Allure of a Country Maiden

Counting from tomorrow, it will be the first day of the Lunar New Year in three days.

Officials will be on holiday starting tomorrow and will only start going to court on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Mrs. Liu and Xiaoer checked the accounts together in the house. Mrs. Liu checked the household expenses and the receipt and delivery of New Year's gifts to see if there was anything missing. The New Year's gifts received this year were more than one and a half more than last year, of course. There are also many more people sending gifts and asking for gifts in return.

Xiaoer reconciled the accounts between the shop and Zhuangzi. Xiaoer reconciled the accounts very quickly. She had completed the reconciliation of the baskets of ledgers in front of her, and Mrs. Liu had just finished reconciling the accounts she wanted to reconcile.

"I used to feel that working in the fields every day was very tiring. I envy those ladies and ladies who don't have to turn their faces to the loess and back to the sky. I never thought that being a lady or lady has to learn more, and it would be even more tiring to work here!" Mrs. Liu said He pointed at his head.

After hearing this, Xiaoer stood up and walked behind Mrs. Liu to massage her head.

"If mother feels tired, it's the same as leaving it to me." Mental work can make people feel tired just like physical work, but one is more tiring on the mental level, and the other is tiring on the body.

"You have a lot of things to do every day, and my mother is very busy with this. By the way, I haven't even prepared the clothes for entering the palace tomorrow!" Mrs. Liu remembered that she almost forgot such an important thing, She was so frightened that she quickly pulled down Xiaoer's hand and stood up to check if there were any leaks in those sets of clothes.

Tomorrow, the emperor will invite officials of the fourth rank and above to a banquet. After the meal, they will officially take annual leave.

Shen Chengyao is a Marquis and an in-law. Naturally, the whole family of such a meritorious minister is also invited.

"Didn't you ask Aunt Rong to check it before dinner? There's nothing wrong with it. Mother, you'd better go to bed early tonight. You have to get up early to dress up tomorrow." Seeing that Mrs. Liu was a little busy, Xiaoer urged her to go to bed.

Ms. Liu also felt that she should go to bed and urged Xiaoer to go back to sleep.

Early the next morning, the whole family dressed up and went to the palace banquet.

The weather was unusually cold, and there was a long queue at Donghua Gate to enter the palace.

Xiao Fuzi was still waiting outside the palace gate. When he saw the carriage from Shengping Marquis Mansion appearing, he stepped forward and led them in directly with the token.

There are really not many officials who can receive such treatment. Apart from the Shengping Marquis Mansion, it is also the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion of the Queen's natal family.

Others entered the palace in order of rank.

Xiaoer had to sigh, it was always easier to get things done when we had connections.

If she had to stand for half a day in such an icy and snowy environment at the coldest time of the day, she would still freeze into strips of ice.

Besides, even if you enter the palace, you still have to walk a long way to get to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I’m going to suffer for this meal!

Xiao Fuzi led them outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and a palace maid came forward to lead Mrs. Liu and the other female family members to the inner hall. Xiao Fuzi took Shen Chengyao and his son to the main hall.

Mrs. Liu pulled Xiao Xi'er, and Xiao'er pulled Yun'er. As soon as the four of them entered the hall, the warm air hit their faces, and they felt really comfortable.

After bowing according to the etiquette rules, the queen immediately invited them to sit on her lower right hand.

Sitting on the queen's lower left were the old lady of the Zhongyong Hou Mansion and the general's wife, Mrs. Lu, as well as Di Shaowei's cousin Di Junya and her mother, Mrs. Ma.

The closeness and distance of such an arrangement are immediately obvious.

Forget about the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion, the Shengping Marquis Mansion...

The face of the lady present changed slightly, and then she became nonchalant again.

The smile on Mrs. Prime Minister's face was a bit unbearable. Now that the Right Prime Minister has dismounted, her husband is the only Left Prime Minister. It cannot be said that one person is inferior to ten thousand people. But no matter how she tries to please the Queen, the Queen treats her. Also lukewarm.

She glanced at her daughter and felt heartbroken.

Ever since this daughter found out that the emperor had proposed the marriage of the head of Rui'an County to the sixth prince, she had been listless all day long and lost her mind in everything she did.

"Girl Xiao'er has lost a lot of weight after not seeing her for more than a month. Her cheeks are sharp. She must have been exhausted before!" The queen held Xiao'er's hand with a caring and affectionate tone.

"Have you really lost weight? I used to think I was too fat and not pretty enough, and I was still thinking about how to lose weight. Now I don't have to lose weight. It's great. Queen, do you think I've become more beautiful?" Xiaoer She touched her pointed cheeks and said.

But it's not that she's stinky, it's that even she feels that she's getting more and more beautiful.

"You girl are still thinking about losing weight. If you lose weight any more, you won't be beautiful." The queen deliberately threatened.

My son has good taste, and this girl is getting better and better.

Concubine Yang was confused because of the daughter-in-law she was interested in. Seeing the two people performing a circus of "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law" loving each other here, she felt extremely aggrieved. She couldn't help but sarcastically said: "How can you seduce people if you don't lose weight and become more beautiful?" , shameless at a young age, and a bunch of..."

"That's enough!" The queen's face darkened and she shouted sternly.

"Concubine Yang is very beautiful and fragrant, but just do it yourself. Don't think that everyone else is the same as you!"

None of the ladies present knew that when the emperor was just a prince, Concubine Yang designed to give the emperor a drug, and then she conceived the dragon seed, and she became the concubine today.

As the saying goes, you should expose someone without exposing their shortcomings, and hit someone without slapping someone in the face. This was the first time that the Empress did not give Yang Guifei face, and satirized the events of that year in front of so many ministers' families.

All the ladies present lowered their heads and pretended not to hear anything.

But everyone was secretly wondering what Yang Guifei's words meant.

Concubine Yang's face turned red instantly, and while she regretted her impulsiveness, she also secretly hated the queen and Xiaoer's family.

Seeing that she didn't dare to say anything, the queen glanced at the wives again, wondering what they were thinking.

So the queen smiled and said to Xiaoer: "Thank you so much for discovering the Japanese conspiracy a while ago and following them regardless of the risk of your life, otherwise the entire imperial capital city would be infected with smallpox."

"I don't deserve the Queen's thanks. It was the Queen who cared about me and called me over to talk. Otherwise, I wouldn't have heard the Japanese envoy's words on the way to Kunning Palace. In the final analysis, this is the Queen's credit." Er replied with a smile.

"You girl has a sweet mouth. I don't dare to take the credit. If I summon other people, they won't be able to find out. No one in this imperial capital understands the Japanese language. You are the only one who is so knowledgeable and talented. Besides, Yi'er and the Japanese country The envoy was injured during the fight and later contracted smallpox. It was you who helped take care of him. Although the emperor had already issued a secret edict to marry you to Yi'er, you are not considered an outsider, but as a mother, I I still want to thank you."

Everyone present heard what Concubine Yang had just said, but it turned out that the emperor had already arranged for the two of them to be married, but they didn't know it.

However, the queen deliberately mentioned this matter because she did not want any gossip about County Lord Ruian to spread.