A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

After leaving Zhang Liugong, the further west you go, the more secluded you are. The wind blew through the palace alley, leaving a whine to show that they had passed by.

Covering the shivering cat with his sleeve, King Chen turned to look at Jiuzhu: "Little Pig, are you cold?"

Jiuzhu shook her head: "The big cloak that Niangniang prepared for me is very warm. Your Highness, it looks so desolate here."

When Aunt Xiangshuang took her around the palace, she never brought her here.

"The people who live here are the concubines of the late emperor." King Chen walked slowly: "Most of them are of low rank and have no children. They entered the palace when they were young, and have never seen Longyan several times in their lives."

He vaguely remembered that when he was very young, a palace maid who was only fifteen years old died in a well on the third day after being favored by the late emperor.

"According to the ancestral system, these concubines and concubines without children should be sent to the nunnery in Chong'an Prefecture to pray for the late emperors until they die." King Chen pointed to the high wall separating the imperial concubine's palace: "Actually, ,?? The old concubine, who has no children, no pets, and no support from her family, lives in a nunnery and is not as good as ordinary people."

"The person who sent them there?? Don't you know this?" Jiuzhu grabbed the cloak on her body.

"So what if you know?" King Chen looked down at the kitten in his arms: "No one would care."

"Then why are these concubines staying in the palace now?" Jiuzhu asked curiously, and felt fortunate for these concubines.

"It was the mother-in-law who left them behind. In order to avoid people's words, the mother-in-law also specially built a high wall to separate the imperial concubine's palace from the harem." Speaking of this, King Chen suddenly smiled. A voice: "Do you know, what is the reason why the mother concubine was scolded as a demon concubine by Wenchen for the first time?"

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Jiuzhu shook her head.

"It's because of this." King Chen smiled sarcastically: "Some ministers feel that it is against the ancestral system to keep these concubines to support them. The mother concubine does not follow the ancestral law, but is a demon concubine who disrupts the harem."

"But Niangniang is helping these concubines."

Chong'an Prefecture is hundreds of kilometers away from the capital. These old concubines are in a nunnery. Even if they are bullied, no one will know.

Those ministers who oppose Niangniang see the ancestral rules, but what Niangniang sees are women who cannot decide their own destiny.

"As a matter of fact, there is never a single line in the ancestral clan teachings of the royal family's Yun family that clearly states that the concubine must be sent to a nunnery after the emperor's death." King Chen lifted his chin proudly: "I accompanied my father back then. The emperor and his mother-in-law have read the rules of the Yun family three times. In the end, those ministers had to pinch their noses to recognize this matter, and they also praised the filial piety of the father and the emperor."

Those ministers who lost the quarrel did not dare to scold the father and emperor, so they only dared to say a few words behind Su Guifei's bewitching Sacred Heart.

"Wow." Jiuzhu looked at him admiringly: "His Royal Highness, Empress, and Your Majesty are all amazing."

"Then..." She turned her head and glanced at the palace maid and eunuch who followed behind her, moved to King Chen's side, and asked in a low voice, "Our family, haven't we quarreled with you?"

"Why do you think those ministers pinched their noses and praised their filial piety at the end?" King Chen guessed what she was thinking, and said with a smile, "There are also credits from the three adults of the Ming family."

"Tell me, tell me." Knowing that her family and His Highness are on the same position, Jiuzhu suddenly became energetic: "What did my father and uncles do?"

"The three adults of the Ming family found out the list of officials who were filial and honest in Daqing, and then found those officials who raised their concubine mothers and were praised for their benevolence." King Chen couldn't help laughing: "Especially your second uncle, who is eloquent and eloquent, and can only argue. Wushuang, under the sparring of words, the officials who opposed it were speechless, and almost covered their faces and burst into tears."

"Second Uncle is so powerful." Jiuzhu heard her mother mention that Second Uncle is currently the prefectural shepherd of Huaizhou, and the whole family moved to Huaizhou to live. The letters Er Bo sent back on weekdays were humorous and amiable. She couldn't imagine how such a second uncle made the courtiers cry.

"It's here." King Chen pointed to a closed vermilion gate: "Go in through this gate and you'll arrive at Jing'an Palace where the concubines live."

"His Royal Highness, please wait with the county master." A little eunuch knocked on the door, and someone came to open the door soon. The door was opened by an elderly eunuch. When he saw the little eunuch, he stooped and asked cautiously: "What's your son-in-law doing?"

"Father-in-law, the youngest was serving in the Sixth Palace of Zhang, and now he is serving in front of His Royal Highness King Chen. I heard that an old concubine lost a cat, and His Royal Highness King Chen personally brought the cat over."

"His Royal Highness Chen?" The old lady listened to the word Chen Wang, her expression was shocked, and she hurriedly greeted her: "I don't know if it is King Chen coming in person, but the old slave has lost his way. Please forgive me."

"Father-in-law doesn't need to be more polite." Jiu Zhu Xu helped the old eunuch: "I'd like to ask you to take us to see the old lady."

"This is Ming Shilang's daughter, the county magistrate." The little eunuch was afraid that the old eunuch didn't know anyone and would make a joke, so he reminded in a low voice, "It's also the fiancee appointed by His Majesty for His Royal Highness King Chen."

"Master Ming's daughter..." The old eunuch whispered, looking at Jiuzhu with cloudy eyes: "The two nobles, please come in, please come this way with the old slave."

Stepping into the red lacquered wooden door, there is a large garden with a palace built on each side. The gray-haired concubines sat together in twos and threes, some talking and chatting, some holding embroidery needles, and slowly poking two needles on the embroidery cloth, tilting their heads to listen to what the other old sisters said.

