In a dilapidated Taoist temple far away, a gray-haired Taoist priest is meditating next to a sleeping child. Suddenly opening his eyes, he pinched his fingers and counted with some doubts. After a long time, he said to the sleeping child: "The fate has changed, may you notice it?"
The sleeping child naturally did not respond. The old Taoist sighed: "The wind blows from the end of Qingping, and there is no breath or shadow. You must know the way of heaven. Of course you don't understand." He looked at the broken window, pondered for a long time, finally closed his eyes again, and continued to meditate .
In the eldest prince's mansion, the eldest prince was originally in a good mood: the emperor had already decreed that the eldest prince would be established as the crown prince because of "being the first son, the elder, and the virtuous", and the Ministry of Rites will arrange the specific time for the canonization ceremony. At the upcoming crown prince canonization ceremony, the emperor will summon all his ministers, publicly announce the appointment of officials to assist the prince. Then, the prince will move into the Chaohua Palace in the Forbidden City, and the surrounding palace courtyards will be referred to as the East Palace from then on.
Once he becomes a prince, the "three masters and three young masters" (taishi, Taifu, Taibao, Shaoshi, Shaofu, Shaobao) appointed by the emperor for the prince will train the prince's ability to rule the world in the future. These are the prince's teachers, who are responsible for improving the prince's ideological quality and teaching the prince the principles of governing the world, but the eldest prince is already eighteen years old, and what these people do is more to assist and guide than to educate and enlighten.
According to historical examples, the prince's status is second only to the emperor himself, and he has his own east palace similar to the imperial court. The official configuration of the East Palace is completely modeled on the system of the imperial court. There are attendants such as Zhanshi, Chunfang, and Si, and a private guard similar to the emperor's imperial army "Prince Zhushu" (Tang system). These people will help the prince to familiarize himself with national conditions and political affairs, and master the way of being a king. Once the prince ascends the throne, these people will become the new emperor's confidantes.
From then on, the prince will formally intervene in the government affairs, listen to the ministers' opening performances, read the memorials, and sometimes make decisions on political affairs under the supervision of the emperor. In the future, he can also supervise the country, lead the army, inspect other provinces in place of the emperor, etc. It can be said that he is the official heir of the lord of the country, only under one person, and above ten thousand people. How could the First Prince be upset
The wives and concubines of the crown prince are also formally titled like the concubines of the emperor. , Fengyi, Ruren, etc.
Although in front of all the ministers, the ceremony for the official conferment of the crown prince has not yet been held, but the decree has been made, and it is a certainty that the eldest prince will become the crown prince.
But the eldest prince, who was supposed to be full of joy, was worried about a few small things:
After the national game player Ji Wenzhao arrived in the capital, the eldest prince's people tried to recruit him several times, but the other party pretended to be deaf and dumb and did not respond.
The fourth prince went out of the palace in low clothes, and disappeared one day, and came back very late, and was very tired. That day was the time when Zhenbeihou's children were outing in the countryside, but the eyeliner of Zhenbeihou's mansion did not see the fourth prince. It should be just a coincidence.
Also, the eldest daughter of the Hou Mansion suddenly suffered from abdominal pain during the play, so the eldest son Shen Yi brought people back to the mansion one day earlier. The Marquis Mansion was inspected very strictly that night, and the people inside didn't know what the arrangements were here, so they didn't rush out to report, thinking that it would be nothing to report the next day, so the people on their own side didn't get the news in time, and those left in the suburbs It is impossible for the people in the guard to return to the city to deliver the letter. As a result, when the Marquis Mansion guards came back the next day, they still used the women's reputations to find trouble according to the original arrangement. There were no women in the guards at all.
Those who made arrangements, the men were beaten half to death, and several brothel women were taken to the Yamen. Because those men said that they were instigated by others, they were afraid of being pursued by the Hou Fu, so they all silenced them. As for those women, they are just former prostitutes in Wanhualou. This time they just gave them money to make trouble, and they didn't tell them whose idea it was, so they are not afraid of their nonsense. People have already told the government office to deal with them leniently, and let them go back after a few days of imprisonment, so as not to say that they were instructed by others.
The eldest prince felt as uncomfortable as eating a fly. It stands to reason that on such a happy day, these small disappointments should be completely ignored, but he just felt uncomfortable, his face was gloomy, and he didn't speak.
At this time, those who can be in the room are all confidantes and staff, they will soon have official titles, and they are happy in their hearts. Seeing the expression of the eldest prince, they look at each other, a little puzzled by the gloom of the prince.
