Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 515 Three Princes Leave the Palace

Beijing,

Ouchi Palace,

Empress Jiang Yuqing, along with a large number of chamberlains and maids, as well as the four stewardesses of Kunning Palace, were waiting outside the Yangxin Palace. Today was the day when the three princes left the palace to build their own palaces.

The three princes all got up early, then each put on their newly made python clothes, and brought their chamberlains and maids to visit their mother. After having breakfast, they were kicked out by her mother and entered the Yangxin Palace early in the morning. My father said hello and resigned.

The eldest prince, Prince Jin, walked in front without hesitation, followed by the second prince, King Wei, and the third prince, King Chu. The three of them entered the main hall, entered the imperial study room one by one, and waited in the hall.

But this scene has long been seen by the eunuchs and spies sent by interested people. Not far from Kunning Palace, when the three princes left the palace, the eunuchs and maids who were sweeping the floor and watering the flowers, Naturally, there was a lot less, especially a eunuch who was wandering around here and just glanced at the three princes who came out of Kunning Palace.

He immediately put down what he was doing, pretended to walk around in a circle, and left immediately, trotting along the harem path back to Concubine Wu's bedroom in Chunli Palace, and rushed in panting.

He went up the steps and went straight to the inner hall. Before he entered the hall, he shouted,

"Your Majesty, your Majesty has something to look forward to."

At this time, Concubine Wu had just gotten up to wash herself up. She was sitting in front of the bronze mirror on the dressing table, and her confidant Song Shuang took care of her. With her beautiful face, thin waist and plump hips, Concubine Wu was indeed famous throughout the harem. Her long hair is like a waterfall, hanging down to her waist, dazzling.

Hearing the noise outside, she wrinkled her face, looked at the wrinkles of the person in the bronze mirror, and immediately smiled and sent the wrinkles back.

"Someone is so frivolous and has no rules."

Song Shuang, the housekeeper behind Concubine Wu who was taking care of Concubine Wu's hair, carefully took the ivory number, took care of it carefully, and replied,

"Your Majesty, the person who was watching must be back. There must be something going on in Kunning Palace."

"Oh, it's so fast, doesn't it mean we have to wait another day?"

Concubine Wu held the rouge in her hand for a moment, then continued to apply a little rouge and wiped her blush.

“Let others talk back.”

"Yes, ma'am."

Song Shuang went to the outer hall and brought the steward in. The eunuch, the eunuch, followed Song Shuang into the inner hall with excitement on his face, and then immediately knelt down and worshiped,

"Old slave, please pay homage to the empress. I am a thousand years old."

"Okay, I know, get up and reply."

Concubine Wu's lazy voice sounded, and then she put the fine rouge in her hand on the desk. Without turning around, she looked at the slave behind her through the bronze mirror as she stood up carefully, bowed her waist and answered,

"Thank you for your grace."

"Tell me, why are you so anxious?"

"Back to the Queen, I have some clues about what you told me. I have been cleaning the palace grounds around Kunning Palace early these days. Today, the door of Kunning Palace opened, and the three princes wore new clothes and python suits. I went to the Yangxin Palace, and I brought a lot of eunuchs and maids with me. It seems that something must have happened, so I didn’t dare to delay, so I went back to the palace in a hurry to report to the empress."

The old eunuch in charge spoke in great detail. He told Concubine Wu everything she wanted to know. The three princes' opening to build a palace not only affected the hearts of the people in the palace, but also affected the confidence of princes from all over the world. After all, the current Holy Emperor There are not many heirs, but it is an indisputable fact. The position of prince in the future, or even the holy position, will attract people's attention. Everyone wants to ascend to the big position.

"Okay, you have made a great contribution to this matter. Song Shuang, I will reward you. Be more careful in the future and keep an eye on me. If anything happens, you can report it."

"Thank you for your reward, I will definitely be watched by your Majesty."

The old eunuch took the bag of silver handed over by Song Shuang, put it into his arms, and left Chunli Palace with a smile on his face.

After seeing the person leave, Song Shuang asked,

"Mother, now that we have the news, do we need to spread the letter?"

"Of course, otherwise it will be difficult for father to explain. Although it is a lot late, it is better than nothing. You send people according to the same rules and send messages to the outside world. Remember to be careful."

