Chapter 306
Cui Xiaojun is still the same as before. She goes to greet the Queen Mother and Wang Meiren twice a day in the morning and evening. The palace is quiet. This is the most important daily activity. She doesn't find it hard, but it is difficult to see her mother-in-law directly.
Since that night, the two have never had a private conversation. Cui Xiaojun was tight-lipped to the emperor and did not intend to take revenge. Wang Meiren also seemed to have forgotten everything, smiling every time they met, but seldom spoke.
Therefore, after greeting her this evening, Wang Meiren stopped the queen in the courtyard and invited her to enter the room for a chat. Cui Xiaojun was very surprised and a little nervous. She knew very well that this real mother-in-law was more difficult to deal with than the queen mother.
In the room, Cui Xiaojun greeted him again.
Wang Meiren sat on the chair and accepted the Queen's worship calmly, without being offered a seat, took a sip of tea, and said, "There is something that the Queen Mother should be in charge of, but she is not in a good condition now, and she has no extra energy, so she has to work hard. Queen."
"As your mother-in-law tells you."
"You also know that the emperor's boss is not young, and he is seventeen years old this year."
"Yes." Cui Xiaojun didn't quite understand that seventeen years old was not considered a "big boss", but for a king of a country, he was indeed not young.
"There are three kinds of unfilial piety. No descendant is great. This is true for ordinary men, not to mention His Majesty's supreme body? Da Chu has been plagued by disasters, the ministers are concerned, and the people are looking up. They all hope that the emperor's throne will be passed on stably and there will be no more accidents."
Cui Xiaojun woke up and replied, "Mother-in-law meant..."
"There have been rumors in the palace recently that the Queen is pregnant. Why didn't the Taiyuan Hospital report this?"
Cui Xiaojun blushed slightly, "It's all rumors, I haven't...no..."
Wang Meiren sighed softly, "It's a pity, if the queen can give birth to a son, it is enough to stabilize the world - no matter what, the queen mother and I both hope to see at least one prince born within two years, does the queen also have the same idea? "
"Of course, the prosperity of the emperor will benefit the country and the people." Cui Xiaojun grew up in a wealthy family and had long been educated on how to be a queen. After a pause, he took the initiative to say: "The emperor should be elected a concubine after three years on the throne, and I will ask Zongzheng tomorrow. The government and the Ministry of Rites passed a decree urging them to choose virtuous women to enter the palace."
Wang Meiren smiled and said: "The queen is so generous, it is indeed the luck of your majesty and the great Chu, you must also understand that the eldest son is the greatest, no matter who is the prince, the queen's son is the crown prince, the queen mother and I. I just hope that Your Majesty will have many children, and there will be no more chaos after Emperor Huan's sudden death."
Cui Xiaojun returned to the bedroom, knowing that it was not in line with the empress's etiquette, but still felt wronged. At the same time, he was full of nostalgia for the Mansion of the Marquis, misses everyone there, every chick and duckling, and spends every moment with the Marquis Tien. time……
Early the next morning, after greeting the Queen Mother, she still wrote a decree, in duplicate, to the Zongzheng Mansion and the Ministry of Rites in the name of Qiu Xin Palace, asking the two departments to start choosing a concubine for the emperor.
That afternoon, before Zongzheng's Mansion and the Ministry of Rites had replied, news suddenly came from Cui Mansion: Lao Jun was seriously ill, he hoped to see the Empress before his death, and begged the Empress Dowager for permission.
This letter of request was sent directly to the Queen Mother. Just seeing the word "Cui" made the Queen Mother feel annoyed. She agreed to the request without thinking about it. Not the second queen mother.
Before dark, the queen left the palace and returned to the Cui Mansion in the province.
The atmosphere in the mansion was dignified. After getting off the sedan chair, Cui Xiaojun went straight to the back house, leaving the maids and eunuchs behind him.
There was a strong smell of medicine in the grandmother's bedroom, and a large group of women stood in front of the bed crying, and when they saw the arrival of the queen, they all moved away.
Cui Xiaojun saw his mother, nodded, and moved to the bed.
Lao Jun was lying on the bed, breathing weakly, and seemed to be in a coma.
