But it was said that Aunt Xue was waiting for Jia Lian in the carriage house, and she waited until the sky was dark.
When the sound of the neighing of the war horses came in, Aunt Xue, who had been unable to sit still for a long time, immediately got up and ran to the outer courtyard.
Different from the deserted atmosphere when she arrived, the outer courtyard at this time was brightly lit, and well-dressed guards filed in from both sides of the gate, adding a bit of a chilling atmosphere to the entire place.
A young and handsome figure walked forward, guarded by lights and guards, fully displaying its boundless majesty and power.
Aunt Xue, who was originally stopping, showed endless joy when she saw the young man. Without any of her usual demeanor, she strode towards Jia Lian. The large skirt and robe hindered her movements, causing her to almost fall several times, but she didn't care and just called out:
"Brother Lian, you are finally back, please save your brother Pan." Come on! If you don't save him, he will be beheaded by Qiu Houwen..."
Looking at Aunt Xue stumbling over, Jia Lian slowed down.
In his impression, Aunt Xue has always been an intellectual, elegant and beautiful woman who pays great attention to her manners. Perhaps it was because of her own qualities that she was able to raise a daughter like Xue Baochai who was as bright as snow.
He had never imagined what it would be like for Aunt Xue to lose her temper.
Raising his hand to support the shaky Aunt Xue, Jia Lian could see at a glance that Aunt Xue must have suffered a lot in order to rush on the road, because the aura of travel on her body was so obvious. But the aura of dust, the sorrow and fear on her face, and the faint traces of tears on her face made her lose three points of her former grace, beauty and inviolability, but she became seven points more pure and beautiful, which made people feel pity for her. state.
"Brother Lian?"
Facing Aunt Xue's burning eyes, Jia Lian said calmly: "I already know about Brother Pan. Don't worry, Auntie, this matter I will not sit idly by.
Auntie has been on the road all day and hasn’t had dinner yet? I have ordered someone to pass on the good dishes on the table in Yuxianglou. Maybe auntie doesn’t know. This Yuxianglou is the best restaurant in Tianjin, and the food is not inferior to that of Yipinju in Beijing."
Seeing Jia Lian talking, he walked towards the main room and took her to the main room. With her mouth filled with words, Aunt Xue glanced at the eyes in the courtyard, took a deep breath, raised her legs and followed Jia Lian's pace.
…
When Jia Lian changed into comfortable clothes and came to the side hall, the people below had already prepared the table, and Aunt Xue was sitting at the side.
Aunt Xue’s expression was much calmer than before. When she saw him coming in, she even stood up and faced himHe smiled, although the smile looked extremely forced.
"When you are away, keep everything simple. Please forgive me for the poor reception. Aunt please."
Jia Lian greeted Aunt Xue and sat down beside her, and Aunt Xue responded. He was polite and looked extremely humble.
Although Jia Lian felt sad, he could only pretend that he didn’t know what to do. Just like when Aunt Xue entertained him before, he carefully introduced the local dishes on the table to her. .
However, Aunt Xue is not a deep-thinking person after all. At this moment, even the dragon's liver and the phoenix's courage are just the same to her.
She is not stupid. Even without her daughter's reminder, she actually sensed from some of Jia Lian's reactions that Jia Lian probably would not agree to her request.
She does not blame Jia Lian, because she herself knows the difficulty of this matter, and it is difficult to say anything to force others into difficulty. Yousi's son is in prison and suffering a lot, and he is very likely to have to pay for his life soon, and he will be separated from her.
Thinking about this, my sadness was uncontrollable and tears fell from my eyes. She quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe it, but she couldn't stop it.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became quiet, except for Aunt Yu Xue crying. Jia Lian's movement of picking up vegetables paused in mid-air, and after a while he suddenly sighed: "Aunt, why bother?"
Seeing that Jia Lian was finally willing to answer the conversation head-on, Aunt Xue quickly wiped it off regardless of her image. She shed her tears and cried: "I know that your brother Pan deserves it this time. I have allowed him to suffer all these years.
In fact, since that year when he came to Beijing, he fought with others over an actor and caused disgrace to others. Since the time he died, I have always been worried, fearing that one day he would cause a big disaster and affect my life. I didn’t expect this day to come so quickly."
Aunt Xue said, through tears Guang glanced at Jia Lian and saw that Jia Lian was listening. She mustered up the courage to stand up and bow down in front of Jia Lian. She cried and said: "I didn't have the face to come to beg you. But, after all, your brother Pan is my flesh and blood. He is the only heir of the Xue family, but people from the Ministry of Punishment said that he will be sentenced to death by Qiu Houwen in two days..."
