Queen's Road in the Red House

At lunch, Empress Yang ushered in the emperor who had been driven away by the Supreme Emperor.

Miss Zou quickly removed a plate of chicken soup with boiled clams from the dining table. The emperor didn't like seafood and thought it smelled fishy.

"Your majesty, are you in a bad mood?" Empress Yang asked directly when she saw that his face was slightly gloomy and the eunuch didn't eat the cloth and vegetables.

"I'm in a bad mood, you look like you're ready to eat, don't you?" The emperor was even more angry when he saw that Queen Yang came in by himself, except for adding a pair of cups and saucers, she was still eating as usual.

Empress Yang put down her chopsticks after realizing it, and thought: Well, such yin and yang weirdness must be scolded by the Supreme Emperor again.

She finds it a little annoying.

Generally, the emperor would not come to her when he is in a bad mood. The noble concubine is bright, the concubine Ming is gentle, and the concubine Kang is docile. Pulling a face to find myself venting it.

The emperor's original intention of this trip was to let Empress Yang talk more about Xin Hongcheng, and tell him to be cautious and respectful, but seeing Empress Yang herself being so stupid and sleepy, I felt a sense of powerlessness from the bottom of my heart.

just forget it.

So he picked another topic and said: "The candidate for the side concubine, the concubine, have they all chosen?"

Empress Yang murmured in her heart: just for this?Tianlei still doesn't hit the eater, why bother to ask when the eater is half eaten.

Sure enough, the emperor refused to continue sitting at the dinner table, got up and went to the Nuan Pavilion to the west, and Empress Yang hurriedly rinsed her mouth and followed.

"The noble concubine said that the eldest prince is the eldest, and the wedding is imminent, so there is no need to pick a side concubine to serve her first. I guess the noble concubine is also very satisfied with her niece from her natal family." Empress Yang commented on the concubine's thoughts, and then continued: "The concubine Ming will send you a concubine. Two candidates came, and she said I would choose." Empress Yang paused for a moment, then closed the corner of her mouth that was about to twitch, and then said: "Concubine Ming is so humble, why don't the emperor choose one. I won't make the decision. "

Seeing that the emperor just nodded lazily, Empress Yang continued: "Concubine Kang means that the third prince's main concubine only seeks harmony, and the side concubine is even more so, so she chose a concubine from her own family."

The emperor doesn't even care, the only thing he asks of the third prince is not to get sick. He had seen the third prince suffer from asthma once before, his face was red and purple, and his lips were white. From then on, the emperor would rather not see him. Startled.

After Empress Yang finished talking about the third prince, she couldn't help but pause, and she was reluctant to talk about Xin Hongcheng: "Cheng'er's side concubine, I think I will talk about it later..." Then she looked at the emperor's face, for fear that the emperor would mention the Zhong family.

Clan concept, no connection is more reliable than in-laws.

Just looking at the first three princes, regardless of the main concubine or side concubine, one of them is always a girl from the mother's family.

Back then the prince was still there, and the emperor was just a king, so his concubines were not of the first class. Now that the emperor ascends the throne alone, his sons, daughters and relatives are also ascended to heaven. Naturally, he wants to consolidate the newly promoted position through marriage.

The efficiency of a man studying hard for decades is too low, it can't compare to the straightforwardness of his daughter marrying into the royal family.

The Zhong family even had the idea of ​​marrying before the emperor ascended the throne. Although the four princes and concubines can't get it now, there are many girls from the same clan. The daughters of the side branches and the concubines of the Hou's mansion can all be side concubines marry over.

Speaking of his concubine, the emperor has always been more energetic, he shook his head: "I have thought about it, the father beat me on his concubine Lizheng, but it was not only for this one thing, I am afraid that I will feel that I am doing this." My father favors him. In the past two years, I should step back and not interfere, and let him stay in front of the emperor for two years. When everyone else has a side concubine in the future, it is impossible for the emperor to look down on it, so I will give it to Cheng'er As for the gift, isn’t that better than I offered it on my own initiative?”

Empress Yang let out a long sigh of relief.

Firstly, she likes Daiyu and doesn't want her to be in an embarrassing situation. If she accepts a side concubine now, when she enters the palace, the concubine's room has been in for two years, so she may have children; secondly, Queen Yang asked herself For a big-hearted person, she would not be happy to see a girl from the former Empress Xiaoyi's family as a half-daughter-in-law.

