Southern Qi Fenghua Record

Xia Houshu became a popular person in the pilgrimage team, and people along the way were telling her heroic deeds of saving lives regardless of personal safety.But the scholar who questioned her and uttered wild words was not so lucky, even his companion kept a distance from him intentionally or unintentionally.

Of course Xia Houshu didn't care about these things, she only cared about walking forward, wanting to get away from the crowd and gossip as soon as possible.But those people were very curious about her and tried their best to get close and find out their identities.

Because of Zhong Yuqing's warning in advance, no matter how they inquired and inquired in different ways, the entourage chose to keep silent and laughed it off.

The pilgrims couldn't hear any news, and saw that they brought a large number of maids and servants to protect themselves, and they kept their identities secret and acted extremely mysteriously.

Some said that they were relatives of the emperor, and it was inconvenient to reveal their identities when visiting in micro-clothes for safety; A certain mysterious sect of the rivers and lakes can act chivalrously without expecting anything in return...

Rumors were passed around, true and false were hard to distinguish, and they could not be affirmed or denied by the true master. Many people acquiesced that they were people from the Jianghu, and gradually they did not dare to continue to ask questions, let alone get close to them.

These rumors naturally reached the ears of Zhong Yuqing and Xia Houshu.

Zhong Yuqing chose to ignore it, but Xia Houshu couldn't laugh or cry.

As the saying goes, if a tree is more beautiful than a forest, the wind will destroy it.Fame and fortune are double-edged swords, and the entire Yue State government has been soberly aware of this since Xia Houxuan's death, and has always kept it in mind and put it into practice.Over the years, the Southern Qi monarch has ruled well, the government and the public are peaceful, and the Xiahou family's children have fewer opportunities to emerge, but they can be safe and smooth, and cultivate their morality.

Many people have seen Xia Houshu disregarding personal safety and righteousness to save others today, and countless men feel inferior.When this news got out, most people would probably think that the Duke of Yue's mansion was well educated and sincere, and even the women were heroic and courageous.But if they are used by people with ulterior motives, it will be said that they are trying to gain fame and win people's hearts.

Xia Houshu didn't want to reveal her identity, not because she was high-minded and indifferent, but because she was afraid of being shot.One is that he doesn't want to leave any trouble for the family in the future, and the other is that he doesn't want to cause trouble for himself.

As for why she would cause trouble for herself, I'm afraid I have to start with why she appeared in this pilgrimage team.

A month ago, when the coldest spring was at its worst, Xia Houshu and his elder brother Xia Houyi went to Prince Gong's Mansion to visit their uncle Zhong Zan, who was suffering from a cold illness for a long time, and happened to meet several cousins ​​of the Zhong family.It's rare for sisters to get together, so naturally they want to nest together and talk about their daughter's private affairs.

During the chat, Xia Houshu learned that Zhong Zan and his wife were discussing marriage with their third daughter, Zhong Lufu.

Zhong Zan had many wives and concubines, and had five daughters in total, all of whom were beautiful and beautiful.Except for the eldest daughter Zhong Jinrong and the second daughter Zhong Hongyun who are married, among the remaining three daughters, the third daughter Zhong Lufu is about to turn 16, but her marriage has not yet been settled; years old; the fifth daughter, Zhong Ziqu, is only nine years old.

Zhong Lufu was six months older than Xia Houshu. She dabbled in both piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was especially good at calligraphy and painting. However, because her biological mother, Mrs. Zhu, was an uninitiated and unfavored concubine, she was raised to be timid and fearful. Even when getting along with the sisters, she is also cautious, submissive, and rarely shows off her talent, let alone show off the limelight, so she has no sense of presence in Prince Gong's Mansion.

According to the rules of Prince Gong's Mansion, after a woman reaches the age of ji, she will start discussing marriage, and after the marriage is settled, she will have to prepare a dowry, or she will get married in a year or two.However, Zhong Lufu is a concubine, and any decent family in the capital, especially the son of a concubine, will choose Zhong Qingkui, the concubine daughter of the Zhong family who is only two years younger than her.But if it is said that Zhong Lufu is betrothed to a concubine of similar age, Aunt Zhu will be the first to disagree, and she will run to Princess Gong and cry when she hears the news, saying that Zhong Lufu is gentle and quiet, well-behaved and sensible, this is a big deal. It is a misfortune to be reincarnated in the womb of Princess Gong as a concubine, and you must never marry another concubine.

The two married daughters of the Zhong family, although they were also concubines, were married so well that their own mothers were looked down upon.

Zhong Jinrong, the eldest daughter of Zhong's family, married Feng Mincheng, the eldest son of the Yongchuan uncle's mansion, and has a son and a daughter. She is still learning housekeeping from her mother-in-law.

The second daughter Zhong Hongyun married Song Qifeng, the third son of the Shaoqing Song family of Dali Temple, and had a pair of twin sons. Happy and happy.

Concubine Gong is a good person, her eldest son did not grow up safely, and she gave birth to Zhong Qingkui when she was nearly thirty years old.She has a deep understanding of the difficulty of being a woman, so she never treats concubines and concubine children harshly in the mansion.Thinking that Aunt Zhu always treated her with low eyebrows and obeyed her words, and Zhong Lufu was also modest, courteous, well-behaved and sensible, so this matter was let go.

