Chapter 137 Knocking
When Xiao Fushu heard this, her face turned even redder. She lowered her eyes slightly, her heart beating like a deer, feeling both shy and excited.
Seeing this, the fifth prince continued to speak.
"You are Aunt Huang's sister. I can see that Aunt Huang cares about you the most. If you and I get married, it will be a marriage between our two families. There is one thing I want to be honest with you. I once had a very special person in my heart, but there is no possibility for us to be together."
The shyness on Xiao Fushu's face disappeared completely, but there was no disappointment in his eyes. Considering the Fifth Prince's age, it was not surprising for him to have a concubine, let alone a confidante.
"I wonder who is that special person in the Fifth Prince's heart?"
The Fifth Prince heard what you were going to say but instead spoke.
"If you are willing to be the Fifth Prince's consort, I will ask my father to grant the marriage after the New Year."
"I won't make any promises about being together for life, but I can guarantee that if I'm a prince, you'll be the prince's consort. If I'm a leisurely prince, you'll be the princess. If I... you'll be the mother of the country..."
Anjin Inn.
Hua Ziye raised his glass and looked at the officials who stayed in the imperial city. Although they were all minor officials of the seventh and eighth ranks, they had all passed the examinations with real talents and knowledge. If they were more tactful, they would have plenty of opportunities to climb up. Now was the best time to make friends with them.
"Come on, my dear friends, Happy New Year's Eve and Happy New Year! May our careers be prosperous and we all rise to higher heights in the coming year."
"Brother Hua is absolutely right. Although we are of low rank and have low positions, we have great ambitions and will surely achieve something in the future." A young official said passionately.
"Brother Hua is absolutely right. We must work together and plan for a better future."
An official in a blue shirt echoed, saying that his name was Li Wenyuan and he was a newly-appointed Jinshi this year.
The officials raised their glasses in response.
"This cup is for Brother Hua."
"That's right. Brother Hua is now working for the Fifth Prince. In the future, Brother Hua must support us."
"Yes, let's toast to Brother Hua together."
Hua Ziye calmly raised his glass and clinked glasses with everyone.
"We come from all corners of the world, but we met in Anjin. We will definitely support and care for each other in the future."
"Come on, let's do it."
The atmosphere was quite lively for a while.
In the palace.
After a few months, a group of concubines came to Fengyi Palace again to pay their respects to the queen.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen, greetings to Her Majesty the Queen, and may Her Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness in the new year."
The queen sat upright on the phoenix chair, her expression majestic and gentle. Her eyes swept over the concubines kneeling below one by one, and finally stopped at Concubine Yao. There seemed to be some imperceptible deep meaning in her eyes.
"Sisters, please get up."
The queen's voice was soft but powerful, and the concubines stood up in order and stood still.
When Concubine Yao stood up, her face was still a little pale, and it seemed that the anger and unwillingness from last night had not completely dissipated.
She tried to remain calm and tried not to meet the queen's gaze.
See everyone sitting down.
The Queen gave Nanny Fang a look.
"Today is the first day of the new year. You are the first day of the new year. I have prepared gifts for all my sisters."
Nanny Fang understood and entered with a group of palace maids. Each of them held an exquisite gift box in their hands and presented it to each concubine one by one.
The concubines were surprised and expressed their gratitude one after another. The rewards from the palace often represent the queen's favor and status, especially such gifts at the beginning of the new year, which are even more meaningful.
The Queen looked at Concubine Shu and spoke.
"In the harem, I treat all my sisters equally, so your gifts are all plum blossom hairpins. However, Concubine Shu will be assisting me in managing the six palaces, so Concubine Shu's gift is a red jadeite phoenix-shaped gold hairpin."
Red jade and phoenix head are things that only the queen is qualified to use. Everyone was shocked when they saw this.
Even Concubine Shu was shocked. After a brief moment of joy, she immediately stood up and saluted.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but this gift is so precious that I dare not accept it."
The Queen waved to her.
"Sister Shufei, come on, come forward!"
Concubine Shu walked forward nervously, and the Queen personally helped her up and inserted the dazzling red jade phoenix-head gold hairpin into her bun, whispering softly.
