little emperor of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 22 Laba
Time passed quickly, and the eldest son Zhu Changluo had been studying for three full months.Learning was not an easy job no matter in that era. This is the experience Zhu Changluo got after summarizing the two learning experiences in his past and present lives.

The morning classes start at Mao time and end at Si time. There is a short break in the middle. Concubine Gong will come in with snacks. The teacher and the student chat while eating. At Si time, they have a half-hour break after eating. From noon to Wei time, they are studying. When the time is over, the course will be considered as the end of the day.

As teachers, Xiao Ye and Lao Shen have neither money nor food, not that Yonghe Palace can't afford a meal.The Yonghe Palace with abalone, ginseng and belly is definitely not available, but there is always something like chicken, duck and fish.The reason why the teacher dare not eat is because the imperial order is difficult to violate. If he said that he would ignore the food, he would ignore the food.

Fortunately, Xiaoye and Lao Shen didn't care too much, which made Zhu Changluo more gratified.Xiaoye is Ye Xianggao, because he is not yet 30 years old, his beard has not grown much, and his face is green.Old Shen was in his 40s, but he looked like he was in his 60s. He looked a little older than Shen Shixing.

For Shen Yiguan, there are many untrue records in history.After getting in touch these days, Zhu Changluo is sure that he must have remembered one thing correctly, this guy is definitely a cunning old man.Sometimes looking at that old face, Zhu Changluo thought with evil humor: This guy is growing so fast, he must be aging too much.

The old and the young have one thing in common, and the knowledge is the real one.I don't know if it was because the two teachers took private revenge because they didn't care about the meal and could only eat some snacks.The two gave extremely strict education to the eldest son of the emperor, which made Zhu Changluo suffer a lot.Although there is a cultural foundation brought by the previous life, it is useless in front of everyone who knows everything.

Ever since, Zhu Changluo finally realized the profoundness of a classic of Chinese studies.What are the four books and five classics, and hundreds of schools of thought, from morning to night every day, I can't sleep well without letting go of the book.Regardless of whether Xiaoye and Lao Shen worked hard or not, they worked in shifts all morning and afternoon, but Zhu Changluo was tossed to death.

As soon as Zhu Changluo gritted his teeth, he thought he was back in high school. No matter how hard and tiring he was, would it be better to fail the college entrance examination?Gritting his teeth and stomping his feet, I endured it for the sake of a happy life in the future!It is gold that shines there.As time went by, Zhu Changluo's performance interpreted this sentence very well.

I don’t know if the emperor’s eldest son has a long history of education. Since he entered school, his reputation has been growing day by day. Wanli stared blankly at the mountain-high pile of papers on the Longshu table. All of them, without exception, asked the emperor to send the emperor’s eldest son as soon as possible. Established as the prince.

It is now the twelfth lunar month, when a drop of water turns into ice.Emperor Wanli looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back, the sky was covered with clouds, and it seemed that there would be a heavy snowfall in a while. "Huang Jin, look at the sky and it's going to snow again..." Huang Jin followed Wanli step by step, and said with a smile: "Long live Lord Shengming, it will be Laba in a few days. The servant girl is still waiting for the master." Appreciate a bowl of Laba porridge, and then serve the master for 500 years after drinking it, that would be good."

Wanli's thoughts made him amused by these few words, and he raised his foot and kicked Huang Jin lightly, "You old man will make me happy!" Huang Jin who was kicked smiled and didn't care .Suddenly remembered something, "Long Live Lord, at noon, the old man from Shen Ge came to remind me, look..."

You don't need to look at it to know what Shen Shixing is urging, of course it is urging yourself to approve these papers.Wanli sneered, picked up a booklet casually, opened it, and sure enough, it was exactly what he expected, it was all for forcing him to be the crown prince!With a cold snort, the stubborn child appeared in front of his eyes again, feeling upset for no reason!
"This is the path you want to choose? Well, since I promised to give you a chance, I won't stop you. How far you can go, I will wait and see!"

"Notify Mr. Shen Ge that I have read these papers. The establishment of a crown prince is a serious matter, and we will postpone the discussion!"

"Slave obeys the order." Huang Jin complied incessantly.

"Keep all these papers. I want to see how long they can go!" The emperor almost gritted his teeth and said these words. Huang Jin listened silently, smiled bitterly to himself, and brought up the matter of establishing the crown prince. Not happy.

