[Qing wear] Harem promotion expert

Concubine Xi still only brought Dongqing into the door, leaving the two little maids in the courtyard.

After entering the door to say hello, Concubine Xi first smiled and said, "The empress looks good today."

The queen ordered people to serve tea: "The happy event of the Long Live Lord is the happy event of this palace. But in a few months, there will be more cries in the palace. Why is your complexion so bad?" She said to Concubine Xi: "If you don't believe me Concubine lacks energy, you should go and see her today."

Concubine Xi's expression was still very calm, just like her own appearance, beautiful and gentle.Hearing the Empress mention Concubine Xin's pregnancy, she also showed a bit of sympathetic joy: "Your Majesty said that if Concubine Xin's younger sister is blessed, and another prince is added, she will be a person with both children in this palace."

The queen still remembered her mother's family in her heart, and didn't really want to hear these useless gossip, so she took a sip of tea.

Seeing that the queen started to serve tea, Concubine Xi immediately switched from the chat mode to the formal mode. Her expression was slightly solemn, her spine straightened, and she turned slightly to face the queen above: "Accordingly, the happy event in the palace these two days Many, the concubine shouldn't come here to bring bad luck to the empress. It's just a chance encounter, and I really dare not make up my mind, so I came here to ask the empress to show me."

The Queen nodded.

But seeing Concubine Xi, she wondered again: "It's also the empress's words. The concubine Xin's sister is too weak to see guests, and it's not good for her to force her to take care of other things, otherwise the concubine will take the two maids to Yonghe directly. It's the palace." Concubine Xi looked at the two little maids outside the window.

"The concubine came back from offering Buddhist scriptures in the Zhongzheng Hall today, and heard two court ladies gossiping about Concubine Xin, so she detained them first, but didn't know how to deal with them." Concubine Xi stood up when she replied. : "The concubine ordered someone to bring those two little maids in and ask the empress to ask questions?"

But the queen shook her head and said: "No need, I trust Concubine Xi, so you can just tell the story."

Concubine Xi paused slightly.

The queen doesn't like to judge the little maids. There is a small election in the palace every year, and new palace maids are admitted every year. Therefore, there are many little maids in the palace who are ignorant and like silly sparrows. Although they are talking and doing things, they are still I really don't necessarily know what I'm doing, and I don't even know when I'm being used by others, and some people think that it's what they want to do when they arrive.

It's not that the queen concluded that Concubine Xi or someone else ordered these two little maids to use them as tongues.But compared to watching two little maids crying and pleading guilty, and couldn't explain it for a long time, it was better for Concubine Xi to save trouble.

Concubine Xi lowered her head slightly and returned the words in a calm tone: "The two young maids said: The news of the peace of the king of Northwest Xunjun just came back to the palace, and the concubine Xin came to the doctor immediately and found a happy pulse. It must be the concubine Xin. One child is blessed."

"Another little palace lady said again: I heard from the old man at home that when the late emperor went to fight Junggar, the people and horses in the whole place were thirsty. That place was originally a dry land, but who would have thought that because the late emperor was stationed there , The spring water came out that night, and our soldiers drank the spring water to the full, and then we defeated Junggar. It is unbelievable that the concubine's birth is also a real dragon, and this is the good news from the Northwest."

Concubine Xi waited quietly where she was after she had finished transcribing.

Hearing that the queen was speechless for a moment, she finally said: "Leave me here in this palace, and Concubine Xi will go back first."

"Concubine Xi gave me a problem." After Concubine Xi left, the queen shook her head.

But Gong Mei looked at it, and the queen was not too embarrassed, but seemed a little emotional.

Seeing that there was no one around, Gong Mei also smiled and said: "If it's the character of Concubine Xi, even if she tries to test her mind, she will always be impeccable."

Through the window, she watched Xue Ya go outside to ask the two little maids: "It seems that the birth of Concubine Xin really put a lot of pressure on Jingren Palace. Concubine Xi wants to find out if the concubine has any Suppress the meaning of Yonghe Palace, if there is, she is willing to help the empress."

