Denghuaxiao

Chapter 88 Mid-Autumn Festival

The next day, the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, is the mid-autumn festival in Shengjing.

Early in the morning, the strong fragrance of osmanthus wine wafted all the way to West Street.

Du Changqing and Acheng arrived earlier than usual. Du Changqing was wearing an apricot yellow round-necked robe with an embroidered silk tie, and Acheng was wearing a bright yellow round-necked blouse. Both of them specially wore newly made autumn clothes and stood in front of the door. Under the plum tree, there are two golden osmanthus branches blooming vigorously.

Lu Zhen and Yin Zheng came out of the shop. Du Changqing was hesitant to talk about Yin Zheng's lilac-colored dress with stitching. When he saw Lu Zhen and walked out, his eyes fell on Lu Zhen's half-worn dark blue dress for a long time. On the cotton skirt, it stopped moving.

After a while, he wiped his face, pointed at Lu Zhu and said sadly: "Dr. Lu, I didn't give you a monthly salary or something, why do you always dress in such a shabby look? If others see this, they will think that our hospital cannot make ends meet. Tomorrow It went bankrupt.”

 Lu Zhen was unmoved.

Most of the time, she stayed in the shop. She was not picky about dressing like Du Changqing, so she only needed to wear the clothes.

Yin Zheng put her hands on her hips and said dissatisfied: "What's so shabby about this dress? It's not torn or damaged. Ming Yuzhai's densely woven gold-threaded acacia skirt is not shabby. It costs twenty taels of silver a piece. Can shopkeeper Du give me the money to buy it?"

“Young Master Shao Jijiang.” Du Changqing snorted, “It’s okay if you usually dress like this. You are going out to eat today. If you are wearing such shabby clothes, I’m afraid the restaurant won’t let you in.”

 Lu Huo: “Eat?”

Acheng said with a smile: "My boss said today is the 15th, and Dr. Lu has been in Shengjing for half a year, so he ordered a lunch at Renhe Restaurant in Xinmenqiao and invited our hospital to try it."

 Lu Zhuo looked at Du Changqing, and Du Changqing coughed lightly: "Since you guys came to the medical clinic, my medical clinic has come back to life, and spring has come to the dead tree. As the shopkeeper, I am deeply gratified."

“I am not an ungrateful person. Today I will take you to gain knowledge. Don’t look back and say I am stingy.”

There are many restaurants in Shengjing. On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, many wealthy families are willing to go on stage to admire the moon and gamble on the Jade Rabbit. At this time, the restaurant's business is always very good. Du Changqing, who always cares about everything, is willing to spend money this time, which is true.

Lu Zhen's heart moved and he suddenly said: "In that case, why don't you go to Fengle Tower?"

Fengle Tower is where my sister Lu Rou first met people from Taishi Mansion.

Du Changqing choked, and when he met Lu Zhu's sincerely puzzled gaze, he turned his head and said angrily: "It's a good idea. The banquet in Fengle Tower is nearly a hundred taels. If I hadn't died, I could have taken you to squander it." Splurge. Don’t think about it now.”

Lu Zhen looked disappointed.

When Du Changqing saw this, he laughed angrily: "I really didn't realize that Dr. Lu, you are quite vain. Besides, even if I spare the money, I still can't book a banquet. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the better restaurants have already been booked by wealthy officials. Man, I can take you to Renhe's store, it's already a table reserved by the boss because of our old friendship."

Lu Zhuo thought for a while and said, "Thank you very much, but Yin Zheng and I have to go deliver the medicine first. After delivering the medicine, we will go back to the hospital to change clothes."

 “Sending medicine?” He frowned, “What kind of medicine are you sending?”

Yin Zheng picked up the medicine box and put it on the table, "Prince Wenjun's mansion wants a few cans of 'Xianxian', which should have been delivered a few days ago. People in their mansion said that today is the 15th, and the princess will have a banquet with the female family members during the day. Celebrate the festive season. The girl thought that if there were more people delivering medicine, she could attract more customers, so she came here specially to deliver medicine today. "

When Lu Zhen came to Fan Mansion to treat Zhao Feiyan and deliver medicine, Zhao Feiyan lost weight rapidly in a few months and stole the show at the Summer Viewing Banquet. A lady asked Zhao Feiyan to find out. Zhao Feiyan was unwilling to tell the story of Lu Shuo's acupuncture for her, so she put all the credit on "Xianxian".

As a result, there were many names of noble families and officials in the medical clinic's list.

These people are proud of their status and attitude. Sometimes they just send someone to ask Lu Zhuo to come to the door to see them off, and Lu Zhuo also delivers them one by one.

