Little Cardamom

For a moment in the hall, it was so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard.

In a trance, Ming Tan thought that he had heard something wrong. Although His Royal Highness King Dingbei had won the Sacred Heart and held a lot of power, Gu Jiurou was also the daughter of Marquis Chengen after all, so it was too insolent and rude to speak like this.

After a long time, the only two people in the palace who were qualified to refute did not say a word.

Empress Zhang's silence is understandable, after all, Gu Jiurou's first sister, Concubine Yu Gui, has often made things difficult for her in the harem.

But Emperor Chengkang, who had always been favored by Concubine Yugui, didn't even say a word of perfunctory to smooth things over, and just drank alcohol on his own, as if the current matter had nothing to do with him.

Until the black brocade robe left, there was silence in the hall, and the servants just bowed to see him off, no one dared to stop him.

Before going to the banquet, probably no one expected that this palace banquet would end so hastily.

It was not yet the end of the unitary year when I left the palace, the sky was about to get dark, and the imperial street was just beginning to be lit.

Ming Tan stepped on the sedan chair and was about to get in the car, when he suddenly heard someone shouting from behind: "A Tan!"

She turned her head, and when she saw who was coming, she couldn't help smiling.

After Bai Minmin yelled this, she was about to go forward immediately, but Ming Tan inadvertently looked back and smiled, and the flickering lights behind her seemed to be silent and pale in an instant.

White teeth and bright eyes are like full autumn water, light eyebrows and curved lips are like stars and moons. There are beauties, that's all.

Bai Minmin stared at the place for a while, and only recovered after being reminded by her personal servant girl.

Bai Minmin is the legitimate daughter of the chief house of Duke Chang, Ming Tan's direct cousin. Because of the similar age, they have been close since childhood, and the two are also friends in the boudoir who have played since childhood.

Earlier in the Changming Hall, the seats of the Duke of Changguo and the Marquis of Jing'an were in the same left row, and the two failed to meet face to face. Now that he was out of the palace, Bai Minmin couldn't wait to find her.

She stepped forward to hug Ming Tan affectionately, and then cleverly bowed to Mrs. Pei: "Min Min pays auntie greetings."

She has an outspoken personality and doesn't like to make detours, so she expressed her intentions straight after asking for safety: "Auntie, today is Shangyuan, I specially asked my elder brother to book a private seat on the Linjiang River in Tingyu Tower, and I want to invite Atan to go with me to enjoy the lanterns , Auntie will lend me A-Tan for a few hours?"

Bai Minmin's serious aunt is Ming Tan's late biological mother, Bai Shi. With her status and temperament, she is willing to take the initiative to call Pei Shi "aunt", which is undoubtedly the best affirmation of Pei's "virtuous" reputation.

Not to mention how comfortable Pei was, there was nothing she could not agree to, she smiled and said decent things, sent her entourage to accompany her, and explained to Lue in detail, telling her to take good care of her young lady.

I have to admit that Mrs. Pei is a smart person. Bai Minmin didn't mention Shen Hua at all, and she just forgot that being the mistress of the Hou Mansion should be considerate in every way, and she didn't say any unnecessary gossip about asking Shen Hua to go to the bustle with her.

When Bai Minmin left with Ming Tan, Pei didn't feel embarrassed, just pretending nothing happened, Xiao Yingying talked to Shen Hua about the various **** prepared in the mansion today.

Shen Hua felt that these three people deliberately ignored her and was humiliated for no reason. When she responded to Pei, she smiled a little forcedly, and her hands clenched under her sleeves turned white.

Shen Hua wrote about this all night, but Bai Minmin forgot about it when he turned around. On the way to Tingyu Tower, she lamented for a while how Mrs. Pei knew how to behave, and then complained along the way about how many complicated rules her new sister-in-law had set and how difficult her life was after being an assistant.

Ming Tan wanted to ask Bai Minmin about something serious, but on this Lantern Festival, the roads were full of noise and excitement, so it was not convenient for him to talk. She had no choice but to hold back her temper and wait until she arrived at Tingyulou to inquire carefully.

Tingyulou is the most famous teahouse in the capital, with good refreshments and a better view of Linjiang.

Every early spring and late autumn, when the drizzle starts to fall, mist rises on the river, and the misty waves lean on the railing to listen to the rain, which is very popular among literati in Shanghai.

In addition, every year in Shangyuan, official ships will set off fireworks on the Xianjiang River, and there is also a "one-night fish and dragon dance" scene of lights on both sides of the Xianjiang River.

The location of Tingyulou is excellent, and it is the best place to watch the fire trees and silver flowers. No matter how high-ranking he is, it takes several months in advance to book this elegant seat on the riverside on Yuanye night.

Bai Minmin's private seat is on the third floor. It's not a big place, but it's very delicately arranged, and the view location is also considered good. But if we want to say the best, we still have to count the warm pavilion next to them in the middle.

When the servant led Bai Minmin and Ming Tan upstairs, there were already four people sitting around the table in the warm room in the middle, chatting and drinking.

The man sitting near the door is dressed luxuriously, and his whole body is of extraordinary quality. Of course, the most ostentatious thing was the suet white jade engraved with the word "Chapter" on his waist.

"Zhang" is the surname of the queen's mother's family. Anyone who has a little understanding of the family in the capital knows that the person who owns this jade can only be the younger brother of the current queen, Zhang Huaiyu.

At this moment, Zhang Huaiyu sat casually at the table, playing with the wine glass in his hands, and teased the man in black beside him, "Your Highness, there is a lot of movement at the Changming Palace banquet this time, and Miss Qianjin is full of affection." Wrong payment, I heard it was a palace crying all the way out."

The man in black didn't even lift his eyelids, but Lu Ting, who was sitting opposite him, asked calmly, "Is it Gu Jinzhong's daughter?"

