Xia, twenty-one years of dry Ming.

The capital is a prosperous scene.

Although the Weiguo Hou Zhaoyan handed over military power in his early years, he rarely involved in political affairs, but because he was deeply trusted by his majesty and the princess Zhaohua was present, the Weiguo Houfu was still the head of the nobles in the capital. Now that the seat of prince is vacant, the number of princes under the emperor's knees have grown up. If you say that you don't have the mind to stare at this seat, it is fake.

Wei Guohou also acted cautiously, often thanking guests behind closed doors.

Princess Mansion,

In front of the courtyard, a hundred flowers bloom, water pavilion terrace, double eaves and shingles, from eaves to flower windows, and meticulous decoration. This is the residence of Princess Zhaohua.

Princess Zhaohua is the queen mother's daughter, her majesty's younger sister, with a different identity, has also become the object of many princes who want to win over. Therefore, the front door of the Princess' Mansion has always been a busy city, and there are no fewer than 20 or 30 invitations received every month.

Years did not leave too many marks on the face of the eldest princess, who was pampered with richness and wealth. She is still the envy of the women in Beijing. The husband respects and loves her husband. Both of her biological sons are talented, not worse than the princes. what.

The only regret in my life is the past that year.

However, with time, the pain gradually faded away, and after Wuhen, no one in Beijing would even mention it again.

Princess Zhaohua picked up an exquisite gilt invitation, slightly surprised, "Didn't Ling Yan befriend the third young lady of Ning An Bo's family? Why doesn't Ling Yan go to his family's banquet?"

The maid and the maid standing on both sides smiled at each other, and Madam Wu, who was the most fascinating in front of the eldest princess, took the lead and said, "His Royal Highness has forgotten it. Celebrating my birthday, I am preparing to embroider a hibiscus koi picture, so all the invitations sent outside have been pushed, and I stay in the house every day to embroider. I heard from the people in the Fuyiyuan that sometimes the lights are still lit at night."

The lotus and koi are both favorites of Princess Zhaohua, and her dedication can be seen.

Princess Zhaohua was also quite moved, and smiled and sighed, "This child, why does this palace bother her for a gift? There are so many embroidered women in this house. A good daughter's house. Don't be exhausted and hurt. Eyes."

The mother smiled and said, "How can this embroidered mother compare to the stitches and threads that she embroiders by herself, Miss Lingyan is also a filial piety to Your Highness, and she doesn't want to give her hands to others."

The Ms. Lingyan mentioned by the crowd is a special person in the Princess’s residence. Speaking of which, she has no blood relationship with the Princess’s or Weiguohou’s residence. She was originally the daughter of an official family, whose surname was Lingyan, and her poor parents had both died. , I was lucky enough to be met by Princess Zhaohua. At that time, it was ten years of dry Ming. Princess Zhaohua had lost her daughter for three years. She was depressed and unhappy. Seeing that she was born cute and the same age as her own daughter, so Moved with compassion, she was accepted as a righteous daughter and raised in the princess mansion.

Princess Zhaohua treated her very well, except that she had not changed her surname and did not have a royal title, the other treatments in the princess mansion were not bad. Over the past few years, most of the communication in the princess mansion has been handed over to Qi Lingyan. The nobles in Beijing also knew the Miss Qi from the Long Princess Mansion, and no one dared to take the risk of offending the Princess Mansion and Wei Guohou Mansion and neglect this Miss Qi.

Even the maid beside the eldest princess knew that Miss Lingyan was very fond of her highness, and it was also painful, so she followed the eldest princess's wishes to talk more about her.

Princess Zhaohua nodded, "Ling Yan, a child who knows cold and hot, is gentle and considerate."

In the past, if she had a headache, dizziness, or a bad sleep, Ling Yan would take care of her and worry about it, which made her feel comfortable.

Princess Zhaohua took a sip of the fragrant tea and smiled, "Mrs. Wu, go and tell the people in Fuyuanyuan later, you must not let the lady embroider at night. If there is, I will never spare them."

"When you have time, let Ling Yan have a dinner in the princess mansion, and invite the ladies who are familiar with her to come, just take care of the arrangement, and get what you need from my internal library."

