When living in the palace, one must keep calm. This was the advice Yao Niang gave herself. She looked at the "Earth Store Sutra" in front of her and copied it very seriously, just as a way to practice calligraphy.
Sometimes, Yao Niang finds that no matter what you want to learn, you must be alone to learn it well. It is impossible to learn well if you play every day.
Chengyun used to go out to play every day, so he had less time to study at home. In addition, before she got pregnant, greeting her father in the morning and evening took up more of her time. Now, she copies scriptures every day, and uses the extra time to teach Chengyun to study.
In her previous life, the Crown Prince of Zhou, Gao Shuo, whom she took care of, was considered to be one of the most academically savvy members of the royal family, but Cheng Yun was actually even smarter. For example, when he was playing the game of Nine Rings, Yao Niang taught him to recite a poem, and he could actually recite it after just reading it a few times. This made her very happy.
"My dear, you are really amazing. It is said that your mother could hardly speak when she was your age." Yao Niang grew up in the Zhong family. When she was two years old, she had to learn to follow the Zhong sisters to do things. She ate rice porridge with the leftovers from the pot. She feels emotional when she thinks about it now.
"Mother, why can't we go out these days?" Cheng Yun still wanted to go out and play.
Yao Niang shook her head: "We all have to stay here now. How about this, wait until mother finishes writing a few big characters, and then you start tracing them. After you finish tracing, I'll take you to play on the swing, okay? By the way, this swing was made by your father when he was in Beijing."
Cheng Yun said sensibly, "I am very happy that my mother can take me out to play."
Yao Niang felt that she was very lucky. Her mother loved her very much, her husband was loyal to her, gentle and considerate, and her son was sensible and intelligent. Compared with some life events outside, these were nothing.
For a whole month, Yao Niang was busy taking care of the child, stabilizing the pregnancy, copying Buddhist scriptures, and controlling the entry and exit of people in the inner court.
But Concubine Hong felt uncomfortable. Chengyun was her first grandson, smart, noble and different from others. Her daughter-in-law showed her the calligraphy copied by Chengyun every ten days and sent her servants to tell her how smart Chengyun was and how good he could recite, and that the baby in her belly was doing well, so she could rest assured.
But Concubine Hong was not at ease at all. Instead, she missed her grandson even more.
When Concubine Hong's mother entered the palace, Old Lady Hong said, "Your Majesty, this Prince Chen is your eldest grandson, and Concubine Chen will never be unfilial to you."
"Of course I know about this matter. Most likely, someone murdered her. But that palace maid committed suicide because she failed to take good care of her. The emperor blamed her, and if I hadn't told her first, the emperor would have thought she was too harsh." The most important thing is that Concubine Hong is not as good as the younger concubines like Concubine Li in accompanying Emperor Jianzhang, and her words are gradually becoming less effective.
When Xuan Ce was around, Emperor Jianzhang liked this son very much and often summoned Xuan Ce to have meals with him, so they were considered close.
Now that she could not see Emperor Jianzhang often, she could not lose his favor. Moreover, her daughter-in-law was pregnant, and confining her to the palace would be more conducive to the fetus's care.
The meals in Prince Chen's Mansion were specially arranged by the Royal Concubine, who was afraid that someone would do something bad.
Madam Hong nodded: "We have no right to interfere in the affairs of the palace. Whatever the queen does, it will be punished."
Of course, she made this trip just to see the Luo family coming to visit. Otherwise, why would Old Madam Hong go to the palace to talk about other families' affairs? If anything really happened to Luo Yao's mother, there were younger girls in their Hong family waiting to enter the palace.
In the past, the Hong family's family background could not compare to that of the Luo family, a family of officials. But now, as the imperial concubine's in-laws, Madam Hong's son is already a first-rank governor. For the sake of the next generation of girls, the Hong family has invited famous teachers to teach them and hired maids to teach them the rules. Girls are valued more than men, just for the sake of having a place in the future.
Concubine Hong did not have the same thoughts as the Hong family. Instead, she said to Old Madam Hong, "Shuyi is with the second son's wife. She came here with the second son's wife to pay her respects the other day. She seems to be much better."
