Taohua returned, except for the Anjun Palace, which was naturally the busiest in Jiang Xi's family.

"Ask the kitchen to prepare Sister Tao's favorite dishes!" Jiang Xi was not talking to Cao, but explaining to Baiguo. Don't look at the Cao family who has been married into the Jiang family for all these years, if you ask her what Jiang Xi likes to eat, she can still answer, if you ask Taohua what she likes to eat, she will definitely not know much.

Bai Guo bowed his head and said, "The slave has already asked the kitchen to prepare, don't worry, master." I also ordered a basket of live shrimp with Zhuangzi outside, and sent it early tomorrow morning. "Taohua loves to eat shrimp and crabs, in the past, these things were easy to get in the south of the Yangtze River, but later they ate less in the capital, and they were even more lacking in the northwest.

"You've thought about it." Jiang Xi nodded, "It's a pity that it's spring, and there are no good crabs." "Even the shrimp has only survived a winter, and it is not very fat, but if it is fresh, it tastes good.

Bai Guo stood still. Jiang Xi walked around the room and said, "There are still snacks." In the northwest, the taste is different from ours, and the Dingbei Hou Mansion may not have good cooks, but I am afraid that they will not be able to make Jiangnan flavors. This requires some preparation. ”

Bai Guo said softly: "This slave has also been arranged." The slave maid will also make a few snacks, all of which the girl loves in her daily life. ”

Jiang Xi rubbed his hands: "That's good, that's good." ”

After the matter was explained, the two stood facing each other, and Jiang Xi felt a little embarrassed. Since Taohua specially handed over Baiguo's identity deed to him, and asked the little maid to come over, Jiang Xi was a little embarrassed.

Originally, he didn't want to take any concubines. Look at Mrs. Jiang, she accepted such an Aunt Zhu, because she gave birth to a concubine, the husband and wife were estranged from the father and son - although there must be some other reasons here, but the concubine is the source of the chaos, this is true.

Jiang Xi respects his uncle very much, seeing that his uncle has not been able to deal with this matter, he feels that he has no ability to do this, so he doesn't want to cause trouble. What's more, he now has two children, and he is obsessed with writing medicine books, and he has always been based on moderation and health preservation in the affairs of the house, and he is not good. Not to mention taking concubines, even if there is no wife at home, I don't think so.

However, this inner house is not what he wants. Cao's housekeeper has been in place for nearly a year, and he finally made a big mistake because he didn't make anything, but there are always many things that he didn't take advantage of, which is too much worse than the original Taohua housekeeper. Jiang Xi has developed a habit over the years, and now he also feels awkward. However, Bai Guo is indeed capable, and many things are arranged in the style of Taohua, which makes him feel more comfortable.

In this way, it is inevitable that it will be a little embarrassing. Bai Guo is a maid, and he can't divide the power of the housekeeper no matter what, but if he wants to be accepted as an aunt, Jiang Xi feels that it is not appropriate, so he has been vaguely dragging it down.

But this will not last long. The Cao family is now preoccupied with Jiang Yanhua's marriage, so he only feels that he is in the middle of the matter when he gets married, and the Cao family has no worries, and he is bound to turn back and grasp all the family affairs in his own hands, what should he do at that time?

Bai Guo waited for a while, and saw that Jiang Xi just rubbed his hands and didn't speak, and didn't even look at himself, he couldn't help but feel gloomy for a while, and bowed his head and said, "If the master has no other instructions, the slave and maid will go and prepare first." ”

"Okay, okay, you go." Jiang Xi couldn't wait for this, hurriedly agreed, and turned back into the house to see Jiang Bohua writing.

Bai Guo withdrew from the study and walked slowly on the road, feeling at a loss. She thought that she would be able to get what she wanted by asking Taohua, but who knew that Taohua didn't care about it, and now Jiang Xi didn't understand, she was twenty years old after the New Year, what should I do? What if the matter has not yet been completed and is discovered by the Cao family?

In fact, she was really worried at this time, the Cao family didn't find out that she had any feelings for Jiang Xi at all, and she was busy for Jiang Yanhua - now it's time to call Chen Yan - was very busy.

