Chapter 129: 129 Xiaoding
Chapter 129 129 Xiao Ding
How could she know! Nanny Yan's pupils shrank sharply, and she felt as if something in her heart suddenly shattered, and the clothes behind her were almost soaked with sweat.
Chu Qianchen actually knew her symptoms clearly, as if her every move in the past year was under his watch!
So, will she become as crazy as that person said in the future? !
Grandma Yan was frightened, her feet gave way, she knelt down with a plop, and said in a trembling voice: "Girl, please save this slave."
The maids who died in the cold palace appeared in Grandma Yan's mind. Before they died, they all died in tragic circumstances and were lonely and helpless.
"Not yet!" Hu Bo scolded expressionlessly, feeling admiration for her girl in her heart. The day when Nanny Yan first came to the Hou Mansion, she was beaten to the knees by Chu Qianchen, but now, she is the one who bends her back and bends her knees. Kneel down.
Nanny Yan's mental defenses had been shattered by Chu Qianchen's continuous attacks.
Chu Qianchen smiled and said nothing.
Of course she knew. That day, when she took the ruler from Grandma Yan's hand, she also checked her pulse.
At Grandma Yan's age, her health is deteriorating and she is prone to these symptoms. Besides, she was ordered by the emperor to go to Shouning Palace as an informant. How can she not feel guilty? Naturally, she is easily awakened at night!
Normally, Grandma Yan would not be defeated so easily, but she had been under house arrest alone in the house for several days, and her defenses were already in jeopardy, so she was defeated by herself in a short time.
Aunt Yan raised her eyes and glanced at Chu Qianchen, seeing her calmly shaking her fan.
The black cat on the round fan is about to touch the butterfly with one of its paws.
There were many raccoon slaves in the palace, and she knew that the little raccoon slave looked soft to others, but was actually very ferocious. If any prey fell into its claws, it would only end up being played to death!
Nanny Yan was frightened and knew very well: If Chu Qianchen told the Queen Mother what she had done, she would be dead!
The emperor would not plead guilty to murdering the Queen Mother, which meant that she had only one way to die!
She doesn't want to die yet.
Aunt Yan took a deep breath and said in a tight voice, "It was the Emperor's wish to add medicine to the ginseng tea. The Emperor wanted the Empress Dowager to stay in Shouning Palace and avoid going out every ten days. I sent someone to deliver it once, and the ginseng tea was brewed by my servants."
When she thought about how much medicine she inhaled when making ginseng tea every day, Grandma Yan felt her hands and feet feel cold.
"That's it?" Chu Qianchen smiled slightly, and the fan in his hand suddenly stopped, but the big red ribbon hanging on the fan handle was still swaying slightly.
Grandma Yan stared at the blood-stained skin, her face became even more ugly, and then said: "When the slave comes to the girl, the queen also asked the slave to 'teach' the girl well and make her obedient."
Grandma Yan used everything she knew, and her whole body seemed to have been drained of energy, making her weak and weak.
Chu Qianchen smiled slightly from beginning to end, her smile was bright and bright, as if she knew everything that Nanny Yan said, and she just wanted to see if Nanny Yan could lie.
In fact, it is true.
Chu Qianchen could guess a lot about what Aunt Yan had confessed. The reason why she had the patience to tell Aunt Yan so much was because she had a more important purpose.
"So, after grandma returns to the palace, how do you plan to explain it to the queen?" Chu Qianchen flexibly played with the fan in his hand, his eyes clear and clear, as bright as the cold moon.
At this moment, a pair of originally cold and peaceful eyes were like a sharp sword suddenly unsheathed, releasing a chilling force.
"..." Nanny Yan's pupils shrank sharply, she shuddered, and she subconsciously avoided the other party's gaze.
She actually felt an aura of more majesty than the queen in this little girl who was not yet fourteen years old. This second girl from Chu was definitely not an ordinary girl.
Even though she had seen countless noble people in the palace, she had never seen such a woman, who was so enigmatic and so subtle.
Aunt Yan remembered someone inexplicably—
Chen Wang Gu Jue.
Nanny Yan broke out in a cold sweat again, and a deep fear came from deep in her heart, making her breathless.
At this moment, she really wanted to go back to the past and slap herself, saying that she shouldn't have gone to the Queen's house and said such nonsense.
In front of Chu Qianchen, her little tricks were no more than a worm trying to shake a tree. She was simply overestimating her abilities and being extremely stupid!
