Wishful Things

As if aware of the gaze from the hostess, Big Bird froze, and his eyelids suddenly began to fight up and down again, as if doing so would make it appear that the sudden awakening just now was just hysterical in sleep.

Xu Mingyi couldn't be bothered to go to the big bird who had a lot of movies, so he raised his hand and opened the food box on the small table in front of him.

Ms. Cai seems to be really fascinated by cooking recently.

And the reason why she chose such a hobby is a fatal hobby for those around her. According to Ms. Cai, it was also for the credibility of her scene. She said that doing so would make her status in the Zhenguo Mansion closer to life.

But Xu Mingyi couldn't help feeling that the taste of these foods was quite out of touch with life.

Fortunately, Ms. Cai is also relatively frugal. The two small plates containing pastries and jerky in the food box do not contain much, so it is not too wasteful.

Seeing that the two plates were taken out, the third eye on the side moved and sneaked its head over, quietly watching Xu Mingyi's reaction.

Xu Mingyi, who had just taken out a secret letter, had a panoramic view of Big Bird's movements from the corner of his eye, and just pretended not to see it.

With an expression of "I know you can't see me", the big bird stretched out its long beak and took out a piece of jerky.

——It doesn’t dare to eat dim sum, but how to make jerky should not be bad, right?

However, when the dried meat entered the mouth, Big Bird's eyes widened in disbelief.

——Is it really... still reckless?

Big Bird subconsciously wanted to spit it out, but generally felt that doing so would reveal the fact that he was stealing, so he kept it in his mouth, flew off the chair, and walked out of the room silently.

After a while, he walked in again.

And it came in with something in its mouth——

The big bird flew back to the chair, put a large piece of dried meat in its beak on the small table in front of Xu Mingyi, raised its head and called out to her.

Seeing Da Niao's "eat it" pitying eyes, Xu Mingyi was stunned.

...After repeated attempts, Tianmu felt that she could no longer eat decent food, right?

So, he donated the good things he had kept privately to help her?

Moreover, such a large piece of jerky, it is lucky that it can be so cruel that it is willing to take it out.

According to this degree of sympathy, Xu Mingyi even felt that even if Da Niao was about to turn around and go to the kitchen in the next moment, it would be possible to cook three dishes and one soup for her himself.

She touched Da Bird's head very relieved, and said with a smile: "Finally, I didn't raise you in vain."

Tianmu called twice again, as if urging her to eat quickly.

Xu Mingyi felt that he needed to explain, otherwise the worried bird would have to go out to catch prey tomorrow and come back to subsidize the family - if Wu Chao knew about this, wouldn't he think she was abusing his own son?

Xu Mingyi asked Ah Kui to bring over some beef jerky, and simply gave Big Bird a good meal, intending to tell it—see, our family is quite well-off, so don't put so much pressure on it, and be careful not to grow taller.

Not growing tall is of course second. The most frustrating thing is to only gain weight but not grow taller.

The contented Tianmu finally felt at ease, and took the piece of jerky away again.

Watching Big Bird walk out, the smile in Xu Mingyi's eyes gradually faded.

She had just read the secret letter in the food box.

It is not much different from what she guessed before, and it can be regarded as confirming her and grandfather's guess.

She should talk to her grandfather.

But grandfather was summoned into the palace today, so he must have just arrived in the palace at this time, at least he might have to wait until Shen Shi before returning.

With nothing to do, Xu Mingyi simply went to the study.

After all, idleness is idleness, why not just write to Wu Chao.

By the way, tell him about Tianmu's offering of dried meat today - the child is grown up and sensible, and knows how to be grateful to the master. This growth is so gratifying.

On the other side, in the Imperial Palace, Mrs. Cui was looking at the portraits of young men, and the more she looked at them, the more she couldn't help frowning.

"Look at what kind of human oil these are, born from the heart, good or bad..."

Cui put down one painting and picked up another one. Seeing the man's clothes on it, she couldn't help shaking her head again: "The color matching of this clothes is too exaggerated, and I can't hold back the appearance. I really don't know how to wear it. I just learn how to wear dark colors like others... It's not good."

Qingying listened at the side, dumbfounded.

It's all right for Madam to choose her looks and her family background, so why bother with how people dress...

"In your eyes, looking at this capital city, I'm afraid no one is worthy of a girl..." There was no one else in the room, so Qingying didn't hide her words, she just lowered her voice slightly, and sighed: "I don't know outside, I still think you did it on purpose..."

deliberately what?

