Sweet Beauty Chapter 53: Identified

Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang Gui deliberately stayed in Empress Dowager Zhuang's Cishou Palace to accompany Empress Dowager Zhuang to speak at this hour. Naturally, it was not because of their filial piety to Empress Dowager, or because of the talent show, they had to talk to Empress Dowager now. It seems that the empress dowager does not gossip like this.

They just came here to wait because they knew that Jiang Yu entered the palace today.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was newly established, and most of the current lordships are obtained from military exploits. It can be seen that the new dynasty and His Majesty attach great importance to military exploits.

His Majesty never let the vassal kings have military power. After the establishment of the dynasty, he sent them to the vassal lands. They only enjoyed the taxes and support but they did not have much real power. In this way, he kept the princes of the vassal kings in Beijing, and treated them with unreasonable power. Unlike these princes who were raised in the palace, they invited famous scholars to teach them attentively, but they were more like captivity, and they were not allowed to interact with Jingzhong Xungui too much, otherwise they would receive "hint warnings". There are also many local families with no real power.

Now Jiang Yu is the prince of the vassal, but His Majesty is completely condoned, let him experience in the military camp, following the disaster relief in the North in the past year and pacifying the bandits, and then this year, Xining will fight against the Yuezhi Kingdom in the Western Regions, and Jiang Yu will be in the army all of a sudden Rise to fame.

Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang are very thoughtful every day, and naturally they will also think about this matter.

It is not that no one is available in the DPRK, and every time Jiang Yu is asked to go, in the eyes of Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang, whether Jiang Yu goes or not has little impact on the overall war or the situation, Your Majesty is just to let him go. Plated with gold armor, it is just a matter of earning military merit and earning the hearts and minds of the army and the people.

This is really weird and disturbing, not to mention Jiang Yu has always had a cold relationship with them, if he is in the position...

Several feudal princes were raised in the palace when they were young, but they all moved out of the palace after the age of fourteen, and successively lived in their respective feudal princes' mansions in Beijing.

On weekdays when Jiang Jue and Jiang Lian entered the palace, in addition to saying goodbye to the Empress Dowager, she would definitely also pay her respects to Queen Hua, and even occasionally went to the imperial concubine and Concubine Han Shu who had left Princess Chang'an for a walk or two.

But Jiang Yu never did. Except for Queen Mother Zhuang, he might not know which way the gate of Queen Hua's Kunning Palace opened (pretend to be unclear, he actually remembers the map of the palace better than anyone else) are cooked).

Although Queen Hua still thinks that Her Majesty is unlikely to intend to adopt Jiang Yu, even if there is only a small chance, this makes Queen Hua uneasy.

Let's say Jiang Yu just arrived at the entrance of Cishou Palace, when Empress Dowager Zhuang's little **** Quan'an greeted him, gave him a neat salute, and said neatly with a smile: "Third Young Master, Empress Dowager Niangniang knows that when you enter the palace to see your majesty today, you will definitely come to Cishou Palace to greet Niangniang, so she has specially dispatched servants to wait for you here.”

It wasn't enough to say that, he continued to add, "Young master, you have been here in Xining for a few months, but you have made your mind go bad. The lady has been waiting day and night for you to return victoriously. Today is a good day. I finally got you back."

Jiang Yu glanced at the little **** with a half-smile, and threw a piece of silver to him. Then, while saying that he was "poor", he smiled in a good mood and asked him how his mother's health was recently. Well, after talking all the way, he entered the Cishou Palace. It was obvious that he was very familiar with this little eunuch.

Jiang Yu entered the side hall and saw the empress dowager Zhuang, the grandmother of the emperor, listening to Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang with a smile.

Empress Dowager Zhuang is over seventy years old, but she is very well maintained. She looks only about fifty, but her hair is all white. Judging from her appearance, she was actually similar to Jiang Yu's mother concubine, Princess Xia of Shu. It could be imagined that she was also a very beautiful beauty when she was young, but because of Empress Dowager Zhuang's aura, it was hard to ignore this point.

Princess Xia is a typical beauty with good temperament and appearance. She is quiet, gentle and noble, but Empress Dowager Zhuang is very majestic and imposing, so people often ignore her appearance and appearance, and only remember her majesty.

Empress Dowager Zhuang was born in a family of military commanders in the South. The family followed the old Nanping King and today's southern expeditions and northern wars. First, they fought against South Vietnamese rebels in the previous dynasty. Poisoning, and following the present against the previous dynasty.

