When the queen saw Princess Jincheng, she took the initiative to greet her: "I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing, princess?"
Princess Jincheng quickly replied: "Thanks to your Majesty, I eat well and sleep well every day. I am happy to be alive."
She was telling the truth. Emperor Mingde treated the former clan favorably, and everything in the princess palace continued as usual. Although she had lost her invisible power, Princess Jincheng was satisfied with the stable life she had now after experiencing the pseudo-emperor's dynasty.
The queen was pleased: "That's good. At our age, we are not old yet, but we are not young anymore. We should take care of ourselves."
"That's what the Queen said."
The eldest princess of Jincheng felt very sad. She and the queen had known each other since they were young. At that time, she was a noble woman, but the queen's family background was not obvious. How could she have expected that such a day would come. Things in the world are really unpredictable.
While the two were talking, another lady came to say hello.
The queen looked at her carefully and asked: "Which family does this lady belong to? Why does she look familiar to me? Have we met before?"
Mrs. Dong hurriedly introduced: "Sister, this is the second lady of Dingxihou Mansion, her maiden name is Cheng."
"Dingxihou Mansion, surnamed Cheng..." The queen remembered, "Oh, you are the sister Sufen of the Cheng family?"
The lady looked excited: "My queen actually remembers my wife. When I was in the capital in the early years, my second sister and my wife had always been in contact with each other."
The queen smiled and nodded: "That's it. Where is your sister Suying?"
Mrs. Cheng looked sad: "My second sister went to Yuzhou. A few years ago, there was a war and the whole family was gone."
The Queen sighed. Over the years, first there was the Green Forest Rebellion, and then there were many powerful families. Such encounters are normal.
"I still remember that when I left Beijing, Su Yingte came to see me off. At first, there were still correspondence, but then the two places were separated, and wars broke out from time to time. We gradually lost contact. I didn't expect that we would never see each other again."
Mrs. Cheng said softly: "Sister has always been thinking about the empress. She returned to Beijing to visit relatives in the early years. She also told my wife that your marriage was so hasty at first, which made her worried. Later, she learned that the empress and her husband were harmonious, and she was finally relieved."
These words made the queen even more sad: "Suying is the most generous in her treatment of others. When my Aling turned one year old, she even came all the way to send congratulatory gifts."
If we continue talking about this topic, it will inevitably dampen today's joy. The queen quickly stopped and said with a smile: "Since we meet old friends, we must have a drink."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Dong quickly adjusted her seat and placed her nearby.
Mrs. Cheng was flattered. In front of so many guests, she was called an old friend by the queen. She was very happy today.
Everyone sat down for a while, and the banquet began soon.
…
There were a lot of people coming today, and Mrs. Dong was extremely busy.
It wasn't until midway through the party, when everyone was having fun on their own, that she had time to sit down and take a breath.
Dong Qi saw her holding her waist and asked hurriedly: "Mom, is your back pain coming? Why don't you rest here for a while, I will watch outside. When the time is almost up, you can come out to see the guests off. You can keep it safe."
Mrs. Dong was naturally happy that her daughter was so sensible, so she asked her, "Can you do it yourself?"
Dong Qi patted her chest and promised: "I have been learning from you for several months! Besides, who dares to be presumptuous when my aunt is here?"
Mrs. Dong thought about it and said, "Then I'll rest for two-quarters of an hour and leave the outside to you first." The pain in the back is really uncomfortable, so it would be nice if it could be relieved for two-quarters of an hour.
"Hey!" Dong Qi went out happily.
Mrs. Dong took a deep breath, asked the maid to go back to get the plaster, and rested for a while in the back room of the water pavilion.
After a while, someone came outside.
The Dong family's water pavilion is exquisitely built, arranged in eight directions, and has an unobstructed view. In fact, there is a hidden inner room at the back for guests to rest. However, if outsiders are not familiar with it, it is difficult to discover the existence of the inner room.
For example, now, these two people sat down and started talking without seeing anyone next to them.
"Sister Cheng is so lucky that she can be favored by the Queen, which is really enviable."
Another person sighed: "This is all the legacy of the second sister. Things are unpredictable, and I never thought that Sister Dong would one day become the empress."
Mrs. Dong recognized Mrs. Cheng's voice.
The lady echoed: "Who would have thought of it? I remember you said that my wife's marriage was not favored by others."
"Isn't it?" Mrs. Cheng said with emotion, "After the marriage was finalized, the second sister went home and was very angry. She said that Mrs. Liu was really good at scheming. She was just bullying her by passing on to others what she didn't want.
kind."
Where do you usually hear such secrets? The lady quickly asked: "The Liu family that Sister Cheng is talking about is the virtuous concubine in the early years?"
Mrs. Cheng nodded and looked aside: "Shh! This is not something people should hear."
The two of them looked around and saw no one, so they felt relieved.
"There is no one else here. Sister Cheng, do you want to talk to me? Don't worry, even if I heard it, I won't say anything."
Mrs. Cheng must have been full of things to say, so she asked her: "Have you heard about the Liu family?"
"I've heard some."
Mrs. Cheng continued: "We must not speak ill of Your Majesty, but my second sister is extremely disgusted with Mrs. Liu. She and Your Majesty were childhood sweethearts, and they were about to get married, but suddenly they were favored by the Eastern Palace. The second sister was very puzzled.
, Even if the royal family marries wives and takes concubines, it is also based on your own will. The Liu family is not a powerful person who has to win over, so how can it go to the point of robbing the wives of ministers? "
The lady responded: "That's true. But the temperament of Emperor Dezong... maybe the Liu family just didn't dare to offend the East Palace and didn't refuse?"
"So my second sister paid attention. At that time, the empress had gone to Tongyang with Your Majesty, and Mrs. Liu was waiting behind closed doors to get married. My second sister came to inquire about her, but was repeatedly rejected. She only met Mrs. Liu once."
"What? Is something wrong?"
"The second sister said that Mrs. Liu's face was wrong. She looked like she was sick, but her body was plump. Moreover, there were rumors at that time that Mrs. Liu had thrown herself into Donggong's arms at the polo match before her marriage."
"Ah!" the lady whispered, "could it be..."
Mrs. Cheng nodded: "You have also thought about it, right? My second sister suspects that it is not the East Palace that likes Liu at all, but Liu's initiative to enter the East Palace. The reason why she avoids people is actually because..."
The lady understood, and couldn't help but scorned: "This is too..." After thinking about it, she added, "But if it is really a dark knot in the bead, shouldn't she enter the East Palace quickly? Why wait until others see it?"
Mrs. Cheng reminded: "If you think about it, does Mr. Liu have any heirs?"
The lady understood: "By the way, she has nothing to do. What's going on?"
"Of course something went wrong." Mrs. Cheng said, "I remember that the marriage decree was issued in the midsummer of that year, but Mrs. Liu only entered the East Palace the following year. There must be something wrong with that child and it needs to be dealt with. Mrs. Liu
I just hid myself to take care of myself, and then I entered the East Palace when I was ready."