Zhuo Qihua

After leaving Jiaguixie's Huayang Palace, Emperor Yong'an went to the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace.Seeing the emperor, the queen mother was very happy, and hurriedly asked: "My son, I heard that the disaster situation in San Dao has eased, but is it true?"

Emperor Yong'an nodded in a good mood and said, "It is so."

"I also heard that the locusts were all eaten? The household department also made a lot of money? The students of the Imperial College went to the streets to promote disaster relief?"

Emperor Yong'an smiled and continued to nod: "Mother, you heard me right. I asked the Ministry of Households to pay for locusts from the victims, but I sold them for nearly a hundred times. I didn't expect that not only people really love locusts, but There are still quite a few people. The silver taels obtained in this way are immediately exchanged for food and used to relieve the victims. Although this is a small amount of money, it can at least relieve one or two. The Ministry of War transported water from Xining Road and Dongning Road, and the Ministry of Works Drought has dug out water in many places. Donations from all over the country add up to 10 taels of silver. In order to be listed on the "Roll of Honor" and "Residence Newspaper", those gentry and wealthy households compare who donates more silver than others, and Clothes and other items donated from all over the country have been sent to Sandao one after another, and the New Year celebration finally stopped crying to me. Now as long as there is a heavy rain, this natural disaster can be passed smoothly."

"Great! Great! Bodhisattva bless you, this is Bodhisattva bless you!" The Empress Dowager clasped her hands together, prayed a few words in the air, then put her hands down and asked, "Who gave the emperor such good ideas?" ? Emperor, you want a big reward."

Emperor Yong'an's expression was a bit complicated, and the Empress Dowager put away the smile on her face: "What?"

Emperor Yong'an glanced at the empress dowager's personal nanny, who immediately took everyone out of the house with a wink.Only then did Emperor Yong'an say: "Mother, do you know why I have been left out of the imperial concubine this month?"

The queen mother said: "My mother also wanted to ask you. But what did the queen and Concubine Shu do to displease the emperor?" Yan Xuan was just an elegant person. The emperor suddenly snubbed him, and the queen mother didn't take it to heart. .Low-ranking concubines and maids themselves may fall out of favor at any time.But the queen is different, the queen is the head of the palace, the emperor will be criticized by the courtiers if he neglects the queen for no reason.Although Emperor Yong'an hated the queen very much, he would go every month when he was supposed to go.This time it was so abnormal that some officials have already reported it.

Emperor Yong'an said in a slightly cold tone: "The person who advised me was Bao Lin who was imprisoned in the West Third Courtyard by the Cheng family."

"What?!" The queen mother sat up straight in shock.

After Emperor Yong'an finished explaining, the Empress Dowager said bitterly, "The empress is getting more and more out of order! She is the head of the harem and has the power to punish concubines and servants, but she can't put Baolin, who has just entered the palace. Hide it so that the emperor will not see it! Even if the Zhuo family is in decline, there will still be a third-rank Zizhi Shaoyin honor there, and there will be the emperor's affection there. She did this to trap the emperor. In a place of unfilial piety! It is arbitrarily powerful! It is a violation!"

Emperor Yong'an said without any surprise: "When Cheng was still a grandson concubine, she always made things difficult for other concubines and servants. Chen Wu was born, but she herself couldn't keep her child, and she hated Shao Yao because of it. Now Chen Wu is growing up day by day. , she is now even more angry with all the maids in the harem." Shao Yao is Jiagui's name, and Nan Rong Chen is Jiagui's son, the eldest son of Emperor Yong'an.

The empress dowager was displeased: "Even if she doesn't have a prince born on the throne, she is also the aunt of all the children in Danyang Palace! How can she take on the responsibility of the queen if she is so narrow-minded and biased in doing things? She is doing things now, and she is losing the queen's virtue more and more. Shaoyao, Kuangshi (Concubine Xi), none of them have lost a child, and no one is like her." Speaking of this, the queen mother was very helpless: "She is the concubine bestowed on you by the Emperor Mingzong, and she said that she can be your mother. Yi Tianxia. The Cheng family is very powerful, and she relies on you not being able to abolish her, so she is more and more unrestrained. You determined to be a generation of Mingjun, but you let her hold back!" At this point, the Queen Mother choked up.

