Chapter 40

Zhao Yelan ignored him all night, and began to reflect on whether he had been too talkative recently, which made Yan Mingting so lawless that he dared to tease him.

Although Yan Mingting didn’t ask him why he was suddenly angry, he looked at him with a smile from time to time, which made him even more annoyed.

The next day, after taking a rest, Zhao Yelan barely woke up when the sky was bright. Just as he sat up, he caught a glimpse of a person lying on the ground, but this person was still awake, and looked over as soon as he heard a movement.

“Why don’t you get up?”

Usually at this time Yan Mingting was either on his way back from court, or on his way to the school grounds, and he had never stayed in bed until this hour.

Yan Mingting rested his hands on his arms and said leisurely: “I’ll just see how long someone can sleep for?”

Zhao Yelan gave him an annoyed sideways glance, got up and went to take a shower, no matter how closely the other party followed, he completely treated him as if he didn’t exist.

After getting dressed, he stood in front of the drawer, staring at the sachets in a daze, and finally landed on the most eye-catching seat, which contained Jiang Li.

Jiang Li can be used as medicine, and can also be worn as a spice, but the taste is special, some people like it, some people hate it, Yan Mingting is the latter.

As soon as he grasped the rope of the bag, his hands were held down. Yan Mingting stood behind him and said, “Change to another.”

Sneezing or something, it’s too embarrassing, it hurts his handsome face.

During the silence, Butler Tan walked to the door, saw their chests against their backs, said “ah”, then covered his eyes, and said, “General, my lord, there are guests outside asking to see you.”

“It’s so early, who is it?” Yan Mingting asked.

“It’s the daughter of the magistrate of Zhizhou who came to thank the two masters.”

The two looked at each other, and Yan Mingting asked, “Do you know each other?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head: “What about you?”

“I don’t even know a few people in the capital, so how can I know Zhizhou?”

“Go and see.”

Yan Mingting nodded, noticed that he had put down Jiang Li’s sachet, and followed with satisfaction.

Standing in the lobby was a young woman, dressed in a lotus-colored fairy dress, wearing a beaded hairpin, and her hair was half tied and half draped. She was a young girl who had not yet left the court. When she saw them coming to the hall together, the woman’s eyes lit up for a moment, and then she looked at them with crooked eyebrows: “General Yan, Master Zhao, the daughter is the daughter of the magistrate of the prefecture, named Sun Muyun. Unfortunately, I ran into a thief on the street, but thanks to the general’s help, I didn’t lose my grandmother’s belongings.”

Yan Mingting finally remembered why she found her familiar, and said, “It’s a trivial matter, no need to thank you.”

Sun Muyun stretched out her hand, and the maid handed a box to her, and she offered a gift of thanks with both hands: “Suwen general Yan has made great achievements in battle, and my little girl once got a pair of Luan jade swords, which are of little use to me. If I can get the general Like it, it’s not a waste of money.”

As soon as the box was opened, there was a short sharp knife inside, but the scabbard beside it looked extremely rich, with a unique shape, inlaid with gold, jewels and stones.

Yan Mingting watched in silence for a while, and Sun Muyun knew that he liked it, so she handed it to Butler Tan who was standing by.

“Thank you Miss Sun.” Yan Mingting said.

“You’re welcome.” Sun Muyun looked at him, smiling so hard that she almost lost her eyes.

Seeing this, Zhao Yelan sneered twice in his heart, sat down on the seat, rolled his eyes around the two of them, and said with a half-smile: “Butler Tan, why don’t you show Miss Sun tea?”

