old lady in red

Shimei brought Zhang Shi into the palace to ask for grace.

First go to the palace of the Empress Dowager.

The emperor is still alive.

The relationship between the emperor and the queen mother seems to be stronger now than when he was young. The empress dowager and Yan Hou's mother can get along peacefully. With the emperor, the three of them can sit down and do things peacefully.

Therefore, no one dared to ignore the opinions of the Empress Dowager.

The attitude of the queen follows the emperor.

Emperor Xining respected the Empress Dowager very much, and was very polite to the Rongfu.

Shi Mei guessed that the emperor would not covet his niece's cousin.

Of course, the possession of Shuiyang Qianlong is not ruled out.

Just to prevent accidents, Shimei didn't ask Shui Ling to ask for grace.

So as not to be self-defeating, but to impress the emperor.

The Empress Dowager smiled when she saw Shi Mei: "It seems that your granddaughters are all married?"

Shi Mei laughed and said: "My wife is really sad. My wife went to the palace to visit the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager misrepresented my wife like this."

The Empress Dowager also believed in Shi Mei's respect for her, and pulled Shi Mei with a smile: "I made a mistake, I will apologize to Madam. Come, I will sit with you in person."

One or two new teas were among Shimei's presents this time.

It is rare to have new tea in the twelfth lunar month.

Shi Mei smiled softly: "It's not a rare thing to turn the year, this tea tree happened to grow next to the villa.

The minister's wife simply built a shed for it. Unexpectedly, the buds were smoked more than a month in advance. The minister's wife only ate one cup, and the rest is here. It is not worth a few dollars, and it is fresh. "

After the Empress Dowager took over, she smelled a fresh fragrance between her nostrils.

When I looked at it, the leaves this time were really small.

It cannot even be called a leaf, it can only be called a bud.

Each tree is like a lotus heart, it can be seen that Shi Mei is not lying.

The Empress Dowager laughed immediately: "I am serious, I invite your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to have tea!"

Mrs. Zhang also had a cup before.

This tea is spirit tea, after taking it in, a warm aura flows down the throat, like washing the meridians, and the soul is swayed along with it.

Extremely comfortable.

The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "With this sip of tea, I am happier than New Year's Eve."

The Empress Dowager had to accept the imperial order to pay homage during the New Year, that was the most glorious day for the Empress Dowager.

Now I even say that the happiness of drinking tea exceeds that moment.

Shi Mei hurriedly said: "The empress dowager is joking."

The atmosphere of the conversation unfolded warmly under such circumstances.

The Empress Dowager happily chatted with Shi Mei.

Shi Mei casually told about Jia Xuan: "My second daughter-in-law is out of tune, and my grand-daughter-in-law is in office again.

This girl is entrusted to the minister's wife, what can the minister's wife do?

I can't help but come to beg the Empress Dowager, you have loved your wife for the rest of your life, so you might as well love this last time. "

The Empress Dowager laughed: "Oh, I thought I finally earned a sip of tea for nothing today, but I'm here to assign people to handle errands."

Everyone laughed.

Today's queen always puts the empress dowager on her head every time she handles affairs.

This matter is really a trivial matter to the Empress Dowager.

Everyone chatted and laughed, and Shimei's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to visit the queen mother's palace again.

What Shi Mei said was the truth, the tea leaves were not rich at all.

The gifts from the Empress Dowager's side were some dried fruits that the Empress Dowager liked to eat, and a pair of century-old wild ginseng just like the Empress Dowager.

A woman of your age likes to eat ginseng soup.

Empress Dowager Zhang Wan, apart from being a widow, which is a bit pitiful, the rest is really satisfactory.

None of those high-status concubines could overwhelm her.

Back then, there was only Hu Ying'er who was spoiled by Emperor Chunzheng and was lawless.

Unexpectedly, I was an unlucky person. I didn't stop after giving birth to the emperor, and even caused the emperor to die miserably.

Now, those concubines who have not given birth to children have all gone to nursing homes. Only the two concubines, Jieyu, who gave birth to the princess, and the third prince's mother and concubine have moved into the West Sixth Palace, leaving the East Sixth Palace for His Majesty.

Zhang Wan's current residence is the Changchun Palace where Emperor Chunzheng's mother used to live, and it is not disgraceful.

Shimei's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law met the concubine Du Zhen in Changchun Palace.

She is the queen's aunt.

Although she didn't have children, because when Hu Ying'er was a demon, she had always stood by the queen's side and supported the queen.

Therefore, now that everyone has lost their men, when the queen mother moved, she took Du Zhen with her.

The old sisters all live in Changchun Palace as companions.

Of course, this is only temporary, because there are three generations of concubines in the palace now, and the residence is a bit tense.

The queen will never treat her aunt badly again, and all the offerings are top-notch.

Zhang Wan has a good impression of Shi Mei.

Her aunt treated her very well, Mrs. Rong treated her aunt well and was willing to make a face for her aunt.

By the way, she also has a good impression of Rongguo Mansion.

Aunt Zhang entrusted her, and she naturally agreed.

