Chapter 01: The Divine Decree

In the deep courtyard of Zhumen, a light and agile sound of the zither came, playing just an ordinary Jiangnan minor tune, but there was a vivid aura. The maids who went to various places on the cloister with refreshments seemed to be attracted by such a simple but catchy tune, and accidentally bumped into each other in a trance, but fortunately the refreshments were unharmed and they were spared a punishment.

In the boudoir warm pavilion, a girl sits behind the guzheng, her face is like a peach and plum, her eyes are like stars, her nose is small and exquisite, and her lips are peach pink, soft and moist. Such a beautiful face even the peony in the pastel lotus pattern vase on the side has lost its color, not to mention the country, but it is enough to fall into the city. The girl's expression was calm, with a calm temperament, her fair and slender fingers were placed on the zither, and her nails were much longer than that of ordinary women, and she was plucking the strings of the zither and pouring out picturesque tunes.

At this time, the door was gently pushed open, and a fourteen or fifteen-year-old little maid with a bun walked in, put the bamboo four-layer food box in her hand on the table, and then took out the refreshments one by one and placed them one by one, before saying, "Third girl, rest for a while, let's have some refreshments." ”

The third girl, who was called by the maid, did not look at her, and continued to pluck the strings until the end of the song, when she got up and cleaned her hands and sat down at the table.

The little maid immediately poured tea for her with a smile, and the third girl, Ran Ning, picked up the teacup and took a sip. This health tea is boiled with red dates, wolfberries and other beauty things, and the women in the house like it very much, but Ran Ning always feels that the taste is strange and does not drink much.

Ran Ning is the concubine of Wan Pingbo, the third among the girls, the eldest sister born by the aunt Zhao and the second sister born to the mother-in-law Yu, in addition to the eldest son of the mother-in-law, if there is no accident in the future, the title of Wan Pingbo will be the eldest brother.

Ran Ning's mother Yuan Shi was not long after she was born, she went due to illness, Yuan's background was not high, her family was poor from a small family, in order to make a living, the family sold her into the art museum, and since then Yuan began to learn art with her master, and became a hot pianist in the art hall after growing up. The current Wan Pingbo has no big ambitions in his life, only one hobby is to listen to music, no matter what musical instrument, but he likes to play well, so those clean art galleries have become places he frequents, so Wan Pingbo and Yuan met, and it didn't take long for Yuan to be carried into Bofu and become Wan Pingbo's concubine.

Ran Ning didn't have much impression of her biological mother Yuan, after all, she was too young at the time. As far as she can remember, she had seen Yuan's portrait twice from her father, but after that, the portrait was gone.

Without her biological mother by her side, Ran Ning's life is not hard. But fortunately, Ran Ning is deeply loved by Lao Wan Pingbo, but no one dares to deliberately make things difficult for her. Lao Wan Pingbo always sighed from time to time that Ran Ning's temperament was like him, and he was very smart, if it was a man, how much should he be, but the kung fu of a cup of tea sighed that it was still a woman, and he only needed to be safe and smooth in the future, and he didn't need to fight for fame and fortune, and it was also a blessing to be dull.

Ran Ning grew up under the teaching of Lao Wan Pingbo, and the woman's morality is not bad, and she also inherited Yuan's talent and plays a good kite. A year ago, Lao Wan Pingbo passed away, Ran Ning stayed in the mourning hall for three days and three nights without closing his eyes, and when he came out of the mourning hall, there was no longer the innocence of the past in his eyes, only the restrained calm.

The osmanthus cake is sweet in the mouth, and it is accompanied by a cup of iced health tea, which is particularly refreshing in the sultry summer.

After eating a piece of osmanthus cake, Ran Ning raised her eyes and glanced at the little maid standing on the side, only to see that she didn't know what she was thinking, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, but she seemed to be afraid of being seen, so she was secretive.

"What's interesting?" Ran Ning asked.

