Yan Cigui

Chapter 321 It’s terrible (two updates in one, please vote for me)

 Cuihua Palace.

The imperial concubine was lying on the couch with a tired look on her face.

She is not a person who likes to work hard. Although there were some tedious tasks in running the harem in the past, it was not as "lively" as in recent days.

 In this harem, some people finally lost their composure.

 She is in this position, and there are actually very few people who want to compete with her.

The queen position has been empty for many years, and she can't move up. Moreover, she has no sons and a half. It is not easy to have children at this age. She is a gorgeous screen wall in the harem. Everyone can see her, and everyone just looks at her. .

Who wants to compete to be a screen wall?

Aren’t they all going to the main hall?

The concubines in the harem are more willing to pay attention to the Holy Emperor. In other words, they, especially those with the emperor's son in their arms, are focusing on the prince.

 What exactly happened in the East Palace that day? There were many rumors in the harem. However, the Holy Emperor was in Cuihua Palace and his father-in-law was back and forth twice more that day, so that everyone wanted to find out some inside information from Cuihua Palace.

 I could handle it a few days ago, but today it’s really bothering me.

After all, the imperial concubine is not the master of the middle palace, and she is impatient to have her sisters come to greet her every day. For so many years, she has only visited the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, two days a month.

Today is the fifteenth day.

Mammy suggested that she just call it a day, but the imperial concubine didn't agree.

Her secretiveness here made it more and more obvious that she knew the inside story, and it also made the prince look more and more untenable.

His Royal Highness must still be present in the harem.

Since the prince is stable, she can be more stable. Once the position of the Eastern Palace is shaken and the sisters in the harem start to struggle, life will be really difficult.

 She cheered up and finished dealing with the concubine, smiling on her lips and sighing in her heart, but at least not a single bit of news came out of her own mouth.

Everyone left, leaving her lying on the couch for a full two-quarters of an hour before she recovered.

“If there is a commotion in the harem, then there will be a commotion in the previous court, right?” the imperial concubine asked her mother softly.

Mammy said: "After all, it's already fifteen."

 There is no need to say the following words, I understand them all in my heart.

 The death anniversary of the late Queen is September 25th, and there are still ten days left.

　　Once the Holy Emperor releases the prince from confinement and the prince meets with the Holy Emperor, he will come and go again and again. Because of the Holy Emperor's love for the prince, he is afraid that the previous matters will be over.

 After reading this chapter, who knows how long it will take for the Prince to become a "farce"?

It would be best to take the opportunity to lock him up for a while and kill the prince's prestige more, so that he can have a chance to make arrangements for his funeral.

There is nothing we can do about it. The prince's age makes him stand out. The other princes are too young. It's hard to say whether they can grow up to the prince's age without any illness or pain, let alone have the opportunity to compete in the future.

“I heard that they were settling an old score,” Mammy lowered her voice, “that His Highness was not sincere enough towards Duke Fu...”

The imperial concubine burst into laughter.

She had some guesses about how Duke Fu was injured, but after all, it was just a guess, and it had to be kept in her heart, and she could never say a word to the public.

 Similarly, you have to be careful at the Qianbu Corridor.

 If you guessed wrong and used it to attack Li Shao, you were asking for trouble; if you guessed right and you flipped the account like this, you violated the holy will, and the results may not be much, and you can't escape your own misfortune.

 After thinking about it, I can only talk about "attitude".

 Xu Jian was the queen of Zhonglie.

 The Duke of Fu has made great achievements in war, and the old Duke is the backbone of the country.

 Xu Jian himself was good at martial arts in the past, but now he is also good at writing. Moreover, he is young and will definitely accomplish something in the future.

However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was quite "rebellious" towards such a minister with a good foundation and a promising future.

 There is evidence of rebellion.

 When the Ministry of Rites was observing politics, there were conflicts between the two, and the prince was not willing to listen to Xu Jian's guidance.

 This tiger bone incident is another piece of “evidence”.

 There has been a lot of controversy surrounding these issues.

"It's hard for them," the imperial concubine's smile was a bit mocking, "Everyone has his own way, and he has racked his brains to come up with such a rhetoric."

As he was talking, someone came from outside and said that a message came from the royal study room and that the Holy Father was coming to have a meal at noon.

The imperial concubine’s face grew long.

“The Holy Spirit is probably in a bad mood,” the nanny advised. “Do you think he would blame the Duke and the princess?”

The imperial concubine shook her head: "No."

 Having been able to accompany the emperor for many years and gain deep trust, the imperial concubine knows the emperor well.

The Holy See looks at things in their entirety. He can get a little angry at most, but far from blaming others. He rarely takes his anger out on anyone.

Although Ning'an asked Cining Palace to mention the tiger bone matter, the Holy Emperor was informed from the beginning.

