In early November, Yanbei ushered in the first snow of the year.
Although this first snow did not fall much, it was lingering for several days. The entire Yunyang City was white from a height, but the bluestone road in the city was very slippery, not only pedestrians. It slipped while walking, and even the carriage hit several cars. It may be because there are more people coming and going in Yunyang City these days, and the snow on the ground has been trampled before it is compacted. Even the City Defense Division, which is responsible for inner city security, sends people to clean the main roads in the city every day. , but there is always a layer of ice residue left after the snow melted on the ground.
The person from the court came from Yanbei in mid-November. I heard that because of the continuous snowstorm on the road, the car turned over and delayed for a few days, so they did not arrive in time for the old princess' birthday.
Although it was late, what was supposed to come still came.
The empress dowager and the emperor still rewarded the old princess with many rare treasures as birthday gifts as in previous years, and then expressed regret over the death of the prince.
After the death of the prince, the palace of Yanbei sent someone to the capital to deal with the follow-up matters to welcome the bones of the prince, and also to ask the court for an explanation. It's just that the prince was suddenly assassinated that day. Although several suspected assassins were later caught, those people committed suicide on the spot, so they died without proof in the end. Naturally, the imperial court would not give the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion a chance to put the blame on itself, so in the end, the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion wanted to hold the Imperial Court accountable, but couldn’t come up with any solid evidence, so in the end it had no choice but to do so. However, the knot between the Yanbei Palace and the imperial court was left behind.
In addition to the two officials from the Ministry of Rites this time, there were also several eunuchs and grandma next to the empress dowager and the emperor. When the business was almost over, a eunuch said to the king of Yanbei: "Eunuch Lu, who is beside the Queen Mother, has been in Yanbei for a while. Before our family came, the queen mother also said that Eunuch Lu should go back to Kyoto after finishing his work. , Eunuch Lu can't be with her old man's side."
Eunuch Lu had already been handed over to Xiao Shun by Xiao Jingxi, and now I don't know if he still lives. It's okay to die, but if you're alive, you'd be better off dead.
When the Yanbei Wangfu sent an official document to the imperial court, it had lightly mentioned that Eunuch Lu had been held accountable for the crime of deceiving the monarch, but the imperial court did not respond immediately. Now the people of the Queen Mother brought this matter up in front of King Yanbei, and they also knew that the Queen Mother did not know about it, or that she knew about it and deliberately came to find fault.
King Yanbei raised his eyebrows and thought about it, and then asked the princess sitting beside him calmly: "Which Eunuch Lu is he talking about? Why doesn't this king have any impression?" It's stress-free to do.
Eunuch: "..."
The princess thought for a while, and reminded the prince warmly: "I heard Jingxi mention it a while ago that the palace seems to have dealt with a few eunuchs who bullied the emperor for the court? But the concubine never asks about the outside world. I don't know." The princess also started Tai Chi.
King Yanbei touched his chin and nodded, and then said to the eunuch: "This king is rarely in the mansion at the end of the year, and he never asks about trivial matters. You should ask my son about this." The responsibility was pushed aside. .
The eunuch's mouth twitched, and he was really speechless.
On the contrary, an old maid who came with the eunuch said: "I don't know where the second son is now? There is also a decree for the second son here. If the second son is in the mansion, can he come out to receive the decree? "
The king of Yanbei and the princess looked at each other, and the princess still told Mama Xin, "Send someone to the villa to find the second son back, and it is said that the Queen Mother Yi has arrived, and let him come back to receive the order."
Xiao Jingxi didn't return to the mansion until an hour later. During this period, these eunuchs and aunties were all taken to rest for a round. As for the will for Xiao Jingxi, Xiao Jingxi did not come back and they did not disclose it beforehand. , because the prince and the princess did not go to inquire about it.
After Xiao Jingxi returned to the mansion, the nanny who came with the empress dowager's decree was invited over again.