Concubine Xin is pregnant, so Concubine Xi sent two court ladies who said behind her back that Concubine Xin was "a precious dragon fetus".

If the queen is dissatisfied with Concubine Xin's increasingly deep-rooted favor and wants to suppress one or two, then Concubine Xi is giving pillows to sleepy people—does the queen not care if the main concubine bumps into a court lady to spread rumors?It is only right and proper to be in charge!

As long as the rumors are rectified, the rumors can really spread.

King Xun is the youngest son of the empress dowager, this time he was really in a dangerous situation, relying on his ability to defend the city, he waited for Yue Zhongqi's support and turned the crisis into safety.This is naturally something that the Empress Dowager is very proud of. If people are talking about it, the Fourteenth Lord is just lucky.

Not to mention the comparison between Concubine Xin's child and the late Emperor, this is another rumor that makes Concubine Xin uneasy.

The queen heard Gongmei say 'Concubine Xi is willing to help her', so she nodded with a smile: "I have been too lenient towards you in the past, so that I talked about yin and yang in front of me - Concubine Xi wanted to help her." Help Ben Gong, or do you want to use Ben Gong to help her?"

Once the queen starts to 'rectify' the rumors, then Concubine Xi will retire.In the end, she was just a cautious little palace maid who brought Lu Yu to gossiping and brought her to the empress to deal with. The process was very serious.This hot potato can be pinched by the queen.

Who is this handing the pillow to whom?

The favorite concubine and the queen seem to be natural opposites, just like in the drama, if there is a favorite concubine in power, the queen will definitely suffer.

But in the palace at this time, it really doesn't make sense.

The queen's eldest son died early, and how many children Xinfei had had no direct conflict with her.Concubine Xi, on the other hand, looked anxiously at the Yonghe Palace.

The queen is too lazy to figure this out.

Why bother, the emperor respects her now, if he takes action against his favorite concubine, with the emperor's temperament of not rubbing sand in his eyes, he must feel that the queen puts his value and face on the ground to be trampled, and then he will turn his face and become ruthless...

The queen has seen the emperor turn his face many times, but if it happened to her, the queen would not even dare to think about it!

Gongmei patted her cheek lightly: "Your maidservant knows your mistake." Then she got up seriously and said to the empress, "Since the year before last, the imperial concubine and concubine Qi both went to the Yuanmingyuan, the palace was really quiet, but the empress has lived a little more peacefully." Today, the palace is about to blow again."

The queen also sighed: "Since the new year has passed, especially in this March, there have been major incidents happening inside and outside the palace, so it's no wonder that people's hearts are impetuous. If Hongshi's finger marriage has not been decided, maybe Concubine Xi will not be in such a hurry." Seeing that Hongshi had no chance with the crown prince, Hongli was pushed to the forefront of the battle for the crown prince.Concubine Xi is not so determined to have her son be the crown prince, but she has to worry that once Concubine Xin has a son, she will regard their mother and child as thorns in her eyes, which is not good for Hongli.

This time's action is quite a bit of the meaning of attacking first to be strong and then attacking to suffer.

The queen picked up the tea and was lost in thought, and said to herself for a long time: "Concubine Xi is already calm. There is no need for me to argue about this..."

There is a saying that is good, if you stand on a wall, you can be strong without desire.

The empress no longer has Hong Hui, and for her, she has nothing to ask for, nothing to ask for, and everything is empty.

But when she had a child, she was also planning for him with all her heart: Honghui was born in the 36th year of Kangxi, and those years were the time when the side Fujin Li family, who is now the concubine Qi, was the most favored, and she had consecutive births within a few years. Have several children.

How could I not be in a hurry at that time?How not to make plans for Honghui earlier?Could it be that Li's sons really waited for Li's sons to stand up and take Hong Hui's benefits away from her before moving?Of course, you have to do it first when you can!Just like Concubine Xi at this time.

The fight was still for the crown prince, so she couldn't help but want to suppress Li Shi.At that time, it wasn't that he didn't make mistakes in his busy schedule. He asked Li Shi to take advantage of one or two Fujin to embarrass her and sue fiercely, and because of this, he had quarrels and conflicts with the emperor who was still a prince.

