The days in the study would be very interesting if one could make good use of them. There was a library next door, where Yao Niang would read and write during her rest time, and she would not chat with others.
Princess Zhaoping was somewhat arrogant, but overall she understood more than Princess Zhenyang. During lunch, she whispered to her, "You should also be more careful. If you often cause them to get beaten, what will you do if something bad happens to them?"
Princess Zhenyang, who was originally just feeling guilty, also understood that although Luo Yaoniang looked healthy, Tang Huijun was a sickly person. If she was really beaten to death or injured, it would be no joke if the news got out.
She was also a little frightened for a moment.
Princess Zhaoping continued, "Although they are our companions in the palace and should help us share our worries and solve our problems, as the old saying goes, if you are worse than them all the time, they will be respectful to you in the future, but they will inevitably give you advice behind your back, which is not a lack of respect."
"They are not respectful enough to us, so they will definitely fool you in the future."
Princess Zhenyang thanked her and said, "Your Majesty's words are indeed good advice. If you hadn't said it, I would never have thought of that."
Princess Zhaoping laughed and said, "There are people standing behind them. As the saying goes, it's easy to meet Prince Yan but hard to deal with the little devil." When she thought of this, she remembered the empress's adopted daughter, her second sister, who married Jiao Jian, the brother of a famous general. She thought this man would be very good, but she never expected that he was so greedy that he spent money everywhere and even allowed his servants to whip officials. When her second sister was alive, he was able to escape disaster. But when she died just last year, this second brother-in-law was put in shackles and put on display for public display.
The third princess is the biological daughter of Concubine Liao. Although she married a brother-in-law who is both civil and military, this brother-in-law died on the battlefield because he risked his life to protect his father when he led the emperor to war. Although he was finally conferred the title of marquis, the third princess had to become a widow at a young age.
When her two sisters were in the palace, they were all royal ladies, but so what? When they leave the palace and set up their own houses in the future, their current companions can also be used as favors for them to interact with in the future.
Even her third brother, Prince Heng, still wanted to pull this and that. Seeing that her father doted on her, Concubine Liao treated her politely and gave her two best family members to study with. But when she got married, she would be far away from her father, and even live in a separate house from her husband, with countless eunuchs and maids getting in the way.
She went with her two study companions for no reason. The daughter of the prime minister and the daughter of the governor became enemies instead of friends. Isn't that a waste of my father's kindness?
Regardless of whether Princess Zhenyang could understand or not, Princess Zhaoping went back to talking to Li Tianjiao and Wang Yuanshuang, "At the end of this year, my father will hold an ice skating event in the back garden. You can join me then. We'll sit on the ice bed and let them push us around. It'll be fun."
Li Tianjiao and Wang Yuanshuang were both delighted, as they had finally followed the right person, Princess Zhaoping.
Princess Zhaoping continued, "The soldiers will also perform special skills such as the Golden Rooster Standing Alone, Nezha Making Trouble in the Sea, the Twin Flying Swallows, the Thousand-Jin Fall, and the Giant Scorpion. There will also be some acrobatics on the ice. It will be as lively as we want."
"Then we are really blessed by the princess." Li Tianjiao smiled.
When Tang Huijun heard all this, she couldn't help but feel extremely envious. However, Yao Niang felt that Princess Zhaoping was a very good person. No wonder the emperor doted on her so much. Apart from the fact that she was an old girl, she was indeed considerate of others.
In the second half of the afternoon, Tang Huijun played the piano. Today, her hands hurt. Princess Zhenyang was afraid that others would say that she had caused others to get beaten, so she did not prepare any ointment. As a result, Tang Huijun's piano playing was not as good as yesterday.
Yao Niang just reads and doesn't say anything else. Good words are spoken to those who can understand them. To those who can't understand, it's useless to say anything.
After returning from school, they heard that the eldest prince was with Concubine Hong, so the three of them went back to their rooms first.
After a while, a little palace maid brought Tang Huijun some ointment for bruises. Actually, being spanked on the hands was not serious enough to require ointment, but it showed that it was a good thing that Princess Zhenyang thought of this.
