167. Bandit Emperor (13) (1/2)
In the laundry room of the Ji family, there were several old men wearing coarse cloths immersed in washing clothes in the middle of winter.
What they wash is not the masters' clothes, but the servants' change of clothes.
There are many servants in the Ji family. Ji's father worked his way up from being a poor scholar. Now that he has finally become a leader, he pays more attention to ostentation. He even buys little maid tunes from Ren Yazi/ teach.
With such people, the daily laundry is enough for these elderly people to wash from morning to night.
It's been better these days. The steward who had been swallowing the money didn't know if it was because of his conscience, but he was finally willing to give them hot water. Otherwise, his hands would be soaked in the washing tub all day in winter, and they would be warm even when they got into bed at night. not coming back.
The old women were all accustomed to living a hard life, and they only immersed themselves in their work and did not talk. Among them, there was obviously a young woman named Zhou.
The lady surnamed Zhou was only forty years old, but she suffered from frostbite on one hand, and even her face was not spared. Even so, she still had to endure the pain and repeat the scrubbing action.
Several other old women sometimes chatted without speaking to her.
They all knew that the manager didn't like Mrs. Zhou, otherwise he wouldn't have sent her to the laundry room when she was still young. She could only work hard all day long and couldn't save any money. If she didn't have a son outside, she would never see her in her life. The end.
Madam Zhou didn't talk to anyone, so she didn't say a word herself. When the day's hard work was over, she went to meet her son at the door of the house, then came back to sleep, and when she opened her eyes, she continued to work again.
She received a small amount of money every month and endured hardships, but she couldn't leave. The reason was that the contract of betrayal was held in the hands of the new wife.
Being a slave and a maidservant, one can only do whatever the master says.
Mrs. Zhou's biggest hope these days is to stay on the path past the kitchen. Miss Ziru, who is next to the eldest lady, will come here to receive meals every day. She will tell her what the eldest lady has eaten, what she has used, and what she has done every day. At this time, Mrs. Zhou, who didn't like to talk much, her eyes lit up and she listened with gusto.
Most of the people in the house knew that she was the eldest lady's nanny, and she was also the most trusted person around the late madam.
When the first lady left, Ji Xiawan fell ill, and Mrs. Zhou was sent by her hair to the laundry room by the new madam because she was not in good care of her. After that, no matter how the eldest lady asked to be released, the new madam just kept her gentle attitude. Smiling, bit by bit, she separated all the people around her whom the late Madam had left to serve.
After seven years, Mrs. Zhou was the only one left in the end.
She had little hope, even though she knew that staying here would be of no use, but she just wanted to see the eldest lady get married smoothly. Before the eldest lady returned home, she had only been happy for a few days when she got the news that she was seriously ill.
Mrs. Zhou was anxious and asked her son to buy medicine outside and hurriedly delivered it to the small courtyard.
Only then did Ji Xiawan know that her nanny had always been in the house.
The young woman who once had a young face, fair complexion, and gentle smile took seven years to become what she is now. The two had not seen each other for seven years, but they were not unfamiliar at all.
Ji Xiawan still remembers how the wet nurse fanned her with a fan and taught her etiquette. Her soft hands were rough and swollen, and some parts were even cracked. Her once smooth face was covered in red by the cold wind. meaning.
Ji Xiawan took all his money and wanted her to redeem herself and leave the house, but Mrs. Zhou refused to leave.
She didn't say the reason, she just said that she would never leave the Ji family in this life.
Madam Zhou originally just wanted to meet the young lady she was serving, but she didn't expect that her life would get better from that day on. Although she still looked the same as before, only Madam Zhou could feel that someone was secretly helping her. she.
My heart, which was originally low on hope, seemed to be warming up a little bit.
After washing the clothes in the morning, Madam Zhou shook her hands, wiped her hands on her body, and walked out, only to see the servants walking with joy on their faces.
They talked a lot, saying that the eldest lady was going to be the queen.
Madam Zhou paused in her steps, completely different from her usual silence, and grabbed the young man who was talking, "Are you telling the truth?"
