"Miss, a letter from home."
Qilan held a letter in her hand and hurriedly opened the door and entered the room.
In the inner room, the woman is half leaning on the beauty's couch, her long black hair is scattered on her shoulders, her small oval face is half hidden under her hair, her eyebrows are shaped like a crescent moon, and her lips are red without rouge, as delicate as peach blossoms outside the window.
The woman on the couch slowly raised her head after hearing the sound, and met Qilan's eyes. Both of them had surprise and doubt in their eyes.
The private message must not be rushed. The master and servant had just arrived in the capital for a day, and the family letter arrived soon after. It was obvious that something big had happened in the family. Otherwise, with his father's temperament, he should not bother her with a letter to someone who was about to participate in the draft. .
Ning Yuzhen opened the letter and read it. The content inside shocked her.
I read it several times before I dared to believe what the letter said.
When the sister-in-law took her nephew out, the servant who served her did not do his or her duty, and for a moment she was stunned. Her nephew, who was only four years old, had his leg trampled by a horse rider in the downtown area and had to spend the rest of his life in bed.
And the person riding the horse was the younger brother of Yigui, who was in great favor in the palace.
Not only did the man have no intention of apologizing, but he said that his father, a junior official from the seventh rank, could not afford to offend him.
Her nephew's painful expression seemed to be right in front of her eyes, and a hot tear dripped down her cheek. Ning Yuzhen gritted her teeth, not daring to cry.
There were other beautiful ladies and nuns from the palace living in the inn. If they heard it and spread it to the emperor's ears, it would be her. Ning Yuzhen did not want to participate in the draft, so she hid in the room and cried bitterly.
She and her family cannot bear the consequences of bringing the royal family into disgrace.
Qilan stood aside and naturally saw the content of the letter clearly. Her eyes were slightly hot but she did not dare to cry. She comforted her in a low voice: "Mother Cheng is coming soon. Miss, collect your tears and don't cry anymore."
At this time, everything she said seemed to be lacking in words. Qilan sighed in her heart that the young master was unlucky and suffered such a disaster. Because he was the first child in the younger generation, the young lady grew up with him and was the first to call the young master after he could speak. She is neither mother nor father, but an aunt, and there is no need to elaborate on the emotional connection between them.
Ning Yuzhen wiped away her tears, her fair cheeks flushed. She calmed down and said, "Go and take out the pink clothes at the bottom of the box. I'll wear that one for the draft tomorrow and get some money." Come."
Qilan was stunned for a moment, then turned around.
In the letter, her father told her to finish the draft and go home early.
Before today, Ning Yuzhen thought the same way.
The Ning family has a simple population. Although his father is only from Qipin Prefecture, he can live a happy life in Chuzhou. My mother was the only daughter of a wealthy businessman from Jiangnan, and the family never had to worry about money. The eldest brother is already a civil servant and has good knowledge. After some time to settle down, it will be easy to get a Gongshi exam next year.
What's more, there was the Deng family next door. She and Deng Xiuzhu, the young master of the Deng family, had been childhood sweethearts and had grown up together. Just waiting for her to lose the election, the Deng family would come to propose marriage when she returned.
Things went against expectations, and her nephew suffered such a disaster. Ning Yuzhen no longer thought about returning home. She finally understood that she was such a frog in the well in the past, and she stayed in a corner for too long. If she didn't climb up, Without power, how can you protect your family?
But, after all, I felt sorry for Deng Xiuzhu...
"Knock knock"
It was probably Aunt Cheng who was here. Ning Yuzhen put away all her thoughts, wiped away her tears and stood up to greet her.
"Ms. Ning, tomorrow is the day of the draft. I would like to give you a final reminder." Aunt Cheng's face was tight and she said solemnly: "There are many nobles in the palace. If you bump into the nobles, you will be punished." You don’t even have the chance to step out of the palace. Life and death only depend on your thoughts. If one of you dies, you will die. Don’t harm your family."
With these words ringing in her mind, Ning Yuzhen thought about it, and she probably had some evil idea, so she asked Aunt Cheng to give a special warning.
