The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 34: It’s hard to prevent the hidden arrows from coming again and again

Among the various squares in the northeast corner of Chang'an, Yongchang Square, which is close to the east wall of the East Palace of Taiji Palace, is not a place where wealthy families gather, because it is the closest to the palace. Powerful eunuchs often choose this square when building their mansions outside the palace. Big households will naturally stay away. But now, on the east street of Yongchangfang, a Sikong Villa was built in the past few years, occupying half of the street. It is the residence of Wang Sikong, the father of the current queen. Now that Wang Sikong has passed away, Mrs. Liu, the wife of the State of Wei who lives in this mansion, has to go to the palace almost every other day. At this time, she shouts and rushes out of the house, which really gives this house a lot of The somewhat deserted Yongchangfang adds to the scenic beauty.

Seeing that tomorrow is the Ghost Festival, in the west room of the upper room of Sikong Villa, there are more than a dozen gorgeous and exquisite Olan basins laid out in a row on the couch. Mrs. Liu looked at them for a long time and picked out one with jade and jade patterns. , looked at it carefully and nodded, "This is not bad."

The maid next to me smiled and said, "Madam, you are really discerning. This is a treasure from Tianzhu. I'm afraid Chang'an is also the only one."

Mrs. Liu glanced at her and said, "If not, how can she be worthy of the status of a queen?" After saying that, she turned back to the yard and looked at the wax flowers, artificial trees and other things that would be presented to the Buddha tomorrow, and then turned to face The maid asked, "What time is it? It's time to go to the palace and let the outside prepare."

The maid said "Yes", and just as she walked to the door, another maid in a green dress hurried in. The two almost bumped into each other. When Mrs. Liu saw it, she saw that it was the one she sent to entertain the girl. Chonghua Fangzheng's fat red frowned, "Why are you so irritable? Has Lu Fangzheng done that?"

Zhihong hurriedly bowed and stood up before saying, "Mrs. Qi, things seem to be a bit troublesome. Lu Fangzheng said that Madam Kudi has been ill for several days. It seems that she is not a good disease. She is afraid that she will not be selected for the palace. ”

Mrs. Liu's face sank and she said coldly, "How can such a coincidence happen? Wasn't she fine last time you saw her? How could she be sick just because she was sick? He couldn't have been coaxed away!"

Zhi Hong said hurriedly, "My maid also asked," Lu Fang said honestly. He got the news about Madam the day before yesterday. He went to Kudi's house and Na An's house early yesterday morning, and he and the doctor walked in front and back. He was also afraid that there would be someone else. He even went in and took a look at the Hu girl. She did look sick. After thinking about it, he still felt uneasy, so he asked the neighbors and the medicine shop to inquire. Sure enough, she had gone to Yanyi to get medicine a few days ago. Yes, it’s not just a matter of the past two days.”

Madam Liu sneered, "So what if she is sick? Even if she has only one breath left, she has to be allowed to come into the palace! Such a bitch, thanks to my kindness, I have given her face several times, but she dares to do it to that **** of the Wu family." Yi, even that old guy from the Yang family dares to show off in front of me. Does she really think she is a good family member, so I can’t do anything to her? "

There was a bit of embarrassment on Lu Fang's face, "Lu Fang said honestly. He thought he would do this if the illness was not serious. Who knew that if someone asked the doctor, he would find that it was a bit like cholera, at least it was a disease of the intestines. The disease is very easy to pass on. How can it be sent to the palace? Before Lu Fangzheng came today, he asked again. The family had already moved the Hu girl to an uninhabited side yard, and the same was true at home. He looked panicked and didn't dare to stay any longer, so he hurried over to report back and wanted to ask Madam for some advice. "

Liu Fu frowned and said, "It would be a pity if this wretched maid died of illness like this, but that's fine. I'm just afraid that if she recovers in a few days, she still dares to do so!"

Zhihong nodded vigorously. Every time she went to Ruyi Jiaval, she was the one who showed up. She had long disliked the charming Hu girl, especially when she thought of her words that becoming a slave was an insult to the ancestors, she felt even more resentful. It's so itchy - as if she is much nobler than him! Hearing Madam Liu's words, her heart moved and she said with a smile, "My servant has a rough idea."

Mrs. Liu glared at her, "Why don't you tell me quickly?"

Zhihong smiled and said, "Madam, do you still remember that you left the hardware in that Jiavalian shop? It can be regarded as buying the tricks that Madam Kudi has spent in the past few months. I think the hardware has not been used up yet, so why don't I buy it?" I'll go there in a few days and ask her to draw a few embroidery patterns by name, and ask her to hand them in within a time limit. If she can hand them in, she will naturally be able to enter the palace. If she can't hand them in, she will use this excuse or another reason to let Xi. The city ordered the store to be sealed. It would be fine if the Hu girl died. If she didn't die, if she didn't come to join the madam, she would seal it and let the family go to the northwest to see how long she could hold on! "

Mrs. Liu raised her eyebrows and nodded, "This idea is feasible, but I'm afraid she still has a way out. You should find out everything about the situation first, and then do it after the festival!"

Zhihong responded crisply, then smiled and said, "There is no need to bother others, Lu Fangzheng will definitely know."

About a quarter of an hour later, Lu Kui frowned and walked out of Sikong Courtyard. As soon as he got on the carriage waiting outside, he told the coachman to hurry back to Chonghuafang. Before he had gone far, he heard the door behind him suddenly opening, and a group of honor guards surrounded him. A luxurious carriage came out proudly, and the man who cleared the road in front of him politely pushed his carriage aside. Lu Mei raised the curtain and looked at the big "Wei" character heading towards the imperial city in the west. Thinking of what the maid had said just now, that the lady was unwell and unable to entertain, his face slowly darkened. He has been running away for two days, is he treated like this? It's just a matter of sending a maid to talk, but she actually asked the maid to be so careless as to let her go and inquire about the Kudi family and the An family. Does Mrs. Liu really think that she, a descendant of the Lu family, is her servant?

