"Niangniang!" Seeing that her expression was not right, the palace maid beside the queen hurriedly reached out to support her, "You have to pay attention to your body."
The queen looked at Jiang Luo, and after a long while, she said with a heartache: "Luo Er, you have disappointed this palace."
"Mother," Jiang Luo, who was slapped twice in a row, seemed to wake up, and knelt in front of the queen, "Mother, my son, I..."
"Your character has been absurd since you were a child. I think you are still young and ignorant. Even if there is something wrong, the prince will bear it for you. Now the prince is under house arrest by His Majesty in the East Palace. You are supervising the country for His Majesty. Are you trying to force this palace to death?" These days, His Majesty has been half-hearted towards her. The two have been married for decades, but now they have come to this point, the Queen is not without pain in her heart, but she did not show it in front of her two sons. .
Although His Majesty does not pay attention to the concubine, it does not mean that her two sons can be reckless.
"It's my fault," the queen cried, "it's all my fault."
If it weren't for her worry that the two sons would have a dispute over power, and deliberately indulged the younger son, so that he did not have the right to compete for the throne, it would not be like this now.
She glanced at her second son who was kneeling in front of her, and said to Xie Wan who was standing beside her, "Princess Ning is coming with this palace."
Xie Wanyu walked past King Ning and followed the queen, but did not reach out to help her. The queen smiled bitterly in her heart. Concubine Ning's temperament was still a little bigger. Back then, she was a prince concubine, but was run on by Concubine Hui. She endured this tone for several years. It was not until the death of the late emperor that her waist was straightened. . At that time, she was more patient than Princess Ning.
It's just that it was her son's fault after all, and she couldn't say anything to blame.
"Niangniang, the master of Fule County is too arrogant," the female official beside the queen whispered, "His Royal Highness King Ning is the prince, right or wrong is up to your majesty and the empress to decide, why does she make irresponsible remarks? "
"Huahua and Luoer have been incompatible since childhood. When they were young, they quarreled and bickered. Because of her age, Luoer often bullied Luoer, so now, the two still can't get along." Speaking of this, the queen sighed in her heart, She really likes this girl from the Ban family, but that mouth is a little unforgiving.
It doesn't matter if such a little girl is petted as a junior, if she is married back to be a daughter-in-law, it is not appropriate.
"The slave thinks that she is just relying on the eldest princess to have some kindness to His Majesty, and she is just repaying her kindness."
"Shut up," the queen said with a sullen face, "can you talk about the noble person's affairs too?"
"Slave convicted!"
Xie Wanyu, who followed behind, looked up at the queen. The queen's face was indeed not very good, but although she was dissatisfied with the female official's words, she did not really punish her.
Seeing this, Xie Wanyu couldn't help sneering, everyone in the palace was like this, the hypocrisy was disgusting. Even if the queen keeps saying how much she likes Ban Hua, how much can she actually like it? This love is definitely not as good as Your Majesty.
Thinking of what Ban Hua said to herself just now, Xie Wanyu felt very complicated.
She did not expect that at this time, Ban Hua would dare to call Jiang Luo a scum in front of Jiang Luo and the queen.
Does Ban Hua really think that the queen will not be dissatisfied with her? Or... She doesn't care what the Queen thinks of her at all
Ban Hua and Rong Xia walked out along the high palace wall, Ban Hua pointed to a garden and said, "When I was playing here when I was a child, I was pushed from behind by Jiang Luo, and I threw myself into it. in the grass."
"and after?"
"Afterwards, I kicked Jiang Luo fiercely. After kicking, I cried, rubbing the grass on my body as I cried. After your Majesty and the Empress found out, they punished Jiang Luo for kneeling for an hour, and gave me a lot of things. ," Ban Hua retracted her gaze, her eyes a little pale, "That's the first time I understand that crying is also useful."
"Since then, Jiang Luo has often bothered me, but as long as he touched me, I would cry, not only crying but also letting everyone know that he was bullying me," Ban Hua's eyelids drooped, covering up the emotions in her heart, " Once, His Majesty asked me if there was anything in Jiang Luo who was older than the prince."
Rong Xia suddenly recalled that nine years ago, His Majesty also asked him, when he was only fifteen years old, what he said was that he admired the prince more, so he didn't know the second prince very well.
