Just when the entire capital was thinking crankily for the queen mother's decree, the Cold Food Festival quietly arrived.

After this day, it is Qingming, and some families simply live together, and bring incense and candles to worship at the graves of relatives one day in advance, so the sky is just dawn, and the city gate is opened.

Today, there are many people going out of the city and few people entering the city, so in the midst of the flow of people, a small donkey cart going in the wrong direction will inevitably make the soldiers defending the city look twice.

The donkey cart is actually nothing special, it is small and old, at first glance it is the kind of car that pulls feet outside, and it can't pull any high-status guests, most of them can only pull some goods. If you pull people, the first two people in it are afraid that they can't squeeze down and can't pull down, and they can't walk steadily, if people sit in it and don't keep the door right, their heads will inevitably have to make love with the car all the way up and down.

But it's such a broken car, and now there is a hand on the left and right sides of the door, and the palm is narrow and the fingers are slender, which looks like a woman's hand. The one on the left is slightly rougher, but the one on the right is as white and greasy as fat, and the ten fingers are as slender as spring onions.

The soldiers guarding the door are all old oils, and they may not have other skills, but their eyes are extremely sharp, so they found these two hands at a glance, and suddenly someone snorted, raised their hands and stopped the donkey cart: "Check and check!" Who will go into the city? ”

One of the great pleasures of these soldiers is to look at women. It's not necessarily that they want to do something with their hands and feet, but they are happy to take advantage of it. This kind of donkey cart is so dilapidated that it is definitely not a noble lady sitting in it, even if you look at it, it doesn't matter. Besides, with such a beautiful hand, what does that face look like? It's really itchy not to look at it.

The two soldiers looked at each other and walked over together. The handlebar style of the donkey cart didn't sit on the car at all, because I was afraid that the donkey I relied on for a living would not be able to bear it, so I hurriedly accompanied the smiling face: "The two masters, there are female dependents in it, and they came to the capital to see relatives." ”

"What's wrong with the lady?" One of the soldiers glared, stepped forward and lifted the curtain, "The female dependents have to-" The second half of the curtain was silent.

The one who was still pulling the donkey's halter heard that there was no sound, and quickly looked back and was stunned for a moment. There were two young women squeezed into the small donkey cart, although the clothes on their bodies were very ordinary, their faces were a little haggard, and they covered half of their faces with turbans, but the exposed side faces still looked handsome, especially the one on the right, with white and greasy skin, and one of the exposed ears was like the jade carving, and it was dazzling white in the sun.

The soldiers have been guarding the city gate for a long time, and naturally they have seen it even if they are noble and low-even if they are not able to look up to people with noble status, they have also secretly seen it.

They have their own set of summary methods: the female dependents of the high-ranking officials and eunuchs may not be more handsome than the women in the market, and sometimes they deliberately dress ordinary, looking no different from ordinary people. However, whether this identity is precious or not, it is not accurate to look at the clothes and jewelry, but it is accurate to look at the skin on the face and hands - but everything is white and delicate, as if it will come out of the water when you pinch it, this identity is eight or nine times out of ten - the daughter of an ordinary family, unless she is gifted and is the reincarnation of Yang Guifei Zhao Feiyan, she will never be able to raise such good skin, even if she is born white, she is not so delicate and delicate.

Just now, I was far away, and I only saw two little white hands, and this soldier thought that there was a tofu Shih Tzu pork Shih Tzu again, so he wanted to come over to see what it looked like, and let his eyes eat tofu. Unexpectedly, as soon as the curtain was opened, I felt that the woman sitting here did not look like a person in the market, but like a lady from a house, and she was shocked by the soldiers.

You must know that at the feet of the Son of Heaven, the most people are those who can't be provoked. On weekdays, it's not a matter of eating tofu and getting it clean, but if you don't know what to mess with, you don't know how to mess with people, and I don't know how your head fell off.

