[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

Xing Xiuyan walked out of Miaoyu's meditation room, while Mo Mei was guarding outside and came forward.

"...Miss."

Mo Mei didn't dare to admit it, Xing Xiuyan had said that she was going to enter the palace after drafting, but Mo Mei had lived in the Muni Court for a long time, so the news was not so good, and she didn't know her status before.

Xing Xiuyan said: "Mo Mei, it's good to take care of your girls. Don't blame your girls, because she never has a choice. You are almost 20 years old, I think she will plan for you."

Mo Mei wiped away her tears and said: "Your Majesty is so kind and virtuous, Mo Mei's body is broken to pieces..."

Xing Xiuyan smiled lightly: "Fool, what's the use of your broken body? Do you want to grow a Moyu plum blossom?"

Mo Mei couldn't help laughing through her tears, and said, "Your Majesty is becoming more and more funny, and she will bully a girl like me."

Xing Xiuyan gave instructions for a while, and then, surrounded by eunuchs and maids, they walked out of the Buddhist temple. They heard that the spring water in the back mountain of Muniyuan is excellent for making tea, so they asked the court ladies to fetch some water bags and planned to take them back to the palace.

Xing Xiuyan had eaten the fast meal, and met Sun and Daiyu who came to offer incense, and then went back to the palace.Mrs. Sun came here today because Xing Xiuyan also wanted to see her. Xing Xiuyan gave her the golden phoenix hairpin with pearls on his head.But at this time, she naturally didn't lower herself to recognize her as a foster mother, especially not as good.

After Xing Xiuyan got up and drove back to the palace, Sun and Daiyu went back in the carriage. Sun recalled the relationship between this wonderful jade and Xing Xiuyan, and couldn't help sighing: "Your Majesty is really a nostalgic person, with good intentions, and most of the world is ungrateful." There are really not many people who are cold, ruthless, like your empress."

Daiyu said: "Eldest sister is naturally different. I just hope that Miss Su will not disappoint elder sister. Eldest sister came here once before entering the palace, but she didn't want to. This time everything is prepared and she won't say anything rude. If it doesn’t work this time, I’m afraid Eldest Sister will never persuade her to return to vulgarity.”

Mrs. Sun shook her head lightly, and said with a smile: "Miss, don't worry, Miss Su will definitely go to the Xing family."

Daiyu wondered: "Why is Madam so determined? Miss Su's temper..."

Mrs. Sun said: "It is precisely because I was born that I couldn't help but want to practice in the temple. I don't have the same temper as that woman in the world. I really don't have a heart in the world. How can I know those piano, chess, calligraphy and paintings, and I don't want to give up the three thousand troubles. Si? Miss Su is a hard-working person, but she is also a smart person. A woman's youth is too short, and no one knows better than me."

Mrs. Sun used to be lonely and wandering all her life, hating the frivolous lovers in this world, but knowing that Lin Ruhai hired her to fill the house, she was very happy in her heart.

The next day, Grandma Zhao and Grandma Yun of the Xing family came to pick her up in person with a few maids and women. Mrs. Xing and Li were still pregnant, so it was not appropriate to go out for a walk.

Miaoyu was still in the meditation room, and Madam Jiang and Feng took Mama Zhao and Madam Yun into the Buddhist monastery.Seeing that the door of Miaoyu's room was still closed, she couldn't help being anxious, wondering if Momei and Xuemei haven't persuaded Miss yet?

She was about to go to knock on the door, but when she heard the door creak, Xuemei walked out with a smile on her face, giving her a little blessing.

Suddenly, Mo Mei helped a beautiful woman out again, that beautiful woman had a graceful figure and an extraordinary face.Her eyebrows are like distant mountains, her eyes are like autumn waters, her nose is beautiful and her lips are red, her hair is combed in a lingyun bun, and she wears a gold phoenix hairpin with pearls and silk on it. The hairpin is inlaid with several clear rubies, and a pair of pearls on her ears line her skin. More radiant.

On the neck is an exquisite golden plum blossom necklace with many treasures, which is exactly the same series as the Taoyuan sisters designed by Xing Xiuyan.On Hao's wrists, he wears a pair of red gold beaded shrimp beard bracelets and a pair of Dongling white jade bracelets.

She was wearing a snow-blue cloak and a snow-satin jacket with embroidered red sleeves on the front cuffs; she wore a red silk pomegranate skirt with white plums embroidered on the hem; she wore a snow-colored belt embroidered with golden plum blossoms around her waist; The waist wears the sachet and jade pendant.

