Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 115 Jade Seat Bead Curtain
Chapter 5: Jade Seat Bead Curtain
"Just now I heard from those little eunuchs that when the imperial palace was occupied by the Liao people because of the remote distance, the rooms in our Caiwei Palace were not requisitioned by the Liao people." Along the way, Mi Qing whispered in Su Mi's ear. He said gratifiedly, "Fortunately, otherwise, if those vulgar Liao people lived here, the servants would feel wronged for the empress..."

Su Mi approached the gate of Caiwei Palace noncommittally.

The mood gradually became excited, and she had already seen the figure standing at the door waiting for her.

Looking at each other from a distance through layers of snow curtains, the cold wind has also become warm.

With a smile rising from the corner of her mouth, Su Mi quickly stepped into the courtyard.

She raised her head and looked at him carefully. After a long absence, his appearance has hardly changed, but his figure has lost a lot of weight.The eyes in the eyes are still clear and warm.

"It's good that you're fine." She sighed softly. When he was trapped in Ni Yuan's army, she worried day and night.

Chen Lie reached out and held her hand.

His hands were still so warm, just like in memory.

He pulled her into the yard, and sighed softly: "Did Miss suffer during those days in Yongzhou?"

"No," Su Mi shook her head. In fact, she was more peaceful than he imagined when she was in Yongzhou, and even if it was really hard all the way, with the result that both of them are safe now, all the hard work is worth it.

After the parting, the thousands of words and all the ups and downs were all explained in these two short sentences.

The two entered the door.

The last time I saw Caiwei Palace in my memory was still a mess after being looted by the Liao people, but now it has been tidied up neatly and elegantly by the palace people.The broken porcelain decorations have been replaced with new ones, the curtains have been repaired, and every corner of the house has been cleaned up to welcome its returning owner with a brand new attitude.

"Master," seeing Su Mi coming back, several palace officials came out overjoyed, and the first one was Xiao Luzi.Seeing Su Mi at this time, tears could not help but drip down.Stretching out his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, he choked up and said, "It's the day you come back. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news that you were safe and sound from the people in the palace..."

He has been staying with the Liao army to do some chores such as breaking dishes and sweeping the floor. He is clever and careful in his actions. The Liao people cleaned him many times, but he did not affect him.When the capital was finally recovered, the Liao people slaughtered the palace people wantonly. He saw the opportunity quickly and hid in time, and escaped again.Because of Su Mi's return to the palace, he had just been transferred back.

Of the people in Su Mi Palace, only he and Mi Qing escaped this disaster.

The few people went through hardships and changes, and when they met, they naturally wentssip again, talking about all kinds of things after the parting.

Su Mi didn't feel a little tired until it was almost Haishi, and told them to rest separately.

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The next day, just after the first light of morning, Su Mi woke up,
"Master, why did you get up so early?" Mi Qing was carrying a water basin and was about to come in, when she saw Su Mi sitting on the bed, she couldn't help laughing.

Su Mi also smiled faintly, Mi Qing and Xiao Luzi thought she had changed places and couldn't sleep for a while.What she didn't know was that the long-term life in the military camp made her develop the habit of getting up at this time.

Inadvertently, those golden and iron horse days have been deeply imprinted in her bones,

Only Miqing knew that she had not been in Liu's house in the capital for the past two years, but she only thought that she had been living in seclusion in the mountain village outside the city after leaving with Qi Hao. Prairie life.

After washing up, Su Mi sat down on the old seat and turned to look at her own face in the bronze mirror.

In the past two years, she really didn't have many opportunities to look in the mirror, and when she was most careful, she seemed to be checking her disguise for flaws.

From the palace-made bronze mirror in front of her, she had already looked at her appearance countless times. At this moment, this familiar bronze mirror also clearly revealed her changes.After being exposed to the wind and the sun for a long time on the prairie, the originally beautiful face lost a bit of coquettishness and added a strong flavor.

Su Mi couldn't tell whether such a change was good or bad, joyful or melancholy...

She took out the jasper comb from the jewelry box, and combed her long black hair carelessly.Mi Qing waited on her to arrange her bun and pearl hairpin.

"Your Majesty, the gift to congratulate you on your safe return to the palace has already been delivered." After a while, Xiao Luzi brought in a stack of thick gift slips from outside the house.

