Chapter 039
When Shen Jin arrived at the Queen's palace, Princess Rui and Concubine Chen were already inside. After Shen Jin bowed to everyone, the Queen gave him a seat. The Queen smiled and said, "Look at this little girl, she is even more tender than she was during the New Year."
At this time, Concubine Chen had no right to speak. She was given a seat because of Shen Jin, the wife of the Earl of Yongning. Princess Rui smiled and said, "It's a bit high."
The Queen looked at Shen Jin and asked, "How are your days in the border town?"
Shen Jin stood up and said, "In reply to the Queen..."
"Silly child, we are just talking about family matters." The queen said softly, "You don't need to stand up and reply. And why are you so polite? Just call me aunt."
Shen Jin smiled with her eyes curved, and the Queen's heart softened when she saw it. She said, "The golden silk rolls in my palace taste pretty good. Yuzhu will bring some to Jin girl to try."
"Thank you, Auntie." Shen Jin said with a smile. She waited for the palace maid to bring the food before sitting back in her seat. She immediately took a piece and started eating.
Although Concubine Chen missed her daughter, she didn't dare to say a word at this time. But when Shen Jin came in, she took a few glances and found that her daughter had grown a lot taller.
Princess Rui looked at the Queen and said, "This girl, the Emperor's sister-in-law, is the best at taking advantage of others."
"I like it when I see it." The queen said with a smile, "How is the border town?"
After Shen Jin finished eating the golden roll, he took a sip of the tea and said, "I usually stay in the courtyard and don't go out often."
The queen thought for a moment and asked, "So how was your meal in the mansion? What did you do?"
Shen Jin lowered her eyes slightly and said, "It's all meat. I even ate horse meat for a while. I usually just embroider and read books. There's nothing else to do."
Princess Rui's eyes turned red. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "I'm glad you're back. No wonder I looked thinner. Sister-in-law, you may not know that when Jin was at home, she liked light meals the most. This time she wrote back and specifically asked for a lot of food, all of which were what we were used to eating at home. But in a place like the border town..."
Concubine Chen lowered her head and wiped her tears silently.
Shen Jin smiled and said, "Mother, I have not suffered any injustice. Although the food in the border town tastes a bit stronger, it is not bad."
It was obviously the truth, but everyone felt sad when they heard it. The queen was also a woman, and she felt even more pity for Shen Jin. She asked, "The Earl of Yongning has sent back all the people who serve you. How many people are serving you in the border town? Are they considerate?"
"Originally, there were two maids. When the barbarians besieged the city, there was a maid... Later, when my husband came back, he arranged for another maid." Shen Jin's voice was soft and sticky. "This time when I came to Beijing, I arranged for another maid."
Not to mention Princess Rui and Concubine Chen, even the Queen's eyes turned red. Although she didn't know how much of it was a show, she said with heartache, "I'm sorry for your hardship."
"That's enough." Shen Jin comforted softly, "Aunt, I don't feel bitter."
The queen wiped her eyes, sighed slowly and said, "Good boy, the royal aunt knows that you are sensible, and the royal family owes you a lot."
"..." Shen Jin always felt that the Queen thought too much.
After showing some concern for Shen Jin, the Queen asked, "I heard someone say that you drove all the servants out of the mansion yesterday? Is there anything wrong with that?"
"No." Shen Jin looked at the queen with a puzzled look.
The queen took a sip of tea, put down the cup and said gently, "Then they drove everyone away. Are there enough people to serve you?"
"That's enough." Shen Jin said with a smile.
The queen sighed slowly and said worriedly, "Do you know that this will damage your reputation?"
Shen Jin was confused, "Why?"
"You chased so many people away right after you came back. I don't know what people outside will say." The queen said, "A good reputation is especially important for a woman."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jin comforted him, "It's okay. I don't like going out much so I won't hear it."
The Queen's eyes twitched and she looked at Princess Rui. She saw that Princess Rui was holding tea and didn't notice her gaze. She pursed her lips and asked again, "Then why did you drive them away?"
Shen Jin looked at the queen and said, "Because I don't like them."
The Queen looked at Shen Jin's deer-like eyes and asked thoughtfully, "We can't drive them all away, can we?"
"Why not?" Shen Jin asked back.
The Queen didn't know how to answer for a moment. She couldn't say that there were people arranged by Emperor Cheng, so how could they all be driven away? Shen Jin puffed up her cheeks and said as a matter of course, "This is the capital. I am the Lady of the Earl. I have the support of my uncle and father. So I let them go if I don't like them. I gave them the indenture and the silver."
"Silly child." Princess Rui said, "Your aunt is worried about you. If she drives away so many people at once, it's inevitable that some people will gossip about you."
Shen Jin smiled sweetly and beautifully, and said, "Thank you, auntie, but it's okay. With auntie and mother here, they can only say a few words in secret, but they dare not say it in front of me. I don't care."
The queen hadn't felt so choked up that she couldn't speak for a long time. What made her speechless was that she could see that Shen Jin was serious and really appreciated her relationship. She took a sip of tea to calm herself down and continued, "So what kind do you like?"
"I don't know." Shen Jin thought for a while and said, "It depends on whether we like each other."
The three words "matching" made no difference whether they were said or not. Pretty ones were driven away, those who looked honest were driven away, those who looked ordinary were driven away, those who were young and had a miserable life were driven away, and those who looked old and steady were driven away. The queen forced a smile and said, "The Earl of Yongning didn't blame you, did he?"
