The Queen Mother of the Red Chamber

At noon the next day, Mother Jia saw Xue Baochai standing among the crowd, glanced at Mrs. Wang, then said nothing, and got into the carriage with Wang Xifeng's support.

Naturally, Wang Xifeng also knows the tricks in the middle, but compared to Xue Baochai following into the palace, letting Jia Baoyu, an outsider, attend a banquet with only female relatives, I'm afraid it's even more unruly. , When I met Jia Baoyu, my brain twitched.Thinking of what Jia Lian said to him when he came back yesterday, he thought that he had always looked down upon the princess with his aunt, and now he was about to hit a snag.

After everyone boarded the carriage, surrounded by maids and mother-in-law's guards, they marched mightily towards the imperial palace.

When they arrived at the gate of the palace, because they were relatives of Daiyu, they entered the palace in front of the carriages of the other official wives. Seeing the proud expressions of the maids and wives of Jia's mansion, the other official wives bit them to pieces one after another. Grinding his teeth, he thought to himself, "It's really a small family."

Daiyu was waiting in the palace for the arrival of everyone from the Jia family, thinking that she would be able to see her grandmother and sisters later, she couldn't wait.Xiao Rong also saw what Daiyu was thinking, so he didn't point it out, as long as the people from Jia's mansion didn't affect Lin Daiyu, he wouldn't stop the two parties from interacting.After all, so far, Lin Daiyu sincerely treats them as relatives in her heart, and she can't bear to break those good thoughts in her heart.

After a while, the queen came over first, waiting to go to the banquet with Xiao Rong later.Today's occasion was considered formal, so he put on a queen-grade formal dress. The bright yellow embroidered gold and phoenix gown made the usually gentle queen even more graceful and noble today. Xiao Rong was envious, and once again lamented why he was just like this I am old, no matter how I dress up, I always look the same.

The queen greeted Xiao Rong politely according to the rules, then sat down on Xiao Rong's lower head, next to Daiyu.Under Xiao Rong's care during this period, Daiyu's body is getting better and better, and her face is a little more rosy, her eyebrows are like distant mountains, her eyes are like crystal jade, she looks very beautiful, and she is dressed as a princess In formal attire, it looks a bit bright and moving.Xiao Rong is very satisfied with this, although Sister Lin is no longer the sickly beauty before, but he hopes that she can be healthy and radiant like ordinary people.

The queen looked at Sister Lin's more and more handsome face, and she liked it very much in her heart. She patted Lin Daiyu's hand and said, "Now her complexion is getting better. The queen mother really knows how to support people."

"Ai's family is old, so they need to know how to maintain their health. It's because Yu'er is sensible, and she doesn't pick her mouth on weekdays, that's why she looks like this today."

Lin Daiyu was precocious at first, but under the intentional or unintentional training of everyone in Jia's mansion, she began to play with her petty temper.During this period of time, under the upbringing of Xiao Rong and the empress, she gradually recovered her previous sensible temperament. Although she didn't understand some things that Xiao Rong and the empress asked her to do on weekdays, she knew it was for her own good. Some people don't like it, but they will do it.During this period of time, the supplements that Xiao Rong gave herself, even though she didn't like them, knew they were rare treasures in the world. After these days, her body was no longer as vain as in the past.

The three of them chatted for a while, then Madam Cui came in and said, "Everyone at the banquet has arrived."

The Empress and Daiyu went forward and supported Xiao Rong to go up to the imperial court, and the palace servants beside them led the Empress and Daiyu to sit on their respective imperial courts, and the eunuch who led the way said "Get up", and the palace people lifted up the chair. Yu Huan, go to the Royal Garden.

In the imperial garden, the seats are divided into three layers inside and out, and the periphery of each layer is surrounded by flowers.The breeze was blowing, and the fragrance wafted by. The seats on the three sides were already filled up on the two sides, and the top three seats at the front were naturally occupied by Xiao Rong and the others.At this time, the empresses and female relatives of the various palaces saw that the protagonist hadn't arrived yet, and some acquaintances had already chatted in whispers.

