The fat man with a round head was so happy that he danced with his hands and feet in front of everyone, and the armor plates on his body were shaking and clanging. Although no one in the yard laughed, there was no doubt that the scene was a bit funny.
Zhou Xian stretched out her jade hand and gently lifted a corner of the car curtain, looking at it curiously, with a stunned look on her face.
The man looked around and said: Hey, wealth and glory are so easy to come by. Don't be dissatisfied. I have followed you, big brother, for many years.
Lu Chengyong handed the reins to a soldier, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Congratulations, General Luo, I brought someone back, it's the emperor's man. The emperor had important things to do when he returned from Songzhou, so I didn't have a chance to ask, so I thought it might be more appropriate to bring him back to the mansion and give him to the ladies."
Luo Mengzi shouted, "I still have to go to the army. I usually just come to visit my elder brother. Go ask someone yourself. There is a Bai Xiangu who is in charge of accounts in the gatehouse over there. Go ask her."
Lu Chengyong bowed and said goodbye.
Zhou Xian continued to sit in the carriage without moving, waiting for their arrangements. Sitting opposite him in the carriage was a woman named Yunniang, who served Zhou Xian and was originally a singing girl; Zhou Ermei was sitting next to her. Yunniang's face was pale and she looked nervous. Most people would be like this when they arrived in a strange place with an uncertain future.
In fact, Zhou Xian was also a little nervous and uneasy.
She was originally feeling conflicted, sad, and guilty, but when she thought about Zhou Ermei, who was still young and helpless, and the other people in the Zhou family who usually respected her, she felt that she couldn't let it go. If she wanted to live, she had to face it all.
Now she is not helpless, she knows Guo Shao will care about her. But Guo Shao can't protect her all the time in the palace. She has to get along with women, all of them are strangers, and she is no longer the queen of the palace. Zhou Xian is very panicked at this moment.
Just as he was thinking about it, the carriage stopped. Lu Chengyong's voice said: Madam, please get off the carriage. We guards cannot enter the master's inner house at will.
Soon, a woman in her thirties with a few freckles on her face came over. After asking about the situation, she said, "Saint Aunt Zhou Xian, who I don't know what the name is, has gone out. Yu Lian is usually in charge of the affairs of the inner house. I'll ask someone to find her. You come in and sit for a while."
Seeing this, Lu Chengyong said: "Leave that person to Bai Xiangu." He then said, "This person is the queen of Southern Tang, someone the lord cares about very much."
Bai Xiangu looked suddenly enlightened and quickly knelt down and said: "It's you, my dear lady. I'm honored to meet you."
Zhou Xian said calmly: He is embarrassing me, I am not the queen now.
After a while, the woman who went to look for someone returned to the gatehouse and said: Madam Dong Yulian has something to do, and Madam Yang is here.
As soon as he finished speaking, a graceful woman walked in. Zhou Xian was stunned. She knew Yang Yue'e. Yang Yue'e was originally from Southern Tang. She had corresponded with him a long time ago, mainly talking about ancient music scores. Zhou Xian and Li Yu had come to Tokyo before and met at Chen Jiali's house.
Yang Yue'e also took the lead in showing a surprised expression and covered her mouth with her hands.
Zhou Xian was a stranger in Tokyo, and when he suddenly met an acquaintance, he was so moved that he almost cried. He walked forward and grabbed Yang Yue'e's hand affectionately, choking up and saying: Yue'e, I finally met an old friend in a foreign land.
Let's go in and talk. Yang Yue'e pretended to wipe her tears, then glanced at the little girl with big eyes next to her and praised casually, "She's so beautiful!"
She is my younger sister. Zhou Xiandao, the second younger sister, is called Sister Yang.
Zhou Jiamin called out obediently: Sister Yang, you are so beautiful too.
Yang Yue'e was so happy when she heard this. So the three of them walked towards the yard, talking and laughing. Zhou Xian did not forget to turn around and say: Thank you, Madam Bai, for your concern.
Bai Xiangu smiled and said: I am not a lady who works in the mansion.
Zhou Xian thought, how could an ordinary person manage the accounts in the Guo family
Walking up the corridor, Yang Yue'e said excitedly: I didn't expect that we would meet again here.
Zhou Xian sighed quietly: The Southern Tang Kingdom was destroyed, and we women living in the palace had no choice but to be captured and taken to Tokyo.
Yang Yue'e turned her head and looked Zhou Xian up and down, and said with a smile: If I were a man, I would also catch you, the most beautiful queen in the world.
Zhou Xian said: My country is destroyed and my family is ruined, I am nothing now. If I still pretend to be important, people will look at me and I will be unable to speak out my grievances. I can only complain to Yue'e.
Yang Yue'e sighed and said with sympathy: "We are both from Jiangnan. I feel very close to Ehuang's accent. We have known each other for many years. Don't worry. I will try my best to take care of Ehuang at the beginning, but it is not certain who will take care of whom in the future." After she said that, she smiled teasingly with her hands covering her mouth.
