I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 133 Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger~
Following Mrs. Jia's words, the expressions of the women in the gazebo suddenly became different.

——Li Ji naturally didn't need to say much, Mrs. Jia just turned away angrily as soon as she spoke halfway; although she didn't speak again, she glanced at Mrs Jia from the corner of her eye, and the word "flatterer" was clearly written.

Cheng Ji was relatively indifferent. She glanced at Mrs. Jia in a little surprise, and immediately felt sorry for her. She immediately lowered her head with a smile, as if she acquiesced to Mrs. Jia's statement.

As for Wang Meiren who was sitting on the other side of Empress Dowager Dou, her expression was quite calm.

Tang Ji, who was sitting at the last table and hadn't spoken all this time, looked obviously a little embarrassed.

Although they are all wives in the palace, and they all gave birth to heirs for Liu Qi today, there is still a gap between 'madam' and 'madam'.

Because today's Han Dynasty has followed the hierarchy of concubines and concubines in the harem of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods;
All concubines in the harem are divided into eight grades according to queen, wife, beauty, first husband, eight sons, seven sons, long envoy, and young envoy.

Among them, the tallest one is naturally unique, the 'Emperor's wife' who lives in Jiaofang Hall: the empress.

But now, in the Weiyang Palace of Tian Ziqi, there are only three people, Li Ji, Cheng Ji, and Mrs. Jia, who have reached the level of "madame" second only to the queen.

Wang Meiren, who gave birth to her first son a few years ago, who is the tenth son of the emperor Liu Zhi, is one level lower than these three wives.

As for Tang Ji, she is one level lower than Wang Meiren, and belongs to the "beautiful person"...

Beloved, what is the concept among concubines in the harem?
——The "good family son" who entered the harem through the draft, the moment he entered the harem, he was already a good man!
Even the rank of "beautiful people" is specially created for this group: beauties—women from good families.

On the basis of "a man who enters the palace after a draft is a good man", if a good man gives birth to a princess, there is a high probability that he will be upgraded to a "beauty";
After giving birth to a prince, he can be upgraded to 'madam' without a doubt. From then on, in the deep palace, he only needs to bow his head to the queen.

But Tang Ji, as a concubine in the harem who has given birth to a prince, is still in the rank of a 'good man'.

It is no exaggeration to say: In the harem, except for the maids, no one has a lower status than Tang Ji.

——Because the last four of the eight ranks of Queen, Madame, Beauty, Beloved, Eight Sons, Seven Sons, Chief Envoy, and Young Envoy are basically used by princes and kings...
All the emperor's women, even if they are picked up on the road, have a high probability of starting as a 'beautiful'.

The reason why Tang Ji "give birth to a prince but is still a good man" is naturally her background: Tang Ji was originally Cheng Ji's maidservant...
As for maidservants, as the lowest status in the palace, even lower than eunuchs and eunuchs, even if they give birth to a prince, it is absolutely impossible for them to break through the rank of 'beloved' and become a higher-level beauty or wife.

The reason is simple: this precedent cannot be set.

If it is opened, then from now on, the maids in the palace will not have to work;

Just inquire about the emperor's movements every day, and then have a "chance encounter" and "encounter".

Speaking of Tang Ji, she has already given birth to a prince, and even the child is already in her teens, but she still has the rank of a "beautiful person";

In the palace, even if they saw the pictures of those little girls who had just entered the palace, they were treated with equal courtesy.

Such a status naturally means that it is impossible for Tang Ji to have much personal property.

Not to mention 'jewelry', a rare item in the palace that symbolizes the emperor's favor, how much Tang Ji can have in her hands...

Xu Shi saw Tang Ji's restraint, and Cheng Ji did not forget to turn her head and nodded to Tang Ji with a gentle smile.

After being soothed by Cheng Ji, Tang Ji became more and more embarrassed.

After thinking for a long time, he finally lowered his head with apprehension on his face, and took out an obviously old handkerchief from his bosom just like Beauty Wang just now.

Spreading the yellowed handkerchief, revealing the carefully wrapped little jade pendant, and putting it on the table in front of her, Tang Ji stumbled and said, "I, my concubine has no jewelry. ..."

"This jade pendant was left to my concubine when my mother was dying when I was running away from famine;"

"If the Empress Dowager doesn't dislike her, she should honor the Empress Dowager as a concubine..."

