"County Master, His Highness said that he can't leave the palace in the next few days. If you have anything to say, you can write it in the letter and tell him." The eunuch in blue carefully looked at the future Princess Chen and said, "This is a letter from His Highness. Please take a look."
Jiuzhu took the letter, turned around and saw her brother and mother looking at her, and paused in her attempt to open the letter.
"I'll go to the kitchen." Shen stood up and gave her daughter some free space.
Ming Jiyuan stood up reluctantly: "I'm going to the study to read a book."
We went out for a walk until midnight last night and didn't come back. In total we haven't seen each other for only five or six hours. Is it necessary to write a letter?
Jiuzhu opened the letter and read the contents of the letter written by the prince word by word. She asked the eunuch who delivered the letter: "Your Highness cannot leave the palace before the second day of the second month?"
The eunuch in blue replied respectfully, "Please rest assured, Your Highness will write to you every day. If you have a reply, I will wait here for you to finish writing and then take the letter back."
He prayed secretly in his heart that the county lord must reply to the letter, otherwise he would not be able to explain to His Highness when he returned.
"Please wait a moment, eunuch." Jiuzhu stood up, called a maid to take the eunuch in blue to have tea, and hurried back to the room with the letter.
She felt that she had nothing to write, but she also had a lot to say to His Highness.
For example, the spring orchids in the yard bloomed, the nanny sent by the Ministry of Rites praised her, and she found several interesting travel books in her brother's study.
Lala wrote a lot of random things, and finally she wrote a few words at the end of the letter.
【Everything is fine, Your Highness, don't worry. 】
After blowing the ink off the letter paper, she folded the letter and put it in the envelope. After thinking for a while, she took another piece of paper, drew a spring orchid and put it in the envelope.
New Year, new atmosphere, the first bloom of spring orchids, represents a new beginning.
"Princess, Aunt Bai Shao is here."
Sun Caiyao put down the book in her hand and looked at the woman who came to her. She had a pretty face and a respectful demeanor, and her eyes and eyebrows showed that she had a very stable temperament.
"I am Bai Shao, your servant, paying my respects to the Crown Princess." Bai Shao performed the great ceremony of master and servant to her.
"No need to be so polite." Sun Caiyao stepped forward and held her hand. Her hands were rough and strong, probably because she was used to doing rough work during her time in Qianyi Pavilion. The smile on her face deepened: "Aunt is serving my mother. There is no one in the palace who does a better job than aunt."
"The situation between me and His Highness is not very good now, so I will have to inconvenience you for a while." Sun Caiyao returned to her chair and sat down: "Aunt is a registered first-class maid in the palace, and it is still the same here with me."
"Thank you, Princess." Bai Shao bowed deeply in gratitude.
"Go and rest first. If His Highness summons you, you can go and pay your respects to Him." Sun Caiyao had complicated feelings towards Bai Shao. Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with the other party, but she couldn't feel close to him.
Bai Shao waited in the house for several hours, but the Fourth Prince never called her. The servants in Zhangliu Palace were all arranged directly by the Palace Department. She felt panic-stricken as if she had nowhere to go.
"I heard that there wasn't any. Last night, a maid from the Clothing Department ate something wrong. She howled in agony for a long time before she died. Even her facial features were distorted after she died."
"Hush, keep your voice down. Don't let His Majesty the Fourth Prince and the Fourth Princess hear you. It is said that this maidservant used to serve the Fourth Prince's biological mother."
"When Zheng was alive, she offended the Empress. How could the people around her get any benefit?"
Bai Shao, who was about to push the door open to go out, suddenly froze.
Hongmei is dead?
She certainly wouldn't think that hearing these words was just a coincidence.
There are no coincidences in the palace, only deliberate actions.
The palace maids who were whispering outside had already left. Bai Shao wiped her face with cold water, straightened her clothes, and then walked out of the room as usual.
"Aunt Bai Shao, I was just looking for you." A young palace maid hurriedly walked up to her and said, "The Highness has summoned you. Please follow me."
When she met the Fourth Prince, he didn't say anything to her. She kowtowed to him and left the yard.
In the outer courtyard, Prince An and Prince Jing were appreciating paintings. Prince An glanced at Prince Chen who was sitting in the corner, his mind dominated by curiosity: "Fifth brother, last time you told us to take out your sister-in-law's paintings for us to appreciate. I wonder if you can do that today..."
"The weather is bad today, not suitable for viewing paintings." Prince Chen refused mercilessly: "If the second and third brothers are bored, you can go to Yu Garden for a walk."
"Where are you going and what are you doing?"
"It's spring, the grass is lush and green, it's a good time for you to go and pull the weeds."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the eunuch who had delivered the letter coming back. He stood up and raised his chin, "My two brothers, please enjoy the painting slowly. I will go back to the courtyard first."
Prince An looked up at the sun in the sky. Isn't the weather good enough today?
"Forget it, second brother." Prince Jing smiled gently, "I guess fifth brother is reluctant to take out his sister-in-law's painting."
"The more he refuses to give it to me, the more curious I become." Prince An sighed, "I'll find a chance to ask after my fifth brother's wife enters the palace."
King Jing smiled. As his title suggests, he is a man who likes quietness.
"By the way, my fifth brother is getting married to County Lord Ming. Should we send someone to deliver a gift to the Ming family?" Prince An pondered in his heart. His fifth brother's biological mother is the empress, so his fifth brother is very likely to be the future crown prince, and Ming Jiuzhu is the crown princess. As an elder brother, shouldn't he get close to the crown princess's family as soon as possible?
