Phoenix Fight: The First Concubine

Chapter 103 Red Beans Born in the South

Jinse on the side also said cooperatively: "Isn't that right, now the empresses in the palace all praise the empresses for having a good daughter-in-law."

Concubine Hui raised her brows triumphantly, "Of course, I don't want to see whose daughter-in-law it is?"

Obviously she was very proud of Murong Wei's performance, which allowed her to earn enough face in front of the concubines in the palace.

At their age, it's just a joke to talk about competing for favor, and what they are fighting for is nothing more than a prince's reputation and a daughter-in-law's filial piety.

Concubine Hui has always been competitive, so naturally she cannot tolerate being compared to others.

When Xiao Mingrui had an accident, she was also very worried, because her family supported Xiao Mingrui, if something happened to him, would King Qi still be able to take over the throne?

Fortunately, Xiao Mingrui is fine, and the situation in front of him is even better.

"The concubine mother has won the award, and I did what I should do."

Concubine Hui was about to speak when the little maid came to report that it was Xiao Mingchen who came to pay her respects.

When Murong Wei thought that Xiao Mingchen at least knew about the situation, she became angry for a while.

Everyone of these people knew that Murong Wei was a fool, how could she not be angry?

Xiao Mingchen entered the palace, and when he saw Murong Wei was there, his heart skipped a beat.

He had heard Su De tell him before, well, now he saw the real person again.

How can this be done?
Xiao Mingchen actually got some specious news, and he is not sure if his brother really planned this matter.

But after Xiao Mingrui was safe and sound and King Qi was unlucky, although he participated in the design of this matter, he was still very shocked.

He felt that his wrist was still much worse than his brother's.

This good brother doesn't matter if he doesn't make a move, and he has always been amazing when he makes a move.

He can be so cruel to himself, who else is his opponent?
But comparing with my sister-in-law makes it difficult again.

He didn't know how Murong Wei saw it.

"Hey, the second sister-in-law is here too, what a coincidence!" Xiao Mingchen hurriedly stepped forward to greet Murong Wei, and said with a smile: "My brother greeted my sister-in-law. I heard that the second sister-in-law is sick, so I don't want to bother you. Looking at the second sister-in-law now, it seems that she has recovered from her illness?"

Murong Wei said flatly, "Don't worry about fifth brother Lao, I'm fine, I just caught a cold by accident, and I'll recover after a few days."

Seeing that her attitude was neither cold nor indifferent, Xiao Mingchen touched a soft nail and rubbed his nose in embarrassment: "Hehe...Second brother has to recover from his injuries in Jiangnan before returning. There are a lot of things going on there. According to me You might as well come back sooner."

Concubine Hui glared at him and said: "Your second brother is doing a serious job for your father, how can you come back if you don't do well?"

Xiao Mingchen nodded, and said shamefully: "That's right, I will also work for the father and share things with the second brother."

Murong Wei smiled and said: "Fifth brother is a smart person, I think he will be of the same heart with the prince and brother in the future, and his profit will cut through gold, and he will be able to solve the father's worries and problems."

Xiao Mingchen said: "Then there is still a good wife like Second Sister-in-law, Second Brother told me that he is happiest to have a good wife like Second Sister-in-law."

Murong Wei ignored his praise at all, and said flatly: "Fifth brother is too much, I'm not that good. If you say that fifth brother is not young, mother and concubine are planning a marriage for him?"

When Xiao Mingchen heard it, he was immediately speechless. How could he be talking about him?

Concubine Hui became interested, "I also said before that I wanted to find a wife for him, but this kid is still ashamed."

Xiao Mingchen's fair face immediately flushed, "Mother Concubine! I'm still young."

Concubine Hui smiled and said, "How young are you? Now that you have found your in-laws, and you are preparing for the wedding, you will not be able to get married until next year. You will be seventeen by then, and you will not be young anymore. Your father is now letting People from the Ministry of Rituals choose people, your fourth brother is also going to get married, he must be earlier than you, your brothers are going to get married either next year or the year after."

Murong Wei raised the corners of her lips, and seeing Xiao Mingchen's embarrassed face, she snorted in her heart, let your boy and brother lie to sister-in-law together!

Regardless of Xiao Mingchen's age, he usually looks quite smart, but when it comes to marrying him a princess, he is also timid.

The concubine is not a concubine to serve by his side, but a woman who will be with him for the rest of his life, and his justifiable wife, so of course he has to take care of it carefully.

"Father asked the Ministry of Rituals to choose, and Mother Concubine helped to look at it. From Mother Concubine's point of view, there will be no trouble." Murong Wei blinked narrowly: "Fifth Brother, just put your heart in your stomach."

