"Minjun, mother brought you a gift."
Madam Chen clapped her hands, and the maids outside came in one after another holding gifts.
Persian fabrics, pearl powder from the West Sea, brocade from Shu, black ink brushes for drawing eyebrows, and newly made rouge from the Treasure Pavilion.
The gifts piled up into a small mountain, which was dazzling to look at.
Concubine Chen was overjoyed, but then her smile froze. "Father's official position isn't high, and the gifts Mother sent to the palace are too precious. There's no need to send more in the future."
"It's nothing. We have too much stuff at home to store anything. Forget it, let's not talk about our family anymore. Let's talk about Ni and the emperor."
As soon as Mrs. Chen mentioned the emperor, a shy look immediately appeared on Concubine Chen's face.
Mrs. Chen lifted her sleeves and looked at her arms. She had a smile on her face when she lifted her sleeves. As soon as her sleeves were lifted, the bright red blood on her arm stung her eyes.
Madam Chen quickly lowered her sleeves to cover her arms, "You've been in the palace for more than half a year, how come... Oh... You really are..."
"A mother calms her anger, and a daughter is useless."
Madam Chen sighed first, then patted Concubine Chen's hand heavily, "Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures."
Mrs. Chen's eyes were full of meaning, and Concubine Chen immediately understood her intention.
"Your father is the head of the four ministers who protect the country, and your mother hopes that you can become the head of the harem. The Chen family has never had a queen. If you are the first to conceive a dragon fetus, our family will rise to prominence."
Concubine Chen understood her mother's expectations and worked hard to become the queen.
Old Madam Chen and Madam Chen hold opposite attitudes. They believe that the Chen family has no military achievements, so the throne will definitely not fall on the Chen family.
She tried to persuade him many times but to no avail, and gradually she stopped talking.
?A Xiang registered the gifts and put them into the warehouse.
The palace maid stood on tiptoe to look at the booklet, silently wrote down the amount, and then found an excuse to come out and report it to the emperor.
After hearing this, Zhu Bifeng's face darkened and he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.
When he first came to power, he was still young and needed assistance. The four ministers who protected the country were like four strong oxen pulling him forward.
Now the four oxen have grown old and blocked the road to Xuanhua State, and Zhu Beifeng is in trouble.
It’s hot in summer and I have no appetite. I always want to drink tea from the Cining Palace.
The greater the power, the fewer people can have a say. Most of the concubines in the harem do not understand government affairs. The four ministers of state protection do understand, but there are some things that Zhu Bifeng is unwilling to tell her.
Gu Yinwei personally brewed a pot of tea. Zhu Bifeng held the tea in his hand and smelled the fragrance of the tea, feeling calm inside.
The water used to make tea is the Baihua Dew from the foot of Yinwu Mountain. The tea leaves are also freshly picked before Qingming Festival. The tea set is from Ru Kiln, and the teacups are painted with four kinds of flowers: plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.
Zhu Bifeng frowned and drank his tea. Gu Yinwei sat with him. Xiaoyu brought fresh grapes and watermelon. Zhu Bifeng didn't touch the fruits at all. He drank a cup of tea for half an hour.
"Is the Emperor worried?"
"The Queen Mother's heart is as clear as a mirror. Nothing can be hidden from your discerning eyes."
"Is the Emperor worried about the four ministers who protect the country?"
"Exactly."
"The four ministers who protect the country have worked diligently for many years, and they deserve to enjoy a peaceful life."
Zhu Bifeng agreed. It seemed that he had to find a way to weaken the power of the four ministers of national defense.
While the two were talking, a eunuch came in to report that Madam Chen wanted to see her.
Zhu Bifeng stood up to say goodbye. Gu Yinwei said, "Your Majesty, please don't leave in a hurry. Let's hear what Madam Chen has to say."
Mrs. Chen wore three jade hairpins at her side, a gold necklace around her neck, two jade bracelets on her wrists, a round-necked kesi blouse with wide sleeves, a pomegranate skirt, and two pearls on her shoes. As she entered the door, she shouted "Long Live the King!"
"Long live the Empress Dowager."
"No need to be polite, please take a seat."
