Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 398 Chuxiu Palace Roster
west city,

Crossroads,

A restaurant in Shifang,
On the second floor, Chu Yiyue sat in front of the window, sipping wine, eating authentic Beijing delicacies, and stir-fried smoked bacon. Several hall masters and incense masters sat around and had a banquet.

"Master, isn't this smoked bacon the bacon we have in the south that is dried outside? What did I think it was? People in the capital are actually obsessed with it, and it's so expensive."

One of the hall masters stretched out his chopsticks and took a big mouthful of smoked bacon, put it into his mouth and chewed it, and said dissatisfiedly. The incense master next to him also echoed,

"Yes, owner of the village, this big plate costs us a tael of silver, and it's said to be game. Damn, we pretend we haven't eaten it."

"It's just, it's too dark."

Chu Yiyue shook his head and swallowed the food in his mouth.

"You guys, I can't even stop your mouths while eating. This dish is made by coating bacon with sugar. Isn't it expensive? Also, what's going on these days?"

"Master, I just wanted to tell you."

The voice has not fallen,

On the street downstairs, the convoy escorting the silver came over. In front of them were people from the Imperial City Division who were opening the way, waving their whips and cursing,

"The Imperial City Department is doing business, and everyone else is waiting to avoid it. Get out of the way!"

When I saw someone was slow to give way, I just whipped him over, not to mention how arrogant he was.

There was also a lot of excitement in the streets, and people were trying to get out of the way.

Hearing the commotion below, Chu Yiyue turned his head and looked at the motorcade passing by at the street corner. He looked inexplicably. He silently picked up the wine cup and tasted it. When he saw that the man on horseback in the front looked so familiar, he was suddenly stunned and asked road,

"Why did Marquis Luo Yun come so quickly? Didn't he say he was going on a killing spree in the south of the Yangtze River?"

The hall master at the bottom whispered,

"Master, something happened in Jiangnan. Half a month ago, Protector Zuo sent a letter saying that Marquis Luo Yun had arrived in Jinling City."

"That's strange. There doesn't seem to be any news outside."

Chu Yiyue, the deputy leader of the Taiping Religion, carefully recalled the information that came during this period. After thinking about it for a while, he still found no clues. However, the Xiang Master on the side said hesitantly;
"Master, my subordinates have some ideas."

"Well, you said."

"Back to the owner of the village, Luo Yunhou came to the capital so quickly now. Maybe it was a secret order from the old emperor. According to my subordinates, the vassal kings from all over the country did not know what kind of information they got. Now they have sent their princes to the capital in advance. , it seems like something happened.”

The owner of the incense told the letter from the spies who were following the dock. Chu Yiyue looked amused. He had received the letter earlier, but only Prince Zheng’s eldest son came to the capital and came here. There has been no sound from anywhere, but now it seems that it is amazing. The emperor has even transferred Luo Yunhou, the great war god, back, fearing that something happened to the royal family.

This is a good thing, let's see if we can find some flaws in it, but the people in Zongren Mansion are not for a living, so I'm afraid it won't be easy.

"Your guess is probably about the same. You should keep an eye on this matter. The arrival of the prince is nothing. If the prediction is correct, these people are just standing in front of the king. When the kings come to the capital, it will be lively by then."

The hall masters and Xiang masters present here naturally thought of the matter of establishing a prince, and were shocked. This was a big deal, and Dawu was afraid that it would be another fight between dragons and tigers.

The hall master on the side continued to look outside. Many students in Confucian uniforms gathered on the street. They looked a little strange and asked,

"Master, during this time, I have seen many academy disciples gathering in the capital to discuss poetry and scriptures, and scholars from other places came to the capital. However, the imperial examination is still one year away, and I don't know what the court will do. "

Chu Yiyue was startled. He looked out and saw the small businessmen and hawkers on the street. Many foreign scholars gathered around the table, eating and discussing something. There were quite a lot of them. He suddenly thought in his heart, could the imperial court want to show mercy? Got it.

