concubines

Li Chen was silent for a while, and said: "Speaking of which, it is precisely because I have a good relationship with Cheng Wenjie that others want to get in through him. Cheng Lingjun is not guilty of death. Wait for Cheng Wenjie's family to come tomorrow. See you."

Qi Yunruo nodded, and after a while he thought of another thing, why not: "My lord, the second lady is a little weak these days, several imperial doctors have seen her and said she is fine, such a young child should not take any medicine, you see what can we do about it?"

The second young lady is also more than two years old. Although she is not close to her mother, she just saw her mother's illness in the past few days, and the funeral in the Prince's Mansion cannot be hidden from her. I don't know if it is tired or too sad. , Such a child couldn't take it anymore, Li Chen stood up and said, "I'll go and see now."

The second young lady, Chu'er, used to be a lively and lovely girl, but recently she looks sleepy all day long and doesn't like to go out. Now the weather is just right, and the thrush courtyard is full of flowers. Her younger sister pestered her mother to pick flowers when she just learned to walk. prefer to stay indoors.

Qi Niqun is beautiful, and the daughter she gave birth to is also exquisite and beautiful. The first child has only been a few months old, but she has lost a lot of weight. Qi Yunruo looked around and felt that although the place is big enough and there are enough servants, there are no biological parents after all. Accompanying, the second lady has a noble status, and the rest of the people don't know how to relieve it, and they have become like this.

Chu'er lay on the bed, tearfully said: "Father..."

Li Chen smiled, stretched out his hand to wipe away the tears on the second daughter's face, and asked, "Why don't you accompany my sister to play tricks?"

Chu'er choked up and said, "Father...I...I don't want to go out..."

Li Chen felt pain in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He reached out and hugged the second daughter in his arms, and shook her lightly, "Listen, how happy your sister is smiling."

Chu'er said: "Father, is my mother... never going to see Chu'er again..."

Li Chen sighed softly and said, "Yes."

Chu'er cried softly, she lay on Li Chen's chest, her small body was trembling, Li Chen patted her on the back, and softly comforted her: "But father is still here, father can accompany you..." He Glancing at Qi Yunruo, Qi Yunruo said: "I'll go back and ask Yan'er's maid to prepare. Let Yan'er accompany the two younger sisters tonight."

Li Chen nodded, but Qi Yunruo noticed that Chu'er turned around and gave him a wary look.

On the second day, Qi Yunruo went to Guanhe Tingzhou to wait for the Cheng family's people to come. After a while, the servant came to report that the young lady of the Cheng family had already entered the mansion.

"It's Qi Danxia..." Qi Yunruo was a little surprised, but after a while he also understood that Cheng Lingjun is Cheng Wenjie's only son, it's not easy for Cheng Wenjie to come forward in this kind of matter, and it would be too disrespectful for the Prince's house to send a housekeeper alone, asking his daughter-in-law to visit him It is the most appropriate reason for my brother to come here.

It was a long time ago that Qi Yunruo saw Qi Danxia last time. At that time, Qi Danxia had just been married, her face was still rosy with complacency, and her clothes were all meticulous. The nails protruding from the sleeves were dyed bright red.When Qi Yunruo saw Qi Danxia again this time, she was still a 19-year-old girl, but her face already had sorrow and sadness. Qi Yunruo noticed that she was holding a wooden box in her hand. Sophisticated than before.

Qi Danxia walked in with her head down, and said with a blessed body: "I have seen my brother."

Qi Yunruo was stunned for a moment, and said, "Get up, please sit down."

"……Yes."

When Qi Yunruo asked someone to serve tea, Qi Danxia's expression was too unnatural, Qi Yunruo just pretended not to notice, after the maid served the tea, Qi Danxia stood up again, knelt down in front of Qi Yunruo, raised the wooden box with both hands, Tremblingly said: "This is... This is something left by my brother and mother. I didn't know it before..."

Qi Yunruo said: "Madam told you?"

Qi Danxia looked at him flusteredly.

Qi Yunruo sighed softly, and opened the box. There were several kinds of jewelry and jade objects inside. Qi Yunruo even understood the reason Mrs. Zhao told Qi Danxia at this time, probably because she wanted to vent her anger on Qi Danxia?

Qi Yunruo closed the box and said with a smile: "Get up, I didn't give you anything when you got married, and these things are regarded as my dowry for you. Sit down and tell me about the new yuan." The matter of the country's female spy."

