The ancestors of the Yi Dynasty have been in the dynasty for many years, conscientious, lightly endowed, and created three generations of prosperity, but just after a hundred years, fratricide. At the beginning of the Yi Dynasty, the regent Xue Ling raised troops to seize the position of the crown prince, because the regent's army was not aligned, and the founding general Jiang clan tried to protect the princelings, the Yi Dynasty was not completely swallowed by the regent, but it has also lost most of its territory since then. Since then, the orthodox Yi Dynasty has been called Dongyi, and the capital is Jinling. The regent opened a new dynasty as Xiyi, and the capital was Chang'an. The east is easy to west, and the north and south are divided into rivers and ruled by each other, and they have been facing each other for many years.

Five years ago, there was a small friction between the two dynasties, and Dongyi, which was slightly stronger in national strength, entered Shangluo with three soldiers and horses, and Chang'an was almost unsafe, and Xiyi took the initiative to offer the prince Xue Congjia to Jinling as a proton and became a chess piece in Jinling City. Leave it at ease.

It is said that there is a famous family in this Jinling City, it is the first-class Zhenyuan general Jiang Guangshi Jiang family, the three generations of the Jiang family were born and died with the royal family on the battlefield, and made great contributions, but unfortunately to Jiang Guangshi's generation, the brothers died of illness, died of old age, and only one of his relatives was left.

General Jiang and his wife Liu have been married for nearly ten years without success, and Mrs. Liu has not been a concubine of General Zhang Luo, the general of Zhenyuan, and the world will inevitably gossip. Out of helplessness, Mrs. Liu promoted her dowry girl He to be an aunt, this aunt was quite competitive, and gave birth to Jiang Liangkai, the son of the Jiang family, in the first year, and the eldest daughter Jiang Shiwen after two years.

After a few years, Mrs. Liu finally gave birth to her sister-in-law Jiang Liangzheng, and later added two daughters, Jiang Shicai and Jiang Shihua. At this time, General Jiang recruited a new concubine and Aunt Wu. This Aunt Wu is only five fingers bigger than her eldest son Jiang Liangkai, graceful and graceful, with charming eyes like silk. In the early years, some small money in the family donated to a petty official, and the martial family's vision was naturally higher, so they boiled Aunt Wu into an old girl and didn't get married, and in the end they had to be carried away by the Jiang family as a concubine, which became a laugh in the world.

Unlike Aunt He, who guarded herself, the Wu family relied on her youth and beauty, and as soon as she came, she stirred up the Jiang family and did not cry, and gave birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix fetuses Jiang Liangduan, and Jiang Shiyue became more and more arrogant. Mrs. Liu is generous, Aunt He is virtuous and capable, and the general's mansion is quite stable, not to mention that Aunt He's son Jiang Liangkai was admitted to the Jinshi early, and his official fortune was prosperous, and his daughter Jiang Shiwen entered the palace as the emperor's favored concubine of the Eastern Yi Dynasty.

In the seventh year of Dongyi, in the Jinling Imperial Palace.

As soon as she served her master and drank the fetal pill, the palace maid Qingyu retreated, and she met the palace maid who came to deliver the clothes, and she opened the corner of the cloth casually, and when she saw the dazzling bright red fabric, she couldn't help frowning. Qingyu knew that the master who was sleeping in the room was eight months pregnant with her first child, and it was when she was in a restless mood that the emperor specially allowed Niangniang's family to come over to accompany the birth. Qingyu has served by Niangniang's side since she was a child, so she naturally knows that Niangniang's mother-in-law is past middle age, and such a dazzling red color is obviously not suitable for her age.

"How can our lady wear such a dazzling color? What good things did the Ministry of Internal Affairs pick? Qingyu said to Ruhua.

The picture was blessed, and said crisply: "Presumably my sister misunderstood, you only went to the Queen Mother's side to serve for a few days, naturally I don't know, it is not General Zhenyuan's wife who entered the palace to accompany the birth, but our mother's brother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Erzheng Second Lady." The second lady is young, and she looks good in red! ”

Qingyu smiled and asked, "I heard that the second lady is also pregnant with a child, and it has been seven or eight months. Why is Madame willing to let her enter the palace? ”

Ruhua lowered her voice and said: "Mrs. is infected with the wind and cold and it is inconvenient to enter the palace, it just so happens that the second lady is pregnant with this baby and is very uncomfortable, our mother feels sorry for her brother and daughter-in-law, and she will take care of the imperial doctor when she enters the palace." ”

Qingyu thought for a moment and said, "The tired girl told those stable women more, be sure to be more careful." In addition, clean up the side room, the mother is homesick, it is better to let the second lady live close to her, it is always good for the two to be together like this. ”

It was night, it was the good season of late spring, the warm wind blew directly to make people drowsy, and I saw stars hanging in the black flannel-like sky, a bit like two cold round beads hanging down from a jade bead hairpin on Qingyu's head. Qingyu glanced up, and saw a peach the size of a baby's fist through the heavy fire candle, casting a mottled shadow, covering it with a layer of mystery.

