The King's Concubine_The Feast of Masks【Complete】(187)

"Yes."

This sentence is always mentioned by Emperor Hongjing every year, and Li Dequan will answer it like this every year.

How long has Concubine De been gone? It has been more than 20 years. It is a great blessing for His Majesty to remember her for more than 20 years.

Li Dequan felt a little emotional for some reason, and followed Emperor Hongjing out with his back bent.

Out of the door of the hall, looking up is a vast expanse. In the distance, there are rolling ridges, layers of flying eaves, yellow glazed tiles, and golden lights on them, which seem very insignificant and tiny at this time.

Under the whole world, only the emperor can look down on all this with a deep and solemn look.

Emperor Hongjing stood for a while and planned to leave.

As soon as he raised his foot, he saw Zhao Zuo, the prince of Hui, walking along the corridor in front of the palace from the corner of his eye. It seemed that he saw a man in a bright yellow dragon robe standing in front of the palace from afar. He quickened his pace and came to the Danbi Stone, then trotted up along the steps of the palace.

He looked up, his steps were light, and his face was filled with surprise, joy, and respect.

From top to bottom, everything was in sight.

"It's the Prince of Hui who is here." Li Dequan said in a playful way.

Emperor Hongjing paused for a moment, then walked away, as if he didn't see this scene, and didn't seem to hear what Li Dequan said.

Li Dequan sneered, the Prince of Hui had been running to the palace too often recently, and it was no wonder that His Majesty didn't want to see him.

Seeing that the person in front of the palace was about to leave, Zhao Zuo subconsciously wanted to call, but then remembered that he couldn't make noise here.

He ran up, panting, but the person he wanted to see had already left.

Didn't the emperor see him?

Princess Anqing actually agreed to move the palace.

Since this matter started to make a fuss, countless people have been paying attention. The two sides were deadlocked, one was the eldest princess, and the other was the meritorious officials of the court. No one knew whether the imperial power was supreme or the meritorious officials were not disappointed.

It seemed like a simple matter, but it was not simple.

The demolition of the princess's mansion by the army was a violation of the moral code and a great disobedience. The emperors of all dynasties ruled the world with filial piety. But if the meritorious officials were disappointed, then the hearts of countless officials and thousands of soldiers would be disappointed. Who would be willing to fight for the Daqian Dynasty in the future?

Later, the matter fell on the head of the King of Jin, and privately they said that the King of Jin might be in trouble this time. Whether the matter succeeded or not, he would stop here in the future.

But who can be blamed? If you want to blame, blame the emperor. Without the emperor's tacit consent, I am afraid that the Minister of Works would not dare to assign this task to the King of Jin.

To put it bluntly, the emperor pushed the King of Jin out to take the blame.

What no one expected was that the King of Jin actually got it done.

Without moving a single soldier, and even without anyone knowing, he got it done. If Princess Anqing hadn't gone to the palace to cry in a big way, no one would have known that the old woman had changed her mind.

As for why she changed her mind, no one knew, maybe the King of Jin knew. In short, this incident made the King of Jin famous in the capital.

Just when the outside world was talking about this matter, the King of Jin asked for leave from the Ministry of Works.

There was no reason.

The Ministry of Works didn't say anything, and even said that Zhao Zhushi had worked hard and asked him to rest for a few more days.

The King of Jin went back and was idle in the mansion for three consecutive days. Yao Niang persuaded him to go on duty.

"It's almost enough. How can you stay in the Ministry of Works if you are too much?"

The King of Jin didn't speak, with a lazy attitude. He was half leaning on the big kang at this time, with one leg straight and one leg slightly bent, reading a book.

There was a cat lying beside his legs, it was Huahua.

Huahua has changed a lot now. When Xiaobao first brought her back, she was only the size of a palm. Now her body is more than twice as long and twice as wide as before.

She has become a little fat cat.

Chun'er and Qiu'er also love her. There has never been a shortage of food in Rongxi Courtyard, and naturally there is no shortage of pets for the young master. When she was young, she drank goat milk. When she was older, she had fish soup and rice three times a day. When she was older, she would eat three or four small crucian carps about five inches long a day, not to mention other miscellaneous snacks.

This cat is also strange, it eats everything. As long as it is fed by Xiaobao, it can be as big as chicken leg buns or as small as some fruit snacks.

Huahua eats grapes very well, and she can even spit out the grape skins after eating them.

This skill makes Huahua a divine cat in the eyes of all the servants in Rongxi Courtyard. Everyone loves her, and she becomes bolder as she loves her.

The most obvious manifestation is that Huahua dares to pester the King of Jin.

Huahua liked the King of Jin when she was young and had a mysterious fascination with him. But she was still young at that time and couldn't even cross the threshold. When she grew up and could run back and forth between rooms, she liked to dart around the King of Jin's legs and meow.

