But all the first birthday banquet always starts with the arrest of Zhou, everyone brought Zhuang'er here, and covered the table with all kinds of mascots, put him in front of the table, and teased him to catch it. Unexpectedly, Zhuang'er was carried out for a walk just now, and he was hungry at this time, his small mouth was closed one by one, and his head arched straight to the breasts of the nurse, and he was not the slightest interested in the things on the table.

After all, it's only the second son's first birthday, and he hasn't done it big, and he is all his own people here, and there are no foreign women, everyone doesn't have to take too much care of their manners, they can't help but hahadaxiao, Xu Xun couldn't help laughing, got up and walked to the table, picked up some toys such as rattles to tease him, Zhuang'er saw it, and only then did he want it, so he raised his hand to take it, and was reluctantly guided to the table, and sat on the ground and didn't know what to do.

Several of his older brothers and sisters have experienced it, and the eldest Ah Huang also knows the allusion, so he led his younger siblings to clap their hands and laugh on the side, "Brother choose one, choose one!" ”

Diandian hated iron not steel, seeing that Zhuang'er didn't choose, he picked up his white and tender hand and pressed it on a ruyi, Zhuang'er broke free from her unhappily, sat on the table and looked left and right, that bewildered look was extremely cute, everyone saw that there was no one who didn't love, even the queen was amused, "Look at his little mouth, down - yo, don't cry!" ”

Sure enough, Zhuang'er has to eat milk again, the surroundings are noisy, the environment is unfamiliar, I have already been a little unhappy, I have a good temper, so I can endure until now, and now I see that the adoptive mother and the nursing mother do not come to report, the lips gradually Xiangxia skimmed, the facial features wrinkled together, and it seemed that he was about to cry loudly. Qi Yangniang hurriedly stepped forward to coax, and after coaxing for a long time, the little ancestor suddenly grabbed the nearest copy of the "Three Character Classic" in his hand.

Everyone applauded before it started, Zhuang'er suddenly stuffed the book in the direction of Qi Yangniang, Qi Yangniang didn't understand what it meant, instinctively took it, Zhuang'er grabbed pastries, toys, auspicious hair and other things, and distributed them to the brothers and sisters around the table and the nursing mother, even Xu Xun was given a small mirror cake, although everyone stopped it, but Zhuang'er had no intention of stopping, seeing that the things on a table were almost finished, he was satisfied, and lay down on the thick and soft brocade, and squinted his eyes, as if he wanted to fall asleep.

How can we continue to do so far? From the queen mother to the palace maids and eunuchs, they all couldn't straighten their waists with a smile, Qi Yangniang hurriedly took the child down to nurse and sleep, and the princes and princesses took them to sit down and prepare to eat. ”

Ah Huang is the eldest sister and is more sensible, and when she saw that her sister was angry, she comforted, "Just want to be happy, it doesn't matter." ”

Yuan Yuan jumped up and said complacently, "When I caught Zhou, I caught a big golden cake!" ”

"What do you mean by golden cakes?" Dots don't understand a little. Xuan'er followed behind her sister with a sway, and saw that the three sisters were talking to themselves, and they were so anxious that they screamed, but he was a boy, and now he couldn't speak very clearly, so he could only pull Ah Huang's sleeve to attract her attention.

The sisters and brothers were so lively and intimate, everyone looked at them and smiled, only He Xianxian didn't look away, just grabbed a handful of melon seeds and knocked them slowly.

After the banquet began, the emperor, the empress and Xu Xun all stood to serve the queen mother, and a group of people did not dare to sit until the queen mother was exempted. The emperor took a few sips of wine, hugged his son and teased him, then got up and said with a smile, "Mother, there is still something to do at the end of the son's cabinet......

A man who has a lot of women is always not too comfortable when these people are gathered, not that the queen will lead a group of people to speak ill of him, but that he is concentrated by the attention of more than thirty people, and at all times there are people who are ready to make a clever move in front of him to invite him to be favored - this kind of attention, which is enjoyable for some and annoying for others. The emperor rarely stayed until the final banquet in the place where the ladies gathered, and the queen mother was used to it, so she smiled when she heard the words, "You go, I'm in good spirits today, and I'll sit down again." ”

She is willing to appreciate her face, which is also a relatively rare thing, according to convention, this kind of junior banquet, if the queen mother is too lazy to move, she can not come at all.

