Zhuo Qihua

Tianshou Palace, the Imperial Palace of Matata Kingdom, is divided into three parts, which are distributed in the shape of an inverted "pin".They are the Wenqing Palace located in front of the palace, also known as the front palace.And Daxing Palace and Danyang Palace, which are located on the east and west sides of the palace, are also called East Inner Palace and West Inner Palace.Wenqing Palace is the place where hundreds of officials go to court, discuss affairs, and the six ministries and the principal yamen.Daxing Palace is where the East Palace, Prince's Palace, and Winter Night Hall are located.Winter Night Hall is where the princes study and practice martial arts.Danyang Palace is the emperor's harem.

In Danyang Palace, the Fengtian Hall where the emperor lives and the Houde Palace where the Queen of the Central Palace lives are located in the middle of Danyang Palace.The eighth palace on the west side of the central palace is where the servant girl lives.The eight palaces on the east side live in concubines.In the harem, the women are the concubines, and the brothers are the servants.The ranks of concubines from high to low are imperial concubine, noble concubine, concubine, concubine, nobleman, often present, and promised.The ranks of attendants from high to low are Huang Gui Xie, Gui Xie, Xie, Yu (read: Yu), Yaren, Dounan, and Baolin.Only concubines and servants above the rank of concubine and 伃 are eligible to have the position of master of the first palace.Concubines and servants below can only live in the sixteenth house.

There can only be one imperial concubine and imperial concubine.The rights of the imperial concubine and the imperial concubine are second only to the queen, and higher than that of the imperial concubine and the imperial concubine.Emperor Yong'an has not conferred the concubine concubine (Xie) yet, besides the empress, the most powerful concubines in the palace are Jiagui Xie and Xi Guifei.Usually, if the queen does not have the Sacred Heart or cannot perform the duties of the queen for some reason, and the emperor cannot abolish the queen, he will confer the imperial concubine (姰) to divide, transfer the rights of the queen, or make the queen empty.

Concubines and maids often compete for favor, and both sides form their own factions.Concubines do not intervene in fights between maids, and maids do not intervene in fights between concubines. The two sides do not communicate with each other unless necessary.Although the waiter is the elder brother, he still looks like a man. This rule is to avoid suspicion in a sense.The queen can be a brother or a woman, but most of them are women.The fertility rate of women is strong, so it is necessary to ensure that the legitimate sons are born, and most queens are women.The Shoukang Palace, where the late emperor's concubines and servants lived, is located on the west side of Fengtian Hall, which is not included in the Sixteen Palaces.

In Jiaguixie's Huayang Palace, Yan Xuan had a sad face.The Holy Majesty didn't call him to bed for a month, let alone step into his side palace.Even if he came to Huayang Palace, he didn't want to see him. Yan Xuan hadn't slept well for many days, and his whole body was quite haggard.

Before a cup of tea, Emperor Yong'an had just left Huayang Palace, Yan Xuan immediately brought his personal eunuch over to inquire.Yan Xuan lives in Huayang Palace, even if he is a member of Huayang Palace, he is a member of Jiaguixie.Yanxuan was careful to serve and curry favor with Jiaguixie, and Jiaguixie also reciprocated, often saying good things about Yanxuan in front of the emperor.Jia Guixie came from a prominent background, so he wasn't afraid that Yan Xuan's favor would threaten his status. On the contrary, it was better to have a helper than an enemy.

"Your Majesty (read: Liang), have you asked His Majesty?"

Yan Xuan grabbed the handkerchief in his hand, the heavy makeup could hardly conceal the paleness of his face.This month, the number of times Emperor Yong'an went to Jiaguixie Palace did not change, and he also spent the night in Huayang Palace.Jia Guixie frowned slightly, and first asked: "Yan Xuan, think about it carefully, you really didn't do anything to annoy His Majesty?"

Yan Xuan shook his head: "I have thought about it many times, and I really can't think of what has offended His Majesty. If you want to vent your anger, the servant and Qing Yaren just said a few words when they met each other. Really unfamiliar. When His Majesty left for the last time, he was fine."

Jia Guixie let out a long sigh: "When Your Majesty came just now, I asked you. Your Majesty didn't say anything, and told me not to ask too much. I saw that His Majesty really annoyed you, so I asked you again."

Yan Xuan was about to cry when he heard that, why did the Holy One suddenly annoy him?He really didn't do anything!Jia Guixie reminded him: "Think about it, the last time His Majesty went to your house, did you say anything wrong?"

Yan Xuan shook his head in a panic: "It's the same as usual. The harem can't do politics, and the servants can only talk about interesting things in the palace. Your Majesty was quite happy at that time."

