Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 437 6.8 Princess Yongchang: Meeting such a magic star
Volume VI

6.8 Princess Yongchang: Encountering such a magic star
Near noon, the last batch of family members of officials below the fourth rank in the Forbidden City and Fengzao Palace were exiting in an orderly manner. Princess Yongchang stood at the door with a "royal nobles" attitude, sending these people away on behalf of the queen, until the last one exited the palace gate. Then she breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the palace.

"Rong'er also thinks this should be the case?" In the bedroom of the main palace, the queen thought for a long time silently, and when she saw Princess Yongchang returning, she said, "Wu Xun died with the country and has been passed down for hundreds of years. It was not easy to force them to give in. , is there any reason to recall them again? What’s more, this incident has caused too much damage to the family, what if they”

"Royal Sister-in-law, it is precisely because of this that we need Wu Xun's support even more." Princess Yongchang said softly, "He gave suggestions on everything we discussed a few days ago. As he said, it must not be done in the court. It will be detrimental to Kai'er to let anyone gain the absolute advantage. Now that Wu Xun's side has suffered heavy losses, we must not suppress him any longer."

"That's right." The Queen thought about it for a moment before nodding slowly, "The suggestions he made were settled after discussions between Kai'er and I. It just takes a lot of time. Even if it's just for a buffer, Wu Xun is indispensable. With the support from all sides, the title of a few fourth-class guards is really nothing."

"There is one more thing. Kai'er is also grown up now, and he will definitely take over the position after the next year. His marriage should also be brought up." Princess Yongchang said softly. Now that he is the only one in the family, no matter what aspect you consider, you should make a decision earlier."

"Is there anyone for Rong'er?" The queen frowned slightly, but still asked.

"The emperor's sister-in-law is joking, I have no control over this kind of thing." Princess Yongchang smiled softly, gently hugged her sister-in-law and said, "But, what I mean is that since the emperor's sister-in-law is in charge of the palace, Kai'er is not too worried. Suitable again.”

"That's right." The queen nodded and agreed before Princess Yongchang finished speaking. She was originally from a family of poets and calligraphers, and she was considered to be a civil servant. The original plan was that she would be responsible for wooing the civil servants, and Guo Kai was close to Wu Xun, taking care of both sides, but Unexpectedly, since she is in charge, Guo Kai no longer needs a civil servant queen. "It's a pity that Wu Xun doesn't have many choices."

"There are no suitable girls of the same generation in each of the four kings' families, and most of the Hachigong family don't have any. However, there are two girls from the Jia family who are of the right age, but unfortunately they are a bit different in seniority." Princess Yongchang said regretfully, "Besides, they are also He has been targeted for a long time.”

"You girl, you said that people are not taboo about meat and vegetables, and you don't shy away from it." The queen paused for a moment before patting her sister-in-law with a smile, "Yuan Chun is still in the palace. Although he is unknown and has no status, he still followed me. In all these years, how could you arrange for your younger generation to have your maid-servant sister? Apart from these, you usually see a lot, but are there any other suitable ones? "

"There is one in the Shi family, but it's a pity that it's not suitable. Even if we don't say that she has no father or mother since she was a child, she is now sent to him." Princess Yongchang said helplessly, "After going around for a long time, there is only one reliable person left. A little bit."

"Which one, which one is he?" The queen didn't ask who it was and couldn't help teasing her with a smile.

"." Princess Yongchang rolled her eyes but hesitated to speak. She turned her head and glanced around.

"Why, is there anything else that can't be said?" The queen was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand to signal all the palace maids and eunuchs who had been pushed to the corner door to get out, and then she said softly, "Now only Kai'er is left in the house, and then there are me and You two girls, why do you need to be so secretive?"

"Yuanchun stay here." Princess Yongchang didn't answer directly, she waved her hand to bewildered Yuanchun to sit beside her, then stretched out her slender hand amidst her flushed but gradually paler cheeks, and stretched into her skirt for a moment before retracting helplessly and said, "Little sister just mentioned the two girls of Jia's family on purpose just now, just for the sake of probing, but now it seems that she guessed right. The 'he' you asked, these days, Meng En stayed in the palace too often, and Yuan Chun also It has been used, presumably it was arranged by the emperor’s sister-in-law?”

"You girl, it would be better if you were more stupid, or pretended to be stupid like Xuan'er." The Queen paused for a moment and continued to joke as if nothing had happened. She neither denied nor covered up, and calmly told what happened on the night of Prince Yizhong's incident. After reading it again, he added, "Now that the capital is unstable, a force of soldiers and horses is absolutely indispensable as a guarantee. I have searched all the major camps in the capital, but he is the only one who is reliable.

I know about your relationship with him, but unfortunately that night was a special situation, and I'm not sure what to do. If he had evil intentions, it would just be the names of many unfortunate victims; now it seems that all of this is still possible. It's worth it. Without his help, it wouldn't be that simple for Kai'er to sit as firmly as he is now. For the sake of the country of Dazhou, it doesn't matter if I feel aggrieved here. "

"You -" Princess Yongchang rolled her eyes at the Queen speechlessly, obviously not liking her explanation very much, "I don't know if it was a sin committed in the previous life. When encountering such a demon star, the Shenji Camp has now It's the family's magic needle, and it must not be touched lightly. Xuan'er and I can make him worry about it anyway. I just pretend that I don't know about you here.