Qi Danxia was of course shocked and stunned in her heart. She was not good at Qi Yunruo, and she never treated him as an older brother in the house. She was Uncle Ziyang's favorite daughter, and later married the son of a second-rank official, and her life went smoothly. She angered Qi Yunruo because of her mother, and hated him!I feel that he is not doing well, so I can enjoy myself... After Cheng Lingjun's accident, his mother's family can't be relied on, her father-in-law asked her to beg her to be regarded as an enemy, and her aunt Mrs. Zhao sent a letter at this time saying that Qi Yunruo is also a vengeful person, Even if Qi Niqun was Princess Chun back then, he would have dared to ask her for his mother's belongings, let alone her, a rankless woman whose husband is still in prison...

Qi Yunruo said lightly: "You don't have to think that I am a selfless person, and I am not forgiving to everyone, but you and I are really not enemies. During the years we were in Ziyangbo Mansion, you were only fourteen when I left. How could a 14-year-old girl form a deep hatred with others."

Qi Danxia nodded tremblingly.

Qi Yunruo returned the things to her and said, "When did that woman know Cheng Lingjun? When did Cheng Lingjun take a concubine?"

Qi Danxia said: "It's been half a year, but I don't like her... I'm not afraid of elder brother's jokes. I was always watching her faults in the mansion, but I didn't find anything. Not everyone can enter my father-in-law's place. People come to arrest people, even I can't believe she is a spy."

Qi Yunruo nodded, and asked, "What is missing in the Shangshu Mansion?"

"I haven't lost anything! Brother, but she knows exactly where the household department is short. She also said that she overheard it when the father-in-law was talking with the Xianggong! The Ministry of Punishment then arrested the Xianggong."

Qi Yunruo said: "In that case, someone above her who is clear about the operation of the household department must have sent her a message. As long as it proves that she did not hear the secrets from Cheng Lingjun, Cheng Lingjun will not be locked up any longer."

"I heard that the woman was very hard-spoken and refused to say anything."

Qi Yunruo thought for a while, and said: "Since she is from a good family, she can't be alone. Doesn't she have any relatives?"

"Her family has fled..."

Qi Yunruo frowned and said, "Already left Beijing?"

Qi Danxia shook her head, "There should be no such thing. The capital has been under martial law for a long time, but the people who have more contact with this family have not found out the problem."

Qi Yunruo said: "This is true. As a spy, you can't find out one family and expose everyone."

Household Department, Cheng's concubine... King Yong.

Qi Yunruo murmured: "Don't tell me that King Yong ordered Su Yuan to kill him. I guess those spies are actually recorded under King Yong..."

Qi Danxia was silent, this is the reason why her father-in-law was unable to stand out, a king of Jing and a king of mediocrity, as long as their titles were not deposed by the emperor, the Ministry of punishment would have no way to find them. In this way... Cheng Lingjun fell into a trap Dead end.

"I see, this matter, we still have to start with these two princes. King Jing has been supervising the household department for several months, and he was able to make such a large sum of money without telling Cheng Shangshu. His arrangement in the household department Not a lot... What did King Jing do with this batch of money?" Qi Yunruo recalled that he had been busy with disaster relief for half a year, and the money changed a lot during the disaster relief, so there were many opportunities for manipulation, and then King Jing and Yong Wang connects...

Qi Yunruo said: "This matter may still have to be investigated from Jiangnan to the She family..."

Qi Danxia panicked: "Then what should we do? Could it be that Xianggong is locked in the prison all the time? Brother... the criminal prison is full of criminals, and Xianggong is a scholar who can only read, and he can't bear the dampness there. "

Qi Yunruo looked at her, and couldn't help thinking that she was so nervous about her husband, but Cheng Lingjun's concubine of Liang's family didn't care about her face, because she caused trouble with her lust, and Qi Danxia still needs to clean up, Qi Yunruo said: "I think that woman has been confirmed as The spies are gone, and her words are not completely credible, and there is no evidence to say that Cheng Lingjun is wrong, I will ask the king... the crown prince, see if the crown prince can take care of the Ministry of punishment and release Cheng Lingjun as soon as possible."

Qi Danxia knelt on the ground and said gratefully: "I have thanked my brother, and thanked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Well..." Qi Yunruo smiled, "Get up quickly, if Cheng Lingjun can be released, you have to remember to tell him, and live a peaceful life in the future."

Qi Danxia nodded with tears in her eyes.

Qi Yunruo led someone to send her out, and after watching her disappear, Qi Yunruo went back to Molian Courtyard, and told Li Chen about his conversation with Qi Danxia.

