It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

Master Tang finally understood Zhou Shunhua's plan, but it was too late. Now King Jing and Zhou Shunhua left one after another, and Master Tang stood alone under the eaves, unexpectedly.

Zhao Zixun's close companion bowed his head when he saw Tang Shishi, each walking around her. Master Tang wanted to explain, but she really didn't know what she was going to say, in order to appear less sophistry. Master Tang tried for a while, and finally decided to shut up.

Master Tang gathered his cloak tightly, and left quietly without being noticed.

Master Tang was in a bad mood and didn't even want to go back to the banquet hall. Anyway, no one really cared about her at the banquet. Master Tang kept doing nothing and went straight back to his Jianjia Courtyard.

Shishi Tang walked alone in the yard of the harsh winter, all around it was pitch black. I don't know what's going on on this section of the road. The lights were off several times, and the road was exceptionally clear. The shadow of the tree opened its teeth and danced its claws in the dark, Master Tang tightened his cloak and wanted to go back quickly.

But when she was halfway there, she suddenly heard Ye Xiao's cry. Ye Xiao's voice is three long and three short, which seems to have a unique charm. Master Tang's footsteps gradually stopped. She listened for a while, looked behind her, and slowly walked to the place where the sound came from.

Master Tang walked to the shade of the tree, coughed softly, and said, "It's me."

A person jumped out from behind the bush, it was Mrs. Wu. Granny Wu quickly glanced around and took Tang Shishi to hide in the dark.

Master Tang endured the discomfort in his hands and smiled: "Mr. Wu, you come to me, what's your order?"

Granny Wu's speaking style is the same as before, without any muddle-headedness, she directly asked: "Did you bring King Jing to the son today?"

Master Tang curled up with his fingertips, but he couldn't tell at all on his expression, and said calmly: "Yes."

"Is the woman next to Shi Zi Zhou Shunhua?"

Master Tang's mood sank. It seemed that Granny Wu knew far more than she had imagined. She, Zhou Shunhua, and Ren Yujun are all under the control of Granny Wu. It is ridiculous that a few of them are still fighting here, in fact, they are just pawns in the hands of the Queen Mother.

Master Tang didn't change his face and said, "Yes."

Grandma Wu stared at Master Tang closely, Master Tang's heart was panicked, but she insisted on looking directly at Grandma Wu's eyes. Granny Wu suddenly laughed, and shook Master Tang's hand hard, and said, "You are doing well. I was suspicious of you before, but now it seems that Mother Feng's vision can't be wrong."

"..." Master Tang was taken aback for a moment, and asked in confusion, "Huh?"

"You have done a very good plan today. After you noticed Shizi's Chinese medicine, you did not act rashly. Instead, you deliberately led King Jing to the house of Shizi. On the one hand, you separated the relationship between King Jing and Shizi, and on the other hand, you destroyed the marriage of Shizi and Shizi concubine. , It's really a clever trick."

Master Tang was silent, and gradually became suspicious of himself. Is it really? It turned out that this was her original intention?

Master Tang thinks it is outrageous, but these smart people always like to be preconceived and save others by themselves. Obviously it is a very simple matter. They have to think in a complicated direction. The former Feng's grandmother, the current Wu's grandmother, and even King Jing are all like this.

Master Tang accepted Granny Wu's praise with a guilty conscience and said: "Mother-in-law is absurd, I just did what I should do."

Granny Wu looked admiringly, and treated Tang Shishi with admiration. She said: "I thought that a beautiful woman like you is most likely to be deceived by royal power and wealth. I didn't expect you to be sober-minded, but Zhou Shunhua, who came from the government, was fascinated. I have checked Zhou Shunhua's affairs, including I know exactly what she has done during this period of time. It’s okay to get rid of a scholar, and it’s impossible to get rid of a woman. It’s a pity that she is such a smart person."

There was no regret in the words of Granny Wu. Master Tang felt that things were a bit beyond her control. She did not dare to express her position rashly and asked tentatively: "Mother, you mean..."

