Yangyue

After leaving Chenxiang Garden, Qi Zhu went straight back to Xiankunhou Mansion.

Hou Mansion is located in the most secluded section of the capital, backed by a bamboo grove and a small pond. Inside the mansion, there are pavilions, terraces, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, gardens and waterside pavilions, and everything is extremely luxurious.

Qi Zhu walked through the corridor waving his fan, when the passing maidservant in a goose-yellow gown skirt saw him, she hurriedly greeted him, turned around and wanted to inform the dining room that the young master was back, and asked the dining room to prepare dinner.

Qi Zhu stopped her and asked, "Is father there?"

The little servant girl hesitated slightly and replied: "Go back to Eldest Young Master, Master Hou...he went directly to Aunt Mo Lian's yard after dinner."

"Oh, if that's the case, let it go." Qi Zhu smiled indifferently, "Let the dining room prepare less dinner, and prepare some sweet-scented osmanthus cakes and other snacks. I suddenly feel a little greedy."

"There are sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, young master, go back to your room to rest, and I'll bring them to you right away." The little maid inadvertently noticed that Qi Zhu's white jade hair crown was a little messy and crooked, and her innocent and pretty face showed confusion, "Master , why is your hair crown messed up? Was sister Xihe combing your hair this morning?"

Qi Zhu smiled slightly and said: "I just had a little fight with the girls in Chenxiang Garden. I will take a bath in a while, so it doesn't matter."

Although the little maid was still young and didn't go out very often, she had heard about the place of Chenxiang Garden, she blushed immediately, saluted shyly, and turned to go to the dining room.

Qi Zhu returned to the courtyard where he lived, ate some snacks for dinner, and asked the maids to call hot water to prepare for a bath.

Behind the [-]-fold carved sandalwood screen, wisps of hot air emerge from pear wood barrels.Qi Zhu took off her hair crown, put the fan aside, took off her clothes, stepped into the hot water of the wooden barrel, laid her muscular arms leisurely on the side of the wooden barrel, and exhaled hot air.

He silently stared at the ceiling, and the scene of Chen Ruyue's death in Chenxiang Garden and the person in the brocade silk gauze skirt appeared in his mind.

Qi Zhu thought leisurely, it seems that the rumors in the palace are indeed true, the number one martial arts master in the university, Xiao Yangyue, the owner of the Duckweed Pavilion, really has a stunning appearance, and has a habit of wearing women's clothing.

As for the dead Chen Ruyue...could it be the remnants of the Yuanyang Sect who were proficient in dual cultivating magic arts that the emperor intends to wipe out in the past two years?

Just as Qi Zhu was thinking about all this, a person stumbled in from outside the door, and even knocked over the small table outside the screen.

That person was Xi He, the eldest girl who served Qi Zhu. She plopped and knelt outside the screen, crying tearfully, "Young Master! Master Hou... something happened to Master Hou!"

Qi Zhu frowned slightly, stood up, picked up the clothes at the side and simply changed on, pushed away the screen, looked at Xi He, who was kneeling on the ground, pale with fright and trembling legs, and asked, "What happened? Isn't Father in Auntie's yard?"

Xi He cried: "Young Master... the little girl outside Aunt Mo Lian's courtyard heard the screams of Aunt Mo Lian and her companion in the room, and went in to take a look, only to find that the master was lying upright on the bed naked and motionless. His face was black and white, and the corners of his mouth were still foaming... We hurriedly called the doctor in the mansion to see him, and the doctor saw it, and said that he was dying, and he couldn't be rescued!"

Qi Zhu's expression froze, and he quickly asked someone to take him to the yard over there with a lantern.Aunt Mo Lian's yard was in a mess, crying and screaming everywhere, the maids informed the young master that the young master was coming, and the crying slowly stopped.

Qi Zhu didn't have the time to worry about whether it was proper or not for him to enter the aunt's yard. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Aunt Mo Lian hurriedly put on an outer skirt, and was supporting her companion, sitting on the side of the wall, almost crying. Get over it.

Qi Xueru's complexion was black, his face was stiff, his eyes were loose, and his fat naked body was covered with an embroidered quilt. It was obvious that he had been dead for a while.

The doctor stood aside, bowed to Qi Zhu to salute, and then shook his head with a dejected expression: "My condolences, young master, Lord Hou is gone... This illness is only a short-lived thing, and Master Hou didn't suffer much."

Lord Hou is dead, and the title of Marquis Xiankun will eventually fall to Qi Zhu.

Everyone in the room could only see Qi Zhu staring at his dead father lying on the bed, with tears in his eyes.He closed his eyes suddenly, his pale lips trembled slightly, and he called out hoarsely, "Butler Lin."

The old housekeeper who was over sixty years old bowed towards Qi Zhu and said tremblingly, "The old slave is here."

"Go, prepare filial piety for the whole house, light the lamps, light the incense in my room, and prepare paper and pens. I have to write a letter to inform the emperor myself." Starting tomorrow, I intend to pray for my father in the ancestral hall for ten days, and only eat fast. I will arrange my father's funeral, but the housekeeper has to work hard."

Steward Lin took the order to leave, and Qi Zhu went back to the room, took a bath again, burned incense, and changed into filial piety.He sat quietly at the desk, spread out the pen and paper, picked up the pen and began to write a letter.

Xihe, who was waiting on the sidelines, had already cried and her eyes were red. She poured tea for Qi Zhu, and wanted to stand by and grind ink for Qi Zhu.

Qi Zhu called softly: "Xi He, go down, my father has gone, I don't need anyone to wait on me these few days, I should do all these things myself."

Xi He choked up and said, "Yes."

