In the afternoon of the next day, after taking a nap, the Queen Mother led the concubine, the queen and a few useful eunuchs and palace maids in the palace to Zhongcui Palace. The group entered the Zhongcui Palace and let the Queen Mother sit directly on the kang, the Concubine and the Queen sat on the soft chair prepared in advance next to them, Concubine Li also sat on a chair under the Queen, and the eunuchs and palace maids stood behind their respective masters and served. Wang Qiang stood behind Concubine Li, peeking at the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother and others, thinking about his upcoming performance. Because of the preparations made in advance, after a while, all kinds of delicate snacks and fresh melons and fruits were served, and the small table in front of several guests was filled. Because Emperor Chongzhen had not yet arrived, the Queen Mother and others chatted while knocking melon seeds.

After a while, a little eunuch walked into Zhongcui Palace quickly, and muttered in the ear of Liu Hai, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace, who hurriedly bowed to the Queen Mother and said, "Queen Mother, the emperor is almost here." ”

When the Queen Mother heard this, she smiled and nodded and said, "Okay, it's rare that the emperor can evacuate for a while, so let's welcome a few of you." The queen, Concubine Li and others hurriedly got up and greeted the gate of Zhongcui Palace, only to hear a eunuch shouting loudly: "The emperor is coming to Zhongcui Palace!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the figure of Emperor Chongzhen appeared at the gate of the palace, in addition to the queen mother and queen, Concubine Li, the eunuchs and palace maids inside and outside the palace knelt down together, shouting long live. Wang Qiang also knelt on the ground with everyone, peeked at the emperor, and saw Emperor Chongzhen tall and tall, with thin cheeks, wearing a bright yellow satin brocade robe, embroidered with rolling dragon gold edges, a yellow satin silk silk tied around his waist, and a jade pendant hanging on it, with a pair of flat-bottomed fast boots at his feet, and a folding fan in his hand. This is the first time Wang Qiang has seen Emperor Chongzhen after entering the palace, and the appearance of Chongzhen in front of him is very different from the image of the incompetent faint monarch hanging on the coal mountain in his mind, and he sighed in his heart: It's really better to see than to hear, this Emperor Chongzhen really has a bit of a king's bearing, much more handsome than himself. In contrast, he felt a little ashamed of himself, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy when he thought that he actually put a green hat on the emperor.

The emperor smiled and asked the queen mother to say goodbye, and met with the queen, Concubine Li and others, before sitting on the kang, the queen mother stroked her palms and said happily: "Emperor, today it is rare that you can have time to accompany us all to have a piece of fun, there are many things ahead, let go first, those things are not a head to deal with, the leisure or leisure, the body and bones are important." ”

Chongzhen smiled and said to the Queen Mother: "Yes, I am too busy on weekdays, I should have accompanied you and done my filial piety, no, I listened to your letter yesterday, I added a point in the morning, and I finished the matter at hand, and this morning I got the red flag good news, Hong Chengchou They fought another big victory on the front line, and beat the bandit Li Zicheng to pieces in Tongguan, I am also happy, I can't wait to tell you quickly." ”

"Oh, we've won the battle, it's a good thing, it's not like I predicted it to arrange this fun today." The Queen Mother said happily, and when she heard that the battle ahead had been won, everyone else also felt a burst of joy.

The Queen Mother raised her head at Concubine Li and said, "I said Concubine Li, I'll start with it." ”

Concubine Li agreed, nodded at Wang Qiang, Wang Qiang walked out from behind Concubine Li, knelt on the ground, and said: "Slave and maid, knock on the emperor, knock on the queen mother, the queen." ”

"Get up." The Queen Mother said with a smile.

"Empress Dowager Xie." Wang Qiang got up.

The Queen Mother looked at Wang Qiang, saw his handsome figure and clear eyebrows, nodded with satisfaction and said, "I heard that you are very good at telling stories, what are you going to tell us today?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother, I am going to tell the story in Journey to the West, and I will talk about the section of Zhu Bajie carrying his daughter-in-law." Wang Qiang replied.

