The lantern banquet was simply unpleasant, and as soon as the Queen Mother returned to her palace, her face was terrifying: "What about people? ”

Qingyu knew that the queen mother was asking about those who carried out the plan, and two of the palace maids had already been ordered by the emperor to deal with them, and the eunuch who lit the fire was left: "The slave maid has already called someone to find him......"

It didn't take long for the person to find him, but he couldn't ask questions, because he was soaked in the icy river water, and he was already unconscious with choking and freezing, and he only had half a life left.

As for the palace and the inner eunuchs who spread false news at the banquet, they were just as confused, they were sure that they were doing exactly what they were told, but they didn't know how it came to be like this in the end.

As for Jiang Taohua, it turned out that she was indeed watching the lanterns in the lantern forest, and it was said that it was because the palace people who took the clothes did not come for a long time, and she didn't dare to delay for too long, so she returned to the banquet wearing that dirty skirt. As for why no one saw her, the reason is very simple - the skirt is dirty, although it is a bit unruly to wear it in reverse, so it is naturally not good to get in front of the nobles, so as not to be rude.

"It's all disposed of." The Queen Mother said coldly, her face as black as the bottom of a pot. Everyone has a reasonable explanation, so the black cauldron that was thrown out did not detain anyone in the end, but fell back and smashed on her head.

The queen was bold and said: "Auntie, no matter what, the emperor has already admitted his intention to marry in public, and this matter has finally been done." ”

"Confused!" The Queen Mother was almost about to roar. Does this mean something that doesn't refer to marriage? It's a shame on her face! But the queen only thought about pointing out the Jiang family, only thinking about her selfishness, did she think about what kind of situation her aunt is now!

The queen was taken aback, and quickly got up and stood with her hands down, not daring to say anything more.

The Queen Mother was angry with her, and she only felt that her temples on both sides felt as if someone was chiseling, and she felt chest tightness and shortness of breath. The queen was so frightened that she hurriedly stepped forward to pat her on the back with Qingyu, and after a long time to see that the queen mother had finally recovered, she withdrew.

The Queen Mother watched her walk quite briskly when she went out, and her anger couldn't stop rushing up: "Look at her like that!" ”

Qingyu didn't dare to make her angry anymore. The Empress Dowager's face turned pale for a moment, but it scared her a lot. If it weren't for the fact that it was a festival, he would have called a doctor immediately. It's just that if the imperial doctor is alarmed again tonight, it will be even worse to hear this word when it gets out, so I have to come up and stroke the queen mother's back and say: "Niangniang, don't be angry anymore." In fact, there is nothing, the emperor has already disposed of two, and no one dares to chew his tongue. ”

The Queen Mother sighed: "It's just covering your ears and stealing the bell." "These palace attendants in the palace don't dare, but those officials and wives who came today will definitely talk about it in private, and the emperor can't beat them to death like the palace people.

Thinking of the two palace people who died, the Queen Mother became angry again: "A bunch of waste! Killing them cheaply. ”

Qingyu didn't answer, as a palace person, she also had a little bit of sadness about the death of a rabbit and a fox. The palace man who pointed out Shen Shu on the riverbank was originally serving in Shouxian Palace, because he said in the garden that the white lilac was a male finch dung and the moon sand was a hare dung, which caused the queen mother's vomiting that time. Later, although the queen mother's illness was cured, the palace people were sent to Huanyi with an excuse.

In places such as the Huanyi Office, doing the hardest rough work is more difficult than sprinkling and sweeping in the Shouxian Palace. The people in this palace couldn't stand it after staying for a few months, and they wanted to use the layout of the palace to regain the favor of the queen mother, but who knew that in the end they took their own lives. Although wealth is in danger, such an ending still makes Qingyu a little embarrassed.

"And those few have also been disposed of." The Queen Mother was still angry and said coldly.

This refers to the few little chamberlains who spoke to Shen Shu at the banquet. Qingyu peeked at the Queen Mother's face and said in a low voice: "Although they are stupid, they are still a little loyal. According to the short-sightedness of the slaves, it is better to ask them to make meritorious contributions...... "I really don't blame them for the failure of the plan."

"What merit?"

