Although there were concubine children among the past empresses, there was no reason to choose a concubine's daughter as soon as the empress was conferred.
The Chen family had been delaying the marriage of their eldest daughter for a long time because they harbored such thoughts. Seeing that Chen Yanqin would be nineteen next year, they began to look for her. However, at present, the Chen family was still a strong candidate for the empress position.
This was probably the Yun family's thought, or rather, the thought of most aristocratic families.
After chatting for a while, a nanny from the Yun residence came to summon them. The poetry gathering in front was about to end, so she asked everyone to prepare to receive their masters. She asked Bai Suyan and Jing Jing to stay behind, saying that Mu Guiyi had gone with Yun Yaochi to see Old Madame Yun and might take a while.
After everyone left, Jing Jing finally couldn't help but whisper to Bai Suyan, "Sister Yan Yan, why can't Second Miss Zhao participate?"
"Shh —" Bai Suyan made a shushing gesture, "Don't mention this again!"
Jing Jing was shocked by her reaction. She blinked and nodded, then whispered, "I saw that Yulian, who was sitting in the corner, was very awkward. Both sides didn't seem to like her very much. After all, she's from the Snow Lotus Sect's Ji family. Why?"
Bai Suyan said, "Since you know that she's from the Snow Lotus Sect's Ji family, why are you still asking this and that? Eat something, it'll probably take some time." After saying this, she casually peeled a dried fruit and stuffed it into Jing Jing's mouth to distract her.
"Oh." Jing Jing chewed and stopped asking. Although she was a little curious, she knew what she should and shouldn't get involved in, what she should know, and what it was best not to know.
Second Miss Zhao was the third branch's legitimate daughter. She was once betrothed to Ninth Young Master. Although Ninth Young Master was demoted to a concubine and expelled from the capital before they were married, he was still chosen by the imperial family. Not to mention that no one dared to propose marriage, even their own family didn't dare to propose marriage for their daughter. They could only build a family temple in the residence and lock their daughter in there to cultivate.
On the other side of the garden, Mu Guiyi once again bowed to Yun Yaochi as she watched the other young ladies of the aristocratic families leave. "Thank you elder sister for taking care of Yaohua today."
Yun Yaochi hurriedly stopped him. "Why are you being so polite? We're relatives. Besides, Great Grandmother has already instructed us that there's no need to be so polite."
Looking at the servants coming and going, Yun Yaochi said, "This place needs to be tidied up, and it's not convenient to talk. Are you in a hurry to go back?"
Mu Guiyi shook her head. "I still want to pay a visit to Grandmother and the others. Is it convenient?"
"That's good too." Yun Yaochi pulled her to the water pavilion at the side and asked the head maidservant beside her to report. "You rarely go out, so there are some things that you don't know. The people I invited today are those who will meet in the selection in the future. Most of the people who will be selected will be in this group …"
After sitting down in the water pavilion and listening to Yun Yaochi's general description of the situation of each family, Mu Guiyi asked, "After observing today, this Snow Lotus Sect's Concubine seems to be in a very strange situation. How much does elder sister know? Is it convenient for you to tell me?"
Speaking of this person, Yun Yaochi's eyes revealed disdain. "You also know that when the Snow Lotus Sect's Concubine marries, if it's not from a prestigious family, it's from the current imperial court. Even if it's not from a prestigious family, it's still from three generations and is a pillar of the imperial court. It's impossible for her to choose a small family like the Zhang Family."
Hearing her say this, Mu Guiyi thought about those unspeakable rumors. Yun Yaochi saw that she understood with just a hint and continued, "Back then, that person from the Zhang Family was the team leader who escorted the Grand Imperial Concubines and the Eldest Princess. Halfway through, they encountered bandits and scattered the team. Eldest Princess Yue Wan went missing, and when she came back, her belly was already big!"
Because this matter involved the imperial family's reputation, it was tightly sealed. The late Emperor was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hurriedly marry off Eldest Princess Yue Wan. Because of this, the Zhang Family was given the title of General.
After Zhang Xuelian was born, she was unfilial to her parents and caused a wave of rumors in Jin City. Some people speculated that Eldest Princess Yue Wan might have lost her chastity to those bandits, and this Eldest Princess who was plagued with misfortune couldn't stand those rumors and died of depression at the age of twenty.
Other than the dead Eldest Princess Yue Wan, only that General Zhang would know the truth of the matter.
Yun Yaochi said, "Let's not talk about her anymore. I'll tell you about the preferences of the elders in the residence."
After another round of exhortations, a pretty servant girl came in and bowed. "Second Miss, Old Madam has sent a message, asking you to bring Eldest Miss Mu over to meet her."
"I know," Yun Yaochi turned back and said to Mu Guiyi, "This is Shanhu, the maid by my side. You've seen her before."
Perhaps it was because they heard that Mu Guiyi had come, or perhaps it was because they wanted to hear from Yun Yaochi about the matters of the poetry gathering, all the female masters in the Yun residence who were free and had some status actually came.
Yun Yaochi led Mu Guiyi in and greeted the head of the table. "Great-grandmother, look, who's here?"
Old Madam Yun was a person who was rarely blessed with longevity. Now that there were four generations living under the same roof, her body was still very healthy, her complexion was rosy, and she was very amiable. Looking at this situation, thinking that Eldest Miss Yun who had just married not long ago might even be able to see her great-great-grandson soon.
