Today, Gu Yunjin, the third lady of the Gongyuan, celebrated her fourteenth birthday, and Gu's mother specially prepared a table of wine banquets, waiting for the noble person to come to the door in the evening to celebrate together. Since the early morning, the Gongyuan has been busy with the third lady's birthday banquet, and there is a harmonious atmosphere everywhere.

Among the three sisters of the Gu family, except for the eldest sister Yun Yao, who was brought into the courtyard at the age of four to remember, the other two were still two or three years old when they came~ children, and they didn't remember what their birthday was, and Gu's mother regarded the day they lived in the courtyard as their respective birthdays.

Among the three sisters, although Yun Jin is young, her appearance is the most outstanding, so she is deeply favored by Gu's mother, and she has always believed that if he enters the palace one day, he will be the girl who is most likely to gain the favor and rise to the top.

Seeing that she is only fourteen years old, her figure is concave and convex, a small face is as pink as a ripe peach, the two beautiful eyes under the curved willow eyebrows are moist and clear, and the inside contains a spring and a trace of aura, and the cherry mouth is dotted with a cinnabar mole, small and exquisite. She is like a fairy in a painting, with a smiling face and a proud and uninhibited arrogance in her charming appearance.

"I said you should eat quickly, and after eating, you will rehearse the 'Wind Feather Ni Dress' that was performed for your guests in the evening...... Hey, Lingzi, where did you go, you damn Nizi, and you don't have your breakfast. I'll miss the hour for a while, and I'll see if I don't hit you......"

Gu's mother was so busy that she couldn't wait to get her hands and feet together.

The more at this time, the more Gu Yunxi didn't dare to disturb Gu's mother. She had a coma the day before yesterday, and now no one dares to let her go to the stove to help cook. Knowing that she was an eyesore, she got up and prepared to go back to the bedroom in the courtyard.

"I'll go back with you, just in time to pick up the robe."

Gu Yunyao stood up and said to Yunxi.

"Sister, sit down, sister will bring it for you."

Gu Yunxi knew that Gu Yunyao was afraid that her body would sweat and suffer from the wind after practicing dance, so she had to wear a robe. And there was nothing to do on his side, so he took the initiative to ask for help and run for her.

"No, let's go together."

Gu Yunyao smiled at her, took her hand and walked towards the courtyard together. On the way, she said to Yunxi:

"Silly sister, you're not my beckoning girl, why bother letting you go back and forth."

"I just feel like I'm too idle. You can do the choreography and dance, and I'll ......."

Gu Yunxi stopped and bowed his head, depressed.

Gu Yunyao shook her head lightly twice, and sighed astringently:

"Learn what to do with those who serve the masters! You, in the end, are too entangled, listen to my sister's words, everything can be pure and pure. ”

After Gu Yunyao finished speaking, she and Gu Yunxi continued to walk hand in hand, passing by a flower garden at this time.

There was a young gardener, holding a pair of scissors and a bow. Seeing the two sisters of the Gu family coming from afar, they hurriedly put down the work in their hands, straightened up and looked at them.

Gu Yunyao seemed to slow down her pace deliberately, glanced at the florist silently, and then quickly returned her gaze, at this time, two pink flowers fluttered on her cheeks.

Gu Yunxi just bowed his head and walked, not caring about such details. entered the boudoir and watched Yun Yao leave alone after taking the big drum.

-- I'm the dividing line --

In the early years of the founding of the Dayi Kingdom, the imperial court set up a special political organization called "Dongchang", which was led by the eunuchs in the palace and the emperor's cronies, to supervise and inspect the rebels and evil words of the Chinese military officials, and set up an independent Xingtang to punish and torture the offenders, and the imperial power was granted a license to behead them before they were killed.

In the second year of Dayi Jingxiao, the East Factory merged with Jinyi Sanitation Agency, and the world also called it "Factory Guard". Now the post of the overseer is taken over by the master of ceremonies, the father-in-law, whose surname is Leng, and his name is Qingtang, but it is a very elegant and chic name.