Qingyu lowered her head, stroked the queen mother's back, and whispered: "The slave is thinking, this fire is really strange tonight." And those who guarded Merlin clearly saw the ...... of King Anjun passing"

The Queen Mother didn't think about it and said: "Naturally, he did it, so why don't you say more." ”

"But how did King Anjun know?"

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows: "He has placed people in the palace!" No, he has only been back in Beijing for a long time, he has no such ability, he is the first emperor, it must be the first emperor who left him in the palace! ”

As soon as she mentioned the first emperor, the Queen Mother immediately became energetic: "I know how much he loved that evil seed at the beginning, how could he really be willing to send people away?" It's a pity that the medicine didn't come with him in the first place—"

The words came to an abrupt end here, Qingyu's heart was pounding, and she didn't even dare to raise her head. I only heard the Queen Mother's breath gradually calm down, and said lightly: "Let someone check to see who in this palace has reported to him." ”

Qingyu hurriedly responded. The Queen Mother sat for a while, sighed slightly, and said, "Looking at the emperor's appearance today, he really values the one in Zhao Chongyi's stomach." For her to be—"

Qingyu said with a smile: "It's also that King Anjun is too aggressive, forcing Zhao Shilang to have nowhere to retreat - that is the official of the imperial court, and the emperor is naturally annoyed." "If the king of Anjun is not so unforgiving, maybe this holy decree for marriage will be gone. It's good now, the emperor was furious, and what he said was a golden mouth, and there was nothing to change.

The Queen Mother sneered: "Why is the official of the imperial court not for the one in Zhao Chongyi's stomach." She leaned back in her chair and was distracted for a moment before she said as if talking to herself, "Just like the first emperor......

A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on Qingyu's back. There is not much similarity between the emperor and the first emperor, and the queen mother's sentence clearly refers to the emperor's value of the baby in Zhao Chongyi's belly, just as the first emperor valued the belly of the virtuous concubine back then. Concubine Xian couldn't stay back then, so what about Zhao Chongyi?

"Slave maid, the emperor doesn't have much love for Zhao Chongyi...... Qingyu said boldly, "I heard that Zhao Chongyi doesn't sleep as often as Concubine Shu......"

The Queen Mother sneered: "That was the beginning." The Zhao family is the in-laws of the Yu family, so he naturally doesn't like it. If it weren't for the Yuan family being pressed by the elder pavilion, maybe they would have been promoted long ago. But now-" she sighed leisurely, "Zhao Chongyi is pregnant, if she can give birth to a prince, her status is not lower than that of the Yuan family." ”

Qingyu's sweat rose even more: "The emperor has always been filial to the queen mother......" The queen mother's words are clearly saying that the emperor is dissatisfied with his family.

"That's what he has to be filial to." The Queen Mother half-closed her eyes and said coldly, "Dingbei Houfu and the fourth child are in one day, and he has to rely on the Yu family." Otherwise, just with the few babies that have not been in the palace over the years, how can he give up? ”

Qingyu has seen a lot of the queen mother and the emperor's mother and son filial piety on weekdays, although she knows that this is not a mother and son, and it is inevitable that there will be interests during the period, but she also feels that the two really have a mother-son relationship. But now that she heard the Queen Mother say this, she was cold, how could she not be cold in her heart?

"Your Majesty, I am also looking at the face of the Queen Mother...... "Qingyu's voice is like a gnat, "It's just that there are no heirs in the palace now...... "The emperor is also anxious."

"yes." The Queen Mother sighed again, "It's also the queen who is not blessed." "If she could have given birth to one, she wouldn't be what she is today.

Speaking of which, the topic comes back to itself. Every time I talk about heirs over the years, the ending is like this, because the queen can't be born, so this game can't be solved.

"The Zhao family can't give birth to a prince." The Queen Mother leaned back on the seat for a long time, then said something to herself, and then stood up, "Help me to rest, I've made enough trouble today." ”

Qingyu hurriedly hugged her and snorted: "But Niangniang also said a few days ago that it is not appropriate to offend the Zhao family now......"

