Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 25

It is the time when the Lantern Festival is brightly lit. On this day, folks will have lantern riddles and dragon dances in the downtown area. Naturally, various celebrations will be indispensable in the palace.

A few days ago, the Ministry of Internal Affairs started to prepare lanterns and candles, decorating the various palaces and gardens in the palace with colorful and beautiful colors.All kinds of delicate and unique lanterns and lantern riddles have been prepared to decorate the garden intensively. The prepared lantern festival is for the masters and ladies to enjoy and play. For the natural and beautiful scenery, the lantern festival at this time should naturally be held in a place where plum blossoms are in full bloom. Originally, the most plum blossom in the palace was Tianxiang Garden, but it was only a few months since the incident of the assassin, whether it was Qi Long or the concubines, they all had some grudges about going to Tianxiang Garden.So the Lantern Festival was arranged in the Xiaohan Garden at the east end of the harem.

Early in the morning, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent people to deliver all kinds of utensils used for decoration in Caiwei Palace, and Xiao Luzi and others were very happy.Several people moved out the ladder, climbed under the eaves, and hung two bright red lanterns on it.Seeing everyone busy and joyful, Su Mi's mood became a little brighter.

"Your Majesty, the dim sum is ready, shall we go now?" Mi Qing walked in with a plate of fragrant dim sum.

Su Mi looked up at the time, Qi Taki was about to go down, got up and said, "Let's go."

Su Mi's light and elegant figure walked through the nine-curved corridor carved from white marble on the side of the back garden. Behind her, Mi Qing was holding a cloisonne flat porcelain plate and a carved silver plate on it, containing the freshly baked Small snacks and a purple gold sand teapot, which is freshly brewed plum tea, the two walked to the Qianqing Palace.

When Qi Long was dealing with state affairs in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there were always many concubines serving by his side.In the past, Concubine Yun had always been the one who received such an honor. Since entering Longhui for four years, it was Su Mi who stood beside the dragon chair in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, quietly grinding ink and laying paper, serving tea and water.The serving eunuch knew that Concubine Lian in front of him was the emperor's new favorite, so he patted Qian'er respectfully while serving Su Mi into the room.

After entering the palace gate, he saw Qi Long was discussing something with someone.

There are two men standing in front of the hall. From the back, the man on the left doesn't seem to be very old, that is, he is less than 30 years old. He is wearing the black python robe of the third-rank Taichang Temple Minister, but he is wearing an official uniform that is originally dignified and dignified. It's just that the groom he wears is disheveled and lacking in dignity, even from the back, you can see the slovenliness.

The man on the right is about 50 years old. He is just wearing a commoner's blue shirt. The clothes are simple but neat and clean. From the back, he has an elegant demeanor like a fairy, and the figure seems very familiar.

Su Mi walked forward with her snacks in hand, and when she walked past the two, she could clearly feel two sharp gazes projected towards her.One of the slightly scorching gazes came from the young third-rank official who was closest to him, and he didn't have the slightest taboo when he saw Su Mi coming in.Especially when Su Mi approached him, she glanced over without any scruples.

Su Mi went in and out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation as a concubine to serve her, and she would often see the ministers who were discussing matters. Everyone could know her identity just from her clothes, and they would naturally turn their heads away to look carefully, but this young man But he didn't know that it was like avoiding suspicion, and stared at Su Mi unscrupulously.

Su Mi was slightly surprised, she was not the kind of woman who would feel that she was missing something when people looked at her more, but this kind of look made her intuitively uneasy, she turned her head and pretended not to notice, still calmly Move forward until the tea tray is placed on Qi Taki's table, and stand still as usual.

Only then did she raise her head to look at the two people standing under the stage. When she raised her head, when she saw the two clearly, Su Mi was startled and immediately regained her composure.

The middle-aged man on the right, about fifty years old, is unrestrained and unrestrained, looking forward to the sky. It is Ge Chengming, who was once his father's confidant and counselor, and now is Nan Chen Zhongchen.

He would actually enter the Qi Palace, Su Mi tried her best to maintain a calm face, but she couldn't help being shocked in her heart.Isn't he in charge of Nam Chan's intelligence organization here?Showing off like this...

When Ge Chengming saw her, his expression was calm. He had obviously heard the news from Chen Lie.

When Su Mi was in doubt, Qi Taki's voice sounded beside him. "Mr. Ge is indeed a great talent, so it's no wonder that Xiang Ju strongly recommends him to me." Qi Long said with a hearty smile.

