After a while, Mrs. Qiao and Mrs. Qiao were ushered in by a nurse in charge.
Mrs. Qiao wore a pea green eight-ball ruyi flower cloud brocade beanie today. Her figure was straight, and her slightly raised chin revealed a hint of arrogance. Behind her was a handsome young woman in her twenties, wearing an indigo-blue baoxiang flower engraved silk-cut silk beanie, and a big red gold hairpin with emerald inlaid jewels on her red bun, which was very jewel-like, but But he looked a little timid, and followed step by step.
After meeting each other, Nangong Yue asked Mrs. Qiao to sit down, and Mrs. Zhou stood behind her.
The maids served the tea, Mrs. Qiao stared at Nangong Yue expressionlessly for a while, and asked with some airs: "Concubine Shizi, have you received a letter from A Yi recently, how is Huiling City doing?"
Ever since Qiao Ruolan was sent to Shuyao Women's Courtyard, Mrs. Qiao was in a terrible mood. She was almost sure that Nangong Yue was behind the tricks. She wanted to rush to Bixiao Hall to question her several times, but in the end she endured stay because—
Qiao Shenyu!
Qiao Shenyu is still far away in Huiling City, right under Xiao Yi's nose, if the concubine is unhappy and writes a letter to sue, Xiao Yi's unreasonable demon king will make things difficult for his son, what will he do
Therefore, she could only keep telling herself to be patient, to be patient... So, she has been patient until now.
Qiao Shenyu has been going to Huiling City for quite a while, and she hasn't even sent back a letter from her family. She couldn't bear the shame of going to Bixiao Hall to ask Nangong Yue, so she simply took advantage of today's early arrival to ask all the questions. asked.
Nangong Yue saw Mrs. Qiao's intentions at a glance, and said with a smile: "The battle in Huiling City has stopped, Auntie, please don't worry."
Mrs. Qiao forced a smile, and said bravely: "A Yi is away at war, and the concubine should also write to ask more questions. Especially today is the prince's birthday. As a son, A Yi can't be happy, so he must be very concerned about it." The concubine, why don't you hurry up and write a letter to A Yi, telling A Yi about today's grand occasion. Then ask A Yi, my Yu'er is doing well these days. After all, Yu'er is the son's cousin. Others are naturally reliable, and if the prince arranges Yu'er any errands, he will be able to do it properly. Concubine Shizi, don't you think this is the case?"
Nangong Yue just nodded with a smile: "Auntie is right."
Seeing her recalcitrant appearance, Mrs. Qiao couldn't help but frowned, and secretly gave her daughter-in-law a look, blaming her for lack of vision and not knowing how to help.
Mrs. Zhou noticed her mother-in-law's displeasure, and said in a low voice, "Shizifei..."
"Auntie." Nangong Yue picked up the teacup, gently skimmed the tea foam with the tea lid, and said, "The son once said, 'A good talent is used well, and those who are capable live with it'. My niece heard that my cousin Wen Tao Martial arts, everything, such a capable person, the son will naturally know how to use him well, aunt need not worry about it, and wait patiently for Cousin Yu to return home after making meritorious service, and the glory of the ancestors will be it."
Mrs. Qiao couldn't help but choked. If she continued to persuade Nangong Yue to write to Xiao Yi, she would be admitting that her son was useless; taking a step back, even if she admitted that her son was useless, Nangong Yue could still say "can you?" Those who live there" made her speechless.
This Nangong Yue is indeed a glib tongue, no wonder her younger brother has been coaxed away from her recently!
But now I can't do anything to her at all!
Mrs. Qiao pinched the handkerchief fiercely, stood up abruptly, glared at Mrs. Zhou behind her, and scolded: "Useless things!"
Knowing that she was being angered, Zhou didn't refute, but just lowered her head.
Nangong Yue said with a dignified smile: "It's still early, aunt and cousin please sit in the open hall at the back first."
Mrs. Qiao flicked her sleeves and left without looking back.
As the auspicious time approached, the palace became more and more lively.
The concierge and the nuns in charge of welcoming guests were all busy with their feet on the ground. The first to arrive was the other house of the Xiao family, followed by the in-laws, and the Gaomen mansion in southern Xinjiang...
The male guests were ushered into the front yard, while the female guests were taken to the back yard.
There were already quite a few mansions where Bixiaotang had a small banquet before, but this time it was completely incomparable. Even if the female family members of each mansion just exchanged a few simple greetings, Nangong Yue's mouth was dry, and the tea was almost dry. I don't know how many times I added it.
