Some of the sharp-eyed princes had already seen that the situation was not right, their chattering voices suddenly dropped, and their movements of pushing cups and changing cups also temporarily stopped, and they looked at the empress and empress anxiously one by one. Originally, concubines in the harem should not be present at this kind of family banquet, but Concubine Ning has become more and more favored these years, and Emperor Chongzhen granted her the honor, so she was able to sit here.
Emperor Chongzhen put down the rhino horn-carved cup with the three friends of Sui Han, the smile on his face disappeared, he looked to the side, and said, "The banquet is only half over, and the queen is leaving, what do these children think?" Empress Chen's complexion was not good, she calmed down and said again: "If you really feel uncomfortable somewhere, Xuan Tai Physician will take a look immediately, don't delay."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. It's just that I'm a little dizzy. It's fine to go back and have a rest. It's not a big deal." Empress Chen spoke submissively, but there was no soft light in her eyes, as if dealing with Emperor Chongzhen's words was just a task. She looked at Wei Luo who was beside Zhao Jie, then smiled and said, "Ah Luo, help me back, it happens that we haven't seen each other for a long time, I have something to tell you."
Wei Luo looked at Zhao Jie, then stood up obediently, walked to Empress Chen and supported her arm, and said, "Okay, my daughter-in-law also has something to say to the empress."
Emperor Chongzhen watched the two go away, and suddenly felt that the family banquet had become dull, his face darkened slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Zhao Jie arranged for two people to follow Wei Luo and Empress Chen to protect their safety.
Ninth Prince Zhao Chen saw that the atmosphere was tense, so he suggested that everyone follow the law and chant "New Year" in couplets. Emperor Chongzhen didn't say yes or no, presumably it was the default. So the juniors racked their brains and began to enforce the wine order. For the New Year, it is best to have a good omen and make Emperor Chongzhen happy.
The Ninth Prince opened his head generously: "The year is poor and the age is old, and the festival will open up a new fragrance."
After the nine princes came the twelve princes. The twelve princes were young, so they paraphrased a sentence from a great poet: "The sound of firecrackers kills the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth into Tusu."
The other princes also opened their mouths and came. When it was Zhao Jie's turn, Zhao Jie turned the wine glass in his hand and said casually: "Let the old festival be kept with the song, and the New Year is greeted with candles."
Although this sentence is simple, there are a few sentences behind it: "The atmosphere of winter loves the arrows, and the rooster crows in the spring. When you are happy, you can hear the pot cover, and you can see the fighting at the end of the night. I will also live a trillion years, and I will pay homage to Jiuchongcheng." Among the free and easy, freedom is a kind of heroic and uninhibited style.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded.
After a few rounds of drinking orders, the seventh prince was punished with the most drinks. Emperor Chongzhen commented: "It seems that the old seventh is not lazy in his homework, and even the little twelve is better than you."
The seventh prince blushed with embarrassment, "My son is ashamed of his expectations for the emperor. After returning home, he will study hard and live up to..."
Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, too lazy to listen to his nonsense, "Forget it, you can speak with just one mouth. Sit down."
After drinking for three rounds, the family banquet is almost used up, and the group is going to move to the third floor of Shengxue Tower to watch the fireworks. As soon as Emperor Chongzhen stood up, Concubine Ning came over to support him. Seeing that he had not made a statement, she couldn't help repeating the old saying: "Your Majesty, what I just said... Zhang'er..."
Emperor Chongzhen turned his head and looked at Concubine Ning, "Concubine Ning, I have my own considerations about the matter of the fifth child. I will stop everything and ask too many questions, and I will get annoyed."
Concubine Ning Gui was startled, and then she realized that he hadn't forgotten, but just kept silent on purpose. Then he explained in panic: "Your Majesty, calm down, I am impatient for a while, but I am concerned about it... If this makes Your Majesty unhappy, I will not mention it again."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at her, and said inexplicably, "If you are worried about Lao Wu, I will send someone to see him."
Concubine Ning Gui is not stupid, she can naturally hear that the "look" is not a simple concern, it must have other meanings, so she hurriedly said: "Zhang'er did something wrong, it should be grounded, just take this opportunity to let He thinks more about himself, it's because I'm stupid, I shouldn't doubt His Majesty's intentions."
Emperor Chongzhen didn't have much expression on his face, and didn't say anything.
Concubine Ning was worried that what she said just now would annoy the emperor, so she hurriedly said: "This concubine will help His Majesty go upstairs."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, as if he didn't blame her.
