The rebirth of a concubine: Gong Du will become the Queen Mother

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your thoughtful consideration for safety." Jiang Shi smiled through tears.

Lu Zhaolin pretended to be displeased: "Xie Zhen, what are you doing? I am Ping An's father, so naturally I have to protect him."

Jiang Shiying said: "As the mother of Ping An, Aying has to do her part to make it happen."

Lu Zhaolin asked: "Oh? How do you want to contribute?"

Jiang Shiying raised her voice and said, "Ah Yuan, bring me my little mahogany box."

Ah Yuan responded, and not long after, he came back with a box about five or six inches high.

Jiang Shiying took the box, handed it to Lu Zhaolin, and said, "Use the gold and silver in this box to add a bushel of soybeans to every citizen who wishes you peace."

Lu Zhaolin put the box on his lap. After opening it, he saw a small stack of silver notes at the top, and under the silver notes, there were more than a dozen gold and silver hairpins.

He joked: "Isn't this your entire net worth?"

Jiang Shiying said: "It's not that exaggerated."

Then, she heard her sigh: "Even if I really want to dispose of Ah Ying's entire wealth, what if I can keep her safe, healthy and long-lived?"

Lu Zhaolin promised warmly: "Yes, everyone in the capital will pray for peace, and he will live a long and healthy life."

···

At noon the next day, in Jiuzhi Alley in the southern part of the capital, a middle-aged woman wearing a brown blouse and a skirt of the same color walked hurriedly into the alley and walked towards her home.

Opposite her house, there were several wooden benches at the entrance of the courtyard. Several women of the same age as her were sitting on them, with needlework in their hands. While they were doing needlework, they were chatting about the Zhang family and the Li family. .

Seeing her anxious look, one of the women stopped her and said, "Wang family, what are you doing in such a hurry?"

The wife of the Wang family stopped and said: "The yamen is distributing food. Shouldn't I come back quickly and call my daughters-in-law and grandchildren to take the cloth bags from home and go to the yamen to get food."

As soon as these words came out, the women asked one after another -

"What did you say? Give me food?"

"Really or not, you don't need any money?"

"How much?"

The wife of the Wang family said: "Your Majesty has an order. As long as you say a blessing to the eighth prince, each person can receive half a bushel of corn, half a bushel of rice, and a bushel of soybeans."

A woman wearing dark red clothes said: "The Eighth Prince? Isn't he the one who descended from the sky - wuwu."

Before she could finish her words, Mrs. Wang rushed up to her and covered her mouth, saying, "You are crazy. If you dare to speak ill of the prince, you will be arrested and beaten."

The woman muttered: "Didn't you say that before?"

The wife of the Wang family said: "It was before, but now His Majesty has given an order. If you dare to say this again, you will be slapped with a blackmail."

The woman retorted: "Your Majesty is too stingy."

"Bah!" Wang's mother-in-law spat at her: "Are you angry when someone says that about your son? The eighth prince is His Majesty's biological son, so of course Your Majesty must protect him!"

Speaking of this, she glanced at the group of women and said: "Anyway, if I hear someone say something bad about the Eighth Prince again, I will never let that person go!"

Not for anything else, just for the free food!

Then, she waved her hand and said, "I won't tell you anymore. I quickly called my family to get food."

After saying this, the other women who had been gathered here also got up and went home to ask someone to get their cloth bags.

This scene happened in the streets and alleys of the capital.

However, in just a few days, no one in the capital said that the Eighth Prince was a disaster from heaven.

Nowadays, whenever someone mentions the Eighth Prince, all they say are blessings.

After saying the blessing, I just lamented the pity for the hearts of parents in the world. Even as noble as His Majesty and Concubine Chen, they still have to worry and worry about the health of their children.

In Kangyifang, the capital, there is a certain Gaomen mansion.

A middle-aged man dressed as a scribe sighed softly: "Your Majesty's move is really unexpected."

Opposite him, a young man coughed twice first, and then said: "Eaters are short-tongued and takers are soft-handed. Those common people took the food given by Your Majesty and Concubine Chen and ate it. Naturally, they couldn't say anything. Bad words about the prince. Not to mention, there are twenty big boards hanging above your head as a threat."

The middle-aged man said: "It doesn't matter, the eighth prince is still young, so there is no rush."

The young man raised his eyes and looked at him: "Father, although the Eighth Prince is still young, Concubine Chen has seriously threatened my little sister's status."

"Do you think I don't know?" the middle-aged man said, "Don't forget what was said in the garden a few days ago. The most urgent thing is to bring back all the people who have dispersed."

The young man said: "Father, don't worry, I have ordered people to clean up our traces. Your Majesty ordered people to investigate, but they can only go to Weizhou."

At this point, the father and son looked at each other and smiled.

At this time, Lin You was reporting his investigation results to Lu Zhaolin in the Mingguang Hall.

"Your Majesty, this rumor first spread from a group of beggars in the west of the city. I found the group of beggars. According to their account, a woman with a Weizhou accent gave them money. , let them spread this rumor."

"Weizhou?" Lu Zhaolin's fingers tapped lightly on the surface of the table. After a moment, he stopped his fingers and asked, "I remember that Shangshu Ling's wife was born in the Deng family of Weizhou?"

Lin Youdao: "That's true."

The Deng family in Weizhou is the mother clan of the current queen.

Lu Zhaolin asked: "You mean, the queen's family is behind this rumor?"

Lin You shook his head: "I think that if it is really the Queen's mother's family, we shouldn't send a woman with a Weizhou accent to handle this matter."

Shangshu Ling is too cunning to expose such a simple flaw.

He added: "Moreover, the little beggar in the lead said that he once secretly followed the woman and saw her getting into the carriage without the emblem. After the carriage entered Kangyifang, he did not dare to follow her again. ”

Kangyifang is where Gaomen's mansions gather, so it's normal for the little beggar not to dare to follow.

This clue can only prove that the woman is indeed inseparable from the high-ranking mansion in the capital.

Lu Zhaolin thought for a while and then said: "Continue to investigate secretly."

"The minister obeys the order."

···

The days are getting colder and colder day by day. After October has entered, the concubines have all put on winter clothes.

On the tenth day of October, everyone paid their respects at Mingxiu Pavilion.

The queen said: "Your Majesty means that you will return to Beijing from the garden at the end of October. Sisters, please remember to ask the palace people to take care of things in advance and make preparations."

All the concubines responded.

Li Bin muttered: "I will return to the palace at the end of October. It will probably snow for the first time this year soon."

"Isn't it?" Ning Guibi took a sip of tea: "I remember that in previous years, Sister Jin Fei would make osmanthus tea by herself. This year, I'm afraid the flowering period will be missed."

Concubine Jin smiled and said, "That's okay. There are also a few sweet-scented osmanthus trees in the garden. I have picked fresh sweet-scented osmanthus and they will be dried in a day or two."

Ning Guibi smiled: "That's very good."