Madam Hong showed no expression, but just said, "It's a good thing that she can come to the palace to help you."
In fact, there was not much feeling between Old Lady Hong and Hong Shuyi. Hong Shuyi was indeed thoughtful and considerate, and was a pretty good child, but she was only a cousin of the Hong family. Her brothers were not very ambitious, and almost half of the family's fortune was lost. The wife they married was not a capable person either. after day. She finally married into the Duke's Mansion, but her husband actually became a nun.
Therefore, Mrs. Hong was too lazy to take care of her as she had to worry about her own granddaughters.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Hong could only nod.
Old Madam Hong was very old. After entering the palace to visit her daughter, Concubine Hong had someone carry her over. When she looked at the Heart Sutra that Yao Niang had copied for her, she really felt that she was so well-behaved.
Ordinary people would definitely make a big fuss if they encountered such a thing, which would be even more detrimental to their offspring. But she was really smart. If she went out to prove her innocence herself, there would be a lot of arguments and she might not be able to keep the child.
But now she has asked to stay at home, which can help her take better care of the fetus, and the child is the most important.
How could a little palace maid shake Princess Chen?
It makes me feel even more distressed that he can still not worry about himself even after suffering such a great injustice.
But as the second month of Yao Niang's self-imposed house arrest came, some rumors began to spread, even distorting the story to the point that Yao Niang had forced the young palace maid to death because she was too strict. At first, the rumor was that she was too strict, but later it was rumored that she had tortured the palace maid.
Bai Ying and the others of course found out about it, and they all came to report it to Yao Niang.
They were new in the palace and had limited spies, and Yao Niang was always cautious and would not specifically pull anyone in. Doing so would be too obvious.
"Princess, there is a lot of gossip in the palace now. What do you think we should do?" They were all very anxious.
Yao Niang clapped her hands and laughed: "I thought they were very patient, but now they are taking action. Fine, fine, you don't have to be angry. I think the more widely it is spread, the better."
Bai Ying and the others frowned: "Princess, how can this be a good thing? If you have such a reputation, how will you deal with it in the future?"
Yao Niang smiled and said, "No, the most important thing to me is the baby in my belly. Besides, there is a saying that goes, "too much talk leads to mistakes." Originally, this palace maid died after proving her innocence. It was probably because the emperor thought I was not too tolerant, and my mother blamed me for not being strict enough and making mistakes. But they didn't even punish me, demote me, or even give me a verbal order. I didn't suffer much loss, so they didn't pursue it. But now there are so many rumors. I'm afraid someone is doing it on purpose. Don't worry, I want to let my father and mother know."
When Xing Er brought the bird's nest in, she heard Concubine Hong sneer, "Okay, I thought that since we are in the middle of a storm and the witnesses are dead, I would not pursue the matter any further. I never thought that everyone in the palace would treat me as a dead person."
"Madam, the bird's nest is here. It's freshly cooked. The rock sugar is just right for you. Please try it."
"No need, put it aside and prepare the carriage for me. I want to go see the emperor." Concubine Hong finally had a legitimate reason to do so.
Xing Er dared not say anything more, and waited until Concubine Hong got on the sedan chair before Lady Mo said to Xing Er, "It's really like sending a pillow just because you're sleepy. If not for this, how could they have given us a handle?"
"What's going on?" Xing'er was puzzled.
Lady Mo laughed and said, "When you went to take the bird's nest, the queen had already caught a few eunuchs and palace maids who were gossiping. Guess what, one of them was actually someone from Concubine Yan's palace."
"Really?" Xing Er couldn't believe it.
Madam Mo nodded: "Yes, no one expected that."
Before, the palace maid was already dead, and there was no way to investigate unless the entire harem was thoroughly searched. But now, I didn't expect that they could not hold it back anymore. Concubine Hong would not risk offending the entire harem to seek justice for her daughter-in-law, but since you showed up yourself, don't blame others.
