The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 157

The vehicle that Grand Concubine Xu sent to pick up Qiniangzi was much more grand.

The Sixth Lady was in the position of concubine, so to speak, she was only second-rank, but Concubine Xu was given the super-grade treatment. Compared with the small warm sedan chair brought by Sixth Lady, what Princess Xu sent was a chariot, but Seventh Lady was a little panicked. Dare to go up, so he borrowed a warm sedan chair from Liu Niangzi, followed behind the chariot as usual, and slowly left the East Sixth Palace and entered the West Sixth Palace.

The first emperor ruled Yuyu for many years, and there were many concubines, but there were not many sons. Except for those concubines who had sons, they went out of the palace and entered the fief to live. Or live in a cold palace, that's the case. The West Sixth Palace where Ningshou Palace and Cishou Palace are located is still quite populated. Qin Niangzi can see through the sedan chair curtain that the West Sixth Palace is much bigger than the East Sixth Palace. Much more lively.

The little warm sedan passed the long street, turned another corner, and entered a palace with three entrances. This was different from the Chongkang Palace where Liu Niangzi lived. , but the style of Ningshou Palace has the taste of a main courtyard, as if it is in the Sixth West Palace, it is the one holding the line - through the curtain of the sedan chair, you can vaguely see the eaves of Cishou Palace, but it is in the West Palace. The sixth house is deep.

Just looking at Concubine Xu's residence, one can tell that the emperor has tried to be impartial to these two adoptive mothers.

Qin Niangzi got out of the sedan chair under the service of two palace servants, took a deep breath, patted the hem of her skirt slightly, then went up the stairs and entered the main hall of Ningshou Palace.

There was an old female official waiting at the door, with a friendly smile on her face, she led Qiniangzi into the warm pavilion in Dongci room, Concubine Xu sat by the kang and smiled at Qiniangzi, "It's cold, come and sit by the kang. "

Qin Niangzi did not dare to be negligent, but respectfully saluted Concubine Xu. "Meet the concubine."

Concubine Xu is quite similar to Mrs. Ni, they both have a happy round face, they take advantage of middle-aged people, and they look very kind.But also because of this face, even though she was appointed a noble concubine when she entered the palace, the position of noble concubine has become more and more stable with the achievements of her father and brother over the years, but she has never been favored. If you don't get married, you will die.Or because she has fewer children, she looks younger than her peers. Standing next to the queen mother during the New Year, she looks even worse than the strict and rigid queen mother.Seeing that Seventh Lady was polite, the smile on her face naturally became wider, and she said kindly, "Get up, my own, why bother to be so polite!"

Naturally, someone came to help Seventh Lady, put her on the kang opposite Concubine Xu, and sat and talked with Concubine Xu.

"Just now the female officer next to me said that although I sent a chariot to pick you up, you didn't sit in it. You borrowed Concubine Ning's warm sedan chair to come here." Concubine Xu actually chose this topic. And. "I'm very happy to hear that. A daughter of the Yang family is a daughter of the Yang family. You, like your second sister, are well-mannered children."

Qin Niangzi muttered humbly, "Xiao Qi knows her identity..."

She quickly figured out Concubine Xu's character in her heart.

After living in a deep house for a long time, it is impossible for anyone to be as simple as they seem. Concubine Xu looks kind, but whether she is actually kind or not is a matter for two.At least when she was getting started, she didn't admire anything from the palace.

"Well, I let the chariot go over, just to try you." Concubine Xu looked very satisfied with Qin Niangzi. "If you have that kind of frivolous personality, if you get three points of face, you can't wait to show off. I have to ask my mother and sister-in-law to be more disciplined. Fortunately, you are a sensible child—how old is this year?"

What followed was some careful cross-examination.

Qin Niangzi only felt that although Concubine Xu had been married for many years, judging from her attitude and words, she seemed to be as concerned about the internal affairs of the Xu family as she was when she was not married.

Don't say that she is just a nephew and daughter-in-law, but Quan Ruiyun, the real sister-in-law. Seventh Lady never thought of interrogating her with such an attitude, let alone Brother Ninth's daughter-in-law in the future.

She took a few glances at Concubine Xu, and responded to Concubine Xu's inquiries appropriately.

"Yes... my brother and I are twins, and we will end this spring."

"Birth mother was buried in the northwest, she was canonized a few years ago, and has a nine-rank imperial order..."

"After Shizi came back... well, I had intercourse a few times..."

Concubine Xu smiled and patted Qin Niangzi's hand, "What's there to be ashamed of! I'm afraid that Shizi will be seriously injured - when Feng Jia came in last time, I sent someone to visit him, and came back to tell me that he was injured ! How can it be!”

