newbobooks Chapter 133: Queen Mother, you were the dream girl in the eyes of many young men in the capital!
Chapter 133: Queen Mother, you were the dream girl in the eyes of many young men in the capital!
The Fu family, as the Empress Dowager's maternal family, has been passed down for several generations and has always been known as a scholarly family.
Although its power and status could not be compared with that of the Empress Dowager's maiden family, the Duke of Rong's Mansion, it still enjoyed a high reputation in the capital and was regarded as a place where talented people emerged in large numbers.
The current head of the Fu family, Fu Wenhao, is the cousin of the Queen Mother and a learned and talented university scholar. He has now resigned from his post and retired to live in peace at home.
Since the death of the Empress Dowager's mother, the exchanges between the Fu family and the palace have gradually decreased.
As it was inconvenient to leave the palace, the two sides only sent people to exchange gifts during festivals and occasionally exchanged letters. As for the Fu family entering the palace to pay homage to the empress dowager, it was even rarer.
At this moment, the Queen Mother was suspicious: Why did her cousin's wife suddenly come to visit? After careful calculation, they had not seen each other for decades. Could it be that something happened to her family?
However, as far as she knew, her cousin had always been strict in managing the household, and none of his children had ever entered officialdom, but instead taught in institutions such as the Imperial College.
In this case, the Queen Mother really couldn't imagine what was so urgent that she needed her cousin's wife to come to the palace in person to tell her.
Although she had a myriad of thoughts in her mind, the Queen Mother had no choice but to suppress her inner turmoil and wait for her cousin's wife to arrive, when she would ask everything clearly.
Then, the Queen Mother opened her red lips and said, "Announce!"
Eunuch Li had some guesses in his mind at this time, but he did not speak rashly. How could he tell the Queen Mother casually without any final conclusion? If the result was not what he expected, then telling the Queen Mother rashly would only give her unnecessary expectations.
So, Eunuch Li chose to remain silent, standing quietly aside and not leaving.
He was also curious about what the wife of Grand Secretary Fu wanted to talk to the Empress Dowager about, so that he could report to the Emperor after the matter was settled.
Not long after, an old lady with silver hair and a kind face slowly walked into the palace with the careful support of a middle-aged woman.
Following closely behind them was a young girl holding a wooden box in her hands.
The moment the Queen Mother saw the old woman, tears instantly filled her eyes.
She quickly walked down from the platform, walked quickly to the old woman, and held her wrinkled hands tightly.
Decades have passed, and the once beautiful and graceful woman has now become so old and haggard. The empress dowager couldn't help feeling sad. At the same time, she thought of herself, who is also getting older and more ugly.
Time is so cruel!
"Cousin-in-law!" The Queen Mother shouted these two words with a slightly trembling and choked voice.
The old lady was none other than the wife of Grand Secretary Fu, Madam Fu, Tao Lanru.
Madam Fu tried hard to open her already blurry eyes, wanting to see clearly who was in front of her.
Although the years have left deep and shallow marks on the Empress Dowager's face, when Mrs. Fu saw the person clearly, she immediately recognized this cousin who was once innocent, lively and active - now the extremely noble Empress Dowager.
After recognizing the identity of the person in front of her, Mrs. Fu hurriedly prepared to kneel down and pay her respects.
However, the Queen Mother called out to her in time: "Don't bow, cousin!"
Hearing the Queen Mother's call, Madam Fu stopped her movements, but still insisted: "Thank you for your kindness, Queen Mother, but I think etiquette cannot be abolished. Please accept my greetings, Queen Mother!"
Old Madam Fu's eyes were firm, because the Fu family had always attached great importance to the inheritance of etiquette, and she must not lose her proper manners in public, especially in front of the younger generation of the Fu family. As the elder of the Fu family, she should set an example.
Seeing that Madam Fu was so determined, the Queen Mother stopped trying to stop her.
She knew very well that the Fu family had always been like this, otherwise her grandfather would not have insisted on wearing a thick hat regardless of whether it was freezing cold or scorching hot, even though his hair was so sparse that he was almost bald, and he would not even be reluctant to take it off when he returned home. His emphasis on etiquette was simply extreme.
So, the three of them respectfully performed a standard bow to the Queen Mother.
"Cousin, please stand up quickly without any formalities."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I haven't seen my maternal relatives for a long time. I really miss them! I wonder if my cousin and the others in the mansion are in good health?"
Supported and led by Nanny Liu, Madam Fu slowly walked to the front seat at the bottom of the hall and sat down, very politely occupying only one-third of the stool.
The middle-aged woman and the young girl stood respectfully beside Madam Fu.
The Queen Mother then returned to the high platform and sat upright on the magnificent seat.
Madam Fu said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My master has been doing well recently. He is old, so he has some minor problems from time to time, but they are nothing serious. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother nodded slightly to show that she understood. She thought that her cousin was ten years older than her and was already over sixty-seven years old. It was not easy for him to live so long and be healthy. It was normal for him to have some minor illnesses.
Then, the Queen Mother turned her gaze to the other two women in the hall and asked, "I guess these two should be my cousin's daughter-in-law and grandchildren, right?"
Upon hearing the voice, the middle-aged woman hurriedly bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I am indeed the eldest daughter-in-law of the Fu family, my name is Yao Yuzhen; and the one next to me is my daughter, the youngest daughter of the Fu family, her name is Fu Rong."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Rong walked out with light lotus steps, and then she bowed to the empress dowager meticulously, and said respectfully: "My humble daughter Fu Rong pays homage to the empress dowager, and I wish the empress dowager good health and happiness."
The queen mother looked at Fu Rong's face and couldn't help showing joy. She whispered softly, "This child's eyebrows and eyes are indeed somewhat similar to my cousin."
Then, the Queen Mother said to Fu Rong with a smile on her face: "Rong'er is so beautiful and refined, just like my cousin in the past, she is so charming."
"Looking back, my cousin won the admiration and love of countless women in Beijing with his handsome looks and outstanding talents! In the end, it was my cousin's wife who won over my cousin, haha!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the Queen Mother teased Fu Rong again: "Such an outstanding Rong'er, there will definitely be many noble sons vying to marry her in the future!"
After hearing this, Fu Rong felt so shy that her face turned red. She was even too embarrassed to look up at the empress dowager.
Madam Fu continued, "Empress Dowager, please stop making fun of our Rong'er! When it comes to handsomeness, although the old master was a handsome man, if we really compare, he can never compare to you, Empress Dowager!"
"You, Queen Mother, were the dream girl of many young masters in the capital back then! Many young masters were jealous of you and even fought over you! Haha! At that time, I would go to see the fun from time to time!"
Madam Fu's words were also joking, and for a moment, the Queen Mother and Madam Fu seemed to have returned to the leisurely and comfortable time of their youth.
The Queen Mother laughed heartily and responded, "Hahaha, my cousin's wife is getting more and more humorous! She's even making fun of me!"
For a moment, the originally somewhat restrained atmosphere in the palace suddenly became relaxed and pleasant.
After Madam Fu finished introducing the recent situation of the Fu family, she did not delay any longer and directly stated her purpose: "Empress Dowager, the reason I came to see you today is actually for this thing."
As Mrs. Fu spoke, she tremblingly extended her right index finger and pointed at the wooden box in Furong's hand.
Fu Rong understood what she meant, walked to the center of the hall, held up the wooden box in both hands and presented it to the Queen Mother.