In February of this year, more than 1000 beautiful women entered the palace, and more than 330 were rejected in the primary election, leaving [-] people.

Jia Xuan was shortlisted in the primary election.

She has a talent and reputation in Kyoto, so it is impossible for her to lose the election in the first round.

In late February, Jia Xuan re-elected and was shortlisted again.

This time there are 36 show girls left.

These beautiful girls are either very good-looking, with a poor family background, and their fathers are only fourth-rank officials.

Either the family is high, and the family officials are high and juexian.

Jia Xuan falls into the latter category.

With Jia Xuan's background, if she loses the election, she will lose face when she returns home.

She belonged to the group who left the sign but did not enter the palace, waiting for the queen mother to give her a marriage.

It is the same manuscript as Daiyu back then.

The re-election in the palace is over, and the show girls return to their home in early March.

Shi Mei immediately handed the famous stab to Princess Wu'an to meet her.

With Shui Ling as his granddaughter-in-law, it doesn't have to be like this.

However, Shi Mei acted according to the rules.

The person Shi Mei chooses for Jia Xuan is Mercury, the eldest son of Prince Wu'an's son Shui Che.

Shimei searched all over the capital, and the only family that could stop the emperor from stealing fish was the Wang family of Wu'an.

Jia Xuan married the Wu'an Prince's Mansion as a grandson's daughter-in-law, and her family and seniority are very suitable.

This time, Shi Mei took Jia Xuan with her.

After Jia Xuan kowtowed to Concubine Wu'an to pay her respects.

Princess Wu'an stretched out her hand to grab Jia Xuan: "Come here, girl, my wife will take a look."

Today's Jia Xuan didn't wear any makeup, no makeup or cover up.

Princess Wu'an was surprised when she saw her appearance: this girl's appearance can crush the talented daughter of the Du family and the Luo family.

Such a girl enters the palace, and she has such a family background, so she can be a noble concubine.

Princess Wu'an didn't know what Shi Mei meant: "What do you mean by in-laws?"

At this time, Shi Mei stood up and gave a blessing to Concubine Wu'an: "I have the audacity to visit my sister this time, and I just want to entrust this girl to my sister. Please protect me, my sister."

Princess Wu'an was very surprised.

She thought that Shi Mei's solemn request to see her was to ask her to help Jia Xuan get a good position in the harem, but she didn't expect that she wanted to marry the palace.

Princess Wu'an nodded: "I will facilitate this matter, but I still need to discuss it with Yan'er and his wife."

This girl is both talented and beautiful, and comes from a noble family.

Everyone with family status is qualified to be a princess.

Shi Mei's heart stopped.

Back then, Prince Wu'an's Mansion was in an awkward position, and Marquis Yan entrusted Shui Ling, but Rong Mansion accepted everything.

Now Yan Hou and his wife should not shirk.

March tenth.

Concubine Wu'an invited the Duke of Rongguo to order Shimei to go to worship Buddha at Huangjue Temple outside the city on March [-]th.

The nuns in front of Princess Wu'an came to spread the word, saying that all the female family members of the palace will be present at that time.

Shi Mei knew that this was the meeting between Princess Wu'an and Princess Shizi.

Generally speaking, the Wu'an Prince's Mansion has a high status, while the Rong Mansion's family background is low, and Princess Wu'an can invite Jia Xuan to visit her.

Princess Wu'an's arrangement gave the Rong Mansion a lot of face.

March sixteenth.

The ancestors of the Rong Mansion, Shi Mei, Mrs. Hou Zhang, and Mrs. An Guo's wife Shui Ling, went out together to worship the Buddha at Huangjue Temple outside the city.

On this day, the three generations of mistresses of Wu'an Palace all saw Jia Xuan's true appearance.

At such a time, Shi Mei felt that she should not cheat.

Princess Wu'an and the concubine are very satisfied, but she is the wife of Shizi, with a troubled expression on her face.

Shi Mei knew it well, so she let Jia Xuan go in and change her attire, and when she came out again, she looked seven-pointed.

With such a seven-point appearance, Jia Xuan met the Earl's son of the palace by chance.

(Shui Che not only has the status of the eldest son, but also the status of the first-class earl)

Mercury actually fell in love with Jia Xuan at first sight.

Princess Wu'an heard the reply and said with a smile, "This can be considered a match made in heaven."

In private, the two have decided to get married.

The two families went to Huiming, an eminent monk of Huangjue Temple, and asked him to arrange the horoscope for the two children, but they said it was a match made in heaven.

So far, the wife of Shizi has no words to object.

The two families made an appointment, and Princess Wu'an entered the palace to ask for a marriage order.

In addition to the Wu'an royal family, there are many royal families waiting for the royal family to bestow marriages.

If the two families are interested, they will also go to the queen to register in front of the queen, so as not to cause misunderstandings when others ask to be in front of the queen.

At the beginning of April, all the beautiful women who left the brand have their destinations.

Jia Xuan was accused of marrying Mercury, the eldest son of Prince Wu'an.

The two families agreed that after Jia Xuan and Ji, the wife of Shizi would come to put them on.

