Most old ladies of this age don't like women with gorgeous looks, and Grandma Gao is no exception.
In addition to this, she had an additional layer of aversion towards Lu Suisui.
When she was in the palace, she had a lot of complaints about the empress dowager's niece's granddaughter. Huan Xuan was young at the time and didn't know the details of many things, but she saw it all.
Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion sent their daughter to the palace to "accompany" the Queen Mother, aiming for the position of Crown Princess. However, the Crown Prince arranged a marriage with the lady of the Xiao family right after entering the palace. Normally, the Ruan family had no hope and should take their daughter back to raise her well, but they still kept the little lady in the deep palace and ignored her.
Ruan Yuewei and the third prince grew up in the same palace and had a deep affection for each other. The third prince treated her with sincerity, so the Ruan family began to think of settling for the second best option. At that time, both the Ruan family and the Queen Mother tacitly agreed to their marriage, and the only thing missing was a marriage certificate to finalize it.
Normally, boys and girls aged seven should sit at different seats, but because of this relationship, the two children were inseparable all the time, and no one said anything.
However, several years later, General Xiao died, and the lady of the Xiao family took control of the army. The marriage between the prince and the lady of the Xiao family was about to be cancelled, and the Ruan family began to make moves again.
It was also at that time that the attitude of the Ruan family and Ruan Yuewei towards Huan Xuan suddenly became cold. On the surface, it was because the girl had grown up and had to pay attention to the separation between men and women. In fact, all the palace people close to the Queen Mother knew that the Queen Mother and the Ruan family were eyeing the position of the Crown Princess again.
Every time the Crown Prince came to the palace to pay his respects to the Queen Mother, the lady from the Ruan family would always stay by his side, pretending to serve her.
Knowing that the prince was good at writing, she took her own poems and asked him to comment on them. The prince was proficient in music, so she practiced hard all night long and went to him for guidance every now and then with her zither.
Since the prince was a modest gentleman and did not want to offend the empress dowager, he could only answer a few words in a lukewarm manner and then leave on an excuse. Ruan Yuewei hit a few snags and realized that although the prince was kind, he was solid as a rock and impeccable, so she turned to get close to the queen.
Knowing that the queen liked to play chess, he invited the wife of a chess player from the Imperial Academy to the palace to teach her, and she painstakingly memorized all the ancient chess scores.
The marriage between the Crown Prince and Madam Xiao is no longer possible. There are rumors in the palace that the Emperor and the Empress have begun secretly selecting a concubine for the Crown Prince, and the one with the greatest hope is Ruan Sanniang. It is well known that the Empress Dowager and the Queen are not on good terms, and the Queen is aloof and cold. As the niece of the Empress Dowager, she was able to win the Queen's favor. One can imagine how much effort she has put in behind the scenes.
However, things went against their wishes. Before the candidate for the new Crown Princess could be decided, the four towns of Anxi rebelled. The imperial court and Heshuo joined forces to suppress the rebellion. The Crown Prince went to the border in person, and the general of the Heshuo army was none other than the lady of the Xiao family.
Two years later, the prince returned to the capital. It was said that in order to marry the lady of the Xiao family, he even said that he would abdicate and let others take over. The emperor was so angry that he almost used a cane to punish him. The quarrel was so intense that the matter of selecting a concubine was put on hold.
Not long after, the former crown prince suddenly passed away, and the most mediocre and inconspicuous second prince suddenly became the crown prince.
Soon enough, the Ruan family arranged a marriage for the second prince.
Although his highness did not say it, he was actually heartbroken and fled to the northwest, where he hid for three years.
From then on, Grandma Gao bore a grudge against Ruan Yuewei, and naturally she didn't like Lu Suisui, who looked similar to her.
What's more, this woman is even more beautiful than Ruan Yuewei.
If Ruan Yuewei is the bright moon in the autumn sky, the woman before him is like the scorching sun in midsummer; if Ruan Yuewei is the meticulously crafted orchid, the woman before him is the unrestrained and unrestrained peony in splashed ink.
Although she was wearing a straw hat and a cloth dress, her body was covered with grass stems and dead leaves, and her deerskin boots were covered with mud, but she stood there pretty, making the blazing maple leaves behind her pale in comparison.
Compared to Ruan Yuewei's slenderness and thinness, she is taller, with graceful curves and a well-proportioned figure. A short dress shows off her slim waist and long legs. The thin parts that should be thin are not thick enough, and the plump parts that should be thick are not ambiguous at all.
