Leader Lan Palace

Chapter 2567 Nine Volumes 49 Reaching the Sky in One Step

On the third day of February, the emperor entrusted the empress dowager to set off from Yuanmingyuan to tour Mount Tai and Qufu in the east.

This time the accompanying concubines included Imperial Concubine, Concubine Qing, Concubine Ying, Concubine Yu, Concubine Rong, and Concubine Shun.

Among the accompanying concubines, only Concubine Shun is a newcomer.Judging from this kind of encounter, people who don't know what's inside are enough to discuss in private, saying that Concubine Shun is indeed the emperor's new favorite.

The Empress Dowager is very happy about such a situation; but Yong Changzai once again lost the opportunity to accompany the Empress Dowager on tour, and she has to watch Concubine Shun's pride. .

She knew that, at least for now, her position was on the same side as Concubine Shun.Concubine Shun was favored, she could only show her happiness in front of the Empress Dowager and the people in the Empress Dowager's palace.

Before Concubine Shun left, Yong Changzai hurriedly cut a cloak out of his own material and sent it to Concubine Shun.

"...This time the emperor is entrusting the empress dowager to tour the east, and he still has to go by water. This cloak is made of garnet red satin and gold. On the waterway in early spring, the water and the sky are blue, and the new willows on both sides are light. Green, they say 'Pomegranate flowers shine in the water', this cloak made of pomegranate red glittering gold satin must be the brightest and most beautiful for Concubine Shun."

"The concubine Shun is the youngest and most beautiful among the hosts accompanying her. If she puts on this cloak again, she will be even more powerful. I believe that the emperor will stand on top of the imperial boat, and he will stand in front of everyone." Among them, the first thing I saw was Concubine Shun going."

Concubine Shun has also been a little unaccustomed to Yongchang's sudden overtures recently.This is simply the opposite, and suddenly turned around directly, which caught people by surprise.

But for a young woman who can accompany the emperor on a tour with all the concubines, who wouldn't want to win the emperor's favor?

That good-looking dress is a must.

However, Concubine Shun also has an unspeakable secret - her family background is high, but because of a mistake, Ama Aibida managed to return to Beijing from Yili to recuperate from illness. At this time, she dared not make any mistakes and asked the emperor to seize any more excuses. .

Shun Concubine's mother's family didn't dare to send the family's things to the palace anymore, and in recent years, Shun Concubine only lived by referring to the regulations in the palace and the rewards from the Empress Dowager.But even when he reached the position of concubine, the annual silver was only 200 taels, and there were so many festivals in the palace, it was not enough.

As for the clothing materials for the concubine, such as python satin, gold-woven satin, glitter satin, etc., there is only one piece per year; she is young and loves new clothes, and she has just made new clothes during the Chinese New Year, so she will be gone soon. used.

The glittering gold satin cloak that Yongchang presented at this moment really solved her urgent need.

"How can I feel sorry for this?" Although Concubine Shun grabbed the cloak, she still refused, "Yongchang is not much for you, and this cloak is made of a lot of waste... ...I always gave it to me, so it's because you didn't wear it yourself?"

Yongchang lowered his head and smiled regretfully, "Look at what the concubine Shun said, it made my concubine feel ashamed. The concubine stayed in the palace, and this time I couldn't accompany her. It's a pity to keep such fresh and good materials." After all, there is no use for it."

Yong Chang was talking sadly, "Besides, the concubine Shun knows that the concubine has just been demoted by the emperor, and she is only a tiny presence at this moment. If she still dares to wear such bright and eye-catching materials, wouldn't the emperor want her to wear it?" Blame my concubine for being heartless?"

"My concubine has been despised by the emperor. How can it be compared to Empress Shun who is the new favorite... Such bright and beautiful satin should be worn by the emperor's new favorite like Empress Shun. This color is most suitable for the face of Empress Shun. His good looks, the emperor also likes it when he sees it, doesn't he?"

Concubine Shun's cheeks were red, it really was the color of durian flowers.

No matter how the emperor actually treats her, at least on the surface, she is the emperor's new favorite—or even the only new favorite.

Even though this identity has not been confirmed yet, all of the current high-ranking concubines are around 40 years old, and there is no hope for them to spread their wings for the royal family.That is to say, their position has also come to an end, and there is no room for promotion anymore.

Among the young people, there are only three of them, Lan Guiren and Yongchang.

Lan Changzai is a niece, a member of the family; Yongchang also understands this time and admits to being submissive.

