Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

Seeing Jia Mu's witty flattery in front of the Queen Mother, Zili couldn't help thinking that Jia Mu's statement that she was more eloquent than Sister Feng was indeed true.With bright purples and reds in front of his eyes and Yingge Yanwu in his ears, Zili felt sad for the first time in this prosperous place.Everything in front of her seemed to be separated from her by a chaotic barrier, and the people inside were like dolls inside a glass ball. She couldn't feel their sorrows and joys, and her own sorrows and joys had nothing to do with them.

Just when Zili was distracted, suddenly a little court lady came over and whispered in Zili's ear, "The Queen Mother, please go over and walk." Stand up and leave the banquet.Follow that girl around and pass through a hanging flower door.Sure enough, I saw the empress standing under the shade of a tree not far away looking at her and smiling. "Greetings to the empress." Zili was busy bowing down, but the queen came forward to support Zili's arm with rare agility: "Forget it, you don't need to talk about such hypocrisy when you have a body." Zili was overwhelmed by flattery. Busily taking a step back, he said humbly, "How dare the concubine break the rules." For some reason, Zili always feels guilty in front of the queen.

She suppressed the inexplicable guilty conscience in her heart - have you ever been a mistress, why are you guilty! (Darling, those who have truly become a third son will not feel guilty.) "We were so close when we entered the palace to wait for election. Now even though there is a separation between monarch and minister, the old relationship still needs to be remembered. I like your straightforward temper the most. In the future We have to get along as well as before." The queen pulled Zili affectionately, looked him up and down: "You are a healthy person, sit down and talk, the queen mother likes to be lively, I can't bear to spoil her old man's interest. I want to ask you to come out and speak. How is your life in Qingzhou? There is nothing difficult. Although I don’t know anything about the government affairs ahead in the deep palace, it’s good to help you sort it out.” The queen pulled Zili to sit down, I didn't have any pretensions and started making daily routines with her.

Zili secretly guessed what the queen meant, she sat sideways on the chair and talked to the queen carefully.Anyway, the topics of women in this era are the same, nothing more than family relationships, having children and raising children, or clothes, jewelry, rouge and pollen.In Qingzhou, Zili often talked nonsense with the wives of officials and the wives of country gentry.This kind of conversation can be regarded as familiar.The queen seemed very interested in Zili's life outside, so Zili took advantage of the situation to talk about his life in Shanyin County.Listening to Zili and his family repairing the house by themselves, growing vegetables and raising chickens and ducks, the queen couldn't help but show envy: "When I was young, I followed my mother to cool off in the countryside and also planted a bed of vegetables and raised a few chickens. Chicken, at that time I was always worried that the chicken would not have enough to eat, so I took the millet and fed it vigorously, but the chicken died from being stuffed, and I was sad for a long time." The queen looked at Gao Qiang and the yellow glazed tile eaves in the distance, her eyes become far away.

"Although it is hard work, the fun in the countryside is incomparable. Since my mother likes the rural life, I heard from the queen mother that there is a field in Nanyuan and a mulberry forest. Chickens and ducks are also raised there. Since the empress has stayed in the palace for a long time, it is good to go to Nanyuan to relax. With the eldest prince and princess, the children should run more in the countryside, so that they can grow stronger by being grounded." Zili also felt that the queen seemed like Too depressed, she proposed to go to Nanyuan to relax.

A strange emotion flashed in the queen's eyes, and then she became the dignified and gentle queen again: "Mrs. Jia's words are deeply in my heart. It's just that the foreign trade people think that I am as precious as gold and jade, and I can do everything." Do whatever you want, in fact - there are too many times when you can't help yourself. It's like the concubine Ning who is next to the emperor is pregnant, and I can't leave the pregnant concubine to go out by myself, it seems that I am angry with the emperor." Queen He pursed his lips and smiled, playing with the fan in his hand.

Oops, is the empress's grievance very deep!I thought the queen had really cultivated the ability to calm down.Thinking of the disappointment that flashed in the queen's eyes, Zili couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and at the same time felt a little rejoicing, if he was in the queen's current position, he might be less calm than her.

"The Empress is sympathetic to the Six Palaces, and Concubine Ning will naturally be grateful for the care and concern of the Empress. You are the empress of the world, not only the emperor's princes and princesses are your children, but even all the people in our world are yours." Children. Speaking of being pregnant, I feel that the fetal gas is stable, and it is not a good thing to be pampered too much. I am a hard worker. When I was in Shanyin County, I was pregnant with Zhu'er. I still do what I should do every day. No need The maids are still cleaning the house and growing vegetables. There is nothing good to eat every day, but they are vegetables grown by themselves. The local seasonal melons and fruits are simple and light. Except for the first few days of nausea, the rest pick up bowls every day. I ate it all together. I didn't take any tonic, and the delivery went smoothly." Thinking about Jia Zhu's birth process, Zili couldn't help covering the corners of his mouth with a fan and feeling embarrassed.

