Mu Zhuohua returned home alone that day. In the yard, Guo Juli had set up a table of food and wine, and he and Zhimo were having a great time. Guo Juli had a good impression of Zhimo, because this little brother often bought cakes from Yipin Pavilion for them. She politely invited Zhimo to have dinner with her, but she didn't expect Zhimo to agree without any politeness? Zhimo
originally wanted to go back to Liu Yan to report, but thinking of Liu Yan's good intentions for Mu Zhuohua, he changed his mind and didn't want to get in the way, so he simply stayed with Guo Juli to help the prince get some information.
Unexpectedly, Guo Juli looked at Lu Zhi, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't talk much, so he couldn't get any useful information. He just stared at Guo Juli sweeping the table of delicacies. He looked at the other person's thin figure and flat belly with suspicion, and took a look under the table when the other person wasn't paying attention - how did she hide the food with magic?
Four thoughts silently floated through Zhimo's mind - wasting food.
It was at this moment that Mu Zhuohua walked in.
Zhimo didn't see Liu Yan, and felt a little strange, but he didn't show anything wrong on his face, and immediately stood up and said goodbye. Not far from the courtyard, he saw Liu Yan's somewhat lonely figure at the corner, as if the sunlight on him had dimmed.
Zhimo was startled, walked up to him, and shouted nervously: "Prince, what happened?"
Liu Yan smiled bitterly, turned around and walked towards the direction of the palace.
"It's just that I'm disliked."
The statement that almost broke with Liu Yan made Mu Zhuohua feel uncomfortable for a long time, but fortunately, the Ministry of Households was busy with official business, and the Ministry of Works had to complete the renovation of the palace within a year, so she was assigned to assist. During the day, she was even more busy and had no time to think about Liu Yan.
It was just that it was a little harder to sleep at night.
As a doctor, there are many ways to deal with insomnia. She prepared some sleeping incense, soaked her feet before going to bed, and asked Guo Juli to help her massage her sore shoulders and neck, and she got through the night - it would be better if she didn't dream.
She is now a fifth-rank official, and she has to stand in the main hall every morning during the court session, which is quite a distance away from Liu Yan. Liu Yan wears a sword when he goes to the palace. As the Regent King, who is second only to the emperor, everyone can only look at his back, and Mu Zhuohua is no exception. In the past, she was his subordinate in the Lifan Temple, and they had many opportunities to meet each other every day. Now she is in the Ministry of Revenue, and Liu Yan, as the Regent King, only discusses matters with senior officials from the six ministries in the Fenghua Palace. Therefore, the two of them can only see each other once during the morning court session, and there is no chance to meet on weekdays.
Mu Zhuohua told herself that she was not avoiding him on purpose, but that they were not destined to be together.
Liu Chen announced the return of the Grand Princess of Zhenguo to Beijing at the morning court session, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to arrange for the reception, and ordered the Ministry of Works to speed up the renovation of the royal villa.
The Grand Princess Zhenguo is the apple of the eye of Empress Chongguang and Pei Fengjun, the twin sister of Emperor Yuanzheng, and now the most precious aunt of the Chen royal family. When Liu Yan saw her, he had to bend down and respectfully call her aunt. All the princesses who could be named Zhenguo were people with real power. Emperor Chongguang only gave birth to a pair of twin brothers and sisters, the prince Liu Xi, who took the surname of the emperor, and the princess Pei Yue, who took the surname of Fengjun. The empress and Fengjun took great care of them, passed the country to their son Liu Xi, and married their daughter Pei Yue to the then leader of the martial arts world, Fu Qingfeng, the owner of Taoyuan Villa, so that the couple could control the entire martial arts world, which was equivalent to controlling half of the country. Afterwards, Pei Fengjun ordered the Tang Sect to forge the national artifact Zhuxie Sword and gave it to the Princess Zhenguo. With this sword, she could command the world, behead the tyrants, and behead the treacherous ministers.