An aide said cautiously: "Your Highness, regarding the matter of Ji Wenzhao, after the crown prince's canonization ceremony, the East Palace will be formally appointed with official positions, and we will invite you with high-ranking official positions. It will probably be fine."
The eldest prince still did not relax his expression. Another staff member speculated on the eldest prince's thoughts, and tentatively said: "The matter of the Hou's mansion is not worth mentioning. We can arrange it later. Besides, the youngest daughter of Zhenbeihou is only seven years old now. Wouldn't it be better to ruin her reputation after she becomes an adult? It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge, Your Highness can wait."
The eldest prince let out a sigh of relief, and the staff also breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that he guessed right. But I was a little puzzled: Didn't I just confuse a few words? What kind of revenge is this? Why does the eldest prince take this matter so seriously? It should be Ji Wenzhao's matter that is more important.
The eldest prince was also a little confused: why is he so eager to destroy that stupid girl? If it wasn't for Zhenbeihou's military might, he really wanted someone to kill that girl. Where did this anger come from
The First Prince said in a calm tone as much as possible: "Tell us people in the Hou's Mansion to be diligent and report every detail in time, and stop making such loopholes again! Otherwise, let them be careful!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. A thought flashed in the mind of one of the aides: Was it because the Hou Mansion was on guard that the eldest prince's arrangement fell through? Is that young lady's illness an excuse? …
But after seeing the relaxed expression of the eldest prince, he still didn't say anything: Whether the Hou Mansion is on guard or not, can't change the fact that the eldest prince has become a prince, and the reputation of that young girl is not a top priority, so there is no need to make the eldest prince angry because of this. .
That night, Shen Wen combed the maid's simple bun, wore a dark maid's short dress, and wiped her face with incense ash. While Su Wanniang helped her prepare, she repeatedly mentioned a few places that ordinary guests would pass by. Shen Wen didn't listen, and didn't tell her that he had already chosen a place—clean room! Only there, people can't go to see what happened immediately after hearing the sound.
Shen Wen was afraid that if she told Su Wanniang, Su Wanniang would probably pinch her face again.
A few hours ago, Shen Wen arrived at the Wanhua Building. She first broke two branches in the garden, and after choosing a clean house, she sat down on the nearby roof and waited for the person she wanted to send a message to. An old man in his fifties was supported by two maidservants. This man probably couldn't hear others clearly, and Shen Wen didn't move. A drunk man was dragged by the boy, and Shen Wen also let him go. The next few groups of people came one after another, and Shen Wen didn't take any risks.
Two young men walked over while chatting and laughing, and there was no servant beside them: "That Fang'er just now has a lot of flavor..."
"Don't tell me, when she sang that song..." The two entered the clean room.
Shen Wen felt his surroundings and found that there was no one else nearby, so he jumped off the roof, stepped heavily, and walked towards the clean room step by step. Mimic another person's footsteps.
She first asked anxiously in a shrill voice: "... Tell me, will the sisters who were caught in the yamen be okay? They stopped the convoy from the Zhenbei Hou Mansion!" She mobilized Consciousness has strengthened the vibration frequency of one's own sound waves, and the sound that is obviously not too loud can be heard clearly in people's ears.
The vague chatting and laughing of the two people in the clean room stopped.
Shen Wen thickened her voice again, with a contemptuous tone: "How could something happen? You don't know who asked them to do this?" She was already an adult, and she spoke in a more mature tone, even though her voice was a little thin Significantly different from the previous sound.
Shen Wen asked in a thin voice: "Who is it? Who dares to trouble the Zhenbeihou Mansion?"
Shen Wen said in a rough voice: "Zhenbei Hou Mansion? Is it bigger than the First Prince?"
Ask again in a thin voice: "Eldest prince? Why does the eldest prince punish the young lady of Zhenbeihou's mansion?"
Shen Wen coughed loudly and said: "I told you, don't talk nonsense. In the first month, the eldest prince's younger sister, the fourth princess, had a fight with Zhenbeihou's youngest daughter. Who doesn't know about it? The eldest prince doesn't like Zhenbeihou's mansion. While she was out, he asked the sisters in our building to make trouble, embarrassing the lady who had a fight with his sister. But who knows, the man in that mansion Miss is not in the car, our sisters were arrested. It's okay, they will be back in two days, just wait. The eldest prince is amazing!"
Thin voice said happily: "This is great!"
Shen Wen had already walked through the clean room, and said in a rough voice: "Of course! The person who sent the letter is a relative of my family. Whatever the eldest prince wants to do, there is nothing he can't do. It's bad luck for the lady of the Hou Mansion. Who told her to be with me? Did the four princesses quarrel? Sooner or later they will become notorious... "
Far away from the clean room, Shen Wen threw a branch, jumped up to the ridge of the roof, and returned to the vicinity of the clean room after a few jumps.
