As night falls and red candles shine, Zheng Lanyin adjusts her accessories over and over again.
"Bai Shao, Hong Mei." She called out twice, and only Bai Shao came in. She was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn't notice this at all: "Has the person who is going to pick me up for the palace banquet not arrived yet?"
Qianyi Pavilion was very remote, close to the three imperial concubines' palaces to the west. Even if she opened all the windows and doors, she could not hear the sound of stringed instruments at the New Year banquet.
"At this time of year in previous years, the annual banquet would have almost begun. Is it because I live in a remote place that the palace servants who invited me to the banquet have not arrived yet?"
"Do you think my clothes look good? Does it make me look shabby?"
"Master." Bai Shao poured a cup of hot tea for Zheng Lanyin, but she waved it away with one hand: "Take it away. I have applied lip balm with great difficulty. I can't smudge it. Go outside and see if the palace maid who invited me to the banquet has arrived."
The tea splashed out from the teacup and splashed onto the back of Bai Shao's hand, which soon turned red. She wiped the water off the back of her hands and bowed to Zheng Lanyin: "Okay, Master, I'll go check it out right away."
She walked out of the door. Hongmei, who was sitting in the yard eating melon seeds, raised her head and said with a mocking smile, "Are you punished again?"
Bai Shao covered the back of her hand and said nothing.
"Since we have worked together for many years, I advise you to find a new master as soon as possible and get out of here." Hongmei spat out the melon seed shells in her mouth: "The master has lost power, and you are just wasting time staying here."
"As slaves, do we have any choice?" Bai Shao looked at Hong Mei: "Don't do anything that betrays your master."
"You are so loyal to her, how did she treat you?" Hongmei stood up and patted herself: "Back then, she said she would let you out of the palace when you turned 25, but what happened? You are already 28 this year, and you followed her to this shabby place to be beaten and scolded, and treated coldly by other palace servants."
"Go and take a look at Mingyue Palace. Even the dog at the gate is more respectable than us."
"You want to work for Mingyue Palace. Does Mingyue Palace want you?" Bai Shao advised kindly, "The palace cannot tolerate servants who betray their masters. Hongmei, don't bring yourself into trouble."
"If you want to be a loyal dog, don't drag me down with you." Hongmei sneered at her and took out two taels of silver from her bosom: "After tonight, I will not be working here anymore. You can keep this money for yourself."
Bai Shao watched Hong Mei walk away with her waist twisted, and reached out to hold the two taels of silver on the stone table in her palm. There are only a few concubines in the palace, and Hongmei is a top-ranking maidservant beside the master. Even if these concubines want to maintain superficial kindness, they will not allow Hongmei to work in their palaces, so as not to be accused of taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
Apart from the empress in the palace, who else would dare to accept Hongmei?
Maybe... it's an assignment for the Palace Province, or the Shangyi Shangshi and other places, which can also recruit people.
The silver was warm, Bai Shao put it into her sleeve, walked out of Qianyi Pavilion, and strolled in the palace alleys. On New Year’s Eve, the palace maids would put on rouge, wear silk flowers, and gather in groups of three or four to chat and laugh.
From time to time, laughter could be heard from the palace walls. Bai Shao stopped, leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky. Above her head there was only the dark sky and a lonely red lantern.
She knew that no one would invite the master to the annual banquet, and she also knew that if she went back now, the master would only vent his anger on her.
The wind was a little cold. She covered her aching belly and thought of the girl with the bright eyes and the cloak she wore on her.
Warm, soft, with a faint fragrance.
If this palace was a thorn bush that stretched as far as the eye could see, then that girl was the little magpie that accidentally landed on the thorn bush.
She has a pair of free wings and a cheerful and moving voice.
"Ming, little pig." Prince Chen took two steps, turned around and said to Jiuzhu who was following him, "Let Xiangjuan stay with you at night, and take her with you no matter what you do."
Jiuzhu nodded: "Okay."
"Then let's go." He looked towards the main entrance of the hall and waited for Jiuzhu to walk beside him before stepping into the hall.
"His Royal Highness Prince Chen has arrived, and Princess Ming has arrived."
