The correct way to open the first favorite concubine of Ming Dynasty

In the afternoon of the second day, I was at the Crown Princess's place as a female celebrity. The nanny held the Princess Jiaxing, who was less than two years old, in one hand, and gently fanned her with the other.Now in September, it should be cool in autumn, but in Jinling City, the autumn tiger sits in town, the sun is scorching, and it is very hot.

The princess was talking about the Yellow River flooding Kaifeng last month. The prince came in with Zhu Heidan and sighed, "This water conservancy was in disrepair and flooded, but I wanted to repair the water conservancy and didn't want to be flooded, but I was convicted." .”

The concubine gave her a wink, and the wet nurse hugged the Princess and retreated, and I got up to leave too.

Heidan came to look for me at night, I didn't ask, Heidan said first: "I told my concubine your idea last night, and it happened to solve today's problem."

I asked, "What happened today?"

"The Xie Jin I mentioned to you yesterday is a famous talent, you should know? He once spoke for his father in front of the emperor's grandfather. Thanks to the 'blessing' of the second emperor's uncle, he has been demoted since the fourth year of Yongle. Now He was demoted to Jiaozhi to supervise the military pay. He went to Beijing half a month ago to play an official role. The emperor's grandfather was not in the palace during the war. He came to pay respects to his father and then went back. The second emperor's uncle wrote a letter to him, saying that he "visited the prince privately, returned home, and had no courtesies", which meant that he only saw his father and didn't pay attention to the emperor's grandfather, which made the emperor's grandfather furious. Xie Jin said Traveling in Guangdong with others for a few days, I asked to build water conservancy projects on the Ganjiang River and dig canals to connect the north and south water transport. My father read the memorial and drafted his opinions. Unexpectedly, just after it was transferred to the north, the emperor’s grandfather ordered Jin Yiwei to arrest and release him. Jin was imprisoned. There were nine other people sitting in the hall, including the Si Cheng of Dali Temple—all facing the father in the hall.”

I haven't seen the King of Han since I entered the palace, but at this moment, I have vaguely sketched his ferocious face in my mind.

The prince is kind in every way, but when his younger brother took a knife to him, he was vicious and stabbed at the vital point.

What the emperor was most afraid of was that the ministers turned to the prince one after another after seeing the emperor's old age and frailty, which caused the emperor's power to be emptied, and the possibility of being forced to retire early could not be ruled out.

Retired veteran cadres can have pensions, but retired old emperors will never have a good life.Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Xuanzong Li Longji are vivid examples in history books.

Although the emperor didn't scold the prince explicitly, he caught Xie Jin and sat down with nine people, clearly slapping the prince in front of the officials.

After Heidan finished speaking, I couldn't help sighing: "My idea is just right for the symptoms. I hope the medicine will be effective enough."

"My concubine's intention is that as long as there are no accidents in the past few days, I will implement this method when Grandpa Huang returns. She thinks it may be useful."

"You told the concubine that it was my idea?"

"No."

I was relieved.

No matter how much Heidan treats me as one of his own, in the eyes of the princess, I'm still an outsider.It can be seen from what happened this afternoon that when it's time to avoid suspicion and resign, I still want to resign.

If the Crown Princess feels that I, an outsider, can be the master of Heidan and influence Heidan's decision-making, then I will lose the opportunity to become "one of my own" from now on.What the princess wants to find for her son is a "virtuous wife helper", not a "virtuous wife master".

Heidan must have seen this too, so he didn't tell the princess that I came up with the idea.

"If my method can work, then after so many years, Your Majesty really has a deep affection for the empress." I sighed.

This is the love of ancient emperors.If you say he is dedicated, there are no vacancies in the Sangong and Sixth Court; if you say he is not dedicated, you have decided that the empress seat is only reserved for the first wife, and she will not let another person sit after she has been dead for many years.And still looking for her shadow all the time, treating her natal family generously, loving the one she loved during her lifetime.

I don't know what will happen to me and Zhu Heidan in the future.

"Last year, Grandpa Huang made a tour of the north, and I accompanied him. When he saw Beiping City from a distance in the carriage, Grandpa Huang shed tears." Heidan said, tears welling up in his eyes.

The husband and wife stayed together for 32 years, and spent 20 years in Beiping City.The last time the army left Beiping to compete for the high position, my wife used to stand on the city wall for herself, watching him go away, and also stood on the city wall to supervise the battle in person, guarding the city for him and stabilizing the rear, what a heroine.When I returned to Beiping this time, I was separated from my wife.It's heartbreaking to think about.

I hope that this empress' affection can protect the eldest son of the emperor who was loved by the empress during her lifetime.

It was originally scheduled to arrive in Nanjing at the end of September, but Shengjia did not arrive for some reason, and the entire East Palace was filled with uneasiness.

