Just then, a man dressed in a kitchen grabbed a ragged beggar and walked across from them. Suddenly, the beggar broke free from his hands, knelt down in front of everyone and kowtowed for help: "Ladies and gentlemen, please save me!" ”

The man hurriedly grabbed the beggar: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, this man came to the kitchen to steal food and was caught by the slave, and the slave was about to send him to the steward." ”

Hearing this, the beggar kowtowed again and again: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to steal food, it's really that the children in the family are dying of hunger, and I really have no choice but to steal." Please, young ladies save me, don't send me to the government, or the child will starve to death. ”

Mama Wang pretended to be embarrassed and looked at the young ladies: "This, ladies and gentlemen, look-"

Some people see it as a test, and some people simply think it is an accident. For a while, there was a lot of gossip and everything.

"Mama, the queen is still waiting for us! Let's go! ”

"What a pitiful beggar! There are still children at home, forget it! ”

"If you dare to steal something, you will have to bear the consequences, send it directly to the official or beat it to death."

……

Xiao Yu originally stayed quietly on the side, but the young ladies around her were noisy and talking, and Mama Wang had an attitude of insisting that everyone make it clear, and carefully observed the two people in front of her, and then walked out of the team to give Mama Wang a blessing.

At this time, Du Yao, the eldest daughter of the Yongle Hou family, also stood up.

The two looked at each other, and Xiao Yu took the initiative to say, "Sister Du, let's talk first!" "Du Yao is about fifteen years old.

Du Yao nodded at Xiao Yu to express her gratitude, and then said to Mama Wang: "Mama, if you steal something, you have to follow the rules, hand it over to the housekeeper, and then send it to the government." It's just that you can arrange someone to see if the child he said is true, and if so, you can take the child to the house to do things, or reward him with some money to live. But I think these two people are a little awkward, is there something else? ”

The queen and concubine behind the stone table couldn't help but nod when they saw Du Yao say this. The queen looked at Concubine Xian and signaled that she was a good young lady, and Du Yao was in the list given by Concubine Xian before.

Seeing that Du Yao finished speaking, Xiao Yu nodded to Du Yao, and then asked Mama Wang: "Mama, I don't know if this is a test for the queen or a real accident?" ”

Mama Wang was surprised by Xiao Yu's straightforwardness, but as an old man in the palace, she still said with an unchanged face: "This is not Niangniang's arrangement, Niangniang is still waiting for you in the backyard!" What does Miss mean by that? ”

Seeing this, Xiao Yu went straight to the point: "If this is the test of the mother, I have the same views as Sister Du, the family has a family law, and the country has national rules." If you do something wrong, you should be punished, but the child is innocent and can be taken care of, but you must be careful not to develop a white-eyed wolf. But," Xiao Yu suddenly changed his tone and said in a serious tone, "If this is not Niangniang's arrangement, I suggest that Mama Wang immediately call someone to send these two people to the government for strict investigation!" ”

Everyone was taken aback by Xiao Yu's tone, and even the queen and concubine behind the stone table, as well as the two princes, didn't know why, why did this Xiao Yu suddenly pull two people.

Xiao Yu ignored everyone's doubts, pulled Mama Wang, stared at the two in front of her, motioned for everyone to slowly retreat, and didn't speak until a safe distance: "These two people are not kitchen servants and beggars at all. If you look at the hands of the two of them, there are obvious calluses on the thumbs and fingertips, and at first glance they are the hands that have been holding the sword for a long time, and then look at the feet of the beggars, the center of gravity of the ordinary person kneeling is on the knees, and his center of gravity is on the toes, which is a defensive posture ready to attack at any time, indicating that this is a person with skills. ”

The kitchen servant interjected: "Miss, the slave has been cutting vegetables in the kitchen for a long time, so he has calluses on his hands!" Slaves are wronged. ”

Xiao Yu nodded: "It's true that cutting vegetables for a long time will also grind out cocoons, but you look at his cuffs, how can a person in the kitchen use Shu brocade to make a lining?" ”

Everyone looked at the man's cuffs, and sure enough, the tight cuffs leaked out a small section of the fabric of the underwear, which was Shu brocade, which should be the reason why the clothes they were looking for were smaller and did not fit.

Everyone looked at Mama Wang, did this person arrange it on purpose? What the hell is going on now? Mama Wang was also a little confused, she did arrange people at that time, but she didn't know who she arranged, and she didn't know if these two people were either. How was Xiao Yuyi said, Mama Wang also began to suspect these two people.

The two teenagers at the stone table also looked at the queen and the concubine, these two were arranged by them, what the hell is going on?

The queen and the concubine are a little embarrassed, and the exam questions haven't come out yet! What should I do if someone debunks it? Seeing that the two didn't know what to do next, the queen had to applaud and signal the two to leave.

When everyone heard the voice, they found that the four queens who were hiding on the side hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

The queen signaled everyone not to be nervous, but she didn't explain what had just happened, she just asked everyone how they were doing today? You're welcome, just go whatever you want.

Xiao Yu looked at the noble girl who was rushing to reply, and took a step back without a trace, just in time to see that Du Yao was also retreating, and the two saw the sympathy in each other's eyes, and couldn't help but smile.

It wasn't long before the queen sent them away. When leaving, the queen rewarded everyone with gifts, one for each person, and it was not clear what was in the purse. Some young ladies changed their faces, and they couldn't see who was special, and they didn't know who was more valued by the queen, so they looked around to see what others were doing. Xiao Yu and Du Yao didn't have the heart to look at it on the spot, so they immediately said goodbye and left.

