"Milord, your body hasn't fully recovered yet. You'd better have a good rest," said Lady Mei, looking at Lord Mei with heartache. As the prime minister of the country, although he was second only to the emperor, only the person closest to him on his pillow knew the bitterness.
"You know my injury. It's not a serious one. It's okay," Lord Mei finally put down the howling wolf brush in his hand. His cold and hard gaze softened instantly the moment he looked at Lady Mei.
"Since milord doesn't need to go to court, why do you have to care about so many things?"
"Sigh, my lady doesn't understand. Although I'm recuperating in the mansion, there are many things in the court. If I don't take care of them, others may take advantage of the situation. In front of the emperor, I just pretend not to care. I can let others handle some things that are easy to control, but some things still need to be dealt with by myself." He had been in power in the court for so many years. Some things had to be decided by him. So just a few days after he was in the mansion, the emperor had secretly sent people to look for him twice.
It seemed that the emperor also thought this was a misstep and was too eager for success. How could his influence in the court be easily shaken?
"We women don't understand those things in the officialdom. We just hope that milord won't overwork himself outside. You must always pay attention to your own body," Lady Mei said.
"Thank you for your concern, my lady."
"Milord, Concubine Yu summoned me to the palace again yesterday to talk about Xue'er's marriage. What do you think?" Concubine Yu was the mother of the eldest prince. She had summoned Lady Mei to the palace more than once to hint about Mei Qingxue's marriage. It seemed that she was determined to form an alliance with the prime minister's mansion, which made Lady Mei very embarrassed.
"En," Lord Mei grunted in a low voice. He also knew about this matter. Among the princes competing for the position of the crown prince, the most powerful ones were the third prince and the eldest prince. But the emperor's attitude had always been ambiguous. Everyone knew that he doted on Prince Liu, Du Guqing, very much, but since he had already been granted the title of prince and was in poor health, he would never inherit the throne.
So the position of the crown prince had become a mystery and the focus of the struggle among the princes.
The reason why the eldest prince was so eager to settle Mei Qingxue's marriage was that there seemed to be a sign of the third prince's marriage with the daughter of the minister of war. If he didn't act faster than the third prince, he might be at a disadvantage.
"We must not agree to this. If we agree to the eldest prince, the emperor will think that we are on the eldest prince's side. If the eldest prince fails to win the position of the crown prince, we will be implicated. Even if he can become the future crown prince, I don't want Xue'er to marry such a cruel person. I, Mei Zhenguo, only have Hao'er and Xue'er in my life. I will never let them be wronged. My lady, don't worry too much," Lord Mei said.
"I know. I trust milord," Lady Mei knew that although Lord Mei seemed to be a cold - hearted man on the surface, in fact, he was a man who valued love and righteousness and had extremely high principles.
"Lan'er, you've suffered a lot with me over the years. Back then, when I wasn't the prime minister yet, I was so down - and - out..."
"Milord, don't talk about those unhappy things. The days to come will surely be better. Milord doesn't know that Xue'er has been sneaking out of the mansion these days. I don't know what she's doing outside," Mei Qingxue always thought that her mother didn't know what she was doing, but in fact, Lady Mei knew exactly when she left the mansion.
"Really? Xue'er always sneaks out? How can this be? As a girl, she should stay in the mansion if she has nothing to do. What's she doing outside?" Lord Mei always thought that his daughter was an extremely obedient girl, but he was really surprised to hear his wife say so.
"Actually, milord doesn't need to worry so much. At first, I was worried that Xue'er would be deceived by some man outside. But later, I found that this girl is very smart. So after that, I didn't let anyone follow her secretly. She just goes to some restaurants and strolls around the market," Lady Mei said.
"Sigh... She's really like you back then. You also sneaked out of the mansion back then, right?" Lord Mei couldn't help but think of the first time he met Lady Mei. It was that encounter that made two people who had no intersection at all spend half a lifetime together.
"Milord always likes to tease me about this. I also think it's good for Xue'er to go out and see the outside world. Otherwise, if she stays in the boudoir all day long and knows nothing, it will be a bad thing," Lady Mei thought that she was also a very playful girl when she was young, but she had restrained herself a lot after getting married.
"Alright, let her do as she wishes. Just tell her to be careful when she's outside."
"En."
One year later.
The cold winter in the capital had gradually passed. Spring had returned to the earth. The streams that had been frozen by the winter snow slowly melted and began to flow again. The bare branches also began to sprout new buds and had already formed flower buds early, adding a lot of vitality to the arrival of spring.
In another month, Mei Qingxue would be fourteen years old. She couldn't help but sigh that time really flew by.
