As soon as they met, Madam Pengcheng pulled Madam Guo's hand and sighed, "Look at you, you didn't come to my place when you came to the capital. How many of the old sisters are still alive? You are too stubborn and arrogant. You always think of ways to return a bowl of water you drink from others. There is a saying that Confucius said that when people reach the age of seventy, they can do whatever they want. How did he say that? My memory is not good..."
As she pondered, a woman dressed in a pink jacket stepped forward and said, "You are over seventy years old and you can do whatever you want without breaking the rules."
The woman's voice was soft and graceful, and Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but look at her.
The woman was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and plump, with an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, rosy and plump lips, and fair and delicate skin. Although her posture was humble, her eyes were bright and sharp, and flashed a hint of sharpness from time to time, like a sword hidden in a box, which made people dare not be careless when looking at her.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
She had seen this woman in her previous life.
At that time, she was already in her prime, and she often wore clothes in strong colors such as bright red and purple. She walked with a straight posture, her eyes straight ahead, and her whole body was full of dignity. Every time she appeared, she would cause the ladies outside to whisper.
Her maiden name was Qiu. She was quite prestigious in her hometown of Taiyuan. She was the legitimate wife of the grandson of the Duke of Pengcheng and the daughter of the former chief clerk of the Imperial Household. In the 24th year of Zhide, the Duke of Pengcheng passed away, and the crown prince inherited the title. She was named the crown prince's wife. Her mother-in-law died a few months later. Her father-in-law doted on a concubine in the family and decided not to marry again. He handed over the household affairs of the Duke of Pengcheng to her. The next year, her father-in-law passed away, and the concubine was caught committing adultery. The Duke of Pengcheng was afraid that this incident would ruin their family's reputation, so the concubine died suddenly right after she was sent to the government office, and her two sons died of illness one after another not long after.
The noble ladies in the capital all discussed privately, saying that this was Qiu's trick, and that the concubine had whispered a lot of lies under her father-in-law's pillow when he was alive. If her father-in-law had not passed away early, who would have inherited the throne of the crown prince
But the two children born to the concubine were still young and knew nothing, so she acted too cruelly.
Everyone was quite afraid of her and didn't want to have too much contact with her.
Zhou Shaojin heard this rumor during one of the few times he went to the palace to pay homage.
Unexpectedly, the first time she met someone from the Pengcheng Earl's family, she would meet this Madam Qiu.
These thoughts turned over and over in Zhou Shaojin's mind, while Madam Pengcheng laughed loudly, "That's it, that's it! My granddaughter-in-law is really smart, after all, she is an educated person." Then she introduced her to Madam Guo, "This is my eldest granddaughter-in-law, her surname is Qiu, Qiu means autumn, her father was a Jinshi in the imperial examinations, her mother's family in Taiyuan is very famous, and her ancestors had great scholars. She has a brother, and now he is a Juren!"
It can be seen that she was proud of Qiu's family background of scholars.
Qiu hurried forward to bow to Old Madam Guo and said in a gentle voice, "This is grandma's flattery of mine. I'm sorry to make you laugh."
His speech and behavior are very appropriate.
Mrs. Guo showed admiration in her eyes and introduced Zhou Shaojin to the Peng family.
Madam Pengcheng looked Zhou Shaojin up and down, and said to Madam Guo, "Ah Shen, your wife is really pretty, but she's too thin. I'm afraid it'll be hard for her to have children... But, you scholars like to find such wives. Look at your Dalang and Erlang's wives, they're also thin, so they don't have many children..."
Zhou Shaojin's face turned red as he realized that Mrs. Guo's maiden name was "Shen".
Madam Guo laughed, took Zhou Shaojin's hand and patted the back of her hand, with a very strong sense of comfort, and said with a smile: "This is also a personal fate. It can't be forced."
Madam Pengcheng didn't agree and was about to say something, but Qiu was very smart and said with a smile before Madam Pengcheng could, "Grandma, it's getting late. Let's go to the palace quickly! Maybe the wife of Marquis Cheng'en has already arrived."
The current queen is not the emperor's original wife.
The emperor's original wife was surnamed Xu, and she was the prince's biological mother. She died of illness when the prince was seven years old. The Xu family was granted the title of Cheng'en Hou. The current queen, Peng, was promoted from Concubine Yi. When she was a concubine, she gave birth to a daughter, who died before she was one year old. After that, she never gave birth to a child, which is one of the important reasons why she could become the queen.
Madam Pengcheng always felt a little uncomfortable in front of the Xu family, and asked, "Did the Queen invite anyone from the Cheng'en Marquis family?"
Qiu reminded Madam Pengcheng: "Tomorrow is the prince's birthday."
Mrs. Pengcheng suddenly realized, but felt a little guilty, and said, "I, I forgot about this for a moment."
Qiu smiled but said nothing.
Zhou Shaojin kept this day in mind.
Because Mrs. Guo had told her about things in the palace before entering, she was not worried that Zhou Shaojin would say something wrong, and the group went into the palace talking and laughing in low voices.
After all, it was the dead of winter and the wind was freezing cold on their bodies. Fortunately, they were all wearing fur cloaks and fur sleeves, so they were not very cold. After walking for a while, they gradually warmed up.
Fortunately, everyone had experience and did not walk in a hurry. By the time they arrived at Changchun Palace where the Empress lived, their bodies were warm but they did not sweat or feel smelly.
