Chapter 76 A Glimpse
On February 15th, after several snowfalls, the sky in the capital city cleared up, and a hint of spring began to emerge amidst the cold.
Chen Shi Ba Niang's carriage had just stopped at the second gate when two maidservants hurried over to greet her.
"Eighteen girl, hurry up, the lady is going into the palace and wants you to accompany her." they said.
Enter the palace?
Madam Chen was later conferred the title of Guo Furen, although her rank and status were not low, but after all, she was not a member of the royal family. Except for major festivals and ceremonial days when she would pay respects at court, the imperial palace was not a place she could visit casually.
"How did you enter the palace?" Chen Shiba's eyes widened in surprise, but her movements quickened as she got off the carriage.
The two maidservants looked somewhat strange but didn't dare say more.
Madam Chen has already arrived over there and changed into mourning clothes; Chen Shi-ba Niang hurriedly went to greet her.
Sister-in-law is pregnant and taking care of the fetus, nowadays it's hard to raise children, out of ten, five can have a smooth delivery, and among those five, two will still die young, so the whole family is being careful, when going out to visit guests, the daughters will accompany instead.
Madam Chen took a glance at her daughter and saw that she was still wearing the long-sleeved, straight-collared robe made by Jingniang for New Year's Day, so she nodded in approval.
"There's no need to change clothes either," she said.
Chen Shi Ba Niang responded and followed her mother onto the carriage and out the door.
"What's wrong?" she asked as soon as she sat in the car.
Mrs. Chen smiled.
"Empress Xian is pregnant." she said in a low voice.
It's not a rare thing for the imperial concubines to be pregnant, but it's still good news. After all, everyone knows that the emperor's offspring are difficult to produce. Now that he has been ill for some time, people in the court have been worried. But now, there is finally good news again - the imperial concubines are pregnant, which is truly a joyful event.
"Is it a congratulatory message for the women who are going to die?" Chen Shi Ba Niang asked in confusion.
This is absolutely impossible, and it's not like the queen giving birth.
Mrs. Chen's smile was just as strange as those of the two maidservants.
"Xianfei had an upset stomach and suddenly craved for yellow sparrow, the imperial chef cooked it but she didn't like it. The empress dowager then ordered me to bring a cook to make it personally."
Chen Shi Ba Niang's face also became somewhat strange, wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh.
"Xian Fei is truly deeply favored." She said with a smile.
This matter was naturally agreed upon by the emperor, but as the Son of Heaven, he could not personally send his ministers to deliver the cooks, or else he would inevitably be criticized by the officials.
"Chen's wife thought of something and asked, 'Why did you come back so early today?'"
Chen Shi Ba Niang returned home that day and told her father and mother that she wanted to follow Cheng Niang Zi to study.
Jiang Yaoniang loved listening to people reading books, and Chen Shao's husband and wife both knew this, so they automatically assumed that Chen Shiya was the one who accompanied her in the past and read books to Jiang Yaoniang.
The husband and wife naturally agreed.
"She has been like that since she was a child. She probably doesn't have any close siblings in the capital either. It's rare for her to be willing to get close to you, so go ahead." Madam Chen reminded him.
Chen Shi-ba's misunderstanding of her parents was left unexplained, and she responded vaguely.
"Miss Chang went out today and left a message for me to come again tomorrow," said Chen Shi Ba.
"Where can she go?" asked Mrs. Chen curiously.
Chen Shi Ba Niang shook her head, and Madame Chen didn't ask any more questions. The carriage had already entered the imperial palace.
To ensure a safe pregnancy, the virtuous imperial concubine was moved to live in the palace of the empress dowager. Upon hearing the report, the empress dowager rose from her seat and the young man who had been kneeling down got up first.
"Wei Lang, you go back first." The Empress Dowager said with a smile, calling out to the young man.
The young man bowed.
"Also, do not mention the word 'leaving the palace' again." The Empress Dowager said, "You are in mourning for your father, and your father is also a member of our Fang family's imperial clan. What avoidance are you talking about? Rest assured and stay in the palace, wait until next year when the Crown Prince will leave the palace with you."
Then she looked at the palace people around her.
"Whoever dares to discuss the matter of Prince Jin'an leaving the palace again will be beaten out." She said with a raised eyebrow.