Cheng Ji, who was beside Empress Dowager Dou, couldn't help being taken aback by the timid tone of voice, and sympathy welled up in her brows.

Even Empress Dou, who heard that the jade pendant was the only relic left by Tang Ji's mother, was obviously moved.

Sighing softly, Empress Dowager Dou raised her head slightly towards Tang Ji.

"Go back."

"Since it's my mother's relic, it should be kept safe."

"How much is it a thought..."

The gentle and loving tone finally calmed Tang Ji's restless mood a little, but she didn't forget to pay respects to Empress Dowager Dou before timidly sitting back in her seat and lowering her head in embarrassment.

But Empress Dowager Dou's dim, unfocused eyes quietly fell on Madam Jia at an angle that no one noticed.

Today's Mrs. Jia is very wrong!
At least in the eyes of Queen Mother Dou, the Mrs. Jia in front of her is definitely not the same person as the Mrs. Jia in the past!

At this moment, which of the other ladies in the gazebo responded to Queen Mother Dou in strict accordance with their previous "personal design"?
——Li Ji, you are still so preoccupied, and at the same time so stupid that it is outrageous!

——Cheng Ji, she is still doing her duty, and she is not lacking in shrewdness.

Wang Meiren, also as usual, has an attitude of not fighting for or grabbing anything, and she just wants to be a transparent person.

Tang Ji is exactly the same as the rumors: cowardice makes people feel distressed...

Only Mrs. Jia, who usually has the same temperament as Wang Meiren who does not fight or snatch, and does not want to stand out, but today she is uncharacteristically doing this "standout bird"!
According to Empress Dowager Dou's understanding of Mrs. Jia, the 'normal' Mrs. Jia should be submissive;

Take today's gaming distance as an example, Mrs. Jia in a normal state should have done whatever Empress Dowager Dou told her to do. As long as Empress Dowager Dou didn't say anything, she would never say a word.

Or to put it another way: Compared with Wang Meiren's "indisputable" who retreats to advance, Mrs. Jia is the real "indisputable" persona...
"This is weird..."

"Could it be that on weekdays, I've lost my sight?"

Raising her head with some doubts, Empress Dowager Dou couldn't help blinking, and even quietly leaned her upper body forward;
Just seeing Cheng Ji beside her, she nodded slightly to Mrs. Jia who was a little further away, and then Empress Dowager Dou sat up straight thoughtfully.

After a while, he shook his head and smiled to himself.

"It's that raccoon slave who came up with the idea behind him..."

"—want to coax my blind old woman..."

Wanting to understand the source of Mrs. Jia's 'abnormal' behavior today, Empress Dowager Dou also heaved a sigh of relief, stretched out her hand, and stood up with the support of the palace servants.

After several wives also hurriedly stood up, Empress Dowager Dou turned her head and smiled slightly at Cheng Ji and Mrs. Jia beside her.

"That's all~"

"Since the jewelry is gone, I won't play..."

"There is no need to send someone back to pick it up, it's too troublesome..."

Wen Sheng declined Mrs. Jia's and Cheng Ji's invitation to 'fight until dawn'. Empress Dowager Dou leaned on a stick with her right hand, bent her waist slightly, gropingly stretched out her left hand, and roughly pointed to the case in front of her.

"Several ladies, lost more than twenty pieces of jewelry to me;"

"I myself brought a hundred or so pieces of jewelry."

"go;"

"Send all these jewelry to Weiyang Palace."

"——Tell the emperor: the country is in trouble, this is the ladies in the palace, a little thought for the soldiers who went to war..."

It wasn't until Empress Dowager Dou said this order that the ladies were relieved: So today, Empress Dowager Dou didn't really want to play games;

Instead, in the name of gambling, he pulled the wives of the harem together to make some contributions to the ancestral temple and the community within their ability.

Realizing this, Mrs. Jia and Cheng Ji lowered their heads in a little shame, secretly annoyed why they didn't bring some more jewelry before they went out.

Even Tang Ji put her hand deep into her bosom again;
If Queen Mother Dou hadn't shook her head and refused, I'm afraid she would have pulled out that jade pendant again.

