259, Stories and Old Stories

The maid is helping Liu Huan with her medicine in the room, using a feather to gently brush over the red and swollen legs, while softly blowing to help relieve her pain.
Lin Mama did not bring the golden medicine, and Liu Huan did not expect the old lady to be able to help. After returning to the room, she took out a few silver coins and asked the maid to buy some from the imperial pharmacy. As a lowly palace maid, she couldn't afford the good medicine provided to the noble ladies.
Snakes have their own paths, mice have their own trails, and the lower-ranking people also have their own ways. When palace maids get sick, they are afraid they won't be able to keep their jobs, so they quietly seek help from the imperial pharmacy. Unless they are so sick that they can't get up, everyone chooses to quietly use some medicine. No one wants to be sent to the Xiguan Bureau for recuperation, because once they go in, very few are able to see the light of day again.
The staff at the Imperial Pharmacy understands the difficulties faced by palace servants and strive for fast and effective medication without using expensive herbs. They know that the palace servants do not have the means to prepare herbal decoctions, so they offer convenient pill forms of medication. They also have ointments to treat injuries, but some injured palace servants choose to endure the pain due to the pungent odor of the medicinal herbs.
Liu Huan is the personal maid of Queen Li, and apart from Lin Mamaye in the Jijiao Hall, she is the most reputable one. Even when she is off duty, there are young maids who willingly serve her in daily life. She has received the grace of the queen and can slowly recover from her injuries in her room. The young maids diligently attend to her every need, serving her tea, pouring water, buying medicine, and delivering meals, with everyone scrambling to help.
Lin maidservant's gravelly wailing seeped through the cracks in the doors and windows, sending the young palace maid into a panic. She lowered her voice and anxiously informed Liu Huan, "Everyone is saying that the queen consort has gone mad and has angered the king."
她说着话，手上的动作停了下来。失去了羽毛带来的轻柔抚慰，伤口的疼痛感又叫嚣着冒出头来。柳欢轻吸一口气，五官也皱了起来。
When the little palace maid heard the sound, she hurriedly lowered her head and blew gently on Liu Huan's wound. When Liu Huan's expression relaxed again, she re-started talking about the news she had heard in the imperial pharmacy.
The queen made unfounded remarks about the late king and the former empress, and was reprimanded by the emperor on the spot. However, the emperor sympathized with Queen Li's long-term illness and momentary confused state of mind, and only ordered her to reflect on her actions behind closed doors.
It is said that the king was originally going to punish the queen mother for her disrespect and lack of filial piety, but it was Lady Shuyuan and the crown prince who interceded on her behalf!" The young palace maid sighed. "I believe Lady Shuyuan still remembers the kindness from their past."
It is said that in the past, for the position of the central palace, Queen Li and Lady Shu Yuan had deep resentment. But now it seems not entirely true. It was previously mentioned that during the rebellion of the usurping king, Queen Li and Lady Shu Yuan were exiled. On their way back to the capital, they were pursued by the rebels. At that time, Queen Li risked her life to lead the pursuers away in order to protect the pregnant Lady Shu Yuan.
Willow responded with a faint voice and didn't join in the conversation. The news spread quickly throughout the White Moon City, like a fascinating story told by storytellers in tea houses and taverns, even the Imperial Pharmacy was knowledgeable enough to discuss it, evidently indicating that someone with motive was manipulating it.
The little palace maid was unaware and continued to speak to her. "The medicine boy said that when he was in the palace before, Queen Li often stayed in bed and could not get up. Her illness recurred for many years, getting better at times and worse at times. She didn't show her face at several festivals."
Although Liu Huan is not familiar with medical science, she has been serving Queen Li for a long time and has noticed some anomalies. Queen Li may be weak, but she is far from being bedridden. These remarks seem more like a deliberate guidance, and what is terrifying is that the layout had already begun before the king ascended to the throne.
Yan Huan gritted her teeth in frustration. She blamed herself for being too hasty and not investigating the past of the Qian residence before hastily joining Queen Li's camp.
Suddenly, Lin Mama outside the window shouted loudly, as if Queen Li had fainted. This was followed by a noise of running footsteps and banging on the palace door.
小宫女慌张站起来，正要出去一探究竟，却被柳欢一把拉住。
“有你什么事？”柳欢瞥她一眼，用力拽着她的手往下扯。
The maid is only responsible for cleaning the courtyard, and she doesn't even have the qualification to step into the palace gate on weekdays. The commotion outside is so great that it is clear that there is no shortage of people serving. She can't squeeze in, and she might even be complained about as a hindrance.
The little palace maid was stunned, and seeing Lius Happiness's bad complexion, she did not dare to offend her.
"What should we do in the future?" Lius Happiness's indifferent behavior made the little palace maid feel very uneasy.
Li Huan laughed, turned his head and snorted. "The king ordered the queen mother to reflect in seclusion, but the queen is still the queen, isn't she?"
Although the palace memorandum was withdrawn, as long as the king did not decree to depose the queen, Queen Li was still the nominal mother of the prince. She looked at it coldly, Shu Yuanfu was not a person who would kick someone when they were down. The queen mother only had the king in her eyes and never put Queen Li in her eyes. Instead, Queen Li was resentful and always trying to shake the position of the queen mother, which touched the king's nerve. However, the days in Jianjia Palace will not be worse than before. As long as Queen Li can be more restrained, they can still live a peaceful life.
