An old lady's life

I thought the heavy snow would keep falling, but I didn't want to stop on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. Every household in Beijing was ready for the New Year.Because the 18th year of Changping was considered a year of good harvest, and there were no major disasters in the world, the faces of the people were all peaceful and bright smiles, and this year was also a happy one.

That is to say, on this day, the emperor seals the pen, and it will not be opened until after the Lantern Festival in the next year.Of course, it doesn't mean that officials are completely free from work. There are still people on duty in each yamen, especially in places of punishment and prison like Dali Temple.

The Lin family is also getting ready for the New Year, and everyone in the house has been dressed up. Although it doesn't need to be bright red or purple, a slightly lighter color is still feasible.

In the past few days, the whole family ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together. In the evening, Jia Min and Ai Cao cooked a dish separately.

Standing at the kitchen door, Lin Hai looked at the two most important women in his life now, and seeing the smile on his mother's face, Lin Hai thought of what happened after his father passed away.

The pillar of the family collapsed, and the mother insisted on organizing the funeral for the father. After he recovered from the illness, the mother fell ill, but after recovering from the illness, the mother's body was not as good as before. The burden of the Lin family couldn't fall, so he gritted his teeth and stood up slowly.

However, because the mother couldn't get out of the shadow of his father's death, her health went from good to bad. The imperial doctor earnestly advised that the patient should not indulge in sadness, because her health is not good.After he got married, his mother's health became worse and worse. At that time, he was always afraid that his mother would let go of her burden because he got married and started a business and left him.

Lin Hai blinked, blinking away the moisture in his eyes.It's a rare holiday, he is now a low-level official, the emperor and his superiors can't think of him, he can spend a good year with his mother and wife.

On the first day of the new year, it is said that this is the day when every family worships their ancestors. Other families are crowded with a group of people standing in the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors. Only Lin Hai of the Lin family enters the ancestral hall to offer incense to the ancestors.

Ai Cao and Jia Min were waiting in the front hall. Ai Cao didn't feel guilty. She glanced at Jia Min and saw her serious expression. Ai Cao could think that Jia Min was putting pressure on herself again. After all, Lin Hai is the only one who worships the ancestors of the Lin family, and Jia Min is under great pressure to have a child.

There were crackling firecrackers everywhere in the capital, and the two waited for Lin Hai to come out because they wanted to go out for a stroll.The weather is rare and there is nothing to do today, I am afraid that most people will walk around in central Beijing.

After Lin Hai collected his thoughts, he came out of the ancestral hall. When he came to the front hall, he couldn't see how solemn and heavy he was facing the tablets of the ancestors in the ancestral hall just now.

"Mother, you can go." The weather is rare for the new year, and there are not many people in the Lin family, and even the New Year's greetings start from the second day of junior high school, and the first day of junior high school is reserved for family members to get along with each other. Take a stroll around and see the excitement.

On a day like today, it's hard for Ai Cao to talk about running on Lin Hai, so she nodded, "Is it over?" She thought it would take at least half an hour.

Lin Hai nodded, looking at the excited expressions of his mother and all the maids, he was also full of helplessness, it seemed that his mother was becoming more and more childish.

The shops on the street did not close because of the Chinese New Year. On the contrary, many shops saw that there were so many people coming out today, they even opened their doors to do business.

The streets where Ai Cao and his party walked were not crowded, because they had no destination, they stopped as they walked, and they came to a bank of a moat, under a banyan tree, and many people gathered together.

Ai Cao likes to watch the excitement, and there are quite a few servants who came out with them today, and Lin Hai's two servants have already rushed to find out the situation.

After a while, the boy came back and reported: "Master, madam, old lady, there are many old people playing chess inside."

Ai Cao understands the rules of Go, but is not good at it, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying watching games.Hearing the boy's words, he immediately stretched his neck, glanced at Lin Hai, "Let's go in and have a look."

Speaking of wormwood, she stepped forward first, and the servant girl naturally followed her. Lin Hai nodded helplessly, and Jia Min followed closely behind.