Her attitude towards Xu Fengjia is much closer than Mrs. Tai's attitude towards her grandson.

After Qin Niangzi thought about it, she understood: Xu Fengjia had been in and out of the palace since she was a child. He was young at that time, and he must have often played beside the concubine. It is common sense that the relationship between the two should be deeper.

It seems that although the concubine and Mrs. Tai are biological mothers and daughters, they may not have the same perception of the internal affairs of the Xu family.

The two of them said a few more polite words. The concubine was obviously very satisfied with Qiniangzi's conversation. She leaned against the board wall and sighed comfortably, and called the female officer, "Bring the meeting gift I prepared for my niece and daughter-in-law!"

It seems that if I can't satisfy the concubine, I might not have this meeting ceremony: a concubine born, the starting point must be low, and the golden bell in Wu Niangzi's house is the meeting gift given by Concubine Xu.

Seventh Lady thanked her with a ruby ​​pocket watch that Concubine Xu had given her, and took off a pure gold pocket watch that she had given her, and pinned the new gift to her dress—this is a common custom, and it was rewarded by the elders. , It is only when you wear it on the spot that you will be grateful.

Concubine Xu's eyes flashed: Pocket watches and chime clocks are rare things in the whole of Qin Dynasty.Qin Niangzi took out one casually, which shows that her wealth may not be meager.

She took the pocket watch into her hand and took a look at it carefully. "Is this Western goods?"

Qin Niangzi did not expect Concubine Xu to question such trivial matters carefully.

"Yes, it was the Jiji gift from my father when he was in Suzhou." She replied in a soft voice: Concubine Xu seems to have a bit of a control freak temper.

Sure enough, Concubine Xu became happy when she heard it, "Well, it seems that your parents love you very much!"

It was as if the Yang family had casually sent the last unfavored daughter to marry into the Xu family.

Next, Concubine Xu began to question Qiniangzi in detail, when did she plan to take over the housework, and what did she think she would do after taking over the housework... She looked like the most verbose HR manager in a future interview.

Qin Niangzi didn't dare to make any excuses, she still answered carefully, pushing left and right to block, and doing Tai Chi for those who didn't want to answer, she only said it depends on what the prince wants.Even though Concubine Xu repeatedly emphasized that 'you have to have your own ideas', she always said that 'Xiaoqi is still young, it's just a gimmick to ask for a housekeeper, and many things need to be decided by grandmother and mother' to deal with it.

"That's good." Although Concubine Xu had regrets on her face, she felt a little relieved, "It's not bad if you have this self-knowledge. Family affairs should be handled according to the wishes of the two old people. Regarding the matter of the sixth house, That's what you put your heart into. I heard that Feng Jia has two rooms..."

"Now I'm living in Mingde Hall." Seventh Lady replied with a smile.

Grand Concubine Xu pondered, and then asked, "Then, will you investigate the death of your Fifth Sister or not?"

Qin Niangzi answered slickly, and almost blurted out the answer for a while. Fortunately, she has strong self-control and good concentration, and immediately realized what the concubine meant: this series of questions was originally for this one question.

"Xiaoqi is young and doesn't know anything." She made another old excuse. "This matter depends on what grandma and mother want."

Concubine Xu smiled meaningfully at Qiniangzi, obviously hearing the perfunctory answer.

"Listen to me, niece and daughter-in-law." She changed her posture, showing a heart-to-heart expression. "Living at home, what you talk about is tolerance. A lot of things are over and they are over. If you have to find out the truth, it will hurt your muscles and bones, and it will also hurt the feelings of the family. In the future, the Duke's Mansion will still be handed over to you and Feng Jia." Li, you must have the mind to be a clan wife, so don't worry about the past."

Her words, judging from her tone and demeanor, were quite serious and very sincere.Even if you look at it with the eyes of Qin Niangzi, you can't see the hypocrisy.

That's right, the clan wives of big families in ancient times really had to pay attention to the overall situation.If the investigation of Fifth Lady's death would lead to the disintegration of the family, then Seventh Lady was indeed dereliction of duty as the clan wife.

Looking at Concubine Xu's sincere expression, she suddenly understood the wife she wanted.

Concubine Xu is indeed fundamentally different from Mrs. Ni.

Mrs. Tai wholeheartedly favors the fourth and fifth rooms, because she doesn't get along with her daughter-in-law, so she doesn't have any affection for the sixth room.

The relationship between Concubine Xu and Mrs. Xu is not bad. What she wants is a housewife who can manage the Xu family's inner courtyard well so that the Xu family does not want the backyard to catch fire.Only the stability of the Xu family can guarantee her confidence in the harem to the greatest extent.

