Chapter 21 first quarter

Because he successfully handled a ceremony, the little emperor was once again praised and comforted by the Queen Mother.He had already changed his gown and big hat, he was wearing a white muslin filial gown, his head was bald and his pigtails were tied in a small braid, and his seven-year-old sister was leaning on the Queen Mother from left to right, stammering in speech The scene of the ceremony, a pair of dark eyes opened wide, listening quietly. "Do you still know your sixth uncle?" The Empress Dowager asked the little emperor after he finished speaking. "I didn't know each other first, but then I got to know each other."

"Why didn't you know each other first?" "Uncle Six looks different from before, and his clothes are also different." "Silly boy!" The Empress Dowager Dong said, stroking his head, "If you wear filial piety now, aren't everyone's clothes the same as before?" "The clothes look different too, with two straps at the back." "That's the belt of loyalty and filial piety. Your sixth uncle must be wearing luggage, so naturally he should have the belt of loyalty and filial piety." "What is a belt of loyalty and filial piety?"

"You will understand in the future. I told you now, but you don't understand." The Empress Dowager Dong immediately asked, "Did your sixth uncle salute you?" "No." The little emperor said again, "Sixth Uncle wanted to salute me after crying, but the six-headed concubine stopped me and said, 'I have had 'shark fin', so there is no need to salute here." After finishing speaking, he led me to came back." "What?" The Empress Dowager Xi who was sitting on the other side of the kang table asked, "What did the six foreheads tell you?"

Hearing his biological mother's loud voice, the little emperor felt timid, shyly hid behind the Eastern Empress Dowager, and at the same time replied hesitantly: "The six-eyed son-in-law said: 'There have been "shark fins".'" The words were not finished. , The Western Empress Dowager shouted loudly: "Do you want 'shark fin'? An edict!" It was an edict to exempt relatives from kneeling and worshiping, and she turned to the Eastern Empress Dowager and said, "Listen, I don't even understand this, what's the matter? " "You're still young!" The Eastern Empress Dowager thought that the little emperor was defending her and tried to persuade her, "Everyone will understand gradually. He's only six years old after all, how does he know what an edict is?"

"Just know how to play!" The Empress Dowager gave the little emperor another look. The Eastern Empress Dowager wanted to make the atmosphere more relaxed, but at the same time it was funny to think about it. She gently grabbed the little emperor's ear and said, "Why did you come here? Shark's fin! Why don't you talk about bird's nest?" The little emperor smiled shyly.He caught a glimpse of his sister shaving her face to shame him, so she just happened to vent her anger on her, staring at her, and asked in a very airy voice, "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it." One sentence blocked the little emperor, and he said something unreasonable: "You are not allowed to shame me!" Big Gege is not like her biological mother, but like the Empress Dowager Xi, with quick responses, sharp corners of the mouth, and said with a small mouth: "You know how to be shy, too?" This sentence was even more blocked. The little emperor became angry and wanted to use force. There was an Eastern Empress Dowager in the middle, who would naturally fight. During the quarrel, I heard the Western Empress Dowager shout in a low voice: "Stop making trouble!" , looking out of the window covered with white gauze curtains.

So the Queen Mother East asked: "What's the matter?" "Master Six has come in." "Ah!" The Empress Dowager Dong immediately stood up, seeing Shuangxi lift the curtain, she asked, "But the sixth master is here?" "Yes. Please, where are you summoned?" "Of course it's in the main room outside." The Empress Dowager Dong said again, "You call someone to take the emperor and Da Gege away." There was no need to tell, the nannies were all on standby in the back porch, when they heard the sound, they entered the house one after another, and rushed the pair of sisters and brothers away.The Eastern Empress Dowager crumpled a white cheongsam because the little emperor and Da Gege were making out with her just now, and went back to the bedroom to change. Suddenly, only the Western Empress Dowager was left in the huge living room.

The Empress Dowager, whose heart was full of unexplainable excitement, couldn't help but walked to the window, wanted to lift the white gauze curtains, and first took a closer look at Prince Gong. As soon as she raised her hand, she suddenly became vigilant. This is not the Empress Dowager. All the moves that should be made.But the raised hand wanted to let it go, but he was extremely unwilling to let it go, he hesitated for a while, and finally lifted the corner of the gauze curtain resolutely, just in time to see Prince Gong standing at the bottom of the steps. This is the first time she has taken a close look at this man who is two years older than her.The attitude he stood there in a pretentious manner, with his head held high above the sky, first gave her a deep impression, because it was an expression that any relative or noble minister could not have, and would not dare to have.His eyes are huge and energetic. At the age of thirty, he can clearly see the "eye drooping". Against the straight nose and high cheekbones, he is not angry but majestic. An intoxicating masculinity.