"Sister, there's no need to refuse. You're usually steady and composed, and I'm very confident in your approach. The affairs of the Six Palaces are complex, and with your help, I can relax a lot. This hairpin is not only a recognition of you, but also a token of my expectation. I allow you to wear it while managing the affairs of the Six Palaces."
This was equivalent to being able to perform the duties of the Queen. Concubine Shu was filled with joy. As expected, the Queen's kindness to her was genuine. She quickly squatted down and saluted.
"I thank the Queen for her trust. Please rest assured, I will do my best to take care of the affairs of the harem and share your worries."
Concubine Yao watched coldly from the side, her nails digging deep into her palms. The Queen was helping Concubine Shu to fight against her. She had visited Concubine Shu before, but her attitude was extremely cold. It seemed that she and the Queen had reconciled.
Everyone also smiled and congratulated Concubine Shu.
"Congratulations, Madam Shufei..."
In a short while, Concubine Shu's status in the palace rose rapidly, and she smiled and responded to everyone's greetings.
"I have been in the palace for even less time than the sisters here. I will be assisting the Empress in managing the six palaces. I hope you sisters can give me some favors."
The Queen looked at Concubine Shu like this, and her eyes were full of satisfaction. Has Concubine Shu grown? Concubine Shu, please don't let me down.
Xiao Family Ancestral Hall.
According to tradition, the second day of the Chinese New Year is the day to return to one's parents' home.
Xiao Fuguang specifically told Xuanyuan Jing today that he and Fushu would return to the Xiao family to stay for two days.
Xiao Fuguang and Xiao Fusu stood together, and Hua Ziye stood aside.
Xiao Fuguang looked up at his mother's tablet with a face full of guilt.
"Mother, I am incompetent and have not yet sent my enemy down to you to apologize. Please give me some more time."
Xiao Fushu also spoke while holding incense.
"Mother, Fushu will accompany my sister to avenge her."
Xiao Fuguang continued to speak.
"Mother, Fushu's marriage is almost ready. Once the imperial decree grants the marriage, I will have Fushu bring her husband to meet you."
After saying this, he bowed and inserted the incense into the incense burner.
Hua Ziye took the incense from the maid and walked forward.
"Aunt, Ziye is here to see you."
"The Hua family has already begun to enter the imperial court. We will protect my cousin from now on. Don't worry, aunt."
After meeting Xiao's mother.
A few of them sat together drinking tea and asked Xingyue to prepare the meal.
Hua Ziye took out a stack of banknotes.
"Cousin, this was sent from home. Let me pass it on to you."
Xiao Fuguang looked at the thick stack of banknotes.
"so much?"
"This is?"
Hua Ziye spoke with a smile.
"Father said that thanks to my cousin's reminder, the Hua family has finally established itself in the Northern Territory. Although we didn't make any money from the grain last year, our shop is now stable, and we've signed agreements with many major merchants in Beipan. We're sure to make a lot of money this year."
"We all know that what you are going to do now requires money. Here is 50,000 taels of silver. Please use it first. When we earn money from the grain this year, our family will give us more."
Xiao Fuguang hurriedly pushed the banknotes in front of him.
"Keep the banknotes yourself. We can't take them. They're too much."
Hua Ziye directly stuffed the banknote into her hand.
"Cousin, we are a family. The money in the family should be spent by us all. Besides, isn't it time for Fushu to get married? With my status, it's not convenient for me to help with anything. Cousin, you can take this banknote and use it as a dowry for Fushu."
Xiao Fuguang looked at the banknote and was about to say something else.
Hua Ziye continued to speak.
"Cousin, just accept it, otherwise my father will scold me and say that I can't even handle the smallest things."
Thinking that Fushu's marriage was almost settled, Xiao Fuguang put the banknote away.
"Then I'll keep it for now, and don't give it to you again in the future. I'm indeed short of money, but I also have ways to earn it."
Then the conversation took a sudden turn.
"How is the Fifth Prince doing now?"
Hua Ziye spoke thoughtfully after hearing this.
"The Fifth Prince already has a lot of substantial evidence, but he seems to be hesitant. However, my intuition tells me that he will eventually decide to tell the Emperor. This is his first job. If he hesitates, he will not be valued by the Emperor in the future."
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