Fake concubine, real queen

Three days later, the imperial palace and the Palace of Government Affairs.

The emperor wrote the last stroke on the memorial, and then he threw the vermilion pen in his hand onto the pen stand. He stood up, holding the memorial that he had just approved in his hand, looked at it twice, and finally let out a sound in his nasal cavity. He hummed lowly.

The emperor closed the memorial, threw it on the imperial case, and walked to the empty space in front of the hall, pacing back and forth.

Wang Zhonglu has accompanied the driver for many years, but from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the Holy Majesty's three-pointed expression, and he knew in his heart that His Majesty was worrying about it, so naturally he dared not let out a breath of air. Not a sound.

However, the emperor's anger was obviously not so easy to appease.

The quiet needle drop could be heard in the Lanzheng Palace, only the emperor tried his best to suppress his emotions in a low voice, which sounded particularly frightening.

"In the early summer of this year, the floods in Jiangqing and Luoling continued. In May, I allocated money and people to deal with the disaster. It is already early August, but suddenly a group of people came out to join us. I wrote a letter of direct remonstrance, eccentricity, insinuation, and what I said was nothing more than blaming me for not caring enough!"

"How else should I be concerned? Since May, I have started four times a day. When the approval of the papers is about to be approved, I haven't even eaten a whole meal. It wasn't until last month that the disaster eased a little. I have had a few days of rest, and right now, my buttocks are not even sitting warm, and they are starting to criticize me again!"

Wang Zhonglu bowed his head and listened, the more he listened, the more his right eyelid twitched. At this moment, there was no other person in the Lanzheng Hall except the emperor and him. He knew very well that the emperor was telling him how to complain.

The emperor had deep thoughts, and it was rare for him to lose his composure like this. It must be impossible, just because of these never-ending remonstrances, there must be other reasons.

Even if Wang Zhonglu had served him for so many years, he didn't dare to say anything. He could completely understand the emperor's mind, so naturally he didn't dare to talk nonsense, but he was relieved but he had to be relieved, so he just bowed his head and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is diligent and worried about state affairs, but the ministers and workers After all, it is impossible to stay with His Majesty all day long, and everyone may not know about it. There is no other way, but now that the disaster situation in the two places has eased, and the people can rest and recuperate, who dares to say that this is not the result of His Majesty's hard work? "

The emperor said: "It's not like I didn't send imperial envoys to go there, so I know it in my heart. Last month, Gong Wenhu and Yu Yicheng came back from Jiangluo and told me about the people's situation in the two places. Now, they insist on saying, The post-disaster reconstruction of Luo Erdi, the required manpower, money and food are not enough. It is reasonable to ask me to allocate money and food again. No need for them to say more, I have also exempted Jiangluo Erdi from taxes for three years. They have repeatedly distributed disaster relief money!"

"However, now they insist on me sending another imperial envoy to preside over the reconstruction. They also said that the imperial envoy is best to be of royal blood, which can show my virtue. After saying so much, they just want me to send the prince to go. To be this imperial envoy, this trip to Jiangluo!"

The more the emperor talked, the more angry he became, and Wang Zhonglu also heard it. It turned out that the trouble for a long time was because of His Royal Highness.

The prince offended his father and was banned for half a year. Although the ban was lifted now, His Majesty granted him the grace of Guanzheng Chongwen Palace, but he took it back. For more than a month, he only asked the prince to concentrate on studying, nothing else.

...It seems that the ministers of the former court couldn't stand it any longer, so they wanted to find a job for the prince, but they didn't want to, and on the contrary, they offended His Majesty even more...

"They will pick up errands for the prince. There are two imperial envoys, Gong and Yu, to take care of the river and Luoyang floods. Now the most critical moment has passed. After the prince goes, he only needs to wait for the reconstruction. Taking risks, let alone taking responsibility, the floods that the people are struggling to live on, in their eyes, have become a small calculation for the prince, it is really accurate and cruel."

After the emperor said, his voice became lower and his tone became colder. Wang Zhonglu couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat when he heard this.

Your Majesty... This is a suspicious person.

"Zhong Lu, you said that...they really did it spontaneously, and there was no one behind it, no one to stir up the wind and the rain?"

Wang Zhonglu bowed his head and said: "This old slave... is just your majesty's close servant, please forgive me for being stupid about court affairs, I really don't understand, but all the ministers and workers must also have a sincere heart, public loyalty Those who have the heart of the country, no matter what, are always good for the country and the country."

Hearing that he didn't answer, the emperor only practiced Tai Chi and didn't get serious with him. He just glanced at him, snorted, and said, "You old fox."

