In May, just after the late spring, the weather became extremely hot.
The sun is shining hot on the land of Yanjing, and street vendors are hiding under the shade of trees. In this hot weather, the young masters and young ladies of big families are impatient to go out to dry. Only the poor labourers, carrying the cold rice wine soaked in the well water, toil around the major gambling houses and tea gardens, hoping that the thirsty people can spend five coppers to buy a bowl of rice, and then buy an extra bag of rice, Two more pots of porridge and three more days of life.
At the east corner of the city, there is such a brand new house. The plaque is very high. The middle of the plaque is written with the word "No. 1 Scholar and", which is golden. This is the mansion and plaque given by Emperor Hong Xiao to the No. 1 Scholar in Xinke, representing high honor. If a scholar should get such a piece, he should cry and comfort his ancestors.
The new house, the plaque bestowed by the emperor, and the servants shuttling in the courtyard are in a hurry, but the house is cold in the hot summer outside. It may be that the house has been moved with ice cubes to relieve the heat, but the more you walk to the side of the yard near the wall, the colder it gets.
There are three people sitting outside the last room near the wall. Two young maids in pink thin skirts, and a plump middle-aged woman, with a stack of red skin melon seeds and a pot of sour plum soup on the stool in front of the three, were more comfortable than the master while eating and chatting.
The servant girl on the far left looked back at the window and said, "It's hot, and the medicine smell in this room can't be dispelled. It's very uncomfortable. I don't know when it will end."
"Little hoof, talk about the master behind your back," the older woman warned, "Be careful that the master scratches your skin."
The servant girl in pink didn't think so: "Why? The master hasn't come to the madam's yard for three months." She then lowered her voice again, "It's so serious that our master is kind-hearted and righteous. If someone else is changed..." She again curled her lips, "If I want to say it, I will treat it as my own. At any rate, I have gained all my reputation. It's not a drag on others."
The woman wanted to talk, and another servant girl also said, "Actually, the lady is very poor. She is so beautiful, talented, and gentle. Who knew that such a thing would happen..."
Although their voices were lowered, the summer afternoon was too quiet and not far away. Every word clearly reached the ears of the people in the room.
Xue Fangfei lies on her back with tears on her eyes. Because a face has been emaciated recently, it is not only not haggard and pale, but more and more sickly, with a kind of striking and beautiful.
Her face is always beautiful, otherwise she would not be the first beauty in Yanjing. On the day of her marriage, there was a boring childe in Yanjing who asked the beggar to crash into the sedan chair, leaving his head covered and beautiful, and taught people on both sides of the street to look straight. At that time, her father Xue Huaiyuan, the county magistrate of Tongxiang, Xiangyang, was worried and said before she married the capital, "Ali is so good. Shen Yurong may not be able to protect you."
Shen Yurong is her husband.
Shen Yurong was only a poor scholar before he won the first prize. Shen Yurong's family lives in Yanjing, and his grandmother, Mrs. Cao, lives in Xiangyang. Four years ago, when Old Lady Cao died of illness, Shen Yurong and her mother went back to Xiangyang to mourn and got to know Xue Fangfei.
Tongxiang is just a small county in Xiangyang City. Xue Huaiyuan is a petty official. Xue Fangfei's mother died in childbirth when she gave birth to Xue Zhao, Xue Fangfei's younger brother. After Xue's mother died, Xue Huaiyuan did not remarry. The family was simple, and only Xue Fangfei's siblings and father depended on each other.
Xue Fangfei is also old enough to get married. She looks so good that all her friends from far and near come to propose marriage. Even Xue Huaiyuan's boss wants to fill Xue Fangfei's house. Xue Huaiyuan naturally refused. He lost his mother when he was young, so Xue Huaiyuan loved his daughter very much. In addition, Xue Fangfei was clever and clever. Xue Huaiyuan never stopped Xue Fangfei from eating and drinking when he was young. He wanted Xue Fangfei to use the best food and drink whenever he could. So although the Xue family is just a small official's house, Xue Fangfei is more valuable than a lady.
Xue Huaiyuan is worried about her daughter, who grew up like a pearl in the palm of her hand. Although the high families are rich and wealthy, they can't help themselves. Xue Huaiyuan has a crush on Shen Yurong.
Although Shen Yurong is white, he is brilliant. He is talented, and it is only a matter of time before he gets ahead. Only in this way, Xue Fangfei had to follow Shen Yurong to marry Yanjing. Another thing is that Xue Fangfei is too beautiful. Xue Huaiyuan protects Tongxiang, and there are countless princes in Yanjing. Shen Yurong may not be able to protect her if she has evil intentions.
However, Xue Fangfei finally married Shen Yurong because she liked her.