Jia Yuanchun was a noble concubine, and due to her status, she couldn't talk to everyone in Jia's mansion who was sitting at the bottom. At this moment, she could only look at Mrs. Jia Muwang from afar.With tears in their eyes, Jia Yuanchun looked at the younger sisters sitting beside Jia Mu, and recalled that when he was still at home, he was surrounded by his grandmother's knees like this, and he was loved all the time. After that, it was like walking on thin ice, suffering from the warmth and coldness of the world, and I couldn't help but look sad.

Mother Jia also wiped away tears.

The ladies and family members of the official family saw the undisguised sorrow of the two sides, and they wondered in their hearts, what kind of drama is this family playing on this festive occasion.Although Xue Baochai was talking to Sanchun in a low voice, her eyes were still looking at the concubines and official ladies in various palaces from time to time, looking at the distance between herself and them, and found that her appearance and bearing were no worse than these people, and her heart sank. After making up my mind, I plan to show myself in front of the nobles if I have the opportunity, and it is not in vain for me to come here for a while.

At this time, Baoyu was the one with the purest mind, and his mind was all on those official ladies and ladies.In the past, the only ones I had seen the most were my sisters and maidservants. I already thought they were rare good women in the world. I never expected to see so many fairy-like sisters when I went to the palace to meet Sister Lin today.All of them are pretty and graceful.Jia Baoyu was used to messing around with the sisters and maids at home on weekdays. When he met these fairy-like sisters unexpectedly, he naturally wouldn't sit down obediently.After looking around carefully, I suddenly found a petite and amiable girl in a long green dress. The uneasy factors in my heart were immediately awakened. When Mrs. Wang and Mother Jia were sad, Then he sneaked closer to the girl.

"This younger sister looks very kind. I wonder which family she is from?"

Chen Moxue was originally angry at her third brother for teasing her in the afternoon, thinking that when she saw her sister later, she would definitely sue her, but unexpectedly, a male voice came out of her ear, which shocked her a lot. Fortunately, she had been with her for many years Self-cultivation, or else you will really make a fool of yourself in public.After settling his mind, he looked at the culprit. It was okay not to look, but when he looked, he became even more angry.Although the Deng Tuzi in front of him is not as good as his third brother in terms of appearance and temperament, he has the same male and female appearance, with red lips and white teeth, which is annoying to look at.What's even more unbearable is the femininity, at least it's okay to be a man who dresses up like his brother, but he is still wearing gold and jade in bright red, which dazzles people's eyes.

At this moment, Chen Moxue suddenly felt that her third brother was not so bad anymore.Looking at Jia Baoyu's face again, he wanted to scold people away, but then remembered that this was a palace banquet, if he made a fool of himself, he would have to think behind closed doors when he went back, so he suppressed his anger and turned his head aside.

Ordinary people of course know that this is a sign of hating a person, but who knows that Jia Baoyu thinks that the girl is shy, so she leans forward again, "Sister, I am Jia Baoyu from Rongguo Mansion. I wonder if my sister can tell Fang's name. Poetry club, if my sister has free time in the future, she can also come to the mansion to recite poems and compose together."

No matter how pungent Chen Moxue was, she had received formal upbringing from a noble family on weekdays. Such obvious frivolous behavior was of course extremely repulsive.Years of good upbringing made her patiently say to Jia Baoyu: "Mr. Jia, this is the seat for women. It is very inconvenient for you to be here. Please leave quickly so as not to cause gossip." The field is full of women's seats, and the man who suddenly appeared was brought here by some ignorant person.

Just as Jia Baoyu was about to speak, Ma Yunyin, a young lady from the Ma family, said, "Hey, sister Chen is playing with some young master. Don't hide it." I can't understand that Chen Moxue has a few good brothers who love her, and she was finally found wrong, so naturally she won't let her go.

When the other ladies heard Ma Yunyin's voice, they naturally looked this way. Some of them guessed that Chen Moxue was really bold, and dared to tease the man openly on such an occasion.

Chen Moxue became angry, "Ma Yunyin, shut your horse's mouth tightly, it's true that a horse's mouth can't spit out ivory."

"Wrong, it should be because the dog can't spit out ivory." Jia Baoyu next to him said confusedly.Ma Yunyin was even more ashamed and angry.Retorted: "What's the matter, you are allowed to do it, and no one is allowed to say it. Only such a vicious person can do it by making fun of men in front of so many officials' ladies."

