Chen Palace

Chapter 33
King Jing still smiled eloquently: "The queen mother looked at it well, and the son and minister felt at ease—oh, the sisters-in-law are all here, the younger brother is so polite!"

He acted like an actor with excellent singing and reciting skills, and gave a gift. With his extremely gorgeous appearance, he didn't look slick at all, which only made the concubines laugh. Hearing his "sister-in-law" in his ears, his heart was full of tears. Very useful.

Chen Lu looked coldly at this unrestrained, frivolous and cynical King Jing, and remembered all kinds of rumors about him.

Although King Jing kept saying that he was the queen mother, he was not born of the queen mother. His biological mother, concubine Hui, also came from the powerful Lin family. In terms of seniority, she was the queen mother's cousin. When he was six years old, he died of an infection.

He was extremely clever since he was a child, and he was able to chant poems at the age of three, and his words had something to say, which made the Taifu marvel that "this son is not a thing in the pond", but as he got older, he indulged in pleasure and did a lot of absurd things. , the first emperor had to take heavy responsibility several times, but with the protection of the empress dowager, the aunt, there was nothing he could do.

He was born so handsome, and he is the beloved younger brother of today. He is the ideal object in the dreams of ladies in Beijing, but his temperament is uncertain, and he is always unwilling to marry a concubine. Anecdotes cannot be short.

Amidst the amazement of the crowd, some palace people had hung the picture of a thousand lifespan above the main hall. Following the steward's order, they saw a steady stream of delicacies. Yingrun, who has sharp eyes, has long recognized that these are colored glaze and porcelain made secretly in Yunzhou, each of which is worth thousands of gold.

Yuan Qi sat down under the empress dowager's head, and caught a glimpse of these precious utensils at a glance. An imperceptible anger flashed between his brows, and then he acted as if nothing had happened.

Chen Lu saw it clearly, lowered her head, and hid her sneer—Lin Kuang, the eldest brother of the Empress Dowager, inherited the two prefectures of Yunyan and Lin where the Lin family was located, and took advantage of the opportunity of the Tatars' invasion of the south more than ten years ago. With the banner of supporting the country, together with several feudal lords, they dispatched private soldiers to join the war.

In this battle, their private soldiers did not make much achievements, but when Zhou Jun cut off the Tatar supplies and made them retreat, they occupied thousands of miles of land and refused to return it to the court.

Lin Kuang was treacherous, especially dissatisfied, he actually went to the court, and after showing his achievements, he implicitly proposed that he wanted to become the first vassal king with a foreign surname.

According to the rumors in the palace, after receiving the memorial from her elder brother that day, the Queen Mother was furious and almost wanted to kill the envoy with a stick. Afterwards, under the persuasion of her second elder brother, she managed to dispel the anger of the thunder, but expelled the envoy and ordered her elder brother not to Have unreasonable thoughts.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, another secret envoy came, and I don't know what he said to the Queen Mother. On the second day, the Queen Mother's tone softened. Finally, after more than ten days, Lin Kuang won another small victory. An imperial edict was passed down to the world, and he was granted the title of King Xiang, the first vassal king with a foreign surname in this dynasty.

For such a treacherous, domineering and domineering uncle, although Yuan Qi didn't want to talk too much, after several insinuations, he knew that he hated him deeply.

Looking at the utensils of Yunzhou in front of him, this Ninth Five-Year Venerable must feel very uncomfortable...

The Empress Dowager looked at her son and saw that he didn't move his chopsticks, she knew it was because of herself, she smiled and said: "Emperor, you don't have to be formal, I know you are filial, but you don't have to stick to these red tapes."

Yuan Qi took a piece of rare mushroom and ate it, only to find it refreshing and delicious, and couldn't help praising: "The cook here is really good."

The queen mother gave him a sideways look, and said with a half-smile: "What kind of cook is good? These rare mushrooms were sent from King Xiang's side, six hundred miles away - in case your nephew can't eat fresh ones, they came from the frontier near Tatar. picked from the land."

She changed the subject: "The last time you insisted on detaining the envoy, after all, it was too reckless. If you are so reckless, don't talk about the big words of life, but let your uncle do, ask him to use his flesh and blood to block the Tatar cavalry ?"

