Chapter 22 Xingluo goes to the Wen family to pay New Year's greetings

Hanging Flower Hall.

Wen Xingluo looked at the Zhao mother and daughter.

Miss Zhao was a pretty girl, and when she saw her mother come in, she timidly hid behind her mother.

Mother Zhao smiled and asked, "Miss Wen, is the Concubine Dowager still unwilling to see us?"

Wen Xingluo: "Grandma is taking a nap."

"Then...then let's wait until she wakes up and then go to pay our respects to her."

Wen Xingluo glanced at the piles of gifts brought by the mother and daughter, and said softly, "Grandmother loves Miss Zhao so much that she asked me to tell you before she went to bed that you should take these valuable gifts back with you."

The Zhao mother and daughter looked at each other in surprise.

They refused to give up and wanted to say something more, but Wen Xingluo added, "By the way, Grandmother recently got a new jade pendant and asked me to give it to Miss Zhao on her behalf."

Cuicui presented the jade pendant to the Zhao mother and daughter.

It is a round and translucent jade ring.

The word "huan" is homophonic to "huan", which means returning home.

The meaning is that Miss Zhao is invited to return home intact, and there is no need for her to be Xie Guanlan's concubine.

Miss Zhao's face flushed instantly, and she seemed very sad: "Mother..."

The prince didn't like her.

Mother Zhao took the jade ring tremblingly, not daring to say anything. She could only mumble a thank you: "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your kindness..."

At this point, the mother and daughter knew that the dismissal of Protector Zhao was a foregone conclusion, and the prince did not want Miss Zhao as a concubine, so they had no choice but to thank him again and leave with the gifts.

Wen Xingluo sat in the main seat and saw the tears on Miss Zhao's face.

Maybe she volunteered to be a concubine for the sake of her father's career, or maybe she really liked Xie Guanlan.

Wen Xingluo felt sorry for her and couldn't help but say a few more words, "The Zhao family is quite well-established. Why would Miss Zhao accept herself as a concubine? Life is only a hundred years long. Why not find a wealthy man of equal status and become his wife? Wouldn't that be more comfortable and happy than living under someone else's roof and having to rely on others for your liking?"

The Zhao family's mother and daughter looked at her in surprise.

Wen Xingluo was only fifteen years old after the Chinese New Year.

She was clearly unmarried, yet she had the audacity to judge concubines and wives, and even advised girls of the same age not to become her elder brother's concubines...

Wen Xingluo tightened his handkerchief.

I know I talk too much.

Fortunately, the Zhao mother and daughter didn't say anything, they just lowered their heads and left in a hurry.

Wen Xingluo was about to go and apologize to his grandmother when a sneer suddenly came from outside the door.

She looked.

Xie Guanlan wore a scarlet robe and a jade belt, and a luxurious and elegant dark purple fox fur coat that made him look tall and majestic. Although his skin was fair and his lips were red, his deep and straight bone structure perfectly neutralized the beauty, making him look even more handsome and elegant.

He looked at her with a half-smile: "I am nineteen years old and I need a concubine who understands my feelings. Miss Wen hastily drove Miss Zhao away. How can you know that I have no interest in her?"

Wen Xingluo rubbed his handkerchief.

She was so unlucky that she met Xie Guanlan, the difficult plague god, again in the first month of the year.

In her previous life, until her death, she had never heard that Xie Guanlan had any woman around him.

All I heard was that he raised an army in the southwest and rebelled against the imperial court.

But he used Miss Zhao as a scapegoat and deliberately found fault with her.

Wen Xingluo's smile was polite and harmless: "If the prince really loves Miss Zhao, then you can go after her now instead of standing here and holding me accountable."

She bowed to Xie Guanlan and walked away.

Xie Guanlan raised his eyebrows.

Hearing the falling stars...

She seemed to have grown a little bolder.

Wen Xingluo returned to the bedroom and told the old concubine about the mother and daughter of the Zhao family.

She thought the old man would blame her, but unexpectedly he looked appreciative.

Wrinkled old hands caressed her back, and the old concubine praised, "You did very well. At such a young age, you already know that women shouldn't willingly become concubines. This shows that you have self-respect and self-reliance in your bones. You knew you shouldn't say these words, but you still tried to remind Miss Zhao out of righteousness, which shows that you have kindness in your heart. Good girl, Grandmother really wasn't wrong!"

She hugged Wen Xingluo in her arms, her face full of pity.

Wen Xingluo lay in the old man's soft and warm arms.

She smelled the scent of agarwood on the old man, and her initial uneasiness disappeared completely.

It turns out that there are people in the world who don’t care at all if you do something wrong, and may even praise and condone you, thinking that you are right.

She couldn't imagine how confident and cheerful a girl who grew up in such an environment would be, and how full of confidence she would be when facing the storms outside.

It turns out that this is the kind of life my sister has been living...

"Oh, right," the old concubine remembered something and patted the back of Wen Xingluo's hand lovingly, "You haven't been to the Wen family during the first month of the year, have you? Although that family may be annoying, they are still your father, brother, and sister. We still have to fulfill our outward etiquette. We can't let others talk about you being unfilial."

Wen Xingluo understood what she meant: "Granddaughter, remember your grandmother's teachings: the higher the position, the more you must hide your thoughts and not give others any handles in public."

The old concubine gave power to Wen Xingluo.

For example, when visiting the Wen family to pay New Year's greetings, she has the final say on what gifts to bring.

She picked out ten pieces of silk cloth from the warehouse, four sets of study treasures for her brothers and sisters, and finally a piece of wild ginseng for her father.

They look perfect and sound good when said, but in fact these things are old items that have been piled up in the palace for many years and are not worth much.

Half an hour later, the carriage of the Zhenbei Palace stopped steadily at the back door of the county government office.

Behind the county government office was a house with a back door, which was reserved for the county magistrate and his family to live in.

Wen Xingluo looked up and glanced at the plaque engraved with the words "Wen Mansion" before entering with the maids.

Wen family residence.

Wen Rufeng was busy reviewing his lessons and did not come out.

Wen Rulei was standing on the steps, talking non-stop: "...I just don't believe Wen Xingluo can really gain a foothold in the Zhenbei Palace! Don't look at her not coming home for the past few months, maybe she is missing us terribly! Otherwise, why would she go home today?! To pay New Year's greetings? Pah! She just misses us!"

Wen Ruyun sneered in disdain, "What a jerk who despises the poor and loves the rich. She doesn't even think about it. She's not stupid. She doesn't even care enough about her own grandson, so how can she really treat her like her own granddaughter? She must have endured a lot of hardships in the palace these past few months."

The family was talking lively when Wen Xingluo coughed lightly.

Everyone looked at her at once.

After not seeing each other for several months, they all froze on the spot after seeing the changes in Wen Xingluo's appearance.