Taohua didn't care about Cui's mother and daughter at this time, she was looking at Lu Ying from a few seats.

As the only pregnant concubine in the harem today, although Lu Ying is still only a treasure and sits in the last seat, the clothes and materials on her body are obviously beyond her share, which has attracted a few jealous glances.

Lu Ying has been pregnant for more than six months, her belly shows a pointed shape, and her body is not out of shape from behind.

Because she was pregnant, she didn't wear any big jewelry, only inserted a red golden lotus head and shook her head, and wore a few jade beads, but her complexion was excellent, and a slightly round face was red and white. Seeing this complexion, and looking at the size of her belly, even if Taohua can't diagnose her pulse, she can put half of her heart at ease.

Strictly speaking, Concubine Yuan should actually be sitting in Xiaoyuezi, after all, a small birth is similar to childbirth, and it is also a matter of hurting her vitality, she should have rested in her palace at this time, and she should not have come out. However, not only did she appear in the Chunxi Palace, but she also wore a brightly colored light red jacket unusually, used some fat powder on her face, and wore a red gold phoenix hairpin on her head more neatly according to her grade, which was really not like her usual style, and not like the frustrated person who had just lost a child.

To be honest, the queen was very surprised to see Concubine Yuan Shu's appearance today. Although she didn't know that it would be difficult for Yuan Shufei to get pregnant in the future, it stands to reason that the dragon fetus that had been conceived for seven months was suddenly lost, and there was no support, and Yuan Shufei should have been hit hard. And she was also able to win the emperor's pity at this time, and she should pretend to be weak and pitiful, but in the end, it was completely the opposite, she put on an unprecedented favorite concubine style, as if she wanted to fight against her, the queen.

Could it be that Yuan already knew about her drugging? This thought flashed in the queen's heart and was abandoned. As long as the Yuan family has a miscarriage, no matter what, they will be suspicious of her, but there is no evidence, and the Yuan family can only swallow this breath.

When the queen thought of this, she couldn't help but feel proud again, and even the hard ruby inlaid with the phoenix hairpin on Yuan's head didn't feel very dazzling, she glanced at Yuan Shufei lightly, then smiled and wiped off a bracelet on her wrist and gave it to Cui Youwan, who was answering in front of the queen mother.

The Queen Mother was pulling Cui Youwan with a kind face, and when she saw the bracelet that the queen had rewarded, she couldn't help frowning slightly. The queen attaches the most importance to her identity, and the jewelry she wears is all red gold, inlaid with rubies, and she has always been quite weighty. Although these things do have the style of the middle palace when worn, it is very inappropriate to reward a person like Cui Youwan who is in the midst of filial piety. Not to mention anything else, just looking at Cui Youwan dressed so plainly and wearing a red gold bracelet with several rubies on her hand, it is quite unseemly.

However, the queen has always been like this, acting only according to her own pleasure, regardless of whether it is proper or not. The queen mother could only pretend that she didn't see it, and asked the palace people to take a pair of hairpins to reward. This pair of hairpins is mutton fat and white jade, which is both valuable and not eye-catching, and it is suitable to be worn in filial piety.

When Mrs. Cui saw this pair of hairpins, her heart suddenly chuckled. Nowadays, the woman has the so-called gift of insertion, which is the future mother-in-law to the woman's house, and inserts a hairpin in the woman's hair to show that the family is settled. Although this ceremony originated among the people, but now, there are also some official eunuchs who also perform this ceremony in addition to the three books and six ceremonies. The Queen Mother took out a pair of hairpins at this moment, but I am afraid that it has another meaning.

Sure enough, the Queen Mother looked at the jade hairpin on the plate and smiled: "Mrs. Cui, your daughter is really cute, not only is she good-looking, but she is also virtuous and thoughtful when she listens to this." I'm fifteen years old, so I want to come and learn something from you at home, right? ”

Mrs. Cui hurriedly said: "The Queen Mother has won the award." The little girl has just read a few books since she was a child, and she knows a little about the female virtues and female commandments. However, there are few people in the family, and since the first two years, I have asked her to help me with some housework. ”

The Queen Mother said with a smile: "There is a way that a woman is virtuous if she is not talented, no matter how much she reads, it is not good to lose the rules, and it is most important to be punctual and punctual." ”

As she said so slowly, her eyes glanced down intentionally or unintentionally, and suddenly the eyes of all the concubines in the hall fell on Taohua.