Grandma Gao had seen countless beauties in the palace, but she had never seen a woman as beautiful as a demon.
The legendary enchanting concubine who could bring disaster to the country with just one glance was probably just like this.
She is not like the girls from aristocratic families who strive for perfection in every move, but her every move has a natural grace.
Grandma Gao naturally knew which type of woman could most charm a man.
Wow, she thought to herself, their Highness is really not the one who would pick up something, but when he did, he picked up a goblin.
I heard that she was a hunter girl picked up from the deep mountains and forests. Could she really be a fox
The old lady's heart was alarmed. She raised her eyebrows and glanced at the hatchet in Sui Sui's hand and the basket on his elbow. "Where did you come from, my lady?"
Sui Sui said, "I went to the garden to dig some bamboo shoots."
Grandma Gao glanced at her hands and saw that her fingers were long and strong, with blue veins slightly visible on the back of her hands. Her hands were not as slender as spring onions and as soft as boneless as those of a noble lady from an aristocratic family. At first glance, her hands were those of a person who was used to working.
She couldn't help but frowned: "Let the slaves and servants do these rough jobs. Madam, you need to take good care of your hands while serving His Highness."
After a pause, he said, "This old servant has a recipe for hand cream from the palace. I'll prepare some for you later."
The general's hands were naturally not as soft as those of a girl from an aristocratic family who had never touched women. Sui Sui did not mind and asked the old maid to point it out directly. He did not feel ashamed and just smiled: "Thank you, maid."
Sui Sui leaned the hatchet against the wall, took out the key from his sleeve, opened the door, and let Grandma Gao in.
Chun Tiao also woke up at this time, and walked out with messy hair and swollen eyes like walnuts. He was stunned when he saw Grandma Gao: "This is..."
Grandma Gao was just worried that she had no chance to teach this enchanting woman a lesson. When she saw Chun Tiao, her eyes lit up immediately. She gritted her teeth and sneered, and said to Sui Sui in a domineering manner: "Don't be afraid of being laughed at by my lady. I have lived for decades and have never seen anything so new. The master got up early to work, but I am sleeping in the house. I heard that you are also a maid from a wealthy family. My lady doesn't know the rules, don't you also know the rules of hierarchy?"
She paused, turned to Sui Sui, cleared her throat and said, "My lady, please don't blame me for stepping into other people's business. My lady is kind and gentle to you, but you don't know that some servants are cunning and treacherous. Since Your Highness has sent me to serve you, I will sort out the rules of this courtyard for you."
Chun Tiao could tell that the old maid was taking advantage of the situation to make indirect accusations. She was originally a hot-tempered person, but under the intimidating aura of the old maid, she suddenly panicked: "Your servant... Your servant..."
Sui Sui frowned, his eyes blank: "Wait... Mammy, you are talking too fast, I am not good at speaking Mandarin, so I can't understand."
Grandma Gao choked. It felt like a fist hitting cotton, or a whip hitting nothing.
She had some suspicions that the woman was pretending, but seeing that she looked natural, slightly embarrassed, and spoke with a strong Guanlong accent, she was unsure for a moment.
Sui Sui apologized, "Mammy, please say it again, speak slowly, I will listen carefully this time."
Gao Ma had received the order from the King of Qi and had come here early in the morning. It was sunny and she hadn't had a sip of tea yet. Her throat was so dry that it was smoking. She really didn't want to repeat the long speech, so she slowed down her speech and said concisely: "I just said that I overstepped my authority..."
She saw the confusion on the hunter's face again and knew that she was uneducated, so she changed her words and said, "I will help you sort out the rules of the courtyard and discipline the servants."
"Oh," Sui Sui suddenly realized and then smiled, "Mammy, you misunderstood. I was the one who told Chun Tiao to lie down."
She turned to Chunjo and said, "Why are you up? And you're wearing so little. You can't stand the cold wind."
Chun Tiao immediately understood and covered her mouth with her hands and started coughing violently: "I... I am useless and cannot serve my lady. Ahem, I am also causing trouble for my lady..."
She cried a lot yesterday, and her voice was already muffled, as if she had caught a cold.
Sui Sui waved his hand and said, "Go inside quickly. What if you pass your illness to Madam?"
Chun Tiao hesitated. It was obvious that the old nanny was a difficult slave to get along with. Her airs were even greater than the nanny in charge of the governor's mansion. She was afraid that Sui Sui could not handle it alone.
