Little Cardamom

The five years of Chengkang's Shangyuan passed away without any risk in the hustle and bustle, and the taste of the year also quietly dissipated with the fading winter snow.

The two who knocked Mingtan into the water haven't found out yet, but fortunately, the Duke's mansion was savvy and directly accepted the statement that Liang Zixuan fell into the water, and even let Liang Zixuan lie in the mansion for a few days, all of which were covered.

Mrs. Pei didn't know the inside story, but felt that Duke Ling's mansion was quite kind and kind, and he was a friendly family. Ming Tan didn't appreciate it, and ordered the government to send people to greet and give gifts in private, but she didn't pay much attention.

At the beginning of spring, the tailor Xiuniang of Jinxiufang was invited to the Jing'an Hou Mansion to make tailor-made clothes.

Ming Tan planned ahead, and thought that it would be inconvenient to publicize for a long time after the divorce, so this time he chose some simple and elegant colors, moon white, moxa green, and light blue.

Mrs. Pei thought she was looking fresh, so she didn't stop her. She just pointed out two more brightly colored horses to make her a coat, and put a pillow on it and said kindly: "It's okay to be plain and clean in the mansion on weekdays, but this spring day is indispensable. Going out to enjoy the flowers, the girl's clothes should be fresher, lively, and in good spirits, who would not like it."

"Mother said so."

Ming Tan didn't delay much, and obediently agreed, but he was annoyed that Chun Ri couldn't wear these beautiful clothes and go out to show off.

Pei's family will never fall into the shoes of others when it comes to trivial matters such as food and clothing, and has added rules to Ming Tan, and also added an extra share to Shen Hua.

Putting aside the froth and taking a sip of tea, she thought of something, and explained to the woman in charge of Jinxiufang: "The remaining few horses will be made according to the figure of the young lady. Counting the time, the third lady will be back soon. I haven't seen you for a few years, and I don't know what my body looks like now, so I have to prepare first, and if it doesn't fit, I will make a fit when I return to Beijing."

"yes."

The woman in charge accepted the errand, but she was wondering in her heart whether the fineness of these bodies should be done like the little lady. After all, she often walks in the compound of the deep house, so she cannot even notice the subtle changes of the Madam Hou in front of her.

In fact, it wasn't just Pei's subtle attitude, Ming Tan and Shen Hua were also stunned for a moment when they heard "Miss Three".

The Jing'an Hou Mansion has always been full of yang and yin, and in Ming Tan's life, the number of girls can be counted on one hand. When the old lady was alive, she hadn't been separated from her family for a few years, and her cousins ​​had arranged their teeth together.

There is no direct sister in Mingtan, the two cousins ​​of the second and third bedrooms are all married. Mingchu, the concubine, is still in her boudoir, and she is about the same age as her. It's just that Mingchu and Aunt Liu accompanied her father, Marquis Jing'an, to guard the border and hadn't returned to Beijing for five years.

Previously, Ming Tan only remembered that her father would return to Beijing, and the matter of retiring could be put on the agenda, but he forgot that Ming Chu and Aunt Liu would also come back together.

She and Mingchu had a very bad relationship in the past, and when she came back now, wouldn't it be one more person who saw her jokes when she retired?

As for Shen Hua, the first thing that comes to my mind is Mingchu, Miss Mingsan, who is the same age as her. Although she is a concubine, she has a high family background and is favored, and her status is comparable to her. There are many suitable marriages in Beijing Now, when they return to Beijing at this time, the two of them are afraid that they will bump into each other in discussing marriage.

For a while, several people in the hall were silent, their eyes lowered in thought.

Seeing that the return date was approaching, Mrs. Pei ordered the Jinxiufang to prepare clothes, and at the same time ordered the servants to tidy up the Hou's mansion.

She was very appropriate in managing the household, within a few days, the entire Hou Mansion had been cleaned up, even Aunt Liu's yard had been refurbished, and she couldn't find any faults.

Seeing Mrs. Pei being so caring, Mama Zhang couldn't help nagging when she combed her hair: "Madam, why bother to take care of Mrs. Liu's place? The one who didn't make it to the public has occupied Lord Hou for five years. Now I'm afraid it's the same. Very frivolous."

Pei looked at the still beautiful and elegant face in the mirror, and responded.

There was no one around, and Zhang's mother leaned closer and whispered: "In the final analysis, the heirs are the most important thing in this house. Madam, it is difficult, but there are no beautiful girls in the mansion. Otherwise, there are many small families in Beijing. , Master Hou has been with the Liu family for so many years, and he should get tired of seeing new ones."

Mrs. Pei picked up the hairpin and stroked it on her head, with a look of indifference.

"Ma'am!" Mother Zhang couldn't help shouting.

Pei glanced slightly at the end of his eyes, and said in a low voice: "You are right."

She put down her hairpin, and her gaze became deep and far away: "My relationship with Lord Hou is nothing more than that. When I was appointed as a foreigner, it was because I didn't want to suffer the hardships of the border and asked me to stay in Beijing. I should thank Mrs. Liu for being the one. After five years at the border, Master Hou has not accepted any newcomers, let alone a son and a half daughter. This has saved me a lot of trouble, and I have changed to another concubine to accompany me. I think I am not as capable as her.

