Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

Concubine Dong Gui’s Yikun Palace, the palace people saw King Wei coming and hurriedly informed them to come in. Concubine Dong Gui was sitting in front of a brand new rosewood dressing table and someone was combing her hair.Hearing her son coming, she happily threw down the comb in her hand and shouted, "Come in quickly." King Wei stepped into his mother's bedroom, and the air was still filled with the faint smell of ambergris. It seems that the emperor was in Yikun Palace last night.Although Concubine Dong Gui is already in her mid-mature, her unique charm and well-maintained face and figure are still very conspicuous among the women in the palace.

"Greetings to the mother. The mother's complexion is so good, and the son is relieved." Wei Wang beat his mother down. "Get up. Why did you come in at this time? Tell me to take a look. You seem to have lost a lot of weight in the past few days." Concubine Dong Gui stood up and winked at the servants around her, and they immediately retreated silently. The mother and son sat down and whispered quietly.

"Yesterday your father came, and I told your father that it is better to ask the grandson to go out. He hangs out with the maidservant next to the princess in the East Palace. They are all young people with young blood. It is better to be careful when you are still in the filial piety period." The princess loves her son dearly, but she can't forget the rules. Your father didn't look very good after hearing that. Hmph, the queen is all about scheming. She used to overwhelm me in everything, and now she still wants to turn salty fish over. How can I make her do what she wants? The four girls you asked someone to recruit are good, and they quickly gained a foothold in front of the princess. Your father is a person who values ​​etiquette the most. If your grandson has this problem, it will be a lifelong excuse. See if the queen can do it. What kind of tricks are you playing?" Thinking of all the grievances and grievances she had with the empress since she entered the palace, Concubine Dong Gui couldn't help but grit her teeth and her face became ferocious.

Since he was a child, King Wei listened to his mother whispering in his ears the secrets of the palace, the empress was virtuous on the outside and treacherous on the inside, and she suffered a secret loss.Seeing that his mother wanted to repeat the past, Wei Wang hurriedly persuaded his mother: "Why should mother bring up the past again? The queen is at a disadvantage now. If we press every step of the way, it will make it easy for the father to feel pity for her. If you look aggressive, you should be forgiving and forgiving."

"Confused, this is not the time for a woman's benevolence. Cut grass and roots. After all, she is the queen, and she will always have one more orthodox seat than us. I can't rest assured that your big seat has not been determined for a day. The queen seems to be at a disadvantage. But I can't feel at ease when she is still in the queen's seat all day long. Last night I tested your father's noncommittal about the grandson's move out. I don't know what the plan is. I feel more and more uneasy. It is for you to ascend to the East Palace. But the closer you get to that seat, the more you will feel uncertain." Concubine Dong Gui felt that the victory was about to be won, but with her hard work, The fruit that seems to be falling into the palm of the hand just cannot be picked.Concubine Dong Gui clenched her fists helplessly, and her fingernails, which were covered with Kodan, were deeply embedded in her palms.

"I came here today to tell my mother that how we can shake the emperor's mind, everything must be determined by the emperor himself. I want to ask my mother to help the grandson speak in front of the emperor. I think the grandson is also a Poor child, I have to move out immediately without my father. As an uncle, why don’t I feel sorry for my nephew? In my heart, I treat him like my own son. And the prince has been the heir apparent for decades. You and I have the righteousness of a monarch and a minister, but also brotherhood, and it is my duty to take care of the grandson. My mother is respected as a noble concubine, and the concubine of the prince naturally loves the grandson even more." The words of the king of Wei shocked Concubine Dong Gui Stunned, she stared at her son as if she were looking at a monster. "My son, are you sick or did you bump into something at night? How can you say that it's nonsense?" The son was still in front of her the day before yesterday, hating the grandson to the bone, how could he become a loving uncle in a blink of an eye.

