The King's Concubine_The Feast of Masks【Complete】(202)

After the Little New Year, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory selected an auspicious day, and the emperor sealed the seal, and the various ministries and departments also sealed the seals one by one.

This means that there is no work, and the Prince of Jin finally does not have to go to the Ministry of Works. Although there is nothing to do these days, it is also extremely annoying to get up early every day to report for duty.

Yao Niang is sending New Year gifts to various places. The palace, the various princes' palaces, and some of the palaces with some conflicts all have to show some respect. Even if it is sealed in the kuli, it still has to be done.

There are also etiquettes for sending New Year gifts. The elders should be given gifts first, and the younger ones later. The elders do not need to send New Year gifts to the younger ones. In other words, the Prince of Jin's Palace does not need to care about the latter ones except for the palace and the first four princes' palaces.

And how to send the New Year gifts and what to send also made Yao Niang anxious.

Sending too much will show off, and sending too little will make people laugh. Later, under the guidance of Madam Gong, Yao Niang drew up a list of New Year gifts and handed it over to the servants.

After the Imperial Palace and several princes' mansions, the next ones were the Ningguo Mansion and the Xuguo Mansion. Of these two families, the Ningguo Mansion was the best, the richer the better, but Yao Niang was a little unsure about the Xuguo Mansion.

After all, it was the Jin Wangfei's family, and it was more or less inappropriate for her, a concubine, to handle it. At the same time, the Jin Wangfei, who had been recuperating in the manor, was also something she had to deal with.

Should we also send some New Year gifts there?

There was also the Ruyang Marquis Mansion, the family of Concubine Liu, which could not be omitted. Normally, I didn't feel it, but when it came to such a festival, everything was brought to me.

So Yao Niang couldn't make a decision either. When the Jin Wang came, she would throw everything to him, and she pretended to be busy studying, as if she didn't want to get involved.

The King of Jin knew what she was thinking, so he turned around and threw it to Fucheng, asking him to do it.

In a manor about a hundred miles away from Beijing, unlike the bleak outside, there are green shades everywhere.

This place is also unique, with many hot springs nearby, connected to geothermal heat, naturally much warmer than other places.

Places like this are not for ordinary people to live in. It is less than an hour away from the capital. All the families in Beijing with some power have built villas here.

The King of Jin’s mansion has one here, which is the villa awarded by the current emperor. It is located halfway up the mountain, with pleasant scenery, and there are hot springs in the manor.

"Princess, the mansion has sent something." Zi Yan came hurriedly from a distance and said to a woman who was cutting wintersweets on the tree.

She was wearing a plain satin embroidered cloak with broken branches and flowers, and her dress was very simple, with only a jade hairpin inserted in her bun. Hearing the voice, she didn't even turn her head, cut a wintersweets and put it in the basket at her feet.

"I've told you many times, don't call me Princess."

"But I won't call you Princess, what should I call you?"

"You can call me anything. Didn't you call me Miss before? Then call me Miss."

Zi Yan called Miss hesitantly, and then said, "Something has been sent from the mansion."

"It's sent, you don't need to tell me about it."

Since she was sent to Qingbi Villa, Princess Jin has lived here. After the initial depression, she gradually recovered a lot.

She wanted to die, but she was too timid and afraid of pain since she was a child. She tried several times but couldn't do it, so she stopped thinking about those things.

In fact, the face of the royal family is still important. Even if she was sent to this mountain, she would have everything she should have. Xu Yanru knew the character of King Jin. He was a gentleman and would not use those frivolous means to insult others. Her matter must have been cleared by the emperor, so no one questioned her disappearance. Xu Yanru also knew in her heart that she would probably never go back in her life.

In fact, it was fine that she couldn't go back. She just stayed here with Zi Yan. She didn't know any of the servants in the manor. She couldn't hear those gossips and couldn't see those annoying things. Her heart gradually calmed down. Xu Yanru even felt that she should have been like this a long time ago. Only such a place was her home.

As for the Prince of Jin's Mansion, the Duke of Xu's Mansion, and even Su Yao Niang and He Wanyi, what did they have to do with her? When they were far away, she didn't have to think about anything.

Xu Yanru cut two more winter plums, put the iron shears into the basket, and bent down to pick up the bamboo basket.

Zi Yan wanted to take it, but she didn't give it to her.

"By the way, someone from the Duke's Mansion also came and said they wanted to see the girl." In fact, this was the truth behind Zi Yan's hasty visit.

Xu Yanru was stunned for a moment. Did her family know about her?

"Who is the person who came?"

"It's Mother An." Mother An is the housekeeper of the wife of Duke Xu.

Does it also mean that her mother knows everything?

For a moment, Xu Yanru's emotions fluctuated, and then she fell silent for a long time.

"Then I'll go see her."

Mother An cried as soon as she saw Xu Yanru, stroking her back, saying that her daughter had suffered and had lost weight.

