Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

Zili didn't take seriously what her grandmother and mother said, she smiled and pulled her mother to act coquettishly: "I've been saying this for more than ten years. There is a saying that the country is easy to change and the nature is hard to change. I can't change it overnight. Anyway, the Queen Mother I just pretended to be dumb when I was summoned. At that time, there were many people who saw the Queen Mother, and I was not famous on that brand. It was enough for the followers to greet me, and the Queen Mother would not single out me to speak out. How heavy is this gold? Is it possible to fall to death?" Zili's face is relaxed, she is living a good life now, it is a political task for the queen mother to summon her daughter-in-law, but the queen mother rushes from the capital to see what the girls in the minister's family are doing?During this period of time, Zili also poured into his ears a lot of words about the emperor's grandson wanting to choose his grandson Liangdi.Zili didn't want to go to the palace to be the concubine of the emperor's grandson, the eldest wife was basically unnecessary, the title of the Wang family was too low, and the grandson Liangdi was the future crown princess and empress, the Wang family could not climb up.

Listening to the granddaughter's words, the old lady's face is not very good-looking. In the past few days, she has been talking to the old man Wang Changchun about the three granddaughters. Listening to the old man's words, the old lady feels more and more that Zili will be able to make a difference in the future.The greatest contribution of a girl is to get married. If Zili can be the person next to the grandson and make the family look good, it is not in vain to dote on her.It's a pity that the granddaughter doesn't seem to care much.The old lady smacked her lips regretfully, and said to Zili: "You silly boy, why don't you know anything. We old people can harm you. The most important thing in a woman's life is to marry the right person. No matter how good the family is, can you still live in the emperor's house? With your appearance and temperament, it is possible to be a grandson Liang Di."

It turned out that they really had such a plan, Zili silently lowered her head and stopped talking. Madam Tang felt that her mother-in-law frightened the child so bluntly, she just wanted to intervene.Unexpectedly, the old lady glanced at her and said, "I know you are shy, but in fact, the Queen Mother is not seen by everyone's children. Since the word has been sent out to ask for you, it can be seen that the Queen Mother, the Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess are admiring you. I think You don't have to worry too much about not being able to change when the Queen Mother summons you. You should still talk to the Queen Mother as usual. You can pretend for a while, but you can't pretend for a lifetime. Although the Queen Mother doesn't like to meddle in business, she likes lively girls It’s not flattering if you hold it. I have a lot of good clothes and jewelry here, you take care of them. You have to listen to the well-behaved Mother Qin and don’t make up your own mind.” Zili’s heart sank. At the bottom of the valley, she could only agree.

Seeing that the granddaughter was obedient, the old lady showed a little smile on her face, and asked the maids to take out the prepared things. After listening to the old lady's words, several big girls who were close to her immediately agreed, and they were taken out of the house a few days ago like running water. The old lady has prepared her own baby out.The inside of the room suddenly became bright and shining. The feathers of peacocks, wild ducks and other birds on the brocade were twirled and woven into beautiful patterns. generally.Exquisite gemstone jewelry, red and blue, delicately inlaid on gold hairpins.A gold hairpin was in the shape of a peony flower. The petals of the peony flower were made by threading precious stones on gold wires. With a slight movement, those petals would make a slight rustling sound with the movement of the hairpin.Like flowers blooming in the spring breeze.Although Zili had seen a lot of good things in Wang's house, he had never seen such a fine product.She couldn't help but widen her eyes, and asked Mrs. Tang, "Mom, is this for my sister and me?"

"This is for you. Your elder sister is going to be engaged to the Jia family. She is just going through the motions in front of the Queen Mother. This good thing is all yours." The old lady took the hairpin and put it in Zili's hand, "This thing is still mine." As for the dowry, I will give it to you today."

With the heavy gemstone and gold hairpin in his hand, and his heart feeling even more heavy with stones, Zili suddenly knelt down to the old lady and Mrs. Tang: "Grandma loves her granddaughters, and we shouldn't refuse to give jewelry. It's just these things It’s not something we can enjoy, so please take it back, grandma.”

"What did you say, child? I didn't ask you to wear it for daily use. It's just that when the queen mother summons you, you should also dress up and not be rude. Hurry up and help the girl up!" The old lady was busy asking someone to help her son Get up.She even felt that her granddaughter flew up to a branch and turned into a phoenix, becoming a nobleman.