In front of Xiao Jingxi and the prince and the princess, the old lady dictated the Queen Mother's oracle, that she wanted to give Xiao Jingxi a marriage, and the gift was the girl from the Queen Mother's family, Miss Yan's family.
King Yanbei and the princess didn't say anything after hearing the Queen Mother's decree. King Yanbei glanced at Xiao Jingxi and took a sip of tea on the ground.
Xiao Jingxi said calmly, "Thanks to the Queen Mother for showing her love, but unfortunately I already have a marriage contract, and the wedding date is set for September next year."
The old mama didn't take it seriously: "There is the will of the queen mother, and the previous marriage of the son is to be dismissed. Is it possible that the girl and the lady of the Yan family are honorable?"
Xiao Jingxi smiled: "This... I'm afraid it's not right."
When the old mama heard the words, she was a little displeased: "So, the second son is trying to resist the decree?"
Xiao Jingxi sat there and thought for a while, then smiled at the old mama: "Whether your status is honorable or not... Why don't mama come and help me care about it? Miss Yan is the daughter of the Queen Mother's family, and her status is naturally very noble. The one who has a marriage contract with me is the first daughter of the first emperor’s granddaughter, Jiayi County Master. The Xiao family is the minister of the Li family, and if the Yanbei Palace repents of the marriage for no reason, the Xiao family may not be able to face the first emperor.”
When the old mama heard the words, she paused and said, "I don't know what the county master of Jiayi, the granddaughter of the late emperor, the princesses and the princesses are all in the capital."
At this time, King Yanbei said: "You have been in the palace, and it is not surprising that you don't know. Before his death, the previous emperor left a will to His Royal Highness Xian Wang, pardoning King Xian and adding the title of King of Hezhong, Jiayi County. The Lord is the direct daughter of the King of the River."
The old mama naturally knew about this matter. The queen mother was furious about it. No one in the palace dared to mention anything related to King Xian or King Hezhong, otherwise, their lives would be at risk.
"That imperial decree..." When the old mama opened her mouth, she wanted to say that the imperial decree was fake, but she was an old man in the palace after all, so she realized something was wrong as soon as she opened her mouth. Whether the imperial decree in the hands of King Xian is true or false is not up to her servants to judge, and even the emperor and the queen mother have not publicly stated that the decree in the hands of King Xian is false.
The old mama broke out in a cold sweat and glanced at King Yanbei, not daring to do it again.
The King of Yanbei was too lazy to care about the pros and cons of words with a servant.
The old mama has a task at hand, and continued: "If this relationship is really impossible to shirk... The second son can imitate the old prince and marry two rooms. Miss Yan is also a reasonable and well-known lady." This time the old mama Be wise, he only said that Xiao Jingxi would marry two rooms, and he didn't say who was older and who was younger.
King Yanbei nodded and said, "As a man, it's quite normal to have three wives and four concubines."
The old mama was overjoyed when she heard the words, thinking that the Yanbei palace would agree, she was about to say a few more words, but the Yanbei king sighed again, looked at Xiao Jingxi a few times, and said regretfully, "It's just that this king's son may not have this. Luckily, he has been thin since he was a child, so it would be good to have a wife. Marry two? Tsk... I would still be doing porcelain work without that diamond." King Yanbei shook his head.
Princess: "..."
The corners of Xiao Jingxi's eyes twitched, and it was thanks to him that he was very deep, so he didn't let the smile on his face collapse.
It's just that King Yanbei is so shameless and shameless, even the old mama can't go on.
People's father directly said that his son was not good, and his physical condition could not control the two daughters, so what did they ask them to say? Death under peony flowers, is it romantic to be a ghost? This is not a matchmaking marriage, but a deliberate attempt to kill.
In the end, the old lady beside the queen mother was defeated, and she could only think about going back and asking the queen mother to decide. The Yanbei Prince's Mansion is so tough to resist and disobey the decree. To be honest, a few palace servants dare not fight head-to-head in the Yanbei Prince's Mansion. After all, Eunuch Lu is still here, and if he loses his life, he may not be able to find justice.