This little girl's name is Bizhu, and she followed Ran Ning when she was six years old, because she was the one her grandfather picked for her, so she has been with her all these years, and she is not too restrictive.

Bizhu smiled, leaned into Ran Ning's ear, and whispered: "The house has begun to find someone for the eldest girl, and the news was only released early this morning, and many wives and ladies from other families have come to visit at this time, saying that they are visiting, but in fact they are here to see each other......"

Ran Ning was cold, stopped Bizhu's words, and said, "Is the master's matter used by your little maid to chew the root of your tongue?" If the eldest sister or Aunt Zhao hears it, I can't protect you. ”

"Yes, Bizhu knows it's wrong." Bizhu hurriedly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.

Ran Ning sighed in her heart and didn't say anything more. Bizhu is a year younger than her, and sometimes she doesn't think much about the consequences when she speaks. If this is put on the personal maid in the other room, it is nothing, at most it can be said to relieve the master's boredom, but it is not possible here in Ran Ning, she has no backing now, and if she is not cautious in her words and deeds, I am afraid that sooner or later she will be sent to the ancestral hall by her mother-in-law.

As soon as I finished eating the second piece, a maid came to report that the uncle was coming. Ran Ning hurriedly got up and stood on the side to greet him, and after a while, Wan Pingbo Ran Jing entered the door.

"I've seen my father, and I say hello to my father." Ran Ning saluted.

Wan Pingbo nodded, looked into the room, sat down where Ran Ning was sitting just now, and said, "Sit down." ”

Wan Pingbo looks elegant, he must have been a handsome son when he was young, but he has a soft temperament, he can't come up with an idea on a big issue, and he doesn't want to form a party and stand in line, and he is also one of the very few people who can stand in a neutral position in the court.

"Yes." After Ran Ning responded, he sat down next to Wan Pingbo's right hand, "Father came over today for something to order?" ”

Wan Pingbo rarely came to Ran Ning's place, and Ran Ning didn't see his father many times a month, most of them were just when he was greeting his mother-in-law. Some people say that Wan Pingbo is just afraid that seeing Yuan's relics here will increase his sadness when he comes to the third girl, so he rarely comes here.

"It's nothing. Xiao'er is at the age of getting married, and your mother and the Zhao family are picking families for her. You are also sixteen this year, although your mother is gone, but your marriage father has not forgotten. When Xiao'er and Ji'er are married, your marriage will also be opened. Daddy is here to give you a heads-up, and you should prepare yourself. Wan Pingbo said.

"Yes, my daughter knows, thank my father for worrying." Ran Ning knew that the reason why her father came back this time was not because of the deep father-daughter relationship, but because she was her father's daughter, her father was bound to worry about it.

"If you have something you like, you can also come and talk to your father, and your father will call the shots for you." Wan Pingbo said.

"Yes." Ran Ning responded. The Beixin Dynasty is still open in marriage, and it is not a shame for a woman to meet a man she likes, and it is not a shame to ask her parents to call the shots.

However, in Beixin, if there are no special circumstances, the order of the girls to marry must be arranged according to their age, and the latter cannot cross the front, otherwise the front will be laughed at. Therefore, even if the mother-in-law and the Zhao family have always been at odds, they dare not let the daughter-in-law Ran Xiao go over the eldest daughter Ran Xiao and mess up the order of the eldest and youngest, so as not to be said that she is unkind to her mother.

After saying this, he used another cup of tea, Wan Pingbo got up and left, and Ran Ning didn't send it far, but stopped at the door of the room, and didn't even step out of the threshold.

No matter how many people pay attention to Ran Xiao's marriage, it doesn't matter about Ran Ning, she still lives her life behind closed doors, playing the guzheng every day, going to her grandfather's study to find all kinds of books to read, or going to the street to shop for some gadgets when she has free time.

