Force a good concubine

As soon as Cui Chengxiu stepped into the yard of the duty house, he saw Cui Xi, the head of Renshou Palace, standing under the dripping water.He is the old man of Zhaoqian Palace at the head. He served the late emperor first and then the queen mother. Regardless of seniority or seniority, he is always the first in the palace.Cui Chengxiu didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly stepped forward with a smile: "I should go to greet you, why are you here today?" She also scolded the little eunuch in the guard room, "Master Xi is standing here, you just poke in the room What are you looking at?"

"It's so easy, I asked them not to come out to serve." Cui Xi served the late emperor for many years, and his temperament was also cultivated to be as stable and unsmiling. He just said, "Going out of the palace with my young master, everything is going well? Today's old lady I'm happy, I invited a few dukes and wives to talk, and sent you to ask questions, quickly change your clothes, let's go together."

There is a rule in the palace. All the eunuchs who are on duty in front of the imperial court should prepare a set of clean palace clothes and hang them on the wooden frame in front of the bed, in case of sudden summons or accidents. Cui Chengxiu entered the duty room and immediately After changing his clothes, he whispered a few words to Cui Sanshun, and hurriedly followed Cui Xi away.

The Renshou Palace was indeed very lively. Cui Chengxiu entered the hall and kowtowed. He glanced around and saw that several dukes and wives were present. When he replied, he praised the emperor's filial piety to ten percent. The dukes and wives flattered him. Very happy: "The emperor is filial, there is nothing to say. Our own relatives will not say anything else. When the time comes, you will come too, and we will have a good reunion." He also ordered Cui Xi to send a few dukes and wives for him go out.

There were only a few confidantes of the Queen Mother left in the palace, Cui Chengxiu gradually had a bottom line in her heart, and indeed the Queen Mother hesitated a little, and asked, "You follow the emperor every day, but can you see who she cares about in private?" gone?"

Cui Chengxiu was confident, and her reply was impeccable: "The old lady knows our young master's temperament, and she is the most stable and peaceful. She never chats with others in private. Occasionally mentioning a few people's names is also related to military affairs. Recently When the young master came back from the palace, he mentioned more to the young ladies who had met before the exam. If it is private or public, it is true that the young master loves to chat with them. come out."

The Empress Dowager really didn't take it seriously, she just sighed: "The Emperor just left the palace, and the Grand Competition is coming up, so it's right to show concern for these people. The princes and princes who attended the Wenhua Palace were all the same as the Emperor himself. You look at the one who is studying in the younger one, does the emperor like it?"

Cui Chengxiu had a bitter face: "The servant is careless, I just think that the young master treats the elder son equally, and there is no difference."

"Ah Zheng also said the same thing." The Queen Mother sighed towards Nanny Xu behind her, "At the beginning I said that the emperor was too steady, and it was better to find a few playmates who were lively and talkative, but those families were careful. They were all afraid of getting into trouble, and the ones who were sent in were all honest children, who were really attendants. They didn’t say a word except for studying and practicing martial arts. Now that the emperor was about to get married, everyone was anxious to pass the sign into the palace—early What have you been doing for years?"

"The masters in the Wenhua Palace are too upright, and the people they teach are also honest," Madam Xu comforted the Queen Mother, "These princes are all like the young master, and they are all focused on improving their careers—maybe there are mistakes. , what about the young master's temper?"

"The first emperor left early. I don't understand government affairs, and I have never raised children. The courtiers wrote every day about the allusions of the former emperor playing with things and losing his mind. I am also afraid that I will disappoint the first emperor. I am too strict with the emperor." Empress Dowager's face appeared There was a hint of regret, "I should have listened to Ah Zheng's words if I knew it earlier, and I shouldn't allow the Imperial Academy to talk for so many days, let her relax, and maybe I can get closer to the attendants."

"How can your mother change the homework that the late emperor personally set for my young master?" Madam Xu said, "Now that my young master is able to support the country, it shows that the late emperor has a long-term vision. Those few attendants were also circled by the late emperor himself, maybe in the future Do you know for yourself?"

The queen mother shook her head and said, "I have looked at them coldly these days, and they are all good and motivated children, but no matter how you look at them, they are all materials for being a courtier. In that respect, they are like Yuan Jia, and they seem to be missing a muscle-oh, I I'm really afraid that Yuan Jia will be wronged!" He said to Cui Chengxiu, "Seeing that the emperor will marry Ji in September and will hold a grand ceremony for the first month of next year, even though it has been customary these years that girls stay until the [-]th or [-]th to get married, but It's time to look at the candidate. I think there are many rules in the palace, and it is not easy. On June [-]th, the emperor and I went to Baoguo Temple to offer incense, and we happened to meet by the way. If the emperor has someone he likes, it must be great if he is blessed by the Buddha. If there is no fate, let them go back quietly, so as not to provoke those gossips. Since the emperor has no other candidates, let's do it first."

