First Concubine

 Chapter 105: Borrowing Strength to Fight (1)

The old lady was thinking about the matter, so she used the excuse of feeling unwell to let Qin Fangyi and Shui Lingxi go back. She pulled Shui Linglong into the bedroom. Mother Wang closed the door for them. The old lady could no longer conceal her inner excitement and asked Said: "Can you see your aunt when you enter the palace?"

Shui Linglong smiled lightly and replied: "I saw it." She didn't say whether it was the queen who allowed her to go, or whether she asked for the favor herself.

The old lady asked expectantly: "How is your aunt? How are you doing in the Cold Palace?" In fact, this question made even her feel ridiculous. What kind of place is the Cold Palace? Can it be good?

Shui Linglong tucked her hair back from her temples, raised her lips slightly and said, "Auntie is in good health and has a big belly. She should give birth next month. I gave her some banknotes, clothes and supplements. Aunt asked me to tell you not to worry about her."

"Okay, okay, okay." The old lady nodded. These are not the important points. The old lady's eyes flashed and she said, "Linglong, look... if your aunt gives birth to a prince this time, is it possible to borrow the money?" Is the machine out of the cold palace?"

 This is to test whether she is willing to help Shui Chenxiang get out of the cold palace. Shui Linglong pretended not to understand, blinked her bright eyes and said, "It was Lord Long Live who demoted my aunt to the palace in the first place. Lord Long Live's thoughts are unpredictable to Linglong."

The old lady's breath was blocked in her chest. Did the eldest granddaughter really not understand her hint, or did she understand her and didn't want to show anything? The old lady held back her displeasure and said with a smile: "Linglong, grandma is thinking that if your aunt regains the Sacred Heart, the Zhenbei Palace will have one more person who can speak to Long Live Lord. Your fourth sister has always listened. As for your father, your father is currently closer to the Prince of Pingnan than to the Prince of Zhenbei, and these two families are sworn enemies... In short, your fourth sister will not be able to help you in the future, but your aunt is different. If you help her get out of the cold palace this time, she will definitely remember your kindness. "

 Dear grandma, my aunt was so kind that she almost sent me to the bed of the Long Live Lord. I will never forget this kind of kindness!

Shui Linglong suppressed her smile and said with a troubled face: "Grandma, this matter is not about whether Linglong wants to help, but whether Linglong has the ability to help. The prince had a bad reputation at the beginning, so the princess chose a little concubine like me. , but it is an indisputable fact that I married into the royal family. Before I had a firm foothold in my husband's family, I borrowed the strength of my husband's family to take risks to find a future for my aunt. What would my mother-in-law, father-in-law, and even the old lady think of me? Moreover, Zhenbei is now? The palace has put down the civil strife in Kashgar and is at the cusp of the storm. If we interfere with Lord Long live's family affairs, Lord Long live will inevitably think that we are arrogant and have lost the rules of a monarch and his ministers! "

Old Madam Shui Linglong understands what she said, but people are selfish. She doesn’t care whether the Zhenbei Palace is risky or not. As long as Shui Chenxiang comes out of the cold palace safely and is favored by the Sacred Heart, she will be Amitabha! What she never expected was that Shui Linglong would have the courage to talk to her in such an open manner. This girl... seemed not as easy to control as she thought! The old lady was angry in her heart, but she quickly turned around. Linglong was a married daughter again, just like the water being poured out. If she wanted her to do such a huge favor, she had to give her the same huge favor. But what can I do?

Shui Linglong put down her teacup and said, "Grandma, please rest for a while. I'll go see Fifth Sister and come back to have dinner with you later."

The old lady clapped her hand: "Go! The child seems to have been sick again in the past few days. Your mother asked a doctor to see her last night. She said it was a cold or something. Please be careful and don't get sick. Sickness."

Shui Linglong thanked her and left Fushouyuan. Ye Mao followed her with the fruit basket. Last time, the queen rewarded her with a basket of lychees. She gave some to the masters of the palace. Zhuge Yu ate a few, but she kept the rest. Bring it over to Shui Lingqing.

When passing by a bamboo forest, Aunt Zhou suddenly emerged from the forest holding Miss Six, who was more than one month old. Shui Linglong and Ye Mao were both startled. They saw Aunt Zhou kneeling down and said, "My maid and Miss Six are here." Greetings, great aunt, and long blessings to great aunt!”

 Why do you need to pay such a big courtesy to say hello? Shui Linglong frowned suspiciously and said, "Aunt Zhou, get up quickly."

