"Why does this child look so similar to my fifth sister?" Shi Yu muttered to himself.
You should know that among the three sisters in the eldest branch of the Luo family, the fifth sister has the best appearance. It should be said that it is difficult to find someone in the whole of Dalian whose appearance and temperament can compare with the fifth sister. No matter where she goes, not to mention men, even women are repeatedly amazed by her.
The actor on the stage looks about 30% similar when viewed from the side, but the expressions he occasionally reveals are 50% or 60% similar.
After the performance of "The Palace of Eternal Life", Luo Zhizheng took action and paid a large sum of money to buy the actress who came to the Fengban troupe to sing the role of Concubine Yang. In fact, a small role was nothing special, and there were many similar actresses in the world. But since she was in front of him, he couldn't let her become popular, otherwise it would be bad if someone with ulterior motives made a fuss about her.
Seeing that her husband had done the job, Mrs. Yu smiled, saying, "The Qintianjian has chosen an auspicious date for the wedding. I will get married in August next year. During this period, I have been worried, fearing that something might go wrong."
"You take such a small matter to heart, and you underestimate me. Don't worry, I know everything about Yao Niang's affairs. Just let Yao Niang play more at home these days. She will enter the palace next year, and it will be difficult for her to be free." Luo Zhizheng comforted Yu.
In Yu's room, there was a large embroidered portrait of herself, which was embroidered by Yao Niang stitch by stitch, and the image of Yu was very lifelike, just like a real person. She stroked her embroidered portrait and sighed: "Yao Niang was such a filial daughter, but it's a pity that she had a rough childhood. You and I found her again, but she entered the palace again after a few years of good life. Alas."
Luo Zhizheng nodded: "Yes, but if it is not so, it will not be able to temper her mind, so you can rest assured."
This matter is certainly not a big deal for the Luo family, but Shen Liang, the prince of Xuanping Hou, has made new moves. He has secretly found someone who is somewhat similar to Yao Niang, and asked the disciples of the prince of Jinyang to present the person themselves.
Gao Jian was of course lustful and had a group of people under him who were specifically responsible for finding beautiful women for him. This time, his men smiled and said, "Prince, we have found a stunning beauty for you."
"Really?" Gao Jian has been training in military affairs recently. His father, Prince Jinyang, was a leader among the royal family. He defended the capital for the late emperor and made great contributions.
Although the civil officials of this dynasty were powerful, military affairs were almost entirely in the hands of the princes and nobles, serving as a check and balance between the two.
His family had already arranged a marriage for him, and according to his status, the person who was seeking a marriage could not be of a low status, at least a first or second rank official. He would naturally treat his wife well, but he would not give up the entire forest for a single tree.
When he saw the beauty in front of him, he was stunned on the spot. This...
This girl doesn't look that much like Luo Wuniang.
That young lady really haunted her, but unfortunately, she was already the Prince of Chen's woman. For her, His Highness the Prince of Chen didn't even want any other woman.
Isn't this giving others a handle in advance? This is really unwise. If the woman remains childless after marriage, will the prince still be a strong contender for the position?
As soon as the servants saw Gao Jian's expression, they knew what he was thinking. After leaving the person behind, they retreated cautiously.
This girl was originally a embroidered girl from Suzhou. She was originally a commoner, but because her eyes were somewhat similar to those of Yao Niang, she was forcibly bought here. She originally thought that she would be sold to a secret prostitution place, but she didn't know that she would end up in such a royal palace.
She looked at the person in front of her again. There was a four-clawed dragon pattern embroidered on her chest and sea water patterns under her clothes.
Gao Jian prided himself on his intelligence, claiming to be the most intelligent person under the Prince Chen. He had long heard that the Shen Liang brothers and Lin Weinan were secretly doing things, but he finally understood after seeing them today.
So he sneered: "Okay, okay, so you are plotting against me."
Using a woman to create a rift between him and the Prince of Chen is a really vicious plan. If he really accepts her, he will probably not have a good ending in the future. The Prince of Chen is a man with deep scheming and is not easy to get along with.
"Someone come here." Gao Jian said loudly.
The servant came in quickly, and Gao Jian said to him, "Give this person to Shen Liang, and tell her that this prince gave it to her."
Although he was reluctant to do so, Gao Jian was not in a position to be blinded by greed. Moreover, there were pearls and jades in front of him. If he wanted to play, he would play with real people. How could any mediocre woman dare to be sent to him?
