The Empress Dowager looked at You Yuji lovingly and asked gently, "Are you used to staying in the Jinnan Palace? Is your mother-in-law giving you trouble like a wicked mother-in-law?"
The Empress Dowager Cixi glanced at You Yuji and the princess, and there was a smile in her tone as she spoke these words. She saw the two people coming together. When they just came in, they seemed to be talking to each other in a good relationship. It didn't look like they had a bad relationship.
You Yuji stood up and knelt down in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
"What are you doing?" The Empress Dowager frowned. "What kind of injustice have you suffered?"
The Empress Dowager glanced at the Princess of Jinnan with suspicion. She was not only kind-hearted, but also tolerant. If the woman really came to her to seek justice because of a disagreement between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, she would not care about these trivial matters.
"The princess treats me very well. But Yuji and An Shizi have different personalities and are not a good match. I signed a divorce agreement with An Shizi years ago and parted ways. But I am worried that this marriage is a gift from the Queen Mother, and I don't want to disappoint her, so I concealed the matter and came to report it to her first."
The Empress Dowager was extremely surprised.
Divorce
She had lived to this age in her life, and in the past few decades, she could count the number of couples who had divorced on one hand. She frowned and looked at You Yuji who was kneeling below, and was silent for a long time.
For a moment, the flower hall fell silent.
Princess Jinnan smiled and said, "Grandfather, this child is very good, and my granddaughter-in-law likes him very much, but he is not meant to be with Anzhi. Since the two of them are not compatible, why don't they separate and find their own marriage."
The Empress Dowager asked, "Do you agree too?"
The Empress Dowager was very confused. This marriage was unusual and mixed with some political factors. Even if the You family didn't worry, how could the King of Jinnan, as a person involved in the situation, easily cause this trouble
The princess nodded and said with a smile, "Marriage cannot be forced. Letting it take its course will be good for both children."
The Empress Dowager looked at You Yuji and said, "I have heard a little about the foolish things that Anzhi did. But have you thought about the consequences of the divorce?"
"I've thought it through." You Yuji bowed down, determined not to look back.
There was another long silence. The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Get up."
You Yuji hesitated for a while before standing up.
"After all, this is a private matter between your two families. I don't want to get too involved. However, Anzhi is not in the capital now, and it seems inappropriate for you to leave at this time. How about this, when Anzhi comes back, you two will hand in the divorce letter to the clan hall together and record the date of signing the divorce letter in the book."
The Empress Dowager Cixi was easier to talk to than You Yuji had imagined. With such an attitude, the Empress Dowager Cixi should not blame the You family. Was she just waiting for Chen Anzhi to come back
You Yuji frowned slightly. She still wanted to leave the palace immediately. She had her reasons for leaving as soon as possible.
Just as she was about to speak, Princess Jinnan reached over and patted the back of her hand, smiling and saying, "That's good. My grandson's wife likes Yuji very much. It would be nice if she could stay in the mansion for a while longer."
Princess Jinnan winked at You Yuji.
You Yuji pursed her lips and swallowed the words of insistence.
"Okay, I'm not feeling well. After seeing you for a while, I'm starting to feel sleepy again." The Empress Dowager Cixi stood up with the help of the nanny's hand.
You Yuji and the princess also stood up immediately and respectfully saw the Empress Dowager off.
On the way back to the palace, You Yuji lowered her head and hesitated. Obviously, she was very dissatisfied with the result that she had to stay in Jinnan Palace for a while.
The princess saw through it. She patted You Yuji's hand and said, "Anzhi will return to Beijing by Mid-Autumn Festival at the latest."
You Yuji looked up at the princess in surprise. The reason why she was not satisfied with the result of entering the palace today was because Chen Anzhi had joined the army and didn't know when he would return. But when the princess said so, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Jinnan King and his wife didn't really abandon Chen Anzhi to the army and leave him alone.
With the exact date, You Yuzhi felt much better.
