The next day, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the emperor feasted the ministers, Zhao Shijiao entered the palace, and Shen Wanzhen lay on the kang, sleeping darkly, and made up for all the thirty nights' sleep.

According to the rules of the palace, the side concubines and concubines got up early to wait in front of the princess, Zhao Shijiao went out and saw a group of concubines, waving his hand, "Let's go back, I was tired last night, I don't need to say hello today." ”

The concubines were just about to leave, but Zhao Shijiao added, "In the next few days of the New Year, there is no need to ask for peace, the New Year will remain the same." ”

The concubines were placed in the middle of the night after the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and they got up early in the morning, standing listless outside, not in the mood to give the princess eye medicine, and they all slipped away.

Zhao Shijiao instructed Chen Fu, who was following behind, "Don't let people alarm the princess, walk quietly." ”

Chen Fu lowered his head and agreed, "Yes" in his heart, who dares to be alarmed.

With a retreat, the concubines were all dispersed, and Xue Jin didn't care about Shen Wanzhu and left.

At noon, Shen Wanzhen finally slept enough, got up, embroidered chrysanthemums and other services to freshen up, and said: "Just now, the prince sent two baskets of watermelons back, saying that they were rewarded in the palace, transported from afar, and fresh. ”

"If there are few things, I won't share them with other masters in the house, and I will leave them for the prince to come back to eat." Shen Wanzhen also said this, watermelons are rare in winter, but when did the palace lack watermelons to eat, she was lazy to take care of this group of bad-hearted women.

After a while, she said again: "I'll take two for Mrs. Xiao later, and I'll say that the prince named them." ”

Shen Wanzhen wanted everyone in the house to see that Mrs. Xiao took refuge in her, and the prince valued her, and the prince did not want to see anyone who was against her.

Xiuju people are sincere, after last night's incident, they have a good impression of Mrs. Xiao, and said: "Mrs. Xiao spoke for her master in public last night, and she seems to be an understanding person. ”

Shen Wanzhen lowered her voice, "Do you think she is really good for me?" I don't have any friendship with her, why did she help me and offend a group of concubines, she is a drunkard, and she seems to have no intention of competing for favor, but in fact, this is the biggest competition for favor, don't you think she left a good impression on the prince by doing this? ”

Xiuju thought about it seriously, "The master is right, the slave is a stranger to her, and after this night, the slave and maid have a good impression of her." ”

"The prince's concubine, looking at it now, only Miss Xu and the two sisters have no intention of competing for favor, and other people's thoughts are almost written on their faces." Shen Wanzhen picked up a handful of water, sprinkled it on her face, paused for a moment, it was a little cool, very refreshing, and then wiped it with cotton silk.

"It's so good for the slave to watch Mrs. Yan's dance." Qiao Shan and the other masters wiped their faces and took the cotton silk.

"Lord Wang, these concubines, the only thing that can make me look at it differently is Mrs. Yan, don't you see it? Mrs. Yan is sincere to the prince, and dance also has a soul, just looking at her dance, what she wants to interpret is a woman's deep love for someone from the bottom of her heart, not the prince and who it is, she looks at the prince's eyes, not to say self-evident. ”

"But the slave and maid didn't care to see the prince, the prince was only good to the master, and there was nothing else to distract." Xiuju took the ivory comb in Qiao Shan's hand and prepared to comb her hair.

Shen Wanzhen sat on the embroidery pier, "Her deep affection for the prince, the prince will not be able to see it, I don't see that the prince is different from others." ”

Qiao Shan went out to pour water, and Xiuju gently combed the master's long black waterfall-like hair, "The slave didn't see that the prince had affection for her, and the prince watched the master all night last night." ”

"Mrs. Yan and Mrs. Xiao Han were the first to enter the palace, and even if a man doesn't love a woman who loves him deeply, he will have some pity."

"Chen Gonggong" outside the hall, Qiaoshan's warm voice.

"The princess is up?" Chen Fu still came cautiously.