The Queen Mother didn't speak, but raised a hand and flipped it twice in the air. Seeing Qingyu's blank face, he said, "Checks and balances." The Zhao family can only rely on the emperor. ”

She said this and went to rest. Qingyu didn't dare to ask again, covered the tent, and lay down on his feet, before thinking about the meaning of the Queen Mother repeatedly. The Zhao family can only rely on the emperor, this is easy to understand, but the Empress Dowager of the Zhao family just said before, with the King of Anjun and the Marquis of Dingbei, the emperor can only rely on the Yu clan, so this check and balance, does it mean that the King of Anjun can be used to check and balance the emperor, so that the Zhao family does not dare to do anything?

Counterbalancing the Emperor...... Qingyu only felt that the quilt tonight seemed to be extraordinarily thin, and the cold air was pouring in for a while. She hurriedly rolled up the quilt tightly a few times, buried her head in it, and didn't dare to think about it anymore.

The matter of watching the lanterns in the palace on the Shangyuan Festival seems to have ended peacefully, and within a few days, the news was released in the palace that the queen mother selected the girl of the Jiang family as the concubine for the king of Anjun. Who is this Jiang family girl? It is the living Bodhisattva who was worshiped by the people at the Shrine of the two counties last autumn after the plague in the two counties.

What, you said that the girl of the Jiang family was from a humble background and was not qualified to be the princess of the county? However, his father was a pharmacist appointed by the emperor himself, and he was ordered to repair books, and he had the power to call the treasury and officials wherever he went, which was much more special than an ordinary official. And there are two uncles who are officials, oh yes, there are two cousins in the palace, one is Chongyuan, and the other is Baolin.

Yes, the original Jiang Jieyu was promoted to Jiang Chongyuan, and she was already ranked at the end of the nine concubines. And the original Jiang Imperial Maiden, now promoted to Jiang Baolin, pay attention, this person has been promoted to a position before he has been served, it is really a grace that has never been there.

From this point of view, the background of the Jiang family girl is not low, and according to the news in the palace, King Anjun himself has already fallen in love with this Jiang girl, otherwise why did he buy medicinal materials for the Northwest Army at that time, all through the hands of the Jiang family? There is also gossip that every time Miss Jiang is summoned to the palace, it doesn't take long for King Anjun to rush over, and not once or twice.

As for the Queen Mother, she thinks that Miss Jiang has her own merit in curing the epidemic and saving people, and King Anjun is a person who wants to go into battle, and she is always in danger of swords, and marrying a wife with great merit is also very good for him. This is also the reason why the first emperor dreamed of a daughter-in-law who was born in Anping for fifteen years.

Some people who are more well-informed said that the dream of Xian Dituo at that time not only pointed out the fifteenth year of Anping, but also pointed out that he was born in March, which coincided with Miss Jiang's birthday.

However, there is another less harmonious sound in this statement of a match made in heaven. According to the most well-informed people, a strange thing happened in the palace on the day of the Shangyuan Festival, and some palace people insisted that King Anjun and Miss Jiang had a private meeting in the palace, and the result was that nothing came out of nothing. After that, the emperor killed the nonsense palace people, but the holy decree of marriage still came down. And the officials and wives who were called to the palace to watch the lanterns that day vigorously denied that such a thing had ever happened. This makes people even more confused about what happened that day.

Dieyi listened to the rumors in the streets and alleys at the beginning, and laughed again after a while: "What do these people know!" ”

Fifteen said with a smile next to him: "No matter what, it is true that Miss Jiang has accumulated great fortune, and she will definitely be able to bless the prince in the future. ”

Cicada Yi happened to walk in, and when she heard the words, her face sank: "What do you say, is it true that our prince has no merit?" ”

Dieyi stuck out her tongue, hurriedly stood up and said with a smile: "The prince is naturally a person with great fortune, and if the princess is the same, it will naturally be better." ”

Cicada Yi glared at her: "Just listening to gossip, can the prince's spring clothes be ready?" In a few days, when the decree is issued, you will have to be busy again, and you will be able to take care of it then? ”

Dieyi has been used to being controlled by her since she was a child, so she had to smile and say, "Sister, don't worry, I won't delay." "After the holy decree was issued, the marriage of the king of the county was also handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not to mention that it had been tossed once before for the Cui family, and many things were ready-made, so in fact, it would not be too busy. Besides, even if she is busy, she will never delay the prince's clothes, after so many years, when will she miss this?

