Harem for a living

Chapter 102

After the fourth prince's full moon banquet, the emperor decreed to promote Chen Manrou's status.It gave Chen Manrou a lot of honor to improve her position before the draft.Regardless of the one-month time difference, pre-draft and post-draft are two different concepts.

Chen Manrou was promoted to the imperial concubine before the draft, but during and after the draft, everyone should treat Chen Manrou as a concubine.After the draft, they can only move their positions, and the difference depends on how much the emperor cares about Chen Manrou.

In this way, everyone inside and outside the palace will know that although Chen Manrou is not a particularly prominent person in the palace, at least she can still get a name with the emperor, and now she has given birth to a prince. status is immeasurable.

Mrs. Chen entered the palace immediately after Chen Manrou became a noble concubine. After entering the door, Chen Manrou greeted her: "Grandmother."

"My wife has seen the imperial concubine, please greet the imperial concubine." The old lady Chen immediately bowed in the yard, and Chen Manrou hurried forward to support the old lady: "Grandmother, please get up quickly, let's go in and talk."

The old lady Chen nodded with a smile, and followed Chen Manrou into the room. It was already the end of May, and the weather was hot. Chen Manrou had asked someone to replace the mattresses and cushions on the soft couch with bamboo mats, but she didn't dare to change them to cool jade. Firstly, she had just given birth and it was time for maintenance, and secondly, Xiaosi was still young and couldn't stand things that were too cold, so she had to make do with the bamboo mat.

Seeing the bamboo mat, Mrs. Chen nodded with satisfaction: "This year I can only use the bamboo mat. Don't change it into a jade mat just to fight with others. The fourth prince is still asleep right now? He used to How much to eat? How long to sleep?"

"Grandmother, ask slowly. You ask too much, I can't even remember." Chen Manrou poured a cup of tea for old lady Chen with a smile, pushed it to old lady Chen, and stretched out her hand to call mother Chen: "You Go and bring the fourth prince here."

Mrs. Chen quickly waved her hand: "If he is asleep, don't hug him, be careful of the wind."

"Grandmother, don't worry. I saw that he slept a lot. He only ate milk once in the morning, and he hasn't eaten yet." Chen Manrou explained with a smile.

"Is the fourth prince eating so little on weekdays?" Mrs. Chen frowned and asked, and Chen Manrou shook her head: "No, I'm a little tired these two days. The first two days were full moon banquets, and yesterday was a concubine. It was affected a bit, so I slept a little more today, don't worry grandma, Xiao Si is in good health."

"That's good. The women in this palace still need a child by their side." After saying that, Mother Chen carried the fourth prince out, and the old lady Chen hurried over to have a look, with a happy expression on her face. He stretched out his arms and hugged the fourth prince: "It really looks like you when you were a child. Look at this small nose and small mouth. In the future, you must be a handsome person."

In this day and age, appearance is very important, not just for women.A man's appearance will even affect his future.

"Grandmother, don't talk about it. A few days ago, everyone said that Xiaosi looks like the emperor, but you said that he looks like me. Turning around, it would be a bad thing for Xiaosi to pick on the bad things between me and the emperor. "Chen Manrou smiled and pinched Xiaosi's palm.

Mrs. Chen gave her a white look: "Did you talk like that? The fourth prince will definitely be the leader of the good place between you and the emperor in the future!"

Under Chen Manrou's unremitting disturbance, the fourth prince finally couldn't bear it and burst into tears. The old lady Chen hurriedly patted and coaxed, and Chen Manrou motioned for Nanny Chen to come and take the fourth prince away: "Grandmother, let him go to breastfeed!" , I’ll hug you when you’re done eating.”

The old lady Chen was very reluctant to part with her. She watched Nanny Chen take the child away, and then turned to look at Chen Manrou: "The queen, how are you doing to you recently?"

"What else? It's the same as before." Chen Manrou said with a smile. She knew Mrs. Chen's worries. In the past, Concubine Yang was supporting her. After a fight, the queen just happened to be able to win her over.

But the situation is different now, Concubine Yang still has no children, Concubine Shu has a prince, and Concubine Hui also becomes a concubine after giving birth.Among the two noble concubines, she is the only one who has a child. Compared with Concubine Yang, she has a higher bargaining chip and is a greater threat to the queen.

In this way, I am afraid that the person the queen will be wary of in the future will become Concubine Chen Guifei.

"You have to plan early. I'm afraid some people won't be able to bear it when I'm young." Mrs. Chen sighed, and reached out to pat the back of Chen Manrou's hand: "Although your father is only a third-rank military general, you really can't help it." The mansion's soldiers are not small. If one day, the queen thinks that our Chen family is a threat..."

"Grandmother, don't worry, before Xiaosi grows up, our Chen family is not a threat." Chen Manrou twitched her mouth. Originally, the queen's natal family also made a fortune from military exploits. Well, in fact, this old brand in the capital The aristocratic family, nine out of ten are military meritorious.

However, this has been a matter of several generations, and when it was passed on to the queen's father, the Zhu family no longer had much military power.Now that the Zhu family is in the army, they are completely speechless. The queen can see clearly that if the prince wants to ascend the throne in the future, he must have military power.

