Chapter 190 Blushing
A heavy snow heralds the arrival of winter.
The weather was getting colder and colder, but each room in the East Palace was equipped with ground heating and charcoal fires, so it didn't feel cold at all.
Zhao Xing did not feel any emotion or think about saving money when he saw the charcoal seller wearing only thin clothes in the snow that day.
Promoting frugality is the biggest scam.
The poor know how to be frugal without any encouragement.
And the rich don't need to be frugal at all.
While the rich enjoy wine and meat, there are corpses freezing to death on the streets. This has happened in every dynasty and generation.
The wine and meat of the rich will never fall into the hands of ordinary people.
Just like the charcoal seller, he has been burning charcoal and selling it for many years, but he may have never used charcoal for heating in his entire life.
If he doesn't save more, the price of carbon might even go up, which is a good thing for these people.
The weather was cold and Zhao Xing rarely went out.
When dealing with the reports sent from the palace, I would occasionally see reports from some places about people freezing to death.
Zhao Xing felt uncomfortable about this at first, but gradually he even became numb.
He also thought about controlling it, but he couldn't and couldn't manage it.
Near the end of the year, his father caught a cold, which scared Zhao Xing.
Fortunately, after a few days of rest, I finally felt better.
However, after this serious illness, my father’s spirit and energy are no longer as strong as before.
No banquets were held to entertain officials during the New Year and Lantern Festival this year.
After the Lantern Festival, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Clan Affairs became busy with preparations for Zhao Xing's wedding.
As the groom, Zhao Xing did not have much to do. Various matters had been arranged by others and he did not need to worry about anything.
……
British Mansion, Jingshu Pavilion
In the study, Zhang Guifen was reading a book while her maid Cui'e was chattering beside her.
"Miss, how often can you come back when you are in the East Palace? Can you come back to stay for a few days occasionally?"
Zhang Guifen put down the book helplessly and said unhappily, "The palace has its own rules. Once you enter the palace, you have to abide by the palace rules. How can you come back whenever you want? And you occasionally come back to stay for a few days. How can you think of that?"
Ordinary concubines could not go home every other day, but they could only go home a few times a year.
She is the Crown Princess and the future Queen. It is not easy for her to leave the palace.
"Won't it be difficult for me to see my parents in the future?" Cui'e's face fell when she heard that.
She was a born child of the Duke of England, and both her parents worked for the Duke of England.
Zhang Guifen sighed slightly. How could she bear to leave her parents?
This emotion flashed across her mind and was quickly hidden by Zhang Guifen.
Since the wedding date was set, except for some reluctance in the beginning, her mother has been preparing her dowry with a smile on her face.
It's not just the mother's side, it's the same on the father's side as well.
Zhang Guifen understood that her parents were also reluctant to let her go, but they did not show it for fear of upsetting her emotions.
"Don't worry. My marriage into the Eastern Palace is different from that of other families. At most, I will bring an old nanny with me, and there will be no need for maids as dowry." Zhang Guifen said.
"Ah?" Cui'e was stunned and said, "Didn't Mother Qian say that I could bring a maid?"
"That's tacit consent. According to the rules, you can't bring it. I'm the Crown Princess, so I have to set an example."
Zhang Guifen was actually trying to scare Cui'e. She was not lying. According to the rules, marrying into the Eastern Palace definitely could not be like marrying into an ordinary family and bringing a bunch of maids and nannies as a dowry.
But bringing a few is within the tacit consent range.
Even if she is the Crown Princess, as long as it is within this range, no one will say anything.
"Ah?" Cui'e's eyes turned red and she said, "Girl, what should I do then?"
"That's easy. You're not young anymore. I'll talk to my mother and help you find a good family to marry into. If you have someone you like in your family, I can also help arrange it for you," said Zhang Guifen.
"I don't want to get married. I just want to serve the girl!" Cui'e shook her head repeatedly.
Zhang Guifen sighed and said that she was not teasing Cui'e when she said she was helping her find a good family to marry into.
Cui'e grew up with her. Although she had a volatile personality, she brought her a lot of joy.
Zhang Guifen has no brothers or sisters, so she has always been treated like a younger sister.