For several days in a row, Princess Zhenyang recited the text fluently without missing a single word, which made Yao Niang and Tang Huijun breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, they found out that it was Hong Shuyi's credit. Princess Zhenyang smiled and said, "Luckily, I have cousin Hong, who always thinks of me. That's why I have been praised by the teacher these days."
Yao Niang was also very grateful: "I really have to thank Miss Hong. The last time I went to the princess's place, she gave me some tofu skin buns to eat."
"Oh, by the way, the ointment I gave you last time was also given by my cousin. How was it? Did you use it?" Princess Zhenyang said to Tang Huijun again.
Unexpectedly, it was all Hong Shuyi's doing. Tang Huijun didn't feel grateful at all. Instead, she felt that she was meddling too much. The princess was studying with her and Luo Yaoniang as companions. What did it have to do with her?
But Tang Huijun still said, "I really have to thank Miss Hong. It's hard for us to see each other so often, and she never said anything."
After hearing this, Princess Zhenyang felt that Hong Shuyi was even better, and she praised her again, "I have always said that my cousin is better than my biological sister. You see, this is the truth. She can think of anything for me that I haven't thought of."
Yao Niang and Tang Huijun both smiled along, but Yao Niang's original intention was to gain a firm foothold first before mentioning anything else.
As for why Princess Zhaoping was able to offer some advantages, it was because she was the daughter of the current emperor, while Princess Zhenyang was only the daughter of the eldest prince. The eldest prince was already in an awkward position, and he himself could not do anything out of the ordinary, let alone Princess Zhenyang.
Some people also said to Concubine Hong: "Originally, our princess was playful, but in fact, she was very smart. Only Miss Hong could persuade her and make her good. Now she recites every word correctly every day and has received many compliments from Mr. Wang in the upper study."
Concubine Hong took a sip of tea and said, "Shu girl is always considerate. I can't find anyone more meticulous and considerate than her."
She didn't care about that, she just asked the palace maids: "Are the small steamed buns with sand filling ready? If they are, please send them to the Third Master as soon as possible. This child is most likely to be hungry after riding and shooting."
It was only given to the Third Master, without mentioning the Second Master at all. The palace maids had long been accustomed to this and did not dare to ask more questions.
After hearing this, Princess Zhenyang couldn't help but complain to Hong Shuyi, "Mother is really partial. Even if my second brother is raised by the first wife, so what? She only loves my third brother."
Yao Niang and Tang Huijun were drinking tea in her room and happened to hear it, but they pretended not to hear it.
In fact, when Yao Niang was in the Zhou Palace, the Zhou King had already been enfeoffed in Anzhou, so she had no way of knowing what happened in the past. After all, she was fat before she got married in her previous life and hardly left the house. She didn't know much about many things, not to mention after she got married. Only one year later, Lin Weinan had an accident, and she went to Anzhou.
I really didn't expect that King Zhou was actually raised by Concubine Lin. Yao Niang only knew that after King Zhou became a vassal, he was a pretentious person who liked reading and studying, and had a good reputation.
Yao Niang remembered King Zhou's younger brother very clearly. He was named King Chen and was very much loved. Unfortunately, he died young.
It was also because of Prince Chen's death that Concubine Hong died of depression and the Emperor was bedridden. Finally, all the civil and military officials requested that a crown prince be appointed, and only then was Concubine Lin's eldest son appointed as the crown prince. After the crown prince's position was secured, Prince Zhou was immediately enfeoffed.
Sometimes Yao Niang thinks that as the ancients said, deep love does not last long, and extreme wisdom will hurt. Isn’t it not good for people to be overly pampered?
After hearing what Princess Zhenyang said, Hong Shuyi changed the subject: "You should also spend more time on needlework. On the birthdays of the elders, you can give them some colored silk threads as a token of your thoughtfulness."
"How can I be as dexterous as my cousin?" Princess Zhenyang and Hong Shuyi acted coquettishly.
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Sister Hong, can I ask you for some needlework? I am clumsy and can never do it."
