Emperor Xuanren nodded, "That's right. The Queen Mother is a frugal person, and she was unwilling to make arrangements in the past, but this year is different. It's her 70th birthday, so we need to have a good time. You should prepare well, and all expenses will come from my private treasury, so there's no need to save."
"I obey your orders. The Ministry of Rites will handle this matter properly to the satisfaction of His Majesty and the Queen Mother."
"But there is something else. If nothing else, let's leave the court."
After waiting for a while, no one stood up, and Emperor Xuanren stood up.
At this time, Eunuch Hong spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's getting late now, do you want to give a banquet?"
"It's already this late? Fine, I'll give you a feast."
Then, Eunuch Hong opened his voice and shouted, "Your Majesty, please grant me a banquet."
The people outside the hall opened their mouths again and continued to spread the news.
Then, everyone inside and outside the hall knelt in unison, "We thank your Majesty."
Emperor Xuanren waved his hand, his sleeves drew a cold arc, and he walked away.
"Farewell, Your Majesty."
Then the court officials' tense nerves finally relaxed a little. They either went out directly or walked in groups of three or four, talking. Of course, there were also mortal enemies who had to be "complimented" at this time.
Especially those from Prince Heng’s faction, they are the focus of attention, there is no way around it since Prince Heng is the most powerful.
But something seems to be wrong today. Even if they are found, they are still smiling. Although they didn't say it explicitly, the implication of their words is almost: Hey, they are not involved in those things. After all, King Heng is not short of money, and if he is not short of money, he will certainly not make money casually.
So, he wanted to strike at others but failed, and he was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He cursed in his heart, isn't it just a concubine who knows how to make money? How can he rely on a woman? In the end, he is still competing with the people for profit...
Well, the last point is untenable. After all, everything that Concubine Kou came up with was very novel. It was not at all a matter of competing with the people for profit. Some of these things even benefited the people. In the beginning, it was not that no one reported it to the emperor, but he still got beaten back. After all, the taxes were paid into the national treasury in large quantities.
If you say that Prince Heng relies on women, it is nothing but envy and jealousy. Others want such a person who can make money, but they can't find it. Moreover, because Prince Heng is rich, he doesn't need to ask for money from other places, and his hands are very clean. What is related to Prince Dun is the account of this year. Since a year ago, Prince Heng has not even accepted more expensive gifts. If you bring expensive things to him, he will be "reprimanded". What a style. Now, isn't it justified? While other brothers are anxiously considering how much Kaiping Guards have found out, how much they need to fill in the account to satisfy the father? If they give too much, there will not be so much in the account, wouldn't it be self-incriminating, and they will also feel pain. If they give too little, will it cause dissatisfaction with the father
Relatively speaking, Prince Dun had an easier time in this matter.
Then, when the princes saw the smug look on the face of the King Heng, they wanted to slap him. What are you doing showing off? You are just pretending now. Why don’t you check the previous years to see how much you actually ate? This year, even if it didn’t reach you, others must have received less. Who knows how many people are greedy in the name of the King Heng? Maybe they are still in the dark, but the Kaiping Guards have the “account” in their hands. It is still unknown what will happen in the end. Don’t be fooled by your own people.
Of course, no one would say this to King Heng, so he should think about how to deal with what he has on hand.
Although Prince Heng didn't talk to his brothers, he still felt refreshed when he saw their livid faces. Of course, he couldn't show it too obviously at this moment. He had to keep smiling and maintain his composure.
Since Prince Heng was offended, he naturally went to Prince Dun to get revenge. Without his father's order, he was still kneeling. Even now, he couldn't relax. He had to kneel straight. How were his knees
Prince Dun relied on his status as the "eldest brother" and often used this as an excuse to pressure others. Now that he had the chance, he would ridicule them to death. So what if their hands were not clean? They didn't reveal it, they didn't embarrass themselves in public, and they were not punished by their father to kneel. This "honor" only belonged to Prince Dun.
Prince Dun's face turned pale and he wished he could eat them, but he could only swallow his anger and record the account.
