"Bihe has a good foundation, it has nothing to do with me."
"It was you who wiped the dust off the pearl. If it weren't for you, others would know that she is such a beauty." Zhen Muyao turned around and looked at Xia Bihe again, exclaiming in amazement, "Such a beautiful woman was wasted by your stepmother for so many years. It's really a waste of a gift from heaven."
"That may not be the case." Beautiful things can only shine brightly in the right place.
Zhen Muyao tilted his head and nodded in agreement, "That's true." Given that woman's vicious heart, if she discovered Xia Bihe's beauty, she would probably humiliate her in another way. Moreover, even if she revealed her true face, Xia Bihe would never be able to turn things around.
Xia Bihe was embarrassed by them, "How can I compare to Sister Xuan and Miss Zhen."
"Hey, her personality has changed, not bad. It's worth it for Sister Xuan's hard work. I just don't know which bastard will get the advantage after this transformation."
Xia Bihe became silent again. Xiaocao patted Zhen Muyao's shoulder and shook her head slightly.
Zhen Muyao nodded slightly, knowing that even without his stepmother, the marriage might not be successful.
"Bihe brought snacks again today?" Xiaocao looked at the food box in the maid's hand behind her.
"Yes, I don't have anything else to offer." Xia Bihe turned around and took the food box.
"Muyao, try it too. It's made by Bihe herself and it tastes very good." Xiaocao helped to take out the snacks.
"Then I have to taste it." Zhen Muyao was not polite and went over to pinch a thumb-tip-sized piece. It looked smooth and green, just like jade. It made people reluctant to eat it, but also very appetizing. Zhen Muyao threw it directly into his mouth, his eyes lit up, "This craftsmanship can even compare to the snacks at Zhenshanfang."
Zhenshanfang is a shop in the imperial city that specializes in dim sum and has an exclusive secret recipe. Many chefs employed by wealthy families cannot match their skills. Therefore, even if the products are expensive, many people will still rush to buy them. But they are also very arrogant and limit the number of products to be purchased every day. The early arrival, the early delivery. In addition, with the current emperor around, no one dares to do anything to oppress them. Besides, they can be in a place where the emperor is at his feet, where a plaque can fall and hit an important person at will. If they do something like "limited quantity and limited purchase", no one will believe it without some background.
Therefore, this business is becoming more and more prosperous, and it seems more "high-end".
This Zhenshenfang has existed for many years, but it has nothing to do with Concubine Kou. So, it is said that there is no shortage of people who know how to do business everywhere. If you set your mind on making it stronger and bigger, you can make a lot of money from such a small place. But I don't think Zhenshenfang is that interesting.
Xia Bihe was naturally happy to receive such high praise for her work, and smiled with curved eyebrows. "In addition to learning to read, my stepmother also let me learn cooking and needlework. Sister Xuan helped me a lot. Sister Xuan also had everything else, so I could only make some of my specialty to show my appreciation."
It is normal for a girl to learn some cooking and needlework, but it is not normal for Xia Bihe to practice her cooking skills to this level. It must have taken a lot of hard work. Therefore, her stepmother is not raising a daughter, but a cook and an embroiderer.
"It's better for this girl to cook less. This is not an ordinary family, and they don't need the hostess to serve the whole family with food and drinks." Cooking, needlework and so on, alas, Zhen Muyao has never touched the tip of the ice. Other girls would try to learn it, but Zhen Muyao has never been to the kitchen, never touched needlework, and her mother never arranged such courses for her.
Xia Bihe understood Zhen Muyao's meaning and smiled, "I know. Now I will just cook for Grandfather and Sister Xuan." Not to mention that the others still ignored her, even if they wanted to eat, they had to see if she would make a move.
Zhen Muyao nodded in agreement. A token of his affection was naturally for the one he cared about. "Speaking of your grandfather, has he returned to the court?" The one-month deadline had already arrived.
"No, my grandfather asked the emperor for another month, but the emperor didn't agree, so he postponed it for ten days. There are still a few days left."
"Your grandfather is at home, he's not really 'teaching the children', is he?"