…
Emperor Jianzhang was originally at Concubine Shu's place. When he heard that the Imperial Concubine had something to report, he immediately apologized to Concubine Shu and said, "I'll go over first."
Concubine Shu was very considerate and said, "Your Highness, I respectfully send you off."
You have to know that the Royal Concubine is already quite old, but she has never been jealous and is very fair to the concubines. She is not competing for favor. It should be because of the affairs of Princess Chen that Shupin still knows a thing or two, but even if she knows about the affairs of the harem, she has to pretend not to know.
When Emperor Jianzhang saw Consort Hong in Funing Palace, he immediately asked, "You are in such a hurry, you must have something to ask me? But there is something wrong in the palace."
"Today, I saw someone whispering, and I also received a letter of denunciation, saying that the person spreading the rumor is someone from Concubine Yan's palace. The rumor is getting worse and worse, I will tell you..."
Concubine Hong was very angry when she heard that the eunuch had deliberately spread the message and accused Princess Chen. She said, "Originally, this child felt very wronged. After all, someone just ran into the palace and spread such a message, luring her out. I scolded this child. Although she felt wronged, she told me that it is important to seek justice, but a harmonious family is the best way to success. I don't need to worry about it. Otherwise, if Prince Chen heard about this outside, how would he deal with it? It would be better for her to be confined to the palace. Although the maid was confused, she said that I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me, so I personally copied the scriptures for her and asked the officials of Prince Chen's palace to bury this maid."
The more Emperor Jianzhang heard, the more he felt that Luo was indeed very wise and had a broad vision.
This was a very good solution, but where was Concubine Yan? Emperor Jianzhang could hardly remember what Concubine Yan looked like.
But this matter must not be spread outside. Prince Chen is his most beloved son. If Princess Chen spreads such remarks, wouldn't it affect Prince Chen? Moreover, incest within the palace is a big deal in itself.
Concubine Hong added: "Every time I think about it, if the traitor really succeeds, what will happen to the child in my belly? How can we explain it to Xuan Ce?"
Now that Concubine Hong mentioned this, she realized that the Emperor no longer had the same blaming attitude as before when he heard about the death of the young palace maid and bit his tongue to commit suicide in public. Instead, he was vaguely inclined towards Yao Niang, so she dared to say this.
This touched Emperor Jianzhang, who sighed and said, "I'll let the Ministry of Punishment investigate this matter, so you don't have to worry about it."
"It's nothing to do with Luo, but there are people like this in the palace. If they are not severely punished, then I would like to ask what Your Majesty should do if there are people who falsely convey orders in the future?" Concubine Hong was worried.
She knew very well that the emperor was indecisive and that she had to mention the emperor's own interests.
Sure enough, Emperor Jianzhang agreed very much and called the chief eunuch of Funing Palace over. Concubine Hong glanced at him and knew that this man only obeyed the emperor.
She felt relieved.
After leaving the Funing Palace, Lady Mo stepped forward and lifted the curtain, and couldn't help but ask, "Madam, what happened?"
"Go to Prince Chen's Mansion and tell Princess Chen that she's tired and exhausted. The Emperor has promised to investigate the matter thoroughly." Concubine Hong breathed a sigh of relief.
Nun Guan Mo sighed: "Your Majesty has really given a lot for the Third Prince's Consort." She didn't even go to such trouble for her own daughter.
You have to know that Madam Hong has brought those beautiful girls from the Hong family here several times. Her intention is very obvious. Some of them are even willing to be concubines. As an aunt, if Concubine Hong has any selfish motives, she will definitely take care of her own family first.
The situation in the palace is turbulent and the queen is also worried.
But I heard Concubine Hong Guifei say: "I haven't seen Chengyun for two months. Can I let them continue like this? It's okay for her to take care of the baby, but I can't help but care about Chengyun."
This is the eldest grandson of the emperor. The King of Zhou has no legitimate son so far, so his status is the closest and most noble.
When Lady Mo arrived at Prince Chen's mansion, Yao Niang was telling Cheng Yun the story of the eclipse of the sun by the heavenly dog: "People usually get very scared when encountering this kind of thing, but little do they know that the eclipse of the sun by the heavenly dog is not scary at all and will be chased away in a short while."
