The news that the prince fell and was injured quickly spread throughout the inner palace.
This was Guo Song's most serious injury in the past ten years. The imperial doctor cleaned his wound and re-bandaged it with medicine. His wound was deep, almost reaching the bone. The imperial doctor was afraid that he might have injured his blood vessels and meridians, so he told him to lie down.
Rest for two days and wait until the scabs have formed before getting out of bed and walking around.
Guo Song fell, and his three wives took turns taking care of him. Their daughter Guo Weiwei was also very filial, washing her father's face, hands, and feet.
At night, Xue Tao came to Liu Caichun's room and saw that several boxes had been packed.
She asked in surprise: "Caichun, are you leaving?"
"I have no idea!"
Liu Caichun sighed lowly, "I have caused a lot of trouble for your house. I..."
She was really conflicted. She wanted to leave, but it would be unreasonable for her to leave like this. Prince Jin fell down and was injured because of her. At least she should thank him in person.
But a deeper reason was Guo Song's kiss. She didn't know whether she should be angry. She had never been kissed by a man. For so many years, she had protected herself like an iron wall, not giving any powerful people a chance. But Guo Song
Song's kiss came too suddenly and easily broke through her defenses, which really made her very angry.
But...she found that she didn't feel disgusted deep down in her heart. If King Jin's kiss could be gentler and make her feel prepared, maybe...
Xue Tao saw that she was worrying about gain and loss, so he pulled her to sit down and comforted her: "You are not to blame for what happened this afternoon. It was the prince's beloved eagle that got into trouble. You don't have to blame yourself. None of us blame you, prince."
I don’t blame you.”
"I....."
Liu Caichun bit his lip, "Dad has been urging me to go back. Xiaowei has already done a good job in painting. I feel there is nothing more to teach me."
Xue Tao laughed softly and said: "I have asked Zhang Lei and his wife to talk to your father. He agrees that you will be a teacher for another six months. Xiaowei's paintings are still similar in form and spirit, and they still need your careful guidance. How can you do it?"
For those who can teach for just a few months, don’t think too much and settle down with peace of mind. When spring comes, we will go on an outing to Qujiang Furong Garden together!"
"All right!"
Liu Caichun's voice was very low. Deep down in her heart, she actually didn't want to leave, and she didn't have the courage to refuse anymore.
........
Liu Caichun finally stayed and continued to teach Guo Weiwei painting, but she no longer ate with Guo Song's family. She tried to avoid Guo Song. She herself didn't know how to face Guo Song. That kiss broke her tranquility.
The inner world made the relationship between her and Guo Song somewhat subtle.
That morning, as usual, she waited for Guo Song to go to court before going out to Xiaowei's studio. However, when she reached the stairs, she unexpectedly met Guo Song. It turned out that the envoy from the Southern Tang Dynasty came today, and Guo Song
He avoided seeing her and deliberately left later. Unexpectedly, he happened to meet Liu Caichun.
"Miss Liu, long time no see!" Guo Song said with a slight smile.
Liu Caichun was flustered and lowered his head to avoid his gaze, "I...I thought His Highness had already gone to the palace."
"Are you avoiding me?" Guo Song looked at her meaningfully.
"No, I'm just... I'm just feeling guilty."
"I should be the one who feels guilty! I shouldn't...forget it, I will respect the girl in the future and won't make any mistakes again."
"I'm sorry, I'm leaving first."
Liu Caichun suddenly felt an indescribable discomfort in her heart. She lowered her head and hurriedly passed by Guo Song.
Guo Song turned around and stared at her back for a moment, shook his head, and walked downstairs.
Liu Caichun leaned against a big pillar. Her eyes were red and tears could not help but pour out.
Prince Jin's plain words just now made her feel like a knife. He really... wouldn't like her anymore?
At this time, Liu Caichun suddenly felt something, and saw Guo Weiwei popping her head out of the room, tilting her head and looking at him curiously.
Liu Caichun quickly wiped away his tears, forced a smile and walked out, "I just got a grain of sand in my eye, and it was very easy to get it out."
"Master, it doesn't matter. I'll blow it for you."
"No, it's ready, let's get started!" She took Guo Weiwei's hand and entered the studio.
...........
In the study, Xue Tao was sitting at the desk reviewing her family's income and expenditure. She glanced over and saw her daughter Guo Weiwei poking her head at the door, and asked with a smile: "Why are you here if you don't paint with the master?"
"Mom, I want to tell you something, something very important."
Xue Tao put down his pen and said with a smile: "Then come in and talk!"
Guo Weiwei walked into the room, sat in front of her mother and said mysteriously: "Master cried this morning!"
"Why are you crying?"
"It seems like it's because of what daddy said to her."
Xue Tao was startled and asked: "What did daddy say to her?"
"I didn't hear clearly. I seemed to have said two or three sentences, apologizing and so on. Then my father left, and the master just leaned against the pillar and cried."
