In the Changning Palace, six copper lamps illuminate the palace as bright as day. Aunt Red Calyx walked back and forth with a silver scissor the size of her palm, and this was the third time she had come to cut the wick of the candle tonight.

After cutting the wick of the candle, the hall was brighter, Aunt Hongcao put the silver scissors back in the middle of the coffin, returned to the queen mother, served a soup, and said: "The freshly cooked lotus seed soup, the queen mother can eat some of it, and rest early." ”

The Queen Mother closed her eyes and raised herself on the couch, her expression solemn, and she asked after a while: "Even you feel that the mourning family is upset and bored, and you need this soup to clear your heart?" ”

Red Calyx bowed her head: "The slave doesn't dare." ”

The Queen Mother sighed: "You have been by the side of the mourning family for so many years, you don't have to be careful and restrained in everything because the mourning family is the queen mother." In the past few days, the mourning family has really not been very happy in their hearts, and it is good to eat some lotus seed soup to smooth the air. ”

Hongcao raised her eyes and saw that her phoenix eyes were slightly raised, and compared with when she was the queen before, she had more temperament that was not angry and self-assured. The Queen Mother is no longer young, in terms of age, there is less than a few years behind the first emperor, but because of proper maintenance, she looks no different from a woman in her thirties. But in the past few days, the Queen Mother seems to have suddenly aged a lot, there are already a few strands of silver in her sideburns, and the wrinkles at the end of her eyes have also deepened.

Hongcao remembered what happened in the palace recently, and was quite angry for the queen mother: "The slave can see that the queen mother is not happy, and to be honest, the slave is not happy." That Concubine Li has also been dead for several years, and she was born as a cheap slave. In the past, the Son of Heaven promoted a low-ranking biological mother, at most, he was only posthumously crowned as the queen of the first emperor, and it was just a title to give it, how could anyone who had been in the coffin be called the Queen Mother? Where did the emperor put the queen mother in doing this? ”

The Queen Mother was silent when she heard this, scooped a spoonful of soup and put it in her mouth, and the handle of the gold-inlaid white jade spoon cast a shadow on her side face.

Hongcao said again: "The emperor has just succeeded to the throne, so naturally he is entangled in everything, but I don't want to see the queen mother for many days?" Anyway, the Queen Mother is also the emperor's adoptive mother, and she has broken her heart all these years so that he can inherit the throne......"

"That's enough." The Queen Mother didn't let her continue, and said lightly, "The matter between the mourning family and the emperor is clear in the mourning family. After drinking this bowl of lotus seed soup, you can serve the mourning family and go to bed. ”

The red calyx didn't dare to say more, and nodded yes. At this time, a notice came from outside the hall: "The emperor has arrived!" ”

The Queen Mother's eyes lit up, and she instantly covered it again.

The new emperor Jingzhen ranked seventh among the princes of the previous emperors, only twenty years old. In the past, when he was a prince, he was still a little immature, but now it seems that he is a majestic and high-spirited man, and his eyebrows are already dignified and noble. Jing Zhen saw Empress Dowager Zhang sitting cross-legged on the couch with her eyes slightly closed, bowed down and said: "My son just passed by Changning Palace, and when he saw that the palace door was not closed, he wanted to come in and see the queen mother. Why hasn't the queen mother rested? ”

Red Calyx said happily: "Qilang is here, the Queen Mother was still talking to the slave maid about you just now!" ”

The Queen Mother opened her eyes and said lightly: "Presumptuous, Qilang is also called by you?" In the past, he was the prince of Yong'an Palace, and you were his nurse, let you call Qilang. Now he is the king of a country, a mere palace maid, and he dares to be so disrespectful to the emperor! ”

Hongcao hurriedly knelt down and said: "It's the slave who lost her words, please ask the emperor and the queen mother to surrender." ”

Jing Zhen hurriedly stretched out his hands to hold her up, and said, "Queen Mother, why is this so painful!" Aunt Hong is her son's nurse, and there is nothing wrong with calling her son a nickname, although her son has become an emperor, he has never forgotten the nurturing and nurturing grace of his mother. ”

The Queen Mother scooped the lotus seed soup spoonful by spoonful, with no joy or sorrow on her face, and said slowly: "How can the mourning family not know the emperor's intentions, but there is a difference between respect and inferiority, and the name 'Qilang' will still be called in the future." ”

Jingzhen Zhengse: "Da Monday to rule the world with filial piety, as a child, and respect parents." The queen mother is above, the son is the minister, the top and bottom are orderly, and the party is always in harmony. If Aunt Hong is afraid of being discussed, it's okay, but the son will always be the 'Qilang' of the queen mother, and the queen mother doesn't have to worry about hurting her body because of some trivial things, that is the son's no. ”

Speaking of which, the Queen Mother didn't want to pose anymore, and said with a slightly pale face: "I heard that the emperor severely punished those Taoist priests and eunuchs? ”

Jing Zhen tilted his head slightly, and the knowing attendant stepped forward and said: "If you go back to the Empress Dowager, all the people involved in the murder of Emperor Daxing have all been executed at noon today. The emperor was benevolent and did not even contact their families. He paused for a moment and said: "But for such unforgivable people, the emperor and the queen mother have kindly let them go, and God may not be able to let them go." Tonight, two mansions in the south of the city suddenly fell into the sky, and Lord Yin Lu of Jingzhao Mansion inspected them overnight and learned that those two were the mansions of the sinners Wang and Fu. Due to the previous investigation of the case, the two families were all under house arrest in the house and were not allowed to go out, and now the fire is burning, and more than 100 people in the house are afraid of ...... No one was spared. ”