The two soldiers were old oilers, of course they knew the stakes, and when they saw that these two women were not like ordinary people, they immediately put down the curtain, pretended to cough dryly, and waved their hands: "Let's go, let's go." ”

The handlebar style was eager for this sound, and hurriedly pulled the donkey away. Oh my God, for these few taels of silver, he almost exhausted his poor donkey all the way. When you get the money for sending people to the field, you have to buy some good ingredients to treat this donkey, and what's the matter - you have to add a few handfuls of fried soybeans!

The two soldiers waited for the donkey cart to pass before they whispered: "My brother, who do you see in that cart?" How do I look, like a young grandmother from which family? "Looking like a maid combing her daughter's hair, the woman with fine white skin is combing the young woman's hair bun, although the top is only pinned with a root silver hairpin, but the bun is combed very delicately and carefully, if you want to say that the people in the market, only the combing girls who comb their hair for a living can come out.

"Not really." The other agreed, "Don't say anything, just don't do it today." ”

"Will it offend people?" That one was a little apprehensive.

"It should be—it's okay......" This one was actually a little apprehensive in his heart, "However, riding on such a donkey cart, I don't want people to know, as long as we keep our mouths shut, it should be fine." ”

The two soldiers were deliberating, and the two women in the donkey cart had just breathed a sigh of relief. A voice dressed as a maid trembled slightly: "Girl-"

"Don't talk!" The young woman sat up straight, obviously extremely nervous, but her face was stiff and unrevealed, "Look at it, is there anything ahead?" ”

The maid carefully lifted the curtain of the cart through a gap—the donkey cart didn't even have a window—and peeked out: "It's almost there." Is it to tell him to drive the car to the door or ......"

"Go to the corner gate." The young woman thought for a moment, "You go and call the door first." ”

Although the handlebar type of the donkey cart has also been back to the capital a few times, it is to the place where the common people gather, and he is not familiar with the road he is walking today, but he knows that most of the people living in this area are nobles. If nothing else, the ones that passed by his little donkey cart were all delicate carriages, some of them even two or four horses, comparing his donkey cart to the mud on the side of the road, as if he were not careful to be swept under the wheels. So while he was curious, his legs and stomach were also a little weak.

But the two people in the car didn't stop, but let him go deeper and deeper along a street. It wasn't until the handlebar style was a little unbearable that I heard the people in the car: "Turn this way and stop." ”

The place where the cart was parked was facing the wall, and there was a small corner door above it, which was now closed. The handlebar saw the maid get out of the car, knocked on the corner door for a while, and then a little guy opened the door and came out, and after just looking at it, he cried out: "Silver-"

The last word was covered back by the maid, and the little girl almost suffocated to death. The handlebar looked like he forgot that he was afraid, and he was relishing it, when he heard the curtain behind him open again, and a silver ingot fell on his leg, smashing a little painfully.

This silver ingot is an official ingot of five taels, and I have never seen such a big whole piece of silver in the handlebar style, and my eyes are about to fall out, and I chased after the silver ingot, and I didn't even hear the little guy cry out again. By the time he picked up the silver ingots that had fallen to the ground, and took another bite to be sure that it was silver, the corner door was closed as tightly as it had been at the beginning, and the two women had disappeared with it.

But it's not a handlebar thing. He happily wrapped the silver tightly around his belt and drove out of the street. However, out of curiosity, he still glanced at the corner door that the two women knocked on should belong to a not very large house, and the door is also closed at the moment, and the door is still white, obviously there is a funeral at home.

Is this coming back for a funeral? The handlebar style recalled and found that although the two women were not wearing mourning clothes, the colors were extremely plain. However, is there a corner door for funeral?

However, this thought flashed in the handlebar heart, and was washed away by the joy of getting five taels of silver. Five taels of silver! I can let his family of four live for a few months, and this trip is worth it!

The handlebar style happily drove away, not knowing that the house behind him had been almost turned upside down.

"Xiu-Wan?" Mrs. Cui had already changed into her clothes for entering the palace and was combing her hair. Hearing the maid's words, he ran straight out, and even his hair was scattered. Looking at the thin young woman in front of me, I could hardly believe my eyes.