After about half an hour, most people had left and gone to have their meals. For officials below the third rank, who did not have sufficient background to attend the palace banquet, it was a rare opportunity to be granted a banquet. They could have such a meal and go back to brag about it. Besides, many people had not eaten much since last night and were starving, so they were naturally looking forward to it.
Only those who eat it often know best. What are you looking forward to? You are really thinking too much.
Prince Dun was still in the same place, and only the imperial guards were left around him, but these people had been replaced by a new group of people.
Although he no longer had to kneel so straight, his knees were in so much pain that he almost lost all feeling. He even worried that his legs would be crippled. After becoming Prince Duan, was he another prince who lost his right to inherit the throne
The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. I couldn't help but burst into tears, begging for mercy while crying, with snot and tears all over my face. It was so miserable.
Eventually, this situation was heard by Emperor Xuanren, who was enjoying his meal leisurely at the time. He thought the dish was good, so he had it taken away and given it to one of his ministers as a reward.
After hearing the report, his face was extremely ugly. "This disgraceful bastard, tell him to go back to the palace immediately and reflect on his mistakes. I don't want to see his face in the near future."
Prince Dun seemed to be pardoned and limped out of the palace with the help of his attendants.
As for Concubine Shun, she has been restless since she learned that her son was attacked by the Emperor. Her son was not smart, and this time he was used as a chicken to scare the monkeys. However, she always thought that he was not brave, and even if he received some tribute from those below, he would not dare to accept more. Who knew that she underestimated him, and he happened to be caught this time, so it was not his fault that he was unlucky.
However, no matter how stupid she was, she had to love her own son. She had originally thought about waiting for the emperor to finish lunch and then begging for mercy. But her stupid son managed to get away on his own, but Shunfei felt the way he got away was extremely embarrassing. She guessed that the emperor asked him to get out, not because he forgave him, or because he saw him crying pitifully as a grown man, but because he despised him.
Concubine Shun sighed. She gave birth to this stupid son. What could she do? If she could put him back in her stomach and start over, she would have put him back long ago. But that was impossible. She could only help him as much as possible.
Because he had no powerful outside help and no one was trying to get money for him through legitimate means, he was short of money and had a lot of expenses. Even after receiving those "tributes", he was afraid that there would not be much left. Now he had to make up for it, and he didn't know how tight his financial situation would be.
Concubine Shun began to count her things, and picked out all the things that could be given to Prince Dun and sent them to Prince Dun's mansion. It was quite common for concubines to subsidize their sons, and the emperor would not care. She had food and drink in the palace, and even if she was a little tight on money, at most she would give less money as a reward, so it was no big deal for the palace people to say that she was stingy. Concubine Shun was very open-minded about this.
After Concubine Shun had someone send the money out of the palace, Emperor Xuanren gave her a batch of rewards in the evening without saying anything.
However, Concubine Shun understood his meaning. This was not for her son, but he couldn't bear to see her, a concubine, living in poverty and being laughed at by the palace people. So, it was really important to preserve that affection. Even if his son made him angry, he would not vent his anger on his mother.
Naturally, Concubine Shun would not be so foolish as to give it to her son again. If she did, the Emperor would be dissatisfied.
Seeing this, other concubines followed suit. Unfortunately, not only did they not receive any rewards from the emperor, they were even scolded. The sour feeling was really indescribable.
This is quite unpleasant. Those who have a low rank, even if their sons are not yet grown up and have not set up their own households, and they are not the ones who are scolded, they still feel very jealous. They are old and ugly, and they were not fairies when they were young. Now they can no longer serve His Majesty, but they are still so favored. His Majesty always thinks about them. Whenever there is a big reward in the harem, she has what others have, and in normal times, she also has what others don’t have, while these young and beautiful ones have to fight for it, and may not even get a sip of it. Why
They didn't dare to speak up in front of Concubine Shun, so naturally they went to stir up trouble with other concubines who were on an equal footing with Concubine Shun. They wanted to see Concubine Shun enjoying glory and rewards while they themselves were scolded. Not to mention, for the next period of time they would either have to live a tight life or have to rely on their parents' family to send them money. How could they bear such unequal treatment
It's a pity that none of the concubines are stupid. Even the virtuous concubine with the highest status simply doesn't respond.
