The front hall, which had been bustling with noise and excitement, instantly quieted down. Everyone couldn't help but look back at Qin Huaiyuan, waiting for him to make a decision.
Qin Huaiyuan put down his wine cup and said gently, "Since that's the case, the family banquet can be held later. Sister Yi, follow me to the front hall first. This should be for the marriage ambassador."
Qin Yining immediately understood. It should be like what Lu Heng said. Before Princess Tana arrived, she still had to learn the ancient etiquette, so as not to lose face in front of the foreigners.
Qin Yining and Qin Huaiyuan stood up and went to the front.
The rest of the people looked at each other, thought for a moment, and also stood up and followed.
The family left the guest courtyard, and the servant girl led the way with a lantern. Everyone silently left the guest courtyard and took a detour to the front hall of the prince's mansion.
Seeing the people in the hall,
Qin Yining smiled and went up to greet them, "Chief Steward Cheng."
"Greetings, Princess." Chief Steward Cheng smiled and bowed, then turned to greet Qin Huaiyuan and the large family behind him. For a person as exquisite as Chief Steward Cheng, if he wanted to be on good terms with others, there wouldn't be any flaws in his etiquette.
The old madam and the others saw that Qin Yining was familiar with this eunuch, and that this eunuch's attitude was very amiable, so everyone was slightly relieved.
Chief Steward Cheng smiled and said, "This servant is here to pass on Your Majesty's order to invite Princess to Kunning Palace tomorrow, where Her Majesty the Empress will personally teach you the etiquette until the Tatan's marriage team arrives."
Hearing this, Qin Yining hurriedly bowed in the direction of the imperial palace and said respectfully, "This servant obeys the order. Many thanks for Your Majesty's kindness."
Chief Steward Cheng then smiled and said, "Princess must be tired from the journey, so please rest well today. This servant won't disturb Princess and Lord Qin's family reunion. This servant will take my leave.
”
Qin Huaiyuan walked up with a smile and gently sent Chief Steward Cheng out, then handed him a red envelope where no one could see.
"Thank you, Chief Cheng."
"Aiyo, Lord Qin, this servant thanks Lord Qin for the reward. This is what this servant should do." Chief Steward Cheng said courteously as he tucked Feng Hong into his sleeve. His smile became even more amiable.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Chief Steward Cheng took his leave.
The Family Qin returned to the guest courtyard. Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat heavy, Qin Yining smiled and said, "Don't worry. It's not difficult to learn the rules of the Empress's Palace. In addition, I had a relationship with the Empress in the past, so it shouldn't be a problem."
When Li Qitian was buried in the underground palace, it was she who took the risk to deliver a letter to the Empress Dowager. It was also because of them that the pregnant Empress was nailed to death in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility by Prince Li and was rescued as quickly as possible. Thinking about it, even if they were not too close, the Empress should not have too much ill feelings towards her. Everyone should complete their own tasks and deal with this period of time.
Qin Yining did not believe that the Empress would be able to teach her any rules and etiquette.
Thinking about it, Li Qitian had only issued this decree to make himself look good. When the time came, the person teaching the rules should be someone else, but it should be arranged to be in the Empress's Palace, right?
Qin Yining's guess was correct.
The next day, Qin Yining came to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. As expected, she saw the mama teaching the rules.
The Empress stood with a smile and gently helped Qin Yining up. She said with a smile, "Wang Fei does not need to be so courteous. There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to pay attention to those complicated formalities."
It had only been a year, but the Empress's hair had turned gray. She also looked more haggard than before. The thick and heavy clothing and the bright pearls on her head did not add to her appearance. Instead, it made her look more haggard. It was as if she could not bear such wealth.
Qin Yining sighed inwardly.
It was actually very embarrassing to not be able to match her position. It was not that the Empress did not have the ability. It was just that there were too many changes that she had to accept and learn to do in an instant from an ordinary woman of a small wealthy family to the mother of a country.
What's more, there had always been a saying, "Repent and teach your husband to seek the title of Marquis". Li Qitian had few children, so he had many concubines on his left and right. In addition, the Empress was not a beautiful woman, and she was not young anymore. Before Li Qitian became the Emperor, the Empress had lived many days of fear and trepidation. When a woman's life was not smooth, she naturally aged faster. Li Qitian liked those young and beautiful concubines more and more.
This was a vicious cycle.
However, it was unknown whether it was destined by the heavens, but Li Qitian only had one legitimate son.
As Qin Yining's thoughts flashed, she had already stood up and respectfully stood with her hands hanging down. "This subject is very grateful for the Empress's kindness. However, this subject does not dare to act rashly. This subject does not dare to act rashly. "
The Empress smiled slightly and pulled Qin Yining to sit down in the rose chair that she had prepared for her. She ordered her personal palace maid to serve tea.
"Wang Fei does not need to be so reserved. In the past, Your Majesty and Prince Zhongshun were sworn brothers. Their families often interacted with each other and got along like a family. However, now that the country has been established, they are far away from each other and are both busy. There are fewer opportunities to get along like before. "
Realizing that the topic she was talking about was slightly sensitive, the Empress smiled and said, "What I mean is, based on our relationship in the past, you and I are like sisters-in-law. Therefore, when there are no outsiders, Wang Fei really does not need to be so reserved."
