Qu Zhang hugged the sugar box in his arms and watched Lu Jiayue's back disappear into the corner.

When he turned around, he found that his mother, Aunt Feng, was standing behind him at some point.

Aunt Feng handed the two pairs of new socks in her hand to Qu Zhang, looked at the sugar box in his arms, and sighed.

Qu Zhang's eyes were slightly gloomy, and he was silent.

Aunt Feng was also silent for a moment, and said slowly: "A few days ago, you heard that your eldest aunt was going to marry that girl for Brother Rui, and you suffered from such a difficult appearance, and recently I heard that the girl looked down on Brother Rui and rejected your eldest aunt, so you were happy again... You are now all about that girl, and you are being led by her words and deeds, your mother has worked hard to raise you to such a big age, do you want to disappoint your mother for the sake of a girl? ”

Qu Zhang's face was ashamed, and he said softly: "Mother, Sister Lu, she is really different from ordinary women, she doesn't value the wealth of her family..."

"So you think that maybe one day, she will choose you?" Aunt Feng smiled faintly.

"Why not? As long as I can be named on the gold list in the spring of next year, I will definitely kneel in front of my aunt and beg her to ---"

Qu Zhang's tone was calm and determined, but before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Aunt Feng.

"You don't think about tea and dinner now, and you have no intention of studying, what do you take to the gold list?"

Aunt Feng looked at her son, her eyes full of helplessness and sorrow.

Qu Zhang was stunned, his heart ached, and he almost wanted to cry.

"Mother, I was wrong, no matter what, I shouldn't have abandoned my studies..."

"It's good to know that you're wrong," Aunt Feng patted Qu Zhang's thin shoulder lightly, "Only by studying hard can you realize your ambitions and get what you want, remember, this is the only way you can go." ”

*

In March, it was the time when all kinds of fresh vegetables were on the table, and at lunch on this day, the small kitchen made new dumplings filled with fresh meat with shepherd's cabbage, Lu Jiayue and Qu Ying were eating with Meng's family, and suddenly someone from the Guogong Mansion came to spread Qu Yi's words.

"Madame said that on March 16, the queen will hold a spring banquet in the palace, and then the lady will come to pick up the two cousins and enter the palace to meet the queen mother."

When Meng Shi heard this, he was overjoyed, and said to Lu Jiayue: "Mrs. Aunt said that she would protect a good marriage for you, and sure enough, this opportunity came." ”

Lu Jiayue was confused, and she didn't understand what the Spring Banquet of the Queen of the Middle Palace had to do with her marriage.

Qu Ying whispered to her: "The so-called spring banquet is to let us, the girls of Kyoto's official eunuchs, go to the queen mother to show their faces, and the ladies and officials of each family will also go that day, in fact, they just look at each other and pick their daughters-in-law." ”

Lu Jiayue didn't want to be looked down upon by others, so she immediately refused: "My father is not a Beijing official, and I am not qualified to go." ”

Qu Ying said with a smile: "With your aunt in charge, you are a civilian woman, and you can also go." In fact, it's good to go and see the excitement, I heard that the princes who have not yet married that day, and the princes and young masters of the princes and princes will also go. ”

So will King Jin also go?

If he would have gone too, it would have been a rare opportunity to meet him.

Lu Jiayue was a little moved, but also a little hesitant.

After all, she is just the daughter of a political envoy of Zheng Sanpinbu, and she has never entered Miyagi, so she is inevitably timid.

"Don't be afraid, I've been with my aunt once, and it's no different from going to someone's house as a guest, as long as you abide by the rules and etiquette." Qu Ying saw Lu Jiayue's hesitation and smiled at her.

Meng's lunch was not stable, so he was busy going to the embroidery room to make new clothes for Qu Ying and Lu Jiayue, and sent people out to spread the word, so that the familiar Yinlou sent some new hairpin ring jewelry to choose from.

Meng's fanfare made Lu Jiayue timid, and she couldn't help but become nervous.

When Mrs. Qu heard about this, she also strongly advocated that Lu Jiayue enter the palace to see the world, and also gave her a set of red jade and agate jewelry to make her look good.

The matter has come to this, and Lu Jiayue is not good at refusing to refuse, not to mention that she may be able to see King Jin when she enters the palace, so she also acquiesces.

*

Finally, on March 15, after dinner, Meng personally carefully selected the newly made clothes and jewelry, and told Qu Ying and Lu Jiayue to let her go back to rest.

