atypical prostitute

Chapter 206 Concubine Xian's Abacus

As in the previous dynasty, the harem in today's palace is also full of women.Those who were lucky enough to enter the imperial city after thousands of choices all knew all kinds of tricks, rumors and conspiracies in the harem when they were thirteen or fourteen years old. Hate... Even knowing that His Majesty is about to die and they will never be summoned again, they still calmly continue their lives full of conspiracy and hatred, waiting for the favor that will never come.

The Empress ascended to heaven, Concubine De went mad, His Majesty has been ill since the beginning of the year, and has not set foot in the harem for more than half a year. The three noble concubines sometimes unite and sometimes mock each other, and the records of the harem are getting looser.

Forgotten low-level female officials have mutual affection in boredom. They openly compete for power and jealousy, fight violently, and one girl is even poisoned to death.But all of this was quietly suppressed by the imperial concubine who was temporarily in charge of the harem: His Majesty is seriously ill, how can there be troubles in the harem again.

……

……

In the palace decorated with begonias, the two women complimented the deceased queen according to the tradition, praised her justice, virtue and tolerance, and talked about the tragedy of the concubine De and the illness of her majesty, weeping softly while talking .

"If they really want me to leave the mother and keep the son, I'm not afraid. I'm willing to leave the child to my sister, and let my sister raise him up, just like his father...if he can survive!"

Concubine Xian was sobbing half-truthfully. An unsuccessful palace change in Tianyou six years made her the only woman in the harem with a prince, and His Majesty who followed her was seriously ill, which made her status even higher.But she was always full of anxiety about the future in her heart: if something happens to your Majesty, the country of Xie is so big, a woman who doesn't understand political affairs, and a child in her infancy, how can she stand firm in the dangerous situation surrounded by officials? !

Thinking of this, she was bursting with pear blossoms and rain again, whimpering.

Shangguan Mingzhu knew her hypocrisy, but she still held her temper and listened to her sobs before sighing softly: "Sister Xianfei... I can't protect myself, how can I help you!"

As we talked, it was another tearful scene.

"So what are we supposed to do? Are those days coming back?"

"His Majesty handed over the imperial army to Ye Chuan, and only allowed Mrs. Shaohou to take care of his daily life, which is enough to explain many problems."

Shangguan Mingzhu pointedly said that His Majesty planned to mourn the crown prince's suicide for the sake of the throne. To the two concubines, it was indeed not a big secret. However, now it is their turn to face a similar crisis.

Fortunately, Jinshang still has the ability to control the overall situation.

"what do you mean--"

"Which vassal king has no ambition? Especially those who were once only one step away from the throne, but are still in the imperial city and can approach His Majesty at any time. Even the most loyal His Royal Highness, King Wei, didn't he ever think that His Majesty would let himself be on the throne after his death?" The throne? Who would sincerely enshrine an infant child as emperor? Sister Xianfei, your situation right now is very bad."

Concubine Xian lowered her head.

She remembered an embarrassing incident half a month ago.

The last time His Majesty fainted happened 20 days ago, but as the only concubine who gave birth to a prince, Concubine Xian, like other women, did not get the news until five days after the incident happened.What was even more embarrassing was that when she rushed to His Majesty's bedroom to ask for an audience with the eldest son in her arms, she was actually stopped by the guards!

The humiliation of that day is still vivid in my mind.

She walked through the unfamiliar palace passages under the leadership of the palace servants. This was the first time she had approached his bedroom, even though she was his woman.

He is a man who abides by ancient etiquette, he never allows any woman other than the queen to enter his bedroom, he always goes to their residence to visit them.

All concubines in the harem are equal, and only the queen can come to his big bed.

When she arrived, the front hall was already full of ministers, medical officers, and attendants. When they saw her holding the prince in her arms, they all lowered their heads humbly and scattered to make way.She took this respect for granted and walked forward with her head held high, but was blocked when she was about to cross the threshold.

The person blocking her was Ye Chuan.

And Ye Chuan's wife, the woman with the forbidden blood, turned out of the bedroom gracefully with a peacock feather fan in her hand, and quietly asked her to return to the harem.

"Your Majesty does not want to see anyone in the harem."

"I belong to him...the one in my arms is the eldest son of the emperor!"

Concubine Xian said angrily, she stood on tiptoe trying to see the scenery inside the bedroom, all she saw was the hanging veil and the nervous faces of the attendants.

"Your Majesty will not see you."

Fu Lici repeated it in a low voice, Concubine Xian felt her mind was blank and her heart was so cold that she was pierced by a sharp sword. She pushed the woman in front of her arbitrarily and forced her in. When she was about to go around the screen, she was pulled away by the female officials. Living.

She shouted in vain, "Your Majesty! I brought Yin'er to see you! Your Majesty!"

The person behind the bright yellow veil heard her call, and he waved his fingers to expel her clearly.

Thinking that a mere married woman is more familiar with His Majesty's bedroom than himself, Concubine Xian's dignified face slipped once again with a stern look.

"Sister Royal Concubine, am I doomed to be an Empress Dowager in name only?"

Until now, His Majesty has not officially called her child to be the heir, although Yin'er, as His Majesty's only flesh and blood, will inevitably become the new emperor after His Majesty's death.

"At least until now, that's how it is."

Shangguan Mingzhu spoke half comfortingly and half mockingly.

"so what should I do?"

"I don't know, maybe... I can only pray for the blessing of the Buddha."

Shangguan Mingzhu smiled inscrutablely and profoundly. Her smile made Pei Linger feel uncomfortable all over. It happened that a regular attendant asked to see her, so Pei Linger found an excuse, turned pale, and withdrew.