Aunt Zhou couldn’t stand up and continued to beg with tears in her eyes: “Auntie, maid...can you say a few words?”

Shui Linglong said calmly: "You said it."

Aunt Zhou's eyes glowed again: "Ms. Zhen's feet are slightly different from ordinary people's. She can't walk long distances and falls easily. I don't know if she suffered much in the palace! I made a few pairs of shoes and asked my aunt for help. Help give it to Concubine Zhen!”

Recalling that last time Shui Lingyue returned to the house but did not come to visit Aunt Zhou, Shui Linglong sighed: "Have someone put the things in the concierge at the second entrance, and I will take them with me when I go out."

Aunt Zhou blessed her body gratefully: "My maid and Miss Six, thank you so much for your kindness!"

 The midsummer in August is very hot, especially when the cicadas on the trees keep chirping, which makes people feel even more irritated.

Shui Linglong wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and handed it to Ye Mao to put it away. Ye Mao put it into the purse on the left and took out a new piece from the purse on the right and handed it to Shui Linglong.

The woman guarding the door saluted very respectfully, Shui Linglong nodded slightly, and walked into Shui Lingqing's room.

Qiaoer is not there, and there is only a little maid about eleven or twelve years old sitting on a stool in the outer room, lowering her head and concentrating on embroidering a purse.

Shui Linglong's cold light swept away: "Where is Qiao'er?"

The little maid was shocked! He raised his head to see who was coming and bowed hurriedly: "Reply to my aunt, sister Qiaoer is sick and sleeping in the room, and the fifth lady asked the slave to take over the shift."

Shui Linglong opened the curtain and entered the inner room.

 The doors and windows were closed, the light was dim, the light green curtain covered the big bed, and a faint scent of rosin floated in the incense burner.

Shui Linglong lifted up the curtain and lifted the quilt to take a look. She was stunned for a moment. Where was the person? Just a bunch of pillows!

The little maid said timidly: "Miss, please have some tea. Is Fifth Miss feeling better?"

Shui Linglong's sharp eyes swept across the little maid's clear eyes. She must not have known, or no one in the yard knew, because Shui Lingqing just disappeared out of thin air! Shui Linglong recalled Qin Fangyi's attitude of deliberately getting close to her this morning and her creepy smile, and her eyes sharpened. Could it be that Qin Fangyi had done something to Shui Lingqing?

Shui Linglong walked to the round table and sat down, picked up the teacup and shook it, then denied her inner speculation. No matter how bad Shui Lingqing was, she was still Shui Hangge's daughter, and she was a daughter who did not pose a threat to Shui Lingxi at all. Qin Fangyi There is no need or dare to kill Shui Lingqing. But Qin Fangyi's malicious smile really showed that she knew something!

Shui Linglong said to Ye Mao: "Go and ask the Crown Prince to come over and say that the fifth lady is seriously ill and ask him to help."

After Ye Mao left, Shui Linglong ordered the little maid again, "Bring the medicine prescribed by the doctor to Miss Fifth."

Not long after, Zhuge Yu walked into the courtyard. Shui Linglong and him went to Qiao'er's room. After diagnosing the unconscious Qiao'er's pulse, Zhuge Yu frowned: "She took the tranquilizing medicine and will probably wake up at dusk. And she’s not sick and in good health.”

Immediately afterwards, Zhuge Yu checked the medicinal materials prescribed by the doctor for Shui Lingqing, which were half wind-cold medicine and half tranquilizer.

Shui Linglong suddenly stood up without knowing what she thought of, walked to the dressing table, and checked all the brocade boxes and drawers inside and out, her eyes gradually turned cold...

 The bracelet that Qing'er regarded as jewelry has disappeared!

 Zhuge Yu knew that she had always cherished this sister, but now that something happened to her, she might feel very uncomfortable. He walked to her side, held her cold hand, and kissed her forehead: "You send someone to search quietly in the house, and I will search outside. I will definitely find her, trust me."

Shui Linglong subconsciously wanted to lean on Zhuge Yu's shoulder, but she gave up the idea in just a moment. She withdrew her hand, blinked, and said with a complicated expression: "Please."

 Zhuge Yu told Shangshu that there was an emergency at Zhenbei Palace, so he took Shui Linglong back to the palace first, and took Shui Lingqing to stay in the palace for a few days, and then sent her back after she recovered. Now that the old lady wanted something from the Prince of Zhenbei, there was no reason not to agree. The old lady relaxed, and Shui Hange didn't have much to say.

