Dechanghou Mansion.

"Girl, the eldest girl of Pingyang Hou Mansion is sending you a post again. Will the girl go to the banquet tomorrow?"

As soon as Ping'er entered the room, he saw his daughter Xu Qinhui lying sickly on the imperial concubine's couch.

Xu Qinhui waved her hand and said angrily, "If you don't go, just tell her that I'm sick these days and I won't go anywhere."

Ever since she was reborn, she has stayed in the Hou's Mansion and never went out to socialize. In her previous life, even if she asked her second sister to marry her, she was still ostentatious. She went out to socialize every day when she should go out to socialize, and often attended some banquets.

This eldest girl from the Marquis of Pingyang can be regarded as her friend, but the frequent invitations to her are just to know how she made the new emperor write down the imperial edict, changing Prince Shu's fiancée from her to the second sister. , but he didn't tell the eldest girl of Pingyang Hou's mansion how he hooked up with the new emperor.

Anyway, this person is just to watch her joke, and the two of them are not real best friends.

The fact that she asked her second sister to marry her was known to everyone in the capital, but it was an edict written by the new emperor. Naturally, no one dared to show it publicly, but in private, there were a lot of discussions, and she just He pretended not to know, thinking that when she enters the palace and becomes a concubine, how dare these people talk about it.

Later, she did enter the palace and became a concubine, even if those people despised her, they did not dare to criticize her any more.

Thinking that the new emperor will be drafted in half a month, Xu Qinhui only hated why she asked her second sister to marry her in the first place.

Yes, in half a month, she will go through the draft again in her previous life.

She had hooked up with Emperor Sheng Yuan before, but it was just a formality during the draft, and she was named Jieyu when she entered the palace, and finally became the fourth concubine.

But so what, she can't be the queen, and even King Shu will go to Beijing to destroy Emperor Sheng Yuan and Empress Dowager Fu in the future, and even her head will be beheaded. For the rest of her life, she knew that she was wrong, and she only wanted to admit her mistake to King Shu, and also wanted to be King Shu's wife.

But there is still half a month to enter the palace draft, and it is impossible for her to avoid this draft by herself. Both her father and grandmother are looking forward to her entering the palace.

Thinking of this, Xu Qinhui became more and more irritable.

Ping'er was still muttering to her, "Girl, it's very chaotic outside now, disaster victims from the north are coming to the capital, and there are water bandits in the southwestern border that have robbed two official ships. The coal and iron on the ship were robbed, and the two ships were also taken away, and they went to nowhere.”

The official ship was robbed? Xu Qinhui was stunned.

How could she remember that the official ship that was robbed was not at this time in her previous life, it would be a few months later, and the coal and iron on the official ship were robbed, but the two ships were not robbed, and even in the end, the court did not arrest her See what water bandits robbed coal and iron.

As for the victims, Xu Qinhui didn't think much, because she remembered that they were all killed before entering the city in their previous lives, and they didn't have any impact on the people in the capital.

It's just that the second sister didn't die of illness on the road of exile in this life, neither did King Shu's younger brother and niece die in the mudslide on the road of exile, other things might be different, and she doesn't know what will happen to these victims. It will change, but whether it changes or not has little to do with her.

What she has to do now is to think about how not to enter the palace for draft and not get involved with Emperor Sheng Yuan.

Although grandma loved her, she couldn't help her with this matter, so she had to tell her father about it.

Xu Qinhui slowly made up his mind.

When it comes to evening food, the Lihou Mansion usually eats separately, and the third room in the Dechang Hou Mansion has eaten evening food.

Xu Qinhui stopped the third-bedroom master Xu Shuping, "Father, I have something to tell you."

Xu Shuping thought that his daughter wanted to talk to her, so he said with a smile, "Is there anything Sister Hui wants to tell Daddy?"

Seeing that the whole family was there, Xu Qinhui hurriedly said, "Father, I have some business to tell you. Can you move over to the study?"

Seeing this, Xu Shuping nodded and followed his daughter to the study.

After entering the study, Xu Qinhui hesitated what to tell her father. It is said that she was reborn. In her previous life, King Shu finally ascended to the throne. Emperor Sheng Yuan and Concubine Fu were beheaded in the end, and even she was beheaded.