Madam Wu responded with a smile. The princess's words were obviously hurting Miss Ling Yan, and it was not in vain for them to say a few more words, even if Miss Ling Yan knew them, she would remember them well. Speaking of which, Miss Lingyan treats them very graciously, and never relies on the princess's favor to give birth to arrogance and domineering, how can she not let people like it.

Princess Zhaohua has also thought about it. Since she has never changed her surname, it is better to let Ling Yan be her daughter-in-law and stay with her.

The result was rejected by Wei Guohou. He said that the status of a righteous daughter had been decided, how to become a daughter-in-law, wouldn’t it be surprising to say that she likes Qi Lingyan, she can find a good marriage for her, and adopt a long-term ethics. Married as a woman, it's definitely not bad.

The eldest princess heard it and felt reasonable, so she gave up the thought, a little regretful but she also cherished Qi Lingyan even more, thinking about carefully selecting her husband-in-law and adding more dowry for her.

In addition to the dowry prepared in the palace when she was out of the pavilion, her Nekuli also has the accumulation of several generations of Wei Guohou. Her Majesty the Queen Mother in the palace rewards treasures every year. There are countless gold and silver coins and silk satin for self-defense. After the prince retired from his armour and returned to the fields, the rewards for this festival are only thicker and no less. The eldest princess's Neiku is even coveted by the empress in the palace.

The outside officer was waiting in front of the court, "His Royal Highness, there is a letter from Luzhou, it is Mrs. Zhang San from Xuanwu Bofu."

After listening to the maid's report, Princess Zhaohua wondered a little before she thought of the lady Zhang San.

When she held a flower party last year, Mrs. Zhang San had a humorous speech. Even though her family background was not outstanding, she left an impression or two of Princess Zhaohua.

"Why is Luzhou?"

The maid replied, "The third master Xuanwu was transferred to Luzhou prefect six months ago, and Mrs. Zhang also joined her."

As the Princess Zhaohua, there is no need to remember who, or the position of in-laws to transfer or something, but the people around her must do it.

Princess Zhaohua nodded slightly, wondering why Mrs. Zhang San, who had only one or two sides, sent her a letter all the way, but still opened it.

When reading the entire letter, Princess Zhaohua's shoulders trembled slightly, seemingly shocked, but also seemingly unbelievable.

"Quickly, look for Lord Hou to come back."

...

Although Wei Guohou handed over military power, the emperor still relied on him very much. He held noble posts and had real power. The experience accumulated over the years showed more grace and maturity. Hearing urgent news from the princess mansion, it seemed that something major had happened, so he hurried back immediately.

Returning to the princess mansion, I saw the doctor in the mansion still coming out of the princess's residence. Wei Guohou felt tight and hurriedly walked in. The maid immediately picked up the bead curtain. As soon as Wei Guohou raised her eyes, she saw Chang The princess leaned on the couch, frowning her eyebrows, holding something similar to letter paper in her hand.

"Madam, what's the matter?" Weiguo Hou Wen said forward, and saw the princess look up with tears in her eyes, and with some surprise tone, "husband, there is news about Mingzhu."

Wei Guohou was also shocked when he heard these words, and also read this letter sent from Luzhou.

It turned out that Mrs. Zhang San accidentally saw a girl when she was out in Luzhou. Her appearance was somewhat similar to that of the eldest princess. After repeated investigations, she was also 19 years old. She seemed to be adopted by someone and had not seen her biological parents for many years.

Mrs. Zhang San suspected that this girl was the daughter of Wei Guohou and the princess who were taken abducted by the gangsters and left behind, and the princess Mingzhu pro-appointed by His Majesty.

Although Wei Guohou was a bit agitated, he was still suppressed by the calmness and reason he had cultivated over the years. These short words didn't explain much. Before meeting anyone, everything was open to question. Princess Zhaohua was temporarily overwhelmed with shortness of breath, chest tightness, and dizziness, so she called a doctor for treatment.