Before leaving, Shui Linglong found Mrs. Du: "Go and find out if there are any suspicious people hanging around the door of the house these days!"

 Suspicious person? Mother Du rolled her eyes in confusion, but she still followed Shui Linglong's instructions and went to the concierge to question her carefully. When she came back, she reported truthfully: "The street in front of Shangshu Mansion was already busy, and there were a lot of people walking around, suspicious. The guards didn't notice, but there was a vendor selling Jiangnan desserts. His pastries were inexpensive and delicious, and many people bought them. Even the old lady sent someone to buy a few pieces."

Jiangnan pastry? Shui Linglong shook her bare hands and said in a cold voice: "Has anyone bought it in Miss Fifth's yard?"

Mother Du's scalp was numbed by Shui Linglong's suddenly cold voice: "The people in Miss Fifth's yard, think about it, it seems... the guard said that Qiaoer bought it several times, because the guards bought it more often. I also remembered it. But the strange thing is that the vendor is no longer here. Although the business is very good, he only set up the stall for two days..."

Shui Linglong left Ye Mao to wait for Qiaoer to wake up, while she met Shui Hangge, exchanged a few words, and then returned to Zhenbei Palace.

This time Qin Fangyi really didn't do anything. She just turned a blind eye and let Shui Lingqing disguise herself and sneak out of the Shangshu Mansion. If Shui Hange was really to blame, she couldn't bear any responsibility. It had only been a few days since she took charge of the family again? Nowadays, all the people employed in the mansion belong to the old lady! Shui Lingxi was already engaged, and she wasn't afraid that the Dong Chuang incident would cause Shui Lingxi to be unable to find her husband's family. As for whether Shui Lingqing lived or died, it was not her concern at all.

In Changle Xuan, Qin Fangyi smiled from ear to ear. She ate one lychee and spit out the core, then picked up another one. There were floods in the south this year, and lychees were expensive but not available, but Xun Feng gave their mother and daughter a cart full of them! I wonder if Shui Lingyue's little hooves listened to her words and turned a deaf ear to the emperor.

Shui Lingxi looked at Qin Fangyi who was smiling, frowned and asked: "Mom, how can you still laugh? Shui Linglong married such an excellent husband, haven't you seen that she is arrogant?"

Shui Lingxi didn't know whether Shui Linglong was arrogant or not. She didn't pay much attention to Shui Linglong at all. From the moment Zhuge Yu appeared gracefully and calmly in Fushouyuan, she could no longer see another person in her eyes. .

This is not the first time she has seen him, but...

She didn't know how to describe it, but she always felt that Zhuge Yu was very different from before. In the past, she looked at Zhuge Yu like a beautiful porcelain doll, white and unable to withstand bumps. This time, I felt that every part of him exuded a strong masculine aura from head to toe, from the tips of his eyebrows to his fingers, and every smile or indifferent expression carried a relaxed and calm expression.

There is a hero living in every girl's heart, and in Shui Lingxi's heart, the face of this hero gradually highlighted the outline of Zhuge Yu.

Shui Lingxi blushed with embarrassment and held her hands tightly, almost crushing a fine silk handkerchief.

Qin Fangyi was so immersed in her own world that she didn't notice anything strange about her daughter: "Mother is so happy. She has achieved a good marriage. This is considered a meritorious deed!"

Shui Lingxi asked absently: "What is a good match for marriage?"

Shui Lingqing and a poor boy who ran out of nowhere! Oh, a merchant and a concubine, what a perfect match! She didn’t know how Shui Lingqing knew that person, but she didn’t care how she knew him. Anyway, she was happy if Shui Linglong could be disgusted! Of course, she won't tell her daughter this. What if her daughter learns badly? Qin Fangyi picked up another lychee and said with a smile: "Oh, it's nothing, it's just a maid in Zhuangzi who is matched with a boy in the house."

Shui Lingxi didn't care about this matter at all, she just asked Qin Fangyi's topic casually. Shui Lingxi touched her hot face, hesitated for a moment and then said softly: "Mom, I don't want to marry Prince Xun anymore. ”

Qin Fangyi's hand shook, and a round lychee rolled to the ground. The little maid hurriedly picked it up. Qin Fangyi raised her hand, and the little maid happily wiped the ashes on it with a handkerchief, then put it into her mouth, while Walked out while eating.

