The prince is very fierce

In late September, as a rain fell on the Xiangjiang River, the weather became increasingly cold.

The boat was moored along the Xiangjiang River, and the maids hid in the boathouse to avoid the rain.

Zhu Manzhi sat alone on the edge of the boat, holding an oil-paper umbrella in the misty rain, fishing for big fat fish in autumn.

Two dogs lay on the edge of the boat with their front legs, sticking out their tongues and looking forward. The big white goose was thrown directly into the water, showing off its power on the water.

On the second floor of the boat, Xiao Qi sat at the desk by the window, watching the news sent by spies from all over the country.

The secretary Song Yufu, holding a letter, sat next to her and whispered:

"Sister Qiqi, Nanyue sent a letter saying that we transferred troops to the southwest, which made the people of Nanyue feel uneasy and asked the reason. How should we respond?"

The letter from Nanyue should be sent to Chang'an, the capital of Dayue. But the prince of Dayue is only nine years old, and he certainly can't make his own decisions. In the end, it is the king of Su who has the final say.

Prince Su was busy with the internal affairs of the court and the external defense of Northern Qi, so he had no time to care about the small border country of Nanyue. The decision-making power naturally fell to Xu Buling. In order to avoid unnecessary running around, the letter from the court of Nanyue was sent directly to the ship as soon as it entered the pass.

Xiao Qi was too lazy to even read the content of the letter, but just said calmly:

"Just say that we will train troops in the autumn and take a casual stroll in the southern border, so that they don't panic."

Song Yufu nodded, took out the rice paper, and began to carefully consider the words and brew a draft.

Below the study, in the room on the first floor of the ship.

Lu Hongluan sat on the soft couch, holding a half-sewn robe in her hand, with patterns embroidered on it. She lived alone in Chang'an City for many years, but she didn't feel bored at this time. She just looked out the window occasionally to see if her precious child in the south had returned.

Yue Nu sat sideways beside the soft couch, holding a needle and thread in her hand, and her fair cheeks had a little more melancholy than before.

Yue Nu and Lu Hongluan are of the same age and grew up together. They are both master and servant and best friends. In a wealthy family, their relationship is even closer than that of real sisters.

Lu Hongluan is very thoughtful and naturally noticed that something was wrong with Yue Nu. She asked softly:

"Yue Nu, what's wrong? Were you bullied by Qiao'e again?"

Yue Nu lowered her eyebrows and looked at the needlework in her hand. She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head gently:

"Not really, well... Qiao'e just said something to me last night, and I think it makes sense."

Lu Hongluan put down her robe and looked a little helpless: "Just say it directly, why beat around the bush?"

Yue Nu blushed a little and was a little embarrassed. She thought for a while:

"In another half a month, it will be the young lady's birthday again. In the blink of an eye, another year has passed. It feels like time has passed so quickly."

Lu Hongluan blinked her eyes and thought carefully, and it seemed to be true.

The last time she celebrated her birthday, it was still on the surface of the East China Sea. She was still a virgin. Unconsciously, she was one year older, and even her back was given to Ling'er.

However, Lu Hongluan was already married, so she didn't care much about this, but just nodded and smiled.

Yue Nu saw that her wife was not open-minded, thought for a while, and said:

"Qiao'e is almost crazy about men. She worries about looking in the mirror all day, fearing that she will be old and yellow and can't get married in the future. Madam, what do you think Qiao'e is anxious about? She is one year younger than me. I will be thirty soon, and I am not as anxious as she is."

Such direct words, if you don't understand, there will be problems.

Lu Hongluan was stunned when she heard the voice. She was always thinking about giving birth to a baby for Xu Buling, and she really forgot to take care of the maids around her.

Lu Hongluan looked at Yue Nu for a few times, and then she realized that the playmate who had grown up with her since childhood was already ripe, and it would be wasted if she didn't pick it up.

"Yue Nu, do you have someone you like?"

Yue Nu hurriedly shook her head: "I'm talking about Qiao'e. I'm just a maid. Matters like marriage are all decided by the Madam. I've been with the Madam for more than 20 years. I can't live without the Madam, and I don't want to marry someone else."

Don't want to marry someone else...

Then you want to marry someone at home!

Lu Hongluan narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Yue Nu twice:

"I'm Ling'er's aunt. Logically, you're older than Ling'er. Even if I break the etiquette with him, you follow me. Don't you feel uncomfortable?"

I'm so happy!

Yue Nu lowered her head slightly in embarrassment: "What are you talking about, Madam! How can I be so embarrassed... But if the young prince wants a maid and Madam is not jealous, what can I, as a maid, say?"

When Lu Hongluan heard this, she was immediately unhappy and raised her hand to pinch Yue Nu's arm:

"You are my maid, why should I be jealous? You should have been a maid in the same room, isn't it normal for Ling'er to want you? How could I not even understand this little rule?"