Of course, that was all when I was young, and the queen remembered it as if it had been a lifetime ago.

But people are like this, if there is desire, there will inevitably be flaws.

Now Concubine Xi couldn't bear it anymore.

The queen has a son, so she can understand the painstaking efforts and anxiety of being a mother.But in court, it was one thing to understand and even sympathize, and quite another to do it.

"What is the empress going to do with those two little maids who chew their tongues?" Gong Mei looked out of the window, only to see two little maids kneeling under the shadow of the palace wall and Xue Ya, not daring to move.

The queen came back to her senses: "Order Su Zhang of the Punishment Department to take it away. Let's deal with it as the two quarreled with each other during the palace festival and disturbed the auspicious day."

Gong Mei raised the curtain and went out, and ordered a little maid to run errands in the Department of Punishment.

When I came back, I saw that the queen was still picking up the warehouse list, and returned to the state of picking things for her mother's family. Regardless of the matter, she only left one last sentence: "Concubine Xi has always been like this. She always has to leave enough room before she is willing to move, but she doesn't want , who is stupid in this palace, only she knows to leave a way for herself?"

It should be known that if a queen wants to find out about her concubines, it is okay to leave a little bit of strength in doing things, that is the pressure from the superiors.But if a concubine wants to find out what the empress is thinking, and wants to make no effort and not touch her hand, it is best to let the empress stand out and hide her. This is really underestimating the empress's skill in taking care of the harem for so many years.

Concubine Xi only felt that the two little maids sent to Chengqian Palace were like water droplets falling into a puddle, and there was no movement anymore.

With her usual prudent and error-free behavior, of course she would not bribe anyone to inquire about the Queen's Department or the Department of Punishment.

She can only wait.

The waiting time passed extremely slowly, so Concubine Xi took out the leaf card and waved it casually with the maid, but felt bored.

I couldn't help thinking of people saying that Geng would go to the Yonghe Palace to find Concubine Xin to play bird cards - since when did Concubine Yu stop looking for her to talk and play cards to pass the time?

Concubine Xi likes to be quiet, so Jingren Palace is always quiet.

Facing the palace, she suddenly felt an unspeakable loneliness and loneliness.

It's just that this kind of mood was quickly suppressed by her: she has Hongli, and for Hongli, she also wants to be a concubine who can't be picked.That being the case, a little loneliness is nothing.

As for the queen, after sending the person to the Department of Punishment with a different name, she turned around and spoke back to the emperor.

By the way, he mentioned Concubine Xi who was looking for a job for her: "She is too timid to take care of the palace people, and Concubine Xin is recuperating behind closed doors, so Concubine Xi pushed her all the way to Chengqian Palace. The emperor also knows, stupid The rumors and gossips in the population, they will be proud of them if they pay attention to them. The concubine changed her name and sent the two maids to the Department of Punishment. It's just where the two little maids heard about it. Whether there are still people instigating, it is not easy for the concubines to investigate, otherwise, if someone with a heart wants to spread these words, Concubine Xin will feel very uncomfortable."

The emperor's expression also faded after hearing this, obviously unhappy: "The empress has done a good job. Concubine Xi, who has been in the palace for many years, dare not even take care of two little maids? Such a person, just send it to the Punishment Department. "It's another thing to send it all the way to the Queen's Palace, and ask someone who is interested to inquire about it.In the eyes of the emperor: such courtiers who talk behind their backs, one counts as one, should be sent to the Department of Punishment, and then sent to the Department of Punishment, if they are so willing to chew their tongues, they should go to the Department of Punishment.

When the queen came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she felt relaxed, and this matter was thrown away.

As soon as the queen left, the emperor summoned the head of the Punishment Department to face the saint.

Naturally, he has to take care of this matter for the Yonghe Palace: with her sleepy winter civet cat's eyes closed, she has no energy to care about the gossip outside.

In the emperor's mind, her pregnancy was his own, so naturally the troubles should also be hers.

The emperor has seen too many words of praise and killing. Back then, none of these brothers had been valued by Huang Ama for a while, and who had never been a target for arrows.