"Then... but your family?"

"The waiter also asked my father, but he couldn't think of my father. A few days ago, my uncle was praised by His Majesty."

"Then you lost your dignity in front of the Queen Mother?"

Yan Xuan still shook his head: "Today, I went to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, and the Empress even asked me what happened to me." No one in the palace dared to be disrespectful or filial to the Empress Dowager, and it was too late to flatter her.

Jiaguixie thought deeply: "Which favorite concubine or servant did you offend?" But he shook his head first, "Although my palace is at odds with the queen and concubine, it is not a day or two. Your Majesty will definitely not It will make things difficult for you. I am clear about your temperament, you are not a person who is arrogant. Your Majesty will not be influenced by others. The problem should still be on you. Or...you have offended someone around His Majesty ?”

Yan Xuan wanted to cry, but said, "The waiter is just a small elegant person, how dare he offend the servant who serves by His Majesty's side." If he cannot stay in the main palace for a day, he will not be truly favored for a day.Yan Xuan saw it very clearly, so even if everyone in the palace believed that he had received the Holy Grace, he did not dare to be careless.

"It's hard to say." Jia Guixie reminded: "You may not be offended after entering the palace, but what about before you entered the palace? Did you offend anyone before entering the palace, and now that person has become a celebrity in front of His Majesty?"

Yan Xuan tried his best to recall, and after much deliberation, he suddenly thought of one thing, and his heart skipped a beat.Immediately afterwards, he shook his head and said to himself: "Impossible..." It's been so long.

"What's impossible?"

Yan Xuan bit his lip, unable to speak.Jia Guixie said displeasedly, "Say whatever comes to your mind!"

The handkerchief in Yan Xuan's hand was almost torn.He didn't dare to look into Jiagui's eyes, lowered his head and said: "When the waiter was Duanmu, I met Concubine Hui, who was a beautiful girl at that time, in the garden of the West Third Courtyard. The waiter accidentally bumped into Concubine Hui For a moment, Concubine Hui will punish the attendant to kneel down and save an hour."

"Is there such a thing?" Jia Guixie turned the red agate beads in his hand, and said inexplicably, "Three years have passed, why is Concubine Hui coming to revenge on you now? Besides, she is in the same situation as you now , obviously has nothing to do with her. But have you brought this up again in front of His Majesty?"

Yan Xuan shook his head, but his eyes dodged a little.Jia Guixie's face turned cold: "What else do you have to hide!"

Yan Xuan bit his lower lip that was about to bleed, although he didn't want to, he still had to say: "At that time...a Duan Miao who entered the palace at the same time came forward to serve as a servant, and had a dispute with Concubine Hui. That eloquence is very good, and the empress concubine Hui can't say no to him, so the servant will not be punished."

Upon hearing this, Jia Guixie immediately asked, "Who is that person?"

"He... he is now, Pauline."

"Baolin?!" Jia Guixie's first thought was, "Is it Qin Baolin?" The Holy Lord summoned Qin Baolin to sleep with him a few days ago.

Unexpectedly, Yan Xuan shook his head and said ashamedly: "It is... from the Third West Courtyard, Zhuo Ji, Zhuo Baolin."

"West Third Hospital?! Zhuo Ji?!"

Jia Guixie stopped turning the prayer beads, and became more severe: "Why is he in the West Third Courtyard! The queen didn't assign him a side palace?"

Yan Xuan's head was lowered, and he didn't speak.Jia Guixie's eyes rolled slightly, and she thought of the trickiness in it.His voice was a bit cold: "Have you told His Majesty about this?"

There were tears in Yan Xuan's eyes, and he shook his head slightly dodging.Min Le, Yanxuan's personal eunuch, saw that his master was being wronged, so he hurriedly said, "Your concubine, it's not that the master refuses to say it, but I dare not. Behind the concubine Hui there is the concubine Shu, and the empress. At that time, the master It's just a Dou Nan, and I have to tell His Majesty about it, if there is a bad quarrel, His Majesty will think that the master is proud of being favored. The master can only wait for the opportunity in the future before bringing this matter up to His Majesty."

Jiaguixie's thoughts changed sharply.The Holy Majesty suddenly neglected Concubine Hui and Yanxuan, and he also obviously neglected Concubine Shu and the Empress.This Zhuo Ji was obviously Bao Lin, but no one knew about it, and he was in the Third West Hospital all the time, and the reason for it was indirectly and directly related to these people.In the last draft, he didn't go because he was unwell, and after something happened, he didn't pay attention to those showgirls Duanmu.In the past three years, he has never heard of a Baolin surnamed Zhuo in the palace... Jia Guixie immediately said to the personal eunuch Chang'an standing behind him: "Quickly go and find out, your Majesty Have you ever been to the West Third Hospital?"

