......
Chatter chatter chatter.
"So annoying."
Princess Huiyun watched as the meal was laid out piece by piece.
This little one ate more like a princess than herself.
She always felt that sooner or later, she'd find a chance to give her a beating.
But then she remembered the girl's father was gone, and told herself to be patient. Bullying orphans and widows wasn't right.
However, hearing the little one chatter on about still having a brother and sister, with the sister already married off, the princess felt confused again.
Could her poor imprisoned princely nephew really have had so many children?
Wasn't it said that the crown princess died in childbirth, and the prince never took another crown princess, with even that child not surviving?
How could he have a string of children out here?
This little brat didn't seem like someone who had lived a confined life either.
She was lively beyond measure.
The princess indeed didn't like children.
Other people's children all seemed very annoying to her.
Even relatives' children were no good.
After interacting with the little one for a day, Princess Huiyun had a headache.
Her brain was throbbing.
Princess Huiyun decided that after receiving the two children today, she would have the formation master come reinforce the barrier.
If that didn't work, they'd build a wall.
Surely they couldn't climb over a wall to get in again.
......
When Jiang Feng received the letter, he was working together with everyone, building a wall.
They were all strong young men, working very quickly.
Their hands and feet were very nimble.
Gong Qichi was on the side, occasionally lending a hand.
He mainly wanted to persuade Jiang Feng.
Just marry her, that girl is quite good.
Zi Wenxin, Zi Ganjiang, and Zi Yuanqian all had no wives.
Zi Wenxin did have several beautiful companions in his household. With his handsome looks, talent for poetry, and wealth, the courtesans would eagerly offer themselves when infatuated, but he hadn't agreed.
Zi Ganjiang had wanted to marry Jiang Feng's sister before, but when that didn't work out, he didn't seem to care much either way and wasn't in a hurry.
Zi Yuanqian was a bit of a loner and hadn't looked for anyone.
Gong Qichi had been married before, but when he was exiled he divorced his wife, who then remarried and now had three children. He was now alone.
Come to think of it, rebellion really wasn't easy. With such an unstable work environment, it was hard to settle down.
Because once you settled down and had a family, you usually didn't have such a strong desire to rebel anymore. It was better to live on than die well.
There was a lot more to consider.
Jiang Feng knew his parents had been worrying about his marriage for a long time. In Jingzhou, they had screened all the families, but probably didn't find anyone satisfactory, so they hadn't said anything.
He actually didn't care either way. He felt that whether he got married or not wasn't that important. He felt like he had lost the ability to like others.
It was hard for him to feel compassion for others.
But during this time in Jiangzhou, training, studying, and working together with Zi and the others, he felt life was very good, vivid, and real.
He loved lively atmospheres.
And was afraid of the dark.
That day when he picked up the girl from the river who claimed her father was the Minister of Works and had a large dowry.
Jiang Feng felt a slight stirring in his heart.
Especially seeing how much she loved to smile and how lively she was.
At first glance, Jiang Feng thought his mother would definitely like this girl.
Even if buried together, such a girl probably wouldn't be lonely.
But he also hesitated, and discussed it at length with Mr. Gong.
He was a commoner, a nobody. His father was only a vice minister, and one who had surrendered as a rebel. Would the other side accept him?
The girl's father was still a minister.
The young lady may have been acting on a one-sided infatuation.
He certainly couldn't use the debt of saving her life to ask for her hand. How would that be any different from a scoundrel?
So when they sent the girl away, Jiang Feng and the others didn't show their faces, worried it would damage her reputation.
Gong Qichi was the most enthusiastic about the great cause of rebellion.
Even if they couldn't use the people from the Ministry of Works to build ships for them, it would be good to establish a good relationship first. He dug up a pile of treasures overnight to give to Jiang Feng, telling him to go propose marriage.
But Jiang Feng didn't want to go anymore.
If it was like this, it wouldn't be fair to that girl. She was a perfectly good young lady, and for him to propose marriage in this way, with impure motives, was unworthy.
He could remain unmarried, it didn't matter.
Because of this, he had a disagreement with Mr. Gong.
Gong Qichi felt it really didn't matter. You could still treat that girl well, why are you being so honest?
Jiang Feng wasn't being honest. He didn't consider himself a good person, but he had principles in certain areas. He just had to imagine if it was his own sister in that girl's position, and he wouldn't want to do it.
