The next day, Li Rong received Pei Wenxuan's reply. Li Rong glanced at the wedding dress he had picked out. After thinking for a moment, she took out the blueprint of the other wedding dress and handed it to Jing Lan. "Tell the Ministry of Rites that I want the one with the phoenix embroidered on it."
Jing Lan paused and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Young Master Pei choose the peony one?"
"Actually, both are fine," Li Rong said as she washed her hands. "I'm just using the elimination method."
Hearing this, the maids nearby all lowered their heads and laughed. After the group of people played around, Li Rong calculated the time. Her mother should have woken up, so she went to Weiyang Palace as usual.
Under normal circumstances, she had to visit the Empress every day. However, she had been investigating cases and imprisoned recently, so she hadn't seen her mother in a long time. She took a handkerchief from the side and wiped her hands clean. Then, she turned and led the others to Weiyang Palace.
As soon as she reached the entrance of Weiyang Palace, she heard the laughter of the women inside. Li Rong smiled as she walked in. She saw that almost all the concubines in the Imperial Harem were present. Her mother, Shangguan Yue, was sitting on the high seat and laughing with everyone.
"What are you all talking about? Why are you laughing so happily?"
Li Rong walked in and asked with a smile. Then, she bowed to the Empress and said, "Greetings, Imperial Mother."
Then, she turned and bowed to the four imperial concubines. "Greetings, Imperial Concubines."
"So it's our little Ping L E." She had just stood up when a gentle voice sounded. Li Rong looked up and saw Consort Rou looking at her with a smile. "Sit down."
The word "Rou" came from her real name. Her real name was Xiao Rou. She came from an ordinary family. When she was young, she entered the palace early and became a palace maid. Because she was smart, she served Li Ming when she was young. It was said that when Li Ming was still a prince, he did not have a good life. Xiao Rou accompanied him in the Cold Palace when he was young, so Li Ming always had a strange feeling for Xiao Rou. Later, when Li Ming was still the Crown Prince, Xiao Rou was betrothed to a minister by the Empress at that time. However, not long after she was married, Li Ming became the Emperor. A few years later, that minister died of illness at home. Xiao Rou first shave her head and become a monk. Later, she met Li Ming in a temple and returned to the Palace after a night of passion. From then on, she was favored by the Imperial Harem for decades.
With this kind of ability, her appearance was naturally not bad. Now that she was almost fifty years old, she still maintained her appearance very well. Compared to the Empress who was seven years younger than her, she was not inferior.
She was now the head of the four imperial concubines, assisting the Empress in managing the harem. She was also good at socializing. When Li Rong came in, the Empress didn't say anything, but she spoke first.
Li Rong smiled lightly and nodded slightly to express his thanks.
The servant girl set up a small table to the left of the Empress. Li Rong sat down behind the small table. As soon as he sat down, he heard Consort Rou ask the Empress: "I heard that Ping L E's marriage has been set recently, is that true?"
"The marriage decree has been issued," Shangguan Yue said calmly, "It is the di eldest son of the Pei Family, Pei Wenxuan."
"It is Pei Li Zhi's son?" Consort Rou laughed, "I saw that child three or four years ago. He is very handsome, Ping L E," Consort Rou turned and looked at Li Rong, saying, "I heard that you investigated the Yang Family together with him?"
"Niangniang," Li Rong said gently, "Not married yet, it is not appropriate to talk about this. Let's change the topic."
"Ping L E is shy," Consort Duan on the side mediated and raised her head to look at Consort Rou, "Look at how Rou jiejie is making the child shy, not us old things. If you ask this, who will respond to you?"
Consort Rou raised his round fan and laughed lightly. Instantly, the hall was filled with laughter. Li Rong raised his teacup and took a few sips, but smiled and didn't speak.
The group of concubines laughed for a while before the Empress dismissed them. Consort Rou didn't move. When everyone left, the Empress turned to look at Consort Rou and said: "You have something to say?"
"I just want to ask for Ping L E's help."
Consort Rou smiled as he looked at Li Rong: "Ping L E used to like to be alone and wasn't close to the other sisters and brothers. Now that she is going to marry, in this last period of time, many of the younger sisters want to spend some time with you and listen to your teachings. So I was thinking, why don't we have Ping L E set aside some time every day to communicate with the other princesses in the palace." As he spoke, Consort Rou turned to look at the Empress, "Niangniang, what do you think?"
The Empress frowned. She knew that Consort Rou didn't come with good intentions. Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Li Rong say: "Okay."
Consort Rou stilled slightly. Li Rong looked up at Consort Rou: "Niangniang, what's with that expression? Do you think that Ping L E won't agree?"
