This can be remembered

Chapter 27
It was a real red long-sleeved gown and Xiapei, a long red skirt, woven with golden clouds and clouds and dragon patterns, or embroidered or paved with emerald circles of gold, decorated with pearls and jade pendants, and the ribbons were colorful, yellow, red, white, ethereal, and green. It is topped with a large belt with red thread, decorated with golden hanging petals, small golden leaves, white jade auspicious cloud pendant, golden ruyi cloud cover, golden long head flower, golden bell, and white jade clouds.Looking around again, the most striking thing is the back crown, which is decorated with nine dragons and four phoenixes, and twelve trees of large and small flowers, made of oriental beads, cat's eye stones, red coral, pearls, lapis lazuli, and gemstones of various colors.There is also a pair of eight nobles and nine flowers, the bear, the beast, the red scorpion, the deer, the evil spirit, and the six beasts of Nanshan Fengda.Look at Zaner again, the Zaner is one foot long, decorated with a golden dragon head and holding a white bead in its mouth.A pair of embroidered shoes with bright red satin and silk nails are placed under the robe, embellished with patterns of phoenix and peonies with gold, jade, oriental beads and emeralds.Others such as tin, flower, pearl and jade are too numerous to enumerate.

Wu Guiren almost held his breath, and stood quietly in front of the dress, reaching out his hand to touch it, but still with great respect, he stopped less than an inch away from the dress.

"This is," she turned around, looked at Liu Jieyu who was standing beside her at some point and said, "Is this the queen's dress?"

"It should be said to be the canonized dress of the empress." Liu Jieyu's eyes also shone with a strange brilliance. I believe that anyone in the harem who sees this dress will arouse the infinite desire deep in their hearts.

"Why are you here?" Guiren Wu was a little puzzled, he hadn't heard that the emperor was going to be a queen, and this dress was obviously newly made.

"It would take a year and a half to make such a dress, and it has just been made." Liu Jieyu did not answer Wu Guiren's question, as if talking to herself: "Although the emperor has not mentioned the matter of succession, but The harem cannot be left alone for a day, it will be established sooner or later." There was a not-so-kind smile on her lips, she stared at Wu Guiren, and said word by word: "It's a pity, it will never be you."

Wu Gui's heart seemed to sink for a moment, and his expression became unnatural, but he still tried to calm down and said, "Yes, it seems that my sister is the biggest candidate for this post. How can I become a mere nobleman?" She Even so, there was an obvious look of noncommittal on his face.

Liu Jieyu took a step back: "Who to be established does not depend on the current rank, nor is it just what the emperor wants, but the courtiers have to be convinced. Therefore, it must be a woman from an aristocratic family with an innocence, integrity and ability. Her family is in the court. There must be influence in the world." She paused, with a sardonic smile on her lips: "It is impossible for a daughter of a criminal like you to become a queen."

"What did you say?" Wu Guiren stepped forward abruptly: "The daughter of the guilty minister... what do you mean?"

"You don't know." Liu Jieyu laughed "hehe": "The emperor ordered a strict investigation into the Dongdu embankment breach case, and your father is naturally inseparable. Now he is in the prison waiting for his execution years ago. "

Wu Guiren collapsed on the ground with an "ah" sound: "How come, how come..." She suddenly grabbed Liu Jieyu's robe like crazy: "You lied to me, you lied to me, why? Maybe, how could my father get involved."

Liu Jieyu took a step back and looked at Wu Guiren with some disgust: "Why not, your father took bribes from it and strongly recommended Liu Zhiyuan, the former governor of the Eastern Capital who committed a crime. At that time, your father was the minister of the Ministry of Industry and was in charge of How can it be said that this matter has nothing to do with him?"

"Then... what will happen to him, will he be executed?" Wu Guiren was already at a loss, looking at Liu Jieyu anxiously.

"How would I know this? I only found out by overhearing the emperor talking with others. However, if I were you, I would definitely ask the emperor to let me go online." Liu Jieyu smiled, as if she was very kind.

Wu Guiren sat on the ground blankly, and said in a low voice: "I beg the emperor, I beg the emperor, what should I ask for, why should I ask..."

Seeing her like this, Liu Jieyu didn't want to say any more, and left a sentence: "You have always been favored, your father was taken into prison two months ago, but the emperor didn't take his anger out on you, that's not enough. .” After saying that, he turned and wanted to leave.Wu Guiren was stimulated by the word "be pampered", and she has regained consciousness a little at this moment. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Liu Jieyu with an almost strange look: "Since my sister told me such a big secret, I won't return it." My sister can't justify it."

Liu Jieyu had already arrived at the door, turned to look at her, saw that there seemed to be a demon in her eyes, she was a little scared, and her feet didn't stop.