"Grandpa Chen, come in." Shen Wanzhen heard it in the room and hurriedly called him in, Chen Fu is usually cautious and cautious, not domineering, Zhao Shijiao can use the person, he must be trustworthy.

"The prince stayed in the palace tonight for a banquet, and the slave asked the princess to show it, and there was no banquet in the palace."

Shen Wanzhen really didn't want to face Zhao Shizhen's concubines, and if she ate separately for the New Year, she couldn't say it, "There is a banquet in the back garden, the prince is not at home, and the New Year is always going to be passed." ”

"Yes, Princess"

"Father-in-law Chen, there are a lot of things under the festival, to prevent people from eating and drinking, and a few people in charge said, whoever makes a mistake is to get along with me, don't go back to me, just send it away, the most important is the family law, I don't care who is coming from, as long as I am willing to work hard, who is still doing what I do, if there is that cheating and slippery, don't blame me for not looking at anyone's face, people who go to the night are not allowed to eat and drink, who violates, someone sues me, let me know the way, beat me out."

Chen Fu understands the princess's temper better than others, and believes that she can do what she says, and she is also convinced of the princess, thinking to himself, the palace should have such a princess in charge, if it is that soft-tempered, just look at the group of concubines of the prince last night, they can't be suppressed, let alone the next person.

Chen Fu came out of the princess's house and summoned a total of seven or eight of the stewards, Chen Fu saw that these were all the heads of the palace, and said the meaning of the princess, and finally said: "I don't need to say more, everyone knows in their hearts, and they will have a snack in the next year, whoever causes trouble, give our family a little attention, don't say it's the princess, our family will not spare him." ”

Everyone said: "Father-in-law Chen, I will understand, I must not let Father-in-law Chen make things difficult, I can't say that everyone will sleep less and take care of their own affairs." ”

During this period of time, the princess council, and heard that Feng'er said that the New Year, the princess was going to rectify the disadvantages of the palace, and she was not sure, as soon as she heard Chen Fu's words, she put her heart in her stomach, in order to leave a good impression in front of the princess, she was more dedicated than before, and she had more hearts.

After a hasty breakfast, Shen Wanzhen instructed Xiuju to pack up a few red envelopes for the New Year's rewards, one purse per person, and at the dinner, the next person was rewarded, and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the servants of the Mansion gave the master kowtow to the New Year, and changed it to the dinner, saving a toss.

Mrs. Qian's hands and feet were quick, faster than the two embroidered chrysanthemums, and Shen Wanzhen said to Mrs. Qian: "Mother went to Mrs. Concubine's house to tell the time of the dinner, and the people in the house told the steward the notice." ”

Mrs. Qian agreed, and went out.

Shen Wanzhu was sitting on the kang, uncomfortable, and she was annoyed when she remembered what happened last night, Mrs. Qian just said that she would have a banquet tonight, and the prince was not in the house, she couldn't lift her spirits, and she didn't bother to look at Shen Wanzhen's face.

Xiao Die'er sent Mrs. Qian back, and said happily: "The slave maid originally thought that the prince was not in the house, and he would not eat or drink tonight, and the slave and maid would find clothes for the master." ”

Fluttershy wants to go into the back room, "You go and tell her that I'm not feeling well, and I'm not going." ”

Fluttershy stood on her feet and looked at her master's face, "What are you talking about if you don't go?" ”

"Whatever you say, I just don't want to see her anyway." Shen Wanzhu's eyebrows were twisted, her face was impatient, Xiao Di'er wanted to persuade her, but she didn't dare to persuade her, the girl was used to being small and willful, and marrying into the palace was still based on her temperament, she shook her head.

The dinner was still on the back garden hall, and when Chen Fu came to invite Shen Wanzhen, the concubines and concubines all came.

Zhao Shijiao was not in the palace, Shen Wanzhen was alone in the seat, and the seat next to her was empty, and she felt a little lonely.