After a while, the two people walked out of the clean room, looked around, and then talked in a low voice:
"Is this true? The eldest prince took action to clean up the Zhenbeihou Mansion? Is it because a girl quarreled with the fourth princess?"
"Actually, I've heard about this a long time ago, but not only with the fourth princess, but the eldest prince was also there at the time. It is said that the girl is stupid and stupid, she doesn't care what she says, and she has no education at all."
"How old is she?"
"It should be seven years old."
"Seven years old?! What do seven years old know? The eldest prince is too..."
"Shh, don't talk nonsense, this one is about to become a prince."
"Isn't it just the two of us talking in private? Do you believe that the First Prince borrowed Wanhualou's hand to ruin that girl's reputation?"
"I heard that the old prostitute from Wanhualou went to the street to stop the convoy of the Zhenbeihou Mansion's convoy to make trouble for no reason, and was sent to the government office. Think about it, if the eldest prince hadn't made a move, what is the status of the Zhenbeihou Mansion? The capital's yamen No matter what, I have to give the Hou family a face, and punish those women for a misdemeanor, at least a few slaps. But if the eldest prince is really behind this matter, those prostitutes will come back unscathed. This is Tell everyone the bullshit they said when they stopped the convoy is true."
"Oh! It's such an arrangement! It's really clever! It's a pity that it was used on a girl..."
"Are you drunk? Don't have a long memory?"
"It's time to slap me, my mouth! I just feel..."
The two walked away, and Shen Wen also got up and left Wanhualou, and ran back to the Hou Mansion.
Three days later, the women who stopped the bus in the downtown area of Wanhualou were indeed released. The government said that they did know the maids in the Hou's mansion, but they just misremembered the time of their meeting. It was a misunderstanding and they did not commit any crimes offense.
Because of this, many people knew that Miss Hou's mansion was careless in employing people, and that the personal servant girl turned out to be the handkerchief of an old prostitute in a brothel. Birds of a feather flock together and people are divided into groups, one can imagine how her character is.
But there are also rumors that this is the eldest prince's way of revenge on the young girls of the Hou's mansion who quarreled with him. Otherwise, with the prestige of the Hou's mansion, how could he not be able to deal with a few provocative and reputation-destroying brothel girls in the downtown area? It can be seen that the backstage of Wanhualou is hard. At this time, the news that the eldest prince was canonized as the prince was announced to the public, and everyone believed that the one who could openly humiliate the Zhenbeihou Mansion was the prince.
After realizing this, everyone felt an indescribable feeling in their hearts: Although the young girl in the Hou Mansion might be really stupid and rude, she was only a seven-year-old child after all. What's more, the three generations of Zhenbei Hou Zhongliang, the previous old masters all died on the battlefield, and the current Zhenbei Hou led 200,000 Shen family troops to guard the northern border, and has always been a hero in the court. The prince's actions did not give any face at all, and the cause was nothing more than a quarrel among children. This man's heart... morality... kindness...
The staff members have heard these discussions more or less, and several of them wanted to talk to the First Prince about the public discussion about the Hou Mansion. The eldest prince had just been established as the crown prince by the emperor, and it was time to win the approval of the ministers and the people to show that the emperor's choice was correct. But the eldest prince openly fought with a little girl, and even if he won, the little girl's reputation was ruined, and the eldest prince's reputation was also damaged. That girl can't marry a good family at most, but the eldest prince here will lose his reputation as a prince because of this. Isn't it clear at a glance who is more important and who is more important
But everyone can also see that the eldest prince tends to become restless when he touches on matters related to the Zhenbeihou Mansion and that young girl. Now it's summer again, the weather is getting hotter, and the eldest prince's temper is even worse. No one has the courage to bring up this topic.
The Ministry of Rites has already set the canonization ceremony in the golden autumn and September, when the weather is high and the air is refreshing. Calculating that there is only less than three months of preparation time, many personnel arrangements, layout of the East Palace, communication with courtiers and other miscellaneous matters have not yet been resolved. At this time, the discussion caused by a young girl should not be mentioned on the agenda.
Everyone tacitly worked together to complete the celebration and fulfill the official position as the main purpose. For the rest, it is better to have less than one more thing!
And the Hou Mansion is also very busy. The Hou Mansion and the Liu family have gone through the stage of engagement, and set a date for the eldest son to marry in March of the following year.
