The Dragon Boat Festival in May is a lively festival.

Chang'an has eight waters, such as dragon boat racing general activities are more, Qujiang has both palace gardens, every year the Dragon Boat Festival will also hold a racing competition, the emperor and the harem concubines all go to watch, it is also a rare collective entertainment.

A platform was erected on the edge of the Qujiang River, and the royal viewing platform was the largest, and there were some honorable nobles and officials who were fortunate enough to be called, and there were also lower platforms to sit on.

At the front of the viewing platform are of course the Empress Dowager and the Empress, followed by the high-ranking concubines, who occupy the best viewing position, as for the low-ranking concubines, they all have to go to the back, and some of them are at the end, and they can't see what the river is like at all.

The queen sat beside the queen mother, depressed in her heart. Originally, as the queen, she should have sat next to the emperor, but the emperor, in order to respect the queen mother, asked the queen mother to be in the center, and she was on the left, and the queen could only be on the right, but she was far away from the emperor, how could she be happy in her heart?

Fortunately, Concubine Yuan Shu sat on her right hand, farther away from the emperor. On the one hand, the queen thought that this was good, but on the other hand, she felt that Concubine Yuan was too close to her to look at the eyes, and the dragon boat had not come out yet, and she was already angry.

There is a lottery in the race, and the palace is not like a gambling game or something outside, but it can also be a little pleasant. When the six dragon boats hung with various colors of silk flowers and painted in different colors came out, the emperor smiled and said to the Queen Mother: "The Queen Mother looks, which one is better?" ”

The Queen Mother looked at it for a while, and then smiled: "I look at the yellow good, there is momentum." ”

Today, the lord of Nanhua County was also called to the palace to watch the race, she was a woman, so she could come and sit with the queen mother, and said with a smile: "My daughter thinks that the red one is also good." ”

This is all a convention, which dragon boat is chosen, but also to come up with some lottery to bet. The palace maids and inner eunuchs beside the queen mother had fun, and the queen had to reluctantly mention her interest and said: "The blue one seems to be taller and bigger, maybe faster." ”

The emperor also chose one at random, and several people and one sentence divided four different dragon boats. The emperor turned his head and smiled at Concubine Yuan Shu and said, "You also choose one." ”

Concubine Yuan Shu answered, the queen's eye knife had already flown over, and she couldn't wait to make a few cuts on her face. Concubine Yuan Shu withstood the envious gaze of everyone and the pressure of the queen, and said softly: "Emperor Xie, the concubine will choose the green one." ”

The emperor had already turned back to the young concubines behind him and smiled: "You all bet on it, see whose luck is good today." ”

The first few people chose the boat, and the concubines in the back did not have this honor, but they also had to take out a piece of jewelry to bet on. Some followed the emperor's choice, and some followed the queen mother or queen's choice, and several internal eunuchs held large copper plates and collected several plates of jewelry, all of which were placed in front.

When the emperor saw that the color was put down, he made a slight gesture to the inner supervisor around him, and the inner supervisor was busy calling for the start of preparation, and whispered to the person in command - naturally he wanted to let the dragon boat chosen by the queen mother win.

Before the race, there are people on each boat who come out to dance. This is the time to show their skills, some of the women in the water sleeves are dancing on the drum at the stern of the boat, and some are the young chamberlains making all kinds of thrilling movements on the mast, and the concubines are holding their breath.

It was quiet when someone coughed, and a few times and then a few times, and it sounded very clear in the silence. The queen looked back impatiently, and her eyebrows suddenly wrinkled again: "Lu Baolin, what's wrong with you?" ”

The person who coughed was Lu Ying, who was drinking tea to moisten her throat, and when she saw the queen asking, she hurriedly got up and said, "The concubine was a little greedy and windy about two days ago, and she coughed a little. ”

She has been favored the most times among the new concubines who have entered the palace, and the queen looked at her unpleasantly, and said with a straight face: "If you are sick, you should report it, why bother to come out, what if you give the illness to the queen mother and the emperor?" Although you have just entered the palace, you should have taught your aunt to tell you about these rules. Or are you just greedy to come out with the emperor and ignore the rules? ”

Lu Ying lowered her head and said, "It's the concubine's negligence, please forgive the queen." ”

The queen wanted to say something more, but the queen mother had already coughed dryly and said, "It's time to start racing." She had just seen it out of the corner of her eye, the emperor's face was a little heavy, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart, this niece is really not smart enough, she just wants to be majestic here, and she can't wait to suppress the emperor's slightly favored people, but she doesn't want to think about what if she can't be loved by her husband, even if she tramples everyone else?

