A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

When the night came, the red candle was shining, Zheng Lanyin was sorting out the accessories on her body over and over again.

"Bai Shao, Hongmei." She called out twice, only Bai Shao came in. She, who was thinking about it, didn't notice this at all: "The person who picked me up for the palace banquet, hasn't he arrived yet?"

The Qianyi Pavilion is very remote, close to the three imperial concubine palaces in the west, and even if she opened all the windows and doors, she could not hear the sound of silk and bamboo at the New Year's banquet.

"At this time in previous years, the annual banquet is about to start. Is it because I live in a remote place, so the palace servant who invited me to the banquet hasn't arrived yet?"

"Do you think my clothes look good?? Will they look shabby?"

"Master." Bai Shao poured a cup of hot tea for Zheng Lanyin, and she waved it away with one hand: "Take it away, ?? This palace has managed to put on the lip balm, so it can't be smeared, you go outside and have a look, ?? invite Has the palace servant I attended the banquet arrived yet?"

The tea water splashed from the tea cup and splashed on the back of Bai Shao's hand, which soon turned red. She wiped off the water on the back of her hand, and said to Zheng Lanyin: "Okay, master, the slaves and servants will go and see."

When she walked out the door, Hongmei, who was sitting in the yard nibbling melon seeds, raised her head and sneered, "Have you been punished again?"

Bai Shao covered the back of her hand and did not speak.

"Because we have worked together for many years, I advise you to find a new master early and jump out of here." Hongmei spat out the shell of the melon seeds in her mouth: "Master has lost power, ?? You stay here, too. It's just a matter of time."

"Do we have a choice as slaves?" Bai Shao looked at Hongmei: "Don't do anything against the master."

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"You are so loyal to her, how did she treat you?" Hongmei stood up and patted her body: "It was promised that when you turned twenty-five, she would let you out of the palace, but what happened? Twenty-eight, followed her to this broken place to be beaten and scolded, and received a cold face from the rest of the palace."

"Go and see the Mingyue Palace. Even the dog raised at the door is better than us."

"You want to go to the Mingyue Palace as an errand, does the Mingyue Palace want you?" Bai Shao persuaded him with kind words: "The palace can't tolerate servants who carry the master, Hongmei, don't cause trouble for yourself."

"You're willing to be a loyal dog, don't pull me." Hongmei sneered at her and took out two taels of silver from her bosom: "After tonight, I won't be here as an errand, you can keep this money. Flowers."

Bai Shao watched Hongmei twist her waist away, and reached out to hold the two taels of silver on the stone table in her palm. There are only a few people in the palace, and Hongmei is the first-class maid next to the master. Even if these women are trying to maintain their kindness on the surface, it is impossible for them to allow Hongmei to serve as an official in their palace, so as not to bear the reputation of being in the dark.

Besides the empress in the palace, who else would dare to accept Hongmei?

Maybe... it's an errand in the temple province, where people are still clothed and food is still available.

The silver tael was warm, Bai Shao put the silver in the sleeve, walked out of the Qianyi Pavilion, and strolled in the palace alley. On the night of the New Year, the palace maids can also put on rouge, wear silk flowers, and gather together in twos and threes to laugh.

From time to time, laughter came from the palace wall, Bai Shao stopped, leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky. Above her head, there was only a dark sky and a solitary red lantern.

She knew that no one would invite the master to the annual banquet, and she also knew that if she went back now, the master would only vent his anger on her.

The wind was a little cold, she clutched her aching belly, thinking of the girl with bright eyes, the cloak she wore on her body.

Warm, soft, with a light fragrance.

If this palace is a thorn that cannot be seen, that girl is a little magpie who accidentally fell on the thorn bush.

She has a pair of free wings and a cheerful, moving voice.

"Ming Xiaozhu." King Chen took two steps, turned his head to Jiuzhu who was following him, and said, "Let Xiangxuan follow you at night, and take her with you no matter what."

Jiuzhu nodded: "Okay."

"Let's go then." He looked at the main entrance of the main hall, and only stepped into the hall when Jiu Zhu walked beside him.

"His Royal Highness Chen is here, and the county magistrate of Ming is here."