“No need, there’s already tea.” Sun Muyun smiled and took a roll of silk from the maidservant again, walked up to Zhao Yelan, and said with a smile, “Last time I bumped into Mr. Zhao by chance, thank you for your help. Knowing that you like brocade and silk clothes, I happened to bring a lot of satin when I came to Beijing this time, all of which were selected from Jiangnan embroidery workshops, I wonder if it can catch your eye?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and took a look. The other party presented the materials in front of him considerately, and explained carefully: “The best materials in the Jiangnan embroidery workshop will be sent to the palace, but I have a good relationship with the embroiderers, so they gave them to me.” A few pieces, these patterns are woven stitch by thread by embroiderers…”

Zhao Yelan looked up at her: “You came to Beijing to participate in the draft?”

“Exactly, I have reached the age of Ji at the beginning of the year. According to the law, all the daughters of officials will enter Beijing for draft after reaching the age of Ji.” Sun Muyun sighed.

“Then why did you give us a gift? It’s better to save the people in the palace.” Zhao Yelan said.

“No, my lord, you misunderstood me. I didn’t come here to curry favor with you and General Yan.” Sun Muyun hurriedly explained, but it was difficult to tell them the real reason in person—you are beautiful, and I am happy to see you.

If you say this, you will be thrown out, right?

She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m just here for the first time, and I’ve received the kindness of the two adults. I’m so grateful, that’s why I want to give the sword to the hero, and the silk to the beauty… Lord Zhao.”

Zhao Yelan looked at her suspiciously, at this moment, Sun Muyun took out a brand new brocade handkerchief: “My lord, if you don’t like the silk, you might as well look at the material of this handkerchief, it’s soft and comfortable, much better than those in the capital city , I personally tested it…”

Zhao Yelan became interested and rubbed the fabric with his fingertips.

Seeing them discussing around the veil, Yan Mingting’s face became darker and darker, and he winked at Butler Tan, who immediately understood and stepped forward to interrupt their conversation: “My lord, we should have breakfast gone.”

“Ah, so you guys haven’t had breakfast yet? It’s just a coincidence, I didn’t expect the two adults to have breakfast yet.” Sun Muyun said.

“Miss Sun didn’t have a meal either?” Zhao Yelan said, “If you don’t mind, why don’t you stay and have a meal together?”

“Can you?” Sun Muyun looked at them in surprise.

Can’t! !

Yan Mingting roared in his heart, but his face remained indifferent, thinking that Zhao Yelan could understand his expression, but the other party had already led her to sit down at the table.

The two chatted very happily. From the weaving in the south of the Yangtze River to the scenery, food and customs, Sun Muyun talked endlessly, and her words were full of reluctance for her hometown.

After breakfast, Sun Muyun said goodbye again, and as soon as she walked out of the general’s mansion, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and sniggered silently, and whispered to the maidservant: “My God, Mr. Zhao is so handsome and gentle, full of knowledge but also understands market conditions. If I can have dinner with him today, even if I die, I will have no regrets!”

The maid fell into deep helplessness, her lady was good at everything, but she couldn’t move when she saw a handsome man, and said, “But General Yan looks a bit fierce.”

“What do you know?” Sun Muyun smiled inexplicably, “He’s obviously jealous.”

“What? Jealousy?”

“It seems that the rumors in Beijing cannot be completely believed. How could anyone think that the general and Mr. Zhao are incompatible?” Sun Muyun’s smile gradually became presumptuous, “I think they will melt together sooner or later, hehe.”

After sending her away, Yan Mingting turned around and asked, “What did you do to help her?”

“The last time she was outside the gate, she dropped something, so I picked it up.” Zhao Yelan replied.

“that’s it?”

“that’s it.”

“It’s just a little effort, but you spent a lot of time to find out what you like, and then come to give gifts?” Yan Mingting’s face was so dark that ink could be squeezed out, “I think she clearly has ulterior motives.”

“Oh? What kind of heart do you have?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“I’ve kept your thoughts! Mostly because you look handsome and want to get close.” Yan Mingting said.

“…” Zhao Yelan said, “She is a beautiful girl, she will soon be the Emperor’s man, and she knows the relationship between the two of us, and can still openly give gifts in person, how could she have my heart?”

Yan Mingting was soothed by his words “the relationship between the two of us”.

