It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

Chapter 45 Lantern Festival

Du Juan followed Tang Shishi with steps, thought about it carefully, and said: “The slaves and maidservants don’t know much, but in previous years I only heard that Xu’s family came to present the festival, but it was the first time that Mrs. Xu visited the house in person.”

Tang Shishi carried the skirt, walked up the steps, and walked in the warm winter sun with a bright red suit. Du Juan’s words are not far from what Tang Shishi expected. If Mrs. Xu visits every year, would King Jing have such a good temper?

This year Mrs. Xu couldn’t hold back. First, she heard that Zhao Zixun had married and wanted to meet the concubine. Second, it was probably because of the offending younger brother.

Master Tang asked, “Du Juan, when did you enter the mansion? How much do you know about the Prince and Xu’s family?”

“If you go back to the girl, the servant girl was bought into the palace in Yongxi three years ago.” Du Juan sighed slightly and said, “The servant girl was still young at the time and didn’t remember much. I just remember that the harvest that year was very bad and many people lived. If I can’t go down, I can only sell my sons and daughters. That’s how I entered the Jing Palace. At that time, I was just waiting for people, ignorant, and before I learned the rules of the Palace, I heard that the Tatars had come in. Many people in Xiping Mansion fled to the south, but the prince did not leave, and he took people to the north. We waited in the mansion with horror. From autumn to winter, we finally heard that the Tatars had retired, but The prince was also seriously injured. After returning, he spent several months in peace. Xu Jing died to protect the prince during this battle.

In the third year of Yongxi, Master Tang slowly pondered this year. At the age of eight, Master Tang was still jealous over the so-called father’s love with Tang Yanyan. She did not cry because she had a beaded flower, Tang Yanyan. Tang Shishi didn’t even know that there had been wars in the northwest.

The front line was born to death, but the people behind did not know why the war was fought. Teacher Tang was a little startled. When she was crying for the pearl flowers, she didn’t know that Zhao Chengjun was fighting on the front line. She was able to enjoy the wealth of Miss Tang’s family, and she was able to choose whether the clothes and jewelry were not beautiful enough, all because someone had supported the northwest front.

Teacher Tang has long known that Zhao Chengjun is a very powerful figure. He holds half of the world’s soldiers and horses, and his position is very important. Even the arrogant and domineering Queen Mother Yao is afraid of him. But this was the first time Master Tang really felt what these titles meant.

Du Juan saw Master Tang’s eyes blankly, and asked tentatively: “Girl, what are you thinking about?”

Master Tang blinked, his eyes regained his aura, and slowly said, “In fact, when I was seven or eight years old, I hated this world. I don’t think anyone in the world treats me well. The only mother who treats me well is timid and useless. Being pushed into the pool by Tang Yanyan, she couldn’t even ask for justice for me. But now I suddenly realized that there was someone protecting me when I didn’t know it.”

Cuckoo didn’t understand, and asked with a frown, “Girl, what are you talking about? What protection or not?”

Master Tang glanced at Du Juan with disgust and said, “It’s okay, just pretend I didn’t say it. By the way, how did the prince adopt the Xu family back then?”

Du Juan shook his head and said truthfully: “The slave and maid did not know. The slave only knew that one day a boy suddenly came to the palace. Aunt Tong Xiu said that this was the child of the benefactor and asked us to respect it. Later, after a few days, Grandpa Liu Ask the palace to change words and call that boy the elder son, and it is strictly forbidden for people in the palace to mention the origin of the son. As for what happened to the Xu family…the palace does not let you inquire, and the slaves are not easy to say.”

Dujuan is just a maid after all, it is impossible to know much insider. But based on these alone, Master Tang could probably fill in the situation back then.

Zhao Chengjun adopted Zhao Zixun, and naturally the benefits of the Xu family are indispensable. In addition to Xu Jing, there are other males in the Xu family, and promotion and nobility are not enough, but it is more than enough to place a few positions in the Xu family with real power. Mrs. Xu’s situation is a bit more special. She is a female family member in the house and cannot show her face by herself. Now that her husband is dead, she points to her son to provide for the elderly. Zhao Chengjun took away his son, and he thought he would leave a large sum of money for Mrs. Xu, enough for Mrs. Xu to spend the rest of her life decently.