Everyone who was joking and laughing in a low voice quickly fell silent, got up and looked at the men and women at the door, and greeted King Chen.

There are also people who are secretly observing the expressions of Ming Jingzhou and his wife. Last time, His Majesty held a banquet for Su Guifei, and the daughters of the Ming family appeared together with the imperial concubine. This time, the New Year banquet was attended by King Chen and the Ming family. Prince, what is your attitude?

Sun Caiyao put down the teacup in her hand, and saw that the place where King Chen brought Ming Jiuzhu to the seat was the first in the county chairperson list.

The seat of the royal banquet is the most important in the sequence of rules. The county head of Ming Jiuzhu, a daughter of a foreign minister, sits in a higher position than the county head with royal blood. The little official of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of arranging the seats, no one stepped forward to stop them, but instead saluted the two of them.

"Four younger siblings." Princess Jing, who was closest to her, greeted her with a smile: "This is your first time attending a palace banquet as a royal. If there is anything you are not used to, please let me know."

"Thank you third sister-in-law." Realizing that she had been staring at Ming Jiuzhu for too long, Sun Caiyao quickly retracted her gaze and nodded and smiled at Princess Jing.

"Have you seen the old county head under the head of Ming county?" Princess Jing smiled, her words were like a spring breeze, and her attitude was friendly: "Her great-grandmother is a royal princess, and the girl who originally came to her generation did not have a title. It can be sealed. When the father was in trouble, the old county owner entrusted someone to send things to the palace in private. Later, when the father ascended the throne, she and Su Mufei got quite close. His Majesty thought of the kindness when he was hiding in the residence, so he made an exception and gave it to her. County Lord title."

Get close to Concubine Su?

sun

Cai Yao had some impressions of this old county lord. In the past few years, this old county lord had always been the first county chairman, but after entering the palace today, she sat in the second position without even thinking about it.

The people in the palace are all foxes who have perfected their ability to judge the situation.

Everything that should be instructed was instructed, and even the fruit was peeled off two of Jiuzhu with his own hands, and then King Chen got up and left.

After taking two steps, he turned around again: "If someone makes you unhappy, just hit him in the face with a cup, and if it breaks, it's mine."

"His Royal Highness." Xiangxian couldn't help laughing: "Don't worry, the slaves will take good care of the county lord."

Jiuzhu touched the cup seriously, it would be a pity to smash a cup with such exquisite workmanship.

Xiangxian noticed her movements and suspected that no matter what His Highness said, the Ming County Lord might take it seriously.

When His Highness finally walked away in five steps, Xiangxuan poured a cup of tea for Jiuzhu, who found that there was an embroidered pier under the table, dragged it out and put it next to Xiangxian: "Aunt, you sit first."

"Thank you, county magistrate." Xiang Xuan sat down behind Jiuzhu, her eyes swept over the people present, and her smile was gentle.

This kind of small embroidered pier was originally prepared for the servants of the masters, but the aristocratic family has a strict hierarchy, so most of these embroidered piers are useless, and there are less than two or three servants who can sit down.

She explained to Jiu Zhu the identities of all the people in the room in a soft voice, no matter whether they were male or female, their relationship with the royal family, and their closeness and distance with the royal family, she explained it clearly.

Jiuzhu looked at her with admiration: "Auntie is amazing."

"The slave is the fourth-grade female official in the Mingyue Palace. If you can't even figure out these things, how can you serve the empress with a face?" Xiangxuan was amused by Jiuzhu's adoring eyes. A female official like her will be honored by the royal family for a lifetime when she is old. , low-rank officials see her, but also to salute.

Because the empress is a noble concubine, even taking her is half a rank higher than the maids in front of other concubines.

The big palace maid is the right-hand man of the master and the voice of the master, so there are also some palace maids and eunuchs who secretly go to the master's mother's house to ask for benefits under the guise of the master. The maiden's family can't enter or leave the harem at will, even if they are deceived, they don't know it.

"His Majesty is here!"

After singing the report three times in a row, the courtiers ordered their wives to stand up one after another, facing the door, and saluted: "Long live your majesty, long live, long live."

