Chapter 145 Personally Designated Title
After the queen entered, Xiao Jingheng stood up, held her hand, and sat down with her in the warm seat.
"How are you? Have you been suffering from morning sickness recently?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have taken the pregnancy-maintaining prescription given by Doctor Chu, and my pregnancy symptoms have eased a lot."
The queen placed the small box in her hand on the small table in front of the two of them.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has drawn up several titles for Concubine Song. Your Majesty, please take a look at which one is suitable?"
She opened the box, took out the gold foil papers with titles written on them, and placed them in front of Xiao Jingheng one by one.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed three titles for Song Zhao:
Xiao Jingheng scanned the words one by one.
They are: An, Shun and Xi.
These are common titles for concubines, and their meanings are good. They can be considered to be neither meritorious nor detrimental.
But if you look closely at these words, they are all related to pregnancy.
The word "An" can mean a safe pregnancy.
The word "Shun" can mean a normal birth.
The word '喜' can mean happiness.
Every title seemed to be saying that Song Zhao was promoted to the position of concubine because of her status as the royal heir, which inevitably made people think too much.
Xiao Jingheng saw the mystery behind these titles at a glance, so he frowned and asked:
"Did the Queen and the Ministry of Internal Affairs discuss these titles?"
The Queen shook her head and said, "Now that Sister Chenfei is assisting in managing the six palaces, I can rest assured and take care of my pregnancy. I will leave these matters to Sister Chenfei."
Xiao Jingheng didn't beat around the bush. "None of these are good. Most of them are related to Concubine Song's pregnancy. It's inevitable that people will think that I gave her the position of concubine because she was pregnant."
The Queen was silent for a while, then nodded and agreed, "I also think it's not very appropriate. But Sister Chenfei is not well-educated, so maybe she thought these words have good meanings, so she asked someone to write them, so she probably didn't have any other thoughts."
As she spoke, she put the gold foil back into the box and changed the subject:
"Since the emperor is not satisfied, I will return it and ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to draft a new one."
"There's no need to go through so much trouble. I thought of a title that I think suits Concubine Song very well."
"Oh?" The Queen smiled. "What a coincidence! I have also thought of one. Why don't I and Your Majesty write down our thoughts on paper and see whose is better?"
Xiao Jingheng laughed loudly and agreed to the Queen's proposal, and Jiang Deshun quickly prepared paper and pen for the two of them.
They picked up their pens and wrote down their thoughts on the rice paper.
At the same time, place it in the middle of the small table.
Only to find out that the two of them are so in sync?
Xiao Jingheng wrote the word "Yi" in cursive script.
The queen also wrote the same word in regular script.
“Hahahahaha~” Xiao Jingheng laughed even more and nodded repeatedly, “It seems that the Queen understands my mind best.”
The Queen also smiled dignifiedly, "The word 'Yi' means virtue and goodness. I think it is really appropriate to use it to describe Concubine Song."
"I think so too." Xiao Jingheng first said something in line with the Queen's words, and then the following words had a tentative meaning.
"But this title is a great one. Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, only Emperor Taizu's Imperial Noble Consort Qin was awarded the title of 'Yi'. I thought that when the Queen learned of this, she would do the same as when I made Jin Song a concubine, and would give some advice."
The Queen shook her head gently, "The reason why I advised the Emperor that day was because all the concubines were present. I am the Emperor's wife, but I also shoulder the responsibility of giving advice to the Empress. Even if I know that the Emperor will be unhappy if I say something, I still have to remind him. This is my duty as the Queen.
Of course, I also want to be like my sister, the Concubine Chen, and do everything according to the Emperor's wishes, so that the Emperor can be happy and not think that I am as old-fashioned as he is."
Xiao Jingheng heard the loneliness in the queen's words, so he took her hand and held it in his palm, comforting her:
"I have never thought of the Queen like this."
The queen shook his hand back and nodded in understanding.
"I understand. In fact, I also hope that Sister Songpin can get a good position. This matter has been decided today. The Queen Mother agreed, and there is no discussion in the previous court. This is very good.
As for the title, it doesn’t matter whether it’s big or small. What matters is whether the person who gets the title can live up to it.”
The Queen looked at Xiao Jingheng gently, noticing that his expression had changed a little, but she pretended not to notice and continued:
"Your Majesty has always treated the concubines in this way. As wives, I should obey my husband and should do the same."
"The Queen is thoughtful."
Xiao Jingheng replied perfunctorily, and then let go of the queen's hand.
The queen didn't bother him any more and tactfully left.