She married Shen Yurong and came to Yanjing. Although her mother-in-law was mean and had many grievances, Shen Yurong was very considerate to her, so those grievances disappeared.
At the beginning of last spring, Shen Yurong, the top student in his high school, rode his horse to the street, and the emperor gave him a plaque in his mansion. Soon after, he was appointed as the secretary of secondary school. In September, Xue Fangfei was also pregnant. It coincided with the birth of Shen's mother. Double happiness was on the way. The Shen family invited guests and Yanjing dignitaries to dinner.
That day was Xue Fangfei's nightmare.
In fact, she didn't know what was going on. She just drank a little plum wine at the table and felt sleepy. She was carried back to the room by the servant girl to rest... When she was awakened by the screams, she saw a strange man in the room, and her clothes were not in order. Her mother-in-law and a group of women were at the door, looking at her with sarcasm and disgust or gloat.
She should have been ashamed of herself, and she did, but no matter how she explained, the story that the wife of the new champion stole people in front of a room full of guests spread.
She should be abandoned and expelled, but Shen Yurong didn't. When she was lying on the bed, she heard that Xue Zhao had arrived in Yanjing because of this. Before she got to Shen Mansion, she met a robber at night and was killed in the river.
When she heard the bad news, she did not dare to send it back to Tongxiang. She forced herself to see Xue Zhao for the last time. She managed his affairs for him and fell ill. Three months later, three months later, Shen Yurong did not come to see her.
She was dreaming on her bed. Was Shen Yurong estranged from him and unwilling to see him, or was she deliberately treated coldly to vent her anger? The longer she could lie down, plus the little words in the servant's mouth, she also figured out some things, and the truth was always more ugly.
Xue Fangfei tried to sit up from the cave. The bowl of medicine beside the bed was cold and only gave out a bitter aroma. She leaned over half and poured the medicine from the medicine bowl into a basin of crabapple in front of the case. The crabapple had withered and only the branches were left.
The door was pushed open with a squeak.
Xue Fangfei looked up and saw a gold woven hem.
The young woman's clothes were luxurious, and her eyebrows were slightly raised, which made her proud. His eyes fell on the medicine bowl in Xue Fangfei's hand, and a sudden look appeared on his face, laughing: "I see."
Xue Fangfei calmly put down the bowl and watched the visitor enter the room. Two stout servants closed the door. The servant girls and servants chatting outside had disappeared at some time. Only the sound of cicadas in the quiet air seemed anxious as if something was going to happen.
Xue Fangfei said, "Princess Yongning."
Princess Yongning smiled. When she smiled, a thumb sized Nanhai bead on her hairpin shook with her, and the lustre almost dazzled people.
A pearl in the South China Sea covers an area of ten thousand mu. The emperor's relatives and relatives always use the best things. They live in luxury without eating the pain of others. They have everything that others dare not imagine all their lives, but they also covet others' things, even steal and rob them.
"You don't seem surprised at all." Princess Yongning said strangely, "Could Shen Lang have told you?"
Shen Lang, she shouted so close that Xue Fangfei almost couldn't restrain herself. After a moment, she said simply, "I'm waiting for him to tell me."
Xue Fangfei is not stupid at all. Xue Huaiyuan taught her very cleverly. Since she fell ill, after she found herself under house arrest, and her every move was monitored, she contacted the front and rear, including the cause of death of Xue Zhao, and realized that something was wrong.
She got the message from the servant.
Shen Yurong was the No. 1 student in high school. He was a promising young man, and his status was no better than before. Although Xue Fangfei is both talented and good-looking, she is just the daughter of a county magistrate. Shen Yurong has the eye of Princess Yongning. Maybe they have already gone out of their way. In short, she Xue Fangfei has become a stumbling block. She wants to make room for the royal princess.
Xue Fangfei remembered the day of the accident, the day when Mother Shen hosted a banquet for guests, and Princess Yongning was also among the crowd. When she remembered, she could even remember the smile on Princess Yongning's lips.
The truth came out.
"Shen Lang is soft hearted." Princess Yongning sat down on the chair and looked at her carelessly
Xue Fangfei couldn't help sneering.
A bowl of medicine every day, she had already noticed that it was wrong, so she poured all the medicine into the flowerpot. They wanted her to "die of illness", so it was natural for Princess Yongning to marry in, but she refused. Xue Huaiyuan has told her since she was young that she should not give up her life until the last moment. And why? Why did these adulterers set her up and ask her to take the initiative to die? She never!
Xue Fangfei's voice was filled with innumerable sarcasm. She said, "Take away the marriage, kill the original spouse, kill the wife, and kill the heirs. Fangfei has learned the princess's' good intentions'."