"My sister thinks why the emperor dotes on me?" Wu Guiren said to himself, "Is it because of my appearance or my talent? Let me tell you, it's actually neither."

Liu Jieyu stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked at Mrs. Wu who had stood up and walked to the dress.

"The emperor dotes on me only because I have the word 'Wei' in my name like hers, because I am almost the only friend in her boudoir, and because only I know her poems... ··”

There was a gust of cold wind blowing outside the open door, Liu Jieyu couldn't help shivering, "Who are you talking about 'she'?" She asked.

"Her?" Wu Guiren laughed, her smile was willful and rampant, she looked at Liu Jieyu steadfastly: "She is the emperor's sweetheart, she is the most suitable person to be a queen with her eyes on Daxi." She paused and said : "She has a rare and peerless beauty in the world, she is as talented as any famous master, dignified and generous, gentle and kind, and most importantly, she has a family background that is difficult for anyone to match."

Liu Jieyu was startled, such a woman is naturally the best candidate for the empress, if she is really the emperor's sweetheart, she will definitely win the palace.

"I don't know there is such a woman." Liu Jieyu pretended to be unbelieving.

Wu Guiren is not stupid, naturally he knew that Liu Jieyu was just pretending, but he still told her very "kindly": "You don't know, it doesn't mean you don't know. Moreover, this woman has been living in the capital, but she rarely shows up. That's all." She paused and said, "It's Ling Xiang's daughter, Ling Xuewei."

As soon as the word "Ling Xiang" came out, Liu Jieyu almost bit her tongue in shock.It is true that Ling Xiang has a daughter, but there has never been any reputation, and she has no intention of sending her to the palace.Could it be that he wanted his daughter to become a queen?With Ling Xiang's power in the court, even if his daughter has no talent and looks, it is not impossible to become a queen.

"That Ling Xuewei, what does it look like?" Liu Jieyu held onto the last glimmer of hope.

"Does my sister care about her appearance very much? I thought my sister never cared. After all, doesn't my sister think that she is the most beautiful and talented woman in the world?" Wu Guiren laughed wantonly: "But if you really see her, You know what it means to be like a fairy and like an illusion, which is wonderful."

Liu Jieyu's face flushed slightly, she ignored Wu Guiren's provocation, changed the topic, and tried to look calm and said: "It's very normal for the emperor to like a woman, but I can't believe it when you say that she is a daughter of the Ling family."

"Why doesn't sister believe it?" Wu Guiren looked at Liu Jieyu and asked in puzzlement.

"Sister is pretending to be stupid or something? The emperor and Prime Minister Ling are not in harmony with each other. The whole court knows that Prime Minister Ling holds a lot of power and is a great threat to the imperial power. How could he like his daughter?" Liu Jieyu still didn't believe it in her heart.

"My sister is right. If I hadn't been in the middle of the matter, I wouldn't have believed it." Wu Guiren took a step forward: "My sister must be very annoyed that the emperor rewarded me with the plum blossom in the end. It is said that my sister's poems are already very good." Well, the one I presented first was indeed my own creation, and the emperor hardly looked at it directly, but the latter one, to be honest, was just like the poem I sang with the emperor before, it was all from my boudoir friend The emperor knew it in his heart, so the plum blossom was not given to me, but to her." Wu Guiren continued: "Although I don't know how the emperor met Miss Ling's family, and whether they fell in love with each other. But I I believe that at least the emperor loves her very much."

"According to what you said, the emperor could have brought this girl from the Ling family into the palace, why didn't he make any move?" Liu Jieyu put her hand on the door frame and did not let go for a long time.

"According to my sister, either the emperor loves Ling Xuewei, but he doesn't want Ling Xiang to get more complacent and gain more power. Or," her eyes fell on the red dress beside her: "The emperor wants She becomes queen."

As soon as the word "Queen" came out, Liu Jieyu's face changed abruptly: "Impossible, impossible." She shook her head: "The emperor will not let a daughter of the Ling family become a queen."

Seeing Liu Jieyu's expression like this, Wu Guiren knew that she valued this post very much in her heart, she laughed secretly in her heart, but her face remained calm. "Sister," she said in a soft tone, "my sister's father should not be underestimated in the court. If my sister is willing to condescend to help my sister's family get rid of the crime, or not be severely punished, my sister can help my sister get rid of him." This hidden danger in my heart."

Liu Jieyu was startled, and her gaze fell on Wu Guiren: "Get rid of..." She looked at Wu Guiren firmly: "Isn't she your boudoir friend?"