"This account-" Cao didn't know a few words, when she was a girl, because there were too many children to be raised, it was impossible to teach her daughters a teacher, but she just followed everyone's mother, and then the literate mother-in-law at home taught her to recognize a few words.

Cao's mother was a concubine, and she couldn't read and write, let alone teach her daughter. After the Cao family married into the Jiang family, Chen Yan studied hard, and she only learned a little bit and could barely read the account books.

However, the ledger is not something that can be understood by literacy. Cao's magic is even worse, and he only feels a headache when he sees the end: "Is this a gain or a loss?" ”

Chen Yan's face was not very good-looking: "I earned three taels of silver...... "The tea shop has been open for more than two months, and I only earned three taels of silver." If it weren't for the fact that this shop was set down by itself, the rent alone would not be enough!

"It's good to earn it, it's good to earn it." Cao Shi hurriedly comforted his daughter, "How can this business be made from the beginning, three taels of silver is also silver, and there will naturally be more and more in the future." ”

Chen Yan bit her lip and didn't speak. Her shop was still opened before the Chinese New Year, and she didn't make any money when the business was at its best in a year, and it was even more conceivable at other times. I thought that flower tea was selling well in the south of the Yangtze River, but who knew that the capital didn't recognize this. Three taels of silver sounds like a profit, but when will the 1,500 taels of silver from the pan shop and the 200 taels of silver that were later used be earned? Three taels - if you really hire a shopkeeper from outside, it will not be enough to pay the wages!

The pan shop was originally to be able to get a few living money, but if this is always the case, it is better to save the silver and keep it for the flowers.

"Don't worry—" Cao thought for a moment, "I remember that when your sister first started making that flower tea, it took a year or two to earn it back—at that time, she planted all the flowers of her own mother's Zhuangzi, and used a lot of silver." ”

Chen Yan still didn't speak. She also knows that there is no hurry to do business, but during the Chinese New Year this year, Wuxi sent silver money and accounts - the silver money earned by Li's married Zhuang shop will naturally not be handed over to Cao's hands, but the general accounts can still be inquired a little - the pearl orchid and tortoiseshell tea made by Zhuangzi this year alone will be divided into more than 4,000 taels of silver, plus the income of the shop, there are enough 5,000 taels! It is the same as the Jiang family's medicine hall and Zhuangzi's entry.

In other words, the expenses of the Jiang family's whole family can be spent by Taohua alone. The contrast is so big, even if Chen Yan is not worried about food and clothing now, she is not at ease. What's more, when she gets married, she won't need the Jiang family's money, it depends on how the Liu family is.

However, judging from the dowry gift sent by the Liu family, it is not a rich family. The only thing Chen Yan can □□ is that Liu Zhijing is still quite useful to Jiang Jun at the moment, and if this thing is done well, he will have a future in the future.

However, this future is also tied to Taohua, if she hadn't come up with a way to avoid acne, there would be no things to do today. Now that she has come back from the northwest to preside over the pox seeding - the more Chen Yan thinks about it, the more depressed she feels, but she is helpless.

"Mother, when my sister comes back tomorrow, do you ask the cook to prepare her favorite dishes?" She has reverted to her surname Chen, but her household registration is still in the Jiang family for the time being, and now she doesn't call her sister twice, and if she marries, she may really be estranged from the Jiang family. Rao is Chen Yan secretly swore an unknown number of oaths, looking forward to Liu Zhijing getting ahead in the future and teaching Taohua to take a look, and he can only bow his head at this time.

"There's a ginkgo fruit here." Cao Shi didn't care much and said, "Mother, you're too busy at this time." This is about to be done in the house to give the dowry - "How to make the limited dowry look better and more dignified, and you have to worry about it."

Chen Yan frowned: "Mother, don't just take care of me, Daddy and Bai Ge'er should also pay more attention to it." "In the final analysis, the Cao family's future reliance is on the Jiang family, if the Cao family can manage the director as soon as possible, maybe they can buy her more dowry, and they won't have to think about how to pack a few more boxes of dowry now.

