Sui Sui said, "No need to be polite."
When he spoke, he spoke in beautiful and elegant language.
The middle-aged man was busy serving tea, and Sui Sui said, "No need, I can't stay long."
She took out a thin piece of letter from her bosom: "Beicen will arrive in the capital in a few days. Please bring a letter to him for me."
Duan Beicen was her father's adopted son, serving as a military commander in the Jiedushi's mansion. He was not only her most trusted aide, but also her brother and friend.
The letter was not sealed. She and Duan Beicen always used ciphertext when communicating, and only the two of them in the world could understand it.
The man hurriedly took the letter and said, "I will personally hand the letter to Sima Duan."
He paused and said cautiously, "My Lord, do you want to continue investigating the matter of the late Crown Prince?"
Sui Sui looked at the flickering flames, but seemed to be looking into the distance: "Let's wait for a few days. The prince's wedding is coming soon, and the palace is under martial law. Don't act rashly at this time."
"I obey your command." The middle-aged man said respectfully with his head lowered.
Sui Sui said: "Thank you for your hard work."
After saying that, she picked up a small pink glass box from his desk, opened the felt curtain and walked out.
The young waiter was still standing respectfully outside the door.
Sui Sui glanced at him and said with a smile: "What's your name?"
The young man didn't expect her to talk to him. He was flattered for a moment and said incoherently: "My name is Tian Jun."
Sui Sui smiled and patted his shoulder: "Okay, I'll come to you next time to buy rouge."
After saying this, he opened the felt curtain and walked out.
The young man followed two steps and watched Sui Sui's back disappear at the stairs. He suddenly came to his senses, his heart beating like a drum and his palms full of sweat.
It was the first time he met General Xiao in person. Although his true face could not be seen clearly because of the veil, his aura alone was enough to intimidate people. He did not expect that his attitude was so approachable.
He rubbed his right shoulder that had just been patted, his heart beating violently in his throat.
General Xiao actually patted his shoulder with his own hand! With his left hand! The left hand that was said to be able to shoot an arrow through a target at a hundred paces and take the head of an enemy general in a hostile army! Who would believe this if they told anyone else!
…
She went downstairs, picked out a box of ordinary facial cream, and walked out of the shop.
The shop was deep in the alley. As the two men walked towards the alley entrance, a sudden gust of wind blew towards them, blowing off Sui Sui's veil.
Xiaotong exclaimed and ran after to pick it up.
Just at this moment, a girl in a yellow shirt and pomegranate skirt came towards her with her maid and saw her red-handed.
The girl was startled, paused, and stared at her without blinking. After a moment, she seemed to realize her loss of composure, and she let out a light "Ah!" and quickly walked past her.
Sui Sui turned around to look at the girl, he saw that she was wearing a veil hat and a silk shawl made of mud and silver shark gauze. She looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. The apricot yellow clothes looked inconspicuous, but were actually made of heavy lotus silk produced in Shu, a tribute used in the court.
Look at the maid in green again. She has a pair of silver hairpins with precious flowers in her hair and turquoise inlaid on them. Her clothes are also made of the finest green and blue twill, and she has a silver sachet on her waist. She is obviously a maid from a wealthy family.
There are less than ten families like this even in Chang'an. They are either royal relatives or important officials.
Could it be that he recognized her? Sui Sui immediately rejected this idea.
She hadn't been back to Chang'an for more than ten years, and even if she had seen her when she was young, she would not have been able to recognize her.
That's someone who knows Ruan Yuewei.
She didn't take it to heart, but Xiaotong quietly tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Madam, the young lady behind us looked back at you several times. Have you seen her?"
Sui Sui smiled and said, "I just arrived in Chang'an. This is my first time going out. How can I know anyone?"
Xiaotong frowned and thought hard: "I think the maid's clothes are familiar, I think I have seen them somewhere..."
"That's right!" Her eyes lit up. "I remember now. They are from the Zhang Mansion! Last year, when I came to give them New Year gifts, I was wearing this kind of twill dress."
There is only one prominent Zhang family in Chang'an City, and that is the family of Zhang Qiuhu, the right prime minister of the current dynasty.
Zhang Qiuhu was born in a poor family. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 20 and rose rapidly from then on. He became the prime minister in his early 40s.
