The return of the son-in-law

Although a bowl of chicken soup can't dispel the empress dowager's dissatisfaction with Concubine Liu over the years, the arrogant and domineering behavior of Concubine Yu and Concubine Cai recently forced the Queen Mother to help Concubine Liu—in the palace, it wasn't the east wind that overwhelmed Concubine Liu. The west wind means that the west wind overwhelms the east wind. If she, an old man, wants to control the entire harem, she has to let the group of flowery women fight endlessly for favor, evenly matched.

The emperor visited the queen mother that day, and went to Linzhi Palace when he came out, and even stayed in the side hall of Linzhi Palace at night, not to mention the reward on the second day.

Concubine Liu put on the decals in front of the mirror, her brows beaming with joy, Xia He at the side smiled and said: "Your Majesty got up really early today, Your Majesty has already told us not to disturb your Majesty's rest."

Concubine Liu smiled and said coquettishly: "You girl really should go get a meal, but today you are going to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager, how can you be late?"

She just made the queen mother change her opinion, but she can't offend the old woman again at this juncture.Although her waist is sore and painful now, thinking of her son's future, Concubine Liu could only grit her teeth and bear it.

After tidying up, Concubine Liu hurriedly drank half a bowl of red rice porridge and some light snacks, then took Xia He and other maids to greet the Queen Mother.

Seeing that he was about to reach the Empress Dowager's bedroom, he rushed out of Concubine Yu's chariot halfway, and happened to stop Liu Bin's way.

Concubine Yu sat on the chariot, looked at Concubine Liu who was squatting next to her with her beautiful eyes, and said, "Hey, isn't this Sister Concubine Liu? How is Sister? Forgive me for being rude, my stomach is getting bigger and I can't come down to meet my sister Reminiscing about the past."

Concubine Liu didn't want to conflict with Concubine Yu at this time, so she continued to maintain a half-squatting position, gritted her teeth, and said with a fake smile: "There is nothing strange between sisters, who doesn't know the little sister in her stomach right now? The prince is precious. My sister is probably the second child. The first child is more difficult, but it will be much better after the second child. My sister has been childless for many years, and now she finally has something to look forward to. Naturally, she should pay more attention to it. of."

"You!" Concubine Yu was so young that she couldn't stand Liu Bin's provocation, so she opened the curtain angrily and cursed: "What are you! My son is extremely precious, yet you curse him like that! Wait until I tell Your Majesty, please Your Majesty is in charge!"

Concubine Liu looked at Concubine Yu with an innocent look on her face: "Sister, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand it? I just remembered that my sister lost her breath the day after her first child was born, so I couldn't help reminding my sister more. , How did it become a curse on the prince? If I am wrong, my sister will scold me, but the crime is too great, and I cannot bear it."

As she spoke, Concubine Liu picked up the handkerchief and wiped away the tears that did not exist, and then let out a low sob.

Concubine Yu was upset by Liu Pin's trouble, but she couldn't pinpoint Liu Pin's fault for a while, so she could only give Liu Pin a hard look with her eyes, and let Bing Rian leave first.

When Concubine Yu left, Xia He hurriedly supported Concubine Liu.The latter's feet were numb right now, and as soon as he took a step, he couldn't help gasping: "This little girl's film, when I recover someday, I will be the first to operate on her!"

Xia He tried her best to support Concubine Liu, and persuaded: "Your Majesty, be careful where you step. This Concubine Yu is just a villain's success. You don't need to be as knowledgeable as her. If you get angry, your health will not be good."

Concubine Liu snorted and said, "It's just a piece of meat in my belly, I don't know if it can be born or not!"

Xia He whispered nervously: "Your Majesty, the walls have ears."

It was only then that Concubine Liu realized that she had lost her composure, she straightened her appearance, and then said: "Let's go, I let Empress Yu and the little prince in her stomach go first, we can't be late."

In the Empress Dowager's Palace, the Empress Dowager sat at the head, listening to the compliments of many concubines with a smile.She cast her eyes on Concubine Yu's stomach, and said with a smile, "Concubine Yu, is my little grandson feeling unwell these days?"

Concubine Yu smiled and stroked her swollen belly, and replied: "Thank you for your concern, Queen Mother, your little grandson is very healthy, and he is clamoring all day long to come out to see grandma earlier."

"So that's the case, then I feel relieved," the queen mother smiled and nodded, but the words she said were slightly chilly, "I thought you asked the imperial doctor to check the pulse all day and night, and called the emperor over, Something serious happened to my little grandson. It seems that I was worrying too much."

Concubine Liu glanced at the panicked Concubine Yu, and said with a smile: "The Empress Dowager should also be considerate of Concubine Yu's younger sister, who didn't make it through the previous child, so she is extra careful now."

