In the laundry room of Ji's family, on a winter day, several old men in coarse cloth were washing their clothes.
What they wash is not the clothes of the masters, but the change of clothes of the servants.
There are quite a few servants in the Ji family. Ji's father worked his way up from a poor scholar. Now that he has managed to get ahead, he pays more attention to ostentation. The big maid, the little maid, even specially bought a little maid tune from Ren Yazi/ teach.
For such people, the daily clothes are enough for these old people to wash from morning to night.
The past few days have been better, the steward who has been swallowing silver taels doesn’t know if it’s because of his conscience, he is finally willing to give them hot water, otherwise the hands will be soaked in the laundry tub all day in winter, even if they enter the bed at night, they will be warm not coming back.
The old women are all used to living a hard life, they just concentrate on their work and don't talk. Among them, there is obviously a young woman named Zhou.
The lady surnamed Zhou was only forty years old, but she had chilblain on one hand, and even her face was not spared. Even so, she still had to endure the pain and repeated the scrubbing action.
Several other old women sometimes chat and don't talk to her.
They all know that the steward doesn't like Mrs. Zhou, otherwise they wouldn't send her to the laundry room when she was still young. end.
Madam Zhou didn't talk to anyone, so she didn't speak. When the day's hard work was over, she went to meet her son at the gate of the mansion, and then went back to sleep. When she opened her eyes, she continued to work again.
She received the little silver taels every month and endured hardships, but she couldn't leave. The reason was that her contract of sale was held in the hands of the new wife.
To be a slave or a handmaiden can only be what the master says.
Madam Zhou's greatest hope these days is to stay on the alley past the kitchen. Miss Ziru, who is next to the eldest lady, will come here to receive meals every day, and she will tell her what the eldest lady ate and used, At this time, the eyes of the quiet lady Zhou lit up and she listened with gusto.
Most of the people in the house know that she is the eldest lady's nanny, and she was once the most trusted person around Mrs. Xian.
When the first wife left, Ji Xiawan fell ill, and Mrs. Zhou was sent to the laundry room by the new lady's hair as a caregiver. After that, no matter how much the eldest lady asked to let her go back, the new lady only showed a gentle look. Laughing, little by little separated all the people around her who were left behind by Mrs.
It has been seven years, and in the end, only Mrs. Zhou is left.
She didn't have much hope, even if she knew that it would be useless for her to stay here, she just wanted to see the young lady get married in a good manner. Before the young lady returned home, she was not happy for a few days before she got the news that she was seriously ill.
Mrs. Zhou hurried around, asked her son to buy medicine outside, and hurriedly sent it to the small yard.
It was only then that Ji Xiawan knew that her nanny had always been in the mansion.
It took seven years for the young woman with a young face, fair complexion, and a gentle smile to become what she is now. The two haven't seen each other for seven years, but they are not unfamiliar at all.
Ji Xiawan still remembers how the nanny fanned her with a fan and taught her etiquette. Her soft hands were rough and swollen, some parts even cracked, and her once smooth face was also reddened by the cold wind. meaning.
Ji Xiawan took all her money and wanted her to redeem herself and leave the house, but Mrs. Zhou refused to leave.
She didn't say the reason, but said that she would never leave Ji's house in her life.
Mrs. Zhou originally just wanted to see the young lady she was serving, but she never thought that her life would become easier since that day. Although she looked the same as before, only Mrs. Zhou could feel that someone was secretly helping her. she.
The heart that had no hope at first seemed to warm up a little bit.
After washing the clothes in the morning, Mrs. Zhou shook her hands, wiped her hands on her body, and walked out, only to see the servants walking with joy on their faces.
They talked a lot, saying that the eldest lady is going to be the queen.
Mrs. Zhou stopped in her footsteps, not as silent as in the past, and grabbed the young man who was talking, "Is what you said true?"
The little servant was taken aback. He was about to get angry, but seeing her appearance, he didn't know what to do, so he was persuaded, "It's true, the edict passed down by the father-in-law from the palace. Miss enters the palace as the empress."
queen... queen...