In this year, Mei Qingxue had grown a lot taller, and her graceful figure as a young girl had become even more charming.
"Miss, you don't know how good the rouge from 'Lankou'er' is. After I put it on, not only do I look better, but my skin has also improved a lot! But the things there are really too expensive. I have to save up my silver for a long time to buy the top - grade ones," said Yue Ru.
Mei Qingxue, with her long hair casually scattered on her waist and wearing a wide - embroidered red robe, looked at Yue Ru with a smile. This girl had become even more beautiful recently. Her skin seemed so tender that it could squeeze out water. She didn't know if it was because of using the products from her own shop.
In this year, her shops had developed one by one. Among them, the rouge shop, the restaurant, and the inn were the most prosperous. These were also the places with the most and most complex people. While doing business, she could also collect a lot of unexpected information.
After An Ying's injury had healed, 'Bihai Pavilion' had intercepted and killed those damned traitors. Now she was actually the nominal master of 'Bihai Pavilion'. She still left many important things in 'Bihai Pavilion' to An Ying to handle. Now 'Bihai Pavilion' not only did the business of killing people but also sold information. The information was divided into three grades, and each grade had a different price. As time passed, the silver in her pocket was getting more and more, and there was a trend of surpassing the richest man in the capital. Her next goal was to gradually develop her shops to the whole Feng Country and even the surrounding countries.
Hehe, when her influence really reached the level she wanted, she wouldn't be afraid even if the emperor himself came!
However, she didn't tell Yue Ru about these things. She just told her that she had opened a restaurant outside. That girl was simple - minded and wouldn't think too much. If she told her the truth, she didn't know how surprised she would be.
"What? Are you this little girl in love? Why do you always dress up so beautifully for no reason? Who are you dressing up for?" No matter when or how much time had passed, Mei Qingxue always thought it was very interesting to tease Yue Ru.
"Miss, what are you talking about? I, I don't want to dress up for anyone. Miss always likes to say these things to tease me. Miss is the worst," as she grew older, Yue Ru understood more and more about the relationship between men and women. When she was teased by Mei Qingxue like this, she was really so shy that she wanted to find a hole to hide in.
"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore. Otherwise, you'll say I'm bullying you again."
"Miss is really bullying me."
"Alright, stop arguing with you. I'm going out for a look. Do you want to come with me?" Reading the account books in the room made her dizzy. It was better to go out and get some fresh air.
"Of course I'll serve you closely, miss. Miss, have you made an appointment with the Jade - faced Gentleman again?" When Yue Ru mentioned the Jade - faced Gentleman, two blushes flashed across her cheeks. It could be seen that this man was very charming. Even wearing a mask couldn't stop his charm!
As soon as Yue Ru mentioned the Jade - faced Gentleman, Mei Qingxue's heart skipped a beat. In this year, she had indeed had a lot of contact with this Jade - faced Gentleman. When she encountered difficulties and problems in business, he would spare no effort to help her. At first, she was also very strange why the Jade - faced Gentleman would do so. Later, after getting along for a long time, she found that he was actually a very good man. He wasn't as cold and distant as he seemed on the surface. He was more approachable in front of familiar people and often joked with her.
"What? So you this little girl has a crush on the Jade - faced Gentleman! No wonder you always ask me this question when we go out."
"Miss, what are you talking about? How could the Jade - faced Gentleman be someone that a little maid like me can think about? But I think miss and the Jade - faced Gentleman are a perfect match. If miss dressed up as a woman and went out, standing with the Jade - faced Gentleman, you would be like a golden boy and a jade girl."
Being said so by Yue Ru, Mei Qingxue couldn't help but fantasize about that scene. Maybe they really would be a good match...
Bah, bah, bah. What was she thinking? This was something that hadn't even started yet. Besides knowing that he was the famous Jade - faced Gentleman who was good at painting in the capital, she didn't know any other information about him. Originally, she wanted to let the people from 'Bihai Pavilion' investigate, but then she thought it seemed unnecessary.
At first, she also suspected that the Jade - faced Gentleman had some ulterior motives for approaching her. At first, she was somewhat on guard against him. But later, she found that her encounter with the Jade - faced Gentleman was really just a coincidence. After that, she dispelled her suspicion of him. And after getting along for so long, she really thought that the Jade - faced Gentleman had helped her a lot in many things. Maybe the two of them were really very compatible. At first, she even felt a sense of regret for not meeting him earlier.
However, the Jade - faced Gentleman had never taken the initiative to tell her about his background, and she didn't ask either. If he wanted to say it, he would definitely tell her on his own initiative.