Blissful Days After Widowhood

    Not long after Wang left the pavilion, Gu Yin also came over.

    "Why did my mother go for so long, but she's really angry?"

    Wang shi smiled and said no, "Who is angry with that kind of person? It was I who met an old sister, and I fell in love."

    She turned around and pointed to Gu Yin, but found that there was no one in the pavilion.

    Gu Yin took Wang's arm, "Which old lady is that?"

    When asked about this, Mrs. Wang also got stuck and clapped her hands: "I was chatting so much, I forgot to ask! But we made an appointment to watch a play together, and she said she would come to find me in two days. "

    Wang is a person who likes to be lively. In the past in Hanshan Town, although she and Xu often quarreled, they were inseparable from Meng, and they liked to greet each other together.

    When I arrived in the capital, although the family was reunited, there were no friends of the same age, and sometimes I was a little lonely.

    So she was very happy when she met a good friend today, and she had already forgotten about the Qin family from the Duke of Lu.

    It was noon.

    When walking out of the palace gate, Mrs Wang said in a low voice, "It's so boring, I woke up early to get dressed, took a car, and walked again, and I didn't say a word when I arrived in the palace. Eat a feast, and then leave after eating. All morning’s work is gone.”

    Gu Yin said: "I don't have anything to do at home anyway, just go to the palace to gain knowledge."

    "The principle is such a principle," Wang shi thought for a while and asked, "After I left, did the old man of the Duke of Lu's mansion embarrass you?"

    Mentioning this, Gu Yin couldn't help bending her lips, "No, it's just ordinary gossip."

    Let Wang know that Qin has been showing off her wealth in front of her and take the opportunity to step on the British government. Wang will definitely be angry, so Gu Yin will not mention this first.

    The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went out of the palace gate while talking, but saw that Wu Qingyi was already waiting outside the palace gate.

    He stood with his hands behind his back, wearing an indigo-colored official uniform, which was different from the loose official robes of civil officials. Coupled with the mask that glowed with silver light, there was an aura that couldn't be blasphemed.

    Seeing that both Wang Shi and Gu Yin were smiling, his solemn expression softened, and his temperament softened in an instant.

    "Isn't it worth it today?" Gu Yin stepped forward briskly and asked him.

    "I was in the palace today. I heard that the banquet in the harem was over.

    He has two jobs, sometimes training soldiers outside, sometimes training the Guards in the palace.

    On this day, his mother and daughter-in-law entered the palace for the first time for a banquet, so he also entered the palace to take care of them.

    Wu Qingyi said it was okay, and asked how they were eating at the banquet today.

    Although it has been half a month since I went to Beijing, whether it is in Hanshan Town or on the way to Beijing, the British government and the family are lively and lively. The two of them had little chance of being alone.

    Seeing this, Mrs Wang stepped on the pedals and climbed up the car immediately, "Oh, I'm exhausted, I'll sleep in there for a while, you two talk slowly."

    Although the carriage is spacious, if Mr. Wang wants to lie down, it will not be wide enough to sit another person.

    Gu Yin didn't feel tired. Seeing that Wu Qingyi didn't get on the horse, she just walked beside the carriage with the horse, and walked side by side with him on the side of the carriage, talking while walking.

    "It's okay, the people in the Cining Palace are very friendly. Although the Empress looked a little gloomy, she helped us out of the siege and even let us sit in a seat. The little prince in his arms is really a Yuxue cute..."

    She didn't plan to say much at first, but she didn't know what to do. When she met him and asked, she opened the chat box before she knew it.

    Wu Qingyi is in the palace today. Although he can't enter the harem, he is in charge of the Imperial Guard. He is well informed and very comparable. He already knew what was going on in the harem today.

    He patiently listened to Gu Yin's words. After listening to her, she only said good things and didn't mention anything uncomfortable. He couldn't help but sighed and said, "Today...you have been wronged."

    Gu Yin pursed her lips and smiled, "I was just about to tell you this, I have something to do with you."

    Looking around to make sure no one was there, Gu Yin waved to him, Wu Qingyi bent over and listened.

    His face was not visible, but the base of his ear was actually hot.

    It wasn't until she heard her plan that Wu Qingyi put away her thoughts and couldn't help laughing: "You are too narrow."

