The Concubine in the Palace_The Feast of Masks【Complete】(129)

There were several people sitting in the hall.

The first seat was the Duke of Ningguo and his wife.

The Duke of Ningguo had white hair and beard, but his face was resolute. It can be seen that he was a tough man when he was young. Even now that he is old, his skin and flesh are a little loose, but his eyes are still bright and vigorous.

The wife of the Duke of Ningguo is also quite old, with a head full of silver hair, a Buddha head green headband inlaid with emeralds, and emerald earrings on her ears. She was wearing a stone blue swastika-shaped jacket with a continuous round flower pattern and a snow-blue horse-faced skirt. She had a round face and fine eyes. Although her face was full of wrinkles, her skin was fair and delicate. It can be seen that she was a kind old man.

Below the left hand sat a middle-aged couple. The man was about 30 years old, wearing a gray straight gown, with thick eyebrows, tiger eyes, a lion nose and a wide mouth, and a restrained gaze. Looking at his appearance, he was 70% like the Duke of Ningguo, and more like the Duke of Ningguo when he was older.

The woman sitting next to him was obviously his wife. She was as plump as snow, with fine eyebrows and eyes. She wore a ginger-yellow jacket with floral patterns, which was decent but plain.

The woman sitting opposite them was a chubby woman in her forties, who was dressed very eye-catchingly. She wore a jacket with golden patterns, an indigo skirt, and a full set of red gold and red gem headdress on her head, which made her look rich and noble.

In fact, the woman's dress was not abrupt, which was just in line with the status of the Duke's Mansion. It was just that she was the only one in the room who was dressed brightly, so people could see her at a glance.

Yao Niang thought to herself that this was probably the grandparents of the Prince of Jin, as well as his second uncle, second aunt, and the widowed eldest aunt.

When he got up early this morning, the Prince of Jin told her about the general situation of the Duke of Ning's Mansion, but he only said a few words and did not elaborate.

Sure enough, when the Princess of Jin led her to pay her respects in front, she called her like this.

"Hurry up and don't bow. It's so late, don't bow down to the baby in your belly." When it was Yao Niang's turn to bow, Ningguogong's wife reached out to help her.

Madam Shen Er had a flash of embarrassment on her face, and hurriedly stepped forward: "Bow, bow, just bow to your parents. As for me and your second uncle, you don't have to do it. Just think of it as our feelings for mother."

As she spoke, she winked at Ningguogong's wife, and Ningguogong's wife realized that the Princess of Jin had bowed before, and now a little concubine was not allowed to bow. Isn't it a clear difference in treatment.

It was also because Ningguogong's wife had been at the border in her early years, and she didn't pay attention to the rules. She just thought that Yao Niang was already late, so she blurted out the words.

As she spoke, Yao Niang had already bowed. Not only did she bow to Ningguogong and Ningguogong's wife, but she also bowed to Shen Erye and Shen Ermai. Because Shen Dafu had been sitting on the side, and Shen Ermai stood up, she was the last to bow to Shen Dafui.

Madam Shen accepted the salute calmly. When Yao Niang stood up, she raised her eyebrows and said, "That's right. You can't just pretend that nothing happened because your elders didn't let you salute."

After that, she smiled and said to Lady Ningguo: "Mother, you too, Yan Ru has already saluted, but you didn't let her. You can't treat one differently just because she's pregnant and the other one is."

This was a bit embarrassing. I don't know what Madam Shen was thinking. She actually said such a thing.

Madam Ningguo was embarrassed and her face turned red. She wanted to say something, but she stopped talking.

Madam Shen was busy trying to smooth things over: "Sister-in-law, mother saw that Yao Niang was in her advanced period and was afraid that she would have a miscarriage." She also explained to Princess Jin: "Yan Ru, please don't get me wrong."

But this situation was awkward to begin with, and it couldn't be eased by just a few words.

Yao Niang was also very embarrassed, and she felt like she was the target of public criticism.

Fortunately, Madam Shen Da did not say anything shocking again, and Madam Shen Er tried to smooth things over, and the Princess of Jin did not show any sign of minding, so the incident was over.

Madam Shen Er took Xiao Bao and went to Lady Ningguo to show her: "Mother, how much does he look like the prince when he was a child?"

Lady Ningguo was old, but her body was healthy, but her eyes were not so good. She looked for a long time before she could see clearly, her eyes suddenly turned red, and she murmured: "Like, really like!"

Rather than saying that Xiao Bao looked like the Prince of Jin, it would be better to say that he looked more like Concubine De, like Concubine De Shen Luan, the only jewel in the eye of Lady Ningguo.

Lady Ningguo only gave birth to two sons and one daughter in her life. The eldest son died in battle, and Shen Luan was even more miserable, dying at a young age. Now only the youngest Master Shen Er is left.

Thinking of the past, Lady Ningguo began to cry. Duke Ning, who had been silent the whole time, frowned at her and said in a hoarse voice, "Why are you crying!"

Finally, he added, "Your eyes are not good anymore, and you are still crying!"

It is better to say that the eyes of the Duke Ning are damaged by crying rather than being old and blurry.

"Mother, please stop scaring the child." Madam Shen Er also advised beside her.

