I'm watching the gate in the jail

Zhaode Palace, Forbidden City

This Zhaode Palace, originally named Shouchang Palace, is located in the West Sixth Palace of the inner court.

Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen specially ordered people to repair the palace for the sake of Wan Zhener's concubine, and he personally inscribed the plaque again.

Zhaode Zhaode, what is obvious is the kindness of their husband and wife, and Wan Zhener's virtue of nurturing him for more than ten years.

It stands to reason that when the emperor came down to court, he should rest in the Qianqing Palace, or deal with government affairs in the Wuying Hall and Wenhua Hall, and would not easily set foot in the East and West Six Palaces.

But Zhu Jianshen really regarded Zhaode Palace as his bedroom, except for daytime work, almost all the rest of the time was spent with Wan Zhen'er, and the two of them were as close as a commoner husband and wife here.

"My lady, Eunuch Huai'en from the emperor's side sent a letter saying that the second young master has entered the palace and will come to visit my lady soon."

The eunuch Tan Chang, who was standing beside Wan Zhen'er and talking, was in his early thirties, with slender shoulders and a thin waist, with a red face and white teeth, but he actually had the air of a romantic scholar.If you don't say that he is a eunuch, you will think he is a scholar.

In his early years, Qin Chang was the accompanying student of the Prince's East Palace, and he was highly regarded by Zhu Jianshen.Now he is in charge of the Needle Industry Bureau, and often goes in and out of Wan Zhen'er's side, he can be regarded as her personal eunuch.

"Little brother is here? Where is he? It's almost noon, let him have dinner with me."

Wan Zhen'er, who was dressed in a valiant military uniform and had just practiced a set of sword skills, was drinking tea. When she heard that Wanda was coming to visit her, she couldn't help being overjoyed.

"That... the second son said that he wanted to see the appearance of the imperial dining room in the palace. Right now, he is watching over there."

After Qin Chang finished speaking, he laughed too.

"Before I heard that after the Second Young Master entered Beizhen Fusi, he neither went to patrol the city, nor went to Zhao Prison, let alone read the files of the past dynasties. Instead, he mingled in the dining hall every day... I don't know what he is doing. "

"This kid... is a bit smart."

Putting down the tea bowl, Wan Zhen'er took the white silk handed over by the maid beside her, and began to slowly wipe the sword in her hand.

This sword was given to her by the deceased Empress Dowager Sun.

She was 19 years old at the time, and she was already the queen mother's personal maid. In her early years, she had studied swordsmanship and equestrianism for a period of time under the guidance of Eunuch Liu, the imperial horse supervisor.

Empress Dowager Sun...that is, the later Empress Dowager, handed the cold and lingling Longquan sword into her hand, and asked her to use her life to protect His Highness the Crown Prince.

Wan Zhen'er can't forget the Empress Dowager Sun's entrustment for a day. Even though the crown prince has ascended the throne and become the master of the whole world, this sword is still hanging on Wan Zhen'er's bedside all the time.

Every night, even if there was a slight disturbance, she would wake up suddenly and reach out for the sword to protect the safety of her majesty.

"Everyone knows that he is a pawn that His Majesty deliberately placed in Jin Yiwei..."

Seeing that the sword became more and more shiny after being wiped again and again, Wan Zhen'er slightly raised her red lips.

"If he doesn't do anything, he will violate His Majesty's imperial decree to 'take good care of'. But he really wants to do something. One is that there is no one, and the other is that he has no power of his own...Starting from the dining hall, although the way is a bit weird, anyway It’s also working.”

Picking up the scabbard on the table, Wan Zhen'er gracefully drew a sword flower and put the sword back into the sheath.

"I hope he can really do something to live up to His Majesty's reward and kindness to our Wan family."

Zhu Jianshen's distress was naturally seen by Wan Zhen'er.

At the beginning of the new dynasty, it was difficult.

What the emperor lacks most now is a trustworthy right-hand man.

The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were held every three years.In March next year, the emperor will look for the new power of the dynasty in the new imperial examinations.

But the Ming Dynasty was different from the previous dynasties. In addition to the imperial examination, the Emperor of Ming also had two sharp swords in his hands-Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

Zhu Jianshen was looking for sword bearers for these two sharp swords.