The queen mother glanced lightly at Concubine Liu: "Some people, even if they are born, may not be well-bred."

Even though Concubine Liu had been immersed in the harem for a long time, her face turned red and pale after hearing this, and she didn't dare to talk anymore.

The queen mother was satisfied now, although she didn't like Concubine Yu's big belly and used it as a capital to fight for favor, but she also didn't like Liu Bin's bullying face.Even though she supports Concubine Liu to suppress Concubine Yu's arrogance, that doesn't mean she supports Concubine Liu and Li Shaojin behind her.

A group of Yingying and Yanyan chirped for a while, and they finally expected the emperor to come.

The Empress Dowager was used to those concubines looking at the emperor eagerly, she just pretended not to know, and said with a smile: "The emperor is here."

Emperor Li Chonghao also smiled back, bowed to the queen mother, and said: "The mother's health is not very good these days, and the son is really worried, so I came here to see the mother."

Under heaven and earth, I am afraid that only the queen mother can be so respected by the emperor.She was very satisfied, and said: "You child, you have been filial since you were a child. I have already said that I am an old woman, and my body is naturally not as sharp as usual. You don't have to worry. The most important thing is to focus on government affairs."

The emperor waved his hands again and again: "The empress mother taught me a lesson, but the empress mother is in poor health, how can I, a son, come and have a look?"

Which concubine who has climbed to a high position is not a human being?Hearing what the most honorable mother and son in the world said, they all flattered and said: "The Queen Mother is really blessed to have such a filial son. Your Majesty's filial piety is deeply touching, and it is an example for the people of the world."

The emperor turned his eyes to Concubine Liu who was silent at the side again, recalling his lovely appearance last night, he spoke with tenderness: "What happened to Concubine Liu today? Why didn't you say a word?"

Where did Concubine Liu dare to say that she didn't dare to compete with other people in front of the Queen Mother, and lied with a smile on her face: "Just seeing the deep affection between the Queen Mother and His Majesty's mother and child, I can't help but think of my useless son. As a mother , It is really a disgrace to His Majesty's favor."

Before the emperor said anything, the queen mother on the side frowned dissatisfied: "It is said that a loving mother has many failures. After Shao Jin was born, he should be sent to the queen to be taught by the queen. After all, the queen is from everyone, see How can a nouveau riche compare to that kind of demeanor? It's a pity that the queen left early, leaving behind my poor Jun'er, who lost his brother and mother so early, and was dragged pitifully by an old woman like me. I grew up. Fortunately, Jun'er was up to the challenge, so I didn't feel sorry for the dead queen. Emperor, don't you think so?"

The smile on the emperor's face was still there, but the smile in his eyes was gone. He responded lightly, then turned to talk to Concubine Liu again: "The dinner you had at your place yesterday was very good, and today's dinner is reserved for you." How about a pair of bowls and chopsticks?"

Concubine Liu responded with a smile: "This world belongs to His Majesty, let alone a pair of bowls and chopsticks? If Your Majesty likes it, I can prepare it every day."

Only then did the emperor's cold eyes show signs of melting: "It's getting late, I still have important matters to discuss with Yue Qing today, so I won't spend more time with my mother."

The queen mother moved her lips, but she still didn't speak after all.

After the emperor left, the concubines lost all interest in staying here to compliment an old man, and they all left one after another under the pretext of not disturbing the queen mother to rest.

"Tell me, am I too anxious?" The queen mother only spoke after the concubines had left.

The old nanny who has followed the queen mother for decades replied respectfully: "The queen mother is also painstaking."

The queen mother smiled wryly and shook her head: "What else can I do? I was wrong from the beginning! I originally thought that the queen was born in a century-old family, so I had to support a few of ordinary backgrounds and let them fight. What about me , I took the opportunity to control the power of the harem. Thinking about it now, if the queen is still there, according to her character, I don’t know how comfortable I am as the queen mother. Look at the concubines today, Concubine Cai is a gourd. If you can't type a word with three sticks, you know what kindness is, and you really think you are a Bodhisattva? Concubine Yu is arrogant, unable to withstand blows, and has no brains! Liu Bin stabbed her with a few words, and she Just like a hedgehog, she fights against people regardless of her disregard. Not to mention the others. After I saw the emperor come in, I didn't even look straight in the face. As a woman, I can't even grasp the heart of a man. What do you expect her to do? As for Concubine Liu, hehe, she is flattering me now, thinking that she can make me forget the suffering I have suffered in the Buddhist hall all these years?"

The old mother has followed the queen mother for a long time, and she still has some face in front of the queen mother. At this time, she boldly said: "The dead cannot be resurrected. The Jiang queen is in the spirit of the sky. Seeing the queen mother taking care of the third prince, she must be able to rest in peace. As for those concubines, but all They are just ants under the Empress Dowager, why bother with them? Next year is the year of the draft, the Empress Dowager might as well take a look at those beautiful women and pick a few who know the cold and the hot."