Thinking of her grandmother's love for him, Cui Xiaojun came out of sadness and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her grandmother's dry hand, tears streaming down her face for a moment.
The palace maid followed, and Qiu Xin Palace maid immediately ordered that only the queen's mother, two sisters, and a sister-in-law could stay, and everyone else quit.
The room was much more relaxed.
"What did the imperial doctor say?" Cui Xiaojun asked tearfully.
"The imperial doctor said that Laojun is old and weak, and his stomach is not good. It must be caused by poor food accumulation and occasional cold. Let us prepare for the funeral." Xiaojun's mother is cowardly by nature and has lived in the shadow of her mother-in-law for most of her life. , When it comes to parting, there is a bit of real sadness.
"Ah..." Lao Jun, who was lying on the bed, suddenly spoke up.
"Lao Jun." Cui Xiaojun hurriedly wiped away her tears, holding her grandmother's hand in both hands, waiting for her to open her eyes to look at herself, "I'm here to see you."
"Is it Xiaojun?" Laojun said weakly.
"it's me."
"The queen... came back to see me... Who is that? Am I dazzled? Why are there outsiders in the house?"
"They are from the palace and came with me."
"Go, go, all go out, I don't want to see strangers, all go out, you, you, and you." Lao Jun raised his other arm and pointed to one by one.
"It's not a stranger, it's the eldest sister and the third sister." Cui Xiaojun reminded.
"I don't know, go out." There were two flushes on Lao Jun's face, like the excitement of a dying person.
Cui Xiaojun signaled the ladies to go out, and the eldest sister and the third sister also left embarrassedly. The eldest sister, Mrs. Ping Enhou, had been married for many years and seldom returned to the mansion. Yes, when he found out that Lao Jun didn't recognize himself, he couldn't help but feel great sadness and kept crying.
Cui Xiaojun only let his mother stay.
Mrs. Cui consciously stepped aside, trying not to let her mother-in-law see her.
"Are they all gone?" The old man asked in a trembling voice.
"Let's go." Cui Xiaojun said, seeing his grandmother's confusion, his heart was even more sad.
Lao Jun suddenly stood up and sat up, Cui Xiaojun was startled and almost fell off the bed, his face changed, "Lao Jun, you..."
"I'm fine." Lao Jun's voice didn't tremble at all, he looked at Madam Cui and ordered, "Don't just stand there, go to the door and see, is the door closed? Is there anyone eavesdropping outside?"
Mrs. Cui was even more astonished than her daughter, but she was accustomed to obeying. She heard the order and did it immediately. She came back soon, and whispered, "No one."
Laojun snorted and grabbed the Queen's hand with his backhand, "My silly granddaughter, you were sold and you helped the people with money. How did the Zongzheng Palace and the Ministry of Rites choose concubines for the emperor?"
Cui Xiaojun blushed and murmured, "His Majesty has been on the throne for three years, and he is not too young..."
"Bah, it's just a little boy, tell me first, does the emperor share the bed with you?"
"Old gentleman..."
"Aiya, one is your mother and the other is me. What's there to be embarrassed about? Answer me quickly."
Cui Xiaojun nodded.
"Are you pregnant?"
Cui Xiaojun shook his head.
"Are you sure? You are young, you may not understand some things..."
Cui Xiaojun shook his head firmly.
Laojun stayed for a while, "I knew that the emperor's letter was a lie, he is a treacherous kid, but he likes you, that's enough."
"What is Laojun talking about?" Cui Xiaojun asked in confusion.
"Don't worry, I'll ask you again, is it your own idea to pass the decree to the Zongzheng Mansion and the Ministry of Rites?"
Cui Xiaojun didn't want to lie, and didn't want to say that her mother-in-law was wrong, so she was speechless for a while.
"Is it the Empress Dowager or Wang Meiren?" Laojun kept asking, but seeing that his granddaughter did not answer, he said earnestly: "You are the daughter of the Cui family, even if the emperor likes you, you also like the emperor, but he is fighting outside, and the capital is full of A flatterer, queuing up to please Wang Meiren, and now treating her as a queen mother, who can you rely on? It's not the Cui family!"
"It was His Majesty's mother who told me..."
