The carriage was luxurious and comfortable. Even the cushions were embroidered with intricate floral patterns. Jiuzhu reached out and touched it. It felt soft, like clouds and smoke.
She lifted a corner of the curtain and saw the prosperity of the capital city.
There were sounds of horse hooves coming from the distance. The closer they got to the carriage, the slower the sound became. It must be the rider slowing down the horse.
"Whose carriage is that in front?"
"Your Highness, it seems to be someone from Mingyue Palace."
Jiuzhu has had good hearing since she was a child. She leaned her head forward to look at the person who was speaking.
The man in brocade clothes riding on horseback raised his eyes and met her gaze.
Jiuzhu nodded slightly at him, and when she lowered the curtain and sat back, she did not forget to touch the phoenix hairpin on her temples.
The gold hairpin was still there, so she felt relieved. It was very valuable.
The carriage drove straight into the palace gate. When the guards learned that the person in the carriage was the future Princess Chen, they let her pass without even checking the carriage carefully.
After walking a little further, Jiuzhu got off the carriage, and the people from Mingyue Palace prepared a sedan chair for her.
As the daughter of a court official, almost no one dared to ride in a sedan chair in the palace. However, Jiuzhu had just returned to the capital, and her family treated her like a lost treasure and never took her to the presence of a venerable to suffer grievances. Naturally, she did not understand these things.
Seeing that the empress in the palace had prepared a sedan chair for her, she sat on it obediently and even praised the beautiful carvings on the armrests of the sedan chair.
The female official smiled kindly: "The queen also likes this pattern. She said that this kind of flower is lively and rich, and makes people happy when they look at it."
Jiuzhu thought to herself, she is worthy of being His Majesty's favorite imperial concubine, even her aesthetic taste is so outstanding.
Her aesthetic taste is as good as the Empress', which shows that she is also a person of high taste.
She was originally a little nervous, but now she straightened her back and was full of confidence.
At the Ming family's mansion, Chunfen was very worried about the young lady who had already entered the palace.
"Madam, the young lady does not understand the palace rules. What should I do if she displeases the Imperial Concubine?"
"Don't panic." Shen looked through the accounts in the treasury: "Jiuzhu is the only daughter of my husband and me. If she really did something inappropriate, the palace will turn a blind eye. If the imperial concubine is unhappy, then she can be unhappy."
That's not bad. Since both of them are fed up with each other, maybe there's still room for improvement in the marriage.
In Mingyue Palace, the incense burner was emitting faint smoke. Concubine Su was leaning lazily on a carved soft chair, looking at the door without joy or anger, and no one knew what she was thinking about.
Until she heard footsteps outside the door, she sat up straight and gently stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist.
"My lady, Miss Ming is here."
Concubine Su raised her eyelids and looked at the girl who came in. Just one glance and I find it hard to look away.
There is a kind of beauty that is most rare among women in the world. This kind of beauty can make men feel pity and love for them, and also make women feel approachable.
I didn't expect that a conservative civil official like Ming Jingzhou could have such a rare daughter.
"Your humble servant pays homage to the Imperial Concubine." After Jiuzhu saw Imperial Concubine Su's face clearly, her eyes smiled like crescent moons.
She had seen this lady before.
"No need to be polite, sit down and talk." Concubine Su signaled the female official to help Jiuzhu up. After Jiuzhu sat down, she asked, "I heard that you were in poor health when you were young and had been fostered in a Taoist temple. Are you used to it now that you are back in the capital?"
This is just what the Ming family said to the outside world, but the current emperor knows the truth. The three brothers of the Ming family were exiled to a cold and bitter place for the sake of the current emperor, so this matter has been kept strictly secret, and no one knows about it except the current emperor and the Ming family themselves.
"Everything is fine." Jiuzhu thought for a moment: "My mother and father treat me like a pearl, and my uncles and aunts also care about me from time to time..."