The queen turned her head stupidly, and Lu Ying sat down quietly. The young concubines next to her are all new to the palace, and their positions are similar, but they are not as favored as her, and there is inevitably a little schadenfreude in their eyes, only Wu Baolin, who was sitting next to her, leaned over and whispered: "Sister, don't care, the queen mother just said casually." Your cup of tea is cold, drink me. I still have a bottle of licorice pills there, but it moistens my throat, and I will ask the palace people to send it when I go back. ”

Lu Ying also said in a low voice: "Thank you, Sister Wu." However, the Chunhua Hall is far away from the Qunxiang Palace, and it is inconvenient to send it over, for fear that it will attract people's eyes again. My sister's kindness, I understand it. ”

After these low-ranking concubines entered the palace, they did not have a separate place to live, so they could only live with high-ranking concubines. Among the newly elected people this year, only Zhao Yunrong, the maid of the Ministry of Works, was able to live in Chunhua Hall as the lord of the first palace because she was one of the nine concubines, and Wu Baolin lived with her. And Lu Ying lives in the partial hall of Wang Chongyuan's Qunxiang Palace, with two palaces, one east and one west, and there are several palace rooms in between.

Wu Baolin had a look of regret on his face, and sighed lightly: "Yes." It's too far away, and you and I can't be our own masters, so ......it's hard to see each other even if we want to."

The two whispered a few words to the sound of the drums of the race, and then cautiously stopped again.

After a while, the dragon boat reached the end, and sure enough, the yellow dragon boat pointed out by the queen mother won, the queen mother laughed, and generously returned the jewelry of the concubines who lost the bet, and gave a pair of beads to the few people who followed their bets, and finally rewarded the people on the dragon boat. The emperor and the empress also had their own rewards, and after being so lively for a long time, the queen mother got up and said, "I'm old, and I don't have much energy." You just have to play, I'm going to go back and rest first. ”

Although she told others to just play, if she wants to go back, who would dare to be greedy for fun? Even the officials and nobles on the stage on both sides also got up one after another.

Cheng Enbo Yu Sirui naturally came, but because he was a foreign minister, it was not good to come to this stage to crowd with the emperor's concubines, and when he saw that the queen mother was about to get up, he hurriedly caught up to help, and said with a smile: "Aunt has won a lot of lottery today, right?" The nephew followed his aunt to place a bet and made a small fortune. If this happens a few more times, the nephew will be fine. As he spoke, his eyes sneaked over the young concubines.

The Queen Mother saw it in her eyes and knew that this nephew's problem couldn't be changed, so she had to pretend that she didn't see it, and said, "Say this stingy thing again, are you still short of money?" ”

Yu Sirui saw Shen Shu waiting in the audience, and said with a smile when his eyes rolled: "Aunt doesn't know, my nephew is sick, so I need to save a few more money for medicine." ”

The Queen Mother was surprised: "What is your illness?" Then he thought of his nephew Liulian flowers, and couldn't help but say, "You are also in your thirties, so you should also take care of it." ”

Yu Sirui pointed at Shen Shu and said with a smile: "My aunt only asks King Anjun to know." ”

All of a sudden, everyone's eyes were on Shen Shu, and the Queen Mother felt pierced when she looked at this "son", and said reservedly: "Does the fourth child know what's going on?" ”

Shen Shu was also watching the dragon boat on the stage next to him, for the queen mother to go back, he also had to come over to give him a gift, but he didn't expect to come over and be named by Yu Sirui to find trouble, listening to the queen mother's question, he said: "It was a few days ago in Xingjiao Temple, some people said that Cheng Enbo had taken golden cherry seed paste for a long time, and he was afraid that it would be useless for his body." ”

The Queen Mother was puzzled: "What is the golden cherry seed paste?" "The first emperor was not very enthusiastic in the harem, and now the emperor is like this, some medicines are not used in the harem at all, and the queen mother really doesn't know.