After she died, she didn't know what happened to the Marquis Dechang Mansion, but thinking about it, there might be no good end.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Qinhui thought carefully about what happened in the capital at this time in her previous life, and finally she thought of one thing, she looked up at Xu Shuping, "Father, what I'm going to say next may be a bit ridiculous, but What I said is true, in the early morning tomorrow, the Minister of the Household Council will suddenly fall to the ground and die, and then Emperor Sheng Yuan will appoint the right servant of the Household Department as the Minister of the Household."

She didn't know how the Minister of the Ministry of Commerce died.

She remembered the diagnosis given by the imperial doctor in the palace that the minister of the household was overworked and died of a sudden heart attack.

The right servant of the Ministry of Housing is still very young, only in his twenties. He was also promoted when the new emperor ascended the throne. Less than half a year later, the right servant of the Ministry of Household was promoted to the household again due to an accident in the Ministry of Housing. In the position of the Minister of the Ministry.

Logically speaking, it should be the Zuo Shilang, who is more senior and also forty years old, serving as the Minister of the Household.

After that, there was another bloody storm in the courtroom.

Xu Shuping scolded: "Sister Hui, don't talk nonsense!"

It is a matter of state affairs, and now is the most sensitive time for the new emperor and the empress dowager Fu. Because many people talk about state affairs, don't know how many people have their homes searched and exiled.

Xu Qinhui bit her lip, "Father believes me, father will know tomorrow."

When tomorrow's events are confirmed, my father will believe her, and she will say the next thing.

After Xu Qinhui left, Xu Shuping did not take her daughter's words to heart, thinking she was hysterical nonsense.

He himself is only a seventh-rank official and has no qualifications to go to the court. Once the emperor and the courtier, he also wants to continue to be promoted, so he needs to show his face in front of the new emperor, and he also hopes that his daughter can enter the palace draft.

The next day, Xu Shuping stayed in his own yamen, and when it was time for the next court, he also returned to the peak, but his face was pale.

He went over to ask, and Shangfeng glanced at him and said, "Hubu Shangshu just had a heart attack in the courtroom and has already gone."

After Xu Shuping finished speaking, he couldn't help but redden his eyes. He was already in his fifties, and he had known the Minister of the Ministry for 20 to 30 years. On weekdays, there were occasional arguments, but there was still some affection between the two. Shang Shu was in good health on weekdays, but suddenly he had a heart attack in the courtroom.

So what happened, they didn't know the people in the court, the imperial doctor said that it was a heart disease, and it could only be a heart disease.

I don't know what this court will look like in the future.

Xu Shuping turned pale as if struck by lightning.

Last night, Sister Hui was right, but how did Sister Hui know in advance that the Minister of the Chamber of Commerce would have a sudden heart attack in the court?

Xu Shuping couldn't continue to stay in the yamen at this moment, so he went back to the Marquis of Dechang after following Shangfeng's leave.

Back in the courtyard of the third room, Xu Shuping went straight to his daughter's room. Several maids were still waiting in the room. He immediately waved away the maids, leaving only the father and daughter in the room.

Xu Qinhui said sternly, "Father, but something happened to the Minister of the Household?"

Xu Shuping frowned, "Sister Hui, how did you find out?"

"Father." Xu Qinhui lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly, "You may not believe it when you say it, but it's all true, this is what I dreamed about in my dream, and in my dream I dreamed that I would be in the next ten years. What happened, and what happened in this world, why only ten years, that is because ten years after I entered the palace to be the concubine of Emperor Sheng Yuan, King Shu came to the capital, and Emperor Sheng Yuan and Empress Dowager Fu were all beheaded. Lose your head, even me..."

Thinking of a scene in which the vertical king raises his sword, she can't help trembling all over.

Xu Shuping's face changed dramatically, "Sister Hui, don't be fooled..."

"Father!" Xu Qinhui interrupted Xu Shuping's words to say that she was talking nonsense again, and she said with red eyes, "What I said is true, if you don't believe it, the prince of Handong Palace will be there in ten days. The capital openly robbed Duke Chongming's direct granddaughter and returned to the palace, and was sent to the court by Duke Chongming to punish the crime of the prince of the Handong palace, but in the end it was no longer a matter of fact. Instead, Empress Dowager Fu married Zhang Si girl by an edict. The heir of the Handong Palace."

King Handong was the younger brother of Empress Dowager Fu. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was given a different surname.

