After Lady Jia's sedan chair left, the corridor in front of Hongyong Gate suddenly became wider.

The visitor moved forward with a folding fan, and the suet jade pendant on his waist swayed with his steps.

Seeing the person coming, Bai Minmin was obviously startled for a moment: "The nobleman is pregnant, you talk to her like this—"

"What are you afraid of? She is not the only one who is pregnant in the palace. Concubine Shu's airs are not as big as hers." Zhang Huaiyu didn't care.

"you!"

never mind! He is the uncle of the country, so naturally he is not afraid of heaven and earth.

Bai Minmin asked again angrily, "Why are you entering the palace at this hour?"

Zhang Huaiyu glanced at her: "Why, the queen summoned me to dinner, and Miss Bai must agree to it?"

Immediately, he closed the fan again, cupped his hands and bowed to Ming Tan who was at the side: "Princess."

Ming Tan also nodded back and said, "Shizi Zhang."

She stopped saying hello after saying hello, just quietly thinking about what Zhang Huaiyu just said——

She is not the only one who is pregnant in the palace, Concubine Shu is not as airy as her... Could it be that Concubine Shu is also pregnant?

Even though he knew that this was not a good place to talk, Bai Minmin couldn't help but confront Zhang Huaiyu: "The empress made it clear just now that you have accumulated food at noon, and you won't be serving dinner tonight, so you can tell lies a little more reliably. "

Zhang Huaiyu raised his eyebrows: "That's it. The queen didn't want to keep you for dinner, so she paved the steps for you. Are you serious?"

"Zhang Huaiyu, you!"

Bai Minmin was so angry that she almost exploded in the palace. fry.

In the end, Zhang Huaiyu looked up and down for a while, and Yun Danfeng said lightly: "Today's clothes are not bad, it's fine, if you don't leave the palace, the palace gate will be locked, the princess will naturally have a place to rest, as for you... "

Bai Minmin rolled her big eyes at him, pulled Ming Tan and rushed forward angrily: "I really don't know how Master Shu would make friends with someone like you!"

Zhang Huaiyu: "Then you don't know a lot."

Resisting the urge to kick him, Bai Minmin deliberately bumped into his arm.

Zhang Huaiyu turned her head, looked at the back that disappeared quickly with anger, smiled, and walked leisurely to Changchun Palace.

In the Changchun Palace, Empress Zhang was looking at the account book of the inner palace, and when she heard that the prince had arrived, she covered the account book, and the messenger came in, and ordered someone to prepare the Jin Junmei tea that Zhang Huaiyu liked.

"Greetings to the empress."

"Sit down." Queen Zhang responded casually.

Zhang Huaiyu was also polite, and sat on the other side of the soft couch.

The maid quickly served tea to Zhang Huaiyu. Although it was still hot, the fragrance of the tea rising was very familiar. Zhang Huaiyu couldn't help but smiled knowingly: "It's my sister who loves me."

"Knowing that Bengong loves you, you still rush into the palace. Why, are you afraid that Bengong will swallow your ideal person alive?" Queen Zhang squinted at him.

"Sister, what are you talking about? I'm afraid that she won't understand the rules and offend you."

After hearing this, Empress Zhang sneered and said, "Everyone is a lady, how can you be more unruly than you?"

"Every lady? Sister, you must have misunderstood something. What kind of lady is she? She—" Zhang Huaiyu was halfway through speaking, and realized that it seemed that she shouldn't say such things as wanting to marry a wife in front of his sister, and then silently Swallowed it back.

"How is she?"

Zhang Huaiyu took a sip of tea and praised against his will: "You are more disciplined than me."

Queen Zhang couldn't help but chuckle again.

Zhang Huaiyu continued to sit there without blushing, and pretended not to know that his sister was laughing at him, and tried to cover it up by explaining: "Of course I know that my sister will not do anything to her, but there are many nobles in this palace. , with her temper, she might bump into someone accidentally, sister, you'd better not let her enter the palace in the future."

"If you don't enter the palace now, if you become the wife of the prince in the future, you will have to enter the palace during the New Year's Eve. How can you just hide?

"Okay, my palace has its own measure, and you don't have to run into the palace every now and then. With my palace in this palace, can people suffer? Now that you're here, go to Qinzheng Hall and ask your brother-in-law install."

The Palace of Qinzheng was far away, so Zhang Huaiyu stood up reluctantly and said "Yes".

At the same time, Ming Tan and Bai Minmin also left the palace smoothly before the palace gate was locked.