The premise is that the money is in Mrs. Xu’s hands.

However, it seemed that Mrs. Xu had been cheated of a lot of money by her brothers. Now Mrs. Xu dared to go to the door at the risk of irritating King Jing, showing that the money was spent. Poor Mrs. Xu was emptied of pension funds by her younger brother, and she still felt that her brother was good, and her younger brother was detained by the casino, and her natal family was not doing well, so she did her best to get her out of her own brother.

Teacher Tang sighed, wondering whether Mrs. Xu was pitiful or stupid. But Mrs. Xu gave birth to a good son. No matter how stupid she is, there will always be a son who will end for her. In the future, she can still enter the palace to enjoy the queen mother’s blessing.

There is really no way to say about the fate of life. It is clear that the throne has nothing to do with their family, and Mrs. Xu herself has nothing to do with her appearance, intelligence, and skill. Master Tang thought unconvincingly, this kind of person can be a queen mother, why can’t she?

“Girl, be careful of the snow on the road.” Du Juan followed Master Tang out of the corridor and walked from the gravel road into the moon gate. Du Juan avoided the snowdrifts on the ground and asked, “Girl, why are you paying so much attention to Mrs. Xu? She just came to pay New Year’s greetings. I don’t want to come here for a lot of intersection in the future.”

Master Tang laughed, not much intersection? Really naive, the wealth of the Jing Palace, including the wealth of the entire Great Yan Dynasty in the future, belongs to Mrs. Xu. What’s more, everything Zhao Chengjun has done now is to pave the way for the Xu family.

Naturally, Master Tang would not say these words, she said lightly, “It’s nothing, but I just met by chance, and I was curious. Go back and mention the girl in the Jianjiayuan. Later, when you see Mrs. Xu, take a detour and be more respectful. Don’t Say more and don’t do more, just avoid it when you see it. Remember?”

Du Juan quickly responded: “Yes.”

After Master Tang beat the cuckoo, he stopped mentioning Mrs. Xu’s words. This is not something that Teacher Tang can intervene at this stage. Even if Mrs. Xu is not good enough, it will be Zhao Zixun’s relatives. If the mother and son break the bones and connect the tendons, if Master Tang dared to neglect Mrs. Xu, Zhao Zixun will take care of it in the future, but if she is If you dare to get close to Mrs. Xu, you will be taken care of by King Jing now.

Therefore, it is better not to help each other and watch the fire from the other side.

The original intention of Master Tang was to pay New Year’s greetings to his concubine, but he caused himself a trouble. Master Tang was afraid of encountering the Xu family again, so she refused to go out. She nestled in her house to tease the fox. After lunch, several weasels came to visit each other one after another.

Ji Xinxian and Feng Qian were here, and they smiled and complimented Teacher Tang’s appearance and clothes, and then turned around to inquire about the morning’s affairs. It’s no secret that Mrs. Xu’s visit to his concubine, it spread all over the mansion in a blink of an eye. King Jing also knew that he wanted Mrs. Xu to enter the palace’s gate.

But no matter what the people above plan, Master Tang can’t carry this pot. She doesn’t care how Mrs. Xu’s matter is resolved, but she must never spread it from Master Tang.

Master Tang laughed and beaten haha, fighting for a long time, just not talking about Mrs. Xu. Ji Xinxian listened for a long time, completely losing patience, and stood up and said, “Unconsciously, we have been sitting for so long. There are still a few more to invite, I will not sit with Sister Tang, and leave first.”

Master Tang also stood up, and reluctantly greeted: “Sister Ji, Sister Feng, you are leaving now? Since the younger sisters are busy, I will not delay you. The two younger sisters are walking slowly on the road.”