    Gu Yin blinked, spread her hands and smiled: "How can you rely on me? It's all what the old lady said, not me making up."

    She laughed so hard, her eyes were crooked, the pearls beside her ears swayed, and she was about to hit her face.

    Wu Qing reached out to catch him subconsciously.

    His fingertips brushed against her cheek, his big palm clasped Bu Yao with precision, and his entire hand stayed in front of her, only a finger's distance away.

    Gu Yin's cheeks were dyed a layer of crimson, and she lowered her eyes and said, "What is this?"

    Wu Qingyi let go of the hand that grabbed the pearl pendant, and stepped aside a little, her eyes wandering unconsciously, "It's okay, I'm just afraid it will hit you."

    "It's fine if you hit me," Gu Yin said softly, "It doesn't hurt, I'm not that delicate."

    It's pretty cute. Wu Qingyi squeezed his fingers, and the delicate touch of his fingertips made his heart tremble for no reason, like a pearl pendant swaying down.

    Although Mr. Wang got into the carriage, he didn't lie down. Instead, he pulled the curtain aside and watched them secretly.

    Seeing the two of them talking head-to-head, and the dumb son of his own stretched out his hand, Wang Shi laughed so hard that his mouth could hardly close.

    When she saw that the two were separated and stopped talking together, Mrs. Wang stopped laughing, probed out and said, "Oh, it's more comfortable to lie down for a while, Da Ya, come up and sit down. on."

    Gu Yin got on the carriage, Wu Qingyi got on the horse, the two of them sat firmly in front of each other, looked at each other, and quickly moved away.

    "Drive!" Wu Qingyi shook the reins and walked to the front of the carriage.

    Gu Yin immediately lowered the curtain and sat down beside Wang.

    Wang wanted to laugh again, and pretended to be serious: "What did you and Qingyi just say? Is it about Lu Guogong's mansion?"

    There is no need to hide this from the Wang family, and she has already left the palace, so there is no need to avoid others, so Gu Yin said it immediately.

    Wang shi laughed loudly, nodded her nose and said, "It's still our big girl's ability, thanks to me listening to your words and going out to dry, and didn't make trouble with her, otherwise it would be broken. your business!"

    Back to the British Mansion, Wu Qingyi helped Wang Shi and Gu Yin to get off the carriage.

    Wang slapped her head and said, "No, didn't you say that the Queen Mother will summon us today? The Queen Mother did not show up today."

    Wu Qingyi's people certainly couldn't keep the details of the entire harem in their eyes. It was only because Gu Yin and Wang Shi entered the palace today that they helped to stare at the Cining Palace.

    In the Cining Palace today, the Queen Mother did not show up.

    He thought about it for a while, and said, "That's just my guess. The Empress Dowager is a person who devotes herself to worshiping Buddha and doesn't ask about world affairs."

    Wang shi nodded, but didn't worry about it.

    As soon as they got off the carriage, Gu Yin and Mrs Wang were about to enter the mansion, when he saw two women in shabby clothes coming from afar, rushing towards the copper nail and red lacquer gate of the British public mansion come.

    Gu Yin is no stranger to this situation—although the court has already taken over the matter of helping the wounded soldiers. But first you have to get back the money you owe, and Emperor Zhengyuan only has the money.

    Master Wen Er is still reliable in this regard. Since he has recovered the money owed by the Li family and the casino family, the errand of collecting debts is smoother day by day.

    However, no matter how successful it is, it will take a lot of time to go through it one by one, and it will be very difficult to finish it all before the year.

    Seeing that winter is coming soon, if there is no money to buy firewood and charcoal and make cotton quilts in winter in this era, it will really freeze to death.

    In the past few days, several families have been planning ahead, and they have come to the British government to ask for some money to spend the winter.

    It is difficult to take care of poverty, and my family cannot cope with it. But if you don't help these people, you may actually get people killed.

    But fortunately, going to a banquet today made Gu Yin think of a countermeasure.

    She squeezed Wang's hand, frowned and said worriedly: "Mother, don't be angry, the wealth of the Duke of Lu is huge, and our family's foundation is shallow, how can we compare to theirs? Woolen cloth?"

    The Wang family immediately understood, "Oh, don't persuade me, I also learned today that there are rich and noble families like the Duke of Lu, who are also the heroes of the founding of the country. Prince, why is the difference so big?"

