With the strong endorsement of the emperor and the queen mother, this year in the palace is very retro, everything is according to the pomp and circumstance of Emperor Wen when he was there, and some Xu Xun feels flashy, or it is a very tossy old rule, under the pretext that the concubines want to serve the queen, they are also exempted. For example, I don't know who rose up, after the fifteenth day of the lunar month in the palace, the head flower must be changed every day, and it will be worn until the fifteenth day of the first month of the next year. At first, it was made of straw moths and flowers, but it gradually evolved into a large jewelry exhibition with precious materials stacked. Xu Xun has always felt that this is simply a toss-up, the grass and flowers that are not the same for thirty days, the requirements for ordinary people are already very high, those who can't weave still have to ask someone to weave, and there are people who peddle this privately in the palace. Later, when it came to the point of jewelry, it was even more unnecessary, these people lived in this palace, and the comparison of three hundred and sixty days a year was not enough? Do you have to make a whole name and focus on a month of comparison?

The queen is sick, the concubines have to go over to help every day, and according to the etiquette, they shouldn't have the heart to dress up in flowers. Xu Xun simply stipulated that all grass insects and butterflies should be worn, which can be regarded as a spring. Of course, because of this excuse, the colorful costumes in the front rooms of the palaces are not as in full swing as last year, and the splendid pearls and jades are piled up as if they are immortals.

Ordinary people have to clean the house and hang some auspicious things during the New Year, let alone in the palace. As a rule, there are decorations from the palace gate to the house, the palace gate is filled with peach charm board, general charcoal, the door board is pasted with the door god, the courtyard burns cypress branches, the eaves are inserted into the sesame pole, the house is hung with the new painting of the god of fortune, the ghost judge, Zhong Kui, the bed is also hung with gold and silver eight treasures, and the yellow money is braided together, and the dragon shape is made to seek a good look and auspiciousness. These are all arranged by each palace itself, Xu Xun had nothing to do in previous years, and he began to talk about these things as soon as he arrived in Layue.

This year, she wants to manage the palace, so she has no leisure to toss, after entering the wax moon, every morning the two Shang Palace brought her cronies and female history to come to work, and they had to return yesterday's to-do items one by one to collude, such as the peach charm board, the general charcoal, this general palace treasury is not prepared, all of them are the Shang Palace Bureau and the twenty-four yamen after the gate back, the palace distributes, as well as the door god, cypress branches, sesame rods, all kinds of stickers, are sent everywhere, coordinated distribution. During the period, there were inevitably some verbal words, such as the concubines thought that this door god was not good-looking, and wanted to change it, stuffed silver and asked Shanggong to be accommodating, or went out to buy one to come in - or liked the folk flavor outside, etc.

Several Shang Gong didn't dare to be self-conscious, they all said that they wanted to come back and ask Xu Xun, Xu Xun couldn't help but deal with these controversial issues personally, although the rules are nothing more than human feelings, but if everyone has something in life, she is satisfied, and it is conceivable that there will be more and more people who will have accidents in the future.

The concubines wanted to go out to buy the door god, but Xu Xun didn't allow it, she asked her to send the two of them to the concubines, "It is a big crime to fornicate inside and outside the palace, and it is very clear in the class, and it should also be mentioned by teaching Mama Xi." If you want to buy it, the sisters can go to the emperor, and if you get it, you can get it. I can't help it here, if the sisters are really not satisfied with the pair of door gods, it is better to take mine and use it well. ”

Although it has been popular in the past six months, the concubines are not so frivolous that they have no brains, and the door god sent by Xu Xun was returned as it was, and she also came over to ask for an explanation, "Mama was not around that day, and I couldn't remind it, and the slave was confused for a while, and I couldn't remember this rule...... Don't take it to heart. ”

If it were someone else, Xu Xun might not believe her words, but for this cute concubine, she believed that she might really be unintentional, and when she saw that the door god didn't like it, she thought about whether she could intercede and trouble someone to go out and buy a picture - in fact, it is indeed not a big deal, how much can a door god be worth? It's just that this rule can't be broken, she smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I'm not angry." If you like the door god, just take it. ”

