- As a prince, the wisdom of the gentleman he has learned, the breeze of the person he has cultivated, and the generosity and kindness of his character are not a problem. It's completely unimaginable that he should do the thing of framing a little palace maid, and if the palace maid denies it again, it will be a bit like throwing dirt on His Royal Highness the Second Prince.

The palace maid who was kneeling on the ground didn't dare to speak out anymore, and after listening to the eunuch's accusation, although she had some hatred in her heart, she also had some doubts about herself, was it really her negligence just now? The eunuch's words were not all wrong, how could His Royal Highness wronged himself as a little palace maid?

"Doing things so crudely, and refusing to bear the mistakes after committing them, how can the emperor's bedroom be left with such a bad servant." Concubine De, who was silent for a moment, spoke coldly, and at the same time flicked her sleeves, "Let's go to the Huanyi Bureau tonight, you will be more diligent there in the future, and you will not even live up to this last master's expectations." ”

As soon as Concubine De's words were finished, two of the palace maids who surrounded her here stood up, stretched out their hands on the shoulders of the kneeling palace maids, and quickly carried her out.

After saying the words that could almost change the fate of a palace maid just now, Wang Hong, the second prince sitting in the brocade quilt, kept his eyes slightly lowered. He also heard the words of the eunuch, and in fact he was exactly that kind of person, accustomed to treating all those around him gently, and did not like to treat these people who served him carefully as cattle, horses, and livestock, and he would not feel the slightest pleasure in his heart when he saw these people being punished.

What's more, the punishment that this palace maid received at this time was indeed forced on her own head. But of course, he could understand that the eunuch suddenly spoke. The help was very appropriate, although that would cause the palace maid to be punished more heavily, but he still had to firmly protect Xiaoxing's original intention.

It's just that this practice of needing to hurt one person in order to protect another person makes him feel a little sorry after all.

After disposing of the palace maid, Concubine De let out a long breath, as if she had not completely relieved her hatred. After calming down a little, Concubine De turned her gaze and looked at Wang Hong through a layer of foggy silk tent, and said in a somewhat helpless tone: "When the concubine first came over, she was still wondering. Why are all the people in your dormitory standing at the gate? Now it can be seen that it was these palace slaves who did not serve well and were driven out by you. But you don't know that slaves are not useful. It's useless to just drive away. You have to replace it. The concubine has told you this many times. It's all for your own good, why don't you just refuse to do it? ”

Wang Hong was silent for a moment, it was really not good to help Concubine De be angry again. The servants in his palace suffered a lot, so he said softly: "The slaves and maids in Huayang Palace are usually very conscientious in serving their sons, and occasionally there are some negligence, which is not a big deal. ”

"Teach them to abide by the rules of the palace, and naturally there are grandmothers and female officials in the palace doing it. You are a dignified son, and you must not be entangled in these trivial matters, and you should really take on the big things. If you have to worry about these things, will those grandmothers and female officials who are full-time discipline the new palace maids and eunuchs have a leisurely meal? The more Concubine De spoke, the more angry the anger on her face became, and after a slight pause in the middle of the conversation, her eyes were slightly sharp, and she said sentence by sentence: "No, the mother concubine still doesn't worry about you, change Ming'er, the mother concubine will call a few more grandmothers over, and check you, the slave in Huayang Palace, to see who is not careful enough." Slaves who are not qualified to stay here will all have to be changed in this palace! ”

As soon as Concubine De's words were finished, all the palace maids and eunuchs present were so frightened that their hearts trembled, including the few servants who served Concubine De who came here with Concubine De, and their eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of panic. Today's check is Huayang Palace, maybe tomorrow it will be the turn of your own Xiaohuai Palace. And Xiaohuai Palace is not protected by a good-tempered master like His Second Highness, if it is really investigated, I am afraid that the palace slaves in Xiaohuai Palace will be even more desolate.

And the second prince Wang Hong was suddenly taken aback after listening to Concubine De's words. If Concubine De wanted to check his palace maids on the grounds of eliminating bad slaves, her father would definitely agree. He didn't know what Concubine De's review criteria for palace maids and eunuchs were, but depending on the two people she disposed of today, once she really started to investigate, the palace servants who were already familiar with each other in her bedroom would definitely be excluded, and then some new people would be filled.

This would greatly disrupt his camp in the palace, and no one knew if Concubine De would arrange for a new palace servant to serve him. These newcomers are not her henchmen. Since then, if I want to quietly leave the palace again, I am afraid it will be even more difficult. And if you want to check the reason for the death of Concubine Ye's virtuous concubine back then, it will also take more time because it is not easy to get out of the palace.