Lu Jiayue came back to Chuntang Residence and entered the inner room, and the maids brought hot water and bedding clothes to serve her to wash.

After washing, he lay down on the bed, and Xin Zhu was the only one in the bedroom who kept vigil on the couch, and Yuxiang came in quietly.

Through the azure silk yarn tent, Lu Jiayue asked her, "How's the investigation?" ”

Yuxiang said in a low voice: "According to Miss Biao's instructions, I have been annoying Yuping for the past few days, and sure enough, some words came out of her mouth, intentionally or unintentionally. ”

It turned out that after hearing about Yuping's punishment by the Duan family that day, Lu Jiayue quietly arranged for Yuxiang to find out Yuping's tone.

Yuping and Yuxiang are not slaves of the Qu family, but signed a death contract with the Qu family since childhood, and sold into the Qu family as slaves, and the two are still fellow villagers, and they have done rough work in one place in the early years, compared to other maids, the relationship between the two is more intimate.

Yuping is good at playing tassels, and Lu Jiayue asked Yuxiang to borrow the guise of asking her to help tie up tassels to approach her.

After all, Yuping is now in the second room, but Yuxiang is serving by Lu Jiayue's side, if he goes to see Yuping for no reason, he is afraid that it will arouse Duan's suspicion.

Fortunately, Yuxiang is the maid of the long house, and there is a cover to cover it, so presumably the Duan family will not pay attention to it for the time being.

"Oh...," Lu Jiayue lay on the pillow and gently brushed the hair behind her shoulders, "What did she say?" ”

Yuzu Xiang said carefully.

Sure enough, Yuping was beaten because Duan suspected that she was not tight-lipped, and spread the unsightly words that Duan said to the outside world, Duan moved in anger, but Yuping only shouted wronged, wanting to throw herself into the well to prove her innocence. Duan's couldn't take her, and he was afraid that things would really make trouble, and it wouldn't end well, so he endured it for the time being, and it wasn't until a few days ago that the monthly money was distributed in the inner courtyard, and everyone knew that Duan's had demoted Yuping to a second-class maid, and punished her to serve outside and was not allowed to enter the inner hall again.

As for what unsightly words Yuping heard Duan's say, Yuxiang repeatedly knocked on the side, but Yuping was still silent.

Lu Jiayue listened quietly, and became more and more sure in her heart that the Duan clan suddenly punished Yuping, and the reason must be related to herself.

"There's no way to get her to speak?" Lu Jiayue asked thoughtfully.

Yuzu Xiang was a little embarrassed, "... She is still tight-lipped, the second lady doesn't believe her, beating, scolding and punishing, even if she is full of grievances, how dare she really tell others what the second lady said--- if that's the case, I'm afraid that the second lady will peel her skin. ”

As a slave, the most important thing is loyalty, although the Duan family is ruthless, Yuping is a slave, but he does not dare to betray the master easily.

But at the moment, if you want to find out the Duan family's scheming tricks, you can only start from Yuping.

But how can Yuping be willing to say everything she knows at the risk of being heavily blamed by the Duan family?

Lu Jiayue couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

In a trance, I heard Yuxiang sigh, and said sentimentally: "She is also pitiful, since she came to the second lady to serve, although she is a big girl, the degree of food and clothing is not as good as me and orange fragrance, the second lady is mean, and she has to throw her face at every turn to show others, she has long been aggrieved in her heart... In order to envelop her and Cuiping's loyalty, although the second lady put down her words, after the spring of next year, she will give the two of her to the fourth young master to make a room, but I know, Yuping only has her cousin in her hometown in the countryside, a small baby kiss, she also counted on serving the second lady well, and begged the second lady to be kind in the future, and gave her a free body, so that she could go back to her hometown to marry her cousin and live a life. ”

There was only one lamp in the bedroom, the light was dim, and after Yuxiang finished speaking, she looked into the azure silk gauze tent, and in the haze, Lu Jiayue's pink cheeks seemed to be filled with a smile.

"Okay, I know, let's talk about it in two days, it's not too early, you go down and rest first."

Yuzu went out.

Lu Jiayue turned over, the soft and gentle silk brocade was covered on her body, and through the plain silk bedclothes, people only felt full of comfort and comfort.

Yuping's matter, only in this moment, she already has a plan, and there is no need to rush for a while.

And the most important thing at the moment is how to deal with tomorrow's Zhonggong Spring Banquet.

King Jin... Will he show up?