Despite this authority, the Princess Zhenguo knew to avoid it. After the Empress and Feng Jun passed away, the Princess Zhenguo left Dingjing and settled in Jiangnan. She would never come to Beijing unless it was a major event. Previously, Emperor Zhaoming and Empress Dowager Zhou died in a fire, and the national mourning spread to Jiangnan. The Princess Zhenguo fell seriously ill and put her original plan to go to Beijing on hold. It was not until recently that her health completely improved that she returned to Dingjing accompanied by her relatives.
The Royal Villa was originally the residence of the Princess Zhenguo. Because she had been away from Beijing for decades, she used it for other
purposes and enjoyed herself with the people. The hairpin poetry meeting was held here before. Now that the Princess Zhenguo has returned to Beijing, it is natural to renovate the Royal Villa so that she can live comfortably. At this time, the performance of foreign officials came to Beijing for evaluation, and the flow of people in Dingjing increased. Shen Jinghong was busy with this, and Mu Zhuohua also had to run around for the repair of the palace. Seeing that Liu Chen was anxious about the reception, Princess Roujia took the initiative to take over the matter.
"I was brought up by my great-aunt. No one knows her preferences better than me." Princess Roujia said with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will arrange everything properly."
Liu Chen was overjoyed when he heard this and said with a smile, "With my sister here, I have nothing to worry about. My great-aunt loves you the most. You have been back to Beijing for too long this time. I am afraid that my great-aunt misses you very much." Princess
Roujia showed a nostalgic look and said softly, "I miss her very much too."
The two of them went to Yong'an Palace while talking and laughing. Yong'an Palace is the temporary residence of the Queen Mother. It is the most magnificent palace in the harem, but Liu Chen feels that his mother is still a little aggrieved to live here.
At this time, the Queen Mother was talking to Princess Jing'an Yelu Zhen, with a smile on her face, and it seemed that they were having a good conversation.
Liu Chen and Princess Roujia paid their respects to the Queen Mother, and Yelu Zhen also stood up and saluted them.
The Queen Mother smiled at Liu Chen and said, "Jing'an was talking to me just now. She speaks the language of the State of Chen very well now, and has learned all the etiquette in the palace."
Yelu Zhen has fair skin and beautiful appearance. Now that she has learned the etiquette of the State of Chen, she looks more demure and elegant, but she is less graceful and noble than Princess Roujia.
"It's all because of Princess Roujia's good teaching." Yelu Zhen said softly.
Princess Roujia glanced at her and smiled, "You have to be willing to learn."
Liu Chen was impatient to listen to these trivialities, and said to the Queen Mother, "My sister just told me that she will be responsible for the supervision of the renovation of the royal villa and the welcoming etiquette."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother nodded and said, "She is indeed the most suitable, but it is hard work."
"Working for the royal aunt and sharing the worries of Your Majesty, how can it be hard? This is my job." Princess Roujia said with a smile, "But in this way, I will not have time to teach Jing'an. I just saw that she gets along very well with the Queen Mother, so I have an unwelcome request. I want Jing'an to live in the palace for a few days and let the Queen Mother teach her etiquette."
Liu Chen frowned.
Princess Roujia said again, "The Queen Mother's etiquette is naturally the best in this palace. It will be twice the result with half the effort if she teaches. And it is rare that Jing'an gets along well with the Queen Mother, and can also talk to the Queen Mother to relieve her boredom."
Princess Roujia's words made the Queen Mother somewhat moved. Now she was the only one in the palace, and the selection would have to wait until the beginning of spring, so it would be nice to have someone to talk to and relieve her boredom. She had some prejudice against Princess Jing'an, thinking that people from Beiliang were rude and impolite, but she didn't expect that Princess Roujia had taught her very well, and her manners were no worse than those of some ladies from Dingjing. Although she spoke with a Beiliang accent, she seemed simple and lovely.
"Since Roujia said so, I will naturally not refuse." The Queen Mother thought for a moment, then agreed with a smile.
After a few more pleasantries, Liu Chen and Princess Roujia walked out of Yong'an Palace.
"Royal sister, she is from Beiliang, why did you send her to the palace?" Liu Chen said unhappily.
Princess Roujia smiled and said, "With her accompanying the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother will bother you less, what's wrong with that?"