Xue Tao smiled and said: "Maybe your master is still blaming himself for dad's injury! I will comfort her, so just leave it alone and concentrate on painting. Do you hear me?"
"I see!"
Guo Weiwei was also afraid that the master would come back, so she quickly slipped back.
Xue Tao thought for a while, and an intuition told her that her husband might have misunderstood Liu Caichun.
This will affect her plans. Once her husband becomes resistant to Liu Caichun, no matter how hard she tries, it will be useless, and the marriage will definitely fail.
But how can you persuade your husband?
Xue Tao was really anxious, pacing back and forth in the study with her hands behind her hands. She was not a dedicated virgin, she also had her own selfish motives. She did not want her status to be threatened by the family, let alone her son's status.
Xue Taozhi could tolerate Ying Caihe because he hoped that Ying Caihe could play a diversionary role to some extent. Seeing that her husband's power was getting stronger and stronger, and he was already comparable to the emperor, and the major families wanted to join the court more and more.
Obviously, the desire for power among various forces can be seen from the competition for a prime minister.
If the position of the Prime Minister is like this, what about the competition for queens, concubines, etc. in the future? My husband is completely blank in this regard!
Xue Tao knew very well that his competitors would definitely appear in the future, who were young, beautiful, and had strong family backgrounds, but he was already old and declining.
So she needed to train her own helpers. She took a fancy to Liu Caichun, who was very talented and beautiful, but came from a humble background. The aristocratic family looked down on such a woman from the bottom of their hearts. If she could enter the palace, she would definitely become her right-hand helper in the future.
There must be some way to eliminate the husband's misunderstanding about Liu Caichun.
...........
Zhang Yu, the Minister of Industry of the Southern Tang Dynasty, has arrived in Chang'an. He came from Hanzhong. No one in Hanzhong could explain his confusion and no one could make the decision.
Zhang Yu had no choice but to continue heading north and came to Chang'an to find Guo Song for negotiation.
In the official room, Pan Liao handed over the Queen Mother's decree to Guo Song. Pan Liao laughed and said: "The commotion is quite big. It is said that Nan Ya and Bei Ya gathered together for the first time to discuss the situation in Hanzhong. Even Yangzhou was captured by Zhu Si.
I’ve never been so nervous.”
Guo Song looked at the Queen Mother's edict. The wording in the edict was very polite. On the one hand, it severely criticized Cao Liwei for intercepting Chang'an's goods without authorization. On the other hand, it appeased Guo Song and had dismissed Cao Liwei. He hoped that he would consider the interests of the imperial court and transfer the goods to Chang'an.
The troops withdraw from Hanzhong."
Guo Song threw Yizhi aside and asked again: "What does Zhang Yu mean?"
"Zhang Yu basically repeated the contents of the Queen Mother's decree. There is nothing new. I guess he has no right to decide anything? There is no point in negotiating with him."
Guo Song took a few steps behind his hands and asked, "Is this Zhang Yu from Beiya?"
"no!"
Pan Liao shook his head and said: "He is Zhang Yanshang's nephew. He is also Li Sheng's son-in-law. He has nothing to do with Beiya."
When Guo Song heard that he was Li Sheng's son-in-law, he said, "Please come over and let me meet him."
Now that the Queen Mother has spoken, he must give her some face no matter what, otherwise it will be meaningless for him to support the court on the surface.
Guo Song also planned to have more back-and-forth talks, but the other party actually sent the second senior brother's son-in-law. In any case, he had to give face to the second senior brother who died of Lingnan illness.
Not long after, Zhang Yu walked in. Zhang Yu was Zhang Yanshang's nephew. He was less than forty years old, of medium height and very thin. It was obvious that he was a smart and capable man.
He bowed and saluted: "See His Highness King Jin!"
"Young Master Zhang, please take a seat."
Guo Song invited Zhang Yu to sit down and asked the tea boy to serve tea. He asked with concern: "Is Mrs. Ling Yue Li in Chengdu now?"
Since Zhang Yu is Li Sheng's son-in-law, he naturally also knows the relationship between Guo Song and Li Sheng. He said respectfully: "My mother-in-law currently lives with us. She believes in Buddhism and is currently a layman of Guanglin Temple. She spends most of her daytime
Chanting sutras and chanting Buddha’s name in Buddhist temples.”
Guo Song nodded, "Please tell her, Sir Zhang, that if she wants to return to Chang'an, she can come back at any time. Her mansion in Chang'an is still there and has not been destroyed. In addition, all the wealth they stored in the Chang'an cabinet is there.
It can make her have no worries about food and clothing in her later years."
Zhang Yu was overjoyed. Li Sheng only had one daughter, his wife, so the mansion in Chang'an would naturally be his. The mansion covered an area of eight acres, but he didn't expect it to still be there.
"I will tell my mother-in-law the truth."
After talking about private matters, Guo Song changed the topic and turned to the matters in Hanzhong.