"Yes."

After Changan went out, Jiaguixie turned the beads again and asked, "He's been in the West Third Courtyard all this time?"

Yan Xuan nodded with a pale face, tears streaming down his face.There was alienation in Jia Guixie's eyes: "In the past three years, have you ever visited him? Or helped him?"

Yan Xuan didn't dare to shake his head, and Min Le wanted to say something nice to his master, but was forced back by Mrs. Jiagui's sharp eyes.Seeing Yan Xuan's appearance, Mrs. Jiagui guessed it.He said with an unhappy face: "He helped you avoid punishment, but when you get the favor, you turn around and forget about him. His surname is Zhuo, so he should be from the Zhuo family. With his status, even if he is not favored, His Majesty It will also give the Zhuo family some face, at least make him an elegant person. But because you offended Concubine Hui, he was imprisoned by the empress in the West Third Courtyard. If His Majesty really neglected you because of this matter, it is your own fault. The palace can't help you either."

Yan Xuan suddenly raised his head, stood up and knelt in front of Jia Guixie, crying bitterly: "Your dear, I didn't do it on purpose, I was really afraid of me, I am really afraid... , who dares to offend Concubine Hui and Concubine Shu? Sishen is just an elegant person, Sishen, dare not..."

Jia Guixie stretched out his hand to brush away Yan Xuan's hand on his leg, and said coldly: "There are Concubine Shu and Empress Empress behind Concubine Hui, so why don't you remember that there is Ben Gong behind you? Or you Do you think this palace is incompetent, if something happens to you, this palace can't keep you?"

Yan Xuan's body trembled, he bent down and kowtowed, and Min Le also kowtowed violently.Jia Guixie turned away, slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand, and ignored Yan Xuan's begging for mercy.Yan Xuan kept saying that he was afraid of Concubine Hui's backing and did not dare to intercede for Zhuo Baolin, so he was slapping him in the face naked.In the absence of the imperial concubine (姰), Jiaguixie and Xiguifei are the real "noble" masters in the palace after the queen.When Emperor Yong'an was the grandson of the emperor, the empress was the main concubine, concubine Jiagui was the concubine, and concubine Xi was the concubine.But in terms of the position in Emperor Yong'an's heart, Jiagui Xie was the highest.The only thing he is inferior to the queen is his brother's status.Not to mention, the empress has not given birth so far, Xi Guifei's son died early, and Jia Guixie's son is the eldest son of Emperor Yong'an.

Jiaguixie's holy favor is incomparable to Yanxuan, Concubine Hui, and Concubine Shu.Jiaguixie's grandfather was the teacher of Emperor Yong'an, a first-rank grand master in the current dynasty, and Jiaguixie's father was a third-rank general envoy and a cabinet bachelor, both of whom were powerful officials.Jiagui Xie was the childhood sweetheart of Emperor Yong'an.The Empress was handpicked by Emperor Mingzong, and Concubine Xi was handpicked by the Empress Dowager, and only he won the favor of Emperor Yong'an and was named Side Maid.As soon as Emperor Yong'an came to the throne, he was named noble concubine.Concubine Xi was promoted to concubine under the persuasion of the Queen Mother after Emperor Yong'an suppressed the rebellion of the Three Kings.Not to mention that Jiagui Xie also gave birth to the eldest son of the emperor, and her status is unshakable.But Yan Xuan said that it was because he was afraid of the queen behind Concubine Hui that he didn't dare to speak out about it. What if it wasn't a slap in the face of Concubine Jiagui?

If Yan Xuan is so unfeeling towards his savior, what about himself?If this person can reach the sky in one step one day, I am afraid that I will become a thorn in this person's side.With this incident alone, Jia Guixie saw through Yan Xuan's true nature.Jia Guixie laughed at himself, he actually had a day when he was wrong.

"Okay, stop knocking."

Yan Xuan stopped kowtowing, but there was already a bloody hole on his forehead.Jiaguixie turned a blind eye, picked up the tea bowl and took two sips of tea before saying, "Get up."

Yan Xuan didn't dare to get up, Jiagui Xie put down the tea bowl: "What are you doing in a daze?"

The two eunuchs in Jiagui's concubine's room immediately stepped forward and forcibly lifted Yan Xuan, and Min Le stood up in panic.Yan Xuan didn't dare to go back and sit down, and Mrs. Jiagui didn't ask him to sit down, but just drank tea quietly.Yan Xuan's heart was flustered, and he prayed that it would not be because of Zhuo Ji that the Holy Majesty would neglect him.

