"Xiu Xin..." came a soft call, Xiu Xin put the styrax incense in her hand into the incense burner, and hurried into the inner hall, the queen leaned on the pillow, frowned and said, "It's getting colder today, it's just I want to take a nap, but I don’t want to get up when I lie down.”
Xiuxin took the phoenix robe and waited for the queen to dress. Hearing what the queen said, she smiled and said, "It's okay, the empress always gets up early every day, and I'm afraid that if she gets up late, she will lose her status. Apart from the emperor, you are the one who has worked so hard. Now take this opportunity to rest for a while, sleep when you want, and eat when you want."
The queen raised her hand and touched her flat stomach, with a bitter smile on her lips, "Yes, now, I am a twin, and I have the most honorable child of Ningguo in my belly." , Bengong should have a good rest, but... in this palace, if Bengong takes a nap, someone might climb on Bengong's head and shit."
Xiu Xin also followed the Queen's gaze to look at the Queen's belly, her eyes flickered, and she helped her get dressed in silence.
"If a concubine in the palace is pregnant, her family members can be allowed to come to the palace to see her. Maybe I haven't seen my father and mother for a long time. Please help me send a letter to announce that they will enter the palace tomorrow." The queen stood up. , opened her hands and closed her eyes, and tidied her up with her heart before walking to the dressing table.
Xiu Xin responded, and the queen hurriedly shook her head again, "Forget it, let's announce mother, father... Let's forget it..."
Xiu Xin was slightly stunned, then lowered her head and answered "Yes".
The queen looked at herself in the mirror, raised her hand to caress her face, lingered on the corner of her eye for a long time, and then sighed, "I seem to be... getting old, Xiu Xin, you see, there are wrinkles all over the place." .”
Xiuxin carefully looked at the queen's face, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is not old, how could she be old? This servant looks at me, none of the new concubines who have entered the palace these years can match your Majesty."
The queen curled her lips slightly, "You are the only one who can comfort me, you are not old... I remember that I and Concubine Jin entered the palace almost in the same year, but recently she lived in Qiwu Palace. Only then did I realize that Bengong now looks like she is ten years older than her. Also, although she has been in the Lenggong, sometimes the Lenggong is a good place, and there is no intrigue. Although Bengong is in this high position In fact, there are many things that bother me every day. Besides, who would have thought that this empress, Ben Gong, is just a pawn in the hands of others."
Xiuxin heard the words, but did not respond, her hands were busy pulling the queen's hair.
"Concubine Jin is really ruthless. More than ten years ago, although Ben Gong seemed to have won, but in the past ten years, Ben Gong has not been able to touch her hair, and has to help her raise her daughter. For many years, in that cold palace, other people went in, and when they came out, it was already a corpse, but Concubine Jin didn't. Twenty years of Qiwu Palace, I still have to be carefully served by this palace." The queen put her hand on her lower abdomen, and her smile was a bit cold, "I don't believe it, I can't beat her. Once, I will definitely let her go around without food."
Concubine Jin's calm face pretending to be noble flashed in the queen's eyes, she gritted her silver teeth secretly, and Qianqian couldn't help but clenched her fingers tightly.
There was the sound of clinking accessories hitting outside, the queen frowned and raised her voice, "Who?"
The door curtain was lifted, and the queen saw from the mirror that the person who came in from the outer hall was wearing a bright red mirror. Hua Jing's face was full of smiles, seeing the queen dressing up, she smiled and came forward and said, "The queen mother looks really good-looking today, people say that pregnant women are the most beautiful, it really is so Woolen cloth."
Hua Jing's compliments made the queen frowned, and she glanced at Hua Jing with some displeasure, "The son-in-law is trapped, and now his life and death are uncertain, but you are dressed like this, how decent are you? What are you talking about behind your back?"
Hua Jing pursed her lips and raised her voice, "Why should this princess care about other people's opinions? This princess is the daughter of the empress, and the empress is the mother of a country. Besides, she is still pregnant with the future prince. Who dares to say..."
