Queen's Road in the Red House

On the sixth day of September, which is breezy in autumn, the canonization ceremony of the prince and princess was held.

When Daiyu finally sat down at night, she felt sore in her waist and back, and fell asleep without even wanting to pick off the hairpin.

She has already practiced the etiquette of this day, and she is also guided by a female officer.

At first she was uneasy, but then she became numb—whether it was attending the ceremony at the Xiandian Hall, worshiping the gods at the Baohua Hall, paying homage to the ancestors at the Ancestral Temple, or going to the Ningshou Palace and Shouan Palace to meet the living ones. The main content of the two ancestors is the same, that is, kneeling and rising, rising and kneeling, ups and downs all day long.

The imperial concubine's crown is heavy, but after kowtowing, if there are no two female officials to support her, it is difficult to stand up gracefully and calmly.

As the day passed, Daiyu felt that her head didn't look like her own anymore.

Mo Ran and the palace servants had already prepared hot water for bathing, and the steam was curling up, and the palace servants hurriedly took Daiyu's clothes outside: "This coral color is the most delicate, and it won't be able to be worn if it is heated twice. "

Xiaoluo poured a little facial oil from a glass silk-wrapped vial and dabbed it on Daiyu's face lightly: "Psalmist Zhou sent it, saying that the empress is wearing heavy makeup today, so she can't just use soap and bath beans to wash it off."

Daiyu heard this, even though she was extremely tired, she couldn't help smiling: "Sister Zhou went to the imperial hospital, and she didn't care about others, but she started to find all kinds of beauty-beautifying prescriptions. I heard that many empresses in the harem They're all eager to see."

Xiao Luo grinned: "That's right, who doesn't want to stay young forever and look ageless? Imperial Physician Zhou is very popular now."

After taking a bath, Daiyu really couldn't bear the cumbersome process of applying pearl powder all over her body, so she put on a ginger-red pajamas and came out to sit in front of the mirror and wipe her hair.

Xin Hongcheng also just washed his face and combed his hair again.Seeing Daiyu come out, he said, "Go to bed early, I'll go to Mingzheng Palace, I shouldn't be back early, don't wait for me."

Daiyu subconsciously looked at the time clock: Are you still going out at this hour?

Xin Hongcheng nodded: "It's one thing to salute the emperor in the ceremony, but it's another thing in private."

The Danchi Shang of the Grand Ceremony is the gift of the monarch and his ministers.

In private is the relationship between father and son.

Canonizing the crown prince is only the first step in the long march.

Daiyu saw that his expression could not hide his tiredness, but she still insisted on going to greet the emperor.Just reaching back, Xin Hongcheng stepped forward to hold her hand, and looked at her in the mirror: "Take a rest, tomorrow I have to get up early to accompany my mother to move to the palace."

--

Emperor Xuanhe was also a little surprised when he saw his son: "After this day of tossing, you didn't rest early, why did you come here again?"

Without further ado, Xin Hongcheng knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor three times: "Thank you, father."

The emperor's eye circles were a little red.

When he was in the palace in the past, there were no such rules. Sometimes Xin Hongcheng called his parents directly, especially when he made a mistake and was punished, he even cried for his father and mother.

Only when he entered the palace was he a well-behaved father.

The emperor's treatment of Xin Hongcheng is different from the Supreme Emperor's treatment of the deposed prince.

Back then, the Supreme Emperor directly established the baby as the crown prince. From the very beginning, he was the emperor and minister first, and then father and son.And I hope that my son can help the world and the people from the age of three, become great and outstanding, and be able to govern the country far beyond the Han and Tang Dynasties in the future.

With such a series of high standards and strict requirements, no matter how good a child is, he will be eclipsed. The pressure is huge, and he is a god without a mental breakdown.

But the emperor is different. Since he was born, his first brother has been the prince. In the process of growing up, he saw a few brothers who had ambitions to compete with the prince. his ambitions.So for 40 years, the emperor has been working hard to be an outstanding prince and minister.

Therefore, treat your son as a son, no matter how you look at it.

Seeing the emperor's eyes were red, Xin Hongcheng and Qin Wu, who was standing beside him, instantly had a tacit understanding, knowing that the emperor would definitely miss Empress Xiaoyi again as a routine.

Sure enough, the emperor pulled his son and told him to kowtow to his mother's portrait.