Concubine Shun felt that her title was really good, and it would really be smooth sailing from now on.

According to this situation, it will be a matter of time before she becomes favored, or in other words, further gives birth to an heir for the emperor.
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The emperor followed the empress dowager to Qufu by waterway first, and went to Queli to pay homage to the sage Confucius.

This year's east tour of Shandong is not comparable to the scale of the south tour, and the emperor wants to save money, so only twelve ships of all sizes are prepared.

Concubine Shun has this cloak that is always helping her, standing on the "Anfu Cape", in the blue water and sky, it is really unique and bright.

Concubine Shun also deserves the phrase "Liuhua shines on the water".

Whenever the emperor boarded the empress dowager's royal boat to pay his respects, the empress dowager always quietly looked at her son's expression.

Sure enough, the son's eyes had fallen on Concubine Shun many times.

Concubine Shun is young, she is the youngest among all the accompanying concubines.Among a group of 40-year-old concubines, the 20-year-old Shun concubine is so fresh that she seems to be able to shine; what's more, the garnet red on her body, with the texture of shiny satin, is also among all the accompanying concubines , the only one that Concubine Shun dared to wear.

Seeing the emperor like this, the empress dowager finally felt relieved and smiled secretly.
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Leaving Qufu, and then landed from Dezhou, the emperor entrusted the empress dowager to climb Mount Tai, and went to Bixia Palace to offer incense.

The opportunity that the Empress Dowager had been waiting for finally came.

When the emperor climbed Mount Tai, he naturally wanted to go to the "Cloud Nest" palace on the top of the mountain, and the empress dowager wanted to stay in the palace under the eighteen plates because of her advanced age.The Empress Dowager said: "Concubine Huang, Concubine Qing, Concubine Ying, Concubine Yu, Concubine Rong, all of them are not young. I watched them go to Mount Tai, and they were all tired. Especially Concubine Huang, don't worry about it anymore. Back to the youthful vigor in the 13th year of Qianlong~”

After the empress dowager spoke up to this point, Wanxi already knew it in her heart.With a slight smile, she quietly waited for the Empress Dowager's next words.

The empress dowager glanced at Wanxi carefully, and then said to the emperor: "When you go to Mount Tai, they are too late to care about themselves, so how can they serve you? Let Concubine Shun accompany you. She is young and is the first When you come back to Mount Tai, I will serve you well, and you can talk to her about the various wonderful sects of Mount Tai along the way."

After the empress dowager finished speaking, she took another look at Wanxi, "The imperial concubine has been by my side all these years, and she has won my heart. Let the imperial concubine stay and live with me under Shibapan."

The emperor turned his eyes to look over, and his gaze collided with Wanxi quietly.

Wanxi rolled her eyes, and then circled around the emperor's belt again.

The emperor actually understood and lowered his head with a low smile.

After 30 years of husband and wife, many heart-to-heart exchanges have long been without words. Just a look and a smile are enough.

This year is the empress dowager's [-]th birthday, the emperor is not disobedient in everything, so he agreed with a smile.
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The emperor climbed to the "Cloud Nest" palace on the top of the mountain, this time Wanxi herself was the middle palace, and the young man became today's concubine; it seems that the time in the 13th year of Qianlong was reversed.

Wanxi also has a hundred reasons, just like the empress Xiaoxian back then, always and in everything she was wary of newcomers.

But Wanxi didn't. Instead, she focused on the sanctity of the mountains and rivers, and played happily with the empress dowager every day.

Even the empress dowager looked at her smile carefully several times, but she didn't find any untruth.

Even the empress dowager had to murmur to Anyi, "The imperial concubine is really going to live a fine life in the harem."

It is said that there are many women in the harem who hate women, but how many women who have entered the harem still remember what a real smile is?But it's all a pretense, sometimes even knocking out teeth and swallowing blood.

But at this moment, the imperial concubine was not unhappy because of the concubine Shun, on the contrary, she really put her love on the mountains and rivers and enjoyed the joy of the mountains and rivers.

Anyi said casually, "That's true~ Think about the fact that the imperial concubine has reached this age, the prince and the princess have given birth to so many, and the status is also at the imperial concubine's place. What else is there for her to fight for, and what is there to be dissatisfied with?" ?”

"If you have so many imperial concubines, if you still have to guard against everything at this time, then she is defeating her own luck."

The empress dowager sighed, "The truth is simple, but in the past, Xiaoxian and Nala couldn't do it."