The Holy Spirit nodded himself and asked Eunuch Yu to ask Donggong to speak. He also asked Eunuch Cao to go there. He was not an afterthought, but was always involved.

From the beginning to the end, the Holy Spirit didn’t think there was anything wrong with this matter. So with this result, how could he leave himself alone and talk about others?

 In the final analysis, no one expected that His Highness would have such a reaction.

He really didn't want to give it. He could have said it more nicely, which would be fine, but he didn't speak nicely.

Even though it was finally given, it was Eunuch Cao who went to ask for it, and the root of it was improperly preserved, which led to this.

Not to mention the others who were dumbfounded, even the imperial concubine couldn't understand.

Why bother!

“Your Majesty, you must be more angry with the Crown Prince right now,” said the Imperial Concubine.

This is really true.

 In the imperial study room, Eunuch Cao carefully served the Holy Emperor.

 In the morning, the courtiers were talking a lot. Some were direct and some were roundabout. But no matter which path was taken, the people on the dragon throne knew very well that the purpose was the same.

 The injury of Duke Fu is like a useful knife, anyone can use it to dance.

 It just so happened that Duke Fu was still recuperating and still did not come to court.

I have to say that the Holy Father misses Xu Jian quite a lot.

If Xu Jian were present and saw all the people dancing with him, he didn't know what his reaction would be.

Nine times out of ten, I can’t hold it anymore and have to watch another round of fun.

 To be honest, the Holy Spirit would say that he felt more comfortable seeing Xu Jian as a person having fun than listening to long speeches with ulterior motives.

Thinking about Xu Jian like this, the Holy Master couldn't help but think of what Xu Jian had said when Chen Mihu and colleagues sent him the message.

 The prince must be the prince.

If even such a favored prince can easily fall due to deliberate calculations, the subsequent struggle will become more intense, and everyone will want to take a gamble.

At that time, not only the prince, but also the other highnesses found it difficult to grow up safely.

Those words really spoke to the Holy Spirit’s heart.

 He has no intention of deposing the prince, and he also wants to get Xu Jian's ideas. He can see it clearly on the dragon throne.

Many people have selfish motives, he has them, and those old foxes who pretend to be confused even more so.

 He just admired Xu Jian.

 You are very young, but you see it so clearly.

“You send someone to the Duke Fu’s Mansion to visit Xu Jian,” the Holy Master told Eunuch Cao, “How are you doing at the East Palace these days?”

Eunuch Cao was complaining in his heart.

Eunuch Guo reported the results after sorting out the warehouse. Eunuch Cao looked at the list with stars in his eyes yesterday.

Of the relics of the late empress that were awarded to the East Palace, only about half were intact and undamaged. Another part had various degrees of damage, and nine of them could not be found at all.

 What made Eunuch Cao even more stunned was that Eunuch Guo mentioned a vase.

The pattern of the vase itself is nothing, but the vase is dotted with eighteen pearls, and there are indeed many of them now, but Eunuch Guo is not sure whether those pearls are real or fake. Eunuch Guo had it written all over his face that "I have no vision" and "I don't understand". He wished that Eunuch Cao could judge.

Eunuch Cao was so angry that he didn’t even take a bite of food last night.

He didn't dare to be angry with the prince. He was angry with the group of people who took care of the East Palace before. They had done everything!

 But these words, Eunuch Cao didn't know how to speak to the Holy Father for a while.

 He ​​asked to check the warehouse, and he knew it well. This number was really fatal.

Thinking about it, Eunuch Cao did not dare to show any clues on his face: "Everything is going well in the East Palace. I will send someone to assist the Duke of Guo."

Just as Eunuch Cao was good at guessing the emperor's thoughts, the emperor also knew the great chamberlain beside him very well.

When the others came back, he asked again: "Did Shaoer do something again?"

Eunuch Cao’s smile condensed on his face.

It’s really hard to hide it.

 Bite the bullet, Eunuch Cao said: "When we were collecting tiger bones that day, I saw that the warehouse in the East Palace was not carefully taken care of, so I told them to take advantage of the good weather to quickly take a plate.

Some reports came in yesterday. Comparing the brochures, we can see that things are quite damaged and some are missing. I think it was the people in the front who acted carelessly, not the prince..."

In the middle of his words, he was interrupted by the Holy Emperor: "Does the problem of the warehouse have nothing to do with Shao'er? I ordered this official and that official to do whatever they want, so I can turn a blind eye. ?”

Eunuch Cao lowered his head and listened honestly.

no way.

The Holy Emperor can scold him, but he cannot make irresponsible remarks to the prince.

The Holy Spirit calmed down and asked: "To make you so cautious and caring, is there something important that is missing?"

