Two days later, the emperor's holy decree arrived in the special region and appointed Wang Qiang as the deputy governor of the inner palace, the eunuch of the six palaces, and the title of second rank. Early the next morning, Wang Qiang said goodbye to everyone and boarded the bus into Beijing.

The news that Wang Qiang had been dismissed from his post as minister of the Special Administrative Region and appointed as deputy governor of Ouchi soon spread all over the world, causing a lot of discussion among the government and the public. Although Wang Qiang has not been an official for a long time, and his official position is not prominent, several things he has taken the lead in doing are all major events related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and their impact is far-reaching. He built special zones, ran markets, issued treasury bonds, and opened money banks, which played a huge role in promoting the development of domestic trade, invigorating the economy, and stimulating production, and also greatly supported the finances of the imperial court. He uniformly raised the food and salary at the front line to ensure the supply of military supplies, which greatly improved the logistics support of the Ming Dynasty army, and freed the army from the dilemma of long-term food arrears, so that Li Zicheng's power was stopped in time and did not expand rapidly; In particular, he led the militia to fight bloodily, repelled tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, relieved the danger of the capital, and saved the northern provinces from the ravages of the Qing army. Such a capable official, a genius in governing the world, after repeatedly performing miraculous feats, was transferred to the palace to serve as an envoy, which is exactly the same as the murder of Yuan Chonghuan back then! Chongzhen's narrow-minded, mean-spirited and suspicious nature was once again exposed to the world, and it also made the hearts of people of insight in the world cold; The generals of the unified army who fought on the front line were even more miserable, everyone was in danger, and no one was willing to contribute to kill the enemy anymore; Those corrupt officials and officials found an excuse for their corruption: "See no, those who are loyal to their duties and work hard for the court will not end well, brothers, let's play with your life for yourself!" ”

Although Emperor Chongzhen worked hard day and night, diligent and thrifty, he also had the ambition to create a prosperous world and An Wanmin, but he lacked the broad mind and eloquence of a monarch, he was narrow-minded, self-serving, short-sighted, and unclear-sighted, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was an out-and-out faint monarch. His self-righteous move of deposing Wang Qiang once again separated the hearts of the subjects of the world, and also cut off the last ray of life of the Ming Dynasty, and since then, the Great Ming Dynasty has irreversibly slipped into the abyss of destruction!

On the way to the post, Wang Qiang didn't think about it so far-reaching, he had been thinking about how to protect himself in the palace, cover up Xingzang, and now his beard roots have become harder and harder, last night, he used plaster to tear his beard, although he had soaked the ointment to soften his beard, but it still took a lot of effort, and now his jaw is still a little painful. This pain reminded him that the palace is by no means a place to stay for a long time, and Chongzhen is by no means able to follow the master, he is bent on reliving the mandarin dream with Concubine Nali after returning to the palace, and he is looking for an opportunity to get close to Chen Yuanyuan, because he no longer has any gratitude to Chongzhen, so when he thinks of this, he has no guilt and anxiety. He imagined that Emperor Chongzhen was sitting high on the temple with a half-pulled watermelon peel on his head, which was very funny, and he couldn't help but laugh with relief.

Wang Qiang arrived at the harem and went straight to report to Lin Zhe, the chief administrator of Ouchi. Lin Zhe is the head of the eunuchs of the six palaces, and he is extremely powerful, and he only obeys the orders of the queen mother and the queen internally, and nearly 10,000 eunuchs in the thirteen eunuchs of the inner palace are under his jurisdiction. Lin Zhe's residence in Ouchi is a two-entry cross-courtyard, with its own guards and kitchens, which is higher than the treatment of ordinary concubines.

Seeing Wang Qiang's unusually politeness, Lin Zhe didn't wait for Wang Qiang to salute, so he stepped forward and took Wang Qiang's hand into the room, and said as he walked: "Oh, Wang Gonggong, you are here, our family is worried that you will not take office." ”

"The emperor's will, how dare you disobey it." Wang Qiang said.

Lin Zhexi said: "It's good to come, it's good to come, your princess is young and capable, if you come, my old bones can be loose." ”

The two of them sat down in the living room, and Wang Qiang said respectfully: "Gonggong Lin, Wang Qiang is young and shallow, and he is both a junior and a subordinate in front of your elder, please take care of everything." ”

"Well said, well said. The emperor has long said that let our family take care of you, and after three years and five years, I can't stand this old bone, and the position of the head of the big house is yours. Lin Zhe said.

