As Mrs. Jia's words came out, several women in the pavilion suddenly looked different.

- Li Ji naturally didn't need to say much, Mrs. Jia was just halfway through her words, and she turned away in a huff; Although he didn't speak again, when he glanced at Mrs. Jia, the words 'sycophant' were clearly written.

Cheng Ji was relatively indifferent, and glanced at Mrs. Jia in a little surprise, and immediately came to her senses, and then lowered her head with a light smile, which was regarded as acquiescing to Mrs. Jia's statement.

As for Wang Meiren, who was sitting on the other side of the Empress Dowager Dou, her face was quite indifferent.

Tang Ji, who was just sitting at the end of the seat and had never spoken, looked obviously a little cramped.

Although they are all wives in the palace, and they have all given birth to heirs for Liu Qi today, there is still a gap between 'Mrs.) and 'Mrs.'.

Because today's Han family follows the harem concubine hierarchy in the past, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period;

All the concubines in the harem are divided into eight grades according to the queen, lady, beauty, 1 lover, eighth son, seventh son, long envoy, and young envoy.

The tallest of them is naturally the unique, the 'wife of the Son of Heaven' who lives in the Jiaofang Palace: the queen.

And now, in the Weiyang Palace of the Son of Heaven, there are only three Li Ji, Cheng Ji, and Mrs. Jia, which have reached the level of 'lady' second only to the queen.

Wang Meiren, who gave birth to her first son a few years ago, that is, Liu Yu, the tenth son of the emperor, is one level lower than these three ladies.

And Tang Ji is one level lower than Wang Meiren, and belongs to the 'beloved'······

Lover, among the concubines in the harem, what is the concept?

——The 'good family' who entered the harem through the draft is already a good person the moment he enters the harem!

Even the rank of 'good man' is specially created for this group: good man - a woman from a good family.

On the basis of 'being a lover when you enter the palace in the draft', if a good woman gives birth to a princess, there is a high probability that she can be upgraded to a 'beauty';

After giving birth to a prince, you can undoubtedly be upgraded to 'Madame', and from then on, in the deep palace, you only need to bow down to the queen.

And Tang Ji, as a harem concubine who has given birth to a prince, is still a 'good person'.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the harem, except for the maidservant, there will be no one with a lower status than Tang Ji.

- Because the last four of the eight ranks of queen, lady, beauty, beloved, eighth son, seventh son, long envoy, and young envoy are basically for the princes and kings······

Any woman who is an emperor, even if she is picked up on the road, will most likely start as a 'beloved'.

And the reason for Tang Ji's 'giving birth to a prince, but still a good person' is naturally her background: Tang Ji was originally a maid by Cheng Ji's side······

And the maidservant, as the lowest status in the palace, even lower than the temple people and eunuchs, even if they give birth to a prince, they will never break through the rank of 'beloved' and become a higher-level beauty and lady.

The reason is simple: this precedent cannot be opened.

If it is opened, then in the future, the maids in the palace will not have to work;

As long as you inquire about the emperor's movements every day, and then come to a 'chance encounter' or 'encounter'.

Speaking of Tang Ji, it is obvious that she has given birth to a prince, and even the child is more than ten years old, but she is still a 'good person';

In the palace, even when you see those little girls who have just entered the palace, they are treated with equal courtesy.

Such a status naturally means that Tang Ji cannot have much personal property at all.

Not to mention the rarity of 'jewelry' in the palace, which symbolizes the emperor's favor, how much can Tang Ji have in his hands······

Xu saw Tang Ji's restraint, and Cheng Ji didn't forget to turn his head sideways, and nodded at Tang Ji with a gentle smile.

was appeased by Cheng Ji like this, but Tang Ji became more and more cramped.

After thinking about it for a long time, he finally lowered his head with apprehension, and like Wang Meiren, he took out an obviously old handkerchief from his arms.

Spread out the yellowed handkerchief, revealing the small jade pendant that had been carefully wrapped, and put it on the table in front of him, Tang Ji stumbled and said: "Concubine, concubine has no jewelry······

"This jade pendant was left by her mother to her before she died when she fled the famine;

"If the Queen Mother doesn't dislike it, she should be a concubine to honor the Queen Mother······"

The timid tone provoked Cheng Ji, who was beside the Empress Dowager Dou, to be stunned, and between her eyebrows, she was full of sympathy.