"Is it because the imperial court is going to ban Enke? You have forgotten about it. You are now starting to recruit scholars and organize the layout of the capital."

"Master, what do you mean?"

The hall master asked without knowing why, Chu Yiyue smiled slightly, and suddenly felt that the opportunity had come, and said;
"I still remember the scientific examination the year before last and the dispute between scholars from the north and the south. If we grant favors this year, you said that if something happens again, wouldn't it be a huge problem for the court and the civil servants? By then, Jiangnan and other places will probably The public opinion is overwhelming, this is a God-given opportunity, but it is our opportunity to preach to the world. To say the least, as long as it causes trouble for the court, why don't we do it."

"The owner is wise."

The hall master and the incense master gathered around the table bowed one after another.

The inner harem,

Kunning Palace Garden.

Empress Jiang Yuqing was meeting Zhou Guiren in the palace. She was listening to Zhou Guiren crying there, angrily scolding Concubine Wu for being aggressive and bullying others, and complaining that she was useless. It was so pretentious that she cried like a raindrop.

"Empress, you have to make the decision for me. How can a noble concubine be so bullying? Is it because my concubine's mother-in-law is from a small family and deserves to be bullied by her? If she continues to be rampant, I am afraid that the empress of the harem will be bullied. I can’t hold her down anymore.”

Before he finished speaking, Chunhe immediately shouted angrily;
"How dare you say such things."

Zhou Guiren was so frightened that he covered his mouth and looked at the Queen carefully. He felt a little sad and shed tears with aggrieved expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing."

"Okay, I know about this. Concubine Wu did something wrong, but you, didn't you also make her unable to step down in many ways? In the harem, most people are more tolerant, and some things can be tolerated. However, she is indeed a bit too much. I will talk about her later. As for you, go back first and have a good rest. If I don’t believe that she can still come to your Biyun Palace to cause trouble, I will never tolerate it at that time. She is so presumptuous." Jiang Yuqing's expression changed. As soon as he said this, he was not only talking about Concubine Wu, but also knocking Guiren Zhou. During this period, some people and things in the harem were indeed neglected, and a lot of jokes were made. But The queen mother didn't show up, and she didn't know what to think.

Zhou Guiren understood clearly in his heart that the matter had been spoken out. No matter what, it was good to disgust Concubine Wu. Seeing the Queen speak out, Zhou Guiren would not dare to stay here again, so he nodded.
"Thank you for making the decision for me, I will retire now."

After saying that, he kowtowed to the queen and walked out of Kunning Palace crying.

Seeing Zhou Guiren's desolate look, Jiang Yuqing frowned and felt a little headache. If it weren't for the fact that he was so busy choosing chamberlains and guards for the three princes during this period that he didn't interfere with the affairs of the harem, this person would have been left alone. The two got into a heated argument.

After Chunhe saw the person walking away, he walked over and whispered;
"Your Majesty, this servant thinks that Zhou Guiren is not simple. He is so bold to complain about such a trivial matter. Concubine Wu really went too far."

"Do you think she is really wronged? I suspect that Zhou Guiren deliberately set up a trap. Wu Guifei made a plan and started to make trouble. She even fought for a dish. She has never eaten any dish in the harem. We will talk about this later. I ask you, This time I went to Chuxiu Palace, why are there so many rosters, and what do they mean?"

Jiang Yuqing didn't care about the two of them. Instead, she went to Chuxiu Palace to select people. The names on the list handed over by the eunuch seemed to have a lot of new names, so she asked.

"Your Majesty, it seems that someone knew that the three princes were leaving the palace to build a palace, so Chuxiu Palace suddenly had many more maids and chamberlains. Naturally, they were well prepared. They must have put a lot of thought into it."

Chunhe has been keeping an eye on this matter. Of course there is no airtight wall. There are many dignitaries outside the palace who often make small moves. Empress Jiang Yuqing is inevitably worried after hearing this. As long as her three sons leave the palace, they will become the focus of the world. Nowadays, the court is in a strange state, the crown prince is undecided, and the place is unstable. It is really beyond its capabilities.

