Harem for a living

Chapter 196

The eldest princess blushed, she twisted her veil and did not look at Chen Manrou, Chen Manrou was not in a hurry, she just looked at the eldest princess with a smile.The eldest princess has a different status. When it comes to topics such as marriage, although she is shy, she does not say a word.

So, after only being silent for a while, the eldest princess lowered her head and nodded shyly and timidly: "My daughter has no other ideas. I just hope that when he reads poems and composes lyrics in the future, he can follow and add a few sentences."

Chen Manrou slightly raised her eyebrows, is she planning to pick a talent?
"I understand what the eldest princess means. When I turn around, I will tell the emperor about it." Chen Manrou nodded and smiled, but they didn't know how the Tang family and the Zhu family would deal with it. They probably didn't expect it at all. They will secretly investigate the people they choose.

Chen Manrou never moved the manpower left behind in the early years, just for this day.Besides, the princess herself is not a fool.Before, she could not buy anyone's face, but when it comes to life-long events, she has to find a more reliable elder to rely on.

After all, she could tell Chen Manrou what kind of son-in-law she wanted, but she couldn't tell the emperor directly.

When the eldest princess left the Yongshou Palace, Chen Manrou called Liqiu: "Send the matter of the eldest princess's visit to Yongshou Palace to Ci'an Palace and Jingren Palace, and said that I heard the eldest princess say something about reciting poems and writing poems in a trance. Don't make it too clear."

Li Qiu responded, and soon went out to spread the news.

When the emperor came to Yongshou Palace, Chen Manrou repeated the words of the eldest princess: "I'm thinking, the eldest princess has liked poetry and songs since she was a child, and if she finds someone who has the same hobby, she will be able to talk to her in the future. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"I remember that on the list, there is a Zhang family's child who is not bad? He was selected in Qiuwei, and he is waiting for this year's Chunwei." The emperor thought for a while and said, Chen Manrou paused, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "The emperor , isn't the Spring Quarters going to start next year?"

The emperor nodded and hesitated: "You mean to wait until next year's spring?"

Chen Manrou quickly nodded: "Well, the eldest princess started being a concubine as soon as she was filial piety. , may not be very willing to be a concubine. Waiting for next year, let the eldest princess come out and walk around first, and you can have a good reputation. For Princess Chun, Princess An, and Princess Ning, let the eldest princess meet people first. of."

It's not enough for you to pick a son-in-law, you have to let others pick a daughter-in-law too.

The emperor pondered for a while, then nodded and said: "That's fine, we will talk about this matter after Chunxi, the eldest princess is not very old, so there is no delay."

Chen Manrou nodded with a smile, and was about to speak, when she suddenly thought of something, she clapped her hands suddenly and said, "Oh, there is also the Empress Dowager, if I go to greet you tomorrow, I must first tell the Empress Dowager, so that the Empress Dowager will not be busy in vain. field."

It is impossible for the emperor to be ignorant of what is going on in the harem, so when Chen Manrou said this, the emperor frowned, and after a while he said: "Recently, people from the Zhu family have entered the palace too many times to pay their respects. Concubine Zhu said."

Chen Manrou nodded with a smile. It seems that the emperor's patience with the Zhu family is not as good as that of the Tang family.

In the next few days, the Eldest Princess came to Yongshou Palace twice, Chen Manrou told the Eldest Princess what the Emperor had said, which was a reassurance for her.Ladies and gentlemen, who doesn't have a dream of being a champion?So, the eldest princess left shyly and stayed only in Xisan Institute for a long time.

In the blink of an eye, it will be August [-]th, and there will be a family banquet in the evening as usual, this time it will be held in Ci'an Palace.Then, without any surprises, Concubine Hui passed out in the middle of the banquet, and called the imperial doctor to get a pulse, saying that she had been healthy for more than two months, but Concubine Hui was weak, and she was sick and bedridden a while ago, That's why it wasn't diagnosed.