After three prayers, Jiuzhu heard the county owner beside her, and continued in an old but sonorous voice: "My lady is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand thousand years old."

"My lady is a thousand years old, a thousand thousand years old!"

The old county owner glanced at Jiuzhu, and Jiuzhu also glanced at her.

The two of them spoke at the same time almost at the same time.

The civil servants hesitated to look at Concubine Su who was standing with His Majesty. The huge phoenix hairpin on her head made their eyes hurt a little.

The relatives of the royal family all shouted, did they shout or not?

In previous annual banquets, although Concubine Su walked with His Majesty, everyone only vaguely said "See the concubine and empress." Who brought the bad luck this year?

There was a moment of stagnation in the hall, until the two brothers of the Ming family, Wu Shilang, and officials above the third rank of the Ministry of Rites, all made a bow gesture, and everyone calmed down.

"My lady is a thousand years old, a thousand thousand years old."

This time, most of the officials in the hall ordered their wives to bow down.

Looking at the increasingly happy smile on His Majesty's face, everyone still doesn't understand that this is the result His Majesty wants.

He Tingyu sighed, and when he chanted for the third time, he ignored the anger in Yang Shilang's eyes, bowed down and bowed down: "Niangniang thousand years old, thousand thousand years old, thousand thousand thousand years old."

The third time, the voice was loud and uniform. Emperor Longfeng took Concubine Su's hand, walked to the high seat and stood still: "All the ministers have the same mind as me, and I am very moved."

Mind?

What are your thoughts?

"My concubine and I have known each other since I was young. Over the years, she has given birth to a prince for me, managed the harem, is humble and humble, and has never complained..."

Manage the harem?

His Majesty has been on the throne for so many years, when have new people entered the harem?

As for the four words of respect, thrift and humility, as long as His Majesty doesn't feel embarrassed when he says it, they can also pretend that is the case.

"Over the years, the imperial concubine has always been there for me, sharing my worries, but because of my busy government affairs, I have neglected the imperial concubine everywhere."

When the other concubines heard this, their expressions were colorful. His Majesty was either in Taiyang Palace, Mingyue Palace, or on the way to Mingyue Palace, can this be called a snub?

The more Wen Chen listened, the more he realized that what His Majesty said was wrong, what did His Majesty want to do?

What do you want to do?

"Recently, a minister made a speech, saying that the palace can't be without a queen forever. I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep at night. Finally, I had to admit that this Aiqing was right."

Ministers look at me, I look at you, guess who is the troubled person.

When His Majesty first ascended the throne, he wanted to consecrate the imperial concubine as the empress, but finally gave up because there were too many ministers in the way.

They thought that His Majesty's affection for Concubine Su was only so deep because of his company day and night in the hidden residence. When there are more women entering the palace later, the feelings will naturally fade, and men will understand.

Who would have thought that for more than ten years after His Majesty ascended the throne, there had not been a single newcomer in the harem. Everyone stopped him from making Concubine Su the empress, so he simply refused to be the empress and let Concubine Su be the only one in the harem.

With His Majesty sitting firmly on the Dragon Chair and holding the military power in the world, they no longer dared to presume the next thing before His Majesty. They were afraid that His Majesty would get excited and want to make Concubine Su as his queen, but they couldn't stop him.

So who did this?

six officials

Looking at each other, Ming Jingzhou and Ming Jinghai exchanged glances, bowing their heads and saying nothing.

Your Majesty is clearly out of nothing.

"The noble concubine Su is virtuous, virtuous, courteous, courteous, and worthy of my empress." Emperor Longfeng finally said the words that scared countless civil servants: "Tomorrow I will bring my concubine to worship the ancestral temple and confer the concubine as my empress. ."

Concubine Su's beautiful eyes trembled slightly, but under the gazes of the ministers, she did not reveal her emotions, just kept a reserved smile.

Although she did not know when His Majesty began to plan this matter, she knew that he must have planned this matter for a long time.

"His Majesty……"

"What?" When Emperor Longfeng didn't laugh, the courtiers would remember that this was the last victor when many princes were fighting for the reserve.

"You were the ones who didn't want to be established at the beginning, and you were the ones who wanted to be established later." Emperor Longfeng's eyes became cold: "Or, I have to let you have the final say in my harem?"