Zhu Jianshen was a poor little emperor. After his uncle Jingtai ascended the throne, his crown prince was once abolished.

It was not until his father Emperor Yingzong regained the throne that he became the prince again.However, Yingzong, who has been under house arrest in Nangong for many years, does not have much affection for this son who has hardly met.

The same is true of the birth mother, Empress Dowager Zhou.

Although both Zhu Jianshen and Zhu Jianze were her own children, during the long years of house arrest, her second son, Zhu Jianze, who was raised by her own hands, had a deeper relationship with her.

If Zhu Jianze cannot inherit the throne.According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, the prince had to go out and join the feudal clan at the age of 14.Not wanting to part with the son who was brought up by one hand, the concubine Zhou Guifei kept urging her husband to replace the prince after she was restored.

If it hadn't been for the empress dowager Sun's efforts to stop him, Zhu Jianshen's crown prince might have been abolished for the second time.

For the next many years on the road to becoming a prince, he walked tremblingly, walking on thin ice, fearing that his father, queen, and queen would be unhappy, and would want to replace him with some brother.

Because of this, Zhu Jianshen had a strong sense of distrust for people other than Wan Zhen'er and Queen Mother Sun.

After all, he was so disappointed in the parents who gave birth to him.

He was familiar with almost none of the ministers of the outer dynasty, except Li Xian, the old master who had been his emperor's teacher.In the inner court, he only dared to trust the two eunuchs Huai En and Qin Chang who had made good friends with Wan Zhen'er.

As for Dongchang and Jinyiwei, which have always been regarded as sharp swords in the hands of the emperor, so far, Zhu Jianshen does not have a proud man who can take over.

These two yamen have a special status and should have been his best help, but the current situation made him want to use them but dare not use them casually.

Wan Zhen'er has been with the emperor for more than ten years, so she naturally knows how fragile and suspicious her husband is.

As a woman, she couldn't share his worries in court.

If her brother could do it, why not?

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"Your Majesty, this is the mint barley porridge I specially made for you."

Wanda walked into Zhaode Palace with a tray, but the little palace lady behind him looked like she was about to cry.

"Second Young Master, the meals of the empress are all in charge of the palace. It's against the rules for you to do this."

The little maid looked at Tan Chang as if asking for help, "Eunuch Tan, the Second Young Master visited the imperial dining room and insisted on cooking by himself, we can't stop us..."

I have never seen such a royal family member before, what is the point of stealing the job of the chef in the palace.

"I heard that my younger brother was the chef in a restaurant when he was in Bazhou City. I didn't expect to be able to taste my cooking skills today."

Wan Zhen'er didn't mind at all, she nodded to Tan Chang, who took the porridge, scooped out a bowl and put it in front of Wan Zhen'er.He took out a silver needle from his cuff and prepared to test the poison.

"No need. Can I still not trust my brother?"

Wan Zhener waved her hand.

"I heard that because it's too hot recently, my mother has a bad appetite. So I specially cooked this mint barley porridge. The mint is cool, and the barley clears away dampness and appetizers. But I'm afraid that it will hurt the spleen and stomach if it's too cold. So I added licorice and barley. Burdock."

When it comes to cooking, Wanda is in high spirits, "The imperial dining room is full of ingredients, it's really the paradise in my dreams."

"Look at your future, your heaven looks like a kitchen?"

Wan Zhen'er was amused by him, she had a big appetite, and quickly finished a bowl.

"Come on, come here on purpose, what's the matter? Not just to make porridge for my sister."

With a glance of her phoenix eyes, she saw the beaming boy who just mentioned, and squeezed out a painful smile.

In fact, Wanda did not enter the palace today because he wanted to report any movement in the Jinyiwei yamen...

As for the trend, it means that he has recently become one with the lower-level servants and cooks of Beizhen Fusi.

Just a few days ago, Wanda showed off in the back kitchen.

Two dishes of well-cooked hibiscus chicken slices and sweet-smelling sweet and sour pork, Wanda's smooth cooking style, convinced the group of people in the back kitchen.After a taste, it is even more shocking.

In the end, these two dishes were taken away by Deng Xiang who came here after smelling the fragrance.

