Golden Branch

I left Beijing in autumn and returned in spring, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Wang Heng celebrated her birthday at the post station, and the next morning, she and Lou Yu set out on their journey home.

This place is less than 200 miles away from the capital. Wang Heng's carriage moves slowly, traveling only 30 to 40 miles a day.

Lou Yu stayed in the carriage with Wang Heng at his leisure.

An unmarried couple might play chess or backgammon, read or write, drink tea or chat about gossip, or just sit there quietly doing nothing.

We were separated for several months, and although we kept in touch through letters, we were still thousands of miles apart.

Whether it is out of habit or out of longing, Wang Heng and Lou Yu are very concerned about each other.

Lou Yu: ...The little girl has become more beautiful and calm.

Wang Heng: ...Brother, you seem different from what I remembered.

The couple each has their own thoughts, but they get along very well and harmoniously.

Regarding certain people and certain things in Beijing, the two had surprisingly similar but also different approaches.

"I have temporarily settled the fourth lady of the Jiang family and sent a trainer to train her."

"Well, I'll take some time to go and meet her and give her a chance to choose."

"Aheng, you want to keep her by your side and train her yourself? That's a bit troublesome, and I'm afraid you'll be tired."

"Don't worry, brother. I won't tire myself out."

When it comes to Jiang Si, a troublesome person of neither big nor small, Wang Heng has her own thoughts.

Lou Yu understood, but couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

His little girl is so pampered, yet she still has to work hard for some irrelevant people.

According to his idea, the most straightforward way is to deal with the person directly.

Wang Heng smiled and shook her head. "Sending her away, or marrying her off far away, is one solution. But it's only a temporary solution. There are more than one Jiang Si in this world who look like her."

"It's not the appearance that's wrong, it's the villains who take advantage of it."

"Although I haven't seen Jiang Si in person, I've gained a certain understanding of her through my observations over the past few days. She's not a bad person by nature, but she's just been through a major life change and is a bit lost for a while."

"No matter what, she is still my mother's relative—"

Wang Heng never regarded Jiang Si as an imaginary enemy or competitor. Her mother's strong decision to give Jiang Si the name "Si" made Wang Heng understand her mother's attitude.

My mother firmly favors her biological daughter and has a kind heart.

As a daughter, Wang Heng should also think more about her mother.

She also felt sorry for her mother.

As long as Jiang Si is not the kind of person who is evil by nature and beyond redemption, Wang Heng will not kill him.

Furthermore, Wang Heng was used to having little followers.

With the marriage of Wang Mian and Zheng Shisan, only Zheng Shiliu was left by her side.

Wang Heng was willing to honor strangers who were not related by blood, let alone blood relatives?

A-mu has shown that she is closer to her daughter than to her adopted niece, so Wang Heng cannot be too selfish. She also has to cultivate her mother's family.

If the Jiang family members, including Jiang Si, are trained well, they will also be a help to her, Wang Heng.

"..."

Lou Yu understood what Wang Heng said. He simply cared about her more and couldn't bear to see her suffer even the slightest injustice. "Heng, looking at that face, don't you really feel disgusted?"

Lou Yu felt extremely disgusted when he thought about what happened at the Xiao family's plum blossom viewing banquet.

Deep in my heart, wisps of black air emerged uncontrollably.

He would not try to be like Wanwan Leiqing and look for the shadow of Aheng in others.

Even if Ah Heng is not by his side for various reasons, Lou Yu will not find a substitute.

This is not remembrance, but humiliation to Aheng and himself.

Not to mention, Ah Heng is still around. Even if there is a brief separation, Lou Yu will only miss her more and use his own methods to deal with it, rather than finding a replacement.

For example, during the months when Wang Heng was away from Beijing, someone got inspiration from Jiang Si and found a few women who either looked like Wang Heng or resembled her in spirit, and tried every means to put them in front of Lou Yu.

Of course, those women were far from having Wang Heng's peerless beauty. They were either 30% or 40% similar, or looked very similar from certain angles. Although they were all beauties, they could not be compared with Wang Heng.

Only those who are familiar with Wang Heng would be in a trance for a moment when they see their appearance: Hey, this person actually looks a bit like Wang Heng.

If you look closely, you will find: there is no resemblance at all, not even a fraction of Wang Heng's!

However, even though they are not exactly similar, they still feel inexplicably familiar.

It seems like something but not really, like something that seems real but seems fake, but it still evokes some of the little thoughts in people's hearts, and then -

But Lou Yu would not be like that.

When he saw those women who looked like Wang Heng, including Jiang Si, he was indeed a little "moved" - a heart that wanted to kill was ready to move!

He not only wanted to kill those who looked like Ah Heng, but also wanted to kill the people behind the scenes who used their looks to cause trouble.

They are blaspheming Ah Heng, they really deserve to die!

Lou Yu could hardly control his murderous intent. Judging from his own experience, he felt that Ah Heng was also disgusting and repulsive.

"It's okay! Not disgusting at all!"

Wang Heng was very open-minded. She thought about the portraits of Jiang Si and other women that Lou Yu had sent her.

"When I see someone else with a face that's similar to mine, I do feel a little weird."

"Like? Of course not! Dislike? Not to that extent."

