The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 136 Instigation
Although the emperor learned about the events in the Changle Palace that night, the details of Xueli and the emperor watching the fireworks on the tower were only passed on to the harem and into the Changle Palace in the early morning of the next day.

Therefore, in the morning province of this day, all the concubines were trembling. Concubine Hui, who had retreated to the side seat, did not even dare to lift her head. She only felt that the sound of each page of the paper being scribbled by the Queen Mother when she was flipping through Tongshi was mean. Ruthlessly scratching at my heart.

In fact, no one else has the right to read the history and daily life of the emperor. Only the queen mother and empress can read it. If there is no empress, the concubines in charge of the six palaces have the right to read it.

But right now, the concubines can know what is written on each page without reading.

Since March last year, no other person's name has appeared here, even during the few months of the southern tour.

——Actually, when the emperor came back from his southern tour, Concubine Hui immediately asked the sleeping lady who accompanied her for the daily allowance for those few months.Knowing that Ruan's family is pregnant, and knowing that local officials will inevitably present beauties during the southern tour, Concubine Hui wants to see who will be lucky, and has to quickly arrange a residence in the harem.

But it didn't.At that time, Concubine Hui was dumbfounded looking at the daily life, because during those few months Ruan stayed with the emperor almost every day.

At that time, she still frowned and reprimanded the accompanying female officer, "I don't know how to persuade you! Ruan is pregnant, how can she stand that..."

Before she finished speaking, the female officer in the dormitory bureau blessed: "No madam. Since knowing that Ruan Shi is pregnant, His Majesty has only slept with her, and there has never been anything that should not have happened."

At that time, Concubine Hui only had mixed feelings in her heart, but now seeing the empress dowager's more gloomy expression, she was really scared in her heart.

After turning over the last page, the Empress Dowager slapped the book on the table heavily.

All the concubines hurriedly left the table and bowed down. After saying "Queen Empress Dowager", they didn't even dare to take a breath.

After the empress dowager took a deep breath with a stern expression, she didn't lose her temper.

Her eyes flicked lightly, and the words in her mouth did not leave any emotion: "On New Year's Eve, a maid-in-law Ruan was allowed to stand on the tower to receive congratulations from all the people with His Majesty. You all deserve to accompany Shi Shi." We were torn apart by the car together!"

"The empress dowager calms down." Everyone said this again, and then fell silent again.

The Empress Dowager looked at Concubine Hui and frowned slightly: "Now the Ai family can't say that Concubine Hui is Mrs. Concubine Hui, and Mrs. Concubine Hui has Your Majesty looking after her."

Concubine Hui was startled, before she could speak, the Empress Dowager looked away: "Let's talk about Concubine Li. What's the matter with this? You all just watched so stupidly. When it's time to kowtow to Mrs. Ruan, how can you all?" Don't blame the Ai family for not taking care of this."

"What the queen mother said is true." Concubine Li immediately showed displeasure, gritted her teeth, and said, "This is the first time this concubine saw Ruan family yesterday. If I were to say it, she would be mediocre in terms of beauty ;Talk about talent... What kind of talent can a maid from a palace have? If the concubine is serious, she must be a pest. Looking at her innocent appearance, she may not have used some means to make His Majesty fascinated. Besides..."

Concubine Li stopped talking abruptly, she lowered her head and remained silent.The empress dowager looked at her: "Go ahead."

Concubine Li kowtowed: "Besides, she didn't follow His Majesty for long last year, and she went home to visit her relatives. I heard that she was very casual, and there was no cover for the male family members at home. And the people who followed her out were either the palace around her. People, or she is the imperial guard under the hands of her brother Gan. The concubine dare not talk about the eldest son of the emperor, but the concubine has been wondering... She really has such a good fortune, she just worked with His Majesty for more than a month Is there something that cannot be done in the entire harem?"

There was a sudden sound of cold air sucking in the hall.

Even the Empress Dowager herself felt that Concubine Li was too bold in saying this - even she, the emperor's grandmother, never dared to doubt the blood of the eldest son of the emperor.

Concubine Ke Li was not only suspicious, but also said it in front of everyone.This made the empress dowager a little bit embarrassed for a while, and reason told her that perhaps Concubine Li was right. Can't poke.

She didn't know what was discouraging her.It's just that she didn't have enough courage to take this doubtful point to question the emperor and force the emperor to investigate to the end to find out the truth.

In the end, she just responded with a soft "yes", and then said: "You are right. Ai Jia knows, and will figure it out."