Hong Shuyi nodded: "Just come and ask me. If you can't come, let the girl next to you come and tell me. I will come to you when I am free. We girls should work harder on this."
"Sister Hong is right." Yao Niang looked very much in agreement.
This Hong Shuyi holds Princess Zhenyang tightly in her hands, but she is also a person who knows her limits. It seems that she cares a lot about her reputation as a "virtuous and virtuous" person.
Such people may easily become famous because of their fame, but they may also suffer for their whole life because of their fame.
After school, Yao Niang would do needlework for an hour every day. Especially when the weather got colder, Wen Qizhai didn't have to study so late, and everyone felt much more relaxed.
But Yao Niang never visited anyone anywhere. As soon as it got dark, she would rest and never stay long.
She kept all the needlework she had made. She would give them to her elders when she got home, and also use them for herself to practice. Many things in the world are not difficult. It all depends on practice makes perfect.
In October, when the sweet osmanthus was in full bloom, Yao Niang was already able to embroider osmanthus flowers. She happened to paint a picture of osmanthus. Considering her age, her work was not very bright, but it was passable.
In the autumn, however, Tang Huijun contracted a cough and fell ill. She no longer needed to accompany the emperor in his studies and spent the whole day lying down to rest. The Empress and Consort Hong both sent her gifts.
Therefore, Yao Niang was the only one accompanying Princess Zhenyang to study. Princess Zhenyang said to Yao Niang happily, "Hey, do you think we should let cousin Hong go with me?"
"If the princess thinks it's a good idea, then of course it's fine." Yao Niang dared to conclude that Princess Zhenyang definitely didn't come up with this idea herself, but probably Hong Shuyi wanted to go herself.