When Xihe closed the door and left, Qi Zhu confirmed that Xihe's footsteps had gone far away, then dropped the pen in his hand, turned over and lay down on the imperial concubine's couch, and took out the few remaining ones from the small table. Pick up the osmanthus cake on a plate and put it in your mouth.

Just now, the grief and worry on Qi Zhu's face were swept away. After eating his snacks, he wiped his mouth, and hastily wrote three or four lines on the letter paper. After finishing writing, he folded it and stuffed it into an envelope, and sealed the letter.

His father is going to die soon, and the emperor may not believe it in a long time. After all, isn't that supernatural guard doing nothing but spying on all civil and military officials?

After the letter was sent out, Qi Zhu ordered the Hou Mansion to close its doors to thank the guests for ten days, and he had to calmly chant scriptures for his father in the ancestral hall to express his condolences.

Every day before dawn, he would change into his filial piety clothes, secretly put a few books of erotic wild history in his pocket, and go to the ancestral hall in the southeast corner of the Hou Mansion. As soon as the servant left, he would take out the book from his sleeve and spread it out. On the ground, looking with relish.

In the evening, Qi Zhu, who had eaten his fast for a whole day, would sneak out from the back door of the ancestral hall when there were few people, climb over the courtyard wall of the Hou's mansion to the busy street, and give it to beggars or children working on the side of the road who did not recognize him. Give them a small reward, and ask them to help me buy two goose legs from the roast goose shop at the corner of the street. After eating, I will climb over the wall and come back to continue "chanting sutras to express condolences".

Ten days later, I read a lot of Qi Zhu in the scriptures, and finally, under the hard persuasion of the family servants, I managed to bear the "sorrow" of my father's death, and came out of the ancestral hall to arrange family affairs.

In the ten days since Hou Ye died, not only the emperor and all the court officials got the news, but perhaps it was because some servant in the Hou Mansion was not strict enough, and Hou Ye died suddenly due to a sudden wind while having fun with his concubine at home. It was also spread in the capital, and it became the talk of many people after dinner.

As a show of sympathy, the emperor sent a gift of condolence and a letter from the royal pen to the Houfu, and asked the officials of the Imperial Household Office to help arrange the funeral of the Houfu.

After the general arrangements for the funeral were finalized, the emperor personally summoned the son of Marquis Xiankun to enter the court, and issued an imperial decree according to the usual practice to announce that the relatives should be expelled as princes.

On the day Qi Zhu formally entered the court to accept the title, he was wearing a simple but dignified filial piety dress. At the same time, he also saw another figure in the court hall.

Xiao Yangyue and the commander of the guards rank first among the military officers. He is wearing a moon-white water pattern embroidered butterfly skirt, his hair is decorated with elegant jasper pearls, and a long sword inlaid with white jade on the hilt is pinned to the waist of the skirt , looking calm and unwavering.

After the ceremonial supervisor and eunuch finished reading Qi Zhu's imperial edict aloud, Qi Zhu bowed down to the emperor sitting on the dragon chair to thank him, and took the imperial edict with both hands.

After today, he will be the legitimate Marquis.

The emperor nodded slightly, he knew that Marquis Xiankun only had Qi Zhu as his son, and even this son had a rough life experience, and almost lost his life back then, according to the old practice, he had to promote Qi Zhu properly.

Moreover, there have been rumors of ups and downs in the capital recently, and the emperor has also heard that although Xian Kunhou's son-in-law is usually as virtuous as his father, he is said to be filial and affectionate. After his father died, he was distraught and spent ten days in the ancestral hall Chanting scriptures and praying for his father on Huangquan Road, he is indeed a filial son and deserves praise.

The emperor: "Xian Kunhou has been an official in Dali Temple for [-] years. I am very pleased with his hard work and simplicity. Qi Aiqing, since the old Marquis only has you as his son, I will naturally not treat you badly. You will follow the example of your father." Let’s go the old way. I want to promote you as the Chancellor of Dali Temple, what do you think Qi Aiqing wants?”

When Qi Zhu heard the words, Xie En accepted the order.

The emperor: "That's good. After the funeral of Lord Hou, I will go to Dali Temple to take office."

Qi Zhu took the lead, retreated to his seat, and stopped talking.

After coming down to the court, Qi Zhu left the court hall without staying too long. Even the officials who planned to come up to express their condolences failed to find a chance, so they could only look at each other in blank dismay.

Henry Zhang also left the court and came to the palace wall outside the palace, waiting for the duckweed pavilion guards beside the palace wall to lead Henry Zhang's horse, he turned over and stepped on, his long skirt fluttering.

At this time, Xiao Yangyue occasionally saw Qi Zhuli's back, thought for a moment, and asked lightly: "I heard that Lord Hou had a rough life, and was taken away by thieves when he was a child?"

The subordinate replied: "There is such a thing. When the Hou Ye was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Jianghu assassins. The old Hou Ye's Yuan wife, Chao Shi, also died of grief. The Hou Mansion sent all the martial arts masters, and it took four years to find them. Find this son-in-law. It is said that because of his unparalleled beauty, Hou Ye was attracted by a martial arts demon, and he was kidnapped to be his husband-in-law. That sect was destroyed by the rival sect, and the villa was burned down, so that Hou Ye was able to escape. Before being taken away, Hou Ye was intelligent, well-read, and determined to be an official; but after returning, perhaps he was stimulated, and Hou Ye escaped. Grandpa's temperament has changed drastically, he has become cynical, not doing his job properly, and has become a playboy."

Henry Zhang was silent for a while, took the reins, kicked the horse's belly, and headed out of the palace.

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Solemnly introduce the filial son Qi Zhu