"Damn it!" Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Gu was not fooled at all, and shouted angrily, "How can an important matter like an engagement be considered child's play?! Who would have said that you could cancel it just by opening your mouth?!"
Queen Jiang said: "Why do you need to change the subject, Queen Mother? This Qiu Mengmin matter is still waiting for you to issue an order to reduce the title!"
Qiu Yilan sighed inwardly. Queen Mother Gu did not break off her engagement with Deng Yi in anger. After this hope failed, the quarrel between the two empresses was no longer pleasant, it was just that.
Sure enough, Empress Dowager Gu and Empress Jiang argued at each other until the end, and concluded that they should wait until the Lantern Festival is over and hold a court to discuss whether Qiu Mengmin is filial or unfilial - saying that they should not disturb the innocent ministers' New Year celebrations for the private affairs of the Xihe Palace. , but when the news spreads, can the ministers not immediately prepare for war
"This is a good thing. With such an eye-opening problem, Gu Yan doesn't dare to openly do anything to his cousin, right?" Qiu Yilan thought like this, and then heard Empress Jiang say to Empress Dowager Gu: "So during these days, Xihe Everyone in the palace, except Princess Ning Yi, should be banned!"
Queen Mother Gu said coldly: "Princess Ningyi is still in her mourning period, where does she want to go?!"
"Have you forgotten Old General Ruan?" Empress Jiang smiled sweetly, "The old General is not doing well now. At the end of last year, he suffered the loss of his daughter. Is it possible that his only granddaughter is not allowed to serve him for a few days now? "
"Isn't this Ruan Qingyan a heir and grandson of the Ruan family?" Queen Mother Gu sneered, "Looking at their age, their brother and sister..."
Seeing that the Queen Mother, who had no lower limit, was about to say something like a lonely man and a widow, Queen Jiang said: "The Queen Mother also thinks that they are both too young to take care of such a general's house? My daughter-in-law thinks so too, but at the moment the Ruan family does not If there are others, please ask them to pay more attention to themselves and serve General Ruan first."
Queen Mother Gu had a sullen face and was about to speak. A chamberlain standing behind her suddenly took a step forward and whispered a few words. The Queen Mother frowned and then said: "Then ask Deng Yi to come over and lend a hand from time to time."
Queen Jiang curled her lips: "Deng Yi? Doesn't he want to study?"
"Why are you so anxious during the first few days of the first lunar month?" Queen Mother Gu said proudly, "Does his foundation still need to be so tight?"
Empress Jiang glanced at Qiu Yilan, and when she saw that she didn't look anxious, she gave in and said, "Just follow my mother."
In this way, today's farce comes to an end - the emperor is obviously the best at capturing this kind of moment, and his originally sluggish spirit was instantly lifted! He blurted out: "My son, I send my mother off to you!"
Empress Jiang was overjoyed and agreed: "My daughter-in-law sends my mother the Queen's greetings!"
Queen Mother Gu, who originally planned to drink a bowl of hot tea before leaving, was so angry that she knocked over the tea bowl she had brought to her hand, stood up in a hurry, and walked away with a livid face without even looking at her troubled son and daughter-in-law. !
"What's wrong with the queen mother?" The sleepy emperor was confused.
Qiu Yilan, under Danqi, bit her lip hard to hold back her laughter: Is this emperor a natural idiot
Empress Jiang said as if nothing had happened: "The queen knocked over the tea bowl. Of course she has to go back and change her clothes quickly!" After saying this, she started sending people away without giving the emperor a chance to speak again.
Of course, Qiu Yilan and Ruan Qingyan were comforted by the kind words and asked them to go back to the general's mansion to serve General Ruan.
Princess Yang had just let the Funing Palace see blood, and she had been dragged out long ago, and the blood stains had been taken care of by the Kuaishou Palace people. But Qiu Jinzhu and Mrs. Lu were still kneeling down tremblingly - Queen Jiang's current position was very displeasing to them.