Sui Sui urged: "Go in quickly."
Chun Tiao had no choice but to bow to the two of them and hide back in the side room.
Sui Sui gave Grandma Gao a helpless smile and said, "She manages the whole courtyard by herself, and she doesn't allow me to help, so she fell ill."
Nanny Gao originally wanted to punish the maid and use her as an example to warn the others, but she was stopped as soon as she started to make the move.
She looked at Sui Sui doubtfully, trying to find some clues from her eyes and eyebrows, but her face was frank and her eyes were clear, and she didn't look like a scheming person at all.
Grandma Gao could only attribute her failure to bad luck.
Sui Sui smiled again and said, "Mammy, you came all the way here, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? That's great, I haven't had breakfast either."
After saying that, he looked at her and smiled.
Grandma Gao was a little embarrassed. His Highness had suggested that she bring two maids and a cook with her, but she was afraid that this poor girl would become too proud and forget who she was, so she resolutely refused. Anyway, she already had a maid to serve her.
But who knew that the maid fell ill as soon as she arrived.
Now standing in the yard, she is the servant and he is the master.
She had just scolded someone for being unruly and ignorant of respect, so she couldn't let her master cook. She had to bite the bullet and said, "I'll go prepare food for you right away."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "I have nothing to do, so I'll go watch Mammy cook."
Although Grandma Gao was a servant, she had never been in the kitchen since she entered the palace as a teenager, so she was a little unsure.
But it was too late to back off now, so he could only say, "I don't know where the kitchen is, please lead the way, ma'am."
Sui Sui took her to the kitchen, put the bamboo basket and hatchet on the ground, then sat down with a bamboo stool with peace of mind, resting his chin on his hand, watching Grandma Gao cooking with great interest.
Nanny Gao looked around and decided to steam some dried meat and cook some porridge to get by for the meal, so she sent someone to the palace to call two cooks.
Just as he was thinking, Sui Sui pointed to the bamboo basket on the ground and said, "These autumn bamboo shoots are rare, they are perfect for making chicken soup. Ma, you can kill the chicken and stew it until noon."
Grandma Gao had never slaughtered a chicken before, but she was always strong-willed, so she gritted her teeth, went around to the chicken coop behind the kitchen, and grabbed a fat hen.
Sui Sui kindly handed over a shiny knife.
Grandma Gao grabbed the chicken's neck with her left hand, pressed it on the chopping board, took the knife in her right hand, and cut the chicken's neck with a determined heart.
But she was afraid and her wrist had already gone limp. The cut was shallow and only a few drops of blood flowed out. The chicken, however, screamed wildly and flapped its wings, and its little feathers mixed with the hot, smelly smell flew straight towards the old woman's face.
How could she stand this? She was so scared that she screamed "Mom" and threw the chicken out.
The poor flat-haired animal clucked and ran around.
Sui Sui sighed helplessly, stood up, grabbed the chicken's wings quickly, walked to the chopping board with the fat chicken, took the knife from the stunned Grandma Gao, picked up the knife casually, and chopped off the chicken's neck quickly.
Grandma Gao only felt a strong wind blowing past her face, and the chicken blood splattered all over. The chicken head fell to the ground with a "thump" and rolled to her feet.
She took two steps back in fright.
Sui Sui raised her blood-stained hand and lifted her hair, leaving a blood mark on her face, which contrasted with her snow-white skin, looking both charming and weird.
She looked up and smiled at Grandma Gao: "Dead."
Grandma Gao felt a chill on her back and shivered. The words "killing the chicken to scare the monkey" somehow popped up in her mind.
That night, Grandma Gao was lying on the bed, massaging her shoulders and rubbing her thighs. Suddenly, she didn't know what day it was.
Was she here to teach that hunter girl a lesson? She cooked three meals a day, swept the fallen leaves in the yard, washed her clothes and brushed her boots. Who was she? !
But the hunter girl was smiling and speaking in a nice way, so she couldn't say anything.
We can’t go on like this! Grandma Gao gritted her teeth, staggered over, and almost sprained her waist, gasping in pain.
The next day, the first thing Nanny Gao did when she woke up was to ask someone to go to the palace to find a few maids and cooks.
After the servants transferred from the palace were settled in, Qixia Pavilion suddenly became lively.
Finally, Grandma Gao didn't have to do the heavy work herself. She cheered up, regrouped, took out a scroll in a brocade bag from the box, and was eager to teach Sui Sui.