A Thousand Hills

Chapter 114

Mrs. Xie was accompanied by Mrs. Xie to the Fifth Prince's Mansion after Xie Moyou's wedding. Mrs. Xie said, "I have long wanted to come and visit my mother. I married when I was young and haven't returned to the imperial capital for more than [-] years. It's the first time I come back." When relatives and friends met, there was a lot of crying and laughing, but my mother saw me first when she returned home and gave me those things." Mrs. Xie was quite good at measuring, and she was a little more intimate in her polite way, and said, "These In [-], I lived in the south for more than ten years, and followed Ayao's father to various places as an official. When I came back this time, I specially brought some ginseng furs from the north. Naturally, my mother does not lack this, but it is my heart."

Xie Moru smiled, "Auntie, you are being polite. When I got married, you entrusted me with a lot of things, all of which are rare things." He ordered the maid to take it.

"Before the empress's big wedding, A Yao's brother was preparing for Qiu Wei, otherwise she really wanted to return to the imperial capital earlier. It stands to reason that A Fan should also come over to greet His Highness, but I heard from my eldest brother that His Highness is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. I thought, I'd better wait until next year Call him over after Chunwei."

Xie Moru thought that this aunt looked at Shuangli, but she was actually a cautious and meticulous person, so she took advantage of the opportunity to talk about the spring affairs of next year. With Xie Shangshu looking after her, she would naturally arrange for Yu Fan to visit a famous Confucian in the imperial capital.Xie Moru said, "I don't know much about men's reading and writing. However, our family has always passed down poems and books, and even my aunt's family is also a scholarly family. My cousin is on top of this, so I don't think anyone needs to worry about it. But Ayao , if you are free, just come over, my house has always been free, and I like them to come and talk and laugh."

Aunt Xie is not a fool, so she quickly responded and said with a smile, "Country girl, she has never seen the world, it's good that she is by my side, it's just her first visit to the imperial capital, and she is not very familiar with the rules of the imperial capital. Most of them are from noble families, if there is something wrong with her, the empress can just teach her."

Xie Moru smiled, "Auntie, just don't worry." When asked about Yu Yao's life in Beichang Mansion, Yu Yao said, "Others say Beichang is desolate, but I think it's quite good. The summer there is not like that at my home. It is hot, even though it is cold in winter, there is a hot kang to survive the winter. And the land is fertile, and the rice grown there is more delicious than my home. The old mountain forest in Beichang produces high-quality ginseng. My father said that ginseng is such a valuable medicinal material, not There must be a climate suitable for growth, as well as land suitable for growth, at least ginseng cannot grow in the thin fields. Beichang Prefecture has few people, but the place is large, anyway, I think it is a good place."

"The winter there is a bit long, what do you eat on weekdays?"

"In winter, I mostly eat hot pots. There are many kinds of hot pots to eat, such as mutton, fish, beef, rabbit meat, roe deer meat, roe deer, deer, and occasionally bears and wild boars. There are too many things to eat, but winter is fresh. There are very few vegetables, mostly pickles and dried vegetables, and if you want to eat fresh vegetables, you can only eat radishes, cabbage and some bean sprouts in the cellar.”

Yu Yao articulated clearly, Xie Moru listened with great interest, and said, "I read in the book that there are also civilians in Beichang who built half of their houses underground. Is there such a thing?"

"Yes. It is built underground to keep warm and cool in summer. Even if it rains, drainage must be done. If it snows, it will be more troublesome to clean up the snow."

After lunch, Mrs. Xie, Aunt, Yu Yao and the others left. Xie Moru gave Yu Yao another set of emerald jewellery, some clothes and satins suitable for a girl's home, and said with a smile, "The meeting was too hasty last time. Take this and play with it." Yu Yao thanked and took it.

Even meeting Xie Moru when she was married and meeting Xie Moru three times, Mrs. Xie Moru felt that Xie Moru was a rare kind person.Aunt Xie asked Mrs. Xie in private, "I think the princess is sensible and amiable, how did the third aunt offend the princess?"

