Blissful Days After Widowhood

    Before entering the palace, Wu Qingyi talked about something with Gu Yin and Wang Shi.

    "The Queen's temperament is a bit strange, but she is a good person. If you meet her, take more care."

    Failed to find the lost child for the queen, Wu Qingyi felt ashamed.

    The fact that the royal family lost their children as a royal secret has been banned by Emperor Zhengyuan and cannot be mentioned again, but the guilt in his heart has not been diluted with the passage of time.

    Wang waved her hand dismissively, "She is the queen, the most noble person in the world after the empress dowager, how can we be angry with her. If she doesn't make things difficult for us, we will be fine."

    In the blink of an eye, it was time to enter the palace.

    Early in the morning, Wang Shi and Gu Yin got up and dressed up.

      ruby.

    She was not wearing a big dress, but a silk-engraved gold-silver ruyi cloud-patterned brocade dress. First, this occasion was more casual, and it was organized by the Empress Dowager on a whim, and secondly, the imperial edict of Wang's family had not yet been issued, and she had not received her own clothes.

    Gu Yin did not wear makeup, only painted her eyebrows and pursed lips, and wore a long dress with gold thread embroidered Baiziliu flowers. A golden begonia bead flower swayed, decorated with a few small pearls and gold hairpins, and a red gold double-button bracelet wrapped in silk on her hand, which Wang Shi casually put on her on the day she entered the mansion.

    The step shook as she walked, which made her a little playful.

    At first, Wang wanted to put all the good things at home on her head. As soon as she walked around, the pearls swayed by her ears, making her already white and shiny face indescribably beautiful.

    Wang shi stopped talking, no matter how she looked at her, she couldn't see enough. I really wished Gu Yin was a few years younger, so that she could hug her in her arms and kiss her.

    After they were dressed up, Wu Qingyi sent them into the palace.

    Across the carriage, Wu Qingyi said again: "The Empress Dowager is a very kind person, so don't be nervous."

    Wang said she was not nervous.

    I'm really not nervous. If she wants to go alone, she must be panicked because of her rambunctious character at home.

    It will be different if Gu Yin is with her. The daughter-in-law is omnipotent, and Mrs. Wang has confidence in her heart.

    The British Palace was not far from the Royal Palace, and the carriage stopped at the door after two quarters of an hour.

    Further in, it's a walk.

    However, such a short distance is nothing to Gu Yin and Wang Shi who are used to doing chores.

    The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got off the carriage, saw the maid who led the way, and went inside while talking.

    The queen mother is not from a family that pays attention to rules, and she is too lazy to let people kneel and worship her when it is not a festival.

    When she was led to the side hall by the palace servants, Wang Shi was still biting her ears with Gu Yin, "My family's eldest son is really right, the empress dowager is a very kind person. I used to watch dramas. Here, those evil queen mothers who do not like to be with each other, whoever does not please the eye, will be punished to kneel during the audience, and one kneeling will last a day and a half, which not only makes people shameless, but also makes people kneel hurt.

    Speaking, the two entered the side hall.

    A lot of girls have arrived before them, and they are talking around a young woman with a bright face and a beaded crown.

    The woman's beautiful face was also a bit heroic.

    Wang didn't take a closer look at her face, but couldn't help but glance at her bead crown.

    The pearls are the size of a human thumb, full and round. Although the crown is made of sterling silver, it is not expensive, but the white beads are matched with the white crown.

    Wang shi couldn't say how good it was, and she already thought about going back and giving Gu Yin a set like this.

    Beads and crowns are available at home, and they cannot be sold for money, so they have to be used.

    When their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came in, the young woman looked up at them at the same time.

    I saw Wang's eyes not dodging, and Gu Yin was neither humble nor arrogant, she laughed: "Is this the British lady?"

    As soon as these words came out, the hall became quiet, and everyone looked at their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

    The palace staff reminded them that the young woman in front of them was Feng Guifei.

    Feng Guifei was born in the Duke of Lu, and before they entered the palace, Wu Qingyi had already told them.

    This concubine Feng is quite like her mother, and she is not someone who can suffer.

