He Shuijin sighed: "But in front of my grandfather, where is the place for my daughter-in-law to talk?"
He also said, "Grandfather is most partial to the big house, and secondly to the 19th one. Therefore, if we can win over the Qiu family, it will be of great benefit to our house. For this reason, my mother specially warned my daughter-in-law before, even if it is just fabricating something about you and me." The two sisters-in-law... If things don't go well, they have to make Mrs. Qiu trust her daughter-in-law! Now it seems that Mrs. Qiu has already... "
"That's true, but don't make it too obvious." He reminded, "Then Qiu can't react on her own; your grandfather is very busy and has no time to take care of small things; the queen is in the palace, but don't forget that you still have family at home. There is a grandmother! That one is betting all her chips! If you get too close to the Qiu family and make her feel threatened, how can she tolerate that one? She has the Queen to rely on!"
He Shuijin was surprised: "My daughter-in-law is confused! Thanks to mother for the guidance!"
Mr. He smiled with satisfaction and said: "You have done a good job. After all, all the expenses of this big family are pointed at you. There are many old people in charge. Even I feel a headache, let alone you? How can you be distracted like this? Winning over the Qiu family... Well, your sixth sister-in-law and seventh sister-in-law have no friendship with her before, so why don't you come forward! With so many things going on, it is inevitable that something will go wrong! "
She didn't know that He Shuijin said yes with respect on her face, but what she was thinking in her heart was: "Sure enough, being a daughter-in-law is difficult! When my aunt just asked me for advice, she wished that I would just do everything for her and not worry about anything! But wait for me After I became the soon-to-be daughter-in-law of the Jiang family and actually took over the accounting books, I took care of everything impeccably. My aunt's face immediately turned ugly. I thought I wasn't doing a good enough job, but my mother secretly reminded me that the problem was. What a great job! How could she still like me after I was compared to my aunt who was useless as a housekeeper? She would be happy if I made mistakes every now and then!"
Naturally, this time she also deliberately used a flaw so that He could teach her and satisfy the sense of existence of this aunt and mother-in-law.
So after Heshi was satisfied, she went out and asked her left and right: "Will the Qianchao Dongxiao arrive in Beijing tomorrow?"
The eldest maid Xian'er said hurriedly: "It should be no problem!"
"If it doesn't come tomorrow, it will definitely arrive the day after tomorrow!" He Shuijin's eyes flashed with a stern look, and he said in a deep voice, "Send the message, no matter what method you use, the things must be delivered to me before the day after tomorrow - and you can't make a big fight!"
Xian'er responded and hurriedly ran to make arrangements.
Another maid, Juan'er, asked out of curiosity: "Why is the young lady so attached to that cave flute? Although it is said to be an antique from the previous dynasty... but there are several better than that one in our warehouse!"
"What do you know?" Seeing that there was no one around, He Shuijin still lowered his voice and said calmly, "The Dongxiao called 'Xianghunqi' is said to be a famous Dongxiao player who entered the palace as a concubine in the previous dynasty. Slander, after being thrown into the cold palace, she used a piece of bamboo in the cold palace, without relying on any tools, just with her hands, and worked hard for more than ten years to polish it... After the flute was completed, she took this flute and played a song of her own life. The best song is "Xiang Xiaoyu Yun" - so it's called 'Xianghunresent'."
Juaner was puzzled: "But you usually don't care about this?"
He Shuijin is calm and shrewd. He has always looked down on those stories about crazy men and women, thinking that they are useless except to waste time.
"But Uncle Qi was very interested in it during his lifetime!" He Shuijin narrowed his eyes, "It is said that after he heard about this story, he wanted to send someone to find it... Unfortunately, he fell ill soon after, and then... "
"Are you going to give it to the old lady?" Juan'er suddenly realized.
The seventh master, Jiang Tianjiao, is the only son of Mrs. Tao and the half-brother of Queen Jiang. Duke Qin's love for this son can be seen from the name "Tianjiao".
Jiang Tianjiao lived up to his father's expectations. Under the teachings of Mrs. Tao, he almost grew up with the title of prodigy and genius - so talented, he is also humble, gentle and approachable!
His popularity back then was incomparable to Qiu Jinglan, who entered the Imperial Academy at the age of eighteen, and Jiang Yashuang, who entered the Imperial Academy at the age of nineteen this year, combined!
