Madam Hou

Chapter 20

Yanniang was sitting on a sandalwood couch, and on the other side of her was Empress Jiang.In the middle of the couch was a carved lacquer table with the Eight Immortals carved on it. On the table was a tall glazed plate with oranges on it.The oranges were all big and round, still yellow and orange as if they had just been picked from the tree.

Oranges grow in the south and ripen in November and December, and it is only July now, so it is impossible for these oranges to be picked now.These oranges are a tribute produced by the royal orchard in the south. Every November and December, when the oranges are ripe, there will be a special person to pick the oranges, select the oranges with the best taste and the best appearance, and send them to the capital quickly.

When these oranges were delivered, in addition to rewarding concubines and ministers to show the emperor's great grace, the rest were stored in the royal ice cellar specially used to store seasonal fruits.In the non-ripe season, these fruits become a good product for the concubines in the harem.

Of course, this is not to say that all concubines in the harem have the qualifications to enjoy these fruits at will. You must be above the second-rank concubine and below the concubine level. You can also use it at will.But if other concubines are greedy and want to taste something new, then you first go to Shangshi Bureau to make a report, and Shangshi Bureau will decide whether to report it to the queen according to the amount of fruit reserves, and the queen will decide whether to give it to you.And even if the Queen agrees in the end, if this set of procedures is completed, your interest in trying something new will probably be gone long ago.Therefore, the ability to freely use off-season fruits has also become a symbol of the status of a woman in the harem and whether she is favored or not.

When Yanniang first arrived in the palace, she just felt that the palace was really extravagant, and she spent so much manpower and material resources just to eat a piece of fruit.It should be known that although there was a method of storing ice in cellars in ancient times to reduce the melting of ice cubes, it only reduced rather than completely melted. Over time, the melting rate of this ice is still very high.And every winter, the palace has to send a lot of manpower and material resources to the South China Sea to collect ice, transport the ice back and hide it in the ice cellar for storing fruits and keeping cool for the masters of the palace.Only wealthy families can afford such manpower and material resources to enjoy it like this.

Yan Niang has stayed in the rich and noble town of the imperial palace for a long time, and she is no stranger to it now.Of course, Yanniang is the emperor's favorite concubine and the queen's favorite concubine at the same time, so she can get this special enjoyment.

Yanniang took an orange from a high-footed tray, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and gently split the orange in half, peeled off the skin, and picked off the white silk from the orange flesh, and sliced ​​the prepared orange flesh piece by piece. Put them on the white porcelain plate of dragon and phoenix, and then move the plate in front of the queen.

The queen casually moved the plate back to Yanniang's face: "Eat it yourself, I don't like to eat sour food, but you, who love to eat sour food with your body, eat more." Ben Gong', but the queen never likes to call herself these two words in front of familiar people, she just feels that these two words make the distance between people far away.

Yan Niang was not hypocritical for her kindness to the queen, she pursed her lips and smiled at the queen: "It's your empress who loves me!"

Anyone who sees others expressing gratitude and gratitude for their kindness will feel a little bit of joy, and the queen is the same. After listening to Yanniang's words, Dao also showed a little smile.Then the voter for Li Baotao asked Yan Niang: "I heard that your mother and two younger sisters have arrived in the capital?"

Yan Niang showed a little melancholy, and replied: "Yes, I heard that I arrived three days ago, and now I live in the Yongning Hou Mansion of my adoptive mother's house."

"Speaking of which, you haven't seen your family for a year, but are you homesick?"

"Yes, if it weren't for the strict palace rules, the concubine would wish to run out of the palace to meet my mother and two younger sisters right now."

"It's so hard to see them. Although your mother didn't order it, I will give them a sign to come to the palace with Mrs. Yongning Hou after two days after the second prince's full moon."

After hearing this, Yanniang was both surprised and delighted, she got off the couch quickly, stood in front of the empress, gave a deep blessing, and said, "Thank you, empress!"

The queen quickly motioned Caitao to help Yanniang up, and said: "I told you earlier that you don't need to be so courteous, you are pregnant, and you should cherish your body on weekdays to be worthy of the emperor's love for you."

Yan Niang wiped away some tears from the corner of her eyes, and replied: "Yes, Niang Niang, the ministers and concubines must remember it!"

The queen asked again: "I heard that your second younger sister, whose maiden name is Yin Niang, is engaged to Prince Yongning?"

Yan Niang replied: "Yes, it is the stepmother who is kind. The concubine rescued the stepmother in Linping County that day. The stepmother brought the concubine to Beijing to repay her. She recognized the concubine as a stepmother and took her with her to teach , Later, the concubine got the emperor's pity and entered the palace, and the step-mother felt that there was no chance to take care of me, so she wanted the son to marry my second younger sister, which could be regarded as a little compensation for the concubine."

The queen smiled, did she know that Mrs. Yongninghou was kind? If she really had such kindness, why didn't she let Yanniang marry Yongninghou Shizi? After being pregnant with the prince and being taken into Fengyi Palace, it was reported that the two were engaged.But it doesn't matter, the Marquis of Yongning's marriage with the Chen family will definitely not be a bad thing for her as a queen, at least the Marquis of Yongning will never stand on the side of Concubine Shu in the future.

The queen said again: "Yinniang is also a lucky one."

Yanniang replied: "If you are lucky, it is also given by your mother."

In the imperial study.

Emperor Jinghui stood in front of the imperial case, holding a big brush, and wrote a large block letter "Kang" on the rice paper spread out in front of the case.After finishing writing, he looked left and right, and when he was finally satisfied, he handed the pen to Mr. Li behind him.

Manager Li took the pen respectfully, and put it back on a suet jade pen holder on the imperial case.

Emperor Jinghui turned out of the royal case and walked down the stone steps. As he walked, he seemed to have no intention of asking Mr. Li: "I heard that the queen's father and second uncle came to the palace today, and they brought a family member from the queen's natal family. A concubine and a cousin?"

"That's right, the son of Duke Kang even brought a concubine into the palace."

Emperor Jinghui walked to a pot of bonsai placed on several boxes of boxwood, touched the leaves of the pines in the bonsai, and said in a joking tone: "This Duke Kang is cunning and resourceful. There are only two legitimate sons, not even a concubine son, so I never expected to raise such a son as Duke Kang's son."

Director Li smiled and only echoed: "This son of Lord Kang is a bit ridiculous." No comment on others.

The eunuch's identity is as sensitive as that of his relatives, and if he doesn't pay attention to his words, he may be labeled as "eunuch with power". Mr. Li is still very cautious about this aspect. It is better for him to say less when it comes to the queen's natal family. .

But according to the emperor's tone, the emperor was still very angry with the behavior of the Duke of Kang. The dignified son of the Duke of Kang did not bring his wife, but brought a concubine into the palace, and the wife was the Queen's mother. This behavior was indeed absurd and unruly, but it was not to the point of pampering his wife and destroying his concubine. The emperor said this, because he was blaming the son of Lord Kang for embarrassing the empress.

To put it bluntly, the emperor's thoughts were also complicated. If his relatives were too competitive, he would not be happy if his relatives were too competitive, and his offspring would be born in large numbers.It is also a technical job if this relative wants to do it completely in line with the emperor's wishes.

(End of this chapter)