On March 20, Wang Yanqing woke up early. She is going to visit the Empress Dowager in the palace today. Naturally, she cannot wear bright clothes, but it is not appropriate to wear plain white clothes. What's worse is that Wang Yanqing has lost his memory and has no knowledge of the court etiquette. Fortunately, Lu Heng is there to check, and with the help of Lingxi Lingluan, Wang Yanqing has difficulty setting up the clothes for entering the palace.
Today is not a serious audience, so there is no need to dress too formally, so Wang Yanqing changed into a long jacket with dark floral gauze in the lotus and lotus color. The whole body is pure and there is no embroidery decoration, but the jacket is light purple and reddish, and it will not provoke the elders. The long jacket has a stand-up collar, and is neatly tied to the neck with gold buttons. The knees are split on both sides, revealing the white silk horse-face skirt inside.
Lu Heng did not go to Nanzhen Fusi today, and waited in Lu Mansion early in the morning. After Wang Yanqing was dressed neatly, he did not dare to delay, and immediately went to the main courtyard to find Lu Heng. Lu Heng couldn't help laughing when she saw that she was ready to fight, the button was tied to her neck. Lu Heng lightly adjusted her neckline and said, "Don't be nervous, the Empress Dowager Xingguo is a very kind person. She has not been in good health recently, so she has summoned the younger generation to meet with you. You will be fine after you enter the palace, don't worry. ."
Wang Yanqing should be, Lu Heng said that you don't need to be nervous, but if something happened to him, how could he not panic. Lu Heng tidied Wang Yanqing's collar with his fingers, paused, then put it on her shoulder and clenched slightly: "Empress Dowager Xingguo has been ill since last winter, and even the imperial doctor can't do anything about it. I'm afraid the empress dowager will be worried. , didn't tell her about you."
The strength on Lu Heng's fingers seemed to have something to do with it. Wang Yanqing immediately realized that the Empress Dowager Jiang didn't know about her amnesia. Wang Yanqing nodded and said, "I understand, I try to speak as little as possible, so as not to cause the Queen Mother to worry."
Lu Heng hesitated to speak, and finally sighed silently in his heart. It is him who should be worried now. Lu Heng can confess the truth to the emperor, but Empress Dowager Jiang is full of elders, and her body is exhausted. Lu Heng really dare not tell Empress Dowager Jiang the truth. In Wang Yanqing's mind, she was an orphan adopted by the Lu family, and she had benefited Empress Dowager Jiang, but in Empress Dowager Jiang's heart, Wang Yanqing was Lu Heng's woman, who was brought to the Lu family's golden house to hide her beauty. Lu Heng didn't even know how he was going to lie between these two women when he entered the palace for a while.
Only one step at a time.
This time, Wang Yanqing and Lu Heng entered the palace, and every step was very smooth. The guards at the entrance of the palace saw Lu Heng hurriedly salute and let them pass without checking. The last time Wang Yanqing entered the palace was the east gate, but this time, they entered the palace from the right shun gate, and walked all the way north along the narrow road.
Wang Yanqing quietly looked at the buildings on both sides. There were many eunuchs coming and going. Unlike Wang Yanqing's imagination, the servile and yin-yang eunuchs were eccentric. The people here were all polite and gentle. The eunuchs who came and went saw them, and bowed and saluted from a distance. Seeing Wang Yanqing looking to the side, Lu Heng pointed out in a low voice, "This is the supervisor of li."
Wang Yanqing suddenly realized that it turned out to be the famous Supervisor of Literacy. Since Emperor Yongle, the court began to reuse eunuchs. The original intention of the emperor to set up the East and West factories was to contain Jinyiwei. Although they were collectively called Changwei, the East and West factories and Jinyiwei never dealt with each other. But now it seems that, at least in front of Lu Heng, the East Factory and the West Factory are still very respectful.