The people who were talking and laughing in low voices immediately fell silent, stood up, looked at the man and woman at the door, and saluted King Chen.
Some people were also secretly observing the expressions of Ming Jingzhou and his wife. Last time, His Majesty held a banquet for Concubine Su, the daughter of the Ming family appeared with the concubine. This time, the annual banquet was attended by Prince Chen. What was the attitude of the Ming family towards the princes?
Sun Caiyao put down the teacup in her hand and saw that the seat where Prince Chen took Ming Jiuzhu was the first in the list of county chairmen.
The seating order at royal banquets was very particular. Ming Jiuzhu, the daughter of an external official who was given the title of county lord, sat in a higher position than the county lords who had royal blood. The clerk from the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of seating arrangements did not step forward to stop them. Instead, they bowed to the two men.
"Fourth brother's wife." Princess Jing, who was closest to her, greeted her with a smile, "This is your first time attending a palace banquet as a member of the royal family. If you find anything you are not used to, feel free to tell me."
"Thank you, third sister-in-law." Realizing that she had been staring at Ming Jiuzhu for too long, Sun Caiyao quickly retracted her gaze and nodded and smiled at Princess Jing.
"Have you seen the old county lady who is below County Lady Ming?" Princess Jing smiled and spoke in a friendly manner, "Her great-grandmother was a royal princess. Originally, there was no title for girls of her generation. When my father fell into trouble, the old county lady secretly asked someone to send something to the palace. Later, when my father ascended the throne, she became very close to Concubine Su. His Majesty, out of consideration for the kindness she showed him when he was in the palace, made an exception and gave her the title of county lady."
Close to Concubine Su?
Sun Caiyao had some impression of this old county lady. In the past few years, this old county lady had always sat at the first position in the county chairperson row. However, after entering the palace today, she sat in the second position without thinking.
The people in the palace are all foxes who have become spirits. They are very good at judging the situation.
After giving all the necessary instructions, even peeling two fruits for Jiuzhu himself, Prince Chen got up and left.
After taking two steps, he turned back and said, "If someone makes you unhappy, just hit him in the face with the cup. If it breaks, it's my fault."
"Your Highness." Xiang Juan couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, I will take good care of the county lady."
Jiuzhu touched the cup carefully. It would be a pity to use such a delicately crafted cup to hit someone.
Xiangjuan noticed her actions and suspected that no matter what His Highness said, Princess Ming might take it seriously.
When His Highness finally walked away, Xiangjuan poured a cup of tea for Jiuzhu. Jiuzhu found an embroidered cushion under the table, dragged it out and placed it next to Xiangjuan: "Aunt, please sit down first."
"Thank you, Princess." Xiangjuan sat down behind Jiuzhu, glanced at everyone present, and smiled gently.
This kind of small embroidered cushion was originally prepared for the masters' attendants, but the aristocratic families had a strict hierarchy, so most of these embroidered cushions were useless, and less than two or three out of ten slaves could sit on them.
She quietly explained to Jiuzhu the identities of everyone present, regardless of gender, their family relationships, and how close they were to the royal family. She explained everything clearly.
Jiuzhu looked at her with admiration: "Aunt is so amazing."
"I am the fourth-rank female official in charge of Mingyue Palace. If I can't even figure out these things, how can I have the face to serve Her Majesty?" Xiangjuan was amused by Jiuzhu's admiring eyes. A female official like her would be honored by the royal family for the rest of her life when she gets old, and lower-ranking officials would also have to pay their respects to her when they saw her.
Because the queen is a noble concubine, she is half a rank higher than the palace maids serving other concubines.
The senior palace maid is the master's right-hand man and the master's mouthpiece, so some palace maids and eunuchs in charge would secretly go to the master's parents' home to ask for benefits in the name of their master. The bride’s family members cannot enter and leave the harem at will, and even if they are deceived, they will not be aware of it.
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
After the announcement was made three times in a row, the court officials and ladies all stood up, straightened their clothes, faced the door, and saluted in unison: "Long live His Majesty. Long live His Majesty. Long live His Majesty."
After bowing three times, Jiuzhu heard the county lady beside him say in an old but powerful voice: "Live a thousand years, madam."
