"Why is mother here again?" Yun Fenghuang asked Jiang to sit down, handed over a cup of honey ice in person, and asked in surprise, "Is there something going on at home?"
Jiang used a small silver spoon to scoop out some honey ice to taste, and said, "This tastes light. Your sisters-in-law are young, so the ones made at home are always a little too sweet."
Then he said, "What else can you do? You are not Princess Lin's person?"
"Mom doesn't like the honey smoothie recipe at home, so just ask my sisters-in-law and the others to change it." Yun Fenghuang said, "How can the elders accommodate the tastes of the younger ones? My sisters-in-law have always been virtuous and sensible, why are they so confused about such a matter? ?”
Jiang said indifferently: "You said that your sisters-in-law are quite relaxed. When you were at home earlier, you were so tyrannical that you were not allowed to bring any taste you didn't like to the table? I am not caring about your sisters-in-law, but your nephews and nieces They all love sweets, so why bother making them feel uncomfortable eating it. Children like this honey smoothie the most, and I don’t use it often."
Yun Fenghuang advised her not to pamper her nieces and nephews too much: "You said last time you came to the palace that things are no better than before and you can't spoil the younger generations."
"Why worry about such a trivial matter? You were so arrogant back then, but now you are doing well." Jiang thought for a while and finally said, "If the rules are broken, I will naturally not follow them... That's all. , Not to mention this, I came to the palace today, not for food, but because I heard some things from Princess Lin’s people, and I feel it is necessary to talk to you."
So the mother and daughter got back to business, "Princess Lin's people said that although King Zhou's envoy was ignorant, he was telling the truth. Since King Fuyang's lineage was sealed, heirs have been poor, and all the previous kings have lived long. Bu Yong. When Duke Xiang Ruochang went to the county to join the feudal vassal, the people sent by Princess Lin kept an eye on him and found someone who had seen the feng shui of His Majesty's dormitory and said that it was very inappropriate... I think this is a bit inappropriate. It’s ridiculous, the Fuyang King’s lineage has always been passed down alone. Even the Yuanzhi vassal king has a title and is an extraordinary person. How could he suffer such a big loss in the construction of the palace and still not be aware of it?”
"Furthermore, being able to be born into a royal family means you are blessed with profound blessings. How can you restrain it by just feng shui?"
"But the envoy told me privately that this kind of thing cannot be said. He said that after the late Emperor Shenzong married the Empress Dowager, he had no children for several years. He even had no children in the backyard! At that time, Shenzong was competing with his brothers for the throne. This Naturally, he was criticized a lot. Later, he turned to Shanyuan Temple for help, and performed several rituals in the temple, and the Empress Dowager became pregnant with the late Emperor Xiaozong."
"Otherwise, no matter how clever the former Emperor Shenzong and the Ji family are, the throne will not be passed on to Shenzong."
"The King of Zhou is the elder of the clan, and the people in his palace know a lot. I don't think the messenger looked like he was making nonsense."
Mrs. Jiang came here specifically to tell her daughter this, and of course it was not just for gossip. At this moment, she quietly asked, "Anyway, Shanyuan Temple is near the Imperial Capital. Why don't you, mother, give it a try? Our family doesn't lack many of them." Sesame oil money, especially these two times when people ask for it, they are never empty-handed... If it doesn't work out, let's just have fun; if it works out, you... can have your own flesh and blood, so why should you leave any regrets?"
Yun Fenghuang frowned slightly, and after a while he said: "My menstrual period has improved a lot in the past two years, but I don't have to go to Shanyuan Temple to suffer. It's not because of others, but because the queen has been since Zhaowu Uncle accepted the crime. I fell ill with a burning heart, and now I am getting worse and worse. If it is reported that I intend to seek a child again, it will not be a good thing for me if she alone can't support it. After all, His Majesty is not willing to stand up. I am the queen, who wouldn’t be worse off than the queen if she came to power? But I still hope that she will live a few more years.”
