Chapter 132: The Tragic Queen vs. the Deeply Affectionate Emperor (6)
Spring Court Hall.
The air was filled with a faint scent, and the table was filled with all kinds of treasures and curios. The Empress Dowager picked them up one by one to taste them.
"Why did the Empress Dowager summon me?" Ma Jia
, who was at the other end of the table, could no longer sit still. "The Fourteenth Emperor is now old enough to marry. Do you, as his aunt, have any suitable candidates?" The Empress Dowager played with the jade ruyi in her hand, carefully observing her sister's reaction.
Ma Jia's eyelids twitched, and she suddenly became clear-headed, but she still pretended to be stupid, "I heard that the daughter of Mr. Huang is talented, virtuous, and chaste. The Empress Dowager might consider it."
"Oh, sister, do you have any other suitable candidates you have heard of?" The Empress Dowager saw that she already knew that she was just pretending to be stupid, so she put down the jade ruyi in her hand heavily.
The jade ruyi was placed on the table, making a crisp sound. Ma Jia pretended not to know that the high and mighty empress dowager was angry, and continued: "I heard that Ruan Zhuangyuan's sister is also a gentle and beautiful girl, and she can also be considered."
"Sister!" The empress dowager finally couldn't hold it anymore, knocked on the table with her knuckles, and said: "The emperor is your nephew, a real nephew."
"I know that the emperor's status is unattainable, so I have never had any delusions." Ma Jia retreated to advance and continued to play dumb.
"Why did I not like so many daughters of our Ma Jia family who were of marriageable age? It was because they were too greedy. On their beautiful faces, there were a pair of eyes that directly revealed ambitions that were inconsistent with their abilities. If they entered the harem, they would definitely destroy our Ma Jia family." The empress dowager looked straight into her eyes.
The daughters who were raised by the family with a lot of money still put the interests of the family first in their bones. Even a daughter slave like Ma Jia, who was concerned about the future of her family, softened her attitude immediately:
"Shi'er is still young and does not meet the requirements for the election."
The Queen Mother saw that her attitude had softened, and she could not hide her joy on her face, "I am the most honorable Queen Mother of Darong. I personally chose the queen. Who has the right to question it!"
"Shi'er is ignorant of the world. If she enters the palace, it will offend the emperor and you, right?" Ma Jia thought that her only daughter, whom she had raised, was about to
enter the palace. Her heart ached as if she were cutting flesh. The Queen Mother immediately held her hand and said earnestly: "I know that my sister loves her daughter. I love my son in the same way. If Shi'er enters the palace, I will definitely not let her suffer any grievances."
"I will go back and discuss it with my husband first." Ma Jia broke free from her hand.
The Queen Mother gave a look, and the palace servant standing by immediately presented a brocade bag.
"What is this?" Ma Jia hesitated on the tray.
"This is my promise to you." The Queen Mother resumed her manners. Now she was commanding her sister as the most noble woman in the world.
Although the Emperor did not agree to establish a queen, the Queen Mother had no time to consider his feelings. As soon as the Emperor's imperial edict for the selection of concubines was read out in the court, the ministers in the court had decided which daughter of the right age to send to the palace for the selection.
The harem, which had been silent for a long time, began to liven up because of these concubines.
Either the talented daughter of Mr. Huang was pushed into the water and caught a cold and could not continue to participate in the selection, or the beautiful daughter of Wu Zhongshu was found to have a violent temper and no morals and was driven out of the palace. In a short period of time, half of the competitive concubines in the harem were gone.
The Emperor was unwilling to establish a queen and take concubines. When he heard the news from the concubines' palace, he was overjoyed and naively thought that the fewer people there were, the less likely it would be to establish a queen.
On this day, while the concubines went to Liuyun Pavilion to accompany the Queen Mother to appreciate the lotus, he prepared to ride a bicycle and relax in the imperial garden. As soon as he got on the bicycle, the palace servants saw a delicate beauty falling into the water on the bridge not far away.
There was a splash and a loud noise, which attracted the attention of the palace servants around him.
"Your Majesty, it seems that a concubine fell into the water." Xiao Yangzi knelt on the ground and asked his master.
"Don't worry about it. The palace guards will save her." The emperor was indifferent and had no interest in looking at her.
These days, he was detained in this palace by the empress dowager every day and had no chance to leave the palace. It was really boring. It was not easy to get some peace and quiet, and seeing these concubines who made trouble made him even more upset.
Juan'er, the maid who followed Dong Boshu into the palace, stole a glance at the emperor sitting on the Western toys and found that he didn't seem to notice this side. She deliberately shouted for help to attract attention.
But the emperor was not a curious person, so he simply pushed his bicycle to his Four Seasons Palace. He didn't want to get involved in the affairs of these boring palace women.
Dong Boshu was pulled ashore by the palace guards, vomited the water in her stomach, and then she raised her head weakly. As a result, she did not see the person she wanted to see in the crowd. Her eyes suddenly dimmed and were full of disappointment.
However, the beautiful girls who came back from admiring the lotus noticed her thoughts, covered their mouths and laughed and talked about her, saying that she tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice.
For a while, Dong Boshu became the laughing stock of the palace.
The news spread to the Chunchao Palace, and Aunt Sura told this to her master for fun.
The Queen Mother chuckled, "This little girl is not as simple as everyone thinks."
Aunt Sura was massaging her master's legs while waiting for the next step with her big eyes.
"At such a young age, she plotted against my son and almost caused him to die. As the third daughter of a concubine in the Dong family, it was not her turn to run for the election. But as luck would have it, her elder sister was caught meeting her lover in a secret meeting the day before she entered the palace, and Qingbai was not there." The Empress Dowager
looked at her confidant, "Aunt Sura, do you think this matter will be so simple?" Aunt Sura stopped what she was doing and shook her head seriously, "I underestimated this person. I usually thought that Miss Dong was weak and frail, but I didn't expect that she would have so many thoughts."
"The means are indeed cruel." The Empress Dowager picked up the small wooden hammer and fiddled with it gently, "It's a pity that she is still young, and there are still a lot of clues that have not been hidden well."
"What do you mean?" Aunt Sura continued to look up at her master.
"Her elder sister's lover is still living happily in the red-light district!" The Queen Mother patted her face, feeling pity and hate for her, and said: "You, you have been in the palace for so many years, but you are still so naive."
"It's all thanks to you for protecting me." Aunt Sura took her hand and squeezed it gently, looking relieved, "Fortunately you told me, I will pay more attention to this Dong Xiunu in the future."
"I thought that Mr. Dong was too stubborn to change his ways, and that his daughter would be like that, but I didn't expect that..." The smile on the corner of the Empress Dowager's mouth was unfathomable.
(End of this chapter)
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