Entering a majestic palace room, a slightly hoarse voice came from inside: "Is the official family here?" ”

Zhao Ji hurriedly walked in, and bent his knees at the woman sitting cross-legged on the couch and said, "Queen Mother, ......"

Shen Ao quietly followed in, looking left and right, the whole palace room was different from what he imagined, although it was as luxurious as always, but it was a little more deliberately simple, there were not many people in the room, and the woman sitting cross-legged on the couch was the Empress Dowager of Qinci; The Empress Dowager Qinci was next to Zhao Zong, the king of Jin, and the little county lord didn't know where to go, Zhao Zong's face was miserable, and he looked at Zhao Ji in horror, looking uneasy.

Zhao Zong's appearance provoked the Empress Dowager Qinci to look at him, and she was even more distressed and twisted her eyebrows, her face was covered with a layer of frost, and said: "The official family is the Son of Heaven, what should the queen mother of the mourning family do, the mourning family can't afford it." ”

Zhao Ji hurriedly said: "The queen mother has the grace of nurturing her sons, how can her sons forget." ”

Empress Dowager Qinci said with a straight face: "It's rare that you still remember, but in your heart, is King Jin still your imperial brother?" ”

Zhao Ji was heartbroken and said, "Why did the queen mother say this? ”

The Empress Dowager Qinci squeezed the hand of the King of Jin, and said coldly: "This has to ask yourself, the King of Jin and you are born from the Mourning family, a mother's compatriots, when you were the King of Duan in the past, the King of Jin and you are like brothers, and now you are the emperor, the king of the world, but I don't recognize you as a brother, the Mourning family asks you, why is the King of Jin so afraid of you, he just made a little mistake, but he is so frightened that he fled to Hangzhou, you are the emperor's brother, he is so afraid of you and afraid of you, you can still eat, and you are in the mood to chant poetry and paint, you ask yourself, Do you really have this brother in your heart? ”

The more the Empress Dowager Qinci spoke, the more angry she became, Zhao Ji could only bow down and listen, not daring to refute, and hurriedly said: "Don't dare, don't dare to ......"

Empress Dowager Qinci said: "If you don't come to the mourning family less, will the mourning family not know your heart and surname?" You became the emperor, it's amazing, what brother, what is it in your eyes, those people around you, which one of them will flatter you than the king of Jin, hmph, if you ignore our mother and son, it's a big deal to move out of the palace and go to live in the house of the king of Jin, if your brother makes you look in the eyesore, you will strip him of the prince, and our mother and son will no longer dare to disturb you, and they will depend on each other. ”

Zhao Ji was drenched in cold sweat, and could only sneer: "Erchen definitely doesn't have this mind, and the queen mother is serious." ”

Empress Dowager Qinci snorted coldly and said, "You say this in your mouth, but you don't think like this in your heart, our mother and daughter are hard-working people, and we can't stand this great wealth, right?" You don't want to think about it, when you were still the king of Duan, who was the closest to you, when you were a child, a piece of osmanthus cake in the palace, the king of Jin still had to keep half of you, now it's good, the world is all yours, do you still rarely share your food with the king of Jin? ”

Zhao Ji glanced at Zhao Zong, and then said: "Of course Erchen remembers these things, and he will never dare to forget them, King Jin is the younger brother of Erchen, the closest person." ”

The Empress Dowager Qinci seemed to feel that she had said something almost, glanced at Zhao Zong, who was still miserable on the side, and said: "The mourning family wants to ask you now, and now the officials are going to impeach the King of Jin, saying that he left the capital without permission, what should you say?" ”

Zhao Ji said: "Erchen will play the high pavilion of sparseness." ”

Zhao Zong breathed a sigh of relief, the heat was almost over, he held the hand of the Empress Dowager Qinci, and said: "Queen Mother, the imperial brother is still very good to his son, don't blame him, he is the Son of Heaven, and he always has some scruples." ”

Shen Ao couldn't help but laugh on the side, this Zhao Zong was really insidious and cunning, he made a mistake himself, and in the end he came to be a good person, on the other hand, that imperial brother was beaten without a nose and eyes, and he was not a human being.