"Yes, yes." It's not that Cao Shi doesn't understand this truth, "When you get married, I will naturally free my hands." "After all, the daughter got married this time, but the husband and son were always there. But when it comes to his son, Cao couldn't help but complain again: "Brother Bai is not close to me at all now, but I heard that Sister Tao is coming back, and I look forward to it every day, and I keep saying ......"

Jiang Bohua has been officially enlightened, and Mrs. Jiang introduced a school in the capital that specializes in teaching Mengtong, and he has to go to study every day. And now that he has moved out of the back house, he lives by himself in the small courtyard next to the study, and he has more time with Jiang Xi, and it is not very convenient for the Cao family to see him, let alone get close.

There is nothing Chen Yan can do about this. When the boys are older, they naturally have to move out of the back house, and they can't be "longer than the hands of women". Jiang Bohua moved to live by himself at the age of six, although it was a little early, but Jiang Xi's family had such a son, and there was no precedent to follow, so he couldn't find an excuse to stop it.

"In short, my mother should also be attentive, make more dim sum soup, go to see it a few times a day, and slowly get close. In the end, it is the meat that fell from the mother's body, how can it be alienated? ”

Cao was a little stumbling. Because this son has not been raised by her for too long, she is not as close to Chen Yan as emotionally, although she often makes some food and asks the maid to send it, but if she "goes to see it several times a day" as Chen Yan said, it is too far away.

Chen Yan didn't have much of the heart to care about this. At present, her surname is "Chen", although the subordinates of the Jiang family still call her the second girl, but the eyes of her are already a little strange, and then take care of the affairs of the Jiang family, I don't know what these people want to talk about.

Cao is a person who doesn't care about everything, and after complaining about his son, his heart returned to his daughter's dowry: "Come on, clean up the dowry first." "Chen Yan's dowry is a total of eighteen lifts, and the Cao family really wants to make up twenty-four lifts, but it seems to be really difficult.

"Your sister came back from the northwest, so she can always bring something......" Cao sighed as he looked at the box that was really a little empty. The dowry boxes are about the same size, if they are too small, they will be seen at a glance, and the contents of the box must be at least eighty percent, otherwise there will be a lot of outside, and when it is opened, it will be impossible to pass. Chen Yan's dowry is like this now, if it is pretended to be twenty-four, it will be about sixty percent in a box, which is really unsightly.

It should be said that Cao's wish has not been disappointed, although Taohua has not brought back many things from the northwest, the one prepared for the Jiang family is not small. Of course, most of the heads were sent to the palace, and they were first "honored" to the queen mother and the emperor and queen.

"Well, this fox fur is a little light in color, but the fur is rich." Northwest specialties, of course, are fur for a lot, the queen mother and the queen are sent fox skins and skins, and the rest of the palace concubines are lamb skins or agate ornaments. At this moment, the Queen Mother was looking at a fox fur collar, and the Queen was scrutinizing it a little critically.

Taohua sat down with a smile: "It's cold in the northwest, and the prey caught in winter has thicker fur." "Fur depends on color, but it also depends on whether it is rich and smooth. These are the best ones sent to the palace, and the luster is not worse than that used by the queen, but the color follows the wilderness in the northwest, and it is a kind of sand yellow, which is not as tall as the red fox Xuanhu. This is also because there is no good fur dyeing technique nowadays, otherwise the color will be dyed like that...... Prices skyrocketed immediately. Hey, if this happens, the income of the people in the northwest can be increased a little.

"It's hard for you to think about it." The Queen Mother put on a generous appearance as always, "This year is an eventful autumn in the northwest, and I have heard about it - I see that you are also dark and thin, and it is not easy to rest when you come back, why do you have to enter the palace in such a hurry?" ”

If you don't hurry into the palace, you will have another set of rhetoric. Taohua slandered, but she only smiled on her face: "It's still early for the prince to see it, and I'm thinking about going to the palace to greet the queen mother." "Playing officialdom and doing superficial things, who wouldn't.

