Yongzheng period

With extraordinary brilliance, "If this child is a prince—"

Cao Guiren subconsciously covered his abdomen, forced a smile and said, "It's been less than a month, and it's still uncertain whether it's a man or a woman."

Concubine Hua looked back and forth at Cao Guiren's flat abdomen with fascinated eyes, and said with a smile, "It's okay, you can relax and raise your baby, and I will arrange everything by myself."

Cao Qinmo breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes, concubines obey my mother's orders."

【Fives】

In February of the second year of Yongzheng, winter.

This year is a rare heavy snow, and the ground dragon burning in the Hall of Mental Cultivation is flourishing.

Not long after, Yongzheng got up and put Li Guangdi's resignation papers on the table, walked to the window and looked out, and said to himself in a deep voice, "Old fox."

Li Guangdi is currently a Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. The cabinet system in the Qing Dynasty included "three halls and three pavilions", four halls of Baohe, Wenhua, and Wuying, and three pavilions of Wenyuan, Dongge, and Tiren.Among them, the minister who served as a scholar of the Baohe Palace seemed to be the head of all the ministers, and he had the dignity of the prime minister.Li Guangdi was a veteran minister who was deeply trusted by Kangxi, and he helped put down the "San Francisco Rebellion" and "unify Taiwan".Kangxi treated Li Guangdi with a good relationship between the monarch and his ministers, more like old friends.

Kangxi's evaluation of him was: "Li Guangdi is cautious and diligent, always up-to-date, and knowledgeable. I know the most truth, and there is no one who knows me too well."

It is not difficult to get a glimpse of Li Guangdi's status and influence in the old ministers of Kangxi. If he approved Li Guangdi's resignation, it would inevitably make the old officials of the previous dynasty feel that the new emperor did not miss the old love.

"This Li Guangdi will really give me problems." Yong Zheng shook his head and smiled wryly.

I remember that Li Guangdi died in the 55th year of Kangxi in history at the age of 77.Calculating the time, there are still six years left, and Li Guangdi has been in the officialdom all his life, and he is old. He is too old to allow people to resign for the elderly, so as not to appear unsympathetic to veterans.

Well, the optimistic minister wants to let go of another one.Yongzheng tried his best to mobilize the list of officials in his mind, thinking about promoting a capable labor force.

*

Kunning Palace.

Concubine An Huasu was the latest to invite the queen, and when she brought Cao Guiren in, everyone had already waited for half a cup of tea.

Fang Guiren, who had always been at odds with Concubine Hua, was the first to lose her composure and taunted, "Your Majesty really makes the concubines wait so hard, so tired and lazy, it's too disrespectful for the Empress Dowager."

"Empress, please forgive me," Concubine Hua lazily blessed, "But the concubine came late because of Mr. Cao—early this morning, the imperial physician who invited Ping An pulse to Yikun Palace has already diagnosed Mr. Cao Nearly three months pregnant, the Empress will not blame the concubine, right?"

Cao Guiren is pregnant? !Everyone was stunned, their scorching gazes cast on Cao Guiren's lower abdomen, wishing he could poke a hole - if he was born, this would be the first heir born of the emperor after he ascended the throne!

"Concubine Hua made my palace mean." The queen turned her head to look at Cao Guiren with a thoughtful smile, "Yikun Palace will reward you for three months, and you don't have to come here to pay your respects after you are pregnant. The emperor's heir must be the most important thing. When the emperor comes down to the palace, he will go to announce the good news to the emperor himself, and the concubine Qi has given birth to her, so your child should be taken care of by the concubine Qi."

"That's not necessary," Hua Concubine sneered, "Cao Guiren belongs to this palace, and it's not that there is no imperial doctor in Yikun Palace, so I don't need to worry about Concubine Qi."

"Concubine Hua is wrong." Concubine Qi raised her voice, "After all, my sister has never given birth, so how can I know the way to do it? The imperial physician will eventually be incapable."

Concubine Hua raised her eyebrows when she heard the words, "I'm just afraid that if you take care of me, Concubine Qi, another stupid heir will come out."

"You!—" Concubine Qi was furious.

"Okay!" Seeing Concubine Qi losing her composure, the Empress hurriedly stopped her, despising Concubine Qi's uselessness even more in her heart, "Since Concubine Hua insists, I will leave Cao Guiren's fetus to you to take care of." Then she looked at the other concubines, " You also want to serve the emperor as well as Cao Guiren, and spread your branches and leaves for the royal family as soon as possible—this palace is exhausted, so let’s leave.”

"Yes, concubines/concubines respect your mother's instruction."

After everyone left, Concubine Qi said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Hua is too arrogant!"

"So what if the emperor spoils her?" The queen rubbed her temples impatiently, "Do you still have the heart to cry to this palace? The most important thing is to teach the third elder brother well! What if Cao Gui gave birth to a prince and was punished? Concubine Hua is going to adopt her, and the third elder brother will not be favored. How can there be a place for your mother and son in this palace in the future?"

"This, this," Concubine Qi panicked, "Your Majesty! The third elder brother was also raised by you, Your Majesty must help my concubine!"

"What can I help you with?" The queen's eyes flickered slightly, "But I don't know how many concubines have had miscarriages in the palace, and Cao Guiren doesn't look like a strong body—not to mention that she, an unfavorable little noble, is pregnant. , there are many people in the harem who hold grudges against her. Not to mention the nobleman Fang, but the He family who is also a vassal of the concubine Hua and has been relegated to a permanent presence..."