Before I approached, I heard a lot of noise. People playing chess annoyed those watching chess. After all, watching chess is a real gentleman without talking. However, everyone is quite embarrassed today. They have long forgotten this rule. A game of chess is actually There are many people.

Ai Cao was eager to see it. Naturally, she didn't have the confidence to win others in Go, but she now has a helper, so after the game was over, Ai Cao successfully pushed Lin Hai into position.

It’s not that there are no female relatives under the banyan tree. Many young people took their mothers and wives out for a walk. When they got here, they didn’t want to leave. The young people just watched chess, and the mother and wife sat aside and chatted with others. Artemisia seldom participated. An old lady who came to watch chess and play chess.

Lin Hai is also quite a novel experience. The people here can be seen from their clothes as ordinary people, and their family is considered to be a wealthy class. But when it comes to playing chess, these old men are exactly the same, and it is not easy for Lin Hai to play chess. , Every move needs to be carefully thought out, especially when there is a gesticulating mother next to her.

Originally, other people had a sense of distance from this family, but with Ai Cao's coaxing together, the previous situation of "pointing out the country" reappeared.

Under such circumstances, it would not be easy for Lin Hai to win the game, so in the end Lin Hai lost the game successfully.

With such a delay, Ai Cao and his party stayed under the banyan tree until noon, and the people nearby were urging their children to go home for lunch, and Ai Cao and the others also returned to Lin's house.

On the way back, Ai Cao shook her head and sighed, "Son, you still need to practice."

Jia Min couldn't help laughing with lowered eyes, Lin Hai raised his eyebrows: "If mother has anything to say, just say it."

"Look at you, you usually boast that you are good at chess, but unfortunately you still can't calm down under the interference of outsiders. If you are determined, no matter how much your mother interferes with you, you can win chess." Ai Cao said seriously , in fact, she is talking nonsense.

Lin Hai was able to keep up with his mother's thinking, and said calmly: "What the mother said is that the son's concentration is not enough." Although the mother is talking nonsense, this statement is still advisable.

Ai Cao glanced at Lin Hai in surprise, unable to tell whether the boy's expression was serious, Ai Cao said arrogantly: "Well, you can teach me!"

Lin Hai didn't know whether to laugh or cry, Jia Min pursed her lips and smiled, and all the servants behind her lowered their heads, the old lady always had a reason.

After having lunch at home at noon, Ai Cao and his party came out in the afternoon. This time, they planned to visit the plum garden in central Beijing. The family hadn't enjoyed the scenery together yet.

Today, the Plum Garden is open to the public for free, and there are quite a few people who went to Guanlan, and met several colleagues of Lin Hai, who also came out for a walk with their parents, wives and children.

There are many gardens like Plum Garden in central Beijing, and they are all open for free today, so the flow of people is diverted to other places. There are not many people in Plum Garden, and most of them are ordinary people who don't want to spend money to come in on weekdays.

Ai Cao liked the fragrance of plum blossoms very much, and wanted to leave some space for the two of them, so Ai Cao took most of them away, leaving Lin Hai's two servants to follow Lin Hai and Jia Min from a distance.

"Lamei!" After walking for a long time, I saw the Lamei in the garden. The aroma was more intense and smelled very fragrant.

You can't fold flowers, but you can pull down the branches and get closer to smell the fragrance of flowers. Qingzhi and Qingqian danced and hooked a branch, "Old lady, smell it, it's very fragrant."

The wormwood approached and sniffed, "Well, it is indeed very fragrant. We collected a lot of plum blossom petals at home, and we can use them to make plum blossom cakes in spring. I wonder if the plum blossoms in this plum garden are different from ours?"

Qing Yao pursed her lips and smiled: "How can it be different? They should all be the same."

Ai Cao doesn't care about the love between his son and daughter-in-law, and the master and servants chat and laugh.

At this time, a group of people also walked into the place where wintersweet blooms. Emperor Changping took the prince, the seventh prince, a middle-aged man, and a young man in brocade clothes to visit the plum garden with seven or eight guards.

