Rong Xi didn't mention A Jin in the letter she sent to Mu Huai. She felt that A Jin was not worth mentioning. Even if she was really pregnant with Mu Huai's child, it was not worth mentioning with Mu Huai.
This month, her attitude towards Ah Jin, an unnamed court lady, was not as magnanimous as a court lady should be. Rong Xi knew that if Mu Huai really had other concubines in the future, she would definitely be a vicious court lady. chamber queen.
She had worried and feared about this before, but until now, it was useless for her to be afraid, she could only try to let herself accept these dark thoughts.
In her heart, Rong Xi set a bottom line for herself.
The bottom line is that she must not harm the children of Mu Huai and other women.
She still has to fight for the favor she deserves.
She is familiar with all kinds of methods used by concubines to compete for favor, such as how to please men, or how to beg for mercy with men.
But she wanted to keep her original temperament in front of Mu Huai, and get along with her husband with her true nature.
Rong Xi didn't want to use those charms to confuse men.
In fact, the last time something happened to the Zhai family, Mu Huai saw her true temperament, and knew that she was gentle and docile on the outside, but she was a vicious person on the inside.
But even though Mu Huai said that she had a poisonous mind, he didn't despise her because of it.
As a queen, she ordered Danxiang to hold Ah Jin's mouth. Although it was justified, it was more or less because she felt disgusted and sullen when she saw Ah Jin's face and her bulging belly.
Rong Xi was not sure whether Mu Huai had any luck with this woman, A Jin.
Thinking of this, Rong Xi tried his best to relax his eyebrows a little.
She carefully put all the letters Mu Huai sent her into the mother-of-pearl wooden box. Although the letters Mu Huai wrote to her home were not sentimental at all, they were still treasured tokens for her.
Rong Xi originally wanted to write some graceful poems, then cut off a strand of black hair, wrapped it with a red string, and sent it to the man.
But now it seems that a person with Mu Huai's temperament will not understand the affection of these daughters' families.
Then he imitated his style of writing, and on the gold-sprinkled paper, wrote in delicate small letters about her recent handling of the harem's internal affairs, and also wrote about Jue'er's current situation.
Rong Xi knew that since she was the empress of Daqi, what she had to do was not only to take good care of Zhi Yan who was her husband, but also to assist Mu Huai who was the emperor.
During this month, she was not idle.
After getting up every day, she and Danxiang went to various places in the Forbidden City of Yongxi. After returning to the East Palace, she listed all the places she found that could save money.
Rong Xi ordered the palace staff to submit to her all the expenditures of the inner divisions - Ninghui Palace in recent months, and also asked Cheng Song to dig out the old accounts of Mu Huai before he became the throne.
Cheng Song sent someone to hand her the account books of the last year of Emperor Zhuang's reign.
Rong Xi asked Cheng Song to find her a few court ladies who could read accounts, and she also found an abacus, sitting in the study of the East Palace all day long, crackling the abacus with her slender white hands.
The old accounts mainly include all the things purchased by the six bureaus of the inner divisions when Emperor Zhuang was alive.
Rong Xi checked the account books and found that there was something wrong with the accounts.
She came from a palace maid, so she understands the thoughts of those below, because the salaries of court ladies and eunuchs are not high, and some people even send their salaries to family members outside the palace.
Many palace people have thought about ignoring the things in the palace, especially the palace people who work in the inner divisions. They come into contact with a lot of food, medicine, silk, pearls and jade every day.
Be ambiguous about something secretly, and no one will find out.
These people are like moths.
If everyone did this, the money in the national treasury would be short of money over the years.
After checking the accounts, Rong Xi asked Cheng Song to call the two current clerks of the inner divisions and the supervisor of the Sixth Bureau to the study of the East Palace.
Attendant Cheng Song was surprised by her behavior.
He originally thought that the new empress had a gentle temperament, and when the emperor went on a tour to the east, she would only eat and drink in the palace, and then tease and tease the prince to pass the time.