The Empress Dowager Qinci immediately laughed, and said to Zhao Ji: "Look, your brothers defend you like this, harmony is the right thing, we are the emperor's family, and we should set an example for the people of the world, teach them to see, the emperor's family also has family affection." ”

Zhao Ji smiled bitterly in his heart, and still lowered his eyebrows and said, "The queen mother has taught the right lesson." ”

Now that the matter has been resolved, the Empress Dowager Qinci asked Zhao Ji to sit down with her, asked him if he had been too hard recently, let him relax, first hit Zhao Ji dizzy with a stick, and then offered a sweet jujube, Zhao Ji breathed a sigh of relief, and said busily: "It's nothing for the son, but the queen mother has to take care of her body." ”

Empress Dowager Qinci just took care of teaching Zhao Ji a lesson, and didn't care about Shen Ao, who also came in, but now that she was free, a pair of eyes fell on Shen Ao, and when she saw Shen Ao standing on the side of the door, she said, "Who is this?" Why didn't you talk when you came in? ”

Shen Ao thought to himself, do I dare to speak me? If you say that, you'll think I'm too talkative.

Although he was aggrieved in his heart, Shen Ao still saluted the Empress Dowager Qinci very respectfully, and said, "Wei Chenren and the county lieutenant Shen Ao, I have seen the Empress Dowager. ”

Empress Dowager Qinci thought about it, and immediately laughed, in front of outsiders, Empress Dowager Qinci is very motherly in the world, looked at Shen Ao, and said with a slight smile: "Shen Ao, the mourning family remembered, Anning's girl and Zi Yu have mentioned you, and Mrs. Xian, who also talked about you, it is said that you are the champion of the art examination and the imperial examination, I can't imagine you are so young!" ”

Shen Ao smiled and said, "The Queen Mother has won the award, and Weichen is just a little famous." ”

"This is not a false name, how many people in the world can be admitted to the top prize? It is said that you also treated An Ning, An Ning's child has been weak since he was a child, and many imperial doctors are helpless, you have such a wonderful hand, and the mourning family has to thank you. ”

The Empress Dowager Qinci said as she asked someone to move the Jindun to let Shen Ao sit.

Shen Ao glanced at the Empress Dowager Qinci up and down, and thought to himself, this Empress Dowager is very good at being a person, her joy and anger are only in a thought, and she has two faces ready at any time, it seems that the women in this palace are not fuel-efficient lamps, just by her words, Shen Ao feels that this Empress Dowager is not a character to be underestimated.

But it doesn't matter, no matter how high the Queen Mother's means are, it is also used to manage the harem, and she has no conflict of interest with her, but she doesn't have to be afraid of anything, and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother praises falsely, and the micro-ministers dare not be ashamed." ”

The Empress Dowager Qinci smiled and said some words of encouragement, and then suddenly said, "By the way, are you a relative of the Duke of Qiguo?" ”

Shen Ao nodded yes.

Empress Dowager Qinci said with a smile: "No wonder you are so clever, very good, you are also a hero of Xuanli, and the official family will not treat you badly." ”

Shen Ao was embarrassed, and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother treats Weichen like this, and Weichen will do her best more." After saying this, his eyes inadvertently fell on the case of the Empress Dowager Qinci, there was a deck of leaf cards on the case, and he couldn't help but feel a little curious, as a thief, he was naturally familiar with the gambling equipment, but he only heard of this leaf card from the ancient books, but he never really saw it.

Leaf cards have been popular in the late Tang Dynasty and early Song Dynasty, and are generally a tool for pastime among nobles, especially the ladies of various families are the most enthusiastic, the reason is very simple, most of the women in this era try to minimize the opportunity to show their heads, and there are few entertainment items, so this leaf card has become a rare pastime tool.

The so-called leaf card can be regarded as the world's earliest card game, and Shen Ao didn't understand the specific rules, and couldn't help but think in his heart, I don't know if this leaf card has anything to do with the poker.

The Empress Dowager Qinci noticed Shen Ao's gaze, pursed her lips and smiled, "What? Does Shen Ao also like to play leaf cards? ”

Shen Ao hurriedly said: "Weichen doesn't, it's just the first time I see this card, and I'm a little interested." ”

Empress Dowager Qinci smiled and said to Zhao Ji and Zhao Zong: "It's strange that the big man is interested in the leaf card, and the mourning family knows it for the first time." ”

In fact, there are more men playing leaf cards, men are good at gambling, leaf cards are an excellent gambling device, the reason why she doesn't know, but there are not a few male surnames around, Zhao Ji and Zhao Zong have their own hobbies, and they are not very enthusiastic about leaf cards.

Qin Ci beckoned to Shen Ao and said, "You come, the mourning family will teach you." ”

Shen Ao was not afraid, and walked over calmly, thinking to himself, thinking that this Empress Dowager Qinci must be a card fan, and when he saw that he showed a little interest, he couldn't help but want to pour out her experience in the leaf brand.