The louder the rumors outside, the harder it will be to step down if you are praised more highly.

Now that she is just pregnant, her gender is unknown, so there are such small words as "a great blessing" and "a real dragon descending to earth" circulating among the palace people.

If the child is really born in the future, if it is an elder brother, wouldn't it be "raised" as the crown prince whom everyone expects, and those who are narrow-minded will be scared to death!

Everyone was gathering firewood, and the flames were high, and this common saying suddenly appeared in the emperor's mind.

This sentence originally meant that the strength of unity is strong, but it is another understanding for the emperor: if someone lights the first fire, there will be people with all kinds of thoughts to add more firewood: anyway, the fire is already lit, no matter what Burn white but not burn.When people gather to burn firewood, the fire will soar into the sky.

Just like when Lao Ba was recommended by the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty to be the prince. Among those people, some of them were really loyal to Lao Ba and some were opportunists. It's really hard to say.

But the final result is obvious to all. After the first emperor was furious, it was Lao Ba who was humiliated and extinguished, and those who gathered firewood scattered away.

The emperor will not let her be set on fire by others without knowing it.

Coincidentally, there are people who have the same thoughts as the emperor.

The gate of the Punishment Division is regarded by the palace people as the entrance to a living hell.

In the whole palace, only the lights here are lampposts painted with black powder, and even the lights have an ominous atmosphere.

It is said that there are ten gates in the punishment room of the Punishment Department, and even the gods cannot break through the tenth gate.

There has been a legend circulating in the palace decades ago: Once upon a time, there was a frenzied skin-skinning demon wandering around the capital, who hunted lonely travelers to skin them to make drums, and even devoured human hearts.The police officers in the capital did not dare to deal with this murderous case, and even finally alarmed the governor of Shuntian Prefecture to arrest him and bring him to justice.But this flaying maniac was still laughing when he entered the prison, and he didn't plead guilty.In the end, the Department of Punishment came out, only the seventh door, the murderer couldn't stand it anymore, begged to peel his skin and forget it.

This kind of dark style story is very popular among palace people.

The Punishment Department was also happy to spread the word, so that the eunuchs and maids would be more afraid of the Punishment Department, so that in the future they would "subdue others without fighting".

Leading the bridge himself lit a lantern and walked down the corridor.People in the Department of Punishment like to interrogate at night - darkness always gives people greater psychological pressure, and tired people who can't sleep at night are more likely to have mental breakdowns. If they are supplemented with powerful interrogation techniques, they will get twice the result with half the effort compared with daytime.

Every time Yinqiao went to the quiet room of the detainee, he would think of Concubine Xin.

After she was transferred back to the Punishment Department, the empress asked her quietly: "What kind of punishment does the Punishment Department have? Is it really that severe?" At that time, she told the empress that although the Punishment Department has some cruel tortures that should not be shown, it is rarely used. arrive.Most of the people who went to the Punishment Department just violated the palace rules, which was not a serious crime. The punishment they received was to pound rice and sew clothes for low-ranking palace people.

I heard Concubine Xin mumble that she was stepping on a sewing machine.

Thinking of Yonghe Palace, Yinqiao couldn't help but smile on his face.Let's say that the empress is pregnant this time, and I haven't had time to say hello to her—the empress is mentally weak and needs to recuperate. The emperor decreed that the congratulations from the palaces will not be disturbed (just deliver the gift to the door), and the approach bridge will not be able to go for the time being.

However, it doesn't matter if you don't see her, because what is in her hands now is something related to the empress.

"Let the bridge girl go to the quiet room?"

The palace official who met her head-on took the initiative to say hello, and Yinqiao also said hello with a smile.

In fact, the clerks in the Punishment Division are also human beings, and they usually joke in private in the First Division, but they are soaked in the atmosphere of the working environment, and they will quickly enter the state as soon as they take up the job.

The quiet room is a dark room, and the walls are specially painted in a heavy and depressing black, like the mouth of a beast that chooses to eat people.

Inside the room there was only a table painted vermilion and two black stools for the interrogators to sit on.