Wang Meiren 'lost' all the jewelry to Queen Dou early on, so there is naturally no abnormality on her face;

It was Li Ji, even though she was still dissatisfied, after Empress Dowager Dou made it clear that these jewelry would be used as military expenses for the soldiers, she lost the confidence to refute.

——Facts have proved that people's stupidity has a limit.

At least the current Li Ji is too stupid for the time being...

None of the wives objected to Queen Mother Dou's order;

On the other hand, the palace servants on the side heard what Empress Dowager Dou said, and said a little more distressedly: "Empress Dowager;"

"These jewelry were all given to the Empress Dowager by Emperor Taizong Xiaowen himself when he was alive?"

"Just take it all out..."

"—Queen Mother, at least keep a few of them?"

"Why don't you keep it in your mind?"

Hearing the palace man's words, Empress Dowager Dou smiled freely and shook her head.

Between the brows, there was a hint of pride faintly.

"Emperor Taizong Xiaowen was thrifty and simple all his life. He never liked concubines in the palace with heavy makeup and wearing gold and silver;"

"—Even the hem of Concubine Ji's skirt, Emperor Taizong once clearly ordered that it is not allowed to be dragged on the ground."

"As for these jewelry, the first emperor gave me the gift because he thought that I was a queen at that time and could not lose face in front of other concubines."

"For so many years, I have never worn any of the clothes that Emperor Taizong Xiaowen gave me..."

With that said, Empress Dowager Dou couldn't help laughing at herself.

"I didn't wear it when I was young, but now I'm old, and my grandchildren have reached the age of marriage;"

"Wearing jewelry and dressing up in a beautiful way is not in line with the identity of the Queen Mother."

"—And these jewelry were all given to me as a queen by Emperor Taizong Xiaowen before his death."

"Now that the country is in trouble, as the Empress Dowager, if I take out these jewelry, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen will definitely be happy..."

With Queen Mother Dou's peaceful, gentle, and free and easy words, everyone in the gazebo suddenly felt a sense of admiration in their hearts.

——Whether Mrs. Dou is a qualified empress dowager may still be discussed;
But at least, as the wife of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, Empress Dowager Dou, there is no one who lost her late husband Liu Heng...

"Eh;"

"Hold on."

Just when the palace servants were so moved by Empress Dowager Dou's words, they took a square cloth and wanted to pack up the jewelry on the case table, Empress Dowager Dou's cold tone rang again in the gazebo.

When everyone looked at Empress Dowager Dou together, they saw that Empress Dowager Dou turned around indifferently, without even looking at the ladies beside her. "It's all clear;"

"Which piece of jewelry belongs to which lady, it will be divided up."

"Let the emperor take a good look at the appalling difference in the hearts of the ladies towards the soldiers and the ancestral temple..."

Leaving behind such a meaningful sentence, Empress Dowager Dou leaned on her stick and walked slowly towards the bedroom.

And after Empress Dowager Dou left, Li Ji, who had already been smoldering with anger, finally exposed her "martial soul real body"...

"cut!"

"Just these few pieces of jewelry, what are they good enough for?"

"—I'm afraid I can't even buy a few decent war horses!"

"Furthermore, since ancient times, fighting has always been a man's business!"

"It's a war, but we women are required to carry jewelry. What kind of reasoning is this?"

"If women like us are required to contribute even to the war, then what's the use of men?!"

·
"Hi······"

"My queen..."

A moment later, Weiyang Palace, inside Xuanshi Hall.

Looking at the jewelry box in front of him, which made Liu Qi feel extremely familiar, Tianzi Qi could only smile helplessly;

Reaching out his hand, he took out an inconspicuous wooden hairpin from the jewelry box, and a look of remembrance immediately flooded Liu Qi's face.

"This hairpin was given to my mother when my father was still in Daiguo."

"At that time, the royal palace was very poor, and even the royal father wore patched clothes."

"But after receiving this hairpin, the queen mother was very happy. She didn't dislike this hairpin at all. It was made of willow wood by the father."

As he said sobbingly, Liu Qi couldn't help but bend down again, and turned left and right in the jewelry box.

As Liu Qi expected: this jewelry box is the 'treasure box' that my mother Dou Shi doesn't allow anyone to get close to.

