An old lady's life

The next day, at exactly the right time, the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince came out of the palace, and saw the crowds in the square at the gate of the palace. Many eunuchs, maids, and nuns were arranging the girls from the ministers' families to line up or check.

Today is the first day of the draft, and the number of players is around 200.

The seventh prince and the tenth prince got into the carriage and did not leave immediately, but peeped at the people outside through the curtain of the carriage.

The tenth prince smiled and said: "Seventh brother, is the future Seventh sister-in-law in there? What kind of concubine does the emperor want to find for you?"

The Seventh Prince was looking for him, but he looked like he didn't know anything, his eyes moved around, and he quickly saw the person he was looking for in the middle row of the queue.

The rule for the draft queue is the father's official position and rank, and civil servants and military officials are different. Except for a girl from a military general's family who is of the same status as her, the Yao family's girl is surrounded by her father's official position or rank. People, although they are also rich ladies, other girls are unlikely to flatter or follow others, but they always have a more kind attitude towards girls from the Yao family.

The row to the left of them is the girl from the civil official's family. The civil and military sides look at each other with disgust. Although the two groups are very close, no one pays attention to the other.Among them, the seventh prince saw his cousin in it. Since he declined his uncle's proposal last time, he never went to the Shen's house except when he had to go to the Shen's house to pay New Year's greetings during the Chinese New Year.

Thinking of his grandfather's house, the Seventh Prince felt a little complicated. He originally thought that his grandfather would do something, but his grandfather didn't even mention it, and he didn't say anything about his behavior of not going to the Shen's house. The Seventh Prince said he couldn't see it. clear.

Putting down the car curtain, the Seventh Prince restrained his subtle expression changes, "I'll find out after the marriage is bestowed, why do you care so much? Save it to be curious when you look for the princess in the future."

The tenth prince pursed his lips, still lifted the corner of the car curtain, and looked into the crowd, "I found out that marrying a wife is not so good, why do you need someone to take care of yourself? Isn't this self-inflicted?"

The Seventh Prince ordered the guards to drive away, not noticing that the girls who were queuing up had already spotted them, and their drafts were all aimed at the Seventh Prince and the Eighth Prince, and many girls who were raised in deep boudoirs rarely saw foreign men once. He quickly lowered his eyes and blushed.

Among them, the Yao family, the Wen family, the Shen family and two other girls from the family of a civil official and a general have different moods. The girl from the Shen family felt a little wronged. Avoiding her, even the Shen family rarely came to the door.The other four girls were very upset. They had already learned from their father or grandfather that the emperor intended to choose them as imperial concubines. The result would depend on their performance during the draft.And their respective families also pointed out some people who might be their opponents to them, and told their girls to be more careful, and be careful not to be calculated by others.

The sun was getting higher and the temperature was getting hotter. The carriage swayed forward, and about two quarters of an hour later, it arrived at the Lin family.

The concierge of the Lin family had already received orders from the master, the side door was ajar, and he kept paying attention to the situation outside. He saw an exquisite carriage stop, and saw two strange young masters in rich clothes get off the carriage. The concierge immediately opened two doors. He opened the door and informed the butler who had walked around the yard several times to welcome the distinguished guests.

Butler Lin welcomed the two princes into the front hall, and greeted the maids to make tea and serve snacks and fruits. They didn't see the master, and the two princes still maintained their reserved faces.

But the fruit in the fruit plate was so juicy, it looked like he wanted to take a bite, the tenth prince couldn't hold back, he reached out and grabbed one, took a bite, it was really delicious, the same as the one he tasted at his father's place.

When Ai Cao and Jia Min came out, they saw that the tenth prince was eating with gusto, and the seventh prince was still struggling. When he saw the old lady came out, he immediately got up and stood up.

"Seventh prince, tenth prince, welcome." Ai Cao said with a smile, and sat next to the tenth prince, seeing him eating so fast, said amusedly: "The tenth prince doesn't need to eat so fast, eat slowly, be careful of choking on."

The Seventh Prince was a bit shy, "Old Madam, excuse me."

Ai Cao waved her hand: "Seventh Prince, don't be so polite, you are so polite, I don't know how to deal with myself."

The tenth prince chuckled and said: "Old lady, Seventh Brother has been carrying it like this for many years, and Seventh Sister-in-law will definitely not like it in the future." The tenth prince continued to smile and said, "Old lady, you don't know. Isn't today's audition starting? Seventh Brother and I came out and saw a lot of beauties, and Seventh Brother's eyes were straightened."