"This..." Jiang said hesitantly, "either we should do it more secretly..."
"Even if I can hide it from the queen, I can't hide it from your majesty." Yun Fenghuang said calmly, "Mother, it's not like you don't know your majesty's shrewdness! Besides, the three generations of the Ji family have a close relationship with Shanyuan Temple. The former queen and Kang Jie You are not there in the temple. How can your majesty ignore the people coming in and out over there? My idea is that there are imperial doctors on my side who are slowly conditioning my body, and it will not get worse after all. Although I have been in the palace for a few years, I still She has not yet reached the age where she cannot have children, but why should she be in a hurry? Now the queen is ill. In the past two days, she even called me to come and begged me sincerely, saying that she felt that she was dying and wanted to give birth to the third prince. Entrust it to me with the King of Chu, the tenth prince, and the tenth prince’s biological mother, Ping.”
"What do you mean when you say that I tried every means to have children under such circumstances?"
"It doesn't make people think that I wish the Queen would die early... It's wrong, very wrong."
She said slowly, "Besides, it is actually not a good thing to be pregnant and have a baby now. The queen is ill and I am in charge of the palace affairs. If I also want to have an abortion, Concubine Shu and Concubine De will not be able to control them. By then, God knows what kind of ghosts and monsters will appear again? Let’s wait. After two years, maybe there will be news without having to do any rituals?"
"That's fine." Jiang shi also knew that the Xie family's honor and disgrace now rested with Yun Fenghuang alone. From Xie's point of view, it was actually best for Yun Fenghuang not to have children.
After all, even if the imperial concubine has always been in good health, she cannot prevent herself from following in the footsteps of Concubine Wen Huixian.
If she really did this, then there would really be no hope for the many royal heirs or the entire Xie family.
Chunjia's momentary pity will not last.
But as a mother, she had always doted on Yun Fenghuang, so she couldn't help but worry that none of Yun Fenghuang's descendants would be filial and promising, and her daughter would end up like the Empress Dowager Yuan when she grew old.
So considering this aspect, it is more reliable to have a biological child.
Although some biological children are not filial, but blood connection is more reliable than an adopted son, isn't it
At this moment, seeing that Yun Fenghuang had an idea, he didn't try to persuade him. He just said, "Since you're not in a hurry, that's good. The more urgent it is, the less likely it is to succeed."
After saying this, she left.
The next day, Yun Fenghuang went to see Chunjia to intercede on behalf of Duke Xiang Ruocheng. She did not hide that she had received the benefits: "My mother heard that it was for this matter, so she hurriedly sent him out. Hurry, how can you get involved in such a thing? But the man begged hard and mentioned his mother's heart. In the end, the mother softened her heart, so she came to the palace to talk to me. She said that Princess Lin only had such a son, Now I don't ask for anything else, I just want to save his life, and the words are quite pitiful... In fact, I feel that there is nothing touching about these words. Princess Lin is just such a child. How can those people who were framed be harmed? Aren’t you born to father and mother?”
Hearing this, Chunjia couldn't laugh or cry, and muttered: "You have already collected other people's things, and you still want to add insult to injury? If this matter spreads, I'm afraid no one will ask you to do anything in the future?"
"Your Majesty knew everything this morning, but he still remained calm. Waiting for me to intercede with Duke Xiang Ruocheng without distinguishing between black and white, and the punishment will be natural?" Yun Fenghuang wanted to laugh when he heard this. Bu smiled and said, "Fortunately, I still have some conscience, otherwise, I'm afraid it won't be good if I don't do it?"
Chunjia mumbled, "How big of a deal is it? Let's just talk about it in private. As for punishing you? Huh?"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to pinch her cheek and said with a smile, "Let's get down to business, you won't accept Princess Lin's benefits for no reason."
