In the past, when she entered the palace, she either entered as a relative of the empress, or as the daughter-in-law of a marquisate, following her mother-in-law. But this time, she entered because of her husband, and she was wearing the clothes of a fourth-rank lady.
Bai Ying boasted: "Among the people traveling with us, there is no one as young as you."
Mi Niang waved her hands: "Hey, Cui Ti's wife is so young and she is still a first-rank lady. There are always people who are better than you. Although I am happy, I don't think I am that great."
Speaking of Cui Ti, everyone smiled knowingly. Ever since Lu Rufa returned to the court, Cui Ti had been attacked by the censors, and he himself submitted a letter of retirement.
During the years that Cui Ti was in power, not only did he promote his cronies, but he also flattered his superiors in everything. Everyone had long been dissatisfied with him.
Furthermore, there is Li Tan working hard behind the scenes, and Li Tan has many students and old friends.
But Mi Niang knew that the person the emperor had in mind was not Li Tan. Li Tan was a member of the old party. If he was used, there would definitely be risks. Moreover, Li Tan had never been a lecturer in imperial lectures and had not spent much time with the emperor.
But things in officialdom change rapidly and it is hard to predict. Fang Weiyan did not go to Dengzhou in his previous life, but he went to Dengzhou in this life.
At this time in her previous life, Queen Nguyen was still pretending to be magnanimous, but in this life she has long since turned into a wisp of smoke.
Riding in the carriage in front of the palace gate, Shaoyao went down to look around, and came back a little surprised and said: "There are really too many people coming today, I am afraid I have to trouble you to wait a little longer."
Mi Niang didn't care: "Then I'll just take a nap in the carriage."
Today is the Queen Mother's birthday, so naturally many people came. She yawned and closed her eyes.
Soon, she was awakened. It turned out that someone was arguing. Oh, it was none other than the wife of the Marquis of Jinxiang, the Lady of Deyin County. Mi Niang could not help but lift the curtain to take a look at her. During the years when they went to Dengzhou, Lady of Deyin County gave birth to an only son. It was said that after giving birth to the only son, she was injured and could no longer have children.
However, she still looks adorned with jewels and looks superior.
"What are they arguing about?" asked Mi Niang.
Shaoyao replied, "What else could it be? It's just a matter of entering the palace in order. Don't worry, everything will be fine in a while."
Mi Niang nodded: "I guess these people are at the palace gate and dare not make a fuss."
In Mi Niang's heart, she entered the palace now just to respect the last seat, and the most important thing was to participate, so she didn't care too much about who the Deyin County Lord was. She always took revenge on the spot. Even if the Deyin County Lord had a high status, the Jinxiang Marquis Mansion was similar to the Dong'an Marquis Mansion. Now they were all rich and idle people. Speaking of it, the Jinxiang Marquis Mansion was not as good as the Dong'an Marquis Mansion.
The Dong'an Marquis Mansion has at least Fang Weiyan, a prominent young civil official. Among the military officials, there are also Fang Weichang and Fang Weijun, who both served in the military. The next generation has many descendants.
However, the Marquis of Jinxiang Mansion only has one son, Han Qi. In her previous life, after Zhou Furou gave birth to a pair of boy and girl twins, she also gave birth to twins. Since then, the Marquis of Jinxiang Mansion accepted her.
Thinking of this, she remembered Zhou Furou, the person who made her feel that everything she did in her previous life was in vain. Some people are born with good luck.
But now think about it, her so-called good luck is the same as mine. She was sent to the palace in her previous life. If it weren't for that foolish queen, Zhou Furou would not have married Han Qi.
Therefore, seeing Zheng Dou Niang again at the Queen Mother's place felt like a lifetime ago.
"Your Highness, Empress Dowager, Empress De, Empress Xian, Empress Jian... all of you are here to pay your respects."
Although the Queen Mother had a new play recently, she still liked to watch "The Story of the Jade Toad", so when she saw Mi Niang, she pointed at her and said with a smile: "It's 'Miss Ruan' who is here."
All the concubines and ladies of state laughed along.
Mi Niang bowed quickly and said, "I never thought that the Queen Mother still remembered this. I am really ashamed. I am a humble woman, how can I compare to Miss Ruan who is famous all over the world."
The posture of a cattail or willow?
Everyone secretly curled their lips.
Even women would feel jealous of his face, and yet he is still so weak and fragile. I really don't know what to say.
"I would also like to wish the Empress Dowager good health and longevity." After saying this, she presented the red coral gift she had prepared at home.
An honest official must be upright, but he must also move where he should move and give gifts when he should give. This is also what Mi Niang admires about Fang Wei Yan. He has a bottom line, but he is not bound by clichés.
The color of this coral is very bright. It was sent by Mi Niang's uncle. Naturally, these are also fixed expenses, but they, the businessmen, have some connections and know how to buy good corals.