The people from the imperial court did not stay in Yanbei much, and Qichen returned to Beijing and left Yunyang City the next day. It was just that the Empress Dowager wanted to confer the marriage of the Yan family's daughter to the second son of the Xiao family, but it was still passed on.
The people in Yanbei heard a lot of discussions, but everyone felt that if the court must grant marriage, Second Young Master Xiao would probably follow his grandfather's example and marry two houses. Anyway, marrying the Yan family's daughter is a big deal. The Yan family is 108,000 miles away from Yanbei. Even if you want to support your daughter, you can't save the near fire. Offending the Queen Mother and the Yan family is very common for a man to have three wives and four concubines, not to mention the second son of the Yanbei Palace.
Ren Yaoqi naturally heard rumors outside, even if she didn't take the initiative to inquire, because of her current engagement with Xiao Jingxi, some people took the initiative to bring things up to her.
So on this day, when Ren Yaoqi and Li Shi went to an old lady's birthday banquet, they heard someone in the garden talking about it.
A woman said with interest: "I heard that Miss Yan's family is a rare beauty. Because she looks like the empress dowager when she was young, she is favored by the queen mother. It's a pity that we didn't have the chance to meet, and I don't know if it compares to Miss Ren's. Who is taller and who is lower in appearance?"
Another person said: "It's not that there is no chance to see her. Maybe she will be able to marry our Yanbei in the future? There will also be a chance to meet you at that time."
"By the way, isn't the eldest young lady of the Su family from Kyoto? I heard that she met Miss Yan's family when she was in her boudoir. If you are really so curious, you can ask the eldest young lady of the Su family."
Some people were unconvinced and said, "Are the girls in Kyoto better-looking than our Yanbei ones? I look at the Ren family, and she looks very good. I heard that she looks like the concubine Wan Gui who was the favorite in the harem back then."
"That's true. We didn't have the chance to see Concubine Wan, but the concubine was so favored back then, so she must be stronger than... um, stronger in appearance."
Ren Yaoqi listened to it for a while, although she did not deliberately hide her whereabouts, but these young girls were chatting, and she didn't notice her coming at all.
Until another footstep sounded on another path, and several more people came towards this side.
Then Ren Yaoqi heard the sound of two groups of people greeting each other. Ren Yaoqi also came out, and was about to go around them when he heard someone say, "Huh? Isn't this Miss Ren?"
Now that the third house of the Ren family has been separated from the Ren family, and Ren Yaohua is married again, so everyone calls Ms. Ren Yaoqi Ren, and it is no longer in the list of titles.
Ren Yaoqi only stopped, and when she turned around, she saw that it was the second Miss Meng family who called her. Although she and this Miss Meng were not familiar with each other, they had met several times.
Ren Yaoqi smiled and nodded, and walked over to say hello to a few girls she knew.
The faces of the people who were still talking about Ren Yaoqi were obviously a little uncomfortable, and they didn't know if Ren Yaoqi had heard their behind-the-scenes discussions, but the two ladies from the Meng family were there before, but because of the fact that they were there from start to finish He didn't say a few words, and there was no embarrassment on his face.
"Miss Ren also came to visit the garden?" Someone asked cautiously.
Although Ren Yaoqi's previous identity was nothing, but from King Xian to King of Hezhong, Ren Yaoqi had a marriage contract with Xiao Jingxi again, and everyone looked at her differently. Even if it is a lady, it is divided into three, six and nine. Of course, there must be a lot of envy, jealousy and hatred.
Ren Yaoqi nodded and smiled: "I'm going to the warm room."
Seeing her face as usual, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere became more active. These girls are three or four years younger than Ren Yaoqi. They don't play together on weekdays. Although they have met occasionally, Ren Yaoqi's identity is not what it used to be, and everyone treats her more. Unprecedented curiosity and exploration.