It was the Empress Dowager Dou, who heard that the jade pendant was the only relic left by Tang Ji's mother, and she was obviously a little moved.

With a sigh on her face, Empress Dowager Dou raised her head slightly towards Tang Ji.

"Take it back."

"Since it's a relic of my mother, I should keep it for good life."

"It's kind of a thought······

The gentle and loving tone finally calmed down Tang Ji's uneasy mood a little, but he didn't forget to bow to the Empress Dowager Dou before he sat back in his seat timidly, and lowered his head as if he was a little embarrassed.

And Empress Dowager Dou's dim and unfocused eyes quietly fell on Mrs. Jia at an angle that no one noticed.

Today's Mrs. Jia is very wrong!

At least in the eyes of Empress Dowager Dou, the Mrs. Jia in front of her and Mrs. Jia in the past are definitely not the same person!

Let's just say that at this moment, which of the other ladies in the pavilion did not respond to the Empress Dowager Dou in strict accordance with their previous 'personality'?

- Kurihime, still so calculating, and at the same time outrageously stupid!

- Cheng Ji, she is still in her duty, and she is not lacking in shrewdness.

Wang Meiren, as usual, has a posture of not fighting for anything and grabbing nothing, and she just wants to be a transparent person.

Tang Ji is even more the same as the rumors: cowardice and distressing······

Only Mrs. Jia, on weekdays, is obviously the same as Wang Meiren, who does not fight or grab, and does not want to come out, but today she is uncharacteristically this 'emerging bird'!

According to Empress Dowager Dou's understanding of Mrs. Jia, the 'normal' Mrs. Jia should have a submissive temperament;

Take today's game distance, Mrs. Jia in a normal state should have done whatever the Empress Dowager Dou asked her to do, as long as the Empress Dowager Dou didn't say anything, she would never say a word.

In other words: Compared with Wang Meiren's 'indisputable' who retreats as advances, Mrs. Jia is the real 'indisputable' character······

"That's weird······"

"Could it be that on weekdays, I have lost my eyes?"

Raising her head with a little doubt, Empress Dowager Dou couldn't help blinking, and even quietly leaned her upper body forward;

I happened to see Cheng Ji beside her, and nodded slightly to Mrs. Jia who was a little farther away, and the Empress Dowager Dou sat up straight thoughtfully.

After a moment, he shook his head and smiled.

"It's that tanuki slave, the idea behind you······"

"—want to coax my blind old woman······"

Thinking about the source of Mrs. Jia's 'abnormal' style today, Empress Dowager Dou also breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out her hand, and got up with the support of the palace people.

After several ladies also hurriedly stood up, Empress Dowager Dou turned her head sideways and smiled slightly at Cheng Ji and Mrs. Jia beside her.

"That's it~"

"Since the jewelry is lost, I won't play anymore······"

"You don't have to send someone back to pick it up, it's too troublesome······"

Wen Sheng refused Mrs. Jia and Cheng Ji's invitation to 'fight until dawn', and the Empress Dowager Dou held the cane in her right hand, hunched her waist slightly, groped and stretched out her left hand, and pointed to the case in front of her.

"A few ladies, lost more than two dozen pieces of jewelry to me;"

"I also brought more than 100 pieces of jewelry with me."

"Go;"

"Send these jewels to Weiyang Palace."

"——Tell the emperor: The country is in trouble, this is the ladies in the palace, a little bit of heart for the soldiers who went out······"

It wasn't until the Empress Dowager Dou's command came out that several ladies came to their senses: it turned out that today, the Empress Dowager Dou didn't really want to play;

Instead, in the name of Bo Opera, he pulled the ladies of the harem together to make some contributions to the temple and the community.

Realizing this, Mrs. Jia and Cheng Ji lowered their heads a little ashamed, secretly annoyed why they didn't bring a few more pieces of jewelry before they went out.

Even Tang Ji once again put his hand deep into his arms;

If it weren't for Empress Dowager Dou shaking her head and refusing, I was afraid that she would take out the jade pendant again.

Wang Meiren 'lost' all her jewelry to Empress Dowager Dou early, and naturally there was no discoloration on her face;

is Li Ji, even if she is still dissatisfied in her heart, but after the Empress Dowager Dou made it clear that these jewelry will be used as military expenses for the soldiers, she has no confidence to refute it.

