Chapter 186

Daiyu, standing at the gate of the Rongxi Hall, saw that scene in the hall, the corners of her mouth slightly curled up, and her moist, bright eyes contained a smile.

But seeing her grandmother's appearance, she felt that she shouldn't laugh, and reluctantly withdrew the smile on her face, but her heart was happy; now Third Brother Cong should finally come back, right?

After Jia Cong returned to the inn from the palace, he let Wu'er and the others start packing their luggage.

Before entering the palace, Jia Cong was still thinking that he would go to the Xuan Tian Palace villa on Mount Luocang when he returned; the environment there is quiet, his ears are quiet, and it is very close to his master Liu Jing'an's residence, which is convenient for asking for advice at any time.

Now I fear it cannot be as he wishes; as soon as the imperial envoy who bestowed the gift from the Empress arrives at the Jia Prefecture, no matter for what reason, he must take Jinghui and the others back to the prefecture immediately.

By the time Wu'er and the others had finished packing, Jia Lian had already found the inn with little servants and carriages.

Jia Lian had not had much contact with his brother Jia Cong since he was a child, but in the past two years, Jia Cong had become increasingly outstanding, and Fengjie is the person who knows best how to observe the wind and the situation, and she often whispered in his ear on weekdays.

Look at the things Jia Cong has done; whether it was being named the top of the list, writing good poems, or solving a major case in Jin Ling, these are not things that ordinary people can do.

But his mind did not have too much secret malice; he could handle daily chores, and as for the rest, as long as there were plays to watch and wine to eat, he was a standard wealthy playboy.

Jia Mu's expression was a bit weary, and the exquisite formal court dress on her body did not seem as gorgeous and dazzling as usual, but instead looked a bit out of place.

Jia Lian was reminded by Fengjie when he went out; at this moment, Jia Mu had lost a lot of face, but he dared not leave the imperial envoy from the palace alone in the Rongxi Hall.

But this time it was Jia Cong's own misconduct, bringing a nun back to the prefecture, which could not be blamed on others; it was Zhou Rui's wife who took the lead, and she just pretended not to know and watched Jia Cong's good show.

Rongxi Hall.

Jia Lian saw Jia Cong take the person onto the carriage, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief; he had finally finished the matter entrusted by his father; if Jia Cong had been arrogant just now and unwilling to go back, he really would have had no way to deal with him.

Knowing that he was his own brother, he felt even more admiration and envy, and he had truly earned a lot of face for himself.

Lady Wang's expression was numb and carried a trace of gloom.

Let these little servants take care of the luggage and items; you take the people and return to the prefecture with me first; the Old Madam and the imperial envoy who bestowed the gift are both waiting in the Rongxi Hall, so we cannot delay."

Now, among the descendants of the two prefectures, one really cannot find a second one with as much face as Third Brother; even the woman beside him can be bestowed a gift by the Empress; Second Brother, I envy him but cannot envy him.

Since the last time his sister-in-law's accusation against Jia Cong failed, Lady Wang had not dared to make any moves easily.

On weekdays, when he was socializing outside, he often heard others mention Jia Cong's various events at banquets and tea talks, and they talked about them with great relish.

So now, this brother Jia Cong has a considerable weight in his heart.

This person is a bit unbearable when it comes to women, whether it is his father's concubines or other people's wives, he is not picky about whether they are fragrant or smelly, raw or cold.

"Third Brother, you can't hide here for peace anymore; the Empress sent someone from the Imperial Household Department to the prefecture to bestow a gift on Zhi Shao, and Father asked me to pick you up and bring you back to the prefecture.

That Zhou Rui's wife was her own confidante and knew her mind best, which is why she got the news of Jia Cong's absurdity and hurriedly reported it to Jia Mu; she was currying favor with herself and building momentum for herself.

By then, everyone in the Rongxi Hall would not be able to get off the stage...

Let Jia Lian see Jia Cong, whether by coaxing or deceiving, in short, get that kid back to the prefecture as soon as possible, finish this matter at hand, and everyone will be liberated; otherwise, don't think about having a smooth New Year.

Now the Old Madam and the Lady are both biting the bullet and accompanying them there; it's like baking a pancake on a red-hot iron pot, not to mention how uncomfortable it is.

The Old Madam and the Lady are also the same; why provoke this kid for no reason? Don't they know he is evil?

But I didn't expect that the matter would end up like this; Zhou Rui's wife was slapped in the face by that person in public, not looking like a person, and her own face was lost cleanly, but instead, she fulfilled that person's maid getting the Empress's reward.

Just now, the Old Madam even went to welcome the gift in formal court dress, and in front of the imperial envoy from the palace and all the maids and matrons in the prefecture, she made a big joke.

One can imagine how ashamed and annoyed the Old Madam was in her heart; having been a daughter-in-law for many years, she naturally knew that the Old Madam was usually high-spirited, but if she was really angry, she, the daughter-in-law, would not be able to bear it.

By the time the Old Madam recovers, she will likely vent her anger on Zhou Rui's wife for making trouble out of nothing; that was, after all, her own family's maid, and if she makes a scene, it will be her own face that is slapped.