The concubines and ladies all knew that the prince was not in the house, so they were less interested and waited for the banquet to open.

Shen Xuanzhen asked Chen Fu: "Have you arrived?" ”

As soon as Chen Fu wanted to say that Mrs. Shen didn't come, Fluttershy went up to the hall and saluted Shen Wanzhen first, "The slave maid greets the princess." ”

Shen Wanzhen saw that there was no Shen Wanzhu below, and she knew that she had another moth.

Shen Wanzhen snorted.

"My wife is not feeling well, so she sent a slave and maid to ask the princess for leave, and she can't come tonight."

Shen Wanzhen looked at her and said indifferently: "Your lady is uncomfortable, didn't she have a good time yesterday?" ”

Xiao Die'er wanted to say no, the princess hated her master, it was just right not to come, she wouldn't say anything else, she didn't expect the princess to ask, she was not prepared for a while, and she couldn't make up any reason temporarily, so she said hesitantly: "My stomach is uncomfortable"

"Didn't you have a good meal yesterday, could it be that the things were not clean and you had a bad stomach?"

Xiao Die'er hurriedly climbed along the pole, "It's a bad stomach, I didn't sleep all night yesterday, and I ran five or six times to clean the room." ”

Shen Wanzhen deliberately led her to say, but she didn't expect this girl to be really good.

It happened that the Zou family, the manager of the big kitchen, was waiting to eat wine in the outer hall, and someone whispered to her that someone inside said that someone inside had eaten a bad stomach last night, which scared her, and she was busy standing at the door of the inner hall to listen carefully, and was listening to the princess say, "The stomach is bad, don't worry, tell the Zou family, Mrs. Shen can't talk nonsense in the past two days, tell the big kitchen to make things cleaner, and don't eat the masters badly during the New Year." ”

As soon as she heard this, the Zou family was scared into a cold sweat, the princess didn't look for it, and she didn't dare to go in, she secretly hated Mrs. Shen for making trouble, and even she was implicated, she didn't go to the door of Concubine Han, when Concubine Han was just in charge of the house, she quietly dotted it, and the position of the big kitchen steward was kept.

At this time, Fluttershy came out of the inner hall, and the Zou family grabbed her, but she didn't dare to be tough, after all, it was the lady who was waiting for someone, so she asked in a low voice; "Did Mrs. Shen eat last night's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner and eat a bad stomach?"

Fluttershy casually lied for a while, but she forgot to involve the people in the big kitchen, and she was a little embarrassed, and she didn't dare to say that she was dead, so she hesitated, "I can't tell what Madame ate and what she ate badly." ”

The Zou family looked at her expression, and knew in their hearts, this was Cheng Cheng squeezing her, she was angry, and she didn't have the heart to eat, so she walked back to the kitchen, entered the kitchen with her front foot, and the princess sent someone to say that Mrs. Shen couldn't eat indiscriminately, and the Zou family accompanied her with a smiling face and sent someone away.

At this time, Yan'er came and said to the Zou family: "Auntie, Mrs. Shen said that she wanted to eat something cold, and her heart was on fire." ”

The Zou family said with a smile: "Mrs. Shen heard that she has a bad stomach, this cold thing is not a joke. ”

"The eldest lady looked at it and did a few things, and sent someone to send it over, but Mrs. Shen also has a case." The goose has a straight temperament and does not bend, which means that she eats the parts of her own house, and she does not eat too much, so she can't hinder others.

The Zou family glanced at the little girl, pursed their lips, and was lazy to talk nonsense with the little girl, "The slave only listens to the princess's orders." "I thought, a concubine, no matter what kind of score she puts on, she is not as good as a decent girl in front of her master.

"Auntie, what are these words, my wife is also the master, so I will not move you, Auntie, go and talk to the princess with me."