Wei Guohou sighed in his heart. Over the years, he has been looking for his daughter Yinghuan. His Majesty did not know whether it was guilt or compensation and sent Daxia's secret agent to help him search, but he searched all over the world. The clue has already been broken there.

There was also a suspicious little girl who appeared, and after a later investigation, it was either made a mistake or she was kidnapped.

They were also disappointed time and time again. Outsiders mostly thought that Wei Guohou's young daughter had already been killed, and even he acquiesced to the eldest princess adopting the righteous daughter in order to relieve her illness.

Wei Guohou recalled in his mind the husband-in-law of Mrs. Zhang San, who was once a deputy in his military camp. It is impossible to dare to lie and deceive rashly. At least some of the clues in this letter should be true. .

Despite looking forward to it, Wei Guohou was still unwilling to let the princess feel sad and disappointed, so he gave a few words of comfort, and confirmed it after he received the person in Beijing.

Luzhou,

Zhang Zhizhou, who has only been in office for half a year, has been a little uneasy since his wife sent the letter to the capital. He and his wife said privately, "It's just a similar appearance. What to do with anger."

Mrs. Zhang San was confident, and on the contrary encouraged her husband Jundao, "It is really wrong. Wei Guohou and the eldest princess are both gentle-tempered people and will not care about us. But if it is true, it is for us. It's a great thing."

Master Zhang San was not taken seriously in Xuanwu Bo’s Mansion. There were two direct elder brothers. He was very mediocre. He was not good at camping. He was only a fifth-rank official when he was nearly 30 years old. Fortunately, he married a good helper. In the middle of Beijing, he was able to find a shortage of the prefect of Luzhou in his long-sleeved dances in socializing with other high-ranking officials' wives and family members.

Mrs. Zhang San has a very good memory, and she knows everything about the relationship between the nobles and nobles in Beijing clearly. It is also her luck. During an outing, she saw a girl in brocade clothes standing on the bow of the ship. Princess Hua Chang was somewhat similar, she thought of the Pearl Princess who was so adoring and beloved of glory.

Not only was he mindful at the time, but after returning to the mansion, he discussed with his husband and decided to send a letter to the Princess Palace in the capital. This is a rare opportunity to have a relationship with a top nobleman like the Princess Mansion.

Mrs. Zhang San is also willing to bet on this possibility.

Said that this girl who is suspected of being Princess Pearl is also a little special.

When she first saw her, she cruised the river by boat without wearing any curtain-leaving hat. She just showed up like this, as if she hadn't bound her feet yet.

In Daxia, there are indeed girls who do not bind their feet, but most of them are girls from poor families. There are no rich families who refuse to bind their daughters' feet at home, and many civilians even hope that their daughters will try to bind their feet specially when they marry.

Mrs. Zhang San made political achievements to help her husband, and she also knew some of the people’s sufferings. The girls with foot-binding were extremely delicate, and could not go any way, and could not go to work in the ground. Naturally, she was to be the wife and grandmother.

In this way, this princess may have ended up in a poor family after suffering, and it is also explainable.

The girl didn’t bind her feet, but she was very stylish, dressed in good quality, and the jade pendant around her waist was of extraordinary quality. When Mrs. Zhang San was surprised by her look like a princess, she sent someone to inquire, but she heard The whole ship was supposed to be wrapped up by the girl for her to play in these few days.

...

I heard that the girl was surnamed Xiao, lived in an inn, and came to Luzhou not long ago.

Mrs. Zhang personally went to the house to beg for a meeting, and showed her identity. Where did the innkeeper dare to offend the prefect wife, and she was shocked at which noble person lived in her inn, even the prefect wife came.

After seeing it with her own eyes, Mrs. Zhang believed that the original 30-40% in her heart immediately became 70-80%. There are so many people of the same age and similar appearance in the world.

The doubts in my heart are even worse.

When asking where she was, this young lady called herself a merchant at home, so it was not surprising that she spent a lot of money, but which wealthy merchant portal can raise such a woman, this kind of attitude is that the noble lady she met in Beijing is not as good as that. In terms of looks and appearance, she is worse than many men. Mrs. Zhang admits that she has a very good vision.