Where does this military power come from?One is to let the younger generation of the Zhu family produce a general, the other is to let the prince marry a girl from a family background, or a girl from a general's family, and the third is to win over some members of the general's family now.

Chen Manrou kept a low profile, and listened to the queen in everything. She had expressed to the queen early in the morning that Xiao Si would not fight or grab. The queen would never block it until the first two methods became real facts. third way.

So, at least, in the next six years, the queen will definitely not attack Chen Manrou.At least, compared to Yang Guifei, Chen Manrou is obedient enough.Compared with the Chen family and the Yang family, the latter would never willingly submit to the queen's lineage.

The old lady Chen sighed: "It's just that people's hearts are unpredictable. Although the queen is smart and generous, I'm afraid of her..." Standing in the position of a woman, Chen Manrou is not pleasing to the eye, so it is troublesome.

"Grandmother, you really don't have to worry. Empress Dowager Ci Ning will be back in five months. Besides, although I have been promoted, the draft will begin soon." Chen Manrou hugged Old Madam Chen's arm, Said coquettishly.

Old Mrs. Chen nodded her nose helplessly, and stopped talking about this topic. Anyway, her granddaughter has always had an idea, and she has a line in her heart about what to do.

"You're talking about the draft, but I would like to ask, do you still want to enter this Zhongcui Palace? Do you need to live in your house..." Instead of living in a person who doesn't know the details or character, it's better to choose some people who are right for Chen Manrou. helpful.

"No, I'm the only girl in the direct line of our Chen family, and the offspring are too distant. I'm afraid they won't become my helpers after entering the palace, but they will become my opponents." Chen Manrou shook her head, working with her sisters. It's completely impossible for a husband or something to work together and not be jealous at all.

Sister Zhao Hede cooperated so well at the beginning, the sisters were united, the queen was pulled down, and then Zhao Feiyan became the No. 1 in the harem. In the end, didn't the two sisters turn their faces and become enemies?
"This is also reasonable, so what can you do to deal with it?" Mrs. Chen thought deeply, she never underestimated women's jealousy.

"If it really doesn't work, let Qi Meiren and Song Meiren live in." Chen Manrou pondered for a while before saying, at least, these two people can handle it by themselves.However, it's better not to enter if you can. Xiaosi is not yet a year old, so she has to be careful and careful.Perhaps, you can use Concubine Shu's conditions.

"That's good, Qi Meiren doesn't have to worry, as long as she has a little conscience, she will know what to do." Mrs. Chen nodded and said, "It's just that I haven't seen that Song Meiren, and I don't know who it is. What kind of person, you have to be careful in everything, and you must investigate early before talking about it."

"I know grandma, don't worry. By the way, grandma, will father and mother come back this year?" Chen Manrou hurriedly responded, and then thought of this big problem. Her parents didn't come back at the end of last year, and they won't be back this year. not coming back?

The old lady Chen looked at Chen Manrou, but didn't answer, but Chen Manrou knew the answer, and it seemed that she couldn't come back again.

"You don't have to worry about it too much. It's only been two years since the resignation every three years. You might be able to return next year." Mrs. Chen comforted Chen Manrou, and Chen Manrou could only nod and twitch her lips: "I know, I'm just worried about the health of my parents, and my younger brother, when will he return to Beijing?"

"He will definitely return to Beijing this year." Finally, when the good news came, Mrs. Chen also had a smile on her face: "He is going to take the imperial examination next year."

"What? The imperial examination?" Chen Manrou was startled instantly. Doesn't the little brother like reading military books the most?Why did you choose the imperial examination path?
"Your grandfather said that civil and martial arts are not perfect." The old lady Chen only said this, looked at the hourglass in the corner of the room, got up and said: "It's getting late, I should take my leave too, and the imperial concubine and empress are welcome Take care of yourself."

Although Chen Manrou was reluctant, she also knew that she couldn't stand out too much at the moment, so she stood up accordingly. The old lady Chen reached out and shook Chen Manrou's hand, and stuffed her with a stack of banknotes: "Now that you have the fourth prince, everything is safe. You have to manage it carefully, and if it’s not enough, send someone back and send a message.”

"Grandmother, it's enough. Last time my elder brother brought in more." Chen Manrou hurriedly said, and pushed the banknote back: "You and grandfather keep it, and buy some good things to supplement your health in the future. Don't worry about me."

"You can take it if I give it to you. Your grandfather and I are on good terms. We still have it in our hands. We don't lack this." Mrs. Chen let go of her hand directly, and after saluting Chen Manrou, she turned around and left.

Chen Manrou went all the way to the gate of Zhongcui Palace, watched the old lady Chen go away, and then returned to the room, spread out her palms and counted, and it was another 10 taels of silver.Including the previous dowry and the money sent by her eldest brother and mother when she entered the palace, she now has 80 taels of silver.

Putting it outside, she is definitely a rich woman, who can support her life by eating and drinking well.Well, save it for Xiao Si to marry a wife in the future.

(End of this chapter)