The emperor was overjoyed and rewarded Concubine Hui very much.Chen Manrou also had a smile on her face, and followed closely in the footsteps of the emperor, receiving another batch of rewards.Empress Dowager Ci'an is no exception, and the rest of the concubines have all kinds of expressions.

Concubine De looked sourly at Concubine Hui's stomach, and then at the little princess being hugged by the nanny. Finally, she felt comforted in her heart. This little princess was raised by her side since birth, and she will definitely be in the future. is close to oneself.It would be nice to have a child. She is already thirty now, and I'm afraid she won't be able to have one.

Fu Concubine Zhu Concubine and the others were all kinds of envious and jealous, but they still congratulated with smiling faces.

Chen Manrou was in a good mood, especially after seeing Empress Dowager Ci'an glance at Tang Wan'er.In this harem, having a child usually means that one can improve one's status.Tang Wan'er is now Tang Zhaorong, and Concubine Hui may be promoted, the aunt and nephew are probably in a panic.

In September, a big incident suddenly broke out in the court—the murder of a businessman.

The so-called buying and selling of human life means that the buyer provides money to buy a person's life.This is not the same as the death contract of a servant of a rich family. Although the person who signed the death contract is allowed to buy and sell at the master's discretion, if the master wants to kill something, he still needs evidence, and then he has to report it to the court.

This buying and selling of human life is purely buying life, and the biggest use is to replace executed prisoners.

The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. Ninety percent of the criminals were involved.Even Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment was imprisoned, and the Ministry of Household Affairs was also affected.Originally, this matter had little to do with the harem, but unfortunately, the Tang family had a very good relationship with the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice. It is said that the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice had drank and watched theaters with Uncle Zhongyong many times.

Therefore, the Tang family was also implicated.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an was anxious and frightened, and was ill in bed again, saying that she wanted to see the emperor.Naturally, the emperor would not disobey the Empress Dowager Ci'an's words, but if you see it, you have seen it, if there is anything else, it is impossible.

After three days, the Empress Dowager Ci'an's mouth was covered with blisters.

On the fifth day, the eldest princess arrived at Yongshou Palace with red eyes.Chen Manrou was very surprised, and hurriedly ordered people to prepare tea and snacks. The eldest princess waved her hand and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "The queen mother does not need to keep people busy, and I am not thirsty."

"The eldest princess has been wronged?" Chen Manrou asked softly, the eldest princess shook her head, Chen Manrou frowned, and continued to ask: "Then what happened? Tell me that I will try my best to help the eldest princess."

The eldest princess still couldn't speak, Chen Manrou felt a little helpless, she thought for a while and then asked: "Eldest princess, if you don't speak well to me, I will invite the emperor to come here later?"

Now the eldest princess reacted and shook her head quickly.As long as there is a reaction, Chen Manrou continued to comfort, saying that it took a long time, and then the eldest princess cried out, rubbing her eyes with the veil, and the tears were dripping.

Chen Manrou asked again, and the eldest princess handed out a piece of paper.Chen Manrou took it suspiciously, and saw a poem written on it.However, it is very clear that the above two sentences and the following two sentences were written by two different people.

The upper font is graceful and beautiful, while the lower font is a bit ostentatious.

"This is?" Chen Manrou was a little puzzled. The eldest princess covered her face with a handkerchief, and after a while she cried and said, "I wrote the above two sentences. I'm going to pay my respects to the emperor's grandmother today. The emperor's grandmother will give this to you." My, say this poem is well written."

Chen Manrou had a vague guess in her heart, but she couldn't believe it.The Empress Dowager Ci'an has always doted on the eldest princess and never laid hands on her grandchildren. It is really surprising that she made such a move today.

"Then the next two sentences?" Chen Manrou asked hesitantly, the eldest princess's eyes were red and swollen from crying: "The emperor's grandmother said that he is my aunt's nephew, the second son of the Pei family."