"Nanny Yan, you can't have slaves with two surnames." Chu Qianchen's voice sounded again, half-smiling but not smiling.
Aunt Yan: “…”
She felt it was harder to breathe. She never had the courage to betray the emperor and empress and switch to Chu Qianchen.
"Mommy, please think about it." Chu Qianchen didn't intend to say any more, so he stood up and walked out of the house.
Amber also followed Chu Qianchen and walked out of the house.
The woman waiting outside the house immediately pulled the two doors with both hands, and with a "squeak", the door began to close.
Nanny Yan, who was kneeling on the ground, watched helplessly as the light in front of her became narrower and narrower...
Two feet, one foot, half a foot, one inch...
Seeing that it was about to become a thin crack, seeing that darkness was about to cover her again, Yan Yan's heart shrank sharply, as if an invisible hand was holding her heart in the palm of her hand.
As long as the door is completely closed, she will be back in the darkness, locked here alone.
Alone, lonely, dead silence.
In Grandma Yan's mind, she thought of the concubines, maids, and nuns who died in the cold palace. Often no one knew about their deaths. By the time the bodies were found, three or four days had passed, and the bodies were rotting. Smelly, maggots crawling around...
At most, the body can be rolled out of the palace on a straw mat and thrown into a mass grave. After death, there will be no ripples, and no one will care about it...
No!
She doesn't want to go crazy, let alone die here alone!
"Miss Chu Er, this slave is wrong!" Nanny Yan crawled towards the door on her knees and shouted at the top of her lungs, "This slave is willing to accept you as your master!"
Aunt Yan kowtowed repeatedly to the crack in the door, which was only one finger wide, making a loud banging sound.
The mother-in-law stopped closing the door and looked at Chu Qianchen with questioning eyes.
Chu Qianchen did not look back, but simply said: "Unfortunately, I don't believe you."
Immediately afterwards, the door closed with a bang, tightly.
Darkness fell again.
A door separated them, and it seemed like there were two worlds inside and outside the door.
Aunt Yan yelled from inside the door: "This slave is sincere!"
"Miss Chu Er, you must trust me!"
“…”
No matter how many times Nanny Yan called, Chu Qianchen did not stay and walked away leisurely.
Even though her words were unfounded, she had to give Grandma Yan some time to think about how to express her "sincerity".
Chu Qianchen curled his lips and smiled, full of energy.
She felt that she had almost rested during this trip and had gone out of the house to relax.
Well, good, it's time for her to go back and continue making medicine.
Chu Qianchen went straight back to the small study. Once the door was closed, she continued to make medicine in the room with Hu Hu.
She was busy day and night until two days later, on the morning of June 18th, Grandma Chen came at dawn and brought her altered clothes and jewelry.
Grandma Chen was very solemn and warned: "Second girl, please quickly put on these clothes and dress up properly."
There was not much time left, so Grandma Chen, Hu Hu and the two little maids followed Chu Qianchen to the inner room.
Chu Qianchen went to the screen to change his clothes, while Aunt Chu continued on the other side of the screen: "Second girl, the agenda of the small wedding ceremony is trivial. I will give you a brief summary now. However, Second girl, don't be too nervous. The slave will remind you then."
"Today is an auspicious time. The Zongren Mansion and the Ministry of Rites will come to the door in the morning."
"In addition to the regular small ceremony, the clan family will also hold a wild goose on behalf of the man as a gift."
"Afterwards, the woman will give a return gift, the four treasures of the study, silk and satin clothing, clothes, shoes and socks, etc."
"And then..."
Grandma Chen explained the etiquette process of the small ceremony in an orderly manner. Chu Qianchen went in and out of the left ear and Hu Bo silently wrote down the process.
Chu Qianchen obediently let the maids wait on her and put on the green lotus dress. Then, sitting on the dressing table, Nanny Chen directed her to put on the dress that Shen had prepared in advance. She had her hair and face carefully dressed up.
After that, Chu Qianchen followed Nanny Chen to the main hall, where the mansion was decorated with lights and colors and was very grand.
There was still half an hour before the auspicious hour, and Madam Tai, Mrs. Shen and the other three ladies in the mansion had already arrived and were sitting in the hall.
This was supposed to be a happy day, but there was no joy at all in the hall.
In the eyes of Madam Tai, Mrs. Liu and others, this was not a happy event, it was simply that the Hou Mansion was in bad luck!