    So Wang stepped forward to block Gu Yin from behind and gave a half salute.

    Then Concubine Feng still smiled, but what she said was not very polite, "The British lady first entered Beijing, how can this palace remember that the madam's official document has not been sent, and now she has no rank ?"

    The rank of the lady of the country is almost the same as that of the imperial concubine, just because one is a woman of foreign life and the other is a woman of domestic life, it is not easy to compare them together. Generally speaking, it is enough to be polite and polite.

    This concubine Feng spoke with her rank, and the meaning was obvious, that is, the Wang family has no rank now, and she has to give a big gift when she sees her.

    Sure enough, it's a bad one.

    Wang's face sank.

    In the past, when I met a noble like a concubine, I would kneel.

    Now she came out on behalf of her own family. Her husband and son exchanged their wealth for their grades. She bent her knees and threw the Wu family's face to the ground.

    The concubine Feng smiled and said to herself: "Oh, what I said is reckless, the British lady is not young, and she is my elder, so it's not good to greet me. You Behind you is your daughter-in-law, right? You look younger than Ben Gong, so it would be good for Ben Gong to be greeted by her."

    Wang is the lady of the country and the mother of Wu Qingyi. Feng Guifei didn't intend to humiliate her at first, otherwise the Liangzi of the two families would be really tied.

    As for the reason to deal with them, it was naturally because Feng Guifei's younger brother lost a lot of money to Gu Ye not long ago.

    After losing such a large sum of money, Duke Lu beat up the son Feng and locked him at home. The old lady Qin Shi, the old lady of Ren Lu Guogong's mansion, broke her mouth and failed to ask for mercy for the young son.

    The casino was mixed up, and it was only a few days ago that it was rumored.

    The rumors are together, they all joke that their 15- or 16-year-old boy lost to the 6-7-year-old child, and even tricky, isn't it normal? The Duke of Lu, Feng Yuan, was ten years older than Wu Qingyi, so he still let Wu Qingyi compare. This is called family learning origin!

      Method, really hit with a stick, and directly beat the person to the point of being unable to get out of bed.

    A brother of a compatriot, this is not only the Qin family who is distressed by the mother, Feng Guifei is also distressed by the younger brother.

    Otherwise she would not have been waiting in the Cining Palace early. Just to vent my anger on my younger brother.

    Wang's face is even more ugly, can she watch her daughter-in-law suffer?

    At that moment, she pulled Gu Yin and said without laughing: "The concubine is right, our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are new to Beijing, and we don't know what a gift it is to see a concubine, we haven't learned it yet. , I only learned to bow down to the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager, otherwise we will give you that kind of bowing ceremony?"

    The smile on Feng Guifei's face collapsed.

    What does this British lady mean, reminding her that her grade is not enough, shouldn't she be so arrogant?

    Wang's family is not so interesting at all, she didn't tell lies, Wu Qingyi asked for a favor from Emperor Zhengyuan a few days ago, and an old lady came to teach them how to behave for a few days.

    At this moment, the **** outside sang - "The Queen is here."

    Everyone saluted, even Feng Guifei had to stand up.

    Empress Zhou only wore a plain-colored palace dress with a few pearl hairpins in her bun. No matter how she looked, she was not as good as Concubine Feng.

    She came in with the child in her arms, and after getting everyone up, she found that the atmosphere in the hall was not right, so she asked, "What is this doing?"

    Although many others in the hall flattered Concubine Feng, many of them belonged to the Queen's faction, and immediately said: "It's nothing major, that is, the concubine said that the British lady-in-law and her daughter-in-law have no grades. Let them both bow to the noble concubine."

    The Queen of Zhou twitched the corners of her mouth and said, "The Queen Mother doesn't stick to these polite things."

    Concubine Feng smirked: "Sister misunderstood, I didn't force them, I was just joking."

    Empress Zhou did not bother about this matter anymore, and invited people to take a seat.

    "The British lady, please sit next to this palace." Queen Zhou stopped talking after saying this, and looked after her own children well.