The queen pursed her lips on the side, and said in a weird manner: "Speaking of which, the emperor is also anxious to let Princess Anjun come back to preside over the pox." Oh yes, I will probably have to ask Princess Anjun to check Concubine Shu's pulse. "Why are you thinking about coming to the Queen Mother to say goodbye, it's obvious that the emperor is in a hurry.

But speaking of this, the queen was also a little apprehensive. In the past few days, she has already instructed that the medicine given to Concubine Yuan Shu should be stopped first, and she doesn't know if Jiang can diagnose it.

Taohua owes herself: "What does the emperor command, the concubines should do their best." ”

The queen glared at her, and suddenly laughed: "Speaking of which, there is still someone who is also worried about the princess of the county - does the princess of the county know that Lu Baolin is also pregnant?" ”

Of course, Taohua knew: "The concubine also heard about it in the northwest, and the palace was happy." ”

"yes." The queen said meaningfully, "Lu Baolin and you are best friends, and now that you are back, it is better to come to the palace often to talk to her." After all, listening to the secluded place of Yuju, not many people walked around, and the palace affairs were busy and could not be taken care of all the time, Lu Baolin couldn't help but feel lonely. ”

The place is secluded, and not many people go to walk around, which is to say that Lu Ying is not favored by the emperor, and he has no friendship with the rest of the concubines, so he can only rely on the queen, right?

Taohua glanced at the queen quietly, and lowered her head slightly: "Yes." If she hadn't seen the emperor quietly enter the Yuju through the corner gate, she would probably really believe the queen's words. A low-ranking concubine who is not favored but suddenly pregnant is naturally the target of everyone's jealousy, if there is no backer in the palace, how can she gain a foothold? If she diagnoses Concubine Yuan Shu's illness what's wrong, the queen plans to withdraw her protection of Lu Ying?

"Then you'll go and see Lu Baolin in a while." The queen was quite satisfied with her words, but before she could say a word, someone from the palace came in: "The princess of Xuan'an County of the emperor went to Zhongxiu Palace to diagnose Concubine Yuan Shu's pulse......"

The queen's two eyebrows were about to stand up suddenly, and she barely pressed them down. The Queen Mother glanced at her and said to Taohua unhurriedly: "Then you can go over." ”

The atmosphere in Zhongxiu Palace is a bit weird. The master is pregnant, and the emperor is very pampered, and good things are rewarded like flowing water every now and then, and the palace should be happy. But recently, Concubine Yuan Shufei has been uncomfortable from time to time, and her temperament has been uncertain, and she has unusually punished the people in the small palace, and made the people waiting tremble, and I don't know whether to smile or not.

It was in this strange atmosphere that Taohua met Yuan Shufei - to be exact, the emperor and Yuan Shufei.

Yuan Shufei sat leaning on the head of the bed, her cheeks looked quite plump, and her complexion seemed to be good, but her eyes were not quite right, not at all like a mother who was looking forward to the birth of her child, but like a sleepy beast, full of vigilance, suspicion, and even a little crazy something, Taohua couldn't understand it.

However, the emperor, who was sitting on the edge of the bed holding her hand, smiled when he saw Taohua: "Come and check Concubine Shu's pulse, she is always too worried about this child, and she is so disturbed that she is not at ease." Your medical skills are highly respected by the hospital envoys, come and give her a good consultation, maybe she can rest assured. ”

This atmosphere is really weird, but Taohua can only pretend that she didn't see it, and walk over to check Yuan Shufei's pulse. Concubine Yuan Shufei stared at her tightly with a pair of eyes, and asked without waiting for Taohua to finish diagnosing her pulse: "Princess Jun, how am I doing?" ”

Momoka frowned. Yuan Shufei's pulse is indeed not normal, but the pulse of a pregnant woman is originally different from that of ordinary people, and if there are various reactions during pregnancy, the pulse will be even more complicated.

"What's wrong with the lady?"

"Headache!" Yuan Shufei immediately replied, "I always have pain from time to time, and my eyes are blooming from time to time." Did I eat something—something from Chongke? ”

Although Chong Ke's statement was subtle, Taohua had already understood, and Yuan Shufei also suspected that she had been drugged.

