I have to say that although during the reign of Emperor Wen, the happiness of the concubines in the palace was not very high, but the palace envoy fee was still more frugal than now, Xu Xun called Qian Mama to come, combined with the old rules of Empress Renxiao when she was alive, several people got together to be a meal of deletion, and the materials to be prepared were sharply reduced to less than fifty percent of the original. In the first month, there was a banquet every day, Xu Xun felt that it was unnecessary, everyone was tired and panicked, according to the previous rules, only the first day of the new year, the fifth day of the first month, the Shangyuan Festival, and the beginning of the spring arranged a banquet, and there was no banquet on the rest of the days.

Several grandmothers are all praised, Liu Shanggong praised without a mouth, "In this way, the upper and lower levels can rest, originally in the New Year, the daily feast, Hugh said that the people below, even the masters also feel tired, in this way, everyone can also rest." ”

"Exactly." Xu Xun thought about it and casually ordered, "The grandmothers and people in my palace take turns to rest every New Year's Day, and they always guarantee to take two days off to go back to the palace to visit relatives. The female historians of the six bureaus and one division, if there are those who are willing to go out, they can also go out in shifts on days without banquets, but they can't all go, so I can report the table to me first. ”

This is the real virtue of politics, the palace wall is high, I don't know how many palace maids have not gone out after entering the palace, who doesn't want to go back and walk around when the family is in the capital? Especially the decent palace people around the concubines, who have saved up for a year, are waiting to be taken out at this time. Not to mention the female historians, the two Shang Palaces of the Shang Palace Bureau, I don't know how many benefits I have received from the people and concubines in a year, but I just entrust people in the palace to carry things outside, once it is discovered, it is a capital crime, and I am waiting for such an opportunity, and I sincerely thank you when I hear the words, "Niang Niang is merciful!" ”

The five of them calculated, and only needed to ask for hundreds of colored satin and colored yarn from the inward transport warehouse, which was enough to cope with this New Year leniently, Xu Xun took a look at the details that Mama Zhou had added and deleted, and personally wrote an abridgement, then called Aunt Qiao, and handed it to her in public, "Auntie take it back to the palace for the old lady to see first, if the old lady thinks something is wrong, I will not be too late to change it." ”

As he spoke, he ate tea and was silent, and everyone understood, so they left Yong'an Palace together.

In front of the concubine Niangniang, no matter which grandmother or Shang Palace, they all look like quails, and no one dares to reply to her, out of Yong'an Palace, the waist of several middle-aged grandmothers straightened up: the number one person around the queen mother and the queen, plus the two leaders of the six bureaus and one division, this combination can walk sideways in the palace, and even the little apprentice who follows around him can't wait to kick his foot under the eyebrows of others when he walks.

"He is a virtuous man." Liu Shanggong is bored today, and his words are a little cool, "The number of the virtuous concubine back then should have been given to her, because she was holding back her strength and wanted to be on "The Legend of the Daughters"......"

Mama Zhou couldn't help but defend the concubine at this time, "It's also kind, over the years, our palace has indeed become more and more extravagant, if you can save some frugality, why not be a good thing?" ”

Zheng Shanggong was silent in front of the concubine, but in private she was the most daring to speak, she specially stared at Aunt Qiao for a while, and saw that Aunt Qiao didn't react as if she hadn't heard Mama Zhou's words at all, so she smiled, "Today, on this day, you came out from the north, right?" You're talking about the concubine's kindness. ”

Although each has its own master, but after all, they are all servants, and they are also the same age, they were all transferred to the palace at that time, and they were all high-level, and they have been familiar with it for many years, at least when discussing other people's masters, the position is the same, Mama Zhou smacked Zheng Shanggong, "I don't believe you don't want to go out." ”

Zheng Shanggong said nonchalantly, "I won't go out, our family will die a long time ago, and there will be no place to stay if we go out." It's Lao Liu, look at the noble concubine Niangniang in her village, the old lady nodded there, you see if she goes out. ”

Liu Shanggong snorted with a smile, "I want to go out, even if the old lady doesn't nod her head and ask for a grace, I can go out, anyway, I don't accept her love." ”

Having said that, she still asked Aunt Qiao, "You always take care of the matter, first coax the old lady to nod, and then tell the rest slowly." Don't ruin the sisters' going out of the palace to visit relatives because the concubine wants to be famous—"

