The Golden Partridge of An Lingrong's Rebirth

A thunderstorm brought the Forbidden City into the sultry summer. An Lingrong held up his chin and looked at the heavy rain outside the window, and threw away the "Peony Pavilion" in his hand with some boredom.

"Okay, what's going on?" The emperor raised his head from the desk full of memorials and looked at An Lingrong, "Are you feeling bored? It's a pity that I can't take you to the Old Summer Palace this year."

"The emperor is busy with government affairs, and I understand that." An Lingrong couldn't tell what exactly he was irritated about, as everything was going smoothly recently, "Besides, Sister Mei has just been diagnosed with pregnancy, and Sister Zhen is about to be eight months old. The Queen is ill again, so it is not appropriate to travel and travel, even if I feel bored, there is nothing I can do."

The emperor relaxed his eyebrows and stopped the Zhubu in his hand: "Yes, Mei'er has not been favored for a long time. I never thought that I would be lucky enough to call her a few times. She and Huanhuan are both blessed. Rong'er, what? Then you can give me another princess..." He pursed his lips and didn't say any more.

An Lingrong didn't know what he wanted to say. He blinked slightly and changed the subject with a smile: "Both sisters are pregnant now, and the hospital is too busy to handle it. I'd better not get involved in this." It's lively." She stood up and handed the lotus seed soup that had been left to cool all morning to the emperor. "The emperor has been approving the dumplings all morning. Let's have a rest with a bowl of lotus seed soup. Lotus seeds are the best way to clear the mind and reduce internal heat. These days, Zhen My sister was a bit angry and couldn't sleep at night, so I also made lotus seed soup and gave it to her, which is more effective than the tonics prescribed by Taipei Hospital."

"Concubine Xi had a hard time being pregnant, but she didn't expect that the people in the palace would be so bad." The emperor took two sips, and the lotus seeds were removed from the lotus heart, leaving only a mouth full of sweetness and softness. "Concubine Xi's belly only looks a little bit..." As she got older, some people maliciously speculated that the father of her unborn child was someone else, and their words were really unpalatable. I went to see Concubine Xi a few days ago, and when I talked about this matter, she was considerate of others in every possible way." Your Majesty. He frowned tightly and sighed heavily, "I really wronged her."

"Back then, when noble Xia was pregnant, her belly was also very big. What's so strange about that?" An Lingrong slowly added to the fire, "Women have different pregnancies, so what's there to discuss? In the palace, People are so free that they have nothing to do and are talking too much." She pretended to sigh, "Empress Duan is weak and sister Jingfei is soft-hearted. No wonder she can't suppress the rumors. If Empress had not been ill, Under her iron-fisted governance, this poor talker should have been dismissed long ago."

Speaking of the queen, the emperor clicked his tongue angrily and put the bowl in his hand on the table angrily: "I don't know what's going on with the queen recently. Maybe she's getting older and her ears have become softer, so she's also following her. There are whispers in my ears, asking me to be more cautious about the emperor's heir. How can we trust the rumors in the palace? Don't worry about what you should worry about, and worry about what you shouldn't worry about. I'm afraid the queen is sick and confused."

"The Queen has been ill for several months and has only recovered in the past few days. It is so heartbreaking for the Emperor to say this." An Lingrong lowered his eyes and smiled. He reached out and gently rubbed the Emperor's temples, feeling his nerves relax a little. Just as he was about to persuade him to rest for a while, Lu Shouchang walked in with big steps.

He raised his head and glanced at An Lingrong, with a sharp warning in his eyes, which made An Lingrong realize instantly that something big had happened.

"Welcome ministers see you, Your Majesty." Lu Shouchang knelt down and kowtowed, and spoke loudly, "By the Queen's decree, Su Peisheng, the chief eunuch, had a personal relationship with Cui Jinxi, the maid in charge of Yongshou Palace. They had an affair with the harem and were immediately detained in the Shenxing Division. We ministers are here to invite the Emperor. Will.”

The emperor suddenly opened his eyes, with a cold murderous intent in his eyes. The words "Queen's Yi Zhi" flowed between his lips and teeth for a few times before he said coldly: "Since it is the Queen's Yi Zhi, then you must follow the Queen's orders."

