Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

The next morning, before dawn, Zili was woken up by the wet nurse and Nanny Qin. She squinted her eyes and muttered depressedly: "Tell me to sleep a little longer." Last night, Nanny Qin and Zili talked for half the night, He told her all the secret things in the palace.Suddenly receiving a lot of information, Zili would find it difficult to digest for a while. After she fell asleep last night, she tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep in a daze.But she seemed to be shaken awake just after sleeping for a while.

Mother Qin helplessly looked at Zili's eyes that could not be opened, and said helplessly, "Young lady has been tossing around for a while, and the girl who combs her hair is already waiting outside. I also talked too much yesterday, so I shouldn't have talked so much with you." Talk." Zili slowly came to her senses, she lay on the bed and stretched herself: "My hair can be combed before tomorrow, why do I need someone to come?" The Wang family specially invited a hair-combing lady, such a Everyone in Yangzhou has passed down their hair combing skills from generation to generation, and Mrs. Tang and the old lady's daily buns are all taken care of by her.Such a combing lady is not considered a servant of the family at all, but a specially invited master.

"Today is different from the past, so let's get up quickly, girl." Mother Qin and the nanny held her hand each, and pulled Zili up without breaking up.The hair-combing lady was around thirty, wearing an indigo blue dress and skirt, holding a basket in her hand, which contained a one-foot-sized box for the hair-combing guy.After Zili finished washing his face and rinsing his mouth, he sat in front of the mirror, and the lady who combed her hair first came over and gave Zili a little blessing: "Second miss, the old lady asked me to come over and comb her hair today. What will the lady wear?" Clothes, what jewelry to use?"

Zili pointed, "It's time, Aunt Labor. I'm wearing sky-blue clothes, which is the set of jewelry in front of me. Don't need a complicated bun today, just simple and generous." The aunt who combed her hair looked at the jewelry on the table, She smiled and said: "The girl is in her prime, so she doesn't need special decorations. The so-called hibiscus comes out of clear water, so it can be carved naturally. But the color of the clothes on the girl's body has faded, and a bright flower is needed to suppress the color. Listening to what the hair-comb girl said, Mother Qin hurriedly called out: "Before tomorrow, let's see if the flowers in the garden are blooming. If there is a big red rose, pick a branch."

Mingqian hurriedly agreed and went out. Here, the hair comber first took the tiniest comb to smooth Zili's hair to make sure there were no knots. The liquid inside was poured on the grate: "What is it? It smells so good!"

"This is a recipe handed down from our ancestors. The hair oil made from fresh flowers can make the hair black and shiny without feeling greasy. It can also treat itchy head and hair loss. Don't worry about your clothes and shawls, girl." She took the grate and combed her hair deftly. As expected, it was a skill passed down from her ancestors. It was still the same grate and the same hair. She didn't hurt Zili at all. Instead, she massaged her scalp very comfortably.

Zili's request was very simple, don't be conspicuous, don't be extravagant, so the woman who combed her hair gave her a distant mountain bun. "Girl's hair is really nice, it's so black like fine silk satin." The lady who combed her hair held the temple cover and put it on, looking at the beautiful girl in the mirror, Zili's mood also became better.Sure enough, dressing up can make people feel better, and the tension and depression in the morning are gone.Nanny Qin looked out of the window impatiently and complained after the rain: "Why don't you come to pick flowers tomorrow? The old lady is about to get up, and the girl hasn't changed her clothes yet."

Complaining that Ming Qian came with a plate of crabapple flowers, Mother Qin frowned as she looked at the pink crabapple: "What are you doing, the girl's dress is so plain and needs red flowers to match it, you're really upset Begonia flowers. I remember a lot of roses in the garden."

Ming Qian said aggrievedly: "It's not my fault. The roses in the garden were all picked off by some ghost. Not only did the red ones disappear, but the white ones also disappeared. Even the flower buds were broken off. I asked the people who looked after the garden, and they were also puzzled. They said they were fine last night, but they were gone in the morning.”

You are obviously lazy, who would be idle to do that thing!The nanny stared at Ming, but Zili suddenly understood something, she interrupted the nanny's lesson: "All flowers are the same, it's getting late, let's change clothes quickly." Seeing Zili speak, the nanny could only close her eyes Mouth stopped talking.

She changed her clothes and stood in front of the mirror carefully looking at the details of her whole body, until she was sure that there was nothing wrong with Zili, then she held Mingqian's hand and led a group of people to the old lady.As soon as she came out of the yard, Zili saw Ziqian also coming out of the yard. She looked at the roses on Ziqian's head, and said with a half-smile, "My sister looks really nice today."