With a sound of "bang", the room became silent for a moment, and after a while, I heard Hua Jing's trembling voice, "Mother... mother queen, why did you hit me?" Hua Jing's eyes fell on her body On that piece of white, just now, the queen mother picked up a box of lead powder and threw it at herself.
The queen gritted her teeth, and said with a sneer, "Why did I beat you? I think you have nothing to redeem but your arrogance. Why don't you hurry up and change your clothes! From now on For the first time, if there is no news from the son-in-law, you can only wear plain clothes for a day."
Hua Jing lowered her head, only felt that the tip of her nose was a little sore, but she tried to hold back the tears, and replied in a low voice, "Yes..."
Just about to exit the inner hall, but suddenly remembered something, stopped in her tracks, and said softly, "Mother, mother-in-law, brought a few guards and went to the border gate early this morning..."
The queen was taken aback when she heard the words, and turned her head to look at Hua Jing, "What did you say? She really went?"
Hua Jing nodded quickly, "Yes, I left early this morning. When Jing'er went to greet her last night, I saw her packing her luggage. When Jing'er went out, she saw her leaving with a few guards. .”
There was another "bang", and a Jinbuyao hit Huajing's face straightly, Huajing didn't dare to move, and stood upright, and the Jinbuyao just hit Zhonghuajing's forehead , smashed out a blood mark.
The queen suddenly stood up and walked in front of Hua Jing, "She, a woman in her 40s, rushed straight to the border in such a hurry, you still have the heart to show off in this palace dressed in colorful clothes. Jinger, look at me You are really living back more and more, you know this, what will the women in this palace say about you? Do you know what the people in this world will say about you? It doesn’t matter if you are ridiculed by people in the world, but you are me Li Yiran's daughter, you are the daughter of my Li family. If you dare to damage the reputation of the Li family, I will not have you as a daughter! Why don't you hurry up and change into plain clothes and go after her! Twenty of your guards with better skills, hurry to the road."
Hua Jing opened his mouth wide, and closed his mouth when he didn't understand, and said after a long time, "But... that's the border... Queen Mother..."
The corner of the queen's mouth curled up into a sneer, "Border, what's wrong with the border, this time the emperor has sent Prince Jing to lead troops to rescue the son-in-law, if you can successfully rescue the son-in-law from the border, then the common people will say that you saved your husband from thousands of miles away. , It should be a good story. Even if you can't rescue the son-in-law from the border, you should come back crying from thousands of miles away, and the people will say that you value love and righteousness."
Hearing this, Hua Jing pondered for a while, then lowered his head, answered, and exited the inner hall.
The queen still stood there frowning, eyes full of disappointment, Xiu Xin stepped forward and raised her hand, and saw a bloodstain on the palm of her hand stabbed by Jin Buyao, Xiu Xin quickly took out the medicine bottle and took it out. Putting some ointment on the queen, she said distressedly, "Mother, why are you doing this? You hurt Princess Huajing like this, and you hurt yourself."
The queen smiled bitterly, "I used to think that Jing'er was very obedient and obedient, but now I feel more and more that she always lacks consideration in doing things, and even, she is not as good as Yunshang."
After a pause, thinking of Yunshang again, I always felt a little uneasy, "I always feel that something is wrong with this Yunshang after she came back from Ningguo Temple. I have a faint feeling that she is not as we imagined." She is so easy to control, and her performance at the Jiji ceremony was clearly premeditated. Moreover, the last few times, Jing'er attacked her, but she missed, although Jing'er did not tell Bengong, although every time, It all looks like a coincidence, but when these coincidences come together, it's a bit weird."
Xiuxin heard the words, paused in the action of applying the medicine, thought for a while, and then said, "But Princess Yunshang looks so fragile and can be blown down by the wind, she doesn't seem to be a scheming person."
"It's good if it's really scheming, but if it's clearly scheming but able to hide it so well, then this palace should be more on guard." The queen narrowed her eyes, with a bit of thought in them.