"The grassroots are not talented, and the emperor loves them so much. They have been summoned many times, but unfortunately they have been delayed because of business, and they have not been able to see the sky until today. I am really ashamed." Ge Chengming saluted lightly, neither humble nor overbearing.

Su Mi listened to the conversation between the two, and after a little thought, she understood.Nan Chen is dealing with intelligence here. Instead of hiding in Tibet like that, it is better to be upright and upright under the sun, making friends with dignitaries and interacting calmly. On the contrary, it makes Qi Jun relax his vigilance. Would a celebrity without a white background be an imperial criminal?What is imaginary is real, and what is real is false. This is Ge Chengming's consistent style.Su Mi smiled lightly.I was thinking about it, and the conversation below did not stop,
"Since Mr. is delayed by something, how can I force others to make things difficult for me." Qi Long smiled peacefully.This person in front of him is a rare talent. Although he couldn't refuse to be recruited many times, Qi Long didn't feel that he was swept away. If they are willing, they have to put on airs and refuse first, otherwise they will damage their high status as celebrities.

Su Mi raised her eyes to look at the one on the left again, thinking about what Qi Long said just now, it turned out that he was Xiang Ju, this Xiang Ju was quite famous in Da Qi's court, he came from a wealthy Xiang family in Da Qi , but he is informal and doesn't care about his family status.He admired the demeanor of famous people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and never had any scruples in his actions. Dong Qianguang, the famous person who claimed to admire the old Liang the most, often said that he wanted to imitate his predecessors and travel all over the world.When he was drunk, even Qi Long's summons would be ignored.However, this person is really a rare talent. Although he was born in a wealthy family, he clearly pointed out that the difference between scholars and common people would hinder the selection of the country and talents. In the first year of Qi Long's succession, he wrote a letter requesting the abolition of the poor family. He also listed 38 privileges that wealthy families should not enjoy, and asked Qi Long to issue an edict to abolish them.

All of a sudden, the government was in an uproar, and his memorial nearly exploded. The old officials who had always prided themselves on their composure couldn't care less about their calm demeanor, and one by one rushed to impeach him, asking for the impeachment of this ignorant, unruly madman. Shengming Zhengfa Code, strictly deal with it, so as to completely cut off such behaviors that try to break the rules of the ancestors and shake the country.

Qi Long just laughed it off, and asked the ministers who were filled with righteous indignation: "Since you all know that he is a madman who doesn't know the etiquette and the law, why should you care about it?"

As a result, although the matter was a big sensation, in the end it was nothing.Xiang Ju, who provoked this time, was demoted to three ranks on the grounds of acting insanely, and still stayed in the capital.

Although he was reprimanded, he himself didn't feel disobedient at all, and after the last incident, the high-ranking dignitaries hated him deeply, and most of them cut off contact with him, repelling and suppressing him, and he also didn't care.Still free to come and go in the capital, entertaining friends, drinking and having fun.He writes excellent poems and essays, is elegant and good at painting, and is a man of real talent and learning. He points out current events to the point. He does not delay the tasks assigned to him, and completes them smartly and thoughtfully.After a few years, the reputation among Shilin students in Daqi became more and more prosperous.Qi Taki soon promoted him back to the official position of Minister of Taichang Temple.

Looking at it now, I am afraid that Xiang Ju's memorial at that time was actually deeply in the heart of Qi Long. Unfortunately, Qi Long also knew that the power of the imperial family was too strong, and he had just ascended the throne. denounce.

It's no wonder that he dared to look at him so unscrupulously, and Qi Long didn't have the slightest anger. I'm afraid his eyes were so rude when Concubine Yun and the others were here before.

"I have always been thirsty for talents, and I admire your great talent. If you can use him for me, I will definitely not treat you badly. I would like to treat you as the young minister of Honghe Temple..." Qi Long turned to Ge Chengming who was below. Sincerely persuaded.

Su Mi felt that it was funny for a while, seducing them for profit and motivating them for value is better than seducing them for fame and motivating them with affection.For a celebrity with high self-esteem like Ge Chengming, instead of using official rank and wealth to seduce him, it is better to tell him his bosom friend, follow the example of Liu Bei to persuade Zhuge Liang, and encourage him to help him, and then he will be famous in history with ease and dignity.

But no matter what, it was impossible for Ge Chengming to agree to Qi Taki's request.