On this point, Wang Yanqing admired Lu Heng in particular. Since Lu Heng joined Jinyiwei, he has not done any errands that cannot be done. This record is enough to laugh at the heroes, but his real ability is to get everyone around him to cooperate with him on errands without leaving any words.
It is not difficult to understand things, but it is the most difficult problem in the world to understand people.
After walking on the corridor for a long time, the Cining Palace finally arrived. Wang Yanqing had been to Ciqing Palace. Ciqing Palace was very close to the outer court, and its regulations and layout were more like the prince's residence than the palace. However, Cining Palace is the opposite. It is the residence of the empress dowagers of all dynasties. After the emperor ascended the throne, it was renovated and it is very graceful and expensive.
As soon as Lu Heng entered the palace gate, someone came inside to report. The palace maid respectfully opened the door to Lu Heng, Wang Yanqing followed behind Lu Heng, and as soon as she entered the door, she was dazzled by the battle inside.
The emperor is here today, and Empress Zhang brought all the concubines to the Cining Palace to serve the sick. The young and beautiful concubine Yishui served in front of the couch, and behind them were the palace maids who served them, Yingying Yanyan and Huan Feiyan thin. , standing together is simply spectacular.
Wang Yanqing thought she was just here to greet the Empress Dowager Jiang alone, but she could not have expected this kind of battle, she just glanced at it and couldn't see who was who, so she bravely saluted a bunch of shadows: "The people's daughter sees the emperor, The Empress Dowager Xingguo, the Empress and all your empresses."
The emperor was sitting in front of Empress Dowager Jiang's couch, Zhang Jihou was sitting beside the emperor, and a few beauties who looked like female officials stood behind them. Empress Dowager Jiang was leaning on the couch, her expression was sallow, her face was sallow, her eyes lit up when she heard Lu Heng coming, and she quickly said, "No gift."
Said to be Shiji, in fact, these concubines are just standing here with a pestle. They can't see Empress Dowager Jiang several times, and Empress Dowager Jiang may not know them. To Empress Dowager Jiang, her nominal daughter-in-law was far less familiar than Lu Heng. After the Empress Dowager Jiang spoke, the concubines consciously stepped aside and branched out from the middle.
Lu Heng was used to seeing this kind of scene, so he walked smoothly through the crowd and walked to the Empress Dowager Jiang. Wang Yanqing hurriedly followed with his head down.
Lu Heng greeted the Emperor, Empress Dowager Jiang and Zhang Jihou familiarly. When Empress Dowager Jiang saw Lu Heng, she was very relieved. She glanced behind Lu Heng with a clear look: "You are here."
The smile on Lu Heng's face was as usual, he pulled Wang Yanqing sideways, his expression was very natural, and he didn't seem nervous at all: "The Queen Mother, this is Qingqing."
Wang Yanqing didn't dare to look up, and hurriedly squatted down and said, "The Queen Mother of Xingguo is safe."
Empress Dowager Jiang swept over Wang Yanqing's body, and saw that this woman had a beautiful appearance, but there was no sullenness between her eyebrows. Empress Dowager Jiang became more and more satisfied, and said with a smile: "Get up. It's rare for you to come to the palace to see Aijia, don't be restrained, and give you a seat."
The palace maid moved to the embroidered pier. Even if Wang Yanqing didn't remember what happened in the past, she knew that she couldn't sit down in front of the emperor and the empress dowager, and she only sat half empty. Lu Heng handled this kind of situation with ease, and said warmly, "I have long wanted to come to greet you, but I have been unable to do so. Today, I will borrow your majesty's light to bring her to meet you."
Empress Dowager Jiang smiled gratified: "You are all good children, you are satisfied with this sad family."
Lu Heng took advantage of the situation to ask about the Queen Mother's condition. What he asked was not empty words like "How are you doing recently?", but real details, interspersed with one or two nice words from time to time, which coaxed the Queen Mother Jiang into a smile. This kind of topic is not Wang Yanqing's turn. Like many concubines, she quietly lowered her head and stood aside as a wallflower.
