Harem for a living

Chapter 187

In the blink of an eye, it was the Longevity Festival. On the first day, all the concubines in the harem had no chance to perform. It was not until the third day that the concubines in the harem came out.After Chen Manrou changed her clothes, she looked sideways at Lichun: "How long is the dinner party?"

"Going back to your mother, there is still an hour." Li Chun tied the last sachet on Chen Manrou, and said with a smile: "Qi Xiuyi just came over, and now he is waiting in the main hall. My lady, let Qi Xiuyi go back?"

"No need, since you're here, let's go there together later." Chen Manrou understood Qi Xiuyi's meaning after a little thought. Whether it was true or false, Qi Xiuyi came to find her right now because she wanted to have sex with her. Taidian, and then showed that she was from the Queen's side.It can also be regarded as finding a guarantee for the child in her womb, so that those who have other thoughts can weigh it.

There is also a concubine Hua who is pregnant in this palace, and Qi Xiuyi's rank is low.In this palace, pregnant women are usually embarrassing. Concubine Hua has a high status, but Qi Xiuyi has the queen as her backer. It's really uncertain who will stand in front of whom.

"Are the fourth prince and the fifth princess ready?" Chen Manrou put on her earrings and asked with her head turned. Before Lichun could answer, she heard Xiaosi answering with a smile at the door: "Queen, we are all packed, you dress up well." Is it gone?"

"Okay, come on, let the queen mother take a look." Chen Manrou got up, went to Xiaosi Xiaowu, and carefully looked at their clothes and outfits. Today's occasion is considered important, and there must be no taboos or ties on them. Something beyond the bounds.

After the inspection, he lowered his head and kissed Xiaosi and Xiaowu's faces: "Hongxuan is handsome, Yihui is beautiful, you two are comparable to the golden boy and jade girl in front of Guanyin, the queen mother likes you the most .”

Xiaosi blushed: "Mother's queen..." How could anyone praise his child so much, the one who praised him would be ashamed.

Before Xiaosi finished blushing, Xiaowu happily clapped his hands together: "Pretty, beautiful, I like the queen mother~"

Chen Man laughed happily, kissed Xiao Wu again, let the nanny hold Xiao Wu, and pulled Xiao Si to go outside.Qi Xiuyi was sitting in the main hall, when she saw Chen Manrou coming out, she hurriedly saluted, and followed the opportunity to salute Xiao Si Xiao Wu.

Chen Manrou raised her hand and said with a smile: "You are still pregnant with the child, so you don't need to be so polite, get up quickly."

Qi Xiuyi hurriedly waved his hand: "The empress is lenient, but the concubine must not lose his courtesy. The dress the empress is wearing today is really beautiful, and it makes the empress look even better, and the empress looks younger."

"You, you just know how to say good things." Chen Manrou said with a smile, seeing that it was still early, she simply asked Chuyu to bring bird's nest porridge: "It's a little early to arrive at Jiaotai Hall, and it's a little cold at night, you can eat it too Something, so as not to be overwhelmed later."

"Thank you, ma'am." Qi Xiuyi didn't refuse, took a spoon and used some bird's nest porridge.Chen Manrou drank half a bowl by herself, and then fed Xiao Wu another half bowl. Seeing that Xiao Si had almost eaten, she said, "Let's go, let's go to Ci'an Palace first, and the emperor will also go to Ci'an Palace later. Please the Empress Dowager."

"Qi Xiuyi, you are pregnant, don't run back and forth like this, just wait here, I will call you when I come back." After taking two steps, Chen Manrou turned around and confessed that if it was someone else, she would What I said was to send someone out.It's just Qi Xiuyi, a little special.

"Thank you, Ma'am, for your understanding. The concubine must be waiting here." Qi Xiuyi nodded quickly, as long as the goal is achieved.

When we arrived at Ci'an Palace, the Eldest Princess was there, and she was joking with the Empress Dowager Ci'an at the moment.Seeing Xiao Wu being hugged by the nanny, the princess's eyes flashed with displeasure, she turned her head and hugged the Empress Dowager Ci'an's arm: "Grandmother, can my granddaughter help you walk today?"

