Ping An Biography

A group of knights escorted two felt chariots that were well covered to the south gate of the Chu Palace.There are a number of important people living in the palace of the Chu Palace, which has always been heavily guarded, but Zhou Zhong, the garrison general who guards the south gate, just read the seal and did not check the vehicles, and let them go.There are people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the army, and they have no objection to this.Zhou Zhong is the son of general Zhou Mengxiong, only in his teens, and his experience is second to none when he is appointed as the guard of the palace gate. The main reason is that he is the son of Zhou Mengxiong, which can play a certain role in comforting the ministers of Jianwen.Zhou Mengxiong used to be a general under Jianwen.

The person sitting in the car in front was Empress Ma Shi. She was found by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in a Taoist temple in Guizhou, and after many twists and turns, she was brought to Wuchang.After being found, she naturally has no power to resist.

Empress Ma specially changed into a red shirt and a phoenix crown today, because she was told to meet Emperor Jianwen and others.Her attire is quite different from that of the noble ladies of the royal family (Xuande) in the current dynasty, mainly because the concubines of Jianwen followed the standard of the Taizu period, and the concubines' dresses were mainly red; while the royal ladies after the reform of Emperor Yongle mostly wore yellow and blue colors. shirt.So Empress Ma dressed in bright red, just like a bride's dress.

However, she is already a woman in her 40s, and she is not as special as Yao Ji. Her appearance is just an ordinary middle-aged woman; Because of looks.At this time, the skin on her face began to loosen, and the stains and blemishes that could not be concealed by makeup powder seemed to be the traces left by the years, which did not show that her color had faded.

When entering the palace gate, she heard the movement outside and guessed that she had entered Chu Palace, so she used her fingers to lift the curtain on the car to look out.The tall and erect palace buildings and the wide and tidy avenues immediately attracted her attention.Although the Chu Palace is not as big as the original Nanjing Palace, and the specifications are also low, but this kind of solemn and noble style is similar. For a while, she returned to the past in a trance, with groups of court ladies and courtiers chanting. [

Counting it, it has been more than 20 years since I have seen this kind of place. For many years, it is not the statue of the blue lantern, white clouds and green mountains, few people, and lonely figures.

But returning to the palace, she really didn't feel any joy.Although they were separated from Emperor Jianwen for a long time, they didn't expect to reunite after a long absence, because even when they were together day and night before, the couple had no intercourse for a long time.In her heart, old couples hate each other more, and even repel each other; the good thing is that they understand and are familiar with each other enough, they trust each other more than ordinary people, and they can rely on many things.

There is no age to look forward to at all.Empress Ma is most concerned about her son Zhu Wenkui. Last year, she persuaded Wenkui not to stay, and went out to raise troops. Later, she heard that she failed, and several months later, she still has no news of her life or death.

She was captured suddenly in Guizhou, and someone came to publicize that she would be taken to Wuchang to meet Emperor Jianwen.She had already guessed that the people who came were Yao Ji's mother and son's henchmen, and she always had a question in her heart: How did these people find that remote and hidden place?It is very likely that Wen Kui was secretly captured by them after his failure to raise troops, and then found the place by following the clues.

At this time the carriage stopped, and an eunuch stepped forward to open the wooden door behind the carriage for Queen Ma, and bowed to ask her to get off the carriage.Empress Ma stood up and bent over to go through the door, when she suddenly saw a lady in a formal dress standing there.The woman immediately called Empress Ma's attention, not only because of her attire, but also because of the many attendants surrounded by her left and right, which immediately set off her status.

Soon Empress Ma recognized that this woman was Yao Ji.

"It's inconvenient for my concubine to go out of the palace, so I have to wait here to welcome the queen, and I hope the queen will forgive me." Yao Ji clasped her hands in front of her belly, looked down, and bowed her knees slightly to salute.His posture not only reveals elegance, but also carries a kind of humility, without any affectation.

Empress Ma had no choice but to straighten her body and said: "Concubine Yao is too polite, let's get flat." She was also unwilling to show weakness in front of her.

Yao Ji said softly again in a calm and casual tone: "If the concubine's daughter-in-law, Zhou Yiniang, hadn't mentioned where the queen lives, we really don't know where to find you. Fortunately, we finally brought the queen here."

The content contained in this sentence made Empress Ma suddenly realize that it was Zhou Mengxiong's daughter who had told her the secret.I thought that this woman would be a splash of water if she got married, so she immediately turned her attention to others... Yao Ji is unlikely to lie in public. Zhou Mengxiong and Zhou Zhouniang are both well-known acquaintances, so confrontation is too simple.And after a little thought, it was reasonable for Yao Ji's people to go to Guizhou because Zhou Niang said it.

In this way, Empress Ma felt a little relieved, and felt that Zhu Wenkui's hope of escape was a little higher.But still no news.