"No wonder he is said to be 'dragon shaped'!" The Queen Mother said in her heart, and then remembered many legends about Prince Gong, saying that his appearance, in terms of physiognomy, was invaluable.This is exactly "unspeakable", and it is a big taboo to speak out!Therefore, some people say that he wants to use the influence of foreigners to learn the story of Ming Jingtai.This is not necessarily a rumor made by Sushun's group, even his brother King Dun once said: "The sixth child is like this, I'm afraid he will rebel!" Just as she was thinking like this, she hurriedly retracted her hand when she heard someone's voice, and when she turned around to look, the Eastern Empress Dowager had almost walked behind her.She suddenly felt a fever on her face, and said calmly, "I have something important to talk about later, please ask my sister to raise her head first, so that I can continue."

"Yeah." The Empress Dowager Dong nodded calmly, and ordered the maid next to her: "Hit the curtain!" Opening the curtain, the empress dowagers of the two palaces came out one after the other. The chief eunuch Shi Jinzhong was waiting on his knees, and when they sat down side by side, the empress dowager said, "Call!" "Cha!" Shi Jinzhong agreed, stood up and retreated out, and soon he heard him say outside: "Come on, Master Six." The steady sound of footsteps approached from far away, and the tall and straight shadow became more and more clear. King Gong, who was wearing a white cloth suit, was about to enter the palace door, and his steps seemed a little hurried. As soon as he entered the door, he looked up and then knelt down: " Chen Yixin kowtowed to see the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, the Holy Mother!" Then, she took off her big hat, threw it on the ground, and kowtowed.

