novelraw Chapter 976
Chapter 976
When Ding Mei came back that day, she complained to Wu Xiaoxi, saying that Jia Cong had come up with some bad idea, so that a girl could be made to be neither male nor female.Wu Xiaoxi wanted to refute a few words, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't argue, and she herself felt that Jia Cong was not thinking well.The two then took out the telegraph and beeped and complained.In the evening, the telegraph beeped again.
The next morning, the prince sent a post to Ding Mei, urgently asking her to meet.Ding Mei took a look, and the address was a tea shop in an alley in the west of Chengdu.Ding Mei was originally from S.H.I.E.L.D., knowing that this was the place where her son and her father had discussed secret matters with Jia Cong many years ago, so she guessed that today's matter must be a secret.
When I got to the place, I saw that the prince had been waiting for a long time.The two clasped their hands and sat down, the prince frowned.It turned out that she was discussing with the Taishang Wang about appointing female officials in the court, but the old man asked her to choose two concubines.Even the confidants of the crown prince don't know that she is a woman, so they can only discuss it with Ding Mei.
Ding Mei pondered for a long time and said: "Yesterday I went back to discuss with Shopkeeper Wu that I might want to change jobs. I knew she had already seen that Shizi is not a man."
Shizi was surprised: "How did she see it?"
"She can't tell the reason herself." Ding Mei said, "Our Axi looks more handsome than the prince, and there are many men who are shorter than you. But she can tell it at a glance." The two were silent for a moment .After a while, Ding Mei said, "The Supreme King wants you to choose a concubine without any trouble, just find two confidants and tell them that you are as good as Long Yang like Ah Xi. It's just not a long-term solution."
The son said sadly: "Man said that the long-term is not long-term, and I can endure it for a while. If I choose a concubine, I must choose from among the ladies. It will delay her life. Even if I send it out in the future, I will never find it again. What a nice person. Second, women are not easy to fool, they are the most shrewd in such matters. I'm afraid I can't hide it." Ding Mei was surprised and looked at her for a long time.Shizi looked down at himself and said, "Is there something wrong with me?"
"No." Ding Mei stood up and bowed cautiously, "I never thought of using the word 'good' to describe the son of the phoenix and the grandson of the dragon. My son, you are really kind. If you don't get good results, I can't stand it. "
The prince was stunned: "Good?"
Ding Mei said: "Which royal family in the world is not only thinking about how to let others do their best for themselves? How can there be a prince who thinks about strange women like this."
The prince said with a smile: "It's just human nature. I'm not a man, so why bother to deceive others for the rest of my life."
Ding Mei thought for a while and said: "It may not be possible to deceive people forever, maybe save people from fire and water." The prince asked with his eyes.Ding Mei sighed lightly, "The father of the son is willing to pass on the kingdom of Shu to you, and the mother of the son will also love you. But I don't know that there are many women in the world who do not have such a good life." She looked at the son fixedly, "For example, Me." Shizi's expression changed.Ding Mei then talked about the process that Master Ding San carried himself to marry the dead man, and then sent him directly from his husband's house to the family temple to become a nun.
The son was shocked: "There is such a thing in the world!"
Ding Mei sighed: "It's not surprising, it's much more ruthless than my father. Generally, there are no children, and the queen is luckier than my mother."
The prince was silent for a moment and said: "That's because your father's second wife gave birth to a son. There are so many women in my father's backyard, and none of them got a son."
"That's right." Ding Mei said, "It's really a catastrophe for you to have to disguise yourself as a man, but you have prevented the disaster for countless women. Without you, the king of Shu would not give up if he didn't give birth to a son. However, he may not be able to give birth to a son in this life. I don’t know how many women will be taken in during this process, and their lives will be over.”
The prince thought for a while, and couldn't help showing a smile: "It makes sense to say that."
Ding Mei said sternly: "A father like my father who doesn't treat his daughter as a human being, a mother like my mother who has no support from her natal family, and a second wife like my father's second wife who calls the wind and rain in the backyard are definitely not only owned by Qin State, but must be owned by Shu State."
The prince thought to himself, "You mean..."
Ding Mei said: "Pick out such women. I helped you and saved them."
The son thought for a long time, then nodded lightly: "Master Ding's plan is very good. But the matter in the backyard is the most obscure, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to investigate."
"It's not difficult. Can the prince lend me someone?"
"Who?"
"When we met in the teahouse, who was the girl you took with you?"
"Her?" the prince said with a smile, "Tong Niangzi. Why would Mr. Ding lend her to you?"
Ding Mei said: "This one has a smart face, she is also courageous and not ashamed. If I guessed correctly, she is the prince's confidant?"
"That's right." Shi Zi briefly explained Tong Buye's origin.
Hearing that the woman's portraits of her sons were sold for money, Ding Mei couldn't help laughing: "It's her, it's the most suitable."
