On the last day of the month, the August Book of the Great Land finally reached Empress Rui shi's hands. The days of bedding for the feipin in the hougong had been determined by Kun Ling Bureau, but the actual execution still had to go through the Empress who controlled the Six Palaces and the Phoenix Seal.
Rui Empress opened the Book of the Great Land and read through it. She didn't find any problems. After thinking it over, she found the ingenuity. For example, Lu fei had lost a day for nothing. For example, Shu fei's three days weren't "good" days. Also, Sun guiren, who was in favor, didn't seem to have lost a day, but had bumped into Shu fei and Zhao pin.
"Ha," Rui Empress snorted and handed the Book of the Great Land to Zheng Shang Gong. She took a sip of tea and said: "It looks like the hougong is going to change. Someone has waited patiently for all these years and finally can't sit still anymore. They even want to interfere in ben gong's business."
Zheng Shang Gong was older than Rui Empress by a decade. She was an old servant of the previous emperor. It was said that she had saved the previous emperor when he was patrolling the north. After the ascension, she had been sent to Perching Wu Palace to guide the mistresses of the six palaces. In this palace where there were servants and masters, her position was special. Even the four zhengfei had to amiably call her Zheng GuGu when they saw her.
Even Rui Empress could see the clues, much less the experienced Zheng Shang Gong.
"I heard from Yongle Palace that not long ago, Yu Nuyu of Kun Ling Bureau was summoned into the palace. She first went to see guifei niangniang and then saw Shu fei and Heng fei. This old servant had thought that this Yu Official wouldn't offend anyone. I didn't think she would be so daring."
A newly appointed official dared to tamper with the Book of the Great Land. Zheng Shang Gong really wanted to praise her for her courage.
Rui Empress furrowed her brow. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealed the traces of time. She had a disdainful expression and bit her lower lip: "They all have sons and naturally have to plan well. But ben gong is spending so much effort, for what?"
She married Emperor Zhao Qing when she was sixteen. At that time, he was just an unremarkable prince. Who would have thought that after three years in the palace, although he was not conferred the title of King, he became the Crown Prince when the former Emperor was in his old age. And in the Crown Prince's palace, several women with their own merits moved in. Xue shi, who was younger and more beautiful than her, Yin shi, who was richer than her, and Lu shi, who was more gentle and considerate than her. The only thing she was stronger than them in was her identity as the Crown Princess.
Emperor Zhao Qing loved beauties, and he was a passionate but unsentimental person. When she was young, she didn't care about meat and vegetables. Her eldest son was the son of a bed-warming maid in the Crown Prince's residence. When she saw the child being born, it wasn't that she didn't hate him, but he was just one year old. That child would die the next day.
His eldest son had died early. Because of this, Emperor Zhao Qing was depressed for a period of time. But very quickly, he had a second son, the third prince, who was the third of his children. He was born to a concubine that he was very fond of. Not long after the child was born, he became the Crown Prince, so he loved the Third Prince very much. He even asked for the title of Concubine for his birth mother, Liu. But good times didn't last. The Third Prince didn't live to see the day he succeeded the throne before he died of illness.
In these two years, the inner courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence was no longer under her control. Emperor Zhao Qing had a few more children, and she. Three years after giving birth to the Second Princess, she became pregnant again.
In those days, she was extremely careful. She always felt that the women in the Crown Prince's Mansion all had bad intentions towards her. They coveted her position and wanted to kill her and her child. Later, she gave birth to the Fifth Prince's son and finally had a breather. It seemed that her position as the Crown Prince's Imperial Concubine was finally stabilized on the day her son was born.
The former Emperor bestowed the name of the Crown Prince's fifth son, Liu Xu, symbolizing the beauty of the rising sun.
Those women who didn't have children suddenly became insignificant in her eyes. Even Xue Liangdi, who Emperor Zhao Qing was infatuated with for a while and lingered for several months, didn't seem to be scary.
Under her attentive expectations, her Xu 'er grew up day by day. Emperor Zhao Qing finally sat on the dragon throne. Following the ancestral tradition of mourning for the former Emperor for three years, he changed the name of the country, pardoned the people, and conferred titles to the six palaces. She smoothly became the Empress, the motherly model of the country.
