border cook

The winter in Beijing was so cold that the water in the old well in Changshou Palace froze.

The eunuch who fetched water threw the wooden bucket tied with the well rope into the well several times before breaking the layer of ice on the surface of the well and drawing water up.

The old eunuch next to him put his hands in his sleeves, glanced at the direction of the empress dowager's bedroom, and shook his head secretly: "This well has not been frozen for decades, and it is not a good sign to freeze this year. I am afraid that the empress dowager will die." .”

The eunuch was afraid and afraid to answer.

The empress dowager had been ill for a while, and the imperial physicians from the imperial hospital came every day, only to be scolded away by Empress Gao angrily after a while.

Empress Gao's belly is already pregnant. She is the empress dowager's niece, and she will come to see the empress dowager every morning and evening.

On the contrary, the new emperor was busy calming down the "chaos" and had to appease the person in the Cangjiao Temple. He rarely came here when he came, and even if he came, he would leave within a quarter of an hour. The mother and son of this family have no Yan Yue When the color is over.

In the Empress Dowager's bedroom, thick curtains were hung on the windows and doors to keep out the wind, and the hall was filled with an unpleasant smell of "medicine".

Empress Gao sat in front of the couch and fed the queen mother the "medicine" herself. After taking a few spoonfuls of "medicine", the queen mother retched a few times in her throat, tilted her head, and vomited out the "medicine" she had just drank. The maid hurriedly took the spittoon to pick it up.

Seeing this, Empress Gao burst into tears, "Auntie..."

She hurriedly took a handkerchief to wipe off the medicine stains on the Empress Dowager's lips, but the Empress Dowager still retched and twitched all over.

"The eldest princess is here—" the eunuch's voice came from outside the hall.

The heavy windshield curtain was lifted, and only a gleam of light appeared in the dark bedroom. The eldest princess walked into the hall against the light. She was wearing a palace dress embroidered with gold thread and peonies. The golden hairpin swayed gently as she walked, with delicate makeup on her face, elegant and luxurious.

Seeing Empress Gao who was crying endlessly, the eldest princess frowned fiercely, and scolded: "Did you cry on New Year's Day?"

Empress Gao was so scolded by the eldest princess that she didn't dare to choke, but the tears still couldn't stop flowing.

The eldest princess walked to the couch, looked at the gray-faced queen mother, sat down and held the queen mother's slightly cool hand, "They are all people who don't know how to serve others, and the wind and cold made you lie down for so long."

The empress dowager's hair turned gray. She was a few years older than the eldest princess, but she seemed to be a generation behind.

The queen mother was struggling to speak, panting, "Ayu, you are here."

Feng Yu is the name of this supreme and noble eldest princess.

The eldest princess said: "Shi Yan is messing around. When he is not in the capital, I have to guard the civil and military affairs of the court for him. I don't have time to see you."

Although the eldest princess has no real power in the court, the three princes and nine ministers have to bow their heads when they see her.

The Empress Dowager grabbed the eldest princess's hand with great strength, and said with difficulty: "Ayu, you have to help him, you are his real aunt, he can only count on you..."

Princess Taichang said: "Naturally."

Only then did the queen mother let go, she seemed to be on the verge of death, and the shallow ambitions and desires of the past were gone in her eyes, only the lingering desire for life: "Aijia these days, I always dream of your brother, Aijia knows, Aijia I'm afraid the day is coming."

The eldest princess said: "You just like to think wildly, but it's cold, just drink a few medicines and you'll be fine."

The queen mother shook her head: "Aijia knows his own fate, the only thing Aijia is worried about is this child..."

She turned her head to look at Empress Gao.

Queen Gao covered her face and cried bitterly.

The queen mother looked at her and said slowly: "You have been spoiled by Aijia, and you have never suffered a little grievance in this life, but in the future, you have to learn to endure grievances."

Empress Gao was sad, and her face was a little dazed.

The eldest princess said: "She is Xuan's queen. If she gives birth to a prince, she will be the prince's biological mother. No one dares to touch her, not even the emperor."

The queen mother nodded, looked at her niece again, and said earnestly: "There is no woman in the harem who has not survived. The emperor is now obsessed with ghosts. You wait until the child is born, and the man has his own flesh and blood. The mind will be taken away."

