There are a few rays of sunset frozen in the sky, which seems to merge with the quiet yellow tiles and red walls on the ground.

In the palace of the concubine in the west sixth palace, there is no dust on the masonry floor, and someone must clean it every day; But there were still many dead leaves on the ground. Zhu Gaoxu stepped on the dead leaves and could clearly hear the sound of "clicking".

On the road ahead, Du Qianrui finally came to greet her with a team of entourage. She stretched out her hand to brush her sideburns, tidied up her makeup a little, and then stepped forward and curtled her knees and saluted: "The concubine is late, please forgive the saint." ”

"Excuse me." Zhu Gaoxu said casually, reaching out to hold her arm.

Du Qianrui stood up straight and said, "The concubine is still in the kitchen." The hour was not well mastered, so that the moment was in a hurry. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "You still cook yourself?" ”

"Didn't the saint praise the concubine's good craftsmanship, right?" Du Qianrui smiled.

Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly said: "Of course it's the truth, Concubine Shu suffered. He said, holding her hand and looking at it. He added, "Don't worry about cooking this year, take care of yourself." ”

Du Qianrui's face suddenly showed a slightly shy joy, and after taking it away from his hand, he gently held it in front of his abdomen. She had been pregnant for several months, but it was still not very apparent.

"Is the dish ready?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Du Qianrui said: "Back to the saint, there is also a stew, I asked the palace maid to watch the fire, and I have to wait for a while." The Holy One went inside to rest, and after a cup or two of tea, he could eat. ”

Zhu Gaoxu walked into a palace room with her. He was about to walk to a chair, but suddenly found an old stool next to several cases, and he felt a little strange.

He had been to this room many times, and remembered that there was no such stool here; What's more, it doesn't fit in with other furniture and looks very old. It was a square bench made of wood, with a bamboo sliver-woven chair in the middle, and a pair of finely woven silk futons on top of it, which made the stool itself even rougher and older.

"Huh." Zhu Gaoxu made a sound, walked to the stool, and sat down on it. It feels pretty solid.

Du Qianrui covered her mouth and smiled.

Zhu Gaoxu was puzzled: "What's the matter?" ”

Du Qianrui said: "The concubine suddenly remembered that Zhan Yan is very similar to the saint. Whenever he sees something he has never seen before, whether it is interesting or not, he will immediately be interested. It's fun if you're not paying attention. ”

Zhu Gaoxu laughed and asked, "But doesn't Qianrui think that this stool is a bit out of place here?" ”

Du Qianrui said casually: "The appearance is not very good, but it is made of cypress wood and riveted, and it is very strong." It's been nearly 20 years, and I've only changed the bamboo strips on the bench surface. This wood will not break even if it is used for a lifetime. ”

Zhu Gaoxu changed his relaxed posture and looked patient: "It seems that it really has a bit of a history." ”

Du Qianrui seemed to remember something, her expression changed subtly, and her eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist. She should be a little hesitant, but the words have already come to this point, and it is not good to stop there.

After a while, she muttered, "This stool is when I was about nine years old, Mommy...... Mother got a carpenter to make it. The first time I left home, I said that I was going to sell it to Nanchang Mansion

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A large family is a concubine. Although it was not Ming Media who was marrying, my mother also thought that I was married, and tried every means to prepare a little dowry.

There were three things, a wooden chest, a cypress stool, and a quilt. The other two have long since been lost, and only this stool remains. It is easy to carry around, even if you are traveling by boat or car. After several rounds, he followed me to Jingshi, and let me go in the Teaching Workshop Division and the Fuller Academy. Later, I asked my brother to take it from an acquaintance in Fullerhouse and put it in my brother's residence......"

Zhu Gaoxu's emotions also became a little heavy, and he had mixed tastes. Thinking about the richness of the dowry that his father bought for Guo Wei back then, compared with Du Qianrui's so-called dowry, it is simply too different.

"I shouldn't have said that." Du Qianrui said cautiously, "The Holy One is from a noble background, aren't you happy to listen to these chicken bits and pieces?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and reached out to gently hold Du Qianrui's little hand. He thought for a while and said, "Next month is the Mid-Autumn Festival, there will be family banquets, moon viewing and other programs in the palace, I will send someone to bring your mother into the palace and have a reunion dinner together." ”

Du Qianrui said softly: "It's good for the saint to treat his concubines. But you must remember that you must also invite the queen's family, the imperial concubine's family, and the old lady of the concubine's family into the palace. Other concubines, or their mothers are gone, or they are too far away, and it is understandable that they are not invited. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded in agreement.

The so-called chicken bits and pieces here in Du Qianrui can often make Zhu Gaoxu feel the breath of family. Maybe he also had the experience of a low-level civilian, so he has such an ability to empathize?