"She can't stay." Granny Wu didn't blink her eyes, and said extremely cold and ruthless words, "As a chess piece, she fell in love with Prince Jing and tried to live with her forever. A chess piece who forgot her identity, It is not qualified to stay on the chessboard."

Master Tang was silent. She knew that Granny Wu was suspicious of Zhou Shunhua. This was clearly what she wanted to see most. However, when it came to this point, Master Tang only felt chilly.

It may be a bit hypocritical to say that the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, but Master Tang really feels sad. Zhou Shunhua is the official daughter of the government. Even so, Tang Shishi, a merchant girl with no background, in the eyes of those big people, is it like an ant, saying that she will be crushed to death?

People are knives, and I am fish. Poorly their ten beauties are still calculating each other. As everyone knows, they are just meat on other people's cutting boards.

Possibly because she saw Master Tang’s expression not good, Granny Wu turned her sigh and said, “Don’t worry, the empress mother is a person who distinguishes rewards and punishments. As long as you don’t have two hearts like those women, the empress will not treat you badly. Zhou Shunhua has already It is abandoned, once a woman gives birth to love, she is completely hopeless. However, the elder son is very attached to her, and it is rare to arrange a woman inside the Jing Palace and leave her for a while. When the empress gets the news she wants, She can disappear."

Master Tang bowed his head and blessed his body and said, "The little girl will let her mother-in-law send her."

"Get up." Granny Wu personally helped Tang Shishi up and said, "You stay with King Jing for the time being and don't act rashly. King Jing is not an easy person to approach. Few people can get his trust. You have a good momentum now. Keep it up, don’t worry, so as not to ruin the overall situation. The medicine I gave you last time should be with you at any time. If King Jing finds out, swallow the medicine immediately, so you can walk innocently. As for the other women ...You only need to do your thing, don't care about them. No matter how much they toss, they will never go past you."

Teacher Tang breathed a sigh of relief silently. Granny Wu and Empress Yao still seemed to trust her very much. This is a good sign. Master Tang lowered her head and said, "Thank you, the empress dowager, and the mother-in-law. The little girl always remembers her mother-in-law's teachings and will not let her mother-in-law and the empress dowager down."

"Good boy." Granny Wu praised and said, "You go back quickly, don't teach King Jing's people to be suspicious."

"Yes."

Teacher Tang responded and slowly withdrew. After she walked out of the shade of the tree, she looked back, and there were still figures under the tree.

Master Tang gathered his cloak tightly, and without looking back, he walked quickly towards Jianjia Courtyard.

Jianjiayuan stood in the wind, quietly. The door was closed. Although the light inside was on, there was no movement except the red lantern hitting the wall one after another. Master Tang took the skirt and walked up the steps, and knocked on the door: "It's me, open the door."

Master Tang knocked for a while before hearing movement inside. The little girl carefully opened a slit and saw that it was Master Tang. She was surprised and asked, "Girl? Why are you back?"

Master Tang crossed the threshold, and walked toward the main room while chuckling his hands: "I came back after a few drinks at the banquet. What about the others?"

"The concubine put up lanterns in the garden. They went outside to look at the lights." The little maid nervously followed Tang Shishi, and said quickly, "The slave waited for the girl to come back after the feast was over. That's madness. The girl forgive me. , The servants will go and call them back."

"No need." Teacher Tang entered the room and untied the cloak by himself, and the little maid hurriedly came up to pick up the clothes. There was a charcoal fire in the room, and Master Tang returned to the warm room and held the hot tea. Only then did he feel that he had regained consciousness.

The mist of tea was in front of him, and a thin white mist hung on Master Tang's eyelashes. Master Tang's eyes seemed to be empty, and he whispered softly: "You don't need to call, anyway, after a while, they will come back by themselves."

The little maid was busy bringing tea and water to Master Tang. She handed the newly-burned hand stove to Master Tang and asked in confusion, "How does the girl know?"

Master Tang smiled, took the copper hand furnace, and said, "Guess what you want."

The little maid stood on one side with her hand hanging down. She was the little maid in the courtyard responsible for wiping the floor, and she didn't have her turn to wait close at all. The first time she was so close to Master Tang, she wouldn't be able to say anything nervously: "Girl, do you want to drink hot tea? Sister Magnolia and others are away. The slave and maid are clumsy and won't serve people."