The morning is naturally also the royal family's ancestor worship ceremony, and the afternoon will be arranged by yourself.Emperor Changping brought the crown prince and the seventh prince with him because they had no mother. As for the prince’s family members in the East Palace, they were ignored by Emperor Changping. The middle-aged man was Prince Qi, the elder brother of Emperor Changping. , Not as weak as the crown and not yet married.Of course, King Qi was also a man without a wife, and it happened that Emperor Changping wanted to find someone to accompany him for a walk in Beijing, and this elder brother was the best candidate.

There are not many people in this plum garden, which is why Emperor Changping chose this place.But seeing the old lady of the Lin family again, Emperor Changping didn't know what to say, Wang Wei felt that this old lady really had her everywhere!

Lou Gao, Yu Yang, and Shang Yong are thinking, is it too late to hide now?

Apparently it was too late, Ai Cao teased the shy and lovely maid, and saw a group of people coming in in a blink of an eye, of course, if they didn't know each other, they would tacitly get out of the way, and people they knew would just say hello, but The emperor can't be dismissed so easily, can he?

Qingyao and the others immediately turned around silently and retreated behind the old lady. The guards and the others still remembered their origins, and the Seventh Young Master was also there. .

Naturally, it is inconvenient to perform big salutes outside, so Ai Cao made a blessed body salute to Emperor Changping.

Emperor Changping smiled lightly and said: "You don't need to be polite, old lady. We are really destined to meet each other in Meiyuan!" Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Qizi and Lou Gao's three guards.

Ai Cao got up, and said calmly: "It's really fate to meet you here." It's just that she only wants to have fate with a few handsome guys. , she naturally knew it, after all, the prince had attended Jia Daishan's funeral.

The Seventh Prince was also silent. There are old ladies everywhere, but there are still others here today. I hope the old lady can maintain her majesty at this moment.

Emperor Changping nodded to indicate to the octagonal pavilion in front of him, "If the old lady has time, you might as well sit down and have a chat."

Ai Cao was surprised, she had nothing to talk about, her eyes fell on the Seventh Prince and Lou Huwei and the others, and she nodded: "Yes, I was born to be naughty."

King Qi was very surprised, wondering when his younger brother had something to say to an old lady.

The guards went to the Bajiao Pavilion to prepare, and waited for a group of people to enter. Qing Yao and the others really wanted to leave the pavilion, but it seemed impossible to leave the old lady alone.

After sitting down, Emperor Changping smiled again, "Let me introduce to the old lady, this is my elder brother, King Qi, and this is my nephew, Prince Qi's son Fengyu, from a family of children, the old lady can just call him Xiaoyu. This is my crown prince, Fengmao, and my seventh son, Fengjue."

"Prince Qi, please forgive me for not being able to recognize you." With the imperial power in ancient times, Ai Cao really had some headaches, and it was just a visit to the Plum Garden during the New Year, so why did you meet the emperor?

King Qi smiled, "Madam is polite, no one stipulates that others must know me." So which family does this old lady belong to?

Ai Cao looked at the crown prince, the seventh prince, and Prince Qi's son again, what should she call these juniors?Wormwood was a little uncertain.

Emperor Changping couldn't help but smile in his heart, and finally saw Mrs. Lin smiling at the three juniors, and then turned to him, "To be honest, my son is doubting my luck. The last time I met you was also a coincidence. Today It’s just that I ran into you when I went out to visit the garden, do you think these people in Beijing should be jealous of me?”

King Qi didn't know the reason, and kept smiling calmly. The crown prince and Prince Qi's sons were silent, but the seventh prince was the old god.

Emperor Changping nodded: "Yes, I just wanted to come out and relax. But it's really lucky to meet the old lady by chance. Others can't envy you." No one stipulated that the emperor must stay in the air, he only brought a Two sons, the other sons were left to their mother and concubine.

The three of Lou Gao couldn't tell what they felt, the old lady ignored them, and they were a little disappointed, but the old lady didn't show her enthusiasm in front of the emperor, so it wouldn't add unnecessary trouble to them.