This body combines pureness and luxury into one body, making people unbelievable that it is the color of the world at first sight.

Who is it not Miaoyu?The secular daughter's clothes she was wearing were prepared for her by Xing Xiuyan herself. Although they were not rare clothes such as "Yuehua Qingyanluo" or "Ice Silkworm Dark Pattern Brocade" produced in the Shu area, they were not unusual either. thing.

Xing Xiuyan designed it herself, and asked Zixue Qingjinlan and several other court ladies and several young maids to rush to work together for three days and three nights, embroidering thread by thread, stitch by stitch.

Xing Xiuyan knows that only red and white is the most classic visual stimulation, Miaozi's personality is like ice and snow, her eyesight is clean, white should match her, but today is a great joy to return to vulgarity, of course there must be red, red and white are just right for her.

Miaoyu bowed generously to Mother Zhao and Mother Yun, and said, "Mother Lao has been waiting for a long time."

Sisters Jiang and Feng couldn't help wiping the tears from their eyes. They finally don't have to worry about the young lady becoming a nun for the rest of their lives.

Zhao Mama was originally a palace official, after leaving the palace, she taught the young orphans who were selected as Jinyi Guards, and later arranged for Zhao Gui to send them to Xing Xiuyan.She once served the concubine Chen, and now she is the most honorable nanny in the Xing family, and now all the maids in the family are trained/taught by her.

Zhao Momo came forward with a smile, bowed neither humble nor overbearing, and said: "My wife is pregnant and it is not suitable to take the car, so I sent a servant to pick up the girl, girl, don't be surprised."

Miaoyu slightly blessed her body, and said, "How dare you call it a blame for bothering you to run around?"

Zhao Momo smiled and stepped forward to help her, and said: "The wife and two young ladies are waiting, let's go without delay."

Nanny Jiang and Madam Feng made up their minds to take Miaoyu away no matter what, and last night ordered the rough envoy to pack up those valuable things together.

Now Miaoyu thought about it and was willing to go to Xing's house, and she also pointed out that the mother-in-law and servant girl who caused Xing's house to move things.

Miaoyu was originally a local tyrant, but in recent years there have been a lot of servants and maids, and those who are close and loyal are the two sisters Jiang and Feng.In fact, in order to prevent the loss of valuables, they are kept in the care of the Yan family. In fact, the Su family was originally rich, and sending her to become a monk was also a seller's property. She gave her everything that could be given to her, which was nearly 150 million taels back then.Over the past ten years, she has never saved money. Miaoyu also has more than 120 million taels of silver notes and some priceless ancient books and antiques.

It's just that the two mothers Jiang and Feng knew about it, and even Momei and Xuemei were not in love.The two nuns are very low-key, knowing that if they are known by outsiders, they will not be able to keep the money.Now the bank notes are carried close to the body by the two nuns, and outsiders don't know about it.

The convoy meandered out of the western suburbs, headed for the urban area of ​​Kyoto, and drove through the west gate to enter the inner city. People were bustling with people and vendors were hawking.

After all, Miaoyu is proficient in Buddhism, and she has some self-cultivation, so she doesn't lift the curtain to see, but Momei and Xuemei are actually very curious.

After another two cups of tea time, the carriage in the middle turned a few turns and finally stopped.

After getting out of the car, I saw an official mansion with two stone lions in front of the gate, a red lacquered gate, and a plaque on the gate with the words "Xingfu" written in gold.

I saw the middle door was wide open, and the housekeeper was already there to welcome her. Mother Jiang supported Miaoyu and followed Mother Zhao to the middle door. The housekeeper happily led a few servants and respectfully said, "Greetings, Miss!"

Miaoyu blushed and said nothing, she was helped by Nanny Jiang to enter the door, behind Nanny Feng was a delicate person, but she gave a gift of one tael to each of the welcoming servants, but the butler gave a tael of silver , Straight to the first meeting, I will take care of you in the future.

After passing a few ceremonial gates, I saw two extremely outstanding young girls supporting a noble lady.Miaoyu knew Xing Li's family, and she didn't think much of her before, but now it's different when she enters the Xing residence.

Immediately she was blessed, Xing and Li rushed over to support her, and said: "Sister Miaoyu, no, Miaoyu... from now on, it is my family, so there is no need to be so polite."

Miaoyu said: "Thank you, madam, for your love. In fact, before I entered Panxiang Temple, I was nicknamed Fu'er in the secular family."

Xing Li said happily: "Good Fuer, the past is over, and this will be your home from now on."

