Scheme of the Official Descendant

In early November, Yanbei ushered in the first snow this year.

Although this first snowfall was not heavy, it has been lingering for several days. The whole Yunyang City is a vast expanse of whiteness from a height, but the bluestone roads in the city are very wet and slippery. Not only pedestrians Walking slipped, and even the carriage hit several cars. It may be because the number of people commuting to and from Yunyang City has increased these days, and the snow on the ground has been trampled before it is compacted. Even the City Defense Department, which is responsible for the safety of the inner city, sends people to clean the main roads in the city every day. However, there is always a layer of ice slag left after the snow melts on the ground.

The people from the imperial court came to Yanbei in mid-November. I heard that because of the continuous snowstorm on the road, the car overturned and was delayed for a few days, so they did not arrive on the old princess' birthday.

Although it was late, those who should have come still came.

The queen mother and the emperor still rewarded the old princess with many rare treasures as birthday gifts as in previous years, and then expressed their regret for the death of the eldest son.

After the son's death, the Yanbei Palace sent people to the capital to take care of the follow-up matters to welcome back the son's bones, and at the same time, they also wanted to ask the court for an explanation. It's just that Shizi was assassinated suddenly that day, although a few people suspected of being assassins were caught later, those people committed suicide on the spot, so in the end there was no proof of death. Naturally, the imperial court would not give the Yanbei Palace the opportunity to push the responsibility onto itself, so in the end, the Yanbei Palace wanted to hold the court accountable, but they could not come up with any convincing evidence, so in the end they had no choice but to do nothing. However, the knot between the Yanbei Palace and the imperial court remained.

Apart from the two officials from the Ministry of Rites, there were also a few eunuchs and nuns who were with the queen mother and the emperor who came to Yanbei this time. When the official business was almost over, an eunuch said to Yanbei King: "Eunuch Lu who is beside the Empress Dowager has been in Yanbei for a while. , her old man cannot do without Eunuch Lu's service."

Eunuch Lu had already been handed over to Xiao Shun by Xiao Jingxi, and now he doesn't know if he still lives. It's okay to die, but if I'm alive, I'm afraid life would be worse than death.

When the Yanbei Palace sent official documents to the court before, it had lightly mentioned that Eunuch Lu had been held accountable for the crime of deceiving the emperor, but the court did not immediately respond. Now that the Queen Mother's people raised this matter in front of King Yanbei, they also knew that the Queen Mother didn't know about it, or came to find fault if she knew about it.

King Yanbei raised his eyebrows and thought for a while, then calmly asked the princess sitting next to him: "Which Eunuch Lu is he talking about? Why doesn't this king have an impression?" Do it without stress.

Eunuch: "..."

The concubine thought for a while, then reminded the prince in a gentle voice: "I heard from Jingxi earlier that the palace seems to have dealt with a few eunuchs who deceived the emperor for the court a while ago? I don't know." The concubine also practiced Tai Chi.

King Yanbei touched his chin and nodded, then said to the eunuch: "This king is rarely in the mansion all year round. I never ask about trivial matters. You should ask my son about this matter." .

The corner of the eunuch's mouth twitched, he was really speechless.

On the contrary, an old lady who came with the eunuch said: "I don't know where the second young master is now? I have a decree about the second young master here. If the second young master is in the mansion, can he come out to receive the order? "

The King of Yanbei and the princess looked at each other, and it was the concubine who told Nanny Xin: "Send someone to the villa to find the second young master, and say that the queen mother's order has arrived, and let him come back to receive the order."

Xiao Jingxi returned to the mansion after an hour. During this period, these eunuchs and nuns were taken down to rest for a round. Regarding the order for Xiao Jingxi, Xiao Jingxi did not come back and they did not disclose in advance. , because the prince and concubine did not go out of their way to inquire.

After Xiao Jingxi returned to the mansion, the nanny who came with the Queen Mother's order was invited again.