Xiao Mingchen was very helpless by what she said, and said with a wry smile: "Okay, second sister-in-law, please don't play tricks on me."

Murong Wei glanced at him, and stopped embarrassing her.

But Concubine Hui was aroused by her, so how could she just let it go?

After Murong Wei went to Kunning Palace to pay homage to the queen, and after returning, Concubine Hui asked people to inquire about the results of the selection by the Ministry of Rites.

Since it was the prince's choice of relatives, no matter what, he had to choose among many innocent girls of the right age.

The conditions for this selection are not very simple, family background, appearance, knowledge, upbringing, all aspects have to be selected.

When it's official time, you have to enter the palace and let the queen and concubine Hui choose. Only the one selected can become the prince and concubine, and then accept the upbringing rules of the people sent by the clan's mansion.

Xiao Mingchen left Chonghua Palace with a wry smile, and said with emotion: "Only women and villains are hard to raise, women, especially women, cannot be offended."

After returning to the palace, Murong Wei received a letter from Xiao Mingrui.

In the letter, he wrote a few nasty words, and he said apologetically that he was going to recover from his injuries in Jiangnan and then deal with official business.

Murong Wei knew that he would not directly mention the conspiracy in the letter, and knew that he was using this to express his apology to her.

But who is Murong Wei, because of his one or two love poems?
After reading the letter, a mockery flashed across Jue Mei's face: "Think it's fine? I'm not so easy to fool!"

After all, she directly accepted the letter.

Lu'er reminded: "My lord also sent you a lot of gifts. They all came back from Jiangnan."

Murong Wei said indifferently: "There is nothing in the capital, and you still need to send it back from Jiangnan?"

Lu'er rubbed her nose, she felt that the concubine's temper was not very good recently, and everyone dared not speak too much for fear of making her angry.

For some reason, the concubine annoyed the prince and didn't even look at the gift.

Xiangtao boldly said: "Your servant sees some jade jewelry and even uses a guqin."

Murong Wei glanced sideways, and said after a long while: "Bring it to me and have a look."

Several servant girls brought her various gift boxes and sandalwood black lacquer boxes from Xiao Mingrui. When they opened it, they were indeed all kinds of precious jewelry, all of which were new in Jiangnan.There is also a golden phoenix hairpin with silk like jade and eight treasures, which is said to have been worn by Empress Xiao Zhou, and a red gold bracelet with silk, which is said to have been worn by Concubine Yang.

There are also Dongzhu, which are round, almost transparent, and dazzling in brilliance. Once opened, the room is full of precious light.

In addition to these jewelry, I also gave an authentic copybook by a famous artist and two musical instruments.

The jade flute is also made of red jade. The jade flute is very exquisite. It doesn't look like a musical instrument in the hand, but it looks like an exquisite work of art. It is engraved with two big characters of dragon, flying and phoenix dance... red beans.

The handwriting was quite familiar, Murong Wei recognized Xiao Mingrui's handwriting, snorted, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

It took a lot of effort for this guy.

"Red beans are born in the South, and spring comes to send a few branches. May you pick more, this thing is the most lovesick."

He named this flute "Red Dou", which is well-intentioned.

This is a metaphor for lovesickness.

Murong Wei tried to blow it, but felt that the sound was quiet, the noisy flute echoed in the air, accompanied by the wind in the bamboo forest, it was really pleasant to the ear.

It was indeed to her liking.

Murong Wei put down the flute and looked at the guqin.

The guqin has no name, and the tail of the piano looks like it has been scorched by fire. The wood on it shows cracks, which is clearly an ancient artifact.

Over time, the qin will become more fragrant, and this qin is somewhat similar to Cai Yong's Jiaowei qin.

After adjusting the piano, she tested the tightness of the strings, and she plucked the strings with satisfaction. The voice was low and deep, sometimes like the wind, sometimes like the waves of pines. .

After the strings stopped, the maidservants beside her praised: "The princess plays the piano really well."

Murong Wei got two good musical instruments, and she was in a good mood, "This piano is better, I will put it in the piano case and take good care of it. I don't know if it is the Jiaowei piano, but if it is, it will be precious."

Xiangtao murmured: "The servant girl sees that the phoenix hairpin of Empress Xiao Zhou is precious, but she is so beautiful."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Murong Wei scolded with a smile: "You got caught in the eyes of money, and I want to reward you with a piece of jewelry later, so as not to become a thief someday."

Xiangtao shyly said: "That's good, the princess should stop laughing at him, and the slaves don't understand this musical instrument, so it's better to exchange for some real money."