However, the reason why she postponed the delivery of medicine until today was not because of Yin Zheng's words. It was just because Liu Kun was poisoned and searched at night a few days ago, so she only had free time today.

Du Changqing believed Yin Zheng's casual remarks, and looked at Lu Zhu with a bit of relief.

“Dr. Lu, it’s difficult for you to think about the hospital at all times. My employer is very touched. With a doctor like you, I think it will be a matter of time for our hospital to go to Yuxian Tower in the Mid-Autumn Festival next year.”

He waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and come back early!"

Lu Zhu didn’t say anything more to him, and walked out of the hospital gate with Yin Zheng carrying the medical box on his back.

Du Changqing lay lazily in front of the table and cabinet, looked at the two people's backs, threw a black date into his mouth, and asked Acheng: "Hey, she just said, which house did they go to today?"

“It seems to be the family of Prince Wenjun?”

 “Prince Wenjun’s Mansion?”

Du Changqing chewed the dates for a moment, spit out half of the date core with a "poof" sound, and cursed bad luck.

Acheng was confused: "What's going on with my boss?"

"Have you forgotten?" Du Changqing rolled his eyes, "The pretty boy surnamed Pei that we picked up the night before, isn't his sister the princess of Prince Wenjun's palace?"

 …

Wenjun Prince's Mansion is located near North Yutian Street in Shengjing, backed by a large garden. When the old prince was still alive, in order to make his wife happy, he planted a large number of flowers in the garden, and the scenery was stunning in all seasons.

Behind the scenes of the old prince and his wife, the gardens and landscapes of the prince's mansion are still preserved. On festive days, banquets are often held in the mansion to entertain guests and enjoy the romance.

 The same is true today.

The Xiang bamboo couch was covered with silk brocade, and a small cluster of golden osmanthus was placed in a fine white porcelain vase in front of the table. The room was filled with the refreshing fragrance of osmanthus.

The woman was leaning on the bamboo couch in a daze, wearing a light gold chrysanthemum silk skirt with wide sleeves. The maid came from the side and half draped a beaded cloak on her body.

Pei Yunshu came back to her senses and said with a smile: "It's cold in autumn, madam, be careful not to catch a cold."

"I don't know why, but I always feel so hot these days." Pei Yunshu sighed, raised her hand to touch her bulging belly, and then looked at Fangzi with a somewhat confused expression, "Is this the case even in the later stages of pregnancy? "

Fangzi had never given birth and did not understand medical science, so she could only smile awkwardly: "This...servant doesn't know about this either."

Pei Yunshu tucked in her cloak, but still felt hot, so she raised her hand to open the window wider.

Looking outside from the window, there is faint laughter coming from the trees in the courtyard in the distance, and there are occasional traces of people. There are not many visitors to the Prince's Mansion on weekdays, and it has not been so lively for a long time.

Today, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the 15th day of the lunar month, a banquet was held in the prince's palace to entertain the guests. As the princess of the county, she was pregnant with Liujia and had difficulty moving around, so all the banquets in the palace fell on the side concubine Meng Xiyan.

However, even if Pei Yunshu was not pregnant, she would not take the initiative to take over Zhang Luo's general affairs. She was impatient with the sophistication of these noble people, not to mention that in Prince Wenjun's palace, it was already known to everyone that she, the princess, was just a decoration, so there was really no need to ask for trouble.

Qiong Ying came in from outside with a basket of moon **** and put the basket on the table. Pei Yunshu raised her eyes and saw the brocade silk on the mahogany basket, and her eyes immediately narrowed.

 “A Ying sent it?”

Qiong Ying smiled: "Yes. The Crown Prince had someone send it to the house early in the morning, saying it was the Crescent Moon Buns from Hongyue Zhai in the capital, with a basket of six flavors. However, my wife is pregnant now, so it's best not to eat too much, but to taste a little. that is."

The prince's palace also prepared moon cakes, but Fangzi was cautious and did not dare to let Pei Yunshu try them. In fact, it's not just about the mooncakes. Since Pei Yunshu became pregnant, the two of them have carefully checked the food consumption in the house to avoid mistakes.

Pei Yunshu responded and asked Qiongying: "Aying won't come today?"

"Your Majesty Linyuan gave a banquet, and the Queen Mother ordered the prince to enter the palace."

Pei Yunshu nodded, suddenly remembered something, and asked Qiong Ying tentatively: "Who are the nobles present at the palace banquet today?"

Qiongying was stunned, shook her head and said, "I don't know."

