"My Lord, why do you want to help Concubine Wang?" Ting Zhu carefully massaged Zhuang Yuyan's shoulders. "I think that although Concubine Jiang Xian and Concubine Wang have no enemies in the palace, they are definitely not very useful helpers."
"They can only protect themselves now, how can they help me? They just don't want to provoke an enemy." Zhuang Luoyan leaned on the back of his chair, his posture was extremely lazy, and he almost wished that he had lost his bones. "Today, Your Majesty, look at with me She's walking around, and besides, she's a bit of a favor today. There's nothing I can owe in this harem but favors." Besides, Jiang Xianbi deliberately mentioned Wang Concubine's illness today, and I'm afraid she also wanted her to help. Bar.
Ting Zhu understood immediately, but his heart skipped a beat when he recalled Concubine Jiang Xian's reminder to his master not to be tempted. He recalled what his master had said in the Pear Blossom Garden two months ago, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
When she raised her head again, she saw that her master had narrowed his eyes. She stopped, made a gesture to the palace maids who were fanning behind her, asking them to move more gently, then she stood up and quietly left.
"Master, is he asleep?" Yun Xi was carrying a bowl of sour plum ice soup. Seeing Ting Zhu coming out, she glanced into the inner room and whispered, "Then I'll put the soup in an ice tray."
"The master just had an ice bowl, so the sour plum soup can be put aside for now," Tingzhu glanced at the sun and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "The weather this year is not that hot. When the weather was the hottest last year, the emperor, the empress dowager, and some prestigious masters all went to the summer resort."
"It was indeed hot last year," Yun Xi recalled that last year the whole family in the manor were preparing to send the master to the palace. Now the master has become a third-rank official. The time has passed so quickly.
"Tingzhu, Yunxi, people from the Palace Department are here to ask if we have enough ice. If not, ask someone to send it over immediately." Fubao came over with sweat on his face, and asked when he saw the two people.
"The queen is asleep now, and the ice in the room is still in use. We don't need it for the time being. Ask them to bring it back after noon," Tingzhu thought for a moment, "Remember to reward the servant who came to ask some silver."
"Okay," Fu Bao nodded, "I'll go ahead and tell you."
Summer nights come late. Zhuang Yuyan, wearing a gauze skirt, sits by the window to keep cool. However, after sitting for a while, she finds that the northwest corner seems to be strangely bright. She frowns and hears a noisy sound coming from outside. It seems that something big has happened.
"Master," Yun Xi walked in, not showing much panic, "There's a fire in Ruiqing Palace in the northwest."
"Ruiqing Palace?" The name of this palace sounds very solemn, but it seems that no concubines live in it. She thought for a moment, "Which master lives here?"
"That was originally the bedroom of the deposed concubine Wei. Later, the late emperor sentenced the deposed concubine Wei to death and imprisoned her son, Prince Gou, in there," Tingzhu's expression seemed a little calmer than Tingzhu's. She had stayed in the palace longer and naturally heard some of the harem's secrets.
"The Dirty King?" When Zhuang Yuyan heard this title, she understood how much the late emperor hated this deposed Concubine Wei.
"Go and ask the other concubines if they have asked about it," Zhuang Luyan murmured, "This matter has nothing to do with us, so we don't need to know too much."
After seeing Tingzhu and Yunxi go out, Zhuang Luyan continued to stare at the northwest corner where the sky was full of flames. She didn't know whether it was her illusion or not, but what happened tonight might not be a simple fire.
After a while, Tingzhu and Yunxi came back, and their steps were obviously much faster than before. "Master, in addition to the emperor and the empress, several other masters have already left. Just now, I saw Consort Shugui from Anqing Palace sitting in a sedan chair and hurried to Ruiqing Palace. I heard that even the empress dowager has left."
"Then let's go and take a look," Zhuang Weiyan stood up, changed into a formal dress, tied her hair into a simple bun, and followed.