If you want to say that the most restless and punctual person, at least there is no second one here besides this princess of Anjun.

Taohua sat there comfortably, and even smiled at the Queen Mother: "What the Queen Mother said." If a woman is not talented, punctuality is the most important thing. ”

All the concubines were silent. Sage Yun A woman is virtuous if she is talentless, but it doesn't mean that if a woman is talentless, she should be punctual, doesn't this mean that if a woman is talented, she doesn't have to be bound by those rules?

Even the Queen Mother was slightly choked, and her face changed slightly-she didn't mean that!

The queen was always trying to catch Taohua's pigtails, and suddenly laughed: "Princess Anjun, this palace sees that you should study well when you go back, why can't you even understand the sage's admonitions?" As a woman, it is not possible to only read medical books, but she has to read a few volumes of saints' books and have some ink in her stomach. ”

Taohua owed: "Yes." Thank you Niangniang for her teachings, but I don't know where this sentence comes from, and I ask Niangniang to tell me that the concubine will go back to read it. ”

The queen was also stunned. The source of the words of virtue is not examinable, but it is a sentence that circulates orally, although everyone will habitually crown it with the words of "sage cloud" when they say it, but in fact, no matter the writings of Confucius and Mencius, there is no such thing at all. Now that Taohua asked, she really couldn't answer.

The Queen Mother sighed secretly. Jiang Shi said this not to the queen, but to refute what she had just said. This is really bold, and among the people here, there is no one who is more noble than her, the Queen Mother. However, Jiang did have the confidence to say this, if she kept to herself, who would cure the malaria epidemic in Lantian and Luonan counties, and why did this pox come from?

Because of this, the Queen Mother only stabbed a little with words, and was refuted by Tao Huamian, so she didn't plan to say anything more. But the queen thought that she had caught a flaw and had to speak, and she was asked speechlessly, she was simply here to add to the chaos.

Cui Youwan said softly on the side: "The words of the sage are very many, and everything changes from its sect, the folk girl thinks that as long as you choose a random book and read it carefully, you can understand the truth, it seems that it does not have to be limited to a few sentences, but this is a rubber pillar drum, and there are traces......"

After she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that she had lost her temper, and hurriedly got up and curtsied to the queen: "The folk girl was impulsive, and she boldly opened her mouth in front of the mother, and asked the mother to forgive her sins." ”

She is relieving the queen from the siege, how can the queen blame her, nodded and smiled: "What you said is reasonable, it can be seen that you have studied carefully." Since it is reasonable, how can this palace blame you, get up quickly. Turning her head and glancing at Taohua, "Princess Anjun should also learn from Miss Cui." Otherwise, if you don't study, you will lose the face of King Anjun. After that, he laughed again, "But I'm afraid that this palace is too worried, and King Anjun himself loves martial arts rather than literature, so it can be seen that you are a family." ”

The Queen Mother listened to her more and more talking, and hurriedly turned to the side, and was about to cough twice, when she heard Taohua nod and smiled: "Niangniang's talent, I might as well too." Miss Cui is so reasonable, it can be seen that she is also a talented person. ”

Immediately, Concubine Yuan Shufei picked up the teacup and lowered her head to widen the tea, but the corners of her mouth couldn't hide a hint of a smile. The queen mother just said that a woman is virtuous if she is not talented, and the princess of the county praised the queen and Cui Youwan for being talented, isn't she saying that they are not virtuous? The queen is really unenlightened, knowing that this Jiang family is hard-boned, and now she still has an identity, can't she not help but tease her?

If she can be suppressed in reason, it's just that, but this Jiang Shi's speech is very sharp, spare you to quote the classics, she doesn't play cards according to common sense, and can always catch a little loophole. The queen has already suffered a loss, and she still doesn't stop after being relieved, she is really stupid.

Taohua didn't want to fight with the queen like this, after all, she was always a little worse in terms of identity, and she was on someone else's territory, and it was enough to refute a few words to show that she was not a dough kneaded by others. Who knew that the queen finally pulled Shen Shu out, obviously alluding to Shen Shu's lack of poetry and books, and he was a martial artist.