Several grandmothers and female historians suddenly nodded one after another. "That's right, the concubine is going to hate the old lady, she can't think about it herself, and we can't be delayed when we leave the palace."

are all familiar with the Queen Mother, you only give Aunt Qiao ideas every word, Aunt Qiao smiled bitterly, "You go to say, just push it on my head, I will be stunned, I don't know if the old lady will be angry for a while." ”

This is true: as soon as the concubine is in charge, she erases all the scenes that the old lady has slowly made over the years, not to mention the queen's face, even the old lady's face is swept, she is still the old lady when she comes to power...... How the old lady will react is not something that a few female histories can decide at all, it has nothing to do with the means of doing things. Leaving the palace, I'm afraid that there is only eight times out of ten. Nine is not possible. Everyone's mood was low, and after a few casual discussions, they also dispersed.

Liu Shanggong and Aunt Qiao are the most familiar, and they have also served the Queen Mother for many years, and they are cost-effective, but I am afraid that Aunt Qiao will behave at a loss when she sees the Queen Mother, but it will be self-defeating and ruin Zuihou's hope. She walked a few steps, thought about it, or turned around and chased after Aunt Qiao, grabbed her and said, "Lao Zhou is here just now, it's not easy to say, when I see the old lady, you can lead the conversation to Kunning Palace...... Maybe the old lady will be able to turn her anger into joy, but not necessarily. Good sister, we haven't been out for a few years, I have two little nephews and grandnephews in my family, I still want to recognize one under my name, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, it doesn't count, a few years ago, Kunning Palace let people out, everyone remembers, I don't remember our six bureaus and one division......"

Aunt Qiao nodded, "Got it, don't I want to go out?" Our family is still waiting for money, the eunuch is too black-hearted to change money, the old lady rewarded a plum blossom hairpin, full of real gold, inlaid with such a big opal, actually only give a hundred taels of silver, it is better to rob! ”

"Just this one hundred taels, it's also for your sake." Liu Shanggong also sighed, "Now in the palace, it is becoming more and more difficult to ask people to bring money out, not only is the valuation black, but also the commission has to be paid, and one hundred taels of silver are exchanged for to bring it, and it will cost eighty taels to the family." It's better to go out in person - it's also that the two of us are not fated. ”

Because of the disability of the body, the eunuchs did not live much, and Aunt Qiao and Liu Shanggong's food went early, both of them were at this age, so they didn't look for food again.

The two stood and said a few words, and Liu Shanggong said, "You do your best, if this matter can't be done, you will come to find me, and now the internal official and supervisor Lao Li is also turning a blind eye, if it is your face, you can also bring it out." ”

The internal official supervisor is an organization that connects with the Shanggong Bureau, and any need in the inner court is reported from the internal official and eunuch, whether it is to invite the imperial doctor, the midwife or the nursing mother, theoretically speaking, it is all sent by the Shanggong Bureau to the internal official supervisor, but in practice, there are also things that the Shanggong Bureau directly deals with the eunuch yamen, but it is necessary to have a relationship with the court and the people, or it is necessary to go through the internal officials and eunuchs. Of course, the eunuchs of the internal officials and eunuchs can go out openly and honestly, and the handover of the monk's palace bureau. However, the eunuchs of the harem have to leave the palace, and they are subject to more restrictions.

"Okay, thanks to you." Aunt Qiao nodded, and also sighed with emotion, "Lu Yao knows the horsepower, and the hearts of the people have been seen for a long time, just from Sister Meng's affairs, you can know that you are a haode, and I can rest assured that this matter is entrusted to you." - When she was beautiful, who in the palace didn't call Aunt Meng? Once down, that is, you are still thinking about it. ”

"Those of us, who doesn't have a tomorrow today? I am also accumulating virtue for my future. Liu Shanggong smiled bitterly, "Look, I didn't say a word today, I somehow offended that lady, and I don't know when, maybe I will be taken down to wash clothes, if there is really this day, I have to count on you to take care of it." ”

"You can rest assured," Aunt Qiao tightened her cloak, "are not that kind of person, and today you were also a little careless, bullying her for being good-natured, what did you think in your heart, and your face was brought out...... You haven't dealt with much, I don't know her temperament, what is not clear in her heart? It's just that he is generous and doesn't care much, and he will serve with his heart in the future, and over time, he may be able to get some benefits. ”

Liu Shanggong sighed for a while, and then said, "Yes, the old lady, I don't know about Sister Meng?" ”