"How can that be?" Consort Rou laughed, "I know that even though Ping L E usually looks cold, she has brothers and sisters in her heart."
"Niangniang, what are you saying," Li Rong lightly tapped his golden fan against his palm, "It's as if I don't have brothers and sisters in my heart. Your words are too insulting."
Consort Rou was scolded by Li Rong and found it difficult to smile. He could only turn to look at the Empress and say: "Look at this child. We haven't seen each other for only two months and she's become so eloquent."
"I've always missed my younger sisters," Li Rong picked up his teacup, his tone gentle, "There are many things that I want to teach them. I think that Consort Rou niangniang should organize for me to lecture each of the younger sisters for four hours every day. How about it?"
"Lecture?"
Consort Rou stilled: "What do you want to talk about?"
"The Empress Dowager is used to being passionate about Buddhism. I want to talk about Buddhism to the younger sisters, as well as some daily etiquette. This way, they won't make any mistakes. A few days ago, I heard that Hua Le crippled a servant girl in her courtyard? "
Hua Le was Consort Rou's eldest daughter and was used to being arrogant. When Consort Rou heard this, his expression changed and he immediately said: "There was such a thing?! Then you should discipline her well. "
"Okay," Li Rong smiled, "With niangniang's words, Ping L E will do well."
When Consort Rou heard this, he suddenly felt uneasy. Li Rong looked at the sky and then said: "Does niangniang Consort Rou want to stay for dinner?"
These words were to chase away the guest. Consort Rou had finished what he wanted to say, so he stood up and said: "No, you came for the Empress. I don't want to disturb your mother-son relationship."
After saying this, Consort Rou exchanged some pleasantries with the Empress and then left while waving his fan.
Li Rong saw that the Empress was about to stand up and went forward to help her up. The Empress stood up with his help and said with some dissatisfaction: "Why did you agree just now? She's obviously up to no good. "
"Since she's up to no good, is it up to me to reject her?"
Li Rong helped the Empress walk into the courtyard and said gently: "If I don't agree now, she'll go to Imperial Father again and talk about how to cultivate sisterhood. Imperial Father is used to listening to her. I'm afraid the imperial edict will come tomorrow."
"How disgusting."
The Empress frowned and continued to show her disgust. Li Rong chuckled: "So let's not take this adulterous couple to heart. You're the Empress, the most honorable woman in the world. Just be the Empress. That woman wants me to cultivate sisterhood. If we agree, Imperial Father will think that I'm more reasonable. "
"If she …"
"She won't do it herself." Li Rong walked with the Empress in the garden and said slowly, "After so many years, don't you understand her methods? This time, she wants me to cultivate sisterhood with the princesses. In fact, it's a chance for the princesses to get in touch with me. Some of them are stupid. She doesn't need to do anything, someone else will. "
"You've thought it through." The Empress listened to Li Rong's reasonable analysis and sighed in relief. "Then you need to deal with it well."
"Don't worry."
Li Rong said calmly: "The harem's matters are not that simple. You don't have to worry. In fact, we should be happy. "
"What's there to be happy about?" The Empress looked sad. "I don't think there's anything to be happy about now."
"Think about it this way. If my marriage had no value, Consort Rou wouldn't think of ways to destroy it. Now that she's making trouble for me, it can only mean one thing. "
"What?" The Empress turned her head. Li Rong laughed, "Pei Wenxuan will probably be promoted."
The Empress was stunned. After a moment, the Empress sighed: "You young children, the more I look at you, the more I don't understand. You sent the Chuan'er to the Northwest. Two months ago, I was really scared to death. On the one hand, I was afraid that something would happen to the Chuan'er on the battlefield. On the other hand, I was afraid that he wouldn't do a good job in the Northwest. His Majesty would use this as an excuse to punish him. I could only ask your uncle for help. After all this trouble, the Shangguan family's vitality has been greatly damaged. The Chuan'er didn't get any credit, but you are still very happy. "The Empress' eyes reddened," I really wonder which side Pei Wenxuan is on. "
"Imperial Mother," Li Rong raised his hand and put it around the Empress' shoulder to comfort her, "Don't worry. In fact, you should think about it. If you can't understand, then it's even better. This proves that Imperial Father is even more difficult to understand. It's not a bad thing that the Shangguan family is weakened. Imperial Mother, there's a very simple reason, "Li Rong persuaded," Hide the blade. Only when you kill, can you kill with one blow. "
"Then you have to have a blade."
The Empress was a little anxious. Li Rong smiled and didn't say anything. He went with the Empress to the place where they ate. The two sat down together. The Empress washed her hands in a copper basin. While washing her hands with water, she said: "This time, your uncle helped me and made a request."