After the medicine was finished, the sound of light footsteps came from outside again. The queen thought it was Hua Jing, and said, "Didn't I tell you to chase after it quickly? Why are you back again?"
There was a pause in the footsteps outside, and then a soft voice sounded, "It's the concubine who came to see my sister."
The queen paused, a coldness flashed in her eyes, it was Concubine Jin.
The queen walked to the door, and the moment the curtain was lifted, she changed into a smiling face, "Why is my sister here? It's cold, look at you, you are still wearing such thin clothes, what should you do if you catch a cold?" The woman was dressed in elegant pear-blossom white, and only a plum blossom was embroidered with silver thread on the skirt. Looking up, she saw a melon-seeded face with a seven-point smile on it. Mei, minus one point will make you cold.
"After the elder sister left yesterday, the concubine felt a little uncomfortable, so she took a rest early. Today, I heard Madam Zheng say that my sister is pregnant. My sister is very happy, and the concubine has nothing else to give. , This is the warm jade that the emperor gave to my concubine a few days ago. It is said that it is warm in winter and it is good for my body. The concubine thought that it was getting colder and colder, and my sister was just pregnant, so I sent it to my sister. Concubine Jin held a piece of jade in her hand, with plum blossoms engraved on it. Concubine Jin's voice was soft and seemed to be extremely sincere.
But the queen couldn't laugh, why did she rest early, it was true that she rested early, after the emperor heard that she was pregnant, the first time the emperor didn't come to talk to him, but rushed directly to Qiwu Palace, and spent the night did not come out. But as the master of Qiwu Palace, he didn't even see the emperor's shadow.
"Concubine Jin is polite. Since the emperor bestowed it on Concubine Jin, this palace can win people's favor." The queen didn't smile, but went straight past Concubine Jin, went to the chair in the outer hall and sat down.
Concubine Jin smiled, "The concubine doesn't have any other valuable things, could it be that my sister hates it?"
The queen raised her mouth slightly when she heard the words, "Since Concubine Jin said so, if I don't follow, wouldn't the emperor have to blame me for bullying you again?" The queen stretched out her hand and took the Nuanyu over , but the tentacle was a warm touch, but the queen frowned slightly, and after taking it, she handed it to Xiuxin.
Concubine Jin saw it, smiled indifferently, turned her head to the queen and said softly, "Sister, this concubine just watched Princess Huajing leave in a hurry, but what happened?"
The queen clenched her hands in her sleeves secretly, "The eldest son-in-law was trapped at the border. Hua Jing was worried for a while, so she came to ask me to allow her to take someone to the border to beg her son-in-law. I was worried about her safety, so I cursed a few words, but But she seemed determined after eating the weight, and she was going to the border, but Bengong didn't agree, so she rushed away in a hurry."
Concubine Jin frowned, and said worriedly, "I heard that the son-in-law is at the northwest border. Recently, the Yelang Kingdom is about to move, and the emperor is also very worried. The men in the Yelang Kingdom are brave and good at fighting, and all of them are as fierce as wolves. The princess is a weak woman, how can she go to the border at will? If something happens, the emperor and sister will be very sad. My sister should persuade the princess. The emperor said that Prince Jing should go to the border to fight against Yelang's entry into the palace , is still in preparation, Prince Jing has not yet arrived, and the situation at the border is extremely dangerous..."
The queen was stunned for a long time, and then said, "Is this what the emperor told you?"
Concubine Jin nodded, "Yes, the emperor has been saying that the Yelang Kingdom has raised 200,000 troops this time and is approaching the border step by step. Woolen cloth."
"Really?" The queen showed a trace of coldness on her back, and she smiled reluctantly, "Really? Fortunately, I didn't let Hua Jing go to the border. It's so dangerous. Her daughter's house..."
Concubine Jin smiled, "Yeah." Then she changed the conversation again, and said softly, "By the way, sister, just now Concubine Shu's maid of honor came to tell my concubine that in a few days, Concubine Shu will be in her concubine. There is a banquet in the palace, I heard that the emperor will also be there, the concubine just asked the maid about the good thing, but the maid did not tell the concubine, does my sister know what is going on in the palace?"