She was afraid that she couldn't explain it clearly, so she drew a gong and drum for him to see: "Look, if you hit a gong and drum like this, it will drive them away. And there are firecrackers, but you are too young now, so you can't set them off yet."
When he got to this point, Bai Ying came over and said, "Lady Mo is here."
Yao Niang said leisurely: "Let her in."
During these two months, she first had someone monitor Xing Er, and then she used Cheng Yun to play the emotional card. The mother-in-law is different from the mother. It can be seen from the birth of the child that the mother cares about her body, while the mother-in-law cares about whether it is a boy or a girl.
Therefore, she had to use her grandson to slowly impress him. How could Concubine Hong, who hadn't seen Chengyun for two months, really let him do this?
"Your servant pays her respects to Princess Chen." Seeing that Princess Chen was calm and composed and not worried at all, Lady Mo admired her stable mentality.
Yao Niang raised her hand and said, "Lady Mo, please stand up. Are you here to ask Mother for something?"
Nun Mo said quickly, "Her Majesty asked me to tell Princess Chen that the incident of the maid committing suicide last time has been reported to the emperor. She told you to wait for good news and not to worry. The emperor will definitely investigate it thoroughly."
At this time, Yao Niang showed joy on her face: "If that's the case, that's great. Thank you, mother, and thank you, His Majesty, for your wisdom."
Seeing Yao Niang's composure, Lady Mo admired her very much. In the harem, timing is the most important thing. Those who knew that the emperor was wrong and stepped forward to defend him were the ministers in the court, not the concubines. They could only take the opportunity to tell the truth when the emperor changed his mind.
But during this period, Princess Chen recovered her fetus, used the Crown Prince to win the heart of Concubine Hong, and let the Emperor know her kindness and cater to his wishes. It can be said that she was very smart.
When Ms. Mo spoke again, she was even more respectful, and Yao Niang gave her a generous reward.
Zhou Wangfu
"Tell me what we should do now? If someone finds out about us, we'll be finished." Xu Qingrong felt that Hong Shuyi's words were full of confidence, but her prediction was completely wrong.
Before the news spread outside the palace, he was caught inside.
Hong Shuyi said: "Don't worry, Princess. The people arranged are all maids in Concubine Yan's palace. They have nothing to do with us."
She was also very annoyed. She thought that after being under house arrest, rumors would spread smoothly, causing her to be attacked from all sides and abandoned by Concubine Hong. However, she didn't expect that Concubine Hong would actually stand up to help. Didn't her aunt want her niece to be the Prince Chen's second concubine?
This niece from her natal family is certainly not her. She is 25 years old this year and it is impossible for her to become the continuation of the Prince Chen's rule.
But the Hong family also has several smart and attractive girls who are ambitious.
Xu Qingrong shook her head: "So what do you say we should do now?"
Just as Hong Shuyi said before, they had to kill someone with a borrowed knife, otherwise if the King of Chen found out, she would be really finished.
Hong Shuyi said, "It's impossible to trace it back to us, because we didn't arrange those people. It's just that those palace maids thought they could please Concubine Yan by gossiping about Luo Yaoniang."
She said it very straightforwardly, and Xu Qingrong felt a little relieved.
But Xu Qingrong was sad: "If I miss this opportunity, I will have the chance to see her give birth to another child in the future and her position will be more secure. Maybe if she is fine, then Prince Chen will be fine too."
Hong Shuyi smiled and said, "Princess, what are you afraid of? Don't you still have Xing Er as your trump card? There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
All she could say was that she had never expected that Concubine Hong would go to such lengths for her daughter-in-law. It was unimaginable.
As for Concubine Yan, she was chanting sutras. She had been cautious all her life, but because of the death of her grandson, she was full of hatred and used the chess pieces of her laundry department. Little did she know that her plan would be discovered so quickly. Fortunately, the little palace maid realized her mistake and committed suicide.
She was afraid that one day she would be discovered, so when she was about to do this, she had no worries, but the fear came so quickly.