Gao Dezhan, Wang Ruyu, Li Guan, Zhu Hong, and Xiao Yingao, who were imprisoned by Xie Jinlian during this period, died of illness one after another in prison. The prince also became anxious, ignoring whether there were outsiders present, and irritatedly said during breakfast: " Xie Jin is kind to my father and son, and all the ministers are innocent if they sit for no reason. If it continues, I am afraid that Xie Jin will be killed by them sooner or later in prison."

Heidan took a roasted duck roll from my hand and said, "Grandpa Huang has not come back for a long time. I'm afraid he is just waiting to see Dad's reaction, who he will find and what he will do. How can Dad be so heavy?" Hold on, don't you fall into second uncle's arms."

Heidan's words are reasonable, but they are not to the prince's liking.

The prince is a person who pays great attention to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness.The ministers in prison were loyal to him, especially Xie Jin, who once risked his head to help him win the crown prince. He must not sit still and watch them put in danger.For the prince, Heidan's reaction was too cold-blooded and heartless.

However, he couldn't get angry at Heidan.

Everyone knows that the prince does not please the emperor.The reason why the emperor appointed the prince was because of what Xie Jin said to the emperor back then, "good grandson".To put it bluntly, the emperor made Heidan's father the prince because he was optimistic about Heidan.Right now, the crown prince's position is already in jeopardy. If Heidan is reprimanded, separated from Heidan, or known by the emperor, it will not be good for the entire East Palace.

So the prince angrily slapped the ivory chopsticks on the table, and the princess ordered a pair of jasper chopsticks to be replaced, and continued eating.

In October, the autumn wind is chilling and the grass is dead.The emperor's Luanjia finally triumphed.

Early in the morning, the prince took Heidan and all the civil and military officials out of the city to meet him.Concubine Zhang is in charge of the palace for the time being, and the concubine also took me and a group of nannies who were holding little babies from the East Palace to Concubine Zhang's palace early in the morning to help prepare.

Concubine Zhang Guifei was born in a family of military generals. Her father was Zhang Yu, a hero who died at the expense of Jing Nan, and her elder brother was Zhang Fu, the Duke of England.Nowadays, most military generals in the court prefer to support the King of Han. Although the British family did not clearly stand in line in the court, Concubine Zhang treated the Crown Princess a little indifferently, and instead had a good time talking and laughing with Princess Han.

The concubine was not surprised, she led me to the side, and talked with the emperor's other concubine, Zhaorong Wang.

The wives of princes and ministers are roughly divided into two groups consciously. Roughly divided, most of the wives of military officials gather with Concubine Zhang, and most of the wives of civilian officials are around us.Others who didn't join in the fun on both sides gathered together into a small group.

It was not until the afternoon that the courtesy officer announced loudly that His Majesty had arrived.

There was a mess of clothes and footsteps in the whole hall, and then it was quiet for an instant. Everyone knelt down in order according to their positions, and I quickly followed behind the princess, with my head buried low.

"Long live my emperor!"

The noble concubine, the crown prince, the princess of Han and the princess of Zhao presented their congratulations in turn.After the ceremony, after everyone retired, only a few high-ranking concubines and concubines remained.The emperor ordered to give the seat.

At this time, the crown prince took me forward, knelt down again, and said: "Father, my daughter-in-law brought the Sun family mentioned in the letter before, to pay my respects to the father."

I respectfully knelt down and kowtowed and made a big salute: "The daughter of Sun Yu, the preface class of Honglu Temple, sees Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live long live."

Pingshen, bestow a seat.

Only then did I have a chance to see the Emperor in person.Wearing a celestial crown and a crimson gauze gown, it was obvious that he had just come back from the grand ceremony of presenting captives, and he didn't even change his clothes.

It was a weather-beaten general's face, his eyes were as sharp as a sword, and his pupils were as cold as ice.The thin lips were tightly pressed, and there were two deep nasolabial folds around the lips.There was no expression on his face, no pride in his triumphant return, nor the sadness of his favorite concubine's new funeral.

Yu Jia came back with a great victory from his personal expedition, and at the moment of great joy, no one dared to mention the matter of Concubine Quan.Concubine Zhang Guifei reported that the harem was harmonious and stable as usual during the emperor's personal conquest. The emperor snorted lightly and said nothing.

The princess of Han, whose husband had a mission with the army, patted a few words of flattery that "can conquer wars and use soldiers like a god", and everyone echoed them one after another. After the echo, there was only silence in the palace.

Or did the emperor suddenly say, "Are you still used to living in the East Palace?"

This is talking about me.I got up and replied: "Returning to Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are kind, and His Highness the Emperor's grandson treats the daughters of the people very well."

The emperor didn't speak for a while, and I didn't dare to look up.

He suddenly laughed and said, "You are the only one who dresses in a room filled with splendid and splendid clothes."

