The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 119: Goodbye Pei Yan, gossip

There hasn't been a drop of rain for half a month, and the city of Chang'an in May suddenly feels a bit like midsummer. On the road from Mingde Gate at the south gate of Chang'an to Zhongnan Mountain, there are more and more cars and horses day by day. By the afternoon of the 19th, the flow of gorgeously decorated carriages and horses with elegant saddles and cages became even more constant.

The carriage Liuli was riding in had left Chang'an City for more than ten miles. The locust trees on the roadside were getting thinner. The carriage had been baked by the sun for a long time and became like a steamer. From time to time, Xiaotan and Anni slightly raised the curtains of the carriage to let the wind blow in. A little, even so, the two of them were soon covered in sweat. Even Liuli, who was usually not afraid of heat, felt a little sticky on her back.

Xiaotan couldn't help but sigh, "If I had known it was going to be so hot today, I should have stayed in the house like Mrs. Yu and the others."

Ani said with a smile, "If you bear with it a little longer, it will be much better after this period. Besides, the Su Mansion may be so lively now. Mrs. Yu is probably envious of our leisure time."

Thinking of the bustling crowds in the Su Mansion yesterday, Liuli also laughed and nodded, "Exactly. Yesterday, my adoptive mother quietly told me how she didn't know she had so many relatives and friends in her family."

 In the morning of the 18th, good news came from Goryeo. The Tang army defeated the enemy in one fell swoop and killed thousands of them. Su Dingfang's mansion suddenly became the most lively place in Chang'an City. When Liuli left, there was almost no place to sit in the hall. Mrs. Yu and Luo Shi ran back and forth without touching the ground, and Liuli hurriedly stepped forward to help. He smiled so hard that his face was sore while entertaining the relatives he knew, and he didn't feel calm until sunset before closing the shop. She also asked Mrs. Yu if she would like to go and help today. Mrs. Yu smiled and pushed her out, "We can't leave. You and Shou Yue should go and take a break!"

The three people in the car were chatting and laughing for a while, and suddenly Pei Xingjian's voice came from outside, "Is it too hot? Please close up some curtains."

Xiao Tan eagerly rolled up the car curtains and half of the curtains. The breeze blew in the car, and it was indeed much cooler. Cars and horses parked on both sides of the road can be seen everywhere, and men and women in colorful clothes have spread their car mats or mud under their saddles under the shade of trees in the distance, sitting leisurely to enjoy the cool air, and from time to time there is the sound of flutes and pipas. Came with the wind.

Liuli saw that the sun was still bright outside, so she turned to Pei Xingjian outside the car window and said, "Why don't we also find a place to rest in the shade of a tree?"

Pei Xingjian raised his head, glanced up, and said with a smile, "Fortunately, the front yard is the annex of Pei Duwei's family. There are few cars on the road now. After passing the annex, we will arrive in only a quarter of an hour. Let's go to the village to rest."

 This is the other courtyard we visited last time? Liuli couldn't help but raise her eyes and take a closer look. There was a low wall with white walls and gray tiles faintly visible in front of her, which seemed to be the garden in her memory. Thinking that Pei Xingjian had submitted the post and would probably have to revisit his old place tomorrow to visit Pei Yan, who had just been promoted to the supervisory censor, she couldn't help but sigh, but she knew in her heart that, not to mention Pei Yan, Even Pei Ruzhuo will have to deal with him sooner or later...

The carriage arrived at the gate of the other courtyard in a blink of an eye, but saw a group of people in front of it turning towards the gate of the other courtyard. A tall horse suddenly turned around and ran towards the road. Liuli could see clearly that the man in the green robe on the horse was actually It's Pei Yan. We haven't seen him for two years. His appearance has hardly changed, and his eyes are still cold and serious. Pei Xingjian also urged his horse to meet him. When they were four or five steps apart, they reined in their horses at the same time. Pei Yan clasped his fists and said, "Brother keeping the promise, long time no see."

Pei Xingjian's voice was slightly smiling, "What a coincidence. How is Zilong always?"

Pei Yan smiled faintly, "Thank you." He glanced at the two carriages with half-draped curtains behind Pei Xingjian, "I didn't expect to see Brother Keeping the promise so soon. It's so hot on the road, why not come to the humble house to rest for a while?"

Pei Xingjian thought for a while, nodded and smiled, "That's fine, it's better to choose the day than to hit it."

