Chapter 76 The Empress Dowager's decree, Aunt Sun finally takes action
Two palace maids from the Shangyi Bureau came and said that when Xie Yao became the Princess of Jingbei, she would have to go to the palace to meet the emperor in the future.
On some special occasions, the princess needs to wear a Zhaiyi dress, and they come here to measure the size in advance and make new clothes.
As for Xie Yao's wedding dress, it was prepared by the Jingbei Palace, and the Shangyi Bureau had no responsibility.
Coming with them was Zhidai, the head maid of the Empress Dowager.
Zhidai was wearing a palace dress and holding the empress dowager's decree. Xu Susu and Xie Mingan had to come out to greet her.
The guests who were still staying at Xie's house waiting for the carriage to take them away also came to join in the fun when they saw people coming from the palace.
"The Empress Dowager has decreed that the second daughter of the Xie family, Xie Yao, has been away from the capital since she was young. Since she has been betrothed to the Prince of Jingbei and her wedding is approaching, she should be aware of the rules of the Prince's residence. Starting tomorrow, the maid in charge of Ningshou Palace will go to the Xie residence to teach the second daughter etiquette."
Aunt Zhidai said.
"I have received your order and thank you for your grace, Empress Dowager," Xie Ming'an said, his heart secretly delighted, his tone unable to conceal his excitement. "Aunt Zhidai's personal visit truly brings honor to the Bo's Mansion."
Zhidai nodded slightly to him, glancing at the guests who had come to watch the Winter Solstice Banquet. She deliberately raised her voice and said, "The Queen Mother values the prince and the Wenchang Marquis' Mansion. She specially asked me to teach Miss Xie the etiquette. The rules of the Marquis' Mansion are naturally good."
Zhidai's identity is not ordinary. Her grandfather was the old Minister of Rites during the reign of the previous emperor. She was originally sent to the palace in order to be taken as a concubine by the previous emperor.
Because she was meticulous in her work, she was chosen by the empress dowager to serve her, but before she could sleep with the emperor, the late emperor passed away.
Palace maids could leave the palace when they reached the age of 25, but the old minister had retired for many years, and her family fell into poverty, so she stayed in the palace. At a young age, she became the head maid beside the empress dowager.
A few years ago, when Marquis Anping got married, Zhidai went to the Jiang family to teach the wife of Marquis Anping in accordance with the Queen Mother's order.
Now that Prince Jingbei is getting married, she comes to teach Xie Yao not only for the sake of the Prince's Mansion, but also to give face to the Earl's Mansion.
Since she said in public that the rules of the Bo Mansion were good, even if the Bo Mansion was reprimanded by King Jingbei today, although the Bo Wenchang Earl would be extremely embarrassed, he could still restore some of his reputation.
Zhidai's words finally brought a genuine smile to Xie Mingan's face, who was already exhausted after losing his friends for a whole day.
Xie Yao accepted the order and thanked her, then asked, "May I ask what etiquette would you like to teach me, Aunt?"
In her previous life, she had not married Xiao Yizi, so naturally this would not have happened.
Zhidai looked Xie Yao up and down, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but her face was very cold.
"Miss Xie will know tomorrow."
She looked at Xu Susu behind Xie Yao and asked, "How is Madam Bo's health?"
Xu Susu shook her head: "Thank you for your concern, Aunt Zhidai. It's still the same as before."
Zhidai knew something was not well when she saw her complexion, but she did not ask any further questions.
After the palace maids from the Shangyi Bureau finished measuring the clothes, Zhidai took her people away and Xie Mingan went to see them off.
Xie Yao turned around and asked Xu Susu, "Do mother and Zhidai know each other?"
Xu Susu said, "Before she entered the palace, she and her grandfather, the old minister, came to the uncle's house to discuss official business with the old uncle. She and I met once. After that, she often left the palace to convey the empress dowager's orders, and we met twice more."
Xie Yao nodded. The fact that Xie Ming'an had put Xie Zhi's name on the list of women selected by the Queen Mother to enter the palace proved that her father must have some unknown means.
