Linzhi

When the mulberry wine was served, Princess Wei was joking and chatting with the female relatives, but the most prominent protagonist today was not Princess Wei, but the eldest son of the emperor, Song Shi, who came late.

Although the Song family is only the eldest concubine of the emperor now, everyone knows that His Majesty intends to make King Huai the crown prince, and it is only a matter of time. The eldest concubine of the emperor will become the crown prince sooner or later.

There is no need for Mrs. Song to take the initiative to find topics, everyone will naturally find topics around Mrs. Song, from hairpins to eating, and even raising children, as long as women are interested, they will naturally be in full swing.

Mrs. Song didn't talk much, and she occasionally said a few words. She is very different now from when she first came to the capital. What do the village women and concubines think, they are always talking and laughing happily.

"When it comes to the color of silk, the most wonderful thing is the blue sky and water." A noble lady said.

Song didn't know what Tianshuibi was, so she didn't make a sound, so as not to make a fool of herself.

Princess Wei smiled and said: "The rain at night dyes the sky and water blue. I have heard of it. It is said that when the last emperor of the previous dynasty, someone in the south of the Yangtze River dyed the sky water blue with light smoke as a tribute. My grandmother was lucky enough to see it when she was young." See, it’s a pity that it was burned by the rebellious army in the flames of war, and I heard that the craftsman has passed away, and no one can dye such a tulle that is as light as floating clouds and as blue as sky water.”

I don't know which careless person, among a group of exquisite ladies, suddenly said: "I heard that Princess Huai is good at weaving, so I want to know how to weave this tulle?"

Song was at a loss for a moment, but after all, she was a person who had personally experienced palace changes, so she quickly calmed down, and she didn't get angry, and she responded quite decently: "In my opinion, this kind of skill is still not good enough. Well, it is not His Majesty's wish for local officials to waste money and people in order to please the emperor."

Concubine Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, she originally wanted to rescue the Song family, but now there is no need for it, she hurriedly said with a smile: "Prince Huai is right, this kind of extravagance is a sign of the country's ruin, it is better not to follow suit. Well done."

After finishing speaking, he glanced at the snarky stupefied Qingtou Qing without a trace, the latter finally came to his senses, his face turned pale, he shut his mouth quickly, and never dared to interrupt rashly again.

When the late emperor was present, the most eye-catching person on such occasions was often Princess Lin'an.

Back then, Princess Lin'an hosted the Spring Festival Banquet in the Biezhuang, which was a grand event every year in the high gate of the capital, but now she has been given dove wine to commit suicide in the same line as King Qi, and all the people will die. In a few years, many people will probably die I can't even think about what Princess Lin'an looks like.

Empress Pei didn't like to join in the fun, and she rarely held palace banquets unless it was necessary during the festivals. Outsiders called her empress frugal and didn't want extravagance, and even Emperor Jiayou respected her very much. Empress Pei is not good at communication—naturally, the empress of a country does not need to establish her authority through communication and listening to people welcome her.

Princess Leping and Concubine Ji died unfortunately, Princess An died of illness before entering the family, but the fourth prince ran away from home without even marrying a wife. Like King Xing, a man who is tempted to marry his daughter will inevitably have to think about it.

While everyone was chatting and laughing, they saw a maid hurriedly running over and said with a changed face, "His Royal Highness Wang An beat up Minister Ji, and Minister Ji took his leave in advance and left."

Everyone was stunned.

Even Princess Wei and Song Shi couldn't help standing up.

"What the hell is going on here?"

People who know He Rong, such as the Song family, know that although He Rong has a straightforward temperament, he is not a maniac person. This kind of beating of the imperial court official is not like He Rong did it. Shi felt that it was more likely that He Zhan would do such a thing.

The maid struggled and said: "I don't know, I just saw His Highness and Lord Ji Lang talking from a distance, and His Highness suddenly became furious, and picked up a bamboo stick to beat Lord Ji Lang."

In fact, she still kept some leeway, she didn't say that He Rong was merciless, beat up Ji Ling, covered his head like a mouse, and fled in embarrassment.

Even so, it surprised everyone.

Dare to feel that the most sensational thing today was not that Princess Huai was tripped, but that King An beat someone?

Princess Wei: "Everyone, sit down, I'll go take a look."

Before she could leave, He Zhan had already arrived.

"Auntie, sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I have to take a step ahead, and I will come to the door to apologize in the future." He cupped his fists and apologized.

Princess Wei hurriedly stopped him: "Where is Sanlang, what kind of mystery are you playing?"

He Zhan smiled wryly, and sighed: "Don't mention it, my third brother regards Wen Jiang as a sister, and you know it, but Ji Jingbing is not kind, and he clearly promised to marry Wen Jiang, but was opposed by his family. He actually came to tell my third brother that he wants Na Wenjiang to be his concubine. Do you think the third brother can show him a good face? Naturally, he raised his hand and hit him. If you know Ji’s family, you have to tell them. Don't let my third brother mention Nawen Jiang as a concubine, and with my third brother's temper, Ji Ling's legs must be discounted before going to Lingnan!"

He finished speaking in one go, and then said: "I won't tell you anymore, I have to appease third brother quickly, lest he really do such a thing, leave!"

Seeing that He Zhan quickly disappeared without a trace, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing what to say for a while.

Song coughed lightly: "Sanlang is famous for his good temper. Ji Ling said something first, but he didn't keep his word. No wonder Sanlang is angry."