Feng Qian’s expression was startled. Actually, she didn’t plan to leave with Ji Xinxian. So Tang Master made the decision for her? However, who made Master Tang take a step forward, the words have reached this point, even if Feng Qian doesn’t leave. Feng Qian got up and smiled gently: “Sister Tang stopped. It’s cold outside. Sister is careful. Let’s go first. Sister is very healthy, and I will see you another day.”

Feng Qian gave in politely, and Master Tang immediately stopped, his lips beeping, and he didn’t do anything in actual action: “Oh, why is it so embarrassing? Two sisters be careful on the way, Cuckoo, send the two sisters out for me.”

Master Tang stood in front of the Baibao Pavilion and gave in falsely. When Feng Qian and Ji Xinxian went out, she sat back in the inner room again, picked up the little fox, and rolled her eyes unabashedly.

“Finally gone, two troublesome spirits.” Tang Shishi whispered. She brushed the little fox’s fur for a while, and said lazily to the maids, “You have been waiting for a year, and you have worked hard. Today, the first day of the new year. It’s a rare holiday, you all go back and rest.”

The maids showed joy and hesitation: “Girl, this is not in compliance…”

“In my house, just follow my rules.” Master Tang held the fox in his arms and said, “Go back. If you have family, go to see your family, and if you have no family, talk to the little sister. I’m in the main house. , Will you go out for a while. If something happens, I will call you.”

The maids were overjoyed, bowed to Master Tang, and went out happily. Master Tang seemed to make a fox, but in fact, her ears were always listening to the movement outside. After she was sure that there was no one nearby, she patted the fox and said, “Keeping at the door, someone squeaks immediately.”

The little fox was lifted and slipped to the hard floor. It scratched its ears aggrievedly, and lay down pitifully holding its tail. Taking advantage of no one in the room, Master Tang took out his collection of books and quietly opened them to check the progress.

It’s just that I haven’t watched it for a long time, and there is movement in the plot again. Master Tang turned to the latest chapter and found that it was related to Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu received a cold reception from Lu Yufei. After she came out, she was so desperate that she accidentally bumped into a person when she was walking. It happened to be Zhou Shunhua.

Zhou Shunhua was gentle and generous, and asked Mrs. Xu coldly, immediately warming Mrs. Xu’s heart, and by accident, he learned about the imprisonment of his uncle Chen Tai by the casino.

When Master Tang saw this line of words, her expression immediately changed. She calculated the time and found that the time Zhou Shunhua happened to meet Mrs. Xu happened shortly after Master Tang left Mrs. Xu away.

“…” Master Tang was sure, she was really a vicious female partner. There was once a plot before her, but she didn’t cherish it. As long as she was a little more kind, the ending would be completely different.

Master Tang cursed vigorously in his heart.

Master Tang exhaled deeply and inhaled, feeling that he was calm before he could continue watching. At the end of the plot, Zhou Shunhua learned about Chen Tai, and Zhou Shunhua sent Mrs. Xu away gently and generously, and promised that she would tell Shi Zi clearly about the matter.

At the end of the chapter it was written: “After Zhou Shunhua sent Mrs. Xu away, she stood there for a long time. The hand furnace began to get cold, Zhou Shunhua tightened the squirrel cloak tightly on her body and turned and walked back. She originally planned to go to Yi Nian Yuan. Please greet the concubine, now it seems that there is no need to go anymore.”

Teacher Tang immediately felt that something was wrong. Based on her understanding of Zhou Shunhua, this person seemed as noble as a lotus and not admiring fame and fortune, but in fact he had a high self-esteem in his bones. Among the many women in the palace, Zhou Shunhua is the most easy-going and kind, but in fact, Zhou Shunhua is the person with the most serious conception of the family.

Lu Yufei clearly showed his disdain for Mrs. Xu. Although Zhou Shunhua didn’t say it, based on her background and education, Tang Shishi did not believe that Zhou Shunhua would be worthy of Mrs. Xu.

What does Zhou Shunhua want to do?