Of course he was not convinced by King Chen in his heart, but now he was working under King Chen, so he had to do so.
Shen Liang was planning to remarry because of his wife's death. His original wife was of prominent status, so he had to choose someone with outstanding character and appearance as his second wife. He happened to choose Cao Wanxuan's sister-in-law, the fourth daughter of the Lu family, whom he had met in the Dongyang Marquis Mansion.
During the marriage discussion, someone outside said, "Prince, there is someone sent by the Prince of Jinyang, saying that it is for you."
Shen Liang stood up suddenly: "Prince Jinyang, why did he send someone here?"
The visitor shook his head and said, "I don't know, but it was personally sent by the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jinyang's Palace, and he asked you to accept it."
Although the head of the Lu family did not hold a high official position, he had a daughter who married into the Dongyang Marquis's Mansion. This time, he married a concubine's daughter to be the wife of the marquis's prince, which was certainly marrying up. Therefore, he did not know what the relationship between the Jinyang Prince's Mansion and the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion was for a while. He just watched and did not dare to say anything.
Shen Liang's eyelids jumped, "Send the person to the backyard first."
He was still calm and chatted with the Lu family without any awkward silence. The Lu family did not dare to say anything. But after seeing the Lu family off, Shen Liang went to the backyard and saw the people Gao Jian had brought over. Then he suddenly realized something.
It turned out that Gao Jian was not as lustful as the rumors said. This plan was foolproof. They even expected Gao Jian to be a greedy person. It was surprising that he could hold back.
No one knows what happened to this embroiderer.
However, when Gao Jian entered the palace and met Prince Chen, Prince Chen said to him meaningfully: "I heard that you sent someone to Shen Liang. Good, you didn't let me down."
Gao Jian broke out in a cold sweat. If he really accepted it, he would not be able to stand here anymore.
Last year, my third brother-in-law Wang Zongmu carried the coffin back home. This year, the mourning period will be over. He wrote to inform us that he would take care of Song Jie'er and Ang'er, and that his family has already remarried.
Luo Zhizheng could understand it very well. After all, the two children were still young, and the mistress had to be the head of the household. What's more, Wang Zongmu was still very young. He was already a Jinshi in his twenties. He wrote a letter asking him to go to the capital as soon as possible.
Yao Niang and the others knew that Wang Zongmu had remarried, so she couldn't help but ask Yu: "I just don't know which family my brother-in-law married into?"
"What a coincidence, I'm afraid you recognize the person you're marrying. She's Miss Dou Qi, your great aunt's family. When your brother-in-law was carrying the coffin back, the Dou family talked to him for a long time. We didn't know why, but now it's because of the marriage." Yu suddenly realized something.
"Dou Yuhong?" Yao Niang really didn't expect it to be her.
The Dou family is considered a famous family, and now the Dou old lady's family members are all high-ranking officials in the Manchu government.
Yu nodded, "That's her. Your father had a sharp eye and chose a talented brother-in-law for your third sister. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 22. It's just that your third sister couldn't let it go. Otherwise, I don't know how good she would be now."
A Jinshi in his twenties would fill vacancies in the Jinshi selection process, so he would have at least 30 years of official career...
Dou Yuhong is the second daughter of the head of the Dou family. Her family background is no worse than Luo Jingrou's, so people would rather marry her off as a concubine than to marry into the family.
"Third sister has always been a nitpicker. She always compares herself with the best, but is unwilling to burn her bridges. She thinks of herself as a god, but she died entirely at her own hands." Yao Niang couldn't help shaking her head.
However, Yu also mentioned: "We all know Miss Yuhong. She is different from your sister. She has always admired talented people the most. The Dou family tried their best to promote this marriage, and your father also said it was a pity."
Yao Niang snorted coldly: "Isn't it a pity? Third brother-in-law has been carefully taught by my father in our family for so long, and he has become the son-in-law of the Dou family so soon. Sigh."
"That's not a big deal. I'm just afraid that if you marry Dou, even your brother-in-law might change his mind. What about An'er and Song'er then? If our family takes them over, it would be like saying that the Dou family has bad education. In the end, the children will suffer." Yu really didn't know what to say.
The man got married too quickly. In Yao Niang's previous life, Luo Jingrou died and soon after that she married into the Lin family.
Yao Niang shook her head: "What if my brother-in-law wrote so many poems to mourn my sister? He still continued the song very quickly, as if he couldn't live without a woman."
