When they arrived at the Cining Palace, the empress dowager had already asked Nanny Yin to wait outside the door. Xie Nanjia got off the sedan chair, bid farewell to Su Jincheng and Si Fangzheng, and followed Nanny Yin into the palace.
It was Liusu and Biluo's first time entering the palace. They were a little nervous and followed closely behind.
When I entered the main hall, I saw the Queen Mother sitting in the main seat in her home clothes. She was looking towards the door because she heard footsteps.
Xie Nanjia straightened her back, took lotus steps, and followed Nanny Yin into the hall gently and softly.
"Empress Dowager, Miss Xiu'er is here." Nanny Yin came before the Empress Dowager and bowed.
The Queen Mother hummed and her eyes fell on Xie Nanjia's face.
Xie Nanjia lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed gracefully, folded her hands in front of her forehead and kowtowed, saying in a crisp voice: "Xiu'er greets the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health."
"Hmm." The Queen Mother hummed again and raised her hand, "Get up!"
Xie Nanjia thanked him, stood up, put her hands into her sleeves and folded them in front of her. Her graceful figure was like a green bamboo growing in spring, thin but strong, without the delicate posture of an ordinary woman. Her face was lightly powdered and her lips were dotted with rouge. Her hair was tied into a flowing bun, and she pinned a hibiscus silk flower and a gold hairpin, which set off the gold tassel earrings on her earlobes. She had no other makeup. Everything was simple and elegant, just right.
The Queen Mother looked at her carefully for a long time and was very satisfied with her first impression. She then put away her airs, put on a kind smile, and waved, "Come, come to me, let me take a closer look."
The palace servants who were familiar with her temper all breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere in the palace became relaxed.
Xie Nanjia followed the instructions and stepped forward, allowing the empress dowager to hold her hand.
The Queen Mother patted her hand gently and praised her generously: "How could the wife of the young Duke be so fertile and give birth to such a beautiful daughter? Fortunately, I am old, otherwise I would be so jealous that I couldn't sleep."
Everyone was amused by her. Nanny Yin joked, "Queen Mother, this is your grandson's wife, why are you jealous?"
The Queen Mother herself couldn't stop smiling: "Who wouldn't be jealous when seeing a girl who is younger and prettier than herself?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Xie Nanjia's tense nerves also relaxed, and she said softly: "Everyone has a time when they are young, but not everyone has the blessing of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is elegant and noble, and has a long life. There is no second one in the world. Therefore, you are the one that all women in the world envy and hate!"
"Oh, look at how talkative this little mouth is." The Queen Mother was even happier, her crow's feet showing through her laughter, "No wonder the Crown Prince praised you so much in front of me."
"What did he praise me for?" Xie Nanjia asked with a smile. Thinking of Zhao Jingyu, a faint feeling of longing flashed through his heart.
"He praised you for your eloquence, saying that you are three times more eloquent than him and that he has never won against you," said the Queen Mother.
"..." Xie Nanjia didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Why does it sound like you're insulting me instead of praising me?"
The Queen Mother savored it carefully and laughed again: "Now that you put it, it's true."
After some chatting and laughing, the Queen Mother took off the gold bracelet inlaid with dragon and phoenix and put it on Xie Nanjia's wrist: "This is my favorite bracelet. I will give it to you as a gift today!"
Xie Nanjia bowed and thanked her, and asked Liusu to bring up the gift she had prepared for the Queen Mother, which was a pair of thousand-year-old ginsengs that she had specially brought back from the north.
"The Queen Mother wears and uses the best. Xiu'er doesn't have anything good to give her, so I'll give her some ginseng to nourish her body. May the Queen Mother live a long life."
The Queen Mother was naturally delighted and joked, "I hope that after I eat this ginseng, I can live to see my great-grandson marry and have children."
"The Empress Dowager's wish now depends entirely on Miss Xiu'er." Nanny Yin joined in the fun.
Xie Nanjia blushed slightly, showing a rare shy look.
After a few visits, the grandfather and grandson became familiar with each other. The empress dowager gave Xie Nanjia a seat and asked him to sit down and drink tea, and asked him some questions about the battle situation at the border.
Xie Nanjia picked out some things to say and told her, focusing the topic on Zhao Jingyu, and deliberately ignoring the role she played in it, so as to prevent the Queen Mother from thinking that she was taking credit for herself.
