Concubine Rou was drunk by Queen Zhu, and her knees fell to the ground.

In the rest of the time, Concubine Rou watched as Empress Zhu ordered someone to call Gonggong Qiao, who was in charge of this procurement in the palace bureau, to the Weiyang Palace, and staged a good show.

Gonggong Qiao was wearing a purple eunuch suit, with sharp-beaked monkey gills, and a pair of eight-figure eyebrows on a pair of mouse eyes. After being taken to Weiyang Palace, he didn't even need to ask, he knelt directly in front of Queen Zhu, and cried and told how Concubine Rou threatened him to buy substandard goods at a high price in a trading house, and then extract kickbacks from them.

Concubine Rou was so angry that she stepped forward and wanted to beat Father-in-law Qiao, but was pulled away by the palace maid in the Weiyang Palace.

Gonggong Qiao avoided Concubine Rou and didn't dare to face Concubine Rou's knife-like eyes, and cried to Queen Zhu with his sleeve to cover his face, "Queen Mother, the slave doesn't dare to panic." If you don't believe you, ask the Lingshuang girl beside Concubine Rou. Ling Shuang took a lot of the silver taels that came back, and ordered the servants to buy her a pair of warm jade bracelets with good color directly outside the palace, saying that she wanted to wear a fresh one for the New Year. ”

Ling Shuang knelt beside Concubine Rou and was speechless after listening to Gonggong Qiao's words.

Seeing this, Concubine Rou slapped Ling Shuang's face, and said fiercely with red eyes, "You took his advantage?" You took a pair of warm jade bracelets? ”

Ling Shuang's face was red and swollen, and she knocked her forehead bleeding at Concubine Rou, and cried whining, "Niangniang, the slave doesn't dare anymore." Mother, the slave doesn't dare anymore. ”

Empress Zhu heard Concubine Rou's master and servant crying and had a headache, turned to Ziwan and said, "Ask someone to send Concubine Rou back to the palace, this matter must be investigated carefully!" ”

On December 17 of the seventh year of Yong'an, the matter was clarified.

The business house that Concubine Rou ordered Father-in-law Qiao to buy was opened outside the palace by Concubine Rou with her own money. Of the 270,000 taels of silver purchased, less than one-third was used for the goods, and the rest fell into Concubine Rou's own purse.

And the high-priced incense candles that coughed when the concubines smelled it were shoddy rotten goods.

There are three types of candles in the Dashun Dynasty, one is made of the sap secreted by the ash worm. The second type is made from cow fat. Three kinds, made with honey, smell even sweet and greasy when burned.

Among these three types of candles, beeswax has the highest cost, and even in the palace, it is not easy to promote. The white wax is clean and has no special smell after burning, but its output is very limited, and it is taboo in the palace, so white wax is rarely used.

The rest is wax made from cow fat. The raw material source of this wax is simple and the cost is relatively low. In addition, pigments can be added to its later production to make festive red wax, so it can be promoted in the imperial palace.

The red wax used in the palace is made of the finest butter, and the method is also extremely exquisite. It should be bright and free of unpleasant smell during the burning process.

The so-called incense candles that Concubine Rou ordered people to buy actually reduced the raw butter and reduced the inferior candles of the finished products. In order to ensure that this inferior candle can be as fire-resistant as it is used on a daily basis, the merchant adds coarsely refined sulfur to it in proportion.

At this point, this inferior candle has been made, and the market is for small households outside the palace.

But this time, in order to sell this inferior candle to the palace at shoddy quality, the merchant deliberately added inferior incense powder to the candle, so that the candle could emit a fragrance when burning, so as to cover up the pungent smell emitted when the sulfur burned.

It's a pity that the inferior spices can fool the noses of the concubines, but they can't fool the delicate physique of the concubines.

On December 18 of the seventh year of Yong'an, Emperor Yong'an issued an order to withdraw the power of Concubine Rou's assistant to the six palaces, grounded for one month, and fined for half a year.

Ling Shuang was bold, ignored the palace rules, took bribes, and dragged him into the explosion room and beat him to death.

After Emperor Yong'an's decree was issued, Empress Zhu's mood was indescribably good.

Did she put it in her hands, teasing the five princesses in the Weiyang Palace, and talking to the five princesses while talking some fairy tales.

The fifth princess is four and a half years old this year, and she can say anything. Ruyu's carved little face looks innocent, and when you smile, there will be two small dimples on your face, which is very good-looking. is such a crystal clear child, looking at Queen Zhu, the mother-in-law, but there is not much intimacy.

After Empress Zhu handed the small purse in her hand to the fifth princess, she couldn't help but sigh, "The fifth princess is good anywhere, but she is not as close to people as the fifth prince." ”

Ziwan took a plate of hibiscus cake and handed it to Queen Zhu, and when Queen Zhu took a piece to feed the fifth princess, she said loudly, "Now the fifth princess is four and a half years old, and she has reached the age of learning etiquette." The five princes are still young, and they can't be compared. ”

"I don't know if I want to say it," Empress Zhu put back on the plate the hibiscus cake that the fifth princess had taken a bite and stopped eating, and said, "The Ye family has given birth to a good child." ”

"Queen Mother," the fifth princess's eyes were as bright as stars, and she looked at Queen Zhu's milk and said, "Are you talking about the fifth emperor's brother?" ”

Empress Zhu nodded slightly, pinched the delicate and slippery face of the fifth princess, and said with a smile, "Yes, it is the fifth emperor brother who lived with you a few days ago." ”

Because the five princes were in a hurry to carry them to Weiyang Palace, Empress Zhu let the five princes live with the five princesses for a few days. I wanted to let the five princes move in after the west side hall was cleaned up, but I didn't want to go wrong halfway, and the five princes returned to Concubine Yu.

