Dechang Marquis Mansion.
"Miss, the eldest daughter of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion is sending you an invitation again. Are you going to the banquet tomorrow?"
As soon as Ping'er entered the room, she saw her own daughter Xu Qinhui lying sickly on the chaise longue.
Xu Qinhui waved her hand and said angrily, "If you're not going, just tell her I've been sick these days and won't be going anywhere."
Since her rebirth, she has been staying in the Marquis' Mansion and has never gone out for social events. In her previous life, even though she asked her second sister to marry for her, she was still ostentatious, going out for social events every day and often attending banquets.
The eldest daughter of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion could be considered her friend, but she invited her frequently only because she wanted to know how she had gotten the new emperor to write the imperial edict, changing Prince Shu's fiancée from her to her second sister. Although she had passed away in her previous life, she had not told the eldest daughter of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion how she had hooked up with the new emperor.
Anyway, this person just wanted to laugh at her, and the two of them couldn't be considered true best friends.
In fact, everyone in the capital knew that she had asked her second sister to marry in her place. However, since it was an edict written by the new emperor, naturally no one dared to talk about it openly. But in private, there was a lot of discussion, and she just pretended not to know, thinking that she would see if these people still dared to talk about it after she entered the palace and became a concubine.
Later, she did enter the palace and become a concubine. Even though those people despised her, they did not dare to criticize her anymore.
Thinking that the new emperor would be selecting talents in half a month, Xu Qinhui hated herself for letting her second sister marry in her place.
Yes, in half a month, she will experience the same talent show that she had experienced in her previous life.
She had already hooked up with Emperor Sheng Yuan, and the selection was just a formality. After entering the palace, she was given the title of Concubine, and finally became one of the four concubines.
But what does it matter? She can't become the queen. In the future, Prince Shu will even come to the capital to kill Emperor Sheng Yuan and Empress Dowager Fu, and she will be beheaded as well. It is even more impossible for her to enter the palace to be selected as a concubine for Emperor Sheng Yuan. She knows she was wrong in this life, and she only wants to admit her mistakes to Prince Shu and be his wife.
But she would enter the palace for the selection in half a month. It was impossible for her to avoid this selection on her own. Her father and grandmother were both looking forward to her entering the palace.
Thinking of this, Xu Qinhui became more and more irritated.
Ping'er was still mumbling to her, "Miss, things are very chaotic outside right now. Disaster victims from the north are flocking to the capital, and on the southwestern border, pirates have robbed two government ships. They not only stole the coal and iron on board, but also took the two ships as well. I don't know where they've taken them."
The official ship was robbed? Xu Qinhui was stunned.
Why did she remember that in her previous life, the official ship was not robbed at this time, but a few months later, and only the coal and iron on the official ship were robbed, and the two ships were not robbed. Even in the end, the court did not catch the pirates who robbed the coal and iron.
As for these disaster victims, Xu Qinhui didn't have much feeling about them, because she remembered that in her previous life, these disaster victims were all killed before they even entered the city, and did not cause any impact on the people in the capital.
But in this life, her second sister did not die of illness on the road to exile, and Prince Shu's brother and niece did not die in the mudslide on the road to exile. Other things might be a little different. She didn't know whether the fate of these victims would change, but whether it changed or not had little to do with her.
All she had to do now was to think about how to avoid entering the palace for the selection and having anything to do with Emperor Sheng Yuan.
Although her grandmother loved her, she could not help her with this matter, so she had to tell her father.
Xu Qinhui slowly made up her mind.
When it was time for dinner, the marquis’ mansion usually ate separately, and the third room of the Dechang Marquis’ mansion had dinner.
Xu Qinhui called out to the third master, Xu Shuping, and said, "Father, I have something to tell you."
Xu Shuping thought his daughter wanted to chat with her about some family matters, so he smiled and said, "Sister Hui, is there anything you want to tell Daddy?"
Seeing that everyone in the family was there, Xu Qinhui hurriedly said, "Father, I have something important to tell you. Can we move to the study?"
Seeing this, Xu Shuping nodded and followed his daughter to the study.
Entering the study, Xu Qinhui hesitated about how to tell her father. She said that she was reincarnated, and in her previous life, Prince Shu finally ascended the throne, and Emperor Shengyuan and Concubine Fu were beheaded, and even she was beheaded.
