The little lady in the palace

Chapter 3
Outside the courtyard, Concubine You bowed to Meng Junhuai, then took half a step back and stopped talking.Meng Junhuai felt relieved by his respectful appearance, felt that she still understood what he meant, and thought that what he said was a bit serious last night, so he took the initiative to ask her: "Can I see the princess?"

Youshi still looked like that, bowed his head with his hands tied and said: "Yes, my master told me to help the princess arrange the New Year's affairs yesterday. I thought of something and couldn't make up my mind, so I came to ask the princess for instructions."

Meng Junhuai nodded, seeing that the people around Xie Yuyin had come out to invite him, he continued to ask casually: "Tell me and listen."

Youshi then said: "Last year, it was my concubine who brought Ah Li to greet Concubine Ding, I don't know this year..."

Meng Junhuai's eyes sank, and the gratification that had just been born disappeared in an instant.

"A Li will be three years old after the new year." Meng Junhuai cut her off and said involuntarily, "I will take him to the front this year. If the concubine wants to see her, she will send a message and I will send him there."

The female officials of Changyang Palace made arrangements for sending them there according to the rules, and no one else had much to say.

Most of them are handed over to the aunt to lead the kowtow.

Concubine You's complexion turned pale, she obviously didn't expect to be stuck with him, and after last night, she didn't dare to talk about it with him, after thinking about it, she had no choice but to resign.

In the main room, Xie Yuyin didn't see anyone coming in for a long time, so she couldn't help feeling a little puzzled, so she went out to check.

Stepping over the threshold, Meng Junhuai came in alone.

"Your Highness, Wan An." She blessed her body and saluted him, and he gave her a helping hand. She got up and looked outside, "Where's the side concubine?"

"She was not sure about something, so she asked you to discuss it. I made an idea for her, and she went back first." Meng Junhuai finished speaking flatly, without mentioning it.

He didn't expect that what he said last night would really make Youshi respectful to the new princess.People, their minds are not that simple. In his opinion, it is enough for Youshi to be superficially respectful.But what he said just now made him clearly feel that Youshi was not only dissatisfied in his heart, but also planned to compete with Xie Yuyin overtly or secretly, or slowly push Xie Yuyin away.

——The rules of the New Year's ceremony are all clear and clear. Last year, because of Guo's affairs, she was grounded in the mansion, and it was her turn to bring her children to the ceremony.This year the princess is here in good condition, so there is no need to ask how to deal with this matter, it is strange to ask.She dared to ask Xie Yuyin because she was not familiar with these things. If she really came in to discuss it, Xie Yuyin would probably agree to it.

But the matter was resolved, and Meng Junhuai didn't bring it out to cause trouble for Xie Yuyin.

He only handed Liu's post to her: "This is from the side concubine of the tenth younger brother's house."

Xie Yuyin took it over and looked at it, while listening to him briefly talk about the tenth prince's residence.This matter was too big at the time, she knew something about it, and vaguely remembered that the "favored concubine" in the favored concubine's wife was surnamed Liu.

So I heard Meng Junhuai say, "The tenth brother may want to carry her up, but after all, it's someone else's private matter, and we don't have to pick it up. You don't care if you see this person—if you see him, it's a favor; if you don't see him, it's according to the rules." Do something." After that, she blurted out: "Then it's gone."

She answered too quickly, Meng Junhuai was taken aback: "What's the reason?"

She remained calm on the face, and thought of an excuse in her mind, and quickly handed the post back to him: "The fate is not enough."

Meng Junhuai: "..."

He was afraid that if he continued talking, he would talk about Buddhism, so he didn't ask her any more.After taking the post back, he left, and after walking a few steps, he stopped suddenly.

"The fate is not enough", does it refer to the fate between the tenth brother and the Liu family, or the fate between her and the Liu family?If it's the former, it seems to him to be a bit of a mystery; if it's the latter, it means that as the main concubine, she doesn't bother to see the side concubine - if she really has this idea in her heart, it's very much in his favor.

Thinking about her upright appearance just now, Meng Junhuai was not sure which one it was, and couldn't help but wonder in his heart.But after all, he has come out of the main courtyard, so it is not easy to go back and ask.

He continued to walk back with this inquiry, Er Er gave a slight smile, and let go of the luck of "it's very much to his liking".

It's almost the end of the new year in a snap of the fingers.On New Year's Eve, both Meng Junhuai and Xie Yuyin will enter the palace to attend the banquet, and the next three days will be the time for each government to visit each other to pay New Year's greetings.These four days are busy and busy, but it is nothing new for Yu Yin—when she was not married, she probably lived in this way when she returned home from Hualing Nunnery during Chinese New Year.It seems difficult to cope with the endless stream of guests, but in fact, it can be done with polite and auspicious words.

In the past few days, she didn't even have to worry about how to get along with Meng Junhuai. The defense of men and women was placed in the middle, he went to Qianqing Palace to attend banquets, and the wives went to Kunning Palace.The only thing that is not very happy is that the food is really "simple" due to the busy schedule and many rules in the past few days. Even if she eats plain and simple, she still thinks it is too simple!
On the first day of the new year, she ate four small wontons in the morning.Then she stayed in the palace for a whole day and only ate two small snacks. When she returned home at night, she was so hungry that she couldn't help thinking about those two snacks—she clearly remembered that the snack was made of mung beans, and it was called "" Yucui Dizhu", sweet but not greasy, very delicious!