"It's okay." Tang Shishi was extremely difficult to deal with Zhou Shunhua and Ji Xinxian, but he was very easy-going in such a place. She said: "The Lantern Festival is only celebrated once a year, and it's rare to set up lights in the palace this year. It's normal for them to want to see the lights. I just think the front is too noisy. Come back and rest for a while. You don't have to be nervous.

The little maid looked at Master Tang’s face and flattered: “Today, the concubine of the prince has invited many people to the banquet. The girl is a big celebrity in front of the prince. Naturally, many people want to talk to the girl. No wonder the girl feels tired.”

"Yes, there are so many people." Master Tang slowly took a sip of tea, saying that it is a pity that this will be the last sight of Lu Yufei.

Master Tang slowly counted the time, and now, I think the changes on the side of the next life have been passed to Lu Yufei's ears. Soon, Lu Yufei had no intention of visiting the garden to watch the lights.

Master Tang's expectation was not bad, and it didn't take long for the maids who watched the lanterns to come back one by one. After they entered the door, they found that Master Tang was already there, and they hurriedly pleaded guilty.

"The girl spares her life, and the servant girl is playful, and she doesn't even know that the girl is back..."

Master Tang has changed his home-style clothes, holding the little fox in his arms, and talking to a maid in a lazy voice: "It's a good day, there is no need to be surprised. Get up, let's not take it as an example."

"Thank you girl."

The maids got up one after another, not daring to talk too much, and quietly left to do things. Dujuan brought a pot of hot tea, changed the water carefully, and did not dare to speak at all.

When the master came back, there was no one in the house. This was a great omission. In fact, Master Tang really didn't care so much. She had experienced more negligence in the Tang family, and this level was not painful to Master Tang. What's more, the maids weren't negligent, they were also humans, and they also had emotions and passions. They just looked at the lights during the last Yuan Festival, which was nothing wrong.

Master Tang slowly grabbed the little fox's hair and asked, "I came back early, and I didn't see the Lantern Festival of Concubine Shizi. What lights are there in the garden?"

Dujuan looked at Master Tang's face and said carefully: "There are golden screen lamps, jade building lamps, lotus lamps, white elephant lamps, and the most wonderful thing is the crystal glass wind lamp, which turns like a silvery snow wave..."

Master Tang sighed softly and said: "The concubine is really generous, admire her."

Du Juan thought that Master Tang was regretting not seeing it as a lamp, and quickly comforted Master Tang: "Girl, don't worry, the concubine said, the lantern will be on for three days, and it will continue tomorrow night. Waiting for tomorrow, the slave and maid will accompany the girl to see it."

Tang Shishi shook her head. It's not that she has never seen a lantern. Linqing is next to the canal. Merchants are rich, and the lantern festival is no worse than Jingshi. The Lantern Festival of the Tang family is also very lively. After watching the lanterns, ordinary people's homes should end, and the Tang family's program has just begun. Tang Mingzhe would set up the stage, blow, pull, sing, play cards and have fun, and he would not disperse until dawn.

These money-burning events are always similar. To put it bluntly, what is unique is not the lively ones, but the people who accompany them.

Master Tang has never liked the excitement, and it can even be said that she hates it very much. Tang Mingzhe and Tang Yanyan’s mother and daughter spent a lot of money, and the house was full of guests, but she and her mother could only stay in the secluded courtyard, enduring the noise and waiting for dawn.

Regardless of the Tang family or the Jing Palace, those who sang and laughed had nothing to do with Tang Master. The Tang family is the show venue for Su and Tang Yanyan. Now, the people on stage are just replaced by Lu Yufei, there is no difference.

Of course, the most important thing is that there will be no lights tomorrow.

Dujuan was still immersed in joy, and said with emotion: "Since entering the palace, the servant has never seen such a lively banquet. The concubine of the world has such a great face!"

Teacher Tang smiled lightly. It was not that the concubine Shizi had the face, but the King Jing had the face. With so many people here today, is it because of Zhao Zixun and Lu Yufei's face?