Unfortunately, the Zhuang family was not rich in children. Before and after the establishment of the new dynasty, the father and younger brother of the Queen Mother of Zhuang family and even the husband of Queen Mother Zhuang's sister-in-law, General Xia (that is, the father of the Princess Xia of Shu), all died in battle, so it is possible to If you want to see Empress Dowager Zhuang's hatred of the royal family of the previous dynasty, it is a bit more hated than the current emperor.

But Empress Dowager Zhuang is not an ordinary person. Her Majesty has come to this day, and has been deeply influenced by her. The marriage with the Hua family in Beidi, the mediation between her husband and the late emperor after the death of her son at that time, and the emperor's busy expedition, The governance of the southern region, and even the implementation of many policies for recuperation in the new dynasty, were all inseparable from the shadow and handwriting of Empress Dowager Zhuang.

There is not much left of Empress Dowager Zhuang's family. When General Xia died in battle, his sister died of illness, Empress Dowager Zhuang had no daughters, and her niece, Princess Xia, was taken over by Empress Dowager Zhuang and raised as her own daughter. This is probably understood by everyone. Jiang Yu was not the direct grandson of Empress Dowager Zhuang, but Empress Dowager Zhuang still loved and pampered Jiang Yu very much and did not find it strange.

At this time, Jiang Yu came in. If outsiders saw it, they would definitely think that the two were direct relatives and grandchildren, because Jiang Yu looked like Empress Dowager Zhuang in addition to being a little dark. Maybe because of his aura, he looked like Zhuang. The empress dowager is also better than her mother, Princess Xia.

When Jiang Yu entered the hall, Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang stopped talking and turned to look at him with a smile.

Jiang Yu stepped forward to greet Empress Dowager Zhuang, Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang respectively.

The Empress Dowager Zhuang called him to stand closer, and then said kindly: "Come and see, alas, you look at your child, it has become a little darker, it was dark before, but now it's turning into charcoal. ..."

"Since I was a child, I've been so fond of martial arts and dislike literature. I can't sit still, so I like to drill into the military camp. You've been away from Beijing for a few months. This time, you'll be back in Beijing. Some time ago."

Jiang Yu only listened with a smile, and did not interrupt Empress Dowager Zhuang's talk.

Xiang Guifei smiled and said, "Isn't the third son's temperament just like His Majesty? I heard that His Majesty was so brave and martial when he was young, it is no wonder that His Majesty always admires and loves the third son. To be honest, then At the time we didn’t quite understand it, but now we understand it.”

It is sincere to say to the imperial concubine, "We didn't quite understand it at that time", because Jiang Yu had a bad temper when he was young, was rude and arrogant, and hated people, but the emperor condoned him very much. I understand...

The Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at her with a smile, then shook her head and said: "That's not true, His Majesty was actually forced by his father to practice martial arts back then, but he was very spiritual in writing since he was a child. In this respect, Jue'er is more like His Majesty, so when you see your Majesty seeing Jue'er's calligraphy and paintings on weekdays, you will be so happy..."

Speaking of this, he paused, as if he had remembered something, and his voice became a little lower, and he sighed, "Alas, Lang'er was the same back then, fond of literature and disliked martial arts, and His Majesty loved it very much, but the situation at that time forced Lang'er. As the prince, he must lead the army to fight, and the result..."

Speaking of this, she looked extremely sad, shook her head and said, "Speaking of Jue'er's appearance and temperament, it really seems to be Lang'er... Therefore, Your Majesty never forces Jue'er to practice martial arts..."

Lang'er is Jiang Lang, the eldest son of Emperor Jing Yuan's former consort, Princess Zhuang (later named Empress Zhuang). Before the establishment of the new dynasty, he fought against the previous dynasty and died in battle.

Suddenly talking about this topic is too sad. Over the years, Empress Dowager Zhuang and Emperor Jing Yuan rarely mentioned Jiang Lang and his second son Jiang Xun, who had passed away, and Queen Hua had gone through that period of time. It was the first time I heard the Queen Mother mention Jiang Lang.

These words are really difficult to answer. Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang have different expressions on their faces, but they are just silent, and they dare not speak freely.

The Queen Mother Zhuang may also find this topic uncomfortable, she paused, then smiled bitterly, then looked at Jiang Yu with some relief and smiled, "Actually, I think Yu'er's temperament is more like him. Uncle and grandfather, even this appearance is like a foot, and it really scared me when I came in..."

Jiang Yu's uncle and grandfather were the younger brother of Empress Dowager Zhuang, the only son of the Zhuang family, the old general Zhuang, who also died in battle decades ago when he fought against the previous dynasty.