"Isn't that the idea of giving birth to more princes to stabilize Da Chu? It's all a lie. Let me tell you, a mother is more valuable than a child, and whoever gives birth to a son is favored by the emperor, and how much he will be grateful to others at that time. It's all faded away, and in the end, let alone the position of the queen, you can't even save your life."
"Your Majesty will not..."
"What's wrong? He's a man, right? Look at your mother, she's cowardly, has no opinion, can't hold a family, and can't afford big things. Why can you become 'Mrs. Cui'? It's not because Have two sons in a row? You used to have an eldest mother who was very favored by your father, but she gave birth to a daughter, and she desperately wanted to have another son, but your father stayed in your mother's room every day, and she had no chance. Ended up in depression and made room for your mother."
Mrs. Cui's face was redder than her daughter's, standing in the corner silently, quieter than a rough maid.
"I still believe in Your Majesty." Cui Xiaojun whispered, "And... and I can't refuse, choosing a concubine is a matter of time."
"When you give birth to the prince, it doesn't matter if the emperor chooses 1,000 or 10,000 concubines, but not now, Wang Meiren just wants to distract the emperor, defeating you is defeating the Cui family. Hey, Wang Meiren and the empress dowager have long been She is a raccoon dog. She has been reluctant to accept the title of Empress Dowager, just to hide the eyes and ears of the world and push all bad things to the Empress Dowager Shangguan. But the Empress Dowager lost power, and no one listened to her decree, so Wang Meiren will use your decree to choose Concubine."
Lao Jun thought of Wang Meiren so insidiously and cunningly, Cui Xiaojun didn't dare to say that he had been rejected by his mother-in-law, "What should I do? I have already passed the decree."
"It doesn't matter, the selection of a concubine is different from the general court affairs, and the Queen's decree is not as immediate as the imperial decree. Usually, it takes several back and forth communication before the Zongzheng Mansion and the Ministry of Rites can start to select a concubine. From today, you will live in the Cui Mansion and return to Wen Lai just ignores him, he can procrastinate as long as he can. The emperor will not spend his whole life fighting outside, waiting for him to come back - can you keep the emperor by your side? Would you like someone to give you some advice? Alas, Hou Menzhi It's not good for women, sometimes they can't let go..."
"Lao Jun, stop talking nonsense." Cui Xiaojun was already blushing.
"Okay, I won't say it. You are all ladies. I'm from a poor family and don't know etiquette. I'll see who you can turn to when your mother and daughter are desperate."
"Yang Feng." Cui Xiaojun blurted out.
"Yang Feng? That eunuch? Why should he help you?"
"I just... feel like he's going to help me."
Lao Jun stared at his granddaughter, and said after a while: "Don't worry about it, I will send someone to contact Yang Feng, you stay in the mansion, never go back to the palace, and don't accept any requests from Zongzheng's mansion and the Ministry of Rites. Palindrome, understand?"
"Understood." Cui Xiaojun felt very uneasy.
Laojun lay down and continued to pretend to be sick. Xiaojun sat beside the bed and looked haggard. The women who went in and out to deliver soup and medicine saw that Laojun and Xiaojun were deeply in love.
When it was dark, Xiaojun went back to the former bedroom to rest, nothing had changed in the room, and she was no longer Miss Cuijia.
Just as she was about to change her clothes and go to bed, the palace maid came in and announced, "Mrs. Ping'en Hou asks to see you."
Cui Xiaojun thought for a while before remembering that this was his eldest sister, "Please come in."
Mrs. Ping'en Hou had a sad face, and the two sisters rarely saw each other, but she showed deep affection, chatted with each other, and finally proposed to have a night talk with her sister.
Cui Xiaojun agreed and noticed that this sister came prepared.
The maids retreated to the outside, the sisters were lying together, and Mrs. Ping'en Hou asked in a low voice, "Is Lao Jun pretending to be sick?"
Cui Xiaojun said nothing.
"The queen can trust me. I wonder if your majesty has mentioned it. Our family has provided support before your majesty's return to the supreme."
Cui Xiaojun had heard of it, but she didn't want to get trapped in this net. She missed the chickens and ducks in the House of Weary Hou, wondering if they hatched new chicks?