But good times didn't last. When her Xu 'er was four years old, he drowned and died.
She was extremely angry. Even when a young concubine provoked her in front of her, Emperor Zhao Qing's cold and heartless attitude couldn't compare to her anger at that time. She thoroughly investigated the six palaces and alerted the court. She wanted to find the murderer who murdered her son. Unexpectedly, in the end, she didn't find anything. It looked like the Fifth Prince had sneaked out to play and accidentally drowned. Other than that group of damned servants, there was no one else to blame.
She went from anger to resentment. After all these years, she still couldn't forget it. She coldly watched the women in the inner palace fight openly and covertly and guessed which slut had killed her son. However, it was as if her eyes were shrouded in a layer of gauze. Layer after layer was pushed away, making it impossible for her to see clearly.
Shu Fei, Yin shi, was the daughter of the Minister of the Left. Her ancestry could be traced back three hundred years. She was a branch branch left behind by the founding elder, Duke Pei. It could be said that her family had a long history. Her birth meant that as long as the Yin Family didn't fall, Emperor Zhao Qing would never lack a place for her in the inner palace.
Yin shi had been born beautiful and talented, but she wasn't good at business. Her personality was cold and rigid, and she always liked to make trouble for Emperor Zhao Qing. So even though her family was the best, she had never received Emperor Zhao Qing's favor. She couldn't compare to Xue shi, and she couldn't even compare to the ordinary Lu shi.
But what made people envious was that she had given birth to a good son. The Seventh Prince, Liu Hao, was skilled in both literature and martial arts. He was righteous and easy to approach. Adding on that he was studious and hardworking, he was the type of son that all parents in the world hoped for. So Emperor Zhao Qing greatly favored this son and had endlessly rewarded him from a young age. When the Fourth Prince's birth was low, and the princes before him had all died by the heavens and didn't have a di son, he naturally paid the most attention to Liu Hao.
Empress Rui felt that the most suspicious person was Shu Fei. But with Shu Fei's personality, she didn't seem like a woman who was skilled enough to kill without leaving any traces.
Then there was Xue Noble Consort. As the daughter of the Right Minister, she came from a prestigious family and had three generations of loyalty. She had been arrogant for a while in the Crown Prince's fu. This had to do with her father's prestige in the court, and the fact that her tanhua older brother had been recognized by the previous emperor.
But later, bad news came out of the Xue family. First was Old Madam Xue's death from illness, then that Great Young Master Xue suddenly died on his way out of Jing. She had been in the fu for three years without any news. Because of this, Xue shi became well-behaved. Until she entered the palace and gave birth to the Ninth Prince. Before she could be proud again, Emperor Zhao Qing gave her another blow. Using the excuse that his body was weak, he sent the young Liu Tan to Mount Longhu to recover.
This trip lasted for more than a decade. It was so long that Empress Rui couldn't help but feel sympathy for Xue Noble Consort.
Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the Ninth Prince would be summoned back to Jing and shock the world at the Double Yang Gathering. Even the Seventh Prince, who was older than him, had suffered a loss at his hands.
Xue shi was a person with the position of guifei on her head, but she was able to endure for so many years under all the rumors and be mocked behind her back. This kind of shrewdness, to be able to unknowingly kill her Xu 'er, there was nothing wrong with it. But the problem was — — when the Fifth Prince had his accident, Xue Noble Consort had just been diagnosed to be pregnant.
Rui Empress had given birth to more than one child and knew the perseverance of a mother. When she was pregnant, her only thought was to protect the child. Even if it was for the sake of the child in her womb, she wouldn't allow any danger to appear by her side. Where would she have the extra thoughts to harm others?
"Niangniang, your body hasn't been well recently. It is best not to think too much," Zheng Shang Gong saw Rui Empress's thoughtful expression and guessed that she was thinking about the incident of the Fifth Prince's death. As he advised in a warm voice, he put the Book of Kun into his sleeve, saying: "Niangniang doesn't have to worry about Sun Guiren. Maybe you will hear good news this month. As to the Imperial Lady of Kun Ling Bureau, since the Holy One gave her a title, it is to honor this person. Rather than going against her, why don't we invite her in to form a good relationship and see what kind of person she is? What can Zhong Cui Palace give her? We don't lack for her."
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