Mrs. Xie sighed, "My younger sister also knows about my third aunt's temper. Don't say anything else, I would have gone to make a kiss before. We were in a hurry at home, and my third aunt was taking pleasure in other's misfortune. I didn't know what to do with my younger sister Say." The key is the things that the three old ladies did before, so let's not mention it.The three old ladies and Xie Moru are definitely old grudges.

Aunt Xie was speechless for a while after hearing this.

Mrs. Xie Moru's gift to Xie Moru was quite sincere, and the fur and medicinal materials were all for use. Xie Moru picked the good ones and set aside some for Concubine Su's birthday gift. The Princess Mansion sent someone to send a post about the Plum Blossom Banquet.

This is the first time Xie Moru received a post about Princess Wenkang's Plum Blossom Banquet, and sent it to the person from Dagong who sent the post with a high-quality envelope. Xie Moru called the steward to go outside to buy some brown rice. It is also planned to set up a porridge shed for porridge and rice as in previous years.When the fifth prince returned to the mansion in the evening, the two of them had dinner, Xie Moru discussed the matter with the fifth prince, and the fifth prince quite agreed, "This is a very good thing, the imperial capital reported that the weather is getting colder, and there are some poor people in the city , Now it is difficult to support. And next year will be the year of spring, some poor scholars will come to the imperial capital early, but they don’t have enough money, they live in temples, and there are some who don’t have enough clothes to wrap their stomachs. The father has allocated rice and grain to the imperial capital The government is giving out porridge."

"I also asked Steward Zhou to go out to buy rice, and I will discuss it with them tomorrow, otherwise, it is not good for us to do this on our own without notifying them." After discussing some family matters with the Fifth Prince, Xie Moru continued Regarding Mrs. Xie's visit to the imperial capital, she said, "It's my natal cousin's uncle next year, and His Highness is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. My aunt said that it would not be too late for my cousin to come over after the end of the spring next year."

The fifth prince laughed, "I'm just learning to be an errand in the Ministry of Rites, and your natal aunt is too careful."

"It's not a big mistake to be careful."

The fifth prince didn't take it to heart, but he thought of the Ministry of Rites from Chunwei, and said, "If it wasn't for the urging of Chunwei next year, the regulations of the concubine and concubine would not be able to quarrel."

"The ceremony of a country should be cautious."

The Fifth Prince said, "Everyone has selfish motives, and we all know that concubine and concubines are different. Our quotas will not be reduced, but we just want to add some quotas to the second brother, so we can quarrel these days."

"It's all fast, let's watch it when the crown prince is established, and there will be a lot of noise."

"I'd rather my father establish a crown prince sooner." The fifth prince commented on the staff of the Ministry of Rites. Shang Shu is an old fox who plays Tai Chi every day, and there is a nest of fleas underneath. Do business.

Xie Moru summed it up for him, "People's hearts are not in harmony."

"That's right." The Fifth Prince said.

Xie Moru thought for a while, then suddenly smiled, and said, "Your Highness, it's almost the same as when I first came to the palace."

"What's the difference?" The fifth prince thought to himself, he was always doing great things in the Ministry of Rites.

"To me, it's no different. I just came to the palace, and His Highness entrusted me with all the affairs of the inner chambers. There are so many stewards in the mansion, including the stewards of the yard, the stewards of the kitchen, the stewards of the warehouse, the stewards of the garden, In more detail, there is a leader in everything from sweeping, starching, and purchasing. This is only in our mansion, and outside the mansion, there are also shopkeepers in Zhuangtian shops. I would also think, can these people be useful, can they be used, are they good for them?" Xie Moru said, "What they can do, you can't see it with just two eyes, it depends on what they do. The person in charge of the yard, is the yard tidy every day? I personally went to see the kitchen. The clothes of those cooks are not clean, the head and face are not clean, and the nails are washed and cut. Use it, what kind of person can't use it."