Du Qianrui touched the Hetian green jade bracelet on her wrist and said softly, "The dowry gift given to me by the Holy Lord is very valuable. I almost failed the Holy Heart. ”

"That's not a dowry." Zhu Gaoxu said, "I don't seem to have given your family a dowry." At that time, when you were named the wife of the Han Palace, you were in Yunnan, and the war was imminent, so this matter was omitted. ”

Du Qianrui hurriedly said: "The concubine is now the imperial concubine, what more courtesy?" Every time the concubine encounters something unpleasant, she will remind herself that she should be very fortunate to meet the glory and wealth bestowed by the Holy Lord, and treat me with heart for ten years. Then they can endure everything. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said kindly: "I will always treat you like this until I am old." ”

Du Qianrui's upper body leaned over gently.

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a while, and said with a complicated expression: "The wealth and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, the so-called peaceful and prosperous era, is only limited to the big cities where wealth is concentrated. The vast village is really too poor. I estimate that in many homes, the whole family will not be able to find anything decent, and the only estimate of value is a little ration. ”

Du Qianrui echoed: "Isn't it? In the past, there was a family in our village that could not find even a good bowl, and it was said that relatives and friends could not eat at his house. ”

Zhu Gaoxu muttered: "But the approach of equalizing wealth, at least I can't see the feasibility, Wang Mang of the Han Dynasty has already tried, and it has completely failed; This is the self-interested nature of man. Wang Mang only caused the collapse of order, the intensification of conflicts between all parties, and then the emergence of some new high-ranking families. The pragmatic goal may be to increase the total amount of wealth exponentially in order to make life more or less better for everyone. ”

Du Qianrui said: "The saint is always sympathetic to the people, which is the blessing of the common people. ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, he couldn't help but be a little distracted when he thought of those complicated issues.

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In order to fundamentally increase production, it is impossible to fundamentally change the way of farming. The so-called "New Deal" can only be chosen, approaching the plundering of industry and even foreign trade; In the future, the land of Shenzhou will play the role of being plundered. Even if the new deal is successful, it will affect the imperial power of the descendants of the Zhu family. He has never weighed the pros and cons carefully and precisely, but subconsciously, he should have already chosen.

But will the New Deal really succeed? From time to time, Zhu Gaoxu's confidence will also be shaken, just like on the treacherous battlefield, he often questions his own decisions.

Occasionally, frustration prevailed, and he said a little negatively: "There may be no way to prevent the common people from seeing what kind of life the landlords and big families in the big city are living." The Ming Dynasty government restricted the people from leaving their hometowns, which is not unreasonable. ”

"The Holy One is right, and when I returned to my hometown that year, I couldn't bear it anymore. However, I grew up there. Du Qianrui sighed lightly.

She was stunned for a moment, and then comforted softly: "The Holy Lord is diligent in government and loves the people, and he has done his best, so don't be too embarrassed about yourself." ”

At this moment, a palace maid walked to the door. Du Qianrui subconsciously let go of Zhu Gaoxu and sat up straight. The palace maid said: "I respectfully invite the saint and the concubine to the dining room for dinner." ”

Four dishes and one soup were placed on the round table in the dining room, which was the emperor's daily diet set by Taizu; The most standard part of this meal is that the princess herself cooks it. On the table are Zhu Gaoxu's favorite sea fish, stewed meat, stir-fried meat, and a large bowl of green vegetable and tofu soup with dipping water, and a pot of wine. There were at least twenty or thirty people from the people who tried the food in the compartment and the palace maids who served around them.

Zhu Gaoxu is really a little hungry, and enjoying delicious food always makes people feel happy. Soon his mood was much more relaxed.

After the two of them had eaten, it was not completely dark. Zhu Gaoxu accompanied Du Qianrui and walked around in the palace of the concubine and chatted.

Du Qianrui whispered: "The concubine is not in good health, and she can't serve the saint tonight. The concubine paid attention to it on weekdays, there is a female official in the Concubine Palace who looks good, why don't you let her come over tonight? ”

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and smiled: "No need, I just want you to accompany me, it's good to be able to fall asleep with each other." ”

According to the harem rules established since Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, there is a certain order for concubines to sleep. But what really made him unbearable was that according to the arrangement of "Zhou Li" and letting a group of titled female officials sleep from time to time, he felt that he had pitted himself. Perhaps, people are always overestimating themselves.

Du Qianrui said: "It's dark, and the hour is still early." After a while, the concubines changed their clothes and sang a few songs for the saint. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "This show is good and elegant. ”

Du Qianrui's bright eyes rolled, "The Holy One wants to listen to Yaqu?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "It's still vulgar, and it can still cultivate sentiment." I think your singing is really professional. ”

Du Qianrui said softly: "Okay, the concubine will pick a piece of opera to make the saint happy." But there was no music preparation in the palace for a while, so he could only sing a cappella. ”

From time to time, you will encounter groups of palace maids, who are walking along the vertical and horizontal roads, one after another, lighting the wicks in the roadside lampstands. The lanterns are also hung in fixed positions in various places, and in the Jingshi Castle and the Imperial Palace, even at night, it is not too dark.

(End of chapter)