Then she had a more obvious guilty conscience.Fortunately, he has experienced enough things, and his guilt was not revealed in front of the concubines.She got up and left on the pretext that she wanted to go back and inquire about the matter, and the concubines knelt down to salute.

Before lunch, the Seventh King Xie Han received the order from the Empress Dowager, telling him to go to Changle Palace to have dinner together.

When Xie Han saw this, his head grew bigger, and he knew that something was definitely wrong.Moreover, yesterday's palace banquet ended in the middle of the night, he originally thought about catching up on sleep after lunch, now it's over, why sleep when he enters the palace for dinner?

This made him feel that there was a lawsuit in his head, and he went to the gate of the mansion with a disturbed face, just in time for Mrs. Yi, who had gone to the Fifth Brother's house in the morning to celebrate the New Year, to come back.Yi got out of the carriage and looked at his face, and knew that something was bothering him, so he walked a few steps to stop him, and leaned into his arms: "His Royal Highness is angry on the first day of the new year, be careful not to go well for a year .”

She is the only one who dares to say this kind of small threat. After Xie Han tensed for a while, he calmed down and sighed: "The queen mother sent me to eat in the palace. You can use it well in the mansion. I will eat it before dinner. Definitely come back."

"I was going to see the queen mother..." Yi Shi and Dai realized, and immediately understood why he was so troubled.After thinking about it, he said, "Is Your Highness in a hurry to leave? Can you wait for me for a while?"

"What are you doing?" Xie Han didn't understand. Mrs. Yi had trotted into the courtyard, rushed all the way to her residence, and turned back in less than half an hour.

Xie Han noticed that she had a few extra books in her hand.

"Your Highness has entered the palace, let's find someone to take it to Mrs. Ruan." Mrs. Yi looked at him and said, "I saw this at Fifth Sister-in-law's place in the morning. I looked it up and thought it was interesting, so I asked for it. I heard... I heard that Mrs. Ruan is teaching Di Ji to read and write recently, these books are interesting, and they are taught with pictures, which may be easier for children."

It seems that Wu Ge used it for his own children in the past, but now he put it aside when the children grow up.

Xie Han frowned: "Do you want to make friends with Sydney, or do you want to please Di Ji?"

"All of them." Yi Shi didn't make a cover, took his hand and stuffed the book in.With a serious face, he said seriously, "Really, I am afraid that Your Majesty will think that I am getting close to the Queen Mother, which is not good for you. Right now, I dare not turn against the Queen Mother, but it is okay for us to make friends with Mrs. Ruan." It's not difficult, let His Majesty see her attitude to some extent. And, and I really think she's pretty nice."

While listening, Xie Han fixed the book and replied, "I see."

Then he got into the carriage.The coachman raised his whip, and the carriage started to drive. After driving steadily, Xie Han opened the curtain to look at the street scene outside, but he was thinking about Yi Shi's words in his heart.

Yi wanted to help him one or two out of this, to help him stabilize the balance that would affect the whole family if broken.

But the strength in it is obviously difficult to grasp.

Xie Han flipped through the book in his hand...

I'm afraid it's not enough to just work hard from Sydney.She was in the palace, it was too easy for the emperor brother to want to cut this line, and it was too easy to misunderstand that they wanted to make friends with Xue Li, but they were just acting under his nose.He had to find a way that was not in front of his eyes, which would be easy to maintain and convince Brother Huang that they were sincerely with him.

Xie Han thought about it all the way, and when the carriage stopped at the gate of the palace, he even thought the road was too short.

When he entered the Changle Palace, the lunch had already been served, the Empress Dowager excused him first.The mother and son sat down together, and Xie Han soon noticed that his favorite dishes were all in front of him.

But since many years ago, even if there are all his favorite dishes in front of him, he can no longer enjoy meals with his mother.

It seems to have started from that banquet.At that time, both he and the emperor's brother were still wearing filial piety for their father, and his mother laughed in public and said that he wanted the emperor's brother to establish a son. He still remembers the shock in the eyes of the emperor's brother, and he still knows it. The queen mother's smile is terrible.

He didn't like the way she always joked, saying hurtful or destabilizing things with a gentle look, but she didn't care.

The queen mother gave him two slices of sweet and sour crispy tofu. Xie Han ate it sullenly, as if he couldn't even tell the taste, let alone what to say.

After eating quietly for a while, the Queen Mother spoke first: "Ah Han, Aijia still remembers that you and Ruan Shi from Liugeyuan are old friends. Aijia would like to ask, have you and Ruan Shi become acquainted recently? Is it?"