Xu Qinhui paused after speaking, and then continued, "This incident happened ten days later, but in 12 or 13 days, I will enter the palace for the draft. If my father really waits for this to happen, he is willing to believe me, the draft. The matter must be too late, so I also ask my father to believe me, I don’t want to enter the palace draft, I don’t want to be the concubine of Emperor Sheng Yuan again, and finally beheaded, the fate of Dechang Hou’s mansion can only be imagined.”

Xu Shuping was silent for a long time before he said, "Then why don't you wait for you to enter the palace and tell the new emperor, tell the queen mother Fu, and go directly to the border town to avoid future troubles..."

Xu Qinhui smiled wryly, "Father, Queen Mother Fu even dared to confer the title of a king with a different surname on her younger brother who has no meritorious service. What kind of person does Father think she will be? Will she believe me? Or will she be suspicious of me? Everyone in our Dechanghou Mansion also solve it together?"

The vertical king followed the queen mother.

One is ruthless and the other is crazy.

That Empress Dowager Fu is purely a lunatic, the whole world and the court have been made a mess by her.

She has been in the palace for ten years and knows Empress Dowager Fu very well. If she tells Empress Dowager Fu about this, perhaps Empress Dowager Fu will be grateful to her at first and send someone to kill King Shu's lineage, but later Empress Dowager Fu will find excuses to also kill Dechang. Hou's house ransacked the house and executed him.

No matter entering the palace as a concubine or telling the Empress Dowager Fu about it is a dead end, she can only go another way.

Xu Shuping knew that her daughter was telling the truth.

Just looking at the actions of the new emperor in the first half year of his enthronement, there will probably be chaos in this world.

Even if it is not King Shu, there will be others who will rise up to resist such a court.

At this moment, Xu Shuping seemed to be much older.

He said, "Sister Hui, let me think about it."

"Father!" Xu Qinhui was a little anxious.

Xu Shuping said: "Let's think about it, and if it is true that King Shu can achieve great things in the future, this matter will have to be worked out one or two times, at least the relationship with the second room should be eased, and someone should be sent to send some silver to your second sister, and then explain It's your grandmother's idea to let her marry you in the first place." It must be to clean up the third room, at least not to have any ill relations with Sister Yu.

Xu Qinhui didn't tell her father that her second sister should have died of illness on the road to exile, she just pretended not to know.

It is also right for the father to please the second sister. If the second sister dies of illness like in her previous life, she will go to the border to take care of Shu Wang's family in order to gain Shu Wang's kindness. The second sister's ease of relationship is only good for the third room.

No matter what, as long as you don't enter the palace, everything else is just one step at a time.

Xu Shuping went to find his second brother and sister-in-law the next day.

Xue Shi of the second room saw that the younger uncle didn't give him a good face.

But seeing that my uncle confessed his mistake and said that Sister Yu would marry him, he didn't agree with it at first. It was the old lady of Dechang Hou who insisted on going to the palace to beg the old concubine. She directly refused, but when the uncle said that someone would send a thousand taels of silver to Sister Yu, Xue hesitated.

At the beginning, she took out all the money she and her husband had, and only collected fifty taels.

With this thousand taels of silver, sister Yu's life in the frontier would be much easier.

But after thinking about it carefully, she still rejected the thousand taels of silver.

Because she knew that her brother-in-law suddenly came to apologize and gave money to Sister Yu because she was uneasy and kind, and said that her mother-in-law went to the palace to ask for it, but how could the old concubine have such a big heart, let the new emperor write an edict, Obviously it was Sister Hui who did something behind, so she didn't believe what my uncle said.

There is no need for the thousand taels of silver from my uncle, who knows what Sister Yu will pay for it in the future after receiving the thousand taels of silver.

She has been doing embroidery for half a year. She is good at embroidery and knows several embroidery methods. In addition, the master also saves money on food and expenses, and has her natal family's support. Her natal brother sent her a hundred taels of silver a few days ago , And said why sister Yu didn't come to them earlier, and the money could have been in the hands of sister Yu earlier.

Xue knew that the one hundred taels of silver was all that her natal brothers could come up with.

She accepted the kindness of her natal brother.

In addition, she and the master also saved about fifty taels, a total of one hundred and fifty taels of silver, which has been sent to the southwest by Ma Liu.

