Palace Scheming: the Queen In the Cold Palace I

Chapter 25: Worshiping ancestors during the Qingming Festival and nearly being assassinated (1)

"Qing Ming, what do you think of the Ming and Qing kings' proposal to suppress the northwest?" The emperor's handsome eyebrows were lightly furrowed, and his deep voice sounded a little solemn in the imperial study.

"Back to the emperor, Wei Chen thinks that the prince's proposal is feasible. The emperor of Fenglai Kingdom is young and vigorous, and after resisting the enemy three years ago, he has established a firm foothold in the Three Kingdoms, which cannot be ignored. Although the economy of Fenglai Kingdom is He still hasn't fully recovered, but I heard that the emperor of Feng Lai Kingdom trained troops for his father at the age of nine, and his military deployment was very surprising, almost as famous as the seventh prince of Long Zhen Kingdom who defeated the enemy at the age of seven. So, if Feng Lai Kingdom. I came here to test our country's response under the pretext of riots, for fear of provoking war in the future. "There were three people in the study at this moment, and the one who spoke was Duan Qingming, the son of Duan Zhengchun, the Minister of War.

 This man is only twenty years old. He has been familiar with the art of war since he was a child and is proficient in formations. He has quite the bravery style of his father back then. And another young and handsome man, Li Qinglan, is the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and is now the waiting man of the Ministry of Industry.

Compared with their father in terms of talent and resourcefulness, these two men are both better than their predecessors. The emperor believed that the two men would be able to succeed their fathers in the near future.

 “Yes!” He nodded slightly. The emperor knew the strength of the emperor of Fenglai Kingdom, and knew that although he was similar in age to himself, he had been in charge for five years. Moreover, this man helped his father, the emperor, train and fight in the war when he was nine years old. He used the soldiers like a god. Even a huge natural disaster in Fenglai three years ago did not destroy Fenglai's country. On the contrary, he is now standing more firmly. He is the always strong dragon. The Kingdom of Yao cannot be easily shaken: "But now General Yuan is seriously ill, and all the generals in our court are at the border. It is very inappropriate to have to dispatch troops and horses for the sake of the western border."

His handsome eyebrows were furrowed, and the emperor was a little worried.

 In the court recently, some old ministers used the excuse that the New Year had just passed and the people were in peace and it was the time for plowing at the Spring Equinox, and they did not agree with the delay in agriculture due to minor border issues.

 Due to a major natural disaster in Fenglai Country, countries now pay more and more attention to farming, even more than in previous years. But according to the views of the ministers, when the two countries face war in the future, I am afraid that I will regret it too late.

“If the emperor does not give up, I am willing to go and quell the chaos.” Duan Qingming stood up and said.

"You?" The emperor glanced at him silently and shook his head decisively: "No!"

“Why?” Duan Qingming raised his eyebrows and asked directly.

"It's not that I can't trust you, it's that I can't let you go. I can let others go for trivial matters, and you are a future handsome man. How can I let you make any mistakes over such trivial matters!" Without even thinking about it! He waved his hand, the emperor had no room for negotiation at all, and Duan Qingming's face darkened, but he was helpless.

 “Then the emperor...”

"Your Majesty, the Queen is asking for an audience outside the study!" Duan Qingming's voice was interrupted by Chang Le's high-pitched voice, causing an unexpected light to appear in the eyes of the three people in the study.

"Why is she here?" The emperor frowned. He didn't expect that the woman who had always avoided him would go to the imperial study to ask for an audience today?

"Your Majesty, the ministers and others will temporarily retire." Seeing the annoyed look on the Emperor's face, Duan Qingming and Li Qinglan looked at each other and had heard about the Queen's affairs.

The two of them stood up knowingly, but saw the emperor’s frown deepening, and he waved his hand coldly: “No need!”

 Then he ordered Chang Le, who was still waiting, "Let her come in."

