Holding the Piano in the Red Chamber

The birth of a child can be as fast as three to five hours, and it can be as slow as three to five days.Ruicheng sat for a while, waited until the imperial physician arrived and fulfilled the responsibility of an emperor: After threatening each person one by one, he shook his sleeves and left.

After the emperor left, the empress uttered some cruel words, and then the imperial doctor was sent to the waiting room of Qixiang Palace.

Not long after Baoqin went in, she saw the nanny assigned to her by the empress come out. This nanny took the place of Nanny Yunrong to take care of Baoqin. The queen's natal family also took care of the eldest prince's child earlier. Experience is also loyal, the queen is very relieved.

The nanny came out with an unnatural expression on her face, and said: "Go back to your mother, and tell my concubine that I want to eat the dim sum that I ate in your palace last time."

dessert?The dim sum I ate last time, you come to my palace twice a day, who knows which time it was last time.

Mammy went in to ask questions, and came out and said, "It's the one with a layer of meringue, a layer of butter, and a layer of sugar."

Shulan was physically nauseated, and even after taking a small bite of the cricket, she said she was too tired, why did she remember to eat this now, what should I do?Have to ask someone to do it!

The puff pastry is already available. The chef in the imperial dining room is working under the watchful eyes of the eunuch. I heard that the empress specially asked for it for the concubine and the concubine. Too much.But it was too late to make amends, and he seemed very unprofessional. Besides, the sugar stuck to the cream, not to mention the three little eunuchs guarding him.The chef had to pretend to be calm, as if this dessert should have so much sugar.

But when it came to Baoqin's mouth, she even specially sent a nanny to thank her, "Thank you for your compassion, Ma'am, and put more sugar on purpose, it's delicious."

Not only is my stomach acidic now, but my teeth are also sour.Shulan thought of the dessert that could drop sugar granules with every shake, squeeze out the cream with a bite, and was specially wrapped in butter-fried puff pastry. She suddenly became a little worried. People often say that her mother is pregnant. What the child likes to eat at the time, what the child likes to eat, if a prince with such a curious taste is born...

Concubine Chang returned to Yikun Palace, went to see her son first, then went back to the room and sat down, holding tea, talking to her maid.

Concubine Chang's personal maid is called Jia Ping, Concubine Chang is a concubine when she enters the palace, this maid was brought in from her own home, and she will discuss with her about anything.

"Why should she be able to advance after giving birth to a son? My son is almost one year old, and I am still a concubine!" This sentence is complaining about Liu Zhiyao. Hook, but as the saying goes: A concubine who doesn't want to be a queen mother is not a good mother. She gave birth to a son, so naturally she wants to earn a big position.

What's more, the queen's son is very sick, and none of the emperors from this dynasty to the present is the eldest son or the first son.

"Your Majesty! Keep your voice down." The most important thing to be a qualified confidant is to keep a different pace from the master to some extent, especially when the master complains and is impulsive, "Liu Guiren, she is just a noble person when she enters the throne." , the indefinite number of nobles, this step is heaven and earth."

Concubine Chang nodded, she listened, her eyes shifted, and her tone eased a lot: "But I don't think Liu Guiren is a master of An Sheng, did you see that she brought the topic to Concubine He?"

Jia Ping nodded her head in agreement, "Liu Guiren is the only one who has been promoted after giving birth, and she is a son again, so she must have a big heart."

Hearing the only one who came in, Concubine Chang's face became gloomy again, "Hmph, if Concubine and Concubine also have a son, I'll see how they get along!"

"Your Majesty, don't forget what your wife told you when you entered the palace!"

"I remember." Chang Concubine's tone slowed down, and repeated: "The winner is the one who survives till the end!"

Not only that, when she entered the palace, Concubine Chang's mother took her and said repeatedly no less than ten times:

The emperor is still young, and no one can tell what will happen in the future.

The safest way for you to enter the palace is not to fight or grab.

The queen already has a son, so she won't be very strict.

As long as you have a child, of course it is best to be a son, you have to be more law-abiding.

A batch of newcomers enter the palace every three years, even if you can't be promoted, you won't be degraded.

When the emperor is old and sees that you are calm and prudent, at least you are a concubine. If you are lucky, you will have concubines and concubines. At that time, your son will grow up, and it is time to start earning.

Concubine Chang was chatting with her maid in Yikun Palace, and Concubine Dong and Liu Guiren were also talking when they returned to Chuxiu Palace.

