In the middle of winter, heavy snow is falling. The palace was full of joy, and the palace maids and eunuchs were so busy that their feet did not touch the ground. The emperor has decreed that this year's Laba must be lively. All kinds of rice used to cook Laba porridge were brought in by ship from the far north. The Inner House sent samples of grain rice to the Queen's Palace.

Chen Xiang quietly opened the small pot of laba porridge, secretly tasted it with a small spoon, and exclaimed, "Queen Mother, this is better than last year." ”

The queen was also busy all day, and was sitting in front of the dressing table to decorate it, and looked back at her: "Look at you, you know how to eat." ”

Chen Xiang pouted, ran to the queen, and took off the earrings for the queen: "Queen Mother, I don't have the patience of the imperial sister-in-law, she is not greedy, and she is still busy." ”

The queen squeezed her hand and said, "Don't be unconvinced, I didn't look down on Yuanxi before, but now, looking at the rules and regulations of her words and actions, I know that your second brother's vision is good." Just like Zhao Kezhen's incident, she could have made a big fuss, but in order to have less resistance from your brother's side, she just suppressed the matter single-handedly. If you don't have a bloody blade, you can hold the Zhao family in your hands, this ability is stronger than your mother. ”

Chen Xiang fiddled with a gorse hairpin on the queen's dressing table, and didn't raise her head: "Others are not convinced, but I am convinced, I have always admired the imperial sister-in-law." ”

"Since you admire it, you also learn from her. After Enko, you are about to marry the son of the Wei family. When the time comes, you will be the eldest sister-in-law of the Wei Mansion, and if you always have such a child's temper, people should laugh at you. ”

When Chen Xiang heard this, she couldn't help but pout: "Who? Who dares to laugh at me? I'm a dignified princess, so if I don't laugh at them, it's just their turn, and it's their turn to laugh at me? Besides, with the imperial sister-in-law by her side, can she be bullied by others?"

The queen shook her head helplessly: "I'm afraid that I spoiled you, and you don't look like an adult at all." The queen slapped Princess Chenxiang on the buttocks as she spoke, and instructed: "If you go to pass on the queen mother, call your imperial sister-in-law to come back and rest, the matter of the festival is complicated, when will it be finished? ”

As soon as the queen's voice fell, the maid's announcement came from outside the door: "The queen mother, the princess asks to see you." ”

Seeing Yuan Xi coming in, the queen smiled and said, "I'm talking about you with Chenxiang, I really mean Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive." ”

Yuan Xiwan smiled: "What is the queen mother talking about?"

"Praise you, praise you for doing things in a disciplined way, and know the general situation. As soon as the queen raised her hand, Yuan Xi hurriedly helped the queen up and sat on the right seat.

"Why did you come to me so late when you didn't go back to the side hall to rest?" asked the queen.

"Hmm......" Yuan Xi hesitated for a while, and the queen was a little puzzled, she always had one thing to say on weekdays, how did she babble today?

"What's the matter?" asked the Queen.

Yuan Xi glanced at Chen Xiang and said softly: "Chen Xiang, when I entered the palace in the morning, I forgot to give you a gift, you go to the side hall to have a look, and ask Mother Zhong to bring it to you." ”

Chenxiang blinked, and the fool could hear that Yuanxi wanted to break her away, so he raised his eyebrows: "Okay, then I'll go first." Chen Xiang said that she blessed the queen with a good body, and then withdrew from the queen's bedroom.

The queen wondered, what is the big deal to branch the incense?

"What the hell is going on?"

Yuan Xi leaned down, put himself on a cushion at the queen's feet, and looked up at the queen: "Queen mother, the son wants to ask the queen mother one thing, which is about the marriage of the prince." ”

The queen took the soothing soup, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and blew: "What?"

"The prince begged his father to give him marriage, but his father did not allow it, if at this time, the prince insists on marrying, I don't know what to do with it according to the law?"

The queen was stunned and looked at Yuan Xi for a while: "There is something in the words?"

Yuan Xi lowered his eyelids slightly: "Erchen is just curious. ”

As soon as Yuan Xi mentioned this, the queen could naturally think of the request for marriage that had just been vetoed by the emperor not long ago. When she said this, she was just worried that the walls of the palace would have ears, so as not to leave a complaint to others.

"You mean?" asked the queen tentatively.

The queen frowned, could it be that Xiao Rongcheng couldn't ask to marry Lan Yu, and she didn't give up? Would rather disobey the holy decree than give up Lan Yu? The queen couldn't figure it out, although Lan Yu was a very good girl, it wasn't worth Xiao Rongcheng's big thought! How many times had they met? How could they be so affectionate?

Yuan Xi bowed slightly and did not answer directly. If she doesn't speak, it is considered a tacit, the queen has no heart to drink the soothing soup, puts down the bowl, and ponders for a moment: "The emperor favors Zhan'er and Run'er, if it is the two of them, maybe the emperor will find a way to protect him, but if it is other princes, I am afraid that the emperor will not easily spare him." ”

Yuan Xi nodded: "Queen Mother, Erchen understands." ”

The queen suddenly glanced at Yuan Xi: "When did this happen, and how did you know?"