    "Our family came from a poor family, and it's not easy to compare with others. Then the Duke of Lu is not only for stipends. They also have Zhuangzi, farms, shops, all over Chuzhou and the capital... "Gu Yinyan said enviously, "I'm afraid there are dozens or hundreds of taels of people like this, and they won't even look at them."

    This slowed down, and the two watched Gu Yin and Wang shi enter the house while talking.

    "Sister-in-law, shall we still go in?" The younger woman asked hesitantly, watching the lofty gate of the British government's mansion close.

    The older woman frowned and thought for a while, "Otherwise, we won't go in first. We also came to Beijing for the first time, and we only heard that the British government was rich and powerful, helping the wounded soldiers. Is it difficult? Am I remembering it wrong? Isn't this family rich?"

    The young woman took her sister-in-law's head as her head, and didn't dare to move when she heard this.

    "No, I'm not in a hurry to leave anyway, let's inquire first." The sister-in-law said.

    …

    In the afternoon, when Emperor Zhengyuan finished dealing with government affairs, he heard that the banquet was over, so he went to the Cining Palace.

    At this time, the Queen Mother is usually chanting sutras.

    Today is strange, the Queen Mother did not kneel in front of the Buddha, and was asking the palace servants to bring her box and cage and take out her clothes.

    At her age, she doesn't see people in daily life. She doesn't like to dress up. She usually dresses very simply, so when she is entertaining guests like this today, she has the help of the palace staff to dress up a little more grandly. .

    But even so, compared with the Qin family in the Duke of Lu's mansion, the Queen Mother's dress today is still simple.

    "Why did the mother pick up all the clothes?"

    The Queen Mother smiled and let the palace staff go down, leaving their mother and son to speak their own words.

    "I'm going out of the palace to listen to the opera in two days. A lot of the things you prepared for me are not suitable for daily wear. Is it possible to make two new clothes for my mother?"

    The cost of the new dynasty is tight, but making clothes for my mother is definitely not a problem.

    Especially the Queen Mother has been advocating frugality since she entered the palace and has never put forward requirements on food and clothing.

    Emperor Zheng Yuan used to worry that his mother would become depressed and he was happier than anyone else when he heard her request.

    "What's wrong with this?" Emperor Zhengyuan laughed, "Isn't the son who fought back to the throne with his life so that our family can eat and wear well? Mother, even if you tell me what you like, let the head down someone will do it for you."

    "Hey! It's not too good." The Queen Mother carefully said what kind of clothes and jewelry she wanted. Emperor Zhengyuan listened patiently, and then ordered someone to do it, and then asked Since the Queen Mother was going to go out to listen to the play, she remembered something and said, "Isn't the banquet today for my mother to see Qingyi's family? Why did the palace staff say that you didn't show up the whole time?"

    Mentioning this, the Queen Mother sighed, "Don't talk about it, I heard people say that they are coming, so I asked them to take them to the side hall, and I was going to go there. I didn't think that as soon as they entered the side hall, Concubine Feng met someone and asked Qingyi's daughter-in-law to give her a big gift..."

    Since ancient times, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have not dealt with much.

    The Queen Mother is not, she is soft and can't do evil things.

    Seeing that Concubine Feng and Mrs. Wang are facing each other, Mrs. Wang's mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law are not afraid.

    Empress Zhou used to be soft-hearted, but in the past two years she has become a lot colder, and her intervention has been considered to suppress the conflict.

    At the end of the table, after the Queen Mother was ready to go, the old lady of Lu Guogong's mansion began to be strange again.

    The Queen Mother is more afraid of her than the concubine Feng Guifei, who looks rather submissive.

    Of course, the Qin family will not offend the Queen Mother, but she is arrogant, and she loves to take advantage of her tongue.

    The Queen Mother once mediated the conflict between the Qin family and another foreign wife. The Qin family’s fallacies and sophistry made the Queen Mother hear one of the first two big ones, but instead she became an unreasonable one. The one who is responsible will never dare to touch her again.

    She originally wanted to comfort Wang, but later Wang mediated by herself.

    Speaking of this, the Queen Mother couldn't help laughing: "The British lady is really right, her daughter-in-law is this!"

