Seeing Tao Ti looking at her curiously, Mrs. Lu put down her teacup slowly, and said slowly, "Queen Gu, your mother, and I, before we left the cabinet, the three of us lived in Yongxingfang together, and we were about the same age. We played together since we were young. We even set up an altar to burn incense on the night of the Qixi Festival, and we were married to Jinlan. At that time, the three of us were almost inseparable. Your mother is the one who loves to play. One will hold a banquet today, and the other will go shopping tomorrow. Dou Niao, I will go to Zhuangzi to fish and ride horses in the future, so happy."
It is really difficult for Tao Ti to connect the prudent and rigid Zhang family with the playful and fresh girl in Lu's mouth.
Seeing her like this, Mrs. Lu said softly, "Crown Princess, you don't seem to believe me?"
Tao Ti smiled awkwardly, "Aunt Lu, when was the last time you saw my mother?"
Lu Shi said, "The last time I saw you was two years ago. One of my aunts died of illness. I rushed back to Chang'an for the funeral. Before I left, I went to your house to drink a cup of tea. You happened to be going out at that time, and you were not at the house. , so I couldn't see you either."
Tao Ti searched the memory in her mind, Zhang's two years ago seemed to be that difficult to get along with.
Could it be that Mrs. Zhang still has two faces, one in front of her best friend and the other in front of her daughter
That's right, Huaxia's parents mostly like to emphasize the "majesty" in front of their children.
Compared with Zhang's affairs, Tao Ti was more curious about that Empress Gu. She looked at Lu Shi and said with a cute face, "Aunt Lu, can you tell me about the former Empress?"
Mrs. Lu glanced lightly at the white jade bracelet on Tao Ti's slender wrist, and said with a gentle face, "Is this bracelet left to you by the former queen?"
Tao Ti was taken aback, and subconsciously caressed the warm bracelet with her fingers, and said in surprise, "Aunt Lu, you have such good eyesight that you can recognize all of this."
"This is Yuan Yuan... Oh, Gu Yuan is the name of the former queen... Is this bracelet she has been wearing all the time, or was it that Mrs. Gu put it on for her herself when she was named queen?"
Tao Ti obviously didn't expect this jade bracelet to be handed down for several generations, she thought to herself, in the future, she must be careful, so don't damage this treasure.
"She left this bracelet to you. It seems that she is very satisfied with you as her daughter-in-law. Among the three of us, the first queen was the first to marry, and I was the second, and your mother was the last to marry. Before we got married, the three of us People once made an oath that if anyone has a son and whoever has a daughter, they will make a couple and make each other even more intimate."
"Later, the former queen was the first to give birth to a prince. That year I went to see her in the palace, and I was also pregnant with one in my stomach. She hoped that I would have a baby girl in my stomach so that she could be my in-law... I failed to make her wish come true. , gave birth to a bastard. It was your mother who married later, and the first child gave birth to such a precious girl as you... "
Speaking of this, Lu smiled and said, "Your mother was so proud at that time, she wrote to me specially to show off, saying that her daughter will be the crown princess in the future, and she will have the best mother-in-law and the most noble husband in the world." .”
The smile on Tao Ti's face gradually disappeared, and she fell into thinking—
Hearing about this marriage from Aunt Lu, she seemed to understand Zhang a little bit suddenly.
From Zhang's point of view sixteen years ago, she indeed found the most decent marriage in the world for her daughter.
If Empress Gu hadn't died young, and if Pei Yan hadn't been sick, my best friend would be her daughter's mother-in-law, so I don't have to worry about her daughter being tortured by her husband's family. The daughter marries into the royal family, and she will be well-clothed and pampered for a lifetime, and she may become the most honorable woman in the world in the future.
It's to blame, it's just that fate is too grueling, and it smashed her wishful thinking to pieces.
Thinking about it, Mrs. Zhang is also very sad, right
Mrs. Lu continued, "Among the three of us, I am the least courageous and the least assertive. In your mother's words, I am just a piece of wood. As for your mother, she has a bright temperament, hates evil, and acts a little recklessly... If you say She is a raging flame, so the first queen is like a handful of cool springs, and like a soft cloud, the most gentle and kind."
Tao Ti thought of Pei Yan all of a sudden, and said with a smile, "The character of His Royal Highness is like that of the former queen, and His Royal Highness has a very good temper. I have never seen anyone who is gentler than him."
Lu Shi has never met the prince, but he has always heard that the prince is virtuous and upright, and now that the person next to the prince said so, he wants to see the son of this old friend even more.
Tao Ti asked again, "It is said that my son, Mother Xiao, looks so good-looking, so the queen must be very beautiful, right?"