Mrs. Zhongyong was born in the Pei family, and the father of her natal sister-in-law was the left servant of the Ministry of Punishment.The Pei family was also not very clean in this case.Right now Mr. Pei is still under house arrest in the mansion. Although the emperor did not send Mr. Pei to prison, he did not say that Mr. Pei is innocent.

And once the Pei family is convicted, it is estimated that the Tang family will lose their skin if they are not dead.

No wonder the Empress Dowager Ci'an is so anxious, the Pei family is the key point.If the Pei family is well, then the Tang family can still be cleansed a little bit. As for Mrs. Pei's natal family, maybe it can also be cleansed.

"Are you sure you wrote the above two lines?" Chen Manrou pinched the piece of paper and asked, the eldest princess nodded: "I wrote it, and the emperor's grandmother also said that she also read other poems I wrote, All very good."

The implication is that even if the eldest princess tore up this one, she could still take out more.

Chen Manrou frowned, thought for a while, then sighed and said, "Princess, are the people around you trustworthy?"

The eldest princess paused, her face a little ugly.No matter how smart you are, even if you have the helpers left by your biological mother by your side, you can't make yourself look like an iron bucket.Besides, she still trusted her imperial grandmother very much before, and she would not be suspicious of the people that her imperial grandmother placed beside her.

"For the present plan, the eldest princess will go back and clean up the people around her first, and see how the paper flows out. This matter involves the empress dowager, and the eldest princess's reputation is the most important thing. You can't make a decision lightly, you will go to Qianqing Palace later, the eldest princess might as well go with me."

If this matter can't be handled well, those two sides are not human.Chen Manrou is not an idiot, she is very happy to protect the eldest princess, Ci'an and the Zhu family, now that the goal has been achieved, Chen Manrou doesn't want to contribute more.Whoever's daughter or mother is responsible for this.

The emperor was already in the Qianqing Palace, and when he heard Liu Cheng say that the queen begged to see him, his face only softened. He knew that he, a petite queen, would never come to the Qing Palace if he had nothing to do. The number of Qing palaces can be counted with one slap.

When he saw the eldest princess who was following Chen Manrou, the emperor couldn't help being surprised. He understood the relationship between the queen and his own daughter very clearly.Why are these two coming together now?
"Your majesty, it's the concubine's bad management of the harem that caused this kind of thing to happen. The concubine is here to plead guilty and ask the emperor to punish me." After telling the matter, Chen Manrou knelt down and saluted, lowering her posture first, so as not to wait for the emperor to wait. Angry.

The emperor took advantage of his face to get angry, and the eldest princess quickly shook her head: "Father, it has nothing to do with the queen mother. This poem was written by my daughter in March." At that time, Concubine Shu and others were in charge of palace affairs.

"Zitong get up, this matter has nothing to do with you." The emperor stood up helplessly, pulled Chen Manrou up personally, held the paper to look at it, and sighed heavily: "I will let people find out about this matter." Yes, the queen will clean up the West Third Institute."

The implication is that the Empress Dowager Ci'an doesn't need to worry about it.

Chen Manrou hurriedly responded: "My concubine obeys the order, and Mrs. Pei..."

"You announce her into the palace some other day, and beat Pei's house." The emperor said with a dark face, daring to plot against the royal family, it is really desperate.Looking at the eldest princess, the emperor said again: "West three institutes, add more manpower, in the future, don't even leak a piece of paper from the west three institutes."

Chen Manrou nodded: "Where are the second and third princesses?"

"It's the same." The emperor said, stroking the eldest princess's head: "Don't worry, father will not let you be wronged."

"Daughter is not wronged, the imperial grandmother must have been deceived by the Pei family." The eldest princess was also a smart person, and hurriedly cleared the Empress Dowager Ci'an of the crime, the emperor snorted and did not answer.After saying a few more words, Chen Manrou was asked to take the eldest princess back first.

(End of this chapter)