Not long after Wang Shi left the pavilion, Gu Yin also came over.
"Why did the mother go for so long, but she is really angry?"
Wang Shi smiled and said no, "Who is angry with that kind of person? It's because I met an old sister, and I fell in love."
As she said that, she turned and pointed to Gu Yin, only to find that there was no one in the pavilion.
Gu Yin took Wang's arm, "Which old lady is that?"
When asked about this, Mrs. Wang got stuck, and clapped her hands, "I was chatting so much, I forgot to ask! But we made an appointment to watch a play together, and she said she would come to find me in two days."
Wang is a person who likes to be lively. In the past, when they were in Hanshan Town, although she and Xu were often bickering, they were inseparable from Meng, and they liked to say hello to each other.
When I arrived in the capital, although my family was reunited, there were no friends of the same generation, and sometimes I felt a little lonely.
Therefore, she was very happy to meet a friend who had a good relationship with her today, and she had already forgotten about the Qin family in the Duke's Mansion of Lu.
It was noon, and after the palace banquet was over, a group of foreign wives went out of the palace.
When walking out of the palace gate, Mrs Wang said in a low voice, "It's so boring, I woke up early in the morning and dressed up, took a car, and walked again. When I got to the palace, I just had a feast without saying a word, and then I left after eating. .It's gone all morning."
Gu Yin said: "I don't have anything to do at home anyway, so it's time to enter the palace to gain knowledge."
"The reason is such a reason," Wang shi thought for a while and asked, "After I left, did the old man of the Duke of Lu's mansion embarrass you?"
Mentioning this, Gu Yin couldn't help bending her lips, "No, it's just ordinary gossip."
Let Wang know that Qin has been showing off her wealth in front of her, and taking the opportunity to step on the British government, Wang will definitely be angry, so Gu Yin will not mention this first.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went out of the palace gate while talking, but saw that Wu Qingyi was already waiting outside the palace gate.
He stood with his hands behind his back, wearing an indigo-colored official uniform, which was different from the loose official robes of the civil officials. The mask, with a blasphemous aura all over his body.
Seeing that Wang Shi and Gu Yin both had smiles on their faces, his solemn expression softened a little, and his temperament softened in an instant.
"Isn't it worth it today?" Gu Yin stepped forward briskly and asked him.
"Today in the palace, I heard that the banquet in the harem was scattered, so I simply asked for a half-day leave and sent you back to the palace."
He had two jobs, sometimes training soldiers outside, and sometimes training the Guard in the palace.
On this day, his mother and daughter-in-law entered the palace for the first time for a banquet, so he also entered the palace to take care of them.
"Actually, we don't need to. There is a carriage anyway, and our house is not far away. It's daytime. My mother and I can go back by ourselves, so you don't have to run both ways."
Wu Qingyi said it was okay, and asked how they were eating at the banquet today.
Although it has been half a month since I went to Beijing, whether it is in Hanshan Town or on the way to Beijing, the British government and the family are lively and lively. The two of them had little chance of being alone.
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang immediately stepped on the pedals and climbed up the car, "Oh, I'm exhausted. I'll sleep in there for a while, and you two will talk slowly."
Although the carriage was spacious, if Mr. Wang wanted to lie down, it would not be enough to sit another person.
Gu Yin didn't feel tired. Seeing that Wu Qingyi didn't get on the horse, she just led the horse and walked beside the carriage, and simply walked side by side with him on the side of the carriage, talking while walking.
"It's all done. The people in the Cining Palace are very friendly. Although the empress looked a little gloomy, she helped us out of the siege and even let us sit in a seat. The little prince in the empress's arms is really called A Yuxue is cute…”
She wasn't going to say a lot at first, but she didn't know why. When she met him and asked, she opened the chat box before she knew it.
Wu Qingyi was in the palace today. Although he couldn't enter the harem, he was in charge of the Imperial Guard. He was well-informed and very comparable. He already knew what was going on in the harem today.
He patiently listened to Gu Yin's words. After listening to her, she only said good things and didn't mention anything uncomfortable. He couldn't help but sighed and said, "Today... I've made you feel wronged."
Gu Yin pursed her lips and smiled, "I was just about to tell you this, but I have something for you to do."
Looking around to make sure no one was there, Gu Yin waved at him, Wu Qingyi bent over and listened.
Her lips were close to his ear, and the hot breath of her breath hit his auricle, making his whole ear ticklish.
He didn't show it on his face, but the base of his ear was actually hot.
It was not until she heard her plan that Wu Qingyi put away his thoughts and couldn't help but smile: "You are too narrow."