She thought for a while, and then said to Mother Xu: "I don't think these servants may be able to see it. You should go and tell the emperor, just tell me what I said, if there is anything she likes or wants to get close to, No matter what class you come from, just talk to me, and when the time comes to see each other, even if you don’t have one, you can also tell me what kind of person you like, is it literary or military? Honest or talkative? Anything can be said, We still have time, we can pick it up slowly. Tell her not to be shy, this is a lifelong event, there is nothing to shy away from, I really can’t say it, it’s okay to write it on paper and give it to me.”

Nanny Xu squatted down and said a good word, and together with Cui Chengxiu went to the Hall of Qinghe to meet the emperor.The emperor always finished today's affairs, and after passing the dinner, he asked the clerk to deliver the mansion newspaper of the day and urgently delivered the documents in. He was absorbed in reading, and realized that someone came in without raising his head: "Is everything delivered?"

Cui Chengxiu glanced at Nanny Xu behind her, and replied honestly: "It's delivered. I saw that the bed was not used anymore, so I asked Aunt Zhike to check some household items and change them. There was a delay, my little one." Lord forgive me."

"Nonsense." The emperor paused his pen, and glanced at him, "She won't even drink a bowl of Yangxian tea, how can she accept those things?" Seeing Mother Xu standing behind Cui Chengxiu with a smile, she hurriedly got up and said: "Nurse Xu is here, but what orders does the queen mother have? These people are becoming more and more ignorant. Why don't you report people coming from the mother's harem?"

"It's the slaves who don't want people to inform you," said Madam Xu, bowing low to the emperor. "The queen mother wants the slaves to go away quietly. I just heard what Manager Cui said, and I was confused and didn't salute. Sorry, my lord." crime."

The emperor always treated the people in the empress dowager's palace very courteously, so he ordered the little servant to move a small stool and gave him tea, and then said: "When I came out of the palace, I met a female scholar who came to take an examination of women's department. Coincidentally, it was from Li Ruiniang. My hometown. I heard Ruiniang mention that that person’s essays are better than hers, but he missed the child prodigy department due to illness, so he was careful. He is really a real talent, and his character is also good. I read it At the same time, I copied the Shiwen collection and went to the bookstore to sell it to supplement the family income. I love talents and want to subsidize her, but she still refuses to accept it. This alone is better than many officials. Her luggage is too thin, I asked Cui Chengxiu to find a way to take care of it, so as not to suffer from old illnesses and miss the competition, and it is a pity that the court has one less talent."

These words are exactly the same as Cui Chengxiu's words. Madam Xu has no doubts, and all the servants in front of the imperial court retreated, and relayed the Queen Mother's words to the emperor, and said: "The Queen Mother has a thousand choices these days, but she is afraid of being singled out. I don't like the person I like. If the young master has someone he likes, the old lady will be happy too."

This incident really came from the emperor's accident.She is gentle on the surface, but she is strong in the bottom of her heart. She only thinks about being superior to others in order to be in line with her identity when studying and managing politics. I have thought about it emotionally.The emperor didn't like to get close to people since he was a child, so he just went through these few people in his mind. When he thought of marrying one of them and being intimate with each other, he felt that it was very unpleasant. Next year, if we become pro-government, we can divide these people into errands and drive them out of Beijing. I am also worried that Madam Xu will see the clue, and she will only stare at the memorial: "There are no candidates. I am only worried about pro-government, and I am afraid of government affairs." I didn’t think about these things if I didn’t handle it well and disappointed the late Emperor.”

Seeing that the emperor refused to look at her, Mother Xu also thought that the emperor was shy after hearing these words, and secretly laughed in her heart that this serious young master finally had a daughter's heart, and said: "The young master now think about it carefully. If there is any idea on the top, even if it is weird."

"I don't have any thoughts." After all, it was a lifelong event, the emperor was impatient, and couldn't read the memorial. Seeing Madam Xu sitting on the small stool and looking at him with a smile on her face, she also calmed down and thought about it carefully. Unexpectedly, a thought popped up, his eyes jumped suddenly, he tried his best to hold his face, and said in a peaceful voice, "There is an allusion that I didn't understand when I was a child. I wanted to ask the gentlemen at the beginning. I was afraid that it would be said that I didn't want to learn. I haven’t asked the question all the time——I wondered at the beginning, since Emperor Mingzong and below, they all married men and gave birth to heirs, and Emperor Taizu ruled the world. He was said to be extremely wise, so how could he have a female queen?”

Her tone was very calm, and Madam Xu didn't suspect him, she smiled and said: "Emperor Taizu Ying was born tomorrow, but the servants can't guess what his old man is thinking. It's just that the servants heard the old people in the palace talk about ancient times when they were young, saying that the Emperor Taizu mentioned it himself. , Empress Shengwen was specially sent down by God to assist her. It is different from others. Therefore, Empress Shengwen is gone, and Emperor Taizu has a vacant seat. The ancestor emperor was originally a vassal king, and the emperor Yizong did not live forever. Before he died, he entrusted the country to her. Your Majesty, the Emperor Renzong was born later, and he is also a wise ruler, so it is also in accordance with God's will, isn't it?"