Yun Fenghuang thought to himself, if you hadn't intended to save Gong Xiang Ruoyu's life, why would I have let him go? After all, Fuyang County is not like other places. She will not act rashly without knowing Chunjia's thoughts.
At this moment, she opened him tenderly, calmed down, and said: "Although King Fuyang is the biological heir of King Zhou and Princess Lin, since he has adopted the lineage of King Fuyang, he should naturally be the heir of the lineage of King Fuyang. Forget it. Everyone in the world knows that your Majesty has a close relationship with King Fuyang. Your Majesty has always been benevolent, and you must be a little kinder to King Fuyang. If for no other reason, please do it for the sake of the two empress dowagers."
Chunjia laughed and said: "You say these words to coax me, but it's not because of the things that Princess Lin gave you? It's just a few pearls asking you to use different methods to fool the emperor, and you still have the nerve to say it. !”
Yun Fenghuang said: "Your Majesty's words are too unfair to me. A few pearls are worth my displeasure with Your Majesty? I only care about Your Majesty in my heart and mind. The reason why I am willing to say this is not for His Majesty's sake?" "
After all, the emperor didn't want to be dealt with harshly, so he relented after a few difficult words, saying that it was all because of your face, otherwise he would have to do something to King Fuyang... So the matter was settled.
After two days of waiting for King Fuyang to arrive in Beijing, he received the news early in the morning. He threw himself on His Highness and cried, saying that it was because of his large-scale construction work. In fact, it was for the consideration of the two empress dowagers. Maybe the method of recruiting civilian husbands was a bit drastic, but his intention was definitely not The plan to be harsh on Li Shu was purely because he was young and ignorant, and the people under him were also a little out of proportion in doing things. All in all, it was an unintentional mistake, and it was definitely not a deliberate torment of the fiefdom.
Chunjia said a few words indifferently, ordered him to be fined two years' salary, and gave him a beating before letting him go.
As for those who came to Beijing to complain, since they were indeed ordinary common people, Chunjia did not want to leave a bad impression on the people of the fief, so he took the time to summon him in person, comforted him, and calmly dumped the blame on Zhou Wang and his wife. It was all due to the incompetence of King Zhou and his wife in raising their children and the constraints of the clan. In short, he had already dealt with King Fuyang, and he was still thinking about Fuyang County... His current skills dealt with these easily, and he quickly took care of them. .
In early April, Concubine De gave birth to a son, the eleventh prince.
Her delivery went smoothly this time. The Queen and Yun Fenghuang personally sat in to show their concern. They only sat there for most of a day before they got the assurance that mother and child were safe.
In the past few years, Concubine De had not pampered her in a special room, but she still doted on her constantly, so Chunjia came over to see the mother and son that day, and also gave them a lot of extra rewards... But that was it.
The focus after that was of course back to the frontier.
At this time, the Dingbei Army had been marching to the grassland for some time, and the battle reports came back one after another. Although Prince Xifa was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength and equipment, because they had seen the cruelty of Hele before, the leaders were reluctant to do so. Being in that kind of situation, I was very determined to resist.
Gu Fangshu's personal evaluation result is that it can be beaten.
If nothing unexpected happens, Guochao can make a fortune.
Chunjia had never been on the battlefield and did not intend to give random orders. Therefore, after the supervisors and the Imperial City Department confirmed that everything was correct, their replies only encouraged and reminded him to be cautious.
After all, the country's sending troops to help Xifa is not out of good intentions. Similarly, Xifa will not be grateful. In the final analysis, between countries, it is still use.
This war would not end in a short time, so Chunjia supervised for a while and then personally took care of the food and grass matter.
During the summer vacation this year, he didn't have many concubines because of his hard work.
But when she returned to the palace in autumn, there were still two more pregnant concubines in the accompanying harem: Concubine Wan and Xuan Zhaoyi.
