Yanyuntai·One

Chapter 2
It was only three days before the trip, and the little prince born to Empress Zhen had a high fever.Empress Zhen had no choice but to pick it up with her own hands, and went to find Empress Xiao Sa Gezhi.

At this moment in Empress Sa Gezhi's palace, there were already several concubines crowding in front of her, complaining to each other.

Since the founding of the Liao Kingdom, although it also established Seoul and built the imperial palace, the palace is different from the Han court. Many palaces only have walls and gates to enter the interior, but they still follow the customs of the Khitan people. built a dome and lived in tents.

Before Sejong succeeded to the throne, he followed Taizong Deguang to Bianliang City, saw the exquisite and gorgeous Han Dynasty palace with his own eyes, and established a Han queen like Zhen Hou, so the Liao Palace became half Han and half Hu.The place where Sejong and Empress Zhen live is a building of the Han family, while the Empress Dowager and Empress Xiao Sagezhi still live in the palace tent, maintaining the old customs.This kind of palace tent is not an ordinary tent, but a main tent surrounded by several small tents, and the main tent is separated by various felt screens, which is simpler and more convenient than the palace room.

Empress Xiao Sage was only two years younger than Sejong. She was born in the descendant clan and only learned horseback riding and archery since she was a child. She looked full of vigor and wildness of a Khitan woman.Dressed in a bright red beard, she was sitting on the kang with her newborn daughter in one hand, and her four-year-old second son Mingyu with the other.

The concubines who complained in front of her were not from descendants.In the past when Shizong was fighting in the army, Sage only stayed with the Empress Dowager Shulu in Shangjing, so he recruited several servants.After Sejong became proud of the Zhen family, apart from maintaining respect for Sage and getting close to him occasionally, the other concubines hadn't even seen the emperor's clothes for a long time, and he couldn't help but feel resentful.Hearing that Sa Gezhi was going south with Shizong this time, he couldn't help but go to her to curry favor, and incidentally spoke bad things about Empress Zhen.

"Queen, I heard that the lord is going to go south again this time, you can no longer let that Han woman dominate the lord..."

"That's right, she's so old and domineering, that's not acceptable. Heavenly emperors, earthly empresses, and empresses are all equal. What are those Han girls!"

"Yes, empress, this time you have to show the prestige of our Khitan woman, and you can't let her despise the descendants of the Xiao family and continue to favor her like this."

Sage was only hugging his daughter and coaxing his son while his son was still fussing. He didn't have the heart to listen to their noise, so he waved impatiently: "Have you said enough?"

The concubines were talking vigorously, and they were already impatient when they heard the queen's voice. Frightened by her power, they immediately shut up.

Sage only looked at these concubines, although they were dressed in red and willow green, but they looked sour and mean, not to mention that Wu Yu didn't like them, even if he looked at them himself, he didn't have much patience: "You know the emperor, Queen of the Earth, you should know what the world can tolerate, why would you be jealous of this little bit? You guys don't have the heart of a Khitan woman. Bar!"

The concubine curled her lips while sipping: "Queen, I also feel sorry for you!"

"What can I complain about? Sister Zhen is smart and knowledgeable. She can help Wu Yu and make our Daliao prosperous. She is more qualified than me to be the queen." Sage was only annoyed in his heart, and his voice was loud He was a little older, but he didn't know that Empress Zhen took her son outside the door and happened to hear it.The maids outside the door only wanted to salute when they saw Queen Zhen coming. When they heard Sage's words from the room, they looked at Queen Zhen and saw her nodding. They saluted and said, "See Queen Zhen." people.

Sage only heard the voice, and couldn't help being startled: "Sister Zhen is here." He glanced at the few concubines in the tent, everyone said that the bad things about Queen Zhen just now were very enthusiastic, and when they heard Queen Zhen coming, they remembered Shizong's treatment of Queen Zhen. Her face turned pale with fright, and she looked at Sa Gezhi as if asking for help.

Sa Ge didn't bother to pay attention to them, he just waved his hand and asked them to go out from the other side of the tent first, so as not to bump into Empress Zhen, and said loudly: "Sister Zhen, please come in."

After she finished speaking, on the other side of the kang, Mingyu jumped up excitedly when he heard the voice outside, and rushed out: "Ms. Zhen——"

Sage stretched out his hand, skillfully grabbed the braid on top of his head and pulled it back, shouting: "Stay here and don't move."

This child is four years old this year, at the age when he is the liveliest and most troublesome.Fortunately, Sage had already raised his eldest son, Hou Ah Bu, who was also extremely naughty.Sage had only practiced on Hou Abu, and he was naturally familiar with suppressing Mingjian. Seeing him mischievous was a simple and rough beating, so it was difficult for Mingjian to make tricks in front of Sage.

A few days ago, Sage was only one month old. Empress Zhen was afraid that the child would be too naughty and affect her pregnancy, so she said that she would take care of Mingyu.

