A Thousand Hills

Chapter 313

Emperor Mu Yuan said at this juncture that he wanted to establish a queen. While everyone was surprised, nine people in the court felt that this time, it must be the fifth prince who took the lead, and there was no one else. Aren't those bestowed with titles by the fifth prince? With this power, the fifth prince can't let others take the lead!
Furthermore, if the fifth prince wants to go further, since he has the opportunity to rectify his status first, the fifth prince will definitely not let it go.

This reasoning is absolutely correct.

However, as soon as the recommendation from the imperial court came out, everyone was surprised, and it was not the Fifth Prince, but the Eldest Prince who won the first place.The paper recommending Concubine Zhao Gui from the court is completely higher than the paper recommending Concubine Su Shu!
Not to mention that the ministers of the court and the central government were discussing in private, even the prince and Ning Jijiu said, "I didn't know that the boss had such abilities in the past." Recently, the prince only regarded the fifth prince as a serious problem, but unexpectedly his eldest brother Fang The hidden one.If it wasn't for the emperor's father's decision to establish the heir, the prince would not have known that the eldest prince should not be underestimated!

Ning Jijiu said, "Duke Zhao Guo has been in the court for a long time, and his strength can be seen today! However, His Highness should not ignore His Highness Fifth, and His Highness's manpower is mostly in the army."

The prince picked up a cup of fragrant tea, took a sip and said, "The Marquis of Nan'an and the Duke of Pingguo have gone to observe their filial piety, and they will not be able to come out for two or three years. Cousin Yu is far away in the south of the Yangtze River. Uncle Zhongyong has no foundation. In the army, we can breathe a sigh of relief. I just don't know what the father wants?" In the end, no matter whether it is Concubine Zhao or Concubine Su Shu who wants to establish a queen, it is not what the prince wants to see.As far as the prince is concerned, it is better for Emperor Mu Yuan not to establish a queen.

Ning Jijiu was scheming and said, "I have a plan for the posthumous matter. I will keep Zhao's chickens and eggs."

The prince looked at Ning Jijiu, Ning Jijiu smiled slightly, "This plan is to add fuel to the fire." Then he made his own plan, didn't many people recommend Concubine Zhao, why don't they give the eldest prince a helping hand, let The prince's staff also recommended Zhao Guifei.

The crown prince couldn't help worrying, "If the Zhao family really succeeds, what should we do?" The eldest prince still has the word "long"!
Ning Jijiu said in a low voice, "Does Your Highness think that His Majesty would like to see the whole court recommending the Zhao family? Your Highness, forgive me, this country is still His Majesty's country, and this court is also His Majesty's court. Your Majesty, no I am willing to let the situation go beyond my control. The fifth prince did this very cleverly. The fifth prince showed weakness, and the eldest prince showed strength. First of all, he weakened the eldest prince, removed Zhao from the list of candidates for the next position, and His Highness also lost a strong enemy. Afterwards, use the same method to get rid of the fifth prince, and your Majesty will realize that it is better not to establish a queen." These words are right on the heart of the prince.

The prince thought for a while, and only left the matter to Ning Jijiu for arrangement.

After discussing the matter of becoming a queen, Ning Jijiu continued, "Xie Shangshu has retired, and there is a vacancy for the Minister of Punishment. Does Your Highness have any ideas?"

The crown prince put down the exquisite official kiln porcelain cup in his hand, "Governor Li has made great achievements in Shaanxi and Gansu in the past few years." Release the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.After Mr. Li was released, Emperor Mu Yuan ordered Su Xiang to be the crown prince's tutor. Compared with Mr. Li, Su was more a minister of the emperor's heart. However, the prince and Su Xiang never talked about the same thing.Compared with Su Xiang, the chief assistant of the crown prince and Taifu, the crown prince trusts Zhan Shi of the East Palace and Imperial College Jijiu Ning Jijiu who has a daughter as his concubine.Xie Shangshu became an official in his old age, and he was definitely not the only one who had his eye on Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment. As the crown prince, he also had his own people and horses, so he naturally had his own plans.

Ning Jijiu also asked Mr. Li to return to the court. There are seven cabinet members, except for the first assistant Prime Minister Su, the other six are the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of War.Minister of Qin Chuan of the Ministry of Rites, Marquis of Yong'an of the Ministry of War, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and the head of the Imperial Academy, these four people all regard themselves as neutral.Xie Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment used to be the Five Princes faction of Chiguoguo, but now Xie Shangshu is very easy to become an official, and the vacated ministerial position of Shangshu Pavilion is born. Tang Ji, the new Minister of Household Department, has worked with the Fifth Prince for eight years, and their friendship is really extraordinary.The Zonghu Department has always been the territory of Emperor Mu Yuan, Tang Ji must have a good impression of the fifth prince, under this situation, the prince naturally prefers his own person to fill the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.

