"The lord of Weiyang Palace, Concubine Shen, visited the Queen Mother."

In the center of the Yongshou Palace, a young lady dressed in a concubine dress and a peacock hairpin knelt down and bowed down to the people on the phoenix throne in the distant melodious guqin sound of the distant and melodious guqin in the distant Yuefu. This ceremony is the most solemn ceremony for the father and son of the monarch and the minister, raising the hands and eyebrows as the head, the knees touching the ground as the second, and after lying down for a while, Fang Yun gets up. But the hands are still folded in front of the eyebrows, and they can only be put down at the end, and they must not make mistakes.

The hall is built with red beams, the luster is deep and rich in nobility, giving people an invisible sense of majesty. On the high seat, there are long paintings on both sides of the golden embroidery with the dragon flying claws on a black background, usually in the past, only two phoenixes are hung in the queen mother's room, in order to seek a symmetry, or a dragon and a phoenix, representing the Nine Dragons Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother. And when the Empress Dowager Shen was hanging on her side, she was on an equal footing with the emperor by calling for wind and rain in the court, which was profound and intriguing.

The woman on the phoenix seat at the end of the long purple carpet is the queen mother, nearly fifty, although the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes are raised, but except for a few strands of green silk that have fallen off, her actual age cannot be seen at all. She was the biological mother of the eldest princess who walked in front of Shen Shuzhao with a cold face just now, if it weren't for the Queen Mother's kind smile, Shen Shuzhao would have thought that the Queen Mother had the same unattainable temperament, so she taught the eldest princess.

"You are the second daughter of Master Shen, Shen Shuzhao." The Queen Mother asked.

"It's the concubine. Fortunately, the Queen Mother chose the palace, and she was really flattered, and she didn't know how to repay her. ”

"Raise your head and look at the mourners."

It's time to start looking at her temperament, shrewd people like the Queen Mother won't not know the key points of looking at people, to be honest, she is a little nervous now, and she feels uncomfortable, as if there is a pair of fox eyes in front of you that can see through you in an instant.

The Queen Mother snorted, "Can you hear the palace rules that Mama Lili told you these days?" ”

"The five hundred rules are already well understood."

"Last night, the emperor came to your palace, and it was a business matter, so don't go to your heart."

The Queen Mother was considerate, and Shen Shuzhao couldn't help but say: "The Son of Heaven has all the opportunities, and the concubine has no reason to blame." ”

After asking some inconsequential questions, the Queen Mother had the intention of retreating, "You have a lot of work when you first enter the palace, so please stop here today." She has a mediocre attitude towards Shen Shuzhao, and she has no interest in knowing too much.

However, Shen Shuzhao did not move, and the Queen Mother was a little puzzled by this, "What are you ......?"

"The concubine has a heartfelt message to the queen mother."

"What?"

"The concubine is so worried every time she thinks about the situation of the queen mother."

Her words caught the attention of the Queen Mother.

"What do you think?"

"Above the court, the Xiao Chen family colluded with each other, erosive, obscene and extravagant, forming an unhealthy atmosphere of forming a party for personal gain; In the harem, Empress Xiao favored the six palaces and suppressed the palace concubines, so that the emperor had few princes. This is the misfortune of the country and the sorrow of the Wei family. The queen mother chose the daughter of the Shen family as her concubine for the sake of the royal heir, but the queen mother did not name the eldest sister, but chose the concubine. Thinking that there must be Xiao Chen's forces in it, the Queen Mother was forced to give up her eldest sister by improper means. The concubine's identity will be criticized in the future, and I am afraid that it will affect the queen mother, if only by listening to the order can the queen mother get out of trouble, the concubine will be duty-bound! ”

The sound of the guzheng gradually weakened, until at the end, it was silent.

