The next day, Tang Shishi got up early, put on a fashionable white gold woven long coat, and wore a lotus-colored dress underneath, and went to the Forbidden City to greet the Empress Dowager.
Empress Dowager Yao is the grandmother of the current emperor and should be called the Grand Empress Dowager according to etiquette. However, Empress Dowager Yao drove the emperor's birth mother to death. She was not called the Grand Empress Dowager, but she was still the Empress Dowager, and she was still in charge of the court as the Empress Dowager.
Tang Shishi handed over her name tag, and soon someone came to greet Tang Shishi. The woman looked twenty or so, dressed in a green palace dress, her hair was tight, and she gently greeted Tang Shishi.
"How is Princess Jing?"
Tang Shishii leaned sideways and nodded: "This Princess is good."
"The Empress Dowager has been waiting for the princess for a long time." the woman smiled, stepped away and said, "Qinwangfei, please come with nubi."
Tang Shishi followed the woman to Ci Ning Palace. Tang Shishi is no stranger to Ci Ning Palace. When she first entered the palace five years ago, she lived in Chuxiu Palace with many beautiful women, practicing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and etiquette every day. Chuxiu Palace is a beauty with serious internal fighting. If you want to have a good life, the best thing to do is to please Empress Dowager Yao.
Tang Shishi doesn't know how many times she has walked from the side corridor of Ci Ning Palace, but this time, Tang Shishi took another path and entered Ci Ning Palace from the outer gate.
In Cining Palace, Emperess Dowager Yao was teasing her parrot, and Feng Momo stood outside the curtain and reported: "Your Highness, Princess Jing is here."
"Here she is." Empress Dowager Yao slowly retracted her nails, washed her hands, and said unhurriedly, "Let her in."
Tang Shishi stepped in front of Ci Ning Palace, the servants opened the thick curtain, and a heat wave swept, which made people feel dizzy. Tang Shishi then entered. She kept her eyes down, vaguely watching the figure swaying on the floor, and immediately bowed and saluted: "This Princess sees the empress dowager."
No one answered, but Tang Shishi was not in a hurry, staring down at the cracks on the bricks on the ground, maintaining her position steadily. After a while, there was a gentle and slow voice: "Princess Jing is here, why didn't you say so? Please get up."
"This Princess dare not." Tang Shishi still lowered her eyes and said, "This Princess has admired the Empress Dowager for a long time. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager allowed me to go back to Jinling this year. This Princess arrived in Jinling yesterday and should have went yesterday. May the Empress Dowager pardon my sins."
"What crime is there to be forgiven?" Empress Dowager Yao said slowly, "It's cold outside, go into the Nuan Pavilion and talk."
Tang Shishi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said again: "Thank the Empress Dowager."
Tang Shishi walked into the hood and passed through the carved door. The fragrance inside was more rich, and the servants also increased in number. The servants saw her, and they all smiled: "Princess Jing."
Tang Shishi responded with a smile: "Feng Momo, Sulan Momo."
In front, a middle-aged woman wearing a navy blue skirt and a long ocharf green jacket leaned in front, peeling chestnuts, with several court ladies under her feet, quietly massaging the woman's legs. Tang Shishi immediately recognized that this was Empress Dowager Yao. She bowed her head and greeted Empress Dowager Yao: "This Princess sees the Empress Dowager." (T/N: I don't get this part...didn't she greet her at the door)
Empress Dowager Yao's long nails pried open a chestnut shell, slowly peeled off the skin, and said: "Princess Jing is a rare visitor, sit down."
A maid moved a seat for Tang Shishi. After thanking the maid, she gently sat on the edge of the seat, occupying less than one-third of it: "Time flies so fast. In a blink of an eye, this princess has been away from the palace for more than two years. In the past two years, has everything been going well?"
"Everything is good for Aijia." Empress Dowager Yao put down a piece of chestnut and smiled. "Speaking of which, there are only two things that can't be taken care of. One is the emperor and the other is Prince Jing. Both of these people are in the hearts of Aijia. It's a pity, both of them don't have heirs. But Prince Jing recently had a son, yet the Emperor still doesn't have children under his knee."
No one dared to respond to Empress Dowager Yao's words. Tang Shishi smiled and said: "The Empress Dowager is too worried, you are vigorous, and the emperor is also full of spirits. The Emperor and Empress have been together for a long time. What's more, the emperor and the Empress are childhood sweethearts, Their relationship is deep, and after the new year, the Empress Dowager will hopefuly be able to hold her great-grandson."
The Empress Dowager completely peeled off the chestnut shell, carefully cleaned up the crumbs, and sighed: "Aijia is really hoping for good news next year. It's a pity that the emperor is not in the mood for love. It's really sad."