Aunt Xue burst into tears and did not follow Jia Lian's support, but He looked up at Jia Lian and begged: "I have begged everyone, but no one can save him. After thinking about it, you are the only one. Good brother Lian, my aunt knows that you are the most capable person, so you can For my sake, for your sister Baochai’s sake, save her brother’s life.”
It was difficult for Aunt Xue to speak until she completely abandoned her identity. When she really knelt in front of Jia Lian, she found that she was not too burdened and could say all the words.
She knows that Jia Lian is not hard-heartedA person with a weak intestine will definitely agree to her, and she will definitely do it, and she has no other choice.
Seeing Aunt Xue’s behavior, the two maids who were originally standing beside Aunt Xue also knelt down quickly. Later, Lai Wang's wife looked around and stepped back with a very discerning eye.
However, Jia Lian remained silent.
Just as the Xue family’s mother and daughter guessed, Xue Pan was an insignificant person in Jia Lian’s heart. He was vulgar, stupid, arrogant, and somewhat self-righteous. Even if he was Xue Baochai's brother, it would be difficult for Jia Lian to have much affection for such a person.
In fact, he knew that Aunt Xue was visiting in the afternoon, but Jia Lian knew the reason for her visit, so he waited until the evening to show up, just to let Aunt Xue retreat.
But he still didn’t expect that Aunt Xue loved her son so much that she could do so.
Seeing that Aunt Xue could not hold on to her will, Jia Lian did not force her. He sat down again and said, "Auntie, do you know that human life is at stake, let alone at the feet of the emperor? Do you know that you are beaten by Brother Pan?" Is the person who died the son of a fourth-grade military attache from Suwei Imperial City? Does my aunt also know that this case may have been known to the saint, and anyone who dares to interfere in the lawsuit at will may be burned?"
"I know, I know, it's just..."
"Even so, does Auntie still think I can save Brother Pan?" Jia Lian interrupted Aunt Xue.
Aunt Xue was stunned, and then nodded suddenly: "Yes, as long as you are willing to return to Beijing, you can definitely..."
Seeing that Aunt Xue had so much confidence in him, Jia Lian It was helpless. Although she didn't know where Aunt Xue had such confidence in him, if she really thought so, if Xue Pan really died tragically at the hands of the executioner, there was no guarantee that Aunt Xue wouldn't shed the rest of her life's sorrow on him.
So Jia Lian stopped talking nonsense, thought for a while and said: "After all, I have the emperor's orders, so it is inconvenient to return to Beijing. Let me write a personal letter, aunt, take it back to Beijing and hand it over. Go to Princess Zhaoyang's house, maybe you can save Brother Pan's life."
"Seriously?"
"Don't worry, I won't lie to my aunt."< br />
Aunt Xue’s face lit up. She had also heard of Princess Zhaoyang's name. After all, when the princess persuaded the Queen Mother to seize her son-in-law, and what happened later, such as Jia Lian's thousands-mile guardianship, had long been sung and became a story, and no one who did evil things would not know about it.
The only thing that made her hesitate was that a noble person like the eldest princess, even if she had a relationship with Jia Lian, would she be willing to listen to Jia Lian and take the trouble to save a person she didn't know?
But looking at Jia Lian’s expression again, Aunt Xue felt more at ease. In a daze, she felt that with Jia Lian's appearance and ability,It is not uncommon for a woman to fall in love with her and be willing to do things for her, even if this woman is of high status!
“That’s it, thank you so much, brother Lian.”
Jia Lian smiled slightly. He did not lie to Aunt Xue, but what he did not say was that with Princess Zhaoyang taking action, there would be no problem in preserving at least one of Xue Pan's whole bodies.
No one knows Emperor Ning Kang better than him. Let alone that he didn't know or didn't care about this case. If he really paid attention to it, few people in the world would dare to say that he could save people.
Seeing that Aunt Xue was finally no longer stubborn, Jia Lian reached out to help her. But as soon as Aunt Xue stood up, she felt dizzy.
She was too tired. In the three days since Xue Pan's accident, not only had she had less food and water, she had not even had a good night's sleep, all relying on her thoughts to support her.
Now my spirit will be relaxed and I will suddenly feel weak.
When Jia Lian saw this, he quickly supported him. As expected, I realized that her figure was plump and soft, which was not comparable to that of an ordinary little woman. I could guess that Aunt Xue must have put a lot of effort into it, so she did not have any obscene thoughts at this time, but just asked how she was doing.
"Nothing." Aunt Xue calmed down, regained her balance, rejected Jia Lian's proposal to hire a doctor for her, and looked at Jia Lian with bright eyes.