"I think the Ministry of Rituals is similar. They quarrel if they like. There are too many servants in our house, and there are some quarrelsome people. Why do they quarrel? How do they justify it in front of me? After a long time, I will know them How is everyone's character?" Xie Moru said, "It's good that your highness knows it well, why don't you see why Mr. Shang Shu is not in a hurry. Mr. Shang Shu, you know well. You just sit upright. In this world, there are people with mouths. There are clumsy ones, some clumsy ones, and some mediocre errands, but this is the matter of drafting royal regulations. No matter how noisy you are about such a matter, you have to work. Your Highness can tell which one is the work. Damn, which one is a false story, you have also cultivated it."

The Fifth Prince scratched his chin and pondered for a moment, "I'll give you this comparison, there are really some similarities."

"Similarity is similarity, but it must be more complicated than our house." Xie Moru patted the fifth prince's shoulder sympathetically.

On the second day, Xie Moru sent someone to send a message to the other princes and concubines, and gathered together to talk about the meal at the soup kitchen.Several other people were also willing, and everyone discussed several places to give out porridge, and agreed that the five families would do this good deed together, otherwise it would be bad for no one to be left behind.

This is indeed a good deed, Xie Morulian has been doing it for several years, and now he is very familiar with it, and the other princes and concubines are also happy.You can earn a good reputation without spending much, but each family does it differently.When Cui talked to the eldest son of the emperor, the eldest son replied, "You are the elder sister-in-law, why do you call the fifth daughter-in-law to be the leader?"

Cui ignored the seeming accusation in the words of the eldest son of the emperor, and said, "There was no such case before. The fifth sibling brought it up first, so she was the leader. It doesn't matter who is the leader, she is kind. Let me tell the rest of us, if she is a person who keeps secrets and handles this matter quietly, will the elder brothers of our family be slapped in the face?"

The eldest son of the emperor had no choice but to not pursue this matter, and instead said, "Since it is done, it is easy to do it, and show the style of our eldest son's mansion."

Cui Shi said, "Don't worry, Your Highness."

The eldest son of the emperor was very worried, and he was determined to take this opportunity of giving out porridge to give Xie Moru some color.After all, the eldest son of the emperor is the eldest uncle, even if he wants to give Xie Moru some color, he can't go directly to greet Xie Moru with two slaps.The eldest son of the emperor thought of a good idea, he asked someone to inquire, and the fifth prince's mansion also bought some old brown rice for porridge, the eldest son immediately ordered his steward to buy some good rice, thanking Moru for the comparison.I also want to know that if the two families give porridge together, of course the Mihao one is more popular and has a better reputation.

The eldest son of the emperor did a reconnaissance in advance. He not only reconnaissance the fifth prince's residence, but also the second prince's residence, the third prince's residence, and the fourth prince's residence.The Fourth Prince's Mansion has always been close to the Fifth Prince's Mansion, the two even buy brown rice from the same shop.The second prince's mansion is the same as the third prince's mansion, both are the most common rice.When the eldest son of the emperor made a comparison, he was not as good as his own, so he felt relieved.

On the day of porridge distribution, because everyone has discussed that there is no need to get together, otherwise they will all be in the south of the city and all in the north of the city. It is not cheap, so each has its own place.When it was time to give out the porridge, the eldest son of the emperor specially ordered people to go out to inquire about it. When he inquired about it, the second prince's mansion obviously bought ordinary white rice, but when he gave away the porridge, it turned out to be high-grade polished rice, which was better than the rice from the eldest son's mansion. out a lot.

This treacherous thing!
The eldest son of the emperor nearly exploded his lungs!
The second prince also received news from his confidant on the first day, and smiled slightly, the boss is also a bit stupid.

It took two days for the third prince to hear his daughter-in-law Chu's embarrassment, "In the past, my natal grandmother celebrated her birthday, and the family would often give out porridge. This time, when the fifth sibling mentioned it, I sent the steward to buy rice and prepare a meal." Do some good deeds. I didn’t even think about it, so our family bought some ordinary rice. The four younger siblings and the fifth younger siblings all use brown rice. How good is this? One end."