Pei Yunshu thought for a while and said nothing, but a trace of worry flashed between her eyebrows.

 A few days ago, when King Wenjun came to her house, he revealed some news in his words. It was said that the Queen Mother intended to be a matchmaker for Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunshu was not surprised. Pei Yunying walked in front of the emperor all day long. He was of the right age, and because of his role in rescuing the emperor, the Queen Mother and Her Majesty treated him with special favor. He was young and promising, and he was a close minister of the emperor. Many people in the court wanted to get married to the Pei family.

However, it was well known throughout the court that Pei Yunying and Duke Zhaoning were at odds with each other as father and son. Duke Zhaoning may not have the final say in Pei Yunying's marriage.

If you want to get married, it would be easier to talk to Your Majesty and the Queen Mother.

However, Pei Yunshu, the elder sister, knows Pei Yunying’s personality best. She seems to be easy-going and talkative, but in fact she is stubborn and has the most ideas. Especially after her mother’s incident, Pei Yunying became even more resistant to marriage. His surly side has always been hidden under his bright smile. If the Queen Mother rashly proposes marriage, it may not be a happy event for the Pei family.

At that time, Pei Yunshu asked King Wen in a subtle way which daughter the Queen Mother had her heart set on, but King Wen changed the subject and did not want to say more to her.

Today there is a banquet in front of the Queen Mother. There are many dignitaries present. Maybe one of them is the in-law whom the Queen Mother likes.

  I just don’t know which family it is.

After being lost in thought for a while, Pei Yunshu shook her head. It was useless for her to think about it here. The boat would naturally go straight when it reached the bridge. If it really got to that point, it would not be too late to make a decision.

Furthermore, maybe the Queen Mother pointed out the marriage, and pointed out the one her brother liked the most. It was too late for him to catch up, so there was no need for her to worry in vain.

She sighed and picked up a small clay doll on the table to play with. The clay doll was made to look like a child, brightly painted and decorated with pearls and emeralds. It was very cute.

Seeing this, Fangzi smiled and said: "Why are the princess sighing? It won't be long before she will meet the young prince or young lady. If the young prince or young lady sees this, she will think that the princess is impatient with them." "

 “Nonsense, how could I be impatient with them?”

Pei Yunshu lowered her head and looked at her bulging belly, with a smile on her lips.

 She is due to give birth in two months.

 Hope everything is safe.

 …

 In the Prince's Mansion, Lu Zhen and Yin Zheng were walking to the kitchen with the maid leading the way.

 Since arriving in Shengjing, Lu Zhuo has visited many mansions of wealthy people. The Ke family's residence is beautiful and complicated, the Fan family's residence is extremely luxurious, but the Wenjun Prince's residence is different.

The prince's palace contains a large garden with scattered pavilions, twists and turns of ponds, fragrant gardens and large tracts of flowers. I heard that every year, part of the flower viewing in the inner garden of the palace comes from the Xunfang Garden of Prince Wenjun's Mansion.

Now is the golden autumn. As soon as I step into the Prince's Mansion, I can see the golden osmanthus in bloom, and I feel the cold fragrance blowing on my face.

The maid who led the way saw Yin Zheng's expression of amazement. She covered her eyes with contempt and said with a smile: "Today there is a banquet in the prince's palace, and everyone is busy in the back garden. You can send the medicine to the kitchen and then you can go. .”

 Lu Zhen said nothing.

In fact, delivering medicine can be delivered to the door of the palace, but how to store the medicinal tea and what to pay attention to when drinking it must be explained one by one. Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng sent the medicine to the kitchen, and then explained all the things that need to be explained. After explaining it once, he withdrew.

The maid who led the way handed the medical money to Yin Zheng, looked at Lu Shu and said with a smile: "If Madam uses it well, I will have to trouble the girl to make another trip to bring more medicinal tea."

Yin Zheng hurriedly said: "It should be."

Lu Zhen also responded in a low voice. The maid who led the way was about to send the two of them out when a hesitant voice suddenly came from behind.

 “Doctor Lu?”

Lu Tong paused, turned around, and saw a woman with a high bun and a hairpin standing a few steps away, looking at him in surprise.

 Mrs. Dong?

Lu Zhen was slightly surprised.

Unexpectedly, I met Dong Lin's mother, Mrs. Dong from the Qing Palace of Taifu Temple, here.

 Lu Xu nodded: "Mrs. Dong."

Mrs. Dong took two steps toward her, her eyes rested on the medical box she was carrying for a moment, and she was a little curious, "Why is Doctor Lu here? Is it possible that someone in the county prince's palace is sick?"

