female concubine

Duwei's house

After the emperor and the imperial physician left one after another, the Duwei’s residence returned to peace. The emperor ordered several deputy envoys of the Hanlin Medical Academy to stay in the Duwei’s residence until sunset. The sleeping people woke up again, and what they saw before them was still the most familiar. Face, from the first moment when he was sent to Duwei's house due to an accident, Zhao Xi stayed in front of the couch and never left. Seeing King Han wake up, he hurriedly ordered people to bring the soup and medicine.

"After the king's accident, the official family and His Royal Highness rushed to Duwei's residence from Da Nei. His Highness planned to stay in Duwei's residence to take care of the king. Later, after seeing Xi'er, the official family returned to the palace with the official family. The official family was actually very worried about the king. "Zhao Xi crawled on the edge of the couch and carefully put the decoction in the spoon into Han Wang's mouth after blowing it cold, "Is it bitter?"

Han Wang closed his eyes and shook his head, Zhao Xi just fed him spoon by spoon until he drank all the soup, "I know it's bitter, but it's far less than the bitterness in your heart."

The King of Han opened his eyes, looking at the worried and frustrated woman in front of the bed, hesitant to speak.

Zhao Xi lowered his head, "I know that elder brother only regards Xi'er as his younger sister, and I also know that elder brother doesn't like Xi'er, I've always been the one who was being affectionate all this time, and I shamelessly begged His Highness the Queen, but in the end, elder brother and the officials were bothered. Discord..."

The King of Han struggled to hold it up, and immediately stretched out his hand to cover Zhao Xi's face, gently wiping the teardrops from the corners of his eyes, and then the woman raised her hand and gently knocked him down.

Zhao Xi stood up with the bowl in his hand, "I know Eldest Brother doesn't want it," he turned around and said, "So I'll go and talk to Her Highness the Queen, and let the officials and Her Highness take back their orders."

"Don't go." King Han sat up from the couch.

A celadon medicine bowl slipped from the white palm, and the rim of the bowl fell on the wooden floor—clang, clang—and covered the ground after turning a few circles in place.

The king of Han stretched out his hand and hugged him from behind, "Today I went to Wende Hall to ask His Majesty to marry you. I am not resisting the order, nor obeying their wishes. The empress said that I will regret it if I don't know how to cherish the future. , I was first the eldest son of Prince Chu's mansion, and then the eldest son of the official family. As long as I want, there is nothing I can't do. My mother told me that people's sincerity cannot be exchanged with power, even the emperor. "

The King of Han rubbed against the woman's back and hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry."

"When brother Ren was unconscious, my mother called me out and said a lot." Zhao Xi looked at the new robe and dried jade belt from the Prince's Mansion on the hanger beside the bed, "My mother asked me, what do I like about you?"

"I've thought about it for a long time but still can't answer it, because there are too many things that I can't express in words. I told my mother that I don't like the former county king or the current king. What I like is just my uncle. Dalang from my family, and my childhood sweetheart brother."

"I don't want my future husband to be an official, but the person I like... I don't care what he is, the emperor or the common people, as long as I like it is enough," Zhao Xi turned around, "I The one who will marry is only my husband."

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Guozixiang West Street · Yushitai

Officials from the Yushitai Supervisory Council and other courts gathered together to discuss the major events that have caused a sensation in the capital today.

"People make mistakes, horses make mistakes, no one has an accident, it wouldn't be known to everyone..."

"The heirs of the royal family are dying, and there is only one prince in the official family, and the eldest son who is the heir of the emperor must be the heir. If the only heir is lost, who should be the successor? If the clan has no heir, the foundation of the country will definitely be shaken."

"The foundation of the country is not solid, and there will be turmoil in the prosperous age if there is no one to sustain it. After all, it is because there are few princes and there is no guarantee."

"The official family is now in its prime, but there is only one queen in the middle palace, and a few days ago, Her Royal Highness the Empress disrespected the official family in the main hall, and made... In order to protect the stability of the country, we, as ministers, should persuade the official family to concubine Yanmian The emperor's heir is right."

"Yes, you should go to the official family to persuade the official family to concubine, how can it be possible for the emperor's heir to wither."

"As for the impeachment of the empress, the lower officials feel that because the officials care about it, we must be the ones to be blamed in the end."

Immediately, a few green robes looked at one side hesitantly, walked up to Yushi Zhongcheng and whispered: "Enfu, this Jiang Yushi is the cousin of His Highness the Empress, on the Yushitai, he advised His Majesty to expand the Six Palaces... .Will it be bad?"

The officials still had some scruples. After all, Jiang Luochuan had offended the emperor a few times and had not been severely punished, except for the whipping in the hall.