Qin Fangyi looked at Shui Lingxi, the smile on her face faded, and asked: "Why don't you want to marry Crown Prince Xun again? Didn't you tell your mother last time that Crown Prince Xun was very handsome, very graceful, and very understanding of women's hearts? ? Do you think that something happened to Prince Pingnan and his two sons, and Prince Pingnan’s palace will never recover? "

Shui Lingxi pursed her lips: "Just... so be it!"

Qin Fangyi sighed: "Daughter, mother told you that the case in Prince Pingnan's Mansion may not have turned around. The crown prince and the third prince worked together to bring the Prince Pingnan's Mansion into trouble, but until now they have not been able to collect every piece of evidence. Do you know who it is? Are you dealing with them secretly? It's Prince Xun! He's fighting against a prince and a prince on his own, don't you think he's an idiot?" This is what Shui Hangge told her. But now. And when it comes in handy, "Look, the prince is injured now, and the case in Pingnan Palace has been put on hold for the time being. This is entirely Crown Prince Xun's plan. Just wait and see Prince Xun bring peace to Prince Pingnan's palace!"

Shui Lingxi can’t hear it...

Qin Fangyi thought that her daughter was simply worried about her future, so she continued to follow her lead: "You are destined to be an imperial concubine. You must firmly believe in this. If Prince Xun marries you, he will conquer the world in the future!"

Then I would rather marry Zhuge Yu and help him conquer the world!

The words took a turn in Shui Lingxi's stomach, and when they came out they became - "Mom, I...I don't have that kind of heartbeat feeling for Prince Xun. Besides, he doesn't really like me. What if he really likes me?" Will you only give me the position of concubine?"

 In fact, what she was thinking was that since she was a concubine anyway, she might as well marry Zhuge Yu! It’s hard to say whether Xun Feng will marry a woman more beautiful than her in the future, but there’s a half chance! But Zhuge Yu’s main concubine is Shui Linglong, and the probability of her defeating Shui Linglong is 100%, so there is no risk at all!

It was just past lunch time when Shui Linglong returned to the palace. She didn't eat but didn't feel hungry, so she went directly to Tian'anju to revive the old lady and the princess. It was rare that the princess was chatting and laughing with others today.

“…I look at it very well. The colors are pure and the patterns are novel. It’s not like the usual embroidery, which is pretty or tacky.” Leng Youru looked at a round fan and commented with a slight smile.

Mrs. Zhen looked at Feng Yanying who was sitting on the chair opposite, and said happily: "Oh, your cousin is really a lovely person. This is the first time I have heard the princess praise someone for several days in Beijing!"

Feng Yanying held her hand and smiled kindly: "She just has a pair of hands that can't be idle. She has to do things here and there on weekdays. I feel satisfied even if you don't think she is annoying. I can't praise her enough." Don’t take it seriously.”

Dong Jialin lowered her head and smiled.

Mrs. Yao gave Feng Yanying an angry look: "How can anyone say that about my cousin! I saw that Lin'er does have a pair of skillful hands. All the quilts I made in the winter were all embroidered by her herself! Those ladies all asked me questions when they saw it. Which embroidery house made it? I told them it was my wife’s cousin, but they didn’t believe it!”

The old lady and the princess sat on the kang covered with mats. Zhen, Zhuge Xi and Yao Cheng sat at the lower left corner. Mrs. Yao, Feng Yanying and Dong Jialin sat at the lower right corner. They were probably afraid that Zhuge Shu's words would be incomprehensible, and Ann would be disturbed. The prince took her to fly a kite.

Although Yao Cheng and Zhuge Xi have nominally reconciled, who doesn't know that Yao Cheng is now moving into the Zhenbei Palace in the capital? The saliva almost flooded the Yao family! It was agreed that the eldest son of Duan Duan would give up his position as the head of the family and his bright future, and go to Zhenbei Palace to become the son-in-law. This has brought shame to the three generations of the Yao family!

The Yao family has always kept a very low profile, and the Zhenbei Palace treated them very politely.

Mrs. Zhen smiled gently and said, "Why do Mrs. Yao and the Second Young Mistress have time to come here today?"

Mrs. Yao glanced at Yao Cheng without leaving any trace, and said with a smile: "Oh, the weather is getting hot, so I was worried that Xiao Xi would not have any appetite, so I specially sent some appetizing fruits and pastries to Xiao Xi." On the day of the wedding, the Yao family He was present at the banquet, so it was a bit strange to come here only three days later.

 (End of this chapter)