"I dare not wait!"

"What are you afraid of?" Emperor Longfeng fell silent, and the entire hall was silent. Many people didn't want Concubine Su to be the queen, but in front of His Majesty's majesty, no one dared to be the first bird.

Someone sneaked a glance at the two brothers from the Ming family out of the corner of their eyes. Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, the two of them looked like old monks in meditation, and they lowered their heads and did not move.

Some people also went to see the father-in-laws of several princes, wondering how they would react. However, they are as stable as old dogs, and their postures are more submissive than the two brothers of the Ming family.

Everyone went crazy. When Concubine Su became the queen, King Chen would be the heir apparent. If His Majesty wanted King Chen to succeed him, it would be justifiable.

"Tonight is a night where the king and his ministers have fun together. All the Qing families don't have to be cautious." When the atmosphere became more and more anxious, Emperor Longfeng smiled, as if he was the benevolent emperor on weekdays again: "All take your seats."

Yun Yanze's hand hidden in his sleeve was trembling slightly, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

It is so, it is so.

In recent years, whether they were raising counselors in private or communicating with other families, the father and emperor looked at them coldly. It turned out to be for today.

The father locked them in the palace, and everyone knew that they were punished for their mistakes, but they didn't know what crimes they committed.

Among the princes' foreign families, which one has not done a little trick in private?

They didn't know what the father found, and they didn't dare to gamble with the glory and status of the whole family. So tonight's New Year's banquet is a gamble between the father and these foreign families.

The emperor bet that they would not dare to object, that they would be afraid, and that they would compromise.

Whether it is the Zheng family, the concubine, or him, they are all chickens who are about to be beheaded, and the rest of the family and the prince are monkeys played by the father and the emperor.

There is no more old-fashioned way to kill a chicken to show a monkey.

But it is also the most useful method.

No one wants to be the decapitated chicken, even though being a monkey will be laughed at.

"His Royal Highness?" Sun Caiyao held his hand lightly and picked out a snack for him: "Try this snack."

"Thank you." Yun Yanze took the dim sum, took a small bite from his mouth, and put it in the bowl. The dim sum was not touched until the cold dishes were served.

"Ming County Lord, try this lotus root clip." The old county owner next to Jiuzhu said with a smile: "It's crispy on the outside and fragrant on the inside, very delicious."

"Thank you." Jiuzhu thanked, picked up a lotus root and put it in the bowl.

"The head of Ming County grew up in Lingzhou, and his ministers heard that Lingzhou has many mountains and rivers, and is rich in nine-hole lotus roots. When the lotus root is broken, it can pull out very long and long filaments. I don't know which lotus roots are in Lingzhou and the capital. The silk drawn by the lotus root is longer?"

Jiuzhu raised her head and looked around for someone to talk to, but she couldn't find it after searching around.

"The county lord, the lower officials are here." Yang Shilang saw Ming Jiuzhu's eyes turn a large circle, but he did not see himself, stood up and said: "Excuse me, the county lord, what is the solution to the broken thread?"

Ming Jingzhou put down his chopsticks, wiped the corners of his mouth, and looked at the talking minister with a half-smile.

As for King Chen, who was sitting on the prince's seat, his expression had completely darkened.

Everyone's eyes turned to Ming Jiuzhu. Sun Caiyao thought she would be uneasy, but she didn't. She just sat there, her big eyes full of doubts, as if she didn't understand why the other party asked such a strange question.

"My lord, I'm very sorry." Jiuzhu smiled apologetically to Yang Shilang: "I grew up in a Taoist temple and have never planted lotus roots. If you are interested in these, wait for me to write a book and ask my elders. To answer your question again?"

"Your Majesty, in the opinion of this minister, no matter where the lotus root is cut, it will be broken and connected, but this does not mean that they are implicated." Yang Shilang didn't care about Jiuzhu's answer, he cupped his hands and looked at Long on the high seat. Emperor Feng: "The relationship between His Royal Highness Prince Qi and the Zheng family is exactly like this. He has been the grandson of the Zheng family since he was born, and this is not something he can choose. Please, Your Majesty, look carefully."