"Long live the Queen!"
The old county lady glanced at Jiuzhu, and Jiuzhu also glanced at her.
The two of them sang this worship almost at the same time.
The civil officials looked hesitantly at Concubine Su who was standing with His Majesty. The huge phoenix hairpin on her head was so dazzling that it hurt their eyes a little.
All the royal relatives followed suit and shouted, should they shout or not?
In previous annual banquets, although Imperial Concubine Su accompanied His Majesty, everyone would just greet her vaguely with a “Greetings, Her Majesty”. Who set a bad example this year?
There was a moment of silence in the hall until the two brothers of the Ming family, Minister Wu, and officials above the third rank of the Ministry of Rites all made the gesture of bowing, and everyone came to their senses.
"Long live the queen, long live the queen."
This time, most of the officials and their wives in the hall bowed down.
Seeing the increasingly delighted smile on His Majesty's face, everyone understood that this was the result His Majesty wanted.
He Tingyu sighed, and when he sang the third prayer, he ignored the anger in Minister Yang's eyes, bowed and kowtowed: "Long live the queen, long live the queen, long live the queen."
The third time the worship was sung in a loud and uniform voice. Emperor Longfeng took Concubine Su's hand, walked to the high seat and stood still: "You all share the same feelings as me, I am deeply moved."
Thoughts?
What's your intention?
"I have known the Imperial Concubine since we were young. Over the years, she has given birth to my princes, managed the harem, and has been respectful, frugal and modest, and has never complained..."
Managing the harem?
Your Majesty has been on the throne for so many years, when has there ever been a new person entering the harem?
As for the four words "respectful, frugal, modest and modest", as long as Your Majesty does not feel embarrassed when saying them out loud, they can pretend to be so.
"Over the years, the Imperial Concubine has always been loyal to me and has always shared my worries. However, I have been so busy with government affairs that I have always neglected her."
When the other concubines heard this, their expressions varied. His Majesty was either in Taiyang Palace, Mingyue Palace, or on the way to Mingyue Palace. How could this be called neglect?
The more the civil officials listened, the more they felt that there was something wrong with what Your Majesty said. What does Your Majesty want to do?
What do you want to do?
"Recently, a minister made a memorial, saying that the palace cannot remain without an heir. I tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night, and finally had to admit that this minister was right."
The ministers looked at each other, trying to guess who was the meddling person.
When His Majesty first ascended the throne, he wanted to enthrone the imperial concubine as empress, but in the end he gave up because too many ministers objected.
They originally thought that His Majesty's feelings for Concubine Su were so deep only because he spent day and night with her in the palace. As more women entered the palace later, the feelings naturally faded. All men understand this.
Who would have thought that in the more than ten years since His Majesty ascended the throne, there has not been a single new person in the harem. Everyone tried to stop him from making Concubine Su the queen, so he simply didn't make one and let Concubine Su dominate the harem.
As Your Majesty has firmly sat on the throne and holds control of the world's military power, they no longer dare to mention the matter of establishing a queen in front of Your Majesty. They are afraid that His Majesty will get excited and make Concubine Su the empress, and they will not be able to stop him.
So who did this?
The officials from the six ministries looked at each other. Ming Jingzhou and Ming Jinghai exchanged glances and lowered their heads in silence.
Your Majesty is clearly making things up.
"The Imperial Concubine Su is virtuous, obedient, thrifty, and respectful. She is worthy of being my empress." Emperor Longfeng finally said the words that scared countless officials: "Tomorrow I will bring the Imperial Concubine to worship at the ancestral temple and enthrone her as empress."
Concubine Su's beautiful eyes trembled slightly, but under the gaze of the ministers, she did not reveal her emotions and just maintained a reserved smile.
Although she didn't know when His Majesty started planning this, she knew that he must have been planning this for a very long time.
"His Majesty……"
"What?" When Emperor Longfeng was not smiling, the court officials would remember that he was the final winner among many princes competing for the throne.
"You were the ones who didn't want me to have a queen at first, and you were the ones who wanted me to have one later." Emperor Longfeng's eyes turned cold: "Or do you mean that you have to have the final say in my harem?"
