Many people have an average family background, but they will send their daughters who are a little beautiful to the palace to be palace maids. Because, in that place, they are the closest to power, and they have the opportunity to become the most powerful woman, but most of these girls have never even seen the emperor's face.

Because the man who is at the pinnacle of power, surrounded by countless beautiful concubines with extraordinary family backgrounds and different characteristics, where is there any extra look at the palace maid from humble background.

Therefore, most palace maids with no background have no choice but to serve their masters for life, and they will not be released from the palace until their youth is gone.

But don't think that they will be free after leaving the palace, because many nightmares have just begun.

After leaving the palace, they rarely return to their former homes, because their parents are old, and no one in the brother's family wants to raise these low-eyed aunts and grandmothers. So they have only two options:

The first way is to find someone to marry. But it is impossible for a twenty-five-year-old woman to marry a main house, but fortunately, under the influence of the masters, the appearance and temperament of the palace maids are much stronger than ordinary women of the same age, and it is more than enough to be a concubine.

It's just that they are pressed by the housemother above them, and there are younger and more beautiful concubines competing for favor below, and if they want to be happy, they are afraid that it is more difficult than ascending to the sky.

The second way is to sell yourself to the Qinglou, because it is a place where no one cares about age and origin. As long as you have enough posture and means, you can survive there. The palace maids usually see too many ladies in the palace competing for favor, and they have learned some ways to hook up with people.

But age is still a problem that can't be ignored, but any man wants to find a younger person to accompany him, so their status in the Qinglou is not very good. In such a place, there are still no customers from time to time, and sometimes, such a day is even more difficult than in the palace, and many people can't bear it and commit suicide.

Of course, not all people will be so miserable, there are always some people who have a unique charm to keep their benefactors, and then find a chance to marry themselves, of course, they can only be concubines.

There are a very few lucky people who will be invited by the eunuchs to be the nurturing grandmothers of their own girls because they have served their masters with extraordinary status. Their lives are peaceful, but they have been serving people all their lives.

Of course, there is a third way, which is to save enough money in the palace to spend the rest of his life. After leaving the palace, I will do some small business to support myself, but such days are destined to be lonely for a lifetime.

They are all poor people whose hearts are higher than the sky and their lives are thinner than paper, and after seeing wealth and luxury, they naturally don't want to be stepped into the quagmire again, and they will desperately want to seize the slightest opportunity.

Qingying sighed slightly in her heart, but she didn't say these words to Hua Lianyue. Because it is of no use except to add to the troubles.

After reading the notebook, Hua Lianyue gradually felt a little tired. So I pushed open the closed window lattice and looked out, and my eyes were full of mottled verdant and thin yellow, and occasionally a few wild chrysanthemums that were not afraid of the cold poked their heads out of the dead leaves and swayed in the wind. Bright but unwarm sunlight shines through the sparse branches, casting fragmented spots of light on the smooth bluestone pavement.

There have been too many deaths recently, and the peace in front of her has become incomparably precious, dispelling the blood and sorrow that remain in her heart little by little.

The silence was suddenly broken by a burst of cheerful footsteps, and a young child's voice shouted: "Master, hurry up!"

Immediately afterwards, a soft but kind smile sounded: "Little stone, you slow down, the master can't keep up." ”

Hua Lianyue's eyes that were about to squint lit up in vain, and she hurriedly asked Qingying to open the courtyard door. What was brought in was Ye Wushuang, who was carrying a burden, and Xiao Shi, who was also carrying a burden with a thin sweat, and the old housekeeper who led them in said, "Madam, the prince asks you to arrange a place for this Mrs. Wu." ”

Ye Wushuang also said a little shyly: "Madam, I've caused you trouble." ”

Although Wu Qingfeng was recommended by Liu Hui to enter Fengwei, they had no foundation in the capital, and they had no extra money and food, so naturally they had no way to buy a house and buy a house, so they stayed in an inn for two days.

Liu Hui learned of their embarrassing situation today, and thought that he was busy with official business during the day, and Hua Lianyue was really bored in the palace alone, so it was not bad to let Ye Wushuang accompany her, so he simply invited them to live in the Xianwang Mansion temporarily.

Wu Qingfeng was worried that Ye Wushuang was not at ease in the inn alone, after all, Huaiyin was not far from the capital. Although all these years have passed, who can guarantee that his good stepmother will give up the pursuit of their husband and wife.

Liu Hui had this plan, and he Wu Qingfeng couldn't ask for it, so he naturally gladly agreed.

Hua Lianyue was really happy, and hurriedly asked Qingying to hold the box and put it in front of the small stone, signaling him to eat at will. The dim sum in the box was given by the Queen Mother yesterday, which was extremely delicate and delicious.