"After returning to his mother, the sixth master wanted to keep an eye on the wind and grass in the capital for the prince, so he inadvertently learned about it. I heard the sixth master say that on the night when Lan Yu was injured, that person went to Lan Mansion, and he told Lan Chengjie at that time that he had to marry Lan Yu in this life. Recently, Lan Chengjie has been in close contact with that person again, and the two are making a deal. ”

"Deal?" the Queen's eyes widened, "What deal?"

"I heard that the emperor wanted to reduce the tax burden of the people in the capital, and Lord Lan felt that this was a good way to collect money, so he discussed with that person and asked him to bargain with the emperor and directly share this errand with Lan Chengjie. As for the benefit that person gets, it is to ...... with Lan Yu Once a spring festival. ”

"What!?" the queen stood up in astonishment, and accidentally knocked over the soothing soup on the table, and the brown soup was scattered all over the floor.

"Presumptuous! What do they think of the imperial court? A high-ranking member of the first rank and a prince and a prince of the county actually joined forces to oppress the people and disobey the government affairs of the imperial court? Does he really think that he can hide it from the emperor?"

Yuan Xi wanted to speak and stopped, in fact, it was not difficult to hide these things from the emperor, as early as the Gaozu period, there were state and county officials, who took out the disaster relief money of the imperial court and put it out to usury, and then used the fraction for disaster relief when they made a lot of money. When reporting the disaster, he wrote that the disaster was extremely serious, so that the imperial court would be in a hurry to provide more relief to the silver taels.

In fact, this kind of thing is also common, but no one has to find them out. If you really want to punish it, you can't run away from the officials of several state capitals from top to bottom.

Yuan Xi didn't say it, and the queen, a woman in the deep palace, naturally couldn't think of this unbelievable thing, but Xiao Rongcheng's government affairs transaction was enough to make the queen tremble.

This Xiao Rongcheng is so bold, his mother concubine is long gone, there is no one in the harem, and the little prince who has no power in his hands has the courage to openly disobey the emperor's will, what is the difference between this and selling the official mantle?

Yuan Xi lowered his head slightly: "What does the queen mother think about this matter?"

What should I do? The queen sneered, remembering the angry and fierce face of King Lijun, and couldn't help but shake her head. The beautiful Lanyu is committed to such a person, and it really smells like a flower on cow dung. And what's even more sad is that Lan Yu is quadriplegic, if she is really Xiao Rongcheng's one, she doesn't even have the ability to resist.

The queen thought about it and couldn't help frowning.

If you want to talk about this marriage event, it is not something that Xiao Rongcheng can do with wishful thinking, and there must be no Lan Chengjie's consent? This Lan Chengjie is also desperate, it seems that he is no longer hesitating, and he is determined to wear a pair of pants with Xiao Rongshen.

The queen hooked the corners of her lips, and it turned out that Yuan Xi was talking about this, so she smiled and said: "Xi'er, are you asking the queen mother how to solve the problem of King Lijun and the Lan Mansion, or how to dismantle the alliance with the prince and the Lan family?"

Yuan Xi smiled gently: "Queen Mother, is there any difference in this?"

The queen smiled at Yuanxi, and said, "What do you think?"

Yuan Xi was silent for a while, thinking of the guy Li Lin who was taken away by the sixth master in Xiyintang back then, and he was still burdened with an unjust, false and wrongful case that was enough to cause a sensation in Kyoto. Yuan Xi raised his head, this matter, I am afraid that I have to ask the sixth master to take action.

Yuan Xi stood up and bowed slightly: "Queen Mother, Erchen will go and inform the sixth master." This matter must be done before the prince returns to Beijing. ”

"Slow. The queen suddenly grabbed Yuan Xi's wrist and hesitated. After a while, she said faintly: "Xi'er, the law does not punish the heart, only depends on its deeds." Do you understand?"

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, and Huo Ran was a little lost.

The queen saw Yuanxi pull to her side, and solemnly patted her on the shoulder twice: "Unless that person is really rebellious, no one is qualified to deal with him, even if you are the Donglin Sect Master and I am the queen, it will not work." ”

Yuan Xi suddenly felt a hurricane in her heart, although she had long known the truth that someone had to sacrifice to do great things, and she also knew that she had no obligation and responsibility to save Lan Yu, but she still felt heartache.

Lan Yu is an abandoned child in the hands of her biological father, is it possible that at this moment, even she has to let go? Yuan Xi held back his tears and tried not to shed his eyes.

Looking at Yuan Xi's stunned appearance, the queen's face suddenly became a little more resolute: "You can't save her, but she can save us all." The queen leaned slightly, leaned in Yuan Xi's ear and said, "Lan Yu shouldn't be alive." Your brother is about to marry Chenxiang, and at this time, no matter what old feelings you have, you should give up. You are the daughter-in-law of the royal family, and you have to maintain the royal face, remember?"

Yuan Xi looked at the queen in astonishment, and muttered: "Mother, queen mother, you know everything about Cheng Yong and Lan Yu?"

The queen lowered her eyelids and said indifferently: "This palace has known it from the beginning, but I just want to see when you plan to confess to this palace." ”

Yuan Xi opened his mouth: "Queen Mother, I ......"

"There is no need to explain, in fact, Bengong also figured it out later, you are not only my daughter-in-law, but also the adopted daughter of the Wei family and the sister of Wei Chengyong. As their relative, if you don't even protect the people of the Wei family, this palace will suspect your scheming. Xi'er, you're a lover, which is good, but this time, you must not be emotional. The queen squeezed her hand hard: "Go ahead." ”