"Mother, don't worry and listen to me slowly. These days, I feel the same as my mother. It seems that my father has hesitated to make me the prince. Although I am puzzled, I don't know what went wrong. Yesterday, I suddenly figured out that the crown prince is the crown prince that his father has carefully cultivated for decades, and the grandson has also carried the expectations of his father's three generations of virtuous kings. Among these grandsons, the grandson was in front of his father since he was a child. He entered When I was learning to choose a teacher, my father was more troublesome than when the prince left the cabinet to study. My father still has feelings for the grandson, and I definitely can't change it all at once. Besides, if my father really wants to entrust me with important tasks, he will not I will not watch my son and grandson fight each other. As long as the father knows that the grandson will not be treated badly, he will rest assured to entrust the big responsibility to me. Why should the mother make the father angry for a moment of anger?" Wei Wang told Hu Qizhong He told Concubine Dong about his plan.The grandson has been with the emperor for more than ten years, and it is impossible to expel him all at once.Even if a dog has been raised for more than ten years, it still has feelings, let alone a real grandson.If the king of Wei showed signs of hating his nephew, the emperor would definitely be worried about handing over the world to King Wei.

Only by telling the emperor to believe that the king of Wei will treat his grandson well, so that the brothers will not kill each other in the future, will the emperor dispel his worries and hand over the world to the king of Wei with confidence.Dong Guifei listened to her son's words and said unwillingly: "I have swallowed my anger for decades just for today, but I can't do anything to that bitch. The grievances of these years have been in vain, how can I be reconciled."

"Mother, please be patient for a while and wait for your son to ascend to the position of crown prince. At that time, the world will belong to our mother and son. Do you still have to worry about these small things? Now, mother, please put the overall situation first. I also ask mother for one thing What?" King Wei comforted his mother's reluctance.

Concubine Dong Gui suppressed her anger and resentment temporarily after thinking about it: "Forget it, I'm not a person who doesn't know the depth, and the days to come will be long. The immediate pride in this palace is not really proud, who can be proud for a long time is the real one." The winner. Waiting for the day when my son boards the big treasure is the day when I can really feel proud. What do you want me to do? Do you want to help the emperor speak in front of your father, or recommend that official?" There is a pet The concubine's mother, the King of Wei could easily pass a message in front of the emperor, helping his henchmen find official positions or listen to the emperor's emotional changes.

I also asked my mother to help the Wang family to speak more good words, and kept praising the girl of the Wang family as worthy of being the grandson Liangdi, and she would definitely be a competent queen in the future, and she would be the mother of the world.Father please decide on the candidate for grandson Liangdi this morning.If the father agreed to the girl from the Wang family to be Liangdi, the mother would take advantage of the situation and say that for the royal family's good looks, please give the Wang family a title.The current title of the Wang family is too low, no matter what they want to be a duke.It's fine to accept Wang Changchun and his son's merits, it's better to be a real duke.Before King Wei could finish speaking, Concubine Dong Gui called out first: "You are really confused, I will speak for the Wang family! I want to push your father and emperor to decide the marriage of your grandson. You have to think clearly, this critical moment Just in case His Majesty really ordered the side slit of Grandson Liang Di, it would be announcing to the world that the Grandson is the legitimate heir!"

Mother was wrong, father is the most suspicious person.What he is most afraid of is the close relationship between the prince and the ministers, Wang Changchun's meritorious service is so powerful, how can the father rest assured that the girl from the Wang family will be the future queen? My idea is to kill two birds with one stone.Firstly, to elevate the status of the Wang family, Wang Changchun already controls hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of people outside the pass. If his granddaughter becomes the grandson Liangdi, she will be bound together with the grandson.The royal father was vacillating about the crown prince's position, how could he easily agree to this marriage.At that time, if the father refused to agree, the reputation of the girls of the Wang family would have gone out.Who would dare to marry the daughter-in-law that the royal family does not want?If the father agreed to the marriage, he would be even more afraid of the relationship between the grandson and the heroes.In order to avoid suspicion, the Wang family will alienate the grandson even more, and the grandson will not rush to get close to the Wang family in order to protect himself, and their relationship will become estranged instead.As the saying goes, it is cowardice close to the country.The second is that we can use this opportunity to test Father Emperor's mind.Does he like us more or is he more kind to his grandson?King Wei was full of confidence and talked with his mother about the plan.

"You're right. I found the opportunity and decided to bring up the grandson's marriage with the emperor. In fact, the grandson is also a poor child. He is about to get married, but he has no father. He has to keep his filial piety for three years. Boys are also Forget it, that girl has been delayed for three years, and her best time has been wasted, and she will become an old girl after three years." Concubine Dong Gui said sincerely, but she thought in her heart that it would be best if the Wang family The young girl was dragged on for three years and could not marry in. The Wang family's wishful thinking fell through, and the girl fell on her hands. No matter what happened, the grandson and the Wang family would be losers.