Cicada Yi packed up a few things and went out again, and Dieyi pouted and glared at Chu Yi: "It's all your fault." ”

Chu Yi called out to hit the sky: "I'm just telling you something new, why do you blame me again, don't talk about it next time." ”

Fifteen still said with a smile: "No one knows about the queen mother's situation for the prince, and the girl in cicada clothes is unhappy." ”

Speaking of this, Dieyi also hated: "Paper can't hold the fire!" Sooner or later, it will come out. When the time comes, let everyone in the world see the vicious heart of this old pious woman! ”

Chu Yi hurriedly waved his hand and said: "You can just say this in the house, don't say it outside and cause trouble to the prince." And this matter is also the saying that the prince likes this match made in heaven, so he didn't break it. "The prince loves Miss Jiang so much, of course he doesn't want to hear people say that this princess was planted by the Queen Mother, so it's just a matter of exposing the Queen Mother's face in front of those officials, he still likes to hear the people outside say that Miss Jiang is blessed and was chosen by the first emperor.

Dieyi rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not stupid again." That's it, I'm going to do needlework, don't forget to tell me anything new when I come back. With that, he bounced away.

When I saw her gone, I asked Fifteen: "How do I look, cicada clothes are not quite right these days......"

Fifteen still smiled slightly, and said after a while: "She teaches Dieyi to obey the rules all day long, and she doesn't know how to follow the rules." ”

Chu Yi rarely heard him say such a thing, so he couldn't help but look at him more: "What do you mean by this?" "The four of them were picked to serve by Shen Shu's side almost at the same time, and the relationship was very good, this was the first time I heard that fifteen were dissatisfied with the cicada clothes.

"Nothing." Fifteen is not a very talkative person, so he only smiled, "The prince wants to send someone back to the northwest to deliver a letter?" ”

Chu Yi knew his temper, and he couldn't ask what he didn't want to say, so he put aside the topic and said, "It's not." This matter was done urgently, and the Hou Ye and his wife didn't know, so the prince had to write back to explain it. You say, will Lord Hou and Mrs. Hou be angry? ”

"No, it won't." Fifteen still laughed, "As long as the prince likes it, the prince and his wife will still follow the prince in the end." ”

Chu Yi made a grimace: "The prince naturally likes it, I went into the study yesterday to reply, and saw the prince laughing while writing letters." ”

Fifteen said: "When you go to the study now, the prince must be smiling even more happily." ”

Chu Yi laughed: "No, today's will to marry is about to go down to the Jiang family, and the prince is naturally happy." ”

At this time, the Jiang family was indeed kneeling in the mansion to receive the holy decree.

“…… Today, there is the third daughter of the Jiang family, who is virtuous and virtuous, and has a soft temperament......"

The slightly shrill voice of the inner supervisor who came to read the holy decree echoed in the hall, and after reading the long list of praise official articles in front of him, he finally read the key point: "Yang Huang Huang's mercy edict, referring to the princess of Anjun." ”

More than half of the people in the room were stunned by the decree, until the inner prison put away the decree, and many others did not react.

Jiang Xi had already learned the truth from his daughter, and he didn't know whether to be happy or angry at this time. Although the daughter is married to a wishful husband, the original intention of this holy decree is really disgusting.

But of course you can't show this emotion at this time, Taohua took the order and got up, a group of men sent the inner prison out, and by the way, they stuffed a purse or something for everyone who came, and the rest of the ladies were all in a daze at Taohua.

Xiao's heart felt like a pot of boiling vinegar. A few days ago, when the news of Jiang Meihua's promotion to Chongyuan came, she was still overjoyed, and when she turned her head, she heard that this promotion was to mention Taohua's identity, and she immediately had mixed tastes. At this time, the holy decree of marriage really came down, and Taohua became the princess of the county, and her grade was still above Jiang Meihua, which made the taste in her heart indescribable.