Then, Xing Li introduced Daiyu and Shi Hui to her, saying: "This is the second girl, Daiyu, and this is the third girl, Huier. They are both my sweethearts. In the future, you will come and go often, but you will have companions." gone."

"Hello, Sister Fu'er!" Daiyu and Shi Hui were amazed again. They knew that this was the elder sister's former master in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and guessed her talent in their hearts, and they were a little excited.

"Hello, two sisters!" Miao Yu, or Su Fu'er greeted gracefully.

Shi Hui was lively, oops, and said: "We are both the daughters of our adoptive mother. I used to be the third miss at home, but now that Sister Fu'er is here, I'm not the fourth miss? I'm getting younger and younger."

Daiyu couldn't help laughing, and suddenly said: "There is one in the belly of the left and right stepmothers, so he will be the fifth younger brother."

Shi Hui said: "Will the young master of the Xing family follow our girl's family in the future?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "You have to ask your mother about it."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, making the atmosphere more relaxed, and the maidservant walked into the house with the masters in her arms.

Mrs. Xing Li was instructed by Xing Xiuyan. Xing Xiuyan said that she could have today's glory thanks to Miaoyu's ten-year teaching.

After everyone sat down, Mrs. Xing and Li asked the maids, mothers, and mothers-in-law to visit the eldest lady first.Afterwards, I met with the steward, the steward, and the servants.The two nuns Jiang and Qin and the girls Momei and Xuemei prepared rewards, and the servants were very happy.

Madam Jiang presented Xingli with another important gift, but Xingli refused, so she accepted it.

Then let Nanny Li fetch a brocade box and open it. There are three golden hairpins in the shape of orchids, with precious jade inlaid in the heart of the orchid flowers.The pattern is unique, each hairpin is different in shape, but it can be seen that it is the same series of hairpins.

Mrs. Xing Li said: "This is a gift from the empress's palace. There are three golden orchid hairpins, one for each of Fu'er, Daiyu and Hui'er."

As he spoke, he took out the hairpins and called several daughters one by one to put them on their heads.Su Fu said, "Thank you Madam."

Xing Li said: "You still call me madam?"

Shi Hui smiled and said: "Hui'er is very grateful to the step-mother! The step-mother has always been blessed with daughters, and now she has another daughter. I am the most useless person. Don't look down on the step-mother."

Mrs. Xing Li laughed, and said: "How can I not look down on you, without you, a monkey, making troubles by my side, I would be less interesting on weekdays."

Shi Hui said: "Compared with the three elder sisters, I can't compare to others."

Daiyu said: "I'm not like you who surrendered without a fight. I heard that Sister Fu'er has learned from others. I still need to ask for advice."

Su Fu said: "It's just spreading rumors, I'm also fluent in writing and ink."

Xing Lishi said: "When it comes to writing and ink, I can only know a few words."

Mother Zhao laughed and said, "My wife said that I don't care if it's true or not, but the daughters are all real talented women. How can others compare? The daughters are all married. In the future, the daughters Bringing a group of boys to pay respects to my wife's birthday, and I'm afraid there are golden branches and jade leaves among them, others don't have such a great blessing."

Li Shi Xing was also very happy when she heard that, now that she is pregnant by herself, what she wants most is to have a son by herself, and Xing Xiuyan will also be pregnant soon.Now I have another daughter who is as beautiful as a flower and like a jade, and the future blessings are still great.

The Xingli family also has the advantage of being well connected now, which is a long-term plan for the prosperity of the family.In the harem, the empress not only needs to be favored by saints, but it is also good to have more help outside the palace in the future.But the Xing family is weak, she originally had only one daughter, Xing Xiuyan, she was alone and had no help, Mrs. Xing still relied on them, let alone Xing Dequan and her second and third sisters who were far away in the south of the Yangtze River.

Now there are sisters Lin and Shi as imperial concubines, and when they get married in the future, there will be two more families. If this adopted daughter gets married well now, won't she have another good relative?

No matter how simple Xing Li is, she is now the mother of a noble concubine, so of course she wants a royal grandson, and the Xing family can't help the emperor's grandson like this now.She has this bit of self-knowledge, Xing Zhong really only has a little talent for common affairs, and he doesn't have much courage and knowledge. If he can do it well, he may only be the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Only the sons-in-law will support the future royal grandchildren in the future.Xing Xiuyan has the heart to manage his own power, and Tu Yuanyi has also helped, but Xing Xiuyan is for her career as a noble concubine, and Tu Yuanyi is for her and their future children.Foreign relatives are dangerous, but as before in the late Ming Dynasty, relying entirely on the "gentlemen of Donglin", being an emperor would also be played to death.