"It's true." Xia Bihe smiled. You know, during this period of time, she was the only one who went out of the family unless it was necessary, especially the brothers. They were not allowed to step out of the door unless it was necessary. Although the reputation of the Xia family was damaged, after all, with the grandfather in charge, nothing big would go wrong. The only ones who really dared not go out were the brothers and sisters born to her stepmother. The influence of other people was limited. However, the grandfather personally taught his children and grandchildren, and other female family members also needed to reflect on themselves every day, but it was hard to hold it back.
Zhen Muyao sighed, "Your Xia family is known for its strict family traditions. Your affairs belong to the rear house. In other aspects, you have never made any mistakes. This time, you were severely "taught" by your grandfather. I guess you will really become a model for other families to learn from."
"Well, there will probably be more people cursing grandfather behind his back." When Xia Bihe said this, she was not sad, but smiled instead.
Because she often sent some gifts to her grandfather recently, their relationship has improved a lot. Xia Bihe is not so afraid of him anymore, and she will say more occasionally. Because she heard from her family that some people outside were scolding her grandfather, she was a little indignant and said it out. As a result, according to her grandfather's meaning, he was the Chief Censor, and if he was not scolded by most people but praised, then he would be a hedging and seriously dereliction of duty.
Not only him, but everyone in the Supervisory Commission who doesn't want to be scolded can just get out of here.
Speaking of Xiaocao's daily chores, they are actually similar. When Xiaocao was making medicine, Zhen Muyao and Xia Bihe both volunteered to help. These things were not difficult for Xia Bihe, and she could basically learn them once she learned them. But Zhen Muyao was no match for her. In Xiaocao's eyes, she was almost the same as her own Dai Xiaosi. Although she would not hurt herself, the more she helped, the more trouble she made. But she was still not aware of it and looked like she was determined to fight to the end.
In the end, it’s still the maid who has to clean up the mess.
However, Jian Zhen now doesn't know what shame is, "Sister Xuan, have you noticed that I am probably not even as good as Miss Xia? At least she cooks delicious food, embroiders beautiful things, and can help you. I am not like that. I just wait for you to have everything I want, but I am making things worse."
Xiaocao didn't react, and Xia Bihe was at a loss, "That's not true, Miss Zhen is the best." In fact, Xia Bihe envied Zhen Muyao from the bottom of her heart. It was great for a girl to live so freely and unrestrainedly.
"You are quite self-aware." Xiaocao glanced at Zhen Muyao indifferently.
Zhen Muyao couldn't help laughing at the two people's completely different reactions.
Later, neither of them stayed for lunch, mainly because Zhen Muyao was married now and was not so free. Otherwise, according to her personality, she would have to stay until the evening before going back. Xia Bihe, on the other hand, usually left before lunch, and now she didn't need Xiaocao to give her acupuncture to help her lose weight.
Before saying goodbye, Xiaocao gave each of them a post.
"The 17th is your birthday, Sister Xuan? You must be there." Zhen Muyao flipped through the invitation and smelled it. There was a medicinal fragrance. "This invitation was made by you, Sister Xuan. It's really beautiful."
Xiaocao paused slightly, "I thought about it for fun when I was studying." In fact, when she was with Tingyu, she would always think about other things in her spare time. After all, in addition to studying, she could not spend all her time studying medicine. She was not alone, and she always had to leave some time for those close to her. To be honest, she was called a genius in her previous life, but her talent might have been in medicine. She had good carving skills, but they were all by-products of the scalpel. Tingyu was different. He was very good in all aspects, and many things seemed easy for him to get started with.
When she thought of Ting Yu, she naturally thought of the Prince of Wei. She didn't know when it started, but the two seemed inseparable. When she thought of one, she would inevitably think of the other.
"If you have other things to do, you don't have to come. It's just an ordinary birthday."
"Other things, even if there are, are not as important as you, Sister Xuan." Zhen Muyao said. "This is your first birthday since you returned home, Sister Xuan, your family must be very concerned about it, I'm afraid they have already prepared for it."
Zhen Muyao was right. Han had been preparing for it for a long time, and the invitation was sent out at the end of March, but she didn't know about it. It was only a few days ago that she was reminded to send a link to anyone she wanted to invite. Xiaocao only then found out.
Xia Bihe also nodded, "I'm fine, no one will blame me if anything happens. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've received an invitation alone." She was a little excited.