Just before the end of the day, the sound of "cracking" firecrackers came from the direction of the gate. It was very lively. Then, a woman came running out of breath and said: "Prince Li and the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, Mr. Liu, are here!"
There was also a commotion throughout the Hou Mansion.
Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Liu and others were all shocked.
Prince Li is the clan's order, and Princess Li is equivalent to the royal family's wife. She is somewhat higher than the other princesses. Today, she came to perform the wedding ceremony in person, which shows that the clan government attaches great importance to this matter.
Princess Li and Shilang Liu came to visit, so the Hou Mansion naturally opened its main gate to welcome the guests. Today, those who went to Yimen to welcome the guests were the chief steward of the Hou Mansion and Grandma Wang.
The entire small wedding ceremony was very solemn. Prince Li and Princess Li brought eighteen boxes of small wedding gifts. Each box was heavy and tied with a big red ribbon. All used are live geese.
The Dowager Queen cleared her throat and politely complimented Princess Li: "Princess, you are really thoughtful. You even specially sent live geese as a gift."
Nowadays, people of the time often use wooden geese to carry out goose laying ceremonies, but the live geese have become a rare thing.
"This is His Royal Highness Prince Chen's wedding. The Emperor specifically asked for it to be solemn. You can't wrong His Highness Prince Chen, right?" Princess Li smiled gracefully, as if she didn't dare to take credit.
To Mrs. Tai's ears, this was because Princess Li was eager to cut off her relationship with Prince Chen.
The princess meant that if the emperor hadn't asked her to come and make a small order, she would never have come. There was still a smile on Mrs. Tai's face, and she quickly asked Princess Li and Minister Liu to sit down. Her heart became even heavier: Everyone knew that the emperor did not really value King Chen so much. The more solemn the emperor is now, the more difficult it will be to settle the matter in the future. Show no mercy…
The madam was a little distracted.
Immediately afterwards, Princess Li took Chu Qianchen and praised her with a few polite words, "The man is talented and beautiful, a match made in heaven." The female family members of the Hou family also smiled and echoed a few words, saying "a match made in heaven", "the emperor's grace is so great" and so on. , at first glance, both the host and the guest are happy.
The small ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner, and every step followed the ancient rituals, which was extremely fastidious and solemn.
Mrs. Shen was very satisfied with this. Everything on her side was based on the etiquette of her legitimate daughter.
The return gifts she took out shocked Prince Li and Princess Li even more. For example, the first box of the Four Treasures of the Study were all exquisite, including brush washers, inkstones, paperweights, etc., all of which were antiques from the previous dynasty; the second box was a complete set. Blue and white porcelain from the official kiln; the third box is a box full of Yun brocade. You must know that every inch of brocade is precious, and this Yun brocade is a tribute, and most people can only ask for it...
Every box of return gifts prepared by the woman was taken with great care, and Princess Rangli almost suspected that Mrs. Shen was preparing a wedding for her own daughter.
An hour later, after completing the small ceremony, Princess Li and Liu Shilang took their leave. Shen, Liu and other younger siblings saw them off in person.
In the main hall, only the lady at the top and Chu Qianchen at the bottom were left.
As soon as Prince Li, Princess Li, and the others walked away, the Dowager's expression changed, and the smile on her lips disappeared in an instant.
There was silence.
The servants felt the cold atmosphere and stared at the tips of their shoes.
Mrs. Tai took a sip of tea slowly and asked in a lukewarm tone: "Sister Chen, how are you doing learning the rules from Grandma Yan recently?"
"Grandma, Grandma Yan taught me well." Chu Qianchen replied obediently.
Amber also lowered her head and thought to herself: It was the girl who taught Grandma Yan very well!
The day before yesterday, Grandma Yan was still making a fuss and shouting. In the past two days, she didn't dare to make any fuss in the house every day. She was so calm that she almost seemed mute.
That is to say, every day when the mother-in-law went to deliver meals, Grandma Yan would politely express her desire to see her girl. Amber also conveyed this to Chu Qianchen, but Chu Qianchen said: "Leave her alone first, and you will have her." When it comes to appearances.”
The madam looked Chu Qianchen up and down. Her gentle and gentle expression was completely different from the arrogant and arrogant look she had in Zhuangzi a few days ago.
Mrs. Tai only thought that Aunt Yan had taught Chu Qianchen a lesson, so she breathed a sigh of relief and secretly sighed: The nanny from the palace really has a good way of training people! It only took a few days and the effect was immediate.