Tang Shishi followed her persuasion and said: "The Emperor is a young man, yet he has already become a man of martial arts. In fact, he is better than a generation of emperors. What is there to worry about?"
Empress Dowager Yao laughed, and said: "Martial arts, Aijia does not expect him to do much. As long as Aijia can worry less, Aijia will burn incense and recite the Buddha. Aijia doesn't know when the emperor will grow up. Just like his uncle Prince Jing." (T/N: Isn't the Emperor, 14 or 15? Ya'll are rushing him too much)
The words of the Empress Dowager are full of thorns. Tang Shishi did not dare take it hard. She smiled and said: "The Empress Dowager has wronged the emperor. The emperor is the emperor of a country. No matter how trivial or small, the emperor must decide on all matters in this world. And Prince Jing. The Prince is just a vassal, just following the arrangement of the emperor and empress dowager, how can he compare with the emperor?"
Empress Dowager Yao laughed. She put the chestnuts on the jade plate and said: "You have good eloquence. You have not changed at all in the years since you left the palace. Give this chestnut to Princess Jing to eat."
Feng Momo stood, bent over to hold the jade plate, and placed it in front of Tang Shishi. Tang Shishi stood up and thanked her, holding the chestnut kernels with her nails, and putting the small pieces into her mouth.
The things that Empress Dowager Yao peeled by herself would not be poisonous, right? But Tang Shishi changed her mind and thought that even if it was poisonous, she was eating it too, so she was immediately relieved and put the chestnut in her mouth with confidence. Empress Dowager Yao saw that Tang Shishi was eating, her lips smiled slightly, and she asked, "Why are you the only one here today?"
Empress Dowager Yao stopped talking about high-sounding clichés, and started chatting with her. This is a good thing, at least it means that Tang Shishi has passed the first few hurdles. Tang Shishi covered her mouth with her hand, swallowed the chestnut completely, took up the tea to moisturize her throat, and said: "This Princess wanted to bring Zhao Zigao to be blessed by Her Highness, but the child is sick and troubled and crying all the time. Yesterday, he cried all night. This Princess was afraid that he would pass on the sickness to the empress dowager, so she left him in the house, and waited for him to be stronger before coming to see the empress dowager."
After all, Empress Dowager Yao was a person who had given birth. She said, "Children are sick and a lot of things happen when they are young, and they will also get sick if they are unhappy. He will be fine when he gets used to the climate of Jinling."
Tang Shishi looked relieved and said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is the most blessed person in the world. I hope he will get better sooner so that he can greet the Empress Dowager as well."
Empress Dowager Yao and Tang Shishi talked about parenting again. Both of them met, and it was very harmonious. Although Empress Dowager Yao summoned Zhao Chengjun and Tang Shishi to return to Jinling in the name of Zhao Zigao, she actually didn't care about Zhao Zigao's situation. It's not her grandson, why would she care?
Empress Dowager Yao asked Tang Shishi: "How have you been in Prince Jing's mansion all these years?"
Tang Shishi sighed softly and said, "Thanks to the blessing of the empress dowager, this princess is lucky enough to be spoiled. But the other sisters have not been able to survive, and they are ashamed of the empress dowager."
"What's to be ashamed of?" The Empress Dowager leaned on the table and said casually, "Life and death are fate, wealth is in the sky, whether they can be favored, three points depend on themselves, and seven points depend on luck. If they can't be favored, it can be seen that it is. There is no blessing in life, and no one can blame others."
Tang Shishi should be relieved, and she can't help but feel sad. She originally wanted to find out what happened to the beauties who were sent back to Jinling, but now listening to Empress Dowager Yao's words, she doesn't seem to need to inquire. The ten young girls who were right in their youth were completely eaten by the Empress Dowager.
She, Zhou Shunhua, Ren Yujun and Ji Xinxian lived well enough, so they survived. If you don't survive, you deserve it.
Empress Dowager Yao asked again: "How does Prince Jing treat you? Aijia remembered that when Prince Jing was still young, he had eyes above the top and was very picky and dismissed anything. Aijia had sighed with Nanyang before, not knowing what kind of woman would enter Prince Jing's eyes."
The 'Nanyang' that Empress Dowager Yao mentioned is the princess of Nanyang, the daughter of the Empress Dowager, and the biological mother of the current empress. Later, Princess Nanyang married back to Yao's family, and she and the Empress Dowager were completely in the same boat.
Tang Shishi deliberately said: "For the sake of the child, Prince Jing is very kind to this princess."
Empress Dowager Yao smiled and said: "Don't be humble. Aijia heard from Feng Momo that Prince Jing loves you very much. He hold your hand it in his hand for fear of falling, holding it in his mouth for fear of melting, and pampering you very much. It can be seen that as Prince Jing grows up, he naturally takes care of people. If he had the cold temper when he was still a teenager, I am afraid that Aijia would have a headache."