    Because the Queen Mother did not come, the main seat on the main table was vacant. Queen Zhou and Concubine Feng sat next to the main seat.

    Empress Zhou used to be Wang Shi and Gu Yin, while Feng Guifei was her mother, the old lady Qin Shi of the Duke of Lu.

    This Qin shi is not much older than Wang shi, Mian Ji is about fifty years old, the mother and daughter are quite imagining, but Qin's eyes are fierce and unsmiling, more than before The Wang family also looked ferocious.

    The main table is not big, the Qin family and the Wang family are sitting face to face.

    With big eyes and small eyes, no one is convinced.

    Gu Yin didn't look at the Qin family, but involuntarily looked at the child in Queen Zhou's arms.

    This child has big eyes and white skin, very beautiful and clever, and inexplicably closed his eyes, but he looks about three years old, and he is still wrapped tightly like a baby in a swaddling child, only showing a small half She opened her face and let Empress Zhou hold it.

    Gu Yin has always had a predestined relationship with a child. The child noticed that Gu Yin was looking at him, turned her face and smiled at her, and stretched out her little fat hand towards her.

    Across the Wang family, Gu Yin naturally couldn't touch him, and she wouldn't touch the little prince, so she didn't reach out, just winked at him.

    The little prince giggled, Queen Zhou was chatting with the others at the table, and when she heard her son's laughter, her face sank immediately, she stretched out her hand to hug the little prince tightly, and immediately followed the little prince His eyes looked at Gu Yin.

    The meaning of guarding and vigilance in her eyes was too strong, as if Gu Yin had done something heinous.

    Gu Yin was about to apologize, but saw Queen Zhou stand up and hug the child tightly in her arms, leaving the Cining Palace on the grounds of taking care of the child.

    Because it was difficult for Gu Yin and the others, Feng Guifei consciously lost face, and also got up and left.

    As soon as these two big men left, the banquet became lively, and more and more female relatives started chatting.

    Seeing that everyone was talking, Mrs Wang also said to Gu Yin, "Why do I think this dish is not delicious?"

    Although the dishes at today's banquet are rich, many ingredients are unseen and unheard of by Wang, but most of them are steamed bowls, and the taste is light, there is no taste in the mouth.

    Gu Yin opened her mouth just as she wanted to speak, but she did not know why Qin Shi who was sitting across from him heard these soft words.

    She heard it, and sneered: "The British lady is so loud, the dishes in this palace are not to your taste, is it possible that you want to eat dragon liver and phoenix gall?"

    Wang Shi was still angry about what Feng Guifei found fault with before, and she became more angry when she heard this.

    My mother-in-law doesn't quarrel, and it's not easy to argue with Feng Guifei before. So Gu Yin grabbed Wang's hand and patted it, telling her not to get angry, and then helped her to say: "It's not that my mother has a big tone, it's that we first entered Beijing, and the taste is still the taste of our hometown. The dishes in the palace. Of course it's good, it's just a different taste from what we used to eat."

    She was neither humble nor arrogant, and Qin Shi then sneered: "Oh, I understand when you say that. The dishes in the palace are expensive, and you are from the countryside, so naturally you are not used to eating them."

    Gu Yin was still calm and said with a smile: "Yes, our background is not as prominent as your family. However, when my husband was at home, he said that His Majesty liked a sentence, called 'the prince and the general will have the best Kind of?'. Thanks to His Majesty's not being noble or inferior, people like us can now sit at a table with a noble person like you."

    Come on, who can't be yin and yang?

    After Gu Yin finished speaking, she smiled again, and raised her glass to the others in the hall.

      .

    The words on their side were heard by many people. Although they did not dare to confront the Duke of Lu, they whispered beside them.

    "What happened to the country people? How many of us were not country people before?"

     "That is, my family used to kill pigs in the village, what's the shame?"

    "The old lady of Lu Guogong's mansion still talks about her background. Others don't know it, but I know it. Her daughter-in-law is not a lady from a prominent family. She's just a cook, making big pots of rice for the soldiers..."

    Hearing this discussion, Qin shi's face was ashen, and he stared at him angrily until he glared at those people so much that they didn't dare to make a sound.