The carriage Liuli was sitting in turned a corner and followed the carriage in front of her into the courtyard. This time she did not stop in front of the stone screen. Instead, she walked along a gravel road for another cup of tea. He stopped in front of the courtyard door.

The people in the carriage in front were already waiting quietly at the door. Liuli quickly got out of the car and walked over quickly. Among them was a woman in her early twenties, wearing a moon-white Luo shirt, with light eyebrows and thin eyes, a beautiful face, and a quiet expression. It's just that his cheeks are slightly sunken, giving him a somewhat sickly look. Seeing Liuli coming over, he took a step forward with a smile and bent his knees slightly, "Today is such a coincidence. I thought I would only be able to see my sister-in-law tomorrow."

Liuli knew that the person in front of her was Pei Yan's wife Cui. Although she had the same surname as the wife of the Prince of Hedong, she was from a side branch of the Boling Cui family, and her status was not as high as that of the direct daughter of the Qinghe Cui family. She was busy He smiled and returned the favor, "I took the liberty to come here today and disturb my lady."

Mrs. Cui's eyes turned slightly to the two maids beside Liuli, and suddenly she saw Yu Nu and Xue Nu coming out of the car behind. She couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. It took a full breath to come back to her senses. Facing Liuli, he said, "If we meet somewhere, it's better to meet by chance. It's just a humble and humble house, and it hasn't been cleaned up for many days. It will make my sister-in-law laugh."

Liuli had seen many of Cui's surprised expressions in the past few days. When she went to visit Zhao Guogong's mansion on the 14th, several of her sisters-in-law were also there. One of them even pointed at Yu Nu and screamed... Liuli After making some casual remarks, I suddenly felt that there was something strange in the eyes of someone next to Ms. Cui. When I looked closely, I saw that it was a beauty wearing a jade-colored shirt who was following Ms. Cui. It was none other than Wei Shi. The second mother seemed to be much plumper than two years ago, a little less graceful, but more charming, so she smiled and nodded to her.

Mrs. Cui noticed this scene and smiled softly without saying anything. On the other hand, Wei Twelve Niang smiled and saluted, "Mrs. Kudi, long time no see."

Liuli nodded and smiled, "Exactly, more than two years have passed in a flash, and the Twelve Mothers have always been fine?"

Mrs. Wei Twelve smiled and bowed, "I don't dare to compare with Madam."

Cui looked back at Wei Twelve Niang and frowned slightly, but Liuli just ignored it, "Twelve Niang is too polite, how dare you call her madam." Then she smiled at Cui and said, "This madam "My sister-in-law and Liuli all sound a little unfamiliar..." Ms. Cui nodded and smiled, "I heard that my sister-in-law is the eldest daughter in the family?" Seeing Liuli nodding, she said, "I am the third in line, and my nickname is Cenzhou, because of the third wife in the family. There are four or five of them, and those who are familiar with her call me Cen Niang.”

While talking, Cui Cenniang had already arrived at the upper room of the other courtyard. Cui Cenniang sent her maid to lead Liuli to wash up. She took Wei Twelve Niang and others into the inner room. Twelfth Niang then smiled and said, "You are really rich and noble, this Aunt Kudi She is even more humble than she was back then, and people are now saying that she is as beautiful as a fox fairy."

Cui Cenniang said calmly, "I didn't see anything special about her. But of the two maids following her, one was really charming, and the other one shocked me even more. I heard people say that she is 89% similar to the original wife of Pei Ming Mansion, but when I saw it today, it was no exaggeration at all. "

Wei Twelve Niang said with a smile, "I heard that those two maids were given by the eldest princess Linhai. Didn't Yu Niang say when she came two days ago that during this Lotus Banquet, the Kudi family was actually the one who was married to the Lu family? For this reason, I also begged the eldest princess to take the first seat. The eldest princess had raised Pei Shouyue for several years and it was not easy for him to lose face, so she arranged the second seat for Kudi. I wonder if it was because of this. Why does the eldest princess want to beat her? "

Cui Cenniang didn't answer, just closed her eyes and let the maids clean her hands, then said calmly, "Yu Niang only knows the prince's wife's sister, so what does she know? It has only been a few days since the post about the Furong Banquet was sent out. ? Is it possible to have such a maid? Judging from the appearance of those two, I am afraid that Kudisi cannot be their master now. "

Wei Twelfth Mother hurriedly said, "Isn't the eldest princess the adoptive mother of the first wife of Pei Ming Mansion? It is common for the Kudi family not to be in her eyes. Now, the Kudi family is not taboo about taking them around like this? It's just that The lady is right. The slave just noticed that the two maids were actually wearing single silk clothes. One was rosy and pink, and the other was timid. They really didn’t look like a maid at all. !" As he said this, he couldn't help but glance at the silk shirt he was wearing, his eyes dim.