The emperor stretched out his hand to Empress Yang: "Bring it here."

Empress Yang stared at him in a daze: "Huh?"

The emperor: ... "Didn't you say that Concubine Ming picked two candidates and let me make up my mind?"

Empress Yang suddenly realized, and hurriedly ordered people to go to the inner room. The emperor's arms were sore, and he waited for a thin booklet. He couldn't help saying: "Since I want to make up my mind, why didn't I prepare it earlier."

Empress Yang said naturally, "You didn't say you were coming today."

Immediately, the emperor was choked and speechless: all the women in the palace were looking forward to Jun En every day, and prepared according to his meeting every day, but he was speechless when asked by Queen Yang.

Empress Yang looked at the brochure handed over by the Emperor idly, and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, the first two girls here are very talkative. Among them, the daughters of the Liu family, the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, are not only the daughters of the prostitutes , the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple is an official of the fourth grade, and he is in charge of offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple, which is a noble position.

And this daughter of the Xue family, although her status seems low, her father died young and she is the daughter of an imperial merchant, but after all, she is from the four major families of Jinling, her aunt is the second wife of the Rongguo Mansion, and her uncle is the Admiral Wang of the Nine Provinces. The girl also met the courtiers and concubines at the flower viewing banquet that day. She was so good-looking that even the empress dowager asked about it.It can be seen that Concubine Ming will pick and choose these two. "

The emperor looked at the queen with some amusement: the queen's complaints are so simple that people can know it at a glance.

It is nothing more than to show that the concubine is hypocritical. The two girls selected seem to be from different backgrounds, but upon closer inspection, each has its own benefits.

The emperor said: "Which one do you think is better?"

The empress couldn't hold back her lips this time: "I'm afraid Concubine Ming values ​​Xue's daughter. She deliberately got these two girls, one of whom is better than the second prince and concubine. She must think that I will trip her up." , choose another one from a low family background, that's what she wants! Your Majesty, I heard that the Xue family is very rich, and has a reputation of being as pearls as snow and gold as iron. Although her Xu family is a famous family in Shu, she has always prided herself on being clean and honest. , the old man still has the reputation of being a breeze in his sleeves. I guess he is short of money."

Miss Zou was anxious to hang herself: she didn't dare to pull Queen Yang's clothes to brake for her in front of the emperor, she could only watch Queen Yang spit out everything.

Empress Yang didn't receive Miss Zou's despairing look, and she continued to chatter: "Concubine Ming has a good plan. If I choose Xue's daughter, she will not lose money. If I inquire, I can see that there are some benefits behind the Xue family. , and in turn choose Liu Shi, she will make even more money."

The emperor was also speechless, interrupted Queen Yang, and pressed the center of her eyebrows.

"That's all, I know. Let's choose the daughter of the Liu family of Taichang Temple."

Then he got up and left without explaining to Queen Yang.In fact, he also understood Concubine Ming's intentions, and since what happened last time, he also got tired of Concubine Ming.

It's just a marriage of a few sons, but now the second prince and concubine are the most humble. In order to show in front of the emperor that he is determined to be a water master, the emperor is going to make up a side concubine with a good background for the second prince.

Empress Yang sent the emperor away, and when she turned her head and saw the pale face of Lady Zou, she said in surprise, "Are you sick? Quickly invite a medical lady to come and take a look."

Ms. Zou managed to catch her breath, so she could only shake her head weakly.

Empress Yang thought about it, and became happy again: "I heard that Master Liu, Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, is a decent person. He lived a hard life when he was young, and he passed the imperial examination step by step. Up to now, there are about ten servants in his family, and he is the most simple and old-fashioned. Isn't Concubine Ming short of money to take care of the second prince, and now her plan is in vain, so she will die of poverty!"

Empress Yang, who was very rich, gloated.

Seeing that Miss Zou was about to have a heart attack, Jing Su quickly asked the little maid to help her out.Lady Zou is the best at planning for the queen, hoping that she will be favored by the emperor.But Jingsu saw that Empress Yang had such a temperament, it was too difficult to be favored, she might as well follow her and be happy.