The queen had suffered a lot in order to give birth to the emperor's eldest son, she stared at her with twinkling eyes after listening to Zili's words and asked with interest: "How is it?"

"I'm ashamed to say it. My stomach hurts and I've been sweating all morning. I can't seem to have any strength. The old lady who gave birth said that if I hold it back, the baby will be bad. I don't care about being ashamed or ashamed. Just shout out. At that time, my eyes were so painful that my eyes were dark, and I was like a lunatic who didn't care about face and yelled a few times-the child came out!" Zili remembered that Jia Zheng was scolded by him through the window, and the entire county government I'm afraid everyone has heard it.Later, Jia Zheng hugged Jia Zhu and smiled like a fool, and said repeatedly: "You scolded me well, if you knew this would work, you should have scolded me earlier, and you would have saved yourself the pain."

The flash of happiness in Zili's eyes caused quite a ripple in the queen's heart, the interest on the queen's face suddenly disappeared, she seemed to think of something bothering and impatiently slapped the fan vigorously, as if trying to get rid of the depression in her heart Fan away: "Mrs. Jia is so lucky. The love between your husband and wife is just enviable. When you come back later, you must bring Zhu'er. I am very quiet. I usually don't have many people here, so I like people to talk to me. It’s getting late, let’s go there. This is a small gift I specially prepared for you, take it back and give it to Zhuer to play with.” After speaking, an inner eunuch came out behind the queen, carrying a vermilion lacquer tray covered with a light yellow satin.

"Thank you, empress." Zili thanked En and raised her head to meet the eunuch who was carrying the plate.It turned out to be Dai Quan, the eunuch in charge of the Sixth Palace!Zili's heart skipped a beat. She stared at the plate, her heart tightening suddenly.

"Mrs. Jia accept the reward. This is the wish of the emperor and the empress, so don't refuse it. It is an honorable thing for the emperor to take it back and show it to family and friends." Dai Quan almost stuffed the plate into Zili hands. "Oh, thank you for the reward from the emperor and the empress. The courtiers and concubines will definitely live up to the emperor's expectations." Zili understood that she was asked to take this thing back to the king of Wei on business.

Dai Quan announced the reward and left, but the queen seemed to be all right and dragged Zili towards the stage. The queen didn't talk to Zili all the way, and Zili was very upset, thinking about how to deal with the king of Wei when he went back. .Arriving in front of the Chuihua Gate, the queen suddenly stopped: "You can also read and write, what books have you read recently?"

"Books, I'm ashamed of my concubine. After I got married, I was entangled in trivial matters every day and didn't read much. I just read Tang poetry in my spare time." Zili said modestly that she was vulgar.

"I've read a few good books recently. Go and get the historical records I read every day and give them to Mrs. Jia. Although we women should focus on women's red needles, we should also read books to understand the truth." The queen had a deep meaning. He took a quick look at Zili and walked away.

Back at Rongguo Mansion, Jiamu said to Zili, "You are tired too, go back and rest." When Jiamu spoke, Zili left.Back in the room, Zili first looked at what Dai Quan had given him, an exquisite mother-of-pearl red sandalwood box, which was exquisitely decorated, in addition to mother-of-pearl, it was also inlaid with precious stones.Ming Qian caught a glimpse of the box and couldn't help admiring: "It's indeed something from the palace. It's such an exquisite box. I'm afraid the things inside are even better. Why don't grandma open it to look."

Fiddled with Linglong Jinsuo on the box, Zili smiled wryly, "I don't have a key, so put it away. This is an important thing so don't lose it."

"The empress is so stingy, why don't you give me the key for the box?" Ming Qian took the box in doubt and put it in Zili's box and locked it carefully.Zili ignored Mingqian's muttering, and continued to check the rewards from the queen and queen mother.The Queen Mother just rewarded some brocades and playthings, and the Queen's reward is the same, but one grade less than the Queen Mother's.Finally, there is a set of new books made by the palace. When the bookcase is opened, two of the books are inserted with ivory bookmarks.Zili took a book and opened it along the bookmarks. She scanned a few lines, and her face became more and more ugly.Putting down one book and picking up another book with a bookmark, it was still opened along the bookmark's seat, and the content on it made Zili's face even uglier.Her face turned black and red for a while, and cold sweat oozes from her forehead. "Grandma is cold, you put down the window!" Seeing Zili's whole body trembling, Mingqian hurriedly took clothes to put on Zili.Subconsciously, Zili covered the book and rubbed his belly: "It's okay, she kicked me in the stomach just now. We're not short of time, so we should pack up and go back to Qingzhou."

In Kunning Palace, the queen was sitting under the lamp and was concentrating on reading a book. Her personal maid came in and said softly: "My lady, it's getting late, let's rest. I have to pay my respects to the queen mother tomorrow." The book in his hand that hadn't been turned: "Rest." Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of footsteps, and the emperor came in.The queen was overjoyed and immediately observed the emperor's face, but the emperor looked at her with a tired and relaxed expression. "Forget it, why do we husbands and wives need those empty etiquettes. I am tired of approving papers and go out to relax. I see the lights here are still on in the empress, so I will come and have a look. It is so late, and the empress is still reading under the lamp, which makes me feel ashamed." The emperor said casually. He just sat in the queen's seat just now and flipped through the book casually.