Yu smiled and said, "That's childish talk. Your father is old now. If I passed away two years after entering the palace, he might remarry. But there are very few women in this world who remarry, especially those from wealthy families. Some of them have to stay widowed. So, you should live a good life after entering the palace, and don't worry about other things. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Yao Niang agreed with it.
But what Luo Zhizheng said was different from what Yu said. He specifically came to Yao Niang to negotiate a game. He just said, "You will be getting married in August this year. I think considering your scheming, even ten of you would not be a match for Prince Chen."
Yao Niang was a little unhappy that her father looked down on her, but she still said, "We were never opponents."
Luo Zhizheng smiled and said, "What I mean is that the palace is different from the outside world. For ordinary couples like me and your mother, the man is responsible for the outside and the woman is responsible for the inside. But Prince Chen is different. He has been a proud son since he was a child. Even if you are a beautiful woman, if you put on airs everywhere, he will not pay attention to you. Therefore, you must treat him with sincerity and tolerate him unconditionally."
In fact, Luo Zhizheng has always been a very proud person, and I didn't expect him to say that.
Yao Niang glanced at her father and seemed to know what he meant.
You can't try to please a noble like the Prince of Chen. He is full of schemes and calculations, so he has no time to coax you.
"But all the women around him revolve around him, and all of them obey him?" Although Yao Niang thinks that after marriage, one should treat each other with sincerity, but one cannot treat each other unconditionally.
Luo Zhizheng waved his hands: "My tolerance means——"
"You can also see that the Prince of Chen is not a submissive person. Maybe I will support the orthodoxy and not him at that time. Then, as my daughter, you must stand on the side of the Prince of Chen unconditionally. No matter what others say, you must stand on his side." This is what Luo Zhizheng really wanted to say.
Yao Niang had only been thinking about matters in the inner chambers before, and had never thought about the court. Now what Luo Zhizheng was talking about was a big deal.
She couldn't help but nodded: "You are right. I don't know what he has done wrong, but no matter what path he chooses, I will accompany him, of course, the premise is that he treats me well."
Luo Zhizheng thought he was a good judge of people: "Don't worry, although the Prince of Chen is cruel and ruthless, he is extremely filial to his mother, which shows that he is a man of affection but no loyalty. We, the ministers, are responsible for admonishing him, and you, don't let him be friendly and respectful to his brother, just let it go. Secondly, people like them generally don't trust others. Only if you do something that makes him feel that you can be trusted, then you will definitely have a different position in his mind."
"Some men change their temperaments once they become successful, but people like the Prince of Chen have too many flatterers around them, most of whom are hypocritical and flattering. I want to see their true heart."
In fact, Luo Zhizheng also told Luo Jingrou about this when she got married. Of course, what he said at that time was different from what Yao Niang said. He told Luo Jingrou to persevere and that she would eventually see the light of day.
Now for Yu Yao Niang, this daughter is too opinionated, so she tells her the correct way to get along with Prince Chen.
Yao Niang nodded: "Dad, what you said is good advice. I will definitely keep it in mind."
"Well, that's right." Luo Zhizheng felt deeply relieved.
He had already lost one daughter, and he still had two daughters, so he absolutely could not lose them again.
Xu Qingrong's two hundred jin dowry had already been carried to the prince's residence where King Zhou was. Before she got married, she had always been Princess Xing'an's companion and was very familiar with Concubine Lin.
But after entering the palace, Xu Qingrong was able to please both sides. Not only was she extra filial to Concubine Hong, she also kept in touch with Concubine Lin. Moreover, she brought a dowry of 200 bang, which had already surpassed Wang Yuanshuang who entered the palace earlier.
Although the Wang family is an earl's mansion, they have many brothers and sisters, and 120 pounds is already very good. How could she have known that the Xu family would do this and simply put her down.
The whole prince's house was talking about how valuable Xu Qingrong's rosewood cabinet was and how bright the Western mirror was, but Xu Qingrong wanted to come in to be the wise wife of King Zhou. You know, the emperor has not appointed a queen now, and the emperor has always liked Concubine Hong, so it is very likely that Concubine Hong will become the queen.
By then, she might become the Crown Princess or even the future Queen.
Today, she came to Kunning Palace early in the morning to pay her respects. Concubine Hong was very kind to Xu Qingrong: "Sit down. You don't have to come every day. In the previous dynasty, you didn't have to pay your respects every day."
Although there are strict rules in the palace, Concubine Hong still thinks that Xu Qingrong is more important in serving King Zhou, and she, the mother-in-law, is not the most important.