Sitting on the slightly swaying sedan chair, Zhuang Yuyan thought about some rumors from the past. Concubine Wei was once the most favored concubine in the harem, and even the empress had to avoid her. However, in the end, the late emperor discovered her various secrets in contacting relatives to support the second prince as the crown prince. In the end, the late emperor was furious and gave Concubine Wei a three-foot white silk, and the second prince was also given the word "Gu" and confined to Concubine Wei's former bedroom. The late emperor, who spit out blood while doing all these things, dragged his body and spit out blood for several months, and finally died. The then crown prince, now Emperor Chengxuan, succeeded to the throne, and King Gu never left Ruiqing Palace again.
As she approached Ruiqing Palace, she saw many eunuchs and palace maids carrying water to put out the fire. The fire had been brought under control. The emperor and his entourage were sitting in an empty space not far away. Because it was night, she could not see the emperor's expression clearly.
Although there was still some distance to go, Zhuang Yuyan still got off the sedan chair obediently, holding Tingzhu's hand and walking quickly towards the royal army. When they got closer, they found that there was a dignified woman sitting next to the emperor. She looked to be in her forties. She knelt down obediently and saluted, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress."
The Queen Mother glanced at Zhuang Yuyan, whose head ornaments and clothes were all very proper, and then turned her head to look at the Queen: "This is the concubine who entered the palace this year. I don't think I have seen her before."
"My Queen, Zhao Chongyi did enter the palace this year," the Queen answered politely. Her expression was completely different from how she acted in front of other concubines in the past.
The Queen Mother nodded, and seemed to have no aversion to Zhuang Yuyan. "Whose daughter is she?"
"My dear mother, Zhao Chongyi is from Lord Zhuang's family," the queen replied.
The Queen Mother nodded again and exempted Zhuang Yuyan from the formal ceremony. "Come forward and let me see you."
Zhuang Yuyan lowered her head slightly and walked forward, bowing two steps away from the empress dowager.
"Well, she looks like a good girl," the Queen Mother thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "I remember that a girl from the Zhuang family entered the palace two years ago. Could it be that I remembered it wrongly?"
"My mother is not mistaken," the Queen Mother explained, fanning the Queen Mother gently with her fan, "Jieyi Zhuang is also the niece of Master Zhuang, but Jieyi Zhuang is a concubine's daughter, while Zhao Chongyi is a legitimate daughter."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother immediately rewarded Zhuang Yuyan with a pair of jade bracelets, obviously also valued the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.
Although Concubine Zhuang, who was standing among the concubines, felt embarrassed, she had to pretend that she didn't care. She believed that no one except herself knew how angry she was in her heart.
Feng Jian never interrupted from beginning to end. He just glanced at Zhuang Yuyan when she received the reward and retreated to the concubines. Then he calmly watched the fire in Ruiqing Palace being slowly put out.
It was not until midnight that all the people in Ruiqing Palace were wiped out. Feng Jin looked at the commander of the Yulin Army in front of him and asked calmly, "Has the King of Gu been saved?"
"I am incompetent. His Highness Prince Gu has passed away due to inhaling too much smoke." The commander-in-chief of the Yulin Army knelt on the ground, not daring to look at the emperor's expression.
"I'm going to go see this second brother." Feng Jin stood up and walked towards Ruiqing Palace.
The once prosperous palace had already looked somewhat desolate due to years of disrepair, and now it was even more desolate after a fire. Gao Dezhong looked at the charcoal ash and sewage all over the ground and bent forward to help the emperor.
Feng Jin waved away Gao Dezhong's hand and strode to the body of the Dirty King. What he saw was the Dirty King who looked a bit ferocious. Although his body was covered with charcoal ash and other dirt, his face still showed fear and he could still be recognized.
Prince Gu did not inherit Wei's good looks, but looked mediocre. He behaved arrogantly in the harem and even embarrassed him in front of other servants. Later, he continued to curse after being imprisoned. Now he is lying in such a miserable state.
Seeing the emperor staring at a dead man quietly, everyone was so angry that they dared not speak. I guess they all knew something about what happened in those years.
“Pass on my decree. Although Prince Gu behaved improperly and was arrogant when he was alive, now that he is gone, he should be buried with the ceremony of a marquis and his title should be changed as a courtesy.” Feng Jian took a look at the palace, turned around and strode out.
The decree clearly stated that he had behaved improperly and was arrogant, but he was still given the title of Li, which was really ironic. The commander of the Yulin Army took a look at the corpse of King Li, told his subordinates to pack it up quickly, and turned around and followed him out.