Jiuzhu understood that the other party didn't care about her answer at all, she just used her mouth to help the King of Qi County to intercede.

People in Beijing have a very dirty heart.

"It's not constant." Jiuzhu explained the problem to the other party very seriously: "As long as you stand far enough apart, the thread will always break. If it doesn't break, it must not stand far enough."

Yang Shilang turned to look at her. He didn't expect that the Ming family's daughter would have to speak at this juncture.

Smart people, you should choose to shut up at this moment.

"Sir, you must have never been in the kitchen." Seeing the other person looking over, Jiuzhu explained patiently and friendly: "But it's okay, I'll understand later."

Yang Shilang said with a sullen face: "Many thanks to the county lord for clearing the confusion for the lower officials."

Now you can close your mouth.

"You're welcome." Jiuzhu said with a smile: "If you still don't understand, you can try it yourself."

Yang Shilang stopped paying attention to Jiuzhu, walked to the center of the hall, and said loudly to Emperor Longfeng: "Your Majesty, please restore the title of the Fourth Prince, and don't hurt the father-son friendship between you because of outsiders."

Originally, he wanted to impress Your Majesty with love through the tangled words, but this good wish was disrupted by Ming Jiuzhu, and everything became nondescript.

I thought that this little girl raised in a remote state, the Ming family didn't pay attention to it, and she was timid and cowardly.

If he had known it would be like this, he would not pick her if he picked whoever was the lead.

"It's a big New Year's Eve, I wanted to leave the account until the new year, but unfortunately some people have to be so impatient." Ming Jingzhou smiled slightly, touched the things in his arms, and waited for Yang Shilang to continue speaking.

Ming Jinghai lowered his head and took a sip of wine, but did not speak. The third younger brother has always had the temperament of hiding a knife in a smile. I am afraid that what is going to happen today has already happened.

The minister of the household department is impulsive and highly respected by the king of Qi. It would not be surprising if he listened to some gossip about the king of Qi and interceded for the king of Qi at the annual banquet.

It's just that for the King of Qi Jun at this time, this is not a plea, but to push him into the fire pit.

"Yang Shilang, today is a banquet for everyone's reunion, and it is also a family banquet. We will talk about the matter of the court after the opening of the court." Emperor Longfeng raised his hand to stop him from continuing: "I think Yang Shilang is drinking too much. , need to go out to sober up."

"Your Majesty, Wei Chen is not drunk." Yang Shilang pushed away the eunuch who wanted to help him: "Your Majesty said that this is a family banquet, and King Qi is your child. Why can't you mention him at this time?"

Su Guifei glanced at Yun Yanze, whose face was blue, if she hadn't cared about the man beside her, she would have laughed out loud on the spot. Perhaps Yun Yanze didn't even think that the honesty on Yang Shilang's body was a double-edged sword, which could be used by him to poke others and hurt himself.

"His Royal Highness King Qi Jun is virtuous and humble, sympathetic to his ministers, and filial to His Majesty. How can His Majesty have the heart to abandon his filial piety because of other princes." Yang Shilang said loudly: "Your Majesty's move is not only for Wei Chen, but also for other adults. I also feel sympathy for what happened to Prince Qi."

The officials sitting around Yang Shilang shrank their necks, they didn't know who the "other adults" were, it had nothing to do with them anyway.

As for the representatives of "other princes", His Royal Highness Chen Wang smiled and drank a glass of wine, quietly waiting for the next performance.

"Father." Yun Yanze knew that he couldn't let Yang Shilang continue to talk, and in front of everyone's eyes, he had to stand up and show an attitude.

"Your Majesty." Ming Jingzhou saw Yun Yanze stand up, and got up: "Wei minister thinks that Yang Shilang's words are reasonable, His Royal Highness Qi Junwang is your prince, and there is nothing that cannot be mentioned at the family banquet."

He Tingyu looked at Ming Jingzhou in surprise. It shouldn't be. Yang Shilang has a straight mind and does things recklessly. Why is Ming Jingzhou so reckless.

Seeing that Ming Jingzhou had all stood up and everyone put down their chopsticks, I vaguely felt that something was wrong.