Xu Qingrong said sternly: "It's fine for my daughter-in-law to live in the second residence. It's better for her to serve my mother-in-law here."
She and Prince Zhou had been getting along well these past few days, but she knew that Prince Zhou and Concubine Hong were not close, and their relationship was far inferior to that of Prince Chen. In Concubine Hong's eyes, only Prince Chen looked like her biological son, while Prince Zhou looked like a son raised by a stepmother, and everyone in the palace knew it.
But who will come out to uphold justice? Everyone will just say that Prince Zhou is not good because Concubine Hong does not like him. This is also a kind of perverse logic. They naturally think that Prince Zhou must be bad and that is why Concubine Hong does not like him.
Now that she has entered the family, she must make sure to maintain a good reputation as a filial son.
Seeing that she insisted, Concubine Hong did not say anything else, but the most important thing in the palace now was Prince Chen's marriage.
"Your third brother's marriage has been arranged long ago, just before the Mid-Autumn Festival. You have also met Miss Luo. When she gets married in the future, you can talk to each other. You know that Yao Niang is a very good person." Concubine Hong has always liked Yao Niang and hoped that the sisters-in-law could live in harmony.
Xu Qingrong nodded: "Yes, Yao Niang and I chose our study partner together, and I know her very well."
"Only if her character and appearance match Ce'er, I think they are a perfect match." Concubine Hong thought happily in her heart. They both have good looks, and who knows how good-looking the children they will have in the future will be.
Xuan Ce is her son, who has always been arrogant, but he is obsessed with Yao Niang. As a mother, she can only hope that her daughter-in-law will be equally good to her son, otherwise her son's infatuation will be in vain.
After saying this, Concubine Hong began to do morning lessons, and Xu Qingrong also accompanied her. However, when she saw that most of the scriptures that Concubine Hong recited were written by Yao Niang, she felt that the other party had already made arrangements in advance and was secretly alert.
Unlike her, her heart had always been with the eldest prince. She managed to expose in advance that Cheng Shaozhen was secretly flirting with the eldest prince, but she didn't expect that Cheng Shaozhen was gone, while Wang Yuanshuang got the benefits for nothing.
Fortunately, she got married to King Zhou as she wished and became his princess.
As for Luo Yaoniang, she had dealt with her before and she was also a very difficult person to deal with.
After returning, the Zhou Wang's concubines all bowed their heads in front of her, and Xu Qingrong didn't take them seriously. She only stood up and asked people to serve her when the Zhou Wang came back. "I stayed at my mother's place for the whole morning before I came back."
"Well, it would be nice to have you serve my mother on my behalf." King Zhou said.
King Zhou still respects his wife, especially now that his eldest sister-in-law has been married for a year and there has been no movement. If he can give birth to a grandson soon, he will be the eldest grandson of the emperor.
When Xu Qingrong saw that King Zhou had no objection, he felt more and more that he was right.
In the past, Gao Xuance could come directly to pay his respects whenever he wanted to, but now that his new sister-in-law comes every day, he can only come when Xu goes home.
When he came over that day, Concubine Hong said, "I specially prepared your favorite red sand steamed buns this morning, why didn't you come over?"
Gao Xuance smiled and said, "Since my sister-in-law is here, I have to avoid suspicion. Anyway, I am alone, so it doesn't matter whether I eat or not."
"Strange things to say, don't worry, your wife will be coming in soon."
"I have never heard that she is good at cooking." He remembered that in his previous life, when they first arrived in Anzhou, the meat she fried still had blood in it, and later he cooked the dishes.
Then, neither of them was too lazy to cook, so she spent money to buy food outside.
Concubine Hong shook her head: "Then you are wrong. Her mother told me last time when she came to the palace that she made flower cakes at home and often made them for her parents in the small kitchen."
Yaomei has indeed learned a lot for him. Maybe she didn't like the guy Lin Weinan whom she married in her previous life.
"That's great, then mother will also be blessed." Gao Xuance spared no effort to make Yao Niang leave a better impression in the eyes of Concubine Hong.
Concubine Hong casually mentioned Hong Shuyi's marriage: "I heard that she wanted to marry the son of the Marquis Xuanping, but he chose the daughter of a minor official instead of her. This child's marriage was particularly bumpy."
