Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 378 Mrs. Di

Because it was the first day of the new year, each family only brought their own sons and daughters to the palace, and did not bring along their young girls.

The Queen Mother was tired of seeing that old man's orange peel face, so she just asked briefly about each family's situation and asked if they were all right. She also asked if they had just seen their children and if they were all right, then she planned to serve tea.

Unexpectedly, Yang Lifei's mother, Han, the wife of Guanglu Temple Shaoqing Yang, stood up with a smile and enthusiastically praised the empress dowager, saying how kind and gentle she was, how she loved the fourth prince born to Yang Lifei, and how grateful she and her son were.

The queen mother looked at her expressionlessly, waiting for a quarter of an hour until Han finished speaking, then she said, "Sit down and have some tea."

He didn't even say a good word to her.

The wives of the concubines nearby couldn't help but laugh secretly.

Originally, the mothers of the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince had passed away, and the Fifth Prince died young, so the women of these three families kept a low profile and did not enter the palace.

There were only three concubines with sons left. Kou Zhaorong's father was the governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu, and Dou Jieyu's father was the prefect of Guizhou. Both families were living in other places.

Only Concubine Yang Lifei's mother's family was in Beijing.

What's more, apart from the crown prince, she is the mother of several princes and has the highest position.

Therefore, only his family can show off so blatantly.

Now that the Queen Mother no longer pampers this foolish woman, everyone is naturally happy.

Especially Queen Wan's sister-in-law, Di, seeing the Queen Mother's actions, she naturally felt that the dignity of her sister-in-law was maintained and was very pleased.

He wanted to flatter the Queen Mother, but he knew that this old lady was the most difficult to deal with. After thinking about it, he turned his attention to the three girls around her.

Di smiled and said, "In the past, when she came here on New Year's Day, the Queen Mother would only look at us, a group of gray-faced women, and she didn't like to keep us around!

"Good year! This year, the Queen Mother has three more thoughtful and caring people around her!

"Every one of them is so pretty and pleasing to the eye, and even we feel so in love when we look at them.

"Don't be upset, Queen Mother. I wanted to take a few more glances yesterday, but unfortunately there were too many people. Today, I will sit for a while longer, rest my eyes, and have fun with the Queen Mother!"

These words neither criticized Daiyu nor the other two, but praised them. However, every word was addressed to the Empress Dowager. He did not bypass the Empress Dowager and talk directly to the three of them, which showed that he knew his limits.

The Queen Mother couldn't help but laugh sincerely and nodded, saying, "That's exactly what you said.

“In the past years, my place was quiet and the people who came most often and stayed longer were all old sisters.

“But people of our age have experienced so much and seen so much, so it’s meaningless to get together.

"This year I have two more people here, Zhaoqing and Yimin, and my life has suddenly become more lively and interesting.

"Since you can see this and say it so sincerely, then you should stay for a while! Come with me and chat with the sisters."

Di smiled and agreed repeatedly.

Daiyu and Tanchun looked at Di and were deeply surprised.

From last night till now, even when chatting with the Supreme, the Queen Mother has never spoken so many words in one breath.

Although this Di is flattering, she is very smart!

With such a smart sister-in-law, the brother shouldn't be too stupid. Then why couldn't Empress Wan control the harem after so many years?

There was a hint of doubt in Daiyu's eyes.

The people sitting below had already begun to follow Di's words and started to praise Daiyu and Tanchun, and also mentioned Hongchang.

Those who are quick to speak praised the woman's gentleness, thoughtfulness, understanding, courtesy, filial piety and other qualities, while those who are slow to speak and stupid have nothing to say and start talking about her appearance.

Han looked at Daiyu with a forced smile and said, "Our Princess Zhaoqing's appearance and character are truly unique.

"She is more clever and skillful than others! Look at this red makeup, so gorgeous and festive! If I were a man, I would have proposed to the Queen Mother long ago!"

After saying this, he burst into laughter.

Everyone felt that there was something wrong with what was said, but they couldn't tell what was wrong, so they could only force themselves to chuckle along.

Daiyu's face stiffened slightly as she spoke.

The Queen Mother glanced at Han, stretched out her hand to pinch Daiyu's cheek, and smiled to comfort her: "Yes, it looks good."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, Concubine Zhou Hui's mother Zhang followed suit and said with a smile: "Isn't it! How good are you at dressing up?!

"If my silly daughter had half the intelligence of Princess Zhaoqing, she wouldn't have been in the palace for so many years, held the position of concubine, and still be childless and unloved..."

The hall fell silent.

The Queen Mother looked at Zhang coldly.

Zhang looked back at the Queen Mother in confusion.

The next moment, the Queen Mother turned to Han and smiled: "So when you praise Zhao Qing for her beauty, you mean the same thing as her?"

Han was speechless. Although she didn't understand exactly what the Queen Mother meant, she decisively drew a line between herself and Zhang: "No, no, no! That's not what I meant!"

The Queen Mother sneered and looked at Zhang again: "Zhang, are you complaining on behalf of Concubine Hui?"

Resentment.

This is the most unfounded crime against a concubine in the palace, and also the crime that is most likely to implicate the family.

Moreover, this charge is the most difficult to defend.

Even if the defense is successful, this will become the most untouchable thorn in the side of life. If you are not careful, it will be brought up again and become a more serious or even fatal charge.

Zhang suddenly felt dizzy and her vision went dark. She slid off her seat and fell to the ground, turning into a puddle of mud!

"Empress Dowager, that's not what I meant! Concubine Hui, Madam Hui, I definitely didn't..."

"Okay." The Queen Mother looked very unhappy, turned around to look at Daiyu, and laughed mockingly, "Did you see it?

"In this world, people are grateful for a little bit of rice and hate for a big bit of rice. Good people are bullied and good horses are ridden.

"You have lived in my Yanjia Palace for less than a month, and already someone has started to make trouble.

"This is because they are afraid that if I, the Queen Mother, have more helpers around me, it will be harder to control me in the harem in the future!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the female members of the imperial concubines' families had no choice but to stand up, kneel down and apologize, asking the Queen Mother not to think too much about it.

Di was particularly sincere and even choked up: "I failed to discipline the concubines, so that they failed to persuade the family to be gentle, respectful and frugal, and even made the Queen Mother sad. It's all the Queen's fault!

"As the eldest sister-in-law, I will certainly advise the Queen to be filial to the Queen Mother, so as not to let down the Queen Mother's protection for so many years!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed deeply and continued to sob, "I only hope that the Empress Dowager will take care of herself and be patient and teach these ignorant younger generations!"

The Queen Mother said nothing.

Daiyu and Tanchun opened their eyes wide in surprise and stared at Di curiously. After a while, they both turned their gaze to Cheng Qian!

He has good eyesight, decisiveness and the ability to speak. He is so amazing!

Cheng Qian raised her eyebrows, smiled, and nodded slightly.

Hongchang also saw the looks in their eyes, stood up with a smile, and whispered to "comfort" the empress dowager: "Don't be angry in the New Year..."

The kneeling people heard it and hurriedly shouted: "May the Queen Mother take care of herself!"

The Queen Mother then snorted, but she didn't even look at the crowd: "For Madam Di's sake, I won't bother with you.

"If you are stupid, you should stay out of the house.

“It’s an eyesore!”