Chapter 45 The Old Madam Enters the Palace
The next day was sunny and bright; it was a new day.
The gate of the Yuan residence was knocked open.
Who is it?
A pretty young woman stood outside the door, looking somewhat disheveled: "I'm looking for my sister."
"Who is your sister?" The disciple looked her up and down.
"My sister's name is Nie Siniang. I've found out, she's right here!"
Nie Siniang?
The gatekeeper immediately recognized who it was, his face hardening as he pushed the person out: "Go, go, go, there's no one here for your sister!"
"My sister is right here! She was kidnapped by you adults! Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister, can you hear me? Your sister has come to find you, to rescue you—"
The gatekeeper hurriedly pulled the young woman inside and slammed the door shut: "Are you trying to die? How dare you cause such a scene in front of our master's gate!"
"I need to see my sister. If I don't see her, I'll kill myself here..."
The disciple, who had originally intended to threaten to kill him if he caused any more trouble, suddenly turned pale.
"What's going on?" Yuan Chenghai was about to go out when he heard the noise and came over.
He stopped some distance away from the woman making a scene, with two guards standing in front of him.
Nie Sanniang glanced at Yuan Chenghai through the guards, then rushed towards him, shouting, "It's you! You stole my sister! Where is my sister?"
Her eyes held hatred, hidden by tears. After all the commotion, her hair was disheveled, and she looked utterly pathetic and helpless.
Yuan Chenghai stared at Nie Sanniang for a while, then suddenly realized, "Oh, you're Si Niang's older sister."
I have some recollection of it, but not much.
He never paid much attention to women who were not particularly attractive.
"I want to see my sister... Please, let me see my sister..." Nie San Niang changed from cursing to pleading.
Yuan Chenghai couldn't help but laugh.
No matter how much she stirs up trouble, she's still just a small, insignificant woman, like duckweed or weeds.
He was still infatuated with Fourth Sister, his only complaint being that she always had a blank face, was lifeless, and would even try to kill herself if he wasn't careful.
Thinking of this, Yuan Chenghai's heart stirred.
Seeing how close the sisters are, why not keep this young lady by Fourth Sister's side? Perhaps Fourth Sister will understand.
"Take her to see Fourth Sister."
Upon hearing Yuan Chenghai's instructions, Nie Sanniang cried even louder.
She succeeded in the first step!
She did it!
In the lavishly decorated room, a beautiful woman sat quietly.
Her eyebrows were beautiful, her eyes were beautiful, and her mouth, nose, and face were all exquisite, but there was no life in her beautiful eyes.
Two maids stood around her, their eyes never leaving her.
Footsteps approached, and the beaded curtain rustled softly.
Nie Si Niang had no interest in looking outside, and disgust flashed in her lowered eyes.
Nie San Niang immediately spotted her puppet-like younger sister.
"Fourth Sister!" she called out, staggering forward two steps.
Nie Si Niang slowly turned her head and looked towards the doorway.
"Fourth Sister, don't you recognize your sister?" Nie San Niang asked tearfully.
"Sister?" Nie Si Niang's blank eyes moved, a slight ripple appearing in them. "Sister, is it really sister?"
She suddenly stood up and stumbled towards Nie San Niang.
Nie San Niang hugged her younger sister tightly and burst into tears.
So this is all it takes to be with my sister.
It's so simple!
No, this is not simple. Without the guidance of the Magpie Brothers, the sisters probably would never have met again before they died.
Nie San Niang cried, not only for the reunion of her sisters, but also for the slightest possibility that her many companions might not have died in vain.
After the two sisters, Yuan Chenghai and Yuan Chenghai, had finished crying, they said, "Fourth Sister, now that your sister is with you, try to smile more."
Nie Si Niang trembled in Nie San Niang's arms. Nie San Niang gritted her teeth and looked at Yuan Cheng Hai: "Sir, can't you let us sisters leave?"
Yuan Chenghai sneered: "You little wench have the guts to come to the capital to find your sister, how can you be so naive? You should stay with your sister, and you'll be well off in the future. But if you're plotting to take Fourth Sister away, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Nie Si Niang suddenly looked up: "Don't hurt my sister!"
Seeing that the wooden beauty had reacted, Yuan Chenghai smiled: "Stop making trouble, and I certainly won't treat your sister unfairly."