In addition, once there is a newcomer like Zài among the servants of Huayang Palace, Xiaoxing's chances of coming back will become even slimmer, and the person he hid behind the screen of the head of the dormitory will not be able to stay here any longer.

But I coincidentally can't refuse to Concubine De at this time.

In the past, when Xiaoxing was still a maid in Huayang Palace, Wang Hong sent her to secretly supervise the palace where Concubine De lived. He had already found out then. Concubine De is not a simple-minded woman. She has cultivated a few powerful personal maids, but she usually does not show the slightest appearance, and only acts as an ordinary palace maid. Wang Hong believes that Concubine De's nurturing and loving love for him can contain true feelings. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have anything else on her mind.

Could it be that she had also noticed something strange in Huayang Palace?

If so. He refused at this point. No matter how tactful the wording is, it will arouse her greater suspicion.

Can...... Is that acceptable?

After frowning slightly and thinking for a moment, Wang Hong still did not refute Concubine De's decision. He slowly opened his mouth and just instructed the eunuch who was in charge of the lantern palace maid just now: "Ajia, this palace is thirsty." ”

"Your Highness, wait a minute." The eunuch who was called Aja hurriedly answered and went out with a palace maid.

The main hall of Huayang Palace inside and outside is equipped with a small water room, and the fire is continuous all night, and boiling water is available at any time. Aja soon came in with a crane-beak kettle, and when the palace maid he took out came back, she already had an extra tray in her hand, and on the tray was a set of bone china tea sets, a teapot, and only a tea cup.

Seeing this scene, Concubine De suddenly remembered something. He immediately questioned: "It's time to fall asleep, and you are still preparing to serve tea?" ”

The eunuch Ajia has been in Huayang Palace for several years, and he has long qualifications and experience, and he is more able to calm down in the face of Concubine De's questioning. After a little consideration, he explained: "Niangniang is angry, please listen to the cheap slave explain, this is the habit of His Royal Highness the Second Prince, and the water must be warm before entering the mouth." ”

"Oh?" Concubine De was surprised.

The eunuch Aja ordered the maid to put the tray on the table, and then only moved the teapot, and the nine teacups were still placed in the tray in two rows, and swore not to be a wife: the young lady was arrested all over the world. Then he carried the big iron kettle in his hand. Move up and down. The nine teacups in the tray all had half a cup of boiling water.

The action of pouring water is fast and smooth, and there is hardly a drop of excess hot water spilled on the outside of the tray.

Immediately afterwards, the palace maid lifted the porcelain lid of the teapot that had been removed from the tray before. Then she shook the boiling water from the nine teacups in turn. Pour into a teapot. Then put nine bone china tea cups that had been scalded with boiling water back into the tray in turn, still in two rows up and down.

The eunuch Aja once again carried the large boiling kettle with the crane beak in his hand, and this time he did not move it up and down. Instead, it filled only one cup.

The palace maid approached the table again, and did not shake the cup of boiling water again, but poured it into the teapot beside her, but started with the cup of boiling water, and poured it through the nine bone china cups in turn.

When it was her turn to pour into the last bone china cup, she picked up the cup of boiling water, which was no longer steaming, paused lightly on a soft velvet handkerchief in the tray, wiped off the starry water stains at the bottom of the cup, and finally walked to the couch with the cup of water.

There were already two astute palace maids, one left and one right, who reached out and lifted a corner of the silk tent.

"Your Highness, the water is warm, you can moisten your mouth." The palace maid with the cup stood on the edge of the couch, and did not dare to sit on it, but leaned her upper body and handed the cup over with both hands.

As soon as the second prince Wang Hong took the cup, he heard the eunuch Ajia ask softly: "Your Highness, do you need a wheat pipe?" ”

Wang Hong shook his head slightly, raised his hand holding the teacup higher, first took a shallow sip, and then drank the warm water in the cup into his stomach in three or two sips. He exhaled comfortably as he handed back the empty cup.

Concubine De had been watching this scene silently, and several doubts had already risen in her heart, and it was only at this time that she looked at the eunuch Ajia and asked, "What is the 'wheat pipe' you just said?" ”

"It's a kind of tubule." As he spoke, the eunuch Aja reached out and took a small long box that had been placed in the tray a long time ago, opened the lid of the box, and bowed down and passed his hands over his forehead so that Concubine De could see the contents of the box, and then he went on to explain: "This is taken from the stalks of ripe wheat, and each one is carefully inspected and cleaned by the slaves, sometimes when His Highness is thirsty at night. With this straw, you don't have to sit up to drink water, and you don't have to choke. ”

Concubine De listened to his explanation, and a look of novelty appeared in her eyes.

