Kunning Palace
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Zheng Dou Niang really couldn't believe that the Queen was gone like this.
Liusu and Zhou Furou also cried uncontrollably. Zhou Furou even became anxious. What should they do if the queen passed away like this? The queen was such a good person, why did she die so young? Why can't good people live long...
Fan Yuzhen also came with a big belly, she cried like a pear blossom in the rain, "Yesterday I said I was going to pay my respects to the queen, why did the queen pass away?"
Looking at her belly, Zheng Dou Niang narrowed her eyes. Something was really strange yesterday. It was her sister's death anniversary, so the Empress allowed her to go to the West Hill to worship. On that day, it was heard that only Li Zhaoyi sent cakes over.
Although she checked the cakes and they were fine, the scriptures were...
While she was thinking, Fan Yuzhen suddenly fainted. The emperor hurried over and the imperial physician took her pulse and found out that Fan Yuzhen was poisoned.
Emperor Yonglong now favored Fan Yuzhen the most. Seeing Fan Yuzhen like this, he was extremely worried. However, because the empress's funeral was going to be held with great fanfare, the happiest person was none other than Concubine Cui.
She thought to herself that she was the best among the queens in terms of identity, status and fertility, and she would definitely be the successor in the future.
The death of the Empress was a serious matter. All families with titles were not allowed to hold banquets or music for a year, common people were not allowed to get married for three months, and all civil and military officials had to mourn for twenty-seven days, and were not allowed to slaughter animals for forty-nine days.
The opera troupe in the marquis's mansion was disbanded. After Xu discussed it with the Marquis of Dong'an and Old Madam Weng, most of the people were given money to return home. Those whose parents had passed away or who had been sold and did not want to return home were left behind to work as maids in their respective families.
There was also a girl named Haoxue assigned to Mi Niang. She said she changed her name because of the school rules. Because her skin was whiter than snow, she was named Haoxue. She was only about twelve or thirteen years old, but her skin was whiter than snow.
She was led by Bai Zhi to learn more needlework and sewing, and she was ignored as to other things, not even changing her name.
Haoxue knew that Fourth Grandma's place was a good place to go. Fourth Grandma's yard was quiet, the people were kind, Fourth Master was also ambitious, and there were fewer things to do there than in other yards. She had already made up her mind to learn needlework, otherwise she would know nothing and would be a maid all her life.
Hearing Haoxue's performance, Mi Niang couldn't help but nod: "That's good. Just be motivated and don't really think of yourself as a deputy lady."
Every girl in the yard could tell who this was talking about.
Of course, these words also reached Bichang's ears. She thought that Mi Niang was really kind and that she didn't need to do anything in Fengwuyuan every day. She was not a person who was worried about her life, so she felt at ease.
Mo Xiang and Bi Shang had some affection for each other, so she risked her life to tell her: "Sister, no matter what happens in the future, you have to tell Fourth Grandma. If you do this, Fourth Grandma is a Buddhist and I'm afraid she won't tolerate you."
Not to mention the servants' affairs, the entire Ruan family was devastated by the death of the Queen.
All the glory of Duke Cheng'en's mansion came from this daughter. Now that his daughter is dead without a prince, Lady Cheng'en burst into tears and fainted several times.
Ruan Wuniang accompanied her mother in crying, but she was also very fortunate. If she had entered the palace that year, she would be nothing after her sister died, and she would still be bullied by Concubine Cui. Now Zhang Jingzhi is a decent person, and she is the only wife in the family, and he just misses her.
She looked at her cousin Ruan Sanniang with some resentment.
Then he retracted his gaze.
Although Old Lady Ruan was crying, she was fine because Fan Yuzhen was pregnant with an heir in the palace. Second Madam Ding still had to say, "You must take care of yourself."
Of course, with Mi Niang's current identity, she could not go into the palace to mourn, but she also went to the mansions of Duke Hanhai and Duke Cheng'en, and Fang Weiyan accompanied her there.
In the carriage, Fang Weiyan was really afraid that she would be shaken, so he held her in his arms the whole time.
Mi Niang pushed him: "Aren't you usually very polite? What if someone sees you?"
