Chi Tao jumped out of the car first and helped Mrs. Shi get out of the car, and Mrs. Shi got on a blue cloth soft sedan chair and went to Chonghua Palace, where the queen lived.

The soft sedan chair was carried by four people, and it walked fast on the bluestone road, and Chi Tao followed closely behind.

However, with a stick of incense, the soft sedan chair stopped in front of a palace courtyard, and the two palace maids standing in front of the door, one came up to say goodbye, and the other turned around and went in.

Compared with the Ruyi Pavilion, Chonghua Palace does not have such a strong Jiangnan style, but is square and neat, and the atmosphere is much magnificent. The queen did not wait in the main hall, but Mrs. Shi came often, and skillfully took the pond peach into the Dongnuan Pavilion, and the queen was reclining on the collapse and holding a book to read.

Before Mrs. Shi squatted down to say goodbye, the queen threw away the book and said with a smile: "Don't sit down quickly, go back and make these false courtesies." ”

Mrs. Shi insisted on saluting, and then sat opposite the queen: "Niangniang cherishes, and the concubines can't take it big, relying on the love between you and me." He frowned and glanced at the book that the queen had just put down, and said helplessly: "The imperial doctor said that your eyes are not good, and you are not allowed to read more, why do you always keep your hands on the book?" ”

The palace maid next to her interjected: "It's not! Madame, you can tell me about my mother-in-law, who reads books all day long. The slave and maid are strange, the words are dense, the slave and maid are dizzy at a glance, and the mother is very interesting! ”

The queen smiled: "How can you speak, don't step back quickly!" Although he was angry, his tone was gentle.

The palace maid was not afraid, it was obvious that she had a face in front of the queen, and she smiled and took the palace maids out, Chi Tao saw that Mrs. Shi didn't give herself a look, but there was no palace person in the warm pavilion, so she spontaneously and consciously followed out.

I vaguely heard the queen sigh: "I don't read books, what else can I do......."

The sun was just right outside, and Chi Tao suddenly came out of the room, and couldn't help but feel a little dizzy, and covered her eyes with her hands for a while. The big palace maid smiled and said, "I'm looking at you, I'm the first to come back today, right?" ”

Chi Tao showed a sweet smile: "If you go back to my sister, I just entered the Xie family." Madame said that I had a short knowledge, and specially took me into the palace to see the world! ”

The palace maid was about twenty years old, and when she saw that Chi Tao was not like a little palace maid, she trembled when she saw her, and she liked it in her heart, so she took out a few pine nut candy from her purse and gave it to her: "Well, the mother and the lady have to talk for a while, you are waiting here obediently." As he spoke, he pinched Chi Tao's face.

Chi Tao sat on the steps while eating pine nut candy while basking in the sun, and when she felt a little drowsy, the palace maid led people back and knocked twice on the door of the palace: "Niangniang, it's time to go and say hello to the Queen Mother." ”

Yuguan went into a row of palace maids holding basins and scarves, thinking that the queen wanted to clean her face again, and Chi Tao was inconvenient to enter, so she looked at Mrs. Shi sitting in the main hall and drinking tea, so she ran in: "Madam." ”

After waiting for a while, the queen came out of the inner hall, already dressed up in a new look. The queen originally had a goose egg face, slightly plump skin, a smooth bun, only a few gilt cordyceps hairpins, and a lake blue satin gown, which made her look more and more gentle and amiable.

The Queen Mother's residence is not far from the Wanshou Palace and Chonghua Palace, and the Queen walked over with Mrs. Shi. Before entering the gate of Chonghua Palace, Chi Tao had already smelled a strong smell of medicine, and Mrs. Shi also smelled it, and said with a frown: "Is the Queen Mother's condition so serious?" ”

The queen sighed and said in a low voice: "It's still the wind and cold I suffered a few years ago, and I have been uncomfortable intermittently. Later, in March and April, it was already good, but somehow, I always have a headache recently. It turns out that you often come to greet the Queen Mother when you enter the palace, so come and take a look at it now and say something reassuring. ”

"Or is the Lord of Huayin waiting?"

"Not really." The queen frowned slightly, and said with a wry smile, "Originally, I was supposed to lead the concubines to serve the sick....... but she promised it to Huai Enhou, and the emperor was naturally willing, but why did the queen mother agree......

The queen's words were not finished, but Mrs. Shi and Chi Tao already understood. Behind the lord of Huayin is the king of Qi, and the current Wu Kangdi is a compatriot, all of them are descendants, because of the reputation of benevolence, the voice of the prince was on par with Wu Kangdi. When the overall situation was decided, in order to avoid suspicion and for his own safety, King Qi invited himself to go to remote Yunnan and never returned to Beijing. However, Marquis Huaien was the prince of the mourning country, and he won the title of marquis completely by relying on Concubine Lin.

Putting these two people together, the emperor should be happy to see it, which not only further weakened the prestige of King Qi, but also made a royal family for Huai Enhou and appeased Concubine Lin.

But the Queen Mother didn't even object......

The chamberlain introduced the queen and Mrs. Shi into the main hall, and said with a smile: "I'm tired of Niangniang and Mrs. Wait for a cup of tea, the Empress Dowager has just drunk the medicine, and the slave maid will go to see it and say back, and then invite Niangniang to come in." ”

The queen nodded, and the chamberlain breathed a sigh of relief and hurried in.