This time it was Yu Sirui's turn to blush, and secretly scolded Shen Shu for being cunning in his heart, and said busily: "It's just something to make up for the body." Someone actually said that his nephew was seriously ill, and he couldn't say that one day he would be gone—"

The Queen Mother was furious before she could finish listening: "Who is talking nonsense like this and cursing you?" Why don't you catch it and kill it! ”

Yu Sirui pretended to sigh: "My nephew wants to catch it, but King Anjun doesn't allow it." ”

Shen Shu said lightly: "Cheng Enbo, if someone advises you to quit sexual intercourse, you must be arrested, I am afraid that none of the Lang Zhong in this world will be able to live." ”

When the two words of this affair were spoken, the concubines let out a small exclamation and hid back with red faces. The Queen Mother choked and reprimanded: "What are you talking about!" What kind of place is this, no courtesy! But he stopped saying anything about being caught and killed.

Even if she didn't know what the golden cherry seed paste was, listening to Shen Shu's words, she guessed that she was afraid that someone would say that Yu Sirui was overindulgent and persuaded him to quit sex. He was a little polite and provoked Yu Sirui. It's just that what's the matter with Shen Shu, could it be that it was Shen Shu's person who said this, so the nephew wanted to borrow her hand to punish Shen Shu?

Just as she knew that the lord of Nanhua was so exaggerated, the queen mother also knew Yu Sirui's problem, but between her nephew and her concubine, of course she was biased towards her nephew, so she reprimanded Shen Shu with a straight face: "The first emperor sent you to the northwest, because he calculated that you were not good, and I was afraid that I would be sick if I stayed in the capital, and I had to put it outside to grow up." Thinking that Dingbei Hou Mansion is your foreign home, it will be able to take care of you, so I will send you over. I didn't expect to learn unruly in that place, and what words can be said by your identity? Go back, copy the "Book of Rites" a hundred times, and don't go out again until you finish copying! If the first emperor knew that you were so rude, I am afraid that you would not be able to feel at ease even underground! ”

At this moment, some nobles and officials have come to congratulate the Queen Mother and the Emperor, and the Queen Mother's endless rebuke has fallen on everyone's ears, and they can't help but have different faces. Yu Sirui's heart blossomed, and he pretended to persuade: "Aunt is angry, if she is angry, won't King Anjun have another unfilial sin?" At that time, even the "Book of Filial Piety" will have to be copied. ”

The emperor's brows twitched slightly. I don't know how to be polite to the prince is already too big, if you add unfilial piety, you will even have the title of the king of the county. The emperor stepped forward to help the queen mother, and said slowly: "What Cheng Enbo said is that the queen mother should not be angry. He turned around and instructed the inner supervisor, "Go to the Tai Hospital and ask, if there is golden cherry seed cream, take a few boxes to reward Cheng Enbo." ”

The Queen Mother suddenly choked and hurriedly said: "What he does is the same to anger me." After that, he glared at Yu Sirui and said, "Let's go, I'm tired too." ”

Shen Shu stood there, and sent her over, as if he didn't see the guidance of the people around him, he straightened up with a calm expression and looked around. He was so calm, the others were embarrassed, and they dispersed after saying hello. As soon as Shen Shu was about to move, he heard someone shouting crisply: "Lord Wang-" As soon as he turned his head, it was Mrs. Cui who came over with her two daughters, and it was Cui Youwan who greeted him.

"Ma'am." Shen Shu raised his hand and saluted.

Cui Xiuwan hung her head and stood behind her mother, but Cui Youwan looked at him distressedly and said, "Cheng Enbo is so bad!" and provoked the Queen Mother to reprimand you. ”

Mrs. Cui was taken aback: "Don't talk nonsense!" Because of the marriage contract with Shen Shu, their mother and daughter also got the permission of the Queen Mother, and they entered the palace to see the competition, but they were far away, and they didn't know what Yu Sirui said specifically, but they heard that the Queen Mother scolded the concubine for her nephew. Everyone can guess that most of them are Yu Sirui's troublemakers, but they can't say it in this kind of place, in case it falls into the ears of the Queen Mother, isn't it to bring trouble to their own family?

Shen Shu only smiled: "The race is over, is it convenient for Madame to go back?" I'll send my wife back. ”

"It doesn't have to be, the carriage is waiting outside." Mrs. Cui sighed, "The prince still wants to go back to copy the book, so let's go, and it's better to finish copying it earlier." In the future, don't provoke Cheng Enbo, lest you ...... again."