The prince and Ning Jijiu had a discussion about the lack of Minister of Criminal Affairs. Because the grand-grandson’s wedding was approaching, and the prince needed to assist the state affairs, he didn’t have much time to whisper to the two of them. For a while, the servant announced that the prince was going to the imperial study, and the prince hurriedly went.

Emperor Mu Yuan wrote a calligraphy and gave it to his sons to appreciate.As soon as the prince saw that his elder brother and younger brother were all there, he couldn't help scolding "sly", this is not an elder brother or younger brother, they are simply enemies in the previous life, each of them knew that he would enter the palace to flatter his father.Fortunately, the second son, Mu Biao, also had good eyesight, and when he knew he was away, he stayed by his father's side.Seeing that the second son was next to his father, and the position was very close, the prince lowered his jaw in his heart.

The eldest prince has been proud of himself recently, especially when he overwhelmed the annoying fifth younger brother, which made the eldest prince even more energetic.Therefore, as soon as he saw the prince, he said, "Second brother, hurry up and have a look, look at the big characters written by the emperor, it's really good!" The majestic appearance seemed to be the one who wrote the big characters.

The crown prince came forward to pay his respects, and seeing a calligraphy of Emperor Mu Yuan's "Hundred Years of Love" on the big case, the crown prince said, "The brushwork is chic and elegant, like flowing clouds and flowing water, elegant and delicate, and it really is a good calligraphy."

The fifth prince smiled, "Good words have better meanings."

The prince thought that the eldest son's marriage was imminent, and that he was marrying Prime Minister Su. Even though he and Prime Minister Su had never been close, but Prime Minister Su's political status was real, and the prince still liked this marriage very much.Hearing the fifth prince's words, he didn't like the fifth prince recently, and the prince couldn't help but feel a little happy when he heard this, and said with a smile, "Blessed is Da Lang, and I will thank my father for the reward on Da Lang's behalf." Here Dalang refers to His Royal Highness, the eldest son of the prince.

Emperor Mu Yuan laughed, "It was written for him." Then he asked, "What does Dalang do?"

Mu Biao, the prince's second son, smiled, "Father may not know about this matter, but grandson does." Seeing his grandfather looking at him, Mu Biao smiled and said, "Brother must be trying on the wedding dress." It made everyone happy again.

The precious grandson is getting married, Emperor Mu Yuan was overjoyed, and joked with Mu Biao, "It's your turn to try next year." This made Mu Biao blush.The fourth prince followed suit and said, "Ah Biao has to make an agreement with your imperial grandfather first, and next year I will still write this big character for you."

Mu Biao smiled, "Fourth Uncle knows how to make fun of my nephew." So he begged Emperor Mu Yuan affectionately, "Anyway, my grandson will thank you first, and I will wait for my grandfather to reward me next year."

Emperor Mu Yuan smiled, "You have your own."

Mu Biao took advantage of the situation and saluted.

The father, son, monarch and ministers chatted and laughed, and Emperor Mu Yuan was very happy, so he stayed with the princes for dinner at night.

The fifth prince went back to the mansion at night and said to his wife, "I think A Biao is very clever." In the past, the grandson was always by his father's side, but this time when he returned to court, the grandson rarely saw him, but he was a direct relative of the grandson. The younger brother Mu Biao often showed his face in front of the imperial court, and he didn't know what the prince's arrangement was.

Xie Moru said, "Since the grandson's foot was injured, Ah Biao used to walk around on behalf of the prince." Even if there is a difference between the elder and the younger, when the child grows up, it is inevitable that he will have his own thoughts.

The fifth prince sighed, seeing the big characters written by his emperor's father to the grandson's wedding today, he asked the grandson if the wedding gifts were ready, Xie Moru ordered Wisteria to take the gift list and show it to the fifth prince, five The prince saw that it was extremely generous, and said, "Compared to the wedding ceremony of the sixth younger brother, it is not bad."

"It's just a little inferior." Xie Moru said, "This is what we discussed. The grandson is not easy to be a child, and he is the eldest son of the Eastern Palace. Naturally, he must be distinguished from other emperors and grandchildren. But, is he the emperor's son?" Grandchildren, no matter how difficult it is to surpass the prince."