The emperor originally wanted to ask Chang Le to send her away, but his mind flashed inexplicably and he was curious about her purpose of coming here to find him. He wanted to see what this woman, who moved back from Cuiwei Palace and concentrated on taking care of the harem, was up to.

When Yun Qing entered the royal study room, which was usually off-limits to concubines, the spacious and bright light and the majestic layout made her think. She secretly thought that after returning to the palace, she would also create a small space dedicated to handling palace affairs. .

She didn't expect that the imperial study room that she had imagined should be like a court hall. After entering, not only did it not have the solemn feeling of the main hall, but it was more like a leisurely place for reading and painting. While it should be solemn, it did not make people feel uncomfortable. It would be too restrictive.

Originally, Yun Qing thought that she would be driven away by him when she came this time, and she would be summoned by Zhun Jin. She was also unexpected.

 Speaking of which, she came here because she couldn't find him anywhere. I heard from people in the palace that the emperor has been busy with government affairs these days, almost forgetting to sleep and eat, and he even rarely goes to Concubine Hua.

 So, after she asked for an audience twice outside his Longqian Palace without seeing anyone, she had no choice but to come here to ask for an audience.

"I see you, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!" As soon as Yun Qing entered the palace, three sharp eyes were directed at her. She unexpectedly discovered that she was in the imperial study room. There are others there.

After a brief moment of surprise, she bowed respectfully to the emperor, then lowered her eyes and waited for him to stand up.

　　Silently staring at the woman with a calm expression and simple and elegant clothes, the emperor found that except for the wedding day and the first time to greet his mother, she seemed to have cut off any relationship with the color red.

She should be wearing a dignified red dress, but she was so light and calm that he couldn't tell whether her state of mind was always calm and unruffled.

He only knew that the moment he saw her, he would feel a little irritated inexplicably, and it was so unreasonable that it made him want to break the calmness on her face and see what she would do when she was angry or angry. How wonderful it is.

"Excuse me." He waved his hand casually, and when Duan Qingming and Li Qinglan stood up to salute Yunqing in time, he lightly motioned to them to excuse themselves, and then said: "Queen, if you have something to do, please play quickly. I and my two beloved ladies also have We have to talk about political matters and there is not much time to waste.”

"Yes!" Yun Qing just straightened up, but did not look at the emperor. He only nodded to the other two people sitting in front of the emperor and said: "You two adults are polite."

Then, she took out a brochure she had drafted when she came from her sleeve, handed it to her gently, and said: "My concubine disturbed the emperor's government affairs, which is really offensive. Please forgive me. It's just the day after tomorrow." During the Tomb Sweeping Day to worship ancestors, the Queen Mother asked her concubines to ask the emperor for instructions on who would be arranged to participate in the sacrifice. Here is a list copied by the concubines according to the royal family's descendants, as well as the carriages, horses, palace attendants and other concubines prepared for that day. I’d like to ask your Majesty to take a look at it.”

Chang Le hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the list and handed it to the emperor respectfully.

Yun Qingjing stood in front of the case, looking at the flash of impatience in the emperor's eyes when he took the watch, and knew that he was angry because she was annoying him for such a trivial matter.

Sure enough, Xuanyuan Ze only opened it casually and took a look at it, then threw the booklet to Yun Qing with a "snap" and said coldly: "Please handle such a trivial matter in the future. I have something else to do, please come back." Bar."

"Yes! I am guilty." Yun Qing sighed in his heart. He knew that the person in front of him was disgusted with him and sneered at him. If he were replaced by Concubine Hua, how could he be so humiliated?

She silently picked up the booklet that had fallen on the ground. She gently put away the embarrassment on her face and left without getting angry.

As she was leaving, she saw the man in green next to the emperor cast a sympathetic look at her. She couldn't help but smile bitterly and turned to leave.

Xuanyuan Ze noticed her charming smile, and his originally depressed heart became even more irritable. His handsome eyes immediately dimmed: "Wait a minute."