"I never thought to ask." Aunt Qiao shook her head and said, "She's not in the palace again, if you hadn't told me, even I wouldn't know...... You can rest assured, if there is a rumor, I will tell you. ”

Aunt Meng was sent to the Huanyi Bureau to do chores, and the Huanyi Bureau was the only one among the twenty-four yamen who was not in the imperial city, which was a gathering place for the palace maids who committed crimes, and the eunuchs in charge did not enter the palace if they were fine, so naturally they had no chance to meet the queen mother. Aunt Meng was picked up by the Sun family, in the name of dying of illness, but the beginning and end of it naturally could not be concealed from the eunuch. If he delivers a message to the palace, according to his level, at most he will directly tell Aunt Qiao about it, and the other is that the palace maid who died of illness should report to the Shanggong Bureau for filing, which will fall to Liu Shanggong, once the two sides hide it, the queen mother will know nothing. Unless someone bypassed Aunt Qiao and directly told the Queen Mother...... But Aunt Meng, an unlucky housekeeper, doesn't seem to have such a grudge, and she has been safe and sound for several years, but after this incident, the relationship between Aunt Qiao and Liu Shanggong has become closer-Aunt Meng just took Liu Shanggong's door and asked her to help intercede with Aunt Qiao and suppress the matter.

Liu Shanggong sighed, nodded and said, "Then you have it...... Alas, if the concubine can take care of it for two more years, I will go out a few more times, and if the family is good, I will ask for a grace to go back. These masters in the palace, that is, the concubine Niangniang, are good-natured, and they may be able to succeed if they ask for more. ”

How can it be so easy to get out? Aunt Qiao shook her head and didn't answer, "It's been half a day since I came out, and I should go back too." ”

The two broke up, she thought back and forth about the words of the concubine in her heart, and took out the abridgement □and reread it a few times, and this heart hung in the air and couldn't come down - after serving the old lady for so many years, Aunt Qiao always felt that the sacred heart was like a sea, even if she was familiar with the old lady's temperament, there were always times, she couldn't guess the old lady's mind at all. Today's matter is in the realm of unpredictability, and she really can't imagine whether the old lady will be angry or be as good as a stream.

Of course, with the presence of the Jingci Immortal Master, he will definitely try his best to turn around, and it is not easy for the concubine to be unlucky......

Aunt Qiao thought for a moment, but she still felt that her steps were heavy, she couldn't take this step towards Qingning Palace, and when she hesitated, she suddenly saw Zhang Liujiu coming towards her, her heart moved, and she hurriedly stopped Zhang Liujiu and smiled, "Silly boy, where is this going?" ”

Zhang Liujiu waved at Aunt Qiao, "Master, how are you old man?" I'm going to Aunt Xu, and Grandpa Huang ordered me to ask Aunt Xu if there's something wrong. ”

Aunt Qiao didn't ask in detail, and said busily, "After you go back, I'll tell Ma Shi that when I was in the palace just now, the concubine was ......."

said what he had just done, "Ma Shi listened to it, and naturally understood what I meant." ”

I didn't care about what to say to Zhang Liujiu, looking at the sky, Aunt Qiao was busy and went back to Qingning Palace, she had been out for too long, so it was not good to continue to delay.

#

When she returned to Qingning Palace, the old lady had already done her lunch class, and was talking to Jingci Immortal Master on the kang, and when she saw Aunt Qiao coming in to reply, she smiled and said, "Been there for so long?" Don't be there in Kunning Palace, give you a problem. ”

As soon as the concubine Niangniang sent someone to call her, the old lady had already fully understood her intentions, and she also smiled and praised Jingci Immortal Master at that time, "This child has a skill. Fiddling with her heart in front of such a person, Aunt Qiao was under a lot of pressure, and she replied stubbornly, "But it's not, it's just that Liu Shanggong spoke inappropriately and annoyed Niangniang, and Niangniang put on a face to see, so it was delayed." ”

"Hmm." The Queen Mother smiled at Jing Ci Immortal Master, "It's a good eye." ”

Immortal Master Jingci also smiled slightly, "Human nature - Liu Shanggong is a little arrogant. ”

It's just a Shang Palace, and it was used by the concubine to make a raft, which is very ordinary, and the Queen Mother didn't ask in detail at all, which made Aunt Qiao's intention to delay time completely ruined, she asked directly, "How are you going to spend this year now, Xiao Gui Cao Sui, everything is according to the queen's rules?" Or is it something ingenious and a new rule? ”

Aunt Qiao's thoughts in her heart were uncertain, thinking of the Queen Mother's temperament, she still gritted her teeth, and did not dare to put the matter of leaving the palace in front, but said in a decent manner, "I have done a lot of things, and I have listed the details, and I have written you an abridged ......"