Whenever the King of Jin came to Rongxi Courtyard, it would follow him wherever he went. At first, the King of Jin was annoyed by its fur and didn't let it get close to him. After being pestered more and more times, he gradually began to ignore it. At most, when Huahua darts around his legs, he would kick it away.

Of course, it was a very light kick, similar to pushing it away. But Huahua was a shameless and scoundrel cat. As long as the King of Jin pushed it with the tip of his boots, it would climb on the King of Jin's boots and hold his shoe surface tightly with its claws.

After such pestering, Huahua was finally able to stay by the side of King Jin. Occasionally, when King Jin was lying on the kang, it would sneak up and lie beside him, and it would not grab the soft flesh by its neck and throw it down. However, there was still one place that Huahua had not conquered, that was the bed of Yao Niang and King Jin. It tried twice, but failed without exception.

Seeing Yao Niang talking, Huahua raised his body and meowed at her.

It seemed to mean that if he didn't want to go, he wouldn't go, so we could just stay here.

Yao Niang didn't understand the cat language, and continued to say to the King of Jin: "By the way, the Zhenguo Mansion has sent me an invitation, asking me to bring Xiaobao to visit. It was sent by the wife of the prince."

"You can go. Sun Mang is not an ignorant person, and that day at the palace gate, the woman came to thank him with the child in her arms. I guess everyone in the palace knows the whole story. Your relationship with his wife has no necessary connection with me and the Zhenguo Mansion."

Yao Niang wanted to ask this. As she gradually began to go in and out of various mansions, she gradually understood what it meant to avoid suspicion. It was a bit like when they were young, the adults of the two families had a quarrel, so the children of the two families did not play together.

But now there is one more item. In order to avoid suspicion in front of Emperor Hongjing, you can't play with those who hold great power, so as not to attract unnecessary suspicion.

So Yao Niang had to ask clearly.

"If that's the case, I'm relieved. I'll go tomorrow."

The next day, the King of Jin went to the Ministry of Works, and Yao Niang went to the Zhenguo Mansion.

Qiao lived in Xianruo Pavilion, which was a two-entry courtyard. This is the exclusive residence of the prince. The front is the prince's study and reception room, and the main room at the back is Xianruo Pavilion.

When Yao Niang got off the sedan chair, she saw Qiao and Xiao Yueyue welcoming her at the door.

"You are too polite to welcome me."

"It's my duty. I hope you don't think I'm being rude."

The two of them walked into the house together. They saw a low-key luxury with elegance. It can be seen that Qiao is a talented person. There is a piano table and a chessboard under the window. There is a large painting table behind the veil, on which are placed various thick and thin brushes, and there are many scrolls in several large jars.

The calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall are all from the woman's handwriting. At a glance, you can tell that they are her masterpieces.

Seeing Yao Niang's eyes on the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, Qiao smiled shyly: "Excuse me, I said I wouldn't hang it, but the prince insisted that I hang it up, so I won't make a fool of myself."

Yao Niang retracted her gaze and said to her admiringly: "How could I make a fool of myself? I can tell from one look that you are a knowledgeable and talented person. Reading can enlighten people, and playing chess, calligraphy and painting can cultivate emotions, which are all very good things. But I was born in a humble family. I only knew a few words back then, and I wanted to learn these but couldn't."

Yao Niang's words were a bit too honest, and she didn't hide her background at all. In fact, this is true. Su Xiucai is full of sour Confucianism and does not approve of women studying. Women are virtuous if they are not talented. If he was not a scholar, it would be too shameful for his daughter to be illiterate. It would never be Yao Niang's turn to learn to read and write.

The Su family has two daughters, and Hui Niang only knows a few words because she is not interested in this. Yao Niang liked it, and followed Su Xiucai to learn for two years. When Yao Niang could read, Su Xiucai was unwilling to teach her anymore. Later, Yao Niang secretly read many things from Su Xiucai's books.

Qiao Shi did not expect that this woman who looked a little too charming and had a bad reputation outside would have such a personality.

In fact, she sent Yao Niang a letter, but it was just because of what she said that day, and she just wanted to go through the motions, and she had no intention of getting to know her deeply. Now it seems that this Concubine Su is not as good as the legend says, but a very honest person.

Thinking of this, Qiao Shi laughed a little. How could she become the kind of person she hated? You know, the words outside talking about her were not very nice, but she was not the kind of person those people said.

"If Concubine doesn't mind, I can teach you."

"Really?" Yao Niang looked at Qiao Shi with shining eyes.

Qiao Shi was amused by her, "Of course. In fact, if Concubine wants to learn, she can invite a female teacher to the mansion." There is no need to be so excited.

Although Qiao knew that this adjective was a little inappropriate, Yao Niang did give her that feeling.

Yao Niang was a little surprised: "Ah, it can be like this? I didn't know that. I only heard that some wealthy families could invite female teachers to teach at home. I didn't expect..."

As she spoke, she blushed and stopped talking. Now she can be called a wealthy person, but to put it bluntly, her mentality has not changed.