The third prince knew that brown rice was the last thing to wait for. He said, "You didn't do it on purpose, just tell cousin Xie. I'll say hello to fifth brother again. Don't worry, it's not a big deal."

Chu said, "You don't know, I don't think our family has intentions, but the rice used by the eldest son's mansion and the second prince's mansion is better. People outside say that the fourth and fifth prince's mansions are stingy."

The third prince rubbed his forehead, "It's obviously a competition between the elder brother and the second brother. We made a mistake unintentionally, and now we can no longer replace the rice with brown rice. Don't worry, let me tell the fifth brother."

"I'm going to explain it to my fifth sibling myself, I'm really sorry."

The third prince said, "I haven't done it before, and I don't have any experience. It's okay. Anyway, it's all for doing good deeds. Fifth brother Xie cousin is not stingy."

The fourth prince was also saying to the fourth prince concubine, "It was originally doing a good deed, and it was compared to the elder brother, the second brother, and the third brother. It seems that we are too stingy. We should buy some better rice."

The fourth concubine has a gentle temperament. After hearing this, she stroked her stomach and said in a soft voice, "It was suggested by the fifth sibling. I am stupid. I want to save things, so I asked the fifth sibling which rice shop she went to buy." We bought the rice together. Anyway, we were kind enough to distribute the food for free. We can’t think that we are bad people if we don’t use good rice, right? We’ll use brown rice next year!”

Seeing that his daughter-in-law was about to lose his temper, the fourth prince hurriedly said, "Our family is fine, but the fifth brother and the others are the most wronged. It used to be that the leader of his family did good deeds, but now he is just a name for himself."

The fourth prince and concubine didn't take it seriously, "It's not just for one year, next year our families will all use one kind of rice, it's fine."

"Too."

The fifth prince did not tell Xie Moru about this matter, his news was not slower than the fourth prince's, but thinking of his daughter-in-law's kindness, it would make his daughter-in-law sad if he was called stingy.Therefore, the fifth prince knew, but he didn't tell Xie Moru, but he thought in his heart that he would get some good rice to do good deeds next year.But when he thought about switching to good rice because of his reputation, it would be a guilty conscience if he fell into the eyes of caring people. The fifth prince was unwilling and had no good idea for a while.

When the third concubine Chu came over to apologize, Xie Moru smiled nonchalantly, "What's the matter, we just made an appointment to give a porridge and rice, and didn't say which rice to use. I always use brown rice. There are also people who use Lumi and Chenmi, which are different."

Chu said, "Those people who don't know each other, that's all. We are both in the Prince's Mansion. Since we have an appointment to give porridge together, it's better to be together. Otherwise, it will cause some tongues, which is not beautiful."

Instead, Xie Moru comforted Mrs. Chu, seeing that she really didn't take it to heart, Mrs. Chu finally felt relieved, and privately said to her cousin, Princess Changtai, "Five younger siblings don't say anything else, they really have a big heart. She's narrow-minded, and I'm afraid she'll be annoyed, but seeing that I'm feeling sorry for her, she persuaded me a few words."

Princess Changtai said, "Cousin, you didn't mean it, even I don't know how to give porridge. If I do this, I will tell the steward. Naturally, the steward will give out whatever rice he buys." .”

The Cui family and the Wu family also didn't know what to do. They didn't intend to use this matter to fight for power. The terrible thing is that the men have their own ideas in private, and it is inevitable that they will feel apologetic when they see Xie Moru.Especially when Xie Moru entered the palace, she was blamed by Queen Mother Hu for this. The Queen Mother Hu was also so well informed. When Xie Moru entered the palace, she said, "Since you want to do good deeds, show some sincerity. Don't be so petty. Even the reputation of the fourth family has exhausted you."

Xie Moru really didn't enter the palace to visit Empress Dowager Hu, she came to visit Concubine Su, but according to the rules, all female relatives must come to the Palace of Mercy first.With Mrs. Xie's words, Xie Moru also came to the Palace of Mercy, not wanting the Empress Dowager Hu to mention this matter.Xie Moru asked, "What is the queen mother talking about? How did I ruin the reputation of the fourth prince's family?"