Xie Han's heartstrings were suspended immediately, and because he didn't finish the food in his mouth, he was able to think for a while, and then smiled and said: "It's okay. Since my son left the palace and built a mansion, he walked with her less and less, but during the holidays See you there too."

"Oh..." The queen mother nodded thoughtfully, and asked him again, "Then I will ask again... She has a god-brother who is an official of the imperial guard. What is the relationship between their 'brothers and sisters'?" relation?"

After a whole lunch, Xie Han was terrified.

The meaning revealed by the queen mother in the question and answer made him dare not think deeply, but even if he didn't think deeply, it was still too obvious.

——At first when she mentioned Yulingwei, he thought she wanted to ask Yulingwei which family he was eyeing recently, but after listening to it, she actually suspected Wei Chen and Xueli...

Xie Han was so spineless that his face turned pale, and he quickly promised, "No, no, when Sydney went home to visit her relatives, Mr. Wei was so busy that he never had time to do what he shouldn't do."

Then the Queen Mother nodded, as if she believed it.Then, he asked him if it was possible that Wei Chen instructed the imperial guards to help Sydney hide something, and whether Sydney had any good friends outside the palace.

Xie Han didn't show anything on his face, but a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

Such doubts, though absurd at first glance, can be fatal.And it will not only kill Sydney, but also kill the eldest son of the emperor, Xie Yuan...

Why on earth would the queen mother doubt this?Is she getting old and confused?But she's not that old...

Xie Han didn't know how he managed to finish the meal, and after exiting the Changle Palace in a proper manner, he felt relieved and went straight to the Zichen Palace as if fleeing for his life!

"Your Highness?!" Zhang Kang hastened to chase after him, but His Highness Seventh is almost 19 years old now, unlike a few years ago when he relied on his age and stature to run fast and catch up.

Both of them ran out of breath along the way, but the distance between them didn't shorten much.When we arrived at the Zichen Palace, the emperor had just returned from the Grand Court Meeting on Yuan Ri, and the maids were eating inside...

His Highness the Seventh Prince didn't stop, and accidentally knocked down three of them!

All of a sudden, the vegetable soup was splashed, and the food and broken porcelain were smashed on the long steps, so frightened that the three maids knelt down before they could stand up—although they knew it was not their fault, but such a scene happened in front of the Zichen Palace. Also scary!

In the hall, Xie Zhao really had a headache after sitting in the court meeting for a long time.Thinking that he would be busy with various things in the next ten days, he didn't know how to get angry when he wanted to get angry. After much deliberation, he had to call Xue Li, A Yao, and A Yuan to the hall for dinner...

Other relaxation methods can't be used, let's see if the mother and son are in a better mood.Xue Li also guessed that he was not in a good mood, and specially called Yu Xiang.

Right now, the warmth of "a loving father feeding his daughter, and a daughter feeding a lion" is being staged in the hall. At first sight, Yu Xiangyuan, who was eating a large piece of beef, raised his ears, dropped the beef and ran towards the door of the hall!
"Roar!" Yu Xiang leaped into the air and landed steadily, baring her teeth and claws to block the rushing intruders.It stared at it ferociously, and several of its thick white teeth were exposed, which meant "you take a step forward, and this girl will pounce on you and tear you apart in minutes".

It felt that it must have come to hunt if it came in such a hurry and ran so fast!Not an acquaintance yet... Do you dare to come into our territory to hunt? !

"Huang, Huangxiong..." Xie Han suddenly stopped, leaning on the door frame to pant, knowing that this was Sydney's pet, but he didn't dare to tease it.Immediately felt in his heart that Mrs. Yi had figured it out—he also wanted to get a lion from the animal trainer back home to raise for play, thanks to Mrs. Yi who stopped it!
A few feet away, Xie Zhao, Xue Li, A Yao, and A Yuan were dumbfounded at the Seven Kings who came to "break into the territory" on the first day of the new year.

After being stunned for a moment, the emperor took back the spoonful of fried chicken in sauce that was being handed to A Yao's mouth, put down the porcelain spoon and walked over, telling Yuxiang, "Go back to Yuxiang, it's all right."

Yu Xiang: "Oh?" With a confused look on his face, isn't this guy a "bad guy"?
"Go, go back and eat meat." The emperor patted Yuxiang's lion's head in the usual kind way. Watching him turn around, he probably felt that he had shocked him, so he went back to eat its meat proudly.