Unexpectedly, this Empress Rong really wanted to rectify the unhealthy trends in the harem.
The six eunuchs were summoned to the study by the eunuchs of the East Palace tremblingly. Seeing the stunning Xinhou sitting behind the desk, they all bowed their heads and stood in a row.
The maids who helped the new post sort out the accounts immediately followed her prior instructions and handed over the separate account books for each bureau to the six eunuchs.
The supervisors took a closer look and found that it actually contained the omissions and omissions of various items in the Six Bureaus during the year.
It takes a lot of work to sort out these books.
What surprised the eunuchs even more was that Empress Rong's ability to keep track of things was really terrifying, she was so familiar with the number of these account books, it was as if she had eaten all these account books in her stomach.
Rong Xi looked at the eunuchs in front of him with those beautiful peach blossom eyes, seeing their surprised faces and looking at each other, he said calmly: "Everyone, eunuchs, from now on, every three days, your six innings will be sent to the court. Submit a copy of the list purchased outside the Palace to this Palace. This Palace wants to see if the account books sent to this Palace after one month can still be matched with these lists.”
All six supervisors should be respectful.
They secretly felt that the behavior style of the new empress was really different from that of the previous empress.
Empress Rong is a very shrewd woman, she pays great attention to details, even a little serious.
However, when the former empress managed the affairs of the inner palace, she seemed to be dealing with errands, and she only glanced casually when reconciling the accounts.
Empress Rong's move was to eradicate the Forbidden City from the root.
In this way, all the eunuchs or maids who had hidden palace objects were alerted.
Since the emperor is not in the palace, it is the empress who speaks best.
Everyone said that the new queen is really a ruthless character that is not easy to provoke.
The palace servants who helped Rong Xi sort out the accounts were also reused, and they were placed in various bureaus and divisions by Rong Xi.
If the censor of the Jianyuan is the supervisor of all officials, then these court ladies under Rong Xi are the eyeliner responsible for supervising the purchase of the Sixth Division.
The day before Mu Huai returned from his tour to the east, Rong Xi's actions had initially achieved results.
In just one month, the expenses of Yongxi Palace saved more than 10,000 taels of silver.
Dan Xiang stood by Rong Xi's side, and was dumbfounded when the female officer reported the bill to Rong Xi.
She really didn't expect to save so much money in just one month's work.
Rong Xi's face was indifferent, and he smiled knowingly.
After the female official left, Rong Xi said to Dan Xiang: "This Yongxi Palace is huge, the eunuchs and court ladies who are as high as this palace and as low as Yeting, each save a few pennies a day, and the little can make a lot. , and can save 10,000 taels a month. Not to mention, the things they secretly hid in the past are not just a few copper coins."
*****
On the day when Mu Huai returned to the palace, the weather was fine, and there were a few fiery red maple leaves falling outside the grille window, and the autumn scenery was very beautiful.
Rong Xi was either looking at Gu Mujue or looking at the account books every day, and felt that the time was changing and the days passed quickly.
She felt that once she got busy, she would not miss Mu Huai as much as before.
Recently, Mu Wei's physical condition has been getting worse. When Rong Xi went to see her in Xu Taiyuan's palace a while ago, she had hidden worries.
Mu Wei is seriously ill, Yintang is turning blue, and she is afraid that she will die soon.
Xu Taiyuan intends to go to her and Concubine De's side, but because of Zhou Yun's incident, Rong Xi dare not trust outsiders easily.
When I went to the Bright Moon Palace that day, I vaguely learned of an old incident.
This Xu Taiyuan is also the old man of Emperor Zhuang's latent residence. When she was pregnant with Muwei, the imperial physician could not tell whether the fetus in her womb was a boy or a girl.
Empress Dowager Zhai has no children, and she is also very afraid of pregnant concubines and concubines.
Xu Taiyuan's family background is mediocre, she has no one to protect her, and she is not considered intelligent, which made the Queen Mother Zhai's plot succeed.