"I think so too." The emperor frowned very quickly and then relaxed, "Speaking of which, I haven't thought about these things in the past, except for this question, I can't think of anything at the moment."

"This is also human nature. It's still early until June [-]th, young master, let's think about it slowly, if you have any ideas, just talk to the old lady, or you can't get rid of it, and you can just run away if you want a servant to pass on a word." Xu Nanny Mama waited for a while, seeing that the emperor had nothing to say, she got up and said goodbye, "It's getting late, young master, let's rest earlier."

The emperor watched her go out as if nothing had happened, his face was calm, and his heart was almost overwhelmed.She is the emperor of Taiping. Since she inherited the heir, she has heard a lot of words about mourning the emperor. She also knows that extending the succession of children is one of the important responsibilities of the ancestral temple. But suddenly he had the same thoughts as Emperor Taizu.

"Master, you haven't rested yet. Go to the imperial dining room. Be smart when you have tea, and mention Miss Gu when you have time." Before the emperor finished asking, Cui Chengxiu was so sleepy that his eyelids twitched, and he didn't dare to stay away from the imperial court. He just stood at the window of the duty room and waited eagerly. Seeing Madam Xu coming out and the eunuch on duty entering the palace to cut the lanterns, he asked Cui Sanshun to pass on the soothing soup to the imperial dining room.

"Master," Cui Sanshun was a little hesitant, "We have put in so much effort to match up, if something happens, the young master will get married next year, won't Mrs. Gu have nowhere to go?"

"What's missing? There's nothing taboo about speaking!" Cui Chengxiu glared at him, and scolded in a low voice, "How many people in the palace are eager for Cheng'en, even if Grandpa Buddha kowtowed to death, they can't reach him. Madam Gu is an ancestor who has De, green smoke is rising from the grave! Our young master is nostalgic for the old days, and the relationship between us will fade away in the future. It is enough for her to go to the top of the sky if she is caressed from time to time, but she still thinks what is it like to dominate forever? Folks have sisters and brothers , but who is the young master? Except for the future imperial husband," he raised a finger, "that is the only conjugal body, who dares to be equal to her? Besides, even the imperial husband can't guard it by himself. Don't care about men and women, when you become an emperor, you can't do anything without the Sangong and Six Courtyards. Otherwise, there are so many houses in the palace, what are they doing for nothing? How many servants did the late emperor have?" He went to the west side of the palace Yu pursed his lips, "The ones who are favored and those who are not favored are still rare? There are also those who are not happy, and those who are forced to be sent in by parents who are greedy for wealth and honor are still young princes! What happened in the end? Isn't it here to be submissive? For a lifetime, nest until death! In the final analysis, there is only one master in this palace. If Long live has spoken, even a dragon must be coiled, even a tiger must lie down. It is the wrath of the emperor that the adults talk about. Stubbornly struggling with your own life and death?"

He was lecturing his disciples at length, when he suddenly saw the eunuch on duty coming down the steps, and made a "summoning" gesture to him from a distance, hurriedly adjusted his clothes, and entered the hall with a smiling face.

Sure enough, the emperor was still thinking about it, and said straight away: "She really accepted it?"

"The sage is not as good as my young master, and Mrs. Gu refused to accept it at first." Cui Chengxiu had already made up the rhetoric, and now she was full of tongues, "Later, the servant girl remembered what my young master often said. Scholars pay attention to 'mansions of thousands of buildings, the world "Jie Huan Yan", just say that the bamboo couch is rotten and not strong, and the girls in the nunnery don't care, the lady can barely use it now, what if the guest in the back meets the couch and the couch collapses? Just treat it as a young master I gave it to the guests behind to accumulate blessings, the lady just used it for a few days to catch up, and it took half an hour to finally agree."

The emperor smiled slightly and nodded slightly: "It seems like her style."

"Young master's heart is simply speechless!" Cui Chengxiu cheered up, even more nonsense, "Mrs. Yes. Before the maidservant left, Madam Gu asked about the young master's homework, isn't this also thinking about the young master?"

As these words reached the emperor's heart, she nodded happily, with a smile on her lips: "You really mentioned me?"

"It's absolutely true, this servant listened to me for real!" Cui Chengxiu replied firmly, seeing the emperor was very happy, and she was also very happy: this kind of thing is to strike while the iron is hot, seeing that it is [-]% here, [-]% is right. Miss Gu is not happy, and she can't stand the emperor's golden words!How many days of being favored all depends on the ability to seduce people, and in the future, I will pass it on to Miss Gu by myself, won't the good days come?