On the way, Lin Ruhai had already instructed Shen Ajiao and Lin Daiyu that no matter who came to their door, they should not see them, and if they had to see them, they should not agree to anything.
Shen Ajiao said, "Then I'll pretend to be sick."
Lin Daiyu: "Then I will take care of you while you are ill!"
Lin Ruhai... Then I'll spread rumors that my wife is sick, my daughter is too busy, and no one should bother her?
The next day, Zhou Shun came to the door with gifts. As soon as he entered, he started shouting, "Sister Ajiao, Sister Lin, I'm back from school!"
What are you doing at my house after school?
[Is this the same address as yours? Did you check the address when you went in?]
Lin Daiyu came out to greet them. It turned out that not only Zhou Shun, but also Zhou Ying had come. The two stood together, but Zhou Shun was a head taller.
When Zhou Ying saw Lin Daiyu come out, she hurriedly stepped forward and took Daiyu's hand with concern, "What's wrong? Are you sick or is your wife sick?"
Before Lin Daiyu could speak, Zhou Ying said, "You don't know, I heard that something happened at your house as soon as I went out. Shun'er didn't know either, so we came to check on you."
Shen Ajiao, inside, curled her lip in disdain. [Hmph, unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. Cui Baozhu hasn't come to class for a month or two, and he hasn't mentioned her once.]
Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "My wife had a headache today, so I didn't go, and I was afraid of infecting you all."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shun asked, "Have you taken your medicine and seen a doctor?"
Lin Daiyu nodded, "They said she caught a chill yesterday and needs to rest for a few days. As long as she doesn't cough or have a fever, it's fine."
Shen Ajiao listened to the sounds outside, but her eyes were fixed on her small brazier.
Why isn't this person leaving yet? If she doesn't leave soon, all her oranges will be roasted!
It's almost Chinese New Year, and Shao Fu hasn't mentioned taking a holiday. Why doesn't she take a holiday in advance?
"Cough cough cough... cough cough cough..."
Lin Daiyu: Madam, what's wrong?
"Cough, cough, cough, please don't come in, I'm afraid you'll catch my illness." Shen Ajiao lay weakly on the bed, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, coughing incessantly.
A soft crackling sound came from the small brazier—oh no, the oranges are overcooked!
Cough cough cough cough cough…
Lin Daiyu immediately lowered the curtain she had lifted, saying, "Madam, please rest well. I'll take them to another place."
"Alright... cough cough cough... treat them well, don't be impolite."
Lin Daiyu: Madam, you've overdone it.
Hearing Lin Daiyu call out to Zhou Ying and Zhou Shun and leave, Shen Ajiao hurriedly got up and went to the small brazier. Looking at the oranges that had been roasted black, she was speechless...
Next time, let's roast sweet potatoes. They get better and better when roasted. Oranges, on the other hand, can become inedible if you're not careful!
Before Shen Ajiao's sweet potatoes were even roasted, Lin Daiyu returned and told Shen Ajiao some good news: "Zhou Shun said that the Junior Tutor has decided to give us a holiday in two days, which is the 18th of the twelfth lunar month."
Chen Ajiao... So why was she coughing so hard just now? To rest for a couple of days? And the oranges were ruined.
Lin Daiyu continued, "Zhou Shun even brought your homework back to you. I have already thanked him on behalf of Madam."
I thank him! Thank him!
I don't want to see him during the Chinese New Year!
Let's eat sweet potatoes!
She had already thought of New Year's gifts for Zhou Shun, including a collection of past provincial examination questions!
...
As the Lunar New Year approached, the Emperor intended to stop writing on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. As a result, the officials below became increasingly busy, trying to finish everything before the Emperor stopped writing so that they could also take a holiday.
After Zhen Yingjia was taken away, the Zhen family tried to pull strings everywhere, but no one came to their aid.
The Zhen family wanted to ask Yuan Chun, who was also in the palace, for help in getting a meeting with the Dowager Consort. So they approached the Jia family again, but at this point, Grandmother Jia was too busy to care about them.
