In the middle of summer, the sun is like fire, the lotus flowers in the garden of Cining are in full bloom, white as snow, pink as the xia, fighting for the fragrance and fighting for the beauty, the pavilion stands between the lotus leaves in the field, the occasional lake breeze brings the lotus fragrance into the pavilion in the center of the lake, slightly reduces the scorching heat of summer.

At this moment, the stone platform in the middle of the lake pavilion is full of all kinds of seasonal melons and fruits, including bright red and juicy watermelons, fragrant pineapples, crystalline jewel-like pomegranates, and a large longan with thin skin. Empress Dowager Jiang, Empress Wu, Concubine Shu, and the two princesses Yongfu and Yongchun sat around the stone platform, chatting about family life while tasting fresh seasonal melons and fruits, and the atmosphere was harmonious and harmonious.

However, Jiajing's other concubine, Concubine De, was not present, since the last almost miscarriage, Concubine De has not left the dormitory, and now she is more than six months pregnant, and the expected date of delivery is in early October.

There is a saying: Suffer a loss and grow a trench, before Concubine Shu was pregnant and miscarried, and then Concubine De almost miscarried, which naturally aroused the vigilance of Jiajing and Empress Dowager Jiang, although they searched the entire palace afterwards and did not find anything taboo, but just in case, Jiajing still strengthened the guard of Concubine De's residence, and usually paid special attention to her diet.

It is estimated that Concubine De herself is also afraid, and she will not leave the palace after that, and Empress Dowager Jiang has also exempted her from morning and dusk (morning and evening), because of this, Concubine De is not here at the moment.

Let's say that Empress Wu and Concubine Shu diligently accompanied Empress Dowager Jiang to chat about family life, while Princess Yongchun dealt with the plate of longan with relish, this Nizi loves to eat longan, and the fruit pot in front of her at this moment is already full of husks and cores, which is eye-catching.

Princess Yongfu helplessly glanced at her sister Yongchun, who was eating happily, and lowered her head to inherit and read a Buddhist scripture, and the lake breeze stirred her bangs, which had a sense of graceful and picturesque beauty, which made people unconsciously forget the hustle and bustle of summer.

"Sister Yongfu, give!" Yongchun peeled off a grain of longan and handed it to Yongfu's lips like a treasure, and the latter shook his head and smiled.

"These longans were only sent to Beijing from Lingnan yesterday, refrigerated with ice cubes, fresh, but delicious, if you don't eat it, you won't have it." Yongchun whispered.

Looking at his sister's expectant eyes, Yongfu had no choice but to open his small mouth and eat the longan, and his eyes couldn't help but light up, it was really sweet and delicious.

Yongchun said proudly: "I didn't lie to you, if I have the opportunity to go to Lingnan, this princess can eat all day and night, burp ——! ”

Yongchun gave a long burp as he spoke, and hurriedly covered his small mouth embarrassedly, and the palace maids next to him turned their heads and snickered, and Yongfu couldn't help laughing.

Concubine Shu couldn't help but quip: "Yongchun likes to eat longan so much, it's better to ask the emperor to find you a Lingnan in-law, and after you get married, let alone longan, lychees can be eaten from morning to night." Eat 300 lychees a day, and be a Lingnan person - hey! ”

Yongchun smiled and said: "I don't care, as long as the queen mother is willing to marry Yongchun far away." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang said with a smile: "Just you, a little monkey, the farther you marry, the better, so as to save the mourning family from worrying about seeing it day by day." ”

"Don't listen, don't listen, monk chanting! Don't listen, don't listen, monk chanting! Yongchun covered his ears with his hands and muttered with his small mouth, making everyone laugh.

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled and smiled, her eyes fell on Princess Yongfu, and she couldn't help but sigh secretly, now she is most worried about Yongfu's marriage, this dead-eyed Nizi is twenty-three years old, and she still has to consume, and her sister will not get married for a day, and her sister will not be able to arrange it.

It is said that since the "Three Widows", Princess Yongfu insisted on becoming a monk, and even shaved her hair ruthlessly. In fact, both Jiajing and Empress Dowager Jiang understand Yongfu's thoughts, and the reason why she arranged the Taoist temple she practiced on the opposite side of Xu's mansion to fulfill Yongfu's intention is self-evident, just waiting for a suitable opportunity, and this time Xu Jin's Northern Expedition is undoubtedly a good opportunity, but I don't know when Xu Jin will be able to return to Beijing in triumph!

Princess Yongfu's gaze touched with Empress Dowager Jiang, it is estimated that the mother and daughter have a heart-to-heart, and she couldn't help but feel a little hot on her face, and quickly lowered her head. Empress Wu and Concubine Shu both restrained their smiles when they saw this, of course, they only thought that Empress Dowager Jiang was sad for Yongfu's insistence on becoming a monk.

"Gonggong Hu, how is the Taoist temple of Yongfu cultivation being built now? When will it be completed? Empress Dowager Jiang turned her head and asked.

It is said that in August last year, Jiajing handed over the task of transforming the Marquis of Wuding to Xu Jin, and at the beginning of this year, Xu Jin led his troops to the Northern Expedition, and the task of supervising the construction of the "Yongfu Temple" was handed over to the old eunuch Hu Dahai.

I saw Gonggong Hu replied with a smile: "Back to the Queen Mother, the cultivation has been seven, seven, eighty, eight, eight, and the living water from the Taiye Pool has not yet been filled, and it is estimated that it will be completed in August." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang nodded, and ordered: "Go back and take you Yongfu for a walk, and see if there is anything to improve." ”

"Okay!" Gonggong Hu said with a smile: "His Royal Highness Yongfu will be satisfied." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled and said: "Don't brag about yourself, you old thing, if Yongfu is not satisfied, the mourning family will not be able to spare you." ”

Gonggong Hu smiled and retreated behind Empress Dowager Jiang.