I don't know whether he wanted to say that Donggong lost his manners, or praised Donggong for being frugal.The court clothes worn by the Crown Princess are all made according to the rules of the palace, so there is no problem, but I do not have the status of a concubine, so I can only dress according to my father's grade.Sun Yu is from the preface class of Honglu Temple, only from the ninth grade, so I can only wear a real red silk shirt with large sleeves, a deep blue satin embroidered twig-twisting flower collar and embroidered twig-twisted tufted flowers, and a beaded crown on my head. Gold and silver objects, interspersed with two pearls, two pearls and laurel at the beginning, six half-open pearls, 24 emerald clouds, eighteen emerald laurel leaves, and a pair of emerald rings, with eight gold and silver enamel flowers on them. Duo, two gold and silver Zhais, and two Zhai birds with pearls in their mouths.

After hearing this, the common people already felt that they were luxurious, but after all, the clothes were a bit gloomy and conspicuous when they were placed among the colorful concubines.

So I knelt down and replied: "A sliver of silk comes from the diligence of a worker girl, and it is not easy to get it. You need to be frugal to use it. And according to the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty, even on such a happy day, women should only wear it." From the Ninth Grade Court Clothes, don’t overstep.”

"Get up," the emperor said with a smile: "The prince's family is the prefect who obeys the rules."

He added: "The sentence you just said sounds familiar."

I replied: "Your Majesty's words, it was taught by the princess when the girl first entered the palace, from "Internal Training" Chapter 7."

"No wonder." The emperor said, "It's hard for you to remember."

"Internal Training", written by Empress Renxiao, is used to persuade women to cultivate their morality.The queen loves Confucianism, and she had the reputation of "female students" when she was not out of the cabinet. After the emperor ascended the throne, she compiled this book to help him "rectify his name" with virtue and win people's hearts.

"Crown Princess," the emperor said: "She is considered a person in Ji'er's room. Although she is not married at the moment, her food and clothing expenses can be better. It is approved by me, and it is not considered as exceeding the limit."

"Yes." The Crown Princess agreed and thanked me together.

"In the blink of an eye, the children are all grown up." Wang Zhaorong said with a smile, "Your Majesty doesn't know that Ji Er was 'saving trouble' a few days ago."

Hearing this, I silently complained about their family's "Jier" ten thousand times in my heart, and my face was still pure and well-behaved.

The smiles of the people in the room became ambiguous.

Princess Wei of the Han Dynasty jumped out again when she smelled the fishy smell: "I heard it's the palace daughter in the room? It's not a crown ceremony yet, and it's not married yet. The sister of the princess should be well controlled, don't be taught bad by some court ladies gone."

But Zhu Di was not annoyed at all, instead he said with a smile: "It's not bad to save trouble earlier, the big deal is to get crowned and married earlier, I still look forward to the four generations living together."

"Ji'er is not a child of a womanizer, so he removed the maids from the house the next day, and only the eunuchs were left to serve." The crown princess replied unhurriedly: "It is Sun's response that surprised the minister and daughter-in-law. It was she who advised Ji'er to give more rewards to that girl who showed her face, and maybe give her a future name, for fear that she would be ridiculed and bullied in the future."

"Knowledge in general, there is a lot," said the emperor, "You teach very well."

The princess said: "It's nothing more than how the mother taught the daughter-in-law back then. The minister's daughter-in-law learned one ten thousandth of it and taught this child."

"If you have the heart, you won't waste your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. She loves you so much." When mentioning the events of his deceased wife, the emperor couldn't help but feel sentimental, and his eyes turned red.

"Give a pair of the golden phoenix left by the empress to the Crown Princess, and the peony golden hairpin to Mrs. Sun."

I thank the princess along with the princess.

"You guys go away, I'm tired."

It's like fighting a battle hand in hand with the princess.I won this battle, and when I returned to the East Palace, the Crown Princess gently stroked my temples, everything was said without saying a word.

In fact, the princess can bring me here today, or not.But bring me here. During the introduction, Zhu Di saw the harmony between our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and naturally remembered that his wife loved this daughter-in-law the most during his lifetime.The princess treats everyone and everything with the empress. Zhu Di sees that I have been trained/taught by the princess and can inherit the empress's character, and assist his favorite emperor's grandson Zhu Zhanji, so the idea of ​​abolishing the prince will naturally be reduced by three points.

Giving the golden hairpin in public means getting the emperor's approval.My identity is almost set.

In the court that day, the emperor did not embarrass the prince.After the reception banquet that night, Heidan was very happy: "Grandpa Huang said that he will let me perform the crowning ceremony next year. I thought, after the crowning ceremony, the wedding will be near."

"I'm looking forward to that day too." I said.

My reaction was not what he expected. He frowned, pulled my sleeve and said, "You don't look so happy after hearing that. What are you worrying about? Tell me, and I will help you take care of it."

I secretly sighed in my heart: "Your wedding must be monogamy and one concubine. As far as I am concerned, if there is one more person to share with you, according to history, that person may squeeze me out and become a concubine. What do you want me to do?" Can you be happy? I can't tell you what's on my mind. Even if I tell you, what's the use? "

In November of the ninth year of Yongle, the emperor issued an edict to make Zhu Zhanji the grandson of the emperor, and to perform the crown ceremony in Huagai Hall.