"Mother-" Cui Xiuwan was like a thief all the way, and it was only at this time that she relaxed, and when she screamed, tears couldn't help but roll down.

Although Cui Jing and Cui Min didn't have to enter the palace, they also got up early in the morning, and when they heard the news, they all rushed over, and the family looked at each other. After a while, Mrs. Cui said, "You, where are you from?" ”

A trace of embarrassment flashed on Cui Xiuwan's face, and she lowered her head and said, "Quanzhou ......"

After Mrs. Wei found out about her fake pregnancy, Mrs. Wei found all kinds of excuses to prevent her from returning to Wei's house in Fuzhou. At that time, the news of her death had spread, and Cui Xiuwan knew that she had no capital to compete with Mrs. Wei, so she pestered Wei Yuan.

Speaking of which, Wei Yuan's temperament doesn't know who to follow, he is willing to elope with her, but he doesn't abide by the sage's precepts, and he has to be affectionate and polite before getting married, Cui Xiuwan doesn't know how much effort it took to finally get involved with him.

The raw rice was cooked into cooked rice, and no matter how strict Mrs. Wei defended it, she couldn't stand her son's anger, and the fortress was disintegrated from the inside, and she was half angry. However, she is not a fuel-efficient lamp, although she acquiesced in the matter, she sent Wei Yuan to Quanzhou Academy to study, saying that this time the autumn was missed in vain, and no matter what problems will occur after three years. asked Cui Xiuwan to go back to Wei's house with her first, saying that it would be more beautiful to wait for Wei Yuan to raise someone and then marry them.

Wei Yuan was sincere to Cui Xiuwan, and immediately went to the academy honestly after listening to his mother's words. Cui Xiuwan didn't believe Mrs. Wei so much - Wei Yuan would have to wait three years to be promoted, and Mrs. Wei didn't plan to give her any title for three years?

It's a pity that she is now nominally a dead person, and she has no position even if she wants to make trouble. However, she definitely refused to go back with Mrs. Wei, then the house was Mrs. Wei's world, in case she was ruthless and died of illness or something, she didn't even have a place to ask for help!

At this point, all Cui Xiuwan could do was to pester Wei Yuan and ask Wei Yuan to take her to Quanzhou Academy. At least she was relatively free there.

Wei Yuan was actually reluctant to Cui Xiuwan. The young man knows the taste of marrow, and he is his beloved, even if he does not want to disobey his mother, he still took Cui Xiuwan to Quanzhou. However, women can't follow into the academy after all, so Cui Xiuwan found a house in Quanzhou City to live in, and Wei Yuan only said to her classmates that she was his wife, but she also lived the life of a young couple.

According to Cui Xiuwan's idea, when her sister marries King Anjun for her, after this family matter is confirmed, she can quietly send a letter to her father in Fuzhou. Although she didn't expect her father to hold a funeral for her directly, after all, he doted on her so much on weekdays, as long as she turned around and begged, her father would always be soft-hearted and would find a way.

Who knows that things always backfire, she waited in Quanzhou for a year, but what she was waiting for was the news that King Anjun had married another princess of the Jiang family - the relationship between the Cui family and the royal family was actually broken.

Cui Xiuwan really didn't dare to go to her father anymore. She also knew that her father had taken the marriage very seriously, and now that it had fallen through because of her elopement—she could not imagine how angry his father would be.

However, no matter what, as long as her father is still an official, Cui Xiuwan feels that there is always hope for things. But who would have known that my father would suddenly die in the battle to protect the city.

In Quanzhou for more than a year, Cui Xiuwan has already felt that Mrs. Wei is becoming more and more cold to her and more and more unscrupulous. After all, a woman who is sure to be abandoned by the family has no value. I'm afraid that only Wei Yuan is still thinking about getting married after the autumn festival, but the marriage is a major event, the order of his parents, if Mrs. Wei insists on refusing, what can he do? Can you elope with her again?

