Traveling through the harem: the favorite concubine

Chapter 54

Chen Yuanxiang was dragged back to the East Palace by the guards of Zhaoyang Palace. Along the way, she almost lost all face.

She was locked in her own bedroom, surrounded by guards guarding her, Liu Palace people looked at the guards outside worriedly, and then looked at Chen Yuanxiang who was lying on the bed, almost like a lost soul since he came back, Heart is sad, but also worry.

Liu Gongren sat by Chen Yuanxiang's bed, gently stroked her head with his hand, as if coaxing her when she was a child, and said softly: "Your Majesty, get up and eat something!"

Since coming back yesterday, Chen Yuanxiang has not eaten or drank for a long time.

Chen Yuanxiang blinked, but did not speak, with a dull expression.

"Your Majesty, don't let the servants worry, okay?"

Chen Yuanxiang just twitched the corner of her mouth mockingly when she heard the words, and finally said the first sentence after she came back: "Who else cares about me?"

"My lady..."

"The emperor only cares about that bitch now. He wants that bitch to be his queen. Auntie, she has become the queen mother herself. How can she care about my life?"

"Your Majesty won't."

Seeing that Chen Yuanxiang was agitated, Liu Gongren hurriedly comforted him softly.

And Chen Yuanxiang's eyes were filled with excitement. She held Liu Gongren's hand tightly and asked for confirmation: "Nurse, tell me, what I saw is all fake! Is it just a dream?"

"My lady..."

Chen Yuanxiang's hand strength was unexpectedly strong, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and Liu Gongren couldn't break free, so he could only endure the pain and comforted softly: "My lady, don't get excited!"

"The emperor didn't hold the child at all! There are no women, right!"

Chen Yuanxiang's eyes widened with a ferocious face.

"Your Majesty, Mrs. Chen is only a palace maid, so she can't be a queen. Calm down!"

Liu Gongren saw Chen Yuanxiang's face showing madness, and hurriedly shouted at her loudly.

"Mr. Chen?"

However, Chen Yuanxiang seemed to be frozen, and stared blankly at Liu Gongren: "You mean Chen?"

"Yes!" Seeing that she had calmed down, Liu Gongren said cautiously: "Didn't your empress forget? That woman today is the Chen family from before."

Chen Yuanxiang's eyeballs moved, and she looked at Liu Gongren, but Liu Gongren hurriedly said: "Mr. Chen is just a lowly maid, and will not pose a threat to the empress. Even if she gave birth to a prince, she will be honored by His Highness." So what, for a lifetime, sitting on the imperial concubine position is the peak!"

"The nanny didn't admit her mistake?"

Chen Yuanxiang asked urgently.

"How could the slave girl admit her mistake? Even though Mrs. Chen's appearance is a little bit open, it is indeed her."

Liu Gongren nodded his promise, but Chen Yuanxiang was relieved.

It's Mrs. Chen, so she doesn't worry about it.Although there are precedents of commoner concubines in this dynasty, most of them cannot be granted high positions, because the position in the harem pays more attention to the concubine's family background.And the princes born by court ladies, even though they are also princes, still cannot get rid of the humbleness of having children. The previous courts believed that most of the sons of court ladies were mediocre.

In the history of this dynasty, there was also a court lady who was born as a concubine, but there was only one of them.This one is said to have outstanding looks and a moving voice. At that time, Emperor Xianwen almost doted on her alone, and bestowed the title Zhenmeiren.This Zhenmei woman also lived up to her expectations, and gave birth to three sons in succession to Emperor Xianwen, and was granted the title of Concubine Zhen, but that was all.At that time, Emperor Xianwen was blinded by the beauties, and wanted to make Concubine Zhen a noble concubine, but because of the unanimous opposition from the harem and the previous court, he could only give up in the end.

Later, Emperor Xianwen also wanted to make Concubine Zhen's eldest son the crown prince, but he was criticized by the courtiers. However, most emperors cherish their wings. It was able to establish the son of the queen at that time as the crown prince.

