Two days later, Gu Sheng arrived lightly dressed as a concubine. In addition to the coachman and the guards, the only people brought into the backyard were aunt Bi who had come to deliver the gift list before and a maid of twelve or thirteen years old.
Wei Changying called Shen Zangning, and her two sisters received her very politely. After some greetings, Shen Zangning personally sent her to the yard where Shen Shujing and others lived.
When Shen Zangning returned to the upper room, Wei Changying asked, "How was it?"
"You Jing'er looked there and you just came, how could there be any conflict?" Shen Zangning said, "Yan'er and Yi Ren both said hello to Gu Sheng, and we talked about it together when I left." Again. He said, "I think this Gu Sheng's temperament is not like that of Princess Linchuan. She is not a difficult person to get along with. I think she can play with Yan'er."
Wei Changying nodded and said: "I agreed on the spot just because I knew she was not a strong person. Our Yan'er has a strong temperament to begin with, and there is another one who is similar. It is said that one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, and it is inevitable to make people angry, but why bother. "
Shen Zangning smiled and said, "Now Sister-in-law, you can rest assured. I don't think it's easy to pinch... Then I'll leave first?"
"Sister, go ahead." Wei Changying said gently.
Watching Shen Zangning go out, Wei Changying rubbed his forehead and ordered: "Go and invite Aunt Huang."
Mrs. Huang was talking to a group of stewards in the side hall at this time. After hearing the news, she immediately left everyone and came to obey orders.
Wei Changying asked her to sit down, dismissed the others, and asked in a low voice: "Is Chen Fuming leaving the day after tomorrow?"
"That's right, madam." In fact, Chen Fu should have left after meeting Shen Zangfeng, but Wei Changying's dowry property suffered heavy losses when the soldiers invaded. In particular, things like account books and land deeds were burned, and many properties were even dead without proof. It could not be proven that they were hers or that Wei Changying himself could not remember them all.
Mrs. Song certainly took this into consideration, so she copied a copy of the dowry list that she had left at her parents' home and asked Chen Fu to bring it over, and help re-count the items and apply for a new deed.
Although a lot of things like government offices were burned, it is difficult to determine according to formal procedures. But with Rui Yutang's dowry list and the names of the Wei and Shen families, this type of procedure was naturally handled very smoothly.
However, because Wei Changying's dowry was too generous, Chen Fu was also a quick man, so he had to wait until these two days to finish it.
It was precisely because of his delay that Wei Changying happened to entrust him with something. However, since the matter was serious, she thought it would be better to discuss it with Mr. Huang: "The accounts have been sorted out these days, and there is a sum of money that I want to take back to my grandmother for Chen Fu."
Huang said in surprise: "My wife is very filial, and I don't know it very well, but she is not short of money. On the contrary, we have a lot of things to do here..."
"It's not about honoring grandma." Wei Changying interrupted, "Of course I know grandma is not short of money."
"What does the madam mean...?"
"I want to ask my grandmother for help in looking for some wood and stone in the past two years." Wei Changying said in a lower voice, "The Taifu Mansion was almost razed to the ground, and other mansions in the imperial capital were similar. Now every family It's not easy to start construction during the mourning period. But after the mourning period, it will have to be rebuilt. I want to prepare the materials now, and then we can start the work as long as we find craftsmen. The children are still young. If it's a little small, it would be okay if brothers and sisters live in the same room. But if it gets bigger, the current place will be too small. If everything is prepared in advance, it will be completed earlier. "
Mrs. Huang sighed and said, "Madam has thought carefully about it. My servant will go back and tell Chen Fu."
"We can't let my husband and the others know about this matter. It's best to say that it was grandma who thought about it for us and took the initiative to prepare it for us." Seeing that Huang agreed, Wei Changying said sternly, "Auntie must tell Chen Fu about this." Let’s make it clear. He must not let it out! Even if he returns to Ruiyu Hall, he must report it to his grandmother in private.”
During the period of mourning, he planned to buy the materials for building a house in advance, but it was different from secretly adding meat and fish to his son's diet. The latter was not only suggested by Shen Zangfeng himself, but even if the news spread, everyone would understand - only half of the male heirs in the family were gone, and the bones and blood that had been saved with great difficulty could be secretly nourished when the body was growing. I feel sorry for the parents in the world.
The Shen family is definitely not the only one doing this.
But the soil on the graves of the parents-in-law and uncles has not yet dried, and the fireworks of the old residence have not dissipated. They are planning to move to a new residence in more than two years. This is...
Even if the Shen family could understand, they would definitely not be happy. Of course, Wei Changying had to tell people to keep their tone of voice, so as not to cause any rift with her husband's family.
Madam Huang said with a smile: "Madam, don't worry, that's Grandma Chen's nephew. Are you afraid that you won't be able to tell the old lady in private?"
Then he said, "Don't worry, the old lady is known to love you, and she is also very concerned about the master. Maybe the old lady is already making preparations at this moment."
Wei Changying nodded: "It's just that I have to hide this from my husband and the others, but my aunt and aunt He have to keep a close eye on the money."
Shen Zangfeng would not check her accounts, and neither would anyone else in the Shen family. But if the money is used, it will be easy to expose the secret. In particular, the Xiliang Army is now about to purchase large quantities of grain and grass from the south. Although this military expenditure is temporarily replaced by spoils of war, it does not need to be filled by the internal account of Wei Changying. However, if there is a situation where the turnover cannot be made, the internal account must be here. To support.