The so-called runner is a concubine, at the beginning she only relied on her father's official position, but now that her father is dead, her brother has not yet succeeded, how many scholars have fallen like this, and she has nothing. If Wei Yuan is really famous, it will be better for Mrs. Wei to let her be a concubine, if it is worse, maybe she will not even be allowed to be a concubine - after all, there is a concubine before marriage, and it will be difficult for Wei Yuan to choose a good wife.

In the fear of the future, Cui Xiuwan was once again hot-headed, and left Quanzhou to return to the capital. At least this is her home, and her family will never harm her.

Cui Xiuwan stumbled after speaking, and there was a dead silence in the room. After a while, Cui Jingcai coughed dryly: "Let's stay first." When you came, you weren't seen, were you? He didn't know what to say about what this sister had done, she had fainted and eloped, and now she had rushed back like this, did she remember that she was already dead?

If it was an ordinary woman who died, Cui Jing didn't mind taking his sister back, but it really didn't work, so it would be okay for Mrs. Cui to recognize a righteous daughter again. However, Cui Xiuwan used to be the future princess of the county, and her funeral was heard by heaven, and now that she came back suddenly, if people found out, the Cui family would be guilty of bullying the king!

Cui Jing only felt that his head was aching for a while. He has been very tired these days, first his father's funeral, and then the queen mother wanted Cui Youwan to be a concubine - Cui Youwan herself was still very willing, but it seemed that his brother was not close.

And now, Cui Xiuwan jumped out again. Cui Jing only felt that his tired and somewhat drowsy head was jumping and aching, but he couldn't drive Cui Xiuwan out, so he had to say: "Aren't mother and Youwan still going to enter the palace?" ”

"Ahh Mrs. Cui suddenly remembered, and when she saw that it was not early, she hurriedly said, "Sister Xiu'er will stay first, and I will talk about it when I come back from the palace with your sister." "After all, it was the flesh and blood that she conceived and gave birth to in October, even if she was angry at the beginning, now that people are standing in front of her, she has lost a lot of weight when she looks at it, how can she still care about those things before?

Cui Youwan got up earlier than Mrs. Cui, had already finished dressing up, and had been sitting there without saying a word, before she smiled at Cui Xiuwan and said, "My sister's house was still empty, and nothing has been touched." ”

Mrs. Cui glanced at her little daughter with relief, and hurriedly ran back to the house to comb her hair and makeup. As a result, the mother and daughter didn't even have time to eat breakfast, so they got into the carriage and went to the palace.

The feast is held at the end of the day, but those who are called to the palace have to arrive early, and it takes some time just to check the token at the palace gate and walk into the palace. The Cui family originally wanted to arrive early, but they were disturbed by Cui Xiuwan like this, and when they arrived at the palace gate, they were late, and they saw that there was already a gorgeous carriage in front of them.

"It's the carriage of the Anjun Palace." Cui Jing, who sent his mother and sister over, only glanced at it and said.

The guard at the gate of the palace was very respectful to the carriage, and after checking the token, he let the carriage drive directly in - the princess of the county can enter the palace by carriage, of course, if you go inside, you have to change the soft sedan chair in the palace when you reach the second gate, and you have to walk through a few more gates. However, it is much better than those who have to change to the palace car or walk directly at the palace gate.

Cui Jing watched the carriage disappear into the palace gate, and felt a little embarrassed in his heart. He still remembered the scene when the girl of the Jiang family came to Cui Mansion to see Cui Xiuwan, and the bright and beautiful girl once made his heart move, but thinking of her identity as a medical girl, this little throbbing was immediately stifled by himself. I never thought that now goodbye, the original medical girl was already high and out of reach, and her sister was still looking forward to begging for a living under her.

Cui Youwan didn't know what her brother was thinking, she just stared at the back of the carriage in front of her. Because the Queen Mother had a will to take care of Cui's mother and daughter, although they were not allowed to enter the palace directly in their own carriage, they also arranged a small carriage at the palace gate for them to ride.

Not to mention the current situation of the Cui family, that is, in the past, when the Cui prefect was still there, Mrs. Cui was not qualified to enter the palace by carriage, and at this moment, when she saw the blue satin canopy carriage waiting in the palace gate, she was slightly relieved - at least the posture in the palace was enough, and now the Cui family has no inside, and it is good that the face on the outside can hold up.