The third floor of Shengxue Building has an excellent view. If you stand here during the day, you can see all the buildings in the entire palace. It was night now, and the lake was sparkling. Without moonlight, the night seemed darker than usual. Until a loud noise exploded on the other side of the bank, with a "bang", the sky suddenly burst into colorful fireworks, and then one after another, the sound overlapped, illuminating the entire Taiye Pool as bright as day.
Wei Luo accompanied Empress Chen back to the pool, walked all the way back to Qingxi Palace, just stood at the gate of Zhaoyang Hall, and saw the Taiye Pond set off fireworks, and they just happened to be able to see a little light when they stood on Danbi. At this time, Empress Chen was not in a hurry to enter the palace, she stood at the door and looked out, her eyes full of regret.
Wei Luo called out, "Queen, aren't you feeling unwell? It's windy outside, and it's easy to catch cold after blowing for a long time."
Empress Chen suddenly came back to her senses, turned around and smiled at her, calm and generous: "Who said I'm not feeling well? I'm fine."
Wei Luo blinked. Didn't she say it herself
Empress Chen didn't mind telling the truth to Wei Luo, so she strolled into Zhaoyang Hall and said truthfully as she walked, "I lied to the emperor, otherwise, how could I come back so early?" Mu Teng faced Luo Han on the bed, called Wei Luo to him and said, "Ah Luo, you are my daughter-in-law, and I only tell you this because I treat you as one of my own."
Wei Luo sat across from her, thought for a while and asked, "Doesn't Queen Mother like to attend family banquets?"
"It's the same every year. It's nothing new except for eating and drinking." Empress Chen ordered someone to bring tea and water. Maybe she was thirsty, so she picked up a teacup with pink ganoderma lucidum and daffodils and drank the jasmine honey in it. After drinking, he sighed and said, "Actually, it's not that I don't like it. It's just that this year, looking at Concubine Ning's appearance, I feel very uncomfortable. If I sit down again, I might lose my composure in front of the children. That's why I want to come back early."
Wei Luo also took a sip of jasmine honey dew, it was refreshing and delicious, sweet but not greasy. She said: "Why doesn't the mother like Concubine Ning?"
After saying this, I felt that I was asking a little stupidly. Which woman would like someone who robs her husband
But what Empress Chen said next surprised her.
Empress Chen said: "A while ago when something happened to Li's family, Princess Gao Yang begged me to come here and told me something." She paused, eyes full of guilt, "Guess why Liuli has been weak and sick since she was a child?"
Wei Luo held the pastel teacup and asked slowly, "Is it related to Concubine Ning?"
Empress Chen said: "When Liuli was one year old, she was poisoned by someone and almost couldn't be saved. The imperial doctor saved her life after three days and three nights. At that time, it was found out that the person who poisoned her was Concubine Shu, and His Majesty ordered Concubine Shu was executed. It’s just that Concubine Shu’s death was so strange that I have always been suspicious. It wasn’t until the Japanese Palace a few days ago that it was confirmed that Concubine Ning did it.”
Wei Luo asked: "Since that's the case, why didn't the Queen Mother tell His Majesty? Please Your Majesty make the decision?"
Empress Chen smiled and said: "So what if I say it, I don't expect him to stand up for me, I only hope that Liuli and Changsheng can live a peaceful life, and I don't want anything else." Besides, she didn't say that, It's just that the emperor didn't believe it, and wanted to protect Concubine Ning Guifei wholeheartedly. She had long given up any hope for Emperor Chongzhen.
Wei Luo was very surprised, it turned out that this was the crux of the problem between the emperor and empress. Empress Chen's heart is dead, and Emperor Chongzhen doesn't know why she is like this. No wonder she remains indifferent no matter what the emperor does.
Empress Chen said again: "As long as there is something to be done after the longevity, I will not be able to control Concubine Ning."
There is nothing wrong with thinking this way, Zhao Jie is the legitimate son, and the throne should belong to him. But Wei Luo couldn't help thinking about the previous life, why did the emperor pass the throne to Zhao Zhang? And Zhao Jie is willing to be a regent? She thought about it again, it seemed that during that time when Zhao Liuli and Empress Chen passed away one after another, Zhao Jie's originally indifferent temperament became even more violent, and almost everyone in the capital trembled when they mentioned him. Although Zhao Zhang was the emperor, he controlled the overall situation of the court and held all the power in his hands. He even set up another chair beside Zhao Zhang in the early court, forming the first situation of "two sages in charge". There have been rumors in the market for a long time that Zhao Zhang will not sit on the throne for a long time, and he will return it to Zhao Jie.
