After withdrawing from the side hall, Wang Jue walked towards the palace where the queen mother sat under the guidance of the inner chamberlain, as a waiter of the Ministry of Rites, every New Year because of various festivals, often entered the palace to receive orders and return to life, and the inner court walking was not a stranger to him.

But he rarely went to the place of the Queen Mother.

Wang Jue knows his identity and understands his mission, and now he is talking back to the Queen Mother for the first time, he knows what to do.

The queen mother and the harem concubines all live in the harem, which is also known as Xingqing Palace, and there are hundreds of large and small palaces. The queen mother lived in the Qingning Palace during the period of the first emperor, and after the death of the first emperor, she moved to the Guanfeng Palace, and the emperor specially expanded the Guanfeng Palace into the Guanfeng Palace.

Courtiers often say that although the emperor's majesty is not born to the queen mother, his benevolence and filial piety are better than his own birth.

Guanfeng Palace is located at the edge of Xingqing Palace, the environment is quiet, there is a long Yong road in front of the palace, which is paved with smooth and round, well-proportioned and beautiful pebbles, Wang Jue has long heard that the famous Baogu Road in the city is modeled after this Yong road in the palace city. He stepped on this road, listening to his footsteps rubbing against the stones, sonorous rhyme, although awkward, but also quite interesting.

Wang Jue stepped on the cobblestone road and came to the palace where the Queen Mother was sitting, and found that although there were no rich flowers and trees around it, it was more glorious than the rest of the palaces. He took a deep breath, smelled the fragrance of flowers in the wind, and then strode forward, explained his intentions, and stopped outside the palace to wait for the Queen Mother's decree to summon him.

Before long, a burst of Lang Lang's reading sound floated out of the palace wall in the wind, listening to the sound was not very neat, and sharp and soft mixed, Wang Jue was curious, and said to the attendant outside the palace gate: "This father-in-law, let me ask, but the young prince and princess are studying in the queen mother's palace?" ”

The chamberlain was not very old, and he didn't have much chance to talk to the Sanpin officials outside the palace, so when he heard him ask, he replied in a sharp voice: "No, no, the little masters have their own places to go." These are the people who are waiting in the Niangniang Palace, doing morning classes. Niangniang is benevolent, Xu slaves and maids are literate and literate, and she also said that her reading voice is clear, which is her favorite. ”

When Wang Jue heard this, a fire rose from the bottom of his heart: This dynasty has a system, and eunuchs are never allowed to interfere in politics, which is even more repeated when His Majesty ascends the throne today. What is the intention of the Queen Mother to openly teach those minions to read and write? What do they do with literacy? Do you still want to enter the imperial examination?

Wang Jue pressed his anger and talked with the little eunuch again: "Then father-in-law, do you also read and write?" He paused and said politely, "I don't know who is teaching?" Which of the classics in the subset of the scriptures have you learned now? ”

Seeing him asking with a pleasant face, the chamberlain was also warm in his heart, and asked such a good thing, and hurriedly replied: "The queen mother said that the words of the sage are broad and profound, and we can't learn it, so we won't practice things." Besides, we study for nothing else, but to know a few more words, so we only let Mr. teach us to read some three-character scriptures and hundreds of family names or something, as long as we don't open our eyes blindly, the slaves and maids will be satisfied. ”

Wang Jue snorted in his heart: Also, this master has been up and down in the palace for 20 years, when has he ever done that kind of thing that would fall into people's hands? Thinking that she entered the palace as a tribute girl, who would have thought that she would climb to the position of the queen mother in the end?

After two sentences of gossip, a palace maid came out of the Guanfeng Palace, with phoenix eyes, high nose and red lips, and a little beauty mole under the lips, smart and fresh and lovely. She curtsied and said to Wang Jue: "Lord Wang has been waiting for a long time, the Queen Mother invites you in." ”

Wang Jue straightened his official robe, and slowly followed the palace maid inside.

The courtyard is dressed up very elegantly, except for a few flowers and trees, there is no other decoration, only the main hall is next to the wall root placed a row of tender flowers, although it is autumn, still blooming brightly.

A bamboo curtain covers a qiē inside, and bamboo products are still used at this time, which is quite a bit ridiculous and reprimanded "autumn fan donation".

Wang Jue raised the corners of his lips, walked into the room, and said to the end: "See the Queen Mother." ”

The palace maid who led him in pursed her lips and smiled, walked to the layers of gauze curtains hanging in the room, lifted her bare hands, opened a corner and flashed in, and after she entered, a thin voice came out, thinking that she was communicating with the people behind the curtain.

When he was young, a soft voice came from behind the curtain.

"Your Excellency the King will be exempted from the courtesy, and the seat will be given."

There were no extra words, Wang Jue and the Queen Mother sat across the curtain, the Queen Mother did not speak, and Wang Jue held her breath and did not speak. Without any warning, a delicate voice suddenly came from behind the curtain: "Lord Wang is a rare guest, please see the Queen Mother today, I don't know what is going on?" ”

Wang Jue heard that these words were from the palace maid who came out to greet him before, and he didn't answer for a while, but sure enough, after a few breaths, the Queen Mother's gentle voice sounded again, and she reprimanded softly: "Banxia, why are you so rude?" Why don't you tell Lord Wang about it? ”

Wang Jue knew that the Queen Mother was not the emperor's biological mother, and she was younger than the other concubines of the first emperor.

This queen mother said a lot of words in one go, and Wang Jue was surprised when she heard it, who would have expected the queen mother's voice to be so soft and tactful, like a girl in her twenties, and the tail note was soft and mellow, with some playfulness in the south.

Stunned for a moment, he didn't reply in time, and when he reacted, Wang Jue smiled, but he wouldn't really wait for a palace maid to confess, he stood up from the chair and replied: "The minister only replied to the emperor's order, His Majesty said, the queen mother asked, how is the marriage of the eldest princess, how is the Ministry of Rites organized." His Majesty was afraid that the mother would be worried, and the special ministers came to pay their respects. ”

"The emperor has a heart, the mourning family only mentioned it to him yesterday, and today Lord Wang is here in person," the Queen Mother said in a clear voice, she sighed lightly, and said, "Lord Wang is busy with official business, so he actually talked back and forth?" The mourning family is a little unbearable. ”

Wang Jue replied for the second time: "The eldest princess's wedding is a matter that is within my ceremonial department, how dare you say that it is busy? I didn't dare to ask the Queen Mother in person. The reason why it has not yet been reported to the Queen Mother is because of the wedding of the eldest princess, everything is important, and the Ministry of Rites wants to prepare the whole ceremony perfectly, and then return to the emperor and the Queen Mother. ”

The Queen Mother behind the curtain was silent, and only said after a while: "I see." There seemed to be a gentle smile in his soft voice.

"The minister has made a mistake, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess's marriage etiquette, Yu Niangniang's affairs are no matter how big or small, the minister failed to understand the Queen Mother's motherly heart in time, and asked Niangniang to surrender." Wang Jue had already realized when he didn't see the Queen Mother, and even when the emperor spoke, he confessed his mistake and asked for the guilt in one go, like flowing water.

(To be continued.) )