The concubines told the truth, "That one is the same as my pair...... It's still the same even if you change it. ”

Maybe it was because Xu Xun's attitude was very kind, so she told Xu Xun about the door god that her family used to use when she was a child, "After entering the palace, the palace used those two I didn't know, and I didn't feel at ease when I looked at it...... The three of us are all good people, and we are used to underestimating Qin Shubao and Wei Chi Jingde, who those two are, we don't know each other at all. ”

Xu Xun couldn't help but laugh - this is still the idea of the three of them, and it is just a matter of pushing the concubines to come forward. "That's the gods, Yu Lei, from ancient times to the present, the palace uses these two gods. Only the former dynasty palace is not used this, the people will also use it indiscriminately, after Emperor Gao established the country, he personally set the rules, inherited the Song Dynasty, and also used these two gods as door gods, but it is not good to talk nonsense and do not know. ”

The concubines were stunned for a moment, blinked their big eyes, and smiled for a long time, "Niangniang, you are too knowledgeable, I don't understand what you said...... You know everything. ”

Xu Xun himself doesn't remember how he knew, most of them were taken out and told to her when Mama Qian was chatting, seeing the concubines smiling lightly, the original slightly wooden complexion, with a rare bit of naïve naivety, made her beauty have a charm, and she actually felt a little emotional. ――At the beginning of entering the palace, I was ignorant, I didn't understand anything, and I didn't know whether it was deep or shallow when I stepped on it, when did I become the person who 'knew everything'? And the people who 'don't know anything' have been replaced by two groups after her.

"Old." After sending away the concubines, she casually sighed with Hua'er, "I really feel old, since I have a child, the child is getting older day by day, and I feel old day by day, and when I see the concubines again, I really feel that I am not young anymore." ”

Hua'er smiled casually, "Niangniang, do you still say that you are old?" As we said earlier, Niangniang seems to be two years older than the concubines. ”

Although it is also a regular answer, but it also has a miraculous effect, Xu Xun touched his face, and his spirit was refreshed again, "It's okay today, right?" It's okay, let's take a little bit and Zhuang'er to the big garden for a walk to see if the Aoshan lantern is ready. ”

In the spring of previous years, there were Aoshan lanterns outside the noon gate of the imperial city, for the civil and military officials to go to the Shangyuan Festival banquet to watch and have fun, poems and tours, and the people could also watch the lanterns freely, and the grand occasion lasted for three days. And the ladies of the harem can't even see the shadow, and occasionally there is a very favored one who can be carried to the gate tower of the noon gate, which is also an extremely rare exception, at least as far as Xu Xun knows, only Emperor Wen had such an example. This year, she saved a lot of money, and felt that the Lantern Festival was not as grand as last year's long lanterns, so she asked about the cost of the lanterns in Zhao Mountain. -- This Aoshan lantern is made of fireworks plus organs, ceilings, lamp mountains, etc., fireworks can be filled repeatedly, otherwise they can't be performed for three days in a row, the main reason is that the craftsmen who make the lamp mountain are hard to find, and the consumption of expensive materials such as silk silk is a drop in the bucket compared with the lantern gallery. Besides, although the Aoshan lamp shelf in front of the noon gate is large and costs a lot, it is not impossible to shrink the water in the imperial garden.

For the harem, the troupe and craftsmen are ready-made, and the venue is also there, just placed in the ice sculpture garden, not afraid of fire, Xu Xun asked the emperor, set three days after the Shangyuan Festival, in the imperial garden to stage the Aoshan lantern, now the female drama of the teaching workshop is still working overtime and practicing hard, they have almost no experience in performing on the lamp mountain. -- It just so happens that according to the opinion of the Queen Mother, the year is not over until the Shangyuan Festival, during which the palace is full of activities, and it is impossible to leave people. In this way, people who can't go out of the palace to visit relatives can have a little fresh entertainment, and their hearts can be balanced a little.

