From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 389

This meal took a particularly long time.

It was not until 15:30 that everyone left after getting drunk.

Zhou Yuan returned to the courtyard of the inn. He had just sat down and had not had time to greet Zhuang Xuansu when Qu Shaogeng followed him in.

Zhuang Xuansu glanced at the two of them and obediently poured tea.

Zhou Yuan did not bring a maid or even a personal guard with him. In this case, he could only trouble Zhuang Sizhu, the master of Zhuang. Of course, she was very unhappy.

Qu Shaogeng picked up the teacup, looked at Zhuang Xuansu for a few more times, and said in a low voice: "My dear nephew, do you like this older girl? I think she must be about 26 or 27 years old?"

Zhou Yuan was shocked. Zhuang Sizhu must not hear such words, otherwise he would not be able to beat her.

He said quickly: "Uncle, don't talk nonsense."

Qu Shaogeng waved his hand and said: "We are all soldiers, why are you pretending to be nice to me? I am not the kind of pedantic Confucian scholar who talks about sitting on a woman's lap without being tempted."

"When I was in Sanbian, my soldiers and I liked three things: eating meat, drinking, and playing with women."

"We are not vague in fighting, but we are also not vague in having fun."

"If you like this, your uncle has a way. When I came to Tianjin, I was short of money, so I raided several wealthy families and left dozens of beautiful women who have not been dealt with yet."

"I was thinking that I would reward one of the brothers below who made a contribution."

"Since you are here, your uncle will have someone send you four ladies, all of whom are about 30 years old. They are not only beautiful and plump, but also very good at serving people. I guarantee that they will make you comfortable."

Zhou Yuan swallowed his saliva and subconsciously looked behind him. Zhuang Xuansu was not there.

"Uncle, let's talk about this another day. You came to see me tonight for something important, right?"

Qu Shaogeng was stunned, then nodded and said, "Yes, it's mainly about Ling'er. This girl has the same personality as her mother. She is very willful, stubborn and rebellious. She is 70% like me."

"She often tells me about you in her letters. Alas, her situation is a bit bad now."

Zhou Yuan frowned and said, "Didn't Qu Ling go home?"

Qu Shaogeng snorted, "What do you mean by going home? She was obviously tied back."

"She is 24 years old this year. How can a woman who is 24 not married? My wife married me when she was 15. When she was 24, the baby was already 7 and a half years old."

"The old man at home can't indulge her anymore. He ordered her to be tied back and married at the end of the year."

Zhou Yuan was shocked and glared, "Marry? Marry who? ? "

Qu Shaogeng said: "It has not been confirmed yet. The family is looking for one. According to my understanding of the family, this matter will proceed quickly and will basically be settled by the end of the year."

"You also know that your uncle cannot leave Tianjin and cannot help that girl. You have to help her!"

Zhou Yuan said: "I help? How can I help?"

Qu Shaogeng glared and said: "Snatch it out! I can't do this, after all, it's unfilial, but you are an outsider, you can do it."

"Now you are in the emperor's heart, even if you snatch it, His Majesty will not blame you."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said in a deep voice: "After the peace talks are over, I will go directly to Jinling and destroy this matter first."

"Hahaha, good nephew, let's do it."

Qu Shaogeng laughed and stood up, patted Zhou Yuan on the shoulder, and strode out of the courtyard.

The moment he walked out of the courtyard, the smile on his face disappeared, and what was left was only deep worry.

As he walked forward slowly, he could not help but sighed: "Ling'er, I have already told you the message. What happens next depends on your luck."

In the courtyard, Zhou Yuan leaned against the wall, sweating profusely.

He swallowed his saliva and said anxiously: "Master Zhuang, those words were said by Qu Shaogeng. I have nothing to do with them. Go and settle accounts with him, don't bother me!"

"We are all super-rank military marquises and second-rank military officers. You can't bully the weak and fear the strong, and only pick on me."

Zhuang Xuansu gritted his teeth and said: "If I couldn't reveal my identity, I would have settled accounts with him just now. You are an accomplice, so you will naturally be beaten."

Zhou Yuan said: "He said you are twenty-six or twenty-seven, which obviously makes you look young. This is a compliment. There is no need for you to get angry!"

Zhuang Xuansu said loudly: "Nonsense "He compared me to those criminal women. I was already polite by not fighting him!"

"You soldiers only have these three or five things in your mind. Don't you have any real work?"

Zhou Yuan said seriously: "Master Zhuang is right. Tomorrow I will scold him and correct his wrong thoughts. So now can you let me sleep?"

Zhuang Xuansu narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "Don't let me find a chance to deal with you, Zhou Yuan. You have made me very dissatisfied in recent days!"

In fact, Zhou Yuan knew the reason for his dissatisfaction. It was nothing more than the difference in status.The distance became very fast. When he was in Lin'an Prefecture, Zhou Yuan was just a small centurion, but now he is a young military marquis who is famous in Dajin.

This gap in status made Zhuang Xuansu a little uncomfortable, and his emotions came naturally.

But Zhou Yuan had no way to explain these things, otherwise it would hurt people's self-esteem and there would be no point.

It's better to quarrel than to cut your heart and lungs.

"Go in and sleep!"

Zhuang Xuansu gritted his teeth and said, "You are only allowed to stay in the inner room, not to come out, otherwise I will dig out your eyes."

It was the first time for Zhuang Xuansu to sleep in the same room with a man, and this kind of scoundrel, and she felt extremely insecure.

Zhou Yuan felt as if he had been pardoned when he heard this, and ran directly into the inner room.

He poked his head out and said with a smile, "Master Zhuang, good night."

"Pah!"

Zhuang Xuansu glared at him, and when she saw him draw the curtain, she slowly lowered her head.

She was very irritated, scratched her hair hard, and then sighed inexplicably.

She knew she was being unreasonable, but... she just couldn't control her emotions these days. Seeing Zhou Yuan's smug face, she felt angry for no reason.

Maybe... His Majesty favored him too much... It made people jealous.

She slowly got on the bed and lay down comfortably, but she was restless and couldn't sleep.

On the second day, the delegation rested and waited for the arrival of the Donglu delegation.

On the third day, the Donglu delegation arrived, Qu Shaogeng went to greet them and arranged them in the post house.

On the fourth day, which was supposed to be the day for peace talks, the Donglu delegation suddenly informed that the peace talks would be postponed for one day because the chief envoy had not arrived yet.

Zhou Yuan had many doubts about this.

"The main envoy of the peace talks written in the letter is Sheng Ye, the minister of the Jianzhou Jin Dynasty and the governor of Shenzhou. Only his status is worthy of negotiating with me and Mr. Zeng. Why is the main envoy changed now?"

Qu Shaogeng frowned, tapped the table lightly, and said slowly: "It should be a bigger figure, otherwise Sheng Ye would not condescend to wait."

Zhou Yuan said: "Bigger than Sheng Ye? Apart from Nurhaci and the Eight Banners Beile, Sheng Ye is the biggest figure. It stands to reason that the Eight Banners Beile would not come to Tianjin for peace talks. They would still be more or less concerned about safety issues."

Qu Shaogeng said: "I don't know, I'll send someone to ask."

After a while, Qu Shaogeng came back in a hurry.

He looked at Zhou Yuan with a strange expression, and then whispered: "My dear nephew, Sheng Ye said that the main envoy of the peace talks this time is not him, but... the shaman princess."

Zhou Yuan was confused and asked in confusion: "Princess? Shaman?"

Why does he feel a little familiar with this title?