The Empress Dowager Qinci called Shen Ao to her side, and told Shen Ao what this card is, what is that, this card is a royal thing, the workmanship is excellent, than the poker of later generations, and the rules of the leaf card are also simple, and the mahjong of later generations is slightly similar, listen to the rules, Shen Ao thought to himself, this is really the ancestor of mahjong, but also belongs to the fool version of mahjong, such as mahjong has a tube, ten thousand sons, shuttles and east and west, north and south winds, etc., but the leaf card has 100,000 guan, ten thousand guan, suozi, wen qian 4 kinds of suits. Among them, the two colors of Wanguan and Suozi are one from one to nine; 100,000 is from 200,000 to 900,000, and even one for million, 10 million, and 10,000; The money is from one to nine, and even half and no money. The type is much simpler than mahjong, so it is easier to play than mahjong.

Seeing that Shen Ao was learning quickly, Qin Ci was immediately overjoyed, and even couldn't care about his son, and said: "It's better like this, it's okay for you to leave or right, just play a few games with the mourning family." ”

Shen Ao said very humbly: "Playing cards with the Queen Mother, do you want to have a lottery?" The Queen Mother, the student's family only has tens of thousands of dollars, but they can't afford to lose, let's play smaller, okay? One hundred rounds of a game, a small bet is pleasant......"

Zhao Ji blew his beard and glared when he heard this: "Do you think this is a gambling stall?" Do you want to make a small bet with the Queen Mother? ”

The Empress Dowager Qinci smiled in a good mood and said, "Okay, just make a small bet, a hundred rounds of a game, do you want the official family and the King of Jin to come and play?" ”

The two of them were not interested in Ye Zipai, and hurriedly shook their heads, Zhao Ji said: "Queen Mother, Erchen still has something to deal with, so I will retire first, and I will come to greet you tomorrow." ”

King Jin said: "I haven't gone home to see the princess after entering the palace for so long, and the sons and daughters have also left first, and the queen mother has a good time." ”

The two fled in a panic, presumably hating the leaf brand.

Empress Dowager Qinci said, "You have to find two more people, isn't Mrs. Xian your aunt?" It's better to call her over, it's okay to be peaceful, and ask her if she is free. ”

The chamberlain immediately went to call someone, and after a while, Concubine Xian came in slowly, greeted Qin Ci, saw Shen Ao, smiled slightly, and said, "Shen Ao, didn't you go to Hangzhou?" ”

Shen Ao said: "I was recruited back by the emperor again." ”

Concubine Xian smiled: "It's okay to come back, being an official outside is not necessarily better than Bianjing." After that, he sat down on the side of the Empress Dowager Qinci and asked some questions about warmth and coldness.

After a while, Princess An Ning also came, Princess An Ning lost some weight again, saw Shen Ao, and forgot to greet the Queen Mother for a while, a pair of misty eyes looked at Shen Ao deeply, as if she had a grudge, and then noticed the gaffe, pinned her pretty face to the side, didn't dare to look at Shen Ao anymore, and saluted the Queen Mother: "Erchen has seen the Queen Mother." After that, he stood aside obediently and said, "Didn't you say that you played the leaf card, why is there one person missing?" ”

Qin Ci smiled: "Where is it missing, plus this Master Shen, isn't it exactly four?" ”

Princess An Ning said shyly: "He's a big man, does he also play the leaf card?" ”

Shen Ao snickered in his heart, and said very seriously: "Weichen is just a beginner, and I want to ask everyone to accept it." ”

Clearly stated the rules, four people each sat on the table in a corner, pushed the cards, each took eight cards, Shen Ao took the cards, just a look, then followed the house out of the cards, he has experience in mahjong, in later generations, mahjong cheating the deepest method is not to change the card, it is nonsense to the special function, the really useful or the card, that is, from the cards played to calculate which cards have been out, which cards have not yet appeared. This method requires a high level of memory, and Shen Ao has worked hard to learn this method in the past. The number of leaf tiles is much smaller than that of mahjong, so it is much easier to memorize.

After a round of cards, Shen Ao already had almost the bottom in his heart, the level of the Queen Mother should be the highest, followed by the virtuous concubine, and as for Anning, it was completely a share. Shen Ao deliberately lost two games, first observed the three of them, there is a doorway here, different people, take good cards and bad cards The facial expressions are very different, such as the Empress Dowager Qinci, if you take a good card, your eyes can't help but blink, this is just the most subtle expression, but if you observe carefully, you can see the clues.

"Okay, watch my son kill all sides, and earn some pocket money to spend first." Shen Ao had a bottom in his heart, and his heart was full of ambition, but he said to the Empress Dowager Qinci with a bitter face: "The Empress Dowager's card skills are superb, and Weichen is really far behind. ”

Empress Dowager Qinci smiled: "It's already very good that you can play at this level for the first time." ”