"I said that I don't like the second prince, I only like to play with the prince. In my eyes, there is nothing like the prince," Ban Hua held Rong Xia's hand, walking slowly and casually with each step. Because there was someone holding her hand beside her, she didn't have to worry that she would fall. "After hearing this, Your Majesty not only didn't get angry with me, but also praised me for being straightforward."
Perhaps when His Majesty was a teenager, he also hoped that someone would say that they only liked the prince and did not want to play with the second prince.
It's just that no one had said so bluntly at that time that her words gave him a sense of psychological satisfaction.
"It's a coincidence," Rong Xia smiled, "His Majesty also asked me back then."
"Then how did you answer?"
"I said I'm not familiar with the second prince."
"Hee hee." Ban Hua covered her mouth and smiled, "That's a good answer."
The two went out of the palace and saw that the streets were full of red lanterns and crowded with people. Ban Hua said, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve."
Seeing that Ban Hua was a little lonely, Rong Xia asked the groom to stop the carriage and hurriedly jumped out of the carriage.
"This is for you." Rong Xia returned to the carriage with a beautiful red lantern in his hand. On the lantern was a big character of blessing, and a pair of magpies were painted on the other side. Magpies announce spring, which is a good omen.
"Isn't this a joke for children?" Ban Hua took the lantern. Although he was disgusted with his mouth, he couldn't help but poked the magpie on the lantern a few times.
"Well," Rong Xia gently kissed her cheek and whispered, "In my heart, you are my most precious little daughter. I treat you like a jewel, and I can't bear to let you suffer half an ounce of grievance."
"Hmph," Ban Hua whispered to him, "I don't believe you." However, that doesn't mean she doesn't like listening to it.
A beautiful man who is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, with a face full of tender words, how can people not be tempted
Rong Xia rubbed her into his arms and whispered, "You will believe it."
The carriage moved forward slowly, making deep wheel marks on the snow. In this hustle and bustle world, the warmth in the carriage is like early spring in the snow, too beautiful to be real.
On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, the third day of Ban Hua's marriage, it was supposed to be the day when the married girl returned home, but according to the custom, the married girl cannot go back to her parents' home on New Year's Eve.
When Ban Hua woke up, the snow hadn't stopped outside. She put on her clothes, and Jing Wan said to the maid who was carrying the basin, "Where's your Marquis?"
"Madam Hui, Lord Hou just went out."
Ban Hua threw the handkerchief back into the basin, got up and walked to the bronze mirror. In such a cold day, what was Rong Xia doing out early in the morning.
"County Master, what kind of bun do you want to wear today?" Yuzhu and Ruyi walked behind Ban Hua, and the two of them saw the look of the county master was a little lonely, and they seemed a little cautious when they asked.
"It's optional," Ban Hua was not very interested, "you just look at the comb."
"How can you be casual?" Rong Xia strode in, with undissolved snowflakes still on her cloak, "Today is a good day to go home. I don't want my father-in-law and mother-in-law to think that I'm not treating you well."
He put a wooden box on the dresser, "Look at the contents here, do you like it?"
Ban Hua didn't look at the wooden box, but looked at Rong Xia in surprise: "You said you're going back to my house today?"
Rong Xia heard the word "my home" and knew that in Ban Hua's heart, there was still only one home, and that was Jingting Gongfu. He smiled and said, "It's natural to go back today. The palace is so big, what's the point of our two masters being in it? Going back to my father-in-law and mother-in-law, not only will it be crowded, but you will also be happy."
"Rong Xia," Ban Hua reached out and hugged Rong Xia's waist, "You are so nice, I like you a little bit."
"Only a little?"
"Then... a little more?"
Wang Qu walked outside the study and said to the little servant who was guarding outside: "I have something to see Marquis, you go and report."
"Mr. Wang," the young servant looked at Wang Qu in surprise, "Master Hou has accompanied the princess back to her mother's house, don't you know?"
"What did you say?" Wang Qu frowned, "Today is New Year's Eve."
The servant nodded: "Today is the day when Madam returns to the door. Lord Hou was worried that Madam could not find the right jewelry. Early in the morning, Du Huwei went back to Hou's mansion to get a whole box of jewelry for Madam to choose. It's been almost half an hour since I left, and I thought you knew about it, Mr. Wang."