She didn't know what happened to the Dechang Marquis' Mansion after her death, but she thought it probably didn't have a good ending.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Qinhui thought carefully about what happened in the capital at this time in her past life. Finally, she remembered something. She looked up at Xu Shuping and said, "Father, what I am about to say may be a little absurd, but it is all true. Tomorrow morning during the court session, the Minister of Revenue will suddenly collapse and die. After that, Emperor Sheng Yuan will appoint the Right Assistant Minister of Revenue as the Minister of Revenue."
She didn't know how the Minister of Revenue died.
She just remembered that the diagnosis given by the imperial physician in the palace was that the Minister of Revenue died of a sudden heart attack due to overwork.
The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was still very young, only in his twenties, and was promoted when the new emperor ascended the throne. Less than half a year later, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was promoted to the position of Minister of Revenue because of an incident involving the Minister of Revenue.
Logically speaking, the Zuo Shilang, who is older and forty years old, should be appointed as the Minister of Revenue.
Afterwards, there was another bloody storm in the court.
Xu Shuping scolded, "Sister Hui, stop talking nonsense!"
This is a matter of state, and now is the most sensitive time for the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu. Because many people have discussed state affairs without authorization, countless families have been confiscated and exiled.
Xu Qinhui bit her lip and said, "Father believes me, and he will know tomorrow."
Only after confirming what happened tomorrow will her father believe her and she will tell him what happened next.
After Xu Qinhui left, Xu Shuping did not take his daughter's words to heart, thinking that she was just hysterical and talking nonsense.
He was only a seventh-rank official and had no qualifications to attend court. As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers, and he wanted to continue to be promoted, so he needed to show his face in front of the new emperor. He also hoped that his daughter could enter the palace for selection.
The next day, Xu Shuping stayed in his own yamen. When the court was dismissed, his superior also returned, but his face was pale.
He went over to ask, and his superior glanced at him and said, "The Minister of Revenue just had a heart attack in the court and has passed away."
After Xu Shuping's superior finished speaking, he couldn't help but tear up. He was already in his fifties and had known the Minister of Revenue for twenty or thirty years. They sometimes argued with each other, but there was still affection between them. The Minister of Revenue was obviously in good health, but he suddenly suffered a heart attack in the court.
So, those who attended the court had no idea what was going on. The imperial physician said it was a heart disease, and it could only be a heart disease.
I wonder what this court will look like in the future.
Xu Shuping was struck by lightning and his face turned pale.
Hui Jie'er was right last night, but how did Hui Jie'er know in advance that the Minister of Revenue would suffer a sudden heart attack in the court?
Xu Shuping couldn't stay in the yamen any longer, so he asked for leave from his superiors and returned to the Dechang Marquis Mansion.
After returning to the courtyard of the third room, Xu Shuping went straight to his daughter's room. Several maids were still serving in the room. He immediately sent the maids away, leaving only the father and daughter in the room.
Xu Qinhui said seriously, "Father, is there something wrong with the Minister of Revenue?"
Xu Shuping frowned, "Sister Hui, how did you find out?"
"Father." Xu Qinhui lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly. "You may not believe me, but this is all true. This is what I dreamed about. In my dream, I dreamed about what I would experience in the next ten years, as well as what would happen in this world. Why was it only ten years? It was because after I entered the palace and served as a concubine to Emperor Sheng Yuan for ten years, Prince Shu came to the capital and beheaded Emperor Sheng Yuan and Empress Dowager Fu. Even I was no exception..."
Thinking of the scene of the king holding a sword, she couldn't help but tremble all over.
Xu Shuping's expression changed drastically, "Sister Hui, don't be so careless..."
"Father!" Xu Qinhui interrupted Xu Shuping, who was about to say she was talking nonsense again. Her eyes were red as she said, "Everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, in ten days, the prince of Handong Palace will openly snatch the granddaughter of Lord Chongming from the capital and bring her back to the palace. Lord Chongming will file a petition in the court, demanding the prince be punished, but in the end, nothing will be done. Instead, Empress Dowager Fu issued an imperial edict to marry Miss Zhang Si to the prince of Handong Palace."
The King of Handong was the younger brother of Empress Dowager Fu. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was granted the title of a king of a different surname. The prince of the King of Handong's palace was arrogant and domineering, bullying men and women, which made many families in the capital dare not speak out.
