In the Xinuan Pavilion of Cining Palace, several people who were named by the Queen Mother took a young girl to sit on the chair, waiting for the Queen Mother to change her clothes and turn around.

Although they are all decent figures in front of the Queen Mother, these ladies originally belonged to different circles, and they may not have a relationship, and the current relationship is even more delicate, so they are a little uncomfortable with each other.

Zhao Xiu stood behind Zhang, quietly looking at the people around him.

There are also many acquaintances among them, the second wife of the Jiang family and her daughter Jiang Liuyu sat down, and the wife of the Li family led Li Shanwen to sit opposite them. Cao Fang's family took Cao Luo to sit in the last seat, and sitting opposite them was a strange mother and daughter, who were said to be the daughters of the new household Ding Shilang's family. Sitting opposite the Zhang family are the lady and the eldest lady of the Zhending Hou family - these two are also Zhao Xiu has never seen, it is said that they have always lived outside Beijing, and they only entered Beijing this spring, when Zhao Xiu was still in the south and did not come back. Counting up further, there are two wives and daughters of the state mansions.

Among them, Zhao Xiu is the same age as Jiang Liu, Cao Luo, and the daughter of the Zhending Hou family, and the other little girls are all eleven or twelve years old. Looking at this situation, Zhao Xiu can also guess that the latter is very likely to be the candidate for the eldest concubine of the queen mother. Take a closer look, these little girls are all very beautiful, or elegant, or beautiful, or charming, or dignified, and all of them have to be stable and square. However, Zhao Xiu has known Li Shanwen for a long time, and knows that she is still a very lively little girl in private, so she understands that under the image of these "steady dà squares", I don't know how much water there is.

Zhao Xiu was quietly looking at people, and the other ladies were also looking at each other in private, weighing everyone's strengths and weaknesses, estimating their own possibilities of winning, and each with their own thoughts.

Among them, the wife of the Zhending Hou family has stared at Zhao Xiu several times, and her gaze is still a little weird, in short, it doesn't seem to be a kind feeling. Zhao Xiu felt puzzled, raised his eyes and looked over, and the lady quickly shifted her gaze, deliberately pretending to be looking at the decoration in the Xinuan Pavilion, as if she was silently admiring the luxury of the furnishings in the house.

This level of the Lady of the Commandment, even in the palace, should not show such an expression, like a country woman who has never seen the world. What's more, the Empress Dowager Jiang doesn't like luxury, and the furnishings in the Xinuan Pavilion are just the level of the general palace palace, and many of the utensils are old things used by the Empress Dowager when she was a concubine in the past. The nobles and officials whose families are quite passable, and the female relatives of the family should not show such a surprised expression when they see such pomp.

The two duchess and duchess glanced at Mrs. Zhending Hou several times, and their faces showed a little disdain. For them, the Zhendinghou family lives outside Beijing all the year round, and they are countrymen. The first generation of Zhending Marquis was indeed born in mud legs, and it was not a matter to raise a son, relying on the merits of his father who died in the frontier, he was able to attack the original level, he never attacked, but he never got famous, and he did anything really bad, but he just had a false title of a marquis. Mrs. Zhending Hou was originally also a peasant woman, so her vision was naturally poorer. However, the current Mrs. Zhending Hou is from an official eunuch family, and her upbringing and etiquette are relatively reliable. It's a pity that she is sick now, so she had to let her mother-in-law lead her daughter into the palace to see her. But even if this lady temporarily made up for the etiquette class, she would inevitably show some of her true colors.

The eldest girl of the Zhending Hou Mansion could sense the contempt in the eyes of others, and her face flushed slightly, but she still maintained a dignified and generous image. What the Queen Mother likes most about her is this stability.

Just when the atmosphere in the Xinuan Pavilion was deadlocked, the Queen Mother finally changed into her regular clothes and helped the palace maid in. Everyone hurriedly got up and bowed, shouting Chitose in unison.

The Queen Mother was in a good mood, and smiled and asked everyone to get up and sit down. She wanted to summon these people for her own purposes. Now sitting in a warm room, she doesn't have to eat cold air, and she is also in the mood to ask questions one by one. The question is just about the latest developments. But listening to her tone, she is very familiar with the ladies present, and she seems to know the strengths of each little girl.

When it was Zhang's turn, the Queen Mother smiled and said: "You went to the south for this year, and I heard that you have played many places, and the mourning family is red-eyed when you hear it." If you're free, you have to talk to the mourning family in detail. Zhang smiled and responded.

The Queen Mother said to Zhao Xiu again: "The paintings you painted before, the mourners have seen them, and they are really good." The mourners looked at the paintings, as if they had traveled to Hangzhou once. I heard Zhen'er say that you still have many paintings there, and he picked a few to bring into the palace. If you still have one at home, send more of them. If you draw thickly, your drawing skills will be good, and even if you draw roughly, it will be good. ”

Zhao Xiu hurriedly said: "The Queen Mother praised it, it was all graffiti by courtiers, and it was difficult to get into the hall of elegance." It is a blessing for the courtiers to be liked by the queen mother. ”

The Queen Mother said: "There is also the travelogue written by the Westerner, which is also strange and interesting, it turns out that there are so many strange customs overseas, which is really eye-opening." It's rare that you have painted all those unimaginable people and things, so that people can know what they look like at a glance, which is really embarrassing for you. Do you still have it at home? If so, send them all to the mourners, right? ”

Zhao Xiu replied respectfully: "Back to the Queen Mother, these days I have been busy with the New Year's affairs, and I have never been free, and I haven't translated new books for some days, only a few words and books that I have translated in the past, which are plays performed by Westerners, and there are also a few poems, which are translated for fun." If the queen mother wants to see it, the courtiers will all offer it to you. ”

The Queen Mother's eyes lit up when she heard this: "Westerners also write poems? Then you really have to take a good look at it, and see which one is better than our Dachu readers? ”

Zhao Xiu said with a smile: "Their poems are not the same as ours, the rules are not as strict as ours, there are long and short sentences, if the paper is adopted, it is difficult to say." Besides, the poem was originally translated by the courtiers, and the courtiers' literary talents were limited, and the translations were naturally mediocre, but they didn't dare to say that they must have translated the literary talents of Westerners. ”

The Queen Mother laughed and said: "You are too modest, I have heard that you are also good at writing poetry." With your hand-drawing skills and the ability to translate Western characters, can't you still be called a 'talented girl'? ”

Zhao Xiu is naturally modest again.