"Let them see it. I don't care, and no one cares." Compared to Mi Niang's body, these are really nothing. They are a serious couple, and it is normal for them to be intimate.
"The old man has turned into a little rascal."
Seeing Mi Niang's shy face, Fang Wei Yan pinched her face.
"Don't pinch me, it's annoying. You forgot to apply jasmine oil on me yesterday, so remember to do it today, or else there will be ugly marks left."
"I'll erase it when I get home today."
"You should come back earlier too. The third, fourth, and fifth aunts should all come to my place. They are fine now, but I can't sleep well or read well with all their chattering." She had a good relationship with the sisters-in-law, but when the girls got together, even if they didn't make loud noises, it was still noisy.
Mi Niang was embarrassed to let them go because she liked to read alone, but her time was squeezed out, so she couldn't finish a book until now.
The benefits of reading more books are much greater than associating with a vulgar person.
Hearing Mi Niang say this, Fang Weiyan remembered that every time he went back, he saw Mi Niang with a smile on her face. He thought she welcomed the girls there. He even went to the study room specially, but he didn't expect that she was too embarrassed to say that she actually wanted to study by herself.
"Okay, I'll come find you when I get back."
"That's more like it."
Fang Weiyan thought to himself that his little wife was too good at putting on a good show.
Even though he had seen countless people, he had no idea what she was thinking. If he couldn't figure it out, Fang Yaqing and her sisters couldn't figure it out either.
Soon, a scene that made him dumbfounded happened. Mi Niang, who was talking and laughing happily in the car just now, got out of the car with red eyes and tears pouring out.
When he saw the wife of Duke Cheng'en, he cried in front of her and almost fainted.
Fang Weiyan was frightened to death: "Mi Niang, Mi Niang..."
It was Mi Niang who whispered in his ear: "Nothing is wrong, don't worry."
He felt relieved.
Lady Cheng'en saw that Mi Niang was heartbroken and pregnant, and she had a good impression of her. She thought it would be great if she was in the palace. She was a loyal and righteous girl, much better than that sickly girl Fan Yuzhen.
It's a pity that the empress couldn't keep anyone at that time.
If the matter had been settled earlier, the prince would have been born and would have been in the lap of the empress, and the empress would not have left in depression.
Thinking of this, Lady Cheng'en cried even louder.
When Mi Niang saw this, she thought to herself, why are you sad? Your daughter is a human being, but others are not. If you hadn't wanted to kill the mother and seize the child, and forced others to enter the palace to win your daughter's favor and give birth to a child, this day wouldn't have happened.
Blame yourselves.
She could probably guess who was behind it. Concubine Cui must have been behind it, but she also needed the cooperation of others. Fan Yuzhen happened to be pregnant, so she felt that her guess was almost right.
Seeing her daughter crying like this, Mrs. Ding came over and helped her to the side: "You are pregnant, you can't cry for too long."
"My daughter knows."
Seeing that his mother-in-law was taking care of Mi Niang, Fang Weiyan thought it was not appropriate for him to stay with the women, so he went outside with Zhang Jingzhi. Zhang Jingzhi used to be his classmate, and the two of them had something to talk about.
Zhang Jingzhi married Ruan Wuniang, the Empress's younger sister, and Fang Weiyan married Mi Niang, who was also a member of the Ruan family. The two are now brothers-in-law, and their relationship is even closer.
"When the queen passed away, His Majesty held a funeral for her that was unparalleled in the world. It was truly moving to watch. This was a grace unprecedented in history," Zhang Jingzhi sighed.
After the death of Queen Nguyen, Emperor Vinh Long normally required all civil and military officials to mourn for 27 days, but he required them to mourn for 180 days. It was unknown what his reason was, but anyone who disobeyed would be exiled to the frontier. He also wrote a tearful elegy himself, which made those who heard it cry and were heartbroken.
Fang Weiyan thought that if the empress had not been deposed in the previous generation, he would have really believed the emperor's infatuation.
But if the emperor wants to do so, who can do anything about it?
He also sighed: "Yes, I heard that Queen Ruan has always been frugal and self-respecting, and never asked for official positions for her family members. Only Queen Changsun can be compared with her in ancient and modern times."