The content at the back was blank. Master Tang turned the book to no avail, so he could only guess the previous list. She had watched this passage back and forth countless times, but she didn’t expect to watch it again this time, and she discovered another secret.

Zhou Shunhua’s re-petition coincided with Mrs. Xu’s visit. It is obvious from the catalog that Lu Yufei quickly fell out of favor this time, and there was no chance of recovery afterwards. The gap between Lu Yufei and Zhao Zixun became deeper and deeper, so that Lu Yufei could not even keep the decentness of the main room.

Master Tang squeezed his chin and thought, what exactly did Zhou Shunhua do to make Zhao Zixun’s attitude towards Lu Yufei plummet? Is it really just a coincidence that Mrs. Xu’s visit is so close?

Master Tang doesn’t believe it, she only believes that things are human, and all coincidences are the inevitability of personal character. Master Tang closed the book, intending to watch the changes. There is still some distance from the Lantern Festival. No matter what Zhou Shunhua does, Master Tang must keep an eye on it.

With such a good opportunity for a wife and concubine fight, how can Tang Shishi not make a fortune in it.

In the next few days, Tang Shishi had been paying close attention to the development of the Fuzhong, but the strange thing was that the surroundings were calm and the Yinianyuan was safe and sound, and there was no spray. In the blink of an eye, the Shangyuan Festival arrived, and the palace became lively again.

After Lu Yufei hosted a New Year’s Eve banquet, he wanted to celebrate the New Year’s Day. Shangyuan had a feast to watch the lanterns, but Lu Yufei disliked going outside and squeezing the people out of dignity, so he asked the craftsmen to put the lanterns and send them to the palace, and she led the female relatives to watch the lanterns by herself.

Teacher Tang does not go to work and does not pay, and she does not have the guidance of her to reason. But Master Tang really wanted to sigh, Lu Yufei can spend too much money.

How much money will it cost after the banquet this time? New Year’s Eve is New Year’s Eve, so it’s just a big deal. On Yuan’s Day, you can go to the street to watch it, but Lu Yufei insists on making lanterns by himself. In this way, there is the Shangsi Festival in March, the Qianqiu Festival in April, the Dragon Boat Festival in May, followed by the Qixi Festival, Zhongyuan, Chongyang, Lidong, etc., plus the birthdays of the masters in Fuzhong, there are countless throughout the year. The feast is to be held. Master Tang thinks that the Tang family has been considered extravagance and waste, and he has never seen this kind of money burning method.

The background of the Jing Palace can naturally withstand Lu Yufei’s squandering, but this is not a long-term solution at all.

However, Master Tang is just a small maid. The concubine Shi Zi likes to be lively. King Jing and Shi Zi didn’t say anything. That round, Master Tang pointed him out? Master Tang didn’t say anything. On the fifteenth day, she changed into a white jacket and put on a blue forged horse-faced skirt. The cuffs and skirts were embroidered with golden patterns. In order to match the white gold-woven jacket, Master Tang deliberately changed the light golden ears and hairpins. When the whole person moved, the golden light flowed, just like the moon shining on the quiet lake and the sunset snow-capped mountains, the extremely plain white with golden light, pure and luxurious.

After Master Tang entered the flower hall, Lu Yufei saw her and greeted with a smile: “Ms. Tang is here, I am busy today, I can’t have time to entertain you, the girl will help me one or two and go find a seat by herself. When I’m done, I will host a banquet for you alone. .”

“What does the concubine Shizi say?” Tang Shishi smiled, “We are all our own family, why do we need to be so polite? I can do it by myself, and the concubine Shizi will go and entertain the guests.”

Lu Yufei shook Master Tang’s hand and said two polite words, and hurriedly went to greet the new guests. Master Tang glanced at Lu Yufei’s back, and found a clean place to sit.

New Year’s Eve is a family banquet. This time, Lu Yufei was finally able to hold a big banquet as he wished. She invited many wives and young ladies from the foreign palace, and also invited classmates of the world’s son. The male guest is outside, and the son of the elder is entertained, and Lu Yufei only needs to take care of the female relatives.