Widows love money, and even the empress dowager is no exception. Even though the palace is rich and has many rules and regulations, the only thing that makes them happy is that their noble status can bring them wealth.
The emperor always made decisions and was definitely not the type to delegate power to the empress dowager. Therefore, apart from being able to save money, the empress dowager spent the rest of her time copying scriptures and listening to operas.
Mi Niang presented a generous gift and looked up at Fan Yuzhen. At this time, Fan Yuzhen's expression was very calm and he even smiled at her. However, Zheng Dou Niang was completely different from when they first met.
At that time, when she was with Queen Ruan, she only listened to Queen Ruan. She had a very cold temperament, sometimes a little rebellious and weird, and very sensitive. Such a person is actually not very likable. Perhaps only someone like Queen Ruan, who has no prejudice against everyone, would be like this.
But now she is completely different from before. She wears pink palace dress, has beautiful features, always has a smile on her face, and is even more respectful to the Queen Mother than Fan Yuzhen.
This is easy to understand. Fan Yuzhen comes from a prominent family and has her own pride. Although she will flatter the emperor, she also has her own pride. This is her advantage. Occasionally, the emperor will treat her equally, but this is also her disadvantage.
Because in the eyes of the emperor, he is the greatest in the world, and women can coax him, but they are not worth mentioning.
It was already very good for Mi Niang to have such a few words with the empress dowager. She saw that many ladies in front of her were accompanied by girls who had reached the age of marriage.
"This is my little daughter." Lady Qi was pointing at the girl beside her and smiling.
No one expected that the wife of Duke Qi was so ambitious that she even brought her concubine's daughter here. Immediately, many ladies who were present and knew about the situation showed playful smiles.
Just because you are the Duke of Qi, you want your daughter to be the empress. Is that just a dream?
The Lord of Deyin County looked at the crowd leisurely. Anyway, no girl in the Jinxiang Marquis Mansion wanted to be the empress, so she could just watch the show from the side. It was a pity that although the Jinxiang Marquis Mansion was wealthy, it had no real power. Although she had a good title, she still had no say here.
Let's look at Ruan Mi Niang. Although she was only the wife of a fourth-rank Hanlin scholar, because she was a scholar and a close minister to the emperor, even the empress dowager treated her with extra courtesy, and people around her also vied to make friends with her.
This is the difference between the powerful and the powerful. The nobles have nice titles and are rich, but they have no power.
I heard that Lu Rufa would start surveying the land when he came to power. Every wealthy family has a lot of land, so everyone was afraid. But Fang Weiyan was Lu Rufa's disciple.
These Mi Niangs didn't think that far ahead, because before the empress dowager's banquet, Fan Yuzhen sent someone to ask her to go there. Of course, she couldn't make friends with the concubines, but she had also received favors from Fan Yuzhen.
"Greetings to the Queen."
Mi Niang was very careful in her greetings.
Fan Yuzhen's eyes were filled with confusion. She waved her hand, and the servants removed the curtains and left. She stepped down from her seat and said, "Mi Niang, why are you being so polite to me? My aunt also comes to the palace to see me often."
Mi Niang then showed a friendly smile on her face: "My mother also often said that the queen treated her very well, but now she has gone to Lingnan with my father. I am afraid that she will have to wait until she returns to Beijing before she can enter the palace to pay her respects to the queen."
The two chatted casually for a few words. When Fan Yuzhen learned that Mi Niang had given birth to another son, she was very happy, as if she had returned to the past.
But then her face turned ugly again: "I know you are smarter than me. If you were in the palace, you would definitely not be like me. Those girls from outside entered the palace, where would I have a place to stand?"
That Zheng Dou Niang wore Hu clothing and tried to curry favor with the emperor. From time to time, she would wear the clothes of the late empress and cry. It was said that she even petitioned the emperor to seal up the Kunning Palace and only enshrine the relics of the late empress.
At that time, Fan Yuzhen couldn't help herself and said a few words, but they were just about not letting the emperor grieve too much.
The emperor was furious, thinking that she wanted to usurp the throne of empress, which was a taboo.
But she couldn't say this to Mi Niang, otherwise, she would be exposing her scars to others.
Mi Niang saw the sullen look on her face and consoled her, "I'm not as good as you. You know me. I can't stand being bullied. If I entered the palace, I'd be like Sun Wukong making a scene in the Heavenly Palace. Actually, it's good enough for you to be like this. Anyway, you'll give birth to a prince."
Concubine Lu, who gave birth to three sons but was forced to be buried alive, was a minority. Most concubines who gave birth to sons were able to survive.
"Oh..." Fan Yuzhen saw that Mi Niang looked very good and it seemed like she was having a very easy time at home, so she couldn't help but envy her secretly.
Even if I am in a high position now, what's the use?
It's rare to have a lover.