- It turns out that there is a limit to human stupidity.

At least the current Kuri Ji is still stupid for the time being······

For the instructions of the Empress Dowager Dou, several ladies had no objection;

However, the palace people on the side, hearing the words of the Empress Dowager Dou, said a little distressedly: "The Empress Dowager; ”

"These jewelry, but they were all given to the Queen Mother by Emperor Xiaowen when Emperor Taizong Xiaowen was alive?"

"Just take it all out······

"-Queen Mother, how about you leave a few pieces?"

"Why don't you keep a thought?"

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Dou shook her head with a free smile.

Between the eyebrows, there was a faint touch of pride.

"Emperor Xiaowen of the first Taizong was diligent and thrifty and simple all his life, and he never liked the concubines in the palace who wore heavy makeup, gold and silver;"

"-Even the skirt of Concubine Ji, Emperor Taizong once made it clear: it is not allowed to drag it on the ground."

"As for these jewelry, they were given to me by the first emperor because I was the queen at that time, and I couldn't lose face in front of other concubines."

"For so many years, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen gave me a pack, and I have never worn a ······"

Saying that, Empress Dowager Dou couldn't help laughing at herself.

"I didn't wear it when I was young, but now that I'm old, my grandchildren have reached the age of marriage;"

"If you wear jewelry and dress up with flowers, it is not in line with the identity of the queen mother."

"—And these jewels were given to me as the queen by Emperor Taizong Xiaowen during his lifetime."

"Now that the country is in trouble, as the queen mother, I will take out these jewelry, and Emperor Taizong Xiaowen will definitely be happy if he has a spirit in the sky······"

With Empress Dowager Dou's peaceful, gentle, and free and easy words, a sense of admiration rose in the hearts of everyone in the pavilion.

- Whether Dou is a qualified queen mother or not may be up for debate;

But at the very least, as the wife of Emperor Xiaowen of the former Taizong, Empress Dowager Dou, there is no one who loses her deceased husband Liu Heng······

"Huh;"

"Wait."

Just as the people of the palace, who were moved by Empress Dowager Dou's words, threw themselves to the ground, took a square cloth, and wanted to pack up the jewelry on the table, Empress Dowager Dou's cold tone sounded in the pavilion again.

When everyone looked at the Empress Dowager Dou, they saw that the Empress Dowager Dou turned around indifferently and didn't even look at the ladies beside her. "It's all clear;"

"Divide which piece of jewelry belongs to which lady."

"Let the emperor take a good look at what kind of appalling differences there are between the ladies and the minds of the soldiers who went out on the expedition and the shrine of the temple······

Dropping such a meaningful sentence, Empress Dowager Dou walked slowly in the direction of the dormitory with a cane.

And after Empress Dowager Dou left, Li Ji, who had already been angry, finally exposed the 'true body of the martial soul'······

"Cut!"

"Just these few pieces of jewelry, what are they used for?"

"I'm afraid I can't even buy a few decent war horses!"

"Besides, since ancient times, fighting has always been a man's business!"

"When we start a war, we women are asked to take jewelry, what kind of reasoning is this?"

"If we women are required to fight even wars, then what is the use of men?!!

·

"Hi ······"

"Mother, ······"

A moment later, Weiyang Palace, inside the Xuanshu Palace.

Looking at the jewelry box in front of him, which made Liu Qi feel extremely familiar, Tianziqi only smiled helplessly;

Stretched out his hand and took out an inconspicuous wooden hairpin from the jewelry box, and Liu Qi's face immediately swelled with a touch of reminiscence.

"This hairpin was given to the queen mother when my father was still acting for the country."

"At that time, the palace was very poor, and even my father was wearing patched clothes."

"But after receiving this hairpin, the queen mother was very happy, and she didn't dislike this hairpin at all, it was made of willow wood by my father."

Speaking with embarrassment, Liu Qi couldn't help bending down again and rummaging left and right in the jewelry box.

As Liu Qi expected: this jewelry box is the 'treasure box' that his mother Dou does not allow anyone to approach in his impression.

And such a wooden box, there are at least hundreds of pieces of jewelry inside, although all of them were given by the emperor, but together, they are not as valuable as a good horse······

"Even these jewelry, the queen mother took it out······"

With a wry smile and a murmur, Tianziqi's eyebrows were full of self-deprecation.