Do they really not care? How is that possible! But what can they do? Even though they are prettier than Concubine Shun, have a better family background than Concubine Shun, and are smarter than Concubine Shun, they are not as favored as Concubine Shun. Can they blame the emperor
I understand to some extent why Concubine Shun is favored, but even if I swallow my pride and learn from her, His Majesty will still ignore me.
To be honest, this group of women lost to Concubine Shun, who was inferior to them in every way. They felt so aggrieved.
In the final analysis, it is because their Majesty is too difficult to deal with. No matter beauty, talent or charm, he is not interested in any of them. He can only spend half of the month in the harem at most, and in the harem, everyone is treated equally. It takes a lot of skill for anyone to let him rest in his room for three consecutive days.
It is said that His Majesty's heart is devoted to the late queen, and no other woman can enter his heart anymore.
It’s not that there were people who tried to find beauties and offer them to the emperor in the image of the late queen, but the emperor didn’t even bother to employ them. Instead, he directly disposed of them, and the people who offered the beauties were severely reprimanded. After that, no one dared to do such a stupid thing anymore.
The emperor had fewer and fewer concubines in the harem, and no princes or princesses had been born for two or three years. It became increasingly difficult for those young concubines of lower ranks to have a child.
Of course, this is a later story and a digression.
Xiaocao and the others had already returned to the Wenren family and had no idea what had happened in the palace.
Xiaocao was actually already well, but she still needed to hide for two days to recuperate. Her mother and sister also treated her as a patient, so she just stayed at home. Later, when Xiaosi heard about it, he rushed to see her.
This cute little brother, Xiaocao couldn't help but reach out to touch his head. Wenren Xiaosi also lowered his head obediently and let her touch him. Oh, he is so soft and cute.
However, Xiaocao didn't get enough rest last night, nor did he take a nap during the day, so he isn't in good spirits right now.
Wenren Xiaosi thought she was just feeling unwell and sleepy, so he left obediently and let her have a good rest.
At dinner time, Xiaocao ate with her family and met Wenren Taibo. Wenren Taibo asked about Xiaocao's health and was relieved to confirm that she had recovered well.
After dinner, the family sat together and talked.
Wenren Taibo naturally talked about what happened in the court today. He did not mention anything else, but the incident of the snakes attracted by the snake-attracting grass happened in Tianshui Lake. They were in Zhouqun Mountain yesterday, and I wonder if they knew about this.
Then Wen Renying told him that she not only knew about it, but also participated in it personally, and described the situation at that time in vivid detail.
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Wenren Taibo even sighed at the person who took timely action to calm the situation. He didn't expect it was his own daughter. But it wasn't surprising, because his daughter dealt with those strange flowers and plants the most.
Han's face darkened when she heard this. "You didn't tell me yesterday that the situation was so serious."
Wen Renying realized that she was exposed, and secretly looked at her fourth sister. Seeing her helpless look, she knew that she had probably reminded her just now, but she was so excited that she didn't notice it. She couldn't help shrinking her neck and lowering her head. Xiaocao also waited obediently to be scolded by her mother.
In the end, Han didn't say anything, but couldn't help but tap Xiaocao's forehead, "You, you, what can I say about you? But I also know that you are kind-hearted and soft-hearted. No matter what happens, as long as you can handle it, there is no reason to stand idly by. I'm afraid it will be uncomfortable and unpleasant to forcibly detain you. But, no matter what happens, you must do it within your ability, pay attention to your own safety, and think more about us before doing anything, understand?"
This was an unexpected surprise. Xiaocao had thought that if her mother knew about this, she would keep a close eye on her, but she had not expected her to be so understanding. Although she was seen as a little bit of a "saint" because of the filter, Xiaocao did not care about it at the moment.
Xiao Cao leaned directly against her and hugged her, "Mom, you are the best. Don't worry, I will pay attention."
"Every one of you is my sinful debt from my previous life." What else can I do if I don't indulge them? Is it painful to watch them? Of course, I can only worry more and persuade myself to relax.