Ruyi has been serving at Bihengyuan for a few days. She is steady and attentive, and there is no hint of self-reliance on her identity because she came from Fanlanyuan. In just a few days, she became familiar with Xie Shu and Qingdai.
At this time, there were only two days before Zhou's birthday party. Xie Shu asked Qingdai to move a box and cage out. While taking out things from it, he said to Qingdai and Ruyi: "I don't have anything valuable in my hand. I only have the past." The embroideries here are quite good, can you help me choose which one would be a better gift?"
Ruyi was a newcomer after all. After listening to Xie Shu's words, she just smiled and said: "I've heard that the girl is very good at embroidery. No matter whether she gave the forehead wipes to the old lady or the peony embroidery to the eldest lady, they all made the whole house proud." The embroiderers have all pressed down, and their skills are so impressive. I’m so lucky this slave, I can open my eyes.”
Qingdai was most proud of her girl's embroidery work. When Ruyi said this, a look of pride appeared on her face, and she said with a smile: "I dare not say anything else, but our girl's embroidery work is one of the best in Jiangnan. The girl gave me a handkerchief for my birthday last year. The plum blossoms embroidered on it were so lifelike that I couldn't bear to use them."
Hearing her compliments, Mr. Xie chuckled and said, "Okay, you know how to make people happy. Let's see which of these embroideries is the best."
Although Xie Shu said this, she already had her favorite in mind. It was a double-sided peony embroidery picture. The embroidery was Yao Huang, the King of Peonies. She happened to have a red camphor wood circular screen to embroider this picture. The double-sided embroidery is embedded inside, which makes it a very useful birthday gift for her.
Although red camphor wood is not expensive, double-sided embroidery is rare in the capital. It took her three months to embroider this peony picture, which took a lot of effort.
In her previous life, when she first entered the mansion, in order to please Mrs. Wei, she gave away this double-sided embroidered screen, which was even praised by the old lady. After resurrecting her life, she would naturally not send this thing to Fanlan Courtyard again. Zhou was her biological mother, and she and her father reconciled with her in her previous life, and later died of illness. As a daughter, how could she not be moved in her heart. Therefore, I thought of giving this double-sided embroidered peony screen as a birthday gift as a way of showing her filial piety.
Just as Xie Shu thought, Ruyi and Qingdai also chose the double-sided peony embroidery pattern. Ruyi picked up the embroidery pattern and looked at it carefully. Smelling the familiar fragrance on it, she couldn't help but ask: "This smells really good. I have been here to serve you for a few days. I have long wanted to ask you what kind of fragrance this is. Could you please tell me?"
Xie Shu thought of the scripture she had left in Xiao Yan's hand, and also of Xiao Yan's head ailment, and thought that maybe this fragrance could soothe Xiao Yan's pain, otherwise, Ruyi asked what this was for.
Thinking like this, Xie Shu's face did not show any strange color, but she smiled naturally and said: "What's this? I just made it in my spare time. It uses dogwood seeds, lychee bark, neem flowers, cardamom, Rosin, honey, etc., are mixed according to the rules of monarch, minister, assistant, and auxiliary, and then supplemented with some ingredients to make this incense."
Xie Shu glanced at Ruyi, reached for a pen, wrote a prescription on the paper, and handed it to her.
"If you like, take it and use it. There are some ordinary things on the left and right that are easy to find. They are not worth taking."
Ruyi smiled and took the incense with both hands, and thanked her: "Thank you, miss. The old lady doesn't like these incense because she is old, and the slaves don't dare to use it. Now that the girl is here, she is a little less restrained." , the girl is so considerate to the slave, it is a blessing to the slave."
Xie Miao smiled when she heard this: "Look at you, you have only been with that girl Qingdai for a few days, and you are as sweet-mouthed as her."
Ruyi smiled, put away the incense, and went forward to embed the double-sided Yao and Huang embroidery pictures into the red camphor wood screen with Qingdai.
At night, a figure came to the window of the house where Ruyi lived, took a box on the window sill and left quickly.
...
In a blink of an eye, it was Zhou's birthday. Zhou was the wife of Duke An Guo, and her second son, Fu Xuzhi, was accompanying the prince when he was urinating. So early in the morning, ladies from each family came to the house one after another with their girls.
Jing'an Courtyard was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and the faces of the maids and women coming and going were all filled with joy.
As a niece, Xie Yan followed Fu Qionghua and Xie Yan to Jing'an Yuan early in the morning.
When the maid and mother-in-law standing in the corridor saw her aunt and two cousins coming, she quickly opened the curtain and invited them in.