Xiao Han also felt a bit weird. God knows that she can meet someone who has met Princess Zhaohua at random, and she has been recognized.

Having traveled through this world for nineteen years, Xiao Han, who has already had a rich life experience, this time is equivalent to the ‘fleeing’ Crown Prince of South Vietnam. After all, when the crown prince was at least free, it was impossible to wait until he was the king of Nanyue to shoulder heavy burdens and be diligent.

Anyway, there are also Elder Han and Mrs. Xiao, who can't cause any trouble.

And this is still the right she fought for with Elder Han. At least during the period of the crown prince, she was unconstrained, wherever she wanted to go, who would have thought that Elder Han would regret it in a few years, and wish she would be placed on the throne.

Thinking of this, Xiao Han can't help but miss the days when he first became the crown prince. There were decisions made by the elders in government affairs, and Mrs. Xiao also participated in it. Xiao Han, the named crown prince, was leisurely and at ease. As a result, Elder Han, who had never said a serious word to her, unexpectedly didn't see her well. He gave her a lot of troubles and asked her to follow in political affairs.

It's like setting up schoolwork, you can't leave the palace until you can't finish it.

Xiao Han probably has a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It's okay not to see it, but the problems before her will be solved if they can be solved, and the ones that can't be solved will also be solved.

Then from the canal to prevent flood irrigation, to improve the bow and crossbow weapons, and then to agricultural planting and so on.

It doesn't matter if the Nanyue finance lacks money, Xiao Han can also find gold, copper and coal mines by studying the veins. Thanks to Elder Han no matter how she walks, she has traveled all over the territory of South Vietnam, as well as the overseas trade of the Xiao family, and the islands rich in resources that Xiao Han asked the merchant ship to find.

In retrospect, Xiao Han, the crown prince who was in the wrong position, won the love and support of many subjects, and his reputation was even better than that of the Nanyue King who was recovering from a stroke.

Later, after an accident, her reputation reached a peak in South Vietnam, and her respect and love were about to develop into fanaticism.

Of course, this is also inseparable from Elder Han's momentum.

Xiao Han admitted that he was also worthy of the position of the Crown Prince of South Vietnam, and then he did not hesitate to throw the remaining burden to Elder Han and the others, and went out to travel happily on his own.

The world is so big, she is also very young and prosperous, it's a pity that she doesn't have to take a turn.

Daxia was not the first place she traveled. Before this, she had traveled to several countries, and she had also seen the scenery of grasslands or deserts.

When she came here, she didn't think of it.

She probably stayed in Nanyue for a long time, and Daxia's life was really forgotten by her, and her parents and relatives in this life didn't think of it much.

If the prefect wife hadn't come to the door in person, she might have gone to another place when she talked about it. The capital had no intention of going there.

It seemed ashamed to say that, she was too indifferent to her parents and relatives in this life.

When Mrs. Zhang saw Xiao Han hesitating and distracted, she thought she was too shocked for a while, or did not believe it, she felt pity for it, so she warmly persuaded her, "Ms. Xiao was very young, and she probably didn't remember many things ."

In fact, she remembered it very clearly. Later, she stayed in Nanyue and didn't want to come back to recognize her parents so eagerly, Xiao Han said in her heart.

When he was young, he didn't have the ability to protect himself, but when he grew up, he didn't take this identity seriously.

Mrs. Zhang was also very winking. She realized that Miss Xiao was not eager to recognize her, but she couldn't let go of this opportunity, so she warmly persuaded, "If Miss Xiao has any doubts, she can go to the capital. I think Xiao The girl’s adoptive parents will also want you to find a loved one."

If it is an ordinary person, it may not be possible, but Wei Guohou and Princess Zhaohua, they are royal relatives and nobles, and important ministers in the court.

Miss Xiao's adoptive parents might still be rewarded by the Queen Mother and Her Majesty.

Mrs. Zhang said again, "Princess Zhaohua's birthday is approaching, and I also ask Miss Xiao to pity the princess Hou's longing for women and meet them."

...

Xiao Han finally agreed.