In the queen's dormitory, the queen is talking to her grandson.After experiencing the ups and downs of his father's early death, the grandson gradually woke up from the previous panic and helplessness, and the grandson gradually grew up under the guidance of the queen, guidance and masters.His demeanor became more and more stable and mature, even carrying a lot of sophistication and vicissitudes at his age.

Huang Quanan stepped into the bedroom, quietly glanced at the talking grandparents and grandchildren, and let out an inaudible cough.The queen waved to the servants around her, and they all retreated silently. Only the master and servant were left in the hall. Huang Quanan took a few steps and said in a low voice: "Reporting to the empress, your majesty still went to Dong Guifei's place today." side."

"That's right, Your Majesty has been going to Yikun Palace very frequently recently. Did you invite Wu Zhaoyi?" Wu Zhaoyi lives in the side hall of Yikun Palace. She is young and beautiful and has a lot of poetry. The emperor made an exception and was promoted to three levels. He forced her to be promoted from Baolin to Zhaoyi.Concubine Dong Gui said in front of the emperor that she admired Wu Zhaoyi's talents and wanted to live with her, so that it was convenient to ask for advice. The emperor actually agreed to Concubine Dong's request, and did not arrange another palace for Wu Zhaoyi, telling her to live with Concubine Dong Yikun Palace.Although Wu Zhaoyi became Zhaoyi, she couldn't enjoy Zhaoyi's treatment. Naturally, she was dissatisfied in her heart.But she is a very rich person, and she is still affectionate and courteous to Concubine Dong Gui, so the two of them live in peace instead.

"Your Majesty was going to see Wu Zhaoyi, but Concubine Dong Guifei invited her away. Concubine Dong Gui dismissed the servants around her and closed the door to talk to Your Majesty for a long time. It's a pity that I couldn't hear what they said, she was just a little girl I heard Concubine Dong Gui talking in a daze about how the Wang family is. I am worried that Concubine Dong Gui will be slandering His Majesty's ears." Huang Quan'an lowered his voice, with a hint of worry in his tone.

The empress frowned immediately, and although the grandson next to him tried his best to control his emotions, he was really worried.Concubine Dong Gui and Wei Wang's mother and son have made many obstacles to their father and son, and they are still pressing hard. The Wang family has become the last straw that the grandson can grasp.They are coming to tear down the stage!The uncle could bear it, and the aunt couldn't bear it anymore. Finally, the grandson couldn't hold back the anger in his heart and blurted out: "How dare you do that, poor maidservant!"

"Shut up, she is your grandpa's imperial concubine after all! If someone hears it, no one can save you. You have forgotten what I taught you. Go back immediately and think about what you did wrong, and copy the Tao Te Ching." Come here a hundred times!" The queen's expression changed upon hearing her grandson's words, she stood up angrily and pointed at the door to tell her grandson to leave.

The grandson's face flushed. He grew up in the palace. When he was born, he was surrounded by more than 30 people. When he was a little older, there were senior nuns and big companions in the palace to guide his words and deeds. The most important thing is demeanor and manners. Taisun Zhang is so old, let alone swearing, he has never even heard many swear words.He was also hated by King Wei and Concubine Dong Gui so much that he blurted out such a sentence.In fact, without waiting for the queen to reprimand, the grandson himself felt ashamed in his heart as soon as the words came out.Listening to the grandmother's words, the grandson's face turned red, and he didn't dare to tell if he was just standing there listening to the queen's reprimand.Seeing the embarrassment of the grandson crying out of shame, the queen also felt that she was too strict. She stretched out her hand to hold the grandson, feeling distressed and sad: "Don't blame grandma for being too strict and unreasonable for uttering bad words. It's the trick of those villains. They are powerless and full of resentment, so they do such useless things. How can you learn that kind of demeanor when you have a noble status. You have read books, traffickers and pawns get angry just grabbing the ground with their heads, the son of heaven Anger means laying down millions of corpses and bleeding for thousands of miles. How decent is it for you to utter obscenities as a grandson! You must always remember your identity and not do things that go beyond your distance. You have to be more careful in this palace where there are many eyes and ears. "

The grandson looked up at his grandmother, and said with pitiful eyes: "The grandson knows his mistake. In the future, he must restrain his temper and learn the skills of cultivating one's character."