The queen was taken aback again, "Really? Concubine Shu is going to host a banquet? I don't even know about it."
Concubine Jin seemed to be stunned when she heard the words, but after a while, she laughed again, "Look at this concubine's mind, the biggest good thing in the palace right now is the fact that my sister is pregnant. Since the emperor knows, It must be the emperor who ordered Concubine Shu to host the banquet, and deliberately kept it from my sister, so I must have wanted to give my sister a surprise."
When the queen heard what Concubine Jin said, although she felt that it was a little impossible, after all, the emperor's attitude towards the child in her womb was very indifferent, but she still had some expectations, so she smiled and said, "Is that so?" ?”
Concubine Jin nodded when she heard the words, and said with crooked eyebrows and smiles, "Sister, don't say that the concubine slipped her tongue, and then you must pretend that you don't know anything. If Sister Concubine Shu said it, it was for congratulations. Elder sister is pregnant with dragon son, elder sister has to pretend to be very surprised, don't confess her sister."
The queen smiled slightly and replied, "Definitely."
The two talked nonsense for a while before Concubine Jin got up to take her leave and left.
As soon as Concubine Jin left, the queen dropped the smile on her face and returned to a blank expression.
"Your Majesty, ever since Concubine Jin lived in this Qiwu Palace, she has always been lukewarm to her empress, and she is also lukewarm to the emperor. Why does she look like a different person today? She ran here to pay her respects to the empress so graciously, and she still spoke in such a tone, really, I don't want to be her Concubine Jin's style?" Xiuxin looked at the entrance of the hall, worried and authentic.
The queen smiled coldly, "You can see it too? I was surprised just now. Bengong and her have always been in harmony with each other. She has been living in Wu Palace for so many days, and the sum of what she has said is not as good as today. There are too many, but since she is willing to act, Ben Gong will just accompany her."
Xiuxin paused for a moment before hesitantly said, "But, ma'am, what Concubine Jin said just now is true? If it is true as Concubine Jin said and the border situation is as urgent as Concubine Jin said, then princess...would you like to go to the princess mansion for a while?" trip?"
The queen snorted coldly and said, "Concubine Jin's words are full of loopholes, how can you listen to them? Then the Japanese palace heard the emperor said in the Qinzheng Hall that Prince Jing was sent to the border just to rescue the son-in-law, but she changed in the blink of an eye. How could it be possible for a small country in Yelang to send an army of 200,000 troops to resist the Yelang Kingdom? She said this just to prevent Huajing from going to the border. From what the people in the imperial city say, if Hua Jing doesn't go to the border, a single word from the people in the imperial city is enough to completely destroy her."
Xiu Xin nodded, "Your Majesty is still smart, the Empress Jinfei is really..."
The queen sat on the chair, lost in thought, and muttered to herself, "But what does she mean when she suddenly said that Concubine Shu is going to hold a banquet in the palace?"
Xiu Xin also frowned, but the two of them thought for a long time, but they couldn't come up with a reason. The queen raised her head and said to Xiu Xin, "Go and check first, what happened to Concubine Shu's banquet?" Is it true or not? Does the Emperor really know who was invited, when and where the banquet will be held? The more details the better... "
Xiu Xin nodded quickly, "Your servant knows, I will do it now."
The queen nodded and said again, "I will invite my mother into the palace tomorrow, don't forget, and tell my mother by the way, I want to eat the hibiscus cake made by the old mother at home."
Xiu Xin responded, and said, "Your maidservant has written it down, but your empress has other orders."
"You can go to the father-in-law in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs later and ask him to send more pots of flowers and plants."
"Flowers?" Xiuxin was stunned, and then asked, "The flowers that the empress likes are not in bloom this season, how about the servant girl asking the head of the House of Internal Affairs to send a few pots of daffodils?"
The queen shook her head, "No, I don't want daffodils, you tell the head of the House of Internal Affairs, and you say that the palace is placed in the bedroom, and you want a big pot with more soil..."