Chapter 220 What is a surprise?
Chapter 220 What is a surprise?
The tender green tea leaves stretch out in the boiling water, like the toes of a dancer, spinning, undulating, and circling on the rippling blue stage, outlining attractive curves and fragrance.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea!"
"Zhen'er's craftsmanship is still the same as before."
Emperor Yousheng smelled the fragrance of tea, but felt a little embarrassed. He had just swallowed the red pill. Drinking tea in a short period of time might conflict with the effect of the medicine. He glanced at Gao Guang who was standing beside him.
Concubine Wan laughed softly and said, "Your Majesty, are you making fun of me? Have I not made any progress in these years?"
Gao Guang smiled and said, "Your Majesty's tea art was praised by the late Empress Dowager. It is neither too strong nor too weak, but just gentle and normal. It has already reached the highest level. It is rare in heaven and cannot be found on earth."
Concubine Wan smiled and said, "Butler Gao is still good at talking."
Emperor Yousheng picked up the teacup, wet his lips, and said with a smile: "What Chief Steward Gao said is also what I meant."
The two of them drank some tea. The emperor looked at Gao Guang several times, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself. Naturally, Concubine Wan saw that. She was also troubled, so she remained silent. The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.
Finally, the emperor spoke.
"I originally had a happy event that I was going to tell Zhen'er."
"I just heard you say that you dreamt of a snake entering your bed last night. The two of you are together. It seems that this is really God's will!"
Concubine Wan put down her teacup, looked at the emperor with her beautiful eyes, and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, what good news do you want to tell me?"
Emperor Yousheng smiled and said, "Zhen'er, I... have decided to give you a child."
Concubine Wan glanced at Gao Guang who was still standing beside her, and her face suddenly turned red. Although they were an old couple, there was no need for them to be so explicit and straightforward.
Moreover, he had been severely beaten last night, and the marks had not yet disappeared. Although Emperor Yousheng was just a little snake, even if he accepted the emperor's favor again, he would not do much harm or commit serious evil. However, in the mandarin duck tent, if they were honest with each other, it would be inevitable that the emperor would see signs of an outsider breaking in and the door being loosened...
"Your Majesty, you must say this now..."
Emperor Yousheng sighed and said, "Concubine Su has been found. She is indeed pregnant with a dragon son."
Concubine Wan was feeling shy, and when she heard these words, she felt like she was struck by lightning.
It took a while before he came back to his senses.
She looked at the emperor, and immediately understood what was going on in her mind. What about Mr. Anle, the mysterious interpretation of Menglin, the dream of a snake entering the bed, and sending a child? It turned out that all the trouble was to lure out the real culprit.
"Su... Su Zhaoyi?"
Emperor Yousheng smiled and said, "She was born in a humble family, but after all...she has made great contributions. I have promised her the title of Zhaoyi."
"However, I have made up my mind. After the dragon son is born, I will give him to my beloved concubine to raise."
"Send Su Zhaoyi to Tianguang Temple for meditation and contemplation, to accompany the ancient Buddha with the green lamp forever."
This strategy seems perfect, but it has an unsolvable harm. How will Concubine Wan deal with it when the dragon son grows up?
She was well-read in history books and knew that Empress Zhangxian, with all her power and achievements, was still criticized by scholars. Fortunately, she managed to preserve her honor during her lifetime, but after her death she was ridiculed and criticized for "having the talents of Lu and Wu, but without their evil deeds", which was a praise in name only and a criticism in reality.
Wan Zhen'er did not have the position of the main wife. The ministers of the Ming Dynasty were more powerful than those of the Song Dynasty. She could predict that once Emperor Yousheng passed away, he was in such a sickly state that she would face a dangerous environment.
"I don't have the respect of a legitimate mother, nor the affection of a biological mother."
Who would take a concubine who already had a bad reputation seriously?
Emperor Yousheng smiled and said, "Zhen'er, what do you think of this strategy?"
Concubine Wan looked at the emperor's expectant eyes and felt mixed emotions. If she hadn't had a cold body and had difficulty conceiving, why would it have come to this? Why would it have come to this?
She finally said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your careful consideration."
Emperor Yousheng felt relieved and laughed, "As long as my beloved concubine agrees, I won't be breaking the promise I made when I was still in the palace."
The emperor left happily.