Lu's black eyes narrowed slightly, recalling the former queen's voice and smile, she couldn't help nodding and said, "Of course the most beautiful woman in Chang'an was extremely beautiful."
Every woman hopes to have outstanding beauty, but sometimes, being too beautiful becomes the beginning of their tragic fate.
Regarding the beauty of Empress Gu, Lu Shi didn't want to say more, just a few cursory words, and gently revealed it.
Tao Ti only thought that Mrs. Lu felt uncomfortable when she thought of her friend who died young, so she didn't ask any more questions.
She remembered that rice dumplings were still cooking on the pot in the small kitchen, and hurriedly ordered Linglong to bring some.
Not long after, Linglong came up with a crystal plate of zongzi, and put it on the table beside Lu's hand.
Tao Ti enthusiastically introduced, "Aunt Lu, let's have a rice dumpling for the Dragon Boat Festival. Today, I made six kinds of rice dumplings. There are three sweet ones, bean paste rice dumplings, original fragrant red bean rice dumplings, and candied dates rice dumplings; three salty rice dumplings. , pure fresh meat dumplings, egg yolk meat dumplings, chestnut meat dumplings... the silk thread wrapped around each rice dumpling has different colors, which one do you want to eat?"
Lu said with a smile, "Let's have a candied rice dumpling."
Tao Ti said, "Then the one you wrapped with red silk thread is candied date rice dumpling."
Lu Shi was not shy either, picked up a plump emerald green rice dumpling, and gently peeled it off.
As soon as the zongzi leaves were opened, the white and crystal-clear zongzi appeared in front of my eyes like a small jade mountain, and a strong fragrance of rice poured into my nose. One bite, the sticky glutinous rice is soft and sweet. There are two large candied dates hidden in it, bright golden red in color, and extremely sweet.
"This zongzi is really fragrant, not too sweet, and the glutinous rice is sticky and chewy!" Lu Shi commented with a smile.
"As long as Aunt Lu likes it, if you have eaten this, you can also try it with a salty rice dumpling." Tao Ti smiled slightly, and she also peeled a chestnut meat dumpling and tasted it.
Compared with the white appearance of the sweet rice dumpling, the meat rice dumpling presents an attractive yellow-brown color, and it is full of meaty fragrance when opened. The pork belly wrapped in the center of the glutinous rice, during the cooking process, spreads the oil to each grain of crystal clear glutinous rice, wrapping it tightly, making every mouthful of rice dumplings salty, fragrant and soft, full of heat, and delicious. Full of happiness. When you bite into the filling, you can still see the distinct brown-red pork shreds and golden-yellow chestnuts. The powdery, glutinous and sweet taste is wonderful when paired with zongzi.
The two of them were talking and laughing while eating rice dumplings and drinking jasmine tea. The atmosphere in Chang'an Palace, which was hundreds of miles away, was extremely depressing.
Ganlu Palace.
During the Dragon Boat Festival today, there was a banquet in the palace. Empress Zhou took this opportunity to grab Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi and question them carefully.
Empress Zhou screened the retreating palace people with a cold face, and sent her confidant maids to guard at the door. After confirming that there were only three of them, mother and child, she raised her hand and slapped Pei Changzhou across the face.
Pei Changzhou was immediately stunned, he hadn't seen his mother for seven or eight days, and finally went to the palace to accompany him after a festival, but he was met with a slap in the face.
He looked angry and puzzled, "Mother, what are you doing?!"
Although Pei Lingbi was not beaten, she was terribly frightened and quickly hid behind Pei Changzhou, echoing, "Yes, queen mother, it's a big festival, why are you beating the emperor?"
Empress Zhou gave the two of them a hard look, "You all came out of my stomach, can't I beat you?!"
Both Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi choked.
Empress Zhou narrowed her beautiful eyes, and her scrutinizing eyes lingered between the two of them. After a while, she lowered her voice and said, "Tell me honestly, did you two get involved in the assassination of the crown prince in Luoyang?"
As soon as these words came out, Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi's expressions changed.
Seeing the reaction of the two of them, Queen Zhou felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground, "You, you two... idiots..."
Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi hurriedly left and right, supporting Queen Zhou to sit on the couch, "Queen Mother, don't get angry, you hurt yourself carefully."
After Empress Zhou sat firmly, she unceremoniously shook off their hands, her well-maintained beautiful face tensed.
She looked at the two brothers and sisters, "You are so courageous now, why don't you discuss such a big matter with me and your uncle?"
Both Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi lowered their heads and pursed their lips in silence.