Seeing the convoy going away, Lu Hui said to the coachman, "Go to Changlefang."

The coachman asked curiously, "Isn't Alang going back to Chonghuafang to do some business?"

Lu Hui sneered and said, "What's the rush? Now that we're here, we'd better go to Changlefang and get a few cents for a good drink."

Liuli sat on the stool by the window and looked at the muddy ground in the yard from under the open window. Except for a group of ants that occasionally hurriedly crawled across, there was no other movement.

This is already the fifth day that she has moved to this side courtyard. Every day, Xiao Tan will come in to deliver three meals a day and potions. The two idle books in her hands have been read back and forth three times. In two lifetimes combined She had never had so much time to be in a daze.

In the past few days, she has carefully reflected on everything she has done in the past three years, especially in the past six months, and has come to the conclusion that when she thought she was no longer such an idiot, in fact she was still the same idiot. Fortunately, in three or four days, the palace maid's autumn election will be over, and she can slowly return to normal life. After that, she will be like the old song: always vigilant - not to fall into the pit again in this pitiful era.

Of course, she deserved this situation. She patronized Dese and almost plunged into the most famous palace fight drama in history. If it weren't for the eight words "Select palace maids in autumn, beware of epidemics" sent by Pei Xingjian in time, if it weren't for Due to the careful arrangements made by Sanlang and his uncle, she will tragically become a cannon fodder in this drama. The best result is just "the white-headed palace maid is here, sitting around and talking about Emperor Gaozong"...

Liuli was lost in thought when the courtyard door creaked and a rush of footsteps came in. She couldn't help but laugh. Now every day, she could talk to Xiaotan when she came to deliver food and medicine. To be precise, she heard Xiaotan say something. I wonder if she would have another conversation today. What's new?

Just as Liuli turned around and stood up, she saw Xiaotan rushing in with a strange look on her face, "Auntie, something is wrong!"

Before Liuli could ask a word, she spoke in a flurry, "Just now, shopkeeper Shi came to Alang and said that the maid of Mrs. Wei's came again. This time, she asked you to draw two embroidery patterns. The limit is three days. If you don’t pay within the day, you’ll be told that Ruyi Jia Vale looks good! Look at it like that, it’s not just talk.”

Liuli's heart sank, and she immediately understood that this was a bad person. The other party asked her to draw embroidery patterns. It seemed that she already knew that she was making clothes for Wu Zetian. As for asking her to deliver the goods within three days, wasn't she just forcing her to do it? Her uncle's family would either send her to be selected as a palace maid, or make Ruyi Jiaval lose money or even close the house... She asked hurriedly, "What did your uncle say?"

 Xiaotan said, "Alang said, no matter what, we'll talk about it after the autumn election."

Liuli breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, knowing vaguely in her heart that things would never end so easily. She pondered for a moment and then said to Xiaotan, "I am really uneasy after something like this happened, and I can't go out now." , please listen more and tell me if there is anything."

 Xiaotan nodded, "Don't worry!"

Liuli watched her go out of the courtyard like a gust of wind, and couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart. She could rest assured that she had really seen a ghost.

Sure enough, three days after arriving, bad news came from the West Market: Mrs. Wei's maid came over in the afternoon. She heard that Liuli was seriously ill and could not draw embroidery patterns, so she left without saying a word. As a result, within half a quarter of an hour, she was A group of people suddenly came to the Valerian shop and made a lot of noise. The city magistrate arrested shopkeeper Shi without any reason and beat him eighty times in public. He said that the business was unfair and disruptive to the market. The Valerian shop was closed on the spot.

Liu Li's face suddenly turned pale and she quickly asked, "How is Shopkeeper Shi doing?"

Xiao Tan consoled him, "We are familiar with the guards in the market. They said it was eighty sticks, but the beating was not heavy. Shopkeeper Shi could only lie down for a few days at most." After a moment, he added, "It's just that Alang's face looked very ugly, but his wife persuaded him for a long time, saying that since this was the case, he couldn't be on both sides. "

Liuli sighed and was speechless for a while. She should have felt relieved, but how could she be happy when she thought that shopkeeper Shi, who was still young, was humiliated and caned because of this, and that the An family's most important shop was sealed like this? When she thought that tomorrow was the day when the palace ladies would be selected for examination, her heart became even more heavy: I'm afraid there is still a tough battle to be fought!

Jing Jingzhi seemed to have thought the same thing. Not long after, Dr. Fang, who was close to the An family, came again. He didn't say anything else, but just brought a box of pills that were familiar to Liuli. Liuli ate it without saying a word, and immediately began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea. Within a short time, her face turned sallow and she looked haggard. But surprisingly, until noon on the second day, Lu Fangzheng didn't even show his face. Only then did Liuli feel completely relieved, and Jing Jingzhi also began to arrange for someone to take care of things. Two days later, when Liuli moved back to the backyard, the person Jing Jingzhi entrusted brought news that chilled everyone's heart.

  p.s. Thanks to my dear Yi Er Bu Ba Jiu and book friend 1107121731 for the tip. Well, the editor informed me that it will be released on August 1st, and I said that Yali is very big... I will try to code as many chapters as possible in the past few days, and at least I will finish coding the first volume. There will be another update tonight. Thank you all for your support.

 (End of this chapter)