Zhu Houcong originally expected to see a girl with a sunburned face and wearing prairie clothes, but now she looked like other women in the palace. Her face was indeed red, but that kind of red was very familiar to Zhu Houcong. .
Therefore, despite the conditions in the palace, the concubines would only take a good bath when they knew that the emperor was about to be lucky. After soaking in the hot water again and again, they would be white and rosy.
Zhu Houcong quickly figured it out: it seemed that neither his mother nor his queen wanted to emphasize her identity as a foreign woman in the palace, for fear that the emperor would be addicted to foreign customs, and that she might be unclean.
But now Zhu Houcong was even more surprised at her courage.
She probably didn't know how many people had taught her along the way, but she still lost her etiquette when driving, and she didn't realize that her posture was ugly when she was kneeling on the ground with her head down and trying to raise her head to peek at others.
So there is a kind of pure stupidity.
"how old are you?"
"I... it's wrong. I'll report back to Your Majesty... I am seventeen years old this year..."
Now Tana lowered her head because of the emperor's smile, her heart beating fast.
The emperor has a beard, but his eyes still look young. I just took a peek and was laughed at, before I could see his face clearly...
But Tana feels a lot more at ease now. She heard the emperor getting angry before, but now she smiles when she sees herself. She should like herself, right?
Zhu Houcong sighed with emotion.
Although he is only twenty-five and looks not that far apart, he can be regarded as another beauty who has entered the palace in the past eight years.
As an emperor, there is really no shortage of eighteen.
After some "admonishment" from Yang Shen, Zhu Houcong realized that his depressed mood was more likely due to satisfying his so-called sense of morality, and he had accepted that he was just a secular emperor.
However, there is no need to do anything to Tana now.
"When you enter the palace, adapt well. Now that Zhongcui Palace has no owner, and you are not familiar with the other people in Chuxiu Palace, you should live in Zhongcui Palace first."
"I, my concubine, obey...obey the decree..."
I've seen it before. This Tana didn't make Zhu Houcong as surprised as when he saw Zhang Qinghe's appearance. Naturally, he just made arrangements first.
At the time of the draft, there were nine concubines besides the second concubine, but each had six palaces in the east and west. The rest of the beauties staying in the palace initially lived in Chuxiu Palace, and later some were gradually arranged to go to other palaces.
Zhu Houcong has not been affected by any of these beauties from the same batch as his second concubine and nine concubines over the years.
The only people who had any relationship with him were Carolina and Qu Mei, who lived in the same palace with Wen Suyun.
After all, in the past few years, Zhu Houcong focused more on state affairs.
Now having Tana live in the Zhongcui Palace that was vacated due to the death of An Bin was a significant change in the palace.
When the news reached Kunning Palace, Sun Ming couldn't help but frown slightly: Could it be that His Majesty already had a fondness for the beautiful woman who had been donated by the three tribes and wanted to make her a concubine?
Then she heard the head of the female officials in her palace coming over with a happy face and saying: "Empress, the Chief of Ceremonies has sent word that Your Majesty will stay in Kunning Palace tonight."
"Ah?" Sun Ming was stunned for a moment, "But..."
She touched her belly, and then she felt a little sweet in her heart. Didn’t His Majesty say that after giving birth to a child, you need to take care of it for a while?
Perhaps His Majesty is still worried about his own emotions.
Kunning Palace was busy both inside and outside. Ever since the Empress became pregnant again and gave birth to a son, your Majesty, although he often comes here, has not slept in Kunning Palace for a long time.
Where the emperor wanted to sleep, the specifications were different.
But Sun Ming waited and waited until Zhu Houcong came over when the clock in Kunning Palace pointed to almost half past nine.
"I originally wanted to have dinner together, but then I heard that there was some progress in Tao Zhenren's place. I looked over and it was here before I knew it."
Sun Ming just stood aside with a smile, watching Zhang Qiaomei help the emperor take off his coat, and then prepare for the emperor's bath.
When Zhu Houcong pulled Sun Ming to sit on the soft couch beside him, Sun Ming said: "Your Majesty has a concubine in his heart, and I am content with that. Now that Na Tana has entered the Zhongcui Palace, why not get her as soon as possible? Do you want to make Duoyan Sanbu’s heart happy?”
"Does the affairs of Duoyan's three tribes depend on one woman?" Zhu Houcong smiled and shook his head, "Letting her stay in Zhongcui Palace does not mean that she will live in the main hall. On the contrary, I was persuaded by Yang Shen today and felt that My mood has improved a lot. Why, I miss you, why don’t you sleep here?"
"That is of course very good..." Sun Ming squeezed his palm, "If Yang Shangshu can persuade His Majesty to be relieved, I will be happier about this matter."
Zhu Houcong looked into her eyes and raised his hand to touch her face: "In the blink of an eye, it has been eight years since I entered the palace. In the past, I concentrated on state affairs and neglected you a lot. At the beginning, I had more concubines, sometimes to avoid disputes in the harem. , and there is no obvious affection between the twelve houses, just the length of stay and whether they stay in bed or not. As a result, you can see me even less. "
Sun Ming was silent for a moment, lowered his head slightly and said: "It is not easy for your Majesty to succeed the vassal king. It will be better if I don't cause any trouble."
