Holding the Piano in the Red Chamber

The Queen Mother cleared her throat, "Get up, it's strangely cold on the ground."

Although it is said that girls aged 13 or older participate in the draft, the ones who enter the palace are basically young girls between [-] and [-]. At this age, they look good no matter what they wear. The Queen Mother was very satisfied and said: "You go to your shop, we Take a look and go."

Having said that, these beautiful women still half-lowered their heads and waited for the Queen Mother and her party to go to the other side of the path, turn a corner and disappear, and only then began to move again.

After walking two steps, the Empress Dowager said to Yuan Chun and Qing Mei: "You two, let's go, hold the qin and walk with me." After speaking, she took the qin and walked to the pavilion in the northeast corner of the imperial garden. On the rockery, you can have a panoramic view of the entire imperial garden.

The Empress Dowager took the piano and left, Yuan Chun and Qing Mei looked at each other, but they had nothing to say.

A eunuch had already prepared cushions for hot tea, and brought a brazier and other things. Although the room was at a high place, it was already warm.

The Empress Dowager sat down, the window in front of her was pushed half open, and the voice of the beautiful lady below could be heard clearly.Later, another eunuch handed over the list of beautiful women, and the queen mother played the qin and faced each of them.

The list of showgirls includes headshots, names, family backgrounds, including bits and pieces of character traits that were inquired from other places, what happened to them in the palace, and how they were dealt with, all written clearly.

Baoqin flipped through one by one, pointing to the head portraits for the queen mother to see, among the twenty beautiful women who entered the palace, there was only one surnamed Zhou and one surnamed Wu, so Baoqin couldn't help but take a second look.

I remember that when visiting relatives later, besides Yuanchun, I also had other concubines named Zhou and Wu. Although I can’t remember their status, but being able to visit relatives with Yuanchun must have similar purposes.

Looking at it again, it makes sense that one family belongs to the Ministry of Officials and the other belongs to the Ministry of Households.

The queen mother saw it in her eyes, and she couldn't help thinking about it.Ruicheng said that if there is nothing wrong with these two people, they will both be selected into the palace, and they will be of great use in the future just like Yuan Chun.

"Do you also think these two are good?" The Queen Mother said, motioning to the little eunuch next to them to put a mark after the names of the two, thinking of talking to Ruicheng when he came to pay his respects at night.

Baoqin passed away vaguely, and then pointed to a beautiful woman downstairs with a particularly crisp laughter and said: "Young lady, look at that, she has a round face, lively people, and a very loud voice, just look at it. A good body."

The queen mother loves to hear this, how can a sick concubine give birth to a healthy son?It has only been less than a year since she became the queen mother, and her thinking has basically changed drastically.

When Ruicheng came to the throne earlier, Shulan was so tired that she almost had a difficult delivery. She still thought that Shulan was pitiful, and that the eldest prince was unhealthy and uncomfortable, but now, she inevitably complained a little in her heart. No matter how much he paid attention to, he almost put all his heart on the eldest prince. Although the eldest prince is not very sick now, he is still a small child, and his face is also pale. I don't know when he will make up for it.

It’s also like talking about the concubine and concubines. Earlier, I thought that having a concubine would be enough, but now I think it’s better to have more children and more blessings.Ruicheng is the emperor now, he can afford to raise as many sons as possible, and he can help with things when he grows up, that's great.

So in this draft, the queen mother thought that except for the few named by Ruicheng, the rest would be chosen to look lively and healthy.Baoqin also has the same attitude now, the queen mother is a little more kind in her heart, not jealous, and only thinking about Ruicheng, it can be seen that she is a good person.

Seeing the empress dowager's eyes narrowed, Baoqin knew that this sentence was right. The emperor might like a weak and charming woman, but a mother-in-law only thinks about two things: good health and childbearing. According to this, there will be no mistakes.

Not two days later, when Baoqin went to pay her respects in the Empress Dowager's Palace, she met the three beautiful women mentioned last time.

As for being able to go to the Empress Dowager’s Palace to pay her respects, this is also a point of Yuan Chun’s secret hatred. Going to the Empress Dowager’s Palace with the piano is more frequent than the Queen’s. But the queen didn't seem to care at all, it really felt like a fist was hitting the cotton.

Maybe the queen is brewing a big counterattack?Yuan Chun thought to himself, maybe the queen can kill her with one shot?But the days passed, and the queen was still indifferent to Baoqin. Apart from paying her respects, the two of them had nothing to do with each other. The big move that Yuanchun was looking forward to did not move at all.

It was almost enough to see in the imperial garden, and it was getting colder day by day, so the empress dowager finally called people to her palace.

When Baoqin came in, there were three people sitting on the low stool in front of the Empress Dowager.

