bestfiction Chapter 133 You can’t scold my daughter
Chapter 133 You can’t scold my daughter
Chapter 133 You can’t scold my daughter
Female family members had to go through the Chaofeng Gate to enter the palace. At this time, many people had gathered at the Chaofeng Gate, all of whom were family members of officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital.
The palace gates had not yet opened, and were guarded by imperial guards. The eunuchs and palace maids were also counting the time and waiting to check the invitation to the banquet.
The carriages were not allowed to stop too close, so people got off from a distance and then walked to Chaofeng Gate.
When the previous emperor was alive, palace banquets in Northern Qi were not common, except for the New Year's Eve banquet and the Moon Festival banquet. Therefore, people attached great importance to the opportunity to enter the palace and attend the banquet. No one cared about the cold and stood outside with their hands folded, chatting in groups of three or five.
The ladies were relatively quiet, and even when they spoke they spoke in very low voices. The girls, on the other hand, were more lively, speaking louder and occasionally giggling.
Young girls in Beijing are usually divided into several groups. One group never goes out of the house on a daily basis. Not only do they know few people, they are also not very talkative. So even if they come to the palace banquet with their family, most of them will stand with their mothers and just watch without saying a word.
There is another group of people who used to like to follow Fourth Miss Ye, because she was the most beloved granddaughter of the old general Ye Zhenwei. In addition, Ye Wenyan was cheerful and lively and had many friends, so many young ladies from official families were willing to play with her.
Of course, there are two types of people who play together. One is close friends like Jiang Wanting, and the other is those who have been asked by their parents to have more contact with Ye Wenyan, because of the military power of the old general and the great general.
In addition to these two factions, there is another faction that follows the Li family.
The Li family is not an official family, but because it is Li Xiaohan's maternal family, they are always invited to the palace banquets. The Li family is now headed by Li Zhiyuan, the elder brother of Empress Dowager Li. Li Zhiyuan has one legitimate daughter and two illegitimate daughters. His wife, Mrs. Tao, is committed to cultivating the legitimate daughter, Li Yanran, so she will bring Li Yanran to the palace every year. This has also cultivated a group of followers and supporters for Li Yanran. These followers and supporters are all those who have taken a fancy to the Sixth Prince and want to ensure that the Sixth Prince will succeed the throne.
Speaking of which, there used to be many people around Fourth Miss Ye. Although everyone called her a witch and were opposed to her stunning appearance, because the Ye family held military power, all officials understood that military power was above all else. They also understood that even if the Sixth Prince inherited the throne in the future, the Ye family would not fall, not to mention that the Sixth Prince was engaged to Fourth Miss Ye.
Therefore, the girls gritted their teeth and tried to get close to Ye Wenyan.
But that was in the past. Now that the two generals of the Ye family were dead, the military power was back in the hands of the royal family. Miss Ye Si had no chance to get involved with the Sixth Prince. However, Queen Li became the Queen Mother. Although she no longer had a useful son, she had a regent who had a close relationship with Queen Li.
So people began to wait and see, and as they waited and watched, they found out that this year's palace banquet, Miss Li not only attended in her best attire, but also refused the invitation sent by Empress Dowager Li to enter the palace first, saying that she had to abide by the rules of the palace and could not get special treatment just because her aunt was the empress dowager. After all, there were two empress dowagers in the palace, and doing so would make the other empress dowager very embarrassed.
Many people heard this, and they didn't understand why the mother's family, the Li family, would say such a thing to refute the good intentions of the Queen Mother Li. But those who could attend the palace banquet were not stupid, and they didn't understand it at first, but gradually they figured out the reason.
Looking at Li Yanran's outfit today, it not only matches the simplicity of the royal funeral, but also has the elegance of a daughter of a big family. The hem and cuffs of her skirt are also orange, and some people say that it is the new emperor's favorite color.
Li Yanran was originally a great beauty. Although she was not as stunningly beautiful as Ye Wenyan, she had an innate temperament, which was very similar to that of her aunt, Empress Dowager Li. Just by standing there, she could show the natural blessing of being the mother of the country.
Someone recalled a rumor from many years ago, saying that the Li family's ancestors had accumulated virtue, and that the daughters of concubines could become the empress, all because of the Li family's unique feng shui. And someone had calculated that in the next fifty years, the Li family would have more than one empress, and in addition to Li Xiaohan, there would definitely be another empress who would stand out.
This matter seemed very contradictory in the past, because with Empress Li, the next emperor would most likely be her son, the Sixth Prince. But the Sixth Prince and the Li family were cousins, so they couldn't marry each other. So how could the Li family produce another empress? Unless the Li family had a daughter to replace Li Xiaohan, they could create the second empress.
Li Xiaohan was also prepared for this. She had watched the Li family for many years, and finally her eyes fell on Li Yanran. In her opinion, if the Li family could produce another queen, it would definitely be her outstanding niece.