Zhou Xian hurriedly said: Who can predict what will happen in the future? I am just worried that no one will take care of my second sister. I don’t want to think about anything else.
Yang Yue'e did not ignore the silent girl, and murmured: You two sisters stopped talking.
Zhou Xian pretended not to understand and asked softly: How many wives does General Guo have
Yang Yue'e said: The second daughter of the Fu family is your Majesty's first wife. In addition, there are three concubines. One of them is the daughter of General Li Chuyun. She is about to give birth and is now at her mother's home, not at home. The other two, besides me, are Yulian. Our house is still quite simple. With the status of the official family, these people are really not many.
Zhou Xian nodded in agreement.
Yang Yue'e added: “But it is said that there are three thousand beauties in the palace, so it is hard to say what will happen in the future.
Zhou Xian thought that the daughters of Fu's family and Li Chuyun's families were both powerful, and they might have arranged a marriage. Yang Yue'e was robbed by Zhou Jun, and the only one forced on Guo Shao was Yu Lian, whose origin was unknown.
Just when they thought of this, the three of them walked into a Hongqiao gatehouse, and suddenly heard someone behind the door talking about Yulian, which immediately attracted Zhou Xian's attention. Yang Yue'e stretched out her hand to signal Zhou Xian and others to stop.
Then I heard a woman with a rough voice say in a low voice: The master has become the emperor, you know
Another woman with a soft voice said: "It's been talked about everywhere these days, how could I not know?"
He said in a rough voice: Will the Yu Lian we just talked about be named the imperial concubine
She whispered: "It should be possible. Yulian has been the emperor's concubine for a long time. How can the emperor be stingy in giving her a concubine?"
He said in a rough and sour voice: You said that Yu Lian was originally a slave, and she was married three times. She was bullied by a warrior and couldn't even have children. How could such a person go to heaven and become an imperial concubine
Whispering: This is fate, what can I do
After hearing this, Zhou Xian knew that Yu Lian was being gossiped about behind her back, but the story might not be false. She was also a little puzzled. Guo Shao married a daughter of a wealthy family, a wife and a concubine, which was relatively reliable. But what kind of people were the other women
At this time, Yang Yue'e suddenly raised her voice and said, "Sister Ehuang, this is the inner garden, follow me." Then she led Zhou Xian and others out of the gatehouse.
Zhou Xian immediately glanced at the woman who had just said the bad words. The two women were startled and stood aside with their heads down. Yang Yue'e said: Hey, why are you standing here? I suddenly saw you and was startled.
The two women were speaking fluently just now, but now they couldn't utter a word. Zhou Xian was surprised again, because the two women were really dark and strong, like peasant women just caught from the fields. What kind of life did Guo Shao live? How could such people serve others
Moreover, Zhou Xian immediately disliked them and hated people who said bad things behind their backs. With such appearance, what good fortune can they talk about? Will the male master like them
Yang Yue'e said nothing and walked in along the stone path with Zhou Xian. Zhou Xian looked carefully and saw that Yang Yue'e was not angry, and she did not blame the two servants, and even pretended not to hear Zhou Xian couldn't help but worry: I heard people say before that Yang Yue'e and Yu Lian were the best friends; but Yang Yue'e was not angry at all just now, so I was a little doubtful about the degree of their friendship.
The three finally arrived at the place and soon saw a young woman. Yang Yue'e turned around and whispered: She is Yu Lian.
Yulian was holding a booklet in her hand and said casually: "I don't know some of the words. Yue'e, you are finally back." Yulian's eyes immediately focused on Zhou Xian, with surprise in her eyes, and it can be seen that she was stunned.
Zhou Xian is of course aware of his own appearance, so it is normal for him to have this expression when others see him.
In fact, Yulian was not bad looking either, with a simple and clean temperament, a beautiful oval face, a good figure, and fair skin. If Zhou Xian hadn't heard people talking about her, he wouldn't have thought that she had any shameful past.
Yang Yue'e smiled and said: "Master, haven't you returned from the Southern Tang Kingdom? This is the Queen of Southern Tang Kingdom and her sister."
Zhou Xian complained in a soft voice: Yue'e, please stop talking to me like that.
Good, good. Yang Yue'e covered her mouth and said, I said the wrong thing again. But it's nothing to be embarrassed about; countries are fighting each other, what can a woman do
Zhou Xian choked up and said: I was planning to die for my country
After hearing this, Yu Lian stepped forward and said kindly: Stop thinking like that. Although you have encountered misfortune, at least you have a good background.
Zhou Xian said calmly: For us women, our background is determined by who our husbands are. Sister Yulian’s background is also very good.
Yu Lian sighed slightly after hearing this: "It's still different. If my sister were an ordinary woman in the Southern Tang Kingdom, she might not be treated with courtesy, but now the official treats you very well. I know him very well, and he won't bully women, so my sister, don't be afraid."
Zhou Xian said: Yes, the Emperor of the Great Zhou treated me with courtesy, and I am very grateful.