Concubine Wu felt that those vassal kings were even more unreliable, but her father insisted on having his own way. For some reason, Prince Zheng, that old fox, was good at protecting himself and escaping, but at the critical moment, he was hesitant and unjust, so how could he win the big victory? Although the prince is quite talented, as a noble concubine, how could she follow him anymore.

I felt irritable for a while,

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand, but Your Majesty, Zhou Guiren is targeting us everywhere in the harem. Other concubines often say that Your Majesty is not good, which caused quite a bit of gossip in the harem. The person who was watching last time also said , Zhou Guiren went to Kunning Palace and went to the Queen to complain, "

Song Shuang arranged for people to keep an eye on Zhou Guiren's Biyun Palace these days. Although the empress wanted to stop Zhou Guiren from becoming a concubine, she didn't expect that Zhou Guiren was also a shrew. Everyone in the harem knew that Li Palace was against her. How many people were laughing at the joke because they were afraid that the other concubines would keep making little moves in secret. As the saying goes, it is easy to hide a gun and hard to prevent it.

As soon as Concubine Wu heard the words Zhou Guiren, she became angry.

A wave of irritation surged up, and he threw the rouge out of his hand and cursed,

"That bitch, a ungrateful thing. She always goes against me, and even went to complain to the Queen. By the way, if there is news, how will the Queen respond?"

"This. Your Majesty, I don't know. Queen Kunning Palace is a close confidant who has been with the Queen since her early years. There is no way to find out."

Song Shuang smiled bitterly and shook his head. Concubine Wu did not blame her. After all, those people were brought into the palace by the queen when they were in the palace.

"Then do you know what Zhou Guiren's face looked like when he left Kunning Palace? Did you see him?"

Song Shuang's eyes lit up, and he thought about it carefully, as if the spy had said,

"Go back to your Majesty, the spies said that when Zhou Guiren left Kunning Palace, his expression was as usual, very deliberate."

Concubine Wu was also confused, her expression was as usual. This bitch was indeed difficult to deal with. She needed to think of a way to trick her. Didn't this person want to make her a concubine? After having been in trouble for so long, I'm afraid this matter of concubine was no longer possible. To be on the safe side, More fire is needed.

"I'm going to deliver the letter first. I'm going to get together with some caring sisters in the harem tonight, and I'll give Zhou Guiren a compliment. She's easy to talk to. I'll prepare for a round. Then I'll go to the Queen's Empress to comment and see her. The most powerful one is my skill."

"Yes, empress. I'll go right away."

Song Shuang lowered his head deeply. There were many good sisters of the empress in the harem. It seemed that Zhou Guiren really made the empress angry.

But why is Zhou Guiren so bold? Could it be that there is a back-up plan?

"My Lady, you should be more careful. Since Mr. Zhou dares to come forward like this, is it possible that there is someone else behind the scenes, or another concubine?"

"Well, what you said is not unreasonable. Let's bear with it for now. She has a family, and we have a family. Isn't Zhao Shixuan favored by His Majesty? I think she is more satisfactory, so I sent someone to send a message to my father and go to Zhao Shixuan's home to sit for a while. Sit down and talk."

Concubine Wu gave instructions with a smile on her face,

"Yes, madam!"

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong leaned on the dragon couch with a look of relief in his eyes. The three sons finally took the first step. As for the rest, it was up to the three of them to fight for it.

"Today is the day when the three of you leave the palace. From now on, each of you will have a palace. In addition, each of you has a palace outside the city and a large village near Anhu. They are all fine farms. It was your mother who gave them to you three in person. The person you choose will have an income of more than 80,000 taels of silver a year, which can be used for your private expenses. As for the rest, you can figure it out on your own, but the palace will not give it to you."

The three of them were also dumbfounded. Why did they only invest in this small amount of property? I remember that in the past, when princes were crowned kings, not all big boxes were used, but small boxes were packed into the palace. Needless to say, the property and fiefdoms were now just a small imperial village. Eighty thousand taels of silver were put into the account, which was not enough.

Especially the eldest prince and the second prince, they looked at each other and asked each other if it was too little, but neither of them wanted to speak first, so they could only look at the third prince. Who knew that the third prince was not in Yinzi at all, thinking about it. If you go to the palace, you can pay homage to the chiefs of the three major academies, and you will definitely leave a good talk.