This banquet does not involve King Jing, it is limited to the younger generation, and it is easy to let go. Master Tang had something to do today, but she didn’t want to accompany those women to Bimei. She avoided the crowd and found a place by herself.

After Master Tang sat down, she heard the female relatives next door say enviously: “The concubine is really capable. Only the second month after entering the door, she can host such a big banquet. I have been in Xiping Mansion for so many years, and I saw the lanterns outside. I haven’t seen it before.”

“I am the prince concubine of the Jing Palace, just give a command, why can’t any skilled craftsman find it?” the other lady shook the fan, and said slowly, “the concubine of the empire is good, not the same as ours.”

The first wife sighed and said, “I think the future Princess Jing is the real life. The son is excellent, the daughter-in-law is capable, and the mother-in-law is far away in Jinling. She just marries in and enjoys the blessing, and she doesn’t have to worry about anything. I don’t know who will be in the future. The daughter of the family has such a blessing.”

After saying this, the table next door fell into a short silence. The ladies shook their fans and looked at the door silently, without speaking.

Madam Xi arrived with her daughter, and was chatting with Lu Yufei at the door at the moment. Lu Yufei took Xi Yunchu’s hand affectionately, and the two said a lot before Lu Yufei let the close-kids invite Xi Yunchu to the table.

The female family at the table next door might be afraid that this is Prince Jing’s mansion, so she didn’t dare to talk more about the princess, and instead chatted about Lu Yufei. They were envious of Lu Yufei’s good destiny. They were able to get the stewardship of their husband’s house just after they were married. After such a short period of time, several waves of people came to Lu Yufei to ask for advice. Lu Yufei went to the door of the flower hall to greet the guests, and the woman who reported the matter followed to the door. Lu Yufei went to arrange the feeds later. Without saying a word, a new guest came.

Lu Yufei walked east and west again, he was so busy that he didn’t even have the time to sit and drink. Some of the ladies next door admired Lu Yufei’s decent, and some felt distressed about Lu Yufei’s exhaustion. Master Tang lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, asking for trouble.

Lu Yufei looks busy, but in fact this kind of busyness is useless. What is the effect of constantly doing repetitive things? Queen Mother Yao is in charge of the court, and she also looks at Zhezi on behalf of the emperor. Isn’t she busier than Lu Yufei, a little concubine? But the Queen Mother Yao is very moisturized, enjoying life and holding great power, without losing any of them.

Lu Yufei was just busy showing it to herself, if she really arranged it, it wouldn’t be the way it is now.

Mrs. Xi was the latest, and when Xi’s family was seated, all the guests came. Lu Yufei’s face was red, and he toasted: “I am young and it is the first time to hold such a big banquet. Many people here are my elders, relatives and friends. I know that many people are better than me. This time I am shy. Yan Dang’s leader is really bold. Thank you for showing me your face. If there is anything wrong at the banquet, please forgive me.”

Lu Yufei raised his head and drank three glasses of wine in a row during the banquet. There was thunderous applause from the seats, and everyone laughed and said: “The concubine is bold, and the concubine is good at drinking.”

Master Tang drank the tea in the cup in silence. The lady next to her was busy applauding. Seeing Master Tang with her eyes, she asked, “Why does the girl only drink tea and not drink?”

Master Tang smiled: “I don’t drink well, so I won’t make a fool of myself in front of the concubine.”

The lady knew it, and smiled: “I understand that the concubine is a hero in female high school, and it is difficult for a woman to have the same amount of alcohol as the concubine. Since you can’t drink, then forget it.”

Master Tang nodded and acted as a salted fish with peace of mind. After Lu Yufei drank three cups in a row, the whole place became hot. Lu Yufei blushed, she said a few more words while drinking, and then walked off the table to entertain one after another. Like a butterfly, she refused to leave any table in the cold.