At this interval, the Queen Mother seemed to have a touch in her heart, and she had a good impression of the girl under the seat, "Most of the children born after the Shen Mansion only know wealth, gold and silver, and do not hear the treacherous situation in the court. It's a good thing that you're a woman and you can lift your head out of your floral makeup. But the mourning family has always heard that your mother-in-law doesn't treat you well, is it true? ”

Shen Shuzhao wanted to answer decently, because she didn't want to be regarded as a person who had lost her filial piety. But after thinking about it, the queen mother can ask this sentence as if she has done everything she understands, if she answers the good of her mother-in-law, although she has a good reputation for tolerance, her mother-in-law is still safe and sound; If you answer truthfully, you can still appear to be compromised and have a small grudge in front of the Queen Mother. A corporal who exposes his flaws is more likely to be trusted by the Lord, and a strategist who is too perfect will attract suspicion.

So she replied, "Yes." ”

"The mourning family understands that your mother-in-law is the eldest daughter of Jiang Mansion, and she is a noble girl born with a pearl in her mouth, and she has a delicate temperament. Since marrying into the Shen Mansion, you have always complained about your biological father marrying a concubine, and after that, the eldest son was raised by her aunt, and it is normal for her to treat you badly. It's really hard for you for so many years, and the mourning family knows that under her strictness, any concubine is trembling, obedient and obedient. You are the only concubine who is disgusted by the eldest lady, and the mourning family knows that you must be clever and have your own ideas. ”

I never thought that the curtain of the capital rumors that the stronger wrists are better than the man's curtain listening to the Empress Dowager can say such comforting words to Shen Shuzhao, "I have suffered you", her heart is warm and undercurrent, and it is the first time she has heard someone say this to herself, sure enough, they are both from the Shen family, and they are also people who are bent on climbing to the peak of women's power - they all have the same intentions.

On the day of Changle Palace's greeting, after presenting his loyalty to the Queen Mother, Shen Shuzhao successfully retreated.

Looking at her distant figure, the henchwoman Imperial Commander standing beside the Queen Mother showed a very relieved face, "It seems that there is not much disappointment in this hasty and unexpected choice." ”

"The mourning family also feels lucky. Xiao Fu originally forced the mourning family to give up the two concubines, and the concubine's entry into the palace was just an inferior choice, because her background would never threaten the queen, which was the result that Xiao Chen wanted to see, but we and they may have ignored that this concubine whose fate was involved may also be a person who is smart and courageous and sensitive to power and scheming......"

"The slave looks at her appearance today and is generous, and there is no small family at all, but there is a formal style, the queen mother may have chosen the right person by mistake?"

"It remains to be seen. The mourning family didn't care much about her, so they just sent it back. But now the mourning family wants to change their minds temporarily, Ajiang, let's call her over for dinner tonight. ”

"Yes, slave and maid obey."

That's it.

The fate of the future is set.

The dawn is withdrawn from the remnant clouds, and the blue fades, and it is dark.

The sun sets. Shen Shuzhao, who received the summons, came to the Yongshou Hall again, and after entering the palace, the familiar scene came into view, the fragrance of sandalwood, the white gardenia, and the flowers in front of the court were more than enough, and the smell of the two blended and fascinated. There are tall bottles and silver chopsticks on the table, and the rest of the meal has not yet been served, and the round table is very wide and can accommodate four people. It shouldn't be commonly used by the Queen Mother.

Changing into the formal clothes of the summoned concubines, the Queen Mother was waiting indoors in her regular clothes at this time. After Shen Shuzhao returned to the palace, she received an invitation to dinner, and she knew that the Queen Mother did not ignore herself, she took care of the flowers on her sideburns, and decided to give birth to a good life. "The concubine came to see the Queen Mother."

"Flat." The Queen Mother's tone was much closer than before, and Shen Shuzhao was happy to hear it, but when she looked up, she was stunned, because sitting next to the Queen Mother was none other than Princess Kunyi. She's even here? Shen Shuzhao suddenly didn't know what to do, and felt quite uneasy in his heart. She swept the table utensils, three pairs of dishes and chopsticks, and when it was over, they had to eat together tonight. And the eldest princess, who was so beautiful that she couldn't be rich, glanced at her lightly, and didn't say a word, as if she was not a palace concubine, just nothing-for-nothing air.