Not to mention that Shen Shu has read books, even if he really hasn't read those poems and songs of the Four Books and Five Classics, with his exploits in the military camp since he was a child and followed his uncle and cousin to fight against the Northern Barbarians, Taohua will not allow people to ridicule him like this.

The queen didn't figure out what this meant first, but when she saw Yuan Shufei's appearance, she suddenly came to her senses. However, Taohua is praising her for being talented, and she can't say that she is not talented, and she can't refute it for a while, and it's not okay if she doesn't refute it, she choked on her chest in one breath, she couldn't swallow it, and she couldn't spit it out.

The Queen Mother only had time to take a handkerchief to cover her mouth and cough a few times, Cui Youwan hurriedly leaned over, held her arm, gently patted her back, and covered up the topic.

Taohua also got up and went over: "The queen mother is not feeling well?" At the turn of spring and summer, the catkins are flying, which is easy to make people cough, and if it is a windy day, the queen mother still rarely walks around the garden. ”

The Queen Mother coughed twice and pulled Taohua's hand: "It's hard for you to still think about me." These days, I heard that you made that pox vaccine on the Huangzhuang, and I saw that I had lost some weight. Hey, we're going to start getting pox in a few days, and you're going to be even busier. is a good princess of the county, but she has to endure all these hardships. ”

"Now that the people selected in the hospital have been trained, it will be up to them to do it when the time comes, but it is not hard." Tao Hua didn't believe that the Queen Mother cared about her, there must be a follow-up to her, and she was planning to stop her from taking care of the pox?

It turns out that Taohua's thoughts and the Queen Mother are completely different paths. Because what the Queen Mother said next moment was really quite unexpected for her: "This kind of pox thing, to be honest, shouldn't be borne by you, but if it is handed over to others, not only the emperor is not at ease, but I am also not at ease, after all, this is a major matter related to the people of the world, and only you can do it." ”

"The queen mother is really too awarded, I'm just doing my best......" Taohua was so praised by this flesh that goosebumps were about to rise. If something is abnormal, it is a demon, and the Queen Mother must have some means waiting for it.

But what is the means? At least from now on, it doesn't look like it's about killing Governor Cui. After all, it was just affirmed that she would be in charge of the pox, even if she cared about the death of Governor Cui, she couldn't immediately slap herself in the mouth and swallow the words back.

The Queen Mother smiled lovingly and touched the back of Taohua's hand: "It's just that you are now a relative, and there is still a mess waiting for you in the county king's mansion." Other things may be ignored, but the fourth child has to be taken care of. He is weak and has eye problems, and I really don't feel at ease. ”

Taohua's heart tightened, and suddenly she thought of something. The Queen Mother didn't allow her to understand, and immediately continued: "Speaking of such a thing as giving up the family for the country, it should have been the responsibility of their men, but now they have asked you to bear it, and it is really - hey, it is helpless for the people of the world." The emperor is a man, how do you know that there are still many things to do in the back house, so I have to make decisions for you and find someone to share your worries. ”

Share the worries...... Taohua glanced at Cui Youwan out of the corner of her eye, and sure enough, although the latter hung her head slightly, her fingers were tightly twisted in the handkerchief, and she couldn't help but show a trace of excitement on her side face.

It was waiting for her here. Taohua smiled slightly: "Thank you for your concern." However, the prince now lives with me in the Huangzhuang, which is not separated, and it is convenient to take care of it, and there is no need to fake it. ”

The concubines in the palace all twitched in their hearts for the sentence "not separated", and a wave of envy arose for no reason. Although they are the concubines of the Son of Heaven, they look not far from the harem, but the middle is like a moat, and no one dares to say that they are "not separated" from the emperor. But this princess of Anjun said such things casually, which shows that the husband and wife are really good and get along with each other.

The queen couldn't help but say: "That Huangzhuang is a place to make pox vaccines, I heard that you have got a lot of smallpox cows to go over, how can you let King Anjun live there?" The queen mother is right, since you are busy with external affairs, there should be someone in the house to share your worries. Miss Cui is not only proficient in poetry and books, but also a housekeeper, and she should be a side concubine for King Anjun, which is qualified. ”

If the queen only wanted to see the excitement of the Jiang family at the beginning, then she had to stuff the Cui family into the Anjun palace at this time. What is said to be inseparable? As the queen, she and the emperor have never been so affectionate, why can the Jiang family!