"This time the concubine has gone, and the Duoyan tribe has introduced another daughter to the palace. I have thought about it a lot." Zhu Houcong said softly, "Whether it is national affairs or you, even if I am the king, I will do everything I want. There are many helpless things. I know it is also difficult for you, and I am afraid it will be even more difficult in the future. They also waited for eight years for me to come to the palace together in the past, but they never saw me. This time, some people said that An Bing was a succubus. Are the three parts of Liao Duoyan going to be conquered by a girl?"
"This matter... the three people who were talking nonsense, I have already ordered someone to take care of it and expel them from the palace. Your Majesty..."
Zhu Houcong put his arm around her shoulders: "I didn't mean that you were incapable of controlling me, I just said that this is human nature. It is normal for some people's temperament to gradually change as time goes by. So, I'm afraid you will become worse and worse in the future. The harder it is.”
"Since I am a queen, I deserve this..."
"Tonight, I will tell you what's on my mind and help you think of something."
"Is your concubine thinking of something?" Sun Ming looked at him doubtfully.
"That's what I want." Zhu Houcong sighed, "This harem is like a small country. Who doesn't have a little selfishness? Although there is nothing fishy about An Bin's matter, as there are more and more princes, it is inevitable that something fishy will happen in the future. matter."
Sun Ming felt terrified and grabbed his sleeve nervously.
"Zaicheng is already six years old. At the end of last year, Taifu Yang actually had a suggestion to establish a crown prince. Later, everything was delayed, and I was not in the mood to think about it." Zhu Houcong said quietly, "Set this matter down and you will take care of it. The harem is also easier.”
"Concubine..." Sun Ming's lips trembled a little. Although her son's status was unshakable in terms of birth, after all, the emperor was mentioning this matter to her personally, so how could she not be excited and feel at ease.
"Aren't I teaching them carefully?" Zhu Houcong smiled, "I hope that their brothers can assist Zai Ao in the future. This is one way, and the other way is to use kindness and power to other people in the palace."
Sun Ming understood what he meant and became nervous again: "Does anyone dare to be so bold?"
It is not necessarily good to establish a prince too early. Zhu Zaiyi is only six years old. Who knows what else he will experience as he grows up?
"Be careful. Everything is a blessing and a misfortune." Zhu Houcong paused and said, "I am grateful because it is better to block things than to block it. You also know that I am young and have many concubines. In order to avoid conflicts among my heirs, Although I tried my best to get the rain and dew equally before, everyone in the palace knows my secret method after all. Although it is not completely fulfilled, it can indeed generally determine which palace the dragon will be planted in. "
Sun Ming couldn't help but nodded.
If not, given the emperor's strong body, there would probably be many more princes in the palace now.
Although the number of concubines he had when he first ascended the throne was more than that of the previous dynasty, over the past eight years, the emperor had only had fourteen concubines in the twelve palaces, and even though he had already proven that he would have no worries about heirs, he still only had three princes. , three princesses. This in itself shows that the emperor is very restrained and very long-term.
You must know that among these three princes, except for the eldest son who was born to the virtuous concubine Lin Qingping, the remaining two princes all came from Kunning Palace. It's a coincidence that Concubine Shu, Concubine Jing, and Concubine Duan all gave birth to princesses.
It is said in the palace that His Majesty is not just a secret method, he can simply plant whatever he wants...
"In this case, all the palaces will inevitably have their own ideas, not to mention those who entered the palace together and have the status of nobles and talents." Zhu Houcong said truthfully, "I always want to make them feel that they have something to look forward to. Since I can't spend more time with you. They cannot let their character change due to their loneliness."
Sun Ming was silent for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty has made new arrangements for the clans. In fact, it would be better to have more heirs. I understand this."
She has grandson as her father, how can she be as knowledgeable as an ordinary woman? Based on the emperor's current policy towards the clan and the emperor's talents and strategies, now that the crown prince's position has been determined, as long as he is properly educated, the other princes will have a way out in the future. They will definitely be able to neither seize power nor help the prince to successfully assume power in the future.
Zhu Houcong sighed: "To be honest, just seeing how cautious I was about your conception and delivery at that time, you know that I was actually worried that you were too young and the risk of childbirth would be too high. An's accident only confirmed my original worries. However, I figured it out today, there is no point in worrying. I have made many preparations, and the rest can only depend on fate."
Recalling the past time when he asked his concubines to practice the bodybuilding technique together, Sun Ming only felt that he really cared about the safety of the women in his harem. In the past few months, His Majesty has often been in a bad mood because of An's affairs. It turns out that this is also the reason.
Then she asked: "Then your Majesty's intention is... to give the palaces some hope?"