Choi raised an eyebrow.

Just like her stepmother who found her an unhappy meal before she died—deliberately suppressing the marriage of the girl in the mansion, turning the little girl into an old girl, and not finding a good husband?

"It doesn't matter what people say, it's enough for my family to know." Cui Shi didn't care.

In the past two years, there was indeed no one who could be called very close to the door to propose marriage. This is a fact--could she have to live and nod against her will for the good reputation of a virtuous person?

Speaking of closing eyes, the husband repeatedly mentioned the only son of Zhou Shilang's family——

No matter what kind of character is honest, it must be a good match.

Honesty is of course very important, but the child has a big belly at a young age, which is round enough... Is the husband looking for a son-in-law, or is he looking for a son-in-law?

Weng and his son-in-law just get together and think about what to eat when they really get married?

Thinking of this possibility, Cui felt blindsided.

Although appearance is not the most important thing, but her family's Zhaozhao's conditions are here, why not find someone who is really satisfactory in all aspects?

The so-called honesty of character means that there will be fewer conflicts between husband and wife after marriage, but if that's all you want--wouldn't it be better not to get married? Why bother?

And it can also reveal many problems of women after marriage. Once married, whether they live a good life or not depends almost entirely on the stability of the in-laws' character. It is not enough to look at the husband alone.

Whenever she thinks of the girl who grew up under the protection of thousands of pets at home, who is going to marry in a strange place, serve her difficult in-laws, and deal with all kinds of concubines, Cui feels that her heart is like a knife out.

She even couldn't help thinking - how about recruiting someone Zhao Zhao likes to marry into their Zhen Guogong's mansion?

People watched from under their noses, and they couldn't feel wronged by Zhao Zhao.

But after thinking about it, most of the people who are willing to marry are also coveting their Xu family's power and wealth - how can such a scheming person stay by Zhaozhao's side, really feel at ease?

Cui, who couldn't help but think about the worst outcome, even couldn't help but have a dangerous idea in her heart--it's better to learn from Princess Yufeng to raise noodles, and if one is not good, change another one, anyway, it's not that I can't afford it!

But because this idea was too dangerous, Cui thought about it once and didn't dare to think about it any more.

She was afraid that the more she thought about it, the more feasible it would be.

But in the final analysis, no matter how much she thinks about this matter, it won't be of much use, it mainly depends on Zhao Zhao's thoughts.

Fortunately, the old man also said not to worry, let's look at Zhao Zhao himself.

But Zhaozhao has made it clear now that he does not plan to discuss marriage for the time being.

So, now that these people come to her door, she will deal with them first, and if she finds a good one, she will bring them to Zhao Zhao for a look.

At this moment, a little girl came in and said, "Madam, Madam Wen and the others are here."

Upon hearing this, Cui put down the portrait in her hand, and asked the maids to go to the Nuan Pavilion to set up the card table.

As for why the heavy rain can't stop them from playing the horse hanging?

——As we all know, things like horse hanging, let alone rain, even knives falling from the sky, can't stop it.

At the card table, some wives chatted and talked about the matter of Mrs. Dingnan Wang Shizi.

"...I heard that Prince Dingnan's son returned to Beijing alone this time, and his wife did not come with him."

Wu Jingming and his wife would rush back to Dingnan Palace in Ningyang every year before the New Year's Eve, and then return to Beijing after the year. This has been the case over the years.

"It is said that the car and horses were bumping, and the person fell ill... Last year, Wu Shisun almost lost his life. The wife of the prince had a serious illness because of this, and she didn't take care of it for a long time. This incident may have affected the old illness."

"If you're sick, it's not good to rush to Beijing. If the condition gets worse, it's not good."

"That's right... more than two thousand miles."

Another lady played her cards and said with emotion in a slow voice: "Now Prince Wu is alone in the capital, and there is no one guarding him. Many people have smelled the smell and want to take the opportunity to send someone there—this lady of the prince is recuperating in Ningyang, so I'm afraid she can't feel at ease."

Cui nodded, feeling more and more unhappy.

She was not familiar with the wife of Prince Dingnan's son, so it was out of the question to worry about her.

She thought of her Zhao Zhao again.

Listen, how difficult it is for a woman in this world to get married--if she is sick, she can't stay by her husband's side, and she has to be on guard against these things.

