Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 420: Humming a Little Song [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you words]

"Ok!"

Chai Zhengzheng hummed, then looked down at his clothes.

Yunmu and Fuyi saw what Chai Zhengzheng was doing and hurried to help smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes.

Mrs. Chai, who was sitting on the Luohan bed in the front hall, glanced at her daughter beside her, then stood up and helped Chai Zhengzheng tidy up the bangs on her forehead.

"We went to the Zhu family first to get some good luck, and then we dared to go to the Chai family!"

"Hahaha! The prince consort is joking."

The voices of the Chai family master and Lu Gongfu talking came from outside the house into the front hall.

"Please come in."

The voice of the head of the Chai family sounded at the door.

Mrs. Chai also happened to sit back on the Arhat bed at this time.
Seeing Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong following Prince Consort Lu into the room, Madam Chai stood up again.

Prince Consort Lu simply bowed and said a few words of New Year's greetings.

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong bowed and saluted, then said in unison: "Madam, may you be well and have a happy new year! Miss Zhengzheng/Sister, may you be well and have a happy new year."

Seeing Xu Zaijing's astonished eyes and Lu Zezong's slightly open mouth looking a little dazed, Chai Zhengzheng and the maid beside him smiled and squatted slightly as a return gesture.

After the two of them bowed and greeted each other and stood up, Mrs. Chai, who had stood up from the Luohan bed, walked to Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong.

Holding Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong by the hand, Madam Chai first smiled at Lu Zezong, then looked at Xu Zaijing carefully and said, "Jing'er, I haven't seen you for a long time. Why do I feel that you have grown taller?"

Xu Zaijing smiled slightly: "Madam, you have good eyesight. It has improved a bit in the past six months."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing measured it with his other hand.

"I said so! Come, sit down!"

Wait until Xu Zaijing and others are seated.

There is a table between the chairs.
Madam Chai pointed to the porcelain plate of dried fruits on the table and said, "Jing'er, Zong'er, try the new melon seeds from the north! There are both sweet and salty ones."

Xu Zaijing looked at the dried fruits on the table that looked very similar to watermelon seeds in later generations, and grabbed a handful in his hand with a smile.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's actions, Mrs. Chai's smile deepened.

Xu Zaijing relied on his strong hands and did not pop the watermelon seeds into his mouth. Instead, he broke them in pieces with his bare hands and ate them one by one, feeding the remaining ones to Lu Zezong.

After asking about Xie and Anmei's children, Madam Chai looked at Prince Consort Lu and said with a smile, "Prince Consort, has the princess's morning sickness improved recently?"

Prince Consort Lu smiled and nodded: "It's much better than before."

After saying this, Prince Consort Lu looked down as if he was looking at his nephew Lu Zezong.

They talked for a while.
For in the morning they must go to the palace,

They didn't talk for too long, and Prince Consort Lu and Xu Zaijing stood up to say goodbye.

A group of people walked out in a hurry.

Walking along the corridor of the Chai family's inner courtyard,
Lu Zezong was walking side by side with Chai Zhengzheng at the back. He glanced at Chai Zhengzheng’s face and said, “Sister Zhengzheng, is your makeup today new? It looks really good!”

The three maids following Chai Zhengzheng all laughed.

Chai Zhengzheng also smiled in confusion: "Zong Ge'er, why do you say that?"

Lu Zezong looked at Chai Zhengzheng, whose eyelids were a little blue, but her skin looked white and creamy, and said, “I have never seen my cousins ​​put on makeup that makes them look blue.”

As he spoke, Lu Zezong also pointed to his eyelids.

Hearing Lu Zezong's words, Chai Zhengzheng touched his eyelids, smiled and whispered: "Zong'er, I'm not melting, I just stayed up all night to see the new year."

"oh oh!"

Lu Zezong looked at Chai Zhengzheng a little embarrassedly and nodded.
After taking a few quick steps to catch up with Xu Zaijing in front of him, he held Xu Zaijing's hand.

Delivered to the second gate,
Xu Zaijing and his group left the Chai family.

Mrs. Chai glanced at Xu Zaijing riding out on horseback, then looked at her very beautiful daughter. The corners of her mouth unconsciously rose up, her eyes full of pride.

Mrs. Chai has been in Bian Jing for so long. She has met many noble ladies in the capital because she is looking for wives for her two sons. However, few can compare with her daughter Chai Zhengzheng.

Family background, temperament, appearance, height, and needlework
Even Rong Feiyan, whose beauty was famous in Bian Jing, was somewhat inferior to Chai Zhengzheng in family background and temperament.

After all, most of the noble ladies in Beijing who are the same age as Chai Zhengzheng do not have the opportunity to manage as many shops and businesses as she does.

"I'll wear this when I enter the palace. It looks good."

Mrs. Chai said to Chai Zhengzheng with a smile.

I returned to Huihefang from Chai's house.
After some preparation,

Xu Zaijing followed the Lu family and rushed to the palace.

I went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings so many times on the first day of the new year.

For the first time today, Xu Zaijing did not go through the Xuande Gate in the south of the imperial palace, but instead went through the Donghua Gate in the east.