Ziqian stroked his hair proudly, with a kind expression on his face: "Thank you for helping me think of something, my sister's clothes are not bad." Mingqian looked at Zili's clothes and jewelry that Zili was wearing, and couldn't help but change his face. She just wanted to open her mouth to mock Ziqian's calculation.Unexpectedly, Zili secretly grabbed his hand hard.She could only pout and say nothing.

"My sister is more worthy of wearing this than me. I will ask my sister to take me with me when I go to see the Queen Mother today. I'm afraid I haven't seen the world, and I will make a joke when the time comes. At that time, they must say that the girl from the Wang family is not good." , wouldn't it hurt my sister's reputation." Zili smiled innocently, looking at Ziqian with sparkling eyes.

That's natural, we are brothers and sisters, we are all hurt, we are all prosperous.The smile on Ziqian's face became unnatural, she laughed, helped the girl and left first.

The nanny looked at Ziqian's back and said in disbelief: "I usually don't see that the eldest girl is a calculating person. She is not convinced and wants to trip the girl. It's just that when the old lady is there, how can she Confession? Madam will definitely not ask her to bully the girl."

"Nurse, don't worry about others. I've already made my interests clear to her. I won't worry about her getting in the way when I go to the palace to meet the queen mother. After all, it's a family, and arguing in front of outsiders isn't just for people to see." A joke?" Zili looked at Ziqian's back with a sarcastic smile on his lips.Ziqian was really innocent and treacherous when she was young. If she didn't become the second wife of the Jia family, who would she be?

Although the old lady is straight-hearted, she understood most of it when she saw the expressions on the faces of the two granddaughters and their clothes. The old lady sighed silently and said to Mrs. Tang without looking at the two granddaughters: "Don't miss the hour, Let's set off quickly. Are the sedan chairs, carriages and horses ready?" Mrs. Tang glanced coldly at her eldest daughter, and supported her mother-in-law's hand: "Everything is ready."

Among the female family members of the Wang family, the old lady carried a sedan chair with eight people, Mrs. Tang's sedan chair carried four people, and Zili and Ziqian used to ride in the same car.Unexpectedly, when Zili was getting ready to get in the car, the nurse next to Mrs. Tang came over and said to Zili, "Second Miss, Madam asked you to be the car behind." Said: "Since mother ordered, you should go over." Saying that, Ziqian put down the curtain of the car and never looked at his sister again.

Zili was not angry either, she helped the girl to get into the car.In the car, Mingqian and Yuhou angrily condemn Ziqian for plotting against his own sister.Yu Hou complained angrily for Zili: "Miss is really kind enough to feed the wolves. The eldest girl is obviously plotting against you. She is already engaged to the Jia family and wants to show off in front of the queen mother and empress. Waiting to go back, see if the old lady and wife can spare her."

"Stop mumbling, people have their own aspirations, and she can do whatever she wants. If the queen and queen mother really like her, it can be considered that she has won honor for the family. Do you think that at that time, who can blame her? You Follow me in to meet the Empress Dowager, be careful in everything, don't say anything like what you said just now." Zili told the maids not to talk nonsense.

In a blink of an eye, the car has arrived at the palace. Since it is a palace, it is naturally different from the palaces in the capital. The scenery of the palace is full of beauty and leisure.After getting off the car at the gate of the palace, there were already servants standing there waiting. The head servant greeted the old lady with a smile: "It's the old lady and lady of the Wang family? The queen mother specially asked the miscellaneous family to come and welcome the old lady and ladies. The queen mother We are waiting for you at the fish watching pond."

The old lady listened respectfully, and said with a smile: "I have Mr. Lao." The servant shook his hand and walked slowly in front.Zili was at the back. She looked amused at the tense backs of her grandmother, mother and Ziqian, but she immediately remembered Qin Nanny's warning, and hurriedly suppressed her smile, followed Ziqian slowly with her head down. Walking swallowing.Just what does the emperor's holiday villa look like?Zili's curiosity still prevailed, she raised her head and quietly looked at the scenery of the palace.

Such a beautiful garden scenery. Although Zili also went to Suzhou and the imperial capital in modern times, and saw a lot of historical sites, she was still fascinated by the scenery in front of her.No wonder the emperor didn't want to stay in the capital, and built the most elegant gardens in places with beautiful mountains and rivers, which not only have the exquisiteness and tranquility of gardens, but also have royal style.Zili couldn't help sighing, and said in a low voice, "It's worth a lifetime to come and see it!" Now she understood Grandma Liu's mood.