The atmosphere suddenly became friendly.

Murong Wei received the things, but did not reply to Xiao Mingrui's letter.

She was still angry, just to hang him and make him anxious, so as not to treat her as a fool all day long.

This really made Xiao Mingrui a little anxious, and after a few days, he wrote another letter back.

"There are so many ladies. It was my fault that the newlyweds went to the south of the Yangtze River. Now, for the sake of state affairs, I should try my best. When the matter is finished, my husband will return to the capital. Please forgive me, my lady..."

After reading the letter, Murong Wei snorted lightly and asked the maid to put the letter away.

It happened that Murong Yue was next to her, looking at her, she was surprised and said: "I also thought that you are tired from being sick. I saw you make a palace like an iron bucket a few days ago, but I admire you to death. Why are you so unhappy? "

Murong Wei shook her head and said: "It's nothing, I'm really tired from illness, second sister, you can see that I'm tired and sick, it's just some people, he is so annoying."

Murong Yue's complexion changed: "My lord, isn't he hiding in the golden house in the south of the Yangtze River?"

"Ah?" Murong Wei said in astonishment, "Why did Second Sister think of this?"

"Otherwise, why are you so angry? I thought you should be happy that the prince is fine." Murong Yue asked puzzled.

Not to mention that she really didn't understand why the couple had conflicts, it's just that this was a private matter, she shouldn't have asked, but Murong Wei was her own sister, so of course she had to care about it.

Murong Wei waved her hand helplessly and said: "It's not that, am I angry at him for not paying attention to his body, how dangerous is it this time? Why doesn't he think about my wife?"

Murong Yue was deeply moved: "These men are like this. Before doing anything, they don't think about their wives and children at home. Didn't some officials kneel at the gate of the palace a few days ago, please ask the emperor to appoint a prince, but the emperor was furious and gave them They are all court sticks. At that time, a few were disabled, but it was very miserable. You said that for your own reputation, you can't ignore your family, right?"

Murong Wei also heard about this, she was suspicious, knowing that the emperor didn't want to establish a crown prince, who would have the guts to kneel at the palace gate after Yan Bizhi?

It is clear that King Qi is unlucky, who are these officials asked to be appointed?
Could it be Luo Wang Xiao Mingrui?

Murong Wei's eyes changed, "How did the emperor deal with those ministers? Did they come back?"

"Isn't your brother-in-law in the Hanlin Academy? He said that the news he heard now is that the emperor dismissed several officials who submitted letters, sent them back to their hometowns, and said that they would never use them again."

Murong Wei raised her eyebrows, the punishment was severe enough.

It seems that even if Xiao Mingrui has the favor of Emperor Jianwu, he can't relax his vigilance.

"Let's not talk about that, it doesn't make sense for us to pay attention to those men's affairs."

Murong Yue nodded: "Yeah, let them make trouble. Anyway, I told your brother-in-law, let him think about his wife and children first, and don't imitate those young colleagues. He is no longer a scholar who doesn't understand anything. Your brother-in-law said He will not participate in these things, he is only loyal to the emperor."

Murong Wei raised her eyebrows, seeing Murong Yue's smiling expression, she smiled.

Murong Yue's words seemed to be a letter.

It is said that Qin Yongning and Xiao Mingrui are brother-in-law. With this relationship, even if he does not stand in line, Xiao Mingrui will not treat him badly when he becomes the emperor in the future.

He is a smart man, but he is a bit conservative, and he will not get much profit in the future.

"Brother-in-law is right, if our lord comes back now, I will advise him to cultivate himself, plant flowers and plants, isn't it happier than worrying about the court?"

"We women think this way, but those men who want to do something, don't want to accompany us around the acre of land at home. Isn't there a poem that says, repenting to teach the husband to seek a title, and want to let us If he has the ability, he has to endure that men don't have time to accompany him. You can't have both."

Murong Yue went back to the mansion after the two sisters spoke their heartfelt words.

When Murong Wei thought about what Murong Yue said this time, she always felt that it was not that simple.

One of the officials who wrote the letter was still a student of her grandfather, so the matter was obviously dragging towards her home.

Her grandfather was the second assistant of the cabinet, if something like this happened, it would not be difficult for people to doubt whether her grandfather ordered someone to write a letter, intending for the emperor to appoint Xiao Mingrui, his son-in-law, as the crown prince.

Everyone knows their relationship, so it's inevitable that they won't think wrong.

But she knew how her grandfather, the always cautious old fox, would do such a thing!

There's clearly something wrong here.