For a moment, Sydney was extremely suspicious of what Yuxiang's level was in her eyes - did she really think that they were her masters and she was a pet?Does it feel that it is the lord, and they are all members of its territory, so they have to help it "forage" and it wants to "protect" them?
This idea went around in Xueli's mind, and then Xueli laughed to herself, and then she got a good look, and then she was able to order the palace servants to add bowls and chopsticks to the Seven Kings.

After the emperor and the seven kings were seated together, the seven kings managed to relax, and wanted to tell them "I've had lunch" in a trance. How to eat seriously.

"It's New Year's Eve, what's the matter?" Seeing him like this, Xie Zhao couldn't help laughing.Just today, Sydney came up with an idea to order a roast duck, so he took off the duck cake with his own hands, rolled it up and said, "Talk slowly if you have something to say, don't worry."

"Brother Huang, let me tell you..." Xie Han's breath was not completely stable, just as he opened his mouth, Yu Xiang threw down the beef and said again: "Roar!!!"

Xie Zhao: "... Yuxiang is good, let him talk, you eat yours."

Sydney laughed awkwardly, throwing two slices of duck meat with burnt yellow skin to curry favor with it, but the smell of the fish didn't make it any easier - two slices of duck are nothing in front of a big piece of beef!
Xie Zhao rolled a cake and handed it to Xie Han.The duck meat in the pie was rolled into three slices, each with a narrow strip of skin.After roasting, the skin of the duck becomes crispy but not greasy. You can squeeze out some oily juice when you bite into it, which just coats the duck meat with a layer of fresh fragrance. The medium and salty sauce is really tempting.

Xie Han was tired from running all the way down, and a duck roll was not too big, so he simply finished eating in two or three bites before continuing.

After clearing his throat, he took another sip of soup: "Brother Huang, let me tell you!"

"Well, tell me." Xie Zhaozheng also drank the duck soup leisurely.

"The queen suspects that the eldest son of the emperor was not born to the emperor's brother!!!" Xie Han was so angry that his dantian mustered up the courage to say this.Frowning and raising his eyes, he saw both the emperor and Xue Li were surprised.

"What did you say?!" Sydney asked first.

The emperor regained his composure and frowned, "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"

A Yuan is almost one year old, so it's time to be suspicious. How strange is it to mention such a thing suddenly after a year?It's unreasonable!

"I don't know why she has such a heart all of a sudden." Xie Han frowned and sighed heavily, reaching out to get another pancake for himself to roll, the emperor raised his hand, and calmly took the pan away Leo: "Say it clearly first."

"..." Xie Han swallowed, but unwillingly took a piece of duck skin nearby and dipped it in sugar, and said, "Just now I was invited to the palace for a meal, and she brought up this matter after eating two mouthfuls. She was suspicious at first. Xueli and Mrs. Wei... Then what, and then said...and said that when Xueli went out to visit relatives in the palace, many things were not in compliance with the rules, and the palace people were all her own people, and the rest were all under Mr. Wei's imperial guards. "

And counting, Sydney was indeed pregnant at that time.Is it really such a coincidence?Really no problem? ——Xie Han didn't dare to tell the emperor brother the question raised by the queen mother.

It's kind of scary when you think about it.The doubts were real, and even for a short moment just now, he was almost persuaded by the Queen Mother.

The hall became deadly silent.A Yao tilted his head to look at his father and his mother, he felt as if he had heard every word clearly, but indeed he didn't understand every word.Ah Yuan just started to walk in the past two days, half supported and half carried by the nanny walking very hard, but the nanny's hands suddenly trembled, which made him very uncomfortable, so he frowned and wanted to cry.

Xie Han felt like a lump in his throat.While looking forward to the emperor's investigation to the end, he would slap those gossipers in the face, and at the same time hoped that this matter could be turned into a trivial matter.

After all, once it is checked, it will more or less tarnish the reputation of Sydney, and it is not a comfortable thing to listen to gossip from time to time in the future.

After a moment of silence, Xueli couldn't help but feel chills all over her body, her teeth were trembling and she looked sideways at the emperor: "...Your Majesty?"

Xie Zhao heard the obvious fear in her words, and his face darkened.Frowning, he took another piece of duck pancake in his hand, picked up the delicious duck meat and dipped both sides in sauce, added two shredded green onions and a cucumber, rolled it up and handed it to her: "You eat first." Come on, let's go to the outer hall to talk."

(End of this chapter)