The emperor sat in front of the couch, swept over Wang Yanqing silently, and then looked at Lu Heng, his eyes showing the color of watching a play.
Lu Heng seemed to be at ease, but he was actually very troubled. Every time he said a word, he had to calculate the next five sentences and the possible reaction of the Empress Dowager Jiang.
Lu Heng took proper precautions, and with a little luck, things developed surprisingly smoothly. Wang Yanqing felt that "you" in Empress Dowager Jiang's words meant "you brothers and sisters", while Empress Dowager Jiang thought it was "your husband and wife". Many concubines present were calm, and no one felt that something was wrong.
Only Lu Heng and the emperor knew the inside story. The two of them made up one and the other looked at each other, and it turned out to be very harmonious.
Empress Dowager Jiang looked around, and she remembered that Lu Heng and the emperor were still teenagers. In the blink of an eye, the two of them got married and gathered with He Meimei. She was overwhelmed with emotion and sighed: "Ai's family has gone through ups and downs in her life, and she has no regrets in her life, but it's a pity that I didn't see your two children. Get married first and then start a business, both of you should hurry up. ."
The emperor's expression is slightly stagnant. He has been on the throne for thirteen years, and there is still no child in the palace. Empress Dowager Jiang is anxious, how can the emperor not be in a hurry? When Zhang Jihou heard Empress Dowager Jiang mentioned his son again, his face could not help embarrassing, he got up and said: "The medicine should be ready, the concubine goes outside to have a look."
When Lu Heng heard Empress Dowager Jiang mention this, he knew that it was not good, and he quickly took the opportunity to wink at Wang Yanqing, Wang Yanqing understood Lu Heng's meaning without words, and followed Zhang Jihou out.
After Wang Yanqing went out, Lu Heng's face didn't change, and he breathed a long sigh of relief. Empress Dowager Jiang didn't notice, but the emperor quietly glanced at Lu Heng.
The queen went out to see the medicine in person, and the other concubines couldn't just wait here, they all went out with the queen. Most of the people in the room left in an instant, and when there were fewer people, the Empress Dowager Jiang showed her anger and gave Lu Heng a feigned anger: "Didn't you say that when you meet someone you like, you will show it to the Ai family, why are you hiding it now? Tuck it away, so that the Aijia will not know?"
The emperor quietly stood on the sidelines, and the old man would inevitably nag. If the Empress Dowager Jiang did not talk about Lu Heng, she would talk about the emperor. In contrast, it was better to talk about Lu Heng. Now Lu Heng is only glad that he responded quickly and sent Wang Yanqing out in time, otherwise, the scene would be unimaginable.
Knowing that he couldn't count on others, Lu Heng said to himself, "Isn't it too late? I thought I'd bring her to see you after I was busy. How could I know that you are well-informed and one step ahead of me."
Empress Dowager Jiang didn't care about the truth of his words, and said earnestly again: "No matter how busy you are, you must always take care of your family. This is not just for Lu Heng, but also for you, Emperor."
The emperor's ears were about to hear the cocoon, and he disapproved in his heart, saying, "My son, remember it."
Empress Dowager Jiang could not be the master of her son for a long time. She said everything she could say, and the rest could only depend on her children and grandchildren. Now that there are no outsiders, the Empress Dowager Jiang was happy after seeing the younger generation, and she told her about the future: "Aijia's illness has been in these two days. After the death of Aijia, the emperor does not need to keep filial piety to Aijia, he can do whatever he needs to do. , and quickly give birth to children, is the real filial piety to the Aijia."
The emperor's face changed slightly when he heard these words, and Lu Heng also restrained his smile and lowered his eyes quietly. The emperor said: "Mother, Tao Zhongwen is researching new medicinal pills for you. What do you say?"
