concubines

After Li Chen lived in Dongmei Courtyard for a full month, he moved to his Molian Courtyard. Qi Yunruo often went out to talk to Ji Huan this month. Qi Niqun didn't care, but Nanny Song was always by her side. He said in his ear: "The third young master always goes to the front yard. Didn't he go for the prince?"

Qi Niqun listened too much, and she always felt a little uncomfortable. She knew Qi Yunruo's purpose, she didn't need to talk about it, but Qi Yunruo couldn't think of anything else.It's just that she hasn't found a chance to mention Qi Yunruo, and Concubine Ji is unwilling to be lonely and makes her a big trouble.

Concubine Ji came to deliver the monthly case to Qi Niqun in person.Qi Niqun just got married, in order to blackmail the concubine's house, she must come to pay their respects when she wants to go. Every day, two quarters after Li Chen left, the side concubines came to greet and speak together.On this day, Ji's side concubine saluted gracefully, and said respectfully: "The concubine was entrusted by the prince to take charge of the inner curtain of the palace. This is the monthly allowance of 120 taels of silver for the concubine. It's here now."

Qi Niqun clenched her hands in an instant, and her palms were scratched with red marks by the long nails in an instant. Her expression remained unchanged, and she said calmly, "Thank you, Concubine Ji."

Concubine Ji smiled and said, "This is what a concubine should do."

If Concubine Wei pointed out something: "Concubine Ji is really hard, and she has to worry about the young master's affairs, and she also has to be a housekeeper, taking care of the inside and outside. The concubine should be more sympathetic to the concubine Ji."

Concubine Ji smiled and said nothing. Among the other concubines, only Concubine Li was favored by the prince because she gave birth to a daughter. Although the others were gifted by the palace, their status was not high. The concubine Ying, who was at the bottom, saw the opportunity, stood up and said, "What Concubine Wei said makes sense. Although I am not sensible, I also know that whether it is everyone or the small house, the one who handles internal affairs should be the mistress. In the past The side concubine Ji is the most respected in the palace, and it has been a month since the prince married the concubine, it is time to take up this responsibility."

Concubine Li Shu followed immediately: "Sister Ying is right, and I mean the same thing."

Concubine Ji's face suddenly turned livid, and she slowly said: "I know what the two sisters mean, but the concubine is entrusted by the prince, so I rashly give the power to the concubine, the concubine is really afraid of disappointing the prince's wishes. .”

The ending was naturally unhappy. Qi Niqun dropped a small white porcelain vase with a frosty face, and Liu Bai knelt on the ground to clean it up. Nanny Song also said angrily, "Concubine Ji, what do you mean by this? She It was intentional to make empress unhappy."

Qi Niqun closed her eyes and thought for a long time before saying: "Go and find Mother Cheng."

"Hey."

Concubine Ji supported the hand of her personal maid, Pei Er, and walked unhurriedly. Concubine Wei said with a half-hearted smile, "Sister is so majestic."

Concubine Ji glanced at her, but didn't speak.

Concubine Wei supported her twin butterflies and swayed, and glanced at the back, "Concubine Ying doesn't look like a mountain, but there is something hidden in her heart."

Concubine Ji said indifferently: "I can't compare to her affection for serving the prince from the palace."

After returning to Shuangqiu Courtyard, Pei Er carefully asked: "Master, why bother to show off the limelight and make the princess jealous?"

Concubine Ji glanced at her, and said calmly, "Sooner or later, I will have to hand over the stewardship. I have worked for the prince for three years, and once I enter the main room, I have to hand over the things that I have spent three years of hard work on... ...I'm just not reconciled!"

Pei'er knelt down and beat Concubine Ji's leg, not daring to say a word.

Concubine Ji sneered: "The side concubine, the side concubine, is just a concubine's room."

After Ji Huan knew what his sister-in-law had done, his complexion was not good. This was shown when Qi Yunruo came to look for him. Qi Yunruo was puzzled and asked, "Brother Ji, what's wrong?"

Ji Huan sighed softly, and asked, "How is your wife these days?"

Qi Yunruo lowered his head and said, "I don't know."