Hearing the name of this story, the Queen Mother thought it was interesting, and said with a smile: "It's a story about a daughter-in-law, it must be good, you let go of it, don't be restrained, talk hard, I have a reward here." ”

"Empress Dowager Xie." Wang Qiang bowed, then he took two steps back, stood in the middle of the field, and began to tell the story. Yesterday, Concubine Li told him that the Queen Mother and the Emperor were going to come to listen to the story today, he made careful preparations, according to the experience of telling the story of "Journey to the West" to Zhu'er and them, they would laugh when it came to Zhu Bajie, so he interspersed the funny content about Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West, and strung together several stories such as Zhu Bajie carrying his daughter-in-law, eating watermelon, and eating ginseng fruit. Wang Qiang performed in front of so many people for the first time, and all of them were extremely noble characters, and he was still a little nervous at first, but as the story unfolded, he saw that everyone was fascinated by listening, so he let go of his courage and devoted himself to it, and learned the foolish image of Zhu Bajie vividly, and the funny baggage was shaken out one after another, and everyone laughed back and forth again and again.

Although Concubine Li was also laughing with everyone, she was just pretending on the surface, she had something in her heart, and she hoped that the emperor could stay, only in this way could she keep herself and all her family safe.

Emperor Chongzhen is also very happy, in recent years, the country has been full of smoke, wars, and the treasury is empty, which has made him anxious and has not been in a good mood. Today, there was good news from the front, the suppression of bandits in the northwest was going well, and Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of peasant troops were defeated, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart was also a little clearer, and he relaxed and listened to Wang Qiang's story, and listened to it after a while. Because of the dignity of being an emperor, he was still nervous and embarrassed to laugh at first, but later, he gradually entered the story and laughed happily with everyone. It was rare for the Queen Mother to see the emperor so happy, and she felt very comforted, she saw Concubine Li's big watery eyes aiming at the emperor in a flash, and her heart couldn't help but move, she was a person who came over, how could she not know this little bit of thinking about the concubines! It seems that this Concubine Li really used her brains to please the emperor, and she couldn't help but make up her mind to fulfill Concubine Li's wish.

There is only one person in the crowd who doesn't like it, that is, the eunuch Zhang Wuwu, the leader of Zhongcui Palace, he was already jealous when he saw Wang Qiang getting the favor of Concubine Li in a short period of time, and now he saw Wang Qiang showing his face in front of the queen mother, queen, and emperor, so he was even more jealous, and deeply regretted that he had listened to Cai Ling'er's rhetoric and got this little eunuch to the inner palace.

Wang Qiang talked endlessly, spitting stars and flying for more than two hours before it ended, his own mouth was dry, and everyone laughed and their stomachs hurt. After speaking, Wang Qiang knelt on the ground, kowtowed upwards and said, "The queen mother, the emperor, the slave and maid have finished speaking." ”

"Hahahaha, you little cub, you actually have so many jokes in your stomach, it's really hard for you, does the emperor think he is happy today? I think I should appreciate something, right? The Queen Mother asked Chongzhen with a smile.

Emperor Chongzhen smiled at Wang Qiang and said, "What is your name, when did you enter the palace, get up and speak." ”

"Yes, the slave maid's original name was Wang Qiang, and when she arrived in the palace, she was called Xiaoduozi, and she entered the palace the year before last." Wang Qiang said that Wang Qiang had already inquired about the background information of "Xiaoduozi", so he said it without hesitation.

"Xiao Duozi, hahahaha, this name is interesting." Chongzhen was amused, and he then asked, "What is your position now?" ”

"Back to Long live, I am now a steward eunuch in Zhongcui Palace." Considering that his relationship with Concubine Li was no longer clear, Wang Qiang did not dare to directly say that he was a eunuch, so he replied vaguely.

"Yes." Seeing that Wang Qiang answered decently, Chongzhen was very satisfied, and was thinking about what to appreciate, when suddenly a thought flashed in his mind, this little eunuch told the story so vividly and fluently, eighty percent of them had read books, wouldn't this break the rules of the palace? Who was so bold as to get a man who had read a book into the inner palace to become a eunuch? It's worth it! Thinking of this, Chongzhen's face suddenly became gloomy, and he suddenly shouted angrily: "Xiao Duozi, are you guilty!" ”

When Wang Qiang heard this, he thought that the emperor knew about his affair with Concubine Li, and his head suddenly swelled, his knees weakened, and he fell to the ground with a plop, and he didn't know what he was talking about. Concubine Li was also shocked, looking at the emperor with her mouth wide open, and her heart was beating wildly.