Concubine Qi made up her mind after hearing the words, "It's not been three months, if Cao Guiren's fetus is unstable...the concubine understands."

The queen frowned, "Concubine Qi, instead of thinking about those useless things, it's better to go back and teach the third elder brother carefully, so as to regain the Sacred Heart and compete with Concubine Hua."

"Yes, ma'am, the concubine, the concubine will retire first..."

*

When Yongzheng heard the queen said that Cao Guiren was pregnant, he immediately gave a large reward; the queen mother was also very happy, looking forward to being a prince in her heart, and her attitude towards Concubine Hua was much gentler.For a moment, Yikun Palace was in the limelight.

Inside the east side hall of Changchun Palace.

'Crack! 'A piece of fine celadon was broken on the ground.

"My lord, please calm down!" The little maid knelt on the ground tremblingly.

He Changzai was furious, grabbed the little maid by the collar and grabbed her face, "That bitch Cao Qinmo was just a flattery for my palace! She also has a royal heir?! This palace has fallen So far, it must be her fault! It must be her jealousy of Ben Gong and the trust of Concubine Hua that caused Ben Gong to be rejected by the emperor!"

Ever since Concubine Li was demoted to Chang Zai, Mrs. He's temper has become more and more violent day by day, insulting the palace maids is just commonplace.The current situation of the He family is no different from being abolished. There are most of the servants in the palace who are as red-topped and white. It is common for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to embezzle them. The Dongpian Hall has almost become the "cold palace" in the Changchun Palace.

"Hey, why is He Changzai angry with the slave here?" Concubine Qi came in and mocked, "Look at what this looks like," she gestured to Dong Yu beside her, "Hurry up and pull He Changzai away—— It's a joke for a master to have trouble with a slave."

He Chang was avoiding Dong Yu, and shouted in a sharp voice, "Concubine Qi! Are you coming to see the joke of this palace!"

"Okay, what's 'Ben Gong', you thought you were 'Concubine Li'," Concubine Qi sneered.In the past, Mrs. He used to rely on Concubine Hua to give her a lot of anger, but seeing her in such a mess today is really refreshing, "Dongyu Xiaowenzi, hold her up for me!"

"Yes!"

"You, how dare you dog slaves—"

"Don't be so anxious," Concubine Qi said with a fake smile, "I know that Mrs. Cao is pregnant, and Chang Zai will definitely be unhappy in my heart—I'm here to comfort Chang Zai."

In the Kunning Palace, Concubine Qi entered the Changchun Palace, and the news spread into the Kunning Palace.

Jian Qiu walked into the inner room and said to the queen, "Just as your empress expected, Concubine Qi just went to Changchun Palace."

Empress Youyou wrote the last stroke of the handwriting, "Sure enough, Concubine Qi is a mindless idiot, and that's where her usefulness lies."

"Concubine Qi is nothing to be afraid of. Your Majesty can persuade the Empress Dowager to change the third elder brother's name on the grounds of her biological mother's misbehavior—after all, the third elder brother occupies the title of 'eldest son'."

"This palace also intends to do the same," the queen put down the pen in her hand, "it's just that after Concubine Qi's fall, there is no one in this palace to use to compete with Concubine Hua."

"Your Majesty, what do you think of Mrs. Fang? Young Master Fang is also a favored master and has a grudge against Concubine Hua. Isn't it just for your empress to use?"

"Mr. Fang..." The queen thought deeply, seeing Jiang Fuhai walking in with a bow.

"Miss."

Seeing that his expression was different, the queen could not help but ask, "What happened?"

Jiang Fuhai said, "The respect room said that Concubine Duan's concubine had recovered from her illness and put on a green card, and the emperor immediately gave her assistant six palaces - it was a clear decree."

The queen's complexion turned ugly in vain, "The palace is getting more and more lively now."

【six】

The power of assistant to the Six Palaces is a rare honor for a concubine. Considering that Concubine Duan is the oldest and holds a high position, she should have no objection to this right. It is just that Concubine Duan herself was involved in an early public case.

In the current harem faction, although the empress has the empress dowager as her backer, and the concubine Qi who gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, both of these two are not favored, and the third elder brother is notorious for being cowardly and irresponsible Concubine Hua is a well-deserved favorite concubine. The queen sometimes suffers from a headache and suffers from a lot of tolerance in order to show her virtuousness. Therefore, although Concubine Hua is an assistant, she is still in charge of the palace. Huang Guiquan, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also is her person.

Concubine Hua was originally a vassal of Concubine Li and Cao Guiren. Although the He family was demoted, Cao Guiren was pregnant with a dragon heir. The dirty relationship with Concubine Hua—but she can be regarded as the most potential concubine at present—after all, under her knees, she raised the fourth elder brother, one of the only three princes in Yongzheng, and Qi Jia was an old Manchu surname. It is by no means comparable.

As for the other concubines, Concubine Yu, who has children and favors, has no intention of getting involved in the harem battle. She is the most low-key person on weekdays, and her mother's family background is not enough, so she is really not a threat; Concubine Duan walked closer.

The queen originally wanted to take advantage of Concubine Duan's opportunity to attack Concubine Hua, but she wanted to be arrogant, how could she allow the bitch who once caused her to lose the prince to oppress her?Concubine Hua is too late