The young lady in the apricot yellow shirt just now is most likely the daughter of the Zhang family.
Sui Sui pretended not to know: "Zhang Mansion?"
Xiaotong said, "My lady, have you ever heard of Mr. Zhang, the Right Prime Minister of the dynasty?"
Sui Sui shook his head.
Xiaotong explained Zhang Xiang's background and rise to prominence, and then said, "The Zhang family only has one branch, and the population is simple. The girl who just walked past is most likely the daughter of Zhang Xiang's first wife. The Zhang family has seven or eight sons, including legitimate and illegitimate children, but only this one daughter, who is treated like the apple of her eye."
She paused, then continued, "That Miss Zhang is a beauty, and she is also very talented. She and the Third Lady of Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion are known as the two beauties of Chang'an. I heard that they are close friends."
Sui Sui nodded thoughtfully: "So that's how it is."
She guessed correctly, it was indeed an acquaintance of Ruan Yuewei.
Xiao Tong added: "The third lady of the Ningyuan Marquis family is recognized as the most beautiful woman in Chang'an City. Unfortunately, I have never seen her, so I don't know how beautiful she is."
As she spoke, she thought of the infatuation of the Prince of Qi for Ruan Sanniang, and suddenly felt guilty. She glanced at Sui Sui's profile out of the corner of her eye, but saw that she looked normal and did not suspect anything, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This time, I couldn't help but be attracted by the face. Although it was hidden behind the gauze curtain, I could still make out the beautiful outline.
Those features were so difficult to describe that even a woman like her couldn't help but take a peek.
I don’t know how that Miss Ruan compares to this one, but she can’t imagine it anyway.
The inner courtyard of Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.
Ruan Yuewei was sitting in front of the window, with fine white rattan paper covering the drawing table in front of her. She held a white jade brush in her hand. Her slender fingers, like spring onions, were as crystal clear and flawless as jade, and it was impossible to tell them apart at a glance.
But she just frowned slightly, staring at the flowers outside the window, as if she had forgotten how to start writing.
Looking from a distance in the courtyard, it looks like a detailed painting of a lady.
Zhang Qingqi followed the maid of the marquis's mansion to the central courtyard, and saw the woman in the brocade window put down her pen and looked up at her.
Then there was a clear sound of ringing bracelets, and the beauty in the painting moved, still like a walking painting.
The beauty came out from behind the curtain, holding up her saffron skirt, and walked down the steps slowly: "Why did you come just now? I've been waiting for you for half a day."
Zhang Qingqi smiled slyly, and a pair of deep dimples appeared on her childish cheeks, making her look very cute.
She pointed at the red sandalwood box held by the maid and said, "Don't blame me, sister. I am embarrassed to come to your house empty-handed, so I made a detour to the East Market."
The box was about two palms square, with delicate gold and silver patterns on the lid. The box alone was worth at least ten taels of gold, and only the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, who was the center of attention, would give it away as a gift.
Although the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion sounds prominent, it actually has no real power in the court. There are hundreds of people in the mansion, and the food, clothing and other expenses cannot bring shame to the mansion, so it is inevitably a bit tight. Even someone of Ruan Yuewei's status has to make ends meet.
She couldn't help but touch the jade hairpin in her hair. This hairpin was given to her by Concubine Xian when she entered the palace last year.
Ruan Yuewei calmed down, smiled and came up to hold Zhang Qingqi's hand, and said angrily: "I think you are using me as a raft to take the opportunity to go shopping in the market."
Zhang Qingqi was not upset when her thoughts were exposed, and said with a smile: "Sister knows me best."
She sighed leisurely, "Who told me that my mother is so strict that I am not even allowed to go to the market? I can only go out and relax by visiting my sister's house."
Madam Zhang, surnamed Lu, was born into the Fanyang Lu family. Although she was a concubine's daughter, she was from a family of scholars and officials after all, and they brought up their daughter like the ladies from noble families.
"You just love to play too much," Ruan Yuewei took her hand and led her to the room, "Madam is thinking about you. You will be a married woman in the new year. You are already a grown-up girl. It is not appropriate for you to go out and have fun."
Zhang Qingqi pretended to cover her ears and shook her head, saying, "Good sister, please stop scolding me."
Ruan Yuewei said: "I treat you as my own sister and open my heart to you."