"Then thank you Grandpa Lin." Wang Qiang said and took out an inch-long brocade box from his arms, presented it to Lin Zhe with both hands, and said: "Gonggong Lin, this is Wang Qiang's little heart, and I also ask Gonggong Lin to reward it." ”

"Eh, you are so polite." Lin Zhe took the brocade box with both hands, opened it and looked, inside was a purple gold forged treasure, the purple gold baby was black and shiny, the shape was lifelike, and even the tendons on it were clearly visible, the purple gold was already precious, and it was forged so exquisitely, this gift was really valuable.

"Ahh Baby! Lin Zhe's excited eyes narrowed into a slit, an old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum, and he picked up the object with both hands and rubbed it carefully, he couldn't put it down.

After a while, Lin Zhecai put down the treasure and said with a long breath: "The prince is really a person with a heart, and he can't complain that he has made so many achievements at a young age, and even the emperor can't stop praising him." Listening to the emperor's tone, transferring you back to the palace is just to let you rest, sooner or later, it will be of great use. ”

This is the most important word! It shows that Chongzhen's favor to himself has not diminished, and Wang Qiangxin put it in his stomach at once.

Lin Zhe accepted the gift and secretly praised Wang Qiang for being sensible, he said in a consultative tone, "Princess, the thirteen eunuchs of our inner palace, if you don't divide a few first, you will be in charge of it first, anyway, each prison has a chief eunuch to support, and it won't cost you a lot of thought." ”

"Don't mind, Gonggong Lin, I just returned to the palace in the next day, and I am not familiar with the affairs in this palace, so I can't manage it for a while, and I am laughing at it. In the next thought, you should take care of it first, I will learn from you, and it will not be too late to take care of it when I am familiar with it. Wang Qiang said.

That Lin Zheren was in love with the stack, and he didn't want to hand over the power in his heart, so he got off the donkey and said: "In this case, it depends on the will of the prince, but you can rest assured that the filial piety of each room still has your share." ”

"Thank you Grandpa Lin for your support." Wang Qiang said respectfully.

Lin Zhe was in a happy mood, got up and took Wang Qiang's hand and said, "Princess, you just returned to the palace, our family will take you to say hello to the queen and the queen mother, and then go around, so that all the house managers can recognize you as the new chief manager." ”

Lin Zhe took Wang Qiang to Shangqing Palace and Kunning Palace to meet the Queen Mother and Queen Mother respectively, and the Queen Mother and Queen Mother were routine instructions, and then came to Zhongcui Palace to meet Concubine Li.

The leader of Zhongcui Palace, the eunuch and the female official Zhu'er, knew that Wang Qiang was coming, and stayed at the door early, after Cai Ling'er married Wang Qiang, Zhu'er took over as a female official in the palace, after more than two years of experience, she has matured a lot, and her mind is more, she saw Wang Qiang as the deputy head of the inner house, and her heart was naturally happy, but after all, the status is far away, and Lin Zhe is beside her, so she has to respectfully ask An to salute.

Wang Qiang and the others arrived in the palace, but Concubine Li's mother was not outside, Wang Qiang turned his head and asked Zhu'er: "Zhu'er, is Niangniang in the palace now?" ”

Zhu'er said: "I was still there just now, but now I may ------" She didn't finish her words, only heard Concubine Li's lazy voice from inside: "It's Wang Qiang here, right?" If you are familiar with the matter, go to the inner room and talk. ”

Hearing Concubine Li's familiar voice, Wang Qiang hurriedly responded: "Hey! He quickly stepped into the inner room, knelt down and said, "Xiao Duozi greets Niangniang." He called Xiaoduozi to show that he did not forget his old kindness.

Concubine Li was the only one in the room, and Concubine Li was lying on the couch and didn't get up, but said softly: "Get up, it's not an outsider, do you still need so many courtesies?" Concubine Li's words were punns, Wang Qiang listened to it, and remembered that it was here, on this bed, that he was on a skin-to-skin blind date with Concubine Li, loving and forgetful, although the time was short, but it made him unforgettable.