When the maid who led the way heard this, she was afraid that Mrs. Dong would misunderstand her, so she pushed Lu Huo gently behind her.

Lu Zhuo said: "No. The girl is here to deliver 'slim' to the prince's palace."

"Xianxian?" Mrs. Dong was startled for a moment, then laughed, "Doctor Lu's business has reached the county prince's palace. It seems that Renxin Medical Center is quite famous now."

Lu Zhen smiled and replied: "It's all thanks to the help of my wife. My wife has friends with dignitaries, and those people heard about my wife's words, so they went to the hospital to buy medicine."

Mrs. Dong loved to hear people say that she was very popular, and she felt happy when she heard that. Looking at Lu Huan again, she felt more and more that this young medical woman was sensible and knowledgeable, and she could talk much better than the juniors nowadays. No wonder Prince Zhaoning was so interested in her. Favored.

Thinking of Pei Yunying, the crown prince of Zhaoning, Mrs. Dong's heart suddenly moved.

She looked at Lu Huan, her eyes flashed, took Lu Huan's hand, and said with a friendly smile: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, the prince's palace is hosting a banquet to entertain guests, and I am here to attend the banquet."

"You are in luck. The banquet has not started yet. I guess many ladies from various families have already arrived. Come with me and I will tell them about your herbal tea. If you have a few jars with you, I will send them to you. Try it with them and seize this opportunity. How about it?"

Lu Zhen was a little surprised.

Mrs. Dong smiled on her face, but she had her own considerations in her heart.

 A few days ago, when her husband was chatting with her, he mentioned Pei Yunying, the crown prince of Duke Zhaoning, who is now the commander of the front division of the palace.

After the case of tribute in Beijing, a large number of people from the Ministry of Rites were implicated, and everyone in the court was in danger. In anger, the emperor favored Pei Yunying even more. Today, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor gave a banquet to the Minglin Garden. Except for the princes and clan members, only those close to him could enter the garden. Pei Yun was reflected in it.

 The royal family’s trust in Pei Yunying is obvious to all.

This person is so young and his future is bound to be limitless. There is no harm in making more friends.

Pei Yunying's thoughts are unpredictable, but he is very close to Lu Zhuo, a medical woman at Renxin Medical Center. Mrs. Dong believed that she had a good relationship with Lu Zhu. Now that she was selling Lu Zhu's favor at the banquet, it might be much easier to make good friends with the Pei family in the future.

Mrs. Dong made up her mind, so she asked Lu Zhuo to carry the medical box and the silver zheng, and they went to the banquet together to show their faces and left.

In the Xunfang Garden, a banquet was laid out, and treasures and rocks were played everywhere. In the pavilion of Liubei Pavilion, the noble women who had arrived sat sideways, watching the cups filled with wine floating through the winding Liubei canal, and their laughter was clear and endless.

As soon as Lu Xu and Mrs. Dong arrived at Xunfang Garden, a female family member greeted Mrs. Dong: "Why did Mrs. Dong come so late today?" Then he noticed Lu Xu next to Mrs. Dong and looked puzzled: "This is …”

Lu Zong's simple clothes are different from those of the ladies present, but if she is a maid, it is not unlike the way Mrs. Dong treats her with intimacy.

Mrs. Dong pulled Lu Huan to her: "This is Dr. Lu from Renxin Medical Center. I met her before. I just met her at the prince's palace, so I brought her over to see you."

Seeing the appraising glances from the female relatives, Mrs. Dong smiled again and said, "Don't underestimate me. The herbal tea 'Xianxian' that was popular in Shengjing a few days ago was made by her."

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of all the female relatives lit up and they immediately gathered around.

The "Xianxian" herbal tea had been heard by some people at the previous Guanxia Banquet. After all, Zhao Feiyan, the wife of the official Xiangguan, stole the show with her slender figure. After that, many people went to buy this herbal tea, but some people thought it was an exaggeration and refused to believe it.

 But today at the grand banquet at the County Prince's Mansion, Mrs. Dong personally led people to introduce him. Even if he didn't believe it, he had the idea of ​​​​trying it at this moment. After all, Mrs. Dong vouched for her in front of so many people, so at least it shouldn't be completely ineffective.

 A young lady asked Lu Huan: "Do you still have any medicinal tea with you now?"

Lu Huo said: "Yes." Then he opened the medical box, took out a few cans of "Xianxian" and handed them over, and spoke softly.

"I'm really sorry. I came out in a hurry today and only brought a few cans with me. If ladies and gentlemen want anything else, I'll write it down in the mansion on paper and come back to deliver it to you one by one."