"No." Shen Jin turned her face slightly, and her dimples appeared on her face when she smiled, "My husband has a very good temper."
The Earl of Yongning, who kills without blinking an eye, can stop children from crying at night by mentioning their names, and takes no prisoners, has a good temper? The Queen looked carefully at Shen Jin's expression, but found that Shen Jin seriously thought that the Earl of Yongning had a good temper. She couldn't help but look at Princess Rui.
But after thinking about the situation in Prince Rui's Mansion, I began to doubt how hard Shen Jin's life must have been there, which is why he is so satisfied with his current life. Didn't I hear that Princess Rui was taking care of him?
The queen thought about it and felt like she knew something. Shen Jin was a concubine's daughter after all. Princess Rui had a son and a daughter. After her daughter got married, it was probably the foolish Prince Rui who wanted Princess Rui to raise Concubine Xu's daughter. After all, having been raised by the legitimate mother would have advantages when it comes to marriage.
Concubine Chen is out of favor, while Concubine Xu is favored and has a son. Princess Rui is not a fool, so why would she agree to this? That's why she keeps Shen Jin by her side as a cover. I'm afraid she doesn't have any true feelings for Shen Jin.
Come to think of it, isn't she the same? It's all about the face. She's not willing to teach them seriously. She's already being kind by not spoiling them.
Not only that, the Queen also heard that Concubine Xu of Princess Rui loved to pick on others and make fun of others. It was understandable that Shen Jin had been raised to be this ignorant and easily satisfied person. The Queen was full of pity and said softly, "That day, the border city was besieged by the barbarians. Your Majesty was so worried that he couldn't sleep all day and even fell ill. It's not that your uncle was unwilling to send troops to rescue, but the south was not peaceful either."
"Oh." Shen Jin didn't know how to answer. Say no resentment? That was impossible. However, no matter how gentle the queen was, she couldn't say that. So she responded and smiled sweetly at the queen. "It's okay, but horse meat is a bit unpalatable. At that time, the emperor's uncle sent an envoy. Even my husband and I ate horse meat, so we gave them horse meat, but they were a bit wasteful, which was not good. Auntie, I think you can talk to the emperor's uncle. Extravagance is a taboo for officials. It's unacceptable."
The Queen thought of what the Emperor said that day, and her eyes twitched. Princess Rui said, "Don't talk nonsense. Don't make things difficult for your aunt. But even if they don't want to eat, you can't force them to eat. How can you be so ignorant?"
Shen Jin agreed obediently and begged for mercy, "I won't dare to do that next time."
After saying this, he puffed up his cheeks and complained, "I just thought that they came here on behalf of my uncle, and that my uncle was thinking of us, so he prepared the best food in the palace for them. Moreover, my uncle also said that because of the disaster, the court was also poor, and even my uncle and aunt had to cut down on expenses in the palace, so how could they waste it?"
The Queen was speechless. Could it be that this was just an excuse for not wanting to send food and supplies? Wasn't the court actually poor at all?
Shen Jin was not satisfied yet and continued, "My husband and I only ordered one dish and one soup, but I prepared four dishes and one soup for them."
The queen looked at Shen Jin's eyes for a long time before she said, "They are too ignorant. Jin girl did the right thing."
Shen Jin smiled with eyes curved, looking particularly adorable, "Aunt Royal praised me too much, I just did what I should do."
Princess Rui smiled very calmly. Concubine Chen lowered her head and rubbed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief from time to time. The Queen was about to say something when she heard the palace servant announce that Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Chenyang were here. The Queen smiled and said, "Hurry up and bring those two children in, and let them be intimate with Jin girl too."
Shen Jin lowered her eyes slightly. Princess Zhaoyang was the daughter of the Queen. She was slightly younger than Shen Jin, probably two or three months older. Princess Chenyang's mother died when she was born. She had been raised by the Queen. It was said that she was particularly favored and was older than Shen Jin.
To be honest, the ages of these two princesses are very suitable to marry Chu Xiuming, but Emperor Cheng did not want his daughters to suffer, and wanted to win over Chu Xiuming to marry a member of the royal family, so he chose the daughter of Prince Rui.
When the two princesses came in, not only Shen Jin, but also Princess Rui and Concubine Chen stood up. Princess Zhaoyang said in a gentle voice with a faint smile on her face, "Aunt, please take a seat."
Princess Chenyang glanced at Shen Jin, who was already sitting next to the Queen. Several people sat down again. The Queen smiled and asked someone to serve new fruit to her two daughters, then said to them, "This is your uncle's family."
"Oh?" Princess Chenyang raised her eyebrows and looked at Shen Jin, "The one who married Earl Yongning? According to the date, she should be my cousin."
Shen Jin stood up and saluted, "Cousin."
Princess Chenyang said "yes", while Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "Cousin Jin."
"Cousin." Shen Jin replied with a smile.
Princess Zhaoyang was not very old, but her smile was quite dignified. "Cousin, please take a seat. We are all family, so there is no need to be too polite."
Shen Jin then sat down and said, "Yes."
Princess Chenyang suddenly asked, "I heard rumors that Earl Yongning had a hideous face and a violent temper. But yesterday, Earl Yongning entered the palace, and there were rumors that he looked like a handsome man. Which one is true? If Earl Yongning really looked so good, would those foreign races be afraid of him? Isn't he said to have made great military achievements?"
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