Ma Liu and the others seemed to be escorting prisoners to the Southwest Coal Mine half a month ago.

Every year in the future, she and the master can save a few dozen taels of silver by saving food and money, and send them to Sister Yu.

Xu Shuping saw that his second sister-in-law refused, but he didn't force it. There was no rush.

A few days later, when the third girl from the third room of the Dechang Hou Mansion went out of the city to offer incense in the temple on the mountain, she accidentally rolled down the hillside, broke her leg, and accidentally got a bloodstain on her face. Not even entering the palace draft.

Xu Qinhui had already handed in her name in the draft book, so she couldn't just refuse to go, unless she was dying of illness, or had a broken leg and ruined her appearance, the royal family would definitely not want one like this The girl entered the palace as a concubine.

When the news reached the palace, the new emperor felt a little pity, and didn't think much about it.

There are tens of thousands of beauties in this world, but he would not be attached to a third girl from the Marquis of Dechang.

Empress Dowager Fu felt a little surprised, but she knew how Xu Qinhui entered the palace and hooked her son to write the edict. Now that this happened in the nearby palace, is it too much of a coincidence? Could it be that Xu Qinhui didn't want to enter the palace to be his son's concubine? But it shouldn't be. Women in this world can enter the palace and become concubines to enjoy endless glory and wealth. Who can give up?

The Empress Dowager Fu sent the maids in the palace and the imperial doctor to Dechanghou Mansion.

It was discovered that Xu Qinhui had really broken her leg and her face was also hurt.

When the nanny returned to the palace and returned to her life, she also said, "Those three girls are also poor. They really broke their legs and their faces were pierced by branches, but their faces are not heavy. The imperial doctor said to take good care of them. The scars can't be seen, and she asked the old slave with tears in her eyes, if she has lameness in her feet and the scars on her face are not serious, when the emperor chooses a concubine in the future, can she enter the palace for draft. "

It will take at least three years to choose another concubine. After three years, Xu Qinhui will be eighteen.

Those who enter the palace for draft picks must not exceed the age of eighteen.

Empress Dowager Fu saw that Xu Qinhui didn't do it on purpose, so she let it go. She didn't care about her anymore, she just sneered, "I'm limping and hurting my face. After three years, she will be over eighteen. She still wants to be drafted. What age is she?" Dream."

When the new emperor heard that Xu Qinhui had really hurt his leg and face, he was no longer interested.

Seeing that she had escaped all this, Xu Qinhui also breathed a sigh of relief.

Naturally, this was a bitter plan that the father and daughter came up with. Xu Qinhui's leg was indeed broken, and the injury on her face was just an accident. She was injured by a bruise, but luckily her legs and face were not seriously injured. If she takes good care of her, she won't be limping in the future. She will also buy the best ointment for the wound on her face.

No matter what, if you don't need to enter the palace in this life, you will be able to avoid that ending in the future.

—————

In the southwestern border, Yuanbao Town has not been peaceful recently. Many officers and soldiers have come and gone in and out of the town.

Many timid small traders no longer dared to go to the wharf to make a living, and they all changed places, pushing their carts through the streets, or went to the North Street Market.

Xu Qinyu naturally hasn't been to the pier in the past half month, and her business is still as usual.

I also made a bucket of fermented bean curd, a bucket of dried tempeh and bean paste.

When doing these things, always ask Wen Shuncheng to help. It is not difficult to do these things. Pay attention to the ratio of seasoning and ingredients, and the success is more than half. The rest is some boiled beans, fermented beans and sun-dried beans. Practice makes perfect. The taste is not bad, once Brother Cheng learns this, he will be able to do all these tasks in the future.

Xu Qinyu plans to use the fermented soybean paste and bean paste to open a restaurant in a few days.

She has already calculated that she has about sixty taels of silver in her body now. It is enough to rent a shop on the South Street and North Street, but not enough on the East Street and West Street. She also just wanted to rent a shop first.

But renting a shop here requires a minimum rent of one year, and a deposit is also required. When the restaurant is opened, it needs to be renovated, furniture and ingredients, etc., so sixty taels of silver is not enough. She plans to go out and set up a food stall for two months. , It’s tiring, but if you earn the money to open a shop earlier, you can open a restaurant earlier.

The fish had just been sold out that day, so Xu Qinyu made evening food.