There are also certain rules for entering the arena. There must be a position next to the Empress Dowager Ci'an that belongs to the emperor, and the rest depends on their status.If Chen Manrou, the queen, can win the favor of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, then the queen is on the other side.If the empress doesn't like the empress dowager, she should be the emperor's son and daughter in turn.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an knew about this, so she just pretended to be unhappy: "Is Aijia so old that he can't even walk?"

The eldest princess hurriedly said: "Of course not, you are young, the imperial grandmother. Look at your hair, it is dark and heavy, and you don't look old at all. It is your granddaughter who wants to be filial. You, the imperial grandmother, give your granddaughter a chance to show it." Bar."

The Empress Dowager Ci'an glanced at Chen Manrou. If Chen Manrou was strong, she would definitely not agree to such a thing right now.After all, the empress is the one who stands with the emperor justifiably.No matter what the eldest princess is, she is just a junior.If she supported the Empress Dowager Ci'an to walk ahead, could it be that she wanted the empress, the aunt, to walk behind the eldest princess?There is no face left.

It's just that now the queen is Chen Manrou, and what Chen Manrou pays the least attention to is face. On the contrary, sometimes the benefits of not having face are more than the benefits of having face.Besides, with the presence of concubines tonight and no ministers, losing face is not too important.

The eldest princess succeeded today, but in the eyes of outsiders, it is Chen Manrou who has nothing to do with the eldest princess who has been left behind successively. What happens to the eldest princess's character in the future has nothing to do with Chen Manrou. It is not easy to be a stepmother, especially It is even more difficult to be a stepmother with a particularly valuable daughter status.

Someone's royal grandmother is here, didn't you see that someone's royal grandmother is supporting the eldest princess?If you say it in the future, that is also the eldest princess taught by the empress dowager, what does it have to do with a successor who is not valued?
There is another layer, you have to let the emperor know that it's not that I don't care about your daughter, but that your daughter doesn't want me to care.I can't suppress her at all, on the contrary, your daughter is suppressing me, so, guilt or something, just give it to me, not your daughter.

Chen Manrou has always liked to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger. The queen, who can't even be suppressed by a princess, can't those concubines jump around more happily?Then, the "unfavored" queen only needs to reap the benefits of the fisherman.

Killing three birds with one stone, Chen Manrou immediately smiled and said: "The princess has always been filial, and the empress dowager has always been kind to the younger generation. I think that letting the princess support the empress dowager tonight will show the filial piety of the princess and the empress dowager." charity."

She is more willing to hold her daughter with one hand and her son with the other, and then walk to that high position.Who cares to support the Empress Dowager Ci'an? If Ci'an accidentally falls, who will be responsible?
The eldest princess curled her lips, and turned her head to look eagerly at the Empress Dowager Ci'an.The Empress Dowager Ci'an also nodded, anyway, she just didn't like the Queen.

After the emperor came over, we exchanged a few words, and everyone got into their cars.At the gate of Yongshou Palace, Chen Manrou lifted the curtain of the car and told Lichun: "Let Qi Xiuyi go too, it's almost time now."

Li Chun responded, and hurried to invite Qi Xiuyi.When we arrived at the side hall of Jiaotai Hall, it was almost Youshi.The emperor personally went to help the Empress Dowager Ci'an to get off the car. Chen Manrou followed the emperor and was about to reach out, but saw that the eldest princess had already supported the Empress Dowager Ci'an from the other side. Chen Manrou had no choice but to take back her hand and said with a smile: "The empress dowager , Your Majesty, it's getting late, shall we go in now?"

The emperor nodded, and helped the Empress Dowager Ci'an to walk away.When Qi Xiuyi rushed over, she happened to be able to follow Chen Manrou in.Because there will be various juggling performances and fireworks tonight, so the whole banquet is in the open air, just outside the Jiaotai Hall.

Amidst the sound of worship, the emperor took the main seat, the Empress Dowager Ci'an sat on the left, and Chen Manrou sat on the right.After the emperor said the ceremony was excused, everyone took their seats, and now the eldest princess could not rely on the Empress Dowager Ci'an, so she quickly sat down at the head of the princes and princesses, and Qi Xiuyi also hurriedly sat down among the concubines.

Every year, the Wanshou Festival is actually a pattern. When the emperor said the beginning, a dancer would appear on the stage, and then the music next to it would sound at the same time.Next is the presenting session, starting from the second prince, and the princes and princesses will go through it once, and it will belong to the concubines.