Zhou Shaojin knew the aunt who came to greet them. She was Aunt Song, who was very prestigious around the Empress. She had seen her from afar when she entered the palace to pay respects in her previous life. But she knew her, but she didn't know her. And at that time, Aunt Song looked solemn, unlike now, smiling and looking kind and amiable. She looked at Zhou Shaojin affectionately and said to Madam Guo: "Is this the new daughter-in-law you married? She is so beautiful! You are so lucky."
"Aunt, you are so kind!" Old Madam Guo greeted Aunt Song humbly and entered the back hall of Changchun Palace.
The Queen is also in her early fifties this year, with black hair, a round and fair face, and a gentle expression. She wears a casual royal blue floral jacket, her hair is in a bun, and she wears a kingfisher hairpin, emerald green earrings, and a mutton-fat jade bracelet. Her hands, when she stretches them out, are as delicate and smooth as those of a little girl.
She sat alone on the big kang by the window, and saw no one else except the servants around her.
After watching Zhou Shaojin and Qiu pay their respects to her with a smile, she ordered the palace maid to bring in cotton stools for them.
Madam Guo said hurriedly, "She is very young and doesn't know anything. She doesn't dare to accept such kindness from the Empress."
"It's okay, it's okay." The Queen Mother smiled, "She is only two or three years older than the Crown Prince. She is a budding person with such delicate looks. I like her very much."
Zhou Shaojin thanked him with a red face.
The Queen liked it more when she saw it.
There are many smart people around her, and Zhou Shaojin's shyness makes it easy for people to feel close to her.
Everyone sat down around the big kang by the window.
The Queen asked Zhou Shaojin with a smile: "I only heard that you got married, but I didn't expect that the child was so young. She is a good-looking one."
"Your Majesty, thank you for your compliment!" Old Madam Guo smiled respectfully, "I have watched this little girl grow up since she was a child. She was originally a relative of the fourth branch of the Jiuru Lane family, and she is of a different generation from our Silang! I thought she was well-behaved and lovely, so I asked her to stay by my side to help copy scriptures and do needlework. At that time, I thought, I don’t know who would be lucky enough to marry her. Who would have thought that our family and Jinling would separate, and this child’s elder sister would marry to the capital, and she would come with her stepmother to take care of her elder sister during the confinement period, and she would run into this. I thought that instead of letting the child I raised with great effort to marry someone else, it would be better for her to stay in our family. That’s when I came up with the idea of letting Silang marry her…"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
Madam Guo is clearly trying to clear her name!
This is in front of the Queen!
Zhou Shaojin was so guilty that he didn't dare to look up.
The Empress laughed and said with great interest, "I heard from Madam Pengcheng that your Silang is now in the Governor's Mansion?"
Madam Guo nodded and said apologetically, "Some mistakes were made a few days ago. Fortunately, the emperor was merciful and allowed him to atone for his sins. I finally feel relieved."
The Queen Mother laughed and said, "What kind of mistake is this? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that it is better not to do it. The more people do it, the easier it is to make mistakes."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Majesty the Queen, for your kindness." Old Madam Guo expressed her gratitude.
The Empress and Old Lady Guo talked about the past: "… Madam Fengsheng liked you at that time, and often said that you were calm, generous and courageous. I wanted to meet you at that time. Later, Madam Fengsheng's brother-in-law favored his concubine and killed his wife. Everyone shouted for his death, but you were the only one who gently told Madam Fengsheng's sister how to deal with the concubine. I admired you very much at that time... It's a pity that Lord Cheng passed away early, otherwise you could come to the palace and talk to me often!"
When talking about the deceased Cheng Xun, Mrs. Guo's eyes seemed a little moist and she took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
The Queen Mother quickly changed the subject and talked about Cheng Jing: "... Now he is an elder, which can be regarded as fulfilling Mr. Cheng's wish."
"Who said it wasn't!" Old Madam Guo laughed and said, "This child is really filial. I'm living in Silang's house now—Silang is not at home, and Zhou and Silang are newly married, so I have to take care of them. Dalang and his wife have to come to greet me every day. If I hadn't stopped them, they would have gotten up so early in the snow to greet me before going to court. They would have frozen to death! He's also going to get married soon!"
Old lady, you are really good at talking!
How dare you say that!
But in this way, Madam Guo won't be afraid of being criticized by those censors when she lives in Chaoyang Gate in the future, right
Zhou Shaojin thought about what Old Madam Guo had just said about him, and vaguely felt that Old Madam Guo's visit to the palace this time was not just to reminisce about the past.
She admires Mrs. Guo very much!
"That's good!" The Queen believed what Old Lady Guo said and talked about the Cheng family: "... I heard that the clan was divided and money was taken out. What is going on?"
Madam Guo sighed and said, "It takes two to clap! The old ancestor of the second branch wanted Silang to help with the household affairs, but Silang loved studying since he was young. His father passed away early, and he wanted to be like his father and brother and pass the imperial examination. He was determined to pass the imperial examination in the 15th year of Zhide. How could he be willing to help with the household affairs? And our family was small, so I couldn't bear to let this child stay at home like this, so I gritted my teeth and separated from the second branch!"
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Dear friends, it’s a bit late today, and the typos may not be corrected until tomorrow. Please just read it for now. The update is tentatively scheduled for around noon.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)