After the two were seated, the emperor said: "Since Mrs. Yang herself refuses to be a queen, then I will fulfill her. In the future, I will only hang your mother's portrait in Fengyi Palace."

Xin Hongcheng remained silent, but the emperor was surprised: "Originally, when I mentioned this matter, you always defended Yang, why didn't you speak today?"

"The son has said many times that the queen mother asked to abdicate because she was ashamed of her illness and was unable to assume the position of queen. The father didn't believe it. He always felt that the queen mother resented you and cut off the relationship between husband and wife. The son will not explain it. It takes a long time to see people's hearts, and the emperor will always see the heart of the mother."

The emperor sneered: "What's your intention?"

Xin Hongcheng closed his mouth like a clamshell again, and it was Eunuch Qin who immediately stepped forward and said winkingly: "The emperor doesn't know, empress empress..." He slapped himself on the mouth: "Immortal Master Yuanhui has been asking for help every day for the past few days. Send a few Buddhist scriptures to Baohua Hall for worship, and the master said that the immortal master is praying for your blessings for thousands of years."

The emperor's expression moved slightly, and he asked Xin Hongcheng, "Can she write?"

Xin Hongcheng nodded: "The queen mother can't walk on the ground by herself, and the perception and movement of the upper body have almost recovered. But the queen mother can't sit for a long time, these few Buddhist scriptures every day, almost consume a whole day of waking up."

This time it was the emperor who remained silent, and said after a long while: "Go to the Baohua Palace and bring the scriptures she copied to me for a look."

After fetching the scriptures, the emperor saw that the characters on it were large and messy, which could be seen to be caused by the uncontrollable trembling of the hand of the brush, and his heart was heavy and sour: Empress Yang was also from a famous family. The first-hand lowercase writing is also correct, but now I can only write such characters...

"It's hard for her, she will move to the palace tomorrow, I will go and see her."

Xin Hongcheng lowered his head slightly guilty.

He and Daiyu knew very well that Empress Yang's Buddhist scriptures were just copied to practice calligraphy, and he was the one who sent the Buddhist scriptures to Baohua Hall, and it was Mrs. Zou's responsibility to pray for Emperor Xuanhe.

Empress Yang was overjoyed to be able to move to Shangjing Palace and not have to see Emperor Xuanhe again. She probably would have forgotten what Emperor Xuanhe's surname was if she hadn't recognized Xin Hongcheng as her son.

Not to mention copying Buddhist scriptures and praying for him, there was no mention of Emperor Xuanhe at all.

It is estimated that he does not want to see the emperor again.

Xin Hongcheng said with a sad face: "Father, the queen mother is a strong person. You also know that when she moves to the palace, she will not want my father to see that she can't walk and needs someone to help her into the soft sedan chair. Why don't you go."

The main reason is that Empress Yang would hate the emperor on the spot, so it's better to miss each other than to meet each other.

--

The next day, Empress Yang moved to the palace.

The emperor had already made a decree that none of the concubines in the six palaces were allowed to see the queen off, only the prince and concubine were allowed to see him off.

Shangjing Palace is not big, and its buildings are not gorgeous.There are only three main rooms and a small room newly built in the year the emperor ascended the throne. The west wing connected by the corridor and the opposite side are already quite old and difficult to live in. Fortunately, Empress Yang only brought a few people here. , Ms. Zou and others live in the east wing, and they can live in it.

The boxes and cages were placed in the inverted seat and the west wing.

The main building of Shangjing Palace is just ordinary white walls and gray tiles, which is incompatible with the majestic red walls and green tiles in the palace.The yard is not big, only ordinary plantains, apricot trees, and a grape trellis are planted, but there are no precious flowers at all.

Xin Hongcheng sized it up, and said to Empress Yang, "The queen mother will stay here first, and I will slowly persuade the emperor father."

Empress Yang asked herself to retire, and the emperor had a hard time making it difficult for her, and forbade anyone to properly repair Shangjing Palace.I only know that the empress who abdicated lived in the past, so naturally Empress Yang can also live.

Empress Yang shook her head: "No, it's fine. The houses in the northwest are almost like this, and I'm used to living there."

Speaking of Northwest, Empress Yang smiled: "I still remember when I was a child, every time this season came, my family was busy storing green vegetables. In winter, a plate of juicy cucumbers in cold salad was as expensive as gold. Such a hole-in-the-wall It’s rare, when every family holds a New Year’s banquet, they don’t look at the wine and meat, but only look at whose family has more greens, and you will know who is living a rich life.”