This method may be related to the Queen Mother herself, or may involve the Marquis of Anping, or more likely related to Zhidai.
In the evening, most of the noble ladies and young masters from aristocratic families in the capital whose carriages were smashed left one after another. The remaining three or five people had no time to go back, so the Earl's Mansion arranged guest rooms for them and invited them to a banquet in the evening.
Among them was Mrs. He, who had spoken for Xie Yao before.
The dinner is a family dinner, and Xu Susu will also attend.
In her previous life, Xie Yao did not participate because she fell into the water.
This time, the person who fell into the water was Mrs. Xie.
Xie Chengbai was beaten with a stick and confined to the courtyard of the second house to accompany his elder brother Xie Chengyu, who was still half-dead and unconscious.
Before the banquet started, Xie Yao was thinking about Xie Ming'an. Qi Liang asked to see her with a strange look on his face.
Aunt Sun was particularly low-key at the Winter Solstice Banquet today. She knew there must be something wrong when things were out of the ordinary, so she asked Qi Liang to keep an eye on her.
"The young lady asked me to keep an eye on Aunt Sun's subordinates. Half an hour ago, I saw Madam Liu sneaking around outside the kitchen. She even told the cook that the young lady likes sweets and wanted a few more dishes."
"It's finally here." Xie Yao's pupils narrowed slightly and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Auntie Sun, do you know how agonizingly I've been waiting for you?"
She called Honeysuckle and asked her how the development of the antidote for Mantuo Powder was going.
Ever since she learned a few days ago that her mother's tuberculosis had worsened due to the Mantuo Powder prescribed by Aunt Sun, Rendong has been researching an antidote.
The medicines my mother used to treat tuberculosis were usually supervised by Honeysuckle and there were no problems.
I guess, after she returned to Beijing, no one dared to poison her mother again.
However, Rendong also said that if it were not for the discovery that the lady had been poisoned by Mantuo Powder, and if her uncle had not given her the Pingfei Paste, and if her mother had only taken medicine for treating tuberculosis, she would have had only a year to live.
Aunt Sun wants my mother to die of illness without anyone knowing!
In her previous life, less than half a year after she married Lu Shenyan, her mother became terminally ill and eventually committed suicide.
Aunt Sun was really impatient to get promoted and for the sake of her unborn baby.
Honeysuckle said, "I have an idea, but I'm not sure yet."
Xie Yao shook her head regretfully, thinking that since there was no antidote for the time being, she could only feed Aunt Sun's poison to others, otherwise, she could take advantage of the situation.
She stood up and went to the dining room with her mother.
The Winter Solstice Banquet usually requires as many family members as possible to be present, so except for Xie Chengbai, Xie Chengyu, and old lady Xie who had a high fever after falling into the water, everyone else, including Xie Mingan's other concubines, Mr. Xie and his second wife, were all present.
Tonight, Aunt Sun and the second wife sat together, quiet and taciturn.
Xie Mingan stepped forward and helped Xu Susu to sit next to his main seat, and then asked Xie Yan and Xie Yao to sit next to Xu Susu.
"Madam is weak, so the food at today's banquet is light and easy to digest." He said gently, and personally served a bowl of lotus seed soup and placed it in front of Xu Susu.
There have long been rumors in the capital that the Duke of Wenchang favors his concubine over his wife, but today, in front of outsiders, Xie Ming'an behaves with special care and love for his wife, as if to prove the rumors false.
"Mother, if the food doesn't suit your taste, just eat less. We can eat more when we go back." Xie Yao said.
Xu Susu: "I should be the one telling you this."
Xie Yan glanced around and suddenly said loudly, "Today's banquet is free of a few eyesores. It's really a pleasure to eat."
When the second branch of the Xie family heard these suggestive words, they gritted their teeth and remained silent.
Xie Mingan also pretended not to hear.
Xie Yan leaned forward again and said in a joking tone, "Sister, I've actually disliked Xie Chengbai for a long time. Father punished him today, but it wasn't satisfying enough. How about we just kill him while he's still sick and eliminate the root of the problem?"
A hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he lowered his voice so that only Xie Yao and Xu Susu could hear it.
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