The emperor had to go to court and deal with government affairs, so naturally it was impossible to wait to see Yongruo in the palace early in the morning.
Therefore, the basic procedure for a female relative to visit the emperor in the palace is: first go to the Kunde Palace to meet the empress, and when the emperor is free, the empress will take the female relative to meet the emperor.
"Tomorrow morning, I will report to the court about the disaster area in southern Shandong, so I cannot accompany you into the palace." Feng Liao said very worriedly, "However, I have already visited sister Mi just now. Tomorrow she I will also enter the palace, play by ear, and speak for you in front of the queen mother. When the emperor has time to summon you, I will try my best to be by your side."
"Don't worry! I'll be fine."
On the second day, Yong Ruo entered the palace alone in the uniform of his princess's wife.
After getting off the bus at Donghuamen, Huarou Jiaozhu and other girls and eunuchs waited outside the gate as usual. Yongruo walked to Kunde Palace alone with the eunuch who came to greet him.
In the Kunde Palace, apart from the queen, there are also Princess Longqing and several high-ranking concubines.
Empress Wei was leaning on the phoenix seat in the middle, Princess Longqing sat on a drum stool beside the phoenix seat, and the other concubines sat on two rows of armchairs.
It's not the first time we've met. But when these people saw Yong Ruo coming in, they seemed to be looking at a rare object, and their eyes were full of curiosity, surprise, admiration and other meanings.
With his head down halfway, Yong Ruo paid respects to the queen and the concubines calmly and according to etiquette.
"Get up quickly! There are no outsiders here, so you don't have to be too formal. Come and sit beside me." Empress Wei said very kindly and enthusiastically.
"Yes! Thank you, Empress Empress."
The court lady also placed a drum stool on the other side of the queen's phoenix seat, and Yong Ruo sat down on this drum stool.
Empress Wei took Yong Ruo's hand, looked her up and down, and said with a smile, "After running around with King Hengjun, and being exposed to wind and sun for more than a month, her skin is still so fair and delicate, she is really a natural beauty. I hear you've been riding a horse instead of a cart?"
"Yes! I have been riding horses all the time to hone my riding skills so that I will not be able to keep up with the prince when necessary." Yong Ruo said unhurriedly, "The reason why I didn't get tanned is because I always wear a hat when I ride a horse. Wrap your head and face with a cloak."
Princess Longqing couldn't help but said, "That's very hot, isn't it?"
"It's a little hot. But in order not to get tanned, I can only endure it." Yong Ruo smiled, "If it weren't for this, when I come back, all the empresses and princesses may not know me. Before For a while, the sun was shining in Lunan every day. At the hottest time at noon, the soles of the shoes were thin and the road surface was hot... "
In this way, Yong Ruo chatted with Empress Wei, Princess Longqing and the concubines, talking about the local customs, mountains and rivers, and what he had seen along the way.
These women who have stayed in the palace for most of their lives and are bound by the rules every day listened with great interest.
Concubine De, who had a more graceful and lively temperament, asked her yearningly: "I heard that you also helped King Heng to destroy a group of rebellious bandits and a group of bandits who have been entrenched in the local area for decades?"
Yong Ruo said humbly: "The concubine is here to take care of the prince's daily life and food. Naturally, the prince and the adults are worrying about such a major matter as exterminating bandits."
These empresses and princesses asked her about her experience in suppressing bandits and bandits.
Yong Ruo said: "It's a bit of a coincidence. At that time, the prince heard that a place called Majia Village was seriously affected by the disaster, so he turned to take a look.
"When we arrived at the village, we found that everyone in the village had disappeared, and someone wrote an anti-poem on a white powder wall. The prince made a decisive decision and decided to take the guards to destroy the bandits before they became stronger..."
Because Feng Liao's assassination was too sensitive, Yong Ruo didn't mention it.
She only said: They found a spy that night, but they did not arrest the spy for interrogation, but deliberately released the spy to report a wrong letter. As a result, the bandit leader believed it was true, fell into Feng Liao's trap, and was captured by mistake...
These women who have been in the palace for most of their lives also tacitly did not ask how the spy was caught, but just listened very attentively to Yong Ruo's story.
When Yong Ruo finished speaking, Concubine De smiled and said, "No wonder Mrs. Yong likes Prince Heng like that! If I were a man, with such a beauty who worked tirelessly and followed him thousands of miles away, I would take her as my darling." .”
Empress Wei made fun of her: "It's a pity that you didn't practice enough in your previous life, and you haven't been able to give birth to a man in this life, so you have to be greedy!"
Concubine De also laughed: "Your Majesty is right! The concubine should cultivate more merits in this life, and hope to give birth to a man in the next life, and then get another beauty like this!"
Empress Wei and the other concubines laughed and laughed. Even Princess Longqing's biological mother, Concubine Shu, who had always been silent, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled.