"This is very appropriate." The fifth prince looked at the grandson's wedding gift, closed the gift list and handed it to Wisteria for safekeeping, then talked about Xiao Tang's marriage, and said with a smile, "Xiao Tang also prepared a few things. Things, speaking of the few years I haven’t been in the imperial capital, the family is lucky to have such an ordinary person running around.” Xiao Tang’s job is very good, and he has a wide range of people, so he can come out to do something and talk Very useful.

Xie Moru smiled, "Xiao Tang, we have to go to two places, one is the natal sister of the sixth sibling, and the other is the Tang family. Just rest assured, Your Highness, there will be nothing wrong. Xiao Tang and others are waiting for marriage. .”

The fifth prince laughed loudly, "I heard that he even ranked himself among the top ten golden bachelors in the imperial capital."

Xie Moru said, "The first one is his master Jiujiang, and the last one is him."

The fifth prince was happy again. Speaking of Li Jiujiang, the fifth prince said, "I still have to ask Jiujiang to persuade Uncle Zhongyong. Uncle Zhongyong just came to court and doesn't know the rules of the court. It is common for people to be ginseng." , where is it worth going to become a monk? It's not cheap to kill that censor."

Xie Moru said, "That's very true. Even though Uncle Zhongyong's parents are gone, it is because of this that he is needed to reproduce the family. Under the Nine Springs, his parents can rest in peace."

Once the couple spoke, they rested early at night.

Now there are many happy events in the capital.

First of all, grandchildren get married, and when they raise the court, as long as they have the head and face to meet the specifications, they will go to have a wedding banquet.Not to mention the prince's mansion, Saburo also designed the link of making trouble in the bridal chamber. As a result, the rules in the palace were strict, and before the bridal chamber made a fuss, he was dragged out by the nanny in charge, which made people laugh.

On this day, the Crown Princess also looked very good, wearing a vermilion long dress, greeting all the sisters-in-law and laughing.Speaking of which, this marriage is really not a choice.

On the second day of the grandson's wedding, Xie Moru went to the palace early in the morning, and met the grandson and Mrs. Su who came to pay their respects in the Palace of Mercy. Mrs. Su was handsome and dignified, and the princess took her to meet all the elders one by one.The first one is naturally the queen mother, this is the first great-grandson daughter-in-law, and she is also the great-grandson concubine. The meeting gift given by the queen mother is a set of precious and precious jade ornaments, which are extremely expensive.

The rest of the people naturally dare not surpass the Queen Mother. The second is Princess Wenkang, followed by Princess Changtai, Princess Yongfu, the third princess, and the fourth princess. Greeting ceremony.However, Princess Yongfu's gift to the Su family is more expensive than Princess Changtai's.After all, it is human nature for Princess Yongfu and the crown prince to share the same mother.

After seeing the Eldest Princess and the other princesses, it was Zhao Xie, the two noble concubines, and Defei Xianfei, these concubines only dared to accept the Su family's half courtesy.Finally, the princes and concubines, when it was Xie Moru's turn, Xie Moru praised his dignity and stability, and said with a smile, "Although it is the first time we met, we will be a family from now on, so we can live with our grandson, young couple, and beautiful, empress dowager." , Crown Princess, and us elders are happy." He said again, "My mother, Concubine Su, is feeling a little unwell, and I won't be able to see her again today, so I brought them here as a meeting gift." She gave a double meeting gift.

The Su family obviously did their homework to marry the grandson, and bowed slightly, first thanking the fifth aunt, and then saluted, "Don't dare to disturb the concubine Shu's recuperation, I will go to ask the concubine Shu when she is well." Xie Moru accepted the previous gift.For the next salute, Xie Moru accepted half of the salute on his behalf.After all, the Su family is the grandson's wife, and Concubine Su is just a concubine.

Xie Moru smiled and said to the crown princess, "It's weird to say that having a daughter-in-law can enjoy happiness. I didn't know what it meant before, but when I saw the grandson's daughter-in-law, I understood it. The empress is more blessed than us, and enjoys the blessing of a daughter-in-law first."

The Crown Princess is obviously very satisfied with this eldest daughter-in-law, and there is a little more of the flying feeling in her brows, and she smiles, "Don't worry, I think Dalang and the others are coming up soon, and they will be afraid of the father next year." Not referring to marriage."

Xie Moru smiled, "The houses in my house are all ready, just waiting."

Everyone was chatting and laughing, and Su Clan also roughly met the royal relatives.

Xie Moru said a few words, then resigned from Empress Dowager Hu, and went to Shuning Palace to visit Concubine Su, Concubine Su suffered from an old illness.