"I dare not!"
"What are you afraid of?" Emperor Longfeng fell silent. The whole hall was silent. Many people did not want Concubine Su to be the empress, but in front of His Majesty's majesty, no one dared to be the first to speak out.
Someone secretly glanced at the two brothers of the Ming family out of the corner of their eyes, but at this critical moment, the two men were like old monks in meditation, with their heads down and not moving.
Some people also went to visit the homes of several princes' fathers-in-law to see how they would react. But they were as steady as old dogs, and their attitude was even more submissive than the two brothers of the Ming family.
They are all going crazy. When Concubine Su becomes the Queen, Prince Chen will be the legitimate son. If Your Majesty wants Prince Chen to succeed to the throne, it will be a legitimate thing.
"Tonight is a night for the emperor and his subjects to enjoy themselves together. You don't have to be so reserved." As the atmosphere became increasingly tense, Emperor Longfeng smiled, as if he was the benevolent emperor as usual: "Everyone, please take your seats."
Yun Yanze's hands hidden in his sleeves were trembling slightly, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
So that's it. So that's it.
In recent years, whether they were secretly raising advisers or interacting with outsiders, the emperor watched with cold eyes. It turned out that it was all for today.
My father locked them up in the palace. Everyone knew that they were punished for their mistakes, but no one knew what crime they had committed.
Among the princes' in-laws, which one has not done something tricky in private?
They didn't know what their father had found out, and they didn't dare to gamble with the honor and status of the entire family. So tonight's annual banquet is a gamble between my father and these outsiders.
The emperor was betting that they would not dare to object, that they would be afraid, and that they would compromise.
Whether it was the Zheng family, his mother, or him, they were all chickens that were about to be beheaded, and the rest of the in-laws and the princes were all monkeys being played around by their father.
There is no more old-fashioned and tacky method than killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
But it is also the most effective means.
No one wants to be the chicken that gets beheaded, even though being a monkey would also be laughed at.
"Your Highness?" Sun Caiyao gently held his hand and picked a piece of dessert for him: "Try this dessert."
“Thank you.” Yun Yanze took the snack, brought it to his mouth, took a small bite, and put it on the bowl. He did not touch the snack again until the cold dishes were served.
"County Lady Ming, try this lotus root dumpling." The old county lady sitting next to Jiuzhu said with a smile: "It's crispy on the outside and fragrant on the inside. It's very delicious."
"Thank you." Jiuzhu thanked him and picked up a lotus root and put it into the bowl.
"Princess Ming grew up in Lingzhou. I heard that Lingzhou has many mountains and rivers and is rich in nine-hole lotus roots. If you break off a lotus root node, you can pull out very long thin threads. I wonder which kind of lotus root, Lingzhou or the one in the capital, will pull out longer threads?"
Jiuzhu raised her head and looked around for the person who was talking, but she couldn't find him after searching for a while.
"County Lady, I am here." Yang Shilang saw Ming Jiuzhu's eyes moving around and didn't see him, so he stood up and said, "Excuse me, County Lady, what is the meaning of the relationship?"
Ming Jingzhou put down his chopsticks, wiped the corners of his mouth, and looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue who was speaking with a smile.
As for Prince Chen, who was sitting in the prince's seat, his expression had completely darkened.
Everyone's eyes turned to Ming Jiuzhu. Sun Caiyao thought she would be uneasy, but she was not. She just sat there with her big eyes full of confusion, as if she didn't understand why the other party asked such a strange question.
"My Lord, I am very sorry." Jiuzhu smiled apologetically at Yang Shilang, "I grew up in a Taoist temple and have never planted lotus roots. If you are interested in these, I will write a letter and ask the elders before answering your question."
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, no matter where the lotus roots come from, they are still connected once they are cut, but this does not mean that they are related to each other." Minister Yang did not care about Jiuzhu's answer. He bowed and looked at Emperor Longfeng on the high throne: "The relationship between His Royal Highness Prince Qi and the Zheng family is exactly the same. He has been the grandson of the Zheng family since he was born. This is not something he can choose. The Zheng family has brought everything upon themselves, but His Royal Highness is innocent. Please Your Majesty, please understand."