"Erchen likes the fifth emperor brother." The fifth princess said in a crisp voice, "Queen Mother, why didn't the fifth emperor brother play with his sons in the palace?" ”

Empress Zhu was surprised after hearing the words of the fifth princess, and asked suspiciously, "Why does the emperor like the fifth emperor's brother?" ”

"The fifth emperor brother sent his sons and daughters to shake, step shake." The fifth princess looked up, and two small dimples appeared on her white face.

The nurse of the five princesses stepped forward and said to Queen Zhu, "Although the five princes cried day and night in Weiyang Palace, they got along very well with the five princesses. Whenever the five princesses had time to talk to the five princes, the five princes would stop crying and talk to the five princesses, and gave the five princesses a broken jade step ......"

Queen Zhu nodded slightly, and the nurse went down.

The five princesses have a childlike nature, and they just mention it. Empress Zhu saw that the five princesses were having fun, so she took Ziwan's hand and went back to the inner hall of Weiyang Palace.

After sitting on the low kang and drinking a cup of tea, Empress Zhu leaned on the kang pillow behind her to close her eyes and recuperate, and asked Zi Wandao, "Can things outside the palace be done neatly?" ”

Ziwan replied softly, "Yes, Lord Gong has already burned down the workshop where that kind of candle was made overnight, and the people have also cleaned it up." The government has already made a plan, but it is only said that it is going to water. ”

Empress Zhu nodded with satisfaction, a smile on the corner of her mouth, "Gong Renming's work this time is quite clean." ”

"Master Gong said that he would not dare to miss again." Ziwan bowed her head.

"Isn't there any news from Shi Zhanhe?" Empress Zhu opened her eyes and looked at Ziwan.

"Lord Gong said that he is chasing with all his might, as long as he catches ......" Ziwan's right hand was made into a hand knife shape, and he slashed down neatly.

Empress Zhu snorted from her throat and stopped talking.

"Queen Mother, there is still a while before lunch, if you are tired, take a rest." Ziwan whispered.

Empress Zhu raised her right hand and waved it gently, raised her eyebrows and said, "There should be, it's been more than five months." ”

Ziwan was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately, pinched her fingers and calculated, "It's been more than five months." ”

"That kind of hard land, she can stay and rely on!"

Ziwan's eyes rolled and said with a smile, "The cold palace lost water and burned the lady in charge and the palace maid, and the slave maid has already greeted the Yeting Palace and arranged for someone to go in." As long as the queen mother said a word, she would stay without hard work......"

Empress Zhu raised her eyebrows and sneered, "Of course this palace doesn't want her to rely on it, if she does it, this palace won't work hard." ”

Zi smiled and said, "The slave knows." ”

"Go and call the new head of the palace bureau," Empress Zhu helped Feng Hai with her right hand, found a comfortable position on the kang pillow, and said, "There are still a lot of things that have not been done this year, and the eldest prince will be passed on to enter the palace in the afternoon, and the palace will discuss with him ......."

Empress Zhu smiled at the corner of her mouth, and she was very proud in her heart. In the end, it was Emperor Yong'an who had the final say in the matter of establishing the prince. How can the Zhu family look up to the second prince again, isn't it a joy in the end?

Since the cold palace has changed the usual things, the life of Lingxi and lotus leaves has become better and better.

Not to mention the things that Lingxi and Lotus Leaf buried under the deep snow in the hall, the light that Mama Cui ordered Cuizhu to send one after another was enough for the daily needs of the two of them.

At this time, Lotus Ye knew that the original share of each person in the cold palace, in addition to the half a catty of brown rice, two taels of green vegetables, and three taels of fine salt that I heard outside the palace of Mama Liu, there were actually two catties of fine white flour and half a catty of soybean oil per person per month.

When the lotus leaf received the pound of soybean oil, not to mention how happy she was, she almost jumped up with joy.

"Niangniang," Lotus Ye sat on the low kang while embroidering the upper of the baby's shoes, and said to Lingxi happily, "Do you think we are a blessing in disguise?" There was a greedy Mama Liu, and a generous Mama Cui came. And it's much easier to find out the outside news than before, unlike before, I sent everything out, and I didn't see a single letter. ”

The spirit rhino nested in the dwarf kang, covered with a half-new quilt, and his face was much more rosy. At this time, she was holding the jade-faced drum in a daze, and smiled after listening to the lotus leaf's words, "This Cui Mama may not be a person who is not greedy for money, but she has just been assigned to the cold palace, and she is just cautious and cautious everywhere." If you wait for two years to see her again, she may not be better than Mama Liu. ”

Lotus Ye nodded, with a smile on her face, "That's right, anyway, we're much better now." ”

Lingxi looked at the side face of the lotus leaf with flesh and chuckled, and said secretly, man is the most uncontented animal in the world, and it is also the most contented animal in the world.

Thinking that when she was in the position of concubine, He Zeng put this catty of soybean oil and a few catties of fine noodles in his eyes. Right now, these things are like what they are baby.

"But we can't eat it." Lingxi reached out to help the lotus leaf tuck the slippery hair behind his ear, and said with a light smile, "We only eat buried in the snow." ”

The lotus leaf nodded, the things in the snow are definitely not poisonous, but the ones sent down by Mama Cui are not necessarily.

Lingxi curled up into the quilt, touched his already bulging belly, and looked at the dust hanging on the pillars of the temple in a daze. Now that the Zhu sisters are the dominant family in the harem, how can she turn over?