Mu Wei's lack of womb was also due to Queen Mother Zhai's schemes.
Although Rong Xi didn't know Mu Wei before, seeing her as a young girl suffering from illness all day long, she couldn't bear it.
Her palace has also been renovated.
According to Mu Huai's idea, the Jiaofang Palace was built magnificently.
But Emperor Zhuang's concubines had resentment towards her.
Especially Concubine Hui, she would often criticize Rong Xi for building her own palace extravagantly, but withholding the food and clothing of these concubines.
Rong Xi found out that these concubines really like to get together.
Concubine Hui brought some low-ranking concubines to Empress Dowager Zhai's palace together. When they got together, they wouldn't talk about any serious business, and would often complain about her as the queen.
When Dan Xiang told Rong Xi about this, she carefully observed Rong Xi's expression.
She knew that because of the affairs of the Zhai family, the mistress would show a sullen expression whenever she mentioned the Empress Dowager Zhai.
After Rong Xi learned about it, she didn't silently endure the harsh words of these concubines as before.
Empress Dowager Di was not allowed to leave her old palace, so Rong Xi took the imperial physician to Empress Dowager Di's palace that day.
When she called Mu Huai's trusted imperial physician to examine Empress Dowager Zhai's pulse, Empress Dowager Zhai said displeasedly: "Ai's body is fine, what's wrong?"
Rong Xi smiled and blessed her body slightly, her tone was respectful, but in the ears of the Empress Dowager Zhai, it was sarcasm: "Only the imperial physician can know whether the empress mother is healthy or not."
Empress Dowager Zhai didn't know what was going on in Rong Xi's mind, so she had to ask the imperial physician to diagnose her pulse.
After the imperial doctor diagnosed the pulse, he said to Rong Xi in a decent manner: "Go back to the empress, the empress dowager has a minor illness, and this illness is not suitable for seeing outsiders, she needs to rest in the palace."
Empress Dowager Zhai looked slightly sullen, and asked Xiang Rongxi in a cold voice: "Did the empress forget the imperial decree of the first emperor? Calling the imperial physician today, she actually wants to treat Ai's family with an unwarranted illness?"
Rong Xi slowly replied: "My son respects the imperial decree of the late emperor, and he must put his mother's body first. That's why he took this imperial physician to diagnose the pulse of the empress. If he feels the signs of minor illnesses, he can prevent them from developing. The imperial physician is superb. Diagnose the wrong pulse, and ask the empress to rest in the palace, these days, those concubines will not bother you again."
The complexions of Empress Dowager Zhai and Lan Ruo, the maidservant, turned blue and white for a while.
Rong Xi just wanted to put her under house arrest, and didn't want her to see the other concubines. On the surface, she was concerned about her body, but she was actually just making excuses.
Before leaving the palace, Rong Xi also restrained the feet of the empress dowager's palace people, under the guise of fearing that the queen mother would get sick, and did not allow her palace people to leave this place for half a step.
As soon as she left the palace, Rong Xi bumped into Concubine Hui who was about to enter the Queen Mother's Palace and the former Jieyu.
Concubine Hui saw that the Queen Mother Di's palace was surrounded by attendants, she couldn't help asking Xiang Rongxi in a deep voice: "Are you going to put the Queen Mother under house arrest?"
Rong Xi's complexion did not change, and he replied calmly: "The Queen Mother is sick, and it is not appropriate to see outsiders. The palace must send some attendants to guard more, so that outsiders will not go in and disturb the Queen Mother's rest."
Concubine Hui hated Rong Xi, so she retorted: "I see, it's not that the queen mother is sick, but your queen gave her a disease name?"
Rong Xi's delicate and beautiful face turned cold, and there were quite a few palace people standing behind her, all silently watching Concubine Hui and her tense confrontation.