“Besides, didn’t she also give you a precious sword? Why can’t she just miss you and compliment me by the way, so that I can get in later?” Zhao Yelan teased.

“How is it possible.” Speaking of the treasured sword, Yan Mingting brought the box over and put it in front of him, “You are the only one who likes such fancy and useless weapons, so take it.”

If he had known that this woman would also send silks to Zhao Yelan, he would not have accepted the knife, and should have invited her out directly.

“Didn’t you order Zhong Yuehong to prepare a crossbow/arrow for me?” Zhao Yelan took out the knife and played with it twice, “Is this thing still useful?”

“It’s not very useful for self-defense, but it can be used for fun. Don’t you love gold, silver and jewelry? You can pick these things off the sheath.”

Zhao Yelan gave him a blank look.

Yan Mingting still had to go to the school grounds to tell Zhong Yuehong about the news from the palace, so he left the mansion first. Zhao Yelan handed the two gifts to Xiao Gao for storage, and when he returned to the room, he saw Butler Tan staring at the things on the table, talking to himself non-stop.

“What are you looking at?” Zhao Yelan asked indifferently.

“My lord, may I ask where this hairpin came from?” When Steward Qin came over to clean it, he accidentally caught a glimpse of several hairpins on the shelf on the table, and one of them, the Liuyun jade hairpin, attracted him. I was afraid that I had made a mistake, so I boldly asked.

“Yan Mingting gave it, why?”

“That’s right.” Butler Tan said with a smile, “This hairpin was originally given to the old general by the emperor, and the old general gave it to the old lady when he got married. But it is a man’s accessory, so the old lady gave it to the general again , but the general thought it was in the way, so he had never worn it before. I didn’t expect this hairpin to find a suitable owner…”

Zhao Yelan frowned. He thought that Yan Mingting bought it, but unexpectedly it was a family heirloom. Fortunately, this hairpin does not have any mission as a “wife”—

“My lord, the general is imitating the old general and giving it to your wife…”

Zhao Yelan’s expression froze, and he looked at him coldly: “Have you finished cleaning? From now on, you don’t need to bother you in this house, just call other servants.” The kind who don’t talk much.

Butler Tan complained to Xiao Gao wrongedly: “Xiao Gao, how did you survive by Mr. Zhao’s side for so many years?”

Xiao Gao looked upright: “I’m good at kung fu, but I don’t talk too much. I just do what I’m told, and I never ask too many questions.”

Butler Tan: “…Okay, I did everything.”

In the afternoon Zhao Yelan went out to do some business. When the sedan chair passed the Hongxiu Building, he heard someone making loud noises from a distance, and the sedan chair suddenly stopped.

“What happened?”

Xiao Gao replied: “My lord, someone fell in front of the sedan chair.”

“Go around.”

“It seems to be Li Yucheng.”

Zhao Yelan opened the curtain and got out of the sedan chair, and saw Li Yucheng lying on the ground, screaming non-stop, pointing at the man standing across from him and cursing: “Good boy, you dare to throw me, you wait for me to call someone!”

Zhao Yelan: “…” This guy is always shouting so arrogantly, and he has a lot of skills, how did he survive until now?

When he was speechless, Li Yucheng spotted him, his eyes lit up, and he immediately got up and ran to his side: “Brother Zhao, are you here to pick me up?”

Do you know me well?

Zhao Yelan’s face darkened, and he turned around to leave, but he grabbed him. The two brothers seemed to hook his shoulders, and yelled at the person opposite: “It’s because you are known as the most beautiful man in the capital. It’s bragging, if you have the ability to compare with Brother Zhao, let’s see which onion you are!”

Zhao Yelan looked down at the feet he had to stand on tiptoe to hook his shoulders, and said, “Don’t be brave.”

Li Yucheng choked.

But when that man saw Zhao Yelan, he sternly said to Li Yucheng: “Next time you dare to rob someone from me, I will definitely kill you!” Then he fled away pretending to be chic.