But speaking of this, the Queen Mother Zhuang thought of her father and brother who died in battle, and her expression became even more sad. The death feud between her and the royal family of the previous dynasty really spread everywhere.

Empress Dowager Zhuang felt sad herself, but hearing these words in Queen Hua's ears suddenly loosened her heart.

It turns out that His Majesty's condoning Jiang Yu's development in the army may be a guilt and compensation for the banker, and also a guilt and compensation for the Empress Dowager Zhuang.

Queen Hua also echoed with some sighs of recollection: "What the mother said is very true, General Zhuang is brave and good at fighting, and his reputation spread far and wide. I admire and respect General Zhuang. Looking at it this way, the third son has indeed acquired some of the true inheritance of General Zhuang, and it is no wonder that he is so brave and capable."

Empress Dowager Zhuang listened to Queen Hua's words with a smile with a little sadness and relief, but Jiang Yu didn't look at all, nor did she say a word of politeness and modesty.

Queen Hua felt sorry for a while, and then she said to Empress Dowager Zhuang with some guilt and concern: "My daughter-in-law is talking too much, and she has made her mother sad again, and she also asks her to forgive her..."

The Empress Dowager Zhuang shook her head. Although her expression was a little sad because of the memory, she was very gentle. She looked at Jiang Yu with more loving eyes. She then asked Jiang Yu about some trivial life in Xining, and Jiang Yu picked it up. I talked about the regional customs of Xining, and did not mention anything about the military.

After saying this for a while, Empress Dowager Zhuang said: "Yu'er, it's just a coincidence that you came back today, you must have heard that Your Majesty intends to marry a few of your cousins. I'm talking to me with some portraits of girls, what do you think about this marriage?"

Jiang Yu seemed to be stunned, and then said respectfully: "Marriage matters, of course, depends entirely on the grandmother, the uncle, and the concubine, so there is no need to ask the grandson."

The Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded with a smile, and said, "That said, if you like a girl with a temperament and appearance, you can talk about it, so that Aijia and your royal uncle can know."

He said with a smile, "But other people Aijia don't dare to say it's very accurate, but the two children of the imperial concubine's family, Aijia can be considered to have grown up, and they feel that they are not bad. All good temperaments."

The two children of the noble concubine's family are naturally referring to sisters Xiang Yilan and Yiwei.

Xiang Yilan is the companion of Princess Changrong, and Xiang Yiwei often accompanies her sister to the palace. The two often come to Cishou Palace with Princess Changrong to greet the Queen Mother, so the two Queen Mother Zhuang are familiar with each other. .

As soon as these words came out, Concubine Xiang was overjoyed and said with a hurried smile: "The mother and the queen praised me wrongly, but although these two children can't be called top-notch, their temperaments are indeed good, and they are still well-behaved and filial." /

These words are modest, they recognize their temperament, and their appearance is modest, but that appearance can be seen with eyes. Concubine Xiang herself is a charming beauty. Those two nieces are like her, and they can be worse. ?

Queen Hua sneered in her heart, disliking this pretentious attitude very much.

However, she tested the Queen Mother's attitude towards Jiang Yu, and saw that she should still value Jiang Jue's heart. Presumably the Queen Mother Zhuang and the emperor dote on Jiang Yu because he resembles the Zhuang family. It is one thing, but it involves Having been to such major events as inheriting the heir, it must be his own grandson that is more important.

In this way, even if Xiang Jia married his daughter to Jiang Yu, it wouldn't be a problem.

However, she wouldn't take any risk and let that Xiangjia and Xiang's easily win over Jiang Yu.

Empress Hua glanced at Jiang Yu and saw that Empress Dowager Zhuang and Concubine Xiang Guifei were talking about the Xiang family sisters, Jiang Yu did not change her expression at all. Sisters are meaningless.

She then smiled and said: "Sister Yilan Yiwei is very good, both in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but their temperament is well-behaved and submissive. Young Master Qian, doesn't like military generals, according to his daughter-in-law, Third Young Master likes martial arts, in fact, he is more suitable for the young lady of the military general's family, who has a more lively temperament."

The expression on Concubine Xiang's face changed. What does it mean "they have always liked the gentle gentleman"? Isn't this ruining one's reputation directly in front of the Queen Mother? ...

Empress Dowager Zhuang ignored this, but she was still smiling when she heard the words, and instead asked Queen Hua, "Oh? Queen, which one do you think is a good girl?"

Speaking of Empress Dowager Zhuang came from a family of military generals, and was good at horseback riding and archery when she was young. In fact, she likes girls who are bright and capable of writing but can also be martial arts. In fact, she doesn't like girls who are too literate in scholarly families. Not particularly fond.