However, their concerns are a little different from those of Concubine Chang. The first thing that bears the brunt is that the third prince seems to be more favored than the second prince.

"It's a pity that I was a court lady when I entered the palace, otherwise I wouldn't have suffered such grievances now." Liu Guiren gritted his teeth when he said that, she didn't recognize these two words. When she was in the palace, she was illiterate, and she was no exception.

To tell the truth, Concubine Dong is more impulsive than Guiren Liu. Guiren Liu was born as a court lady, not to mention seeing all the turmoil in the world, at least she has experienced hardships. Although Concubine Dong has gained a little and learned a lot in the past few years in the palace, she has not hurt her. Her muscles and bones were tense, so those things in her bones that she wanted to scramble for hadn't disappeared.

Although I was touched when Liu Guiren's child was taken up by the Queen Mother, it was limited to Liu Guiren.They came out of the Seventh Prince's Mansion together, so for Baoqin and the Queen, Dong Bin's fear is actually not as strong as others. She has seen the Queen being reprimanded by the Queen Mother, and she has also seen Baoqin wearing court ladies' costumes. When it's bad.

"It's not the same as when the concubine entered the palace, she was a maid. Now her master's grave is covered with grass. She can lie in the main hall of Qixiang Palace and give birth! What happened to the maid! Look at her attitude when she talks to the emperor! Hmph!" Concubine Dong was a little jealous and envious, she didn't dare, no one would talk to the emperor like that, except the empress.But that's the queen, how dare she hold the qin, and the queen just smiled and didn't say anything!

"Ling Changzai just said a few guesses and was grounded!" Dong Bin said again.

Liu Guiren thought for a while, and said: "When I gave birth, it took more than half an hour from the beginning of the attack to the real pain. Although it was uncomfortable, it was definitely not to the point where I couldn't bear it." Liu Guiren consciously made a slip of the tongue, He added: "Who knows, everyone is different, maybe she came at a dangerous time."

Concubine Dong didn't listen to this sentence, "She is definitely not the master of Ansheng. Liu Guiren lives in her palace. Although she sees the emperor often and her son is one year old, as long as she is a little uneasy, who knows that she will be killed?" Why bother. Look at today, the emperor left without even hugging his son."

Liu Guiren can hold Dong Concubine outside, but she can't hold Dong Concubine in the palace. If she is so aggrieved that she can't say it, there may be a big explosion one day, but Liu Guiren didn't answer a word, she just nodded her head. It's over with two beeps.

"When I was in Guanghe Palace earlier, there were often rewards in the palace. The queen mother liked her, and the emperor and queen also liked her." Dong Bin said while thinking, "Her family is well-off, but look at her. What has become of the old master...Maybe she can attract luck!" Concubine Dong shuddered, took Liu Guiren's hand and said: "We have to stay away from her, let's have a look first."

Liu Guiren supported the conclusion that she should stay away from her. There are so many people who are right and wrong. She wished she could raise her son in peace and not even leave the house.So she nodded and said: "What the empress said is, you see that the queen is so close to her, the eldest prince will not be healthy when he is born."

Thanks to the uninterrupted exercise and strict diet control during pregnancy, Baoqin gave birth very smoothly. Within three hours, Shulan heard the baby crying outside, and the voice was too loud.She hurriedly stood up and walked to the door of the delivery room, and saw the nanny coming out with a smile in her arms, "It's a prince! It's a little small, but it has a loud voice."

Shulan took a look, her little face was flushed from crying, her voice was really loud, and it made people's ears hurt when they got close. "What about your concubine?"

"My concubine is in good health, the baby is going well, and she is still awake."

Shulan nodded, and said: "Clean up quickly, and then go to Xuan imperial doctor to come in and get a pulse." Saying that, she lifted the curtain and went in.Mammy was still holding the baby and didn't hold back.

As soon as Shulan entered, she saw Baoqin lying on the bed and smiling at her, with a small voice, "It's only been a while since I've been out, I wish I could stuff him back in my stomach, the crying is so loud that the brick wall Loose."

Shulan took a handkerchief casually, wiped Baoqin's sweat, and said: "Talk nonsense, you rest well, I'll go and say hello to His Majesty." Then she tucked Baoqin under the quilt : "I won't go now, wait for the imperial doctor to feel the pulse before going!"

The child was placed beside Baoqin, and became much quieter, only sniffling softly.Baoqin couldn't hold back and stretched out his hand to poke the child's face, then touched his flat stomach, "Oh, I actually gave birth to a son."