While they were still arguing about this, a letter came from home asking Jiang Feng to return quickly, as they had arranged a good marriage for him.
Gong Qichi could only lament the missed opportunity and give up his persuasion. After all, he was now an advisor, and he had absolute faith in his lord.
Jiang Feng stopped agonizing over it too. If his parents approved, it was their command and the matchmaker's words. This was proper and upright.
He put down the bricks, dusted off his hands.
Riding day and night, he returned to the capital.
Just in time for dinner.
Mianmian and Brother Chong had played in the temple all day. Mianmian played while Brother Chong was responsible for internally urging his father to kowtow.
They didn't expect their brother to return, and that he was going to get married.
Father and Mother were so efficient, they had settled Big Brother's lifelong matter shortly after arriving in the capital.
Not only that, they had also secured an official position for Big Brother.
A eunuch came to announce the imperial edict, along with rewards - a sixth-rank armed guard.
Jiang Mianmian had just been playing around these past few days, not knowing what had happened. Her father was really amazing. This government job didn't even require an exam, he just got in directly. She suddenly felt that arrogant pride of being a second-generation official.
Too bad she wasn't a boy, otherwise she might have been able to get a government job too.
Jiang Feng brought back many gifts for Cong Heng and Mianmian when he returned.
Seeing that Young Master Cong was living quite comfortably at home and could already roll his eyes, it seemed they were getting along well.
Seeing Mianmian still bouncing around happily, the image of that girl floated through his mind. If she came, she would probably bounce around too. The house would likely be extremely lively then.
He hesitated for a moment.
After dinner, Jiang Feng still told his parents honestly about saving the girl.
Qin Luoxia laughed heartily: "I was wondering why that young lady looked at me so warmly, so it turns out she had already met you."
Once they talked, they realized that the match his parents had arranged and the girl he had saved were the same person.
It was perfect.
They agreed to go propose marriage on the next day off.
Jiang Feng let out a sigh of relief.
He felt it was too lucky to believe, that his fate could be this good.
He went out once, and came back with a wife and an official position.
As night fell, Jiang Feng lay in his bed at home, feeling very secure and grounded.
......
Night fell, and Minister Lu finished his shift, but still couldn't go to bed and rest properly.
These past few days, he kept feeling his shoulders were very sore and stiff.
In the past, when they hurt, having a servant massage them would make it better.
But now the pain felt like several pots and stoves were sitting on top of his head.
Heavy and unbearable.
He returned to the Prime Minister's mansion.
There were still guests visiting.
One of the reception rooms in the Prime Minister's mansion was known as the "small imperial court."
Many matters of state were actually decided in this reception room.
Minister Lu's shoulders hurt terribly, so even while receiving guests, he had servants constantly massaging him.
One of the vice ministers, Xia Hexin, was a thin middle-aged man.
He was Minister Lu's lackey, a loyal dog.
Seeing Minister Lu's behavior, he felt in his heart that the minister was becoming more and more arrogant. In the past, he would still be polite and courteous when receiving guests, but now he didn't even bother to put on an act.
The urgent meeting of several people naturally wasn't about memorizing laws, regulations and rules. They were discussing the next major moves in the imperial court.
Vice Minister Xia chose his words carefully: "The Crown Prince's influence is waning, and the Sixth Prince's great momentum is already established. If he takes the throne, I'm afraid we'll be the first ones he makes an example of. Perhaps we should consider the Seventh Prince. The Emperor doesn't like the Seventh Prince, and he has no other support, so he can only rely on us. The Seventh Prince is a romantic with no ambition, easy to control. His son also spends all day circling around that Immortal Liu, and won't amount to much."
"Ouch!" Minister Lu cried out.
A servant pressed too hard on one spot, causing pain.
Minister Lu remembered that his own youngest son also circled around that Immortal Liu, getting injured every other day, and felt displeased.
The servant fearfully knelt and retreated.
Soon after, the muffled sounds of a beating could be heard.
The servant who had been massaging Minister Lu's shoulders was beaten to death.
The people in the reception room all fell silent for a moment, then continued their discussion as if nothing had happened.
Outside the reception room, the sky was dark.
In a corner stood a tree, its branches full of red leaves, very beautiful.
Blood slowly flowed to the roots of the tree.
......