Wang Zhonglu followed with a sneer on his face, but his palms were a little sweaty.

The emperor said: "They wanted the crown prince to go, and I took this job, but I didn't want it, not only did I not want the prince to go, I didn't want any prince to go, disaster relief and other things, but they got involved in fighting for power and profit, in my opinion, since it is For disaster relief, we should ask people who are really sincere to work for the well-being of the people in Jiangluo and Luozhou, instead of treating them like a piece of sweet pastry and talking about it."

Wang Zhonglu said: "Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, his Adam's apple just rolled slightly, Wang Zhonglu immediately served the tea with a wink, the emperor took the tea, took a sip, and said: "... let's not talk about this, call Heng'er back to Beijing Has your will been preached?"

Wang Zhonglu said: "Returning to His Majesty, five days ago, people were sent to pass it on quickly, and it should have arrived by now."

The emperor was silent for a while, and said, "Does the queen know?"

Wang Zhonglu said: "Understood, it's a good thing to know, and now I'm happy, otherwise the empress is afraid that at this moment, she will be angry because of His Majesty letting 'His Royal Highness the Princess' leave Beijing."

The emperor was stunned when he heard the words, and after a while he shook his head helplessly, and said, "A Rong is always such a child."

Wang Zhonglu said: "The empress's mother's heart is just like this, which can further prove that the empress will live a thousand years without any worries, her phoenix body will be healthy, and she will always be by your majesty's side."

The emperor paused, and said: "That day... Heng'er came to me by himself and mentioned this matter, and I was a little surprised. Over the years, he has never had such a heart, and now he has the heart to restore his original identity... It's also a good thing, after all, it's always impossible to let him really be a woman for the rest of his life, but Ah Rong's side... can't avoid trouble. Fortunately, the 'princess' son-in-law is married now, so let her settle her mind, otherwise If the 'Eldest Princess' leaves Beijing like this, she may not be able to rest."

"A Rong's illness... I don't know when it will be cured, but... if she really recovers, she will remember the past, and I don't want her to recover..."

The emperor said, with a slightly lonely expression on his face, he was silent for a while, and then said: "I was always thinking, when Yu'er was gone... Ah Rong became like this, all these years, is she real? I don't remember at all...or I don't want to remember..."

"For so many years, she has always been unwilling to have sex with me... If it is true that she doesn't remember anything, why is it so..."

"In her heart... she must be resenting me."

Wang Zhonglu comforted him and said: "Your Majesty is overthinking. Your Majesty's current condition is only due to her illness. When the Third Highness returns to Beijing and the mother and son are reunited, it is impossible to say that Madam's illness will get better like this. ?”

The emperor shook his head and sighed: "If she recovers and remembers everything, I'm afraid... she will only resent me and alienate me even more."

He was clearly the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, but he was frustrated when he said this. Hearing this, Wang Zhonglu quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is so worried, too much, be careful not to hurt the holy body."

The emperor called him up and said, "Forget it, I'm just talking, and it's not your fault, why are you kneeling."

Only then did Wang Zhonglu stand up, raised his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said: "Your Majesty has been in a state of mind these days. Seeing this, this old slave only hates himself for being shallow and incompetent, unable to share His Majesty's worries, and his heart is also troubled."

Hearing this, the emperor sighed, and said: "...You are an internal official, you still have such thoughts, my son is my own flesh and blood, but you can't understand me at all, alas... really..."

Wang Zhonglu knew that most of these days, the faction of the prince who supported the prince and had close ties with the Chen family in the court fought back and forth with the faction of courtiers who supported the second prince and had good relations with the Wen family and the military officers behind them. Makes His Majesty upset, I have this feeling.

It's just that although he knew it, he didn't intend to mix it up, so he just watched his nose and mind, without saying a word.

But the emperor suddenly said: "Zhonglu, what do you think of the third prince?"

Wang Zhonglu's heart skipped a beat when he was asked, his throat tightened in an instant, he was silent for a while, and said: "Third Highness...Third Highness is gentle, filial and sensible, and considerate of His Majesty and Empress. Naturally, it couldn't be better. gone."

The emperor said: "I'm not asking you this, I'm asking, what do you think... how does he compare with the second...even, Yuan'er?"

Wang Zhonglu's lips curled up for a moment, before he said: "This... the three His Majesties are all His Majesty's own flesh and blood, sons and grandsons of phoenixes and dragons, how can this old servant judge and make irresponsible remarks?"

The emperor was silent for a while, and said: "You are right, Heng'er, the good thing is that he is gentle, upright, considerate and sensible, but the bad thing is that he doesn't fight for anything, he wants what he gives... Alas, he was too much for his mother, and instead made me worry about him..."