When Xin Hongcheng heard Empress Yang mentioning the Northwest, he smiled and said, "As soon as my mother said it, I remembered something. I saw from the official documents yesterday that the Chinese army in Zhili Mansion had just been promoted to the General Army of Gansu. I heard that Zhili What about the governor’s note, I wonder if it’s a relative of the queen mother’s family?”

The governor of Zhili is now the eldest brother of Empress Yang. As a big official in the frontier, he promotes the quota of two officials to the court every year. Those who can occupy one of his quotas must be either relatives or cronies.

Empress Yang was taken aback, and then asked a little excitedly: "The original Chinese army garrison? Is the surname Guo?"

Xin Hongcheng nodded: "Your mother knows each other?"

Empress Yang smiled slowly: "Yes, I know him. He is my cousin. We played together when we were young. So many years have passed in a flash. On the full moon of his eldest son, I specially sent someone to send him to the northwest. The full moon ceremony is coming, and I heard that he has had a son and a daughter in recent years. That's great."

Even hearing the news of his good life, Empress Yang felt happy.

After Xin Hongcheng went to the official department, Empress Yang patted the edge of the bed and asked Daiyu to sit beside her: "Good boy, from today onwards, the main entrance of Shangjing Palace will be locked. You are the princess, so you don't have to come here in the future. How many pairs of eyes are watching."

The abdicated queen should be in meditation.

The main gate of Shangjing Palace was locked, meaning that Empress Yang would no longer have to go out and walk around, and the corner gate was left for the servants to enter when they brought things in.

Daiyu shook her head: "Queen Mother, I am doing my filial piety when I come to see you, and no one can say anything."

Empress Yang smiled relaxedly: "Silly boy, I came here on my own accord. Be obedient, just like before, just let me meet once every two months. I hope that people in this palace will forget about me, you If Cheng'er and I see the sky and come here, other people's eyes will naturally follow—then what's the difference between this place and Fengyi Palace?"

Daiyu saw that Empress Yang was determined, so she could only bargain. She came to see it once every ten days, and promised to go into battle lightly and not bring a car, so Empress Yang agreed.

--

Lady Zou placed a blue glass bottle sprinkled with Venus on the ancient shelf, then turned her head to Empress Yang and said, "Your Majesty really wants to practice Taoism? Even the fate of the world will be cut off, and the Empress Dowager Princess was reluctant to part when she left just now."

Empress Yang set up a small table on the table, and still started to practice calligraphy and exercise the rehabilitation of hand muscles.

"She seldom sees me as an abandoned queen, so it's good for her to stand up. What's more, the emperor is so concerned that he doesn't even allow the palace to be repaired, and he doesn't let the concubines of the sixth palace come to see me off. Cheng'er and Yu'er come every day. Didn't he slap his honorable face?"

Lady Zou hurriedly persuaded: "Madam, the crown prince has already said that the emperor doesn't bother you anymore, and put the scriptures you hand-copied in Mingzheng Palace. It is because of your face that you don't allow the concubines of the sixth palace to see you off."

Empress Yang paused: "I don't even want to copy it when it is said that it will be put in his Mingzheng Palace."

Ms. Zou: ...

Fortunately, Empress Yang felt that her body belonged to her, and rehabilitation was more important, so she started writing again, pouted and said, "Whatever he meant, others only saw that the Shangjing Palace cannot be repaired, and concubines in the Sixth Palace cannot be sent off for two days. Dao imperial decrees are all proofs that I am rejected by him. So it is safer for Cheng'er and Yu'er to come less!"

After finishing speaking, Empress Yang raised her head: "It's great to live here, you can talk freely!"

Ms. Zou quickly put the brakes on Empress Yang: It's better not to go too far, if one day you scold Emperor Xuanhe to your heart's content, the Yang family will also meet at the execution ground.

After writing a page of scriptures, Empress Yang handed the paper to Ms. Zou: "Don't send it to Baohua Palace, after I finish copying a copy, we will burn it together."

"The Ksitigarbha Sutra? Why did your mother copy this scripture that can save the dead?"

Empress Yang turned the scriptures to the next page: "I heard from Cheng'er today that Cousin Guo has been promoted. In the northwest boundary, promotion must have resulted in more victories and more lives and deaths. Then I will copy the scriptures for him. It can be regarded as accumulating some good fortune for him."