"All officials, please be careful," Jiang Luochuan mentioned that the pen on the table was stained with ink, "there are only monarchs and ministers in the court, and etiquette should be put before private affairs or private affairs should not be kept."

The scarlet robe and the green robe turned their heads one after another, only to see Jiang Luochuan put down his pen, "Your Majesty followed the empress of the previous dynasty and set up a housekeeper, and the Zhongzong continued." Jiang Luochuan raised his head, "I worship Zhaorong."

"The housekeeper in front of the official's house? I heard that I had a past with Jiang Yushi, Jiang Yushi. Jiang Yushi worked with Zuo Xiang."

Jiang Luochuan immediately turned cold, "Why, you Qingliu Scholars have nothing to do in Yushitai, and you have learned how those long-tongued women chew their tongues behind people's backs?"

Several officials immediately turned and walked away, shook their heads and said in a low voice: "There is a reason why the Neishe people look down on him, he is so mean, we should also stay away."

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Hanging Palace

Xue Jin bowed and stood beside the emperor, "Your Majesty has already returned to the palace, but according to my secret investigation, your Majesty may have fallen into the water in shock..."

The emperor lowered his head and smiled while holding the memorial, then turned his head, "Do it on purpose?"

Xue Jin cupped his hands, "I dare not provoke the father-son relationship between the officials and the king, but the bridge over the Bianhe River is not narrow, and Madao Street is extremely high, so riding on a horse can judge whether the bridge can pass, and the king is wearing Ziyi, the common people see it mostly to avoid it, but that road leads to the home of Princess Qin..."

The emperor put down the memorial, leaned on the table and stared at the chair directly in front of him, "He is thoughtful, this chair... the emperor's only heir can cause shocks."

"The villain thinks," Xue Jin knelt down, "besides the position of prince, what the king desires is your care from the officials."

The emperor turned around, "I don't know if it's too late. Hasn't he been being cultivated as a crown prince all this time? The crown prince is just a false name, and he wants it so much."

"But the official family," Xue Jin raised his head, "since the princess has lost his mind."

"Because I don't believe him." The emperor turned and looked down.

"He can only be a successful king, and he will gradually destroy me bit by bit. His temperament is too weak, and he can't resist those ministers." The emperor walked up to Xue Jin and knelt down slowly. , "But I still have expectations, for myself and for him, if there are 30 years left, I will no longer have such worries." The emperor stood up and sighed, "It depends on whether God will give me these 30 years. "

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One month later, on the first day of April in the 13th year of Qianyuan, Shuosan, the emperor sat in the Zichen Hall, and the three provinces and six ministries each talked about their own affairs, followed by officials such as Taiwan, temples, and supervisors.

Entering summer, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. After a few hours, the sun gradually rises, and many officials in Zichen Hall are already sweating profusely.

The emperor looked at the sweaty faces of the courtiers below, "If you have nothing else to do, let's leave the court."

"Your Majesty." The official from Yushitai stepped forward, "There is a performance from Yushitai."

"What's the matter?"

"It's for the king..."

"I said that you are not allowed to mention the matter of establishing a prince again." The emperor raised his brows.

"The minister is not for the prince's business." The official knelt down holding the wat board, "Your Majesty's contribution to conquest of Hexi to recover the homeland and build the world will be immortal, but today, the world will return to peace, but the royal heirs of the country are thin, the clan is declining, and the king of Han was startled the month before last. It makes the capital tremble, please play at the Yushitai, I hope that your majesty will register a concubine as a harem, and extend the emperor's heir."

"..."

Yu Shi Zhongcheng's words aroused the reaction of the courtiers, and soon a group of ministers echoed, "I implore your majesty to put the country as the most important thing, and the imperial concubine will continue to the emperor's heir."

"Wang Youxiang, Han Shangshu and other prostitutes have all reached the age of Ji..."

"Enough!" exclaimed the emperor.

"I hope His Majesty will put the country first."

"I discuss state affairs with you, but you also want to meddle in my family affairs?"

"The emperor's family affairs are state affairs, and His Majesty is in his prime..."

"Okay, isn't the King of Han doing well now? Are you cursing me and the King of Han to die early by what you said today?"

"The minister is terrified."

"The affairs of the emperor are state affairs, but my family affairs are only my own affairs."

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how can you favor only one person regardless of the importance of the country?"

The emperor got up from the stepping bed and walked down to the front of the palace steps, "It has been nearly [-] years since my wife and I have supported each other through wind and rain. No matter whether you have seen or heard about it, you should know the situation when I was young," the emperor said. He closed his eyes and took a long breath, "After more than ten years of turmoil and blood, there is no title of prince but no dignity of emperor's heir. He is playing games with people and fighting against the sky. No matter whether it is desperate situation or today's Ninth Five-Year Plan, the sage never abandons me. They live in the same quilt, and die in the same hole, I let their mother and child suffer too much, and I still feel guilty to this day."