At Mu Shi, she fried spring bamboo shoots with the bacon marinated years ago, and Brother Cheng dug them in the bamboo forest outside the town.

Now there are wild fungi on the mountain that are starting to pop up again, but she is too busy on weekdays to go out to dig fungi, and she dare not let Brother Cheng go, for fear of digging poisonous ones.

In addition to fried bacon with spring bamboo shoots, there are also stir-fried small river prawns with leeks and scrambled eggs with Chinese toon.

Although the mushrooms outside the town cannot be eaten casually, there are many wild vegetables, such as wild Chinese toon, which is used to scramble eggs.

The small river prawns were also caught by Brother Cheng in the small river and ditch outside the town. Needless to say, the Chinese toon was also picked by Brother Chuncheng.

Finally, made a homemade three-flavored soup, using eggs, tender tofu, leeks, and sliced ​​meat.

Since it is called Sanxian Soup, it is naturally a word for Xian, which is fresh and tender.

As for the eels, Xu Qinyu ate them for half a month and got tired of eating them. The eels Cheng Geer caught recently were all sold at the market.

Their family almost spends two taels of silver on food every month.

The family is still drinking milk, and Guishi has been drinking milk for a month and a half, and eating food for a month and a half, her complexion has improved visibly with the naked eye, her complexion is rosy, and she has gained at least 20 catties. A little less, and there is no sign of illness at all.

Filled the food box for Brother Cheng, and wrapped some milk buns for him to take home.

Not long after Brother Cheng and Brother Gong left, there was another knock on the door outside the yard.

Wen went out and opened the door, and saw a young man in his twenties, with a beard and official clothes, and grinned widely when he saw her.

Wen Shi was stunned for a moment, feeling a little familiar, but couldn't remember who it was.

The young man grinned and shouted, "Madam, it's me."

Xu Qinyu, who was staying in the kitchen, remembered who it was when she heard the voice. She hurried out of the kitchen, and saw the grinning man at the gate of the courtyard. Wasn't it Ma Liu, the officer and soldier who sent them into exile in the border town?

She also asked Ma Liu to help her go back and deliver the letter to her original parents.

I didn't expect Ma Liu to find them here.

Xu Qinyu said happily: "Master Jun, how did you find this place?"

Ma Liu scratched his head and smiled: "I heard from the shopkeeper Zhou in Raozhou City that Mrs. Xu is in Yuanbao Town... I visited Dechanghou Mansion after I returned to Beijing a few years ago. When I saw your little lady and your parents, they were very worried. you……"

He crackled and said that this time it was her mother who asked him to deliver the bank note to the little lady, and said that her parents looked much better this time than before, so she didn't have to worry.

After finishing speaking, Ma Liu hurriedly took out the bank note on his body and handed it to Miss Xu.

He spent a lot of inquiring in Raozhou City, but in the end he was the shopkeeper of an inn surnamed Zhou, and he told him only when he knew that he was going to deliver a bank note to Mrs. Xu.

He also asked him a lot of questions repeatedly, worried that he was going to trouble Mrs. Xu, and did not tell Mrs. Xu that she lived in Yuanbao Town until it was confirmed that he was really giving money to others.

He came to Yuanbao Town, went to the yamen to inquire, and found the address after looking at the registered address.

Xu Qinyu took the bank note, which was worth more than one hundred and fifty taels.

She felt a little soft in her heart. At the beginning, Yuanshen's mother collected all the money and only got fifty taels, and gave it all to Yuanshen. Now it has only been half a year, and she has collected another one hundred and fifty taels. really don't know how Xue Shi is. Got these coins.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help asking: "Master Jun, where did my mother get so much money?"

Ma Liudao: "Your mother seems to be saying that she does embroidery work for others herself, and then your father's salary is also reluctant to spend, so he doesn't go out to entertain, and your natal uncle also pooled a hundred taels of silver for you, and gave it all to you." coming."

Xu Qinyu was also very grateful when he thought of Yuanshen's uncle.

The original uncle opened a teahouse, not only selling tea, but also selling some food, and the monthly income was not much, the one hundred taels of silver was probably the entire net worth of the uncle's family over the years.

It was also because Yuanzheng's uncle opened a small stall with half tea and half food, and he knew how to cook some food, so Yuanchen also had some cooking skills.