Mrs. Xing Li took Su Fu'er's hand and said: "I have made it easy for people to tidy up and arrange the north courtyard. From now on, you will be in charge of the affairs of the north courtyard. You can do whatever you want. If you need anything, just tell me. The family is now There are not many people, except me and your adoptive father, Mr. Chen and his wife live in the east courtyard. Occasionally, Daier and Huier come to stay with me. There are not too strict rules in the family. Enjoying the flowers and eating wine, everything is possible, just send someone to tell Butler Li to prepare the car. Just go out and bring the guards and driver, and Butler Li will arrange it."

Mrs. Xing Li was arranged by Tu Yuanyi when she was in Gusu, and there was a nanny beside her to teach everyone the rules. Now that her daughter has become a concubine, her demeanor is different.Facing the fairy girl in her eyes before, she also speaks in a calm and smooth manner, without any sense of inferiority.

"Thank you, Fu'er, stepmother!" Su Fu'er bowed profusely.

After talking for a while, Mrs. Xing and Li felt a little tired, which is the case for pregnant people.In this way, Su Fu'er took the maid, together with Daiyu and Shi Hui, and left the main hall first.

Daiyu and Shi Hui accompanied her to the north courtyard, but seeing that the plaque on the gate of the courtyard was still blank, Daiyu said: "You can write in your own courtyard."

Su Fu'er couldn't help smiling slightly, and said, "The stepmother really has a heart."

Shi Hui smiled and said: "At the beginning, the adoptive mother asked the eldest sister to name the words and names that should be mentioned in the mansion, but the eldest sister was too lazy at the time. On the contrary, there were no people living in several yards in the mansion. She said that there were people After that, it’s up to you to decide. My adoptive father and adoptive mother are not good at this, but Mr. Chen gave the title of “Fangheyuan” to the east courtyard.”

Su Fuer said: "But it is from the 'Fanghe Pavilion' by Zhang Tianji, a scholar of the former Song Dynasty?"

Lin Daiyu laughed and said, "I'm afraid it came from Lin Hejing's 'Fanghe Pavilion' in Hangzhou. Mr. Chen happened to be from Hangzhou, and Mrs. Chen loves to grow plum blossoms."

Su Fu'er and Daiyu looked at each other and smiled, admiring each other, they knew all the stories of elegance and elegance by heart.

There are several large rooms in the north courtyard, and the side rooms can be used as warehouses and servants' rooms, and they are all cleaned up.

After entering the normal room, the big embroidered screen blocked the view again, and then entered the bedroom, but saw that the Xing family had bought a new jujube wood bed from somewhere.This made Mammy Jiang a little excited.When she was young, she saw Babu bed at Su's house, and not every woman could afford it.

Daiyu has a Babu bed, but Xing Xiuyan doesn't like to use it. Although the Qiangong Babu bed is a treasure of craftsmanship, Xing Xiuyan doesn't like the cage-like restraint on women.

Daiyu said again: "I'm afraid my sister is tired, and I need time to settle down. Hui'er and I are in the mansion for the past few days, so we live in the west courtyard. My sister will send someone to look for us if there is anything to do."

Su Fu'er was grateful, she knew that they were afraid that she would be uncomfortable, so the two young girls came to stay for a while.

After sending them out of the hospital, Mother Jiang burst into tears, and Mother Li in the mansion invited a few maidservants and four women to visit, and said: "Of course the people around the eldest girl are reserved, but in the mansion I'm afraid it's still not good enough. My wife sent me to send these maids to be sent by the eldest girl, and the eldest girl will keep their identities."

There are four second-class and eight third-class maidservants in total, and the four women are responsible for cleaning and guarding the door.

Arrange everything without counting.

After two days, Xing Zhong rested, and Su Fu'er formally served tea, completing the etiquette.The Xing family invited several close family members of the official family to enjoy the flowers and eat wine, and formally introduced Su Fuer's identity as the adopted daughter.Seeing such an outstanding and beautiful adoptive daughter, many wives of official families are also moved.The imperial concubine is favored, and the Xing family is just rising, if anyone can get this adopted daughter, it will not actually become the saint's brother-in-law?

Afterwards, people asked one after another, and Mrs. Xing and Li were also choosing carefully, and let Mammy Jiang come to advise, but there were many things that were not to their liking, Mammy Jiang knew that she should not be too hasty at this point.