Yong Ruo thinks: The empress and these women seem to have a good relationship, at least on the surface they are harmonious, and there is no hint of cleverness.
Is it because everyone feels that there is nothing to argue about whether it is love or heirs, so they can turn their fights into jades and sit together and play mahjong? It's not impossible.
After everyone chatted and laughed for a while, a little eunuch came to report: "The emperor invites the empress to take Mrs. Yong to the Hefeng Pavilion in the Imperial Garden to meet you."
The women in the harem took the opportunity to bid farewell to the queen.
Princess Longqing pulled the Queen's sleeve and said, "Queen Mother, let the son-in-law go too! The son-in-law has not seen the emperor for a long time!"
"Don't make more trouble! The emperor summoned Mrs. Yong for a serious business. What are you going to do?"
Empress Wei pampered Princess Longqing's cheek: "Don't I know what you're thinking in your little head? If you really want to see your father, you will always have a chance to see your father if you spend more time in the palace with your mother." Obediently wait in Kunde Palace."
Princess Longqing pouted at Empress Wei and made a face, but there was nothing she could do. He had no choice but to wink at Yongruo, signaling her to be careful.
Yong Ruo nodded, gently lifted Queen Wei's arm, and followed Queen Wei to the imperial garden.
When she was leaving, she told Luo Luo in her mind: "Wait a minute, whenever you have a chance, scan the emperor's body to find out what the secret of his extinction is. But after the scan, don't tell me the answer. You can talk about it when I ask you. In case I am too surprised when I hear the answer, I will lose my manners in front of the imperial court."
Ruozuo said cutely: "Got it!"
Hefengxuan is located next to a lotus pond in the Imperial Garden.
It is ventilated here, and you can also smell the fragrance of lotus in the pond. It is a good place to escape the heat in summer.
In Hefengxuan, Feng Liao was drinking tea with Emperor Chengtai.
He saw Yong Ruo helping Empress Wei come in, and quickly got up to greet the Empress.
When Yongruo saluted Emperor Chengtai, the emperor looked her up and down.
After Yongruo finished his ceremony, the emperor said, "Let's get down! Lift up your head and let me see."
Yong Ruo stood up, raised his head according to etiquette but lowered his eyes, so that the emperor could see his face, but he did not look directly at Sheng Yan, so as not to appear offensive.
Feng Liao looked at Emperor Chengtai's face from the side, with a slightly nervous expression.
"It's really pretty!" Emperor Chengtai commented lightly, then changed the subject, "Do you often dream?"
Yong Ruo lowered her head halfway, and answered the question very respectfully and politely: "Back to the emperor, I seldom dream." She felt that the topic of the emperor was a bit strange.
"Then in Ma's Village, how did you manage to dream? The dream predicted danger so accurately?"
"Perhaps it's the prince's auspicious person who has his own celestial appearance, and has been blessed by his ancestors or gods."
"Then why isn't Prince Heng the dreamer?"
Yong Ruo Nao didn't know why the emperor was entangled in this issue, so he could only wait and see what happened, and shook his head: "I can't figure this out either. Perhaps, I should go to a Taoist temple to worship another day, and then make a divination ?”
Emperor Chengtai smiled: "I found a Taoist priest to come into the palace, intending to let him see if there is anything unclean on you. After all, it was the Ghost Festival that day, and you had such a weird dream again. .”
Feng Liao looked at the emperor in surprise, and lost her voice: "Uncle Huang?"
Emperor Chengtai stretched out his hand and pressed down on him, signaling him to be calm and calm.
Feng Liao had no choice but to suppress the weird feeling in her heart, and said no more.
Yong Ruo didn't understand what Emperor Chengtai was making trouble with. She felt a little apprehensive: Lulu isn't something unclean, right
However, the emperor said so, and she had no room to refuse, so she could only humbly say: "But it depends on the emperor's arrangement."
Emperor Chengtai winked at Cai Qingnian, the chief eunuch next to him, and Cai Qingnian nodded at a young eunuch standing by the door.
The little eunuch hurried out, and soon brought in a man dressed as a Taoist priest.
After the Taoist came in, according to the emperor's instructions, he walked around Yong Ruo murmuringly, looked her up and down from head to toe, and swept her up, down, left, and right with his whisk, then bowed and said to the emperor: : "My Majesty, there is nothing unclean on this woman."
Yong Ruo looked at him even more inexplicably: Are you sure you can take a look like this and wave the whisk twice? Don't you need to splash some black dog blood on me, sprinkle some talisman water or something
Emperor Chengtai nodded: "It's time for Taoist priest! Please go down and rest, Taoist priest!"
The Taoist stepped back.