Out of the palace gate, Bai Minmin was finally able to speak freely. She kept scolding Zhang Huaiyu in a small mouth without even taking a breath. Be quiet and shut up.

Jiang Xu glanced at her, and said to Ming Tan: "Let's go, go home."

Ming Tan was stunned for a moment, then bid farewell to Bai Minmin and got into the car.

"Husband, why are you here?" She was a little surprised when she got into the carriage.

"Today, I went to the Dianqian Division. After I finished my work, I saw that it was about the same time, so I came over."

Ming Tan nodded slowly, then remembered something, and hurriedly told him about the errand assigned to her by Empress Zhang in the palace just now.

This matter was expected by Jiang Xu, and he was not surprised.

The two chatted all the way back home, and after dinner, Jiang Xu allowed her to go into the study together, and placed an extra huanghuali chair opposite the table, and the two shared a Duan inkstone, writing official documents and articles of association , Occasionally say a few words, the candlelight is warm and yellow, and the desk is silent.

Previously in the palace, in order to let Bai Minmin perform well, Ming Tan still had many suggestions that he had not put forward.

She remembered that when she went south to Hezhou, the women in Hezhou were very fond of those gorgeous clothes, but the clothes and jewelry they wore were mostly the latest fashion in the capital.

In farther and smaller places, rich local girls are still wearing clothes and patterns that were popular in Beijing two years ago.

According to her observation, some things are not unaffordable for these people, but it takes time to spread to the local area. Occasionally, some people spend a lot of money to ask someone to buy fashionable items. Even if there is a little bit of it, it is very dignified to take it out.

So she thought, there is no need to exchange all kinds of clothes collected, if they can be taken to places that need these things, they will not worry about not being able to sell them for a good price.

She talked about this idea to Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu thought for a while and said: "The idea is good, but the time required for the round trip and the cost of the road must also be taken into account. If the cost is equal to the price difference between the two places , it is not feasible.”

Ming Tan still has too little experience, Jiang Xu said this, she just remembered.

She nodded, and while adding this point, she said seriously: "Then we must first calculate the difference between the cost and the price that can be discounted..."

The lowercase letters she wrote were neat and beautiful, and her cheeks puffed up slightly when she was chanting.

Jiang Xu watched, a little distracted, the thick ink dripped from the pen tip, and quickly smeared on the paper. He regained his senses, crumpled it into a paper ball and put it aside, re-laid the paper, and began to write the official document.

Three days later, the empress invited some famous wives in the capital to enter the palace, and while admiring the flowers and drinking tea, she told them about the donation.

Several people agreed one after another, praised the empress for her kindness, and very sensiblely broke up the news after leaving the palace.

Donating some useless things can gain fame and help others. This is a good thing. The official women are very active.

In less than two days, more than 80 boxes of gold and silver were raised, and by the third day, it exceeded 200 boxes.

In the next few days, compared with others, some people felt that their own donations were less, and they were busy and made up donations. Some people still had things that had just been cleaned up...the number of donations continued to increase.

Ming Tan wrote the book, and Bai Minmin sorted it by category.

Zhou Jingwan was also brought in by Ming Tan to help, she was talented and well-written, and after raising so many things, Ming Tan asked her to write a thank-you letter, and was going to return politely to each other when things were done. government.

Since it was Queen Zhang's proposal, not many dared to use junk to deal with it. Every young lady took at least four or five hairpins, and many even got a set of hairpins, although it is no longer a fashionable style in Beijing. But many are brand new and look like they've never been used.

It is worth mentioning that this time Shen Hua sent someone to send a box full of jewelry. She was very happy, and many newly made clothes could not be worn, so she also sent them.

In the few months since Ming Tan left Beijing, Yuan Guozijian Jijiu retired and returned to his hometown, Li Siye was promoted to the post of Jijiu, and the second son of Li also won the praise of the emperor for his good writing. Li's mansion is now very good.

After returning to Beijing, Ming Tan sent souvenirs to Li's residence, but he didn't care to meet Shen Hua for a while, but just looking at the things she sent, he knew that she should be living a very happy life in Li's residence now.

Ming Tan remembered that the Hou Mansion still had some old things from her boudoir, and decided to go back to the Jing'an Hou Mansion to count them out, and just in time to send the souvenirs brought back from the south.

In fact, when she returned to Beijing earlier, she planned to go back to the mansion as soon as possible, but Mrs. Pei went back to her mother's house for a wedding and was not in the mansion, so she never came back.