"Please get up, please get up!" The Empress Dowager's voice was polite and kind, purely the tone of uncles and sisters in the big family, "Shi Jinzhong, hurry up and help the sixth master!" When they got up together, the three uncles and sisters-in-law had red eye circles, but they all understood that crying at each other at this time was not only inappropriate in terms of etiquette, but also useless to important matters, so they all restrained themselves. At that time, it was natural for the Queen Mother to speak first, but she didn't know where to start?Then they chatted from a distance in general: "Which day did Liu Ye leave Beijing?" "The minister left Beijing early in the morning on July 26." "How many days have you been on the road?" This question is superfluous, and King Gong pointed out with his fingers and replied: "I walked for five days." " "Is the road still calm?" "The road is quite calm." Prince Gong said again: "The bridges and roads are not very smooth. I have informed the magistrates along the way and told them to start construction as soon as possible so that Zi Palace can be welcomed." "That's right," said the Queen Mother, "It's better to 'return to the city' before the year." "It was too late to return to the city years ago!" Prince Gong paused for a moment, then said in a low and solemn voice, "What I mean is that the sooner you return to the city, the better." "Oh!" The Empress Dowager Dong replied, not knowing what he meant by saying this, she turned to look at the west. "Of course, the sooner you return to the city, the better. But everything must be done properly." The Queen Mother continued her words. Prince Gong looked up at her, and calmly replied: "Beijing is very peaceful. Prices have risen a bit, and that's because people's hearts are inevitably fluctuating because of driving. down." "Isn't it?" The Empress Dowager Xi said some big words: "Emperor Daxing is in Japan, and I often use this to persuade him, and Emperor Daxing thinks my words are good. However, Emperor Daxing hates foreigners and doesn't want to Living in the same city with them has delayed me like this. Now, alas! Where do I start?" "Foreigners are also reasonable. It's not that I said something in favor of them. Compared with our 'uncles under the banner', foreigners are too reasonable." "It's good to be reasonable. I'm afraid that after I return to the city, I will make trouble for no reason again, and that will be troublesome." "There is absolutely no such thing." Prince Gong patted his chest and said, "I dare to protect you! If there is such a thing, please ask the two Queen Mothers, but I will ask!" The Empress Dowager West nodded, and turned to discuss with the Empress Dowager East: "Since Liu Ye said so, it's better to go back to the city early." "Then, let's discuss a date!" "It's too late, it's always next month." The Empress Dowager said to Prince Gong, "We'll discuss this matter later." "What the queen mother said is right, it will always be next month, and it will be booked early, so Beijing is ready." "What does Jingli have to say about Emperor Daxing's will?" This question is not easy to answer, first of all, we need to clarify the so-called "last order". Prince Gong thought about it carefully, and there is no last order worth discussing except "appointing the eight ministers of Gu Ming".But although he understood it in his heart, he was inconvenient to say it rashly, so he deliberately asked: "Please tell the Queen Mother clearly, which will it be?" "And that one, isn't it the system in front of you?" Prince Gong looked around, and immediately replied that someone was approaching at this time—it was Shuangxi, who brought up two tureen bowls on a black lacquered plate with snails inlaid on it. "Give Sixth Master tea too." The Queen Mother ordered. Shuangxi agreed to go and fetch a bowl of tea for serving, and gave it to Prince Gong.The Empress Dowager gave him a seat again, but when a stool was brought, he refused to sit, and said loudly, "Talk to the two Empress Dowagers: Gu Ming is an ancestral system, and I dare not speak rashly." sit down. This answer was somewhat beyond the Queen Mother's expectation, but after a little thought, it was not surprising.Naturally, he couldn't state it frankly on such a big matter, and he only blamed himself for asking too implicitly. So she took a sip of tea and said leisurely: "I don't understand this. There is the grace of 'hereditary non-replacement' in conferring a title. What's the matter with the Minister Gu Ming? Do you want to be a lifetime?" This is indeed a question!Prince Gong thought for a while and replied: "Using the authority of a person is naturally in the upper hand. However, the court first takes care of its fate, and it is treated as a courtesy. If there is no major fault, it is right to always preserve it." "En, um!" The Empress Dowager Dong kept nodding, feeling that what he said was reasonable. The Queen Mother was also satisfied with his words, but only focused on the word "major negligence", or even just the word "negligence". " Then," she looked out, although the palace was far away, she still lowered her voice extremely low: "If Minister Gu Ming made a mistake and must go, what rules should be followed? " This stopped Prince Gong again!For a while, he couldn't think of previous examples to help, so he hesitated and said: "I'm afraid it will be difficult! Minister Gu ordered the minister to deal with government affairs. The edict of dismissal must be issued from their hands. That would be troublesome." "According to what you said, disobedience and disobedience are not treason?" King Gong is silent.Her words are good, but it is not easy to deal with rebellion, so it is best not to say these two words lightly.He thought that the Empress Dowager Xi just helped Emperor Daxing read the chapters for a few days, her knowledge was limited, and she took things too easily. She was rash, and he couldn't follow her rashness, so he expressed reservations.However, the Empress Dowager Xi will never keep it because of him, "Sixth Master!" She deliberately countered: "There are no outsiders here, so feel free to say something. Maybe there is something we sisters can't see, you must Gotta tell us." "By the way!" The Empress Dowager Dong did not disagree with any attitude of helping each other. "Six Lord, we don't quite understand the outside things. If you don't tell me, won't we be confused for the rest of our lives?" "The two empress dowagers are serious!" Prince Gong was a little panicked, "I have been ordered, and I have to say something, the word 'rebellion', no one can afford it! If there is no evidence of rebellion, and there is Please be tolerant of the arrangements for dealing with rebellion!" This is tantamount to teaching the Queen Mother a lesson.She is also very powerful. Not only did she not feel disobedient, but she also expressed her willingness to be taught: "Not bad! Not bad! Sixth Master really has insight and insight. But still, if something really happened, how can we deal with it?" "From my point of view, there is only one way, to summon the relatives and important ministers, to declare the will, and there must be arrangements in advance, so that those people must obey!" The Empress Dowager West nodded deeply, looked