“Don’t run away if you have the ability, Virtue!” Li Yucheng proudly gave him a thumbs up at his back, then turned around, saw Zhao Yelan’s gloomy expression, smiled embarrassingly, tidied his clothes carefully, and then straightened his attitude and said , “Don’t say thank you for your kindness, I owe you this time.”

“What do you pay for?”

“I…I invite you to listen to the music!” Li Yucheng raised his voice, “A stunning beauty came to Hongxiulou recently. She is proficient in playing, playing and singing. It’s hard to find one!”

Zhao Yelan watched him talk more and more, and said, “Don’t gamble anymore?”

Li Yucheng was stunned, and waved his hand: “No more gambling, no more gambling, quit.”

“Changed to prostitution?”

“…Don’t say it so harshly!” Li Yucheng said with a guilty conscience, “The main reason is that the beautiful woman is so heavenly and earthly. If you see her, Custodian will be as fascinated as I am.”

Zhao Yelan snorted, turned to leave, but was held back by him again.

“I have something to say to you, let’s have a meal together to save face.” Li Yucheng lowered his posture.

Zhao Yelan looked back at him and said, “I still have something to do today, let’s talk about it another day.”

“What’s up?”

“Go back and feed the rabbit.”

A vein twitched on Li Yucheng’s forehead: “You’d rather go back and feed the rabbit than have a meal with me?”

“If you don’t take back your hand, I will ask Xiao Gao to send you back in person.”

Li Yucheng glanced at the kung fu boy next to him, immediately raised his hands, and said with a smile: “Another day will be another day.”

After getting rid of Li Yucheng, when Zhao Yelan returned to the mansion, Yan Mingting was already sitting in the lobby.

“Where did you go?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan asked lightly, “Did you send a letter to Zhong Yuehong?”

“Yes.” Yan Mingting sighed deeply, “She decided to go back to the barracks.”

“Back to the barracks?”

“Well, but that’s what she meant earlier. She doesn’t like the capital city. This time she returned to Beijing just to visit relatives, so she delayed so long. She didn’t expect that the night would be long and dreamy, and there would be troubles. So she was determined to go to the border gate this time. Already.” Yan Mingting said.

“Then what about her mother?”

“Take them away together. I contacted someone and told Mother Zhong to stay in the border town, so that she can go back and reunite when she is free.”

Zhao Yelan nodded: “If that’s the case, then let her leave. Just don’t move for now, in case the emperor finds something unusual, and after the general election is over, he will send her out on the grounds of a military transfer order.”

“Well, that’s what I thought too. She will still stay in the capital during this time.” Yan Mingting smiled helplessly, “It’s fine to go to the border. The waves in the capital are treacherous, and it’s really troublesome.”

A few birds flew across the sky, flapping their wings, and flew towards the boundless sky. Zhao Yelan turned sideways, raised his head to look at the group of birds, and said, “Yes, from now on, the sky will let the birds fly, so happy…”

Yan Mingting was taken aback for a moment, inexplicably peeking out a trace of yearning from his expression, he said, “Have you thought about leaving?”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, and went to the study without saying a word.

“By the way, you haven’t answered what I did today, and it took me so long to come back.” Yan Mingting chased after him.

“Don’t meddle in other people’s business.” Zhao Yelan said.

Yan Mingting’s intuition was not right, so he stopped, turned around to look for Gao Tan, saw a man feeding rabbits in the backyard, and asked, “Xiao Gao, where did you and your lord go today?”

Xiao Gao raised his head and rolled his eyes: “We didn’t go anywhere.”

“Nonsense, I clearly saw you on the street, and many people saw you.” Yan Mingting lied to him, as expected, Xiao Gao believed it was true, looked at him in surprise, and recalled the time when there were the most bystanders…

“My lord really didn’t want to go to the brothel, it was Li Yucheng who insisted on pulling him!”

Yan Mingting: “!”