Knowing that Ming Tan was going back to Jing'an Hou Mansion, Jiang Xu had nothing to do with him, so he planned to go with her.

Ming Tan also knew that it was very honorable for her husband and son-in-law to accompany her back to her mother's house, but with him, the whole Hou family would be so busy that they would not touch the ground. persuaded.

The next day when I went back to Jing'anhou's mansion alone, Mrs. Pei went to the door to greet her, and went back to Lanxin Courtyard with Ming Tan on her arm. The mother and daughter talked for a long time.

It turned out that after Ming Tan left Hezhou, the Feng family wrote letters to the Hou Mansion every month.

Mingchu now feels tight to be good, and will go to old lady Feng to serve soup and medicine every now and then, and everyone in the Feng family also respectfully obeys the princess's order and arrests her in the mansion, preventing her from going out to cause trouble.

It's just to tell the truth, Mingchu is also a girl from the Hou's family, and their Feng family doesn't want to have quarrel with the Hou's family, so if they want to do something, they will always write to ask for instructions first.

Ming Tan thinks this is very good, as long as Ming Chu doesn't cause trouble, she doesn't intend to argue with him too much.

After speaking clearly, Mrs. Pei mentioned Shen Hua unsurprisingly: "Her pregnancy looks very good this time, with a pointed belly. If it is not well-preserved, it will be a boy. The grandchildren of the Feng family do not have a boy. If they give birth to a big Fat boy, Mrs. Feng is afraid that she will hand over all the power of managing the family to Ah Hua.

"Of course, it's also good for a girl. Her family Erlang said earlier that he likes little girls, and it's good to have a daughter. In short, as long as they can be born safely, it's good. And Ah Hua is blessed, and the other people vomit It's dark, and there's only bile left, and she can't eat anything, but she hasn't vomited for a few days, and now her appetite is good. Last time I saw her, she was rounded, and she was a sensible person in her stomach."

Ming Tan Chuchu heard nothing, and agreed.

But Mrs. Pei immediately mentioned that the wedding wine she drank at her mother's house this time was the twins' full moon wine, and she kept talking about how cute and clever the twins were...Ming Tan gradually realized that. The meaning is coming.

Sure enough, as soon as the conversation changed, Mrs. Pei looked at her stomach and asked tentatively: "Speaking of which, you have been married to the prince for some time, and there is no movement at all?"

Ming Tan shook his head and said hesitantly: "My husband said that I am young and I am not in a hurry, and also said that it is not beneficial for a woman to conceive early."

Mrs. Pei sighed, and said pitifully: "That's because the prince loves you. You are young, but at the prince's age, many children from other families can go to school. How can you not be in a hurry."

But this is probably because he married late. Even if she married and was happy immediately, the child would not be able to study. Ming Tan thought silently in his heart.

Seeing that Ming Tan was silent, Mrs. Pei babbled on for a long time, it was nothing more than old sayings that children are important, and that the back house needs to have children by its side.

Ming Tan always respected her, but he didn't refute her, he was dizzy and reluctantly drank tea to agree with her.

After lunch, Ming Tan finally breathed a sigh of relief, she led Lue back to the Zhaoshui courtyard to have a rest, and by the way, someone tidied up the old things in the courtyard.

"By the way, watch carefully. If you see the string of forbidden steps I wore when I came back from Hanyan Temple, tell me."

Lue agreed, but her eyes couldn't see it. Her young lady had too many things. After opening the boxes, they were still full of beautiful things. Besides, she didn't even remember what the young lady wore when she went to Hanyan Temple. all over.

After all, Ming Tan has sharp eyes——

"stop."

She got up suddenly, walked to a sandalwood box, and looked through the clothes.

That's right, when she went to Hanyan Temple, she was wearing this dress, and the traces of being trampled on were still there, and the one that was stacked underneath was the one she changed into in the wing room later.

Then she opened the brocade box in the box.

Unsurprisingly, there is a string of exquisite and complicated bans lying in the brocade box, which still look very unique today.

Ming Tan picked it up and looked at it carefully.

The sunlight came in from outside the Mingjian room, dazzling the heavy steps. Her eyes moved inch by inch, but she still couldn't find the long black jade tablet that should be on it. Finally, her eyes stopped at On the small gap on the lower left side—

This place is empty, it should be missing an accessory.

She suddenly remembered the jade tablet in Jiang Xu's pocket.