"That's fine. If you have nothing to do, you can come over and play in the morning."
"Oh, Sister Xuan, the prince is getting married, and all officials above the third rank are invited. Unless there is something that cannot be let go, officials can leave the court in the afternoon. It has become a custom. Sister Xuan, do you want to go to Prince Cheng's mansion with your father?"
"No, only my mother will go with my father, and no one else in the family will go."
"It's better not to go. Ming Zhixin is getting married in place of Ming Zeyue. With Ming Zeyue's personality, she will never give up. She was making a lot of noise recently, but has been quiet recently. But wait and see. Something will definitely happen on the 16th. If there are any accidental casualties, with your temperament, it's unlikely that you will just stand by and watch. It's better not to go and get involved."
Xiaocao was helpless. Was this another person looking at her through a filter? "It's not that serious, but I really don't plan to go."
In fact, it's not just their family, it should be many families who probably won't bring their juniors. This prince is getting married, and he's the emperor's son. Even if he's not favored, the entire royal family will be present. No matter if these people are idlers or those who hold real power, they should not be easily messed with. No family will treat it as a visit to other close relatives and not take it seriously.
When Zhen Muyao went to find Jian Shu, Jian Shu was actually still not satisfied. It seemed that, far from being brutally abused, he seemed to be enjoying his stay with Wenren Xiaosi. Zhen Muyao was even surprised.
After getting on the carriage, Zhen Muyao asked and only then did she realize that it was not her husband who was discussing academic matters with Ren Wenrenyang, but rather he was listening to Ren Wenrenyang's various thoughts and experiences after reading. One was willing to talk and the other was willing to listen, so wasn't that a perfect match
Therefore, Wenren Yang didn’t get along with other people before because those people’s levels were neither high nor low, and they were a bit arrogant and unwilling to humble themselves. Jianshu was different. He didn’t have that awareness at all. Even if he understood what Wenren Yang said, he would not interrupt easily and listened with great interest. That’s why they were so "compatible".
"Yaoyao, come and visit us again in the future, and take me with you."
Forget it, she didn't want to leave him alone at home in the first place. She had thought that if he didn't feel comfortable staying at Wenren House, she could try to reduce her visits to Wenren House. But that's not the case now, so of course she doesn't need to "put herself in a difficult position".
Wenren Taibo did not come back last night, but he came back earlier today. However, he looked a little tired, and it was obvious that he was very exhausted in the past two days. After taking a shower and changing clothes, he looked a little more relaxed.
After dinner, Han brought up the matter. "Things should have been arranged and arranged almost completely. Basically, it's just the lower-level stuff. We just need to keep an eye on it. Why are we busier these past two days than before?"
"The emperor ordered a 'thousand old men and women banquet' to be held for the queen mother. Old men and women over the age of 60 are required to be in good health, have many children and grandchildren, have harmonious families, and have noble moral character. They must also be selected from the various prefectures under the Qi Dynasty. The entire Kaiping Prefecture and the imperial city are excluded."
Apart from Han, everyone else was quite surprised. This was no small matter, and it was only two months away from the Queen Mother's birthday.
"It's a long way to go. No matter how fast or slow it is, it will take more than two months to go back and forth. Even if the imperial order is rushed to the place and the person is selected, we can't rush to send this old man to the imperial city. What if something happens..."
"So this time, all prefectures within half a month's journey are required. According to the emperor's intention, this is also an assessment of the performance of the local areas. The more such elderly people there are, the better the governance and education of the local areas will be."
"But there are probably a lot of problems that could arise from this." Anything can be faked.
"Your Majesty is a wise ruler, he will naturally take many things into consideration, maybe..."
"That's right." Han nodded. "Did the emperor suddenly think of this, or was it the idea of one of the ministers?"
"It was the suggestion of the Minister of Justice." Although it was not raised in the court, the emperor did not hide it.
"The Minister of Justice?" Han was surprised. To be honest, the person who proposed this idea had some intention of flattering the Queen Mother. The Minister of Justice was a very upright person and not the kind of person who would flatter.
"Maybe it was Miss Li who suggested it. After all, she is the most talented girl, such a smart girl." Xiaocao smiled, but there was a chill in his eyes.