What kind of thing is Concubine Hui? Every time she sees her, she always has a domineering face. Does she dare to yell at her, the queen, just because of her seniority
Rong Xi's voice was quite calm, but her words were obviously thorny. She asked Concubine Hui, "Did Concubine Hui see the imperial physician standing behind me? Is the empress dowager really sick? Could it be that the imperial physician can't diagnose it? If Concubine Hui If you know medical skills, you can go in and check the empress dowager's pulse to see if she is really sick or not."
Seeing that Concubine Hui turned pale, Rong Xi was about to count her palace expenses with her again in front of the palace servants.
She wanted all the palace officials to see if she had deducted the proportion of Concubine Hui.
At this time.
A little eunuch wearing a hood came running up and down, and respectfully said to Rong Xi with a little excitement: "Madam, the emperor has returned to Bianjing, just now the servant of the city gate came to report, saying that the emperor is coming to the city wall soon."
After hearing this, Concubine Hui had no choice but to take Taiyu away angrily.
She thought, it's good that the emperor is back, but Ah Jin's face was almost disfigured by the empress Rong. face.
Rong Xi didn't pay much attention to Concubine Hui, and when she heard that Mu Huai was about to return, her eyes immediately became foggy.
The palace people watched, the empress's face showed the fierceness of a deep palace lady just now.
In just this moment, the slightly fierce aura on her body has been reduced a lot, and even with the elegant and solemn makeup, she has restored a little girlish temperament in line with her age.
Rong Xi's voice was a little trembling, and he said to Dan Xiang: "Go to Xuanhua Building with me, and welcome the emperor back."
Dan Xiang excitedly replied yes.
The master and empress have suffered too much grievance in the past two months, the emperor is back, and he will be able to support the empress.
The autumn wind in Bianjing is bleak this day, and it is a bit bitter.
When Mu Huai returned to the palace from the official road in the imperial street, he did not ride in Huayu, but dressed in the emperor's royal clothes, and rode a sweaty and bloody horse before everyone.
The leather belt and the colorful cloak are all blown by the autumn wind, and the demeanor can be described as gorgeous and heroic.
Mu Huai wore a luxurious engraved gold crown on his head, his eyes were deep and his demeanor was steady, he did not look like a monarch who had just ascended the throne for two months.
The guards next to Xuanhua Building are already guarded tightly.
Xiangguo Yan Juxu made all the arrangements for welcoming the emperor in advance, dressed in court clothes, and respectfully gave a big gift to Mu Huai.
After Mu Huai got off his horse, although he went straight to Yan Juxu's direction, he made eye contact with Rong Xi who was not far away.
Rong Xi had already saluted and stood up, the wind and sand blinded her eyes, her eyes were sore, and tears welled up.
If it weren't for the fact that there were too many people around, she really wanted to throw herself into the man's arms right away.
Fortunately, I was quite up-to-date and didn't cry in front of so many people.
Mu Huai's voice was as deep and magnetic as ever, and he said to Yan Juxu: "I'm on tour in the East, and the Prime Minister is in Bian, and it's hard work to assist the government."
Yan Juxu replied with a little fear: "The emperor has too much reputation, and it is the duty of ministers to serve the emperor."
After Mu Huai returned to the palace, the first thing to do was to go to the Qianyuan Palace with Yan Juxu and other important officials, and talk about all the important affairs in Bianjing during the few months he was away.
It can be seen that Rong Xi was looking at him with teary eyes, Mu Huai finally couldn't bear it, and walked towards his little queen in front of all the courtiers.
He grasped the woman's slender little hand with his slightly firm hands, and Rong Xi raised his eyes to look at him, feeling that Mu Huai's body was covered with the chill of autumn vegetation.
Mu Huai's tone was calm, and he said softly: "The empress has calmed down a bit."
To Rong Xi's ears, this tone was very normal.
But the people standing around heard it, but they were a little surprised.
They had never heard of Mu Huai, and they spoke to the same person in a deliberately gentle tone.
Seeing that Rong Xi was a little at a loss, Mu Huai lowered his tone a bit, and told her: "I still have important matters to discuss with the ministers, Xi'er will wait for me in the inner hall first, and I will go to accompany you when I am done."