It's just that in this way, it is bitter for Hua'er and others, they have already scheduled to go out to visit relatives, so they can't see the excitement of Aoshan lantern, at this time, when I heard Xu Xun talk about it, I pretended to be aggrieved, and pouted, "Niangniang, you old Aoshan lantern, Aoshan lantern, slave maid don't want to go out this year." ”

"Then don't go out," Xu Xun smiled casually, "Just give the opportunity to the newcomers below, and let them miss Sister Hua'er." ”

Hua'er said with a smile, "Our palace is in the capital, aren't there only ten of them, I just want to let someone I don't know, I am blind." ”

- Although Xu Xun doesn't want to use his position to play with privileges, but he must also fight for the rights and interests of his own people, in previous years, when she was seeking welfare in private, she was all sent out, this year is calculated, because some nurses are sick and have something, and can not continue to serve in the palace, Yong'an Palace is a total of ten people in the capital have a home, for example, the palace maid or something, the family is rarely in the capital, most of them are in the suburbs of Beijing, and there is not enough to go back and forth in a day.

She has three masters here, two little masters, and there are already a lot of servants, and there is no institution in the palace that will be bigger than the establishment of Yong'an Palace, Xu Xun has set a quota of ten people, and he can't be a serious housekeeper now, and he always has to let his people suffer, right?

The two talked and laughed, the two children had been dressed up as small cotton balls, with leather hats, cloaks, and gloves, and it felt that even if they were planted on the ground, they would not hurt at all.

Xu Xun has known that this thing is the most knowledgeable, and if she is in charge of the palace, she will be the most afraid of this hard bone. I didn't expect to be afraid of anything, there is really no old precedent to follow this year, so I had to ask Liu Shanggong to bring the brochure and samples, a group of people do calculation problems there, zuihou after precise calculations, finally divided the ranks, and try to everyone to take the same color. Xu Xun felt that his brain was about to be broken, looking at the sky, it was too late to go to the imperial garden at this time, so after thinking about it, he simply brought the booklet and simply went to ask the queen for peace.

She is the concubine in charge of the palace, although the queen exempted her from the obligation to serve the sick, but because she is sick now, the system of asking for peace in three days will not be fulfilled for the time being, and Xu Xun will basically not see the queen if she does not serve the sick. He Xianxian has been taking care of the herbs recently, and she doesn't go out at all, and she doesn't care about these, but Xu Xunhao said that she has to do some superficial work, and she has stipulated for herself that she will go to Kunning Palace for five days and ten days. I used to pick the afternoon to go over, probably knowing that the queen was asleep, and she could come back, but recently the queen was very sick, almost all of them were asleep, she was a little less burdened, and she wanted to go on a trip to make full use of the time in the corner.

In the past this time, I happened to give the booklet to Mama Zhou, as for Aunt Qiao, she was also among the calculations just now, and the Queen Mother would naturally get the news. - But anyway, the Queen Mother always takes the most and the most haode, and she doesn't have anything to mind about this. On the contrary, the queen's side is expected to pay more attention to the distribution of materials.

As soon as he entered the main hall of Kunning Palace, Xu Xun smelled a smell of medicine, Zhao Zhaorong and Jiao Zhaoyi stood in the hall with their hands in their sleeves, and when they saw Xu Xun coming in, they stepped forward to salute, judging from their expressions, the two of them were already bored. Everyone in this room is busy with their own things, and no one cares about them, this servant is nothing more than just coming to punish them.

Xu Xun smiled and accepted the salute, and was a little funny in his heart: Jiao Zhaoyi was purely unlucky, and was involved by Zhao Zhaorong, when she didn't come with Zhao Zhaorong last time, she was clearly very good at doing things, helping to boil medicine, pouring medicine residue, beating the queen's legs and telling jokes, and the atmosphere of Kunning Palace is quite integrated, at least the palace people give a smile, which is like now, everyone is busy, as if they are afraid that they will be entangled by the two of them if they have a pair of eyes.