In any case, as long as the imperial concubine does not confront her, it will be fine.She placed the concubine Shun by the emperor's side, if the imperial concubine stood side by side, or slumped in front of her, then she would not let her go.

But the imperial concubine is like this now, not only can she find no faults, but she feels a little bit uncomfortable.Therefore, for breakfast and dinner every day, instead of asking the imperial concubine to stand and serve them, they personally invite the imperial concubine to sit down and eat together.

"It would be troublesome if you had to give you a special reward to eat your food. You have to ask them to make extra preparations. It's better to sit down and use it together. Everything is ready-made and hot."

Wanxi was delighted, so she generously sat down and had a meal together.

Taking a step back, she allowed Concubine Shun to go, and in return, her relationship with the Empress Dowager improved.

Sai Weng lost his horse, how do you know it is not a blessing?
Besides, this year is the Empress Dowager's [-]th birthday, if she wants to get stuck with the Empress Dowager, it would be her unfilial daughter-in-law, let alone embarrassing the Emperor again?

At the age of eighty, such a life span is rare among the people, let alone the empress dowager.It doesn't matter which year you have friction with the empress dowager, but you can't rush in this year.
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"Don't worry~" Yuqin couldn't hold back anymore, and came to whisper to Wanxi.

Wanxi rolled her eyes lightly, "What is sister worried about?"

"What else can I worry about?" Yuqin sighed, "The current situation is like the reverse of the situation in Qianlong's 13th year."

Didn't Nala warn Wanxi before his death, and now that the person on the top of the harem is replaced by Wanxi, it is no longer Wanxi who steals other people's favor, but there are newcomers who will aim at Wanxi and come to grab her. Wanxi everything.

Wanxi smiled and lowered her eyes, "Has the situation in those years been reversed? Why did my sister forget that today's emperor is 61 years old; and 23 years ago, the emperor was only in his thirties..."

Yuqin was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed "puchier".

"No! You are still smart, I forgot this part!"

Wanxi blinked and smiled lightly, "So what are new and old people? In this harem, people are never the same. How can fate and fate be the same? Besides, if you say the word 'fate', the key is just 'timing'." 'That's all. If the timing is right, the fate will be there, and everything will go smoothly; but if the timing is not right, if there is no fate, then even if you force it, you will not get what you want."

Yuqin was relieved, clapped her hands and laughed, "No! Let's not say that Concubine Shun is not good, but I have to say that the timing that Concubine Shun has caught up with is really not good—she is coming into the palace, the Emperor She is already sixty, even if she is as beautiful as a fairy, the emperor must have that body!"

Wan Xi bowed her head with a smile, "There is one more thing, I am too embarrassed to tell my sister——Before the emperor left Beijing, he just moved his waist."

Surprised, Yuqin raised her eyes to stare at Wanxi.The corners of the two mouths were already raised, and they were about to burst out laughing.

Wanxi quickly waved her hands, "Sister, don't think about it! That's not the case..."

In fact, it was the first day of February. In order to tell the emperor about the mat, she ended up sitting and lying on the ground for a long time.

After all, he is in his 60s, and no matter how he keeps bowing, he is still at this age.

Yuqin clapped her palms and smiled lightly, "I said that day I seemed to see you staring at the emperor's waist and slipping away. Oh, then this time, although Concubine Shun accompanied the emperor to the Daiding Palace, I'm afraid it will be in vain again. .”
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It was precisely because the emperor flinched this time that the emperor, who had always insisted on riding his own horse when going on tour in previous years, took a proper ride after landing this time.When climbing a mountain, you have to sit in a sedan chair.

As a result, the task of the imperial guards has been aggravated.

At this time, the emperor discovered that when he was climbing Mount Tai, there was a Lanling guard carrying a sedan chair named Qing Hai, who could not speak Mandarin.The emperor spoke to him in Manchu, and he could not answer at all.

Disappointed, the emperor dismissed Qing Hai's Lan Ling guards.

The emperor also issued a decree, ordering that "the minister in charge should teach the subordinates carefully, and if there are still those who do not know Qingyu, the minister in charge will be punished together. Tong Xing will tell you about it."

As soon as this decree was issued, all the ministers in the interior panicked, and hurriedly selected those who were proficient in Manchu to serve in front of the imperial court.

At this time, they were on patrol, and the number of guards brought along on the trip was already limited; at this time, they had to be selected from among them, and there were fewer people available for a while.This caused the internal ministers to rack their brains, and even promoted some guards who were not qualified to walk in front of the imperial court, and transferred them to serve in front of the imperial court.

