Harem for a living

Chapter 112

"Why don't you see the Fourth Prince?" After taking a sip of tea, Concubine Shu asked with concern: "Are you still asleep at this moment?"

"He didn't fall asleep. I asked the nanny to hug him to drink some milk soup." Chen Manrou smiled softly, put the cup on the table, and looked sideways at Concubine Shu: "I haven't seen you wearing this suit. But, it’s pretty nice, is it embroidered with peonies?”

"The noble concubine has a good eye, it is Peony. There is a maid in my Yikun Palace who is very good at needlework. I just made this dress a while ago." Concubine Shu talked to Chen Manrou about the needlework: "But , not as good as Qi Meiren, but it made the imperial concubine laugh."

"What did Concubine Shu say? Qi Meiren is our sister. How about her needlework is not comparable to that of a court lady." Chen Manrou frowned, and Concubine Shu hurriedly smiled: "What the imperial concubine said is yes, yes If the concubine says something wrong for a while, don't be offended by the imperial concubine."

"I'm not offended, it's just that Concubine Shu can be more careful when she speaks in the future." Chen Manrou really doesn't care, she just needs to ensure that Concubine Shu doesn't say anything against the rules with her, and Concubine Shu will say it to others in the future , it's not something she can manage.

"When the imperial concubine first entered the palace, I felt that the imperial concubine was kind and friendly. Now it seems that the concubine has not lost sight." Concubine Shu smiled gratefully, her face was a little embarrassed: "I don't want to hide the truth from the imperial concubine. I came to visit because I wanted to ask the imperial concubine for something."

"Oh, what's the matter?" Before Concubine Shu could answer, Chen Manrou frowned and said, "Today is really weird, one or two, they all said they want to ask me for help, maybe today is still a good day to ask for help. ?”

Concubine Shu lowered her eyes, then raised her head and asked in amazement: "Is there anyone else asking for help from the imperial concubine? What's the matter?" Seeing Chen Manrou looking at her, she quickly continued: "Excuse me, the imperial concubine, I just want to see if I can help you." I am busy, if it is something I can do, I will volunteer to share the worries for the imperial concubine."

"It's not a big deal, but Concubine Wei said that she heard Concubine Chang's words and learned that this palace is good at Danqing, so she came to ask for a painting." Chen Manrou said casually, looking sideways at Concubine Shu: "Concubine Shu is here What is it for? However, you should know that in this harem, the empress is the one who can make the decisions, and this palace can't help you with anything."

"I understand that I will never let the concubine embarrass me." Concubine Shu hurriedly said, looking at Duoyue and Jinhuan standing behind Chen Manrou, her face was a little embarrassed, Chen Manrou turned her head to look at Jinhuan: "Jinhuan, you Go see how the fourth prince is doing, if the fourth prince is still awake, you can read two passages to him."

Only one month was left, just in case.

Concubine Shu also knew what Chen Manrou meant. This duoyue was a court lady that Chen Manrou trusted very much, so she couldn't help but let Duyue avoid it. Looking at the cup carefully, it seems that a flower grows out of the wall of the cup.

"The concubine has not had time to congratulate the imperial concubine. The eldest brother of the imperial concubine, the Chen family, was appointed by the emperor Yukou as the head of the sixth division of the Metropolitan Procuratorate at the beginning of this year. This is a great joy." Shu It took a long time for the concubine to hold back such a sentence.

The smile on Chen Manrou's face was full of gratitude and joy: "Yes, it is indeed a happy event. With the grace of the emperor, my Chen family is naturally loyal to serve the country."

"Uncle Chen's talent and learning, the emperor has praised many times. Uncle Chen has become a fourth-rank Beijing official at a young age. This kind of honor and favor is also extremely rare." Concubine Shu hurriedly praised a few more words , Chen Manrou sternly said: "Concubine Shu, don't say this again in the future. My elder brother has talent and learning, but he doesn't have the emperor's insight. The so-called talent and learning are just a few lines of poems, paragraphs of songs, and articles."

"My son in the Daqing Dynasty, studying hard in the cold window, isn't it just to serve the country one day? The emperor has never favored people who are favored or not. As long as they are useful to Daqing, the emperor will value them."

Chen Manrou said in a serious tone, and Concubine Shu quickly got up and bowed: "It's a concubine who can't speak, so please don't be angry." She has something to do with Chen Manrou, but she didn't expect that she would be caught by Chen Manrou if she was not careful.

"The concubine is also dizzy, so she lacks consideration when speaking, and I hope that the concubine will not argue with the concubine." Concubine Shu bowed again and again, and Chen Manrou hurriedly asked Xiangyue to support her: "I am not angry, as the saying goes, Those who are not envied by others are mediocre, and I will not care about those who only keep their word."

The corners of Concubine Shu's mouth twitched, she lowered her head to cover the depression in her eyes, while facing the moon next to her, she showed a big smile without any scruples, and quickly retracted it before Concubine Shu raised her head, continuing to maintain a blank expression.

"Yes, what the imperial concubine said is reasonable. Since ancient times, hasn't it been the people with great ability who will be envied?" Realizing that if she didn't talk about the topic, the topic would be diverted further and further away. The front said: "I came here this time because I wanted to ask the imperial concubine for help. In my family, there is also a younger brother who is not worth anything. He just turned sixteen this year. Because he is the youngest son in the family, he has been pampered by his parents since childhood." grow up."

Chen Manrou picked up the teacup and took another sip. First she talked about her elder brother's official position, and then she mentioned her younger brother's matter. Could it be that her younger brother's crime happened to be committed by her elder brother?
"This youngest son and grandson are the lifeblood of the old lady. Since he is the youngest son, he naturally wants to be more pampered." Chen Manrou continued, and Concubine Shu sighed: "I think so too, besides my brother Since he was a child, he was innocent and kind-hearted, so he was not disciplined. But he didn't want to, and let people take advantage of the loophole."