Zhou Yanwei, Wu Yunhe, and Liu Zhiyao who feels very lively holding the piano.

Seeing her come in, the three of them looked at Baoqin with six eyes.

"Don't look at her, your face is blushing." The Queen Mother smiled and said, "This is your sister."

What you said made the eyes of the three people sitting below brighten. Is the dress holding the piano obviously a concubine, sister?Then they will also stay in the palace in the future? "Sister." A crisp voice sounded immediately.Your Majesty is only in his early twenties this year, and he is handsome and handsome. Among other things, the status of an emperor alone makes people flock to him.

Baoqin walked quickly to the Empress Dowager's side, and said with a smile, "Shengsheng is called old."

The queen mother patted her with a smile, took her hand and sat down.This is also the first time that Baoqin has seen beautiful women at close range. Perhaps it is because he has walked through half of the inner court. The faces of the three of them are flushed. The rules taught at the beginning are not to look at the master.

Baoqin was inexplicably emotional, and in just a few years, she has become the little master among the court ladies.On average, three concubines in the first emperor's palace die every year, and it is unknown how much the emperor's harem can lose every year.

After a few years, when the Jia family was destroyed and their family was no longer threatened, how could she get out of the palace, Baoqin lamented the impermanence of the world, but the queen mother found out that she was not in high spirits, and asked with concern: "Did you not sleep well? In winter, the days are short, so you can’t sleep for too long during the day, so as not to be sleepy.”

Baoqin smiled and said: "It's so cold, let's order a mutton pot to eat at night."

The queen mother coughed a few times, and said: "If you are heartless, you will know how to eat."

In the blink of an eye, a month later, the queen mother met all twenty beautiful girls, but there were also a few who were called in too often, and Liu Zhiyao gradually became familiar with Baoqin. "Sister" and "Sister" are much better than those two people gnashing their teeth.

So Baoqin would order some snacks for her in the imperial dining room from time to time. She came and went, and sometimes she could chat with each other in the imperial garden.

But something happened within two days. It is said that two beautiful girls in Jingyang Palace got into a fight, and those who went up to fight were also implicated a lot, and they cried for a while.This incident alarmed the empress, and when Baoqin received the news, there were already more than a dozen court ladies and eunuchs kneeling in front of Kunning Palace, including Eunuch Zhou who was in charge of Jingyang Palace.

Holding the piano into the main hall, there were still a few beautiful women kneeling inside, Yuan Chun and Qing Mei arrived earlier than her, sat down in the first two seats of the queen, turned around and smiled at her maliciously.

Baoqin took two deep breaths, and calmly bowed to Shulan, but Shulan didn't reply, this was the first time.

Qing Mei was fine, Yuan Chun happily held his hands tightly to restrain himself from laughing.

Baoqin looked at the few people kneeling in the hall, the one at the head was Liu Zhiyao, her hair was a bit messy, and there were two beautiful girls behind her, kneeling and wiping tears, their sleeves were crooked, and there were scratches on their faces.

Can Xiunu get involved in her fight?Baoqin was skeptical, but based on the principle that if the enemy does not move, I will not move, so at this time, she absolutely cannot speak first.

The first one to speak was Qingmei, she sneered and said: "Baoqin, it is His Majesty's grace that you can also hold the position of second-rank internal secretary, but what you do is not worthy of virtue and ability."

"What's the matter, Sister Guan." Kneeling Zhiyao shook her head and said, "The two of them bullied me and won't let me fight back."

Yuan Chun slapped the table and said angrily: "For a plate of dim sum, you can fight with people. In winter, you even pour tea. What should you do if you catch a cold? Virtuous and virtuous, what words can you afford!"

Hearing this, Baoqin almost understood that it was nothing more than a collision between beautiful girls. When he met a master who refused to suffer, the verbal conflict turned into physical conflict. in front of.As for involving her, Yuan Chun always wanted to trip her up, Qingmei, there was only one emperor, although she felt that the emperor was dispensable, it didn't mean that Qingmei thought the same.

Shulan didn't speak at the top, but Baoqin had no choice but to speak. She was not the master who could take anger, and she was favored by the Queen Mother, she had a title, and she was also a second-rank secretary. How could she be suppressed by the two of them? on the head.What's more, in a place like the palace, if it is suppressed once, it will be the second time, and after two or three times, there will be no room for success.

"Splashing people with tea in winter, why don't you send someone to ask her to change her clothes before coming back?" Baoqin asked back, she couldn't answer this question, the person was sent by the empress, if the flames of war were to be set on the empress... Yuan Chun snorted and stopped talking.

"Then you can't fight?" Qingmei supported her chest and said, "Good little girl, her face was scratched."