Ruicheng was also very happy when he learned that Baoqin gave birth to a son smoothly, and rewarded many good things, and by the way, even the Liang family outside the palace also got a lot.

So after dinner, the news that he and his concubine had added a strong little prince to the emperor spread throughout the court.

"It's actually a son!" Chang Concubine was drinking bird's nest porridge when she heard the news, and dropped the spoon on the ground. Although she was always afraid of holding the piano and being promoted to the eldest daughter of the emperor, strictly speaking, it was still a threat of giving birth to a son. bigger.

When the prince was young, the son was more precious than the mother, but when he grew up, he became the mother who was more precious than the son.

Although both of them are concubines, and although the palace claims to have everything, some things are unique, and the first one to bear the brunt is the emperor's father. There are only 30 days in a month. His Majesty is diligent in government and loves the people, and his free time is limited. Even less time can be allocated to the prince.As the saying goes, the nature of father and son, but this nature also takes time to cultivate.

Next, there is the North Five Schools, where the prince goes after the age of six. Although they are collectively referred to as the North Five Schools, there are always two schools inside. The palace is smoky and smoky all day long, and I know it's uncomfortable to live in.

But it happened to be the fifth one to hold the piano student, Chang Bin smiled, maybe he would be assigned to the North Fifth School.But...if the queen's son becomes the crown prince, he will move to Yuqing Palace, so her son will live in the fourth house.

The residences of the princes arranged by the first emperor were arranged in order, and His Majesty must be in the same way.

The emperor's sons are not much older than the eldest son born to the empress and the fifth son born to Baoqin. When it's time to go to school, they have to fight for a companion to read and fight for the clever little eunuch. There are also mature and stable chief eunuchs.

There are also three princes born in April, and the empress likes to hold the piano, so it is inevitable that one will favor one over another at the birthday party in the future, and there will be quarrels at that time.Concubine Chang smiled, she wasn't worried, her son was in the middle, so he couldn't suffer anyway, so she just waited to watch the play.

The first time Ruicheng saw Baoqin's son was in Xisan, and Baoqin was still in confinement, so he could not see anyone and let the wind blow, the child was carried out by the queen and handed over to the mother.

Well, this is quite annoying, especially for those who already have sons.

Rolling your eyes is all about rolling your eyes, you have to add more pots, according to the order of seniority, seniority, the first one is the emperor, a spoonful of water, a golden scorpion, and the mother said a few auspicious words.

When the emperor and empress were added, there would be only a few concubines. Except for the few who could only stay in the Great Buddha Hall until they died at a young age, there were only four concubines left when the first emperor could go out.

Prince Zhongshun's mother and concubine Wu has been taken out of the palace, and there are only Concubines Yu, Concubine Zhou and Concubine Wanggui left in the palace.

The first concubine was Wang Guitai, she was the concubine of the late emperor, and the late emperor added a level to become a noble concubine. There was only one princess who had already married. Usually do not come out on big occasions.

Next up is Concubine Wu. Concubine Wu has already moved into Prince Zhongshun's mansion. She is served by her daughter-in-law and her grandson is in her arms. Although her son is a bit of a hobby, her life is generally satisfactory, not to mention that her granddaughter is about to marry into the Liang family. , so the smile on his face is also real.

There is also Concubine Yu, although she was very favored by the late emperor in her later years, but the queen mother was already old and had already withdrawn from the ranks of contending for favor, her son was not too old, and there was no conflict with the emperor, not to mention her son's position The emperor had to wait for the canonization, and the daughter's marriage was also pointed to the emperor, so she would not come out with a droopy face, and the gift was very expensive.

The last one is Concubine Zhou. Her biological daughter's sons are all ten years old, and the adopted Ninth Prince is only five years old this year. He is usually alone quietly, and he is well-behaved.

Coming down is the emperor's concubine. Concubine Wu couldn't help but twitched her eyelids when she saw four sparse people coming out, there were too few people!

Ling Changzai was still under confinement, the queen said that the confinement was real confinement, not the customary situation in the palace where she was graciously allowed to show her face during festivals.

Concubine Dong looked at the child, and then winked at Concubine Chang who was following behind Concubine Liu Guiren: Does the child look a little small?

Concubine Chang acted as if she hadn't seen it, while Guiren Liu shook her head lightly. The key is, do you dare to say it?Add embarrassment to the concubine in front of everyone: Your child looks thin, so be careful not to make trouble for a while.The child's own mother can say this, and the emperor and queen can also say it. If others say it, they will be punished.