Fortunately, side concubine Wei and Xiao Fei helped greet her, and everything was in order.
The married women with imperial orders were ushered into the open hall with their wives and daughters. Occasionally, when a few concubines came, they were led to the westernmost wing of the open hall to have tea.
There is a clear distinction between the main room and the concubine's room.
When Mrs. Fang Santai and her party arrived, it was no exception.
After meeting with Nangong Yue and others in Guiputang, Mrs. Fang Santai and the others were led to the open hall by a nurse in charge.
Aunt Niu was full of impatience, and ordered the nanny to take her to clean the room.
Their carriage had been waiting outside the palace for almost half an hour.
Although she has never formally attended a banquet in the palace, when she was in Bai Xicheng before, no matter which one she went to, she would never be so slighted and waited so long!
The nurse in charge responded respectfully, and found two maids to lead the way for Aunt Niu to clean the house... When Aunt Niu came back, she was led to the wing by the two maids.
Aunt Niu felt a little weird when she saw it.
"Meet Aunt Niu."
A woman in parrot-green silk gown came up to him with a smile.
Seeing that there were new guests arriving, three or four female relatives in the room all looked over in unison. These aunts were either the main family members of the mansion passed away, and the master hadn't accepted the successor, or the main family members were seriously ill, so they had to let the aunts accompany the girls from the mansion to the banquet as a last resort.
They looked at Aunt Niu with a trace of scrutiny in their eyes, and thought: I don't know which mansion the aunt is dressed so luxuriously, all the jewelry and clothes on her body are high-quality goods! Was it the old man who spoiled his concubine and killed his wife, or did the aunt take over after the death of his wife
When Aunt Niu saw the woman welcoming the guests, her face sank like water, and she was already convinced that something was wrong.
Isn't this woman Qiu Shi, the aunt of King Zhennan? It seems to be the biological mother of the fourth girl Xiao Rongying.
Aunt Niu was so angry that her breath stuck in her chest, her face turned blue and white, and the colors changed wonderfully.
It's unreasonable that the Zhennan Prince's Mansion neglected him so much and let a negligible concubine come to entertain him.
Well needless to say...
Aunt Niu looked around at the women sitting in the side room, her brows were tightly frowned, seeing how these people couldn't make it to the stage, they were all concubines from Biefu!
Aunt Niu really didn't want to stay here for a long time, she turned around angrily, and said angrily, "Where are my wife and my daughter-in-law? Why don't you take me there?"
One sentence caused an uproar in the wing room, dumbfounded.
An aunt actually kept saying "my daughter-in-law"? ! This simply does not take the wife of the wife seriously!
If she dared to speak so loudly in front of outsiders in the palace, how arrogant would she be in her own palace? ! Since the wife in her mansion is still there, does that mean the master favored his concubine and killed his wife? !
For a moment, the aunts in the side room looked at each other, not knowing whether to envy this aunt for living a more noble life than the head wife, or to sympathize with the unfortunate wife.
Qiu felt bitter in her heart, and said with an apologetic smile: "Aunt Niu, why don't you sit down inside and have some tea. Mrs. Fang Santai and Mrs. Fang San are in the open hall..."
The Fang family? ! Isn't that... When the aunts heard that the surname was Fang, they couldn't help but startled, and couldn't help whispering to each other.
Aunt Niu didn't want to talk too much with Qiu's concubine at all, and she left without waiting for the other party to finish talking.
"Aunt Niu..." Qiu Shi rushed forward and tried to stop her, but Aunt Niu pushed her away rudely. Qiu Shi staggered back a step, but fortunately a nun beside her helped her in time.
Seeing Aunt Niu's back going away, Qiu's head hurts. The concubine concubine concubine concubine Shizi thought highly of her, so she let her come to entertain guests. For this matter, Jin came to congratulate herself in a weird way. Now that she didn't finish the errand well, she was afraid that concubine concubine Shizi would be unhappy. It would be bad if it affected my daughter's future...
She gritted her teeth, not caring whether she would offend Aunt Niu, and hurried after her.
It's a pity that even though she ran out of breath, she was still a step too late, just in time to see Aunt Niu ignoring the obstruction of the servants at the door of the open hall, rushing in aggressively, shouting: "Where is the concubine Shizi?"
Because of the birthday banquet, the open hall was also refurbished, bright and clear, a few tall and lush sycamore trees were planted outside the door, which blocked a lot of sunlight, even if there was no ice, the hall was still cool and refreshing. There are a lot of carefully cultivated chrysanthemums in the hall in accordance with the seasons, which are colorful and full of flowers.