In front of Xiao Jingxi and the prince and concubine, the old mother dictated the Queen Mother's order, that is, she wanted to give Xiao Jingxi a marriage, and the gift was a girl from the Queen Mother's natal family, Miss Yan's family.

King Yanbei and his concubine did not say a word after hearing the Queen Mother's instructions. King Yanbei glanced at Xiao Jingxi and took a sip of tea on the ground.

Xiao Jingxi said in a calm and unhurried manner: "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your love. Unfortunately, I already have a marriage contract, and the wedding date is set for next September."

The old mother didn't take it seriously when she heard the words: "It's the queen mother's will that the young master's previous marriage should be rejected. Could it be that the girl still has the honorable status of Miss Yan's family?"

Xiao Jingxi smiled: "This... I'm afraid it's not right."

The old mother was a little displeased when she heard the words: "So, the Second Young Master wants to resist the edict?"

Xiao Jingxi sat there thinking for a while, then smiled at the old nanny: "In terms of status or not... why don't you help me care about it? Miss Yan is the daughter of the empress dowager's natal family, so her status is naturally very noble. , the one who has a marriage contract with me is the first emperor's granddaughter, Princess Jiayi's first daughter. The Xiao family is a minister of the Li family, and if the Yanbei Palace wants to regret the marriage without a reason, the Xiao family may not be able to face the first emperor."

The old mama choked when she heard the words, and then said after a pause: "I don't know what Princess Jiayi, the granddaughter of the late emperor, all the princesses and princesses are in the capital."

At this time, Yanbei King said: "You have been in the palace all the time, and it is not strange if you don't know. Before his death, the late emperor left a decree to His Royal Highness Xian Wang, pardoning Xian Wang and canonizing him as King of Hezhong, Jiayi County The Lord is the legitimate daughter of the King of the River."

The old mother naturally knew about this matter, the Queen Mother was furious because of this matter, no one in the palace dared to mention anything related to Xian Wang or He Zhong Wang, otherwise their lives would be lost.

"The imperial decree..." The old nanny opened her mouth and wanted to say that the imperial edict was false, but she was an old man in the palace after all, so she realized something was wrong the moment she opened her mouth. Whether the imperial decree in Xian Wang's hand is true or not is not up to her as a servant to discuss, even the emperor and queen mother did not publicly express that the imperial decree in Xian Wang's hand is false.

The old mama broke out in a cold sweat, and glanced at King Yanbei, not daring to do it again.

King Yanbei didn't bother to argue with a slave about his gains and losses.

The old mother had a task to do, so she continued: "If this family relationship can't be shirked... the second son can follow the example of the old prince and marry the second wife. Miss Yan is also a reasonable lady from a famous family." This time the old mother Mammy was clever, she only said to let Xiao Jingxi marry the two wives, and didn't say who was older and who was younger.

King Yanbei nodded and said: "As a man, it is quite normal to have three wives and four concubines."

The old mother was overjoyed when she heard the words, thinking that the Yanbei Palace wanted to agree, and was about to say a few more words, but the King of Yanbei sighed again, looked at Xiao Jingxi a few times, and said regretfully: "It's just that this king's son may not have this Fortunately, he has been thin since he was a child, so it would be nice to marry a wife. Two? Tsk... without that diamond, he would still be doing porcelain work." King Yanbei shook his head.

princess:"……"

The corners of Xiao Jingxi's eyes twitched, and thanks to the depth of his city, the smile on his face did not collapse.

It's just that King Yanbei was so shameless that even the old mother couldn't go on talking.

His own father directly said that his son was not good enough, and his physical condition could not control the second daughter, so what else could he say? To die under a peony flower is to be a ghost? This is not a marriage match, but a deliberate murder.

In the end, the old mother next to the queen mother was defeated, so she could only think about going back and asking the queen mother to make a decision. The Yanbei Palace has such a tough attitude and insists on resisting the order and not obeying it. To be honest, a few palace people dare not confront it head-on in the Yanbei Palace. After all, there is a lesson from the past, Eunuch Lu, who may not find justice even if he loses his life.