Li Chen nodded and said: "It is true that you can let it go. I met Cheng Lingjun before. He has no courage to cooperate with the enemy. He is just a literati. He likes weak women, but looks down on them. He thinks women are useless." I wrote a note to Qi Yunruo, "He should be able to remember this lesson now."

Qi Yunruo smiled, and asked: "My lord... the crown prince, Mr. Ouyang is still in the south of the Yangtze River, can you ask him to find out where King Jing moved the money?"

Li Chen's face also darkened, he closed his eyes and thought for a while, "King Jing has a lot of arrangements inside and outside the capital, not only in the south of the Yangtze River, but also in other places."

"What should I do?"

Li Chen said lightly: "Now I don't lack time, take your time and check one by one."

Before Qi Niqun fell ill, he had loosened his control over the back residence of the palace. Qi Yunruo had to be distracted to manage the back residence. Until now, after Qi Niqun passed away, he hesitated whether he should mention someone to help manage it. Inside the house.

He was also faintly worried that the emperor would point out another princess to the Prince's Mansion.

After listening to him, Li Chen laughed and said, "Even if the emperor wants to marry him, he still has to wait for my wife's filial piety for a year..." He saw that Qi Yunruo's expression was not good, and he wanted to understand what he was worried about. Pulling her into her arms, she said, "Don't worry, I won't remarry."

Qi Yunruo said in a muffled voice: "But if the emperor insists on naming you a real wife, what will you do..."

Li Chen was silent for a while, then leaned over and whispered a few words in Qi Yunruo's ear.

"Really?!" Qi Yunruo's eyes widened.

Li Chen said: "Well... not too much difference..." Li Chen looked normal, but Qi Yunruo became more and more worried.

Li Chen looked at him, stretched out his hand and pinched his face, Qi Yunruo opened his hand without thinking, and when he realized what he had done, he froze for a moment, carefully raised his head to peek at Li Chen's reaction, but Li Chen Amused by his reaction, he stretched out his hand again, pretending to be angry and said: "You are so courageous, even the current crown prince dares to do something."

Qi Yunruo said: "How can you not worry!"

"It's over, I have nothing to worry about."

Qi Yunruo sat on the side silently. His feelings about the word father were too complicated. From the expectation and admiration when he was a child, to the disillusionment when he was a teenager, he regarded Ziyangbo Qi Suxiao as a stranger, and then followed his biological mother Shui Linglong's grievances with him unfolded, Qi Yunruo began to hate him, and now he doesn't want to waste his energy on others, he still regards Uncle Ziyang as a passerby.

But what about the prince?Maybe Tian's family really doesn't have much kinship, the emperor has too many sons, and there are still several who will be able to leave the palace to become the king at the age of fifteen this year and next. His youngest son is only two years old, and he has countless daughters... …

Li Chen slowly said: "When I was born, the relationship between my father and my grandmother began to deteriorate. Although my grandmother put the power back into my father's hands, my father has always been jealous of my grandmother. I am in Ci'an Palace. Others have more opportunities to see the father, but the relationship between the empress mother and the grandmother has reached the level of daggers, and the empress mother would even say she is sick rather than pay her respects to the grandmother."

Qi Yunruo leaned against him and hugged him silently.

"I went back to my mother, who was kind to me on the surface, but secretly asked my fourth brother to surpass me in everything... Father was worried that my grandmother would use me to grab power. I was in the household department a few years ago and had no contact with Too much authority."

Qi Yunruo said: "Actually, I think the Queen Mother Lan doesn't care about power at all."

"Yes, grandma doesn't care about these things. In the past, I often heard her say that when she was young, she was busy fighting with courtiers all day long, ignoring her father, making her think that she was a person obsessed with court battles. At that time, I Grandfather Zhou Taifu taught my father, and often said something about my grandmother taking over the power and telling my father to take charge of the government early, and after a long time, my father began to have resentment towards my grandmother."

Qi Yunruo said in a complicated mood: "Perhaps by now, the emperor has already understood..."

Li Chen shook his head with a smile, but did not speak.

In the end, Qi Yunruo didn't mention which concubine managed the inner house, but continued to manage it by himself. One day he was walking on the road, and suddenly thought, what position will he be placed in when the prince ascends the throne in the future?

No matter how you say it, the palace is still a private residence, and it is the territory of the prince. The prince can divide the palace into the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard, place wives and concubines in the inner courtyard, and invite staff to live in the outer courtyard. With an official position, he can also walk in every corner of the palace naturally.