"Yes. Not only the palaces, but also those who entered the palace together in the past, and those like Tana who will enter the palace for various reasons in the future. I'm afraid I have to give her some hope." Zhu Houcong told her frankly about this kind of situation. "If you have hope, you won't go crazy. Naturally, this will also make more people think of ways to invite favors. If someone breaks the palace rules, they will have to use force to establish the rules."
Sun Ming understood.
Next, His Majesty is afraid that he will have to impregnate a few more palaces, and even give birth to a few more people besides concubines.
No wonder he said it would be more difficult for him in the future.
Her son was established as the prince, and although she had more prestige in the harem, the situation she was about to face was indeed more complicated.
"...Your Majesty can tell me what's in your heart first, and I'll be satisfied."
Sun Ming looked at him. The emperor who was just as young back then now had a beard and looked much more stable. But today, I haven't had this feeling of discussing something with her for a long time.
She stood up and said softly: "Since Your Majesty wants to stay in bed today, let me serve Your Majesty well."
The aftermath of Concubine An's death had subsided, and there were signs of a palace struggle in the harem to use this incident to "ostracize" latecomers. Zhu Houcong also had his mind set on deciding on the identity of the prince, and had to think about the future.
Compared to Concubine An and the prince he had never met, Zhu Houcong would probably be more difficult to bear what happened to the concubines with whom he was more intimate and the son who had called him father for so many years.
And today's memorial in the imperial study room is not a new situation that Zhu Houcong will have to face after he delegates power. In the future, when the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister will have their own emphasis?
The new party and the old party are already integrating, but officials have no chance to truly unite. With their current thinking and values, if they just stick together, it will only become a hindrance to their own continuous reforms in the future.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a prince.
Apart from the gentry, the strength of the industrial and commercial class was still too weak to shake the order of the auxiliary monarchs who ruled the entire Ming Dynasty, which was still established by Confucian scholars.
There was only harmony in Kunning Palace all night, but Tana couldn't sleep in Zhongcui Palace for a long time: Doesn't His Majesty dislike her?
In her understanding, since Aries has arrived at the dragon's mouth, it should be eaten immediately, right?
It turned out not to be the case.
The next day, a concubine who was in the so-called "fertile" period was summoned to sleep in the Yangxin Hall.
Two days later, when the emperor was on his way back from Qin'an Palace to Yangxin Palace, he saw several talented people passing the time in the imperial garden. He showed interest and affection to one of them.
It was not until half a month later that the emperor appeared in Zhongcui Palace.
When the provincial army teams competed for the championship, the emperor even took the beauties out of the city to watch the competition in a specially arranged area.
A month passed like this. One day in the imperial study room, when Yang Shen came to report on the disaster relief work in Huguang and other places, after talking about the business, he said solemnly: "I have one more thing to report!"
Zhu Houcong looked at his serious look and felt a little bad: "Speak."
"Over the past month or so, I have noticed that Your Majesty is not as diligent as before. A few days ago, the provincial army teams competed for the championship, and His Majesty brought the harem to watch the battle, which was even more grand! Just now, I have been waiting for Your Majesty here for half an hour. This Such a situation has never happened before. Your Majesty's dragon body is very important, and you must not indulge in women and waste government affairs!"
Huang Jin looked at Yang Shen blankly.
Zhu Houcong was also numb.
Recently, Yang Shen has spent more time taking care of the psyche problems of the existing concubines, nobles and talented people in the harem to avoid psychological abnormalities. He has also spent more time in the Zhongyuan Hall to educate a group of young people. Yang Shen has something to say again.
"I understand."
"Your Majesty! After the Great Tragedy, you must not easily fall into the path of lust and indulge your mind. Your Majesty, the next generation of wise kings, is currently suffering from internal and external troubles..."
"Okay, okay." Zhu Houcong interrupted him angrily, "I seem to have become the dissolute king you are worried about. I can't help but feel the sand in my eyes. Although I know that there must be some room for everything in this world, once I know Some things are still unbearable. Isn’t this for you to handle things safely so that I don’t go into a big fight?"
Yang Shen's eyes suddenly changed, and he knelt down and said, "What I discussed before is for the sake of national affairs and has no other intentions."
Zhu Houcong let out a long sigh: "Are you done yet? I've already told you that this is all about cultivation. Why are you so stupid?"
"...I don't understand."
"Go and do your errands. I have a sense of discretion. If you don't understand, just go back and think about it."
Yang Shen scratched his head and left, while Zhu Houcong rolled his eyes.
Didn't Yang Tinghe tell him that he had suggested that the emperor establish a prince?
Why didn't this silly boy think of this trick when he saw that the emperor was indulged in neglecting government affairs in the harem?
For matters like establishing a prince, if ministers come forward to petition, it will obviously be a great success in the future, and some people will naturally gather together.
Among the officials who may become more and more integrated and form a new set of rules to carve up the benefits of the new law without changing the rules, only such a major event as the establishment of a prince will give Zhu Houcong room to break the rule in the future.
Supplementary update
(End of chapter)