The Queen Mother and the Empress didn't know why Chongzhen had a sudden attack, so it was not easy to intervene, so they only looked at the emperor suspiciously, and Chongzhen said to Wang Qiang in a coercive tone: "Say, where are you from?" How the hell did you get into the palace? Who sent you in? What is the purpose? ”

Wang Qiang collapsed to the ground, trembling with fright, his hands squeezing at the cracks in the ground, and he heard the emperor's question dimly, and his mind turned, oh? It turned out that it wasn't about me and Concubine Li! He calmed down a little, thought about it for a while, and understood what the emperor meant, it seemed that he suspected that I had read a book, or was sent to the palace as a spy. I was originally a native of Fengyang, Anhui Province, my mother gave birth to me and died, I and my father depended on each other, and then my father married a wife, I don't want my stepmother to dislike me, I was insulted and scolded in every way, let me eat pig food, sleep in the firewood room, wear single clothes in the cold winter wax moon, my father can't look at it, and she reasoned with her, I don't want her to have an affair with an official gentry, occupied my family's property, and drove me and my father out of the house, my father took me around wandering, no other skills, so I had to make a living by telling stories, mixed food, all the way to eat cold rice, sleep in the temple, Suffered the humiliation of bandits and bullies, only to come to the capital, and then my father died of illness, I had to sell my body to bury my father, in a small shop as a guy to pay off debts, not to think, I was also infected with the epidemic, was thrown to the grave by the ruthless shopkeeper to wait for death, fortunately was saved by the palace of the high father-in-law, this entered the palace, began to do miscellaneous work in the outer palace, and then the inner palace was short of people, Zhang Gonggong saw that I was clever, only to transfer to the inner palace as an errand. I really have no one to guide me when I enter the palace, but I have no other purpose to ask for food and clothing, my long live lord! Woooooooooooo "This Wang Qiang's ability to make up stories in the past few months has greatly improved, and now in order to win sympathy, he naturally made up his life experience extremely miserable, plus he said it vividly, as if it was true, and then he was touched by his own nonsense, and he actually fell to the ground and cried bitterly.

Wang Qiang's words washed away the happy and relaxed atmosphere just now, no one spoke in the room for a while, and the atmosphere suddenly became depressed and dull, and several palace maids and eunuchs next to them also remembered their own life experience, and they were touched by their liver and intestines, and they couldn't help but sobbed softly. The Queen Mother, the Princess, the Queen and others were also moved by Wang Qiang's tragic life experience.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to Wang Qiang's words and knew that he wanted to be left, it seems that this little eunuch's storytelling skills were learned from his father, and entering the palace was also accidental, and he wronged this little eunuch. This Emperor Chongzhen is an extremely rigid and self-serving person, thinking that he is the Ninth Five-Year Honor, he naturally refuses to admit his mistake in person, he is thinking about how to turn around and go down this step, and suddenly heard someone talking at the entrance of the hall, it turned out that Zhang Wufu couldn't help but jump out. Zhang Wuxian was jealous of Wang Qiang's favor, and he had no chance to rectify him, and now he saw that Emperor Chongzhen attacked Wang Qiang, and the pride in his heart was like eating honey, he saw Wang Qiang crying miserably, and Emperor Chongzhen had a gloomy face and did not speak, relying on himself to be the leader of Zhongcui Palace, and felt that it was time for him to show his face, he walked to Wang Qiang's side in a few strides and shouted at the throat of the male duck: "Damn slave, dare to lose your honor in front of the emperor and the queen mother, have you lived enough?" Someone, drag him out. As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Wang Qiang's collar and pulled it out.