Xu Qinhui paused before continuing, "This incident will happen in ten days, but I will enter the palace for the selection of concubines in twelve or thirteen days. If Father really waits until this incident happens before trusting me, it will be too late for the selection. So please believe me, Father. I don't want to enter the palace for the selection. I don't want to become Emperor Shengyuan's concubine and end up having my head chopped off. The fate of the Marquis of Dechang's mansion is also unimaginable."
Xu Shuping was silent for a long time before he said, "Then why don't you wait until you enter the palace to tell the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu, and then go directly to the border town to eliminate future troubles..."
Xu Qinhui smiled bitterly, "Father, Empress Dowager Fu dared to make her own brother, who had no merit, a king of a different surname. What kind of person do you think she is? Will she trust me? Or will she also become suspicious of me and end up killing everyone in our Dechang Marquis Mansion as well?"
Prince Shu and Queen Mother Fu.
One is cruel, the other is crazy.
Empress Dowager Fu was simply a lunatic. She had made the whole world and the imperial court a mess.
She had been in the palace for ten years and knew Empress Dowager Fu too well. If she told Empress Dowager Fu about this, she might be grateful to her at first and send people to kill the Shu Wang family, but then she would definitely find an excuse to confiscate the Dechang Marquis's mansion and execute him.
Whether she entered the palace to become a concubine or told the Empress Dowager Fu about this, both were dead ends. She had no choice but to take another path.
Xu Shuping knew that his daughter was telling the truth.
Judging from what the new emperor has done in the six months since he ascended the throne, the world will probably be in chaos.
Even if it wasn't King Shu, there would be others who would rise up and resist such a court.
At this moment, Xu Shuping seemed to have aged a lot.
He said, "Sister Hui, let me think about it."
"Father!" Xu Qinhui was a little anxious.
Xu Shuping said: "Let me think about it. Besides, if Prince Shu is really going to achieve great things in the future, this matter has to be worked on. At least the relationship with the second house should be eased. Someone should be sent to give your second sister some silver, and explain that she had to be married off in the first place because it was your grandmother's idea." It is necessary to clear the third house cleanly, at least not to become enemies with Yu Jie'er.
Xu Qinhui did not tell her father that her second sister should have died of illness on the way to exile, and just pretended not to know.
It is right for my father to please my second sister. It is better to be safe than sorry. If my second sister dies of illness like in her previous life, she will go to the border to take care of Prince Shu's family in order to gain Prince Shu's favor. If my second sister can live to see Prince Shu ascend the throne, easing relations with her will only benefit the third house.
No matter what, as long as I don't enter the palace, I'll just take it one step at a time.
The next day, Xu Shuping went to look for his second brother and his wife.
Xue from the second house saw that her brother-in-law did not give him a good look.
But when she saw that her brother-in-law admitted his mistake and said that he had not agreed to let Yu Jie'er marry in place of her, it was the old lady of Marquis Dechang who insisted on going to the palace to ask the old empress dowager for help, and also said that she would give two shops to Xue to do business. Xue directly refused, but when her brother-in-law said that he would ask someone to send 1,000 taels of silver to Yu Jie'er, Xue hesitated.
At that time, she took out all the money she and her husband had, and only managed to collect fifty taels.
If she had these 1,200 taels of silver, Yu Jie'er's life in the borderland would be much better.
But after thinking it over carefully, she decided to refuse the 1,000 taels of silver.
Because she knew that her brother-in-law had ulterior motives when he suddenly came to apologize and gave money to Yu Jie'er, and he also said that it was her mother-in-law who went to the palace to ask for it. But how could the old concubine be so kind as to let the new emperor write an edict? It was obvious that Hui Jie'er did something behind the scenes, so she didn't believe what her brother-in-law said.
I don't need the 1,000 taels of silver from my brother-in-law. Who knows what Yu Jie'er will have to pay for it in the future if she accepts it.
She has been doing embroidery for the past six months. She is good at embroidery and knows several techniques. In addition, her master is frugal and she has support from her family. Her brothers from her family sent her one hundred taels of silver a few days ago and asked why she didn't come to them earlier about Yu Jie'er's matter so that the silver could have reached Yu Jie'er earlier.
Xue knew that the one hundred taels of silver was all that her brothers from her natal family could come up with.
She accepted the kindness of her brothers from her natal family.
Together with the nearly fifty taels she and her master had saved, the total was one hundred and fifty taels of silver, which she had asked Ma Liu to help send to the southwest.
It seems that Ma Liu and his men were about to escort prisoners to the southwest coal mine half a month ago.