Not because of Mrs. Zhang's words, but thinking that this world is reincarnation, but she has been in the world of cultivation for thousands of years, and she seems a little bit cooler towards her parents and relatives, and she feels that one of them is Wei Guohou. , One is the eldest princess, and there are other children, even if she loses one of them, it doesn't matter.

Xiao Han also reflected on it a little in his heart. Everything has a cause and there must be an effect. She was only recognized for two days in Daxia, and she was probably destined to have this fate.

Jingzhong responded quickly, and also mobilized the Daxia agent in Luzhou to cooperate with Mrs. Zhang to send that girl Xiao to Beijing.

Zhang Zhizhou and Mrs. Zhang naturally had no objection, this was what they hoped. After Miss Xiao agreed, Mrs. Zhang still wanted to let her live in the house for two days. It didn’t matter if she didn’t know before. Now that Miss Xiao is likely to be the owner of the Pearl Princess, it’s natural not to let her live here casually. In an inn.

However, Xiao Han declined, and even the maidservant sent by Mrs. Zhang to take care of the living also returned.

In the two days waiting for Jingzhong's reply, Xiao Han continued to play in Luzhou as if nothing had happened. It is troublesome for Zhang Zhizhou. It is not too obvious to send guards near the inn.

Not to mention Zhang Zhizhou, even Mrs. Zhang didn't think she looked like an ordinary woman. Ordinary girls wouldn't run out to play without any offenders. I don't know how eye-catching it is, or she has such a graceful appearance.

In fact, Xiao Han felt a little eye-catching after spending a day or two. He also wondered if it would be more convenient to change into men's clothing, but unfortunately, Mrs. Zhang first saw him.

During the conversation with Mrs. Zhang, Xiao Han did not reveal much information, and Mrs. Zhang did not dare to ask too much. These things are to be investigated, not by her, but by those nobles in Beijing.

She can get a great advantage by handing it a word. In contrast, Zhang Zhizhou was a little trembling. After all, in Beijing, the Princess and Wei Guohou were also unattainable top nobles, for fear of eating melons accidentally. He was very relieved to learn of the letter from Jingzhong and the nearby Agent Daxia.

So there was an excuse for Mrs. Zhang, the prefect of Luzhou, to return to Beijing to visit relatives, and there was an additional nobleman in the boat.

This matter is a royal private matter after all. It is better to keep a low profile before it is determined, but Mrs. Zhang still does not forget to remind the family members on the ship, such as her daughter and several concubines, as well as other maids. As for the status of the nobleman, Mrs. Zhang's mouth is also very strict, and even her biological daughter has not been revealed.

Mrs. Zhang’s youngest daughter is squeamish. It takes ten and a half months to take the boat, but the best room is arranged by Mrs. Zhang for the girl named Xiao. She knows that the room is not only spacious, but also very freshly furnished. Yazhi, before leaving, my mother had made arrangements again and again, added a lot of boudoir expenses, and greeted the guests to live in.

The little girl can't help but complain, "What kind of noble man, he hasn't bound his feet yet."

She didn't have a chance to meet her, only that she was a woman with no feet bound. This alone is not considered expensive, and it must not be in any elegant hall.

Just a whispered complaint, Madam Zhang's face immediately became cold when she heard it, "Did you not listen to what your mother said to you?"

The little girl was reprimanded, a little bit.

Mrs. Zhang punished her youngest daughter to copy books in the house, suppressing her temper, and not letting her go out of the house before disembarking. A board meal is light, and more serious may ruin the future marriage.

But thinking of Miss Xiao's lack of binding her feet, Madam Zhang couldn't help expressing regret.

After several conversations with Miss Xiao, the other party was not only gentle and polite, his eyes were clean and clear, and his conversation and manners were also calm and generous. Even if she was living outside, she did not lose her royal demeanor. Mrs. Zhang had no doubt about her being the princess, and even had a good impression of her. She was also worried that the princess would not be able to integrate into the noble women circle of the capital after returning to the Hou Mansion. The noble lady in Beijing pays attention to beauty, form, morality, and workmanship. Even if she is the princess, there will be people laughing behind her.