Such compliments would not be wrong if they were said by the Ruan family. Zhang Jingzhi also agreed. The two walked side by side, and they met Ruan Sanniang and her husband Shen Muqian. A proud man like Shen Muqian would always be the focus wherever he went, but Ruan Sanniang had dark circles under her eyes and looked very tired.
Zhang Jingzhi was stunned. He had never thought of meeting Sanniang in this situation again.
Fang Weiyan smiled again and said, "Mr. Shen."
Shen Muqian is a very capable official. It is widely said both inside and outside this year that he will become the governor of Fujian when he is in his thirties but not yet forty, and will be Prime Minister Zhang's right-hand man.
This is a local marquis, known as Fangbo.
Shen Muqian was very happy to see Fang Weiyan: "This is not the place to talk. Next time we go to the Shen family, let's talk properly."
The Hanlin Academy is the future prime minister, and Fang Weiyan is very outstanding. It would be better to have him help to speak a word in front of the emperor in the future. Officials are all like this and will not offend others easily.
Ruan Sanniang watched Shen Muqian and Fang Weiyan chatting, she didn't look away, and didn't even glance at Zhang Jingzhi. Even now, she still felt that he couldn't give her the life she wanted. Even if he passed the imperial examination, it would not be easy to make a name for himself, unlike Shen Muqian who already had everything.
Even if he had concubines, she didn't care, because that wasn't what she thought about.
She didn't care about Shen Muqian. Shen Muqian seemed to be very interested in her recently and even wanted to take her to Fujian. Maybe things would get better over time.
Moreover, she now had a rich dowry, no risk of childbearing, and was the mistress of the house, so her life was much better than that of ordinary people.
The Zhang family has sisters-in-law. Although Zhang Jingzhi is a good person, she is too young.
"Then we'll take our leave first." Fang Weiyan pulled Zhang Jingzhi, and Zhang Jingzhi followed him.
The two of them went to a secluded place, and Fang Weiyan frowned and said, "What's wrong with you? You are married, you must not do this."
Zhang Jingzhi smiled bitterly: "I just couldn't help myself at the moment. I know I shouldn't do this, but I just couldn't control myself."
"You can't do this." Fang Weiyan said earnestly, "If your wife knew about this, how would she feel? Besides, the envoy has a wife, Luofu has a husband, you shouldn't do this."
But the word "love" cannot be improved by human persuasion.
Fang Weiyan thought that if this happened, something might happen sooner or later, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he talked to Zhang Jingzhi for a while, but in the end he couldn't let go of Mi Niang, so he left first.
Little did she know that Mi Niang was eating wontons. The Ruan family was originally from Jiangling. Although their taste has now become more northern, there are still local Jiangling chefs. They put some chili oil in the wontons, and Mi Niang enjoyed it so much. Second Madam Ding even said, "Eat slowly. No one is competing with you for the food. If you like this, I'll make it for you next time you go home."
"Forget it, I can't eat too much. Mother, how are you? I haven't been feeling well lately, and it's snowing heavily. It would be unfilial if I didn't go home."
If it wasn't for such a major event as the Queen's death, she wouldn't have been able to come out.
Madam Ding Er said, "You are pregnant, so you shouldn't have come out. Alas, I went to the palace with her the other day. The emperor treated the empress very well. He personally met with us, her family members, and praised her brothers. I heard that her third brother has been given a title."
"He may not be that good when he was alive, and there is no point in being mourned and honored after his death. It's like how many unfilial sons cried like crazy in front of the coffin, can they be considered filial sons?" Mi Niang has seen a lot of people like this. A truly good person may not be promoted day and night. Naturally, they are given status, pampering and everything. How could they allow Concubine Cui to act so domineeringly? And the empress died when she was only in her twenties.
It's just a show to the world how infatuated I am.
When Mrs. Ding Er heard her daughter say this, she quickly asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I made a mistake."
Madam Ding Er whispered, "I heard that Li Zhaoyi was not feeling well, but we were both women from outside the family, so we didn't dare to ask any more questions and just came back."
If she was Fan Yuzhen, if she harmed the empress, the first thing she would do would be to get herself out of the blame. So it is very likely that Fan Yuzhen would have attacked herself.
