Imperial Concubine's Palace
The beautiful woman was lazily sitting on the chaise longue, with delicate makeup on her face, which made her originally beautiful appearance suddenly become bright and generous.
The first one is the Imperial Noble Consort, the former Prince Yuan's successor, Ren Yan. When Ren Yan married Prince Yuan as his successor, she was happy, and she could not imagine that such a good thing would happen to her. When you are young, who doesn't like handsome and romantic men? Among the handsome men in the capital at that time, Prince Yuan was one of the best, not to mention that he was the emperor's most beloved son.
Ren Yan was able to marry Prince Yuan, so her family background was naturally good. Her grandfather was Marquis Ren Wei, and the title was passed down from generation to generation. The first generation of Marquis Ren Wei had the merit of following the dragon. In her maternal family, her maternal grandfather was the Minister of Rites, and her mother was the eldest daughter of the Minister of Rites. Although the power of the Minister of Rites was not great, his status was there.
The late emperor felt guilty towards Prince Yuan, so he had put a lot of thought into choosing a concubine for him. Ren Yan had a good family background, but she was not good-looking in the capital city, which was full of beautiful women. Beautiful women from small families could be found easily in the capital city. So Ren Yan had never thought that she would marry Prince Yuan.
Although she is a concubine, Prince Yuan’s original wife did not leave any sons or daughters, so what is the difference between a concubine and the original wife
Later, Prince Yuan ascended the throne, and everyone thought she was set to be the queen. However, unexpectedly, the emperor made his original wife the queen, and she became the imperial concubine.
Even though she had the highest status in the harem, what did it matter? A concubine was a concubine. And her son, the seven-year-old eldest prince, went from being the eldest son in the palace to the eldest son of a concubine in the palace. It was really ridiculous.
Even if the emperor named his first wife as the empress, she should be the successor, right? But what was the truth
After discussing with her family, the Imperial Concubine felt that the Emperor was worried that their relatives were too powerful, so he did not make her the Empress. In this regard, her family members wanted her to be patient. The Emperor won the throne by seizing the throne, and his character was not soft and soft. If someone was tough with him, it would not be beneficial.
Therefore, the imperial concubine listened to the advice of her family and acted like a virtuous person in the palace.
But even so, the Imperial Concubine was unhappy. She went from being the principal wife to a concubine, and her son went from being the eldest legitimate son to being the eldest illegitimate son. Who did they offend
Today, Du Ke entered the palace twice and has not left the palace until now. The emperor also invited Du Ke to eat in the palace. Half of the people in the capital are asking about this. Being in the capital, one has to pay attention to every move in the palace. The imperial concubine is also asking about it. She is relieved about the Du family because there are no women in the Du family in the harem, and Du Ke is the emperor's consort. The emperor is still young, so Du Ke will not rely on any prince or stand on any prince's side.
Imperial Concubine: "How is it? Have you heard any news?"
The maid whispered, "Although I didn't find out why Lord Du came to the palace, after Lord Du came to the palace for the second time, the emperor summoned Imperial Physician Qiu, and they stayed in the imperial study for more than an hour before coming out. After Imperial Physician Qiu came out, he carried two basins of water back to the Imperial Hospital."
When the Imperial Concubine heard this, she frowned and asked, "Carrying two basins of water? Why did he carry two basins of water to the Imperial Hospital? Did he bring them from the Imperial Study?"
Maid: "Yes, the two basins of water were prepared by the eunuchs before the imperial doctor Qiu entered the imperial study. Many people in the palace saw it. But no one saw what they did in the imperial study. It is said that only the emperor, Lord Du, imperial doctor Qiu, and the chief steward were in the imperial study at that time."
The Imperial Concubine snorted, "You can't get anything out of these people, so you can't ask them." Du Ke and the chief steward are the most popular people around the emperor. Who would be so bold as to ask them what they are doing in the imperial study? As for Doctor Qiu, you can't ask him. What if Doctor Qiu sues you for secretly spying on the emperor? Whether the emperor is healthy or not, it is not something that the doctor can reveal, and it is not something that others can ask.
Thinking of this, the Imperial Concubine asked, "Is there any difference between the two basins of water before they were brought in and after they were brought out?"
Maid: "I asked, the water was clean and clear when it was brought in. It was also clean and clear when it was brought out. The only difference is that the water was a little cold."
"A little cold?" The imperial concubine couldn't figure out what this meant. "Go ahead and get the news."
Maid: "Yes."
At the same time, Du Ke, who was dining with the emperor, had a good appetite. Was he uncomfortable eating with the emperor? For Du Ke, that was not the case. First, he was really hungry. Second, the food made by the imperial chef was really delicious. Finally, it was not good to be too cautious in front of the emperor. Sometimes, the emperor liked to see your true nature.
Therefore, Du Ke was always true to his nature when he accompanied the emperor for dinner.
The emperor looked at Du Ke eating with big mouthfuls and couldn't help but say, "Every time I eat with you, Du Ke, my appetite improves." In private, the emperor was quite approachable to Du Ke.