So Jing Su teased Empress Yang: "Yes, the Xu family was not rich in wealth. Concubine Ming's ostentation all these years has depended on the emperor's love, and she rewarded it in private. After entering the palace, the emperor's rewards are less. in a hurry."

When he was in Xunwang's mansion, Xunwang belonged to the princes who were richer in business, so the room for appreciating concubines was very generous.

It's a pity that after entering the palace, the landlord's family has no food left, and the emperor even relied on the Lin family's money to meet his urgent needs. For an emperor, favoring his concubine is not as important as power.There is no need to worry about Concubine Ming's financial constraints when she enters the palace.

Now he even dislikes Concubine Ming for plotting against his son-in-law, and has disappeared.People in the palace are all snobbish, and those who were willing to do things for the concubine Ming have become lazy now, and refuse to move without seeing a lot of money.That's why Concubine Ming's life was getting more and more difficult, so she moved her mind and took aim at the daughter of the imperial merchant who she didn't like at first.

Considering that the prince has two side concubines, it is not a loss to exchange one for a large sum of money.

Empress Yang smiled even brighter when she heard this: "That's right, money is used everywhere in the palace. There are several large boxes full of food delivered from the imperial dining room, but only a few dishes are edible. The bowl is the stew pot, and if you want a fresh stir-fry, you have to pay for it yourself and let the small kitchen make it."

"Let me see how Concubine Ming lives! I'm afraid that the second prince will marry next year, and she won't even have the money to reward the eunuchs and maids in the House of Internal Affairs. Those people are the most capable of humiliating people with trivial work in private. If they don't get the money, they will Dare to let the second prince's wedding banquet look passable on the surface, but it is not decent. When the time comes, their mother and son will definitely lose face!"

Jing Su then smiled and said: "What Your Majesty said is that our Fourth Highness is loved by you and the Emperor, so we will not suffer this loss. Besides, the Empress Ming also has to prepare the banquet for the side concubine, I am afraid that she will even give her daughter-in-law a reward nothing."

Empress Yang nodded again and again: "Yes, yes, you reminded me. Although Yu'er will not enter the door for two years, but things must be prepared first. There are the most good leather goods in the Northwest, so I asked my brothers to pay attention to me in the past two years. Such as black bear skin, purple lamb skin, and fox skin, these are hard to come by, and if you have any good ones, send them to me. Didn’t Imperial Physician Wu say that Yu’er is the least resistant to cold in winter.”

The queen was already planning to be happy, but the emperor, because he left from the queen's palace without a bite of food, thought that the queen would send someone to bring some snacks to him, but who knew that nothing came in the evening.

He was born as a prince, and he was used to being flattered and flattered all his life, and he never thought of giving something in return.

On the contrary, after becoming an emperor, I realized a fairness from Queen Yang: If you don't care about the other party, the other party really doesn't care about you at all.

The emperor was depressed, but he couldn't just reprimand the queen for such a trivial matter, not to mention that even if he really reprimanded, Queen Yang might not understand it.

So I had to be depressed for a while, and continued to write poems in memory of my late wife Zhong.

--

Rongguo Mansion two days later.

Jia Min received another letter from the palace, then called her daughter to her, and said with a smile: "Miss Xue, she almost became the second prince's side concubine."

Empress Yang kept everything from Xin Hongcheng, and when Xin Hongcheng got the news, he sent it outside the palace immediately.

Daiyu was slightly startled, but since she was almost there, she just missed it.

Not to mention what Jia Min said in the past, just from Xin Hongcheng's letter, he and the second prince's mother and son are in the same line of fire and water, and Ming Concubine herself was surrounded by the thickest red circle by Xin Hongcheng.

If Xue Baochai enters the palace and becomes a side concubine with the second prince, it will be really troublesome.

Jia Min called Daiyu not only to talk about this matter: now Daiyu is very busy every day, and there is a lot of things to learn, but fortunately there is Zhou Xuanwei watching, ready to rob Mammy Ge all the time. .One of the two wanted to hang their heads on the beam to teach, saying that time was tight, and the other wanted people to rest, saying that the body is the biggest capital. With such two people by Daiyu's side, Jia Min can feel at ease.

She herself would often sit in her daughter's room and watch her study.Then when the time came, I went to see the meals and refreshments prepared in the small kitchen in person, and it was all a loving mother's heart on her daughter.