Naive.

The cuckoo's thoughts were still not enough, she sighed regretfully and said: "Unfortunately today, the concubine did not know what was wrong. Only halfway away, the guests were sent away and the lights were not finished. Waiting for tomorrow, Girl, you must go and see."

"Okay." Teacher Tang replied casually, "I'm waiting."

This is just the beginning.

The next day, even though Tang Shishi was reluctant in every possible way, he still had to wake up early and go to the study room.

She was passively sabotaged all morning and tried her best to slow down. After lunch, Master Tang returned to Baosha and found that the inkstone was out of ink.

This was simply a happy event. Master Tang immediately reported with Liu Ji and went to the warehouse to fetch ink in person. Liu Ji said to let Xiaosi go for her, but Tang Shishi rightly refused.

Just kidding, how much time can be lost this time, how can someone else do it for you?

Master Tang put on his coat and walked slowly to the warehouse. The sun was shining today, and two women outside the warehouse, one by one, sitting under the eaves, chatting with melon seeds and gossiping.

When Master Tang arrived, the two of them were talking vigorously. Master Tang deliberately inquired about the news, deliberately stepped lightly, stopped outside the door, and did not go in.

The two men were in their forties and were plump, and at first glance they knew how rich they were. Guarding the warehouse is a decent job, with little life, leisure and expensive, and some people are obstinate, so those who can stay here are not fuel-efficient lamps.

These two wives are like this, they are full of confidence, speak more presumptuously, and even dare to talk about the master's gossip. A tall and strong woman said: "Yesterday the banquet was really magnificent, oh, I have lived for more than forty years, and I haven't seen such a grand event yet. But the magnificence is magnificent, and it costs too much. I heard that I went back last night. Later, the eldest son had a quarrel with the eldest concubine, and then the elder son furiously went away, looking at the direction, he went to the concubine's room."

"Really? Which master's house did Shizi go to?"

"Who else can it be?" Lady Gao Zhuang made a stubborn mouth, and said in one direction, "It's not that Zhou Meiren yet."

"Hey, this master is terrific." Another woman lowered her voice and said, "My niece is working as a errand in Yi Nian Yard. I heard that this Zhou Meiren has fallen out of favor for several months and suddenly came back in disheveled clothes last night. Immediately afterwards, the elder son and the elder concubine quarreled. When she went to greet the elder concubine today, the elder concubine had no good face when she saw her."

"After all, it's a person from the palace, who knows what's with him. I heard that the palace has a special maid, so I taught the maid how to serve men in bed..."

The other woman slapped her nose disgustedly, and said in disgust: "You don't have to pickle your ears when you say what these unclean things are doing. I don't think the people from these palaces are good things, and they come here to charm men. . The original palace was fine, but when they came, there were wind and waves. The prince was okay, and the son was like a nightmare. Don’t you know, this morning, many people were called in the Yi Nian courtyard. , It was a trial and a fight, and it was extremely lively."

Lady Gao Zhuang asked in surprise: "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, the people being interrogated are tight, and they won't say anything to the outside. But in my opinion, maybe there were so many people at the banquet yesterday, and they lost something."

"There is nothing in the palace, so why is it so exciting?"

"Who knows? But this thing seems to be more than that, it seems that the lord's guards were also dispatched last night..."

"Lord!" Lady Gao Zhuang covered her mouth and exclaimed, mentioning King Jing, none of them dared to say any more. At this time, the other woman suddenly saw a dress corner outside and hurriedly stood up: "Miss Tang? Whoops, why are you here..."

Master Tang pretended to have just arrived, and calmly walked out from behind the wall and said, "I'll fetch some things. By the way, I just heard you talk about the prince, what happened to the prince?"

"No, no, the old slave is gossiping, how dare you to talk about the prince? The girl may have heard it wrong." The woman was silly, and asked carefully, "Girl, but the prince has orders?"

"It's not the prince's order." Master Tang didn't change his face, said, "My ink platform is used up, and I want to take Fang Xinmo. I wonder if it is convenient?"