Gu Yin blinked, spread her hands and said with a smile: "How can you rely on me? It was all said by the old lady herself, not me."
She laughed so hard, her eyes were curved, and the pearl pendant beside her ears swayed, and she was about to be hit in the face.
Wu Qingyi subconsciously reached out to catch it.
His fingertips brushed against her cheek, his big palm clasped Bu Yao with precision, and his entire hand stayed in front of her, only a finger's distance away.
In the public, the two were talking next to each other, and when he reached out, it seemed to outsiders that he reached out and touched her face, which was too intimate.
Gu Yin's cheeks were dyed a layer of crimson, and she lowered her eyes and said, "What is this?"
Wu Qingyi let go of the hand that grabbed the pearl pendant, and stepped aside a little, her eyes fluttering unconsciously, "It's okay, I'm just afraid that it will hit you."
"It's okay to hit," Gu Yin said softly, "It doesn't hurt, I'm not that delicate."
It's pretty cute. Wu Qingyi squeezed his fingers, and the delicate touch of his fingertips made his heart tremble for no reason, like a pearl pendant swaying down.
Although Mr. Wang got into the carriage, he didn't lie down, but pulled the curtain aside and watched them secretly.
Seeing the two of them talking head-to-head, his dull son stretched out his hand, and Wang Shi couldn't close his mouth with laughter.
When she saw that the two were separated and stopped talking together, Mrs. Wang stopped laughing, and went out with her head probed: "Oh, it's more comfortable to lie down for a while, Da Ya, come up and sit down."
Gu Yin got on the carriage, Wu Qingyi got on the horse, the two sat firmly in front of them, looked at each other, and quickly moved away.
"Drive!" Wu Qingyi shook the reins and walked to the front of the carriage.
Gu Yin immediately lowered the curtain and sat down beside Wang.
Wang Shi wanted to laugh again, and pretended to be serious: "What did you and Qingyi just say? Is it about the Duke of Lu's mansion?"
There is no need to hide this from the Wang family, and since he has already left the palace, there is no need to avoid people's eyes and ears, so Gu Yin said it immediately.
Wang Shi laughed loudly, pointed her nose and said, "It's still our big girl's ability. Thanks to me, I listened to your words and went out to air, and I didn't make trouble with her, otherwise it will ruin your affairs!"
After returning to the British government, Wu Qingyi helped Wang Shi and Gu Yin to get off the carriage.
Wang slapped his head and said, "No, didn't you say that the Queen Mother will summon us today? The Queen Mother did not show up today."
Of course, it was impossible for Wu Qingyi's people to keep the details of the entire harem in their eyes. It was only because Gu Yin and Wang Shi entered the palace today that they helped to stare at the Cining Palace.
In the Cining Palace today, the Queen Mother did not show up.
He thought for a while and said, "That's just my guess. The Empress Dowager is a person who devotes herself to worshiping Buddha and doesn't ask about world affairs."
Wang Shi nodded, but did not worry about this matter.
As soon as they got off the carriage, Gu Yin and Mrs Wang were about to enter the mansion, when out of the corner of the eye, two women in shabby clothes came running towards the bronze nail and red lacquer gate of the British mansion.
Gu Yin is no stranger to this situation—although the court has already taken over the matter of helping the wounded soldiers. But first you have to get back the money you owe, and Emperor Zhengyuan only has the money.
Mr. Wen Er is still reliable in this aspect. Since he has recovered the money owed by the Li family and the casino family, the errand to collect debts is smoother day by day.
But no matter how smooth it is, it will take a family to pass, it will take a lot of time, and it will be very difficult to finish it all before the year.
Seeing that winter is coming soon, if there is no money to buy charcoal and make cotton clothes and quilts in winter in this era, it will really freeze to death.
In the past few days, several families have been planning ahead, and they have come to the British government to ask for some money to spend the winter.
Being poor is hard to take care of, and my family can't cope with it. But if you don't help these people, you might actually get people killed.
But fortunately, going to a banquet today made Gu Yin think of countermeasures.
She squeezed Wang Shi's hand, frowned and said worriedly: "Mother, don't be angry, the Duke of Lu's mansion is very wealthy, and our family's foundation is shallow, how can we compare to their wealth?"
The Wang family immediately understood, "Hey, don't persuade me, I also learned today that there are rich and noble families like the Duke's Mansion of Lu, who are also the heroes of the founding of the country. big?"
"Our family came from a poor family, so it's not easy to compare with others. Then the Duke of Lu is not only for stipends, they also have Zhuangzi, farms, shops, all over Chuzhou and the capital..." Gu Yin said enviously, "This way I am afraid that there are dozens or hundreds of taels, and they will not see it in their eyes."
The mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law looked angry and helpless. The two women rarely heard the secrets of the big family, so they could not help slowing down.
This slowed down, and the two watched Gu Yin and Wang shi enter the mansion while talking.
"Sister-in-law, are we still going in?" The younger woman asked hesitantly as she watched the towering door of the British government's mansion close.
The older woman frowned and thought for a while, "Otherwise, we won't go in first. We also went back to Beijing for the first time, and we only heard that the British government has a lot of money to help the wounded soldiers. Could it be that I remembered wrong? Not this one?"
The young woman took her sister-in-law's head as her head, and didn't dare to move when she heard this.
"No, I'm not in a hurry to leave anyway, let's inquire carefully first." The sister-in-law said.
…
In the afternoon, when Emperor Zhengyuan finished dealing with government affairs, he heard that the banquet was over, and went to the Cining Palace.
At this time, the Queen Mother is usually chanting scriptures.
Today is strange. The Queen Mother did not kneel in front of the Buddha, but asked the palace servants to bring her suitcase and her clothes out.
At her age, she doesn't see people in daily life. She doesn't like to dress up. She usually wears very simple clothes. When she is entertaining guests like this today, she has the help of the palace staff to dress up more grandly.
But even so, compared to the Qin family in the Duke's Mansion, the Queen Mother's dress today is still simple.
"Why did the mother let people pick up all the clothes?"
The Queen Mother smiled and let the palace staff go down, leaving their mother and son to speak their own words.
"I'm going out of the palace to listen to the play in two days. Many of the things you prepared for me are not suitable for daily wear. Is it possible to make two new clothes for my mother?"
The cost of the new dynasty is tight, but making clothes for the mother is definitely not a problem.
In particular, the Queen Mother has advocated frugality since she entered the palace and has never put forward requirements on food and clothing expenses.
Emperor Zhengyuan used to worry that his mother would become depressed, and he was happier than anyone else when he heard her request.
"What's wrong with this?" Emperor Zhengyuan laughed, "Isn't the son's life-saving throne to keep our family well-fed and clothed? Mother, whatever you want, let the person below do it for you."
"Hey! It's not too good." The Queen Mother said carefully what kind of clothes and jewelry she wanted. Emperor Zhengyuan listened patiently, and then ordered someone to do it. Then she asked why the Queen Mother wanted to go out to listen. After the play, I remembered something, and said, "Isn't the banquet today for my mother to meet Qingyi's family? Why did the palace staff say that you didn't show up the whole time?"
Speaking of this, the Queen Mother sighed, "Don't talk about it, I heard people say that they came over, so they were taken to the side hall. They were going to go there with their back feet. I didn't think that they had just entered the side with their front feet. In the hall, Concubine Feng met someone and asked Qingyi's daughter-in-law to give her a big gift..."
Since ancient times, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have not dealt with much, and it is not uncommon for evil mother-in-law to oppress daughter-in-law, both in the court and in the countryside.
The Queen Mother is not. She has a soft temperament and cannot do evil things.
Seeing that Concubine Feng and Wang were facing each other, Wang's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were not afraid, but the Queen Mother was at a loss, so they asked Queen Zhou to come over.
Empress Zhou used to be soft-hearted, but in the past two years she has become a lot more cold and hard, and her intervention was considered to suppress the conflict.
After the banquet was opened, the Queen Mother was ready to go, and the old lady of Lu Guogong’s mansion began to be yin and yang again.
Compared to Concubine Feng Gui, who looked rather submissive, the Queen Mother was more afraid of her.
Of course, Mrs. Qin would never offend the Queen Mother, but she was arrogant and liked to take advantage of her words, so she never thought she was born with a bad background.
The Queen Mother once mediated the conflict between the Qin family and another foreign woman. Qin family's fallacies and sophistry made the Queen Mother listen to the top two, but she became the unreasonable party, and she will never again. Dare to be with her.
Later, I heard that the Wang family was angry and went out to blow air. Only then did the Queen Mother feel that she was the master, and she would not be out of line, so she followed.
She originally wanted to comfort Wang with a few words, but later Wang mediated by herself.
Afterwards, it was the two of them who talked about each other very late. The Queen Mother herself didn't remember what happened to Qin Shi and Feng Guifei. She only remembered that the better the two of them, the better they went to watch the play together.
Speaking of this, the Queen Mother couldn't help laughing: "The British lady is really right, her daughter-in-law is this!"
She also imitated Wang's appearance and gave her a thumbs up, "Smart and clever, not chaotic in the face of danger, a few words really coaxed the Duke of Lu's mansion. The food is delicious."