Thinking of the draft, the Empress Dowager's mood improved, she reached out and brushed the broken hair behind her ears, and said with a smile: "Yes, the emperor is still young, and they say that there are 3000 beauties in the harem, how many do we have now? It’s time to fill the harem.”

The old mother said, "Why don't the queen mother also look at each other for the third prince and the fourth prince?"

The queen mother nodded, and said: "I don't care about the fourth child. With his mother and concubine jumping up and down, how can it be my turn to speak? But Jun'er, his mother died early, and the Jiang family has few female relatives." , it's inevitable that I, an old woman, will worry about him more."

The old mother flattered: "If the third prince knows that the queen mother personally visited the prince and concubine for him, he will be very happy. Maybe the queen mother will be able to embrace his great-grandson in the next year!"

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt much better.

Although she is also from a family background, her natal family has long been in decline, and it did not improve until she entered the palace and gave birth to a child, but her family background is not as good as that of the century-old Jiang family.Among the oldest princes in the palace, only Li Shaojun's biological mother died young, and his family was suppressed and isolated.Only when she helps Li Shaojun win the crown prince, can her natal family reach a higher level.And it would be even better if the future queen was from her natal family.

In the final analysis, how can there be so many family ties in the royal family, it is just a calculation of various interests.

No matter how good the queen mother's calculations are, it can't compare to Li Chonghao's disgust and vigilance towards Li Shaojun.What the queen mother said today, not only did not help Li Shaojun get any benefits, but it made Li Chonghao firm in his determination not to send Li Shaojun to the northwest to preside over the trade.

Therefore, when Li Chonghao went to the study and heard Yue An's proposal that the Fourth Prince Li Shaojin be the special envoy to go to the Northwest with full authority to handle trade with Tatar, he was shaken in his heart.

"The matter of Jin'er's embezzlement of Mo's military salary to support his private soldiers, is this over?"

Yue An replied: "The fourth prince is young and energetic, and he was bewitched by others, which led him to go astray. Let him think about his mistakes behind closed doors, and see his brother show his skills in the court, I am afraid it will be counterproductive. This time, it is just right for the fourth prince. It is a chance to reform himself, if he really repents, he will definitely live up to His Majesty's high expectations."

These words were tantamount to giving Li Chonghao a step down. Thinking of the increasing prestige of his disliked son in the court, he could not sleep or eat well.Although what Li Shaojin did touched his bottom line, but fortunately he was broken up before he became successful, and his small punishments and big punishments were enough for Li Shaojin to settle down for a few years.

Thinking of his fourth son's methods of doing things, Li Chonghao couldn't help but feel at ease - with that little thought, if Liu Yuanheng wasn't in charge behind him, he wouldn't have to worry about anything at all.

Because of this, even if what Li Shaojin did was a major crime of beheading, in order to suppress Li Shaojun, Li Chonghao could only reuse Li Shaojin, so that Li Shaojun's attention would be diverted from his dragon chair.

Yue An's proposal made Li Chonghao trust him even more, and he looked at Yue An with a little more joy in his eyes: "Yue Qing is right, although Jin'er has lost his mind and done something wrong, fortunately there is no It’s a big mistake. Your Majesty, when young people don’t make mistakes? It’s good to correct them in time. Tatars have invaded our Northwest for many years, and it is time to send a noble person to preside over them, so as to dampen their spirits, so that the Tatars will not Tartar thought we were easy to bully, so he took the opportunity to do some things to deceive others."

However, after Li Chonghao was overjoyed, he calmed down quickly: "The situation in the northwest is tense. I don't feel at ease if I just send Jin'er alone. I need to send more people to protect him, so I can feel at ease."

Yue An understood, and said: "The prince is honorable, we still need to send more trustworthy people to protect the fourth prince."

"Yes, this candidate really needs careful consideration."

Two days later, Li Chonghao ordered the Fourth Prince Li Shaojin to be a special envoy to go to the northwest to discuss with Tatar about trade in the northwest border.Accompanying Li Shaojin was Li Chonghao's exclusive deputy envoy of the Habayashi Army and an elite team led by him.

Anyone who knew a little bit about what Li Shaojin had done would lament that Li Shaojin was indeed Li Chonghao's favorite son. Even if he committed the crime of beheading, he just shut himself up at home and thought about it for more than ten days before he said nothing.Now, under the protection of the Habayashi Army, he went to the northwest to discuss important matters with Tatar.

As a result, these people looked at Li Shaojun with a little more sympathy.

Now, no one knows that there will be so many changes in the next three short months.