What really made her uneasy was the Lantern Festival, which was more than ten days away.

The Lantern Festival is a day of reunion, there are no outsiders, but everyone from concubines to children to low-ranking concubines in the mansion will come here.Yu hadn't dealt with them much since she was introduced to the mansion, and she suddenly wanted to attend a banquet together, and she was still a serious "mother" at this banquet, so there was always some pressure.

——The concubines are all there, and the king of Yijun is also there. I am afraid that fighting openly and secretly is inevitable, right?Even at her Xie's house, there will always be undercurrents and turmoil in such a family banquet with a large number of people.

Xie Yuyin was a quiet person, and she pushed back the matter of the tenth prince and side concubine on the grounds of "not enough predestined relationship", but she just didn't want to get involved in these messy things.

Helpless, if the concubines fight at the banquet, although it is considered a "messy thing", as the mistress, she really can't avoid the Lantern Festival family banquet because of "insufficient fate".

Thinking about this, Xie Yuyin sighed, curled her lips, and casually picked up a scripture to read.

After reading for a while, she called Shan Shan: "Let someone pass a message. During the Lantern Festival, let the two side concubines and everyone behind come over an hour earlier, and say that I invite them to have tea and sit down."

Coral replied "No", and after exiting the room, she asked the two eunuchs to pass on the message.

After a while, there was a different kind of excitement in the backyard.

The backyards of each royal mansion have a similar pattern, and are divided into four parts. The princess lives in the main courtyard, and the two side concubines live in the east and west courtyards slightly behind the main courtyard. Yard is a concubine with a lower status.

Most of these small courtyards are triple courtyards, and compared with the courtyard of the main concubine, there is one row of inverted houses.And mostly three or two people live in an apartment, and there are rarely times when an apartment is suitable for one person.

The six concubines in the Prince's Mansion of Yi County lived in two courtyards, and now the six of them gathered in one courtyard.Four acquainted "old men" sat in the yard and chatted about family affairs, and the other two were given in according to the rules when Lixin Wangfei was born, and did not participate in the chat.

Beside the stone table, Wang glanced at the west wing, and pressed his tongue: "I saw figures dangling in that room. This is trying on clothes, right? Sigh, after all, you are young, you look good in anything you wear."

"Hey, envious of their youth, how old are you?" Jiang immediately gave her a sideways glance.Baolin Wang was gifted by the queen two years ago. She is seventeen this year. She came in with Guo when she became the concubine. She is two years older than Wang, but she doesn't want to admit that she is old.

But after looking at the West Wing, Mrs. Jiang also sighed: "This time, these two are really pretty, I heard that Concubine Ding personally picked them."

Jiang's words were indescribable.After all, it is the real mother, as the saying goes, "Wives marry virtue, concubines accept beauty", how can the virtues of the main concubine be invisible for a while, but the two newly sent concubines are both beautiful.

You Shi, who is currently promoted to the side concubine, was also chosen by Concubine Ding, and she is also very beautiful.

The four of them chatted one after another outside. In the west wing room, Mrs. Su took a silver hairpin and put it on her hair, compared it in front of the mirror, and said excitedly: "Mu He, which hairpin matches which one?" How about the jade-colored jacket?"

Mu He was hanging up the clothes that had been tried on, when she heard the words, she hurriedly took a look, and saw that there was no trace of embellishment or inlay on the silver hairpin except for a few strands of engraving, so she frowned: "It's too plain. Alright..."

After taking a closer look, he even said: "Miss Fengyi, this is the Lantern Festival..." Then he looked at Su Shi's expression, and said carefully, "Your Highness is also going to attend the banquet, madam, it is too much for you to use this hairpin." So plain, you can’t see it even if you throw it on the mat.”

Mu He felt that the one sitting with Prince Yi at the banquet was the main concubine, next to them were the two side concubines, then the children, and after that were their concubines.It was already inconspicuous enough, if you want the county prince to see it, you can only show it by yourself.

She was really worried for her own wife.Gu, who also entered the mansion when she was Lixin Wangfei, was summoned once by His Royal Highness on the second day after entering the mansion...Although it was only because His Highness heard that she was good at chess and asked to play a game of chess, it was better than seeing Su Fengyi here. Can't see it?
Mu He earnestly persuaded Su Shi: "Feng Yi, don't think that you will stand out if you dress plainly. We are far away, so plain, even if you are so plain, His Highness Duxiu will not be able to see it."

However, Su Shi still held the plain hairpin as if she were a rare treasure: "The banquet is far away, and His Highness can't see it. But the person we want to see first in the daytime is the princess."

Mu He was taken aback when he heard the words, Su Shi carefully put the hairpins into the makeup box, smiled and said: "The princess has lived in the nunnery for ten years, so she probably doesn't like heavy makeup." Then she turned her head, with a little smile Ask Mu He mysteriously, "Do you think it's better to let His Highness see you at the banquet, or it's better to have a good relationship with her first when you go to sit with the princess?"

In an instant, Mu He felt enlightened!
Naturally, it is better to have a good relationship with the princess. She introduced the concubine as the concubine, and the king of Yijun should give him a face-to-face meeting. This is much better than the moment at the gambling banquet.

Mu He's heart brightened immediately, she opened the makeup box and took out the hairpin again, and said to Su Shi: "I'll go and wipe it for the lady, it looks clean, the princess likes it more."

(End of this chapter)