The former Queen Zhou was also so appropriate. Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law did not behave like a mother and daughter like Wang and Gu Yin, they were still in harmony.
Thinking of this, the Queen Mother's eyes dimmed.
Emperor Zhengyuan was very good at guessing people's hearts. Seeing the Queen Mother like this, he guessed what she was thinking.
He put his arms around the Queen Mother's shoulder and said softly, "Mother doesn't want to be sad, I just want to be happy. If you want to go to the theatre, just go and watch it. I will let the guards hide in the dark to protect you from the palace. If you have fun, you will be happy every day. You can go out of the palace."
The queen mother laughed, patted him and said, "Don't coax your mother, even though I don't have any ink in my stomach, I know that the queen mother can't run out of the house."
Emperor Zhengyuan said that there is nothing wrong with this, "As long as the mother is happy, anything will happen!"
My mother is over fifty years old, and in rural areas, it is very rare for her to live to this age.
Even now, no one dares to talk about the days of dignitaries, and the Queen Mother can live longer than others.
To put it horribly, at this age, it is one day less to live.
Emperor Zhengyuan thought so sincerely, and after coming out of the Cining Palace, he went to choose a bodyguard for the Queen Mother.
Good martial arts is one thing, and the other one has to be able to hide her figure. It is rare for an old lady to be interested in leaving the palace, but it is not good to drag a big "tail", so as not to disturb her own mother's interest.
As for Wu Qingyi, Emperor Zhengyuan deliberately didn't go to the meeting, so he let the two old ladies meet anonymously and relax.
The Queen Mother was free later, and thought about today's affairs carefully again.
It's not a problem that her old sister doesn't have a grade, and she shouldn't be looked down upon any more.
So early the next morning, Wang's letter was awarded Chaopin, and Gu Yin was awarded Yipin, and the documents were issued outside the palace together.
…
As for the Qin family, when she returned to the Duke of Lu's mansion, she first went to see the young son who was lying on the bed and couldn't get out of bed, and then went back to the house to rest. When the Duke of Lu, Feng Yuan, went home on duty in the evening, Mrs. Qin left the room. come out.
"How's your mother entering the palace today?" Feng Yuan brought Mrs. Chen's wife to greet her.
Mr. Qin wore a wipe on his head and squeezed a silk handkerchief in his hand. When he saw Feng Yuan, his face loosened: "My son is back? It's hard work, please drink a cup of hot tea before talking."
When he saw Mrs. Chen behind Feng Yuan, Mrs. Qin immediately lost a good face, and said in a cool tone: "I usually don't see you in the mansion, but you are willing to come out of that small yard when my son comes back, why am I? This mother-in-law doesn't welcome you like this?"
This is completely pointless.
Everyone in the whole family knew that it was not Mrs. Chen's wife that took Qiao on purpose to hide from her mother-in-law, Mrs. Qin.
But the Qin family didn't want to see the daughter-in-law here, so she was forbidden to run around in the house. And not only in the mansion, Qin Shi did not give Chen Shi face when he was outside. It has been more than half a year since the founding of the new dynasty, and all the wealthy and noble families in the capital only know the old lady of the Duke of Lu's mansion, but they have never met the lady of the country, the Chen family.
In all fairness, Chen's appearance is not bad, with watery eyes, fair skin, two shallow pear eddies on his lips when he smiles, and the whole person looks gentle and gentle. If you don't tell the age, it is impossible to tell that she is the mother of a ten-year-old child. Her temperament follows her appearance, she speaks softly and softly, and is very kind to anyone.
And the child she gave birth, the eldest son of the Duke of Lu, was extremely intelligent.
Kaimeng showed his talent at the age of four, and he began to practice martial arts at the age of six, and he also showed his prowess. Now that he is ten years old, he is capable of both writing and martial arts. Although he is not as good as an adult, he is also a leader among the children of wealthy families in Beijing.
Seeing to wait a few more years, his son will be able to stand up, and the achievement will definitely not be under his father.
But the difference is that Chen is an orphan who was kidnapped as a child and sold to a juggling team as an apprentice.
Until she was fifteen years old, war started near Chuzhou, and the juggling team naturally fled. She had an idea. Instead of fleeing with them, she stayed behind to join the army.
As a weak woman, she was naturally unable to go to the battlefield, so she went to the back kitchen to be a cook.
Because there are still some small childhood memories, the family used to sell food, so the food made is better than the average person.
Feng Yuan came from a family of military generals, and he was more particular about his food than other generals, so he only ate the food she made.
After coming and going, Feng Yuan fell in love with her.
