The Lu family had just received the annual gift from the eighth prince, and suddenly heard that the queen had given them something. They were a little confused for a moment. The three stood in the yard and looked at each other, no one understood what was going on. It was Ge who asked first: "The queen never seems to have any favors for our Lu family? Why did she suddenly send something?"
Lu Song frowned and said nothing, but Lu Yan expressed her thoughts: "There is nothing strange about this. The queen is the master of the harem, my father was the prime minister of the previous dynasty, and there is no one in our family in the palace. Naturally, we couldn't get along with the queen in the past, and she couldn't always rush to curry favor with the prime minister. But now it's different. My daughter and the eighth prince are engaged. The emperor will personally grant the marriage in the new year. As the master of the central palace, the queen naturally has to express her feelings."
Lu Yan's analysis made sense. Mrs. Ge agreed with it and nodded repeatedly. Lu Song didn't say much either. In addition, the housekeeper was urging the people outside to come in as they were still waiting, so he quickly made arrangements to welcome them in.
As soon as the door of the mansion opened, a group of palace maids and eunuchs rushed in, each holding something in their hands, including silk and cloth, and jewelry boxes. Lu Yan and Ge were so stunned by the sight. For the Lu family, which had lost all its business under the suppression of the Yao family and had no external source of income, this feeling suddenly gave them a sense of rapid success.
Although the impact of these good things could not affect Lu Song, the maid who brought people with her made Lu Song a little flattered. When he saw the arrival, even though he was the prime minister, he hurried forward a few steps to greet her and said, "I didn't expect that it was Aunt Fangyi who came in person. I hope you won't blame me for not welcoming you in person!" The so-called aunt is just a respectful title, not in order of age. Lu Song is definitely much older than Fangyi, but everyone in the palace calls Fangyi aunt, so he followed suit.
The person who led the team to deliver the gift was Fang Yi. She was very warm when she saw Lu Song. She smiled and said that Lord Lu was too polite. At the same time, she handed over a box in her hand - "The Queen Mother asked me to give it to Lord Prime Minister Lu personally. This thing was awarded by the Emperor a few days ago. It is the best tribute from outside. The palace only got these two boxes in total. The Emperor awarded one box to Concubine Yun and one box to the Queen Mother."
Lu Song took it and opened it. Inside was a whole box of blood swallows, twelve in total. These blood swallows were of moderate size and bright red in color, and were indeed rare and top-quality. Fang Yi said that the palace had only two boxes, and the Queen, as the Empress, must have been given one, and the other was given to Concubine Yun. Everyone knew the status of Concubine Yun in the Emperor's heart, so it was clear that the rarity of this thing was simply unimaginable, and it could not be measured in gold or silver.
"The Queen Mother said that she is old and it would be useless to use this good thing. It is better to send it to the Lu Mansion for the future consort of the Eighth Prince." Fang Yi said with a smile: "Prime Minister, please collect it quickly. Remember to ask the kitchen to stew a bowl of it for Miss every day. This thing cannot be kept for a long time and must be eaten up quickly." She giggled again as she spoke, and then looked at Lu Yan and reminded: "Miss, I am afraid you haven't had a proper meeting with the Eighth Prince yet? The Eighth Prince will be back at the palace banquet on the first day of the new year. Before that, Miss must stay in good spirits and look beautiful to meet the Eighth Prince."
After hearing this, Lu Yan blushed with shame, but she was also excited. When she thought about meeting the Eighth Prince in a few days, her heart couldn't help but beat faster. Lu Song also thanked him repeatedly, and immediately invited Fang Yi to sit in the hall and drink tea. But Fang Yi waved her hand and refused: "No, I have to go back and report to the queen. My lord, you should take the young lady here. Stewing the blood swallows is the serious matter." After that, she said to Lu Yan: "I congratulate the young lady in advance."
Lu Yan quickly returned the gift, her little face rosy, which was pretty.
Ge had already arranged for the servants to take the things held by the palace maids and eunuchs, and then took a cloth bag handed over by her own maid, and said that she would stuff it into Fangyi's hands. Fangyi also took it, but she squeezed the cloth bag and laughed in her heart. Since the Lu family was cut off from the source of income by the Yao family, the life of the mansion has been worrying. This silver is probably the salary that Lu Song had just paid not long ago?
She guessed correctly. The silver package was indeed Lu Song's salary for this month. It was just distributed yesterday. The Lu family kept ten taels for their own use. The rest had not been distributed yet. Today, it was stuffed into Fang Yi's hands. After Fang Yi left, Ge felt a little distressed, but she gritted her teeth and said, "Even if we have to live a hard life, we can't lose face today."
Lu Song also nodded and agreed, "That's right. Fangyi is the head maid of the Empress, and she has sent so many things. It's normal that we can't afford such a small amount of silver. But we can only give this much now. When we can turn things around in the future, we must remember the Empress' kindness and make arrangements in the palace to pave the way for Yan'er."