The queen slammed a heavy hammer in the harem, shattering the peace that had been maintained for two months.

"In the palace of the Ming Dynasty, there were often maids and eunuchs who had a personal relationship with each other, which was called "eating". They gradually became treacherous, formed cliques and disrupted the government. Most of the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by this. Therefore, the palace was strictly governed in this dynasty, and the matter of "eating" was rarely heard of. Said. But today, I discovered this under my nose." The queen was sitting in the main hall of Yongshou Palace, with a stern expression. She signaled Jian Qiu to take out a willow leaf purse and gave it to Zhen Huan, "Concubine Xi, do you recognize it? "

As soon as she got the thing, Zhen Huan recognized it. It fell out of Su Peisheng's sleeve when she, Shen Meizhuang and Concubine Jing went to visit Concubine Duan a few days ago. When they met Su Peisheng at the door, Concubine Jing joked, "Jin Xi Almost let it slip.However, since all the people present were members of our own family, nothing should have reached the Queen’s ears.

Zhen Huan calmed down and pretended to be relaxed: "This thing looks very familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere. This Yingluo's craftsmanship looks like Jin Xi's craftsmanship in the concubine's palace."

An imperceptible sneer appeared on the queen's face: "You are really discerning, which is exactly what Cui Jinxi deserves."

"It's true that Jin Xi, at such an old age, can't take care of his own things. Thank you, Queen." Zhen Huan accepted the purse with a smile, as if she didn't know what happened, "When Jin Xi comes back, I will take good care of myself." Teach her a lesson."

"It's not a big deal if you throw something away. The most important thing is that Su Peisheng keeps it close to you." The queen opened her fangs, "Cui Jinxi is already under supervision, and there is no need for Concubine Xi to discipline her." She clicked. Concubine Jing told me the whole story.

"Yes, that's it." Concubine Jing was already feeling guilty. After being called by the queen, she even broke into a cold sweat. She didn't dare to raise her head to look at Zhen Huan, so she stuttered and said, "I was with Concubine Xi and Concubine Hui a few days ago. When I went to visit Concubine Duan, I happened to see Su Peisheng greeting us, and this thing fell out of Eunuch Su's sleeve. Eunuchs cannot keep things belonging to a palace lady close to her body." She finished speaking hurriedly before daring to take a breath.

Zhen Huan couldn't believe that it was Concubine Jing who betrayed her. She stared at her until the last word fell, and then she spoke: "A Yingluo alone can't explain anything. Maybe Jin Xi lost it and asked Su Peisheng to give it to her." I picked it up and plan to return it to her in the future."

However, the queen had been secretly planning this bureau for more than a month and had already prepared it. She said quietly: "A Yingluo alone can't tell anything, but what does Liuye Hexin mean? Concubine Xi, you should know. This matter is both The clues have been revealed, so I can’t sit idly by and ignore it. Since I’m here today, I can’t help but confirm the facts, and in order to conduct a thorough investigation, I have to check Cui Jinxi’s room.”

Zhen Huan's expression changed slightly, she realized something, and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her: "Jin Xi is the person next to me, so I don't need the queen to do this. I can do it." "You are pregnant, what's the matter? If you do such a thing, besides Concubine Xi, you have to avoid suspicion." The queen blocked her back without refusing, and ordered Huichun Jianqiu to search Cui Jinxi's room, and then warned Zhen Huan, "Concubine Xi, you are pregnant. People, just sit down and wait and see what they can find."

Seeing the Queen's confident look on her face, Zhen Huan knew that she couldn't escape today. She looked at Concubine Jing sitting opposite her and quickly guessed why she helped the Queen. She was angry and helpless for a moment.

Soon, Jianqiu came back with a red wooden box. The queen opened it and took a look, and was furious: "You are really filthy and messing up the harem!" She asked Jianqiu to hand it to others to see, and she was particularly angry. "Both of them are old men in the palace. How could they still do these things? In order to prevent the consequences of what they have done, I have to deal with them."

"I take the liberty to plead with the Queen. Jin Xi is a person close to me, why not leave it to me to deal with it?" Zhen Huan wanted to fight for it again, but the queen had been holding her breath for so long and she was not willing to let it go. .