Those with a more lively temperament asked very familiarly: "What does Sister Ren like to do at home on weekdays? I like to kick the shuttlecock, but it's a pity that it's cold now, and the elders are generally not allowed to go out of the house."
Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, "I'm afraid of the cold, so in winter I only dare to stay in my room and read books and practice calligraphy."
Seeing that her attitude was kind and easy to speak, everyone became warm.
Someone said: "I don't like to read and practice calligraphy, but my mother insisted on forcing me to practice, saying that she was afraid that I would embarrass me at the daughter-in-law banquet next year."
Miss Meng family smiled and said, "Speaking of the Qianjin Banquet, you should ask Miss Ren carefully. She was one of the leaders of the previous session."
The Yun Family's Thousand Gold Banquet was originally held every two years, but it hasn't been held since the last time Ren Yaoqi attended. I don't know if it was because of an accident at that time or because of some taboo. Jiacai released the news that they will continue to hold the Qianjin Banquet next summer. These famous ladies are eager to show their faces at the Qianjin Banquet, and if they get a good ranking, they can find a good marriage.
The crowd gathered around Ren Yaoqi and asked her about the Qianjin Banquet, and Ren Yaoqi answered them one by one.
Someone said: "I thought before that the Qianjin Banquet would not be held again, but I heard that Miss Yun persuaded old Mrs. Yun and Mrs. Yun."
"I also heard that many people asked Miss Yun about the Qianjin Banquet. Miss Yun's temperament has always been good, so she agreed to go back and beg the elders in the family.
"I heard that because the Qianjin Banquet was not held a few years ago, next year's Qianjin Banquet will be a bit more lively than in previous years. I don't know what kind of grand occasion it will be."
"You won't know when the time comes. Given your family background, you will definitely be able to get the invitation from the Yun family."
Ren Yaoqi listened to them chattering about the Qianjin Banquet without interrupting. However, when I heard that next year's Qianjin Banquet was advocated by the eldest Yun family, my heart moved slightly.
After that, everyone talked about something else, Ren Yaoqi stayed for a while, then said goodbye and left.
The Yun Family's Qianjin Banquet seemed to be really planning to hold a grand banquet. For a while, Ren Yaoqi always listened to others mentioning next year's Qianjin Banquet. But she has no plans to participate this year.
In this way, the twelfth lunar month will soon arrive, and it will be the most lively festival of the year.
In previous years, the Ren family used to go back to the old house in Baihe Town for Chinese New Year. This year, because the third master Ren has been expelled from the Ren family, they do not plan to return to Baihe Town. So when the New Year was still far away, Mrs. Li and Mrs. Zhou were busy picking up the New Year's goods, for fear that it would be too late in the twelfth lunar month. This is the first year they have spent on their own, so they are naturally very cautious, for fear that something will go wrong, and the New Year's will be bad luck.
Just when Mrs. Li took Ren Yaoqi to lead a group of maids and wives to prepare for the New Year, there was news from the Lei family, which surprised and delighted Mrs. Li and Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaohua is two months pregnant.
Ren Yaohua was born in August, and now she has just arrived in the twelfth lunar month and found out that she is two months pregnant. Why is it not surprising
Li even cried with joy: "Thank God, thank God! This year, we must pay homage to our ancestors and worship Bodhisattvas, and let them all come to bless us that Hua'er has a son and mother and son are safe." That is, she failed to give birth to a son for her husband.
Because of this guilt in her heart, even if she was bullied by Aunt Fang when she was in the Ren family, she had no confidence to fight back. She has always been ashamed of Ren Shimin and the Ren family.
So now I heard that Ren Yaohua was pregnant, how could she not be happy for her daughter
Mammy Zhou has been serving Li Shi for many years, and she naturally understood what she was thinking, and her eyes immediately turned red: "Madam, don't worry, our two young ladies are lucky people, and the eldest young lady will definitely be able to win a man in one fell swoop."
Ren Yaoqi is also very happy for Ren Yaohua. Having a child, Ren Yaohua can really gain a firm foothold in Lei's family.