The son suddenly remembered something: "My grandfather... well, for some reason, he thought that I wanted to marry her."
Ding Mei clapped her hands and said: "God help your son! It's getting rounder." Nai smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll deal with it with Miss Tong, and we'll take care of it." Seeing her confident appearance, the son felt that the dark clouds had dissipated and he let go of his heart Dashi nodded and smiled.
On that day, Shizi sent Tong Buye to meet Ding Mei.Several members of Hongguji have booked a small inn.Tong Buye searched for the address, and at the door, he bumped into Qiu Xing leading a few officials out of the door with a disheveled face, like a group of defeated roosters, he hurriedly called "Lord Qiu."
Qiu Xingzheng was taken aback for a moment: "Tong girl? Did the prince send you here?"
"Well, it's something important." Tong Buye looked at him and said, "Master Qiu?"
Qiu Xingzheng shook his head and said: "The shopkeeper Wu's man named Ah Xi has a few more tricks in his heart than others. Every time I discuss matters with him, I can't turn my head at all. It's really embarrassing for the prince."
Tong Buye smiled and said: "The son also said that Ah Xi can think about several things at the same time, and he can clearly make no mistakes. If Mr. Qiu can't handle it, I will teach you a trick. I will borrow Mr. Mingduan from the son. I heard Master Mingshun said that his elder brother handled the accounts of the entire Yuzhou by himself in the early years, more than enough, and as fast as the wind."
As if waking up from a dream, Qiu Xing clapped his hands and said: "Yes, Master Ming is also such a person, he will be able to match that Axi on equal footing." He bowed to Tong Buye joyfully, and Fang led the people back.
Tong Buye went in to see Ding Mei.Ding Mei let her into her room, and they sat face to face.Ding Meinai said seriously: "From today onwards, the two of us have to complete an important matter: to choose concubines for the son, at least two."
Tong Buye was dumbfounded. "ah?!"
Ding Mei said: "There are two troublesome things for the son to choose a concubine. First, the son is full of state affairs at the moment, and he doesn't want a woman for the time being. Second, the son is still not sure whether he likes a man or a woman."
Tong Buye was even more confused. "Ah?!" After staying for a long time, "He said he had broken sleeves, I looked like he was joking."
"I'm half joking. The crown prince has not yet figured out her sexual orientation. So I asked her if she has any trustworthy young female subordinates who can entrust her life, regardless of marriage." Ding Mei looked deeply at Tong Buye, " She immediately said Tong Miss you."
Tong Buye took a breath, thought for a moment and said generously: "It's really me. I'm the only one."
Ding Mei said: "Coincidentally, your identity is really suitable."
Tong Buye blinked: "Appropriate? Appropriate for what?"
"It's suitable to choose a side concubine for the son." Ding Mei said slowly, "And you can't choose girls who are good in everything, only those who are the most unlucky."
Tong Buye thought for a while: "But choose the one who is not doing well at home, and maybe it will be even worse when he leaves the cabinet in the future?"
Ding Mei nodded with a smile: "Tong girl is really clever, she can guess all of this."
Tong Buye sighed: "My son is sincere and kind."
Ding Mei raised her eyebrows: "I think so too."
Since then, the inn remembered by Honggu has been bustling.Qiu Xingzheng moved Mingduan to serve as a rescuer, and he and Wu Xiaoxi served tea and snacks every day. Seeing Mingduan and Axi facing each other like pouring walnut carts, they were full of calculations, from the range of artillery, the weight of bullets to the cost of steel craftsmen. , They jumped onto the landmine in the blink of an eye, and they jumped to the catapult and trebuchet after a little daze.A group of people from the Firearms Bureau sat next to them, all stunned like swans, none of them knew what those two were talking about.
Ding Mei on the other end let out a message, saying that she was ordered by the son to choose a side concubine for her.Matchmakers and clever women all over Chengdu came to inquire.Seeing that although Ding Mei is a girl, with plain appearance, elegant manners and more than 20 years old, and she claims to be an official in the court, most of them believe it.Ding Mei asked them about the situation of the young ladies of each family.These are actually superficial skills, for outsiders to see.The State of Yan has made a lot of arrangements in the State of Shu, and the situation in the mansions of important officials is clear.
A few days later, Ding Mei chose a few candidates to discuss with Tong Buye.A girl named Xu's mother died early, and the man her stepmother took care of was either an alcoholic, a gambling addict, or a violent man.A girl named Xin was timid and cowardly, and her father loved money, and was planning to use her as a gift to someone else to pay for a few dowry silver.A girl Liu's parents are incompetent, and the aunt of the eldest room wants to make her happy for her sick natal nephew.
After hearing this, Tong Buye felt pity: "Can you do both?"
