Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 23: Blooming and Fading on Its Own

After comforting the old Duke's wife, Qiao Lili returned to Luping Garden. She walked very fast along the way, thinking about the injuries of Caiqin and Caiwei.

Fortunately, they were just superficial injuries, and they just needed to be bandaged and treated. When Qiao Lili returned, the two had already gone to bed. Seeing Qiao Lili coming to see them, they wanted to pay their respects to Qiao Lili, but Qiao Lili held them down. They also told Nanny Sun to give them ten taels of silver each to calm their nerves.

Nanny Sun was her wet nurse. After she grew up, she was in charge of her food, clothing, and money. Cai Ge was trained by her. In her previous life, she also brought Nanny Sun to the Bai Mansion, but not long after she got married, Nanny Sun died of illness.

Nanny Sun had always been in good health, but somehow she suddenly fell ill and passed away within a few days.

Now that I think about it, there is something strange about Nanny Sun's illness. It's possible that they were afraid that it would be difficult to control her with Nanny Sun around. Nanny Sun is older and more experienced, and has a stronger ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil. Perhaps it was because they were afraid that Nanny Sun would give her advice and make it less likely for her to be deceived, so they cut off her arm.

What can't that evil family do?

After Qiao Lili left, the old Duchess' wife sat alone quietly for a long time. The maids did not dare to disturb her. They all concentrated and dared not make a sound, for fear of disturbing the old Duchess' wife's thoughts.

After washing up in the evening, the old Duke's wife lay on the bed. Chuntao wanted to draw down the curtains, but the old Duke's wife stopped her and said, "Don't draw the curtains. The moon is beautiful tonight. I'll lie down and watch it." She also said, "You all go to rest. I won't keep anyone to serve me tonight."

"I understand." Several people closed the doors and windows, turned off the lights, and walked out.

The old Duke's wife was looking at the moon while listening to the whispers of the little girls. There was a crescent moon tonight, and the moonlight was cold and distant. She couldn't remember the last time she had a good look at it. It was probably when the old Duke Ding was still alive.

After he left, she deliberately avoided all these romantic things. Having too beautiful memories is also a kind of pain. People don't become insensitive to romance when they get older, but they give up these things just because the person is gone.

When no sound from outside could be heard, the old Duke's wife said to the air, "Daytime, daytime, come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, two dark shadows appeared from nowhere and knelt on one knee on the ground.

The old Duke's wife had already sat up, and she looked at the two people kneeling on the ground. The lights in the room had been turned off, and she could only see their rough outlines in the moonlight: "Tianming, you go to protect the eldest lady, Tianliang, you go to protect the second young master. From tomorrow on, you will belong to them both."

"As you command." The two black shadows quickly disappeared into the darkness, as if they had never been there.

Before the old Duke Ding went to the battlefield for the last time, he left these two secret guards to her. In fact, they were originally arranged by the old Duke Ding to protect her, but she didn't know about their existence. The old Duke never came back from the battlefield, and these two people became his last thoughts for her.

Today, she gave them to her grandchildren. "Old man, you would do the same when you were alive. If you disagree, come and talk to me in your dreams."

The old Duke's wife slowly lay down, closed her eyes, bathed in the moonlight, and fell asleep peacefully.

*

The door of the study was not closed for the whole afternoon. The desk for reviewing memorials was placed right in front of the door. The emperor reviewed each document and looked outside. He reviewed each document and looked outside again. The eunuch Li was serving him inside the door, and on the porch were Xiao Zhangzi and Xiao Yinzi, waiting for his orders.

Apart from these three people, there was no one in sight.

The concubines, female officials and palace maids in various palaces received another wave of reprimands from the emperor in the afternoon. They were all embroidering handkerchiefs and fan leaves. Those who wanted to send someone to the imperial kitchen to add more dishes did not dare to move. They just ate whatever was delivered to them.

The emperor said that he was so poor that he didn't even have enough money to buy a coffin, and he couldn't afford to support so many concubines. Those who wanted to live in the palace should be self-sufficient, and those who didn't want to live in the palace could leave at any time.

If anyone comes out to wander around again, he should go to the bathroom and clean the toilet.

There is nothing more to say. Just embroider. If you can’t earn next month’s salary, you will be sent back to your parents’ home.

It was getting dark, and the emperor pushed the pile of memorials he had picked out onto the ground. With a clatter, the memorials fell all over the floor. On some of the scattered memorials, it was written, "I have been worried day and night, and I cannot sleep. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health..."

......Long live the emperor, did you enjoy your breakfast? Did you enjoy your lunch? Did you enjoy your dinner? Only when I know that the emperor has enjoyed all three meals, can I eat well...

......The orchids in my house bloomed yesterday. What a good omen, a good omen. It must be the emperor......

"Send these memorials to the cabinet and have Lao Zhang write down all the names for me. Each person will be fined ten taels of salary. If you write such a memorial again next time, you will be fined one month's salary. If you do it the third time, you will be fined one year's salary."

He was in dire straits when he was short of money, and even a grasshopper is meat. He had nothing to do all day and wasted his time reading this nonsense. He could have learned a couple more little songs and sung them to Fei'er to cheer her up.

She couldn't let the actor sing directly for her. He was young and good-looking, and his eyes were charming when he sang. It didn't matter if Fei'er didn't like herself, but she couldn't fall in love with someone else.

Eunuch Li quickly ordered Xiao Zhangzi and Xiao Yinzi to collect all the memorials and send them to the Grand Secretary's Hall where the ministers worked and give them to Minister Zhang.

At this time, the imperial kitchen delivered dinner, which consisted of four dishes and one soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Ever since the Great Yan Kingdom had suffered from disasters year after year, the emperor had reduced his three meals a day to this standard, and the same was true for the concubines in the various palaces.

"People are eating bran and vegetables. In some places, even tree bark and grass roots have been eaten. You have fish and meat to eat. Isn't that enough?"

If anyone dared to say no, the only warning was "Get out of the palace." The concubines knew that the emperor disliked them and was always looking for trouble to get them fired, so they were all as obedient as cats.

At the same time, she was cursing the queen in her heart. If she hadn't provoked Concubine Yun, the emperor wouldn't have disliked them so much.

I dare not think about pampering them, but it is okay for them to go for a stroll in the Imperial Garden. After Concubine Yun was so angry with the Queen that she closed the palace gates and even the Emperor could not see her, the Emperor did not allow them to leave the palace.

The flowers in the imperial garden have been blooming and withering on their own in recent years. What kind of flowers are they talking about? How can the concubines not bloom and wither on their own?