When Mi Niang saw the splendid furnishings in Zhaoyang Palace, she guessed that Fan Yuzhen's life was at least pretty good. As for such important matters as the empress and the crown prince, she was powerless to do anything about it.
It's not for any other reason, it's because it has nothing to do with her anymore.
In her previous life, she was a concubine, so naturally she hoped that her son would get to that position so that she would no longer be bullied by others. But now it is different. People’s positions are different. This struggle for succession will ultimately depend on how the emperor makes the decision. Perhaps the emperor doesn’t even know how to make the decision.
How could she comfort Fan Yuzhen?
She couldn't promise anything.
Seeing that Mi Niang didn't respond, Fan Yuzhen didn't mention it anymore. It wasn't that she was afraid of Mi Niang, but the Hanhai Mansion could no longer help her, and the power of the Cheng'en Mansion had been taken over by Zheng Dou Niang.
In the future, maybe her son will still have a say in Fang Weiyan's fiefdom, but it would not be good to use up all her favors now.
Mi Niang came out of Zhaoyang Palace and walked for a while. When she passed by Yu Garden, she saw a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old laughing loudly, looking very cute and naive.
This girl looks like a child, laughing and clapping her hands, as if she won the fight with the cricket.
Mi Niang asked the eunuch beside her: "Whose family is this girl from and why is she playing here?"
The young eunuch had just received a generous reward from Mi Niang, and he told her everything he knew: "Lady Fang, this is Commander Xia's daughter, but I heard that she is not his biological daughter, but an adopted daughter."
Commander Xia? Mi Niang thought for a moment and said, "But the commander named Xia Fangping, I heard that he adopted ten orphans of soldiers, and the court even issued an order to commend him."
Because it was Fang Weiyan who wrote the imperial edict when he was in the Hanlin Academy, and he talked about it with Mi Niang when he came back.
The young eunuch nodded and said, "Mrs. Fang is really well-informed and has a good memory. It is indeed this person."
At the birthday banquet again, many ladies from prominent families were flirting with the empress dowager. Those girls were of all shapes and sizes, and some were from famous families. The empress dowager seemed very satisfied.
The emperor was unwilling to choose from the palace because he believed that the concubines in the palace were not qualified for the position, including Zheng Dou Niang. If he wanted to choose a queen from outside the palace, she had to be both virtuous and talented, otherwise she would not be qualified to be the queen mother.
She used to be one of them, always planning and scheming, but now she is sitting here peacefully enjoying the birthday banquet, and feels a little regretful that she cannot take away the food when she goes back.
This is not as good as Fang Weiyan's imperial banquet, at that time people could pack up and take the dishes and chopsticks home.
After returning, Fang Weiyan saw that she was unhappy and realized that she had not packed up the delicious food. He smiled and said, "You went to the palace today, and Tang Ge'er was not idle. The two uncles took him to eat roast duck. Here, we left one for you."
Mi Niang patted her belly and said, "Although I can eat a whole cow after all this trouble, I can't really eat like this."
"You girl, your words are becoming more and more casual. How can a girl say that she can eat a whole cow?" Fang Weiyan found it funny.
But at the same time, I also know that Mi Niang does not consider herself an outsider at all, but at the same time I think she is very cute and her words always make people smile.
Mi Niang said angrily: "I am the mother of two children, and you are the only one who still calls me a girl. To girls, I am already an old woman."
"Where is that yellow-faced woman? How come I don't know her?" Fang Weiyan played dumb.
Mi Niang smiled and hit him, then said, "Today, I saw a 13 or 14-year-old girl, and I realized that youth is fleeting. You only know how to make me happy."
Fang Weiyan looked at her seriously and said, "But you are really young."
"Haha." Mi Niang didn't believe it.
Unexpectedly, after a few days, the Miss Xia whom I met before was actually crowned as the empress.
It was said that both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor thought that she was a woman of both talent and virtue and was worthy of being the Queen Mother. Naturally, the ministers had no idea what this Miss Xia was like, but when they heard that the Empress Dowager also approved of her and the Emperor was willing to make her the Queen, the ministers naturally celebrated, and many of them even hoped that the Queen would give birth to a son soon.
Fang Weiyan breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw Mi Niang had a strange expression on her face, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? Why do you look like that?"
Mi Niang held up her hands and said, "I have only met this Miss Xia once. She is as cute and innocent as a child. It is difficult for her to become a royal consort, let alone a queen. It is not because of her family background, but because she is as childish as a child. How can she become an empress?"
Is it possible that the emperor is so willful now?
Fang Weiyan smiled and said, "The emperor has shown me his love, and there is nothing we can do about it."
Anyway, no matter what this queen is like, giving birth to a legitimate son is what everyone hopes for.
But soon, when he heard that the little empress and the emperor had set off fireworks in the mosquito net and burned down the palace, Fang Weiyan fell silent.
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