Gao Xuance was impatient to hear all this, so he brought up the matter of the Fourth Prince instead: "Prince Zhennan is the only prince of a different surname in Dalin. He guards Yunnan for Dalin. Unfortunately, he has only one daughter. She has already gone to the capital. I'm afraid she will have to choose a husband when the time comes. Mother, please be careful."
The daughter of King Zhennan?
Concubine Hong did not take it seriously: "But she is the daughter of a vassal king, so it is not a problem."
"Mother, I heard that King Zhennan will grant his daughter's every wish. Whoever she marries, that person will have the support of the Yunnan faction. I don't care who she marries, as long as she doesn't marry into the eldest brother's faction. You must keep an eye on this matter." Gao Xuance said cautiously.
Concubine Hong nodded.
Of course, Concubine Hong and her son didn't care about the daughter of the King of Zhennan. Concubine Yan, however, discussed with the Fourth Prince, "Your father will definitely find a very distinguished marriage for you. Originally, I had my eyes on the Goryeo princess, but I think the daughter of the King of Zhennan might be better. After all..."
Even though the Fourth Prince has a lame leg, there is still a chance that something unexpected will happen. If the throne really becomes the Fourth Prince's turn, he cannot be held back by his wife of a foreign race. Even though Goryeo is now a vassal state of Dalin, it is still a foreign race after all.
The fourth prince agreed: "Everything is up to mother and consort."
Anyway, marrying a wife is a mission, and concubines are what he likes the most, so he doesn't care.
He was the least favored among the princes. His father had always been indifferent to them. If he had not been lame, he would not have shown such favor. Although his eldest brother's mother was not favored either, she was once the principal wife. Moreover, his eldest brother was the eldest and had a different life. He married the daughter of an earl, who was very talented. His second brother married the daughter of a noble family, and his third brother also married the daughter of a noble family. His future sister-in-law was even more beautiful and virtuous.
However, the women he could marry, although of high status, were all from remote foreign countries.
June 18th is Yao Niang’s birthday, and this time it is her coming of age. The Luo family is not planning on making a big fuss because they are going to marry their daughter off in August, which is the most grand happy event.
However, Yu still bought new clothes for her daughter and invited the elders of the family, such as Dou Lao Taijun, to hold the coming-of-age ceremony.
Gao Xuance was very prudent in doing things. He wrote down clearly on the daily almanac who had their birthday, who had their funeral, and even who had something to do. Apparently he also wrote Yao Niang's birthday there.
In addition to being Yao Niang's birthday, it was also Jun Shanbo's grandfather's birthday. Gao Xuance quickly chose a coming-of-age gift for Yao Niang and prepared to send it quietly and then return.
Who knew that as soon as he walked out of the door, he saw a bully molesting a woman. The carriage was blocked in the middle of the road and couldn't move forward. Because he was traveling incognito, the area was naturally not cleared.
"Master, this..."
"Nothing, this place is not far from the Imperial College, and the Luo family is nearby, I can just walk over."
But the girl who was molested by the bully saw a young man getting off the carriage. He was very dazzling and dignified. She was full of expectations, but she didn't expect that he got off the carriage and walked away directly, which made her very disappointed.
Instead, a young man who followed behind her, although lame, was kind enough to save her and said to her, "Miss, here are twenty taels of silver. I have something else to do. This money is for your overnight stay."
This girl was naturally the daughter of King Zhennan and the Lady of Qingxi County. Her father promised her to go to the capital to find a marriage partner, so she set up a trap here to test the character of these princes' sons.
In terms of the extent to which they saved her, the Fourth Prince was the best. The First and Second Princes even sent people over to pretend to save her. The Third Prince was the most heartless and ungrateful. Although he was more handsome, he was a man who watched someone in danger without rescuing her.
She wanted to tell her father about this so that he would know who would be the most suitable person to be the future emperor.
At this time, Gao Xuance just handed the jade hairpin in his hand to Yao Niang: "Sister Yao, I finally made it. I was afraid I would be late."
Seeing that he was usually calm and relaxed, but now sweat was dripping from his forehead, Yao Niang was touched and quickly handed him a handkerchief: "It's okay, don't be too anxious, wipe the sweat off your face."
Gao Xuance took the handkerchief and smelled a faint fragrance coming from it. His mind became more charming, but he looked at the time again: "Go in quickly. The coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin. Don't delay for me."
"Okay, soon we will be together forever." Yao Niang glanced at him and ran out shyly.
Gao Xuance held the handkerchief in his hand, smiling at the same time as worrying that the wedding day was too long away.
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