When we arrived at Linglong Pavilion, we saw no shopkeeper, only a waiter who was wiping the jadeware with his head down.
When he saw a customer coming, he didn't even raise his head and said calmly, "The shopkeeper left because of something. What do you want?" The shopkeeper really made the waiter have the same temperament as himself.
Ruan Yuyi was not annoyed at being ignored, "I'm here to pick up the bracelet that Mrs. Cheng ordered here."
"Please come back. Only our shopkeepers know where to put the custom-made jewelry." The clerk explained.
She was about to say something else when the footsteps behind her were mixed with the muffled sound of hard objects hitting the ground, coming from far to near.
"Girl, I'll get it for you right now."
She looked back and saw Liu Nanjun walking slowly with a cane. He looked very noble if he ignored his awkward walking posture due to his lameness.
Just as she was wondering, she heard the waiter call out respectfully, "Shopkeeper, you are back."
Ruan Yuyi looked at him in surprise.
Liu Nanjun nodded and walked casually into the side door. After a while, he came out with a wooden box.
"Check it." He opened the box and showed it to her.
The jade beads on this bracelet are round and plump and of excellent quality. They are truly worthy of their reputation. No wonder her aunt asked her to pick them up.
But what Ruan Yuyi didn't know was that the reason why this jewelry shop became so big and famous all over the capital was because the new emperor was secretly supporting it, using the appearance of the jewelry shop as a cover but actually using it to collect money.
Information from all parties.
These jewelry were also made by craftsmen raised in the palace, but for the convenience of sale, they were not engraved with the palace's mark.
Ruan Yuyi put away her things and chuckled, "I don't think you are the shopkeeper of this shop." Perhaps it was because of the businessman that Liu Nanjun always had a smile on his face, which made her relax unconsciously when talking to him.
He solved another problem for her. If he hadn't arrived by chance, she might not have been able to get her aunt's earrings today, and she wouldn't know what to say when she got back.
"I didn't expect the girl to come to my place." Liu Nanjun opened his eyes and lied. He didn't expect that he just followed her and stopped thinking about closing the shop to have fun. He was curious about which family this beauty belonged to.
.
He thought about it, his eyes wandering back and forth on the jewelry displayed on the display cabinet, and then he took out a pair of gold-studded East Pearl earrings and handed them to her, "This jewelry matches you perfectly."
There is no reason why Linglong Pavilion should not buy it of top quality. This Dongzhu is rare, but it is so round and white, as if it is shrouded in a soft white light.
Ruan Yuyi really liked it when she saw it, but she had no intention of selling it. After all, she relied on Cheng Mansion to live, and her monthly money was given by her aunt, which was really limited.
She was embarrassed to say that she didn't have enough money, so she could only shake her head.
Liu Nanjun knew that she had misunderstood, so he added, "I saw that I was destined to the girl, so I thought of giving it to you."
In fact, he had selfish motives, giving her a favor so that he would have a reason to see each other in the future.
"How can I get this?" Ruan Yuyi didn't know what he was thinking, but still refused, "Besides, I have never had my ears pierced, so where can I wear them?"
Normally, a woman would have her ears pierced when she was young. Usually, she would use an ordinary embroidery needle and roast them over a fire before getting started. When she did not wear earrings, she would plug them with tea stems to prevent them from festering or closing.
Her mother was also going to give her a needle, but she was still young at that time. I don’t know who heard from someone that the needle was meant to be poked back and forth on her ears. She was so frightened that she kept crying, and she couldn’t do it anyway.
Be willing to be obedient.
In the end, the Ruan brother felt sorry for his sister and was stopped by his mother, so he gave up.
Liu Nanjun didn't believe it at first. He had never seen a woman without her ears pierced, so he stepped forward to take a look.
Not really.
Seeing that she really didn't want to accept it, I didn't force it anymore.
Ruan Yuyi had to take Cheng Rui to the drug store and did not dare to delay, so she left.
After watching her Pingping Tingting leave, Jiang Huaiyang walked out of the side door of the house. He picked up the pair of Dongzhu earrings that he had not given away and fiddled with them in his hands. He smiled suddenly and his eyes were heavy.
Liu Nanjun didn't know if he was planning something, but he always felt that something was wrong with that girl.
"Your Majesty..." Liu Nanjun suddenly remembered his instructions and changed his words, "Sir, do you know that woman just now?"
People can't recognize it, but this tinny ringtone comes to him frequently in his dreams. He wants to find out what is the connection between her and the woman in his dreams, and why he falls into a dream that is so real that it seems to have happened.
Jiang Huaiyang looked away and answered the question, "I'm annoyed by Li An's troubles, so I came here to seek some peace and quiet."
Liu Nanjun knew that he was sent here, so he led him to a side room and settled him in. He secretly sighed that Prime Minister Li was not easy to do as an official.
After I was diagnosed with the disease, took medicine, and went to the temple, it was already afternoon. The sun had dispelled the coolness of the morning, and it was like a huge lamp, illuminating everything.