If the emperor is interested, he will take a look at it on the spot. If he is not interested, he will be taken down after the ceremony is over.So although there were many people, the process did not take much time.

"It's on fire! It's on fire!" Just as Chen Manrou was staring at the stage in a daze, there was a sudden yell. Chen Manrou was shocked, and turned her head quickly, and saw a few young eunuchs rushing out from behind the stage with sparks on their bodies.

Then, there was a coaxing sound from behind the stage, and flames as high as a person burst out.No matter whether it was an actress or a dancer or a eunuch and a court lady, they immediately became chaotic, screaming and shouting, and the sound of cloth being stained, all mixed together in a chaotic manner.The stage and the like were all made of wood, and it was still a little windy tonight. The fire really grew with the wind, but in the blink of an eye, it reached the end of the banquet.

"Ah, help!" The person sitting at the end of the banquet called out first, and then many jumped up in a panic: "Help, help! Hurry up and put out the fire!"

The tables and chairs at the banquet are also made of wood, and there are drinks on each table.If it really burns, it will be dangerous.What's more, there are also many wooden structures in the palace houses in this palace. If they are burned, they will be a large area.

Chen Manrou got up immediately, and saw at a glance that the two eunuchs beside Xiao Si were protecting him, while Xiao Wu was hugged by the nanny and covered his head.

Chen Manrou was about to run towards the girl, when she slammed into another person with her arm, turned her head and saw that it was the emperor, her thoughts changed sharply, and she quickly hid the emperor behind her: "Your Majesty, hurry up, I will protect you, first come go outside."

As he said that, he still anxiously called Xiaosi and Xiaowu to hurry outside.Even if she is dying of anxiety right now, she can't leave the emperor and go to Xiao Si Xiao Wu's side.Otherwise, even if the mother and child are safe, they may not have a good life in the future.

Only by staying by the emperor's side can the emperor look at Xiao Si Xiao Wu even more differently.Fortunately, the seats of the princes and princesses are the closest to the emperor. At this moment, those guards can also allocate a part to protect the princes and princesses.

The emperor remained silent, turned around and dragged the Empress Dowager Ci'an, while stepping back, he shouted: "Liu Cheng, order people to put out the fire! There are still a few princes and princesses, absolutely nothing will happen!"

Liu Cheng started fighting the fire a long time ago, and a group of young eunuchs crowded to the big water tank in front of the hall, running back and forth to pour all the water in the tank onto the stage.

Fortunately, the banquet was held in the open air, otherwise, it would not be so difficult to escape the fire today.

"Your Majesty, go this way." A few guards guarded the Emperor, fending off the palace people on the left and right, and forcibly opened a path.

The emperor glanced down and saw Concubine Li reaching out to push Meng Jieyu in front of him, his face turned cold, but this is not the time to pursue these things, he just ordered people to put out the fire quickly, and by the way Take good care of your mother and queen.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, there is water in the water tank in Jiaotai Palace, and the fire will definitely not start." Chen Manrou took off her big cloak and pressed it in the water tank to soak it while talking, and then Then stand in front of the emperor and queen mother.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager Ci'an was frightened into a fool, and she only followed the emperor's force to retreat.The eldest princess also rushed to the side of the emperor and Empress Dowager Ci'an, trembling with her arms holding Empress Dowager Ci'an.

Chen Manrou was worried about Xiaosi and Xiaowu. While looking around, she had to appease the eldest princess, and her impatience with the eldest princess was almost to the extreme.

The emperor is not alone worried about little four and five, the rest of the princes and princesses belong to the emperor's sons.

"Mother, are you alright!" Xiao Si was also thinking about Chen Manrou, and under the protection of Su Shengshu and Qin Rong, he squeezed over, Chen Manrou grabbed Xiao Si's hand, her eyes were red: "And you, are you alright? Didn't it burn? Didn't it get crowded?"

At this moment, under the protection of the guards, the group of them had already retreated to the vicinity of Kunning Gate, and the fire in front of Jiaotai Hall was also partially controlled.

"Queen, I'm fine. Don't worry about my sister. I just saw my sister's nanny." Xiao Si hurriedly said, pointing to the other side. Walking this way, I was relieved.Anyway, the emperor is safe now, so Chen Manrou didn't have to rush to show off, and hurried to Xiao Wu's side.

(End of this chapter)