After sending the emperor away, the tense atmosphere that originally existed faintly in the house suddenly relaxed, and a group of people dared to laugh out loud when they laughed, and they could concentrate a little bit when they spoke, otherwise, for Cao Baolin and others, it was rare to see Tianyan a few times a year, and they really couldn't do it if they put down their minds and laugh. -- The atmosphere of the banquet was completely cheerful at this point, everyone was eating and drinking, and talking about the hundred operas played in front of the hall, the queen mother ate a few mouthfuls of food, and asked people to invite the two concubines over, "I let them come, they don't know that Nan Nei is good, but they are lazy, saying that they are coming to make up." ――I've never been here before, but now that I'm here, I think the scenery here is really good. Go back and tell me that this place is really good, and if you can move, you might as well come. There is also the concubine of the Confucian Temple, you can come and walk if you are interested, if you don't have the spirit, don't be reluctant. ”

Although the concubine of the Temple of Literature is young, but since the death of Emperor Wen, the spirit has not been very good, she is about the same age as the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother is usually considered Kangtai, and the Concubine of the Temple of Literature is a lingering sickbed, so far this year, it may be better twice, and the rest of the time has been lying down. Today, I may not be able to have the spirit to come, but the Queen Mother added this sentence, so as not to embarrass the concubine of the Confucian Temple.

After finishing speaking, the Queen Mother glanced at the corner table, just as Ah Huang was also looking back on her direction, she couldn't help but smile slightly, and said, "And Ah Huang's mother, let her come too, today is a good day for Zhuang'er, it's not like she doesn't come." ”

Everyone couldn't help but look at the queen, the queen looked straight ahead, as if she hadn't heard the queen mother's words, and the smile on her lips was natural and perfect, as if she had been completely immersed in the shijie of a hundred plays.

Regardless of whether the emperor is there or not, the queen mother, as an elder, must have the most authority in her words in the harem. The emperor is here, maybe he can still fight, the emperor is not there, who dares to disobey her orders? Immediately, someone went to pass the word, and the Queen Mother asked Ah Huang to move Ah Huang to sit beside her, hugged her and smiled, "When I saw you before, you also had a small pus on your face, but today it is flat." ”

"The autumn is very hot," Ah Huang snuggled up to the Queen Mother, and said with a smile, "Not only did I have pus beans, but when I saw my grandmother last time, I greedily ate a piece of osmanthus candy and had a nosebleed. ”

The conversation between the two of them once again shows the depth of Ah Huang's favor, and everyone sees it, how can they not understand what the Queen Mother means? The queen didn't seem to know, and asked people to arrange positions for the concubines, when Concubine Jing and Concubine Xian brought Jingci Immortal Master over, everyone saluted the two concubines, Xu Xun didn't care about the queen, he gave Jingci Immortal Master according to the old etiquette, and the Queen Mother pointed to the queen's head, and ordered without disobedience, "Add another chair." ”

Now the emperor went, the original throne had to sit alone with the queen mother, because the concubine of the Confucian Temple came today, the queen mother let her sit on the head, she sat in the emperor's position, and the crowd was divided into two lines and sat opposite, and a vacant space was left in the middle to perform a hundred operas. But the queen mother had already spoken, and the maid could not refuse, so the queen got up by herself and wanted to go down.

It doesn't matter if she moves, Xu Xun originally sat opposite her, but after the queen moved, she became sitting under her. - Although she didn't like the queen either, and when she saw her being humiliated at this time, she didn't have much sympathy, but she didn't want to fall into the ground, as if she still seemed to be interested in taking advantage of this, so she had to signal to He Xianxian, and everyone stood up and moved back a position, so that a chair was set up for Jingci Immortal Master and sat alone.

Jingci Immortal Master's expression was calm, and he did not allow it, so he saluted the Queen Mother and sat down. The Queen Mother rewarded the dishes on her case several times and added them to her.

The originally joyful atmosphere has been swept away so far, Yuan Concubine, Zhu Concubine and other newcomers are all cautiously looking at this good show, Xu Xun can feel their doubts hidden behind the smile: since they entered the palace, it is the first time that such a large-scale celebration has been held, I am afraid that this group of people is the first time to see the immortal master, and the first time they feel that there is another side hidden behind the court where rules are spoken everywhere and rules are everywhere.