Rong Xi nodded obediently.
She followed behind Mu Huai and Yan Xiang. Mu Huai was tall and straight, and he was walking with Yan Juxu towards the Qianyuan Hall.
Rong Xi knew that Mu Huai at this time was not her husband Zhiyan alone, but the emperor of all the people of Daqi.
After Mu Huai finished discussing business matters with the minister, it was getting late.
Rong Xi put on a simple and light makeup, and that delicate face suddenly became a little more childish. She has been waiting by the table of the Eight Immortals in the inner hall.
The above dishes have already been heated again.
After Mu Huai entered the inner hall, his expression did not show any fatigue. Seeing that Rong Xi was about to stand up and greet him, he motioned her to sit down with his eyes.
Rong Xi hadn't been alone with Mu Huai for a long time, and felt very cramped, even embarrassed.
Mu Huai's brows were cold and cold, seeing the woman opposite the Eight Immortals table with a sharp chin, her round face had finally lost weight again, her petite body was wearing the queen's heavy bow clothes, and she looked extraordinarily thin.
It took a lot of effort to fatten her up a bit, and she became so thin in just two months.
Mu Huai couldn't help frowning.
This woman is not the same as before, she likes to chat and whisper with him.
It was rare for Mu Huai to feel flustered, for fear that this woman would have an affair with him.
The east tour was only two months old, and this woman stopped clinging to him.
Mu Huai's expression was quite calm, he used his food a little, and asked Xiang Rongxi: "I heard from Prime Minister Yan that your handling of the inner palace affairs this month has been quite effective, and you have saved ten thousand taels of silver?"
Because Rong Xi missed the man too much, when he saw him, he didn't know what to say.
Her eyes were filled with water mist, she just nodded and replied softly: "Yes."
Mu Huai just felt that she was extremely reticent, and when he lifted his eyes, he saw that the woman's beautiful eyes had already become tearful.
He had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and asked in a low voice, "Why are you still crying?"
Mu Huaiyang called the palace servants to remove the vegetables, and hugged the pitiful woman into his arms.
After hugging her, Mu Huai felt that Rong Xi was so skinny that he didn't dare to use much strength.
He grabbed the woman's slender hand and reprimanded softly: "Hands are also so cold, why don't you take good care of yourself when I'm not here?"
While talking, he wiped the tears on his cheeks for the woman.
Rong Xi pressed her face to his chest, and murmured in a voice like a mosquito: "The concubine misses her husband so much, so she is very sentimental and hypocritical now, husband, please don't be offended."
Mu Huai pulled the corner of his lips slightly, and replied: "Xi'er misses me, I am very happy."
The two hugged each other for a while, and the palace servants had prepared hot water.
Mu Huai picked up the delicate woman by the waist, and felt that she was too light, and her complexion sank a little imperceptibly.
Rong Xi was soaked in hot soup, and the room was filled with warm mist.
The water overflowed the ground, and she leaned on Mu Huai's shoulder, crying softly.
Mu Huai's expression was full of pity, he brushed her wet hair away, and asked her in a low voice: "Did I hurt Xi'er?"
Rong Xi shook her head with tears on her face.
Mu Huai paid attention to it a long time ago, before Dun Lun would prepare the medicine in advance, so that it would not hurt her, let alone hurt her.
She knew that she must be very delicate now, but when she thought about A Jin, she felt extremely sour in her heart.
But tonight, she will never mention Ah Jin's matter to Mu Huai.
This was originally her wedding day with Mu Huai Xiaobiesheng, and no one could ruin it.
Mu Huai kissed away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and asked again in a hoarse voice: "Can someone bully Xi'er, tell me about it?"
Weak and helpless, Rong Xi pressed her pink face to the man's shoulder, and replied in a soft voice: "No, no one dares to bully my concubine."
Mu Huai gently stroked the woman's thin back, then kissed her forehead.
He vaguely felt that Rong Xi was hiding something from him.
The posture of the two of them now is Rong Xi's favorite.