Jia Lian knew what he meant and immediately smiled and said: "I know aunt is worried about Brother Pan. But aunt must have been worried about Brother Pan these past few days. She must have left Beijing overnight yesterday. If you rush back this time, you might be exhausted before your aunt returns to Beijing.
Well, let your aunt rest at my place for one night, and I will send someone to take you back to Beijing tomorrow morning. . As for the letter, I will send my personal guards to send it back to the capital overnight and hand it into the hands of the eldest princess. How about ensuring that the rescue of Brother Pan will not be delayed?"
Aunt Xue is eager to save her son and there is no need to delay. . But after listening to Jia Lian's words, she suddenly remembered something, nodded her thanks and said, "Just as Brother Lian meant..." After his aunt sent it back, Jia Lian went to his study, wrote a letter to Princess Zhaoyang and asked the soldiers to escort her back to Beijing. After that, he sat in his study and studied and sorted out the design drawings of the harbor and various warships.
Thanks to the support of Emperor Ning Kang, although he had only been in Tianjin for less than two months, he had achieved good results in both the construction of the harbor and the construction of warships.
Especially warships. Tianjin Wei originally had a military shipyard. After being requisitioned by Jia Lian, with the original team and the talents he brought, he quickly designed the first batch of warships capable of installing Zhenyuan guns and put them into production. .
In this way, according to Jia Lian’s estimation, the Tianjin Wei Navy would notIn just one year, we will be able to have a batch of new fleets with strong combat effectiveness. When the time comes, he will transfer the current naval commander and replace him with his own people, and he will have another powerful force in his hands.
While I was thinking, there was a knock on the door, and two girls walked in, but it was Tongxi and Tonggui, the personal maids in front of Aunt Xue.
"How is your wife's health? Why did I call you here?"
Looking at the two maids holding the corners of their clothes and approaching shyly, Jia Lian asked curiously.
"Our wife is fine, she is taking a bath..."
Jia Lian raised an eyebrow, taking a bath? And even sent a maid to tell him?
Tongxi glared at Tonggui, fearing that she would talk nonsense again when she was nervous, so he stepped away and said: "Our wife said that she saw that the Marquis didn't seem to have any attendants around him, so he called Let's come here to serve the Marquis..."
Jia Lian raised his eyebrows when he heard this and looked at the two women in front of him with interest.
As Aunt Xue’s most trusted personal maid, it’s good to share her happiness and wealth. Young girls aged seventeen or eighteen are generally not ugly.
And speaking of it, the ladies of this big family choose personal maids, unless there are some special reasons, such as fear that their husbands will miss them, or they are ugly and mentally ill. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, a maid would naturally choose someone who is good-looking and smart, so it would be pleasing to her own eyes, right?
Aunt Xue is a widowed young woman, so she doesn’t have to worry about her husband missing her, and she also has the capital and doesn’t have to be jealous. Naturally, she is a slender and beautiful maid who shares the same joy and honor. Especially Tongxi, when Jia Lian was drunk at Xue's house, he took advantage of him.
"Serve?"
Jia Lian looked at the two maids with interest. Aunt Xue was right. There were indeed few waiters in his field. When he first arrived at Tianjin Wei, except for Zhao'er and Xing'er, there were no other waiters (Aqi). sisters count battle sequence).
Even if it was Laiwang and his wife, it was Sister Feng who forced him over after he settled down. I don't know if they are really worried that he has no one to take care of him, or if they are sent to monitor him.
Facing Jia Lian’s scrutinizing gaze, the two girls’ faces turned red. They are not ignorant little girls, so they naturally understand the inner meaning of Aunt Xue asking them to come and serve.
After secretly glancing at Jia Lian behind the case, everyone including his colleagues nodded secretly, expressing their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the crime lord.
Faced with the hint in the girl's eyes, Jia Lian smiled and said: "Thank you, madam, for your kindness. But I have a waiter here, and you may have seen it when you came in just now. ,They are the two women holding swords outside the door.
They are not kind-hearted people, and they are most jealous. If they look at you and become murderous, I can't keep looking after you. Therefore, you should go back and serve your wife without taking risks around me. ”
Hearing what Jia Lian said, Tongxi and the two maids were all frightened. Obviously they knew the power of a pair of martial maids around Jia Lian. Although they were both willing to sacrifice themselves, if they were to be caught up with each other for this The poor little life is not worth it.
Tonggui hurriedly pulled Tongxi, with a look of retreat. Although Tongxi was a little sad, he felt that Jia Lian had forgotten her as an old person. After all, Not daring to pester, I said "yes" and left together with my best friend.
