In the first month of the year, Nancheng became more lively, with children running through the alleys and women leaning out one after another.
"Ms. Cheng is back!"
"Really? I'm finally back!"
Everyone was whispering and laughing, all looking towards the big house over there.
Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the courtyard was very quiet. Manager Cao politely stopped Cheng Ji and others who were coming to visit.
"I'm tired. Let's take a rest and see you again that day." He whispered.
That's natural. After a long journey, it's time to take a good rest. They naturally know that, but they still need to have the proper etiquette.
Cheng Ji and others smiled and nodded.
"Guard Cao, you didn't hire any girls to boil water for cooking, why not let them help." He pointed to the women behind him and said.
Several women rushed forward.
"No, no, no." Manager Cao refused again, "You know my wife's rules."
"I told you that you don't need to go. The lady won't use us as her servants. If we go, we will only serve as guests."
In the alley, the woman who was lucky enough to accompany Cheng Jiaoniang on her last trip laughed and looked at the people who turned around with a bit of regret.
"...Oh, speaking of going out with this lady, my life will not be in vain... The food, drink, and accommodation..."
Although they have heard it many times, everyone still unconsciously stopped and listened again. When everyone listened, they would think of themselves. If this lady treats these two women like this, she will definitely treat them like this, thinking
There is such a little lady in this world who treats them so kindly. Every time I think about it, I feel warm.
Chunlan fanned the stove even louder, and the casserole on the stove was bubbling.
"There's no need to turn up the heat, just simmer it slowly." Banqin came in from outside and said.
Chunlan hurriedly put down her fan with a bit of sarcasm.
"Sister Banqin." She called out, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of her.
"My wife and I are fishing here. It would be scary if you suddenly ran out."
"I have a recipe that may save the fourth young master's life."
A sound that seemed far away echoed in my ears.
"Why are you in a daze?" Banqin smiled and waved his hand in front of her eyes.
"Thank you, Sister Banqin, for taking care of my brother." Chunlan came back to her senses, bowed and saluted.
Banqin smiled and bowed down.
"I would like to thank you for taking care of my wife at that time," she said.
Chunlan smiled.
"I can't afford it. I'm my sister and you helped me first. If it weren't for you, the Fourth Young Master would have died a long time ago," she said.
"My wife said that not everyone can repay a favor with a little effort, so if you encounter someone, you should cherish it and be grateful." Banqin shook his head and said.
"Hey, what are you two playing at? Don't burn the rice." Brother Jin poked his head out of the door and said.
The two girls who saluted each other looked at each other and smiled.
"My wife is up."
Manager Cao's voice came from outside, and Banqin hurriedly responded. She and Chunlan filled up the food, put the food boxes, and headed towards the inner courtyard.
As dusk fell, the lanterns in the courtyard were lit, and the door of the main hall was slowly opened, revealing a woman sitting upright inside.
In early spring, the weather in Beijing is still very cold.
When Prince Jin'an, who was wearing a big cloak, heard the laughter in front of the Queen Mother's Palace, he turned to leave, but was stopped by the chamberlain.
"Your Highness, I would like to invite you in," the chamberlain said with a smile.
Prince Jin'an had no choice but to step in.
The hall was filled with warmth and aroma. In addition to the Queen Mother, there were also concubines and several concubines present, as well as a strange little lady. She lowered her head when she saw the Prince of Jin'an coming in.
"I'm here to discuss with you the delicious drink I had last time. My sixth brother liked it very much," said Prince Jin'an.
The Queen Mother smiled and motioned for him to sit down.
"Brother Six, we can't live without people." Prince Jin'an said hesitantly.
"Wei Lang, sit down," the Queen Mother said with some insistence.
Prince Jin'an had no choice but to bow and sit down.
"Look how thin he has become." The Queen Mother pointed at him and said to the other concubines.
The concubines all looked over, and the young lady sitting behind the imperial concubine also raised her head and glanced quickly, then lowered her head again.
"How can I be thin?" Prince Jin'an smiled and touched his face, "This is called growing up. Don't you think I'm more handsome?"