Now that he is the person in charge of Nanchen's intelligence, he must be extra cautious.Go too far!It's okay to be a little eye-catching, but it's a kind of protective color, but too much eye-catching will have the opposite effect, and it's even more difficult to get out of Daqi's power circle for no reason.

The two exchanged a few more words, Ge Chengming resolutely refused, saying that although he was valued by His Majesty and felt honored, but he had no intention of official career, please forgive me.

Qi Long persuaded for a while, seeing Ge Chengming's resolute attitude, he was very disappointed, so he had no choice but to stop insisting.Seeing that the matter was over, the two bowed and left.

The long conversation made Qi Long's mouth dry, so he picked up the tea presented by Su Mi and drank it. After drinking it, he felt refreshing and refreshing, leaving a fragrance on his teeth.

"This is?" Qi Long picked up the teacup and looked at it carefully.

"This is tea steeped with white plum petals, the emperor tastes good to drink it." Su Mi laughed.

"I have tasted a lot of white plum tea, but this pot of Mi'er's is different, it has a fresh and refreshing taste." Qi Long asked doubtfully.

Su Mi gently covered her red lips, and said with a smile: "The emperor's tongue is really dexterous, because seeing that the emperor has been dealing with the government affairs overnight, he is afraid that he will be mentally exhausted, so the concubines specially added a little more to this pot of tea. Gui Ling Juice and Bilu Grass, these two things are refreshing and eye-catching medicines, I only hope that the emperor can save a little effort."

"Mi'er is really considerate, she can even notice such small things. And the taste is also good." Qi Long laughed and drank the tea in his hand.While reaching out to embrace Su Mi, Su Mi leaned into Qi Taki's arms, she reached out and fed the snacks from the silver plate to Qi Taki's mouth, the two were laughing and talking.

"Your majesty has been busy today, and that person surnamed Ge seems to be very unruly. Why did he refuse the emperor's kindness?" Su Mi seemed to be chatting and brought the topic to Ge Chengming.

Qi Long laughed, "These Qingliu celebrities have such a temper. This Ge Hong is a person who appeared in Qijing only recently. He was originally from Yuzhou and lived in seclusion in the countryside. Later, because he inherited the inheritance of a distant relative, he moved He came to live in Qijing, he is elegant and good at Danqing, and he is also good at discussing classics and mystics, it is said that even Xiang Ju was often defeated by him in debates, so I really admire and make friends with him."

Qi Long put down the teacup and said: "I took the school exam just now, and from the usual conversations, I can see that this person is a real talent, if he can be used by Da Qi, it will be a good thing."

"But the concubine looked at him with a determined face, as if he didn't want to be an official in the court," Su Mi said with a puzzled expression.

"If he doesn't want to be an official in the court, why would he rush to the capital just because of some inheritance? He must be someone who can't let go of wealth and honor. If he refused me just now, I'm afraid he agreed after being recruited once. That's why it's not allowed, otherwise, who would not want to be an official position as soon as he enters the court?" Qi Long laughed.

"It's still the emperor's sage. All the talents in the world see the emperor's thirst for talents, and they will definitely scramble to be the emperor's use." Su Mi smiled softly.

Qi Taki nodded and said: "As long as I summon you a few more times, as the saying goes, gold and stone will open..."

At this time, I heard Gao Shengnuo outside the door reporting loudly, "Your Majesty, the Empress sent someone over, saying that there are a few things about the draft that I want to inquire about."

"There's been a lot going on recently," Qi Long complained, "It's another draft, another military affairs, and another scientific examination. I'm afraid that the emperor will be more restless than ordinary people in the streets and alleys."

Su Mi covered her mouth and chuckled: "It's fine for the emperor to complain about being busy with other affairs, but this draft is for the emperor to add more beautiful women to your harem, so as to relieve worries and fatigue, why is the emperor complaining?"

"If you talk about alleviating worries and relieving fatigue, who can compare to my Mi'er?" Qi Long kissed Su Mi's side of her bun, stood up and said, "That's all for today's government affairs, and I will go to the queen with you. About The affairs of the draft still need to be discussed and discussed.”

"The emperor should go first, and the concubine will go to fix her appearance first, and she will be here soon." Su Mi stood up and said with a smile.

"Mi'er doesn't need to fix her appearance, she is already beautiful now." Qi Long said jokingly.

"Your Majesty," Su Mi shyly said, "How can you be so disheveled when you meet the Empress? I'd better let Rong Chenqie go later." If you go with Qi Long, according to Qi Long's temperament, you must The two of them shared a chariot, and took the imperial chariot to Fengyi Palace. She would not do such a move with a strong sense of demonstration.