Emperor Yong'an immediately got up and went to support the queen mother, comforting: "Mother, the child is not filial, and the child has made you worry."

The queen mother patted the emperor's hand and said restrainedly: "The reason why the harem of the past dynasties has been ruled by the empress is that even the emperor will not easily step over the empress to intervene in the harem affairs. , said that the queen is the mother of a country, and she is the example of the world's life. But Mrs. Cheng," the queen mother's eyes were distressed, "even if you don't love her, you still gave her the throne and the honor of a queen But in the past ten years, she didn't learn how to become a motherly queen. She only learned how to suppress the favored concubine in the harem and how to monopolize power.

Shao Yao, Kuang Shi and she are all old people around you, but she is always on guard and doesn't say anything, and she doesn't have the tenderness and love that a aunt should have when she treats Chen Mu.Mrs. Li was driven crazy by her, and Guan Tong (De Xun) was scolded and humiliated by her repeatedly. His fate.

The old people around you when you were the emperor's grandson were dead, imprisoned, crazy.She couldn't help Shaoyao and Kuang's, so she always regarded them as a thorn in her side and a thorn in her flesh.After Kuang lost her child, she turned her attention to dealing with Shao Yao.In her eyes and heart, the only thing in her mind was how to give birth to a son-in-law and consolidate her position. "

Emperor Yong'an: "The Cheng family deceived the imperial grandfather, making the imperial grandfather think that she was gentle and virtuous, reasonable and compassionate. But in reality, she was narrow-minded, tricky and mean, without virtue and talent, jealous of the virtuous, and lustful for profit. Li and Guan Tong was just my concubine when I was the emperor's grandson, she is already a queen, but she still can't tolerate her."

The queen mother sighed helplessly, and said: "When you first came to the throne, the Three Kings' Rebellion broke out. When the Three Kings' Rebellion subsides, for the stability of the court, you can't abolish her, not to mention that she was appointed by the Emperor Mingzong to serve her Your queen. The Cheng family is a first-rank Zuozhu country. If you abolish the empress, the ministers will definitely say that you are unfilial, the emperor, and the Cheng family will never watch you abolish the empress. The empress may even use this to blackmail you You can't abolish her, just choose an imperial concubine or imperial concubine. If this continues, the harem will be in chaos. Once the harem is in chaos, how can you, the emperor, become a generation of sages? In the past ten years, the palace is full of fights and only three people will survive. A prince, I am worried that she is playing tricks!" The queen mother was worried.

Emperor Yong'an let go of the Empress Dowager's hand, went back and sat down, and said: "Mother, don't worry, the child has made a decision. It is up to the child to decide whether to discard it or not."

The queen mother heard that the emperor wanted to abolish the empress, and seeing that the emperor didn't say what she planned, she said: "Since you have a plan, the emperor, you don't need to ask more questions as a mother. Then... the emperor has to ask About her Zhuo Ji?"

Emperor Yong'an: "Why should I ask? She should already know."

"What is the emperor's plan? To that Zhuo Baolin?"

Emperor Yong'an: "The position was raised first."

■

Houde Palace, a crisp sound came out.In the East Pavilion of Houde Palace, there is a broken teacup on the ground.The lord of the central palace, Empress Cheng, asked Concubine Shu Nashi, whose eyes were red from crying, with a distorted face: "Your Majesty is really angry because of that lowly servant in the West Third Courtyard?"

Concubine Shu cried and said: "Your Majesty went to the West Third Courtyard, and when he came back, he ignored you, empress, who else could he be? That person must have a charming face, otherwise how could His Majesty go Is it so abnormal when you come back from a trip? Concubine Hui said that that person has a sharp mouth, a reputation as a scholar, and good looks. I gave birth to the Third Highness to His Majesty, if it wasn't for that lowly servant acting as a monster, how could His Majesty treat Concubine Hui like this?"