He Xianxian obviously thought the same, she whispered a few private words in Xu Xun's ear, her tone was a little gloating, and she didn't know whether it was for Yuan Concubine and the others, or for the queen, "It's okay, it's time for the little girls to see the world, otherwise, I think it's easy to live in this palace." ”

Xu Xun sighed secretly in his heart and said with a smile, "Let's say a few words...... She's just looking at it from the other side. ”

The queen was indeed sitting opposite the two of them, and the distance was not very far, there was no one in the open space at this time, and no one could say whether she could read her lips, or if she misunderstood that the two were talking about her right and wrong, He Xianxian said sourly, "If you see it, you see it, what are you afraid of?" ”

"I'm not afraid." Xu Xun said truthfully, "But aren't you afraid? ”

He Xianxian snorted, but he was quiet and didn't say anything.

After a meal, everyone moved to watch the play, this time, the queen knew each other very well, and sat down directly to sit down with the fairy master, the queen mother looked slightly gloomy, but she also talked to her a few words, and said with a smile, "Although this drama is good, it is only the old three, and I am tired of watching it." The queen has time, so she can let them rehearse a few more new plays, and our old bones are idle and bored, so we point to watching the play to pass the time. ”

The queen said with a smile, "What the queen mother said is that the teaching department does not do anything every year, and it is these old dramas every year. ”

The older the women in the seat, the more they are theater experts, I don't know how many years they have watched the play, and they all said, "Exactly, it's just perfunctory, and it's not as good as the folk singing. ”

Outside the palace, this relationship is delicate enough, the palace concubines are naturally the object of flattery to the foreign women, but although they have noble status, but they can't go out at will, separated by the deep palace city, the imperial city, almost nothing is known about the shijie outside, and there are often some 'sitting in the well and watching the sky' inferiority, it is inevitable to fight with the women outside the palace, the queen mother heard this, and said to the queen, "How can we be inferior to others?" The Ministry of Rites is under the control of the Ministry of Rites, let's not move, I'll leave this matter to you, the eunuch has a small voice, just play the female role, or just choose the palace maid, the rest of the raw role, carefully select some people, it's not that you can't sing. This year's New Year, we will also put on a few good plays in the palace to watch. ”

This......

Now the advocates of juggling hundreds of operas are all eunuchs and people, and the real concubines watching the drama are the same as now, people are acting on the water side, and the concubines are listening on the water side, to be honest, they can't even see their looks clearly, because the acrobatic dramas are all uncastrated juvenile plays, mostly between the ages of ten and twelve. It's not that adult theater troupes can't be watched, but the restrictions are stricter, and there will never be any chance for the two sides to have any contact, and they will only be staged twice a year at most. The reason for this arrangement is because the female drama in the palace is really not on the stage and cannot satisfy the audience.

Now from the end of the year, that is, four months of effort, the first day of the new year is not a big drama, the Lantern Festival everyone is okay to go sick, but out of the spring moon is the emperor's longevity festival, the palace must also arrange some celebrations. At most, one more month, five months of hard work, to train the female drama that was not on the stage, and to find some good dramas to sing - Xu Xun doesn't know how to do it, but he also has a headache for the queen: This task is not easy.

However, when the elders say that they want you to do it, they want you to die, and you can't face the cow, let alone such a trivial matter? The queen lowered her eyebrows and smiled, "Yes, my daughter-in-law will do her best." ”

"Listening to this mouth, you know that you are capable, I'm afraid that as soon as I say it, I will think of a way." The Queen Mother laughed, "Okay, okay, then I'll wait and see." ”

Although Xu Xun likes to watch the play, but now he doesn't enjoy the music from the opposite side, he sat for a while, then left his seat to change clothes, and after coming out of the clean room, he was not in a hurry to go back, but went out from the side, and smiled at the maid next to him, "You see, the water and sky in the capital in August are colorful, how beautiful?" There was no water in the East Garden, but now there is a small pool, which is also very beautiful. ”

Naturally, the maids vied with each other to flatter and talk, and some of them served in the south, so they told a lot of interesting stories during the excavation period. Everyone is talking lively, Huanpei Ding Dong, Yuan Concubine is also here.