Eunuch Cao swallowed his saliva: "They are some relics of the late queen."

As soon as he finished speaking, the expression on the Holy Master's face faded.

There was some fire before, but now there is no fire, only ice, and it is as cold as the twelfth lunar month in winter.

Eunuch Cao sighed secretly.

This is worse than getting angry.

After a long while, he picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp. Then he stood up and strode out.

Eunuch Cao could only follow him immediately.

The Holy Spirit was traveling, followed by a group of people. No one knew where they were going. After walking for a while, Eunuch Cao realized first that he was going to the East Palace.

 This is really...

Eunuch Cao glanced at the group of people behind him.

 Should we bring in reinforcements?

 Cining Palace or Cuihua Palace?

　　No, we can't move it, and the more we move it, the messier it will become. It would be easier for the Lord and the Prince to close the door.

 In the East Palace at this moment, Li Shao did not know that his father was coming here.

 He sent away the absent-minded Eunuch Guo and asked only Feng to wait on him.

Feng's inner servant lowered his voice and said: "It's hard for outside news to come in, that is, the person who delivers meals every day can only say a few words, and the younger one asked quietly. The Duke of Fu has not yet gone to court, and there are many opinions in the Jinluan Palace. It seems that the news about the two tiger bones has spread."

 Li Shao sneered.

 Xu Jian had nothing to do but was looking for trouble. She was looking for trouble for him. How could she not take advantage of the opportunity when she finally got such an opportunity?

Of course, Xu Jian would never use this to criticize him.

 Among the ministers who had their own ideas, Xu Jian, the initiator, needed to be the one supporting Li Shao. This was the game between the emperor and his ministers.

 Xu Jian would do this if he wanted to overwhelm him.

The more Li Shao thought about it, the more ridiculous he became, but he also knew that his father was just like Xu Jian!

Chamberlain Feng wanted to continue talking, but when Eunuch Guo came in, he quickly shut up.

Eunuch Guo reported: "Your Majesty will arrive at the East Palace soon, Your Highness."

 Li Shao got off the couch.

 Father is here?

  Has this time come?

“Today is September 15th, right?” he asked.

 After receiving the affirmative reply, Li Shao laughed.

He has not seen his father since he was banned. Eunuch Cao only came once because of Xu Jian. What east wind can bring his father here now?

That means he will be released soon!

 He has been locked up for a long time and he can't wait to get out.

It would be good to go to Liubu to observe the government. Xu Jian can't move now anyway. He can go alone without such an unsightly follower.

 “Let’s go.” Li Shao simply tidied up his appearance and walked quickly out of the hall.

With a smile on his face and excitement in his eyes, he urged the palace people to open the door of the East Palace. He saw the bright yellow figure getting closer and closer...

 Then, he saw his father’s tense jaw and cold face.

Li Shao's smile froze on his face, and his head buzzed for a moment.

what happened?

 Why is Father so angry?

It's just a matter of a tiger bone, and it's been several days. Is it worthy for my father to come back and reprimand me personally?

Li Shao looked at Eunuch Cao, trying to get some clues from his face, but Eunuch Cao lowered his head and did not communicate with him at all.

With his heart sinking more and more, Li Shao could only salute first: "My son, I would like to pay my respects to my father."

 The Holy Spirit looked deeply at Li Shao.

Having not seen each other for a while, he remembered and missed Shaoer. Shaoer was still the same as before, but he seemed to be a little different.

 Along the way, he suppressed his temper to some extent and did not directly question Li Shao. Instead, he asked: "Where is the warehouse?"

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Guo quickly led the way for the Holy Master.

Li Shao looked at his father's back and did not move for a long time.

  Warehouse?

Really for the tiger bones?

 The warehouse was opened, and little Zengzi's hands were shaking violently.

After some sorting, it was actually not that messy now, but precisely because he had sorted it out, he knew what was missing and what was broken.

He thought that the things that Eunuch Cao could pick out and put on the list were indeed not just random things.

The saint looked at it twice and asked Eunuch Cao: "Which ones are they?"

Eunuch Cao didn’t bring the list with him, so he asked Eunuch Guo for another copy of the order, and started to read it, from missing to damaged.

Eunuch Guo was also smart. He directed the people to take out all the broken ones and place them one by one in the yard.

Li Shao followed and saw the items being moved out one by one.

 His breathing stopped for a few breaths.

Little Zengzi didn’t know the origin of these things, but Li Shao knew best.

 These are all the relics of the queen mother.

Looking at his father's expression again, two words came to Li Shao's mind: Oh no!

It must be said that Li Shao's intuition in sensing Xu Jian's "malice" was really accurate.

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　　　Thanks to book friends 20230414134801399 and DT Jane for the reward.

 (End of this chapter)