Maid Fu Chun brought tea and put it on the flower table beside Zong Yue.
Zong Yue also picked it up, brushed the tea foam on the bowl lid, and took a sip.
"Tea for the queen thank you."
"Thank you, I think when you were young, you always ran around in this Kunning Palace. Now that you've grown up, you've grown estranged from your mother."
Zong Yue sat upright, looking down at the teacup in his hand, without speaking.
The queen glanced at him with a smile, and said kindly: "It's true that time is not forgiving. When you were young, you were a lively child, but now you grow older and seem to be more tempered. But when you grow up, you really can't be like you were when you were young. Outsiders joked."
"Queen."
"Okay, okay, the queen mother won't talk about you anymore. It's been two years since Mrs. Qiao went away. A while ago, your father told me that he wanted to pick another princess for you. Does anyone have a fancy?"
"My son has no plans to remarry for the time being."
The queen's brows were full of pity, and she also sighed a little: "Don't listen to those people talking nonsense, Qiao and Liu passed away, they have no blessings, how can you say that you are a wife? Royal blessings, not every day. Everyone can bear it."
"Queen."
"Well, the queen mother will stop talking about your sadness, and talk about the business." The queen glanced at the prince who couldn't hide his anxiety, and said a little tiredly: "You also know that your brother, sitting on the throne of the prince, is the target of public criticism. There is no fetus in the back house, and it is also because of his lax family management. The incident that happened today was used by those people again, saying that your emperor brother offended the gods. Now your emperor brother is on the cusp of the storm, your father emperor The attitude at that place is unclear, just now the crown prince was anxious to ask you, just to know that His Majesty asked you to go, but he mentioned your emperor brother? I hope your majesty will never listen to slander, otherwise your emperor brother... "
At the end, the queen sighed heavily.
The prince also said: "Third son, why did the emperor ask you to go?"
"This—" Zong Yue looked at the tea cup, hesitated for a moment, and put it on the flower table.
"Third, don't do this and that, when did you talk like a woman?!"
The queen also forgot to come over, her eyes were eager.
Zong Yue showed distress: "My brother has received a secret decree."
The prince suddenly stood up and said angrily: "You are alone in front of me, what else can't you say!"
The queen said: "Prince, what are you forcing the king of Wei to do? If you receive the secret decree, you will be a minister, and you must be loyal to the king."
"Can… "
The mother and son seemed to have a red face and a black face, but their eyes were all on Zong Yue.
He let out a long sigh, and said: "I really can't say too much, but it has little to do with Brother Huang. Father asked me to go to Yangzhou on business."
"Yangzhou?" The prince's pupils constricted for a while, and he exchanged glances with the queen.
"Aside from Yangzhou, is there anything else?" the queen asked.
"Is it related to Zhou Guangrui's case?" The prince was more straightforward than the queen.
Zong Yue stood up: "Brother Huang, if you are willing to listen to my brother, don't ask anything, don't do anything, just stay in peace. In fact, I didn't want to come this time, but I was afraid of hurting my mother." heart, that’s why I’m here.”
The prince is still pondering the meaning of Zong Yue's words, Zong Yue has already left.
…
"Queen, what does he mean by that?"
The queen's gaze fell on Zong Yue's receding back, but she didn't speak.
"Queen."
"It literally means, don't say anything, don't do anything, and stay in the East Palace. Wei Wang is right. We invited him to Kunning Palace this time. We are too impatient. Now that everyone is watching, I'm afraid It will catch people's eyes and ears, and even your father may know about it."
"Is there a relationship between the two?"
The queen gave the prince a look of resentment, the prince was not so careless at ordinary times, probably because too many recent events had forced the regulations into chaos.
"Do you think that Zhou Guangrui took the position of Lianghuai Salt Transporter for no reason? He died so quickly, and he was charged with that kind of crime. Does your father have any thoughts in his heart? He will hold back and not say anything. The two rivers and the Huaihe River cannot be chaotic. This time, the King of Wei will be sent to Yangzhou on business, just to warn us and everyone.”
"The minister then ordered people to go down to have a look, but there was no tail sweeping to cover up." As he said that, the prince wanted to leave in a hurry, but was stopped by the queen.
"You are told not to say anything, not to do anything, what you say when you are my palace is deaf?!"
The prince didn't expect the queen to have a sudden temper, and looked at her blankly.
The queen sighed deeply, and rubbed her forehead: "Your father can't bear it, that is, the two rivers and the Huaihe River cannot be messed up. As long as the two rivers and Huaihe Rivers are not messed up, he will not repeat the old score. You will go back to the East Palace from now on and think about it behind closed doors. With your permission, you are not allowed to leave the East Palace."
"But where is the queen mother in Yangzhou?"
"It's not just us, there are other people involved in the Lianghuai side, but when you sent King Wei to Yangzhou, your father still cared about your crown prince's face and the friendship with this palace. You forgot that King Wei was a child since he was a child. Raised in Kunning Palace? Have you forgotten who Li Concubine belongs to?"
Yes, seriously, Concubine Li was sent to the palace by the empress's mother's family, the Chen family, to serve the empress. Concubine Li will be favored, and it was also when Empress Chen was pregnant that she offered it to Emperor Jianping for solid favor.
Concubine Li did better than expected and became pregnant with the third prince, but Empress Chen's second son died young. The queen was very sad, and Emperor Jianping felt sorry for his wife, so he put the third prince Yue in Kunning Palace to raise him. At that time, Concubine Li was not Concubine Li, but a little nobleman, she was promoted to the position of concubine, and now her son is crowned king, all relying on the lineage of the Zhonggong.