"Mother." She made a gesture to be blessed, and Xu Xun hurriedly supported her. "Why do you have to be so polite, do you have to salute me every time you look at me?"

Concubine Yuan's face was slightly red, she looked at the maids on the left and right, and muttered, "I am afraid that I will offend my mother, so I have come to ask my mother for sin." ”

Seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, out of the water like a lotus flower just out of the water, at this time cheeks slightly red eating Ai Ai, Xu Xun saw it, and couldn't help but sigh secretly I see pity - she is so strange, Emperor Weishenme is still kind to her, even when she looks at such a pure daughter's home, she can't help but look at it a few more times, cherish a few more points.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled and said, "Concubine Hui is used to being funny, don't be scared by her." ”

The tension and weakness on Concubine Yuan's face suddenly dissipated, and she couldn't help but smile, relieved, "It's good that Niangniang doesn't blame - I won't tell you, I didn't even eat well just now!" ”

Just by looking at how she sings during the draft, you know what this girl should say...... The brain is a little bit unbright. Usually, everyone's 'today's weather haha' is okay, but at this time, a little deeper talk is suddenly a little exposed. Xu Xun looked at her and felt cute, she looked at her for a moment, "What are you afraid of, you are afraid of others if they say a few words?" I'm not a tiger, can I eat you? ”

"But, but you are the concubine Niangniang...... Yuan Concubine raised the bar with her, listening to her tone, the identity of the concubine seems to be a person who is high up, extremely distant, and the same as the sky. I, I don't dare to look at you in the eye, let alone offend you......"

Xu Xun couldn't help laughing, "You don't even look at me with a straight eye, do you look down on people so much?" ”

Concubine Yuan was startled, and she wanted to daoqian, seeing Xu Xun laughing happily, Fang Cai trembled and laughed too, "I-I can't speak!" ”

Xu Xun felt that chatting with her was a little more interesting than going in to watch the Queen Mother toss the queen, she asked, "Are you still singing now?" ”

"Singing." Concubine Yuan said honestly, "It's just that I don't sing in front of people, and I often sing it to the emperor after people." ”

She was a little embarrassed, "I didn't know the rules during the draft, but it made my sisters laugh...... Later, when I went out and heard about it, I thought I couldn't be selected again. ”

"But I didn't expect to be hit, right?" Xu Xun also felt that it was better to let her be in the palace than to go to the Teaching Workshop Division to teach, at least she would have a treatment. "After entering the palace, everyone treats you well?"

"Okay." Concubine Yuan's tone was extremely sincere, "I never thought that I would have such a blessing to be able to enter this fairyland-like place...... Serve and serve the emperor. ”

It can be heard that she is telling the truth - Concubine Yuan probably hasn't heard about the funeral yet.

Xu Xun looked at her flowery smile, and couldn't help but sigh heavily in his heart - in fact, Concubine Yuan's group of people is not bad, at least at this moment, they still have a little hope, and the one who should not know about the funeral is Li Jieyu, she has lost the chance to survive from the beginning.

"Just be happy." After all, she said, "The queen is virtuous, and the eldest brother is benevolent...... Your days won't be too sad. Happy and happy, enjoy many blessings, when at home, who would have thought that they could live in this fairyland-like place? ”

Maybe it was her tone that showed a little clue, Concubine Yuan showed a look of surprise, glanced at her a few times, and then smiled, and then saluted again, "And the concubine Niangniang has a good temperament, we really accumulated virtue in our previous lives, so we can enter the palace to serve the masters!" ”

Her tone is really joyful, honest and sincere, this sincere joy is very infectious, Xu Xun is heart no matter how emotional, she can't help but be brought out by her smile, she looked at Concubine Yuan's pretty, innocent face, suddenly, found the mood of the concubine of the Confucian Temple.

#

Although it is a good day for Zhuang'er's first birthday, Xu Xun is not the only one who is not in a good mood, and almost just returned to Kunning Palace, the queen sank her face, and Mama Zhou followed her footsteps all the way into the back room, racking her brains all the way to think.