"I wonder when Brother Jin will be able to triumph?" Empress Dowager Jiang took a sip of the teacup, and then said to herself.

Empress Wu and Concubine Shu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a little unable to keep up with Empress Dowager Jiang's thinking, just now chatting about the Yongfu Taoist Temple, why suddenly such a sentence popped up again.

Concubine Shu glanced thoughtfully at Princess Yongfu on Xia Sheng's cheeks, and said with a smile: "What the Queen Mother said is the Duke of Yasuko? ”

Empress Dowager Jiang nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, it's the Duke of Jingguo, I think when the mourning family first saw Brother Jin, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and it was almost more than ten years in a blink of an eye, and now Brother Jin is already a pillar of my Ming Dynasty." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang said, her face couldn't help showing a trace of sadness, remembering that the year when the prince left, it happened to be the year when Xu Jin and Xiaowan came to Xingwangfu...... This is the fate of Yongfu and Xu Jin.

Empress Wu frowned, Empress Dowager Jiang's closeness to Xu Jin made her feel very uncomfortable, and she was deeply jealous, the key was that Xu Jin's sister-in-law He Zhi'er might also threaten her position as queen.

Concubine Shu smiled and accosted: "Queen Mother, the concubine heard that the Duke of Yasukuni has a nickname called Xu Changsheng, which is really worthy of the name, in less than half a year, he swept away the Tatars, and not long ago even defeated Wara, and carved stones on Yanran Mountain, opening up thousands of miles for my Ming Dynasty." ”

When Empress Dowager Jiang heard this, she immediately became happy, and said with a smile: "Don't say it, Brother Jin is really good at fighting, when he was a young scholar, he dared to lead troops to confront King Ning. ”

"Yes, yes, Xu Jin, this guy is really capable of fighting, everything can be done, and the people say that he is a lucky star!" Yongchun interjected.

Princess Yongfu pursed her lips and smiled slightly, her beautiful eyes were bright, and she naturally felt a sense of joy and pride in her heart when she heard others praise Xu Jin.

Empress Wu became more and more unhappy, and said with a smile: "Yasukuni is invincible, and it is a pity that it has been escaped by me many times, and I heard that now I have fled to Turpan, and it may not be easy to take him, unless I use troops against Turpan." ”

Princess Yongfu frowned and said lightly: "Turpan may not dare to plunder my Ming soldiers, after all, Warat is a lesson from the past." ”

Princess Yongchun raised her chin and said proudly: "No, dare to provoke Xu Jin, ensure that Turpan will not end well, Xu Jin's guy is not a man who eats rice, whoever provokes him is unlucky!" ”

Concubine Shu covered her mouth and giggled: "It seems that Yongchun has a lot of confidence in Yasukuni!" ”

"Of course, that guy hasn't lost a war, sister-in-law, let's make a bet." Yongchun peeled off a grain of longan and threw it into his mouth, and said with a smile: "Just bet that Xu Jin will clean up Turpan, and finally obediently hand me over." ”

Concubine Shu said with a smile: "Forget it, this bet is lost, and it is even worse if you win." ”

Empress Wu looked up at the outside of the pavilion and diverted the topic: "At this hour, the emperor should also go down to court, right?" ”

Empress Dowager Jiang said in surprise: "By the way, what is the emperor busy with these days, and the next dynasty will not come to Cining Palace?" ”

Bi Chun, the eunuch who had been standing beside Empress Wu, rolled his eyes and said in a shrill voice: "The emperor has been out of the palace in the past few days, and it is estimated that he went to the Xu Mansion in Xiaofang." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang couldn't help frowning and said, "What does the emperor do when he goes to Xu's Mansion every day?" ”

"It is said that Miss Zhi'er, the righteous sister of Yasukuni Gong, is sick." Bi Chun hurriedly said.

Why is it this He Zhi'er again, Empress Dowager Jiang's brows furrowed even deeper, and she said lightly: "What kind of illness do you have?" Is it serious? ”

"This ...... The slave is not clear, but I heard that the emperor has found Imperial Physician Li to treat Miss Zhi'er, and the Queen Mother can summon Imperial Physician Li to ask. Bi Chun replied cautiously.

Empress Wu said with a smile: "It is estimated that it is not a serious illness, but the emperor is too nervous that He Zhi'er, the queen mother, the concubine has a sentence that I don't know whether to say." ”

Princess Yongfu's heart moved, put down the Buddhist scriptures in her hand, and looked at Empress Wu suspiciously.

"It's all my own family, what can't I say!" Empress Dowager Jiang said in a deep voice.

Empress Wu sighed and said: "The emperor's favor for the righteous sister of Yasukuni is known throughout the dynasty, and even the common people have rumors, so the concubines think that He Zhi'er should be included in the palace as soon as possible, first, to avoid civil criticism, second, to let the emperor spread the leaves, and third, to come...... He Zhi'er likes to play tricks on weekdays, which is really degrading to the royal family, and integrating it into the palace can also prevent him from continuing to mess around outside the palace. ”

As soon as Empress Wu said this, Yongfu and Yongchun were stunned, and Concubine Shu was even more dumbfounded, thinking that she had heard it wrong, Empress Wu actually let the emperor take He Zhi'er as a concubine, and the sun came out in the west?