The queen mother's color changed, and she didn't know when there was a sandalwood Buddha bead in her hand, and she said: "Amitabha." ”

Jing Zhen took the small bowl of white jade cloud pattern on the desk, fed the soup for the queen mother with his own hands, and said warmly: "The person who murdered his father deserves such an end, and the queen mother does not have to pity these sinners." ”

The Queen Mother bowed her head and said: "What the emperor said is that I hope they will be enlightened after death, and they will not resent the emperor and the mourning family." By the way, I heard that the king of Narui County ran away? ”

Jing Zhen froze with a spoon in his hand, and lowered his face: "Regardless of whether the case of the Mu clan's rebellion is related to him or not, the ninth brother should be an informed, and if he doesn't report it, it's a crime." Now that the imperial court is busy cleaning up the remnants of the Mu clan everywhere, not only does he not help, but he also absconds under the pretext of crime, which is even more criminal! ”

The Queen Mother sighed: "The mourning family knows that you have a deep brotherhood, but after all, Jing Ye is the son of the guilty woman Mu and the brother of Jing Zhan's mother. Moreover, he also has a sister who is the queen of the Nanyuan Kingdom...... Chop the grass and eradicate the roots, and the emperor can't let go of his life. ”

As long as the remnants of the rebel party are eliminated, what kind of storm can he set off as a little county king? After Jingzhen ascended the throne, everything went smoothly, and it was the time when he was full of ambition, so he naturally did not agree with the Queen Mother's words. People still have to be arrested, as for whether Jing Ye's life must be killed...... The young emperor hesitated, but still admitted: "My son knows." ”

Seeing his perfunctory expression, the Queen Mother picked a side matter and asked him: "Emperor Daxing's harem has been filled with many newcomers in recent years, and there are hundreds of people. In previous years, the concubines left by the emperor were all living in Shou'an Palace, and no matter how poor they were, they were also arranged in the cold palace. Now that there are so many people, the mourning family is afraid that they will not be able to live, how does the emperor plan to deal with it? ”

The chamberlain who replied before, named Zucheng, was an old man who had been with Jingzhen when he was a prince, and he was very shrewd, and stepped forward and replied: "If you go back to the queen mother, the emperor has already drafted a decree." ”

"Oh?" The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised.

"Zu Cheng is right, I have drafted a decree, and I will issue the sixth palace tomorrow. According to the ancestral system, the concubines of the Daxing Emperor and those above the concubine rank were posthumously named concubines and concubines. The nobles below the nine concubines, Baolin, Cainu and other low-ranking concubines ......" Jingzhen smiled and said, "Since they are all the favorite people of my father's later years, then I will all go with my father." ”

The Queen Mother smiled and nodded: "You are very thoughtful, but there is still one matter for the mourning family to ask the emperor." Concubine Yu is your father's favorite concubine, and she also gave birth to several princes to your father. It's just that in the next few years, your father was in poor health and was never promoted to her. Now she only has one son left, and Jing Yi is also sensible. The mourning family thought, how about giving her title another 'expensive' word, Concubine Yugui? ”

Jing Zhen also smiled and bowed: "It's all up to the queen mother's orders." ”

The Queen Mother said with satisfaction: "Qilang understands Entu Bao, and Concubine Yugui's family and Jing Zhe will always assist you wholeheartedly." ”

Jing Zhen asked again: "Among my father's concubines, there is a son who doesn't know what to do. ”

The Queen Mother pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: "The emperor is talking about the palace maid who is lucky?" ”

"Exactly." Jing Zhen seemed to have a look of confusion in his eyes, and explained, "Although my father ordained her as a concubine, and it is reasonable that she does not need to be buried above the concubine position, she has not been officially sealed. If she doesn't count her concubine, she is a little palace lady, and she doesn't have to be martyred. ”

The queen said expressionlessly: "The little palace maid is so restless, with a little bit of posture, she thinks about seducing your father all day long." Such a woman is also a demon if she stays in the palace, and she is martyred! ”

Jing Zhen was stunned: "So, she's not the queen mother?" ”

The Queen Mother shook her head and said: "The mourning family still can't look down on these unpopular tricks, probably because of the means that those eunuchs and palace concubines came up with." ”

Jing Zhen said: "In this case, when the holy decree is issued tomorrow, I will let Concubine Lan go to handle the funeral." ”

"Concubine Lan?"

"Yes, the queen is now pregnant and is quietly raising the baby in Chengqing Palace. I remember that she worked hard to conceive a baby, and it was not appropriate to see bloody things, so let Concubine Lan do it. ”

"It's a good thing that the emperor knows how to love the Empress. It's just ......" The Queen Mother frowned slightly, "This Concubine Lan is the daughter of Yang Yidao, the former waiter of the Ministry of Rites, it seems that the emperor favors her." ”

Jing Zhen smiled and said: "The queen mother has a really good memory, it is the only daughter of the Yang family, Yang Liangdi in the former palace." Over the years, I have seen that she is respectful and upright, and she is a polite and righteous person, let her do it, and I can rest assured. ”

The mother and son chatted unconsciously for almost an hour, and the Queen Mother felt a little dry, took a sip of hot tea, and said slowly: "Since the emperor has raised the Yang family so much, the mourning family has nothing to say." As long as the emperor thinks more about the queen in his heart and knows how to treat the concubines, the mourning family will also feel at ease. ”

Jingzhen had a distant smile on the corner of his mouth, and arched his hand: "It's not too early, the queen mother should rest early, my son has retired." ”

Outside, Zu Cheng picked up the lantern and walked in front. In the depths of the night, the emperor's thoughts, and a sigh in the Changning Palace, sank into the boundless night.