The housework of the Rongguo Mansion, except for the financial power, is handed over to Sister Feng as the manager, who will help in the spring.

At Madam Wang's place, Madam Xing stared at Madam Xing spontaneously and self-consciously, and all matters as big as sesame and mung bean came to Jia Min to beat the drums and complain.

Jia Min is now so patient and perfunctory with Mrs. Wang, she is also planning to divide the second room, so Mrs. Xing will be sure when she files a complaint, and Mrs. Wang has to eat a meal every time to finish the calculation.

The feng shui took turns, and now the second room has a deep understanding of the feeling that the eldest room was easily blamed that day.

Gossip is far away, because of Daiyu's busy schedule, Jia Min specially called her to come to her room at this moment, and just gathered up several things and said together: "Prince concubine can bring two personal maids into the palace. Just pick one carefully, choose two, and then teach them according to the palace rules as soon as possible."

Although it looks small, it is an important matter. Once the person brought into the palace has a wrong idea or is bribed, the knife in the back is always the most powerful.

Daiyu nodded: "Mother, I'll keep an eye out for another month. Please also help me touch the relatives behind them."

After all, these maids of the Lin family have only been with her for a few months, so it is impossible to talk about absolute trust.

Jia Min sighed: Poor daughter used to live in this mansion, she didn't have her own maid to take care of her, and she was surrounded by monks halfway.

Congenital deficiencies can only be made up for the day after tomorrow, and it is the relatives of these maids who have to check again.A maid who enters the palace must clean her relatives first, otherwise she will be caught by someone, and maybe this maid will betray the master for her family.

Although Jia Min checked it at that time, there are naturally two standards for entering the Rongguo Mansion and following the palace.

Fortunately, there is no need for the concubine to enter the palace to accompany the room, which greatly reduces Jia Min's workload.

After finishing the business, Jia Min talked about private matters, with a smile on his face: "Here is a letter from His Highness Fourth Highness."

Daiyu couldn't help but said, "It's only been two days..."

The frequency of writing letters is too frequent. Didn't it mean that the princes have a lot of homework and go to the study room with stars and moons?For example, classmate Jia Baoyu, in the first two cycles of entering the palace, she was almost looking for life and death.Why does Xin Hongcheng still have time to write letters all the time.

She was so shy that she didn't even care about it, she was completely surprised, and she couldn't help worrying that Xin Hongcheng would delay her homework because of this, and would be whipped by the emperor with a fly whisk.

After all, Daiyu was deeply impressed by the scene where the emperor's eyes were about to burst, he grabbed the eunuch's whisk and whipped him.

Jia Min smiled and handed the letter to her daughter.

The letter to myself has complex totems on it, but the letter to her daughter is sealed with a dried flower, which is exquisite and beautiful.

When Daiyu saw this, she couldn't bear to tear open the letter and the flowers, but found a pair of small silver scissors, and gently cut off the flowers.

At first, I thought it was just some trivial matter in the inner palace, but Xin Hongcheng actually wrote down all the things about the Supreme Emperor's examination compared with his homework, and even briefly explained the things about the Northern Xinjiang and the Southern Yunnan and Myanmar Miao Division.

What's more, it clearly describes the contacts and quarrels between the emperor and the several princes since he ascended the throne, especially when it concerns the second prince, and specifically cites a few vivid examples of you cheating me and I cheating you.

Daiyu immediately understood the meaning of Xin Hongcheng's letter: firstly, he told her that he was living under the command of the Supreme Emperor, probably because he wanted to complain about his grievances; Jade is counted in advance, so don't suffer when you come and go between boudoirs.

Last time I already talked about the inner house, this time Xin Hongcheng simply told her all about the man's housework.

Daiyu felt more at ease: if a letter was full of sweet words from beginning to end, Daiyu would find it hard to believe.It's such a rare piece of news, the Jia family can't figure it out no matter what, this is her future guiding light and amulet.

This time Xin Hongcheng did not write any "heartfelt words", but greeted her body as usual, and then expressed his desire to receive a reply.

Daiyu couldn't help smiling, she didn't intend to write back to him right now.

Seeing her daughter's expression, Jia Min also felt relieved, so she let her go without asking any questions, "You are the number one busy person now, go back quickly. It's just that you don't have to be too strong in everything, so as not to hurt your mind too much. "