After everyone left, the queen looked at a few people confidently: "The purse of the palace is not wrong!" "These purses look the same, but there are two purses that differ in details, and the queen gave them to Du Yao and Xiao Yu.

Concubine Xian pursed her lips and smiled: "The concubine's intentions, isn't the queen's sister still unclear?" The concubine believed in the queen's sister. ”

The two looked at each other with a smile, with a tacit understanding that they did not speak, outsiders said that the queen and the virtuous concubine would fight for the position of the crown prince, in fact, it was for Concubine De and Concubine Shu, the two were best friends since childhood, and later the two married the current emperor because of the emperor's order, one is a concubine, but it did not affect the relationship between the two at all, and even the birth of the eldest prince is also because the queen has not been able to give birth to the prince for a long time, and the virtuous concubine gave birth to her desperately in order to help her fix her favor.

The relationship between the two princes is also very good, the eldest prince is like a mother, not greedy for power, and has decided to be a free king after the second prince succeeds to the throne. The second prince has the benevolence of a monarch and has great respect for his brother.

As the eldest brother, the eldest prince Xia Mingyuan spoke first: "Erchen is very satisfied with Miss Du, the mother concubine showed the portrait to Erchen before, and Erchen liked Miss Du's bulging goose egg face at that time. Cute and dignified. ”

Concubine Xian covered her mouth and laughed when she heard this, laughing so much that Xia Mingyuan was embarrassed before she said: "Sister, look at this child, he didn't say anything when he asked him before, he just said that he listened to the concubine, but when he met someone today, he praised it like this, and praised it so well!" is still hard-mouthed, if we don't value Du Yao, the concubine will see who he cries to! ”

Hearing this, the queen and Xia Mingjin also laughed. Xia Mingyuan's face flushed, he wanted to refute but was embarrassed to say, seeing that his younger brother was also laughing at him, in line with the idea that his friends of the dead Dao would not die and the poor Dao, he immediately changed the topic: "Don't just laugh at me, my younger brother is the same, he has long been in love with Miss Xiao, but he hasn't said it." ”

Seeing Xia Mingyuan breaking the news, the two girlfriends stared at Xia Mingjin with the same gossip eyes, Xia Mingjin saw that he was eating melons by his side, and glanced at this immoral big brother, unable to speak.

The queen handed a handful of melon seeds to Concubine Xian and urged: "Mingjin, tell me quickly, how many things are you doing to us?" ”

Xia Mingjin couldn't, knowing the character of the two concubines who didn't give up without pursuing the bottom line, she poked the ground with her shoes a little uncomfortably: "Erchen saw Miss Xiao when he left the palace during the Lantern Festival last year, and when he saw her and her family enjoying the lanterns, she smiled brightly, and Erchen was attracted, and then I found an opportunity to sneak a few times at Miss Xiao, and I felt more and more that she was very attractive to me, and I wanted to tell the queen mother, but I thought she was still young, so I didn't say it." Some time ago, the queen mother said that she wanted to choose the imperial concubine for me, and I saw that she was in your pre-selection list, and I knew that with her ability, she would definitely be selected by you, so I didn't say it. As he spoke, Xia Mingjin lowered his head.

The queen said angrily: "You too, don't say it earlier, you are one by one." Today, it's more about the two of you being confident than your luck! Have you two ever thought that this time the palace blatantly held a banquet, which one didn't know that it was to choose the princess? It's just that I don't know that the boss is here, what if she doesn't come? ”

Xia Mingyuan and Xia Mingjin looked at each other, Xia Mingjin said embarrassedly: "Won't it?" Didn't they all come? ”

The queen gloated: "Du Yao's palace is not clear, but this Xiao Yu, this palace has heard your father and emperor say, Lord Xiao once said that his child's marriage is decided by Mrs. Xiao, but Mrs. Xiao said that it still depends on the child's liking." If I guessed correctly, the reason why the Xiao family came here is also because today I can openly let Xiao Yu contact the son of the family. It is estimated that these young ladies have begun to contact at this time, and this palace dares to say that as long as Xiao Yu has a crush on whom, Mrs. Xiao will have a way to marry whom. Royal marriage, as long as there is no formal marriage, they have a way to refuse! ”

Xia Mingjin's face changed instantly when she heard this, and she wanted to refute it, but she also knew that the queen mother must have seen it better than him. In a panic, he saluted, and immediately ran to find Xiao Yu. Xia Mingyuan was also a little worried, he was not afraid of 10,000, he was afraid of what happened, and he hurriedly asked his younger brother to wait for him to go with him.

After the two left, Concubine Xian looked at the queen with a little worry: "Sister, will Xiao Yu's status be lower, Lord Xiao is only a second-grade member, and she herself has been promoted from a concubine to a concubine, which is not much help to Ming Jin!" ”

The queen said confidently: "Sister, with the two of us joining forces, who can take away the crown prince of the emperor?" So as long as their marriage doesn't drag its feet and chooses what they like, otherwise I won't hold a banquet, isn't it afraid that we won't like them? Speaking of this, the queen thought of the past, a little sad, a little regretful, grabbed Concubine Xian's hand and said, "If it wasn't for me back then, you could also choose the person you like." ”

Concubine Xian patted the queen's hand and said lightly: "Sister, you think too much, that is when you are young and ignorant of the world, think about it, if I really chose that person back then, I would not have become a widow earlier." ”