Qin Yining smiled and said, "Yes, this subject understands. Your Majesty the Empress is a motherly model of the country and has a benevolent heart. This is this subject's blessing and also the blessing of all the women in the world. "
The Empress smiled and did not force anything.
Qin Yining was too careful.
The Empress also understood why Qin Yining was so careful.
It was not that the Empress did not know about the discord between Li Qitian and Pang Xiao.
However, after so many years of turbulence, especially after ascending to the position of Empress, there was mutual deception everywhere. There was no one in the palace that she could treat with sincerity, including her mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law, not to mention her husband who was already the Emperor.
The Empress often felt that she was an extra person. She even fantasized about what life would be like if Li Qitian was not the Emperor.
Especially after the last palace coup, the Empress Dowager and Princess Royal only cared about themselves.
However, they did not care about her pregnancy and what would happen if she was locked up by Prince Li. Prince Zhongshun was an outsider, but she still risked her pregnancy to enter the palace to deliver a letter and tell them about Your Majesty. However, the Empress Dowager and Princess Royal, one was Your Majesty's biological mother, and the other was Your Majesty's biological younger sister, they were both afraid. In the end, didn't they still let Your Majesty wait for someone to rescue him?
She suffered so much with Your Majesty, but in the end, didn't she still break off her relationship with him?
Your Majesty did not depose her, the Empress, who he did not like, in fact, because Your Majesty cherished his reputation.
With this understanding and thinking, the Empress was actually disheartened.
Li Qitian arranged for her to teach Qin Yining the rules. She thought that under her own eyes, she could at least protect Qin Yining from being bullied. No matter how the struggle between men was, she still remembered Qin Yining's help.
The Empress's heart was spinning, but she did not show it on her face. She warmly chatted with Qin Yining, asking about life in the south and the situation at home. She mainly talked about the children.
The little prince was three months younger than Zhao Ge'er and Han Ge'er. He was at his cutest and most clingy age.
When two mothers who both loved their children were together, they always had a lot to talk about.
After chatting for a while, although they were not so close that they wanted to open their hearts, there were not so many barriers between them.
Qin Yining felt the Empress's goodwill towards her. Thinking about it, as long as it did not affect her husband's interests, this woman was also willing to be on good terms with her.
The two chatted for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, the Empress stood up with a smile and said: "Today is your first time entering the palace after coming back. Although I have already arranged for a mama to teach you the rules, we still have to go to Ci An Palace to greet the Empress Dowager. "
"Yes, we will follow niangniang's arrangements." Qin Yining nodded in understanding. In reality, she had already planned to greet the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was not as gentle and magnanimous as the Empress. She was a woman who was not easy to get along with. She was essentially the same type of person as Li Helan.
The Empress saw that Qin Yining had no objections and had people prepare clothes to wear outside. She left Qiankun Palace with her and walked towards Ci An Palace.
Ji Yun and Bing Tang followed behind Qin Yining and the Empress. They walked together with the palace servants who served the Empress. The wooden stakes tied to their feet made crunching sounds when they stepped on the snow. Qin Yining hugged a hand warmer and chatted with the Empress with a smile:
"The capital is really too cold. On the way back, the closer we got to the capital, the colder it got. By the time we were about to reach the suburbs of the capital, I was so cold that I didn't want to get off the carriage. "
The Empress smiled when she heard this. She saw that Qin Yining had half her face buried in the white fur collar. Her nose was red from the cold and she was hugging a hand warmer. She was dressed very thickly. She smiled and said, "I forgot, you are a true southerner. It is normal for you to not get used to the weather in the north for a while. I don't feel that this weather is cold. In the past, during this season, I still had to chop firewood and do work outside. "
Qin Yining smiled and said: "This subject's wife is the same as niangniang. I also have to do this. Fortunately, the winters where this subject's wife was born were not so cold. Otherwise, I might not have been so lucky to grow up. "
The Empress knew a bit about Qin Yining's experience when she was young. Hearing this, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where did you live?"
"It was near Liang City. At the time, it was on the border between Da Zhou and the Yan dynasty."
"The border? Then wouldn't there be frequent wars? "
"That's right." Qin Yining nodded and said, "But thanks to Your Majesty's army defeating Bei Ji, the commoners were slowly able to live in peace and contentment. I think that in the future, there will never be a situation where the commoners at the border are forced to hide in the mountains. "
The Empress smiled and nodded. "You are right."
They chatted and laughed along the way to Ci'an Palace. Unexpectedly, before the palace servants could announce their arrival, Qin Yining heard a burst of bell-like laughter.
Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a group of people walking over from afar.
The leader of the group was a beautiful woman wearing a red cloak and a sable fur hat.
The woman looked to be in her twenties. She had curved eyebrows and a small cherry-like mouth. She was a very attractive beauty.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