Wang Qu's heart skipped a beat. I don't know if it was his illusion. Recently, Lord Hou seems to be reluctant to see him, and he is reluctant to discuss many things with him. Could it be that he did something that displeased Lord Hou, and he was taking this opportunity to beat him
Walking out of the study in a trance, he saw that the servants of the main courtyard were carrying boxes out. These boxes also had the family logo of the Ban family, which was obviously something that Mrs. Hou brought from her parents' family.
"Where are you taking these?"
"Mr. Wang," the servant who was carrying the things gave Wang Qu a salute, "Master Hou said, Madam is not used to living in the palace here, so she moved these things to the Hou's mansion, and will return to the Hou's mansion in a few days. "
Wang Qu frowned when he heard the words. For Lord Hou, living in this palace conferred by the emperor is definitely better than living in the palace, but just because the Lord of Fule County is not used to living in the palace, he moved out of the palace
What is not used to living, obviously want to be closer to his parents' home. A married woman who doesn't want to take good care of her husband, thinking about what her family looks like every day? She also bewitched Lord Hou to accompany her to her parents' house for the Chinese New Year. If this is spread out, what will the outside world say
Said that Hou Ye was afraid of the inside, or that Hou Ye was afraid of the power of the Ban family and couldn't raise his head
In the carriage, Ban Hua lay on Rong Xia's knees and closed her eyes, and Rong Xia told her the story of Jianghu's heroine fighting against the beast of the New Year.
"What happened afterward?" Ban Hua couldn't help raising his head after hearing that the female hero had rescued Nian Beast, "Nian Beast has become a human being, do you want to promise each other, or kill the female hero with kindness and revenge?"
Rong Xia pointed to his lips: "You kiss and I'll tell you."
In order to hear the back of the story, Ban Hua sacrificed her hue without hesitation.
Rong Xia was instantly satisfied, and he continued to talk, observing Ban Hua's expression while speaking, and decided the following story plot without changing Ban Hua's expression.
"Master Hou," the groom who was driving the carriage outside tapped on the carriage's window, "Is the Duke's Mansion here?"
With a happy face on Ban Hua's face, she opened the curtain and jumped out. Rong Xia, who was behind her, looked at her empty palm and showed a helpless wry smile.
In Jingting's mansion, Ban Huai and Ban Heng were lying on the table weakly, father and son looked at each other and sighed in unison.
"New Year's Eve, what are you sighing?" Yinshi came in wearing a purple skirt, and seeing the father and son like this, he couldn't help but said, "Look at the bad luck."
"Mother," Ban Heng sat up straight, "today is the third day of my sister's marriage. According to the rules, this is the day to return home. Maybe Cheng Anhou will send her sister back, not necessarily."
"Don't think about this," Yinshi's expression darkened slightly, "Although the Rong family has no elders, there is no reason for a son-in-law to accompany his daughter back to her parents' house for the New Year. You..."
"Marquis, madam, prince!" A steward ran in with a happy face, "The county master and uncle are back."
"What did you say?" Yin Shi was overjoyed, "You read that right?"
"It's true, everyone is about to go to the second door at this moment."
"I'll take a look!" Ban Heng jumped up from the stool and ran out the door in the blink of an eye.
Ban Huai looked at Yin Shi in disbelief: "Back, back?"
Yin Shi wiped the corners of his eyes, turned around and hurried out, Ban Huai hurriedly followed, as if his daughter would fly away if he was one step too late.
"elder sister!"
When Ban Hua was on the lotus pond, she heard Ban Heng's voice. She stood on tiptoe and saw that behind the rockery opposite, Ban Heng was waving at her.
"Brother Heng." A bright smile appeared on Ban Hua's face, and she stretched out her hand and shook it at Ban Heng.
Ban Heng turned his head and ran towards this side, staggered under his feet, and fell on the ground, but he quickly got up from the ground and ran quickly to Ban Bo.
"Sister!" Ban Heng circled around Ban Hua for a few times. Seeing that the jewelry on her sister's head didn't seem to have been brought to her from Ban's house, and that it was all exquisite, he turned his head and saluted Rong Xia. "Brother-in-law."
"Brother Heng." Rong Xia smiled and returned a salute.
"Why didn't you be careful?" Ban Hua patted Ban Heng's snow-stained robe, "Does it hurt from the fall?"