Concubine Su leaned on the big pillow and talked to Xie Moru, "This is also an old problem for me. Actually, it's not a serious problem, but every winter I always cough for a few days. There are happy events in the palace, but it's not easy to go out. One It's unlucky, and the other is that I'm so sick, and I will make the newcomers care too much when I go." Then I asked the concubine how she was.

Xie Moru smiled, "Look at the very dignified child."

"Your Majesty's eyesight, no matter how good it is." Concubine Su said, "I still have good things here, and I will give them to Dalang's wife in the future." No matter how good the grandson is, he is someone else's grandson. In Concubine Su's heart, she naturally prefers her own grandson .

Xie Moru said, "It's not enough to have a copy. Da Lang said he was one year older than Erlang Sanlang, but in fact Dalang's birthday was younger. He was born in the twelfth lunar month, so he was only a few months older than Erlang Sanlang. Let's do the marriage affairs together, give them a drink, and our family will receive three gifts." This made Concubine Su laugh constantly, and then coughed lightly for a while.

The palace servants brought herbal tea, Xie Moru took it, served Concubine Su to drink a few sips, Concubine Su said, "I am not worried about the children's marriage, there is Your Majesty." She panted for a while, Fang said, "These My God, I don't go out very often. I just heard about the establishment of a queen. Hey, I just want to tell you, let others fight. You and the fifth child are very filial. I know you expect me well. These years, I have seen it open. What about the queen, what about the concubines, these days are not for others to see, but for myself. I am content with watching you. "

Xie Moru said softly, "Mother and concubine, don't worry, although the court is very lively, let me tell you, the courtiers can talk about this matter, relatives and nobles can talk, and it is unreasonable for His Royal Highness and them to be princes. In this world, how can there be a father to continue his marriage?" How about asking the reason for the son? Besides, the emperor has a good idea in his heart. Who can say that this matter can only be accomplished after meeting the emperor's wishes."

Concubine Su saw that Xie Moru knew what was on her mind, so she stopped talking.

Xie Moru talked with Concubine Su for a while before leaving the palace. In the evening, he told the Fifth Prince what Concubine Su had said, and the Fifth Prince said, "Let Concubine Mother and Concubine recover from her illness, I know what to do. Now the court recommends Zhao There are more and more concubines and concubines."

Xie Moru couldn't help but said, "Dong Zhao Guogong has been in the court for many years, and this person has a lot of contacts. How about the Yongding Marquis Mansion?"

"It's because you have good eyesight that the court recommended Concubine Zhao, but Marquis Yongding didn't move at all. When I was in Fujian, I said that Marquis Yongding was mature and prudent. Now it seems that Marquis Yongding has not changed his character!" The fifth prince said with emotion. Marquis Yongding, who had a firm stand, quietly said to his wife, "There are a lot of things going on here. If it's not as expected, I'm afraid the crown prince has added fuel to the fire."

Xie Moru smiled and said, "It seems that this time the eldest prince is really going to be in trouble."

The fifth prince raised his eyebrows, and he was really glad that he didn't connect with anyone to recommend his mother.

Xie Moru thought that the eldest prince would be unlucky, but the first unlucky one was not the eldest prince, but Concubine Zhao.

Ever since the Manchu Dynasty recommended Concubine Zhao, Empress Dowager Hu has been displeased with Concubine Zhao a thousand times, and she has to find fault with Concubine Zhao from time to time. If there is something wrong with Concubine Zhao, she should be picked on.The point is, with the ability of the Empress Dowager Yihu, she really can't pick out Concubine Zhao Gui, it's nothing more than finding a bone in an egg and embarrassing Concubine Zhao.Empress Dowager Hu occupies the position of Empress Dowager, Concubine Zhao's prospective mother-in-law, and she is always unreasonable.It's just that Concubine Zhao is so old that she has tasted hang Luo that she hadn't eaten when she was young.She has a high status in the harem and is also the concubine in charge, how can she stand up to this, coming and going again and again, her heart gets blocked, and she falls ill.

Concubine Zhao Gui is not easy to provoke, she has this illness, and she voluntarily handed over the power of management, saying that she is sick and unable to manage affairs, and there are many things in the next year, so if the palace affairs are handed over to her, it may be delayed. I begged Emperor Mu Yuan to choose someone else.

Emperor Mu Yuan ordered Concubine De and Concubine Xie to do the same thing, reprimanded Hu Zhaoyi in a blink of an eye, made Zhaoyi Shuyuan, and moved to Frost Palace.You can tell how cold this place is just by the name.