Empress Dowager Hu said in a long and short way, "It's all porridge, why is your family giving brown rice porridge? Now the whole emperor knows that your fifth prince's mansion is the most stingy. The fourth family also listened to you It’s only good intentions that do bad things.”

Xie Moru wanted to laugh, and then she really laughed. Xie Moru's lips curled up slightly, and said, "Could it be that the imperial court regulations say that brown rice porridge cannot be served? Or is there some ancient book or regulation in our royal family that stipulates that brown rice porridge cannot be served?" gone?"

Empress Dowager Hu said, "There are no regulations in the imperial court, and there are no royal classics, but since you are the fifth daughter-in-law, you have to pay attention to your reputation, and don't drag the fifth brother down."

The fourth concubine Hu's belly is a month old, and the childbirth is just around the corner, so she didn't enter the palace. The eldest concubine Cui, the second concubine Wu, and the third concubine Chu all sat down a little when they saw the empress dowager because of the embarrassment. Can't stop.Mrs. Chu hurriedly said, "Grandmother, it's also because we didn't have experience in giving porridge in the first year. We will use the same rice next year after we discuss it."

"Yeah, they're all equally kind. If you want to talk about this matter, it was the fifth younger sibling who started it. We did it in the first year, and it was a bit incomplete. But I thought, since we are kind, we don't Differentiate between high and low." Cui Shi also hurriedly spoke for Xie Moru.

Wu also said, "Those who come to eat relief outside are all poor people. If the rice in this family is good, he will say that this family is good, and the rice in that family is poor, and he will say that the other family is bad. If People like this are not worthy of relief.”

Princess Changtai also persuaded, "Grandmother, if you want to say that it is the sister-in-law and younger sisters who have thought carefully, thinking that some poor people will not be able to eat in winter, so they set up a porridge shed outside. I didn't expect it for a while, the fifth younger siblings are always kind. If so If you are blamed for your good intentions, then those like me who didn’t think of this matter should be blamed even more.” Besides, haven’t you, the old man, not even given up a single grain of rice these years?What are you doing.

Empress Dowager Hu didn't give up even a grain of rice, but she still wanted to express her opinion on this. She glared at Xie Moru, spoke harshly, and shouted, "If you don't do it, don't do it. If you do it, you must do it decently. Don't ask others to mention us. Come, the royal family, say that our royal family is an idiot!"

Xie Moru is really neither angry nor fearful, she said lightly, "It's not the first year that I donated rice to the porridge. I thought about what kind of rice to buy when I gave the porridge for the first time. The empress has been in the palace for a long time, I don’t know if I understand the truth of helping the emergency rather than helping the poor. In life, you can’t always think about relying on the porridge and rice from other people’s families to survive. If you are in a difficult time, take some porridge to tide over the difficulty. The porridge and rice are worth it. If you make a comparison, his family's rice porridge is polished, his family's new rice porridge, his family's old rice porridge, and his family's brown rice porridge. Therefore, good intentions are divided into first, second and third grades. If you really want to have backbone, you should Don’t eat porridge and rice from other people’s charity, eat other people’s charity, and classify people in the stomach. I have never met such a person. If I do, I will not starve to death in front of my eyes. Give him a grain of rice. He is not worthy of my porridge!"

"Furthermore, the empress is ignorant of foreign affairs. I came to the imperial court to distribute grain and rice, and the empress went to inquire. When was it not brown rice, did the empress feel that the court's work was not decent? The empress really didn't know the outside world. The price of rice is high. One shi of new season rice can be exchanged for ten shi of old brown rice. If you want to live, you have to thank God if you have some to eat. Could it be that you have to choose rice? Those foolish people out there are nothing, what kind of lady Such a person, how can he be provoked by some villains to say these words that don't know the suffering of the people?"

"So, empress, don't think that I am disrespectful or stingy. I am not afraid of others saying that I do things with a clear conscience. I am afraid that villains will criticize me!"

(End of this chapter)