These words made everyone laugh, and the little lady who lowered her head also raised her sleeves to cover her mouth.
"Okay, I know you are good-looking, and the Ai family is serious." The Queen Mother smiled, "He is him, you are the elder brother, and he is the younger brother. If you love and protect him, you don't have to do it yourself. Slaves have their duties as slaves.
, you also have your duty, Weilang, can you guard him for the rest of your life?"
"Of course I will protect him for the rest of my life." Prince Jin'an said, "My queen, I don't ask for anything else. I don't ask for a title. I just want me to stay in the capital. My queen, don't drive me away..."
His voice was a little hoarse when he said this.
"Don't go, don't go, no one will drive you away." The Queen Mother said immediately, patting his arm, "The Ai family is saying that you can't forget yourself and only care about him. You should also be kind to yourself."
The Prince of Jin'an County breathed a sigh of relief, saluted the Queen Mother and raised a smile.
The Queen Mother reached out her hand and tapped him angrily.
"This child has a sharp mind and is obsessed with who he chooses. He followed the Ai family when he was a child. The Ai family was in poor health, so he was asked to live in a separate palace. Look at him crying to death." She smiled at the concubines.
said.
"Your Highness is a person who values emotions. It's rare to see him like this." The imperial concubine said with a smile. She glanced at the young lady behind her intentionally or unintentionally. She smiled and stretched out her hand as she thought of something, "I'm so rude. Why haven't Ayun seen your Highness yet?"
The young lady sat up straight with a little uneasiness, took two steps back, and saluted the Prince of Jin'an County.
"Mr. Wu has met Your Highness," she said, her voice soft.
"This is Concubine Zhu's little niece." The imperial concubine smiled and said to Prince Jin'an, "I followed my mother to the capital, and Concubine Zhu specially asked me to come in to meet her."
Prince Jin'an nodded in return, sat down again, and seemingly inadvertently raised his sleeves to cover up a slight cough.
A chamberlain who was kneeling by the door got up and went out.
"...Princess Shuhui is very happy to be at Concubine Zhu's place. The little princess also likes it. The two of them sleep together at night." The concubine smiled and continued to talk about Concubine Zhu.
"It's better for the children to be more lively." Another concubine joked.
The prince of Jin'an County stood up and resigned.
"Your Highness, the fragrant drink you want is at Concubine Zhu's. Please go get it yourself, Your Highness." The imperial concubine said with a smile, while looking at Miss Wu beside her, "By the way, send Miss Ayun back to Concubine Zhu."
Miss Wu was a little nervous when she heard this, and her head dropped even lower.
"I don't dare, please trouble Your Highness." She whispered.
Prince Jin'an smiled and stood up.
"Why bother?" He smiled.
"Go quickly." The imperial concubine said to Miss Wu.
Mrs. Wu responded with a bow and stood up. When Prince Jin'an stepped forward, she lowered her head and followed him in small steps.
Watching the young man and woman leave, the concubines in the palace exchanged glances and laughed softly.
"How is it? You can be considered a talented man and a beautiful woman," the imperial concubine said with a low smile.
"The Zhu family's education is naturally not bad." The Queen Mother nodded and sighed, "You are right, we can't delay Wei Lang. If he continues like this, he will be useless."
"My dear, don't worry too much." The imperial concubine said with a smile, "It will be good if he has someone to take care of him and be considerate of him when he is married. This way he can take care of Prince Qing and also have someone to take care of him."
The Queen Mother nodded and smiled.
"That's how it should be," she said.
Prince Jin'an who was walking outside did not hear what was said in the palace.
"How old are you this year?" He turned around and asked Miss Wu.
Mrs. Wu didn't seem to expect that he would take the initiative to talk to her, and she would ask about her age, so she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"I'll be sixteen in March." She lowered her head and said.
"Oh." Prince Jin'an nodded, looked back at her, and smiled, "Then you are quite big."
The woman was proud of her long and graceful figure. Mrs. Wu blushed and lowered her head even further.
"Mother Zhu's natal family is from Ningzhou, do you live there too?" Prince Jin'an then asked, with a bit of curiosity.