The Seventh Prince's face was dark, "Tenth Brother!"

Ai Cao couldn't help laughing, and rubbed the tenth prince's head, "You can't fool the old lady with your words, and the seventh prince will never be as impatient as you said."

The tenth prince pursed his lips: "It's boring, old lady, why don't you believe it? Seventh brother is the kind of menswear you said!" After finishing speaking, he used the toothpick on the plate to pick up a large piece of pastry and let it be delivered to his mouth. Chew it! Just swallow it, the pastry in the palace is delicious, but the portion is limited, the tenth prince feels that he is a little bit aggrieved by this prince, and he can't even eat enough.

Jia Min saluted the two princes, and seeing her mother-in-law getting along happily with the two princes, she automatically disappeared and went to the kitchen to order lunch at noon.

With distinguished guests, lunch can never be the same as usual.

After staying in the front hall for a while, Ai Cao led the tenth prince by the hand, and walked around the garden with the seventh prince, especially in the peach grove at the back, where the peach blossoms had not completely faded.

Hao Ding has already reserved the peach grove of the Lin family, and he must wait for him when picking peaches.In fact, when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, the scenery here is very beautiful. However, Lou Gao and others were very busy at that time, and no one came to enjoy the peach blossoms when the peach blossoms were at their most beautiful. There are still some flowers on the head, but unfortunately the ruined peach blossoms are not as beautiful as when they were in full bloom.

Ai Cao thought, keep some of this year's peaches to eat, and give away the rest!

While the tenth prince was running all over the peach trees, Ai Cao said something private to the seventh prince, "Seventh prince, the draft has begun. Is your princess selected in this draft?"

The Seventh Prince was a bit shy at this meeting, and nodded silently: "Yes, the candidate has been determined, as long as she survives the draft, then she will be my princess."

"Did you choose it? Are you satisfied?" Ai Cao really didn't know how to evaluate the marriage problems of ancient princes.

The seventh prince nodded: "Father gave four places. I have met them and chose her. She is the best among the four."

Ai Cao couldn't help laughing: "You are the one who sees beauty in the eyes of a beholder, choose the one you are most satisfied with from the limited conditions, then this marriage will start off well."

Ai Cao didn't know whether to say follow-up words, the prince is different from ordinary people after all, the seventh prince is still young, one day he will grow into an independent man, and Emperor Changping is a long-lived emperor, at that time the seventh prince Just in the midst of seizing the throne.

"Marriage is a matter between two people. Since you can become husband and wife, this is your fate. In fact, the best thing between husband and wife is honesty, but you are the prince and she is the princess, involving two families. Xiaojia, these are three families, and the relationship among them is more complicated, so we can't say it right now. Let's discuss this issue after you get married. "

The Seventh Prince nodded thoughtfully, without asking further questions.No one has taught him the problem of the backyard, so he doesn't quite understand it.

Although Ai Cao didn't continue to talk about the seventh prince's marriage problem, she talked about the backyard problem of many people in Beijing, the famous one is Zhou Ziwang, the eldest son of the Anhou Mansion.

"The problem of Prince Anhou is actually the problem of most men in Beijing. In terms of listening to their mother and defending their wives, most people choose to listen to their mother. Even if the mother's request is nonsense, only a small number of people can stick to their own opinions. , can not only appease the mother, but also protect the wife. Perhaps it is difficult for an upright official to resolve family affairs. Many officials can scold Fang Qiu in the court, but they just cannot handle the conflict between the wife and the mother..."

The tenth prince ran back, holding a blue fruit in his hand. When he saw the wormwood, he was a little dumbfounded, "Where did the tenth prince pick it?"

The tenth prince immediately turned his hands away, his eyes fluttered around, and said with a smile: "I jumped up and grabbed a branch."

Wormwood rubbed his head: "Don't be so naughty next time, this fruit can still be eaten when it grows up, you pick it off and throw it away after playing for a while, isn't that a waste?"

The tenth prince nodded embarrassingly, but he was playing with the green fruit over and over in his hand, "Old lady, what story are you telling, I want to listen too!"

Ai Cao smiled and said: "Okay, but you can't tell your father and mother the stories told by the old lady." Although Ai Cao felt that the emperor didn't care about it, she was always courageous when she surpassed other people's parents to give them education lessons. insufficient.

The tenth prince's eyes were shining brightly, and he stretched out his hand and clapped his hands with the old lady to make an agreement, "Naturally, this is a secret between my seventh brother and the old lady, and no one will tell it."

