Chapter 46

The mansion is already busy, heating hot water, cleaning the wing rooms. Zhao Yelan stood in the courtyard, watching the servants hurrying to and fro, those who didn’t know it thought it was the new master who was about to enter.

Yan Mingting took the girl to the wing room, and asked her to take a bath before talking about the matter, then went to notify the other lieutenants, and invited a doctor back by the way.

There was nothing to do with Zhao Yelan, he picked up the fishing rod and went to fish in the fish pond in the backyard. After an incense stick of time passed, he didn’t catch a single one. His face was heavier than the fish pond. Throw it aside.

Xiao Gao picked it up for him again, and started to roll up his trouser legs: “My lord, do you want me to go down and get you two like the general? What do you want to eat?”

“No need.” Zhao Yelan said with a dark face, and when he heard footsteps behind him, he looked angrily at the fish pond.

“It’s getting dark, why did you come here to fish?” Yan Mingting asked.

“Who stipulated that you can’t fish when it’s dark? Do you understand night fishing?” Zhao Yelan said angrily.

“Well, it’s because I don’t understand your elegance.” Yan Mingting really thought that he was delaying his affairs, so he warned, “Then don’t forget to have dinner later, I’ll go to the front yard to see the situation first. ”

Zhao Yelan turned around angrily, but saw that he had already turned away.

The sun sank, leaving only the last bit of gray in the sky, and it fell into darkness in a blink of an eye. Zhao Yelan sat quietly by the fish pond for a while, listening to the movement in the front yard, until Xiao Gao started to slap mosquitoes to remind him to go back to the house, then stood up and walked slowly out of the backyard.

“Oh, my lord, have you finished fishing? Go and eat, I’ll be waiting for you.” Butler Tan came to look for him, and hurriedly led him to the hall.

As soon as he walked to the door, he heard murmurs of conversation. He stepped over and the conversation stopped. The woman looked at him vigilantly, and nodded to him tremblingly to show her friendliness.

There were many delicious dishes on the table, but no one moved their chopsticks.

“You’re here, sit down quickly.” Seeing him coming, Yan Mingting stood up and opened the chair for him.

Zhao Yelan sat down and looked at the woman calmly. After taking a bath, he changed into a maid’s clothes. The whole person looked completely new, but his eyes were still a little red. Yan Mingting comforted her: “It’s okay, wait until we finish eating.” , let’s discuss how to discuss it.”

The woman nodded, but she didn’t have any appetite. After two mouthfuls, she put down the bowl and chopsticks, apologized and hurried back to the room.

Yan Mingting looked at the direction she was leaving, sighed, and when he turned his head, he noticed Zhao Yelan’s gloomy gaze, and introduced: “Her name is Zuo Ran, a friend I met at the border.”

Oh, my friends at the border, I really have deep feelings for rushing back to the capital all the way.

Yan Mingting: “She also participated in the battle, and she is as good at martial arts as Zhong Yuehong. But she didn’t want fame, so she didn’t go back to Beijing with us before, hiding her credit.”

Oh, a good woman who is not for fame, but also good at fighting in martial arts, she is a perfect match for you.

Yan Mingting: “We also know each other because she went out with her friends and met a team delivering military rations that was trapped, so she helped her and sent it to the front line in time, saving all of our lives.”

Oh, there is also the grace of saving life, so shouldn’t it be repaying the favor?

Yan Mingting hurriedly ate two mouthfuls of food, and suddenly heard Zhao Yelan ask: “Does she like you, or do you like her?”

“Pfft—” Yan Mingting almost spit out the contents of his mouth, caught his throat unexpectedly, and beat his chest heavily.

“General! Zuo Ran is here? General, what’s wrong with you!” As soon as He Cuizhang rushed in, he kept yelling.

There were several other lieutenants who came together.

Yan Mingting: “Cough cough cough cough…”

He Cuizhang hurriedly pushed his back and beat his chest, which seemed to stop his coughing.

Yan Mingting drank several sips of water before he felt his throat relax, pointed to the courtyard door and said: “She is in the west wing.”

“Hey, why did this girl come here without saying a word, I’ll go and see what’s going on.” He Cuizhang ran in quickly.