The atmosphere was not very lively at first, but after Emperor Changping mentioned the Tenth Prince, Ai Cao opened the conversation, "The little fat man is very cute, oh, the emperor, don't mind if I call your son a little fat man, the tenth prince is not very fat , there is no need to lose weight. When the tenth prince grows up to the age of His Highness the Seventh Prince, he will think about losing weight when he knows that he is beautiful. Yes. Of course every fat man is a potential stock!"

King Qi clicked his tongue immediately, the crown prince and the eldest son were also a little surprised, but the seventh prince and Lou Weiwei were not surprised. The old lady never seemed to be afraid of the emperor's majesty.

Emperor Changping couldn't help smiling: "Xiao Shi is very happy that the old lady likes him. It is rare that someone agrees with him. He is so happy. But what does the old lady mean by the last words?"

"Which sentence? Every fat man is a potential stock? Of course not all of them are, but the tenth prince is also the son of the emperor, the emperor is not bad looking, and the tenth prince will definitely not be ugly. When the tenth prince grows up, If you lose weight, you will be a handsome young man like His Royal Highness Seventh."

The Seventh Prince's face froze, Lou Gao and the others thought silently, there are so many handsome guys in the old lady's mouth.

Someone praised his son, or praised two sons in succession, Emperor Changping was naturally very happy, "Then let the old lady give me a good word."

Lin Hai and Jia Min followed their mother, but it was not very far away. They always knew where their mother was. They walked to the place where wintersweet blooms. Lin Hai sent a boy to look for someone, but the boy came back to report , the old lady was talking to people in the front pavilion, and there were quite a few people.

The two were a little curious, did the mother meet another acquaintance?Until the couple approached, Jia Min had never met Emperor Changping and Lou Gao, but Lin Hai knew him, and he knew everyone present.

For a moment, Lin Hai was a little dumbfounded, not knowing whether he should approach or not.

Ai Cao had already seen her son and daughter-in-law, and waved and shouted, "Son, come here!" Isn't the son going to be an official?The ready-made top boss is here, when is it possible to wait until now?

Ai Cao looked at Emperor Changping and King Qi, and said proudly: "Both of them came out with their sons, how could I come out alone? My son and daughter-in-law are with me!"

King Qi suddenly laughed, and seeing Lin Hai walking in, he knew who the old lady belonged to who had chatted with them for a while.

"I have seen the emperor, I have seen Prince Qi, His Highness the Crown Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Shizi." Lin Hai entered the pavilion and saluted according to the etiquette, and Jia Min squatted behind him.

Lin Hai felt that now was the time to test his strong heart trained by his mother, but in fact his heart was already beating non-stop.

Emperor Changping raised his hand: "Get up."

After thanking her, Lin Hai retreated beside her mother, and Jia Min stood behind her.

Jia Min's expression was stable, but in fact his expression was a bit erratic. They were only visiting the garden during the New Year, and they met the emperor!

Ai Cao patted his son's back with a palm, "Don't mind your Majesty, Prince Qi, young people are timid and can't let go."

King Qi hehe, Emperor Changping had a smile in his eyes, "The old lady is too modest, Lin Aiqing is very good, at such a young age with such talent, she is worthy of being the son of Marquis Lin."

This was the first time that Emperor Changping mentioned Lin Hai's father, but it was a pity that Ai Cao didn't answer that, and she said cheerfully, "I, as a mother, am naturally very happy if you praise him." Anyway, the son is my own good!

The Seventh Prince and Lou Gao Yuyang were still speechless, and the four of them could see Lin Hai's embarrassment, but at this moment, the four of them suddenly envied Lin Hai for having such a good mother.

Taking another look at Jia Min who was standing obediently behind the husband and mother-in-law, Lin Hai actually had such a beautiful daughter-in-law.