There were some things that the princess shouldn't have said to You Yuji. But she still held You Yuji's hand, lowered her voice, and said, "Your Majesty's health is not good, and the crown prince must be decided within half a year. The Queen Mother asked us to wait for An Zhi to come back, because she wanted to wait until the crown prince position was settled before discussing this matter."
Having said this, the princess did not explain further.
You Yuji has completely understood. The Empress Dowager Cixi is not very involved in the affairs of the court, but she has been able to sit on the throne of the Empress Dowager Cixi for decades without a prince, so she must not be stupid. Now that the position of the crown prince is undecided, she is taking care of the King of Jinnan a little bit to avoid the troublesome trivialities that may affect the King of Jinnan's succession. Regardless of whether the King of Jinnan can finally walk up the white jade steps, he will remember the kindness of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
You Yuji slowly let out a breath and calculated the date.
Before returning to the Jinnan Palace, You Yuji got off the carriage in advance. She took a sedan chair and headed west with Zhuo Wen and Zhuo Wu, and finally walked into a street.
The sedan passed through the crowd and stopped at a steamed bun shop.
"Want to buy some buns? Our buns have thin skin and lots of meat, they're really affordable! What kind of filling do you want?"
You Yuji smiled as she listened to Cuiyu's voice. She parted the curtain and looked out, smiling, "Give me a tray of each filling."
Cuiyu was stunned, and the fake smile on her face immediately became real. She said with a smile: "Oh, look at me, I was so busy that I didn't even recognize the people around my sister!"
She pointed at Zhuo Wen and laughed at herself for being blinded.
You Yuji got up and stepped out of the sedan chair, looking around the steamed bun shop opened by Cuiyu. It was not really a shop, as it was too small to even turn around.
"Sister, come with me!" Cui Yu rubbed her hands on her apron and pulled You Yuzhi's hand, pulling her inside.
After a short narrow passage, there is a small kitchen at the back.
Cuiyu kicked Lin Yingying, who was squatting by the stove with her back to them: "Get up, get up, look who's here!"
Lin Yingying rubbed her kicked butt and turned around blankly. When she saw You Yuji, she immediately smiled and called her sister sweetly.
When she saw Lin Yingying, You Yuji was both surprised and not surprised.
She bent down and wiped the dust off Lin Yingying's face with a handkerchief, then smiled and said softly, "Look at how dirty this little face is."
Cuiyu opened her eyes wide and asked in surprise: "Sister, why aren't you surprised to see Yingying? I thought you were going to scream that you saw a ghost!"
She patted her chest and said with an exaggerated expression: "I am ready to open my arms and hug my sister to comfort you, there is no ghost!"
You Yuji was amused by Cuiyu's words and shook her head helplessly: "I don't think you can get rich by selling buns. Why don't you become a storyteller? Maybe you can make more money."
Cuiyu rolled her eyes, and actually thought seriously about You Yuji's joke. But she quickly came to her senses, pulled You Yuji's sleeve and asked, "Sister, when did you know Yingying was still alive? I'm so curious, and I'm worried about how to explain it to you!"
"Since you asked for all your belongings back from my place."
"So early?" Cuiyu was very surprised.
Lin Yingying said with her eyes bent, "I've made you worried during this period. I didn't mean to hide it from you, but at that time I was thinking..."
Lin Yingying pursed her lips.
You Yuji smiled and said gently without asking any more questions, "As long as the person is well, nothing else matters. This is for you. I was going to sell it, but I kept it. I don't know if you can still use it in the future, so I'll give it back to you first."
You Yuji took out Lin Yingying's indenture from her sleeve and handed it to her.
Lin Yingying looked at this thin piece of paper, and suddenly she understood. It was this thin piece of paper that determined her identity, making many things in this world become a luxury for her.
"Let's go talk outside. It's small and smoky here." Cui Yu said.
There were only two small square wooden tables outside, and most people who came to buy buns took the buns and left, and few people would sit down to eat. Therefore, these two tables were not used for the first time.
