"The terrain of the small square pot is rugged. It's better for me to help the emperor's grandmother." Gong Xiangxiao ignored the surprised gazes of the concubines. After getting off the rockery, he went to pay his respects to the empress dowager, and also met with the empress, noble concubine and other high-ranking concubines. , and finally said to the Queen, "My brother has been here several times when he was a child, so he is quite familiar with the terrain."
Gu Zhen was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses. He and Yun Fenghuang stepped aside and said, "Then I'll bother you... I'll bother you, Lord Marquis."
Gong Xiangxiao said calmly: "The emperor's sister-in-law said it true. The emperor's grandmother is also the direct grandmother of my younger brother. This is what I should do."
So he supported the Queen Mother and took the lead, followed by the Sixth Palace.
I listened to the former Gong Xiangxiao and the Empress Dowager chatting as they walked. From time to time they pointed out the surrounding scenery, occasionally recalled the late Emperor Xiaozong, and occasionally asked each other about their current situation. Although they were talking about ordinary things that didn't matter, they still had a sense of ancestors. The warmth of loving-kindness and filial piety.
Well, at least it looks cozy.
Because of the rugged path, and the fact that it was the first time for the concubines to come here, they were all dressed up and decorated and were not suitable for climbing up and down. Even though the Empress Dowager did not walk very fast, she was able to climb up and down due to the support of Gong Xiangxiao and her grandparents. With his familiarity, he quickly threw the concubines headed by the queen away for a while.
The queen took the opportunity to ask Yun Fenghuang: "Why is Shouning Hou here?"
"It seems that the Empress Dowager quietly called people over." Yun Fenghuang said, "Were we all shocked when Shouning Marquis came out just now? The Empress Dowager was not surprised at all."
"But the incident he made, although not many people have mentioned it now, has it only been a few days?" The Queen frowned, "People are here again now, I'm afraid many people will whisper again soon. .”
She felt that the Queen Mother was too willful in doing things, "Even if the Queen Mother misses him, when is it not good to see him in private, why does she insist on calling him to this banquet?"
Yun Fenghuang said: "Have you forgotten? At this banquet today, ladies from various families will also be present. And Marquis Shouning is not married yet. How do the regent and step-concubine treat Marquis Shouning? Don’t you know? Back then, the regent personally petitioned to abandon the heir apparent. If the empress dowager, Gu Nianqing, hadn’t intervened to stop him, I don’t know what the trouble would have been. Now the regent and step-concubine will definitely not worry about his marriage, even if Worry, I’m afraid what I’m looking for is not good, so how can I reassure the Queen Mother?”
Therefore, the Empress Dowager could only take advantage of today's opportunity to ask Shouning Hou to attend, and help him solve a life-long matter.
"...I have actually forgotten about this matter." Upon hearing this, the Queen showed clear annoyance on her face.
But he was thinking that if he had expected such an incident earlier, he should send a message to his family so that the sisters at home could make preparations.
Previously, when Gong Xiangxiao was the regent prince, his title was higher than it is now.
After all, even if Gong Xiang Ruoji is not the regent, his title is still a hereditary king, which is two levels higher than a marquis.
But the situation of his marriage at that time was actually not very good.
One is that promising his daughter to him means siding with the regent. However, with Chunjia in his prime and performing steadily, the future of the regent is not so smooth and wonderful; the other is that Gong Xiangxiao is about to be crowned. He has not achieved much yet, and considering that he has a stepmother who is not very virtuous, and a half-brother who is said to be young but very smart, he either cannot support him himself or is not taken seriously by the regent.
No matter which one it is, girls who have been carefully cultivated by wealthy families will definitely not bet on him easily.
However, after this person was abandoned as the crown prince and left the imperial capital in a rather embarrassed manner, noble people like the queen felt that he was a good marriage partner.
After all, after such a farce, anyone would want to separate him from the Regent's Palace.
Even if the regent fails in the future, Gong Xiangxiao may not be affected.
On the other hand, if the regent succeeds, there is a high probability that he will not be able to settle accounts with his wife... After all, is he the first wife's legitimate son
Maybe they would even give him a title and make him a king.
With such a promising future, even if his own abilities are lacking, there are no serious moral problems.
... Everyone knows what it means to be disrespectful to your stepmother. Anyway, Lu's family background is not on the table in the eyes of serious high-ranking families. They don't think it is such a bad thing that Gong Xiangxiao disrespects Lu.
In short, Shouning Hou is young, handsome, with a decent character and moral character. He has a title, his mother has passed away, and he has almost no contact with his stepmother and father. He earned a lot of sympathy when he left... This is a perfect place for placement. Those are the real apples of my eye.
As soon as you enter the house, you can take charge of the family. There is no in-laws to hold you down, and you don't need to set rules for your mother-in-law in daily life.
If you are lucky, you will be able to become a princess in the future.
At this moment, Gu Zhen thought about the three or two pampered cousins at home. They would also come to the banquet today. However, because she did not expect Gong Xiangxiao's festival, she not only did not tell them in advance to dress up beautifully and gently. He even sent a message to them to keep a low profile.