Is it right? It is the cultivation base of a gentleman to not show his emotions or anger.You just put it back, and if you have a grandmother one day, you won't be bullied.The queen patted her grandson on the shoulder lovingly and told him to go back.

The grandson still wanted to stay and listen to what Huang Quanan had to say, but the queen had already spoken, so he had no choice but to leave.There were only two people left in the hall.The queen thought about her grandson's reluctant back just now, and sighed silently: "I'm afraid this child has been sincerely moved by the girl from the Wang family. What did Mrs. Dong say in front of His Majesty?"

"It's really strange. Concubine Dong Gui begged His Majesty to settle the grandson's marriage as soon as possible. Although it's the prince's filial piety period, it doesn't prevent the elders from deciding the marriage first, and wait until the filial piety period expires before doing the wedding. She also said that the Wang family has worked hard and made great achievements. It’s another honorable family, please Your Majesty reward the Wang family generously and give Wang Changchun the title of Duke. The slaves wondered what happened to Concubine Dong Gui as if she changed overnight. Many of them have always faced the grandson and the ministers who supported the grandson. Do you hate it? If His Majesty really agrees to betroth the grandson, wouldn’t it be like the world has recognized the status of the grandson.” Huang Quan’an was also taken aback when he heard the news from Yikun Palace, he almost thought that Concubine Dong Gui was possessed by the ghost of His Highness the Prince.

Although the queen was a little surprised, she quickly sensed Concubine Dong Gui's malice and schemes behind her back. She stood up abruptly and walked around a few times, sneering: "Hmph, let me just say how could she be so kind. It's clearly a hidden smile, Sow discord between His Majesty and his courtiers. Where is His Majesty now, this palace is going to see His Majesty."

In the emperor's bedroom, when he heard the servant inform the queen to see him, the emperor frowned slightly, and quickly returned to normal: "Please come in, the queen."

There was a sound of footsteps, and the queen came in with only her personal maid. "Your Majesty is well." The queen greeted the emperor respectfully.Before waiting for the queen to squat down, the emperor had already stretched out his hand to support his wife: "They are all old couples and old wives, so don't be rude. The queen's complexion has improved a lot. Today I have leisure time to go out for a walk. Yesterday Wang Changchun entered I offered a Ganoderma lucidum and a few wild ginseng, which have been absorbed in the deep mountains for hundreds of years to absorb the essence of heaven and earth. They are used to nourish the Queen's body." The emperor asked someone to bring the Ganoderma lucidum and wild ginseng.

The queen smiled and waved her hands to stop the servants who were going to take things: "Such things are rare, so you should keep them for your majesty. The concubine is in good health, and the imperial doctor said that the concubine should not use too many beneficial things. But the concubine looked at your majesty It's been a lot of haggard these past few days."

The prince passed away suddenly, and the emperor was not feeling well.Speaking of which, the emperor has quite a few sons, and there were princes and princesses who died young before. As a father, he always loves his children.It's just that the prince is different from other sons. Seeing that he is entering his twilight years, he needs a white-haired man to send a black-haired man, especially the prince is the heir.Although the emperor often reprimanded the prince in the past, he had no intention of changing the prince.The heir I had cultivated so hard is gone, and as I get older, maybe one day I will be the guest of honor.What should we do if we leave behind such a huge country?To choose a grandson or another son?It's not that the emperor has never thought about replacing the prince, but now the emperor is beginning to waver again, can King Wei really take up this responsibility?The empress must be so sad, the empress and him were young, and the two of them have supported each other for half their lives.Once the king of Wei is about to be established, there will be no peace between the queen and concubine Dong Gui. In the future, when the king of Wei ascends the throne, the queen will definitely not be well filial.Should I consider whether to keep the mother and keep the son alive, and get rid of Concubine Dong Gui to preserve the honor of his wife as a queen and queen mother.