Empress Dowager Jiang said: "Aijia doesn't like those medicinal pills, so don't have to toss people. Aijia is old, sooner or later, there will be such a day, there is no need to avoid it. While Aijia can still talk, arrange things well, and when that day comes, It also saves you the hassle.”
The emperor was silent, and Lu Heng would not answer. The Empress Dowager Jiang continued: "There is no need to deal with Aijia's death, but there is only one point. Be sure to bury Aijia with your father."
The emperor finally sighed helplessly: "Mother, don't worry, I understand."
…
On the other side, Wang Yanqing accompanied Zhang Jihou to wait for the medicine, followed by a large group of palace maids and concubines. Zhang Jihou said that he was decoction himself, but in fact, he just came to the kitchen to take a look, and he didn't even need to smell the smoke. She sat in the warm pavilion drinking tea, and when the medicine was boiled, her own palace maid brought it to her.
Wang Yanqing didn't know Zhang Jihou at all, and the queen and other concubines had nothing to say when facing the family of Lord Lu. The girls were relatively speechless, standing quietly in the warm pavilion, with the blue smoke floating, only the sound of Zhang Jihou shaking the tea cup could be heard.
Wang Yanqing didn't have to talk to anyone, and was very fortunate. She didn't have any doubts about the strangeness at the moment. She felt that it was normal for her to be unfamiliar with these women. No matter how close the relationship between Lu Heng and the palace was, she was still a foreign minister. Lu Heng is not familiar with it, let alone Wang Yanqing.
However, before Wang Yanqing entered the palace, Lu Heng told her about the relationship in the palace. Now this queen is also surnamed Zhang. She entered the palace in the first year of Jiajing, but she is not related to the Queen Mother Zhang, but she just happened to bump into the surname. Zhang Jishou was the emperor's second empress. The first empress was surnamed Chen. Because he was jealous of the emperor's displeasure, he was frightened by a miscarriage and died of illness. After Empress Chen died, the emperor, at the urging of Empress Dowager Jiang, established the oldest concubine Zhang Shun as the empress, who is now Zhang Jihou.
It is a pity that Zhang Jihou has no favor, and he has not given birth to a son and a half daughter after entering the palace for thirteen years. Now that Zhang Jihou is older, the emperor favors the newcomer, and her position becomes more and more awkward. The women who entered the palace in the first year of Jiajing are still active in front of the stage, only Zhang Jihou, and the rest are all newcomers who entered the palace in the tenth year of Jiajing. At this moment, Yiliuyan stood in the sun, so tender that it was almost reflective.
Wang Yanqing quietly swept over these young and bright women in the warm pavilion, thinking about marrying into the emperor's family, especially a clever and suspicious emperor like the emperor, I'm afraid it may not be a good thing.
She prefers to live outside the palace, even if she doesn't have clothes and food, at least she is free.
Soon, the medicine will be ready. Zhang Jihou returned to the main hall of Cining Palace with the medicine in her own hands. Empress Dowager Jiang did not know what to say to the emperor. Seeing them nodding lightly, she immediately stopped her previous words. After Empress Dowager Jiang drank the medicine, her face showed fatigue. The emperor had to go back to the Qianqing Palace. Seeing this, Lu Heng left and took Wang Yanqing back.
Lu Heng was going to the Qianqing Palace, so he could only send someone to take Wang Yanqing home. This time, he crossed the Ming Road in front of the Emperor and Empress Dowager Jiang. Lu Heng was not afraid that someone would embarrass Wang Yanqing on the road, so he sent Wang Yanqing away after a few words.
This kind of thing is familiar again and again, Wang Yanqing sat on the carriage leaving the palace, and his expression was very calm. She guessed that when they went out, the Empress Dowager Jiang should have said something to the emperor and Lu Heng. The emperor now asked Lu Heng to go to the Qianqing Palace, mostly to discuss the matter.