Qingyu looked distracted, and suddenly heard a panicked voice in the inner room: "Hurry up—call Wen Po in, the second lady is going to give birth!" ”

Qingyu opened the curtain, took three steps and walked to the mother-in-law's residence, and before she went far, she saw the mother-in-law rushing to this side. Qingyu stayed for half the night, the child had not come out yet, and Concubine Zhen was pregnant with the child inconvenient to go in, so she paced around outside with her stomach up, so she was not anxious. It was almost time, and a faint cry finally came from the second lady's room, but the second lady herself had already fainted from exhaustion.

The mothers-in-law felt a burst of relief, wiped the beads of sweat on their heads, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, but at this time they heard Qingyu's shout, and Concubine Zhen was about to give birth.

Although Concubine Zhen was the first child, the birth went smoothly, and within an hour, there was a baby's cry. Concubine Zhen took the child and only glanced at it, her heart was half cold, she held Qingyu's hand and trembled, Qingyu got up and said: "You mothers-in-law have a lot of credit, and the emperor and the master will be rewarded!" Picturesque, you take them to eat and drink first! The rest of the palace people invited the people from the second grandmother's side together, let's let the master rest for a while. ”

Everyone thanked them and left, only Wen Po surnamed Wen secretly paid attention to Concubine Zhen's abnormal reaction, thinking that it was not her son who was unsatisfactory in the next life, Concubine Zhen was not very happy, Mrs. Zhang thought in her heart, shaking her head while going out with everyone.

As soon as the sky was bright, the peaches hanging on the peach trees gradually showed their colors, green and tender, full and smooth. The eunuch and father-in-law beside the emperor came from afar, with two little eunuchs holding gift boxes behind him. The little eunuch suddenly said with a sad face: "Father-in-law, I forgot to take the jade Ruyi that the queen mother rewarded by the emperor." ”

"Bastard thing! Why don't you hurry up and go back and get it! The two little eunuchs were so frightened that they hurried to the storeroom.

Your father-in-law stood with his hands down, and went to the small bamboo forest behind, before he could stand firmly, a mother-in-law rushed over from the bamboo forest in a panic, and your father-in-law recognized who this was-it was the apricot forest master he personally picked with someone.

The mother-in-law was crazy, and when she saw your father-in-law, she didn't salute, but hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to him: "Father-in-law help, please save the slave and maid." The woman's tears rolled down her cheeks, and she wiped them with her hands and rolled them out of her hands.

Your father-in-law looked at his mother-in-law with suspicious eyes, and said calmly: "You are proficient in the prescription of a thousand gold, and you are a good midwife, I worked hard to find you to enter the palace to do things, your master just gave birth to a prince, you-why?" ”

The mother-in-law raised her head suddenly, and muttered as if she had been struck by thunder: "Prince...... The prince ......" turned to grab the corner of your father-in-law, and said in a low voice: "Father-in-law, you are a good person, you save me, I will rely on me to support my family, my son - you know - is a fool, who will take care of him when I die!" I can't die! ”

There was the sound of rubbing the clothes in the distance, and the father-in-law made a gesture, and the mother-in-law quickly disappeared in the forest. There were a few sturdy guards who came, and when they saw your father-in-law, they shook their hands and said, "My father-in-law can see a mother-in-law, a little fat, and a mole on his face." ”

"The people in the palace are all born neatly, where have I seen such a mother-in-law." Your father-in-law said slowly.

The guards explained: "Concubine Zhen lost something, and the woman's hands and feet are not clean. Since we haven't seen it, we must have gone in the wrong direction. ”

When the group of people walked away, the mother-in-law walked out of the forest with weak legs. Your father-in-law said: "You take my hand card, and say that my old mother came to deliver something." ”

In the seventh year of Dongyi, Concubine Zhen gave birth to the eighth prince. On the same day, the second lady of the Jiang family gave birth to a little girl, Jiang Chutao.