"Niangniang...... she motioned to a few maids to come up and change the queen's clothes, "The matter of this new drama troupe - is it okay to hand it over to the Shanggong Bureau?" ”

Although the first division of the sixth bureau works with the queen, there has been no outrageous violation of yang and yin so far, but the queen and Mama Zhou know in their hearts: the queen mother has been involved in palace affairs for many years, and most of the six bureaus and one division are more obedient to her discipline, and several Shang Gong of the Shang Palace Bureau are the old subordinates of the queen. Handed over the matter to the Shanggong Bureau and passed on the problem to the Queen Mother, which can be regarded as a tactful counterattack to the Queen Mother. After all, the queen mother is going to be investigated, and the queen is not speechless, but in the past few months, the queen has been busy all over the place, how can she ever rest? Seeing that it is the Queen Mother's Qianqiu Festival, the Prince's Qianqiu Festival and the New Year's Festival, and it's time for the change of seasons again, who will have time to train a new opera troupe in the next few months?

"What's the use of pushing it out." The queen snorted, but she could see it clearly, "But on Halloween, she will only ask me...... Today is shameless enough, maybe there will be no face again on Halloween, am I not enough, and I have to beckon her to ask me again? Lose someone again? ”

Mama Zhou was so stunned by this series of robberies that she lowered her head and didn't dare to say more, lest she would stir up the queen's fire even more violently - but she didn't dare to retreat. waited for a while, waited for the maids to change their clothes and withdrew, and then waited for the queen's questioning.

"Did she go to see the Wu family today?"

This question has no beginning or end, but Mama Zhou understands it, "I went to see it, and I said a few words, but I didn't show the child, Wu originally patted the window, and slowly quieted down after listening to the words." ”

"Looks like she's not crazy." The queen smiled slightly, and her tone became lighter again, "But that's all about it, you don't have to send someone to visit the Wu family in the future, so as not to cause misunderstanding among others." ”

"Yes," Mama Zhou said hurriedly, "Back to Niangniang, the slaves and maids sent people over, all under the pretense that the banquet was about to start, looking for the name of the concubine Niangniang, so as not to arouse suspicion." ”

"Well, be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years." The queen glanced at the door with a little suspicion - the current secret discussion is a real secret discussion, and there is no one left in the room. "Who knows who among those people will be the eyes and ears of Dongchang."

In fact, Mama Zhou was very unimpressed with this, and wanted to argue several times - just looked at the queen's expression, and swallowed back the words: In the past six months or so, the mother has become more and more suspicious...... Even if it is persuasion, it will not be of any use.

"So, how do you go about it?" She turned the topic back to the biggest problem in front of her, "The tempering of this troupe is not an overnight thing......

This matter is indeed quite difficult, the queen bowed her head and thought about it, before she said, "Let's go to the Teaching Department and ask first, if there are female teachers, please come in." There is also an order that they must write a few good new plays, and I will talk to my eldest brother another day, please come forward from the palace, collect some good books and good teachings among the people, and set aside a place in the imperial city to teach women's plays, anyway, if you don't enter the palace, it's okay. ”

She and Mama Zhou had been planning for a long time, and seeing that it was getting dark, someone outside came in and said, "Niangniang, the emperor turned over Concubine Yuan's sign tonight." ”

Kunning Palace is blessed, because of the geographical location, it is really very convenient to know who enters the Qianqing Palace to sleep--find someone to watch at the door, after all, there is a small space between the two palaces.

The corners of the queen's lips curled slightly, "It's Concubine Yuan again?" ”

Her tone was a little joyful, and Mama Zhou was funny, and counted with her fingers, "In the past few months, Concubine Yuan has slept many times, but gradually she has to cover that one." ”

"What's more, today is the first year of Zhuang'er." The queen smiled at the corner of her lips, and rarely responded to Mama Zhou, and then reversed the topic again, "The original troupe in our palace has long been dispersed, and now there are still a few people left who can sing, and I don't know ......"

The opera troupe, all kinds of festivals, all kinds of daily life, and all kinds of things that arise from time to time on the Queen Mother's side, the Queen Mother still has to take time to raise her children...... In the second half of the year, she was even more busy, this winter was very cold, busy with Zhu'er's birthday, her already a little weak body can no longer support it, a cold, is bedridden - sick.

The author has something to say: Hey, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the old society was so cruel|

It's better to be in the new era.