After adding the basin, the formal washing began. The mother took the prepared branches and dipped the water in the basin filled with many gold collars, gold, silver and other things, and tapped the child's head three times.The cold water is specially used for this water, and a large push of cold gold and silver ornaments is added, in order to make the child cry louder when stimulated, and the louder the "sound basin" is, the more auspicious it will be.

This time, the hornet's nest was stabbed, and the child was so quick that it could not cover his ears, crying louder than the one that called Shulan's ears hurt that day, and made his mother want to stuff him back, and Sa Yazi cried out.

Concubine Chang's hands trembled, and she accidentally dropped the lid of the teacup, which was really auspicious.

Originally, Ruicheng felt guilty for looking at the child as a little small, and holding the piano was all right in his heart, and the emperor was willing to think about things related to her better, so Ruicheng thought it was because the empress dowager was tired from holding the piano at the funeral. That's why the child was born weak, but the voice, tsk tsk, is full of energy, and the sound is like a bell, very good.

But which one came over to coax, it was a bit noisy.

When the child finally calmed down, Concubine Wu seemed a little deaf from the shock, and said in a much louder voice than usual: "Cough, I can't even hear what I said. This child is very energetic. Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Ruicheng also replied loudly, "Concubine Lao has entered the palace!"

The first festival after the third wash was the Dragon Boat Festival, and Shulan released a group of old maids out of the palace in the name of praying for the little prince, otherwise she was not welcome.

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the maids are released from the palace. Usually, they never find a reason, and there are three princes born in April, and the empress only remembers this one.

"A total of 110 five were released."

When Shulan came in, Baoqin was hugging her son, and she looked a little embarrassed when she saw Shulan, but shame is too unreliable, so Baoqin held her son in front of her chest and pointed at him. Shulan said: "Come and have a chat with the empress~"

Shulan rolled her eyes, "Are you doing the same thing when the emperor comes? People's sons first learn how to call father emperor, so you teach your son this?"

"He won't be able to come in now. I have to sit in confinement for a month. I still think about whether I should pretend to be weak because I was too old to have a child. My son is so small. Should I sit for three What about the month?"

Shulan thought for a while that the emperor almost couldn't help covering his ears with his hands, and decided to give up the idea of ​​holding the piano completely. She sat on the side of the bed and said, "The emperor came to me last night and said that he would adopt the second prince out. .”

"Second prince? Liu Guiren?" Baoqin finally became serious and put the child on the bed.

Shulan nodded, "The imperial edict has been written and the date has been selected, it will be on the 23rd of this month." Before this article was finished, Shulan said again: "There is also Liu Zhiyao in your palace. I saw it all. She was there when she was dressing Chongying, let's see what she said."

Shulan added two more words, "The emperor seems to want to draft, half of which were specially instructed by the queen mother when she went, and the other half is probably that Wu Taifei came in and saw it last time. Go back and let Zhongshun The prince persuaded the emperor."

"There's also the marriage between your elder brother and younger brother. Let me do the math. Xiaobao is only sixteen. Don't worry. Your brother is two years older than you. You should stay in confinement and wait for three months. Don't, it's better to wait until The child will come out after a hundred days."

Baoqin gave Shulan a careful look, "I just said one thing, you count." Baoqin pinched his fingers, "Four things."

"Adoption has nothing to do with anyone." Baoqin said: "But the second prince has two mothers now, so we have to be careful." When Shulan got closer, Baoqin whispered: "Although this is His Majesty's own idea, But they dare not blame His Majesty, so they have to find someone else."

Shulan frowned, hugged Qin and said: "Your Majesty and the Queen Mother have been in the room for so long, who knows what they said."

"Are you not afraid that the Queen Mother will come back to find you?"

Baoqin smiled, "Don't be afraid, the queen mother is happy, you forgot that I cheated with her in the imperial garden two years ago, and besides, she just came back to see her little grandson." Hug up.

Shulan frowned again, "What's the smell on your body? It wasn't like this when I was in confinement."

Baoqin choked, "Your old man will give birth to a baby. It's the cold winter months. I haven't washed it for half a month. All you smell is bad smell, sweat and milk. Maybe change it It also smells like changing a diaper..."

Shulan jumped up, "Let's talk about it after you are out of confinement. I'll go back and wash it."

Although I feel a bit disgusted with the strong smell of Baoqin, Shulan still visits her every day. The other concubines in the palace are not so diligent. No salt, no one with concubines now, and the only one, Ling Changzai, who was grounded again, heck, this is also the benefit of having fewer concubines.