Therefore, Zhong Lufu's marriage has been delayed until now.

This matter is strange to say, Zhong Lufu has been in love with Xia Houyi since she was a child, and every time she sees Xia Houyi, she can't wait to put her eyes on him.Only when Xia Houyi came to Prince Gong's mansion would she become lively and talk about calligraphy and painting which she is best at from time to time.The younger generations of the two families saw it in their eyes, kept it in their hearts, and occasionally used it to make fun of her.The elders naturally heard about it, but they didn't have the idea of ​​getting closer, and all of them thought they were confused, and no one mentioned it.

Zhong Lufu was afraid of the majesty of her aunt since she was a child, and she appeared respectful, gentle and filial on the surface, but she was not close to Princess Gong in her heart. She had hidden her thoughts for many years and never dared to tell Princess Gong, nor did she dare to ask her to make decisions for her.I was also worried that my biological mother would be inappropriate and self-defeating, which would ruin her reputation, and I dared not tell Aunt Zhu.

As the days passed, she was getting older and older, but her marriage was still in the air, and her heart was not at peace.

At the Chinese New Year's family banquet, Zhong Zan led Concubine Gong, a dozen concubines and three unmarried daughters to a happy gathering.

After drinking for three rounds, all the juniors came to pay New Year's greetings to the elders, only then did Zhong Zan suddenly realize that his third daughter was already so old, and it was time to propose marriage to her.At first, he still felt a little guilty, feeling that he was sorry for his daughter, but after thinking about it, he felt that Princess Gong should be in charge of the inner house. Can't blame him all.For this reason, he also publicly blamed Princess Gong for not fulfilling her duty as a concubine and delaying Zhong Lufu's marriage.

Concubine Gong had no reason to say anything, she was trembling with anger, but it was difficult to get angry in front of everyone, so she could only bear it silently.

After the Lantern Festival, Princess Gong began to find a matchmaker to help find a family, and specifically told Aunt Zhu not to get involved, otherwise she would let her go and let Aunt Zhu explain to Zhong Zan.

Aunt Zhu knew that she was just a housewife, and a concubine who couldn't go out to socialize. Her vision and connections were not as broad as that of Princess Gong. For her daughter's marriage, she naturally didn't dare to get involved, and just secretly followed the matchmaker. trend.

Although Zhong Lufu is a concubine, she is also the daughter of Prince Gong's mansion and Zhong Zan's biological daughter. It's not too difficult for a legitimate son of a family with a lower family background, fair character and appearance, and affluent food and clothing.

The matchmaker quickly heard back.

Zhong Lufu watched the matchmaker recommend several candidates to Princess Gong one after another, but there was no one she was thinking of, and she was so worried that she lost weight.

She originally thought that although Princess Gong did not treat her as affectionately as her own daughter, she treated her very favorably compared to concubine daughters in other mansions in central Beijing. And her husband and son-in-law from a poor family background.In the worst case, she will resign to her fate, and maybe she can live a good life like the eldest sister and the second sister.But when she saw Xia Houyi's brother and sister that day, and looked at the handsome young man who had been rooted in her heart for many years, she was surprised and delighted, and decided to make a last-ditch effort.

Due to the face of her daughter's family, Zhong Lufu couldn't express her feelings to Xia Houyi face to face, so she quietly pulled Xia Houshu aside.

Xia Houshu thought that Zhong Lufu had some secrets to tell him, so he was quite excited, so he said: "Just now I saw that my third cousin was very worried, and she still looked at me from time to time, but I can't ask directly in front of all the sisters. , since you pulled me out, you can tell me something good happened."

Zhong Lufu blushed when she heard this, and said: "I knew my sister was smart, not like me who is dumb and tongue-tied, and I don't have much vision yet."

Xia Houshu frowned after hearing this.Among the cousins, if Zhong Lufu considers herself second, no one would dare to be the first. It's just that she has always been a boring gourd, so she gives people a clumsy feeling.But Xia Houshu was not stupid, and immediately said: "My sister, what do you do with these things, if you have something to say, just say it, don't cover it up and beat around the bush."

Zhong Lufu saw that Xia Houshu's face was not in danger, so she got to the point.She said: "My younger sister often walks around the house, so of course she knows me. Although I have no advantages, I have always treated people with sincerity. I am definitely not the person who does one thing in front of the other. My sister heard it just now, and my mother I am choosing a son-in-law for me, but I see that although those people have a clean family background and a good character, they are not what I want."

Xia Houshu understood immediately, and asked, "Did the third cousin tell my aunt?"

Zhong Lufu shook her head.

Xia Houshu then said: "Auntie has always been generous, you go and talk to her, she will definitely think about you."

Zhong Lufu lowered her head, and said quietly: "I know that my mother has always treated us like her own daughters, and the food, clothing, housing and transportation are all meticulous, so the people I choose are very good, but you also know that I am timid, usually not If you dare to talk nonsense, you dare not say such things.”

"Then what does the third cousin mean by telling me this?" Xia Houshu looked puzzled.

"Sister." Zhong Lufu suddenly took her hand and held it tightly in her palm, "The whole family knows what I am thinking, and you are also clear. I know that brother Yi is the legitimate son and will inherit the Yue Kingdom in the future. The Duke's Nuo family business, and I'm just a concubine, I'm not good enough for him. But even if it's just to marry him as a concubine, I'm willing."