female concubine

With a tremor, the cloak slipped from his shoulders, Xiao Youqing woke up from the nightmare, the cold stove in his hand was covered with heat.

"Oh, why is girl sweating all over her head!" The startled female envoy approached in three steps at a time, touched Xiao Youqing's forehead with her hand, and said in a breath of false alarm: "Miss, is this a nightmare? "

Xiao Youqing touched his chest, let out a deep breath, held it up extremely haggardly, and asked, "What time is it!"

"It's seven quarters." Xiqiu picked up the cloak on the ground, and brushed the dust off it, "Do you want to wash up, Miss?"

Xiao Youqing shook her head in a daze, walked to the window and gently opened it, a beam of dazzling sunlight hit her directly, "Is it sunny?"

"Yes, it rained all day yesterday, but it cleared up just after dawn today."

Xiao Youqing blinked her dull eyes, turned around and walked in front of Xiqiu, "Give me the cloak."

"I'm planning to wash it..." Xiqiu hesitated to hand it over to Xiao Youqing.

"No one wears it, why wash it?"

During the conversation between the master and the servant, another female envoy of about the same age came in and reported: "Girl, the Bureau of Shangshi has sent someone here."

Before she could finish speaking, a young woman dressed as a court lady walked in with a few servants, saluted Xiao Youqing and said, "I have seen Princess Chu."

Xiao Youqing looked at the stranger, "Who are you?"

"The villain is a palace servant under Zhang Sishan of the Shangshi Bureau. This morning, the official ordered the Secretary of Food to deliver the medicinal meal to the palace before Chen's hour. It is specially for Princess Chu to replenish your body."

Xiao Youqing raised his head and looked outside the door, raised his eyebrows lightly, and said lightly: "Put it on the table."

The palace servant waved her hand slightly behind her, and several servants followed her to the desk. She opened the food box in the servant's hand, and when she placed the medicinal food, she saw a familiar hand stove on the table, "This stove... "

Xiao Youqing turned around, looked into the palace man's eyes, approached him suspiciously and asked, "Do you know this stove?"

The palace servant stepped back and bowed to her, "If I remember the flowers correctly, the Six Kings came to the Secretary of Food to ask for charcoal during the Great Court Meeting of the Winter Solstice last year, and this stove was in their hands."

"However, Si Shan is full of firewood and charcoal, and the six kings are in a hurry, so Zhang Si Shan ordered the villain to take the six kings to the charcoal storehouse to get them. Along the way, he saw that the six kings had been holding the already The stove was cold, so the villain boldly asked Liu Wang what is so special about this stove."

"What did she say?"

"The six kings only said that this stove is a beloved thing, so the villain guessed, no wonder the six kings are so precious that they want to fill the charcoal by themselves, presumably they want to give it to the beloved Wangfei you!"

Xiao Youqing picked up the copper stove on the table, looked sideways at the palace man delivering the food, "What's your name?"

The palace man shook his head, "The villain comes from a humble background and has no name. He followed Zhang Si Shan in the Si Shan Department since he was a child, so he also took Si Shan's surname."

"Zhang Gong." Xiao Youqing nodded, and said to the female envoy beside him, "Xi Chun."

"Yes." Xi Chun stepped forward, "Men Zhang Gong, several servants, come with me."

The palace man just covered the food box and bowed to Xiao Youqing, "Before I came out, I told you that being able to serve the officials and the lords is a blessing that the villain has cultivated for several generations, and just now the villain also gave a copy The medicinal food went to the East Palace, and I have already been rewarded by His Highness the Crown Princess, so I really dare not ask for the reward from Princess Chu again."

Xiao Youqing just hooked his mouth into a shallow smile, and waved his hand to give up.

"The villain will leave."

Xiao Youqing looked down at the soup on the table and hesitated for a long time.

Xichun, who sent her away, returned to the study, "Young Master just left, why did Your Majesty suddenly send you a medicinal meal?"

"In front of the gate of the palace, there is a secret whistle from the palace!" Xiao Youqing only put away the hand stove, did not care about the bowl of medicinal food, looked suspiciously at the entrance of the courtyard outside the window, and said: "That palace man..."

"But is there something wrong?"

Xiao Youqing just shook her head gently, "Let them wait for me in the room, wash and make up."

"Yes."

"There are people staring at the door now, you must be careful in everything you do and say, and don't be careless."

"Yes."

--------

The day the King of Chu left Beijing.

The crown prince looked at Liang Wenfu suspiciously while he was murderous.

Liang Wenfu hurriedly stopped him and said: "You must not, Your Highness, now the three kings are confronting each other, and King Zhao is not letting go of you. His people are in front of the emperor every day, how can they not know that King Chu rushed to replace Qishan? If he does not act, he will surely They are waiting for His Royal Highness, you praying mantises to catch cicadas, besides, His Majesty sent King Chu secretly, so His Majesty will definitely send someone to keep an eye on it."

The crown prince lowered his head and smiled slightly, looked at Liang Wenfu, and immediately approached him, "Actually, as early as when the King of Chu left Tokyo, spies reported the news to the palace. The King of Chu left Beijing this time with only five people, and His Majesty The Imperial City Division has also transferred part of it!"

Liang Wenfu raised his head, his throat rolled gently, and then he cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness observes the subtleties of things, and I feel ashamed, but..."

"But what?"

"After the king of Chu went to Qishan, he was far away from the capital after all. No matter how fast the horse ran, it would not be as fast as the wind. I heard that the magistrate of Fengxiang was a student of Tongping Zhangshi. He has been working in the local area and has never met the king of Chu. .”