Cuiyu personally picked out a bun of the same flavor from the steamer and placed it on the table. Then she brought a pot of wine from the kitchen for herself.
Steamed buns and wine don't seem to be a good combination.
But the three of them were very happy sitting together, eating steaming buns and occasionally drinking cheap wine that was not very tasty.
Cuiyu was very proud: "Sister, are these buns delicious? My cooking skills are pretty good, right?"
Lin Yingying was unhappy, and said sweetly in a coquettish manner: "Sister is taking the credit. It's clear that the division of labor is inside and outside. Most of the buns are made and steamed by me!"
"Isn't it my fault that I made the bun skin?" Cui Yu retorted with a smile.
"That's also 70% and 30%." Lin Yingying smiled and took a bite of the bun, and a drop of soup splashed onto her face.
Cuiyu laughed out loud.
You Yuji smiled and wiped her with a handkerchief.
Lin Yingying made a face at Cuiyu: "Sister is still good to me, you are the only one who always makes fun of me!"
Cuiyu said carelessly: "I'm just laughing at you. I've been laughing at you for more than ten years anyway. Hahaha..."
The three of them chatted and laughed for a while, and suddenly they heard a commotion over there.
"What's the matter?" You Yuji turned her head and told Zhuo Wen to find out.
Zhuo Wen did not take any action, but replied with a smile: "The results are announced today, and the number one scholar is riding a horse in the parade! All these people are going to watch the fun."
You Yuji nodded.
A few passers-by stopped to buy steamed buns, and Cuiyu hurried to serve them. The steamed buns they wanted were out of stock outside, so Cuiyu hurried inside to get some.
Several passers-by started talking about the top scorer in the imperial examination.
"I didn't expect that this year's top scholar would be Marquis Anqing. It's rare that someone of such a noble family could calm down and study. Tsk, all these young masters in the capital look like dandies. But this Marquis Anqing is a man who has emerged from the mud without being stained."
The other one said with a smile: "What's so surprising about this? The old Marquis An has been gone for so many years, and the Anqing Marquis's family has had a hard time in the capital, and has been looked down upon by the clan members."
"Now that the young marquis has been appointed by His Majesty, the Jiang family, which used to be deserted, will probably become lively overnight."
"The young marquis is indeed promising and has earned his reputation on his own."
Cuiyu came out and handed over the buns that the guests had requested. Several people walked away while talking about the top scholar in the imperial examination.
"Yingying?" You Yuzhi looked at Lin Yingying.
"Ah?" Lin Yingying came back to her senses, "What did my sister just say?"
She smiled awkwardly and explained: "I was distracted just now and didn't hear clearly..."
"I said the wine in your glass spilled." You Yuji said gently.
"Oh oh!" Lin Yingying quickly put down the cup in her hand and hurriedly wiped the wine stains on the table.
You Yuji looked at You Yuji for a second longer, then shifted his gaze to look at the people who had just walked away.
Soon, the top scholar's parade convoy passed by the front street.
The bun shop chosen by Cui Yu was located on higher ground, so they didn't need to go forward to join in the fun, and they could still see the top scholar passing by in the distance.
Jiang Yunche was wearing a golden black gauze and a red robe, sitting on a tall horse, looking very imposing. The crowd of onlookers followed him, making a lot of noise.
Lin Yingying smiled and looked away.
Good thing, he got what he wanted.
Before You Yuji returned to Jinnan Palace, she went to several shops to buy things. When she returned to the palace, it was already dark.
As soon as she entered the house, she heard Si Que calling her "Sister".
"Why don't you light the lamp?" You Yuji smiled and carried the boxes she had bought back to the small room. The things inside were prepared for Si Que and could not be given to him for the time being.
"My sister is not here, and there is no light even if I turn on the lamp."
You Yuji was startled for a moment, then curled her lips and allowed Si Que to hug her from behind.
Si Que followed You Yuji's arm and touched the box she was carrying: "What is this?"
"It's a gift for you, but I'll give it to you the day after tomorrow."
Yours, the ceremony of coming of age.