The eunuchs all responded in unison, and the young man bowed again and withdrew.
The empress dowager then smiled with a hint of joy and relief, and leaned on the arm of an old palace maid beside her.
"This child is a lucky star, he just came back and Your Majesty has recovered, and the virtuous consort is also pregnant. And yet there are still people who dare to suggest that he should leave the palace and go to his fiefdom." She snorted, "What kind of intentions do those who suggested this have? Let the family of Consort Hui give me some peace."
The eunuchs responded in unison.
The empress dowager looked relieved.
"Is the Huang Que from Chen's house really delicious? I'll have a taste too."
They laughed and went out the door towards the back hall.
The Jin'an County King who stepped out of the palace gate stopped in his tracks, looking at the side door with a slightly surprised expression. Just now, two palace maids had led two women inside.
The lady's evening dress was very eye-catching, and the girl walking beside her... was also very eye-catching.
Although it was just a back view, those clothes, he had grown up so big, and this was only the second time seeing him.
The first time was by the bonfire, surrounded by a pack of wolves howling in sorrow. The night wind blew up the girl's cloak, and under the firelight, her plain black dress stood out exceptionally.
"Prince of a Commandery?" The palace maid asked in a low voice.
The King of Jin'an County withdrew his gaze and took a step forward.
"Who is it?" He asked with a smile, "Is it a relative of Queen Xian's family?"
"No, it's a servant from the Chen family of the Ministry of Personnel." The palace maid also smiled and said.
Looking at the smile of this young county king, it's bright and clear, and the sharp chill has dissipated a lot.
"Oh, Chen's family." The Prince of Jin'an smiled and nodded, then turned his head to take another look, his long eyebrows slightly raised unintentionally.
What a coincidence! We meet again.
It's okay to dress casually when going out, but it's strange that you still wear such dull and plain clothes even when entering the palace to meet with nobles.
The King of Jin'an County smiled slightly.
Bamboo tubes were thrown into the blazing bonfire, crackling sounds rose and fell, children covered their ears and jumped around, onlookers surged forward, bowing and laughing at the men standing in front of the gate.
It's too far away and can't be heard naturally. After these people rushed into the restaurant, no movements or expressions could be seen.
Only the flagpole on top was blown by the sharp spring wind in February, and the flag fluttered loudly. The three big characters "Taipingju" rolled with the wind, and could be seen clearly several feet away.
"Shall we go, mistress?" The maid asked, turning her head to look at Cheng Jiaoniang standing beside her, with a hint of joy, "The shop is open now."
"It's different here and there," said Jingniang.
The maid smiled and said nothing, lowering her head to look at the withered grass on the ground, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"It's sprouted!" she said with a few parts of joy, "Look, daughter."
Jiang Nang lowered her head and looked down, with her hood covering half of her face.
"Mm," she said, "Spring has arrived."
The gate of Taiping House was bustling and then dispersed, except for the villagers who rushed to hear the noise at first, no one else came in. The road outside was crowded with people and horses, but either they were in a hurry and didn't look sideways, or they glanced over and continued on their way.
"Half celery." Jingniang suddenly shouted.
The maid who was still looking around at the grass quickly stood up and responded.
"Go and see if your old master has returned?" said Cheng Jiaoniang.
The maid was greatly shocked.
When she first met the woman, she felt that the woman was strange and unpredictable. Later, as time passed, through observing her words and expressions, although the woman basically had no color to observe, fortunately, every guess hit the mark of language, and she thought she knew a general idea about her thoughts. However, after entering the capital, her understanding of the woman's language became more and more compatible, but her mind became more and more incomprehensible.
For example, when the girl first said she wouldn't cure it, who would have thought it was for the sake of today's cure? For example, when the girl let the young masters buy down this wine building, is it for herself or for the young masters, or for that cook, or for the sake of fulfilling that Han Langjun's kindness?
What she said at this time would be verified by what happened later.
She thought it was wrong that the fewer words one spoke, the simpler things became; on the contrary, the fewer words one spoke, the more complicated things became.
All along, his daughter never mentioned anyone and always handled things steadily on her own. Now that she suddenly brought up the old master, could it be that she had encountered something she couldn't handle herself?
What's wrong?
The maid was somewhat nervous and flustered.
"Yes." She nodded her head in response.