"Is the mother asleep?" She asked the sixth son of the big palace maid who came out.

Liu'er gave her a squat salute, smiling with a smile on her face, "Niangniang is blessed and longevity-our mother has just gotten up, and her spirit is not bad, and Aunt Zhou is serving in it." ”

Laughter is infectious, laughter is also the most difficult to disguise, sincere and false, you can see it almost at a glance, Xu Xun had no ups and downs, seeing Liu'er smiling so warmly, he couldn't help but smile back at her, and the faint unhappiness in his heart because of the queen's waking disappeared, and the girl in the house raised the door curtain for her, and Xu Xun went inside, "Niang Niang Wanfu." ”

The queen really just woke up, and was leaning on a bench in the warm pavilion to take medicine, she was so thin that the flesh on her face was almost dry, and her face was burnt. ”

The intimacy in the tone also brought three points of nonchalance - it is estimated that he has not recovered yet, and he has not even been pretentious.

"Come and see the mother." Xu Xun said with a smile, "By the way, I brought the booklet of today's colorful satin, I won't take care of things, I'm afraid that it will be unfair, and I want to ask my mother to check it." ”

The queen raised her eyebrows at Mama Zhou, Mama Zhou stepped forward to take the booklet, and sent it to the queen without saying a word, bending down to open it, the queen glanced at it, "It's very haode, it's very good, presumably this time, everyone will praise you again." ”

Xu Xun felt a little uncomfortable, but she was not surprised: after the lecture, it was the first time she came to see the queen, even if the queen's city was deep, when she was sick for a long time, her self-control would inevitably weaken, and the blows would be one after another, and it was normal to be a little emotional.

Even this discomfort is not aimed at the queen, Xu Xun looked at her pitiful appearance, and her heart was really indescribably complicated, and a sudden impulse made her reveal a little thought in her heart, "This is all false excitement...... So that the mother knows that the palace affairs are busy, and I also feel that I can't support it, and after this year, maybe I will also fall. ”

The queen raised her eyebrows, and her originally scattered attention was suddenly concentrated, a little gleam appeared in her eyes, she glanced at Xu Xun deeply, and exchanged a look with Mama Zhou, and then said with a little puzzlement, "What are you ......?"

Maybe it's because she's at a low point in several ways now, and even the continuation of her life has become a problem, the queen's attention has returned, but her deep city as the sea, and the various masks have not returned, and there is a taste of honesty in her words. "I don't understand."

Xu Xun didn't expect the queen to understand, she said, "I said that there is not much going on behind my back when I talk about the movements for a while...... Do you believe it? ”

"I don't believe it." The queen twitched the corners of her mouth, a little sarcastic. "You're not that kind of person...... But you don't even rely on her? Do you want to offend her again? You're not afraid—"

Although the two of them said the same thing, they seemed to be completely incomprehensible to each other, the queen paused several times, she waved her hand in frustration, and summed up a sentence, "I really don't understand, what do you want to do?" ”

Xu Xun looked at her, and she said slowly, "I just want to live a good life, I don't want to be harmed, I don't want to hurt others, and I don't like to be used as a chess piece...... Do you understand? ”

The queen stared at Xu Xun in amazement, her eyes revealing frank incomprehension, and after a while, it was replaced by a little sourness.

"It's your fate!" She said, "If you don't rely on either side, you still have a big brother......

"How can my life compare to you," Xu Xun couldn't help laughing, "You still feel wronged when you are a concubine, and I am very satisfied as a concubine...... Am I as good as you? ”

"How can I compare to you?" The queen snorted, and the sky outside the house grew dark, and her thin face swayed in the candlelight, as if she was changing her emotions at any moment. "Your life isn't good enough? I don't understand, why do you do everything with people applauding, people hold it, what you do others like, they all say you are good, I want to ask for something for nothing, but you pick up the same thing for nothing...... What do you say I am inferior to you? I'm not as good as you. ”