The Queen Mother and Zhao Xiu talked for the longest time, and they looked sideways. The ladies present all knew in their hearts that the eldest girl of the Jiannan Hou Mansion was about to have a great transformation.

Zhao Xiu is not young, and he will be fourteen years old after the New Year, only a little older than the emperor's eldest son. However, everyone has heard some rumors and knows that the queen mother has taken a fancy to her as the eldest granddaughter-in-law, so most people are not in a hurry - they attach more importance to the position of the emperor's eldest concubine.

Second Mrs. Jiang sat very steadily, she knew in her heart that her daughter was just a guest today, and the Queen Mother had never hinted at anything. She just watched the show.

Mrs. Li is also very calm, she has already received a letter of approval, knowing that the Queen Mother has taken a fancy to her daughter, and the others are just accompanying guests. She just had to wait for the will.

Cao Fang's heart was slightly gloomy, she originally intended to marry her daughter back to a scholarly family. Since the queen mother is promoted and is a rare dignity, she can only accept the arrangement from above. But now it seems that the position of the princess of Guangping is not Cao Luo's turn. Cao Luo is much older than the emperor's eldest son. If it were someone else, she might have won the opportunity for her daughter to be the princess of Guangping. But since the opponent is Zhao Xiu, she won't do anything, and when she goes home afterwards, let's choose a son-in-law from a scholarly family for her daughter.

Only the wife of the Zhending Hou family was a little unstable. Her eldest granddaughter is younger than Zhao Xiu this year, and she has absolutely no hope of competing for the position of the eldest princess of the emperor, and she went to the prince of Guangping from the beginning. It's not that she hasn't heard of those rumors, but she refuses to give up, she trusts relationships everywhere, finds someone to intercede, and feels that her granddaughter is better than other girls, and the Queen Mother has no reason not to like it. But when it came to an end, she had no confidence.

She looked at Zhao Xiu's smiling face, and suddenly said: "The Queen Mother is wise, Miss Zhao is really talented and beautiful, I like it when I see it, if only I could marry home and be my daughter-in-law." He also asked Zhang: "Does your granddaughter have any promises?" I have a younger son and an older grandson, both of whom are the right age for her. No matter which one you choose, you can choose it, you are all handsome young men, and you will never insult your granddaughter. As she spoke, she was about to remove the jade bracelet on her wrist: "Let's change the watch, shall we?" ”

Everyone was dumbfounded, how could anyone ask for a kiss like this? In front of the Queen Mother, she mentioned this kind of thing without a beginning or an end, and she hadn't even seen anyone before, and she didn't know her age or appearance, so she had to exchange notes, which was too reckless. Besides, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the Queen Mother has already selected Zhao Xiu to be assigned to the prince of Guangping, and Mrs. Zhending suddenly jumped out to cut off her beard, isn't this robbing people with the royal family?

What's more, the Zhending Hou family has been in the capital for more than half a year, and Mrs. Zhending Hou often goes in and out of the palace with her daughter, and the situation in her family can be said to be well known. Mrs. Tai's youngest son is indeed single, but his wife is dead and wants to continue the string. And the eldest grandson is only twelve years old this year, not to mention that he is a little younger than the emperor's eldest son, and the most important thing is that he is now discussing marriage with the eldest granddaughter of the eldest princess of Linyi and the eldest daughter of Mrs. Mada. If the Marquis of Zhending can recommend his daughter to the Queen Mother, he will still follow the path of the eldest princess of Linyi. Why is it that now that the matter has not been completed, Mrs. Hou has betrayed her faith first?

Zhang stared at Mrs. Zhending Hou, she was so angry that she couldn't speak, and took a few deep breaths before saying, "The Queen Mother is sitting on top, what kind of stupid thing is Mrs. Tai talking about?" Who's going to say that? Please respect yourself! ”

Mrs. Zhending's face was red and white for a while, and her granddaughter quietly pulled her sleeve beside her. She ignored it. She knew that her approach was too reckless, but seeing that the Queen Mother was about to choose Zhao Xiu to be the princess of Guangping Wang, what should her granddaughter do? If she had decided that Zhao Xiu would be her daughter-in-law first, the Queen Mother would have to be replaced, wouldn't she? Her granddaughter is doing everything well, and without Zhao Xiu, her granddaughter will definitely be able to stand out......

The eldest girl of the Hou family in Zhending was flushed, barely maintaining a dignified image, but her face was a little broken. She knew that her grandmother was stupid sometimes, but she couldn't do it at this time!

She quietly looked at the face of the Queen Mother above, and couldn't tell whether the other party was happy or angry. The atmosphere in the room was a little weird, and at this time, the palace people came to report: "The eldest son of the emperor and the prince of Guangping have come to say goodbye to the queen mother." ”

The atmosphere in the room was even more eccentric. (To be continued.) )