Liu Chen heard it and said helplessly, "Royal sister, what you said makes sense. I hope mother will not force me to see those noble ladies anymore..."
Princess Roujia's eyes moved, and she said thoughtfully, "I heard that Miss Sun's family, that is, Sun Yunyun who is in love with the emperor's uncle, came with her great aunt this time."
Liu Chen was quite surprised: "Did the Sun family actually ask the great aunt to be a matchmaker?"
However, Princess Roujia's next sentence made him even more terrified.
"Jiangzuo is close to Taoyuan Villa, and the royal aunt brought more than one noble lady this time." Princess Roujia glanced at Liu Chen with sympathy and amusement, "One is for the royal uncle, and ten are for you."
Liu Chen was suddenly shocked.
Yelu Zhen stood under the eaves, watching the backs of Liu Chen and Princess Roujia from afar. She tilted her head slightly, her blue eyes thoughtful.
The maid Lanzhu stood beside her, speaking in Beiliang dialect, and said worriedly: "Princess, we are trapped in the palace, so it will be difficult to attack Mu Zhuohua."
Yelu Zhen chuckled: "It turns out that I was wrong. I shouldn't have attacked Mu Zhuohua."
Lanzhu looked at Yelu Zhen in surprise: "What do you mean, Princess?"
The color in Yelu Zhen's eyes suddenly deepened, and there was a trace of regret. "I was impulsive that day. Seeing Mu Zhuohua was alone, I had the intention to kill her and called out three chess pieces on the spur of the moment. I didn't expect her to be so cunning and actually escaped. Not to mention the loss of three chess pieces, I'm afraid there will be traces left."
"That woman spoke rudely to the third prince, and she is the favorite of Prince Ding. It's right for the princess to kill her." Lanzhu said with a firm look in her eyes.
Yelu Zhen laughed and shook his head: "No, I just thought of something more interesting. I remember what my brother told me when he left was to sow discord between Liu Chen and Liu Yan."
"Does the princess have a solution?"
Yelu Zhen looked at Liu Chen's receding figure with a smile: "Liu Chen refused to choose a concubine... You say, if the uncle and nephew like the same woman, wouldn't it be interesting?"
On the day when Princess Zhenguo returned to Beijing, the first snow of this winter fell in Dingjing. The fine snow was like salt, which disappeared as soon as it fell into the palm of your hand, but the coolness suddenly increased a little, and a little.
Liu Chen led all the officials to greet them at the palace gate, and behind him was Liu Yan. The Queen Mother led the women in the palace to stand on the right. Princess Roujia was wearing a goose yellow brocade palace dress, and her face was lightly powdered, which made her look even more radiant. Looking at the slowly approaching carriages and horses, her eyes were filled with joy and eagerness.
Princess Zhenguo returned to the capital with an extraordinary procession of honor. A huge procession of carriages and horses stretched two miles in front and back, with hundreds of guards and hundreds of waiters. This procession of honor fully demonstrated the noble status of Princess Zhenguo.
When the carriages and horses arrived at the palace gate, all the officials bowed to greet them and sang in unison: "Welcome the Grand Princess Zhenguo back to the palace--"
The sound drifted several miles away, and the whole Dingjing was shocked.
Princess Roujia bowed and walked to the most spacious and gorgeous carriage, smiling and shouting: "Grandma, Jiaojiao is here to pick you up!"
The door of the carriage was opened from the inside, and a face favored by time looked at Princess Roujia who came to greet her with a kind smile. Princess Zhenguo slowly stretched out her hand and placed it in Princess Roujia's palm, trembling and saying: "Jiaojiao..."
Princess Roujia's eyes couldn't help but moisten, and she smiled and said: "Grandma, there are so many people watching." Princess
Zhenguo restrained her emotions and got off the carriage with Princess Roujia's hand. She has lived in the underworld for a long time, and has kept everything simple. She has not used the state guard for a long time, but when she returned to Dingjing, she was still the noble princess holding the sword of killing evil, and could stand shoulder to shoulder with the emperor. Her every move naturally revealed an awe-inspiring momentum.