Yan Mingting was worried that he would hit someone’s pain point instead because of his lack of thinking, so he had to lead other people to follow him. For some reason, he turned around and explained to Zhao Yelan: “I’ll go and see them first, and I’ll come back later.” Come back and explain to you that she and I are just comrades-in-arms.”

After all, they disappeared from sight together.

After dinner, Zhao Yelan went to take a shower before the people who went to the west wing came out, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep early.

It was late at night when He Cuizhang left, Yan Mingting returned to the room, it was pitch black, he walked lightly to the bedside, and shouted: “Mengting, are you asleep?”

Zhao Yelan closed his eyes and did not reply.

Yan Mingting yelled again, but there was still no response, so he went to lay the bedding and sleep.

The bedroom is on the east side, separated from the west wing by a considerable distance, Zhao Yelan couldn’t help but wonder when this girl will move to the east side?

Maybe it was about to leave, all kinds of messy things kept appearing in his mind, he couldn’t sleep at night, and he couldn’t turn over, so as not to wake Yan Mingting.

I always wake up and fall asleep at night, and I can’t distinguish between reality and dreams.

I had several dreams on and off, but I was only impressed by the last one.

In the dream, Yan Mingting continued to take concubines less than a month after his “death”, and had a pair of children within a year. A few years later, his tomb was already covered with grass, but Yan Mingting had a group of wives and concubines, and he took his family members to pay respects to him in high spirits, telling the children that thanks to the early death of the person in the tomb, he could have a happy life. With so many children, I will need those beautiful concubines in the future to spread the branches and leaves for the Yan family…

Zhao Yelan opened his eyes abruptly, stunned for a moment, then threw off the quilt, got out of bed and kicked Yan Mingting: “Get up!”

Yan Mingting let out an “oh”, then opened his eyes in a daze, looked at the dark night outside, and asked, “What happened?”

“It’s time to go up, get out!” Zhao Yelan said angrily.

Yan Mingting rubbed his eyes, got up yawning, and became happy again in an instant. Could it be that he wanted to emulate Kan Chuan’s wife and wake up early with him?

Zhao Yelan looked at the person who suddenly excitedly washed and dressed, and his face became even uglier: “It’s very active to roll.”

“Ah?” Yan Mingting matched the sword without knowing why, went out in a daze, turned back to the door after a while, and said in a low voice, “By the way, if I come back late, help me keep an eye on Zuo Ran, Don’t let her run around by herself.”

Look at this caring look!

Zhao Yelan gritted his teeth and bolted the door, but he couldn’t fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, there was a picture of Yan Mingting taking his wives, concubines and children weeding his grave. He was so angry that he got up straight away, and dragged Xiao Gao up from the bed. Went to the backyard and killed two chickens.

“My lord, why did you get up so early?” Butler Tan took the chicken from Xiao Gao’s hand and handed it to the kitchen for extra lunch today.

After a while, Butler Tan discovered that two more chickens in the chicken coop had been killed. After handing them over to the kitchen again, he always felt that the chickens were not enough to kill, so he ordered the maid to go out and buy some chicken seedlings, otherwise the pen would be empty sooner or later. .

At breakfast, the girl was invited out to eat by Tan Butler. After a night’s rest, she looked much better, but her legs and feet were still a little awkward, and she wobbled a little when she walked. She knew how to shout when she saw him. Someone said: “Master Zhao, I have admired your name for a long time.”

“Let’s eat first.” Zhao Yelan nodded, gave her a cold look, and then observed her movements intentionally or unintentionally, only to find that she was also secretly looking at himself.

Caught off guard, they looked at each other, and the two looked away awkwardly at the same time.

Zuo Ran forced himself to eat a few more mouthfuls, then stood at the gate looking forward to it, and asked the guard beside him, “When will the general come back?”

The guard said soon, she stood guard at the door like a watchman, pacing back and forth.

Zhao Yelan took a deep breath, pretending to be calm and continuing to eat.

At this time, Butler Tan made a cup of tea and shouted: “Miss Zuo, the doctor said that your legs and knees are worn out and you need to rest well. You should come in and sit and wait. The general will be back soon. ”

“What kind of tea are you making?” Zhao Yelan asked suddenly.