"Master, this servant has heard about it." Chang'an came back in a hurry, subconsciously trying to listen.Jia Guixie raised his hand: "Speak."

Chang'an immediately understood that the master wanted him to speak out directly.Chang An glanced at the panic-stricken Yan Yaren, bent slightly and said, "Master, His Majesty did go to the West Third Courtyard the night before January."

Yan Xuan's eyes widened in despair, and he slumped back to the ground with a sway.Min Le was overwhelmed with fright, and tried his best to help his master.Jia Guixie frowned and asked, "Your Majesty met Zhuo Ji?"

Chang An shook his head: "The slave only found out that His Majesty had indeed gone to the West Third Courtyard. It was the servant who asked the steward of the West Third Courtyard. There were only Zhuo Baolin's master and servant living in the West Third Courtyard, and the steward was not in the West Third Courtyard at the time. , he only found out afterward that His Majesty had gone there."

Yan Xuan didn't know how to react, but Jia Guixie was suspicious.Even if His Majesty knew that there was a Baolin who had never met in the West Third Courtyard, he should not have such a big temper.Concubine Hui has just given birth to the third prince, an elegant man and a concubine who gave birth to a prince, His Majesty will choose the latter even if he is angry again.If His Majesty feels that Zhuo Baolin has been wronged, he can just invite him to sleep with him, or just make him a gentleman, why should he be so angry?

"Did Your Majesty spend the night in the West Third Hospital that night?"

"No. Your Majesty came out within half an hour after entering."

In addition to the personal eunuch, the people that Emperor Yong'an took with him that night were the imperial guards.No one dared, or "could" ask these people what Emperor Yong'an didn't want people to know.So Chang'an couldn't find out the specific situation.

Jia Guixie breathed out slowly, and said to Yan Xuan: "You go back first. If it's really because of this, you can only wait for His Majesty to calm down first."

"Your lady, I know I'm wrong... Please save me, please save me..." Yan Xuan knelt in front of Jiagui, begging for mercy.

Jia Guixie raised her hand: "Your Majesty should still be angry now. The concubines and maids in the harem belong to His Majesty, but one of them has been hidden in the West Third Courtyard for three years and His Majesty has not known about it. How can Your Majesty not be angry? Just wait a minute." Your Majesty is angry, and when you admit your mistake to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will not care about it any more." But there was nothing in his words that he would say good things for Yan Xuan.

Jiagui Xie waved his hand: "I'm exhausted, please step back."

Yan Xuan knew that he had to go.Kowtowing three times heavily, Yan Xuan walked away in a daze with Min Le's support.After he left, Chang'an said angrily: "Master, I really can't see that Yan Xuan is such an ungrateful person! Slaves, look, he is not afraid of offending Concubine Hui, he is simply taking advantage of this to get rid of someone who might threaten his favor enemy! Master, you must not show mercy to such a person!"

Jia Guixie didn't expect to be pecked by geese at the same time, he pondered: "Your Majesty is so angry, I'm afraid it's not that simple. What else did you find?"

Only then did Chang'an tell the whole story: "The servant asked from an eunuch that the people in the Lishantang were very familiar with Zhuo Baolin. On the second day after His Majesty went to the West Third Courtyard, Director Zhang had been to Lishantang called away a steward named Wang Bao from Lishantang. The words of the steward of the West Third Courtyard were mostly in defense of Zhuo Baolin."

"So, isn't this person completely out of scheming?" Jia Guixie wondered, "Since he can win over the stewards of the West Third Courtyard and the Lishantang, how can His Majesty not know of his existence for three years?"

Chang An shook his head: "This, I don't know why, and I forgot to ask."

"Don't investigate anymore." Jia Guixie said: "Your Majesty has not made any announcement until now, there must be some backhand. I just pretend that I don't know. The one in the side palace is bound to make this matter big."

Chang'an: "The meaning of the master..."

"Look, it won't be long before the story of Baolin being imprisoned in the West Third Courtyard will spread throughout the harem. Why should I be that villain?"

Yan Xuan, who returned to the side palace, drove out all the palace people who were terrified by his tragedy, leaving only Min Le.Letting Min Le apply the medicine to himself, Yan Xuan's eyes were sinister.

"It must be him! It must be what he told His Majesty!"

"Master, what should we do now?" Min Le said worriedly, "I'm afraid your lord will not stand up for you, master."

Yan Xuan bit his lip, and said fiercely: "Let Concubine Hui know about this! The Empress and Concubine Shu will not let him go!"

"The servant knows."