At this time Qiu Jinzhu's age saved her - a little girl who was only ten years old. This time it was her father and grandmother who were in the wrong. No matter how much Empress Jiang degraded her status, she couldn't argue with Qiu Jinzhu personally, so she ignored her and ordered the people around her: "The Lu family has no status, give her five strokes of the imperial staff and expel her from the palace!"
Five strokes of the imperial staff could mean life or death for Madam Lu at her age. Because she had made an appointment with the Queen Mother to hold a court meeting for another battle after the Lantern Festival, the Queen Mother would not take her life now, but she would not be able to escape the crime of living. What is more painful than living a crime is face - no matter how this matter is resolved, the dignity of the Xihe Palace has been completely ruined.
But Qiu Yilan didn't care. She silently thanked Princess Xihe for her foresight. She officially kicked Old Madam Lu out of the house back then, so that she, the princess who was her direct relative, did not need to recognize Old Madam Lu, her concubine-so now Mrs. Lu's What does life or death, Mrs. Lu's face, have to do with her
After leaving the palace, she was even more concerned: "Fortunately, Queen Mother Gu and Queen Jiang had a fierce fight just now, so they didn't even bother to call out to my cousin."
Under normal circumstances, if a scholar gets the attention of the Queen Mother or Empress before he leaves the field, it will bring him an advantage in winning the ranking and in his future career. However, the situation is different this year. Xue Chang is a neutral party - the so-called neutral party. Being fair and strict in doing things is actually secondary. The most important thing is to be impartial in the dispute between the two empresses and not to be pinched.
Like today's situation, if either Queen Mother Gu or Queen Jiang shows a clear attitude towards Ruan Qingyan, whether it is good or evil, the hostility between the two queens will cause the other party to react. So if Xue Chang admitted such a person and became his disciple, it can be imagined that it would bring him a lot of trouble.
If Qiu Yilan, this kind of person, were to be the examiner, he would simply not take the exam! Who knows if Xue Chang will be like this? Ruan Qingyan is not very talented and has become famous throughout the country. If he doesn't take him, he will be suspected of being a shady person!
Therefore, Ruan Qingyan did not attract the attention of the Second Empress, but Qiu Yilan was relieved.
Ruan Qingyan also understood this truth and said calmly: "You have caused so much trouble for the Xihe Palace, and even Empress Dowager Gu has been implicated. How can the Empress Dowager care about anything else? Since Empress Jiang is supporting you, of course she won't To harm me on purpose.”
Qiu Yilan smiled and held his arm: "Aren't you happy, cousin? Do you blame me for telling you about Qiu Mengmin before you? There's nothing you can do about it, you have to end up! At this moment, you are involved in this mess. As things go, I have to be summoned to the court for questioning every three days after the Lantern Festival. Anyway, I have nothing to do. Besides, my cousin is concentrating on studying and has passed the Jinshi exam and become an official, so he can protect me better, right?"
"...How old are you to be so clingy?" Ruan Qingyan struggled a few times. There was only such a small space in the carriage. He didn't use much force, but he was still held by Qiu Yilan. Ruan Qingyan looked helpless, but his eyes were full of joy, and he said lightly to her, "They are all grown up girls!"
"No matter how old she is, she is still your sister!" Qiu Yilan said sweetly.
Ruan Qingyan's heart was filled with joy after saying this. He clenched and released his hands hard, calmed down his mood, and then said with a smile: "With a word from the Queen, we can reunite with our grandfather for half a month."
Facts have proved that Ruan Qingyan was happy too early - the half-month of family happiness he was looking forward to was only peacefully interrupted by an uninvited guest on the fifth day of the first lunar month.
But he couldn't afford to keep away this uninvited guest!
Because the person who came was unexpectedly Ling Zui, the youngest son of Marquis Jingchuan, known as Lord Ling Xiaohou in the capital.
Ling Zui was the same age as Ruan Qingyan. Qiu Yilan leaned behind the window and peeked, and found that the title of the young marquis sounded very dandy, but he was not a dandy at all - he had white skin, delicate features, and was wearing bright clothes. Dressed in brocade, his movements are so graceful and elegant, and he just lacks the words "high, rich and handsome" engraved on his face.