"In the face of my sister's position and my favor, this is nothing." Wu Guiren curled her lips and said with a light smile: "Besides, I never really regarded her as my friend. "

"I don't understand." Liu Jieyu looked at Wu Guiren, feeling a little apprehensive in her heart. After all, she is not a cruel person, and she can't do that kind of thing.

"If my sister sees Ling Xuewei, she will know." Wu Guiren said bitterly: "She is the kind of woman you can only live in her shadow forever, even though she is very gentle and kind, but you will always Feeling the gap. That's something you can never reach. I've had enough of it over the years."

Liu Jieyu nodded. The nobleman Wu in front of her can be said to have a good family background and appearance. Although her talent is not outstanding, she can read and write. much better.The woman who can make her suffer from depression all the time must be outstanding.If the emperor really adores such a woman, coupled with her background, it is not impossible to become a queen, and the courtiers will not object.

Liu Jieyu's heart was broken: "If you can really help your family get rid of the crime, are you sure you can get rid of this person?"

Hearing what she said, Wu Guiren knew that the matter was half done.And that half, in fact, has already been done.So he nodded, "Sure."

Liu Jieyu also nodded.

"Go back, we will prepare steamed cakes from today." Liu Jieyu turned and walked out the door: "I hope my sister will act as if nothing happened today."

As the new year is approaching, there is an unwritten custom in the palace, that is, in the first ten days, all the concubines in the palace must personally steam cakes and present them to the emperor and queen mother, in the hope of a good harvest and no worries for food and clothing in the coming year.So in December, all the palaces were busy, trying to get ahead and attract the emperor's attention.All kinds of rare and rare ingredients, auspicious patterns, and ingenious tastes are collected from the folks, and the complicated and exquisite production techniques allow those concubines who usually don't touch the spring water with their fingers to cook for a while.Because if it is favored by the emperor, in order to verify that it is made by the concubines, it has to be made again in the imperial dining room in front of the emperor and all the concubines.Therefore, the palaces are very busy, and they always have to make it many times before they can really learn how to make it and make an accurate taste.

Wu Guiren entered the palace in the first year, and his family members were all in prison, so he couldn't ask someone to search for rare treasures. After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't find a way.After parting with Liu Jieyu that day, although Wu Guiren was full of his father's affairs, he lowered his head and walked slowly along the palace road, when he heard a sound in front of him, he suddenly raised his head, and saw the continuous vermilion palace wall covered with white snow, Red and white are distinct, reflecting a blue sky like washing, it is really moving.I can't help but think of visiting the Ling Mansion when I was in my boudoir, and after the heavy snow in winter, I was enjoying the plum blossoms in the Snow Plum Garden of the Ling Mansion. Hundreds of white plums were competing to bloom, and the faint fragrance lingered around. Ling Xuewei wrote that poem and plum wine with refreshments.One of them is red and white intertwined, light and delicious, very enjoyable.I used it a lot, and even asked for advice on how to do it. It happened that Ling Xuewei came up with it herself, so I explained it to her carefully, it was very simple.On that day, when Ling Xuewei faced the garden of white plums and told herself how to make the dim sum with a smile on the bright winter day, her smile was as straight as a plum blossom, and the fragrance was far away.As a woman, who can not be jealous of such a charming style, Wu Guiren naturally lost the nature of trying after returning home.

But it was different at this time, so she had an idea in her heart, Liu Jieyu helped her father get rid of the crime, so she could get honored again with this snack.

For a few days, there was no news from Liu Jieyu, Wu Guiren thought, after all, the matter is very serious, and it cannot be completed in a short while, and he was asking for help, so he did not urge him, but concentrated on cooking, and gradually made it looks.

On the day when the cakes were presented, the whole palace made fresh and delicious snacks overnight, packed them in exquisite food boxes, and sent them to Changhe Hall by the lords of the palaces, and put them according to the location. After signing the name tag, he bowed to the emperor and empress dowager before stepping down.It's just that after entering the palace, they were surprised to see that there was also a eunuch who specialized in food testing.It has never happened in previous years, and it was only tested with silver needles.

The eunuch who tasted food this day was Liu Sanbao, the eunuch of the imperial dining room selected by Zhang Dehai himself. He is the most proficient in the way of drinking and eating, he is also very down-to-earth and diligent, and has an outstanding sense of taste.This errand was originally a good one, after all, it is hard to have bad things offered to the emperor, and they were all carefully prepared by the harem who were vying for favor.It's just that this time the emperor's foot injury was just recovering, so it was inevitable that some ingredients were taboo, so he didn't use silver needles to test it, and changed it to a food test for the first time.