Yue Nu pursed her lips: "It's good that Madam is not jealous. In this case, then... the maid's lifelong affairs are entirely up to Madam." ? ?

Lu Hongluan blinked her eyes and felt something was wrong.

But the words had been said, and it was not a big deal, so she could only nod her head:

"I know, I'll tell Ling'er when he comes back."

"Hee..."

The river was full of mist and rain, and the autumn colors were bleak.

On the terrace behind the ship, the golden petals were still gorgeous, but as autumn deepened, they slowly became a little haggard.

The woman in a plain long dress leaned on the recliner without moving, staring at the misty rain outside the terrace. She didn't know how long she had been staring, and she didn't even notice that the small mahogany sign in her hand had fallen to the ground.

In the room, Xiao Xiang'er was wrapped in a bright red dress and carefully carving small bells in front of the table. There were nearly ten sets of colorful bells, which were neatly placed in exquisitely crafted small wooden boxes. They were New Year's gifts for the girls.

Although they were just outside the window, Cui Xiaowan became less and less taciturn, and Xiao Xiang'er was very focused on her work. The room was so quiet that the only sound was the wind outside the window.

"Ahem"

I don’t know how long it took, but two slight coughs sounded from the terrace.

Xiao Xiang'er was stunned for a moment, and then she quickly put down the bell, took the shawl from the side, came to the terrace outside the window, and said with concern:

"Xiaowan, it's raining so heavily. What are you doing outside? What should you do if you catch a cold?"

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

Cui Xiaowan raised her hand to take the blanket and wrapped it around herself, with a smile on her lips:

"I didn't catch a cold, I just thought the rain was beautiful and I didn't want to go in."

Xiao Xiang'er looked at it for a few times, then raised his hand to hold Xiaowan's wrist and checked it. After finding nothing strange, he sat down next to it and thought about it for a while, but didn't know what to say.

Before Xu Buling left, she asked Xiao Xiang'er to spend more time with Cui Xiaowan. For this reason, she didn't even play mahjong and lived with Xiaowan all day long.

But no matter how many stories there are, there is no time to finish them, and there is nothing going on on the ship. Xiaowan has no hobbies, not even planting flowers, so what else can she say?

Cui Xiaowan is actually very considerate and can see what people are thinking. Seeing that the queen mother was a little worried, she took the lead in starting the conversation:

"Xu Buling has been gone for twenty days. He should be entering South Vietnam now."

Xiao Xiang'er smiled: "I went in a few days ago. I heard the news came back that I was checking something, and they all went to the capital of Nanyue."

Cui Xiaowan looked at the south, thought for a moment, and asked curiously:

"Mother, do you think Xu will bring back a beautiful girl this time?"

"Um……"

Xiao Xiang'er must have thought about this and warned Xu Buling before leaving. Naturally, she was full of confidence at this time:

"No, he just went to Jiujiu's mother's house to do some errands, how could he bring the girl back again. He said that there are only a few...a dozen now, and he won't mess around with women anymore."

"A dozen?"

Cui Xiaowan held her cheek with her hands and asked curiously:

"Are there as many as a dozen?"

Xiao Xiang'er sighed, stretched out her slender jade fingers, and counted with her fingers:

"Me, sister, jealousy, Dabai, Xiaojiu, Manzhi, Yufu, Qingye, Chuchu..."

At this point, Xiao Xiang'er felt something was wrong, raised his eyes and glanced at Cui Xiaowan, and said no more.

Cui Xiaowan saw Xiao Xiang'er's thoughts and didn't mind. She smiled and said:

"Actually, not much. I just go out and run around all the time, which is a bit boring."

Xiaowan looked at the two flower pots next to her:

"It's just like flowers. If you plant them but don't take care of them, over time, the flowers will die."

This sentence naturally touched Xiao Xiang'er's heart. Who among the girls on the boat wouldn't want to be in front of Xu Buling every day?

But men always have to do business. If they don't go out and run around, there will be no chance of staying together peacefully.

Cui Xiaowan also understood this truth, and just talked about it with her mother. After saying a few words, he tapped the ground with his toes, causing the lounge chair to sway, and continued to stare at the rain curtain in a daze.

Xiao Xiang'er sat in front of him and stayed with him for a long time, but after thinking about it, he couldn't find a suitable topic. He could only shake his head, got up and returned to the room, continuing to play with small objects.

The breeze is still blowing on the terrace, blowing the golden flowers, and the flower branches are swaying gently in the wind.

I don’t know if it was because of the wind or because it was the season of falling flowers. One piece of the gorgeous petals fell silently and landed next to the lounge chair.

Cui Xiaowan leaned over and picked up the petals and the mahogany sign. She held them in her hand and looked at them for a long time. She sighed softly and disappeared with the autumn wind in the misty rain all over the river...