    She also imitated Wang's and gave a thumbs up, "smart and clever, not chaotic in the face of danger, a few words really coaxed the Duke of Lu. The food is delicious."

    The former Queen Zhou is also so appropriate, although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not like mother and daughter like Wang and Gu Yin, but they are also harmonious.

    Thinking of this, the Queen Mother's eyes dimmed.

    Emperor Zheng Yuan was very good at guessing people's hearts. Seeing the Queen Mother like this, he guessed what she was thinking.

    He put his arm around the Queen Mother's shoulder and said softly: "Mother doesn't want to be sad, just want to be happy. If you want to go to the theater, go to see it, I will let the guards hide in the dark to protect you from the palace , If you have fun, you can go out of the palace every day."

    The Queen Mother laughed and patted him: "Don't coax your mother, donkeys, although I don't have ink in my stomach, I know that the Queen Mother can't run around in the sun."

    Emperor Zheng Yuan said that there is nothing wrong with this, "As long as the mother is happy, anything will happen!"

    My mother is over fifty years old. In the countryside, it is rare for her to live to this age.

    Even now, no one dares to talk about the noble days, the Queen Mother can live longer than others.

    To put it badly, at this age, that is one day less.

    Emperor Zhengyuan thought so sincerely, and after coming out of the Cining Palace, he went to choose a bodyguard for the Queen Mother.

    As for Wu Qingyi, Emperor Zhengyuan deliberately didn't go to the meeting, so he let the two old ladies meet anonymously and relax.

    The queen dowager was busy and thought about today's affairs again.

    It's not a problem that her old sister has no rank, and it shouldn't be looked down upon.

    Then the next morning, the documents that Wang was awarded a super-grade imperial order and Gu Yin was awarded a first-grade imperial appointment were issued outside the palace together.

    …

    Besides Qin's place, after returning to the Duke of Lu's mansion, she first went to see the young son who was lying on the bed and couldn't get off the bed, and then went back to the house to rest. In the evening, the Duke of Lu, Feng Yuan, was on duty to return home, Qin Shi just came out of the house.

    "How is your mother's condition in the palace today?" Feng Yuan took the lady of the country, Mrs. Chen, to greet her.

    Mr. Qin wore a forehead wiper on his head and squeezed a silk handkerchief in his hand. When he saw Feng Yuan, his face relaxed: "My son is back? It's hard work, just drink a cup of hot tea and talk."

    When she saw Chen Shi behind Feng Yuan, Qin Shi immediately lost her face, and said in a cool tone: "I usually don't see you in the mansion, but you are willing to let my son come back. Come out of that small yard, why am I, a mother-in-law, so unwilling to welcome you?"

    This is completely pointless.

    Everyone in the whole family knew that it was not the lady of the country, Mrs. Chen, who deliberately took Qiao and avoided her mother-in-law, Mrs. Qin.

    But the Qin family didn't like seeing the daughter-in-law here, and she was forbidden to run around in the house. And not only in the mansion, Qin Shi did not give Chen Shi face when he was outside. It has been more than half a year since the founding of the new dynasty, and all the wealthy and noble families in the capital only know the old lady of the Duke of Lu's mansion, but they have never met the lady of the country, the Chen family.

    In all fairness, Chen's appearance is not bad, with watery eyes, fair skin, two shallow pear eddies on his lips when he smiles, and the whole person looks gentle and gentle. If you don't mention the age, it is impossible to tell that she is the mother of a ten-year-old child. Her temperament follows her appearance, she speaks softly and softly, and is very kind to anyone.

    And the child she gave birth, the eldest son of the Duke of Lu, is extremely intelligent.

    Kaimeng showed his talent at the age of four, and he began to practice martial arts at the age of six, and he also showed his prowess. Now that he is ten years old, he is capable of both writing and martial arts. Although he is not as good as an adult, he is also a leader among the children of the wealthy and powerful in Beijing.

    Seeing that in a few years, his son will be able to stand up, and his achievements will never be under his father.

    However, the difference is that Chen is an orphan.

    Until she was fifteen years old, war started near Chuzhou, and the juggling team naturally fled. She had an idea. Instead of fleeing with them, she stayed behind to join the army.

    She is a weak woman and naturally can't go to the battlefield, so she went to the back kitchen to be a cook.

    Because there are still some small childhood memories, the family used to sell food, so the food made is better than the average person.

