roccoschili Chapter 134 Rewards based on merit
Chapter 134 Rewards based on merit
Zeng Qian'er was as nervous as Shangguan Yue. She had attended palace banquets with her father and brothers when she was a child, but it had been a long time since then, and she still didn't like going again now.
There are many rules for entering the palace. If you say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing by mistake, you may lose your head at any time. When I was a child, I saw a palace maid being beaten to death because she scalded a concubine with overheated tea.
Those eunuchs and palace maids were either silent or gloating and sneering behind her back. It was such a twisted and perverted place, but when the emperor summoned her, she had to go into the palace with her sister-in-law.
At the palace gate, she happened to meet Shangguan Yue and Chen Bianbian who were also entering the palace. Zeng Qian'er felt relieved a lot and still felt safe with her sisters.
After entering the palace, the emperor and his ministers discussed state affairs, which women and children were not allowed to hear.
Moreover, it was their first time entering the palace, and Shangguan Yue and Chen Bianbian were going to pay a visit to the emperor's concubines.
The Empress Dowager has been worshipping Buddha for many years and has not seen outsiders, so there is no need to pay a visit. As long as the Empress Dowager is alive, those childless concubines do not need to see her.
After the queen drowned in the lotus pond five years ago, it became an unspeakable secret in the palace.
Now, apart from the five kings who have gone to their fiefdoms, the only ones who have princes in the palace are Concubine Xian, Concubine Liang and Concubine De.
The prince was born to the queen, so he naturally doesn't need to go when the queen passes away.
The first person to pay respect was Concubine Liang, who gave birth to the Seventh Prince Xiao Shen. Oh! Shangguan Yue remembered that the Seventh Prince was the smiling tiger who looked innocent and cute, but who harmed the people, framed loyal people, and secretly refined puppet medicine!
Then she went to pay a visit to Concubine De, who gave birth to the Eighth Prince Xiao Mian. She had only met the Eighth Prince once and did not have much impression of him. She only remembered that he had a very hearty laugh, and people with this kind of laugh tend to have a more open temperament.
Finally, he went to pay a visit to Concubine Xian, who gave birth to the Ninth Prince Xiao Xun. Thinking back to how stingy that fat man was when he first met him, he also thought that he had misunderstood and beat him up.
He didn't get angry afterwards and was quite nice to her. I don't know how he grew up in this palace full of intrigue and cruelty, and he could still maintain his innocent, pure and naive character.
It was probably because Concubine Xian protected him too well and didn't want him to know too much about these dirty and vicious things.
Concubine Liang seemed to be lively and had been smiling since they met, but Shangguan Yue observed that her smile was not pleasing to the eye and was just a superficial smile. The Seventh Prince, on the other hand, had learned this even better.
Concubine De's personality is more easy-going. From her words and actions, she seems not to care too much about anything. Only she herself knows whether this is the case.
The last person they went to see was Concubine Xian. She looked very virtuous. When she saw Shangguan Yue looked like a fairy, she liked her very much. She asked someone to call the Ninth Prince and took Chen Bianbian with her, wanting to get Shangguan Yue and the Ninth Prince engaged.
This scared Chen Bianbian. How could she dare to make Xiaoyue's decision? She still had to rely on Xiaoyue! Shangguan Yan said that he had an idea about the child's marriage. Concubine Xian did not give up and told Chen Bianbian to go back and ask Shangguan Yan for her opinion.
On the contrary, no one asked Shangguan Yue, the main character, for her opinion. She had no interest in getting married in the future. She had never met anyone she liked in her previous life. She had never experienced that kind of heart-pounding feeling or blushing.
When the Ninth Prince heard from his mother that his sister Yue'er had come to her place, he was annoyed by the eunuch Wang's nagging and immediately ran to the palace of Concubine Xian by himself, causing a group of people behind him to chase him in a sedan chair.
When she saw Shangguan Yue, she didn't want to leave for a moment. She kept sticking to Shangguan Yue and asked the palace servants to bring her all the fun, delicious and beautiful things.
Shangguan Yuexinzi was not an eight-year-old girl, so she had no interest in these childish things, but she could not refuse them.
The polite refusal made Concubine Xian feel that she was very knowledgeable about etiquette. Judging from her age and appearance, she and the Ninth Prince looked like a perfect match.
Shangguan Yue was so scared that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. Damn it, she was so afraid to hear these words. If there was some kind of arranged marriage or something like that, she would be dead.
Fortunately, at this time the eunuch came to summon Shangguan Yue and the other three to the imperial study for an audience. Only then did Shangguan Yue and Chen Bianbian breathe a sigh of relief. It was a close call!
Secretly looking at the increasingly familiar scenery on both sides of the imperial study, Shangguan Yue's heart began to rise again. These were exactly the same as what she saw in her dream. Could it be that the feather in the imperial study was really the Purple Flame Feather?
In the imperial study, Shangguan Yue stole a glance at the old emperor. He was no different from an ordinary person, neither fat nor thin.
He is just a person who has been in power for a long time, and he has a sense of majesty. At the age of about 50, half of his hair is white. It seems that having too many wives is also a trouble. He also has to worry about some people forming cliques for personal gain and others plotting to usurp the throne. It is not easy to be an emperor!
Chen Bianbian's excitement died down the moment she saw the living old emperor. He was just an ordinary old man, who looked a little majestic in his dragon robe. He was not as domineering as the one in her family. There was no comparison between him and the one who had emerged from the sea of blood and mountains of corpses on the battlefield.
"Get up! Who among you is Shangguan Aiqing's wife?"
"Your Majesty, it's me." Chen Bianbian replied quickly with her head down.
After entering, you are not allowed to look up or look directly into the emperor's face. Your neck will become stiff from exhaustion. The etiquette in the palace is numerous and complicated. If you are not careful, you will either offend people or lose your head. If the emperor had not summoned me, I really would not want to come. There are so many cunning people in the palace.
"Well, then the one next to you is your daughter? Shangguan Aiqing's beloved daughter is really thoughtful of the people at such a young age. She gave birth to a good daughter! Her name is Shangguan Yue, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Well, very good. Madam Shangguan, I have already conferred an award last time, so this time I will award it to Shangguan Yue! Confer the title of County Princess, give her the title of Derong, and enjoy the salary of a County Princess. Thank you!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the emperor!" Shangguan Yue and Chen Bianbian said in unison.
Shangguan Yue was puzzled. She was given the title of county lady without any fiefdom. Fortunately, she had a salary, but no gold, silver, jewelry, silk or cloth. She was really stingy. But this emperor was really poor.
"Who is Cheng Rui's wife?"
"I am Cheng Rui's wife Zeng Qian'er."
"Well, Mr. Zeng was a loyal minister to me. I felt much more lonely after he retired. Alas! I didn't expect that the children he taught would be outstanding and be able to relieve my worries."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. This is what fathers, brothers and common women should do."
"Hahaha, great! Cheng Rui has been exiled for many years, so I will transfer him back this time! Well, I will appoint him as the Minister of Guangsi Temple, and I will send someone to deliver the appointment letter to Lincheng tomorrow. Okay, thank me now!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the emperor!" Zeng Qian'er thought she would be given the title of a consort, even a fourth or fifth rank consort! Otherwise, she would have to shut up when she came to the palace.
Why did she spend money and effort, but Cheng Rui was the one who benefited? Well! He was her husband, and the emperor thought it was a face-saving thing for her to give him. But it was good, in the future, when Yu'er and Heng'er came back to Yuecheng, she wouldn't have to run back and forth between the two places.
"The only one left is Minister Zeng's wife, right?"