Old Madam Yun cheerfully beckoned Mu Guiyi to come closer. "You're Yusi's granddaughter, right? Come, let me take a look!"
Mu Guiyi carefully looked at the expressions of the people around her before walking forward to greet. Her voice was gentle and soft. "Yaohua greets Great-grandmother."
Old Madam Yun pulled Mu Guiyi over and looked at her carefully. She raised her hand and touched the green snow-white hairpin in her hair. There was some nostalgia in her eyes. "I only have two daughters, Empress Dowager Jin Yue and Yusi. Empress Dowager Jin Yue passed away early, and Yusi rarely came back. I even forgot what she looked like. Seeing you, I seem to be able to remember a little."
The middle-aged woman sitting on the left side of Old Madam Yun was gentle and had a hint of shrewdness. She smiled wholeheartedly and said, "Yaohua probably looks like Third Aunt. Old Madam, when you look at her, it's as if you're looking at your own daughter."
Old Madam Yun looked carefully again and shook her head. "She doesn't look like her, but I've seen her before. She looks like … Empress Dowager Jin Yue?"
The woman sitting on the right side had a pair of charming eyes and a mole under her eye. She also joked, "Then she looks like Old Madam. Old Madam looks at herself in the mirror every day. How can she not look like her?" Seeing that Yun Yaochi directly stood beside her after coming in, she must be Second Young Mistress Yun, Madam Su.
Old Madam Yun turned her head and asked the person next to her in confusion, "Does she look like me?" The other people in the room naturally followed suit and said that she looked like her. Old Madam Yun smiled. "Then she looks like me, haha!"
Mu Guiyi lowered her face, as if she was embarrassed by the teasing. Old Madam Yun loved to see the shy appearance of young girls at her age. She liked it even more and her tone became more amiable. "Did you have fun for the first time?"
Mu Guiyi didn't say anything and only nodded gently. Old Madam Yun asked again, "How is your grandmother's health?"
Mu Guiyi raised her head, her eyes filled with worry. "Ever since Grandfather passed away, Grandmother's health hasn't been very good. Even after so many years of recuperation, she still hasn't recovered."
Old Madam Yun sighed. "Yusi and that boy from the Lin family have a good relationship, but it's too good. Now it's not good."
"By the way, you haven't seen your maternal aunts yet, right?" Old Madam Yun pointed to the one who spoke first. "This is your eldest maternal aunts."
Mu Guiyi stood up and bowed with her hands at her waist. "Greetings to eldest maternal aunts."
Old Madam Yun, Lan shi was born in Hangzhou. Her family was a famous local Confucian merchant. In her father's generation, her father was the governor of Yangzhou. Her uncle was an imperial merchant who specialized in silk embroidery.
Lan shi had a graceful temperament and looked like an ordinary scholarly family. She grinned. "This whole body's style, it's believed that it has always been in our Yun family." As she spoke, she raised her hand to let the maidservant behind her, who was holding a gift, take a step forward. "This Hangzhou silk is not a rare thing. It's just that it's favored by the nobles in the palace. You can take it back and make a few sets of clothes. Even if you don't make clothes, you can cut it for fun."
Old Madam Yun was very happy to hear it. "You're good at talking. Yaohua, since it's like this, take it. Just like she said, take it back and cut it for fun. Come, this is your second maternal aunts."
Su shi was born with a pair of peach blossom eyes. When she looked at you, she always gave people an illusion of affection. When she was young, it wasn't hard to see that she was a gorgeous beauty. Other than her eyes, Yun Yaochi was born like her.
Su shi took off a prawn bracelet from her wrist and put it on Mu Guiyi's hand. She pulled her and said: "There's no one in this fu who is the same age as Yaochi. After her eldest sister married, there's no one to talk to. If you have time, remember to come often. I'm already old, and it doesn't look as good as you young people."
Mu Guiyi secretly calculated in her heart that the gift she brought this morning seemed to be too light.
After that, she met the other two branches of the Yun family. Although their family status wasn't as good as Lan shi and Su shi, they were still scholarly families. The third branch, Zhou shi, and the fourth branch, Min shi, received some simple greeting gifts. After a round, there wasn't anyone from the four aristocratic families or the six prominent families. Mu Guiyi praised the intelligence of the Yun family head.
After a round of greetings, Mu Guiyi sat back down next to Old Madam Yun. Old Madam Yun pulled Mu Guiyi and said: "Your first maternal aunts received the imperial edict to enter the palace today to see Empress Dowager Wang. But in the future, you should come often. You'll eventually see her."
Changing the topic, Old Madam Yun asked: "Are you alone today? Didn't you bring any servant girls? "
Mu Guiyi said: "Today, I originally planned to visit the elders. On the way, I was fortunate enough to participate in Yao Chi jiejie's poetry recital. I prepared some small things and let the two servant girls look after them."
"This child is really considerate," Lan shi sighed and said, "He's sensible. But it's just a trip to your maternal grandmother's house. There's no need to come next time. You're too polite."
Mu Guiyi shyly said: "It's precisely because I'm here to see maternal grandmother that I have to pay more attention to it. Usually, it's rare to see maternal grandmother. I don't know if maternal grandmother likes it, so I brought all kinds of things."
Old Madam Yun was very happy when she heard this, "Come, come, come. Have someone bring the things in. Whether they're good or not is secondary. The most important thing is the thought."
After a while, Bai Suyan and Jing Jing followed behind the Yun family's mama with gifts. They saw this room full of joy and harmony.
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