It's just that in this case, you must hide Kai'er's secrets and never leak any information. Otherwise, it will be such a scandal that it will cost you and me our lives. I'm afraid it will cause shock to the court and even make the world uneasy; Yes, he has already greeted them today and will bring the two girls from the Zhao family over. The emperor's sister-in-law might as well give them some grace. "

"I was thinking of having a posthumous child—" the queen hesitated for a moment before saying it.

"." Princess Yongchang was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slowly, "Be careful and do it as soon as possible. It's too late. It's not justified. The imperial doctor has made arrangements. You might as well ask for a recipe and say it is for Xuan'er. That’s good; also, the news can be released earlier so that we can talk more easily.”

"Don't worry, it's been arranged." The queen then showed a relieved smile, then looked at the pale Yuanchun and said, "I asked her to follow, in fact, just to have a reliable statement to the outside world. I mean that after some time On the day, just send her there directly, without mentioning any name. Outside, it will only be regarded as a frontline for Xuan'er." "Why not keep her? Just say that she was favored and favored at the beginning, but she didn't have time to announce her status to the outside world. There are too few people in the family, so there is no harm in having one more person." Princess Yongchang approved the queen's approach after a brief consideration, but then went a step further, "My father is not the only one who has the eldest brother and the fourth brother, and there is no guarantee that others will not have their thoughts."

"No need." The queen immediately shook her head without explaining a word.

"It's up to you." Princess Yongchang sighed softly and changed the topic directly, "I will let the news out during today's dinner. It's better to wait for the favors to be given to Duke Qiguo's Mansion, Duke Zhiguo's Mansion and Jinxiang Bo's Mansion. When the seal is turned twenty, Kai'er announces it, which also bodes well for him."

"That's fine." The queen agreed with a smile, "That girl Xuan'er is now with her father, and the courtyard gate over there is also guarded by the imperial guards. Although Qi Jianhui is a gracious man, he cannot bear all the burden alone. I heard Dongfang mention it once that someone keeps a lot of female guards in his house, and they can be used in the inner courtyard without worries. Do you have any of them?"

Both of them deliberately did not say anything, that is, according to the practice in previous years, when officials visit the palace, they have to go to two places. Even the banquets at noon and evening are divided into two parties in the palace. Emperor Yonghe and Emperor Taishang each have their own banquets. The foundation, and even the meaning of "comparison", will definitely not be used this year. Qi Jianhui's "defense" also includes stopping things at the Dragon Head Palace.

"Most of the secret guards are eunuchs, so it is indeed inconvenient in many cases." Princess Yongchang nodded to express her understanding, "I will get a batch as soon as possible and send it to the emperor's sister-in-law. I will not ask about Kai'er. I want to come to the emperor." Sister-in-law has her own arrangements."

"Thank you for your hard work, Rong'er." The queen thanked her with a smile.

Just as the two were discussing, there was a sudden greeting in the courtyard outside the door, and the family members of officials of fourth rank and above began to enter the palace to visit one after another. Only then did the aunt and sister stop talking, resumed their professional smiles on their faces, and went to the living room to greet them. , and soon there was a chorus of greetings or compliments.

"What are you two confused about? Come here quickly." Just as all the female relatives were showing off their abilities, Princess Yongchang suddenly spoke and greeted the Zhao sisters who had just entered at the end of the group of martial arts female relatives. Surprised, "Just follow me later, no need to wander around anymore - I don't want to bow to the emperor's wife yet."

"The last general, Zhao Qiying (Zhao Yanling), has met the Queen!" The Zhao sisters, who were still in the dark, hurried over and knelt down; they were really the last generals, because they were both wearing third-class guard uniforms and had the title of sixth rank. Among the family members of officials of the fourth rank and above, he can only accompany the last one.

"Okay, they are all members of the family, why are you so polite?" The queen smiled and waved to the maid standing next to her. Someone immediately stepped forward to help the two sisters up, which made everyone even more surprised, because there were many first- and second-grade imperial edicts present, and no one was there. To enjoy the "support" treatment, it is customary for a noble lady with a title to be eligible, such as Jia Mu. "Last time, Miss Yan Ling worked hard with me. I worked very hard all night with me. I didn't expect to see you again." At this time, I still owe you a favor."

"Your Majesty's words are serious. This is the duty of the general." Zhao Yanling quickly replied.

"I remember, you are both serving as third-class guards, right?" The queen smiled slightly and continued without waiting for the two sisters to reply, "You should be rewarded for your merits. From now on, we will consider you second-class guards."

"What are you doing standing there, why don't you quickly thank me?" Princess Yongchang pointed out angrily.

"Thank you for your grace!" The Zhao sisters looked happy and they all knelt down to salute again.

"Okay, you go and play first. Don't forget what Rong'er said just now. Come over and have dinner with me later." Seeing that the arrangements had been made, the queen sent the two of them aside in time, and then continued to meet with the other concubines and Gaoming. Joking, although it was only for a short time, it made everyone at the scene realize that a certain fourth-grade acting general soldier was indeed "having Jane in his heart."

Next, the two of them enjoyed the "star" treatment. Although they were seated almost in the last and most corner of the banquet, there were always people coming to talk, but mostly from the martial arts side, and there was basically no interaction with the civil servants; Even the mistresses and mistresses of Hachigong's family would always call them "sister" politely when meeting them.

"Sister, it turns out that the queen is so easy to talk to." After the banquet started, the two of them finally no longer had to face a group of imperial ladies in confusion. Zhao Yanling said excitedly, "I don't know how to thank her."

"What do you think?" Zhao Qiying was obviously thinking more, "If you want to thank me, just go back and thank Brother Zhou!"

(End of this chapter)