Entering the palace,
Before they reached the main hall where the nobles had lined up to wait in previous years, a junior eunuch from the palace came up to the Lu family and bowed.

Xu Zaijing smiled and bowed in return: "Lord Qingyun."

Qingyun, who was paying his respects, smiled and waved his hands, saying, "Wulang, I cannot bear the title of sir."

"My dear young master, you are too modest! What are you doing?"

Qingyun bowed to the Lu family members beside him and said, "Your Highness, please ask Wulang and Zongge'er to wait somewhere else."

Old Duke Lian smiled and waved his hand: "You guys go ahead."

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong left the Lu family and followed Qingyun to the side.

After walking half a circle around the New Year's greeting hall, Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong came to the door of a room at the back of the hall.

After opening the door, Xu Zaijing saw that there were many concubines and relatives coming to the palace to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the new year.

The room is divided by a row of doors.

"Wulang, Zong'er, please take a seat in the room. His Highness will be here soon." Qingyun said as he stood at the door of the room.

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong nodded and entered the room.

Sit down for a while.

Zhao Fang, who had just met before, walked in wearing a light golden dress.

"I have met His Highness."

The two men stood up and bowed.

Zhao Fang was older than Lu Zezong. Looking at the two people who stood up, Zhao Fang waved his hand imposingly: "Jing brother, Zong brother, sit down, both of you sit down."

"Brother Jing, did you see the big fireworks last night?"

Zhao Fang spoke first with a smile.

Xu Zaijing nodded.

"Hey, I lit two of them myself."

Looking at the surprised looks of Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong, Zhao Fang's face was full of pride.

"Your Highness is so brave!"

Lu Zezong said as he looked at Zhao Fang, who was only a few years older than him.

Zhao Fang touched his nose.

In fact, the fuse of the fireworks last night was about 20 to 30 feet long. When the fuse was lit, there were four eunuchs like Qingyun standing in front of Zhao Fang.

Just before Zhao Fang and Xu Zaijing spoke,
In the room next door, which was separated from the room where Xu Zaijing and others were, there was only one layer of partition.
Rong Feiyan was sitting on a chair, holding in her arms the daughter of Concubine Rong, the youngest princess of the current emperor.

The little princess was hugged by Rong Feiyan, and her little hand was holding one of Rong Feiyan's tender fingers. When she heard the voices from next door, Rong Feiyan didn't take it seriously.

But when Rong Feiyan heard Zhao Fang calling for people, she was stunned.

Because from the sound of the voice, it seemed as if the 'Jing Ge'er that Zhao Fang mentioned was sitting on the other side of the partition behind her.

Without the partition, the two people would be sitting back to back.

Listening carefully to the words "Fanlou, Western Army, Military Officer, the Second Day" and so on, Rong Feiyan understood that it seemed that the prince had gone out of the palace a few days ago to have dinner with the soldiers of the Western Army.

"Fei Yan? What do you think?"

Mrs. Rong, who was sitting in the room, asked.

Rong Feiyan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at the little princess in her arms and said, "Mother is right."

"Look, your Majesty, Feiyan also thinks that the Qi family is better than the Xu family!" said Madam Rong.

Rong Feiyan: “.”

Concubine Rong glanced at Rong Feiyan, but did not expose her absent-mindedness. She said, "These long-time nobles in the capital have always looked down on our family! The Duke of Qi's family is well-known for its noble status in Bianjing. Mother, you should think about it more."

"Brother Xian can marry into the family of Duke Fuguo, so how could Princess Pingning look down on Feiyan with her outstanding appearance and demeanor?" Madam Rong blinked and said with some lack of confidence.

Concubine Rong shook her head slightly: "Then what kind of help can our family give to Young Master Qi in his career?"

Madam Rong was speechless for a moment, and said hesitantly, "Your family is the Duke Lu family? Their eldest son is older than Feiyan. Although he has a bad reputation, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. After all, they have been Dukes for generations."

Concubine Rong closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Mother, have you ever thought about Gu Erlang from Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion?"

"Gu Erlang? Her biological mother was from a salt merchant family, which is lower than our family background. There is..." Looking at Rong Fei's serious eyes, Madam Rong shut up awkwardly.

"Mother, other people have said this about our family! You shouldn't look down on yourself and go along with them!"

After Rong Fei finished speaking,
The room was very quiet.
The little princess seemed to be accustomed to her mother's appearance. She didn't pay much attention and followed Rong Feiyan's example, listening attentively to the voices behind the door.

I heard Zhao Fang say on the other side, "Jing'er, you and Zong'er sit for a while. I'm going to be with my mother first. Don't leave the palace for a while."

"Aunt, it was my royal brother who was speaking." The little princess explained softly to Rong Feiyan.

Rong Feiyan looked down at the little girl in her arms and nodded.

"Empress Rong, the Queen said we can go in." An eunuch at the door said.

After Rong Feiyan took her daughter from Rong Feiyan, Concubine Rong said, "Well, then mother and sister, please sit for a while! Then go through the corridor inside the palace."

"Yes, ma'am."

The mother and daughter of the Rong family stood up and responded.