"Xiao Qi knows what to do." She confidently uttered this usual mantra. "Everything must be done properly, and people in the capital will not be laughed at."

Concubine Xu's eyes flashed, she nodded.

"You have much more ideas than your Fifth Sister."

The enthusiasm in these words has faded instead, and it doesn't seem like a compliment, but a touch of regret, as if lamenting Wu Niangzi's early death.

Qin Niangzi looked at the sky, got up and said goodbye to Concubine Xu, "It's time to leave the palace!"

#
After leaving Ningshou Palace, Seventh Lady entered Kunning Palace to bid farewell to the queen.

The queen and the second lady seemed to be talking in the inner hall, and the seventh lady went in from the outer hall, but the female officer settled her down first: "Mrs. Shizi, please wait in the outer hall. Our empress is talking to Mrs. I don’t want others to come in and disturb me.”

How can Qin Niangzi avoid the twists and turns inside?He smiled when he was busy, "It's okay, I just have a rest."

He just sat in the outer hall, sipping tea, thinking about the day's activities absent-mindedly.

I don't know if even the eunuch will come in to greet the queen today—although Xu Fengjia really wanted to talk to him, but this old eunuch usually lives reclusively and rarely leaves his residence in the palace. The harem circled around, rarely contacting the serious courtiers.Feng Jin was not in the capital, so to contact him, he had to rely on Seventh Lady entering the palace.

I am always in the blood of Jiu Yiniang, and I grew up beside her, if even the eunuchs still can't let go of this past, why would they come to see her?

Or, closer to the nostalgia is more timid...

While he was meditating, there were soft footsteps and a friendly greeting from the outside, "Eunuch Lian!——What a rare visitor!"

Just by listening to the female officer's tone, one could tell that she valued even the eunuch more than Qin Niangzi.

Qin Niangzi just put down the tea bowl, looked back, and saw a middle-aged man wearing a collared and narrow-sleeved shirt and a gold-painted curvy cap, entering the room unhurriedly.

He was so young that Miss Qin could not have imagined—in her heart, this person had always been an image of an old man with chicken skin and white hair, but she didn't remember until she met her that even the eunuch and Yiniang Jiu had a marriage contract, and Yiniang Jiu If my aunt is still alive, she will only be 40 years old now.

This is a fair-skinned and handsome middle-aged eunuch with a straight back. If one discards his identity, he seems to be no different from those proud scholar-bureaucrats in the outer court. Ting Minister.There is also a clear difference in temperament from the servant that Seventh Lady is used to seeing: even if you don't say it, it's easy to see that this person has an aura of power in his hands, and his every move does not allow slights.

It is a miracle for an eunuch to have such a bearing.

When he met Qiniangzi's eyes, his steps paused slightly, and his gaze seemed extremely complicated for a moment, but it was only a moment before it returned to normal.

"This is--"

The female officials hurriedly introduced each other, and since they were servants, there was no need to avoid them, so Seventh Lady nodded calmly and called "Eunuch Lian".

Daqin's servants, although they have a lot of power now, compared with her, they still have a significant difference in their status on the surface.

Even the eunuch nodded back, as if he was offended by Qin Niangzi because of his dignity, with a slightly reserved expression, "Young Madam."

The room fell silent again.

Seventh lady glanced at the female officer, then looked out of the window, and smiled, "It's snowing, I've been stuffy in the house for a day, and I feel a little tight in my chest, and I'm afraid to disturb my mother when I talk here... Stand up, is it convenient for my sister to see?"

Although the Kunning Palace is the place where the empress resides, the palace has always been strictly guarded, but as the Seventh Lady, it is not a big deal if she wants to stand outside the house for a while.The female officer led her out of the room in a hurry, and stood under the eaves, chatting and laughing with her, "The palace is full of charcoal, if you sit in the room for a long time, you will indeed feel chest tightness!"

After saying a few more words, seeing that Qi Niangzi's mood was greatly relieved, she pleaded guilty and went back to serve the eunuch Lian. footsteps.

It was mid-afternoon, and it was snowing outside the house again, and the outside of Kunning Palace was very cold, no one came out to suffer from the cold in the snow.Qin Niangzi let out a breath of white air, turned her head, and met Eunuch Lian's sight without any surprise.

She blessed Fushen shallowly, lowered her eyes, and greeted him softly. "Uncle Lian Shi."

Even the eunuch's eyes flashed a few more fluctuations, and he took a deep breath.

"In the blink of an eye, it's been 20 years."

In the dark gray sky, crystal clear snowflakes are falling freely. This is a spring snow. Although it is still cool, it also has a little sadness that winter is approaching.

(End of this chapter)