And he seems to be not only polite, but also a bit talented. Qiu Yilan thinks so because: in his conversation with Ruan Qingyan, there were at least five or six quotations from classics that she didn't understand at all...
But people should not be judged by their appearance. This guy became famous in the imperial capital two years ago with the reputation of being romantic. He has so many good friends that Gu Yan may not even be able to compare with him.
Of course, there is nothing serious about a person like this coming to your door—especially if he brings someone with him.
The person he brought was a female guest. She didn't want to reunite with her family during the Chinese New Year. She came to the General's Mansion with a young marquis with a bad reputation. Her identity was probably similar to that of Hua Shenshen last time.
But if you take a closer look at the master whom Ruan Qingyan calls "Penglai Moon Girl", you will find that she doesn't look like someone from the world.
This Penglai Yue is sixteen or seventeen years old, and should be of Hu descent. His facial features are deeper than ordinary people, with long eyelashes and bright eyes, dazzlingly white skin, fat buttocks, and a unique exotic style. In terms of appearance, they can be said to be like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with its own merits.
She is also very tall, almost the same as Ling Zui, who is considered to be of average height among men. Her hair was combed into a bun with two emerald round hairpins inserted sideways. The hairpins were taller than Ling Zui's. There were no other accessories except the pair of round hairpins. She was wearing a bare dress and a plain skirt. It seemed that she had not applied rouge, and her lips were almost as pale as the hairpins. white.
However, Qiu Yilan thinks that she does not look like a person in the world, not because she is plainly dressed, but because she has a temperament that is completely opposite to her appearance and figure - people at this moment can probably write an article about Li Si Pian Liu to describe this kind of temperament.
But if Qiu Yilan would describe it, it would be simple—a big lolita with an icy aura and the figure of a queen!
Before the zombies came out in his previous life, a photo of his life attracted countless people to bow their heads.
It's a pity that this person's fate is not good - in this world, he just lives in a circle.
Because Ling Zui had already finished greetings at this time, and with the status gap between him and Ruan Qingyan, there was no need to be embarrassed even if he came to ask for benefits. Ling Zui said bluntly: "Today is already the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. You are going to end up after the spring begins, but you don't know about the oiran competition that you promised before? This time, the 'Yinchun Tower' invited one of the most beloved princes of the Queen Mother. 1. His Highness the King of Zhou, with his help, is bent on suppressing Miss Yue's 'Jinpa Pavilion'..."
"Don't worry, little Marquis!" Ruan Qingyan followed, "Students have already prepared... Dong Ran!" Dong Ran responded and held up a thick stack of silver notes.
Then Penglai Yue lightly opened her lips and said a faint thank you. The voice and temperament are the same, and there is a coolness in the clear voice, giving people a feeling of being aloof and distant.
The co-author was here to solicit sponsorship—Qiu Yilan, who had been peeping and eavesdropping for a long time, felt very disappointed. She thought it had something to do with the Xihe Palace!
Just as she was about to sneak away quietly, her wish to know the visitors related to the affairs of the Xihe Palace was realized - Chunran quietly patted her shoulder and invited her to a place where she would not disturb the guests in the flower hall. Then he coughed dryly and reported: "Master Deng is here, and he will be unable to escape... Princess, what do you think of this?"
"...I'll go entertain him." Qiu Yilan sighed, "What do you think about celebrating the New Year? Everyone doesn't celebrate the New Year at home and runs out all day long!"
Chun Ran grabbed her and said, "Young Master has told me that whether it is the Crown Prince of Guangyang or the Young Master of the Deng family, if you want to see him, he must accompany you!"
"Then what do you mean by reporting to me?" Qiu Yilan was surprised. Didn't you come to call me to greet the guests
"... My maid is telling you to go to the old general's place." Chun Ran said awkwardly, "Qiu Ran has already gone to invite Mr. Deng to sit in another courtyard."
Qiu Yilan said speechlessly: "I know. But if Deng Yi comes alone and Gu Yan doesn't come with him, it doesn't matter - I'll go see him." This guy really came to learn skills!