In the blink of an eye, it was the middle of November. Yu Shu's court dress was ready — —
She wore a green and red brocade satin top with wide sleeves, lined with a white lined jacket. She had a green jade belt, a pair of tall silver boots, a black tasseled boxing crown, a fish talisman, and a silver necklace inlaid with five-colored gems.
Yu Shu tried it on her upper body. It was really handsome. Her hands and legs were long, and they could support such a stylish dress. It was cold, and she wore a cotton-padded shirt and trousers inside, but she was still as tall and straight as a green bamboo.
The court dress was usually more grand than the official dress and the regular dress. The iris flower patch on the shoulder was also decorated with pearls and colorful jade. When standing in a bright place, it would shine, and it was very beautiful.
The court dress of female officials had been followed for three hundred years. Probably influenced by Empress Ningzhen, the style was eclectic. It not only had to be powerful, but also took into account the fashion of women.
Yu Shu looked in the mirror and felt very satisfied. She wore this heavy dress and walked around the room. In the end, she felt bored and ran to Zhao Hui to show off.
"Aiyo, aiyo, aiyo," Zhao Hui was in the eastern room, asking Old Madame He for some needlework tips. As soon as she saw Yu Shuqing walk in, her eyes widened. She had never seen such a splendid outfit before and couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Old Madam He was more knowledgeable than her. She squinted her eyes and said, "This is the dress that can only be worn when meeting the Emperor. Good child, come closer and let grandma see it. "
Yu Shu answered with a smile and walked in front of the old lady so that she could look at it easily.
Old Madam He took her hand and gently touched the patterns on her sleeves, afraid that she would break them if she used too much strength. After looking at Yu Shu from top to bottom, she said with satisfaction, "You're so beautiful.
"Your godfather's great-grandfather was a famous doctor in the capital a few decades ago. The late emperor made him a high-ranking official in the Court of Imperial Physicians. He was a fourth-rank official. There's a portrait of the old man in the He family's ancestral home. The old man was wearing the clothes of a high-ranking official and a black hat on his head, just like what you're wearing now.
The He family was a real family of Xing Lin, so Yu Shu was very relieved to let Yu Xiaoxiu learn medicine from He Fangzhi. In the future, she didn't expect him to be promoted and rich, but at least he wouldn't be a nobody.
Old Madam He recalled the past for a while and talked about many old things intermittently. Zhao Hui and Yu Shu both listened carefully and no one interrupted.
After all, Old Madam He was old. After the excitement passed, she looked tired. Zhao Hui helped her lie down in the inner room and covered her with the quilt. She left and called Yu Shu to talk in the next room.
"A few days ago, your uncle came over and told me some things. I didn't get a chance to ask you since you were too busy to visit home." Zhao Hui pressed Yu Shu to sit down on the low couch, helped her smooth the wrinkles of her clothes, and put on a serious expression.
Yu Shu said, "Go ahead and ask. What can we not say to each other?"
Zhao Hui nodded and leaned close to her. She lowered her voice, "I heard from your uncle that Young Master Xue's family is in trouble. It is said that someone slandered the Xue family for rebellion."
Yu Shu thought: Xue Rui's movement is big enough. Even Zhao Hui, a woman in the backyard, knows that the Xue family has been wronged.
"I'm just a woman. I don't understand these things, but I do know that rebellion is a crime punishable by death." Zhao Hui looked a little scared. "You and Young Master Xue are sworn siblings. If something happens to his family, you won't be implicated, right?"
Everyone has selfishness. Yu Shu is like a daughter to Zhao Hui, but Xue Rui is just an outsider to Zhao Hui. So when she heard that the Xue family was in trouble, the first thing she worried about was whether Yu Shu would be harmed. She didn't have the idea of going through thick and thin with them.
Yu Shu was thoughtful. She smiled and said, "Mother also knows about rebellion and the execution of nine relatives. What is the meaning of nine relatives? Four relatives of the father's family, three relatives of the mother's family, and two relatives of the wife's family are called nine relatives. Sworn siblings do not belong to this list. Moreover, since they are wronged, there is nothing to be afraid of. The current emperor is wise. He will never listen to the slander of villains and persecute loyal people. "
The last sentence was to comfort Zhao Hui. Fortunately, Zhao Hui was open-minded. She was relieved after listening to her explanation.
.....
Yu Shu returned to the room in a new court dress. Her mood was completely different from before.
Since Xue Rui returned to the capital, they had met in private several times. There was a question that she had never asked — whether the Xue family had the intention to rebel.
If they didn't, she would thank God. If they did, God would make a big joke.
Whether Lord Dongjing would rebel or not had little to do with her. But if the Xue family wanted to rebel, she had to take it seriously. Thinking about it carefully, there were only two ways for an official to rebel. One was to gather troops and establish himself as the king, and the other was to support the new emperor to kill the old emperor.
If Lord Dongjing wanted to rebel, he would definitely choose the former. If the Xue family wanted to rebel, they could only choose the second way. The new emperor that the Xue family wanted to support would undoubtedly choose Liu Tan, who was the daughter of Noble Consort Xue.
So what was the motive of the Xue family to rebel? If Emperor Zhao Qing made Liu Tan the crown prince, there was no need for the Xue family to rebel at all. Unless Xue Lingnan had long been sure that Liu Tan could not be the crown prince.
