It was Mu Qingchao who raised his eyes and saw her, smiled at her and called: "Mother".
"Eh!"
Zhong smiled and nodded, tears sliding down the corners of her eyes.
She felt really guilty towards this daughter. She thought she would hate herself, but it turned out that she still recognized her as her mother.
She stepped forward to go to Lamu Qingchao, but seeing that she was dressed in luxury and a little reserved, she didn't know how to start. She could only say from the side: "Are you tired from walking all the way? Is it cold? Come inside and sit down.
Bar."
"That..." She suddenly turned her head and looked at Aunt Zhuang.
"You... you go and make a cup of tea for Yao Yao. Don't use the dregs of the tea leaves, pick some of the best ones."
Aunt Zhuang also looked happy and responded: "Hey."
At this moment, the boy who was guarding the door of the west courtyard turned around and hurried to the front yard.
The front yard.
Mr. Ma is in the old lady's snow-melting hall, and standing next to her is her little daughter Zhong Yingying.
The old lady is taking a test on Zhong Yingying’s poetry.
When Zhong Yingying said, "Since spring comes, the green is green and the red is red, and the heart is full of things." Mrs. Zhong started to smile happily.
"Yes, yes, this woman's lack of talent is a virtue. The girl's family does not need to learn any strategies to govern the world. What is needed is talent and style. I think the second girl is better than the eldest girl in this.
One chip."
Mrs. Zhong was a famous and talented woman in Jinling City when she was young. Unfortunately, she was a concubine and could not be a legitimate wife, so she had to marry Mr. Zhong as his concubine.
What about being a concubine?
Mr. Zhong and Mrs. Yuan were not on good terms. She relied on her talent and outstanding appearance to compete with Mr. Zhong in reciting poems all day long, and she also won his unlimited favor.
Later, Mrs. Na Yuan fell ill and passed away, and this talented concubine naturally took the position of the mistress of the house.
She understands that she is a powerful tool for superiority, so she also teaches her juniors the same way. Women, what they want is a way to win over men, and being a gentle and watery flower is enough.
What else does it have to do with them?
Zhong Chuchu is too strong-tempered, but Zhong Yingying is the only one who imitates her charm by seven or eight points.
So among all the granddaughters, Mrs. Zhong's favorite is these two girls.
She just sighed: "I don't know what kind of family will be worthy of our Yingying in the future."
While we were talking, a boy suddenly came to report.
"Madam, old madam, the Queen Mother is back."
"Back?" Ma frowned when she heard this: "Since she is back, why is there no movement at the front door?"
"It seems that the Queen Mother did not enter through the front door, but through... the west door?"
"Ximen?" Ma's face was even more surprised.
"What does she mean? Shouldn't you come to see the old lady first when you come back?"
"Snapped!"
As soon as Ma finished speaking, Mrs. Zhong slapped her hand on the armrest of the chair beneath her.
Mrs. Zhong's eyebrows stood up, her loose face trembled, she was obviously very angry.
"She is so courageous. She really thought that after becoming the Queen Mother, she flew up a branch and turned into a phoenix. Now that she is back, she dares to shame me openly."
Mrs. Zhong had a trace of cruelty in her eyes as she directed the servants around her: "Mother Zhang, go and call a few people in the courtyard. Isn't she going to come see me?"
Then I will go to the west courtyard to meet her."
Ma's face looked hesitant after hearing this.
"Mom, I haven't come back yet from last court. How about waiting for him to come back?"
"Waiting for him? What are you waiting for?" Mrs. Zhong glared at her daughter-in-law.
"People outside call that little bitch in the West Courtyard the Queen Mother. You still don't know how much she weighs?
To deal with her, why do we need the men outside?
Huh, she's just a girl who lives under someone else's roof. She has a bluffing reputation outside. Does she really think of herself as a character?
She doesn't even take her seriously, so I'm going to take off her fox skin today to see what she can do to me?"
When Mrs. Zhong was young, she pretended to be gentle and careless in front of men, but that was also the past.
Now, she is a real old lady, her son has become the chief minister, and her granddaughter has entered the palace as a concubine. Looking at the world, who else does she need to be petty about?
Even the emperor had to be polite in front of her.
She would never bear it if someone didn't take her seriously.
On the other side, Mu Qingchao followed Zhong into the house.
As soon as I entered the house, I smelled a pungent smell. The charcoal was burning very smoky, but it didn't feel much warmer than outside. I guess I didn't want to buy the charcoal.
I saw several pairs of embroidery quilts on the table, and I think I was doing embroidery work with Aunt Zhuang.
She remembered that before she entered the palace, her mother gave her all the money she had left in her body. She would have some money with her in the palace and give it to the servants, so life would not be so difficult.
She has no money left at all. For more than a year, selling embroidery has probably become their only source of income.
Mu Qingchao couldn't help but feel sad when he thought about it.
My mother was full of plans for herself, but what about herself? She brought trouble to her family, made her suffer from infamy at night, and embarked on the road to exile.
Thinking like this, her eyes couldn't help but become mist-filled.
Just at this time, two concubines entered the house. When they saw Mu Qingchao, they were filled with surprise. They gathered around her feet and shouted: "Sister, Sister."
Mu Qingchao looked at them, and the sad mood just now eased a little, and said with a smile: "We haven't seen each other for more than a year. Sister Luo and Sister Yin have grown so tall?"
While she was talking, she asked Chunya to get some snacks for her to eat.
The pastry was still hot and had a strong sweet flavor. It had been a long time since the two little girls had eaten pastry, so they happily held it in their hands and were reluctant to eat it.
"Eat, eat, there's still more." Mu Qing said.
The depressed mood was interrupted, Mu Qingchao gathered his energy and said happily.
She asked Chunya to take out all the things she bought.
"The New Year is coming soon. I bought some materials to make two clothes for my sisters."
Just at this time, Aunt Zhuang came in making tea and looked at the ingredients in Mu Qingchao's hands.
The bright green brocade is smooth and bright, and it is expensive at first glance.
"Hey, why did you buy these for them?" Aunt Zhuang said.
"This material is so expensive. Children grow up quickly and will outgrow it in two years. There is no need to waste it."
"It's because they grow faster that they need to cut new clothes. If I remember correctly, the clothes they were wearing were made the year before, right?
Sister Yin, I won’t go into details. Look at Sister Luo, her ankles are exposed. It’s freezing cold today, isn’t it cold?”
Hearing this, Aunt Zhuang was a little embarrassed, lowered her head and stopped talking.
But he heard Mu Qingchao say: "Don't worry, aunt, we have your ingredients, mother's, and Qingyan's, everyone has them."
While she was talking, Chun Ya had already laid out all the things she bought on the way.
Pastries, jewelry, silk and satin, even food, charcoal fire...
Seeing this made Mrs. Zhong and Aunt Zhuang's eyes widen.
"You... how much money do you need to buy these?" Zhong asked anxiously.
"How much money can I have? In the palace, the amount of money given to servants is more than this."
Such words are true and cold. Her mother and aunt could not earn such things even if they were blind all year round.
But when it comes to rewarding servants in the palace, even those of high rank might look down upon it.
Ten households have a phoenix hairpin in each hand; the rich have fields stretching across the country, while the poor have no place to stand. This has been the case since ancient times.
Mu Qingchao thought about it and took out another purse and handed it to Zhong.