In the early years, she lived with Wang Chi in the north, where wheat was the longest crop sown by the peasants. Wheat in the north resists the windy climate, and because of some geographical and soil conditions, it generally grows with thick stems and large ears. But at this time, Concubine De saw that although the box held by the eunuch Ajia was indeed wheat straw, it obviously looked like southern wheat.

"How did you get this thing?" Concubine De stretched out her fingers and picked up a wheat pipe, and looked up and down at the section of the nozzle at both ends. And he said, "Is this thing safe?" ”

The eunuch Aja lowered his eyebrows and said, "This kind of straw has been refined by a special process designed by the merchants of Kyoto. And it is used in many teahouses. However, the batch of people who purchased into the palace was opened by the Hu Workshop with a single work area, so there should be no problems. ”

"Hu's Workshop?" Concubine De raised her eyebrows slightly, "That's a big factory that ranks fourth among the five major workshops in Kyoto." How could they make such a gadget? ”

"Because this batch of straws is for the use of His Royal Highness the Second Prince. Other than that. The palace people on the eldest princess's side also had to procure some, so they appointed the Hu family workshop to make zuò. The processing technology of straw making is not complicated, and small workshops can generally make zuò. But only the products produced by the Hu family's workshop are produced by the lowly slaves who dare to purchase them and serve them for His Highness. When Aja said this, he seemed to remember another thing, and after a slight pause, he hurriedly added: "However, the Hu Workshop's errand is not without any income. Whenever the palace finishes purchasing these fine things, the owner of the Hu Fang will sell the remaining part to several teahouses in Kyoto at a high price, because the quality and honor rely on the afterglow of His Royal Highness the Prince, the owner of the Hu Fang will naturally collect a good price. ”

Concubine De couldn't help but smile when she heard Aja's words come to this point: "It's just something made from wheat straw, how high can it be sold for?" Besides, do Kyoto residents get used to borrowing this little thing to drink tea? ”

"The mother calmed her anger and let the cheap slave say something disrespectful. In fact, this is also His Majesty's holy edict in front, the people of the family, must not rely on the royal status to bear the benefits of the people, no matter what, you must not let the merchants who do things for the palace do loss-making business. With this errand, the owner of Hu Fang borrowed some of the glory of His Royal Highness the prince to earn back the capital, which was barely counted within the rules. When the eunuch Ajia said this, he couldn't help but raise his eyelids slightly, and quietly glanced at Concubine De's face at this time. Seeing that her face was still calm, he added: "As for whether the residents of Kyoto are used to this wheat pipe, the cheap slave also asked the owner of Hu Fang curiously, and explained in his words that the sales of this small thing in Kyoto are not bad, otherwise there would not be so many small workshops in mass production." Presumably...... I guess Kyoto residents are used to it. ”

"Oh......" Concubine De groaned and said leisurely: "Listen to what you just said, Huayang Palace, and the princess are all using this kind of thing, it seems that only this palace has not known about it?" ”

The eunuch Ajia was slightly stunned when he heard this, but soon he came back to his senses and hurriedly explained: "Niangniang is angry, because this kind of thing is ...... When I used it, I more or less damaged Yayi, so ......"

Aja was extremely careful at the beginning of his speech, for fear of giving Concubine De the slightest reason for anger, but unconsciously, he still said it to a dead end. Is it indecent to use a straw? Concubine De can't lose her posture, so His Royal Highness the Second Prince doesn't need posture? Princesses don't need it anymore?

Aja's tone of voice gradually became hesitant, and cold sweat began to break out on his back in the soap-colored eunuch suit.

At this moment, Wang Hong, the second prince who had been sitting quietly on the couch after moistening his throat with warm water, suddenly said loudly: "Ajia, you should retreat first." ”

When the eunuch Ajia heard that he had received amnesty, he hurriedly responded, and confessed his sin to Concubine De, so he picked up the iron kettle with a large pot of boiling water, and took the palace maid to clean up the cups on the table, and retreated from the inner room to the outer hall.

Her eyes stopped on the backs of the pair of eunuchs and palace maids going out, and Concubine De turned her face to look at Wang Hong, and said with a slight smile: "The slaves in Huayang Palace also have some cuteness, even some places are finally messing around. ”。 (To be continued......)