Ge also echoed, "That's right, the Eighth Prince's biological mother has been demoted to a noble lady. With her personality, she might cause trouble. It's hard to say whether she will still be around when the Eighth Prince becomes successful. But the Empress of the Central Palace is different. She is dignified, magnanimous, and has no children. No matter which prince succeeds to the throne in the future, she will be the Empress Dowager. Such a person must be flattered." As she spoke, she took Lu Yan's hand and said, "Wait until the Emperor grants the marriage at the New Year's Palace Banquet. In the future, you should go to the palace more often. You should often go to the Empress to pay your respects and serve her. Of course, you can't neglect Concubine Yuan. Don't listen to what your parents say, but after all, the Eighth Prince values his biological mother very much. Even for the Eighth Prince, we must not have a relationship with Concubine Yuan, understand?"
Lu Yan nodded, "Don't worry, father and mother. I've made a note of this. No matter what, Concubine Yuan will not ignore her. Even if her status is lowered again and again, she is the biological mother of the Eighth Prince after all, and this will never change."
Lu Song and his wife were relieved after hearing their daughter's sensible words. Lu Song handed the blood swallow to Ge, who said she would ask someone to stew a bowl for Lu Yan. The mother and daughter went back to the backyard, talking and laughing. Lu Song was left standing in the yard, but he gradually frowned.
He couldn't tell why, but he always felt uneasy. It all seemed like an illusion, and he couldn't quite grasp the root of it. He was afraid that if there was even the slightest mistake in any link, everything would come to naught.
The New Year was getting closer and closer. Three days before New Year's Eve, Xu secretly came to the Princess's Mansion and gave Feng Yuheng some things. They were all small items, jewelry and the like, as well as snacks she made herself. She told Feng Yuheng: "I originally wanted to make a few new clothes for you, but making clothes is a bit too eye-catching. After all, there are no girls of your age in our Yao Mansion. If I ask someone to make clothes for me, I'm afraid it will be seen through at a glance." As she spoke, she turned her head away and wiped her tears, then turned back and continued: "These jewelry were all bought secretly by me, and the snacks were all made in the small kitchen in my own courtyard. Don't worry, no one knows."
Xu sighed as she spoke, and Feng Yuheng felt very uncomfortable watching her, but there was nothing she could do about the current situation. She could only tell Xu: "Be patient, everything is only temporary, and things will get better one day."
Mrs. Xu didn't hold out much hope, she even said worriedly: "Will it get better? I heard your grandfather say a few days ago that Qianrou might have gone to the south. Ah Heng, don't blame me for what I said. Qianrou, I used to pity her, but now I have a grudge against her. I just can't understand how a mother can be so cruel? Even if she has a gap with you, doesn't she still have Zirui? She recognized that girl named Fu Ya, which made people in Beijing laugh. She called her daughter to others without caring about anything, and let you be stabbed in the back. How can Zirui feel good?"
Speaking of Zirui, Feng Yuheng was helpless. Seeing that the New Year was approaching, she had already sent people to Xiaozhou to pick him up. This time, Xuan Tianming sent a lot of people, so she didn't send anyone around her. Calculating the date, she should go to Beijing in the next one or two days. But now with the situation in Beijing, she hasn't figured out how to tell the child. After all, the child is young, and after all, he is Yao's own flesh and blood. Blood ties are much more important to him than to her. Can Zirui accept such a situation?
Mrs. Xu also saw her helplessness and could only comfort her: "Don't think too much. It has become like this anyway. Zirui is a sensible child. Aunt thinks it is not difficult for him to accept this matter. After all, he knows what Qianrou did in the past. Aunt is just worried about you. You will be a marriageable girl in April, and your wedding with the Ninth Prince will be arranged soon. But now you have no relatives or friends, how can you arrange the wedding? Aunt has thought about it. Let's stop this drama after the New Year. Ah Heng, don't bother worrying about others. Your grandfather and your three uncles have also said that our Yao family is not afraid of being implicated. We can't leave you alone. After the New Year, after the first month of the year, find a reason for the two families to reconcile, so that your family can arrange the wedding for you."
After hearing what Xu said, Feng Yuheng felt that time was running out. She always thought it was too early for her to get married, but now it was the first month of the lunar calendar, and it was her birthday in the fourth month of the lunar calendar. She really didn't think about this matter enough. She couldn't handle the wedding by herself, and she didn't want to just mess around with it. Thinking about it this way, she really needed the Yao family to help her.
But... "Aunt, let me think about it again!" She was still worried about the disaster that would happen to the Yao family, especially since the Eighth Prince would be returning to Beijing during the New Year. She didn't know how big a storm it would cause. Ever since Yao was drugged that year, she had been especially careful with her relatives, fearing that someone would be harmed because of her. Right now, whether or not to have another good show with the Yao family, she really had to think about it carefully.
She quietly sent Xu back and promised that she would give the Yao family an answer before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Only then was Xu willing to leave.
Feng Yuheng's mind was also in a mess, so he simply went to the medicine room to avoid being disturbed by outsiders, and then dived into the space, thinking of taking a hot shower to relieve his fatigue, but he was suddenly stunned the moment he came in.
Her space...how did it become like this?
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