After a while, a young girl led several palace maids out from behind, and Ying Ying bowed: "I didn't know that the queen mother was here, and my niece was late to greet her." A pair of slightly provoked Danfeng eyes looked at Mrs. Shi again: "This must be Mrs. Shi." ”

Mrs. Shi glanced at the queen, and hurriedly stood up and saluted: "I've seen Lord Huayin." ”

The queen smiled: "You have been taking care of the Queen Mother for days, how is the mother doing today?" So saying, he got up and went to the inner sanctum.

The girl hurriedly stopped: "Mother, be slow." The Queen Mother drank the medicine and fell asleep, and she was sweating slightly, afraid that it would be inconvenient to see people. When she wakes up, I'll tell my mother to come and visit. ”

The queen was not allowed to enter.

The queen smiled quietly: "It's okay." It's just that you're working alone, and I told the emperor today that you have to work so hard at a young age, and you don't want to go. When the Queen Mother is well, it is better to handle your family affairs as soon as possible, and you can accompany the mother in the capital for a long time. ”

The girl's face flushed and lowered her head: "The queen mother is used to making fun of her niece. Her gaze turned on Mrs. Shi's face, "I heard that the son-in-law of Madame's family is good friends with him......"

The queen and Mrs. Shi both covered their mouths and smiled, and Mrs. Shi even said: "If the county lord has nothing to do, come to my house as a guest - when will the Hou Ye not come two or three times a day?" ”

The girl's face turned even redder, and she hurriedly changed the topic: "Niangniang and Mrs. taste it, this is the fog bead tea I brought, and I can only get one or twenty catties in the whole of Yunnan a year." The flavor is unique, I'm used to this since I eat, I don't know if it's good for the mother and the lady? ”

Afraid of disturbing the queen mother's rest, the three of them laughed a little and the queen got up and went back to the palace.

Mrs. Shi didn't give Chi Tao a look, but Chi Tao was shocked in her heart.

When she was in Yuelaiyi, although she had not met the fake county lord, she had heard her speak, and she was clearly a vulgar and rude woman. And Achu or the shopkeeper of Yuelaiyi, they have all told themselves about this woman, Achu said that she was born in a merchant, and she didn't understand the number of etiquette, which left Achu's life to guide from time to time, so as not to show her stuffing in front of the officials, and the shopkeeper of Yuelaiyi said that she had a personal ....... with Qiao Yulang who followed, but the "Huayin County Lord" in front of him was handsome and delicate, and he was a lady who grew up in a high school.

Originally, Chi Tao was suspicious, not to mention the emperor, the queen mother and the queen are both the top of the human spirits, how can the fake Huayin county lord deceive their eyes? But if the fake is the kind of talent seen today, Chi Tao believes that she can get past it even if she pretends to be a princess.

On the carriage back, I thought that Xie Yao had instructed her, but Mrs. Shi didn't ask anything.

Before reaching the lotus flower, the carriage stopped on the side of the road, and Mrs. Shi said gently: "Yuanting said, I will put you here today, and you will go home." He will come after you when he is free. ”

Chi Tao was also worried about Chun Ningxue's business, and she wished to get out as soon as possible, so she thanked Mrs. Shi and got out of the car, and went home first to change into men's clothes before going out.

Zhushikou Street was as bustling as ever, and Chi Tao couldn't help but speed up when he saw the signboard of his house from afar.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, a bright-eyed and bright-toothed junior came up: "Guest officer...... Eldest brother? ”

It was Achu who dressed up in men's clothes, and Chi Tao couldn't cry or laugh: "Why did you come out?"

Achu pouted: "I'm bored at home all day!" Sister Xing can't be busy here, I'll take a hand! ”

Chi Tao saw clearly that the store was full, and there were four or five maids lining up in front of the counter to get some good drinks. Chi Xing was so busy that she didn't raise her head, Shao Cheng came in with a tin bucket from behind, and stood beside Chi Xing to help hand over the cup: "Mrs. Liu's milk cover two cups of black tea." ”

A little maid held up the note in her hand: "It's mine, it's mine!" ”

Shao Cheng glanced at Chi Tao and smiled and showed a mouthful of white teeth: "How is it?" I figured it out! Miss Achu only orders and collects money, and her younger siblings only make those drinks. He pointed to the pen and paper in Achu's hand: "Miss Achu will write a note to the guest after receiving the money, and go to receive it with the note, which is clear and convenient." ”

Chi Tao was surprised, she originally wanted to see how the business was going, and it was slowly improving, but she didn't expect that after only one day of opening, Shao Cheng could arrange it in such an orderly manner.

said that Mrs. Shi returned to Xie's mansion and just changed her clothes, Xie Yao came.

There was a fuss in the middle of the night last night, and Xie Yao naturally knew about it, but he didn't mention it, and only asked, "Mother, can everything go well today?" ”

Mrs. Shi didn't mention last night's incident, only smiled and nodded: "She has gone home." I didn't ask, you just go and consult with her. He hesitated a little: "This girl ...... Although you are only fourteen, you are still old enough to be married, you ......"

Xie Yao smiled: "What did you say?" Am I with her? Chi Tao's plain and sallow face came to his mind, his eyes were slightly squinted, if he didn't have a brilliant cooking skill, he would be an ordinary half-sized child, but ....... that complexion should have been deliberately done by her, and the maid was very white when she was dressed up yesterday. He shook his head violently, even if his skin was white!