The quarrel on this side obviously caused the lady's seat on the other side, and several official wives have already looked at this side.

"What's going on here?" A majestic voice sounded, and a middle-aged woman with her hair in a bun and elegant figure came over.

Chen Moxue looked at the visitor, her mouth narrowed, she walked up to the visitor with aggrievedness, took the woman's arm, and yelled aggrievedly, "Mother..." It's a joke, the third brother fox has taught that sometimes head-to-head will only Both sides will suffer, and it is king to use strength to fight.

The person who came here was the biological mother of the current empress, Madam Hou of the Marquis of Cheng'an, a first-class madam conferred by the former emperor, with such a status, even ordinary princes and concubines would have to respect her when they saw her.

Ma Yunyin originally just wanted to play a small role, but she didn't expect to alarm this Mrs. Chen. Although she looked at Mrs. Chen with a graceful look, Ma Yunyin could feel the cool wind blowing from her side. After blowing, finally under this kind of high pressure, he said something bumpy, "I... I was just kidding with... Miss Chen."

Madam Ma who rushed over from the side also said: "Madam Chen, don't take it to heart about the jokes between the two juniors."

Before Mrs. Chen could speak, Baoyu saw the beautiful Ma Yunyin with a frightened look like a wounded kitten, and immediately felt pity for her, and said: "Ma'am, this sister is just with that little sister." My sister is just kidding, don't scare her."

Mrs. Chen had no intention of punishing Ma Yunyin, but she was used to disciplining her disobedient sons on weekdays, so she naturally became more dignified. When she heard Jia Baoyu's accusation, she became a little angry, "This Which mansion does this young master belong to, didn’t you only invite female relatives today, and how did you get in?”

Jia Baoyu replied without thinking, "I'm here to see my sister Lin."

Before Mrs. Chen could speak, Chen Moxue next to her said aggrievedly: "Mother, I was sitting here just now, and this young master insisted on coming over. I chased him away, but he pestered him. My daughter dare not be too presumptuous for the sake of the reputation of the Hou Mansion." , and Miss Ma insulted her daughter." After speaking, she pretended to choke up a few times.

After hearing this, the ladies and ladies at the side all looked sideways at Ma Yunyin.

Ma Yunyin wanted to refute in her heart, but Madam Chen was here, and what she said was the truth, so she had to grit her teeth and accept everyone's strange eyes.Mrs. Ma felt even more ashamed, because the son and daughter raised by her family couldn't keep up with others.Even though she was thinking this way, she was still her own daughter and had to be protected, so she apologized to Madam Chen on the sidelines.

As the emperor's mother-in-law, Mrs. Chen naturally had to be magnanimous on weekdays, but the Chen family's ancestral training said that she could fight whatever she wanted inside, and if she was bullied by outsiders, she had to be consistent with the outside world.In this capital, the Chen family is notoriously protective.What's more, the one who was wronged was her own little daughter, so she naturally refused to obey, "Mrs. Ma, what occasion is this? Your daughter doesn't know, don't you know? His upbringing is evident.”

Saying these words as an elder with status and reputation will have a great impact. In the future, it will be difficult for Ma Yunyin to say goodbye.Madam Ma naturally did not dare to speak back, but with Jia Baoyu, the flower protector, there was no need to worry that no one would show up. Jia Baoyu walked up to Ma Yunyin, blocked Ma Yunyin's body and said to Madam Chen: "This The lady speaks a little too seriously, this elder sister is just outspoken, how can the lady spit out blood."

Mrs. Chen, who has always said one thing, was reprimanded twice by a young man in a short period of time today. This is unforgivable no matter what. She scolded: "Presumptuous, I really think this palace belongs to your family."

Over there, Mother Jia and Mrs. Wang were making eye contact with Jia Yuanchun, when they suddenly heard an angry cry, they came over in shock, and found that Jia Baoyu was not around, so they hurriedly called Wang Xifeng to see what was going on, Wang Xifeng took the order and went, only to see a body The middle-aged woman wearing a first-class official uniform was reprimanding Jia Baoyu majestically, thinking that something was wrong, she hurried back and told Jia Mu about it.When Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang heard this, they were shocked, why did this little ancestor get into trouble again.Mother Jia was worried, so she stood up and went to Baoyu, and saw that Baoyu was being grabbed by two palace guards. It turned out that Mrs. Chen saw that Baoyu had no resignation, and then thought that it was because of this apprentice that her daughter was arrested. People bullied him, and in a fit of anger, he asked the guards to throw Baoyu out of the palace.