If the princess knows that the way is right, not only will she not blame, but she will also praise her for her loyalty, but no matter what, Yan'er is Mrs. Shen's personal maid, and the Zou family does not dare to offend too much, so she smiled and said: "What is this, the girl asks, am I deliberately making things difficult for the girl, or is the princess having something to say." ”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law next to her hurriedly explained that she did not complain about Aunt Zou about this, but was ordered by the princess.

Yan'er had no choice but to give up and walk back, 1510 said, Shen Wanzhu was so angry after hearing this, slapped Fluttershy twice, and scolded: "What do you say is not good, partial life means that I have eaten bad stomach, so I can't eat." ”

Fluttershy said aggrievedly, "It was the princess who led the slave to say this, and the slave was confused for a while, so she went along with it." ”

Shen Wanzhu didn't understand her sister's method until now, so angry that she threw the cup on the ground, and dropped a few worthless ornaments, and Fluttershy and Yan'er didn't dare to squeak and quietly cleaned up.

After Xiao Die'er left, all the concubines in the hall were silent, knowing that the princess was going to rectify Mrs. Shen, Mrs. Shen was really blind, and she was clearly arguing with the princess, the princess was not there, and the princess just used her to deter the concubines.

At this time, taking advantage of the fact that there was no banquet, Chen Fu took the subordinates of the mansion to kowtow to the master and thank him for the reward.

The meal was tasteless, and most of the dishes in the inner hall didn't even move the chopsticks, so they ordered water, ate a few bites, and the banquet dispersed early.

Shen Xuanzhen saw that Zhao Shijiao hadn't come back yet, so she ordered Xiuju to make a pot of tea, put refreshments on the table, and wait for him to come back while drinking tea.

When Zhao Shijiao handed over the third watch, he returned to the palace, the upper room was quiet, the hall was embroidered with chrysanthemum to pack up his things alone, pointing to the inner room, Zhao Shijiao entered the east room, and saw that the kang table was full of walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnut shells and melon seed skins, Shen Wanzhen leaned against the wall, her head was little by little, dozing off, and Xiuju followed up and whispered: "The slave and maid don't listen to the persuasion, the princess has to wait for the prince to come back." ”

Zhao Shijiao stepped forward, gently picked her up, and moved, Shen Wanzhen half-opened her eyes and said in a daze; "You're back?"

Without waiting for him to answer, he closed his eyes again, and fell asleep again with his face pressed against his chest.

Zhao Shijiao carried her to the Xinuan Pavilion, Xiuju had already laid out the futon, Zhao Shijiao put her on the kang, and gently untied her wide clothes, Shen Wanzhen moved twice in the middle, Zhao Shijiao took the action lightly, afraid of waking her up, and did not call people to wait, he was wide-dressed, put on the kang, hugged Shen Wanzhen, and fell asleep after a while.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Shen Wanzhen woke up, the sky was already bright, she reached out and touched it, there was no one around, she wondered, and she felt that Zhao Shijiao came back last night.

Xiuju came in, "The princess left, went into the palace, saw that the princess didn't wake up, didn't let the princess be alarmed, and said that the princess slept late yesterday." ”

Shen Wanzhen muttered, "I spent the New Year in this palace, I ate for a few days in a row, I came back so late last night, and I got up early and went again." ”

Xiuju saw that the master felt sorry for the prince, and pursed her lips and smiled.

After eating breakfast, it was actually lunch, and there was a person in the house, Shen Wanzhen was leisurely drinking tea, and Mama Yan came in, "Master, Mrs. Shen had a good time last night, and even smashed the cup." ”

"Who gave her this problem? This is the palace, not the Shen family, who treats themselves as golden branches and jade leaves, and can't stand a little grievance. Shen Xuanzhen put down the tea bowl heavily.

"Master, won't you give her food today?" Mama Yan was a little worried, the temperament of these five girls was afraid of making things bigger.

"Don't worry, she won't die of hunger strike, if she really wants to eat, she will come to the dinner party herself."