"Presumptuous!" A low and clear shout came, it was the queen mother who spoke, the queen ruled the six palaces, Bing Xue was smart, she not only sympathized with this little eunuch in her heart, but she also saw that the emperor had a regret, thinking about how to find a step for him, seeing that Zhang Wufu was so arrogant, he just took the opportunity to attack. She said slowly: "Zhang Wuxian, there are the Queen Mother, the Emperor and the Palace, as well as the Chief Manager of the Six Palaces, when will it be your turn to call three and drink four!" ”

Zhang Wufu looked up, the emperor, the queen, the queen mother, the chief manager and others all looked at him with a gloomy face, he realized that his fart was slapped on the horse's feet, and he was angry, he knelt on the ground, kowtowed like garlic and said: "The queen forgives the sin, the emperor forgives the sin, only because this little son is under the jurisdiction of the slave maid, so he came out to teach a lesson, overstepped his authority, the slave and maid confessed, and he didn't dare next time." ”

The emperor found the gas barrel and said loudly: "You already dare!" How can I allow you to have a next time, come, drag me out, and hand it over to the Punishment Division. Hearing this, the two guards rushed into the hall, and dragged Zhang Wufu out, and Zhang Wufu shouted loudly in a hurry: "The emperor spares his life!" The emperor spares his life! I am a relative of Zhang Qingyun, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, you don't look at the face of the monk and look at the face of the Buddha, spare the slave and maid! ”

Emperor Chongzhen's original intention was to pull Zhang Wuyun out and forget it, and by the way, he gave himself a step down, and he didn't want to do anything to him, but when he heard that Zhang Wuyun was lifted out of Zhang Qingyun, he couldn't help but be shocked. Because there have been eunuchs colluding with foreign officials to usurp power and seize the throne in the previous dynasty and this dynasty, Chongzhen is the most taboo about the eunuchs in the palace colluding with foreign ministers, and he has always been very suspicious, and now I heard that the commander of the Jinyi Guard and a chief eunuch of the inner palace are relatives, and I can't help but think: What are they going to do? Dare to use Zhang Qingyun to pressure me, isn't this internal and external collusion? Sooner or later, it will not be a disaster! Thinking of this, he said another word at Zhang's useless back: "Fight!" "This one word will kill Zhang useless, why? If the emperor said to hit 50 boards or 100 boards, with a useless backstage hard, the person in charge of the execution may be merciful, and the board is held high and lightly falling, at most it is a pain of flesh and skin, but now the emperor only said one word 'beat', and he didn't say how much he hit, as long as the emperor doesn't say stop, he can only keep fighting, then there is no second way except death. Zhang Wufu was escorted to the Shen Criminal Division, and the eunuch in charge of the execution came over and said to Zhang Wufu: "Father-in-law Zhang, don't blame the little ruthlessness, I have inquired, you have offended the emperor, the queen mother, and the queen together this time, and no one can protect it, I didn't say it, I can only give you a good time, don't blame me when you get to the underworld." Saying that, no matter how Zhang Wufu wailed and begged for mercy, he picked up the stick and hit Zhang Wufu's head, only to hear a muffled sound, Zhang Wufu's brain burst, and he died.

Turning back to Zhong Cui Palace, after Zhang Wufu was pulled out, the atmosphere relaxed a little, and Emperor Chongzhen began to find steps for himself, and said, "Xiao Duozi, do you know why I attacked you?" ”

Wang Qiang knelt down and said: "Back to the emperor, the thunder and rain and dew are all royal graces, no matter how the emperor deals with slaves and maids, it is all grace, this time the emperor is worried that the slaves and maids will lose their minds and miss their duties. This answer was very decent, and it saved enough face for the emperor and found a good step.

The emperor nodded with satisfaction and said, "Well, even if you still know the general situation, get up and speak." ”

"Yes." Only then did Wang Qiang get up.

The Queen Mother only got the opportunity to interject at this time, and said with her hand on her chest: "It's weird, I thought this little cub really made something wrong, it turned out that he just wanted to teach him a lesson, such a scorpion, scorpion and tiger, it really scared me." Poor man, this kid's life is so miserable, you still have to scare him. ”

The emperor listened to the words of the queen mother, and said with a smile: "Queen Mother, I think this little man is a smart and clever person, and he will have to use it sooner or later. Again, this is a high-sounding truth.