The people in Kunning Palace immediately rejoiced. Although the emperor respected the queen very much, this noble couple respected each other too much. Since the birth of the eldest son, the emperor rarely came to the queen to spend the night.Although she is an empress, seeing the fresh faces around the emperor and the increasing number of concubines in the palace, the servants of Kunning Palace know that sometimes favor is more important than status.

"Very fragrant tea. The tea here from the Empress is quite to my liking." The emperor took a sip of the tea and praised casually. "Concubines never like things that are too luxurious. This is just ordinary tea. The emperor made a mistake. In fact, the emperor wants to make good tea, which is not as good as Concubine Wu. She is proficient in tea ceremony. I have already rewarded her with the big red robe that the queen mother gave her. It's gone." The queen's serious face showed no emotional fluctuations.

"Although Dahongpao is good, it's not good to drink too much at night. The tea from the queen's place is good. I know you don't like luxury, but you don't have to be too frugal. Since the tea is given to you by the queen mother, you can keep it. Today's play How about the snacks?" The tea in his mouth became tasteless, and the emperor lost a little interest, but he still asked casually about how he watched the theater today.The emperor suddenly remembered the scene of someone eating and chewing, and the corners of his mouth could not help but bend upwards.

"The craftsmanship of the imperial dining room is naturally good. The snacks and drinks used by the Queen Mother to eat vegetarian food and pray to the Buddha in the past few years are all vegetarian. That show, it's not left, it's just a set of talented scholars and beautiful ladies." The queen straightened her waist, she When speaking, not only the expression on her face remained unchanged, but even the jasper earrings on her earlobe remained motionless: "It's getting late, the emperor has been approving paperwork all night and it's time to rest, the emperor might as well go and see Concubine Ning, She is pregnant, so she should be comforted by someone." The queen did not say a word, and the emperor suddenly swept away the teacup on the table, the sound of the porcelain colliding with the floor was extremely piercing in the silent night, and the servants in the palace were all shocked by the emperor. Angry and frightened, they knelt on the ground one by one, not daring to say anything.

"Okay, okay, what a virtuous and magnanimous queen! How can you learn from Empress Lu when you have such a capacity? I am Yang Guang in your eyes. Since you hate me so much, you don't have to pretend to be in front of me all day long! "The emperor glanced coldly at the expressionless queen below, flicked his sleeves and left.

"Your Majesty, it's impossible for this slave to persuade you. The Emperor is really angry!" The maid in the palace got up from the ground and came to the Empress with an anxious expression on her face.

"I have ghosts in my heart but it's dark at night. What did I do wrong? Concubine Dong Gui is in worse condition than Madam Qi. I'm worried that Madam Jia will go back and say something wrong and send her a letter in advance! But what did your Majesty think?" What's the use of him being the emperor now, he and her husband are living a life with one mind—" The queen's face, which has remained unchanged for thousands of years, disappeared, and she suddenly became bitter and mean, and even her voice changed.The people around were frightened by the queen's change, and hurriedly tugged on the queen's sleeve to stop her next outrageous words.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor said that since Your Majesty feels uncomfortable and sees no one pleasing to your eyes, you will not disturb your Majesty. The prince and princess will be raised by the Queen Mother." According to the will of the queen, he bowed his hands to the queen and withdrew respectfully.

When Zili left the capital, no one from the Jia family saw her off except for a few servants, because the emperor promoted the position of Concubine Liang, and those who had orders from Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion all went to the palace early in the morning to congratulate Liang Concubine on her promotion. Sixth House is gone.

It was Wang Ziteng who came to send Zili to the pier. Before boarding the boat, Zili looked at his brother: "Grandpa, don't ask brother to work harder. Ever since the old lady lost the spirit of grandfather, it's not good. I hate that I can't stay by my side. Today Brother was supposed to go to the palace to congratulate Concubine Gui, but I delayed you."

"If there is any delay, don't delay. I don't rely on cursing concubines to get promoted. I am the most impatient. I don't want to say good things. I am the only one who can make the icing on the cake. Be careful on the way and don't show off." Wang Ziteng He dragged Zili Xu and gave a lot of instructions before watching Zili board the boat and leave.

Watching the boat go away, Wang Ziteng looked away, and suddenly Gao Xiang ran to Wang Ziteng and whispered in his ear: "Master, the emperor is here, and he is in the teahouse on the high slope behind him, and I am calling you over now." What?" Wang Ziteng was taken aback for a moment, and then muttered: "Fortunately, no one came out to make trouble for each other!" As a man, Wang Ziteng certainly understands the emperor's mood, his wife is someone else Is it okay?