The people from the imperial court did not stay in Yanbei, and Qichen returned to Beijing the next day and left Yunyang City. It's just that the Queen Mother wanted to marry Yan's daughter to the second son of the Xiao family, but it was still spread.

After hearing this, the people of Yanbei were all discussing, but everyone felt that if the imperial court insisted on granting a marriage, Second Young Master Xiao would probably follow his grandfather's lead and marry the second wife. Anyway, marrying the daughter of the Yan family would be a big deal for a decoration. The Yan family is thousands of miles away from Yanbei. Offending the Empress Dowager and the Yan family, it is common for a man to have three wives and four concubines, let alone the second son of Yanbei Palace.

Ren Yaoqi naturally also heard the rumors outside, even if she didn't take the initiative to inquire, because of her current engagement with Xiao Jingxi, someone would take the initiative to bring the matter to her.

So on this day, when Ren Yaoqi and Li Shi went to an old lady's birthday banquet together, they heard someone discussing it in the garden.

A woman said with great interest: "I heard that Ms. Yan's family is a rare beauty. Because she looks like the queen mother when she was young, she is favored by the queen mother. It's a pity that we don't have the chance to meet. I don't know how compared to Miss Ren's family. Who is taller and who is lower in appearance?"

Another person said: "It's not that there is no chance to see her. Maybe she will marry us in Yanbei in the future? There will be a chance to meet her at that time."

"By the way, isn't the young lady of the Su family from the capital? I heard that she met Miss Yan's family when she was in her boudoir. If you are really curious, you can ask the young lady of the Su family."

Some people were also dissatisfied and said: "The girls in Jingdu are prettier than ours in Yanbei? I saw that the Ren family is very good-looking, and I heard that she looks like the concubine Wan Gui who loved the harem back then."

"That's true, we don't have the chance to meet Concubine Wan, but the concubine was so favored back then, she must be better than... um, in terms of appearance."

Ren Yaoqi listened for a while, although she didn't deliberately hide her whereabouts, but these young girls were chatting excitedly, and they didn't notice her coming at all.

Until there were footsteps on another path, and several people came towards this side.

Then Ren Yaoqi heard the sound of two groups of people greeting each other. Ren Yaoqi also came out and was about to go around them when someone said, "Huh? Isn't this Miss Ren?"

Now the third house of the Ren family has been separated from the Ren family, and Ren Yaohua is married again, so everyone calls Ren Yaoqi Miss Ren, and no longer ranks in the titles.

Ren Yaoqi could only stop, turned around and saw that the person who stopped her was the Second Miss of the Meng family. Although she was not familiar with this Miss Meng, she had met him a few times.

Ren Yaoqi smiled and nodded, and walked over to say hello to the ladies she knew.

The faces of those who were still talking about Ren Yaoqi were obviously uncomfortable, and they didn't know if Ren Yaoqi had heard their discussions behind their backs, but the two ladies of the Meng family were there before, but because of He didn't say a few words, and there was no embarrassment on his face.

"Miss Ren also came to visit the garden?" Someone asked cautiously.

Although Ren Yaoqi's previous status was nothing, but after transforming from King Xian to King of Hezhong, and Ren Yaoqi having a marriage contract with Xiao Jingxi, everyone looked at her differently. Even if everyone is a lady, they are divided into three, six, and nine ranks. Of course, there must be a lot of envy and hatred.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and smiled, "I'm going to the warming room."

Seeing that her expression was normal, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere became more active. These girls are all three or four years younger than Ren Yaoqi, and they don't play together on weekdays. Although they meet occasionally, Ren Yaoqi's status is not what it used to be, and everyone treats her more. Unprecedented curiosity and exploration.

Those with a more lively temperament asked very familiarly: "What does sister Ren like to do at home? I like to play shuttlecock, but it's a pity that it's cold now, and the elders are generally not allowed to go out of the house."

Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, "I'm afraid of the cold, so I only dare to stay in my room to read and practice calligraphy in winter."

Seeing her kind and easy-going attitude, everyone warmed up.

Someone said: "I don't like reading and practicing calligraphy, but my mother insisted on forcing me to practice, saying that she was afraid that I would be embarrassed at the daughter's banquet next year."

Miss Meng Jia said with a smile: "Speaking of the Qianjin Banquet, I have to ask Miss Ren carefully. She was one of the leaders of the previous session."

The Yun Family's Qianjin Banquet was originally held every two years, but it has not been held since the last time Ren Yaoqi participated. I don't know if it was because of an accident at that time or because of some taboo. Only then did the family release the news that next summer they will continue to hold the Qianjin Banquet. These famous ladies are all looking forward to being able to show their faces at the Qianjin Banquet, and if they get a good ranking, they can find a good marriage.

Everyone surrounded Ren Yaoqi and asked her about the Qianjin Banquet, and Ren Yaoqi answered them all.

Someone said: "I thought that the Qianjin Banquet would never be held again. I heard that it was Miss Yun who persuaded Mrs. Yun and Mrs. Yun."

"I also heard that many people asked Miss Yun about the Qianjin Banquet. Miss Yun has always been good-natured, so she agreed to go back and ask the elders in her family. I don't think it will really happen."

"I heard that because the Qianjin Banquet was not held in the past few years, next year's Qianjin Banquet will be a bit more lively than in previous years. I don't know what kind of grand occasion it will be."

"I'll know when the time comes. With your family background, you will definitely be able to get the invitation from the Yun family."

Ren Yaoqi listened to them chattering about the Qianjin Banquet, but didn't interrupt. On the contrary, when I heard that next year's Qianjin Banquet was strongly advocated by the young lady of the Yun family, my heart was slightly moved.

Afterwards everyone talked about other things, Ren Yaoqi stayed for a while, then said goodbye and left.

The Yun Family's Qianjin Banquet seemed to be really planning to hold a big one, and for a period of time afterwards, Ren Yaoqi always heard other people mentioning the matter of next year's Qianjin Banquet. But she has no plans to participate this year.

In this way, it will soon be the twelfth lunar month, and it will be the most lively New Year's Day of the year.

In the past, the Ren family would go back to the old house in Baihe Town for the New Year. This year, because the third master Ren has been expelled from the Ren family, they don't plan to go back to Baihe Town in this house. So when it was still far away from the New Year's Eve, Mrs. Li and Mother Zhou were busy buying new year's goods, for fear that it would be too late in the twelfth lunar month. This is the first year they have lived by themselves, so they are naturally very cautious, for fear that something will go wrong, and the new year will be in trouble.

Just when Mrs. Li brought Ren Yaoqi and a group of maids and women to prepare for the New Year, a news came from the Lei family, which surprised and pleased both Mrs. Li and Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaohua is already two months pregnant.

Ren Yaohua is married in August, and now it's just the twelfth lunar month and she finds out that she is two months pregnant, why not surprise people?

Mrs. Li even wept with joy: "Thank you, thank you! This year, we must pay homage to our ancestors and Bodhisattvas, and let them all come to bless our son Hua in one fell swoop, and the safety of our mother and child." Li's life, until now, if there are any regrets, then It was because she failed to give birth to a son for her husband.

Because of the guilt in her heart, even if she was bullied by Aunt Fang when she was in the Ren family, she didn't have the confidence to fight back. She has always been ashamed of Ren Shimin and the Ren family.

So now that I heard that Ren Yaohua is pregnant, how can I not be happy for my daughter?

Nanny Zhou has served Li's side for many years, so she naturally understood what she was thinking, and her eyes turned red immediately: "Don't worry, madam, we two young ladies are lucky people, and the young lady will definitely win a man in one fell swoop."

Ren Yaoqi is also very happy for Ren Yaohua. With a child, Ren Yaohua can really gain a firm foothold in Lei's family.