The Beixin Dynasty does not restrict women from going out, even girls who have not left the cabinet can travel freely, but some princes and nobles will still ask their girls to go out less and try not to show their heads. And although Ran Ning is Wan Pingbo's daughter, it stands to reason that she should also abide by such rules, but when her grandfather was there, he never stopped Ran Ning from going out, and even encouraged her to go out and have a look.

In Lao Wan Pingbo's view, girls will not be deceived if they see more and understand more. Ran Xiao and Ran Ji both have mothers, it is inconvenient for Lao Wan Pingbo to say more, Ran Ning, who lost her mother since childhood and grew up by his side, Lao Wan Pingbo naturally hopes that she can have a broad enough vision, so that even if he goes one day, Ran Ning is enough to live a stable life, not to be at the mercy of the left and right, and has no opinions.

Early in the morning, after Ran Ning finished freshening up, she was ready to go to her mother-in-law to ask for peace, and Ran Ning did not dare to slack off in the slightest. Even if the mother-in-law was sick, they and the Zhao family had to abide by the rules, and go to the door of the Yu family's room on time to stand for a cup of tea, and make sure that the Yu family did not need them to say hello before they could go back to their respective rooms for breakfast.

As soon as she walked out of the door and before she left the courtyard, the big girl beside Wan Pingbo hurriedly walked up, and when she saw Ran Ning, she seemed to be relieved, and after saluting and greeting, she said: "Fortunately, it's in time, the third girl, someone from the palace has passed the decree, and the uncle asked you to go to the front hall." ”

Ran Ning rolled his eyes and asked, "Do you know what it is?" ”

"This slave really doesn't know." The big girl said.

It is rare for someone to come to the palace early in the morning to make an order, and it is normal for all the masters in the house to go to receive the order, but it stands to reason that it should be the maid next to the grandmother who spreads the word, and it is categorically bothered by the people around the father. Ran Ning just wanted to see if she could find out something, but she didn't expect much.

"Alright, let's go." Ran Ning didn't ask any more questions, and followed the big girl to the front hall with Bizhu.

When Ran Ning walked into the front hall, everyone in the family had already arrived, and Wan Pingbo was chatting with his father-in-law who was delivering the message.

"Say hello to my father, hello to my mother." Ran Ning first saluted her parents, and then bowed half to her father-in-law, "Good father-in-law." ”

This father-in-law Ran Ning has seen it a few times, when his grandfather was still there, this father-in-law often came to pass on the decree, and the ancestor respected this father-in-law very much, so even if Ran Ning was Miss Bofu, she had to give this father-in-law some respect.

Father-in-law Chang looked at Ran Ning with a smile and said, "The third girl is polite, and the Bofu is well-educated." ”

"My father-in-law has won the award." Wan Pingbo hurriedly said. Others don't know, but he knows, this father-in-law Chang has served two generations of emperors, and he is quite used by the emperor, and he can't afford to offend. Ran Xiao and Ran Ji turned a blind eye to him, only if Chang Gonggong was a minion, he couldn't scold him in person, but fortunately, Ran Ning saved some face for him, so as not to let him offend the big celebrity in front of the emperor.

"Now that the people are together, the old slave will make a decree." Chang Gonggong said.

"Father-in-law, please." Wan Pingbo said.

Gonggong Chang walked to the throne and took the holy decree from the little eunuch, "Wanping Boshu Ran Ning received the decree." ”

Ran Ning was stunned, she didn't expect this holy decree to be given to her. However, she reacted quickly, and immediately walked to Wan Pingbo's side, and knelt down with the Bofu and others to accept the order.

"Fengtian carrier, the emperor edict said: Wanping Boshu Ran Ning, show off her wisdom, outstanding talent, so she was summoned to the Rite and Music Division, named a musician, and entered the palace seven days later. Chin this. ”

After listening to this will, Wan Pingbo was stunned, Zhao was stunned, and even the young master and girls were stunned. It was Ran Ning who reacted first, leaned over and kowtowed, "Thank you for your saints." ”