As he spoke, he took out the notebook from his bosom and presented it respectfully.

The Queen Mother opened it and looked at it, but she didn't speak for a long time, Aunt Qiao was worried in her heart, and she couldn't help but look up and sneak a few times, but she knelt down, and the Queen Mother was high on the kang, but it was difficult to see her expression clearly.

It was when it was difficult, Aunt Qiao suddenly found that the Immortal Master Jingci was giving herself a look, and she had a bit of an inquiry, and she knew in her heart: she couldn't see the old lady's face clearly, but the immortal master could see it clearly, and her actions at this time were enough to show that the old lady's expression must be very exciting.

After all, this matter is a bit complicated, and I can't show it through my eyes, Aunt Qiao has nothing to do at this time, she can only resign herself to fate, and it is impossible to help the concubine or her vacation Jihua or anything, I don't know how long it took to kneel in the local area, the Queen Mother only hummed lightly, "Does she know?" ”

Aunt Qiao understood it, and she didn't dare to hide it at all - if it was only her and Liu Shanggong, it would be fine, but there were also Zheng Shanggong and Mama Zhou, "I don't know first, so I said that it was too extravagant." Liu Shanggong knew that he replied to the concubine Niangniang, and her attitude was a little disrespectful, and the concubine Niangniang was annoyed, and said a few hard words, so she was going to continue to be cut, and the old slave hurriedly invited the concubine Niangniang to the corner of the house and told the inside story. ”

I don't know first, but it's okay, those who don't know are not guilty, and they know that it is the meaning of the Queen Mother, and they have to cut down......

She couldn't see the appearance of the Queen Mother, but Immortal Master Jingci suddenly spoke, "Queen Mother, Xiao Xun is that stubborn, you don't know, in front of the two Shang Gong and Mama Zhou, this stage is not easy to ......."

The Queen Mother laughed twice, but she couldn't hear the emotion, and she said a word, "No-"

There was a sound in the courtyard, and a few ciphers were heard in the distance, and they pointed to the beats in the palms, two long and one short. Door by door passed in—before the messenger had come in, the Immortal Master Jingci stopped, stood up, and hid directly inside.

Immediately afterwards, the people standing guard at the door also came in.

"Back to the old lady, the emperor has come to greet you."

The frequency of the emperor asking the old lady to say goodbye is generally very stable, not a quarrel, usually once every five days, and the festival is counted separately. I just came here two days ago, and I don't have anything else to do, so today is not the time to come to ask for peace, otherwise, Immortal Master Jingci would not have come to serve the old lady.

Aunt Qiao raised her head and showed a look of genuine shock - although she had thought about how to deal with it in her heart, this surprise was not all acted, after all, she didn't expect that the emperor would come so quickly, and he should have just heard this, so he left for Qingning Palace.

Although it is almost Layue, there is nothing to do in the court, and the emperor has been fighting crickets recently, but this move also shows how much weight the concubine has in the emperor's heart.

The old lady glanced at her, the surprise in her eyes was also flashing, she looked sideways for a moment, although her expression was indifferent on the surface, but in Aunt Qiao's eyes, she could see the subtleties of the old lady's demeanor, and she had already changed several emotions.

When it comes to zuihou, what is fixed at the corner of the mouth is a raised laugh line......

Aunt Qiao immediately let go of her heart: It seems that this time, the concubine Niangniang and her new policy will not encounter any resistance in Qingning Palace.

The author has something to say: update!

It seems that there have always been doubts about Aunt Meng's whereabouts, and I originally felt that there was no chance to explain the text, so maybe I would explain it in the afterword at the end of the article, and this time I felt that I could insert it and explain it together.

PS Regarding the fact that the palace maids of the Ming Dynasty could not leave the palace, the history is more stringent than in the text, and generally speaking, the opportunity to go out to visit relatives is very slim, let alone go out of the palace to provide for the elderly, which is basically impossible. The difficulty is slightly reduced here, so that Liu Shanggong has a dream to do, which can be regarded as another small empty.