Needless to say, the emperor and Wang Zhonglu knew what to worry about.

The temperament of the third prince is not suitable for being an emperor, but if his two brothers ascend to the throne in the future, I am afraid that it will be difficult for him to protect himself...

After a while, the emperor said: "The capital will not be able to repair a suitable mansion for a while, and Heng'er has not yet been crowned king. When he enters the capital, then..."

Seeing that the emperor did not continue, Wang Zhonglu tentatively asked: "...Do you want to arrange to live in the palace first?"

But the emperor shook his head, and said: "No, Heng'er is already an adult prince, if he returns to live in the palace, it will inevitably cause people to gossip... How about this, you ask the Department of Internal Affairs to find a good house, repair it, and call it at the end of the year. After sorting it out, I will build him a mansion, and at the beginning of next year, I will also give Lin'er and Heng'er the title of king."

Wang Zhonglu said: "That's a great event, this old slave will remember it, and I must hurry up to do it, but... over there at the Princess Mansion..."

The emperor said: "There's no need to be too hasty, let's put it aside for now, but... before the new house is repaired, and Heng'er comes to Beijing, you can ask him to live in the princess mansion for a while, and when the repairs are completed by the end of the year, it will not be too late to move."

Wang Zhonglu nodded, and echoed: "I'm sorry for the old slave, and it's also... the son-in-law is now with the third highness...cough, anyway, he can be regarded as a brother-in-law and brother-in-law on the bright side, and the 'His Royal Highness the Princess' has left Beijing again. There is no need to avoid suspicion, the Princess Mansion is spacious, so staying for a while is not a big deal."

The emperor responded, and said: "Well, yes, after a while, when you make arrangements for the Mid-Autumn Palace banquet, you still have to remember to post a message to the princess's mansion, so don't lose your son-in-law."

Wang Zhonglu said: "Of course this old slave will remember."

The emperor suddenly sighed, and said: "Oh, the eldest son of Changyang Hou's family is also Zhen and Heng'er... for fooling him, it is I who can't help this child, so how about it... you put some things in the inner treasury , later, reward it to the son-in-law."

"Now it can only be like this. In the future, if the queen's illness can be cured, I will tell the world about Yu'er's death... At that time, I can find an opportunity to re-appoint the concubine, so as not to waste a piece of it in vain. good timber."

Wang Zhonglu said repeatedly: "Your Majesty is benevolent and holy."

At the same time, Lord He Xiaohou outside the palace was unaware of all this.

... The eldest princess is gone, and these days, he has nothing to distract him. Finally, He Xiaohou was able to devote himself completely to the few front shops in the capital city, concentrating on how to give to his brother-in-law, I have saved a considerable amount of capital for fighting for savings.

It has to be said that Lan Xiao did have some foresight and talent in business. Since He Gu agreed to change the shop of Wensheng Bookstore to the side of Guozijian, the bookstore's business has indeed improved a lot.

The most unexpected thing is that because Wensheng Bookstore moved to the next door of Guozijian, and word of mouth spread among the students, the famous "Mr. Yigu" actually sold a manuscript, the Xinhua book "Those Years I Was a Brother", to Wensheng. Sheng Shufang, for a while, came to buy Mr. Gu's latest masterpiece - the maids and servants from various families, almost broke through the threshold of the bookstore.

Because Yan Zhiya and Lan Xiao have become business partners, they are closely connected, and she has a very clever mind, and somehow she gave Lan Xiao another idea. She wrote a signed flower of "Mr. Yi Gu" on a dozen or so sheets. Notes, sandwiched in the script, as a gimmick.

For a while, the official ladies who had read the masterpieces of "Mr. Yi Gu" in Beijing, and even the poets and literati with different sexual orientations, were all proud of having such a piece of paper signed by "Mr. Yi Gu". , the price can exceed a hundred taels of silver.

It's just that Yan Zhiya has to praise Uncle He Gu and He Cheng to see a doctor, and also thinks about opening a medical clinic. After selling out of stock a few times, she doesn't have so much time. She always writes flowers for the bookstore, so she simply He Gu had nothing to do all day long, so he started to help Lan Xiao to forge the flower note with the ink of "Mr. Yi Gu".

In the end, only the first ten of the hundreds of sheets of paper were Yan Zhiya's real calligraphy, and the rest were all Xibei products written by Mr. He Xiaohou biting the pen holder, but because of the large quantity, the market began to Typed the few flower notes with different handwritings into fakes——

It made those few people who were the first to buy the storybooks, and were lucky enough to get the wordsbooks with flower notes, very depressed.