As he said this, he ordered the maid to bring fragrant tea, fresh fruits and fine cakes.
"Oh, by the way, sister," Zhang Qingqi suddenly slapped her forehead, "I saw a girl in the West Market today who looked exactly like you!"
She always spoke in an exaggerated way. Ruan Yuewei picked up the small Longquan kiln teacup with lotus petal pattern and sipped the fragrant tea. "There are so many people in the world. It's not surprising that some of them are somewhat similar to me."
The smile on his lips faded.
Zhang Qingqi didn't notice it, and said to herself with a beaming face: "Sister, don't disbelieve me, that woman is at least 70% similar to you."
She recalled, "But my eyes are longer than yours, my nose is straighter than yours, and my mouth is smaller than yours."
She stood up and pointed at her waist with her hands: "That waist looks thinner than yours..."
She rolled her eyes and blushed as she said, "Maybe it's because of my curvy figure. Anyway, I'm slim where I should be slim, and plump where I should be plump. I don't know how I grew up like that. I dream of growing up like that."
Ruan Yuewei's face became more and more embarrassed, but Zhang Qingqi didn't notice it at all. He picked up a persimmon cake, licked the persimmon frost with the tip of his tongue, and revealed a smile that was sweeter than the persimmon frost.
"There is such a girl in Chang'an City. I wonder which family she is from."
Zhang Qingqi shook her head: "I heard that she didn't speak Mandarin very well. She must be from another place. Her behavior doesn't seem like that of a lady from a rich family."
He frowned and said, "But later I saw her get on a carriage with two strong servants following her. She doesn't look like she is from a small family."
Ruan Yuewei grew up in the palace since childhood. Unlike Zhang Qingqi, she was ignorant of worldly affairs. After hearing her description, she vaguely guessed that the woman was most likely a concubine or a mistress of a wealthy family.
Ruan Yuewei was already unhappy when she heard that someone looked like her. From what Zhang Qingqi said, this woman was even better than her, which made her doubly unhappy.
Guessing that the woman was of low status, Ruan Yuewei felt sick.
To be compared with such a woman who used her beauty to please men was undoubtedly a blasphemy and defilement for a lady from a noble family like her.
But she couldn't tell Zhang Qingqi directly, so she just turned cold and said nothing.
Zhang Qingqi was not good at observing people's expressions, but she had known Ruan Yuewei for many years. When she saw that Ruan Yuewei was silent for a while, she knew that she had said something wrong again, so she changed the subject and said, "Oh, sister, open the box and take a look. This is the new year's perfume and facial cream from Chang's cosmetics shop. It's not on display in the store yet. There is only one box like this in the whole capital. Take a look and see if it suits your taste."
Ruan Yuewei did not open the lid, but placed her delicate hands on the box, and said to Zhang Qingqi earnestly, "The Cao family said, 'Wash away dirt, dress cleanly, bathe regularly, and keep the body clean, this is called a woman's appearance.' Putting on rouge and powder, and focusing on beauty, is inferior..."
Zhang Qingqi pouted in dissatisfaction. It was obvious that among all the young ladies they played with, Sister Ruan cared the most about her appearance and would rather starve than lose her waist. She knew that she loved beauty, so she eagerly gave her the facial rouge and powder that she herself was reluctant to use.
Anyone would be unhappy when their sincerity is met with such a high-sounding lesson.
Ruan Yuewei also felt that she had gone too far, so she took her friend's hand and said, "Don't be angry with me. You and I are closer than sisters, so I speak so directly."
She paused, sighed, and her eyes gradually turned red: "I don't know if we can have such a long chat like today as often as we can in the future..."
Zhang Qingqi heard her sincere words and immediately put aside her previous unhappiness: "I was wondering why my sister has changed. It turns out that she has become the Crown Princess and can't wait to set an example and set an example..."
Ruan Yuewei's cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip and said angrily, "You sharp-tongued girl! I'll tell your mother later and I'll make you copy the "Instructions for Women" a hundred times..."
"Please forgive me, dear sister," Zhang Qingqi begged, "It is enough for the Cao family to have you as their successor..."
The two of them started laughing and joking, and Zhang Qingqi forgot about the woman he met in front of the cosmetics shop.