Ji Huan didn't force it either, he was worried that what his sister-in-law did would offend the prince, he was a bit displeased with concubine Ji, but after all they were grasshoppers on the same rope.What happened in the morning, Qi Yunruo also listened to Liusu's words, and asked curiously: "How much is my brother's monthly bill?"

Ji Huan knew that Qi Yunruo was simple-minded and had no other intentions, so he said generously, "The monthly limit is 30 taels, but if I need it, I can go to the warehouse outside and find someone to take it at will."

Qi Yunruo lowered his head to play with Ji Huan's Pixiu paperweight, and said softly, "I don't have any money."

Ji Huan was a little surprised, "No?"

Qi Yunruo nodded, and said with a lonely expression: "When I was in the uncle's house, when the nanny looked at me, I had five taels of silver every month. After the nanny left, the silver was gone."

Ji Huan guessed that some people looked down on this master, and he was obedient and obedient, so he sat beside Qi Yunruo and stroked his soft hair.

"If you don't use five taels of silver, you will lose it if you buy a book. I can't save anything for a year."

Qi Ni skirt was full of red makeup, but Qi Yunruo was alone, Ji Huan said softly: "What do you want, ask someone to tell me, and I will buy it for you."

Qi Yunruo smiled and said, "I don't want anything."

Today is the first day that Li Chen moved out of the mistress's yard. All the courtyards are watching him tonight. Li Chen now has a son and a daughter. The young master was named "Jing" a few days ago. Ranked third among the emperor's grandchildren, and the eldest lady has no name yet. She was born to a humble mother, but she was born the first among the emperor's grandchildren.

Li Chen is the queen's first son, but he was raised in front of the queen mother. The queen's second son is the current fourth prince. He is just fifteen this year, and it is estimated that he will move out of the palace in the second half of the year.The eldest prince was granted the title of King Jing, the concubine was born in the She family in the south of the Yangtze River, and the third prince was given the title of King Qing, who had not yet married.

Qi Niqun was born in the uncle's mansion, Ziyang uncle's name has been passed down to three generations and is still illustrious, and the She family is also from a Jiangnan clan that has been passed down for many generations, and the descendants have made a lot of achievements in the court, but after all, King Jing's birth mother is of low status, she is a palace official Born, King Jing was only made a concubine a few years ago when he was crowned king. Apart from his Yue family, he had no support from his mother's family. Li Chen was superior to him both in terms of background and status.

The first concubine of the prince, the second concubine of the side, and the fourth concubine of the concubine were already full. Countless clan officials who had women in their families were preempted by others, as if they had already seen the day when Li Chen ascended the throne.

In the evening, after Li Chen went down to his residence, he still went back to Dongmei Courtyard to accompany Qi Niqun for dinner, and then went back to his own courtyard.Li Chen's courtyard is located in the middle of the palace, and there are two study rooms, the inner and outer study rooms. The outer study room is used for business meetings and guests, while the inner study room is not accessible to idlers. Li Chen's confidential documents are stored in it. His living room is very large, and the left and right ear rooms are symmetrically distributed. The flowers and trees in the courtyard are finely trimmed, and a few goldfish are raised in a small pond.

Li Chen's personal eunuch is Su Ge, the steward of the outer courtyard of the palace. Su Ge is over [-] years old, calm and introverted. As soon as Li Chen sat down at the desk, he informed Li Chen of the suitable size and important matters in the mansion.Li Chen rubbed his forehead and said lightly, "Is that what Concubine Ji said?"

Su Ge said: "It's hard for the princess to be calm."

Li Chen said: "It's hard for her."

"Tomorrow, do you want the servant to go and clarify with Concubine Ji?"

Li Chen shook his head and said: "Forget it, let's see what the princess is going to do."

"Yes. I have one more thing, the young master. The young master is still with the concubine Ji. The servant looks at the concubine and seems to have the intention of taking the young master to Dongmei courtyard."

Li Chen's tone became a little displeased, "Da Lang is very young, and it's not easy to move. When he is enlightened, I will move him to the front yard."

Su Ge understood. Seeing that Li Chen wanted to rest, he prepared to go down and make arrangements. There are quite a few good-looking maids in Li Chen's courtyard, but Li Chen was impatient with a group of women with their own thoughts to serve him, and he did not find concubines to come to the front yard. As for the sleeping habit, he said tiredly: "I haven't been to the yamen for a month, and I have accumulated a lot of things. I even talked with him for a day. Find a strong little eunuch to beat me."