Jiuzhu understood that the other party didn't care about her answer at all, but was just using her mouth to plead for Prince Qi.
The people in the capital have dirty hearts.
"It's not like it can't be torn apart." Jiuzhu explained the problem to the other party very seriously: "As long as you stand far enough away when you pull it apart, the thread will always break. If it doesn't break, it must be because you are not standing far enough away."
Minister Yang turned his head to look at her. He did not expect that the daughter of the Ming family would speak at this critical juncture.
Smart people should choose to shut up at this moment.
"Your Excellency must not have been in the kitchen before." Jiuzhu saw the other party looking at her and explained patiently and kindly: "But it doesn't matter, you will understand it in the future."
Minister Yang said with a stern face: "Thank you, county lady, for clearing up my confusion."
Now you can shut your mouth.
"You're welcome." Jiuzhu said with a smile, "If you still don't understand, you can try to open it yourself."
Minister Yang no longer paid attention to Jiuzhu, walked to the center of the hall, and said loudly to Emperor Longfeng: "Your Majesty, please restore the title of the Fourth Prince, and do not let outsiders hurt the father-son relationship between you two."
Originally, he wanted to use the topic of lingering feelings to impress His Majesty, but this beautiful wish was disrupted by Ming Jiuju, and everything became out of place.
I thought that this little girl who was raised in a remote county was not valued by the Ming family and was timid and cowardly, so it would be easiest to fool her. I didn't expect that she would completely disrupt my rhythm.
If he had known this would happen, he would not have chosen her as the lead-in.
"It's New Year's Day, and I wanted to leave the account until after the New Year, but unfortunately someone is so impatient." Ming Jingzhou smiled slightly, touched the thing in his arms, and waited for Minister Yang to continue speaking.
Ming Jinghai lowered his head, took a sip of wine and said nothing. My third brother has always been a smiling but dagger-hiding person. I'm afraid he had already calculated what was going to happen today.
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is impulsive and has great respect for the Prince of Qi. If he heard some rumors about the Prince of Qi and pleaded for him at the New Year's banquet, it would not be surprising.
But for Prince Qi at this moment, this was not a plea, but pushing him into the fire pit.
"Minister Yang, today is a family reunion dinner. We will discuss matters concerning the court after the court session begins." Emperor Longfeng raised his hand to stop him from continuing: "I think Minister Yang has drunk too much and needs to go out to sober up."
"Your Majesty, I am not drunk." Yang pushed away the eunuch who was trying to support him. "Your Majesty said this is a family dinner. Prince Qi is your child. Why can't we talk about him now?"
Concubine Su glanced at Yun Yanze, whose face had turned blue. If she hadn't been concerned about the man beside her, she would have laughed out loud on the spot. Perhaps Yun Yanze himself did not expect that Minister Yang's honesty was a double-edged sword, which he could use to stab others but also to hurt himself.
"His Royal Highness Prince Qi is virtuous, humble, considerate, and filial to Your Majesty. How could Your Majesty be so heartless as to abandon his filial piety for the sake of other princes?" Minister Yang said loudly, "Your Majesty's move is not only for me, but also for other gentlemen who sympathize with Prince Qi's plight."
The officials sitting around Minister Yang all shrank their necks. They didn’t know who the “other gentlemen” were, but it had nothing to do with them anyway.
As for the representative of the "other princes", His Royal Highness Prince Chen smiled, drank a glass of wine, and waited quietly for the next performance.
"Father." Yun Yanze knew that he could not let Minister Yang continue speaking. In front of everyone, he had to stand up and express his attitude.
"Your Majesty." Ming Jingzhou saw Yun Yanze standing up and followed him. "I think what Minister Yang said makes sense. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is your prince. There is nothing that cannot be mentioned at the family banquet."
He Tingyu looked at Ming Jingzhou in surprise. This shouldn't be the case. Minister Yang was a straightforward person who did things without considering the consequences. How could Ming Jingzhou be so reckless?
Seeing Ming Jingzhou stand up, everyone put down their chopsticks, vaguely feeling that something was wrong.