Princess Yongning's anger flared up for a moment, but for a moment, she calmed down again, stood up, walked to the table, and picked up the pot of withered crabapple. Begonia flower pots are only palm sized, and carved on fine white porcelain are prosperous, exquisite and lovely. Princess Yongning played with the flowerpot, smiled and said, "Do you know how your brother died?"
Xue Fangfei's back stiffened for a moment!
"Your brother is a character, but he is young and energetic." Princess Yongning admired her expression. "She could find out that it was wrong. He really found some evidence and said that he would sue the imperial court, almost involving the palace." Princess Yongning patted her chest, as if afraid, "He was smart enough to find Jing Zhaoyin overnight, but he didn't know that Jing Zhaoyin and I had a good relationship, so she should tell me about it." Princess Yongning held her hand and said regretfully, "It's a pity that I am young, and I am not bad at literature, martial arts and strategy. If not, I may be a wife and son, but it's a pity."
Xue Fangfei nearly bit his teeth!
Xue Zhao! Xue Zhao! She had long suspected that there was something strange about Xue Zhao's death. Xue Zhao learned martial arts from his kung fu master in Tongxiang. He was smart since childhood. How could he die in the hands of bandits! But she never thought that the truth was so! It seems that his brother, in order to redress her grievances, found out the head and tail of Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong. He thought that if they found an official, they would sue him. Who knows that the official protects each other, and the enemy is the official!
She said, "Shameless! Shameless!"
Princess Yongning raised her eyebrows and sneered: "What about you? You haven't gone out here every day. I'm afraid I don't know the news about your father. I came to tell you that your father has learned about your family corruption, and your brother was killed by robbers. He is angry to death!"
Xue Fangfei was stunned and cried out, "Impossible!"
"Impossible?" Princess Yongning said with a smile, "You might as well go out and ask the maid to see if it is possible!"
Xue Fangfei's mind is in turmoil. Xue Huaiyuan is indifferent to fame and wealth. He was a good man during his Qingming life as Tongxiang County Chief. How could he end up like this? The white haired man gave the black haired man away, and even died of anger. Xue Fangfei dared not even think about how Xue Huaiyuan felt after learning this.
This is, killing people and setting fire to the golden belt, building bridges and roads without corpses!
Princess Yongning said for a long time, as if impatient, and casually put the basin of crabapple on the table, motioning for two servants to come forward.
Xue Fangfei realized something and said in a loud voice, "What are you going to do?"
Princess Yongning smiled happily and proudly. She said, "You Xue Fangfei have a noble character and unparalleled talent. Of course, you can't bear the charge of having an affair with others. These months, you have been struggling hard. Although Shen Lang treats you as before, you are not willing to spare yourself. You hang yourself while Shen Lang is not at home." She chuckled, "How about that? This statement, can it still save your face? " She changed her face again and said, "If it wasn't for Shen Lang's reputation, I wouldn't teach you that!"
"How dare you? How dare you!" Xue Fangfei felt a burst of anger, but before she could move, the two servants started to suppress her.
"My palace and Shen Lang are kindred spirits. Unfortunately, there is one you. Of course, my palace can't accommodate you. If you are the daughter of a high family, my palace may have to make some trouble. Unfortunately, your father is just a small county magistrate. You are only a member of the Xue family in many prefectures and counties of Yanjing, but you are just a worthless person. In the next life, remember to consider before you are born, and you will be in a family of thousands of gold."
Xue Fangfei is desperate and desperate. She refuses to give up, survives, and hopes to turn over. She has not given up her life, but she can't fight against power, high and low!
When I looked up, I saw a familiar figure outside the window, who was clearly beside me.
Xue Fangfei felt a glimmer of hope again, and she cried out, "Shen Yurong! Shen Yurong, you treat me like this, God forbid! Shen Yurong!"
The figure outside the window swayed, as if fleeing. Princess Yongning scolded, "What are you still doing? Do it!"
The servant rushed over, and the snow-white silk tied her neck. The silk was as smooth as beautiful skin. It was a tribute sent to the palace by the Zhao family in Songjiang every year. It was worth a thousand gold. When Xue Fangfei was struggling, he thought that the murder weapon was so precious.
Princess Yongning stood three feet away and looked coldly at her struggling like dying fish. She said sarcastically, "Remember, you are gorgeous and talented. After all, you are just the daughter of a petty official. I will crush you to death - just like crushing an ant!"
The pot of crabapple was knocked down when she was struggling, fell to the ground and smashed. The flower mud in the pot was suffused with bitter fragrance, withered branches fell out, and the painted painting was incomplete.
In April, the beauty falls.