Of course, this is also because when Jiang Tianjiao was sixteen years old and wanted to participate in the Spring Festival as Jieyuan, he suddenly fell seriously ill and died within a few months. The grief-stricken Qin Guogong thought that this was because he was too sharp and had passed the age. Easy to fold. When Jiang Yashuang arrived, the Duke of Qin did not allow him to spread his reputation, so except for the Queen Mother's Party who had been keeping an eye on the Jiang family, Jiang Yashuang's talent became widely known only after he participated in the county examination.
And if it weren't for Jiang Yashuang's extraordinary talent, he would have been ranked among the best before he was twenty. If he keeps suppressing it any longer, he may become exhausted. Duke Qin even hopes that his end will be postponed, even to the age of thirty - it is better than following in the footsteps of Jiang Tianjiao!
… Because of Jiang Tianjiao’s long-term mourning, Mrs. Tao was so heartbroken that she almost followed her son. Regarding Jiang Tianjiao’s funeral, Dou, He and other daughters-in-law acted nonchalantly, and even secretly felt a little happy. Except for Except for Empress Jiang, only the younger Tao felt truly sad for the death of his uncle. During those days, he took care of Mrs. Tao almost without taking care of her clothes and eyes, which made the old Mrs. Tao feel a little comfort and dependence. With this comfort, I gradually calmed down!
So from then on, Mrs. Tao didn't say anything, but she hated Mrs. Dou and others to the core of her heart! As for her grandniece and granddaughter-in-law, Mrs. Tao, she treated her as her own granddaughter and tried every possible means to make her happy!
There was a reason why Dou, He and others were so unwise at the time - at that time, Queen Jiang had just entered the palace and had not yet participated in politics, so her status in her natal family was not much higher than before she left the cabinet. After all, the emperor is such a puppet.
Therefore, to the Dou family, or other children of the Jiang family, the greatest threat is Jiang Tianjiao.
After Jiang Tianjiao died, their husbands and sons no longer had to worry about being robbed of their resources by Jiang Tianjiao, so of course they were happy.
As a result, the empress later became involved in politics. Although the master of the Jiang family is still the Duke of Qin, Empress Jiang's weight has risen above that of her brothers, and she has become the most important talker in the queen's party besides the Duke of Qin... People like the Dou family and the He family , it’s too late to regret...
He Shuijin now sent people to find the Dongxiao that Jiang Tianjiao wanted to find before he was alive. Naturally, he planned to use this deceased uncle to gain favor with Mrs. Tao and Queen Jiang.
"What a deal it is to exchange a flute for the favor of my grandmother and the empress?" He Shuijin smiled faintly, "The seventh uncle's death anniversary will be in three days. We must catch up with this day!"
"This dongxiao... Madam's side?" Juan'er asked in a low voice.
"It is said that during the funeral ceremony of Uncle Qi, my mother once acted playfully, and it was witnessed by people around my grandmother." He Shuijin looked a little strange, "So it's better not to tell my mother, lest she will let her go after she passes. Grandma thought of something unpleasant... It’s better for me to tell her alone.”
Juaner understood: "My maid promises that something will happen that day. Madam herself called you to ask the old lady for instructions!"
He Shuijin nodded with satisfaction.
She had just finished brushing up on Qiu Yilan's favorability here, and she was planning to please Mrs. Tao and the Queen again. She was so meticulously calculated - but she didn't know that Queen Jiang in the palace was looking at the secret letters and sneered: "Oh? That one?" It turned out that Xiao Si’s wife bought it, and is it now being sent to the capital? It’s interesting!”
The female officer gave a fair evaluation: "Although the Fourteenth Young Lady has some plans, she still put her mind into it."
"I know." Queen Jiang nodded, "The most right thing He did in his life was probably to hire his niece to his son!"
"Then the fourteenth young lady will turn around and present the flute to the old lady?" the female officer asked for instructions.
"If she works so hard, give her some benefits." Empress Jiang said nonchalantly, "Especially because she plans to kill him first without telling the He family and tell her later... I really don't know what He family's face will be like when he learns the news later."
The female officer pursed her lips: "If you want to encourage the Fourteenth Young Madam to continue working for you and the old lady, it's better not to expose her."
"Just talking." The Queen said lazily, "By the way, how has Nineteenth's daughter-in-law been doing these past two days? Now that the Jiang family is in such turmoil, if she is not smart enough, Nineteenth will have to worry about her!"
The female officer pondered for a while and then said: "It's not obvious yet - but Madam Nineteenth doesn't seem to be a person who is willing to suffer losses."