Hearing this, the ladies and ladies became more and more interested, and they all came closer and asked Lu Zhuo to write down his name. Mrs. Dong looked at her and gave Lu Chen a meaningful look.

Today's visitors are all the female relatives of high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Lu Zhuo wrote down these names and visited them one by one, which meant he had more channels. These paths may not become the paths of the Pei family in the future...

Even if she doesn't care about Pei Yunying, her small medical clinic has gained access to so many wealthy families. As long as one of them has contact with her, it will only benefit her future business. After all, in Shengjing, wealth, glory, and endless benefits have always been connected to each other, and no one can fight alone.

She was secretly admiring Lu Zhen's intelligence when she suddenly heard a woman's smiling voice coming from behind her.

“Why are they all gathered in a group? Why is it so lively?”

Everyone looked back, and Lu Zhuo also raised his eyes, and saw several maids walking towards a young woman surrounded by several maids from behind the pavilion.

This woman is wearing a pomegranate-red, peony and butterfly-playing skirt, with black hair at the temples, a golden silk ruby ​​swaying on the side, and two coral earrings in her ears, which make her skin as white as jade, her willow eyebrows are like smoke, and her pupils are as clear as water. , as she came closer, her whole body was surrounded by robes that made a sound, she was very charming and attractive.

 The female family members present stood up and called her "Mrs. Yan".

 Mrs. Yan?

Lu Zhen was watching "Mrs. Yan" approaching, and Mrs. Dong beside her gently pulled her sleeves and whispered in her ear.

 “This is the concubine of the county prince’s palace, Meng Xiyan.”

  turned out to be the concubine.

Before Lu Zhen could speak, he heard Mrs. Dong continue to give instructions, "If she talks to you later, remember, don't mention Mr. Pei."

Lu Tong was startled: "Why?"

"Don't you know yet?" Mrs. Dong looked at her in surprise, "Pei Yunshu, Princess of Wen County, and Mr. Pei are siblings from the same mother. The Princess and Meng Xiyan have never been on good terms. If she knows that you are the commander-in-chief of the palace, , will definitely find ways to embarrass you. Why," Mrs. Dong's eyes flashed, "Master Pei, didn't you tell me about this?"

Lu Zong shook his head, but his heart moved slightly.

She heard Du Changqing say that there was an eldest daughter in the Duke Zhaoning's house, Pei Yunying's sister, but she had married and left the house many years ago. Lu Zhu only knew that Miss Pei was married to a noble man from Shengjing, but he did not find out who she was.

I didn’t expect that she was the princess of Prince Wenjun’s palace.

However, when a grand banquet is being organized in the county prince's palace, why is it that the county princess is not in charge of the event? Instead, it is the concubine who is cheering and cheering, with a domineering look on her face, like the mistress of the prince's palace.

Lu Zhuo was thinking in his heart. The concubine Meng Xiyan on the other side probably heard about Lu Zhuo from others, and glanced at her casually, without looking at her.

Lu Zong was silent and stood up to salute Mrs. Dong.

“Madam, the party is about to begin, and it’s time for me to leave.”

Mrs. Dong thought for a while and nodded: "That's fine."

After all, this is the prince's palace, not the Dong family. It's okay to joke around, but Lu Zhuo, a commoner with a low status, is not qualified to enter the banquet. Even if Mrs. Dong wanted to give Lu Zhu a favor, she would not offend the female relatives for Lu Yu, let alone make the county prince's palace dissatisfied.

However, looking at the large roster that Lu Zhu just memorized, it seems that she has gained a lot today, so this favor can be regarded as a gift.

Mrs. Dong smiled and said: "When you are free in a few days, you can come to my house again to talk."

Lu Zhuo responded with a warm voice, put the medical box on his back, and was about to leave with Yin Zheng when he suddenly heard someone behind the pavilion shouting anxiously: "Madam, Madam, it's not good -"

This voice appeared suddenly, instantly shattering the joyful atmosphere at the banquet. Everyone immediately fell silent and looked forward, and Lu Zhen's footsteps also stopped.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a maid in green walked around the flower garden, stumbled to Meng Xiyan, and knelt down with a "pop".

Meng Xiyan looked at the people at her feet, raised her eyebrows, and said with a hint of anger in her voice: "What are you shouting so rashly?"

The maid raised her head and looked at Meng Xiyan in horror.

"Madam, something has happened. People in the princess's courtyard just said that the princess suddenly had unbearable pain in her abdomen. She is afraid that she may have a fetus. She is feeling very uncomfortable right now. Please hurry over and have a look!"

 (End of this chapter)