At this time, all the ladies in the hall were sitting around several round tables, chatting while drinking tea and eating melons and fruits.
Aunt Niu's rash intrusion made the whole hall quiet, and she once again became the focus of everyone's attention.
Most of the wives present have never met Aunt Niu, even when Xiao Fang was favoring her, any wives with a little bit of shame would not condescend to socialize with a concubine. At this time, seeing that she was wearing a pair of brocade brocade embroidered with the pattern of the Three Treasures of the Sea and the Sea, and the headgear she was wearing was also expensive, and her whole body was quite luxurious, so she couldn't figure out which mansion she was the wife of.
Qiu stepped into the open hall after him, and said angrily, "Aunt Niu, please follow me back."
It's an aunt! The wives present all showed displeasure, how dare an aunt dare to come here on a rampage, how courageous it is!
"Why should I go back?!" Aunt Niu slapped Qiu Shi's outstretched hand with her sleeve, raised her chin and said, "Where is Shizi Concubine? Let her come to see me! I want to ask her, my Where are the daughter and her mother-in-law!"
All the ladies shrank their pupils and suddenly realized.
It turned out to be that Aunt Niu!
Many people thought of Aunt Niu's identity at once, and some of them who reacted slowly were suddenly enlightened by other people's points. Their eyes changed instantly—the aunts in the wing looked at Aunt Niu with a smile in their eyes. There was a hint of envy, but now the eyes of these wives are showing a little contempt and disapproval.
Aunt Niu is nothing more than a concubine, and she is also a lowly concubine brought up by a maidservant. If it were not for the care of Xiao Fang, these wives would have taken the initiative to order the servants to expel this rude and vulgar woman. But Xiaofang is the mistress of the palace after all, no one knows if she will make a comeback one day and regain the concubine's order and the prince's favor.
Thinking of this, most of the ladies kept their faces and drank tea in silence.
Mrs. Qiao is the eldest sister of King Zhennan. It is best for her to come forward at this time, but she is even more optimistic about the show, thinking: Nangong Yue dares to show her face today, and she will Looking at her is even more shameless!
In the silence, a female voice laughed out loud: "Huh? Isn't my aunt having another table in the wing room? Why did she come here? It turns out that being a concubine can be so rampant!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw a middle-aged woman wearing a smoky purple peony beanie, looking at Aunt Niu with a smile and mocking eyes.
It was Mrs. Tian from General Tian's Mansion who spoke.
And Mrs. Tian beside her was drinking tea slowly from a teacup, not intending to stop her daughter-in-law at all.
All the ladies knew it well, everyone knew that Tian He was the son of the eldest son, especially recently, Mr. Tian had just been promoted from the sixth-rank Mr. Wei Qian because of the support of the elder son. Seeing that the future is bright, Mrs. Tian is naturally You have to be close to the crown prince.
The eyes of those ladies are a bit complicated, I don't know if it's envy, jealousy, or disapproval.
Aunt Niu's complexion is not very good-looking, she is not really that stupid, of course she also knows that her identity is actually somewhat dishonest, so when she was in Luoyue City in the past, she was quite low-key, far less beautiful than in Baixi City .
But even so, she still felt that she was Xiao Fang's biological mother, and these wives probably didn't dare to be rude to her publicly. Unexpectedly, this woman dared not give her daughter face, and humiliated herself in public like this, it is really hateful and hateful!
But for the sake of her daughter's confession that day, she could only bear it down and snorted arrogantly: "I don't want to bother with you rude woman! Where is the crown prince?!"
With such a commotion in the open hall, someone naturally informed Nangong Yue, surrounded by maids and women, Nangong Yue walked in gracefully.
As for Wei Shi and Xiao Fei, they continued to stay in the main hall to entertain guests.
As soon as Nangong Yue stepped into the open hall, the female relatives got up one after another, bowed their knees to salute her, and called out: "Shi Zifei."
Aunt Niu looked at Nangong Yue with a look of jealousy, such a face should belong to her daughter! Where can I get such a young girl.
Nangong Yue first raised her hand to excuse everyone, then she frowned slightly and asked, "What's going on?"
"Shizi Concubine." Qiu quickly admitted her mistake, "This is Aunt Niu of the Fang family. It was the concubine who missed the investigation and let her break in."
Nangong Yue nodded slightly, "Aunt Qiu, please take this aunt to the wing, so as not to bump into the distinguished guests."