"It doesn't hurt," Ban Heng patted his hand stained with snowflakes, turned around and wanted to lift the skirt for Ban Hua, but he didn't expect the skirt to be lifted by Rong Xia, so he had to walk side by side with Ban Hua, " Sister, both father and mother are waiting for you in the main courtyard, and we made your favorite dishes at home, so you must eat more later."
"Okay," Ban Hua nodded, thought for a while and said, "Add another sour bamboo shoot soup, your brother-in-law likes this."
Ban Heng nodded: "Oh." He turned his head and glanced at Rong Xia, who gave him a gentle smile.
Entering the main courtyard, Yin Shi and Ban Huai were already waiting at the door. After seeing Ban Hua, Ban Huai didn't wait for Ban Hua to salute him, and went up to ask Ban Hua if he ate well or slept well, and whether the servants who brought him over used it well.
"Father-in-law, mother-in-law." Rong Xia stepped forward to salute the two.
"It's snowing outside, come in and talk," Yin Shi's eyes were flushed, but her face was still smiling, she nodded to Rong Xia, "Just come back, just come back."
There are still red lanterns and red ribbons hanging in the yard, just like the day Ban Hua got married.
Rong Xia walked into the room and sat next to Ban Heng. He glanced at Ban Hua, who was talking to his father-in-law, with a gentle smile on his face.
Seeing his expression, Yinshi felt a lot more at ease, "My son-in-law uses tea."
"Thank you mother-in-law." Rong Xia drank tea, chatted with Ban's family, and talked about the arrangement later.
"You mean to move out of the palace?" Yin Shi thought for a moment, "You are very thoughtful. Although the palace was given to you by His Majesty, it is not suitable to live in it for a long time, at least not right now."
"My little son-in-law means the same thing," Rong Xia smiled and glanced at Ban Hua, who also turned back and smiled at him, "Bao Hua also supports my decision very much."
When Yinshi heard the words, he smiled and said, "Hua is a child, and she is confused in important matters. If you have any decision, just explain it to her, and you must rely on her in everything."
"It's pretty good," Rong Xia immediately retorted, "It's not confusing."
Yin Shi did not expect that the first time her son-in-law refuted her, it was because she criticized her daughter. She was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "You haven't been with her for a long time, you'll find out later."
"I can't understand some people even if they've been together for a hundred years, but it's different," Rong Xia shook her head slowly, her expression more serious than ever, "I just glanced at her and knew she was the best woman in the world. "
Ban Huai took his daughter's hand and saw that her hairpin and jewelry were all valuable things, and her clothes were in a style that her daughter liked, so he whispered, "When you marry into the Rong family, don't feel wronged, wear whatever you want, if you want. Eat what you eat. I think Rong Xia is also a good son, so when you eat, keep him in mind, this is the way a husband and wife get along."
This may seem childish, but the truth is the truth.
When a person has another person attached to his heart, even if he eats a delicious food or sees an interesting thing, he will want his beloved to share it with him.
It's not about the value of things, it's about the mind.
"He's good in everything, but his style of clothing doesn't follow me," Ban Hua said. "The clothes are too plain."
So when he put on the red groom's robe, he was so handsome that he wanted to shine, so that she couldn't help tearing people apart. The grand scene of red clothes and white skin is delicious when I think of it now.
"As a scholar, you should pay attention to a word of grace in your clothes," Ban Huai advised. "Be tolerant, and you must not contradict him on these matters."
"Don't worry, father," Ban Hua laughed, "how can I be such a stingy person."
At most, she would ask Xiu Niang to make more clothes of other colors and find a way to make Rong Xia put them on.
The lunch was very well prepared. The Ban family not only prepared what Ban Hua likes to eat, but also prepared a bunch of "rumored" Rong Xia's favorite dishes, or those dishes that are respected by scholars. Although Rong Xia didn't really like these things, the Ban's family's intention to treat him made his heart soften.
"We don't know what you like either," Ban Huai and Rong Xia clink glasses, and Weng and husband-in-law take a small sip, "In the future, when you come back with Hua Hua, send someone to tell you what you want to eat. Then let the people in the kitchen prepare. There are not many people in the family, and they don’t pay attention to the rules outside. It’s better to have a happy meal.”
"Thank you, father-in-law." Rong Xia knew that what Ban Huai said was not polite, so he responded.
After a harmonious and happy lunch, Rong Xia and Ban Hua walked to the two elders of the Ban family and knelt down in front of them.