Fortunately, both Mr. Huang and Mr. He are masters of accounting.
But here, Mrs. Huang gave her a suggestion: "In fact, why does Madam need to ask Chen Fu to bring money back to the old lady? After all, it has only been two or three years. The accounts of Ruiyu Hall have always been managed by either the old lady or the wife at home. Come on, these two people care deeply about you, madam, how can they not help you? Why not ask the old lady to buy it with the wife at home, and when the time comes, will the embarrassment be in vain? "
Wei Changying frowned slightly: "Will it cause too much worry to the family?"
"What troubles can Ruiyu Hall have now? It's just that Miss Su family is gone, the noble family has suffered another catastrophe, and the Fifth Young Master has to choose another candidate for his wife." Huang said, "The old lady and the ladies at home are afraid I wish I could help you. Just watch, you just gave Chen Fu the money and it will be returned in a few days."
She lowered her voice and said, "Rui Yutang will belong to the eldest master and the fifth master of the family from now on. It's hard for the eldest master and the fifth master to care about this with you, madam?"
"... Well, when it comes to Changfeng's marriage, it's really..." Wei Changying frowned deeper and murmured, "Previously, noble ladies died one after another, but now those who are lucky enough to survive are all wearing heavy filial piety. Could it be that Let Changfeng wait another two or three years? "
When she was worried about her brother here, the imperial capital was in the imperial city.
In Furui Palace, Princess Qingxin looked at the scene where Queen Mother Cai was taking a nap in the afternoon and Duanmu Xinmiao was invited to Duanmu's house to diagnose Duanmu Wuyou and his son. She changed into palace clothes and quietly slipped into the corner of Furui Palace. .
An elderly palace maid with half-worn clothes was already waiting behind the flower tree. When she saw her coming, she hurriedly walked out from behind the tree and waved to her.
Princess Qingxin followed with her skirt in hand.
The palace maid took her through the flowers, trees and grass, and soon they came to a dilapidated courtyard. This small courtyard is deep and deserted, and the moss in front of the door is as thick as a blanket. At first glance, it looks like a place where few or almost no one comes.
The palace maid waved her hand to stop what Princess Qingxin was about to say, looked around to make sure there was no one there, then breathed a sigh of relief, saluted Princess Qingxin, and said softly: "Your Highness has become much thinner these days. "
"Who cares about being so skinny now?" After Princess Qingxin was demoted to a princess and then a commoner, and had to rely on her late mother's means to live in Prince Cai's palace, her former domineering and willful temperament was tempered a lot. At this moment, he said with a sad expression, "Aunt Hu, are you okay with calling me out?"
Without waiting for the palace maid named Hu to reply, Princess Qingxin sighed again, "Actually, if my aunt wants to find me, she can just go to the main hall. The fourth sister-in-law is a very kind person. Although Miss Duanmuba is not as easy to talk to as her, I think she treats me well." I don’t care much, as long as I don’t do anything harmful to them, these two sisters will not stop my aunt from visiting me.”
"Your Highness, you don't know something." The palace maid surnamed Hu frowned and said, "This servant is the one left behind by the empress. If anyone knows about her dealings with you, it will not be good for your highness."
Princess Qingxin said in confusion: "The queen... has already gone, how...?"
"This is all Shen Bo's fault!" The palace maid named Hu, as a confidant of the deposed Gu family, certainly did not have a good impression of Shen Bo, who replaced Shen Xun as the crown prince and ascended the throne. She called him by his first name in private and sneered, "He himself will die. Forget it, but I got His Highness Prince Heng! Now even the Gu family of Hongzhou is suspected of being involved. Your Highness, please tell outsiders that this servant girl, who has been neglected in the cold palace for more than ten years, is also the empress. How can you not be more suspicious? My maid has already given my life to you, so I don’t care about it anymore, but if it drags down Your Highness, I will die.”
Princess Qingxin was confused and asked in surprise: "Aunt Hu, what do you mean by this?"
"The scam of breaking out of the East Gate was framed by Shen Bo to His Highness Prince Heng!" The palace maid named Hu sighed, "Because Shen Bo is dead, there is no clear evidence for this matter, so although the nobles are still doubtful, they still remain for the time being. But it's just that they can't find a reason to attack, but secretly they are already investigating it intensively!"
Although Princess Qingxin was young and ignorant most of the time, she couldn't help but change her color at this moment and said: "What? Wasn't that the scam that Brother Eleven fell into and was deceived by Rong spies?"
"This is for outsiders to hear. After all, Shen Bo and the King of Han are both dead!" The palace maid named Hu sneered. "There is no way to prove that Shen Bo deceived all the people in the city. In addition, in today's world... the nobles will follow When the clan started fighting, it only added to the chaos. They were not afraid of chaos in the world before, but now four of the six clans in Guanghai have lost their clan leaders. The successors are either too young or their names are not orthodox enough. It's too late to fight, of course they are afraid that the chaos of the world will delay their future! "
After a pause, the palace maid named Hu said, "So, Your Highness, you must be careful now and don't let anyone know about your dealings with your servant."
Princess Qingxin bit her lip and whispered: "Since you said it's not good to associate with you now, but you still called me over, is there something important that you have to tell me in person?"
"Your Highness is right." The palace maid named Hu nodded slightly, then lowered her voice, "Your Highness..." (To be continued)