It seems some people just can't wait.

She deeply doubted whether King Qi or the court ministers were involved in this matter.

It is also possible that her grandfather's political opponents did this kind of thing to attack each other, which is very possible.

"The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop. It seems that I can't handle the court affairs." Murong Wei felt that it was necessary for her to go back to her mother's house.

It's just that I still need to find a good excuse to go back this time.

Exactly three days later, Murong Wei got the news that her grandmother was ill, so she immediately sent someone to bring medicinal supplements, and sat in a black lacquered flat-topped carriage, escorted by the guards of the Prince's Household Guards, back to her natal home.

Murong Mansion is the same as before, without much change.

Eldest brother Murong Fu welcomed her into the mansion, because his sister-in-law Jun Jun Yunxia was pregnant, Murong Fu always had a smile on his face, but today he was much more serious, as if he was worried because of his grandmother's illness.

"What's wrong with grandma?"

Murong Fu shook his head and said: "The weather is too hot, grandma can't bear it, that day I happened to go to the Wei Mansion next door to stay with the old lady of the Wei family for a long time, I don't know why I got heatstroke."

Murong Wei said worriedly: "Grandmother is getting old, you have to pay attention to it, you have to take good care of it because of the heat, after all, your body is not as good as before, if you don't pay attention, it may take a long time to get better."

"Yes, the doctor said the same thing. The third sister came back just in time, and grandma has been thinking of you."

The two brothers and sisters went to Rongshou Hall together.

There were several birdcages hanging in front of the corridor of the main hall of Rongshou Hall. A brightly colored parrot saw Murong Fu and Murong Wei, opened its mouth and shouted: "Hello, sir, hello, miss."

The maids next to her hurriedly came to bow down, Murong Wei smiled and said: "Get up, I never thought that the parrot raised by my grandmother is still as talkative as before."

"That's right, this one saw a nobleman today, and it usually ignores it, but now it shouts when it sees the princess."

The eldest maid in the old lady's house, Yun Xiang, greeted her at the door, and opened the curtain to welcome her in.

Murong Wei asked, "How is grandma doing now?"

Yun Xiang sighed: "The old lady is getting old and can't stand the heat, so she's lying down now."

Murong Wei felt that there were some ice basins in the room, but she didn't dare to put more, for fear that the old lady's body would not be able to bear it.

When I entered the room, I saw the eldest lady and the fourth lady. The eldest lady's face was sallow, and the powder could not cover the black and haggard under the eyes. The white and fat fourth lady was wiping sweat, and when she saw Murong Wei, she hurriedly said: " Sister Wei is back, the old lady is calling you."

"Mother and fourth aunt have worked hard."

Murong Wei knew that as daughters-in-law, they would naturally have to wait on the sick. In this hot day, serving the sick was hard work.

The eldest lady glanced at her with complicated eyes, "I heard that you are also sick, but the old lady won't tell you."

"My illness is also cured, it's just that I have some fever and cold. How can I not come back when my grandmother is ill?" Murong Wei said that she had entered the west room, and saw the old lady half leaning on the bed, and her sister-in-law Yunxia was taking her hair. He took a cold handkerchief and put it on the old lady's forehead.

"Sister-in-law, let me do it." Murong Wei stepped forward to take over her work: "You are twin now, you have to pay attention."

Yunxia wiped off her sweat and said with a smile, "It's nothing to worry about, I'm just doing some small things."

The old lady didn't look too bad, and she was very happy to see Murong Wei: "It's said that you are sick, but it makes me very worried. When you come back, I said that the prince will be fine, let me say it." right?"

"Yes, it's the grandmother who is amazing, and the granddaughter admires her very much."

Murong Wei talked with the old lady for a while, and Murong Fu came in to help his wife out.

The old lady looked around and saw the old man coming in from the compartment.

Murong Wei was not surprised, just seeing her grandmother's appearance, she knew she was not suffering from heatstroke.

At least to say that the disease is only a very mild symptom, not a serious illness.

So when she saw her grandfather, she knew that his grandfather used this to let her come back.

"Granddaughter pays respects to grandfather and greets grandfather."

Old Master Murong waved his hand. He was wearing a green Taoist robe of fine Gebu, and Xiao Shuxuan's eyes were bright and restrained: "You are fine. A lot of things have happened during this period, and you have done a good job."

The old lady sat up and said: "Yeah, this is really hard for you. When something happened at that time, someone else would have panicked. You can handle it calmly. You are worthy of the tutor of our Murong family. Now you are calm and low-key. It’s also good not to go out to dinner parties. When you should be high-key, you should be high-key, and when you should be low-key, you should be low-key.”