Seeing this, Empress Zhou became even more angry. She slapped the table heavily, and scolded, "Who came up with the bad idea, and how did you arrange it? Don't hurry up! The prince is safe now. If he has any evidence in his hands, go back to Come to Chang'an, one or two of you are waiting to die!"
After all, Queen Zhou had been queen for so many years, and she had gained a lot of prestige. She really got angry, and the two brothers and sisters Pei Changzhou and Pei Lingbi also trembled three times.
Pei Lingbi bit her lip, pushed Pei Changzhou, and a mosquito hummed, "Brother Huang...you say it..."
Pei Changzhou frowned, glanced at Pei Lingbi, annoyed and annoyed, "Now you know what to tell me? It wasn't your bad idea in the first place!"
When Pei Lingbi heard this, she raised her head angrily and said, "I'm talking about letting Uncle Seventh Emperor find a way to deal with Tao Ti, I never thought of touching the crown prince! Who knows why Uncle Seventh Emperor would do something to that sick child!"
Pei Changzhou was also a little depressed, and said to Queen Zhou with an innocent face, "Mother, you believe in your son. The son wrote a letter to Uncle Seventh Emperor, but the letter only asked him to think of a way...to deal with the Crown Princess..."
Speaking of which, he was obviously a little bit embarrassed.
Empress Zhou was really trembling with anger, she gritted her teeth and said, "If you ordered the assassination of the prince, at most I would think you are stupid, but I would also think you have a bit of courage... But now you tell me , you specially wrote to Prince Mu's Mansion, just to deal with a small girl? With your narrow mind, really, really... "
Queen Zhou's head was dizzy with anger, and she couldn't think of any words for a while, she just clutched her chest and panted heavily.
She, Zhou Mingmiao, calculated her life, how did she give birth to such two idiots
Pei Changzhou didn't dare to speak, and waited until Empress Zhou's anger subsided a little before he opened his mouth, "And I specifically said in the letter that it's not necessary to take her life, but to take her...innocence, that's enough. I don't know seven What did Uncle Huang do? Could it be that the older you get, the more confused you become?"
Empress Zhou said in a deep voice, "The news I got here is that Sun Zhengguo, the prince of Mu Wangfu and Luoyang Mansion, was taken over by the same pot. The son of Mu Wang raped and murdered the daughters of the people, and was imprisoned by the prince. Because of this, Mu Wangfei held a grudge and found a group of people. The bandits went to assassinate the prince, and King Mu secretly sold salt and forged weapons... He was punished for several crimes, and whether he can save his life depends on how much your father loves this son."
Pei Changzhou said, "According to this, doesn't the assassination have nothing to do with us?"
Empress Zhou snorted coldly, "Is it stupid for you to be King Mu? If he doesn't survive, he will make it easier for us? He just needs to say that you sent a letter and instructed him to do this, so what should you do?"
Pei Changzhou's face suddenly changed, and he looked at Queen Zhou in a panic, "Queen Mother, what shall we do?"
"Now you know how urgent it is?"
"Mother, please help my son, my son is really innocent this time!"
Empress Zhou had a straight face, her brows were tightly furrowed, she gently rubbed the cup with her slender fingers, she pondered for a while and said, "I will discuss this matter with your uncle."
After a pause, she remembered another worrying thing—
If there is no accident, Zheng Xuan is very likely to be promoted to the position of Governor of Luoyang this time.
Who is Jung Hyun? The famous wife-slave of Dayuan Dynasty official circles!
Back then, in order to marry Lu Minyue, he went through many tests before he embraced the beauty. After marriage, she had a deep love with Lu Minyue and had three sons. She never took in a concubine, nor did she have any housemates. If Lu Minyue said east, he would not go west; if Lu Minyue wanted stars, he would pick them for her even if he tried his best.
This Lu Minyue and Gu Yan are of one mind. If Zheng Xuan really became the Governor of Luoyang, then wouldn't this Luoyang...become Pei Yan's help
Thinking that Luoyang was originally a force under their Zhou family, and became an opponent in an instant, Empress Zhou only felt angina in her heart.
She told Pei Changzhou about this, and Pei Changzhou turned pale when he heard it, "Mother, what should we do then?"
Empress Zhou pinched her fingers, pondered for a moment, and said, "Now we will see which royal family member your father plans to send to be the shepherd of Luoyang after the fall of King Mu... This mansion must be one of ours, so that Zheng Xuan will be able to accept it." Check and balance each other."
Pei Changzhou understood, and quickly cupped his hands and said, "Mother, don't worry, my son has always been on good terms with all the princes and princes, even if we are not familiar with each other, my son will find a way to win over to our side."