Ning and his entourage walked to the vicinity of Liubu before separating from Tongying, and then drove towards their home. Shuning smiled at the corners of her mouth all the way, thinking back to the conversation she had just had with Tongying.

Because of the time constraints and the fact that there were many people nearby, they invariably abandoned the way they used to talk in code, but they were not so straightforward as to speak to their hearts. Tongying summarized his recent situation in a very serious and homely way, and explained several key points, namely: he was very busy with business after entering the military department, and he may not be able to come to her house as often as in the past, but he will not stop hearing from her, and ask her not to worry about it; According to reliable sources, he will probably be promoted soon, and nine times out of ten he will be promoted back to the rank of Beizi; The elevation of the knighthood and the meritorious service mean that his autonomy will be greater; In the past, the emperor would give him considerable autonomy in marriage by default, so even if she was a unsuccessful show girl, as long as her family background and appearance were passing, the emperor would probably not object.

After hearing this, Shuning only had time to say something about the recent situation in a hurry, and then asked Tongying to pay attention to her body, and Duanning repaired the car. Seeing that Huzi and the two family members were about to return to the back, Tongying had to whisper: "Take care, don't wronged yourself." And he struck his horse and went back to the front.

Later, as long as Shuning thought of the last point that Tongying said, her heart was overjoyed. This means that she only needs to continue to play mediocre and hope that she will lose the draft, and she doesn't have to work hard to measure how to grasp the degree that is good and not too good.

In a good mood, she smiled very sweetly at home all day long, coupled with the ladylike etiquette that Mama Cui had trained for a long time, even her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law deeply felt that she was promising for this year's draft, and her expression was happy. And because Zhenzhen acted cautiously and behaved politely, the mother, who was originally very picky, looked better, and the room was full of joy. When Duan Ning took his wife and sister to say goodbye, the little couple was greatly relieved.

What made Shuning even more overjoyed was that her grandmother and aunt revealed a message during their conversation, and this year, an aunt from her cousin's uncle's motherland Wei married a family surnamed Wei. has a daughter, who is also in this year's draft, and I heard that she looks very good and has outstanding talents. The family has already intended to promote her, so they don't pay so much attention to Shuning's side. Grandmother is naturally a little resentful, but for Shuning, it is good news, presumably the mother of Yanxi Palace. Will you pay more attention to your aunts and nieces, right?

After returning home, Shuning seemed to have gotten rid of the heavy shackles in her heart, and even Cui's Mama tutorial was interesting. She learned how to make up and dress. I also learned jewelry matching, and I memorized the relationship between the powerful in Beijing and China, and I have begun to look at the profiles of the powerful in other provinces. Because she is in a very fast process, Mama Cui is also in a good mood. When teaching Frangipani Holly the rules of pouring tea and water, they didn't hit a single board, just scolded a few words.

In her spare time, Shuning remembered that the sleeves of Tongying's clothes seemed to be worn out often. He remembered that he had said that there was no one in the palace who could take care of his food and clothing, so he decided to make him some clothes or sleeve covers, so that he would not be so embarrassed. Of course. She's going to do such a big needlework. It's impossible to hide it completely. So in the name of making clothes for her brother, she made two sets at a time. One set for his brother Duanning, and one set for him to transfer to Tongying. Every few days, she would cook a few snacks for her brother to take to the yamen to satisfy his hunger, and transfer them to Tongying for him to make up for them.

Mama Cui didn't agree to let her cook again, but she said: "It's just a snack, and it's not smoking, cooking is something that my daughter's family should learn." Cui Mama had to reluctantly respond, but every time she made something, she was always staring at it.

Shu Ning did these things, originally only Duan Ning knew about it, and even the close-fitting Yahuan only vaguely guessed, but in the end, she couldn't hide it from her sister-in-law Zhenzhen. The new clothes that Duan Ning had only gotten from his sister the day before, were missing a set the next day, and he never saw them again. Coupled with the strange place on the way to the house a few days ago, Zhenzhen became suspicious, and after grinding her husband for a long time, she finally knew about Shuning and Tongying.

Zhenzhen's first thought after knowing it was that her second brother could die, and then she was a little aggrieved and felt that her husband should not hide it from her. Duan Ning said something bad before coaxing her back. However, thinking that her sister-in-law Shuning had helped herself and Duanning a lot in the past, Zhenzhen also wanted to help her, but she couldn't think of a way for a while, so she temporarily pressed it down.

Soon, Zhenzhen's father completed the task of supervising the clock workshop of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was going back to Guangzhou. Zhenzhen went back to her parents' house to listen to the teaching for half a day accompanied by Duan Ning, said goodbye to her father and mother-in-law Wen in tears, and became more and more cautious after returning to the Earl's Palace. She was originally a smart person, but after discovering her shortcomings, she even put away her arrogance in the past, and she got along with everyone in the house.