The small stone leaned on Ye Wushuang's side, biting his fingertips, and a pair of black eyes swirled around in the box, but he refused to reach out to grab it.

Seeing this, Hua Lianyue picked up a piece of honey walnut sprinkled with sesame seeds with her own hands and handed it to him, but the little stone twisted away her little body without looking at it.

Hua Lianyue was a little stunned, and Ye Wushuang hurriedly explained with a smile: "His master said that these sweet snacks will wear out perseverance and are prone to burnout, so he won't teach him to eat except for three meals a day." ”

Hua Lianyue smiled and said, "How can there be children who don't like sweets, don't eat them at all, isn't it too cruel." ”

Ye Wushuang smiled bitterly and said, "Where are you afraid of eating sweets, Qingfeng is afraid that I will spoil this child too much and will give him up." ”

Xiao Shi also nodded vigorously on the side, and said tenderly: "Yes, I can't let the master down." My mother can make me eat three meals a day, and I also have the strength to practice kung fu, so I don't need to eat snacks. As he spoke, his waist stood straight, and his little hand was still pressed on the small wooden sword at his waist. He looked like a heroic young knight.

His words made Ye Wushuang and Hua Lianyue look at each other and smile helplessly. Okay! If they keep going, it seems that they don't have a little baby who is sensible. With a wave of his hand, Qingying took down the box and served Ye Wushuang tea, and the two sat down to chat.

At night, Liu Hui returned home and also brought Wu Qingfeng to kowtow to her. Hua Lianyue said with a smile: "It is an old acquaintance who has lived and died together, and I should also know my temperament, and I don't like to bow around like this, so I should be excused! It's close to the corner gate on the south side, so it's easy for you to get in and out, and there's a large flat yard just enough for the little stones to practice walking and kicking down. ”

Wu Qingfeng hurriedly said: "Thank you, Madame, for thinking so thoroughly. "It's just that it will take a few years for Xiaoshi to practice kung fu immediately. When he arrived, he Wu Qingfeng could naturally break out of the world, how could he still live in the side courtyard of King Xian's Mansion aggrievedly.

It's just that these words lingered in Wu Qingfeng's heart, and he couldn't see anything on his face except for gratitude. Coming out of the main courtyard, Wu Qingfeng went straight to Qingzhi Water Pavilion under the leadership of a guard.

Ye Wushuang had already prepared dinner and stood at the gate of the courtyard waiting for him to go home. Xiao Shi stood in the spacious and clean courtyard, slowly stabbing out the wooden sword in his hand again and again. Today, he was busy packing his bags and moving, and he hadn't completed the task assigned by his master, so of course he had to make up for it now.

"You're back!"

Hearing Ye Wushuang's voice, Xiao Shi's eyes immediately lit up. It happened that he had completed five hundred flat stabs, and he hurriedly collected the small wooden sword and jumped out to meet it.

Wu Qingfeng is standing at the door of Qingzhi Water Pavilion, in front of him is a square courtyard, facing the door is the main house, left and right are the east and west warm pavilions, there are independent study kitchens, firewood rooms, and there are two tall pomegranate trees in front of the main house. The canopy of trees covers almost half of the roof of the main house, and you can imagine how the flowers bloom in May and June of the following year.

The beautiful and virtuous wife who came out and threw herself into her arms made Wu Qingfeng feel like a trance for a moment. "Master, master......" Xiaoshi hugged his legs, looked up and smiled: "This yard is so big, it can also burn the earth dragon, we don't have to be afraid of the cold at night." ”

Wu Qingfeng came back to his senses, he lowered his head to look at the little face full of happiness, and a little sigh rose in his heart, after all, there were still regrets. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and touched the head of the little stone, but did not speak.

Ye Wushuang beside him said with a smile: "The meals are ready, let's go in!"

Wu Qingfeng looked at her carefully when he heard the voice, today's Ye Wushuang was thin and rouge, his eyebrows were like willows, his red lips were like cherry blossoms, and a pair of peach blossom eyes with mist were carefully depicted and looked particularly charming and moving.

The black hair is combed into a beautiful peach heart bun, a few chic white jade hairpins, reflecting the dark and bright clouds, and a long pearl tassel hanging obliquely.

She wore a new red cloud brocade jacket embroidered with a hundred butterflies and flowers, the neckline was decorated with a circle of soft and oily silver mink fur, and the cuffs were wide and embroidered with a circle of entwined lotus patterns, decorated with small glass crystal beads, and the action reflected a fine and dazzling streamer. A dark embroidered gold swastika multicolored silk silk tightens the waist, and below is a long skirt embroidered with large magnolia flowers in moon-white.