Lady Zou followed Empress Yang into the palace from the northwest. She knew all the old things, and she had tears in her eyes: "If my mother could have married Master Biao back then, she would never have lived such a life."

Empress Yang laughed instead: "Didn't you persuade me just now, can't you just say everything!"

Lady Zou wiped away her tears: "Except for the little eunuch and the little palace maid who come to clean the laundry in the morning and evening, there will only be three of us, the master and servant, in this palace from now on, and the empress can live a peaceful life."

Empress Yang nodded her head vigorously, with a hint of melancholy in her smile: "It's a pity that during his illness, Imperial Physician Wu ordered repeatedly not to drink alcohol, otherwise I really want to have a drink to make him happy."

--

The next morning, Xin Hongcheng and Daiyu sat opposite each other to have breakfast.

He ate four fried golden twisted fruits, a cage of mutton siu mai, a cage of fresh shrimp siu mai, a bowl of red rice porridge, and finally a cup of bacon stewed eggs.

Daiyu found the surprise feeling of seeing Empress Yang eating two baskets of steamed buns for the first time.

After eating, the two of them changed their clothes and prepared to go out. Daiyu tied the purse for him. Xin Hongcheng smiled, and his breath brushed Daiyu's cheek: "We are like this, it is really like our place, where husband and wife have dinner together in the morning. , and then go to work separately.”

He was going to court, and then went to work in the Ministry of Officials, while Daiyu was going to greet the Queen Mother, and then arrange palace affairs.

Daiyu said while tying, "I heard from my sister-in-law that she often asked the eunuchs to send snacks to the ministry, and said that Master Bian, Minister of the Ministry of War, is easy-going and straightforward, and she often greeted the people in the ministry to eat together for the elder brother. .”

"I don't know what kind of temper Mr. He is, Minister of the Ministry of Officials? I have to ask you first."

If you are an old-fashioned and serious person, you may not like these trails.

Xin Hongcheng said with a smile: "He Shangshu has two nicknames, one is 'tumbler' and the other is 'white fox.' Tumbler means that no matter whether it is the emperor's grandfather or the father, they trust him very much and stand firm in the court. No. The white fox means that he is shrewd and careful—so you can give it away with confidence, this He Shangshu is a man of life—he was the one who gave Cousin Jia Lian’s job. Come, and accept his love."

Daiyu nodded, and asked again: "Foxes are fine, why is it a white fox?"

"Because he was born very fair, even in summer, his face is not tanned at all. It is said that not only does his face not blush after drinking, but it will turn paler."

After the gossip was finished and the purse was tied, Xin Hongcheng was ready to go to work in high spirits.

Today is his first day in court as the official crown prince. He didn't perform the canonization ceremony before, which is not justified after all.

Daiyu watched him lead the people out, then rearranged his clothes in front of the mirror, and went to the Empress Dowager's palace.

--

The Empress Dowager spoke and acted in the same way as in the past: seemingly peaceful but straightforward.

In front of the concubines of the emperor's six palaces who came to pay their respects and Princess An, Princess Shenjun and Concubine Liu, they spoke crisply.

"Don't say that the mistress's wife is sick. It's common for the young mistress to be in charge of the middle class. Even common people, the mother-in-law is not in good health, and the daughter-in-law is also the housekeeper. It's also the same in our palace now. The queen retired due to illness, so naturally It is the Crown Princess who is in charge of the Phoenix Seal, and from now on, all the affairs of the Six Palaces will be handed over to the Crown Princess."

Daiyu used to only see the empress dowager's kind and kind elder appearance, but now seeing her vigorous and resolute appearance, she also felt a little startled.

The Empress Dowager didn't pay attention to the concubines at all. This sentence directly stated that all of you here are concubines, and if the Empress is not here, it will not be your turn to be in charge.

However, there is nothing unusual about the concubines present.

The noble concubine who was quite domineering in front of Empress Yang also nodded obediently at this time, while the young Concubine Zhuang and the others even nodded like pecking rice, answering three yes in a row.

The prestige of the queen mother is evident.

Zhou Ling's complexion was as usual: She and Daiyu were close before, and they will move out of the palace in a few months, now she only cares about raising the baby, never think about the power of the harem.