The two little maids were leaning against the corner of the wall and shivering, dripping with cold sweat from fear, and their clothes were completely soaked.

The door 'squeaked', it was like sawing on their fragile nerves.

One of the little maids couldn't stand the psychological pressure, and crawled over from the corner without thinking: "This slave is guilty, my lord, please forgive me! Please forgive me, my lord!"

When tears blurred his face and raised his head, he was surprised again.

In front of him is a rather young Lord of the Department of Punishment, and his appearance is very beautiful, especially his pair of eyes, which are slightly narrow and long, which is different from others.

"Get up, the night is still long, let's have a good chat."

The queen doesn't like to judge the little maids. She thinks that they are a group of silly sparrows who are being driven around. In fact, they don't know why they fly in this direction. They belong to different species and cannot communicate. They can't get any useful information.But Yinqiao didn't think so, and neither did the people in the Punishment Division.

People are stronger than animals, and people can talk.

Maybe they have no brains, and they were led to do something without knowing it, but there must be traces of what happened, and what the Department of Punishment did without authorization was to dig out the subconsciousness behind them that they were not aware of, based on the clues they inadvertently revealed , follow along.

Of course, not everyone can experience this kind of detailed interrogation, and not everyone in the Department of Punishment can do it.

Most of the palace people who entered the Punishment Department immediately went to work to sew clothes, especially now that the Northwest was fighting a war, and they needed a lot of clothes for ordinary soldiers, and the Punishment Department received a sudden increase in orders.

These two little maids, according to their crimes, should start joining the sewing army today.

But it's about the Yonghe Palace, even if the emperor doesn't summon Mother Su to investigate and ban this matter in private, the lead bridge will dig carefully, anyway, this night, she will spend in this quiet room.

The approach bridge came out of the house when the sky turned pale.

The Punishment Department is a compound with high walls, and only at noon can there be a square of sunlight. Although it is bright at this time, the approach bridge still stands in the shadow of the high wall, like a dark statue.

Look to the east from the approach bridge—the easternmost part of the harem is the Yonghe Palace of Concubine Xin. The sun has already risen, and the palace of the empress is already bathed in morning light.

That's it.

Just like back then, the empress rescued her from the light, from now on, she will stand in the darkest and darkest place in the palace to defend the empress from all directions.

At this time, the Yonghe Palace was bathed in sunlight, but the main hall where Jiang Heng lived was still drawn with thick curtains, and she was still trapped in the dark sleepiness.

She was so sleepy, not to mention the emperor, even the queen mother had heard about it. After the fourteenth Fujin left the palace, she specially took Minmin to the Compassionate Ning Palace to take care of her at night: "Concubine Xin, take a good rest for a couple of days, and wait until you get better." The Ai family will send Minmin back." The queen mother was afraid that the whole Yonghe Palace would be surrounded by the pregnant concubine Xin, so she was wronged by being busy for a while.

Since her daughter was not in the palace, Jiang Heng became more and more focused. When the biological clock arrived the next day, she only opened her eyes, thinking that she didn't have to get up to see her daughter, so she relaxed and fell asleep.

Qiu Xue tiptoed in to have a look, and Nanny Yu also came in to have a look. Seeing Jiang Heng sleeping, they jointly decided not to disturb her.

The two of them did not discuss, and divided the work very tacitly: Madam Yu was still in charge of taking care of Jiang Heng's food and clothing, just like she came to Yonghe Palace two years ago to take care of pregnant women; Daily palace affairs.

Nanny Yu was originally afraid that Qiu Xue would not be able to cook: now the Yonghe Palace has dozens of people, and where there are people, there are things.

However, to Mammy's surprise, after Concubine Xin couldn't hold on and couldn't take care of things, the Yonghe Palace actually operated very smoothly on its own.

Besides, Nanny Yu didn't quite understand why the Concubine Xin insisted on going to the Yonghe Palace, even the smallest sweeping eunuch, as long as she belonged to her palace, she had to learn to recognize some common words and understand some principles.