Su Mi responded lightly, and asked casually: "What are you doing?" She has always been less interested in these entertainments.

"They're all ordinary jewellery, precious brocades and other items, that's..." Xiao Luzi looked at the list in his hand, hesitantly said, "It's just... the family of Mr. Meng in Jiangning Mansion There are a lot more gifts." He said and took out a list.Seeing Su Mi's expression, he lowered his head and began to read.

"There are twelve pieces of feather gauze brocade, twelve sets of palace costumes, twelve pieces of purple jade from Kunzhou, twelve night pearls, twelve phoenix hairpins, twelve pairs of pearl flowers, and a pair of emerald green pearls inlaid with gold. Qilin, a pair of jasper riches and fortunes, a white jade statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and a..."

"So much?" Su Mi put down the butterfly hairpin in her hand, turned her head and asked suspiciously, "Who did you say sent it?"

"Master Meng from Jiangning Mansion." Xiao Luzi said.

"Which Master Meng?" Su Mi heard the difference inexplicably.Collusion between inside and outside has always been a taboo in all dynasties. It is strictly forbidden in the palace for forces outside the palace to communicate with concubines in the palace.Although there was no express regulation in Daqi's palace that concubines could not give or accept gifts from foreign ministers, they were generally not allowed to accept gifts.Unless there are some appropriate titles, such as birthdays, festivals, etc., for favored concubines, officials will naturally present gifts to flatter them by taking advantage of these titles.For example, when Concubine Ni was the most favored in the past, officials from various provinces and ministries would rush to present precious jewelry and clothing on birthday festivals.

Of course, only favored concubines would have such troubles.Ordinary concubines would not encounter these problems at all.When Su Mi was favored in the past, there were routine gifts from some officials, but they were just ordinary clothes and jewelry, which did not violate the convention.But this time these things are obviously going to attract people's gossip.

Seeing that Su Mi didn't understand for a long time, Xiao Luzi quickly added, "It's Concubine Wen's natal family."

Su Mi suddenly realized that Concubine Wen's surname is Meng.

It's just that Concubine Wen and Little Diji have already passed away, so why send these things?Su Mi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and there was no expression on her face. After thinking for a while, she said, "Just keep the brocade and palace clothes, and send the rest back."

Xiao Luzi glanced at Su Mi nervously, and said, "Actually, Mr. Meng..."

"No matter what he is asking for?" Su Mi interrupted him lightly, with a cold tone in her tone: "Now that the situation in the former court is chaotic, I don't want to worry about these things, besides, I am just a second-rank concubine in the harem now, Accepting these things is against etiquette and violates the palace rules. Could it be that just after returning to the palace, you have to let people gossip about such a trivial matter?"

Xiao Luzi looked at Su Mi's face, bowed his head and dared not speak.

Seeing that Xiao Luzi had retreated, Su Mi casually picked up the thick stack of gift slips and let out a long sigh.

Returning to this palace means returning to a field of right and wrong,

Su Mi turned back to the dressing table, and Mi Qing helped her to dress up, "It's better to be simple and clean." Su Mi instructed softly.

Mi Qing responded.He put up an ordinary wishful bun for her, wrapped it with a pearl and silver wire, and then inserted a few simple pearl hairpins obliquely.

Just after inserting the last hairpin, Su Mi was about to get up, but someone outside seemed to ask in a low voice: "Is your mother up yet?"

"Who is outside?" Su Mi raised her voice and asked.

"It's a slave, slave Koizumi," a reply came from outside immediately, "Greetings to your mother."

"Which Koizumi is it?" Su Mi became confused. After two years of separation, the faces in the palace were all unfamiliar.

Xiao Luzi went into the room and explained: "It's Li Quanshang, who just took office as the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Su Mi got up to tidy up, and passed people in.

It was also a young eunuch. Looking at Mian Shan, he vaguely remembered that he often followed He Yuwang in the past. At this time, he came in and kowtowed to Su Mi respectfully, and asked respectfully: "Your servant came too early. Excuse me?" The empress is resting, she really deserves death."

"Nothing," Su Mi asked casually, "Where's your master?"