The Qiu family quickly agreed, and Aunt Niu rushed towards Nangong Yue first, and asked sharply, "Where is your mother-in-law now?! How could the prince let you, a daughter-in-law, entertain guests on his 40th birthday today?! It's just too rude. Already!"
How could the maids in the hall allow Aunt Niu to be presumptuous here, two or three servant girls immediately stepped forward and blocked Aunt Niu's way.
Qiu hurriedly said: "Aunt Niu, Madam is sick in bed these days, so I can't come here."
Aunt Niu gave Qiu Shi a disdainful look. She had said the excuse of being sick so many times, and she was ashamed to use it as a prevarication. She had been prepared for a long time, and immediately said in a cold voice: "Hey, I think the daughter-in-law is unfilial and hurt the mother-in-law. Otherwise, on such a big day as the fortieth birthday of the prince, the majestic mistress of the palace would not show up?!"
The expressions of many ladies are a little subtle.
Let’s not mention those wives who came here from other cities to celebrate their birthdays, but those wives in Luoyue City know that since the eldest concubine came to southern Xinjiang, his wife, Xiao Fang, has never shown up to treat guests, even the eldest concubine Ji Ji For the first time ever, the ceremony was presided over by King Zhennan...
Nangong Yue called softly, "Aunt Qiu." Her tone was flat, and she didn't pay attention to Aunt Niu at all.
Qiu groaned secretly in her heart, and hurriedly said politely: "Aunt Niu, please come with me."
Aunt Niu snorted coldly. On that day, she finally saw her daughter who was grounded, and the daughter cried out to her about her current situation, and asked her to make such a scene in front of all the guests on the occasion of King Zhennan's birthday. . The daughter also said that as long as the matter becomes a big deal, the guests will definitely talk about it, thinking that the concubine is not filial to her mother-in-law, then the concubine has to show something for the sake of her reputation, and then she will take the opportunity to force the concubine to go to the prince to intercede and solve the problem Daughter's restraining order. In this way, the daughter will be able to regain power in the palace.
Thinking of her daughter's earnest entrustment, Aunt Niu threw Qiu Shi away with her sleeves, and asked sharply: "Concubine Shizi, are you guilty of a thief?" The huge pearl in the mouth was shining brightly, like stars in the night sky, which immediately attracted the attention of several ladies in the hall.
A lady said with some doubts: "...This, could it be Dongzhu?"
These words seemed to be like a stone falling into the water of the lake, causing ripples on the surface of the lake, and other female relatives who didn't notice also looked at the hairpin on Aunt Niu's head...
"Of course it's Dongzhu." Aunt Niu raised her chin proudly, and subconsciously touched the hairpin at the side of her temples.
Such a big and bright Dongzhu is a rare treasure, she has never seen anyone wear it before! Considering that today is an important day, she wore it on purpose!
For a while, the audience was in an uproar!
The complexions of the surrounding female relatives changed. Just now Aunt Niu ran to make noise in a big way, which can be attributed to vulgarity and lack of discipline, but a concubine's room even wore Dongzhu, which violated Dayu's law.
Dongzhu is a status symbol. Dayu made it clear that only officials of the third rank and above and their orders can wear Dongzhu.
The female relatives were all whispering and whispering, glancing at Aunt Niu from the corner of their eyes. They all thought about where Aunt Niu could get such a priceless treasure as Dongzhu. The answer is obvious——
This priceless oriental bead must be a gift from my wife!
Don't talk about Aunt Niu, Xiao Fang herself has no imperial order now, and she is not qualified to wear Dongzhu. But Xiao Fang gave the Dongzhu to his aunt... No wonder this Aunt Niu dared to be so arrogant and didn't pay attention to the rules of her concubine. The heart grows up to this point!
This Fang's family is really not a descendant, a concubine or a concubine!
The corners of Nangong Yue's lips curved slightly.
Aunt Niu was born as a maidservant and concubine, and she is used to being arrogant and arrogant in the Fang Mansion, so I am afraid that no one has told her the rules.
Being instigated by others, he dared to wear Dongzhu out in a grand manner, because he wanted to show off at the birthday banquet of the palace.
Although Dongzhu is rare, there are always some smart ladies in the hall, no, they are easily recognized by others. It's also fortunate that I let her make trouble here for so long.
Nangong Yue's smile flickered away, and then she looked at Mrs. Fang Santai, and asked in a deep voice: "Grandmother, your mansion has privately kept the Dongzhu and let a concubine wear it. It's up to grandma Give the palace an explanation."