"Is there anything else?" The headache and dizziness may be high blood pressure, and it does not prove that it was drugged, "What is the discomfort of the fetus in the womb of the mother?" ”

"This-this is not ......" Yuan Shufei muttered, "It's quiet......" This is one of the reasons why no one believes what she said, there is neither abdominal fall nor abdominal pain, and the tocolytic pills are actually not very useful.

"Quiet?" Taohua felt that something was wrong, "The dragon fetus in Niangniang's womb can move every day?" "Concubine Yuan Shufei has been pregnant for nearly six months, and she should have had fetal movements a long time ago.

"Move?" Although Yuan Shufei was pregnant with two children, she had a miscarriage at three or four months each time, and she had never experienced a period of fetal movement at all. ”

"Mother, the fetus will naturally move when it is big." Taohua was very speechless about Yuan Shufei's poor knowledge of childbirth, "Niangniang is now nearly six months pregnant, and she should have felt the fetus moving in her womb." ”

"Isn't it going to have a miscarriage?" Concubine Yuan Shu vaguely remembered that there were concubines in the palace who had miscarriages after pregnancy, and it seemed that what the imperial doctor said at that time was that the fetus moved frequently and was difficult to keep......

"Of course it's not violently moving......," Taohua had a headache, "Niangniang should be able to feel the dragon fetus moving slightly in her abdomen at night." ”

"No......" Yuan Shufei's hand tightly protected her abdomen, "It hasn't moved...... "The previous imperial doctor didn't ask her so, and she didn't know that the fetus should still move."

"I, did I get drugged!" Concubine Yuan Shufei sat up suddenly, reached out and grabbed Taohua's hand, staring at her with a pair of eyes, "Will my child be okay?" Princess of the county, you have to save my child! ”

"Concubine Shu-" The emperor stretched out his hand and slowly pulled Yuan Shufei's fingers away one by one, rescuing Taohua, "Maybe it's just that our children are quieter, or maybe you didn't pay attention before." That's why you're so worried that you're so uncomfortable. I have already said that the mind must be relaxed, and the so-called precepts of Buddhism are also meant by this. ”

Concubine Yuan Shu looked at the emperor stunned, her eyes were full of despair, but in the end, she just lay down in despair. The emperor gently tucked the corners of the quilt for her, and nodded to Taohua: "Concubine Shu is going to rest, let's go outside to talk." ”

Taohua followed the emperor out of Zhongxiu Palace, and walked straight to the bright sun, only to feel warmer on his body, and get rid of the cold feeling in the inner hall of Zhongxiu Palace. The warm smile on the emperor's face was long gone, and he said lightly: "Is it really wrong to have this baby of Concubine Shu?" ”

"Generally speaking, the mother's fetus should have moved a long time ago...... "If it hasn't moved, it may be stillborn."

"That's what the envoy told me."

"The emperor already knew?" Although Taohua had heard Shen Shu say that the emperor would not let Concubine Yuan give birth to a child, she was still a little shocked when she heard this at the moment, "But Concubine Shu's mother ......" It seems that she obviously doesn't know what is going on with the fetal movement.

"No one dared to tell her." The emperor smiled faintly, "She was already thinking a lot, if she told her that something might be wrong with the fetus, I'm afraid that something would really happen." "How dare the imperial doctors take this responsibility, but if they don't say it at this time, it will also be their responsibility to have a miscarriage in the future, so the envoy expressed it to the emperor as tactfully as possible.

"I just want to know what kind of poison she has been poisoned into."

"W-can you get the medicine? At least in this situation, it is difficult for the concubines to judge what kind of poison the mother has. ”

The Emperor nodded thoughtfully, "Let me think of a way." In the past few days, I was afraid that you would come back and find out the clues, and the queen had already asked someone to stop the medicine. ”

Taohua couldn't help but ask: "Since the emperor knows that it was the queen who drugged it, why-" Why wait?

The emperor smiled slightly: "If there is no evidence, how can the queen be willing to admit it, and how can the Yu family be willing to admit it?" He glanced back at the direction of Zhong Xiugong faintly, "What's more, Concubine Shu has always respected the queen, if there is no evidence, she is afraid and won't believe it......"