Soon, word spread in the palace that Concubine Cui had been demoted to Zhaoyi because she was not attentive enough in the funeral of the empress. This caused a lot of discussion among people, and even Mrs. Xu said to Mi Niang, "I never expected this."
Concubine Cui has been the hottest concubine for many years, but now she has been demoted to Zhaoyi, even worse than Concubine Guo Jin, who gave birth to the eldest son of the emperor.
But Xu was very thankful and said, "Fortunately, I arranged a marriage for Weijun early on."
"That's what I mean!"
After paying her respects to her mother-in-law, Mi Niang went out and saw Aunt Mei, who was wearing a green lotus cape. She was catching snow with her hands and looked relaxed, as if she had nothing to worry about.
But anyone in this world has worries.
When she saw Mi Niang, she showed a respectful expression: "Fourth Madam."
"Aunt Mei, are you here to pay your respects to the Madam?" Mi Niang asked with a smile.
"yes."
"Then hurry in, my wife is in the back room."
"Thanks for letting me know."
Mi Niang said meaningfully, "Aunt Mei doesn't speak like a daughter of a manor as others say. I don't think she is an ordinary person."
Aunt Mei looked as if she didn't understand, and Aunt Mi smiled and left.
When she was far away, Aunt Mei's maid asked, "Aunt, what did Fourth Madam mean by that?"
"She doubts me." Aunt Mei said generously.
But she had nothing to be afraid of, so she went straight into Xu's place with a very humble attitude.
Of course Xu was a little jealous when she saw her. In the past, any good things from the outside would come to her first, but now Aunt Mei could get a lot. Although Xu didn't care about these things, men's hearts change too quickly, which made her always feel a little dissatisfied when looking at Aunt Mei. What's more, since Aunt Mei came into the family, Marquis Dong'an never came to her place again.
"What's the matter, Aunt Mei? It's winter, I've already exempted you from paying respects."
Aunt Mei smiled and said, "It is my duty to pay my respects. Although Madam has good intentions, I cannot break the rules of etiquette."
She took off her green lotus cape and wore a small milky white top with red edges and a beautiful jade underneath. Compared with Xu's, her wrists looked more girlish.
Xu's son was already 20 years old, and she was almost 40 years old. She could never compare to a 15 or 16-year-old girl. Therefore, when Xu looked at Aunt Mei, she finally realized that she was old too.
It's almost the end of the year, and because of the national mourning this year, people are not allowed to move around. Xu has been sick because she was busy with Fang Weijun's marriage in the past few days. The Marquis of Dong'an suggested that Aunt Mei help with the housekeeping.
"She is an honest and responsible person. It happens that Weiyan's wife is inconvenient, so let her take care of her. When you get better, let her give the account to you."
The Marquis of Dong'an was really kind-hearted. He knew, of course, that Xu and Shen were at odds. The second daughter-in-law was ashamed to death. Although the third daughter-in-law had a high status, she might not be able to handle it if she was left alone. Wei Yan's wife was pregnant and it was not easy for her to work.
It just so happens that Aunt Mei is an honest and young person, so she can just be a puppet and let Mother Tang do the work.
Although Xu was reluctant to let the power fall into someone else's hands, she had no choice. After all, her daughter-in-law was pregnant and not suitable to be a housekeeper, so she had to agree.
Mi Niang felt that this was inappropriate. She said to Fang Wei Yan, "She has only been married for a few days, how can she be the housekeeper? She also said that everything is managed by Madam Tang and she is just a cover. This is a bit inappropriate."
"Let's not talk about that for now. She is just a concubine and can't do anything wrong."
What could she do? To persuade the Marquis of Dong'an to change his title or to reinstate him as the Crown Prince was impossible, and she didn't have that much power.
"I do have something I want to tell you. The marriage of the Marquis of Jinxiang is likely to fail. His family originally favored Yaqing. I think the old man and his wife have been interested in making a move. What do you think?"
Mi Niang looked at him and said, "Are you saying that the marriage of the Marquis of Jinxiang is not to be arranged with the palace maid surnamed Zhou? I think given the queen's thoughtfulness, how could she not arrange a marriage for her?"