Sure enough, the dinner party didn't start, Shen Wanzhu went in a daze, Shen Wanzhen entered the Rongjin Hall with the moon in his eyes, took a seat, and saw Shen Wanzhu at a glance, twisting his face and sitting, not speaking, angry with himself.

Shen Wanzhen ordered the food to be served, and after saying a few words, she started eating.

Several women are a lot more honest today, and they laughed at Concubine Han, but no one picked up the stubble, so Concubine Han stopped talking.

Shen Wanzhen smiled and said to Mrs. Xiao: "Isn't the watermelon from yesterday very sweet, from afar?" I still have them in my house, and I'll ask the maid to send a few more later. ”

Everyone understood that the princess was promoting Mrs. Xiao, because Mrs. Xiao advanced and retreated appropriately.

Mrs. Xiao smiled hurriedly; "Princess Xie Reward"

"The prince explained, don't thank me." Mrs. Xiao knew each other, and the prince had blue eyes, and several women glanced at Mrs. Xiao jealously.

As he was talking, he heard a sharp voice from the other side, "Bold minion, blind." ”

I saw a maid kneeling on the ground in fright, wiping Shen Wanzhu's skirt, it turned out that this maid was serving, Shen Wanzhu didn't see it, and when she turned around, she touched the plate in her hand crookedly, and the soup sprinkled her skirt, and Shen Wanzhu still reprimanded the maid loudly.

Without waiting for Shen Wanzhen to speak, Xiuju walked over and said, "Mrs. Shen, the princess is on top, what kind of body is it to shout and drink?" ”

Shen Wanzhu has been angry for the past two days, and her apricot eyes are wide, "You dare to teach me a lesson." ”

Embroidered chrysanthemum is colored; "Why did Mrs. Shen say this? The slave is a subordinate, what is Mrs. Shen? If you talk about teaching slaves and maids, it will not be Mrs. Shen's turn. Say, Xiuju said to the maid again: "Not yet." ”

The maid trembled with fright, and when she heard that the princess did not punish her, she hurriedly lay on the ground and kowtowed, "Thank you, Princess"

"Let's get up, and pay attention to it in the future."

The maid retreated, and she didn't thank Shen Wanzhu, and Shen Wanzhu made a big red face.

Shen Wanzhen ignored her and turned around to talk to Miss Xu.

After the banquet was over, Shen Wanzhen returned to the main room, and as soon as she took off her coat, Zhao Shijiao came in.

Shen Wanzhen smiled: "Why did the prince come back so early today?" ”

Then he waited for him to take off his coat, "Tonight I took advantage of the fact that everyone had drunk too much, and I came back secretly. Zhao Shijiao said with a smile.

"The prince settled early, and he didn't sleep well for a few days."

The embroidered chrysanthemums had already prepared hot water, and the two of them washed it and went to rest on the kang.

"Ming'er is the mother's birthday, the queen mother said, it is the new year, the whole country celebrates, there is no need to be extravagant, just have a meal for your family, the second emperor brother, the fourth emperor brother and the fifth emperor brother rarely get together to celebrate the mother's birthday."

When Shen Wanzhen heard this, her heart suddenly sudden, Xiao Gongzi, no, King Ping, knowing her identity, how would she react? If Zhao Shijiao knew that she lived in Taoxi Town with the king of peace, what would he think?

Her hands and feet were a little cold, should she tell Zhao Shijiao that she knew King Ping, but she could not say it, Zhao Shijiao couldn't help but not think about it.

"What do you want? Why don't you speak? Zhao Shijiao looked at her in secret, the light in the room was dim, and her facial expression was a little blurred.

"It's nothing, except for a few princes, who else is participating?" Shen Wanzhen hurriedly diverted the topic.

"Several concubines in the palace."

For a long time, Zhao Shijiao suddenly asked, "Do you have something on your mind?" ”

"No," Shen Wanzhen concealed her nervousness.

Zhao Shijiao stretched out his arm, hugged her in his arms, and touched her hair with his hand, "Be good, sleep!" ”