On the first day of the Lunar New Year, hundreds of officials and nobles would like to pay New Year greetings to the emperor and attend a grand banquet. Nvjuan, who has a royal title, will also go to the palace to congratulate and pay New Year's greetings to the queen mother and empress.
The queen has been missing for a long time, and the master of the harem has always been vacant. In addition to the queen mother, the foreign wife also wants to worship the concubine Shu who takes care of the harem, that is, Princess Qing.
Princess Zhaoyang will naturally go to the palace for a banquet tomorrow.
"Thank you, Queen Mother." The Queen Mother said perfunctorily, and Princess Zhaoyang replied perfunctorily.
Princess Zhaoyang knew very well that the Queen Mother just said it casually.
Xu Shi saw that her son was in a bad mood, so the Queen Mother wanted to liven up the atmosphere and had a lively conversation: "The Ai family heard that there is a bandit girl who looks very similar to Zhaoyang?"
As soon as these words came out, Emperor Xingyuan looked over, Princess Zhaoyang looked over, and even Concubine Shu looked over.
The Queen Mother was puzzled: "What?"
"Two days ago, Heyuan hosted a banquet for benevolent people in Beijing who donated money to the Dingbei disaster area. My son went there and met Miss Kou."
"Oh, the Ai family has heard that this Miss Kou donated fifty thousand taels." The Queen Mother said in a dull tone.
Princess Zhaoyang saw this and curled her lips imperceptibly.
The queen mother still cares about people's money.
"Your Majesty, does Miss Kou really look like Zhao Yang?" The Queen Mother's interest was obviously in this, not in donating money.
Emperor Xingyuan glanced at Princess Zhaoyang and nodded with a smile: "She looks a bit like Zhaoyang."
In fact, it's more like him, but it would be too strange for him to say this.
"Tomorrow, I will send my wife to the palace to congratulate her, and ask her parents to bring her to show the Ai family."
Princess Zhaoyang couldn't help but said: "Everyone who enters the palace tomorrow will be a high-ranking official. Isn't it appropriate for a little girl like her to enter the palace?"
Entering the palace to pay homage may seem like a beautiful sight, but married women have to get up in the middle of the night to dress up and go out as soon as they play drums. Not to mention they suffer a lot from all the trouble.
Foreign women who are able to enter the palace have a special destiny and have the opportunity to socialize. For them, this kind of occasion is very satisfying. But Miss Kou is just a little girl. What benefits can she gain from entering the palace when her mother already has an average impression of her?
It's just suffering. If it causes any displeasure, it will be a disaster.
The Queen Mother glanced at her daughter: "The Ai family thinks it's appropriate. Is there anyone who knows how to gossip?"
"That's not what my daughter meant." Princess Zhaoyang lowered her eyes patiently.
Seeing the bad atmosphere between his mother and his sister, Emperor Xingyuan hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "It's really not a big deal. Since my mother wants to see Miss Kou, just send someone to Shaoqing's Mansion tomorrow morning to let her know."
The eldest princess Zhaoyang gave her brother a sideways look, not wanting to say anything else.
Concubine Shu smiled and said, "I also heard about Miss Kou. I heard that Miss Kou moved out from my grandfather's house and opened a bookstore. The bookstore's business is very good. People praise Miss Kou as a business genius."
When the Queen Mother heard this, a look of disgust flashed in her eyes, and she said calmly: "Then the Ai family are even more curious."
Concubine Shu curled her lips.
Princess Zhaoyang's eyes turned cold.
The emperor's sister-in-law has outstanding abilities, is not inferior to men, and is not a submissive person. The queen mother doesn't like the emperor's sister-in-law, and she also dislikes capable girls. Concubine Shu's words sounded like she was praising Miss Kou, but in fact she was digging a hole for Miss Kou.
When did Miss Kou offend Concubine Shu?
Could it be that because Prince Guchang Bo was punished, he couldn't do anything about it, so he turned his anger on Miss Kou?
Princess Zhaoyang thought about this and decided to protect Miss Kou tomorrow.