Even the queen mother had to respectfully call her "imperial aunt" in front of her.
The princess is now nearly sixty years old, but her long hair is still black and thick, her eyebrows and eyes are as beautiful as they were in her prime, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes add a bit of charm of time. The extremely luxurious clothes do not seem cumbersome on her, but just like green leaves, they just set off her pearl-like brilliance. She was the most beautiful woman in the world when she was young, and she is still as beautiful now.
Liu Chen, Liu Yan and the queen mother came forward to pay her respects.
Liu Chen has always been in awe and admiration of this great-aunt. He has met the Princess Zhenguo only a few times. In his childhood memories, this great-aunt was very powerful and had a bad temper. Even Empress Dowager Zhou and Emperor Zhaoming had to admit her scolding in front of her.
"I haven't seen the great-aunt for many years. The great-aunt is as glorious as before." Liu Chen complimented sincerely.
It is said that Taoyuan Villa is the best place to nurture people, and it has the most suitable martial arts for women in the martial arts world. Therefore, the Princess Zhenguo has the ability to maintain her beauty, relying on internal cultivation rather than extravagant care. Now in her fifties, she looks as if she is in her early forties. Standing in front of the empress dowager, she looks more radiant than the empress dowager.
Princess Zhenguo looked at Liu Chen carefully for a few times before she smiled and said, "Your Majesty has grown up, and you are full of vigor and vigor, and you really have the bearing of an emperor." As she spoke, her eyes swept over the young man standing beside her with a smile, and her eyes deepened a little, "Yan'er, I heard about the things in the court in Jiangnan. You have worked hard these days."
Liu Yan smiled and said, "Auntie, you are too kind. I, your nephew, have been entrusted by my brother, and I will do my best and dare not let him down."
Princess Zhenguo nodded gently.
Liu Chen smiled and said, "Auntie, it's snowing outside. Let's go into the palace quickly."
Princess Zhenguo nodded with a smile, and everyone walked inside. Liu Yan lagged behind a little, and his eyes swept over the officials who lined up outside the palace gate to welcome them.
Mu Zhuohua was only a fifth-rank official, and her petite figure was easily drowned in the crowd, but Liu Yan still found her at a glance. She folded her hands in front of her, her back slightly bent, and lowered her head to look at the ground in front of her. Her respectful posture was standard and beautiful, without any impatience or shaking.
But Liu Yan was careful. He knew that she was afraid of the cold. The fine snow fell layer by layer and got into her collar, bringing the chill. Everyone was wearing official robes and did not dare to add more clothes. This was obviously not enough for her, so her fingertips were slightly red from the cold and her lips were a little pale.
Liu Yan glanced at her from a distance, then walked past her without looking sideways. Her frozen red fingertips lingered in his mind. He wanted to hold her frozen red fingers in his palms to warm them up, but at this moment, she would definitely run away.
Liu Yan pulled a bitter smile at the corner of his lips, and a dull pain slowly surged in his heart.
Mu Zhuohua returned to the government office, drank a pot of hot red date tea, and warmed her hands for a while before she came to her senses. There was another banquet in the palace in the evening, but with her rank, she could not attend. This was a good thing. She just wanted to go back to bed, lie down, and have a good sleep with the quilt rolled up.
It gets dark early in winter. When Mu Zhuohua left the government office, it was already dark. She pulled her coat closer, but it was still a little cold. Although the snow was fine, it had been falling for a long time. A layer of fine white was piled up on the stone road, and every step left a footprint.
Mu Zhuohua walked a few steps with her head down, and was suddenly stopped by someone. She looked up at the person in front of her, and opened her mouth slightly in surprise.
"Zhimo?"
Zhimo frowned, and took out an exquisite and beautiful hand warmer from his arms. The cover was extremely finely made, and the peony pattern was lifelike. At this moment, the hand warmer was slightly emitting heat and fragrance.
"For you." Zhimo didn't say anything else. He stuffed the hand warmer into Mu Zhuohua's hand, turned around and left.