As soon as the sky was dark, the courtyard was lively, the courtyard was lit up with red round lanterns, and the soft carpet on the road was spread, waiting for the distinguished guests. The distinguished guest they were waiting for tonight was the current overseer of Dongchang, and the "great nobleman" that Gu's mother often mentioned, the one who secretly entrusted the three orphans Yun Yao, Yun Xi and Yun Jin to her to raise.

Gu's mother led a group of people to wait inside the gate of the courtyard for a short time, when she heard a small group of footsteps outside the gate from far and near, and then settled outside the door.

"Stop the car, the overseer has arrived!"

A loud voice came through the vermilion gate, and the people inside immediately gathered forward.

"Oh, my grandfather, you're here!"

Gu's mother walked quickly out of the threshold with a smile on her face, and Gu Yunyao and Gu Yunjin followed behind her to greet her.

At the same time, the purple sedan curtain outside the door was lifted, and the guard with a knife next to the sedan hurriedly stepped forward and pulled out a person from the sedan chair.

The whole body is covered in a blue brocade official robe, with a four-clawed scale python embroidered with silver thread in the middle of the chest, a high hat with dragon black yarn on the head, and jade soap boots inlaid on the feet.

Looking at the face, the face with clear edges and corners is white and delicate, the eyebrows are slightly raised at the tip of the tail, not thick or light, and the eyes of the inner pair are sharp and bright. The bridge of the hanging jade's nose is flawless, the two corners of the lips are lightly raised, and the expression is indifferent and full of compulsion.

Most of the eunuchs in the palace have become feminine in both posture and action because of castration, but this point cannot be seen in Leng Qingtang's body and appearance, and his demeanor is very elegant but not feminine. Although his age is no longer a teenager, he is rich and handsome, and his appearance of jade trees has not diminished in the slightest. Not only that, but he also carries a unique temperament, a steady charm and precipitated beauty that can only be experienced in the world for a long time.

Seeing Leng Qingtang coming, Gu's mother and Gu Yunjin stepped forward first.

"Master, you can count it, please come inside, I have been waiting for you for a long time......"

Gu's mother can also be called a delicate character when she is young, but the years have passed, and now there are many traces of time on the face of the. When she was smiling, no matter how many layers of apricot pollen she rubbed on it, she couldn't cover the wrinkles all over the place.

"Overseer! I miss you! ”

Gu Yunjin grabbed one of Leng Qingtang's arms.

"This kid is getting bigger and smaller, so many people!"

Seeing this, Gu's mother scolded Gu Yunjin with a heavy face, and a pair of eyes looked at the guards behind the sedan chair and then threw them back at Yun Jin, signaling her not to make a mistake.

Leng Qingtang smiled, and as soon as he spoke, his voice was not charming and tactful, but loud and powerful, which was extremely good:

"It doesn't matter. I haven't seen you for many days, and you've grown a lot taller......"

As he spoke, he turned his head, his eyes searched for the pile, and Gu Yunxi was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Yunxi?" He asked, looking stunned.

"Oh, this girl is not a worry-free girl! Yesterday, I had a faint again, and my body was feverish, and now I can't get up from bed. ”

Gu's mother replied, with some disgust on her face.

"Oh? Have you seen it? He asked, quite concerned.

"Please, please! The master is a kind-hearted master, and he can only rest assured that he will give the girl to me. Let's not stand and talk, please inside, the old body has already scalded the wine and prepared the banquet, let's talk inside. ”

Gu's mother laughed with her, and led the crowd to lead Leng Qingtang into the other courtyard, two guards with flat hats and purple uniforms followed her, and the other guards had other stewards of the other courtyard to invite them to eat and drink in other rooms.

In the east hall "Xianji Pavilion", the embroidered carpet is spread on the floor, and the boots are particularly soft when stepping on it. The bright lights are clustered with the fresh flowers of the warbler, and the fragrance of the flowers is wrapped in the aroma of delicacies, which is more intoxicating than the fragrance of wine.

Among the two tables of banquets, the Qingtang of the East Factory Governor was on the top, Gu Yunjin was by his side, Gu's mother was on the other side, and Gu Yunyao was the first.