Yun Qing paused, somewhat doubting whether he was calling him.

 But after waiting for a while, I didn’t hear anything more, so I didn’t pay much attention and continued to move forward.

"I tell you to stop!" A sudden roar startled Li Qinglan who was standing aside. When he turned around, he saw that the emperor's face was livid and he seemed to be eating people.

"Is your Majesty calling for a concubine?" Yun Qing turned around in surprise, and met a pair of fiery eyes. She frowned slightly for a moment, but she really couldn't figure out what he wanted to do.

It was he who impatiently asked me to leave, and it was he who asked me to stay inexplicably. He was really a changeable weirdo who was so angry.

“The Queen seems to have bad ears, or is she deliberately ignoring my words and turning a blind eye to me?” The emperor snorted coldly and stared at Yun Qing with a sharp look.

He was sure she did it on purpose, otherwise he was in a good mood, how could he meet her once and be angry with her once?

"It's my fault. I thought I was hallucinating just now! Because the emperor clearly told me to have nothing to do and quickly left. It seems that I misunderstood the holy will!" Yun Qing smiled coldly and changed his mind gracefully. He turned around and didn't step forward, just stood there quietly waiting for him to speak.

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the other three people in the imperial study also changed drastically, especially Duan Qingming and Li Qinglan. They did not expect that this queen, who was not favored by the saints, would dare to openly challenge the emperor's majesty! This was really beyond their expectation.

"Hmph, it seems that not only do you have a bad ear, but you also have poor comprehension skills." The emperor clenched his fist heavily and looked at the person with beautiful and clear eyes. He was really troubled: "I remembered, the queen was on the list just now. , seems to be missing the queen?"

 Damn it, this infuriating woman!

Obviously it was me who was deliberately making things difficult for her, but why did she make me so angry every time?

"Yes, Your Majesty! The Queen Mother said that she is old and is not afraid of the fatigue of traveling and traveling, but she cannot bear to see the nerve-wracking atmosphere again. So the Queen Mother said that she would only burn incense sticks in the royal ancestral hall, and the Emperor would handle everything on her behalf. Okay." Yun Qing said calmly under the emperor's eyes, which were clearly looking for trouble.

"Oh, that's the case, then there is no need for the queen to go with her in the future. Stay in the palace to accompany the queen, and don't let the queen be too lonely." Looking at the calm face, the emperor's handsome eyes darkened, What he said shocked everyone in the room.

 On the Qingming Festival, emperors and empresses have always paid homage to their ancestors. Unless there are special exceptions, the two must be performed without exception.

 In the past two years, because the emperor was young and had not been in charge of the government, the Queen Mother personally took the emperor to worship him every year. This year, the emperor has taken charge of the government, so the queen mother can stay in the palace safely. However, the queen is obviously in good health...

 “Haha, the emperor is joking!” Yun Qing smiled slightly. Under this situation, her smile was even more surprising than what the emperor said just now.

It also made the emperor's heart tremble, and he looked at her in a daze that she could still laugh.

But he saw Yun Qing's beautiful eyes smiling, looking at the emperor calmly. He was stunned in great surprise, not worried about himself at all, and continued: "The emperor has not abolished the concubine's position, and has not canceled the sacrifices over the years. During the trip to the ancestors, San did not blame me for any mistakes in the names I listed, and I am in good health. Therefore, the emperor is teasing me like this, which really makes me feel ashamed. "

 When others hear the emperor's words, their first reaction is that the queen cannot be saved. Yun Qing, on the other hand, did the opposite and did not panic. He just smiled and put aside his own interests, leaving the emperor speechless.

These words also made Duan Qingming, who had always been curious about the identity of the disgraced queen, raise his eyebrows. He originally sneered at the queen's so-called good fortune, but now his attitude changed drastically, and he couldn't help but cast a somewhat appreciative look at the queen. .