Now she has finally realized the disadvantages of raising a daughter... My heart is almost broken.

Thinking of this, some dangerous thoughts began to appear in Cui's mind uncontrollably.

Hearing several wives urging her to play cards quickly, Cui quickly regained her thoughts.

The rain outside the window gradually stopped, only drops of water occasionally dripped from the eaves, and lightly hit the green brick floor that had been washed clean and wet by the rain.

In Dingnan Prince's Mansion in the middle of Beijing, Wu Jingming, the son of Dingnan Prince, was sitting alone in his study.

It is impossible to have a beautiful woman as a companion, even if someone dared to give it to him, he would not dare to accept it.

Wu Jingming touched the white cat in his arms, with a slightly emotional expression.

Before leaving home and returning to Beijing, the madam, who was suffering from severe wind and cold, chased outside the mansion gate regardless of her illness, her eyes were full of worries, and she told him carefully - telling him to take good care of her cat.

Madam has always been dignified and gentle, but for some reason, he felt a sense of threat that "the cat is missing a hair, and I am asking you".

It must be his illusion, right?

But his wife is not in Beijing right now, so he really feels much lonely. It was also at this time that he realized that having a cat by his side was also a kind of comfort.

So, could it be that he spent too little time with his wife in the past?

This time when his wife recovers from illness and returns to Beijing, he must spend more time with her.

After introspecting in this way, Wu Shizi's hostility towards the cat became less hostile, and a feeling of sympathy and sympathy developed.

"Tianjiao, now we are the only ones who depend on each other..." Wu Shizi smoothed Maoer's hair.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Tianjiao jumped out of his arms, as if he disliked his way of smoothing hair.

"Tianjiao—"

Wu Shizi tried to call out, but saw the cat ran out without looking back.

Thinking of his wife's explanation, Wu Shizi got up helplessly, smoothed his robe, and was about to chase outside.

But when he was about to step over the threshold of the study, he saw a group of maidservants running over talking and laughing to surround Tianjiao, some squatted down to smooth their hair, some bent over and played with the cat with something in their hands, and some came out quickly with cooked fish.

Seeing this scene, Wu Shizi silently withdrew his feet.

The excitement belongs to Tianjiao, and the loneliness belongs to him.

However, listening to the bustle behind him, Wu Shizi inevitably felt a little bit aggrieved.

If possible, he should really show his wife this scene - in this family, he is the only one who really cares about his wife, and Tianjiao is nothing more than a heartless cat.

However, in the next moment, a voice came out of his mind - but so what? As long as Tianjiao makes a "meow", how can Madam see anything else?

At this moment, deeply aware of the great disparity in advantages between humans and cats, Wu Shizi silently gave up the idea of ​​suing a cat in front of his wife.

At this time, a young man dressed as a servant walked in and closed the door of the study from the inside.

"Your Majesty." The boy saluted, with a sharpness in his movements that did not match in front of others.

"Have you heard it?"

Wu Jingming sat down behind the desk and asked.

"Returning to my son, I found out everything." The servant replied in a low voice: "This time, the emperor summoned Duke Zhen and Xia Tingzhen to enter the palace because of the disaster riots in Lingzhou. It is said that there was a lot of commotion, but the news came to Beijing secretly, and very few people knew about it."

Lingzhou?

Wu Jingming nodded thoughtfully.

Thinking of the secret conversation with his father before leaving Beijing, he couldn't help sighing softly in his heart.

Everything is really about to start...

...

On rainy days, the sky gets darker earlier.

When Lord Zhen Guo came back from the outside, the mansion had already lit the lamps.

Hearing that the family was still waiting for his dinner, the old man frowned and complained, "What are you waiting for at this hour, they are not hungry and I am tired." However, he hurried back to the yard to change clothes, and went to the dining room without delay.

After the meal, Xu Mingyi followed the old man to the study outside.

Cui Shi saw it in her eyes and felt lost in her heart.

Zhaozhao went to find her father with food and drink when she had nothing to do. After she asked her husband, she found out that Zhaozhao was very interested in court affairs now.

This must be the reason for following the old man.

But who told her not to understand these things? What she is good at is nothing more than horse hanging and how to spurn her stepmother hypocritically and gracefully, and maintain a good brotherhood with her husband.

but--

Cui didn't know what to think of, her eyes lit up slightly.

Today is also two chapters in one, good night~