"Hmm?"
"He wants to send Ya 'er to the palace."
Hearing this, Li Rong stopped washing her hands. The Empress took the handkerchief from the side and looked back at her: "Do you still remember Ya 'er? You met when you were young. "
"Oh, I remember."
Li Rong came back to her senses and hurriedly said: "I remember that she went back to Youzhou very early."
"She'll go to the capital next month and come back to attend your wedding." The Empress chatted casually, "Chuan 'er is not young anymore. I plan to choose a concubine for him next year. Now I've started to look for some good candidates. The Crown Prince's concubine must be Ya 'er. As for other good families, help me to look for them. "
Li Rong didn't say anything. The Empress took a pair of chopsticks and said as she ate, "After marrying Ya 'er, I want to marry four more concubines for him. The girls aren't too important. Their backgrounds are more important. Help me take a look. It's best to choose two from military families. Chuan' er doesn't have any military power, so he will always be a weakness."
The Empress chatted casually with Li Rong while eating.
Li Rong didn't talk much in front of the Empress. It was mostly the Empress who talked. After the meal, the Empress was a little tired and wanted to take a nap. Li Rong asked to leave.
On the way back, she sat in the sedan chair and thought about the Empress's words.
In her previous life, Li Chuan did marry Shangguan Ya and then married four more concubines. Shangguan Ya's temperament was similar to hers. They knew each other when they were young. Later, Shangguan Ya went to Youzhou and separated. When she came back, she became her sister-in-law. However, it didn't affect their relationship.
Marrying a concubine didn't affect Shangguan Ya much. She was a woman with a strong mind. She usually looked noble and elegant, but after they got to know each other, she became irritable. She put her family first, and the rest was her own hobbies. Drinking, playing chess, and painting, she lived a very free and easy life.
When Li Chuan didn't dote on her, Li Rong specially thought of a way for her. However, Shangguan Ya looked at the internal account book and waved her hand: "Don't affect my position as the Empress. Just give me some face. Otherwise, get lost as far as you can. If he wasn't the Emperor, who would have the patience to care about him?"
This sentence blocked Li Rong's words. However, Li Rong knew that Shangguan Ya was definitely not forcing a smile. She was a person with a scholarly temperament. She probably felt annoyed when she saw Li Chuan.
However, just because it didn't affect Shangguan Ya didn't mean that it didn't affect other people. The four concubines fought back and forth. In the end, two died. One became a monk, and the other one was more open-minded. She stayed in the palace with Shangguan Ya for the rest of her life.
Thinking about it this way, no one had a good ending in her previous life.
Knowing the result, did she still want to follow the path and let everything repeat itself?
Li Rong tapped her fan on the palm of her hand and pondered quietly.
Qin Zhenzhen couldn't enter the palace again. It was even better that she didn't meet Li Chuan again.
As for Shangguan Ya …
Li Rong hesitated for a moment. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
She took a deep breath, rolled up the curtain, and ordered the Jing Lan, "Send someone to Shangguan Ya's residence. If Miss Shangguan Ya comes back, immediately send someone to report."
"Yes."
"Also," Li Rong thought for a moment, "Have Pei Wenxuan write me a letter. The general meaning is to entrust the person who delivers the letter to give it to me. He asks me to go to a place where I can meet him and say that he has something to give me. After that, have him carry that thing with him every day and wait for my summons at any time. "
"Yes."
The Jing Lan responded.
After giving all these instructions, Li Rong put down the curtain and leaned against it to rest.
Pei Wenxuan's letter came the next day through the people in the Princess's residence. Pei Wenxuan's letter contained a lot of things. Li Rong glanced at the letter he wrote according to her request. After confirming that this guy understood the main points and didn't make any mistakes, she put the letter on her body.
Then she opened Pei Wenxuan's letter and saw three sentences: "What about the wedding dress? Did you encounter a difficult problem? Also, Your Highness is very rich. "
When Li Rong saw that "Your Highness is very rich," she couldn't help but laugh. She took the letter and looked at the miscellaneous things Pei Wenxuan gave her. She found that he calculated the amount of her assets and the budget for her expenses.
Li Rong looked at the list while taking a teacup from the Jing Lan. The Jing Lan looked at Li Rong's smile and couldn't help but ask, "What is Your Highness looking at? Why are you smiling so happily? "
"Lord Pei is still very capable."
Li Rong raised the teacup with one hand and drank a mouthful of tea. Then she put the teacup down and threw the accounts Pei Wenxuan sent over into the brazier used to burn paper.
After washing up, Li Rong received news that Consort Rou had already reserved a place for the princesses to teach. Li Rong nodded and got up to go over. She found that Consort Rou had reserved a waterside pavilion in the Imperial Garden.