It was still dark here in Shaoqing's Mansion, so the old lady got up.
In the entire Shaoqing Mansion, only the old lady and Duan Shaoqing were eligible to enter the palace to pay their respects.
Fortunately, the old lady felt less sleepy as she got older. Although she spent much of the night dressing up, she didn't feel too uncomfortable, but she was just a little confused.
This confused lake completely woke up when I received the report from the front.
Someone from the palace sent a message asking the old lady to bring Miss Kou into the palace together.
"Go to Wanqingju to deliver a message to my cousin!" the old lady hurriedly ordered.
This happened so suddenly, it would be a big deal if it delayed the time of entering the palace.
Xinyou was woken up by a hurried call.
"Girl, wake up quickly."
Xin You opened her eyes and immediately sat up: "What's wrong?"
Xiaolian was also confused: "I said I want you to go to the palace with the old lady to congratulate me."
The sleepiness disappeared from Xin You's eyes, and she turned over and got out of bed: "Take a set of imperial red skirts and coats, a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies, and there is no need to prepare other jewelry..."
While I was cleaning up, someone came from Ruyi Hall to urge me to go out, fearing that I would be delayed in going out.
Xin You dressed up properly, put on a red cloak with flowers, and went to Ruyi Hall.
The old lady had just finished packing. When she saw Xin You coming in, she looked up and down carefully and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's quite good. Why don't you even wear an earring?"
"If I wear it too much, I'm afraid it won't fit properly."
The old lady thought the same thing. A young girl who has not yet left the palace does not need to have her hair covered with pearls and green hair. A gold hairpin is enough.
"Let's go. When you get to the palace, don't look at things you shouldn't see, and don't say things you shouldn't say..."
The door of Shaoqing's Mansion opened, and firecrackers crackled, bringing the joy of the New Year.
Xin You got on the sedan chair with the old lady, sounded the gong to clear the way, and headed to the palace.
When we arrived at the imperial city, it was still dark, but the palace city was decorated with lights and colorful carriages everywhere, making it no different from daylight.
All civil and military officials congratulated him in the front hall, while his wife went to the harem.
Along the way, Xin You received countless surprised looks.
It's no wonder that others were shocked. Among the married ladies who were all wearing court clothes, the girl in ordinary clothes really stood out.
These ladies frequently exchanged glances and whispered about why a little girl had slipped into the group of royal ladies.
Is this the Kou girl who donated fifty thousand taels of silver?
After knowing the girl's identity, the ladies' expressions became more complicated.
Although the old saying goes that money can make all the difference, but that’s not the case for the royal family, right?
Next, New Year greetings were given to the Queen Mother and Concubine Shu according to the ritual. When the banquet started, the ladies relaxed a little and could have a good discussion under the cover of singing, dancing and music.
"Is Mrs. Duan, the Young Minister of Taipu Temple, here?" The Queen Mother sat at the top and glanced downwards.
The ladies holding chopsticks paused their hands and stopped whispering.
The palace attendant on the side said hurriedly: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, Mrs. Duan's seat is at the entrance of the main hall."
Those with a rank of 5 or above in Beijing are eligible to enter the palace to pay their respects on New Year's Day. Duan Shaoqing is a 4-rank official, and the old lady is a 4-rank courtier. It's good that she didn't sit outside the main hall.
"Please ask Madam Duan to bring her granddaughter forward," the Queen Mother said.
Following the report from the palace, the old lady led Xin You step by step from the entrance to the innermost part of the hall, and bowed down excitedly: "I have met the Queen Mother, and I wish the Queen Mother all the best."
In previous years, during the first day of greetings, the Queen Mother would also talk to some ladies, but for someone like her who was about to sit outside the main hall, it would be nice to be able to see the Queen Mother's face clearly, let alone such an opportunity.
Did you take advantage of your granddaughter this year?
"Old madam, there is no need to be polite." The Queen Mother was not interested in the old madam. Her eyes fell on Xin You, "Is this Miss Kou? Raise your head and let the Ai family take a look."