Although the sun at the moment was not considered poisonous, Mu Xiang still held an umbrella for Ruan Yuyi and carried a double-layered food box with some exquisite pastries inside.
However, it was not made by Ruan Yuyi himself, but by Mu Xiang, and it has the flavor of Jiangnan.
Mu Xiang persuaded Ruan Yuyi to make it herself so that the prince could know her intentions.
She felt that there was no need to expend such effort. They were all pastries, which were pretty much the same. The prince didn't know her well, and he couldn't tell that he tasted them unintentionally. She just asked Mu Xiang to go to Cheng Mansion's dining room to get some.
Seeing that Mu Xiang couldn't resist her, she still took action on her own.
In the courtyard, he saw an old woman dressed in luxurious clothes. When she walked out of the Buddhist hall, Ruan Yuyi thought she had come to the wrong place for a while, but then she thought about it and realized that this was the prince's grandmother.
She stepped forward and bowed obediently, "I have met the Dowager Empress."
The beads of the hairpin swayed slightly with her movements. She lowered her eyes. Under the bright light, her skin was as white as transparent.
The concubine looked her over, and as if she understood something, she smiled gently and raised her hand to signal her to get up.
The new emperor's appearance was just a way to deceive the courtiers, but she knew better than the Queen Mother whether he had actually had contact with those women.
His biological mother was a palace maid, and she died in the delivery bed earlier, leaving the little prince alone. He grew up with white eyes since he was a child, so he developed a melancholy temperament.
A few months ago, he personally killed the second brother who initiated the palace coup with a cold sword.
Blood splattered and stained his cheeks and brocade robe. The sight of blood bathing him is still scary when he thinks about it.
The second prince tampered with the palace banquet, causing several princes, including the old emperor, to be poisoned and died because there was no antidote.
Due to the serious casualties among the royal family, this became the most tragic palace coup in the history of Wu Kingdom.
Apart from Prince Yu, who was far away in his fiefdom, and Prince Jing, who refused to take care of himself and stayed in the palace, there was another person who survived, namely Jiang Huaiyang, who miraculously recovered the next day and appeared in the palace.
After he took over the throne, he began to secretly rectify the government and opposition parties and eliminate dissenters. The Queen Mother was ordered to be grounded for a month because of her uterine infertility. The other concubines of the previous dynasty who survived the chaos were also in a bad situation.
Perhaps this child still remembers the food and kindness she gave her when he was a child, so he respects her and takes care of her a lot on weekdays.
The concubine didn't know that Ruan Yuyi had sneaked in while avoiding the guards. Seeing that the woman in front of her was not blocked, she naturally thought that she was the favor of the new emperor, and she finally felt at ease, feeling that she didn't need to worry about this matter.
The more she looked at Ruan Yuyi, the more satisfied she felt, and she nodded repeatedly, "Okay, good boy." She took Ruan Yuyi's delicate hands.
Ruan Yuyi was a little overwhelmed by the concubine's enthusiasm. Her hands were grabbed, and she couldn't pull them away, nor could she shake them back.
At this time, the concubine noticed the food box in Mu Xiang's hand, "Did you bring this to the child? You are really thoughtful."
She glanced sideways and saw that the other party was talking about those pastries, so she took it from Mu Xiang's hand, opened it and presented it to the concubine, "Try it. This is a craft from my hometown. Maybe you have never tasted it."
The concubine picked up a piece. The mung bean cake was made so small that it fit into a mouthful. "It looks like the style from the south of the Yangtze River." When she was a daughter, she was from the south of the Yangtze River. After entering the palace, she never went back.
Ruan Yuyi chuckled and nodded in agreement.
The concubine missed it in her heart, so she used more.
"Mother Princess, may I ask who has been offering incense to your Highness in this temple recently?"
She looked at the room behind her. There was still a lamp burning inside, and the light outside could only extend to the altar table.
"He is a heroic spirit from Dawu," the concubine said with a calm and distant expression. "He died fighting against foreign enemies a few years ago."
Because of his close relationship with Jiang Huaiyang, she also knew a little bit about him. If this person was still alive, there would be fewer dead souls under the sword and fewer cries in the palace coup.
Ruan Yuyi's heart moved, remembering that her brother's life was also terminated in the bloody battle a few years ago.
The tip of her nose felt sore, and heavy thoughts filled her heart.
If only she could do something for this heroic spirit.
"Child, what is your name?"
Ruan Yuyi leaned forward and replied, "My daughter's surname is Ruan, which is derived from the word 'Yuyi' from 'Binghua Yuyi'."
The concubine smiled kindly and said, "You have to get along well with him." After saying that, she said she had something to do and left.
Ruan Yuyi stood in the courtyard, a little dazed.
How can we get along well with each other? She was just playing some inconspicuous tricks to use the crown prince's name to escape the storm. How could she afford such a solemn entrustment?