The Double Ninth Festival was approaching, and naturally there was an endless stream of people coming to the Cining Palace to give gifts to the Empress Dowager. After such a commotion for half a day, it was finally quiet.
"Yes, there are 21 more gifts than last year. The Zhao family alone sent eight gifts. All of them are precious treasures," Bi Qiao said hurriedly. After a pause, she smiled and said, "But the gifts sent by the Zhao family are strange. They sent four gifts early in the morning. After Zhao Changrong left the palace, the Zhao family sent four more gifts. The gifts were sent in two batches. This is the first time I have seen this."
"Zhao Changrong is quite perceptive. It's a pity that he has a sister like Concubine Zhao who is not very worthy. He is really very cruel," the Queen Mother said slowly. After a pause, she suddenly asked Bi Qiao, "What did the An family send?"
"Yes, Mrs. An, the wife of An Zishang, the Minister of Rites, came to the palace in person to deliver a gift. It was a gilded bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, which was very exquisite." Bi Qiao said hurriedly, and added, "And Xiao Anshi. She gave the empress dowager a pair of sachets she embroidered herself, saying that they contained spices that would help the empress dowager sleep peacefully."
"Bring the sachet here and let me see it." The Queen Mother said slowly.
"Yes," Bi Qiao hurriedly found the pair of sachets and presented them to the Queen Mother, "Please take a look, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother looked at the two sachets embroidered with forget-me-nots on the tray. The workmanship was not outstanding and the embroidery was only average, but it was considered top-notch among the ladies of the aristocratic families. The Queen Mother was obviously very satisfied and nodded gently: "The craftsmanship is not bad."
"I also think that Xiao An's craftsmanship is good," Bi Qiao said with a smile, and added, "And Xiao An is also very attentive. If it were another noble lady, she would definitely embroider peonies and phoenixes, but this Xiao An embroidered forget-me-nots, which is quite thoughtful."
The Queen Mother did not speak, but she reached out and gently stroked the soft and gentle forget-me-not on the sachet. After a while, she nodded and said, "Okay, take it away."
"Yes." Bi Qiao bowed and retreated with the tray.
September 18, 2013
Ningguta.
The weather was extremely cold. When he got up early in the morning, a thin layer of ice had formed in the wooden basin. With a grimace on his face, Ah Chou drew a bucket of water from the well and quickly carried it into the room.
"Zhong Mingwei, it's frozen outside!" Ah Chou said to Zhong Mingwei while rubbing his hands, "It looks like it's going to snow in a few days."
"Is there enough food stored at home?" Zhong Mingwei was a little worried.
"Enough, enough. Didn't we bring back a lot of food, vegetables and meat from the market the day before yesterday?" Ah Chou nodded hurriedly. He mixed cold water in a basin and handed it to Zhong Mingwei to wash his face. He also put a hot towel on Zhong Mingwei's face and rubbed it. "In a few days, I will learn how to pickle cabbage from Grandma Chen. So much cabbage will be enough for us to eat for a while."
"I can wash it myself..." Although he said this, Zhong Mingwei had no intention of reaching out to take the handkerchief. He let Achou rub his face again and again. It was not that he was lazy, but he just liked Achou to wash his face. The hot handkerchief wrapped around the girl's small hands and rubbed circles on his face. This feeling was so wonderful.
"You are the one who can't wash well," Ah Chou said with disdain, while wiping from his chin to behind Zhong Mingwei's ears with a handkerchief. Zhong Mingwei was so clean, and she was cleaner and more meticulous than Zhong Mingwei. Every time she washed Zhong Mingwei's face, she would wipe his face, neck, ears and head. But when she wiped behind his ears, Ah Chou was not satisfied, "Zhong Mingwei, you are hiding dust again. There is a layer behind your ears."
"Let me see. Didn't he just wash himself..." Zhong Mingwei didn't quite believe it.
"Look, look," Ah Chou handed the handkerchief to Zhong Mingwei. There were indeed a few tiny specks of dirt on the snow-white handkerchief. Ah Chou was disgusted. "Did you see it?"
Zhong Mingwei felt uncomfortable now. He scratched his head and hummed, "There must be too much dust in this room, otherwise there wouldn't be so much dust on my body..."
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