Mrs. Zhou's eyes were frighteningly bright, as if all hope had been ignited, she stumbled and went to the small courtyard.
The boy thought she was going crazy, so he quickly shook his body, with a look of disgust on his face, "Why are you so happy, what's the use of rushing to show courteousness now."
Ji Xiawan's current status is indeed different from that of the past. Many servants are eager to curry favor with her. Those servants who once saw that she was not favored and refused to work, and pushed all the work to Ziru almost regretted it. After getting the news, he immediately licked his face and went back to the yard.
But in the yard, they were moving things. These servants who used to rely on their masters not to be favored, and refused to serve them, Ziru had written down their names early in the morning, and they were just waiting for the autumn queen to settle the score.
Father Ji seemed to have become a loving father again. After receiving the imperial decree to take good care of his sick daughter, he asked her to move to a yard close to him and invited the best doctor to treat his daughter.
But before the doctor he invited came, two serving nuns and an imperial physician sent by the palace had already arrived at Ji's house.
It came together, and there was a reward from the emperor. Those rare objects that were stolen from the house were sent to Ji Xiawan's house like running water. Now, no one in the whole house can see how much the Holy Majesty has taken a fancy to the eldest lady. The people around the beloved eldest lady almost wanted to put a smile on their faces.
It was as if Ji Xiawan had become the beloved daughter that Ji's father held in his hands in an instant. She used to have a stern face towards her, as if she didn't even look at her face, but now she has the face to smile kindly at her.
Being left out in the cold for seven years is almost like living in bitter waters. Even if she once longed for her father's love, she no longer needs it now.
No matter what her father said, Ji Xiawan's attitude was cold and indifferent, but the man didn't seem to notice it, the expression on his face was still normal, as if he was a good father in the first place.
"My lord, the girl is also tired."
The nuns in the palace were instructed by Wei Mingyan to be respectful to the future empress, but to the empress' father, Mrs. Ji, they were cold-faced again.
Ji's father looked as usual, and stroked his beard, "Wan'er, I'll go back first as a father. If you want anything, just send someone to find me."
Ji Xiawan's expression was indifferent, and she smiled slightly, "Yes, father."
She stood where she was, watched the man walk away, and tightened her hand holding the handkerchief.
How could he be so ruthless.
As soon as her mother passed away, she despised her. She had been away for seven years and never received a letter from her father.
The younger brother never got half a word of good words from him, and let the new wife flatter him.
But if it is said that he has affection for the new wife, he would abuse their siblings like this. He held the mother and daughter in his palms and doted on them for seven years, but he was able to quickly hold himself up when she was about to become the queen.
Ji Xiawan still remembers that when she first went to the countryside, she was afraid of unfamiliar things, crying and calling her parents at night, hoping that this man could come and see her, even if she didn't pick her up, just to see her.
But no, for seven years, she seemed to be forgotten, and never received a single word from her father.
In the memory of her father's love and smile, he took her to visit the lantern market. They bought lanterns together and gave them to their mother in the mansion.
All of these seemed to be just made up by her.
Ji Xiawan was thinking about it when Ziru walked in and smiled slightly, "Miss, Mrs. Zhou is outside."
"Come in nursemaid."
The girl in heavy clothes quickly hid the pain in her eyes, and a little joy appeared on her face.
She is about to become a queen, and in the future, she will not be helpless in the situation of the nanny.
Mrs. Zhou walked in with red eyes, took a deep look at her little master, and knelt down, "Miss, please turn away."
The two nuns in the palace were not as tough as they were with Father Ji just now, they were all sent today, so they naturally knew who to listen to, so when Ji Xiawan asked them to back down, the two nuns didn't say a word, Fu Putting on the blessed body, respectfully left the house.
Ziru also withdrew, she is a martial arts practitioner, she has been vigilantly guarding the door, waiting for Ji Xiawan to call her at any time.
Until, she suddenly heard a cry of despair and sorrow, Ziru was startled, and without thinking about anything else, she hurriedly opened the door and went in, "Miss!"
In the room, Mrs. Zhou was kneeling on the ground with tears all over her face, while Ji Xiawan was covering her chest, crying almost uncontrollably.