Don't steal Princess Minghui's limelight too much...
I regretted it very much now.
Also feeling regretful and upset were Concubine Shu and Concubine Shu. After sitting down in the main hall, the Empress Dowager turned around and saw that all the concubines were full of desolation and regret, and she laughed a little: "You have been walking for so long. Lu, the old bones of the Ai family can still survive, but you young ones can't?"
"Grandma Huang, what did you say? How old are you?" Gu Zhen quickly calmed down and stepped forward and said, "You are still young. If you don't believe me, ask the Marquis, do you look the same age as us?" We are all out of breath and restless after walking, but you are still in high spirits here?"
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "The Ai family always thought that you were honest, Queen, but who knew you were also very smooth-tongued."
"You said that to my granddaughter-in-law, but she won't admit it." Gu Zhen said angrily, "My granddaughter-in-law doesn't dare to say anything else. To tell the truth, no one in the palace can compare with my daughter-in-law. If you don't believe me, just ask. Concubine and the others, do you think this is true?"
After you and I chatted with each other for a while, someone from the palace came to report that the two empress dowagers had also landed on the island accompanied by Princess Kunze, but they were just two of them. After all, the Empress Dowager was "still sick", and she was afraid that the crowds in the main hall would be too noisy, which would make her dizzy and disturb her interest in the banquet, so she planned to go to a more remote pavilion.
This was what they had agreed upon before. Even though the Empress Dowager knew that most of the time they didn't want to come over to see their faces, she didn't bother to care about them, so she responded lightly and didn't intend to care.
But the palace official who came to report stood there and did not leave. Instead, he looked embarrassed.
"What's going on?" Seeing this, Gu Zhen frowned slightly and asked.
The palace man said cautiously: "The Mother Queen Mother wanted to take a rest at Jiuying Pavilion, but the Mother Queen Mother said Jiuying Pavilion was too far and wanted Princess Kunze to help her go to Zezhi Xiaozhu."
… Yun Fenghuang looked around, and Qingdu, who had learned about it in advance, quickly came up and whispered in his ear. Jiuying Pavilion is in the northwest corner, located on a rockery several people high. The rockery is full of plum blossoms. Although there are no flowers in this season, there are Overlooking the osmanthus in a circle at the foot of the mountain; as for Zezhi Xiaozhu, it is a small courtyard beside the depression in the southeast corner. In the midsummer, it is also a field of lotus leaves, which is really cute. At this time, most of them are left to listen to the sound of rain. .
With just these two places, who can believe that the two empress dowagers are not showing off
The queen's expression was a little ugly. Although the conflict between the two empress dowagers did not break out openly, the principals knew that they were not very harmonious.
The problem is, no matter how discordant they are, they are still Chunjia's adoptive mother and biological mother. They are making such a fuss in front of the Empress Dowager and Shouning Marquis. Have you ever thought about Chunjia
She moved her lips and looked at the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager looked calm and said, "It's okay to let Princess Kunze make the decision on this matter. Is it possible that the Ai family should also make the decision?"
The palace man smiled apologetically and said, "The princess is also in a dilemma. She doesn't know which empress dowager should be sent first."
Princess Kunze is indeed in a dilemma. After all, one is the legitimate mother and the other is the adoptive mother. According to her superiority, she should send the Queen Mother Yuan first.
But she couldn't embarrass the Queen Mother Qu.
No wonder he froze.
The queen interjected with an embarrassed look on her face: "Grandma, my granddaughter-in-law thinks..."
But the Empress Dowager didn't give her a chance to think about it, and said directly to her palace mates: "Isn't this osmanthus appreciation banquet just for them to relax? Why are they already having fun before the banquet starts? In this case, there is no need to worry about the crowds in Aijia, just come to Aijia."
"So as not to embarrass the children, who don't have the grace that a royal elder should have!"
Although the concubines who said this all had low eyebrows and did not dare to say anything, they felt that it made sense in their hearts.
Although the Empress Dowager and Chun Jia are not together, in terms of magnanimity, she is much better than the two empress dowagers...
After a while, Queen Mother Yuan and Queen Mother Qu came hand in hand, accompanied by Princess Kunze. After all, these two were chronically ill and widowed, so their clothes were not bright and they had not put on any makeup.
Princess Kunze who followed them had tidied up nicely. She wore a double-snail bun, decorated with emerald gilded luan birds holding sesame beads and flowers. Her ears were adorned with emerald Ganoderma lucidum earrings, and she wore gorgeous hair. Peach blossom makeup.
Wearing half-sleeves with lily branches embroidered on the shoulders, the skirt and sleeve edges are inlaid with vermilion, and the collar reveals a snow-colored color. It is a narrow-sleeved short jacket with tea white plain pattern inside, and a carved bat and peony is pressed on the chest, which means wealth. Underneath the double hoop is a skirt of red and black. The red skirt has a grape pattern winding around it. It opens and closes as you move. Due to the exquisite and delicate texture, it looks like a peacock. The tail feathers have a soft luster.
