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 sleepy Jiuzhu raised her head and gave him a bright smile: "You're back? I'll have the soup warmed up 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 slightly smaller hand warmer between his hands and said, "You waited here on purpose. Do you have anything to say to me?"
Jiuzhu touched her face and began to doubt herself. Was her behavior 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: "Master, this soup was specially cooked for you by the young lady in the kitchen. You must drink a few more sips."
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 a few wolfberries in it before stewing it. I was worried that you would not be used to it. I'm glad you like it."
Putting the empty soup bowl on the table, Ming Jingzhou asked: "Jiuzhu, when you were in Lingzhou, what did you do during the New Year?"
"I cleaned the temple with my master, then copied some scriptures and prayed in front of the statue of the Three Pure Ones." Jiuzhu held his chin with one hand, recalling his life in Lingzhou: "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 particular. What matters is sincerity."
"Every New Year's Day, when I burn the first stick of incense to Grandpa Sanqing, my daughter always secretly prays to them, asking them to bless you with peace and safety." Jiuzhu smiled secretly: "After all, it is the first stick of incense in the New Year, Grandpa Sanqing should be able to remember my wish more clearly."
"And, and. Every New Year, the masters would make new clothes for me. The eldest master always said that the second master's craftsmanship was poor and the clothes she made were ugly, but I think they look pretty. She would even 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 made to stand in the corner by two masters because she was naughty when she was little. In the end, the two masters bought her a roast goose 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 learn how to be a good person." Her black and white eyes were very gentle, as if she was coaxing someone who wanted to cry: "I didn't suffer much from childhood to adulthood. I ate well and slept well, so daddy, don't be sad because of my daughter's past."
At this moment, Ming Jingzhou felt as if his heart was being pricked by thousands of needles, causing both pain and itchiness.
The child was 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 roast goose."
Jiuzhu usually calls him "Father" according to the rules of the capital, but he prefers the "Daddy" that comes with a bit of pampering and intimacy to his daughter.
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 the inner room wearing her coat, walked to sit beside him, and reached out to pat his back gently.
"I'm fine." Once the hoarse voice came out, he could no longer conceal his inner emotions.
Shen leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "The child waited for you for a whole day. She didn't say anything but was worried about you yesterday because you were so angry. 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 didn't stop them because she knew that on this cold night, the father and daughter might need a bowl of hot soup and a quiet conversation.
She patted his shoulder gently, and after a long while she said softly, "Don't cry, 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 didn't expose the fact that her husband was shedding manly tears: "It's a pity that the two masters are still unwilling to come to the capital, otherwise we can take care of them nearby."
"A Taoist would rather be a free and unrestrained person in the mountains than a rich and noble cat in the capital." Ming Jingzhou sighed, "How can we repay a great man like this if we force him to stay in the capital?"
But the couple owed their two masters a lifetime debt, and this was a debt that could 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."
Glancing at his red eyes, Shen called a maid to help him wash up. After both of them were lying on the bed, Shen slowly spoke: "The palace is holding an annual banquet this year. Do you want to take Jiuzhu with you?"
"Take her with you." Ming Jingzhou buried his head in the quilt and said in a muffled voice, "When we met His Majesty today, he specifically told us to take Jiuzhu with us."
"Okay." Shen was silent for a moment, then reached out and patted the bulge in the quilt: "Even if she gets married, she is 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 glaze eight-treasure lamp?"
"This lamp was prepared by the Queen for Lady Ming. Put it in the room where Lady Ming lived a few days ago. Be careful not to break it."
"Aunt, the Palace Department has sent some fashionable fabrics. Would you like to take a look?"
"Leave it there for now. I'll take a look later. Have all the rewards for the concubines in the palace been delivered?"
"They have all been delivered. But the servants in Qianyi Pavilion said that Lady Zheng is ill."
"Are you sick?" Xiang Juan 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 phoenix hairpin with a pearl in its mouth lay quietly in the jewelry box, emitting a charming and dazzling light.
"Zheng Lanyin is ill?" The smile on Concubine Su's face faded a little: "Send someone to the Imperial Hospital to invite a doctor for her."
"My lady, tonight is New Year's Eve, and I am afraid it would be unlucky to ask for the imperial physician."
"What's auspicious or unlucky? I don't believe in this." Concubine Su snorted and laughed: "What's more, Your Majesty is a wise ruler. With Your Majesty's dragon energy protecting him, no unlucky thing dares to come near."
"It turns out that I have the ability 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 Department to make new jewelry for you. Do you like it?"
"I heard that this bracelet was designed by His Majesty himself?" Concubine Su took out a silk bracelet from her jewelry box. "Your Majesty said he was busy all day. So he was 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 when worn on your wrist, but 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 Lord Ming will be in jeopardy." The Emperor Longfeng had a little conscience left, and he slightly condemned himself: "It was so hard for their family to find 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 was surprised: "Wasn't the little girl from the Ming family sent to Lingzhou for foster care?"
She clearly remembered that when His Majesty talked to her about Du Qing's marriage, he mentioned the origin of the girl from the Ming family. It is said that the three brothers of the Ming family were exiled to a cold and harsh borderland. 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 has been retrieved now?
"She has been fostered in Lingzhou for so many years, isn't it just like being found 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 did not think too much about it. While choosing the jewelry, she complained: "I don't know what the Ming family thinks. They have been fostering their daughter in 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 you care so much, why didn't you 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 said that the Ming family didn'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 respond.
"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.
"Your Majesty, what are you looking at this hairpin for?" Concubine Su turned her head to look at him.
Emperor Longfeng smiled and said, "I was thinking about making you a new phoenix hairpin after the New Year."
"I have quite a few phoenix hairpins here, why do you 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 Noble Consort.
"Your son greets the emperor, father, and mother." Prince Chen stretched his neck and looked at the jewelry on the dressing table. His eyes lit up: "Are you choosing jewelry?"
"How about I come and give you some advice?"
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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