“My lord, have you forgotten, this is the tea tree planted by the old lady herself, and the tea is picked by herself.” Butler Tan replied.

That’s right, our own tea is only for distinguished guests.

Zhao Yelan has never seen this tea since he first saw it the second day after entering the door. So far, many guests have visited the General’s Mansion, and even Li Jinyu, the right minister, has not been able to drink this cup of tea. Actually asked this girl of unknown origin to drink it.

He couldn’t finish the meal, so he put down his chopsticks, and took Xiao Gao out to the Hanlin Academy. When passing through the gate, Zuo Ran called out to Mr. Zhao.

Zhao Yelan looked at her suspiciously, but she hesitated to speak, opened her mouth several times, and finally shook her head and said, “It’s okay, my lord, go slowly.”

One morning later, Ruan Xian walked up to Zhao Yelan, and said curiously: “Brother Zhao, you have been absent-minded all this time, what happened?”

Zhao Yelan was taken aback: “Nothing.”

“It’s all right, what do you think you drew?” Ruan Xian pointed to the painting on his desk.

Zhao Yelan looked down, and there was a **** on the original map.

“…”

“Who are you drawing?” Ruan Xian joked, and Wang Guisheng, who was not far away, came over, took a look, and laughed.

“There’s nothing to do, right?” Zhao Yelan cast a sidelong glance at the two of them.

“It’s time for lunch soon. If you have something to do, it’s time to eat. Let’s go and see what dishes are available today.” Ruan Xian said.

The Hanlin Academy has a special lunch, which is convenient for officials who live far away and do not go home at noon. You can also bring your own food like Ruan Xian. His wife cooks good food, but it’s just that the weather is so hot these days, in order to prevent the food from going bad, she didn’t bring a food box to show off to the big guys.

Naturally, there are officials who live close to each other, and they would rather go back than eat this lunch that changes soup and does not change.

Zhao Yelan usually stayed, but he didn’t know how to eat the food here, but ordered Xiao Gao to bring some decent food from the restaurant outside. Only he eats expensive and comfortable food, others can’t envy him, they can only criticize him secretly.

“My lord, I’m coming!” Xiao Gao shouted standing outside the gate.

Zhao Yelan folded Wang Batu, put it in his arms, and went out to pick up the food box. Seeing Xiao Gao turned to leave, he suddenly said, “Wait a minute.”

Xiao Gao stood there waiting for his order, and he turned around and handed the food box to Ruan Xian and Wang Guisheng: “I have something to go back, you guys take this and eat it.”

“How embarrassing.” Ruan Xian took it with a smile, pressed Wang Guisheng’s head, and bowed to him, “Brother Zhao, don’t worry, we will definitely eat it all!”

Zhao Yelan left the Imperial Academy in a hurry, hired a sedan chair to go back to the General’s Mansion, and shouted after a while: “Hurry up.”

The sedan chair soon arrived at the General’s Mansion, and as soon as it came to a stop, Zhao Yelan walked out quickly, then straightened his clothes, and walked in with Xiao Gao pretending to be casual, just in time for lunch in the mansion.

The people who were talking stopped, and He Cuizhang called out: “Master Zhao, you are back.”

Yan Mingting, who was burying his head in discussing things with Zuo Ran, paused, raised his head, and said joyfully, “Why did you come back suddenly?”

Zhao Yelan glanced at the way he and Zuo Ran were getting together, intentionally or unintentionally, and said calmly: “There is a book left in the study, come back and get it.”

“Then have you eaten? Do you want to stay and eat together?” Yan Mingting immediately ordered his servants to get another pair of bowls and chopsticks, and then drove He Cuizhang to the other side to make room for him.

As soon as Zhao Yelan sat down, he saw the braised rabbit head in the middle: “What is this?”

“Braised rabbit head.” He Cuizhang said, “Zuo Ran likes to eat this dish the most, she…”

Zhao Yelan stood up abruptly, looked at them with complicated expressions, and finally walked towards the backyard angrily.

“My lord, what’s wrong with him?” He Cuizhang was puzzled, “Did I say the wrong thing just now?”