The two had no choice but to adapt to circumstances.

King Jin immediately replied, "Thank you, my father. I am grateful for your father's kindness in raising me. Now that I have left the palace, I will not be able to greet my father and queen in the palace. Please take care of yourself."

"Well, don't worry Ding'er, your father and mother will take good care of you."

Emperor Wu was still a little sad. Looking at the three well-behaved people, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

King Zhou Chong of Wei secretly glared at his eldest brother when he saw that his eldest brother didn't even mention a word about money, but only said nice things. He said nothing else, including gatherings, visiting friends, going to brothels, and even holding poetry gatherings by himself. Wait, what is needed is not only money, but also the salary of those subordinates, and adding more people. Not all of this requires money. Not to mention other things, if you want to eat better three meals a day, money is probably indispensable.

Not to mention others, it is said that the nobles in the capital, especially the Ningrong Mansion, do not have the same food every day, especially the old lady in their house, whose daily necessities are considered luxurious, so money is indispensable. It's just that the eldest brother is too "cowardly."

"Father, my son, my eldest brother, and my third brother left the palace today. I will definitely not be able to accompany my father and mother all the time in the future. I feel quite sad. I wish my father and mother to be well, and my son has nothing to ask for."

King Wei's voice was loud and his words were full of energy, but when he asked for money, he became a flatterer. King Jin also glanced at King Wei, but he was not the same.

As for Lao Sanxunlong, he is even more quiet.

"My sons and ministers have nothing else to ask for. In addition to taking care of themselves, my father and mother also need to have a good rest. No matter how much the court has to do, there are still cabinets and many ministers. My father often reviews memorials late at night, and my sons and ministers see it. But there is nothing I can do. Now that I am out of the house, I will definitely help my father take a good look at it and share his worries."

"Okay, okay. Long'er is thoughtful. You said it right. When the three of you leave the house, in addition to building a house, you will see more, learn more, and think more. This court belongs to the Zhou family, but It is also with those noble ministers. You must keep this in mind. You cannot follow your own temper in everything, and you cannot arbitrarily determine the world's major affairs. You should also have more of your own people around you. As for your annual salary and money, this I will give it all to you once. As for the future, each of you can do it according to your ability. Even if you have no money, don’t come to the palace to cry and complain, especially your mother. If I find out, she will naturally ask for double the amount."

Emperor Wu was sitting on the high platform. He couldn't see the small movements of the three people. He also guessed in his heart that the three people might be because of the money. This matter was a test for the three of them. How could he let go.

The faces of the King of Jin and the King of Wei were bitter. How could they have any salary? After all these years, the Queen Mother also gave the banknotes to the three brothers last night. Each of them was only one hundred thousand taels, but this was the bottom of the box, and the Queen Mother was not seen again. I wanted to replenish some, but I was too embarrassed to ask, so I just sat on the wax a little today.

King Jin and King Wei saw that the time was almost up and they would have no chance if they didn't ask. They took a step forward at the same time.

"Father, I still have something to ask."

They all said in unison, which made Emperor Wu feel a little happy and asked,

"Haha, you two are quite interesting. Ask me anything."

"This,"

King Jin did not refuse and continued,

"Father, I would like to ask about my palace. There are Imperial Guards, Imperial City Secretaries, and chamberlains and maids in my palace. So what I want to ask about is the salaries of these people and the daily expenses of the palace. Whether it comes from my sons or ministers, or from the palace."

"Father, what the eldest brother said is what I want to ask. As far as I know, there are nobles and wealthy families in the capital, and they spend a lot of money every day. It is really not something ordinary people can afford. I only have Huangzhuang. If the royal palace spends too much on this industry input, it will naturally not be able to keep any money, so I also want to ask about this matter."

The King of Wei did not let his eldest brother speak out in agreement. As for the King of Chu, he was also eager to give it a try. The eldest brother and the second brother asked well. They had ignored this matter just now.

"Ah ha ha"

Before he could say anything, Emperor Wu sat on the stage and laughed loudly. Sure enough, he was a descendant of the Tian family, and he was very thoughtful at this time. Not bad.