Emperor Yong'an had nine princes before and after, but only three of them survived.The eldest son of the emperor, Nan Rongchen, was born to Jia Guixie, and he is just six years old this year.The second prince, Nan Rong Chenzhu (read: Jiu) was born to Dezhen, and he is four years old this year.The third prince, Nan Rongchen Pu, was born to Concubine Hui just this year, only four months old, and that's why Concubine Hui won the favor of a mother based on her child.Empress Cheng was pregnant with three children, all of which were miscarried in the womb, and none of them were born safely.Five years have passed since the third child was miscarried, and there has been no news of the queen's belly.

The empress tightened the veil in her hand: "As an empress, I can imprison a concubine or a maid in the palace, let alone imprisoning a Baolin. I have the right to dispose of him. If His Majesty is really angry because of this, I will ask His Majesty for an explanation."

"That's right. Empress, you are the master of the middle palace. You have the right to dispose of those concubines and servants who don't know the rules. It's against the ancestral system for your majesty to anger you, empress. After all, it was Yan Xuan's lowly servant who made the empress and concubine suffer. He was obviously ungrateful, but in the end His Majesty turned his anger on us."

The queen's nails painted with Koudan were inserted into the palms of her palms. If she had known that today would happen, she should have avoided future troubles in the first place.It's only to blame that she was busy dealing with Mrs. Jiagui, and forgot the existence of that humble servant. If it hadn't happened this time, she really wouldn't have remembered that there was still a person living in the West Third Courtyard.That cheap waiter must have done it on purpose!Deliberately silenced his presence in the West Third Courtyard to make her take it lightly, and then looked for opportunities to get close to His Majesty and provoke His Majesty to vent his anger on her!

Taking a deep breath, the queen suppressed the bloodthirsty murderous aura in her heart, and then slowly opened it: "Your Majesty is using this to beat me."

"The Queen Mother?"

With a cold snort, the queen said: "Your Majesty has long been dissatisfied with this palace, but because of the ancestral system, and this palace was hand-picked by Emperor Mingzong, your majesty can't do anything to this queen. How can a treasure forest be worth such a big prize for your majesty?" Angry. Your Majesty is probably using this to find an excuse to let this palace stop caring about his pampering maid."

Concubine Shu said angrily: "Your Majesty dotes on maids more than concubines. You have not been able to share the rain and dew evenly, and you have come to blame the empress. Your majesty only has noble concubines in your heart, and there is no empress at all. Your majesty also angered that lowly Yanxuan." Waiter, but still go to Huayang Palace as usual. Is this not favoritism, what is it?"

The Queen's nails dug deep into her palm again.If you want to say who she hates the most in this palace, who is the one who gets rid of the most, it is Jiagui's concubine Shaoyao.Concubine Shu: "Your Majesty, what do you think we should do? Or, let Concubine Hui go to plead guilty to His Majesty?"

The queen slowly spread her fingers: "Your Majesty's purpose is to embarrass me. What's the use of her going, maybe it will give Your Majesty another excuse to embarrass me. Tell her not to go to Your Majesty's eyes recently, wait for this Let's talk later."

Concubine Shu quickly said: "It's all my fault for my poor self-discipline."

The queen stood up: "I am going to Fengtian Hall."

Concubine Shu also stood up hastily: "Your Majesty, are you not going to the West Third Courtyard?"

The queen said coldly: "Your Majesty has not mentioned the West Third Courtyard so far. If I go there, it will appear that I am guilty. I will go to see Your Majesty."

"The concubine will go with you." Concubine Shu said so, but she retreated in her heart.The queen is not afraid of the Holy Majesty, she is.After all, it has something to do with her.

The queen raised her hand: "No need. You send someone to investigate, how did His Majesty know that the servant is in the West Third Courtyard. Did the servant use seductive means to seduce His Majesty."

"Yes. Don't worry, empress, the concubine will find out as soon as possible."

The queen took her personal maids and eunuchs, and took the queen's Fengyi to the emperor's bedroom, Fengtian Hall.

Fengtian Hall is the sleeping palace of Emperor Yong'an. The east, west, north, south and north corners of Fengtian Hall are respectively: Qinwen Hall, Zhixing Hall, Taoyuan Pavilion, and Wensi Pavilion.The Zhixing Hall is the place where the emperor summons ministers to deal with state affairs.Qinwendian is the emperor's imperial study room, and sometimes the emperor also reviews memorials and checks various reports here.Taoyuan Pavilion is a place for the emperor and his concubines to have fun, and Wensi Pavilion is a place for the emperor to taste books, paint pictures, and store various precious collections.