The eunuchs in the imperial dining room next to him all said that Liu Sanbao was blessed, and all he tasted was the good food his master ate, but Zhang Sanbao was very cautious, knowing that this food tasting was unusual, and there would be nothing wrong with it.He also specifically asked Wang Huichun what the emperor should avoid at this time, and carefully wrote down one by one.

In fact, which of the concubines in the palace did not know that they should abandon the ingredients that conflicted with the emperor's medicine, and they had inquired clearly early on.Therefore, this errand is really a good one.

The emperor and the queen mother sat and chatted, talking about the rare delicacies they encountered in previous years.Shen Xiyao has never been greedy for food and drink, and when talking about the treasures of previous years, he just smiled lightly and responded to the Queen Mother.Aunt Jianchun who was next to the Empress Dowager answered most of the questions.

"Speaking of candied fruit in the past, when the Ai family was the empress, the snow mountain plum made by Concubine Quan was the best." The queen mother closed her eyes, slowly recalling the past.

"Your Majesty was pregnant with the emperor at that time, so you naturally preferred sour food." Aunt Jianqiu responded with a smile: "However, the slaves and maidservants were also by your side back then, and the snow-capped plums are really rare in the world."

"It's a pity that after Concubine Quan's sister has gone, no one can make that taste anymore." The queen mother sighed: "Poor." After saying that, she suddenly looked at Shen Xiyao: "It's almost the end of the new year, if there is no serious problem in the southwest , I need Heer to come back."

Shen Xiyao smiled: "The decree has been issued, and the fourth brother will return to Beijing in a few days."

"That's good, that's good." The Empress Dowager caressed her heart: "Back then, Sister Quan held Aijia's hand and asked Aijia to take good care of He'er. Aijia can't let down the sisterhood."

Shen Xiyao turned his eyes away, didn't say a word, just looked at the red and white snacks on the table below, showing an imperceptible smile.

Liu Sanbao first tried the dim sum of grade five and above, and presented it to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.There are not many concubines above the fifth grade, Zhang Dehai reported loudly: "Feng Shuyi presented a box of canary bird, Meng Zhaoyi presented a box of magpies and plum blossoms, Liu Zhaorong presented a box of pea yellow, Qin Xiuyi presented a box of phoenix-tailed Chaoshou... . . ”

Shen Xiyao picked up some of the good ones and tasted them, pointing to a box of pineapple jelly and said to the Queen Mother: "My queen, try this pineapple jelly. This cream is fresh from the West. It tastes smooth and smooth. It is not greasy, and it is more fragrant when paired with pineapple." The queen mother looked at the name tag, which was presented by Liu Jieyu, tasted it and said with a smile: "I think the emperor is Aiwujiwu." She put it down.

Liu Sanbao continued to try, when he tasted a pair of red and white dim sum, he suddenly felt a slight bitter taste mixed with a sweet aroma, he suddenly felt strange, secretly suspicious in his heart, did not dare to be sloppy, and took another One piece was cleaned with tea, then smashed open with a silver spoon, looked carefully at the bright light, just put it in the mouth to taste carefully, and then the expression changed.

Seeing his behavior, Zhang Dehai knew that something was different, so he raised his heart all the time. While the Empress Dowager wasn't paying attention, he walked to Liu Sanbao's side, only to see his face darken, and whispered to Zhang Dehai: "Mr. Zhang , this dim sum is different."

Zhang Dehai was always cautious, let him try other dim sum first, and then ordered the little eunuch to invite Wang Huichun.Only then did he hold the tea tray and exchange for new tea, pretending nothing happened, and walked back to Shen Xiyao's side.

Although Shen Xiyao was gossiping with the Queen Mother, in fact, his peripheral vision was always on the dessert, Zhang Dehai went down quietly, and Liu Sanbao could see every move of Liu Sanbao.Seeing Zhang Dehai come back, he shook his head lightly and turned his eyes away.

After presenting the cakes, the concubines should go back to their respective palaces, but they are all worried about who will win the championship this year, and in the past, they would actually gather in Huating Pavilion not far from Changhe Hall to wait. Today is no exception.

Liu Jieyu leaned on the soft chair inside, looking towards the direction of Changhetang, although her face was calm and nothing could be seen, her hands were clenched.Meng Zhaoyi was gossiping with some concubines, his eyes fell on Liu Jieyu, she sneered and continued talking about other things.

Liu Jieyu was in a daze for a while, but Meng Zhaoyi smiled until she was in front of her and didn't notice it.

"What's my sister thinking?" Meng Zhaoyi asked Liu Jieyu to sit down next to her, seemingly unintentionally.

Liu Jieyu came back to her senses in shock, she didn't answer, she just glanced at the other concubines, and asked, "Why didn't you see Sister Feng?"

(End of this chapter)