After being happy for a long time, Mrs. Li was a little worried again: "Hua'er is young and is the first child, and there is no elder in Lei's family to look after her. I, I am worried."

Nanny Zhou said: "Perhaps the eldest lady sent someone back to tell us the news, because she also wanted help from her natal family? It will be Chinese New Year soon, and the Lei family must be overwhelmed."

It stands to reason that it is not easy to spread the word if she is less than three months pregnant. Although Ren Yaohua has a strong temper, she knows the seriousness and does not dare to be brave.

Reminded by Nanny Zhou, Mrs. Li also thought that this year is also Ren Yaohua's first year in Lei's family. Forget it, now that she is pregnant and less than three months away, how can Ren Yaohua support herself?

Thinking of this, Mrs. Li couldn't sit still, got up and said: "I have to go to Lei's house to see her, and I have to teach her some things in person."

Nanny Zhou hurriedly stopped Mrs. Li: "Ma'am, it's getting late today, why don't you go in two days. The slaves still need to prepare some things that the eldest lady can use, and then send them to Lei's house together." good."

Mrs. Li thought that what Nanny Zhou said was reasonable, so she no longer insisted on going to visit Ren Yaohua now: "Yes, yes, I have to prepare a few people for her. Oh, no, it's the twelfth lunar month, and I'm here. I'm so busy that I can't touch the ground, the Lei family must be even busier. Why don't you go to Lei's house to help Hua'er first, I feel relieved when you are here."

"But at home..."

Mrs. Li immediately said: "There is still hope for me at home, it's important that you quickly bring some useful ones to Lei's house to help Hua'er."

Nanny Zhou couldn't help but look at Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi thought for a while, and then nodded: "Mother and Mammy are right to be worried. The family affairs are almost busy before, and there will be no trouble with my mother. Mammy will go to my sister's place to stay for a while. For a while, I will come back after the New Year's Eve."

Mother Zhou was also worried about Ren Yaohua, seeing that both Li Shi and Ren Yaohua said so, she immediately packed up her things, took a few very capable maids and women, and rushed to Lei's house.

Two days later, Mrs. Li took Ren Yaoqi to Lei's house to see Ren Yaohua, and also brought two large carts of food.

When Ren Yaohua received the news that Mrs. Li was coming to see her, she originally wanted to go out to meet Mrs. Li, but was stopped by a whole room of people, and finally had to wait in her yard.

When Ren Yaoqi entered the house, he took a casual look, and found that almost all the servants in the house were the dowry brought by Ren Yaohua, and the Lei family also had two maids who were able to enter the house to serve, and the appearance was just ordinary, all of them were honest and responsible look.

Ren Yaohua looked good, she was a little fatter than when she was at home, her eyes were full of joy when she saw Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi, which made her look much softer than when she was a girl at home. Ren Yaoqi took a few glances at Ren Yaohua in this way, and felt more relieved that Ren Yaohua was doing well.

Ren Yaohua chatted with Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi for a while, and asked about the people and things in the family. Li Shi also told her what she had been thinking about for two days, Ren Yaohua also listened carefully, although Li Shi babbled a lot and was somewhat repetitive, Ren Yaohua did not show any impatience.

The atmosphere in the room was just right, and Turnip came in to report that my uncle was back.

As the head of the Lei family, Lei Ting is also very busy at the end of the year. However, because Ren Yaohua is pregnant, no matter how busy he is, he will come back to eat three meals a day with his wife and daughter, and he will not go out to socialize at night. Nanny Zhou stayed at Lei's house for two days, and now she is 11000 satisfied with this uncle, and she smiles all over her face when she sees him.

It's not time for dinner yet, Lei Ting came back at this time because he heard that his mother-in-law was coming, so he came back early.

The wedding date of Xiao Jingxi and Ren Yaoqi has been changed to September next year. I am afraid that those who have subscribed early will not notice, so I would like to explain o(∩_∩)o.

`RS