The young man was startled. He was about to get angry, but looking at her appearance, he was deterred for some reason. "It's true. The father-in-law who came from the palace conveyed the decree, and the emperor personally issued the decree, saying that a large-scale disaster was to be carried out." The young lady enters the palace as the queen."
Queen...Queen...
Madam Zhou's eyes were frighteningly bright, as if all her hope had been ignited, and she stumbled to the small courtyard.
The boy thought she had gone crazy, so he shook himself quickly, with a look of disgust on his face, "Why are you so happy? What's the use of rushing to show your courtesy now."
Ji Xiawan's current status is indeed different from the past. Many servants are rushing to curry favor with her. Those servants who used to refuse to work when they saw that she was not favored and pushed all the work to Ziru almost regretted it. After getting the news, he immediately licked his face and returned to the yard.
But in the yard, things were being moved. These slaves who had ignored their master's favor and refused to serve them, Ziru had written down their names early in the morning, just waiting for the queen to settle the score.
Ji's father seemed to have become a loving father again. After receiving the imperial edict and taking good care of his sick daughter, he asked her to move to a yard closer to him and invited the best doctors to diagnose her daughter.
But before the doctor he invited could arrive, two maids and an imperial doctor sent by the palace had already arrived at Ji's house.
Along with it, there were rewards from the emperor. Those rare objects that were confiscated were delivered to Ji Xiawan's house like running water. Now everyone in the house can't see that the emperor is interested in the eldest lady. Now he treats this person who used to be dissatisfied. Everyone around the beloved eldest lady almost wanted to smile on their faces.
Ji Xiawan seemed to have become the beloved daughter in Father Ji's hands in an instant. He used to always have a stern look on her face, as if he didn't even look at her, but now he had the face to smile kindly at her.
After being left out for seven years, he almost lived in misery. Even though he once longed for his father's love, he no longer needed it now.
No matter what his father said, Ji Xiawan's attitude was cold and indifferent, but the man seemed not to notice, and the look on his face was still normal, as if he was a good father to begin with.
"Sir, the girl is also tired."
The nuns in the palace were instructed by Wei Mingyan to be respectful to the future queen, but she was cold-faced to the queen's father, Mr. Ji.
Father Ji's expression remained as usual and he touched his beard, "Wan'er, I'll go back first. If you want anything, just send someone to find me."
Ji Xiawan looked calm and slightly blessed, "Yes, father."
She stood there, watching the man walk away, and tightened her hand on the handkerchief.
How could he be so heartless.
When her mother died, she abandoned her. She left for seven years and never received a letter from her father.
His younger brother has never received a single kind word from him, and he is allowed to be flattered by his new wife.
But if it was said that he was in love with his new wife, he would treat them like this. He had held the mother and daughter in his hands for seven years, but he was able to quickly support him when she was about to become his wife.
Ji Xiawan still remembered that she had just gone to the countryside and was afraid of everything unfamiliar. She cried and called her father and mother at night, hoping that this man would come and see her, even if he didn't take her back, just to see her.
But no, in seven years, she seemed to have been forgotten, and she never received a word from her father.
She once remembered her father's love and smile as he took her to visit the lantern market. They bought lanterns together and gave them to her mother in the mansion.
These seem to be just figments of her imagination.
While Ji Xiawan was thinking about it, Ziru walked in and said, "Miss, Mrs. Zhou is outside."
"Please ask the wet nurse to come in quickly."
The girl wearing heavy clothes quickly hid the discomfort in her eyes, and her face showed a bit of happiness.
She is about to become a queen, and from now on, she will not be helpless about the nanny's situation.
Madam Zhou walked in with red eyes, took a deep look at her little master, knelt down and said, "Miss, please step aside."
The two nuns in the palace were not as tough as they were with Ji's father just now. They were both sent here today, so they naturally knew who to listen to. So Ji Xiawan asked them to step back. The two nuns didn't say a word. In order to save his body, he respectfully left the house.
Ziru also retreated. She was a martial arts practitioner and had been vigilantly guarding the door, waiting for Ji Xiawan to call her at any time.
Until, she suddenly heard a cry of despair and sorrow. Ziru was stunned for a moment, and without caring about anything else, she quickly opened the door and went in, "Miss!"