Liang Wenfu's words seemed to wake up the prince, "I know."

"In addition to King Chu who has already left, King Zhao, your Highness, you should also be more careful."

The prince turned cold, "I naturally know this, how can I forget my younger brother who wants my life!"

Liang Wenfu bowed his head, cupped his hands at the prince and said, "I have disturbed His Highness's ten-day rest today, and please forgive me. The Imperial Academy still has something to do. I can't leave for too long, so I will take my leave first."

The crown prince nodded, and just as Liang Wenfu turned back and stepped out of the hall, he stared coldly and said: "Mr. Hope is, sincerely serving my palace!"

------

In mid-July of the eighth year of Jianping, the king of Chu arrived at Jingzhao Mansion from Henan Mansion, and then went west along the Wei River to Fengxiang Mansion.

Qishan County has not had a county magistrate for half a year, and the head of Qishan County, Bo, has always been in charge of the affairs of the yamen.

After asking passers-by, the carriage drove out of Fufeng County and walked all the way to Qishan County. The little six followed by the window, looking at the scenery north of the Weishui River along the way, "I thought this Fufeng County would be some kind of backcountry, but I didn't expect to go all the way. The law and order here is quite good, now the lady doesn’t have to worry about you, Alang, not being able to eat or sleep well.”

"Have you brought my official uniform?" The person in the car suddenly asked.

"Bring it, I have brought the official and casual clothes for the whole year. You are afraid of the cold, and the lady knows that she has specially prepared a few extra thick clothes for you to wear in winter."

"Send someone to write a letter back to report safety... Forget it, I will write it myself after I settle down!"

All the way into Qishan County and arrived at the county seat, due to the heavy rain last night, there is still water on the bluestone road that has not dried up.

"Where is the government office in Qishan County..."

"North is yin, south is yang, mountains and rivers are yin to the south, mountains and rivers are to the north and yang, the sage listens to the world with the south, and governs with the light." The king of Chu opened the curtain of the car, "go north!"

"Oh!"

The carriage is driving on the street, and since this place is the only way to do business between the Western Regions and the capital, it is not surprising even if there are some fresh faces entering.

"Hey, we're here!" Little Six jumped out of the car, "Ah Lang, we're here!"

The king of Chu got off the carriage, and the yamen was located just north of the county seat.

Although the county seat is not big, the yamen is not small. The front gate is located in the south and is a three-bay gate. There are two doors in each room. There are six gates in total. There is a big drum on the right side of the gate.

The King of Chu looked around Qishan County, and from a distance, he could see the high mountain directly north of the Yamen towering among the clouds, "Zhou Zhixing also sings from Qishan."

"The new county magistrate took office, and there is no one in this yamen to welcome him."

"We are a few days ahead of the schedule. They may not know it yet. Those who don't know are not to blame. Let's go and move things in."

"Yes."

After entering the gate, there is a screen wall in the middle of the corridor paved with stone bricks on the central axis. There are three doors after bypassing the screen wall. The largest one in the middle is the Yi Gate. The Yi Gate is now closed, and only the corner doors on the east and west sides are open.

"According to the rules, Da Nei also enters east and exits west, but..." King Chu glanced back at Xiao Liuzi.

The little six went to the gate of the six doors, knocked on the door and said, "Hey, is there anyone? The new county magistrate of Qishan has arrived!"

Soon, a few yamen servants came out from the west corner gate, and there was an official in a green robe among them. The official stepped forward and asked hesitantly, "Who are you?"

Little Six went forward and presented the transfer document, "My family, Alang, is the new Qishan county magistrate."

Seeing the seal of the imperial court on the document, the official was shocked, "It turns out that the county magistrate Wei has arrived!" He immediately ordered behind him, "Quickly, open the gate of the ceremony!"

Behind the Yimen is the lobby courtyard where the Yamen handles government affairs.

"My next official is Bo Liu Shubo, the head of Qishan County. I'm here to pay my respects to Wei County Magistrate." The green-robed official saluted very grandly, and several other yamen servants also saluted after seeing this.

The king of Chu stepped forward to help him up, and the owner Bo in front of her looked at four or fifty years old, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes. Before she took office, she had heard that Fufeng County intended to let the owner surnamed Liu take over as the county magistrate. Because he was directly sent by the imperial court, he took the county magistrate's seat from him, "You and I are colleagues, and you are an elder. You don't need to perform such a grand ceremony. In the future, you will need to rely on Master Liu Bo Duoduo's guidance to govern Qishan County!"

Early in the morning, I received an order from the prefecture and county that the capital would send a new Jinshi to Qishan to serve as the county magistrate, but I didn’t expect the new magistrate to be so young. Help the county magistrate to manage Qishan well, but with this guidance... I really don't dare to be an official."

"Master Bo is an elder and a native of Qishan. He knows Qishan like the palm of his hand. I... this official is new to officialdom, so I need to ask Master Liu about many things I don't understand."

Liu Shubai nodded lightly, "It's easy to say, can the county magistrate already have lunch? The back office has already been cleaned up, but I didn't know that the county magistrate would arrive so early. If the county magistrate doesn't dislike it, why don't you just arrange the things and go to the office?" Let the officials have lunch."

The King of Chu took a look at the sky, thinking that he was new here and he needed to establish a good relationship with Liu Zhubo if he was not familiar with the place, so he smiled and nodded, "Then please trouble Liu Zhubo."