When the queen arrived at Fengtian Palace, she learned that the emperor was with the queen mother, so she rushed to Shoukang Palace.Once outside the door, the Queen heard the Empress Dowager's laughter.The depressed queen was in a worse mood.Every time she came to see the queen mother, the queen was in a bad mood.The queen mother didn't want to see her, and she didn't want to see that old woman who was dying soon.Allowing herself to show the most perfect smile, the queen stepped up the steps.Emperor Yong'an was drinking tea with the Queen Mother when the mother came in to pass the word that the Empress Dowager had arrived.The smile on Emperor Yong'an's face immediately disappeared, and the smile on the Empress Dowager also faded.

The queen walked in and saluted the queen mother and the emperor. The queen mother said calmly, "Sit down."

The empress sat down, facing the emperor, at the lower right of the empress dowager.The queen first said to Emperor Yong'an: "Your Majesty, my concubine went to Fengtian Hall to find you. When I learned that you were here with the empress mother, my concubine came here."

Emperor Yong'an asked calmly: "What do you want from me?"

The queen said: "The concubine wants to ask about the palace division."

"The palace division has always been determined by the empress, why ask me?" Emperor Yong'an just wanted to see how the empress would pretend to be confused.

The queen said: "The concubine heard that the drought and locust plagues in the three realms have eased, but the palace points that were surrendered by the palaces can also be restored? The concubine is afraid that the queen's palace points will continue to be insufficient, which will affect the mother's health. "

Emperor Yong'an: "Then restore it." The matter of surrendering to the palace should have been proposed by the Empress Cheng, but it turned out to be the Empress Dowager.Emperor Yong'an, who was completely disappointed with the queen, didn't bother to talk to her.

The empress, who didn't know the emperor's thoughts, nodded seriously, and said, "I know about it. From next month onwards, we will restore the original palace division rules."

"Ah."

The Queen didn't mention the West Third Courtyard, and Emperor Yong'an didn't mention it either, so the Queen Mother said: "Queen, how did I hear that you imprisoned a Baolin in the West Third Courtyard?"

The queen pretended to be slightly taken aback: "Baolin? West Third Courtyard?" Seemingly having forgotten about it, the queen "reminisced" for a while, nodded and said, "It is true. If my daughter-in-law remembers correctly, that Baolin was Jingcheng Zhuo He belonged to the Zhuo family. He had a dispute with several people in the West Third Courtyard. He should have been expelled from the palace, but he belonged to the Zhuo family. His majesty had said before that he would be admitted into the palace, but only Baolin would be enough. But he If he made a mistake, his daughter-in-law punished him to think about his mistakes in the West Third Courtyard. Why did the queen mother ask him so carefully?"

Emperor Yong'an applauded his queen in his heart, yes, really good, this ability to pretend to be stupid is worthy of being the master of the harem.Emperor Yong'an said: "The empress is in charge of the harem. You say he should be punished, so I can't ask more questions. But why don't I remember that I told the empress to only give him one Baolin? I don't even remember that I have seen him. I don't know him either. It has been in the West Third Hospital."

The queen smiled slightly: "Your Majesty has a lot of things to do every day, I'm afraid I forgot. Besides, my concubine can't bother you with a little Baolin. He made mistakes many times, and I'm afraid it's because of his status as the Zhuo family. My concubine can't let him ruin your Majesty's mood."

Emperor Yong'an also smiled: "That's because I misunderstood the empress' painstaking efforts."

Empress: "I dare not. My concubine punished him for thinking about it for three years, and he was punished. If His Majesty liked it, he would mention him to Dounan, and my concubine would place him in Yanxin Palace in Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty Do you think this arrangement is appropriate?"

Emperor Yong'an shook his head: "Not right."

The queen was stunned for a moment: "Then His Majesty means..."

Emperor Yong'an showed a deep smile that made the empress very uncomfortable: "Zhuo Baolin is a wonderful person, I liked him very much the first time I saw him. Unfortunately, I missed him for three years in vain. In my opinion, I can make him an elegant man. Give Jinse Palace, the main palace."