The news that came from outside the palace in the past few days, without exception, made Concubine Zheng extremely troubled, anxious and restless.Those ministers who are blind will know that they are right with themselves!All the cowardice and incompetence of the former emperor's eldest son was completely blamed on himself.It's fine for me to be wronged, but letting Zhu Changluo develop freely will directly threaten the status of my son one day, so what should I do!
Holding the jade bottle tightly in her hand, Concubine Zheng began to think seriously for the first time, is it time to use this thing?She knows how powerful Hongwan Acacia blood is and what Gu Xiancheng means.

Ever since she received Gu Xiancheng's secret letter, she has been hesitating and unable to make up her mind.Right now, I have an honorable status in the palace, the emperor loves me forever, even the empress dowager is jealous of me, and the whole palace is my own order.Although there is no name of queen, she has long been a queen.What's more, Zhu Changxun, the third son of the emperor, the emperor has personally promised, and left a secret edict that he will be crowned prince in the future.

All kinds of things are developing towards what I want in my heart. Under such circumstances, what kind of disturbance can that Zhu Changluo cause?Why do I have to take a big risk and do such a desperate thing?

Because of these scruples, Concubine Zheng has hesitated until now, and has been reluctant to make a move.She was subconsciously waiting for Gu Xiancheng to give her instructions, but it was strange that Gu Xiancheng had been silent since that time.This made her feel flustered... No movement showed that Gu Xiancheng was unhappy. Could it be that because he didn't listen to him, he ignored her from then on?Thinking of this Concubine Zheng felt very empty.

But in fact, Gu Xiancheng still has her in his heart.He understands Concubine Zheng's current state of mind very well. In order to prove that he has great insight and is not worrying unnecessarily, he arranged for Zheng Guotai to pass in various news from the court, one by one, expressing to Concubine Zheng with facts: If a tiger infestes, it will cause great harm!
Facts have proved that he succeeded, and Concubine Zheng finally made a decision!For herself, for her son, and even more for him... Zheng Guifei gritted her teeth hard!As long as you can have these, there is nothing to hesitate about.

"Guizhi!" Since the return of Yonghe Palace Shayu, Guizhi, who caused troubles, has naturally not gotten better. He has directly become a heel from a confidant. trust.Hearing Concubine Zheng's call, Guizhi almost floated to Concubine Zheng's side.

Concubine Zheng Guifei smiled in satisfaction at Gui Zhi's loyal dog-leg performance, bent her ear and whispered a few words in her ear, and looked at Gui Zhi's face suddenly pale.

"What's the matter? I've heard you say that you can go through fire and water for me. It seems it's all fake. Did you say it to tease me?" Seeing Gui Zhi's hesitation, Concubine Zheng pulled her face down,

"The loyalty of a maidservant to the empress can be learned from the sun and the moon. Even if the empress wants the slaveservant to die, the slaveservant will have nothing to say." Gui Zhina couldn't bear this, so she knelt down and cursed.

"No one wants you to die! You are so loyal to Bengong, why is Bengong willing to let you die?" He took off a green bracelet from his hand, and took Guizhi's hand to put it on for her. "As long as you do this according to what I said, you will be the benefactor of this palace and the third prince for the rest of your life."

Guizhi dare not be a benefactor or even think about it.But if the master confesses this matter, it is a great crime to exterminate the nine clans!Gui Zhi was afraid just thinking about it, let alone doing it.Hesitating in his heart, he murmured and didn't dare to say more.

Who is Concubine Zheng, she could see what Gui Zhi was thinking at a glance, and she sneered, "Brother said the day before yesterday that your parents are getting old, and I think that you have done your best in the palace, so I have graciously released your parents. They became slaves and let them go home to take care of them. Your elder brother was also promoted and he became the third manager of the mansion. After you accomplish this, I will not treat you badly. After one or two years, I will let you out of the palace and get rid of you. Slave, what do you think of a beautiful marriage for you?"

A bracelet may not be able to buy Gui Zhi, but a status that has been exonerated is too much for Gui Zhi.A lifetime of slaves, generations of slaves, being able to get rid of one's nationality is something that Guizhi longs for all his life but cannot accomplish.What's more, her parents, brother-in-law and sister-in-law are involved, if she doesn't do it, the whole family will have to follow her, Guizhi is silent.