At the beginning, she was not given a name, and she was only allowed to be around. Later, she became pregnant, and the relationship between the two was sweet, so Feng Yuan wrote a letter to inform Qin Shi, and at the same time held a big battle in the army. wedding.
How could the Qin family let their son marry such a woman—not to mention the door, the Chen family is an unknown person, and even the surname was taken from the original juggler, and he didn't even remember his original surname.
But will be outside, military orders are not subject to. Not to mention the son who was fighting in the army abroad.
Qin Shi was beyond his reach. When she and Feng Yuan reunited again, the army already knew that Feng Yuan had Chen Shi's wife, and that Chen Shi's sons were able to walk and talk.
Anyway, looking at the grandson's face, the Qin family did not let Feng Yuan divorce his wife and marry again, but after all, he still looked down on this daughter-in-law.
On occasions such as entering the palace to go to a banquet that made one's face brighter, Mrs. Qin didn't take Mrs. Chen, and stabbed people when she came up. Mrs. Chen was not annoyed, she just whispered: "It's the daughter-in-law, isn't it, just thinking about the mother-in-law? After entering the palace, I must be tired and tired when I come back, and I need to rest, so it is too late to say goodbye."
There was nothing wrong with her respectful attitude, so Qin Shi didn't say anything about her anymore, and instead smiled at Feng Yuan: "Son, I can give it to you today for my mother, to our family, and let out a good sigh of relief!"
When Feng Yuan asked her what to say, Qin shi continued: "The British lady-in-law and her daughter-in-law are not worth mentioning! Two village women!"
Then Qin Shi told Feng Yuan how she stepped on the British government and raised her own glorious deeds.
Feng Yuan and Wu Qing had been at odds for a long time, and when he heard that his family was so unworthy, he felt that he was out of anger, and said with a smile, "His family is from a humble background, and naturally there is no such virtuous, intelligent and capable person in his family as his mother. Ladies."
The more the mother and son talked, the happier they were, and they spent their time trying to figure out how to use today's events to add fuel to the rumors and gossip, so that the entire British government would be embarrassed.
Chen shi listened quietly by the side, wanted to open his mouth to say something several times, and closed his mouth several times.
However, the Qin family and Feng Yuan didn't make a move at all, and the whole capital was talking about how rich and noble the Duke of Lu was and how profound it was. The rumors at the back became more and more outrageous, saying that the servants of the Duke of Lu all wore gold and silver, not to mention the life of the master, cooking gold and jade, Zhongming Ding food, a meal would cost hundreds of thousands of taels... It is the first noble house under the royal family of the capital.
The real high-stakes family will not believe this kind of rumors. The Duke of Lu looks down on the mud-legged man like the Duke of England, but in the eyes of people with real background, the former Feng family is just a guard. what
But the people in Beijing and some new nobles do not know what to do, only know that the Feng family was an important official in the past, and he was also the founding prince, and he also had a concubine. Already believed this rumor.
Qin Shi didn't think there was anything wrong, but instead fanned the flames and stepped on the British government, saying that his family was poor. It can't be compared with my own family at all.
Until October, the weather suddenly turned cold.
The day when Qin Shi just got up, the servant said that there were many people outside, all of whom asked to see her.
Seeing the panicked expression on the servant's face, Mr. Qin scolded, "Aren't people coming every day these days? What are you panicking about? Invite everyone in and hold a banquet in the flower hall."
Since the palace banquet, many officials and eunuchs' family members have become more and more indulgent towards the Qin family, and they come to the door every day to walk around.
Qin shi has long been surprised.
The next person has to say more, but Qin shi has already waved his hand impatiently to let him go down.
She doesn't have so much time to talk to the servants, and it takes a while to dress up!
She specially put on a rich and noble dress, wearing a full set of green deep old jadeite head and face, and the gaps in her hair were also filled with gold hairpins and gold hairpins, and her body was dark red with gold jacquard satin facing the jacket, with complicated patterns. , all embroidered with solid gold thread. As for the hands and wrists, the gold bracelets, gold rings, gemstone bracelets, they were all fully worn, with no gaps at all.
All the gold ornaments in her clothes weighed ten pounds, so she left the house with the help of two maids.
Walking slowly all the way to the flower hall, when he heard the lively voices inside, Qin shi raised his legs to enter the house with great effort, while laughing: "Which gust of wind is blowing you here today..."
Speaking of this, Qin Shi was stunned.
The flower hall was dark and crowded, not the family members of the official family, but all of them were strangers.
And all of them are Jingchai cloth skirts, and even ragged people.
Seeing Qin Shi, their eyes suddenly warmed up, like a wolf seeing its prey!