Mrs. Tai took another sip of tea and admonished her righteously: "Sister Chen, Grandma Yan was given by the Queen Mother. You must learn the rules from Grandma Yan and listen to her words. Don't let down the Queen Mother. Your Majesty’s thoughts.”
"You are going to get married soon. You must learn all the rules and etiquette to avoid losing the reputation of a girl from the Chu family!"
The madam spoke grandly, but she actually had her own plans in mind.
After the longevity banquet, she discussed it several times with her eldest son Chu Lingxiao.
They all agreed that it was obvious and undoubted that the emperor wished that King Chen would die early. The emperor gave Chu Qianchen, a lowly concubine of the Hou Mansion, to marry King Chen just to humiliate him. Therefore, their Hou Mansion was absolutely You can't disobey the holy will, and you can't ruin the emperor's good deeds.
Although marrying Chu Qianchen will make the Hou Mansion and Prince Chen's Mansion become in-laws, it will inevitably cause more instability, and may even be angered and liquidated by the emperor one day. However, the Chu family is not a poor family with no foundation. , the Chu family also has a noble concubine and the second prince in the palace!
In contrast, the relationship between the Chu family and the emperor is obviously closer, which means that the Chu family is destined to always be a staunch royalist party.
As the eldest son said, since this marriage gift is irreversible, they might as well look at it from a good perspective.
For example, as long as they teach Chu Qianchen well, they can let Chu Qianchen pass on some news about Prince Chen's palace, and the Chu family can use it to show loyalty to the emperor.
Thinking about it, the corners of the Madam's mouth curled up, and then she returned to her original position, still looking graceful, noble and dignified.
Chu Qianchen nodded obediently and remained silent.
She didn't listen at all to what Mrs. Tai said later. Her thoughts had already drifted to other things. She was thinking: She was delayed all morning because of Xiao Dingli. She had to hurry up when she got back. Dazao Wan had already arrived at the most important time. If she stays up a little longer at night, she should be able to make it tomorrow night!
Mrs. Tai felt that Chu Qianchen was obviously more well-behaved than before, and she was quite satisfied. She thought that since Yan Yan had played a bad role, she should play a white face and use both soft and hard tactics to completely control Chu Qianchen. .
Next, Mrs. Tai softened her tone again and coaxed: "Every time you are honored, you will be honored, and you will be humiliated. Sister Chen, grandma is doing it for your own good and will not harm you."
"When you get married, you will naturally know that life in this boudoir is the best, and you will also understand the painstaking efforts your father and I have put into it."
"Whether this married woman can live a good life in her husband's family ultimately depends on whether her family is capable."
Mrs. Tai spent all her words saying these words just to coax Chu Qianchen to turn her heart to the Chu family.
For this reason, Mrs. Tai could only give up her thirty thousand taels of silver and use this money to coax Chu Qianchen. Every time she thought of this money, Mrs. Tai's heart still felt like a knife.
The madam spoke absentmindedly, and no matter what she said, Chu Qianchen just nodded obediently.
Gradually, Mrs. Tai ran out of words, and the more she talked, the more boring she became.
After all, Chu Qianchen was not her beloved granddaughter, and Mrs. Tai couldn’t say many thoughtful words to her, and...
The madam glanced at the submissive Chu Qianchen with disgust, and thought to herself: This girl's temperament is really unpleasant, she only knows how to nod her head, and can't say a word for a long time, and she can't even say a word to make fun of her. Sister Huang is really incomparable!
Amber on the side knew very well that her girl's heart might have flown to who knows where.
Amber glanced at Mrs. Tai with an incomprehensible look and then withdrew her gaze.
Madam Tai was annoyed when she saw Chu Qianchen and was about to send her away. At this moment, a little maid hurried over and said, "Madam, Aunt Qiu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs is here... She said yes I’m here to measure the second girl’s wedding dress.”
The madam was a little surprised and startled.
Today is just a small wedding ceremony. As usual, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should come to tailor a wedding dress for the bride after the groom has officially decided to send the betrothal gift. However, the wedding date is really too urgent. There are only 20 days until the wedding date. This wedding The clothes really need to be made early.
After a while, another maid attracted an old woman in her fifties and wearing a purple bra and two palace maids.
Aunt Qiu looked at her with kind eyebrows and kind eyes. Even if she didn't speak, her round face seemed to be smiling, making her look friendly.
As soon as she entered the door, she bowed to the two of them, and then said: "This slave is here to measure Miss Chu Er."
