The inner quarters of the Prince of Wei's mansion were much smaller than the palace, and there were fewer people there. However, the flowers in a peach forest not far away were in full bloom, adding a bit of beauty.
The Fu family was still a very stable place. Jinzhan had just settled down, and there was no need for the maids who came back with her to follow her around. At this time, Cao Tai came in to ask for an audience, and he was still very respectful and served carefully without any neglect.
Cao Tai bowed and said: "When I left the palace, the emperor summoned me, took something and told me to give it to my wife. But my wife didn't show up on the way. This is something that the emperor gave me personally and issued an imperial decree. I dare not be careless and only delivered it to my wife now."
Oh Jinzhan asked curiously, what is it
Cao Tai quickly dodged and took out a cloth bag from his arms, carefully opening it layer by layer, just like a frugal old woman taking out money.
Even Jinzhan was so shocked by his appearance that she held her breath and stared at him intently.
Cao Tai finally opened it, held up the contents with both hands, knelt before Jinzhan, and presented the contents with both hands raised above his head.
Jinzhan stared at the thing for a moment, then she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and burst out laughing. Her smile was as beautiful as the flowers in the peach forest, and she seemed like she was about to laugh to tears, and her eyes turned red.
Cao Tai looked confused. He seemed to understand something, but also seemed not to understand.
Jinzhan reached out and picked up the thing: a piece of embroidered red silk. It was the red satin that Jinzhan had tied to the hilt of Guo Shao's sword before he set out to fight in Youzhou. Legend has it that red silk can ward off evil spirits, and many soldiers hid red satin in their underwear when they went to war. At that time, Jinzhan wished him safety and success.
Now the piece of silk was returned to her.
Yes, it was that piece of red silk, spread out into a rectangle, with a red bird embroidered in the middle with messy stitches, but it looked a bit like a chick. It was embroidered by Jinzhan, and I knew it at first sight.
It's so ugly, oh. She pouted her lips and sighed softly. But her expression was obviously much lighter.
Cao Tai hurriedly said: The emperor still remembers you.
From Cao Tai's tone, he seemed to be unaware of the fact that Jinzhan had given Guo Shao a red satin gift before he left for the war; or perhaps he had heard about it but could not remember it, as it was not a big deal and there was no disturbance at all, and more than a year had passed. Even if Cao Tai still remembered it, he probably did not understand it.
But Jinzhan understood and was smarter than Cao Tai, and she saw the meaning at a glance.
Jinzhan thought of an interesting thing: Guo Shao proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, approved imperial edicts and ruled the world, but his handwriting was ugly; she was a woman, but her needlework was crooked.
She thought of this and found it funny, so she laughed again. The second time she smiled, it was even better than the previous one.
At this time, a woman from the Prince of Wei's mansion called the Madam outside, and Cao Tai went out to call her in and asked what was going on. The woman said: Alang is going to have dinner, please go and have dinner, Madam.
Jinzhan said: "I am really tired tonight and have no appetite. I don't want to eat. You go and report to my father and aunt, and I will go to offer tea and greetings to the two elders tomorrow morning."
The woman responded and went out.
Jinzhan didn't want to move. There were many people in this mansion that she was not familiar with, including Lady Xiang, the second wife of Prince Wei. She didn't want to face them for the time being.
But then she thought this was a bit rude, so in order to make things a little better, Jinzhan instructed Cao Tai: Go over there and tell him what I mean.
Cao Tai said: I’ll be there right away.
Cao Tai hurried out, caught up with the woman, and went to the front yard with her.
The two walked into a tall house one after the other. As they approached a door, they heard a woman's voice inside saying, "We have brought back a Buddha statue for worship."
Cao Tai was used to staying in the palace and was knowledgeable. When he heard the tone, he felt something was wrong. He grabbed the woman next to him and whispered: The people inside are unhappy, let's wait a while before going in.
The woman nodded quickly and whispered: The one who is speaking is Madam Zhang, the wife of the eldest son Fu Zhaoxu. She is from the deceased old lady's family and is quite powerful.
Cao Tai remained calm, thinking that there was no need to trick this woman into talking, as she couldn't help but speak out as if she knew a lot and had something to show off.
Fu Zhaoxu's voice immediately said: How can you speak like this in front of your father and aunt
Mrs. Zhang's voice was sour: "Of course I dare not complain to my father and aunt, I told Dalang about this matter. What are you talking about? I feel sorry for her tiredness on the journey, and I personally ordered the kitchen to make better meals for her. Even offering to Buddha is not so thoughtful.
Fu Zhaoxu said: How did I treat my sister? How did I offend you
Fu Yanqing's voice said: What's the point of talking about such a small matter
Another woman said: We are all family. Dalang is nice to his eldest sister, so don’t take it to heart.
It sounded like Fu Yanqing was a little impatient and didn't want to pay attention to this matter. The woman who spoke just now should be Madam Xiang. Madam Xiang obviously didn't have a high status and power in the mansion. Her tone of voice was very soft, mainly persuasive.