Although there was a marriage contract, it was not easy to talk about it for a long time, so Mrs. Cui said a word and left with her daughters. At the side gate of the palace, all the carriages stopped there to pick up people, Mrs. Cui's mother and daughter stood for a while, but still didn't see their own carriage, Cui Youwan couldn't help but ask a housekeeper: "Why hasn't my carriage come yet?" ”

The waiter said in a shrill voice: "Don't worry, girl, there are many people coming today, and the carriages of the whole family have to come next to each other, so wait a little longer." After speaking, he ran over to greet him, "Hurry up, bring Chen Langzhong's car over." ”

Cui Youwan was so angry that she grabbed him: "Lang Zhong's car is here, why hasn't my family arrived yet?" "This kind of thing naturally has its own rules, the higher the official, the earlier the carriage and horses come, Langzhong is the fifth grade, the prefect is the fourth grade, and according to the grade, it should be the Cui family's carriage that arrives first.

The waiter rolled his eyes: "Ouch, this girl, let go!" Call the top to see, don't say that you are not polite, but say that the slaves and maids have offended the nobles. You see there are hundreds of carriages outside, and if you pull the slaves and maids for a while, there will be a delay in the carriage, and the more you delay, the slower it will be, and the longer you have to wait. ”

Mrs. Cui pulled away her little daughter's hand and stuffed a purse for the waiter: "I'm tired of my father-in-law." I have three women here, and there are still some things at home...... "Come to the palace, except for the queen mother's special permission, they are not allowed to bring another maid, and Mrs. Cui can only go into battle by herself." Listening to the words of this servant, the number of courtesies and etiquette that he kept saying was obviously because of the incident with Shen Shu just now, and if he continued to reason with him, he would only lose his face.

The waiter pinched the purse, and a smile changed on his face: "You wait. ”

The carriage always came, and as soon as she got on the car, Cui Youwan said angrily: "A group of villains! ”

Cui Xiuwan didn't say a word, just looked at Mrs. Cui. Mrs. Cui waved her hand a little irritably: "Don't say it!" What kind of place is this, be careful! Now she finally realized the feeling that her eldest daughter had said - they were affected by Shen Shu.

When the Queen Mother returned to her residence, she called the inner supervisor beside her: "Go and check, what's going on?" What is that golden cherry seed cream, and what happened to Rui'er's body? ”

This matter is not difficult to investigate, and the internal supervisor found it back within a day or two: "That golden cherry seed ointment - yes, the hospital said that it was astringent, and it can prolong sexual intercourse ...... if it is used."

Although the inner prison is no longer a man, it is a little embarrassing to say this, and the Queen Mother's face is even darker when she hears it: "Nonsense!" Can this thing be harmful to the body? ”

It's hard for doctors to answer this kind of thing, it's harmful, it's not counted, it's harmful, who has nothing to do with medicine? In the end, it can only be said: it is a three-point poison, if there is no slippery sperm, it is advisable not to take it.

"What's serious about Rui'er?"

The internal inspector asked clearly, and quickly said, "...... Let Cheng Enbo avoid sexual intercourse...... However, as far as the slave maid knows, Cheng Enbo's body has been fine. ”

"Is it the girl of the Jiang family?" The Queen Mother had a calm face, "Is that the girl who came to the palace a few days ago?" What a bold man! How dare you say such a thing to Rui'er to your face! After thinking about it, he felt unsteady, "You send a few more imperial doctors to check Rui'er's pulse and then come back to me." What kind of golden cherry seed ointment, he is not allowed to take it anymore. Go and tell those people in his family, if anyone hooks Cheng Enbo and breaks his body, I can't spare her! ”

The chamberlain hurriedly agreed and ran out. The palace maid waited for the queen mother to calm down a little, and then brought the medicine: "It's time for the mother to use the medicine." The imperial doctor said that the mother should also avoid qi when using this medicine. ”

The Queen Mother was angry just now, and she also felt a little dizzy, so she quickly stabilized her mood, took the medicine and drank it, and said: "I don't want to be angry, Rui'er is too unpresentable, and I want to pull it home when I see something dirty and smelly!" ”

The palace maid took the medicine bowl, offered the candied fruit, and said with a smile: "The girl of the Jiang family, when she came back, the slave maid saw it, and she was born well, so it's no wonder that she ......."