Princess Zhenyang said in annoyance, "But I think if I tell her, cousin Hong will definitely not agree, and my mother won't agree either. They both value rules." After saying that, she looked at Yao Niang, hoping that she could give her some advice.
She added: "You are always a person with insights. What do you think?"
Although Yao Niang doesn't like Tang Huijun very much, Hong Shuyi is obviously more scheming than Tang Huijun. If she really comes up with an idea, she might offend Tang Huijun.
How could she possibly do something that would offend everyone?
于是瑤娘義正詞嚴道：“郡主，如若您讓洪姐姐頂替湯姐姐，這話您得問湯姐姐願不願意。畢竟，我也不能代替湯姐姐答應啊。若湯姐姐覺得可行，那您大可以和側妃說一聲。”
真陽郡主一聽就萎了。
不為別的，倒不是真陽郡主怕她，而是湯慧君身體雖弱，人卻很敏感。
瑤娘也松了一口氣，下半晌是學騎射，瑤娘經過兩個月的訓練，已經可以穩穩當當的射箭靠近靶心了。
有人又在一旁投壺，她投了兩把後，又見隔壁的永慶郡主和興安郡主等人提議去游禦花園，原來是永慶郡主今日和她祖母廖貴妃提議過，正好皇上在此，也同意讓她們去賞菊。
“雖說是賞菊，但是禦花園也有菊花、桂花、山茶花和玉簪花。”永慶郡主對衆人道。
大家聽着很是欣喜，這禦花園不愧為皇家園林，假山流水甚至還有珍奇異獸，目不暇接。大家三三兩兩找相熟的人說話，瑤娘看到了成少謹也很高興，她們兩人一邊賞花，一邊說話。
“成姐姐，之前見到你一直沒多說話，還沒問你如何了？”
成少謹笑道：“還能如何，說實話，辛苦也有但是不後悔。廖貴妃對我們都很客氣，平日裏永慶郡主也是個有成算的。”
“那就好。”瑤娘一邊和成少謹說話，一邊用香囊揀幹淨的落花。
她二人走到一處石椅坐下，瑤娘用針穿花，把拾起來的葉子放手裏折着。成少謹也問她：“你如何了？說起來我一直以為你會去興安郡主那兒的？”
瑤娘點頭：“真陽郡主為人天真可愛，我也過的不錯，只是時不時也想我爹娘。”
提起爹娘，成少謹也眼圈紅了：“我也想我娘呢。還要等到過年，咱們才能回家，有的時候，我就常常數着日子。”
她二人正說着，只聽一人道：“你們都想回家，我卻是一點都不想哩。”
瑤娘擡頭一看，這聲音卻是魏鳳發出來的，魏鳳進宮幾日，別人都瘦了，唯有她胖了，十三四歲的少女本身就容易發胖，她雙下巴都出來了。
成少謹趕緊招呼魏鳳坐下：“這是為何？”
“我娘在我之前就生了兩位姐姐，生我的時候，都說是男丁，結果生下我是個女子，偏生又因為我讓她再也無法生育。平日在家，她們眼裏從來沒有我，對我是百般挑剔，反而在宮裏，我落得個清靜自在。”魏鳳直接道出，沒有半點隐瞞。
成少謹和瑤娘都不妨知曉魏鳳家這種情況，瑤娘也開誠布公道：“我爹娘對我還好，只是我弟弟體弱，年紀也小，我母親是繼室，常常在家中千般萬般小心，我進宮就是想讓別人高看我母親一眼，給我娘争氣。”
魏鳳也沒想到瑤娘生母是繼室，因為那日她在宮門口見過羅大人和其妻，二人都很年輕，且郎才女貌，感情看起來也很不錯。
成少謹倒是知曉羅家的情況，她問道：“你那位三姐姐的母家是延平侯府吧？”
“是。”
“唉，說起來她人倒是極好的，只是可惜她屬相不合，不過，我看你也是很不錯了。說實在的，我雖然也是父母雙全，恩愛無雙，哥哥也是待我再好不過的了，可是不怕你們笑話，哥哥雖好，但我祖母一直想讓我和她娘家侄兒成親，我父親素來孝順，不敢拂逆。那人吃喝嫖賭樣樣在行，十分不成器，正好有進宮的機會，我母親只恨不得替我擋了這樁禍事才成。”成少謹有些喟嘆。
真是家家都有本難念的經，瑤娘笑着拍二人的肩膀道：“大家相逢就是有緣，沒想到我們都是苦孩子，我也不多說了，你們以後用得到我的地方，只管吩咐。”
魏鳳更是提議：“咱們三人，雖不是桃園三結義那般，但在此園中，也效法他們。諸位看如何？”
“自然好。”瑤娘頭一個贊同。
成少謹也點頭：“沒想到咱們三個都是苦孩子，如此我年紀最大，在禦花園不好跪拜，咱們就……”
她看到瑤娘手裏的花環，不禁笑道：“雖然臨時起意，但大家吐露心扉，如今就以花為證，咱們義結金蘭。”
其實瑤娘能夠同意，也不是心血來潮，這兩個月來，她也在暗中觀察，成少謹的确為人不錯，魏鳳平日疏淡，但是外冷內熱。
