Zhao Ji and his son were lucky enough to marry a virtuous queen.
Empress Dowager Zheng, the wife of Emperor Daojun, Zhao Ji, was a humble and virtuous woman who never participated in politics, but she attached great importance to the issue of royal heirs.
Although Zhao Huan was not the biological son of Queen Dowager Zheng, he was very respectful to her.
At this moment, Queen Mother Zheng was furious when she heard that Zhao Huan refused to take a concubine.
"Take me to the Emperor!"
Zhao Huan arrived at the Queen's bedroom. The Queen, having been scolded by the retired Emperor, had no place to vent her anger, so she hugged Zhao Huan and punched him in the chest, then the two of them sat at the table, staring at each other.
Zhu Lian stared at him with her beautiful big eyes: "Your Majesty, are you very eager to take a concubine?"
Zhao Huan raised his finger and said, "I swear, I swear, I want to!"
"you……"
Zhu Lian rushed over, Zhao Huan hugged him, and then (Sorry. Many of the author's friends and family are reading this book, so I can't drive.)
Just as the commotion was going on, Cao Dongsheng ran in in a panic.
"The Queen Mother has arrived!"
Zhu Lian hurriedly jumped off Zhao Huan's legs, and the two of them busily tidied their clothes.
Empress Dowager Zheng said with a cold expression, "Hmph, I heard that the Emperor was being frivolous and unworthy of the responsibility of being our ancestor. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems to be the case."
Zhao Huan was shocked. This was the beginning of a new emperor. Although it was unlikely, if he continued to act like this, not only would the ministers oppose him, but even the queen mother would be disappointed in him.
"I know I was wrong."
"Your Majesty, please leave first. I have something to say to Lian'er."
Zhu Lian looked at Zhao Huan helplessly. Both of them were afraid of the empress dowager.
"Empress Dowager, your son..."
"go out!"
Zhao Huan did not dare to disobey and walked out with his head down.
Zhu Lian was timid and submissive. The empress dowager was so fierce and scary.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhao Huan walked out, Queen Dowager Zheng immediately put on a smiling face and looked at Zhu Lian kindly.
"Come, Lian'er, come here."
Zhu Lian was flattered. Just now when Zhao Huan was here, the Queen Mother Zheng looked ferocious and could go berserk at any moment. Now that Zhao Huan was gone, she became so enthusiastic again.
Queen Mother Zheng took her hand and said, "I know Huan'er is misbehaving. You should control him from now on."
Zhu Lian nodded slightly.
"Alas, we women have it very hard. Especially the emperor's women. On the surface, we are glorious, but who knows the suffering behind the scenes?"
Zhu Lian felt like he had found a close friend and immediately found the empress dowager amiable.
"However," Empress Dowager Zheng changed the subject: "Since we are the emperor's women, we should accept his taking concubines."
Zhu Lian lowered his head: "I, I..."
Queen Mother Zheng clapped her hands and said, "I know. You've been well-educated and well-mannered since childhood, so you should understand. You're very smart not to allow your family members to serve as officials in the court, and this is what I like most. The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. You must remember this at all times. Do you understand?"
Zhu Lian nodded: "I know."
"That's good. Huan'er is a willful and mischievous child. You should persuade him as Empress Zhangsun did to Li Shimin."
Zhu Lian said aggrievedly: "I, I am just afraid that the emperor will ignore me after marrying a concubine."
Queen Mother Zheng patted her hand gently and said, "Don't worry. If he dares to ignore you, tell me. Didn't you see how I deliberately gave him a cold look just now? If he dares to treat you badly in the future, I will tell you how I will deal with him."
Thinking of Zhao Huan's nervous look just now, Zhu Lian chuckled.
Zhao Huan waited outside the door anxiously. When Queen Mother Zheng got angry, she was just like Madam Rong. The Queen would definitely suffer in there, but he didn't dare to go in. He was so anxious that he rubbed his hands and feet outside.
"Dongsheng, go in secretly and take a look. Is the old queen mother being mean to the queen?"
"I won't go. That's the Queen Mother."
"Are you fucking going or not?"
"No."
"No, Cao Dongsheng. Which emperor would tolerate your insolence? If it were any other emperor, you would have lost your head seventy or eighty times already."
"Hehe, Your Majesty, you are different. You are so wise and powerful, how could you chop off a slave's head?"
Zhao Huan was satisfied: "Well, your flattery is quite good. I like it."
Queen Mother Zheng came out with a cold face, and Zhao Huan was terrified.
"Hmph! Huan'er, if you dare to treat the Queen badly in the future, I will not forgive you." After saying this, Queen Mother Zheng turned away.
Zhao Huan stared at Cao Dongsheng blankly: "What does this mean?"
Cao Dongsheng was also confused: "I don't know."
Zhao Huan slipped into the room, and Zhu Lian sat there motionless with a cold face.
Zhao Huan was a little flustered: "Well, what did the Queen Mother say to you?"
Zhu Lian didn't respond, and Zhao Huan was even more frightened: "Don't worry, if the Queen Mother is mad at you, just put the blame on me. Just say it was me who did it."
"Just say you did it." Zhu Lian said coldly.
Zhao Huan was stunned: "I don't know. How would I know what the Queen Mother said to you?"
"The Queen Mother asked me to agree to your taking a concubine."
"Really?" Zhao Huan was overjoyed. Seeing Zhu Lian's expression change, he immediately put away his smile and said, "Well, just pretend to agree. At worst, you can just say I don't agree."
"I agree."
"Ah?" Zhao Huan was surprised and delighted: "You agreed?"
"The Queen Mother said that if you dare to treat me badly, she will not let you go."
Zhao Huan rushed forward and said: "How could that be? I will treat you well even if I marry a hundred women."
Although Zhu Lian reluctantly agreed, he couldn't stop crying. This time it didn't work. No matter how Zhao Huan tried to coax her, Zhu Lian just kept crying.
Another person who was also troubled by women was Meng Gurao.
"Madam, I've told you countless times. We officials should be clean and honest. You and I have no children, so why do we need so much money? Those beggars in the west of the city don't even have a place to live. These days I've been thinking of using some money to build them a few houses to keep them from freezing in the winter."
"You old thing, have I ever enjoyed a single day of happiness since I married you? You're a living Buddha, I wouldn't say anything if you spent all your money, but what's wrong with me just wanting to buy a piece of clothing? I've lived with you through so many years of hardship and never complained. We grew some vegetables in the backyard and raised chickens, and you even ripped me off for the money I earned, but I put up with it. I just liked that piece of clothing and wanted to buy it, so what?"
"Madam, that dress costs three taels of silver. Three taels is enough for a poor scholar to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination."
"Which imperial consort wears such tattered clothes? Tell me. Would it be embarrassing for your court if I went out dressed like this? Tell me, old man."
"Hehehe, we have to save face for the imperial court. We can just go out less in the future."
"I'm going out today to buy it!"
"You dare!"
"I dare not? I am a first-rank imperial consort. You are just a second-rank official. Do you think you can control me? Humph!"
"I smoke..."
"Hit me, hit me! I, an old woman, want to see if you, an old fool, dare to hit me, a first-rank lady. Hit me, hit me right here. If you do, I'll report you, an old fool, to the prefect of Kaifeng, and have the emperor dismiss you from office..."
PS: I have a cold, so it’s not easy for me to write. Please vote for me and collect my book.
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