The marriage of the eldest son is a very solemn event. Hou's mansion set aside the courtyard alone, and felt that the house was not spacious enough, so he built a few more beside the original house. It takes a lot of time and effort to paint and repair the old houses, install tiles on the roof, replace the doors and windows, pave roads and lawns in the yard, and plant flowers and trees.
Su Wanniang tried her best to persuade Shen Xiang that this is not the time to act. The Eldest Prince was accused of being the Crown Prince just now, any action of the Hou Mansion at this time would be misinterpreted as dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince and the Emperor's decision. Shen Xiang went to discuss with his brothers again, and they all understood that there was nothing to be troubled about now, so be patient first. In autumn, when the crown prince canonize the ceremony, Lord Hou will also come back, and then we will see what Lord Hou means.
Now that the children have decided not to make trouble for the eldest prince who is about to become the prince, they feel uncomfortable. Shen Yi suggested to go out to play in the wild, but this time Shen Wen was resolutely left at home.
When Shen Xiang came back from an outing in the spring, he chose bows and arrows as his weapon, and his equestrian skills were naturally acceptable. They all rode horses without a carriage. They took the guards out of the city and walked for more than half a month before returning.
It was only after they came back that Shen Wen found out that on the way out of the city they met the third prince who was also going to ride a horse in the suburbs. Since they were all going for fun, the two people and horses gathered together and passed this section together in the mountains, forests and hills hundreds of miles away. time. The third prince and the children of the Hou's Mansion roared and galloped in the forest or on the grass every day, and at night they lit a bonfire, chatted, laughed and barbecued, and had a great time.
Shen Wen remembered that when there was no such thing as her in the previous life, Shen Yi and Shen Jian often went out riding horses with the third prince, but they didn't seem to have such a long and obvious friendship like this time.
Shen Wen didn't know whether Shen Yi had an appointment with the third prince this time or if she met by chance, but she could guess that from the perspective of the eldest prince who is about to become the prince, the trip between Shen Yi and the others and the third prince was a naked provocation. It will definitely further deepen his hatred of the Hou Mansion.
If the Flower Fair is the beginning of a hidden conflict, then the quarrel between Shen Wen and the eldest prince and the fourth princess during the Lantern Festival is to expose the original vague discord early. This trip with the third prince completely changed the position of the Houfu. It became clear.
On the one hand, Shen Wen regretted that he acted too early and attracted the other party's attention too quickly. Moreover, when the other party came to inquire about the truth, he didn't hold back his breath. He intended to leave a stupid impression on the First Prince, but because he didn't want to be humiliated, he ended up giving the First Prince a bad impression. Judging from the First Prince's actions towards their return to the city, he underestimated the First Prince's anger.
The chain was intertwined, Shen Yi fought back, and openly stood with the third prince.
Shen Wen began to worry that from now on, the eldest prince would speed up the progress of the incident and attack the Hou's mansion in advance, but he was still too young to prepare for too many things.
But on the other hand, Shen Wen knew that he couldn't wait any longer. She couldn't let the prince get Ji Wenzhao, the most powerful wing, but if she wanted to stop Ji Wenzhao, she had to use helpers, and the most suitable one was Su Wanniang. Rescuing Su Wanniang alarmed her...
Shen Wen struggled for a long time, and finally thought that at this time in the previous life, the eldest prince won Ji Wenzhao, and the next two years were all about hard work. I don't remember anything against the Hou family. Now that Ji Wenzhao did not seek refuge with the prince, it should be a big loss for the other party, and it can be regarded as slowing down the other party's strength. From now on, we can only try our best to destroy the opponent's power and unite all the forces that can be united, so that the opponent has more than enough heart but not enough strength to rectify the Marquis Mansion quickly.
Shen Wen's guess is not bad at all. When the eldest prince got the news that Shen Yi and others were traveling with the third prince for half a month, he had a gloomy face and didn't speak much for half a day. The staff around him tried to insinuate him in various ways, but to no avail. In the afternoon of this day, the First Prince sent someone to deliver a letter to the Empress, requesting to see the Empress. The queen immediately asked the eldest prince to come and share dinner.
The queen is only thirty-four years old this year, and she is still a radiant woman. Her willow-leaf eyebrows are green and green, and Danfeng's eyes are shining, but there is no warmth between her eyebrows and eyes, and the corners of her mouth are slightly inward, as if she is always unhappy. It can be seen that when the first prince walked in from the palace gate, Empress Jia still showed a smile.
After seeing the ceremony, the queen smiled and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days, the emperor seems to have lost weight."
The eldest prince sighed slightly: "Everything is busy and there is no time to rest. Sometimes I really envy the third brother. A while ago, I went out for half a month with the sons of Zhenbeihou and had a lot of fun."