Children of this age like others to treat him as an adult the most, and the old lady's way of doing this makes the Tenth Prince very satisfied.

"I like a harmonious family. If I act like Mrs. An Hou, let my son and daughter-in-law leave their hearts, and turn the Lin family into a mess, I won't be happy, not to mention others. This is actually the most important thing What matters is how to behave as a man caught in the middle, this is the time to test a man's intelligence."

The tenth prince thought silently, Mrs. Anhou?The grandson of Princess Jingrong, he and Seventh Brother's cousin.

"Grandma's grandson, I remember it's Cousin Ziwang, right? He looks so good, why can't he settle the troubles in the backyard? Isn't this too incompetent?"

Ai Cao couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Hearing what the tenth prince said, he will definitely be able to settle the conflict between your mother and the princess in the future."

The tenth prince straightened his chest: "That's, it's a small problem. Does it take a lot of effort to settle it?"

When the Seventh Prince mentioned the topic of his mother, he felt sad for a moment, but after a while, there was a smile on his brows, and he was also thinking about the question the old lady said, if his mother and concubine were still alive, would he There will also be irreconcilable contradictions between the mother and the princess?But his mother is long gone, and this problem does not exist.

Ai Cao felt that the ten princes were really fun, and she instantly remembered that there was a famous prince who appeared in the Red Mansion later. Ai Cao thought that this child might be the Zhongshun King who raised an actor, because she could no longer find a suitable one in all aspects. Of course, the Eleventh Prince and the Twelfth Prince are still young, and they need to be investigated when they grow up.

"Being a wife is completely different from being a mother. For example, when you are a wife, you wish you could have only one woman in your family, and all the other concubines will die. As long as the main wife cares about the man's own interests, there will never be a difference between the main wife and the concubines." They can’t live in harmony. Being a mother is different, I always feel that there is one less woman in the son’s backyard, which delays the succession of the family.”

The tenth prince opened his mouth wide in disbelief, "How can this be? Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to others. After becoming a mother, why doesn't she think about her former self?"

The Seventh Prince listened silently. This was the first time he heard such a shocking statement. After all, he had been educated for more than ten years that it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. .

"This old lady can't answer you sincerely. Maybe it's because of jealousy, because she can't get the wholehearted affection of a man. After giving birth to her son, all her attention is on him. It can be said that she will spend the rest of her life. She lives for her son, and she has the closest relationship with him. However, after the son got married, another woman intervened in the life between mother and child, breaking the balance..." Ai Cao sighed and continued, " Why should the child I raised be close to another woman? In order to prevent the daughter-in-law from snatching her son, this mother may have a distorted heart, constantly creating conflicts between the son and daughter-in-law, and insisting that the son favor herself , she will be satisfied."

The tenth prince can't understand, the seventh prince is thoughtful, he can't fully understand it now, but he will write it down and leave it for himself to think about it in private.

The seventh and tenth princes listened attentively to Ai Cao's story, and then the tenth prince's startled and startled voice made this kid know how lively the backyard of these officials in central Beijing is.

Until Jia Min sent a servant girl to inform that it was time for lunch, the two children could not finish listening to the story.

After lunch, it was time for a lunch break. Ai Cao asked the kitchen to heat up two bowls of goat milk for the Seventh and Tenth Princes to drink, and then sent them to the guest room to rest. She would call them when the time came.

In the guest courtyard, two rooms were originally arranged for the two princes, and if the tenth prince insisted on sleeping with the seventh prince, this servant could not stop him.

Lying on the bed, the quilt exudes a scent of jasmine flowers, which is faint but not strong, "Seventh brother, the story the old lady told is so scary, I don't even dare to get married."

The Seventh Prince rubbed his head: "It's still far from the time for you to get married, it's too early to think about this issue."

The tenth prince turned over and faced the seventh prince, "What about the seventh brother? Will he be afraid?"

The Seventh Prince closed his eyes, and pulled the quilt up to cover the Tenth Prince, "Sleep after talking so much. Don't worry, Brother Seven knows it well."

The Seventh Prince closed his eyes and didn't really fall asleep. He was thinking about many things all the time. The most important thing for him now was the lifelong event. The words the old lady said had never been said to him before. His mother died young, and his grandmother had long since passed away. No, my aunt is very respectful to him, and she doesn't dare to say heart-to-heart words like teaching her son. He doesn't know the things in the backyard. What the old lady said is really timely. She didn't tell him what to do, but put Telling other people's stories made him think.