How could the Xue family be sure that Emperor Zhao Qing would not make Liu Tan the crown prince? Because Xue Lingnan also knew the existence of the Book of Mystery Fairies. Did he know the secret of the disaster?
Yun Hua said that without the Book of Mystery Fairy's Six Rens, the future Crown Prince could not be divined. Could it be that Xue Lingnan knew that the Book of Mystery Fairy's Six Rens was lost? So, he thought that as long as the Great An Calamity disappeared or the person who broke his life died, he could control the situation.
If these speculations of hers were true, then the murderer of Taishi Shuyuan was most likely sent by the Xue family to kill the person who broke the life. In other words, Xue Lingnan wanted to kill her!
Yu Shu's assumptions were clear. The more questions she had, the more frightened she was. She didn't dare to ask Xue Rui for confirmation. It was not because she was worried that those terrible speculations would come true, but she didn't want to make things difficult for Xue Rui.
Just like Jiang Miya, who asked Xue Rui to choose between righteousness and loyalty, she didn't want Xue Rui to choose between love and the kindness of raising her.
She couldn't possibly ask Xue Rui face to face, "Your grandfather wants to kill me, what do you plan to do?"
Some words could not be taken back after they were said. She would rather play dumb and not expose him. Moreover, in her mind, Xue Rui was worthy of trust. She believed that he would give her an explanation sooner or later without her asking.
***
On the second day after receiving the court dress, the Great Advisor brought Yu Shu to Taixi Tower to give her some instructions. He mainly explained to her the process of participating in the morning court.
There was no need for him to personally instruct her on such a small matter, but he had always been fond of Yu Shu. Yu Shu would not be grateful for his special care, because she knew very well that in the eyes of her immediate superior, she was just a tool named "the person who broke the life".
Coming out of Taixi Tower, Yu Shu met someone on the way.
"Yu Nüyu," Xin Ya asked her with a smile, "Where are you going?"
"Oh, Lady Xin," Yu Shu stopped and pointed to the south, "The Great Advisor called me over to talk."
Xin Ya nodded knowingly and said, "If nothing goes wrong, you will be attending the morning court on the first day of next month, right?"
"Yes." Yu Shu didn't like to deal with this old fox. It had been four months since their last private meeting. In order to ask her to predict Yun Hua's life and death, Xin Ya took out the imitation Tai Qing Cauldron to tempt her and tried to use tihu incense to tie her down.
She guessed that this old fox couldn't help but wait for a few days when she didn't take the initiative to look for him.
As expected, Xin Ya followed the topic of the morning court and led in another direction, "My identity will be different when I attend the morning court. It won't be as leisurely as it is now. First, I will have more social contacts, and second, I will have to work hard to share my burden. You see, shouldn't you take advantage of the fact that you are not busy to do what you promised me as soon as possible? "
With Xin Lishan, Yu Shu had solved the need for tihu incense. Naturally, she didn't need to keep Xin Ya in suspense anymore. So she pretended to pat her forehead and said,
"Oh, look at my memory. The result of what you asked me to do was already out last month, but you didn't ask me. I thought you weren't in a hurry to know, so I didn't rush to look for you to fulfill it. After that, I got busy and forgot about it. Sorry, sorry, haha."
Haha, your mother, Xin Ya scolded in his heart. Who said he wasn't in a hurry? He was so anxious that he almost died. If it wasn't because he wanted to wait for her to finish using tihu incense and beg him, he wouldn't have had to hide from her for so many days!
"There's a result? That's great. I just got some good tea the day before yesterday. Why don't you come back with me to the house later? We can sit down and enjoy the tea and slowly talk about it. "
Xin Ya was able to keep his composure. He knew that this was not the place to talk.
Yu Shu looked troubled. "But I have to go buy some tools this afternoon. I've used up all the turtle shells and ambergris at home."
Xin Ya quietly gritted his teeth but pretended to be generous. "It's not worth much. The Xin family's Great Yi Shop doesn't lack anything. Why do you need to make a trip? Come back with me. I'll get someone to prepare a set of white-headed turtle shells and a box of high quality ambergris for you to take with you when you leave."
Yu Shu whispered, "But I've always bought turtle shells that are more than fifty years old."
"…" A fifty-year-old white-headed turtle shell was priceless. Usually, it could only be sold for three hundred taels. A set of twelve shells would be three thousand and six hundred taels. And that didn't include the ambergris.
"Forget it. I'll go buy it myself." Yu Shu said considerately. "Lady Xin, let's talk another day."
He turned to leave. Xin Ya hurriedly blocked his way. He forced a smile and said amiably, "Isn't it just a fifty-year-old turtle shell? It's not that rare. I'll get someone to choose it. It'll save you the trouble of running around."
Yu Shu said embarrassedly, "How can I do that? I've made you spend money. I'll thank Lady Xin then."
"Heh heh." This little bastard who took advantage of the situation!
"Then when you're leaving, get someone to inform me at the Kun Ling Bureau. I'll go back first." Yu Shu waved her sleeves at him in a relaxed manner. Only a bastard would not take advantage of an opportunity.
Moreover, Xin Ya was such a despicable person. At the bottom of it all, it was Xin Ya's fault for stealing the precious Zhuge Tong that Yun Hua had given to Xin Lishan. This indirectly caused Xue Rui's birth mother, Madam Han, to not be able to escape the Celestial Commissioner's pursuit and eventually lose her life.
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