Du Ke said: "Because the imperial chef cooks delicious food, I have the rare opportunity to eat it once, so I naturally cannot let down such delicious food."
The emperor smiled and said, "Then you should eat more and talk to me. Madam Qin first came up with the idea of land for the military camps, which solved the food problem for the soldiers. Now she has come up with the idea of making ice from saltpeter. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to give her the previous reward."
Du Ke: "The whole world belongs to the king. Although Madam Qin has made contributions, as a citizen of Qi, it is only natural for her to share the emperor's worries. It is a great blessing for the emperor to reward her. How dare she complain about the small reward?"
The emperor shook his head and said, "Du Ke, as the ruler of a country, I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. She has made great contributions and should be rewarded. You say, for her two contributions, it seems that I am too stingy to just reward her with silver, doesn't it?"
Du Ke hurriedly said, "She dare not." Although Du Ke did not know what the emperor was thinking, he knew that he could not ask for a reward on behalf of Mrs. Qin.
The emperor didn't say anything else. In fact, he already had an idea of what the reward should be.
Baili Village
The most impressive house in Baili Village is the Qin family's main house. Especially since there is only one yard on this three-acre sloping land, whoever passes by will have to take a few more glances.
The house had been built a long time ago, but it had been empty. But Qin's mother would go to open the door every month, clean the dust, and ventilate the house. Even if her son and daughter-in-law didn't come back to live, she was happy to see the house like this.
Last year, when the daughter-in-law left, she gave them one hundred taels of silver and entrusted them to help build the house. The blue brick house has been built and the yard has been paved with blue bricks, but there is still some silver left, so Qin's father used the extra silver to buy land. The land is in the name of his daughter-in-law, but for now, it is their eldest son's family that is cultivating the land.
Qin's father and mother don't need to worry about the eldest son. The third son and the little girl are with the eldest son, so they don't need to worry about them either. The eldest daughter is already married, so the one they worry about the most now is the second son.
Qin Shouye was sixteen years old this year, and he was old enough to get married. In addition, because Qin Fang was promising and his family had built such a big house, many people proposed marriages to Qin Shouye.
No, among all those who proposed marriage, the one who always pestered Qin's mother was stepmother Han.
When Stepmother Han came back from the border, she was scared. She didn't expect that little bastard Han Zhen was so difficult to deal with. However, she ran into Qin Fang's wife in the family quarters at the border and found that she had someone serving her. In addition, Qin Fang's house was built with his daughter-in-law's dowry, so she guessed that Qin Fang's wife must have a lot of dowry.
The eldest brother and his wife are rich, so how can they not take care of their younger brothers and sisters? She happened to have a niece, and she happened to be looking for a marriage for Qin Fang's second brother Qin Shouye, so stepmother Han was particularly active in this matter.
“Tie Niu’s… Tie Niu’s…” Stepmother Han passed by Qin Fang’s house and saw that the door of the big house was open. She stood at the door and looked inside.
Mother Qin was cleaning the house. When she heard stepmother Han's voice, she came out and said, "Old Han, what's going on?"
Stepmother Han smiled flatteringly, her voice quite enthusiastic: "Tie Niu's family, how are Shouye's marriage options going? There are many people who like my niece, from all over the place, who wouldn't praise her?"
Mother Qin knew the character of stepmother Han. She didn't know if her niece was really that good. Even if she was, she wouldn't want her because she had a relative like her. But for the sake of face, Mother Qin was still polite: "Our eldest daughter-in-law said that Shouye is still young. She will take a look first to see if there is a suitable girl, so there is no rush for Shouye's marriage."
Mother Qin's excuse was of course an excuse, but it worked well. The family conditions were good, and although she was worried about her son's marriage, she couldn't rush it. The eldest son and his wife were not around, so she wanted to find an honest wife for the second son. If she was dishonest and compared herself with the eldest son's wife, like the second son's sister-in-law, she would not dare to accept her.
Stepmother Han said, "Let Qin Fang's wife choose? Then the girls she chooses are all from her side. Qin Fang's wife is not by your side to be filial to you. If she chooses someone from that side who is not by your side, who will you ask to be filial to you?"
Mother Qin said indifferently: "My son and daughter-in-law have good backgrounds, I am so happy. Besides, we are in good health, why do we need them to be around to be filial?"
Stepmother Han: “No…”
"Aunt... Aunt... There are guests at home, grandma wants you to go home quickly." Niu Dan's bright voice sounded outside.
When Qin's mother heard this, she asked, "What guests?"
Niu Dan said, "I don't know. He came on horseback and said that my elder brother had sent him here. He also brought a lot of things with him."
When Qin's mother heard that it was someone sent by her eldest son, she closed the door without saying anything and returned to her old house happily. Speaking of which, the last letter was received at the end of last year, and the eldest son's wife also brought New Year's goods. This year's letter has not been received yet, so Qin's mother is very anxious.