The heavy warmth fell on the palm of his hand, dispelling the coldness on his fingertips little by little.
Mu Zhuohua looked down at the hand warmer, and her eyes were inexplicably sour.
When Liu Yan left the palace, the moon was already high in the sky. Zhimo was waiting outside the palace and helped him get on the carriage when he was slightly drunk.
"Did you give it to her?" Liu Yan asked.
Zhimo nodded and said, "I accepted it." Liu Yan
smiled lightly, "Okay."
Zhimo looked at Liu Yan's profile, wanting to say something but stopping.
Liu Yan seemed to know what he was thinking, and patted his shoulder with a smile: "Don't blame her."
Zhimo blinked in surprise, and finally nodded sullenly.
"Got it."
Zhimo saw Liu Yan's affection clearly. Zhijian was simple-minded and impulsive, and he didn't let him know some of Liu Yan's things, otherwise he would have gone to Mu Zhuohua to settle accounts and speak up for Liu Yan.
But Zhimo didn't understand what Mu Zhuohua was thinking. What was wrong with his prince that she actually disliked him?
Princess Zhenguo stayed in the palace for only one night, and moved to the Royal Garden the next day. After they were settled in, the noble ladies in the capital received invitations to go to the garden to appreciate plum blossoms. The news of the noble families was the most well-informed. Everyone knew that Princess Zhenguo did not come to Beijing alone this time, and she also brought many noble ladies from the Jiangzuo noble families. The most famous one was Sun Yunyun, the legitimate daughter of the Sun family. Old Lady Sun loved this granddaughter the most, and personally entrusted her granddaughter to Princess Zhenguo, asking her to be a matchmaker for Sun Yunyun and Prince Ding. This was also agreed by Empress Dowager Zhou and Emperor Zhaoming when they were alive, so Princess Zhenguo did not refuse. After observing for a long time along the way, she also recognized that Sun Yunyun was a rare good girl. Although she was born in a famous family and was both talented and beautiful, she did not have the arrogance of a noble lady. What was even more rare was that she was infatuated with Prince Ding.
Everyone tacitly agreed that Sun Yunyun was for Prince Ding to see, while the other noble ladies were for His Majesty to see
. To put it bluntly, this plum blossom viewing banquet was just a disguised talent show. Mu Zhuohua did not expect that he would also receive an invitation, but this invitation was a little special, sent by Princess Roujia.
Maner smiled at Mu Zhuohua and said, "Your Excellency is the princess's best friend, so the princess wants to introduce you to the eldest princess of Zhenguo. This is the princess's kindness, and you must seize it."
If you can win the favor of Princess Zhenguo, it will be a meteoric rise to fame for anyone.
Mu Zhuohua was flattered and very moved, and thanked her repeatedly.
Maner smiled and reminded Mu Zhuohua: "That day is a private banquet, you don't need to dress too formally, just come in casual clothes. But..." Maner chuckled and said meaningfully, "The ladies have all received invitations, and the villa will probably be full of fancy clothes, so you don't need to compete with them."
Mu Zhuohua said gratefully: "Thank you, Princess, for your advice."
She was an official, not a lady, and she was not going to choose a concubine, so why should she compete with them for the limelight?
Mu Zhuohua naturally understood this principle, so on the day of the banquet, she chose a set of sky-blue scholar's gown, tied her hair up, covered it with a gauze hat, and carefully applied makeup with disguise cream. Looking at her handsome and dignified appearance in the mirror, she nodded with satisfaction. Her dress only made her look bookish, without any feminine makeup, which would never make those ladies think of competing for beauty, and could be distinguished from the women in the selection.
Guo Juli helped Mu Zhuohua put on her fur coat. The soft, snow-white rabbit fur scarf wrapped around her slender neck, making her suddenly feel much warmer. Guo Juli stuffed the hand warmer into her hands and said with satisfaction, "Miss, you are really pretty. Don't let those noble ladies take a fancy to you."
Mu Zhuohua laughed and said, "I want to be a concubine. Your young lady is only a fifth-rank lady. Even if she is a man, I won't take a fancy to her."
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