While the palace was conducting a thorough investigation, the ceremony of conferring Cheng Yun as the Crown Prince of Chen Palace officially began. Because Gao Xuance was not there, Yao Niang watched the ceremony in person. The little girl had already learned how to perform etiquette from the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and now she performed it quite well.
Yao Niang is proud of him. In his previous life, Cheng Yun could only do dirty work for the emperor. He was the dark side of the emperor and the notorious Jinyi Guard. Now, he is the grandson of the emperor and the son of Prince Chen.
The ceremony was held on an unusually grand scale. As his uncle, the King of Zhou watched it carefully. When he saw that he had made no mistakes, he left with peace of mind.
I thought that after my son was named the Crown Prince, his reputation would be set and that the child would not be looked down upon.
How could he have known that after becoming the crown prince, he would have to participate in the emperor's sacrifice in the suburbs.
"Mother, Chengyun is still so young, how can he go?" Yao Niang was very worried.
Concubine Hong only saw Chengyun after they were confined to their house. She was very happy to see that he had grown taller and was very lively. But she was also worried when she heard what Yao Niang said: "Yes, I said so too, but the emperor said that it was a fine day, so let the eunuchs carry him over to replace his father."
The sacrifice was also for the purpose of winning the battle and praying for national peace. It even had political significance and fortune, expressing the emperor's determination to fight against the Western Rong and his support for Gao Xuance.
Yao Niang nodded: "If that's the case, then I'll give him some instructions."
In fact, she was still reluctant in her heart, but this matter was of great significance. If Prince Chen was not around in the future, Cheng Yun would be the true heir to Prince Chen's Mansion, and the title would definitely not fall into the hands of others.
The Luo family, especially Luo Zhizheng, were a little worried when they heard that Chengyun was going to the suburban sacrifice: "Although it is spring and the sun is beautiful, the child is still young. What if something happens to him?"
Yu retorted, "It's rare that you would worry about others."
Ever since Yao Niang mentioned to her the ill intentions of Hong Shuyi, Yu has been in a cold war with Luo Zhizheng ever since he said that.
Seeing her like this, Luo Zhizheng couldn't help but say, "I also asked someone from the Hong family to go to the palace to ask Yao Niang on my behalf. Isn't everything fine now? You have to know that this is the imperial palace. Since she decided to enter the palace, she thought of these things."
"Yes, in that case, it is the duty of the Prince of Chen to offer sacrifices to the gods, so why should you worry?" What Yu cared about was that her husband was obsessed with power and status. Because the Prince of Chen was more important than the Princess Consort, her husband cared about the Prince of Chen more than his daughter.
She was just a little kid of two years old, but my daughter had raised her for so many years and she was such a filial daughter.
Luo Zhizheng said coldly: "I always consider the gains and losses when doing anything. Didn't you know that a long time ago?"
Yu burst into tears.
On the day of the suburban sacrifice, Yao Niang dressed her son in the clothes of a prince and told him, "Drink less water during the sacrifice. If you need to go to the bathroom, go to the eunuch. Do you understand? Your mother cannot accompany you."
"Mother, won't you accompany me?" Cheng Yun burst into tears.
No matter how smart he is, he is still a child in this matter.
Yao Niang put her handkerchief in his arms and said, "This has the scent of mother. Take it out when you miss mother, okay? And mother will personally make you a bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings, okay?"
Normally she wouldn't let her son have sweets, but now she took the initiative to agree to it, and Chengyun was very happy.
But as Chengyun left, Yao Niang was still very worried. The progress of the investigation in the palace was not as important as Chengyun's safety. For her, since Concubine Hong said that Concubine Yan was highly suspected and all that was missing was evidence, that was enough.
But she always felt that Concubine Yan was not a smart person. How could someone who was so cowardly as to harm her own son harm her? There must be someone behind it.
What she should care about is whether Hong Shuyi took action in this matter, when she took action, and whether Xing Er is up to something.
Suburban sacrifice
At this time, the wind was calm and the weather was warm, and Emperor Jianzhang was in a good mood. He felt even happier when he saw the little boy Cheng Yun standing obediently below him.