"The granddaughter has been taught, and this is also learned from her grandmother."

The old lady laughed, the wrinkles on her face stretched out, her eyes were full of kindness: "You child, you just have a sweet mouth."

The old man sat down on the black sandalwood chair, "Since you're back, you probably have something to tell me, right?"

Murong Wei frowned, and asked with piercing eyes: "Grandfather must also know that someone recently wrote a letter to appoint a crown prince, and was appointed by the emperor's court, right?"

The old lady's eyes flashed, and she was very happy with her sensitivity: "I didn't know about this at first. One of the officials named Lin Jianfeng was my student. In the third year of Jianwu, I was the chief examiner of the examination. He He is a candidate for the third year of Jianwu. It stands to reason that he can be regarded as the old man's protégé. However, his relationship with the old man has always been very weak, and the old man is not very familiar with him."

"So, grandfather doesn't know who he wrote the book for?"

The old lady shook her head: "I'm not sure now. It's just to remind you to be vigilant. You also know that the emperor is very strict about courtiers befriending princes. Although the emperor is wise, there is no doubt that it is my instigator, but I have to pay attention .For those whose grandfather is almost [-], according to the ancestral system, officials will retire at [-], and I will write a letter to become an official at that time."

Murong Wei's eyes flickered, "It seems that someone thinks that grandfather is taking the seat."

The old man chuckled, not affirming, but not denying either.

Unless Xiao Mingrui can become emperor immediately, the old man will not be in the cabinet for a few years.

He is only the second assistant, there is the chief assistant at the top, and there are two cabinet bachelors at the bottom. In the cabinet based on seniority, if the people in front don't go down, don't even think about going up.

He went down, and this time the assistant's position was vacant.

The old man's ability is not as good as that of the first assistant Xu Youzhen. Xu Youzhen was once a gentleman today, with deep influence and disciples all over the world.

It is not easy for him to surpass Xu Youzhen to take the position, so the best result is to retire at the age of 70.

The old lady smiled and said: "Your grandfather has worked hard all his life. It's better to retire in a few years, and just stay at home to entertain his grandchildren. Isn't it better than staying in the cabinet and busying himself all day long? If your father can be transferred to the Minister of Rites, then he will push him away." After entering the cabinet, our family will still be able to prosper for decades."

According to the rules of the imperial court, they are usually transferred to the Ministry of Rites, and they can be pushed into the cabinet only after they have studied the national etiquette ceremonies and the empire's operating system.

Murong Duan is now the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, and he will fight for it. If the emperor agrees and transfers the Minister of Rites, it will not be far away.

"Not in a hurry to go to the cabinet." The old man shook his head and said: "Going in now is purely busy with internal fighting, I think...the king of Luo will have to come..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Murong Wei already understood what he meant.

This means that Xiao Mingrui will join the cabinet when Xiao Mingrui takes over in the future, which will be much more stable than now.

Murong Wei smiled wryly and said, "Grandpa believes in him that much?"

The old man nodded, "You can see the whole leopard by looking at it. The old man has been an official all his life. His eyes are still bright. I can still see clearly who can do what."

Murong Wei lowered her eyes: "Thank you grandfather, I will tell the prince when he comes back. I think he will be very happy to get your praise."

"I don't want you to say anything, just remember to tell him, it's too late, I believe His Highness is a smart person, and he will know what to do."

Murong Wei nodded, she also felt that this was necessary.

It's okay to show weakness and pretend to be pitiful once or twice, but if there are too many times, the emperor doesn't have that kind of thought, he just thinks that this son is incapable of protecting himself.

If he can't even protect himself, how can he expect him to control the country in the future?
The old lady took her to talk about the conversation, and the old man also talked about some small things in the family. After a while, some guests came to see him, so the old man left to meet the guests in the study.

The old lady sighed: "Your eldest sister is back, and now she is recuperating at home, so she will go back to Feng's house without saying anything."

Murong Wei asked in surprise: "Why, eldest sister and brother-in-law are controlling their anger?"

The old lady punched the bed board with her fist, and said angrily: "Don't mention it, back then we said that Feng's family had a good relationship with ours, so we agreed to this marriage. Don't worry about Feng Yu's relationship with your elder sister. After getting married, Feng Yu had a very cold relationship with her. He took a few concubines just after getting married. A few days ago, his colleagues from the Hanlin Academy gave him a few Jiangnan skinny horses. The Imperial Academy was already idle, but he It's really disrespectful to be so sensual and sensual all day long. Now I let my concubine get pregnant first..."

(End of this chapter)