"In that case, I'll just wait for you for a while."

"Since the empress sent someone here, she must have something important to discuss with the emperor. How could she waste time because of the concubine? Wouldn't the concubine feel guilty?" While talking, Gao Shengnuo came in to report that the chariot was gone When she was ready, Su Mi pushed Qi Long along the way and said, "Your Majesty, let's go quickly, the concubine will arrive soon."

Qi Taki couldn't shirk it, so he went ahead by himself.Su Mi rested in the side hall for a while, then walked out of Qianqing Palace, boarded a chariot, and walked towards Fengyi Palace.

Entering the Hall of Fengyi, Qi Long had already sat down on the main seat, and the queen was beside him, holding a booklet with a golden cover, pointing at it with delicate fingers, and whispering something into Qi Long's ear, Qi Long Taki nodded occasionally.

Seeing Su Mi coming in, both of them showed gentle joy on their faces.

"Your Majesty has worked hard on government affairs today. Fortunately, Concubine Lian is taking care of His Majesty, so I can rest assured." The Empress smiled.

"Well, Mier's carefulness and thoughtfulness really helped me a lot." Qi Taki smiled and motioned for Su Mi to sit down on the seat next to her.

After Su Mi sat down, Qi Taki and the queen continued their discussion.

"Is there anything else that cannot be decided?" Qi Taki asked.

"Furthermore, regarding the matter of Xiunu's residence this time, the emperor should come to make an idea. Originally, according to the usual practice, he planned to live in the Chuxiu Palace, but the Chuxiu Palace has not been repaired for many years..." the queen said.

"Not trimmed?" Qi Taki asked suspiciously.

"That's right, when the emperor came to the throne, it was already old and damaged and should be repaired. But at that time, there were many affairs in the court and the military expenditure was huge. Even the Empress Dowager and her old man's Compassionate Palace refused to be repaired. How can we be good at these times?" It's a waste of time to use the unused palace." The queen explained.

Only then did Qi Long remember, and asked, "Where did the last draftee live?"

"They live in the Xuanhe Palace on the east side."

"Then it will be the same this year." Qi Long said.

"Your Majesty doesn't know that the Xuanhe Palace is too small. The last time the draft was held during the national mourning period, the scale was small, so it didn't hurt. But this time there are more than [-] girls waiting for the draft. A Xuanhe Palace cannot be accommodated, and according to the opinions of the courtiers and concubines, it is better to vacate several nearby palaces and let the beautiful women live there. It's just...the concubines in it don't know how to arrange them. "Queen asked.

Although there are many vacant palaces in Qi Long's harem, they are scattered, and most of the palaces have two or three concubines living in them. Although there are few people, they are rarely completely vacant like Xuanhe Palace.It would be difficult to manage the show girls if they were to find free places to house them separately, so they would have to live together. This would inevitably require the removal of the concubines, including several leading concubines. According to the usual practice, it is not the queen who has the right to directly issue an edict to move out.That's why I came to find Qi Taki's idea.

"Just do as the queen wants," Qi Long thought for a while and said, "If there is a concubine who lives there, just say what I want, and move to another place for the time being, and then move back after this period of time is over. Alright, let’s consider how to arrange for the empress. It’s just that the Chuxiu Palace should be properly repaired, and we can’t deal with it like this in the future.”

The queen nodded yes.

Qi Long paused, then asked again: "By the way, how many palaces are there near Xuanhe Palace?"

"It's Yuancui Palace, Caiwei Palace, and Changchun Palace." The Queen replied.

"Plucking Wei Palace?" Qi Long thought of it, and immediately turned to look at Su Mi: "So, Mi'er is going to move out too."

"That's right," Su Mi said with a smile from the side, "It's all because of the emperor's words, this is a good time, the concubine is left homeless. The emperor will pay the concubine a place."

"That's how it is. According to my concubine, there are few people accompanying me here, so Concubine Lian might as well live here temporarily..." Before the queen finished speaking, Qi Long interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"Stingy little thing, since that's the case, I'll just pay you a place," Qi Long smiled at Su Mi, then turned his head to the Queen and said, "Mi'er doesn't need to arrange a place anymore, just live in the Clean up the palace."

As soon as this sentence came out, Su Mi's expression changed immediately. The Qianqing Palace is the emperor's residence, and the concubine will enter, and that's only when Qi Long summons the concubine to be lucky. Therefore, Qi Long only had luck with Su Mi.