Mrs. Tai asked Aunt Qiu to take Chu Qianchen to Wanyan Courtyard to have her measured.
The two palace maids who actually started to measure Chu Qianchen were both cautious and frightened. They spoke respectfully: "Miss Chu, I will measure you. Please stand upright first."
The two palace maids quickly measured Chu Qianchen's length and shoulder width and wrote them down one by one.
Aunt Qiu was watching from the side, her posture upright.
She glanced around casually and asked casually: "Huh? I heard that the Queen Mother sent Aunt Yan to the Hou Mansion, why didn't she see her?"
The person she asked this question was Amber.
Amber said calmly: "Mama Yan is busy." She spoke vaguely.
"The Queen Mother ordered her to come to the Marquis Mansion to 'serve' Miss Chu Er to compliment her. How could she hide and be lazy?" Aunt Qiu frowned slightly, feeling that Aunt Yan was too shameless, even if it was Chu Qianchen. Damn it, she can't be so lax!
Amber said with a smile: "Mama Qiu is right." She casually recruited a little maid with a round face and ordered, "Agate, go and call Aunt Yan."
Agate responded to his fate and hurried away.
The two palace ladies continued to measure Chu Qianchen:
"Please raise your arms slightly to both sides, and I will measure your waist and hips."
"Slave, please measure the length of the girl's arms."
“…”
The wedding dress is complicated, and there are a lot of measurements to be taken this time. In addition to a true red large-sleeved coat, Xia Pei, red Luo skirt and red Luo trousers, there are also matching Jiuzhai crowns, large belts, and jade leather. Belts, jade flowers, knotted ribbons, jade pendants and other accessories must be prepared according to the princess's etiquette.
This is what the Queen specially told you. You must not wrong King Chen!
In a moment, Agate brought Granny Yan over.
Aunt Yan had washed herself carefully early in the morning, and was wearing a brand-new royal blue dark-striped jacket. Her whole body was clean and neat, and she looked no different from when she was in the palace on weekdays.
Aunt Qiu looked up and down at Aunt Yan, feeling that she seemed to have lost some weight and looked a little haggard.
"Aunt Yan," Aunt Qiu looked at her with concern, her expression was very affectionate, "You look a little haggard, but you didn't sleep well last night?"
Aunt Yan: “…”
Nanny Yan's eyes were a little dull, and she subconsciously looked in the direction of Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianchen was sitting on a chair, letting the palace maid measure her head circumference. She was holding a round fan embroidered with cats and butterflies in her hand, fanning her casually.
The little black cat on the fan also moved with her movements, as if it was about to pounce towards her from the fan.
The conversation between Chu Qianchen and her the day before yesterday flashed quickly in her mind, and Granny Yan felt her heart tightening and she shuddered.
She didn't want to go back to that dark room again.
Nanny Yan had no doubt that as long as she said one wrong word, it would be easy for Chu Qianchen to use Chu Qianchen's methods to make her faint or become "sick".
Grandma Yan forced a smile and said nonchalantly: "I'm not young anymore. I haven't been able to sleep well in the past two years, and I'm also obsessed with beds. I just changed my environment, and I haven't been able to sleep well at night these days."
Aunt Qiu didn't really care about Aunt Yan. She just asked casually without raising any suspicion.
Immediately afterwards, she got to the point and added with a smile: "Before I came to the Hou Mansion, I went to Shouning Palace to meet the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother asked you not to return to the palace in a hurry and to stay in the Hou Mansion to 'serve' Miss Chu Er. ”
Aunt Qiu was talking about the Queen Mother, but in fact, both she and Aunt Yan knew that it was the Queen who said this, and she was just using the name of the Queen Mother.
Grandma Yan didn't dare to play tricks at all, she nodded and said, "I understand, and I will definitely not let down the Queen Mother's hard work."
"I'd like to trouble Nanny Qiu to go back and tell the Queen Mother that Miss Chu Er is smart and diligent and has learned the rules very well."
"That's good." Aunt Qiu felt reassured and her smile deepened, "The Queen Mother cares deeply about Miss Chu Er, so you must do your best." There was a hint of meaning in her tone.
Nanny Yan glanced at Chu Qianchen quickly again. Chu Qianchen's smile was clear and there was no hint of happiness or anger.
Aunt Yan laughed twice and only agreed. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She just asked Aunt Qiu to say less.
I set the time to 7 o'clock tomorrow...that's so stupid, I'm going to yell at you.
(End of chapter)