After returning to the palace, she held a book and began to read.
When Shuang Ruo served her tea, she saw a faint smile on her lips and said:
"Your Majesty the Queen seems to be in a good mood today?"
The Queen did not raise her head, but smiled as she flipped through the book and said:
"To help others achieve their goals makes my heart happy. As the saying goes, appearance is determined by the heart, so naturally you are happy to see me."
"Your Majesty is kind and generous. She gave Concubine Song the title of 'Yi'. This is really a great honor for her."
"Why am I praising her? The emperor even gave her the Changle Palace, which was the residence of the Emperor Taizu's Imperial Noble Consort Yi. Isn't the emperor's intention obvious enough?
I am just doing a favor. It just so happens that the Concubine Chen also likes to do favors, and she is eager to congratulate Song Zhao on her promotion to a concubine. Then I will just let her have her fill. "
Shuang Ruo sneered, "Among all the concubines, the only one who has the honor of having the title personally drawn up by the emperor is Concubine Chen. Now that Song has one too, Concubine Chen is no longer the only one favored. If she hears this news, I'm afraid she will go crazy."
He lowered his voice and his smile became sinister.
"When Concubine Chen received the title, she was so happy. How could she know... that this title was actually forced upon her by you, Your Majesty?"
*
Back then, when the Imperial Household Department was drafting a title for Ning Wanshuang, the Queen threatened the family members of the then Imperial Household Department's chief steward with their lives and forced them to draft the character "Chen" and send it to Xiao Jingheng.
When Xiao Jingheng saw this word, he became furious and secretly executed the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department.
The Queen chose the title with Xiao Jingheng that day, so she advised:
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs chose a good title for Concubine Ning because the Emperor favored her. There is no need for the Emperor to be so angry."
Xiao Jingheng said, "The word 'Chen' means emperor. Who else but the queen can be given such a title? Is the Ministry of Internal Affairs trying to do what I like, or are they doing something dishonest and accepting favors from someone?"
In fact, at that time, Xiao Jingheng still really liked Ning Wanshuang.
She is real, courageous, and bright like the spring sunshine.
Although she sometimes has a bad temper, the only person in the harem who dares to act disrespectful in front of him is Ning Wanshuang.
It was precisely because of this uniqueness that Xiao Jingheng doted on her to the sky.
But the emperor's love can never be completely pure.
Ning Wanshuang is a good person, but her mother's family has always been a major concern for Xiao Jingheng.
But he had always suspected that the Ning family was arrogant because of their achievements and had ulterior motives, and he was afraid that one day they would become too successful to be a threat to their master, so he had always been wary of the Ning family.
When something like this happened, he naturally suspected that the Ning family was deliberately testing him.
So Xiao Jingheng took advantage of the situation and used the title issue to test Qian Chao and Ning Wanshuang.
During a morning court session one day, he said that he personally drafted the word "Chen" as Ning Wanshuang's title, wanting to see how the previous dynasty would react.
There were many court officials in the previous dynasty who had close relations with the Ning family.
Although most people held opposing opinions, many court officials still expressed that this was the emperor's family affair and they would definitely support Xiao Jingheng's decision.
Later, Xiao Jingheng asked Ning Wanshuang what she meant.
Ning Wanshuang only thought that "Chen" could refer to the Queen, and thought it was Xiao Jingheng's great favor to her, so she naturally began to express her gratitude without hesitation.
However, this action made Xiao Jingheng think that she was ambitious and coveted the position of queen, so he began to distance himself from her.
This is why Ning Wanshuang has been so popular since she was given the title of "Chen".
The reason why Xiao Jingheng treated her worse than before.
Because since Ning Wanshuang was named the Empress, every time Xiao Jingheng saw her, he saw more than just a pure person.
But it is connected with the many relationships of her mother's family behind her.
He had to be on guard and fearful.
*
Recalling this incident, the Queen's smile deepened.
Shuang Ruo flattered, "Your Majesty is very wise. It's ridiculous that the Concubine Chen is so happy after getting this title. She acts like a wild bird with its feathers blown up every day. How dare she show off in front of Your Majesty?"
"Alas~"
The queen sighed softly, slowly closed the book in her hand, and said:
"So, people should read more books when they have free time. If Concubine Chen could learn a few more words, she should have known how to refuse the title when the emperor wanted to give her this title.
If she had refused, perhaps the emperor would not have drifted away from her like this."
(It’s my friend’s birthday today, so I’ll be playing it down. 3 more chapters tomorrow, pen refills)
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