At that time, the two families will hold another small ceremony to discuss the date of marriage.

The Rong Mansion received a marriage proposal.

Only then did Shi Mei ask Jia Zheng to write a letter to Jia Zhu, so as not to worry about Jia Zhu and his wife.

Furthermore, when Jia Xuan married into the palace, the minimum dowry was [-].

It's time for Mrs. Wang to bleed a little this time.

In a blink of an eye, it is the end of June again, and the Longevity Festival is here.

This time, the emperor was already ninety years old.

The emperor's own internal treasury paid for it, and held a banquet for thousands of seniors in Jingshan Beiyuan.

Shi Mei, Mrs. Chen, and Princess Wu'an (mother and concubine of Yanhou) are all among them.

For a 90-year-old man like the emperor, when he entertains his orders into the palace, people only feel honored and have no other thoughts.

On the day of the emperor, he was really refreshed and triumphant when he had a happy event.

This guy doesn't know if it's because he's in a good mood, except for his thin complexion, he doesn't look ninety years old at all.

Probably because everyone is 80 or [-] years old, with a lot of tears and snot.

The banquet on this day adopts a meal sharing system.

Shi Mei was fortunate to sit next to Concubine Wu'an.

Princess Wu'an and Shi Mei are the same age, both 14 years younger than the emperor.

This time, Shi Mei also saw the old order of Duke Li to follow the Duke's family.

Now the Old Eight Dukes’ Mansion in Kyoto, there are only Rongning Second Mansions left, and then there are Shan Guogong and Xiu Guogong’s mansions.

The remaining four palaces were confiscated due to their involvement in the alchemy case of Emperor Jinzheng.

Because Emperor Chunzheng was in power for a short time, the mansions of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes did not suffer major damage.

Several mansions involved in alchemy, because of the kindness of the emperor, only seized the title, did not confiscate the house and distribute it, but the whole family returned to their original shape and returned to their hometown to farm and study.

After the four mansions were repaired by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they were rewarded to the upstarts.

Rongfu also benefits from being in the middle.

The neighbors on Rongning Street, the Duke Xiuguo's family, were confiscated and repatriated to their hometowns.

The Duke's Mansion of Xiu Guogong was rewarded to Jia Lian and renamed the Duke's Mansion of Anguo.

The old house of Duke Qi's mansion was given to Jintian Marquis Lin Ruhai as the Marquis' mansion.

Shi Mei listened to everyone's whispered discussions, and remembered that the Rong Mansion almost won the title, and had to return to the hometown to observe filial piety and avoid disaster, as if it had been a lifetime.

Princess Wu'an looked at the emperor standing at the head, she was very moved, she toasted each table by name, and sneered at Shi Mei: "All his sons and grandsons are dead, he is relieved."

This is because he disliked the emperor for living too long.

Shi Mei pretended not to hear clearly, stared at Princess Wu'an and asked with a smile, "What?"

But I thought in my heart, this is not bad.

Now, Prince Shun is also sick, but luckily he has a son.

Unfortunately, not yet ten years old.

The only healthy prince is the fifth prince.

Most of the rest of the princes have returned to Fengdu.

The royal family's first branch is withered, which is why the empress dowager is anxious to expand the harem for Shuiyang.

After the banquet of thousands of old men, Shi Mei was invited to watch a play in Yikun Palace.

The Empress Dowager stayed for dinner.

I never thought that the emperor, the birthday prince, would come to the dinner party.

Shi Mei looked at the empress dowager and the concubine Wu'an, and she felt that it was against harmony no matter how she looked at it, so she got up and said goodbye.

But he was persuaded to stay by the emperor.

Shi Mei had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to stay in Yikun Palace to drink.

The emperor did not take excessive measures, nor persuaded or ate alcohol, but he was guilty of chatterbox.

The emperor even mentioned the draft of that year.

Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager, Princess Wu'an, and Shi Mei turned out to be the first-time showgirls.

This incident is not very impressive in my memory.

It was also the first time Shi Mei had heard of it.

What Shi Mei remembers is that the owner wanted to strive to be the imperial concubine.

However, the emperor, at that time, no longer needed the support of the concubine's natal family, so he specially selected beautiful beauties to attack.

For example, the empress dowager is not because of her beauty, but to find a support for the prince and occupy the position of queen.

Princess Wu'an was born as a general, and she had a friendship with her husband early in the morning, and the two families fought to be exempted from the election.

When the emperor took a fancy to her, she was already famous and married.

Shi Mei's original owner, Shi Yongmei, was humiliated by the emperor during the palace selection because of her plump birth, and commented: "A girl from the Shi family is like a peony flower."

Shi Yongmei was still very proud at that time, and she was called Peony.

As a result, it was later reported that Shi Yongmei lost the election.

There are also rumors about the evaluation of peony flowers.

It is said that the emperor's explanation is: Peony has a big face.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager at that time had a good impression of the historian, and she proposed to marry Rongfu for Shi Yongmei.

It is precisely because of this that the two flowers carefully cultivated by the historian fell into the Jia family.