This Nie San Niang came at the perfect time, so perfectly! From now on, Si Niang has a weakness; she'll have to think twice before even contemplating suicide.
He wasn't worried at all about whether the woman had malicious intentions.
This is his home. If his safety cannot be guaranteed even at home, his grave would be overgrown with weeds long ago.
Yuan Chenghai left in a good mood, surrounded by a large entourage of guards.
Qiu Heng carried a box of pastries to Qian Song Tang.
The maids and servants of Qiansong Hall were busy preparing for the old lady's journey to the palace.
"Why is Heng'er here?" The elegantly dressed old lady glanced at the food box in Qiu Heng's hand.
Could it be that eating too many snacks has finally made him filial?
Qiu Heng placed the food box on the table: "Fangzhou just made red bean cake and jujube cake, they're still warm, bring them here for Grandmother to try."
The old lady's lips unconsciously curled up: "What's with all this talk about snacks? It's good that you have the thought. I'm going to the palace to visit your eldest sister today, so I'm busy. You should go back now."
Emperor Jingping was quite lenient towards his concubines. Even concubines of low rank had the opportunity to meet with their female relatives on their birthdays.
Generally speaking, those who went to the palace were mothers.
Qiu Heng took out a brocade pouch from her sleeve and handed it over: "Granddaughter heard that Grandmother was going to the palace to visit eldest sister, so I prepared a gift for her."
The old lady reached out and took it, saying, "You can't bring just anything to the palace."
Inside was a pair of butterfly-shaped sachet pendants.
The fragrance pendants are currently creating a small craze in the capital, and the old lady has heard about it. Upon seeing this pair of simple and elegant butterfly fragrance pendants, she nodded approvingly: "You've put a lot of thought into this."
Why haven't the other girls made a move?
Just as the old lady was pondering this, Qiu Xuan and her sister arrived together, each bringing out birthday gifts prepared for their eldest sister.
"Go ask the eldest madam if she has anything else to bring for the eldest daughter," the old lady instructed the maid, sending her granddaughters away.
Qiu Xuan walked beside Qiu Heng.
Ever since Qiu Heng helped her get rid of that terrible marriage, Qiu Xuan no longer hides her closeness to her.
"It's a rare opportunity to enter the palace, isn't Auntie going?" Qiu Heng asked innocently.
Qiu Xuan glanced at Qiu Fu and shook her head almost imperceptibly, indicating that this was a difficult topic to discuss.
On the contrary, Qiu Fu was straightforward and didn't think there was anything wrong with talking about her mother: "Last year, my mother went to the palace. When she came back, she didn't look too good. She probably had another argument with my eldest sister."
Seeing that Qiu Yun and Qiu Ying remained silent, like gourds with their mouths sawed, Qiu Fu pouted and said, "Anyway, they've been arguing ever since they decided that our eldest sister would go to the palace. Don't be so curious, there's nothing good in the palace."
Qiu Heng, this silly country girl, could she possibly dream of becoming an empress in the palace?
Qiu Fu thought of her elder sister's hunger strike years ago and couldn't help but purse her lips.
My eldest sister is so pitiful. Her grandmother didn't agree at first, but her grandfather, father, and mother all agreed.
If it were her—Qiu Fu shook her head, hurriedly driving away the inexplicable fear that was growing within her.
No, her grandmother loves her the most, and her grandfather treats her the best among all her sisters. If something like this really happened, she wouldn't act like her eldest sister.
"Sixth Sister," Qiu Fu called out.
"What's wrong, Fourth Sister?"
Qiu Fu bit her lip and, unusually, spoke softly: "Thank you for thinking of my sister."
Her older sister was so heartbroken back then that it scared her. In the years that followed, she only saw her sister a handful of times.
My sister must be very lonely inside those cold, high walls.
Qiu Heng smiled and said, "Of course, I haven't met my older sister yet, and I don't know if she will like the gift I gave her."
In the palace, the old lady took out the pair of butterfly-shaped sachet pendants that Qiu Heng had given her, and said in a tone of pride that she herself did not realize: "Your sixth sister specially prepared these for you. See if you like them."
The woman being watched by the old lady was dressed in palace attire, with her hair piled high and her face as beautiful as a lotus flower. She was none other than Qiu He, the eldest daughter of the Qiu family, and now the beauty Qiu in the harem.
After listening to her grandmother's words, she reached out and opened the brocade pouch containing the incense.
(End of this chapter)
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