Chapter 239 Concubine Rong Said that the Xie Family's Daughter Has a Red Mole
It was the first time for Shen Ningning to enter Concubine Rong's palace.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a small indoor rockery for viewing placed directly opposite the door. With the gurgling water in the fish tank, there was a pleasant aroma that hit my nostrils.
A screen with flowers and a full moon stands behind the viewing tank, seeming to block out the biting cold outside.
Shen Ningning rubbed her cold face with her small hands and breathed out a warm breath.
The eldest palace maid said: "Your Majesty, the princess and my cousin are here."
Concubine Rong's cordial call came from the room: "The tea soup is also ready. Come in quickly."
Shen Ningning was still a little restrained, but Qi Xiuwei, as if she was at her own home, took Shen Ningning's little hand and said, "Come on, have a taste, the tea made by my aunt is delicious."
After walking around the screen, Shen Ningning realized that the fragrance she smelled at the door was actually coming from the tea brewed by Concubine Rong.
Under the large, semi-open window, there was an Arhat bed and a small square table, on which a small red clay stove was steaming.
Concubine Rong sat next to her and greeted the two of them over with a smile.
Shen Ningning asked curiously: "How can you cook the fragrance of flowers?"
Concubine Rong looked at her with a gentle smile: "The princess has a really good nose. I added plum blossoms and dried gardenias to the silver-tip tea soup."
"Not only does it smell refreshing, but after drinking it, it can drive away the cold and generate heat." As she said this, she handed over two cups.
Qi Xiuwei and Shen Ningning sat opposite Concubine Rong. The two little girls were holding hot fragrant tea and sipping it.
After taking a few sips of the tea, she felt completely refreshed. Shen Ningning exclaimed with emotion: "It tastes really good."
Qi Xiuwei immediately smiled at her and said, "If you like it, why don't you just come and drink it every day?"
Shen Ningning blinked her big, round and dark eyes: "Then how can I trouble the queen every day?"
"Why not? As my cousin's escort, you can drink it every day."
After hearing what Qi Xiuwei said, Shen Ningning immediately put down the tea cup silently.
Concubine Rong saw it calmly and said with a smile: "Weier is recommending the princess to her aunt, isn't she?"
Qi Xiuwei nodded: "Aunt, if the princess can stay, we can be my cousin's female officers together."
At this moment, Shen Ningning, with her pink lips and waxy lips, mustered up the courage to say, "But I don't want to stay."
There was a brief moment of silence in the room.
Concubine Rong asked first: "What's wrong, Princess? Is there anything difficult?"
Qi Xiuwei was stunned for a moment before she realized: "Ning Ning wants to be a female official for the prince!"
But Shen Ningning shook her head: "I don't want to be anyone's female officer for the time being, because I haven't learned it yet."
"Usually in class, I have to drag the cart my brother made for me so I can move the books."
She stretched out her two chubby hands: "Besides, my wife, look, my hands can only hold one pen at a time, so I can't help the prince read."
"My eldest aunt said that a female official has to hold books for the prince and sharpen ink for him, but how can I be so busy!"
Concubine Rong was stunned, then she covered her lips and laughed softly, and the maids around her also pursed their lips and snickered.
Princess Funing is so cute, she even refuses people with her childish talk in a serious manner.
Concubine Rong smiled and said, "Don't worry Ning Ning, I already have a candidate in mind for the female officer."
She looked at Qi Xiuwei: "This child Wei'er begs her father to deliver letters to me every day. She must be this female official. I really can't refuse."
"I heard that she got good results in all the assessments this time. I think that the position of female officer should belong to her. I asked you two to come here just to enjoy tea."
When Shen Ningning heard this, she felt relieved, and immediately the smile on her face became sweeter and cuter.
"Thank you, ma'am, the tea is so delicious." She was finally willing to pick up the teacup again.
After chatting for a while, Concubine Rong said to Qi Xiuwei: "You should go back first. I have a few words to say to Ning Ning alone."
Qi Xiuwei has a sweet and quiet temperament. When she heard the words, she stood up immediately.
"Aunt, Naweier has resigned." As she said that, she blinked at Shen Ningning twice, then followed the palace maid and left.
After she left, Shen Ningning took out the wooden round sign with the deer engraved on it and placed it on the table.
"My Lady, this thing should be returned to His Highness Ninth Prince. I know His Highness wants to thank me for helping him feed the deer, but since I am not his female officer, I shouldn't take his things."
Concubine Rong's gentle and deep gaze was as dark as the sea water.
She glanced at the wooden sign and smiled: "You kid, you ask a lot of yourself. Is this a small thing worth returning?"
However, she did not force Shen Ningning to accept it.
Concubine Rong looked out the window. The north wind blew through the courtyard, bringing snow to fall.
The charcoal in the small red clay stove on the table seemed to be almost burned out, and the bubbling sound gradually disappeared.
At some point, everyone in the palace had retreated, leaving only a maid standing outside the screen, motionless, like a sculpture.
"Hey." Concubine Rong sighed first: "Princess, don't blame me for being too talkative. I called you here because I want to take a good look at you. You and my sister are really similar. resemblance."
Shen Ningning opened her dark eyes: "Is it the godmother's deep thoughts?"
Concubine Rong nodded, looking at the courtyard with a somewhat nostalgic and sad look.
"I'm afraid Prime Minister Xie won't tell you something. The reason why my sister broke up with the Qi family was because my mother wanted to marry her to a distant relative of our Qi family."
"But at that time, my sister had already made a promise with Prime Minister Xie, how could she accept someone else?"
"My sister fought hysterically for this matter, but my mother had the final say at home, and my father couldn't do anything about her, so my sister left with Prime Minister Xie in a rage."
"This made my parents and relatives in the clan angry. As the saying goes, marrying a wife and running away as a concubine. They think that my sister left with a man regardless of her reputation, which would affect the reputation of the Qi family."
"But I think that my sister was brave for her beloved, and I have always envied her." At this point, Concubine Rong raised her hand and wiped the crystal from the corner of her eyes.
Shen Ningning held the teacup and listened carefully.
The big eyes and long eyelashes only blinked occasionally, and seemed to be listening very attentively.
She also wanted to know about Shen Siyi's past.
Seeing this, Concubine Rong smiled slightly: "I've gone too far. After my sister severed her relationship with the Qi family, she became the wife of the Xie family."
"In the past few years after her marriage, she gave birth to three children for Prime Minister Xie, but the youngest daughter disappeared a few years ago. You should also know about this. My sister was so sad that she drowned."
"When I saw you, I felt an indescribable intimacy, because your eyebrows and eyes look so similar to my sister's, so I gave you the silver ruyi before."
"But I didn't expect that you are not her biological daughter. I was very confused. Why is there such a coincidence in the world?"
Outside, the sky was covered with thick clouds, and the north wind was howling, making the unlit hall dark.
Concubine Rong sat in the half-bright light, with her eyebrows slightly drooping, compassionate and sad.
"Ningning, I suspect that Prime Minister Xie has made a mistake? You should be his daughter."
"Otherwise, how could you have the same red mole on your hand as his biological daughter?" Concubine Rong said, pulling up Shen Ningning's little hand.
With the palm facing up, the small and delicate red mole is extremely conspicuous in the cold and dim light.