 Speaking of it, this was the third time he met the queen. The first time was on the wedding day of the emperor and the empress. At that time, I just caught a glimpse of the empress and smiled calmly when her hijab flew up.

The last time was in the court, Yin Fenglai's businessman actually asked to see the queen by name, and it was the first time that he saw that the queen was so down-to-earth and generous, without the delicate demeanor of ordinary women.

Today, he was even more shocked by the Queen's astute response. He thought to himself, how could such a calm and beautiful woman be abandoned by the Emperor?

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the emperor who seemed to be secretly angry at this time. He was also curious. The emperor had always been calm-minded and had almost never been openly angry. Why did he have such a bad temper when he saw the queen?

 Could it be that the emperor actually didn’t have any feelings for the queen, but he always lost his temper in the wrong place?

Unable to help him observe carefully, the emperor had already noticed his gaze. He glanced at him coldly, causing him to immediately put away the smile that had inadvertently appeared on his face and cough lightly to show that he had done nothing. !

"Okay, as long as the queen understands, please step back." The emperor, who was a bit embarrassed about his face, naturally didn't sound much better.

I originally wanted to scare her, but she made me speechless instead. Even if I tried to find her fault, I couldn't find it for a while. I was really depressed. Are you kidding? Fortunately she could figure it out! Did she think she liked her very much and even joked with her? Huh, how ridiculous!

 “I, my concubine, leave!” Turning around, Yun Qing ignored the lingering glances behind him, knowing that he had asked the emperor to record another incident today.

Ah! It is not easy for her to be a queen, and it is wrong to do something or not to do it. That person's intention is to make things difficult for him. If he can escape, how many times can he escape?

Sigh, that’s it, just take it one step at a time and let nature take its course.

Not far from the imperial study, Yun Qing saw the King of Ming and Qing, wearing a long black gown fluttering in the wind, walking towards the corridor.

But I saw him with a silver crown on his head, a face like a crown of jade, a bright yellow jade belt around his waist, and black boots on his feet. His handsome figure crossed the columns of the corridor. Every step he took was incomparably elegant and eye-catching.

Seeing Yun Qing coming out of the imperial study, his handsome eyes couldn't help but froze. However, when he came closer, his smile couldn't help but fly. He bowed to Yun Qing first and said with a slight smile: "The queen is in such a good mood today that she came to the imperial study to relax?"

"Your Majesty, you are polite!" Yun Qing gave a slight salute and chuckled: "Haha. Yun Qing should be just like the Prince, he just goes to the Three Treasures Palace for everything!"

"You don't go to the Three Treasures Palace for nothing?" Xuanyuan Moyu was stunned, and when he remembered his identity, he couldn't help but smile: "This is a good description. It seems that the queen knows me best!"

As he spoke, his smiling eyes couldn't help but shine a little deeper, which made Yun Qing's face turn red. Thinking of the past in Cuiwei Palace, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

 Fortunately, she knew that he had a casual temperament and didn't care. She just nodded and smiled and left in a hurry.

 Sending her Qianran figure silently, Xuanyuan Moyu's handsome eyes narrowed and his smile deepened.

Thinking of her reddish face before she left, I felt a burst of joy in my heart. She was in a better mood than when she came in. I turned around and continued walking towards the imperial study.

In the afternoon, as expected by Yunqing, Concubine Hua came to visit Jinfeng Palace again.

Seeing Yun Qing tidying up a simple side hall as a study, her beautiful eyes couldn't help but tighten, and the nails in her sleeves accidentally pierced her flesh.

When she saw Yun Qing, she exchanged pleasantries for a while, then took out the roster she brought back from Yun Qing the day before yesterday, added a few more volumes, and told Yun Qing that these were the additions she made based on the high or low birthplaces of all the talent show girls after she returned. .

 Three of them are the most important, namely, the list of beautiful girls submitted by the Tibetan kings from various places, the list of the daughters or relatives of important officials in the imperial court, and the list of some beautiful girls recommended by local giants.