Unfortunately, just as he stood on the stage, the sky suddenly turned dark, and Emperor Jianzhang's good mood disappeared in an instant. The sun was eclipsed by the heavenly dog, which meant that the emperor had failed in his virtue. I remember that when our predecessor was alive, he even issued an edict of repentance.
But during his few years in office, he lived frugally, employed talented people, exempted taxes for a few years, and practiced benevolence and righteousness. How could he have encountered an eclipse?
The officials of the Ministry of Rites cursed Qin Tianjian in their hearts for calculating the date wrong, while Luo Zhizheng looked at his grandson from time to time, but it was dark and he was very anxious.
But at this moment, there were a few gong sounds, and the dark sun that had just covered the sky quietly dissipated. Emperor Jianzhang looked over and found that it was the little boy Cheng Yun who was hitting the gong with a hammer.
"Your Majesty, your baby has chased away the Tengu for you."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jianzhang stepped down from the platform and asked, "How did you know how to knock the gong to drive away the heavenly dog?"
"My mother told me that the heavenly dog was blocking out the sky and the sun, and we had to set off firecrackers and knock on gongs to drive it away. Then, as soon as it got dark, I found out, and asked the eunuch to get the gong for me, and we drove the heavenly dog away." Cheng Yun puffed out his chest, thinking that he was really amazing, as he had actually driven away the heavenly dog.
Emperor Jianzhang was even more delighted. The officials below the stage had already begun to wipe the sweat from their foreheads and began to speak flattering words about the emperor and Chengyun.
Only Luo Zhizheng thought to himself, this boy is only two years old, but he is already as smart as a demon. If he had known this, he would not have let Yao Niang get married. It would be better for her to marry a handsome man and give birth to a talent like the Prince of Chen. Then there would be no worries about no one to inherit the family business in the future. The Luo family would probably be prosperous for several generations.
I was so shallow that I actually blamed myself secretly.
…
"The 'Ji' in 'Sheji'?" Yao Niang saw the words on a piece of red paper handed to her by Concubine Hong Gui.
This character was written by Emperor Jianzhang, and she was very surprised when she saw it.
Concubine Hong smiled and was very happy: "This is the name bestowed on Cheng Yun by the Emperor. You must keep it well and tell the servants to avoid using this word in the future."
"The Book of Songs·Wang Feng·Shu Li": "Those millets are growing, those millet seedlings", although the word "ji" also means food, but in "Si Wen" there is "Si Wen Hou Ji, who is worthy of that heaven", which means that there is someone to take over, implying that there is hope for inheritance.
Yao Niang was simply smiling from ear to ear in her heart. Hong Shuyi, Xu Qingrong, Mu Wantong, and even Concubine Yan, who was said by Concubine Hong to be the most suspicious, were not as good as this one.
Sure enough, in Prince Zhou's mansion, Xu Qingrong said to Hong Shuyi bluntly, "You only have these despicable skills. Although Concubine Yan is holding on to it, the Ministry of Punishment and the Emperor are not easy to deal with. They will find out sooner or later. Well, let it go. If you hadn't bribed the old monk to talk nonsense in front of Concubine Yan and let Concubine Yan kill Luo Yaoniang's child, Luo Yaoniang would not have been confined. If she hadn't been confined, she would not have been able to teach a two-year-old child to read so many books, and there would be no name given to the child by my father today."
"Ji, the Ji of Sheji..."
The son of Prince Chen is also favored by His Majesty. Does Prince Zhou still have hope? If Prince Zhou has no hope, wouldn't she just be the Princess of Zhou? She will never become the Queen.
If it weren't for becoming the queen, who would marry the King of Zhou?
Although Hong Shuyi was well-informed, she had never seen someone abandon her job so quickly. Just a few months ago, she was still boasting that she was a female master. Why did she change so quickly now? She was simply dumbfounded.
Now Hong Shuyi is wondering if it was right for her to choose Xu Qingrong to serve her master in the hope that she would have power and influence in the future.
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