Thinking of this, the emperor saw his wife in a blink of an eye. The white hair on the sideburns of the empress hurt the emperor's eyes. The empress is a person who attaches great importance to appearance. Since getting married, the emperor has never seen the empress in any embarrassment.She is always well-dressed and meticulous.But now the queen's white hair and haggard face can no longer be concealed.

The emperor's heart softened: "The empress should also take care of her health. We are all getting old, Dalang is a good boy, and no one can match his filial piety. If you feel unwell, he will definitely be sad. "

"The concubine is already old, what are you still doing all day long? It's not a joke. You can dress up at any age. Dalang is a filial child. Since the prince is gone, this child has grown up a lot. In the past few days, he came to pay his respects to the sky, and when he saw me taking medicine, he quietly tasted whether it was bitter or not. He thought of things that the servants around him didn't think of. I heard Huang Quan'an say that Dalang copied Buddhist scriptures every day and prayed for me , Now I don't even have meat. With such a grandson, the concubine is already content." The queen's eyes became extraordinarily gentle, and a long-lost smile rose from the corner of her mouth.

"Really? Dalang is very filial to you, so he forgot that I am a grandfather. Seeing that I can run faster than a rabbit! I am a teacher and can eat him! Bai told me to bother thinking about marrying him a wife." gone."

Looking at his wife's white hair on the sideburns, the emperor's heart softened a bit: "The empress should also take care of her health. I thought it was time for Dalang to start a family. What about the girl you saw in Hangzhou back then."

"How did your majesty talk about Da Lang's marriage? It's still in the period of filial piety, so we have to wait three years to talk about it. The girl I fell in love with in Hangzhou back then, it's just that she may not be interested in our child, the marriage is destined. It depends on fate." The emperor really mentioned the grandson's marriage, and that bitch of the Dong family was too formal to slander His Majesty.She secretly scolded Concubine Dong Gui in her heart, but the queen pretended to be confused.

"It was the concubine who brought it up yesterday. Dalang suddenly lost his father, and the concubine was crying all day long. My poor grandson used to be the proud son of heaven, who was hugged and coaxed. Who would have thought that he would suddenly become a child without a father. We are grandparents, no matter how good we are, we can’t catch up with our biological parents. It’s better to betroth him first, so that Dalang has something to look forward to. The queen sees which girl is good, so she just decides.” The emperor said to Concubine Dong Gui A kind reminder is still very satisfactory.It's rare that Mrs. Dong knew how to care about his grandson. The emperor always had a shadow in his heart about who to pass the throne to.He worried that if the throne was passed to the king of Wei, his grandson would not be preserved. If the throne was passed to the grandson, the East Palace and King Wei would be in the same situation, and it would be difficult to preserve his son.Now that Mrs. Dong understands first, the emperor feels very relieved.

The queen sneered in her heart, and she knew it was Dong's head and tail. She was kind enough to care about the grandson. If she was really kind, she would not have proposed to be engaged to the grandson when the prince had just passed away for a year! "This is a coincidence. Sister Dong and I thought of it together. Yesterday, the concubine tentatively asked the grandson what he meant. Unexpectedly, the grandson said that he was still in his filial piety and had no intention of thinking about life-long affairs. Besides, the parents are the masters of marriage, so he doesn't ask. Da Lang said that he wanted to take advantage of these few years to study hard. His father used to urge him to study when he was around, but Da Lang was a child with an ignorant heart. Only when his father was gone did he realize the deep meaning of his father. I think the child has grown up. Dalang is sensible and I can rest in peace." The queen wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and the emperor felt sad when he heard the queen's words. Death is really a miraculous thing. Goodness remains.When the emperor heard the prince's honesty and calmness, he also felt sad.

"Let's fulfill Dalang's filial piety. I used to think that this child was a little immature, but now he has calmed down. It is good for him to be able to study quietly in three years. It is time for children to study when they are young. "The emperor made a final decision, and the grandson's marriage was temporarily put on hold.

"Your Majesty has lost his temper. It's a good thing for Dalang to devote himself to filial piety and study, but he can't really let go of his lifelong affairs. It's better to be sure first. Let's observe the past few years with cold eyes and wait for the filial piety period to expire before making an order. "How could the queen let go of this opportunity, she proposed to the emperor the marriage of the grandson.Only she has the final say on her grandson's marriage, but she didn't expect how much trouble she would cause by her outspokenness.