box of hearts

Chapter 145 Congratulations to the Groom (15)
Wang's hands were stretched out from the elegant and noble rose purple satin jacket, and took Xihe's hand, "When I heard that my sister was not feeling well, I was very concerned about it. How is it? Has the imperial doctor seen it?"

"I've seen it. It's nothing serious. Sister, sit inside."

After the two sat down, Mrs. Wang pointed her nose and sniffed, "Hey, what kind of incense is this? I don't think my sister used it before."

Xihe is still half crooked, with a lazy expression on his face, "Just because of my anger recently, the hospital specially prepared it, called 'Ningyuanxiang', it is somewhat useful, it is not so bad to burn a furnace between the chest and diaphragm in the morning It hurts, so I always use this recently."

Mrs. Wang was no longer bitter and mean, but she was very kind, "Since it is good, I will continue to use it. My sister's body is always strong, so don't worry about some minor problems. As long as you are healthy and recuperate, you will be able to take the medicine sooner rather than later." .”

"Borrow my sister." Xihe entrusted a red and sapphire spider pendant hanging from Changle's bun, "Sister, don't call me this one, just ask Wu Ran to light the hookah for my sister. My sister is used to it." The shredded tobacco 'Jinhubao' has a floral fragrance, which is also very soothing."

Mrs. Wang showed a smile, and two tassel pearl hairpins lightly touched her cheeks, and the fragrance overflowed, "Since my sister said so, I will take a couple of sips. I have been addicted these years, and I can't live without it for a day. Wu Ran, put on a cigarette .”

Wang puffed on the hookah for a while, and with the smoke dispersed, there were some light gossips: "Recently, I keep thinking about the past... So many years have passed in a flash... Seeing that the emperor is getting older... ...Yesterday I dreamed about the late emperor again..."

Xi He responded without a sound, feeling a little sleepy, but was woken up by a single sentence.In fact, this sentence, Wang asked very lightly:
"Sister, do you still remember Concubine Shu?"

Ah, concubine Shu, how could I forget!With a beautiful waist and a coquettish smile, Liugong Fendai has no color.Since she entered the palace, except for her bedroom and alchemy room, no one has seen the emperor anywhere else, so that the empress Wang called her "humeizi" by name.Later, Hu Meizi became pregnant, and she was more loved by thousands of people. She often said that the child in her womb would be established as the crown prince, and she would be promoted to the imperial concubine. When she was proud, she even spoke disrespectfully to the queen.But before the belly could proudly take shape, the emperor died—naked on top of her.The rancor finally erupted.Concubine Shu was ordered to die while she was just four months pregnant. It is said that her death was tragic.

This is the sexiest stroke in the harem, just thinking about it will make Xihe's heart tremble.She sat upright and glanced at her, but Mrs. Wang just smoked on the other side of the kang, and then continued for a long time: "Oh, after all, they are two brothers. Look at the third master, you don't know how to cherish yourself." The body, it is said that there is no black or white, only mixed with that small class of servants, addicted to women's sex."

Mrs. Wang always referred to her as the "Prince Regent" in a respectful and far-flung way, but she suddenly adopted the concerned tone of her elder sister-in-law, making Xihe even more uncertain how to answer.

Seeming to have some insight, Wang turned her face away and looked straight at her and explained: "The reforms are flourishing, and it all depends on the third master at the helm. If the third master is good, the country will be good."

Xi He was suspicious and vigilant, and said with a little hesitation: "I'm afraid that the third master is good or bad, my sister and I can't catch up."

"Then find someone who is close to the water to pipe it for us," Mrs. Wang spat out the cigarette holder, lowering her eyes in a moody manner, "Maybe it will be fine."

Like a sea monster drilled out of the narrow mouth of the bottle, a puff of cloudy blue smoke spewed out from her delicate nostrils.

Soon it will be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.At the end of the Shen Dynasty, from Jinshui Bridge to Wumen Gate, a group of eight sedan chairs drove in and stopped in front of Wufeng Tower.When the sedan chair landed, Qi She, the Regent, stepped out of a grand dress. The apricot-yellow python robe on his body was embroidered with five-clawed dragons on the front and back. The seawater river cliff, the sky-reaching crown on the head plus Jinbo Mountain, with cicadas attached, and Shi Zhucui.He has a high posture and is as bright as a god.

He hurried straight up the tower, and as soon as he entered the palace, he immediately knelt down and blamed himself: "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty Wan'an, forgive me for being late."

The Empress Dowager Xihe and the Young Emperor Qi Hong sat on the two ends of the imperial couch, one on the left and one on the right. Xihe didn't think it was disobedient, but instead smiled repeatedly: "There are so many miscellaneous things in the new year, which one do you not want the third master to take care of? Let's talk about the third master It's not too late, it turns out that the emperor and I arrived earlier."

After the Buddhist hall turned against each other, Qi She had already felt remorse.On the first and third day of the first lunar month, the close family members came to the palace to celebrate the New Year. He repeatedly looked for opportunities to apologize to Xi He, but Xi He only put on a mask of a dimple.He knew that with her personality, she would never let it go, so now whenever he looked at this smiling face, he always felt a little uneasy.Immediately, he only made his tone more respectful:
"Thank you Empress Dowager for your understanding. I still have one thing to ask for forgiveness from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Now that the financial reform is on the right track, but if we want to completely reverse the situation of being unable to make ends meet for many years, we must not only reform the tax system to increase financial resources, but also tighten spending. In order to prevent extravagance. The annual lantern festival in the palace costs a lot of money, so the regulations have to be reduced, just to suit the occasion. The grand event is cancelled, and all officials can go to the lantern market outside Donghuamen to have fun with the people, but the empress dowager, emperor."

