After admiring the chrysanthemums, Aunt Zhao planned to visit her seriously ill mistress, Mrs. Wu. Before going to Mrs. Wu's residence, Aunt Zhao deliberately changed into simple and elegant clothes and took off the gold and jade jewelry in her hair.
She pretended to be worried and went to Wu's house with her maid.
There was a strong smell of medicine lingering in Mrs. Wu's bedroom. Mrs. Wu was pale and her face was so thin that only a layer of skin was left. She lay weakly on the bed. An old maid was about to help her up and feed her medicine.
"I'll take care of my sister." Aunt Zhao took the initiative to step forward and took the bowl of medicine from the old nanny.
Wu's lower back was supported by a mattress. She leaned weakly on the bed, with gratitude in her eyes: "Sister, my health is getting worse day by day. It's hard for you to take care of me every day... cough cough..."
Aunt Zhao's eyes were red. She held Wu's hand and said softly, "Sister, if you hadn't saved me back then, I wouldn't know where I'd be singing in a restaurant. I regard you as my own sister, and it's my duty to take care of you."
Aunt Zhao spoke with true feelings.
When love is deep, tears fall like beads from a broken string.
After drinking the bitter medicine, Mrs. Wu felt sleepy and lay down again in a daze. Her head was dizzy, and she subconsciously asked Aunt Zhao: "Sister, did Fanglan write to me?"
Aunt Zhao covered Wu with the quilt and replied softly, "Fanglan is not favored in the palace, and is not favored by the Queen Mother. She has no way to write to you. Sister, don't worry. Fanglan is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family. No one in the palace dares to bully her."
Wu sighed deeply and murmured to herself: "That girl is so scheming. I shouldn't have let her enter the palace back then..."
After a while, Mrs. Wu fell into a deep sleep.
Aunt Zhao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, put on an expression of being worried about something, and left Wu's room.
The yard was quiet in the afternoon. Maids and servants were busy in the yard, trimming the branches of the chrysanthemums. In the room, the "sleeping" Wu slowly opened her eyes.
The old nanny hurried over and handed a pill to Wu. After Wu swallowed the pill, her frail complexion slowly recovered. She asked in a hoarse voice, "When will my brother return to Yanjing?"
The direct line of the Wu family settled in the southern Jiangnan area, far away from Yanjing City. The direct descendants of this generation of the Wu family only include Wu and her brother, and the two siblings have a deep relationship.
The old nanny said, "Madam, the head of the Wu family has received your letter and has already come to Yanjing City. He will arrive in Yanjing in about half a month."
Wu closed her eyes and tears fell.
Her voice was hoarse, and her skinny hands tightly grasped the quilt, and she said bitterly: "It's my fault for not judging people well. I was deceived by Xie Ji and that bitch Zhao! Poor Fanglan, she entered the dragon's den and tiger's den of the palace..."
When she married into the Xie family, she thought she and her husband had a harmonious relationship. Over the years, Wu has fulfilled her duties as a mistress and treated her husband with respect.
But there is no wall that is impenetrable, and people’s true colors will be revealed over time.
In recent years, Mrs. Wu suddenly became seriously ill, and she began to sense that something was wrong. She recalled the loving past with her husband, tore off his hypocritical skin, and found that it was full of dirty and despicable calculations.
The old nanny said distressedly: "Madam, you can only know a person's face but not his heart. Who would have known that the Xie family is so unbearable. Don't worry, when the head of the Wu family comes to Yanjing, your predicament will be solved."
Wu looked out the window. The clear afternoon sunlight poured in, bringing a bright light that hurt her eyes.
She coughed violently a few times, covered her chest and said, "I hope so."
...
...
Five days later, Shen Wei called all the concubines to a meeting and briefly announced the revised palace rules.
From then on, concubines ranked as nobles and concubines in the palace, and their close female relatives, could apply to visit the palace twice a year.