A sharp and stern light flashed across the Queen's eyes, and she became calm again. She forced a smile and said, "That's fine, my concubine is having a headache and I don't know how to arrange so many concubines? The emperor saved my concubine's energy. "

At this time, Yu Rui, who was beside the queen, brought up a bunch of neat picture scrolls with a few eunuchs from the House of Internal Affairs. After saluting to Qi Long and the queen, she reported: "This is the roster and portraits of the show girls this time. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has just sent it in, please take a look at it first."

The queen turned to look at Qi Taki.

"The empress can handle it by herself," Qi Taki said, "You don't have to serve me anymore, if there are any unresolved matters, we can discuss them tomorrow."

So the queen took over and started to deal with it.According to palace regulations, these portraits are to be archived and recorded.

Qi Taki approached the book case in a dispirited manner, flipped through a few scrolls, inside were young women about twenty-eight years old, all of them were elegant and elegant, and they jumped out of the paper. After a few pages, he felt dazzled and dizzy .

"In my opinion, the old rule of looking at the album first in the talent show can be avoided. Which one of the scrolls of portraits in this volume is not exquisitely painted and stunning, and I don't know how much it looks like a real person. Look." Qi Taki smiled while flipping through the pages.

"The concubine has just looked through it. There are indeed a few outstanding ones. This time I will definitely be able to select a few peerless beauties for the emperor." The queen laughed with her.

"I can't paint because of the mood. How can there be any peerless beauty who can surpass Mier?" Qi Long said, then remembered again, and asked: "By the way, Mier doesn't have a portrait on file, right? ?”

"That's right, not only is there no concubine Lian, but there are no beautiful girls from last time." The queen added from the side, because of the national funeral last time, all procedures were simplified and many procedures were avoided.It's just that girls from famous officials and eunuchs in the capital were selected, and they lived together in the palace. Qi Long and the queen looked at them and then hurriedly selected them.

"I just thought of an idea," Qi Ting laughed, "Ge Hong, who I just summoned today, happens to be one of the most elegant and good at painting in Qijing recently, so you might as well invite him to come over because there is a lack of portraits in the harem." The concubine will make it up." Ge Hong is Ge Chengming's alias in the capital.

"It's so good. The concubine also thinks that it is time to find an opportunity to complete the information. The emperor is thoughtful." The queen said.

"That's exactly the case. Back then, Dong Qianguang was known as the Five Beauties. Now that there are so many beauties in my harem, naturally we should keep paintings as souvenirs." Qi Long said with a smile: "Since we want to paint, the concubines in the palace are of excellent qualifications. Those with dignified appearance are selected one by one, and don’t worry about whether there is a picture or not, just draw it carefully.”

"What the emperor said is true." The queen said with a smile: "Sure enough, it is a good idea. In the past, Master Dong had five beautiful pictures, but now the emperor wants to draw a hundred beautiful pictures."

Qi Long nodded and said: "In that case, let's start with Mi'er."

"What?" Su Mi was stunned when she heard this sentence, she quickly got up and said to Qi Long, "Now the empress looks noble, beyond the reach of a concubine, please take it back."

The queen's face froze when she heard Qi Long's words, and her face turned pale when she heard Su Mi's answer.Qi Long, however, had an excited expression on his face, "Why should Mi Er be modest? The paintings in the harem are of course sorted according to their appearance. What does it have to do with status?"

The smile on the queen's face was a bit forced, "What the emperor said is that Concubine Lian is not only outstanding in talent and appearance, but even more rare is her heart for the emperor."

Qi Taki nodded excitedly.

Su Mi suddenly felt distressed, looked up at the queen's face, the queen has recovered, still with a gentle face, said: "What the emperor said makes sense, that's exactly it."

"Well," Qi Taki nodded, and the matter was decided in this way.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager was reclining on a cushion embroidered with five blessings in Shu brocade, lazily blowing the hot tea in her hand.

A jasper incense burner is placed on a small rosewood table, exuding a quiet fragrance, lingering in people's noses.Makes people drowsy.

The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and said, "You are telling the truth, verbatim?"

The queen bowed her head and said, "Exactly, there is no mistake."

The Empress Dowager shook her head, "In that case, this Concubine Lian can't stay. Tell Mrs. Dingguo, let's do it according to the original plan." After she finished speaking, she sighed, and said: "Don't blame the Ai family for being cruel... ..."

(End of this chapter)