But these things have nothing to do with Lord He Xiaohou. These days, he watched Lan Xiao holding the account book for him to calculate, and the bookstore received money recently, and he was already so happy that the corners of his mouth reached his cheeks——

Lan Xiao!Yan Zhiya!They are really two cash cows!

So Lan Xiao asked him to write another fifty sheets of paper, and He Gu naturally finished it without complaint, diligently, and meticulously, and sent it to the bookstore.

The "Brother" story book with "Mr. Yi Gu" calligraphy and flower paper was replenished. On this day, in front of Wensheng Bookstore in the south of the city, there was an unusual crowd of people, and people's heads surged.

There are supervising students who have just finished school and pretend to be just watching serious classics and political theory, and there are also some servant girls who come to grab the limited edition scripts for their own ladies, and even more, they don’t hesitate to come here in real body. , bought fifty copies at once, clamoring to see Mr. Yi Gu...

Cough, really broken sleeves.

At the same time, in front of Wensheng Bookstore.

The roof of the carriage is very high, the carriage is spacious, and the curtains on the windows and doors are made of moon shadow gauze with black and dark patterns. One can tell that the price is expensive at first sight, and the owner of the carriage must be either rich or expensive.

Behind the carriage were several groups of powerful guards, all of whom were dressed as forbidden soldiers.

However, this carriage stopped suddenly when it passed in front of Wensheng Bookstore.

The voice of the man in the car was low and soft.

"and many more."

When the guard driving the carriage heard the sound, he quickly reined in the horse, leaned his head to the door curtain and asked, "Your Highness, what's the matter?"

"...What's the matter with this bookstore, it's so lively today?"

The guards jumped out of the carriage, sent people to inquire, and soon returned to the front of the curtain, and informed the people in the car about the addition of a limited edition booklet signed by "Mr. Yi Gu" in the bookstore today. .

After hearing the guard's announcement, Pei Zhaoheng was stunned for a while, before he laughed and said: "Oh... so there is still a signature..."

"You go and buy a copy. If you have that flower paper, come here... Let me have a look."

he said.

The guards hurriedly responded, but they couldn't help but wonder in their hearts. His Majesty asked them to go to the outskirts of Beijing to pick him up. This Third Highness who came to Beijing from Jinling...

I have just entered the capital now, so if I don’t hurry to enter the palace, and pay my respects to your majesty, I am actually on the way... Let them stop for a Longyang script... This... It really is a long time illness, idle clouds and wild cranes, without desires, without desires, Is it true that she doesn't want to win the favor of Junfu at all?

I thought about it, but I didn't dare to say it. I honestly went to buy a storybook for His Highness the Third Highness. However, what I never expected was...

The guard didn't know if he got up this morning, didn't wash his face, or he was a bit sloppy, he squeezed into the crowded bookstore, and first bought a book——

I searched all over, but there is no flower note.

Bought three more...

No paper.

Looking at it from the side, I don't know a young boy from the family who laughed and said: "This brother should be more sober! If you don't buy him a dozen copies, you still want to get Mr.'s flower notes, where is such good luck!"

The guard was furious, and thought to himself, I don't believe in evil anymore——

Isn't it just a Longyang script!

buy!

Bought five more.

No paper.

ten.

Still no flowers.

Twenty books.

Still no paper.

Guard: "..."

The boy who was watching the fun was not limited to just now, but at this moment, everyone became sympathetic when they saw him, and said one after another:

"It's just a flower note. It's no big deal if it doesn't exist. Although I've already bought it for our lady, this thing... it's the icing on the cake. Wouldn't it be the same without the book?"

"That's right, little brother, you've spent a hundred taels of silver, don't waste your money, maybe it's your master, even Mr. Yi Gu, you don't have a fate!"

"That's right, the master's words are all in the book, fate is such a thing, you can't force it!"

Guard: "..."

What a fucking grievance.

I have never been wronged so much when I grow up, but... it is because of a book of Longyang dialect.

The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, but suddenly he heard a faint male voice from behind——

"Why, haven't you bought it yet?"

The guard was startled, and when he looked back, he saw that it was indeed the Third Highness wearing a black veiled hat and black clothes. He couldn't make up the job for a while, and was a little embarrassed, but he had no other choice, so he had to tell the Third Highness what happened just now. Say it again.

Pei Zhaoheng was stunned when he heard the words, and smiled behind the hood: "Oh? It's so difficult? Then I'll buy a copy and try it."

So he asked the guard to pay for another book and gave it to the shop assistant, and then he picked up a copy from the pile of Lao Gao's newly printed "Brother" chapter books.