Queen Ruan is such a person. Qingfen, who has been with her for a long time, could not find a good home, but for some reason she is so fond of people like Zhou Furou. Sometimes even Mi Niang does not understand her.
Just like she needs to have capable people around her, otherwise, if they are loyal but not smart, no matter how loyal they are, they are just yes-men and are of no use.
Fang Weiyan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know about that. It was fine when the empress was here before. Now that she's gone, although the Marquis of Jinxiang doesn't dare to act rashly, they are definitely unwilling to do so—"
"Then you don't have to worry. For the sake of his reputation, the emperor doesn't dare to mention the queen's name casually. You have to look at the owner before you beat the dog. At least they don't dare to mention it now. If someone tells Madam, I will say that the son of Marquis Jinxiang still has a marriage gift. You should hurry up and find a place for your sister to stay. In the spring, scholars will come to the capital one after another."
Seeing that his wife interrupted him, he felt that the Jinxiang Marquisate would not dare to do so. Fang Weiyan also knew his wife's ability, so he agreed.
Zhaoming Palace
Fan Yuzhen's health improved a little, and the baby in her belly also gradually recovered, but she needed to rest for some time. Emperor Yonglong did not allow anyone to disturb her pregnancy.
At this time, someone outside the palace came over and said, "Your Majesty, the lady-in-waiting Zhou who was with the late Empress is here."
"Let her in."
Zhou Furou came in holding a box. The empress left suddenly. She was at the end of her strength at that time. She tried to write a will by holding on to her body, but she was too weak to hold the pen. She only told her and Zheng Dou Niang to find Fan Yuzhen if they had any problems.
Zheng Dou Niang exposed Concubine Cui the day before. Although Concubine Cui fell and was demoted, Zheng Dou Niang was also sent to the laundry department. When she left, she looked at her with a complicated look and said to her, "I have been with the queen for these years and I can imitate the queen's handwriting. I will write a letter for you to Li Zhaoyi, and she may help you."
"Since you have this handwriting, why don't you help yourself?" Zhou Furou didn't want Zheng Dou Niang to leave.
Now that they were gone, what would she do?
Zheng Dou Niang laughed and said, "I exposed Concubine Cui for committing a crime of insubordination, but she did not do anything. If I imitate the Queen's handwriting and send it to the Emperor, what will I do if it is discovered? You are different. The Queen has planned the most for you and will help you in the end."
Since Zheng Dou Niang left, Liu Su also became silent. She read the letter, put it in a box and went to Fan Yuzhen.
Fan Yuzhen let her in and took another look at Zhou Furou. He thought, she is just an average-looking person. She is said to be a classmate of Mi Niang, but her talent is not even one-tenth of Mi Niang's. Apart from her sweet mouth, she has barely learned the rules. How can such a person want to marry the prince of the marquis's mansion?
She smiled and said, "What brings you here?"
"I have a letter for you."
The handwriting of the letter seemed to be written by the Empress, and the wording was also good. It meant that Zhou Furou's marriage was left to her. She was speechless. Your Majesty, you are just like that to me. I fought for my position myself, and even so, you still want me to help Zhou Furou. I was alone and helpless back then, why didn't you help me?
She took a deep breath and said to Zhou Furou expressionlessly, "I will find a chance to tell the emperor, don't worry."
Zhou Furou left with many thanks.
After she left, Fan Yuzhen took out a tinderbox and burned the letter herself. Her unpredictable face was reflected in the candlelight. "Humph, you still want to marry into the Marquis's mansion? Wait for another lifetime."
She felt relieved only when the letter was burned to ashes.
When people are gone, the tea gets cold. The empress herself is incompetent. The one who poisoned was Concubine Cui. She just added fuel to the fire and cleared herself of suspicion. When the baby in her belly is born, she will be ranked among the four concubines and will have an even more glorious future.
A little palace maid dared to order herself around.
She has lost herself conscience since she entered the palace. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being so stupid. The queen couldn't even save, so how could she save you, or even your immense wealth, with just a letter?
And you still ask me to run errands, what a joke!
The wealth in this world is not so easy to obtain.
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