I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 72: Ghost in the Palace (Part )!
"This is Mr. Zhang's family, right? But Old Madam Feng?"

A beautiful woman dressed simply but elegantly came over and interrupted the somewhat stiff scene.

Everyone who looked over was stunned. This family of pheasants actually recognized this person?
Zhang Rui's mother was also stunned. Who is this? Does he know my son?
"Madame Jin, this must be a misunderstanding." The beautiful woman stepped forward and said with a smile, "Master Zhang has just been transferred back to Beijing, and his family members are entering the palace for the first time, so they naturally don't recognize His Royal Highness the Prince and Madame Jin."

"Master Zhang?" Nanny Jin frowned. "Which Master Zhang? The Zhang family of Jiuqu River?"

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman came closer and helped Nanny Jin up, lowering her voice and saying, "The man who saved His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Mr. Zhang."

"Oh?" Nanny Jin reacted immediately and bowed with a smile: "That was my fault. I'm sorry for what happened just now."

"It's okay, mother-in-law." Zhang Meng waved his hands quickly, but his back was straight. It turned out that his title of eldest brother was so useful?

The old lady also laughed at this time. It was indeed an honor for her son to be summoned by the emperor.

"Thank you, Madam Zhao." Nanny Jin glanced at the beautiful woman and said.

"You're welcome, Ma'am." The beautiful woman smiled slightly, then glanced at the women around who were watching the fun. Immediately, many of them smiled awkwardly, and then one or two took the initiative to say hello.

"Oh, I was wondering if they looked unfamiliar. It turns out that they are the family of Mr. Zhang."

"The newly promoted Lord Zhang to the Dali Temple?"

"That's right. It is said that he helped His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a lot in Beihai, and he is also a close friend of the old Duke of the Lu family."

"Really? That's really a promising young man, wow."

Seeing that everyone was praising her son, the old lady couldn't stop smiling, but for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

Luo, on the other hand, stepped forward and bowed to the beautiful woman who had rescued her, saying, "I would like to thank you on behalf of my husband. What is your name?"

Luo Ke'er could naturally see that only the lady in front of her had good intentions. The noble ladies next to her who now looked enthusiastic were just watching the show with gloating, and no one had said a word. If her younger sister continued to bump into the prince and the nanny, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Is this Madam Zhang?" The beautiful woman said with a smile, "My last name is Yuan, and my husband's last name is Shen. My child and your husband are in the same government office. It's fate."

Luo's eyes lit up, and she said immediately, "It turns out to be the Shangshu's wife."

Although she was not qualified to make friends with those noble ladies, she still sorted out the basic information of many officials' wives before coming. This woman's husband's surname was Shen, her own surname was Yuan, and her son worked in the Dali Temple. She looked to be in her early forties, but she was so domineering that even Nanny Jin did not dare to offend her easily. Looking throughout the capital, there was only the wife of the former Minister of Justice.

"That lazy fellow of ours resigned from his post three years ago. How can he still be called the Shangshu's wife? Just call me Madam Yuan."

"Thank you, Mrs. Yuan." Luo Keer bowed again.

"The little girl is quite smart. Lord Zhang is also good at choosing a wife. You have to keep a close eye on him. A man like your husband is likely to have a lot of luck with women." Mrs. Yuan smiled while covering her mouth.

"Mrs. Yuan praised me." Luo Ke'er smiled unnaturally.

She didn't know why, but in just a few days, she became more and more unable to see through her damn husband. You say he is incompetent, but he passed the exam in Beijing the first time he went there. You say he is capable, but he has not accomplished anything in Fuchuan County for three years and is even despised by his superiors.

As a result, three years later he became an official in Beijing again. When he came to the capital, it seemed that everyone gave him face. The Crown Prince, the King of Qin, the Duke of the Lu family, and even the extremely high-ranking Mrs. Yuan in front of him, all seemed to tell him that her husband was a very capable man.

If it is really that amazing, why didn’t I realize it before?

"The banquet will not start for a while, let's go sit there." Mrs. Yuan took the initiative to invite.

The old lady was overjoyed when she heard this. It was better for her and her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to wander around awkwardly than to have someone take the initiative to invite her.

They walked all the way to a pavilion in the garden, where several little girls and some beautiful women who looked about the same age as Mrs. Yuan were sitting.

"Hey, where did Madam Yuan go?"

"I just saw an acquaintance, so I followed him to take a look. Now you've invited me here." Mrs. Yuan took the initiative to bring the women of the Zhang family to the front.

"This is Madam Fang, the wife of Lord Qiu, the Minister of Rites. This is Madam Gong, the wife of Lord Qin, the Right Minister of Works. The two next to them are their daughters."

"Mother, why did you bring Mr. Zhang's family here?"

A pretty girl tilted her head, holding Madam Yuan's hand and acting coquettishly. Luo frowned slightly. It was understandable that Madam Yuan knew her husband, but how come a little girl seemed to be very familiar with her husband?
"Miss, do you also know my husband?" Luo couldn't help but ask.

"Not really." The little girl smiled and said, "I just heard Daddy talk about him. Daddy rarely praises someone, so I'm a little curious."

"I see." Luo smiled and said, "Lord Shen, you are overpraising me. My husband is just a lucky young man. I don't deserve your praise."