Mother Ning hurriedly wiped her tears with a handkerchief, saying, "Stop crying, stop crying, don't scare my Xiaobao." Seeing Xiaobao stretching out his little hand to touch her face, she looked kind and smiled to coax him, "Xiaobao also knows how to feel sorry for his great-grandmother and how to wipe her tears."

Madam Shen Da sneered, stood up, and left without saying anything to anyone.

The scene suddenly became awkward again. The Duke Ning was stunned at first, and then sighed weakly.

Madam Shen Er said, "Mother, it's time for you to take the medicine. Your daughter-in-law will help you go in to take the medicine."

Mrs. Ning Guogong waved her hand: "It's just a medicine, I still need you to accompany me. You stay and talk to Yanru, ask Yao Niang to accompany me in, and take Xiaobao with me so as not to disturb your conversation."

Mrs. Shen Er knew that Mrs. Ning Guo had something to say to Yao Niang, so she didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned around and pulled Princess Jin and asked her to go to her yard to talk.

Princess Jin left with Mrs. Shen Er, while Yao Niang moved Mrs. Ning Guogong to the inner room. As for Ning Guogong and Shen Erye, their men have their own places to go.

Mrs. Ning Guogong asked her maid to sit on the red sandalwood open-carved lotus Arhat bed. She pointed to the seat opposite and asked Yao Niang to sit down too.

A maid brought tea and a fruit plate, and a girl in a blue shirt lifted Mrs. Ning Guogong's legs and placed them on the footrest so that she could feel more comfortable. As for Xiaobao, he was still sitting in the arms of Mrs. Ning Guogong, holding a piece of pastry in his hand and biting it in small bites.

"This child is really strong. Thank you for raising him well. I have also heard that Tang'er's child has treated you badly and made you and your son live outside for a long time."

Yao Niang was a little embarrassed, lowered her head and whispered: "It's not a bad treatment, Your Highness didn't mean it."

"As long as you don't blame him, it's not easy for Tang'er's child." Mrs. Ning Guogong sighed and said a few words: Concubine De died young, and the Shen family has been at the border and has no way to take care of the young Prince Jin. People grow up in the palace.

"That place is a cannibal place, and I was eaten by Luan'er. But at the time, the Shen family was at the border, and they were foreign ministers, so they were not willing to do anything. Fortunately, Tang'er was able to live up to his expectations."

Yao Niang just listened silently. She didn't know that King Jin's experience was so complicated. In her mind, the princes were all superior beings and omnipotent. She never expected that such a thing would happen in the past.

"Your aunt, don't blame her. She has resentment in her heart. This resentment has always existed in her heart, so her mind is easy to be unclear. In fact, she used to have a good character, and she was not like this usually."

Yaoniang nodded repeatedly. She never liked to argue with others. Besides, Mrs. Shen was also an elder, so she couldn't argue with her. Ning Guogong's residence didn't come every day, so she didn't take it to heart at all.

Although Mrs. Ning Guo Gong is dim-sighted, she can see that Yao Niang is a demure character. She patted her hand and said, "Just don't blame her. In fact, she is not targeting Tang'er, but..."

Mrs. Ning Guogong didn't say anything else. Yao Niang was curious, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions.

In fact, Xiaobao understood what was going on, but it was a bit far gone.

Ning Guogong was a veteran of the two dynasties. He had fought on the battlefield for many years, fought in the south and in the north, and made countless contributions to the court.

All members of the Shen family were loyal and loyal, stationed at the border all year round to resist the Tatars coming from the north.

If one has high merit, he will outshine his master. This is something that has happened in all dynasties. In order to reduce the current fear, the only daughter of the Shen family was sent to the palace, and the Shen family was even more cautious about their words and deeds, for fear of arousing suspicion.

But the suspicion still existed. If it weren't for the fear of backlash from the Shen family, fear of turmoil at the border and attracting gangsters into the house, Emperor Hongjing would probably have dealt with the Shen family long ago.

This situation lasted until King Jin grew up. After King Jin began to show his outstanding military talent, Emperor Hongjing made up his mind. And this idea was carried out step by step due to the intentional realization of the Shen family and the deliberate actions of Emperor Hongjing.

The fiefdom of the King of Jin was deliberately located in Jinzhou. The moment the King of Jin established the feudal vassal, it was the time when the Shen family was disbanded and returned to their fields.

But at that time, the Shen family was almost dead, and the Shen family had very few men. Ning Guogong's brother and two sons died in the battle, and Ning Guogong's younger brother and only son died in the battle. Ning Guogong's eldest son, the eldest son Shen Heng, died in the battle.

Only Mr. Shen was left, and he was still prevented from practicing martial arts because he hit Mrs. Xiao Ning.

The Shen family spent their blood in exchange for the hereditary title of Ning Guogong, and the Shen family's old branches that had been operating at the border for many years were all handed over to the King of Jin.

This is also the main reason why among the vassal kings, King Jin has the strongest military force. This is also one of the reasons why Mrs. Shen is full of resentment and always looking for trouble.

In her eyes, people named Zhao are all a bunch of bastards. The old one tricked her husband to death, and the younger one took her husband's things.

The reason why Xiaobao knows this is because in his previous life, he repeatedly saw Mrs. Shen running rampant in the palace and wanted to give his niece to his father as the queen.