"Convenient, convenient!" The two women said hurriedly, "The girl waits a minute. The good sheer inkstone is stored in the storeroom. The girl waits a minute, and the old slave will find it out."

As they were talking here, another person came in at the door. Lu Yufei's nurses saw Master Tang's presence, and her pace slowed unconsciously: "Yo, it's so lively?"

Master Tang smiled and nodded to her, "Mrs. Zhang."

Grandma Zhang is now upset when she sees these palace beauties. She didn’t want to greet Master Tang, and said directly to the two wives: “The agate gourd in the concubine’s house was broken by a maid. I heard that this gourd was originally smashed. Four, the concubine let me pick another pair."

The two women looked at each other, and the taller woman said: "The agate gourd is still there, but it takes a long time to find out. I am afraid that it will take a lot of effort to find out. Mother Zhang waited, I will find something for Miss Tang. ."

Grandma Zhang frowned. They dare to shirk the things that the eldest concubines want from these diao slaves who eat inside and out? Grandma Zhang was displeased, and said: "The gourd in the concubine's house is used to recruit children. This is related to the inheritance of the palace and cannot be delayed."

"Everything comes first and then arrives. Mother Zhang waited a while." Lady Gao Zhuang said, rolling her eyes in no one's place. They dare to say if they recruit children. Who knows that the maid smashed it, but it was smashed during the quarrel last night?

The other woman went in for a long time, walked out after a while, joyfully handed the wrapped inkstone to Master Tang's hands: "Girl Tang has been waiting for a long time. This is the finest She inkstone, a tribute for the fourth year of Yongxi. Girl. It's a gentleman. Chengri is dealing with calligraphy and ink, and he must use his pen quickly. These are two Zihao Xuan pens. Let's take them together with Miss Tang."

When Master Tang saw this, he hurriedly declined: "How can this be done? All things in and out of the warehouse have to be documented. How can I teach myself?"

"Why don't the girl use it, no one dares to talk too much."

Tang Shishi symbolically declined a few words, and then accepted the thing. The warehouse is not in her control, and these two women dared to give it to her. Why didn't she dare to use it?

Anyway, Jing Wang's family business is so big that he doesn't care about the drizzle.

Mother Zhang looked at her, her face turned black. These two fools are too deceitful! However, after all, Tang Shishi was the person in front of King Jing. The concubine of the eldest son had a relationship with the eldest son last night. In any case, the grandmother Zhang did not dare to offend Master Tang.

The elder son has been hooked away by that fox Meizi. If the king is unhappy again, how can the elder concubine gain a foothold in the palace?

Master Tang collected the things, nodded to Grandma Zhang, and left with a refreshing attitude. Grandma Zhang was so angry, but she didn't dare to show Master Tang's face, she smiled stiffly and said, "Miss Tang, go slowly."

Shishi Tang finally felt the joy of the privileged class. She returned to the study and saw a guard standing at the door. Master Tang gradually slowed down, and there were people in the study.

Master Tang quietly walked into the entrance hall, she took off her cloak in the outer holding mansion, and whispered to the waiter: "Who is inside?"

The delicate little **** quietly lip-synched to Master Tang: "The son and the concubine."

Master Tang understands. She rolled her eyes and handed the pen and ink to the little eunuch, and said, "Excuse me, you put the pen and ink on my desk, and I'll greet the concubine."

The position of Master Tang in the study has always been second only to King Jing. The little **** did not dare to refuse, and obediently took the inkstone and Xuanbi and left. At this time, the door curtain opened, and a maid came in from outside. Master Tang waved to the maid, took the end plate in her hand, and whispered: "I'm going to deliver tea, you can go back."

Teacher Tang walked slowly to the hall where Zhao Chengjun received foreign visitors, and silently mixed into the team of attendants. In the hall, Zhao Chengjun sat in the main seat, Zhao Zixun and Lu Yufei lowered their heads and stood on the open space with their hands down.

Zhao Chengjun had a tea cup beside him, but he had no intention of moving. Zhao Chengjun's voice was not irritable, and asked: "How did you find out about what happened last night?"