……

During the secret meeting between the concubine Xian and the noble concubine, Mrs. Pei Hou waited outside the hall, and walked with her daughter to an open place. Seeing no one around, she pushed back and said: "Ling'er... these days, it is really the Shaohou couple. Protecting His Majesty's bedroom inside and out?"

"Yes, Your Majesty really has deep affection for them!"

Concubine Xian gritted her teeth and said that she was favored because of her similar appearance and temperament to Mrs. Shaohou, and it had always been an open secret in the harem.

"Ling'er, you... really can't hold your breath."

Looking around again to make sure there was no one there, Mrs. Pei Hou said in a low voice: "Your Majesty treats Mrs. Shaohou special, and it should be right. Don't forget, her mother is the eldest princess."

"Is it the eldest princess? The most beautiful woman in the empire, the woman that countless men have been infatuated with... But who has really seen women in the entire empire? If she is not the eldest princess, she is just an ordinary woman!"

Concubine Xian said angrily, her long and slender fingers slid across the luxurious silk fabric stiffly, scratching several filaments.

"But in His Majesty's eyes, they are indeed the most special. Even... no less than Queen Ye..."

"...I heard that when the eldest son of the Ye Mansion was born, the lotus fragrance in the house was full of auspicious clouds that would linger for seven days, and 72 red birds flew to congratulate him. Is it true?"

Concubine Xian suddenly changed the subject. Mrs. Pei Hou was born with a delicate heart, so she heard the change in her tone, and said cautiously: "What I saw with my own eyes is not just what others say. Your Majesty also hugged the child with his own hands, saying that he was born with a vision, Xu Shitian People reincarnated."

"Are heaven and man reincarnated?"

Concubine Xian gasped, and exchanged unspoken glances with her mother.

"It would be great if it was a daughter. It happens to be a son... Does God also want me to be the Empress Dowager in name only?"

Concubine Xian said bitterly, ever since she knew that His Majesty might take the dragon and leave at any time, she has been restless day and night, worrying about gains and losses.While dreaming about becoming the Empress Dowager, at the same time worrying about imitating Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and leaving her mother and keeping her son.

Even if she was favored, she was only called into the palace to pass on the blood to the Xiao family, and His Majesty didn't have much affection for her!
Her fingers began to tremble.

"I'm very scared, my lord mother. I'm afraid that after His Majesty passes away, our mother and son will be bullied by powerful officials. I... fear the power of the Ye family. The ghost saw the delicious food...I was really scared...afraid of them...killing my child and ascending the throne as the emperor's younger brother!"

"Then marry the Ye family."

Mrs. Pei Hou said categorically, Concubine Xian couldn't prevent her from saying this, she curled her lips and said: "Marriage? Marquis Yichun's granddaughter doesn't look very good! She's so much older than Yin'er!"

Mrs. Pei Hou stomped her feet and said: "The daughter of the Ye family is as ugly as nothing. As long as she can help you mother and son to sit firmly, why bother? When Yin'er grows up and has great power in his hands, what beauty can't you want?"

"But the Ye family...can there be such a big future? What if you don't get enough benefits from marrying Ye Lihua? Or..."

"But now it is the Ye family who is with His Majesty with the Imperial Army in hand day and night! Political affairs are changing, and we don't even know what may happen tomorrow, let alone ten years later? As long as Yin'er sits firmly on the throne, we will be on the verge of death." Invincible!"

Mrs. Pei Hou taught calmly. Although Pei Linger didn't think so, she couldn't think of a better way. After thinking about it, she could only nod her head.

It's just that she has always been thoughtful, and after she nodded, she said: "But I have a rift with the Ye family, and Concubine Lin Shu and the Ye family are very close, what if they think that supporting me is worse than supporting Concubine Lin Shu, insisting on leaving the mother and keeping the child?"

"Then let Concubine Lin Shu have no chance to become their support object!"

Mrs. Peihou said bluntly, holding her daughter's hand, her eyes were full of murderous intent.

"Is this really possible? After all, the harem is temporarily owned by Shangguan Mingzhu!"

"But Shangguan Mingzhu has no children."

Having no children means that once His Majesty dies, she will either become a noble concubine and stay in the palace to be supported, or be sent to the Qingdeng Ancient Buddha in the suburbs for a lifetime.Although it will be lonely and bitter in the second half of my life, it is better to be well-clothed and well-fed than to eat fast in desertedness.

Everything depends on the future empress dowager. Although the new emperor is young and the government is destined to be in the hands of powerful officials, the empress dowager is still in charge of the harem.Of course, if His Majesty wants to leave his mother and keep his son, Shangguan Mingzhu doesn't mind being the adoptive mother of the new emperor.

"Mother means—"

"You find an opportunity to take Concubine Shu... and then take the initiative to propose that Lin Wanru's two imperial daughters be brought up under Shangguan Mingzhu's knees. Shangguan Mingzhu is a thoughtful woman, she won this benefit for nothing, so naturally she will not say anything. One side is to reconcile with the Ye family, you have to let Ye Chuan know that only by keeping you can the Ye family's glory be maintained."

"But what if it doesn't work?"

"Impossible, this is the idea that Mr. Jun personally gave me! In fact, I have asked Mr. Jun to lobby Yichun Hou several times. He is looking forward to this marriage very much. Just wait for you to nod and make a promise in person." !"

You guys already have a comprehensive plan!

Pei Ling'er was thinking unhappily, and the hand hidden in the sleeve had already been dug into the palm, but she said kindly on her face: "Mother is far-sighted, and my daughter admires it."

(End of this chapter)