Ruan Yuewei's heart was shrouded in a vague sense of uneasiness, as if a layer of light cloud.
…
Sui Sui didn't know that this substitute had already registered an account with the real owner.
The days in Shanchiyuan are as calm as the water in the pond in the garden.
After hitting a wall several times, Grandma Gao finally put the "Legislation for Women" back into the bottom of the box and switched to reading the "Thousand Character Classic".
In addition to learning to read, Grandma Gao also took great pains to correct her manners and accent.
But these things cannot be changed overnight after all. The ladies of noble families are taught rules and etiquette by their mothers before they are even aware of anything. The elegance and grace in their every move and manners cannot be learned in a few days.
The forced "light steps" and "closed-tooth smile" were just imitations of an ugly woman, so artificial that even Nanny Gao felt it hurt her eyes, so she didn't dare show it to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. It would be better if she looked her original way, with bigger steps, more casual gestures, and more masculine movements, which was much more pleasing to the eye.
As for correcting the accent, it was even more difficult. When Nanny Gao was in the Empress Dowager's palace, she also commanded palace maids from all over the world, and she had never seen anyone dumber than Lu Suisui. She would spend a long time correcting a pronunciation, but the accent would return to its old ways after a night.
After a few times, Madam Gao became a little discouraged and said, "Madam, please speak less in front of His Highness."
Grandma Gao worked so hard that she almost exhausted herself, but Lu Suisui's progress was still slow.
One night, she was tossing and turning in bed, at a loss as to what to do, when suddenly an idea flashed in her head and she realized it.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi asked her to seduce Lu Suisui, but he didn't really want her to seduce a hunter girl into a lady from a noble family - besides, is Ruan Yuewei comparable to an ordinary lady from a noble family
Even though Grandma Gao didn't like her, she had to admit that she was outstanding in both appearance and talent.
He was proficient in all four arts, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. His poems were praised by the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. He learned painting from famous masters of the time, and learned the art of playing the zither from the empress dowager.
Not to mention that Grandma Gao herself is a half-baked person. Even if she could teach, with Lu Suisui's natural talent, he would probably not be able to learn anything by the time he was old enough to draw a tiger.
After all, Her Highness just wants a substitute to relieve the pain of wanting something but not getting it, just like that wooden and clay doll of a beautiful woman, just to make it look similar. Why should she go to such a far place and make things difficult for herself
Grandma Gao decided not to dwell on this issue any more. The next day, she asked someone to go to the storehouse of Prince Qi's mansion to get some silk and satin, and asked a tailor to tailor clothes for Sui Sui.
She had been watching Ruan Yuewei for more than ten years and knew her preferences in dressing very well. This young lady's clothes looked simple and elegant, but in fact she put more thought into them than anyone else's. The empress dowager was determined to marry her into the Eastern Palace, so she gave her all the good materials.
The tailors and embroiderers hired from outside naturally could not compare with the skilled craftsmen in the palace's silk and brocade workshop. The tribute silks and satins bestowed by the emperor could not be used in the outer residences, so only materials of similar color and texture could be selected.
However, this hunter girl was naturally beautiful, and a sack could not hide her beauty. When she put on simple and elegant clothes, tied her hair into a Japanese bun, and wore a jade comb, jade hairpins, and flower ornaments, she looked like the fairy in the Moon Palace described in the legend.
Grandma Gao held the rouge in her hand, but couldn't find where to start for a long time. She really "disliked the rouge and powder that would stain the color."
She could only follow the appearance of Ruan Yuewei in her memory, pulling the ends of her eyebrows down and covering the ends of her deep eyes with powder to make them shorter.
Dressing up like Ruan Yuewei, it looks almost real from a distance - except that she can't speak.
She didn't speak Mandarin well, and her voice was very different from Ruan Yuewei's.
Grandma Gao had done her best and could only comfort herself that this was already satisfactory and at least she could explain it to His Highness.
However, the King of Qi never came to Shanchiyuan again since that day.
The Crown Prince's wedding was approaching, and envoys from various countries had arrived in Beijing one after another. The various military governors had also sent their subordinates to offer congratulations. As the Crown Prince's younger brother, the King of Qi could not stay out of the matter, so how could he care about a substitute
In a blink of an eye, more than a month passed and the auspicious day for the prince's wedding finally arrived.