In the room, Mrs. Zhou was kneeling on the ground, her face covered with tears, while Ji Xiawan was holding her chest and crying almost uncontrollably.
Seeing her almost out of breath, Ziru panicked and said, "Hurry up and call the doctor!"
"do not go."
Ji Xiawan's cold hand was placed on hers. Ziru thought she was worried about her pregnancy being exposed, so she quickly said, "Miss, don't worry, the imperial doctor was sent by His Majesty..."
"Ziru..."
The girl with a slightly bulging belly covered her chest with one hand, her eyes filled with tears, and she choked with sobs and said with difficulty, "Go, close the door..."
Qing Ziru didn't understand what happened, but she obeyed and closed the door.
When she returned to Ji Xiawan and carefully helped her calm down, she heard her hoarse voice asking Madam Zhou on the ground, "Who else knows about this matter."
Madam Zhou replied hoarsely, "The old people around Madam are all dead and scattered. I guess the only one left is me."
She was on the ground, kowtowed three times resolutely, raised her head and looked at Ji Xiawan with red eyes, "Miss, originally, I thought that after the lady got married and had no more worries, I would at least stab him to death. Revenge for the lady."
"But I didn't expect that the young lady can actually become the queen. I beg the young lady to avenge my wife..."
"Please miss...please miss..."
Qing Ziru looked at the woman on the ground. She said something and kowtowed. After a while, her forehead became bruised and swollen, but Mrs. Zhou seemed to feel no pain and continued to do so. Knocking on the ground.
Ji Xiawan covered her throbbing heart, tears falling uncontrollably.
She originally thought that her mother really couldn't accept her grandfather's death, so she left her and Xia Ying and left early.
But it turned out that the man she called her father was strangled to death with a piece of white silk.
The reason is just because the mother is the daughter of General Zhou. What a ridiculous reason.
Raising cases with eyebrows raised, treating each other with respect as guests...
It's all a joke!
His mother loved him so much, and how painful it must have been for her to see her husband's true face before she died.
Ji Xiawan clutched her chest, feeling pain until the end, and her eyes were turning black.
In her ears, she could only hear Ziru's anxious voice, "Miss, Miss..."
Finally, it was completely plunged into darkness.
Ji Xiawan seemed to have had a dream. She dreamed of a child flopping in the water asking for help. She had never seen it before, but she just knew that it was her child.
In the dream, Ji Xiawan desperately wanted to save him, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. She could only watch as the child lost strength and began to sink.
"No!! Don't-"
She screamed and rushed forward, fighting against the invisible barrier in front of her, trying to save her child.
In the end, the child's head sank.
"don't want--"
The blood all over Ji Xiawan's body seemed to have turned cold. She looked at it stiffly and stretched out her hand.
A man suddenly jumped into the water and picked up the child.
He gently patted the child's back and carried him to Ji Xiawan, who was lying on the ground in a panic.
"mother……"
The little child was soaked all over, crying and stretched out his hand to her. Ji Xiawan quickly hugged him over, "Don't be afraid, mother is here, mother is here..."
The child cried for a while but stopped crying and shouted, "Mom, I want daddy."
Dad?
What daddy?
In the dream, Ji Xiawan's mind went blank. Then, she looked at the tall man who had rescued her child and stretched out his hand to touch the child's head.
He said warmly, "Daddy is here."
She felt relieved and tears fell down for some reason. She leaned in the man's arms and said with a choked voice:
"Fortunately you are here..."
***
Ji Xiawan opened her eyes weakly. Her forehead was being wiped with a wet cloth. She coughed and her eyes gradually sobered up.
What he saw was a man.
He has a pair of heroic eyes, sword-shaped eyebrows on his temples, and is dressed in white. His brows are furrowed, as if he is worried about someone.
Seeing that she was awake, the man's face immediately showed some relief.
"you……"
Seeing Ji Xiawan opening her chapped lips to say something, Wei Mingyan helped her up and hugged her carefully and cherishingly.
"Don't be afraid, I will help you solve it."
He patted her back gently and said firmly in the name of the emperor, "I promise that no one will bully you again."
"My queen."
The author has something to say: The first ten little angels give out red envelopes, good night everyone