Empress Ma glanced over Yao Ji, pretending to be disapproving.But I saw Yao Ji wearing a dark blue Zhai dress with a red lining with a stand-up collar, a phoenix crown on her head and a ribbon on her waist. Apart from showing her status, this kind of clothing is actually not attractive to women; because the coat and ribbon are like scholar-bureaucrats. The shape of the "high crown and belt", the sleeves are big and the clothes are wide, and the hat is decorated with many pearls and jades, but the shape is a bit like that of a scholar, and there are still two wing-like structures on both sides of the back. .

This kind of clothing system can't bring out the unique femininity of women at all, but adds a lot of dull and heavy burdens.But Yao Ji wore such clothes, but for some reason she was still full of femininity.

A tall figure can support such a majestic and solemn big shirt, and it has a more dignified temperament; a truly graceful figure cannot be completely covered by wide clothes, as long as you move a little, the soft waist can be looming under the silk fabric; plump Only a tall chest can support this kind of loose clothes.The most conspicuous thing was her fair, delicate and healthy skin. Against the background of the dark blue clothes, her beautiful face was even more jade-like white. Even the jade color on her head was suppressed, which became a kind of foil.

This dress is really suitable for Yao Ji, it reminds people of something like white jade in the sinking wood.The heavy clothes are like a dull wooden box, but her skin is the fine white jade exposed in the box.

Seeing this woman again, Empress Ma felt a sour feeling in her heart.I can't help but think of the bullying of Yao Ji many years ago, no wonder Queen Ma and the others... Back then, Queen Ma was a young woman with status and power, and was compared to a basket of mud by such a small person like Yao Ji; Women not only have to compete with themselves for men, but also have a faint threat.As a woman, isn't it clear what you want to do?

I regret that I didn't think too far at the beginning, but I was satisfied when I vented my anger from time to time. If I had known about today's troubles, I should have directly killed Yao Ji in the first place.

"Queen, why don't you see the little princess?"

At this moment, Yao Ji asked a question, with a smile on her face when she spoke.In the eyes of Empress Ma, that smile seems to be narcissistic and mocking... The comparison among men is to compare who is more powerful and rich, while among women, many things are condensed into one point: who is more beautiful and has more money? temperament.Empress Ma immediately felt a strong sense of frustration. [

Although Empress Ma is already a middle-aged woman and her beauty is no longer there, Yao Ji is not much younger than herself in her mind.The difference is less than ten years old. When everyone was in the palace together, Empress Ma was a young woman, and Yao Ji was a little girl but she could seduce the same man. Therefore, comparing Empress Ma from this aspect is to put myself and Yao Ji apart. on the same level.

In the face of the reality that people are knives and I am fish, Empress Ma almost lost her mind, and immediately wanted to find some harsh words to stimulate Yao Ji face to face, feeling sullen in her heart, as if hurting the person in front of her would make her feel bad. Tone can find the exit.Nai wants to be desperate, but can't find a point of focus.At this time, Yao Ji didn't say anything that could make people catch up, so you can't ramble and swear for some reason, can you?Such words will not hurt others, but will make others laugh at me as a shrew.

Empress Ma's face turned red, as if she was not breathing well, so she could only suppress her anger, raised her head and replied, "In the carriage behind."

The little princess they were talking about was the eldest daughter of the prince Zhu Wenkui, named Nanping, who was granted the title of Princess Luocheng (Jianwenfeng) at birth.Zhu Nanping's biological mother had dystocia and died after giving birth to a daughter. Wen Kui later married a maid in a Taoist temple on the spot, and had affairs with many women while she was away, but she did not have any children.

Yao Ji found out that Wen Kui had only one daughter, so she didn't have any malicious intentions for the time being.The situation of the princesses and princesses in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was very sad. In the early period, these women were better, but they had no political effect; they were completely different from the status of the royal clan daughters in the Han and Tang Dynasties.Just like the youngest sister of Emperor Jianwen, she fell into the hands of her uncle Zhu Di after the Battle of Jingnan. Zhu Di killed countless people, but he didn't bother to touch Jianwen's younger sister.

Yao Ji also had the same mentality, she didn't feel that Wen Kui's daughter could pose any threat at all.

Empress Ma asked her granddaughter to get out of the carriage, and she saw a little girl in her early ten years old, she only looked at Yao Ji with her clear eyes, she didn't make a sound, she seemed a little introverted.Empress Ma ordered: "This is Concubine Yao."

In fact, members of the royal family are related, so they can be called kinder.However, Empress Ma ordered so, and Zhu Nanping only said three words: "Concubine Yao."

Yao Ji didn't care about it, and showed a kind smile: "When I was in the palace, I was only so old."

Empress Ma suddenly grasped the excuse, and said, "Concubine Yao Gui cares about Nanping so much, does she miss her grandson? This is up to her family." This was said abruptly, but Yao Ji was very smart, and immediately understood the meaning. Erlai: Empress Ma finally found something better than herself, that is, she became a grandmother, but Yao Ji did not.

Yao Ji felt annoyed and laughed after hearing this, verbally she didn't want to quarrel with Empress Ma, but she paid back with her eyes.