The son born to Empress Zhen, who was Sejong's third son, was only named Khitan and was one year younger than Ming.Zhen Hou said that the two brothers could be companions together, but the two monkeys got together and became naughty several times, turning Zhen Hou's palace upside down.Empress Zhen is a gentleman, and she has just started raising children, and she can barely hold on to one of them alone. Even if she is resourceful, she has no choice but to take these two children together. Yuezi quickly returned the leather monkey.

Ming Yu returned to his biological mother and was put on the bridle again, missing the naughty days in Zhen Hou's palace even more.Hearing that Empress Zhen came, she was naturally very excited. She called "Ms. Zhen" and jumped off the kang to run out.Sage held him down with one hand, handed the baby to the nurse with the other hand, and got ready to greet him.

The maid raised the curtain, and Empress Zhen had already walked in holding Zhi Mo's hand. Seeing this, she hurriedly stepped forward to hold Sa Gezhi, and persuaded: "Sister, don't get up, just sit like this." The two looked at each other and smiled.

Unlike the suspicions of the concubines, Sage has no hatred for Empress Zhen, her "rival in love" who is 15 years older than her.After entering the palace on the first day after Zhen Zhen, the two got along very well, like sisters, like mother and daughter.Although it was due to Empress Zhen's intelligence and exquisiteness, it was also because Sage never held hostility towards Empress Zhen from the very beginning.With just one glance, Queen Zhen can tell which people can work hard to resolve misunderstandings and which people will never accept her overtures.

As soon as the two met, Ming Yi threw himself into Empress Zhen's arms: "Miss Zhen, I'm going to play in your palace." After saying that, he held his missing hand: "Third brother, let's go out to play."

Just not in a bad mood, he replied "Yes" in a nasal voice.Empress Zhen hurriedly stopped Ming Yan: "Good boy, I'm not sick, be careful not to give you any sickness."

Sage pulled Zhimo, and touched his forehead: "What's wrong with Zhimo?"

Empress Zhen frowned slightly: "He has a fever, and I was about to entrust him to my sister to take care of him."

Sage only thought, "Is it for the Southern Expedition?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go south with the Lord, but he's been sick for the past few days. The battle is hard, I'm afraid he'll be too young..."

Sage only smiled wryly, and waved his hand to stop Empress Zhen's words: "I understand what my sister means, but this time, I also want to go south with the Lord!"

Empress Zhen was startled: "You just gave birth to confinement, how could you..."

Sage only sighed softly, looked at Queen Zhen, and said with some embarrassment: "Sister Zhen, don't worry too much. A few days ago, Queen Mother sent someone to tell me that I should go to Xianggu Mountain to worship our ancestors..."

When Zhen Hou heard it, he understood.She was very clear about the Queen Mother's opinion of her, so she immediately asked: "Are you alone, or is she taking you with me?"

"It's my mother who wants to take me with me."

The ancestor worship in Xianggu Mountain was originally a ceremony before the Southern Expedition.Now the Queen Mother not only wants to go by herself, but also insists on taking Sagezhi with her. It is obvious that she is going to use Sagezhi's identity to suppress her and exclude her from the ancestor worship.Empress Zhen read all the world, how could she take such thoughts of the queen mother to heart, she only sighed secretly.Seeing that Sage only looked at her expression with guilt, she smiled instead, and comforted Sage: "Since the queen mother has such a meaning, we should naturally be filial and obey the queen mother."

Zhenhou has seen a lot of people in her life, and she knows how to deal with them just by looking at them with her eyes.If you can make a good relationship, she naturally has the means to make a good relationship; if you can't make a good relationship, she will definitely not waste time.

She knew very well that the empress dowager's perception of herself had never been better.Not only because she is a Han woman, but also because the queen mother sympathizes with Sa Gezhi.The most important and embarrassing reason is that the Queen Mother is actually the same age as her.

The children of the prairie gave birth early, the Queen Mother gave birth to Sejong at the age of 13, and Empress Zhen happened to be 13 years older than Sejong.When she first met the queen mother, Sejong had just successfully seized the throne and became emperor.When the "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law" first met, the Queen Mother froze on the spot when she asked her age.

The Empress Dowager is a Khitan woman, exposed to the sun and wind on the grassland, she has no maintenance at all, and she has given birth to several children, and it is easier to experience the throne several times.Ever since the emperor Yelubei left, she has been living under the hands of her moody and murderous mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager Shulu, and she has aged faster than others.Later Emperor Shizong raised his troops to seize the throne, and she was angered and imprisoned by the Empress Dowager Shulu.

When Sejong succeeded to the throne and she became the queen mother, she already had gray hair, thick black face, and wrinkled face.