    Feng Yuan fell in love with her.

    At first, she was not given a title, and she was only allowed to be around. Later, she became pregnant, and their relationship was sweet, so Feng Yuan wrote a letter to inform Qin Shi, and at the same time There was a wedding in the army.

    How could the Qin family let their son marry such a woman - let alone the door, the Chen family is an unknown origin, and even the surname is the original juggling class leader, even his original surname don't remember.

    But will be outside, and military orders will not be accepted. Not to mention the son who was fighting in the army abroad.

    The Qin family was out of reach, and when she and Feng Yuan reunited again, the army already knew that Feng Yuan had a wife of the Chen family, and that the Chen family's sons were able to walk and talk.

    Anyway, looking at the face of his grandson, the Qin family did not let Feng Yuan divorce his wife and marry again, but after all, he still looked down on this daughter-in-law.

    On occasions such as entering the palace to go to a banquet that make people look brighter, Qin shi did not bring Chen shi, and even came up and stabbed people, Chen shi was not annoyed, just whispered: "It's my daughter-in-law. No, I just thought that my mother-in-law came to the palace, she must be tired and tired when she came back, and she needed a rest, so it was too late to say goodbye."

    Her respectful attitude couldn't find any fault, Qin Shi didn't continue talking about her, but smiled at Feng Yuan: "Son, today is my mother, I can give it to you, to our family, Take a good breath!"

    Feng Yuan asked her what to say, and Qin continued: "The British lady-in-law and her daughter-in-law are not worth mentioning! Two village women!"

    Then Qin shi told Feng Yuan how she stepped on the British government and raised her own glorious deeds.

    Feng Yuan and Wu Qing have been at odds for a long time. Hearing that his family is so unreliable, he also felt that he was out of anger and laughed: "His family is of humble origin, and naturally there is no mother-in-law in his family. Such a virtuous, intelligent and capable female family."

    The more the mother and son talked, the happier they became, and the time they talked, they were thinking about how to use today's events to make some rumors and gossip, so that the entire British government would be embarrassed.

    Chen shi listened quietly beside him. He wanted to open his mouth to say something several times, but closed his mouth several times.

    However, Qin Shi and Feng Yuan didn't make a move at all, and the whole capital was talking about how rich and noble the Duke of Lu was and how profound it was. The rumors that followed became more and more outrageous, saying that the servants of the Duke of Lu's mansion were all dressed in gold and silver, not to mention the life of the master, cooking gold and jade, Zhong Ming Ding food, a meal would cost hundreds of thousands of taels... It is the first noble house under the royal family of the capital.

    The real big family will not believe this kind of rumors. The Duke of Lu does not look down on the mud-legged mansion of the British government, but in the eyes of people with real background, the former Feng family It's just a defender, so what?

    But the people in Beijing and some upstarts don't know what to do, only know that the Feng family was an important minister in the past, and it was also the founding prince, and also had a concubine. Already believed this rumor.

    The Qin family didn't think there was anything wrong. Instead, he fanned the flames and stepped on the British government, saying that his family was poor. It can't be compared with my own family at all.

    As October entered, the weather suddenly became cold.

    Qin looked at the panicked expression of the servant and scolded: "Aren't people coming every day these days? What are you panicking about? Invite everyone in and hold a banquet in the flower hall."

    Since the palace banquet, many officials and eunuchs have become more and more indulgent towards the Qin family, and they come to walk around every day.

    The Qin family has long been surprised.

    The servant has to say more, Qin Shi has impatiently waved his hand to let him go down.

    She doesn't have so much time to talk to the servants, and it takes a while to dress up!

      The satin-faced jacket has complicated patterns, all embroidered with solid gold thread. As for the hands and wrists, the gold bracelets, gold rings, gemstone bracelets, they were all fully worn, with no gaps at all.

    I was dressed in gold and weighed more than ten pounds, so I left the house with the help of two maids.

    Walking slowly all the way to the flower hall, hearing the lively voices inside, Qin shi raised his legs and entered the house with a smile, "Which gust of wind is blowing you here today..."

    Speaking of this, Qin Shi was stunned.

    And all of them are Jingchai cloth skirts, even ragged.

    Seeing Qin Shi, their eyes suddenly became warm, like a wolf that saw its prey!