Emperor Chengtai said to Yongruo again: "This time, you have made great achievements in Lunan, what reward do you want? As long as it is not too much, I will give it to you."
When Feng Liao heard this, she was secretly annoyed: He should discuss this matter with Ruoruo first. But he didn't expect that the emperor would let Ruoruo ask for the reward in public.
Yong Ruo thought to himself: Where is the general boundary between "excessive" and "not excessive"
If I'm not sure, and my request is too high, wouldn't it just annoy you? If the requirements are too low, wouldn't I suffer in vain
She felt: This reward is really not easy to ask for.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Yong Ruo's mind was spinning quickly, and he almost blurted out, "I have one thing I want to ask the Emperor: If the Emperor sends the prince to go to Beijing again, can I still accompany me?"
Emperor Chengtai, Empress Wei and Feng Liao looked at Yong Ruo together, all of them were slightly taken aback.
Emperor Chengtai looked at her expression and raised his voice to ask: "Are you worried about Feng Liao?"
Yong Ruo nodded: "My lord seems to have a bad time. With a careful woman by my side to take care of me, everything will always be more considerate."
Emperor Chengtai couldn't help nodding his head, thinking: Not only is the passing of time unfavorable, but he also committed crimes against villains.
If it wasn't for Yong's going with Feng Liao this time, he would regret it now. This Yong family, what kind of precious fate is really not worthy of turning evil into good luck and bringing good luck in death
He glanced at Fengliao subtly, then looked at Yongruo and said, "This time in Lunan, I heard that you have suffered a lot. You are a weak woman, haven't you suffered enough?"
Yong Ruo replied calmly: "I will eat and live with the prince. If the prince can suffer, the concubine can naturally suffer."
Emperor Chengtai pondered for a while: "Haven't you thought about asking for some favors for yourself? For example: Your own status will be promoted? Or ask for some benefits for your natal family? They are all white now, right?"
"Back to the emperor, the concubine is my own position, the emperor and the prince have a steelyard in their hearts, so why do I need to be the concubine to claim it by myself
"It's even more unnecessary to ask for favors from my natal family. The concubine's natal family was originally poor, relying on the support of the prince, and now she has no worries about food and clothing, and calls for slaves. For the concubine, supporting her natal family to this point is already a big deal. Enough. Any more, and it's over."
As for the glory and wealth, if Yong Qiao and Yong Miao have the ability, they can earn it by themselves; if they don't have the ability, it's better to live a normal life.
Emperor Chengtai smiled and said: "You may not understand what I mean: your father is a commoner, and you are the daughter of a commoner. If your father can have a fifth-rank or sixth-rank idle official position, he can also lift your background. no
"It is also the wife of the county king, whether she is born in an official family or a commoner's family, after all, there are some differences; the status of the children born is also somewhat different."
Yong Ruo thought: What does the emperor mean
If he really wanted to give her father an official position, he could just give it to her father, so why let her ask for it and let her down for nothing
She is not optimistic about the future of herself and Feng Liao, and she doesn't want the Yong family to become a family of officials, lest Yong Qiao and Yong Miao experience the ups and downs of life again and again. That's not good for their growth.
They now have food to eat, clothes to wear, houses to live in, schools to go to, and servants to take care of. This is already happier than many people. If they want a better future, they can earn it on their own!
As for the status of her children...
Hehe, let's think about this issue after she has a child!
"No one knows what the concubine's origin is, so why bother to deceive the emperor? As for the status of the child..."
She said softly: "At that time, the emperor and the prince must have their own considerations, and there is no need to worry about these things as a concubine."
Emperor Chengtai looked at her expression, and felt that what she said did not seem to be a lie, and her expression was more subtle.
"Don't you want to honor your ancestors?"
Yong Ruo was slightly taken aback, and said with a look of astonishment: "Guangzong Yaozu, isn't it a man's business? I have two younger brothers in my family, so let them do such a thing!
"On the one hand, relying on nepotism to glorify the lintel is not beautiful after all; on the other hand, they must always have something serious to do, so as not to idle around all day and cause trouble everywhere."
She couldn't help teasing in her heart: If the emperor allows women to participate in the imperial examination and to be an official, I would like to try it in the imperial examination and official circles to see if I have the ability to honor my ancestors.
Unfortunately, these are not those times.
Emperor Chengtai originally wanted to embarrass Yongruo a little bit, give her some grace, make her grateful, and let her settle down.
But after Yong Ruo said that, he really felt that he had nothing to say.
"Since this is the case, you can step back! Feng Liao will also go back. I miss your hard work this time, and I will give you ten days off."
Emperor Chengtai waved his hand and sent Yong Ruo and Feng Liao away.
After both of them had left, Emperor Chengtai ordered Cai Qingnian, the chief eunuch: "Call Taoist Master Xuqing back again. Except for the queen, everyone else should step down!"