"Master, don't worry, this servant is your life, and death is your ghost. No matter what you ask me to do, this servant will never frown!" Gui Zhi is a person who understands, and now things have to be done, and if not done, they have to be done.

Concubine Zheng is overjoyed, what I've been waiting for is your words!Reaching out his hand, he took out the hot jade bottle from his bosom, turned his back and poured out a red pill, handed it to Guizhi, whispered a few words in his ear, Guizhi took a deep breath, turned around and left.

Concubine Zheng was slightly relieved until now.God bless Guizhi to get rid of that thorn in his flesh smoothly, so that he and his son can rest easy from now on.It's just that the stakes are too high. She is cruel and merciless, so she is inevitably uneasy. For some reason, there is always a strange feeling that it will not go so smoothly and that something will happen.

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the Laba Festival, and there is a folk saying that it is a new year after Laba.For those who have been busy and hard all year, the end of the year is approaching, and they can finally breathe a sigh of relief and take a good rest.Therefore, on the day of Laba, whether it is the imperial court, the government, the temple or the common people’s homes, they all have to make Laba porridge.

Naturally, the palace is no exception.In order to show the greatness of the emperor's grace, the emperor and the empress would reward the ministers of culture and military affairs and even the maids with Laba porridge every year, and distribute rice and fruit to various temples for the monks to eat, in order to show that they are benevolent to the world and share the joy with the people.

The Laba porridge in the palace is a must.In addition to white rice, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, pine nuts, longan, hazelnuts, grapes, ginkgo, water chestnut, black silk, roses, red beans, peanuts... a total of no less than twenty kinds of fruits.

On the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial dining room was brightly lit, and the large and small stoves were filled with large and small pots.Wash the rice, soak the fruit, peel the skin, remove the core, carefully sort and then start cooking in the middle of the night, and then stew it on a low heat until the next morning, when the Laba porridge is ready.

The chefs who know the rules in the imperial dining room know that Laba porridge in the palace is graded.Don't look at how much you boil, you can't stand too much.In addition to those used to worship the heavens and ancestors, most of the Laba porridge should be rewarded to the homes of dignified ministers before noon.

For the ministers, a bowl of Laba porridge may not be worth much, but the meaning given by the emperor is different. This is the emperor's affirmation of your work. This is not only an attitude, but also a supreme honor.

According to the rules, the emperor, queen, prince and concubines eat Laba porridge at night.This is also a custom, and it is a good sign that there will be more than every year.

Laba had a day off from school, Xiao Ye and Lao Shen didn't come to class, probably they were waiting for the emperor to send porridge at home.Zhu Changluo is happy to be at leisure, God knows that he is going to be driven crazy by old Shen Xiaoye these days.

In winter, the days are short, and in a blink of an eye, the sun sets and it is already evening.Compared with the hustle and bustle of the Laba Festival in other palaces, the Yonghe Palace is always deserted and crowded.

During dinner, apart from the daily dishes, Zhu Changluo unexpectedly discovered that there were three bowls of steaming, fragrant porridge.Before he could open his mouth to ask, Concubine Gong smiled and said: "This year, thanks to my son's honor, our Yonghe Palace has also gained face. These three bowls of porridge were given by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress."

"That's right, usually only the empress thinks about our Yonghe Palace. This year even the emperor and the empress dowager gave porridge. It's a lucky time for the empress and the little highness. Keep the clouds open to see the moonlight." Smile and say auspicious words.

Concubine Gong personally brought a bowl of porridge to Zhu Changluo, "Luoer, this is the porridge given by your father, but it's rare. Please try it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

Seeing Concubine Gong's happy look, Zhu Changluo smiled wryly in his heart, that royal father wished he could swallow his son alive, is a bowl of porridge so happy?But seeing Concubine Gong's wry smile, Zhu Changluo had no choice but to swallow the words that were stuck in his throat.

"Queen, you can eat too."

The more happy the son was filial and respectful to the concubine, he didn't want to disappoint his son's heart, so he took a few sips of his son's hand, "It's really delicious." Seeing the mother and concubine happy, Zhu Changluo's mood also improved, and he was also hungry After a few gulps, he drank all the porridge.

No one saw the color painting of two people having a meal standing beside them. When the two were drinking porridge, beads of sweat rolled out of their faces in the winter!
　To recommend, to comment, to bookmark.If you don’t give it, come here, one bowl of Laba porridge for each person~~~~
　　


(End of this chapter)