Xu Shichu was lying on the couch with her eyes closed to rest. On her left was a maidservant fanning her gently, and on her right was a maidservant peeling grapes for her... She was living a very comfortable life.
The business of Zui Xiang Ge no longer required her to do it herself, and the flowers and plants in the courtyard had been planted one by one. Her health was getting better day by day, so she started to lie down and take it easy.
A maid came in from outside and was about to speak, but when she saw Xu Shichu closing his eyes as if he was sleeping, she did not dare to speak and looked at the head maid Zhichun with some embarrassment.
Zhichun waved and took her to the next room, asking, "What is it that requires you to disturb Madam at this time?"
The maid replied, "Shuqi said that the Prime Minister wanted to talk to Madam about entering the palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival." Shuqi was Luo Changqing's personal attendant.
"Entering the palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival? Does the Prime Minister want Madam to go find him now?" Zhichun asked in surprise. Since she came to the Prime Minister's residence, she has never seen the Prime Minister come to see Madam.
The maid nodded.
"Then I'll go tell the lady now." Zhichun said, and then he quickly walked out, came to Xu Shichu, and called her softly.
Xu Shichu was not asleep. He opened his eyes and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Just now, Madam Zhang said that the Prime Minister wants to see you and ask you to go to the palace to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet." Zhichun replied.
Xu Shichu nodded. Although she was an insignificant lady in the prime minister's residence, she still had to uphold the title of prime minister's wife outside. Therefore, she was not surprised and said, "Okay, I will go find him in a while."
After being idle for so long, Xu Shichu finally had to fulfill her duties. She did not feel any resentment or humiliation. To be honest, she and Luo Changqing could be said to be helping and benefiting each other now.
Luo Changqing wanted her to take the title of Prime Minister's wife so that she would not be taken advantage of by others; but she was attracted by his power, which allowed her to take advantage of his power and be considered a partner.
Xu Shichu dressed up a little and went to find Luo Changqing.
Luo Changqing's study and Xu Shichu's courtyard are located in the south and north, at the two ends of the prime minister's residence and the farthest away. It is conceivable how much Luo Changqing dislikes her.
Arriving at Luo Changqing's study, Xu Shichu walked in after giving a notification.
Surprisingly, as the prime minister who is second only to the emperor, Luo Changqing's study was not as luxurious as Xu Shichu had imagined. Instead, it was very plain and simple. Apart from the antique shelf in the south corner, there were shelves of books and a large desk filled with documents.
When Xu Shichu entered, Luo Changqing was sitting at the desk, writing something with his head down. When he heard footsteps, he raised his head.
His back was straight, like a tough green bamboo, which reminded people of words like "strong bones of iron".
Luo Changqing is very handsome, with fine eyebrows and handsome eyes, and is upright and elegant. He is in his thirties, which is the prime of his life. He has shed the immaturity of a teenager and has the maturity and experience of years. He has a convincing and calm charm that can easily make people obsessed.
He is a very good man, Xu Shichu thought.
"You're here." When Luo Changqing first saw Xu Shichu's appearance, he was stunned for a moment before saying, "It seems that you have been taking good care of your body these days."
Xu Shichu was not surprised that he knew that I was recuperating. He nodded and said, "I have to thank the Prime Minister's Mansion for allowing me to recuperate in peace."
After hearing her words, Luo Changqing didn't know for a moment whether she was truly grateful or mocking the mansion for ignoring her, but he didn't care about that and went straight to the point:
"I think you also know that you have to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace this year with me. I don't know if you have attended it before when you were in the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion. Now that you are married into the Prime Minister's Mansion, your status has changed. All the rules and etiquette of entering the palace must be based on your current status."
Xu Shichu said: "I have never been to the palace before. I don't know what to do when attending a banquet in the palace."
—She had always been in the palace in her previous life, but the status of the wife of a powerful prime minister and a maid in the empress dowager's palace was very different. Xu Shichu didn't dare to be clever based on her previous experience.
"Don't worry, I have found someone to teach you etiquette and rules." Luo Changqing obviously thought of Xu Shichu's status before she got married. She was almost spoiled and had no idea about the rules after entering the palace. Therefore, he simply appointed someone to teach her.
"That's the best." Xu Shichu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, is there anything else?" she asked with her watery eyes wide open.
She had been well fed and well cared for during this period, and had gained a lot of weight. Her appearance was completely different from before, when she was pale and thin. It was as if she had completely grown up. Her skin became as white as snow, her eyes were bright and clear, and her lips were rosy. She had transformed from a pitiful bean sprout into a delicate and charming beauty.
Luo Changqing looked at her and raised her head slightly with a puzzled look in her eyes. His heart moved and he couldn't help but shift his gaze. He felt a chill in his heart as if it was brushed by a feather.
He lowered his eyes, no longer looking at Xu Shichu, and said, "No more, but don't be too nervous, someone will come to remind you what to do when the time comes."
"Okay, then I'll leave first." Xu Shichu turned and walked out, so she didn't see the complicated look in Luo Changqing's eyes as he looked at her.
When she returned to her own courtyard, Shuqi brought a nanny to her shortly afterwards. He said that this was a nanny from the palace found for her by the prime minister, who could teach her many things.
Xu Shichu's life passed quickly as he learned the rules and etiquette and understood the relationships between noble families. The teaching nanny was indeed from the palace, and she knew a lot about the affairs of the noble families in the capital, which family was the enemy of which family, which family was married to which family, which family was in harmony with which family, and which family was not in harmony with which family...
Xu Shichu listened with great interest as if she were listening to a story, but she couldn't just treat it as listening to a story. She wanted to remember the relationships between the aristocratic families and the identities and status of their members. There were so many wealthy and noble families, and it was not an easy task to remember them clearly.
Fortunately, Xu Shichu had been trained to have an almost photographic/auditory memory, so she remembered the relationships between the people in the various major families. After the teaching nanny tested her several times, she was full of praise for her.
After listening to Shu Qi's report to Xu Shichu, Luo Changqing pondered for a while and said, "It seems that she is indeed a smart person. There shouldn't be any problems with the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet."
In fact, he was a little worried that Xu Shichu would not be able to take on the responsibilities of the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion. After all, her previous personality was really worrying. Even if she had changed in the past few months, who knew if she would suddenly change back to normal, especially in such a complicated place like the palace.
Luo Changqing didn't feel relieved until he heard that she could remember the figures and relationships of the various major families.
Shu Qi then handed Luo Changqing a stack of papers and said, "This is what you asked for, the information of unmarried young talents in the capital."