Queen Gao nodded tearfully.

After saying this, the Empress Dowager was already very tired, her eyes were still closed, like a candle in the wind, which had not been extinguished.

The eldest princess gave Empress Gao a look, then turned around and left the bedroom.

Empress Gao looked at the Empress Dowager before she wiped her tears and went out with the eldest princess.

When they arrived at the outer hall, the eldest princess asked Empress Gao: "Has the emperor visited the empress dowager?"

Empress Gao shook her head in embarrassment: "I came here half a month ago, and my mother and queen had a dispute, and I haven't been here since then."

The eldest princess's eyes are so sharp that people dare not look at her directly: "You are sitting in the queen's seat, don't just treat yourself as a regular wife who is not loved by your husband, what's the point of crying all the time?"

Empress Gao's face turned red and white at the words of the eldest princess.

The eldest princess continued: "In the past two years since the emperor took the throne, the Gao family relied on your empress dowager's power, and repeatedly used their original meritorious service as a dragon to hold back the emperor everywhere in the court. How can the emperor have no resentment towards you in his heart?"

Empress Gao's eyes were red when she was told, "I... Bengong will remind my father later."

The eldest princess frowned, and the carefully painted lotus flower on her forehead also frowned: "Gao Taifu's current posture seems to want to empty the emperor and take over the government by himself."

Empress Gao's face turned pale in an instant: "Auntie, father's loyalty to your majesty can be learned from the sun and the moon!"

The eldest princess said coldly: "It's useless for you to tell me this, you have to let your majesty see it."

After saying this, she left the Longevity Palace, leaving only Empress Gao standing in place.

After a while, Empress Gao "touched" her swollen belly, she put away all the panic and bewilderment on her face, and sneered at the corner of her mouth: "Empty Emperor?"

Before Feng Shiyan ascended to the throne of God, the Gao family also kept a low profile. She was sent to the palace because she was really ignorant and ignorant.

It's just that Feng Shiyan likes idiots like Xipin, so she imitates Xipin's words and deeds, trying to make Feng Shiyan fall in love with her.

After Empress Dowager Gao died, it was only inevitable that Feng Shiyan would intensify his efforts to suppress the Gao family.

Rather than waiting for her family to be weak and her lingering in the palace, it would be better not to replace her child, Feng Shiyan, as the throne!

****

When the eldest princess walked out of the gate of the palace, a piece of dead leaves in autumn and winter hung on the branch and swirled down to her feet. She looked gray, and Xu Wangran appeared on the cold face that no one should enter: "In the old days, that person walked and died. Sometimes when I look at this imperial city, I feel strange and deserted."

She persuaded her maid: "Princess, don't think too much, no one can escape the cycle of life and death."

The cold raindrops fell on the face of the eldest princess, and it turned out to be sleet.

The maid was busy holding an umbrella, the eldest princess looked at the vermilion palace walls on both sides of the strict and cold corridor, wondering what she was thinking.

A patrolling imperial army walked towards them. The leading imperial army was nine feet tall, with a resolute face and an imposing manner.

The eldest princess was in a trance for a moment, seeing the forbidden soldier approaching, as if she saw the scene of Chu Changping telling his colleagues out of the palace years ago.

When the forbidden army came to the gate of the palace, the leader of the forbidden army clasped fists at the eldest princess: "See the eldest princess."

Only then did the eldest princess come back to her senses completely, put away the trace of trance on her face, and turned into a noble and unattainable jewel in the palm of the former emperor.

She nodded coldly and asked the guard: "What's your name?"

The imperial guards clasped their fists and said respectfully: "Leng Zhen, a lowly post."

The eldest princess nodded, without saying a word, and walked towards the distant carriage escorted by the maid under the umbrella.

After getting in the car, the maid asked cautiously, "Did the princess think of Third Master Chu again?"

She has always been by the eldest princess's side, and she has a different relationship with the eldest princess, so she naturally knows a little bit about her master's thoughts.

The eldest princess propped her forehead with one hand and remained silent.

In this life, if someone misses it, he misses it. Since seeing someone is an enemy, it is better not to see him.

*****

Western State.

In a blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the first lunar month, which was the day when the shops were opened, and almost all the shops in Xizhou were closed.