On the contrary, Xu Ying's complexion was extremely bad, and she thought: Everyone in the palace is partial!If it's someone else's family, the daughter-in-law also has a seniority ranking in charge of affairs - the eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant and cannot work, then it should be her second daughter-in-law next, why she can't even figure it out.

The queen mother glanced over: "Concubine An is just three months pregnant, go back and take care of her. But Princess Shenjun, I see that you look very bad, so go call an imperial doctor and take some medicine. If you are not healthy Alright, let Concubine Liu take care of everything about the founding of the mansion."

The last sentence was like a panacea, Xu Ying's face changed from cloudy to clear in an instant, and she even wished for flowers to bloom.

The queen mother nodded in satisfaction: "Except for the noble concubine and Zhuang concubine, let's leave."

--

"During the time when the queen was ill, the noble concubine took care of the affairs of the sixth palace, and the concubine Zhuang assisted. You all did a good job."

The two concubines quickly got up to thank them, and then obediently said that they would immediately let go of all palace affairs.

The queen mother shook her head: "No matter where the family is, there is no reason for the daughter-in-law to take care of the concubine's office. So the princess is in charge of palace affairs, and you two can't sit idle. The records of the respect room, and Tong Shi Concubine Zhuang, you will be in charge of the inspection. Concubine Zhuang, you have far-reaching qualifications, and you have given birth to the emperor's first prince. Naturally, you are the No. 1 concubine. From now on, all matters between concubines will range from jealousy and bickering to murdering concubines and princes. , it's all on you."

The two concubines broke out in cold sweat at the Queen Mother's few words, and quickly tried to shirk that they were not worthy of the heavy responsibility.

However, the Empress Dowager Zhi Yi said: "Of course, the emperor can see your hard work. Concubine, you have been looking forward to your grandson for so long. The emperor intends to let King An live in the palace until next year. He will not leave the palace until the child is full moon." Prince's Mansion; Concubine Zhuang, although you are young, you are sensible and general, and there are still three vacancies for the fourth concubine, noble and virtuous."

A total of four eyes of the two concubines lit up.

The tempting pie was in front of them, and the words of refusal on the lips of the two of them turned into thanks, plus they vowed to complete the task.

The queen mother nodded to indicate that the two could leave.

Daiyu expressed her sincere conviction.

The Empress Dowager's tone was still so calm, and her eyes were not disturbed, she said to Daiyu: "There is no reason for you as a daughter-in-law to take care of the affairs of the emperor's concubines. I know that you have also drawn up a charter to go back and forth on this matter." , I’ll just tear it up and clear it up today.”

Daiyu blessed her body: "My lady's advice, I will keep it in my heart."

The Empress Dowager smiled: "Speaking of teaching, the Empress Dowager was afraid that you would not be able to handle it if you were too young, so he asked me to teach you more—that was just teaching by precept and deed. Tell me, what have you learned?"

Daiyu was not originally a shy character, she was a good student at all times, the kind who wanted to get full marks on the test paper.

So he thought for a while and said directly: "Exercise kindness and prestige at the same time, and we must understand people and be good at their duties, so that they can perform their duties."

Concubine Zhuang still cared about being favored when she was young, so she was in charge of Tong Shi. Concubine Zhuang had a long history and was suitable for suppressing concubines.

The Empress Dowager's eyes were bright and clear, and she asked: "What else?"

Daiyu's voice was calm and unhurried: "There must be a word of reason in everything. The Empress Dowager can follow what she says, and no one dares to refute it. Except for your empress dowager's prestige, and because of everything in the world, there is no escape from justice."

Looking at the style of the Empress Dowager just now, one can think of the style of the Empress Dowager's governance of the harem back then. It must not be a subtle style, but a thunderous speed style.But after so many years, there has never been a notorious reputation for being arbitrary, which shows that the Queen Mother always has etiquette to find, and people will be convinced even if they are not convinced.

The queen mother smiled, and the armor lightly tapped on the table: "Crown princess, I will watch you manage the harem for a month, which is regarded as a test of teaching. If you do well, I will give you a very beloved pearl hairpin. "

Daiyu smiled, there was no fear in her eyes: "That lady will feel distressed in a month's time."

作者有话要说：感谢在2020-07-2921:44:31~2020-07-3021:53:36期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angels of irrigation nutrient solution: 10 bottles of jojo; 6 bottles of Shiyu; 9281 bottles of Feitianwu;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!