A black shadow suddenly flashed behind a clump of lilacs, and a chuckle came from Zili's ear.Zili looked over curiously, but unfortunately there was nothing but swaying flower branches.

Although Nanny Qin has repeatedly reminded the girls of the Wang family that they are in the forbidden garden of the imperial palace, even the royal annex palace cannot look around.Always pay attention to maintaining a cautious posture, but unfortunately Zili still couldn't control his curiosity and couldn't help but look around quietly.It's not that she took other people's words as wind, but Zili had a modern-educated soul living in her heart.

Maybe she noticed that the younger sister behind her was looking around, but Ziqian didn't turn her head to remind her, she just walked slowly behind her mother with her head lowered more cautiously.The pleats on the skirt seemed to have only minimal ripples on the surface of the water blown by the breeze, and the eight gold pieces and jade pendants tied to her skirt did not make any sound.Compared with Ziqian, Zili's appearance is not so rigid. She looked around along the way, with a vivid expression on her face.

A group of people wore flowers and willows, and soon came to the fish watching pond where the queen mother was, this is called watching fish!Zili looked at the koi carps of all colors under the water and their eyeballs were about to fall off.The best koi is in Japan, and any one in the pond in front of you will instantly kill the national treasure of the chicken.Wang Changchun likes to raise fish and grow flowers in his spare time, which is basically the hobby of retired veteran cadres. Zili likes all kinds of pets in modern society, and here she even volunteered to help Mr. Wang take care of those treasures.Now seeing the rare and beautiful koi carp, she can't wait to squat down and have a look.

The queen mother was surrounded by a group of people, sitting on the edge of a pavilion near the water, and Mrs. Wang was busy taking her family there.Standing outside the pavilion was the servant who was answering the question. He saw that a group of people who came over were busy running in to pass on the message.This is called royal style!Zili secretly thought that everyone sitting in the pavilion had actually seen Mrs. Wang and the others coming.It's just that they looked like they were separated by a wall, all of them kept their eyes on each other and pretended not to see.For things that you can see, you need others to spread the word. Regardless of labor costs, putting it on others is called pretending, and putting it on the royal family is called Tianjia style.

Zili lowered her head and didn't see clearly what was going on inside the pavilion, she only heard a voice say something vaguely.Then the servant's shrill voice sounded: "Xuan!"

The female family members of the Wang family were all in good spirits, and went in step by step to pay their respects to the Queen Mother.After saluting, a very gentle female voice said: "Please get up, Aijia hasn't seen the old lady for some time!"

The old lady stood up supported by a court lady and Mrs. Tang, and said humbly to the above: "The old lady is able to see the queen mother's golden face again because of the royal grace. I haven't greeted the queen mother for many years, and the spirit of the queen mother is still so strong. "Sitting on it was an old woman with pale temples. Although she was well maintained, she was already showing signs of aging.Zili secretly thought that this was the queen mother.A middle-aged woman sits next to the queen mother, who is the queen.The queen mother smiled and said: "We met in Jinling last time. Who knows that many years have passed, and the old lady is still in good spirits. Aijia is already old. These two little girls are your granddaughters."

The old lady hurriedly said: I am also getting old, but I just struggle every day not to make people laugh.Thank you Queen Mother for thinking about it.They are the two daughters of Quanzi Dinggan, and Ziqian and Zili haven't greeted the queen mother and empress. "

Ziqian and Zili went up to greet the queen mother and queen together.As Zili knelt on the ground, he felt a few scrutinizing gazes falling straight from his body.Before she got up, she felt uncomfortable all over.The Empress Dowager and the Empress were busy calling Pingshen, the Empress Dowager first looked at Ziqian, and finally set her sights on Zili.She smiled and took the glasses case handed over by the Queen, and said with a smile, "You are really two girls who look like flowers. How old are you and what do you do at home? Have you ever read a book?"

It was Ziqian's elder sister who answered one by one first, but Zili remained silent.The queen on the side looked at the two sisters of the Wang family, and said to Mrs. Tang: "It seems that the younger sister is more silent? She doesn't seem to talk much."