Talking about what happened after returning to the capital, Jiuzhu's eyes were filled with happiness: "It's just..."
Her eyes dimmed slightly: "I kind of miss the two masters."
Watching such a pair of bright eyes dim, Concubine Su couldn't help but start thinking about how to find the two masters for the little girl, seeing how wronged the child was.
"If you miss them, I will help you bring them to the capital."
"Thank you, madam, but they prefer to live in Lingzhou."
In fact, the two masters’ original words were that the capital city was crowded with people and had a lot of turbid air, which was not suitable for health preservation.
Jiuzhu naturally wouldn't say that the two masters disliked the Feng Shui of the capital city and that it was not good for people. A smart girl like her would definitely know what to say and what not to say: "The masters are all practitioners, and I don't want to force them."
"Lingzhou..." Concubine Su recalled that she had accompanied the emperor to this place a few years ago. The mountains and rivers there were picturesque, and the river was always filled with clouds and mist in the morning: "It is indeed a nice place."
"Your Majesty." Jiuzhu looked at Concubine Su curiously: "I heard that you have a precious painting here. I wonder if I have the honor to see it?"
Having grown up like this, but still not knowing what precious paintings look like, Jiuzhu is a little excited.
Concubine Su paused slightly while holding the tea. Appreciating paintings was just a pretext for inviting people into the palace. Who would take it seriously?
Who among the ladies in the court didn't know that she had no interest in poetry, calligraphy, or painting?
She looked at Jiuzhu's expectant eyes, then slowly turned her head to look at her personal maid: "Go to my private storehouse and take out the famous painting."
Two sticks of incense later, the palace maid brought the scroll and carefully opened it in front of Jiuzhu.
Jiuzhu stared at the painting carefully, trying to admire the magic of the famous painting.
What's on this painting?
It is true that the plum blossoms are in full bloom in the cold winter, but why are there butterflies flying around?
It’s so cold, why is the cat sleeping on the snow? Aren’t cats afraid of the cold?
But this is a famous painting. There can be no mistakes in famous paintings. If there is a mistake, it must be due to my own inadequate appreciation.
Jiuzhu looked at the painting, then secretly glanced at the imperial concubine who was appreciating the painting with her, considering how to start the conversation so as not to embarrass herself in front of such a beautiful concubine.
"This cat is very cute and smart." Jiuzhu said with gritted teeth.
"Of course." Concubine Su took a closer look, "The eyeballs are also painted round."
The female official looked at the painting carefully. The round black spots were not eyes, but balls of hair on the cat's face.
"The plum blossoms are well painted. Even in such a cold winter, they can attract butterflies. This shows how bold the painter is in his brushwork."
"Well, you are right. The bamboo shoot under the plum tree is also well drawn. It looks fresh and tender. It must taste good."
"And the snow." Seeing that the imperial concubine also agreed with her, Jiuzhu suddenly realized that this was the legendary talent. Although she knew nothing about this painting, she could still express the essence of the painting in one word.
What does this indicate?
This shows that she is a rare talent in painting.
"What's wrong with the snow?" Concubine Su asked curiously.
"As the saying goes, auspicious snow means a good harvest." Jiuzhu affirmed: "This painting clearly means that there will be good omens in the coming year. The queen is really beautiful and kind-hearted like a fairy. Even the paintings she collected are looking forward to the good scenery in the coming year."
Concubine Su chuckled: "What fairy? Miss Ming is joking."
The civil officials in the court all loved to say in private that she was a charming concubine, but this was the first time she was praised as a beautiful and kind-hearted fairy.
"Your Majesty, I am not joking." Jiuzhu repeated very seriously: "Your Majesty is a good person like a fairy, and your child is a fairy boy."
"He is so old, how can he be called a fairy boy?" Concubine Su laughed again. She looked at Jiuzhu tenderly: "I heard that your maiden name is Jiuzhu. How about I call you Jiuzhu?"