But Zili knelt on the ground and refused to get up: "Grandmother's intentions are good, but I'm just afraid that she will do bad things with good intentions. I ask grandma to think about it, such things are not normal for the empress dowager, empress, princess and concubine. Things, I put them on, and the three of them certainly don’t feel anything. But I was not the only one who saw the Queen Mother that day. All the wives and family members in the south of the Yangtze River were going to go, so what’s the fun of dressing like this alone? It also makes people who don't know think that our family is not a clean official. Instead, it provokes those important words. Moreover, we are courtiers, and we can only be careful and loyal. Why bother to show off in front of the Queen Mother and Queen? ? Or make people think that I am a person who likes vanity and luxury, that would be wronged to death. Although the grandmother loves the granddaughters, it is not suitable for such an occasion." Zili's words were polite, but the old lady had nothing to say up.

The old lady stayed for a while, she looked at Zili, and suddenly smiled at herself: "I'm an old fool, your grandfather always said that I'm not smart enough, now I've made the younger generation see a joke, I'll listen to what you say It's very clear. I didn't expect that the second girl who could only play around at the beginning has grown up. She talks in the same way. I didn't ask your grandfather to waste his time teaching you. You can do what you want, call Mother Qin Just help you to watch." The old lady of the Wang family was born in a military general's family, and she has never been a fancy person.

Zili breathed a sigh of relief, she hurriedly got up from the ground, and after she finished speaking, Zili knelt on the ground for a long time, waiting for her to stand up with Yuqian, her knees were numb, and she grinned in her heart With a strange face, Zili carefully sat next to Mrs. Tang: "I think the eldest sister is a bit listless these days, and she is always sleepy. Mom should ask a doctor to take a look. By the way, the girl from the Jia family also wants to see the queen mother." Is it?"

Mrs. Tang lovingly took her daughter's hand and rubbed it, her eyes were full of love: "You are a good child, so you know how to love your sister. Your sister is fine, she, Bai Chang, how old are you, but you don't think clearly about your sister. Just leave her alone, she'll be fine for a few days. Girls from Jia's family won't go, their wives regard her as their lifeline, so why would they be willing to ask their daughter to serve others in the palace. I'm listening to their family The wife said that if she wants to find a good marriage, she needs good looks, a good family background, a son-in-law with a good character, and someone who can be educated and motivated. She also asked me to help pay attention, and I thought to myself Such a perfect son-in-law, if there is one, must be the champion on the stage. In that case, the princess will naturally snatch it first, how can it be the turn of a family like us." Mrs. Tang said that it was too whimsical for Jiamu's criteria for choosing a son-in-law , how can all the good things in the world be accounted for?

"Maybe it will come true. Marriage is predestined, isn't it? Even if it's not the No. [-] scholar, it's not bad to be ranked second. Anyway, Miss Min from their family is a rare beauty. She can read and write, and can compose poems." A painter. He's the number one scholar!" Zili couldn't help but pursed his lips and laughed when he thought of Lin Ruhai, sister Lin's father, Tanhua.Mother Jia really loved her daughter, but she didn't think carefully enough. The most important condition for choosing a son-in-law was good health.Poor sister Lin, with a sick mother and a short-lived father, even though she came from a very good background, it is still a tragedy.

"Don't be ashamed, what's on your girl's mouth!" Mrs. Tang poked Zili's forehead with her finger, "I'm telling the truth, but mother is telling me where I'm wrong?" Zili didn't want to be outdone Rebuttal back.

"Will you talk like this in front of the queen mother and queen in the future? A big girl's mouth is a marriage, which makes people listen to a joke!" The old lady watched Zili's mother and daughter talking, and interjected.

"Grandmother's words are wrong. I am a granddaughter and daughter in front of my grandmother and mother. Naturally, the family does not have to be taboo too much. If you make a fuss, it will alienate the family. But in front of the queen mother and queen, Not only me, but also my grandmother and mother, as well as the servants in the palace, female officials, servants, and the wives who go in to meet the court outside are all the courtiers of the Queen Mother and Queen. They are all cautious and no one is casually joking. The Queen and the Crown Princess are in the You must be cautious in front of the queen mother, let alone us? I will remember what my grandmother said, and you must be more careful when speaking in front of others." Zili suddenly said a big truth to the old lady, and Mrs. Tang and the old lady didn't agree. Thinking of how far Zili can think.