The Empress Dowager naturally agreed with Shen Wei's proposal, and the Emperor had no objection either. However, there were a few stubborn and conservative old officials in the Ministry of Rites who submitted a memorial to express their opposition, believing that this move would break the rules set by their ancestors.
This is not difficult for Shen Wei.
In the palace, the fathers and relatives of several concubines worked in the Ministry of Rites. The old father was stubborn and would not change his mind, but the old mother loved her daughter so much that she started to persuade him and act stubbornly. After a lot of trouble, the conservative officials in the Ministry of Rites were forced to give in.
The new palace rules were implemented smoothly.
Concubine Lan was the most delighted. Since entering the palace, the person she missed most was her mother. As soon as the new palace rules were promulgated, Concubine Lan could not wait to apply to Shen Wei, hoping to summon her mother Wu into the palace.
Shen Wei naturally agreed.
Concubine Lan was very excited. After returning to Huayang Palace, she immediately asked the palace servants to clean the palace inside and out, throw away the withered flowers in the yard and replace them with blooming autumn chrysanthemums.
Lanpin has changed her decadent appearance and is full of vitality again.
Two days later. The Xie family submitted a memorial to Shen Wei, asking to enter the palace to reminisce with Concubine Lan.
"Tong'er, do you think my dress looks good?" In Huayang Palace, Concubine Lan was wearing a pink and blue brocade skirt and moon-shaped earrings, looking exquisitely and gorgeously dressed.
The personal maid praised: "The master has an extraordinary appearance. Madam will definitely like it when she sees it."
Lanpin sighed, sat back in front of the mercury mirror, stroked her still charming face, and said sadly: "It's a pity that there is no shortage of beauties in the palace - Tong'er, go to the palace gate again and see when my mother will arrive."
The personal maid smiled and told Lanpin: "Master, don't be anxious. I went to the palace gate a stick of incense and saw that the Xie family's sedan chair has already stopped at the palace gate. Madam must go to see Concubine Chen first before she can come to see you."
The women were ordered to enter the palace and, as a sign of respect, to pay their respects to the Queen first.
The queen was imprisoned in Kunning Palace, and the current master of the six palaces is Concubine Chen. Therefore, the female members of the Xie family who entered the palace needed to pay a visit to Concubine Chen first.
Lanpin held her chin in her hand, tapped the table with her slender fingers, and murmured to herself: "Mother, please come quickly."
...
...
Yongning Palace.
It was a day off today, and Chen Wei was bored, so she went to the yard and picked a small bamboo basket of chrysanthemums to make chrysanthemum tea.
Li Yuanjing's eyelids twitched as he watched. He picked up a bright golden chrysanthemum and told Chen Wei, "Do you know how precious this 'West Lake Willow Moon' is?"
Chen Wei sat in the pavilion, picking at the withered petals on the edge of the chrysanthemums, and said, "They are about to wither anyway, so instead of letting them rot in the mud, I might as well pick them and bake them into chrysanthemum tea. I can make a pot of it to quench my thirst when I have nothing to do."
Chen Wei placed the bamboo basket on the table and waved to Li Yuanjing: "Your Majesty, please don't be idle. Come and help pick the petals. Otherwise, when the chrysanthemum tea is ready, I will enjoy it all by myself and won't give you any."
Li Yuanjing raised his eyebrows, but finally sat next to Shen Wei. He imitated Shen Wei's movements and began to peel off the withered petals, leaving only the best petals in the center.
The autumn wind was cool, and the gauze curtains of the waterside pavilion swayed slightly, and the figures of Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing were looming.
Li Yuanjing was stroking the beautiful Qiuju in his hand, and suddenly he thought of many years ago when he and Shen Wei were stranded in Liujia Village. He was processing the hunting prey in the yard, and Shen Wei was busy in the kitchen.
Carefree, pastoral life is simple and beautiful.
The busier the government affairs became, the more he missed the beauty of the countryside.
"Your Majesty, Master, the women of the Xie family are here to pay their respects." Outside the water pavilion, Cai Lian reported respectfully.
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