Zhou wore a rouge-colored Suzhou embroidered peony tunic, a corolla bun, a gilt hairpin inlaid with rubies, a hollow carved hairpin, and a golden silk begonia beaded flower swaying in her hair. Madam’s bearing.
When Mr. Xie and the others entered, Mrs. Zhou was talking to several noble ladies. When she saw Fu Qionghua coming in with his two nieces, she stood up with a smile and greeted them. She pulled Fu Qionghua to the front and sat down, and then faced the few people around her. The lady explained: "This is my aunt, who just returned to Beijing a few days ago."
When everyone heard Zhou's explanation, they couldn't help but understand that this was Fu Qionghua, the aunt of Duke Anguo. Knowing her identity, they naturally thought of what Fu Qionghua did when she lowered her status to marry into the Xie family. matter. For a moment, looking at Fu Qionghua, I began to look at and guess a little more. I thought that this aunt might not have a good life in Xie's family. Otherwise, why would she come all the way to the capital to live with her parents' family? Won't leave?
The woman sitting on the chair closest to Zhou was none other than Mrs. Rong Guogong's wife, Tan. She looked at Fu Qionghua with a flash of worry in her eyes.
She was thinking of marrying her daughter Jiang Zhixian to the Duke of Anguo's mansion and promising her to Fu Xuzhi, the second son of the Zhou family. In her heart, Fu Xu is the only person in Manjing who is worthy of her family Zhixian. Not only does he have a good status and family background, but he also has a handsome appearance. He is also the prince's companion when he urinates. He is also gentle and polite. Only when his daughter marries him can he It's a good marriage. Furthermore, she got along with Mrs. Zhou a lot and knew that Mrs. Zhou was not the kind of mother-in-law who would wait to chat with her daughter-in-law. In this way, she liked Fu Xuzhi even more.
But if Fu Qionghua, the aunt, had lived in Anguo Gongfu for a long time, her daughter would have had an elder when she got married. In addition, Fu Qionghua was deeply loved by Mrs. Wei, and had an even more arrogant and willful temperament. She would hardly have to get along with each other when living under the same roof in the future. This is a bad thing for my daughter.
Mrs. Tan was thinking this, but she didn't take Fu Qionghua too seriously. After all, she had always lived here, and her daughter was not someone who was easily bullied.
Tan thought, and then cast his eyes on Xie Yan and Xie Shu who were following Fu Qionghua. Seeing Xie Shu's beauty, her eyes focused more on Xie Shu.
She naturally guessed that these were Fu Qionghua's two daughters, but she was not worried that the two daughters of the Xie family would steal the marriage she was interested in. After all, the Xie family was a small family with Fu Qionghua as its mother. My daughter is definitely not qualified to marry into the Duke Anguo's palace.
Mrs. Tan smiled and said: "These are the two girls from my aunt's family. They are really well-born. The Jiangnan Water Village is about raising people. Look at their skin. It is as smooth as jade and so tender that you can pinch water. In this capital city The girls can’t compare.”
Xie Yan and Xie Yan came forward to greet the ladies. After all, they were the daughters of the Xie family. Although the ladies said nice words, they looked down upon them in their hearts, so after a few words of praise, Then he changed the subject and brought it back to Jiang Zhixian, the eldest daughter of Rong Guogong's wife Tan.
They were not stupid, they could clearly see Mrs. Rong Guogong's thoughts. Seeing that Mrs. Zhou also liked Jiang Zhixian very much, no matter what she thought in her heart, she would always praise Jiang Zhixian.
"Look at your Zhixian. She has a first-class temperament, and you can't fault her etiquette. I heard that the family specially invited a famous teacher to teach Zhixian how to play the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and her piano skills. , even Princess Zhaoyang praised her."
Mrs. Tan smiled and said she didn't dare, saying that it was the eldest princess who promoted her daughter.
Standing behind Fu Qionghua, Sister Xie saw the handkerchief Fu Qionghua was clenching tightly unconsciously. She couldn't guess that Fu Qionghua was probably unhappy at this time, feeling that he was being neglected and looked down upon by these ladies.
There was a bit of sarcasm in Mr. Xie's eyes, and Fu Qionghua didn't want to think that the people sitting in this room now were all the marquis' wives and the duchess's wives, and they were all high-ranking wives. Even though she was deeply loved by Mrs. Wei, in the eyes of these ladies, She, the aunt who married into Duke Anguo's family, was also of a lower status. Now that she has returned to the capital, these looks will be inevitable from now on.