"Madam Chen, raise your hands high." Mother Jia is also a person who has seen the world, and she recognized Madam Chen at a glance, and hurriedly asked Madam Wang and Wang Xifeng to support her and walked quickly, "Madam, please raise your hands high, my naughty grandson." Where did the son offend Madam, Madam please don't offend him for the old man's sake."

"It turned out to be the son of the Rongguo Mansion, so it's no wonder he acted so boldly. But I was puzzled. Did you invite a man from your mansion today? How could this young master appear in this harem?!" Because today All the female family members were invited, and even the emperor avoided it. This young master from the Rongguo Mansion dared to openly appear in the emperor's inner palace, which made people puzzled.

Mrs. Chen's question answered what most wives and ladies want to ask. Everyone has long since discovered that a man has entered the Jia family. The wives have also told their girls to avoid it early in the morning, so as not to be seen. reputation.

"Ma'am, I don't know. My grandson hangs out in the inner circle on weekdays. He is used to playing with his sisters. He is also a childhood sweetheart with Princess Anping. Today is also to meet my granddaughter Princess Anping. Madam, please forgive me." I don't know if what Mother Jia said was intentional or unintentional, it made the wives next to her feel that the relationship between Jia Baoyu and Princess Lin Daiyu of Anping County is not normal, and there are many wives who want to get Lin Daiyu for their sons. Hearing these words, I started to murmur in my heart, could it be that the princess was rationed to the son of the Rongguo Mansion?

Mrs. Chen also murmured in her heart, but her daughter said that Princess Anping wanted to tell her youngest son, and even the queen mother agreed, why did such an incident happen again today, when she was about to speak, she heard a little There was a sound from afar, "The empress dowager is here, the empress is here, and the princess of Anping is here."

Everyone hurried back to their seats, ready to welcome Xiao Rongfeng to drive, Jia Baoyu couldn't figure out the situation, and was dragged to the seats by Wang Xifeng in a daze.

After a while, I heard a sound from nearby, "Welcome to the Empress Dowager, Fengjia, the Empress Dowager, Fengjia."

Everyone knew that it was the empress and the empress dowager who had arrived, and hurriedly knelt down and shouted in unison, "The queen mother is always happy, the empress is young."

Xiao Rong stepped on high shoes, wore the empress dowager's court dress, and the Nine Phoenix Spreading Wings Hat on his head. He was served by the empress and Lin Daiyu and sat on the main seat. He raised his hand, and when Mother Cui saw it, she said to everyone, "Give it to you, Empress Dowager."

Everyone thanked in unison: "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your kindness."

Although everyone sat up, they didn't dare to raise their eyes to look at Xiao Rong. Xiao Rong looked around for a while, and only recognized Mrs. Ma who had entered the palace to ask for marriage last time, as well as Mrs. Chen, his own cheap mother-in-law, and Chen Moxue, his son's sister-in-law, and others. I don't really recognize it.

"Today Ai's family invited you into the palace firstly for the joy of the canonization of Aijia's righteous daughter Anping Princess, and secondly to get together with all the wives. Your husbands and sons-in-law are the pillars of the country. Your wives can also be regarded as a model of women's morality today."

All the wives of the officials heard what Xiao Rong said, and they were all happy. After all, they didn't dare to be too presumptuous. After thanking them, they stopped talking. Xiao Rong felt that the situation was too cold, so he took the initiative to say: "Today, Quan is a family banquet. Without those rules, don’t be too rigid.”

Mrs. Chen has been watching Daiyu since she came in, only to see that Lin Daiyu has a good face and is amiable.She also has her own bearing in her demeanor, and she is indeed an extremely beautiful person. The stone in her heart has finally been lifted, and she is very satisfied with this future daughter-in-law.Hearing Xiao Rong's words, she was naturally blunt, and said with a smile: "My wife has long heard that Anping Princess has an extraordinary temperament. I met you today, and she is really good. If it wasn't for the Queen Mother, you would recognize it first. I am afraid that my wife will have to bear it." I can't help but recognize this relative."