Yan Mingting looked at the rabbit meat on the table, as if he had thought of something, went to the backyard alone to find someone, and sure enough, he saw him standing in front of the rabbit cage, staring at the braised pork that was eating vegetable leaves.

“You don’t think we’re going to cook the braise in soy sauce, do you?” Yan Mingting laughed.

Zhao Yelan turned around and looked at him.

“How could it be? Who would dare to touch it without his father’s consent?” Yan Mingting teased, then took his wrist and walked back to the hall, “It’s hot outside, go eat first.”

When the two of them walked down the corridor, Zhao Yelan suddenly shook off his hand, proudly carried it behind him, and asked, “Who is that woman?”

“Zuo Ran, the friends we met on the battlefield…”

Zhao Yelan interrupted: “She came here to find you, why exactly?”

“This… involves her personal affairs, so it’s not convenient for me to go into details with you.” Yan Mingting said vaguely.

“Okay, I see. The book has been found, I should go back to the Imperial Academy.” Zhao Yelan parted ways with him.

“Wait!” Yan Mingting grabbed him immediately, “I can’t tell you about this, but I can let her decide whether to tell you or not, okay?”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows, turned around and walked to the hall, he wanted to see what was going on.

When the two returned to the table, Zuo Ran’s brows were almost knit together, and he asked Yan Mingting in a low voice: “General, can you help me with this matter? If not, I have to go south today.”

“You will die if you go alone. I will go south with you.” Yan Mingting replied, “It happened that someone reported a large number of bandits in the Jiangnan area this morning, and the officers and soldiers couldn’t finish arresting them. The emperor wanted me to lead the troops to suppress them.” Bandits, try to be able to recruit security. Then you go with me, and take a look at the prefect of Huaizhou, after all, he is a stubborn person.”

“Thank you, General.” Zuo Ran was very excited.

Zhao Yelan coughed twice before Yan Mingting said: “Zuo Ran, this is the Zhao Yelan I mentioned to you, you came back in a hurry, you probably didn’t know that Yue Hong almost had an accident a while ago, right?”

“What’s up?”

“Let me tell you.” He Cuizhang grabbed the conversation and told her vividly about Zhong Yuehong’s almost entering the palace as a concubine. Zuo Ran frowned and was delighted, and finally looked at Zhao Yelan. The eyes are a little different.

“He is the person I trust most now.” Yan Mingting said to Zuo Ran, but Zhao Yelan gave him a surprise look.

“If you trust me, you can tell him about your affairs, maybe you will need his help to mediate. You also know that I have just returned to Beijing, and there are always some differences between the officialdom and the battlefield. He is more suitable Deal with this kind of thing…” Yan Mingting said.

Zuo Ran nodded, bit his lower lip, and then looked earnestly at Zhao Yelan: “Master Zhao, would you help me? If I can save Ping Lu, I, Zuo Ran, will be at your service for the rest of my life. ”

“Miss is serious, why don’t you tell me what happened?” Zhao Yelan said without changing his face.

Zuo Ran looked around and said, “Can we go to the study?”

Several people wandered into the study room, Zuo Ran took another look at Yan Mingting and He Cuizhang, seeing that they both trusted Zhao Yelan very much, he said, “I have a good friend who is the daughter of the prefect of Huaizhou. It’s my son, who had a marriage contract, but he had a secret relationship with another woman, so she broke off the engagement. The old lady wanted me to marry him as a concubine. I didn’t know what it was like to be a concubine at that time. Fortunately, I met her. She didn’t dislike my humble background. She also taught me how to read and write, and taught me how to be a real person, not an obedient servant. Later, something happened. I was about to escape from Huaizhou, but I had to Knowing that she also has this plan, we made an appointment to go out together to travel around the rivers and lakes and see the outside world…”

“Wait.” Zhao Yelan felt that the story was familiar, “That wealthy businessman, shouldn’t he be surnamed Wang? The prince was burned to death by a fire girl?”

“How do you know?!” Zuo Ran looked surprised.

He Cuizhang was also shocked: “As expected of Mr. Zhao, this can be calculated?!”

“…” Zhao Yelan glanced at Yan Mingting coolly, and thought to himself that this “bedtime story” gave him a nightmare!