Xie Yan looked away, and then his eyes fell on the cousin Zhou Miaorong who was standing next to Zhou, but he slowly saw something.
Although Zhou Miaorong tried her best to hide it, she inadvertently looked at Jiang Zhixian several times and her eyes with fear fell into Xie Shu's eyes. Xie Shu was slightly surprised, but she only thought about it for a moment and understood that Zhou Miaorong actually liked it. Fu Xuzhi's.
No wonder Zhou Miaorong fell ill after she married Fu Xu in her previous life. The maid next to her said that her step-wife Bian sent someone to take Zhou Miaorong back. Zhou Miaorong couldn't bear to leave Zhou Mia, her aunt, so she fell ill.
Everyone in their house knew the temperament of Zhou Miaorong's stepmother Bian, and they thought that Zhou Miaorong just didn't want to go back to the Zhou family, so she got sick at the right time and had an excuse not to go back.
Now Xie Shu thought about it more carefully, but she felt that Zhou Miaorong didn't want to go back to the Zhou family for one reason, and the real thing that made Zhou Miaorong sick was her marriage to Fu Xuzhi.
Just as Xie was thinking about it, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and a maid came in to report: "Madam, the eldest uncle, eldest grandma and the second master are here."
After hearing this, Xie Shu moved his eyes to the door.
After a while, a figure came in from outside. He was wearing royal blue brocade embroidered with bamboo patterns. He was tall and thin, with a pale complexion. It was obvious at first glance that he was in poor health. He was the eldest young master Fu Hezhi.
Following Fu Hezhi was Grandma Shen.
The next person who came in was the second young master Fu Xuzhi.
As soon as the two young masters of the eldest house showed up, they attracted everyone's attention, and for a moment they felt a bit envious of Mr. Zhou.
Look at the two young masters born to the Zhou family. They are both extraordinary. Needless to say, Fu Xuzhi always follows the prince, and he has a bit of dignity and majesty. Even Fu Hezhi, even though he is sick and weak, gives people a sense of dignity. With the same demeanor, his frail demeanor actually made him more gentle and elegant. Xu rarely went out, and his whole body was full of bookishness, which made people dare not look down upon him.
Fu Hezhi and Fu Xushang came forward to kowtow to Mr. Zhou and presented them with birthday gifts.
What Fu Hezhi sent was a white-glazed statue of Ruyi Guanyin, which Zhou liked very much. What Fu Xuzhi sent was a cloisonné enamel peony bonsai with hundreds of treasures, including Wei purple, white jade, Yao yellow, bean green, Zhao powder, Delicate red, lifelike, really eye-catching.
Everyone knows that the Zhou family loves peonies the most, so this birthday gift from Fu Xuzhi is the most suitable for Zhou family. The key is that such bonsai uses jade, agate, tourmaline, and coral. The craftsmanship is complicated and ingenious, and it looks like flowers at first glance. Prepare your mind.
At that moment, someone praised you: "I really envy you. The Guanyin gift given by the eldest son has a very good meaning of wishful thinking. The second son also knew that you like peonies and gave this specially. You are really filial."
For a moment, everyone praised Fu Hezhi and Fu Xuzhi. However, in the end, most of his thoughts were on Fu Xuzhi.
Xie Yan saw Shen's slightly lowered eyebrows, and it was obvious that she was a little concerned. But Fu Xuzhi is so outstanding. No matter how gentle Fu Hezhi is in the eyes of everyone, he is still a sick man. How can he steal the limelight from Fu Xuzhi?
Xie Miao sighed softly in her heart. In fact, no matter what Fu Xuzhi gave him, it would still be like this, but if Fu Xuzhi deliberately shortened his head to let Fu Hezhi, he really looked down on his brother.
Sure enough, Mr. Xie looked at Fu Hezhi and saw that Fu Hezhi was smiling and didn't mind at all.
There was a lot of excitement here, and a woman hurried in and said happily: "Madam, your highness is here. Madam, hurry up and take someone to greet him."
As soon as she said these words, everyone in the room was stunned, and even Zhou's eyes flashed with surprise.
Although she and the late empress had been friends since childhood, and they had planned to get married by fingertips back then, and she had a certain affection for the prince Xiao Yan, but in the past, the prince only sent people to send congratulatory gifts on her birthdays. Never come to the door in person. Even my mother-in-law, Mrs. Wei, has never had such dignity.
I wonder why the prince came in person today.
Zhou didn't have time to think too much, so she personally led the people to welcome him out.
The wives and girls from each family did not dare to be disrespectful and hurriedly followed Zhou out of the house.