On these three books, there are either the daughters of officials who have an interest in the court, or the talented and beautiful women selected by the kings from various places, as well as those young women who took the opportunity to become rich and powerful in the families of merchants and giants.

Yunqing believed that with these special conditions, the beautiful women on these three lists could directly enter the Chuxiu Palace to wait for the Holy Selection. As for those who were selected into the palace, there were at least three levels of people who could not escape from these people.

 As for other ordinary women selected by the people, if they do not have special talents or beauty, they will probably be eliminated outside the palace.

But because of this, Yun Qing admired He Ruowan's intelligence from the bottom of his heart.

Being able to sort out the names of these women clearly in a short period of time can also be categorized and summarized at a glance, which indeed saves a lot of time.

"Are you satisfied, sister? I'm clumsy, and I'm afraid I'll disappoint my sister if I don't do well." Seeing the admiration in Yun Qing's eyes, He Ruowan couldn't help but beam with joy. Although she spoke respectfully, her attitude was extremely conceited.

"Sister, you are too modest. These rosters really saved me a lot of time. Thank you for taking the trouble, sister." Yun Qing smiled slightly and did not say much. He just put the roster aside for the time being and picked up the palace affairs that he was dealing with just now.

He Ruowan had no intention of leaving. She looked around Yun Qing's study and smiled lightly: "Sister, this place is so elegant, simple and clear. It really suits my sister's simple temperament."

"It's just been packed up randomly. My sister also saw that it hasn't been arranged yet." Yun Qing raised his head and saw that He Ruowan had no intention of leaving, so he had to directly tell her the purpose of coming: "This This is what I accidentally thought after I went to the imperial study today. Although the harem is not as busy as the imperial court, it is still full of complex affairs and complicated personnel, which makes me feel dizzy, so I want to create a place specifically for handling palace affairs. , it is also best to buy several case screens in different categories to reduce unnecessary trouble when searching.”

Today, Yunqing has reorganized all the personnel of the Shanggong Bureau, and has made arrangements for the assignments of each palace. Except for special cases where the Shanggong Bureau cannot do anything and needs Yunqing or the emperor's personal approval, everything else is in accordance with the regulations. Rule dispatch.

 No matter how big or small each palace is, as long as they go to collect it under normal circumstances, the people in the Shang Palace Bureau must not neglect it. Otherwise, the punishment system formulated by Yun Qingqing is also not pretty.

Although the rules are not as cruel as Concubine Hua's punishment of Eunuch Fugui, they are still frightening.

After investigation, Yunqing discovered that Concubine Hua actually ordered people to cut off Fugui's tongue, beat her legs, and sent her to the dormitory to clean the toilet and pour night incense on the grounds that Fugui was arrogant and acted independently.

  Regardless of whether Fugui did it all on his own initiative, it is extremely inhumane to punish a **** father-in-law who has been in charge for many years. Therefore, in order to avoid similar incidents from happening in the future, the first thing Yun Qing did after taking over was to formulate a set of rules for the Shang Palace Bureau.

There are rewards and penalties. The reward is that if the palace keeper follows the rules set by Yun Qing and makes no mistakes in the month, the queen will reward everyone in the palace bureau with ten days of silver salary for the month, and the general manager will be rewarded with half a month's salary of silver.

If there is any mistake in the palace bureau during her tenure, even if it is just a mistake caused by herself, the queen will all be fined half a month's salary, without exception.

 And the **** who is the general manager will be fined one month!

 In other words, not only will the chief **** not receive any money that month, but on the contrary, he will also have to receive a demotion or other major or minor punishments.

 In short, although the rewards and punishments administered by the Queen were not corporal punishment at all, they still made everyone nervous and serious.

 After all, no one dares to commit public outrage while being watched closely by the people in the first house, thereby dragging down everyone!

 (End of this chapter)