When Ming Jingzhou returned home, it was already dark. He pushed open the door and saw his daughter, wearing a thick cloak, sitting in the yard waiting for him.
"Father." Seeing him coming back, the tired Jiuzhu raised her head and gave him a brilliant smile: "You're back? I'll warm up the soup in the kitchen. Drink a bowl first to warm yourself up."
"Why didn't you go to bed?" Ming Jingzhou felt cold all over and didn't dare to get too close to his daughter: "Where's your mother?"
"Mother has been doing the accounting for the whole day and has gone to rest." Jiuzhu took out a hand warmer from her arms and handed it to Ming Jingzhou with a smile: "The soup will be served soon, father, you can warm your hands first."
Ming Jingzhou smiled. He held the man's slightly smaller hand warmer between his hands and said, "You waited here on purpose. Do you have something to say to me?"
Jiuzhu touched her face and began to doubt herself. Was her expression so obvious?
Seeing his daughter like this, he shook his head and chuckled, then sat down with his daughter in the main room. Chunfen came in with a bowl of warm soup and said, "Master, this soup was specially cooked for you by the young lady at her request. You must drink more."
He picked up the soup and drank it all in one gulp. He smiled and nodded at his daughter: "It tastes good."
Jiuzhu smiled happily: "I added some wolfberries to it before stewing it. I was worried that you might not be used to it, but I'm glad you like it."
Putting the empty soup bowl on the table, Ming Jingzhou asked: "Jiuzhu, what did you do during the New Year in Lingzhou?"
"I cleaned the temple with my master, then copied some scriptures and prayed in front of the statue of Sanqing Yeye." Jiuzhu held his chin with one hand and recalled his life in Lingzhou: "My master said that other people's temples have many rules, but our temple has few people and few things, so there is no need to be so particular. What matters is sincerity."
"Every New Year's Day, when I burn the first incense stick to Master Sanqing, I secretly pray to them, asking them to bless you with peace and safety." Jiuzhu smiled secretly: "After all, it is the first incense stick of the New Year, Master Sanqing should be able to remember my wish more clearly."
"And more. Every New Year, the masters will make new clothes for me. The eldest master always says that the second master's craftsmanship is poor and the clothes he makes are ugly, but I think they are pretty. She will also embroider cute puppies on her daughter's sleeves." Jiuzhu muttered some interesting things from her childhood, with lively eyes and eyebrows.
She talked about how she was punished by two masters for being naughty when she was a child, and how the two masters bought her roasted goose in order to appease her. When she heard her father laugh, she looked at him seriously: "Although life in the Taoist temple is hard, the two masters gave their daughter everything they could."
"My daughter has learned to read and to be a good person." Her black and white eyes were very gentle, as if she was coaxing someone who wanted to cry: "I have never suffered much since I was a child. I have eaten well and slept well, so daddy, please don't be sad because of my daughter's past."
At this moment, Ming Jingzhou felt as if his heart was being pierced by thousands of needles, causing both pain and itchiness.
This child is comforting him.
"Daddy knows." Ming Jingzhou's voice was hoarse. He raised his head and smiled at his daughter: "Daddy knows everything. You... go to bed obediently. When Daddy comes back from the Ministry of Rites tomorrow, he will bring you roasted goose."
Jiuzhu usually calls him "Father" according to the rules of the capital, but he prefers his daughter's "Daddy" which comes with a bit of coquettishness and intimacy.
Whenever Jiuzhu wanted to cheer him up, she would call him like this.
"Then you can't be sad anymore." Jiuzhu pulled his sleeve and said, "Go to bed early. I'll bring you lunch tomorrow at noon."
"Okay." He patted his daughter's head gently with his warmed hands: "Go to sleep, Daddy is not sad."
"Daddy is the best." Jiuzhu smiled sweetly at him, turned around and left the room with Chunfen.
Ming Jingzhou sat quietly at the table and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Master." Shen came out from inside wearing her coat, walked to sit beside him, stretched out her hand and gently patted his back.
"I'm fine." As soon as his hoarse voice came out, he could no longer conceal his inner emotions.
Shen leaned her head on his shoulder: "The child waited for you for a whole day. You were so angry yesterday. She didn't say anything, but she was worried in her heart. At this time in the past, she would have gone back to her room to sleep. Why is she still in the kitchen making soup?"
She did not stop him because she knew that on this cold night, they, father and daughter, might need a bowl of hot soup and a quiet conversation.
She patted his shoulder tenderly, and after a long while she said softly, "Stop crying and go to sleep."
"I didn't cry." Ming Jingzhou lowered his head, unwilling to look at her, but his voice became hoarse.
"I asked someone to prepare New Year gifts and sent them to Jiuzhu's two masters." Shen did not expose the fact that her husband was shedding tears: "It's a pity that the two masters are still unwilling to come to the capital, otherwise we can also take care of them nearby."
"People who practice Taoism may prefer to be idle wild cranes in the mountains rather than rich cats kept in the capital." Ming Jingzhou sighed: "How can we talk about repaying such a great man if he is forced to stay in the capital?"
But they, as a couple, owe the two masters a lifetime debt, and this is a debt that can never be repaid.
He avoided Shen, wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes, turned to her and said, "Go lie down on the bed. It's cold outside. Don't get sick."
After looking at his red eyes, Shen called the maid to help him wash up. When both of them were lying on the bed, Shen slowly said: "The palace is holding a New Year's banquet this year. Do you want to take Jiuzhu with you?"
"Let's take her with us." Ming Jingzhou buried his head in the quilt and said in a deep voice, "When he met His Majesty today, he specifically told us to take Jiuzhu with us."