Gu Jinzhong is the name of Cheng Enhou.

Zhang Huaiyu raised his eyebrows and nodded.

A stern look flashed in Lu Ting's eyes: "There's still time for her to cry." Then he picked up the wine glass and drank it down.

Compared with Zhang Huaiyu's showy appearance and Lu Ting's fierceness, Shu Jingran, who is dressed in a brocade suit with moon and white cloud patterns, obviously has the gentle temperament of a handsome young man.

Shu Jingran turned his jade finger, smiled and shook his head again, and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal to lose face, it's just that after doing this, the rumors of His Highness King Dingbei's arrogance and domineering will spread to everyone in the streets and alleys before tomorrow." I know. At that time, if I want to find a good marriage again, I am afraid that the ladies in Beijing will be..."

Before the words fell, there was a slight "squeak" sound from outside, followed by the servant's indistinct voice: "Miss, please come inside."

It seems that someone came from the private room next door.

Shu Jingran stopped talking, and the others tacitly kept silent.

"A Tan, sit down quickly. I asked them to prepare some refreshments, which are all your favorites. Oh, by the way, where did you just talk about?"

Bai Minmin was able to talk, she never stopped talking all the way, from her own troubles to the palace banquet in Yongyuan.

"The palace banquet, yes it is the palace banquet. Your girl is really capable of breaking her mouth. How can Shen Hua climb up to the Dingbei Palace? Her brother Shen Yu was appreciated by the Dingbei King, but she didn't appreciate her subordinates so she sent her subordinates The reason why my younger sister married back to be a princess. What's more, Gu Jiurou was humiliated on the spot. Speaking of this, Gu Jiurou is really daring. His Majesty and Empress are all there. Why don't you express your admiration and present a song in public? want."

"Gu Jiurou acted quite boldly, but His Royal Highness Dingbei Wang is too rude and arrogant." With Bai Minmin, Ming Tan has always been relaxed, and with Lue guarding outside, she rested her chin, He disliked without any scruples, "A martial artist is crazy and vulgar, I don't think he is a kind person."

Zhang Huaiyu: "..."

Lu Ting: "..."

Shu Jingran: "..."

"Vulgar martial artist" himself also subconsciously paused.

Ming Tan didn't notice it, he sipped his tea gracefully, and finally remembered the business: "By the way, have you found out what uncle's plan is these two days?"

Bai Minmin always felt that she had forgotten something important, and now Ming Tan took the initiative to ask her to respond: "Oh, no. You also saw that day, my father's posture, wishing to pick up a kitchen knife and go to order The Duke’s Mansion murdered people, but Mr. Zhou persuaded him, and he was able to hold his breath these few days. I thought about it, and I probably wanted to wait for your father to return to Beijing before discussing it.”

Ming Tan frowned slightly when he heard the words.

The reason why she knew about her fiancé-in-law's infidelity was because a few days ago she went to Changguo Duke's mansion to pay her respects to her ancestors, and was dragged by Bai Minmin to the study to find scriptures.

She had already found the story book, and before she didn't want to sneak away, her uncle Bai Jingyuan entered the study together with the guest, Mr. Zhou, and as soon as they entered the door, he became furious, smashed Fang Shanghao's inkstone, and brought the eighteen generations of the ancestors of the Duke of Ling to curse together. , not giving them a chance to refuse to listen to the corner.

"He had an affair with his cousin and had an illegitimate child before the main family came in. This kind of nonsense is only done by the Liang family! The little **** turned himself into a relative of the emperor. It's not that the marriage was settled early, and the Liang family's stinky **** can't support the new wall, and they won't be able to reach A Tan in eight lifetimes! Does he think that the Jing'anhou's mansion is destroyed or the Changguo Duke's mansion is destroyed? It really makes no sense! "

Ming Tan and Bai Minmin were both stunned at the time, hiding in place for a long while without moving.

After recovering, Bai Jingyuan and Mr. Zhou swept away from the study like a gust of wind.

In fact, when she realized it right away, Bai Minmin was so angry that she wanted to go to her father Bai Jingyuan and ask him to immediately go to the Lingguo Mansion to seek justice for Ming Tan.

However, just as Mr. Zhou advised, this matter is not very honorable, and it is useless to make troubles greater than both sides. Moreover, Ming Tan's father was already on his way back to Beijing to report on his duties, so his uncle's rash appearance might be suspected of overstepping his position.

He didn't realize that he forgot about it for a while before, but when he thought about it now, Bai Minmin was still furious.

She ate three yuan of dim sum in one go, scolded Duke Dunling like her father, patted the table and Ming Tan packed the ticket and said: "This is entirely the fault of his Liang family, how can his character be so bad?" I can be a good match for you! Ah Tan, you don't have to worry, with my father here, this marriage will definitely be resolved!"

"Of course I know that this person is unworthy, so I just canceled the engagement..."

Ming Tan didn't go on, but Bai Minmin and the people next door knew very well that this world is especially harsh on women, no matter what the reason is, breaking the engagement will definitely damage the woman's reputation.

Ming Tan paused, not knowing what came to mind, suddenly propped his chin closer, and asked tentatively: "Minmin, if you said that the engagement will be broken by then...how should I behave so that I can appear innocent and strong?"

"...?"

"Innocent and strong?"

Bai Minmin put down her snack, and really thought about it carefully: "I remember that when the fifth girl from the Li family was divorced, she kissed her husband's family to cut off her will. There is also the third girl from the Fang family in the east of the city. A brothel woman ransomed her body, and because she was pregnant, she was brought in as a good concubine, and when the third girl of the Fang family heard about this, she hung a white silk from the beam of the house and hanged herself.”

"...?"

"It doesn't have to be so strong."