Before leaving, she specifically asked Eunuch Gao to take a few kilograms of the finest ambergris from Qianyang Palace and send it to Zhaode Palace for the Imperial Concubine to use. Imperial Concubine Wan sat alone on the embroidered couch, staring blankly at the swaying bead curtain.
The mess on the ground was temporarily put into the wooden box, and she was wearing nothing except the phoenix robe wrapped around her. It seemed that this also foreshadowed a certain situation. The status of the imperial concubine was not as secure as it seemed.
Mei Xin and Cui Zhu walked in.
Wan Zhen'er asked coldly, "Where is that evil thief?"
Mei Xin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have checked the palace rules and found that Li Yu left the imperial city last night with the token of Zhaode Palace."
Concubine Wan was not surprised. After doing such a daring thing, why not run away?
Mei Xin didn't know what was going on. Overnight, Li Yu, a popular figure in Zhaode Palace and the commander of the guards, became an unforgivable villain. It seemed that the imperial concubine hated him to the core.
"Your Majesty, do you want to send a letter to the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Guards, and the Dali Temple, and issue a warrant for arrest, asking all prefectures, counties, and districts to cooperate in arresting this man?"
Cuizhu glanced at Concubine Wan and said, "Sister Meixin, that evil thief just... stole a treasure from the palace. Although it's hateful, there's no need to go through so much trouble to publicize it. Otherwise, people outside the court will laugh at our Zhaode Palace for not keeping the gates secure."
Concubine Wan nodded slightly, sighed and said, "This matter should not be made public. I will arrange people to hunt down the villain."
Mei Xin was secretly curious. As Concubine Wan's most trusted personal maid, she was the one who helped to store and keep most of the important items in Zhaode Palace. She had no idea that such a thing had been stolen, which caused Feng Yan to be so furious.
At this time, Zhang Wei walked into Sihuang Pavilion from the outside. His steps were light, but he couldn't hide the smile on his lips. He had rested for two days and suddenly heard this good news. His illness was 90% cured.
"God has opened his eyes and seen the loyal ministers and generals, so that the treacherous ministers revealed their tracks."
He walked in front of the bead curtain, his face changed into one of fear and shock.
"Your Majesty, this is terrible. That thief forged the imperial decree and stole the token. Last night, he tricked Qin Shun'er into leading the guards of the Imperial Stables to search Bi'an Residence with him. He also killed a man and took away his head..."
Concubine Wan was silent for a while, guessing that Li Yu had gone to great lengths to enter the palace, definitely not just to do that kind of thing, and must have other intentions. Now it seems that Bi'anju is his real purpose.
She asked, "Where's Qin Shun'er?"
"I have brought him here and am holding him outside the pavilion, waiting for your Majesty's decision."
"Bring him in. I have something to ask."
Qin Shuner was tied up and taken to Sihuang Pavilion. When he saw Concubine Wan, he couldn't stop shaking his forehead, tears streaming down his face, with a look of regret.
"You all go out, I want to ask him something alone."
Zhang Wei, Mei Xin and Cui Zhu retreated.
……
I don’t know what Concubine Wan asked or what Qin Shuner answered.
About two quarters of an hour later, Qin Shuner came out of Sihuang Pavilion, expressing his gratitude profusely.
The punishment for Concubine Wan was simply to fine her half a year's salary and 80 strokes of the cane on the grounds of "stupidity and incompetence, and unclear recommendations". She was still allowed to remain in the Imperial Stables as the eunuch supervisor to see the results.
With the second half of the sentence, the so-called eighty beatings in court could only cause flesh wounds.
The plot of the harem (no, the imperial court) ends here. It is tiring for book lovers to read, and it is not easy for me to write it, especially... A drop of ambergris, poured into a jade plate, it cannot be changed endlessly!
Originally I wanted to write about "The Appearance of Wanchong Tower" and "Yang Yuyan and Niu Jukui Leaving the Palace" to lay the groundwork for later, but after thinking about it, it seemed a bit redundant, so I decided to just pass it over in passing.
When I first conceived this book, I actually wanted to write a court plot, and now I have basically achieved my goal.
The inspiration came from Hong Qigong telling Huang Rong that he went to the palace to steal delicious food, so I originally wanted to think of something like "When the Jianghu meets the palace", but it turned out to be "Factory Flower meets Concubine Wan"
However, stealing is indeed stealing.
(End of this chapter)