"Chunhe, when will Marquis Luo Yun return?"

"Come back, Madam, the nun at the front door just came to report, and Marquis Luo Yun will enter the palace soon."

"What, so fast, didn't you mean you're still in Jiangnan?"

"Yes, Madam, Marquis Luo Yun came back very suddenly, as if there was something urgent. It is said that the Marquis brought a large amount of silver from the south of the Yangtze River, amounting to tens of millions of taels, and was escorted directly to the palace. General Dai sent someone to pick it up. ."

Chun He was also horrified. That handsome figure actually had such courage. The queen was even more happy. It would be great to come back. He still needs to be escorted for many things. The queen really couldn't trust other people, especially those nobles. , followed closely by the Supreme Emperor, plotting something secretly.

"I know about this matter. The maids and chamberlains will be divided among the three princes according to the list drawn up by me. As for those who were added later, none of them will be used. If something goes wrong and someone gets involved, Chun He doesn’t have to be polite, just let him disappear.”

"Yes, empress, this slave understands."

A cold look flashed across Jiang Yuqing's face. He knew that this matter was caused by his own spies and spies inside and outside. As long as there was any trouble in the residence of the three princes, he would definitely know about it.

While the two were talking, the grandmother outside the door shouted,

"Your Majesty, the chamberlain of the Yangxin Palace has sent word that the three princes should go to the Yangxin Palace to wait with their opinions on the last examination questions."

"Understood, let's go down."

"Yes, ma'am."

Capital, within the city.

Although the snow has stopped, it is still very deep.

There are snow-covered buildings everywhere, but the streets and markets are not affected at all by the people coming and going. As expected, the capital is prosperous.

Then when they were approaching the inner palace city, Eunuch Yang and the people from the Imperial City Department were waiting not far away to greet him. Zhang Jinyu was surprised to see him. Eunuch Yang was also an acquaintance, so he cupped his fists and saluted from afar.
"It turns out to be Eunuch Yang. It's so cold that you came here in person. It's a big sin."

How could Eunuch Yang dare to accept this courtesy from the Marquis? He returned the greeting and said with a smile;

"Master Marquis, we are all old ministers, so what we say is unreasonable, isn't it? The emperor is worried and specially asked his servants to greet the master."

Zhang Jinyu still dared to ride on the horse, turned over and dismounted, and gave a false courtesy to the palace.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness and letting Your Majesty worry about it."

"Master Marquis, there is no need to be polite. This is not the place to talk. It is better to enter the palace quickly so that the emperor will not be impatient."

Eunuch Yang also had something to say, but this was not the place to talk. Besides, Eunuch Zhao was also nearby, so he might not be allowed to know some of the words.

"Okay, everyone, it's better to go in quickly. Ningbian, just wait here."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Zhang Jinyu nodded at the right time, and then continued to lead the convoy into the palace gate. After checking who was behind him, he led the convoy forward.

The huge motorcade was walking in the palace, so unobtrusive that the eunuchs and maids they met on the road looked over curiously, and when they saw that Marquis Luo Yun was leading the team, they couldn't help but whisper.

Zhang Jinyu touched her nose in embarrassment, and couldn't help complaining. These people in the palace were all senior gossips, and they had the syndrome of being lonely for a long time.

Just as Zhang Jinyu and others were walking towards the Yangxin Hall, Queen Jiang Yuqing also asked Chunhe to call the three princes over quickly. She took the exam questions and personally led the three of them to the Yangxin Hall to wait. Unexpectedly, they entered In the courtyard, I saw the emperor leaving the Yangxin Hall and waiting in the courtyard with his guards and chamberlains.

The queen was surprised, walked over and asked;

"Why is Your Majesty coming out? This is"

The queen hesitated for a moment, knowing that the emperor was not doing it for herself, but maybe for Marquis Luo Yun, which shows how important Marquis Yun is in His Majesty's heart.

"Yu Qing is here too, just in time. Please wait here for a moment. Marquis Luo Yun will be here soon."

(End of this chapter)