Ruyi Floor Shop also set off firecrackers to celebrate the New Year.

The porcelain kiln has been officially taken over by the government, and Jiang Yanyi is the first batch of merchants to get the porcelain export documents. She has lived in the Chu family for so long, so she has to go back to do business.

After the beginning of spring, the cultivated land on the outskirts of the city began to be bought and sold. Jiang Yanyi planned to go to the outskirts to see for himself when it was not snowing, and buy a few acres of land suitable for growing peppers.

Chu Chengbai was sent to the Zhuangzi, and told Mrs. Chu that he went to Zhuangzi to study cleanly. The old lady didn't doubt it at all, and hoped that he would have a future. Follow the block to Zhuangzi.

When Jiang Yanyi went to Mrs. Chu's yard to bid farewell to Mrs. Chu, there were guests there.

The Chu family is an upstart in Xizhou, and they rarely take the initiative to make friends with others on weekdays. Those who come to pay New Year's greetings are all Chu Changping's colleagues in the army. This is the first time that a female family member has come to the house.

"This is the little girl of the third knee." Mrs. Chu smiled and introduced to the old lady sitting next to her.

The old lady was wearing a half-worn sapphire blue gown with twigs, and the mop on her forehead was only embroidered with wishful patterns, without inlaid gemstones. It is estimated that her family background should be inferior to that of the Chu family.

She nodded frequently when she saw Jiang Yanyi: "It's no wonder that the King of Liaonan values ​​him. Old sister, your granddaughter, I'm afraid you can't find a second one who can be more iconic than her."

There was also a young girl sitting next to her, about twenty years old, wearing a pomegranate skirt, but she kept her head down and couldn't see her face clearly.

Jiang Yanyi was praised and just bowed her head in a shy manner, leaving the words to Mrs. Chu to return.

Mrs. Chu, that old lady did a lot of homework. During this period, Jiang Yanyi noticed that Mrs. Chu stared at the girl from time to time. She guessed that Mrs. Chu was probably showing Chu Chengmao a kiss, but she felt it at the first sight. Well, this girl is not the type that Chu Chengmao's cheap and vicious tongue would like.

Moreover, girls in this era get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, and it is rare for girls at this age. Jiang Yanyi was feeling that Mrs. Chu was smart, and only when she heard Mrs. Chu ordered her maid to invite Chu Changping over did she realize that something was wrong.

The girl in front of him is probably not for Chu Chengmao, but for Chu Changping.

Not long after, the maid ordered by Mrs. Chu came back and whispered something in Mrs. Chu's ear. Mrs. Chu's complexion changed slightly, she looked at the old lady apologetically and said, "Is that right? Older sister, there are in the army, and Sanlang has gone to the barracks."

The old lady hurriedly laughed and said it was all right, Mrs. Chu chatted with her a few more words, and after sending her away, she said to Jiang Yanyi: "This girl was originally engaged, but she kept mourning for her mother for three years, and the man couldn't wait. Retired, and stayed at home as an old girl. There is no choice in virtue and appearance, but the third child refuses to remarry! You said that Brother Mao got married, and there is no mistress in this family, is it plausible?"

Hearing what the old lady said, Jiang Yanyi knew that Chu Changping didn't go to the army, but he just refused to come. Jiang Yanyi couldn't say anything about the elder's marriage, so he just said: "Father has his own plans, so don't worry about grandma. "

"How can I not be bothered, Brother Mao's kiss has not yet fallen!"

Speaking of Chu Chengmao, Mrs. Chu's worries became heavier. She looked at Jiang Yanyi and said, "Ayi, tell your grandmother honestly. I heard that Brother Mao brought a girl back from the house that night, and he didn't tell everyone about it at home. Man, what is his relationship with that girl?"

Mrs. Chu is a decent old lady. In the early years, Yueniang, the maid in Chu Chengbai's room, complained a lot about her. She was worried that Chu Chengmao would follow the example of that bastard.

Jiang Yanyi was afraid that he would make up a lie and not talk to Chu Chengmao and Xue Shi, so he just pretended to be stupid and said: "Bring a girl back? I haven't heard of it. But the second brother is a sensible person, so don't you, grandma." Thinking about things, he thinks he should tell you, he will tell you."