Fang Ning and Yihai have a good relationship after marriage, and they get along better with their mother-in-law. Both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law believe in Buddhism, and Fang Ning cooks a few delicious dishes from time to time, Shu Mulu likes her more. However, Fang Ning did not forget her biological mother, and would go back to her parents' house every three or five days, and occasionally give a few things to Aunt Chen. Maybe it's because every time Yihai accompanies his wife back to her parents' house, she is very respectful to Aunt Chen, and she doesn't have any contempt because of her identity, so Aunt Chen gradually likes this son-in-law, but she will persuade him to be more motivated every time.

Wan Ning has always been very calm, and she hasn't seen her toss much recently, and the Nala clan only said to the outside world that she wants to learn the rules and practice her talents, and she won't let her see outsiders again, even the brothers and sisters in the other rooms. Privately, the Nala clan exchanged the things that the fifth elder brother gave to Wanning from the girls in the place where they got the gifts, fortunately they were all acquaintances, and it was not very troublesome, but the things that were exchanged for them were worth far more than the items that could be recovered. However, she finally solved a trick.

When the fifth elder brother came to the door, Nala personally blocked the car in the courtyard. She spoke bitterly, and even tears came out, the fifth elder brother had no choice but to hand over the gift to Yahuan and hand it over, and said to Wanning in the courtyard if she had something to say. When I came again, I couldn't even enter the second door. After being blocked a few times, the Innala clan revealed that this was for their sake in the future, so the fifth elder brother came less.

Nara breathed a sigh of relief, and also stepped up her actions, asking her daughter to review the etiquette palace rules she had learned in the past, and by the way, she re-practiced her talents for use in the draft.

The weather is getting warmer day by day, and sometimes Shuning misses the garden of Fangshan very much, and it must be the season when the garden is full of flowers. When Xiao Liu once returned home, she specially brought her a large bottle of peach blossoms, and she left more than a dozen of them, and the rest were given to her sister-in-law Zhenzhen and other relatives in the house. It's just that she really wants to go back in person.

Duan Ning brought back the news that Tongying was indeed re-promoted to Beizi, and officially served as a military counselor in the military department. Among the many young clans in Beijing. It can be said that it is quite outstanding, but fortunately, there are several princes who also have their own merits, which slightly overshadows Tongying's light.

At the end of March, the household department wrote to the emperor, saying that all banners had reported the age of the draft girls, and asked the emperor to set a date for reading the selection. The emperor issued an order the next day, and the day of this year's show girl selection was set on the eighth day of the fifth month, and the list of show girls was made with various flags. Time. The whole capital is busy.

Nala summoned a few skilled tailors to make clothes for his daughter and niece Shuning. In addition to the light blue plain silk cheongsam that was uniformly worn during the primary election, the strongest evolution 5200 in history was also prepared to enter the palace to read the time and place clothing.

Shuning didn't put much thought into it. The one in the primary, she just made people

I do it in a normal style. In addition to the thin edges of dark blue satin, because of the idea of losing the election, she regarded the clothes she wore into the palace as regular clothes. I chose pink, powder blue, pink green, and bean green, which are softer colors, and the style is also the most popular style in Beijing, but with a slight reduction in decoration. The so-called fashion means that everyone can wear it. If you can't think of a better way to stand out?

But Wanning's approach is quite different. The primary selection of the ground robe, because the color and style are determined. So she just embroidered a few orchids with blue silk thread on the cuffs and hem. It is refreshing, too. But the ones that I was going to wear after entering the palace. She has greatly developed her strengths and designed fresh and elegant clothing styles. In addition to a set of silver red and a set of moon white, the others also use the pink color system of pink, pink, blue, pink, green, yellow, pink, and purple, but the degree of delicacy is several times better than that of Shuning. If it weren't for Nalra's vigorous efforts to stop her, she would have planned to make a few light gauze sleeves to wear in the hot weather.

Nala felt a little guilty that his daughter's clothes were more exquisite than his nephew's, and he specially asked Shuning if she wanted to make two more pieces for her in that style? Shu Ning smiled: "Even if I make clothes with gold and silver threads, I can't compare with her when I wear them and stand next to my second sister, why do you do such a superfluous thing?" ”

Nala was right to think about it, so he stopped insisting. Then she called the jeweler to come and make new jewelry for the two girls, and motioned to Shuning to do it even if she ordered someone to do it, and the cost would be paid by the public.

Shuning was not polite, picked a few styles, and handed them over to the craftsmen. She didn't pick gems or other things, most of the places she chose were simple styles, and they were all inlaid with southern pearls.

As the preparation for the draft was completed day by day, a letter came back from Baoding, and the clan came back.

When she came back this time, she didn't bring Xianning, but when she passed by Fangshan Courtyard, she brought Xiao Liu. Shuning Duanning was happy to see her mother. Seeing that his children were in good health, his daughter-in-law was becoming more and more calm, and she was very satisfied with her housework.

After thanking Nala for her daughter's preparation for the draft, she summoned Mama Cui and asked about Shuning's etiquette, and then sent Mama Cui home. Cui Mama thought that Shuning had learned everything she should have learned, and the rest were harem favor tactics and room techniques, which didn't seem to be what she should learn now, so she didn't say much, but when she left, she taught Shuning face-to-face and taught a few ways to fix pets. Shuning responded in her mouth, but in fact, her heart was already full of black lines.