In fact, Xu Yanru had gained a lot more weight than before, and her complexion was much better than before.

Mother An cried for a while, and then told the wife of Duke Xu that her daughter was sent to the manor to recuperate.

The reason why the wife of Duke Xu knew about this was that she learned from the mansion, because Duke Xu knew that Xu Yanru had become an abandoned child and even registered in front of the emperor, so she thought of other ideas.

There is no need to elaborate on the various complexities in the meantime. In short, Duke Xu meant to let the King of Jin divorce the King of Jin's wife and replace Xu's concubine as the main wife. Anyway, the two daughters of the Xu family are in the King of Jin's mansion, so if one doesn't work, it's not impossible to change the other.

The Duke's wife somehow found out about this, and she cried all night, so she ordered Mother An to come and find her.

Xu Yanru smiled with a hint of sarcasm: "Is this her, or is she thinking about it again?"

The two shes refer to Xu Yanru and Madam Yulan.

"Princess, don't take it lightly. If it's really..."

Xu Yanru interrupted her: "Don't worry, the prince won't agree. Even if the prince divorces me one day, it won't be Xu Yueru's turn."

"But..."

"Go back and tell my mother that I'm doing well here, better than ever before. If she thinks the cats and dogs in the mansion are too annoying, she can move here to recuperate with me. She's not young anymore, there's really no need to keep haggling with that person."

"Princess..."

"Mother An, you're also a smart person. Do you want me to live like my mother for the rest of my life?"

Mother An looked at Xu Yanru as if struck by lightning.

She was indeed a smart person, and she had advised her many times before, but the lady just fell into that pit and didn't want to get out. Obviously, she was bound to be choked with anger, but she couldn't help but think about it and care about it. She lived a lifetime and cried all her life, but nothing was solved. Instead, her body was dragged down.

"As you ask for, you get what you want. What I ask for is different from her." Xu Yanru sighed and smiled, then looked at Mother An: "I live here now, and I can't do anything about things outside. I rely on Mother An to take care of me."

After that, she turned around and left gracefully.

Small theater:

Xiaobao: Mianmian, you are not a human being. You actually let Yueyue look at my little Dingding. I am still so young, so young...

Mianmian: You are still so young, you should be so young. How big do you want it to be?

Xiaobao: 555, 2333...

Chapter 155

This year is undoubtedly busy for Yao Niang.

After finally finishing the New Year's affairs, it was New Year's Eve less than a day after resting. For ordinary people, New Year's Eve is the time for the whole family to get together, with the sound of firecrackers and laughter at night. But for the royal family, this is undoubtedly the busiest time of the year.

On New Year's Eve, the palace will hold several banquets. The daytime banquet is a grand banquet to entertain noble ministers, civil and military officials. The evening banquet is a family banquet, and those who can sit in the seats are all related to the royal family, such as the married princess with her husband, the prince's family, and the concubines in the harem.

The Qianqing Palace was brightly lit and magnificent at this time. Emperor Hongjing and Empress Wei were in the first place, and they were divided into two sides. On the left were a group of princes, and on the right were the women with children. Anyway, Yao Niang couldn't understand what the men were doing, so she concentrated on managing Xiaobao and Yueyue's banquet.

They entered the palace in the afternoon, and they were hungry after being delayed for so long.

Xiao Yueyue also came today. It should be said that she shouldn't come, but Xiaobao insisted on dragging the little girl and making a fuss that delayed her from going out. Yao Niang couldn't coax her no matter what. Later, the Prince of Jin came, and for some reason, he said it was okay to bring it. Today's banquet is different from the past. It's not the first time that Yao Niang has eaten the banquet in the palace. In the past, most of the banquets she had were cold. They looked good, but they were not delicious. She even told the Prince of Jin that the common people said that the imperial banquets eaten by the emperor and the ladies in the palace were the most delicious things in the world, but she saw that they were just so-so, not as good as the chefs in the palace.

The Prince of Jin just laughed at that time and didn't say anything.

Now Yao Niang knows what the Prince of Jin was laughing at. He was obviously laughing at her lack of knowledge. The reason why the banquet in the palace is not delicious is not because the chefs' skills are poor, but because the dishes are cold. Every time the palace holds a banquet and entertains so many people, the food is already out of heat when it is delivered. But the family banquet is different. There are only one room full of people. If they can still eat cold dishes like this, I don't know how many heads the chefs in the imperial kitchen will lose.

At this time and in this place, almost no one has the heart to eat the banquet, which makes Yao Niang and others particularly conspicuous.

It was fine for the two children, but the adults also ate with gusto. It was not like the common people had to eat such a good meal all year round.

Yao Niang sat at one table with the families of the King of Lu, the King of Qing, and the King of Wu. The younger children followed their mothers, and the older ones sat at another table. The Princess of Wu had already been looking at Yao Niang. This table was full of the main wives, and she was the only concubine. Who arranged it this way?