"It's better if you don't want to suffer a loss!" Empress Jiang snorted, "We're not afraid of another Mr. Zhuang coming out of the fourth house. Anyway, that Mr. Zhuang isn't doing well yet? No one in the Jiang family's daughter-in-law can live a more comfortable life than her. Oh! I'm afraid that there will be another Qianbin in the fourth room! That's what I can't do! As long as Ning Yi sincerely considers and is filial to my mother, what's wrong with her being overbearing? ! Just like Qian Bin, everyone agrees, but the result is that a good daughter-in-law can step on her even if she has a good life... "
The female official remained silent, but in her heart she did not agree with her evaluation of little Tao: "Mrs. Zhuang and Princess Ningyi both have husbands to rely on, and the former also has a son... Little Tao, what does she have? Yes, I am. Both the people and the empress sympathize with her, but the empress relies on her natal family to do politics. How can the empress or the old lady dare to be too partial? Otherwise, the other members of the Jiang family will not accept it... and the Duke will not agree! "
"Especially how could the Eighth Young Master be so arrogant? Over the years, how many of his concubines have been his darlings one moment, abandoned by him the next moment, and even got angry and beat him to death himself?! Are there many concubines like this? Husband, what else can Xiao Tao do besides swallow her anger?"
While he was in a trance, he heard someone from the palace coming to report: "Mother, the seventh prince is here!"
"Weisang?" Empress Jiang handed the secret letter to the female official, motioned for her to take it in and put it away, straightened her clothes and ordered, "Xuan!"
A moment later, the seventh prince Chu Weisang, who was dressed in princely attire and was not quite tall yet, but already quite impressive, came to the palace alone and bowed in salute: "My son, please see your mother!"
"My son, there is no need to be polite!" Empress Jiang was very indifferent to the princes and princesses who were not her own children, including Chu Weisang, the most intelligent prince in front of her.
But since she followed Xue Chang's wishes and chose Chu Weisang to compete for the position in the East Palace, she didn't mind showing affection. After raising her hand to avoid courtesy, she asked him to sit on the table in front of her, "How are you today? "
Before Chu Weisang sat down, he thanked him again and said, "Thanks to the protection of my mother, everything is fine today." He added, "I just met Brother Three Emperors, and we argued over a few words of sages. Brother Three Emperors, It’s hard to justify, so I walked away!”
"My son's intelligence is known to both the government and the public. How can he be compared to the son of Concubine Gu?" Although Empress Jiang's feelings for the puppet emperor were just that, it did not mean that she could tolerate the concubine's affair. —Didn’t the former Concubine Shu die suddenly? It's really hard to deal with your own nephew, otherwise the queen would definitely not let him go if he were another adulterer, as long as he was not of the Jiang family's blood!
Therefore, the Queen, who originally disliked Concubine Gu, became even more disgusted with her when she found out that Concubine Gu had someone outside the palace - but Xue Chang's weight was far greater than that of an unfaithful concubine. The queen could only bear it now and only called Concubine Gu harshly, "You are far more talented than Chu Weize, and you work harder than him. If I don't choose you for the meeting in the East Palace, who else can I choose?"
Chu Weisang said respectfully: "How can my son be so virtuous and capable that he can be recognized by the ministers? All these blessings are due to the help of the queen!"
"Have a good time preparing your homework, lest someone from the Queen Mother's side has bad intentions and fails you." Queen Jiang was very satisfied with his attitude and told him not to relax.
Compared to the empress, who had Xue Chang's promise and only had to tell Chu Weisang to perform well, the atmosphere here was much more tense with Empress Dowager Gu: "I just met Lao Qi, and he failed the exam again? Didn't the Ai family tell you that? If you don’t have enough ink, just don’t accept his words! Or let the capable staff take over... It’s not the first time you’ve lost to him, so why are you showing off like this?”
Danchi Zhouwang was silent and dared not speak.
The female official advised: "It was also the Seventh Prince who spoke harshly, and His Highness King Zhou couldn't hold it back for a moment - but the Seventh Prince came and went, so he only dared to compete with his homework. When it comes to general affairs, how can he compare to Your Highness?"
"But he is still young, and Jiang did not let him get into contact with common affairs at all on the pretext that he had not finished his studies..." The Queen Mother said thoughtfully, "Perhaps she is taking advantage of this situation to teach him how to deal with common affairs? We can't let him study with peace of mind. Come on, how many times has he shown himself to be 'intelligent, studious and knowledgeable' while stepping on Weizhou?"