The one with the scratch on his face let out a timely cry.

"Both of them can't beat me..." Zhiyao whispered, "I will sue."

If these words were put on boys, they would probably all have to say hello, but everyone sitting here is female, so it's okay to hold the piano, and Qingmei is a little shaky again.

Seeing that the people below had said it all over again, Shulan said, "Tell me what happened again."

"She threw my snack on the ground and crushed it..." Zhiyao was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"How do you know that I stepped on it? There are three people in one room and three maids. Maybe it was your maid who did it." Xiu Nu said with scratches on her face.

"Look at the dim sum foam on the bottom of your feet." Baoqin said.

Zhiyao continued, "I couldn't be more angry, so I asked her to pick it up. If she didn't pick it up, it opened after two pulls."

This one is really straightforward.

Yuan Chun rested for a while and recovered his fighting strength, and said: "Your Majesty, for the sake of the peace in the palace, these three people cannot be kept. There is also holding the piano, just to fuel the arrogance of the beautiful girl and stir up troubles in the palace. They should be grounded."

"You can really talk." Baoqin sneered, "According to this, the culprit is the Rongguo Mansion. If it wasn't for sending me into the palace at the beginning, how could there be waves on the ground."

How dare she say it!Yuan Chun was furious, who didn't hide her bad background tightly, she actually said it so openly, sincerely...it's so shameless.

Shulan said: "To send the beautiful girls out of the palace, I have to ask the queen mother, and you all follow." She can't decide this matter, there are only three kittens in the palace, and there are only twenty beautiful girls entering the palace this time. If she was asked to give away three of them at once, the queen mother might think what she would think, and the reputation of being jealous might spread instantly.

When the next row of people followed Shulan out of Kunning Palace, Baoqin suddenly said: "There are not many people in Jingyang Palace, I am afraid that half of them are kneeling here, why don't they go back to work first, and wait for the matter to be cleared up?" The award should be punished."

That was indeed the case, and putting him back earlier would be soothing, so Shulan agreed to the proposal and put him back.

At this point, the Empress Dowager had just taken a nap when she heard Madam Yunrong report that there was a group of people waiting outside the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and that several beautiful girls were still injured, so she immediately went to her head.

"Call in!" The queen mother tremblingly pointed at the door.

Sister Yunrong hurried forward and said: "Don't be angry, your body is important, it's nothing more than a few beautiful girls, it's okay to throw them all out."

Alas, we still have to see, the Queen Mother became even more angry after people called her. One Liu Zhiyao was always considered good by the Queen Mother, and another beautiful girl surnamed Xia was the emperor's hero, so what should I do?

The queen mother had no choice but to swallow this breath, and the two sides hit fifty big boards each, and put the person back.

It was a bit thunderous and rainy, but in front of the queen mother, everyone had a calm attitude. There was no restriction on the queen mother. If she offended her, everyone would be embarrassed.

When Shulan reported the cause of the incident, she didn't even mention the plate of dim sum. Although Yuan Chun wanted to get involved with the head of the piano, she finally kept it in her heart. Aunt Yunrong has been giving the Queen Mother good luck. Anyway, it won't help if her grandpa and grandpa come back to life.

After two days, Baoqin dared to say something indistinctly in front of the queen mother, for example: when I went there, I heard that Zhiyao beat two, although she didn't look good, she was in good health.He also said: In front of the queen, she is not stage fright, so it is reasonable.

After the queen mother heard it, Baoqin said again: It's nothing more than a conflict between the little girl's family. She is young and vigorous, and there is no harm. The queen mother gradually calmed down and finally smiled.

But it still has an impact on Xiu Nu. When Xiu Nu first entered November, she was sent out of Jingyang Palace half a month in advance.

It is widely rumored in the palace that it is because the show girl is not up to date, and the noble master is enraged by jealousy, but the truth is a little different: the anniversary of the late emperor is approaching, and this time the coffin of the late emperor has to be put into the underground palace. It is snowing, and I am afraid that the road will be difficult to walk, so I have to leave Beijing half a month in advance.

What's more, there is still a Prince Yizhong with evil intentions waiting at the Ice Palace. As the end of the year approaches, he sends more and more spies. Previously, it was once a month, but now it has reached the point of three or four times a month. The emperor The secret guards were sent to record the families that Prince Yizhong visited, and they planned to slowly liquidate them.

The top priority now is to deal with Prince Yizhong first.

On November 5000th, the emperor, empress and queen mother took the imperial chariot, together with relevant officials, a group of three and [-] people went to the ice palace where the late emperor's coffin was parked.

In the palace, only Baoqin, Yuanchun and Qingmei are left, plus Zhenli, who has been pregnant for more than six months and has a big belly.