So she had thought of countermeasures to suppress them, such as letting Li Yanran go to marry. Yes, Li Yanran was chosen by Queen Mother Li to marry the new king of Guiyue who had just ascended the throne and had not yet married. For this reason, she also persuaded the Li family, saying that as long as Li Yanran became the queen, Guiyue would be in the hands of the Li family.
The Li family has already started preparations for this, starting from the day Guiyue hostage returned to the country to attend the funeral.
But no one expected that the emperor of Northern Qi would die soon after, and then the Sixth Prince became useless, and then the Seventh Prince became the new emperor.
This series of changes made the Li family begin to waver. Instead of leaving for another place, why not choose the one who was right in front of them?
Smart people immediately figured out this truth and knew that the Li family was going to take another path. So Li Yanran rejected her aunt's invitation and said frankly that she had to save face for the Queen Mother Yu of the Eastern Palace.
As a result, the situation among the girls in Beijing has also changed. Some people no longer choose to stand with Miss Ye Si, nor with Miss Li for the time being. They keep waiting and watching because they can't see the trend of the court clearly. Some people are more impulsive. They think that Miss Ye Si's life and death are unknown now, and they think that even if her life and death are clear, based on the rumors on the street these days, Miss Ye Si will most likely be involved with His Royal Highness King Chen. And His Royal Highness King Chen has no future, so Miss Ye Si's move is almost a waste of chess.
But it is different for Miss Li. If Empress Dowager Li, after her son has lost hope, tries her best to ensure that her niece ascends the throne, and with the regent now clearly leaning towards Empress Dowager Li, it is very likely that Li Yanran will be the only one who will stand out to the end.
So these people chose to follow Li Yanran, and even many people who used to be good friends with Ye Wenyan began to favor Li Yanran without any consideration.
Ye Wenyan was not here at the moment, but Jiang Wanting was still here. Seeing those good sisters who usually said they were sincere and devoted to her leave her one by one and stand with Li Yanran, she was furious.
"A fence-sitter will be in trouble no matter what he does!" Jiang Wanting is also a harsh mouth. She speaks insulting words without thinking.
Most of the girls who were criticized lowered their heads. They felt that what they did was not very decent. They felt embarrassed, but did not want to correct it, so they simply lowered their heads and ignored Jiang Wanting.
But there was also a small part of them who felt they were not wrong, so they fought back: "Jiang Wanting, you don't have to say sarcastic words. Who we want to play with is our own choice. You are not our father or mother. What qualifications do you have to make decisions for us? Besides, it is rumored that Ye Wenyan is missing, and now we don't know whether she is alive or dead. Are we going to stop making new friends in this life just to wait for her to come back? How can this be justified? And, Jiang Wanting, you are only strong because of Ye Wenyan. Without Ye Wenyan, who are you?"
As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Jiang, Lan Meiyu, who had been standing by, was the first to be upset. She looked at the family of the young lady who was speaking, "Are you the madam of the mansion? Although I don't know which mansion you are from, I'm sure you know which mansion we are from. This is the first time I've heard in Lin'an City that someone actually doesn't take the Jiang family seriously. What is my daughter? Of course, she is what her father is. And what you are, of course, depends on what official position your family holds. Madam, may I ask what position your husband holds and what rank he is?"
Mrs. Jiang Lan Meiyu's temper is exactly the same as Jiang Wanting's, and she is even more domineering than Jiang Wanting. No matter what the reason is, she will never tolerate anyone scolding her child in front of her. Not to mention that he is just a small official, even if he is a top official of the dynasty, she will still confront him. No matter what happens later, she must not lose at that time.
Of course she would not lose, because no one was stupid enough to go head-to-head with the Ministry of Justice, let alone a mere fourth-rank official.
It's fine for a girl to be so ignorant and speak out, but as a wife, she should be more considerate. So she quickly apologized to Mrs. Jiang: "The child is ignorant, Mrs. Jiang, please don't take her seriously, I will definitely scold her when I get home." After saying that, she pulled her own daughter and said, "Why don't you apologize to Mrs. Jiang quickly."
Madam Jiang took a step back. "It has nothing to do with me. If you should apologize, it should be to my daughter. And madam, you don't have to scold me for arguing with a child. I am a kind-hearted person. I am really worried that your child will go astray if you continue to raise her like this. It's okay if she goes astray herself, but it will be bad if her father is implicated."
The young lady was anxious at the time: "Mrs. Jiang, don't be so unreasonable. My mother has already apologized to you, what else do you want? My father is an honest official, why should he be afraid of your Ministry of Justice? Can the Ministry of Justice accuse my father of a crime just because of a quarrel between his daughters?"
Mrs. Jiang laughed when she heard this. "Be an official with integrity! Go back and ask your father about this, and then come back and tell me."
The lady who had apologized earlier looked even uglier. She pulled her daughter hard and glared at the young lady fiercely, which made the young lady feel uneasy. Only then did she realize that she had said the wrong thing.
Honest? Which official dares to say that he is honest? Even if she really thought her father was honest, she understood something after seeing her mother's eyes. So she blushed and dared not say anything more. Jiang Wanting sneered, and Mrs. Jiang also sneered. The scene was a little awkward for a while...