In the chaos, the Seventh Prince felt that he was falling asleep, so he was woken up.

Ai Cao came to call them in person, this is the difference between naked/naked/naked treatment between the prince and the imperial guard!

"Okay, don't sleep too deeply, or you won't be able to sleep when you go back at night when you're sleepy." Ai Cao ordered the servants to wash them with water, and then took her skin care products and wiped them on their faces.

The Seventh Prince was a little embarrassed, how could a big man use this kind of thing?He just puts some ointment on his hands and feet in winter when he suffers from frostbite.

The tenth prince didn't care, he felt that the things in the ceramic bottle were fragrant and smelled good, so he kept wiping his face and smelling the smell on his hands.

After tidying up, the three of them took the waiters to the street.

After taking a nap, the foodie tenth prince felt that he could eat another cow, so along the way, he had to eat every fresh food he saw.

The wormwood doesn't stop him, but he won't let him eat more. The sour candied haws are only allowed to eat a bunch. If there is too much, the cotton candy kind is very happy to eat. The wormwood and the ten princes each take one and don't eat it. It's also a lot of fun.

The Seventh Prince has grown up and is very reserved. Although he doesn't think that outside food should not be eaten, he still has to worry about his image.

Stopped and stopped along the way, bought a lot of gadgets, the three of them stopped at a stall selling root carvings together, the boss was an old man over sixty years old, dressed very plainly, the root carvings on the stall were mostly various Different animals, the craftsmanship is not as good as everyone's, but the advantage is that it is new and cheap.

"The things on this stall can be bought as gifts for parents. Gifts are light and affection is heavy!" Ai Cao felt that the ancient ethics and morals were actually much richer than the modern ones. Not five o'clock to give gifts to parents, the royal family is even worse. Of course, the gifts received by the emperor must be very expensive.

The Seventh Prince will naturally not forget to give his father a gift, but he hasn't found the right thing yet, and this carving is very suitable.

The boss is very happy. These root carvings are all made by himself. If the craftsmanship is not good enough, he only earns some money to make up for his family.

In the end, the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince each bought three, and Ai Cao bought a few more because of its novelty. These things are pretty good for displaying on the table, but they are a bit small.

This afternoon, the three of them were walking around the streets. The tenth prince was having so much fun that he almost didn't want to go back to the palace. At dusk, the tenth prince and the seventh prince reluctantly returned to the palace.

The palace, the imperial study.

Emperor Changping didn't have too many political affairs today, and it was the first day that Xiunu entered the palace, the harem was quite lively, and he and his concubines stayed together for a long time to enjoy the scenery.

"Wang Wei, have Lao Qi and Lao Shi returned to the palace?" Emperor Changping stood at the window with his hands behind his back and looked out. There was a brilliant sunset hanging in the sky, and white clouds floated in the blue sky. Tomorrow will be another fine weather. .

"My Majesty, the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince have not returned to the palace yet." Wang Wei's voice sounded at the door, he was sick, and his body would always feel tired.

Said Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived, the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince walked in together, followed by the little eunuch with two bags in his hand.

Emperor Changping was thinking, the two sons ran out to have fun, and they didn't want to go back to the palace, right?

The tenth prince commanded the little eunuch to dump all the things on a soft couch, and ignored the small toys. He picked out a root carving in the shape of an eagle soaring high, and the seventh prince also picked out a root carving from the things he bought. He took out a root carving in the shape of a tiger, and placed the two root carvings together on the dragon table.

Emperor Changping raised his eyebrows and smiled: "It seems that going out has gained a lot, this is for the father?" Mrs. Lin was also born as a lady, why did she prefer those little gadgets on the street?

But his son remembered to give him a gift, and he was quite happy.

The seventh prince nodded, and the tenth prince couldn't wait to start talking about what they had seen and heard in Beijing this afternoon, especially the quarrel between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law, which caused the neighbors to watch, which shocked the eyes.

I thought that the daughter-in-law would definitely be at a disadvantage when facing her mother-in-law, but she didn't want that daughter-in-law to be so powerful, and she didn't care what others said.And the neighbor also said, is it true that if the family does not enter the house, other women will only be tortured by their mother-in-law if they enter that house, and if the woman enters other people's houses, their mother-in-law will be angry, so that's good, These two people are evenly matched, if they get together, don't harm others.

When a typical wicked mother-in-law meets a wicked daughter-in-law, it's a perfect match!