Therefore, what Emperor Jianping meant was very clear, even though he was disappointed with the crown prince, he still favored the middle palace.
"But queen mother, you are not afraid that the third child has a different heart. In recent years, he has not been very close to Zhonggong."
The queen glanced at her son: "As long as Concubine Li is here, what are you afraid of? It's not that the queen mother is talking about you, so don't put your mind on suspicion. If King Wei is still as close as he was in the middle palace back then, it's not up to him to do this job today." on him."
The emperor's mind is far deeper than ordinary people's thinking. The empress and Emperor Jianping have been husband and wife for decades, but they can only get through a little bit, and the prince can't even get through that little bit.
In contrast, King Wei was more transparent, which made the queen very disappointed with the prince.
But there is nothing he can do about disappointment. With just such a son, he can't give birth to a second one, so he can only bite the bullet and protect everything.
Not to mention here, Zong Yue left Kunning Palace on the other end and went to Xianfu Palace.
This is also the residence of one of the four concubines, Concubine Li.
Seeing Zong Yue stepping in from the outside, the palace lady Qianru rushed out to greet her.
"I have seen His Highness."
"Where is the concubine?"
Qianru's eyes flickered, she didn't dare to look directly at Zong Yue: "Your Majesty is paying homage to the Buddha in the Buddhist hall, Your Highness will take a seat, and this servant will invite your Majesty."
Zong Yue frowned lightly, went to the chair and sat down.
Not long after, a beautiful woman in a palace costume stepped out from behind the bead curtain, but seeing her slender figure, graceful and graceful, and looking at her face, she couldn't tell how old she was, and some people believed her if she was in her teens. There are more than twenty people who believe it. She is lonely and weak, as beautiful as a lotus, with a timid look in her eyebrows and eyes.
She was slightly out of breath, obviously arriving in a hurry. After sitting down at the main seat, the maid served tea, drank the tea, and calmed down before she said softly: "Why is the emperor free to come to Xianfu Palace today?"
"Father and emperor gave me an errand, and my son and minister are going out of Beijing, and the date of return is uncertain, so I came here to bid farewell to mother and concubine."
"Your Majesty gave you an errand?" Concubine Li said with joy in her eyes, "It's not in vain that I begged His Majesty for so long. Since Your Majesty has given you an errand, you should do your best for His Majesty. Don't miss my concubine mother. The palace is fine."
Zong Yue took a complicated look at Concubine Li, seeing that her cheeks were still blushing, and her breath was uneven when speaking, it was obvious that Qianru's words of worshiping Buddha before were lying to him.
I am afraid that worshiping Buddha is false, but practicing qigong is true.
Ever since Zong Yue was young, he would always encounter situations where Concubine Li disappeared for a while inexplicably. Later, I gradually learned that Concubine Li has never forgotten to practice kung fu for years and months in order to win the favor of the saint, and her practice has something to do with her birth.
Concubine Li was a lean horse from Yangzhou before entering the palace.
It was the top-quality lean horse that the Chen family found after searching all over Yangzhou. Later, the Chen family changed the shell and sent her to the palace in the name of serving the queen, in fact, it was for the queen's favor.
The reason why Yangzhou Shouma is famous all over the world has its own unique features. In addition to the double mastery of sex and art, there are also some secret arts that are not for outsiders, which is also an important means for them to win the favor of men.
Concubine Li has practiced this skill for decades, even if she gave birth to King Wei and became the fourth concubine, she did not fail.
In fact, it is not useless for her to do so, she has been in the palace for a long time, and for more than 20 years, if it is said that the most enduring concubine in the palace is Concubine Li. Even if Emperor Jianping had other young and beautiful concubines, he never forgot to come to Xianfu Palace several times a month.
"My concubine is not young anymore. The imperial doctor said that your stomach disease is getting worse, and you don't need to starve yourself on a diet."
Concubine Li said indifferently: "Emperor, don't worry, my concubine is used to eating less, besides, my stomach disease has nothing to do with eating less."
"Since the mother and concubine don't listen, it's just that I didn't say this. I still have something to do, so I will leave the palace first."
…
After Zong Yue left, Qianru said cautiously: "Your Majesty, why did you make His Highness angry? Your Highness is right, you are getting old now, and your health is not good. Now that His Highness is the king, even if Your Majesty loses the saint Chong, this does not hinder your status in the palace."
"What do you know!" Li Fei, who had always spoken softly, suddenly raised her voice, "What do you know!"
"Your Majesty!" Qianru knelt down in fright.
Concubine Li adjusted her breath, and said softly: "Among the four concubines, I have the lowest family background, maybe others respect me as a mother, but I have not forgotten what background I am. I am just such a skin, only a son like Yue'er, all princes In the middle, his mother's family is powerless, only a mother like me, it doesn't matter if he understands, I just need to do what I should do."
"It's not that the empress is still there. She has always valued His Highness, and she will not fail to take care of His Highness. Besides, His Highness has always been good to His Highness the Crown Prince, and she will not be treated lightly in the future."
"Her?" Concubine Li's voice was erratic, and she couldn't hear what it meant, "I count on the empress, now I am still Ligui, and my son is still riding around beside the prince..."
The soft voice gradually faded away, and Concubine Li stood up: "Let's go, go back to the quiet room."