Empress Dowager Hu also complained to her daughter, Princess Wenkang, "Tell me, is there something wrong with your emperor's eyes? Hu Zhaoyi is such a humble and obedient person, and he is extremely filial in front of Ai's family. Hu Zhaoyi's status. How could that child endure such grievances, and now he is too shy to come out. There is no one who can talk to Ai's family."

Princess Wenkang didn't sympathize with her mother at all, and said, "The concubines in the palace just want them to make the emperor happy. If they are humble and obedient, they won't make the emperor angry. The queen mother is really, for A Shuyuan, but it’s not the emperor’s brother. Just based on your mother’s words, then Shuyuan is not a good one.”

Empress Dowager Hu continued to hold her daughter's hand, whispering mysteriously, "Oh, that's your cousin too."

"Don't say it's a cousin from the mother's family, even a cousin from the direct line, and it's not as important as my brother." Princess Wenkang just complained about her mother, "When will the queen mother change the problem of being partial to her mother's family? "

Empress Dowager Hu took it for granted, and said, "Isn't this just in time for your brother to become a queen? Could it be that the queen is going to fall into the hands of Zhao?" On weekdays, Empress Dowager Hu did not dislike Zhao Guifei, but Thinking that Concubine Zhao Gui dared to think about her successor.With this article, Concubine Zhao Gui is very good, and she is not at all good.

Princess Wenkang already knew that her mother wanted to establish a queen, so she had to break it up and said to her mother, "It's the emperor's brother who established a queen. Hu Zhaoyi has no emperor's favor, no emperor's heir, and no birth. How can she see that she is worthy to be a queen?" What about the queen? Mother, the emperor is your own son. Even if you think about it, you have to choose a queen who is worthy of the emperor! It’s not that someone with the surname Hu is worthy of being our old Mu’s family. The queen of the palace!"

Empress Dowager Hu said aggrievedly, "Our family is so rich, shouldn't it be right to drag your uncle's family?"

"My uncle's family is already a government office, so isn't this called dragging?" Princess Wenkang put on a stern face, "Besides, there is no reason in this world to wrong her son for dragging her mother's family!" Then, Princess Wenkang complained to the Queen Mother for a long time How eccentric, how disregarding her son's words, the empress dowager who kept complaining kept saying that if she didn't interfere in the matter of becoming a queen, Princess Wenkang would just give up.

With the presence of Princess Wenkang, Empress Dowager Hu finally survived.

Princess Wenkang went to see Concubine Zhao once when she was out of the palace, and Concubine Zhao was very polite, "How dare you bother Princess Chang to come to see me, I won't get well after I get sick."

Princess Wenkang said slowly, "You are taking care of your illness. I will treat you well. You are still the director of the palace. The emperor can rest assured. The queen mother is old, she is like an old child, she can do whatever she thinks of, and we are juniors. Be more forgiving."

Concubine Zhao Gui couldn't be more grateful for these two words from Princess Wenkang, and leaned forward and said, "Your Highness, how dare you say that? Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager have treated me as much as a mountain. It is my fault that I can't make the Empress Dowager happy. Treat me Alright, let's go to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager."

Princess Wenkang didn't stay much longer, so that Concubine Zhao could recover from her illness and went out of the palace by herself.

Princess Wenkang had good intentions, and felt that her mother had gone too far because of the empress dowager Concubine Zhao's outburst. If Empress Dowager Hu's outburst was another young concubine, Princess Wenkang might not necessarily go to comfort her.Concubine Zhao Guifei is different after all, she not only gave birth to the eldest son of the royal family, but also, taking care of the palace affairs in these years, there is no credit but hard work, and at this age, she has become a grandmother, it is not good to make her so shameless .Therefore, Princess Wenkang took advantage of the season when she was out of the palace, and went to Concubine Zhao's palace for a while.I don't want to, this encounter made Concubine Zhao think too much. In the past, Concubine Zhao didn't think too much.Now that she was at the critical moment of Lihou, Concubine Zhao first felt that Princess Wenkang had never been so polite to any concubine in her life, and when she was ill, Princess Wenkang would come to greet her.Concubine Su Shu has also been ill for a long time, but Princess Wenkang didn't even look at her.There are also the words "director" and "forgiveness", which seem to have a deep meaning, Concubine Zhao lost her mind for a while, and hurriedly called her confidantes to go out and inquire carefully.

Until several days in a row, she never heard Queen Mother Hu say a word about becoming a queen, and Concubine Zhao felt that she was almost inseparable as a queen.

Concubine Zhao was overwhelmed with self-confidence for a moment, and quickly took advantage of the opportunity of her son entering the palace to serve the sick, and gave another order.

(End of this chapter)