The old lady suddenly understood something, and she pulled her granddaughter with emotion and said, "I'm sorry. I wanted to find you a good home, but when I thought about the rules in the palace, it would be better to be a daughter-in-law of an ordinary family in front of the elders." You can be more casual. Forget it, you and your mother should go back first and talk about it after the old man comes back." The old lady didn't finish talking, and the old man suddenly appeared.

"Okay, the second girl is still sensible." The old man came back at some point, and he turned out from behind the carved partition with his hands behind his back. It seemed that Wang Zichun had been listening to his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talking for a long time.Mrs. Tang and Zili hurriedly stood up to say hello. Zili's heart trembled when she met her grandfather's gaze. She was actually telling the old lady to give up the idea of ​​asking her to enter the palace. She didn't want to go to the harem all day long. Go tremblingly as a slave.

"The holy driver will be here the day after tomorrow, and the edict of the queen mother and empress will come down in a few days. Don't go out casually these days if you have nothing to do at home! There are all guards outside, you know?" Old man Wang looked at his granddaughter with piercing eyes, So he asked his daughter-in-law and Zili to go out.

Waiting for Zili to go out, the old lady was about to speak, but the old man interrupted his wife: "I know everything you want to say, you, you can't even talk about a child, but you were taken away by her, I think She can know the superiority and inferiority, so she doesn't have to worry about other things. You think there are many concubines who are favored in the palace, but there are few who can be favored for a long time, why?"

The old lady has been with the old man all her life, and she has long been used to being teased by her husband. She glanced at her husband and said indifferently: "Men like the new and dislike the old, so what can they do? It's just fresh for a few days. It's on the back of the neck. Think about yourself, do you still talk about others?"

Thinking of the situation when she was young, the old lady couldn't help but start to feel sour. "Don't talk nonsense, what I'm talking about is serious. Let's not talk about it, just talk about it. Last year, there was a decree to make satin and silk gauze for the emperor's concubines. Except for the queen mother, the harem is There is no precedent for the empress to make special materials. It can be seen that the concubine Wan is so favored. Why did the emperor lose his part in the southern tour in a blink of an eye? The satin and silk gauze may have been rewarded by the emperor to others It's gone." Mr. Wang suddenly started gossiping about the emperor's harem.

Women are born to gossip, and the old lady came to her senses. She glanced at her husband, lowered her voice and said mysteriously: "You men are naturally not clear about this matter. I heard the old lady of the Jia family say that their family and the Zhen family are very close." Those who are close, the old lady of Zhen's family often walks around in the palace, and her son is the emperor's bodyguard. She said that Wanbi somehow offended the emperor. At a banquet, the queen asked Wanbi to dance, and she actually made a show to the queen. Temperament, the emperor was not very good at the time, and then gradually moved away from Concubine Wan. Later, the queen mother found a fault with her and confined her for a few days, but the emperor didn't help her to speak, and then completely disliked her."

"That's her own confusion. The emperor likes the concubine Wan to be a concubine. Who knows that she doesn't even care about the queen because of her status, and she doesn't care about her status. What can I do if I become a noble concubine? The emperor's courtiers? Not to mention, on New Year's Day, the emperor gave a banquet to the ministers, asked the people in the cabinet to compose poems together, and ordered the scholars of the Imperial Academy to sing in harmony. It's the emperor's duty to smile, and she dares to contradict the queen as a little concubine. The queen is the rightful mistress. If you ask the concubine at home to sing a song, can she still show you face? The concubine forgot Her own duty, she entered the palace not to marry, but to become an official. If you are not cautious in being an official, a man will at most lose his title of official. If you don’t make a big mistake, you can still save your life, but a woman will die for the rest of her life.” What he said made the old lady's face turn red and then pale.

"That's why you didn't make it clear earlier. I thought that as long as I entered the palace, my journey would be smooth. I don't think our family is the kind of people who rely on girls to climb up. Let's find a way to call Zili back and find someone. No matter what, she used to be the head of the house, and she might be a wife in a few years. When the house is closed, she is always the same, so why bother to make her suffer. That's not how my family Zili will be trembling all his life. You men are officials. There is still a day to retire and return home, why don't my Zili be locked in there for the rest of his life! No, no!" The old lady realized later that her previous fantasies were gone.