Before Emperor Xianwen was alive, although Concubine Zhen enjoyed the honor and favor, she was the only one in the harem, and almost even the empress shunned her. But after Emperor Xianwen left, the crown prince came to power. Deng Gufo died alone, and her third son, because of the benevolence of the prince at that time, was conferred to be a prince in a barren land.

However, thinking of the previous scene, Chen Yuanxiang still couldn't hide the anger in his heart.

"Mr. Chen!" She gritted her teeth and said, "If I had known that she was such a charming girl, I shouldn't have sent her to Dongxiangkou."

"Your Majesty, be patient, there will be more opportunities to deal with her in the future!" Liu Gongren was afraid that Chen Yuanxiang would be impulsive, so he quickly persuaded her.

"Nurse, I know." Chen Yuanxiang nodded, sat up from the bed, got off the bed and said, "Nurse will dress me up, I'm going to the Queen Mother."

"Your Majesty..." Liu Gongren hesitated, and stopped, "What is Your Majesty doing at the Empress Dowager's place?"

"Since the emperor has a prince, it is for the prince's good, and he shouldn't be raised in the humble Chen's place. Don't the nanny think that I, the emperor's first wife, is the most suitable candidate?"

"But..." Liu Gong didn't think it was a good idea for Chen Yuanxiang to take custody of the little prince now. She could see clearly the emperor's attitude towards Chen Yuanxiang outside the Zhaoyang Palace. At this time, isn't it? It's better to wait for the emperor's anger to subside in peace, and wait until he has won the position of queen before considering other things?
Moreover, Liu Gongren's complexion was not very good and he said softly: "Your Majesty, the door of the bedroom..."

"What's wrong?" Chen Yuanxiang walked to the window, and when he saw a circle of guards standing outside the door, his face changed drastically: "The emperor wants to restrain my feet?"

"The emperor is just angry now. When the emperor calms down, he will withdraw these people..." After Liu Gongren finished speaking, he was thinking of saying a few more words to persuade Chen Yuanxiang to calm down and think about what to do. When repairing the relationship with the emperor.

Suddenly, there was a burst of singing and shouting outside the door: "The Empress Dowager is here!"

"Auntie is here!"

Chen Yuanxiang thought it was a pillow sent by Sleepy, and hurried to the door.

The empress dowager supported the palace people, followed by a group of court ladies and eunuchs, followed by a phoenix chariot, and the pomp was great.She was only wearing an evergreen palace attire, with a phoenix pattern embroidered on the hem of the skirt, her wings fluttering about to fly and the phoenix hairpin on her head swaying in perfect harmony.

Chen Yuanxiang watched the Empress Dowager walk in with envy in her eyes, quickly put on a smile, knelt down and saluted to the Empress Dowager: "I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

The queen mother glanced at Chen Yuanxiang's embarrassed look, but she didn't speak. Her expression was gloomy, and she just said lightly: "Get up! Sit down, too!"

Chen Yuanxiang sat down under the empress dowager's head, and he couldn't wait to say what he had in his heart.

Who knows, the queen mother has already started to say: "What do you think of the eight crimes this morning?"

"Uh..." Chen Yuanxiang glanced at the Queen Mother puzzledly, and then at the Liu Palace people behind him.

"You don't know about such a big thing?" The queen mother's eyes widened, looking at her stupid niece, she really didn't know what to say.

"Auntie, it's not easy for people in my harem to get involved with the matter of the previous court!"

Chen Yuanxiang was locked in the room all day, how could she know these things, but it didn't prevent her from finding excuses to defend herself.

"You..." The empress dowager almost blurted out the word idiot, but in the end she swallowed her throat, and said coldly: "The emperor seems to be a different person now, and you don't know how to serve snacks!"

When Chen Yuanxiang heard this, her heart skipped a beat, and she remembered what she wanted to say earlier. She jumped up from her chair and knelt down in front of the queen mother.