The ministers all bowed their heads.

The emperor folded his sleeves and walked down the steps, "Since I ascended the throne in the first year, I have never been slack in the country. I have worked hard. I have been able to be today because of the help of the sage. I am not afraid of being ridiculed by the princes and the people of the world. The king is a rock, and the concubine is a cattail." Reed, pussy reed is as tough as silk, and rock cannot be moved. If you have a wife like this, how can you bear to let it down."

"His Majesty..."

"I have made up my mind, and you don't need to write a letter to me."

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Kunning Palace

The lion cat circled the woman's heels and immediately stretched its waist and curled up on the side of the skirt in a ball. The servant hurried into the courtyard, bowed to the woman, and said, "Saint."

"Kui Guang left so anxiously, what happened in the previous province?"

"Baisi brought up the surprise of the king falling into the water in the late spring, and they all came forward to ask the officials to accept concubines... to extend the emperor's heir."

The hand pruning the potted crabapple suddenly froze, and bent over to continue after a while. The branches that grew out of the pot were cut off by the golden scissors. The branches fell on the lion cat, which shocked it and quickly got up from the ground. The cat stared at the flower branch, and there was a bewitching flower in full swing in its eyes.

Seeing that Xiao Youqing was silent, the servant said, "Don't the sage ask the official's reaction?"

"You don't need to tell me. I know her reaction and how she will refuse. With her temperament, she can't hide her liking in her heart, and she doesn't care about other people's opinions. She usually praises the courtiers to shut up before shaking her sleeves." leave..."

The servant stood behind with his hands up, raised his head and then lowered his head, "The sage and the official knew each other, trusted each other, and had a good understanding. The official told all the officials in the court hall how guilty he was for the sage and the king. The courtiers covered their faces and felt ashamed. The official A deep relationship with a sage husband and wife is as unmovable as a rock."

"What are you talking about secretly with Kui Guang again?" The emperor stepped back and walked into the courtyard.

"Officials." Zhao Ping saluted the emperor, then bowed and left.

"All blessings to the official family."

"My sister is here again," the emperor stepped forward to support Xiao Youqing's hand, "There are no outsiders here."

"The officials came back, and no one notified them."

"I told them not to disturb you. This year's begonias are really blooming."

Xiao Youqing turned around and put back the pruned potted plants, "Yes, another year has passed in the blink of an eye."

"I've discussed with Yousi. Although the treasury of the Ministry of Finance is not short of money, I feel that the canonization ceremony and the crown prince's crowning ceremony are too costly, so I combined them on the same day, and wait until the spring of next year to be crowned princess. My sister thinks that if you can If that’s the case, I’ll let the Hanlin Academy lock the courtyard to draw up the decree.”

"Just follow the official's opinion, but..." Xiao Youqing looked up, "Can it be carried out on the winter solstice one day earlier?"

"Winter solstice?" The emperor thought for a while, "According to the old system, if there is a canonization ceremony, the court meeting will be suspended. Last year when the winter solstice in Hexi was recovered, I went to the Xijing Taimiao to offer sacrifices. This year's winter solstice can be avoided..." People who seem to understand the intention After a pause, "I see, we can go out of the palace in casual clothes to pay respects at Sister Shu's graveyard during Duanyang." Let me know by the way."

The emperor immediately walked to one side and sat down, looking at the clear sky, a row of cranes flew by, "It's been more than ten years, the names of Prince Shu and Princess Concubine..."

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In the summer of the 13th year of Qianyuan, the system was restructured again. All edicts drafted by Hanlin scholars and Zhizhigao were changed from the original Zhongshu to the three provinces.

In the long summer of the 13th year of Qianyuan, the emperor issued an edict to restore Wei Shu, the eldest son of Emperor Wuzong, as the crown prince, with the posthumous title of Prince Chengming, and was buried with Wuzong Mausoleum. And build the tomb of the crown princess.

In the autumn of the 13th year of Qianyuan, at night, the emperor secretly ordered all Hanlin scholars to enter the palace, drafted a large order in the lock courtyard of the academy, and presented it to the emperor for reading at dawn, and at dawn, white hemp came out, and the envoy of the pavilion gave the Chinese book to the court hall It was read out that Wei Zongren, king of the Han Dynasty, was established as the crown prince, and the canonization ceremony and crown ceremony were held on the winter solstice, that is to say, you were ordered to prepare related matters.