The Zhong family has been particularly flustered these days.
Mrs. Zhong was very anxious and urged Mr. Zhong all day long: "You should talk to His Majesty again. If you have this time, you can play chess at home instead of going to the palace to talk to His Majesty."
Mr. Zhong was also anxious and angry.
"What else do you want me to say? He has already said this, and all the civil and military officials are speaking for him. You can't let me go against the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty for your daughter, right?"
"Then..." Ma paused.
"Then we can't just let it go, right? I think you are too weak. How can my daughter of the Zhong family let him control her like this? Why don't you give him some color?"
Master Zhong sneered when he heard this.
"Humph, show him some color? He is the king and you are the minister. You are not afraid of flashing your tongue when you say this?"
"What kind of king, what kind of minister? If not for our Zhong family, who would he be?"
It's no wonder that Concubine Jade is domineering and outspoken, because her mother's actions are exactly the same as hers.
"You put it lightly."
But Zhong Ming said impatiently: "Is it possible that I should go and have a disagreement with him now? You should think about how easy it is to gain the power of dragon? Is it worth it for such a small thing?
Is it possible that just for the sake of Chu Chu’s freedom this year, the Zhong family’s planning for several years has been put in vain? Is it possible that I have to give up this old bone, narrowly escape death, and try my best to come out from the dragon’s power? "
This is something you can't do without breaking your muscles and bones.
Ma murmured: "Then...then what do you think we should do now? Now that Chu Chu is grounded, we can't even get close to Shen Muchi, so we just watch helplessly as the one from Shuyue Palace becomes pregnant with the dragon seed first.
?"
"That can't be done."
Zhong Ming threw the chess piece in his hand into the chess basket, his eyes were slightly empty, and there was a hint of calculation hidden in it.
"My daughter can't conceive an heir, and neither can the other girl. Since she holds military power and is arrogant, I have my own way."
While Zhong Ming and Ma were talking, a servant suddenly came to report in a hurry.
"Master, madam, someone from the palace has sent a message saying that the Queen Mother will return to the palace in three days to visit her relatives. Please make plans in advance."
"What?" When Ma heard this, he suddenly felt angry.
"Does she still have the nerve to come back with this scourge?"
These days, Mr. Ma was busy worrying about Zhong Chuchu and didn't even have time to settle accounts with her. Fortunately, she ran into it herself.
"This white-eyed wolf, who provided her with delicious food and drinks, in the blink of an eye, caused us to be like this. If I had known this, I should have poisoned her to death when she was young.
You go back and tell her that our Zhong family does not welcome her back and tell her to get lost..."
Ma was filled with anger and spoke a series of words like a barrage of words, but was stopped by the sound of the bell.
"No, let her come back."
When Ma heard this, he was shocked.
"Master... why did you ask her to come back? I was upset when I saw her, so I just let her die outside."
Zhong Ming looked back at Ma: "If she doesn't come back, how can we let her die outside?"
His tone was calm and his expression remained unchanged, but his eyes looked at Ma with a little more meaning.
"Sir, you want to..." Ma was enlightened.
At this moment, Zhong Ming smiled, but it was not a smile, and the beard on his lips trembled slightly.
"We will not quarrel with Shen Muchi over a trivial matter. Naturally, His Majesty will not quarrel with us because we killed an insignificant person outside the palace."
When Ma heard Zhong Ming's words, he immediately laughed.
"Yes, yes, sir, you are absolutely right. After all, it is you who have the idea."
Ma felt relieved when she thought that the culprit who had harmed her daughter would soon be unlucky. It seemed that even her daughter's grounding was not so unacceptable.
She had long been dissatisfied with Mu Qingchao. A man who should have been dead long ago had been wandering around for too long.
Three days later, Mu Qingchao got up early and Chunya was dressing her up.
"What kind of hairpin does the Queen Mother want to wear?" Chunya asked standing behind her.
Mu Qingchao lowered his eyes and dug through the jewelry box: "That's it."
Mu Qingchao took a jasper hairpin with begonia dripping green.
"this……"
Chun Ya hesitated: "Isn't it a bit old-fashioned? There is also the Queen Mother's plain blue clothes. I think it would be better to change into another one. The honey-colored one that the late emperor rewarded is good."
Chun Ya remembered that the Queen Mother used to like pretty colors the most. Before entering the palace, she loved to wear red and blue, which made all the young men unable to take their eyes away.
Mu Qingchao lowered his eyebrows and smiled: "Now that the Ai family is the Queen Mother, dignity should be the priority. Besides, it is inappropriate for a widow to wear such pretty clothes."
Chun Ya opened her mouth, remembering what the Queen Mother said that day, and swallowed back the rest of the words.
Mu Qingchao changed his clothes and went out from the north gate in a small sedan.
Generally speaking, visiting relatives is a big event, and it is a matter of great honor and glory.
But that was the concubine next to her. A widowed person in the Mu Qing Dynasty should have lived in seclusion. In addition, she did not have a mother's family, and her mother was just a guest living in the Zhong Mansion. Under such circumstances, there was really no ostentation.
of capital.
Little did they know that Shen Muchi had already informed the Zhong family long ago.
Shen Muchi thought it was grace, giving her enough face and letting her go home in glory, but the emperor's gifts were like this, it never mattered whether you needed it or not, just whether he wanted to give it or not.
He gave it to you, just be grateful.
The small sedan left the palace. Although her guard of honor was not small, it was not conspicuous in Jinling where dignitaries were everywhere.
She did not go back to Zhong's house directly but went to a pastry shop in the north of the city.
She remembered that her mother's favorite was the pastries from Suxiangzhai, but the pastries there were not cheap. Later, her mother's money was almost drained by her uncle, and she never ate pastries from this store again.
She bought pastries, several pieces of fine silk and satin, a few pairs of fine jewelry, and books for her brother, the four treasures of the study...
It wasn't until the accompanying girls couldn't carry it any longer that they allowed the sedan to go around the alley to the west gate of the Zhong Mansion.
Yes, Mu Qingchao's family has been living in the West Courtyard since they stayed at their uncle's house.
The west courtyard is not a small place, but it is empty and deserted, and it is far from the front yard. It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time. Their mother had just arranged for them to live in this courtyard when she came to the Zhong family.
My mother didn't say anything. She was diligent and took a few servants to clean up the yard and plant flowers and plants. The whole yard looked very interesting.
She knew that she was a married girl and was disliked by others. She did not dare to say that she ate or lived with those people, and she rarely went to the front yard.
She is a widowed person and doesn't like to go out. In the past, Mu Qingchao, his younger brothers and sisters and the servants of the family used to go in and out through the west gate.
It is also the Zhongfu. Outside the main gate is Xuanwu Street, which is bustling with traffic and people, and the people walking are all dignitaries. Outside the west gate is the back street, which is dark, damp, sparse and withered, and the people passing by are all traffickers and lackeys.
The same Zhong Mansion, completely different worlds, just like her and Zhong Chuchu.