Two days after the emperor's decree was issued, Shulan slapped two small maids in front of the side hall of Kunning Palace, saying that she was gossiping.

"Have you heard the news?"

In the Chuxiu Palace, Liu Guiren's eyes were red, and Concubine Dong sat on the side and asked Yun Xi who had just entered.

Yun Xi nodded, and said in a low voice, "It is said that the Empress Dowager may have told Her Majesty before she died."

"Empress Dowager." Dong Bin repeated, "Did you hear that? It sounds quite possible. When Empress Dowager went, there were only two princes who had reached the age of one year, and it was impossible to adopt the queen's son. If you don’t get up, naturally you won’t be able to pass it on.”

Liu Guiren hummed in a low voice, wiped away tears again, and said, "Madam, I'm going back to lie down, I have a terrible headache."

Dong Bin saw that she was really not feeling well, and after thinking about it, she also suffered from insomnia for several days because of being adopted, so she said: "You should rest well, your face is swollen."

Although Liu Guiren acted as if she believed it in front of Bin Dong, she only half believed it in her heart.

Baoqin's guess was only half right. They really didn't dare to blame the emperor, but for the deceased queen mother, it wasn't that they didn't dare to complain, but that it didn't make much sense to pin their resentment on a dead person. Sigh.Subconsciously, Liu Guiren wants to find a living person to hate.

Her original plan to stay in An Ansheng until she left the palace was completely shattered. The second prince Chong has been changed to the name of the late Prince Zhongying, and has nothing to do with her.The child is still young, and it may not be long before she will not remember her as the biological mother.

For Liu Guiren, she has no hope at all.Just like the group of people who chanted scriptures in the Great Buddha Hall all day long, they stayed with the ancient Buddha with blue lanterns and died.

It can be said that she hated everyone in this palace except Ling Changzai and Dong Bin who were grounded.

Chang Concubine and Liu Guiren also have sons, why not inherit their sons, they were not yet one year old at that time, aren't they all full now!

Baoqin was the closest one to the queen mother, seeing her was like seeing the queen mother, the emperor even entrusted her with all the cleaning and tidying of the Compassionate Palace, so I don't hate her or anyone else!

And the queen, who knows if she chewed her tongue in front of the emperor, saying that the queen mother was caught in the wind because she went to see Chong in the middle of the night!

Liu Guiren became depressed in a fit of anger, and immediately fell ill.

After several incidents happened one after another, the concubine Chang's son's first birthday banquet was extremely dismal. Her son's first birthday banquet was only three days away from Baoqin's son's full moon banquet, and it was three days after his full moon banquet!

But to be honest, it's not just Concubine Chang who has been miserable in the past few months. She still has a son, and she has a little income. It is miserable to have no son. For example, Concubine Dong, the worst thing is that she is still grounded Ling Chang was here, and the gifts were not missing, and he didn't eat a meal.

The first ten days of April was the second birthday of the second prince Chong, and the first gift was given out.Counting this, Ling Changzai couldn't help looking at the square sky in the palace: "Your Majesty, if you adopt him earlier, you will lose one gift."

In the second half of the day, it was the third prince Chongying's first birthday banquet. By the way, the fifth prince holding the piano was born that day, and then there was Xisan's first birthday, and then the fourth prince's first birthday banquet.

For Ling Changzai and Dong Concubine, a total of five gifts were sent out. Dong Concubine had a higher rank and more shares than Ling Changzai, and life could be a little easier. Ling Changzai had nothing to give away later. When Concubine Chang's son was one year old, she gave three-color embroidery work and a small silver lock, the thinnest gift.

When Liu Guiren's son was one year old, there were two and a half people missing at Concubine Chang's son's birthday banquet.Well, the last one can understand, after all, it's only three days after the full moon.

At that time, there were eight people at a table, barely counted as one table, and now there are only five...

But the highlight is not these, after all, her son has a name, which is something to be thankful for.

忀庥.

Shulan came to tell her the name the next day, and wrote it down on paper.

This word is so simple, she can recognize it in two characters, so she hugged the piano and looked at Shulan: Do you still want to read Xie after adding the wide prefix?

Shulan smiled at her encouragingly: It's okay, just read it out, read it out.

Baoqin coughed, and said: "This is the empress's calligraphy, I have to keep it well."

Nima still doesn't recognize it!

Baoqin looked at Shulan sincerely, "What should I do, I don't know if it will be too late to read Shuowen Jiezi from now on..."