In a blink of an eye, on the second day of the first lunar month, every household was busy celebrating the New Year, very lively, because it was still during the national funeral, the Zhu family sent out the opera and dancing girls in the garden, everything was simple, and there was no festive noise in previous years. However, the garden was deserted, and the gate of the Zhu family became crowded with guests.

Shen Yuechen was busy greeting guests with the elders every day, and she was so busy that she didn't even have time to go back to her parents' house, because Ruan Linluo had just been canonized by the emperor as Concubine Jing, and the Ruan and Zhu families were honored. Therefore, whether it is relatives and friends who have a relationship with the Zhu family, or a general friend who has had a relationship, they all come over to curry favor, and everyone in the Zhu family is busy and tired.

Because of the delay on the second day of the new year, Shen Yuechen did not go back to her parents' house on time to pay New Year's greetings, so she had to wait until the morning of the third day of the first lunar month to personally go back to the Shen family with a bunch of gifts of all sizes to greet the old lady for the New Year.

Zhu Jintang couldn't spare time, Shen Yuechen came back with Chun Ming Cuixin and Wu's mother and sat down slightly, and before it got dark, he had to rush back as much as possible.

Shen Zhiyun was still in Beijing, and Yao and his daughters also went with him, and only the second room and one room were in the house.

When Mrs. Shen saw her coming back, she naturally had a lot to say, but before she spoke, she still had to ask Dr. Lu to come over to diagnose her pulse and take a closer look.

Doctor Lu is still the same as before, and his rhetoric has not changed, and Mrs. Shen is obviously much more relieved than last time, so she only said: "This kind of thing is not in a hurry, and wait a little longer." ”

She sat on the chair, holding the teacup in her hand, looked at Shen Yuechen, and muttered slightly: "This year, you have not had an easy time." ”

It is not easy to be a relative of the emperor's relatives.

Shen Yuechen smiled slightly: "Busy is busy, but I don't know what to be busy with, everyone talks and laughs, and it is all the same polite words." ”

This kind of entertainment scene is just that the noble ladies of each family get together to talk and laugh, keep talking, praising each other on the surface, but in fact secretly comparing and endlessly...... Shen Yuechen sat there, although he was smiling with a smile on his face, but his left ear listened to his right ear, and his heart had already flown elsewhere.

When Mrs. Shen heard this, she smiled faintly, and pretended to blame her and said, "You kid, since there are so many things, you should rest well, why are you still running all the way to me, what if it is broken?" ”

"It's the rule. The granddaughter wants to come back to see her grandmother, so she also hides and comes back to see the doctor. ”

Mrs. Shen said: "It's hard for you, you can't see the doctor to treat your illness if you are not good." ”

Shen Yuechen said lightly: "I'm a chronic disease, it's the same if you see more or less." ”

Old Lady Shen sighed and didn't speak.

Shen Yuechen personally peeled a mandarin orange and sent it to her, and when she saw that there was a faint sadness between her eyebrows, she said gently: "Grandmother, don't worry about me, I heard that my father went to the capital and didn't return for a long time, but what happened to him?" Recently, the palace has not been peaceful, and several princes have been punished one after another, although my father is a magistrate, he should also avoid suspicion appropriately......"

Old Madam Shen shook her head slightly and said, "It's useless for our women to know about the affairs of officialdom. Your father has his own plans, you don't have to worry about him, it's important to take care of your body. ”

At this point, the old lady ordered someone to bring up the supplements that had been prepared in advance. "These are all New Year's gifts from others, you can take them back and eat them. I know what the Zhu family wants, but there are elders above you, and the best ones are naturally for them. I'm an old man, and it's all for nothing, so I've wasted these good things, so I'll leave it to you. ”

Shen Yuechen looked at those nourishing things, and Ying Ying saluted: "Grandmother has a heart, and grandchildren are grateful." ”

Old Madam Shen raised her hand and said, "Hurry up, I still have good news for you." ”

Shen Yuechen raised her eyebrows slightly: "What's the good news?" ”

Mrs. Shen said with a smile: "Your two younger sisters, Yue Chang and Yue Chang just decided to get married earlier, and they will get married after the New Year." ”

"Oh? Is it? Welcome, indeed. Shen Yuechen smiled: "I don't know who the two sisters set are?" ”

Old Mrs. Shen said with a smug face: "Yue'e is a family surnamed Li in Dengzhou, and her ancestors are in the tea business, and her family is well-off. Yue Yan is the Sun family in Dezhou City, and you have heard that the big proprietor of Fuyan Building is married to the youngest son of their family. ”

Shen Yuechen was slightly stunned when she heard this, she used to look at Xiao's confident posture, and thought that her daughter would not marry if she was not an official eunuch, but she didn't expect that in the end, she was selected by a merchant family, which made her a little surprised.