Lu Yufei quickly walked to Master Tang’s area. She saw Master Tang sitting here. She was very surprised: “Miss Tang, why are you here? It was my negligence that caused Miss Tang to be wronged by this. The girl quickly followed me to sit on it. ”

“No, it’s very good here.” Tang Shishi had another plan today, so he didn’t want to sit in the table and be noticed by everyone. Master Tang smiled and said: “It has nothing to do with the concubine Shizi. The concubine Shizi has done a good job. I am uncomfortable today. I want to find a quiet place to sit for a while.”

Lu Yufei persuaded her several times, and when she saw that Master Tang refused to leave, she took the initiative to take the flask and pour the wine to Master Tang: “As the host, I am so indifferent. I respect Miss Tang and make amends for this cup.”

Master Tang glanced at it and found that there was fruit wine in the cup. The fruit wine didn’t mean anything, so Master Tang declined: “Forget it, the concubine has already drunk a lot, so this glass of wine is unnecessary.”

“I’m not drunk.” Lu Yufei insisted, “I drink well. If Miss Tang can’t drink, then you can do it at will, and I will do it all.”

Master Tang looked at Lu Yufei, quite speechless. Everyone who was drunk felt that he was not drunk, and Tang Shishi was kind, but Lu Yufei turned his back on Tang Shishi.

Let’s go, Master Tang took the fruit wine and said, “The concubine Shizi makes a toast. There is no reason for me to wait. But I can only drink half of it because I don’t drink well. If the concubine Shizi can’t drink it, don’t force it.”

Lu Yufei’s face was blushing, and he said in a big way: “Of course. Girl Tang, be careful.”

Master Tang, who was “not strong enough to drink”, leaned on the table and watched Lu Yufei poured most of his glass, his body visibly swayed. Master Tang slowly turned the glass and said, “If the concubine can’t drink it down, then forget it.”

“I can.” Lu Yufei just finished drinking, Master Tang deliberately raised his head and glanced at Lu Yufei’s wine glass. Seeing that it was completely empty, he smiled and said, “The concubine is really good at drinking, and the little girl admires it.”

“Don’t dare to be it.” Lu Yufei almost fell as he said, and was quickly helped by the maid’s eyes. Lu Yufei leaned on the maid and said, “I have to go and see the guests at other tables, Miss Tang, I am disaccompanyed.”

Master Tang smiled and nodded, watching her walk away. After the people left, Master Tang glanced at the half of the wine glass, and put it down without reluctance.

The person next to him knew it, and came over and said: “This drink has a great stamina! I’ll just say, don’t force it if you can’t drink it. If you feel dizzy, you might as well go outside to wake up.”

Master Tang smiled and nodded: “Thank you, I will go now. If someone asks, please stop me with a sentence or two.”

The other party responded: “This is natural.”

Master Tang took the hand stove and left the flower hall without fail. After she walked out of the flower hall, she circled around, seeing no one following her, quietly walking to the place where the male guests were entertained.

Shishi Tang hesitated a bit. Since meeting Mrs. Xu that day, the plot has not been updated. However, the title clearly stated that a major event would happen on this day in Shangyuan. What is the big deal?

Master Tang was standing under the bushes thinking hard, she was wearing a dark red cloak today, and there was no light nearby. She stood under the tree as if she had melted into the darkness, very inconspicuous. Master Tang was pulling the leaves in distress, and suddenly heard a sound of footsteps outside. Master Tang hurriedly pointed out his head and found a familiar figure hurriedly walking by. The other party was stumbling and acting out of order, which looked very wrong.

Master Tang frowned, isn’t this Zhao Zixun? What’s up with him?

Master Tang looked around, lifted the skirt, and followed quietly. Zhao Zixun disappeared after walking into a courtyard. Master Tang walked to the middle door. She listened to her ears and told her instinctively that Zhao Zixun was inside.

Master Tang put her palm on the door, and the moment she pushed the door, she suddenly hesitated.

She really had enough of guessing the plot wrong, and now, obviously this is another multiple choice question.

What should she choose?