She sneered and said plausibly: "The people around Concubine Xi are the people in the harem. I can't just sit back and ignore the people in the harem. Those who serve in the palace must take care of themselves, observe natural principles, and eliminate human desires, in order to feel at ease." Master, otherwise I don’t know how much chaos will arise. Concubine Xi, you should put the overall situation first."

"The empress is a virtuous empress in the eyes of the empress dowager, and is respected by everyone in the harem. I believe that the empress will deal with it impartially, not only to save the royal face, but also to clean up the harem." Zhen Huan vaguely reminded the empress that Su Peisheng was in front of the emperor.

"That's natural." The Queen raised a victorious smile, "I am the Lord of the Sixth Palace, how can I not deal with it impartially to reassure people's hearts?" She stood up holding Jianqiu's hand and walked slowly out. "Concubine Xi, you'd better have a good pregnancy."

Zhen Huan's face suddenly turned cold: "I respectfully send you to the Queen." She turned her back to the Queen, and did not see the Queen's back leaving proudly, nor did she see the guilty look that Concubine Jing cast before leaving. She only He knew that if Cui Jinxi could not be saved, she would be the next one the queen would take action against.

Therefore, after the queen left, the first thing Zhen Huan did was to go to the Yangxin Hall to find out what the emperor was saying, but she met An Lingrong at the door.

"Sister is here." An Lingrong was talking to Xiao Xiazi, "I was just thinking about going to Yongshou Palace to see my sister, but I didn't expect that my sister came first." She approached Zhen Huan and lowered her voice and said, "The queen is resolute and resolute, intervening in the affairs of the royal family. , The emperor is very unhappy, but I see that he is angry because he is angry, and the emperor does not intend to protect Eunuch Su. Sister, please pay attention to your words later. "

Zhen Huan suddenly knew something in her mind, nodded and walked towards the side hall.

Behind him, An Lingrong calmly called Xiao Xiazi: "Wait for the tea to cool down a little before sending it in... I know that the tea the Emperor drinks is eight minutes hot. Today is an exception. Wait until it is seven minutes hot before you bring it in... "

Zhen Huan listened and suddenly had an idea in her mind.

After An Lingrong finished explaining, he lowered his hands and slowly put on his armor. His voice was soft and inaudible: "Cuiyin has left the palace. Although you can't be involved at the moment, you must know that if Su Peisheng cannot be saved, this storm will sooner or later involve you. On the body."

"I understand." Xiao Xiazi lowered his head and said in a firm voice, "Even if the queen doesn't say anything, I will still remember the kindness of the master."

Outside, the heavy rain had stopped, and the air smelled of earth, as if the dirt that had been rotting underground for a long time suddenly came to light, and the smell was disgusting.

An Lingrong waited for a long time before Zhen Huan came out. Looking at her face, he knew that there was no result from this conversation.

"The queen is in good health, but she can't wait to take action." Zhen Huan made up her mind to go to the Shenxing Department to see Cui Jinxi, and drove her sedan chair to the alley. "Although the emperor was angry that the queen took Su Peisheng into custody on her own initiative, what happened in the end It's in the harem, and the emperor has nothing to say. I listened to what he said, and seemed to agree with the queen's handling of Jinxi."

"Throughout the dynasties, it was not a matter of honor for palace maids and eunuchs to treat food. What's more, what is Su Peisheng's identity? He has been serving the emperor since he was a child. Compared with the concubines in the harem, he is the one who has been with the emperor the longest. To put it bluntly, High position and power are not too much." An Lingrong said, "But he is entangled with Jin Xi, and Jin Xi is my sister's confidant. What will the emperor think?" Speaking of this, An Lingrong thought of something again. , "The emperor knows that my sister walked through Su Peisheng's door before returning to the palace. At first, I thought it was just a temporary bribe, but now I find that it is a long-term win-win. How can the emperor not be wary?"

"That's exactly what I thought of. That's why I didn't dare to plead too much in front of the emperor just now. I was afraid that Jin Xi would get herself involved before she could be rescued." Zhen Huan smiled bitterly and sighed softly. He said, "If the queen uses this to punish me for patronizing and conniving, it will really be more than worth the loss."

Not long after, Secretary Shenxing arrived.