She is a natural beauty, she has fled with him all these years, her life is difficult and difficult, she has not had leisure for a long time, and she has not had extra money to dress up so carefully. After being gray for so long, the sudden appearance of such a costume made Wu Qingfeng amazed.

His fiery eyes stared at Ye Wushuang's face for a long time, Ye Wushuang touched the long tassel on his sideburns, lowered his long eyelashes, and explained with a little shyness: "These things are all given by Mrs., she has a good intention, but I can't refuse." After a pause, she cautiously asked, "Isn't it nice for me to dress like this?"

Ye Wushuang's restraint and lack of confidence at the moment immediately made Wu Qingfeng feel inexplicably uncomfortable in his heart. He grabbed her slender wrist with a slightly rude hand, grinned widely, and said, "You are the best in my eyes, no matter what." ”

"Hee-hee!"

Ye Wushuang lowered his head shyly, but saw Wu Qingfeng's knee-high small stone, snickering with eyebrows. She glared at him in embarrassment.

Xiao Shi slapped his face and smiled: "Shi Niang is shy, Shi Niang is shy!"

"Little ghost, you know everything!" Wu Qingfeng was in such a good mood, he picked up the small stone, held Ye Wushuang with one hand and said with a smile: "Let's go, let's go in and talk!"

In the East Warm Pavilion of the main courtyard, Hua Lianyue was looking at a thick stack of gift slips on the table in a daze. Qingying brought hot water, and Liu Hui cleaned his hands while saying with a smile: "These are all New Year's gifts from courtiers who have befriended me in private, you can take them all well, and then prepare a similar return gift according to their gift list."

It is estimated that from tomorrow onwards, you will receive posts about their banquets one after another. You don't have to go to all of them, pick two familiar ones to walk, and it will be regarded as a distraction. ”

Hua Lianyue was counting the gift list with interest, and her smiling face immediately had a sad look on her face. What she fears most in her life is to sit with those noble ladies she doesn't know and compliment each other insincerely. Fortunately, Liu Hui understood that she could not be restrained, and only planned to let her go to the two houses to meet the situation.

Liu Hui washed his hands with fragrant pancreas, took a soft juanpa to wipe off the water droplets, and waved his hand to let Qingying retreat.

Hua Lianyue spread out a stack of gift sheets, pinched them in her hand like a folding fan, and read one by one: "Two pairs of high-grade North Sea black pearls, two pairs of bracelets inlaid with gold blessing characters in the fragrant wood of the flail, two pairs of gold bracelets with lotus and lotus seeds, and two pairs of gilt beads and lanterns......"

She shook the folding fan of the gift slip in her hand, and said curiously: "Why are the gifts given by these people one-to-one?"

Liu Hui took a sip of hot tea and said with a smile: "Naturally, I want to be clever and take pairs of goodwill heads." ”

Hua Lianyue suddenly realized that this was their first year of marriage, and these officialdom oilers would naturally please this. Looking at the gift list one by one, Hua Lianyue said with a headache: "The New Year's gifts given in each house are different, and it is really not easy to prepare a return gift according to the same value." ”

Liu Hui thought for a while and said, "If you don't understand something, let the old housekeeper help you take a look, in previous years, he considered these trivial things." However, at that time, there was no hostess in our palace, and from this year onwards, I am afraid that you will have to worry about these things, Madame. ”

Hua Lianyue glanced at him obliquely, and said with disgust: "You are a good fate, don't care about anything." That being said, she carefully put the gift list into the box. Now that she has become husband and wife, there are some responsibilities that she cannot escape. For example, in the festival, these mutual socialization is a way for the ladies of various provinces to connect with each other. ”

Liu Hui smiled, took off the heavy fur brocade jacket on his body, and changed into a homely lake-water blue flat gold tuanfu pattern clothes, and Hua Lianyue personally helped him take off the heavy golden crown of hair on his head.

Her slender fingers also helped him press the tight scalp, Liu Hui's originally comfortable eyes squinted slightly, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the bottle of Lingbo Fairy that had been "carefully" trimmed by Hua Lianyue, first stunned, and then laughed and said: "Yue'er, don't you like that pot of Lingbo Fairy?"

Hua Lianyue also glanced over, but saw that the beaded buds between the originally beautiful branches were all cut by herself. The crooked branches resemble a jumble of wild onions. A few clusters of tender white and snowy, fragrant Sailan flowers are embarrassedly isolated on the branches, all without the previous noble and elegant meaning.

Just as he was rolling his eyes, thinking about how to deal with Liu Hui's ridicule, the respectful voice of the old housekeeper outside came: "Lord Wang, madam, the eldest princess's mansion has sent an invitation, please go to the banquet together tomorrow." said that he had just obtained a few rare pots of excellent camellias, and he specially invited Yutang Spring to sing to help the fun."