Wang has been taken away for several days and she hasn't seen him yet, let alone Yuan Chun, whom she can't contact at all.
When Grandmother Jia saw the old lady from the Zhen family coming to visit, she felt helpless. She dared not agree, but she was also unwilling to talk about her family's affairs with outsiders.
Mother Zhen said, "Your lady is young and beautiful, dignified and generous, and deeply loved by the Emperor. There has been no good news in the palace for several years. Your lady is the first one."
Grandmother Jia had no words to express her bitterness. The Jia family looked prosperous and glamorous, but they were of no use to it! But she still had to put on a show. "Haha, it's just that she's well-behaved and the Emperor doesn't find her annoying. Otherwise, my family wouldn't have such good fortune."
“You are so lucky to be favored by the Emperor. Our Dowager Consort… alas!” Mother Zhen said, tears falling down her face. The Dowager Consort in the palace was Mother Zhen’s daughter. Now there was no news of her at all. How could she not be heartbroken?
There's no news of my daughter, and my son was taken away. I can't find out anything about him either. I've already contacted everyone I could, but there's still no news.
If she had no other choice, she would have dared to take the risk and thought of sending a message to the palace through Grandmother Jia, so that when she went to the palace to pay her respects at the end of the year, she could pass on a message to her.
Mother Zhen wiped away her tears, thinking that now was not the time to cry, as the Zhen family still needed her.
“Every year on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the palace will prepare a banquet. The ladies of the palace with rank can summon their relatives to the palace to meet them. Your lady is now pregnant with the emperor’s child and is currently enjoying the emperor’s favor. She must have received the imperial decree and can come to the palace to meet him.”
Grandmother Jia was taken aback. How could she have forgotten such an important matter!
This is not her fault. In the past, Yuan Chun was not prominent in the palace and did not have the privilege of summoning people into the palace. Now that she is of higher status and has a royal heir, she should be able to see him.
"Can the Dowager Consort also receive a visit?" Grandmother Jia asked tentatively. "You are the Dowager Consort's birth mother. She is ill, so you should see her."
Mother Zhen looked at Mother Jia with a troubled expression. If she could go in, why would she come looking for their family?
It was only because the Emperor rejected her request that she became so restless!
She was afraid...afraid...afraid that the Empress Dowager was no longer there!
"Sister-in-law, you must help me."
Zhen's mother stood up and knelt down before Jia's mother, saying, "Good sister-in-law, I wouldn't dare trouble you if I weren't desperate."
"What are you doing? Get up! I can't take this! I can't take this!"
When Zhen's mother knelt down, Grandmother Jia was startled and hurriedly went to help her up. Back then, the Zhen family was so wealthy that even the Jia family at its most prosperous time could not compare.
Even though the Empress Dowager had been favored by the Emperor Emeritus for decades, which was something the Jia family could never have done before, now that they were desperate, they actually knelt down before her.
While Grandmother Jia harbored some vanity, she also possessed a deep and abiding sorrow...
“Sister-in-law, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but you’re always busy and probably don’t know my family’s situation. Although Yuan Chun is in the palace, her mother has been taken away and is embroiled in legal troubles. Now, my family can’t even handle such a simple matter!”
Mother Zhen burst into tears. The Zhen family had been glorious under her leadership, but now it had also fallen into ruin. She felt she had let down the ancestors of the Zhen family!
After seeing Zhen's mother off, Grandmother Jia was filled with emotion, but there was nothing she could do. Thinking of Zhen's mother's words, she sent someone with silver to inquire whether any of their family members could be summoned to the palace this year.
I inquired several times, but the answer I got was always no, saying that the Empress was resting in the palace and that outsiders were not allowed to visit her.
Grandmother Jia had no other choice but to place her hopes on the Wang family, who were about to return to the capital.
Prince Teng of the Wang family has also been summoned back by the Emperor and will definitely return by the end of the year.
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