And such a wooden box contains at least a hundred pieces of jewelry, although all of them were gifts from the late emperor, but together, they are not worth as much as a good horse...
"Even these jewelry, the queen mother took out..."

With a wry smile and a murmur, Tianzi Qi's brows were filled with self-mockery.

——Empress Dowager Dou's meaning, Tianzi Qi, can see clearly.

Empress Dowager Dou wants to remind Liu Qi through this box of jewelry: Don't forget those years, the difficult years that Empress Dowager Dou, Princess Guantao, Liang Wang Liu Wu, and Liu Qi's mother and son spent in the Dai Palace .

Empress Dowager Dou wants to remind Liu Qi: Liang Wang Liu Wu is your real brother...
Brother who shares weal and woe...
"Um······"

"Ok?"

"The jewelry..."

"—Clearly it's not the queen mother's, so it looks familiar no matter what?"

His thoughts were interrupted by several other bags of jewelry next to the wooden box, and Tianzi Qi asked a question full of doubts;
Hearing this, the palace man who brought the jewelry smiled and bowed his waist: "Your Majesty;"

"These jewelry are the wishes of the ladies..."

"—The queen mother said that the country is in trouble, and the ladies in the harem have no other way to help your majesty."

"I can only take out these jewelry that His Majesty bestowed on the wives in the past, and they should be regarded as military expenses."

"Even if it's a drop in the bucket, it's still a wish from the Empress Dowager and the wives..."

When the palace people explained the origin of these jewelry, Tianzi Qi's face only showed a touch of bitterness.

Especially when the palace servants, according to Queen Dowager Dou's instructions, pointed out to Emperor Qi that "this is Mrs. Jia's", "this is Mrs. Cheng's", "this is Wang Meiren's", "this is Mrs. Li's" and this is Tang Liangren. After that, the wry smile on the corner of Tian Ziqi's mouth was even more bitter.

"Ah······"

"My Han family, probably haven't reached this point yet?"

"—Hasn't it reached the point of using the jewelry of the women in the harem to raise military expenses?"

The bitter and sullen question only caused the old palace man to bow again.

"Old slave, it's just a piece of nothing left after the knife and saw;"

"Your Majesty asked such a profound question, I am afraid that this old slave will not be able to answer it."

"The queen mother's order, the old slave has already completed."

"If His Majesty allows, this old slave will return to Changle Palace and report to the Queen Mother..."

The question with hints of anger drew such an answer from the old palace man that only made Tianzi Qi feel as uncomfortable as hitting cotton with his fist.

Forcing himself to hold back for a moment, barely suppressing the inexplicable anger, the emperor Qicai waved his hand casually, signaling the palace servants to retreat.

Waiting in the Xuanshi hall, only myself was left, the emperor Qi finally sank his face completely, turned around with a watery face, and sat down in front of the imperial couch...
"The queen mother wants to remind me that apart from the third child, I can only count on these women and my concubine Ji?"

"—Could it be that Liang Wang Liu Wu is the only loyal minister of my Han family!"

There was a roar without warning, causing the warriors outside the temple to poke their heads out;

When he saw the figure of Emperor Qi sitting alone on the imperial couch in the hall, the warrior quietly retracted his protruding head and acted like a clay statue.

——In the recent period, situations like this where the emperor Qi himself is angry with himself have occurred quite frequently;
And as a military soldier in the Forbidden City, I can only pretend that I didn't hear the inexplicable anger from Tianzi Qi, who didn't know where it was sent...

"Come on!"

There was another roar, this time, the soldier couldn't pretend not to hear.

Hastily stepped over the high sill, took two steps forward, then knelt down on the ground: "What orders does Your Majesty have?"

"--go!"

"—Invite the Marquis of Gu An, Marquis of Kaifeng, and Yuan An!"

Seeing that the warrior was defeated after hearing the sound, he didn't respond, but subconsciously waited for Liu Qi's next order.

But this time, Tianzi Qi did not add the sentence "call the internal history too" like in the past.

but...
"Later, wait until the curfew is over."

"Don't let Neishi know about my summoning of these three people."

　Sao Rui Sao Rui, the power went out at 10 o'clock, and it was restored at 11:[-], and I just finished writing the second update.

　　I'm very sorry, everyone, please take care of me.

　　What I owed yesterday will be repaid tomorrow. Today is really too late. Please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)