"Yes."

"... Forget it, talk to Ji Huan."

Su Ge said: "The servant knows."

It was getting late, Su Ge was holding a lantern in front of him, Li Chen was walking behind with his hands behind his back, getting along with Ji Huan was a very easy thing, Ji Huan had his own thoughts, but he would not hide too much, he put his own Ambition was clearly displayed, allowing Li Chen to see clearly what he wanted with peace of mind.

When he walked into the Xiulin Courtyard, Li Chen signaled the servant not to make a sound with his eyes, and walked briskly to the door of the living room where the light was on.

"...Xiao Qi likes this. He didn't take his eyes off it all day today. Find a nice box and pack it carefully, and bring it to him tomorrow."

Li Chen blurted out, "Which Xiao Qi?"

Ji Huan was stunned for a moment, seeing that the door was only half-opened, Li Chen was standing outside, hurried over to open the door to greet him, and said with a smile, "Don't you know the prince? It's the princess' younger brother, Qi Yunruo, who often picks on me these days."

Li Chen nodded, "Oh."

Li Chen looked at Ji Huan's maid, Yue Ya'er, who was holding a jade paperweight, and said casually, "He likes this?"

Ji Huan thought for a while, and replied: "He has a childish nature, and he likes these playthings with heads and feet, and those serious pens and inks, but he doesn't like them."

Li Chen took the naive Pixiu from Yue Yaer's hand, "Where is your stuff useful, Su Ge, the set of twelve zodiac ornaments in my birthday gift, you can get it to him someday."

Su Ge said: "The servant knows, I will find it out and send it to Young Master Qi tomorrow."

Li Chen was tired all day, he didn't have any romantic thoughts, he just came to talk to Ji Huan, Ji Huan waved away the crowd, brought a cup of Mao Jianer, which Li Chen liked, and sat aside, waiting for Li Chen to speak.

In the evening, Ji Huan's rocking chair was moved into the house, and Li Chen sat on it, holding a teacup, without spilling any tea in the cup.

Ji Huan said: "The prince has something on his mind?"

Li Chen sighed lightly.

Ji Huan quickly figured out his joints, and said, "But it's about entering the court for His Royal Highness King Qing?"

Li Chen looked at Ji Huan, "You can always be so transparent."

"My lord, King Jing's ambition has not been revealed yet, but King Qing can't help it anymore. The imperial concubine and empress are getting the favor of this mother and child. The lord just waits to see who the emperor proposes to marry His Royal Highness." .”

Li Chen said: "I'm not worried about King Qing, what I think about is the attitude of my father."

Today's son has never expressed his preference for a certain prince. He found wealthy daughters for his eldest son and second son as wives. There are several young brothers, the emperor treats them equally, and rewards each child the same.

It is hard to see through.

King Jing is already 24, and he is also [-], and his younger brothers will grow bigger and bigger.

Li Chen glanced sideways at the Pixiu paperweight, the white jade seed material shone softly under the light.

Dongmei Courtyard.

Nanny Song smiled and said: "It seems that the prince is still looking towards you. Today's dinner is to tell those villains in the mansion not to look down on you."

Qi Niqun frowned and said: "But why did the prince not talk about the housekeeper?"

Today she had a talk with Cheng Nanny, and Cheng Nanny couldn't help laughing, she said, this old slave is just the head of your courtyard, so I'm afraid it's inappropriate to meddle in the affairs of the house rashly.

Qi Niqun touched her flat belly, and said: "You said lord, will the young master come to my place?"

Nanny Song thought for a while, "Since Concubine Li is eager to send her daughter here, we might as well accept this favor. The young lady is here, why doesn't the young master come? Let's see what Concubine Ji said then."

"En." Qi Niqun nodded.

Qi Niqun remembered Qi Yunruo's matter, and she also felt that Qi Yunruo didn't get along well with the outer courtyard frequently. According to her mother, Qi Yunruo had better rely on herself, and if a person has a lot of ability, he won't submit to his discipline safely. up.

But how to tie him up in the backyard?