"It's too late for you to regret it now. The list has already arrived in front of the emperor. Don't worry about it. I thought I would warn that girl, but who knows what she said today is better than adults. People must be in peace with fate and know how to obey." You can live well by destiny. You don't have to worry. If Zili can enter the palace, at least she can only protect herself. Even if she doesn't have much fate with her grandson, but she has a little bit of qualifications. Are you afraid that she will lose honor in the future? ?” The old man of the Wang family showed a relaxed face. In his opinion, except for the emperor, everyone in the palace was struggling for qualifications.The granddaughter has indeed grown up. Listening to her words, the little girl is very clear-headed. She knows that entering the palace is not a honeypot, and that prosperity and wealth are at her fingertips.Even if Zili doesn't have thousands of pets all over him, he can still fight steadily in the deep palace. In fact, pets are like double-edged swords, and if one is not handled well, it will hurt himself.Sometimes keeping a low profile can have the last laugh.

The next day, Jia Mu and the old lady of Jia's family spent time together. The old lady gave each of the three girls of the Wang family some exquisite jewelry. , those girls in my family are really not worthy of such delicate things."

"My old sister is humble. I see that the three girls in your family are all very good. Girl Min also likes your little sisters very much. I will take their mothers and daughters to visit relatives in the next few days. I can't come here every day." The old lady of the Jia family knew about the affairs of the Wang family, so she found an excuse to avoid it.

The old lady of the Wang family knew what she meant, and said with a smile: "That's right, the relatives should be walking around when I came to Hangzhou. Let's talk when the old sister is free." The old lady of the Jia family said the words of the world again, When Zili and Ziqian came up with Zimeng to thank the old lady of the Jia family, Jia's mother smiled and took Zili's hand to look up and down: "I haven't seen you for a few days, the second girl is getting better and better, my Min'er Weak body, today she is not well enough to come here, another day when the girl is free, just go and talk to her, although Min'er is stupid, she really likes you in her heart."

This is a rare commodity to live in. Zili saw through Jia Mu's mind, and she smiled and said: "I am thinking about her too. There are many things at home, and her health is not good. If I go rashly, I may get sick." I'm upset, I'll go see her when she recovers in a few days."

Here, Zili and Jiamu were talking, and she didn't notice that Ziqian kept his head down and twisted his handkerchief. After a good day, Liu Guang's handkerchief would be twisted into rags.

The emperor's holy driver came to Hangzhou, so Zili naturally couldn't go to the canal to see the royal style.The past few days have been the most stressful and exhausting time for officials, large and small, in Hangzhou. Wang Changchun and Zili's father, Wang Dingqian, have not been home for several days. Although the emperor will not visit the Wang family, there is a sense of tension in the whole family. atmosphere of.

Nanny Qin was leading the maids to prepare Zili's clothes and jewelry for meeting the queen mother and empress. She specially chose a light green pair of breasts covered with peach blossoms and said to Zili, "It's appropriate to wear this dress at this time. The Empress Dowager is an elderly person who doesn't like too plain a color, and the pink peach blossoms on it are lively, I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will like it."

Zili looked at this dress. From the shoulders, there were peach blossoms that were about to bloom. When they were in the middle of the clothes, the peach blossoms were in full bloom. When they reached the hem, the peach blossoms in full bloom began to fall. One piece of clothing interpreted the whole spring. The situation is also a strange idea.It's a pity that she has her own plans. "Although the clothes are nice, I am worried that the queen mother may not like them. I heard that when I was in Jinling, the queen mother lived in Taohuawu. Although I have never been to the palace in Jinling, I am sure that the place can be called Taohuawu. The peach blossoms are in full bloom. Didn’t Mammy say that the Empress Dowager was not favored when she was a concubine? Why would I bother to remind her of the past?”

"Miss is very thoughtful, I'm so old-fashioned, forget about this one, just choose another one." Being reminded by Zili, Mother Qin suddenly remembered the empress dowager's taboo, and hurriedly asked the girl to put this exquisite dress on side.After much deliberation, Zili finally chose a sky-blue dress with a light pink pleated skirt underneath. There were not many jewelry on her head, but a few refreshing tourmaline hairpins, which matched her black pleats. On the contrary, the hair is naturally carved out of hibiscus in clear water.After choosing the clothes, Nanny Qin told Zili the etiquette to pay attention to when meeting the Queen Mother.Just as he was talking, a burst of crying came from the wall of the next courtyard. Listen carefully, it was someone crying in Ziqian's courtyard.