Whether Ji Ling didn't keep his promise, we haven't seen it with our own eyes, so it's hard to make a conclusion, but King An likes to beat people with bamboo sticks, which has a long history. After the palace change that day, King Qi was defeated and captured. I heard that it was him He ordered people to push Princess Leping down the palace city, and King An immediately beat King Qi to death, which was merciless. According to the soldiers who later escorted King Qi to prison, King Qi's front teeth were all knocked out. , mouth full of blood, appalling.

It can be seen that although An Wang has some problems with his legs and feet, his hands are fine. Now that Ji Ling has been beaten with a bruised nose and a swollen face, he dare not appear in front of people, so he has to leave the stage early. After everyone heard about it, they were not surprised at all.

He Zhan on the other end left Wanchun Garden and boarded the carriage for the return journey. He couldn't help laughing with a bitter melon face, laughing so much that the person in the same carriage who was reading a book frowned: "If you want to laugh, the carriage is full of laughter. It's all shaking."

He Zhan snatched the book from his hand: "Third brother, don't you want to hear how I describe you?"

After finishing speaking, He Zhan danced and performed again.

He Rong curled his lips and gave a two-word evaluation: "Exaggerated!"

He Zhan was very unconvinced: "Where are you exaggerating? You really didn't hold back your hand when you hit Ji Jingbing. I saw it too. His eyes were blue. I'm afraid you didn't just use the bamboo stick, but also directly hit it?"

He Rong: "If you don't fight harder, how can you let the people of Ji's family know that there is no room for compromise?"

He Zhan rolled his eyes: "I think it's third brother, you took advantage of it, so it's not for nothing, right?"

He Rong picked up the bamboo stick beside him: "Then I can beat another one."

It's because the space in the carriage is limited, He Zhan, a tall man, can still dodge here and avoid the bamboo stick that He Rong calls.

"Third brother, you need to practice your kung fu again... Ouch!"

As soon as the voice fell, the foot retracted a little slower, and he was hit immediately.

……

He Rong's beating of Ji Ling became well-known, and it spread throughout the capital the next day. Even when they entered the palace to greet the empress, Empress Pei couldn't help asking.

"I heard that Sanlang beat up a servant of the Ministry of Industry?"

This is mainly due to the identities of the two parties. Before this, it was hard for everyone to imagine that a prince would personally attack a servant.

There was a lot of discussion between the government and the public, and some officials who were famous for their uprightness immediately impeached He Rong. There is no one in the eyes.

It is not surprising that there is a censor impeaching him. His Royal Highness Wang An has never followed the gentle and benevolent style that scholar-bureaucrats love. Last time he asked for an official for Wen Jiang, he had already attracted a lot of criticism, but he still went his own way. Shu refused to defend himself, so this time someone said that he "relyed on his status and merit, and looked at no one."

What is amazing is that the "suffering master" Ji Ling took the initiative to go to Shu, excused King An, and took all the sins on himself, saying that he had agreed to marry Wen Jiang as his wife, but later changed his words and proposed to King An As a concubine, this made King An furious. Everything was caused by his own dishonesty, and he had no complaints about being beaten.

This oolong, of course, ended up being nothing in the end, but Wang An's reputation for beating people at every turn was completely confirmed. Until a long time later, those who had heard this anecdote, when talking to Wang An, subconsciously Keep a distance of three feet away, for fear that I will be beaten at some point.

Back to the moment, even Empress Pei heard about what happened yesterday, and asked with great interest, everyone was a little amused, waiting to see how He Rong would answer.

But before He Rong could answer, Emperor Jiayou and King Huai came together.

The Son of Heaven was full of joy. He used to treat Empress Pei with respect as a guest, but now seeing Empress Pei about to go forward to salute, he took a quick step and personally supported her.

"Zitong is pregnant, so there is no need to be polite."

As soon as this remark came out, everyone present, including He Mu and Song Shi, were stunned.

Seeing the surprised faces of the crowd, Emperor Jiayou smiled and said: "You don't know yet, the imperial doctor came to see you yesterday, and it has been almost three months since the queen was diagnosed. I don't know yet."

In fact, the queen may not know that women are very clear about the changes in their bodies. It's just a folk custom. If the fetal position is not stable within three months, you can't tell if you can.

Empress Pei is careful, not as careless as Emperor Jiayou, she has already noticed Duke Huai's uncomfortable expression, so she took Emperor Jiayou's words and smiled slightly: "Your Majesty also told me yesterday that for the sake of the ancestral temple of the country, we should set up a Prince Chu, so when I have been here for three months, I will announce to the subjects that King Lihuai is the crown prince, which is a double blessing."

Only then did He Mu realize that he had completely underestimated Empress Pei, he was delighted but also apologetic, and hurriedly said, "How can I, my minister, dare not take on such an important task!"

This is also a normal modest speech. If He Mu said that he did his part, it would be strange.

While they were talking, He Rong looked towards He Xiu, only to see that the latter's face was normal, although it was not happy, but at least it was not as hostile and resentful as in the previous days.

After He Rong knew that he had talked with He Xiu that day, He Mu went to find He Xiu again.He Rong didn't know what the two said in private, but now it seems that the two consecutive heart-to-heart conversations have some effect after all.

This family seems to have returned to the way it used to be, harmonious and peaceful.

……

He Rong and the others did not wait until Prince He Muli to set off. On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the imperial court assembled an army of [-] troops. With Xing Wang He Zhan as the commander and An Wang He Rong as the deputy commander, they went south to quell the chaos.

As the saying goes, relying on the sky for thousands of miles requires a long sword, the sword is like frost and the courage is like iron, the mountains are stacked with wind and thunder, and the flames of bullfighting shine in the sky.