Miss Wu nodded and boldly looked up at him.
"Yes." She said. The young man's profile in the sunlight was dazzling, and she couldn't help but slow down.
"Are you okay?" Prince Jin'an hurriedly stretched out his hand to help.
With the young man's hand holding her arm, Mrs. Wu's heart almost jumped out of her chest and she froze for a moment.
"Don't be nervous. There is nothing to be afraid of in the palace. The empress is very easy-going." King Jin'an gave him a hand and backed away, smiling.
As he was talking, there were footsteps behind him, accompanied by children's shouts.
How could someone in the palace yell like this? Miss Wu looked back and saw a short, fat man rushing over, staring, grinning and drooling, just like the ghost slave mask worn at the New Year Lantern Festival
.
Mrs. Wu screamed in fright, stretched out her hand to hit her, and hid behind her.
A hand grabbed her arm and blocked her.
"It's okay, don't be afraid." Prince Jin'an's voice came from above, "He is ignorant and scared you. I will take him away right now."
There was still residual warmth on her wrist, and the figure disappeared from her eyes. The sunlight poured down and stung her, making her unable to open her eyes. When she came back to her senses, the ghost slave and the young man in front of her were gone.
Miss Wu stood there in a daze, as if in a dream.
The Queen Mother put down the golden cup in her hand heavily, and the soft sound made the imperial concubine and Zhu Fei in front of her tremble slightly.
"Let the doctor take a look and don't be frightened." The Queen Mother said slowly.
"No, my dear," Concubine Zhu said hurriedly, "Ayun is fine, but it was too sudden. She thought others were joking with her."
"It's not a joke, Prince Qing really beat her?" the Queen Mother looked at her and said calmly.
The imperial concubine glared at Concubine Zhu.
"Your Majesty, this is an accident. Who would have thought that Prince Qing would suddenly run out..." She hesitated and said.
"Suddenly?" The Queen Mother glanced at her, "Are you saying that the king arranged it at this time? Did the king deliberately scare her?"
Without waiting for the imperial concubine to speak, she looked at the chamberlain on the side.
"Say." she said.
"...The county prince and Mrs. Wu were chatting and laughing, pestering Miss Wu with many questions, asking her how old she was, praising her for being tall, and asking where her home was... and even comforting Mrs. Wu not to be nervous..." The chamberlain
said.
There's no trace of disgust here, it's clear that he really likes her, and he chatted with her in a long-winded way.
"Your Majesty, I didn't mean that..." the imperial concubine said aggrievedly, "I just said that if Prince Qing suddenly ran out like that, the children would inevitably be frightened..."
"Then find someone who won't be scared." The Queen Mother said, "If a person is really well-educated, dignified and polite, he won't be scared at the slightest sign of trouble. He is just a petty person."
Concubine Zhu cried all the way from the Queen Mother Palace to the Imperial Concubine Palace.
"Why are you crying? It's not that you are angry." The imperial concubine said angrily.
"Your Majesty, when you talk about her, you are talking about me and our family." Concubine Zhu cried.
"You deserve it." The imperial concubine was even more angry, "You didn't tell her about Prince Qing? Didn't you tell her that Prince Qing and the prince were inseparable?"
Concubine Zhu wiped her tears.
"I, how could I have imagined that I would bring Prince Qing with me at this time?" She said, busy and trying to make amends, "I'm going to tell my family right now..."
"No need." The imperial concubine snorted, "It's too late to know. Let's give the opportunity to others."
In Prince Qing's palace, Prince Jin'an gently caressed Prince Qing who was sleeping, with a heavy expression on his face.
"Your Highness, Concubine Zhu has brought some fragrant drinks." The chamberlain came in and whispered.
Prince Jin'an nodded, and the servant withdrew again.
Prince Jin'an's eyes fell back on Prince Qing again, and he smiled mockingly.
"Sixth brother, I still want to use you as a spear user." He said, "If you think about it this way, I am no different from those people who laugh at you and hate you."
He paused here and reached out to hold Prince Qing's hand.
"However, we still have to keep going like this because there is no retreat." (To be continued)