"What are you doing?" Ban Huai wanted to help Rong Xia, but he had been a fool for decades, how could he help a young man named Rong Xia.
"Father-in-law, mother-in-law," Rong Xia said in a serious tone after kowtowing to the two of them, "The younger brother-in-law passed away early, and apart from the younger son-in-law, there is no other family in the family. Now I am the son-in-law of the Ban family, Hua Hua's parents are my parents, and this ceremony is a must for my son-in-law."
After speaking, he held the tea in front of Ban Huai.
"You kid." Ban Huai took the tea cup, raised his head and drank the whole cup of tea cleanly, then took it out in his arms, took out a stack of silver notes, and stuffed them all into Rong Xia's hands. "I didn't prepare a red envelope, don't dislike it."
Ban Heng glanced at it secretly. The top bank note was five hundred taels in denomination, and the stack of bank notes was three or five thousand taels at least. Who is the real son of the Ban family, he and Rong Xia
"Thank you, father-in-law." Rong Xia didn't refuse, and stuffed all the bank notes into his arms.
"Mother-in-law, please have some tea."
Yin Shi did not expect that Rong Xia would kneel and bow to her according to her own son and grandchildren. She took the tea that Rong Xia Jing had, drank it, and then took out two red envelopes and put them in Rong Xia's hands. This was originally prepared for Ban Hua and Ban Heng, but the son-in-law was so likable, so he gave the red seal to him first.
"What about mine?" Ban Hua knelt on the soft cushion and watched her father and mother give Rong Xia both the silver note and the red seal, but her hands were still empty, so she pouted, "Parents can't do this. eccentric."
"You've taken the New Year's money for more than ten years," Yin shi stretched out his hand to help Rong Xia, "Give it to Jun Po first this year, and then make it up for your siblings later."
Ban Hua and Ban Heng:…
Are they both picked up
Rong Xia helped Ban Hua up and handed the bank note and red seal in his hand to Ban Hua: "What's mine is yours."
Ban Hua patted his chest: "Good."
Ban Heng: Oh, in this family, he is the only one who is not biological.
When he came to Ban's house, Rong Xia knew that New Year's Eve could be like this.
You don’t have to spend time on kneeling to accept the servants’ kneeling, and you don’t have to kneel to listen to the elders’ admonitions. The family sits together, eats melon and fruit snacks, and watches the performances of the piano masters, singers, storytellers, dancers, etc. raised in the house. You don't need to pay attention to the rules of honor and inferiority, you can make jokes unscrupulously, and it is not a big fuss even for children to give silver taels to dance girls over their parents.
When night came, when the fireworks illuminated the entire capital, Ban Hua looked at the kind faces of his parents under the fireworks, and withdrew his gaze reluctantly: "Let's go."
Today, Rongxia can accompany her to Jingting to celebrate the New Year's Eve, which is already breaking the custom. She can't let him stay at Ban's house for the night. Fortunately, there is no curfew tonight, so it doesn't matter if you go out later.
"Where are you going?" Rong Xia took her hand and said with a smile, "We have to keep the year old together."
Ban Hua's fingertips trembled: "You..."
"I will live in your yard tonight," Rong Xia said with a smile. "When I married you, I didn't even have time to see what your yard looked like."
Ban Hua raised the corner of his mouth and smiled: "Okay."
Blossoms bloomed, illuminating Rong Xia's face, Ban Hua blinked, her fingertips bent a little, letting Rong Xia wrap all her hands in the palm of her hand.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has rewarded blessing dishes and blessing characters."
"Hurry up and serve it to the ancestors. This is His Majesty's intention, and it can't be wasted." Ban Huai glanced at the two plates of cold dishes and said without hesitation.
"This is..." Yinshi looked at the two blessing characters. The two blessing characters had different handwriting. One looked like His Majesty's handwriting, while the other was the prince's word. "Prince's word?"
Isn't the prince under house arrest in the East Palace
Rong Xia picked up one of the blessing characters and glanced at it: "It is indeed the handwriting of the prince."
"The prince was released?" Ban Hua felt that the prince was more reliable.
"I don't know either," Rong Xia smiled. "It should be like this. It's New Year's Eve. Your Majesty won't keep the prince locked up."
His Majesty couldn't bear King Ning anymore.