The young lady overheard Su Mi mentioning He Yuwang, immediately howled a few times, and then said with snot and tears, "Master, the old man... just because he is loyal to the emperor, he swears to the death that he will not obey the orders of the Liao people. The vicious Liao dog was beaten to death."

At the moment, while wiping away tears, he recounted the details of how He Yuwang resisted the Liao people at that time, how the Liao people tortured and threatened him, and how He Yuwang was unyielding, etc., and spoke vividly and vividly.

Su Mi was only amused for a while, she nodded, she saw He Yuwang's death with her own eyes, but it was because of a cotton padded coat that ruined her life in vain, unexpectedly now she became unwilling to serve the enemy and died for the country .

It's just that Su Mi wasn't interested in talking about such a trivial matter, so he casually comforted him a few words before asking him why he came.

"Master is alive in the sky. I know that you still miss him, Madam, so he can rest in peace." The little eunuch put away his tears and continued: "I came to disturb you this time for a few trivial matters, come here and ask You have an idea. First of all, about the arrangement of the palace officials in Fengyi Palace and other palaces this time, I would like to ask my empress to tell you something. Originally, when there is no master in a palace like this, four to eight little palace ladies or The eunuchs are in charge of cleaning and guarding inside, but now the palace is short of manpower, and every slave has the final say, maybe only two or three people can go there. So come here and ask the master, how should it be arranged? Then in the harem There were a few palaces that were damaged by the barbarians from the Liao people, such as the Yaming Palace. When the Liao people came in, they caught fire and burned half of the palace. The reason for the renovation is that Yaming Palace is located in the deep part of the harem. It is inconvenient for this craftsman to walk. Let's see if the empress wants to avoid the nearby palace people for the time being? There is also a shortage of manpower in the palace. , His Royal Highness the King of Yan has already promised the treasury to allocate money, and ordered the palace to recruit palace servants from the people. Now, my lady sees, who will take care of this errand? And..." that Koizumi started talking endlessly .It took him a full half an hour to stop talking, and thanks to his eloquence, he narrated each point, one by one, without leaking.

It's just... these things... Su Mi was taken aback for a moment, when it was her turn to make up her mind.

Little Luzi observed Su Mi's doubts, and quickly leaned close to her ear, whispering, "Your Majesty, you are the only master in the palace now, what do you mean..."

It was only then that Su Mi suddenly realized that now, in the huge Qi Palace, only her own concubine was left in the entire harem.

Those women who once stood with her in the depths of the palace, no matter they were gentle and tactful or shrewd, none of them escaped the hands of the Liao people.

Su Mi felt a bit of bitterness. She didn't expect that she won the final victory in such a way, which is really ironic.

Those old concubines...Thinking of the life they experienced before leaving this palace...Su Mi immediately raised her head and asked, "All the ladies from the past..."

Hearing Su Mi's question, Koizumi thought she was nostalgic, and quickly confessed: "The original masters, that is, Empress Empress and Empress Luo Zhaoyi, all died when they broke the city. As for the rest... ..." Koizumi hesitated, those concubines who surrendered to the enemy and served the Liao people were undoubtedly a shame to Da Qi.

"What about the concubines who fell into the hands of the Liao people?" Su Mi asked.

"Those..." Koizumi hesitated for a while. For these former masters, he couldn't even find a proper name at this time. He picked words and replied truthfully: "Those old people... are now detained in Inside Shuyu Palace, waiting for the Emperor's disposal."
Su Mi nodded, but did not speak, the fate of life is such an accident, no one can predict what is waiting for him in the next second.

In fact, they just simply want to live, but even such a simple wish seems unforgivable at this time.

These few matters have not been dealt with, and immediately the palace people outside came up to report again, and the newly appointed head of the Qianqing Palace also came to pay a visit.

Du Danshun trotted into the house, gave a slap, and before Su Mi could ask any questions, he reported cleverly: "Mother, this slave is here today to ask you about the titles of the departed empresses."

He said and handed over a booklet.Su Mi took it and opened it to see that it was about the funerals and titles of the queen's concubines who died in the country.Lines of red pens and cinnabar are written with once-glamorous names, either familiar or unfamiliar.Behind it is a solemn title, full of words such as chastity, respect, filial piety, and Chunsu.These illusory names are the last rewards for these familiar or unfamiliar names, and they are also the last glory bestowed on each of these fresh lives, as they sacrifice their young lives to save the last point for Daqi in times of crisis. The price of face.