Xiao Rong's first impression of Mrs. Chen was good.In my memory, the relationship between the two is okay, but now seeing that Madam Chen is generous in her words and deeds, she is not as timid as others, and she feels a little good in her heart, and said with a smile: "Mrs. Cheng Anhou has two good daughters. Yes. There is only such a good daughter in the Ai family, but she is also missed by the madam."

The queen next to her couldn't help but twitched her mouth. My mother obviously took a fancy to Yu'er as a daughter-in-law, but she didn't hide it.

Lin Daiyu was extremely shy by what the two said.In another place, Xue Baochai gritted her teeth in her heart, her appearance and talent are obviously comparable to Lin Daiyu, why everyone only sees Lin Daiyu, but treats herself as a transparent person.

Seeing Xiao Rong's love for Daiyu in Xiao Rong's words, Jia's mother was even more delighted, thinking that she must find a good time to talk to Lin Daiyu later, so she winked at Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Wang Naturally, he understood the meaning, so he looked over at Yuan Chun.Jia Yuanchun nodded, taking advantage of what Xiao Rong and Mrs. Chen were talking about, he got up and bowed to Xiao Rong, and said: "Empress Dowager, to celebrate sister Daiyu today, the concubine's grandmother has also come to the palace, grandmother I haven't seen my sister for many days, and I miss her very much, my concubine begged the Empress Dowager to allow sister Daiyu to go to the banquet to have a reunion with her grandmother."

Xiao Rong was very happy, when he heard this, he paused in his heart, looked at Daiyu's look of anticipation, after all, he was a close relative, how could he just let it go, so he nodded and said: "Yu'er, you can go to your home Let's have a good gathering at Zu's side."

When Lin Daiyu heard Xiao Rong's words, she was overjoyed, she stood up to accept the favor, and went to Jia Mu's table under the service of the palace servants.

Xiao Rong glanced over there, and saw an old lady with luxurious clothes and gray temples, he thought it must be Mother Jia.The pair of red phoenix eyes beside him should be Wang Xifeng. I couldn't tell who was who among the other young women, so I ignored them.

The palace people continued to serve food, and the wives and ladies began to eat under Xiao Rong's instruction, and the scene was very harmonious.Of course, there are always top-quality ones. Lin Daiyu just came over and sat down next to Jia Mu. Jia Mu hugged Lin Daiyu excitedly, wanting to call out her heart and soul, but then remembered that this occasion was really inappropriate, so she had no choice but to Holding back, he touched Lin Daiyu's face and said: "Your complexion is much better, the palace is really a place to support people."

Daiyu was slightly moved and said: "It's all the empress dowager's grace. It's much better to feed her with supplements every day. It's just that I haven't seen my grandmother for many days, and I miss her very much." If Lin Daiyu used to say this, even if she thought about it, she would definitely I can't say it, but now Daiyu, who is slowly cheerful, naturally said it very naturally.

When Jia Mu heard this, she was overjoyed again, and took Daiyu's hand, as if she couldn't get enough of her eyes. Sanchun next to her also wanted to talk to Daiyu, but seeing Daiyu dressed in the court dress of a princess, she was quite extravagant, and she felt very Daiyu saw that the sisters were not natural, and comforted her, "I haven't seen you these days, and Yu'er is also very concerned about it. I just learned etiquette a while ago, so I don't have time to see the sisters, but the empress dowager has already been kind." Sure, in a few days, you can invite your sisters into the palace to play together." Sanchun was naturally overjoyed when he heard that,

After hearing this, Jia Mu also said, "That's really good, the Queen Mother is so gracious, I will feel relieved in the future."

Jia Baoyu next to him saw that Lin Daiyu took care of everyone, but he didn't take care of himself. He felt that he had been neglected, so he naturally refused to follow her. Well," Jia Baoyu had been sitting behind Mrs. Wang, but Lin Daiyu hadn't seen it, and definitely never thought that Jia Baoyu would appear on such an occasion, which surprised Lin Daiyu, "Baoyu, why are you here?"

Jia Mu comforted, "He was worried about it, and he heard that he could see you today, so he begged me to bring him here."