In fact, even if she didn't say it, the empress dowager had already learned about the situation from the emperor. Seeing how humble she was, she looked at her with even more respect.
"Logically speaking, you have worked so hard outside for so long, you should be allowed to rest at home, but unfortunately there is really no one who can take the lead in the palace right now, and I am old, so I have to let you down for now."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I am not talented, but it is my honor to share the worries of the Majesty and the Emperor. I am so happy." Xie Nanjia said, "I just hope that the Majesty will not think that I am clumsy, and give me some advice and guidance from time to time. That would be my blessing!"
The Queen Mother couldn't be more satisfied. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry. I have already asked someone to clean up the side hall for you. I have also assigned you two capable maids, four serving maids, and two eunuchs to run errands. As long as you are willing to learn, I will teach you everything I know. When you and Yu'er get married in the future, you can really take on the responsibility of managing the six palaces. This is one of the reasons why the Emperor asked you to come and help."
Xie Nanjia bowed quickly to thank the Empress Dowager and the Emperor for their good intentions.
Although the Queen Mother did not say it explicitly, she guessed that the Emperor was worried that she had grown up on a farm and had never learned how to manage a household, and that she would have difficulty managing palace affairs in the future, so he took this opportunity to let her learn first. After all, she was not officially in charge yet, and everyone would understand if she made any mistakes.
After talking for a while, the empress dowager felt tired, so she asked Nanny Yin to take Xie Nanjia and the palace maids assigned to her to a side hall to familiarize themselves with the environment.
There are two side halls on the left and right of the Cining Palace. The empress dowager gave the eastern side hall to Xie Nanjia to show her respect for her. All necessary items inside had been prepared long ago. The exquisite and gorgeous decoration did not make it look like a temporary residence, but rather a place for her to live long-term.
"Miss Xiu'er, please stay here for a while. If you need anything, just send someone to tell me and I will ask someone to buy it for you." Nanny Yin said attentively.
"Thank you, Ma'am. I understand." Xie Nanjia said, and took off her gold and emerald ring and gave it to her as a gift.
Nanny Yin declined briefly, then happily accepted it, told the palace maids to serve her carefully, and took her leave to return to the Empress Dowager.
Xie Nanjia got to know the palace maids and asked them to go about their business while she sat in the hall to rest.
There was no one else around, so Liusu and Biluo finally felt less nervous. They poured tea for Xie Nanjia and chatted with her.
"You don't need to be nervous, and don't feel constrained just because you are outsiders. You should familiarize yourself with the various things in the palace as soon as possible. I will have to rely on you in the days to come!" Xie Nanjia said.
The two of them responded in unison.
Although the harem is large, to put it bluntly, it is just a larger backyard than that of an ordinary family. Although the affairs are complicated, they are just women's affairs. In addition, Xie Nanjia has just returned from the north after making great contributions and is deeply favored by the emperor and the empress dowager. The concubines in the palace are all smart people and no one would cause trouble for her. Instead, they compete to get close to her and curry favor with her. Therefore, it only took her a few days to adapt to the environment, and she became more and more adept at handling affairs without any effort.
The Queen Mother observed for a few days and told Song Wanji privately that he had made the right decision. If he had randomly appointed a concubine to take charge of the palace affairs, not only would the other concubines be dissatisfied, but even Concubine Shu herself would be unhappy and would have to worry every day about her rights being taken away.
Now the emperor has given this task to Xie Nanjia, which not only avoids the discord between concubines, but also allows Concubine Shu to give birth to a child with peace of mind. At the same time, it also shuts up the censors in the court and prevents them from urging the emperor to establish a queen every day. It can be said that it kills three birds with one stone.
Song Wanji also felt that his plan was a good one. In addition to being happy, he not only gave Xie Nanjia many rewards, but also promoted the official positions of several masters of the Su family.
Therefore, because of this daughter, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion overshadowed all the dignitaries and became the most popular family in the capital.
Correspondingly, the twelve unmarried sons of the Su family became the favorites of the noble ladies in the capital. They vied with each other to marry their daughters into the Su family. Matchmakers came one after another to propose marriages, and almost trampled down the threshold of the Su family.
When Su Jincheng had time, he went to the Cining Palace to see Xie Nanjia. He talked about this matter and complained that the house was too busy now and he and his brothers didn't want to go home.