Empress Zhen is a southern girl with a delicate appearance. She entered the Tang Palace when she was more than ten years old and stayed in the palace for more than 20 years.Although she is a palace maid, she is in the most affluent place in the world after all, and her food and clothing are all high-end. She has learned many secret recipes for maintenance in the palace, and she is also extremely intelligent. .From the Later Tang Dynasty, Later Jin Dynasty to the Liao Palace, although there were many political changes, it was none of our business after all.

So when he was over forty, he looked like someone in his thirties, with both the beauty of a young woman and the charm of a mature woman. Standing with the Queen Mother, one was a delicate flower and the other a dead tree, it was a world of difference.

Generally speaking, there is no woman who does not love beauty.After that meeting, as soon as Empress Zhen left, the Empress Dowager smashed the bronze mirror in her palace, and never allowed Empress Zhen to appear in front of her again, and even the third prince born to Empress Zhen refused to look at her glance.

No one else knew what the Queen Mother was thinking, but Queen Zhen could feel it sensitively.But only if you know it, you can't speak to others.

Sage was really embarrassed.On the one hand, she is grateful to the Empress Dowager for promoting her and protecting her, on the other hand, she also knows that this matter embarrasses Empress Zhen.She was already reluctant to part with her little girl who was only over a month old, but now seeing that she was not sick, she thought about it and said, "Sister, or I'll stay."

"Since the empress dowager intends, my sister should go. I will stay and take care of the little princess and me."

The two couldn't give in to each other, but they heard a voice from outside: "You don't have to give in, I have my own arrangements."

When the two heard Sejong's voice, they both stood up, and the maid raised the curtain.

Sejong was followed by a lady, who was Sejong's cousin, Taizong's eldest daughter, Princess Yelulu Bugu of Yan State.She was the first princess officially conferred by the Khitan after the founding of the country, and she was once an august lady[1].

She walked in with a smile: "The two empresses can just rest assured, as long as the little prince and little princess Hu Gujing are left to me."

Empress Zhen knew that she had just given birth to a daughter, so she hurriedly said, "You just gave birth, are you too tired?"

"It's okay, Siwen is going to go south with the Lord. When I turn back, I will take the child and live in the palace directly. It's just taking care of me." Princess Yan is Xiao Siwen's wife and has a very good relationship with Sejong since childhood. Because the two empresses went south together, and there was still a young prince and princess in the palace, Sejong was worried about handing it over to the concubine, so he entrusted her to take care of her in the palace.

Sage laughed too, and comforted Empress Zhen: "Sister, don't worry, our Khitan daughter is not that delicate. Princess, this is your... second daughter, right?"

When mentioning this matter, Princess Yan also felt slightly sad: "Yes, I was expecting to be a boy this time, but it turned out to be a daughter again!"

Seeing this, Sage frowned: "What about daughters? Are our Khitan daughters weaker than men? Princess, you are also a hero among women, but you don't have a son, so you can at most find a family member to adopt. Could it be that he Do you dare to think otherwise?"

Empress Zhen patted Sage reproachfully: "What a powerful sister-in-law, Siwen hasn't thought anything up yet, so you're going to accuse him of crimes?"

Princess Yan also covered her mouth and said with a smile: "Okay, I will rely on my two sisters-in-law."

Sage also laughed along the way: "Since that's the case, you have to take care of the palace for me."

"Don't worry, the two sister-in-laws."

Empress Zhen thought for a while and said, "Since my younger sister lives in the palace, I can bring your two daughters with me. I remember that the eldest daughter seems to be four years old..."

"Exactly, the older one is four years old, and his name is Hu Nian."

"You brought her into the palace, just to learn how to manage palace affairs, anyway, sooner or later you have to learn..."

Sage was only surprised: "My sister's words are strange. How can such a young child learn this?"

Empress Zhen looked at the two meaningfully: "No matter how young you are, it will be a matter of time before you enter the palace to manage palace affairs."

Sage only suddenly understood, looked at Princess Yan with a smile, and said, "I'm afraid that my kid won't be good enough for the princess' daughter."

Princess Yan also understood that what Queen Zhen said must be Shizong's words.The queen mother also confided this intention to her.She is the daughter of Emperor Taizong, and her husband is the nephew of Empress Dowager Shulu. It is normal for her daughter to be promised the future empress by the emperor.She took Sagezhi's hand and said with a smile: "My lord and empress don't dislike my girl's wild temper, so I am naturally willing."

Sage only smiled slightly, but held Queen Zhen with his other hand.Princess Yan is quite powerful, and Empress Zhen also has a son, but she said such words, which is obviously selfless in her heart.In the eyes of others, the two queens standing side by side must be fighting openly and secretly.However, from the first day when Empress Zhen met her, Sage only knew that what she wanted was different from Empress Zhen.

They are not enemies.

Notes:

[1] The Khitan people believed in shamanism, and Aogu was held by a woman of high status. In the early Khitan society, she had the color of a goddess.

(End of this chapter)