    The Qin family stopped talking about her background, looked Gu Yin up and down, and snorted softly: "It's all from the family of the prince who just opened the mansion, you dress like this... tsk tsk, it's too poor. Is it because the family can't make ends meet, or is the English lady-in-law treating her daughter-in-law harshly?"

    Gu Yin's dress is definitely not suitable for poor and sour. If she can sell it for money, a gold bracelet in her hand can be sold for thousands of taels.

    Of course, compared to Qin Shi's dress, where she can't wait to wear gold rings all over her ten fingers, her dress is indeed plain.

    "What are you talking about, my mother treats me the same as her own." It's unnecessary to talk about aesthetics with such a rambunctious person, Gu Yin is still not annoyed, and then smiles: "You Don't you put in some evil mother-in-law who doesn't look down on her daughter-in-law?"

    Someone burst out laughing, and quickly held back.

    Daughter-in-law is the most despised in this palace, and she didn’t even bring her daughter-in-law to the palace for a banquet, isn’t it the Qin family?

    Qin's face was ashen, turning a deaf ear to the sneer, and then said: "That means your family can't make ends meet? Yes, it is easy to get carried away when the poor become rich. Don't empty your family so quickly. right?"

    "I don't read much, but I don't know what it means to be 'complacent'. But it is true that Fuzhong can't make ends meet as you said. Speaking of which, I have to thank you, if it weren't for the former son of your family By virtue of righteousness and wealth, my family's life is definitely not as good as it is now."

    The thing about the casino has long been known, so Gu Yin doesn't mind bringing it up.

     Mrs Wang also gritted her teeth and turned to look at Gu Yin.

    The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have come to depend on each other.

    As soon as this look appeared, Gu Yin knew that she was really angry and asked if she could hit someone on the spot.

    Gu Yin took out the small cup that was tightly squeezed in Wang's hand, "Mother's face is not very good, is it dizzy after eating too much fruit stuffed? Go out and blow the air?"

    Then she patted the back of Wang's hand soothingly. Wang glared at Qin and went out obediently.

    When she left, Gu Yincai said in surprise: "That's a few thousand taels of silver!"

    When it comes to silver money, Qin Shi also has the confidence, raised his chin and smiled contemptuously: "Our family has a deep background, naturally there will be no shortage of silver money."

    It is also because of this background that their Feng family raised Feng Guifei, who was not inferior to any wealthy and noble lady, and became the first person under the Queen Zhou in the harem.

    As for the girls of other heroic families, they simply cannot enter the eyes of Emperor Zhengyuan, and they are not even qualified to enter the palace.

    "How deep is it?" Gu Yin's eyes lit up, and she asked curiously, "Could it be possible for Madam to elaborate?"

    As expected, he is a countryman. When he heard that his family was rich, he changed his attitude and attached himself.

    Qin sneered in her heart, and continued to hold her chin up and said: "Although my family does not have a lot of money, there are also their own villages and shops, not only in Chuzhou, but also in the capital..."

    The smile on Gu Yin's lips deepened.

    …

    After Wang left the side hall, she told the palace servants that she wanted to blow the wind, and the palace servants led her to the pavilion in the imperial garden.

    After scolding Qin Shi, Wang Shi finally felt a lot more comfortable.

    When she came back to her senses, Wang found that there were more people in the pavilion.

    An old woman who was about the age of Qin Shi, looked at about ten years older than her, and was well-dressed. She did not know when she stood behind her.

    The other party saw her turn her head suddenly, she took two steps back in fright, and said apologetically, "I scared you? I'm sorry."

    The old woman's Mandarin with an accent is somewhat similar to Wang's accent, which makes people feel friendly at once.

    Wang waved his hand and smiled: "It's okay, I'm not so scared. But I suddenly turned around and scared you?"

    The old woman also smiled: "It's okay, I can't be scared."

    Wang said again: "That's right, we country people are not so particular." He asked her again: "Why did you come out too?"

    Although the Wang family does not recognize her, the female family members who can walk around in the palace are too old and cannot bring their servants in, so they are the ones that the Cining Palace entertained today. a group. However, there were many talented people, and Wang shi didn't look at her, and didn't remember who she was.