Mrs. Tang said with a smile: "Don't be surprised, empress. This child has a lot of gossip at home, but he becomes shy when he meets people. They are all children from a small family, empress, please don't laugh. Madam Tang said Zili winked. Zili blinked, bent his knees slightly to the queen, and said articulately: "The elder sister of the minister has already answered the Queen Mother's question. The minister has been studying needlework with her sister all the time. What the elder sister said That's what I said, why bother the empress dowager twice. "

"Haha, what an interesting girl! Come here and ask Ai's family to take a closer look!" The queen mother immediately became interested in Zili after hearing Zili's words, and waved to Zili.Before waiting for the palace servants around the queen mother to push her over, Zili had already stepped up to the queen mother and was slightly blessed.The queen mother looked at Zili with great interest, and suddenly she grabbed Zili's hand and pulled her to her side: "You sisters are really like two parallel flowers. It's just that your dress today is far less luxurious than your sister's. But at home Prefer your sister?"

As soon as the queen mother said the words, the eyes of the old lady and Mrs. Tang darkened, and Ziqian subconsciously lowered her head. She wanted to stand out in front of the queen mother.Unexpectedly, she was still ignored. Zili smiled and said calmly: "The three of us are the same at home. It's just that I don't like luxurious decorations, and my sister is more suitable for such clothes and jewelry than me. Wouldn't it be a joke if I wore it? I'm sloppy, and if I accidentally stained my skirt, dropped my hairpin, wouldn't it be even worse to lose my bearing in front of the empress dowager and empress dowager?" Zili observed the empress dowager's expression Seeing that the Queen Mother was still smiling, she was a little relieved.

"You are such a straight-hearted child. I really like a lively child like you. The rules in the palace are very careful, and everyone is afraid of taking an extra step or saying a word. You are straight-hearted and don't hide anything on your mind." Yes. Since your grandmother and mother are eccentric, I will compensate you." The queen mother smiled and waved, and a court lady came over with a plate.

This jade pendant is given to you, and this hairpin is just for you!Inside the plate were the regular rewards that the Empress Dowager bestowed on wives and officials' families, which were also a box of palace flowers, a box of ascension powder and rouge, and a string of bracelets.It's just that Zili has an extra jade pendant and a golden hairpin from Danfeng Chaoyang.Zili naturally saluted and thanked the reward, and respectfully accepted the reward from the Queen Mother.

The old lady and Mrs. Tang looked at the queen mother's behavior, exchanged a tacit look with each other, and looked at Zili with a smile, beckoning her to accept it.

I am the same as the Queen Mother, and I also like a straightforward and simple child like you.Come and let me see!The queen smiled and waved to Zili, telling her to come forward and talk.

The queen mother over there looked at Ziqian and asked her to come over and talk. Zili was pulled up and down by the queen to look him up and down. Ever since he came in, Zili had been sized up by the queen mother and queen in turn.Unlike the empress dowager who looked at her with Yan Yuese, the empress's eyes were like looking at the scanner on the security gate, Zili felt like she was being seen through.When the queen was young, she was definitely a heroic beauty. I heard Mother Qin say that the queen's natal family was also a founding military general, and she was once a marquis.When she was young, she was accused of being married to the current emperor who had not yet rebelled and became the emperor, and she was also honored as a princess.In these years, she has followed her husband from a princess to a queen. Although the years have worn her down into a graceful and luxurious woman, the sharp eyes inadvertently make people fear.

It is not easy for a woman who can accompany her husband to rebel successfully.Seeing the Queen look at him, Zili was so terrified that he braced himself to respond to the Queen's question.The queen didn't ask about her age, reading or anything like that.She is very interested in what Zili usually does and what she likes.

"I didn't expect you young girls to like tidying up the yard. Wouldn't it be too hard for you to take care of the flowers and plants yourself?" Zili said that she usually helped Wang Changchun clean up his yard and helped his grandfather take care of him. The white cranes and goldfishes raised, the queen looked at Zili in surprise.

"I'm a crude person. Although I also learned needlework from the mothers, I just don't have the talent. I can't do too delicate work. The mothers who teach embroidery say that I don't have the talent. I think why waste those satin every day. And silk thread? I am only a little bit about benzene. Besides, as granddaughters, there is nothing we can do to honor our grandfather, but we just do our best to make him happy." Zili asked about picking flowers and plants, how to raise fish, how to raise Bai He said a lot vividly.

"What a good boy." Before the queen finished speaking, the servants suddenly announced the arrival of the crown princess and the emperor's grandson.

The Empress Dowager smiled at the Empress: "Look, someone is in a hurry!" Saying this, a young fat man came in behind the Crown Princess.