Seeing that she was almost out of breath, Ziru panicked, "Hurry up and call the imperial physician!"
"do not go."
Ji Xiawan's cold hand rested on hers, and Ziru thought she was worried about her pregnancy being exposed, so she hurriedly said, "Miss, don't worry, the imperial physician was sent by His Majesty..."
"Ziru..."
The girl with a slightly distended belly covered her chest with one hand, her eyes were full of tears, and she said with difficulty, "Go, close the door..."
Qing Ziru didn't understand what happened, but she obediently closed the door.
When she returned to Ji Xiawan's side and carefully helped her calm down, she only heard her hoarse voice asking Mrs. Zhou on the ground, "Who else knows about this?"
Mrs. Zhou replied in a hoarse voice, "At the beginning, the old people around Madam were dead and scattered. I guess I was the only one."
She kowtowed her head firmly on the ground three times, raised her head and looked at Ji Xiawan with red eyes, "Miss, originally, I was thinking that after the miss got married and there was nothing more to worry about, I would at least stab him to death with a knife." I avenged my wife."
"But I didn't expect that the young lady would be able to become a queen. I beg the young lady to avenge the madam..."
"Please Miss... Please Miss..."
Qing Ziru looked at the woman on the ground, she kowtowed her head after saying a word, and after a while, her forehead was bruised and swollen, but Mrs. Zhou seemed to feel no pain, and kept on Knocking.
Ji Xiawan held her throbbing heart, tears could not stop falling down.
She originally thought that her mother could not accept her grandfather's death, so she left her and Xia Ying and left early.
But it turned out that he was strangled to death with a white silk by the man she called her father.
The reason is just because the mother is the daughter of General Zhou, what a ridiculous reason.
Raise the eyebrows and respect each other as guests...
It's all a joke!
His mother loved him so much, and before she died, she saw her husband's true face, how painful it must be.
Ji Xiawan clutched her chest, feeling the pain till the end, her eyes were already turning black.
I could only hear Ziru's anxious voice in a trance, "Miss, miss..."
In the end, it was completely plunged into darkness.
It was as if Ji Xiawan had a dream. She dreamed of a child thumping in the water begging for help. She had never seen it before, but she knew it was her child.
In the dream, Ji Xiawan tried desperately to save him, but was blocked by an invisible barrier, and could only watch helplessly as the child lost his strength and began to sink.
"Don't! Don't—"
She roared and wanted to rush up, desperately hitting the invisible barrier in front of her, trying to save her child.
In the end, the child's head sank.
"don't want-"
Ji Xiawan's blood seemed to have cooled down, she looked at that stiffly, and stretched out her hand.
A man suddenly jumped into the water and picked up the child.
He lightly patted the child on the back, and carried him to Ji Xiawan who was lying on the ground in a panic.
"Mother..."
The little child was drenched all over, crying and reaching out to her, Ji Xiawan quickly hugged him, "Don't be afraid, mother is here, mother is here..."
The child stopped crying after crying for a while, and shouted, "Mom, I want Daddy."
Daddy
What daddy
In the dream, Ji Xiawan's mind went blank, and then she watched the tall man who rescued her child reach out and touch the child's head.
He said softly, "Daddy is here."
She felt relieved, tears fell for some reason, she leaned against the man's arms, and said with a choked voice:
"Fortunately you are..."
***
Ji Xiawan opened her eyes weakly, her forehead was being wiped with a damp cloth, she coughed, and her eyes gradually came to her senses.
As far as the eye can see, it is a man.
He has a pair of heroic eyes, sword eyebrows into his temples, is dressed in white, and his brows are tightly frowned, as if he is worried about someone.
Seeing that she was awake, the man's face immediately showed a little relief.
"you… "
Seeing that Ji Xiawan was about to say something with her chapped lips, Wei Mingyan helped her up, carefully hugged her with her cherished ones.
"Don't be afraid, I will help you solve it."
He gently patted her on the back, and firmly said in the name of the emperor, "I promise, no one will bully you again."
"My queen."