She was far inferior to Fu Yanqing's deceased first wife Zhang. Even his daughter-in-law Zhang was not as good as the deceased old lady, who was the biological mother of the children present, and Zhang was the biological niece of the old lady.
Mrs. Zhang's voice said: I know we are all family, so there should be no distinction between high and low.
The elders' words were powerless and could not suppress Mrs. Zhang's resentment at all. She continued: She has about 20 young ladies serving her, and these are just close servants. The mansion also has to send people to do rough talking. This is much more grand than you, Auntie. Don't these people have to be supported by the mansion? There are even eunuchs. The royal mansion has never supported eunuchs. Even Alang doesn't have the luxury of enjoying it. Our family has to worship a queen, and we have to serve her as a queen.
Fu Zhaoxu's voice said: Our family does not lack this.
Mrs. Zhang said: You don’t know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run the household.
Fu Zhaoxu said: My Fu family, my father is the King of Wei, my uncles and brothers are all generals. No matter how expensive firewood and rice are, we can't afford to support more than 20 people. What's more, my eldest sister is the queen's elder sister.
Madam Zhang said: "The queen still calls me sister-in-law. She was the queen before, but that was the queen of the previous dynasty. Now she is the daughter of the Fu family and has some status. Otherwise, what is the difference between her and the common people? Why do we have to be so partial to one and treat the other as if she is noble and we are lowly. From now on, let the widowed daughter of the Fu family who has returned to her natal family decide all the internal affairs of the Fu family."
At this moment, Fu Yanqing said calmly: Even though my eldest sister is a commoner, she has contributed a lot to the Fu family.
When Cao Tai heard Fu Yanqing's words, he thought, people say that the King of Wei is old and foolish, but from time to time he says something that is quite meaningful.
Mrs. Zhang said in a coquettish voice: Dad, her voice was drawn out.
Fu Yanqing said: Okay, let’s get ready for dinner.
When Cao Tai heard this, he grabbed the woman next to him, waved his hand and whispered: Leave first, wait a little longer before going.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to leave, two maids carrying wooden trays suddenly shouted, "Hey, Aunt Wang, why are you standing here with this eunuch?"
Several black lines suddenly appeared on Cao Tai's forehead.
A voice suddenly came from inside: Who is standing outside
Cao Tai had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk in, bowing and saying: "Your servant greets the wife of Wei Wang Xiang, the eldest son, the wife of Zhang, the sixth lady.
Mrs. Zhang waited for Fu Yanqing to say "forget it" impatiently, and then she immediately asked: "What are you doing here?"
Cao Tai said: "The eldest lady sent a servant to apologize to the King of Wei and Madam Xiang. The eldest lady just returned home, and she was dusty and disheveled. She was afraid that it would be a violation of family etiquette to meet the elders. Tomorrow morning, the eldest lady will go to offer tea to Madam Alang and greet her.
Mrs. Zhang muttered: Wow, someone who came out of the palace speaks so nicely.
Cao Tai suppressed his anger and said, "I just walked to the door and saw Aunt Wang. I didn't know how to address her. I was stunned for a moment, and then the young lady from the mansion greeted Aunt Li first. I am sorry for disturbing you. Please don't blame me, Madam Zhang."
Mrs. Zhang said: What you said only makes things more obvious.
Fu Yanqing spoke again: Didn't Dalang ask the kitchen to prepare another meal? It's already been prepared. Send it to Damei and tell her not to come out tonight.
Cao Tai said hurriedly: "Yes, yes. I will take my leave."
Cao Tai came out of the dining room, and he was no longer happy. Walking on the road, he suddenly heard two women in the distance saying that the man was not a man and had no penis. No wonder, I was wondering why he came to the inner house.
Cao Tai was both ashamed and annoyed. These people were simply blaspheming. If they were in the palace, they would be slaves who used foul language. If I coughed, they would scare you into excrement. Damn, this is unreasonable.
He held back his anger and went back to report to Jinzhan. There was no need to explain how it was done, just to say it was done.
Jinzhan glanced at her face and said: Zhaoxu's wife is angry with you.
Cao Tai was stunned for a moment, and quickly bent down and said: I dare not, I am just a servant who runs errands for you, how dare I get angry? Madam Zhang speaks her mind, and she speaks to people like us, so it is normal for her to be a little impolite.
Jinzhan nodded.
Cao Tai stood there, weighing the pros and cons for a long time, but in the end he didn't want to say those words in detail, because Jinzhan didn't ask him. Perhaps, without saying anything, Jinzhan could guess what was said roughly, some things seemed inevitable.
At this time, Jinzhan said softly: "We have been master and servant for more than ten years. When I was leaving Tokyo, I wanted to keep you in the palace, but you didn't want to. If you really wanted to, I would still be a little uncomfortable."
Cao Tai said without hesitation: "I am a rootless person, and in the eyes of the world I am just like a dog. I have acknowledged you as my master, and I will never change. Wherever you go, I will follow you. If you dislike me, I will die."
Hey, stop talking, it's really sour. Fu Jinzhan smiled.