Chapter 9 Stingy Bun

It's clear after the rain, the willows are blown by the wind, and the jagged Dadan Imperial City shines brightly in the spring sun.

At the end of the morning court, courtiers dressed in various official robes filed out of Zhengyuan Hall.

Zuo Hanchou, the Minister of Rites, stood alone at the foot of the white stone steps outside the palace, with his head bowed, looking blankly at a colorful butterfly flying around the purple official robe.

Colleagues would glance at each other when they passed by, with a mocking look in their eyes and sympathy from a good friend. However, more officials were as confused as Zuo Hanchou. They didn't know why he was standing here, or why he was being raped by Her Royal Highness. Penalty standing.

Early this morning, Zuo Han was as cold as ever, and he went to the palace before dawn to attend court.

Because he had great confidence in his nephew, Zuo Hanchou even hummed a ditty on the way and began to think about what gifts to prepare for his future niece-in-law.

When they arrived at the imperial city, Zuo Hanchou entered the Zhengyuan Hall with all the officials, but unexpectedly discovered that Princess Long Li did not appear in the hall immediately.

Princess Long Li has been listening to politics behind the curtain for nearly four years. Her ability to govern is hard to evaluate, but she can definitely be called diligent. In the past, when she went to court, she would be the first to go to Zhengyuan Hall, waiting for the ministers and the young emperor to come.

But today was different from the norm. The little emperor who came last in the past was already sitting on the dragon chair in a neat manner, but the bead curtain next to him was still empty.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the young emperor were all embarrassed at that time.

Let's start going to court. No one will dare to take the lead for fear that Princess Longli will think the courtiers are disrespectful.

Keep waiting. The emperor is already sitting on the dragon throne. Wouldn't it be a violation of etiquette to wait any longer?

Fortunately, Princess Long Li did not forget that there was a morning meeting today. Although she was a little late, she finally arrived.

Zuo Hanchou breathed a sigh of relief at that time, but what he never expected was that Princess Long Li entered the Zhengyuan Palace. Before the eunuch could say to come to court, she said in a stern tone:

"It's the father's fault if a son doesn't teach. Zuo Hanchou, please go out and stand for me."

Then, the minister, Zuo Hanchou, stood outside the palace until now.

Zuo Hanchou has been an official for many years, and he is smooth in dealing with matters. He is regarded as a good gentleman in the court. His official position is not low, his background is clean, and there are no intricate factions. He is considered to be a courtier who is more pro-princess.

Princess Long Li's sudden appearance caused everyone in the civil and military dynasties to try to figure out the meaning behind Princess Long Li's move.

Of course, no one has figured out why.

Zuo Hanchou was also wondering at first whether Her Highness the Princess had other intentions, using him to knock down mountains and shake tigers or something.

But in the end, it was discovered that he had really just been left standing all morning, and everything else remained as usual. He seemed to have been forgotten after the court was over.

If there is no other deep meaning, then the princess is really punishing him.

Just being punished by standing still means it's not a big deal.

"If the son fails to teach, it is the father's fault", which means that the problem lies with the son.

Zuo Hanchou had several sons, but the second son, Zuo Yunting, was the least promising. He spent his days drinking and drinking, being arty and often making jokes.

Zuo Hanchou thought for a while and felt that the second son had done something stupid and the news reached the ears of the princess.

Thinking of this, Zuo Hanchou's face darkened slightly, and he felt that he had to take care of his son when he got home.

Ling Quan has just arrived in the capital and will run for the election for the Prince Consort tomorrow. At such a critical moment, how can he cause trouble and ruin Ling Quan's perfect impression?

On the White Stone Royal Road, the officials gradually dispersed.

Zuo Hanchou stood alone outside the palace, neither leaving nor leaving, his expression becoming more and more awkward.

Fortunately, in the end, an old man with a goldfish bag hanging on his waist came from the hall, followed by several officials, and spoke warmly from a distance:

"Han Chou, go back. The princess was so absorbed in discussing political affairs just now that she thought she had forgotten about you."

Zuo Hanchou looked back and saw that it was Li Jingsi, the prime minister of the dynasty.

Li Jingsi was the head of the hundred officials, and he had served as emperor for three times. He had strong qualifications and connections. In some cases, he could even surpass the princess. He was considered the most prestigious courtier in the Great Dan Dynasty.

Seeing Li Jingsi's words, Zuo Hanchou quickly raised his hand and saluted:

"Thank you, Mr. Li. I will treat it as my dog ​​doing something stupid again today, which made Mr. Li laugh. I will take my leave."

Li Jingsi was nearly seventy years old, with gray beard and hair but his complexion was very good. After raising his hand to signal, he watched Zuo Hanchou leave first.

After Zuo Hanchou walked away, an official next to Prime Minister Li Jingsi joked softly:

"Tomorrow, the eldest princess will choose her consort. I heard that Zuo Hanchou also called a nephew from Qinghe County, thousands of miles away. Huh, if you want to be related to the royal family, you don't have to check your identity."