    The old woman did not answer, but asked her: "Then why did you come out?"

    "I was run, I have a bad temper. My daughter-in-law was afraid that I would get angry, so she asked me to come back and have a good time."

    The two sat down at the stone table in the pavilion.

    The old lady shook her head helplessly and said, "That mouth of the old lady of the Duke's Mansion of Lu... I'm not forgiving."

    Wang snorted, "That is, in the palace, if I meet her outside the palace, I have to show her some color."

    It's too hard to talk, Mrs. Wang took out the snacks in her purse and distributed it to her, "Aren't you full? This is the sweet-scented osmanthus cake made by my daughter-in-law, you can eat it too."

    A piece of cake is the size of a thumb, about the size of what Gu Ye eats every day. However, Gu Yin made small snacks for Gu Ye because he was afraid that he might choke, so preparing such a small snack for Wang's, it would not be easy to get rid of mouth fat even if you eat this.

    Although this sweet-scented sweet-scented osmanthus cake does not have the complicated patterns like the dim sum in the palace, it is white and clean, decorated with some broken sweet-scented osmanthus, and it is fragrant in the mouth, sweet but not greasy, and soft Soft, not as choking as today's dim sum.

    "Delicious!" the old woman praised sincerely.

    "Really?" Wang smiled proudly and gave a thumbs up, "My daughter-in-law's craft is this!"

    Wang was still angry just now, and when she talked about her daughter-in-law, her eyes became crescents with laughter.

    Seeing her so happy, the old woman asked with a smile: "Aren't you still angry just now? Why are you happy now?"

    The old woman couldn't help being attracted by her words and listened to her.

    "I'm even happier after I became an official. How dare I imagine such a good life? I used to think that there is meat in the family and eating white noodles is a good life, but now I know what else to do Don't do anything, just put your feet up and wait for someone to serve. It's so comfortable!"

    In the past, the Wang family was only considered rich and noble in the small town.

    The current servants of the British public mansion are all trained by the royal mansion. That is called a caring and sensible person. Many times the Wang family does not need to open his mouth, and the servants know what to do.

    Noticing that the old woman seemed not to be in high spirits, Wang asked again, "Why, your family is not happy?"

    The old woman nodded and sighed again.

    Wang asked again: "That's because your family treats you badly?"

    The old woman thought about it and said no.

    "It's all good, that is, they are all busy, busy with their own affairs, although there are many people around me to serve, but I feel bored, as if there is nothing to do except eat and wait to die son."

    Wang sternly said, "You're wrong, what's the matter? Children have their own affairs, we can have fun ourselves! Do you like listening to dramas? ? I used to like listening to opera very much, but it is rare that there is a theater troupe in the town. When I arrived in the capital, I learned that there is a theater here, and there is a theater every day! It's just that I haven't been there yet. If you like it, we will make an appointment next time. go."

    "Listening to the opera? Can't let people sing in the palace... at home?"

      Son? I'm going to the theater, and when there are many people, everyone applauds together, then I'll be more energetic!"

    The old woman thought for a while and said, "I seem to understand a little bit when you say this, no wonder I used to like listening to operas in the countryside, but I called someone to sing later, but I felt bored. "

    "Really?" Wang Shi smiled, "It's like eating in the palace, no matter how good the food is, everyone can't be polite, just put two shredded vegetables in one chopstick and chew it for dozens of times. Come on, do you think this is delicious? It's a truth."

    The old woman nodded again and again, "Yes! I don't want to eat with them!"

    The latter two started chatting about family affairs, and only then did they realize that they both had the surname of Wang, their temperament and age were similar, and they used to be rural peasant women. There are really too many common topics. Just picking up cow dung can talk for a quarter of an hour.

    Wang shi reluctantly parted with her, and said, "Old sister, I have made you a friend. We made an appointment to listen to the play, don't forget it."

    The old woman was also very reluctant to her, took her hand and nodded and said, "Okay, I will go to you in two days. Let's listen to the play together."