Tang Shishi docilely said: "The empress dowager is absurd, and this princess dare not be ashamed. This princess has a humble background, can rely on the support of the Empress Dowager today, and can now become Prince Jing's wife. This princess is already content, and dare not expect more."
"Why don't you dare to have extravagant expectations?" Empress Dowager Yao said lightly, "You are his main wife, and you deserve to enjoy the honor of Prince Jing's Mansion. I remember that your son finally had a name, right?"
Tang Shishi's heart moved, it turned out that this word was picked by Empress Dowager Yao. Tang Shishi became more alert and replied, "Yes."
"That's right. He is the righteous eldest son. He should be the Shizi. The son of a peasant woman of unknown origin, what right does he have to be in front of your son?"
Tang Shishi thought that Empress Dowager Yao and Zhao Chengjun were indeed from the same boat. Empress Dowager Yao wanted to use Tang Shishi to monitor Zhao Chengjun, but she was afraid that Tang Shishi would rebel, that she even thought of hanging Tang Shishi with her son. Being a mother naturally hopes that the child will be good in every possible way. Who can look at the titles not tempted?
With the capacity of Tang Shishi, she cannot shake Zhao Zixun's position that easily, so Tang Shishi could only rely on Empress Dowager Yao. With Zhao Zigao, Empress Dowager Yao has no worries about Tang Shishi's disobedience.
In addition to admiration, Tang Shishi couldn't say anything else. Tang Shishi showed hesitation in a timely manner, saying: "But after all, the Shizi grew up with the prince, and he has been the Shizi for more than ten years. There has been no mistake in these years..."
"So?" Empress Dowager Yao dismissed and sneered, "To put it bluntly, but an adopted son is not worth mentioning. Although the person who is the Shizi depends on Prince Jing, he must also seek the court's consent."
Tang Shishi lowered her eyes and said, "This Princess understands it. But this Princess is stupid and doesn't know how to do these things. This Princess is loyal to the Empress Dowager and has no two minds. Please enlighten me."
Empress Dowager Yao smiled with satisfaction and said: "Don't worry, anyone who is born will be able to do everything, just have to learn slowly. Men are unreliable, and you can only rely on your son so you must make him the next Prince Jing. Only in the future will you be able to enjoy your twilight years."
Tang Shishi smiled and said: "What the empress dowager said is that this princess is taught by herself."
"You were born with good fortune, and you are destined to be for something great." Empress Dowager Yao changed her voice, changing from intimidation to inducement, "The Tang family has moved to Jinling. You haven't seen any family members yet, right? In the future, have time to visit your family. It's a pity that Qi Jingsheng didn't pass the exam last year, but he is still young, and he can participate in three years again. At that time, Tang's family will have you, the princess, and an official's wife."
It's really a bright prospect, but there is no fluctuation in Tang Shishi's heart. The Tang family is prosperous, what does it matter to her? Could it be that the Tang family should be able to work hard with good students, continue to support the Tang family, and finally let the Su family's son inherit a large amount of family property?
Tang Shishi couldn't help rolling her eyes, but on the surface she looked sincere. Empress Dowager Yao put her clan as the most important thing all her life and regarded herself as one with the Yao family. She never expected that there would be a selfish person like Tang Shishi in the world. Empress Dowager Yao gave both kindness and power, feeling that she had completely grasped Tang Shishi, she held up the tea cup, revealing the intention of seeing her off.
Tang Shishi was very acquainted, so she took the initiative to resign without waiting for the Empress Dowager Yao to speak. After Tang Shishi walked out of the palace gate, she found that it was still early, and the sun had just hung in the air, and there was still a long time before noon that she and Zhao Chengjun had agreed upon.
Today, Zhao Chengjun was busy checking the department, and it was too early to leave. Tang Shishi looked at the sky and was too lazy to wait any longer, so she sent someone to send a letter to Zhao Chengjun, telling him not to come pick her up. After that, Tang Shishi boarded the carriage of the palace and told the coachman: "Go to Beimen Bridge."
The dynasty is strict in ethics, and women are not allowed to show their faces, and they must be accompanied by men when they go out. But there is not so much attention to going back to her natal home, as long as she has the consent of her in-laws.
The coachman responded and asked: "Wangfei, why are you going so far?"
Jinling City is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The Qinhuai River traverses east and west. Along the western section of the inner Qinhuai River is the residence of heroes and relatives. There are many princes, princesses, and dignitaries on both sides of the bank. The Mansion of Prince Jing is near the new bridge with the best scenery. The Beimen Bridge is a bit remote.
Tang Shishi gave the coachman the address Tang Yanyan gave her and said nonchalantly: "Go here."
"Yes." The coachman replied, and the driver turned the horse around and said diligently, "The Princess can sit down and rest."