side?
Mrs. Cui, who couldn't help but think about the worst consequences, even couldn't help but have a dangerous idea in her heart - it would be better to learn from Princess Yufeng to cultivate her appearance. If she doesn't behave, she will do it again.
Change it to another one, it’s not something you can’t afford anyway!
But because this idea was too dangerous, Ms. Cui only wanted to think about it once and did not dare to think about it further.
She was afraid that the more she thought about it, the more feasible it would become.
But in the final analysis, it would be of little use no matter how much she pondered over this matter. The main thing was to see what Zhao Zhao thought.
Fortunately, the old man also said there was no need to worry and it would be up to Zhaozhao himself.
And Zhaozhao has now made it clear that she does not plan to discuss marriage for the time being.
Therefore, now that she is dealing with these people who come to her door, she will deal with them first. If she really encounters a good one, she will bring them to Zhao Zhao and let others take a look.
At this time, a little girl walked in and said: "Madam, Mrs. Wen and the others are here."
Upon hearing this, Ms. Cui put down the portrait in her hand and asked the maids to go to Nuange to set up the card table.
As for why the heavy rain can't stop them from playing horse hanging?
——As we all know, even if it rains or a knife falls from the sky, it cannot be stopped.
At the card table, several ladies were chatting and talked about the incident of the wife of Prince Dingnan.
"...I heard that the Crown Prince of Dingnan returned to Beijing alone this time, and the Crown Prince's wife did not come with him."
Wu Jingming and his wife would rush back to the Dingnan Palace in Ningyang every year before the New Year, and then return to Beijing after the New Year. This has been the case for many years.
"It is said that the carriage and horses were bumpy and the person fell ill... Last year, Wu Shisun almost lost his life. The prince's wife was seriously ill because of this, and she did not recover for a long time. This incident may have affected the old illness.
"
"If you are sick, it is not good to rush to Beijing. If your condition worsens, it will be bad."
"Yes...it's more than two thousand miles."
Another lady played her cards and sighed slowly: "Now Prince Wu is alone in the capital, and there is no one around to guard him. Many people have smelled it and want to take the opportunity to send him away - this Crown Prince's wife
Even if I recuperate in Ningyang, I’m afraid I won’t be able to feel at ease.”
Ms. Cui nodded, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.
She was not familiar with the wife of Prince Dingnan, so it was unreasonable to say that she was worried about her.
She thought of her Zhaozhao again.
Listen, it's not easy for a woman in this world to get married - she can't stay by her husband's side when she's sick, and she has to be careful about these things. The key is probably that she can't prevent it!
Now she finally realized the disadvantages of raising a daughter... Her heart was almost broken.
Thinking like this, some dangerous thoughts began to appear in Cui's mind uncontrollably.
After hearing several ladies urging her to play her cards faster, Ms. Cui quickly regained her thoughts.
The rain outside the window gradually stopped, except for the occasional drops of water dripping from the eaves, which lightly hit the green brick floor that was washed clean and shiny by the rain.
In the palace of Dingnan Prince in the middle of Beijing, Wu Jingming, the crown prince of Dingnan Prince, was sitting alone in his study.
It is impossible to have a beautiful woman as a companion. Even if someone dares to give it away, he would not dare to accept it.
Wu Jingming touched the white cat in his arms with a somewhat emotional expression.
Before leaving home to return to Beijing, the wife, who was suffering from the cold, chased him outside the house regardless of her illness. She looked worried and warned him in detail - asking him to take good care of her cat.
.
Madam has always been dignified and gentle, but for some reason, he felt a sense of threat at that time: "The cat is missing a hair, so why am I asking you?"
It must still be his illusion, right?
But his wife was not in Beijing right now, so he really felt a lot lonely. It was only at this time that he realized that having a cat by his side was also a comfort.
So, could it be that he spent too little time with his wife in the past?
When his wife recovers from illness and returns to Beijing this time, he must spend more time with her.
After reflecting in this way, Prince Wu's hostility towards Mao'er became weaker, and he developed a feeling of sympathy for each other.
"Tianjiao, now only you and I depend on each other..." Prince Wu smoothed Mao'er's fur.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Tianjiao jumped out of his arms, seemingly disgusted with his smoothing method.
"Tianjiao——"
Prince Wu tried to call out, but saw the cat running out without looking back.
Thinking of his wife's explanation, Prince Wu stood up helplessly, smoothed his robe, and was about to chase him out.
However, when he was about to cross the threshold of the study, he saw a group of maids running over and surrounding Tianjiao, chatting and laughing. Some of them squatted down and smoothed their hair, some bent over and held things in their hands to tease the cat, and some were very
He quickly walked out with the cooked fish.
Seeing this scene, Prince Wu silently retracted his foot.
The excitement belongs to Tianjiao, and the loneliness belongs to him.
However, listening to the excitement behind him, Prince Wu could not help but feel a little dissatisfied.
If possible, Madam should really see this scene - in this family, he is the only one who really cares about Madam, and Tianjiao is just a heartless cat.
However, the next moment, a voice came out in his mind - but so what? As long as Tianjiao said "meow", what else could Madam see in her eyes?
At this moment, he deeply realized that the disparity in advantages between humans and cats was too great, and Prince Wu silently gave up the idea of suing the cat in front of his wife.
At this time, a young man dressed as a servant came in and closed the study door from the outside.
"Your Majesty." The boy saluted, his movements showing a neatness that was inconsistent with others.
"Have you heard about it?"
Wu Jingming sat down behind the desk and asked.
"His Majesty, I have heard everything clearly." The servant replied in a low voice: "The reason why the Emperor summoned the Duke of Zhen and Xia Tingzhen to the palace this time is because there was a riot by the victims in Lingzhou. It is said that the commotion was quite big, but it was just news.
It was a secret report to Beijing, but very few people know about it."
Lingzhou?
Wu Jingming nodded thoughtfully.
Thinking of the secret conversation he had with his father before leaving Beijing, he couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.
Everything is really about to begin...
…
On rainy days, the sky gets dark earlier.
When Duke Zhen Guo came back from outside, the lights had been turned on in the mansion.
Hearing that he was still waiting for dinner at home, the old man frowned and complained, "It's already this hour. Why are you waiting? They're not hungry and I'm tired." However, he hurried back to the yard to change clothes without delay.
Went to the dining room.
After dinner, Xu Mingyi followed the old man to the outer study room.
Mrs. Cui saw it and felt disappointed in her heart.
When Zhao Zhao had nothing to do, she went to find her father with delicious food and drinks. Later, she asked her husband and found out that Zhao Zhao was now very interested in court matters.
It must be the reason for following the old man.
But who told her not to understand these things? What she is good at is nothing more than playing tricks, how to spurn her stepmother hypocritically and gracefully, and maintaining a good brotherly relationship with her husband.
but--
Mrs. Cui didn't know what she thought of, and her eyes lit up slightly.