"Niangniang said," the eunuch leading the way said, "The summer is hot and dry, and the waterside pavilion is cool and refreshing. There is no better place for Your Highness to lecture the princesses."
Li Rong nodded and walked into the waterside pavilion. As soon as she entered, she saw that her six younger sisters were already there.
Two of them, Changle and Hua Le, were already of marriageable age. Changle was the daughter of Consort Mei, one of the Four Noble Consorts. She was of noble status and was doted on, so she usually didn't get along with Li Rong. Hua Le was Consort Rou's daughter. She had inherited Consort Rou's smiling face but was extremely violent in private. The remaining four princesses were all under fifteen years old and looked like children. They were too different in age from Li Rong and didn't have much interaction with her.
After Li Rong entered, Changle turned around and smiled. "Oh, Elder Sister is here."
Li Rong smiled. "You all came early. Sit down."
With that, Li Rong sat at the head of the table. After the princesses sat down one by one, Changle looked at Li Rong and smiled. "I heard that Elder Sister was betrothed to the eldest son of the Pei Family. Elder Sister has always been doted on. The person betrothed to you must be a God's favored son with an extraordinary status, right?"
Li Rong didn't say anything. She opened the book in front of her and said, "Today, let's start with the 'Diamond Sutra'."
"Why?" Changle was happy that Li Rong didn't answer. "Elder Sister, is there something you can't say? Is Young Master Pei a high-ranking official in the imperial court? But he's young. Even if he can't compare to Assistant Minister Su, he's at least a sixth-rank official, right? "
"Changle." Li Rong looked up at her and said gently, "If you don't like today's sermon, Elder Sister can teach you something else."
"Oh?" Changle raised her eyebrows. "What else can Elder Sister teach me?"
"Jing Lan, go to Weiyang Palace and invite Senior Servant Si Zheng over."
Jing Lan obeyed and left. Changle didn't understand and said, "Elder Sister, just tell me."
"Changle." Hua Le quickly advised, "I heard that Pei Wenxuan is only an eighth-rank official. Don't poke at Elder Sister's sore spot."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She calmly drank her tea.
After a while, an old woman followed Jing Lan into the room with a ruler in her hand. After entering the room, she bowed to Li Rong.
"Your Highness."
"I was ordered to teach the princesses the rules of being a princess. I originally wanted to give a sermon, but it seems that my younger sisters have forgotten the basic rules of the palace. I'll let Senior Servant Si Zheng teach you again."
Everyone's faces turned pale when they heard this. Li Rong turned to look at the younger princesses and said, "Changle and Hua Le will learn. The other sisters are still young, so don't bother."
"Ping L, don't you dare!"
Changle slammed the table and pointed at Li Rong. Li Rong smiled gently and calmly drank his tea. "Disrespectful. Why is a princess slamming the table? Senior Servant Si Zheng, how do you think we should deal with this? "
"Slap her and hit her."
"Slapping her is a disgrace to the imperial family," Li Rong said calmly. "Hit her."
The others didn't dare to move. Changle sneered, "I'd like to see who dares to touch me today."
"Who doesn't dare to touch you?" Li Rong looked at everyone. "I'm going to touch someone. I'm the eldest princess of the first wife. I was ordered by Consort Rou to teach the princesses. Today, I can't even set the rules of the palace?! "
As he spoke, Li Rong suddenly stood up and pointed at Changle. He said angrily, "Hold her down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Jing Lan Jing Mei rushed up and grabbed Changle. Changle's maids wanted to rush up, but Li Rong glanced at them and said coldly, "Think carefully. If you offend your superiors, you'll be beaten to death."
The maids were frightened. Senior Servant Si Zheng went forward and mercilessly hit Changle's palm with ten planks.
Changle screamed. Li Rong's expression was as calm as before. He only said, "If you're done, then go out. I still have to preach to the other sisters. "
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man's voice came from outside. A moment later, the young man lifted the curtain and was stunned.
Li Rong looked up and saw a handsome man. He was wearing a black jacket with golden birds embroidered on it. He had a small fan in his hand. His eyebrows were similar to Su Yongqing's, but there was a wildness that Su Yongqing didn't have.
Behind him stood Su Yongqing, who was talking to him. When the curtain was lifted, Su Yongqing's smile didn't disappear. Su Yongqing's gaze naturally fell on Li Rong. His voice came to an abrupt stop. He and Li Rong quietly looked at each other.
One was standing and one was sitting. They looked at each other. The man in black was the first to react. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and said loudly, "This humble subject Su Ronghua and my brother greet Your Highness!"
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