However, this kind of small carriage in the palace is very narrow, even if the Cui mother and daughter did not bring a maid, the two of them were barely crowded inside, and the carriage of the Anjun Wangfu in front of them had long been out of sight.

There was a little sullen in the carriage, but no one from Cui's mother and daughter lifted the curtains. Although there is no rule in the palace that the curtains are not allowed, cautious people will not do it even if it is hot and humid, not to mention that Cui's mother and daughter are now more cautious.

"When I see you in a while, remember to be polite." Mrs. Cui actually entered the palace for the first time, although she still wanted to comfort her daughter not to be nervous, she was already nervous, and said what she had told her at home again.

Actually, this is complete nonsense. Cui Youwan has forgotten something, and she will not forget to salute. However, Mrs. Cui was nervous, and because the palace people who were following the car outside couldn't say anything private, she could only repeat this kind of words again.

"I see." Cui Youwan's mind was not here at all, and she replied casually, her eyes staring at the curtain were a little scary. If, if everything was as she guessed today, what would the Jiang family in the carriage in front of him do?

They still had to change cars, but Jiang didn't even get out of the car, she didn't even see a single back of Jiang Shi. I think that at the beginning, she was still a medical girl who came and went as soon as the Cui family recruited her, but now she looks like she is high. If he really entered the county king's mansion, he would bow his head and bow in front of her.

But it doesn't matter, as long as there is the support of the Queen Mother, what if it is a side concubine? The days are still long, as long as she is given a chance, there is always a way.

The pony carriage stopped at the second palace gate in Cui Youwan's cranky thoughts, where Cui's mother and daughter were not qualified to ride in the sedan chair, and could only walk. When they arrived at the Chunxi Palace, where the cold food banquet was held, it was already full of people.

The palace people led them into the hall and paid homage to the queen mother and queen in the center.

"Pick it up." The Queen Mother smiled, "Lord Cui sacrificed her life for the country, and Mrs. Cui is also a meritorious person, so there is no need to be polite." This is Miss Cui? Come, come, come to me. ”

The queen sat next to the Queen Mother, looked at Cui Youwan, who bowed her head slightly and stepped forward, and then moved her eyes to Taohua, who was sitting down.

Cui Youwan is a serious southerner, with a slender posture like a wicker, a sharp melon seed face, two curved willow eyebrows, a pair of apricot eyes, and she is born white. Because she couldn't wear filial piety when she entered the palace, she wore a lotus-blue long jacket today, and the neckline and cuffs were inlaid with moon-white narrow edges, which made her skin more and more familiar. Only a few pieces of plain silver jewelry are worn on the head, and a pair of plain silver drop bead pendants under the ears are gently swaying with walking, as if two drops of dew are about to drip down, and there is a beautiful smell of their own.

This appearance is placed in the emperor's harem, and it can be regarded as a middle-class posture, and it is enough to go to the Anjun Palace, to be a side concubine.

Thinking so, the queen looked at Taohua with a little schadenfreude. Since yesterday, the Queen Mother told her this tone, and she was happy all night. I want to see if the Jiang family can be so comfortable after Shen Shu accepts the side concubine!

However, the queen glanced at Taohua a few times, and suddenly felt that her heart was blocked again. Taohua went to the northwest, and it was indeed a little darker, but between the eyebrows, it was a little more heroic, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was full of energy. And although she has lost some weight, her complexion is excellent, wearing a silver-red plain gown, and she looks tall and bright when she sits there. The queen is also a person from the past, how can she not see the smile between her eyebrows, it is clear that only people who have a very nourishing life can have.

Why is she so comfortable? The queen secretly pinched the handkerchief in her hand, not only with Shen Shu's favor, but also with the emperor's support, what is the reason for this? Just by virtue of her medical skills, is she born a little similar to Xia's? No, she won't allow it! She is the queen, the mother of the world, if she is not doing well, no one can be better than her!