After some twists and turns, Xuan Zhaoyi's mentality is now very stable. Anyway, she has two princesses under her knees, which at least ensures that she will not be sent to the palace to fend for herself after Chunjia's death. In addition, there are many princes in the palace now. Even if she gave birth to a prince, she might not be able to take advantage, but there were relatively few princesses. It seemed that Chunjia was more conniving with Princess Zhaoqing, so Xuan Zhaoyi felt very relaxed and could be said to have no pressure.
Concubine Wan was more confused.
She didn't count on men and women. As far as the current situation in the palace was concerned, there were no major changes. It didn't mean much for people like them to have children.
Anyway, even if you only have one royal daughter at your knees, you will be protected in your old age.
The key is not to end up like Concubine Wen Huixian...
But no one can say for sure about this kind of thing. After Concubine Wan confided her worries to her attendants, she listened to some advice and thought about the many heirs in the palace. Although some concubines died due to childbirth, most of them still survived. of.
For example, both Kang Jieyu's twins were fine and Concubine De's two children were fine, so she might not be so unlucky
Thinking of this, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and finally started to have the baby with peace of mind.
When she returned to the palace, the queen was in much better spirits, but she was still bedridden and did not resume her greetings. Yun Fenghuang informed the queen and gave them some rewards according to the rules, so no one bothered her again.
In the meantime, Wei He's war was already in full swing.
With the help of the Dingbei Army, Prince Xifa fought against Hele several times, with each winning and losing, but overall he won more than he lost.
After hearing this ratio, Yun Fenghuang thought, if it was not to embellish the dignity of the country, then it was obviously intentional by the Dingbei Army.
Just let Xifa and Hele, the uncle and nephew, consume each other. Otherwise, it would be bad if Xifa loses all of a sudden. If Xifa wins all of a sudden, he may not be grateful to the country, and may even imitate Hele's ambitions. , packed up and started to make plans for the country.
We are all old rivals, and there are many pits against each other. Of course, the Dingbei Army will not miss the great opportunity to weaken the enemy this time.
Because the overall situation of the war was in favor of the country and the country, although the government and the opposition occasionally discussed it, they did not take it seriously.
Time flew by, and soon it was Gu Liman's delivery date.
With her position, she was not qualified to let the concubine guard her during the birth.
But the queen would definitely be there, so Yun Fenghuang sent some meaningful greetings. Seeing that the queen had no intention of calling him over, it saved her some trouble.
So I asked a little chamberlain to wait for news.
Gu Liman started the process at night, and gave birth to the twelfth prince at noon the next day.
It is said that the mother and son are safe, and the twelfth prince is still looking very good, strong and has eyebrows similar to Chunjia.
This was originally good news for the Queen sisters and the Gu family, but...
As the queen already had a tenth prince who was regarded as her legitimate son, the sincerity of such a prince made the queen feel complicated.
While he was relieved that there was a prince with Gu family blood in the palace, he was also worried that it would be difficult to deal with the princes when they got older.
In the end, Mrs. Zhaowu came to the palace and conveyed the words of Mrs. Gu, which put her at ease temporarily: "Since everything is recorded in the name of the empress, it can be seen that she is destined to be with the empress. In this way, you will raise her as your own flesh and blood, and wait for the future. .”
After conveying the old man's original words, Mrs. Zhaowu Bo lowered her voice and said, "Jin Gui, a royal child, and the princes are still young now. Who knows what will happen in the future? Even if the tenth prince is not born from a daughter of the Gu family, how can he be recorded in your name?" The one you raised is your son! Ignore your grandfather's hints. I gave birth to five or six of your brothers and sisters. None of them were raised carefully. But in the end, your second brother and your third sister tried their best to keep them. Live at ten years old? One more prince and one more guarantee. Before they reach adulthood, you try your best to keep things as level as possible!"
Anyway, whoever comes to the throne among the ten and twelve princes, Gu Zhen, will be the empress dowager. Mrs. Zhaowu Bo will not put her daughter behind just because the twelve princes bleed Gu's blood.