Before the Queen Mother could speak, she wiped her tears and began to cry: "Auntie, you must help me this time."

"What's going on here?"

Although the Queen Mother didn't know what was going on, she still understood the personality of her niece after seeing Chen Yuanxiang's battle.He just ordered to the palace people beside him with a calm expression: "Go and help him up, what do you look like while kneeling and talking like this?"

"Mother, you have to promise me. If you don't agree to me, I won't get up." Chen Yuanxiang didn't care if these words sounded like threats, but pushed away the palace while wiping his tears and said: "Mother, can you still get up?" Remember the court lady Chen who was rewarded to the crown prince earlier?"

The queen mother was a little displeased, and said coldly: "The Ai family is getting old, how can I remember things?"

"How could the queen mother not remember that she was later sent to take care of the emperor at the entrance of the east alley." Chen Yuanxiang cried, wiping away tears, "That foxy son has now taken the emperor's heart away, and even gave birth to a prince for the emperor." .”

"Wait..." The Queen Mother was really taken aback by Chen Yuanxiang's news. She looked at Chen Yuanxiang and asked, "Is your news accurate?"

Hasn't the crown prince never had any heirs? How come there will be an extra son when he returns to the palace this time.

"Yuanxiang saw it with her own eyes." Chen Yuanxiang sobbed.

"What's the big deal for me? It's a good thing for the emperor to have a child. As for that child, he will naturally be handed over to you, the aunt, to be raised. Mrs. Chen is just a court lady. Even if the emperor loves you a little more now, you What's there to be jealous about. It's really not pleasing to the eye, just deal with it!" The queen mother said calmly, and said to the palace, "Help her up, this crying look, what does it look like!"

The palace man lowered his eyelids, and was stunned for a moment when he heard what the queen mother said, before going up to help Chen Yuanxiang.

"Then mother, you must make the decision for me."

After hearing this, Chen Yuanxiang took out a handkerchief and wiped away tears.

The queen mother glanced at Chen Yuanxiang impatiently, and when she was about to speak, there was a sudden communication outside the door.

"The Emperor is here!"

When Chen Yuanxiang heard the transmission, he quickly wiped his face with a handkerchief subconsciously, and started tidying up his hair again.

The empress dowager's face became darker, but in the end the two of them walked to the door to greet her.

When Zhao Qingze saw that the Queen Mother was also here, he didn't seem surprised, but smiled and said, "The Queen Mother is here too."

The Empress Dowager forced a smile on her face, and said to Zhao Qingze: "The Ai family heard that Yuan Xiang is ill, so come and have a look."

"Oh!" Zhao Qingze curled up a faint smile, glanced at Chen Yuanxiang, and said, "Are you sick?"

"The concubine is fine!" Chen Yuanxiang was flattered, and quickly raised her head to answer, but saw that the emperor had already turned his eyes to the queen mother.

Zhao Qingze smiled and sat at the top, and said: "The queen mother is here, so it just saves me to inform the queen mother."

"Is there something wrong with the emperor?"

The queen mother's face was stiff, she looked up at Zhao Qingze, and asked aloud.

"I came here because I have something to do." He sneered, which also made Chen Yuanxiang's face stiff: what do you mean by this, is it that the emperor here is so unwilling to come here?
But before she could think about it, she saw Deng Xian walking up with three imperial edicts in his hand.

She glanced suspiciously at Zhao Qingze who was sitting at the top, and then at the empress dowager with a stiff and ugly face, her curiosity couldn't stop popping up in her heart.

"Mother, do you still remember what I said when I came to my mother's harem that day?"

"Your Majesty, what are you going to do again!" The Empress Dowager clenched her hands tightly into fists, staring intently at the three imperial edicts, "You are playing like a child's play for such a grand family matter!"

Zhao Qingze smiled but said nothing, just looked at Chen Yuanxiang, and said softly: "Didn't you always want to be a queen? I gave you this opportunity, here are three imperial decrees..."