Taohua was still smiling, but her eyes were sharp: "Governor Cui sacrificed his life for the country, it seems that the first seven have not yet passed, Miss Cui has a heavy filial piety, and it seems a little inappropriate to talk about marriage at this time." And since she is the daughter of a martyr, isn't it humiliating to be a concubine? You should also choose a good person and marry seriously. "Want to stuff her with a side concubine to get her in the way? Don't!

The concubines in the hall fell silent again. In fact, everything Princess Anjun said was right. Before the death of his father, he said that he would marry, and he said that he would donate his body to the country but made his daughter a concubine, which would be criticized, but this concubine was a side concubine with a seal, which was much stronger than ordinary concubines.

However, it was the Queen Mother who mentioned this matter, and she still used the excuse of sharing her worries for Princess Anjun. The Queen Mother is the mother-in-law of Princess Anjun, and she is the most valuable woman in the world, even the emperor is not easy to refute what she said, Princess Anjun accepted it respectfully, which is really bold.

The Queen Mother coughed lightly: "Miss Cui has already passed the war, and she will be ruined by the flower letter for another three years, and the Cui Governor's Mansion has knowledge underground, and it is difficult to rest assured if you want to come." The folk have always had the custom of marrying within 100 days of filial piety, so that the daughter has a home, and it can be comforted by the dead. ”

The queen said, "That's what the queen mother said. What's more, Jiang Shi, you are busy with pox now, and you may have to go out of Beijing in a few days, where can you take good care of King Anjun? The queen mother kindly found you a proper person to help, and you must know that it is good or bad. And the king of Anjun should also accept one side concubine and two concubines according to the system, which is like a royal appearance. I heard that now you don't talk about concubines in your house, and even the maids who are waiting for you have been sent away by you, how can this become a system? Since you are a royal wife, you should have the bearing of a royal woman, this word of jealousy is a woman's taboo, and as a concubine, it is even more unavoidable. And you have been married for half a year, and there has been no news so far, King Anjun is already in his twenties, so you don't have to delay his heirs. If you can't give birth, it's good to let the side concubine or concubine give birth to one first, and it can also bring you a child. ”

The queen's big words are endless, and she has a rather unforgiving posture. Taohua began to be annoyed, but later she laughed angrily: "Don't worry, no matter how confused the concubine is, she won't dare to do anything with the heir." However, although the prince is in his early twenties, there are many people who are older than him and have no heirs, and the concubines are foolish, so it seems that there is no need to be too anxious. ”

If you want to talk about jealousy, who can do more than the queen? Shen Shu is in her twenties and has no children, so she is in a hurry? Then the emperor is already thirty, where is the son? When she got rid of the fetus in the concubine's womb, why didn't she say this?

The queen said happily just now, but she forgot that she still had a bunch on her back, and now she was stabbed by Taohua like this, and she choked suddenly, and her face was slightly swollen and red. When she was about to be angry, Taohua never named her name, and if she didn't get angry, she really couldn't get down on her face.

The Queen Mother coughed vigorously on the side and sank her face: "Jiang, you are wrong to say this. ”

Taohua stood up and said without humility or arrogance: "Please teach the queen mother." ”

The Queen Mother was angry when she saw her calm appearance, did she really think that with the support of the emperor, even she, the Queen Mother, could ignore it?

"What are you talking about, others are old and still have no heirs, so don't worry, these words are said by outsiders, but you, as the fourth concubine, can't say it! As the saying goes, there are three unfilial pieties, no queen is the greatest, and the heir is the right thing! You are so careless, do you want to ignore the fourth child and not be filial? It can be known that the first emperor is underground, and he must be looking forward to the fourth child having an heir earlier. ”

The Queen Mother said, raised her hand and pointed at Lu Ying, who was sitting with her head down: "Look at this palace, who doesn't take the emperor's heirs to heart?" Now that Lu Baolin is pregnant, the queen takes care of her every day, shushing the cold and asking for warmth, just looking forward to giving birth to a prince and coming out, so as to comfort the first emperor. That's what a wife should do. I heard that the fourth child is also very fond of you, so you should think more about him, if you are pampered and arrogant, and delay the heir's major event, I can't tolerate it. ”

The concubines in the first hall were silent. The Queen Mother said it to such an extent that she clearly used her identity to suppress Princess Anjun. If Princess Anjun still refuses to agree, unless she wants to tear her face with the Queen Mother.

