Song Dynasty female artist

Chapter 951 Undecided

Bi Sujie was very satisfied with Zhu Yun's reaction and stopped him for her: "My husband, you and I are one, how can you say that she betrays you? I think this girl is loyal and reliable, so you should keep her by my side. I will find a few smart ones to send to you in a few days."

Lu Gongchuo looked at Zhuyun angrily, snorted, and left unhappily.

After the people left, Bi Sujie was in a good mood and asked her to stand up: "You performed well just now, and you are smarter than that Zhuyu. Don't worry, as long as you can always recognize your identity and serve me loyally, I will find a good marriage for you in the future."

Zhu Yun kowtowed: "Thank you, Madam. I will serve you wholeheartedly and will never betray you."

In this way, Zhuyun served Bi Sujie until the first year of Mingdao, when Lu Gongchuo was 33 years old and was appointed as the Minister of Taichang Temple.

Lu Gongchuo and Bi Sujie had a son and a daughter. The eldest son, Lu Xidao, was seven years old, and the daughter, Lu Yijiajia, was four years old.

Zhu Yun had served Bi Sujie for seven years and was very much loved by Bi Sujie. Except for the mother she brought as a dowry, she had the final say in the entire backyard, which made her very proud.

At this time, Zhu Yun was already 24 years old. According to custom, when she turned 25, her mistress would choose a good family for her and prepare a dowry for her, so that her service would not be in vain.

Zhuyun has also been looking forward to leaving home and living her own life.

So they serve even more wholeheartedly.

However, when she turned 25, the lady still hadn't agreed.

Zhu Yun hinted at it, but Bi Sujie seemed not to understand and never mentioned the matter of her leaving the house.

Zhu Yun could only patiently serve for another half a year, until February of the second year of Mingdao.

I don’t know what the lady was thinking. Maybe she saw that she was old and posed no threat, or maybe she thought that she was her trusted maid, so she sent her to serve in Lu Gongchuo’s courtyard.

Just as Bi Sujie thought, Lu Gongchuo no longer needed Zhuyun as much as before and only asked her to be responsible for cleaning the courtyard, which was the job of a second-class maid.

Zhuyun suddenly went from being a favored maid to a second-class servant. Not only was she working hard and exhausted, but her monthly salary was also lower than before.

What made her even more angry was that she was supposed to leave home when she reached the age to do so.

Zhuyun had a sad face. One day, Lu Gongchuo came back from outside drunk and saw Zhuyun wiping her tears secretly. He couldn't help but think of the time when she had served him wholeheartedly, so he walked up to Zhuyun and asked her why she was crying.

Zhuyun wiped her tears, shook her head and said nothing.

There's no point telling him about this, he still needs his wife's approval.

Perhaps he had drunk too much, and seeing Zhu Yun like this and thinking of his recent troubles, Lu Gongchuo got angry at Zhu Yun: "Why, when you served in my courtyard, you seemed to be dedicated, but after only a few days in Madam's courtyard, you didn't want to serve me anymore. After so many years, you seemed to be very favored, and now you are about to be sent out of the mansion, but Madam has thrown you into my courtyard to be a second-class maid. Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No, my lord."

"You know it well. I've been feeling depressed lately and can't find anyone to cheer me up. You should come and continue drinking with me."

"My lord, you are drunk."

Lu Gongchuo pulled Zhuyun to his side and said, "Who told you that I'm drunk? I'm not drunk. Bring me some wine."

"Sir, please let go."

As the two were pulling each other, Zhu Yun accidentally tripped and fell into Lu Gongchuo's arms.

Bi Sujie happened to come over.

Bi Sujie is no longer as jumpy as she was when she first got married.

He calmly asked two maids to help Zhuyun up, and asked the servant beside him to help Lu Gongchuo into the house to rest.

"I thought you would stay in your proper place, but I didn't expect that in just a few days, you would want to climb onto the bed." Bi Sujie lifted Zhu Yu's chin with her jade hands. "In that case, I will fulfill your wish and let you climb onto the master's bed tonight." Bi Sujie really washed her clean and carried her onto Lu Gongchuo's bed.

But at that time, Lu Gongchuo was already drunk and did not do anything to Zhuyun.

The next day, Lu Gongchuo got up, rubbing his head, and was shocked to see Zhuyun lying beside him.

"Why are you in my bed?"

Zhu Yun was embarrassed: "It was Madam, she made the decision yesterday and asked me to be your concubine."

At that time, Zhuyun was a little moved.

She was just a maid. Being able to be a concubine of a third-rank official in the Ministry of Rites was a blessing she had earned through several lifetimes. It would not be bad if she could live out her life in peace and stability.

But during this period, Lu Gongchuo was so busy that he had no mood to touch her.

Sometimes when I was serving her, I would ask her to go out.

One day he had an argument with his wife and came to her courtyard in a rage. He stayed in her room that day, but did not do anything else. Instead, he talked to her about matters in the court.

This was the first time that Lu Gongchuo spoke these words to her in his ear.

When he was serving by his side, he had not yet entered the officialdom.

Lu Gongchuo said that the Queen Mother was unwell and her condition had worsened in three months. For this reason, His Majesty specially issued a general amnesty and restored the official positions of the court officials who had been demoted by the Queen Mother at that time, just to pray for the Queen Mother.

At that time, Lu Gongchuo, who was the head of the Taichang Temple, was particularly busy because the empress dowager had sent a message saying that she wanted to enter the Taimiao to worship the ancestors.

How can a woman go to the Taimiao?
However, the Queen Mother was determined to go.

The emperor at that time was very filial, but since he was not in power, he could not make the decision. So he put pressure on the ministers and asked them to come up with a solution that would satisfy both parties.

This would not only satisfy the Queen Mother's wishes, but also prevent people from spreading rumors that the Queen Mother wanted to ascend the throne and become emperor.

It may seem like a simple matter of going to the Taimiao to worship ancestors, but the deep meaning behind it can be understood with a little bit of thinking.

How many people dare to take this hot potato?
The ministers all pushed each other, and finally this "heavy burden" fell on Lu Gongchuo.

How could Lu Gongchuo dare to do that? He hurried to find his father to discuss what to do.

Lu Yijian asked Lu Gongchuo to go directly to the palace to ask the empress dowager.

Lü Gongchuo had no choice but to go to the palace to ask for an audience and to ask the Queen Mother's opinion. However, the Queen Mother simply said, "I just want to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to see the late Emperor. I have no other intentions. You can do whatever you think is right."

After Lu Gongchuo left the palace, he stayed in his room alone to ponder the Queen Mother's intentions.

But I still can't figure it out, and I can't make up my mind.

No wonder he has been so upset these days. Although she doesn't understand, she knows that this is about trying to guess the Queen Mother's intentions. If it's right, their Lu family will be safe. If it's wrong, the Lu family will suffer.

"Sir, this is such an important matter, doesn't the Prime Minister care about it?"

Your Excellency is the Minister of Taichang Temple, in charge of matters such as sacrifices and mausoleums, but Your Excellency is the Prime Minister and the head of the Lu family, so how could he not give Your Excellency some advice?

"Father is not indifferent, but father and the Queen Mother have always been..."

He couldn't explain the relationship in the court so clearly to a concubine: "Anyway, I have to make the decision on this matter myself."