In the future, she and her husband will be able to save dozens of taels of silver every year by living frugally, and give it all to Yu Jie'er. Yu Jie'er should be able to make a living and no longer need the thousand taels of silver from her brother-in-law.
Seeing that his second sister-in-law refused, Xu Shuping did not force her. This matter could not be rushed.
A few days later, the third daughter of the third branch of the Marquis Dechang's mansion went out of the city to burn incense at a temple on the mountain. She accidentally rolled down the hillside, broke her leg, and accidentally scratched her face with a bloody mark. It was said that she could not even enter the palace for the selection.
Xu Qinhui had already put her name on the palace list for the selection, and she couldn't just refuse to go. Unless she was seriously ill and dying, or had a broken leg and a disfigured appearance, the royal family would definitely not want such a girl to enter the palace to be a concubine.
When the news reached the palace, the new emperor felt a little sorry and didn't think much about it.
There are thousands of beauties in this world, and he would not be obsessed with the third daughter of the Marquis of Dechang.
Empress Dowager Fu was somewhat surprised. She knew how Xu Qinhui had entered the palace to seduce her son into writing the imperial edict. Now that this incident had occurred in the palace, wasn't it too coincidental? Could it be that Xu Qinhui didn't want to enter the palace to be her son's concubine? That shouldn't be the case. Who in this world would give up the endless wealth and glory of being a concubine in the palace?
Empress Dowager Fu sent the palace nanny and the imperial physician to the Marquis Dechang's mansion.
It was discovered that Xu Qinhui really had a broken leg and an injury on her face.
When the nanny returned to the palace to report, she said, "That third young lady is also pitiful. She really broke her leg and her face was punctured by a branch. The wound on her face is not serious. The imperial physician said that if she takes good care of herself, even if there is a small scar in the future, it will not be noticeable. She also asked this old servant with tearful eyes, if she is left with a limp in her leg and the scar on her face is not serious, can she enter the palace when the emperor chooses a concubine next time."
It would take at least three years to choose another concubine, and by then Xu Qinhui would already be eighteen.
Those who enter the palace for selection must not be over eighteen years old.
Empress Dowager Fu saw that Xu Qinhui didn't do it on purpose, so she let it go and ignored her. She just sneered, "She's lame and has a bruised face. In three years, she'll be over 18, and she still wants to participate in the selection. What a grand dream."
When the new emperor heard that Xu Qinhui was really injured in her legs and face, he no longer had any interest in her.
Xu Qinhui breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she had escaped all this.
This was naturally a cruel trick devised by the father and daughter. Xu Qinhui's leg was indeed broken, and the injury on her face was just an accident. She didn't want to disfigure herself. She just hit a tree stump when she rolled down the hillside and injured her face. Fortunately, the injuries to her legs and face were not very serious. If she took good care of herself, she would not be lame in the future. She would also buy the best ointment to apply to the injury on her face.
No matter what, I don't have to enter the palace in this life, and I can avoid that ending in the future.
——————
In the southwestern border area, Yuanbao Town has not been peaceful recently. Many officers and soldiers are coming in and out of the town. The situation is even worse at the dock, where officers and soldiers have been conducting inspections.
Many timid small vendors no longer dare to go to the docks to make a living. They have changed their locations, pushing carts through the streets or going to the North Street Market.
Xu Qinyu naturally hasn't been to the dock in the past half month, and her business is still going on as usual.
I also made a bucket of fermented bean curd, a jar of dried black beans and fermented broad bean paste.
When making these things, I always ask Wen Shuncheng to help. It is not difficult to do these things. Paying attention to the ratio of seasonings and ingredients is half the success. The rest is some cooking beans, fermenting beans and drying beans. Practice makes perfect. The taste will be good after doing it a few times. Once Cheng Ge learns these, I can give these jobs to him in the future.
Xu Qinyu plans to use the prepared fermented black beans and fermented bean paste to open a restaurant in the future.
She had calculated that she now had about sixty taels of silver saved, which was enough to rent a shop on South Street and North Street, but not enough on East Street and West Street. As for buying a shop, it would not be enough anywhere, so she just wanted to rent a shop first.
But the rent for a shop here starts from one year, and a deposit is also required. After opening a restaurant, you need to decorate it, buy furniture, buy ingredients, etc., so sixty taels of silver is not enough. She plans to set up a breakfast stall for two months. It will be tiring, but the sooner she can earn the money from opening a shop, the sooner she can open a restaurant.