This is what the old lady said, and the Seventh Prince thinks it makes sense!

Emperor Changping couldn't help laughing: "Is Xiao Shi intimidated? Don't be afraid, the daughter-in-law that the emperor found for you dares to treat you like this, the emperor will not spare her!"

The tenth prince rolled his eyes, stared at his father and frowned and said: "Then I will marry a wife I like in the future, and if I don't like it, I won't marry!"

"Let's talk about it later." Emperor Changping rubbed the tenth prince's head, and he didn't agree to him, nor did he completely reject him. Of course, the tenth prince couldn't tell. It's okay, but it's impossible to choose other people as you like.

After dealing with the tenth prince, Emperor Changping's eyes fell on the seventh prince, with a smile on his lips, "The draft starts today, and the seventh one deliberately hid from the palace. It's not good for a man to be so shy."

The Seventh Prince returned to his indifferent look, glanced at his father, and said, "I didn't hide out, and besides, the first day of the draft, there was nothing to see."

Emperor Changping did not keep his two sons, and after some inquiries, he sent them back. The tenth prince went to see his mother and concubine, and the seventh prince went back to the prince's residence for dinner.

Emperor Fang Changping once again got to know the guards who went out with the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince. What did the two princes do today?

The guards who went out with the Seventh Prince and the Tenth Prince were four people, not the Seventh Prince's personal subordinates, but randomly assigned by the palace. If the Seventh Prince went out alone, there was no need for additional guards, only the Tenth Prince was underage, for the sake of safety , the tenth prince will bring guards when he leaves the palace.

When the four guards were in the Lin family, they were always entertained by the steward Lin, and it was only when they were in the Lin family that they were out of the sight of the seventh and tenth princes.When they went shopping in the afternoon, they followed behind and witnessed what the two princes did.

Emperor Changping was silent in his heart, and he didn't know why Mrs. Lin was so popular?Lao Qi, Lao Shi and his guards were all won over by her, it was unexpected!

In the Lin family, Lin Hai deliberately came back from get off work early, but it was useless for him to leave work early. His mother and the two princes went out, but he didn't see them.

After Ai Cao came back, it was around You o'clock. After a brief tidying up, the family of three had dinner together. Lin Hai asked how the Seventh and Tenth Princes were doing at Lin's house today.

Ai Cao didn't say much, for fear of scaring her son, because she is just an outsider, how dare she 'teach' the prince?

"Well, the tenth prince is very cute. I hope he will remain so cute. The seventh prince has a plan in mind, so don't worry about him. People who grew up in the royal family are not so simple."

Lin Hai glanced at his mother silently, and thought to himself, since you know that the royal family is not easy, why do you want to be so close to her?

"The Seventh Prince's concubine has been determined, and the imperial decree will be issued after the draft is over. But I didn't ask about the candidate, and I will wait for the results to see which girl the Seventh Prince is looking for."

Jia Min and Lin Hai looked at their mother at the same time, and Lin Hai asked, "Can the Seventh Prince choose his own concubine?" No, right?Will the emperor agree?

Ai Cao said slowly: "Choose under limited conditions. The emperor gave four candidates. The Seventh Prince observed for a long time and selected one." After a pause, she continued, "I guess the four candidates must be two civil servants. The girl from the family of the generals, the girls from the families of the generals, this draft will select the concubines of the seventh prince and the eighth prince, so if the concubine selected by the seventh prince is a girl from a civil official family, the concubine of the eighth prince is a girl from a military commander’s family ,vice versa."

Lin Hai and Jia Min thought it made sense, "Is the emperor trying to balance? Let me think about it. The princess of Sujun came from the family of a general, the princess of the crown came from a civil official, the princess of Xiangjun came from a civil official, and the princess of Gongjun came from a military general. It seems that this is indeed the case. "

Jia Min silently thought that she needs to cultivate her political talent, even if she can't help her husband in the future, she can't hold her back.

Ai Cao nodded, this is an obvious problem, and all the important officials in the officialdom can see it.

During the draft period, the palace will be heavily guarded, so Lou Gao and the others should not think about taking a rest. Hao Ding may not be able to come out. Taking advantage of this period of time, Ai Cao has to cooperate with others on the outing, and she has not yet considered it. Who is she cooperating with? During this period of time, she was introduced by Princess Nan'an. She entered the social circle again and met several like-minded people. One of them is Princess Jingrong, the other is Princess Pingyang, and two Madam, she appreciates it more.