Su Mi thought of these people, as well as those who were imprisoned in Shuyu Palace, and was in a daze for a moment.

After waiting for a while, I saw Su Mi pondering over the booklet.Du Danshun asked softly: "My lady, what do you think? This matter was originally arranged by the Ministry of Rites, but the Ministry of Rites has recently been ordered to arrange bigger things, so this matter was handed over to the inner palace, and the palace will draw up the title. Then call the world and hold the funeral. The emperor is still ill and it is difficult to deal with these matters, so I can only ask you to worry about it."

Speaking of the funeral, the corpses of those martyred concubines have long since been disposed of by the Liao army. Most of them were thrown into mass graves. How to find them after two years?Even the queen's corpse was restrained hastily, and the other concubines were even more helpless.

Su Mi heard Du Danshun's words, put down the brochure, picked up the teacup, and asked, "What's more important? What else does the Ministry of Rites want to do?"

"I heard that it was discussed by the ministers in the court to add Jiuxi to His Royal Highness King Yan..."

Add Jiuxi? !Su Mi's hands trembled, and she almost dropped the teacup on the ground, but her expression couldn't help but change.

Chariots and horses, clothes, Zhuhu, Nabi, Huben, bow and arrow, iron axe, music, and scorpion are called Jiuxi.This is the highest reward that the emperor can bestow on a hero. There have been more than a dozen people in history who have received such a glorious honor, especially in the troubled times of more than 200 years. Among them, most of them have become the founding kings of the new dynasty, so that after thousands of years, Jiuxi is no longer a simple reward from the emperor to meritorious officials, but has become a precursor to usurpation.

What does Ni Yuan mean by this move?
At this time, the great trouble in the court has not been eliminated, although the strength in the hands of Mu Qinghan and Qi Hao is not enough to contend with him, but joining hands, it is not a small resistance.Why is Ni Yuan so impatient?
And after all, Qi Taki pulled him up with one hand, and Qi Taki wasn't dead yet.Such things as usurping the throne, even if it is a yellow robe, will definitely be gossiped by future generations, not to mention, it is from Qi Long who is kind to him.

Hasn't he always known how to persevere and wait for the best opportunity than anyone else?
"Well, I see." Su Mi put the matter aside calmly, tapped the booklet on the table unconsciously with her slender fingers, and asked, "What do these titles mean?"

"The emperor was not feeling well, so he didn't even look at it. He just told Shangyi Bureau to take care of it."

Su Mi nodded, picked up the booklet and looked through it carefully.

Du Danshun approached and whispered from the side: "Actually, the titles of the martyrdom empresses are not serious, that is, Concubine Wen concubine concubine Gongyi... this one..."

"What's wrong with this one?" Su Mi asked.

"This...it is said that Concubine Wen..." Du Danshun hesitated and didn't know what to say.

Seeing Du Danshun's evasive expression, Su Mi immediately understood that these titles were given to those concubines who were completely chaste. Although Concubine Wen died on the day when the city was broken, she was defiled by the Liao people of.

She suddenly thought of the thick stack of gift slips that had just been delivered.

It turned out that it was because of this vain title.It is for the faint stroke on the vermilion gold book, and for the two vague words recorded in the ancestral hall.

Gongyi, these two characters are nothing more than a piece of white paper, and two drops of cinnabar, hidden in the vermilion handwriting, are actually worth more than a thousand gold.

For some reason, Su Mi felt a wave of disgust, "That's fine, I don't need to mention the previous things. Concubine Wen gave birth to a little emperor for the emperor, and she died to protect the emperor. It is also reasonable for the noble concubine." She put the booklet back and said decisively: "That's it."

It's freezing cold outside, but it's hot inside the house, making people upset and irritable.

As soon as Qi Long returned to the palace, he was ill, and everyone naturally didn't dare to bother him with these chores. Now, King Yan and Prince Yu, who are in charge of the government, are busy with military and state affairs after the war, the national economy and the people's livelihood. Forget about these insignificant harem trivialities.

There wasn't even a serious person making up his mind in the palace, and the chief eunuchs were all in a hurry. Now that Su Mi came back, the harem had a master in command.