Not only that, but he also became addicted to eating. Whenever he was free, he would go to the kitchen and pester Wanda to cook him new dishes. Maybe the head of Jinyiwei really has a lot of free time.

You must know that stir-frying with high heat was a popular cooking method in the Qing Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty also had a cooking method of stir-frying, it was far less mature than later generations.At that time, most of the cooking was stewing. After all, vegetable oil was only popularized in the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the little officials in charge of Jinyiwei's dining hall are all cooks who have become monks halfway through. Their craftsmanship can't be compared with that of two generations.

Now it can be said that, at least in Beizhen Fusi's cafeteria... Wanda can walk sideways.

Today, Wanda deliberately entered the palace because...

It came from "surrender".

At the gate of the Fusi Yamen in Beizhen that day, Eunuch Huai En's words, "There is nothing in the entire Ming Dynasty that the Emperor does not know", brought back all the horrible memories of Wanda's "previous life" about the Ming Dynasty's spies.

In the movie, factory guards are ordered to monitor court officials.Even what people ate and drank, and what they said to the concubine in the middle of the night, the eagle dog inquired clearly, and reported to the duke and the emperor immediately.

That morning, Wanda realized belatedly that he himself had become the target of surveillance.

He couldn't sleep that night.

After tossing and turning for several days, Wanda finally decided that instead of being exposed, it would be better to come to Wan Zhen'er to "self-report".

Since the Wan family moved into the capital, in less than a month, a bunch of distant and close relatives appeared out of nowhere.

You must know that the Wan family came to Bazhou from Shandong after being convicted, and no relatives have visited Bazhou for more than 30 years.

Within a few days of coming to the capital, there are actually a lot of noble relatives in the capital.A small hall in the Wan family was filled with presents.

His father, brother and sister-in-law are all cowardly countrymen, and they dare not accept him at all.

But I couldn't stand it and ran away as soon as I let it go to the door.

On a hot day, these rare treasures, antique calligraphy and paintings, and mountain delicacies may not all be displayed at the door for people to laugh at.

In desperation, Wanda had no choice but to order the newly purchased butler and servants to move to the house little by little, and asked the butler to write a gift list based on the post above.

The old Wan's family took these things because they felt uneasy and couldn't take care of them.

Having been soldiers all their lives, they have not changed their identities to the role of "relatives of the emperor".

Wanda thought for a long time yesterday holding the gift list, and decided to hand over all these things to his sister and brother-in-law.

Anyway, the entire Ming country belongs to the old Zhu family, and these gifts can be regarded as taken from "Ming" and used for "Ming".

"This is the gift list. I keep all my things at home, and I haven't touched them at all."

Wanda took out a thick notebook from his pocket, and said very sincerely, "I'm going to hand it over to the state treasury."

The more Wan Zhen'er listened, the more interesting she became. She covered her mouth with one hand and her stomach with the other, and nodded after holding back her laughter for a long time, "Actually, these are nothing...well, let's put them in the internal treasury."

After finishing speaking, she patted Wanda's head affectionately, "What a good boy, what a good boy..."

Anyway, he is also a noble relative, so what is it to accept these gifts?In fact, he didn't need to hand in the gift list specially. If the emperor wanted to know who gave something, wouldn't that be easy?

Qin Chang also held back his laughter for a while, and couldn't help laughing, "It's hard for the second son to be so loyal to the monarch and the country, the empress and Your Majesty are really blessed."

The new emperor got married last month. In addition to accepting Wan Zhen'er as his concubine, he also married Empress Wu, Princess Wang and Concubine Bai.Their brothers and sisters have also given various official titles and royal guards to enshrine.But I've never heard of anyone who actually went to work, let alone someone who handed over the gifts they received to the palace.

This second son of the Wan family is really different.

I just don't know, is this person really "upright", or does he want to show himself in front of the emperor and empress so that he can gain more trust from them?

Thinking of this, Qin Chang couldn't help but take another look at the "Second Young Master".

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At the same time, on the other side of the Forbidden City, in Kunning Palace, the young Empress Wu was lowering her head, listening to the report from the maids below.

"This servant looks real, she is a half-baby. Not only did she enter the inner court, but she also went to the imperial dining room, followed by the maids and eunuchs of Zhaode Palace."