Mrs. Fang Santai is Xiaofang's aunt, so Nangong Yue wants to call her grandmother.
Under the scorching gazes of everyone, Mrs. Fang Santai blushed and felt as if she was sitting on pins and needles. She faltered and said: "Concubine Shizi, I... I don't know Dongzhu either..." Mrs. Fang Santai's words are the truth, Dongzhu How many people have seen such a rare treasure.
The same goes for Mrs. Fang San. She doesn't know if she is more wronged or angry. When she went out early in the morning, she also noticed that the pearls on Aunt Niu's hairpin were round and huge, with a crystal clear color. At first glance, they were the best pearls. She guessed that it was a treasure that Aunt Niu got from the Fang family when she was a child, but she didn't expect it to be a treasure from the Fang family. beads!
If this was known in advance, how could Mrs. Fang San be so stupid as to be brought out by Aunt Niu? Isn't this just asking for trouble
Mrs. Fang San looked at Aunt Niu irritably, and this old aunt who had never seen the world knew it was Dongzhu, and she would do such an insanely stupid thing.
Nangong Yue said indifferently: "Grandmother, although it is said that 'one who does not know is innocent', it is true that the private possession of Dongzhu by the Guifu Mansion should be dealt with according to the law."
Wearing Dongzhu privately is a staff of one hundred according to the law.
Aunt Niu on the side was confused, what do you mean? ! Could it be said that this Dongzhu can't be worn by himself, and if he wears it, he will be guilty? !
Aunt Niu was unconvinced and was about to shout, but suddenly remembered something. That day, when her daughter gave her Dongzhu, she seemed to give a few words of advice, but she was attracted by the brilliance of Dongzhu at that time, so she answered absently. A few words... What did you say
"Come here, take off her Dongzhu!" Nangong Yue ordered in a cold voice.
This time, the women didn't dare to delay, and two of them held Aunt Niu down, one on the left and the other on the right.
Aunt Niu has been pampered and spoiled for decades, how can she fight against these women with big arms and round waists? She writhed wildly and wanted to call for help, but another woman took a handkerchief and stuffed her mouth, huh huh He could no longer make a sound. The woman sneered, and immediately pulled off the Danfeng hairpin inlaid with Dongzhu from Aunt Niu's head.
"Concubine Shizi." The woman respectfully presented the hairpin to Nangong Yue, only to see that golden red gold silk-drawn Danfeng hairpin came alive, and the oriental pearl held in Danfeng's mouth was crystal clear, radiant and translucent. It's a bit elegant and refreshing.
For a moment, the eyes of all the female guests were focused on this East Pearl. Seeing that this East Pearl was the size of a longan, and its quality was the best among East Pearls, it might be hard to find! Such treasures actually fell into the hands of a lowly aunt, what a waste of money!
Nangong Yue raised her eyebrows, handed the hairpin to Baihui, and said: "This is physical evidence, you keep it!"
Baihui responded, and Fushen accepted the order.
Afterwards, Nangong Yue continued: "The concubine and concubine wear the Dongzhu privately, because the Fang family lost the investigation first, and the crime is unavoidable." Her tone gradually became sharper, "Grandmother, today is the father's birthday, and the concubine of this life will not keep you. I also hope that I will take this maid and concubine back to the mansion, stop my feet and think about my mistakes, and the matter of Dongzhu will be dealt with by the government later."
The implication is that this is to chase away customers? !
All the female relatives in the hall were silent for a while, and most of them couldn't hide their surprise on their faces. Seeing that Shi Zifei is a young girl who has just reached the age of Ji, she is soft and weak. They thought she would lightly expose the matter and take care of the face of her relatives, but they did not expect that she would have some decisive courage at such a young age. ! It is not to be underestimated.
Mrs. Fang Santai's face turned from red to white again, her mouth moved, but she couldn't make a sound, and looked at her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Fang San, at a loss. Mrs. Fang San secretly scolding her mother-in-law is really useless. Mrs. Fang Santai is also the serious grandmother of the eldest son. She puts on the posture of an elder, what can the imperial concubine do to an old man? !
"Nurse Luo," Nangong Yue called lightly, "seeing off the guests!"
Nanny Luo, who was dressed in ochre-colored trousers, hurried forward and politely said to Mrs. Fang Santai and Mrs. Fang San, "Please, both of you!"
The hall became silent again, almost even the sound of the heel needle falling could be heard.
Only Nangong Yue remained calm and did not urge her. Didn't Aunt Niu want to make trouble? I would help her kindly, and make the "trouble" even bigger!