But facing each other, it was as if Mu Huai was hugging her.
Rong Xi knew that Mu Huai had been holding back because of her sadness, so she murmured in the man's ear in a breathless voice: "My husband, please move, my concubine is also thinking about it."
Mu Huai couldn't resist the woman's teasing. As soon as he finished speaking, he kissed her deeply.
After fishing out Jiao Ren'er, Mu Huai knew that she had been tossed to pieces, and even though he still had a lot to say, he planned to accompany her to bed early.
As soon as his tall body hugged her, Rong Xi immediately curled up in his arms like a baby bird returning to its nest.
It's like a little demon who sucks people's energy.
Mu Huai laughed helplessly, and promised the woman: "In the future, I will never leave Xi'er for so long again."
Rong Xi's delicate face looked sleepy, she closed her eyes lightly, and replied softly: "My husband must keep his word."
Mu Huai replied to her: "Of course I won't lie to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the breathing of the woman in his arms gradually became even.
Mu Huai leaned over and kissed her on the brow, as if talking to himself, said in an inaudible voice: "Xi'er is too thin, I need to get fatter, I don't even want to touch you now."
*****
Early the next morning, after Mu Huai went down to court, he accompanied Rong Xi to the newly renovated Jiaofang Palace.
Seeing that the woman had returned to her former beauty, Mu Huai's heart sank.
Rong Xi knew what the man was thinking, and when Mu Huai accompanied her to see the new palace, he deliberately showed an excited look.
Mu Huai's expression was cold. Seeing that the woman was satisfied with this place, his expression softened a little.
He thought, this place is still worthy of his Xi'er.
The autumn wind outside was bitter, so the two entered the side hall of Jiaofang Palace.
Dan Xiang served hot tea to the empress who was sitting on the Arhat's bed. Rong Xi winked at her at this moment, and Dan Xiang immediately understood.
Originally, Mu Huai was watching Rong Xi sipping tea without distraction, and felt that she was very cute and cute with drooping eyelashes, but he saw Dan Xiang leading a woman with a slightly protruding belly into the side hall.
When Ah Jin entered the palace tremblingly, he saw the young and handsome new emperor looking at the queen with tenderness in his eyes.
But when he turned to look at her, Xindi's deep eyes were very cold, as if he was looking at a firefly.
Mu Huai was puzzled, and asked Xiang Rongxi: "Who is this court lady, why did you call her in?"
Rong Xi got up from Luo Han's bed, and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, this court lady said that you blessed her three months ago...and she is pregnant..."
Before he finished speaking, Rong Xi heard a "bang-dang-".
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Suddenly, Mu Huai threw the teacup in his hand to the ground.
The blue veins on the side of his forehead were protruding, and it was hard to reveal a tyrannical and sinister attitude.
He also stood up and walked towards Ah Jin aggressively.
Ah Jin stood in the hall, her heart trembling with fear, she took a few steps back again and again.
Rong Xi also walked towards Mu Huai and A Jin. She didn't know whether Mu Huai was lucky enough to be with A Jin, but after all, A Jin was pregnant with a child. As a mother, she didn't want to see a woman Lost child.
— "The emperor..."
Rong Xi grabbed Mu Huai's luxurious sleeves.
However, Mu Huai grasped her slender wrist and let her stand beside him.
Mu Huai looked at Ah Jin with cold and captivating eyes.
It must be because of this Ah Jin that Rong Xi cried so sadly last night.
This court lady who came out of nowhere had ruined Rong Xi's trust in him in the past two months.
He worked hard for a long time before Rong Xi gained some trust in him.
This bitch caused his Xi'er to have a quarrel with him.
Mu Huai's free hand was tightly clenched into a fist, and the back of his hand was also full of veins.
The majesty of the emperor is daunting.
All the palace people in the palace knelt on the ground, so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.
Just listening, Mu Huai asked Ah Jin in an extremely cold voice: "Where did you come from? When will I be lucky enough to have you?"