When I returned to the house arranged by Laiwang's wife for Aunt Xue, the compartment was still bright.
/> Aunt Xue was really tired these days and almost fell asleep while soaking in the tub. When she heard the noise, she looked up and saw Tong Xi and Tong Gui.
Both women felt ashamed: "The second master said No need for us to serve, let us come back to serve the wife. "
Aunt Xue was silent for a moment and said calmly: "I understand. Okay, bring me the clothes. ”
With the same joy and expense, they hurriedly divided the work. One person stepped forward to help Aunt Xue get up, and the other turned back to get her clothes.
Aunt Xue did not expect that Aunt Xue was in such a hurry. Bringing a change of clothes, Tongxi grabbed a set on a whim and used it unexpectedly.
In fact, in the afternoon, Laiwang’s wife asked Aunt Xue if she needed a bath, but at that time Aunt Xue was so preoccupied with looking forward to Jia Lian's return that she had no time to take a shower.
It wasn't until she returned to the house that Aunt Xue was shocked to realize that she hadn't bathed or groomed herself for many days, so she went to ask Laiwang's daughter-in-law to ask her Helped arrange hot water.
As Aunt Xue stood up from the bathtub, water splashed, and the jade body was dehydrated.
Same as she was wiping her master. Shuizhu couldn't help but secretly praise his wife again for her youthful beauty, and the sweet and refreshing fragrance of the snow. She thought that if he had the appearance and capital of his wife, I'm afraid Second Master Lian wouldn't have driven them away just now.< br />
Aunt Xue looked at her two sneaky eyes calmly, without any intention of blaming her. As both women, she probably knew what the two little girls were thinking after they hit the wall.
"Tell me, can the eldest princess save your unsatisfactory uncle? ”
Hearing Aunt Xue’s question, everyone was stunned. They didn’t understand why the master would ask them such an important question. But if the master asked, they didn’t dare not answer it. : "It should be possible. As the eldest princess, it should be easy to save the uncle..."
The girl's disappointing answer was expected. Aunt Xue regretted not bringing her daughter over at this time.
At this time, only her daughter can give her useful advice and help her figure out many things.
But she instinctively felt that she might have been happy too early. She vaguely remembered that on the way to Tianjin Wei, she made up her mind to invite Jia Lian back at all costs. Because she felt that only if Jia Lian returned to Beijing in person could she be sure to save her son's life.
Perhaps her daughter Baochai thought so too, because she knew that it was inappropriate for her to come to Jia Lian overnight, but she did not stop him.
When they met Aunt Xue with great pleasure, she asked them a question and then said nothing more. Her face was still a little gloomy, and she felt a little worried. I didn’t know whether Aunt Xue was dissatisfied with their answers or not. Dissatisfied with the failure of their previous mission.
Carefully put on the inner and outer clothes for Aunt Xue, smoothing out the wrinkles on the clothes, and suddenly heard Aunt Xue say: "Where will Mr. Hou be when you come back?"
< br /> "In the study."
Aunt Xue nodded and did not continue talking. Just when the two maids thought that their wife was going to rest, Aunt Xue said to them: "I still have Discuss important matters with the Marquis. You can wait in the room. If you are tired, take turns to rest without following."
After saying that, the two girls with doubtful faces left the door alone. .
The courtyard of Xingyuan is large and empty, and a bright moon in the sky emits silver-white moonlight, seeming to capture all the joys and sorrows in the world, as it has for thousands of years.
Aunt Xue walked slowly along the corridor of the carriage house. When she reached the end, she saw the heroic and upright maid. She just stood on the corridor with her sword in her arms, just like her impression of the other party, like an immovable Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Aunt Xue couldn't help but think to herself, she didn't know where Jia Lian got such a woman who looked so unlike a woman.
Seeing the other party turning her head to look at herself, Aunt Xue nodded towards her, but the other party seemed to be rude and just looked at her quietly. Although her eyes were calm, at this moment Aunt Xue seemed to be being looked at with her clothes removed, which made people want to retreat.
But she couldn’t retreat. She didn't know if Princess Zhaoyang was Jia Lian's excuse to deal with her, which was why she decided to stay in the dining room before.
If Princess Zhaoyang didn't show favor to Jia Lian, or couldn't save her son, and she returned to Beijing in such a daze, wouldn't she have lost her last chance to save her son?
So, no matter what, she must invite Jia Lian back. It is safest only for Jia Lian to return.
So Aunt Xue took a deep breath, stood in the moonlight, and gently knocked on Jia Lian's study door.