The prince also remembered the origin of the Lin family, thinking that Lin Hai's current official position is so low that it is really worthless to win him over, but his Yue family still has something to offer, but isn't the Qi frame who has been approaching him the eldest son-in-law of the Rong family?He has helped him a lot. Although the connections in the army he has recruited belong to the low-level soldiers, but with these soldiers as a breakthrough, the [-]th Battalion of the Green Camp will sooner or later be his soldiers.

Emperor Changping didn't stay in the garden for a long time, about two quarters of an hour later, the group of them got up and left.

Ai Cao looked at Lou Gaoyu Yang Shangyong who was walking at the end, "It's a pity that I didn't talk to the handsome Lou guys today." As for the other guards, she didn't know them. Of course, if Lou Gao wanted to introduce them, she would still be happy to meet again A few handsome guys.

Lin Hai sighed with emotion: "Mother, you are so lucky, you will meet the emperor wherever you go."

Ai Cao raised her eyebrows: "Talking nonsense, I didn't run into them everywhere I went. I have also been to Huayan Temple and Qingfo Temple, but I didn't meet His Majesty the Emperor. Counting from the number of times I travel, running into the Emperor is only two of them." Only once."

Jia Min breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, "I'm almost scared to death!"

Ai Cao hurriedly patted his daughter-in-law on the back, "Min'er, don't scare yourself, in fact, the emperor has two eyes and one nose as well, nothing more than others."

Lin Hai looked at his mother and wife and couldn't help sighing.

Jia Min's face turned red, and her husband saw her unrefined side.

Emperor Changping and his party left the Plum Garden, and continued to stroll around the lively places in central Beijing. Seeing that it was getting late, Emperor Changping dismissed his elder brother, nephew, and prince, and returned to the palace with the seventh prince and a group of guards.

"Aren't you sorry that you didn't talk to the old lady just now?" Emperor Changping asked abruptly.

The Seventh Prince glanced at Emperor Changping, and asked back: "Is the father asking about my son? Or about Lou Huwei?"

Emperor Changping smiled: "Yes, you have had tea and snacks together."

"That's not true. Next time I see the old lady, I will chat with the old lady." The seventh prince thought, when he gets married, it will be much more convenient to visit others.

Emperor Changping glanced at Lou Gao and the others, "What about you? Aren't you still waiting for the old lady to be your matchmaker?"

Lou Gao said embarrassingly: "With a master, it is not easy to steal the master's limelight. The old lady is not in a hurry to be a matchmaker. We will talk about it later when we meet." Last time, I admitted that I want to get married, and now I will not slap myself in the face.

Yu Yang and Shang Yong were silent again, it seemed that after meeting Mrs. Lin, something was wrong with them.

The corner of the Seventh Prince's mouth twitched immediately, and Emperor Changping couldn't help laughing. Mrs. Lin didn't really want to talk to him. Pay attention to him, King Qi and the prince.

"Don't disappoint Mrs. Lin's love for you, I'm still waiting to drink your wedding wine!" Emperor Changping left such a sentence and glanced at the Seventh Prince again.

"Lao Qi, look at Lou Huwei and others are anxious to get married, what do you think about your own marriage?" Wanting to wait for his son to speak up, but he couldn't wait, Emperor Changping took this opportunity to ask.

The three of Lou Gao were embarrassed again, and all the other guards couldn't help laughing.

The seventh prince was still immersed in his father teasing the guards, when his father asked him this question again, he wanted to answer "everything is according to his father's will", but the words almost rushed into his throat, somehow Thinking of what Mrs. Lin said, what if the emperor decides for him a round-faced wife and he doesn't like it?

"I don't know yet." After hesitating for a while, the Seventh Prince said again: "Isn't there a draft in three or four months after the next year? Before that, I will think about it carefully and then tell my father."

Emperor Changping raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect his son to give such an answer. He thought his son would answer 'all according to the father's will', "Then you have to think carefully, otherwise the father will blindly point to the marriage!"

There is no emperor in the plum garden, and the wormwood can finally have fun. There are really many plum blossoms in this plum garden, and there are various varieties. It was not until halfway through the application time that the family returned home satisfied.

The author has something to say: Today is a big chapter, so there is no second update, okay~~