Afterwards, Wei Luo didn't know whether Zhao Jie got back her things, because she was already dead.
Will he repeat the same mistakes in this life, or will Zhao Jie inherit the throne as a matter of course
Judging from the current situation, Zhao Zhang has lost power and is no longer a threat. Unless Emperor Chongzhen's brain is broken, he insists on making Zhao Zhang the prince. It's just that, every one of the officials in the court can drown him with their spittle.
Wei Luo suddenly remembered something, and asked, "I heard that your mother is choosing a husband for Liuli recently?"
Speaking of this, Empress Chen's face softened a little, and she sighed, "I'm in love with Liuli, and even Liuli doesn't like it."
Wei Luo pursed her lips and smiled, Zhao Liuli had a crush in her heart, so naturally she looked down on others. She persuaded: "There is no need for the empress to worry about this matter. Liuli has a noble status, so she can't just marry casually. Besides, is the empress willing to let her?"
Empress Chen is naturally reluctant, but so what? You can't keep your daughter from getting married for the rest of your life.
Wei Luo said: "Liuli just told me that she hated you and wanted to stay with you for two more years... It's just that she didn't dare to tell you because she was afraid that you would get angry, and let me pass it on her behalf."
Empress Chen immediately said angrily and helplessly: "This child... is there anything I dare not say, can I still eat her?"
Wei Luo smiled, but remained silent.
Wei Luo had a lot of conversations with Empress Chen, and this was the first long conversation between the two after they became mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Unknowingly, an hour passed, and I heard that the family banquet in Shengxuelou had already ended. When Zhao Jie came to Zhaoyang Hall, he saw his little wife sitting behind a red lacquer inlaid mother-of-pearl kang table, eating porridge and pickled radish in honey sauce.
Zhao Jie stepped forward, sat on the couch, stretched out his long arms, and hugged her into his arms, "Where's the queen mother?"
Wei Luo's porridge almost spilled, and she complained, "Why didn't the eldest brother say hello? The queen mother went to bed, and I was hungry, so I asked the kitchen to make something and bring it over."
Zhao Jie smiled lowly, "I hug my daughter-in-law, what else do I say hello to?"
Wei Luo smelled the alcohol on his body and knew that he drank a lot. She took a spoonful of mushroom chicken porridge and fed it to Zhao Jie: "You must not have eaten anything, right? Are you hungry, I'll ask someone to make something more and bring it back? The queen mother said, I can order the kitchen here as I like. "
Zhao Jie ate a mouthful of porridge with her hand, pinched her chin and kissed her, "Don't eat, let's go home."
Wei Luo nodded and sat up from the couch, "Then let's go."
"What did you tell the queen mother?" Zhao Jie asked.
Wei Luo paused, thinking of Empress Chen's calm eyes, she still couldn't hold back, and told Zhao Jie honestly: "Big brother, can you do me two favors?"
Zhao Jie raised his eyebrows, "Say it."
The first thing, Wei Luo told him about Zhao Liuli's poisoning, "If this matter is really related to Concubine Ning, His Majesty must know the truth..."
Zhao Jie's black pupils were pitch black. Empress Chen never mentioned this to him. He was only nine years old when the colored glaze was poisoned, so he didn't know the inside story. Now that Wei Luo opened his mouth, he naturally couldn't just sit idly by and said, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly, and there is one more thing?"
The second thing, Wei Luo looked around, and after confirming that there were no maidservants around, she tiptoed to Zhao Jie's ear and said, "Can you order someone to find out about Yang Zhen? He has been away for two months Yes, Liuli is very worried."
Zhao Jie turned to look at her, pinched her cheek and said, "You really care about other people's affairs."
A sour smell. Wei Luo smiled, put his arms around Zhao Jie's neck and hung him on his body, gave him a smack on the cheek, and said, "Big brother has great powers, these things are just a piece of cake for you! Are you right?" ?”
Zhao Jie nodded his lips, "Kissing is only useful here."
Wei Luo had no choice but to post it and gnaw a few more bites.
When they left Zhaoyang Palace, the maidservants in Zhaoyang Palace blushed like boiled shrimps. He thought to himself, Prince Jing and Concubine Jing are really affectionate, Prince Jing doesn't have the usual serious look in front of the concubine, the love in his eyes is almost drowning. This is probably one thing and one thing.
Not long after Zhao Jie and Wei Luo left, Emperor Chongzhen changed into a regular uniform with four dragon patterns and appeared at the gate of Zhaoyang Hall.