Wang Yanqing put it aside after thinking about it, and didn't take it to heart. After returning to the mansion, her life was still peaceful and leisurely, but Lu Heng was busy. When he was busy, he disappeared. Wang Yanqing tried to talk to him about Fu Tingzhou several times, but couldn't find a chance.
A few days later, bad news suddenly came from the palace that Empress Dowager Jiang passed away. Wang Yanqing's meeting with the Empress Dowager Jiang really became the last. After the emperor's grief, he followed the order of the Empress Dowager Jiang, and followed the moon with the sun, and observed filial piety for twenty-seven days. At the same time, the emperor also mentioned the funeral ceremony of Empress Dowager Jiang in the morning.
Empress Dowager Jiang died in Beijing, and the emperor's father, King Xingxian, was buried in Anlu. How should this be arranged? Some courtiers suggested a joint burial, while others suggested separate burials in the north and south, each with their own clothes.
Separate burial is the most convenient, but Empress Dowager Jiang's only wish is to be buried with King Xingxian. As a son of man, how can the emperor go against his mother's last wish? In the end, regardless of the courtiers' quarrel, the emperor spoke and was buried together. The joint burial involved moving the coffin. While choosing the site of the mausoleum on Tianshou Mountain, the emperor sent Jinyiwei back to Anlu to check the mausoleum where King Xingxian lived.
This kind of thing naturally fell on Lu Heng. It seems that the emperor asked the courtiers' opinions on the tomb in the early court. In fact, long before the death of the Empress Dowager Jiang, the emperor and Lu Heng discussed the matter of co-burial and relocation of the king's coffin. He only notified the courtiers in the early court. .
The burial is a major event, and there is no room for error. Lu Heng sent his confidants to Chengtian Mansion to check the situation of Xianling Mausoleum, and also to investigate the site of the mausoleum of Empress Dowager Jiang, so busy all day long that no one was seen. When Wang Yanqing saw this, it was even more difficult for him to disturb him. She thought, when Lu Heng is free, she can talk about Fu Tingzhou.
As a result, Jin Yiwei, who came back from Xianling, reported that the Xuanguan Xuanguan had water. The emperor was very sad when he heard that water had entered his father's tomb. They stayed in the capital for fourteen years, and their father stayed in Anlu alone, and no one even knew that the cemetery had flooded. After the emperor's heartache, he made up his mind to tour the south and personally return to his home in Anlu to check whether the tomb should be moved and how to be buried together.
Wang Yanqing thought it would be fine for Lu Heng to be busy for a while, but after a while, he became even busier. The emperor's southern tour only needs to talk a lot, but the guards, guards, inspections, and security checks are all in charge of Jinyiwei.
Lu Heng was too busy, and Wang Yanqing became increasingly reluctant to disturb him with trivial matters. In the middle of the night, Lu Heng was busy again until the sky above the moon before returning. Wang Yanqing had already changed into his summer clothes. She poured him a cup of hot tea and said, "Second brother, the food is warm on the stove, you can wait."
Lu Heng took the tea cup and said, "It's so late, you can go to bed by yourself, you don't have to wait for me."
Wang Yanqing shook his head: "You didn't come back, and I would have nightmares even if I fell asleep. Why don't I wait for you here. Second brother, do you want to accompany you on the Southern Tour?"
Lu Heng replied, "Naturally."
For such an important matter as the emperor went out, if he did not go to occupy the pit, all the credit would be taken away by others. Wang Yanqing was not surprised by this, she asked, "Second brother, why is the Southern Tour delayed for two months, how do you pack your carry-on luggage?"
The southern tour was a major event for the imperial court, and the various palaces were arranged by the Ministry of Rites, so Lu Heng was not worried about it. However, Wang Yanqing's words reminded him.
If he leaves and Wang Yanqing is at home alone, will Fu Tingzhou stay honest
Holding the tea cup, Lu Heng thought and thought, and finally felt that he could not give Fu Tingzhou any chance. He quickly made up his mind and said, "Qingqing, you should go too."