"Your Majesty!" The Queen Mother yelled, "What the hell are you going to do! I can bear your disrespect to me as a mother. Yuan Xiang is your first wife, how can you do this?"

Zhao Qingze withdrew the smile on his face, stood up, and said coldly: "My mother interrupted me again and again, I'm in a bad mood!"

Chen Yuanxiang was originally too scared to speak by the confrontation between the Queen Mother and Zhao Qingze, but when she heard Zhao Qingze's words, she was startled.Repeatedly said: "Your Majesty, if you have something to say, tell Yuan Xiang, and Yuan Xiang will listen carefully."

This is a matter of her empress, what is the aunt talking about!She thought of what the emperor said to her and the queen mother that day, if the emperor was really in a bad mood, what would he do if he didn't make her queen!
Zhao Qingze paused and smiled: "There are three imperial decrees here, you can take a look."

Chen Yuanxiang smiled, but when Deng Xian handed her three imperial decrees, she couldn't control the ecstasy when she saw the first one: "This is..."

She looked at the emperor with a smile on her face. She held on to the imperial decree for conferring the empress tightly, reluctant to let go, but still picked up the other two and unfolded...

The smile disappeared in an instant, and the rosiness on his face due to the imperial decree just now also disappeared completely.

"Concubine Zhao..."

She stared at the words on the imperial decree, and then looked at Zhao Qingze: "Your Majesty, you want to make Mrs. Chen a noble concubine, and she is still a noble concubine Zhao."

After Zhao Qingze came to power, he was named Zhaowu.Now, the word "Zhao" that should have been taboo was actually sealed to a woman.

Zhao Qingze didn't speak, but watched Chen Yuanxiang frantically unfolding the last imperial edict.Just now he said coldly: "In the past, I gave the Queen Mother two imperial edicts, but she was only allowed to choose one. Now, among the three imperial edicts I have given you, the first two edicts must be valid for your empress dowager." , can be promulgated."

"Why does the emperor ask his courtiers and concubines for their opinions? If the emperor wants to make that woman a noble concubine and her son a prince, why not announce it directly in front of the courtiers."

Chen Yuanxiang sneered, holding back his resentment, but mocking in his heart: "Your Majesty, even if I agree, the courtiers will not agree!"

Zhao Qingze was not angry when he heard the words, but asked Deng to retract the three imperial edicts first, and then said calmly: "I am not here to ask your opinion, but to ask you...or your Chen family to give me these two edicts." imperial decree."

"impossible!"

Chen Yuanxiang didn't answer, but the Queen Mother refused with a sneer.

If you want to make that woman a noble concubine, you can!But it is absolutely impossible to make that woman's son the crown prince. Even if Chen Yuanxiang is allowed to sit on the queen's position, it doesn't make much sense.

"I'm just here to inform you, not to discuss it. Think about it for yourself. If you can't figure it out, I'm not the one who minds trouble."

After Zhao Qingze finished speaking, he walked out, and Deng Xian quickly followed with three imperial decrees in hand.

Chen Yuanxiang stared blankly at the imperial decree in Deng Xian's hand, but the queen mother who was standing behind her pulled Chen Yuanxiang and said, "I tell you, don't be stupid! If Mrs. Chen becomes a concubine, her son will be a concubine." If you become a prince, you will become a queen, and you will lose your foothold in this huge palace. If the emperor insists on this, you would rather not be the queen!"

Chen Yuanxiang didn't speak, just lowered his head.

"Have you heard it? Aijia is for your own good. The emperor wants to follow his own wishes and have a good reputation, but how can it be so easy? If he wants to have a good reputation, he will He will never treat his first wife lightly."

"Auntie, it's easy for you to say, if it's a queen..."

"You are the wife of the emperor's matchmaker, and you have not made a big mistake. Sooner or later, you will be the queen, the prince. Unless your birth mother is humble and raised under your knees, you can only flow the blood of the Chen family."

Chen Yuanxiang lowered his head in silence.

(End of this chapter)