As a result, just after turning over a few pages, a thin sheet of paper slipped out from the gap between the pages.

Everyone: "Oh!"

Guy: "Wow!"

Guard: "..."

motherfucker.

Pei Zhaoheng quickly caught the thin floral paper, and said with a smile, "It seems that I'm luckier."

He picked up the flower paper, paused his gaze and looked——

Although he had already guessed before that "Mr. Yi Gu" was probably Zihuan, but none of those guesses made him see this flower note so...

unambiguous evidence.

He took He Gu to write for more than half a month, and almost knew most of his pen-handling habits, whether it was He Gu's handwriting, Pei Zhaoheng could recognize it at a glance.

"Mr. Yi Gu" is...

sub ring.

From the corner of his eyes, Pei Zhaoheng caught a glimpse of those people in the bookstore who were clamoring to see "Mr. Yi Gu", and almost wrote the word "broken sleeve" on their faces.

"..."

Zihuan really has another side that he doesn't know about at all——

Sentimental, romantic and delicate.

Pei Zhaoheng's slender five fingers gripped the flower paper, and tightened accordingly.

Now... he knows.

The guard next to him whispered: "Your Highness, shall we go? Your Majesty is waiting to see you?"

He let out a "hmm" before turning around and leaving with the guards.

On August [-]th, the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet will arrive soon as scheduled.

In fact, He Gu's reputation in Beijing is a bit embarrassing now.

After all, not long after she got married to the eldest princess, the eldest princess actually left Beijing to live in Zongshan. Although the big guys knew that the young couple probably wouldn't get along, they never expected that they would be at odds. For the sake of not wanting to live together every day.

The eldest princess would rather hide outside Kuaiguan than stay with the son-in-law, which shows how bad the relationship between the two is.

So I can't help but guess whether the son-in-law will offend the empress because of this.

It's just that they guessed, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the palace still sent a message to the princess' mansion as usual, and even rewarded a lot of things, so it seems that His Majesty did not blame the consort for the princess's departure from Beijing.

This is really strange.

The daughter was rushed away by her son-in-law on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but His Majesty is still so calm.

Is it possible to be so easy-going, thinking that children and grandchildren will have their own blessings?

But they guessed badly, and they couldn't figure out why.

He Gu didn't care too much, he didn't even want to go to the palace banquet, but he knew another thing, he had to go to this palace banquet——

The third prince, Pei Zhaoheng, has returned to Beijing.

It is said that His Majesty received a letter from His Highness the Third Highness of Jinling half a month ago, saying that he was in good health and wanted to come back to see the Empress during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival. The Emperor readily agreed and called him back to the palace.

Someone else might not care too much about such a weak and unfavorable prince, but it is impossible for He Gu not to care.

He also thought about taking Yan Zhiya to Jinling in the spring of next year to treat His Highness the Third Highness, but he didn't expect him to come back by himself.

I don't know if the disease is cured or not. Although it is August and the weather is still hot and dry, but as soon as September enters autumn, the weather in Bianjing will start to turn cold.

Could the small body of the Third Highness be able to withstand it?

Master He Xiaohou was really worried for this, his future lord and brother-in-law.

However, when they really met each other, He Gu realized that...

He may be thinking too much.

After entering the palace, He Gu planned to go to Zhiyang Palace to kowtow to the queen first. He had heard from Sister Yu'er that most of the rewards in the palace before marriage were given by the queen from her private money, so he thought that those rewards yesterday It was given by the queen again, so naturally I have to kowtow to my mother-in-law to thank her.

But just after passing through the arch of the Yuyuan Garden, before approaching Zhiyang Palace, He Gu was in Zhiyang Palace. Not far from the gate of the palace, there was a clump of red and white, delicate and pretty rose flowers in full bloom. a back view.

The man was dressed in black clothes, with a tall and straight back, broad shoulders and narrow waist, with one hand behind his back, as if he was looking down at something.

Hearing the footsteps, he paused, and then slowly turned his head.

He Gu looked at the back, and was about to ask who he was, but when the man turned around, the moment he saw those beautiful peach blossom eyes with familiar shapes, he suddenly froze in place.

These eyes... Sister Yu'er?

no, no...

It seems... not the same...

Sister Yu'er's eyes were cold, so indifferent that people dare not approach them at all, but the person in front of him looked into his eyes——

With a three-point smile, the gentleness is like spring water, which can almost melt a person's heart.

He Gu's heartbeat slightly missed a few beats.

When the man in Xuanyi saw him, he seemed to be taken aback for a while, and then he smiled and said in a warm voice, "This is brother-in-law, right?"