Chuchu led Madam Chen to a seat, and Madam Chen casually plucked out two jade hairpins and stuffed them into Chuchu's hands.
"Thank you for serving me tea, Auntie. I'll give you two jade hairpins as a token of my respect. Please play with them."
The nanny beside Madam Chen looked at Gu Yinwei curiously, and Bian Tao scolded her, "Don't be rude."
Mammy hurriedly lowered her head, folded her hands in front of her belly, and looked down at her toes.
Gu Yinwei is not good at speaking politely; she likes to get straight to the point and express her true feelings.
Mrs. Chen sat down and gave out gifts non-stop. She first gave a jade hairpin to Chuchu, and then gave a racecourse to Gu Yinwei.
"There is a pasture on the outskirts of the capital that is lush with grass and water. My younger brother has purchased three hundred fine horses. Here are the keys to the pasture. Your Majesty, please accept them."
A smile appeared on Gu Yinwei's lips. Mrs. Chen was so generous that she gave him a ranch at once.
"No merit, no reward. Madam Chen's gift is too valuable. I feel unworthy of it."
"The ranch is just a gift for meeting you. Please say a few good words for my daughter in front of the Emperor. The Chen family will never forget your kindness."
"The emperor is not my biological son, so I am not sure what he likes."
"That's all right." Mrs. Chen became more and more proud as she spoke.
Zhu Bifeng, who was behind the screen, frowned even more tightly when he heard this.
Mrs. Chen talked big, Bian Tao glanced sideways, Chuchu added water to the teacup, filled the tea and gave it to her, "Why don't you leave yet?"
"Concubine Chen has been learning how to manage a household since she was young. She has managed Huayi Palace from top to bottom in perfect order. Your Majesty is really tired of looking after the harem. You might as well assign some of the dirty and tiring work to Concubine Chen. Your Majesty's status is the most precious in the harem, so you must not overwork yourself."
"Mrs. Chen has a point."
The nanny following behind Concubine Chen pouted and thought to herself, what can a widow do?
Madam is too polite to her. Now everyone in our Chen family is rushing to curry favor with her.
Mrs. Chen smiled and continued to give gifts. The fact that the Empress Dowager refused to accept any of them could only mean that the gifts were not valuable enough.
"Your Majesty, there's an island in the middle of a lake west of the city. It's perfect for viewing lotus flowers in the summer. It would be best for Your Majesty to take a boat ride on the lake during your free time."
"I understand. I won't go to the Lakeside Pavilion. I can go to the racecourse outside the capital with the emperor."
"I will go back and prepare to welcome the Holy Emperor."
Mrs. Chen left happily, and Zhu Bifeng walked out from behind the screen with cold eyes.
"Master Chen earns three hundred taels of silver a month, and he's building a racecourse and an island in the middle of the lake. Master Chen's money is way too much.
"The Chen family has more than just money." Gu Yinwei paused here.
"I've known for a long time that the Chen family has ambitions, but it's inappropriate for them to covet the position of empress."
Gu Yinwei listened to Zhu Bifeng quietly, responding to him a word or two from time to time.
After leaving the Cining Palace, Madam Chen went straight out of the palace to prepare for welcoming the emperor, so Concubine Chen did not know that her mother had taken the initiative to get a lot of dirty and tiring work for her.
Concubine Mei practiced Tai Chi sword techniques, Concubine Xi played the piano, Concubine Qi researched new recipes, and Concubine Chen supervised the palace maids sweeping fallen leaves in the scorching summer sun.
Ah Xiang held an umbrella for Chen Fei. The makeup on Chen Fei's face melted away by the sun. She kept complaining in her heart that her mother was simply looking for trouble and was making her suffer.
The sound of cicadas chirping was incessant, the sun was high in the sky, and the soles of her shoes were almost melted by the sun. Others hid in the shade to drink herbal tea and eat iced melon, but she had to stand in the sun and sweep the floor.
Concubine Chen felt that she had been cheated, and the person who cheated her was her own mother.
The heat was so severe that Concubine Chen stood for an hour before her neck tilted and she fell backwards.
Ah Xiang shouted loudly: "Come here, Empress Chen has a heat stroke."
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