Thinking of these, Lady Wang's mood...

Only Wang Xifeng was out of the matter, looking at ease inside and out.

That Zhou Rui's wife listened to her wall-eavesdropping, and then became too smart for her own good, involving the Old Madam and the Lady; thinking about it, it's also funny.

Now she is just curious; in previous years, she always followed the second branch to manage the prefecture, and when she went to the East Road Courtyard, she only went to the main hall to pay respects to the Old Master and Old Lady, and didn't go to other places much.

Therefore, she had never noticed that Zhi Shao, and she didn't know what kind of person that kid's maid was, to be able to cause such a big commotion.

At this time, an outside maid ran to report that Third Brother Cong had returned to the prefecture.

Before long, they saw Jia Cong enter the Rongxi Hall, followed by a young woman.

Almost everyone's eyes were focused on that woman; in the past two years, because of the incident years ago, very few people in the Jia Prefecture did not know the name Zhi Shao, but almost no one in the West Prefecture had seen what she looked like.

Even Jia Mu and Lady Wang, who were feeling depressed, were staring at her without blinking.

Outside the Rongxi Hall, many maids and matrons who were serving were shrinking their heads and peeking inside.

Now everyone in the prefecture knows that Third Brother Cong brought a beautiful nun home, causing a huge commotion; who wouldn't be curious?

Everyone saw that she was slender and graceful, with a slow gait, beautiful and outstanding, and moving, a woman with a very good appearance.

She wore a Miaochang bun, a moon-white plain-sleeved jacket, a water-field green satin long vest on the outside, a dark blue silk ribbon tied around her slender waist, and a water-ink white silk skirt tied below her waist.

In black clothes and light ribbons, her demeanor was peaceful, elegant, and otherworldly, making people feel amazed.

It was completely different from the rich and luxurious style of the Rongxi Hall, and it was outstanding.

In the past two years, Zhi Shao had grown older, her childishness had gradually faded, and she had become more beautiful; with her past completely empty, chanting scriptures and worshiping Buddha, she had developed an extraordinary, otherworldly demeanor for a girl.

Everyone in the hall was silent for a moment.

It turned out that the woman Jia Cong brought back from outside, who was called an improper woman with no background by the Old Madam, was such a beautiful and outstanding person.

At this time, the imperial envoy who bestowed the gift asked: "Is this Zhi Shao?"

Jinghui's bright eyes turned, she looked at Jia Cong, and Jia Cong smiled and nodded at her.

Jinghui bowed slightly and replied: "It is."

The imperial envoy sang: "By the Empress's decree, hearing that Zhi Shao, the old acquaintance of Chengshilang, is fragrant, beautiful, chaste, and righteous, I bestow palace flowers and hairpins to honor her conduct; please receive them."

Jia Mu listened to the imperial envoy proclaiming the decree, her face became extremely ugly, her heart was full of shame and annoyance, and a burst of blood seemed to be rushing to the top of her head.

Years ago, her eldest son took a fancy to this Zhi Shao and wanted to force her to be a concubine, which forced her to jump into the river and commit suicide.

Saying this girl is chaste and righteous, isn't that saying my son is lewd and shameless? And to bestow a gift on the door with such great fanfare, the Jia family's face is truly lost; how can I go out and see people during the New Year?

Thinking about the events of the past few days, she suddenly felt a bit terrified; it was one thing for people like Liu Jing'an and Prince Prince Jia Shun to value this kid in the past, but how come even the palace is backing him now?

Jia Cong took Zhi Shao to receive the gift and express gratitude, and after the imperial envoy finished bestowing the gift, Jia Lian naturally took him down to have tea.

After the imperial envoy left the Rongxi Hall, Lady Wang said to Wang Xifeng: "The Old Madam is feeling a bit unwell, so I will accompany her down first; you look after the matters here, and you don't need to report back to me."

I don't know if it was because of shyness or anger, Jia Mu and Lady Wang left in a hurry, and didn't even say a word to Jia Cong who had just returned to the prefecture, but Jia Cong's expression was as usual, not caring at all.

He just looked at Zhi Shao with a smile, and the latter, noticing his gaze and looking at the palace flowers and hairpins on the tray, couldn't help but blush.

Wang Xifeng stepped forward and smiled: "Brother Cong, is this Zhi Shao? I have been to the East Road Courtyard before, but I didn't find such a beautiful person; you are blessed.

Since the girl is an old acquaintance of the prefecture, you don't need to be restrained after returning; if you are short of food or clothing, just send a maid to find me."

Although Zhi Shao was Jia Cong's maid before, after she jumped into the water two years ago, they only thought the person was gone, and the registration in Zhen'an Prefecture was cancelled; now she has been bestowed a gift by the Empress's decree.

This kind of glory, except for the Old Madam, is only hers in the whole prefecture, and looking at the way Jia Cong treats her, Wang Xifeng would not treat her as a maid.

Wang Xifeng said some polite words and left in a hurry; there are too many ears in this prefecture now.

The Old Madam and the Lady just lost face, and at this moment, she is too close to Jia Cong, which would only invite gossip; it's better to let it cool down for a while.

(End of this chapter)