Chen Manrou really didn't want to follow Concubine Shu's meaning to ask further questions, but Concubine Shu had already said this, if she didn't ask further, Concubine Shu would still have to speak out by herself, why not build a ladder for Concubine Shu, so she He asked a little curiously: "Is someone taking advantage of the loophole? What's going on here?"

"My brother has a pure nature. He was raised in the palm of his parents since he was a child. He has no understanding of the sinister human heart. Some time ago, he was led to a teahouse by someone, and there was a dispute between that person and another group of people. , Both sides moved their hands and feet, and someone on the other side was pushed by someone, and rolled down the stairs, just falling headfirst on the broken porcelain on the ground, at that time, the person..."

Concubine Shu's eyes were a little red, she rubbed the corners of her eyes with a veil, and then continued: "Then the people from the Nine Gates Admiral's Patrol Battalion passed by, and they were all arrested in the prison. As a result, the concubine really has no other choice..."

Chen Manrou blinked, everyone is in the cell, this matter should be the person who is looking for the admiral of the Nine Gates, right?Her eldest brother works in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, right?It doesn't matter at all, right?
"My father asked people to manage the situation up and down, and the admiral of the nine gates did not make things difficult for my younger brother." Concubine Shu saw Chen Manrou's doubts, and quickly explained: "It's just that the one who died was the concubine of King Zhuangjun. The censor participated in my Meng family, insisting that my younger brother pay for the life of the concubine, so..."

Chen Manrou was silent for a while, holding a teacup to hide the sneer at the corner of her mouth.This concubine Shu is very kind, she came to beg herself, is she planning to ask her elder brother to help suppress Yushi's participation?

However, in this way, their Chen family could face King Zhuangjun.Moreover, the emperor will definitely be dissatisfied afterwards.

"It's so pitiful." Chen Manrou put down her teacup, pulled out the handkerchief from her cuffs, rubbed her eyes, and her eye circles turned red. She looked at Concubine Shu very sympathetically: "Then what's going on now? You came to me, what do you want me to do?" help you?"

Concubine Shu burst into tears: "The concubine really has no choice. I want to beg the concubine and empress. For the time being, I ask Uncle Chen to come forward and explain a few words for my Meng family. That person is really not pushed down by my younger brother. Some people who were present that day Five or six people, the son of the king of Zhuang County also brought five or six people, it was a mess, no one saw that it was my brother who did it. Moreover, my father had already asked, and my brother said that there was a dispute that day , he hurriedly stood by the wall and hid, during the whole process, he didn't even take a step towards the stairs, and he didn't even see the face of the son of the Prince of Zhuang, how could he push someone down?"

"Your concubine, my concubine understands my brother's temperament. Since he was young, he was reluctant to step on an ant to death, so why would he push people down the stairs?" Concubine Shu suddenly remembered something, and quickly wiped it with a handkerchief. Wipe away tears: "Also, my younger brother has not been in good health since he was a child. Let alone pushing a person down, even on weekdays, he would be exhausted and out of breath when lifting a bird cage. That person is definitely not my younger brother who pushed me." down."

Chen Manrou was surprised, and it took a long time before she said: "Really? That's easy, you don't have to worry about what the censor says, you just let the criminal department try this case, once your brother's charges are cleared, Zhuang Naturally, the king of the county will not let the censor participate in your Meng family anymore."

Concubine Shu was crying with pear blossoms in the rain. When Chen Manrou said this, she almost didn't choke. She paused, covered her face with a handkerchief and cried, "Your Majesty, I really can't help it. , King Zhuang invited the Minister of the Ministry of Justice to drink, and when my father went to visit the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice was not willing to meet him."

Chen Manrou rubbed her forehead: "Concubine Shu, it's not that I don't want to help you, but that I can't intervene in this matter. You see, it involves King Zhuang, your Meng family, and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. , it also involves the admirals of the Nine Gates, this is a matter of the previous court, how can I intervene as a woman in the harem?"

Chen Manrou smiled bitterly, shook her head and continued: "Besides, my Chen family has a family rule that married women are not allowed to interfere with family affairs. My elder brother is now working for the court, and he is already the pillar of the family. How can I order him to do things?" ?”

Concubine Shu's complexion changed, and after a while, she bit her lips and said, "Your concubine, besides the empress, only you and Concubine Yang are of higher rank in this harem now, and you never thought about going up again." step?"

Chen Manrou's expression changed instantly, and she turned her head to tell Xiangyue: "Concubine Shu is not feeling well, you personally sent Concubine Shu back to rest."

Concubine Shu probably also felt that what she said was too clear, she was a little too impatient, her face became a little embarrassing, she quickly got up and saluted Chen Manrou, and then went out with Xiangyue.

As soon as Duyue went out, Jin Huan came in: "Madam, what does Concubine Shu mean?" He said with a bit of anger on his face: "Madam, don't believe Concubine Shu's words, she is the most scheming concubine in the palace. people."

Chen Manrou glared at her, shrank her neck with joy, and quickly saluted: "Madam, this servant just went to see the fourth prince, and she didn't eavesdrop outside the door."

"Okay, you monkey, what are you pretending to do in front of me?" Chen Manrou cursed with a smile, and then changed her serious face: "You have to rot in your stomach about today's matter, just pretend you didn't hear it, wait a while You went to pick up Duyue and come back."

Although Jin Huan was still very curious, he didn't dare to go against Chen Manrou's intention, he turned around and left after saluting.Chen Manrou sighed faintly. If she remembered correctly, the Meng family seemed to have only one son.Concubine Shu, are you too anxious today?
(End of this chapter)