- The meaning of the Empress Dowager Dou, the Son of Heaven, I can see it very clearly.

The Empress Dowager Dou wanted to use this box of jewelry to vaguely remind Liu Qi: Don't forget the difficult years spent in the palace by the Empress Dowager Dou, Princess Guantao, Liu Wu, the King of Liang, and Liu Qi's mother and son.

Empress Dowager Dou wants to remind Liu Qi: Liu Wu, the king of Liang, is your own brother······

A younger brother who shares weal and woe······

"Hmmm······"

"Huh?"

"These jewelry ······"

"-It's clearly not the queen mother, how can it look familiar?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a few other bags of jewelry next to the wooden box, and he saw Tianzi Qi asking a question full of doubts;

Hearing this, the palace man who sent the jewelry bowed down with a smile: "Your Majesty; ”

"These jewels are the hearts of all the ladies······"

"——The Queen Mother said that the country is in trouble, and the ladies of the harem, there is no other way to help Your Majesty."

"I can only take out these jewels from the past, and the jewelry that His Majesty gave to the ladies should be military expenses."

"Even if it's a drop in the bucket, it's the Queen Mother, and the hearts of the ladies······"

The palace attendant explained the origin of these jewelry, and there was only a touch of bitterness on the face of the Son of Heaven.

Especially when the people of that palace, according to the instructions of the Empress Dowager Dou, pointed out to Tianziqi, "This is Mrs. Jia's", "This is Mrs. Cheng's", "This is Wang Meiren", "This is Mrs. Li's", "This is Tang Liangren", the wry smile on the corner of Tianziqi's mouth was even more sad.

"Huh······"

"My Han family, it shouldn't have reached this point yet, right?"

"-Haven't you gotten to the point where you want to use the harem woman's jewelry to raise military expenses?"

The slightly angry inquiry in the bitterness only caused the old palace man to bow down again.

"The old slave is just a knife and a saw, and the rest of the thing is not a thing;"

"Your Majesty asked such an esoteric question, old slave, I'm afraid I can't answer it."

"The queen mother's order, the old slave has been completed."

"If Your Majesty allows, the old slave will go back to Changle Palace and return to the Queen Mother······"

The question with hidden anger attracted such a reply from the old palace people, which only made Tianziqi feel as uncomfortable as hitting the cotton with his fist.

After holding himself for a moment, barely suppressing the inexplicable anger, the Son of Heaven Qicai waved his hand casually and signaled the palace people to retreat.

In the hall of the Xuan Room, only one person was left, and the Son of Heaven finally sank his face completely, turned around with a watery face, and sat down in front of the royal couch······

"The queen mother wants to remind me that except for the third child, I can only count on these women and my concubines?"

"-Could it be that my Han family is a loyal minister of Liu Wu, the king of Liang!"

Without warning, there was an angry roar, which provoked the warriors outside the temple gate to poke their heads out of the hurry;

When he saw the figure in the hall, as long as Tianzi Qi was sitting alone on the imperial couch, the warrior quietly retracted his poked head back and played the role of a clay statue.

- Recently, this kind of situation of Tianzi Qi getting angry with himself has occurred quite frequently;

As a forbidden soldier, I can only regard the anger of the Son of Heaven that came inexplicably and I don't know where to go, I can only treat it as if I didn't hear it······

"Someone!"

Another roar, now, the soldier can't pretend not to hear.

Hurriedly stepped over the high threshold, took two steps forward, and knelt on the spot: "What does Your Majesty command?" ”

"-Go!"

"——Invite the old Anhou, Kaifeng Hou, and Yuan An!"

Seeing that the warrior was defeated when he heard the sound, he did not respond, but subconsciously waited for Liu Qi's next command.

But this time, Tianzi Qi did not add a sentence of 'call the internal history also' as in the past.

Rather······

"Later, wait until the curfew is over."

"Don't let Neishi know about the summoning of these three people."

Sao Rui Saorui, the power went out at 10 o'clock, and it was restored at 11:30, and the second update was just written.

I'm very sorry, but I have taken care of you.

What you owe yesterday will be repaid tomorrow, and today is really too late, so forgive me.

(End of chapter)