"Before entering the palace, Wei Chen found out something related to the Zheng family and Zheng Meiren, but he chose to remain silent because he couldn't bear to see the unbearable face of his relatives on New Year's Eve." Ming Jingzhou took out a thick bag from his arms. A stack of things contained various IOUs of interest, confessions from the field, and even evidence that Zheng Meiren bribed the officials of the royal racecourse.

"In the fifth year of Longfeng, Zheng Meiren used the pretext of being seriously ill to let the fourth son of the emperor stay sick in the palace, but secretly sent a killer to Lingzhou to assassinate Su Guifei and His Royal Highness Chen. The girl who fell into the water did not travel as planned."

"In the sixth year of Longfeng, the Zheng family condoned hundreds of acres in the clan circle, causing dozens of farmers to lose their arable land and become displaced."

"In the eighth year of Longfeng, the Zheng family took bribes of 5,000 taels and obtained the post of seventh-grade county magistrate for others."

"Ten years of Longfeng, Zheng Meiren stabbed the palace maid to death, and used the excuse of being seriously ill to cover up. I feel sorry for the palace maid's family, and they are still waiting for her to go back."

"In the spring of the eleventh year of Longfeng, two eunuchs in Zheng Meiren's palace died violently for unknown reasons."

"Longfeng..."

With the criminal evidence listed by Ming Jingzhou, the entire hall was so silent that even the sound of breathing could not be heard.

In the presence of so many royal relatives and courtiers' wives, the crimes committed by the birth mother of the King of Qi County and the foreign family were all laid bare, which almost cut off all hope of the King of Qi County to ascend the throne.

Unless the other princes are dead, the throne will no longer be related to the King of Qi, although these things may not have much to do with the King of Qi.

"Lord Shang Shu." Zhou Rui swallowed and asked Li En, "Brother Ming, what's wrong?"

In front of so many people, all of Qi Jun Wang's face was torn down, even if it was a blood feud of life and death.

I haven't seen him have any opinion on Prince Qi before, why did he press Prince Qi to the ground today and slap his face?

Ming Jingzhou was still counting the charges against Zheng Meiren and the Zheng family, and even the Zheng family owed two hundred taels of silver to a certain cloth village, and he did not miss any details.

"Your Majesty, this is the relevant evidence found by the minister." After talking about all the charges, Emperor Ming Jingzhou Longfeng gave a big gift: "I ask Your Majesty to severely punish such evil ministers, so as to set an example and give justice to the people."

Seeing that the thick evidence was put into His Majesty's hands, everyone thought in a trance that Ming Jingzhou was the servant of the Ministry of Rites, not the servant of the Ministry of Punishment, or the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, right?

Seeing that this was not enough, Ming Jingzhou raised his head to look at Yun Yanze who looked pale:

Next, the little girl said very well, there is no lotus root in the world that cannot be broken, only cooks who are not attentive enough. Also, please, Your Highness, do not blame the ministers for exposing these matters today. The ministers did not intend to target His Highness, but for the people of the world. "

"His Royal Highness is gracious and kind, and loves the people. If you think about it, you can understand the enthusiasm of the minister." He turned to look at the already stupid Yang Shilang, and sighed: "If it weren't for Lord Yang, the minister would not be willing to say it at this time today. of."

Ruthless, too ruthless.

If you hit someone in the face, you have to ask them to say that it doesn't hurt at all.

King Qi Jun glanced at Ming Jingzhou and said reluctantly, "Master Ming is not wrong, it was my grandfather's family who made a mistake."

"It's not just the Zheng family that is at fault." Ming Jingzhou added with a smile: "His Royal Highness's biological mother, Zheng Meiren, is also at fault."

"Father." King Qi knelt in a trance in front of Emperor Longfeng. He no longer wanted to know what other people were looking at at this moment. His forehead was on the ground, and he couldn't even say a word of pleading.

Ming Jingzhou must have solid evidence that he dared to say this in front of so many people.

Turning his head, he saw Ming Jiuzhu, who was sitting at the top of the county chairperson's list, pick up a lotus root clip and put it in his mouth.

It seems that everything that happened in the hall is not as good as the lotus root in front of her.

Aware of his gaze, she looked up.