她們三人在騎射課上時常一處，雖然不怎麽說話，但對彼此性格有個了解。
有此一遭，三人感情深厚了不少，魏鳳就透露道：“我在興安郡主那裏做伴讀，她是個爆碳性子，平日與我們嬉笑怒罵，忽而又大動肝火，着實不好伺候。”
“我在真陽郡主這裏倒好，她人不壞，只是和我們關系泛泛，只和她那位洪表姐好。”瑤娘心道還好自己分到真陽郡主這裏，她倒不是個計較的人，只是有些天真爛漫，畢竟年紀不大。
魏鳳就笑：“那位洪淑怡說起來我也認得，她老子早就去了，家中木材生意由她兩位兄長在管，一年不如一年，她那兄長仗着洪側妃的勢頭，有個錦衣衛百戶的名頭。成日走馬章臺，把祖上傳下的河北的木材店都關了好幾家。你們別打量我是如何知曉的，我小舅舅是河道衙門的。”
瑤娘心道這洪淑怡平日最是正經不過的人，對誰都是那般好，比羅敬柔都有過之而無不及，到底羅敬柔在家中還自有傲氣，洪淑怡卻是處處妥帖求全。
下人們對她的模樣，已經把她看成是未來的皇孫妃了呢。
可她這個家世，實在是差的遠。
也難怪她這樣處處求全了，而成少謹則小聲對魏鳳道：“你且不說別人，你和徐青容相處如何？”
“此人皮裏陽秋。”魏鳳一語中的。
成少謹則提醒道：“瑤娘那裏我并不擔心，她年歲還小，牽扯不到那上頭。你和她，你們就難了——”
這說的應該是為林正妃的長子擇妻，這兩位某種程度說魏鳳反而家世更好，魏鳳祖父是吏部尚書。
瑤娘現在的确年紀小，這也是她為何先要立一個愛讀書的名頭在那兒，并不參與這些。
魏鳳倒是灑脫：“那也無妨，過兩年我就及笄了。”
及笄，就意味着可以出嫁了，不是嫁給這個，就是嫁給那個，反正不必待在自己家，受自己親爹娘輕視了。
有時候親近之人的輕視，更讓人心痛。
看來現在大家争的還是前世的天祿帝，現在林正妃的兒子高玄湛，無論洪側妃多受寵，按照禮法而言，她只是側妃，即便皇長子即位，她也不可能封為皇後。
世事真是難以預料，天祿帝前世的确即位，但在位也只有一年，位置還是傳位給了洪側妃的兒子。
三人見人群過來，不好再多說什麽，瑤娘把自己方才用花串起來再用草編住，中間用絲線打成花環，送給了真陽郡主。
“真好看，這是你編的蝴蝶嗎？”
“是啊，用草編的蝴蝶，再在上面串花，如此固然是不值當什麽的小玩意兒，但這是天生天長的，總覺得有意趣兒。”瑤娘笑道。
真陽郡主也點點頭：“你說的是，就像我平日不喜那些過于精雕細琢的，反而那些竹器倒是有古樸之意。”
在禦花園裏玩了一趟，心情也似乎開闊許多，瑤娘也難得的回去沒有做針線，只是閑坐看書。
“羅妹妹，你們今日怎地回來的這麽早？”湯慧君問道。
瑤娘笑：“今日永慶郡主提起去禦花園，正好陛下和貴妃都同意了，我們下午去逛園子了，因而回來的晚些。湯姐姐你也要早些好起來，這樣，咱們才能一伴去啊。”
湯慧君點點頭，又似乎怔了一下：“羅妹妹，我一次也未去過禦花園，說起來，應該很多花兒吧。”
“四季都有，如今開的正豔的就是菊花了，今日見了有叫十丈珠簾的菊花，還有一種叫楓葉蘆花，是紫色的平瓣。永慶郡主她們還鬧着要作詩，只我們年紀小，都在一旁聽着呢。”
“真好。”
湯慧君陪伴姨母左右，但是姨母早就不是很受寵了，常年青燈古佛，她也是如此，甚至看到葷菜都會反胃的地步。
其實她也向往外邊，去跑去奔，甚至可以這樣無憂無慮的賞花。
不過一瞬間，她就進入戰時狀态。
因為瑤娘道：“今日郡主問我說，你既病了，想讓洪女官暫做伴讀，正詢問我的意思，我替姐姐你先擋了，但之後，這我就無法了。”
湯慧君不可置信：“這是真的嗎？”
她沒想到居然有人想替代自己，這可就想不到了。
瑤娘點頭：“我拿這件事情哄你做什麽。”她說完自去看書了，就不發一言。
倒不是瑤娘多好心，而是她隐約覺得湯慧君這場病來的蹊跷，雖說她不似自己那般康健，但也只是有些虛罷了，根本沒到現在卧床不起的地步。
Unfortunately, she has no evidence. If Tang Huijun really quits, will she become the next target?
Yao Niang stopped there and went to bed at night. The next day, she saw Tang Huijun asked a little maid to deliver the copied Buddhist scriptures to the empress's palace. She looked from afar and knew that Tang Huijun was going to ask the empress for help.
A cold wind blew in late autumn, and Yao Niang shivered.