The Queen Mother's face was a little gloomy: "The Jiang family-hum!" It's strange, wasn't the fourth child's mother killed by the Jiang family, how did she protect the Jiang family's girl? Didn't you also fall in love with that face? The next time she comes to the palace, I'll see what she looks like. This medicine is really bitter, and the plum taste is good. ”

"The lord of Nanhua is filial, it's not a good thing, and I don't dare to enter you." The palace maid spoke, but she was a little puzzled in her heart. Anyway, Cheng Enbo doesn't look unwell now, the girl of the Jiang family said those words, saying that the curse is not counted, but it is also a bit alarmist, if it were someone else, the Queen Mother would have been angry and asked someone to punish her, why did she only reprimand King Anjun this time, but she didn't ask anyone to move the Jiang family? If it is said that things outside the palace are inconvenient, there is still Jiang Jieyu in the palace, and the Queen Mother didn't give her a cold face. Is it because Jiang Jieyu's miscarriage last time was extraordinarily tolerant?

"I remembered that when I said that." The Queen Mother chewed the pickled plum and said, "On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, I saw that the county horse also came, I heard that I didn't live in the temple?" ”

The palace maid smiled: "Yes." The county horse moved back at the end of April, and I heard that the gout was much better, and the people were smiling, and the county lord was very comfortable these days. ”

"I'll just say it." The Queen Mother snorted again, "If she hadn't been so happy, she wouldn't have even done the three washes, but today she told me how strong the child is, and I thought she had changed sex." Wen gave birth to a daughter on April 19, and the grandson of Nanhua County, who had been looking forward to for a long time, was disappointed, and under the pretext of being frail in his young children, he did not even make a big deal about washing the three.

The palace maid said: "There are also consequences of spending first. Before the slave maid entered the palace, the aunt at home was like this, she didn't have a heart for a few years, the first child gave birth to a daughter, and the grandfather and grandmother were also unhappy, who knew that the slave maid entered the palace for ten years, and she gave birth to six sons! "There are decent palace maids, there are several opportunities to meet family members at the palace gate several times a year, and this palace maid can serve by the queen mother's side, and she has this treatment.

"That girl is also a worthless girl!" The Queen Mother put aside the Wen family, and only said that the county lord of Nanhua "only has the county horse in his eyes." At the beginning, I picked several houses for her, but I couldn't look down on them, and I focused on the Jiang family. ”

The palace maid didn't dare to comment on this kind of thing, and she didn't talk when she laughed. The Queen Mother was bored, and said casually: "Didn't you change the prescription a few days ago, bring it to me to see." ”

The doctor came to ask for a pulse, and if he prescribed a prescription, he would leave a copy in each palace and put another copy on file in the hospital. The queen mother's eyes used a month's medicine, and then changed a prescription, the palace maid took it, and said in her mouth: "The slave maid looks at it and looks the same, this luminous sand is all there, but it is changed to a few warm medicines." ”

The Queen Mother squinted her eyes and said, "What is this night sand, it sounds weird and good." ”

"Yes, it sounds like a pearl of the night, it must be a good thing for a clear purpose." The palace maid smiled, "Wait for the slave maid to go back to the Tai Hospital and ask." ”

The Queen Mother lazily responded: "It's hot, I'll rest for a while......"

The news that King Anjun was reprimanded in public by the Queen Mother and punished for copying the "Book of Rites" spread quickly, and the Jiang family naturally knew about it.

"I heard that it was provoked by Cheng Enbo." Jiang Xi was angry and guilty, "It's affected King Anjun." ”

"Daddy, rest assured, the letter has been sent back to Wuxi, and at most in July, Jinchuang Medicine should be ready. If Daddy feels that he can't go, why don't he send the letter to King Anjun at this time? Looking at Jiang Xi's restless appearance, the honest man was obviously very upset.

Jiang Xi has not had a good rest recently, not only because of Shen Shu's matter, but also because of the news from the Ou family, the family has left the capital and returned home, which is equivalent to a euphemistic refusal of family affairs.

"Hey, then Daddy is going to write a letter." Jiang Xi saw that his daughter was still smiling, and couldn't help but secretly rejoice that his daughter didn't know about the blind date, otherwise it would have affected his mood.

"Dad, I've written this letter." Taohua took out the one that said about the pepper, and showed Jiang Xi a page about Jinchuang Medicine, "If you look at it feasible, I'll ask someone to send it." ”

"How can I tell you to write this?" The handwriting in the boudoir should not flow out, let alone flow into the hands of foreign men, Jiang Xi is more negligent in this, but he thinks that this kind of thing also needs his daughter to come forward, and he is too embarrassed to be a father.

Taohua smiled: "King Anjun is helping me, and it's nothing to write a letter in person." ”

Sanqi was ordered to accompany Mint to the house of King Anjun.