After being happy for a long time, Mrs. Li was a little worried: "Hua'er is young and is the first child again, and the Lei family doesn't have any elders to look after. I, I'm not worried."
Mammy Zhou said: "I think the eldest lady sent someone back to tell us the news, and she also wants her parents' help? It's about to be New Year's Eve, and the Lei family must be too busy."
It stands to reason that it is difficult to spread the word about being less than three months pregnant. Although Ren Yaohua has a strong temperament, he is also a person who knows the importance and does not dare to be brave.
After being reminded by Mother Zhou, Mrs. Li also thought that this year was also the first year for Ren Yaohua in the Lei family. She was also the head mistress of the Lei family. The Lei family needed her abbot for everything including sacrifices. Forget it, now that she is pregnant, and it is less than three months, how can Ren Yaohua hold on
Thinking of this, Mrs. Li couldn't sit still, got up and said, "I have to go to Lei's house to see her, and I have to teach her face-to-face about some things."
Mother Zhou hurriedly stopped Mrs Li: "Madam, it's getting late today, why don't you go in two days. The slaves still need to prepare some things that the eldest miss will need, and they will be sent to Lei Jiacai at that time. it is good."
Li shi thought that what Mother Zhou said had some truth, so she no longer insisted on going to see Ren Yaohua now: "Yes, yes, I have to prepare a few people for her. Oh, no, it's the twelfth lunar month, and I'm all here. I'm so busy that I can't touch the ground, the Lei family must be more busy. If you don't want to go to the Lei family to help Hua'er, I can rest assured that you are here."
"But here at home..."
Li Shi immediately said: "I still have a future at home. It's important to bring some useful ones to Lei's house to help Hua'er."
Mother Zhou couldn't help but look at Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi thought about it for a while, and nodded: "Mother and Mammy are justified in their concerns. Things at home have been busy before, and I can't do anything wrong with my mother. Mammy should go to my sister's place to stay for a while. After a while, I'll come back when I'm done with the Chinese New Year."
Mammy Zhou was also worried about Ren Yaohua. Seeing that Mrs. Li and Ren Yaohua said so, she immediately packed up her things, brought a few very capable maids, and rushed to Lei's house.
Two days later, Mrs. Li took Ren Yaoqi to the Lei family to see Ren Yaohua, and brought two large carts of food for food.
When Ren Yaohua received the news that Mrs. Li was going to see her, she originally wanted to go out to greet Mrs. Li, but was stopped by a whole room of people, and finally she could only wait in her yard.
When Ren Yaoqi entered the room, he looked at it casually, and found that almost all the dowries that Ren Yaohua brought to the house were serving in the room. There were also two maids in the Lei family who could enter the room to serve them. look.
Ren Yaohua looked good, and she was a little fatter than when she was at home. When she saw Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi, her eyes were full of joy, which made her look much softer than when she was a girl at home. Ren Yaoqi looked at Ren Yaohua a few times, and felt more relieved. Ren Yaohua was doing well.
Ren Yaohua chatted with Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi for a while, and asked about people and things in the family. Mr. Li also reminded him of everything he had thought about for two days, and Ren Yaohua also listened carefully. Although Mr. Li rambled on and repeated a lot, Ren Yaohua was not impatient at all.
The atmosphere in the room was just right, and Turnip came in to report that the uncle was back.
As the head of the Lei family, Lei Ting was very busy at the end of the year. However, because Ren Yaohua is pregnant, no matter how busy he is, he will come back with his wife and daughter for three meals a day, and he will not go out to socialize at night. Mother Zhou stayed at Lei's house for two days, and now she is satisfied with this uncle, and she smiles when she sees him.
It's not yet lunch time, and Lei Ting came back at this time because he heard that his mother-in-law was coming, so he came back early.
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Xiao Jingxi and Ren Yaoqi's wedding date has been changed to September next year. I'm afraid that the subscription is too early and didn't notice, so let me explain o(n_n)o.