As soon as Mama Cui left, Shuning felt as if she was liberated, and the two of them were also smiling all day long. Shuning looked for a good day, took them to Caifang, and bought a full set of cosmetics and skin care products. She was a little surprised to find that the shopkeeper in the store had changed, no longer Chen Demei, it is said that she is now having a baby, but it is a man who takes over.

On a whim, she bought a total of three sets. After returning home, he sent a set to Wanning, but Wanning refused to accept it, and said with a straight face: "I don't need his things!" Shuning couldn't, so she had to take it back and plan to give it to Susu. In addition to his own use, the rest of the set was given to his sister-in-law Zhenzhen.

Everything seemed to be going well, and she even met Tongying, who was a guest in the name of visiting her brother Duanning, in the Mei Courtyard. It was only in April that suddenly something big happened.

The earthquake in Pingyang Province, Shanxi Province, affected as many as 28 prefectures and counties, and killed and injured countless people. The day after the earthquake, heavy rain fell in the capital area, which did not stop for several days.

The family and his daughter-in-law lived in the Earl's Palace, and they were very concerned about Zhang Bao, who was far away in Baoding, and hurriedly sent someone to send a letter to ask, and learned that Baoding was fine, so they were relieved. Fortunately, Zhili was not affected by the disaster, but several provinces in Hebei felt the tremors, and there were more or less casualties.

Although people are fine, the heavy rain has not stopped, and farmhouses have collapsed and rivers have risen on the outskirts of Beijing. The clan is worried about the property of Fangshan Villa and wants to go back. Xiao Liu is worried about his son and wants to follow. Shuning was worried about her mother, so they went on the road together. After thinking about it, he decided to temporarily hand over the housekeeping of the two courtyards to his daughter-in-law Zhenzhen, so that she could learn to cook. Zhenzhen was sincerely afraid, and after listening to the encouragement of Shuning and the second sister-in-law, she had some confidence.

After returning to Fangshan, Shi and Shuning asked Changgui about the damage to various properties. Probably because Zhang Bao's water conservancy facilities are doing well, and the relationship between them and the maintenance years ago, several fields and mountains and forests are not seriously damaged, only the lotus pond next to it is seriously flooded. Gu Quansheng, the deputy director, took the risk to lead people to snatch out two or three percent of lotus root seedlings, and put the mud in a large wooden basin, ready to plant them back after the rain stopped, but it is impossible to have a good harvest this year.

However, in order to calm the contradictions between the stewards, Shu Ning asked Gu Quansheng to do the river digging and dam repair project, which came in handy. Because the riverbed was deeper and wider, and the embankment was stable, the river did not flood the shore, and most of the nearby farmland was saved. What's more, because a big pit was dug in the nearby wasteland when digging the soil, it was used by the villagers to make a pond, and I originally planned to plant some lotus roots like Zhang Bao's family, but now it is used to store water.

He instructed Changgui and Quansheng to prepare for waterlogging in the fields and forests, and approved Quansheng's proposal to temporarily convert the lotus pond into a fish pond, and the lotus root seedlings were planted in the garden and moved back to the pond in the next year. Gu Quansheng was really capable, and soon contacted a restaurant in a nearby town to serve them fish in a few months.

When the eldest young master of the Lu family heard that the clan was back, he specially asked his wife to come over to say hello and ask for an old ginseng from the clan. It turned out that since Mrs. Lu heard about the earthquake in Pingyang Mansion, she was worried about her daughter and son-in-law in Shanxi, so she fainted and did not wake up for several days. The doctor said that he should use ginseng soup to stir up, otherwise he would have to do a funeral. Because I heard that there is old ginseng in the collection, I will come to ask for it. The clan was not verbose, and gave one to the eldest and young lady of the Lu family. Two days later, the other party returned half of it, saying that the old lady had woken up. Shi used to comfort him that Li Wensi was not from Pingyang Mansion and expected that he would be fine. But Mrs. Lu was still worried, and Mr. Lu had already sent someone to Shanxi to look for him.

This news made Shuning a little sullen. In the event of a major earthquake in this era, the search and rescue work will be difficult, so I hope that the Imperial Court's disaster relief work will begin as soon as possible.

On the way back to Beijing with her mother, she found that a monk was collecting donations, so she took off all the money and jewelry on her body and asked Yahuan to donate it, so she felt more at ease. Shi touched her head and took out two or three silver tickets.

Back in the Earl's Palace, after the mother and daughter freshened up, they were talking to Zhenzhen about what they had seen on this trip, but they heard a mother-in-law come to report: "The third wife, the eldest lady and the aunt are in the Rongqing Hall, please ask the third wife and the third girl to meet, saying that there is something important to discuss." ”

Shi and Shuning glanced at each other, a little strange, and went to Rongqing Hall together. As a result, not only did the Tara clan return to Beijing, but he sat in the same hall with the Nala clan, and even Wanning and Susu were also present. As soon as Nala saw the mother and daughter enter the door, he warmly invited them to sit down, and he smiled and let a few words, and before she could sit down on her ass, he and Tala came to a shocking thunder: "Third brother and sister, have you heard?" The court may have to suspend the draft. ”