In this way, Su Mi began her time in charge of the harem with the support of everyone.

In the next few days, many people in charge of the palace, including Shangfu Bureau and Shangshan Bureau, came to see Su Mi. They were so busy that Su Mi didn't even have time to catch her breath.Fortunately, she is smart and alert by nature, and after a few things, she started to get used to these things.In her busy spare time, she couldn't help admiring the queen a little bit, and she could persist in such a boring day for many years.

"What did you say about the affairs in the court?" Su Mi took a sip of the tea served by Miqing after he was sent away, and asked Xiao Luzi, who had just returned from inquiring about the news, after moistening his throat. .

"I heard that the Ministry of Rites has officially submitted the papers, and many adults in the court have written to express their agreement." Xiao Luzi was ordered to go out to inquire about Ni Yuanjia Jiuxi.

"How many?" Su Mi asked calmly.

"Well, it seems that almost half of the ministers said it should be so." Xiao Luzi said.

"Half?!" Su Mi mistook the teacup in her hand, and her expression became serious.After Ni Yuan decided on his plan to subvert the world, in the past few years, he gradually arranged for his confidants to withdraw from the capital secretly.On the eve of the Liao people's destruction of the city, many officials either complained of illness, or visited relatives, or were released on official business, or stayed because of family affairs, and quietly left the city that was about to fall into crisis.Even those who did not withdraw from the capital got the news early, hid among the people, and escaped the search of the Liao people.

If it hadn't been for when the Liao people and Ni Yuan turned against each other later, both Mr. Ge and Qi Hao had used their power to reveal to the Liao people the inside line that Ni Yuan arranged in the city, and with the help of the Liao people, cut off a part of him Minions, I'm afraid there will be more and louder voices supporting him in the court today.

Nearly half of the people... plus those who are waiting to see what happens...

"However, Prince Yu proposed that if Jiuxi is added, all the meritorious soldiers should be rewarded. General Mu's contribution to recapturing the capital is no less than that of destroying Nanchen, so they should be rewarded together." Xiao Luzi continued.

Lifting Mu Qinghan out could not stop the progress of the matter, Su Mi sighed lightly.

For Mu Qinghan, who has made the most outstanding contributions, although his prestige among the people has greatly increased, the first thing he encountered in the court hall after returning to the court was not a reward, but doubts from many courtiers.Doubt why he abandoned Juyuguan without authorization, causing the Liao army to go south?If it was for the rescue of the capital, why was there no movement and waited for more than a year before sending troops eastward and capturing the capital?

Talking about strategic plans to these scholars and literati is simply playing the piano with cattle. For them, at the very beginning when the Liao army entered Beijing, the soldiers and horses living in Yuguan never went south, so it can be said that they were loyal to their duties in order to resist the Liao army in the north. After abandoning the pass, they stayed in Laizhou for a long time, and did not rescue the capital immediately. They suffered so much from the Liao army when they were trapped in the capital.

At the beginning, Ni Yuan withheld the memorial to impeach Mu Qinghan, which was also a means to suppress him in the future.

"...Some adults also said that the emperor is weak and sick, and we should wait for the emperor to recover before making a decision." Xiao Luzi continued.

After all, Jia Jiuxi was a major event that shocked the world. Now that the emperor is unable to manage affairs, it is reasonable to be unable to make a decision, but relying on such an excuse can only delay for a while, not to mention that she knows Qi Long's body best.

Su Mi pondered for a moment, Xiao Luzi looked at her face, hesitated for a while, and then whispered: "I heard... I heard that Prince Yu is going to the palace to meet the emperor today to discuss this matter..."

When the teacup in Su Mi's hand collided, there was a crisp sound, which was especially loud in the quiet Nuan Pavilion.

Immediately, she put down the teacup calmly and asked, "About when?"

Finally, ask everyone for the monthly pass in November. ^_^
It’s going to be November soon, and time flies so fast. Thinking about it now, I realize that Jinzhi has been serialized at the starting point for nine months before I knew it.Now it's finally coming to an end.If nothing else, Jin Zhi will have its finale this month.Therefore, this is also the last time for this book to ask for a monthly ticket.Please support me with book friends who have a monthly subscription, and vote for Jin Zhi for this expensive monthly ticket, thank you everyone.

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
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