"That's very good...... Looks like I'm going to have to hurry up and prepare a congratulatory gift for my sisters. ”

Mrs. Shen said: "The heart is the most important, don't spend too much, they must like what you give." ”

Shen Yuechen agreed, talked with the old lady for a while, and then got up to leave.

Mrs. Shen didn't keep her much, and personally asked her to send her out.

Looking back, the New Year's gift she brought back couldn't help but secretly praise, it was both gold and jade, and it was a lot of money.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Shen Yuechen couldn't help but tell the coachman to speed up. She hurried and hurried, but still delayed dinner. Fortunately, the old man and the old lady didn't care, and only asked the kitchen to leave her a soup and snacks.

Shen Yuechen happened to go over to say goodbye, only to see that Mother Yang took the lead in bringing someone over and sent the warm soup and vegetables over.

"Grandma has worked hard all the way, and the old lady said that you should eat some food first, relieve your fatigue, and then go over to talk later."

Shen Yuechen hurriedly responded with a smile, and had the intention of leaving Yang's mother to have a cup of tea, and seeing that she was in a hurry to go back to reply, she had no choice but to reward her with money and let her go.

As soon as Yang's mother left the hospital with her front foot, Wu's mother came in with a decoction on her back foot.

Dr. Lu added an extra program to her prescription, so that she could drink a bowl of decoction in the morning and evening, and only after taking the decoction could she eat, so that she could better improve her physical fitness.

Shen Yuechen took the medicine bowl, took a sip, and then listened to the report outside: "Uncle is back." ”

Shen Yuechen's hand holding the spoon shook slightly, and before he had time to think about it, he saw Zhu Jintang come in.

As soon as Zhu Jintang entered the room, he smelled a strong smell of medicine, and couldn't help frowning slightly.

Shen Yuechen pretended to have nothing to do, got up and greeted him: "Uncle is back, didn't you say that you would come back later?" ”

Zhu Jintang took off his cloak, looked at her and the medicine bowl she put down, and said, "Oh, because I just learned about something important, I came here in advance." As he spoke, he walked to the edge of the charcoal basin to warm his hands, and asked with a little concern, "What kind of medicine do you drink?" Are you sick? ”

Shen Yuechen hurriedly shook her head: "The concubine is fine, these are just tonic for the body, for women to replenish the body." ”

She explained in the same tone as usual, avoiding the important and lightly. But when Zhu Jintang heard this, he couldn't help frowning, and suddenly remembered that in the past, Qin Hongjuan used to eat tonic medicine as a meal every day in order to get pregnant, not to mention the smell of medicine all over the house, and finally collapsed his body.

"Although the tonic is good, don't eat it indiscriminately, if you are not feeling well, please ask a proper doctor to come in and take a look, don't eat in a hurry and eat badly."

Shen Yuechen smiled slightly and said, "Uncle, don't worry, the concubine's food is prepared according to the doctor's prescription, and she won't eat indiscriminately." ”

Although she was smiling on her face, she was secretly beating a drum in her heart. Fortunately, Zhu Jintang just kindly reminded her and didn't say anything.

Shen Yuechen turned over slightly, drank the medicine in the bowl, and handed the medicine bowl to Chun Ming, asking her to take it away quickly.

Shen Yuechen suddenly remembered what he had just said, and asked, "Uncle just said that there is an important matter, I don't know what it is?" ”

Zhu Jintang warmed his hands, sat down to eat tea, and told her directly: "To put it simply, it is a matter of doing business with Westerners." ”

On the imperial court's side, a statement has just been issued, ordering the lifting of the maritime ban that has lasted for more than two years and the resumption of overseas trade.

When Zhu Jintang mentioned this, he couldn't help but be a little excited, every time he did business with Westerners, he could gain something, Westerners were quick and open-minded, they could always invent a lot of new things, and they were also very smart.