The younger ones, who were arguing about calligraphy and painting around the table, noticed that an outsider came in, and their expressions suddenly became tense.

"Are you from the Palace of the Palace?"

"Not like."

"Could it be that we are going to... We are going to Chong'an Prefecture?"

"Don't scare yourself

, looking at their outfits, it is clear which prince is with him..." The concubine who spoke paused: "No, why are you combing the girl's hair in a bun? "

Isn't she an unmarried little girl?

"Don't guess, I saw that the prince was holding a cat in his hand. Didn't Sister Zhao of Jing'an Palace lose the cat? I think they came to bring the cat to Sister Zhao."

"Have the cat been found?" A concubine breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great. The surnamed Zhao cried all night last night, so I couldn't sleep well."

"Let's just say a few words. I looked at that Highness with a familiar look, like His Royal Highness King Chen." The embroidered concubine wasn't quite sure. After so many years, the child of the year had already changed.

"Your Highness King Chen..."

The chattering concubines quieted down. They all knew that if there was no concubine Su Guifei, they would not have the stable life they have now.

"There are three palaces here, Jing'an Palace, Ningkang Palace, and Fushou Palace." King Chen whispered to Jiuzhu, "This side of Jing'an Palace is home to several concubines, and the other two palaces are old people with low grades. Concubine."

Jiuzhu noticed that there were cloth tigers, cloth rabbits, etc. hanging on the trees in the yard. The stitches were not too fine. It was because these old people had poor eyesight, so they were a little crooked when sewing.

However, these concubines were very cleanly dressed, their faces were rosy and healthy, and they lived a good life.

She stood on tiptoe and curiously touched the cloth tiger hanging from the branch.

"Does the girl like this?" An old voice sounded behind her.

Jiu Zhu retracted her hand, turned her head to look at the old lady who was talking, and blessed her.

"If the girl likes it, take it away." The old lady walked up to her, her gray hair was neatly groomed: "This is what the old man did when he was bored on weekdays."

"Thank you." Jiuzhu wanted to refuse, but seeing the expectation in the eyes of the old man, she reached out and hugged the cat in King Chen's arms: "Your Highness, can you take it down for me?"

King Chen raised his eyebrows, glanced at Jiuzhu's height at his chin, and reached out to pick up the little tiger.

"Meow." The kitten lay in Jiuzhu's arms and let out a soft cry.

"Oh, this little thing." The old lady laughed when she saw the cat: "I had people search for it all night, but I found it."

Hearing the master's voice, the kitten flicked its tail lazily and turned its head to the old lady.

"It turned out to be your cat." Jiuzhu touched the fluffy head of the kitten and returned the cat to the concubine: "This cat's foot is injured, and I have asked the imperial doctor to see it."

The eunuch of Zhang Liugong held out the medicine: "This is the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor. Change it sooner or later."

"Thank you girl and Your Highness." The old lady took the cat into her arms and pressed her face to its head: "Little thing, I told you not to run around, you are disobedient, and it hurts so much. Let's see if you will do it next time. Dare to run around, and next time you dare to run around, I won't care about you."

The old concubine said nothing, but her movements were extremely gentle, and she didn't even touch a single wound.

"His Royal Highness and the girl brought this little naughty back." The old lady looked at the two gratefully: "Please come into the room and have some refreshments before leaving."

Her tone was pleading, as if afraid that they would refuse. Jiuzhu turned her head to look at King Chen, but did not agree immediately.

"Then the king will disturb you." King Chen put the removed tiger in Jiuzhu's hand, with one hand behind his back, and the other hand awkwardly supported the old lady's arm: "Let's go."

The old concubine looked at the young man's hand on her arm, and smiled and rolled her eyes: "Except for the palace maid and eunuch, there has been no other young man here for a long time."

Walking into the door of the inner hall, Jiuzhu smelled a very faint medicinal smell.

"Someone is sick?" King Chen helped the concubine to sit down and looked around.

"Everyone is getting old, and it is inevitable that they have some headaches." The imperial concubine said gratefully: "Fortunately, the imperial concubine asked the imperial hospital to arrange for the imperial doctor to give us old ladies a pulse of peace every five days, so we have no major problems."

As she said that, a mama who was about forty or fifty years old came in with tea. She glanced at King Chen, and respectfully buried her waist lower, and put all the tea on the table.

"If the old man guessed correctly, His Highness should be the child of the noble concubine, Yun Duqing?" The old lady pointed to a plate of cakes on the table: "This tastes good, try it quickly."

"Thank you, Concubine." Jiu Zhu grabbed a piece of dim sum and broke it in half before King Chen. After tasting two bites, she nodded with a smile, "It's delicious."

While joking, she put the other half into King Chen's hand.

Chen Wang ate half of the dim sum into his mouth. The taste was neither good nor bad, but it was in line with the taste of the old man.

"Your Highness has a good name, and you are a blessed person." The old lady patted the kitten's head lovingly, and the kitten purred and quickly fell asleep.

Jiuzhu looked at this person and a cat, and laughed while eating snacks.

"What are you laughing at?" King Chen smiled at her.

"I just think that Your Highness and the Empress are amazing." Jiu Zhu looked at King Chen, her eyes crescent with a smile.

How can there be such a good person in the world?

King Chen raised his eyebrows and nodded: "Well, you are very discerning on this point."

"His Royal Highness, I'm going home tomorrow." Jiuzhu's smile faded a little: "Mother wrote to say that the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month will be a good day, and the uncle invited someone to Zhou's house to propose marriage to the sixth brother. "

"Then, after the New Year's Eve, I will ask the mother-in-law to pick you up."

Concubine Zhao looked at the two young people whose heads were almost close to each other, with a kind smile on her face.