The rest of the masters in the palace didn't think this way: Only slaves who can read and write can be big-hearted, and ignorance can be managed easily.Except for the maids who are close and important, the rest of the people don't need to read and write, and they are not suitable for decent jobs anyway.

Nanny Yu was a guest at the Yonghe Palace at first, so it was inconvenient to speak.Later, it officially belonged to the Yonghe Palace, so I asked about this matter.

She still remembered that the empress took her to the study to look at the star motion instrument on the table.

Yu Momo recognized this thing and it had been on Concubine Xin's desk all along. I heard that it was a gift from the Emperor Chuxiu Palace when he first met Concubine Xin. I think the empress cherishes it very much, and the imperial gift from Yonghe Palace is getting more and more There are many, and they are often changed, but only this star motion instrument has never been removed from the table.

Nanny Yu watched the empress fiddle with the star motion device, and saw the bright sun, moon and stars revolving under her fair and slender fingers.

Although Nanny Yu couldn't understand it, she also felt a very regular sense of beauty.

"Look, mama, as long as you find the pattern, no matter how messy the arrangement is, you can always return to the same correct star map. But people are not artifacts, and there is a golden thread behind them."

"Only when a person knows who he is and what he is doing can he do things clearly. This Palace of Eternal Harmony can operate according to a certain law like this astronomical instrument, even if I am not in this palace."

At that time, Nanny Yu didn't understand deeply.

Only now, when the empress really sleeps and has no way to manage the affairs, Mammy Yu realizes the importance of palace people being able to read and understand.

Qiu Xue placed an iron plate half a person's height on the side of the courtyard, and pasted new hemp paper on it with a magnet every day.On it are the names of the daily rotating palace staff and their respective errands.

The palace people who get up on duty every morning sign in here, and they have to sign again for authentication after finishing their errands.At the same time, the names of the palace servants who did well and who did not do well yesterday will be announced on the paper.

Everyone can read and write, so they can see what they should do, and they can also see what others should do.Human nature does not suffer from scarcity but from inequality, so open and transparent, everyone does not complain and perform their own duties, and incidentally supervises each other, trying to fight for promotion.

Standing in front of this piece of hemp paper, Nanny Yu seemed to see Concubine Xin playing with the star motion instrument.

Sure enough, the Yonghe Palace, when the empress was not strong enough, or when accidents happened, it also started to operate according to the way she felt in her heart.

Not only Mammy Yu, but also the emperor looked at the hemp paper for a while when he came to visit.

The emperor knew the Yonghe Palace very well, and Jiang Heng even shared the account books with the emperor (mainly for reimbursement), and the emperor had naturally seen the attendance and evaluation forms of these palace people.

This meeting is just a public posting.

The emperor can rest assured only when he sees that her palace is stable as usual.

"Go back to Lord Long Live, the lady is still asleep." Nanny Yu still came out to pick him up.

The emperor walked in lightly and saw that she was sleeping very sweetly in a ball of brocade quilt, so he didn't ask her to get up to eat this time.He asked Imperial Physician Liu, pregnant women will adjust themselves according to the needs of the body, since she is so sleepy, let her make up for sleep first.

"It's okay, I just took a look at you, go to sleep." Seeing that Jiang Heng opened his eyes dimly and wanted to get up, the emperor gently pressed her to let her continue to rest.

Things outside, and him.

Three days later, Jiang Heng finally got enough sleep.

If she had to say it herself, it should be because she was exhausted in the past three years. For some reason, she gave up completely and asked for a complete vacation.

After days of sleepless nights, she finally regained some energy.

After asking what was going on in the Qiuxue Palace, Qiuxue took out a piece of paper and said, "The empress was pregnant that day, and the English letter translated by the foreign affairs office was thrown there. The emperor ignored it, and the slaves had to Put it away first. Now I ask the empress to see how to deal with this letter, do you want to send it back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation?"

Jiang Heng took it over: Ah, isn't this her best emetic?

Qiu Xue still didn't want to give it away: "Your Majesty, you are well, don't look at it again and throw up."

This time, after receiving it, Jiang Heng looked at it carefully from the beginning, but after this look, he saw another thing.