Ding Mei glanced at her: "Miss Xu is impatient and can't speak, that's why she offended her stepmother. Miss Xin's mother only loves her younger sister in favor of her, and controls her to death. Miss Liu is dull, it's not big clever."
Tong Buye thought for a while: "Then I'll see you later."
Ding Mei nodded: "That's right. You are fine with everything else, you are only impulsive sometimes. Only by thinking twice before acting can you take on big things."
Tong Buye was stunned for a moment, then murmured softly: "I don't need to take on big things." Ding Mei glanced at her and said nothing.
It's autumn now.Ding Mei asked his son to borrow a garden from Situ Cen, and posted a post to invite the three girls to enjoy the chrysanthemums.All three families were dumbfounded.They all knew that this woman surnamed Ding was choosing a side concubine for the eldest son, and there were other daughters in their family who had that idea, but no matter what, it shouldn't be their turn.The side post is right in front of you.The three families didn't dare to be negligent, they rushed to make new clothes for the girls, told them to teach them, and sent the best carriages in the family according to the day.
The three girls entered the garden, and after bypassing a screen wall, there was a long pavilion near the water.A servant woman led them to sit in the pavilion for a while, and after a while they heard the maid say, "Your Excellency is here", and they all looked up.I saw two women in red walking not far away.One is wearing a red shirt, and the other is wearing a crimson official robe.The one in Luo shirt was in front, and the one in official robe was half a step behind her.
When the second daughter came near, the three girls hurriedly got up and blessed.The one in the official robe made a bow, and the one in the Luo shirt only nodded slightly.The man in the official robe said: "My surname is Ding, and I am today's host. You can call me Mr. Ding." Then he pointed to the man in the robe, "This is the most capable and confidant girl around you." The three girls were startled, and they already understood: Miss Tong must be more than just a confidant, and Mrs. Ding is just a female official.
Five people toured in the garden.Mrs. Ding and Mrs. Tong slowly gossip about their temperament and preferences, and pay attention to observe their words and ambitions.Mrs. Ding inadvertently revealed the intention that two of the three would be chosen, so Miss Xu's expression changed, and after a while, she began to belittle Miss Xin and win over Miss Liu.Ms. Liu looked completely incomprehensible, and Ms. Xu was so anxious that she pinched her skirt.Miss Xin obviously knew what it meant, so she just pretended to be deaf and dumb and ignored it.Both Ding Tong and Ding Tong saw it.
Two days later, only Xin and Liu were invited again.This time the servants led them straight to a bookstore, where Mr. Ding was already dignified.She said sternly: "Both girls are smart. Although Miss Liu is used to pretending to be stupid, she revealed her secrets last time. I will be blunt." The two girls sat down and listened attentively.
Master Ding first gave them two pieces of paper.When the two of them saw it, what was written on it was exactly their own situation after careful investigation.Seeing the husband's house that their father and aunt had prepared for them, they were all so frightened that their backs were cold and their bodies trembled.After waiting for a while, Master Ding said: "Your Majesty already has a sweetheart, the Tong Niangzi you met last time."
Ms. Liu tremblingly said: "That... we have roughly guessed it."
Master Ding stared at the two of them in turn, looked back and forth for more than a dozen times before saying: "She is a sinful minister, she came from the Jiaofang Secretary, and she is not young. The Supreme King will never agree. Therefore, The position of concubine is temporarily vacant. The prince asked me to accompany her to choose two side concubines to pretend to be." She looked at the two again, "Listen clearly, they are just pretending, not real concubines. Last time, Miss Xu also There is no good life waiting for her. In less than a year, there will be fire pits on both sides. Do you understand? Rabbits will not bump into tree stumps for no reason. I won’t pay attention to them, let alone pamper them. In the future, I will find a good family for them to marry, and it’s okay to change their identities. You two carefully consider it yourself. If you don’t want to, there are others.”
The two daughters, Xin and Liu, looked at each other and shouted in unison: "I am willing!"
Ms. Liu wept and said: "My aunt's nephew suffers from tuberculosis and can only survive the day. My father is just a ninth-rank official, and her father is a third-rank official... I can't say that I will be a widow after marrying. a guest."
Master Ding nodded: "You really are pretending to be stupid. Don't be afraid, I am also a third-rank official in front of the son's family. Where is Miss Xin?"
Miss Xin hurriedly said: "Of course I am willing. It's better to be betrayed by my father."
Ding Daren said: "It's just that you can't listen to your mother in everything."
Miss Xin smiled wryly and said: "She makes every piece of paper I have, how can I be disobedient? If I can leave home, I don't have to be afraid of her."
Master Ding nodded: "I'll trust you for the time being. If you have a long tongue, your son will only have one word to give up as a side concubine."
Miss Xin hurriedly said: "My little girl dare not."
Master Ding stood up with a smile and cupped his hands: "Well, welcome to the two concubines."