He got up and hung his head and looked at Concubine Li silently, after giving birth, Concubine Li had regained her former slender figure, lazily lying on the couch, the plump and charming state of a mature woman was fully displayed, like a ripe peach, Wang Qiang couldn't help but breathe heavily. Concubine Li was also looking at Wang Qiang, seeing that he had been out for more than two years, after some experience, his expression and demeanor had become a little deeper and more sophisticated, and he vaguely had the appearance of a mature man. The two looked at each other silently and had the same heart, but they didn't dare to do anything wrong on a sunny day. After a while, Concubine Li asked, "Is everything okay with Cailing'er?" ”

Wang Qiang replied: "She is fine, and she often thinks about her mother and is grateful to her mother." ”

Concubine Li's heart was sour, and she thought: "This little girl, I was not happy at the beginning, but now I know that I am grateful, and it is better than my life." She nodded and said, "I also miss her, take the time to let her go around my palace, reminisce about the past, and talk, and save me the discomfort of being lonely and depressed all day." "It's another pun.

"Yes, I'll let her enter the palace to accompany Niangniang when I turn around." Wang Qiang said.

After being silent for a while, Concubine Li said with concern: "You have been out for more than two years, and the situation in the palace is not as good as before. Envy', others know that you are my person who went out here, and I don't think you are my person, so I will tell you a few more words, now that you are the chief manager, your identity is not as good as before, how many pairs of eyes are staring at you, you must be cautious in speaking and doing things, and you must not play with children's temperament, especially the queen is a careful person, you have to be careful, work diligently, and don't make any mistakes. This is a secret warning to Wang Qiang to beware of the queen and be careful of his own hiding.

Wang Qiang is a clever person, and he has faintly heard the mystery from Concubine Li's words, this queen is jealous that Concubine Li gave birth to a prince, and thinks that she is Concubine Li's cronies, so she naturally wants to do everything possible to find trouble for herself, it seems that she has to be wary of the queen! He understood, bowed down and replied, "Niangniang, don't worry, the slave knows it." ”

"It's good to know, come over to accompany the prince from time to time, go ahead." Concubine Li squirmed delicately and said.

"Hey." Wang Qiang got up, glanced deeply at Concubine Li, nodded vigorously, and then said goodbye and went out.

After visiting a few mothers, Lin Zhe took Wang Qiang around the palace again, and introduced Wang Qiang to the chief eunuch and the chief eunuch of each room, and the chief eunuch knew each other, and it was almost noon, Wang Qiang and his party went to the northwest corner of the inner palace, where was a large pine forest, and there were several houses built not far from the forest, Wang Qiang pointed to a house and asked: "Father-in-law Lin, who lives in that house." ”

Lin Zhe said: "Oh, then, it's Concubine Yun who lives." ”

"Concubine Yun, I've never seen it." Wang Qiang said casually.

"Hey, this Concubine Yun Niangniang was abolished by the emperor since the first day she entered the palace, and the residence is the cold palace." Lin Zhe said in a low voice.

"Huh? It was abolished on the first day of entering the palace, why? Wang Qiang asked in surprise.

"This matter is also simple, that Concubine Yun was originally the princess of the Horqin Department of Southern Mongolia, when Mongolia surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, the princess was married to the emperor, and I didn't want to marry the princess on the day of the wedding, the grandmother in the palace found out that the princess was not a virgin, and the emperor was angry and imprisoned Concubine Yun in the cold palace, and the relationship with Southern Mongolia collapsed all at once." Lin Zhe said. He has been in the palace for decades, and he has been talking about these concubines and concubines.

"Oh, so that's the case, this Mongolian is too, it's really not kind enough to marry a broken princess to the palace to deceive the emperor." Wang Qiang nodded. He saw that there was another house not far away, pointed and asked, "Is that courtyard also a cold palace?" ”

Lin Zhe smiled and said, "It's just an empty mansion there. The so-called cold palace, the abandoned concubine is called the cold palace. ”

Wang Qiang saw that this place was very clean, he already had a dirty idea in his heart, and the place to live was naturally the best for people to be clean and clean, so he said with a thought: "Gonggong Lin, I don't have a place to live in the capital yet, can you allocate that courtyard to me to live, and it is more convenient to come and go." ”

"Eh, why do you live here, you are the title of eunuch of the six palaces, it is too shabby to live here, it is more shabby than the house of the general chief eunuch, you can rest assured, there are houses in the palace, and we will arrange it for you later." Lin Zhedao.

"Don't bother the manager. I think it's very good here, and the emperor repeatedly told me that day to cultivate my self-cultivation and read more sage books. Wang Qiang said.

"This? It's okay, just wronged you. Lin Zhe said a little unbearably.