Otherwise, according to the rules of the Duke of England's mansion, Cui'e would have been disciplined and well-behaved long ago, so how could she be so lively?
It is not difficult to help Cui'e get rid of her status as a lowly person and find a good family to marry into. Others know her relationship with me and will not treat her badly.
For a woman, marrying into a good family is the best destiny.
If I follow her into the palace, it’s hard to say what will happen in the end.
Maybe she will be like those old maids in the palace, never getting married and being released from the palace only when she is old.
But she mentioned it several times during this period, and Cui'e refused every time.
"Since you don't want to get married, just follow me into the palace. I hope you won't regret it in the future." Zhang Guifen said.
"I knew that the young lady was lying to me just now. But I heard from Mama Qian that I could bring a maid with me." Cui'e said with a smile.
Zhang Guifen shook her head and said, "Mother said that the palace maid will come today. Since you are going to enter the palace with me, you must learn the rules and regulations. You can't be unruly like you usually are, otherwise I will be punished and I won't be able to protect you."
Cui'e said sternly, "Don't worry, young lady. I will never embarrass you."
As the master and servant were talking, a maid came in and saluted, saying, "Young lady, the maid from the palace is here. Madam wants you to go to the main hall."
"understood."
Zhang Guifen nodded, packed up briefly, and took Cui'e to the main hall.
When we arrived at the main hall, Sun was talking to two maids in their forties.
"Mother." Zhang Guifen saluted.
Seeing her daughter coming in, she smiled and said, "Fen'er, these two are Mammy Ma and Mammy Xu, come and greet them."
"Greetings, two maids." Zhang Guifen bowed.
"Miss Zhang, you are too polite." The two maids quickly returned the greeting.
These two maids were also arranged by Empress Cao. Some of the more experienced maids in the palace dared to embarrass the unfavored concubines, but they did not dare to put on airs in front of Zhang Guifen, the future Crown Princess.
After a few pleasantries, the two maids followed Zhang Guifen to her courtyard and began to teach her the rules of etiquette.
The daughters of the Duke of England were naturally well educated, but what they were taught was not ordinary etiquette.
Rather, it is about how to hold the wedding day, how to walk, where to salute, how to salute, etc.
In addition, there are some rules in the palace, such as how to manage the East Palace and the Harem, how to pay a visit to the concubines in the palace, etc.
In addition to these, there are also some ideological educations, such as as a princess consort one should not be jealous and should be tolerant.
In short, there is a lot to learn, including the maids and nannies who followed her into the palace also need to be taught.
What was taught in the previous month was normal. Even though Zhang Guifen didn't like the formalities, she still studied patiently and seriously.
However, a month later, when the teaching nanny drove away the serving maid and took out a picture book to teach her those embarrassing things, she had an urge to escape.
It was so embarrassing to hear the nanny pointing at the picture album and explaining it in a very emotional way.
But there was no other way, she had to learn these things, so she could only endure the shame and follow along.
…………
Zhao Xingke had no idea what was happening in the Duke of Ying's Mansion.
As the weather warmed up, he resumed his life between the Eastern Palace and Kaifeng Prefecture.
The ministers in the court were somewhat dissatisfied with the emperor's delay in taking back Liuli Pavilion, and more and more people wrote to him to write letters.
However, they were all suppressed by the government.
At this time, the emperor's mind was no longer on the court.
Although he had recovered from the illness a year ago, the official felt that his health was not as good as before.
The emperor now only hopes that Zhao Xing will get married as soon as possible and give birth to a grandson.
If the wedding date had not been set early and could not be changed at will, he would have wanted to move the wedding date forward.
It is said that one should start a family and build a career. In the eyes of the ancients, a man only truly becomes an adult after he gets married.
Now that Zhao Xing got married and had children, he could finally rest assured.
Zhao Xing was completely unaware of all this. As the wedding date approached, he became increasingly busy. He tried on his wedding gown every day and listened to officials from the Ministry of Rites explain what he needed to pay attention to on the wedding day.
In early March, with still more than ten days before the wedding, Zhao Xing finally had some free time.
On this day, Zhao Xing was processing the ropes when Sanshui ran in with a happy look on his face.
"Your Highness, I am so happy!"
(End of this chapter)