Kneeling at her feet was a young maid from Kunning Palace.

Just now when I was preparing lunch for the imperial concubine in the Imperial Dining Room, I saw Wanda who was guided by the servants from Zhaode Palace to visit the Imperial Dining Room, so I hurried back to Kunning Palace to report.

"Ancestors rule that a man who has become a Ding is not allowed to enter the palace."

The nanny standing beside Empress Wu said in a pushy tone, "This waiter Wan is so courageous."

Just 15 years old this year, and 20 years younger than Concubine Wan Gui, Empress Wu raised her immature chin, her bright eyes were full of unwilling anger.

Last year, when Emperor Daxing felt that he was sick, he began to recruit concubines for the then crown prince and the current emperor.In the same batch as Wu, Wang and Bai were selected from Nanzhili.

Unlike the Wang family and Bai family who came from afar, Wu's father was the commander of the Beijing Habayashi avant-garde, and he had some energy in Beijing.

The Queen Mother Sun, who was still alive at the time, chose the gentle and steady Wang family for her grandson Zhu Jianshen.

However, Wu's father and Niu Yu, who was in charge of choosing concubines, had a good relationship with him. They gave gifts several times, and under the operation of top and bottom, they deliberately made the Empress Dowager Zhou, who was at odds with her mother-in-law, take a fancy to the brighter and brighter Wu. ——At that time, the prince expressed several times that he wanted Wan Zhen'er to be his only queen.

How could Queen Mother Zhou allow a woman of her own age to sit on the throne of the future queen.Determined to marry a young and beautiful woman for his son, so as to wash his eyes that were fascinated by that maid.

Among the three, Empress Wu was the youngest and the most lively and beautiful.

Empress Dowager Zhou firmly believed that men always liked young and beautiful women.

In the past, the son was only fascinated by Wan Zhen'er because he had only the old woman around him and had no chance to meet the petite and gorgeous beauty.

After some operations, Wu successfully ascended to the post.

Outside the palace, her mother's brothers also received Jin titles and rewards.In the palace, Eunuch Niu Yu even escorted him all the way.

On the second day of the ceremony for conferring the empress, when Concubine Wan, Concubine Wang and Concubine Bai came to Kunning Palace to pay respects to the empress, she looked at Wan Zhen'er very carefully.

It turned out that she was disappointed to find that she was just a tall middle-aged woman with an aging face.

As for Princess Wang and Concubine Bai, although they looked good, they were far worse than her.

She thought that winning the emperor's favor was only a matter of time.

Who knows, the big wedding has been nearly a month.Except for the night when they entered the palace, the two of them performed the Zhougong ceremony once, so far she has been alone in her empty boudoir.

Not only that, on the night of the wedding, after fulfilling his "obligations", the emperor completely ignored that it was their wedding night and her little daughter's shyness, and actually went to the study in the Wenhua Palace to read in the middle of the night.

After that, the emperor stayed in Zhaode Palace almost every night, and never set foot in Kunning Palace again.

Even Wang's and Bai's two concubines, like her, have only had a one-night relationship so far.

"Wan Zhen'er, this old woman... I have finally caught your fault!"

Empress Wu had long wanted to have an attack on Wan Zhen'er, so as to increase her prestige as an empress.

She followed Niu Yu's advice before, and knew that Wan Zhen'er's position in the emperor's heart was very important, so she didn't dare to act rashly.

Now, such a huge handle fell into his own hands.If she didn't make good use of this opportunity and rectify Wan's old woman, how could she be worthy of the extremely aggrieved "newly married life" this month.

"Let's drive to Zhaode Palace."

Empress Wu touched the golden phoenix hairpin on her head and said proudly.

The author has something to say:

Mingchao beans knowledge:

In "History of Ming Dynasty: Biography of Empresses", there is a comment on the Wan family that "every time the emperor travels, the imperial concubine takes the lead in uniforms".So this is a cool lady who likes to wear military uniforms.

The name of Zhaode Palace in the Qing Dynasty is more familiar to everyone, it is the Chuxiu Palace where the Empress Dowager Cixi lived...well, there lived a very powerful hostess here in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Queen Wu is also a great person in history. Among the queens of all dynasties, she belongs to the top ten cannon fodder.