The Queen Mother smiled: "I can't say it, and I don't plan to care about it, anyway, I'm happy today, this little cub has merit, you have to reward it for me." ”

When the emperor heard that he was going to give a reward, he remembered that he didn't bring any suitable objects today, only the fan in his hand, so he said to Wang Qiang: "Xiao Duozi, today you coaxed the Queen Mother to be happy, and it can be regarded as a little filial piety for me, so I will reward you." As he spoke, he shook the fan in his hand. The emperor rewarded the object he used to an inferior little eunuch, which was a rare honor, Wang Qiang quickly knelt down, kneeled a few steps in front of Chongzhen, kowtowed respectfully, took the fan, and took a few steps back on his knees before getting up and standing behind Concubine Li.

Such a fun and trouble, an afternoon passed, and before I knew it, it was time for dinner, the queen mother saw that it was not early, and she was a little tired, she was still thinking about the matter of fulfilling Concubine Li's wish, and turned her head to Concubine Li and asked: "It's too late to see this time, Concubine Li, what is there to entertain us?" ”

Concubine Li hurriedly got up and replied happily: "Queen Mother, I personally wrapped leek-flavored egg dumplings, made pheasant soup, stewed braised pork, and satisfied with your meal, you can enjoy your face and eat here with me." ”

"Hehehehe, let's do it, these things are all the emperor's favorite food, I'm afraid they were specially prepared for the emperor, I'm going back, I think the emperor will stay here to eat, don't live up to the hard work of the concubine." The Queen Mother looked at Chongzhen and said meaningfully.

Chongzhen was really happy today, and wanted to relax, he turned his eyes to look at Concubine Li, Concubine Li was also staring at himself with a longing face, he hadn't seen him for many days, he felt that Concubine Li was more charming and gorgeous than before, so he nodded and agreed.

Emperor Chongzhen stayed in Zhongcui Palace to have dinner with Concubine Li, and he had a night of affection.

But said that the queen mother was accompanied by the queen and Concubine Rong and other people back to Cining Palace, the queen was also empty for a long time, seeing that Concubine Li won the emperor's favor by a little eunuch who could tell stories, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous, and her heart was sour and not a taste, and she secretly thought: If the emperor likes to listen to stories, he will run to Zhongcui Palace at two ends in three days, and pet Concubine Li, how can this be done! If this little eunuch is to come to his palace, it is obviously using his power to compete with Concubine Li, and his face is not good-looking, so he should think of a way to transfer this little eunuch away from Concubine Li.

Several people walked all the way, talking about the story Wang Qiang just told all the way, and when it came to the interesting part, they inevitably laughed again. The queen seemed to interject inadvertently: "The emperor hasn't been so happy for a long time, it's really rare, alas, it's really not easy for the emperor, if only he could be so happy every day." ”

The queen mother heard the meaning behind the queen's words, thought for a while, she stopped and said: "Well, the queen's words are reasonable, I think this little manyman is very clever, if he can be transferred to the emperor's side to serve, make him happy, and help do something, I'm afraid it can't be wrong." She turned her head and asked Lin Zhe, the chief administrator of the Great Inner and the eunuch of the Six Palaces, who was following her, "Gonggong Lin, is there any vacancy around this emperor?" ”

Lin Zhe listened to everyone's conversation all the way, and had a plan for the queen mother and the queen's thoughts thoroughly, and when he saw the queen mother asking, he hurriedly bowed down and replied: "Back to the queen mother, the eunuch holding Yue in the south study is now vacant, and there has been no suitable candidate." "This eunuch is the emperor's close attendant, following the emperor every day, waiting for the emperor's assignment at any time, responsible for conveying the emperor's holy decree and oracle, and needs a person with good brains and sharp speech, so that Wang Qiang can take this position just in line with the conditions. Because the emperor usually sees people in the south study, the eunuch who holds the Yue also holds the position of deputy head of the south study. When the Queen Mother heard this, she nodded and said: "Okay, I think this position is suitable, you will talk back to the emperor tomorrow, if he is willing, let this little duozi make up for this shortage." ”

"Yes, slave and maid." Lin Zhe replied.

Only one day later, the chief steward Lin Zhe personally went to Zhongcui Palace to pass the decree and transferred Wang Qiang to be the deputy head of the South Study, and in this way, in less than half a year, Wang Qiang was promoted to three levels, from a miscellaneous little eunuch in the outer palace to the deputy chief administrator, and became the emperor's personal attendant.