When the concubines saw the emperor coming back, they saluted timidly. Feng Jian had no intention of listening to these women's nonsense, so she waved her hand and asked them to leave.
The Queen Mother looked at the desolate Ruiqing Palace and said calmly, "Since the Ruiqing Palace has been damaged, we should give it a new name after it is rebuilt."
Although Feng Jian respected the Queen Mother, he never let her interfere in his decisions. After hearing what the Queen Mother said, he said, "Don't worry, mother. I know what to do."
The Queen Mother nodded and wanted to say something else, but seeing her indifferent expression, she finally took the Queen's hand and left.
Feng Jin glanced at the backs of the Queen Mother and her entourage, and slowly said, "Drive back to the palace."
Things got going after midnight, and Zhuang Yuyan had already started yawning while sitting on the sedan chair, so much so that she didn't even notice when Concubine Yan walked up to her side on the sedan chair.
"Sister Zhao, are you sleepy?" Concubine Yan said with a hint of meaning, "Sister Zhao is really a kind-hearted person."
Zhuang Yuyan turned around and saw that it was Concubine Yan. She said calmly, "Sister, what do you mean by that? You and I are concubines in the harem. The Empress Dowager and the Empress will take care of other matters. What do you have to worry about?"
Concubine Yan wanted to talk about the fire in Ruiqing Palace and the death of Prince Gu, but she held back when she thought of the past events and said, "Sister, you misunderstood. I was just worried that you were frightened by what happened today."
"Thank you for your concern, sister," Zhuang Yuyan smiled faintly, "and please be at ease, sister."
Concubine Yan forced a smile and said, "Of course." As they happened to come to a fork in the road, Concubine Yan asked the servants carrying the sedan chair to take the fork.
Not far behind them, the sedan chairs of Concubine Shu Gui and Su Xiuyi were moving forward quietly in the night. Su Xiuyi saw that Concubine Yan Gui and Concubine Zhao Chongyi had separated, so she said, "Sister, it seems that Concubine Yan Gui didn't get any good results from Concubine Zhao Chongyi."
Concubine Shu Gui glanced ahead and smiled sarcastically, "She still thinks she is the most favored."
Su Xiuyi looked ahead, then looked at Concubine Shu Guifei, and said nothing more.
How did Seogyeong Palace catch fire? Was it an accident or man-made?
The next day the Emperor ordered a thorough investigation, but everyone knew that it didn't matter whether the case was investigated or not. Prince Li was a thorn in the Emperor's heart, and it was better to remove him than to keep him, even though this thorn no longer posed any threat.
None of the ministers wanted to cause trouble for the emperor. Whatever the emperor said was the truth. It had nothing to do with state affairs. The emperor's family had so many secrets. If they tried to take care of them all, would they still have the things around their necks?
For the concubines in the harem, Prince Li or Prince Gou has nothing to do with them. The only difference is that the Queen Mother, who has been worshipping Buddha for nearly a year, has appeared in the harem. What other changes will happen in the harem?
And will Ye Shurong, who has already given birth, and Ye Ronghua, who has been demoted, rely on the Queen Mother to climb up again? After all, the two sisters of the Ye family are the nieces of the Queen Mother, and this relationship is something that other concubines cannot have.
Zhuang Yuyan didn't have as many thoughts as the other concubines. To her, it didn't matter which concubine the empress dowager had a relationship with. What mattered was the emperor's thoughts.
According to TV drama experience and historical experience, if the concubine is the emperor's cousin or cousin, if the family has no real power, the emperor's mother is worry-free, and the concubine knows how to handle the situation, then life in the harem will be very comfortable. If the family has real power, the emperor's mother is still meddling in everything, and the concubine is not very smart, such a woman may be glorious for a while, but the final ending will not be very good.
Therefore, no matter which of the two possibilities the Ye sisters belong to, it does not matter much to her, unless the rear position is vacant now.
Just as Zhuang Yuyan was happily drinking her sour plum ice soup, the empress dowager's reward came down.
Zhuang Yuyan looked at the silk jade pendants on the table and smiled faintly. The Queen Mother was not giving gifts to the concubines, but was probably telling the women in the harem that she was leaving the palace and that they should all behave themselves.