Ning Yuzhen nodded slightly to Qilan, who understood instantly and closed the door.
"What you taught me is that I must act prudently." With a smile on her face, Ning Yuzhen put the money-filled purse hidden in her sleeve into the hands of Aunt Cheng, took a step back and said softly: "Thank you, Auntie. If you can teach me a few more words, it will help me feel more confident."
Whoever comes out of the palace is not a human spirit, especially Grandma Cheng.
Her face was not visible, but her purse was pinched all over in her sleeves. Her tense face relaxed a lot, and she looked at Ning Yuzhen with a very pleased look, "The weather has been getting cold recently, Miss Ning, please pay attention to yourself. Drink more pear soup to moisten your lungs. Coughing in front of the emperor will harm your image."
After that, he rolled up his sleeves and left the room.
After the door closed, Qilan asked with confusion on her face: "Miss spent so much money, but grandma only said something insignificant?"
Qilan has a stable temperament, but in the end, the Ning family is too harmonious and has nothing to do with it. On weekdays, she just hides and relaxes with her in the house. If she continues to be like this in the palace, she will probably suffer a lot.
Ning Yuzhen patted her hand, "In the past, at home, my father loved to collect Master Mo Yuan's calligraphy and paintings related to magnolia flowers, but I felt that the flowers all looked the same and were made by the same person, so why buy so many copies. "
"My father said that although flowers are of the same species, the mood when painting them is different. If you look carefully at the strokes of the brush, there is a huge difference."
At this point, she stopped. The meaning still needs to be appreciated by Qilan herself.
The new emperor was kind-hearted, and every concubine who entered the palace could bring a personal maid, regardless of rank or family background.
If it got to this point, Qilan still couldn't understand that instead of taking her, it would be better to go into the palace alone.
While Fang Qilan was meditating aside, Ning Yuzhen thought of something else.
What Aunt Cheng meant just now was that the Emperor added rock sugar and snow pear soup to his meal. It was probably because of the recent strong autumn wind that he had a cough.
At this time, Ning Yuzhen was extremely lucky that she still had such skills. Otherwise, given her family background, even if she looked good, it would be difficult to win the attention of the emperor and the queen mother among the many beautiful women.
After recalling the incense I brought from home, I thought hard for a long time, and finally found in the corner of my memory the incense that has the effect of moistening the lungs and relieving coughs - Xuantai Purple Lichee Incense.
Call Qilan to get things ready, it's getting late.
In order to prepare for tomorrow's draft, Ning Yuzhen put aside her half-read script and took a break early.
But tonight's dream makes my heart tremble.
In the dream, Ning Yuzhen lived a completely different life from now.
He didn't get into the roster by accident, he didn't go to the capital to participate in the draft, and his nephew didn't lose his legs.
After Ning Yuzhen was dismissed, she stayed in Chuzhou. When the draft was over, the Deng family came to propose marriage. The two families became good friends, and now they are getting closer.
Deng Xiuzhu is also a member of the imperial family. He will enter the court in the future, and it will be smooth sailing.
He was affectionate for her, did not keep concubines, and had no secrets in the back house. As an official wife, Ning Yuzhen's life was no different from that of her parents' family.
What a sweet dream.
Ning Yuzhen struggled to wake up from her dream and sat up, with the quilt draped across her body. The moonlight scattered on the ground through the paper window, reflecting in her eyes, which was desolate.
Qilan heard the movement, walked around the screen, half-knelt in front of the bed, and whispered: "Miss, are you having a nightmare?"
"Qilan." Ning Yuzhen took out an extremely smooth wooden hairpin from under the pillow, with a lotus engraved on it, which was her favorite flower. "Tomorrow, find a chance to deal with it. Don't call anyone." Discover."
The wooden hairpin shimmered slightly in the moonlight, and it was obvious that the owner often played with it in his hands.
Qilan recognized that this was a token of love given by Mr. Deng to his young lady, so she kept silent and accepted the hairpin.