Cui Cen whispered in front of the bronze mirror, "Give me a simpler hairstyle." After a while, he said leisurely, "It seems that this person's fate is destined. I heard it from the Cheng family sister the day before yesterday. Later, her famous cousin actually said that she was the stepmother of Cudi's father. Only then did she know that the Cudi family had a very sinister concubine. Cudi was the only legitimate daughter in the family. When her mother passed away a few years ago, she was filial. She was so sad that the concubine took the opportunity to say that she was suffering from dementia and locked her up in the woodshed for a whole year! Cudi escaped to her uncle two years ago! At home, I somehow got the attention of Mrs. Ying Guogong, and step by step, I got to where I am today. From the outside, it looks like a good thing, but it’s hard to say how it is. "

Wei Twelve Niang covered her mouth in surprise, "This matter is too unbelievable. Speaking of which, isn't our concubine Ku Di's aunt? How could she not know anything about it? I have heard that She mentioned Mrs. Cudi, but she had nothing good to say."

There was a sneer on Cui Cenniang's face. It was precisely because of Kudi's concubine that she had a slightly more favorable impression of Kudi. In any case, a woman who did not want to be manipulated by her aunt and became a concubine was considered a good person. With some backbone, he said lightly, "I'm afraid you can't make up things like this." The Cheng family has now publicized this matter everywhere, for the sake of their daughter who is known to be jealous. But such a poisonous concubine cannot be dealt with too much. Speaking of which, how many of the concubines and maids in this world are not trying to get more than they can get? For example, the concubine in the family, such as the twelfth mother beside me...

Mrs. Wei Twelve couldn't help but murmured again, "If the family tradition of the Kudi family is like this, how could I have heard that the Hedong Duke's Mansion took the concubine of Mrs. Kudi as a concubine with great fanfare?"

Cui Cenniang seemed to have heard nothing. She lowered her head to select jewelry, and finally selected a crystal parrot hairpin. She glanced at the mirror and said, "This crystal hairpin should be translucent, but not others." After saying that, he stood up and walked out. Suddenly he turned back and said, "You can go back and wash up and rest. There is no need to wait at the front."

Mrs. Wei Twelve bowed her head respectfully, "Thank you for your consideration, ma'am." When Cui Cenniang led the people out of the house, her face slowly darkened.

Cui Cenniang arrived at the main hall. After a while, the maid brought Liuli over. She saw that she had put on a simple and elegant light blue dress, which made her face as white as jade. She smiled and said, "I didn't know until I met the aunt. There is such a thing as Fu Fan Taibai in the world.”

Liuli shook her head and chuckled, "Thank you, Cen Niang. Since Liuli has no black hair, if her skin were darker, wouldn't it be difficult for people to tell where her face is?"

Cui Cenniang was startled and managed to hold back her laughter. The two of them sat down and chatted for a while. They gradually talked about food, and Liuli talked about some fresh dishes that she had been thinking about making recently: lotus leaf soup, Fried lotus, lotus cake... Cui Cenniang gradually became interested after listening to it. She asked for advice on how to make it one by one, and then sighed, "I have been growing white lotus in this garden for two years. I have never thought of using it for vegetables." ”

Liu Li smiled and said, "Cen Niang is a refined person. Frying lotus flowers, steaming lotus leaves, burning harps and boiling cranes, only people like me who only care about eating can do it!"

 Cen Niang couldn't help but smile, thinking about the rumors of "fighting for the top spot", her eyes glanced at the two beautiful maids behind Liuli, and she couldn't help but sigh secretly.

The two of them chatted casually, ranging from food to calligraphy, and they seemed to be quite speculative. When the maid outside reported that drinks, melons and fruits had been set up in the pavilion by the lake, he led the maid and walked over, chatting and laughing. Pei Xingjian, who was already waiting in the pavilion, didn't think anything of it, but Pei Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.

  p.s. Supervisory Yushi: Yushitai official, eighth grade, responsible for supervising the six ministries and local officials. Pei Yan was originally a ninth-grade Puzhou Sicang who joined the army.

　　Thank you dear DM for watching the scenery and classmates for Swinging Swing. I'll go back to Beijing tomorrow and start double updates...

 (End of this chapter)