No one could have imagined that such a trivial matter would give a person the most important opportunity in his life, so that this person could finally walk to the emperor's side in a dignified manner.

This person is He Shen.
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Heshen was selected into the Xian'an Palace official school at the age of ten, where he received the most rigorous official school education, proficient in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages, and even read the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly.

He had just been awarded the title of third-class bodyguard because of his family's position as the third-class captain of light vehicles.

Such a person, of course, the ministers can't wait to dig three feet into the ground to serve in front of the imperial court.

Besides, Heshen is 22 years old this year, when he is young and strong.Being referred to the front of the imperial court by the ministers of the interior, assisting in carrying the sedan chair to wait for the emperor to climb the mountain, it is very effective.

Coupled with He Shen's handsome appearance, the emperor naturally paid attention to carrying the sedan chair in front of Jianyu.

Because of the matter of retiring Lan Ling's guard Qing Hai, the emperor wanted to check the Manchu language of the imperial guards.The emperor purposely spoke to this young man in Manchu, and He Shen answered the questions fluently without any hesitation.

From this, the emperor knew Heshen's family background, and knew that his ancestors were meritorious officials who won the title of captain of Qingche for the family with military merits; and that he was Yinglian's grandson-in-law, which made the emperor pay special attention to this young man.

The emperor wanted to take the school exam, so he asked about learning, but He Shen almost knew all the four books and five classics by heart, and he could understand any sentence the emperor deliberately used, and he was able to follow the next sentence.

The emperor was all pleasantly surprised, how could he have thought that there was such a young man with both civil and military skills hidden beside him!
After many days of getting along with the monarch and his ministers, the emperor knew better that He Shen had taken the imperial examination, but it was a pity that he lost his name.The emperor asked He Shen if he still remembered the papers he answered that day, but He Shen recited them without missing a word.

The emperor couldn't help admiring, "Based on your article, Japan should be selected. It seems that the minister who checked the papers delayed you."

This time during his eastward tour of Beijing, the emperor decreed that He Shen should be picked up in the "sticky pole place", and he has officially become the emperor's personal bodyguard since then.
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On March [-]th, silkworm ceremony.

Since the Imperial Concubine and Concubine Qing are both on their way out on tour, Beijing sent a concubine to act on their behalf, so it is natural to choose a candidate above the concubine position.

Before the empress dowager left Beijing, she had already discussed with the emperor that this task should be handed over to concubine Shu.

Concubine Shu was originally above the rank of concubine, the highest ranking one, since Concubine Huang Guifei and Concubine Qing were not there, it was reasonable to ask Concubine Shu to salute on her behalf.

This time Concubine Shu performing silkworm ceremony on behalf of her is of great significance: Concubine Shu is the adoptive mother of Yongxuan, after the emperor issued decrees to scold Yongxuan and Yongxuan one after another, Yongxuan's situation is also a bit embarrassing.At this time, Concubine Shu was able to perform the silkworm kissing ceremony on her behalf, which relieved Yongxuan's predicament a lot.

Concubine Shu returned to the Old Summer Palace after performing the silkworm kissing ceremony, and all the concubines who had stayed in Beijing came to congratulate her.

Yongchang specially said with a smile in front of Concubine Shu, "This time, the Empress Dowager insisted that Concubine Shu perform the silkworm ceremony on her behalf... Although the Empress Dowager is on the east tour, she always misses Concubine Shu Empress."

Concubine Shu hurriedly stood up and turned towards the east: "I thank the Empress Dowager for your kindness."

Yongchang glanced at Concubine Shu's expression from the sidelines, and said with a smile, "Since Concubine Shu is the highest ranking concubine, it is reasonable for Concubine Shu to perform silkworm kissing ceremony on behalf of Imperial Concubine Qing and Imperial Concubine Qing. middle."

"Empress Concubine Shu is also afraid, why does this concubine say that the Empress Dowager 'forces' to let Empress Concubine Shu salute..."

Concubine Shu smiled, "There is no certain cleaning up? But it's all the grace of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor."

Yong Chang lowered his head with a smile on his face, "... I heard that the emperor didn't want to order you, Concubine Shu, to salute. I don't know why, but I just heard that the emperor vaguely mentioned the fourth elder brother in front of the empress dowager." Go with Eighth Brother."

(End of this chapter)