Li Jingsi walked in front, his smile just now turned dull:

"Zuo Hanchou is a tactful man. When the princess chooses a consort, he has to show his loyalty no matter whether he is chosen or not. King Lie and the Zong clan wrote to urge the marriage. Although the eldest princess agreed to choose the consort, from what I can see, the eldest princess will not

Delegating power too soon. The consort is the person close to the princess, and his position is very important. Has the selection been arranged? "

"Don't worry, Prime Minister Li. There are nearly twenty young talents who have entered the capital this time and can be used by Prime Minister Li. They are all outstanding in terms of appearance, talent and learning. The choice of the consort will definitely be among them."

Li Jingsi nodded slowly, but before he could say anything, another official from the four southern counties frowned and said:

"Yesterday, Xianguan's nephew came to the capital. The official asked him if there were any outstanding people among the people from the four southern counties who came to the capital. My nephew said that there were more than 30 people from the four southern counties who came to the capital. They were born, and it was hard to judge their talent and learning. But in terms of appearance.

, Zuo Lingquan of the Zuo family in Qinghe County, no one can compare with him. He is said to have "phoenix eyes and sword eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth, a literary ability to write, and a military ability to wield the sword." The key character is not bad. This Zuo Lingquan is

, seems to be Zuo Hanchou’s nephew.”

Li Jingsi frowned when he heard this, but he immediately returned to normal, shook his head and said:

"The Zuo family of Qinghe County is half-farmer and half-merchant. They have been rooted in the south for generations. They have a shallow foundation in the capital. The only one who stands out is a third-grade minister. The eldest princess governs on behalf of the emperor. There are already many obstacles. Choosing a prince-in-law is an opportunity to win over one party's forces. You will not judge people based on their appearance.

Choose. Besides, it’s not like you don’t have talented and beautiful people under your command. Is it possible that young talents from half a country can’t compare to a small Qinghe County?”

The surrounding officials thought about it, so they stopped talking and followed Li Jingsi out of the palace.

——

On the east side of the imperial city, in the Fuyan Palace where Princess Longli lived.

More than a hundred palace maids remained silent and stayed in their respective positions. There was no sound in the huge palace.

Leng Zhu, the personal palace maid, stood blankly outside the carved wooden door of the dormitory. She wanted to listen to what was going on inside, but she couldn't hear anything. She couldn't help but feel more confused.

Last night, the princess asked her to go back to Fuyan Palace first. After Leng Zhu obeyed the order and came back, he had been waiting in the palace for the princess to return and go to bed.

Unexpectedly, when the princess came back, she was soaked all over and her hair was messy, as if she had been messed up without mercy.

The expression on his face was even more terrifying. Leng Zhu had grown up with the princess, and this was the first time in so many years that he saw the princess with such a terrifying expression.

Leng Zhu thought something was wrong and wanted to ask, but the princess didn't say a word. She started smashing things as soon as she closed the door, and said something like "shameless, bastard...".

Leng Zhu was so angry that he did not dare to attack the gun. He spent the night in the side hall and did not dare to wake the princess in the morning. It was not until he was about to go to court that he had the courage to knock on the door.

After the princess woke up, she rarely washed up and rushed to the Zhengyuan Hall. Instead, she stood behind the desk, holding a brush and brewing for a long time. Then she wrote a letter with fierce eyes and sent it to Qihuang Valley.

It seemed weird to write a letter standing up. Leng Zhu asked a lot why he didn't sit down to write, but he was forced to stand until now.

After the dynasty was over, the princess had to go to the imperial study to help the young emperor review the memorials, and could not stay in the room all the time.

After waiting for a long time, Leng Zhu finally plucked up the courage and said:

"Your Highness, it's time to go to the royal study."

In the dormitory, Longli Princess Jiang Yi, dressed in court attire, stood beside the bookshelf, flipping through the secret books of exercises that she had not read in several years, with a looming fire in her eyes and her face turning green and red.

Jiang Yi is a practitioner, so if she is spanked with a ruler, she will not be hurt.

But practitioners are also human beings, and it will hurt if they are beaten.

Last night, she was held down by the shameless man and whipped more than twenty times. After returning to the palace, she was still hot and red without even thinking about it.

Jiang Yi, a rich woman, had never been spanked in her entire life, and the eldest princess who listened to the government behind the curtain was spanked by a man. She couldn't express the humiliation in her heart. She lay on the bed and couldn't let go of her resentment, and barely fell asleep in the early morning.

When I woke up in the morning, the painful area was as white and silky as a peeled egg.

But that lifelong memory cannot be erased. Jiang Yi still doesn't want to sit down, for fear of feeling uncomfortable again and recalling that humiliating and embarrassing scene.

Hearing Leng Zhu's call, Jiang Yi put down the martial arts secret book, turned around and walked out of the palace gate, heading to the royal study.

Along the way, Jiang Yi, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, had a cold face, and murderous intent was almost written on her face. Leng Zhu was so frightened that he kept a distance of nearly ten steps from the other maids before he dared to follow quietly behind.

After walking for a while, Jiang Yi suddenly stopped.

Leng Zhu stopped quickly and asked cautiously:

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Jiang Yi took a deep breath, suppressed the shame, anger and anger in her heart, and then said:

"Tomorrow we will choose a consort at Qiyuntai. You go over and arrange some things for me. There is someone who needs to be taken good care of..."

Jiang Yi raised her hand to tell the other maids to move away, then leaned into Leng Zhu's ear, gritted her teeth, and talked about the arrangements.
Chapter completed!