When Shen Yuechen heard this, she sighed slightly and said, "This will still be the middle of winter, I'm afraid it will be difficult to go to sea." ”

Zhu Jintang nodded and said, "I definitely can't go now, but once I wait until spring, it will be smooth sailing at that time." I met with the prefect today, and he said that the imperial court had relaxed the rules of overseas trade, and it would be easier to go to sea in the future. ”

Shen Yuechen saw his look of hope, and deliberately asked, "Those Westerners look weird, why is the uncle willing to deal with them?" ”

When Zhu Jintang heard this, he felt that this was the little woman's mind, and only said: "Don't underestimate those Westerners, although they are stupid and not as dexterous as us, their brains are fast and their ideas are strange." ”

Shen Yuechen naturally agreed with these words in her heart, but she couldn't say anything too much, so she only picked up the pocket watch that the old man had given her before, opened it and said, "Well, what the old man said is indeed reasonable, it's rare that they can design such an ingenious thing." ”

Zhu Jintang said: "This is nothing, when I go to sea next time, I guarantee that I can bring you more new and strange things." ”

Shen Yuechen lowered his head and smiled, thinking silently in his heart, no matter what novel things you can bring back, I have seen them all. Everything else is fine, just don't bring back a blonde foreigner.

As soon as he mentioned going to sea, Zhu Jintang couldn't sit still, and he couldn't wait to leave immediately.

Shen Yuechen couldn't help but persuade: "Although the uncle thinks well, but it is dangerous to go to sea, the old man and the old lady will definitely not agree to let you go." ”

When Zhu Jintang heard this, he shook his head: "No, this is not the first time for me, I have been with the merchant ship twice before." ”

Shen Yuechen was slightly startled, a little unexpected, so he asked, "How long has the uncle gone?" ”

Zhu Jintang thought for a moment and said, "The first time is one month, and the second time is four months. ”

Shen Yuechen listened, and felt even more surprised. It is so dangerous to go to sea, everyone knows it, why is the Zhu family really willing to let him go out with confidence, and they are not afraid of encountering any accidents......

Shen Yuechen felt faintly uneasy in his heart, and only said: "It's better to think about this matter in the long run, the uncle is the backbone of the family, so he can just leave." ”

In case, if he really leaves for three or four months, how can his family be willing to do it, and how can he be willing in his heart......

……

At the same time, in the palace of the capital, everyone has taken off their filial piety clothes and put on new clothes, and everyone seems to have forgotten the pain of the first emperor's funeral, and turned to the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Ruan Linluo once became a concubine, which was beyond everyone's expectations, this favor came suddenly and fiercely.

Sometimes, the favor from above is too great for those below to be easily receiving. If the connection is not good, not only will it smash the royal face, but it will also hurt your muscles and bones.

After Ruan Linluo was made a concubine, Ruan Zhengshan still said that he was sick at home, Ruan Dongsheng came forward to deal with his father, and Ruan Xiping was a girl, but he missed but could not see each other, so he could only use the excuse of inspecting the border to ask the emperor for his own order, inspect the northwest border, and clean up the remnants of foreign tribes.

After Ruan Linluo was enthroned, Ruan Xiping became the emperor's "Lord Guozhang", and many people inside and outside the court and China had already privately called him "Lord Guozhang", which made Ruan Xiping feel uneasy.

Ruan Linluo is just a concubine, not a queen, who can afford the title of "Guozhang", they say this, they are obviously not congratulating him, but harming him.

Li Zheng approved Ruan Xiping's request, and also conferred on him the title of General of Zhenbei, with a reward of 1,000 taels and 100 acres of land.

Ruan Xiping thanked the emperor for his kindness, but he still couldn't kneel on the ground, and begged the emperor for permission, before he left, if he could ask to see Concubine Jing.

Li Zheng knew that he loved his daughter very much, and when he saw that he couldn't kneel for a long time, he agreed with a smile: "The general's fatherly feelings, how can I not let you see each other?" What's more, Concubine Jing is my beloved concubine, and I should love her more. ”

When Ruan Xiping heard this, his heart was a little calm, and he kowtowed again to thank him.