After Yuan Qi heard this, he paused in his hands and put down the ivory jade chopsticks inlaid with gold: "The queen mother, the last messenger was found out to be Mu Na, the eldest son of Kulu Khan. The reason why he was released was because Hulu himself is in the vortex of 'Mitu', so why should I take action? Uncle's side, although it is a frontier fortress, is also very vast. He is a vassal king, so how can he get hurt? Besides, "

He took the small thumb-wide drip cup on the side of the table to play with, and accidentally pinched a gap in it——

"Uncle's fief," he mused, adding an emphasis on the word fief: "Relying on the Tatar grassland, soldiers have the responsibility to guard the land, so how can they be afraid to avoid war?"

"Emperor!" The Empress Dowager raised her voice slightly, and everyone heard it abnormally. When they peeked at her, they saw that her phoenix eyes were full of power, and she had a kind of awe-inspiring aura——

"My son said so, isn't he afraid of the chilling of the soldiers on the border? Although King Xiang is wrong, he is always Qingtian's important minister and your uncle!"

The queen mother looked around, knowing that everyone was listening to the movement here, she lowered her voice slightly, but it was more sonorous.

Yuan Qi turned sideways and poured a glass of amber dew for her mother—she loved this one the most, and said in a low voice: "Mother's empress, my son and minister don't think so, but since uncle is in his position, there are inevitably important ministers." If there are treacherous and villainous people who separate from each other and do something that insults the state, how will I deal with it? Mother, think about it, is it not difficult for me?"

The Empress Dowager remained silent for a long time before she sneered: "It turns out that you are all in trouble, but my old lady is not - the palm of your hand and the back of your hand, the emperor, tell me, what should I do?!"

Yuan Qi was still waiting to say more, but the queen mother had already raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp.He had no choice but to take some of his usual favorites and pile them on her plate.

The Empress Dowager only drank three cups, she had always suffered from angina pectoris, and no one dared to persuade her to drink. Her face was normal, as if it was just a small dispute, and she was supported by the maid and went back to the back hall to rest.

"Sir Shangyi, the Queen Mother invites you to go over."

A few moments later, Aunt Ye came to invite her in person, and her words were even more respectful.

Chen Lu got up, and at this moment, Concubine Zhou Gui, who was still restless, felt in a trance that a mournful dragon chant echoed in the hall——

What the hell is going on here? !

****
The back hall is where the Empress Dowager lives. It is not full of shrines and joss sticks like other dowager palaces, but is decorated with scrolls and ancient objects, which looks very elegant—no wonder the aristocratic families are often proud, each other’s taste, It was heaven and earth.

The Empress Dowager leaned on the bed, and was gently tapped and pounded by two young girls. When the morning dew came in, she waved, and the two of them filed out.

"I heard that you persuaded the emperor to release the envoy?"

The Empress Dowager's eyes were sharp, as if she wanted to shoot straight into people's hearts.

"The humble minister was terrified and did not dare to intervene in state affairs. It's just that he had heard some Tatar customs and secrets in the grass in the past, so he said it for the emperor's reference."

The queen mother looked at her, and suddenly laughed: "You child, you don't take credit at all, but this modesty and prudence is very rare-this time it's really thanks to you, the emperor is my own flesh and blood, his temper, I know best—I usually look generous and rigorous, but if I really want to make up my mind, even nine bulls won’t be able to pull me back.”

She sighed softly: "The emperor has a deep hatred for the Tatars, and he doesn't listen to any advice—but he doesn't know how tyrannical they are when they dominate the grasslands. I am all farmers in the Central Plains. What can I do against them?"

The girl stood and listened silently to her words, which seemed to be both complaints and exhortations, but those clear black eyes seemed to be unable to bear the darkness of the room, they squinted slightly, and a stream of light was fleeting.

The queen mother didn't know that this was the reason for her murderous intentions, so she raised her voice and ordered people to light the candles, and then continued: "You are by the emperor's side, you must stand firm and do things faithfully, if there is anything wrong with the emperor, you must always warn— —Don’t panic, you are not a concubine in the harem, and you have nothing to do with interfering in state affairs!”

"When I look at you today, I know that you are prudent and cautious. In the future, don't let the trust of me and the emperor be disappointed."

The queen mother's words, full of majesty and expectation in the warmth, are really grand, but Aunt Ye added with a smile: "This old slave is not afraid of breaking taboos. If Shangyi sees any outrageous things in the future, he should quietly." It is the Queen Mother who has come to report—a good medicine tastes bitter and is good for the disease, but the emperor does not listen to it all the time."

Chen Lu responded: "Auntie said so."

The Queen Mother was tired, so she rewarded her with some things - all extremely rare, she did not refuse, thanked her and left the back hall.

"What do you think of this?"

The queen mother was lying on the bed, casually asking Aunt Ye.

(End of this chapter)