"Before entering the palace, I found out some things about the Zheng family and Concubine Zheng. I just chose to remain silent because I could not bear to see Prince Qi see the miserable faces of his relatives on New Year's Eve." Ming Jingzhou took out a thick stack of things from his arms. There were various IOUs with interest, confessions of enclosed fields, and even evidence that Concubine Zheng bribed the officials of the royal stable.
"In the fifth year of Longfeng, Concubine Zheng used the excuse of being seriously ill to let the fourth prince take care of him in the palace, but secretly sent assassins to Lingzhou to kill Concubine Su and His Royal Highness Prince Chen. Fortunately, the concubine was kind-hearted and saved a girl who fell into the water on the way, so she did not go out as planned."
"In the sixth year of Longfeng, the Zheng family allowed their clansmen to enclose hundreds of acres of land, causing dozens of farmers to lose their farmland and become homeless."
"In the eighth year of Longfeng, the Zheng family accepted a bribe of 5,000 taels of silver and secured a seventh-rank county magistrate position for someone else."
"In the tenth year of Longfeng, Concubine Zheng beat a palace maid to death with a stick and covered it up by saying she was seriously ill. Poor family members of this palace maid are still waiting for her to return."
"In the spring of the eleventh year of Longfeng, two eunuchs in Concubine Zheng's palace died suddenly for unknown reasons."
"Longfeng..."
As Ming Jingzhou listed the evidences one by one, the entire hall became so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
In front of so many royal relatives, court officials and ladies of the court, all the crimes committed by Prince Qi's biological mother and his maternal family were laid out clearly, almost cutting off all hopes of Prince Qi to ascend the throne.
Unless all other princes died, Prince Qi would no longer have a chance to be the emperor, even though these things might not have much to do with him.
"Sir Shangshu." Zhou Rui swallowed his saliva, shrank his neck and asked Li En: "Brother Ming, what's wrong?"
In front of so many people, all the face and dignity of Prince Qi were torn off. Even a life-and-death blood feud was no more than this.
I've never seen him have any opinion towards Prince Qi before, so why did he pin Prince Qi to the ground and slap him in the face today?
Ming Jingzhou was still enumerating the crimes of Concubine Zheng and the Zheng family, even mentioning the two hundred taels of silver that the Zheng family owed to a cloth shop.
"Your Majesty, this is the relevant evidence I have found." After stating all the charges, Emperor Jingzhou Longfeng of the Ming Dynasty bowed deeply and said, "I beg Your Majesty to severely punish these evil ministers to serve as a warning to others and give justice to the people."
Everyone looked at the thick stack of evidence placed in His Majesty's hands, thinking in a daze, Ming Jingzhou was the Minister of Rites, not the Minister of Justice, nor the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, right?
As if this was not enough, Ming Jingzhou looked up at the pale Yun Yanze and said, "Your Highness, I said something very well. There are no lotus roots that cannot be cut, only cooks who are not careful enough. Please do not blame me for revealing these things today. I did not intend to target you, but for the people of the world."
"Your Highness is magnanimous and kind, and loves the people. I think you can understand my passion." He turned his head to look at the dumbfounded Minister Yang, and sighed: "If it weren't for Lord Yang, I would not be willing to say this at this time today."
Cruel, so cruel.
After you slap someone in the face, you have to get them to say it doesn’t hurt at all.
Prince Qi looked at Ming Jingzhou and reluctantly said, "Lord Ming is not wrong. It is my maternal family that did something wrong."
"It's not just the Zheng family that's at fault." Ming Jingzhou added with a smile, "Your Highness's biological mother, Concubine Zheng, is also at fault."
"Father." Prince Qi knelt in front of Emperor Longfeng in a trance. He no longer wanted to know how others were looking at him at this moment. He rested his forehead on the ground, unable to even utter the words of begging.
Ming Jingzhou dared to say this in front of so many people, he must have solid evidence.
When he turned his head, he saw Ming Jiuzhu, who was sitting at the first place in the row of county chairmen, picked up a piece of lotus root and put it into his mouth.
It seemed as if everything that happened in the hall was not as important as the lotus root clip in front of her.
Noticing his gaze, she looked up.
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