The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"When you arrive at the Yongjia Marquis' Mansion, treat Eunuch Wang with the same attitude you usually treat Bao Xi and Bao Lu. You can't be too close to him, but you can't be too distant either. He... although he is your father's man, all human beings have feelings. I know that he has a nephew who is a little older than you. When you find a good opportunity in the future, let him work for you." Xie Yuzhen pulled Xie Yi to his side and explained in detail how to quietly win over Eunuch Wang and then learn from him the skills of managing the Marquis' Mansion.

"...I suspect that he was a spy for your father in the past, so just coax him to get close to you slowly, and don't inquire about other matters, especially those involving the former dynasty and the harem."

"I understand, kid." Xie Yi nodded seriously, the loose hair on his forehead fluttered up and down, a few strands fell on the cinnabar mole in the middle of his eyebrows, making the child look even more lovely and handsome.

Xie Yuzhen patted his son's shoulder and said, "Okay, I have explained almost everything I need to say. Go and see if there is anything else you want to take out of the palace. Let the palace servants pack it all for you."

"Yeah!" Xie Yi took Chunfen's hand and went out again.

After closing the test paper he brought back, Xie Yuzhen put it in the drawer of the cabinet against the wall - he was about to be separated from his child, and it was impossible for him to say that he was not worried.

But rather than always keeping the children under his wings, Xie Yuzhen would rather let go and give them space to grow.

Xie Yi is six years old this year, and Lu Weiyuan is already over one year old and almost two years old. This child is born to grow faster and learn faster than ordinary children. Now she can run around shouting daddy, mommy, and aunt. Compared with her precocious and steady brother, Lu Weiyuan is a born chatterbox with extraordinary action ability and her own logic.

"Where's my brother?" Upon hearing the news that Xie Yi had returned home, Lu Weiyuan hurried back from the small garden and climbed over the threshold, "Mother, my brother!"

She now speaks clearly and coherently, but her vocabulary is still a little lacking.

"Your brother just got home from school and needs to rest. Don't bother him." Xie Yuzhen lifted his daughter up from the threshold.

Lu Weiyuan rubbed his mother's arms twice: "Yuanjun, don't bother me!"

She pointed at herself and said, "I am smart, cute, and lovable!"

The phrase "very lovable" was the only long sentence that Lu Weiyuan said most clearly and liked to say the most. It came from the emperor who would take this kid to the previous dynasty to show off to his relatives and court officials.

He often said, "Our Yuanjun is so likable." Yuanjun, who was very much like his biological father in some ways, naturally learned the same thing.

"Yes, yes, you are lovable." Xie Yuzhen held the fat girl in his arms and weighed her. "Lovely little princess, come and pick out the clothes you want to wear when you go to the Marquis' Mansion tomorrow."

The matter of the imperial concubine visiting her parents is not a big deal, but it is not a trivial matter either.

The emperor intended to use this incident to signal to everyone in the capital that the national mourning period was over and asked them to stop maintaining this ridiculous quail look, so he could not help but give a few more instructions to the Shanggong Bureau, which was in charge of the visit.

Early the next morning.

What appeared on the long street outside the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion was not the phoenix carriage that the imperial concubine rode in when she traveled, but the emperor's own guard of honor. The Jinwu Guards with swords and spears were lined up in two rows to protect the left and right sides of the long street. Dozens of eunuchs and female officials were in front, holding various ceremonial objects to clear the way. Behind them followed the silver-armored Yulin Guards and palace maids holding colorful dragon flags and magpie feather fans, lined up in two rows. The very beginning alone was already imposing, and this was the effect after the number of people was slightly reduced.

Apart from the Yongjia Marquis Mansion, there is only the Yingguo Duke Mansion which luckily escaped annexation. There are no other houses on this road. This is the closest and best location to the imperial palace.

Therefore, the emperor and his concubines were spared a lot of trouble in traveling.

Xie's mother, Xu's mother, Xie Jingrong and others had put on their formal dresses early and were waiting outside the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion to welcome Xie Yuzhen back to visit his parents. However, they did not expect that what they were waiting for was not the concubine's phoenix carriage, but the emperor's guard of honor.

Xu's mother whispered to Xie's mother, "What's going on? This is different from what was said before."

Mother Xie frowned slightly and answered her: "Perhaps His Majesty has some sudden idea again."

At this time, Wang, the eunuch who had been replaced by an inner official, came out with a dustpan in his hand. Seeing this, he took the initiative to step forward and comforted the two people, saying, "The adults in the palace just delivered a message saying that last night, Your Majesty felt that there had been no banquets in the capital for a long time. Now that the national mourning has passed, and it is a happy event like the visit of Concubine Zhao, it is better to hold it in a grand manner."

The emperor usually would not accompany his concubines when they visited their families. Even if he did, there was no need to display all the emperor's ceremonial guards. The emperor's sudden change of formation left Xie's mother and others at a loss as to what to do.

She calmed herself down, thanked Eunuch Wang, and asked him, "Then can we still use the etiquette we rehearsed earlier?"

"Don't panic, old lady. Just do as you have rehearsed before. When you meet His Majesty, you can greet him as usual." Although Eunuch Wang is a eunuch, his manners are not awkward. Compared with the image of eunuchs who are neither male nor female and twisted to the extreme in people's impression, his appearance and words and deeds make him look like a gentle middle-aged scholar, and he also has a light and elegant fragrance on his body.

"So that's how it is. Thank you, Eunuch Wang." After thanking her, Mother Xie turned around and said a few words to Mother Xu, who also had an imperial decree, and Xie Jingrong, who was wearing an official uniform and looked indifferent, as if he didn't care at all that the imperial concubine's phoenix carriage had been transformed into the emperor's ceremonial guard.

Xie Jingrong was wearing a green official uniform, with an upright posture, a white face and no beard. His eyebrows and eyes were not very handsome, but they were also upright and gentle, and his expression was very calm: "Mother, don't worry. His Majesty loves my younger sister very much. If it wasn't a sudden decision, the Shanggong Bureau would have not informed us first. Since there was no special notification, I guess His Majesty doesn't care about this."

"Alas..." Xie's mother sighed, "His Majesty is still His Majesty after all. His thoughts are really beyond our comprehension."

Xie Jingrong smiled slightly: "Your Majesty has his reasons for doing this, but from another perspective, isn't he also expressing to everyone how much he values ​​my little sister?"

"Mother, just enjoy the happiness of family. As for the rest, I don't have much ability, but I'm sure my sister has already made arrangements. If she has any instructions, just tell me to do them. You have worked hard for this family for a long time, and you deserve to enjoy your rewards." Xie Jingrong comforted his mother gently.

The worry on Xie's mother's face faded a little, but she waved her hand soon: "No, no, I still have to watch it. It's not that I'm worried about you two brothers and sisters acting insecurely, but I'm just like this. When your younger sister married that family, I didn't see her for several years, and I missed her so much..."