But he was a little afraid of Ming Jinghai's character, because he was a powerful man who could wield a sword to chop robbers.
"We can wait for what big brother and big sister-in-law think." Jing Wang slowly put away the books on the table, "If big brother wants to send it, we will send it."
Prince An was silent. If he would only follow his elder brother if he wanted to, how could he still cling to the Crown Princess's family?
At this time, the Ming family was almost filled with dowry gifts sent by various families in the capital. Those royal relatives and nobles were originally relatives of the man, but they also sent many gifts in the name of dowry.
That was not all. His Majesty and the Empress also sent gifts under various names. Things from the Emperor and Empress' private storehouse were continuously sent to the Ming family. The Palace Department and the Ministry of Rites went to the Ming family every day and almost broke down the threshold of the Ming family.
His Majesty's obvious preference for Prince Chen was seen by everyone, and they even suspected that the specifications of Prince Chen's wedding were almost the same as those of the Crown Prince's wedding.
However, no one in the Ministry of Rites raised any objection to this matter, and no one from the families of the other princes' wives dared to stand up and say a word against it. The wedding slowly took place in an atmosphere where everyone felt that the scale was not right, but no one dared to say anything more.
On the first day of February, the Ministry of Rites delivered the bridal gown, which had been modified many times, to the Ming family.
Pearl-inlaid jade dragon and phoenix wedding crowns, auspicious robes with dragon and phoenix patterns, round fans with twin flowers, and various ornaments in pairs.
"Mother." Ming Jiyuan looked at these things without much joy on his face: "This is of higher quality than the wedding dress that was first sent to my sister for her to try out."
Normally, at a prince's wedding, the bride's wedding crown would have six dragons and six phoenixes, but the one prepared for Jiuzhu had eight dragons and eight phoenixes.
"Your father is the Minister of Rites. If these things were tampered with, they would not have been sent to our Ming family." Shen looked at the phoenix crown on the tray: "So this can only be the intention of the emperor and the empress."
"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord." Shen picked up the red silk and covered the phoenix crown: "Go and call Jiuzhu, I have something to say to her."
Ming Jiyuan turned around and went to his sister's yard.
As a bride-to-be, Jiuzhu was not nervous at all, but was walking her little white horse in the yard. She had raised the horse for more than half a year, but it had not grown much.
"Brother?" Seeing Ming Jiyuan coming in, Jiuzhu handed the reins to Chunfen: "Why are you here?"
"Mother asked me to take you there." Ming Jiyuan saw that his sister had a simple double bun and didn't even wear any hair accessories. He thought of the hairpins and head ornaments sent by the Ministry of Rites and began to worry about her thick hair.
"Have all the ladies who visited left?" Jiuzhu leaned over the door and looked into the yard.
"They know there's a lot going on today, so why would they stay long? Don't worry, they've all left." Seeing his sister being so cautious, Ming Jiyuan couldn't help but sigh: "You hate socializing, what are you going to do after you marry the Prince?"
"His Highness said that we should just ignore those people." Jiuzhu asked in confusion, "What should we do?"
"Silly sister, you don't know men well enough." Ming Jiyuan touched her head: "But brother hopes that what His Highness said is true."
"Your Highness would not lie to me." Jiuzhu said firmly, "Your Highness also said that he would often accompany me home in the future."
Ming Jiyuan laughed. His sister grew up in a Taoist temple, so she had no idea how harsh the world was to girls. The moment she got married and stepped out of her parents' door, in the eyes of the world, she was no longer a member of her in-laws' family, but a member of her husband's family.
He believed what the Prince of Chen said at this moment, and he did not deceive his sister. But life is too long, and people's hearts are so fickle. Not everyone is like his father and mother, who stay together and know each other, and love each other as before.
"What if His Highness lied to you?" Ming Jiyuan looked at his sister: "Jiuzhu, I hope you can be a little more selfish and love yourself more. As long as you are well, it's better than anything else."
Jiuzhu stepped into the main courtyard, was silent for a moment, and looked back at her brother seriously: "If he really lied to me, then let him lie."
Master said that the most difficult thing in life is to do what you want.
But she didn't think it was difficult.
There are many things in this world that you can choose to do over again, but you only have one life.
His Highness saved her life at Huaxi River, accompanied her through the mountains and rivers of the capital, and watched the moon and lights of the Lantern Festival.
"Brother." Jiuzhu smiled: "I don't know what will happen in the future, but I choose to believe in Your Highness."
"Everyone in the world can change. To me, Your Highness is the most special one." Jiuzhu pulled Ming Jiyuan's sleeve: "So brother, don't worry about me. There are thousands of men in the world, and every one of them will be the beloved man in a woman's heart."
"Prince Chen, is this the lover in your heart?" Ming Jiyuan always thought that his sister was raised in a Taoist temple and was naive and ignorant, but he suddenly felt that his sister knew everything and understood everything. Unlike many people, she had a heart that was content with whatever happened.
The Prince of Chen is her destiny.
"Brother, Your Highness is not only the lover in my heart." Jiuzhu walked forward with a smile, and her bouncing back was still that innocent girl.
After opening the door, Jiuzhu looked at the neatly stacked dragon and phoenix wedding gowns and exclaimed softly, "How beautiful."
"Do you like it?" Shen looked at her with a smile.
Jiuzhu nodded.
"As long as you like it." Shen picked up the wooden comb on the table and said, "Jiuzhu, come here, let me comb your hair."
When a girl gets married, her mother will comb her hair and wish her all the best in marriage.
Royal weddings do not follow folk customs, but as a mother, she still wants to give her the blessings that other people's daughters have.
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