In the hallway,
Zhao Fang walked out of the room, thinking about how he patted the shoulder of Lu Zezong, who was younger than him, when he left just now, and raised the corner of his mouth with great joy.

After walking a few steps, Zhao Fang was even happier when he heard the door of Rong Fei's room opening not far away.

after awhile,

Rong Feiyan and her mother walked out of the room.
I happened to run into Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong who were walking together.

Madam Rong smiled: "Oh! We meet again, my two brothers! Come, let's go together!"

then,

Madam Rong and Lu Zezong were in the middle, Rong Feiyan and Xu Zaijing were on both sides, and the four of them were walking in the corridor inside the palace.

When we got to the front hall of the building,
There was a buzzing sound of talking.

Behind the platform where the dragon throne was, the four people who came together separated tacitly and walked forward from one side of the platform.

Rong Feiyan didn't even glance at Xu Zaijing along the way.
But when her view was about to be blocked by the platform, she couldn't help but look in the direction of Xu Zaijing.

In the main hall,
Many noble officials and their families had already entered the hall and were talking inside.

Xu Zaijing came out from behind the dragon throne platform and attracted a lot of attention.

The seat of the Duke of England Zhang family was very close to the dragon throne. Standing behind the Duke of England's wife, the fifth wife of the Zhang family looked at Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong who walked in and said, "Brother Jing, so you went to the back hall. I thought you were not coming!"

Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Wu Niang, Happy New Year."

"Good luck to Brother Jing and Brother Zong." Wu Niang said with a smile.

Xu Zaijing smiled, bowed to the Lady of the Duke of England, and walked towards his home.

Lu Zezong followed Xu Zaijing, exchanged greetings with Sun and Hualan, and was then sent back to the Lu family by Xu Zaijing.

Back to the Xu family's seat,

Xu Zaijing stood on tiptoe and looked around the hall. This year, there were obviously more ladies from the families of military officers and nobles in the hall than before.

There were several ladies whom I had never seen before. They were dressed elegantly but looked a little nervous. It was obviously their first time to visit the palace to pay New Year's greetings.

Xu Zaijing thought about it and felt that it was most likely the wife of the general who had made great contributions in the previous siege of Baigao.

When Xu Zaijing was looking at the situation inside the hall, there were still families of noble officials entering the hall at the call of the eunuchs.

Ningyuanhou Gu family is located.
Gu Shixing was sitting on Bai's lap, and Pingmei, Gu Tingye and Gu Tingyi were standing beside her.

Pingmei looked at Gu Tingye curiously, who kept turning his head, and asked, "Brother Ye, what's wrong?"

Gu Tingye shook his head in confusion and said, "Sister-in-law, I don't know why, but I always feel like someone is looking at me."

Looking at the young version of Bai Shi -- Gu Tingyi who rolled her eyes secretly, Pingmei smiled and smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes.

After smoothing out the wrinkles, Pingmei looked around, relying on her tall stature.

Pingmei then lowered her head and covered her mouth with a handkerchief, leaning close to Bai's ear and saying, "Mother-in-law, I see the eldest lady of the Rong family is looking in our direction."

Hearing this, Bai looked in the direction of Concubine Rong and saw the eldest lady of the Rong family talking to Concubine Rong.

Rong Fei's place,
Madam Rong whispered to Concubine Rong, "I see that Gu Erlang is growing more and more like Ning Yuanhou. They look exactly like him, but his eyebrows..."

When the palace was very lively,
Jiying Lane

Moriya
Jin'anzhai

The room was warm with the heating on.

Next to the embroidery frame under the bright window, a woman with bright eyes was humming a little tune while embroidering flowers.

A little maid, about eleven or twelve years old, about Minglan's age, lifted the cotton curtain and walked in.

Wei Shuyi, who was standing in front of the embroidery frame, looked back and said, "Hmm? Qiu Jiang, didn't the old lady let Brother Maki come back?"

The maid squatted slightly and said, "My dear, no! I was not able to reach Shou'an Hall."

Wei Shuyi asked in confusion: "Ah? What happened? Where's Xiaodie?"

"Sister Xiaodie said she was waiting at the intersection over there. She heard that there seemed to be a man from outside who was going to Shou'an Hall, so the lady ordered to temporarily block the maids in the backyard."

Wei Shu nodded.

"Girl, is it the boy from our private school who has come?" the little maid asked softly.

"No, there's no need for those guys to come like that."

Having said that, Wei Shuyi turned around and continued to work at the embroidery frame.

Half an hour later,

Xiaodie returned to Jin'anzhai.

The maid Qiu Jiang asked curiously, "Sister Xiaodie, where did the guest come from? Did you find out?"

Wei Shuyi also looked over.

Xiaodie warmed her hands in front of the stove in the room, glanced at Wei Shuyi and Qiu Jiang with a smile and said, "I heard from Madam Cui that the people that the old lady selected from the manor in the south to serve under Marquis Yongyi have returned to the capital."

"I heard that three or four strong warriors were rewarded and promoted. When I came back, they were kowtowing to the old lady in Shou'an Hall to wish her a happy new year."

(End of this chapter)