"Okay." Shen was silent for a moment, then she reached out and patted the bulge in the quilt: "Even if she gets married, she's still under our noses, which is better than..."
It’s better than not knowing whether the child is alive or dead before.
This is the truth, but how can parents be happy?
"Hang the lantern higher, don't let it tilt."
"Aunt, where should I hang this colored glass eight-treasure lantern?"
"This lamp was prepared by the Queen for County Master Ming. Put it in the room where County Master Ming stayed a few days ago. Be careful not to break it."
"Aunt, the Palace Department sent some fashionable fabrics. Would you like to take a look?"
"Put it aside for now. I'll take a look later. Have all the rewards for the concubines in the palace been delivered?"
"They have all been sent. But the servants in Qianyi Pavilion said that Lady Zheng is ill."
"Are you sick?" Xiang Xian thought for a moment and said, "Wait here, I'll go ask the queen."
Concubine Su was trying on the clothes she was going to wear to attend the palace banquet in the evening. The eight-tailed pearl hairpin was lying quietly in the jewelry box, emitting a charming and dazzling light.
"Zheng Lanyin is ill?" Concubine Su Gui's smile faded a little: "Send someone to the Imperial Hospital to ask for a doctor for her."
"My lady, tonight is New Year's Eve, and I am afraid it would be unlucky to invite the imperial physician."
"What's auspicious or unlucky? I never believe in it." Concubine Su snorted and laughed, "What's more, Your Majesty is a wise ruler. With Your Majesty's dragon energy protecting him, nothing unlucky dares to come near."
"It turns out that I have the power to exorcise demons and evil spirits in my beloved concubine's heart." Emperor Longfeng strode into the room wearing the dragon robe he wore when attending court. "I asked the palace governor to make you a new piece of jewelry. Do you like it?"
"I heard that this bracelet was designed by His Majesty himself?" Concubine Su took out a silk bracelet from the jewelry box and said, "Your Majesty keeps saying he's busy all day. So you're busy making this for me?"
"No matter how busy I am, I will never forget your preferences." Emperor Longfeng took the bracelet and put it on her wrist, nodding with satisfaction: "My beloved concubine's wrist is soft and boneless, and as white as the bright moon. This bracelet looks beautiful, but when worn on your wrist, it is like a star next to the bright moon, not worth mentioning."
"Where did your Majesty learn to be so smooth-talking?" Concubine Su glared at him and touched her bracelet without taking it off. "Did you mention to Ming Jingzhou about bringing Jiuzhu to the palace for the banquet?"
"I did mention it, but I'm worried that if it continues like this, the relationship between me and Ming Aiqing will be in trouble." The little conscience that was left in the Emperor Longfeng slightly blamed himself: "Their family finally found their daughter, but before she could even warm up, she was married off by our child. Do you think he, as a father, can be happy?"
"Bring her back?" Concubine Su Gui was surprised: "Wasn't the little girl from the Ming family sent to Lingzhou for foster care?"
She clearly remembered that when His Majesty first talked to her about Du Qing's marriage, he mentioned the origin of the girl from the Ming family. He said that the three brothers of the Ming family were exiled to a cold and bitter borderland, and they were afraid that their newborn daughter would die on the way, so they asked someone to send her to Lingzhou for foster care.
How come it's been taken back now?
"She was fostered in Lingzhou and haven't been seen for so many years, isn't it the same as finding her back?" Emperor Longfeng felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have concealed the truth that Ming Jiuzhu was found because he was worried that his beloved concubine would think too much about Ming Jiuzhu's life experience.
If my beloved concubine finds out the truth now...
Fortunately, Concubine Su Gui did not think too much about it. While choosing her jewelry, she complained: "I don't know what the Ming family thinks. They have been sending their daughter to the Taoist temple for so many years. Can they feel at ease? It's not true that they don't care about their daughter. On the birthday, Shen looked at Jiuzhu as if she were a precious bead."
"I really don't understand. If they care so much, why didn't they bring her back earlier? How hard would it be for a child to be raised outside?" Concubine Su sighed, "No wonder some people in the capital privately say that the Ming family doesn't care about this daughter. If I hadn't seen how attentively Shen treated Jiuzhu, I'm afraid I would have thought so too."
Emperor Longfeng did not dare to answer.
"Fortunately, our Jiuzhu has a good temper and a kind heart." Concubine Su picked up the jewelry that was suitable for Jiuzhu: "Everything about her is pleasing to the eye."
Our Jiuzhu?
Emperor Longfeng really wanted to remind his beloved concubine that Jiuzhu belonged to the Ming family, not hers, but he didn't dare.
Reaching out and picking up the jewelry box containing the phoenix hairpin on the table, he frowned slightly. The eight-tailed phoenix hairpin was not as beautiful as the nine-tailed phoenix hairpin after all.
"Your Majesty, why are you looking at this hairpin?" Concubine Su turned her head to look at him.
Emperor Longfeng smiled and said, "I was thinking about making you a new Zhengfeng hairpin after the New Year."
"I have quite a few phoenix hairpins here, why do I need so many new ones?" Concubine Su looked out the window nonchalantly, and saw her son strolling towards her.
Emperor Longfeng smiled but said nothing, because he wanted to give a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin to the woman he loved most.
The Nine-tailed Phoenix hairpin can only be worn by the Empress and Imperial Consorts.
"I have seen my father and mother before." Prince Chen stretched his neck and looked at the jewelry on the dressing table. His eyes lit up: "How about choosing jewelry?"
"How about I come and give you a detailed report?"
If there is someone who is not suitable for the mother but happens to be suitable for the little girl, let him take him away.
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