The Empress Dowager Zhuang is still very satisfied with Queen Hua. The two have similar temperaments and have gotten along very well over the years.

Empress Hua married into the palace when it was the most difficult time in the Nanping palace. The palace betrayed the previous dynasty. Established and developed a kindergarten and a women’s sanctuary, and introduced some crops from the north to the south during the drought period in the south. It can be called Emperor Jing Yuan's virtuous inner helper and Da Zhou's virtuous queen.

Therefore, the Hua family intends to betroth the child of Huayu Rong to Jiang Jue, but the Queen Mother Zhuang has no objection.

Queen Hua smiled and glanced at Jiang Yu, then returned to the Queen Mother Zhuang and said: "But this is also a bit of the daughter-in-law's selfishness. The daughter-in-law's sister's child, the girl in Ling Guogong's mansion, the mother has also seen, she has a lively temperament, And the Ling family are all military generals, so they may get along better."

The Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded, not at all annoyed by Queen Hua's directness. What she liked was Queen Hua's candid nature, which she revealed in front of her without hiding her thoughts. This is also a tacit understanding that has been with her for many years.

Concubine Xiang on the side was unable to do anything directly to Empress Hua even if she shattered her silver teeth.

But when they said this, Jiang Yu didn't react at all, as usual with a sullen face as if they were talking about something unimportant.

The Empress Dowager Zhuang asked his opinion, and he always said "The grandmother thinks it's good, it's naturally good".

The Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded with a smile, and then said to Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang: "Before the list of the Ministry of Rites is ready for the official draft, you should pick up those children to live in the palace and talk to Changrong. Well. I remember that Sister Rong has already moved in these few days, the children have come over, and the palace is lively and lively."

Xiang Guifei was overjoyed, that is to say, although Queen Hua said so, but Empress Dowager Zhuang did not agree, she still favored Yilan or Yiwei, the two nodded and promised not to mention it.

Several people talked for a while, Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang were not without winks, not to mention that they just came to see Jiang Yu, and then tried to test the Queen Mother's tone. At this point, they almost achieved their goal. Indifferent, they all got up and retreated.

After Empress Hua and Concubine Xiang Gui left, Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at the gate of the palace for a long time, thinking for a while, then sighed slightly, turned her head and said to Jiang Yu: "The portrait of that child, the imperial grandmother has also seen ."

"Since your mother is attracted to you, it must be not bad. I'll see you another day to see how your temperament is. Xiang Jia has the intention to marry his daughter to you, and the Hua family has also arranged for Ling Guogong's mansion. Girls, let them go to the ring first."

Jiang Yu knew his grandmother very well, so Empress Dowager Zhuang said that just now, and he acted with her without any hesitation. Hearing her words at this time confirmed his guess.

The Hua family and the Xiang family competed. In the end, their mother and concubine wrote a letter to agree with Jing Shu, and then the royal grandmother and the royal uncle conferred the marriage. This is the strategy that has the least impact on Jing Shu and is the most favorable strategy for the current situation.

Jiang Yu thanked Empress Dowager Zhuang, and then told Empress Dowager Jing Shu's father's life experience without deceit. In any case, in order for Jing Shu to get the greatest protection after marrying him, he must get the approval of the imperial grandmother. It's best to be honest and get support, not to deceive.

The Empress Dowager Zhuang was a little surprised and didn't want to have such twists and turns. She heard Jiang Yu said that the emperor also knew about this, so she nodded and thought for a while before saying: "The remnants of the previous dynasty are still active in many places, Beidi and Weidi are especially rampant, and there are even many old party officials among the officials. When Xun'er had an accident, the real culprit behind the scenes has never been found. Since Mr. Bai has such a background, I am afraid that your royal uncle will make other arrangements. You should send more Some people protect the girl."

Jiang Yu froze in his heart. Thinking of the look on Emperor Yuan's face, he nodded cautiously.

The two talked for a while. This time, Empress Dowager Zhuang asked him in detail about his military service in Xining and the Western Regions. Jiang Yu also explained it carefully, and then Jiang Yu accompanied Empress Dowager Zhuang in the Cishou Palace. After lunch, I left the palace.

In late July, after the deadline for the registration of beautiful girls, the Ministry of Rites collected the list and portraits of the girls and sent them to the palace for the Queen Mother, Queen Hua, and Concubine Xiang and Concubine Han Shu who assisted in this matter. filter.