There was an eerie silence in the hall for a moment, but Jing broke the silence and was the first to laugh: "Third brother and sister, your room is really a double happiness." Sister Tao - no, it's time to call the princess of the county - congratulations. ”

Cao was also confused. She originally thought that Jiang Yanhua's marriage to the Liu family was already a rare good marriage, even if Taohua could be stronger, it would not exceed too much, but who knew that she would marry into the royal family and become the princess of the county at this time. She didn't know any news before, but after listening to the holy decree, the whole person was numb, and she was a little sober when she heard Jing's words, and laughed reflexively: "Tongxi, Tongxi." ”

Jing's mouth, the atmosphere became lively, everyone congratulated, Taohua only lowered her head and pretended to be ashamed, and when everyone had said a circle, when she went to her room with the holy decree, she saw Jiang Lianhua standing beside Jing's side, looking at her with worried eyes.

Taohua paused and smiled at Jiang Lianhua. There are so many congratulations, she can hear how much sincerity she can hear, and only Jiang Lianhua really cares, even the Jing family is a little behind.

She smiled, and Jiang Lianhua followed: "Third sister-"

After calling this, Jiang Lianhua didn't know what to say, and said after a while: "This is also a great event, but there are so many things in the palace, you have to be careful......" She also heard some of the words outside, although she didn't know which sentence was true and which was false, but she could guess that this princess of the county was not so easy to do.

Taohua smiled and nodded: "Thank you, second sister, I know everything." ”

Jiang Lianhua said those words just now and felt a little regretful, since she knew that it was a happy event, wasn't it inappropriate to say these frustrating words? At this time, seeing Taohua smiling sincerely, her face turned red: "It's good that my sister doesn't think I'm talking recklessly." ”

"I know that the second sister really cares about me." Taohua turned around and walked with her, and asked casually, "When will the second sister move out?" "I said that I would split up after the New Year, and I would move in the first month of the New Year at the latest.

"It's been the past few days. The house has been cleaned up, and when I move in, I will ask my sister to sit down. Jiang Lianhua showed a relaxed look on her face when she said this, she could finally live alone by herself, and she didn't have to huddle with her aunt's family anymore, "What about my sister?" ”

"It's pretty much the same." The two-bedroom house was purchased later, but it was easier to clean up than Jiang Zhu's family, so it was almost completed these days, and it could be moved in after a few days of ventilation.

The two sisters walked slowly along the stone road, and the servants they met were all beaming, and when they saw Taohua, they knelt down and kowtowed, which made Taohua very annoying. Jiang Lianhua walked a few steps, and suddenly laughed in a low voice: "The family will be separated in a few days, and the eldest aunt is afraid that she will feel a little regretful." ”

This is really a little bit good, Xiao Shi's acid is finished, and he turned his head and said to Jiang Jun: "I knew that Sister Tao had this blessing, and she shouldn't let the old lady split up." "If the six salutes of the Ministry of Rites are all in the Jiang Mansion at that time, then outsiders will see how lively and decent it is. It's good now, everything will go from the new home in the second room, and it has little to do with the long house.

Jiang Jun shook his head slightly: "It's unpredictable whether this matter is a blessing or a curse, but it's safer to split up." ”

Xiao Shi was taken aback: "What do you say?" ”

Jiang Jun sneered slightly: "Do you really believe what the outside world said about the dream of the first emperor?" The queen mother's meaning is obvious, but I don't know what the emperor thinks. In the past, he felt that the emperor and the queen mother were not in agreement, but they should also be opposed to the king of Anjun, but now that he has gone through so many things, he can't make up his mind. In this case, it is better to divide the family.

"That-" Xiao Shi was also confused, "The emperor also promoted Sister Mei and Sister Xing...... "Look at it, I should be happy."

"So I don't know what the emperor thinks." Jiang Jun pressed his temples, "That's it, let's take a look slowly, we can always see something interesting." It's just that you have to restrain your family, and you must not be arrogant outside, our family is on the cusp at this time. ”

Jiang Jun is obviously not a straight-hearted person, because the day after the decree on the marriage was issued, before the people of the Jiang family had time to go out to be arrogant, there was a major event that suppressed the matter of the marriage - the displaced people in Shandong were cowards, killed the officials of two counties, and gathered in the mountains and forests.