The Queen Mother said: "This is the eldest daughter of the mourning family, Kunyi." ”

"I've seen the eldest princess Kunyi." Shen Shuzhao hurriedly covered up the strangeness.

"Seen?" The Queen Mother asked.

This made Shen Shuzhao a little embarrassed, so he replied: "Back to the Queen Mother, the concubine happened to meet the eldest princess this morning and returned to the palace from the Yongshou Palace." ”

"In this way, you two don't need to be introduced by the mourning family."

She was ashamed to hear it, wasn't it as simple as the Queen Mother thought? By passing by, she could recognize the eldest princess, but the eldest princess didn't recognize her. Later, as she expected, the eldest princess only bowed to her, and the strangeness was like the first time she saw her.

After taking a seat, the left is respected, and the Queen Mother sits on the far left, and then ranks around the table. Shen Shuzhao was next to the eldest princess, and her heart was almost hanging in her heart, because this woman was born so beautiful, and it was a cold beauty. She sat down, and the princess had a delicate snow fragrance on her body, which had the cold smell of cold peak snow lotus. Shen Shuzhao was suppressed by both his aura and appearance, and he couldn't even hold the silver chopsticks steadily.

Because-

It's too oppressive.

After the meal, the two halves on the table were Shen Shuzhao's favorite food in the Shen Mansion, and the Queen Mother really knew everything about her. Shen Shuzhao didn't show a relaxed expression in front of this pile of plates, if it was just dining with the Queen Mother, there was an extra princess, which was really not very annoying.

During the meal, the queen mother raised wine to cheer up, and the palace maid added fine wine to the two. Unnaturally holding the silver-rimmed wine bottle, Shen Shuzhao drank the wine for the first time. The taste is sweet, then spicy, and the aftertaste does not linger for a long time. After drinking, the queen mother asked the eldest princess with concern: "What palace do you want when you come back?" ”

The eldest princess stared at the bottom of the bottle thoughtfully: "The old palace." ”

"Ruizhu Palace?" The Queen Mother's voice actually made Shen Shuzhao hear that she was depressed, "Okay, you have lived there with him since you were a child." The mourning family just didn't expect that you left the palace for two years, and you should live in a more gorgeous and spacious place when you returned to the capital, but you still want to stay there. ”

Shen Shuzhao seemed to understand something from what she said, she knew that after the Wei Dynasty was occupied by the Xiongnu three years ago, a long-term tug-of-war broke out, and the eldest son of the Xiao family led the army as a general, and was temporarily appointed by the emperor to master the tiger talisman. The eldest princess Kunyi in the palace was voluntarily ordered to go to the Lizhou temple on the edge of Luoyang to pray for the blessing of the country, and if the scholar was not triumphant, she would never return. His heart moved the world, and he was in awe of the Queen Mother for giving birth to such an eldest princess.

The image of such a kind and resolute person was shattered until the first day Shen Shuzhao entered the palace.

"The queen mother, the sons are old lovers, and no matter how good the golden house is, it can't compare to the original thatched house."

"Is Yang'er really reluctant to move into Changle Palace?"

Seeing that the atmosphere suddenly turned into a confrontation, after a short silence, Shen Shuzhao smiled and said: "The name Ruizhu Palace has obtained a wonderful name, in Taoism, Ruizhu Palace has the meaning of fairy heavenly palace, Lu You also once wrote a poem 'once scattered Tianhua Ruizhu Palace, a thought fell into the dust'." Tang poems also like to be a beautiful fairy pronoun, the concubine body today to see the eldest princess at close range, but gave birth to the idea of the fairy falling into the dust, if the Ruizhu Palace is the residence, it is a legend. ”

The eldest princess closed her eyes and looked at her.

Outside the acacia window, the gardenia tree drops frost petals in the wind.

One petal.

Two petals.

Three-petaled.

Shen Shuzhao took a deep breath in the cold gaze.

Unexpectedly......

It's cold.

She silently lifted the wine bottle and tasted it alone, to hide the silence that had left after speaking.

Even speaking for herself can only get such treatment, this eldest princess is really difficult to approach to the extreme.