Xihe still responded with a smile: "Bright lights are just a pleasure for the moment, and a rich treasury is a long-term blessing. The third master is dedicated to benefiting the country, what's wrong with it?"

"That's right," the young emperor Qi Hong wore a brand-new long-sleeved dragon gown, which made his features look even more delicate against his heightened figure, and he rarely laughed wantonly, "In the past, when we looked at the lanterns, those relatives of the emperor, the relatives of the imperial court, and the old Hanlin Crowded in a room, I dare not even speak out, how good it is today, with my mother and uncle accompanying me, I feel very comfortable, and I should do this every year in the future."

Xihe covered her mouth with her sleeves and smiled. She wore a phoenix spreading its wings and eight treasure crowns on her head, and a Jiluan dot emerald crown on the back of her head[14]. Caisi seemed to be in a happy mood.Then she removed her sleeves and smiled at Qi She, who was on the ground, scooped up her hands, "Sir, get up and sit down, today is the holiday, let's talk about family rituals instead of national ones. The third master came from outside and was so cold Quite right? Ying Xi, go and put the glutinous rice balls into a bowl to warm up the third master."

She watched Qi She sit down on the grand teacher's chair covered with leather cushions, took a sip of the tea cup on the desk, and said softly: "The empress dowager also planned to come to watch the lantern together. But my sister is a bit sick today, I'm afraid it will be even more windy when I come upstairs, the third master will find time to go to Ciqing Palace tomorrow, and thank my sister personally."

As Xi He expected, Qi She showed a surprised expression, "Thank you?"

"Oh, that's what happened." Xihe's smile was deep but smooth, like a dangerous river with nine twists and eighteen bends. "Recently, there has been a rumor that the third master disregarded the dignity of the court and sang and prostituted together." Prostitutes are entangled. Originally, this kind of malicious rumors should be ignored. However, in this troubled time, it is inevitable that some people with ulterior motives will take advantage of it. A concubine is in charge of the concubine. I have met the concubine Xiangshou in the mansion several times, and I think it is very good. The only shortcoming is that she is not born well. It happened that the mother, the empress dowager, heard that she specially gave her grace and accepted her. As a younger sister, her name is included in the royal family tree. With this status, coupled with the beauty and virtuousness of the concubine, she is worthy of being a concubine. We have discussed with the two palaces, and the two sisters will prepare the dowry for the bride. The emperor personally directs Marriage, and this year, the wedding will be held in a glorious manner. With a legitimate concubine in the palace, won't those groundless remarks be self-defeating?"

Smiling, she looked directly at him.Xihe will never forget the humiliation this man gave her in front of the Buddha.And Qi She was also looking straight ahead, with lightning and thunder rolling between his brows, "There is already a Zhan family in the minister's mansion, so it seems inappropriate to restore the main concubine."

"That's wrong," Xi He immediately retorted, "The title given to the Zhan family by the prince is the second concubine, but the title is the same as the deputy wife. The prince's main wife can only be the princess."

"Even so, Jinshi Concubine is the main concubine, and there is no need for the wedding ceremony."

"It's even more wrong. We are not 'Jin', but 'marry'! Xiangshou is no longer the concubine of the prince, but the daughter of the royal family. Marrying the daughter of someone else, how can it be a decent thing to do?" A happy event?" Xihe, in a funny tone, happily enjoyed the helpless man's desperation, "Why, mother empress dowager, holy mother empress dowager, plus the emperor's three favors, the third master will return Don't you feel that you don't have enough face? If you don't say anything for a long time, don't you intend to defy your kindness?"

"Yes, Uncle Emperor," Qi Hong looked at him innocently, "Don't waste all the painstaking efforts of my mother and I."

The thunder and lightning on Qi She's face disappeared in the night, he put away his hesitation, and got down from his seat to worship, "I am ashamed, I have to worry about the Queen Mother and the emperor's private affairs for my minister. I accept the decree, thank you."

Qi Hong, who was still a big child, couldn't see the battle between adults in the city, so he just clapped his hands happily, "Congratulations to the emperor's great joy! The emperor's uncle must be secretly regretting it. If I knew this year's big wedding, I would mention 'putting an end to extravagant expenses' next year." One item, this time I won a lot of dowry, haha!"

This old supervisor, Yingxi, has come close to him, and since he was promoted to be the chief inspector of ceremonies, he has raised his feet in front of the big and small mink pendants in the palace to show his dominance, but in front of his master, he has always been pointing. The servant facing the west, with his back bent and his head hooked, did not dare to look straight at his eyes, "I would like to report to the Queen Mother, the Emperor, and the Prince, that the hour of You has arrived."

"Oh," Qi Hong ordered calmly, despite his uncontrollable excitement, he strictly guarded the emperor's majesty, "then light the lamp."

The echo was mediocre, another eunuch's cock-duck voice rang in front of the city tower, "Light up the lamp—"

(End of this chapter)