Before, Empress Gong Zhonghua had already picked up her two nieces, Huayu Ronghuayuhe, and Ling Xueni, the young lady of Ling Guogong's mansion, to live in the palace for a while, while Concubine Xiang also picked up her two parents. The niece Xiang Yilan and Yiwei lived in her palace with her daughter, Princess Changrong.

In a short while, the outside world has also spread the rumor that His Majesty intends to give the Chinese language Rong to the fifth son of the King of Kang, and choose one of the sisters of the Xiang family to give to the third son of the King of Shu.

Not long after, due to the renovation of some facilities for water conservancy and flood control in the south of the Yangtze River, Emperor Jing Yuan summoned Tian Zhengqi, the Minister of Works, and several officials below him in the imperial study, including the lower-ranked Minister of Works, Mr. Bai Zhongqian.

After talking about business, Emperor Jing Yuan wanted to hear about Bai Langzhong's experience in this area, so he asked other officials to retire first, leaving Bai Langzhong alone.

When the officials left, Emperor Jing Yuan turned over the file just handed over by the Minister of Industry for a long time and ignored Mr. Bai Er, who did not dare to make a sound, just stood and waited quietly with his eyes down on.

After waiting for almost two cups of tea, Emperor Jing Yuan raised his head and turned his gaze to the second Master Bai who was standing and waiting below.

Bai Er had already been waiting with anxiety in his heart, and he was even more trembling under this kind of scrutiny. His official position was low, and he had only seen the emperor from a distance in the court in the past. This is the first time he has been so close A separate audience to see Emperor Jing Yuan.

After examining it like this for a while, Emperor Jing Yuan had almost finished reading it before he said, "Aiqing, do you know why I left you today?"

Master Bai Er was a little stunned, didn't he want to ask about water conservancy in Shu? Just now, Emperor Jing Yuan was flipping through the file handed in by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Lord Tian, ​​but he never asked himself.

But just asking about the experience of Shu, why leave him alone to talk about it? Is he that important? Does Your Majesty have time to spare?

A number of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he thought to himself, wouldn't there be something wrong with the things that Master Tian handed over?

Suddenly thinking about his daughter and the third son of the King of Shu, the second master Bai was even more uneasy, gritted his teeth and replied: "Wei Chen doesn't know, Wei Chen dare not speculate, but Your Majesty has asked, and any orders will be ordered. , all the ministers should bow down and do their best, only His Majesty’s will is to obey.”

Emperor Jing Yuan laughed, this is a smart one.

He said in a gentle voice: "I heard that Aiqing's ancestral home is in Wenzhou, Jiangnan. The old general, Rong Mingyuan, a well-known military general in the old dynasty, was stationed in Wenzhou, Jiangnan for a period of time. I wonder if Aiqing knows about this?"

Bai Er's cold sweat broke down immediately, because it was inevitable that he thought of the terrifying orphan of the Rong family, who was also the orphan of the previous princess, Rong Weijia.

As soon as his brain was buzzing, he knelt down as soon as his legs became weak, but he was not stupid. Rong Weijia's matter had nothing to do with the Bai family. Still living in the palace, things don't look like they have been exposed.

Just when Emperor Jing Yuan saw his reaction so big, he frowned and wondered if he knew his life at all, he heard Master Bai Er replied: "Wei Chen, Wei Chen knows this. Come on. General Rong also has some connections with the Wei Chen family Bai family. He is the saviour of the Wei Chen family. He rescued the entire Bai family from the chaos of the army more than 30 years ago. Grateful."

Since the emperor asked him about the Wen family, these old things are not secret. When your majesty was fighting for the world, he must have done a detailed investigation of all the important generals of the old dynasty.

He gritted his teeth and said again, "But private favors are private favors. Wei Chen is grateful to the old general for his great kindness and respects his bravery and loyalty, but righteousness is great righteousness. The courtiers do not agree with what he has done to protect the old dynasty, although he admires his loyalty."

Emperor Jing Yuan nodded, it was because of these old things, not because he knew his identity.

He saw that Second Master Bai was already sweating on his forehead, struggling to speak, but he was very satisfied with his confession.

He said warmly: "It's fine for each of them to be their own masters. Aiqing, let's get up. It's just that there are some old things in it, so this is why I specially announced you to come here. Let's take a look at this file first."

Master Bai Er was really frightened. He tried his best to stabilize his mind and stood up. He took a stack of files handed over by the little **** in the imperial study, and under the signal of Emperor Jing Yuan, he tried his best to calmly open it.

It's just a matter of surprise. The soul of the second master Bai was so frightened that it almost flew out.