Donggong Zhangjiao

"The second princess is the only girl in the palace. Does she have any age-appropriate playmates? No wonder she wants to get close to Princess Jingyi after meeting her."

The queen sat at the top and spoke softly.

Pei Yao also nodded and joked, "I usually only see Wan'er pestering the eldest prince, but now I finally have a sister."

"Since you want to play with sister, how about you invite her yourself?" Fang Yun turned sideways and encouraged with a smile.

The second princess thought for a while, then stood up and stared at Princess Jingyi.

Seeing her coming, Princess Jingyi also looked up nervously at her mother.

Princess Dun smiled and nodded, "Go ahead, my sister is still young, so remember to take good care of her."

"Yes!" Princess Jingyi curled her apricot eyes and stood up happily.

She is one year younger than the eldest prince, so she is six years old this year. To put it into perspective, she is only two and a half years older than the second princess.

We can actually play together.

As if one little friend wasn't enough, the eldest prince was also brought along.

Although the third prince was only over two years old, he looked at them with envy and looked at them eagerly.

Concubine Yang naturally wanted to be a loving mother at this time.

So he ordered the maids to follow, and also took the third prince to join them.

Fang Yun did not let the fourth prince go.

The fourth prince couldn't keep up at all, and it wasn't long before he walked smoothly.

The children have gone out, and the banquet is just beginning for the adults.

Today is the queen's birthday, so the first item is naturally a birthday gift.

Pei Yao took the lead and gave the queen a set of screens made by Feng Ao Jiutian.

Although it is just a screen, the craftsmanship inside it cannot be underestimated.

Nearly three meters high and seven meters long, there are ten screens in total. The frame is made of yellow pear wood, and the patterns are carved by famous craftsmen. The patterns on the entire screen are not ordinary embroidery or paintings, but are made with tapestry craftsmanship. It is made of gold and silver threads and inlaid with pearls and precious stones of various colors.

Putting aside the craftsmanship, the original value of the item alone is already quite high.

The queen was also surprised to receive this birthday gift.

As much as I like it, I am also worried.

"Your Majesty, this gift is too precious. Now that the country is at war, we need money and military supplies. This screen costs a lot, and I am really ashamed to accept it."

"Queen, there is no need to refuse. You manage the affairs of the Sixth Palace for me. I know all the hard work involved."

Pei Yao comforted him in a deep voice and explained.

"What's more, I didn't specially hire craftsmen to make this screen. It was a tribute from the south of the Yangtze River when the late emperor was still alive. Now I just borrow flowers to offer to Buddha. Queen, don't dislike it."

After hearing these words, the queen felt relieved, bowed, and accepted the screen.

Then came the things from Prince Dun’s Mansion and Prince Ning’s Mansion.

Nature is also valuable.

When they arrived at the harem, after Concubine Yang presented a pair of antique vases made by the previous dynasty, Fang Yun followed closely behind and presented her with a piece of clothing.

When the things were presented, everyone was surprised and curious.

As a concubine, the purpose of making pajamas for the emperor is to invite favors, so that's it. What kind of clothes should I make for the queen, or a coat.

But when the red cloth on the wooden pallet was removed, everyone present could not help but be a little surprised.

The whole piece of clothing was gleaming and colorful, as if it were woven with moonlight and starlight, but upon closer inspection, one could see that there were no unnecessary jewelry inlays on the clothing, only silk threads intertwined and painted patterns.

Moreover, the pattern was different from the usual flowers and auspicious clouds. It was actually embroidered with rice fields, wheat waves, cotton, etc.

Even though she was a well-informed queen, her beautiful eyes widened slightly when she saw these clothes.Seeing her interest, Fang Yun spoke at the right time.

"I know that the Queen cares about the people's livelihood and does not want to be extravagant and wasteful, so I made this dress. Although I have little education, I also know that the people are the foundation of the country, and agriculture is the root of the people. Grains are enough to fill the stomach, and cotton and linen are warm. The queen is kind and loving, and is the mother of all the people in the world, so I embroidered these with silk thread into my clothes and presented them to my queen."

Hearing her words, the queen's face showed even more admiration.

Immediately he stood up and walked down, stood in front of the clothes and raised his hand to touch them.

"Good ideas and good craftsmanship, it's rare that you can think of these."

"I have been by the side of the emperor and the empress for a long time. No matter how stupid I am, I can understand the emperor and the empress's thoughts to some extent."

Fang Yun leaned forward and answered the words calmly.

At this moment, Pei Yao, who was sitting at the top, saw the scene in front of him and stood up and walked over.

After carefully looking at the clothes in front of him, the eyes that fell on Fang Yun were obviously filled with appreciation.

"Concubine Zhao has always been thoughtful and extremely intelligent."

"Your Majesty is ridiculous. I am just a little clever."

Fang Yun's eyebrows were slightly curved, and a smile appeared on his lips.

In the eyes of the other concubines, this scene naturally meant that she was lending a gift to the queen and flattering the emperor.

Although Fang Yun did have this intention.

But I can't stand it, and some people feel bad and just want to talk.

At this moment, Concubine Yang was heard saying, "It must have taken a lot of effort to make this dress. Look at the fabric being made of Sichuan brocade, and there are silver threads in the threads. Not to mention it is very valuable. It takes a long time to embroider. During this time, the second princess is ill, so it is difficult for Concubine Zhao to not only take care of the two children, but also prepare the birthday gift for the queen."

When you say it, it sounds like a nitpick.

First of all, the clothes given by Fang Yun were not cheap. They were bought with real money. He also implied that Fang Yun was distracted by the illness of the second princess to make these clothes. I am afraid that he did not care about the second princess at all. Those loving motherly looks on my son are probably not just an act.

Faced with her poor words, Fang Yun also responded calmly.

"Sichuan brocade was a reward from the emperor before. Is this silver thread? I'm afraid the silver thread in the whole dress is not as expensive as the peacock hairpin on Sister Yang Fei's head. I heard that my sister recently ordered a craftsman to make a new one. Yes? It’s really beautiful.”

Having said this, Fang Yun turned around and looked at the fourth prince again, and then said.

"It is indeed difficult to take care of children, but fortunately there are wet nurses to help, and the imperial doctor is always there. As for clothes, of course there is also an embroiderer to help. Before the second princess fell ill, she prepared them early in the morning, so there was no delay. How much time does it take to take care of the children? It seems that the third prince has put too much effort in calling Sister Yang Fei, so my sister feels that I am tired."

Although the tone was soft, there was also a hidden edge in every sentence. After hearing this, Concubine Yang also had a sneer on her lips.

"Sister Zhao Fei is smart and capable, she is really beyond our comparison."

Now that Pei Yao is here, she will naturally just say a few words. No matter whether she wins or loses, she will not pester Fang Yun to make a profit.

Fang Yun was the same, he smiled and stopped talking.

Of course, Pei Yao could hear the confrontation between the two concubines, and he couldn't help but feel more and more fed up with Concubine Yang.

But since there were outsiders present today and it was the Queen's birthday, it was hard to make a fuss look bad, so I didn't say anything.

He returned to his seat with the queen, and there were other concubines who wanted to present gifts.

What people didn't expect was that as soon as Wan Liangyuan finished her gift, and before Song Liangyuan stood up, there was a burst of hurried footsteps at the door.

Everyone looked around and saw a little palace maid staggering in.

Fang Yun recognized it, it was with the second princess.

Immediately I felt bad.

Sure enough, I heard the little palace maid panting and crying with a sad face.

"It's not good, it's not good, the second princess fell down and hit her head on the flower bed, bleeding!"