The old lady frowned as she listened from behind. What did she mean by "just a lucky young man"? Did she mean that her son was just lucky enough to get to Beijing?
"Mrs. Zhang is too modest." The little girl smiled with narrowed eyes, "Even my brother said that Mr. Zhang is not a simple man. My brother never makes mistakes when judging people."

Luo suddenly became alert. This girl was actually only three or five years younger than her, and was in her prime. It was not a good thing that she seemed so interested in her husband.

My father also said that I should be as wary of those noble ladies as possible. I have no background at all. If Zhang Rui falls in love with a girl with such a background, I might die silently the next day because of giving up my throne!
"Oh, it turns out you are the family of Mr. Zhang. It is fate that we meet. Come, come, old lady, sit here." A lady enthusiastically invited the old lady to the main seat in the pavilion.

"Oh, this is not allowed." The old lady was very self-aware and dared not sit in that position.

"Madam, you are our elder, so don't refuse." The other lady also smiled, appearing very kind.

Luo frowned slightly. Why did she feel that this group of people was very different from those outside just now? They seemed to be much more enthusiastic.

Seeing the puzzlement in Luo Ke'er's eyes, Madam Yuan smiled and poured them all a cup of tea. She also opened a plate of tea cakes and said slowly, "Madam, you don't have to be so polite. We were all outsiders back then. So, we are all fellow travelers."

"Oh, you are from outsiders too?" The old lady felt a lot more at ease immediately. These days she found that the locals in Beijing, even the butchers, looked down on outsiders, which made her feel inexplicably inferior sometimes. When she heard the other party say that they were outsiders, she felt a lot more friendly for a moment.

"My Yuan family also came from Jiangnan." Mrs. Yuan said with a smile.

"Oh my, then you can be considered a fellow countryman. I was wondering why your accent sounded so familiar." The old lady clapped her hands and asked, "Where in Jiangnan are you from?"

"From Daoyuan." Mrs. Yuan said with a smile.

"That's quite close. We are from Lin County."

"That's quite close." Mrs. Yuan and the old lady were chatting more and more enthusiastically, but she was a little confused in her heart.

It seems that the Zhang family is indeed the ordinary people described in the intelligence.

Yuan did not lie. They were indeed outsiders. The Shen family was one of the families that succeeded in standing in line during the year of Hongzhi and entered the sequence of Nine Ministers. They were one of the few hidden families in the Jin Dynasty that were able to turn things around. When they succeeded in turning things around, they had the help of many hidden families behind them, so naturally they had to repay the favors. So over the past hundred years, the Shen family had many marriages with those families, and slowly led some outsiders to work in the capital.

After a hundred years of operation, some up-and-coming talents have finally gained a foothold in the capital. For example, the husbands of the two ladies in this pavilion have both become assistant ministers in a ministry. They can be said to be some of the most successful outsider families in the capital.

People like them are not like those in the capital who like to stick together and face the outside world. On the contrary, they prefer to support outstanding children from hidden families. Only when more and more outsiders muddy the waters will their husbands have the opportunity to become Nine Ministers.

The minor county magistrate named Zhang is now performing extremely well and is naturally the best target to be won over.

"This little girl looks delicate and lovely. Is she ready for marriage?" Mrs. Fang beside her asked with a smile.

"The child has long passed the age of marriage." The old lady's eyes lit up and she pretended to sigh, "She followed her brother to the northern border area a few years ago. You know that place, it is very desolate and barren. How could I bear to marry my daughter there? So it has been delayed for three years, which has delayed my daughter's marriage."

"Mom" Zhang Meng blushed. Why did she suddenly talk about this?

"Oh, isn't that a coincidence?" The wife of the Minister of Works clapped her hands and said, "I have a nephew who is preparing to take the imperial examination this year. He is also from Jiangnan and not very old. He is twenty-six this year."

"Really?" The old lady suddenly became excited. It was like someone gave her a pillow right when she was sleepy. She originally thought that today's efforts would probably be in vain, but she didn't expect there would be a sudden turn of events.

Mrs. Yuan was also a little surprised. Although she did want to win over the Zhang family, wasn't it a bit too casual to just arrange a marriage?
Moreover, she had never heard that Mrs. Gong had a nephew who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination this year.

Luo Ke'er, who was standing by, frowned when she heard this. Isn't this a bit too enthusiastic?

We just met, and the wife of the Minister is so enthusiastic about the marriage. Isn't it a bit too frivolous? Why does it feel a little wrong? Wait?

Luo Keer's pupils shrank, and she suddenly discovered something, something that made her shudder!
The two ladies were holding the mother-in-law and sitting under the moonlight, but only the mother-in-law had a shadow.——
"Eunuch, are you really not afraid?" Cui Yan followed the old eunuch, looking at the brightly lit Baohe Hall and the noisy sounds in the distance, with lingering fears. Just now, when he was pretending to be a eunuch, he saw several officials from the Ministry of Rites along the way. How dare the Queen?
"Today?" The eunuch said with a smile, "It's very busy over there, don't worry, no one will have the time to delay you and the queen."

Cui Yan: “.”

In fact, he was still a little unsure. He did enter the palace, but did he really do such a daring thing?
But with a status like that of a queen, it is impossible for her to use her reputation to frame herself, right?
What exactly happened back then?
　It's posted late, it will be on the shelves tomorrow. I hope you can support it, thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)