She raised her head slightly, and at first glance, she indeed looked like a slightly proud little peacock. After the two empress dowagers finished their salutes, she was about to step aside and wait.
As soon as she started to move, she was stopped by the Queen Mother, who asked her to step forward.
Princess Kunze didn't know why, and subconsciously glanced at Queen Mother Yuan, and then at Queen Mother Qu. Seeing that these two people didn't express any expression, she hesitantly walked to the Queen Mother, and said hello in a low voice again.
It can be seen that the princess is a little nervous, which is no wonder. She has been in the palace for ten years, but she can probably count on one hand the number of times she has seen the Queen Mother.
If Ji Sheng, a common man, was here, Kunze would be a little familiar with Ji Sheng.
Because we play together with the three eldest princesses, we have more opportunities to meet Ji Sheng.
For Minghui's sake, Ji Sheng treated both Yun'an and Sui'an fairly well and didn't bother to embarrass Kunze.
Over the years, even if Kunze occasionally had the opportunity to see the Empress Dowager, she saw the Empress Dowager, but she was not in her eyes.
So this was the first time that the Empress Dowager held her hand and spoke to her.
And he didn't say anything nice: "In a blink of an eye, this child has grown up, and it's time to discuss marriage, right? This is a girl from your Fuyang County lineage, and the Ai family doesn't want to overstep their bounds. But since the child has grown up, You can no longer tease her like you did when you were a child. Especially today, this osmanthus appreciation banquet was specially organized by grandson's daughter-in-law and others to relieve your boredom. But you started arguing immediately after landing, leaving Kunze not knowing what to do. That’s great, the news has just come and the Queen and the others are extremely anxious... Your majesty, the Queen Mother, this is too ridiculous!"
Empress Dowager Yuan and Empress Dowager Qu knew that they were in the wrong and were not as senior as each other. They could not say anything to defend themselves at the moment, so they could only respond with a stiff face and a vague answer.
But the Empress Dowager still did not let them go, and continued, "I just said that this child is old and it is time to discuss marriage. Do you two, who are the legitimate mothers and adoptive mothers, have a plan in mind?"
"..." Empress Dowager Yuan frowned and said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the late king only has such a daughter, but he still wants to keep her for a year and a half before talking about it."
She was not sure what the Empress Dowager meant, so she planned to delay it for a while.
The Queen Mother then looked at Queen Mother Qu. Queen Mother Qu was silent for a moment, but said: "What the Queen Mother said makes sense, Kunze should say we should kiss her. It's just that this child and I have always lived in seclusion, but we don't know what is suitable outside." "
"Isn't today an opportunity?" The Empress Dowager didn't wait for Empress Dowager Yuan to speak, and said, "Today, in order to entertain you, the Queen has specially invited important ministers and their families to the palace for a banquet. The outstanding children of each family must be among them. Just give it to Kunze Xiang to have a look at."
"We understand the good intentions of the Empress Dowager, but now that King Fuyang's lineage has heirs, we still have to ask the current King Fuyang about such matters." Empress Dowager Yuan choked, and immediately pushed back, " After all, Ruoyan is the one who can make the decision for Kunze."
The Empress Dowager said calmly: "My parents make the final decision on marriage matters. Now the King of Fuyang is far away in Fuyang County, and he may not come to the imperial capital for a year and a half. If he doesn't see it in person, how could he still be so confused as to marry his only sister?" Are you betrothed? If the Queen Mother and the Empress Dowager, who raised Princess Kunze, don’t make the decision, then who else will make the decision?"
She raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said slowly, "Oh, the Ai family has forgotten that although you are Kunze's aunt, Ms. Yuan, you have never raised Kunze personally. It's no wonder that you are not sure what kind of county horse to choose for Kunze. , so much so that I wanted to push King Fuyang out. But in the eyes of the Ai family, it is not necessary. It is most appropriate to listen to Queen Mother Qu's opinion on such matters."
"The Empress Dowager is so complimentary, I must keep my eyes open and I will never wrong the late king's flesh and blood." Empress Dowager Qu immediately took over the conversation and looked at Kunze, "Silly boy, why don't you quickly thank the Empress Dowager for your concern?"
Kunze saluted blankly and subconsciously: "Thank you, the Queen Mother."
"Go." The Empress Dowager achieved her goal and no longer kept her. She waved her hand to signal Kunze to retreat. After thinking about it, she stopped her again and took off a mutton-fat jade Ruyi Cloud Pattern Ping'an from her wrist. Kunze put the bracelet on and said, "You rarely come to the Ai family. It seems that the Ai family has not given you a greeting gift, and I haven't prepared any for you today. Let's just play with it."
This time, there was no need for Empress Dowager Qu to remind her. Kunze quickly bowed again, then lowered his head and retreated behind Empress Dowager Qu.
Queen Mother Yuan's face was livid, and her eyes were almost full of fire when she saw the mother and daughter: Now that things have come to this, if you don't understand that Queen Mother Qu and the Queen Mother have colluded all along, that would be too stupid! ! !