Jiang Meihua's heart was pounding, and there was a faint trace of excitement and schadenfreude in the nervousness. What if you are proficient in medicine? Even if you can let the world set up a shrine for you, and your mother-in-law chooses the side concubine for you, do you dare not to follow? A woman is a woman, a daughter-in-law is a daughter-in-law, even if your husband loves pets, the elders above can crush you to death.

Lu Ying was so anxious that her feet gently stepped in her skirt, like sitting on pins and needles, but the Queen Mother taught her daughter-in-law that where a little concubine like her could interject, she was just in a hurry.

"How?" After the Queen Mother finished speaking, her face sank when she saw Taohua standing there still, "You don't listen to what I said?" Or are you really jealous, and you can't even tolerate the side concubine? ”

Taohua really wanted to push her back, but that was really unwise. What's more, as the queen mother, if she really tears her face, it is okay to directly point out Cui Youwan to Shen Shu, just like when she ignored the discussion of outsiders, she insisted on setting up a situation on the Shangyuan Festival to let Shen Shu marry her. Outsiders may accuse the Queen Mother of ulterior motives, but she and Shen Shu can't resist the will.

"The queen mother cares about the prince, I can't ask for it." Taohuapi pulled the corners of her mouth with a smile, and looked at Mrs. Cui, "Speaking of which, this is also fate, I think that the first emperor set for the prince was the eldest girl of the Cui family, but unfortunately the immortal died...... Now that the second girl Cui can enter the palace of the county king, I think that Miss Cui will be happy to see her sister have this home, right? ”

Instead of having a hard top with the Queen Mother, it is better to draw salary from the bottom of the kettle. The Cui family still has the crime of bullying the monarch on their backs, is it so bold to remarry their second daughter to Shen Shu now?

Mrs. Cui was still sitting still. She naturally could hear that Taohua was unwilling to accept Cui Youwan. This is also common sense, which woman would want her husband to be divided by others? However, the queen of this dynasty has a system in the house, and the seat of the side concubine is placed there, and someone must occupy it. Even if Jiang was reluctant, he could only accept it.

Of course, she is a concubine, so she naturally has to be a little higher, and Cui Youwan is bound to suffer a little grievance under her. But now Mrs. Cui can see that this is the Queen Mother who wants to fight with the Jiang family, as long as Cui Youwan listens to the Queen Mother and has the support of the Queen Mother, she will not suffer any losses, maybe the east wind will overwhelm the west wind in the future.

However, Mrs. Cui was in a trance for a moment, she and Cui Zhifu have been married for decades, although they also used some scheming means to cut off the trouble in the back house, but after all, they can be regarded as husband and wife, if Cui Youwan uses the Queen Mother to fight with the Jiang family, will Shen Shu be happy? After all, the relationship between him and the Queen Mother can be seen by everyone.

Shun is so good that her brother is discouraged by her sister-in-law, if Cui Youwan relies on the Queen Mother, I am afraid that she will be rejected by her husband, and when the time comes, ...... Mrs. Cui's heart tightened for a while, a woman who was rejected by her husband, even though she looked beautiful on the surface, she was empty and desolate on the inside, and Mrs. Cui had seen a lot of such people.

But...... Mrs. Cui thought of her two sons, so she could only suppress the throbbing pain in her heart and comfort herself: at least Youwan herself is willing. The future of the Cui family, as well as her own future, must count on her son. If the Queen Mother has a hand, Cui Jing and Cui Min's road in the future will be much smoother, and after she dies, she will be able to go underground to see her husband.

As soon as she made up her mind, Mrs. Cui raised her eyes and met Taohua's smiling gaze.

Maybe it's because people with ghosts in their hearts are particularly sensitive, Mrs. Cui heard it at once, the word "underground" was missing from what Princess Anjun said, she didn't say "Miss Cui saw her sister in the underground and had this destination", this, is this an accident, or does it have ulterior motives?