Liuhuan thought of her past aspirations and smiled bitterly. She used to despise the dirty job in the kitchen and had to bribe the steward with half of her savings in order to be assigned to Queen Li's room. If she had known what today would be like, why would she have rushed to stand out...
Ever since the Tong family reached an understanding with Queen Li, they have been keeping a close eye on the happenings in Baiyue City.
When Tong Mingzhen entered the palace back then, the Duke Tong secretly sent a group of people in. Ironically, because Tong Mingzhen didn't receive favor at that time and was suppressed by the previous king for many years, these people didn't have a chance to show their abilities and instead stayed safely in the Six Shang Bureau.
The news from the palace was quickly placed on Tong Luling's desk, and the butler cat who delivered the message stood with bowed posture in front of the table. He crossed his legs and tried to minimize his presence, while nervously wiping away the cold sweat that kept popping up with his sleeve.
The messenger looked anxious and pleaded with a bitter face, "My master asked me to pass on a message. General Fang is keeping a close eye on things. For the sake of the Duke, it's best to stop any further communication between the two sides."
童律钟沉着脸，手中的纸仿佛有千钧重。看到消息的瞬间，他也是火冒三丈，深深替妹妹感到不值。大妹妹为何出宫修行，他再清楚不过。妹妹为了成全儿子的前程选择远离，如今她的儿子却以潜修为由，堂而皇之割舍母子亲缘。大王竟然狠心至此！
童律钟不关心大王对李王后的处置，他看到的是，大王对童家的敲打。大王借此重提旧事，请出被世人淡忘的玉牒，顺势与童家划清关系。
The King refused to be led by the nose by the Tong family in the future and decisively cut off the tangle with the knife sent by the Tong family.
Trapped in the Qian Mansion, Qin Jing completely extinguished the little luck in his heart after hearing the rumors. When he taught Queen Li to use public opinion to control the King, he should have thought of the day when public opinion would backfire.
In the Liang Mansion, Hu Yao was genuinely happy for Meng Xiao. She had received Meng Xiao's invitation earlier and had been counting the days until she could pay her respects.
On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head. Qian Yiqing entered the palace early to preside over the opening of the imperial study for the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.
In the past two months, Zhen'er had the privilege of "accompanying" the reading several times, and she had long dispelled the idea of ​​reading with her younger brothers. Meng Yi proposed to open a school in Jiu Hua Palace as the "study hall" for the princess, to be presided over by Qi Jiang and Tongyu.
臻儿尚不知道学堂教授什么课程，但听说是特意为她开设的，就高兴极了。
临近中午，崇仪又带着两个儿子回来和孟窅一起用午膳。
After giving birth, Meng Hao's body also became clean. To give birth to her daughter, her joints all over her body opened up. It is said that excessive force during the postpartum period can result in joint pain. The nurses all fought over who would hold the baby, and Meng Hao only has the privilege of holding her when sitting down. Even so, she is only allowed to hold the baby for a short period of 15 minutes.
Chong Yi still did not allow her to go out, so she walked back and forth in the hall every day, most of the time she went from the East Warming Pavilion to the West Warming Pavilion to see Dongge. When the father and son came back to eat, Meng Po walked out of the East Warming Pavilion to greet them.
When Ping'an saw his mother able to get up and happily run to surround Menghao, he felt relieved. Seeing Menghao lying in bed every day made him feel uneasy. Although the adults explained that his mother needed to rest in bed because she had been tired from giving birth to Dongge, he was always afraid. Now that he saw his mother able to walk again, it meant that her body was healed.
Meng Yao led Ping An to sit next to him.
Zhen Er was unwilling to fall behind and immediately directed the palace maid to move her seat to the gap between her parents.
A-Man had to sit on the other side of his father. The young prince thought of his youngest brother who could only drink milk. He suddenly became worried. His mother would surely feel sorry for the younger Winter Brother, and Ping An would cry again when he was pushed further away from the center of the table by his younger brothers in a few years…
For lunch, we had spring pancakes, and each person had a nine-grid food box in front of them for convenient pancake rolling. The dishes were all cut into thin strips. The top row included pine nut pork belly, marinated pork knuckles, and smoked chicken; the middle row included fried eggs, shredded pork with spinach, and chicken soup with shredded bamboo shoots; the bottom row included three vegetarian dishes, fried vermicelli, shredded cucumber, and vinegar-dressed mung bean sprouts.
孟窅还额外吩咐准备了一盘切成手指粗细的青红萝卜条。她给孩子们介绍说，这是咬春。
“想吃什么就卷什么。萝卜一定要吃。”
Yuzanfang's steamed lotus leaf cake is no more than the size of a palm, and Ping'an grabbed one and spread it out in the palm of his hand, waiting for his mother to serve him some dishes. "What my mother gives, I will eat."
Mengyao spread a thin layer of sauce on it for him, added some cucumber shreds, vermicelli, pine nuts, and other light side dishes. Zhen'er stared at it. She didn't dare to show partiality, so she rolled a cake for each of the three children and also rolled one for their father. Only after something was in their stomachs did she dare to let them eat radish.
Carrots are crispy, juicy, and slightly spicy. Aman likes the taste of carrot sticks and dips them in egg sauce, eating three in a row.