Li Zheng has always admired literature and martial arts, since ancient times, the Ruan family is the home of military generals, and Ruan Xiping is also from the army, but he is different from others, he can't see the rude military spirit in Ruan Xiping's body, but more of a scholar's gentleness, which is indeed rare.

After Ruan Linluo entered the palace, she won Li Zheng's favor, firstly because she was the life of a phoenix girl, and secondly because she was young and immature, and she did not have the flashy and extravagant atmosphere of a woman in the palace.

After Ruan Linluo was named a concubine, she moved from Tai'an Palace to Shuiyue Palace, and the palace people who were responsible for serving around her were all transferred from the Queen Mother, and there was not even a single cronie.

Shuiyue Palace is a newly renovated palace, and it has not been inhabited before, so it is not popular enough, and it is vaguely gloomy. Although it is resplendent and splendid, it is also a little empty.

The palace people saw that Ruan Linluo was depressed all day long, so they specially found all kinds of rare beasts to relieve her boredom. Who knows, she is not interested in the slightest, and she doesn't even have the heart to take a second look.

Since Ruan Linluo became a concubine, no one in the palace has ever seen her smile.

In the evening, Li Zheng came to see her, and seeing that she was still silently distracted, the hall was quiet, and she couldn't help but ask the palace people beside her: "Where is the thrush that I ordered someone to send in the morning?" ”

The thrush is a tribute from Jiangnan, with a beautiful coat color and a tactful call, which is very interesting.

Li Zheng saw that she was depressed, so he wanted to reward her for fun.

When the palace people heard this, their faces were frightened, and they said softly: "If you go back to the emperor, that thrush ...... was let go by the mother. ”

When Li Zheng heard this, his eyebrows moved, and then he looked at Ruan Linluo's silent side face, and said lightly: "It's a pity to let go of such a rare thing." ”

Ruan Linluo replied softly: "The bird is meant to fly in the sky, this is its fate...... However, it is too cruel to put it in a cage, and the world outside is so big and so wide, waiting for it to see. ”

Li Zheng listened to her words, walked to her side, pressed her shoulder with one hand, and said, "Although the world is big, it also has its master. Under this sky, I want it to fly before it can fly, and if I want it to fall, it must fall. ”

Ruan Linluo's shoulders trembled slightly, bit her lip lightly, and said, "Your Majesty, the concubine is not feeling well, and she wants to go to bed early......

Li Zheng slowly rubbed her hair with his hand and asked softly, "What's wrong with Concubine Ai?" Is it uncomfortable for people, or for the heart? ”

Ruan Linluo turned her face slightly and said, "The concubine is uncomfortable, and she always feels stuffy in her chest, which is a little uncomfortable. ”

Where she is uncomfortable, it is clearly sad. I'm sad that I entered the palace like this, and I'm sad that I'm imprisoned like this.

When Li Zheng heard this, he immediately pressed his hand on her chest, which made Ruan Linluo startled, and quickly stood up and took two steps back, looking defensive and uneasy.

Seeing this, the palace people couldn't help but gasp, only to feel that this Concubine Jing's courage was too big, why didn't she know what to do?

If it was someone else, Li Zheng would have been angry a long time ago, but he still has patience with Ruan Linluo.

Li Zheng slowly turned his back on his hand, paced to the window, and said: "Today, your father came to ask me for his life, saying that he would go to the northwest to exterminate the remnants of the foreign tribes......

Ruan Linluo was stunned when she heard this, her eyes flashed slightly, and she immediately knelt on the ground and pleaded: "Please let the emperor grant the request of the concubine's father, the concubine is very close to the family." ”

Seeing her kneeling at his feet, Li Zheng smiled slightly: "Concubine Ai I have already granted your father's request. ”

Ruan Linluo was overjoyed, and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." ”

Li Zheng helped her stand up with his own hands, and asked lightly, "Does Concubine Ai still feel uncomfortable now?" If you are still sad, I can also allow your mother to come into the palace to see you. ”

Ruan Linluo raised her head, looked at him in disbelief, and said suspiciously: "Really? Is what the emperor said true? ”

Li Zhengdao: "You have no jokes. But...... I have one more condition. ”

Ruan Linluo hurriedly asked, "What conditions?" ”

Li Zheng looked at her meaningfully, rubbed her face, and gently ordered: "I want to see you laugh, and I will laugh until I am satisfied." ”