The muscles on the queen's face didn't seem to change, but the funnyness disappeared, and she said in a tone of lesson: "Why don't I envy Chen Guifei, who only serves the emperor every day, is happy, and doesn't have to worry about the chores of the harem. People's lives are different. As the eldest son, the emperor will soon become the prince, which is unmatched by anyone. You should not always use your own dissatisfaction to compare the other party's pride. I have told you many times You, if you don’t endure hardships, it’s hard to be a master. If you also play around, do you still want to be a prince? If a person doesn’t have the ambition of Lingyun, he will naturally be willing to be mediocre. You envy him after he has played for two days, he If you become a prince, what will you do?!"
The eldest prince nodded hurriedly and said: "What the queen mother said is that the child should not say that he envies the third emperor brother, but should be glad that he can get the father's approval."
The queen nodded and said: "This is a sensible child. Besides, the moon has its waxes and wanes, and people have misfortunes and blessings. He plays around and plays, what tricks can he play? Normally, my son only needs to concentrate on doing things for the emperor, and there is no need for other things." Take it to heart."
The eldest prince bowed his head and said: "Thank you, Queen Mother, after listening to Queen Mother's advice, my child feels at ease."
The queen smiled: "Why do you need to be polite? Come and have a good dinner with me. I knew you would come. I asked them to prepare sweet and sour carp..."
After dinner, the Eldest Prince retired, and the Empress took care of some chores in the palace. From the records of the servants, it was known that the Emperor stayed in Concubine Chen Guifei's palace again tonight.
The empress was in a bad mood, and the palace people next to her moved slowly, the empress could not help but reprimanded a few words. Seeing the queen put down the books, everyone rushed forward to prepare for her bedtime. Someone helped remove the hairpin, and someone helped the queen change clothes and take a bath.
The palace eunuchs extinguished the candles one by one, leaving only the candles under the bed and by the door in the queen's bedroom. Three maids served the queen to bed, and only one stayed behind to do the final care for the queen.
The room was dark, and the lonely candlelight reflected the queen's face a little hideously.
The queen seemed to be talking to herself: "That bitch can't be kept anymore. She is so arrogant, her child dares to trouble the emperor..."
The maid next to her only gave a "huh". The queen lay down, and the maid put down the light curtain embroidered with red phoenix and rising sun, extinguished the candle under the bed, left the small lamp at the door, and went out.
At the same time, the palace of the imperial concubine, where the emperor stayed overnight, was also pitch black.
After the dinner, Concubine Chen had someone set up a gauze tent in the courtyard, extinguished the surrounding lights, and played the flute softly in the distance, while she and the emperor lay on the bench, looking at the bright starry sky in the summer night, talking softly Chat in English.
Although Concubine Chen Gui is twenty-seven years old, her graceful voice is still like a shy girl in her boudoir.
Seemingly inadvertently, the emperor asked: "I heard that Sanlang has been very close to Zhenbeihou's child recently?"
Concubine Chen Guifei sighed slowly, and said in a slightly sad tone: "When the child grows up, he likes to ride horses outside. He always says that he wants to guard the border for the country in the future. The most powerful general in this city is Zhenbei When it's time, he always wants to compete with other people's children. When he comes back, he even brags to me that he is faster than some big prince in that mansion. He doesn't know how to be ashamed at all! But he said that he is not a great person, and people will not let him. He won it himself, and he is very proud. Your Majesty, if you have time, you can beat him a few words, don't make him so proud, he always feels I, a mother, have no experience, so he will still listen to His Majesty's words."
The emperor laughed: "He is still a young man, but he should have such a crazy temper. He should be happy to win against Zhenbeihou's child. My child should be superior to others. Don't let him say that he is not a character." ’ If that’s the case, he’s going to be an upright man in the future.”
Concubine Chen Gui laughed: "Your Majesty always dotes on him so much. If Your Majesty doesn't like his contact with the Zhenbei Hou Mansion, tell him! Let him stop arguing with others. Your Majesty, don't spoil him. Better take a chance and hit him a few times to see if he dares to come to me and brag about what he won again..."
The emperor laughed: "Fight, let's fight! If you win, don't brag to you, go to Zhen and say, I will reward him with a lottery!"
Chen Guifei sighed softly with a smile: "Your Majesty, let me thank you for him first. You are so kind to him. He really has to become a great general in the future, otherwise how can he be worthy of the cultivation of the emperor."
The emperor smiled and said, "That's for the future. Now, Concubine Ai, you should think about how to be worthy of me..."
The summer insects chirped, the warm wind gusts, and the gauze tent was hazy.