at the Empress Dowager, and lowered her voice even more: "Master Liu, have you ever seen An Dehai?" "I have never seen it before, but it was received by Bao Yun." Prince Gong stood up after speaking up to this point: "I wrote the decree personally, and I have already read it." The secret decree mentioned it, but did not mention the "major events" mentioned in the secret decree.Prince Gong didn't want to mention it, and Empress Dowager Xi didn't want to mention it, but she was silent on the surface, but she was working hard in her stomach.The so-called "big event", Prince Gong, Wen Xiang, and Bao Jun, have repeatedly studied and thought about it. If you want to rule, you must first overthrow Sushun, and if you want to overthrow Sushun, you must first abolish Gu Ming. , and the female lead hanging the curtain is against the family law, he does not want to risk the disapproval of the world to initiate this proposal, and he does not want to initiate this proposal before the Queen Mothers of the two palaces. The Empress Dowager is very "enthusiastic", eager to make a deal right away: "You are in charge, and I will hang the curtain!" But she also knows that Prince Gong is not a mediocre person who obeys orders. despise.Take business as an example, if one party is eager to sell, the other party will definitely hold back and become controlled by others, so no matter what, it is up to me to force him to "open the market" and bargain first, and the matter will be easy. This silence, for Prince Gong and the Western Empress Dowager, they didn't feel anything because they were all thinking about something, but the third party, the Eastern Empress Dowager, felt embarrassed and was eager to break this almost frozen situation. She is a loyal person, and she has always felt aggrieved for Prince Gong, so she just said it at this time, so she called out first: "Six Lord!" Prince Gong hurriedly stood up and replied, "The minister is here." "Sit down!" The Queen Mother Dong said, "I am not daring to criticize the Emperor Daxing. If I want to talk about his will, it is really a bit unreasonable. No one expected that you will not be among the 'eight'." Oh, you brothers..." She shook her head dejectedly, unable to speak and could not bear to speak. This touch touched Prince Gong's heartache, and at the same time, he was grateful to the Queen Mother for her fair words. His eyes became hot, and he quickly lowered his head, trying his best to keep his tears from falling. The calm Empress Dowager suddenly got an idea, turned around and said, "Sister, I have an idea, can you see if it works?" "Oh, what's the idea?" "I was thinking," the Queen Mother said slowly, "Emperor Daxing and his fellow brothers and sisters will never have any prejudices. At that time, they were coerced by the villain and they were the most ill. They did not act thoughtfully. , it is inevitable. Since there is such a little lack of discretion, we should try to make up for it. Sister, don’t you think so?” "Isn't it?" The Empress Dowager Dong praised her greatly, "It's really thoughtful of you. Tell me, how can you make up for it?" "I want Master Liu to return to the military plane and work with those eight people." King Gong was taken aback, he never expected the Empress Dowager to come up with such an idea, "Never!" He stood up, shook his hands vigorously and said, "I will never dare to accept the grace of the Empress Dowager!" The Eastern Empress Dowager was stunned, but the Western Empress Dowager laughed, laughing at him for losing his normal speed.Naturally, I was very proud of myself, and I made him anxious like this with just one sentence. Prince Gong realized that he had lost his composure, so he calmed down and recovered his calm voice: "It's not that I don't know how to flatter you, it's just that doing it like this will not help the big things, but will be harmful." "What's the matter?" The Queen Mother was completely puzzled. Prince Gong found it difficult to explain.The Empress Dowager of course understood his difficulty, and in fact she was trying to make it difficult for him, so she leisurely looked at him anxiously. Finally, Prince Gong came up with four words: "It's hard to sing with one hand!" This idiom is used very well, just so that the Queen Mother of the East can understand the meaning of the metaphor, "Well, um! It's a bit inappropriate." She turned to the Queen Mother and said, "That's the sentence, 'A good man is afraid of having too many people. !' Mr. Liu can't handle eight of them by himself. Let's find another way." This was originally a move that the Empress Dowager Xi learned from playing chess with Xiao Anzi. She intentionally "compelled" Prince Gong into an "army", and really made him flustered.He thought to himself, Sushun is very strict in spying, it is not easy to summon King Gong for secret business, he must take this opportunity to force his words out, so as not to use that bitter trick of asking Xiao'an Zilu to go all the way to rescue soldiers. So, she frowned and replied to the Queen Mother: "The only thing we sisters and sons can do is to let the sixth master return to the military plane. Since the sixth master said 'it will not help the big things, and it will be harmful', there must be a better way to do it. "Speaking of which, he raised his head slightly, just in time to see Prince Gong, and asked, "Sixth Master, you said, but this?" Prince Gong, who had regained his composure at this time, replied slowly: "This is a big matter! I can't answer the question at the moment. Please give me a day or two to plan carefully." "Mmm, yes." The Empress Dowager Xi nodded, expressing her satisfaction, and finally had a more realistic sentence. So the two palaces exchanged glances, and the Empress Dowager Dong said: "It's been a hard journey all the way. Let's go and have a rest first!" "Yes!" Prince Gong stood up, knelt down and exited Yanbo Zhishuang Hall. As soon as he left the palace, Shi Jinzhong led him to a room where the eunuchs on duty were waiting to sit idle, made good tea, and brought four fruit plates, one "Prince" on the left and one "Prince" on the right, to show his hospitality.Prince Gong knew in his heart that this was something he needed, so he reached into the boot leaf to get the bank note, and as soon as he reached in, he remembered that there were two bank notes, one was 10,000, and the other was 5,000. According to the general rules, only one or two hundred taels of silver will be spent, and the amount of these two bank notes is too large.But because the attendant was not around, he couldn't get a small bank note, and this "expense" could not be owed, and it was inconvenient to find, so he gritted his teeth, picked up the five thousand taels, and handed it over. To Shi Jinzhong. "You give them to everyone, buy a pair of shoes to wear!" Shi Jinzhong glanced over, and happened to scan the word "five thousand". He was stunned for a moment, and then overjoyed. With a smile on his face, he greeted first and then took the bank note. Said: "Come here! Thank you, my lord, for your reward." Seeing Shi Jinzhong's face, the eunuchs knew that they had received a lot of rewards, and they all flocked to him. Soon, they stood neatly in two rows, still led by Shi Jinzhong, and thanked King Gong together.