All the fish had just been sold that day, and Xu Qinyu prepared dinner.
At dusk, she fried some spring bamboo shoots with the bacon pickled before the New Year. The spring bamboo shoots were dug by Cheng Ge'er from the bamboo forest outside the town.
Wild mushrooms are beginning to appear again on the mountain, but she is too busy on weekdays and has no time to go out to dig mushrooms. She doesn't dare to let Brother Cheng go, for fear of digging up poisonous ones.
In addition to fried spring bamboo shoots with bacon, there are also fried leeks with river shrimps and fried toon with eggs.
Although mushrooms outside the town cannot be eaten casually, there are many wild vegetables. Wild toon is one of them. Toon can be used to scramble eggs. The toon has a rich flavor and a refreshing fragrance, and the eggs are tender and taste very delicious.
The river shrimps were also caught by Cheng Ge'er in the small rivers and ditches outside the town. Needless to say, the Chinese toon was also picked by Chun Cheng Ge.
Finally, I made a home-style three-fresh soup with eggs, tender tofu, leeks, and meat slices.
Since it is called Three Fresh Soup, the word "fresh" naturally comes from it, which means it is fresh and tender.
As for eels, Xu Qinyu had been eating them for more than half a month and was tired of them. Cheng Ge'er had been selling all the eels he caught recently at the market.
Their family spends almost two taels of silver on food every month.
The family was still drinking milk. After drinking milk for a month and a half and eating the same meals for a month and a half, Gui's complexion improved visibly. Her face became rosy and she gained at least 20 pounds. The wrinkles on her face were less and she looked completely unsick.
I filled Cheng Ge'er's food box and also packed a few steamed buns for him to take back.
Not long after Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er left, there was another knock on the door outside the yard.
Wen went out and opened the door, and saw a young man about twenty years old with an unshaven beard and wearing official clothes. He grinned at her when he saw her.
Wen was stunned for a moment, feeling that the person looked familiar, but couldn't remember who it was.
The young man grinned and shouted, "Madam, it's me."
Xu Qinyu, who was in the kitchen, remembered who it was as soon as she heard the voice. She hurried out of the kitchen and saw a man grinning at the gate of the yard. Wasn't he Ma Liu, the soldier who had sent them into exile in the border town?
She also asked Ma Liu to help her go back and deliver a letter to her original parents.
I didn’t expect Ma Liu to come to them.
Xu Qinyu asked happily, "Master Jun, how did you find this place?"
Ma Liu scratched his head and laughed, "I heard from Shopkeeper Zhou in Raozhou City that Miss Xu is in Yuanbao Town... After returning to Beijing before the New Year, I visited the Dechang Marquis' Mansion and met your parents. They were very worried about you..."
He talked a lot, and said that this time it was her mother who asked him to deliver the banknotes to the young lady. He said that her parents looked much better this time than before, so she didn't need to worry.
After saying that, Ma Liu hurriedly took out the silver bills from his pocket and handed them to Miss Xu.
He had asked around a lot in Raozhou City, and finally it was the innkeeper named Zhou who told him after knowing that he was going to give a banknote to Miss Xu.
He also asked him a lot of questions repeatedly, worried that he was going to cause trouble for Miss Xu. It was not until he confirmed that he was really delivering the banknotes that he told her that Miss Xu now lived in Yuanbao Town.
He came to Yuanbao Town, went to the government office to ask, and looked at the registered address before he found it.
Xu Qinyu took the banknote, which turned out to be as much as one hundred and fifty taels.
She felt a little soft-hearted. At the beginning, the original body's mother collected all the silver and only got fifty taels, which she gave all to the original body. Now, in just half a year, she had collected another one hundred and fifty taels. She really didn't know how Xue got so much money.
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Master Jun, where did my mother get so much money?"
Ma Liu said, "Your mother seemed to say that she was doing embroidery for others, and that your father was reluctant to spend his salary and didn't go out for social events. Also, your maternal uncle collected a hundred taels of silver for you and sent it all to you."
Thinking of her original uncle, Xu Qinyu was also very grateful.
My uncle originally opened a teahouse, selling not only tea but also food. He didn't make much money every month, and this one hundred taels of silver was probably all the wealth my uncle's family had earned over the years.
It was also because my uncle opened a small stall that sold half tea and half food and could make some food, so I had some cooking skills.
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