"That's a good question. In your palace, there are 300 eunuchs and maids, 500 Imperial Guards, and 1,000 Imperial Guards. The salary of these people should be from your palace, but I don't think so. The Royal Palace has no income, so their salaries naturally come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As for the future, depending on your performance, we will agree to reward you every five years. By then, when you have the ability, the salary of these people will be yours. I took it upon myself.”

Hearing Emperor Wu's words, the three of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of the grandeur of the palace, including the salaries of these people, Zhuangzi's profits would be fully filled in after one year. So what else would a palace be like? Staying in the palace.

"Thank you, Father."

The three people's faces were full of joy, finally leaving some room. Emperor Wu looked at the three people and waved his hand angrily.

"It's getting late, it's time to leave the palace,"

"Yes, Father."

The three of them were still reluctant to leave. They knelt on the ground together, kowtowed to Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong seriously, and then filed out. After the people left, Emperor Wu couldn't help but blushed and wiped the corners of his eyes. Dai Quan saw it and hurriedly took it. He took out the handkerchief and handed it over.

"No, I'm not that fragile yet,"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Dai Quan carefully took it back.

inside the hospital,

The three of them left the Yangxin Hall and entered the courtyard. When they saw their mother still waiting here, the three of them hurriedly stepped forward to say hello to their mother.

"My son sends his regards to his mother,"

"Everyone, get up. I have clearly remembered what I told you last night."

Queen Jiang was still worried about the three of them, so she couldn't sit still in the palace, so she came with her. She wanted to see the three of them go out together, otherwise she might not be able to let go today.

"After returning to my mother, I remember clearly that if there is anything in the house, I will ask the female history, if there is anything outside the house, I will ask the commander, if anything is not decided, I will ask the commander-in-chief."

The King of Jin casually replied that this was specially stated by the Queen Mother, and it must have been carefully thought out, so it is natural to keep it in mind.

The second prince, King Wei, continued,

"Mother, my son and I will never leave the house at will. We need to bring the imperial guards with us wherever we go to prevent those young people."

The third king, King Chu, also nodded.

"Mother, my son also knows that people's hearts are sinister, so he must be on guard. Mother, please be at ease."

Seeing her three sons still comforting herself, Queen Jiang felt warm in her heart. After all, they have grown up, and the eaglets will eventually leave the nest.

"Okay, just remember, Chunhe, play the drums, and send the three princes out of the palace."

"Yes, concubine,"

Chunhe responded behind him, then took the flag and waved it. Suddenly, the palace was filled with loud drums.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom."

"Woo."

From time to time, horns sounded, and then the three princes, surrounded by the Forbidden Army, got on the carriage and drove out of the palace.

The sound of the drums naturally spread very far. In the harem, the Supreme Emperor stood on the sparrow platform. Looking at the palace gate from a distance, he saw a large number of imperial troops escorting three carriages out of the palace.

"Xia Shouzhong, have the arrangements for the palaces of the three princes been made?"

"Back to the Supreme Emperor, the palaces of the three princes have been prepared for a long time. Marquis Luo Yun personally led people to check them out. After the completion, the queen gave permission to use them,"

Xia Shouzhong, the manager of Changle Palace behind him, immediately responded and did not dare to neglect. The Supreme Emperor turned around, closed his sleeves, and went down to the attic.

"Go back. Since Marquis Luo Yun has seen it, I guess it's okay. What has he been busy with recently?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, Marquis Luo Yun was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three palaces by the Emperor, and he has been accompanying Shen Zhongxin, the Minister of Household Affairs, to investigate the case of the Jingcang fire in the past few days. There is nothing unusual about anything else, but Hou I’ve been to Rongguo Mansion quite frequently recently,”

Xia Shouzhong followed closely behind the Supreme Emperor and told the whereabouts of Marquis Luo Yun these days, in detail.

The Supreme Emperor nodded,

"Well, I'm busy enough, setting up food on the second floor,"

The Supreme Emperor returned to the pavilion on the second floor, sat on the balcony, and asked Xia Shouzhong to set up the meal and prepare to have a meal here. Xia Shouzhong immediately asked the steward to go down and make arrangements, and then poured a bowl of hot tea for the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor took a small sip and continued,

"As for going to Rongguo Mansion, it's a good thing. There is so much hatred. Besides, Lin Yatou has promised to him, but why didn't the old lady do it earlier? I heard that there are three girls in her house who are waiting to be married. !”

(End of this chapter)