Xie Nanjia said, "Why don't you want to go home? My brothers will get married sooner or later. Now that they have come to our doorstep, we should take the opportunity to choose the one we like and settle the marriage. Next year, when the East Palace is completed, Zhao Jingyu and I will get married. There is a custom in Beijing that brothers and sisters-in-law send off their brides. I am counting on you to have a great time when the time comes. Twelve brothers and sisters-in-law send off my brides. That's the first time in Beijing. I am so excited that I can't sleep just thinking about the scene."
Su Jincheng: “…”
He thought his sister was different from other girls and would not pursue vain and flashy things, but he didn't expect that she was so vain.
But then again, he secretly imagined that scene and had to admit that it was indeed quite impressive.
So, in order to let their sister feel vain on her wedding day, do they have to get married in advance
Would holding twelve weddings in a year drain the financial resources of our relatives and friends
Su Jincheng couldn't help but worry about his relatives and friends.
After seeing Su Jincheng off, Xie Nanjia had nothing to do, so she planned to go to Concubine Shu's palace to sit down.
It was not known whether Concubine Shu's belly was due to the wrong date or for some other reason, but it was already more than half a month past the date predicted by the imperial physician, but there was still no sign of pregnancy.
Xie Nanjia went to see her on the day she entered the palace. She was extremely anxious and said that if there was no further movement, she would ask the imperial physician to prescribe medicine to induce labor.
Just as Xie Nanjia was about to leave with Liusu and Biluo, a young eunuch came in to report that Young Master Cheng was outside the palace gate asking to see them.
"Cheng Zhiye? What is he doing here at this time?" Xie Nanjia was very surprised, so she asked the eunuch to invite him in.
After a while, Cheng Zhiye came over with the young eunuch, and his thin appearance scared Xie Nanjia.
"I have something to tell you in private. Is it convenient for you?" Cheng Zhiye greeted her and went straight to the point.
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Why are you suddenly so polite? It's inconvenient for others, but how can it be inconvenient for you? Just say what you want to say. I'll ask them to go out and guard."
So Liusu and Biluo took everyone out of the hall and left the door open for the two of them to talk inside.
Cheng Zhiye said: "I came to tell you that I am leaving."
"What do you mean by left?" Xie Nanjia asked puzzledly.
"I've made up my mind. I'm going to find Eleven." Cheng Zhiye said.
Xie Nanjia was shocked.
"Haven't you already made it clear? Why are you looking for her again?"
Cheng Zhiye said, "I've thought about her words many times in the past few days. I don't think she cares about me at all like she said. If she really didn't care about me, she wouldn't have said so much to me and told me not to ruin my future for her. She just doesn't want to get me into trouble."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
She thought he had let it go, but she didn't expect he was still stuck in it.
In fact, she agreed with Cheng Zhiye's idea. If Eleven really didn't take Cheng Zhiye seriously, he wouldn't say a word to him. She thought at the time that maybe what Eleven said and what he thought in his heart were completely different.
But Eleven was right. Cheng Zhiye’s family would not agree with them being together, so she kept these words in her heart and didn’t tell anyone else.
Who would have thought that Cheng Zhiye himself had figured it out and now he was going to run away from home for Eleven.
"So, you came to me just to ask me to tell Minister Cheng not to worry about you after you left, right?"
"Yes." Cheng Zhiye said, "I think about it, and you are the only one who won't stop me."
Xie Nanjia: “…”
If everyone else stops you but I don’t, wouldn’t I be an accomplice
"If you insist on going, I can't stop you, but you have to be prepared to be hurt again." Xie Nanjia said, "Although we released Eleven at that time, we didn't ask where she was. It's not certain whether you can find her. You have to think about these things."
"I've made up my mind. As long as she is not dead, I will find her." Cheng Zhiye said with great determination.
In this case, Xie Nanjia had nothing to say and could only wish him a safe journey.
"I will tell Minister Cheng that you went to see Zhao Jingyu, so that he won't worry about you, but you must promise to send me letters from time to time to let me know that you are safe."
Cheng Zhiye agreed to her request, thanked her solemnly, and left.
After Xie Nanjia saw him off, she suddenly lost interest in going out. She sat silently in the hall, feeling deeply moved by the unpredictable fate between people.
After an unknown amount of time, Liusu suddenly came in and said that Concubine Shu had a stomachache.
(End of this chapter)