The other table is Cheng Wanli, the head of the East Factory, who came to Leng Qingtang, and his apprentice, Xiao Xiaoshen, who is a close attendant with a knife, accompanied by two maids and a male steward in the courtyard.

Leng Qingtang is twenty-seven this year, almost in his prime, and he has been in command of many positions for ten years, as the master of ceremonies, the eunuch in charge of the seal, the commander of the factory guard, and the commander of the brocade guard.

At the age of seventeen, he served as the palace celebrant in charge of the seal, and he was in power, just because he acted decisively, was all-round in civil and military affairs, and repeatedly solved strange cases to make contributions to the imperial court. Then, he conspired with the emperor's favorite concubine, and his power has developed to this day, which can be said to be above 10,000 people under one person.

The factory guards and the palace are busy with affairs, and Leng Qingtang doesn't have much time to walk around the Gongyuan all year round, and most of them send their cronies and guards Xiao Xiaoshen to take care of one or two, and go back to Chengbing if they have something.

Xiao Xiaoshen is eighteen years old, born with a white face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a handsome appearance. Because of his shrewdness and knowledge of advance and retreat, he was deeply loved by Leng Qingtang and promoted to his own knife attendant. In the Gongyuan, in addition to the eldest sister Gu Yunyao, the second person who has the best treatment for Gu Yunxi is this Xiao Xiaoshen.

At the banquet, Leng Qingtang asked Gu Yunyao and Gu Yunjin about their homework. Gu Yunjin is the most likable, always sharp, not to mention that he can answer fluently every time, but his ability to adapt to changes also makes Leng Qingtang laugh frequently.

Gu Yunyao sat quietly and self-contained in the seats, she didn't like to compete for favor, and she only answered what Leng Qingtang asked.

-- The Dividing Line --

In the boudoir, Gu Yunxi sat at the table with his hands on his cheeks, and looked at the bowl of white porridge in front of him that was about to cool with an expressionless face

On these days, people are busy in the front yard!

Gu's mother deliberately did not let Gu Yunxi attend the dinner, because she was not in good health, so she should be "raised" in the house alone.

Looking at the shabby clothes on his body, and at the tasteless porridge on the table, Gu Yunxi sighed.

The people in this courtyard are also very powerful. Gu's mother doesn't want to see anyone, and they also learn to snub and make things difficult for everyone.

At present, Gu's mother took the two girls to eat wine in the front yard, leaving Gu Yunxi alone in the inner courtyard, so she was mean enough to ask her mother-in-law to fool her with the leftover porridge right overnight.

Gu Yunxi decided to go to the kitchen to find something to eat by himself.

Unable to learn the skills of piano and chess, Gu Yunxi was sent by Gu's mother to help on the stove when he was fine, and he not only became interested in cooking and stir-frying, but also made a lot of exquisite side dishes.

It doesn't matter if she doesn't give anything to eat, as long as there are ingredients in the room, she can make hot and delicious food for herself.

Out of the arch of the inner courtyard and passing by the flower garden, Gu Yunxi suddenly heard an unusual movement.

She was startled and stopped immediately.

The sound clearly came from the other side of the rockery.

"Who? Who's there! ”

Although he was very scared in his heart, Gu Yunxi still had the courage to shout loudly and raised the lantern in his hand above his head.

Then by candlelight, Gu Yunxi saw the eldest sister Gu Yunyao slowly moving out from behind the rockery, disheveled.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Yunxi was shocked and ran over to grab her.

"Sister! Sister, don't scream, I'm fine......"

Gu Yunyao blocked Gu Yunxi's mouth with her hand, her expression embarrassed and embarrassed. When Yunxi stopped, she whispered out of thin air:

"You, come out quickly! Don't hide! ”

A black shadow twisted from behind the rockery to the two sisters, it was Zhao An, a florist waiting for flowers and plants.

Gu Yunxi was stunned.

Now she is no longer a yellow-mouthed child who doesn't understand the love between men and women, but she didn't expect that her eldest sister Gu Yunyao, who is deeply respected and trusted, would do such a reluctant and unbearable thing with the people in the courtyard.