"Let's talk about heirs, I don't have the fate to be around me. It's impossible to take care of raising a young one, not to mention it, but it is absolutely impossible to inherit the title. Instead of such twists and turns, it's better to spend more time on A Tan.

"After all these years, you should also understand that half of the future of our Hou's mansion lies in marrying a daughter, and the other half is with the elder brother. When I married into the Hou's mansion, the elder brother was already too old to raise a mother and child. Relatives, but all these years because of A-Tan, he has not lacked respect for me."

Mother Zhang agrees with this point very much: "My eldest brother has been working in Pangshan for the past few years, and he has never lost his etiquette in letters. Knowing that his wife has an old problem of knee pain, he even brought back the folk prescription from Pangshan. Although there is no big He is talented, but he is polite and affectionate."

Thinking of this, Mrs. Pei curled her lips in satisfaction.

After a while, she suddenly remembered something, and asked again: "By the way, Ah Tan has been a little unusual recently? When she entered the palace a few days ago, she stared at the Liang family's female family members for a long time. She behaved very well outside. I wouldn't be so rude. And Yuan Xi fell into the water...Later, the Liang family gave gifts and cared, and she was also indifferent, as if she was not happy."

Mother Zhang said: "Miss is young, so the Liang family is the first baby relative. The two families have little contact on weekdays, and it is normal to be curious. As for the Liang family's concern about gifts, it will be favored by the future husband's family. The head must be happy, but the daughter's face is too thin to show it."

Pei still felt something was wrong, but didn't say anything more.

Compared with the fact that the Jing'an Hou Mansion is waiting for the head of the family to return to the capital, the nobles in Beijing are more concerned about another major event that suddenly broke out without warning—

Gu Jinzhong, the Marquis of Cheng En, forcibly occupied the farm and opened the salt mine privately, committing several crimes simultaneously. The noble concubine Yu Guifei, who has always been favored, was also imprisoned because of her involvement in the case. Fortunately, the crime is not as good as the family members. Except for those involved, the rest are only demoted to common people, and men are not allowed to enter the imperial examination.

When everyone talked about this matter, they couldn't help but sigh.

"Being relegated to common people and failing to enter the imperial examination, there is no hope for the Gu family to recover within three generations." Bai Minmin sighed, "Gu Jiurou also boldly presented music at the Shangyuan Palace Banquet. It's only been a few days, how could it be so sudden?"

Zhou Jingwan, the daughter of Hanlin scholars who had good friends with Ming Tan and Bai Minmin, said softly: "It's not sudden. That day I rested at home due to the cold and didn't go to the banquet. Later, I heard about the things in the palace. The situation in the palace at that time was actually quite A lot of things have been foreshadowed."

Ming Tan has already figured out the joints. What Zhou Jingwan said was exactly what she meant.

Only Bai Minmin was at a loss: "Atan, do you understand? Why didn't it happen suddenly, why did it foreshadow?"

Ming Tan didn't bother to explain, and pushed the stack of walnuts on the table in front of her: "Eat more, nourish your brain."

"...?"

Bai Minmin reached out and hit her.

Ming Tan hurriedly hid, but reservedly said with disgust: "Look at you, you don't have the slightest bit of virtuousness and chastity between me and Wanwan. How can you win the reputation of 'Three Sisters of Shangjing'?"

"...?"

"Never mind being Wanwan, what do you have to do with Xianshu Zhenjing, you will only pretend in front of outsiders, and speak boldly!"

Ming Tan: "That's better than you can't pretend in front of outsiders!"

"Okay." Zhou Jingwan smiled lightly, she was always weak, and her voice was soft and soft, "Stop bickering, I'll say it."

The three of them sat and tasted tea by the patio of Zhaoshuiyuan. They were all their own people inside and out, so there was nothing they couldn't say.

Zhou Jingwan explained patiently: "This incident happened, on the surface, it is said that Zhang Ji, the magistrate of Jingji County, had a close relationship with Cheng Enhou, and he collected a lot of criminal evidence of Gu's family in private. But think about it carefully, Zhang Ji is because of Cheng Enhou. Enhou is a talented official, so why did he suddenly report? Is there really a corrupt official who will abandon evil and do good overnight?

"Furthermore, in the past, the censor impeached Marquis Cheng En, but the Holy Majesty always lightly exposed it. But this time he was furious during the court and ordered a thorough investigation..."

Hearing this, Bai Minmin seemed to vaguely understand something.

Zhou Jingwan stopped short, then changed the topic and continued: "The king of Dingbei often goes to the north and rarely returns to the capital. I don't know much about his temperament. But even if he is really self-respecting, he won't let Concubine Yugui and Marquis Chengen go. In my eyes, if you directly disrespect others at the palace banquet, your majesty and empress will take light responsibility."

"Oh... I understand." Bai Minmin calmed down his thoughts, "You mean, His Majesty wanted to clean up the Gu family a long time ago, so the scene was so ugly that he and the empress didn't say anything for Gu Jiurou... Then if you think about it that way , His Royal Highness King Dingbei is very likely to have known His Majesty's intentions a long time ago, so he is so presumptuous?"

"In my opinion, that His Highness is just that presumptuous."

A reckless man, what can he know. Ming Tansi dyed Danko gracefully, a little bit disregarded.