Although Daiyu has had a lot of contact with Baoyu on weekdays, she also knows that it is not appropriate for Baoyu to show up as an outsider when there are so many women. Even her brother Huang was in charge of government affairs in the previous dynasty and avoided the harem, "Grandmother It's not that Yu'er talks too much, it's just that there are so many official ladies here, it's inconvenient after all,"

Baoyu felt even more uncomfortable when he heard this, "My sister is now the princess, so she looks down on me, right?" Xue Baochai next to him also said, "Sister Lin, Baoyu also came to see you, don't let him down. that's good"

Seeing that the two of them didn't understand what she meant, Daiyu blushed impatiently, and was worried about attracting Xiao Rong's attention, so she didn't dare to speak again. Xiao Rong has been paying attention to Lin Daiyu, so he naturally saw the movement here. When I saw Jia Baoyu, the first thought in my heart was that this little boy with red lips and white teeth must be Jia Baoyu. Is the Jia family really so brain-dead? It is clear that the family brought Jia Baoyu as a man. They wanted to worry about Lin Daiyu's difficulty, so they didn't want to expose this matter. Unexpectedly, Jia Baoyu came out first, "Sister, you Did you really forget the past friendship? That day, I wrote poems and played with my sisters, and I never said that I was hungry." Jia Baoyu was excited, and the voice was still a bit loud, and some bolder wives had already started to whisper Now, how could Xiao Rong allow Jia Baoyu to speak like this to ruin Lin Daiyu's reputation, and put the tea bowl on the table heavily, "Where did the foreigner come from, talking nonsense here,"

Yuan Chun and everyone in Jia's mansion trembled when they heard this. The old lady stood up and knelt in the center and said, "I want to report to the Empress Dowager, this is the son of my second son, Jia Zheng, named Baoyu. Brother and sister are deeply in love, and today we will enter the palace together to celebrate the princess, and ask the empress dowager to forgive me."

Xiao Rong said angrily, "Bold, Qi Neng is not summoned into the forbidden area of ​​the palace, and it's still in the inner palace. What is the basis of the Jia family's daring to do this!?"

When Yuan Chun heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knelt down and said, "Queen Dowager, my concubine's brother is young and ignorant, he is just pure-hearted. Please forgive me, Queen Mother, and I will never do this again in the future."

Xiao Rong naturally disagreed, "Hmph, trespassing on the inner palace and speaking disrespectfully to the princess, what should I do? It seems that the Ai family really wants the emperor to ask you, the Jia family, how to discipline the family members."

After hearing this, Mother Jia hated herself for being soft-hearted for a moment, so she brought Baoyu here, but after all, it is her precious grandson, so how could she be willing to be wronged? Forgive others." The others didn't dare to speak when they saw this. Daiyu looked at her grandmother like that, thinking about the good old days, and couldn't bear to punish anyone in the Jia family. She never thought of relying on The queen mother is kind to herself, so she makes random requests, but this time she must be disappointed by the mother, "My mother, my grandmother is old, and I ask my mother to forgive her sins, and my cousin also cares about the relationship between brothers and sisters, so he will come to see Yu'er Yes, if the queen mother wants to punish, please punish Yu'er."

Xiao Rong looked at Daiyu's weak body kneeling on the ground, and couldn't help feeling distressed, and felt that Daiyu was not up to date, the queen persuaded in a low voice, "Mother, the Jia family is now Yu'er's relatives, and it is reasonable for Yu'er to behave like this." I was hit, and the queen mother calmed down."

Xiao Rong thought for a while, that's all, the future will be long, and with so many people watching today, he can't embarrass Yu'er, so he said to Nanny Cui, "Satisfactory, go help Yu'er up", and Nanny Cui hurriedly walked over to take Daiyu Helped him up, Daiyu was unwilling at first, but Xiao Rong said, "That's all, it seems that the young master of the Jia family is still young and ignorant, so that's all for today, I hope I will take it as a warning in the future."

Jia's mother and everyone in the house hurriedly said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, I will definitely remember the teaching in the future."

Xiao Rong originally wanted to have fun with the crowd, but after being disturbed like this, he lost his mood, leaving the queen to preside over the banquet, and then asked Nanny Cui to serve and return to Changle Palace to rest. After Xiao Rong left, everyone recovered It's normal, but what's going on in my heart, I don't know.