"All is up to you, Your Majesty." Jiuzhu nodded: "Your servant can do whatever you want."
"The word Zhu is good." Concubine Su took Jiuzhu's hand and sat down: "You are very lucky. I think your parents love you like pearls and regard you like jade, so they gave you this name."
Literary officials in the capital have always loved elegance and grace. When naming their children, they like to quote from classics and cannot tolerate any vulgarity.
The name Jiuzhu is both elegant and vulgar, which shows the parents' anticipation and joy for the arrival of this child.
"Your Majesty is so great." Jiuzhu looked at Concubine Su with admiration. Just from her name, she could tell how much her father and mother loved her.
The masters said that when they found her in the wilderness, her swaddling clothes were made of mixed fabrics, some good and some bad, but they were sewn very finely.
They often told her that her parents were expecting her to be born, but it was fate that played a trick on her and separated her from her parents.
At that time, the court was in turmoil, and countless officials and generals were involved in conspiracies and intrigues due to the struggles among the princes. Some people's families were destroyed, some were separated from their wives and children, and some were even executed with their entire family, implicated with all nine generations of their clan.
The masters were moved and, seeing that there were no notices posted in the city looking for the baby girl, they adopted her.
On the cloth sewn inside the swaddling clothes were her birth date and name. The master told her, "I guess your parents were in a hurry and entrusted you to someone else, but they were afraid that they would not remember your name and birth date, so they specially prepared this."
So she knew from a young age that she was brought into this world by love and was not a superfluous person.
In the imperial study, Ming Jingzhou stood respectfully. Even though His Majesty looked at him with particularly friendly eyes today, he could not be in a good mood.
"Mingqing," the emperor said in a long voice, "You are a pillar of the court, and you raised a young talent. I believe your daughter will be as outstanding as you and your wife."
"Your Majesty, I grew up in the mountains and have no knowledge of etiquette. I am not fit to be a royal wife."
"What a coincidence! Our Xiaowu is also a free-spirited person who doesn't mind etiquette." The emperor's smile became more obvious: "It can be seen that they are a perfect match."
Ming Jingzhou: “…”
Isn’t this an insult? Who is the perfect match for Prince Chen?
"Mingqing, there is no need to be modest. I have already decided that your daughter will be my daughter-in-law." Emperor Longfeng put down the imperial brush, walked in front of Ming Jingzhou, and gently patted his shoulder: "If you continue to be so modest, I will think that you look down on our Yun family bloodline."
"I dare not." Ming Jingzhou slowly bent down and bowed, his face pale.
Emperor Longfeng laughed out loud: "I was just joking, my dear, there is no need to be nervous. Between you and me, there is no need to be restrained in private."
Ming Jingzhou wanted to express his condolences to the eighteen generations of the royal Yun family's ancestors, but he didn't dare to say it out loud.
Knowing that continuing to speak would only anger the emperor, Ming Jingzhou had no choice but to leave.
After ordering the eunuch to escort Ming Jingzhou out of the palace, Emperor Longfeng turned his head and asked the eunuch next to him: "Did Mingyue Palace send someone just now?"
"Your Majesty, just now the Imperial Concubine sent someone to borrow a painting from Your Majesty. I saw that Your Majesty was discussing matters with Lord Ming, so I took the initiative to get a painting for Your Majesty."
Emperor Longfeng was not angry, but felt moved. It seemed that his beloved concubine was very satisfied with this marriage. In order to get along well with his future daughter-in-law, she even took the initiative to appreciate calligraphy and paintings.
"Which picture did you take?"
"A painting of four seasons in wild play by a great master of the previous dynasty."
"Hmm." Emperor Longfeng nodded with satisfaction. This painting was originally intended to satirize some people who painted without knowing the changing of seasons and who mixed up the objects in the painting. The painting is easy to understand, bizarre and interesting, and very suitable for beginners to appreciate.
"very good."
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