People like her know very well that there are many hurdles to pass if you want to raise a child of such a young age to be able to enter the East Palace. Before you are sure that you don't need the tenth prince, what did you do to let your daughter have a child with this child
What if the tenth prince is needed as a substitute in the future
As if in response to Mrs. Zhaowu's words, Concubine Xian's delivery date soon arrived.
In order to show their respect for this foreign princess, and mainly to give face to Prince Xifa, the recovered queen personally came to sit outside the delivery room, and then Concubine Xian struggled for most of the day to give birth to a princess. It is more profound than the Chinese people, and it is obvious that they are of Huxue.
Although cute, it is not an honorable thing to be wearing Huxue at this time. When the queen was young, she grew up in Yanzhou and was deeply influenced by the concept of barbarians everywhere but the noble one in the country. She felt a little unhappy when she saw it. After giving her a hug, she handed her back to Po Wen, said a few words of concern for Concubine Xian, and then left.
When she left, the concubines dispersed like birds and beasts.
Chunjia showed how much he valued his daughter, so he gave her a special name the next day, Gong Xiangxiu.
But Gong Xiangxiu was not blessed. The child was obviously born at full term, but like his eldest brother, King Qi, he died before the full moon.
Concubine Xian couldn't accept this result and suspected that someone had murdered her daughter. However, Chunjia personally took the time to investigate thoroughly, but it was just the waiter's negligence. When covering the little princess's quilt, she accidentally covered her mouth and nose, resulting in Gong Xiangxiu died of suffocation.
What made the queen and others relieved was that this careless palace servant was the dowry of the virtuous concubine, a female slave of Wei He, and could not be blamed on anyone else.
Concubine Xian didn't care that she was still in confinement, so she got up and whipped the slave girl to death with a whip. She cried loudly for several days before she finally breathed a sigh of relief with Chunjia's comfort.
Gu Zhen told Yun Fenghuang privately that Wei He's body was in good shape: "I saw that Ping was in confinement for a few days, let alone getting up and whipping the slave to death, just crying for two days, I'm afraid If you don’t have eyes, you will suffer from problems.”
Yun Fenghuang said casually: "This one is also pitiful. The first child was not saved because of his young age, and the second child had such a problem... In fact, when the little princess landed, she looked white and tender. It really didn't look like this. It looks like he will die young.”
Thinking of the favor he received at the osmanthus appreciation banquet, he finally sent a reliable imperial doctor over to take good care of Concubine Xian. He also sent someone from the Qing Dynasty to come and persuade Rou Kun, "My queen has lost two of her biological children. If you continue to suffer like this, don’t you want your own flesh and blood in the future?”
"Your Majesty, you know, my Majesty was considered to be the one with the deepest destiny. The reason why she has nothing to do until now is because her health has been broken for some reason since she entered the palace. This is why she regrets it now. My Majesty is young, could it be that she has to step down because of a moment of grief? Are you following in my mother-in-law’s footsteps?”
Out of distrust in Yun Fenghuang's character, when the queen heard about this incident, she did not feel that this was Yun Fenghuang's pure return of favor, and wondered whether doing so would make Chunjia happy, so she immediately sent someone to care for Rou. Kun.
The empress and concubine's pity made Roukun breathe a sigh of relief, and her attitude towards Yanfu Palace and Xuanqing Palace became obviously much closer.
At the end of the year, Princess Yun'an also gave birth again. This time she gave birth to a daughter. However, because of her status as the late emperor's biological daughter, the Zheng family still had to express their happiness no matter what they thought.
While Chunjia was ordering rewards and congratulations, he finally remembered that he had promised to confer titles on Yun'an's children, so he conferred the title of princess on both children.
The eldest daughter is Princess Yushan, and the younger daughter is Princess Jinxi.
This was originally a happy event both inside and outside the palace, but just at this moment, the fourth prince was gone.