But if the prince becomes the emperor, the imperial palace can no longer be regarded as his private residence... Every corner of the imperial palace is watched by people, and the emperor is the person who has the most private affairs in the world.

A few years ago when Qi Yunruo entered Prince Chun's Mansion, he was only a 15-year-old boy with a petite figure, which could be included in the category of child prostitutes. Now that Qi Yunruo is almost an adult, although he is not as tall as the prince, he looks He is a young man with a dignified temperament. He has a fifth-rank official position, and his status is not low...

This was the first time Qi Yunruo thought of this question, but it quickly overwhelmed him.

He has always hoped that the prince can ascend to the supreme position. He thinks that the prince has the ability to become an emperor, and he also wholeheartedly contributes his meager wisdom and ability to the prince... Then what?What will he do next?Qi Yunruo was flustered, he thought of Ji Huan, Rong Sanniang... Brother Ji understood all this a long time ago, he knew from the beginning that he was going to leave, and never thought of staying forever, Rong Sanniang said to himself, when the prince becomes If you leave the prince, you will leave him.

But after leaving, where can I go?

If Qi Yun became what he is now, Qi Yuze, and Qi Changshi who has no fear in the face of five hundred soldiers because he met the prince, if he hadn't been dowry to Prince Chun's mansion back then, he would have died there Buried in the deep courtyard until his death——Qi Suxiao would give him a bowl of rice to eat, marry him a wife from a small family, and then his life would pass like this.

Qi Yunruo discovered the natural moat between him and the prince.

Will he become a generation of courtiers?Qi Yunruo kept thinking on the way back, would he leave his name in the history books?Like Dong Xian and Mi Zixia.Otherwise, I might as well resign in the future... Qi Yunruo is full of bitterness.

In the future, the prince who became the emperor will eventually have a queen, who is responsible for raising his children, responsible for the mother's ceremonies, and festival celebrations. She will follow the prince and be worshiped by all people.

"Master Qi, why are you still here? The prince has been looking for you for a long time."

Qi Yunruo raised his head and found that it was Lu Lan. Qi Yunruo nodded, got up from the flower bed, patted the dirt on his body, and followed her back to Molianyuan.

"My lord, why did it take you so long to come back from the backyard?"

Qi Yunruo said casually: "I thought about something and forgot the time."

Qi Yunruo went back to Molian Courtyard, only to realize that it had been a long time, and now the meal was set, the prince didn't know how long he had been waiting for him, Qi Yunruo forced a smile, and sat next to Li Chen after cleaning his hands.

Li Chen said, "How many things happened today?"

Qi Yunruo said: "No, I saw the garden was very beautiful, so I sat for a while and forgot the time."

Li Chen didn't ask any more questions, he brought some food for him, and said, "This tofu in tomato sauce is very good, try it."

"Hey, thank you, my lord..." Qi Yunruo ate it.

Hearing that he still called the wrong one as always, Li Chen smiled and shook his head.

Qi Yunruo hid it very well. It was several days later that Li Chen found out that he was hiding something on his mind. Qi Yunruo didn't show it at all on his face, but he would occasionally be lost in thought, so Li Chen didn't notice it at first, and he didn't find out after he found out. He didn't rush to ask the reason, he felt that since Xiao Qi was unwilling to speak, there must be his own reasons, and maybe Xiao Qi would be willing to speak soon.

It's just that Li Chen waited until the day when the bad news came from the palace, and he still didn't understand Qi Yunruo's worry.

Summer was approaching, and on that day, Qi Yunruo was not in a deep sleep, but was thinking about something with his back to Li Chen. The two of them suddenly heard hurried footsteps, and then knocked on the door. Li Chen's face darkened, and he got up to get dressed .

"My lord... will it..." Qi Yunruo's face turned pale.

Li Chen said: "Just guard the palace and don't make people troublesome."

Qi Yunruo nodded calmly.

Li Chen took a deep breath and hugged Qi Yunruo.

Qi Yunruo's tears flowed down suddenly, Li Chen smiled and said, "What's wrong?"

Qi Yunruo shook his head and said, "My lord, I'll wait here for your return."

"Ah."

Li Chen brought people into the palace, Qi Yunruo sat alone in the night for a long time before standing up, he did not continue to sleep, but waited silently until dawn.The atmosphere in the palace is much more tense than before, and the servants walk cautiously.

At this time, it was still very early in the morning, and when the hourglass showed that it was the fifth watch, Su Ge came in and said, "The capital is under martial law."

Qi Yunruo nodded, he walked out the door, and said softly: "The temple bell rings [-] times, I don't know when it will be finished."