To Be A Virtuous Wife

29

Chapter Twenty Nine, Yun Qing's Tragedy

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, the Royal Court seals its pens and the palace started to bestow gifts into the households. Most that received gifts were officials and noble families of some significance in the City of Jing. Therefore, the absence and presence of gifts from the Emperor represented the Emperor's favor. Lower-ranked officials that wanted to climb up kept their gazes tightly locked to see which houses they could curry favor with, which houses they could find a way in.

Qu Qing Ju followed He Heng and knelt in the front hall of the wang fu to receive the Emperor's gifts. It was just a couplet for the Spring Festival that the Emperor wrote personally, a "good fortune" character and two plates of golden-yellow kumquats. Kumquats had the meaning of luck and it was a good beginning.

Bidding farewell to the taijian that passed on the decree, the two returned to zhengyuan and opened the Spring Festival couplet. It was gold on red paper, with flowers on the border. Based on Qu Qing Ju's inexpert opinion, the characters were very good-looking but from the strokes, Qing De Emperor's characters was more soft than bold, revealing his personality.

Casually tearing open a kumquat that was about the size of a thumb, Qu Qing Ju fed half into her own mouth and fed He Heng the other. She nodded and commented: "Good characters, the kumquats are sweet, too."

He Heng looked at her stream of actions and smiled as he placed the couplets down, "Qian Chang Xin, you and Ming He go personally put the Spring Festival couplets up."

"Yes," Qian Chang Xin carefully bore the plate with the couplets on it and retreated with Ming He.

Qu Qing Ju looked at the pair of "good fortune" characters, "Then where do we put these two characters?"

"In our rooms, naturally. I'll put it up later," He Heng pointed to the gate of zhengfang and saw that Qu Qing Ju had started on another kumquat, "It's very cold, don't eat too much cold food."

Qu Qing Ju's wrist bent and shoved the kumquat in her hand to him: "Since wang ye is personally putting up the characters, then I will help you see if it is skewed." Finishing, she took the characters and started to order the servants to bring the tools to paste the paper.

He Heng saw her enthusiasm and allowed her to proceed. Under the protection of a few taijian, he stepped on a stool to put up the "good fortune" character.

"It's tilted, move a bit towards the right."

Move right.

"Too much, a little little bit to the left."

Move left.

Qu Qing Ju looked with a bit of dissatisfaction at He Heng's results and reluctantly nodded: "More or less this is good."

The taijian heard this and hurried guided wang ye to step down the stool. They dragged the stool as they retreated to the side to not affect the little amusement between wang ye and wang fei.

He Heng walked back a few stepped and nodded in satisfaction. He then lifted his head to tap Qu Qing Ju's forehead, "I think you are terrible at directing."

Qu Qing Ju went back a step and teased: "It's wang ye whose skills aren't high, how can you blame me?"

Not far away, Jiang Yong Yu, accompanied by the three shiqie, stood and watched the antics between wang ye and wang fei. They didn't know whether they should leave or stay. Originally, she had come with the others to thank wang fei for the hairpins wang fei had bestowed down today, but looking at the scene before her, she wasn't so thoughtless to interrupt.