"The appearance given by parents may occasionally be similar, but it is God's arrangement, not a personal wish."

Wang Heng felt that as long as it was not artificial, even if someone looked similar to her, she would not hate them, or even tyrannically get rid of them.

Wang Heng looked at Lou Yu and saw that he was still "gentle" in appearance. She winked playfully and said, "Brother, it's just a shell. Does it mean that just because he looks like me, he is me?"

"of course not!"

Lou Yu denied it without hesitation.

The reason why Aheng is Aheng has nothing to do with her identity or appearance.

Lou Yu liked Ah Heng when she was still a fat girl and treated her as his only one.

Just like what Wang Heng said, it's just a shell, Lou Yu can distinguish the appearance from the essence.

A beautiful appearance can indeed add points, but it is not everything.

Wang Heng's smile grew brighter, and her black and white lychee eyes seemed to be filled with stars.

She didn't say anything else, but her meaning was very clear: since the appearance is not the only thing, why bother about it!

Once people stop caring, others will not be able to take advantage of this to cause trouble.

Finally, you can get true "peace".

Seeing Wang Heng's smiling face with curved eyebrows and eyes, which looked as brilliant as a prosperous flower, Lou Yu couldn't help but be stunned: the little girl has really grown up, and is as beautiful and gorgeous as a peony, proud and confident.

After a moment of distraction, Lou Yu regained his senses.

He understood Wang Heng's open-mindedness, and thus understood her deeper intention in keeping Jiang Si by her side.

Wang Heng would neither attack nor kill people who were similar to herself, nor would she stay away from them.

Instead, he kept her by his side calmly, trained her to become a true noble lady, and let her shine with her own light!

This does not show Wang Heng's saintly heart, but her inner strength and pride!

This will let certain people with ulterior motives know that trying to stir up trouble based on appearance will not work in front of Wang Heng!

Only in this way can we completely eliminate such troubles.

"My Ah Heng is so smart!"

Looking at the bright and proud girl, Lou Yu felt proud and relieved at the same time that "my daughter has finally grown up".

A heart wrapped in black air seemed to be seeped into by a warm spring, washing and warming him.

……

The carriage traveled for five days before arriving at the post station thirty miles away from the capital.

After a short rest at the post station, Wang Heng set off again early in the morning.

Lou Yu did not stay in the carriage, but rode his little red horse.

It was too close to the capital, and even though they were an engaged couple, Lou Yu had to be careful about the differences between men and women.

Especially since Wang Heng was still in mourning period, no "scandals" could be spread.

Lou Yu had already developed a cautious nature, and after entering the court, he became even more careful in his words and actions.

He did it not only for himself, but also for Aheng's reputation.

Riding a horse, following the side of the carriage, he could still chat with Wang Heng through the window.

The horses' hooves clattered and the wheels rolled.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the convoy finally arrived in the capital.

Wang Heng and his group came from the southeast side of the capital, so the first thing Wang Heng saw was not the high city wall, but Qujiang River.

"There's some excitement ahead!"

"It's almost dusk, and there are still people gathering outside the city?"

Wang Heng saw the hustle and bustle not far away through the car window and exclaimed curiously, "Huh?"

Lou Yu sat higher on the horse and was taller, so he could see farther and more clearly.

"It seems like someone is holding a banquet!"

As he spoke, Lou Yu waved his hand, "Go and see! Who are they? Why are they gathering here?"

A guard behind Lou Yu hurriedly rode forward, listened to the instructions respectfully, and then rode towards Qujiang.

Not long after, the guard came back with a clatter.

However, he was not alone. There was a servant in indigo robe following him.

"I ask the public security of Qi. I am here to pay my respects to the Duke of Qi on the orders of Lord Zhou, the son-in-law of my master's family!"

The servant bowed respectfully.

Lou Yu raised his eyebrows. Oh, it was Princess Ping'an's new husband Zhou He.

Lou Yu attended the wedding and met Zhou He.

He was twenty-one years old, handsome and good at calligraphy. Although he came from a poor family, he was very elegant.

No wonder Princess Ping'an was so moved that she was willing to marry him at the risk of being criticized.

only--

Lou Yu did not think that he had any relationship with this Prince Consort Zhou.

Lou Yu is the prince's confidant, and Princess Ping'an's mansion is on good terms with the fourth prince.

The fourth prince was born to Concubine Wang Shufei and was the most outstanding among the illegitimate princes.

The Fourth Prince has the support of aristocratic families such as the Taiyuan Wang family, and he also has some weight in the court.

Although he was unable to compete with the prince, he had formed some power.

With the sage's ascension to the throne, even though the crown prince had the advantages of being the legitimate heir, the eldest son, and the most virtuous, there were still signs of him trying to seize the throne.

The fourth prince got involved.

Princess Ping'an and other members of the royal family also began to place bets quietly.

Although they did not cause any trouble openly, the various forces and their confidants were all well aware of the struggle for the throne and the relationship between the enemy and themselves.

"Zhou He and I have no friendship, and the Duke of Qi's Mansion and Princess Ping'an's Mansion are not close friends either. Yet, Zhou He suddenly sent someone to pay us a visit. He has no good intentions!"